Kurang manis budget

Malaysiakini - Anwar: Budget fails to address cronyism, monopolies

wakakaka! How can I not laugh when Anwar Ibrahim lectures the government on cronyism and monopolies. Anyway, let's move on.

Budget-wise or in everyday governing, for me, there are four important issues that I want the government to address appropriately, adequately and in a timely fashion, namely: Security, Health, Education and Rule of Law.

Security - While it's impossible to guarantee 100% security, do Malaysians today feel secure as their families and loved ones go about their businesses, shopping, schooling, etc?

The rhetorical question has to be unfortunately a big NO!

I believe the general short term concerns of the public is internal security where occurrences of crimes are frighteningly at an unacceptable high in our nation's modern history, while their long term concerns would be the presence in our midst of millions of illegal immigrants, both potentially as fifth columnists harmful to our national security and job stealers from our unemployed citizens.

Is she a threat to national security?

Operational expenditure covers the maintenance of the existing police force, who unfortunately have not shown satisfactory performance, wasting away both resources and valuable time on monitoring and harassing non-BN political parties for a purely political agenda, instead of addressing what they ought to be doing, fighting crimes.

However, the blame should go principally to its highly politicized leadership - more of this follows.

At the policy level, the useless Home Minister should be sacked. Unbelievably, he has even failed to deal with (at least investigate into) unacceptable allegations of the former IGP having close association with shady underworld kingpins Goh Cheng Poh (Tengku Goh) and Tan BK while serving as IGP - for more, read Malaysiakini Bizarre case of ex-IGP, AG and an underworld boss.

We get to hear the standard mafulat excuse that there had been no investigation because, now get this bullshit, no one had lodged a report.

We keep hearing this same lame excuse time and time again, as if worrying (to national security) allegations can't and won't be acted upon if the police do not receive any official report  from the public (unless of course, the 'worrying' issue leads to opportunities to harass non-BN parties and supporters).

Are they (the police) robots only to be activated by public reports?

But still, that excuse has been totally demolished by Ramli Yusuff, a former Director of the  Police Commercial Crime Investigations Department, who asserted his point through evidence gathered by the CCID team, a statutory declaration (not challenged) and court testimonies.

In 2007 Ramli Yusuff wrote a letter on the scandalous affair to the Home Minister, a letter which Hishamuddin has acknowledged. But Hishamuddin rejected setting up an inquiry because he (Hisham) deemed there was a lack of evidence.

Thus the lie went from 'no evidence' to 'no report'. The truth then becomes 'no action'.

So acting Law Minister Nazri should swallow his pride, bull and partisanship, and get about doing something on the very serious allegations against the former IGP, since the Home Minister is too busy with regrets he didn't have the opportunity to rehabilitate Noordin Top, one of the World's most notorious terrorist-bomber, or engaged in pampering cow-head hoodlum bigots.

Terrorist-bomber Noordin Top

For more of the Home Minister's wish to rehabilitate people, please see Malaysian prejudice and More than 1 way to skin a Chinaman.

threat to Malaysian national security?

On health I have to be fair and say that, other than doubts about the quality of doctors our universities are churning out, the health facilities are quite decent.

Education? I have already written enough of the current shameful standards - basically, reckless quantity = regrettable quality.

But it's rather annoying the lamentable state of affairs in education has now been further made worse by politicization of secondary school education in the state of Johor where the nature of trial exam questions for students suggests those would be better confined in UMNO's party indoctrination files. 

Yes, Johor UMNO official may be quaking in their sarongs at the possible fate of their federal and state candidates in GE-13 but is this the way for their education kutus to address their concerns? Such is those school authority's pariah mentality that we have to question for what purpose would be their politicized exam questions when those school kid aren't even ready to vote? With such an abysmal lack of intelligence (let alone intellect) I question their fitness to be educators.

Finally, rule of law - wakakaka, indeed it can only be a wakakaka, when the nation's so-called No 1 Law Officer, the AG named Abdul Gani Patail, is surrounded by so many scandals, including alleged fabrications of evidence in Anwar Ibrahim's Sodomy I case, black-eye hooliganism, and close family ties with the former IGP. Well, WTF else can we say!

For more, read Probe Gani Patail before he destroys govt's integrity - ex CID chief.

Our judiciary though from (rare) time to time has shown exemplary standards, has in the main been disrespected, distrusted and despised for their politicized nature. 'Nuff said.

Alas, unless and until the above are satisfactorily addressed, no matter how many ang-pows (or peh-pows) Najib cast around like Santa, his budgetary plan won't be accepted as a good one.

However, I must compliment Najib on one point in his budget, namely the reduction of subsidy in sugar, wakakaka. Laughter aside, it's not only a saving in unnecessary public expenditure but a step towards the correct health direction.

Ooops, I nearly missed out on the comment by a politician on Najib's budget, as follows:

Looking at the incentives offered, it is quite impressive but I question... whether it can be implemented or not, because we are almost reaching the maximum (term) of our session.
There are a few incentives that benefit the people, like the RM250 book vouchers for university students, whom we know really need assistance. 

Both Pakatan and the government have offered quite impressive budgets for the rakyat so it is up to the rakyat to decide. 

(The speech attacking the opposition) is something we have never seen in a budget presentation, but we understand that the election is close, so each side will use every opportunity to showcase their agenda, and the PM will have an advantage in this front.

Make a guess who said that, wakakaka.