wandering troubadour

The Bersih 2.0 Foursome

2011-07-09T06:59:00.000-07:00

In a twist of fate the Bersih 2.0 quartet “sworn” fans landed in Delhi. Not to be dampened by having to be absent from the streets of Kuala Lumpur, the Bersih 2.0 Quartet decided to make the difference in calling for a free and fair election from the land of the world’s biggest democracy.

Malaysian government’s ploy of labeling the Bersih 2.0 as a subversive element and a threat to national security (read UMNO security), led to the Bersih 2.0 Quartet to take to the streets of Delhi and then invaded the two most significant sites in India as far as freedom, liberty and democracy are concerned, to display their anger and concern and as a show of defiance to the regime that deliberately dissuade the actual Bersih 2.0 eight point demands for a free and fair election.

The Red Fort in Old Delhi is a famous site built by Shah Jahan where India celebrates her Independence Day year in year out without fail. This UNESCO world heritage site was once occupied by the Mughal Islamic Empire until they were driven out by the colonial British. Every year on the 15th of August, thousands thronged this historical site to hear an address by the Indian Prime Minister. This place is comparable to the Merdeka Square of Bolehland. It was therefore fitting for a quartet to display the Bersih 2.0 signature t-shirts and accompanied by several shouts of demands for a free and fair election in Malaysia and a restoration of all public institutions from clasps of a callous regime with lead by a despot.

According to Wikipedia, The India Gate is a national monument of India that was originally known as All India War Memorial. With the kind of war being waged by Bolehland regime in Kuala Lumpur, what better place it would be to make a noteworthy presence here to air our grievances at the way elections are being handled in Bolehland and the filthy manner which a despot misuse public institutions to ensure his prolonged grip over the people and the country. It was a meaningful occasion in Kuala Lumpur today with freedom fighters walking the streets in peace demanding for a reinstatement of free and fair elections in Bolehland and it was equally momentous, jubilant and peaceful here in Delhi at the India Gate where the fearless foursome chose to organize a “demonstration” of sort with a (gritted) smile and greatly suppressed anger.

Have a look at the foursome with various poses, not to be outdone by the mayhem at the capital city of Bolehland. (Taking a breather from all the ‘tear gases’ and the ‘water spray’…., ooops no such thing here)

(Bersih 2.0 Cause making its presence around Old Delhi)

the RAZAK hypothesis

2010-02-15T05:24:00.000-08:00

And now the end is near, the premier faces his final curtain.

The RAHMAN Theory is coming to a close. The last name in the theory is being flushed out from underneath the sea by a floating submarine and a host of other lurid scandals. Shocking it may seems, these juicy scandals are coming to surface one after another edging the last name in the theory closer to his demise.

As with RAHMAN Theory, if it can be called one; it is interesting if we can put forward a new hypothesis. We call it RAZAK Hypothesis perhaps for the namesake was the father of the last name in the RAHMAN line-up. Finishing the 50 year old theory with a fresh hypothesis is like a father handing a baton to the son, or is it a case of the son rushing towards finishing the run?

It is fascinating to note why scandals of the MINDEF keeps on surfacing long after the now famous caretaker left the office. Something fishy but that is what rotten fish smells like, dead fish. We certainly rejoice with more and more such explicit revelations emerge. Is there a pact between the defence minister and the deputy prime minister? Events are certainly pointing in the same direction and more occurrences in the coming months will uncover more that will demonstrate a form of grand design? We certainly hope so.

With the last of the UMNO premier, there will be successions of non-UMNO stalwarts who will helm the nation.

It will come soon enough, the incarceration of the unofficial head of the loose coalition, Pakatan Rakyat. The poor fellow will surely be sent to jail along a plan of removing the bind that holds the coalition together. Will it be as simple as that or will it as always be a case of divine intervention where the Supreme Being is always proven to be the Best of Planners?

With an eventual jailing of the head of opposition coalition, there will be turmoil. This period of unrest and confusion will swiftly subside. But in complete contrast with the May 13, 1969 riot, this period of disorder is peaceful. There will be no bloodshed. Nobody buys the police intelligence unit’s version of blood-curdling and killing-spree people’s power. The great man aka the Hermit of Langgak Golf as the late MGG Pillai used to label the man will rise to the occasion. He will take over leadership of the opposition coalition.

We will see a rejuvenated opposition that will be able to throw out the UMNO-BN regime. UMNO-BN they will for the next half a decade at least remain as a race-based political party. It is highly unlikely that another nationalist party will ever grace Malaysia’s political landscape again.

We will see a judiciary restored to its former glory and the police force is back policing the country, the MACC will March against Corrupt Community and the Attorney General’s chamber prosecutes without fear or favour.

As with any interim individual, the Hermit of Langgak Golf will rule briefly, being a sensible man he is, he will seek to free the former firebrand student leader who came close to becoming the premier in the late 90s. It is morally right and true to his noble cause of seeing this great nation comes back from the brink of destruction, he will hand over the person once touted the darling of the Muslim worlds the much coveted premiership. After all, the hermit assumes de-facto leadership of the coalition while the Sheikh relinquish in prison.

A period of prosperity resumes. We will see a united Malaysia where everyone lives in true harmony, free from hatred and racial slurs. There is no cow-head’s procession, tear-gassing incidents, church-burning lunatics and certainly nobody will be arrested and persecuted without trial with the abolishment of the archaic and cruel Internal Security Act.

The ageing leader may preside close to two terms and his failing health will ensure a successor comes in to replace him. Perhaps a former de-facto law minister in the days of old will succeed the Asian Renaissance man.

The second name corresponding to the second letter in the Rahman Theory was controversial. His first name matched the letter but not the name he was often called. The third letter in the Razak Hypothesis is likely to be of similar nature. This once renowned cleric who rises to be the Islamic party spiritual leader after serving the presidency for a number of years takes over from a brief premiership of his predecessor. He will be the first and certainly not the last of a capable leader from a religious background.

At the tail end of the Razak Hypothesis, the one-time famous Oxford graduate who once walks the corridor of power in the fourth floor of the premier’s office ascends to the apex of the country’s administration. He becomes the premier at last, but contrary to what many speculates he only achieves this feat at the age of 61. Wisdom after all comes with age. This born again Islamist, founds a new splinter party, joins the coalition drawing to a close a one-time nationalist party.

Even though Razak Hypothesis is short of one candidate compared to the Rahman Theory, the Hussein Hypothesis has seven letters in the long lineage of leaders of the country called Malaysia and certainly not 1Malaysia as some people like to simply coin grizzly term to prop up one’s popularity.

Everyone has a dream. It is from dreams that we aspire to excel and achieve much greatness. Wasn’t it Martin Luther King that once said “I have a dream......” and the rest is history?

Goodnight Malaysia, wherever you are!

Allah by Any Other Name

2010-01-03T06:47:00.000-08:00

The Law of Probability of success states that when you are taking actions to increase your level of success what you are really doing is increasing the probability that you will succeed. Simply put, Law of Probability or Law of Success is that the number of chances of winning or succeed increases with the number of trials.

We have to give credit to BN/UMNO for being persistent even though what they are doing is totally heinous. Since “mainstream media” is devoid of alternative views and the only uproar is confined to the cyberspace, BN/UMNO succeeded in inventing a new issue. Now that it succeeds in finding that niche, the whole nation would rally behind these goons. BN/UMNO is the undisputed champion of the Malay Muslims in Malaysia.

Yes, the use of the word Allah by The Herald Newsletters will be a thorn in the PR flesh that will cause great pain. No, it is perhaps wrong to liken the issue to a thorn. A more precise description would be a time bomb that will blow PR asunder.

BN/UMNO let due process of law to happen this time. No need to intervene since presiding judge was a liberal and a non-Muslim too. A judgment would definitely go the Herald way and it did. The BN/UMNO Chief already proclaimed loudly that the “government”, read BN/UMNO would appeal. And by the grace of Allah, we have the Appellate Court after all! We need not worry after all, we will drag and dilly-dally as long as we can, incite the whole nation and by the time we have the nation at its feet, we will reverse the judgment. BN/UMNO is again the champion of Malay Muslims in Malaysia.

Already scores of Muslim NGOs are aligning behind the call for a reversal of judgment. BN/UMNO likened this to an undivided support on their cause. This is definitely bloody dangerous simply because BN/UMNO will capitalise on this!

Zahid Hamidi is a sleazy man but somehow he seemed to mutter some sense this time (Oh My God!). He put it quite simply that people of faith other than Islam may use this to confuse a Muslim. Going by Murphy’s Law, “Anything that can “happen” will happen and when it happens, it will happen at the most inappropriate time”.

Only PAS spiritual leader sees the issue clearly. It is never about religion at all. It is always about BN/UMNO maintaining its rule over this God forsaken land. Many people are simply too emotional about this issue. Even in pagan days, the word “Allah” is used when one referred to the Supreme Being. If you go to Egypt today you will meet Christians who refers to God as Allah. Religions of Abraham have the right to use Allah, the Spiritual Leader opined and the Muslims will always say what the Quran teaches, i.e. that Prophet Jesus (unto him peace is bestowed) is a mere prophet, like others before him.

People say charity begins at home but so do a host of other things. Everything begins at home for that matter and formal and informal education outside helps of course. If a father steals, the children would be thieves. If parents are pious, the children are equally god-fearing. Going by this reasoning, and even Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that “the parents determine the belief/religion/way of life of the children”. One must never fear that his descendants deviate from his religion if he practices a true religion and always pray that they remain steadfast.

The fear that the Muslim have should be equally shared by the Christians for the “migration” (conversion or reversion) can be both ways and not a one way street. Followers of the Christian faith may now be exposed to Allah, the Almighty as the Muslim understands and will you then cry foul only when calamity befall you?

PAS must now go to town to drum some sense into the misguided and misinformed public. Take the bull by the horns. Problems are opportunities in disguise. Do not let BN/UMNO capitalise on this issue and destroy PR into million pieces of nothingness! Get cracking before the other side seize the opportunity and judging by numerous reports in favour of BN/UMNO, PAS has an arduous task at hand.

Roses by any other names smell as sweet. There are 99 names and attributes of Allah the Almighty and the name Allah of the 99 is held most high and much revered. God by any other names but the 99 will not be the One that Muslims worship. It is only understandable that this issue is a difficult one for PR to deal with for BN/UMNO has cleverly seized the opportunity.

If even a career of a sleazy man like Khir Toyo can be revived when the man was suddenly resurrected from his political grave to rant on this issue! This goes to show that the issue has brought a new breath of life into a dying BN/UMNO. Ignore this at your own peril. PR, you have been warned!

Goodnight malaysia wherever you are!

the fighter jet engine that flies away

2009-12-21T02:18:00.000-08:00

Fellow thieves and robbers would cry foul only when the other clan did the job either without regards to their profit sharing or the groups were actually at war with each other. The latter was a more likely reason here if an engine of a jet fighter that went missing. The Malaysian Insider said it was a laughable matter if it was not a serious one. I am not surprised at all and it certainly is not a laughing matter.

The gang that smuggled out must be from the other camp that the Crime Minister did not mind a full investigation to bring the perpetrators to “justice”, of their kind at so to speak. He himself made the police report, the chief of looters proudly proclaimed. The story reminds me of the time I was working with a company in Malaysia more than two decades ago. The head of HR of the company stopped culturally positive recreational activities that were going on in the plant simply because what they termed as pilferage. The HR head was raging mad when I reminded him that the English Oxford Dictionary defined pilferage as “petty theft” and I pointed out that since items stolen were huge items that required a bunch of burly men with the help of specialised equipment to move them the incident was a “daylight robbery”.

Daylight robbery indeed this fighter jet’s engine’s disappearance!

In a country governed by robbers, we have to expect frequent lootings and major robberies. A day will not go by without “crimes”. If one’s profession is a robber, he is not expected to do policing work anyway! You have to be idiots to expect that!

There is a theory called the “Broken Windows Theory” that goes to say that “if a broken window is left untended, it will encourage others to be broken and eventually the whole house is in ruin”. In Malaysia, when everything wrong is left untended and unattended to far too long, the ruin is simply widespread and gives rise to a far reaching consequences. The rot begins at the head and now it has reached the bottom. The Crime Minister’s remarks that the incident involves lower down officers is testimony that the cycle is complete.

Now the Crime Minister lamented that he did not intent to cover up the story did not mean that the case would be fully investigated. If a father steals how can he teaches his kids to abide by the rule! Of course he could not cover this anymore since the whole world knew of this misdeed! Also, this was also a perfect excuse to get the masses to forget the bigger sin the he committed. When people focussed on another new fire being lit, the bigger fire blazing the sky is just a flicker in the distance.

So to all Malaysian citizens the world over, do not just let this event goes by and be just another irrelevant incident in our lives. Vote these bastards out for good! Cheers and God bless you, as David Coverdale used to say out loud.

myriad of observations with very little contribution and simply full of hot air

2009-12-20T05:13:00.000-08:00

One is indeed appalled by the sheer ignorance of pundits on understanding Malaysian people when commenting on the Pakatan Rakyat Convention. These experts as we come to regard them as chose the aftermath to put forward comments merely to demonstrate their intelligence and their keen observatory expertise on minute issues or shortcomings rather than focussing on the larger agenda. This bid of trying to show off one’s intellect and aptitude with no regards whatsoever to the crux of the matter leaves one to wonder as to their commitment to seeing this nation comes back from disastrous state it is in. The larger issue here is contribution towards bringing in the much needed change for the better. We are not on the brink of disaster but we are smack at the centre of a major catastrophe.

People want change and a speedy one it must be. It is a question of each and everyone who possesses at least a wee bit of conscience must do to contribute towards achieving this change. Bloggers must come out from being a mere reporter of events. They must write with passion and commitment. If everyone lifts a finger to help, arduous tasks would be easily surmountable. We are not here to demonstrate our ability to spot the smallest of mistakes or hiccups. Do not lose the bigger picture. We are here to bring about change.

It is true that many acknowledge that the positives simply outweigh the negatives on issues addressed at the PR Convention but many amongst them also continue to harp on the infinitesimally tiny and insignificant issues. Where’s the beef? It is there right before your eyes. The cake is beautiful and savoury and you are harping on the lack of icing on it! Let’s face it men! Comparing with the BN/UMNO agenda, we are witnessing an improvement by leaps and bounds if not a leap of a quantum one.

Back on the role of the informed middle class who choose to write, our task is to write with the intention to influence and bring about change and not just for the hell of it! If you are writing just to feel good about it you might as well go fly kites or do bungee jumping. You may get at least something out of these kinds of past time.

People need guidance, motivation and inspiration. They do not need to be confused and bewildered. If they see a sea of naysayers in a possible alternative to corrupt regime of BN/UMNO, how are they going to vote for change, let alone help in propagating further change! They will vote these goons into power again and again and again! Many dread that this should happen and we certainly do not want to see our children and their children and their children’s children continue to live under oppression and distorted justice. The corrupt regime simply has to be brought down. One cannot put it in any simpler term than this!

The good doctor Abdul Aziz Bari has spoken at last. Coming from a calm, composed and thoughtful intellect like him on the state of the reigning regime, one has to be “dumb, blind and ignorant” to not being able to comprehend his reasoning and reckoning. Be that as it may, it is incumbent upon us to put forward our best effort to contribute to bringing about the downfall of the BN/UMNO regime for playing the role of a bystander is tantamount to treason and treachery of the highest order. One has only one chance of living a life on this earth and to throw it to the blowing wind is real waste of time, yours and mine.

Troubadour’s epilogue
God says “My land is expansive and one must never choose to live under oppression”. Maybe I should look up the migration consultant my wife was recommending to me! She said Canada, Australia and Thailand are favourite destinations and here I am in Thailand hunting for food like gazelles on the African plain. Maybe I should remain here for good and only go back home to die and be the dust that irritates the regime’s eyes.

the new mass media

2009-12-13T20:54:00.000-08:00

RPK came out strong in demanding an action from Pakatan rakyat State Governments (Selangor, Kedah, Kelantan and Penang) to come up with free access to internet in all the states that they govern. I too am singing the same tune as I see a golden opportunity to fight the mighty UMNO/BN media. Time is the essence and to delay the implementation would prove suicidal and detrimental to PR.

The ground has shifted so much with the advent of the internet here in Malaysia. But, APCO employed by the PM to quell and subdue voices of dissent seems to be able to bombard counter intelligence work in the form of articles from various “alternative news sites” that project positive images and perceived effective works of the federal government and implant images and beliefs of opposition in colossal disarray.

While the cost of providing free internet service expounded by the Malaysian government is immense, everyone knows that this is not so and the fact that it becomes huge is a result of leakages all along the business process and value chain. The cost is definitely within the budget of states the like of Selangor and Penang. Kedah and Kelantan perhaps would be able to tag along to make up the economies of scale.

For a year’s subscription of an access to internet TV comprising of more than 3,000 channels I had to pay only RM500. It is readily available to users in Malaysia and elsewhere. (I may connect you to the promoter but that is not the point here). If you compare this with our bills from Astro, it is definitely a lot cheaper. The only thing one has to worry is adult channels are also readily accessed but responsible parents can always block from being accessed by under-aged children.

The cost of setting up TV channels the likes of that being provided by the Ministry of Education (www.eduwebtv.com) is meagre considering the state government’s reasonable big budget allocation for “communication”. Having a free internet service and backing it up with channels that counter propaganda that national TVs put forward on a daily basis would be taking the whole media matters to a new and much more level playing field and for all you know, it could even tip the scale towards the opposition and fallacies and lies propagated by BN/UMNO would no longer be swallowed by the general public.

And there is again the notion that the speed of the net is extremely slow to process massive graphics files! Leave it to the experts! For a scanty sum again the same friend supplies a solution he called “broadband viagra” that connects users to huge servers around the globe that make the speed super fast. Trust the Chinese programmers amongst the 1.3 Billion China population! Nothing is impossible! Both products come from the mainland!

These technologies are already here and not seizing the opportunity to “control” the new media would prove to be a disaster for the incoming government, if it comes at all. And if PR gets to rule Malaysia, it would not be a one term affair the like of Terengganu PAS Government circa December 1999 to March 2004.

Restaurants and other social gathering premises can join the fray. I am sure people are sick of those propaganda channels the likes of TV3 and RTM blaring from idiot boxes at these premises and our homes. I would vomit listening to any of their misinformation without even watching and would tune to respectable channels during peak hours for doses of truth and civil displays.

Internet broadcasting is the medium of communication of the future and is already here within our cyberspace. It is something that proponents of civil society should grab to fight corrupt regimes worldwide and UMNO/BN is no exception. In this age of excess of information, only those with credibility would survive and sinister government of the day like UMNO/BN will perish. But then again, like RPK put it, “Ignore this message at your own peril”. Goodnight Malaysia, wherever you are!

stupid mavericks?

2009-11-14T07:00:00.000-08:00

No wonder it is a lot easier to run UMNO. The party is full of morons and the handful that has small bits of grey matter inside their craniums rule with great ease.

Pakatan Rakyat on the other hand is blessed with far too many mavericks and true to the meaning of the word, these mavericks kind of undisciplined lot. Just look at what Dato’ Dr Hassan Ali is doing! When cold water was poured over the raging fire he went on to set the stage ablaze again. Now the whole place where we are residing is smouldering. Looks like it is going to be a busy year ahead!

It just baffles us. Don’t they know that it is UMNO that is doing all the subversive work? It is a fact that even in PAS, Muslims are greatly divided as to the way they practice their beliefs. All this while the Wahabis, Shiah and Sunnah-Wal-Jamaah and a host of other sects or mini sects seem to live in real harmony. And all it takes is just a small spark by UMNO to get everyone scrambling to defend his or her faith. Now we are at each others’ throats. Hey you idiots! Wake up! The enemies are out there and not in here!

My father in-law said to me that with the kind of knowledge that we have regarding Islam, we can only classify ourselves as subscribing to ‘the masses’ sect. Even Dr Asri and Hassan Ali belong to this ‘masses’ sect as their Islamic knowledge is insufficient for them to claim they belong to Wahabi and Sunnah-Wal-Jamaah respectively. One simply has to know in great detail of one’s sect to be able to claim to be subscribing or belong to one. My father in-law should know. He is one hell of a religious, pious, and knowledgeable human being. I am sure tons of negative comments would be thrown at me for talking about religion by self-proclaimed ‘guardians’ of the religion.

For me to witness the goings-on on this latest fiasco is simply depressing. I heard Fuad Al-Maliki Friday’s sermon in Ampang that touched a great length on the need to maintain the ‘tauliah’ or accreditation of Selangor religious speakers. His assertion that Rasul Allah s.a.w. was ‘accredited’ by Allah s.w.t. to be the messenger is a bit of a spin I think. To me I believe the prophet was ordained to be the messenger and not given ‘accreditation’ as what the learned Ustaz was insinuating. His argument and his attempt to legitimise the bid by JAIS to continue to use this accreditation approach are too shallow if not down-right moronic.

Then I read a Malaysiakini report of a ruckus in the state legislative assembly on the arrest of Dr Asri again! This time around was between Shaari Sungip and Hassan Ali, both from the same side of the political ideology! What a shame! UMNO indeed succeeded in putting wedges between PAS representatives. Now they are clobbering each other on the heads! Will you guys look at the forest and not the bloody trees!

Just when I thought that these are isolated events, I stumbled upon a report of a bunch of PAS Youth Executive Committee Members bludgeoning the good professor Aziz Bari for coming out strongly in criticising PAS for a number of misadventures after a successful 2008 elections! Their quick 180 degrees turn to call on the good professor later on to make amends was perhaps a little bit too late. It shows the kind of people we have in our own backyards. How on earth do you expect us to continue to back you up? Wake up and get your act together. Does the word teamwork exist in your dictionary or is it just another word that gets repeated without much understanding?

A person’s strength is indeed his weakness. These PAS representatives are men of intelligence and some are real great scholars. But if they continue to behave like goons, I will personally crucify them come next election. That you better bloody count on!

umnobtuses tyrannosaurus

2009-10-12T02:38:00.000-07:00

As with a host of other issues, disgust over ascension of a corrupt leader to helm a constituent and eventually the nine southern “undang” districts and reign supreme as political ruler of the state will come to pass. Short memory indeed belongs to population of this god forsaken country of ours! When selfishness rules, it is of no surprise that every things civil takes a back seat.

Two major public’s institutions were compelled and coerced to do the bidding of BN/UMNO regime. Both the (Royal) Malaysian Police (RMP) Force and Malaysian Anti Corruption commission (MACC) were (and still are) at the behest of the corrupt BN/UMNO establishment.

Teoh Beng Hock issue that was a climax to a host of equally devastating subjects centring on the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) had been long forgotten. Investigation on Selangor’s MB’s purportedly corrupt practice of distributing cows for Muslim’s act of sacrifice in their holy month of Zulhijjah was only less than a year ago.

Investigation and eventual conversion of two Perak’s state assemblymen that was pivotal to annexation of Perak state by BN/UMNO from Pakatan Rakyat was a major account but has also been forgotten.

This was followed by “cow-head” protest engineered by UMNO that was shushed by the police from becoming a political campaign material in Bagan Pinang by-election and quickly disappear from people’s mind and thrown into oblivion. A brilliant move indeed on the part of RMP to be such an effective instrument of an incumbent government to terrorise and incriminate opposition!

Then UMNO instigated a number of farmers that lost “their” (illegally) occupied and (legal) temporarily occupied land to herd their cattle to Selangor state’s building to push for compensation and forced the state to find alternative sites for their livestock. This also comes to pass. Few remembers positive aspect of the issue as a success on the part of the state government to resolve public’s issue and fewer still recollect that BN/UMNO was behind the whole fiasco.

These two willing slaves of BN/UMNO regime are quiet now with muffled by a deafening cry of triumph in Bagan Pinang but when they are silent that they prove to be brutal and ready to strike anytime anywhere to propagate discord amongst the opposition parties. Do not let yourself be off guard!

What does it take for the people to come to their senses? Has more than half a decade of reign under a corrupt regime conditioned the people to the extent that they condone corrupt practices and oppressive rule? One thing for sure the people have been subdued to the point of submissiveness and they become senseless like zombies that roam the nights aimlessly. Such is the power of dictatorship in destroying a nation’s well being.

What options are we left with and how on earth are we going to make the difference?

Reformation almost always is spearheaded by the intellectuals with conscience and a deep sense of responsibilities. History shows that middle class intellectuals in particular can mobilise masses to revolt against oppressive rulers. In a society where access to information is curtailed and censored, alternative sources of information flourish. This internet age is an era where information is obtained instantaneously at the push of a button reformers have only to be patient and consistent in their approach and effort to see success at overthrowing a repressive tyrant.

Unprecedented in our modern history, we will see in our lifetime the demise of BN/UMNO in not too distant a future. This incident will make Malaysian people’s struggle a history of how the internet plays pivotal role in toppling a seemingly indestructible tyrannical government.

UMNO is indeed obtuse and lives in prehistoric time and thus inherently dinosaur-like. It will be fossilised soon enough lie buried for a long time for generations to come to unearth and discover this unique creature dubbed umnobtuses tyrannosaurus who once roam the earth with great domination and tyranny.

the aftermath

2009-10-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

UMNO/BN is still parading around town in great jubilation with the Bagan Pinang trophy. Heaps of praises are showered upon the party by great many apple polishers. Let them indulge in this madness for a little bit longer. After all they have had a very long dry spell that they almost choke to death.

Everything seems okay or so it seems? At the press conference announcing their much coveted win, the incumbent Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan could not even fake a wry smile. He knows that days ahead are pretty rough, the road long and winding and simply full of booby traps.

In UMNO, to forgive is certainly not divine. The hunter knows that one fine day he will be hunted. That day has come and it is so soon it seems. KJ Alliance in NS is bracing for war. Many would fall prey and sent marching to the slaughter house with their pants down and their balls shrink the size of peanuts. ISA will reign supreme, with balls the size of coconuts and ego as big as Bukit Putus and Bukit Tangga.

Tengku Razali said it. Many take him for granted. UMNO would be best losing the by-election rather than winning it, for winning makes one arrogant and a decisive win throws one fully off guard and causes him to be greatly vulnerable. It is poignantly clear to UMNO stalwarts that their end is near but for the enemy, they will ultimately be jubilant.

Transformation in UMNO will be sluggish indeed now that they strongly believe that they are okay. Reformers in UMNO will whimper in disgust. Reformation is either an uphill battle or down-right impossible. They would be best to let their souls run free and join opposition in droves or retire gracefully from active politics. To push forward for reform is a futile exercise.

Is PAS really bruised and battered? To the antagonist, do not be too cocksure. That is what the strategists in PAS would like UMNO to believe. Strategists in PAS would also go to town proclaiming the need to put the house in order and use the opportunity to cleanse itself of excess baggage. Between UMNO and PAS, the latter is more apt to change judging by their past track records. PAS members are disciplined enough to weather this problem. As for PAS supporters, do not be greatly alarmed. Just sit back and enjoy the journey henceforth!

Pakatan Rakyat (PR) as a whole is another story. It is definitely in need of a review in terms of its unity, cohesiveness and unity of command.

Three years is a long time in term of political epoch. With UMNO in intense denial and deep slumber, PAS and PR as a whole only needs to quietly thrust forward and move for the kill. Time for the killing is already certain, enemy clearly visible and visibly pompous and the intensity of the strike will send the enemy asunder.

In the mean time, PAS will have to avert the storm brewing in their tea cup.

the other side of the story

2009-07-14T21:24:00.000-07:00

Armchair warriors that wrote comments on Manik Urai by-election sitting comfortably from their study rooms based on information that they skimmed through the internet at best hit the outer ring of the target if not missed hitting the board at all! It is interesting to note that many did simply just that. Write from afar basing opinions on those that make a living on writing news.

I was there smack in the middle of the war, espionages and counter-strikes. BN has never been dirtier.

The amount of money that changed hands with voters was simply unbelievably high that almost every household can have a one month holiday to savour their fortune. Only the Almighty knows the extent of their guilt and no mortal soul can claim that what they did was immoral as nobody knows who votes for whom, at least for most of us that is.

It is amazing what money can buy. Maybe RM50 per voter did not work anymore but RM500 hooked even the very hearts that loathe corruption. They reason in their heads that it was a gift and hence free from any sin whatsoever associated with it. It was a meagre sum to the haves but a windfall to the haves not. For a household with three voters, they took home a month’s equivalent of a wage.

But in a climate of distrust alternative plans were laid in abundance. Coming from multiple sources, voters were spoilt for bounties. Some walked away with three sets of gifts each giving a person’s take-home present of RM1500. All one had to do was to wait for the go-between to approach him or her. It was a case of supply outstripping demand.

Keeping people (read voters) at poverty level and on the brink of starvation almost always pays in the end. They can easily be bought. After all it is not often such a by-election comes their way. Opportunity comes-a-knocking, it is a gift from above.

RM500 per voter was at most RM5Million. Considering three sources each armed with RM10Million, a total of RM30Million were spent with RM15Million went directly to voters and the rest as usual fall off the gravy trains into the hands of local warlords.

The majority of the people were veiled by beauty of dough and sweet smell of the ringgit and simply cast aside wafer thin belief in favour of worldly reward. Greed and selfishness are traits of human beings that will inevitably surface when income is scarce and food is hard to come by. BN knows this very well since their very existence and struggle is about nothing but money.

Analysts are coming out with a host of reasons for PAS’s dismal performance or BN’s success in gaining more territories. Some attributed BN’s “success” to Najib’s 11 points reward to people for allowing him to remain up to 100 days in power and also his “contributions” to economic excitement. I want to simply say “Bollocks”. This is what the BN think tank would like us the public to believe but if they themselves believe the spin as well, it spells disaster for them comes the 13th general election. We wait patiently for the day to arrive!

PAS and PR as a whole must not buy the argument that BN is gaining ground as a whole but opposition cannot simply brush it aside. BN has the “Money” part or access to it with little effort. But in the long run, tycoons’ and “taipans’” patience are running thin and coffers are running dry. If the economy that is very much in need of tending to is left to roam in the wilderness; comes 13th GE, BN rats will scuttle to hide in their holes.

The best part of this whole episode is that BN still lost despite all these brilliant manoeuvrings. Chinese people say luck is not on BN side. The British may call it lady luck chooses an opposing side. But Muslims say that it is an intervention from above, divine and oft-punishing.

BN simply cannot afford to continue this method in a general election or even a state election. Perak will prove to be a situation best kept as it is. By not seeking a fresh mandate BN can sit pretty at least for a little while until the 13th general election. It will bring little harm but it will not remove the bigger problem of impending defeat. A defeat it will be albeit a delayed one.

BN desperately needs a reverse of fortune. It is however proven to be very elusive. When BN refuses to accept that their way is the wrong way, their struggle is not a genuine struggle and that the people can no longer be hoodwinked; what choice do they have but to go back to the old drawing board. Again they have to lay another plan. They plan and Allah also plans; and He is the Best of Planner!

a bystander’s observation on PAS annual general meeting and election of office bearers

2009-06-05T22:42:00.000-07:00

Just before PAS Annual Conference began, I spoke with a long time friend of the former president Dato’ Fadhil Noor on Husam Musa’s decision to go for number two position and his chances of ousting incumbent Ustaz Nasharuddin Mat Isa. Without any hesitation this friend of mine confidently said the grassroots would go for Ustaz Nasharuddin. I fully concurred with him the moment he went on to explain two main points that PAS members held dearly; one, in that in Islam a position of power bestowed upon a person was a responsibility and not an honour; and two, those who sought power glaringly in the open or silently through unarticulated manner would never get elected.

A friend who is a keen observer in the run-up to the PAS election of office bearers also believed majority opinions in blog-sphere that Husam was the better candidate and would definitely get elected. I cautioned him against such a confidence and told him that he did not understand PAS and be prepared for a surprise. I simply quipped that Husam was a man in a hurry and that he was not a good listener. The fact that I said he was in a hurry was that he was not meticulous enough in his stride as what everyone could see and read in blog-sphere and the news and secondly, I had a chance of meeting the man and we sat over a meal and we were talking and yet he did not listen. He might have heard what I was saying but he certainly did not listen and looked at me as if I was not there. He was in town to give a talk and I was a reluctant host as I owned a property that was perfect for a sizeable crowd to congregate. After the incident I concluded that he had a long way to go despite his reassuring presence and his warmth.

In the run-up to the election, Husam was simply shouting aloud to be elected on board and quietly articulating that he wanted to get elected! Thus he met his Waterloo! This he must learn quickly and move on. The friendly neighbourhood Spiderman could tell Husam a thing or two about power. With great power comes great responsibility.

UMNO/BN propaganda machines were blaring support, so it seemed, for Ustaz Nasharuddin. Husam was said to be a candidate not favoured by UMNO/BN. Were things really that simple? Why all of a sudden UMNO/BN cared so much as to who would hold the number two post? There were actually more than meets the eyes!

UMNO/BN will never bet on one candidate. They would like to but they know that it would be futile. Even betting on both is pointless, a fact they will discover later on, that PAS members go through a different kind of initiation and training. Many fail to understand PAS. Ask any PAS member about what is PAS all about and they will literally sing to you PAS song.

God Is Our Destiny
(Allah Matlamat Kami)
The Prophet Is Our Leader
(Rasul Pemimpin Kami)
Al-Quran Is Our Commandment
(Al-Quran Perundangan Kami)
Jihad Is Our Way¹
(Jihad Jalan Kami)
Syahid Is Our Ambition²
(Mati Syahid Cita-Cita Kami)
These Are Our Struggle
(Inilah Perjuangan Kami)

¹Sacrifice. ²To die in the course of the religion.

How many political parties in Malaysia can have their members cite the gist of their struggle with such clarity? This is just the tip of the iceberg. You will learn more if you serious enough in trying to understand them. This was what the SB learnt upon infiltrating the PAS movement.

So did UMNO/BN bet on both of the candidates then? Well, it is a yes and a no. Either one would meet their objective as they would tune their strategy to suit the situation. In this case both have their strengths and more often than not, their strengths are their weaknesses. UMNO/BN will now gloat that “their” candidate won and drive a wedge deeper into a micro crack they managed to nudge in PAS wall of solidarity.

Almost all news portals rang out that the so called pro-peoples’ coalition lost to hardliners in an apparent agreement with the UMNO/BN propaganda machines. If this goes on, these emerging alternative news media will lag behind mainstream media and the law of self fulfilling prophesies will come full circle.

And on PAS situation after the much-publicised affair a hardcore member I spoke to, sighed a relief! PAS is far too mature and cultured enough to be simply lured into sullied political game and buried under a heap of casualties of political war. The party would survive to rule justly and earnestly in Malaysia with its current partners in the coalition. As for UMNO/BN, brace for a bitter feud and an eventual shameful defeat in the hands of the people. Revenge can never be sweeter than this!

troubadour has left the stadium.

oh malaysia, you are the hero, you are the villain. your every move is on display!

2009-06-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

Just how effective are idiot boxes in our homes that keep blaring all day and night in brainwashing us to accept UMNO/BN world view? I often wonder whether or not they really make the difference, especially in this cyber information era. However, on the surface I can see that average people tend to be quite affected by them. When I say average, I am referring to the not-so-educated lot, whether formal or informal because even the ones that graduate from the University of “Hard-Knocks” have proven to be resilient to propaganda mainly because they are naturally intelligent i.e. they have the capacity to think and the power to reason.

Eighty-Twenty rule always prevail. Maybe intelligent ones make up the top twenty percent but majority of the people are generally average. These people are not exactly docile and gullible but most likely in my opinion, they simply refuse to think and what more to reason. They are afraid that their skull will explode if they start thinking! These kinds of people are banal down to the point of boringly prosaic. But mind you, they make up eighty percent of a much needed voices that can help change our political landscape. So, to be able to reach them effectively is a key to garnering their support.

How do you reckon then the idiot boxes can be made mesmerising enough? Fox News USA, the right wing and Republican unofficial station for Bush junior lined-up a select few newscasters that were expert in using body language to influence viewers to vote for him. Likewise here in this third world country with fourth world mentality (to borrow LKS line) we are seeing a similar approach but unfortunately these novice newscasters “speak of disasters with gleams in their eyes”. This is a dead giveaway. They are either lying through their teeth or down-right sinister in their reporting. They must take us the viewers, intelligent ones or average, as idiots then. But when a government is so desperate to get their official version be taken as gospel truth, they are clumsy and stumble and fall miserably.

There is a line in a song that goes “There are three sides to every story; yours, mine and the cold hard truth”. But when there is only one side that is being blasted on air daily, we begin to wonder whether there is any truth at all. For an “ancient” figure like me, twenty five years of gibberish is making me cranky already. Even my teenage sons are going bonkers listening to blatant lies on the screens of the idiot boxes daily. This is interesting indeed given that they are only politically and socially aware round about less than five years!

Al Ries and Jack Trout, two prominent marketing gurus came out with a “Law of Hype” that says that “Everything is always the opposite of what appears in the paper”. The law I believe equally applies to electronics media as well (We can talk about the papers some other time!). When there is so much propaganda being shoved down our ears, eyes, noses and throats, it is little wonder that the ENT specialists and optometrists are having a swell time. Not to mention myriad kind of ulcers that we are getting.

There is however a positive side to this intense hype by UMNO/BN propaganda machines! I have become inert to the news but I begin to think. Yes, an average man like me who is lazy to think is now awaken and start to reason out. The news and the newscasters are so repulsive and revolting that they are having a reverse effect on me. The more intense the lies being propagated, the more inconceivable they become. The funny thing is that those propagandists behind all these hypes truly believe that their slanders are being swallowed unconditionally. We pray that they continue and it will not be long before the whole nation rebel and we will have our own “Mutiny on the Bounty”.

Oh Malaysia, you’re the hero, you’re the villain. Your every move is on display!

deer crossing

2009-06-04T03:44:00.000-07:00

Darwin wrote and I quote, “Survival goes not necessarily to the strongest or most intelligent, but to the species that adapts and adjusts most rapidly to changing circumstances”, unquote. Going by this statement, I think UMNO will definitely head for doom. Darwin’s “Origin of the Species” may be a hypothesis as the “missing link” has still not been found but his study on survival of various species on earth can shed some light on survival.

“Change is the only thing that remains constant”. My management lecturer, one Dr. DM Love told me so. I guess he was right as I have since seen a number of management gurus mentioned the same thing. That was more than twenty years ago. Now, a company I work for is on the brink of extinction because of excesses and world class stupidity and I suddenly find myself indulging in the subject of “Transformation” or “Change” and greatly admire the work of JP Kotter. His work became my source of reference in my bid to transform an ailing subsidiary company. Today, after a long three years’ struggle, I am heading a strong and profitable outfit, thanks to a step by step guide from Kotter.

In the aftermath of eleventh general election in 2004, I spoke with Dr. Dzulkifli Ahmad, the director of PAS Research Centre. Being apolitical, I quipped that the party perhaps need rebranding now that it lost badly. He was quick to retort the brand was right and that all the party needed was “repackaging”. And then after the twelfth general election and the party was immensely successful, I was told that Dr. Dzulkifli Ahmad now talk incessantly about “managing change” which is essentially a form of “transformation”. With these events as backdrops, I can’t help but feel rather pleased that the good doctor is right in his stride. PAS has shown a great deal of maturity over the years and embracing change is perhaps what is keeping the party relevant. PAS adapts rather well to changing circumstances and true to the words of Charles Darwin it will survive these turbulent times.

The father of Social Science, Ibnu Khaldun theorised that civilization reaches maturity after forty years and then will rapidly decline due to mainly excesses and internal conflicts. We are already seeing this happening with UMNO. It has to change to remain a viable party but change is exactly what it is fighting to avoid. Going by Ibnu Khaldun’s Theory of Social Science, we will witness the demise of UMNO in our lifetime, God willing. While PAS has managed to continually reinventing itself, UMNO chooses to ignore changing circumstances and remain a parochial party beseeching Malay supremacy and racists’ policy. It is little wonder that its members are leaving the party in droves and choose to remain apolitical leaning towards opposition if not openly embracing oppositions’ ideology.

Crossing over boundaries that divide distinct ideologies or set of beliefs, is analogous to migrating from one normally miserable state to a far superior form. It has to begin with an acceptance that current condition is dreadful and followed by a desire to move to a situation that is universally acceptable the very least or a far better one. The process of transformation ends with a successful acceptance and eventual embrace of a new form. The term embrace that is normally applied to acceptance of religion is used here signifying that one has to wholeheartedly accept it first and then go about understanding virtues of the new way of life. The new set of practices or behaviours is then anchored to the culture of the society or organisation. Understanding this transformation process clearly allows us to evaluate events before our eyes concerning UMNO and ascertain whether or not they will be successful. So far chain of events point towards disaster, for them that is, and a welcome sight to proponents of a birth of a civil society.

Thirteenth general election may be a long three years’ away but opposition alliance is bracing for a long struggle and look set to be able to keep the momentum going. Many bystanders are watching with keen eyes and secretly wish and pray for a swift change of power. When the day comes, UMNO will be like a deer caught on headlights while attempting a late crossover where it freezes, stunt by the headlights and get knocked down dead and left to rot along a wretched tolled highway that they helped design, build and milk the population dry. That day will come, as sure as the sun rises tomorrow morning, God willing.

orang melayu = orang pelarian

2009-06-01T21:04:00.000-07:00

Debates on immigrants to this land called Malaysia are still raging on with the latest DAP anger towards one of the Malay dailies for calling non-Malays immigrants. I want to have my say as well on this subject even though it will only be limited to the cyberspace.

What is actually the origin of this race called Malays or more correctly “Melayu”? I myself am an offspring of a Bugis father and a Patani mother and I am being called a Malay man. I want to put forward this hypothesis or if at the end of my argument it is convincing enough, maybe it will become a theory. Professor Khoo Kay Khim may perhaps land his expertise on history to validate my accidental finding.

I was in a car on my way to a dinner with two friends who were both happened to be of Javanese descent. One hailed from Olak Lempit and that makes him a Jawa Banting and the other from Sungai Besar that qualifies him as a Jawa Sabak Bernam. Here we were in Pattaya calling ourselves Malays and Muslims and were heading for a Secret Recipe outlet for some halal food.

The Jawa Sabak Bernam joked about how Melayu and Jawa got into a quarrel, a tale told frequently amongst the Javanese community in Malaysia. The story was about a bunch of Melayu and Jawa boys sitting in a clearing just beside some bushes. Out of nowhere a pig jolted in front of them and ran across the clearing, apparently an escapee from a farm perhaps and was scared of something. The Jawa boys spotted it first and in unison shouted the words “Babi Melayu, Babi Melayu, Babi Melayu!”. On hearing this scuffle broke out between the Jawa and Melayu boys. The pig’s commotion was met met with a spontaneous remark from the Jawa boys and hence in their mother tongues. What they meant was “a pig running” or literally “babi lari”. In Javanese, the word “melayu” means “lari” in Malay or simply run in English!

Could this be the origin of the term Melayu to refer to those descendants from lands and islands around the Malay archipelagos that landed in the Malay Peninsula escaping from various kinds of persecutions and natural disasters like volcano’s eruption and tsunami? Perhaps the words “orang melayu” were referring to “orang lari” or in modern Malay “orang pelarian” or “refugees” from the islands of Sumatra, Jawa, Sulawesi and so on and so forth?

Before this enlightening event, I was wondering as to the origin of tge word “melayu”. If we consider the root word of “melayu” as “layu” (wither in English), then “melayu” means to “wither” which does not make sense. Or is it referring to an ethnic group that easily succumbs to onslaught of various ideologies? Very unlikely and therefore the hypothesis about “Melayu” as “Pendatang” or “Refugees” make more sense!

Very interesting indeed! I hope those ultra Malay NGOs that make so much noise can instead do some serious research to debunk my hypothesis. If I am a Bugis-Patani descent and am proud of it but not to the point that I wage war at others simply because my descendents are malays/refugee! I am Muslim first and a Malay second and hence my behaviour is dictated by my belief.

angels and demons

2009-06-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

If you think Dan Brown is the only one fascinated with the above subject, then you can very wrong. In Malaysia, the subject is very much a household item. In fact, there are so many of these angels and demons here in Malaysia appearing in many other really misleading forms.

Let us talk about the angels some other time. Today we are going to talk about demons.
There are real demons that antagonize the nation daily. These demons have no qualms about the kind of injustices they inflict upon innocent citizens.

Favourite targets for these demons to be demonised are of course the opposition figures and parties. These figures are selectively taken to task for issues being created to strategically position them on par with these real demons.

There are however those mortal souls that are continuously being “demonized”, despite their earthly and humane behaviour. Those who continue to taunt these human souls justify their actions claiming that they wage war at Malays. Little that these ultra Malays realise that their tempers flare because of the racist tendencies that they possess or inherent in them. These UMNO goons, from the least educated bunch in remote villages and urban slumps to the sleek politicians in corridors of power including the prime minister himself, are guilty of racial slurs and hatred being propagated within the society.

Look at issues that continuously make headlines in UMNO-controlled mainstream media! You will note that they continue to claim to inadvertently pick these issues as headlines, whereas in fact these racially sensitive issues are exactly what they wish to fan. They have lost all avenues that can provide platform for disagreement within Malaysian society and continue to cling this single issue that they truly believe will be straw that will break the camel’s back.

Sad to say that they were not wrong in making this racial issue as the key issue! Time and again we, the general public, continued to buy their argument. But time has changed. Pre-independence citizens are getting older and post-independence citizens have woken up to a tune of a new kind of society that are civil, free of hatred and prejudices and abhor all kinds of injustices and pagan behaviours. They simply refuse to follow the demons or be demons themselves and detest bids to demonise others to justify causes of those real demons to colonise the nation.

I welcome the advent of internet age with great awe. The dark ages have gone past us. Only demons continue to live in the dark ages because of their dark nature. As these creatures are only drawn to darkness, they will continue to remain in the shadow and will never see daylight. These nocturnal beasts will never see the bright side, however hard one tries to make them see the light. It is best that they remain in the dark and one fine day the darkness that shrouds them will engulf them.

racists and civil society

2009-06-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

What determines whether a person grow up to be a racist or not? Upbringing I presume. Second would be the experience that one goes through outside his home.

I have a number of friends that I admire. One particular friend comes to mind whenever I think of an exemplary person that I look up to. He was older than I am but somehow his respect for a person goes beyond age and wisdom. He was a person in my study group. We studied a “way of life”, a wide subject indeed. His reference has always been the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
In my years of knowing him, he never uttered words that I can classify as a racist remark. He worked in the government and still does but he is the opposite of what I see amongst the UMNO men.

On the contrary, I came across a particular individual in my yahoo-group that is very racist. I went to the same school as he did and was taught by mostly Chinese teachers. The teachers were excellent educationists and were serious in their work to teach us the village boys to become model citizens, educated and cultured.

I guess not everyone came out minted and cultured. Some I believe grow old but never grow up. They become more stupid as days go by and eventually become racists and take swipe at others. Most if not all the time, their outlook is so short-sighted and myopic that they are not able to see beyond certain skin colours and ethnic group.

This particular creature that taunts people daily on behalf of another creature simply because they have this belief that this “Malay” reigns supreme in Malaysia and others deserve to be banished to Siberia! How could we have these kinds of people continue to be borne out of our society?

This brings us back to the friend that I admire a great deal. I would say that his transformation to a polished and exemplary individual is a result of his lifetime education, both formal and informal, that shaped him as an excellent human being. Can we replicate this phenomenon and breed generations that are devoid of hatred and without racist tendencies? I sincerely believe that we can do that and this requires a complete overhaul of our education system and other systems that continue to divide us. And looking at the damage done and the state in which we are in today in Malaysia, this transformation is impossible without a change of leadership, a leadership with the right kind of ideology and determination to see a civil society emerging from this heap of dung we created. It is time we throw out this UMNO/BN government and replace them with those that are serious enough to build a civil government and nurture a civil society.

contrasting view

2009-05-16T04:33:00.000-07:00

Gone are the days when official words of government-owned media are the only ones that reach the public at large and other voices are only cries in the wilderness. It is very interesting to see that the government is still pursuing strategy to curb or silence these alternative voices rather than accepting the fact that the world has changed a great deal and people are free to express their opinions elsewhere and get their views heard. It is then up to the public to judge credibility of their thoughts. If their outlooks meet universally accepted norms and values, they are then readily accepted.

Hoodwinking people may be the government’s custom and practice given their over half a decade rule over Malaysia. In this information era and internet media they cannot pull wools over peoples’ eyes anymore.

Najib made a statement in the Indonesia that was a clear contempt of the court in a bid to legitimise his government’s unconstitutional and brutal act of gaining control of the Perak state from opposition. It was also a way by which he was sending a signal to the court of appeal to deliver judgement on their favour. This gives us a sense of Deja-vu. We have heard it before, haven’t we? Rewind a few years back and you will see a similar approach by the then Mahathir’s administration.

Najib is clearly out of touch. Even Mahathir failed miserably as seen at the end of his administration that eventually saw him relinquishing his post as it was utterly impossible to fight the tide against injustices propagated by his regime. The fact that now he is back in control of the country having gone through process of reinventing himself and repackaging his approach to make it palatable is another topic worth analysing but that will be done later perhaps. Walking through the same path of Mahathir will only get Najib into trouble, which is good indeed. Time has changed. What was effective then is no longer practical now. Now we have alternative views being aired for the whole world to see and read almost instantaneously.

How about Anifah Aman’s, the new defender and chief worshipper of Najib, statement accusing Anwar of bribing him with a DPM post in a bid to buy his support openly at a joint press conference with Rodham Hillary Clinton? The respond by Anwar through his lawyer threatened him with sedition suit almost instantly (in legal time frame mode of course) is a demonstration of speed of information travels in this internet age. Whether or not the court drags its feet or not is immaterial. In fact if it drags its judicial feet, the better it will be in this game of perceptions.

What the BN administration should do is to clear their acts and serve the people but when they are lost as to the reason for their existence, it spells trouble clear and obvious. No doubt about it at all. Their very existence is to serve the public and since they forget that and use their positions to amass wealth, they incur public’s wrath. The worst part is that they are still perplexed as to why the whole nation wants to give them the boots! This stupid behaviour we pray will continue and the public will be further enraged hopefully and will send them packing earlier than anticipated.

We are now living in a cyber age and everyone is free to air their views. If they make sense, it will get peoples’ sympathy and support. If they contradict universally acceptable views, they will just be voices in the wilderness or just mere shouts in cyberspace that do not even get an echo.

king and kingmakers

2009-05-16T02:50:00.000-07:00

Still on the subject of political impasse in Perak, I came across a posting by Kenny Gan in the Malaysiakini. He opined that final judgement will have a very significant impact to the future of politics in Malaysia. He concluded that UMNO in future will use Sultans and The Agong to remove heads of states and possibly Prime Minister without going through legislative assembly. Kings will then be real kingmakers. As much as this may benefit UMNO, what if the opposition (or anyone for that matter; or UMNO’s favourite demon the “foreigners” the term mostly associated with their enemies) befriends the kings to the level that they work hand in gloves to remove PM? Will UMNO gladly accept this?

I would love to see the above scenario happening in future but I know this is not right. If we are seriously considering moving towards civil society, we must uphold rule of law and separation of powers. We cannot make short term gain but lose long term objective of creating a civil society. But then again why don’t we get the king to send these bastards to hell and set about correcting what is wrong later on? Tempting indeed!

A short posting today but read the piece below extracted from “Return of the Kings” in Malaysiakini!

Kenny Gan: The importance of the Nizar vs Zambry court case goes far beyond Perak and Umno's bid to hold on to its power grab in the state.

The matter of contention here is whether Nizar was rightfully deprived of his post by the sultan and Zambry legally appointed.

No doubt this case will be appealed up to the Federal Court. If the final judgment favours Zambry then Malaysia has crossed a legal and constitutional rubicon which throws into doubt the concept of constitutional monarchy in the country.

It means that the Agong and the sultans are given the power to dismiss the prime minister or chief ministers without going through parliament or assembly proceedings but by merely professing their opinion that the incumbent has lost the confidence of the majority.

As this alleged loss of confidence is not put to the test in the House, there is no way to dispute the opinion of His Majesty.

Hence by implication, the PM and chief ministers hold their office at the pleasure of the royalty or state governors.

Will we then cross the line between constitutional monarchy and absolute monarchy? This court case must be allowed to proceed without interference from the executive.

Trying to influence a favourable decision got Zambry for the sake of holding on to power in Perak is shortsighted as such power accorded to the royalty may be used against Umno in the future.

lunatics running asylums

2009-05-14T22:00:00.000-07:00

I spoke about written judgement to a friend. Now I read that there is also such thing as a “written grounds of judgement” specifically in cases where they were shuffled from one court to another. I am not a lawyer and I interpret these “written judgement” and “written grounds of judgement as two sides of the same coin.

This subject came up when I was debating with a friend on the grounds on which judgement was based on. We were trying to understand the whole legal issue. In the absence of a written judgement, it is difficult to ascertain whether the ground upon which the judgement made is sound or not. In other words, does the judgement is based on solid argument and sound interpretation of the law. Sadly enough based on the report below some judges either delay in releasing their written judgement or simply ignore requirement for written judgement to the dismay of interested parties.

Lately in Malaysia, courts are becoming favourite grounds for settling dispute, even those disputes that involve legislative assembly that do not fall under the purview of the courts. Gone are the days when disputes are settled by arbitrators other than the formal court. It was started by goons that have a hand in these courts and so it was being used to legitimise their agenda by getting judgement in their favour.

Back to the subject of written judgement, I believe it is mandatory for a judge to do so and do it swiftly. How can a disgruntled party interpret a ruling by a judge to be fair, sound or without flaws? To simply pass a judgement without any sound reasons and in reference to a written law is easy and a “loyar buruk” or perhaps better described as “engineered lawyer” like I am can do the job and do it with greater ease, excellence and speed.

On the other hand, if “written judgement” complete with grounds upon which judgement is made; and “grounds of judgement” are two different things, I need a lawyer then to shed some light.

On the relevance of today’s topic in this rather political blogsphere, of course it does! I want to see whether these judges that pass erratic decisions are a bunch of lunatics or men of honour that we can rely on. Perak debacle is a subject very much at the back of my mind. Who the hell is fit to rule this silver state? Since I spend my childhood days in the state, I qualify as an interested party to the whole mayhem.

When courtrooms are turning into asylums, we definitely have lunatics running wild.

troubadour

On a gloomy day in Pattaya city! Have a go at an article below:

http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/21898/84/

UPDATE: PLEASE REFER TO A NEW ARTICLE BY HANIPA MAIDIN ON THIS ISSUE -Very Enlightening indeed.

Refer to: http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/22012/84/

an old man and his addiction

2009-05-14T18:53:00.000-07:00

He was famous for his double speak. Now he is even more famous with his double speak. We can read him like a book. If you want to read the next political move, just give him a platform, he will not fail you. Since the PM Najib is a puppet on a string, the one holding it and pulling it all over the place is this evil man who lost his power once and bounced back with great vigour and vengeance.

Che Det’s grip on the power to manipulate Malaysians is getting stronger by the day. One can no longer ignore noises coming out of him or a whimper or simply his stark silence. To me his silence is deafening. I would detect hidden messages and his next few moves almost instantly. But I am not alone. Millions of netizens in Malaysia and keen observers abroad also do not miss this. Many writes on him and exposes his impending moves and in a any war game, having your moves read aloud by your enemy is recipe for doom. KJ SIL of Badawi suffered similar fate in as far as his moves that many described as “text book”.

This old man is addicted to power. He is a first class junkie. But as far as being a strategist, he is no longer apt or even come close to the label “strategist”. He is now but a novice in the world where information travels instantaneously and reaches millions of people across the globe, amongst them are a hundred times better than him. They not only read his move with much clarity but able to pre-empt his next agenda.

Today Malaysiakini reported that he admitted PR ability to win Perak hands down if snap polls are held but revealed his true bluer than blue colour when he scorned and was against giving power back to the people to decide who should rule the silver state. He was peoples’ man when he was out of power and now he is back holding strings attached to his minions in the BN cabinet, from the CEO to front-liners and soothsayers.

I love these war games. They bring out the best in me. The old man and his merry men are my biggest enemies. Reading their moves is my daily routine and my predictions are spot on. It is no longer intriguing but becoming mundane. Maybe I should choose a different enemy before I drop dead with boredom engaging novices in these sordid war games.

troubadour

Sun Tzu says; “To lift an autumn leaf is not an act of great strength, to see the sun and moon is not an act of sharp sight, to hear a thunderclap is not an act of good listening”

of appaling looks, vile creatures and the creepy crawly tale

2009-05-13T18:41:00.000-07:00

Today I am in a mood for some bashing. Of course I have a bunch of idiots that I consider world class morons that I want to poke fun at. This will really make my day.

“If looks could kill, they probably will”. This line is from a song by Peter Gabriel (who was the original front man for the band Genesis). I could not quite remember the title of the song. Maybe it is “Games without Frontiers” since I remember vividly the full line chorus that goes “If looks could kill, they probably will, in games without frontiers, walls without tears”.

The phrase of course refers to a beautiful person but for today’s writing I am going to take the literal meaning of the line. Funny it seems that some people’s look can be down right offensive and one cannot help but rile at the sight of the person. The fake chief minister of Perak, a one Dr Zambry is one such figure. A mere glimpse of his face sends my stomach churning and I have to rush to the toilet for fear of vomiting in full public view.

We are not talking about ugliness. Beauty, by the way is in the eye of a beholder. But these sorts of people make you cringe every time you lay eyes on them or see their photographs. They seem to have this sinister look and level of cockiness that you cannot help but cower upon seeing them. This Perak dud chief minister has to be the top of the list amongst other contenders such as Najib Razak, Khir Toyo and Ibrahim Ali. Yes, I consider king of the frogs as one with a look that kills your appetite to live through the day. The botox-faced ex-chief minister of Selangor is equally vile and Malaysia’s CEO and Crime Minister that came to town pretending to sympathise sufferings of citizens resulting largely from his mismanagement of the country and its administration.

When he was running riot robbing the state’s coffer, this botoxed but claimed “TEMPE-treated” faced moron’s faces were plastered all over large billboards across the Selangor state. I had to wear blinkers for fear of accidentally shut my eyes to avoid my stomach turning around.

What about the king of the hopping kind? Yes, this guy’s look really kills you, to borrow JD Salinger’s line describing a guy that taunts the lead character Maxwell Caulfield almost daily in the novel The Catcher in the Rye. This amphibious creature is now considering hopping into the BN melting pot after securing parliamentary seat on an opposition ticket. He is truly the king of the frogs and toads and his look is of course amongst the most loathsome creature I have laid my eyes on.

And the Malaysia’s CEO and game master! He has to be one of the most pretentious looking creatures around in Malaysia. Does he not realised that sticking his posters all over the country will only make people despise him more. What more with ghosts of the deceased (and blown to bits) Mongolian beauty lurking all over the country in search of their murderer to make matters worse. The mere sight of this creature bearing 1Malaysia slogan sends you to your deathbed.

There goes my beautiful serene morning being marred by vivid pictures of these morons in my mind but the most evil one for now has to be the “Nasi Kandar” man, Zambry Kadir aka “Mamak Tongkang”.

Troubadour on a serene Thursday morning in the “Sin City”.

policing the police

2009-05-13T03:42:00.000-07:00

I wrote about the authority’s bid to flush underground dissent in the form of bloggers to the surface through formation of bloggers union. Many surfaced from of underground, formed the union only to be blown apart. There were those brave seasoned bloggers that could not care less of the impending implication and obliteration. There were also however those that sincerely thought that the government of the day was serious about recognising rights of these bloggers to continue to air their opinions in cyberspace. This behaviour is down right naïve if not plain stupid. Do they really expect a corrupt institution that rule over half a century with clasp iron fists to transform into a wimp overnight? Just accept it that transform they will not and change they will never do!

It is easy for one to let off his or her guards especially when one is tired physically and mentally having to struggle for more than ten years assuming one was awaken in 1998. Those who were children (below the age of 12) in 1998 are now voters in their own right. These adults are now making up a big portion of the population and a glaring fact is that they cannot comprehend the struggle that we are putting up. To them, some fragment of the society is doing things that make no sense to them at all. Those that can think for themselves and have the intelligence to do so will naturally assume the struggle.

Those with this so called intelligence or a “capacity to reason” are few in numbers. The 80-20 rule prevails. Only 20% has the capacity to think. The rest are the ones that need to be convinced of the sanctity of this struggle to free ourselves from clutches of tyrants that abuse powers at will and subject citizens to unending hardship and tyranny.

I was a student in London when Tory rules and the miners were on strikes. From Newcastle to London there were strikes almost daily. Police were storming the “scabs” as these miners were referred to. The whole UK was like war zones. I could not understand why these miners were throwing tantrums. I did not bother to read their plight. I was at the end of my teenage age and about to become an adult. I understood little. To me, filling concert halls night after night and week after week was far more interesting. How could I appreciate sufferings of miners losing their jobs and an ability to earn a living!

How about police brutality? I was acquainted with a one time Malaysian student that failed her studies and continued living in the UK having married an Irish chap in the Midlands. She was screaming police brutality almost daily and she referred to these men-in-arms as “bastards”. I understood little and ridiculed her every action. I was indeed mistaken. These police are actually real bastards after all. As I arrived in the UK when events than turn men-in-arms to bastards had long gone, I could not understand peoples’ resentment. Police institution has become tool for Tories to silent dissent and the fact that the police chose to do so willingly was testimony of the dire state to which the nation has been reduced to.

Fast forward twenty years and I am witnessing a similar pattern right inside my backyard. Police stoop too low to be passed on simply as a coincidence. The whole institution is corrupted to the core. The mistake that Badawi regime did was to maintain the chief of police all in the name of avoiding a witch hunt in the wake of leadership change or avoiding victimisation and being humane. Likewise, institution that safeguards the law was equally tainted and left to operate in that sorry state as well.

Fracas in the Perak state assembly was testimony of police stooping far too low by conspiring with BN to wrest control state legislative assembly through vile, immoral and unlawful manner. Meteoric rise in crime rates and lawlessness seems to grip the nation so much so that citizens no longer feel safe. Even the OCPD was not spared. One OCPD was reported robbed in his own house where he was tied and gagged! Rapes increased and snatch thieves killed their victims in the process of practicing their professions. What sort of police institution is safeguarding our rights as citizens of this blessed land of ours?

It is not only a small segment of the police force is used by BN to promulgate their course but the whole institution allowed itself to be intimidated into doing its bidding. Again my favourite subject of the central part of the police force the intelligence unit aka the special branch (SB)! Intelligence is central and crucial to the smooth and efficient running of the police force. When this particular unit spends almost its entire time on spying on and diffusing and sabotaging the opposition, this explains failures in other crucial aspects of safety of citizens and the nation as a whole.

Policing is in itself a specialised profession. If we can get the police force to do their job of policing, there are numerous examples and role models that we can emulate. Whenever we speak on the subject of transformation or change management inevitably we will come across a famous character by the name of Bill Bratton will surface. His turnarounds of the New York and Boston police forces were subject of great interests to proponents of transformation exercise. Again I wish to stress on the word “IF” here. If our Malaysian police force is serious enough about doing their job instead of being tool of BN, we will see a safe Malaysia for all to enjoy. Is it much to ask for a mere citizen like me?

troubadour

For those who want to read a bit more on Bill Bratton, please go here: http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=119&subid=156&contentid=251223

resurrecting an old age tactic

2009-04-19T06:14:00.000-07:00

Inevitably it will come to this. We are seeing signs of desperation on the part of the ruling government to garner support by means other than legitimate ones. The corpse has been summoned from the dead.

The May 13 Riot that saw the birth of “positive discrimination” policy, the infamous New Economic Policy (NEP) and when politics matures a great deal over the years, we are seeing UMNO and BN warlords running hither thither to salvage whatever is left. With economy sliding deeper into a recession, there is little to rob. Whatever available is too meagre to be shared with the masses!

Enter universal panacea prescribed to avert depression! Go to war! That is precisely what the new PM will administer. He is looking at every possible avenue to create disorder and the Perak fiasco is going to provide him with a golden opportunity. When the bogus set of Perak peoples’ representatives convene the bogus call for a house seating and people trounce the streets of Ipoh in Perak, the police will open fire at will at people who act violently in response to aggravation by agent provocateurs. This is not a threat to the general public but rather a situation that we must avoid.

In this age of information, will such a provocation bear fruits? It will! We have countless occasions whenever chaos reign these agent provocateurs easily play their roles in ensuring confusion ensues. Some people will be sacrificed to enable these goons to hang onto powers. Crude it may seem but this is the reality of existing politics in Malaysia.

With Mahathir as the government advisor, we can only pray that he may answer his Maker’s call before he can do a lot more damage to this country. Events during his direct rule of 22 years are testimony of his brute ideology and monstrous conduct. We only have to go down the memory lane to foretell what lies ahead of us. We dread to think of another ten years or so if he lives beyond a decade old.

We witnessed recent clashes in Thailand and the powers that be in Malaysia are looking at similar method as an option. For those not so familiar with Thailand’s politics, please be aware that recent riot in Thailand was a real abuse of democratic rights by the pro-Thaksin movement. There were daily broadcasts by Thaksin on national television in Thailand. He was given equal slot on national television, a phenomenon unheard in Malaysia but his politics of amassing immense wealth and feeding crumbs to the poor in Thailand heartland that was a carbon copy of a successful method by BN government in Malaysia is no longer acceptable to the informed electorate there. When countless calls for a peaceful uprising fall on deaf ears, Thaksin opted for a violent way. It was unbelievable that he could incite such a crowd to rise against a democratically elected government. But given Thaksin’s immense wealth funding his campaign, we can only watch in awe at events unfolding before our eyes. Western democracy and money are inseparable but the ways by which funds are gathered and spent remain a major item that differentiates between true and false democratic parties.

With Thailand as the backdrop, Malaysia is hoping that international community will simply ignore chaos and disorder that they intend to propagate. We can only hope that we have the will to fight this. We are but a small nation clamouring for change and very insignificant in the eyes of the world. Furthermore in the name of sovereignty of a nation, action of the BN government to feint disorder will not be noticed by an international community.

So much for a hope to be saved by the international community! We are but left alone to fight this corrupt regime. We can only depend on unity within opposition ranks to ensure we do not fall into traps set by agents of the corrupt regime. Let us move on. Record every event and happenings on a camera and video and keep them in safe places for us to produce evidence in the aftermaths of the bloodbath. Do not get yourself caught in the crossfire.

impending disaster

2009-04-02T08:36:00.000-07:00

This has to be the most depressing day in my entire life on this earth. How could a man full of controversy be allowed to ascend to the highest level in the country? I know there are millions others like me out there who are utterly dismayed at this occasion.

All my years of struggling to feed the family and instilling discipline in my children’s conduct and striving to do my bits for the society, I have never been at my lowest of spirit as I am feeling now. How could those who call themselves Muslims in UMNO can simply cast aside their beliefs and condone injustices happening right in front of their own eyes? Are they blind, eyes and heart to not see this travesty of justice? May the Almighty protect all of us from calamity!

Najib Razak is an inch away from becoming the prime minister. Already there are informed citizens calling him by a different pseudonym, be it “Pembunuh Monggolia” (PM) and another, Crime Minister for he has been dodging this accusation of his involvement in the brutal murder of a Mongolian lady translator. His evasiveness in facing a slightest mention of the name and authority’s warning against mentioning the Monggolian lady’s name is casting shadows over his innocence.

An all out attempt by those around him that are at his disposal to shield him from this issue is having a reverse effect of drawing him closer to the murder. A person is innocent until proven guilty but misusing every available instrument at one’s disposal to prevent being called to testify in court is a sign of guilt, or at least perceived so. Never have Malaysians be subjected to such a charade before in 52 years of her independence.

There is an adage that goes “never expect a good sapling from a bad seed”. Revelation of the late Tun Razak’s involvement in May 13, 1969 race riot is surfacing. History was fabricated to hide this fact. Now, thank you to the UMNO morons, we have his prodigal son ruling with iron fists and in cohort with an ex-Prime Minister known coldly as Malaysian Modern Pharaoh (Mahafiraun) hounding Malaysian public and bringing us closer to insanity.

News of this debacle appeared in newspaper all around the world. It makes me ashamed of being Malaysian and continues to be subjected to horrendous questionings by foreigners whenever I come across them in conversations be it on the street or in plane en-route the many destinations I frequent. What have we innocent Malaysians done to deserve this ignominy? We just pray that wrath of the Almighty will not befall us for not lifting our finger to avert injustices.

Oh dear God! Give us the strength to fight this cold war and bring about peace, harmony and much prosperity to our fellow countrymen and let tyrants be forever banished from this fertile and sacred land of yours. Amen! By the grace of the Almighty, let our prayer be fulfilled and become reality!

great mind of a man

2009-04-02T07:16:00.000-07:00

Politicians thrive on chaos. I could not help having that kind of feeling. I was watching Anwar Ibrahim giving his speech titled “Global Economic Crisis and The Future of ASEAN” at the Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.

The talk was organised by the Political Science Department of the University. This talk was a maiden speech as far a foreign speaker was concerned. The department decided to invite Anwar Ibrahim as a foreign debut.

I had never seen him speaking before an audience before. Nor had I had a chance of meeting this respected figure before. His reputation definitely preceded him. I sent an e-mail afterwards to YM RPK, a friend I knew way back when I was struggling as an entrepreneur, saying that I could not help but being impressed.

His delivery may lack a bit of punch because the way he chose to deliver it, i.e. by referring to his written text, but his bid to elaborate the points was very good. I thought that he might have had a brilliant think-thank working on his speech or perhaps the man himself was a man of substance. Judging by massive followers that he has in Malaysia and the region, the latter could be the case.

Immediately the day after the event I read the full text again on the internet right down to each finer point. The speech merits further deliberation indeed. For those who wish to get yourselves enlightened on current turmoil, do visit this site: http://anwaribrahimblog.com/2009/03/31/the-global-economic-crisis-and-the-future-of-asean/#more-6547.

In Pursuit of the American Dreams

I had been trying to explain to my fellow staffs the reason behind current economic crisis and cited greed as key to the whole issue coupled with flawed financial system where usury being the main culprit. I am glad that I did not run far away from what was said by the said speaker. I referred to this excessive greed on the part of the population to pursue material wealth at all costs and casting aside social responsibility. This madness is often referred to as an “American Dream”, a dream to pursue not so much “freedom and independence” as what was then synonymous to but rather a blind pursuit of material wealth. Younger generations often associated freedom and independence to ability to amass, accumulate and indulge in immense wealth and engage in activities without any limit, be it social, religious or cultural.

The world economy is bloated with goods and services that have superficial value. This superficial value stems from creative manipulation of human behaviours. People are being bombarded with (dis)information that conditioned their mind to believe and accept that some useless products or services possess extremely great values. These superficial values attached to these products and services are very much apparent if one studies value engineering where “aesthetic” value aspects are given greater emphasis as opposed to “primary” value. Primary value (or often referred to as “function”) is the key value. Aesthetic or other attached values are values that make one wants to own a particular product or wanting a certain kind of services.

In a world where brand building has reached a stage where it makes products or services command values far surpassing their actual value, we will be procuring pathetic values at exorbitant prices. Profit then flows into the hands of minority few that get richer at the expense of uninformed consumer. Again greed is central to the whole issue. We formed this popular opinion that happiness equates material wealth.

Next in our pursuit to satisfy our greed, we borrow when we have insufficient fund to finance it. We indulge in excesses thinking that we are embracing fully this capitalistic behaviour.

The key thing is how long can this practice continue. Definitely not very long at all! This madness comes to an end with the credit crunch. Now we have to scramble to stay afloat, to pay our credit cards and mortgages. On the behest of this new revelation, we are now awake and become a bit sober. There is this social responsibility part that we have forgotten in our lunacy to pursue material wealth.

Looking at a macro level reveals another flaw. Economy is always spoken about without fail with reference to government spending. Economy will grow when government spend. Governance and transparency on the part of government in its spending is of paramount importance. Government’s irresponsibility in dishing out “contracts” to cronies at costs far higher than actual costs is causing a leakage in the economy. We are again paying higher price for a meagre service or product. Similar to commercial goods, this practice lead to excessive profits ending up in coffers of select few.

Economic Connoisseurs

Interesting to note that Mr Anwar brought up that it was the failure on the part of economists to predict the impending crash that made the impact more devastating. Everyone was caught with their pants down. Further, the effect is very far reaching and pundits are still debating as to viable prescriptions to get us out of this doldrums. Whichever way the argument goes, one cannot ignore that government’s role is central to solving this predicament. “Bailouts” did not go down well during the Asian Financial Crisis. Now in Malaysia we are being introduced to “Stimulus Package, perhaps a positive way of looking at bailouts as means of pouring in much needed cash into the economy. However, if economists failed to predict this catastrophe in the first place, they therefore may not be qualified to offer prescriptions. Can one trust their recommendation, advice or suggestion? Doubtful indeed! Already there is accusation that these specialists grossly underestimate intensity of the problem and depth of the “black hole”. How much capital does it take to spur growth? Cash poured in seems to disappear without any noticeable impact to the economy and in Malaysia’s case leakage is the main worry. It is like throwing dust to the wind!

Structural Defects

Whatever measures that we are going to take, we must not run away from first addressing structural defects prevalent in our system. If we do not do this, we can guarantee that whatever we do will not be any good. These defects are mainly poor governance and opaque practice that suck the very life out of the economy. People in the end suffer.

Besides defects in the delivery process there are also defects in the financial system itself. With excessive profiteering and magnanimous payment on loan interests, monies flow only to the haves and the haves-not are reduced to extreme poverty level. No wonder it did not take long for demand of goods and services to dwindle.

Widespread Pessimism

When news of collapse of lending institutions reaches the masses, they can only react by tightening further their spending in anticipation of further disintegration of the already fragile economy. Property price plummets and mortgages defaulted. People only buy basic necessities. There is then widespread belief that things are going from bad to worse and people wait for the illusive bottom of the ravine that is slow in coming to the surface. We refrain from making any unwarranted spending. The economy is reduced to a standstill.

Impact of this psychological behaviour of the masses to the economy is devastating and there is little that one can do. Only time will be able to mend this effect and time is exactly what we do not have since we are suffering a great deal with this economic downturn.

This brings us back to the talk at Chulalongkorn University and the title of this piece by troubadour today.

The chaotic state in which Malaysia is in today seems to provide an excellent platform for astute politicians to justify their existence. Much like murky and troubled waters, there are those that fish rather skilfully in them. Elaborating on questions fielded by Suthichai Yun of the Nation Group, the Larry King of Thailand, Malaysian opposition figure could not be more at ease. Audience had a field day with his answers from crafty one as to when he would become the prime minister to solutions for the upheaval in the South of Thailand. He tackled them rather professionally.

The press conference at the end of the talk was equally exciting. The perceptive leader was a darling to journalists from Thailand and other foreign presses. He listened intently before answering the questions with great perception, intelligence and sense of conviction. As this was my first encounter with him, I chose to observe more than testing his knowledge of regional politics, which is partly the subject he spoke about earlier on.

Mr Anwar was resolute in his pursuit to change the government it seems. He was bent on doing it to bring Malaysia out of its misery. At least that is what he claimed and I kind of believe that he can do it. It was not this encounter that I had that influenced me but rather the sorry state the country is in today that sealed my heart that he is the leader that can do it.

The Governor of Bangkok, Sukhumphan Boripat spoke highly of this particular leader. His descriptive words and the soft manner by which he chose to describe Mr Anwar led us to believe that he was being very sincere and forthright. One could not help but felt very proud that a fellow country man was being accorded such a respect. Our only regret is that the country is about to change from a slight more democratic leader to a tyrant disguised as a potential leader that is a saviour to the nation by the name of Najib Razak. His manipulation of the government, its machineries, civil servants, judiciary, police and the army in the days of the PM’s “sabbatical leave” can only be a reflection of more oppression to come.

Troubadour on the eve of Najib Razak’s ascension to the premiership of Malaysia!

Pattaya, 2nd April 2009

down to earth

2009-04-01T21:41:00.000-07:00

Some things are best left unsaid. What more when it is written. Life is full of surprises. That’s why many suffered a stroke and kick the bucket.

At macro level, we see the state of the nation coming to ruin. What happens at the national level, we can see happening at micro level. Here close to home, companies are suffering from short of cash to continue doing business. But when market is uncertain, how can a company invest?

Big is no longer harder to fall. Small ones fall like lead balloons as well. Economists no longer have credible prescriptions. Havoc rules.

When Malaysia introduced a RM60 Million stimulus package, we could barely hear the hums. Analysts are already saying that individuals that make up general public have nothing to cheer about but they see agony ahead.

If that is not enough, we have to agree with pundits that much of the stimulus will flow into cronies coffer and public at large is deprived of the much needed amenities and infrastructures or even “grants”.

It is also scary to see the once “policy driven” auto sector in Malaysia is ignored. RM200 Million Automotive Development Fund (ADF) will only sit still in the bank the government elects to manage the fund. Companies are simply too over-stretched financially to be able to borrow more. Do not be fooled by the lower interest rate attached to it. It makes no difference!

Companies in Malaysia, local ones especially are never competitive. Very few are able to go beyond Malaysia’s shore. Even those that manage to go abroad, they are saddled with negative cultures that they export together with their equipment and expatriates.

Perhaps we have to go back to the drawing board. However, this is simply impossible to do if current government is still in power. This denial syndrome is too deep-rooted to be pulled out and allow us to see ourselves as others see us. We are simply goners.

Assuming that we can throw these idiots into the sea, we can look back into education to bring about civil society.

Back to economy, we are also caught in this euphoria called “The American Dreams”. We are so engrossed with this pursuit of material wealth that we forget social aspect.

Furthermore, these so called material wealth as well as services is procured at extremely high price that is justifiable because of relative perceived values brought about by branding. Brands that position well in the mind of prospects are perceived to be so valuable that we want so much to own them. This is pure greed. We can only rid ourselves of this sickness by going back to basic. We must come back down to earth and question our very existence on this earth. It is simply to seek the pleasure of the Almighty and the rest will fall into places.

Wake up Malaysians, however sleepy you may be!

troubadour

Pattaya moving closer to Songkran!

filling in the dossier

2009-03-11T18:47:00.000-07:00

Interesting it may be but in a country where the police are running it (to the ground), one must exercise caution. One of the most powerful conglomerates out of the blues was keen on entertaining bloggers to check on their popularity or the opposite. Makes me wonder whether this was in fact a genuine act or merely an attempt by the ruling federal government to solicit information as to who these “cyber buggers” are and “we will deal with them later on. For now, let us feed them fried “meehoon” and grilled satay.

Used extensively by the seedy government of the day, these government-linked companies (GLC) were the second coffers that financed shoddy deals on their behalf. It is a fact that these GLCs are headed by proxies of the government of the day. Some of these hired honchos are genuinely talented and tried hard to function effectively as CEOs but more often than not they lack talents (and on visions one can forget about it totally) that may contribute towards uplifting these companies performances. They serve their masters very well and in times of needs, they sell their soul for contracts and dough that see to it that they retire rich and visits mosques, churches and other places of worships in their senior citizen years asking god for forgiveness for sins known only to them and the MACC.

While the MACC is an entity that is so ripe to take a swipe at, we shall leave it for another day. Today, we are talking about free meals to catch dissents or for now just to prepare a list of potential occupants of Dang Wangi lock-ups and eventually the twin of Guantanamo, the Kemunting detention centre.

This sudden interest to be close to bloggers is widespread. Opposition leaders’ interest on bloggers may be genuine but when it comes to the government of the day, one has to be a bit wary. The likes of Kadir Jasin and Ruhanie Ahmad are pro BN instrument. RPK’s clones or wannabes will be severely dealt with in no time at all. Ascension of the lawmakers and peoples representatives’ chief abductor aka Najib Razak cannot be taken lightly. One has to be a novice to ignore risks of abduction, torture and prolong imprisonment given recent incidents with hoppers’ experience. The eyes are the windows to ones souls and these hoppers eyes revealed threats and intimidations.

Well, we can feast while we can but we are mere souls seeking justice and when it comes to a choice between ability to continue to feed and care-for for our family, we have to admit that it is better to continue tasting freedom even it is in exile. Sabri Zain chose this and I sure as hell would migrate one day than to lose my freedom, integrity and most of all unable to practise my religion (read way of life) at will.

Seeking fame is certainly not in us, bloggers agenda and being in the list of “certified” bloggers may prove to be costly in time to come.

Goodnite Malaysia, this particular blogger has left the building.

the vanishing game

2009-01-27T06:13:00.000-08:00

Disappearing acts are what they do best. They are not magicians though. They are BN politicians.

When people from their constituents come a calling, they will disappear. Promises of projects and immense wealth are thrown at will come by-election time. And when it comes to delivery time, they are busy in the capital city, making more promises.

Chief of this “poligicians” is one Najib Razak. He made a Mongolian lady disappear according to one Mr. Balasubramaniam, who swiftly retracted the accusation. He was then made to disappear as well, to many laymen on the street by no other than the chief poligician himself. We are watching closely as to whether the pioneer crossover lawmaker Bota-man will also vanish.

We are living in a truly interesting time indeed. Stories that normally headline tabloids are now splayed on front pages of mainstream papers. Sordid maybe but these headlines depict the kind of dirt poligicians throw around.

KT by-election was full of magic. Pundits have it that PAS candidate could have won with a majority exceeding 7,000 votes but as it turned out, the figure was a mere 2,631. Yes it was big enough to get BN people to bury their heads in the sand but the magnitude of the result was not impressive enough to give BN a cardiac arrest.

But then again slow death on the part of the enemy is more rewarding perhaps to those that are being waged war at. Let the enemy dwell in their self denials and inflict a lot more injury that death would come but in a sudden manner just like a strike from a samurai sword.

When will poligicians stop doing their disappearing acts? To many, this will only happen when they are shown the doors by voters. But to me, this waiting game is simply pure hell as I am seeing their lewd misconducts almost daily. One only has to switch on the idiot box and watch their spin doctors doing their biddings on the part of these idiots.

The country is going to the dogs and they are worried only about losing their power that eventually translates in opportunity at making more money. Look at the kind of creatures these animals have turned into. They rape almost everything and rules are definitely meant to be broken at will. Elections of their own leaders are marred with corruptions of the highest order. How can one expect clean leaders to be elected amongst beasts of the worst kind? A wishful thinking indeed for those who continue to worship these animals and the ground they walk.

If we are to see more humans emerging and cross over from these groups of animals, we will witness more disappearing acts perhaps and the public is always fascinated when circus comes to town and magicians appear in droves. But then again in this country, it is much more splendid than a circus. This is Bolehland where poligicians rule and people disappear and never to be seen again.

moribund breed

2008-12-14T07:20:00.000-08:00

Having roamed the earth close to half a century, I had the opportunity of meeting personalities from both political divides in Malaysia. In the heydays of UMNO, I worked with two politicians as backroom boys preparing inputs for economic papers especially for tabling in the parliament. Those days these politicians seemed sincere enough in wanting to do something good for the nation. I closed one eye to their pursuit of personal gain as they also contributed, even though minute, towards nation building.

Political awakenings as a result of persecution of Anwar Ibrahim opened up opportunity for me to meet with and getting to know politicians from the other side of the divide. I realised then that there was another side of the coin, the side I was not acquainted with but suspected all along to contain a lot of misconception.

I stumbled upon a group of aspiring young entrepreneurs who were sick of being foolhardy in chalking up slices of economic pies. These young men formed a new branch of political party PAS and set out to study its constitutions and embracing its methodologies in shaping members to become concern and deeply involved citizens, choosing to walk with their eyes open.

I was very impressed with their commitment and their intelligence drew me towards their movement. I joined the group a few sessions of studying and understanding PAS constitutions. My father had in all his active years in politics been telling me to read PAS constitution and yet as a person who seemed so sure of what he was doing, I chose to ignore this instead. I should have heeded my dad’s advice. If I did then, I would have treaded a different kind of path, a path filled with much wisdom and continuous learning.

I toyed back with “usrah” or study group with PAS. This was nothing foreign to me as I had experience with such a movement when I was a student abroad. However, this time around it was more systematic complete with syllabus and curriculum and a host of recommended (read compulsory) materials as references. While Syed Qutb’s “In the Shade of the Quran” was familiar to me, other literatures like Fathi Yakan’s “Kenapa Saya Seorang Islam” (Why Am I a Muslim) were alien to me. 40 Hadeeth was a must.

Today, I understand the “PAS Way”. Beginning with Guide to Usrah and then digesting the PAS constitutions cover to cover, continuous reading and understanding the Holy Quran and Way of the Prophets and Virtues of Sahabah and then emulating the way of the Mujaddid in Ikwanul Muslimin was a comprehensive way of moulding a man to face current political scenario. As with others’ struggles in the past, this war to bring people from an ignorant to an informed state of mind is thorny and treacherous. Only those that truly go through the discipline would be able to come out unscathed.

All in all, this allegiance leaves a profound impact on me. I begin to see the world as it is and not the one painted by the (controlled) media of the government. It was an awakening indeed and having seen the light, I would not want to even get near the dark ages let alone reverting to it. As with other great experiences, I would want others to walk in similar paths and not be blinded by the false light shined through coloured filters by those in power.

Today, I have grown up children who are fortunately more aware politically and walk in same path as I am. I am blessed with intelligent children that choose ways of the companions of the Prophet as their paths and propagated further these ways to their friends and foes alike.

Gone are the days when politicians were able to pull wools over our eyes and spread their hideous ideologies only to enrich themselves and made us fools. These unscrupulous politicians are of a dying breed and they have lost their legitimacy in handling the society and its affairs.

It is heartening if dirty politicians are vanishing but if the learned ones are disappearing also, it is a course for concern. We pray that those with sincerity in seeing this nation comes out of this dark-age will multiply in numbers and continue to shed lights towards real freedom.

troubadour

p/s: Wise man says “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all”.

doses of hypertensions

2008-12-14T05:08:00.000-08:00

I refrain from writing on politics, the ruling federal government or those in power in Malaysia but time and again I fail to live up to my desire. Just an instantaneous flip on TV3, RTM or other “controlled” channels, I will stumble upon some morons making ridiculous statements that is so vile and despicable. A glance at headlines of their subservient print media drives up my blood pressure in a similar manner.

When will those idiots in UMNO understand what it means by transparency and good governance? Or do they actually understand this phrase yet choose to do things devoid of transparency and govern in a shitty manner? Whichever way it is, one thing for sure is that they will meet their doom soon enough.

In a world where information flows readily free and at the speed of light, these goons choose to lie and a great one at that as well. Not a single sentence is uttered without lies in it.

First there is this Interior Minister that keep on saying that ISA is justifiable by citing the Mumbai Massacre as a good example of an incident that can be avoided with an act like ISA in place. Twenty years ago he could get away with this sort of ignorance. But now, they may hide behind many kinds of masks but truth is too glaring to be ignored. Don’t they know that they are making fools of themselves and they look down right silly, arrogant and very stupid?

This old fart is angry with Malaysia Today for printing a satirical interview with him, purportedly ridiculing himself talking about current affairs. It is a satire but the fact that he went out to cite it for contempt is only a demonstration of the truth the satire carries.

There was also another dimwit giving interviews somewhere that I received a posting from a friend that told a story of a friend of Chief Minister of Melaka defending him on his inability to converse in English or making sense when speaking in the English language. This apple polisher was saying that this particular chief minister once headed an international youth movement with this shortcoming. The chief minister must have mismanaged and misguided the movement then if it goes by this claim. How can one get the respect of the world if one cannot even utter a sentence in English? Republic of China’s premier may get away with it because they are a super power but for a Malaysian living in a former colony of mother England, it is preposterous. Outrageous it may seems but this is the kind of idiots we have running the country. No wonder international watchdogs continue to mock us with their reports. We have ourselves to blame for this kind f stupidity that we are faced with.

Then there is our flipping Prime Minister announcing a formation of Judicial Appointment Commission that reports to him, all in the name of reform. What a load of rubbish this flopping minister is talking about? He might as well appoint the judges himself and this will save a hell lot of taxpayers’ money. A rose by any other name smells as sweet and equally, a shit smell as foul whichever way one put one’s nose in it and this faeces smell bloody awful coming from the highest person in the country. Bloody idiot!

There is this war against those cyclists that “ride for change” and the Chief of Police is keeping mum while his underground boys went on to threaten and to top it up torched their bikes and point fingers at arsonists from the general public. Since when have Malaysians embraced anarchism? This happens when everyone knows that the only people who dare to act in such a manner belong to the elite group of the police force. What kind of crap is this so called Chief of Police is giving us?

We are truly living in a challenging time. The real challenge is actually to keep our blood pressure down just going through our daily lives with our eyes open and witnessing all these horrendous acts of those we elect to run the country and those they in turn appoint to run civil service. It will not be long before we kick the bucket due to sheer weight of conscience on our heads.

Malaysia Boleh! Anything Boleh! This is indeed a Bolehland! I have no doubt at all!

troubadour

adressing needs

2008-12-14T03:42:00.000-08:00

We always take for granted the things that we already have very much at our disposal. This is closely associated with our needs and how we respond to our ever changing needs. Maslow’s Theory of Needs proved this point clearly. Maslow depicts needs in the form of a pyramid and we constantly move upwards as we acquire our needs. We move to the next level the moment we have acquired certain needs and thus take for granted what we already earned.

I had this experience of losing something and only then realise that I took for granted so much of the thing that readily have access to. The internet!

Even though other countries have moved leaps and bounds when it comes to access to internet and the kind of speed that they are privileged to have, we so much lag behind that whenever a colleague from abroad experienced our line and cursed its sluggishness I felt like burying my head in the sand like ostriches do. Despite all this backwardness I embraced this technology and now cannot live without it. When I cannot access the internet for whatever reason be it technical or financial, i.e. my company fail to settle the bill for example I feel like screaming on top of my voice. Then I realise how have taken this little luxury for granted and how much my life depends on this communication media and most importantly my resource centre, readily available at a push of a button.

Today is Sunday and I woke up early in the morning as I was awakened by sound of wild swine scouring my backyard looking for worms. This is what these pigs are after I was told, crawly creepy worms. As I live in some kind of a country home, wild pigs are common sight late at night or before dawn. Up and about so early in the morning, I had the time to write and when I want to access the internet, I could not do so. We have become creatures that depend so much on machines. Now the machines rule us.

Back to the subject at hand, one will only miss something when one loses whatever that one use to have and taken for granted all along, lost of loved ones for example. We long for our loved ones only when we lose them or been away from them. This kind of feelings is human after all. Otherwise Maslow would not have studied and discovered as such.

Humans’ pursuit of wealth is also something that demonstrates the working of this Theory of Needs. It is never enough. The reason for this, according to theory, is that move to the next level of needs having acquired the kind of wealth that we already achieved. Crude it may be but this is what we generally termed as greed. Our greed takes over every time we entertain our love for worldly objects and ignore our inner feelings of gratefulness of what we possess.

How do we then deal with our greed? Or better still how do we train ourselves not to be greedy and to be grateful at all times for the worldly possessions that we have and the health and our serene state of mind. There is no substitute for peace of mind and there is a way of getting rid of greed inside us.

The Prophet taught us to inculcate this attitude of gratefulness. This can be achieved by always comparing ourselves with the less fortunate or those of lesser wealth when it comes to worldly possessions and as for doing good deeds the Prophet stressed that when it comes to good deeds, we must always compare ourselves with those who are more charitable, humble and pious and knowledgeable when it comes to pursuit of knowledge.

There is no end if we continue to pursue mere material wealth but on the other hand knowledge is power and knowledge is “having it to apply it”.

Kuala Lumpur, on a gloomy Sunday and drizzling all day long!

troubadour

old horse learning new tricks

2008-12-10T08:19:00.000-08:00

One is never too old to learn. It is a fact yet many choose to die ignorant than to learn even on a deathbed.

If we care to look around us, we can see that those who continue to work and sharpen their brain as they age will actually live a long, happy, rewarding and relatively free from diseases. And it also goes to prove that manipulative persons live a hell lot longer. This is perhaps the reason for the phrase “only the good die young”! Of course we do not consider those that kick the bucket because of self inflicted injury or get knocked down by the garbage truck. Those that self inflict themselves with three to four packs of cigarette also it seems manage to live beyond our expectation.

For those who wish to join the ranks of those that live a healthy long life, let us look at one particular figure that outlive his expected average lifespan and continue to run havoc or create much mayhem.

The infamous Tun Mahathir! Having ruled Malaysia unjustly for most of the latter part of his premiership, the old man keep on coming back to haunt us with his ranting, tantrum and a host of tangential issues.

What I hate most was his demolition of the Multimedia Super Corridor, MSC. He and his close advisors came up with a brilliant idea of communication media industry to replace industrialisation and privatisation policy, only to destroy it later when he went after his then anointed deputy premier. And now, when we are all caught up in this stupid political crisis ever since that incident, he is back in the centre stage pointing in all directions except towards him for all the blames. In fact he never leave Malaysian political scene. His sabbatical leave was only when he was on the operating table for a coronary bypass. Even that could not stop the man. He gave a press conference barely hours after operation.

What is it that drives this ancient of a man that continues to dominate our space and prolonging his long age? One thing for sure, he has this strong desire to cover up all his wrongdoings and misadventures. Secondly, he truly believes that it is him and him alone that can do the job, or in other words, he is one hell of a conceited bugger.

How about lying? Studying the old man you will note that he lies a lot and I mean truck loads of those almost on a daily basis. He will not just lie, but lie with a straight face and shove it to us as if we are morons. You will not see him giving a whimper over what he has done. He just tells lies with a bloody straight poker face.

Set up a blog, write and taunt the public with your undying ideas? Yeah, that was what he did and he continues to insult us almost daily.

Self fulfilling prophecy Theory goes to say that if we truly believe that we are good, then we will be good. As for Tun, he honestly believe that he is right and if goes by the theory, then he is right! Does this make any sense? Perhaps it does. That is why he is right! (Not anymore though as his one time powerful media is now under the command of his protégé, the man dubbed C4).

So, in conclusion, be a conceited bastard, cover up as much as possible all the mess that is created, lie and bullshit, always believe that you are right and surely then you will have a long and healthy life. Forget all other people’s recommendations such as taking vitamin supplements and eat healthy stuffs that contain a lot of anti-oxidants.

It is very true then that only the good die young and even an old horse continue to learn new tricks. And if you are approaching your average lifespan, get cracking. Be a real conceited bastard and try a thing or two that we learn today. Do not be overly worried if people call you a bastard because you know that you will live a long-long life. Worry about hellfire when you get there. By then it will be too late anyway.

troubadour

Penang, the Pearl of the Orient.

we shall till at will

2008-12-08T06:27:00.000-08:00

A fertile land is ripe for planting. It is also haven for weeds and bushes. This lush land that we toil has become a sanctuary for insects and birds and animals of various kinds. Little that we suspect that amongst God’s creatures there are those that harbour ills towards us. These are villains and foes for human kinds. Their existence is devoted to destroying the very fragments of human society.

This alternative coalition to the ruling federal government is comparable to a fertile land, fully covered with lushes of greens and full of life. While many seek refuge in this coalition, many are still sceptical of what it stands for and what it is capable of. That is what sceptics are good at, wonder in awe and disbelief. They will prove to be a nuisance in times of needs.

This coalition has blossomed into something that allows many to hang hopes on. This then is the envy of foes, perching nearby. When it threatens the very existence of the enemies, it is an acknowledgement of its superiority. It is time that this sworn enemy be attacked ferociously and destroyed beyond recognition and banish from the face of the earth.

Coalition comprising of three unlikely parties, seemingly poles apart but proven to be a viable alternative when they share a common goal, a goal to have a country governed in a just and transparent manner, and free of corruptions and devoid of hatred. But when differences are ironed out and common interests promoted and unity is achieved, they awaken the enemy from their deep slumber.

Counter attacks have started. The enemies have sown seeds of discords on this very fertile land we cultivate. The seeds germinate in abundance, blossoming with flowers and transforming into fruits filled with venoms and poisons and ripens in the sun. Some harvest this fruits bountifully. They look scrumptious and hide their poisons well.

Many took a bite. The poisons rush throughout the blood vessels, choking in an instant but we die so very slowly. Years belie, we live the lie “multi-racial society, living in harmony”.

Racial cards maintain the divide. We have been ruled by divide, half a century of division by fostering suspicion. We remain divided and though attempts at uniting us are successful, the unity is very fragile.

While it is very difficult to foster genuine unity, it is incumbent upon us to forge close working relationship so that we begin to understand each other’s fear and shortcomings. It is through continuous interactions that we are able to understand each other, empathise and appreciates that we are all human and that vast majority of us wants the best for us, our children, their children and generations yet to come.

We must work hard towards maintaining this relationship and not to let us be swayed away from our goal. We have a divine objective of seeing all men live in peace and harmony, true to the command of The Supreme Being. Cultivate goodness and weed out the bad. We owe it as much to our future generations to inherit a nation truly united, rich in culture and full of diversity.

And true to the words of a troubadour, “The fields lie fallow, whatever ye sow so shall ye reap! This ground we hallow is ours to tend but not to keep”.

troubadour
On a rainy day Monday
Kuala Lumpur

internet is the mainstream media

2008-12-07T20:39:00.000-08:00

A lot has changed in Malaysia. Traditional thought and belief that a government knows best what is good for its people is gone. A bit too late for Malaysia but it is better late than never.

While other democracies flourish, Malaysia remains backward in term of discharging her duties towards the citizens. People were made fools by those in power and for now at least there is hope. This is evident in events prior to the March 2008 general election. For once a party that rule the country for half a century conceded that there is a more powerful medium of reaching to the people, the internet, and people for once chose not to let absolute power continues it corruption of basic rights of citizen to voice discontentment and take fate in their own hands.

In a world where democracy continues to be shoved forward for the masses to swallow, many find it hard to ignore that this western style democracy is firm in the hands of the haves and not the haves not. Money still rules but for now democracy is the only acceptable system that is touted as the answer to the world’s turmoil, albeit this shortcoming.

Money in turn allows aspirants to buy access to the second “M”, machinery that will see to it that it will mobilise forces to fight the enemies and work days and nights for its candidates.

In this information era, the third and final ingredient to propagate ideology is of course access to media. Traditional media has been overshadowed with the advent of the internet. And in case of Malaysian politics, the internet has become the mainstream media.

This is the main reason on the part of the archaic ruling party of Malaysia to scramble madly towards acquiring this coveted media. It has this notion that everything can be bought at the right price. Attempts are made at rounding up this coalition of internet writers. Little that these unscrupulous lots comprehend that this coalition exist because of a common cause of propagating reforms, fight for injustices and promotes transparency and good governance on the part of government that are missing components of civil societies.

A few falls into traps set by these shameless lots. As with any struggle for that matter, there will be those who succumb to pressure or simply not committed enough to usher into a new dawn of information freedom.

And there are those who realise that it is virtually impossible to buy into internet portals that carry credible news and commentaries choose to get themselves involved in setting up portals that do their bidding for them. In an era where free expressions thrives and prospers, websites that do not go along a mainstream of political freedom fall like monsoon rain or disappear into oblivion the minute it goes on cyber space.

Enter a jungle where the only rule that applies is the namesake law. In this dense jungle the game played by these scumbags is the one with no rule. Those that we cannot conquer, we will imprison with fear. Those that have the courage to fight, we will break with draconian rules and oppressive laws.

Will this curtail struggle for freedom? Recent blunder of internet censorship and disruption by the Malaysian government proved to be costly and self serving. But as with other repressive regimes, this budding regime learns very little. Persecution against dissents will continue even though this will serve only to bring destruction to all. But it only goes to prove that the internet media can no longer be ignored and as for battle ground of the future, these internet wars are wars of the future.

troubadour

Kuala Lumpur

islamic movement / harakah islamiah

2008-11-28T05:59:00.000-08:00

Ahhh.. They bite the SB bait. The SB that set up the site on Kumpulan Erdogan must be laughing mad and at the same time languishing in sheer satisfaction. Time and again they prove themselves to be geniuses.

In the first place there is no Erdogan Team at all. The SB lot studied the success of Turkish “Islamists” methodology. Not only Malaysian SB, even the CIA and Mossad marvel at Turkish approach to propagating Islamic rule. It was brilliant. Simply outstanding the way the whole Turkish team operates. Not many people are aware that this Turkish group is the product of true Islamic teachings, the way of the Muslim Brotherhood or “Ikhwanul Muslimin” pioneered by Hassan AlBanna in Egypt.

In Malaysia, these true Muslim fundamentalists are all in PAS. That is why UMNO and its subversive machineries the SB unit of the police force are afraid of. Their mentor, CIA and Mossad taught them so. They will wage war at PAS at all costs. They truly believe that with PAS gaining a lot of ground politically in Malaysia, it spells trouble for them. In actual fact, PAS success in becoming mainstream party or any Islamic movement whatsoever is a “threat” to the Jewish state, Israel. This so called threat is a fringe of their imagination. True Islamic parties will oppose crazy Jewish propaganda of enlarging their territory at the expense of other people, be it Muslim or Christians. This has nothing to do with religion but rather it is actually a crime against humanity.

Turkish “Islamists’” party did so well that their method becomes a blueprint for others to emulate. They truly move according to the law. Turkey is very secular and yet the so called Islamists manage to come to power in a lawful manner and continue to respect the law and abide by the very law that was enacted when they embrace secularism. However, there is a reason that many simply fail to notice. Their success comes after a long period of education. The party follows steps laid down by the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt then as to how to build strong and long lasting Islamic movement.

PAS in all its existence tried very hard to do this. Their constitution is an exact copy of the Muslim Brotherhood but their failure to strengthen their movement through this institution of education systematically is causing them to take a tumble time and again. What more with assault from the SB unit through subversive work and immense infiltration deep inside the Islamic party. We will witness time and again these deep agents shoot themselves in the foot. For keen observers, this is too obvious but then the one that cast the first stone normally disappears and situation is quickly seized by spin doctors that ignite it into such a frenzy and euphoria that everybody is lost in the confusion and objective of demonising a particular entity or movement becomes a real success.

Fifty years is half a century. It is a very long time for a political party to remain in power. Such a grip onto power give rise to massive resources both manpower, institutions and instruments to not only maintain power base but enlarging it to such an extent that it is virtually unshakeable and what we can only hope is that their success will breed their own downfall as their members engage in excesses and for get the very reason of their existence in the first place. As other empires that perish before, UMNO/BN will follow the same route. We are seeing it happening already. They coined the term money politics as opposed to the right and internationally accepted terminology of an act of bribery as corruption. Let them taste their intoxicating savouries.

PAS is still caught in this time capsule. They engage in infighting and this is precisely what the enemy wants. They must quickly wake up and be back on track. It is the quality of its members that will determine their success. Numbers delude you into believing that you are mighty. Early Muslims succeed not because of numbers but because of the level of commitment and quality of its people.

So, if you truly believe that there is this Erdogan Team, they will appear in droves. Perception is by the way, a reality.

dimwits at the gates

2008-11-26T17:25:00.000-08:00

Listening to or reading statements made by ministers these days just simply spoil my day. I would cringe in anger and if I am alone driving I would be screaming mad. That idiot Hamid Albar’s statement on police practicing no double standard was one such statement. Bloody stupid moron!

Whenever there is an opposition leader making some “incriminating” remarks, he is summoned to the police station for the police to record his statement but when an UMNO or BN man make “seditious” statement, the police goes to his house to record a statement. If this is not double standard, it must be psychopathic rule of this ugly home minister.

Looking at those in power in UMNO now and will be our “tuan” leading the nation to ruin, you will notice a bunch of idiots. Birds of the same feather flock together. It is understandable that they behave the way they do. They mix among themselves and when a bunch of morons sharing their thought, it was a real stupid mayhem. They are so daft and the only thing that they care is money and women.

If you are to do a thesis on this species, you will discover that inbreeding is really creating these unique characteristics of men-beasts.

We have come full circle as far as this lot is concerned. With the exception of the late Tunku, other former PMs inbreeding programmes give rise to a number of progeny, and all without exception inherit this dim-witted thick skull moronic features and behaviours.

Just look at Najibultantuya, the moment he opens his mouth, you smell foul scandals from a mile away.

Even though the softie Lower Education Minister is quiet these days, you have to agree that he is one daft offspring, yet another product of years of inbreeding process.

How about the other bald-headed fool, the third son of the longest serving elected dictator? His stereotype remarks that echo his father’s past only goes to prove that this sibling is also a tainted one. He brought disgrace to his Ansara group, except for a few that worship the ground he walks. He distanced himself from “money politics” (read corruption) and spoke of its grave danger but of course this was easy as it was someone else that was doing the bidding for him. He walked tall but Tun “Dime” hurried from behind with planeloads of crispy greenbacks.

The Albar’s may not be that famous but the late Jaafar of the Albar’s will turn in his grave if he were to witness his son’s senseless ranting.

Pundit says, nepotism is killing the industry. If indeed politics can be considered an industry by virtue of it being process oriented with input and output, it too will be destroyed beyond recognition. Unfortunate it seems that this politics manifests itself as a country and a country is made up of people and its obliteration is an annihilation of Malaysian citizens.

Goodnight Malaysia, your days are numbered.

troubadour

will to survive

2008-11-24T23:28:00.000-08:00

What does it take for one to depart away from old, obsolete and incorrect practices of yesteryears? The answer is simply humility.

Looking at the ills we are facing, it is apparent that we are good at installing an excellent system but fail to equip our people with the right tools and techniques to perform our tasks. What constitute the right tools? Right tools and techniques are those that proven effective and systematic.

Why is it so difficult for people to make the change? It is this fear of the unknown that kept people away from change, even it is actually for the better. People always have this tendency to move, as electricity does, along path of least resistance. Understanding this and myriads of other issues will enable us to lead and manage change.

How about leadership? What constitute a good leadership? Leadership does play an important role in instituting a change. Generally there must an acceptance as to the leadership in question. If people readily accept the leader, then it is relatively easier to lead and manage change. Acceptance comes with a meeting of perception and expectation with reality. Generally a good leader is perceived to possess many positive attributes, charisma and strong sense of commitment may top the list. Many leadership gurus agree that a good leader always own up a failure and when success comes all the people gladly proclaim that they did it themselves. A true leader will be forgotten in euphoria of success and also when things return to a state of relative calm and harmony. He will only be remembered and missed when turmoil comes in and everything is in a state of disarray.

That is looking at a company level. As always, event happening in a company is similar to going-on in our country. CEO of a company is comparable to a CEO or premier of a country.

We Malaysians have been sitting (ducks) for many years. We go about doing our chores with little regards to the direction the country is heading to. It is understandable. We are a selfish lot. We pretended not to notice a neighbour coming out his door going to work daily, all in the name of maintaining our privacy. A little nod would suffice but we choose to look elsewhere. This is a shameful practice.

It is time we make the change. Be a caring society. For all you know, your neighbour has not had a single meal for the day. He could be facing tons of problems and his world could be tumbling down. Make that first move. A little humility goes a long way.

Look for that will to change. Open up your eyes to the sorry little state we are in today. Crimes abundance, chaos everywhere, innocents imprisoned, laws trampled on, kangaroo courts mushrooming, honour disrespected, truth silenced and all of us have been taken as fools.

Where is the great leader? Will he come forward and lead. Armed us the tools and the techniques! Let us march together towards greatness. Or have we lost our faith and continue to wallow in our disgrace.

This time around it is going to be a merciless wave. Rich or poor, able or disable, young and old, we will face a depression never seen before in the history of mankind. We may as some say approaching doomsday. Whatever the fault is, it does not matter as this depression will get the best of us. We will suffer and this will continue to generation yet to come.

When justice means nothing anymore to us and good governance is a mere slogan and economic recession to top it all, we are but at His mercy and compassion.

Raving of a troubadour!
Pattaya, the sin city: November 25th, 2008

gravy train

2008-11-19T21:50:00.000-08:00

I had the (unfortunate) opportunity to meet with a NEW “Razak Baginda” (NRB) recently in Thailand. At that point in time, the OLD Razak Baginda (ORB) (Yes, the one that got the knack to say publicly today that his one time master and his wretched wife never knew his one time lover and that bloggers are making the accusation worse!) was still under prison authority’s custody. NRB was apparently despatched to Thailand by the premier-in-waiting (PIW) to verify certain matters relating to a company that was bidding for a sizeable contract from Malaysian government. He was to ascertain whether the company was worthy of its getting such a lucrative contract.

The existence of this NRB is indeed alarming but not a surprise. I was sure someone would assume the role as there is much to do. How else could lucrative contracts be awarded to the right parties that fit these daylight robbers’ profiles of brother-cronies then if not using this shameful approach?

NRB is relatively young and a true blue UMNO man. He spoke with much authority and his constant blind admiration for the PIW reflects his overdependence on the PIW for his needs.

Like ORB, NRB is deeply involved in “Defence Equipment Supplies”. He carried a consultancy business card, milking government-owned companies under the pretext of helping these companies to break into the world market. These companies provide a fat income base for NRB and the likes of him to live and travel the world comfortable at the expense of other fitting “consultants”. In the first place, these NRG and the likes are the very people that convinced unsuspecting but corroborative partners to aim high, think big and be optimistic in conquering the world. They are still living in a dream world created by the previous premier, the champion of privatisation. Majority of the Malaysians were caught in this euphoria only to wake up and found that their world come tumbling down. They lost everything including their sanity. And when things begin to subside and order is about to return, off they go to start another madness.

This NRB is a classic example of how things are done in UMNO. It goes to demonstrate how difficult it is to bring down a long-established institution despite it being corrupted to the core.

When will this all end? As long as we have the current government ruling at federal level, we can expect the same things continue to happen and the masses be ignored a taken on a ride.

There is however some change happening in the country. With a stronger presence of oppositions in parliament, we are witnessing a number of moves by the government are being questioned and scrutinised by them. This slows down these robbers activity and many are crying. Used to lavish lifestyles, they suddenly finds that their pockets are thinning and their coffers are drying at such a fast rate.

A friend put it quite interestingly to me that “the gravy train is simply not moving and when it moves, too few are getting a fat meal of it”. This causes a real panic. Rome is about to fall. Generators of income are not running. The robbers are now running. Helter-skelter it seems.

Can this provide an impetus for a revolution? Not quite it seems. As long as people can still scrounge around and still get their three times a day meals, we would see more and more NRB being borne out of this sordid state of affairs and we continue to ride this roller coater heading for nowhere.

Goodnight Malaysia, you are but a pain in my one that lives under (read it with a rhyme mate)!

Kuala Lumpur, November 20th, 2008 – it’s raining cats and downing dogs!

malaysia my second home?

2008-11-14T03:48:00.000-08:00

It is a vast continent. Population is barely 21 million. Premier Kevin Rudd is the Labour government's head. He is approaching his first full year in office and even though clamouring for continuation of a Howard’s American alliance policy he is actually moving tangentially away from his predecessor’s direction. His policy is more Obama’s than Bush’s and prefers to pull out of Iraq quietly.

Australia began to reform even before Rudd’s appearance in her political scenery. The country continues to prosper. Of course the credit crunch is affecting Australia as well but the country’s foundation is solid and it will be able to weather the storm fairly easily.

Shortage of manpower to support the nation’s growth is addressed with proactive emigration policy that is fluid and strategically addressed current needs. It started with professionals from strategic discipline and permeates through to blue collar manpower. A caring government is elected and this greatly helps nation building. This is in complete contrast to selfish and self serving governments that are elected in countries where voices of the people are muffled and truth concealed.

Australia embraces globalisation. Government steers the economy up the value chain. The country is strategically positioned to enable it to compete globally. The people have been made to go through an education system that sees through colours and creeds. Meritocracy sees to it that equal rights breed citizens that fuel the nation’s growth. Intellectual properties are abundance. Innovations are apparent in all areas of government and economy and this propels progress.

The government is managing the economy very well instead of engaging in destructive politics. Relationship between public and private sectors is a hand-in-glove and unassailable. Supports and incentives are poured into the private sector by the government. Niche businesses sprout throughout the nation.

Press freedom is evident. This gives birth to a civil society, generally devoid of hatred and discord. Although one may not be fully agree with western democracy practiced here, one has to admit that it is far superior to distorted democracy being promulgated in countries like Malaysia.

Environmental protection policies are well in place. Awareness level is very high. Citizens chip-in in making Australia greener and ecologically balanced and safe.

How about healthcare then? Well, a friend that migrated recently put up his thumb and proudly boasts his healthcare programme and benefits that is cheap and first class.

Social benefits make one cringes as they make Malaysia look like hell on earth. So much for paying taxes regularly without fail only to be short-changed by the morons that rule the country! One wonders also with a twin tax system of conventional system and the Islamic “Shariah” system of zakat (alms) prevalent in Malaysia and yet hardcore poor are increasing in number and majority are still living in poverty.

Providing shelter is perhaps another area where Australia scores a high point in our analysis. Housing for the people is given top priority and couple with environment conservation plan people are living in harmony with other God’s creatures in peace and harmony. Given a political turmoil and economic uncertainty in Malaysia, one is tempted to seriously consider Australia as a home and make Malaysia on the other hand a second home. Not a bad proposition indeed considering Malaysia is inept in taking care of her citizens and chooses to lead them astray. The significant other’s suggestion for one to seriously look at possibility of migrating for good does not sound that foreign now.

Goodnight Malaysia or maybe it is a goodbye soon, now that you push me to the brink of poverty and I am slowly loosing my sanity.

troubadour

A chilly summer in Melbourne and tired from combing it in an attempt to “spot the Aussie”! Aussie Spotting, a new favourite past time since train spotting is no longer fashionable! (Bruce Dickinson, eat your heart out!)
November 14, 2008.

quality of a party worthy of supremacy

2008-11-13T05:53:00.000-08:00

A product must be of certain level of quality to be able to command a premium pricing. While quality itself is subjective, benchmarking will enable subjective matters be made objective and considering other competing products’ attributes, one can ascertain quality level of a product to a reasonable level of confidence. Effort can then be directed towards perfecting the product to beat competition.

Perceived values are responsible for a product to be sought after. Values generally refer to functional value and aesthetic value.

Functional value is the primary function of a product. A policemen’s truncheon or baton must be able to perform its primary or main function of knocking someone head senseless with. If the “copper” cannot use his baton to clobber someone, the weapon is said to be failing to perform its primary function. It then has no value.

Having been able to be used to bash someone alone is not good enough. The weapon must have other values such as aesthetically pleasant enough to make a cop wants to own it. To make it more appealing, it has to be shiny yet sufficiently provocative to scare a potential demonstrator from staging a candlelight vigil while singing the national anthem. These secondary values must be able to entice intended user or buyer to wanting to own it and more so as far as a sadistic law enforcer is concerned as he cannot wait to break this Hindraf Makkal Sakhti dissent.

A political party is comparable to any product in the market. A good quality political party must perform its primary function of helping the people and for those who are real “user” will look at other “aesthetic” functions such as sound constitution, noble causes and objectives, leaders’ charisma and members’ conduct as secondary values that a progressive party must have.

Looking from viewpoint of value, one is able to see the kind of political party that appeal to the masses. Understanding values will enable one to look at a party he belongs to and help in restructuring his party to draw support and increase membership. If a political party is ancient, outdated and antediluvian, it will not be long before it meets its end. A political party must have a political will to depart from the past and move with time.

UMNO as a political party is no longer able to perform its primary function of helping the people. It attempts to continue to hoodwink people into believing that it has the peoples’ welfare at the top of its agenda whereas in actual fact it just uses the people to legitimise its hold onto power.

How about secondary values? These are virtually non-existent. UMNO constitution puts Malay agenda at the pinnacle of its list of major plans. UMNO is simply a racist party based on this agenda alone. It does not comprehend the fact that racial divides that separate the various races and ethnics in Malaysia has collapse. A new era has emerged where there is a genuine understanding and tolerance between these different groups. In other words, political landscape has changed and UMNO failed to understand let alone react to this transformation. This is what happens to the majority of the lower rank UMNO members. The leaders realise this change but as they themselves are the main problems, solving their problems would be at their expense.

Members leave in droves. Exodus began in 1998, trickling in numbers henceforth but gained momentum again as the country moves towards the last (March 08) general election. This trend will continue and we will see a demise of once a formidable political party that has people at its heart.

It is sad for those who truly subscribe to its ideology and continue to hang onto it but it is sadder still to those who have been betrayed.

Nothing is everlasting and so is UMNO in this new world devoid of racial hatred.

troubadour

Rainy day Thursday, Melbourne! 141108

doomsday dogma

2008-11-12T05:33:00.000-08:00

Ranting of ex-PM Mahathir on income of Zaid Ibrahim is uncalled for. He insinuated that Zaid’s income was a lot higher than that of a minister. He added in jest that the lawyer’s success was a result of government’s positive discrimination policy that favours Malay businessman and the lawyer’s cry for an end to this policy is hypocritical.

He accused that the lawyer amassed wealth quietly and had the cheek to demand the lawyer to prove otherwise. An outburst of this nature goes to show the kind person he really is and his tilted sense of justice. The burden of proof is on the accuser. This explains turmoil of his tenure is largely attributable to him and him alone. Being the CEO of the nation, he was responsible for the mess the country and its people are in now.

After all this mayhem, he continues to stoop lower and lower in his bid to exert further influence on people who are perceived to be in power now. He simply has to be the man behind this power and all must succumb to his wishes and dance to his tune.

Yes his presence and regular statements do colour the Malaysian political scene but his views are as archaic and irrelevant as the man himself. Press’s persistence in seeking his views, observations and scrutiny on a host of subjects is diabolical and uncalled for. This must stop. It may be hilarious to some seeing the old man making fools of himself but it is sending a wrong signal to the public that his views matters and that we look up to him for inspirations. His opinions do not matter anymore. He is the last of the dinosaur. We learnt a great deal from fossils of other Tyrannasauraus rexes and we do not need a live one to shed anymore light as to their yesteryears’ tyranny. History is best left as it is.

Abolishing the positive discrimination policy of New/National Economic Policy (NEP) would be in the best interests of the nation and the Malays. Adverse effects of policy far outweigh benefit in the form of a considerable number of Malay intellectuals that the policy generated. Disparity of wealth between ethnics was largely attributable to this policy when cronies accumulate immense wealth at the expense of masses. The rich gets fatter and the poor scrounges for to get decent daily meal.

Majority of the Malays were duped into believing that without such a policy they would perish, whereas, it is the policy itself that curtail their enterprising spirit.

Malays are sensitive when it comes to religion but they themselves fail to understand let alone practice their religion. This is very true in the case of the Muslim members of UMNO that make up the bulk of the racial-based party. If one cares to observe their leaders conduct, one will glaringly notice that their Islamic practices are purely ceremonial. Leaders pray only when they officiates opening of mosques. Going by teaching of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), a person who fails to uphold pillars of Islam is a “faseeq” which literally means “in a constant state of sin”. A “faseeq” loses a number of rights in Islam, such as becoming a person that gives away a bride in wedding vow. It is also advisable for a believer to avoid taking a “faseeg” as a friend.

A person who is in a constant state of sin is close to becoming a “munafeeq” or loosely translated as a hypocrite. A hypocrite can easily be identified by having three dominant hypocritical characters namely a person that tells a lie whenever he speaks, break promises and betray a trust placed upon him. Sounds very familiar indeed if one cares to observe leaders that govern the country now! Leaders that we have up there holding the power are those that tell blatant lies, go against their promises of bringing prosperity to the nation and betray every little trust placed by electorates upon them.

Have we not witnessed the same things in Mahathir’s era? Elected (by cheating and coercion means) representatives hurried to enrich themselves the moment they got into position of power, casting aside their (fake) manifestos. NEP was used as a tool to achieve this feat. How can we simply forget this and continue to adore him. At least that is what it looks like when we keep on asking for his opinions on current issues.

Badawi and Mahathir are both leaders that forsake people and plundered and looted nation’s wealth to be divided amongst them and their cronies. The worst part of all this fiasco is that they continue to line up crooks to ascend into power to replace them. With the exception of the late Tunku, we will be seeing nepotistic crowning of Najib, Hishamuddin, Mukhris, and possibly also Khairy. If we want to put a stop to this charade we must resist this grand design with all of our might.

Nepotism, as wise man used to say “is killing the industry”. A nation is just like an enterprise. Nation will fall and turn to ruin if this is allowed to happen.

But then again this is Bolehland and generally most Malays have forsaken their religion. They will continue to demand to continue to hold onto their crutches, move with a limp, heads full of wishes, throw tantrums at others, ransacking the nation’s wealth and put in place a succession plan that will see to it that the cycle will continue. In every civilisation, there is a seed of its own destruction, meticulously nurtured and immaculately programmed to reach for doom.

Goodnight Malaysia, the land of doomsday dogma.

troubadour

In the heat of an early summer night in Melbourne, November 13 2008!

wicked ways

2008-11-10T06:21:00.000-08:00

Will there be new explosions? Explosive de-facto PM seems to be able to consolidate his position now that coward nomadic PM has announced demise date of his short-lived dull career. Will the conceited son-in-law (SIL) gives any challenge at all to the hot-headed former C4 peddler?

The smug SIL muffled a statement signalling his subservient future direction. This submissive and compliant behaviour gesticulates that he acknowledges inferior situation he is in. His downfall looms for all to see. He knows that if he so much as croaks a little bit loud, an end may come sooner. He realizes that he has to gain ground to prolong his position at the apex of the idiotic youth movement UMNO.

Cold war and counter espionage will continue to be fought between the two. One is close to reaching pinnacle of his career and the other is trying to salvage his dream of leading the nation one tragic day, the day when greater injustice would befall its inhabitants.

While these two selfish politicians are waging war at each other and outwitting one another, the nation continues to slip into oblivion.

Who is likely to win? Bookies are calculating the odds. The DAP Secretary General predicted that the SIL would not last beyond first quarter of 2009. This sends chills to the big-headed youth and similarly low temperature wind is blowing towards his cronies’ colony. The seemingly meek future PM will go for the kill. He would be overwhelmed with too many problems if this pompous SIL is left standing. This arrogant juvenile politician is like an irritating and itchy wart on his butt. It is and will continue to be a real pain in the arse.

Even though the egotistical novice is trying to portray that he is not treacherous, his every move is being scrutinised. His every move is being blocked. He is suffocating and gasping for air. His every move halted by his increasingly powerful enemy. He is a fly waiting to be smacked by a giant palm of a hand. He knows he is a sitting duck and he is aware that he is at the elderly bomber’s mercy.

The chief detonator is merciless. However, to swat this irrelevant fly would be strategically incorrect, despite it being politically accurate. He would be allowed to linger a while and only slapped when the itch gets unbearable.

Will our life get better now that this grenade of a man gets more and more powerful? Will we be able to see a better Malaysia post baton handover? What is certain is that democratic rights would be further eroded. Given the state of the police, we will continue to be a police state.

Enter the village-idiot future PM. The touchy PM-in-waiting proved to be a coward when it comes to eye-to-eye debate. He displayed for all to witness his sheer ignorance of parliamentary procedures. This is a clear sign as to direction this God forsaken country is heading towards. The country is becoming increasingly desolated with this kind of politician openly displaying their utter disregard for rules and regulations. Tourists may ignore this kind of ignorance but those who have much to lose will think twice before making a move to invest in the country.

Opposition needs to put in a sound strategy. A person’s strengths are normally his weaknesses. His impatience to wrest control country from the embattled PM will be his major weakness. In his haste to grip onto power he will trip and fall. All we need to do then is to open the gate to an empty city and remove the fire from under the cauldron.

Oh how I love these devious and deceitful ways.

Goodnight Malaysia, truly (standing at the end of the long line of) Asia.

troubadour
Melbourne, November 11 2008.

keynesian versus najibian economy - we are doomed

2008-11-05T00:01:00.000-08:00

Toxicologist turned economist has spoken. Here is a piece by Dr. Dzulkefli Ahmad, the Director of PAS Research Centre! Truly magnificent! My ranting earlier this morning is exactly this! Being a bloody engineer and a layman economist, I may have put my reading quite differently but along the same line.

Yes, we are in a real deep shit going by the way the economy is being handled by our economist (my ass!) finance minister!

I refrained from posting other people’s writings thus far but I have to make this an exception. Thank you Kuala Selangor for a brilliant piece here!

Excerpt from Malaysiakini:

Missing numbers in 'stimulus package' puzzling
Dzulkifly Ahmad Nov 5, 08 3:20pm
Analysis
MCPX
In what was Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's maiden speech as a Finance Minister, he has cast more doubts about his alleged or perceived ‘financial prowess' of being better than prime minister when it comes to managing the economy.

Hopes quickly evaporated midway through his delivery of his ‘stimulus package' to bolster the economy. It has nothing to do with his refusal to allow the Opposition Leader and MPs to interject during his delivery - an unprecedented move strangely condoned by the Speaker.

Firstly, quite unsolicited, he decided to take a pot-shot at the Pakatan Rakyat's budget - perhaps more accurately the Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim - by accusing that the Pakatan budget was "contractionary" as opposed to their "expansionary" one.

He cunningly reminded everyone, that the nation will be in greater trouble - like during the 97-98 financial crisis - if we were to pursue Pakatan's budget.

Najib is either clearly ignorant, which of course spells doom for this nation's future or simply misleading the House, which is worse, as his limited credibility will be further dented.

A budget is either ‘expansionary' if there is a deficit or ‘contractionary' if there is a surplus.
While the BN's 2009 budget poses a projected deficit of RM28.45 billions, the Pakatan's budget deficit stands at RM22.10 billions.

Both are deficit budgets, ergo expansionary budgets, period. A lesson in Economics 101 for our new finance minister.

The Pakatan package

On Oct 23 Pakatan presented a budget strategy in response to addressing financial uncertainties and restoring confidence in our economy.

While clearly expansionary and anti-cyclical - in order to weather the ‘slowing down of growth with concurrent inflationary pressure on goods and services with the consequent massive unemployment' (ie stagflation) - our budget addresses where and how the deficit is to be funded and sustained.

Going by the current global prices of crude oil (CO) and crude palm oil (CPO), even a conservative estimate will show the present BN budget's revenue projection having a RM18 billion shortfall.

CIMB's Research House estimated that for every US$10/barrel reduction in price (Tapis crude oil), we'll lose RM4 billion a year. For every RM100/tonne of CPO, we will be robbed of RM1.7 billion.

An estimated loss or reduction of revenue to the tune of RM18-25billions is to be anticipated.
Our approach was not just expansionary, it was prudent so that we maximise the ‘multiplier effects' in critical sectors critical sectors of quality housing, healthcare and education.

A ‘quality deficit' was intended, not speculative endeavours like injecting RM5 billion from Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) to shore up ‘undervalued companies' or delving into mega-projects - like underground cables, double-tracking railways or dubious military helicopter procurement.

Najib was glad to announce the RM7 billion saved from reduced fuel subsidies, yet side-stepping the spending spree with his ‘expansionary stimulus'.

Opposed to our projections or even CIMB's, Najib stated that the revenue drop would be only RM176.22 billion to RM168.73 billion - which is only a RM8 billion revenue loss.

Presumably the revenue reduction takes into account CO and CPO. Which does not add up.

Missing RM7 billion

Even with our conservative RM18 billion deduced by the RM7 billion saved in fuel subsidy reduction, a yawning RM11 billion is the revenue deficit.

He did not admit this out-right, but there was an indirect concession when he stated they were expecting a bigger deficit of 4.8 percent.

But behold, the finance minister foolhardily informs of another RM7 billion, which he claims is from the fuel subsidy. Mind-blowing.

The numbers do not jive, whichever way you look at them. This additional RM7 billion must either be from borrowing, leveraging or gearing - all dirty words from the US financial crisis.
It would have been better for Najib to admit that the money is to be borrowed from a source like EPF or that the government is raising bonds.

Yes, we may have a healthy national reserve of 37 percent of our GDP.
Yes, we may have low non-performing loans for the time being.
Yes, we may have a low foreign debt currently at RM187 billion with RM70 billion private debt. As of April 2008, this maybe 20 percent of the foreign reserve.

Pakatan may have to grudgingly admit that our national fundamentals are strong, even if they are not naturally trickling down to the rakyat - thanks to inflation and poor distributive justice.
But bear in mind that we have had 10 years of deficit budgets.

Irrespective of whose fiscal stimulus package is put it as a anti-cyclical measure - be it BN or Pakatan's - it has to be prudent and carried out productively.
Our bullishness may now be totally misplaced as party time has long expired for our finance minister.

The Eurocopters deal and a slew of mega-projects should have been voluntarily withdrawn a long time ago.

I doubt if you have any hindsight. Your recurring blindspot is extremely distressing and very worrying to say the least.

DR DZULKIFLY AHMAD is director PAS Research Centre and member of parliament for Kuala Selangor.

deeper shit

2008-11-04T20:44:00.000-08:00

Najib (economist my ass!) finance minister asserted that EPF Valuecap loan is guaranteed by government! Yeah, great aint it? What a load of bollocks. He is talking cock again. The government has no moral right to guarantee the loan. The government itself lost it legitimacy to govern when it won the March 08 election via fraudulent means.

When the government lost its credibility, whatever they say is doubtful and always, and I repeat, always have ulterior motives and full of deceptions. The government will definitely guarantee the loan and when the time comes for Valuecap to pay the loan, time extension is given and then a further deliberation and additional roam and finally when all else fail, they will resort again to reaching into the same coffer and then other alternative coffers. This is the issue. Modus operandi is same and very predictable. It is the people again and again been taken for a ride.

The country is broke and these idiots are still running around looting again! What do we do? We are sitting on our butt watching the world go by and wonder why such a misfortune befalls us! What a sorry lot! It was this slightly over 40% of the population that voted these morons to get to rule us that get us into this mess. We must drum this fact into these 40% or so sleepy lot to wake up and see what is happening around them. Their own livelihood is at such a great risk and they are still dreaming of a white Christmas.

We have been saying that the budget needs a review. This “British-trained” economist is saying that it is not necessary to do so. He went to table RM7 Billion stimulus package to boost the economy. A budget will address income and if there is no bloody income, how on earth is he going to pay for all these sweet goodies? If an earlier budget was a deficit, read carefully, expenses is more than income and now almost half of the so called revenue is going to come from “oil revenue” that has dropped from almost USD100 to slightly above USD50 per barrel!

Let us see the goodies promised. Aha… our EPF contribution! He is assuming that he is going to get a boost from a-50% takers for a reduction of EPF contribution, giving him RM2.4 Billion. This additional income from the 3% reduction in EPF contribution will get you and me to spend it and hence we live happily ever after when collective additional RM2.4 Billion is circulating in the economy. This is coming from our pockets, not his bloody bank.

Then there is RM1.2 Billion “allocation” to construct affordable houses. This will definitely get screwed up by the cronies. They will get the projects, houses not completed and the cronies will have overseas vacations or most likely get villas in the South of France or both! We will be back to square one.

Next is the magic RM7 Billion figure coming from savings due to reduction in subsidy of petrol price! This is the mother of all bulls. The UMNO lots are going to have a real feast with this RM7 Billion. Shoddy roads will be built and newly repaired ceiling for schools and public buildings will collapse. Bridges will get washed away and public amenities get screwed up. Hail this greatest economist (my ass!) ever roamed the earth! Problems are opportunities in disguise. They will continue to skin us alive.

Goodnight Malaysia, just go wherever you bloody like to go.

longing to unwrap a special gift this coming boxing day

2008-11-04T02:07:00.000-08:00

Ho ho ho ho… lo! here comes Santa Claus on a reindeer-sledge! It is going to be a white Christmas after all. Children singing carols, adults scrounging the cities for presents! Ah what a sight!

It is going to be a very merry Christmas.

RPK has spoken from behind solitary walls. Revolution it will be, evolution it will not be. Bonapartean it has to be, Darwinian it cannot be.

If bloggers community is awake and start to shake, the Police’s Special Branch will start putting a brake because the powers that be has too much at stake.

What is there for you and me to do? A lot! Let me suggest one or two points here.

One very important thing to do is to bombard the cyberspace with enormous information to educate the public at a maximum level as to the misdeeds of the UMNO/BN government. Those silent majority inside and outside the government must join this up-above (cyberspace underground) movement. They possess huge amount of information that exposes current federal government’s misdemeanour. It is time to share this government’s squalid affairs and bring them out into public domain.

Information stuck in cyberspace carries no meaning and serves no purpose. Information must reach target audience. We must collectively forward this information to our acquaintances. It is just at a click of a mouse button, to the entire our e-mailing list.

I remember vividly the 1998 reformation movement. The flame was kept alive, spirit held high through distribution of hard copies of vital information that influences and shapes peoples’ minds. Effort must be heightened towards printing hard copies of documents and distribute them wide and scatter.

Make effort to meet with and know our (PR) elected members of parliament. Knowing and understanding, sharing thoughts and working hand in hand in bringing out this change! The process will be very thought-provoking, challenging and intellectually rewarding.

Organising functions that have ample time for intelligent discourses would be another effective strategy. Effort must be enhanced towards projecting right image of people that will take over and govern this beloved country of ours from these ashes of ruin and devastated state.

Last but not least, let us not forget that it is the peoples that will lend their power towards making this initiative a success. With sacrifices, there are expectations on rewards. Peoples are expecting rewards for their efforts. We must be able to convince them that the rewards are worth waiting. These would be in the form of better security for the nation, education that transcends racial barriers, justice that is not blind and myopic, wealth in abundance for those who seek it and equal opportunity for all. In the words of Abraham Lincoln, “That this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedoms, and that government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth”.

a sure thing?

2008-11-03T23:32:00.000-08:00

Is there such thing as “a sure thing” I watched a movie way back 1985 titled as such. It was about a college kid who worshipped and longed to bed a girl of his dream. Throughout the movie he went on chasing this dream. At the end of it, he had the girl on the palm of his hand only consciously choosing not to bonk her instead. To digress a little, it had this George Benson’s (who?) song that had a line about the singer doing his best but his best was not good enough. A lovesick friend crooned this song his entire six months abroad idolising a girl he chased, only to lose her to another friend (He will cringe if he reads this piece!).

Back to current topic, Malaysia’s move to prop up the share market with an RM5 Billion “loan” from EPF was a stupid move and a futile effort. Opposition leader’s quip that 90% of that fund would swiftly flow out of the country was a sarcastic remark but nevertheless spot on. The fact that the first (economist my ass!) finance minister came up with this answer to the so called impending economic woes due to credit crunch in itself is beyond comprehension. He must have got his priority upside down and topsy-turvy. Not to mention that the British would curse like hell if he is bent on claiming he is a graduate economist from their prestigious university.

Valuecap Sdn Bhd saw the opportunity in the wake of the credit crunch, to kill two birds with one stone. These daylight robbers are getting out of dilemma of paying old loan by borrowing another almost an equal amount under the pretext of saving the nation from stock market loss as a result of capital flight. The old loan was in the first place obtained via issuance of bonds that are not able to be transacted or traded. EPF and other suckers were duped into buying these valueless bonds and continue to hold onto them and watching in vain as the papers transmogrify into junks quicker than the eyes can see.

Is Valuecap trying to redeem old bonds with this new loan? Or are they are using this loan for another (mis)adventure? Whichever way it goes, you and I are made fools in this game of political satire and comics in this social quagmire. Our hard earned monies are being thrown to the wind while these idiots continue to rule the country as they please.

Where are those champions of transparency and good governance and corruptions’ chief whip? He must have been wallowing in his massive collections both in cash and kind.

So the moral of the story in the opening paragraph above is that there is no such thing as a sure thing. But figuratively speaking, one thing for sure, all the money thrown in would go down the drain. The drain flows downstream to a collection point disguised as thrash-trap that hauls in freshly minted notes. One man’s loss is another man’s gain. The general public continues the rat race. It surely is a dog-eats-dog in this rat race. And as the late Freddy Mercury’s put it so accurately, it leaves you bleeding lying flat on your face.

And once again, goodnight Malaysia, wherever you may be and wherever you may wish to go.

what is this struggle all about?

2008-11-03T20:08:00.000-08:00

For those who may wonder as to why we are making so much noise in this cyberspace, here is something that will enlighten you. There are two things that we seek to uphold namely justice and transparency and good governance.

Justice

Justice must be done. Universal concept of justice must be upheld. A person is innocent until proven guilty (in the court of law). The burden of proof is on the accuser. To err is human, to forgive, divine. A society is at fault if a subject is not cared for. Further, there has to be separation of powers between judiciary, legislators and executives. Judges must be selected by a commission and of highest integrity. To be fair and just is to put things in its rightful places.

Transparency and Good Governance

Uppermost in our struggle is to instil a system that is transparent and govern it well, and righteously. These words conjure little meaning if we are ignorant. Ignorant many would say therefore is bliss. Not knowing what to expect leaves us with no imagination at all.

This struggle first and fore most is about instituting a reform. Essentially this is about change, changing from a bad state to a better one. This change requires the right methodology for it to be effective and ends up well. Leading this change must be in a manner that will impact the masses. The general public must “buy” this argument before any change process can begin.

The reform that we are fighting for would begin with the two things above. This will ensure that other damages in our society can be reformed. These are education system, wealth distribution and financial systems, law enforcement, country’s security, foreign affairs, international trades, business system, communication system, housing, agriculture and sports and so on.

In short, the reason for reform is pure and simple. These systems have all been trampled on and raped by the current government, corrupted to the core and destroyed beyond recognition.

It is time for reform and to change the government before the wrath of the Almighty befall us because of our refusal to correct what is not right and install what is right.

The alternative is a painful one as God says that His land is expansive and no one should succumb to and continue to live under tyranny. It is a choice between fighting or get lost. Look like it is between the devil and deep blue sea? It is never a-too-late. Being a reformer meant more than race, meant more than pride. I rest my case.

bracing for difficult times ahead of us

2008-10-23T07:23:00.000-07:00

It is going to be a grim outlook indeed. The American credit crunch as it is called is contagious. The fault lines apparently pass through Europe and are heading towards our shore. That is what the economists are saying. Our number one economist aka Najib Razak and his bunch of merry-men of lawmakers turned lawbreakers are saying otherwise. Malaysia’s economy is as solid as a rock. Funny though, secretly they are ransacking treasury for some leftover dough.

Will it hit us hard? Well, the extent depends very much on how fast we can instil measures to lessen the impact. If our response is fast enough, we may not have to resort to putting in money into the vacuum created by defective financial system of the IMF the world subscribed to.

Financial institutions’ penchants for creating innovative products that has subjective values and widely distribute them further increase their risks. As these products are not inside the balance sheet of the financial institutions, we are not able to detect them. We do not know who is badly exposed and by how much and who is credit-worthy and who is not. The flow of funds between banks stop as money market respond by freezing credits. Financial system becomes totally without credibility. People will chose to hold onto their money instead of dealing with banks. Governments scramble to guarantee savings to prevent massive withdrawal.

A new system has to be founded and that would mean a total reconstruction of existing financial system. Not an easy feat to achieve.

Already we are seeing prices of commodities, steels and other raw materials and oil come spiralling down. Cost of manufactured goods would be lower but demand falls a lot faster and hence recession sets in.

When we, a general public are grappling with these complex issues, we will be at a loss and require a caring, competent and responsible government to see us through these difficult times. But in our case, when our pilot and co-pilot are engaged in a power struggle, the country is running on auto-pilot en-route Bora-Bora, a sunny carefree holiday destination.

We are seeing a panic move by the finance minister and proposed for a propping up of the share market with a view of saving a few companies. This is a classic piecemeal solution that is devoid of aggregate effort and highly likely to be flawed.

Let us for God’s sake forget our differences and sit down together on a discussion table to finding solutions to these conundrums. We have to get passed this self-denial and look again at our budget and the country’s financial planning. A revisit is crucial in response to an already changing circumstance and new playing field. We must act fast enough and brace ourselves for an arduous spell ahead of us. We are indeed living in the most challenging period. This global village is small enough and Uncle Sam sneezes, we catch cold and if not attended to we will die of high fever.

Good night and good luck Malaysia, wherever you are.

troubadour

of peoples’ coffer, its custodian and the plunderer

2008-10-22T22:19:00.000-07:00

The feeling is a “cloud nine” level! It is a real ecstasy and real feeling of jubilation! The heartless crook and criminal UMNO/BN goons time and again proved us right. These moronic idiots are so predictable. Or are we a hell lot smarter than these corrupt politicians? Perhaps both then! Oh, well, we are so good!

Their dirty hands are reaching into EPF (read PEOPLE) coffer again! When the nation is on the brink of bankruptcy and there is scanty fund available, the people are going to be victimised and trod on again. The story is almost always the same, and the players are also (Oh My God!) the same!

First the finance minister announced EPF fund to be used by Valuecap to prop up the market, the second finance reinforced the need and tried to justify the move citing profit would be made and then EPF went on to deny the move! Aha…! What is going on? Is there a shadow-play going on in public domain? We would welcome the move by EPF to not agreeing with the move. EPF is our old age retirement fund. Yes, you and I. We would stand to lose our pension fund if this crime is allowed to go on without a fight. We are talking about mega sin here. This is not a petty theft. It is a daylight robbery!

Those entrusted to manage this fund must be of highest integrity and honesty. They must safeguard peoples’ savings down to the last penny.

What will be their next moves then! Let us predict then! Maybe we can conjecture some crafty moves by these hijackers.

PETRONAS’s coffer! Well, they raided this treasure chest too many times already. But then again, who cares! Maybe the CEO of Malaysia to whom this state oil company answer to would relent. The robbers can prepare justification paper as thick as the phone book and the CEO can be hoodwinked into agreeing with the move. This is a viable alternative.

There are a number of favourite treasuries where they do not concern the non-Muslims. The Chinese and Indian community may not mind. After all, they are not contributing to these funds. These institutions could collectively syndicate considerable sum for all and sundry to feast on. This would be brilliant! Heading the syndicate would be the Pilgrims Fund (Tabung Haji). Smaller ones would be the nation’s main Islamic alms collection, the “Baitulmal” and all the states ones. Perhaps the rescue plan fund can be repackaged and sold to the unsuspecting public as a “People Development Fund” or the Malay-Muslim acronym would sound more palatable, “Tabung Pembangunan Ummah”. That sounds terrific. Definitely can close sale! How about “National Development Fund”!? This resonates well with the whole nation. The non-Muslim section would not mind and more likely even to support it.

How about Pension Fund? Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pencen can be duped again. They conceded before when the goons twisted the directors’ arms. They could try again. Who can stop these them? Most trustees were appointed through political conduits anyway. They would be subservient to their masters anyway.

How about states’ petroleum royalty? Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak oil royalty can be delayed and rerouted. It is a noble cause anyway. These oil rich states are under BN rule. UMNO trampled and squashed them thus far and yet they relented. Stretching them a little bit more will not be a problem. They are still barking like mad dogs in parliament. They are not likely to rebel. They are well fed and become submissive and compliant. BN parliamentarians from Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak are nothing but docile and obedient lot. Their loud howling and barking in parliament daily now is proof enough of their stupidity.

Then there is Chef Ministers Incorporated. BN govern quite a number of states. These chief ministers want to remain in power. They can be duped or coerced. Again it is a national interest anyway. This tagline is so powerful.

Manipulative minds work wonders. A friend remarked recently that politicians live longer because of their manipulative minds. Only the good die young. But what is not said is “the crooked live longer to incur wrath of the Almighty and live to see their plan destroyed and their castles turn to ruin”.

Goodnight Malaysia, wherever you are!

troubadour

courage and conviction to forge ahead

2008-10-21T18:52:00.000-07:00

I read with disdain news of wasteful exchanges in parliament over “long gone” past performance of BN government in Anwar’s era. Do these BN Sarawak’s parliamentarians understand the meaning of collective responsibility? Anwar is no longer a BN man. As he was a BN/UMNO man in his heydays, he would have to uphold vision and direction of his then party. To bring up obsolete and redundant issues now is a sheer waste of taxpayers’ money. Parliamentarians are elected to enact laws for the benefit of masses, not to debate trivial, petty and frivolous issues en-route a cul-de-sac.

Lately in parliament, this fear of impending takeover of the government by the opposition has caused such a disarray and blinded the government’s parliamentarians to such an extent that they engage in wasteful debates and stupid squabbles choosing to attacking as strategy for defence. I watched in dismay while idiotic lawmakers made complete fools of themselves and irate political pundits. These mindless psychopaths do not deserve to represent the people in the hallowed house of parliament in the first place. This only explains the kind of manipulation that got in the way of their election into office. We have a bunch of idiots running the country now.

Both dependent government-owned and independent press tends to sensationalise reports, Hansard transcript brings to light a great deal of information. While words may not fully capture emotions and atmosphere of the debates in parliament they do to some extent give quite an expose.

We cannot help but sing praises to the informed lot in the opposition bench on their focussed and engaged manner of their conduct. It is heartening to note that they choose not to let their imminent conquest get in the way of pushing for reforms these very minutes, both in politics and most importantly the economy. A peek into backgrounds of the opposition’s parliamentarians reveals individuals with sound and impeccable and immaculate credentials and unquestionable commitment. Years of struggle against an oppressive regime and its self serving machineries taught majority of these people’s representative significance of struggle and how much trust electorates placed upon their shoulders. These are courageous human beings, dedicated and full of convictions.

Astute opposition leader also choose to let bygones be bygones. On a few occasions he openly declared his regrets for past omissions and commissions. This act of admitting one’s shortcomings with remorse and a promise to remedy them right not only made him appear chivalry enough but also humane enough to earn admirations from friends and foes alike. This is a mark of a genuine statesman.

Daily as parliament sitting gets under-way these unsung heroes led by the opposition statesman are teaching the BN goons the meaning of humility and trustworthiness. The conscientious amongst them will learn righteousness and modesty and may come to realisation that theirs’ is a lost course and will abandon ship in favour of joining hands with the respectable representatives. Together, these magnificent men and women will form a new government that have the moral right to govern and rule justly and earnestly. This will mark an era for a new Malaysia, a true government of the people, by the people, for the people and perish it will not from this blessed earth. Let the new democracy usher in with vigour and splendour. Long live Malaysia, a vibrant economy with people of diverse culture and background living in peace and harmony!

troubadour

universal declaration of social justice

2008-10-21T02:47:00.000-07:00

I have always been fascinated with inspiring and insightful speeches. In my younger days I admired those who could muster public speaking skills. I would secretly picture in my head being able to command such a skill and imagined myself delivering powerful stimulating speeches. I would memorise phrases, idioms and words of wisdom and formed sentences in my head and delivered inspirational speeches before imaginary audience. It was breathtaking. And to borrow Salinger’s favourite phrase, I got real “kicks” out of it!

My “field of day” came when there was a selection process for speakers for the English debating team at school. Aspirants were asked to speak on any topic in front of the classroom. I remembered a friend who cited the lyrics to the song “Hotel California” by the Eagles in a poetic manner. It was hilarious and the whole class was laughing loudly with great joy.

I chose to deliver Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address to the class. I thought that the speech was discerning and of course very motivating. I could still remember the whole speech in my mind to this day.

As one grows up, values set in and inevitably one find oneself in a position of leadership. The very least is we have our families and we are the reluctant leaders. We begin to place many universal values of goodness in our aspirations. Human rights, social justice and values a civil society should possess are suddenly of paramount importance to you. One begins to seek sources of inspirations.

Where does one turn to for motivation and inspiration, faced with such a noble and monumental task of educating humanity and finding solutions to cure ills? I had an interesting conversation with my subordinate yesterday on this “reference” point. I was professing consulting an expert and consulting right sources were crucial to finding credible and practical answers to problems in general and inevitably one’s values and belief dictates one’s source and direction. I turned to “classical sources” of my belief and found Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) “Last sermon” to be a truly inspiring speech and the Prophet’s reminder has stood the test of time and dimension.

In this sermon, the Prophet stressed upon 10 issues. These are:

To deliver a promise and fulfil trust.
To be fair and just in our conduct.
Prohibition of and to avoid usury (“Riba”).
To be a forgiving (for past wrongdoings and proceed on a clean slate).
Observing what is forbidden down to the smallest/trivial things.
Rights of man over woman and vice versa and to protect women at all times.
Uphold and observe the five pillars of Islam.
Men are created equal and Muslims’ brotherhood.
Everyone is answerable for his deeds (to the Almighty).
To use the Holy Quran and Prophet’s Teaching as guide and reference.

One has to read the Sermon carefully to be able to understand elements of Social Justice being outline by the Prophet (pbuh). For a full speech of the Prophet (pbuh) please visit troubadour's Attachment site at www.wandering-troubadour-attachment.blogspot.com.

troubadour

non-malay dpm to win over the informed lot – highly unlikely!: malaysiakini

2008-10-19T21:29:00.000-07:00

It is not what you say that matters. Action speaks louder than words. Talk is cheap, walk it and you get immense followers. A strategy to pull wool over non-Malays eyes will not work. The non-Malays are already wary enough of this foul ploy.

UMNO will never see what we have been talking all this while. They continue to think that this is all about holding onto power and it is all a game. Governing a nation is no longer child’s play and it is a responsibility of an elected government in a fair and clean manner. As BN hold onto power is a direct result of cheating and swindling, they are not a legitimate government of the day.

Already the ground is buzzing with “excitement” over this newly cooked strategy? That is what spin doctors would like to believe. Non-Malays are not stupid to bite this savoury bait. I would be very happy if UMNO continues onto this path. You can promise the sky but the atmosphere thins out only a few feet above the ground. Over and above the atmosphere, the air is too thin and one will suffocate. Promising the moon and delivering molehills. “Cakap tak serupa bikin” (Talk is cheap). Theirs is a strategy full of deceptions.

But then again, looking on the bright side, if UMNO promises a non-Malay DPM, PR is already a credible government-in-waiting, full of niceties and goodness and blossoming into a caring government. What can stop us from doing the same when we take over and live it the way in should be: true power-sharing in a transparent well governed society. Oh life, it is full of bliss!

raising the corpse from the dead – najib disowned manifesto

2008-10-19T20:48:00.000-07:00

Malaysiakini report on Najib’s unveiling of his manifesto if to be taken as a landmark effort by the Defacto PM is indeed a let-down. Now he disowned the manifesto when earlier on it was reported that it was his "support group" that released the Manifesto. We believed that it was indeed his own manifesto but having seen adverse comments in internet media especially, he chose to distant himself from the manifesto. He realised that ultra-Malay trail is but cul-de-sac and Malaysians have gone past racial politics.

What the manifesto does is it confirms our belief that this idiot is still practicing racial politics. This is the problem with a politician who seeks popularity based on a belief that Malays are parochial and racist enough to buy his distorted manifesto.

Najib’s think-tank must have fed him with some intelligence work. His old ministry the MINDEF’s intelligence unit must have cooked up something to convince him that this divide-and-rule is a sure bet. Propaganda disseminated through this underground network manages to convince many that Malay must not lose its dominance. This is the Malay section that is blind and dim-witted enough to buy their argument and swallow wholeheartedly and help to carry the propaganda further.

We noted that Malaysians loved to engage in political talk. Just give yourself a try. I did and found it very revealing. Conversation inevitably moved towards current politics. It was alarming to say the least that even those high up in society’s rank believed this Malay-must-dominate-the-politics mantra. When we went deeper we began to understand that this group generally belonged to the unintelligent and thick-skulled group and a fraction came from crony’s outer circle that benefit immensely from this corrupt government. However, on a brighter side, they made up only a small percentage of the general public. Let them continue to cry this mantra and their world would soon come crushing down.

Racism in whatever form is an antithesis of a civil society. No religion in the world condones racism and supremacy of a particular race and if there is a claim by any that their religion professes racial supremacy rest assured they are the deviants. These extremists survive and continue to garner support because society is still very much uninformed. Deliberate containment of information to select few is a mark of selfish leaders. These prophets of doom will continue to prey on uninformed segment of the society.

Choosing to resurrect the dead Najib went on to shove to us that this was what he promised his father on the father’s deathbed. This was nothing but a dirty strategy of raising the corpse from the dead. A promise made on a one’s deathbed does not legitimise a wicked deed. Swearing on one’s dead father does not legalise what is criminal. Continuing to make a fool of the general public is a sin of the highest order. He should be banished from this hallowed land of ours till he meets his Lord, if he has any.

Najib was crying foul over revelation of his misconduct attributing it to dirty tactic on the part of opposition and opponents alike. It is morally correct for one to expose misdemeanours. He dismissed charges of misconduct on both sms-exchanges with a crooked lawyer and expensive purchase of helicopters, ascribing them to again and again the dirty work on the part of his opponents. Little that he understands that a leader must not only be clean but he must also be seen to be clean. He has long lost his legitimacy to govern the moment he insinuated that it was his right to govern and not a responsibility bestowed upon him by electorates to govern in a just and faithful manner.

Najib knows that only the 2,000 or so UMNO candidates that matter. General public has little effect on him, at least for now since election time is 4 long years’ away. He round up the whole media to rally around him and together with his paid minions they continue to propel delusion in the heart of society and in doing so justifies his claim for the coveted premiership.

It is sad indeed that the outgoing premier is so naïve that he is trapped in his own web of deceit. His strategies are so transparent that they can only be attributed to his greenhorn advisers. Wisdom comes with age and his two key advisors namely his son-in-law and his son are novices compared to seasoned politicians like Najib, his perspicacious mentor Mahathir and a host of other shrewd minions that are propping this Defacto PM up. We can only watch in disbelief as the PM is slowly led towards his slaughter house. The murder would be a tragedy most foul in the history of this nation and we would regret this distasteful event soon enough and the only consolation is that perhaps we can write a correct history for our coming generation to learn a thing or two from this sordid affair.

Looking on the bright side, at least we have our cyberspace to continue this fight. We must lure this ferocious tiger out of the mountain. We must decide the battleground and we must have the will to survive. Ours is a noble course and God willing we will be triumphant. The good almost always wins over the crooked one. The onus is on us to forge ahead toward a better Malaysia where you and I and our children live to benefit from this blessed land of our forefathers. Long Live and goodnight Malaysia, wherever you are!

troubadour

the best of planner

2008-10-18T22:09:00.000-07:00

In business and politics one will be inevitably faced with a situation where there is a need for change. This desire to change is almost always a move from an inferior state to a much more outstanding one. Managing change becomes an important subject of study.

We have seen turnaround of the Malaysia Airlines as one of a more successful change management. Earlier on in Malaysia there was a Shell Malaysia turnaround that has been quoted as exemplary change management in practice.

Likewise in politics, there is a constant need for change. Failure to address this will send a business entity or a political party into oblivion. In the aftermath of the 2004 general election in Malaysia, the writer had the opportunity to meet with and posed a question to Director of PAS Research, Dr. Dzulkefli Ahmad on whether there was a need to “reinvent” PAS having suffered a big electoral loss. He chose “repackaging” as the word to describe the change needed in PAS. Whether one is reinventing or repackaging an entity or product, there is almost always associated with change.

UMNO as political party is heading for destruction. Fifty years of rule with little change if goes by Ibnu Khaldun’s Theory of Social Science is in ripe age of destruction coming from, as the theory goes, internal conflicts as leaders engage in excesses.

Both Malaysiakini and Hrakahdaily carried news of severe internal conflicts that set a platform for final showdown that will lead to destruction. It is now an acknowledged war between the two warring camps, the PM and the defacto PM, both scuttle outwit and “kill” each other.

In this information age, everybody is equipped with tools to formulate strategy of war. Both forces of good and evil are acquainted with and masterly use old age war strategies to defeat the enemy. Both sides of the divide claim to master this Art of War. Little that they realise that, the Moral Cause of waging a war, determines success of war initiatives. If one wages war for the wrong reason one can never win it.

Planning is a key to successful outcome of a war. Understanding one self and the enemy, environments and so on increase chances of winning a war.

While we indulge ourselves in this knowledge of the Art of War, we must never discount the fact that there is a superior being out there watching us. An atheist may dub this Law of the Universe or Mother Nature or simply luck. But for the majority of this world’s population divine intervention can never be ruled out.

When the CEO of Malaysian Airline outline his methodology of change or turnaround for the then ailing airline, he went on to spell very clearly that seeking divine intervention was of paramount importance. Likewise PAS as a political party placed its success on sound moral cause, properly repackaged and they will agree unanimously due to the will of the supreme-being.

UMNO on the other hand clamours for change but lacks the will for change. Leaders scramble to maintain their power and position without regard for the people. They obviously want to cling onto power for the sheer reason of wanting to have access to material reward. The moral cause is a twisted one and as the rule goes its outcome is easily predicted. Sheer disaster and catastrophe to the nation and its people! Most glaring is their conceit and arrogance to claim that it is their (God given) right to govern and total disregard for God’s command to rule justly and honestly.

They plan, God also plan and God is the Best of Planner.

troubadour

malaysia emulating zimbabwe

2008-10-18T03:20:00.000-07:00

BBC World news today (October 18th, 2008) reported that power sharing arrangement discussion between Mugabe’s party and Zimbabwe’s opposition party was underway but the opposition warned that limited power that Mugabe chose to bestow upon the opposition was far too insignificant to spur collaboration or formation of a respectable coalition. This cannot be too far away from what is happening at home-front. Initiative by the biggest BN coalition party UMNO in courting Islamist’s party PAS was a testimony of similar route taken by Mugabe’s party. In the absence of Mahathir on Malaysia’s political front, Mugabe has improvised lessons learned from his one time idol.

Enter round two of the Malaysia’s political mayhem! We would most likely be seeing Malaysia’s shrewd politician back in limelight. His disciple, Najib Razak’s likely ascension to the coveted PM position in Malaysia would see his skewed policy being shoved back to Malaysia public. His old age was perhaps his only setback. He might be receiving his Lord’s call before he could inflict more injury to Malaysian public. However, even with this divine intervention also if it were to happen, nothing could stop his twisted policy to be jostled into Malaysian public’s domain. Najib Razak, a defective clone of Mahathir would see to it that Malaysia would sink to her lowest ebb and be anointed as the leader of the third and lost and forgotten backward world.

If Mugabe’s trail was an indication of what was in store in Malaysia, we would still be seeing a scheme devised by BN core party to court the Islamist’s party be resurrected and gather momentum. Continuous assault on government’s opponents be it members of opposition or general public was evidence of UMNO’s move towards convincing people especially the Malays ethnic that they were loosing political control and becoming increasingly marginalised in their own country and subsequently push Islamist’s party to a corner and relent. As the ruling coalition was increasingly becoming more and more unpopular, this power sharing conduit was the only viable alternative at maintaining grip on the nation’s power and hence opportunity to ransack her wealth.

Zimbabwe’s ethnic makeup was far more complex and hence Mugabe’s mastery manoeuvres. There was a distinction between what we saw in Zimbabwe and what was happening in our home turf. Majority in Zimbabwe hailed this move as a way forward toward unifying the more than 40 ethnic groups whilst in Malaysia majority informed public riled this move as it lacked conscience and full of deceit. Furthermore, the fact that the proposal and subsequent coercion surfaced when government’s reputation was at its lowest point was a clear indication of Malaysian government’s dirty clandestine and ulterior motives.

While the world was embracing democracy, Malaysia hailed dictatorship, repackaged as “guided democracy”. The nightmare was about to begin.

troubadour

plundering the nation’s wealth while championing a reform?

2008-10-14T07:32:00.000-07:00

Quote: “Without reforms truth is obscured and sentiment and innuendo reign supreme”, unquote. Yes, it was the famous SIL aka KJ quotation that appeared in the Star some time back. Funny that this comes from a person mired in controversy and whose hands are reaching into the nation’s coffer while basking under the sun wallowing in sheer pleasure in a party that resist all attempt at changing for the better.

Change or face people’s wrath! This is also their battle cry now. But they are the ones that prove to be the biggest boulders that block reforms.

How does a person institute change? How do we make sure that whatever changes that we want to do will be successful i.e. if we manage to “reform”. This is essentially managing change, or change management. Due to a need for any organisation to continue to change or face extinction, the subject has been a focus of many management gurus. The most influential and sought after change expert is John P Kotter.

Change involves people and their emotions, uncertainties and inconsistencies and therefore is very complex. A successful change or a reform requires LEADERSHIP and a bloody good one. Without the right leadership you can expect empty mantras and prevailing old school of thoughts instead of a rejuvenated entity. Kotter laid down almost foolproof steps towards leading a change. There is simply no shortcut and it is a science as much as it is an art.

Do you seriously think that UMNO can reform giving their current state of denial? I for one do not believe that it is possible. I have these words that I said time and again to my people that “If you are limping and people also point that out to you and if you think otherwise, you would continue to walk with a limp!” That is the classic form of denial.

Sad to say that there are those (disillusioned) lot that believe UMNO should and must reform. These are the minority though. Majority of those in power simply profess change but it is just a ploy to camouflage their act of robbing the nation of its fortune.

catch it when it falls – opposition’s delaying of no confidence vote: malaysiakini

2008-10-13T09:53:00.000-07:00

It seems that the much anticipated move towards a no-confidence-vote against the PM and the BN government did not happen on Monday, October 13th. The opposition leader instead chose to engage on a debate on the budget and called for fresh new budget to be tabled by the government.

It is also interesting to note that the DPM chose to be absent from the sitting, preferring to frustrate the opposition and hiding behind tactical-ploy claim. The BN government is still mired in self denial and serious internal injury. Whatever the strategy that they employ, the people are simply not amused. They have lost the moral right to govern the moment they chose to ignore the sorry state of the country and the people.

With the decision on the date for the change of guard, outgoing PM is scrambling to ensure that his people are able to complete their projects and get paid for. They fear being robbed off their bounty. The incoming PM is putting his blockades all over the place to ensure that their supporters get their hands on the nation’s coffer. Even a small project value of which is as meagre as RM0.5 Million is being blocked, scrutinised and divided amongst their own kind, very much like a bunch of (40) thieves of the Arabian Nights. The country is in DOUBLE AUTO-PILOT MODE as both the pilot and the co-pilot chose to go about their own personal gains.

In a country where there is a solid economics foundation, politicians’ antics may not affect the country a bit but in a country like Malaysia now politicians’ frolicking courts disaster. In a world with no border, the impact is a hell lot more and the time it takes to recover is a lot longer.

Thailand’s economic fundamentals are strong unlike Malaysia. Thailand’s political turmoil has little impact to their economy. Democracy is ripe and alive in Thailand. Civil servants are free display their political inclination. Even government departments proudly choose faction they want to support. Government hospital in Bangkok was seen last week to express their resentment towards the government and the police by proudly proclaiming on a huge banner that they would not treat injured from government and police ranks. Such a display of hatred for the government, if happen in Malaysia, would incur the wrath of the ruling party and subsequent dismissal of the head of department and a host of other innocent souls.

With its economy on the brink of collapse, Malaysia cannot afford to prolong this political mayhem. Continued mishandling of the economy and the people will reduce Malaysia to the like of Zimbabwe and a host of other sordid third world countries.

Enter a new era where freedom of speech is upheld and injustice abhorred. This new era is about to begin. People’s hatred towards whatever initiative taken by the government has reached a maximum and tolerance level is almost at zero level. For satisfaction sake perhaps the opposition is lingering on this cloud nine level and wait in sheer pleasure and patience and contentment; waiting to just catch it when it falls. And fall it will.

troubadour

economist my ass

2008-10-13T08:43:00.000-07:00

I wonder why there is still a reference being made of the DPM Najib as “the so and so ECONOMIST”? Hell. If he graduated at all from Nottingham University and having entered politics at the age of 22 years and remain a politician to this date qualifies him as “the economist”! Bollocks! What does he know about economics! Putting money in his own coffer for almost 30 years now and spend some come election time (within his beleaguered party UMNO or the general elections) must have taught him real economics I presume. No wonder the country is in such a mess save some insignificant sectors.

I believe some “pen-for-hire” journalists must have done really good work. Subsequent commentators swallow the lies, repeat them and now lies are taken as truths. Going by the same methodology, I must have been a bloody good engineer having graduated at the same ripe age as the DPM was, and the fact that I cannot even to this date understand “limits and fits” of the engineering feat! What a load of rubbish we have become.

Of course he speaks so well at international conferences, answers questions like a pro, on issues ranging from social degradation to international monetary fund. He is but an actor. Scripts are written by some other men behind the scenes, swallowed; chewed and minced and spit out at the right speed and sequence. Mr. Bean could do exactly just the same or perhaps better. No doubt he read some books but to call him an economist is a disgrace to the likes of MIER president and Rafidah Aziz. Rafidah taught economics in UM at one time. Even then she is never referred to as an economist.

Ok, he did run the state at one time. Also the ministry of defence! But he IS NOT A BLOODY ECONOMIST. He is just a bloody POLITICIAN, big ego little brain and desire as huge as the EVEREST. Incidentally, is Everest in Monggolia or is it in Timbuktu or are these two places in Monggolia. Well, I am not into geography. I am just an engineer much similar to Najib as an economist.

kudos PR government

2008-10-09T01:54:00.000-07:00

A close personal friend narrated to me his experience with both UMNO/BN government & the PR state government on his plight for some assistance. This is a heartwrending piece from him as I encouraged him to pen it down to be shared with all of us. This is to demonstrate how ARROGANT the UMNO/BN government is and HOW CARING the PR government is. The PR government has indeed come out of the parochial and racial politics and demonstrated its capability to be a truly magnificent and caring government (at least at state level for now).

I salute those DAP, PKR and PAS people that came out all the way to help this man. If they continue to WALK THE TALK, it will not be long before we will see the rise of a truly deserving government of the day. Those DAP leaders and members in Cheras area have shown their unselfish and clour-blind attitude in helping, the very least emotionally, the man to continue to struggle to get out of relative poverty. I take my hat off to those PAS and PKR leaders that demonstrated their sincerity in helping this unfortunate man.

Please read the piece at www.wandering-troubadour-attachment.blogspot.com, written by a man I knew very well but request anonymity. This is just one story out of numerous incidents that I personally heard. Who says Malaysian are racists? Do not let the myopic minority be made example of the far-sighted and good-hearted Malaysians.

troubadour

malaysiakini: mixed reaction on pm’s decision (love and hate relationship!)

2008-10-08T22:35:00.000-07:00

A comment by the Penang Watch coordinator can be taken as a good summary of Badawi’s term as the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia. BK Ong said that the PM’s departure is unceremonious and due to internal pressure (since external pressure rarely make any dent at all), will be remembered as a PM that allowed more democratic space and the part I like most and believe so is that “for the first time, the country has a prime minister who did not deliver any race-based speeches” (as I believe, his Malay-Chinese parentage and upbringing has some influence on this stance).

His (BK Ong's) concluding remarks (fear) is his and the general public’s perception that will become reality. There will be tremendous set back to democratisation efforts the PM had initiated and would allow his successor to resort to repressive laws and high-handed tactics to halt political opponents.

Welcome to your worst nightmare! God forbid!

There must have been something sinister delivered to the PM by Najib that prompted the old man to switch his stand almost instantaneously after their private talk immediately after the supreme council meeting. The blow was fatal.

As much as we feel rather helpless in this situation, there is a ray of hope that the PM would fight on to make sure that Najib bites the dust. In the word of famous quotes delivered frequently in UMNO, “It is not that I love Pak Lah so much but I hate Najib a hell lot more!”

malaysiakini: rotten timber replacing the crooked beam : abdullah decision within two days

2008-10-06T20:55:00.000-07:00

I love Sakmongkol AK47 rapid shots at Najib in his blog: www.sakmongkol.blogspot.com. All those bloggers out there with conscience must take this cue seriously. There is definitely a bid to draw us away from focussing on Najib and this will avail him greatly as there will no publicity on him. And since publicity on him coming from the bloggers fraternity are all negative ones, avoiding or lessening it would safely guarantee his ascension to presidency a smooth one.

Let us not forget Bala’s first statutory declaration. Since in Malaysia rumours almost always come true in the end, claim of Bala being paid RM5 Million in his hideout in an island somewhere by an interested party to Najib’s presidency is alarming and adds further twist to explosive story of the DPM’s involvement.

We must not overlook the Altantuya’s murder trial where both defence and prosecution steered away from even mentioning the C4, or Najib. Nobody raised issues as to how the entire people around the DPM are involved and yet the person at the centre of it all is irreproachable.

The Saifool saga! Have they buried it deep in their over and done archives? Najib is at the centre of this issue whether or not he wants to keep it quiet.

Do not forget other scandals like the Business Focus i.e. the Naval Dockyard issue. Why the silence? Bailout was by Boustead Group. Amin Shah is now on self impose exile in the UK. The former UMNO choir boy is now in London to keep the real story tightly sealed. Mismanagement is the issue but those that conspire to award the contract to him should not be allowed to romp free and Najib is on top of the list.

Has everybody forgotten the Malaysian government’s submissive conduct in conforming to Uncle Sam’s call to justify their “War on Terror”? Government’s strategy went awry? “Al-Maunnah” was just the fringe of imagination of the Special Branch of the Malaysian Police. How could a bunch of campers dubbed “militants” at a later stage, stage a coup against a government having overcome an army weaponry unit and walked away with weapons of war? Najib was the Minister of Defence then! Similar to the World Trade Centre attack, the act was premeditated. A person accused as the ringleader was then tried and sent to the gallows just to justify Malaysia’s support on this War on Terror, a tagline being used to this very day to wage war against Muslims conveniently classified and read as “terrorists”.

Event succeeding this War on Terror was closures of many Islamic religious schools (Sekolah Agama Rakyat) by the government. Funds that was traditionally being channelled to these schools was bunged, forcing those on the brink of closures due to limited financial means to close shops. There was also hidden item that government wish it would never surface i.e. a review of Islamic schools’ curriculum where there was a total absence of “Jihad” subject which previously did not even touch the “arm struggle part of it. This is the mildest form of “Jihad” as we understand it. Najib again had a hand in all these.

We must always remember how the government manipulate Malaysia-Israel relationship. Inside the country where the whole mass media is under control, people are led to believe that Malaysia is very much against Israel and yet behind the scene Najib boasted how this relationship has blossomed to a level that make USA proud. Of course this speech was made outside the country and not at all taken up by Malaysian media. The truth is that we are hands-in-glove level where relationship with Israel is concerned. This hypocritical behaviour is a manifestation of how manipulative the government is when it comes to ensuring that the ballot box is filled with papers supporting them by hoodwinked electorates.

How about Defence spending during Najib’s tenure? The Scorpene purchase was just one example that was far too glaring to be shoved under a carpet. If we care to lift the carpet, more misappropriation of funds can be found.

We can go on and on deliberating on this misfit named Najib. Suffice at this juncture that we do not let ourselves be deluded further into believing that the departure of Abdullah Badawi and subsequent installation of Najib as the premier would resolve all issues and we would sail smoothly into the horizon. This event, if imminent would signify the beginning of the end for us as a nation, period! Leave the crooked beam alone! Rotten timbers are best kept as firewood! Perhaps we can use firewood to detonate a C4?
troubadour

malaysiakini: anti ISA activists’ encounter with the PM – what the future holds.

2008-10-03T05:52:00.000-07:00

In Mahathir’s era, this would be unthinkable. At least for that fact, we have to thank the current PM. His other contribution as far as his tenure is concerned was accepting the defeat of 5 states in the March 8, 2008’s general election. These would be the two historical events attributable to him.

Would Najib’s era, if it happens, promise a better future. Highly unlikely! For a seasoned politician like him, having had excellent practices since his early twenties, the path that he would trot would be a treacherous and deceitful one. Mahathir perfected the devious ways and Najib would improvise and eventually invent more evil ways. Underneath that calm and composed man was a cruel and deceitful person according to his political opponents.

Harakahdaily reported that blogger Kickdefella highlighted that claims of Najib’s involvement in Altantutuya murder’s case were coming out in the open. There was a report of a number of letters purportedly signed by the DPM seeking clearance for the murdered woman’s entry visas at various embassies. Could this signal the beginning of a war between the PM and DPM, a bid to get the coveted title as the president of an archaic and antediluvian UMNO? Days ahead are getting more and more interesting.

In corporate marketing talk, perception is said to be reality. Public perception is never wrong. We perceived the PM as a mild mannered person but rather weak in leadership. It has proven to be true even though he started to use the draconian ISA against dissents, a contrast from his weak appearance. Circumstances made him behaved that way. Moreover he had his son and daughter (and son-in-law) to take care of. Can’t blame him, can you?

Najib’s tenure would be a darker era. Pray that this is just our nightmare and it would not come true. Even so, many would consider migration to seek greener pasture. God’s land is expansive and nobody should tolerate a tyrant!

troubadour

UMNO & PAS merger or is it acquisition of PAS by UMNO? views from a keen observer!

2008-10-01T08:53:00.001-07:00

The strategy adopted was simple yet could rejuvenate UMNO and at the same time causing PAS to become docile. It was a double-edged sword inflicting pain both in forward thrust and reverse.

Often the simplest of strategy was the most effective one. On this score, the UMNO think thank hit a jackpot.

A common factor to both UMNO and PAS was sought. It did not take long for the think-tank to come out with a perfect go-between, a man respected by PAS up to the topmost and envied by corporate figures in UMNO and non-partisan business people.

The go-between was a very close friend to the challenger, the head of the opposition leader. He was the one that took care of the opposition leader’s family members and friends when the latter was languishing in prison. His was very kind to the opposition leader and a dear friend since schooldays. His willingness to be the go-between alone would be a very bitter act of betrayal to the opposition leader’s thrust on him. He would inflict great personal pain and also great injury to the opposition leader.

It was a story out of MI5 success files. The plan was concocted to “recruit” the go-between. There must be a hole somewhere that needed filling in. The target was hungry for a business to remain a formidable force in corporate scene. His good and unsuspecting nature, his genuine warmth and hospitality was the strength that was very brittle and susceptible to crack. He cared for the Malays. Often, Malays in general tended to generalise that helping the Malays means helping Islam. They would almost often bought the “Malays will lose their rights if governed by a weak and simple majority Malay-dominated government”.

Two likeable gentlemen were despatched to lay down a solid foundation. Both were in their prime, resolute and seasoned agents. They openly admitted to be working for the PM, housed in an office smack in the middle of the city under a foundation claimed to be custodian of a massive off-budget expenditure programmes. They were investing big. So enormous that it would propel recipient into the mega scale company. Vistas painted were so vivid that it ensnared the unsuspecting target. He bought the story down to the last drop of saliva.

Off they went with the company entourage on a global trip witnessing their success stories. The two gentlemen marvelled at the target’s Midas-touch. He was elated. His jubilant blinded his senses. He became an unwilling recruit that could forge the union of two traditional adversaries in the name of Malay unity and wounded a third interested party in the process. Perfect double-edged stiletto!

Representatives from both divides were assembled. It was made known that the DPM was also party to this initiative. PAS President and his Deputy attended. It seemed that key members of this Malay-Unity committee have one thing in common. They all hailed from Eaton of the East. These key members’ dramatic play cast gigantic doubt as to the conduct of the opposition leader’s in the eyes of PAS reps that were present. The objective was met. The doubt was cast in stone and carved to perfection. It would remain solid in the mind of the converted cynics for years to come. It remained solid to this very day.

The marriage was to be solemnised. What remained was merely getting official stamps from both parties. The PM wanted it done immediately. He wanted the victory to be his. His party would be saved and the new partner would discover the truth far too late that they will perish by then. The DPM wanted the union be deferred until he took over which as his soothsayers put, “in the very near future”. There was striking difference in the need of both the PM and DPM. Both were however cocksure that they would be at the helm where there could only be one leader. This revealed their treacherous ways.

RPK noses were everywhere. He smelled the move or perhaps he had deep throats running aloof. He threw his words to the wind. All hell broke loose. Another cyber warrior, Tulang Besi or Rahman Celcom aka Rahman Talib was also watching the game with keen eyes. He despised the union as he believed it would trigger the beginning of the end of PAS.

PAS Secretary General was flabbergasted with the initiative. How could his fellow Eatonians conspired to such a degree. This would kill his party and derailed overall plan of assembling a solid amalgamation of oppositions to challenge the ruling party.

The opposition leader was equally stunned by the initiative. They were all from the same side of the divide. How could his friend betray him? This was someone who was his confidant and a friend in need. A real friend indeed! But doubt about ability to govern with a simple majority and outnumbered by non-Malays in proposed new government was deeply planted into the target’s head that he dismissed the opposition leader’s initiative as a wishful thinking and an impossible task.

The talk took place at the outskirt of KL. It was a howling success. The target did his part too well in fact that cracks were apparent. It would not be easy to mend. It would perhaps cause PAS to be split into two. Once the seed of discord was sowed, subversive elements would follow and a wedge would be forced through the cracks. Tulang Besi called the group that marched in a different direct listening to a different drum as the UMNO FRACTION. Whatever the name was, the group would be a splinter that would leave a big mark

Things went quiet. Undercurrent was so huge that it was just waiting for the right time to burst. The go-between did his part. Those that surrounded him then disappeared without traces. He could not help but feeling very disappointed. He felt really used. He was drowning in self pity. It was a dangerous situation to be in. Left alone it would lead to disaster. And catastrophe it would be for the opposition leader.

gambling and the gaming industry

2008-09-30T02:44:00.000-07:00

I had never known that gambling and gaming was such a favourite item with Chinese community in Malaysia. In my adult years I read a number of times written protests in mainstream media whenever there were bids to put a stop to or authorities’ clamping down on gambling and gaming outlets.

I took a bus on a journey to my hometown. It was a 4-hour journey from Tanjung Malim to Butterworth. I accidentally discovered a tour group that operated express buses from various places in Malaysia and Singapore to gambling and gaming site atop Genting Highlands. As my residence was in the suburb or more accurately outskirt of town, going back to the city to hop on a bus would be a waste of valuable time. I discovered that I could start a journey from various points without having to go to the main bus terminals. It was my greatest discovery in many years.

The fare was very reasonable and the comfort was a real luxury. Suddenly I had alternative transportation without much hassle. Then it dawned on me the shear size of the industry that was able to support such a massive network of logistics.

On the journey back, I noticed two gentlemen sitting beside me were playing cards for a solid four hours. They were practising on the bus en-route the gambling arena. They were very passionate at playing cards. Playing with lady luck was perhaps in the Chinese people’s DNA.

One could get addicted to gambling. It was for this reason that gambling was seen as dangerous and prohibited by many religions. Many argued that one should know when to call it quit when one gambled. But in many cases there was no stopping. Still this favourite pastime of the Chinese people in general, was allowed to flourish in the name of freedom of speech and expressions in a democratic country. Just watch it mate! Do not go overboard!

troubadour

same old story, same old song and it always works

2008-09-29T21:18:00.000-07:00

Here we go again! Break the enemy from within. Strategy used by the intelligence unit of UMNO (read Special Branch (SB) of the Royal Malaysian Police) is simple. Infiltrate the organisation and split it from within. In the case of Malaysian political scene, all organisations are being infiltrated at the same time. 7,000 full time personnel of the SB Unit are working 24/7 to initiate micro-cracks to stimulate divide and eventual collapse of targeted strategic organisations.

Four key UMNO-extension units are the major operatives. These are SB, MI, INTAN and ACA. They are working hand-in-gloves to perfection.

PAS, PKR and HINDRAF have been deeply infiltrated. PAS is struggling to fend off the silent movement of what one blogger (Tulang Besi) termed as the “UMNO-Fraction” within its party. The main aim is to divide with a lure of positions (later translated into dollars and cents) by bringing PAS into the BN coalition. It seems to be working VERY WELL. A very low key and quiet and subversive nature of the operation bears signature of the SB Unit.

PKR is being assaulted by the Anti Corruption Agency, ACA. The action has borne fruit with the sacking of an EXCO of the Perak State. More is in the pipeline.

HINDRAF is perhaps the easiest of all to infiltrate. It was infiltrated on the eve of its inception. Thanks to emotional nature of the founders and members. It is now singing MIC tune.

DAP is perhaps the most difficult to penetrate but they will jump with a slight nudge on the waist. The party has two time bombs, the 2KS; Kit Siang (KS) and Karpal Singh (KS). Both are capable of Killing Spree (KS).

Sun Tzu says, “War is Deception”. Knowledge and information is gathered using intelligence. Only wise ruler and brilliant leaders who are able to conduct intelligence with superiority and cleverness, is certain to achieve great results. Intelligence is the most important work, because the entire force relies on it for every move. It is the essence of strategy.

How about a counter strategy? Well, here’s some words from the great master.
The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, tempted with bribes, led away and comfortably housed. Thus they will become double agents and available for our service. It is through the information brought by the double agent that we are able to acquire and employ local and inward spies. It is owing to his information, again, that we can cause the doomed spy to carry false tidings to the enemy.

The SB has gone cyber. These are a group of highly intelligent personnel with deep sense of conviction but without conscience. The end justifies the means. Bloogers have been subdued and kept disarray with arrests and threat of arrests. Cyber counter intelligence sites and blogs are springing up. Have a good merry-go-round! Only the strong and intelligent will survive and also with high moral obligation and a holy conscience.

troubadour
On the eve of Eid Mubarak, the last day of Ramadan, two blessed months of the Muslim calendar.

panacea

2008-09-29T01:59:00.000-07:00

Let’s face the truth. The only two issues that UMNO/BN has or trying to invoke are these Racial (Harmony) Card and Malay Unity Card. The Malay Unity Card is somehow evolving into Insulting Islam Card, since a general perception (and enshrined in the constitution) that a Malay is a Muslim or of the Islamic Faith. Somebody raised this point earlier in one cyberspace. I could not remember who. RPK had been instrumental in highlighting this point. He wanted us to differentiate the tree from the forest. Being able to distinguish the real and ulterior motives from the smokescreens will enable us to respond correctly to the situation the UMNO/BN machineries hope to achieve. Recognise clues from the red herrings.

Theresa Kok’s Azan Issue
Ahmad Ismail ranting on Chinese as immigrants
The Temple Demolition Issue
Molotov cocktail attack on Theresa Kok’s house
Molotov cocktail attack on Theresa Kok’s parents’ house
The Gerakan and MCA bashings
The (stupid) Utusan man’s call for Theresa Kok Lie Detector Test

Let us sieve through the mess and see the actual issues behind these veils. Do not bite the baits paraded by the SB aka agent provocateur.

Do not buy their argument. We are far too sophisticated and intelligent to be duped into running amok ala May 13th “incident”. I remember a line from David Soul’s song that goes “This time I’m going in with my eyes open, won’t make the same mistake again”.

It has been said also in many cyberspaces that these racial, religious and unity cards always work for them in the past. They have become a panacea of sort to UMNO/BN. Just raise the cards, cry foul and round up a few unfortunate bystanders, slap them with sedition charge and detain them under ISA. Abracadabra! The whole nation tows the line. Fear struck and life goes back to “normal” as usual.

We have all been conditioned and programmed to behave like cowards. Maybe we deserve what befall us.

carrying the torch

2008-09-29T01:12:00.000-07:00

A new leader has to be found. No war has been won without a leader. Somebody please come forward. Will it be Zorro-Unmasked, Haris Ibrahim, Din Merican the DJ Blogger or Kicdefelle? There is a long list of cyber warriors out there. It is not necessary that the candidate is of Welsh and Malay (precisely Bugis) parentage but someone has to be the new torchbearer!

Let us see the common traits that cyber warriors out there must have in comparison with our Welsh-Bugis Cyber Jedi.

Strong sense of purpose
Focus
Full of energy
No-holds-barred
Plenty of grey matter
Candid
Mortal soul
Fearless
Enemy of state (read the “UMNO”)

All the positive personas came to my mind. The candidate must be a clone of YM RPK I believe.

There is this sense of anarchy in the air. Will RPK2 rise to the occasion!

rumour has it....

2008-09-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

Tulang Besi is in Mecca. I missed rumours that his mills churn out. Here are some that may sooth those out there in a similar way that we need air to breathe.

Rumour has it that the seemingly docile DPM was so submissive to the PM because of the file on himself that the PM showed him when he was silent on Muhyiddin’s outburst and his call for quick power transition. It was reported in the rumour mill that RPK’s insertion in his statutory declaration was spot on.

The second onslaught at the Supreme Council (SC) meeting by the famous five members was a near fatal blow to the PM. It came as a shock to the PM. He was of the opinion that the DPM would have done his bid to get the members to tow the line. Little did he realise that the man was born a full-blown politician. He subsequently went to the drawing board again with the other two of the holy trinity. The son and the holy-ghost were equally stunt and checkmated.

Attacks on the PM coming from many flanks were god-sent to the DPM. Suddenly these guerrilla assaults gave him the breather and renewed “borrowed” strength. He could safely hide under SC members’ revolt. He could now fan dissent without being called in front of the (holy trinity) class to be reprimanded and shown his report card, again. Common interest kept in-check both silent and open insurgencies. He could muster a smile or two with the new knife tightly concealed behind his back.

The PM faced his Waterloo. He had neither strength nor slyness of his predecessor. He had had enough. He wanted out. He wanted to keep whatever little dignity he has and still be remembered for that. The son and the holy-ghost were left in a lurch.

New counter-offers and strategies were laid down. Handover of power would be done earlier but not that early. Son-in-law (SIL) and son-outlawed (SOL) started to prepare their safe passages out of the country. One up-above and the other down-under. One would be reading new real-politics in Oxford with a tutorship and a doctorate in mind to stage a future comeback and the other is carving a career as the outback entrepreneur. Their coffers are abounds but they would not mind a bit more but they were hard to come by with 25 million pairs of eyes on them.

The DPM cut a deal with Muhyiddin, the brightest of three stooges (the other two could not even count to ten without losing focus or interest). The ageing crown prince was their wildcard. His intense and honourable desire to see a strong UMNO re-emerging from the mess was his weakness. He would butt in willingly and keep the momentum going. He was the unsuspecting key player.

The DPM also did not want Muhyiddin. His choice was Zaid Hamidi. He was following his mentor’s approach. An idiot whose loyalty was as blind as a bat. The man was not ambitious like Muhyiddin. Muhyiddin would pose great threat the moment he became the second man and oust the DPM through court of public perception.

With safe passages ready, SIL and SOL were going for the last push. They were prolonging the old man’s reign but knew they had to cut their losses. It was a balance between full-to-the-brim coffer, safe passages and a little dignity. This was their worst case scenario. Best case scenario would be having all the plugs on DPM pulled out the moment they touched dry land up above and down under. They would mount the challenge from afar. They were relatively younger, full of vigour and were themselves seasoned political players by now.

The rest of the unscrupulous lots that make up the top 40 thieves started to align to their perceived saviours. Mother ship would sink and lifeboats were all equally filled with gaping holes.

With Gerakan having made their stand slightly transparent, Muhyiddin was considering his third option seriously. He could easily mend fences with DSAI. He could be the ones that carry the aces. He was rumoured to be negotiating for a fixed power transition (from Anwar to him having been caught in, and learnt a lot from, this imbroglio!). To hell with the UMNO lot! He had enough.

SIL and SOL were also considering the third option with DSAI! Initial contact done and details were being drawn out. The new ship might come with excess baggage after all. Who says life was fair!

Troubadour

police state and the state of the police

2008-09-24T20:12:00.000-07:00

I refer to Malaysiakini letters to the editor, titled “police a reflection of dirty politics” and could not agree more with the author. I wish to highlight some points here on the police force in Malaysia.

There is an ulterior motive in government’s frugality in raising the salary of the police officers. It is a conscious decision on the part of the government to keep them on the brink of poverty, for most of them that is. It is similar to a strategy of keeping the majority of the population at a despicably low poverty level where a mere RM50 can buy the government five years’ of power to loot the nation of its wealth. The force is likewise compelled to resort to tax the public by way of the Sheriff of Nottingham’s. The problem is endemic. Eventually the whole force is plague with this disease and everyone becomes partners in crime.

As far as level of education of police officers is concerned, there is a conspiracy to keep the bulk of the force just above idiotic level. This coupled with the nature of “following orders of superiors” requisite ensures that the lid is tightly sealed. The very few at upper echelon with some grey matters but lack conscience lead the ignorant lot. We end up with a force from the dark side.

The Special Branch of the force is the propaganda machine. Government of the day wages war against the opposition. There are many generals within this massive unit whose main role is to win the war with the opposition. They make Sun Tzu look like a novice, forgetting that the absence of Moral Law will cause the people to be NOT “in complete accord with their ruler, that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger”.
Blatant lies and deceptions are contrived and majority of the force swallows official version of events without questions. People at large buy the government’s version of events, having been duped by controlled media.

We became a police state long time ago. Majority of the population does not even realise this. They do not even comprehend what it means, being a police state. Thus the state of the police is the reason for our nation to turn into a police state.

However the propaganda and a single version of interpretation of events no longer work when information age ensues, hence the current awakening! The advent of internet satisfies people’s hunger for an alternative point of view, having been bombarded with only single-sided story for most of their lives. The time has come for us to change the state of the police to discard the police state. Let us be nothing but a civil society.

it's a long road

2008-09-23T22:38:00.000-07:00

September 2008 is definitely the longest month, or at least the last half of the month. Most likely October would also be the same. For the followers of REFORMASI movement, it is a long ten years’ wait that ends September 20th, 2008.

Will it take another ten years? Countdown into the second decade started September 20th, 2008. Time seems to move so slowly, especially when one is holding one’s breaths. This is the mother of all cliff-hangers for reformists in Malaysia.

Here in Thailand, in “the land of smiles”, politics are equally intriguing. It is amazing how people always underestimate the power of money. In democracy, money still rule. One always has this notion that democracy is about people’s power. Those who were in power then amassed immense wealth and are now wielding it to buy them back into power. Be that as it may, one still has to resort to democracy, to give ourselves some rays of hope. There is a little light though, coming through the cracks.

What about Malaysia? Half a century of grip is not a grip. It is a deep-rooted and cemented foundation, supported by the might of all the key government machineries. The 7,000+ Special Branch officers of the Royal Malaysian Police of a total of 58,000+ head count who do nothing but devoting 200% of their time towards ensuring that UMNO reign supreme. This number is a modest estimate. The job that they do is not an exaggeration though. This organisation is at the apex of the whole structure that is propping UMNO up. How does one take a swipe at this evil creature? Not a lot! It will take perhaps another decade. Very depressing indeed!

Then what about the opposition leader’s initiative to topple the government via defection of the ruling party’s MP? Anwar Ibrahim himself admitted when interviewed by The Daily Telegraph that “We have the numbers but we can’t move”. The Malaysian Insider also reported that the PAS Secretary General, Kamaruddin Jaafar said that he expects the stalemate to continue for years to come until a general election is held.

Brace ourselves for a long haul then!

Here’s Dan Hill’s First Blood, in true troubadour form!

It’s A Long Road (Dan Hill)

It's a long road

when you're on your own

And it hurts where they tear you dreams apart

When they draw first blood

That's just the start of it

Day and night you got to fight to keep alive

It's a real war

Right outside your front door, I tell ya

Out where they'd kill ya

You could use a friend

It's a long road

And it's hard as hell

Tell me what do you do to survive

And every new town just seems to bring you down

Trying to find your peace of mind can break your hard

It's a real war, right outside your frond door...

the ringgit peg

2008-09-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

It is troubling indeed to read the situation in Malaysia. The decision to relook at pegging the Ringgit because of its continued slide is a desperate measure indeed. What the government should do is to boost the economy and not resorting to this pegging measure.

The last peg by the then PM of Malaysia, the infamous Mahathir Mohamad managed to insulate the Ringgit against speculative attack and devaluation. The decision then was also made as a result of government clamp down on Anwar Ibrahim's Reformasi Movement. This time is also something to do with Anwar Ibrahim.

It was ten years of hell for small business people like me. Just when we were about to recover, poof... the government threw the spanner in the works again.

It is very funny that the current DPM Najib Razak is being promoted as "British-Trained Economist". He is more like a drop-out from Nottingham University. I was lucky to have landed in Derby instead of Nottingham or else I would have ended up as another myopic economist.

troubadour

reformasi days - thriving on sabri zain's postings

2008-09-20T20:30:00.000-07:00

The name Sabri Zain cropped out now after almost a decade of absence. The name brings back fond memory. I thrived on his postings. (Of course RPK's articles also, appearing in Harakah then, but to day is about Sabri Zain).

I was just about to make it as a businessman. Then Mahathir committed the worst of traversty. I had to leave my partnership to my partner to run as I could not earn an income in my own company. I opted for a teaching job to support a wife and four growing sons. I found solace in a Reformasi Movement, albeit underground.

Sabri Zain's "eyewitness accounts" gave me the strength to hang on. It was a long ten years of "hanging-ons".

Reading RPK's Malaysia Today, Din Merican, Haris Ibrahim, Anil Netto, Susan Loone and a host of other "cyber warriors" now gives me the goosebumps.

And now they are rounding up bloggers and "cyber warriors" undur Sedition Act and the Internal Security Act (ISA).

Here I am Sabri Zain and other cyber warriors, in your footsteps, taking "arms" for another decade of struggle? I can't just be another bystander craving for comfort of words from all of you.

troubadour

serene in pattaya

2008-09-20T19:37:00.000-07:00

It has been raining cats and dogs for the past few days. In the words of Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits... "Rains come down, washes this dirty town...". It is so serene this Sunday morning.

Back home in Malaysia things are not that serene. Storms are brewing. The ancient and archaic UMNO is splitting despite attempts from many quarters to forge unity. When objectives differ, each group approaches in differing ways causing further divide.

It is heartwarming to see this jurassic party approaching its demise, so much so that I want to linger in this state of mind.

Just can't wait for the day we bury UMNO six feet deep complete with a pair of beautifully carved tombstones with these words: " Here Lies at Last a Tyrant that Taunt the People for Half a Century"

troubadour

and the times there were a changing, never change...

2008-09-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

It has been 10 long years from the days of the awakening. This is the year 2008 when everything begins to turn right. Patience they say, is the art of hoping. Pray for the good and hope for the best.

For ordinary citizen like me, our life is being screwed up by corrupt politicians and their cronies. Maybe it is time to shout out instead of suffering in silence.

In the words of a troubadour;

we traded our protest songs
and our our yamaha guitar
for upward mobility
and fast moving cars
blaming on the changing world
said, can't be left behind
whatever happen to the class of '78

Well here we are; bringing out again, our protest songs.

troubadour

The Dawn of a New Era Begins on 913

2008-09-12T22:42:00.000-07:00

The day RPK was arrested under ISA marks the beginning of a new era. As 916 is 3 days' away we see the BN/UMNO government cracks down on dissent. Malaysian Bloggers throughout this god forsaken land join voices in condemning the arrest and more arrests to come.

The PR team is in deep in conference to plan the impending takeover of Malaysia from the hands of the corrupt BN/UMNO.

There was a report of 6 mirror sites of Malaysiakini that were shut down signifying "war against bloggers". Already one blogger called this fateful incident "war time". Indeed they cast the first stone. We are but mere mortals that rise to their challenge.

Sun Tzu stressed on pivotal role of information gathering and dissemination. Arm yourselves dear comrades. Let us fight.