Honouring our warriors

Today I read an excellent piece in The Malaysian Insider written by Hafidz Baharom titled Honouring our warriors.

I want to share it with you, as follows:

APRIL 9 — Answer me this: Since when did warriors have to be totally Islamic in this country?

You have to admit, this is a new low for Jakim. Perhaps they sat about wondering just how else to make people’s lives miserable. After butch looking girls and yoga practitioners, it somehow popped in their heads to target army veterans.

The Tugu Negara, which basically portrays dead people and Caucasian looking soldiers raising the Jalur Gemilang, is in itself un-Islamic to begin with, but we kept that, didn’t we? Even when the “Communists” damaged it.

The National Monument was built as a symbol to honour the dead, regardless of their religious beliefs. Will the Defence Ministry then go further to list which of the dead soldiers were alcoholics, ate pork, fornicated with women and have their names de-listed in the name of Islam?

Why not? It’s the last step by the ministry to finally make the entire Islamic agenda worthwhile.

Next up, the entire non-Muslim soldiery will be disbanded and a Protection Tax goes through Parliament, which is basically applicable only to non-Muslims.

Here comes the dhimmi and jizya concepts!

I’m being cynical. No way would this happen in a Pakatan Rakyat government.

Let us be true to the spirit of the nation, history and multiculturalism here.

Malaysian soldiers of all beliefs died for Malaya during World War II and the Emergency. Sikhs, Buddhists, Hindus, Freethinkers and Muslims alike. One of the current aspects of the Warrior’s day celebration is to sound the “Last Post” and “The Rouse” on a bugle.

And for the record, there is nothing Christian about “The Last Post”! There are no lyrics to the tune! How the heck is this Christian?!

It’s based on a poem by Carol Ann Duffy. Have a read:

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If poetry could tell it backwards, true, begin
that moment shrapnel scythed you to the stinking mud…
but you get up, amazed, watch bled bad blood
run upwards from the slime into its wounds;
see lines and lines of British boys rewind
back to their trenches, kiss the photographs from home-
mothers, sweethearts, sisters, younger brothers
not entering the story now
to die and die and die.
Dulce- No- Decorum- No- Pro patria mori.
You walk away.
You walk away; drop your gun (fixed bayonet)
like all your mates do too-
Harry, Tommy, Wilfred, Edward, Bert-
and light a cigarette.
There’s coffee in the square,
warm French bread
and all those thousands dead
are shaking dried mud from their hair
and queuing up for home. Freshly alive,
a lad plays Tipperary to the crowd, released
from History; the glistening, healthy horses fit for heroes, kings.
You lean against a wall,
your several million lives still possible
and crammed with love, work, children, talent, English beer, good food.
You see the poet tuck away his pocket-book and smile.
If poetry could truly tell it backwards,
then it would.

If anything, it truly describes the thoughts of a soldier before going to battle, and perhaps even their rewards after demise. One argument I’d probably have are the English names instead of Ali, Chan, Jugah and Muthu.

Even that Latin line, before anyone jumps to the conclusion that the Pope had something to do with it, states that it is a “sweet and honourable thing to die for one’s country”. I share the same sentiment, unless it’s caused by malfunctioning Nuri helicopters that should no longer be in service.

Following that is the sounding of “The Rouse”. This is to commemorate those who died waking up to a better afterlife, while also telling the living soldiers to start their duties once more.

Another aspect of this is the laying of wreaths at the tomb. If this is considered un-Islamic, then allow me to just state this. The next time someone wants to place a garland over any Umno member, he has to be considered as doing something un-Islamic and should have action taken upon him by Jakim, since they have nothing better to do.

Why not carry on with the tradition, bugle, wreath laying and all, and then simply hold a tahlil and doa selamat at the National Mosque, and church sermons, Hindu temple blessings, and even a prayer service at a Buddhist temple in Brickfields after?

[kaytee's note: my uncles and his friends used to do above]

If we truly preach that we are a multicultural nation with Islam as its official religion, which respects other beliefs, then what this government is proposing is unconstitutional because we are imposing our belief system on those who are non-Muslims.

Even worse, they’re actually doing it to dead non-Muslim Malaysians, who gave their lives defending this nation without giving a damn that it would one day be labelled Islamic.

Sons of Jacob among us

It’s amazing a foreign company linked to a small country in a faraway land can cause so much anxiety to UMNO.

We’re talking about APCO and Israel respectively.


Anwar Ibrahim, once known and taunted as a pally buddy of neo-con Zionist American Jew Paul Wolfowitz, has turned the table on UMNO by revealing the Israeli-APCO link and thus, by politically expedient extrapolation, to an APCO-Israel-UMNO nexus wakakaka.

Najib is currently looking for a hole, preferably an Arab one, to dive into.

And you wonder why UMNO, usually arrogant with a couldn’t-give-a-damn-sh*t attitude about almost everything, is now in a tizzy regarding this nexus?

It’s the ‘Heartland’, home of the pious.

To them, Israel is Syaitan incarnated, the Nemesis of not just Arabs but all Muslims.

I would certainly agree but with qualifications, because not all Jews are Israelis, not all Israelis are murderous bastards like the members of Likud Party, Shas Party and all those ultra rightwing fanatical Israeli Talibans, and therefore not all Israelis are acolytes of Syaitan.

Be that as it may, our country has not only been so Islamized but also Arab-ized that any perception of a Malay pollie’s connection to Israel is embarrassing and politically poisonous - padan muka wakakaka!

The recent Israeli disproportionate and murderous attacks on Gazaan Palestinians have accentuated Muslims’ hatred for all things Israeli, thus there is very little mitigating avenue for a Malay pollie seen as connected, no matter how remotely, to Israel or anything Israeli.

In fact the news of Israelis working here are not new - a few years back, there was a report that an Israeli was working with a local airline – beat that!

How in the world did those Israelis manage to secure jobs with Malaysian based companies - sure as hell puzzles me? And what more when we now learn of Israeli agents snug as a bug in a rug with the PDRM. We have heard of business links between the son of a senior police officer and a company with Israeli-links.

Look, Israelis are here because we KNOWINGLY allow them!

It's GREED, which is colour, creed, religion and politically blind wakakaka! It's not unlike some Americans like Dick Cheney being in the Israeli camp. The only difference is he did it openly, defiantly and confidently (because the USA is already under the sway of Israel), whilst our pollies and senior administrators like the IGP and the Najib camp, being Muslims, 'act dunno'.

Don’t forget, our lil’ but powerful neighbour has mucho connections with Israel, and I wonder whether leng chai Khairy Jamaluddin, with his close connections to some Singaporeans, can help by throwing some light on the potential of Israeli agents to use Singapore as a convenient spring board (titik tolak) to infiltrate us (though for what, I wonder?)

For there are certain men crept in unawares. Men who have crept in without their character being understood.

Who were before of old ordained. Whose coming was predicted and whose lives were placed under condemnation - Jude 1:4

But let me tell you what I don’t like!

I don’t like Anwar Ibrahim asking the Agong to intervene in getting the government to cancel its contract with APCO because of its alleged links to Israel.

I note that PAS has also sent a memorandum to the Conference of Rulers, urging it to order the government to cut its ties with APCO.

It’s one thing to politically pressure the UMNO government into cutting ties with APCO or any Israeli company but it’s another to encourage and invite royal political activism. Haven’t we f* learnt? Huhlooooooo, remember Perak?

Much as I dislike those murderous Likud-Shas Talibans (and kaytee is renowned for that), I dislike and fear royal political activism even more.

Lest we forget!

They shall grow not old ... as we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them.

Lest we forget.

Yesterday I posted Last Post to the Malaysian Last Post where I expressed my regrets over the religio-politicisation of Warriors' Day being held at the National Monument, as it had been done over almost the last half century.

But most of all I lambasted one ex serviceman for talking cock about the bugle-call of the Last Post and what it means to servicemen. That bloke would just sprout nonsense in order for him to jump on the religious bandwagon.

As I mentioned, Remembrance Day (Warriors’ Day) is about remembering (not forgetting) the deeds of our national heroes.

We remember their sacrifices and honour their invaluable service in defending our country. And we teach and remind our young citizens to be mindful that where they are today has been in large part due to the sacrifices of our heroes.

It’s regrettable that of all people, the Defence Minister became the person to politicise this important day by portraying the ceremony at the National Monument as idol worshipping and thus haram (forbidden) to Muslims. If he has to do or say something in this regard, he should be the very one to defend the servicemen’s right to continue the ceremony as they had been doing for the last half a century.

If we want to be Wahhabis, fine, then shouldn’t we get rid of the statue of Hang Tuah in the National Museum? Shouldn’t we also remove all the portraits and photos of our national leaders from the school classrooms and public offices?

C’mon, let’s be consistent, and bloody stop playing politics.

Today I read in The Malaysian Insider the news that Ex-soldiers ask for new monument in Putrajaya - it reported (extracts):

Former Malaysian soldiers want a new monument in Putrajaya to commemorate Warrior’s Day even if the celebrations are moved to the administrative capital due to objections from Islamic scholars.

The 130,000-strong Ex-Servicemen Association of Malaysia (PBTM) said a new monument is necessary as a respect to the soldiers even if it isn’t a replica of the iconic bronze monument of human statues in Lake Garden here.

Datuk Muhammad Abd Ghani also said the current July 31 celebrations is only symbolic and a mark of respect, denying claims it was unIslamic as stated by Islamic authorities who claim it should not be held at the site of statues or sculptures of human figures.

“It is an old military ceremony. We are not worshipping the monument as mentioned but it is just symbolic. What is important is our intention to give respect,” he told The Malaysian Insider last night.

I rest my case. And the Defence Minister should hang his head in shame.

Each has won a glorious grave - not that sepulchre of earth wherein they lie, but the living tomb of everlasting remembrance wherein their glory is enshrined. For the whole earth is the sepulchre of heroes. Monuments may rise and tablets be set up to them in their own land, but on far-off shores there is an abiding memorial that no pen or chisel has traced; it is graven not on stone or brass, but on the living hearts of humanity.

Take these men for your example. Like them, remember that prosperity can be only for the free, that freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it - Pericles c. 495 – 429 BC

Last Post to the Malaysian Last Post

It would have happened sooner or later, for the Warrior Day’s celebration to be syariah compliant. Apparently the Muslim clerics have deemed the military remembrance ceremony held annually to remember our late warriors and the nation’s debt to them as non-halal.

In The Malaysian Insider’s article Ex-servicemen divided over changes to Warrior’s Day celebration we have comments from:

(a) Retired Lt-Gen Zaini Mohamad Said who said: “Moving the ceremony is obviously for the better, I am quite sure it is for the better and will satisfy our multi-religious society.”

(b) Retired Maj Rashid Hassan Basri who said “I hope the celebration in Putrajaya will abandon the old practices; what is the point of playing ‘The Last Post’, it is not ours, it is a Christian tradition.”
While it’s not for me to question the Muslims on their perspective that celebrating Warrior’s Day or better known as Armed Services’ Remembrance Day is akin to idol worshipping I need to correct some errors and in one case, total bullshit, and also to point out what they have missed in their religious-centric pronouncements, as follows:

(a) Not every warrior who gave his life to the nation was a Malay or Muslim. Let me remind you of non-Muslims who were posthumously awarded the Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa like Captain Mohana Chandran al Velayuthan, Warrant Officer 2 Lenggu anak China and many others, and those who were posthumously awarded the Pingat Gagah Berani like Lt Choo Yok Boo and Lt Chang Tat Min.

So while we understand that the Islamists may want to move the location of the service for whatever reasons they have rationalised, please remember some warriors were non-Muslims. Thus it’s presumptuous for Lt-Gen Zaini Mohamad Said to claim that “Moving the ceremony is obviously for the better, I am quite sure it is for the better and will satisfy our multi-religious society.”
Sometimes it’s better not to speak on our behalf as we don’t agree with you, General - it's just that we can't do anything about your nonsense!

(b) The ceremony is about remembering our respect and debts to the late warriors, and not about idolising ot praying to them. Please don’t conflate your religious beliefs with a remembrance ceremony.

Putih tulang dikandung tanah, budi yang baik dikenang juga – that’s all the ceremony has been about, but trust someone to come up with the bullsh*t that it’s akin to idol-worshipping.

(c) The Last Post has nothing to do with Christianity. This allegation is sheer nonsense.

As Wikipedia and a number of other publications tell us: 'Last Post' was originally a bugle call used in British Army camps to signal the end of the day.

The name derives from the practice of inspecting all the sentry posts around such a camp at the end of the day, and playing a bugle call at each of them. The 'last post' was thus the last point of this inspection, and the bugle call signalling that this post had been inspected marked the end of the military day. This custom dates from at least the 17th century.

During the 19th century, 'Last Post' was also carried to the various countries of the British Empire. In all these countries it has been incorporated into military funerals, where it is played as a final farewell, symbolising the fact that the duty of the dead soldier is over and that they can rest in peace.
Where then is the connection to Christianity or Christian tradition?

It is nothing more than a (Commonwealth) military tradition. If Maj Rashid Hassan Basri believes that anything connected to the West is a Christian tradition, then he shouldn't wear shoes (Hang Tuah went around barefooted) or drive a car or a zillion other things that Westerners do.

It’s quite annoying to see people like him jump on the Islamic bandwagon by resorting to nonsense to blame what they support discarding as a Christian tradition.

Tunku Abdul Rahman was the man who had the National Monument built to honour as well as remember our heroes, men who gave their lives for our nation. 52 years have passed with PMs Abdul Razak, Hussein Onn, Dr Mahathir and PM Abdullah Badawi never raising such an issue. All of them were/are Muslims.

Trust Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Islamic Affairs Minister Jamil Khir Baharom to break half a century of military tradition. I wonder whether they were really conscious of their Islamic beliefs or playing politics.

Hulu Selangor by-election - Déjà vu Ijok?

The Malaysian Insider’s article title Pro-Mat Taib campaign begins in Hulu Selangor says it all – Mike Tyson wants back in.

His supporters screamed: “For the sake of unity we want Tan Sri Dato’ Hj Muhammad Bin Hj Muhd Taib as a candidate for Hulu Selangor.”

'... sake of unity ...'? What about MIC? wakakaka.

“His name is very popular here. Hulu Selangor used to be a sleepy hollow, but not anymore when Tan Sri Mat Taib served as mentri besar.”

Ya, but what has he done since then, other than to tell Australian Custom he didn’t understand English? This calls for another wakakaka.

Well, the local Umno leaders have been demanding that a Malay candidate be the candidate for the by-election which has understandably panicked the MIC, a devastated party post-March 2008 and which is now desperate to put its deputy party president back into the cabinet.

Poor Palanivel is not only fretting about his nomination but also about intra party backstabiing leading him to state to Malaysiakini that he is the one and only MIC candidate that his party will or has forwarded (?) to the BN Chairman for consideration.

One can’t blame Palanivel for frustratingly fighting a battle on two fronts, against competition from Mike Tyson (or another UMNO bloke) and his own party because the MIC was previously said to have submitted several names to the BN chairperson for the Hulu Selangor by-election.

Anyway, if we recall, the Hulu Selangor by-election situation is exactly like the Ijok by-election.

One - Hulu Selangor demographics tell us that its voters are made up of 53.9% Malays, 19% Indian and 26.7% Chinese (see MKINI's chart below), while Ijok has more or less the same ethnic make-up with only the Chinese and Indians switching percentages – 52% Malays, 28% Indians and 21% Chinese.


Two – It’s likely that despite the Malay majority in the constituency, Najib will nominate Palanivel unless of course Samy Vellu interferes with that, by either putting his own name in (toupee and all wakakaka) or selecting someone who isn’t likely to be a greater threat to him than poor Palanivel. This is not inconceivable of Samy’s manoeuvring, manipulating Machiavellian mischief in order to remain MIC's No 1 for another zillion years.

Three – PKR will once again pick a Malay, and perhaps shows its lack of daring compared to the BN in nominating a candidate without considering the ethnicity of its candidate - I am of course assuming that BN will pick poor worried Palanivel. But if Selangor UMNO succeeds in pushing Mike Tyson’s candidature, or Najib wanting to play safe in Hulu Selangor by nominating a Malay candidate, unlike in the Ijok by-election then wakakaka, Najib has no confidence in his own 1Malaysia.

Incidentally, on the other side (PKR), this time I don’t hear appeals from the Indian sector of PKR or NGOs or other Indian leading personalities like Premesh (Malaysiakini), except from Manoharan of the DAP, for PKR to nominate an Indian candidate. See my April 2007 post Ijok Indians racially marginalised by PKR? where I wrote (extract only):

Well, it seems Premesh Chandrean’s advice to the PKR, published in malaysiakini, has not been taken up ...

PKR is likely to nominate a Malay candidate, Khalid Ibrahim, for the Ijok by-election. The PKR Youth vice-chief S Manikavasagam has expressed his unhappiness, pointing out a couple of things to the PKR top echelon, namely (1) notwithstanding that Ijok is a constituency with 50% Malay voters, the Barisan Nasional (BN) is fielding an Indian candidate, so why not PKR? and (2) Khalid Ibrahim is a political ‘parachutist’, having just joined the party less than a year ago while there are capable PKR Indian members who have been in PKR for years and could well be the nominated candidate for the by-election.

As for Manoharan’s proposal please see my earlier post Uthayakumar for Hulu Selangor?

Mind you, Manoharan’s rather radical proposal for PKR and DAP to swap Hulu Selangor (allocated to PKR) for Batu Kawan (allocated to DAP and currently held by Dr Ramasamy) has more to do with mollifying Uthayakumar and getting him onside with Pakakan

So … let’s see whether Palanivel will be nominated as the BN candidate.

Catholic Herald and the 3rd Pandora Box

Two months ago I posted Court's ruling on Perak - second Pandora Box opened! in which I wrote about the 2 Malaysian Pandora Boxes, namely:

(1) When Dr Mahathir wanted to outflank PAS and the Islamic Party’s growing influence among the pious in the heartland, he declared Malaysia an Islamic nation. This was made against Tunku Abdul Rahman’s very declaration that Malaysia was a secular state which would uphold Islam as the nation’s official religion.

That's when the Islamization of Malaysia gained real momentum.

(2) … the Federal Court made a decision [in Fenruary 2010] based on a ruling that once again opened another Pandora Box, that of a ruler being able to dismiss an elected MB of a State (or, in the federal arena, the elected PM of our nation).

Think Perak!

In today’s Malaysiakini column, sweetie Helen Ang wrote in her new article of Malayasia being not quite secular.

She said: Last week, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang called on the government to amend the first precept of the Rukunegara to 'Belief in Allah'. All those who insisted on the Catholic Herald's 'right' to 'Allah' should now warmly welcome Hadi's proposal made in Parliament when debating the motion of thanks on the Agong's speech. After all, these people had so enthusiastically embraced the idea that "your Allah is my Allah too".

Even Indonesia, the largest Muslim nation in the world, states the first of its Pancasila (national ideology) as 'KeTuhanan Yang Maha Esa', thus without mentioning 'Allah'. Our Rukunnegara was just a modified copy of the Pancasila.

Now, Pak Haji Hadi Awang wants to better Indonesia in this department. He has effectively raised the ante for UMNO to follow.

But sweetie Helen warned that Pak Haji Hadi Awang’s 'Allah' is not quite the ‘Allah’ that Father Lawrence Andrew and the Catholic Church have in mind. Read her article to find out more.

So be prepared for onward escalation of this issue if/when UMNO succumbs to the temptation to outflank PAS on this one, in similar fashion to what Dr Mahathir once thought was an excellent idea.

And we can only have Father Lawrence and the Catholic Herald mob to thank for the probable opening of the 3rd Pandora Box, which will be both an extension and an advance model of the 1st Pandora Box.

To the extent that I have offended my good friends Lucia Lai and D'Cruz and many Catholics, I have voiced my opposition to Father Lawrence Andrew's (I know he’s just the front man for the Catholic Herald mob) dogged intransigent pursuit of the right to use the ‘Allah’ word as God in the Malay edition of the Catholic Herald.

As I wrote in my post Allah, Elohim or Yahweh? [which was also published in Malaysiakini, but in a more formal version]:

Really, what is the morality or motivation behind Father Andrew’s rejection of ‘Elohim’, the original name of the Judaist-Christian God, and his insistence on the use of ‘Allah’ to refer to the Christian God when locally it has always been recognized that ‘Allah’ refers to the God of the Islamic faith.

Ultimately let us also not forget that both Islam and Christianity are evangelistic missionary religions with an obligation on the faithful to convert the so-called ’pagans’ …

Of course, to the Church, everyone who is not a Christian is a pagan.

But bear in mind also that to Islam, everyone who is not a Muslim is a pagan.

It’s their holy duty to proselytize for the greater glory of Allah swt.

Once upon a time, according to my elders, when Tunku Abdul Rahman was chairman of The Star (and a damn good newspaper it then was), a new (Indian) reporter responsible for the weekly TV roundups made the gross mistake of writing, words to the effect, that “It’ll be a boring week because of the Ramadan prayers being screened.”

The outrage from Muslims was understandable and quite frightening, and that bloke had Tunku to thank for when the Grand Olde Man nipped the lighted powder keg in the bud by stating firmly that the young reporter made a mistake and would apologize, and he (Tunku) didn’t want the issue to be blown out of proportion, so he wanted everyone to stop commenting on the issue - matter closed!

Then he possessed the wibawa - the status, respect and the influence - to quell the anger of the Muslims.

Today, with people like the Kulim Wonder, Mufti Harussani and Ridhuan Tee (wakakaka), if any inexperienced reporter (or for that matter, any non-Muslim) were to be silly enough to make similar mistakes, Tunku , even if alive, would not be able to save him – and may God, no, make that Allah swt save his/her soul.

Now guess what the conditions will be if indeed PAS succeeds in exploiting or stampeding UMNO into the opening that Father Lawrence has opened so kangkang for them, and take the Islamization of Malaysia to PAS’ ultimate dream state.

As one sweetie commented, if even a fraction of that probability were to come true, padan muka (serves him right) to Father Lawrence Andrew and the Catholic Church – question is, will the Church then be still allowed to practice here?

Bapak Bangsa Malaysia - Bapak Perkasa?

Dr Mahathir was the man who proposed the concept of Bangsa Malaysia, to create an inclusive national identity for all inhabitants of Malaysia to replace the National Culture Policy that asserted a Malay ethnic national identity.

He said Bangsa Malaysia would mean "people being able to identify themselves with the country, speak Bahasa Malaysia, and accept the Constitution."

That was 15 years ago.

Then nine years ago, 6 years after he proposed Bangsa Malaysia, he stated in a speech at the ‘Reaffirming the Idealism of Undergraduates in the New Millennium’ symposium at Dewan Perdanasiswa, Universiti Malaya:

“The Malays should stop sending memorandum after memorandum to the government asking for aid and other things for themselves. Such an approach is no longer suitable because the time has come for them to stand on their own feet.”

“How much longer must the Malays depend on the government and the privileges accorded to them? How much longer must they remain mediocre?”

“How do you view the beggars on the street and then ask yourself what is the difference between their circumstances and yours? The government has done so much to elevate the position of the Malays, be it in business or education so that their achievement would be on par with the races, yet these efforts are never enough.”

“If the Malays could compete on the same level with other races there would no longer be a need for them to restrict themselves to the quota for everything. Must we lower the eligibility standard to the point where even useless students can go to the university just so that we can fill up the 55% bumiputra quota in the local public universities?”

“If so, we must remember that some of the students who go to the university in this manner will someday become doctors and engineers. How can we entrust our life to such doctors or what will be the quality of our infrastructures if they are built by such engineers? It would be much easier to tackle the problem affecting the Malays if they are proven stupid because all that is required would be to encourage them to study harder.”

“However, the underlying reason is much more difficult to address because it is caused by negative attitude and their reluctance to work hard.” – see The Malaysian Insider’s Dr M, father of the regressing Malay — Martin Jalleh.


Yet 3 days ago he was reported in Malaysiakini’s article Mahathir to Najib: Listen to Perkasa as Perkasa's guest of honour to open the ultra right wing NGO's inaugural general meeting, warning Najib:

"I would like to remind the current leadership to listen to the Malay NGOs. They represent the Malays. He should be mindful of the Malays for they are his constituents. They hold the votes (in their hands)."

“The Malays are flocking to Perkasa because UMNO has failed to promote and fight for the Malay cause.”

Dr Mahathir is now known as the man who is the godfather of ultra rightwing Perkasa.

Why has Bapak Bangsa Malaysia, the man who told off the Malays off for seeking handouts, now caused Lim Kit Siang to lament:

“Mahathir has come full circle, from an ultra back again to an ultra – repudiating Bangsa Malaysia and Vision 2020 which he enunciated in 1991. This is the greatest tragedy.”

Indeed, I wonder what has brought about Dr Mahathir's incomprehensible volte-face?

Uneasy lies the head that usurps a crown

Canst thou, O partial sleep, give thy repose
To the wet sea-boy in an hour so rude,
And in the calmest and most stillest night,
With all appliances and means to boot,
Deny it to a king? Then happy low, lie down!
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

- William Shakespeare, Henry The Fourth, Part 2 Act 3, scene 1, 26–31

An explanation of above:

King Henry IV, feeling guilty because he murdered Richard II to seize the throne and facing rebellion, is feeling the weight of his crown, hence the statement ‘uneasy lies the head that wears a crown’.

He had no rest on quiet nights on his royal couch whilst in contrast the peasants in their ‘loathsome beds’ would have a good night's sleep, and even a wet sailor-boy perched high on a mast, amid wind and waves, could nod off easily.

But more than the sleepless anxiety of Henry IV would be the man who realizes ‘uneasy lies the head that usurps a crown’.

See Malaysiakini’s Nizar: Prominent police presence created climate of fear where Zambry Abdul Kadir required the protection of a battalion of police inside the DUN to protect his questionable legitimacy as MB of Perak (shame on the BN for involving the police in the so-called hallowed hall, and shame on the police for interfering with the legislative) ...

... and equally questionable BN speaker R Ganesan had to have six security personnel as bodyguards - see Malaysiakini’s Minor commotion, media confined to viewing room.

This had been the appalling abysmal abject situation in the sitting of the State Legislative Assembly of Perak where the pretender to the State's chief executive position knows how ‘uneasy lies the head that usurps a crown’.

Haw-T’au-Ngeow-Ch’oo-Boey or Tiger-Head-Mouse-Tail

Once upon a time, in a land once known as the Boelay Kingdom, there lived a mythical creature known as Haw-T’au-Ngeow-Ch’oo-Boey. Translated into English, it means (literally) Tiger-Head-Mouse-Tail, implying the creature was ferocious at one end of its body but timid at the other. In modern political parlance, the creature would ‘act tough for show at one end but cringe at the other’.

As we expect with mythological creatures like the dragon, phoenix, unicorns, griffins, etc, they only exist in stories.

But then recently many people spotted a Haw-T’au-Ngeow-Ch’oo-Boey in our local neighbourhood.

Its Tiger-Head made a lot of noise against a hunter named Mahathir but alas, the noise was in Chinese, which means those who don’t understand Chinese won’t be offended. So Tiger-Head tried to show it was brave but only to those who understood Chinese.

Meanwhile its Mouse-Tail obviously didn’t roar but instead made a manja melodious mewing sound (in English) to those Tai-Kohs who didn’t join the Perkasa hunting party – it lauded them. Yes, as we know, ‘lauded’ in English means ‘praised’ or ‘extolled’. Wah, so sweet! Good boy lah!

Unlike its Tiger-Head, it made no mention, let alone criticism, of the hunter named Mahathir.

So it’s a clever creature, making two completely different responses on the same incident. Act tough on it to a particular group, but act bodek-ish to another.

That’s the Haw-T’au-Ngeow-Ch’oo-Boey for you, or as Chinese would say of its roar-mewing, 'hoe knwa boe hoe cheah' (good to look at, but lousy in taste/substance) wakakaka.

But enough of mythological creatures, go get yourself educated by reading Malaysiakini’s Gerakan slams Dr M's 'disgusting' speech at Perkasa AGM.

Meanwhile, over at DAP HQs, when asked what was their reaction to the hunter Mahathir, a DAP man replied 'cheah par boe eng ah?' literally meaning 'having eaten, so busy?'.

In idomatic terms, it implies 'don't we have far better things to do?'.

Liow is MCA No 2

Congratulations to UMNO! Half a loaf is better than none, and Chua can be ........

Related:
Who will be MCA's new president?

Uthayakumar for Hulu Selangor?

Malaysiakini - Manoharan urges PKR to field Uthaya.

DAP Manoharan has set the cat among the pigeons.

Putting aside Uthayakumar’s political prospects in the Hulu Selangor by-election, Manoharan’s proposal if taken up would be a coup, well, at least on the surface. It will bring Hindraf or whatever remains of that once-amazing movement on side with Pakatan, and avoid the vote splitting that Uthayakumar has threatened against Pakatan in a number of crucial seats for the next election.

It will also mollify Uthayakumar as he would feel he has been accepted and acknowledged by Pakatan leaders as not only a peer but a ‘mover’, a big time pollie, so to speak. That has been his siren cry all the while but alas, he did it in such a nasty petulant manner that no one, least of all the DAP (who had fought for him when he was under ISA detention), wants to have anything to do with such a self-centred person.

Of course if he wins in Hulu Selangor, wow, he will see it as vindication of his god-like personality.

But will Pakatan take up on Manoharan’s advice?

If it does, many may feel that Pakatan is kowtowing to an Uthayakumar’s threat of a three-corner fight in some crucial seats in the next election. Does one want to go down such a path, succumbing to threats, when it will set a very dangerous precedent?

Many in Pakatan opine that Uthayakumar as a person is so conceited that he can easily become a frog if Pakatan doesn’t let him have his way, each and everytime he demands something!

I personally feel that Uthayakumar has burnt his bridges with Pakatan, especially the DAP. He crossed the Rubicon when he made unwarranted petulant attacks against Lim GE and Dr Ramasamy, and in the most outrageously vilifying manner against the latter - as Penangites would describe him for that most lamentable behaviour, 'pehboe boe kar see' (wasn't taught good manners by his parents).

Despite Uthayakumar’s potential to lose some seats for Pakatan in the next election I don’t believe it is possible or wise to accept this man in as a Pakatan candidate. He isn't a team player, and the space in Pakatan, wide as it is in housing PAS, PKR, PSM and DAP with their ideological difference, is unlikely to, nor ever will accommodate the size of Uthayakumar's head.

But then, politics is the art of making the impossible possible! Regrets come a second.

Political snippets (13)

Based on news reports from Malaysiakini, Star and The Malaysian Insider.

Case 1 - 24 March 2010

Star reported Anwar's sodomy trial to continue May 10 (Update).

Another postponement? Now, what did I tell you in my letter to MKINI titled The political assassination of Anwar Ibrahim, where I had written:

The strategy of the anti-Anwar force is probably to drag out the court case for as long as possible so as to prolong the embarrassment and discrediting of Anwar through incremental releases of salacious tidbits for public consumption. Thus I wasn't surprised when the Federal Court postponed the trial recently.

The anti-Anwar force wasn't flinching as some asserted, nor was it giving in to international force as others had fantasised. We may expect more postponements and delays.

The longer the trial, preferably drawn out past 2013, the more dirty laundering in public on Anwar can be done. The objective is to continuously slander, smear and slur Anwar Ibrahim and bring his character into disrepute. The trial will be milked for all its worth and potential to destroy his character, credibility and even charisma.

I concluded with: It may not be the '50 dalil' but more likely is the political assassination of Anwar Ibrahim by a thousand cuts.


Case 2 - 25 March 2010

The Malaysian Insider reported PAS wants amendments to Rukunegara to include ‘Allah’ where:

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang told reporters outside Parliament that the government should view the debates on the “Allah” issue in a positive light and make appropriate changes to the Rukunegara to refer to “God” as “Allah”, as Christians and non-Muslims also use the word.

“What is wrong with it, it is an achievement in unity following the ‘Allah’ issue. We should not only change the Rukunegara, we should make it more proactive, and at the same time work towards unity.”

“Christians and other religions have realised the glory of the name ‘Allah’, Lord, God and other words do not have the same meaning.”

We are certainly ahead of Indonesia which has the world’s biggest Muslim population but with only its Pancasila No 1 stating: Ketuhanan (no, not Allah) Yang Maha Esa.

But forget about Indonesia. I’m sure Father Lawrence Andrew of the Catholic Church’s Herald Weekly must be ecstatic with this news. Well, he did ask for it, didn't he? wakakaka.

Hallelujah or should I say instead Alhamdulillah?


Case 3 - 24 March 2010

Malaysiakini - 'IGP Musa lied about his law degree'.

According to my uncle, some years ago there was a rather distinguished looking public servant (very elegant, dressed a la haute couture) who held himself extremely well in high circles and was an erudite orator.

Many then had no doubt that he would one day be the Chief Sec to the government (the No 1 public servant), but alas, all came unstuck when it was discovered (someone snitched on him) he didn’t have a PhD though he was known/addressed for years as Doctor So & So.

Unc heard he desperately defended himself by arguing he didn't claim to be a Doctor and that it had been others who called him that (though he didn’t correct those people, and had in fact signed letters/papers with his signature block indicating his 'PhD').

It's all the more sad when he was undoubtedly a very able public servant. My Uncle has never stop wondering why he did such a silly thing? Mind you, I know of a couple of very capable Aussies who did just the very same 'crime'.

It was an unmitigated disaster for 'Dr' Elegant's reputation and career. I hope the same consequences befall upon the current IGP wakakaka.

The Snippets:
(1) Political snippets (1)
(2) Political snippets (2)
(3) Political snippets (3)
(4) Political snippets (4)
(5) Political snippets (5)
(6) Political snippets (6)
(7) Political snippets (7)
(8) Political snippets (8)
(9) Political snippets (9)
(10) Political snippets (10)
(11) Political snippets (11)
(12) Political snippets (12)
(13) Post election snippets (1)

Who will be MCA's new president?

Malaysiakini - Underdog Tee Keat sees fortunes turning!

The description by MKINI of Ong Tee Keat says it all – he’s the underdog, and thus not expected to win.

In simplified maths, based on the last MCA presidential election, he and erstwhile ally Liow had slightly over 50% while Chua Soi Lek has the other (almost) 50%.

Since then Ong and Liow had a falling out, thus in those simplified statistical terms, Chua with his almost 50% party support should roam home to be the new MCA president.

But how does the entry of Ong Ka Ting affect the percentages? As a former party president he undoubtedly has considerable support. But after two years of his absence how many of these would still remain committed to him?

And I wonder what role and influence former party president Ling play, because undoubtedly he’ll seek to enhance his son’s position in the party.

Yes, The Malaysian Insider published a Merdeka Centre poll showing Tee Keat is favoured choice of Chinese voters to be party president, but that means diddly squat because it won’t be the Chinese voters electing the MCA president but party delegates who are already immersed in party rooms’ dealing and wheeling.

Malaysiakini photo

Remember, Chua by right should have around 50% of the delegates support, though of course Ong Ka Ting may upset that consequential logic from the statistics of last party election.

But one thing is for sure, UMNO is hoping for a winning Ong Ka Ting & Liow Tiong Lai partnership. After all, unlike Ong Tee Keat, Ong Ka Ting was well accepted in the pre-March-2008 cabinet; and we sure know Liow Tiong Lai is UMNO's darling boy in MCA - see my earlier post Najib and Muhyiddin fought for Liow Tiong Lai.

The poor odd BN Chinese bloke currently left out on a limb must be Gerakan Koh Tsu Koon wakakaka – sorry lah, UMNO is right now more interested in and wary about a MCA showing signs of insubordination.

Aesop's Fable No 2 - The boy who cried wolf

There once was an ambitious boy who thought of bodeking the boss as he sat on the hillside watching the village sheep voters. To amuse himself he took a great breath and sang out, "Wolf! Wolf! The Wolf is chasing the sheep!" “Local elections! Local elections! Lim GE doesn’t want local elections!”

The villagers voters came running up the hill to help the boy drive the wolf away cry out for local elections. But when they arrived at the top of the hill, they found no wolf Lim GE actually wanted local elections. The boy quietly laughed at the sight of their angry faces behind their back.

"Don't cry 'wolf', boy," said the villagers voters, "when there's no wolf!" They went grumbling back down the hill.

Later, the boy sang out again, "Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!" To his naughty delight, he watched the villagers run up the hill to help him drive the wolf away.

When the villagers saw no wolf they sternly said, "Save your frightened song for we now know it’s really PM Najib who doesn’t want local elections! Don't cry 'Lim GE doesn’t want it' when it’s your BN towkay!"

But the boy just grinned and watched them go grumbling down the hill once more.

Later, he saw a REAL wolf, namely the EC who said it can’t hold local elections for Penang and Selangor (aiyah, because Najib oledy said so lah). Whether he was alarmed or not (after all he’s a BN minion), he leaped to his feet and sang out as loudly as he could, "Lim GE doesn’t want local elections! Lim GE doesn’t want local elections!"

But the villagers voters by now knew he was trying to fool them again, and so they didn't come.

At sunset, everyone in kampung Gelakan wakakaka wondered why the boy hadn't returned to the village with their sheep votes. They went up the hill to find the boy. They found him weeping.

"There really was a wolf here! The flock has scattered! I cried out, "Wolf!" Why didn't you come?"

An old man tried to comfort the boy as they walked back to the village.

"We'll help you look for the lost sheep votes in the morning year 2023," he said, putting his arm around the youth, "Nobody believes someone who keeps giving bullsh*t alarms ...!"

See also:

Aesop's Fable No 1 - The fox & the grapes

Diminishing UMNO influence with MCA?

Malaysiakini published Umno's waning influence over MCA which has James Wong Wing Onn, a local political strategist, stating:

“Now, Umno support is seen as a liability rather than an asset because MCA has learnt a bitter lesson in past elections that even those segment of the Chinese community which are traditionally pro-establishment want MCA to be only an ally of Umno - not its 'Chinese Affairs Department'.”

It's not just that, because we must remember that MCA has been brought to its current abysmal status precisely because of UMNO and its total disregard for its BN partner's feelings and credibility. UMNO has continuously undermined MCA's position in the eyes of Chinese Malaysians.

If MCA doesn't show a bit of balls, it'll be totally dead like the Gerakan zombie.

Anyway, we need to note what I posted last year, that Najib and Muhyiddin fought for Liow Tiong Lai when Ong TK had a falling out with his erstwhile ‘ally’.

And we know that former MCA president Ong Ka Ting, in making a move to come back again as president, is deemed to be pairing up with Liow, with the latter as the candidate for the party’s deputy presidency.

We may assume that the pair of Ong Ka Ting and Liow Tiong Lai are looked upon favourably by UMNO’s bigwigs.

Let’s see whether James Wong will be proven correct in the coming party election, that “…Umno support is seen as a liability rather than an asset …” for the MCA party candidates.

I hope so because I can’t stand Liow.

The 'True Malay Warrior' playing safe?

Wakakaka – please read Malaysiakini’s 'Malay warrior' Ibrahim Ali owns shares in gambling company.

PKR's Saifuddin Nasution said in Parliament today that Ibrahim Ali, proclaimed as the so-called ‘true Malay warrior’ has shares in Vincent Tan’s Ascot Sports, a gaming company.

Don’t forget, Ibrahim Ali warned Malays that the Chinese would take over the country. Looks like he has booked himself a berth with the soon-to-be-ruling Chinamen wakakaka.

Defending Anwar Ibrahim - wakakaka

My letter to Malaysiakini titled Dalai Lama shakes hands, Anwar Ibrahim dances where I defended Anwar Ibrahim, yes, gasp, gawd, omigosh, kaytee defended Anwar Ibrahim – hope anwaristas don’t suffer from any heart attacks wakakaka

********

I refer to Malaysiakini report Anwar spars with KJ over 1Israel, tycoon's daughter.

In Parliament last Wednesday, Anwar Ibrahim excoriated BN for giving 'a whole mountain' to the late Lim Goh Tong to build the Genting Highlands casino complex, yet having the brazen double standard nerve to complain about Pakatan's land allocations for Chinese new villages in Perak.

Then Khairy Jamaluddin riposted by accusing Anwar of being the deputy prime minister who gave Lim the land, but I believe he had attacked ad hominem and irrelevantly by raising the issue of Anwar dancing with Lim's daughter.

Never an admirer of Anwar Ibrahim, I wouldn't have dreamed of defending him but I'll take the advice of my uncle who told me that one could always try something new or unusual.

Firstly, Anwar made the allusion to the BN's award of the land in Genting Highlands to Lim Goh Tong in a specific context, and not as an isolated point of attack against BN. He did so in comparing or rather contrasting the BN's double standard in criticising Perak Pakatan's assistance to the landless Chinese new villages.

Genting Highlands

But Khairy's response to the issue of Genting did not in any way explain away the BN's glaring double standard. No, Khairy failed to ameliorate the BN's unsympathetic view of the land needs of Perak's new villagers while it had supported Lim. This may be something for Pakatan to take to the voters in general, and Perakian new villagers in particular.

Secondly, by mentioning Anwar's dance with Lim's daughter, Khairy was punching his parliamentary opponent below the belt, though of course in Malaysian politics there's no Queensberry rule in political fisticuffs, where Thai boxing technique such as kicking the opposition in the groin or elbowing him in the eye are quite acceptable, and in fact the norm which would be applauded by one's own side.

Anyway, back to Anwar's dancing. Before I explain why it's not something scandalous for the opposition leader despite his Islamic stand, have you ever seen the Dalai Lama in action on his campaign trail in the West? He would shake the hands of women, any women who held out her hand. If you are not a Buddhist, you would probably ask, so what?

Initially Buddhists and some like me, who were brought up in Buddhist families and know something about what Buddhist monks can and can't do, were shocked by the Dalai Lama touching women's hands. Buddhist monks are not suppose to be ever in physical contact with anyone of the female gender, either directly like shaking hands or indirectly like receiving a tray (or book, etc) from a female regardless of her age, no, not even from a little sweetheart who's only five years old.

Dalai Lama and Hilary Clinton

Yet the Dalai Lama has done it, is doing it and undoubtedly will be doing it. Why?

Because he is not only the Dalai Lama but a Tibetan politician who depends heavily on and campaign constantly for Western support. So when someone, say, like Cindy Crawford (the former wife of Richard Gere who is one of the Dalai Lama's most devoted followers), Oprah Winfrey and Hilary Clinton extend their hands to the Dalai Lama, what do you think he as a Buddhist monk should do?

(from L to R) Richard Gere, Dalai Lama, Cindy Crawford

Of course, he would (notionally) take off his Lama hat and don his politician's toupee to shake their hands so as to not offend the Western ladies. You can bet it's not wise to appear to the Western world as a religious fundamentalist, not when one needs their support. In most cases they wouldn't know the vows of a monk nor would they care.

Eventually those 'shocked' Buddhists did the prudent thing, by keeping quiet about the embarrassing observation, that one of Buddhism's top prelates has violated his own clerical vow, unless of course they have come to understand that it was merely politics.

Dalai Lama and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, former 1st Lady do France

I reckon it was a similar situation for Anwar Ibrahim when he (then DPM) danced with Lim Goh Tong's daughter. I doubt it was Anwar who asked Lim's daughter for a dance; most likely it was the other way around. Then it would have been churlish for a DPM not to accept a woman's invitation to take to the floor, and probably insulting to her father. I do not believe that incident of social and chivalrous obligation had compromised Anwar's Islamic credentials.

It's known that Anwar's wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail wears a glove for hand-shaking because of her Islamic stand. And if you don't, then you have missed the news of how Zulkifli Nordin, who claimed to be a family friend of Anwar and Wan Azizah, had sneered at her for this.

a right hand gloved Wan Azizah

Obviously, as the wife of a politician and the president of a political party herself (first KeADILan, now PKR) she has prepared herself well for a bit of political campaigning where hand-shaking would be a common and virtually mandatory requirement. But I wouldn't want to recommend wearing a glove to the Dalai Lama as it would still be a form of contact with women, and thus wouldn't help a monk maintain his religious vow.

Dalai Lama with young fans

The problem is, of course, when one has a certain standard of religious observance or is subordinated to a set of do's and don'ts (like the Dalai Lama and Wan Azizah) it becomes quite tricky to maintain that standard in a different socio-cultural environment. For the Dalai Lama this would be the West and Western women, and for Wan Azizah, non Muslim men in Malaysia and overseas.

But the point is that a politician, whether the Dalai Lama, Dr Wan Azizah or Anwar Ibrahim, who depends also on the support of people from a different ethnic group or possess a different religion, has to be prepared to deal with these supporters' different set of values and of course their innocent ignorance about the politician's taboos.

Khairy Jamaluddin

Anyway, let's keep an eye on the ball of the parliamentary debate and ask once again, did Khairy Jamaluddin manage to explain away Anwar Ibrahim's accusation of the BN's double standard in land allocation?

The answer has to be a disappointing 'nay'.

********

wakakaka

Zahrain Hashim a Hang Tuah?

If you read The Malaysian Insider’s Anwar promised DPM posts to PAS, DAP, says Zahrain as well as the previous parliamentary ’revelations’ by Zahrain Hashim, previously of PKR and currently so-called ‘independent’, you can tell he’s been reading from a prepared script, a script which I believe was written for him by you-know-who.

A political pundit claimed that the BN suffered collateral or even greater damage than PKR in Zahrain’s attack on Anwar Ibrahim – see The Malaysian Insider’s Zahrain targets PR but BN is collateral damage, analysts say.

That might well have been the case but my suspicion that his speech was ‘written for him’ was that:

One – the BN MPs were in FULL attendance in parliament during his earlier speech when he named a few alleged BN wannabe frogs, including Ku Li.

Got that, in FULL attendance!

Two – all’s not well within UMNO as those named by Zahrain were obviously the ones certain UMNO bigwigs didn’t like and wanted to slur and damage through Zahrain's accusations.

Ku Li is of course an obvious target for his independent pronouncements, most of which have been against the current UMNO ruling regime, while ‘bocor-ite’ Bung Moktar Radin has been too long an embarrassment and perhaps needed to be replaced in the coming general election. OTOH, he might have been a 'natural' as a frog wakakaka!

Abdul Ghapur Salleh, the Kalabakan MP, is unpopular because he was ostentatiously vocal that he had been pissed off with his Peninsula colleagues by telling AAB off immediately after the new post-2008 GE cabinet.

Ghapur flicked his appintment as deputy natural resources and environment minister back to AAB as he felt UMNO was treating the Sabahans in a patronizing and unappreciative manner, considering it had been Sabah which had propped BN up after the devastating 2008 political tsunami.

On top of that he had demanded for Sabah a whopping increase of oil royalty from 5% to 20%, which translated into an additional RM1.5 billion allocation to RM2billion. It's obvious UMNO wants him to go.

But why Anifah Aman?

The Foreign ministership is of course not as lucrative a ministership as the Finance or Trade post, etc but it is still a prestigious appointment. I wonder who may covet the hi-profile gaya appointment. Don’t tell me it’s Sri Botak? Wakakaka

Three – it’s part of the current UMNO strategy to discredit, humiliate, and smear Anwar Ibrahim – I had posted this as a letter in MKINI, titled The political assassination of Anwar Ibrahim, where I had written, among a number of UMNO’s anti-Anwar tactics, the following:

Former but now disgruntled colleagues of Anwar have been and will be paraded out regularly to disparage Anwar with nasty and damaging gossips. He has already been demonised as a puppet of the Chinese DAP party, with the 'Chinese' emphasised by Anwar's detractors. His stand vis-à-vis the 'Allah' word controversy has seen his Muslim status attacked by the usual suspects. Expect more!

The recent defection of once-PKR members of Parliament and state assemblypersons with their inevitable complaints and criticisms of Anwar would form part of the discrediting programme.

I concluded with: It may not be the '50 dalil' but more likely is the political assassination of Anwar Ibrahim by a thousand cuts.

And so it has come to be, as demonstrated by Anwar’s erstwhile ‘closed friend’, Zahrain Hashim.

Let me now ask, is Zahrain like Hang Tuah, a hero as UMNO would be prepared wakakaka to even call him that? ;-)

Or, is Zahrain like Hang Tuah, the court sycophant who sold his soul to the ‘Sultan’ by obeying the royal command to kill his friend through a death by a thousand cuts? Amin!

The down and up and down of Hang Jebat

I am okay with constitutional monarchy ... on condition the monarch also agrees with his constitutional role and not imagine he is a modern day Sultan Mansur Shah who can sentence the likes of Hang Tuah to death on a mere unsubstantiated rumour, or bash a caddy on the head with a putter, or whack a hockey coach, all because he wasn't too happy.

But of course I am only a Chinese Malaysian and shouldn’t have said the above as the royal person of a Sultan is a sensitive issue for Malays, especially nowadays when there are a couple of guardian organizations for Malay rights like Perkasa etc.

But would I be insensitive in just reading Malaysiakini’s article Some can insult sultans with impunity?

Incidentally, now that I mentioned Perkasa, you may want to know the above MKINI article reported that on 10 December 1992 during a parliamentary session where UMNO chewed up the Malay royalty right royally, Ibrahim Ali, then the BN MP for Pasir Mas, urged the government to amend the constitution to spell out clearly what privileges should be accorded to the members of the royalty.

He made the comment following the most devastatingly speech made against royalty by Dr Affifuddin Omar (BN-Padang Terap).

Yes, the UMNO bloke who took the cake in that royalty-chewing session was reported by MKINI as follows:

Affifuddin asked, "How can we continue to uphold rulers who are known to be robbers, adulterers, drunkards and kaki pukul (thugs)?"

"The rulers must be reminded that they were not reincarnations of dewa-dewa (deities). They were put in their position as rulers by the people."

"The immunity gave the rulers the status of 'half-man and half-god' and allowed irresponsible rulers to commit serious crimes which tarnished the image of the institution."

"It was about time that the 'false sense of political power' associated with rulers in this country be abolished."

"They (the rulers) must be made to realise 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."

"The 'syndrome of religiosity' associated with the rulers was only to cloud the people's view of who the rulers actually were."

Strangely enough, for an UMNO bloke he wasn't exactly wrong on principles. But of course he and people like Ibrahim Ali only had the balls to say above after (then) PM Dr Mahathir pulled out the royal fangs.

With that, Hang Jebat had his final revenge. UMNO rehabilitated him.

I heard that UMNO named the biggest hall in its HQ building after Jebat, while the smallest was assigned the moniker of Hang Tuah. Is this true? If so, then it was the biggest UMNO two-fingers to Malay royalty. I am glad that Tunku Abdul Rahman was no longer around because it would have broken the heart of the nation’s most ardent monarchist.

Years ago during Tunku’s premiership, the RMN's second frigate was originally named after Hang Jebat but subsequently renamed KD Rahmat. The reason provided was that after some fires broke out in its engine room, the renaming was to break the jinx.

But according to my uncle who was in the Armed Forces then, he heard that the Tunku found it repugnant to name a navy frigate after Malay’s most notorious traitor.

Well, after 1992, the rehabilitation of Jebat was complete when a frigate was finally named after the No 2 Malaccan admiral.

Malay pollies quoted with pride his immortal words of "Raja adil raja disembah, raja zalim raja disanggah" (A fair king is a king to obey, a cruel king is a king to fight against).

Jebat finally became the hero that he was, and Tuah was relegated to being a small time palace sycophant.

But did I just say: Jebat finally …?

Maybe that was a wee too soon because Tuah has struck back – apparently there’s still a use for disused hero, especially when UMNO needs him.

Yes, today UMNO is the world’s greatest defender of Malay royalty, especially the one who is reputed to have the Taming Sari.

Gerakan doesn't support local elections in Penang?

I am not surprised that some people are getting irritated by Gerakan Tan Keng Liang’s mosquito-like buzzing around Lim Guan Eng.

His latest gimmick may be read in Malaysiakini’s Gerakan to Lim: Get house in order before meeting PM.

To put it briefly, because that’s all it merits, Tan ‘…has dismissed Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's attempt to meet Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak over the local elections issue as pre-mature.

He advised Lim to first meet with his superior, PR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim over their coalition's stand on local government elections before meeting the prime minister.’

No doubt Tan wants to make a name for itself, especially in a political environment where the Gerakan Party has been decimated, and cleansed from Northern Peninsula which was once its birth ground with Penang as its spiritual home. Incidentally, have you heard a peep from any Gerakan bloke on this issue?

Thus we may ask, today where/what/who is Gerakan Party other than the plaintive whimpering of one Tan Keng Liang – I suppose in that he is some sort of noisy hero in a very silent party – when one is very dead one is undoubtedly silent wakakaka.

Its president, as I had mentioned, is humiliatingly just a mere assistant ce to Idris Jala. Sayang saja, Koh Tsu Koon, a man who graduated from Princeton University with a degree in physics and a PhD in economics and sociology of education from the University of Chicago is now nothing more than an 'assistant ce' minister in report cards.

Forget about Koh, and let’s examine Tan’s most recent mosquito-like buzzing. Now he doesn’t want Lim GE to meet with Najib to resolve the possibility of holding local council elections in Penang and Selangor.

We all know that Najib is the principal obstacle or objector to having local council elections restored to the Malaysian political structure, yet Tan doesn’t want Lim GE to talk to Najib. It looks as if Tan in reality doesn't want Penang to have local election, which makes him a hypocrite – wait, not just that but a noisy hypocrite!

Not only that, this political nobody is attempting to prescribe to Lim GE, the CM of Penang, what steps the latter should adopt towards the holding of local elections.

Tan is attempting to set for Lim GE a task that belongs to Kedah PAS. Thus why should Lim even listen to the Kedah mosquito?

Unlike BN where a component party like the Gerakan Party has to constantly kowtow like a serf to its lord and master, UMNO, to get approval for every decision it wants to make, the Pakatan doesn’t work that way where there is a bullying TaiKoh a la UMNO. The Pakatan is a loose alliance where each component party is a sovereign party which cooperates rather than subordinates itself to a master.

If PAS is reluctant to have local council elections, assuming it had promised this in its election campaign, then it must answer to its own electorate for its broken promise.

Similarly, the DAP and PKR shall similarly answer for its their own actions, or lack of. There’s no uncertainty that both DAP and PKR are fully committed to the 3rd vote. It’s only UMNO preventing them from fulfilling their campaign promise.

Thus, UMNO and BN, which includes the walking dead Gerakan, shall eventually answer to the voters for its refusal to support the DAP Penang government (remember, Tan doesn't want Lim GE to meet with Najib) and PKR Selangor government holding local council elections.

Tan Keng Liang as a member of Kedak Gerakan would have failed miserably to (a) marshal BN support for Lim GE’s proposal and (b) pressure his state’s PAS government to do likewise.

A double failure and a noisy one, but I concede he may well be the only man (politically) alive, just barely, in Gerakan Party wakakaka.