Happy Dragon Year!
21 Jan 2012 6 Comments
Wishing all my Chinese readers a very Happy and prosperous Year of the Dragon.
May the dragon year bring good luck and well being to the people.
Let there be less hatred and more love!
An interesting opinion
19 Jan 2012 20 Comments
in Malaysia
2 days ago, had tea with a foreign observer of Malaysian politics.
He has given a very interesting opinion.
He predicted that Bn would probably win, since for PR to win, they need an additional 30 seats. In 2008, BN won 140 and PR 82. While they may have a net gain of a few seats in the next GE ( by winning some and losing a few of existing ones) in Peninsular Malaysia, they are expected to win no more than 10-12 seats in East Malaysia.
While this marginal win may give BN some breathing spaces ( another 4 years ), it would spell the end of the present PM, as any result worse than 308 would mean that the vulture warlords would be pouncing on him to push him out.
So, according to this foreigner, PM has actually hastened his pace of reform because of his weak position. Seeing it in this light, this person thinks that Anwar verdict will actually do some good to the PM.
According to him, PM has nothing to lose now, and that is why he is now defying the right wing of the party in pushing for abolition of ISA, peaceful assembly and certain electoral reform. He expects the pace of reform to hasten in the remaining month to the next polls.
He also opined that PM knows his days are numbered if he does not win back some of the urban votes. That is why he is all out to try to win some of this bloc of votes, since rural votes are now more or less certain.
That is why we now have Ah Jib Gor in facebook in Mandarin. Dont be surprised that he will learn how to write a few chinese words and display his calligraphic skill in the coming Chinese New Year.
He may of course play to the sentiments that many of the Chinese voters do not like the present No 2, so there may be a quiet campaign with his tacit blessing to tell the Chinese that if they do not vote BN, expect No 2 to take over in case BN wins but with a result worse than last time. This may actually motivate some of the lpeople in urban areas to vote for him.
I find this interesting and I want to share it with all of you. Looking forward to hear the opinion of my learned readers on this.
An unfortunate joke
17 Jan 2012 15 Comments
in Malaysia
I view with concerned the threat uttered by a university student against our PM.
No matter how much we disagree with another person, threat should never be used.
If we do not like any party, we use our votes to show it. Never should we use violence or even threathen violence against anyone.
Having said so, I pity the university student who I believe is really joking in his posting. If he is serious, he would not post it in facebook! As simple as that. If he is serious why let all others to see it? Unless he is just joking.
The younger generation is now using facebook in every aspect of their lives. It is their way of socialising; their way of communication with their friends. If this joke is uttered in private conversation in cafe and so on, it would just cause a laugh and nothing else, even though personally I think joking about threat is also not appropriate.
If his intention is just a joke, and that everyone else knows that he cannot be serious by posting in his facebook, then perhaps we should be lenient to him.
To err is human, to forgive is divine. He is just a student, without much experience in life and in how society operates. We must give him a chance if possible.
Let him know that it is very wrong to utter a threat against anyone. Let him repent. Maybe as a punishment, he could be sentenced to do a few weeks of community service at an old folks home and so on.
We should also delve into the reason why there is so much of partisanship among the people. People are much more partisan now.
As I see it, this is partly the result of playing up race and religions, and partly because of the perceived uneven playing field for the opposition parties.
Maybe it is time now to take a look at ourselves and start treating each other, irrespective of race or creed or political stand , with equality and mutual respect.
Wise choice
16 Jan 2012 10 Comments
Taiwan’s presidential election is over. President Ma won again, winning more than 51% of votes, with the nearest opponent from DPP winning about 46%. Over all, Ma’s majority is about 800,000 votes.
By all accounts, this is a very clean election. The winner is actually the people of Taiwan. They have indeed become the real bosses of Taiwan.
Taiwan has come a long way since the 80s. It was one of the most dictatorial state in Asia in the 70s and 80s under the 2 Chiangs, The younger Chiang , in the later part of his rule, adopted certain liberal policies and this paved the way for his successors to gradually democratise Taiwan.
President Ma won because of a number of factors. He supported cooperation with China based on mutual understanding, and advocated three Nos — No independence, no unification and no usage of force. This policy has enabled many Taiwan businessmen to open businesses in China, and also helped draw many Mainland Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan, and many Mainland students are now studying in Taiwan universities. Taiwan’s export to China has gone up many folds. This helped cushioned Taiwan from a world economy that has stalled.
On the domestic front, Ma is a clean politician and he has vowed to tackle corruption. This is a big contrast with the Ah Bian, former president who was convicted of corruption( HIs wife too).
Ma’s wife has adopted a non-interferring approach as the first lady. Her auntie next door look, simple but sincere way of carrying herself, together with the charity work that she has done , has in many ways helped her husband’s campaign. It was reported that she has never answered Ma’s hotline phone so as not to interfere with government affairs. On several occasions , she was spotted wearing the same set of simple dresses and this has actually endeared her to the people — compared this to those who like to wear expensive jewellery, diamonds rings and so on, and you will ask why some of these ladies never learn from history.
Malaysia has many things to learn from Taiwan. Even though we were more democratic in the 60s ,70s and early 80s, we are now far behind taiwan as to the practice of democracy and the fair conduct of election.
While Ma has done quite a bit to fulfill his pledge to clean up government, in the 4 years of his ascending to top leadership, the same cannot be said of our country. Since 2004, we have heard so much about anti-corruption, and we have formed the MACC and IPCMC, but so far, the perception is corruption is sstill as rampant. The recent feet dragging in the Cowgate affair is another indication that the resolve is not really there; if ever cowgate is investigated, it is because of fear of losing votes, not because of the principle involved.
Ma’s wife has set a very good example of a first lady who is simple, away from limelight, and never interfere in the running of the country. I do not wish to say anything on this, but my readers will be the best judges as to the conduct of our lady here.
Our election system has much to learn from Taiwan. Election is like 2 teams of playing. If one governing team plays foul and make its goalpost very narrow, and the goal post of its opponent team very wide, how on earth can the opposition team win? If the umpire is unfair, and whatever fouls committed by the governing team are ignored, but the little infringement of the opposition teams are awarded penalty kicks, then how on earth is the opposition going to win? If the governing team can win easily each and every time, how on earth will it care about good football?
How on earth will it care about good governance?
Fair election is the pre-requisite of a 2 party system. Here, gerrymandering has made some seats like Kapar with more than 100,000 voters and some seats like Putrajaya with only a few thousand voters. This will create an anomaly that the party winning majority votes may not win majority of seats. This runs counter to one important principle of democracy: that majority rules.
I feel sorry for the country. We were far ahead of Taiwan half a century ago. Now we are still in the middle rung of the ladder while Taiwan has gone so far ahead.
The next GE will decide whether a 2 party system can take place in Malaysia. I hope all voters when exercise wisdom in choosing.
Do we still want the old route whcih we have adopted for more than 50 years and which has made the country gone behind relative to Taiwan and South Korea, or do we want something new?
I believe out people are now matured enough to make a wise choice.
All eyes on Taiwan election
14 Jan 2012 4 Comments
in The other side of the world
All eyes are on Taiwan election today.
Taiwan is one of the few Confucianist countries that can claim to have a 2 party system.
There is a good write up on this election from Associated Press which i want to share with readers that are watching this election:
Taiwanese vote in closely fought presidential poll
By PETER ENAV, Associated Press – 2 hours ago TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwanese voted Saturday in a closely fought presidential election that pits incumbent Ma Ying-jeou’s vision of better relations with China against his main challenger’s attempts to galvanize resentment over growing income inequality.
Ma and Tsai Ing-wen of the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party have been crisscrossing the island for weeks in a hard-hitting campaign, offering their competing visions for Taiwan’s future.
Eighteen million Taiwanese are eligible to vote. Opinion surveys published a week ago — the last permitted under Taiwanese law — showed Ma clinging to a slim 3-4 percentage point lead that was within the statistical margin of error, despite Tsai never having won an election for public office in Taiwan.
A third candidate, James Soong, a former heavyweight in Ma’s Nationalist Party, has little chance of winning, though political analysts say he could draw voters away from the president.
Legislative elections being held at the same time are likely to see Ma’s Nationalists retain a majority in the 113-seat house, although with a diminished margin.
Ma, a 61-year-old former justice minister and Taipei mayor, is staking his re-election on his success in tying Taiwan’s high-tech economy ever closer to China’s lucrative markets. During his 3 1/2 years in office, his China initiatives — including opening Taiwan to Chinese tourists and increasing the number of flights across the 100-mile- (160-kilometer-) wide Taiwan Strait — have helped reduce tensions between democratic Taiwan and authoritarian China to the lowest level since they split amid civil war in 1949.
Ma’s signature achievement has been the completion of a China trade deal in June 2010 which lowered tariffs on hundreds of goods. While most of Taiwan’s $124 billion worth of exports to China last year were electronic goods like television displays and cellphone chips, there was also a big upsurge in agricultural sales from southern Taiwan, long a stronghold of Tsai’s party.
Taipei bank manager Frank Chang said he voted for Ma because of his efforts to improve ties with Beijing.
“China is a major economic power with the world’s biggest demand for goods,” he said. “As a small island, Taiwan cannot isolate itself from the mainland and still maintain a viable economy.”
Tsai, 55, who has a doctorate from the London School of Economics, shows no signs of undoing the economic aspects of Ma’s China policies, though she charges that they have helped spawn economic inequality in Taiwan. She has also accused Ma of undermining Taiwan’s de facto independence in exchange for benefits from the mainland — a claim that resonates strongly with her party’s pro-independence base.
Taipei office worker Chen Yen-fen said she voted for Tsai because she appeared to be a capable leader.
“A change of government will help resolve the widening gap between the rich and poor and many other problems,” she said.
Taiwan, one of Asia’s economic successes for decades and now a center of high-tech development, has turned in a mixed performance under Ma. Unemployment has fallen in the past two years after reaching a high of 6.16 percent in 2009, and preliminary growth figures for 2011 were a respectable 4.5 percent. But housing prices in urban areas have skyrocketed and the income gap has widened, as large companies that invested in the China trade have profited handsomely from new opportunities.
In the closing days of the campaign Tsai moved relentlessly toward the center, promising to open a channel to China to offer assurances that she has no intention of embracing the pro-independence policies of Ma’s predecessor, the DPP’s Chen Shui-bian. Chen’s policies infuriated Beijing, and caused great consternation in the U.S., Taiwan’s most important security partner.
Through proxies, Ma has been trying to undermine support for Soong out of fear that if enough Nationalist backers choose the third-party candidate, the president could lose the election. Some analysts have suggested that if Soong garners 7 percent of the vote or more, Ma will be defeated.
Ma has been buoyed by the arrival of an estimated 300,000 China-based Taiwanese businesspeople, most of whom are expected to vote for the president. Many Taiwanese businesses on the mainland are big Ma backers and have encouraged their workers to support him.
One swallow does not make a summer!
11 Jan 2012 23 Comments
in Malaysia
I spoke to some media people who called up to enquire about the Anwar verdict and the possibility of an early election.
On the surface,PM can now claim that he is indeed committed to reform agenda, and that Anwar verdict showed that he has been truthful to his cause. With that he can move to canvass for more middle ground votes, which have deserted BN in 308, and likely to do so again in the next General election.
Even the former Bar Council chairperson Ambiga was quoted to say that it is a better result for BN.
With this, many expect PM to call for an early election, especially when the government is in the process of giving out cash handouts and BN expects that this would generate an atmosphere of feeling good which may translate to a certain amount of goodwill towards BN.
However, in my opinion, the Anwar verdict may not have gone down well with the right wing hard core in the Big Brother, and this may be a big factor to consider if PM wants to call for election. Many of these right-wingers would have blamed PM for not exerting influence (or did he?) to get a verdict that would have sent AI to jail, thus making sure that AI would be disqualified from the next GE. To the right wingers, Anwar as a martyr does not arise, since they can count on Perkasa and other right wing organisation to secure the more conservative bloc of rural votes. With the wily Old Horse behind them, we cannot discount the power of these right wingers.
Looking at the big picture and the lingering anger of the people from the cowgate affairs, PM has to be seen to take some punitive action against some of those involved in cowgate affairs in order to try to pacify the people. The cowgirl will have to go, and if the cowgirl has to go, he has to gauge the response of the wanita which is actually the most effective campaign force working on the ground.
With March only 2 months away, and these factors to consider, PM is still having a hard time finding a good time to call an election. Anyway, I would now put my bet on the latter part of this year, perhaps June.
The actual date will actually hinge on the response of the people towards this ‘not guilty’ verdict. The next 2-3 weeks will be crucial to see whether the verdict works to the advantage of BN or PR. BN will probably depend on their special people to give them feedback about the sentiments on the ground. If the conditions are favourable, then even an early poll in march cannot be completely ruled out.
I personally welcome the not guilty verdict, and I too view favourably the peaceful handling of the rally outside the high court. Indeed there are signs of changes. Even the most archaic police force is changing. this is a good sign. But whether the whole reform agenda is real and whether it can be pushed through, it is still too early to say.
At this juncture, I am still committed to advocate a true 2 party system, and let the other side rule for once.
After all, one swallow does not make a summer.
…………………………………………………
(For those who may not know about the story behind the title of this post: Once upon a time, in a winter (in a very cold country), a person saw a swallow flying outside his house. Since swallows can be sighted only in spring, that person thought that this must be a sign that spring was near. So he sold all his winter clothings. The mnext day, the weather suddenly turned cold, and he was frozen to death.)
Hope we will not be like this person.
Not guilty!
09 Jan 2012 30 Comments
in Malaysia
I am pleasantly surprised that Anwar was acquitted. Perhaps after all, the judiciary is now much more independent than before.
The judge must be congratulated to come out with a ruling that gives the benefits of the doubt to the accused. Indeed for those who have followed the case, there are many doubtful points in the prosecution’s case, and as the judge has ruled, since he cannot be sure that the DNA sample is not contaminated, the accused has to be set free.
The perception that most people have held is that this is a case of political persecution. If indeed it is so, then it is really unfortunate, not only to Anwar Ibrahim who has to spend so much of his time preparing for his defence so much so that he is only half as effective as before politically. But it is also unfortunate for BN, since this is like a knife that will ‘cut’ them no matter how the verdict is.
If the verdict is guilty, Bn will probably get a backlash and like in 1999, there will be sympathy and angry votes in favour of PR. If the verdict is not guilty, then many people will view this a a frame up. In either case, it is a no win situation.
Now that Anwar is free, and the ‘lion’ (some called him chameleon) is once again free to roam, AI should concentrate on gaining the rural votes. The urban votes are more or less PR’s. But just with urban votes, it is insufficient to win. There must be sufficient rural support, as well as some support from East Malaysia for PR to win.
I applaud PAS decision to sack H. Ali. He has been shooting PAs feet all these while, and with him out of the picture, PAS will be able to present a more moderate ‘facade’ , which is necessary if PR is to rule.
Over to the DAP, the godfathers and the warlords have closed rank. Whether it is temporary or not is immaterial; they must have realised that they need to close rank to fight the most important battle of their lives.. If they split, they will just be doing an injustice to themselves and a service to the other side.
I hope that at this juncture, the top and second echelon leaders of PR should be careful about what they do and what they say. Any misstep now would definitely be exploited. They should at all cost avoid any pitfalls which may put their parties in difficult positions. The light is now visible at the end of the tunnel and they should just proceed carefully towards the lights, and avoid anything that may smash the lighting.
Intriguing situation
06 Jan 2012 12 Comments
in Malaysia
With the GE coming soon, political scenerio is now very intriguing and fluid. Do not be surprised by anything now.
Over to the side of BN, apart from the dominant party, which has still very strong support in rural areas, many other component parties are in a shambles . Recently, we read about the news of manyof their ‘second echelon’ members quitting the second biggest component party. These people are not frogs; they did not quit to jump to another party. Rather, they are disillusioned with the leadership and the direction.
This feeling is in fact quite prevalent in some of the urban-based componet parties and while the more outspoken ones will quit officially, there are many more quiet ones becoming inactive, and just letting their membership lapse and fade away.
The question about this second biggest component party is no longer how many seats they can win, but rather will their DVD-scandalised president stand for election and if he wins by standing in a Malay majority seat, will he be appointed minister? There are rumours that he may not stand but will pull his weight to make sure his son stand in a safe seat. If that rumour is true and if BN wins, we may see a very young full minister and by virtual of being a full minister, he can be expected to ride a helicopter to the top of this party, with his father waiting at the top helipad, to welcome him to the dragon seat, so to speak.
In the dominant party, the question now is whether there will be a cabinet reshuffle; if so, be sure that the cowgate woman will be out of the cabinet, possibly as a trade off for some form of immunity. And if there is a cabinet reshuffle, many people think that the GE may only be called at the end of this year. But do not be surprised that it can be anytime now, even with a reshuffle, if opportunity arises to the advantage of the incumbent.
Over to the other side, the question is whether AI will go to jail. If the answer is affirmative , then the next question is who will be the PM in the event PR wins the next GE.
That person will have to be acceptable not only to all the three PR component parties, but also to the voters, especially the urbanites who form the strongest support base for PR. In the reality of politics of Malaysia at this moment, that person has to be a Malay.
Only 2 persons can fit that bill– the wife of AI, and KU Li. Which one will that be? Will it hinge on whether that person is willing to give way for AI to become PM later, if he wins in a higher court.
Can the situation in Thailand happen here, where a proxy contested, won and was made the head of government? Well, I will not discount any eventuality.
Anything can happen now, even the most unexpected!
It must be lonely over there!
04 Jan 2012 16 Comments
in Malaysia
I felt very disappointed and sad last few days because of the interview of RPK with the NST group. What he has said is damaging to the concept of the 2 party system, and the aspirations of many people asking for change.
Before going further, I must put on record that RPK had in the past done so much singlehandedly to change the mindsets of a lot of Malaysians especially prior to 308, and up to the Sarawak election, I had considered him to be the most prominent blogger of this country, revealing a lot of inside stories of political parties as well as certain government departments and institution. He has also shown the people how powerful internet and blogging can be, and encouraged many to take up blogging.
It is sad that the road to change is now even tougher, and that the concept of a 2 party system is in danger of being derailed.
Whatever it is, I do not want to blame him, as I believe that his reason of doing so must have been because of his longing to come back to a place where he can truely called home. It must be lonely over there in UK.
It takes so much and such a long time to build a reputation, but it takes only a moment to have it shattered completely; how sad and disappointing it is to us, but I think the person who should be the most disappointed and saddened perhaps must be RPK himself.
Nevertheless, I believe that we should just thank him for what he has done before, and move on. I personally wish him all the best, but hope that he would not do anymore harm to shut off the light at the end of the tunnel, which he has in the first place helped to put up.
I also wish to congratulate Haris Ibrahim for resigning as president of MCLM; under such circumstances, there is really no other choice for any civil society activist to be in that movement.
The movement for change, as witnessed in the spirits of Bersih 2.0, is now too big to be derailed. This is just one more bump in the road, but the momentum that has been built up should be able to get pass this bump, however big it might be.
Even without RPK, I think there is still hope that a new dawn can be seen in this country.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
24 Dec 2011 11 Comments
Time flies.
It is Christmas again. new Year is just around the corner.
I like to take this opportunity to wish my freinds and readers “Merry Christmas and A happy new year”.
Out of sync
22 Dec 2011 14 Comments
in Malaysia
The uproar against the Computing Professionals Bill is just another symptom of a disease that is plaguing the government. Since 2004, we have seen on numerous occasions the flipflopping of government policies. These are all symptoms of a government that is out of sync with the people. A government that is out of sync with the time.
This year alone, we have seen the debacle of mishandling of Bersih 20. We have seen the tabling and subsequently amending the Bill for peaceful assembly. We have seen the proposed appointment of a Muslim as head of a renowned catholic school. We are now seeing the probable withdrawal of the Computing Bill. These are all symptoms of the same disease.
The world is no more top down, like in the feudal era. Each individual can now become a reporter, writer and publisher as well as a video maker through posting on the net. As a result, every individual can now be potentially very influencial just by posting the right thing at the right moment. The jobs of influencing people’s mindsets is no longer the sole monopoly of the state controlled main stream media. We have seen how through the use of facebook and internet, mobilisation of the masses became successful in Egypt, and the Arab world.
Just this month, a commercial giant Coca Cola has to withdraw its new ‘white’ can from the market (read here and wsj), after people started to complain through the use of social media and the net (who would associate white cans with coke?). If Coca Cola thinks that branding is their sole right, they got the shock of their life by the vehement protests against the white can in the net. So the management has to eat humble pie and withdraw the white can. If public opinion can now be so powerful to humble a commercial giant, then no government can act unilaterally and shove unpopular policies down the throat of the people. This is no longer the era of the 80s or 90s, where dictatorial regimes could do almost anything they like to their people and no one would make even a soft moan.
white can 
red can
The advent of the internet has made this a flat world. Everyone with a computer now is like having a whole library, printing press and movie factory at his service. Unless a country is totally shut off from the rest of the world, like North Korea, indoctrination can no longer work. Rather it should now be a case of cousultation and dialogue, whether actual or virtual.
It would serve any government well to consult and seek opinion from the people about any new policies or laws that it is formulating. It would also serve any government well not to have too much of legislation and restrictions to stifle the innovative and free spirits of the people. It would also serve a government well not to abuse the trust given by the people.
As it is, our leaders are living in ivory towers and expensive ‘cow’dominium that have separated them from the masses, and they have time and again show their ignorance of the people’s aspirations and desire in this modern time. These include political leaders holding high offices, top civil servants and top enforcement officers. The politicians who are supposed to be the masters and law makers are so busy cutting ribbons and attending publicity functions that they have hardly had time for browsing the net, and get feed back from the people. Whatever feedback they have is from their aides, the people surrounding them. But like eunuchs of the past, many of these aides have agenda of their own and many would not want to disclose bad news to the masters. This is espeically so for those top leaders who only like to listen to good news about themselves, and get very angry nd upset whenever their aides are trying to tell the truth that is not pleasant to hear.
It would therefore be wise for the leaders to come down to the people’s levels and listen more to the ground. Listen to the voices asking for change; people are asking for real change , not cosmetic ones.
The world has moved so fast that many leaders are caught unprepared for the changes . They would do well to spend more time on the ground and in the net rather than attedning publicity functions.
After all, a government that is out of sync with the masses would just not last long.
Senseless deaths
20 Dec 2011 10 Comments
in corruption, culture, Malaysia
I feel extremely sorry for the families of the 4 youngsters that died in a car accident in Johore recently, when the MPV they were in crashed into a ravine.
I also feel extremely sorry for the 17 year old youngster who drove the car and who survived the accident. I do not blame him, seeing how much he regretted and the grief he has displayed. I am sorry for him because this youngster would have to bear the burden of regret for these deaths for the rest of his life.
Whether it was his fault or somebody else (it was reported that some car cut into his lane just before the accident), it is no longer important, but we Malaysians should learn something from these senseless deaths.
These youngsters were all going to be the ‘brains ‘ of the nation, and the deaths are not a loss to their families, but the whole nation as well.
From these senseless deaths can we learn anything?
Firstly, does passing the driving test mean that a person is qualified to drive? It would seem so, since under the law, anyone with a driving license can drive. But with just a few driving lessons and most of the lessons done on urban or town roads, is it sufficient to equip us to drive on unfamiliar road conditions? Long distance driving is very different; so much more anticipation and so much more care are needed in long distance driving that a good town driver may not be a good distance drivier.
Secondly, those with kids who have passed driving tests will all know about our system. A youngster approaches a driving school, and the first thing the driving instructor asks is whether you want to “pao”. If you want to ‘pao’, you pay a certain sum, and you are guaranteed to pass, one way or another, especially on road driving. Even if you are a very lousy driver, but as long as you “pao”, they will also”pao’ you, and you will be given the license to kill drive. we all know that this has something to do with corruption, and corrupt officials are actually helping to churn out thousands of killer drivers every year. So much for the ‘blood money’ on their hands.
So knowing how the system functions, I had purposedly gone on long distance trips after each of my kids passed driving exam, and asked my kid to drive me, and gave him/her as much tips on long distance driving as I could while sitting next to him/her. Children may not like it, but i think it is the adults’ duty to make sure that they are really able to handle a car well before letting them drive alone unsupervised especially on long distance driving.
In this case, I dont know whether the driver has ‘pao’ or not. But knowing that he has just passed his driving test, and knowing how our system function, why was he allowed to handle a big car like a 7 seater MPV(or SUV)? Why was he allowed to go on long distance driving? And why was he allowed to fetch 6 persons in the car on a long distance trip? Cars with full loads are typically more difficult to manoevre, and a big car like a MPV would require more skill in manoevring around corners or braking.
The system has to take some responsilibilty for this sort of accidents. Practically everyone knows about the ‘pao’ buisness. Everyone knows that corruption is involved. I am sure even the kids of the leaders have gone through the ‘pao’ system too. So the question to ask is that why after so many years, noting was done to curb it. .
The same system has been allowed to produce drivers that are half past six, drivers that do not obey road signs or rules , drivers that drive up against traffic in one way street and so on. Why wasn’t anything done? Giving reminders and presents on balik kampong trips during festive seasons are just gimmicks for publicity; i do not think it has any effect on curbing accidents and dangerous driving.
It is proper instruction and strict testing conditions that will help to produce better drivers. It is education and guidance that will produce more tolerant individuals who would be more patient and better drivers. Why nothing was done?
If nothing is done to overhaul the system, I am afraid that this will not be the last time we see and read about these unnecesssary deaths.
Do not mistake infamy as being famous!
14 Dec 2011 12 Comments
When I was young, we often heard stories from our elders about the heroes and the villians in history. My dad used to tell me that to be famous, we can either be very good or become very bad. When a person is very good (like good rulers) his deeds will be remmebered for thousands of years. Similarly, if a person is very bad a (tyrant for example), he will also be remembered for generations and generations.
The only difference is that it is very shameful to have a bad name. Shame is something we were taught to avoid. Shame and dignity cannot coexist. Only if a person can feel shame, can he avoid committing sins . We have also read in history about people who had unintentionally committed error, and was so shameful that some even killed themselves.
So it is good to be well known for good deeds and good behaviour. It is also shameful to be well known for the wrong reason.
Some time back, we read about a monorail in a Malaysian city having glitches on the first day of opening, and subsequently, on many occasions, the same mono-rail has malfunctioned and stalled, causing inconvenience to passengers including many foreign tourists. I suspect some of these tourists, despite what was reported in the main stream media, must have privately cursed the system and our efficiency. It has at least become a laughing stock locally in coffee shops and even chatrooms.
Yesterday, we have a top leader of that state saying that the glitches in fact made the monorail famous, and this has attracted many tourists to come to try. He also boasted that it was probably a Guinness record that there were so many glitches for the monorail in such a short time.
I do not know whether he said this as a joke-I think he must be joking– but if he is serious, then there is really something very wrong. It is worse than the ‘tidak apa’ attitude that malaysians are famed for. It would be like someone who wanted to be famous by becoming a very bad character. It would be like tyrant who becomes a tyrant so that his name can be remembered as the most famous tyrant. It would be like a robber who wanted to be remembered as the most vicious robbers of all time.
It would be something to show people that we have lost the feeling of shame!
Perhaps he said that to spite the people running the monorail. Perhaps he wanted it to be like the MB who handed out a broom to discredit someone.
But if a wrong can be so light-heartedly dismissed, and there is no shame at all to be perceived as the worst monorail (if what he said about the Guinness record is true) , then any wonder why some Malaysians have no qualm being medocre, and why in some of the sports , we have gone down so much in ranking?
Do not mistake infamy as being famous!
PM’s dilemma
10 Dec 2011 17 Comments
in Malaysia
Almost everyone I meet these days is angry. They are angry not because of the traffic jams, which have become a part of our life and has already been factored in any activities that we undertake.
They are angry because of the cowgate affairs. They are angry because of the greed displayed. And I do meet a lot of people from all levels in the course of my work.
Just yesterday, a sales representatives from a GLC linked pharmaceuticals was asking me why things have become so bad, and why have our leaders become so greedy. He professed to be a former Bn supporter, and now he swears that he would not vote them again– another case of anything but Big Nanny . A small trader who was formerly a MakeCowAngry’s branch chairman has stopped become active and said that he would vote for change this time.
With the sentiments so against them because of this cow business, I doubt whether the cowgirl would last long. Even the Old Horse has asked her to leave. An FT strongman-minister has already been slated to contest in her former area, but his chance of winning is not bright either.
But just asking the cowgirl to leave is not enough. There must be accountability . This is Rakyat’s money and the government must come clean on this and be transparent about the whole thing, which even the Auditor General has called a mess. Otherwise, it has to bear the consequence of losing more political support.
This has thrown the whole election thing into uncertainty. The most touted date , March 2012, may not see any election after all.
The danger is that the longer the government waits to call the next GE, the more scandals may be exposed. On top of that, economic outlook may not be as good as predicted. So the top leader is really facing a tough choice, a dilemma indeed.
One of the major parties in Sarawak is facing internal fight which has proved to be more vicious than fighting outside enemies. This has all along been the features in component parties, since in the past, whoever wins would have all the goodies waiting for him and his team. Often it is winners-take-all, so whenever there is party fight, it would be afight to the end–”‘political death’ that is. In such fights, all tactics would be used, including manipulating branches, delegates , phanton members, back stabbing and character assasination. In the morning, they may be good friends and calling each other “Sdra”, later in the day, the knives would be out for each other’s throat, figuratively speaking.. Since these people are officially members of component parties, they have no qualm to use underhand tactics; as long as both sides are supporters of Big Brother, little action would be taken against them. It also suits the big Brother in normal times to have as vicious a fight as possible, since it would be easier to apply divide and rule tactic.
But when a GE is coming, such fight is taboo. That is why for most component parties, their party elections have been postponed just to avoid such divisive fight.
So the fight in Sarawak’s party comes in the wrong time, and even though this party is already half dead and command not much of support, other parties in the state would still be dependent on it to deliver some ethnic Chinese votes. With this party so split, the already diminshed Chinese votes would be even more elusive.
My guess is that with such scenario, Big Nanny may not call election in March, but rather in the second half of the year.
Are there 2 sets of criteria?
07 Dec 2011 32 Comments
Malaysian Insider has this headline yesterday: Let Umno leadership decide Cowgirl’ s fate ( headline slightly modified by me ).
Shouldn’t this cowgirl and family’s fate be decided by our existing law? Shouldn’t there be a full and thorough investigation to decide whether any law is broken and if so, the law be applied to the person/persons? I know the police is investigating, but given what is implied in that healine, can the police force really be impartial?
Is this a country ruled by law? If affirmative, are there 2 sets of criteria to apply the relevant law?
What also prompts me to ask, besides ‘cowgate’, is that why is certain retail shop chain (1Malaysia-shop) which were caught having wrong labellings not charged in court? is that not against existing law? Is the law applied only to those without connections?
Wrong labelliong can mislead consumers and can be very serious if certain contents are at levels not accurately reflected in the labelling.
Any wonder why people in this country tend to break laws and rules..Just look at how cars are parked, and how traffic rules are broken.
What transformation?
02 Dec 2011 56 Comments
in corruption, Malaysia
When a school boy comes back with persistent poor grades, what any parent must do is to find out what is wrong; whether the boy understands his lessons, whether he puts in enough time to study and learn the things taught, and whether there is anything wrong in his way of studying if enough time has been put in and still he gets persistent poor grade. Once a fault is detected, there must be will power to correct it, and then the grade will slowly but surely improve.
Only a very indulgent and bad parent would blame the marking system or the school instead of his own boy, if over the years, markings by different teachers come to the same results.
This is what is happening here (Read this report: Pemandu blames new measurement method for poorer score). We are further and further down in the Corruption Perception Index. We have put in GTP, ETP and what have you, but all these transformations do not seem to work; rather, corruption has perceived to become worse, whether it is according to this international index, or just by asking any Ah Pek in the street.
One glaring issue is that very few big fish are caught and charged. When the top gets away, those-near -to-the-top, those-further-below-the-top, and those who are way-below-the-top would all try to get corrupted. Afterall, who does not want easy fast money?
When people can get away from taking a big government loan to do a certain project, but instead use part of the money for something else, it will send a signal that all it matters in this country is connection and position. Others having similar position or connection would want to emulate.
The authority may say there is nothing wrong, but ask the people in the street, they have already formed their opinion based on common morality pratice . They will probably shake their heads and sigh, as a sign of helplessness to tackle this type of abuse.
You can have the best brains and the best plans to transform, but they will not work as long as this culture remains. When the top beam is crooked, how to expect the lower beams to be straight, even if they want to? Transformation would not work unless it is from the very top to the very bottom…..
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Just imagine that a company with many shareholders gives you a loan to start a chicken farm, and instead you use the money to buy cars and house, and when the auditor of the company points this out to the company shareholders, and the shareholders wanted to know why, you scream in a public forum as if you are the one who is the aggrieved party, and you blame the company, the auditor and the shareholders for doing this to you, why is the logic, where is the moral, where is common courtesy?
A tale of 2 “protest” bills
25 Nov 2011 26 Comments
I have never envisaged that one day I would see a more progressive Myanmar than my own country.
While we are debating the new Restriction Peaceful Assembly Bill (which are full of restrictions of freedom), Myanmar has passed a law which is more progressive than us. That is from a regime which is touted as one of the most repressive states in the world.
If they are now still repressive, what makes us?
To hold a protest, the Malaysia Myanmar authority needs to be informed ONLY 5 days in advance (Malaysia new bill: 30days). While in Malaysia, protests are not allowed in so many places that I just cannot recall the whole list, in Myanmar only 4 locations are not allowed for protests: government buildings, scholls, hospitals and embassies. Notice that they did not ban street protests, as that is perhaps one place where you do not need to spend a hefty sum to stage your protest. Just compare yourself and make your own inference.
This is from Yahoo news: (click here for the original version)
Myanmar parliament passes protest bill
Myanmar’s military-dominated parliament has passed a bill allowing citizens to protest peacefully, a lawmaker said Thursday — the latest in a rapid series of reformist moves in the isolated country.
The bill, which needs to be signed off by President Thein Sein to become law, requires that demonstrators “inform the authorities five days in advance,” said upper house member Aye Maung, of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party.
Protesters would be allowed to hold flags and party symbols but must avoid government buildings, schools, hospitals and embassies, he told AFP.
The bill came before parliament this week, four years after a mass monk-led protest known as the “Saffron Revolution” was brutally quashed, with the deaths of at least 31 people and the arrest of hundreds of monks, many still locked up.
Myanmar’s new parliament, dominated by army proxies, opened in January after nearly five decades of outright military rule following an election in November — the first in 20 years — that was dismissed by many observers as a sham.
The new leaders of the country, which is subject to Western sanctions, have surprised observers with a number of reformist steps in an apparent move to end international isolation.
They have freed and held direct talks with long-detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, halted work on an unpopular dam project that was backed by key ally China, eased media censorship and passed a law giving workers the right to strike.
The government also held peace talks at the weekend with ethnic minority rebel groups who have been waging a violent insurgency for greater rights and autonomy for decades.
By way of diplomatic recognition for the promising gestures, Myanmar last week won approval to chair Southeast Asia’s regional bloc in 2014.
It also received a nod from US President Barack Obama, who said he would send Hillary Clinton to Myanmar next month to encourage reform — the first US secretary of state to visit in 50 years.
A senior White House official said on Tuesday that Clinton would look for progress on human rights but it was “premature” to discuss lifting sanctions.
In a further overture, Japan said on Thursday it would send officials to Myanmar to discuss resuming development aid, suspended in 2003 over Suu Kyi’s detention, following recent political developments.
The Japanese delegation will discuss the possibility of resuming construction work on a hydropower plant, an official in Tokyo told AFP.
Suu Kyi’s opposition party announced its return to the official political arena last week after it boycotted last year’s polls.
The freeing of all of the country’s political prisoners, whose exact numbers remain unclear, remains one of the major demands of Western nations.
A small group of monks risked a rare two-day protest in Myanmar earlier this month, calling for the prisoners’ release as well as freedom of speech for monks and an end to conflicts between the army and ethnic minority groups.
Concedes one step but moves 2 forward!
23 Nov 2011 10 Comments
While I welcome the enacting of the Peaceful Assembly Bill in principle, I was disappointed with the many restrictions in the Bill, which would curtail freedom of assembly even more than before.
The most serious flaw is of course disallowing street protests. Street protests do not equate riots or chaos. It can be very orderly as seen so often overseas in many of the democratic countries. People can protest anything they do not feel comfortable. It is up to the police and the authority to facilitate such protests and make sure that the disruption to street traffic is minimal.
I agree that the authority needs to be informed in case of a protest, not because any permission is needed , but mainly to make sure that the authority takes steps to facilitate such protests — including protecting the protestors and ensuring the success of such protests, as the people’s freedom of assembly is enshrined in our Constitution.
Notice however, should be just hours in advance and not days. I am sure if the police force is efficient, it can easily muster a few policemen to help in the process of ensuring smooth conduct of such protets. Since police presence is to ensure smooth conduct of such protests, it is just nonsensical to ask for an advance notice of 30 days as proposed .
Sometimes need to protest arises within short notice, such as certain increase of certain food prices or certain announcement of nonsensical policies, and asking the protesters to inform the police 30 days ahead makes no sense at all.
There are just too many restrictions in the new Bill, and this actually undermines what was promised by the PM some time back that freedom of assembly would be respected.
This has fast become the norm here. It has also become obvious that this may be a classic Sunzi’s strategy : conceding one step when resistance seems strong , but move 2 steps forward when everything quiets down.
further reading:
Bar council president’s announcement here.
Cow business is big business!
21 Nov 2011 16 Comments
These days, everyone is talking about cows. Not mad cow disese, but just cow per se. Maybe cows plus condominiums.
In those days when I was a small boy and staying in Ayer Itam of Penang, we would often see one or two cows being shepherded by some ’young cowboys’ even along the paved roads. Some cows would walk in the centre of the road, and motorists had to swerve their vehicles to avoid hitting them. It was also not uncommon to see dung here and there,, and for small boys like us, we were very careful not to step on the dung when going to or coming back from schools.
Rearing cows in those days was not big business. Most cowboys were poor. Some of the cowboys kept them for milk productions. We sometimes had fresh milk delivered to our house, and i still vividly remember that we needed to boil it before drinking, unlike cow’s milk nowadays, you can just pour out from a tetrapak and drink.
Cows have remained the same. I don’t know about the meat because I do not eat beef, as our family tradition dictates. Since I do not eat meat, I have not paid much attention to beef prices, but one thing I know.
Apparently, cow rearing is now big business. It is even bigger than property , and it can also be mixed with property business.
Cowboys nowadays talk in hundreds of millions of dollars and they do not need to shepherd them through the roads anymore. In fact, cowboys probably drive luxurious cars to visit their cows.
How to be the new generation cowboys? Easy.
If you know the right person — or rather if you are the right person– you can get a soft loan not from banks but indirectly from the tax-payers via the Big Brother, with very low interest, to start a cow rearing farm. Not a loan of a million or two. I recall a female minister had once said that a million is nothing nowadays ( you can try search for a post on this in this blog). Going by her advice, you do not want something that is ‘kacang putih’, you want something big!
So the loan would be in the region of more than a hundred millions. There will be certain time for you to reach the targeted number , say 8000 cows. If you find it too tedious to rear them from wombs, you can actually import them from Down Under to your farm, keep them for a few weeks, and then sell it as a product of your farm. Nothing wrong in that; the Americans are doing the same thing– they are selling American products that are all made in China.
The beauty of it is that since you are somebody, you can actually use part of the cow money to buy and invest in luxurious condos. It will definitely be cleaner than cow business. Do not buy those apartments that lay men stay (they can be too dirty by your standard), but expensive apartments in the region of almost 7 millions each.
Since you pay cash, you can even get a rebate from the developers for the purchased condos. The funny thing is , this rebate can even be classified as part of the rental earnings. You do not have to be good in accounting, for if you are somebody, you can just list those rebate as income- no one would be so foolish to question you! By doing that, the condos you purchased would ostensibly give you a very high yield of more than 10% — even though if you strictly take rental alone, it would be in the region of less than 4% (more or less like FDs, but since you are somebody, you probably can stand the higher risks that condos give compared to FDs).
You do not have to worry. Afterall, so many that you know are doing the same things and other funny things too. There are even some who waive a raise in toll increases but get extra income in the long run by increasing the length of the toll collecting period.
Afterall, this is Bolehland…
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Further readings:
(For the actual yield calculations, please read this excellent article here)
The ultimate sacrifice!
17 Nov 2011 15 Comments
Updated:
I was not surprised by Dr Koh Tsu Koon’s announcement that he will not contest the next election. Contrary to his view, I do not see this as a sacrifice – not to mention ‘ultimate sacrifice’ – but rather as a political reality that confronts him.
In fact, at this stage, he has only the following three options:
1. Do not stand in the next GE and thus slowly pace himself out of active politics
2. Go to contest a parliamentary seat as head of a component party . But looking at the 12 Gerakan parliamentary seats, his chances of winning is slim except perhaps standing in Simpang Rengam in Johore . But if he goes down to Simpang Renggam, a ‘safe’ seat compared to the 11 others, he would have dealt the party image and morale , already low after 308, a killer punch. It would be viewed as placing his own personal interest above party to run away from hard battles and go to a safe seat.
As Gerakan State chairman of Wilayah, he may be able to stand in one of the three Gerakan seats in KL ( Batu, Segambut or Kepong), but looking at the sentiments of urban voters here, his chances of winning is slim.
3. He can of course go back and stand against his nemesis, Lim Guan Eng. This move would actually lift the morale of the Gerakan members and would in a sense help Gerakan candidates standing in other areas. This would in a way erase the ‘backdoor’ minister image as well as prove that he is not the brand of seedless durian that some people have labeled him. His chances of winning in Penang, where his reputation has taken a beating, is almost nil but in taking on Lim Guan Eng, he may help lift the sagging image of the party. This I would actually term it as the ‘ultimate sacrifice’.
But knowing the type of ‘gentleman’ personality that he is, I have long predicted to friends and analysts that he would probably choose the number one option. After all, it is just not in his character to fight such a battle, and furthermore he has already been chief minister for 18 years and a minister for 2. There is no more heights for him to scale, so to speak.
This announcement will be the first step for him to go out of the political scene, for the party election which was supposed to be held this year would have to be held in the next 15 months. So in the mean time , he would be the transitional president till the next party election.
He is supposed to name the Gerakan candidate for Penang BN chair today. In reality, whoever takes over as BN chairman has a mammoth task of taking on Lim Guan Eng and Co.
In the next General election, the chances of BN winning back Penang is very slim given the prevailing sentiments. This is not helped by the fact that a few international media houses have published articles praising the present Penang administration.
To change horse at this 11th hour may be a little too late. However, to those people vying to be BN Penang Chairman, which would enhance the person’s claim to Penang Chief ministership in the very unlikely event that BN wins, this is a chance that none of them want to let pass.
Thus there is intense lobbying to be the next BN chairman. Even comrades can become foes. It actually gives a feeling of déjà vu; in the run-up to the last General Election, a few of the eligible candidates were openly fighting -and in the process destroying whatever chance there was for Gerakan– for the Chief Ministership even before Gerakan had gone into battle.
In my opinion, whoever is now chosen to be Penang BN chairman would have too little time to manuever, and Penangites have more or less make up their minds to give LGE & Co another term.
It would indeed take a miracle to change this.
(This article is also posted in Malaysian Insider side view coloumn here).
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