Mahathir sembileh his 'sacred cow'

Malaysiakini - Finally, Dr M abandons Samy Vellu by Terence Netto (extracts):

This comes after Samy, a strong supporter of Mahathir nemesis Najib Razak, showed a marked reluctance to criticise Mahathir.

Unlike other BN component party stalwarts, Samy has declined to make common cause with Najib in denigrating Mahathir's policies and works as PM.

Mahathir's indirect castigation of Samy at the launch yesterday of Pakatan Harapan's manifesto for Indian Malaysians in Petaling Jaya shows that to the former PM there are indeed no sacred cows that cannot be thrown overboard.

Mahathir is an iconoclast to the core when it comes to gaining his goals. Samy would be surprised by this.

In his quite interesting article Terence Netto reviewed for us the history of kam-cheng (bonds of friendship) developed between Samy Vellu and Mahathir over a number of years, but in it also remarked that said friendship was so deep as to have been a 'sacred cow' for Mahathir.

I first came across the term 'sacred cow' when I was studying for HSC, though Wikipedia explains it rather well, as follows:

Sacred cow is an idiom, a figurative reference to sacred cows in some religions. This idiom is thought to originate in American English, although similar or even identical idioms occur in many other languages.

In the political realm, it is a term with reference to issues that a politician would rather not touch.

[kt's examples of Malaysian 'sacred cows': Islam and the position of the Raja2 Melayu]

The idiom is based on the popular understanding of the elevated place of cows in Hinduism and appears to have emerged in America in the late 19th century.

A literal sacred cow or sacred bull is an actual cow or bull that is treated with sincere respect. A figurative sacred cow is a figure of speech for something considered immune from question or criticism, especially unreasonably so.

I am not sure whether it's Terence Netto's remarkable English lexical stable or his Freudian slip that he used the term 'sacred cow' to describe the friendship between Samy Vellu and Mahathir, wakakaka.

But leaving that aside, Terence Netto showed us that Mahathir in his drive towards his personal ambition of regaining über political power in Malaysia, is quite ready and willing to abandon, sacrifice and sembileh his personal friendship with Samy Vellu. And what does that tell us about his attitude towards mere convenient allies of the moment like Lim Kit Siang?

To Mahathir, if he needs to get Indian votes for his power struggle, f**k kam-cheng kaukau.

Apa lagi Tionghua mahu?

Star Online - The palace factor in Johor politics (extracts):

Johoreans have wholeheartedly embraced the Bangsa Johor concept promoted by him.

“It gives them a sense of belonging and pride. The Sultan understands his state and his people. He has gone to every corner of the state to meet his subjects; he sits and eats with them,” said political risk analyst Amir Fareed Rahim.

The Chinese, said Amir, loved it too because it meant people were not segregated into class or race. It also gave the Chinese a sense that as Johoreans, they were regarded as equals.

“The Sultan is concerned about stability. He does not want politics to affect religious tolerance in our state. He wants Johor to be harmonious and continue to grow,” said Datuk Tey Kim Chai, president of the Tiong Hua Federation of Johor.

The Johor royal family, said writer and political commentator Eddin Khoo, had become a unifier for Johoreans.

No, this post is NOT about His Majesty Sultan of Johor, Malaysian politics, least of all the Gelang Patah incumbent, or the coming combat à mort (deathmatch) in Ayer Hitam.

It's about a lexical mystery, regarding the use of the word Tionghua in Malaysia as read above in ... president of the Tiong Hua Federation of Johor.

Tionghua is written as 中华 (simplified Chinese) or 中華 (traditional Chinese). In Mandarin the word is pronounced as zhōnghua where zhōng (or tiong) means 'middle' but signifies China (from Zhōngguó or Tiongkok or Middle Kingdom), whilst hua (or hwa) literally means 'glorious' (correct me if I am wrong here) but generally refers to the Chinese race. 

Whilst in the past (approximately 20 years ago or more) the Bahasa word for Chinese in Malaysia was Cina (modern Malay spelling) or China (earlier Malay spelling), the Indonesians had long used the word Tionghua (older spelling 'Tionghwa' or as used in Indonesia as per Dutch-influenced spelling, Tionghoa).

baju tradisi Tionghoa

Thus one who lived in Malaysia at least 20 years ago (eg. kaytee, wakakaka) would have expected something along this line, namely, ... president of the Chinese Federation of Johor or ... Presiden Persekutuan Cina Negeri Johor, but the change of term from Cina to Tionghua has obviously taken place sometime in the last 20 years or so.

I am not sure how that happened but according to lexicon experts, the word Cina (or China) has derogatory imputation (racist slurring) thus that could possibly be one reason for the lexical migration, namely, to address modern sensitivity.

Does apa lagi Tionghua mahu sound less racist than apa lagi Cina mahu?

Wakakaka.

"If more proof is needed of the role of Chinese racism in the 13th GE, the demonstrations accusing BN of fraud and cheating in the elections, despite being organised by Anwar and PKR, are largely attended by Chinese, especially the young."

"Within the country and abroad, Chinese youths wearing black shirts and masks made up most of the demonstrators. Usually Malays make up the majority of the demonstrators."

"The lack of respect for the national flag was shown by Chinese young people in Taiwan holding it upside down. Although DAP and PKR participated in these demos, PAS members were noticeably absent."

"In fact PAS leaders dissociated themselves from the agitation to overthrow the government through street demos ala Arab Spring. The protests seem to be mainly a Chinese affair.”- Mahathir in his blog

Florist says her flowers most fragrant

MM Online - Survey shows voters prefer Azmin to Mukhriz (extracts):

Redzuan said a separate survey, which polled 3,277 respondents in Selangor last January, saw 65 per cent of voters in the state expressing support for Azmin. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa 

SHAH ALAM, April 5 — Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali is the preferred “next generation” Pakatan Harapan (PH) leader compared to Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, a Selangor state government think tank said today.

The Darul Ehsan Institute’s (IDE) 2018 Malaysia Survey showed that 46 per cent preferred PKR deputy president Azmin to “lead Malaysia”, compared to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s (PPBM) Mukhriz at 38 per cent.

IDE deputy chairman Prof Datuk Mohammad Redzuan Othman said that several other leaders such as Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) deputy president Salahuddin Ayub, and PAS deputy president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man also scored much lower, making up 16 per cent of the voters’ interest collectively.
“We have to see that the leadership of Datuk Seri Azmin Ali is something that gives a huge impact to Selangor.

Of course Darul Ehsan Institute’s (IDE) has identified Azmin as the best.

Similarly, INVOKE would have picked Rafizi Ramli as the best.

And the Penang Institute definitely would pick Lim Guan Eng as the best.

And that Institute known as "my late mum" would have nominated kaytee as the most popular desirable & good looking prime-ministerial candidate there ever was, is, and will be - wakakaka.

Crispy Haiku

MM Online - Masterchef UK host tries to backtrack from ‘crispy’ rendang row:

where's Curly? 

From Wikipedia:

Traditional haiku consist of 17 on (also known as morae though often loosely translated as "syllables"), in three phrases of 5, 7, and 5 on, respectively.

Looked for crispy skin

In a bowl of wonton soup
With tomato sauce

Say sayonara
It's the Saharan welcome
Like f**k you baby

How to spell crispy
It's B-O-D-O-H lah
Pandai chong budak

Meat falling apart
Like melting ice cream in sun
MasterChef my foot

Britain's Japanese tofu stir fried in kimchi

Syabas Azroy Hazal

We are very proud of you.

The MCA-rization of the DAP

At last, finally, akhirnya, a magnificent success for Mahathir. Congratulations are in order.

15 years after his quasi-resignation as PM of Malaysia, he has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, in what he could not achieve in his earlier 22 years of PM-reign.

He has gotten rid of the accused Rocket, the obnoxious DAP flag and hateful logo, something his predecessors TAR, Razak, Hussein Onn and those who came after him, AAB and Najib, failed to do.

I suspect that PAS' prayers and curses might have helped too, wakakaka.

sad ending to a glorious historykilled by short-sighted greed and lack of principle  

The tragic story is reported in MM Online's No ‘rocket’ for DAP in GE14 (Extracts):

what shall we do with our flags?

the solution to above silly question

KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 ― DAP confirmed today that it would not be using its “rocket” logo in peninsular Malaysia for the 14th general election, a first since its formation.

Party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said the DAP agreed to “sacrifice” its logo for a common one to be used by all Pakatan Harapan (PH) component parties in their bid to wrest Putrajaya from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.


DAP has kowtow-ed to His Imperial Imperator's dictate as reported by FMT's Pakatan’s 4 parties to use one logo, says Dr M:

So let it be written, so let it be done

Imperator  Pribumi
Veni, vidi, vici and I f**k the rocket

It's official now, that under the same Imperator Pribumi,  the DAP has been completely MCA-rised as per the BN model. The non-rocket party shall now reap what it has sown.

before 

now 

RIP 

congratulations to Azmin Ali & Tian Chua too

wakakaka 

Ch'au K'ar

FMT - Think tank: Axing Chinese projects will send out negative signals (extracts):

The Socio-Economic Research Centre says when a government doesn't honour contracts, it will create a sense of anxiety among investors.

PETALING JAYA: A think tank has panned the idea of calling off Chinese infrastructure projects which have already commenced, saying this will send negative signals to investors and give them a sense of uncertainty.

“When a government doesn’t honour contracts it has signed, it can create a sense of anxiety among foreign investors.

“The failure to carefully manage the review of existing contracts can affect bilateral relations,” Socio-Economic Research Centre (SERC) executive director Lee Heng Guie told FMT.

Lee was responding to comments by opposition leader Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who said a Pakatan Harapan (PH) government might stop the RM55 billion East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) if, after review, the Chinese-led project was found unnecessary.

Apart from his dislike of things Chinese** (contrast this to his 'Look East' policy), such is his personal hatred for Najib that he has thrown caution to the winds, to destroy his dislikes recklessly, wantonly, imperiously as he so wishes, ...

** except for their votes

... as if Malaysia under his rule will be his personal property to do as he wishes, as was the case in his 22-years rule, for example, building a moronic incomplete 'crooked bridge' costing hundreds of millions just to 'up the ante' in his personal grievance against the Sing government (or Lee Kuan Yew).

Re-emphasising a truth, “When a government doesn’t honour contracts it has signed, it can create a sense of anxiety among foreign investors".

The government might have got away from dishonourably reneging on an international peace deal with the former communist insurgents in rejecting Chin Peng's wish to return to his hometown of Sitiawan to be buried there (whilst allowing many Malay CTs to return to Malaysia for government-aided settlement), but we cannot afford to renege on international business contracts anymore, more so at the whims and fancies of just an elected politician.

From MM Online -
Malaysia is laughing stock over ‘Chin Peng’ affair, says ex-IGP (extarcts):

The world will laugh at Malaysia if Putrajaya insists on not allowing Chin Peng’s remains to be buried in his home country here, former top cop Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor has said.

Abdul Rahim — who had led the peace negotiations between Malaysia and the Malayan Communist Party (CPM) as the Special Branch chief then in the late 1980s — said it was unfair to ban Chin Peng from the country, noting that other Malay former communists have been allowed to return home.

“If the government — the authorities — succumb to this public pressure not to allow Chin Peng’s ashes to be brought back, I think, we are making Malaysia a laughing stock to the whole world,” Abdul Rahim said in an interview aired on business station BFM yesterday.

“If you say that Chin Peng as secretary-general of the party (CPM) is the highest-most member, then he qualifies to get all the privileges, advantages or whatever promises made in the agreements, which includes for him to be allowed to come back,” he added, referring to the Hat Yai Peace Accord in 1989.

Apart from loss of international credibility through lack of honouring peace and other types of treaties and contracts, it's just too bloody costly and wasteful of resources to pamper to one person's personal imperious temperament, moods, grudges, bias and penchants.

Chinese Penangites have a term for such a lack of honour or refusal to honour agreements, contracts and treaties. They would call such a person 'ch'au k'ar' or 'bad leg' (kaki jelek) which means an dishonourable untrustworthy disreputable person, especially in business deals.

Ch'au k'ar.

Beautiful Bipartisanship

Star Online - They may be rival politicians, but KJ and Ong unite on ‘Evelyn Ang amendments’ (extracts):

we remember you Evelyn

keep running keep smiling and we'll keep loving you 

PETALING JAYA: It’s rare to see MPs from opposite sides of the political divide unite over an issue, but this is what has happened with Umno’s Khairy Jamaluddin and DAP’s Ong Kian Ming.

The two have put aside political differences in a bid to tighten regulations on sporting events in the country, in the wake of the death of marathoner Evelyn Ang.

Ong, the Serdang MP, took to Facebook on Wednesday (April 4) to thank Khairy, the Youth and Sports Minister, for tabling amendments to the Sports Development Act 1997 (SDA) before the end of the current parliamentary session.

Ong said he believed Khairy and his team were committed to improving the quality of race events in Malaysia.

He also thanked the Minister for “walking the walk”, adding that sports was one of the things that unite Malaysians.

you're still in our hearts baby 

Ong said as long as he was an elected representative, he would do all he can to improve safety standards of running events in Malaysia.

“Running is an activity which brings together Malaysians regardless of background, race, religion, language, height, weight, gender or speed,” he said.

Khairy responded to Ong's comments via Instagram, thanking him for his thoughtful suggestions during the debate in Parliament.

“Thank you YB for your thoughtful suggestions during the debate which we plan to incorporate when preparing the regulations to the Act,” he said.

Khairy also said he had informally referred to the relevant changes as “the Evelyn Ang Amendments”.

He hoped that the changes and subsequent regulations would help protect runners.

thanks Evelyn for your everlasting sunny smile

I wouldn't have imagined Malaysian politicians would be capable of bipartisanship but my FB matey Ong Kian Ming (DAP) and Khairy Jamaluddin (BN) have just demonstrated they could be, and hopefully will continue to show bipartisanship on more.

Nice considerate and magnanimous touch, Khairy, for tabling amendments to the Sports Development Act 1997 (SDA) as “the Evelyn Ang Amendments”.

keep 'them' up there running, Evelyn