Wednesday, March 26, 2008

"Sayang Lah, Boleh Blah", "Takut Lah, Boleh Blah" atau Layak Digelar Majlis Tertinggi UMNO?

Pak Lah dalam bahaya. Terlalu banyak usahanya setakat ini untuk menetapkan kuasa dan kedudukan beliau sebagai Presiden UMNO merangkap PM telah gagal.

Dari kedudukan yang cukup kuat dahulunya, kini MB Johor kekal di tempatnya, mahupun usaha menggantikannya diatur Tingkat 4 sejak sebelum pilihanraya lagi. MB Terengganu kini terlepas ke pemimpin berhaluan lain. Malah usahanya 'membeli' kembali sokongan bekas MB Perlis juga mencapai kebuntuan.

Jika dicongak sekali dengan sejumlah Ketua Bahagian UMNO yang sudah pun sedia marah kepada Pak Lah akibat 'tak lekat' sebagai calon bersama dengan pemimpin bahagian yang menganggap beliau serta KJ sebab kekalahan besar UMNO di 5+1 negeri, KuLi pasti sudah ada lebih dari 57 bahagian yang diperlukan untuk mencalonkan diri sebagai Presiden UMNO!

Malah lebih memalukan lagi, ada kemungkinan sokongan Pak Lah begitu merudum hingga beliau sendiri tidak akan dapat cukup pencalonan untuk mempertahankan kedudukannya sebagai Presiden UMNO! Terlalu ramai Ketua Penerangan Negeri dan MB UMNO, seperti Tajol Rosli, Adnan Yaakob dan Ali Rustam yang mempunyai kekuatan serta kewibawaan untuk mengubah haluan menurut kepimpinan KuLi, atau mana-mana pemimpin lain selain Pak Lah.

Sampaikan MB yang dikatakan paling rapat dengan Pak Lah, Mohamad Hasan, sudah pun dengan cekal mengesyorkan yang pemilihan UMNO harus diadakan.

Inilah sebabnya pemilihan UMNO mahu ditangguhkan. Pak Lah, setelah merasa kekalahan PRU-12, kini sudah semakin hilang keyakinan pada dirinya sendiri dan ingin berlindung dari pemilihan. Pemilihan tersebut bakal memberi suara kepada kebencian akar-umbi UMNO yang semakin meluap terhadap beliau dan kuncu-kuncunya.

Lihatlah sahaja siapa yang memberi keterangan tentang penangguhan pemilihan UMNO - Mat Taib, yang ternyata masih terhutang budi atas nyawa politik baru yang ditiupkan ke dalamnya oleh Pak Lah. Kenapa bukan Tengku Adnan, Setiausaha Agung UMNO yang membawa wadah ini? Kerana Tengku Adnan lebih sayangkan UMNO dari mana-mana pemimpinnya...

Ya lah, Ku Nan kan orang Tun Dr M, memang lazimnya begitu. Setiausaha Agung zaman Tun Dr M dulu semua fanatik UMNO, termasuklah Sabaruddin Chik, Mohamad Rahmat dan Sanusi Junid. Sudah tentu sebagai bekas Setiausaha Kerja UMNO zaman Tun Dr M, Tengku Adnan juga lebih berfanatikkan parti UMNO dari pemimpinnya, mahupun Tun Dr M sendiri! Inikan pula Pak Lah...

Mat Taib menggambarkan kalau ada pemilihan mungkin akan menimbulkan perpecahan dalam UMNO. Perpecahan apa ni? Kalau ada pemilihan, sudah tentu Pak Lah kalah! Bubuhlah siapa pun jadi pencabar Pak Lah, walau seputik bunga orkid sekalipun, pasti kalah punya Pak Lah! Jadi kalau nak berpecah pun UMNO, mesti kerana Pak Lah bakal merajuk meninggalkan UMNO.

Tapi ada ka cukup orang yang nak ikut Pak Lah keluar bila kalah sehingga timbul perpecahan? Silap-silap, anak menantu dia pun tak ikut dia keluar! Mengarutlah kata-kata Mat Taib yang pemilihan akan menyebabkan perpecahan UMNO.

Makanya, Pak Lah dan kuncu-kuncunya ingin menunda pemilihan UMNO. Pendek kata, nak sembunyi di tepi kain Majlis Tertinggi UMNO lah tu! Inilah peluang ahli-ahli Majlis Tertinggi untuk menunjukkan kewibawaan mereka. Adakah mereka akan membuktikan sayang mereka kepada Pak Lah, atau sayang mereka kepada UMNO, agama, bangsa dan negara?

Senang macam ni lah. Kalau ada spy-spy mana-mana dalam mesyuarat Majlis Tertinggi tu nanti, laporkanlah siapa yang mengundi menyokong penundaan pemilihan. Yang berbuat demikian ada sudah mula melabelkan "Sayang Lah, Boleh Blah". Yang ini bakal kalah pada pemilihan kemudian. Kalau diumumkan persetujuan sebulat suara pun menarik, semua nanti tertukar!

Janganlah ada nanti ahli Majlis Tertinggi yang kata mereka megundi menyokong penundaan tetapi sebenarnya menentang. Yang ini dayus namanya, dan seeloknya berundur sahaja dari Majlis Tertinggi, atau "Takut Lah, Boleh Blah".

Yang kita ingin adalah yang lantang menidakkan usaha kecut Pak Lah dan Mat Taib ini. Yang berani dan berwibawa macam ini lah silap-silap kita angkat jadi Naib Presiden atau lebih tinggi lagi!

Terpulanglah kepada ahli-ahli Majlis Tertinggi sekarang. Adakah mereka "Sayang Lah, Boleh Blah", "Takut Lah, Boleh Blah" atau calon kepimpinan tertinggi dihari muka? Yang penting UMNO... bukan Lah...

Sunday, March 23, 2008

No DEB, No Vernacular Schools?

The topic chosen here is not to provoke, but rather to remind people what the so called 'social contract' was so many years ago. In the 'ashes' of 13 May 1969, three concerns were raised which resulted in separate outcomes:
  1. The Malays were convinced that the racial riots were the result of economic activities, and affluence, of Malaysians in 1969 still being determined by the racial segregation of colonial times, at least for the majority; i.e. Malays were farmers, Chinese were businessmen and Indians were estate workers. Malays pushed for the DEB to address the issue so that "Malaysians are no longer racially segregated by economic activity or affluence".
  2. In the meantime, the two major minorities, the Chinese and Indians, were fighting for the retention of their identities. Their leaders feared a Malay push for national unity at the expense of their racial and cultural identity, such as was happening in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. They hence insisted on the protection and continued support of vernacular schools side-by-side with mainstream education.
  3. The desires of East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) continued to be protection of their autonomy, with the Bumiputra hence augmenting this with themselves opting into the DEB. Their negotiating position was stronger though as they did not suffer racial riots.

The fight of the major components of BN on the material side have thus been, the advancement of DEB goals for UMNO, the growth of Chinese education for MCA, the protection of a Hindu-centric culture by the MIC (which ironically resulted in them not getting much from the deal from the outset, despite the fact that DEB, on paper, also had benefits where Indians qualify ahead of Malays!) and protection of autonomous rights for the East Malaysian parties.

Gerakan and PPP were funny BN partners in that they were the only parties shouting for a Malaysian Malaysia then and was happy to endorse this agreement for the long term aspiration. They continue to do so to this day whilst becoming increasingly mono-racial themselves.

Post PRU-12, people are running around saying DEB is no longer relevant. I disagree. In fact, I think most Malays still want the bulk of DEB and certainly at most they wish the implementation to be reformed, especially around contracts. Most Malays still want MRSMs and Boarding Schools, scholarships, low cost or discounted housing, etc to remain. I am convinced that DEB is being scape-goated by the Lah-ist regime for the election loss to keep Pak Lah in power.

However, no meaningful debate on the removal of DEB can take place before reverting back to the original social contract. So, will the Chinese and Indians be willing to sacrifice their right to have vernacular schools to get rid of DEB? There are also many reasons for abolishing them. They are, variously:

  1. Racial in nature,
  2. Mainly exclusive, with such clear advantage given to Chinese and Indians due to their mother-tongue (ya ya, some Malay kids go to, but we have some Chinese in MRSM and Indians with JPA scholarships too!)
  3. Draws good resources away from the standard Malay-medium schools, hence contributes to the reduction in overall quality of Malaysian education through structurally unequal distribution of resources
  4. Polarising the nation by segregating minority races away from a mixed environment, and also resulting in a Malay-centric environment being created in Malay-medium school
  5. Disrupts efforts to foster national unity through use of a single national language, Bahasa Malaysia, and a unified education system

So, no DEB, no vernacular schools? Sorry if I've upset anyone, I didn't open this door... was it the opposition? Pak Lah?

By the way you guys in East Malaysia, you don't go scot free. You jump to PKR (who wishes to 'modify' DEB... abolish-lah tu...), you open the door to East Malaysia losing its autonomy as per the social contract...

But, to re-emphasise... no DEB, no vernacular schools?

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Benarkah Sudah Berakhir Riwayat Politik Khairy?

Sudah pun dikemukakan petanda kekalnya pengaruh Khairy dari analisa Pak Lah akan sebab kekalahan BN. Pak Lah memberi gambaran ini kerana golongan muda Melayu menolak DEB/DPB, apabila sebenarnya Khairy dan pemesong DEB/DPB lain yang ditolak; lagi pun sudah lama disyaki Khairylah hipokrit pembenci serta musuh dalam selimut DEB/DPB. Di sini ingin diajukan sedikit 'bukti' kekalnya Khairy sebagai pengemudi pentadbiran Pak Lah berdasarkan susunan kabinet.

Melihat prestasi buruk BN pada PRU-12 dan berdasarkan desakan lantang menggesa perletakan jawatan beliau, Pak Lah beraksi dengan begitu licik sekali. Sudah kembali ahli politik yang berjaya hidup begitu lama dalam UMNO walaupun dikelilingi musuh yang berkuku-taring lebih tajam. Malang sekali yang kepintaran tersebut agak kurang dalam menangani pentadbiran negara, mahupun menguruskan pilihanraya umum, tetapi di dalam UMNO, Pak Lah tetap gagah.

Setelah menerima maklumat jelas bahawa perlindungan dan kuasa tidak rasmi yang dikurniakan beliau kepada Khairy merupakan antara tunas kekalahan BN, Pak Lah mengambil kesempatan terdekat untuk:
  1. Mengelak dari melantik Khairy ke jawatan kabinet.
  2. Membenarkan propaganda menular yang nyawa politik Khairy sudah hampir hilang di media perdana serta halaman web pro-kerajaan seperti Malaysian Insider.
  3. Membenarkan Pemuda UMNO memutuskan supaya Mukhriz Mahathir tidak dikenakan hukuman disiplin atas tindakan beliau menulis surat memohon perletakan jawatan Pak Lah sendiri.

Ini menunjukan seolah-olah Khairy bukan faktor dalam pentadbiran kerajaannya sekarang. Tambah pula:

  1. Menteri yang kurang popular seperti Rafidah Aziz dan Radzi Sheikh Ahmad digugurkan.
  2. General-general setia Pak Lah seperti Noh Omar diberi pangkat menteri sebagai persediaan perhimpunan agung UMNO.
  3. Panglima-panglima pemimpin lain seperti Shabery Cheek diberikan kedudukan menteri dalam usaha menarik sokongan mereka.
  4. Panglima-panglima yang sudah pasti tidak akan dapat ditarik kesetiaan kepada Pak Lah, seperti Tengku Adnan dan Jamaluddin Jarjis telah digugurkan, walaupun prestasi mereka yang lepas boleh tahan juga.
  5. Pemimpin UMNO yang sering lantang mengkritik dari luar seperti Shahrir Samad dan Zaid Ibrahim pula cuba didiamkan dengan kedudukan baru.
  6. Dibawa masuk juga sepahi upahan Muhamad Muhamad Taib sebagai menteri yang terjamin setia kerana kembalinya ke tampuk kuasa atas jasa Pak Lah.

Pemilihan kabinet Pak Lah tepat dengan tujuan mempertahankan kedudukan beliau dalam UMNO. Namun, Pak Lah mungkin terlalu sayangkan Khairy hingga tidak upaya beliau menidakkan pengaruh Khairy sama sekali. Contohnya:

  1. Wan Ahmad Farid, teman setia Khairy yang melicinkan pengagihan projek di Terengganu suatu masa dahulu kini dilantik menjadi Timbalan Menteri.
  2. Azalina, rakan sejawat Khairy semasa beliau menjadi pengacara TV dahulu, menonjol sebagai satu-satunya wakil Wanita UMNO di kabinet. Adakah ini petanda beliau bakal merampas kuasa kepimpinan wanita kelak? Khairy masih terhutang budi kepada Azalina yang lebih berhak menjadi wakil rakyat di Rembau, kampung asal-usul bapanya.

Perlantikan kabinet menunjukkan Pak Lah, dalam usaha mempertahankan hidup politiknya, sedia mengenepikan sedikit Khairy. Namun pengaruh Khairy terlihat kekal walaupun hanya ala-kadar. Mungkin perlantikan pada peringkat agensi-agensi kelak akan menonjolkan lagi tahap pengaruh Khairy pasca PRU-12; benarkah sudah dikekang, atau hanya sekadar wayang kulit sahaja beliau diketepikan dari kabinet.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Initial Feedback On The New Cabinet... Updated

At a glance one may be forgiven for being glad that this is a Khairy free cabinet. If you're thinking this... think again! Some hints of his influences are seen below. Nevertheless, it is clear that Pak lah has set up this cabinet for one purpose... to retain his power as PM via the UMNO Presidency. (Which is actually different from keeping UMNO and BN in power!)

Rocky asked some pertinent questions on why some people are on and are off the cabinet here rocky's bru: The new Cabinet.

Why was Rafidah droped? I update this with a thought that I picked up off a commentor. Could it be that Rafidah was dropped to make it easier for the US to conclude an FTA with us? We know that Muhyiddin, whilst an UMNO stalwart, doesn't really have the background and nous to as effectively lead Malaysia in the negotiations. Muhyiddin also demonstrated his willingness to compromise in the past with the land deal he agreed with Singapore when he was Johor MB. So, is the hidden reason to allow the USFTA to be ratified? Muhyiddin will need help here!

On the political side, Rafidah being dropped allows Azalina to more easily challenge her . As Azalina is increasingly seen as a Pak Lah and Khairy ally, what with her sacrificing her familial right to be the MP of Rembau to Khairy and her minions' activities on the web. Rafidah needs to make amends with Tun Dr M properly to stand a chance. Alternatively, Rafidah can choose to back another Wanita heavyweight, like say Noraesah (who is generally acceptable to all factions), to block Azalina. Azalina of course was Khairy's co-anchor on TV once.

A tangential view of why Rafidah was dropped would be that it is to appease Tun Dr M, who probably is still a little upset with Rafidah for her role in the AP scandal and the attack on Proton. Enough about Rafidah.

Why was JJ dropped? Because Pak Lah cannot risk 2 Najib allies in the Cabinet who are political warlords that can also deliver at their ministries. Zahid Hamidi, whilst tentatively also an Anwarista and publicly behind Pak Lah, was brought into the mainstream by Najib and was returned to public leadership following his conversion to Tun Dr M pre-1999 elections. Zahid is still the best candidate to grab MAYC from the clutches of Syed Hamid, currently a firm, though weak, Lah-ist ally.

Why Muhammad Taib? 2 reasons probably. Khairy in his snot-nosed political infancy is probably still enamoured by Muhammad Taib's skill at leading by-elections. This despite 'Mike Tyson's' clear weakness as UMNO Information Chief on the big stage of PRU-12. Pak Lah also needs a guaranteed ally (one he has revived from the political graveyard) to balance the cabinet that he has risked...

The cabinet is still potentially hostile. Shabery Cheek was raised by KuLi so may well be another enemy within, but he cannot be ignored what with the others Pak Lah have dropped. Liow Tiong Lai dan Ong Tee Keat's entry mark the pre-emminence of the Lim Ah Lek faction in MCA, a group that is more traditional and less amenable to shananigans vs Ong Ka Ting's faction, now represented by that less popular brother of his, Ong Ka Chuan.

Curious to see Wan Ahmad Farid as Deputy Home Affairs and Internal Security Minister. This is Khairy's close chum right? The one who used to be in Terengganu? Or have I got the wrong guy. He'll probably be puppet-mastering Syed Hamid Albar in the ministry... weak... weak!


I have a quick observation also to make about the MIC members of cabinet. So, Samy has put up his man S Subramaniam for Minister. Has to be Samy's man as he's Sec-Gen of MIC. This sets up the battle for the MIC Presidency nicely then against the young turk Devamany who has a Deputy Minister post! This assumes of course that Samy is no longer interested? Palanievel? The other Subra?

So, does this cabinet line-up change my opinion that Pak Lah has to go for the sake of the party and the nation? No. Does the cabinet line-up re-assure me that Khairy is no longer a hidden hand influencing Malaysian government policy? No. So, I guess you know where my vote will go during UMNO branch elections... if they'll let us have a proper contest that is!

Akhirnya Bermula Kesinambungan Semangat Melayu Tua Ke Muda

Pada zaman awal kebangkitan kuasa Khairy Jamaluddin, telah dikemukakan oleh para pendukungnya yang muda segenerasi dengannya bahawa ini melambangkan kebangkitan 'Golongan Muda' baru dalam UMNO. Kononnya golongan muda pimpinan Khairy ini membawa aspirasi baru yang lebih sesuai dengan zaman menjangkau 2020, dan dalam usaha membawa masyarakat Melayu ke era baru yang lebih makmur, nescaya akan berlaku pertembungan dengan 'Golongan Tua' dalam UMNO.

Malang bagi Khairy dan pendakyah-pendakyah beliau, generasi beliau, malah kebanyakan golongan di bawah 40 tahun yang menjadi sasaran telah menolak propaganda tersebut. Soalnya, agak susah untuk majoriti golongan muda Melayu untuk menerima dakyah yang:
  1. Bertunggakkan tuduhan akan kelemahan 'Golongan Tua' yang tidak berdosa malah banyak menabur budi kepada generasi Melayu muda.
  2. Didukung oleh golongan minoriti elitis yang berbuai emas, disusu madu ratu yang menunjuk-nunjukan kepandaian berbuktikan kelulusan institusi luar negara sambil berperisaikan surat nikah atau sijil kelahiran sebenarnya.
  3. Melaga-lagakan tua serta muda, lama dan baru, budi dengan angan-angan masa hadapan.

Orang Melayu suatu masyarakat yang bersopan-santun. Dalam perbalahan bagaimana sekalipun, tikaman lidah tidak meluka hati, malah lebih rela rasa tidak puas hati disuratkan sahaja supaya boleh penegur mengalihkan bahasa kepada yang lebih pekerti demi menjaga silaturahim.

Dakyah Khairy mungkin tak termakan dek generasinya, tetapi malang sekali, beliau dan anasir-anasir di sekelilingnya telah berjaya mempengaruhi golongan kepimpinan Melayu teratas bahawa merekalah yang sah mewakili generasi muda. Malang sekali kepada pemimpin Melayu UMNO, kerana hasilnya adalah penolakan sebulat suara generasi muda terhadap intipati agenda Khairy yang dibawa oleh rejim Pak Lah sepanjang 4 tahun seperti dibuktikan oleh keputusan PRU-12.

Menarik sekali, hasil penolakan mendadak terhadap kerajaan Pak Lah/Khairy, kini suara-suara Muda yang lebih sah diterima-pakai sebagai wakil sudah mula berganding dengan suara Tua yang berbudi dan disegani. Prosa sopan Mukhriz dibayangi oleh surat yang lebih sulit dari pemimpin Tua sebuah Bahagian UMNO. Usul mengadakan Mesyuarat Agung Tergempar oleh Tungku Razaleigh Hamzah (KuLi) pula sudah dibayangi oleh kepimpinan Pemuda UMNO Johor.

Inilah gandingan Tua-Muda yang dinanti-nantikan, yang bakal membina bersama, yang bukan propaganda semata-mata. Gandingan beginilah yang merupakan tanda kesinambungan semangat perjuangan Melayu masih berbara sayup-sayup, menanti hembusan nafas baru dari kepimpinan generasi lama ke baru.

Gandingan ini kini wujud atas agenda menggesa mengunduran kepimpinan Pak Lah/Khairy sebelum binasa UMNO dan masa depan Melayu di bumi Malaysia.

Harapan penulis yang tidak seberapa ini adalah semoga gandingan sebegini juga bakal mengembalikan kegagahan dan kemakmuran masyarakat Melayu... Dulu, Kini dan Selamanya.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Desparate Acts Of Survival Of Lah-ist Regime

I've been receiving all sorts of info and coms nowadays, both in the form of sms, e-mails and of course there is continuous drivel from the mainstream press. All basically excuse Pak Lah from responsibility for the election results (despite the PRU12 being declared as being "Badawi's Election" by Tun Musa Hitam the week before polling).

Some go as far as saying it is the collective fault of all too many UMNO and BN leaders. A couple even blame Tun Dr Mahathir's previous practices when in power!

Then of course there are the conspiracy theories. That Anwar and Najib are in cahoots or that Najib will not be able to survive Anwar's assault (to scare the Mahathirites). That Najib can't oppose Pak Lah due to all sorts of crimes he allegedly has committed (to scare the Najibites). Of course with the rise of Mukhriz through his letter and the petition for support for it (below) all sorts of stuff are coming out about Mukhriz.

http://bigdogdotcom.wordpress.com/2008/03/14/mukhriz-hantar-surat-minta-pm-abdullah-letak-jawatan/

http://rockybru.blogspot.com/2008/03/petition-in-support-of-mukhriz-mahathir.html

Lets re-affirm a couple of things here:

  1. BN and UMNO lost its 2/3 majority under Pak Lah's leadership. The only thing that has differed in terms of leadership of this country since the 2004 election landslide was the country experiencing 4 years of Lah-ist regime in its full glory of rising crime, reduced savings and spending power of the men and women on the street, increasing racial disharmony, Islamic deviation (Hadhari) and losing pace whilst selling-out to Singapore.
  2. The reason the younger generation of Malays is against Pak Lah is not because we don't like the NEP (which is really now the NDP). What's not to like about cheaper housing, easier access and sometimes free education, government perks, business and contracts, et al? Actually, the younger generation of Malays hate Khairy Jamaluddin and how he and his cronies have perverted and hogged all the benefits of the NDP for themselves!

4 years is more than enough Lah... just withdraw into a sleepy retirement...

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

PAS And DAP Sharing Power? Creak, Crack...

Mr Lim Kit Siang has a problem. He wants power, but to keep power, he feels he still needs to remain a champion against Islam, with PAS as his bogey-party.

In Perak, he actually needs PAS to have some power, but the problem is... he doesn't want PAS to lead the state! The tough thing for him is, even if he was OK with PAS, he can't show he's OK, so... rocky's bru: Ah, Kit Siang!

Maybe he forgot that in Selangor, he needed PAS to keep BN out too. In fact, PAS would probably prefer BN as a partner in government instead of DAP. Thank god for PKR... or so you think...

Mr Lim should worry about keeping the inter-racial harmony in the state his son does control first... news of pork being openly sold at the Bayan Lepas open market for the first time in history on 9 March '08 is ruffling Malay and Muslim feathers already...

Not so easy being a leader in a coalition is it? Peace Mr Lim!

Forget About The Post-Mortem, What Is Left To Be Done?

There are too many post mortems around already on PRU12 that it isn't worth doing another one here. None are completely satisfying, but as a collective, the following combination ends up being quite comprehensive:

My friend Ong Kian Ming's: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/79604
Bridget Welsh's for Malaysiakini: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/79677
One that completes the picture with the Malay point of view, which also doubles as a petition, is MyKMU's: http://www.mykmu.net/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=6263

All agree that the blame for BN's election losses lie in large part on Pak Lah's leadership... or lack of. Collectively, the flaws of Pak Lah's leadership analysed are so all encompassing that even his one 'positive' behaviour, devotion to his family, end up being a significant negative to the voters!

There is one problem though... PAK LAH IS STILL AROUND! He's still PM! This is of course an extremely strange situation, but then, is it really? The Lah controlled press is trying to sell the story that it's not, but we all feel this is wierd!

In 1969, the then Alliance government under Tunku Abdul Rahman also lost its 2/3 majority. It didn't lose as badly as Pak Lah's government did, but it lose the 2/3. Now, Tunku didn't step down voluntarily either, even though he was severely criticised for his losses. It took more than a year until he was forced to resign from being PM in 1970, then he stayed on as UMNO President till 1971!

Based on this lesson of history, Pak Lah's future doesn't look too bright. I mean come on, who is Pak Lah compared to Tunku Abdul Rahman? The first PM of Malaysia also founded of ASEAN, formed Malaysia, as well as led us to victor over the communists as well as Sukarno's Indonesia during Konfrantasi! Pak Lah's only father of the K(J)-Economy, the Hadhari sect and 'plays golf' with Singapore!

As Pak Lah's losses were worse than Tunku's and his achievements naught, I'd say he probably won't last longer than Tunku. The problem though is that UMNO takes A VERY LONG TIME to get rid of any leader, the higher the leader's post, the longer! A PM can do a lot of damage in a year... we've seen 4 already!

You can say its inefficient, but actually its because UMNO is Malay, and Malays are polite! See how elders like Tun Dr M and KuLi have been the ones vocally asking for Pak Lah's resignation? Even BN is being polite, with Lim Keng Yaik's hint being by far the most pointed: http://rockybru.blogspot.com/2008/03/good-advice-on-bad-advisers.html#links

So, can the rakyat do more than it already has to speed Pak Lah's exit? A petition perhaps? Banners in front of houses? Maybe even private urgings when they bump into Pak Lah at a kenduri? The job is only half done... so what is left to be done?

Untuk Apa Perjuangan

Generasi Muda Melayu sekarang amnya merasakan kehilangan sesuatu. Apa 'sesuatu' itu mungkin dirasakan berbeza bagi setiap individu, tetapi perasaan ini sering timbul sebagai suatu kekurangan malah kekosongan pada hidup, terutama sekali dalam perbualan di kalangan pemuda segenerasi.

Setiap individu manusia dijadikan Allah S.W.T. penuh dengan keperluan dan kehendak. Yang kehendak sering berkait dengan nafsu hidup, keinginan yang melepasi apa yang perlu dalam kehidupan. Keperluan pula bukan sahaja merangkumi asas hidup yang fizikal seperti makan/minum, tempat tinggal, pakaian, kenderaan, dsb, tetapi termasuk juga keperluan jiwa atau rohani.

Keperluan rohani ini mungkin berunsur membetulkan diri supaya setiap individu dapat lebih mendekati Allah, namun Islam jelas juga mendorong ummahnya untuk mengejar Keperluan di dunia mahupun di akhirat. Keperluan rohani ini amnya adalah sejenis perjuangan, baik perjuangan dalaman mahupun perjuangan menjayakan ummah di alam dunia.

Ini berkait langsung dengan kekurangan serta kekosongan yang menghantui begitu ramai generasi Muda Melayu sekarang. Ini kerana terlalu ramai dari kita sekarang tertanya-tanya,"Untuk Apa Perjuangan".

Thursday, March 06, 2008

UMNO Leadership Change A Solution To The Malay Malaise?

I received the note below as a response to my earlier posting and thought part of my response worth sharing, including also bringing in the Malaysian context.

Salam Mr Akhramsyah, I, too, have watched Tun's video clip a few nights ago and this is exactly the thing that has been dwelling in my mind the whole next day - even while in office!

As a loyal UMNO member, who still feel that UMNO is the only relevant party for Malays, I think we should try to find some ways to combat the real cause - money politics. Even Tun himself stated in his speech that he failed to combat this problem, when he himself knew that Malay voters will vote even if UMNO president chooses a tunggul kayu to represent them.

Some kind of "Perang Saraf" to change the mentality of Malay voters might be a little too ambitious, but I think, the best is to allow competition for the position of UMNO President once again (after Anwar suggested for "No Competition for the 2 top posts in 1997). Do you think anyone would dare to nominate Datuk Najib against Pak Lah in the next UMNO AGM?

Even though Najib himself is not a perfect leader (more of the lesser of 2 evils), but my naive thinking says that he'd have plans for Malays as opposed to the current PM. What say you?

On this matter, I'd rather not be too quick to prescribe and deliver a solution. Certainly what is said is a problem and certainly the revision in UMNO election laws proposed is one solution. Who challenges Pak Lah is irrelevant, but the system needs to be amended back to the nomination system that was available pre-1988, allowing a minimum 2 Bahagians to nominate leaders for any UMNO national post.

(Else, Pak Lah would have been challenged by KuLi in 2004, which KuLi would likely have lost then in my opinion).

However, there are other root cause problems with the Malays and UMNO that need to be addressed - once we have clarified and prioritised these problems, we should be able to do more than just address the more immediate problem of lack of leadership at the very top. We should try to get Malays to survive regardless of who is on top and in one go ensure the pool of people that can rise to the very top is of the highest quality.

This will also then allow Malays to clarify and re-assert its desired role as the majority race in Malaysia. This would in turn allow us to resume the road that was left post 1969, which Mahathir attempted to put us back onto with Vision 2020 and stalled under the Lah-ist regime, of making the Malaysian status of non-Malays more equitable relative to the Bumiputra.

Needless to say though, regime change has to occur in Malaysia after these elections in my mind. The current government is just too incompetent to remain as it is for all our sakes as Malaysians!

I remain, a loyal UMNO Member of Bendang Baru Branch, Langkawi.

Monday, March 03, 2008

Holier Than Thou? Prove It!

The recommendation by our former PM Tun Dr M that voters "vote for the candidate, not for the party" on this 8-3-8 election, has some interesting implications; besides the immediate memory trigger to some 'old' hacks like me on how it's an about turn from his old campaign that voters should "vote for the party, not for the candidate".

The old slogan (vote for the party) was to encourage voters not to vote for the opposition just because they are of the same race when the BN candidate is not. Anyway, that was the old story, but the reason why Tun Dr M is asking people not to vote the party but to carefully choose based on the quality of candidates these days are for some rather 'simple' reasons:
  1. He didn't choose the candidates in this election, so I can't expect him to think Pak Lah's choices were perfect!
  2. Tun Dr M may still be quite annoyed with a number of the BN candidates this year, including the AP dispensing lady, the current UMNO Sec-Gen who caused UMNO to be declared illegal 2 decades ago, a certain boy from Oxford that married well, some of his back-stabbing former assistants in Kubang Pasu, among others. All this is second guessing though, as as he is an old wise man, he may well be quite zen about all these people actually!
  3. The third reason is a bit like the first two but with a twist. Tun Dr M thinks the BN candidates list is awful but he still wants BN to win. He thinks this can only be done by getting voters to see beyond the failings of some BN leaders and choosing the best of those available from BN; which, lets face it, is probably far superior to the bad blend of the ancient, quirky, strange and baby-faced offerings from the opposition!

However, in doing so, he has implicitly thrown down the gauntlet to Malaysians to prove that they are indeed Holier than Thou! He has great hopes that the indignant crescendo that led to the resignation of a certain philandering DVD-sex minister would be repeated across the broad section of the voting public on 8-3-8, leading to a cleansing of the nation's leadership by the electorate!

On the surface, Tun Dr M's urgings that voters choose the right candidates may appear to favour the opposition. Certainly if there were any corrupt leaders to be found, they would more likely be among BN candidates, as it is the party that is in almost total control of the country. Typically, it is such power and control that breeds corruption and poor morals to the extent that cannot be ignored.

There are any number of BN leaders that should be voted out for corruption - mostly suspected, but some rather blatantly evident to the electorate, what with large houses, cars, diamonds on wives' fingers or just plain sliminess. Some are disturbing in that they are addicted to skirts. Some must be found stupid (for instance from having MBA's from fake US universities) or are just plain rude.

Quite a number of incumbent MPs need to be taught a lesson as they may have ignored the electorate. Some, even veteran ones, may have shown themselves to be 'too good' or 'too busy' for the people, by doing silly things like not helping when voters were suffering from floods. The saddest types of candidates though appear to be proxy-candidates for their parents.

For instance, the DVD-sex minister has succeeded in getting his son to run in his place for MP. Another interesting case is the 'Klang Palace' MP, who managed to get his daughter-in-law to run in his place. Surely these candidates should feel the heat of the electorate if it is clear that they are not running for themselves but as proxies to parents that are too tainted for BN to consider running!

Of course, these proxy candidates are in good company, as there is this daughter of a glamarous ex-con opposition leader also running as a proxy in KL!

Now, Tun Dr M is not a stupid man. Surely when he said what he said, he didn't intend for the opposition to gain such a big advantage against BN. In his heart he probably realised that the opposition had hopeless candidates too. In fact, the opposition's weakness is most evident at the top, among its leaders!

  1. The DAP's Lim Kit Siang likes to accuse BN of race-based politics, but does this whilst allowing his party to be disproportionately Chinese in agenda and leadership. In contrast, BN till now remains the party that fields the most candidates differing from the majority race in a constituency. Perhaps Kit Siang is still living down the legacy of his screaming for Malays to leave KL and pissing on the Malaysian flagpole at the Selangor MB's house in 1969?
  2. PAS on the other hand is led by a Malay leader that on one hand declares the need for an Islamic state, but on the other condemned some Muslims as being deviant based on party affiliation. He thinks sins hence can be done against Muslims who are not PAS members! You'd think that he and Kit Siang would get along swimmingly as they both hate BN, but they don't!
  3. Then of course there is the most celebrated ex-con politician in the world, Anwar Ibrahim. Here is a man famous for being against corruption despite being convicted of the criminal offence of corruption and abuse of power! His crime? Instructing the police to break the law and act against his enemies! Amazingly, some still believe he was a 'political prisoner'! And then of course there was the other thing... ooops... innocent by technicality!

So, on the one hand, Tun Dr M wants us to choose BN candidates, but only those that are of worth. At the same time, his request forces us to also look at the alternatives among the opposition with a more critical eye. This must leave voters with quite a problem in some constituencies I am sure. Then again, no one said being Holier than Thou was going to be easy...! Correct, correct correct...!

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Yang Ku Ingin Menjelang 8-3-8

Ku ingin anakku berlari selamat di taman,
Ku ingin isteriku tersenyum belanja lumayan di pasaran,
Ku ingin kocekku tak kerana hutang beratnya,
Ku ingin zuriatku Islam tanpa had harinya,
Ku rindu sekali rasa percaya terhadap pemimpinku,
Ku tak mahu lagi hina ditertawa musuh bangsa, negaraku,
Apakah akan ku nikmati ini semua menjelang tarikh keramat tilik Cina 8/3/2008?

Nukilan di atas hasil rasa gelisah saya sebagai seorang ahli UMNO yang melihat Barisan Nasional seolah terkapar-kapar pada pilihanraya ini. Di antara yang membimbangkan saya adalah:
  1. Kebimbangan terhadap peningkatan kos hidup belum ditangani dengan efektif sepanjang musim pilihanraya ini. Hanya harga minyak yang diperbicarakan, tetapi kebimbangan sedia ada hasil isu gula, minyak masak dan tepung yang saling berganti. Usaha kerajaan menangani ini sama ada diketahui tidak berkesan atau menimbulkan kebingungan.
  2. Perasaan tentang kehilangan berterusan adik Sharlinie berubah dari kebimbangan menjadi kerunsingan apabila dimaklumkan bahawa usaha polis terpaksa dikurangkan supaya perjalanan pilihanraya boleh dipantau. Sudah tentu ini bukan menggambarkan niat pemerintah? Bukankah keselamatan anak-anak murapakan antara tanggungjawab utama.
  3. Sebagai anak Kedah, terguris hati bila diisytiharkan yang peperangan politik paling sengit sedang berlaku di Pulau Pinang, Terengganu dan Kelantan. Tidakkah para pemimpin teratas sedar akan keadaan yang melanda Kedah kini, terumbang-ambing hasil penamaan calon yang kurang sesuai dan ketiadaan para ulama UMNO yang berupaya mempertahankan Islam Hadhari?

Namun dari segi politik, UMNO dan BN mungkin sekali bernasib baik yang para pembangkang di negara kita ini masih agak pincang idea, upaya dan pengalamannya. Ya lah, niat sendiri-sendiri mungkin baik, tetapi keikhlasan dan kewibawaan mereka terus menjadi tanda-tanya. Contohnya:

  1. Sejauh manakah upaya rakyat Melayu menerima DAP yang ternyata mewar-warkan niat untuk membawa keadilan sejagat antara kaum dan menjayakan Bangsa Malaysia sebagai muslihat untuk melupuskan hak istimewa orang Melayu. Bayangan hubungan erat mereka dengan dalang PAP Singapura tetap menimbul kesangsian...
  2. Yang si Anwar pula, tak habis agenda untuk memastikan paling kurang adalah satu kerusi Parlimen yang bakal dipegang PKR untuk diambil-alih olehnya sejurus tamat tempoh pengharaman beliau dari politik. Sekali lagi terlihat ini perjuangan Anwar, bukan perjuangan rakyat. Sampai Hidraf yang ekstrimis pun ditunggang olehnya.
  3. Di arena web pula, usaha murni Raja Petra Kamaruddin mengeluarkan Deklarasi Rakyat menjadi bahan tertawa. Pembangkang tertawa sebab mereka dapat tumpang gratis usaha besar yang tidak mampu dihasilkan oleh mereka sendiri. Yang Kerajaan tertawa sebab senang sahaja mereka berkata..."kalau pembangkang berkuasa, mereka pun mahu terus menggunakan ISA, memasang kaki sebagai hakim, dapat kontrek"...

Walaubagaimanapun, BN harus waspada. Kini ada kemungkinan pengundi mengundi bukan kerana parti, bukan kerana sayang pembangkang, bukan kerana perkiraan untung-rugi pembangunan. Agenda pengundi sekarang mungkin melonjak menyokong pembangkang kerana marah terhadap kerajaan.

Marah pengundi kepada kerajaan kali ini bukan kerana marah kalah pemimpin seperti pilihanraya "Semangat 46" pada 1990. Bukan kerana marah kerana kesian "faktor Anwar" pada 1999. Marah kali ini kerana marah peribadi, marah yang dibara emosi yang membawa dan tak putus dibawa diri. Inilah yang patut ditangani pemimpin UMNO dan BN dalam beberapa hari ini... sebelum tarikh 8/3/2008 menjelma hakikatnya keramat buat siapa...

Monday, February 18, 2008

Antara Tunggul, Kayu Jati Dan Buluh Muda

Dewasa ini negara dilanda pelbagai spekulasi yang lazim berlaku menjelang pilihanraya. Ada generasi tua yang dipinta malah bersedia berundur bagi memberi jalan kepada generasi muda. Ada yang telah lanjut umur namun ternyata masih berwibawa dan harus dikekalkan. Ada anak muda yang tidak segan-segan menawarkan diri untuk dipertimbangkan sebagai calon wakil rakyat.

Malangnya ada juga segolongan yang masih ingin kekal abadi dalam kedudukan enak sebagai wakil rakyat, terutama sekali di kawasan-kawasan parlimen atau DUN yang dikira 'selamat' oleh parti. Ini walaupun mungkin dari pelbagai segi, mereka ternyata sudah 'tamat tempoh' perkhidmatan. Contoh terulung di antara golongan 'tamat tempoh' adalah Datuk Paduka Abu Bakar Taib, ahli Parlimen Langkawi.

Datuk Bakaq seperti dikenali oleh masyarakat Langkawi, merupakan anak pulau yang diakui sopan dan murah hatinya di sekitar Kampung Raja. Dari kedudukan sebagai seorang pegawai kerajaan, beliau dibawa masuk ke alam politik oleh mantan Menteri Besar Kedah, Tan Sri Sanusi Junid, juga bekas ahli Perlimen Langkawi, sebagai usaha Tan Sri bagi memberi peluang kepada anak pulau untuk mewakili Langkawi di peringkat kerajaan pusat pada satu masa kelak.

Malangnya, walaupun Datuk Bakaq memang ahli dalam selok-belok politik kampungan, dan mungkin berwibawa dalam menjalankan tugas kerajaan, usaha beliau tidaklah setanding pencapaian ahli Parlimen segenerasi dengannya. Datuk Bakaq bukan sekadar lebih tua dari 'sponsornya' Tan Sri Sanusi, malah duduk segenerasi dengan Datuk Paduka Rafidah Aziz dan Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, yang terlihat jauh kebilangan dalam bandingan.

Mungkin juga Datuk Bakaq lambat naik sebab beliau lambat aktif politik, tetapi apabila kita meninjau kabinet pada zaman Datuk Bakaq menjadi Setiausaha Parlimen, yang sama tahap dengannya pada masa itu termasuklah Datuk Shafie Apdal yang kini sudah mencapai tahap Menteri. Datuk Mahathir Khir pula telah menyertai kerajaan di kemudian hari dan terus ke taraf Timbalan Menteri. Datuk Bakaq malangnya telah lama hilang kedudukan kerajaannya.

Datuk Bakaq suka menggunakan modal yang kekalnya beliau di Langkawi adalah kerana orang Langkawi mahukan orang pulau dan tidak mahu orang luar. Ini adalah modal lama beliau yang digunakan untuk merampas kedudukan Ketua Bahagian UMNO Langkawi dahulu. Ini bagi menyembunyikan tangan Datuk Anwar Ibrahim yang sebenarnya menggunakan Datuk Bakaq dalam usaha menjatuhkan Tan Sri Sanusi Junid dari kepimpinan bahagian. Datuk Bakaq hanya sekadar alat...

Datuk Bakaq mungkin lega yang sesudah Anwar disingkirkan yang beliau sebagai 'orang Anwar' kekal sebagai ahli Parlimen dan Ketua Bahagian Langkawi. Beliau mungkin tidak sedar yang Tun Dr Mahathir mengekalkan Tan Sri Sanusi sebagai pengerusi BN bahagian seketika untuk mengekalkan perpaduan UMNO dan BN. Beliau juga terus dikekalkan sementara anak-anak muda Langkawi seperti 'Nawi' (ADUN Kuah, Ir. Nawawi Ahmad) dan Mohd Rawi Abd Hamid.

Malang pula nasib Nawi, yang apabila Rawi, Ketua Pemuda Langkawi merangkap Ketua Pemuda Kedah, bangun mengecam Tun Dr Mahathir pada kemuncak perbalahan Tun dan Pak Lah, Nawi sebagai 'senior' Rawi saling tercemar nama di kalangan penduduk Langkawi yang sememangnya mengenang budi dan jasa Tun kepada pembangunan serta kemakmuran rakyat Langkawi. Sejurus selepas Rawi terlepas kata, 3,000 penduduk Langkawi menyambut kedatangan Tun.

Mungkin ada juga penduduk Langkawi yang tertanya-tanya kenapa Datuk Bakaq sendiri tidak bangun mempertahankan Tun Dr M pada masa itu?

Keinginan Datuk Bakaq untuk kekal sebagai ahli Parlimen Langkawi kini mengancam kerusi-kerusi Parlimen mahupun DUN yang sudah selamat bagi UMNO dan BN sekian lama. Nawi dan/atau Rawi semestinya bercita-cita untuk bertanding pada kali ini, dan anak pulau berdua ini tidak boleh dibawa ke arah kemenangan dalam gandingan dengan Datuk Bakaq. Luka lama sekitar penghinaan terhadap Tun Dr M masih belum terubat.

Datuk Mahadzir Khalid kelihatan sedar akan perkara ini. Dalam usahanya mengubat luka di Langkawi serta Kedah, beliau sudah mencadangkan anak bongsu Tun Dr M, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, yang terlihat dinamis sebagai seorang usahawan mahupun dalam kepimpinan parti dan pergerakan NGO untuk mengambil tempat Datuk Bakaq sebagai calon Parlimen Langkawi. Pencalonan beliau akan dilihat sebahagian dari pohonan maaf pemimpin UMNO negeri kepada Tun Dr M.

Namun Datuk Bakaq tetap berdegil ingin mengekalkan kedudukannya...

http://bigdogdotcom.wordpress.com/2008/02/18/langkawi-umno-secretary-made-a-unilateral-statement/

Kenapakah Datuk Bakaq begitu degil dalam tindak-tanduknya? Begitu sekali degilnya sehingga 24 dari 91 cawangan UMNO Langkawi yang dipimpin kaum keluarganya jauh-dekat serta rakan-taulannya dikerah untuk menuntut pengekalannya. Tidakkah beliau sedar yang di kalangan pemimpin 24 cawangan ini pun, terlalu ramai yang malu-alah menyokongnya hanya kerana sopan-santun Melayu yang tidak menolak permintaan orang tua keluarga?

Datuk Bakaq bukanlah Kayu Jati yang kian kuat dari zaman ke zaman seperti Tunku Razaleigh Hamzah (KuLi) yang penting dalam usaha mengembalikan Kelantan kepada UMNO walaupun usianya menjangkau 70 tahun. Datuk Bakaq patut memberi peluang kepada Buluh Muda seperti Datuk Mukhriz untuk bertanding dan meruncing demi masa depan Langkawi, Kedah dan UMNO.

Langkawi tidak perlu tunggul kayu dalam susunan tiang pembangunannya...

Akhramsyah Muammar Ubaidah bin Sanusi
Ahli UMNO Cawangan Bendang Baru, Langkawi

Monday, February 04, 2008

ALERT: Tangential Approach To Kidnapping

I was alerted yesterday of a disturbingly insidious new approach to kidnapping now being attempted by persons unknown.

Yesterday, a school in Kota Damansara received a call from a person claiming to be the father of a 7-year old female student. The man supposedly gave sufficient identification to convince the school staff of the authenticity of the call, resulting in the girl being held back from taking her normal school bus home.

At about 6pm, 2 hours after school ended, a concerned teacher at the school called the girl's father, a close friend of my wife's sister, to ask why his daughter had not been picked up. The father was shocked as he had not made the call...

The girl is safe, and the father agreed for the teacher to deliver her safely home. The father then lodged a police report at Pondok Polis Mutiara Damansara with my brother-in-law as a witness. The police report no is: KOTA DAMANSARA/000703/08

Some lessons to be learned here:
  1. Personal identification and details of parents and their children are not as private and privileged as we may believe in this day and age, where verbal confirmation by IC may no longer be sufficient to ensure a child's safety. Hence, any identity claims over the phone need to be verified with rigour; a call-back to registered phone numbers to confirm should be a minimum.
  2. The girl was saved thanks to the actions of the concerned teacher. This emphasises the role that schools, with both its teaching and non-teaching staff, must play to ensure the safety of our children. Yet again, it appears the teaching profession is burdened well beyond their collective pay, but I as a parent for one would pay with all my dignity in begging that they all be as vigilant as the teacher above when caring for my children.
  3. The scope of operations of such predators of our children appear not to be confined to the Wangsa Maju and Kampung Medan side of the city where Nurin and Sharlinie disappeared. They have now made a showing on the other side of KL. There are hence no 'safe areas' where we may relax our guard from the risks that are evident to children in KL today.

Please spread the word, and in doing so, pass the message that vigilance is paramount in keeping our children safe...

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Farewell Old Ben...

It is a rare occassion when both my father and I lose a friend to the hereafter on the same day, and it happened today. I am saddened by the passing of my old friend Adlan Benan Omar, better known as Ben Omar to many, but I was also relieved, having seen how he suffered in dignity when I last visited him almost 2 weeks ago.

The Germans have a tradition of saying very few words of mourning whilst reminiscing all the fine memories of friends and family that have passed on, often over drinks, as a celebration of a good life having come to a conclusion. In line with one of Ben's old tendencies to enjoy things German, I shall do this.

To have died at the age of 35 may have seem tragic to many, but as Ben had known of the likely shortness of his life since he was 18, he had driven himself to filling his life with purpose from the time I got to know him. It was evident to me as we were first introduced only months prior to the diagnosis of his illness.

Before we met, I was told by another old friend that,"You will like Ben, you'll see. He has this charisma, a way with words, articulate, very opinionated."

"He's an a**hole?",I asked.

"He's an a**hole. Like I said, you'll like him",was the response. To my relief, Ben was not a Gunners fan, which would have been intolerable, as he was exactly the type of a**hole to others that I was happy to call friend.

One could say that we were surprisingly close for potential rivals. We shared many ideals; patriotism, respect for history. He was a Minang traditionalist with intimations of nobility, which made him easy for me to read in terms of motive, if not method. He also easily appreciated my anarchic version of nationalism, which helped. (I think he felt me little better than a proper anarchist in use of words).

From Ben I better appreciated the value and joy of being different, in which he revelled. He was always the first to support an initiative, and was very good at picking winners as he judged initiatives not on the potential benefits alone, but on nobility of purpose and the values and merits of the people involved.

This sometimes gave rise to suspicion of ambition, yes the thing that got Gaius Julius Caeser killed, but like Caeser, his ambition was always with a sense of giving or ultimately noble intentions, though his methods are oft misconstrued.

His achievements in leadership are uncommon, if not unique, for someone so young. He was in turn:
  1. Elected student MP at the English Public School he attended as a JPA/BTU scholar for his A-Levels, Abingdon School. This was impressive for a foreign student whom had joined the school as a 6th former only months before and had won under the ticket of his own 'party', None Of The Above (NOTA), against local Young Labour and Young Conservative candidates.

  2. Founder and I believe first Secretary of the Cambridge University Malaysian Society (CUMaS).

  3. Pro-tem Chairman and Founder, then Chairman, of the United Kingdom Executive Council for Malaysian Students, UKEC (now a UK and Eire council). We founded this together with Don Rahim, Omar Siddiq, Badlisyah Ghani, Flora Romeo, Eqhwan Mokhzanee, Lim Chong Han, Munir Aziz together with others friends...

  4. Secretary General of Party KeAdilan Rakyat Youth.
I am sure I have missed many other achievements. Ben also had a student, then professional life in the midst of many quests in leadership, but it is to my regret that I am incapable of chronicling these as we grew apart from the final year of our studies abroad. I understand he chose to be a banker over becoming a lawyer or historian as he was schooled, yet again bucking a typical Malaysian trend.

We became 'occassional acquaintences' again over the last 5 years, when I first returned to Malaysia ~4+ years ago.

Over these last few years, Ben and I would arrange to meet at least once a year, as he strove to find a purpose that would best fill what would be the last years of his life. Whilst he had suffered disappointment in youth party politics, he never dropped his chin on our encounters. What we shared in motives and purpose seemed little changed. In meetings big and small, he made an impression.

Only months ago, I was sorry to hear that I had missed just one such event where Ben stood to give concise, precise, strong and credible opinions in a forum of political players young and old, hosted and presided by none other than Tan Sri Tunku Razaleigh Hamzah. Those few who did not know his name talked of an impressive young man standing with a stick and the dignity of an elder.

This should have come as no surprise, as during his time as a party youth leader, his sharp wit and tongue had impressed even at the prestigious forums hosted by the Johns Hopkins University in the US. There he well surpassed his Malaysian contemporaries present in open forum, frustrating the likes of Khairy Jamaluddin among others, with quality of argument.

There is a rumour, I would like to think well founded, that Ben was involved in the penning of an entire book on the machinations of KJ and his minions. That I mention it here shows that such an effort was yet again to Ben's credit.

I will miss this friend of mine, not because we were buddies or relied on each other in any way, but in just knowing a man I uniquely respected for his values, that held strong and suffered little changing over the years. Over the last year or so, Ben was busy fulfilling his Minang obligations as guardian to his niece, eventual heir to the property of his mother's line. Traditionalist to the end.

I was glad to have had the opportunity to say goodbye to Ben and hope he had understood and shared that final encounter to bind us. I write this as my second last gift in fond memory of him as a friend. My final gift will honour his memory as a leader and historian par excellence from our generation.

Adlan Benan Omar

1973 - 2008

Monday, January 21, 2008

And The Winner Of The Lingam Inquiry Is... Pak Lah?!

In case you are out of touch, this piece is not about the popular chilli sauce brand of the same name... of course I'm talking about the VK Lingam video inquiry! True to my tradition, I jump in as people are getting a little less excited... no scrap that, I can see some people are probably more excited, but generally, everyone is getting more 'blur' about the whole inquiry.

As to how I am 'blur', as an Energy Economist, I wish to understand who benefits from the Royal Commission of Inquiry on the VK Lingam Video*. I mean come on, for what other reason would anyone pursue anything... to gain. We the public certainly wish to gain more insight on what the guy who looks like and talks like VK Lingam in the video is talking about.

But hold on, why do I as a member of the public want to know more about what he's talking about? Ah, perhaps I wish to be assured of the independence of the judiciary. Mmm... independence from what? Crime and criminal elements? Bias? Sure, this is of material concern to me. But the inquiry is on the appointment of judges. So how again is this going to benefit me?

Are our judges releasing criminals from judgement? No? Or perhaps we dislike some of their judgements. Are they too harsh or too lenient? Maybe they judge on principles we disagree with. Or maybe we don't like how they look, you know, in photos that show they may be biased. OK, I'm not really sure now why we don't like how judges are chosen, but lets just change the person picking them!

But the trial isn't about judges picked by Pak Lah, who as PM, currently does the picking of these judges. It's about judges picked by the former PM, Dr M. So the inquiry is about how the person who is no longer picking judges picked judges. OK, so why are we pursuing this? Ah, maybe by chasing the old PM we can make an example of him for the current and future PM.

Many people say Dr M seemed 'blur' also during his testimony, but...

I actually don't recall any major public outcry on judge appointments or any time the Malay Rulers did not approve Dr M's choice of judges when he was in power. OK, the Bar Council sometimes complained, but they're lawyers... A lot of noise over Tun Salleh Abbas' dismissal as Lord President, but the Agong consented even with that. No major issues on judicial appointments though.

Dr M testified that it was his perogative to choose whomsoever he pleases to be a judge. This is of course true. This is one of the functions we voted him in to perform as PM. And constitutionally, I suppose Dr M could have picked the man who used to sell him Apam on the recommendation of a regular Pekan Rabu beggar to be Chief Justice... assuming the Agong agrees of course.

From Dr M's testimony, Lingam's would have been just one of many voices he listened to. I would personally have chosen to investigate Dr M's driver - Dr M would have been listening to him all the time! Dr M listened to people and picked judges, it was his job, and if we didn't like how he picked judges, we should have voted him out no? But its too late! So, how does this inquiry benefit us again?

Actually, this being the Lingam inquiry, it should have come as no surprise to me that Lingam's testimony cause me to 'blur' the most. First, he claimed he did not know of any recording. The persons recording (businessman Loh Mui Fan and son) claimed it all happened, but now we have a case of he said-they said. Then of course, we have him saying he could have been drunk and talking rubbish.

Technical analysis proved that it was Lingam's voice on the tape (hence, "talks (rubbish) like me"). However, no one can say who was on the other side. (The person who looks like) Lingam on the video said (like Lingam) it was ex-Chief Justice Fairuz. Lingam testified he didn't know who it was. Is this rubbish? Was Lingam drunk when he testified? Is he drunk and talking rubbish all the time?

Now, if no technical evidence emerges to prove that Tun Fairuz was the person on the other line, the case will basically come down to this:
  • Even if Lingam was the person who looked and talked like him on the video, he may have been talking rubbish
  • He may have been talking rubbish to his brother (who is supposed to be nuts and hates Lingam) or someone else whilst claiming it was Tun Fairuz
  • His recommendations would be just one of many sorts of rubbish thrown at Dr M on which judges should be picked
  • Dr M is just as likely to pick anyone based on any old rubbish reason anyway as a judge for royal consent, and this would not be a crime

So, how would we benefit from knowing all this? Still blur...

Whilst we continue to blur on this, may I suggest we mull over who would definitely benefit from this trial:

Loh Mui Fan and son - actually I don't know how they benefit, but one does wonder... If he cared about the nation, the video would have come out years ago. Why didn't someone in the inquiry ask this question? The guy is a businessman who likes to bring wine to Lingam's house, perhaps because he enjoyed Lingam talking rubbish. So how does he benefit from this video's release now?

Anwar Ibrahim - The most publicity hungry politician in Malaysia was responsible for distributing the tape, and we thought it was for publicity. What he hopes to gain is apparent now that his lawyer is trying to get the inquiry to consider events in 1999. He's still gagging to clear his name from the corruption conviction (He's corrupt? No...) and the stain of being... you know (technically innocent though!).

The Malaysian Bar Council - They were the loudest in demanding the shortening of Tun Fairuz's tenure as Chief Justice. So, they must now prove that they were right, that Tun Fairuz was guilty of being under the influence of Lingam's rubbish. However, if the inquiry found Tun Fairuz likely to be innocent...

Pak Lah - Pak Lah? Sure, it's obvious he would benefit. Why would his government be allowing this rubbish to proceed without hindrance otherwise? Why is government controlled media covering this in such detail if he isn't benefiting? Having everyone focus on this historical rubbish is distracting everyone from the most politically motivated judicial appointment in Malaysian history.

Tan Sri Dato' Zaky Tun Azmi, former deputy chief of UMNO's Disciplinary Committee, stalwart UMNO lawyer, a noted expert in constitutional and election law, was 'parachuted' by Pak Lah into the post of President of the Court of Appeals on 5th December 2007, 2 months after being injected to the Federal bench, bypassing some 80+ other judges of more judicial experience in the process.

This appointment of Pak Lah's would hence likely be Malaysia's Chief Judge some time in 2008.

This blog reference gives more (scarier) info: http://asme.wordpress.com/2007/12/06/new-chief-justice/

So, isn't it wonderfull for Pak Lah that as his party really takes control of the judiciary, everyone is busy looking at an inquiry over a potentially drunk lawyer talking rubbish? Ergo, Pak Lah is probably the biggest beneficiary of this inquiry!

There is one potential spoiler though. I understand Tun Fairuz is pissed-off over his name being dragged through the mud over this. I wonder what Tun Fairuz would reveal on the stand. Would he reveal his correspondence with Pak Lah on Tan Sri Zaky's appointment? Would he reveal the instructions over the appointment of judges for Anwar's successful appeal from the 'other' conviction?

How indeed would anyone benefit then... blur, blur... rubbish!

*Commission of Inquiry of the Video Clip Recording of Images of a Person Purported to be an Advocate and Solicitor Speaking on the Telephone on Matters Regarding the Appointment of Judges Under The Commissions of Inquiry Act 1950.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Much Ado About Cooking Oil

There is a Shakespearean tangent to emphasise here, the 'much ado about nothing'-ness around the cooking oil saga.

The hero of the hour on the cooking oil crisis, just as for the salt crisis, should be Datuk Shafie Apdal, the of late oft embattled Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister. Here is the man in charge of not simply the to-and-fro-ing of local trade affairs, but also key 'vote-sensitive' items, such as the price control policy for food items.

The price control policy around food items is not just a key vote winner/loser because we 'holier than thou' Malaysians wish to keep food costs low for the lower income earners. It is important because we Malaysians are a nation of eaters! Yes, that's right, we may be of different races, religions and socio-political backgrounds. We may be nationalists, liberalist, religionist, socialist and dare I say some still communist. But transcending all this, WE MALAYSIANS MUST HAVE OUR FOOD!

Now food is not just a simple necessity for us to live. I mean, what's the point of living if there is no good food around! Malaysian students from various countries in Europe, Oceania, the Middle East, the Americas, don't often discuss their academic results when they call home, but MUST asssure their mothers that they are not suffering too much from the lack of good and proper tasting Malaysian food... and that the microwaved corn-dog they are eating is OK....

So when Datuk Shafie Apdal heard about the cooking oil 'shortage', one would expect him to react as any Malaysian would - he probably panicked! And this so soon after the salt crisis! One can just imagine the concerns popping into his head:
  • Oh god, what will my wife say! We had a tiff already when I couldn't get her salt the last time!
  • Does this mean we will have to cancel our kenduri this weekend? Oh my god, will the hotels have to start cancelling wedding functions?
  • Aiya, do I dare even have lunch at the 'Maple' later? I may be pestered by the 'Kuey Teow Special' guy...
  • Man, will they still keep me after the elections... Chinese New Year's coming... Chinese votes!

Seized with the horror of this last thought, Shafie decided he had to inform the PM. He was lucky, Pak Lah was in the office and had just had his nap... he was at his best! Pak Lah probably had a quick response for Datuk Shafie as he happened to have a whole floor of Oxbridge and other young graduate types to refer to for solutions and he reassured Shafie...

  • This was a good thing, as it would stop people actively being Holier Than Thou about Chua Soi Lek.
  • Shafie's ministry should confirm whether this cooking oil 'shortage' is real or just a rumour.
  • Shafie should immediately suggest measures - it seems a PPE graduate from Oxford recalled rationing as a good measure to manage shortages of goods by Winston Churchill's cabinet during World War II. As this idea was recalled by an Oxford 1/3 economist, Pak Lah suggests Shafie apply this measure.
  • In the meantime, the PM recalled a meeting the next day to discuss Palm Oil Industry where Shafie is involved. As in Pak Lah's mind Palm Oil and Cooking Oil is about the same, he thought it a perfect occassion to discuss and resolve the crisis. Peter Chin, Primary Industries Minister, he is sure would understand that this was a national crisis!
  • Some Machiavelli on the 4th floor then suggests that the DPM be 'tested' with this issue too... but by this time, Shafie had signed off...

Shafie was much calmed by the call and was able to think critically for the first time. He thought it was a little difficult to implement this rationing thing as he doesn't really know how to enforce it! However, it now has the PM's endorsement, so he'll carry on with it anyway to keep Pak Lah happy. He then called up his ministry's chief secretary (KSU) to begin 'confirming' this rumour...

Meanwhile, at Tescoes Hypermart Taman Tin Doc Mail, the floor manager on duty was puzzling over why consumers, led by an earlier hoard of workers wearing the uniform of a GLC where a young family member of Pak Tam's worked (see http://thoughtsintangents.blogspot.com/2008/01/cooking-oil-cooking-oil-where-art-thou.html), were buying cooking oil as if it were petrol the day before a fuel subsidy cut. He was about to call his wife when he received a call from someone in the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, asking him whether he was suffering from a 'shortage' in cooking oil.

Now, this floor manager was a good company man. So, after finishing his 1/2 hour gossip with the ministry official, where he learned more about this 'shortage', he then calmly called HQ and informed them of 'intel' from the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry of a cooking oil shortage, confirmed by strange behaviour of a hoard of staff from a Palm Oil related GLC! Being a good hubby, he then called his wife, who happened to be floor manager at Gigantic Hypermart...

By the end of the day, Shafie was ready and confidently declared to the media that 'rationing' of cooking oil will be the 'temporary solution', until supplies of cooking oil are brought in.

Seeing all this in the news, Pak Ya, a retired civil servant, decided to have some fun. He and his wife went down to Tescoes to enjoy the show. There he saw scenes never before seen in Malaysian retail. Cooking oil was whizzing off the shelves. Not only Palm Oil based stuff, but Sunflower, Canola, even the hydrib lo-cal Palm Oil and premium grade Olive Oil stuff! At the counters, fathers and mothers were coordinating their children to queue in separate checkout lanes with 5kg of cooking oil each.

Pak Ya then encountered a fellow retiree, Pak Bakaq. They laughed about the whole thing for a while then spoke to a young reporter, showing off their wisdom by declaring 'there is no shortage', 'people are panicking for no reason' and 'government should just allow market forces to play its role'. Pak Ya and wife then chose to join the fun themselves, queueing in separate lanes and buying 5kg of cooking oil each...

In the meantime, Pak Lah has chosen to announce that he is taking the lead by discussing the 'shortage' at the Palm Oil Industry cabinet meeting. Unfortunately, Pak Lah's boys have not been coordinating things with the DPM Najib's office (why would they?), otherwise, they might have known that Najib had discovered and was announcing his by far more accurate finding that there was no shortage of cooking oil! As a concession to his cabinet colleagues, he had rather fortunately tried to slant his announcement so as not to be too contradictory!

Not surprising really that Najib's office got it more accurately, as his people included a larger number of experienced people, closer to Pak Ya's age, whom he would consult on such matters. Clearly 35+ years of experience in addition to a full UM Econs degree trumps a 5 yr Oxford PPE grad most days of the week.

Anyway, the saga continues to play out with an announcement by Shafie Apdal that the government would now 'flood' the market with cooking oil to resolve the issue (announced after the Palm Oil Industry cabinet meeting). Wow... so was the government hoarding all the cooking oil all this time? No, they just needed to give the proper incentive to the producers I imagine. So, there never really was a shortage of cooking oil then...

Fortunately for the government, as is usually the case in this country as it is in this story, the Malaysian opposition is... nowhere...

References:

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/1/7/nation/20080107130959&sec=nation

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/1/7/nation/20080107145435&sec=nation

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/1/6/nation/19931842&sec=nation

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/1/8/nation/19942249&sec=nation

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/1/8/nation/19942249&sec=nation

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Cooking Oil, Cooking Oil, Where Art Thou Cooking Oil...

This blogger was recently accused of needing a sex scandal to resume writting. Whilst not denying such things can be inspirational, may I be 'holier than thou' here by proclaiming that it was the clear degeneration in Moral Standards in our leadership that 'inspired' me!

Be that as it may, I now feel compelled to further prove my worth by borrowing from Shakespeare to alude to the fact that not only sex-scandalised Federal Ministers are so cultured, but also to write on something completely devoid of sexual intonations to us 'holier..', cooking oil!

Actually, I had loads in mind to write until I saw the good work done by fellow blogger lulu, and was compelled to quote her instead when agreeing, disappearance of cooking oil may be partly due to high CPO price (indicative of high edible oils price in general as well)...

http://whatalulu.blogspot.com/2008/01/then-it-suddenly-struck-lulu.html

...and likely has very little to do with a prompt 'population explosion' as believed by a certain minister... unless the 'explosion' was due to sudden massive imports of cooking-oil guzzling illegal workers (jeng-jeng!) or if Siti Nurhaliza has been heavily campaigning for the feeding of cooking oil to the more modest baby output making it look like an explosion, of which she has not ...

http://whatalulu.blogspot.com/2008/01/lulus-wondering-if-we-had-sudden.html

This theory of lulu's that price controlled goods are being affected by such shortages more than others is also plausible, though maybe some general economics discussion would be prudent to explain why this may be happening to us Malaysians...

http://whatalulu.blogspot.com/2008/01/lulu-wonders-whats-next.html

OK, everyone who pretends to know economics reckons it is all to do with 'supply and demand'. Unfortunately for many of us, since the publishing of the Undercover Economist among other books, more have begun to understand that economics and the movement of goods is actually more to do with marginal supply and marginal demand.

What do I mean by 'marginal' - well marginal here means effectively the last ton, lori, kg, tanker, litre, bottle, metre, cup or whatever unit/resceptacle of a product that is or may be sold at any time. Movements of marginal supply and demand levels are not necessarily indicative of a shortage in a market for a good, but it may indicate why goods are not being sold.

So, time now for a motherhood statement - just because I like them as it makes me look important! THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF COOKING OIL GLOBALLY AND CERTAINLY NOT IN MALAYSIA, ONE OF THE BIGGEST MARGINAL PRODUCERS OF EDIBLES OILS!

There is however a structural problem with the country's ability to efficiently distribute food, leading to issues of availability at certain locations at certain times and a need for a better supply chain as one can read from these articles on the web for starters:

http://www.econ.upm.edu.my/~peta/nik/nikmustapha.html
http://www.isis.org.my/files/pubs/papers/LWFoodSecurity&EconomicGrowth.pdf

No mention of cooking oil though, so how is this relevant? It is relevant in the context of the one source of news that Malaysians all rely on... gossip! Compounded by the biggest authority that shapes consumer market movements in the country, rumour!

It begins with Makcik Lela, who whinges to her friend that she couldn't find anything but Mazola at the supermarket. She just happened to mention this while passing by the kedai kopi where Pak Tam, happily asked the owner if he has oil. The owner says yes, but his Minyak Cap Kerja feels like is getting more expensive. Maybe it is because there is less Minyak Cap Kerja since the kedai kopi owner of course knows all about Supply and Demand. Other patrons nod their head in shared wisdom over cups of kopi-o.

Pak Tam in panic rushes home, instructs his wife to rush to the local kedai runcit and buy up all the Mazola left. Whilst his wife rushes along to buy Mazola, which she never buys, spreading gossip along the way, Pak Tam chooses to alert his daughter and all his daughter in-laws of the rumour of a shortage in cooking oil. "Remember the salt shortage?" he says,"This is worse!"

In due course, one of the younger members of Pak Tam's family finds it to be his civic duty to warn the entire staff of his GLC as well as his entire high school alumni and futsal club of the shortage in cooking oil. These fellows in turn decide that they should sms people as people should be warned promptly, and many are not on the web! Then the 'news' reaches the ears of a few politicians, many still reeling and gleeing over a DVD Sex-Scandal, as well as a few bloggers...

OK, I digress...

As I mentioned, back to marginal economics, lulu did have a point when linking the cooking oil and other recent shortages with our government's controlled goods policy. All in all, the policy is a good one as it provides some cost security of some critical food items to the populace, of significant benefit to the poor, but a benefit shared by all.

However, the government must also remember that businesses that produce these goods are there to make money. So, unless these businesses find it favourable and profitable to produce these goods for local consumption, these producers would rather produce the goods for export to more profitable markets or worse, not produce anything at all! They are not 'holier than thou'.

The solution, beyond the distribution issue mentioned earlier, would likely be a review of the control elements, such as price, or perhaps even the systems, mechanisms and processes underlying the control goods policy itself. In the end, whilst controling the cost of cooking oil, salt or other goods for public good, the government must ensure the prices are still better than the marginal cost of supply for the producer, and if needed, better than the marginal export options.

Of course, you need to find better people that those consultants who proposed the National Automotive Policy, but then I am holier than thou...

... by the way, was it those jokers or their friends on the 4th floor who suggested that 'rationing' of cooking oil was a solution. Hahahaha... what sort of unenforcable inefficient measure is this! Do we have to show our MyKad before buying now? Maybe queue at the nearest cooking oil AP holder's place?

PS - I hear even the PM is weighing in on this one now. Come on Pak Lah! It seems only you can solve such a difficult problem affecting so many voters! I'm sure as Finance Minister you know all about Marginal Economics...

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Morality Or Dogma: Religious Poli-Posturing Revealed Post DVD Sex-Scandal?

The saga of Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek's DVD Sex Scandal may appear to have come to a satisfying end with his resignation on 2 Jan 2008. However, there now comes an aftermath that is providing us with further insight on how our political leaders seem to be confused between the truth held by all religions on the necessity of the practice of high morals vs. the political need to defend religion.

We begin with Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek's own continuing contribution, encapsulated by his own view that his downfall was not due to unacceptable loose morals, but rather as, "Some Malaysians can be said to be “holier than thou”.Oh, and here I thought Malaysians just had high morals! Isn't that why we are so passionate about religion?

And he continues by inferr his downfall was due to the DVD, urging,"... the Government .. investigate the source and who is behind the tape so that it does not become a practice to cause the downfall of anyone." Sorry la Datuk Seri, I think the loose morals you practice have brought you down, the video recording was just the mechanism.

Still, if you consider that he feels his "...biggest mistake was that (he) stayed in the hotel and in the same room for convenience...", what hope do we have in him understanding that being an adulterer is by far a bigger 'mistake'...

The MCA also seems a little confused. From a party that supposedly represents the religious interest of Malaysian Chinese in cabinet as so recently instructed by Pak Lah to its president, it is, "accepting (Chua Soi Lek's) resignation with regret". Regret! I would have thought with relief! Is the president of MCA saying that the poor morals of any of his party's leaders are acceptable, as long as, "...He is a very effective and hardworking leader"?!?

Ya la, leaders like the good Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek may be hard working, but how can the people TRUST him, if he cheats on his own wife!

The MCA is now condemning the DVD culprits, and unfortunately, the police have responded in a funny way. Muar police chief Asst Comm Mohammad Nasir Ramli has indicated police in Batu Pahat and Muar will launch a massive operation to nab those involved in distribution and in possession of the sex DVDs of Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek. They would even go 'door-to-door'.

WHY?? Please tell me it is part of a wider investigation behind potential blackmail or extortion of Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek. If not, what is so special about the DVDs? I know it would probably qualify as a somewhat bizzare form of pornography, but then why not focus on Petaling Street (or the equivalent in Muar and Batu Pahat). Better still, why not focus on catching Nurin's killers or some other criminals first! (Nurin's body was found >100 days ago by the way...)

The opposition is of course now commenting on this issue with some glee, but they seem to have a similarly bizzare take. PAS' Information Chief, Mahfuz Omar, in what I assume is a formal view, has urged the police to investigate and charge Chua Soi Lek and his 'personal friend' for Oral Sex!

Oral Sex? How does the police investigating an unknown young lady and a disgraced former federal minister for Oral Sex fit in PAS' nation-building agenda?

Besides, Oral Sex is not forbidden in Islam. In one aspect, it is frowned upon (makruh), but it isn't haram. So, why is PAS, a party that is espousing a move to Syariah Law asking for non-Muslims to be charged according to 'secular' laws for a private act not forbidden by Islam? Isn't that... hypocracy? What... PAS' information chief being hypocritical!? But his is a religion based party! Morals...

I suppose PAS is acting a little better than the DAP, which had earlier dismissed the issue as a 'private matter'. Such conclusions sort of explain the rut they've politically been in for decades...

It is both disconcerting and a relief hence to find Pak Lah getting it right this time when he advised,"The rakyat not only want us to carry out our responsibilities well and with honesty, they also want their leaders to be individuals of good moral standing".

Actually, the 2 wants are indivisible, but at last... some good sense! Now Pak Lah has shown he does have an inkling of what the rakyat wants, maybe he can also address some confusion in the UMNO ranks, beginning with the local UMNO leader who earlier endorsed the acceptance of Chua Soi Lek's apology without resignation!

Well my fellow 'hollier than thou' Malaysians... lets hope we remain moral and have such morals inherited by subsequent generations... for with leaders like these...

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Morality Or Dogma: A Test Case Of What Religion Means To Our Leaders

The start of the year presents me with a wonderful issue to resume my writing on, which presents a test-case for the government. I am referring to of course the DVD-Sex Scandal featuring the current MCA VP and Health minister Dato' Dr Chua Soi Lek:
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/1/2/nation/19897364&sec=nation&focus=1

Whilst there have been quite a few views being shared of how this was a 'private matter', by no lesser critic than the opposition DAP, and the family has 'forgiven' Dato' Dr Chua, this remains an interesting and critical case for the government especially due to the various regligious issues plaguing the Lah-ist Hadharite administration.

The question in my mind is, does the government care about personal morals, that is the shared core of all religious beliefs in Malaysia, or does it only play lip service to religion for the sake of politics. The former would and should result in the immediate dismissal of Dato' Dr Chua, not just as he has strayed, but more due to the Health Minister's apparent view that infidelity, a key moral transgression, is a minor problem and not worthy enough reason for him to tender his resignation.

That Dato' Dr Chua was also one of the non-Muslim cabinet ministers that last year stood up for the rights of minority religions in Malaysia stands proof positive of his hypocracy, as how can one defend religion publicly whilst privately practice loose morals!

For the Pak Lah to retain Dato' Dr Chua in his cabonet would result in a further erossion of its authority to administer and address issues related to religion, which is being particularly challenged at this point in time.

The first line in the tenets of this country, the Rukunegara, is "Kepercayaan Kepada Tuhan" or "Belief In God". It is incumbent on this government to ACT on this of all Rukunegara.

By the way, I wrote ACT with emphasis with the hopethat any 4th floor boys reading this don't think Pak Lah can get away with lame spins like:
  • We leave it to the leadership of the component party... or
  • It is a private matter... or
  • We have discussed with yadda yadda and will come to a conclusion soon... or
  • We leave it to the wisdom of the grassroots...

Pak Lah, we are still waiting for you to lead. If you can't show leadership on this issue, an issue of morals and religion, for which you have even have a university degree on(!), then...

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