Not so sexy

Dear dear dear sweetie Selena Tay, journalist in Free Malaysia Today (FMT). Oh dear, oh dear, oh dearie, sweetie.


We first became familiar with Selena (and thus possibly, her political preference) after her FMT article Pakatan’s ‘shadow cabinet’ list which prompted me to post 'Whispered' shadow cabinet bloated like satiated leech?

In that post of mine, I raised some questions about the reliability of Sweetie's article, such as her claim to have had personal conversations with shadow ministers, their friends or their acquaintances. I had then remarked that there was no shadow minister in Pakatan, other than Anwar Ibrahim as the PM-designate, because Pakatan has studiously avoided having a shadow cabinet for reasons known only to the coalition.

Of course I have my opinion as to why, but the far more important point was my amazement at Sweetie's claim of talking with non-existent shadow ministers ..... unless of course she had the conversation with the self-appointed wet-dreaming shadow Home Minister wakakaka.

Then, in another FMT article The doctor decides …? she claimed to have heard from a 'reporter friend' (but whom kaytee suspects was a PKR source, and wouldn't surprise me if he/she was the the same one as the so-called 'shadow minister' wakakaka) that (extract of her article):

... the doctor has taken over Umno and right now the grassroots reports are being forwarded to him.

But the big news is that the doctor is planning to have the polls held in September. This is because it seems that the doctor has got tired of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s feet-dragging and lack of confidence.

Therefore he now enters the fray in order to have things up and running according to his way.

Of course the 'doctor' was Dr Mahathir, who, according to sweetie Selena, has taken hold of the reins (note: not 'helm' wakakaka) of UMNO and would be going for an election in September.

Unfortunately for the credibility of her source, Dr Mahathir had at that time informed Sinar Harian otherwise, that PM Najib was to be complimented for going the full five year term until as late as the early part of March 2008 before advising HM the Agong to dissolve Federal Parliament and call for the 13th general election.

When the election may be called, provided it doesn’t exceed the constitutionally permitted 5-year term, is, as allowed by the Constitution, the prerogative of the PM.

Obviously it’s in Najib’s interest to delay the election as late as possible given the odds are currently stacked against him, some of which have been caused by his leadership (or lack of) and some by his undermining UMNO warlords including Dr Mahathir.

But, September 2012 to very early March (or late February) 2013 is approximately 6 months or half a year! And we are told a week in politics can be a lifetime. Thus it’s entirely to Najib’s advantage and of course  to Anwar’s disadvantage as UMNO and its apparatus (nudge nudge, wink wink) can do a lot in 6 months to ensure it wins, by hook or by crook, more probably the latter.

For example, we have been clamoring for overseas Malaysians to vote, but now that the EC says okay, that will be done, we suddenly are having second thoughts, because overseas voting can well be another source of phantom voters wakakaka, far better than the military postal votes because accounting for them will probably be far more tricky. And don’t be surprised to discover if there are 5,000 overseas voters registered to vote in the federal constituency of Lembah Pantai and some marginal state constituencies in Selangor, Johor and Kedah.

Naturally it would be to Anwar’s advantage to stampede UMNO warlords into an earlier general election, with each of them greedily and selfishly eyeing their respective prospects within the party. I suspect that was the aim of the source for that FMT article, a discussion reflected in my posting Deceitful Durian of Discord. 

Now those UMNO warlords are certainly very powerful, cunning, manipulative and ambitious political animals but sometimes one gathers some of them are low brow (like Moo-Moo and Mr Hangman) and might actually believe in such an apple of discord as Dr Mahathir wanting an early election.

Anyway, as if running out of 'whispered news' from her 'Deep Throats', sweetie Sekena has penned an FMT article about Pakatan's sexy 10 wakakaka.

Naturally, now that I suspect the origin of Selena's source, or her political preference or even her political affiliation, I wasn't surprised to read that half of the so-called Sexy 10 are PKR pollies wakakaka. However Sweetie kindly awards poor DAP and poor PAS two places each, while conferring upon PSM one of the Sexy's.

Mind, I don't have difficulty with her grossly unbalanced apportioning (one could quite easily award all 10 places to DAP or PAS) or the personalities she named, save two.

Her 5 sexy PKR politicians are:

1. Anwar Ibrahim (PKR MP, Permatang Pauh)
2. Rafizi Ramli (PKR strategist)
3. Baru Bian (PKR state assemblyman, Ba Ke’la’lan in Sarawak)
4. Fuziah Salleh (PKR MP, Kuantan)
5. N Surendran (PKR Vice-President)

Now, I don't want you readers to jump to the wrong conclusion about the meaning of the word 'sexy' as she intended it, because Sweetie wrote 'sexy' as (in her own words):

The common factor prevalent in all the above politicians is intelligence, guts and having a particular speciality in their cause. Being intelligent is sexy. Intelligence is the new sexy.

Let me tell you why I don't agree with one on the above list, Baru Bian. Sweetie stated that Baru Bian was selected because he fought for the Native Customary Rights issue for a long time, and is the Lone Ranger of Sarawak who has been doing his work quietly for the good of his people.

In a post titled A letter to PKR I wrote of my disgust for Baru, as follows (extract only):

I think it’s high time you guys decide whether your party is a multi-racial one, as you've often claimed, or in fact a two-tier 1Bumi 9Non political organization, not unlike the two-tier BN of 1UMNO 9Others. I ask because your Sarawak state chief has just been pushing the 1Bumi line, arguing that the PR Sarawak state shadow cabinet does not have enough bumis.

If he is so conscious about racial equity, then please be frank and declare your party as one like BN, of 1Bumi 9Nons. But I sympathize with you because its seems Bian can’t make up his mind about his bumi status, as yesterday he challenged DAP to prove its (DAP’s) multiracial credentials.

He wasn't alone in his jealous outburst because I recall that Nik Nazmi, your chief of communications or whatever, had (post-election) jealously sniped at DAP in an article he wrote in The Malaysian Insider, challenging it to stand in a Malay-Melanau majority seat.

Baru Bian, hot one day on multi-racialism and cold the next when he suddenly turned sizzling on ketuanan bumi, not unlike a cacing kena abu or a kera kena belacan, twisting and turning and a hopping around, probably because he wasn't nominated opposition leader, wakakaka.

See also my posts PKR's green-eyed monster and Baru Bian's brain baffling bullxxxx

Baru Bian one of Pakatan's Sexy 10? Pordah dahleeeng!

Now, on to my fave person, dear Mr Manmanlai wakakaka.

There are two reasons why I don't agree to Sweetie nominating Anwar Ibrahim. The first is because of the the literal meaning of the word 'sexy' which his enemies may seize on it make much ado. Besides, it's really bad fengsui to mention the word insofar as Anwar is concerned. And coincidenatlly today we read in FMT of him being involved in allegedly another sodomy.

Anyway, leaving that aside, because that subject doesn't interest me, I do wonder at Sweetie's reason for selecting him as one of Pakatan's Sexy 10, as follows (extract):

Top on the list is Anwar Ibrahim himself. He gets to be in the list for saying that petrol price will be reduced the very next day if he becomes prime minister. Now this is sexy indeed and this columnist is expecting the price of RON95 to be reduced from the current RM1.90 to RM1.40 if indeed he becomes the prime minister. This is a reasonable demand considering the fact that one of Malaysia’s natural resources is petroleum.

Really? To me it's such a pathetic reason to nominate someone for doing better in a Dutch auction on petrol price.

We are all just a wee too familiar with Anwar for promising people the world. We know that he has promised Sarawak and Sabah 20% in oil royalties, which he, when UMNO Finance Minister, rejected appeals from the very same Sarawakians/Sabahans for an increase in the 5% mark.

And what if that promise is financially-economically unrealistic, reckless and irresponsible?

Be that as it may, as we could argue till the NFC cows come home wakakaka, but do we nominate a pollie as 'sexy' just because he promises to lower the price of essential goods?

Let me provide an erudite exemplary example of a sexy pollie. Someone who was willing to risk it all for the betterment and justice of a fellow citizen, someone like Lim Guan Eng who went to prison in 1994 because he spoke out (not about promising lower fuel prices or increased oil royalties) but for the rights and justice of an under-aged Malay girl in Malacca who was statutorily raped, and who said:

If I fail and have to go to jail, I have no regrets. I have no regrets of going down fighting for the principles of truth and justice. And pursuit of human rights, especially women's rights. There can be no women's rights if women rape victims are considered equally responsible, and even detained, whilst the accused remain free.

Lim GE was jailed for 18 months while Mr Manmanlai was a very silent UMNO DPM of Malaysia. Did DPM Anwar say anything about the woeful injustice against Lim GE? OTOH, sweetie Marina Mahathir bravely said of the alleged statutory rape which the government cited as lacking evidence in its refusal to press charges against the alleged perpetrator:

There are injustices in the law which are mind-boggling ... The lesson is clear - choose your rapist carefully ... As a woman, especially a Muslim woman, I am angry, disgusted and ashamed ... As a mother, I now have real fears for my daughter. What protection can we hope for our daughters if, in the interests of politics, a minor can so easily be sacrificed?

And finally, I suppose we can guess who's sweetie Selena's source because, most surprisingly given her iconic status, competency and charm, Nurul Izzah is not even among the Pakatan Sexy 10. Why not?

If you are still guessing (as to sweetie's source), here's a clue, it's someone who's dead set against 'political dynasty', which may mean anything though I would imagine, was directed specifically against Nurul Izzah assuming the No 1 position in PKR should Anwar fall under a truck; yes, someone who sees Nurul as a clear and present danger to his own position.

Rafizi - too little too late in Talam

In my previous post Talam - DAP & PAS rescue a PKR MB while PKR act dunno I criticized PKR's Team A for remaining silent like the dead ...

as silent as the dead

... and leaving Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim (supposedly of Team W, but definitely not of Team A) out on a limb, so much so the other Pakatan parties DAP (Tony Pua) and PAS (Dzukefly Ahmad) had to quickly step into the Talam issue to rescue the besieged PKR MB.

wakakaka

The Talam case, raised by MCA's young Chua, son of CSL, was the sort of alleged financial entanglements that would have been right up the expertise alley of PKR's whiz kid, Rafizi Ramli, for him to solve or speak out competently against Chua Junior.


But as I remarked in my earlier post, Rafizi kept so f* silent on the MCA's sniping, swiping and scandalizing against Khalid Ibrahim, a PKR MB, that the vacuum became embarrassingly deafening, perhaps a la the tagline of the film Alien, namely 'In space no one can hear you scream' where in beleaguered Khalid's case could be presented as 'In PKR no one can hear Khalid scream' wakakaka. 

In space no one can hear you scream

Rafizi is seen as a member of Team A, well ... at least for now as he not only outshines Azmin Ali like a supernova to the struggling light from a wet matchstick, a no-no situation for the latter wakakaka, but also possesses the greatest potential to dethrone the PKR Crown Prince, a mere political pygmy in the scheme of Pakatan politics.

supernova

wakakaka

Rafizi's silence only accentuates the theme of RPK's article The weak link is getting weaker which suggests an internecine war within PKR where Team A is not only sabo-ing Team W kau kau but may also, unbelievably treacherous as it may sound but standard fare in the vicious villainous vipers' pit that is PKR, get rid of Anwar Ibrahim.

Déjà vu Anwar's 1998 attempt to remove Dr Mahathir? Fitting sweet justice? wakakaka.

It's undeniably common knowledge that Anwar has been perceived as always backing Azmin Ali, even against daughter Nurul Izzah or wife Wan Azizah, for when it comes to the Crown Prince, water suddenly becomes thicker than blood for Mr Manmanlai.

But ironically, without Anwar, Azmin Ali will be even less than the political pygmy he is already seen as, for without his principal backer, sponsor, godfather, what have you, Azmin on the national political landscape will be zilch, nada, kosong, k'ong k'ong, zero.

So indeed if as RPK's article postulates, he attempts to remove Anwar Ibrahim as the last obstacle to his wet dreams of becoming PM in a Pakatan government post GE-13, he'll be in for an unhappy surprise wakakaka, and PAS may be already in orgasmic anticipation of stepping in to replace a deposed Anwar.

Anyway, back to the whiz kid, Rafizi Ramli, who has now suddenly sprung up to counter-threaten Chua junior with scandalous exposure, as reported by Malaysiakini's Rafizi threatens to reveal MCA-Talam links, but alas, seems to be doing so with a lack in the usual depth of vigour which we have come to associate him with, in his exposé of BN's naughty-naughty schemes like NFC and the Ampang LRT extension.

WTF does he mean by 'threatens to reveal'?

Either he reveals or he shuts up, full stop.


Besides, he is proposing to only exchange shit with Chua Junior instead of demolishing and clearing allegations against Khalid's governance? A feeble effort by Team A.


I suspect Rafizi has only come in at this late stage because he personally must have been stung by numerous sources, perhaps even including insignificant kaytee's blog wakakaka, criticizing him for malulah not coming swiftly to the defence of Khalid but shamefully acting dunno and leaving it to the DAP and PAS to rescue a PKR MB.


He wants to restore his personal reputation.

Anyway I feel his half hearted attempt, just exchanging shit with Chua Junior instead of clearing Khalid Ibrahim (like what Tony Pua has done), is too little too late.

Talam - DAP & PAS rescue a PKR MB while PKR act dunno

Malaysiakini - Khalid rejects full discussion on Talam restructuring


Khalid Ibrahim has been in a lot of trouble over a number of issues, not necessarily due to his fault or through lack of governance, but he demonstrates a startling lack of ability or political nous to handle them quickly, firmly and decisively to his advantage.


As an example, his slow response to the Talam case unnecessarily provided MCA with some brief moments of orgasms in believing they have scored against him in particular and PKR Selangor in general.


Mind, the latter, PKR Selangor is nothing more than a nest of vipers with factions working aggressively and vigorously to kill off each other, as was seen in the recent Faekah Husin case, where even ultra pro-Anwar-Ibrahim journalist Terence Netto wrote an article in Malaysiakini titled Selangor MB's pol sec Faekah at bay in which he gave me the impression he has taken up with the side of Anwar's blue-eyed boy, Azmin Ali, in the internecine struggle within that former UMNO branch now called PKR wakakaka.

Of course the two sides seem to ridiculously pit husband Anwar Ibrahim's Team A against hitherto devoted wife Dr Wan Azizah and her Team W. But where the Blue-eyed Boy is concerned, Anwar's water seems to be thicker than blood.

In Team A we have in its leadership the two inseparables AI and AA, Saifuddin Nasution (the incredible Apcet II destroyer), and I heard Rafizi Ramli, the whiz kid and future supernova who will be a potential threat to a political pygmy wakakaka.

In Team W, the hitherto devoted wife leads with principally her sweetie daughter, also another future supernova, a besieged Khalid and Faekah.

Now, I hope by now you anti Zaid Ibrahim rabid hounds would understand why Zaid wanted either Khalid Ibrahim or Nurul to challenge Blue-eyed Boy for the PKR No 2 post before he had to take on the task himself (because Khalid lacked the balls to stand against AA, and Nurul after having earlier indicated interests was warned off), of course only to find he had lost the election even before the polling started wakakaka.


Netto also flabbergasted me when he criticized Khalid for being slow to recognize that politics is also about providing opportunities, rewarding loyalties and managing expectations of the party faithful, in particular sections of the party - mainly ex-Umno members - whose 10 years in the political wilderness before PKR came to power in Selangor has had them (in Netto's words) 'ravening for whatever rewards were to be had'.

Now, I would expect such statements from someone like the Blue-eyed Boy but dear Terence Netto ..... ? OTOH, maybe he was providing a voice for dear Blue-eyed Boy – see my post Revenge of the effete snob.

Anyway, we all know dear Rafizi Ramli as PKR's finance whiz kid, who not only exposed the NFC scandal and Najib's alleged interference in the award of contract for the RM1.18 billion Ampang LRT extension, but hung on to them with the vice-like bite of a tenacious British bulldog.

But amazingly, dear Rafizi has been as silent as the dead in the Talam case. What happened, dear whiz kid? Too busy underground with the LRT?

And what about the world's greatest economic advisor? Still manmanlai?

It was left to two non-PKR persons to come to dear Khalid Ibrahim's defence in the Talam Intrigue, namely PAS' Dzukefly Ahmad and DAP's Tony Pua, with the latter demolishing and teaching Chua Tee what's-his-name the fundamentals of kindy maths?

But I'm deeply intrigued by DAP and PAS rescuing a besieged PKR MB while Khalid's own party including the de facto leader act dunno about poor Khalid's problem.

I suppose Khalid's term as MB will end with GE-13, even when Pakatan sweeps to victory for a second term in Selangor, because it's obvious Team A will not tolerate Team W, particularly (in some pygmy's words) 'dynastic pretenders'.

Wiping out the Malay race?

Maybe someone may wish to check out the Hansard to verify this story I'm just about to relate, one which I heard it from my elders.

Many many years ago, perhaps during Tun Razak’s time as PM, during a parliamentary debate on the NEP, one UMNO MP said words to the effect that the affirmative action of the NEP should not be just about promoting the economic advancement of the Malays (that was not good enough), but should also consist of a second prong attack, namely, negative actions against Chinese economic advancement, with the aim of preventing or stagnating the Chinese from advancing too far or too fast or the Malays wouldn't be able to overtake them.

And ironically he must be aware of the avenue by which most Chinese, especially those in the peasant or lower class, achieved their advancement, namely, via education, the Chinese's Lotus Principle, where education promotes one to rise like a lotus above his or her muddy (poor) origins.

Perhaps he understood that was/is why the Chinese throughout the world, and most certainly in Malaysia, considered/considers education as one of the central pillars of their culture. Perhaps he knew that Chinese parents would give their everything, including unto mortgaging their house, to finance their children's education.

Thus he proposed that Chinese Malaysians be curtailed if not completely stopped from sending their children overseas for tertiary education, knowing they would face quota and other restrictions entering local ones.

This proposed holding back of the Chinese from pursuing overseas tertiary educational opportunities (even at their own expenses, many through their parents’ mortgaging of houses) was his second prong attack to solve the Malay disadvantaged economic situation. The first prong was of course the almost monopolization of tertiary education by Malays (and total monopolization today in institutions like Mara and UiTM).

Promote one forward and pull the other backward - most suspiciously a yang-yin strategy wakakaka.

Fortunately for Chinese Malaysians, his pathetic punitive proposal was publicly ignored though I wonder how many UMNO MPs silently supported him.

A week ago, I posted Chinese King Makers in which I mentioned that the most worried UMNO person in this period leading to the GE-13 has been Dr Mahathir. Even prior to that post and extending until today, Dr Mahathir has become more and more strident in making news headlines on issues which are lamentably very divisive and particularly very hostile to and critical of Malaysians of Chinese ancestry.

As my previous post title indicated, he has accused the Chinese of likely becoming King Makers, implying that they would ('could'?) control the Malays who incidentally constitute 65% of Malaysia’s population and form the majority of the political power, almost 100% of the military, police, civil servants, bank owners and judiciary, etc. And to quote a Chinese saying wakakaka, 'Power comes from the barrel of a gun'.

Naturally he focused his readers’ attention on GE-13 as an election about race, and for him, well ... bloody f**k corruption or piss-poor governance as an issue.

And just to ensure his readers feel the same way he does, he stated that it has been a privilege for non-Malays to keep their race image, but unfortunately, without informing his readers that it was his administration which forced Chinese and Indians to remind themselves that they are Chinese and Indians in their kad pengenalan, borang-borang kerajaan Malaysian, and in their limited quota into universities and non-admittance into UiTM, etc.

It was also Dr Mahathir who stated recently that it is still premature for Malaysians to assume a non-ethnic identity like Bangsa Malaysia, dashing the hopes of millions of non-Malays. And regretfully he forgot to inform them too that his creation the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) has ensured that his civil servants (teachers) look at non-Malay students as children of dogs and prostitutes. To him, perhaps those images of being children of dogs and prostitutes were privileges to the Indians and Chinese.

I had written that after years of observation of him prior to and during his time as PM, his statements, his actions, etc, I suspect he just couldn't stand the very picture of, say, more Chinese millionaires than Malay ones, more Chinese doctors, engineers, dentists, graduates, you-name-it than Malay equivalents, so on so forth.

He must have also hated the very picture of Malays serving as chauffeurs to Chinese towkays. I wonder whether that had influenced his decision to have a Chinese as his chauffeur when he was a doctor in Alor Setar?

Ah Chong chauffeur

It’s a pity he didn’t see the rickshaw pullers and trishaw riders in Penang who were 99% Chinese, nor did he those coolies who, beneath the blazing midday sun like plodding mules and oxen, carried heavy gunny sacks after heavy gunny sacks of rice, charcoal and various goods up from ships or junks on to the pier at the commercial seafronts of Penang, and how they returned home at the end of the bloody long day with pittance to show for their blood, toil, tears and sweat, and how they then fell into bed with a million aches all over each of their devastated bodies, only to wake up early the next day for another round of blood, toil, tears, and sweat.

Chinese coolies

But I have because two of those mule-like coolies were my uncles.

Be that as it was - the tragic existence of the other side of the coin to rich well-to-do Chinese where we have Chinese rickshaw/trishaw blokes, coolies (incidentally a Chinese word), amahs, washerwomen, char koay teow seller (please read my post The 'rich' char koay teow boy) - I was still sympathetic with Dr Mahathir’s intention to make Malays claim 65% of the sector of whatever the Chinese were in (being millionaires, businessmen) or were doing (being doctors, lawyers, dentists, engineers, etc, though of course not including the professions of the ‘other side of the Chinese coin’).

From RasaMalaysia website - Chinese hawker

Thus, I did not consider him a racist to the extent that I would that UMNO parliamentarian who had proposed for the NEP to not only promote Malays but to also push back the Chinese. I considered Dr Mahathir as a Malay leader who had altruistic principles, plans and programs for Malays.

I wrote that I was prepared to consider his feelings (by stepping into his shoes to see) that Malays, being the majority in their own country called Persekutuan Tanah Melayu, should rightfully (in terms of numbers and heritage) be the majority in each and every Malaysian sectors of ownership or profession.

Thus, as an example, if there were 3 Chinese millionaires (and I mentioned boldly he was not against them per se), then there should be 6 to 7 Malay millionaires.

He must have carried that attitude or belief of socio-ethnic appropriateness as a grievance, a humongous chip on his shoulders, for he thus set his policies accordingly when he was PM. I believe even today he is still very emotionally governed by this belief, though mind you, he is not so concerned about the ethnic percentages in the civil service, police, armed forces and several ‘hallowed’ departments.

Making the Malays build their self esteem and confidence was also part of his programs. The BTN was chosen as the vehicle to instil those values but which unfortunately, instead of making the Malays proud, confident and self reliant, toppled over the cliff and became a machine of hatred instead, its proponents for twisted reasons believing hatred for non-Malays would be effective in installing confidence, pride and self reliance in Malays.

It's okay for Dr Mahathir to cry his eyes out at his unsuccessful social engineering efforts, as he did once on stage, but he shouldn't be peeved with nor blame the Chinese for the abysmal failures of BTN or various Malay millionaires-billionaires known as his, take your pick, protégés or cronies. After all, MAS is still flying, Bank Bumiputra is still banking, Bank Negera is still around (but hopefully not forex-ing), and the list goes on - admittedly with the national coffers emptying alarmingly.


And let's also not forget he did in fact score many successes, for example in people like Daim Zainuddin, (the late) Satay King of Klang, King of the Selangor Bali Palace, etc, and indeed his own sons are very successful and powerful business men.

Bali Palace in Selangor

But I opine his latest statement about the Chinese has really crossed the line. Today, in Malaysiakini we read that Dr M blames Malays for TAR College cert recognition, in which the article reported him condemning the Najib’s government's recognition of certificates by Tunku Abdul Rahman College (TARC).

His fury was so unrelenting that it overshot mere criticisms of poor Ah Jib Gor, where he also lashed, lambasted and likened the promised manmanlai reforms by Anwar Ibrahim as not unlike Malay rulers forsaking their lands and identity for personal gain. He cried out:

Now (as the Malays are divided), we have to fulfill their demands because of votes, hence everyone races to make promises.

In fact (the opposition) wants to forsake this country and in the end it will become like Singapore. This is the old custom of the Malay, whereby when someone offered cash, they sold off Singapore and Penang.

So it's like history repeating itself. Just because someone desires to be the prime minister, he is willing to let the Malay race be wiped out.

Amazing how Najib’s promise (only a promise) to recognize TARC certificates, already recognized by a large part of the world, could lead to condemnation of Anwar and Pakatan and then on to the wiping out of the Malay race.

Can you blame me for imagining that he must be the soul mate of that 1970’s UMNO MP who wanted to prevent the Chinese from sending their children overseas for tertiary education (only because their children couldn’t get that tertiary education here in Malaysia)?

lotus ikebana

Maybe Dr Mahathir would only be tolerant of TARC certificates on qualifications like ikebana, mahjung playing or Jeeves-ism, the last being the art of the gentleman’s gentleman (butler), where I suspect Dr Mahathir would love to see more Chinese Jeeves or Ah-Chong-chauffeurs to UMNOputra billionaires.

butlers

At least that 1970’s UMNO MP didn’t preposterously claim that educated or qualified Chinese would wipe out the Malay race.

Malaysia's most powerful woman

Two women fill me with incredible admiration. They are the very picture of dignity like a lotus standing out of muddy waters, tranquillity like the eye in a raging storm, and calm courage amidst a barbaric horde.

There’s none of the Jean d’Arc-like martyr in them and none also of the Mother Teresa piousness. The young would describe each of them as cool, but to me, they're most importantly down to earth people.

I am talking about Aung San Suu Kyi and yes, our very own Ambiga Sreenevasan. Both are their respective nation’s patriots, not the pariah pompous pseudo type claimed by Perkasa or that alluded to by our world-famous Defence Minister (who first attempted, unsuccessfully wakakaka, to politically stab Dr Mahathir in the back and then like a cornered rat, abandoned the ship named KD Anwar Ibrahim when the going got tough.

I congratulate the Myanmareans for their fortune in having a true patriot like Aung San Suu Kyi, and I have no doubt many Malaysians feel likewise, fortunate to have a new light in Ambiga in these troubled times.

Many have urged her to stand for the coming general elections which I have no doubt will sweep her into Parliament, but I urge her not to. We need her to be the politically neutral she is, to provide balanced and unselfish advice and leadership to us. If she has to enter into active politics then I urge her to stand as an Independent.

The Malaysian political landscape is too acidic, acrimonious and acerbic, with the principal personalities in a Bush-like state of ‘either or’, worsened by individualistic selfish interests that pay little heed to the rakyat’s benefits.

Today I would not be exaggerating to state that Ambiga Sreenevasan is the most powerful and popular woman in Malaysia. By powerful I mean her potential to significantly influence politics. Yes, she may not be popular to 100% of Malaysians, and really who is, but I doubt there is any other female, or even male, who can match her standing in the eyes of the Malaysian public.

Take for example, the UMNO moron who threatened her, no doubt verbally only, but which consequences might have turned the Indians away from BN. This potential outcome has been no better illustrated than by the immediate flurry of condemnations against UMNO MP Mohamad Aziz by the normally-obsequious UMNO-lapdog MIC.

Najib has no doubt torn off more of what is left of his sparse hair at the likely fallout from the very very (politically) expensive stupidity of Mohamed Aziz, that he (Najib) might as well be tonsured.

But what is Ambiga Sreenevasan’s message such that it sends UMNO quaking?

Clean and fair elections.

And what does this message imply in its truest meaning?

Ambiga has called for an election that is without cheating, dodgyness, institutionalized ‘hedging’, threats and intimidation or deliberate marginalization or disenfranchisement, one where each and every eligible citizen is entitled to one vote each.


But it means more than that.

‘Clean and fair’ elections also means no frogological innovations, no money politics, and no covert pacts a la 'The Illuminati’ to change the outcome of the official results of an election to the astonishment and against the choice of the voters.

dead political frogs

There are politicians who ride on the hem of her sari wakakaka, while there are politicians who hate her with a vengeance. But she must disown those who are riding on her popularity but do not subscribe in the least to her message of a truly ‘clean and fair’ elections.

Treason

HRH the Sultan is the Head of the Islamic religion in his state. Whether HRH wants to implement hudud in his state is a matter entirely at his sole prerogative.


But in Johor, Ayub Rahmat, the UMNO ADUN for Kemelah, has daringly usurped HRH's prerogative as the Head of Islam in Johor by publicly and pompously proposing that hudud law be implemented in Johor for all races ..... as if he is HRH.

Malaysiakini in its news article Umno assemblyperson wants hudud for all in Johor reported:

When contacted by Malaysiakini, Ayub said he wanted to see Johor to be the first state to implement "true hudud law" which he said differed from PAS' version of the religious law.

On a matter of Islam in Johor, '... he wanted to see Johor ...'?!!!


Whoa man, this is terrible, terrible, terrible lah, an unbelievable and unprecedented act of lèse majesté by YB Ayub Rahmat in usurping HRH's sole right on matters relating to Islam.

Shouldn't it be HRH's prerogative to decide on such a religious matter, that of the desirability of implementing hudud in Johor?

And who is the YB to differentiate between true and not so true 'hudud'? Is he an imam? Has he committed blasphemy?

But wait ... on the matter of lèse majesté, maybe it's not so unprecedented after all as I had originally believed. I suddenly recall that on 10 December 1992, Dr Affifuddin Omar, an UMNO man from Padang Terap, no doubt given the imprimatur by his party leaders, asked in Parliament:

How can we continue to uphold rulers who are known to be robbers, adulterers, drunkards and kaki pukul (thugs)? [...]

They (the rulers) must be made to realize that they do not own this country. They are not Superman but placed on their thrones by the people. 

The real power did not lie with them, but with us - the representatives of the people.

Good lord ... sorry, I mean ... goodness Tuanku, even in 1992, it was an UMNO man as well.

Hah well, as John Harington once said:

Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason? For if it prosper, none dare call it treason.

Sir John Harington

Now, what was that punishment that Perkasa wanted for Ambiga Sreenevasan for alleged treason?

Deceitful Durian of Discord

golden durian

Just read this extract from today's Malaysiakini news article titled Dr M warns of minority seeking 'power grab'.

Meanwhile, Sinar Harian today reported the former premier telling Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to complete his administration’s five-year mandate to boost public confidence.

He said it is a good thing that Najib wants to “respect the five years mandate given by the people”.

“But then again, if the government is dragging its feet on calling the GE, all sorts of nonsensical demands and requests will emerge, and they will threaten the government with that,” he was quoted saying.

Then read the Free Malaysia Today's (FMT) article titled The doctor decides …? which states:

Three days ago, a reporter friend forwarded a text message to this columnist which says that the doctor has taken over Umno and right now the grassroots reports are being forwarded to him.

But the big news is that the doctor is planning to have the polls held in September. This is because it seems that the doctor has got tired of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s feet-dragging and lack of confidence.

Therefore he now enters the fray in order to have things up and running according to his way.

Whether there is any truth or not in the text message is one thing but looking at it logically, it could be true.

Najib has been dragging on the polls date for far too long after initiating it as a guessing game about two years ago.

So we have Sinar Harian quoting Dr Mahathir complimenting Najib for going the full five year term until as late as the early part of March 2008 before advising HM the Agong to dissolve Federal Parliament and call for the 13th general election, as allowed by the Constitution, while sweetie claimed a 'reporter friend' told her Dr Mahathir has taken over UMNO and is planning to call for a September election.

September 2012 to very early March (or late February) 2013 is approximately 6 months or half a year! And we are told a week in politics can be a lifetime.

Incidentally, the FMT article was written by Sweetie Selena Tay, whose previous FMT article Pakatan’s ‘shadow cabinet’ list led me to post 'Whispered' shadow cabinet bloated like satiated leech?

In that previous post of mine, I raised some questions about the reliability of Sweetie's article, such as her claim to have had personal conversations with shadow ministers*, their friends or their acquaintances. I had then remarked that there was no shadow minister in Pakatan, other than Anwar Ibrahim as the PM-designate, because Pakatan has studiously avoided having a shadow cabinet for reasons known only to the coalition.

* 14 Jan 2013 addendum - some months later, while re-reading the same FMT news article when penning another post Psychedelic psychic power?, I found mention of 'shadow ministers' strangely missing from it, wakakaka

Of course I have my opinion as to why, but the far more important point was my amazement at Sweetie's claim of talking with non-existent shadow ministers ..... unless of course she had the conversation with the self-appointed wet-dreaming shadow Home Minister wakakaka.

wakakaka

Sweetie also claimed to have chitchatted with a ‘Pakatan’ MP who wished to remain anonymous but who I suspected and asserted in my post was probably from PKR. My suspicion led me to believe it was as likely as not a bloke who has the rather sneaky habit of making unilateral press conferences or media releases purportedly on behalf of Pakatan but without DAP or PAS knowing about them wakakaka.

In that post I had with disdain informed I don’t hold much store by the list that Sweetie has written because of the likely source.

We may yet again take it that Sweetie’s latest article of Dr Mahathir mounting a silent coup d’etat to launch a September poll was sourced from PKR, especially in the light of UMNO information that Dr Mahathir has affimed Najib should be complimented for not calling for early election (or if you like, ordering Najib to hang on for as late/long as possible).

I just wonder whether Hartal MSM has picked all this up. Just a side note – Hartal MSM was created in December 2007 by Brother Haris Ibrahim, a civil rights lawyer, who wanted the blog to play the role of a media-watch group so as to promote a free and fair media as an impetus to Malaysia’s stalled nation-building process. The group is supposed to keep a beady eye on any of MSM’s lies and propaganda.

Brother Haris then left it with a group of young enthusiasts to run the show, but alas, much as I respect and treasure Bro Haris, I’m afraid at one lamentable stage Hartal MSM went songsang (deviated from its aim) and instead was used to attack a political party, the DAP.

If Hartal MSM’s criticisms was directed at the DAP’s newsletter, The Rocket, though it's not a MSM I would still have accepted that as a justified media-watching activity, but for Malaysia’s media-watch group to attack DAP and in particular Lim Guan Eng ad hominem, the conduct smacks of narrow politicking instead of media-watching, suggesting the blog was hijacked. Shame on its operators!

Anyway, it should be interesting to learn whether Hartal MSM was sleeping or had indeed picked up the FMT-Selena Tay’s articles of our Sweetie having conversations with non-existent shadow ministers wakakaka. Methinks that would be a far more credible role for Hartal MSM than attacking a political party which is neither the group’s role nor raison d'être. 

Readers, why don’t you pop over to the blog to see whether the group is still keeping an eye on MSM’s lies, or just politicking wakakaka, and if necessary, let Haris Ibrahim know.

Sorry for the side note on Hartal MSM - I'm a wee bit like RPK, being chong hei, but I think as a Penangite I shouldn't be using that KL-Ipoh (Canto) word of chong hei, but instead its equivalent in Penang lingo, tng k'ooi ;-)

Okay, let's return to the differences in Dr Mahathir's alleged preferred polling date, (i) September according to Sweetie (or more probable, a PKR source) or (ii) at the end of the current ruling party's full five year term, sometime in late February 2013 or early March (has to be not beyond 08 March 2013).

Obviously, 'someone' is either impatient or trying to use reverse psychology to stampede UMNO warlords into forcing Najib to have a September elections.

Sweetie's article of Dr Mahathir seizing control of UMNO for an early poll in September would be like throwing an apple (or durian in our Malaysian context) of discord into the UMNO mob, to cause strife and dissent and hopefully a self-fulfilling wet dream, wakakaka, leading to the destruction of UMNO.

Eris, Goddess of Strife

In Greek mythology, the goddess Eris (also known as ‘Strife’ for reasons obvious) was pissed off for not been invited to the wedding of King Peleus and Thetis (parents of Achilles), so to stir sh*t in a fit of feminine petulance (sorry ladies wakakaka), she threw an apple inscribed with the word kallisti, which in Greek means ‘for or to the fairest’ right into the midst of the wedding party. And who was the fairest became a vanity-fueled dispute between the goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite that eventually led to the Trojan War, and the total obliteration of a city and its civilisation.

Kallisti - For the Fairest

Thus, ‘apple (or in our case, durian) of discord’ means the core, cause or crux of an argument that could lead to a bigger dispute.

Now, Anwar Ibrahim has been notorious for his impatience, which I had previously posted in The torment and impatience of Anwar Ibrahim on 21 August 2008, just 26 days before 916.

It could that Anwar is again impatient or he and PKR see an early election as to their favour, perhaps for the following points:

(a) Najib is currently besieged by scandals such as Scorpene, NFC, Lynas, Ampang LRT, etc;

KD Tunku Abdul Rahman

(b) Ride on the tailcoat of the recent and very popular Bersih 3.0, notwithstanding his Kemo Sabe-Tonto pow-wow smoke-hand signalling with his blue-eye boy described in the alleged instigation of PKR supporters to breach the police cordon in Datarn Merdeka;

(c) before more mysterious voters are registered;

(d) before more of his alleged naughtiness are revealed;

(e) because party polls indicate PKR's stock is now riding high with voters, etc.

On the other side, Najib obviously wants more time (and Dr Mahathir is either supporting or instructing him on this), for exactly the opposite reasons to Anwar's above, namely:

(a) and (b) more time required to let the dust settle;

(c) more registrations required [perhaps even including movements of military or police units to 'new' cantonments to become postal voters];

wakakaka

(d) very yes to more revelations of Anwar's past!

(e) ditto.

Not to be outdone in the 'durian of discord' business, way down south in the deeply shaken (for UMNO-MCA) state of Johore, where PAS' Salahuddin Ayub may well be the next MB, Malaysiakini reported in its Umno assemblyperson wants hudud for all in Johor that:

Umno's Kemelah state assembly person Ayub Rahmat has proposed that hudud law be implemented in Johor for all races. [...] Ayub then threw down the apple or durian gauntlet to PAS to back this proposal if it was sincere about upholding Islam.

Obviously, naughty Ayub Rahmat has role-played Eris to cause internal dissent in Pakatan, especially between PAS and DAP. If either Pakatan ally moves to be the 'fairest' in Malaysia's lamentable but eternal game of religion, the hard core elements in each will go ballistic, which will be exactly what UMNO and MCA want.

Meanwhile, up north, Mukhriz Mahathir, as a potential future MB of Kedah stated the PAS-led state government has failed to control the growth of entertainment outlets (presumably naughty ones, wakakaka) in Kedah, especially in remote areas such as Sik, Padang Serai and Baling - see The Malaysian Insider's (TMI) PAS has failed to curb rise in entertainment outlets, says Mukhriz. 

However, Mukhriz has been discreet and far more inclusive than Ayub Rahmat, the Johor UMNO ADUN who wanted hudud for all including non-Muslims gulp.

Mukhriz said that both Muslims and non-Muslims alike were uncomfortable with the growth of unregulated entertainment outlets (no doubt meaning 'wild' clubs or shows). It’s not incorrect to say all of us (except some with hideous minds, wakakaka) don’t want a brothel or a gambling den in our own street. For non-Muslims, some other neighbourhood would be just fine wakakaka, a la the doctrine of NIMBY (not in my backyard).

But nonetheless, it may be another 'durian of discord', and not the first one to exist between the PAS-dominated state government and Chinese Kedahans.

We are told that in the Greek myth of the 'Golden Apple of Discord', that deliberate sowing of strife led to war and the eventual destruction of Troy as a civilisation. I just wonder where our 'Deceitful Durian of Discord' will lead our country and people to?

Trojan Horse inside Troy - beginning of end of  the City & its people