filling in the dossier

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.

we shall till at will

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

quality of a party worthy of supremacy

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

longing to unwrap a special gift this coming boxing day

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”.

what is this struggle all about?

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.

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

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