KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 22 – An Umno lawyer is understood to have been instructed by the Barisan Nasional (BN) party to seek advice from a Queen’s Counsel in London in an effort to break the constitutional impasse in Perak. The lawyer is said to have left for Londonyesterday to meet with an unnamed QC even as the question over the legitimacy of the current MB Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir is already before the courts here. British lawyers are occasionally instructed in courts here but only when the expertise is not available locally.......
Comment: Dang! I thot QC wasn't too welcome under the "ketuanan melayu" ideology (especially since the time of "constitutionally Malay" leader some time back)! After all these years, they couldn't find an ally among the best legal minds, good enough for their satisfaction? Maybe they're disillusined with Shad Faruqi - and they realized after his recent U-Turn (on the "Interpretation act says that Sultan can fire the MB" statement), that he wouldn't want to appear the fool as a legal spinmeister much longer .....
Umno cannot find any spin doctor ally in Malaysia these days, meh? "The usual suspects" won't do it? Maybe they have some pride and are too smart not to notice a minefield and a lost cause?
Malaysian police have launched a manhunt for a Singaporean detainee facing the death sentence, who escaped from custody in handcuffs while being escorted to court.
Comment:I had a Dream - A little bird said, "Don't believe in press statements - They just need to "build a relationship" thru "cooperation". As they say. there is 'honour among cops'.It's a 'Singaporean Wayang Kulit' for gottsakes!.... It was a case of "Kugan"! Case closed!
P.S.At least they didn't have a body, and didn't say that the victim died after drinking water in the police station during interrogation ..... ===============================================
******************************** "The ruler has defied the provisions of Article XVI, Clause (6) when he resorted to ordering the menteri besar to resign from his post when he has no power to do so." -NH Chan ( former Court of Appeals judge), "Sultan has no powers to ask Nizar to quit", Malaysiakini.
“Emergency rule should always be the last resort. Apart from emergency rule, there are three other alternatives that may be pursued to break the constitutional deadlock in Perak, of which the first and most obvious one is to hold fresh state elections." - Shad Faruqi.
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The events since the Perak coup d'etat has shaken the country to its core - more out of Umno's refusal to see reason than anything else. Amidst all these high drama, we have our longest serving PM, Dr. Mahathir, who would jump at the slightest opportunity for making his 2-cents worth known - conspicuously silent!! And Ku Li on the other tangent, is at odds in opinion with "mainstream Umno" - stating that Nizar is Too Legit to Quit.
With the constitution being trampled on, Umno is more concerned about fooling the people that the "Kedaulatan" Raja-raja Melayu is being threatened, and hence the Malay Race as a whole is in jeopardy! More than ever, it is being shown to the populace that it doesn't wish to change, despite all the lip service which they have been indulging in. As usual, they have picked on "bogeymen" to divert the attention of the people from the core issue - the subversion of the Constitution (not to mention the Royal House).
It is plain and simple to any decently knowledgeable man, that the Perak crisis which was sparked of by the coup, was unconstitutional and discredits the Raja-raja Melayu - and that Nizar is still the legitimate MB. After all, the erudite Sultan of all people must surely be aware that he doesn't have the power to dismiss the MB.... Why then did he make this decision, which erases all the good that he has done, destroys his legacy and the credibility of the Royal household?
******************************** “Who says Umno Youth has no spirit and is not brave? We will show them,” - Hishamuddin. ********************************
What could have been so "convincing" in "Najib's" contention, that he proceeded to destroy his sterling reputation as among the most erudite & respected of Sultans? Had the Sultan been compelled to make the decision he made? Your guess is as good as mine .... What we saw probably wasn't as simple as it may have seemed - there must have been "severe ramifications", should "Najib's" overtures have been scorned (you know how the saying goes about a women scorned ...). The Sultan, probably in a "moment of weakness", had fallen for (or victim to?) the "methods" of Umno - should that be the case, the Perak Royal House (and that of other states, too) are just as much victims, as the Rakyat!
Nevertheless, His Highness now has a golden opportunity to set it right - in the face of a political stalemate, he could now dissolve the assembly so as to make way for elections, and set things right once again. But then again, can he do it? Maybe ... maybe not - the "ramifications" of a such a decision may be too much for him to handle!
************************ "My name is UMNO...... I am the Law. I am above the Constitution. Don't you forget that. Oh! The Rulers? When I feel like it I criticize them. When I am in need of them I cry 'Daulat Tuanku' night and day. I am immortal and I will rule this country till Judgement Day." - Mr. Smith
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But, is the "peaceful resolution" of this "crisis by design", what Umno wants or needs? Not a chance in hell!! Umno wants this "crisis". Umno needs this "crisis". It is a matter of survival for Umno! This "crisis" serves the Umno agenda to divert attention from their inadequacies - it is an opportunity for them to "destabilize" in order to impose laws that can bring "law & order". If one has noticed, the mantra that they use is always about "stability" - and that will be the excuse for those "lower down" to seize the mantle of power, should Pak Lah refuse to quit the PM's post. The anxiety over the possibility of Pak Lah remaining, is definitely fraying some nerves in Putrajaya (and of course - at the "Perdana Leadership Foundation" too!!) - and Pak Lah may be holding his cards pretty close to his chest. Is it any wonder why KJ claimed that "some people" are hellbent on "burying him"?
It can go two or three ways, and righteousness doesn't figure in what is most likely. We may get "just what the doctor ordered" (ie, elections), Pak Lah staying on "to solve the problem" for his successor, or the fat lady may call for a "Sarawak-'66" or "Kelantan-'77" to materialize in Perak. Should push come to shove, my guess is that the latter will be the "drug of choice" - and there isn't much that we can do in a dictatorship with an emasculated and subservient security services/ institutions of state.
Umno Baru seeks to, and will perpetuate the feudalistic dynasty of aristocratic rule in Malaysia - and it is hellbent on doing so. With Mahathir's Umno Baru adopting an increasingly extremist & polarising stance (through the current crop of "future leaders"), it is surely making Malaysia into the latest failed state in town- to join the "club of doom".
But then again - who cares if that happens, RPK is jailed, the Constitution is trampled upon, Uthayakumar dies in Kamunting, our children are born to pay tolls and taxes, suspects mysteriously die in custody (ala Kugan), Emergency is declared in Perak or even if Malaysia goes up in smoke? Malaysians just want to go on praying for divine intervention, cari makan for the table, eat kuey teow, ... Who cares .... we just need "sleep & peace" - that will make us a great nation of spiritual prostitutes - a wonderland for economic pirates!
Aliran would like to echo the plea of secretary-general Jean-Francois Julliard of Reporters Without Borders requesting His Majesty the Yang diPertuan Agong to intercede in the case of Raja Petra Kamarudin who is better known as RPK.
RPK was detained under the ISA for posting certain articles in his web-page that were deemed to be a “threat to internal security.” He has been posting many, many provocative articles for years. His articles have been eye-opening, thought-provoking, sensational, and simply incredible. His web-page has an amazing number of daily hits, proving that he has a large following. His readers are from all backgrounds. They are amused, angry or incredulous but no one has rioted or threatened the security of the nation because of RPK’s articles. This is why it is difficult to believe that RPK is a “threat to internal security.” There is no evidence even to hint of this possibility.
He is already facing a series of court charges for some of the articles. Aliran has no quarrel with this. If anybody felt defamed or hurt by his articles, the aggrieved party should sue him and take him to court.
The government should not be suing RPK on behalf of the aggrieved party.
While some of the cases are on-going, why is it necessary to detain him under the ISA? Instead of resorting to the ISA, can’t RPK be pinned down by existing laws and taken to court to be judged for his alleged offence? The obnoxious thing about the ISA is that there are no charges against a person and no right of defence is available to the unfortunate detainee. He is simply detained for no definite reason.
He was detained on 12 September 2008. RPK challenged his detention. The High Court released him on 7 November 2008. Can’t we let matters rest at that instead of pursuing it further to put him away?
As far as the people are concerned, the widespread perception is that the government is intent on putting him away because he has damaging information that could discredit the BN government. The BN is worried that his articles will expose the BN and ridicule it in the eyes of the public. This is a very persuasive belief.
Aliran hopes that His Majesty will intercede to ensure that every subject of his will be treated with courtesy and accorded justice, which is a fundamental right of a person.
“He had persuaded Lim to defect from Pakatan to BN for RM4 million before it was raised to RM5 million. Secret meetings were also planned between Lim and Mahadzir together with the deputy prime minister (Najib Abdul Razak),”
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said Sivakumar's move to suspend the MB was a joke, and accused the speaker of making a mockery of the Perak State Assembly."
- Bernama ****************************************** **Image from zorro-unmasked and Malaysia Today “It took me six months to be nice, to bribe each and every individual,.... -Allegedly "misinterpreted" words of CJ Zaki in Kuching, now head of the JAC.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) spent RM15.153 million for deployment of personnel for the recent Kuala Terengganu by-election, the Dewan Rakyat was told Wednesday (18 Feb).
Travelling and living allowance - RM2,700,000.00
Foodstuff and accommodation - RM4,500,000.00
Dried food and beverages - RM65,000.00
Communication and utilities -RM50,000.00
Canopy rental - RM6,000,000.00 (someone said that the earlier figure was RM 10,000,000.00)
Fuel and spare sparts - RM698,000.00
Raw material and others -RM310,000.00
Maintenance and minor repairs -RM830,000.00
Total expenditure incurred by rakyat - RM15,153,000.00
$$$$$$$$$$$$ “It took me six months to be nice, to bribe each and every individuals to get back into their good books before our files were attended to” -Allegedly "misinterpreted" words CJ Zaki, now head of the JAC.
When Alan Paton wrote ‘Cry The Beloved Country’ he was lamenting over the inhumanity of man over man, of how the whites can devise, construct and implement race- and colour-based social and economic injustices over the blacks in apartheid-era South Africa.
The whole world had condemned this practice; we were among the loudest screaming against it.
South Africa has moved on since then, and today it is one shining example of an emancipated, open and progressive country, enjoying a respectable place in the community of nations. It has thrown apartheid into the bins of its history.
Here in Malaysia, yes we condemn apartheid, and quite rightly so. But in the same breath we were and are still its major proponent our version of apartheid.
We do not call it apartheid; of course not. We call it instead ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ under the guise of ‘championing Malay rights,’ and implementing it under the New Economic Policy. It’s smart, right? In none of them does the word ‘apartheid’ appear!
Yes, we are smart. We do not blatantly call it apartheid, we merely perfected the process of social separation. First of all we ensure the great majority of civil servants, the police, and the military are manned by Malays (the target benefactors). We give them good salaries, good perks and assured employment. We then devise rules and regulations, and even laws, to ensure the NEP’s easy implementation.
We then brainwash our Malay brethren with the notion ‘untuk agama bangsa dan negara’ that there is a higher ideal beyond performing a duty with professionalism and dedication, and that is doing things in the name of religion and race.
We devise rules and regulations, and even laws, to ensure the NEP’s easy implementation.
Then we design and implement social and economic policies like channeling lucrative government contracts, separate education streams, housing rebates, banking and financial support, in favour of, you guessed it, the Malays.
It does not stop there. We devise measures to prevent the people from raising too much objections to all these by introducing or continuing legislation and religiously implementing them.
The Sedition Act for example stops people from talking too much about language and religion. The Official Secrets Act prevents people from gaining access to government files.
Students and lecturers are not allowed to discuss and make public any subject that would appear to be critical to government (yes, government, not political) policies and philosophies.
All publications must, first of all, get operating licences. Newspapers must not only get a licence before publishing but it must be renewed every year.
Sacrifices conveniently forgotten
The king of all of the suppressive and oppressive laws is the Internal Security Act, when a citizen can be put under detention without the benefit of any charge!
All said and done, we sacrifice the rule of law in favour of rule by private individuals. To show that we are really smart, we pooh pooh the loyalty and patriotism of the non-Malay segment of the population.
We call them pendatang or immigrants bearing the stigma that they are social discard from their original country, similar to rogues, rascals, refugees, mercenaries and scoundrels. We just ignore their proven talent and ability in wealth creation and economic productivity, as well as to their demonstrated loyalty and patriotism.
Many of such pendatangs have made the ultimate sacrifices as military personnel defending its security, during the Emergency, the Confrontation period with Indonesia and as policemen while policing the social environment.
They have contributed and are continuing to, in sport and the arts. Their record as loyal and patriotic Malaysians is quite impeccable. But we do not really care.
The perplexing thing is that despite these attributes and positive records of the non-Malays, we are still going about championing and implement apartheid principles. In this new year, perhaps we can do with a little reflection: why are we doing all this?
We do this apparently to recover our lost soul. We perceive that we have been victims of colonisation when the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonisers all but butchered the Malay entity, psychology and culture. In the process we perceive that we have lost our Malay identity.
With independence, we thought we could recapture the lost glory of Malay suzerainty by
becoming masters of all facets of a nation, especially its commerce, and economy. We found out that the Chinese community had beaten us to it.
We felt the Chinese had capitalised on our weakness and captured the economic initiatives (and wealth) as well as the social characteristics of the country. We lost ‘face’.
Now we want to regain the mertabat or dignity and pride of the Malay race!
Yes, we feel that we have to recover our soul and it is here that we are reminded of Paton’s book title, but in this case suitably paraphrased to – cry my beloved Malay soul.
Our Malay soul needs to cry for doing the right thing for the wrong reason or the wrong thing for the right reason; even for the wrong thing for the wrong reason, but not for the right thing for the right reason.
To start with colonisation is really not an excuse for our psychological malaise and ineptitude.
Colonisation has been a feature of human history and felt all over the world. There are very few countries that have not been colonised in the world.
It is thus a neutral concept in human social and economic development. It is certainly not an impediment to social or economic progress as we are wont to portray it. We should dump this notion that we hold dear into the bin of history.
Rethinking our way of thinking
Just look at the records. The Koreans were once colonised by the Japanese, but today Korea is an industrial power house. Singapore was once colonised by the British and was indeed a part of us, and today we see this tiny country being a solid financial, trading and industrial entity.
Most pointedly of all, the US was once a British colony and today it is the mightiest nation in the world. Our second grouse - that the Chinese have cornered the economic sector of the country also needs re-looking into, on two counts.
First, the Chinese did not become successful based on any conscious and concerted economic programme to economically marginalise us.
We did this self-inflicted wound ourselves. As proof, we have to note that most of the Chinese came to our shores with only their feet, hands, guts and brains and perhaps a bundle of clothes, nothing more.
They become successful for their hard work, both physically and mentally and for the sacrifices they were prepared to make and had undertaken. They were successful for having the mental fortitude to seek opportunities, grab those that come along and worked extra hard to realise the potentials of these opportunities.
Secondly, we have been given a chance to be equal with them, both under numerous 'special privileges' enshrined in the Constitution, as well as under its NEP implementation programme.
The special privileges have always been in the constitution while the latter began in 1970. In short, we have been given the chance - the opportunity - many times over, to better our Malay polity.
Whereas the Chinese had to struggle just to find and identify the opportunities, in our case they were handed to us on a silver platter!
Thus far we have failed to capitalise adequately on them. It rather shameful we missing out on these chances specially created for us in the first place.
Either way the root cause of our weaknesses and the strength of the Chinese lies in two words - positive thinking. Our thinking is mired with so many dos and don’ts, so many musts and musn’ts, so many cans and cannots, may and may nots, plenty enough to created and internalise doubts and fears in our minds.
So much so that we have doubt over what we can and what we can’t do, what is allowed and what is not. We spend a lifetime looking for these highly complex cans and cannots, musts and must nots, that we have hardly any mental energy left to develop and self-confidence to get on and face the realities of life.
Let’s refer to this case as the ‘can’t don’t and won’t syndrome’. The Chinese by the way are not encumbered by such syndromes.
What appears to have happened is that this syndrome has affected our mental ability to conceptualise. We see things on the straight and narrow. We accept wisdoms handed down to us by our elders as the gospel truth.
Blinded by sentiment
We do not see that things can be seen and interpreted in many alternative ways. We feel we have the monopoly on truth; we therefore think that we are right all the time and other people are wrong all the time. Witness the way we see religion for example.
We think that we as Muslims are right and other people who profess other religions are wrong, all the time.
We need to cry for thinking that we can and have doctored the way the people think and do things. We have been intimidating the people with what they can read or write or think and do.
We seem to be saying "you can think anything, do anything, write anything so long as it does not criticise or condemn the government".
Soul-searching and resuscitating is not or should not be about pointing accusing fingers at some bogeys. That would be a most negative thing to do. It would be better for us to be open-minded and be able to identify our own strengths and weaknesses.
We improve upon our strengths and dump our weaknesses. Mainly we must be able to develop the awareness that we have both the strengths and weaknesses in the first place.
To illustrate, the NEP has proved many time over as a failed strategy for our socio-economic advancement. Let us be aware of this in the first place and move on seeking other ways with better chance of success.
How about secularising the Malay mind? It might make for a good start for we can see many of the don’ts, can’ts, musn’ts dissipating into the wind.
In the meantime, here we are in the early days of a new year. We should begin by realising that whatever 'smart’ moves we had undertaken all this while have not really been that smart after all.
The joke is on us. Everybody says so – the liberated Malays, the non-Malays, our neighbours and the rest of the international community. Only those of us basking in our closed mind and benefiting from the profits of the status quo say it’s alright.
Happy New Year all the same and here’s hoping this year we can get a good perspective as to what propagating a good mertabat really means. It’s long overdue.
"Once he is elected, his sole decision to defect cannot be prevented from happening. There are no laws against this treachery and no laws protecting the voters’ mandate. ..... One can call them traitors, turncoats or running dogs but it absolutely alters nothing............. The requirement for anti-hopping laws must be introduced to stop this current trend of elected representatives changing political parties in the middle of their tenure, once and for all..... This way, the constitutional rights of the people will be safeguarded through the convening of a by-election to determine whether a new mandate by the constituents is required." -"Hakim Joe", Anti-Frogging Laws, Malaysia Today
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The following was my response:- Hakim, While I agree that the act of hopping, with the sole decider being the MP/MLA is unethical,I somehow do not agree with an anti-hopping law. Although I may disagree with the manner of hopping, it is a right guaranteed by the Federal Constitution. Taking away this right & freedom of association means - one more rightsurrendered out of a sense of insecurity, and one less right that we the electorate have as citizens.
The problem here does not appear to be actually the act of hopping, but rather the premise upon which such an act is carried out (i.e. the means, reason and manner employed in hopping).
Hopping is rightfully legal in the sense that it permits the representative of the people to express dissent against the party policies. This avenue of expression needs to remain open for the people to convey their message to the leadership.
However, the act of hopping should not be carried out indiscriminately, without the rep having legitimately having something to say that he still has the mandate of the people.
Instead of an anti hopping law which may deprive the electorate of this option, I would opt for certain criteria be fulfilled, and a certain procedure be adopted (which could include a window period), so as to prevent this right and freedom from being taken away.
In short, the problem is the abuse of this freedom/ right - not the right per se. So, let us not bedevil this right and throw it away - we should instead take away the personal prerogative of the politician who currently has the right to make decisions in his individual capacity.
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**Cruzeiro believes that we shouldn't "cut off the nose to spite the face". Let us check the abuse of this Constitutional freedom of association perpetrated by selfish, uncultured and uncivilized politicians, instead of giving up this right.
"O liberty! how they have played with you." - Mme. Jeanne Roland de la Platiere, before death at the guillotine ***************************
For a nation to come crumbling down, there are but three kinds of people in leadership, with three different characteristics that is required, namely -
the untamed passions in a gifted man,
the wanton power in a weak man, and
the unteachable temperament in a privileged man.
How "lucky" we are, that we have all three in just one man, who I shall leave unnamed.
C.S. Lewis said, "When a ship goes out to sea, there are three things that it has to know - First is, why it is there in the first place. Then she has to how to keep from sinking, and third, how to keep from bumping into other ships".
In life, the answer to the above three lies in ethics. For us, Malaysia is that ship - sailing around in the high seas rudderless, and changing course as and when it pleases, without an idea as to where it's headed or why it is there doing what it is doing.
In "debating" the issues, we appear to have all our priorities and answers all wrong, or simply mixed up. Karpal calls for DSAI's resignation after the Perak fiasco despite the fact that it was a DAP MLA's defection that triggered this crisis. Mahathir laughs at Anwar's apparent double standards at Nasarudin's re-hopping, Hamid Albar and Khairy screams "treason", and Shad Faruqi says that anti-hopping laws should solve the problem. Of course there are many peasants among us who feel let down by the decision of a certain high office - having put them on a pedestal, after their lip service to "justice" in their high-flung speeches.
Shad Faruqi the Pakistani "constitutional expert", in his Reflecting On The Law column in The Star said, "What is worrying is that the fall-out of this crisis is sullying the reputation and credibility of many legal and constitutional institutions while the root cause – the despicable phenomenon of party hopping – remains unaddressed." (like as if they have any worthwhile reputation in the first place!)
Shad, after earlier proposing that it is the Sultan's prerogative to "Hire" and hence, by virtue of the Interpretation Act, is entitled to "fire", now makes a U-turn to suggest otherwise by saying that, "This implies that an MB cannot be dismissed except by a vote of no confidence in the assembly. If an MB who has lost confidence, and is refused dissolution, is shameless enough not to walk away, then the Sultan would be justified in dismissing him ...... The question of losing confidence was not constitutionally investigated."
He then spins to justify the extra-constitutional actions of the EC in undermining the constitutional right of the Speaker of the Assembly, by saying that - "In the light of this decision and the denial by the two defectors, the Election Commission had some basis to make up its own mind and to declare that the seats had not fallen vacant..... ". Has he forgotten the prerogatives of the Speaker and the duties of the EC? So much for "constitutional experts", I suppose.
Anyway, he is once again, grossly mistaken on the matter of party-hopping - it isn't in the least bit, "the root cause", as he claims it to be. The fact remains that party hopping is legal, and justifiable, should the reasons for it be morally valid, and it reflects the people's mandate - hence not an "issue". It is the premise upon which such an action is taken, that needs scrutiny - not the act of "hopping" in itself. It would be wrong to ban it completely - and I maintain that it is wrong for Karpal and gang to demand an anti-hopping law, or reprimand DSAI for it. I would rather suggest that certain criteria be fulfilled and procedures be adopted - so as to reflect the people's mandate, and also to restrict the exploitation that it may be subjected to by those who wield power and money.
************************************* "He that is conscious of guilt cannot bear the innocence of others: So they will try to reduce all others to their own level. " -Fox, Charles James **********************************
The issue here is the fact that the Nizar Government is the Constitutional Government! The political coup d'etat which was perpetrated by the DPM, to install a Government in the State of Perakwas simply through purchase of "commodity"(or so it seems), is unconstitutional and illegal - whether the Sultan swore them in or not! The DPM mocks the very Constitution which Shad speaks of. This makes all documents, agreements and contracts drawn out by this government, "illegal"- and those who partake in their activities would be rendered criminals. The perpetrators of this crime are however, lauded as "heroes" in a certain party which happens to rule the Nation!!! One can only speculate the level of respect these goons have, for the Federal Constitution or the rule of law .....
The question however remains - Just what is the malady that afflicts the Malaysian leadership and the electorate, that it is so difficult for us to bring about the change we desire?
The way I look at it, it is simply a crisis of faith in our Federal Constitution (and of course, that of the states), which stems from the 600+ amendments made to it by the lawmakers of BN, starting from Tun Razak - to perpetuate the evil called the NEP. Anything done toward this end- criminal or not- is "fair game"! To make matters worse, we have "legal eagles" in high academic/ professional office, who try to play the apologist for these "criminals" in office, through various subtle spins in the MSM and brutal enforcement on the streets.
It isn't enough that there is content in the Federal Constitution, and one more amendment as Shad Faruqi/Karpal/Guan Eng recommends isn't going to make a difference. Nor would the resignation of DSAI, Hadi or Kit Siang cut it. What matters more than the content, is the conviction in its purpose, which should translate into faith in the Federal Constitution - that which is absent among politicians who disregard it. It is today nothing more than a taxi - a vehicle for the elite to ride on for a fee (or free), only for convenience - beyond which, it is simply, "toilet paper".
Until and unless we are willing to admit our faults/mistakes, we are doomed to sail rudderless - while pirates help themselves, until the day we are blasted to smithereens by that one pirate who cannot find anything to rob from us. Thus far, this is being avoided by "refilling the empty decks", so that newer pirates can still have their fill - thus the myth that we are still a prosperous ship. But we have warlord-leaders in denial like Muhyiddin who claim that the NEP "is perfect", and it is only the delivery system that is flawed. (That's like saying that Proton is a good car, and it is only the owners/customers/drivers who don't maintain them ....)
How can we cling to the cause - namely the NEP, which perpetuates wholesale piracy and daylight robbery, and wish the results away? It is a system that thrives on the evils it cultivates - the immoralities of corruption, greed, undeserved rewards, intellectual bankruptcy, idolatry, sloth, envy, covetousness and hatred - albeit, under cover of the veil of religiosity or blatant racist bigotry. Therefore, the lives of many Malaysians today is ruled by a dichotomy in which, they do what they hate, so that they can wash away their sins through repeated "acts of penance", or simply indulge in their pleasures to forget their evil deeds.
It all springs from our lack of ethics in our politics & education system - we have forgotten where ethics comes from, and hence, have unwittingly subverted our Federal Constitution in the process. As a matter of fact most of our lawmakers who scream "treason", have no idea what the word means, as they trample on the Federal Constitution. We then have an electorate with paralyzed thinking faculties, and made to believe in their powerlessness. They are given to emotional upheavals and religiosity - they'd rather scream themselves hoarse and bang their heads on the roads for an unknown Palestine, while they squander away their own rights for pittance or nothing, by subverting their own Constitution. To top it all, we have a CJ who confessed to indulging in corruption (at least that's what the media reported), and is now appointed as the head of the JAC!!
The Federal Constitution which is supposed to be the supreme entity, is no longer the living document upon which we build our nation - it is simply the toilet paper with with we wipe away the dirt we leave behind. It is simply an instrument which "modified" and "enforced" at will by politicians, to perpetuate their agenda of greed. It has been replaced by corrupt & vainglorious men who wield power (and not real leaders), who seek to rule - and they can only do so essentially, by bribing the electorate and their representatives.
This is a system which can only survive through the deprivation of civil liberties and the emasculation of thought - and hence in has to be enforced by an enslaved "security apparatus" and civil service of the state, through the primitive laws and bigotry that we are famed for. What we have is a dictatorship of oligarchs.
No wonder Frank Herbert (Dune) said, "If you think of yourselves as helpless and ineffectual, it is certain that you will create a despotic government to be your master. The wise despot, therefore, maintains among his subjects a popular sense that they are helpless and ineffectual."
And yet, we still, cling to the cause, vote for pirates and prefer to point fingers at the sideshows, so as to wish the results away .....
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"There is a kind of dictatorship that can come about through a creeping paralysis of thought, readiness to accept paternalistic measures by government, and along with those measures comes a surrender of our own responsibilities and therefore a surrender of our own thought over our own lives and our own right to exercise the vote." - Dwight Eisenhower ************************************
