Sweethearts

I wasnt exactly holding my breath over yesterday's announcement of the new 'trimmed-down' cabinet line-up by the prime minister. More of the same, I thought. In fact, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has warned that the new cabinet line-up will only spark more turmoil in UMNO. “The other coalition partners are also in serious trouble. They cannot claim to have the support of their own communities and constituents any more,” he said. (Read the Malaysiakini report, here).

I was more excited over reports that Selangor’s newly appointed Mentri Besar Khalid Ibrahim have said that he was going to review a lop-sided water supply agreement entered by the previous state government with two companies on the eve of the polling day. “I have noticed there is some imbalance between the revenues (that would have been accorded) to the state and the people," he said. This 'sweetheart deal' based on political influence would only have enriched the people who got the concession. Selfish crony capitalism, if you ask me.

Perhaps this is the start of more reviews in future of many more lop-sided deals made by the previous administration e.g., the toll road concessionaires, et al. Of special interest to me is the dubious land deal made with another favourite 'sweetheart', Kuala Dimensi/Wijaya Baru for the Port Klang Free Zone land which the outgoing parliamentary Public Accounts Committee have failed miserably to uncover ... and the PAC chairman is now a full minister. Sheesh.

Anyway, things are beginning to get more interesting, eh?

Enter the Royals

In Malay, we say retak menanti belah or cracks leading to disintegration, or words to that effect.

While the ruling Barisan Nasional federal government were possibly gloating over the hiccups happening in the formation of 4 state governments it lost in the recent general election, all is not peachy in the states of Perlis and Terengganu where HRH the Raja and the Sultan respectively have chosen to exercise their constitutional rights over the choice of Mentris Besar. Earlier, the Sultan of Selangor and the Regent of Perak have also indicated that they were not willing to accept just about anyone they feel will not serve the interests of their states and their subjects. Another constitutional crisis in the making?

To top it all, Mukhriz son of former prime minister Dr Mahathir has followed in his father's footsteps by writing a letter asking Pak Lah to quit, a day after he had affirmed his undivided support. Chances are now he will be given the boot like his father suffered about 40 years ago. Posters (photo, from Rocky's blog) have also been put up in public places in support of his call. Some members of BN component parties are also calling for their leaders to step down.

There have also been illegal street demonstrations by UMNO groups in Penang and elsewhere when not very long ago they have said that such public displays of protests are not the 'Malaysian way'. Sheeesh.

Anyway, lots of luck to United Malays National Organisation. They have again not only successfully divided the Malays but also their own members. Our founding fathers must surely be rolling in their graves about now.

Good Advice, Bad Advice

Lim Kit Siang is only the adviser to the Democratic Action Party (DAP). His call for DAP to boycott the PAS candidate Perak MB swearing in ceremony was indeed being biadab or disrespectful to the Regent, especially since the royal decision was based on an earlier premise that the choice of candidate will be accepted by all parties. Bad advice. Lim has since apologised to the Regent but the ceremony I believe has been postponed because PKR has now threatened to leave the coalition government due to some misunderstanding. Again, PKR must have been wrongly advised. (Read the Malaysiakini report, here).

Earlier, Gerakan's Lim Keng Yaik has also voiced out his concerns to the prime minister about 'bad advisers' in the Barisan Nasional fold (read Rocky's take on this, here) and his view that 'cowboys' are spoiling the name of the party. Pretty good advice here, methinks.

Of late we are also getting free unsolicited advice from the likes of the former prime minister, his former deputy Musa Hitam et al, which to my mind are not really much help to the political situation in the country. This also reminds me of the joke about the young executive who came out of his first board meeting looking very pleased with himself. When someone asked what happened, he said, "I think I have been appointed a "sexual adviser" to the boss."

"Sexual adviser to the boss? What do you mean?"

"Well, every time I opened my mouth to say something, the boss said whenever he wants my fucking advice he will ask for it!"

Al Fatihah

(Source: Sin Chew Jit Poh)

Datuk Zakaria Md Derus, 62, the former Port Klang Assemblyman who gained fame as the controversial builder of the illegal personal palatial mansion (photo) in Pandamaran, has died yesterday morning of a heart attack. Read yesterday's Malaysiakini report, here.

Read also my earlier blog about him: Rich Politician, Poor Politician, here.

I am not one to speak ill of the dead but the man has gone to meet his Maker where he may have to answer some very tough questions and I do not envy him. It also goes to show that you just cannot take it with you.

Al Fatihah.

The Aftermath

A funny thing happened at the Kelana Jaya polling station yesterday. As I walked past the BN tent with my family in tow, I jokingly asked the head honcho who happens to be a neighbour of mine,"OK, where's my MONEY?"

O boy, I will never forget the startled look on his face. But the man quickly recovered his composure, patted my arm reassuringly and said,"Later, cap'n, later. Please go and vote first".

Hmmm.

Anyway, the rakyat has spoken. Not only has the Opposition Barisan Rakyat denied the ruling BN government a two-third majority in parliament but is now set to form the government in 5 key states. Syabas to the people of Malaysia.

I was at the Blog House in Damansara until late last night with fellow bloggers Tony, Haris, Ewoon, Shar101 and others to monitor incoming election results live from Malaysiakini and also from other sources at various polling centers in the country. Each good news was greeted with loud cheering by all present. Someone even brought a cake to celebrate Samy's birthday and departure.

There is hope for all of us yet.

50 Years is Enough

All hands on deck.

With less than 24 hours to go, I am not one to ceramah or sermonise but if you are reading this, then I take it that you have the brains to think and old enough to vote. So lets do it tomorrow. Lets change this corrupt and inept government and get us a new one. Lets not be fooled again.

VOTE FOR CHANGE !

Mother of All Commissions

Lawyer and fellow blogger Wee Choo Keong, who is standing for the Wangsa Maju parliamentary seat on a PKR ticket, has submitted a written submission to the Royal Commission Of Enquiry, which he has described as the "Mother of All Commissions", on the VK Lingam video clip with regard to the appointment of judges. It contains several recommendations. Read the full version, here.

In the words of a learned good friend and similarly much maligned and long suffering former member of the bench: " With this comes the penultimate end of the judiciary on trial and along with it in fact, the very core of integrity of the country, in the eyes of the civilised world at large.

Judges, highest ranking officers of the law courts, the final arbiter, bastion of justice, guardian of the nation's conscience, you will now do right by the people whose trust they have implicitly placed upon you, by virtue of the office you hold, lest you sell your souls to the devil !

May He proffer you divine guidance and have mercy on the future of our blessed beloved nation!"

A Sell Out

I was quite appalled to read Chandra Muzaffar's very personal attack against Anwar Ibrahim (read today's the Star's report, here ) when he said that it will be an “unmitigated disaster” for Malaysia if Anwar becomes prime minister. Since he was a top PKR man himself, it is rather daunting to imagine the sudden wave of disillusionment that must have swept over such a 'brilliant' man and cause him to utter such balls.

I first met Dr. Chandra Muzaffar (photo) sometime in early 1983. He was then riding high as an academic cum NGO human rights activist and had been invited to speak at an Asia Pacific Regional Conference of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) in Kuala Lumpur, which I chaired as a founder chairman of the ITF Malaysian Council. I cannot recall what he spoke about, something about union rights I think, but I remember the strike-happy Aussie dockers unions were full of praise of him and wanted cassette tape copies of his speech. I wasn't very impressed and neither was the late Dr. V. David of the Transport Workers Union, who co-chaired the conference. We believed then that it was easy to be gung-ho and say a lot things when you are not carrying the baby or be responsible for the rights and livelihood of many member workers.

Perhaps there is something to be said about the old adage: "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach". So perhaps also Chandra should just stick to teaching and not get involved in politics and the affairs of men.

What a sell out, indeed.

Letter to Malaysiakini

To: The Editor, Malaysiakini.com

Dear Sir,

Baradan Kuppusamy has reached too capacious a conclusion based on scanty evidence when he wrote in “An evening with Anwar Ibrahim" that the PKR leader is drawing small crowds of Malays to his ceramah. Surely, the numbers that turned up for Anwar at his recent ceramah at Wangsa Maju and Bandar Tun Razak are not to be taken as representative of the norm.

In late December and January, no less than Malaysiakini itself reported that in Kedah, Penang and Perlis, Anwar drew crowds of Malays numbering in the thousands. He has also drawn sizeable crowds of Chinese and Indian listeners to his gatherings, particularly along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

To say that Anwar is not a draw among the Malays is a rather strange conclusion given recent reports in Malaysiakini and hearsay. Baradan may well be right if he said that large crowds at ceramah do not necessarily translate into victories at the ballot box, but to say that Anwar is not a magnet among Malay listeners is to gainsay the evidence assembled by Malaysiakini and sundry others who came, saw and were impressed.

Sincerely,

Capt. Yusof Ahmad

(Footnote: I very rarely write letters to the news media and this is one which for some reason did not get published).

GE - Time for Change

(Click to enlarge)

Click here, for the Malay version.

Note: Posters by kind courtesy of the Kuala Lumpur-based Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI). Please feel free to reproduce, print or redistribute.

GE - Why I will vote for the Opposition

Youngster Loh Gwo Burne of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) could have made a lot of money out of the VK Lingam video, but he chose to tell the truth against all odds. The exposé provided the turning point without which the judicial appointments scandal would never have surfaced and our judiciary would have sunk deeper into the abyss of judicial hellholes. This is why for the Kelana Jaya parliamentary seat I am going to vote for Loh (photo, right), who has denied that he is just an 'accidental hero' who had by chance videotaped the antics of the high flying lawyer. Loh believes that he can say whatever he wants in parliament without fear or favour, unlike his MCA opponent who will have to toe the UMNO line (or suffer the fate of his predecessor). And I do believe him.

For the Seri Setia Selangor state seat I will vote for fellow blogger and MCKK old boy Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (photo, left) also of PKR, a young man who wants to be an agent of change, which is what this country badly needs. We have enough fat dinosaurs who have overstayed their welcome. We are also in dire need of elected representatives who will represent and serve their electorate and not their political masters or just to make up the numbers.

I am also glad that PKR has made a start with a non-race based platform. Gerakan, PPP and DAP have tried this before but the Malays just didnt buy it. Both Loh and Nik Nazmi must surely be amongst pioneers of sorts and it will indeed be a long haul before we are rid of race based politics in this country.

Which is why I am going to vote for these young lads. They've got balls.

GE - Lets Get Real

Malaysians in general must be a very easily excitable lot. But my youngest boy gets more excited with the appearance of a new I-pod or whatever in the market than in the coming general elections, when he will be voting for the first time. He hardly reads the papers except for the IT and soccer news and the comics and I believe so do many others of his generation who are more likely to read the gossipy tabloids than the mainstream media, which must be as exciting to them as watching the paint dry or the grass grow. If he and his ilk form a substantial bulk of the new voters then this government may be in trouble.

The opposition parties have already declared that they are ready to form a new government. Alternative manifestos etc. have already been circulated to the people, and near impossible promises are being made. But in the absence of a strong 'shadow' government and/or a cabinet-in-waiting and after the general euphoria is over, will the rakyat be as gullible? At best they can only hope of denying the BN government a two-third majority, so lets get real.

I am not going to bet that there will be very big changes in the offing or in the status quo, but this is one bet I will gladly lose.

The Battle for Kelana Jaya

Well, the gloves are off, knuckle dusters on and it looks set for a three-cornered fight for the parliamentary seat of Kelana Jaya, where I now live. BN is fielding veteran politician Lee Hwa Beng against newcomers PKR's Loh Gwo Burne and independent Billi Lim in the coming general elections.

Fresh from filing his nomination papers yesterday, MCA's Lee Hwa Beng and wife were VIP guests at a belated poolside Chinese New Year tea party (photo) at the neighbouring Mahkota Kelana Condominiums, where my wife and I were also guests. Also in attendance were incumbent Selangor state assemblywoman Seripah Noli and her husband. In their speeches, both politicians certainly didnt waste any time embarking on their campaign trails by heaping scorn on their respective opponents.

I must say that I am a bit disappointed with the opposition PKR's choice of candidate Loh Gwo Burne, who has been described as a "Chinese amateur film maker who has no business in a Malay majority area" by my friend and fellow blogger Zorro, here. Loh was made famous recently as the author of the video that implicated lawyer VK Lingam in the judicial appointments scandal. But then again, both Lee and 'spoiler' Billi Lim are also Chinese and there will be many who will argue that Loh certainly deserves more than a medal for what he did.

All my children will also be voting, the younger two for the first time in their lives come 8th of March. I have always believed that my wife and I have successfully raised four mature and well educated offsprings who are morally upright and law abiding citizens of this country. It is our fervent hope that they will all exercise their democratic rights judiciously.

Me? I have always been for the underdog.

Kong Choy Out?

Thus screamed the headlines in today's MCA-owned the Star newspaper. (Read about it, here)

Whichever way you look at it, perhaps the man's a goner, especially since to my mind, the paper is giving him a very subtle hint to take a hike. The incumbent transport minister has given 'health' reasons as to why he wants to quit, but the man's younger than I am and he certainly looked fine the last time I saw him.

Perhaps also with the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) RM4.6 billion fiasco like a sword of Damocles still hanging over his head, he has decided that it may be 'unhealthy' for him to stick around.

What is really pissing me off is the fact that Parliament has been dissolved and the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee has still not completed its job by summoning the Attorney General to account for his role in the affair.

In the meantime, I suppose most of the money is now being spent buying votes in the coming elections.

Update at 2230hrs: Malaysiakini reports, here, that MCA deputy president Chan Kong Choy, 53, citing poor health, today announced at a press conference that he was not contesting in the 12th general election. He denied that he was forced to step down due to the PKFZ scandal. "This is a speculation which I don't want to answer," he said when asked about the matter.

Yeah, right.

Blog Bashing

I read in amusement about Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Dr Rais Yatim's (photo) tirade against bloggers in a speech at a book launch yesterday.

The supposedly very cultured Rais was reported as saying that bloggers should evaluate themselves before indulging in an unhealthy culture of bashing others, including government leaders, through their blog sites.

He said although government bashing in the blogsites was among the challenges faced by the Barisan Nasional (BN) in facing the general election, it was not the nature of BN leaders to resort to using blog sites to attack others in their campaigns to win the elections. "I am saying that you should look at your own heart to see if it is clean. If it is not, then don't bash others in your blogs". He signs off by saying that, "I suggest that they attend courses on good manners as good manners is Malaysian culture".

In other not so many words, he is saying that we are kurang ajar.

How bloody presumptuous can he get. Its goes to show that ministers themselves should do some homework and learn to put their brains in gear before opening their big mouths. It is no secret that we bloggers have been at the receiving end with name calling, threatened with law suits, the ISA, etc., by the powers that be and they dont need blog sites to do this.

Stopping the Rot

(Source: KLRCA website)

I truly believe in the need for an independent judiciary, judicial integrity and all that jazz. I also believe that judicial rot is the root cause of all that is wrong in this country today - rampant corruption, rising crime rate, blatant disregard and disrespect for the rule of law, etc., etc. Therefore, I strongly support DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang's call that the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape "must be fully conscious of its historic role and opportunity to end the rot in the judiciary" and subpoena former High Court judge Dato Syed Ahmad Idid (photo) as a "necessary process to exorcise the rot and corruption of the judicial past for the Malaysian judiciary to turn over a new leaf". (Read his blog 'Lingam Tape RCI - Subpoena Syed Ahmad Idid', here)

In December 2006, the New Sunday Times published an interview with Syed Ahmad Idid, who resigned in 1996 after he wrote an anonymous letter accusing several judges of corruption. (Read my earlier blog 'Battling Corruption', here)

Investigations into his allegations were closed after the then Attorney-General Mohtar Abdullah said they were 'baseless'.

Datuk Syed Ahmad Idid never spoke about the incident until the 2006 NST interview in which he disclosed that the late Tan Sri Mohtar had told him in 2000 that he was forced to do what he did.

"I asked him, 'Was there a pistol at your neck when you did what you did to me?'. He replied, 'No, it was a cannon'," Datuk Syed Ahmad Idid said.

He didnt say whose 'cannon' it was, but we now have a pretty good idea, eh?

Heaven or Hell

My friend and former colleague Foo sent me this little joke which I thought was politically correct with a moral to boot:

While walking down the street one day a Malaysian Minister is hit by a truck and dies. His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the Pearly Gates.

"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high Malaysian official around this place, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," says the Yang Berhormat.

"Well, I'd like to, but I have orders. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity."

"Really, I have made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the man.

"I'm sorry, but we have our rules," says St. Peter.

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him. Everyone is very happy and they run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They play a game of golf and then stuffed themselves on lobsters, caviar and the most expensive food there is.

Also present is the Devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing, drinking champagne and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises.

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him. "Now it' s time to visit heaven."

So, 24 hours pass with the YB joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns. "Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity."

The YB reflects for a minute, then he answers: "Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think ai yam better off in hell."

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage. He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above. The Devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder.

"I don't understand," stammers the YB. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?"

The Devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning just like you did during an election ...... Today you voted."

SO, VOTE WISELY IN THE COMING ELECTION!

A Snap Election

(Source: Malaysiakini)

According to Wikipedia, a snap election is an election called earlier than scheduled. Generally it refers to an election called when no one expects it, usually to capitalize on a unique electoral opportunity or to decide a pressing issue. To my mind, since there arent any pressing issues, especially as far as the present government is concerned, the 'unique electoral opportunity' here is simply to deny Anwar Ibrahim from contesting. Sheeesh.

Yesterday our 'flip-flop' Prime Minister lied through his teeth when he denied to reporters that he will dissolve Parliament today. But at a hastily called press conference a couple of hours ago in Putrajaya, he announced the dissolution of the august assembly, right smack in the middle of a Chinese New Year holiday season and amazing stories being told at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam affair. Read Malaysiakini's report, here.

Well, he could have simply said,"Maybe".

So our PM's favourite number is indeed number 13. Well, lotsa luck, Malaysia. We will need plenty of it if we keep returning these rats back into power.

Update: Malaysiakini reports, here, that former DPM Anwar Ibrahim who is in Hong Kong on a speaking engagement, told reporters that it is shameful and "it is unprecedented that you would call elections after three and half years with a more than two-thirds majority. The only reason you can give is to deny me an opportunity to participate in the elections."

Rats

Many years ago, when I was a cadet on board a ship discharging cargo in a port Down Under, I was ordered by the chief officer to dispose off a dead rat found in the ship's hold. The stevedores promptly threatened to stop work, claiming it a 'demeaning' task for a young officer. Of course, we believed then that the very manja unionised dockers did so not so much as being in sympathy of my plight but perhaps just to look for an excuse to down tools and goof off. Sheeesh.

It is now being established that we have many dirty, drunken, lying, thieving, scheming and conniving rats amongst our judiciary and the executive. We also have amnesic rats and even rats 'ratting' on their brethren and scurrying to desert a 'sinking ship'. So perhaps it is time for us to do some spring cleaning and some pest control. It certainly wouldn't be a 'demeaning' exercise either.

Welcome to the Year of the Rat. How bloody apt.

To all my Chinese friends: Gong Xi Fa Cai and happy holidays to all the rest.

The Peripatetic

My old friend and former MCKK classmate Zaharan Razak (ZR) describes himself as a peripatetic, an itinerant modern day Don Quixote a.k.a. Pak Pandir Moden. A retired academic (he counts blogger Rocky of Rocky's Bru as one of his former students), he is also a health nut, still actively involved in canoeing, kayaking, cycling and mountain climbing and is quite disdainful of the couch potatoes amongst his old mates.

ZR is also a bit of an eccentric, lain dari yang lain, and we do 'clash' quite often with differing views about almost everything. But perhaps in part due to the special bond forged that many years ago in the hallowed halls and on the playing fields of the old koleq in Kuala Kangsar, we do come to terms quickly on realising that its all probably much ado about nothing. No point in trying to change or save the dinosaurs. Lets just live and let live.

So, for a sampling of his 'dissident and mad-hat views on anything and everything' (his words, not mine), go visit his blog Teh-O-Ki, here.

(Above photo taken when we were 15 year olds. ZR is on the left).