the fighter jet engine that flies away

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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!