Ku Li warned of May 13 again

More than one and a half years ago I blogged on Ku Li no longer Kool & Kalm! where I lamented that a Tengku Razaleigh (Ku Li), once urbane, charming, cosmopolitan and so open-minded, had to resort to parochial language and tactics just to find a role for himself in Malay (not just Malaysian) politics, namely UMNO, where the real power lies. Ku Li had even challenged AAB for the UMNO party presidential post.

Then, as his manoeuvre, Ku Li had decided to lambast the AAB government, but unfortunately by resorting to that olde UMNO tested formula of divisive ethnic politics.

I wrote: "For a start, he adopted a controversial but old winner by publicly voicing strong criticism of the government in permitting non-Malay language educational institutions such as the Chinese-owned Tengku Abdul Rahman University to exist, a move that would prove undoubtedly a sure favourite with UMNO hardcore ‘warriors’."
Sure enough the Malay NGOs popped out to hail and support him. Then, perhaps as a 'special extra', for that additional boost to his credentials, he bemoaned regrets that the government hasn’t helped the Malays solve their problems despite its (AAB government's) power and authority to do so.

Can you believe him? Well, I wouldn't be surprised if that some Malays, especally those from Kelantan, obviously do!

For an understanding of Malay politics, read my earlier post Ijok - where Malays are even more tribal!

Though later the President of Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung (GPMS), came out in damage control for Ku Li when the Gerakan Party accused Ku Li of playing ethnic politics, Ku Li lost a lot of respect and affection from people who had been sympathetic with him. Mind you, I doubt he cared whether the non- Malays stop liking him now.

Well, malaysiakini tells us he’s back at his tribal-oriented spill again.

Ku Li said at a forum on Merdeka held in Kuala Lumur by the Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry and National Writers Association (Gapena) that Malaysia will descend into chaos if the social contract agreed upon 50 years ago was unravelled.

Nice touch, Tengku, to invoke the May 13 threat at the 50th Merdeka forum!

He urged the government to manage the increasing communal polarisation wisely, such as anyone questioning aspects of that social contract - eg. position of Islam, special privileges for Malays - whatever ‘manage wisely’ means - but no, no need to tell us or elaborate ‘cause we know the ‘whatever …..’.

He declared: “If it (social contract) is to be revamped, I predict the nation will descend into chaos.”

“If the guarantees laid out in it cannot be protected, a situation worse than May 13, 1969 (racial riots) may arise.”
Yes, that veiled threat of 'May 13' again - I am just surprised he didn't also wave a little red book on 'May 13' and mention 'not stirring the tebuan (hornets) nest'. Can these people give the same old tired threat a rest!

I am currently reading a book by Jonathan Glover, who’s (or at least, was) the Director of the Centre of Medical Law and Ethics at King’s College London, titled ‘Humanity – a Moral History of the 20th Century’ - (ISBN 0-224-05240-3 published by Jonathan Cape, London)

from Amazon.com

The synopsis on the book’s jacket says “It is about the psychology which made possible Hiroshima, the Nazi genocide, the Gulag, the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Pol Pot’s Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and many other atrocities …..... also examines tribalism: how people in Rwanda and in the former Yugoslavia, people who once lived together became trapped into mutual fear and hatred … .”
On the Rwanda tragedy, his concluding sentence was: “The human responses were overwhelmed in the killers by tribal hatred, but this emotion was itself a product of conscious political manipulation.”
Well, ….....

Then, for the Yugoslav internal conflict, Glover again said: “Tribal conflict rarely just ‘break out’. Hostility is enflamed by the nationalist rhetoric of politicians. Other groups then feel threatened and react with their own defensive nationalism. People are pushed into the trap by politicians. Then, in psychologically deeper ways, the rival groups become mutually trapped by their responses to each other. This is how Yugoslavia fell apart.”


* all above underlining of Glover's statements are mine

Aren’t we? … “pushed into the trap by politician” , that is!

Though I am aware that the general election is just around the corner, and Ku Li is fretting about his Gua Musang seat, he should be ashamed of himself for buying into the current ethnic polemics, again.

He could have been a leader for unity, conciliation and muhibbah, but like most UMNO desperate (‘9.2 million’ of them?), he has decided that for him too, it’s easier going over to the dark side of the force.

The insidious 'Bo ...' in Malaysian system

When Dr Mahathir coined the Malaysia Boleh slogan, he wanted to build into our psyche, especially that of the Malays, self confidence, the confidence that comes from self esteem, and consequently the will to succeed.

But alas, like most noble stuff he had in mind, he was let down by the very people he trusted - I am afraid he just has to chew on that. I am sure by now, the retired human dynamo must have realized that Malaysia during his time was led not by a necessary team but by a one-man juggernaut.

If Dr Mahathir had only surrounded himself with more capable people instead of avaricious sycophants, I wonder where we, our nation, would be today?

His inspirational Boleh has degenerated into Bodek, Bodoh, Bobrok, Bocor, Bohong, yes, all his hopes Bolos and Bobos.

Take for example, as reported in malaysiakini, the former AG and now Chairperson of Suhakam, Aby Talib, had to chide the Chief Justice for not stopping the rot in th judicial system where judges have not been able to come up with written judgement.

Abu Talib said : “It’s entirely up to the CJ (chief justice) to move (on this). (Stemming) the rot is in his hands. It’s (only a matter of) whether he wants to exercise the powers or not.”

In other words, the Chief Justice is, as he ought to be, responsible for stopping the rot in the system he heads. Has he?

And if not, what does the Chief Justice do – instead he attempts to introduce Syariah laws into our civil courts, by arguing that common laws should be done away with.

That’s an example of Dr Mahathir’s Boleh degenerating into ….. you choose which of the ‘Bo…’ would be appropriate.

Remember that police inspector who was supposed to interrogate Tian Chua, and was made to look like a bloody fool by the PKR Info Chief?

Another non-Boleh, if we need to use that terrible word of ‘non’.

Abu Talib also criticized our dear wonderful AG, Gani Patail – I needn’t say anything more as I had said enough.

And as for the IGP – is he Boleh? In a way I suppose he is, because under his watch, he Boleh allow the crime rate to shoot through the ceiling, into the highest stats ever seen in our nation’s history – now, that’s most certainly a record for the Malaysian Book of Records!

And of course, according to the Boleh logic of Boleh-land the government has, as always, rewarded such ‘Bo… Eong’ people like the IGP.

Malaysian Christian Taliban?

Bloke wrote a letter in to malaysiakini titled Keep out the corrupt and the gay.

He started his missive with “There are two things I find disturbing in Malaysia. Both relate to the inability of some people to accept reality. They live in their own delusional world like the proverbial ‘emperor with no clothes’ and merely parade their shameful nakedness.”

I don’t have problems with his first thing, but his venom in the second shocked me, this so-called Christian who is supposed to turn his other cheek as Jesus had instructed him to.

He ranted against “the attempts to turn Christianity into some kind of gay circus. The apologists and ‘spinmeisters’ for a gay church paint those who oppose their heresy as unthinking, unkind and uncool Christians who don't know what they are opposing.”

The unmitigated homophobe raved: "Let me speak plainly. Christianity is not a new fad that needs anyone to think about how it should be practised. It isn’t as if it is a fledgling faith that needs fine-tuning and has teething problems to be sorted out especially in its opposition to sins including homosexuality.”

So 'no fine tuning' required eh?

I thought there was a bloke who did just that, by the name of Paul (or was it Saul?), then Martin Luther, then ........ oh, don’t forget that first bloke who started it all, by the name of Eashoa' ben Yôsēp̄ or Yeshua ben Yusuf, otherwise known as Jesus son of Joseph.

Weren’t they all changers and innovators of God's religion? So I would ask of the author to stop his blasphemy.

God as the Christians believe Him, is the Creator of all, and I dare say, including gays or homosexuals and lesbians. ‘All’ means all - one cannot cherrypick for God according to one’s personal (human or mortal) prejudice.

And the reason why gays congregate together, even in a church of their own, has been and is because they have been ostracised, not unlike lepers, unwanted by people like Steve Oh, the author of that homophobic letter.

And I would tell Steve Oh to stop speaking on behalf of God, who incidentally has refused to talk to anyone since Yeshua ben Yusuf died on the cross for humanity, including unfortunately Steve Oh and his ilk.

Learn to love before you can claim to be a Christian, a follower of Christ!

Chief Justice adopting Syariah laws for civil courts by stealth?

In a malaysiakini news article on judges who delay written judgments, former AG and now (Suhakam) chairperson Abu Talib Othman stated:

“It’s entirely up to the CJ (chief justice) to move (on this). (Stemming) the rot is in his hands. It’s (only a matter of) whether he wants to exercise the powers or not.”

The malaysiakini news was appropriately titled Abu Talib: Up to CJ to stop judicial rot.

It’s a pity Abu Talib didn’t tell the Chief Justice to also cease and desist in his attempt by stealth to introduce Syariah laws into our civil courts.

A few days ago, the Chief Justice had, I believe, ‘tested the waters’ by airing his thoughts that there was no need to use English common law after 50 years of independence, suggesting another procedure as a substitute.

He didn’t mention what the other procedure would be.

I believe it was Param Cumaraswamy, a former UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers and also former chairman of the Malaysian Bar Association, who rejected the CJ’s suggestion, saying the Malaysian legal system has over the years developed a local flavour to the ‘common laws’ inherited from the British, and therefore there was no need to tamper with the current system.

Today, The Star Online let the cat out of the CJ’s bag when it quoted Dr Abdullah Zin, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (for religious affairs) praising the CJ’s proposal to use Syariah law to replace English common law in court. Abdullah Zin said that Syariah law gives importance to justice.

He added that the CJ’s proposal to proceedings should be studied thoroughly first and, if approved, should be done in stages. He believed that it would also be a further development for Syariah law in the country in addition to introducing a uniform Syariah law in all states.

Needless to say, our dear Attorney-General, the one who recently instructed the ACA, over whom he had no authority, to stop corruption investigations into two top law officers, also responded positively to the CJ’s proposal.

All these seemed to be coordinated and graduated steps in the government’s intention to introduce Syariah laws into the civil courts, bearing in mind the recent assertion by the DPM that Malaysia is an Islamic nation.

Hey, all PAS has to do is to sit quietly and let UMNO do all the work of turning Malaysia into a full-fledged Islamic nation with Syariah and Huddud laws - PAS' dream is about to be realised, courtesy of UMNO.

And weren’t some UMNO members touting the so-called ‘social contract’ we were supposed to have? Did that ‘social contract’ plan for the introduction of Syariah laws into our civil legal system?

Amin!

Too little, too late, for 22!

Almost to weeks ago malaysiakini reported the tragic death of 20 bus passengers when the driver fell asleep on the wheel and allowed the vehicle to hit a road barrier while on a downhill road. It skidded off the highway, overturned and fell into a ditch.

As if that was not bad enough, we found out that the driver of a bus, 28 year old Rohizan Abu Bakar, had two outstanding arrest warrants for reckless driving, apart from 13 summonses from police. Yet he continued to drive ... his passengers to their deaths, or shall I put it more correctly, that because the responsible party or parties failed to stop him from driving which it/they should, he was thus allowed to kill them.

PM AAB blamed human error and carelessness ... really? ..., and then made the motherhood statement that authorities would carrying out an investigation for possible prosecution of those culpable ... blah blah blah ....

Mr PM, something is wrong with the system when such a driving violator can continue to ferry people around, with their lives in his hands - and he took 20 of them - latest update = 21 of them.

Whose heads should roll?

The Police?
JPJ?
CVLB?
Transport Minister?

And who's the owner of the bus company? Let's talk about vicarious responsibility and liability!

Come come, PM, elegant silence or not, let’s not make this another of your magic carpet stuff – no, not talking about Aladdin’s magic carpet, but the one you sweep all dirt under, and made them disappeared, like magic!

And if you think the system's honky dorey, well ... Tan Sri Robert Phang, chairman the Social Action Initiative Foundation, said he would file a report with the Anti-Corruption Agency for alleged malpractices by nine JPJ officers, including deputy director-general Solah Mat Hassan, who was the former enforcement chief.

He claimed that JPJ indulges in favouritism with some buses not checked for roadworthiness.

He averred: “... I do have evidence of malpractice. They have not carried out the minimal standard operating procedures which resulted in buses not meeting the requirement for roadworthiness.”

In another case, regarding another bus involved in yesterday’s early morning crash in Kelantan CVLB chairman Markiman Kobiran, in damage control, said there was no way for the board to know if that bus had been blacklisted by the department and whether to ground it.

Then a check on the JPJ website showed the bus to be on the list of blacklisted vehicles and thus should have been grounded by the CVLB, but apparently not, which was why it had the prang.

If the unnecessary deaths (in Penang) weren’t so tragic, I would have laughed at the headlines in The Star Online today, which shouts out JPJ launches Ops Bersih - it seems, to ‘clean up’ errant bus companies and drivers!

The dear Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy ordered JPJ yesterday to take immediate steps to ensure that no more lives were lost or people injured in accidents involving buses. Then the JPJ director-general claimed that his organisation was serious about the safety of road-users – try telling that to the 21 passengers who died!

... blah blah blah bus drivers should not drive more than eight hours within a 24-hour period ... blah blah blah ... within the four-hour period ...

... bus drivers with outstanding arrest warrants for traffic offences would be arrested on the spot ... bs bs bs ... traffic police will also ... bs bs bs ... on suspended driving licences and outstanding arrest warrants ...

‘Tis a case of closing the stable doors after the horse has bolted!

But I believe it's worse that that - it's just sandiwara, or play acting until the horrors of the tragedy fade away in our short lived memory, before it's back to 'biz-ness' again!

But the evil of such criminal busing negligence may be only the tip of an iceberg!

50th Merdeka - Shall we fly the flag then? (3)

A letter to malaysiakini, obviously by a Sarawakian, said (just an extract):

Sarawakians are very unhappy with the goings-on in the Peninsula where the politicians there appear to have nothing else on their minds except to harp on racial and political superiority. Sarawakians dread the day when Umno, MCA or even the toothless MIC set foot on our shores.

No, it's not just limited to racial issues - just read my post Decorated soldier living in squatter hut over at BolehTalk to see how our government has treated our former soldiers who hailed from Sarawak.

By contrast, remember that former railway guard now UMNO untouchable-by-law with his illegally built palace in Klang? Then, there's the 32 year old who received an unsecure loan of RM9+ million! The obscene list of contrast goes on ...

It's sickening when a decorated soldier, unlike those protected wonders, has to slum it out in a squatter area.........

If we cannot look after our servicemen who had looked after us, should we be celebrating Merdeka at end of this month?

Mizaru, Kikazaru, Iwazaru

If you treat your votes like peanuts, you get monkeys

- paraphrasing, and with apologies to, James Goldsmith

Last year in May I posted Cyclops in Monkey House where I stated that there had been monkey business in the Big Monkey House. Mohd Said Yusof otherwise known as the Cyclops was allowed to behave like an unruly sexist monkey in Parliament the zoo.

The ape made a sexist remark against DAP’s Chong Eng, but was allowed to get away scot free with his ugly unparliamentary behaviour. Opposition leader Lim KS invoked the standing order against Cyclop's sexist and offensive remarks, but no action was taken.

Additionally Lim blasted Cyclops after the latter’s confession he had asked the Malacca Customs and Excise Department to ‘close one eye’ and release a consignment of seized illegal sawn timber. Cyclops also misled parliament without any consequences.

In any western democracy a politician who mislead parliament would have to resign; in Japan they commit sepukku (ritual suicide). In Malaysia, they jabbered around triumphantly as if they had scored points, like the apes they could only be.

Lim made repeated attempts to refer the Jasin MP to the Privileges Committee for probe, but failed. Of course Lim would fail when the PM couldn't, didn't, wouldn't even reprimand Cyclops.

What do you expect? That’s why I call Parliament one BIG MONKEY HOUSE with an unmitigated clown like Cyclops – pity the opposition had to be there.

Then that same year in July, I posted another simian business - read Monkey Business in Big Monkey House yourself - it’s just sickening to see how Cyclops misused the monkey house to gorilla-shove his fractious chagrin by accusing his nemesis, director-general Abdul Rahman Abdul Hamid, of corruption.

Lim KS pointed out that Cyclops had personal financial interest in the issue,and cited Standing Order 35(6) which stipulates “a Member [of the Monkey House] shall not speak in any matter in which he has a direct personal pecuniary interest without disclosing the extent of that interest.”

He accused Cyclops of violating that Standing Orders and committed a breach of Monkey House privilege when he failed to declare his pecuniary interest in the issue.

In May this year I was forced to post MP's menstruation mesmerised motherless monkeys. I sure we all still recall the shameless bocor business.

Today, one of my faves at malaysiakini, Dean Johns, has a new article titled Monkey business as usual

Dean wrote: Umno Youth deputy head Khairy kicked it off by characterising bloggers as monkeys. Then Wee Meng Cheng, a Malaysian mass-communications student at Taiwan’s Ming Chuan University created total uproar by monkeying-around with the national anthem in a satirical rap video he created and displayed on YouTube.

And now the natural resources and environment ministry has announced a lifting of a 23-year ban on the export of wild monkeys, a move that in itself smacks of the customary behind-the-scenes monkey business.

Aah, yes, export licences. So long as there’s money in monyet, and no mention yet of which companies or individuals have been awarded licences or how, no wonder the plot has thus far taken five months to unfold.

Dean described eruditely the brazen double standards of the UMNO government, hounding Wee Meng Chee for his rap whilst ignoring “countless cases of alleged monkey-business involving themselves, their families, cronies, fellow political party members and the networks of functionaries operating under their patronage and protection.”

And he reminded us of a horrific outcome of the AAB government’s poor and selective enforcement of laws and regulations in last week’s crash of a non-roadworthy express bus driven by someone with 13 outstanding summonses and two arrest warrants against him.

Thanks to the moribund bureaucracy, 18 passengers were killed murdered.

Amidst all the corruption, nepotism, cronyism, abuse of powers, maladministration sits he who sees no evil, hears no evil and speaks no evil.


Note: The three monkeys are Mizaru, covering his eyes, who sees no evil; Kikazaru, covering his ears, who hears no evil; and Iwazaru, covering his mouth, who speaks no evil.

AAB - keep your eyes on Police

This morning I posted PKFZ & IDR - the real priority for PM AAB where I said:

Until AAB ties down the matter of police integrity and professionalism, to ensure a law enforcing system of impeccable repute (and alongside with it, a respected ACA which reports directly to Parliament), any hope for resolution or mitigation to the various dodgy projects/developments and questionable and unaccountable public spending will just be wishful thinking.

Deal with the police (and the ACA) first - otherwise forget about improving anything else.

Now malaysiakini reports that Lim Kit Siang has asked the PM why there has been deafening silence on ex-top cop’s allegation of systemic corruption.

The ex top cop is of course Tan Sri Haniff Omar, the youngest officer ever to ascend to the Police top position, and from what I have heard, its first university graduate too.

Tan Sri Haniff bemoaned in his Sunday Star column in an article with a catchy title The fence that eats the rice (or in Malay proverb, pagar makan padi implying that the fence which had been erected to protect the rice field, meaning the police, has now turned around to devour the rice instead - work out what that means) that:

The police force and the Anti-Corruption Agency – two crucial institutions leading the fight against malpractices and corruption. Yet they are sadly disappointing in their inability to even clean up their own backyards.

TWO once greatly respected institutions have continued to remain notorious, using the word in its plain meaning but over the past 10 years for the wrong reasons.

[…]

I briefed the Royal Commission that police corruption was so extensive that a very senior ACA officer had confided in me and another top retired police officer that 40% of the senior officers could be arrested without further investigations – strictly on the basis of their lifestyles. One state police chief had a net worth of RM18mil. My friend and I had watched the force getting deeper and deeper into the morass of corruption.

It was strongly felt that the rot within the PDRM was so deep-seated that an independent, extrinsic monitoring authority was needed to help the IGP and the Police Force Commission steer back the force to the straight and narrow.

[...]

The Royal Commission Report was made public two-and-a quarter years ago, yet PDRM has still not burnished its image. It is still mired in controversy. Need I say why? It is so clearly divided into at least two groups at the top and, consequently, affects the officers below. That is why one group carries out arrests of alleged crime kingpins and the other group and the ACA have allegedly interrogated the arresting officers in the belief that the first group is eliminating the informants of the other group.

Whom can we believe when one group is headed by the IGP and the other by a police director backed by the Deputy Minister of Internal Security? They are at opposite poles. Both the IGP and the Deputy Minister of Internal Security have allegations of corruption thrown at them but both have been investigated by the ACA, the content of the reports to the AG we do not know. What we know is that the AG has absolved both of them. So, between the two, whom are we to believe?

Well ….. PM, I am glad you have ordered the mainstream media to lay off reports on the Negarakuku (as reported by malaysiakini) because I want them to focus on why you have extended Musa Hassan’s contract as the IGP for another 2 years, when his performance as a crime fighter has been abysmally disgraceful – our country is experiencing its highest crime rate ever.

What are you going to do?

Related:
Most Dangerous Place in Malaysia!

PKFZ & IDR - the real priority for PM AAB

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.
"I don’t much care where ..." said Alice.
"Then it doesn’t matter which way you go," said the Cat.

- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Chapter 6

In malaysiakini, the news article Jitters over PKFZ extends to IDR has Shahrir Samad chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and one of the better UMNO MPs, acknowledging that the dodginess surrounding the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) development could well affect investors’ confidence in the Iskandar Development Region (IDR).

Nothing is more contagiously well spread than the notoriety of a country’s lack of governance in its development.

The IDR is of course AAB’s baby, and whoever had mismanaged the development of the PKFZ to come out with such a gargantuan cost overrun – yes, as they said in Godzilla, ‘size matters' – hasn’t done him any favour.

I am not normally bloodthirsty but I like to see some heads roll (for once), but the correct head please – we want none of those Tantric stuff where the sacrificial goat to appease the angry gods would turn out to be a young student studying in Taiwan.

AAB is obviously hoping for investments from those rich Gulf Arabs but unfortunately for him, the Dubai-based Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) which was appointed earlier to manage and market PKFZ, pulled out of a 15-year contract with its owner Port Klang Authority (PKA) last month because of ... well .. the word that has to be used is ... dodginess.

malaysiakini tells us that media reports indicated disagreements between Jafza and PKA over issues of red tape, inaccuracies in the minutes of meetings and attempted tax evasion. Oh oh, if true, then PKA had been very naughty in the last two issues.

Shahrir said the investor community in Dubai is small and developments affecting some of its members would be known by others. He conceded that what had happened in Port Klang would raise questions in the minds of investors about governance for the IDR.

Hey, we are talking about billions here, not chickenfeed stuff. And the concerns may not be just confined to Dubai investors. Investors from other countries would now be equally wary.

Therefore, it’s no point to sembelih (slaughter) just a ‘Wee’ sacrifice – the angry gods and cautious investors would want a Godzilla-ish offering.

And an important note to AAB, you can’t have a corrupt free country until you sort out (1) the government investigators (ACA) who thus far have worked in mysterious ways and (2) the law enforcers who admittedly are good at firing water cannons ... er ... at opposition protestors.

To help AAB understand what I mean. Here’s an extract from another malaysiakini article by Kim Quek:

........ also raises questions about the indecent haste in extending the tenure of IGP Musa Hassan.

The PM announced this on July 2 although Musa (photo) was still under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) for alleged corruption and links with underworld kingpins.

As late as July 10, Deputy Internal Security Minister Mohd Johari Baharum had expressed dissatisfaction with explanations provided by the police.

So why was the PM - also internal security minister - so impatient to make such an important decision when the IGP was not due to retire until mid-September? By rushing the announcement, didn’t the PM pre-empt the ACA and his deputy in the ministry?

It appears doubtful that the PM had advised the King in advance about extending the IGP’s tenure.

The AG subsequently cleared the IGP and two other top officials - former ACA director-general Zulkipli Mat Nor and Johari - of various allegations of corruption and abuse of power - but this has done nothing to remove the stigma because the explanations lacked credibility.

I hope the King insists on an independent inquiry into the various allegations made against the IGP prior to his re-appointment. It is absolutely imperative that the person appointed as IGP should be of unquestionable integrity and competence.

Please also see my related post on Saturday, What's AAB up to, extending Musa Hassan's service?

Until AAB ties down the matter of police integrity and professionalism, to ensure a law enforcing system of impeccable repute (and alongside with it, a respected ACA which reports directly to Parliament), any hope for resolution or mitigation to the various dodgy projects/developments and questionable and unacountable public spending will just be wishful thinking.

Deal with the police (and the ACA) first - otherwise forget about improving anything else.

Malaysia's most destabilizing political factor

'Negarakuku': MCMC launches probe, headlined malaysiakini. The report continues as follows:

MCMC director Abdul Halim said the case has set a precedent as the subject of the investigation is overseas. Wee, 24, is a university student in Taiwan.

“We will complete the investigation papers. We have to record statements from the relevant parties,” he said, adding that Wee’s family members are expected to be interviewed as well.

I won’t defend Wee for his action though I have often said it’s too insignificant an issue and not worth all the government efforts which could be better expended in crime amelioration.

But why continue to harass Wee’s family? Leave them alone. If the MCMC needs to interview anyone, go to Taiwan and interview Wee Jnr, the bloke who rapped Negarakuku, but not his parents or other family members.

Every time UMNO has a change of leader - whether at the very pinnacle, or at State level, or the worst, in the Youth Wing - or when they are challenged within their own party, or feel they are about to be shifted out of their position by their party, or some form of election is around the corner, those leaders or wannabe leaders would show or strive to show their ethnic credentials.

Remember the ‘Pivotal race’ MB, Najib, Hishamuddin & his keris, Hang Adnan Hulubalang, tebuans, May 13 book and the SIL?

This bigoted grandstanding is the most destabilizing factor in Malaysian politics. Those UMNO personalities would bruise anyone, friends or foes, in their campaign. Ask Raja Bodek of Penang, favourite bum boy the MCA. What we are witnessing for young Wee and his hapless family is part of that grandstanding nonsense.

I am dreading the moment when Hishamuddin goes for the VP post while SIL for the Youth No 1 - if you think this (Negarakuku saga) is bad, just wait for those two 'climbers' to begin acting. And the most traumatic bout of bigotry to be expected would be when AAB retires or gets ousted.

… collateral damage for everyone else. Ain’t no ‘wee’ matter.

MCA or DAP - the Chinese dilemma

Late last year I posted Unaccountable UMNO un-votable! where I wrote:

Each time UMNO has internal problems, it would resort to its usual formula of kicking Chinese Malaysians about like a punching bag, including and especially its so-called partner MCA. They followed Joseph Goebbels dictum that "propaganda must facilitate the displacement of aggression by specifying the targets for hatred."

Observe the Negarakuku saga. I also penned:

Remember the world's most famous SIL who used a racist attack against Chinese Malaysians to disguise his 9.2 million reasons? And of course UMNO leaders would never ever apologise to lesser beings.

Chinese Malaysians are not only convenient but natural 'targets' for UMNO leaders because they have already indoctrinated their members to be suspicious of those greedy rapacious Chinese, whom only UMNO leaders could keep in check!

And every time UMNO bashed Chinese Malaysians for its own interest, the DAP would benefit at the MCA’s expense. UMNO didn't and wouldn't gave a damn about pulling the rug from under the feet of its so-called ally! Besides, it'd teach those MCA blokes to know their place if a few of them were to lose their seats.

UMNO doesn’t want a strong MCA – see how it has effectively split the Chinese Penangites by use of Raja Bodek and his bodek-ites.

But as I have posted often, MCA’s greatest foe (in terms of undermining its political credibility) has been UMNO and not the DAP. And UMNO wants it that way too, to keep a MCA nicely bonsai-ed. Its bonsai-ing tools are in fact the DAP and the Gerakan Party. The Chinese community has unwittingly contributed to the bonsai-ing.

… which is why I wrote that UMNO is the MCA’s greatest political enemy and by default the DAP's best friend - see my previous posting Collaterally damaged MCA in damage control and SUPP & MCA - Mutes stung by hornets.

Therefore voting against the MCA … wouldn't worry UMNO.

Today, in malaysiakini, reporting on the MCA annual general meet, we hear the MCA appeal to the Chinese community.

MCA president Ong KT told the Chinese to be united in supporting the BN through the MCA so that the Chinese voice can be heard in cabinet. Ong contrasted the MCA’s bargaining power within the cabinet post-1969 (leading to May 13) and post-1999 (following the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim from UMNO and the deep division within the Malays).

The former (1969) saw the near annihilation of the MCA which had the late Tun Dr Ismail speaking of the Chinese-based party as ‘mati ta’mahu, hidup pun segan’ (loosely translated as ‘neither dead nor alive), while the latter saw a more grateful Dr Mahathir who retained government with a strong majority with the strong support of the Chinese votes.

I have to agree somewhat with what Ong say, that one of the reasons why the MCA been viewed as gutless and pathetic by the Chinese is its poor bargaining power in the government. In many ways, it survives for years as a political entity only because UMNO saw some use for the MCA.

And guess who is to blame for the MCA’s weak position?

Yes, the Chinese themselves!

The Chinese may argue that the MCA is corrupt – and that’s a valid point.

The MCA would counter argue that, notwithstanding the public perception of some of its members being corrupt (and which party in power does not have corrupt members?), the MCA has done many good for the Chinese community.

Unfortunately, in political life, the voters very seldom remember the good but usually the bad ;-) and that’s a fact of life, so the MCA just have to get use to that. And who better to prove that point than the DAP – remember 1999?

Ong accused the DAP of only capable of causing ‘racial tension’, and if the Chinese community votes in a powerful DAP, it will put the Malays in the ruling coalition and Chinese in opposition, a very nasty confrontational stuation.

Obviously Ong has been mindful of the Merdeka Centre survey which shows that 2 out of 3 Chinese will vote for the opposition (though this wasn’t evident in Machap and Ijok) and the recent ascendency of the DAP in Kuching at the expense of the SUPP.

Additionally, the recent antics of UMNO (at UMNO general assembly, Zainuddin Maidin’s attack against a Chinese war memorial, SIL and Hishamuddin rants, corruption allegations, toll fee hike, Negarakuku, etc) have humiliated and hurt the Chinese.

And the Chinese convenient punching bag, as usual, has been the MCA.

The last time the MCA had some backbone and openly voiced its opposition to an UMNO policy was in 1987, when it joined the Gerakan Party and the DAP to object to the Education Ministry appointing 100 non-Mandarin educated senior assistants and principals to vernacular Chinese schools. The Education Minister was a bloke by the name of, would you believe, Anwar Ibrahim.

Following the MCA-Gerakan-DAP nexus of 'rebellion' a la Shaolin Temple, and UMNO Youth's threatened intemperate response, the government launched Operation Lalang, not unlike the preemptive razing of Shaolin Temple by Manchu troops as happened in Chinese history.

Well, come the next election, it’s not only a MCA dilemma but the Chinese community’s as well - should it vote for a trusted but confrontational DAP or a distrusted but inside-the-government MCA. I am talking about the federal level so the usual Penang formula of 'sending DAP to KL to make noise, but keeping BN at home for local development' won't answer this issue.

Related:
Stung by hornet, mute as only MCA can be

KJ & MCA - malaysiakini & Star

Yesterday I posted Wee & the wee weenie minds, using Wee Meng Chee’s surname (tongue in cheek) to paint (pun) the sorry affair.

Today I see the Star Online using Wee’s surname in the same play, as evident in its headline Just a wee issue, say Liow and Khairy.

Once a dear friend (or could it be a once-dear friend) informed me that the Star Online also ‘borrowed’ another of my original creations, ‘cyber-jihadist’.

Hmmm, someone at the Star Online has been reading my posts ;-) – well, they’re welcome to use kaytee’s ‘originals’ – mind you, not that the English word ‘wee’ is a kaytee original though I did start using it to illustrate Wee Meng Chee's case in Negarakuku - no longer a Wee issue.

In the Star Online news, the BN partners of UMNO and MCA have claimed it’s a ‘wee’ issue not to be blown out of proportion – hmmm, wonder who started the unnecessary escalation, leading to what must have been a traumatic experience for the poor worried parents of Wee? Mr Wee Snr would probably tell you the pressure and effect on him and his family weren’t ‘wee’ issues.

UMNO Youth No 2 Khairy Jamaluddin said in conciliatory fashion after the MCA Youth General Assembly: “There should be restraint in this matter and we must not sensationalise too much. We need to look at it rationally.”

Anyway, that’s the Star Online version. I’ll get to a different version shortly.

MCA Youth Chief Liow Tiong Lai pointed out that there should not be so much pressure exerted on Wee as he was just a student and he had already apologised. Minister of Information Zainuddin Maidin shared that same assessment very earlier in the unnessary saga, but he had the rug pulled from under his feet by his UMNO colleague, Nazri, Minister in the PM Department.

But as a face saving agreement (the Star version again) it was reported that “the two youth leaders also urged all quarters to allow the Attorney-General to look into the matter and not jump to any conclusion about what the decision would be.”

Quite frankly I don’t see what’s there for teh AG to look into. Mind you, I am not excusing or supporting Wee Meng Chee for what he had done. My stand is that it’s hardly worth the attention of the government or, even more embarrassing, the Malaysian cabinet. There are far more pressing issues for the cabinet to be attending to, like corruption, crime rate, cronyism, contractual dodginess and all the ‘c’ words you can think of.

Meanwhile, malaysiakini reported that at the MCA Youth annual meet, its Chief Liow asserted in a blustering manner that there was No 'master and slave' in BN.

He declared: “We in MCA and MCA Youth won’t be easily bullied by others, ren bu fan wo, wo bu fan ren; ren ruo fan wo, wo bi fan ren.”

According to malaysiakini, the Chinese saying loosely translates into how one who is offended would retaliate.

He added: “In the ‘BN family’, we are brothers, there is no master and slave, there is no question of who is being scared of who or whom should kowtow to whom.”

MCA knows it’s going to cop it sweet from the angry Chinese voters, especially at the Federal level. I reckon the MCA will continue to be safe in State seats though the series of UMNO provocations have well and truly tested the patience of the humiliated Chinese. Many younger Chinese are waiting to lash out, to the benefit of the DAP and perhaps PKR, or even PAS.

malaysiakini also reported differently from the Star Online as in Beh Li Yih’s Khairy ‘speechless’ over MCA Youth’s antics.

I have two things to say about this – let’s get the easy one out of the way. KJ didn’t/doesn’t understand Chinese so he had to wait for a translated copy before he could comment on Liow’s assertive declaration.

Could it be that the Star Online report, being a latter edition than malaysiakini’s embrace KJ’s opportunity to read, digest and comment on what had been said by Liow?

Or, has the Star version been the usual (sorry, I am becoming skeptical of Malaysian mainstream media) MCA euphemistic spin?

I have no doubt many of you have already formed your opinion.

On the second thing I need to say about Beh’s article, I need to qualify first of all that I rely heavily on malaysiakini news for greater accuracy and truth. But I was disappointed with Beh’s (or perhaps the editor’s) choice of headlines, which carried the impression that KJ was rendered ‘speechless’ (struck dumb) by Liow’s comments.

Now, that’s patently not true because as mentioned, KJ couldn’t comment as he didn’t understand Mandarin, the language Liow used in delivering those strong assertive words.

In fact, in the body of the news article, Beh wrote: “Despite sitting through the two-hour-long opening ceremony of the annual MCA Youth meet in Malacca today, the Umno Youth deputy leader was in the dark on the content of the MCA leaders’ speeches as they were mostly delivered in Mandarin.”

Now, as a blogger I am as guilty as anyone of sometimes dishing out juicy provocative titles (or headlines) to some of my postings – obviously to grab the readers’ attention. But a newspaper is not a blog.

So I would advise malaysiakini not to indulge in this form of sensationalising publicity – leave those flamboyant, flammable and fiery headlines to the other newspapers.

malaysiakini is currently respected by discerning readers as reliable and factual (as reasonably could be). Once a newspaper indulges too much in these sort of misleading but attention grabbing headlines, it is actually dumbing itself down, and it won’t be before long it degenerates into a one of those gossipy tabloid type.

Now I am not too sure what has been KJ’s reaction. Which news do I rely on?

What's AAB up to, extending Musa Hassan's service?

Musa Hassan gets two-year extension, screamed malaysiakini – wow!

In case you don’t know who Musa Hassan is, it’s our dear Inspector General of Police (IGP), whom the Attorney General had recently cleared of corruption allegations raised by none other than the Deputy Minister of Internal Security. I blogged on this in Corruption allegations - AG more like Defence Attorney?

The online news portal reported: “Just three weeks after he was cleared by the attorney-general over allegations of corruption, Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan was today rewarded with a two-year contract to extend his stint as the country's top cop.”

“Musa faced Anti-Corruption Agency probe since June 18 on claims that he took RM2 million in bribe to free three criminal suspects held under the Emergency Ordinance.”

“However on July 27, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail ordered the ACA to close its investigation into the allegation.”

It must be a mark of the PM concurrently the Minister of Internal Security’s ‘confidence’ in him that the contract was extended, though not entirely unpredictable despite and inspite of the controversies surroounding Musa Hassan - hmmm, maybe ‘understandable’ as the ruling par.. government wants a steady hand at the helm of the law enforcers in the fast approaching general election.

Of course a man, even one in such a position as the IGP, is always innocent until proven innoce.. guilty. And therefore we must not judge the extension of his service on these mere allegations which our superb AG had dismissed.

In fact, as malaysiakini pointed out, the AG ordered the ACA to close its investigation into the allegation. The dear AG issued this instruction even though he had/has diddly squat authority to instruct the ACA – such has been the AG’s confidence in the IGP's innocence that he (the AG) was willing to ignore proper lines of command and control - 11 out of 10 for sheer initiative.

Please also read my earlier post AG - millstone around government's neck in election?, where an unfriendly and difficult Lim Guan Eng, the DAP secretary-general, asked the AG to make public the investigation papers into Musa Hassan, to prove that a thorough probe had been conducted in accordance with the principles of integrity, transparency and accountability.

We heard also from malaysiakini that Transparency International Malaysia, an anti-corruption watchdog, has demanded full public disclosure of the basis for the government’s (meaning the AG, Gani Patail’s) dismissal of corruption allegations against two high ranking officials, one of whom has been the IGP.

Has anyone heard of the AG responding to the requests by Mr Lim’s and Transparency International Malaysia?

NO? Hmmm, ………….

But let’s examine the merit of the extension on other grounds, and never those allegations which the AG has courageously threw out of the window and ORDERED the ACA to cease and desist its investigation, despite his lacking said authority to do so.

Since Musa Hassan assumed the position of IGP, the crime rate hasn’t improved. In fact it has become worse. On performance alone, I wonder why the PM/Internal Security Minsiter has seen fit to extend Musa’s service?

Secondly, it’s known that he can’t get along with Johari Baharum, the Deputy Minister of Internal Security, an unworkable situation in Internal Security, where malaysiakini has reported the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) is now divided, with loyalties of police officers spilt between Johari Baharum and Musa Hassan.

Surely that’s not an acceptable working situation. PM AAB must get rid of one of them to ensure there is unity of command in the RMP. And the PM must also explain why he has not foreseen this impossibly monumental problem.

The IGP is such an important and sensitive position that the candidate must never ever be tainted, even by the dismissed allegations because of their magnitude.

I know, you know, everone knows, even the AG knows, and the PM must know, that Musa Hassan is sweetly innocent, but as mentioned, the IGP is a bit like the position of the ACA Chief, in that he or she must not only be lilywhite clean but must be perceived by the public as being lilywhite clean.

Yes, it’s not fair to dear innocent him but public confidence is of paramount importance, especially more so when Musa Hassan would not be disadvantaged if his service wasn't extended as he was due for retirement anyway - I am sure he understands.

As mentioned, he was due for retirement, so why court unnecessary controversy by extending his service when there are equally capable senior police officers waiting in the wing to take over.

And in the ultimate analysis, surely, if the crime rates have gotten worse under Musa Hassan, let’s bid him selamat bersara (happy retirement) and inject some fresh blood into the police leadership to tackle an issue of grave importance to our people.

Wee & the wee weenie minds

A visitor to the blog of my good mate Susan Loone commented that hitherto unknown Wee Meng Chee has now become a household name in Malaysia.

Wee is not longer a 'wee' name, so to speak.

All this fame (of an unwanted kind) has come about, thanks in no ‘wee’ part to our dear UMNO as I had discussed in a ‘wee’ post Negarakuku - no longer a Wee issue, that I posted yesterday in the ‘wee’ hours of the evening.

Mind you, the malaysiakini article which informed us of Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar saying the government had accepted the apology from the student contradicted in no 'wee' manner another minister's assertion which led to malaysiakini headlining its article as Cabinet rejects apology from rapper.

Perhaps it’s not a ‘wee’ matter of ministers contradicting each other (as was Zainuddin Maidin rudely contradicted by his UMNO colleague), but more of someone making a greater than ‘wee’ fib.

When a minister made a fib, 'wee' or otherwise, it’s no ‘wee’ issue - 'So Minister, please resign' - (sigh), of course I have to sigh a 'wee' sigh - I was just p*ssing 'weeing' in the wind, not expecting any resignation from men of 'wee' honour!

Indeed an unexpected PAS and an expected DAP lambasted UMNO in no ‘wee’ manner about its disproportionate attacks on a ‘wee’ issue involving a wee student, Wee, even to threatening him with the Sedition Act, which is certainly no ‘wee’ matter.

The opposition accused UMNO of what we, the long suffering public already know – that the ethnic based party has been seeking to incite its members and Malays into a patriotic frenzy over the ‘wee’ issue.

And they aren’t playing with just a ‘wee’ fire when they stroked the flames of bigotry - oh, those unscrupulous pollies with their 'wee weenie' minds.

Mind you, I wasn’t too pleased with the DAP as well for not letting the ‘wee’ matter rest after the MCA, notwithstanding its ‘wee’ influence, attempted to mollify the instigated unrest and had (normally 'wee') Zainuddin Maidin playing the ‘nice uncle’ in graciously accepting Wee’s apology.

Yes, the DAP just had to stand on its ‘wee’ pedantic pedestal and upped the ante with Lim Guan Eng stating sarcastically: "DAP congratulates MCA's success in getting Wee (Meng Chee) to back down and submit to Umno's demands by apologising for his rap video."

The DAP leaders naturally slammed MCA and UMNO in no ‘wee’ way for "demonstrating the extreme lengths and absurd levels that they would go to curb online dissent, stifle diverse views and silence youthful voice." – see malaysiakini's Negarakuku apology: A hollow victory.

Puhleeeze lah, Lim sinseh! It’s all well and OK for the DAP to milk the ‘wee’ issue (as wee-weenie minded UMNO has been obviously doing) when the poor parents of Wee would be the ones facing the potential (and no ‘wee’) threat of some idiots who may choose to be ‘wee’ imitations of Hang Tuah.

Look, Wee had to apologise for no other reason than to take the no ‘wee’ heat off his family. In apologising, he did the right thing by his family, considering those goons could and had even attack an international meet like the Apcet II conference 10 years ago, what more with a ‘wee’ Malaysian Wee family - ;-) just me and my ‘wee’ memory.

The fact of UMNO making a mountain out of a 'wee' molehill is the general election is just a ‘wee’ way away, and those with wee weenie minds want to enlarge their ‘wee’ credentials and even 'wee'-er credibility to win in no ‘wee’ fashion.

Wee has to be the 'wee' sacrifice, at least for a 'wee' more while.

Negarakuku - no longer a Wee issue

“We have to show that the law is above everybody, let it be a lesson" so said Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar in response to queries about the possibility of Malaysian student Wee Men Chee, the amateur rapper of Negarakuku, losing his Malaysian citizenship.

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahah

Sorry ;-) I wasn't laughing at the citizenship issue but Syed Hamid's pontification on the law being above 'everybody'.

Anyway, malaysiakini reported Syed Hamid as stating that Wee won’t be losing his citizenship as he had been threatened with earlier.

Just as the government’s chief head kicker, Nazri, had contradicted his colleague, Zanuiddin Maidin, the Information Minister, by saying Wee couldn’t be forgiven nor his apologies accepted, Syed Hamid now contradicts Nazri, stating the cabinet has accepted Wee’s apologies.

I am not so sure whether it has been a case of soft cop, hard cop, medium cop, or just back pedalling, or Nazri shooting his mouth off FTL*?

* faster than light speed

However, Syed said, despite the acceptance of the apology, investigations against Wee would continue according to the process of the law, basically the Rais Yatim's pronouncement.

He pontificated (dangerously if I may add): "If someone has committed an offence, he/she will be punished according to the law ...".

Hope you mean it, Minister, because there have been questionable issues like death in police custody, seditious racist remarks by UMNO members during the last UMNO general assembly, the still unexplained approval by the Finance Minister for the ECM-Libra merger, dodgy processes in the Port Klang complex, a Port Klang politician tolerated in his building of an unapproved palace, senior police officers having millions in their unaccountable assets, etc .......

Oh, talking about the last UMNO general assembly I can’t recall whether it was the PM or DPM who attempted to explained away those extreme racist comments by claiming those delegates didn’t have much experience.

Well, recall Hatchet man Nazri dismissing Wee’s young age as a reason for letting him off, and insisting that Wee is an adult and shouldn’t be excused.

So ... what’s good for the goose should be good for the gander ... those bigoted UMNO delegates must now be prosecuted for racist threatening comments made in the public forum (aired on TV). They can't claim inexperience as they are all adults.

OK, but I won't hold my breath.

Now, here’s a probable reason why Nazri had acted tough - in Kangar, the Perlis Malay Association (Pemanis) called for action to be taken against Wee as a lesson to all Malaysians (except, as we know, UMNOputras). Its president said an apology was not good enough and that Wee should realise the implications of his action.

He claimed: "It beats the purpose of having a law in the country if someone who commits an offence can escape punishment just by apologising for his/her mistake."

Hmmm, lots of law abiding citizens - OK then, let’s not have double standards then. Let’s start with UMNO misdeeds, which incidentally have never been apologised for – thus they’re twice over worse than Wee’s error.

Yes, Wee's saga seems to be turning out to be anything but a wee issue that it should have been in the first place.

And talking about lack of professionalism in the Civil Service, I think by now we can see just how equally unprofessional our ministers are, with three to four different views coming out on a matter so insignificant compared to more burning national issues, that it's hardly surprising, as an example, the national crime rate has soared through the ceiling, unaddressed for years.

Cabinet involvement in Negarakuku hounding - Nero fiddling while Rome burns

‘Nero fiddling while Rome burns’ is a common phrase which means ‘occupying oneself with unimportant matters and neglecting priorities during a crisis’ or ‘heedless and irresponsible behaviour in the midst of a crisis’.

Malaysia is in deep crisis, with rampant corruption, shocking crime rates, dodgy governance, maltreatment of alien and domestic workers, real worries on the financial/economic front, questionable professionalism amongst the public service, in the last where as a much lamented example, a police officer couldn’t even get it right in his interrogation of PKR Info Chief Tian Chua – see malaysiakini news item Doctored photo: Tables turned on cop.

What a shameful revelation, and would have been hilarious if it weren’t so depressingly reflective of the deep malaise within the Malaysian civil service!

Then, we heard of the government process in selecting candidates for the judiciary being unusually challenged by a normally compliant Council of Rulers.

While some may be jubilant about the rulers thumbing their royal noses at AAB’s government, the royal dissent actually highlighted more of what has been not right with Malaysia.

In the face of the disappointing, sometimes disgusting and dodgy government disarray – namely, non transparency, non accountability, lack of due process, ignored conflict of interests, corruption, crimes, divisive politicking, unfettered & non accountable bigoted utterances by members of a political party, some members of the royalty have now seen fit to toss in their two golden doubloons worth of opinions.

And what has the government done that’s worthwhile considering?

The police summoned two bloggers in for bouts of physically challenging interrogation, and topping all those sideshows of non-relevancy, will now hound a 24-year old Chinese Malaysian university student studying in Taiwan, because the CABINET reckons that person having his own version of protest rap music spliced with the Negara Ku, is an act so drastic that it's unforgiveable.

I am not even going to defend Wee Men Chee's alleged insulting Negarakuku rap song, described by certain quarters as offensive to both the nation and Islam. Nor, am I going to condemn him for the same reason, that it’s a relatively trivial issue, of no immediate threat to public safety or national interest.

malaysiakini reported that UMNO hatchet man, Nazri Aziz, minister in the PM’s Department, said the cabinet was in no ‘position to forgive him’ and the Attorney-General will be considering whether to prosecute Wee.

Chief head kicker Nazri contradicted his UMNO colleague Zainnudin Maidin, minister of information, by asserting that “To not prosecute him [Wee] is not ‘on’ at all because he has committed an offence against the nation and no one, not the cabinet or political parties, are in the position to forgive him.”

Balderdash, Mr Nazri, the cabinet has been in various compromising ’positions’, let one one involving a nobody.

And why does it take a CABINET to decide on such a trivial matter as an amateur rap singer messing around with the music of Negara Ku?

In fact, the matter is such a non issue that it does not require even the decision of a junior minister, let alone the entire CABINET of the Malaysian government, who can’t even spell KORUPTION or KRONISM or KRIME.

No, don’t answer, Mr Nazri, we know the election is just around the corner, and UMNO has once again deliberately ethnic-ise the issue to milk it for all its worth to distract the public from far more important issues of government misdeeds. And as its strategy to command various electoral perceptions, it offers three wide ranging views – from (surprisingly) liberal Zam to moderate Rais Yatim to Attila Nazri the Hun. Which one it will eventually adopt will depend on its confidential party polling.

But for the Malaysian CABINET to hound an amateur rap singer studying somewhere in Taiwan, when the country is in crisis ...?

Isn’t this a case of 'Nero fiddling while Rome burns'?

Dangerous euphoria over 'political' royalty

Yesterday’s top letter to malaysiakini titled No more backbencher’s role for Rulers had me thinking, and I must 'fess up that it has been in a worried manner.

The author wrote (some extracts relevant to this posting):

The rulers have finally realised that we as a nation are heading towards obscurity. They are now really living to the true manifestation of being the rulers ...

All Malaysians craving for unity should show solidarity with the rulers as they are supposed to be the true manifestations of equality, righteousness and faith - all for the good of the nation ...

Although they have played the backbencher’s role in the past, they are now coming forward and we should hand them our support for them to play a more pertinent role in moulding the future of the nation rather than moulding the future for a few ...

While I understand the author’s euphoria with the action of the Council of Rulers in its rejection of the PM’s candidate for a top judicial position, I note that the author's infatuation with royal conduct came on top of several other high praises for the Perak Prince and Sultan of Selangor when the two, especially the former, raised their voices on issues closed to the dissatisfied public’ hearts.

A former DAP strongman even proposed the Perak Prince as an advisor to the PM.

The rulers are definitely making a comeback after years of public scorn at their irrelevance, perhaps caused mainly by one particular individual, who had believed he could still rule as per medieval times, as an absolute monarch.

I most certainly appreciate the Perak Prince’s reminder of our constitutional pillars. Though in reality he didn’t say anything that the Opposition hadn’t pointed out before, but yes, his official stature gave his words more force (and attract more attention) than a Lim Kit Siang or a Nik Aziz could even manage.

But we need to remember Malaysia is a democracy built around a constitutional monarchy, meaning the voice of the people, and not those of the rulers, prevails.

Sure, our royalty as in the model of the Perak Prince, the Council of Rulers questioning the PM in his choice of a candidate for the bench, and the pronouncement of the Sultan of Selangor to keep politics out of our Merdeka celebrations are most welcome. They have both a constitutional role and an exemplary role model to play.

But we must never talk as if, or even suggest that they had been ‘backbencher’ moving forward (presumably) to the ‘front bench’.

That’s dangerous talk, to suggest the rulers may play a direct political role (or even as an political advisor) while serving as respective Heads of States or as the Agong, or retaining their royal prerogatives.

It's certainly a sign of our frustration with the AAB government that some of us believe the royalty could and would be our saviour. We, the politically frustrated public members, are in reality grasping at straws in much the same way as many of us had embraced a former UMNO reject as a political saviour against a previous regime when there was no evidence of his reformist qualities during his various ministerial roles.

No matter how good any individual royalty is, no matter how bad any politician is, let us not unwittingly change our system of constitution monarchy to one of absolute monarchy, or of one where royalty has a greater degree of direct political participation. That will be a idiotic step backwards. Just remember, for a current praiseworthy royal individual, we had experienced a difficult one before.

We should vote for good politicians and rid ourselves of bad ones, but we must never invite royalty to assume a political role, unless they wish to participate as an ordinary member of the public under the electoral process. Let us not throw the (constitutional monarchy) baby out with the (lousy politician) bath water.

Remember, it's one thing to be euphoric about our royalty being politically vocal, but it's equally important to be aware that euphoria will initially give a person a feeling of false well-being before eventually killing the person!

DAP Merdeka Dialogue 19 August 2007

My citizen’s duty to give a fair plug for an opposition forum …

The DAP is holding a Dialogue in conjunction with the 50th Merdeka Anniversary celebrations this coming weekend.

Date: 19 August 2007 (Sunday)
Time: 2.00pm
Venue: Crystal Crown Hotel, Petaling Jaya

The panel of distinguished speakers include:

Y Bhg Tunku Abdul Aziz, former President, Transparency International Malaysia

Datuk Param Cumuraswamy, former Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, United Nations

Mr Yeo Yang Poh, former Malaysian Bar Council Chairman

Following the session, a dialogue will be conducted with the participants hosted by another distinguished panel (subject to change) including:

M Manogaran, President, Malaysian Tamil Education & Research Foundation

Haris Ibrahim, Human Rights Lawyer

Jeff Ooi, Prominent Malaysian Blogger

Dr Oh Ei-Sun, East Malaysian Socio-Political Analyst

To ensure sufficient seats allocation, please register in advance with Lim Swee Kuan (03) 79578022 or via email at limsweekuan(at)gmail.com

For more information, visit Tony Pua's blogsite

Mahathir - Bloggers the last line of resistance?

“For RM200, people are willing to sell their votes. [But] They are not just selling their votes. Dia jual maaruahnya (he is selling his dignity).”

- Dr Mahathir

“Jebat is the rugged individualist, not awed by those who wield power. His loyalty is to institutions, not individuals. To Kassim [Ahmad], Jebat is the true hero, not the prodigal son, Tuah.”

- Dr Bakri Musa

Re the selling of one’s soul for RM200, the Grand Olde Man had alluded to the last UMNO Kubang Pasu election of delegates to the party’s general assembly. There were allegations of Kubang Pasu UMNO voters being paid RM200 to vote against Dr Mahathir so as to prevent him being elected as a division delegate. As a delegate he would then have the right during the assembly to speak out.

UMNO top people were determined to silence him.

Well, they haven’t been completely successful because, as reported by malaysiakini, the Grand Olde Man has been back on 'stage' to describe bloggers as the “only hope” left to speak out on problems in the country. He said this in a special meeting with 100 bloggers yesterday at the Perdana Leadership Foundation headquarters in Putrajaya.

In the face of the current UMNO campaign against the voice of bloggers, Dr Mahathir urged online dissidents to keep up the pressure on the government.

Information is power, and the one who controls the information controls the power. Obviously, Dr Mahathir doesn't want all the information to be solely in the hands of the people on the 4th Floor.

Well, I recall that Charles de Gaulle, in his efforts to inspire the French people to resist the German occupiers, told them:

"Is the last word said? Has all hope gone? Is the defeat definitive? No. Believe me, I tell you that nothing is lost for France. This war is not limited to the unfortunate territory of our country. This war is a world war. I invite all French officers and soldiers who are in Britain or who may find themselves there, with their arms or without, to get in touch with me. Whatever happens, the flame of French resistance must not die and will not die."

Dr Mahathir told the bloggers: “Umno has become completely paralysed. It cannot do anything (to correct itself). The only hope left is with the bloggers.”

“It is for certain that in the coming general election, a lot of money would be spent in vote buying... if the ruling parties do this, we would be governed by a government that is outrightly involved in corruption.”

“For RM200, people are willing to sell their votes. They are not just selling their votes. Dia jual maaruahnya (he is selling his dignity).”

Dr Mahathir has always been unique, whether you agree or disagree with him. Nearly two years ago I posted Mahathir: Unforgetable & Unforgiveable, where I stated (reproduced in full here):

Was it wise of Malaysia's Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) to invite its former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir to give the opening speech in its annual conference this year?

Undoubtedly the answers to this question will be fast and furious, but without consensus. It's just amazing how much emotion Dr Mahathir still evoked in his countrymen. The revulsion for him is certainly noticeable by the boycott of several non-government organisations (NGOs) who objected to the inappropriateness of a man they believe to have violated human rights to open the annual conference of Suhakam.

So engrossed in their revulsion of Mahathir and their frustration that he continues to command respect in some quarters, they forgot to question the presence of the representative of the USA, whose administration has been one of the worst abusers of human rights in recent times, oppressing, killing and dictating its will upon the people of foreign sovereign nations. The US arrogantly violated human rights under the cloak of spurious respectability extracted by virtue of its super military and economic powers.

But such is the personality of Dr Mahathir that to some Malaysians, the USA is but a “lesser” evil. Surf around Malaysian blogsites and read Malaysiakini and one would find there, his personality being tossed around and turn over in numerous ways, with an intent to abuse and crucify him and his indomitable self confidence.

Mahathir has been a ruthless one-man juggernaut as he dragged a reluctant Malaysia screaming into the 21st Century. Anyone who stood in his way was 'chopped' down. He had no bloody patience for namby pamby stuff like, for example, 'environmental impact study' (EIS) or 'public consultation' or any other form of governance processes that he perceived as heel-dragging.

He was determined to propel Malaysia into the rankings of an admired, respected, competitive, wealthy and proud 1st World nation, and by a deadline. The last word in his vocabulary is procastination. Undoubtedly he saw Singapore's progession into a 1st World nation with much chagrin as Malaysia is in reality resource-richer with more potential than the little island nation. Yet ....., and that probably might have been what drove Mahathir when he was PM.

But Mahathir has to cope with a political system that demands ethnic supremacy and dominance in virtually every field, rather than rely on meritocracy and the free market. Even when his relationship with his one-time heir apparent and charismatic deputy turned sour, with a threat of being politically toppled, Mahathir pulled a few rabbits out of his prime minister's hat to remain in power. His unrelenting energy, confidence, vision and loyalty have all been both his strengths and weaknesses.

His energy and confidence gave him the drive to do what he did, but those very virtues couldn't tolerate different viewpoints.

His vision was amazingly acute but unfortunately too advanced for his chosen few to understand, keep up to or implement. “Yes sir, yes sir, all done”, but in truth they couldn’t cope with his vision and drive. They dared not tell him of their f**kups. They fell very much behind, in turn unwittingly sabotaging Mahathir's programme of progress.

Mahathir was thus let down by his generals. But as a Field Marshal he should have selected the best officers to put flesh to his vision and policies. But his loyalty to them proved to be a liability as he sheltered them from falling off the face of the earth. He chose the lame and therefore he must accept responsibility for their inability to perform.

He saw Malaysia through a very difficult period during the Asian economic 'meltdown' with his brand of economic package, which subsequently even drew grudging respect from officials of the World Bank.

Despite his staffing handicap (relative to Singapore) he has achieved much. But the 'collateral' damage along the way has been considerable. Though he inherited the draconian ISA or Internal Security Act from his predecessors, (the ISA being a British invention, and later copied in some form by the USA in its post 9/11 Patriot Act, and soon by Australia) he is now associated as the very person behind the repressive Act.

He is obviously still attempting to ‘see Malaysia through a very difficult period’. And he believes that bloggers can, nay, would be the only non-government resource left to play a vital role in his information strategy to expose the misdeeds of the AAB clique.

Related:
(1) Hang Jebat lives again, but ...!
(2) Is Dr Mahathir still relevant?

and as a comparison or contrast, a post on Lee Kuan Yew:

(3) LKY's dual conflicting personalities