Halal Biz <-> Pak Lah Family <-> Temasek Nexus; Another Nail In Pak Lah's Political Coffin?

It is not so much a surprise when Rocky broke the story of yet another Government Business <-> Pak Lah & Family <-> Temasek/ Singapore nexus, but a disappointment. This should not be happening still, on the back of:

1. The obvious; the poor PRU-12 results for BN surely was reflective of the people's dissatifaction with the governance of the country and blatant pork-barreling by "the friends and family of Lah" club.
2. Ever increasing food costs brings sensitivity to any issue related to the food and beverage (F&B) business, including the Halal certification. People should be, no, they actually will be asking why Pak Lah and family is making money out of the F&B business via a link to what is a government monopoly of sorts when the people are having to suffer the cost of spending more money just to eat! And Malaysians MUST HAVE OUR FOOD!
3. When there is sensitivity around Islam Hadhari (resulting in the loss of Kedah), Karpal's challenge over the role of the Sultan in Muslim affairs and the challenge on the use of Allah in non-Muslim literature, why is Pak Lah and co. fooling around with another issue sensitive to Muslims in Malaysia?
4. The Pantai Cross-Border Economic Bail-Out and other pro-Singapore initiatives like the SJER have blown up in te government's faces in the past. Surely Pak Lah is not intending to tempt the fate of Thaksin Shinawatra yet again!

One good thing about this news though... at least its another potential nail in Pak Lah's political coffin!

Kembalikanlah UMNO Kepada Melayu, Selamatkanlah UMNO Dari Cengkaman Maut Pak Lah

Kebingungan Melayu apabila sambutan ulangtahun ke 62 UMNO pada 11 Mei 2008 menjadi medan mempertahankan peribadi, keluarga dan kedudukan seorang pemimpin semata-mata. Beginikah ajal merapati UMNO, yang dahulu berjasa membela nasib Melayu, kini tinggal sekadar kuda tunggangan orang berkepentingan?

Di manakah akan ku lindungi anak dan zuriatku kiranya UMNO tiada?
Mana bisa diharap parti berpaksikan kejaran kuasa seorang lagi Sang Rakus yang berbuih "Ketuanan Rakyat" di bibir sahaja?
Mana bisa kita berharap kepada parti yang dakyah Islamnya membencikan Melayu sebagai suatu bangsa sehingga sanggup segelintir pemimpinnya ditunggangi kafir harbi berbayar sekadar tempias kuasa?

Harus dikembalikan UMNO kepada Melayu dengan segera.
Harus dikembalikan UMNO kepada arus perjuangan asalnya sebelum bukan sekadar wakil rakyat berketagih kedudukan sahaja yang meninggalkannya.
Harus segera dibebaskan UMNO dari cengkaman maut Pak Lah sebelum ia ketandusan anak muda Melayu pewaris bangsa.

Biar kami... hanya tinggal nama...

There Was A Time When The Palace Didn't Have To Fight Their Own Battles... A Time Before Pak Lah

There was a time when the istana, whether it be individual sultans or the Majlis Raja-Raja collectively, didn't need to fight their own battles. There was a time when UMNO would fight their battles for them.

UMNO has been fighting for the right of the Malay Rulers since the time of its conception. It had honoured the Rules with respect and in return, the Rulers by and large have been comfortable with a relationship whereby they stand as the symbols and guarantor of Malay leadership in Malaysia whilst UMNO executes the responsibilities of government with its partners in Barisan Nasional.

Even during the worst of times, over the period of the constitutional crisis of the early 80's, the Sultans did not need to 'turun padang' to defend themselves. At that time, part of UMNO fought on behalf of the majority of Rulers for the retention of all their rights whilst the another part of UMNO, allied with a minority of Rulers, challenged to further moderate the power of the Sultans as they felt was befitting a maturing democratic country that is Malaysia.

UMNO fought for the Rulers in the spirit of ensuring the continuity of the Malay tradition as custodians of what is Malaysia - now spun by the ill informed into the shallow concept of 'Ketuanan Melayu'.

As another Istana rises to address the challenge of the once insignificant Karpal Singh, one must again regret what UMNO has lost. Efforts of late by UMNO to belated rise to defend the rights of the Rulers against attacks by the Republican minded opposition parties, though commendable as efforts go, are severely undermined by the recent and not so recent past behaviour of the Pak Lah and the 'First Family" as well as their own court of sycophants (pengampu!).

One would have thought undermining the royal households by allowing UMNO controlled papers to declare Pak Lah's family the first family is bad enough. One was then stunned at the callous behaviour of the 4th Floor boys in renaming the SJER (Singapore's Johor Economic Rape) after the name of the Johor Sultan without permission.

However, these breaches of etiquette, though hardly forgivable, may have been excused to ignorance (perhaps Oxford does not teach manners to its graduates?). The most recent behaviour of Pak Lah's in disregarding the powers of Rulers in the decision-making and appointments of State Governments and Leaders have been appalling! Even more disturbing, one then sees some leaders and members following Pak Lah's lead in this matter against UMNO's grain!

Such actions have undermined UMNO's ability to act in its past capacity as a defender of the Rulers in recent times, and is hence further crippling UMNO's capacity in asserting the custodial rights and responsibilities over Malaysia. And nothing demonstrates the extent of damage caused by Pak Lah and co than the sight of the Rulers having to come out to defend themselves!

Pak Lah has lost the right to speak as the wazir of the Malay Rulers of Malaysia and certainly cannot turn from being an insulter of the Rulers himself into a defender of The Royal Highnesses overnight! To save UMNO from drifting further from its roots and reasons for being, to save UMNO from being so burdened by the his, his family's and cronies' wrong-doings any further, I yet again urge Pak Lah to Withdraw. I urge Pak Lah to return UMNO to its members...

Kenapakah PAS Sayangkan Musuh Islam Lebih Dari Pelindung Ummah?

Semakin sedih saya lihat, teman-teman PAS di internet begitu asyik mempertahankan Karpal Singh dan begitu sedia mengecam bekas Ketua Hakim Tun Fairuz Sheikh Halim. Karpal tu kafir Harbi yang terbukti menidakkan Islam dan keutamaannya di bumi Malaysia. Fairuz pula pemimpin Islam yang menghalang Lina Joy dari menyebabkan bersubahat umat Islam dalam murtadnya.

Kenapa PAS sayangkan Karpal dan bencikan Fairuz? Adakah rakan kongsi kuasa, walaupun yang memusuhi Islam, lebih sedia diterima PAS dari hakim yang berjasa kepada umat Islam?
Situasi begini menyebabkan begitu ramai orang seperti saya terus menolak PAS. Kerana PAS menjadi-jadi terlihat mengalatkan Islam semata-mata untuk mencapai kuasa, dan apabila kuasa sudah tercapai, Islam tinggal buah mulut sahaja. Salah...

Pada masa yang sama, tindakan PAS juga yang tak putus-putus mendefinisikan sokongan terhadap parti sebagai bukti Islamnya seseorang juga terpesong dari akidah, sama lah dengan Islam Hadhari buatan Pak Lah. Padahal Islam bukan milik Pak Lah mahupun PAS untuk diolah sesuka hati. Islam kurniaan Allah untuk semua umat manusia.

Kemudian apabila PAS mengatakan ia memperjuangkan Islam, ini juga sama hasilnya dengan konsep 'Hadhari', ia mengelirukan ummah. Islam agama Allah dan tidak perlu diperjuangkan. Islam malah memperjuangkan kita. Mengatakan Islam perlu diperjuangkan terlalu riak sekali.

Sedarlah dahulu teman-teman PAS sebelum berbicara. Setidak-tidaknya, UMNO kalau pemimpinnya terpesong ke arah Hadhari seperti Pak Lah pun, ada ahlinya yang berperang saudara untuk mengembalikan UMNO kearah yang betul. Yang PAS bilakah mahu membetulkan dirinya sendiri?

Apatah lagi memerintah...

Now RPK's Show-Boating Is Over, Can We Do Something About The Real Menace Karpal Singh?

I am pleased to hear that RPK has come to his senses - surely thanks to his wife.

It was getting really painfull seeing the silliness coming out his refusal to post bail - someone was organising a "candle light vigil" tonight for him to be released. Hello!! Why? He CHOSE to stay in prison! So RPK could well have 'released' himself earlier by posting bail, with RM5k, even before donations from the public. I'm still not sure what RPK was trying to achieve other than causing some of his fans to act like idiots. Candle light vigil...

Now that this drama is over, perhaps we can get a straight answer from the government as to why Karpal Singh, who has unashamedly gone and insult the Sultans, has not been charged for treason! Of course, charging RPK makes Najib look bad whilst charging Karpal does not benefit Pak Lah directly... hmmm... I am not a lawyer, but I can see more sense in Karpal being charged with sedition than RPK, though it looks more like treason to me.

The case against Karpal is not like the case against the alleged 'Natang' calling of the Sultan of Terengganu recently - with posters held up by unknown persons showcased in grainy photos such as to cause reasonable doubt of whether it even happened. Karpal has rather openly, and it seems rather proudly, denied the Sultans of their power such as the act is indisputable.

Unlike RPK, who is of royal blood but NOT a royal, the Sultans are due our allegiance as subjects, respect for their status and the right to see those that deny their powers to be cited for the highest contempt. And unlike in 1983 (which so many Pak Lah apologists like to roll out, though the young don't really care), the Sultans have done no wrong to the rakyat in their recent actions and are likely to be united in their contempt of Karpal Singh.

Certainly Sultan Perak has done a great deed to the Muslims of Perak by ensuring Islam is not going to be used as a political football by PAS so easily in the state. Does Karpal even understand this, or is he so keen on competing with Anwar Ibrahim and RPK for the limelight that he doesn't mind committing treason?

For the sake of consistency, the AG must go after Karpal Singh with all they've got for his recent acts against the Royals. Else, this will be further proof of the incompetency of the Pak Lah leadership to administer justice and add to the suspicion that the PM's office is now working with elements of Pakatan Rakyat.

Kerajaan BN Lemah Hasil Terhakisnya Nilai-Nilai Kepimpinan Dan Tumpuan Usaha Mencari 'Idola'

Saya telah pun sebelum ini mengulas sedikit tentang hujah Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad mengenai kesan negatif Kerajaan yang lemah terhadap Malaysia pada versi Bahasa Inggeris. Ingin saya tambah di sini pendapat bahawa masalah terbesar yang selagi dibiarkan membiak, akan terus menjejaskan kekuatan UMNO dan penerimaan Barisan Nasional oleh rakyat sebagai parti kerajaan yang berwibawa adalah masalah 'Idola Semasa' dan 'Penghakisan Nilai-Nilai Kepimpinan'.

Masyarakat Malaysia amnya dan orang Melayu khususnya terlalu mengharapkan agar seorang idola baru atau 'Idola Semasa' akan bakal timbul untuk menyelamatkannya. Mungkin ini lumrah manusia yang 'marhain', mengharapkan kurniaan Allah akan pemimpin untuk membawa rakyat ke arah kemakmuran. Namun hasilnya terlihat di dalam kemelut berterusan dalam arus politik Malaysia pasca-PRU 12.

Pada pihak pembangkang, usaha Anwar untuk menonjolkan dirinya semula di mata dan hati rakyat jelas mengambil kesempatan akan sifat rakyat yang tercari-cari 'Idola Semasa' untuk era politik masa kini. Ini ditimbal-balas oleh perangai Karpal Singh yang terlihat menjadi-jadi kebelakangan ini baik di Parlimen, mahupun dalam penentangan beliau terhadap nasihat Tun Dr untuk Pak Lah berundur dan menjadi-jadi dengan penghinaannya terhadap Sultan Perak.

Usaha yang terlihat di sebelah UMNO pula agak pelik dan lebih merunsingkan. Terlihat sekarang usaha untuk mencemarkan nama pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO yang terlihat berpeluang menggugat kedudukan Pak Lah sebagai calon-calon baru Idola Semasa.

Sudah tentu salah tafsir cadangan Datuk Seri Rais Yatim untuk mendaftar izin dari ibu-bapa bagi anak-anak di bawah umur 21 tahun yang ingin berjalan keluar negara oleh media perdana berniat mencemarkan nama baik beliau, terutama sekali di kalangan kaum wanita. Yang peliknya, Rais Yatim sebagai seorang berketurunan Minang, berAdat Pepatih yang mengagungkan kaum-kerabat wanita, kurang mungkin mencadangkan sesuatu yang merendahkan kaum hawa! Adakah ini contoh mencemar calon Idola Semasa?

Dan dalam hal Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak pula. Baru sahaja beliau mula bangun menjawab tuduhan dan tohmahan terhadap beliau berkenaan kes Altantuya dan pembelian perkakas serta alat peperangan, tiba-tiba dibawa Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK) menghadap mahkamah atas tuduhan menghasut kerana menulis tentang Najib dan isterinya. Saya sendiri berada bersama orang kuat Najib apabila berita kes RPK mula keluar dan kekecewaan terlakar dimuka beliau. Punahkah harapan Najib menjadi Idola Semasa?

Tidakkah merunsingkan apabila dilihat pemimpin teratas UMNO kini terlalu sibuk mencemar calon-calon Idola Semasa untuk menumpukan perhatian menyelesaikan perkara yang lebih merbahaya kepada parti dan negara? Masalah tersebut adalah Penghakisan Nilai-Nilai Kepimpinan yang patut dipupuk di kalangan pemimpin, malah setiap ahli parti. Nilai-nilai tersebut pernah dicanang berulang kali oleh seorang bekas Ketua Penerangan, Setiausaha Agung dan Naib Presiden Parti, yakni:

1. Amanah - Bukan sahaja dalam menjalankan tanggungjawab dan mengotakan janji. Bukan sahaja dalam mengelakan diri dari menyeleweng. Tetapi dalam membawa negara kehadapan tanpa putus usaha walaupun hilang kelapangan diri...
2. Berani - Bukan sahaja dalam menghadapi jiran yang kerdil tetapi juga dalam menjalankan yang benar walaupun menjejaskan peribadi dan ditentang oleh yang lebih berkuasa
3. Disiplin - Bukan sekadar sampai ke majlis tepat masa atau menyelesaikan masalah berpada-pada, tetapi berusaha hingga menjadi teladan untuk semua
4. Rajin - Bukan sekadar tidak perlu akhbar mewar-warkan yang pemimpin 'bekerja keras', tetapi rakyat sendiri membayangkan betapa rajinnya pemimpin sehingga kemakmuran mereka lebih dari terjaga
5. Setia - Bukan sekadar mengampu dan sedia terampu, tetapi sanggup menggadai segalanya atas dasar budi baik dan pegangan keatas nilai tertentu. Tidak melupakan jasa yang lepas sebagi harapan dalam menabur jasa untuk masa hadapan...

Nilai-nilai inilah harus dikembalikan kepada kepimpinan UMNO untuk membolehkan rakyat kembali meyakini pemerintahan BN. Nilai-nilai tersebut merupakan tunggak kekuatan pemimpin individu dalam menangani masalah negara dan memacu kemajuan ekonomi serta menjamin kemakmuran rakyat. Tetapi penerapan nilai-nilai ini harus disegerakan dan diberi tumpuan oleh pemimpin teratas.

Sekiranya kepimpinan teratas UMNO tidak mahu atau mungkin tidak mampu mengembalikan nilai-nilai tersebut, malah menjadi antara punca Penghakisan Nilai-Nilai Kepimpinan tersebut... lebih baik pemimpin terlibat berundur...

Raja Petra's Show-Boating A Little Much?

I am a friendly acquaintance of Raja Petra and if we spent more time with each other, I am sure we would be friends. His nice wife Marina's company at least well compensates for some discomfort I sometimes do feel when Pet is 'on song'. As all good aspiring friends, we are quite open with our differences I feel.

However, I do not agree to his apparrent show-boating by refusing to post bail until his Oct 6 trial on sedition. It will not do anyone any favours and the fact that the bail required was just RM5k, which RPK could afford, makes it worse! It would be a distraction against more pressing issues facing the nation, like removing Pak Lah, disrupt open debate on the web on these same issues and claim personal cost to people who's passions are better focussed elsewhere... this includes RPK himself.

I know there must be some twisted logic to your madness this time too Pet, but this will have to be one of those many occassions we disagree... looking forward to a chat over coffee on this some time soon... my treat of course...

Is Anwar Ibrahim Competent?

I'm the first to admit that I have succumbed a little to temptation here in going back to engaging on current leaders rather than continuing with my values debate - well its draining, so please look at this as a break! And it would seem based on questions raised during my recent "event", the man remains quite topical!

Now a friend of mine wants to form a "shadow cabinet"... hahaha! OK, sorry, not funny really when you consider it is a good idea and in line with the practice of other countries, the UK and Australia in particular.

The only problem is, is Pakatan Rakyat a real entity the way Barisan Nasional is where a united stand can be made? In addition, a shadow cabinet needs resources to run. Does the Pakatan Rakyat that is still struggling to man administrative positions in the states they control have the man-power and funds to run such a show?

Such on-going pro-Pakatan bravado forces us to question yet again Anwar's credentials as an aspiring PM, but the question to pose now is more serious... is Anwar competent even to be PM? This is again a critical question intended to incite debate, and I hope rather than quickly rebutting, consideration should be made of the points to consider here as a basis for assessment:

1. Anwar Ibrahim stands roundly accussed of running the Malaysian economy poorly, especially during the 97-98 crisis period, and indeed abusing his position soundly when he was DPM cum Finance Minister. A recent expose was recently put together by a kindred spirit calling himself "JebatMustDie".
2. Anwar's credentials as a master politician has suffered some severe knocks but he seems to have recovered with the success of PRU-12 results for PKR. However, one can argue that Anwar sacrificed his long term political health to achieve short term gain by turning PKR into a more Indian-dominated party from a Malay-led multi-racial party during the elections. So Anwar may be competent in the politics of the rhetoric and the now, but for long term?
3. In line with the above, Anwar seems to be a little unclear as to how long it will take him to seize power. First it was May, then 16 September, to foreign correspondents he says 2-3 years or even come the next elections. Recently KuLi revealed in a private forum that Anwar admited NOT having the numbers to call for a no confidence vote against Pak Lah! Anwar may not even be able to convince his 'allies' to do this judging by Karpal's attitude.
4. I love to ask people to tell me, if Anwar was so great what did he achieve when he was in the corridors of power? There may be many claims of his contributions to Malaysia's Islamic institutions, but further probing will show that many of these initiatives were NOT his achievements. E.g. UIAM was Tun Hussein's initiative and Bank Islam was Tun Dr M's baby. Anwar's one clear 'contribution', Bahasa Baku, was confusing and later scrapped!

So, we have doubts over Anwar Ibrahim's capacity to lead a government at least. It seems even Anwar's ability as a politician that thinks for the long-term is also a little suspect la. Nuff said for now I think, lets have a discussion then! For I really would not want Malaysia's next PM be just as incompetent as the current one...!

Tun Dr M Stating The Obvious For A Multi-Racial Country?

Tun lamented in his blog that "A Weak Government is not good for Multi-racial Malaysia" . This is such an obvious notion that it is embarassing to me that he needs to remind us.

Lets not ponder on old examples like Indonesia in the late 90's, South Africa during Apartheid or indeed Europe over the period of the 'War on Terror'. One only needs to reflect upon what has been happening in Malaysia over the past month to see.

The government of Malaysia is so weak that it is finding difficult decisions impossible to take. The on-going issue of food shortages, which could have been addressed by the tweaking the subsidies system, continues to remain unsettled in the mind of the masses and in the physical absence of goods, real and contrived, across the nation. This is a basic problem which a functioning government would be able to address, so why the inability to tackle this?

It is because the government is too busy strengthening itself against all challengers such that their real job is being neglected. And in a multi-racial country, when a government is weak, 'all-comers' would include all the more negative or extreme elements endemic in a country where race-based politics is still at play, whatever the opposition propaganda likes to say. Indeed we cannot avoid it as a multi-racial country, so we'd better not hide from or denounce it, but address it.

I was informed last night that in a packed stadium in Perak recently, a senior DAP leader, one without Lim as a surname (there are a few about), declared that 'Ketuanan Melayu Sudah Tiada Lagi, UMNO Sudah Masuk Kubur'. This is not just political speak, this is hate-mongering.

That the audience was majority Malay (of the PAS and PKR variety - yes, there are still some Malays in PKR) that responded with cheers and applause is irreleant. These Malays applauded UMNO's recent problems, but in the face of incessant counter-propaganda showing what this DAP leader said for what it really means, that one race, Malays, have lost power, and that that is cause for another race, the Chinese, to celebrate, is dangerous.

What is a concern also is that the above is an escalation from early symptoms of racial show-boating since the March elections. Whilst DAP leaders were wise enough to send smses asking their Chinese supporters not to celebrate their wins too raucusly, it is widely known that Chinese butchers began openly selling pork, ham and other pig products, in open markets in majority Malay areas in Penang the day after elections. Somewhat more subtle that events leading up to May 13, but indicative of a simmering pot.

A strong government would be able to curtail such behaviour without needing to knock any heads or utilising the ISA. Leaders of a strong government would just voice out against such negative racial attitudes in the public arena with moral leadership and bring the nation's attention to more important things to be addressed in this increasingly difficult world Malaysian face.

But a weak government, with as weak a leader as Pak Lah the way he is now... it is a recipe for disaster... Do we really need Tun Dr M to tell us what should be obvious?

Pemuda UMNO Harus Kembali Kepada Nilai-Nilai Dasar Melayu

Dalam akhbar Sunday Star hari ini Joceline Tan sudi mengulas sedikit pendapat yang diutarakan di majlis Sekretariat Melayu Muda pada 30 April. Artikel asalnya di sini:
http://www.thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?file=/2008/5/4/columnists/joceline/21116058&sec=joceline

Secara amnya, apa yang diulas merujuk kepada peralihan kuasa dari Datuk Hishamuddin kepada 3 calon:

1. Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir yang kelihatan lebih digemari anak-anak muda Melayu yang condong ke-UMNO amnya, tetapi tidak semestinya perwakilan Pemuda UMNO
2. Dato' Dr Khir Toyo yang dahulunya utuh kedudukannya tetapi sekarang tercemar oleh pelbagai isu buatan musuh-musuh di luar dan dalam parti serta kian tergugat selesai kekalahan BN di Selangor
3. Khairy Jamaluddin, atau KJ, anasir yang semakin ternyata dikaitkan dengan merudumnya kedudukan UMNO dan kuasa Melayu di Malaysia

Pada saya, calon tidak sepenting nilai. Masalah terbesar gerakan pemuda UMNO sekarang adalah semakin terlarinya dari nilai-nilai yang pokok. Nilai-nilai ini bukan milik UMNO, tetapi merupakan apa yang menyifatkan kita ini sebagai orang Melayu. Ini termasuk:

1. Pautan kita kepada Islam. Islam memartabatkan Melayu dan tanpanya nescaya kita binasa. Namun terlalu ramai pemimpin, dan terikut-ikut yang dipimpin, mengejar CV Islam lebih dari mengamalkannya. Islam Hadhari mungkin bukan buah fikiran Pemuda, tetapi tiada pula yang mempersoalkannya...ini subahat. Dan kenapakah kita tidak bersama mengusung panji menentang kes Lina Joy... ini juga seharusnya tugas kita.
2. Sopan-santun kita terlihat juga berkurangan. Beberapa tahun dahulu, seorang anak muda bersijilkan nikah menolak jalan untuk naik ke kedudukan no 2 Pemuda. Orang yang lebih layak dan perpengalaman terlalu ramai yang 'memberi laluan'. Anak Melayu jenis apakah yang menghina orang yang lebih tua, kononnya mereka tak buat kerja, semata-mata merebut kuasa. Anak melayu memohon izin kalau ingin berlalu. Adakah ini pemimpin yang kita mahu?
3. Nilai sopan-santun dan kenangan Budi dibawa mati juga menidakkan tindak-tanduk mengenepikan pemimpin tua. Apabila terlalu pedih hamburan kata terhadap Tun Dr M, kenapakah Pemuda tidak bersuara menegur sesetengah pemimpin kita? Kenapa ada pula Pemuda yang turut serta atau bersorak sama? Kehilangan nilai ini lebih membawa sangsi kepada rakan kongsi kaum lain terhadap kita, bukan sekadar julangan sebilah keris sahaja.
4. Budi juga dibawa Bahasa. Siapa yang mengajar anak-anak Melayu UMNO berlagak samseng merata-rata? Di Ijok sehingga berbaling-baling botol pula! Bagaimanakah kedudukan kita sebagai sayap muda parti PEMIMPIN negara jika dalam hal berarak-berkempen pun sudah bisa hilang budi-bahasa? Ini baru perkara kecil, belum lagi dalam menangani senario glokal di 5+1 mahupun peringkat antarabangsa.
5. Tahukah anak-anak Melayu akan sejarah, kenapa UMNO itu ada, apa yang terjadi pada 13 Mei, kenapa UMNO diharamkan, kenapa para hakim tertentu diturunkan oleh Raja-Raja, bagaimana dasar ekonomi Anwar Ibrahim hampir menggadai negara kita pada 1998? Ini semua sejarah yang harus diperturunkan. Mahukah Pemuda tahu sejarah ini? Cukup sedarkah mereka...

Dengan menerima kepincangan pada nilai-nilai yang sedia ada, kita boleh mula mgorak langkah menjawab soalan 'Untuk Apa Perjuangan?' Berdasarkan nilai jugalah patutnya kita memutuskan siapakah harus memimpin kita...

Hari Raya Komunis Yang Lebih Bermakna Dari Kemarinnya

Semalam seharusnya hari bermakna bagi negara. Pihak pembangkang tidak pernah sekuat sekarang dan mempunyai peluang menunjukkan hujah yang tajam dan nyaring suara bermakna. Malangnya, singa tua pembangkang, YB Karpal Singh hanya berupaya melemparkan kata-kata buruk terhadap peribadi seseorang tanpa membawa apa-apa wadah, mahupun yang usang. Padahal beliau veteran.

Semalam juga (dilaporkan hari ini), begitu gah sekali YB Ronnie Liu, seorang lagi pembangkang veteran tetapi kini ahli kerajaan Selangor, menunjukkan fail permohonan menjadi ahli Majlis-Majlis perbandaran di seluruh negeri. Dengan bangga beliau menyatakan ahli majlis yang bakal dilantik akan terdiri dari para profesional, penyokong parti mahupun bekas-bekas pegawai kerajaan, seolah-olah ini semua perkara baru.

Dikatakan juga ACA dan Bank Negara akan menyiasat latar-belakang calon-calon sebelum dilantik. Ehem, Encik Ronnie, ini pun perkara biasa yang dilakukan dahulu... Tak tahulah, mungkin YB Ronnie saja nak buat-buat macam ini semua perkara baru... macam tuduh pengundi hantu dulu la! Kalaulah memang tak tahu, saya harap YB-YB Pakatan Rakyat yang baru berkerajaan tidak semuanya seperak ini! Di Penang pun kena cari orang BN juga untuk menjana ekonomi!

Maka 30 April menjadi tarikh sedih kerana ia memperagakan kepincangan mendadak Pakatan Rakyat pimpinan Pulau Pinang dan Selangor, bukan sahaja dari segi kebudak-budakan menyusun pentadbirannya, tetapi juga ketiadaan nilai dalam usaha membangkang pada peringkat Parlimen Persekutuan! Hari sedih untuk negara, mahupun diakhiri dengan acara yang cukup bermakna bagi saya...
http://bigdogdotcom.wordpress.com/2008/04/30/mukhriz-kelemahan-pm-flip-flop-abdullah-tangani-masalah-sebab-no-1-rakyat-tolak-bn/

Alhamdulillah, hari ini, Hari Buruh atau Hari Raya Komunis/Sosialis, membawa harapan baru kerana Tun Dr M sudah mula berblog!... www.chedet.com

Recent Loss Of Gerakan Leader Wasn't The First

This trend of losing BN leaders, key opinion makers and contributors is not new. Tun Dr M's views in the following link highlights a problem that BN has been facing for some 4 years.
http://bigdogdotcom.wordpress.com/2008/04/29/an-unhealthy-trend-developing/

Who have we lost you may ask? Even with the exception of those the parties cast off, such as Ibrahim Ali and Zaharin Yassin, BN and UMNO stalwarts both, there are too many to count. Let us just consider the previously solid pro-BN guys on the web:

Jeff Ooi lost from Gerakan to DAP
Rocky, lost from being a BN paper editor to 'rogue' blogger
The above 2 was even sued when still being quite loyal to BN!

Kickthefella was lost to PAS... many have forgotten he was a grassroots BN leader once!

We have lost far too many over the last 4 years, and due to a loss of direction and a crisis in leadership, not stemming from a leadership crisis like in previous times. In fact, I suspect we have had a higher net loss of significant individuals from BN in the last 4 years than we have over the previous 22!

Pathetic... I have some hope still... just a little more than barely... which will be tremedously boosted if a certain someone leaves...

Eh... I glamer la!

Terkejut kangkung rasanya apabila ada kawan yang bagi peluang tumpang glamer dengan blogger-blogger lain di kaca TV Astro Awani... perisian selepas foto...



Ini saya masih dalam keadaan terkejut kangkung... tapi nak cakap juga! Saya difahamkan siaran ulangan terakhir "Perspektif Kita" ialah pada 1 Mei (3.30 petang)... kalau ada yang sudi la...


Perisian sedikit tentang apa saya sendiri pelajari:

1. Kredibiliti blog akan lebih teransang sekiranya penulisnya 'berwajah'. Dalam masa terdekat ini mungkin perisian yang bagus sudah cukup, tapi wajah penuis akan semakin dituntut pembaca.


2. Ruangan komentar atau kebolehan link penting untuk memberi kepuasan kepada pembaca. Tentu lebih memuaskan dari auto-messaging.


3. Ada ahli politik sekarang yang menggunakan 'penulis hantu' untuk memblog. Yang luar-biasa ligat menjawab komen kot!


4. Blog ini sebahagian turutan evolusi media yang menggoncang sejarah... dan terus menggoncang.


5. Pengikut-pengikut setia DAP masih dok jual cerita kerajaan BN mengongkong kebebasan depa!


6. Ramai anak muda gemar blog kerana bahasanya yang bersahaja.

Buat perhatian semua, glamer saya insya'Allah belum putus lagi minggu ini. Sudilah datang ke acara tersebut:

Sekretariat Melayu Muda, satu gagasan yang dipeloporioleh
profesional Melayu muda, akan menganjurkan satuperbincangan bertajuk: "Malaysia Baru: Senario PolitikMasakini"

Ianya akan diadakan pada tarikh dan tempat
sepertiberikut:

Masa: Rabu, 30 April 2008, 7.45 pm (ada surau di tempat acara) Tempat: Aras 2, Anjung Wisma Sejarah, 230, Jalan Tun Razak,
50400, Kuala Lumpur

Tetamu jemputan adalah:

1. YB Datuk Mukhriz Tun Mahathir, Ahli Parlimen Jerlun, EXCO Pemuda UMNO Malaysia

2. Sdr Akhramsyah M. U. Sanusi, Pemimpin Pro-Tem Alumni Melayu UK & Eire (AMUKE), Blogger

Senario politik negara sudah berubah. samada kita suka ataupun tidak, samada kita sedar ataupun tidak, ianya akan mempengaruhi kehidupan kita. Bersamalah kita menentukan halatuju bangsa Melayu.

Datang. Dengar. Bersuara. hebahkan kepada rakan-rakan. tempat adalah terhad.sekiranya berminat, sila email nama dan pekerjaan andakepada: sekretariat.melayu.muda@ gmail.com Terima kasih. Semoga berjumpa pada 30 April 2008.

Cry Havoc! And Let Loose Some Half-Measures To Patch Our Food Supply Chain...

The Lah-ist government of Malaysia is in a state of sheer panic. Well masked behind a veil of Oxford woven civility for sure, but in panic they remain. Symptoms of this panic include laying bare a raft of half measures to patch up the holes in the country's food supply chain.

I suppose for them to panic is natural. I mean, as opposed to the 'shortages' of luxuries of the recent past such as salt, sugar and cooking oil in the local market, the government recently had to sort out the shortage of a staple - flour - and are now confronted with a 'worldwide supply crisis' of rice, THE staple.

Very much like English fooballers at a World Cup, the various cabinet members must be thoroughly sick of the complaints and worries being expressed by their Wives And Girlfriends (WAGs) on the rice shortage issue. For in the end, admit it, we Malaysians are a creative enough people to be able to live without salt (got soy sauce), sugar (got cinnamon and 'tebu') or (palm oil based) cooking oil (use less, more expensive brand like Mazola or just cook with Planta), but rice?

The last time we had a rice shortage in these parts was during the Japanese Occupation of the 1940's, and then our mummys and grandads had to survive on ubi kayu... UBI KAYU!

Enough already, I ramble too much, so what are my specific grouses about the government's current plans? Here we go again...

1. The plan entails massive growing of padi so the country will be able to self-reliant on rice. Huh? Hello Mr PM, it takes 4-6 MONTHS for Padi to grow to maturity, how is this going to help a rice problem that is happening NOW! Look, I know its hard, but just FOOOCUUUSSS...
2. There is talk of massive planting of padi and other key agricultural crops in Sarawak. Hah! So which tranche of rain-forest is the government planning to rape this time with this padi-planting scheme! The logging companies must be smacking their lips and starting up their padi-planting subsidiaries already...
3. The government is planning to build warehouses and other facilities to stockpile food. Stockpile food? You can't even get sufficient rice supplies and you're talking about stockpiling? And we're talking about food like rice here, that eventually spoils with time? And what about pest control? And keeping the food fresh? Isn't this going to take up a lot of resources? So...
4. Pak Lah announced that all this will take an RM 4 BILLION program to implement. RM 4 BILLION! Ala Pak Lah, please lah don't embarass UMNO members any more by using our mother's inability to buy rice as an excuse to make those close to you rich. It's your brother Ibrahim and son Kamal right that's in the food business?

Oops... sorry, but getting personal there... well we are talking about RICE here! When in truth, securing a good supply of rice for Malaysians, even in the current tight supply situation, is not THAT difficult. So, some ideas from my non-Oxford mind?

1. I presented some ideas at the end of this posting of mine on how tweaking the subsidies system a little may help in terms of the pricing mechanism: http://thoughtsintangents.blogspot.com/2008/04/forget-about-cooking-oil-rice-rice-my.html
2. Government could secure rice supplies from producing countries as a inter-government deal (G2G), perhaps as a swap with one of our exports, such as Palm Oil. The government can then channel the supply, or indeed perform the actual purchases via GLCs or government agencies and coops with retail businesses (such as Tescos, Pasaraya Peladang, etc). Hold one, I recall a former PM used this idea once before...
3. The government should run a campaign to shift consumption away from rice dependency. This will be hard as the pressure on food supply is affecting all types of foods, though at different times, so the shift will be for Malaysians consider a dynamic diet with no single staple, partly driven by economics and availablity of food supply. Not pleasant, but a potential future reality to prepare for.

It is a tough new world Malaysians are facing, so we need leadership that can make tough choices and convince us to support these measures. So please lah Pak Lah and co, give us real solutions to real problems, not half-measures from half-understood situations... else step aside so someone more competent may lead us.

Hah, Tun Salleh? Siapa Tu? Melayu Macam Mana?

Gebung-gebang dalam media baru-baru ini tentang Tun Salleh Abas lah, betapa Pak Lah nak bayar duit 'ampun' lah, nak betulkan salah-silap akhir dekad 80'an lah... apa ni? Anak-anak muda sekarang ramai tertanya-tanya, apalah penting sangat soal menyelesaikan perkelahian lebih 20 tahun lalu, sehingga masalah masyarakat kurun ke-21 ini tidak terlihat diutamakan dahulu?

OK lah, Pak Lah nak sangat kita bincang tentang perubahan kehakiman, kita bincang. Sekarang akan diadakan suruhanjaya untuk mencalonkan nama hakim. Tetapi calon-calon hakim tersebut masih harus dipertimbangkan untuk dicadangkan oleh PM bagi diperkenankan perlantikan oleh DYMM YDP Agong kan? Jadi perbezaan BESAR dalam proses ini apa sebenarnya?

Mungkin yang bezanya adalah siapa yang mencalonkan hakim? Tapi yang mencalonkan hakim sekarang adalah Ketua Hakim Negara. Itu pun pasti dengan dibincangkan dahulu bersama-sama para hakim tertinggi yang lain. Tak layak ke hakim-hakim yang sedia ada mencalonkan hakim-hakim baru? Yang dimasukkan sebagai orang-orang baru untuk mencalonkan hakim ini siapa?

Kawan saya membuat pemerhatian yang pada majlis bersama Tun Salleh Abas dan Dewan Peguam di mana pengumuman tentang suruhanjaya tersebut dilakukan, terlihat begitu ramai hadirin yang ada merupakan ahli Dewan Peguam, kebanyakannya berbangsa India dan Cina. Yang Melayunya beberapa kerat sahaja. Jadi kenapakah peguam-peguam bukan Melayu tersebut begitu bertepuk-sorak gembira apabila Pak Lah mengumumkan penubuhan suruhanjaya tersebut?

Oooh, cakap sahajalah Pak Lah... Pak Lah nak beri lebih banyak hak memilih calon hakim kepada peguam-peguam bukan Melayu. Nak kurangkan sedikit pengaruh para hakim Melayu yang beragama Islam dalam memilih hakim-hakim di masa akan datang. Sebab itulah Dewan Peguam begitu meraikan pengumuman Pak Lah. Dengan cara ini, boleh lah mereka mempengaruhi pemilihan calon yang sealiran dengan mereka, yakni sekular, anak buah firma besar, Hadhari...

Bukankah Dewan Peguam sama yang dengan begitu keras membantah cadangan bekas Ketua Hakim Negara, Tun Fairuz Sheikh Halim supaya diserapkan lebih banyak pendekatan syariah Islam ke dalam undang-undang negara sempena 50 tahun Merdeka? Dewan Peguam inilah yang menyokong sangat kes Lina Joy dulu dan macam-macam lagi lah.

Jadi di manakah generasi Muda Melayu dan umat Islam Malaysia dalam mempengaruhi perubahan dalam sektor guaman, kehakiman, perundangan dan menegakkan keadilan di Malaysia? Tergadai teruskah kuasa kita? Semata-mata kerana asyik memerhati atau terlalu melulu taksub bersorak di tepi gelanggang perkelahian tokoh-tokoh tua tentang hal-hal yang semakin tiada makna?

Di manakah suara kita yang seharusnya membantah hakisan kuasa dan pengaruh Islam pada badan kehakiman, yakni salah satu dari 3 tiang kekuasaan Melayu di Malaysia? Kini kita cuma tinggal kuasa yang akan menentukan bangsa...

Too Much Who, Too Little What, Why And How...

In our on-going quest to figure out causes and solutions to the Malay and Malaysian Malaise, a small group of us (one of many) have concluded that one problem is that Malaysians are still too fixated on the Who and hence ignoring or paying little attention to the more important questions of What, Why and How.

For example, whilst there is a perception amongst some that Pakatan Rakyat may be ahead of the game vs BN at the moment, the following letter (http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/81458) clearly showcases how Pakatan is also now very Anwar dependent... hence again rests too much on a Who.

So, lets shift the question back to the Whats, Whys and Hows and present the challenge of defining What are the things we the rakyat want and need, Why we want and need these things and How we wish to fulfil these Whats. Then the Whos will be less relevant as a choice and instead will be resultant.

As a result, those who wish to be a Who in Malaysia will then naturally be those whom can convince us they are able to deliver the Whats with reasonable Hows, and best of all if backed with a more reasuring Whys than self-interest.

Sorry if its a little confusing to some by this stage, but its time to up the ante. The approach looks difficult if not impossible to achieve for us Malaysians, especially Malays, at this stage, but if it was easy, it would not be worth doing... and impossible just takes a little longer...

Terima Kasih Karpal Singh...

Apakah antara iktibar dari peristiwa Adam dan Hawa dijerat oleh syaitan sehingga dihukum keluar dari syurga ke alam fana ini? Antara iktibar yang paling berkait dengan tindak-tanduk Karpal Singh baru-baru ini adalah... jangan diterima nasihat musuh, nescaya niatnya tidak ikhlas semata-mata untuk membawa padah.

Karpal Singh kelihatan begitu menyokong Pak Lah dengan membidas Tun Dr M baru-baru ini. Ini adalah perbuatan yang agak pelik. Bukan sahaja tindak-tanduknya tidak selari dengan nalurinya sebagai pembangkang yang seharusnya dengan agresif menyerang Pak Lah, kata-kata dan ungkapan sejarahnya pun berbelit-belit! Contohnya:

1. Dimintanya Dr M berhenti menyerang Pak Lah kerana beliau sudah bersara dan patut kekal dalam persaraan. Namun beliau memetik kata-kata arwah Tun Hussein yang membidas kepimpinan Tun Dr M dari persaraan.


2. Dimintanya Dr M menjauhkan diri dari kemelut dalaman parti UMNO, padahal Karpal bukan ahli UMNO, tidak layak pun untuk memohon keahlian UMNO, malah merupakan musuh ketat UMNO sepanjang riwayat politiknya!


3. Karpal menuding jari ke arah Tun Dr M kerana merestui Operasi Lalang, namun tidak mengakui tanggungjawab beliau mengapi-apikan suasana sehingga keharmonian antara kaum begitu terancam sekali pada masa itu.


4. Karpal menuduh Tun Dr M sebagai orang yang mengharamkan pendaftaran UMNO pada tahun 1988. Tetapi beliau sebagai seorang peguam mesti tahu yang para hakim pimpinan Tun Salleh Abas-lah yang mengharamkan UMNO atas dorongan Radzi Sheikh Ahmad. Tun Dr M menghidupkannya semula.


5. Beliau juga berbelit-belit mengatakan pihak pembangkang tidak memerlukan Tun Dr M untuk 'membantu' pemantauan tindak-tanduk Pak Lah. Alah, mengaku sahajalah Karpal, pembangkang mahu Pak Lah kekal sebagai PM!

Tetapi kenapakah pembangkang mahu Pak Lah kekal? Tak mungkin demi kesejahteraan negara dan rakyat. Jelas suasana negara semakin merudum dari pelbagai segi semenjak 8 Mac, baik dari segi ekonomi, keselamatan mahupun kestabilan politik.

Pembangkang mahu Pak Lah kekal sebagai PM kerana mereka percaya dengan itu, lebih cerah peluang mereka untuk merebut kuasa dari BN dan UMNO menjelang pilihanraya ke 13 kelak. Inilah iktibar di sebalik tindak-tanduk Karpal. Tak kiralah walaupun negara ini hancur sekalipun di bawah kepimpinan berterusan Pak Lah dan Khairy, yang penting, Pakatan Rakyat mahu merebut kuasa 4-5 tahun lagi.

Pakatan Rakyat konon. Akhirnya bukan bagi rakyat, tetapi semata-mata berpakat, berputar-belit kata dan sejarah untuk merebut kuasa. Dan untuk siapa kuasa itu? Anak-pinak juga dalam PKR dan DAP... kerana ini jugakah mungkin Karpal begitu sayangkan Pak Lah?

Is Anwar Ibrahim A Zionist Agent?

My piece Antara Dua KJ, http://thoughtsintangents.blogspot.com/2008/04/antara-dua-kj.html, seems to have engendered quite a lot of interest, but not of the sort I expected... ah the wonders of writing, especially a blog! Instead of reminding people of the existence of another dangerous KJ lurking in the corridors of PAS, I seem to have caused people to ask again whether Anwar is really a Zionist or a Zionist Agent.

Since Anwar is now claiming that he's going to be the next PM, I see it as my civic duty to present some observations:

1) Anwar's Very Close To The Poster Boy Of Zionist Interests In The Bush Era, Paul Wolfowitz:

• Wolfowitz, whilst building a love-nest as World Bank Chief, also appointed Anwar as an officer of the World Bank to channel development funds into the tsunami hit Acheh region.


• Before you say this is because Wolfowitz thought Anwar was 'competent', remember how Wolfowitz has a habit of appointing his chums into World Bank positions - one being a girl-chum, resulting in his sacking!


• Wolfowitz's close freindship with Anwar was captured on a photo of their meeting in Germany soon after Anwar's surgery circulated widely in the Middle-East. This made Pak-Pak Arab feel quite angry towards Anwar.


• And if I may quote wikipedia,"In an interview on the BBC Hardtalk program after his release from prison, Anwar admitted to his friendship with Paul Wolfowitz, the former US deputy Secretary of Defence and former World Bank President." Read for yourself:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwar_Ibrahim

2) Anwar is famously lauded for having been a visiting lecturer and speaker at Johns Hopkins University among other US and European universities that are also hotbeds of intellectual zionism. Of course, it could be because Anwar is such an expert in his field... not sure what it is exactly outside of politics... Or maybe he's not a zionist, but a friend of the Skull and Bones, you know, Bush's 'club', that also have such strong influence over these institutions.

Interestingly, over the course of the election campaign Anwar disappeared for a while to Singapore, supposedly due to a commitment to lecture there which he 'could not get out of'. Rubbish lah, have you ever heard of anyone saying campaigning for a national election is an unacceptable reason to be excused from an overseas commitment? So why did Anwar really have to visit a Zionist-inclined state's institution in the middle of an election? Money? Instructions?

3) For a person who was out of work for 9 years (being in prison and all), Anwar sure has a lot of money! Not only has his family been living quite well, he's even able to fund his own party, PKR! So where is all this money coming from? We know the guy is not earning from a regular high-paying job; he's even stopped lecturing at those prestigious universities mentioned at 2)! 3 possibilities:

1. He was corrupt before, so corrupt that he had enough money to sustain a political party for 10 years, on top of his family commitments and even flying all over the world! So, if he was corrupt and PKR's struggle is being funded by the fruits of his past corruption, does it make sense to think of him as a 'saviour' from corruption in our land? We thought we had a 'Mr Clean' once before, see what happened!
2. He's using money from Arab contributors. Arab contributors? Hahahahaha! This was what Anwar claimed in the past too! OK, lets take this theory at its word, so, Arabs are paying for his political struggle. Are you comfortable with a PM funded by Arabs Mr DAP and Mr Hindraf?
3. He's getting money from the Zionist West. Why the Zionist West, why not just the West? Because the cold war is over, and since then, the only westerners funding dissidents outside of China, especially in Muslim countries, are Zionist organisations pursuing the "New World Order", whether they by Israeli, American or British Zionists.

I am of course ignoring the possibility of a local fund-source for PKR as I tend to think no one but Daim could possibly have that much money, except for Anwar of course as per 1. above. So, do you prefer to believe Anwar was SO corrupt at the high risk of him still being so, or believe he is still a puppet of his old Arab masters, however unlikely, or that he's a Zionist?

4) By far the most damning observation of Anwar's Zionist tendencies is how he has always been a favoured Muslim leader of the Zionist press. This stretches to even before he was removed from UMNO and was a point of criticism by many of his current allies in PAS! In fact, there is sufficient distrust in PAS of Anwar for there to be hope I would say.

Surely Anwar's hero status among the Zionist press worldwide, in good times and bad, is indicative of the possibility that he is an agent of their interests? Else, why would they continue to bother with him after his fall? This also explains his non-committal stance on many things in the foreign press.

I have of course happily stayed away from the more fringe ideas to support the theory that Anwar is a Zionist, such as how PKR's 'black eye' symbol looks distrubingly like the 'eye of Zion'. I've also chosen not to highlight Anwar's willingness to succumb to the IMF during the Asian Crisis or on his past poor ministerial performance, e.g. the RM9 Billion forex loses during his time.

Nevertheless, we really should be asking these and other questions to re-discover who Anwar really is, especially if he continues to claim he is close to becoming our next PM! For the key question would then be, do we really want Anwar Ibrahim as our PM? Brrrrrr....

Antara Dua KJ

Dalam keghairahan kita mewar-warkan pengaruh seorang KJ, Khairy Jamaluddin, dalam mencatur jahanamnya pengaruh Melayu di tanah sendiri, kita harus waspada akan hadirnya seorang lagi insan 'seabjad' sebagai pendukung kehancuran negara-bangsa. Siapakah gerangan KJ yang lagi satu ini jika bukan Kamaruddin Jaafar, teman setia Anwar Ibrahim.

Kamaruddin Jaafar? Bukankah beliau Setiausaha Agung PAS sekarang? Kalau beliau benar-benar setia kepada Anwar Ibrahim, kenapakah beliau tidak menyertai PKR? Tidakkah tindakan menyertai PKR juga lebih sesuai dengan naluri KJ ini yang juga seorang 'intelek' dan pemacu Institut Kajian Dasar suatu masa dahulu? Ini profilnya: http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamaruddin_Jaafar

Anwar Ibrahim mungkin ada pelbagai kepincangan, tetapi kalau tidak licik berpolitik, tidak mungkin beliau dapat menghinggapi sebentar kedudukan Timbalan Presiden UMNO dahulu. Masuknya Kamaruddin Jaafar ke dalam PAS sebenarnya sebahagian dari usaha Anwar untuk memastikan pengaruh beliau tetap tegar dalam PAS mahupun UMNO selepas kejatuhannya.

Lihat sahaja betapa ramai kuncu-kuncu Anwar yang tidak lari dari UMNO, malah mengisytihar 'taubat' sekuat-kuatnya semata-mata untuk kekal menghendap di PWTC. Malah, ramai juga penyokong kuat dan 'fan-club' Anwar dari zaman reformasi yang kemudiannya menyertai UMNO, seperti Khairy Jamaluddin bersama-sama puak-puak yang kini dikenali sebagai penghuni Tingkat 4.

Persamaan antara KJ tua (Kamaruddin) dan KJ muda (Khairy) ini ketara sekali. Mereka berdua-dua tetap taksub Anwar tetapi cukup handal bermuka-muka. Kedua-duanya kaya hasil usaha mengkroni (KJ tua) atau menepot (KJ muda). Katanya kedua-duanya pandai-pandai belaka, dengan IKD lah, dengan Oxford lah.

Kini mereka juga bersatu dalam suatu misi, iaitu pemusnahan UMNO demi menaikan Anwar Ibrahim sebagai Perdana Menteri boneka Zionis pertama Malaysia.

KJ tua melakukan ini secara langsung dan sengaja. Dengan kedudukan kuatnya sebagai Setiausaha Agung PAS serta antara penyumbang wang terbanyak kepada parti tersebut, beliau telah menolak usaha pembentukan kerajaan BN-PAS, bermajoriti Melayu serta Islam, di negeri-negeri Selangor dan Perak mahupun di Parlimen. Ini walaupun usaha tersebut direstui Tok Guru dan sekaligus membatalkan 2 kedudukan Menteri kabinet pusat serta MB Selangor untuk PAS.

KJ muda pula mendukung Anwar secara tidak langsung dan tak sengaja. Dengan kedudukan kuatnya sebagai menantu Pak Lah, beliau tak putus-putus mengesyorkan supaya bapa mertuanya kekal di tampuk kuasa, sekaligus menguatkan keupayaan Anwar bagi menarik ahli Parlimen UMNO untuk 'lompat pagar' ke dalam KeAdilan. Ini pula selepas calon-calon BN pilihan KJ muda untuk PRU-12 terlalu ramai kecundang di tangan calon PKR!

Menarik sekali, dalam sengaja dan tidak sengaja mereka, kedua-dua KJ kelihatan berganding tenaga dalam usaha merealisasikan cita-cita idola mereka, Anwar Ibrahim. Malang sekali bagi mereka, kerajaan PKR yang bakal dibentuk pasti lain sekali dari kerajaan BN berkepimpinan UMNO dahulu mahupun kerajaan PAS yang berlandaskan Islam.

Kerajaan Anwar Ibrahim bakal mirip kerajaan Bollywood di mana jalan kerja dihindari pertelagahan PAS-DAP, persengkataan PKR India Liberal-PKR Melayu 'lompat pagar' dari UMNO, kepincangan kemampuan pentadbiran Anwar sendiri, namun tetap syok sendiri akibat kelincahan penarik tali boneka Zionisnya.

Oh ya, pasti kerajaan Anwar juga akan ada 2 Menteri kabinet yang sering bersengketa, KJ tua dan KJ muda!

Forget About Cooking Oil... Rice, Rice, My Common Cents For Some Rice!

We return today to one of my favourite topics... the integrity of our nation's food supply chain, or lack thereof, on the back of a historic price control mechanism for selected food items that has lacked salt, been under cooked and was nigh close to being de-floured of late...

We begin our story with the arrival of the new Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Dato' Shahrir Samad, into office, suspicious that he's been sent to the ministry to ensure his political doom since his predecessor got moved to a more junior ministry, probably because of these events:
http://thoughtsintangents.blogspot.com/search/label/cooking%20oil

Being an ex-banker, having an MBA from IMD, experience as Welfare Minister in the 1980's, being linked by marriage to an influential JB business taukeh family and of course being a blogger (!) seems to have made Dato' Shahrir better prepared than his predecessor. The new minister quickly engaged businesses and the media on the need to look at the whole price control thing.

Unfortunately, just as he was starting to feel some warmth on his seat, the shortage of rice worldwide hit the headlines. This linked article is illustrative as to how the problem is complex, whilst again, not being quite real...

http://www.independent-bangladesh.com/200802212190/business/worldwide-shortage-of-rice-shoots-prices-soaring.html

In the meantime, our old man from the kampung, Pak Tam, is still wincing from the verbal barbs he's been getting from his wife up till last week. It was bad enough after they did the hoarding of cooking oil during the cooking oil 'shortage'...

Back in January, soon after they had secured some 60kg of Mazola from the local kedai runcit, topped up by 20kg of Minyak Cap Kerja which they 'luckily' found being sold 'at a bargain' when they decided to 'scout' for supplies in the next kampung at the height of the cooking oil 'crisis', Pak Tam was alerted of the coming shortage of flour, again from his kedai kopi circle.

Pak Tam rushed home to get his wife so they could secure flour supply. After a brief argument over the fact that they already had no space left in the pantry as it was full of cooking oil, and that they don't use much flour anyway outside of Hari Raya, they rushed directly to the Gigantic mall in town as Pak Tam was sure flour supply at the local kedai runcit must have completely run out.

Much to his horror, upon entering Gigantic, they were greeted with the view of piles and piles of cooking oil bottles of the cheap Palm Oil based Minyak Cap Kerja variety... Mak Tam's favourite brand as it was SO much CHEAPER than the non-Palm Oil brands, such as Mazola! They also saw witnessed an argument between the lady manager and the cooking oil delivery man about how MORE cooking oil was coming than the hypermart can store!

Mak Tam's restraint only lasted until Pak Tam started the car engine; they bought a modest 5kg of flour - Pak Tam couldn't take more as Mak Tam was giving him the silent treatment and glared lightning bolts whenever he reached for an extra packet. Thunder then came in a symphony of abuse, critique, sobbing, shrieking, historical baggage and genetic observation over the whole 20 minutes drive back home - a masterpiece of anger unsuitable for polite company!

Pak Tam continued to suffer for the remainder of the month, but thought all was over by February.

Unfortunately, his brother-in-law Pak Bakaq, the retired civil servant, came for a visit during election weekend and just had to show off how he had been quoted by a paper for correctly stating that the January cooking oil saga was not a 'crisis' but just a general panic based on no common sense. Of course the Bakaq family then had a good laugh at the Tam family's own undimished cooking oil stockpile! Mak Tam was angry for a good 3 weeks after that!

And now Pak Tam is hearing things about rice. Of course, he dare not say anything to Mak Tam now, despite his kedai kopi gang continuing to disbelieve the Pak Lah media assurances that the rice shortage will not hit Malaysia...

Back at his Ministry, Shahrir is still enjoying the relief from the 4th floor boys being too busy to 'advise' him on the price controls thing, what with the boys focusing on 'helping' Pak Lah fight for political survival. Nevertheless, to survive the on-going political storm, Shahrir has to be seen to be doing something now... well, this blogger would like him to consider the following.

How much do the cooking oil and sugar subsidies really cost Malaysians? The honest truth is, no one really knows. There are elements in the equation that are indirect and require further assessment, for instance:

1. How much does the reduced price from the subsidies result in increased consumption of these goods, hence an overall higher subsidy costs.
2. How much have the resulting increased consumption of dangerous subsidised 'luxuries' like oil and sugar aversely affected the health of Malaysians, resulting in increased medical costs per capita? The National Kidney Foundation will inform you that the majority of kidney failures in Malaysia is associated with diabetes (high sugar) or hyper-tension (from consumption of fats, including oils), statistically among the highest in the world!
3. How much is guaranteeing a profit to the resultant monopolies of controlled goods in Malaysia via the price control mechanism worth it to these firms. For instance, in the case of Sugar, Robert Kuok is not known as the 'Sugar King' for no reason. How much has a guaranteed profit from these subsidies helped the Kuoks establish their family empire spanning the globe?

These economic sums are not difficult to establish, but does need effort and application to assess. Once they are assessed, Shahrir, if he is indeed a worthy minister should be able to sell the following policy changes such as these:

1. Abolishing subsidies and price controls for food items that are really luxuries, such as sugar and cooking oil. These are bad for the health of Malaysians when consumed in excess, whilst not really adding that much more to taste - very important to us Malaysians. These subsidies are also making the rich tycoons richer by protecting the Malaysian market from competition whilst making the supply chain hard to sustain in periods of volatility.
2. With savings resulting from the above abolishing of subsidies, as well as longer term savings on health costs, etc, the government may be able to continue supporting subsidies for staple food items such as rice and flour. Rice especially is worthy of subsidies both for strategically ensuring supply security locally and to support farmers that remain on the poverty line.
3. With the abolition of price controls over luxury food items, there may be other savings also due to the government, such as in enforcement and monitoring of these subsidies specifically. Why not channel some of these and the less transparent medical savings to better agricultural approaches to our farmers and a better food supply chain for staple foods in Malaysia?

Such efforts would make much more common sense than the reactive behaviours of the government over the last 4 years, especially that of the last 6 months!