****************************
****************************
Saturday, 24 December 2011
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
So here's to You, Mahathir ... and Stupidity.
"Thanks to the culture of reading here,
many of us know of your penchant
for cruelty in your personal career.
A career during which you enacted despotic
and violent acts at times in the name
(your contorted version) of Islam
and a times in the name of security and national interest.
We could recount how you rose to power annihilating
huge numbers of your opponents
and stayed there for over two decades
continuing your devious rule using tactics
and schemes which are far beyond Machiavelli.
Many of us know about your vile Internal Security Act 1960,
which you used to crush political opposition jailing
and killing them with impunity and putting in place a frail
and near sham democracy placing the entire nation
under a one man rule of the UMNO for over two decades."
many of us know of your penchant
for cruelty in your personal career.
A career during which you enacted despotic
and violent acts at times in the name
(your contorted version) of Islam
and a times in the name of security and national interest.
We could recount how you rose to power annihilating
huge numbers of your opponents
and stayed there for over two decades
continuing your devious rule using tactics
and schemes which are far beyond Machiavelli.
Many of us know about your vile Internal Security Act 1960,
which you used to crush political opposition jailing
and killing them with impunity and putting in place a frail
and near sham democracy placing the entire nation
under a one man rule of the UMNO for over two decades."
By Siddharthya Swapan Roy 
14 December, 2011
Countercurrents.org
Dear Mr Mahathir,
A couple of days back I woke up to newspaper reports which quoted you as saying that India's democracy is a hindrance to its development and if we did away with the nuisance of democracy we will be become developed. Well Sir, it is heartening to see your concern about India's future. Especially now that our own elected government has orphaned us, someone from the outside caring about our development sounds so very nice.
But you see Sir, your (apparently) good intentions notwithstanding, your advise to Indians is, well how should I put it…ill-advised.
I'm not really sure if you know much about the history of our nation. Don't get me wrong.
Going by facts like the general absence of news form Malaysia's newspapers;
the absence of anything but song and dance in your electronic media;
the absence of bookstores that sell knowledgeable books (for eg ones from which you can learn about history and not how to get rich in six steps);
the abundance of malls and the stark absence of libraries;
the abundance of coaching centers that can make masseurs, air hostesses and a host of quick fix technicians
and the relative absence of centres of higher learning especially in the social sciences;
and above all the fact that this insanely consumerist
and hedonist Malaysia was made under your tutelage,
makes me doubt your knowledge of the history of India
or any nation for that matter.
So allow me to apprise you of the story of our independence.
We won independence from colonial rulers waging a long and torturous battle. A battle that sought to replace a discriminatory, unjust and violent regime that had enslaved huge populations with one which was based on the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity.
India was home then, as is now and as will always be, to an immense diversity of people who spoke different tongues, prayed to different Gods, wore different clothes and had different political beliefs. These diverse people said to each other that – we, despite our differences, will strive to live and flourish together and make a sovereign nation which will be democratic, socialist and secular.
We did not anywhere say that we want to be Malaysia or for that matter China or the USA.
We want to become a nation with a system that treats all its citizens as equal unlike your country that officially accords special rights to Malay Muslims calling them first class citizens while relegating thousands of people of Tamil, Chinese and other ethnic origins. Despite the fact that they have known no other land other than Malaysia as their own, you denigrate them with the tag of being second class citizens.
We try to work towards having a system wherein a person will grow according to his merit and hard work earning what s/he has rightfully earned. You may be surprised to know that here in India making cartels based on identity, even if under the name of a holy cow called 'boomiputra' or son-of-the-soil is looked down upon by most of us. Here promoting the selective interests of one's self or that of his kin is called corruption and nepotism and not, as you call it, development. We are in fact fighting tooth and nail to arrest the scourge of corruption and (you'll be shocked to know) get the guilty punished.
Here in India no one is above the law and many a times powerful public figures go to jail for being corrupt or subverting the law. Now that we are at it, Sir, I'm sure it would be interesting to know what the minorities of you country have to say – especially the jailed and beaten ones – about the development-democracy debate.
In fact Sir, your idea of development is largely at odds with many of us here. What you did to the tropical forests and water-bodies of Malaysia (that is raze vast acres of them into oblivion making way for big bucks palm oil plantations and piggeries and so on) would cause huge outrage amongst many of us who are looking for sustainable development.
We are yet to be unanimously convinced that making cemented roads – however broad, lining them with buildings – even if glass covered and glossy, putting cars on them – however fast, is a substitute for our valued bio-diversity. Many of us are very convinced that displacing huge populations of native people for useless things like racing tracks is a blot on the word ‘development'.
There are many of us who find it a shameful and cruel hypocrisy that while your country has abundant and openly advertised sex tourism it still whips women for being licentious!
Thanks to the culture of reading here, many of us know of your penchant for cruelty in your personal career. A career during which you enacted despotic and violent acts at times in the name (your contorted version of) Islam and a times in the name of security and national interest. We could recount how you rose to power annihilating huge numbers of your opponents and stayed there for over two decades continuing your devious rule using tactics and schemes which are far beyond Machiavelli. Many of us know about your vile Internal Security Act 1960, which you used to crush political opposition jailing and killing them with impunity and putting in place a frail and near sham democracy placing the entire nation under a one man rule of the UNMO for over two decades.
You will note that in the essay above I have used words like “most of us” “many of us” and have tried to stay away form absolute claims. Besides the age old Indian practice of accommodating different opinions, it is meant to recognise that there are people in this country too who think like you and will have applauded you for saying what you did.
They too think that roads are all that are important and not the humans which walk on them or the ones that sleep beside them.
They have misconstrued the word development as development of personal wealth and that this ‘development' is a holy cow and everything including the rights and lives of fellow humans is a lesser priority. Their money power helps them buy a lot of print space and electronic bandwidth so they may appear like the majority, but thankfully the truth is they aren't.
The majority of us recognise and are willing to admit – and even discuss at length – that there are problems in our nation – including bad roads. But they'll quickly add that we intend to solve those not by lessening democracy but by increasing it.
Note:- This letter has been published here with minor editing. Contents have not been changed. The original article may be accessed at the link above.
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
Stupid? Maybe You're Right, Mahathir...
*********************
"I would be stupid"
~Mahathir
***************************
Please click HERE to visit Worldbank website
"I would be stupid"
~Mahathir
***************************
Well- whadaya know ... the old man has done it again.
Apparently, he's got the "avatar" bug again- and claims that "these days", all these information can be maliciously created out of thin air!!
"Because nowadays even photos of human beings with someone else’s body can be made,” he says.
LOL- He thinks this screencapture below is a "photoshop"!!
Just when he needs it, it appears that the old man's memory seems to be conveniently failing him again ....
Is this part of his "melayu mudah lupa" drama for sympathy?
I wouldn't know ...
Apparently, he's got the "avatar" bug again- and claims that "these days", all these information can be maliciously created out of thin air!!
"Because nowadays even photos of human beings with someone else’s body can be made,” he says.
LOL- He thinks this screencapture below is a "photoshop"!!
Just when he needs it, it appears that the old man's memory seems to be conveniently failing him again ....
Is this part of his "melayu mudah lupa" drama for sympathy?
I wouldn't know ...
Please click HERE to visit Worldbank website
December 19, 2011
Dr Mahathir asked for the World Bank to furnish the records adduced yesterday by PKR. — File pic
“I want to see... I want to ask the World Bank whether this is true... Because nowadays even photos of human beings with someone else’s body can be made,” the former prime minister was quoted as saying by Bernama Online today.
“As far as I can remember — and I have not forgotten — I never sent any request for any money, not during the financial crisis or even after that. I had just criticised the World Bank, then I ask money from them for what? I would be stupid,” he was quoted further.
Saturday, 17 December 2011
More anti-Christian policies Muhyiddin/ MOE?
Saturday, December 17, 2011
SteadyAku47 (HusseinHamid) says:
SMK Convent Bukit Nanas : Pray tell me Why?
What madness is this?
“For all those who have ears to hear
Who are these who speak dark counsel without knowledge?
Who are these who walk about in arrogant accord?
With their foreheads wrinkled and their hearts hardened?
Who are all these who speaks with serpents tongues?”
I cannot see any common sense justification for such an appointment except to confirm the absolute reality that a desperate UMNO is now reduce to taking desperate and dangerous actions to try and cling to power!
============================
"We have no qualms about race or religion of the principal
posted to our mission schools,” she said in an interview this week.
She said that Zavirah was not school’s first lay principal,
or the order’s first non-Christian school head;
but expressed disappointment that its nominees
had been sidelined by the ministry.
“What we want are principals who know
what the mission school is and stands for,” she stressed.
In his statement, Pakiam highlighted that Zavirah
had not been on a list submitted by the mission school authority."
Unease grows over Muslim head for top convent school
December 17, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 — For Catholic Malaysians, Putrajaya’s latest pick of a Malay-Muslim principal to head the prestigious SMK Convent Bukit Nanas (CBN) underscores a worrying trend to disregard the Church’s contribution and rights in the country.
Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam waded this week into a growing row between the 112-year-old school’s Catholic owners and the Ministry of Education (MOE) after its new principal Datin Seri Zavirah Mohd Shaari’s surprise arrival at its doorstep.
“The appointment of the principal of CBN is not only contrary to the government policy of maximum consultation but has given the impression that it is the government’s strategy to take over the mission schools in total disregard for the status, ethos and special character of mission schools, especially CBN,” Pakiam (picture) said in a statement published earlier this week in Catholic paper The Herald.
He was appealing to Education director-general Datuk Seri Abdul Ghafar Mahmud to reconsider the ministry’s decision and pick a suitably qualified person nominated by the school owners under the Infant Jesus (IJ) Sisters order. The school is considered among the top convent schools in the country.
The case comes on the heels of a recent drama over the police’s extra conditions for carolling permits on two South Klang churches less than two weeks ago.
Earlier this year, right-wing Malay-Muslim groups triggered a national uproar over persistent rumours that churches are on a campaign to convert their own and pushing unfounded allegations of a secret political plot to install a Christian prime minister in the next general election.
Christians say such issues are an attempt to erode their religious rights in Muslim-majority Malaysia.
CBN, which has produced notable personalities such as Bersih 2.0 chief Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and former International Trade Minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, is one of 60 convent schools in Malaysia, Sister Rosalind Tan told The Malaysian Insider.
Tan is the mother provincial of the IJ Sisters and the person in charge of the order’s administration in the country.
MORE
Friday, 16 December 2011
Know This, PKR .... for now, at least.
======================
"What lies ahead for PKR?
There is only one word for PKR to embrace – clarity.
PKR must have clarity of thought,
clarity of vision and clarity of purpose....
The operative word here is “ready itself” to lead....
If PKR is not yet ready to do so now,
then it must ready itself to do so from now."
=========================
"What lies ahead for PKR?
There is only one word for PKR to embrace – clarity.
PKR must have clarity of thought,
clarity of vision and clarity of purpose....
The operative word here is “ready itself” to lead....
If PKR is not yet ready to do so now,
then it must ready itself to do so from now."
=========================
Anwar is expendable, PKR is not
PKR must 'ready' itself to lead the Pakatan Rakyat charge with or without Anwar Ibrahim.
COMMENT
The future of PKR is a shared responsibility. It is not only the concern of PKR members but also all of us who have not forgotten what Anwar Ibrahim has done towards the cause of putting together a credible opposition to give Barisan Nasional a run for its money.
Without Anwar there would have been no Pakatan Rakyat.
Without Anwar there would not have been that much hope in our hearts for regime change and an end to 53 years of abuse by that bully named Umno.
Without Anwar we could not today talk about momentous change that could possibly come in the coming 13th general election.
But our responsibility is not to Anwar alone.
Our responsibility is to his cause, his stated ideals and keeping alive the hope that he gave us for a better future for the people of our nation.
The question now is this: When does my responsibility towards “supporting” Anwar – the individual – ends and when does my responsibility to ensuring the relevancy of his “vision” and PKR to our future starts?
It is a fine line to tread but I will tread it with the conviction that PKR and Anwar are two separate entities.
One cannot eat off the other. In essence, what I am saying is this: if Anwar becomes a liability to the wellbeing of PKR, then our responsibility to PKR and to Anwar is to ensure that minimal harm is done to PKR.
Anwar is expendable. PKR is not!
Anwar in prison?
What now lies ahead for Anwar?
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin, former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Umno and Barisan Nasional can dismiss the future of Anwar with one word – prison.
You, PKR, Pakatan Rakyat and me… we cannot!
This man has run the gauntlet for our cause once too many times for us to abandon him now. He needs our support not for him personally, but for what he has created – PKR and Pakatan.
Gauntlet is described in the dictinary as “a punishment formerly used in the military in which somebody was forced to run between two lines of men armed with weapons who beat him up as he passed”.
Najib and BN will put him (Anwar) in prison. You, PKR, Pakatan and me – we will free him from prison.
Not by breaking any prison walls but by winning the 13th general election for Pakatan and making the business of freeing him from prison the first order of business for the incoming Pakatan government.
PKR must ready itself
What lies ahead for PKR? There is only one word for PKR to embrace – clarity. PKR must have clarity of thought, clarity of vision and clarity of purpose.
The first business of PKR now is to understand its place in the order of things, that is, in the opposition.
DAP and PAS will anchor Pakatan. PKR then must ready itself to lead Pakatan. The operative word here is “ready itself” to lead.
Without Anwar, PKR cannot lead Pakatan. But without Anwar, PKR must still lead Pakatan.
If PKR is not yet ready to do so now, then it must ready itself to do so from now.
CT Ali is a reformist who believes in Pakatan Rakyat’s ideologies. He is a FMT columnist.Monday, 12 December 2011
UMNO's "Malay-polity" in a nutshell ...
NOTE:- The following is an article by Datuk Sabri (aka SakMongkol).
The Malay version of the same can be found here.
With apologies to Datuk Sak, it is republished here with minor editing by me. All emphasis below, and comments in brackets are mine.
Although personal and UMNO people will wish it’s confined, its personal anecdote such as this that strikes fear in UMNO. Maybe it’s already that single initial spark that has ignited the prairie fire.
Shahrizat can huff and puff and weave her tales as her mythical namesake did in 1001 Nights.
While she can fool UMNO delegates by employing attack is the best form of defence, her actions are only an exercise in futility. For her, the writing is already on the wall.
Whatever she does will not extinguish her blackened image. Dr Mahathir has called for her exit from UMNO politics. She’s finished. Incidentally, the 1001 Nights contained the story of Ali Baba and the 40 thieves which the writer of the comment cited.
Perhaps, Ali Baba and the thieves aptly describe what UMNO has become.
This kind of anecdotal and very personalized tale of feeling marginalized and alienated reflects the wider bitterness of Malays with UMNO.
There is nothing that UMNO can do about it now.
It’s a discredited brand.
It’s synonymous with pillage and plunder, corruption, arrogance that can only be the result of being far too long in power. It’s the manifestation of the political dictum- power corrupts absolutely and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Last year, every big idea thrown up by the UMNO president, were rejected by UMNO delegates.
When he spoke about 1 Malaysia, delegates insisted on Malay first, Malaysia second. The deputy UMNO president was even forthright in affirming that line of thinking, which is more in common with the UMNO ground. Even as UMNO members deny it, there is worrisome disconnect between the UMNO president and the rest of his team. When he spoke about his nebulous New Economic Model, delegates spoke about more NEP like policies. In the end, what has Najib got to defend himself?
He has only the claim that he is the son of Tun Razak
- imagining such pedigree is testimony that he won’t abandon principles dear to UMNO. When a person has nothing else to defend himself but lay bare his bloodline credentials it’s a sign he is in trouble. No one can deny that biological connection. The similarities end just there- as people are arguing whether he has inherited the leadership talent of the father.
This year what has UMNO got?
It didn’t encourage delegates speaking about economic achievements. No talk on vision, policies and so forth. No one debates about how Shahrizat got the RM 250 million. No one spoke about the ETP, EPP, GTP and whatever labels the UMNO president gave to his string of initiatives. None. The UMNO president pleads for continued mandate from the people as the Malay Agenda has not finished. No one spoke or elaborated about the agenda.
How is it that the agenda can only be achieved through UMNO at all?
No one puts forth convincing arguments telling us why UMNO is the only qualified instrument for Malays to achieve their collective agenda. Najib is confused about the concept which he came up when he took over Pak Lah which is, the claim that the age of government knows best is over. Yet, by asking the nation to give him the mandate to enable him to continue the agenda, he is reaffirming the exact opposite. The government and the party is the deity and dispenser of what is good to the people.
The 2011 Umno GA was an occasion for an orgy of vituperative shouting match.
UMNO does nothing but directed themselves to attacking and insulting its political opponents. UMNO does two things actually- heightened the morbid patriotism and nationalistic urges of Malays. And it does what it hasn’t done before- speak about Malays' greatest fear- assault on the religion of Islam.
But here is the irony, just as Najib who last year had nothing to offer but to invoke the name of his father, similarly too, this year, UMNO hasn’t got anything.
Listening to the maddening speeches by UMNO delegates, I am reminded of what Arthur Schopenhauer in his "Essays and Aphorisms" said:-
“Every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud, adopts as a last resource pride in the nation to which he belongs;
he is ready and happy to defend all its faults and follies tooth and nail, thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority.”
That is what has UMNO become- an inferior good.
It is a good that decreases in demand as social awareness increases. Malays in rural areas are not exactly insular in their outlook. They read the papers, understand what’s written in between the lines. Their children come back and inform parents. UMNO can’t fool all the people all the time with its scare mongering tactics.
Every speaker comes up before the podium, trying to outdo the previous in terms of bellicosity and vehemence.
The specter of the Yellow Peril is upon us- Chinese will take away Malay rights, turn Malays into Christians, abolish the monarchy and so forth. It’s not going to work because of millions of people are thinking like the person sending in the above comment.
People know.
They talk among themselves.
It has become a huge money making juggernaut.
The ones making money are the UMNO chieftains, cronies, families.
UMNO operates a giant Ponzi scheme, not dissimilar to Harry Madoff’s multi-level marketing.
(Comment: You mean Bernie Madoff, right?)
It can’t defend itself on its track record other than reminding people that UMNO has done much for the people and country.
That claim sounds hollow because ALL governments in the world carry out programs and implement policies. Mubarak of Egypt did the same thing. Gaddafi gave Libyans much development and personal help to people. The Tunisian president did much development for Tunisia. Therefore what UMNO did, is not unique in that it is sufficient for people to feel beholden and enslaved by UMNO.
I feel sorry for the people who think, the widespread disenchantment with UMNO since 2008 and which has been building up is dismissively viewed as a flash in the pan and regarded, for self-assuring purposes, as mere protest votes.
This time it’s real.
Ordinary Malays are disputing UMNO’s empty claims of fighting for the interest of Malays.
And UMNO people realize this.
This is what UMNO fears most- when Malays themselves start disputing what UMNO says and does.
The facts are these- the people who are ripping off Malays are the UMNO elites.
Since Mahathir took over, UMNO has evolved into a company doing a gigantic Ponzi scheme. The elite, the UMNO chieftains, their families and cronies have been ripping the Malays.
The RM 500-million fee from the purchase of the submarines? It was divided among top UMNO leaders and it’s rumored that a former PM got RM 160 million. Perhaps by way of this sedekah, the ill-gotten commission is cleansed no?
Who threatened the royal houses?
UMNO did during the constitutional crisis years. UMNO leaders were the ones who proposed to tie up royal members on trees and let the fire ants sting them. UMNO was behind the exposure of scandalous behavior of members of the royal family. It wasn’t the Chinese who so much as besmirch the reputation of Malay rulers. I have said it before; the entrepreneurial Chinese would want to befriend the royalty so that through the royal houses, they can corner more businesses. How can a numerically smaller group dominate a larger group?
(Comment: not impossible- but the costs/stakes are just too high for anyone in his right mind to just even think of attempting it.
In fact, I believe that even the Chinese themselves would baulk at the idea)
How can DAP convert Muslims to Christianity when the majority of DAP members are themselves not Christians?
The only way Malays lose everything, is the result of the rot in UMNO
and UMNO says Dr Mahathir, is rotten to the core.
(Comment: Naughty, naughty, Datuk Sak .... with the comma missing-as in "and UMNO, says Dr Mahathir, is rotten to the core" - was that a Freudian slip, or was that intentional?")
It’s rotten as a result of endemic corruption. We now speak of billions and not a few hundred thousand being ripped off.
How does UMNO re-flock Malays into its fraternity?
By preying on irrational prejudices, fear and probably some bad personal experience. This is the only way UMNO can re-flock Malays.It’s a reaction that itself reflects fear and paranoia that are enveloping UMNO now. It hasn’t got any big ideas or visionary elements to bind the beliefs of Malays anymore. So, its only way out is to sound and represent itself as the uncompromising champion of Malay extremism.
That approach will fail simply because extremism and the patriotism promoted by UMNO are seen as measures by leaders to preserve themselves.
“Patriotism in its simplest, clearest and most indubitable signification
is nothing else but a means of obtaining for the rulers their ambitions and covetous desires,
and for the ruled the abdication of human dignity,
reason, conscience, and a slavish enthrallment to those in power.”
Leo Tolstoy said that a long time ago.
The Malay version of the same can be found here.
With apologies to Datuk Sak, it is republished here with minor editing by me. All emphasis below, and comments in brackets are mine.
*********************************************
"People know.
They talk among themselves.
It has become a huge money making juggernaut.
The ones making money are the UMNO chieftains, cronies, families.
UMNO operates a giant Ponzi scheme,
not dissimilar to Bernie Madoff’s multi-level marketing....
The facts are these-
he people who are ripping off Malays are the UMNO elites.
Since Mahathir took over, UMNO has evolved into a company
doing a gigantic Ponzi scheme. The elite, the UMNO chieftains,
their families and cronies have been ripping the Malays."
They talk among themselves.
It has become a huge money making juggernaut.
The ones making money are the UMNO chieftains, cronies, families.
UMNO operates a giant Ponzi scheme,
not dissimilar to Bernie Madoff’s multi-level marketing....
The facts are these-
he people who are ripping off Malays are the UMNO elites.
Since Mahathir took over, UMNO has evolved into a company
doing a gigantic Ponzi scheme. The elite, the UMNO chieftains,
their families and cronies have been ripping the Malays."
A Single Spark that starts the prairie fire?
Dengar cerita CEO NFC (suami Sharizat) dpt gaji 100k sebulan, anak sulung (age 31) dpt gaji 45k sebulan, anak kedua (age 27)dpt 35k sebulan, anak ketiga (age 25) dpt 35k sebulan. Jika ini betul, ia sesungguhnya memalukan. Ambil duit rakyat buat bayar gaji besar.
Anak saya pun graduate juga. UPSR, PMR, SPM dapat semua A. Umur 24 tahun. Kerja swasta. Dia pun work hard. Balik kerja paling awal jam 9 malam. Kadang2 sampai 1 pagi. Gaji dia RM2,700/sebulan. Adakah anak saya akan sokong BN/UMNO kalau begini keadaannya? Saya dah tahu jawapannya. UMNO tak boleh kelentong orang cerdik. UMNO is not capable of changing, not with the current leaders.
When more than 50% of our working population is earning less than RM2k/month, tak tahu malu ke mereka-mereka ini. Merompak siang dan malam, 7 hari seminggu. Perompak Ali Baba P Ramli pun ada cuti hujung minggu.
8 December 2011 15:12
Even if we refuse to admit it, the above is an outpouring of bitterness.
Although personal and UMNO people will wish it’s confined, its personal anecdote such as this that strikes fear in UMNO. Maybe it’s already that single initial spark that has ignited the prairie fire.
Shahrizat can huff and puff and weave her tales as her mythical namesake did in 1001 Nights.
While she can fool UMNO delegates by employing attack is the best form of defence, her actions are only an exercise in futility. For her, the writing is already on the wall.
Whatever she does will not extinguish her blackened image. Dr Mahathir has called for her exit from UMNO politics. She’s finished. Incidentally, the 1001 Nights contained the story of Ali Baba and the 40 thieves which the writer of the comment cited.
Perhaps, Ali Baba and the thieves aptly describe what UMNO has become.
This kind of anecdotal and very personalized tale of feeling marginalized and alienated reflects the wider bitterness of Malays with UMNO.
There is nothing that UMNO can do about it now.
It’s a discredited brand.
It’s synonymous with pillage and plunder, corruption, arrogance that can only be the result of being far too long in power. It’s the manifestation of the political dictum- power corrupts absolutely and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Last year, every big idea thrown up by the UMNO president, were rejected by UMNO delegates.
When he spoke about 1 Malaysia, delegates insisted on Malay first, Malaysia second. The deputy UMNO president was even forthright in affirming that line of thinking, which is more in common with the UMNO ground. Even as UMNO members deny it, there is worrisome disconnect between the UMNO president and the rest of his team. When he spoke about his nebulous New Economic Model, delegates spoke about more NEP like policies. In the end, what has Najib got to defend himself?
He has only the claim that he is the son of Tun Razak
- imagining such pedigree is testimony that he won’t abandon principles dear to UMNO. When a person has nothing else to defend himself but lay bare his bloodline credentials it’s a sign he is in trouble. No one can deny that biological connection. The similarities end just there- as people are arguing whether he has inherited the leadership talent of the father.
This year what has UMNO got?
It didn’t encourage delegates speaking about economic achievements. No talk on vision, policies and so forth. No one debates about how Shahrizat got the RM 250 million. No one spoke about the ETP, EPP, GTP and whatever labels the UMNO president gave to his string of initiatives. None. The UMNO president pleads for continued mandate from the people as the Malay Agenda has not finished. No one spoke or elaborated about the agenda.
How is it that the agenda can only be achieved through UMNO at all?
No one puts forth convincing arguments telling us why UMNO is the only qualified instrument for Malays to achieve their collective agenda. Najib is confused about the concept which he came up when he took over Pak Lah which is, the claim that the age of government knows best is over. Yet, by asking the nation to give him the mandate to enable him to continue the agenda, he is reaffirming the exact opposite. The government and the party is the deity and dispenser of what is good to the people.
The 2011 Umno GA was an occasion for an orgy of vituperative shouting match.
UMNO does nothing but directed themselves to attacking and insulting its political opponents. UMNO does two things actually- heightened the morbid patriotism and nationalistic urges of Malays. And it does what it hasn’t done before- speak about Malays' greatest fear- assault on the religion of Islam.
But here is the irony, just as Najib who last year had nothing to offer but to invoke the name of his father, similarly too, this year, UMNO hasn’t got anything.
Listening to the maddening speeches by UMNO delegates, I am reminded of what Arthur Schopenhauer in his "Essays and Aphorisms" said:-
“Every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud, adopts as a last resource pride in the nation to which he belongs;
he is ready and happy to defend all its faults and follies tooth and nail, thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority.”
That is what has UMNO become- an inferior good.
It is a good that decreases in demand as social awareness increases. Malays in rural areas are not exactly insular in their outlook. They read the papers, understand what’s written in between the lines. Their children come back and inform parents. UMNO can’t fool all the people all the time with its scare mongering tactics.
Every speaker comes up before the podium, trying to outdo the previous in terms of bellicosity and vehemence.
The specter of the Yellow Peril is upon us- Chinese will take away Malay rights, turn Malays into Christians, abolish the monarchy and so forth. It’s not going to work because of millions of people are thinking like the person sending in the above comment.
People know.
They talk among themselves.
It has become a huge money making juggernaut.
The ones making money are the UMNO chieftains, cronies, families.
UMNO operates a giant Ponzi scheme, not dissimilar to Harry Madoff’s multi-level marketing.
(Comment: You mean Bernie Madoff, right?)
It can’t defend itself on its track record other than reminding people that UMNO has done much for the people and country.
That claim sounds hollow because ALL governments in the world carry out programs and implement policies. Mubarak of Egypt did the same thing. Gaddafi gave Libyans much development and personal help to people. The Tunisian president did much development for Tunisia. Therefore what UMNO did, is not unique in that it is sufficient for people to feel beholden and enslaved by UMNO.
I feel sorry for the people who think, the widespread disenchantment with UMNO since 2008 and which has been building up is dismissively viewed as a flash in the pan and regarded, for self-assuring purposes, as mere protest votes.
This time it’s real.
Ordinary Malays are disputing UMNO’s empty claims of fighting for the interest of Malays.
And UMNO people realize this.
This is what UMNO fears most- when Malays themselves start disputing what UMNO says and does.
The facts are these- the people who are ripping off Malays are the UMNO elites.
Since Mahathir took over, UMNO has evolved into a company doing a gigantic Ponzi scheme. The elite, the UMNO chieftains, their families and cronies have been ripping the Malays.
The RM 500-million fee from the purchase of the submarines? It was divided among top UMNO leaders and it’s rumored that a former PM got RM 160 million. Perhaps by way of this sedekah, the ill-gotten commission is cleansed no?
Who threatened the royal houses?
UMNO did during the constitutional crisis years. UMNO leaders were the ones who proposed to tie up royal members on trees and let the fire ants sting them. UMNO was behind the exposure of scandalous behavior of members of the royal family. It wasn’t the Chinese who so much as besmirch the reputation of Malay rulers. I have said it before; the entrepreneurial Chinese would want to befriend the royalty so that through the royal houses, they can corner more businesses. How can a numerically smaller group dominate a larger group?
(Comment: not impossible- but the costs/stakes are just too high for anyone in his right mind to just even think of attempting it.
In fact, I believe that even the Chinese themselves would baulk at the idea)
How can DAP convert Muslims to Christianity when the majority of DAP members are themselves not Christians?
The only way Malays lose everything, is the result of the rot in UMNO
and UMNO says Dr Mahathir, is rotten to the core.
(Comment: Naughty, naughty, Datuk Sak .... with the comma missing-as in "and UMNO, says Dr Mahathir, is rotten to the core" - was that a Freudian slip, or was that intentional?")
It’s rotten as a result of endemic corruption. We now speak of billions and not a few hundred thousand being ripped off.
How does UMNO re-flock Malays into its fraternity?
By preying on irrational prejudices, fear and probably some bad personal experience. This is the only way UMNO can re-flock Malays.It’s a reaction that itself reflects fear and paranoia that are enveloping UMNO now. It hasn’t got any big ideas or visionary elements to bind the beliefs of Malays anymore. So, its only way out is to sound and represent itself as the uncompromising champion of Malay extremism.
That approach will fail simply because extremism and the patriotism promoted by UMNO are seen as measures by leaders to preserve themselves.
“Patriotism in its simplest, clearest and most indubitable signification
is nothing else but a means of obtaining for the rulers their ambitions and covetous desires,
and for the ruled the abdication of human dignity,
reason, conscience, and a slavish enthrallment to those in power.”
Leo Tolstoy said that a long time ago.
Friday, 9 December 2011
Killing techies the NIGERIAN way?!!
***************************
Therefore, it is illegal for anybody to practice Information Technology
in Nigeria without registering with Computer Professionals
(Registration Council of Nigeria).
- CPN homepage
Therefore, it is illegal for anybody to practice Information Technology
in Nigeria without registering with Computer Professionals
(Registration Council of Nigeria).
- CPN homepage
*******************************
Killing techies the Malaysian way
by Erna Mahyuni on Thursday, 8 December 2011 at 22:58
SHARE/PASS THIS ROUND AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE:
After the draconian Peaceful Assembly Bill, Malaysia is now trotting out the next Really Bad Idea: the Computing Professionals Bill 2011. You can read the draft bill here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/75107593/CPB2011-Draft
The gist of it is this: the plan is to create a Board of Computing Professionals and make it mandatory by law for all computing professionals to be registered with and certified by said board.
This board will decide whether you are a 'properly' qualified professional. There will of course be registration fees involved, payable yearly. And a proposed 'fund' created. Why does all this smell rather like a poorly disguised moneymaking scheme?
If you are NOT a registered member, you are prohibited from submitting "proposals,plans,designs,drawings,schemes,reports,studies or others to be determined by the Board to any person or authority in Malaysia".
In other words, if I don't register, it is technically illegal for me to even email ANY MALAYSIAN with even an IDEA for a tech-related project. It would be against the law for me to even sketch, on a napkin, my idea for a new app while having coffee with someone.
Want to know the hilarious part? The country with a bill nearly identical to ours is...NIGERIA. -> http://www.cpn.gov.ng/index.php?page=showcnt&cat=4&subc=0&id=3 .
So we're taking a leaf out of their book?
Brilliant, Malaysia, totally brilliant.
In countries like Australia, there are professional bodies like the Australian Computer Society. But enrollment is voluntary - in Malaysia, the powers that be are figuratively putting a gun to the head of every computing professional. "Register or you'll be deemed doing business illegally."
Why is this a big deal? The bill goes against the grain of everything tech stands for. It's about innovation and the freedom to create; things this bill intends to snuff out. What's to stop the country from deciding what kind of tech we're allowed to create?
The bill even states that IT professionals are not allowed to participate in fields not within their expertise. So if I'm a registered systems analyst but taught myself to program in Rails in my spare time, it would be ILLEGAL for me to do some coding for a client unless I re-declare my skills.
As an IT grad and ex-tech worker, I learned first-hand that it isn't paper qualifications that count as much as proven skills. I know programmers without degrees or any form of certification who are skilled, competent and in most cases, entirely self-taught. After all, the biggest names in the global IT industry —Bill Gates, the late Steve Jobs, Michael Dell and Larry Ellison—dropped out of college.
Dear tech industry workers, I urge you to oppose the bill.
Oppose it because it seeks to force you to limit and narrowly define the scope of your talents.
Oppose it because the government is effectively trying to decide what you can or cannot work on and who you can work with.
Oppose it because unnecessary regulation like this will cripple, not enhance the already challenged industry.
Oppose it because this is a poorly thought out, badly put-together piece of bullcrap.
I'll be damned if I'll let the government insist I register with them and pay them money for the freedom to program, build websites and apps or propose tech-related ideas to my fellow Malaysians.
#############################
Nigeria's CPN FAQs
(For more, click here on Link above):-
When was CPN established and what was is the objective for its establishment?
establishment?Computer Professionals Nigeria (CPN) was established by Act 49 of 1993 to regulate, control and supervise the IT industry in Nigeria. The Act establishing the Council was passed into law on 10th of June and gazetted on the 9th of August that year.
It is also charged with the responsibility of determining the standards of knowledge and skills to be attained by persons seeking to become members of the computing profession and improve those standards from time to time as circumstances may permit.
Also, it is part of the responsibility of CPN to maintain a register of persons seeking to be registered under the Act to practice the computing profession and the publication from time to time of the list of such persons. Therefore, it is illegal for anybody to practice Information Technology in Nigeria without registering with Computer Professionals (Registration Council of Nigeria).
It is also charged with the responsibility of determining the standards of knowledge and skills to be attained by persons seeking to become members of the computing profession and improve those standards from time to time as circumstances may permit.
Also, it is part of the responsibility of CPN to maintain a register of persons seeking to be registered under the Act to practice the computing profession and the publication from time to time of the list of such persons. Therefore, it is illegal for anybody to practice Information Technology in Nigeria without registering with Computer Professionals (Registration Council of Nigeria).
Monday, 5 December 2011
Things that make you go ... "DUHHH"
Nuon Chea:Khmer Rouge 'were not bad people' Nuon Chea said he was a patriot and that killings were to be blamed on the Vietnamese
Mahathir:Less democracy better for India
Mahathir bin Mohamad, who was the keynote speaker at HT Leadership Summit 2011 on Friday, said India could be China in terms of development if it was “less democratic”.
NAJIB RAZAK: In the name of Allah, with Allah as my witness I am not involved and I don't know the Mongolian woman I am being accused of knowing by certain parties.
Muhyiddin:Umno not a racist party
Muhyiddin Yassin said Malays and non-Malays can still depend on Umno as the party that was the backbone of the government and country.
NazriUses May 13 riots to justify street protest ban
Responding to heavy criticism of the Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011 by the opposition and civil society, the de facto law minister is using the May 13, 1969, incident and the London riots
Shahrizat: I have nothing to do with NFC issue
"I will not clarify (on the NFC issue) .... As a leader, we need to be patient and calm, and not get easily hysterical".
Saturday, 3 December 2011
Speaking of - The Mamak and the "Constitutional Malay" ...
"Even when they’re challenged as to their real identity,
they shamelessly defend their false Malay roots.
For some, Tamil is still spoken in whispers,
For some, Tamil is still spoken in whispers,
in the privacy of their homes,
like it were a “dirty” parlance.
Why? For special rights? For economic handouts?"
Why? For special rights? For economic handouts?"
The Mamak Dilemma – Shame, Opportunity, Assimilation, and an Identity Lost
Wednesday, 30 November 2011 admin-s
By Mohd Ikhram Merican
“How shall a man escape from his ancestors, or
draw off from his veins the black drop which he drew from his father’s
or mother’s life?” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
For
some time now I’ve felt that the Indian Muslim or Mamak community at
large suffers from a pitiful cultural and identity crisis. Being a
Muslim of Indian origin, I have first-hand experience with the dilemma
afflicting this community that has contributed so much to the culture,
politics, and economy of Malaysia for well over a few centuries. I also
worry that so many members of this, my community, are shedding their
identity by becoming over-zealous converts.
Some
of the offensive and snide remarks by an individual with clear Indian
ancestry at the on-going UMNO General Assembly have motivated me to
finally pen this letter.
My ancestral beginnings in Malaysia start with my great-grandfather, K.K Daud, in Penang in the early 20th
century; although I suspect earlier generations were already making
trade excursions to the Malay Peninsula. My grandfather, D Mohamed
Ibraheem, born in India, was brought to study at the Methodist Boys
School in Penang. He was a scholar, a sportsman, and a gentleman. These
exact traits, decades later, were to become my obligation at my Alma
Mater, the Victoria Institution.
My grandfather
was a linguist of sorts. He learned Latin, was sufficiently proficient
in Malay, and a master in English and Tamil. All of his children bore a
combination of Tamil and Muslim names, a testament to his pride as a
Tamilian and an unashamed celebration of his Indian roots. He worked
hard, contributed to Penang’s economy, was a well respected member of
his community, and raised a good family. For all intents and purposes,
he was well assimilated into the fabric of Penangite society. He did not
have to shed his cultural identity to do this.
My
father and his generation, like their preceding generations, spoke
excellent Tamil. Most of them were privileged to have an English
education. A significant number of them have gone on to becoming
prominent captains of industry in Malaysia and abroad. None of them
coveted handouts from the government or needed to shake-off their
“Indian-ess” to progress in Malaysia. It was never an option. Their
parents worked hard to educate them.
My
generation does not speak Tamil as well as the previous generations.
Most of us speak English or Malay. Suddenly it has become important to
be seen as practicing Malay culture. Article 160 of the Constitution
states that a “Malay” is a person who professes the religion of Islam,
habitually speaks the Malay language, conforms to Malay custom and -
- was before Merdeka Day born in the Federation or in Singapore or born of parents one of whom was born in the Federation or in Singapore, or was on that day domiciled in the Federation or in Singapore; or
- is the issue of such a person;
Many Indian Muslims have used or would like to use this provision to “convert”.
I have no disrespect for the Malay culture which is beautiful. We can all learn a thing or two from Malay adat.
However, I do hold a grudge against the deliberate extermination of
one’s own heritage. I further find it offensive when Indian Muslims, in
their eagerness to convert, use Machiavellian means to identify
themselves as Malay. It demonstrates a lack of dignity and self-worth.
Naturally,
I feel sick when I read of the charades of UMNO politicians,
academicians, and community leaders masquerading as Malays, spewing
hatred against other races, sometimes against their own roots.
Even when they’re challenged as to their real identity, they shamelessly defend their false Malay roots.
For some, Tamil is still spoken in whispers, in the privacy of their homes, like it were a “dirty” parlance.
Even when they’re challenged as to their real identity, they shamelessly defend their false Malay roots.
For some, Tamil is still spoken in whispers, in the privacy of their homes, like it were a “dirty” parlance.
Why?
For special rights? For economic handouts?
My grandfather worked very, very hard for providence. So did the men of his generation. The early Indian Muslim traders who came to these shores were an industrious lot who earned their bread. They contributed to Malaysia’s rich heritage without becoming cultural orphans. They cherished their roots. Hardship and experience polished them. It earned them monopolies in certain trades that last till today.
My grandfather worked very, very hard for providence. So did the men of his generation. The early Indian Muslim traders who came to these shores were an industrious lot who earned their bread. They contributed to Malaysia’s rich heritage without becoming cultural orphans. They cherished their roots. Hardship and experience polished them. It earned them monopolies in certain trades that last till today.
This legacy is
being destroyed.
A culture and heritage is disappearing only to be replaced by a false sense of security.
In the process, the Indian Muslims are offending not only their own race and the Chinese, but many Malays too.
In the long run, we as a community will isolate ourselves from our roots and the nation in which we want so much to assimilate with.
A culture and heritage is disappearing only to be replaced by a false sense of security.
In the process, the Indian Muslims are offending not only their own race and the Chinese, but many Malays too.
In the long run, we as a community will isolate ourselves from our roots and the nation in which we want so much to assimilate with.
“Distinguished ancestors shed a
powerful light on their descendants, and forbid the concealment either
of their merits or of their demerits.”
- Gaius Sallustius Crispus
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