Clinging to the Cause & Wishing the Results Away.

"Guilt that is concealed seldom stops with the one who harbors that hurt. Sooner or later that pain of fear and guilt is spread to others, particularly to those closest to us. “Victimless” crimes are an illusion, for deceit is a monster that needs constant feeding. It would be foolish for us to think that we can deal with guilt by somehow covering it up.
The moment that we cover our guilt we escalate the tension in our lives by adding the dimension of fear. We may then become people who seem okay on the outside, but inside we are struggling to maintain the facade.......
Carried to a different level, this same tendency underlies all our national preoccupation with one social or economic crisis after another. No one seems willing to admit that at the heart of our malady is a mangled spirituality."
-Ravi Zacharias

For a small nation that should by right be striving for unity in pluralism and held fast by the secular spirit and principles of the constitution of 1957, Malaysia is a nation that is struggling silently through a turbulent time of social reconstruction - albeit in the wrong direction.

Indeed, what Ravi said rings very true if we were to reflect on his words against the backdrop of our woes, at the heart of which lies the greed and sectarian politics practised by our political masters. Here we do not have the luxury of "whacking" the usual bogeyman, the Government or BN (aka UMNO Baru).

No - all of them in the opposition too, practice the very same evil by embracing "race or religion" based politics - this has been the curse that has been handed down to us by those who refused to accept and thus betrayed the the ideals that Dato' Onn Jaafar, the Father of UMNO, stood for.
They instead killed every opportunity to build a nation based on "Values and Principles".
They preferred to play the race game that would be a short cut to power consolidated upon those politically "victorious", ie the Muslim Malay race.
That being the case, all the "others" also joined the bandwagon of the most primitive "race/ religion" political game.
YES - This is the curse that we inherited from certain idolized "leaders", who were actually the perpetrators of cardinal sins that would one day spell the doom of this nation (unless it is undone).

Political parties in Malaysia were never forged out of principles of the democracy that they all swore to protect and nurture - they were there simply to fight for the rights and "interests" of specific races/ religions.

Would it not serve Malaysian interests well if our politicians seek to emulate their selfless struggle against injustice under tyrants and religious extremists?
How I wish I could hear the music of politicians shouting out against the subtle persecutions against the all Malaysians be they Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhists or Animists, be they of BN or the Opposition.

But No - they only do it so long as it serves their greedy, sectarian or racist political agenda. Listen to the sound of silence among members of one "party", when rights of the the other is trampled upon - it is so deafening, that you are tempted to doubt the legitimacy of your rights!
They believe that it isn't their struggle, unless it involves their "own people". Politicians fear "breaking ranks" with party bosses, even if it means betraying fellow Malaysians that they have sworn to speak for - all in the interest of "party unity".
How low can politicians go - they prefer to appeal to the lowest possible denominator, toe the party line and be subservient to "great leaders" and be slaves of the party, rather than stand up for noble values/principles of humanity, truth and righteousness.

Dear friends, it is a grave sin indeed for one to dance to the tune of divisive and sectarian politics that caters to primitive, selfish and narrow interests of only certain communities. We need to change our mindset to support leaders who aren't slaves to the dictatorial party leadership, but to principles of humanity.
For that to happen we need to make a concerted effort to change the mindset of all Malaysians, so as to be able to regard his neighbour as a brother/ sister first - race , religion, beliefs, creed, class and whatever divisive factor shouldn't figure in the equation.
For that to happen, the small-minded "leaders" who bark in Parliament need to realize that all parties need to "overhaul" their constitutions so as to be inclusive, and practice it in word and deed.

G.K Chesterton once said - "What we need is a Leadership that is not only right where we are right, but right where we are wrong". So then, let us make up for the betrayal that our forefathers meted out to the Founding Fathers of the Nation. Break down the walls of our insecurities, pride, prejudice - and embrace instead principles of humanity, so that we may not live in fear, but in hope.
Let us turn not opt for the same fate as Dorian Gray, who chose to destroy the hideousness of the painting (of himself) that he saw, and had stabbed himself in reaction.

Many of you might say that it is just a pipe-dream - maybe so - but we must have hope in this dream.
Until and unless this can be done, Malaysia is headed for further conflict among the various groups/communities.
This may of course be conveniently averted through the use of "Rule by Draconian laws" by a dictator, wherein every citizen has to give up his/ her rights, in the interest of "maintaining law and order", with the interest of society at large - which is incidentally the "Asian Values", sold to us by some "great leaders".
Advocate not denial, and grasp at straws so as to prop up the evil that plagues the nation, for our own selfish interests. Let us take the nation back from the politicians, and make it ours - for once.

"It will not do to cling to the cause and wish the result away.
Reality does not play mind games.
What is more, to anesthetize the mind in order to abort what comes to birth when wrong ideas are conceived and borne in the womb of culture, will only kill the very life-giving force of the nation that nurtures the idea.
We must learn, in the words of one cultural commenter, to live as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves."
-Ravi Zacharias

=====================================

NOTE:
The above is an edited version of "A Curse in the Malaysian's Embrace" on CruzinThots (18/2/2008).
It was inspired by Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and Ravi Zacharias's lovely take on it which appears as the preface at
http://cruzinthots.blogspot.com/2008/02/political-racial-profiling-curse.html

MOVES in 100 BLACK DAYS .....

"The poll by the Merdeka Centre shows that his approval rating is 65 per cent, a spike from the tepid 46 per cent in mid-May and 42 per cent just before he became the country’s sixth leader."

"But the bottom line is Malaysians have approved his leadership."
-Wong Chun Wai (The Star)

Guess who/what Else is Flying High!

"The poll by the Merdeka Centre
shows that his approval rating is 65 per cent,

a spike from the tepid 46 per cent in mid-May and 42 per cent
just before he became the country’s sixth leader."

Indifference, Anticipation, Frustration....

**********************************
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."
- Frank Herbert

*****************************

What is it that I speak of here? Nothing new, really - just a rehash of among the first things I wrote about Malaysian society in general. Nothing more than rephrasing what I wrote a long time back, when I wrote A Malaysian Disease of Fear and Apathy so, so long ago.

There is a sense of "despair" too - seeing how the Umno government uses all the dirty tricks in the book to sabotage the proper functioning of a democracy. Not just that - the imbecility of the so-called "opposition" politicians, and NGOs who seem to exhibit some weird form of "political masochism" - they just relish the opportunity to flog themselves and each other to death, when the people have given them a mandate to talk to each other and rule with accountability.
RPK on his part, has confessed that he is for once speechless, watching the antics of the clowns in Pakatan Rakyat who aspire to be leaders - and we thought, only BN/Umno was bad ....

The following phrases might seem quite familiar to all of us:-
"I don't like Politics", "Politicians are crooks", "Politics is not for me", "I just wanna go on with my life", "it's useless", "You not afraid, ah?", "It is so sick....",
"I've got a family/business/job to think of ...", "I've got loans ....", "Let them do it..."
"I don't know anything about politics, and don't want to know anything about politics"

Yes- these are the excuses they'll use to avoid making a stand for their dignity or the future of their children. They'd rather sacrifice it all at the "altar of prosperity", for the little pleasures they can enjoy today, at the expense of Rule of Law and good governance. They don't mind it the least bit if they are the very ones who feed the cancer that rots the fabric of the nation. These are the cowards who will cry the most when they or their children go hungry or die of the consequences of the corruption prevalent in our society.
These are the people who cling to the cause of the disease in society, and hope to wish the results away. It is precisely what makes UMNO tick and smile - that sense of helplessness.

***************************

We do not err because truth is difficult to see.
It is visible at a glance.
We err because this is more comfortable.

--Alexander Solzhenitsyn

**************************

And that reminds me of a conversation I had with a "Facebook friend", wherein he actually implied that he doesn't give a damn about the "Rape of Perak" or the "stealing of elections" as in most despotic regimes. The reason for this was just that the "government has to function".
He went on to say that, "Legal or illegal. Just stop it. Perak must not become the platform to examine the essence of the Constitutional Law or Parliamentary Democracy. Enough is enough....Do you know that economy must function? Daily activities must continue." (He was however quite quick to claim that he was no fan of BN, though!!!)
It is the language of despair and powerlessness that speaks out from this friend of ours - not that he doesn't care. It doesn't matter to him that the country has been robbed, and he'd rather work with the devil who holds his balls and plays with it, than have his rice bowl threatened. It is what Frank Herbert described in the above quote - but such people rather not see that ..... as ignorance is indeed bliss.

R. Shan (aka "Human Being"), had a letter published (on MT) in which he appeared to deplore this "Malaysia Boleh" spirit of malaise, which he saw on MT. He thought it was possibly "escapism" among readers/commenter. Well, to that, I can only say- Yes and No. And he probably suffers from a little frustration, due to the pace of what little changes that are taking place. Although I believe that there are "other reasons" for this creeping malaise that has set in in MT (despite the plethora of news overload) where "expression" is concerned, much of what he said is quite true - and I thought I was the only one who felt it, until I started getting calls asking me "what's with MT, these days?".
He concluded his article by saying, "I am not preaching, but fail to understand why every action that we do or embark in is for ourselves rather that for the community that we live in....What ever the theory it can be, nothing happens if you can only think of yourself."

True, what Shan said- the reason being, for many it was like a "hard-on" which withers after the heat of action. They are too comfortable in their comfort zones, expect quick-fix results, and do not have the stomach for a "struggle". They'd rather live a life that is "drugged into a stupor", and enjoy the delusional matrix created for them by their ruling elite.
What matters to them is that they can make their money, have their fun, and go about without thinking about the ramifications of their fear and apathy. That's life, and being Malaysian is all about, for them. It does not matter to them if they are actually feeding the "cancer" that's eating into the system that will destroy the future for their children. What matters is that they have their fill of the scraps that fall of the table of the pirates who rape the nation.

**************************
"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
**************************

Anyways - there definitely is a growing malaise and frustration that is setting in with the people - with all the "injustice, incompetence, news, dirt and controversy overload" in the media (MSM or Online), created by those with vested interests. Then we have the gullible Pakatan Rakyat Aduns & MPs who out of sheer inferiority complex, megalomania or disillusionment at their own failures, are taking to controversy and squabbles like ducks to water .... like big, hot, dickheads - instead of talking and planning a future for Malaysia together..... while on the sidelines, we have the BN/Umno wringing their hands in glee - hoping for PR to self destruct.
Despite all the opportunities that we may have at our doorstep to renew our faith in the political system, we and the politicians still, unwittingly support pirates (or at least their ways), and prefer to point fingers and despair at the sideshows.
So despite all the facts thrown at and spat at our faces, by the ruling elite from BN/Umno, still -
many among us choose to, cling to the cause of our malaise, and hope to wish the results away .....

**********************************

"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
************************************

P.S.
It is my opinion that MT should publish articles that help the people learn to think & discern. There has been too many updates- unlike no other website, and as such has lost its "soul". They need to be more selective in their publishing, and slow down their updates so as to allow the readers time to digest and understand the messages in many articles, and debate them rationally.
There was a time when reading comments on MT was a delight.....
On another note - someone came up with the theory that DSAI is probably creating bushfires (through the PAS-Umno talks/ Kedah issue) to distract BN's agenda to destroy PR -I don't buy that, though.

Related
Cry my beloved Malay soul [From MalaysiaKini (Opinions)]
Where is the Spirit of Merdeka?
Some Umno myths young Malaysians should know.
A Malaysian Disease of Fear and Apathy
Clinging to the Cause .... Wishing the Results Away
The "Social Contract" - A Malaysian "Cold War"?

Shadowboxing & Black Holy Water ...

Shadowboxing is an exercise used in the training for combat sports, especially, as its name implies, in boxing. It is used mainly to prepare the muscles before the person training engages in stronger physical activity. In shadowboxing, only one person is required to participate; the participant throws punches at no one in particular.

In the Malaysian political environment though, there exists another form of shadowboxing - the indoctrination of various communities with feelings of mutual suspicion and hatred. Each community is made to see imaginary bogeymen on all fronts- economic, political, racial and religious- so as to feel threatened and "under siege", and indulge in this "shadowboxing" which blinds them to the plunder perpetrated by the high and mighty. They willingly give up their god-given freedom and dignity to the political elite, so as to "protect and defend" their perceived interests. If this does not happen, then allegiances are bought from those willing to sell their souls, on the premise of their narrow sectarian interests.

To those indulging in these mind-bending activities, social awareness/consciousness, critical thinking/pedagogy, political enlightenment, politics of trust and nationhood, are their main enemy. They indulge in the old politics of ignorance, racism, religious bigotry and fascistic ideas of "Ketuanan"/ supremacy- so that the people adopt a siege mindset.

The racist government policies, religiosity of political parties, subtle persecutions, increasing crime, social ills among the youth, the poor discipline in the National service program, deaths in Police custody, the impotent and mindless Judiciary, the corrupt civil service, the income disparity etc etc etc, are but symptoms of a nation descending into chaos and anarchy as a result of the above, perpetuated by the powers that be. With all these around them and the ingrained delusion of powerlessness among chauvinists, it will in turn have them beg thoughtlessly for a despot in power, to restore "control and order".

Today, I received a chain-email alleging that there is a virulent campaign by a "Christian" Church at "Christianizing" the Malay/Muslim population of Malaysia. Apparently they had a "Paderi Agung" who is a Malay, and have a church in Jalan Gasing meant solely for Muslim/ Malay converts. Apparently confessions were made after they had met the Mufti of Perak and made reports and Bukit Aman, repented. Apparently also, the number of converts ran into the thousands!!! Just to sex it up, a laughable story of "Black Holy Water" that turns the tongue black & renders the convert deaf to the Azan was also mentioned in the mail.

This sort of "subversive" activity also goes on, on other fronts - one which is well known, is the civil service & education communities through the process of indoctrination through "courses". This issue has been brought up in Parliament on Numerous occasions by YB Lim Kit Siang (UMNO’s Latest Psy-War Materials Exposed). However, no action has yet to be taken on BTN for their allegedly subversive activity. Till today, it remains at the forefront of the Government's propaganda and indoctrination programs.

NST Online (surprisingly) came up with this article on BTN's activities some time back - for which no explanation has been forthcoming ... except assurances from Nazri that the modules would be "tweaked" to represent the "1-Malaysia" rhetoric. The desire to have BTN investigated and charged for socially disruptive ideas that they have propagated has never been considered. Neither has the idea to dismantle this virulent organism

We often jump at Umno for this phenomenon, while at the very same time, neglecting the role of the race-based/ sectarian political parties/groups that masquerade as "NGO"s, which dot our Malaysian social landscape. From a tender age, Malaysians from all walks of life (except those who are fortunate enough to grow up in societies/education systems that lie outside the government control) fall victim to this thinking which encourages "shadowboxing".

Many are also quick to blame the Umno/Malay/Muslim communities for this phenomenon - however it has to be borne in mind that the those from other communities are also to blame for adding fuel to the fire of this hatred.
One good example is "Hindraf's" confrontational stance in the recent Kg. Buah Pala incident is a case in point. Anger has been vented on the Lim Guan Eng administration due to its inability to solve the "pickle" that was dumped on it, as a result of actions taken by the former BN under suspicious circumstances. In a case of "rule of law" has been framed by Hindraf as a "racial" issue. One commenter even went so far as to say,”Tamilans like lions stand together...win the world...at least the village”, although it had nothing to do with residents being "Tamil".

On other fronts, we have those defending the act of using religion (namely Islam) to deny rights of individuals to determine their own lives or that of their children. Men seeking the easy way out of their marriage vows and responsibilities - and Islam is used as an instrument of deceit, thus giving it an ugly face. The dead are also not spared - especially when "glory" or money is involved.

Considering the cancer of sectarianism promoted by political parties and their "allied forces", it is surprising that a government which promotes the concept of "1-Malaysia" gives little regard to the damage that it does to society. In fact, it appears to encourage this sectarianism and religious bigotry, by making ever more laws and "NGO's" that promote the siege-mentality and a ghetto mindset.

Despite all the superstructures that dot our Malaysian landscape which leaves simpletons gawking, and blinds us to the realities that lie in the rural areas - we as a society today, are a sad reflection of the hopes of true nationhood which our founding fathers had upon achieving self rule.
Mahathir's Vision 2020, Pak Lah's "Islam Hadhari, Najib's "1-Malaysia" or whatever else slogan that would come up next- it remains that, to "educate the people into imbecility", remains their forte - for it is how they hold on to power. Only time will tell how far Umno and its allies would go to purge themselves of this evil modus operandi, which is setting the country back by decades in time, and destroying this nation.

Going on to provoke and educate them into adopting a paradigm shift and embracing a new pragmatism in their statecraft, would only prove to be futile if the majority (i.e. the Malay/Muslim populace) continue to withdraw into their cocoons and demand their "special rights" while espousing chauvinism and politicized religiosity, devoid of the spirituality stressed upon in the theological foundations of Islam (as I have come to appreciate it).

Hey There - Wait a Minute, Mr. Postman Raus!

****************************

"Yes Boss - We can Dance..."

PUTRAJAYA, June 26 (Bernama) -- Sultan Azlan Shah was right in not dissolving the Perak State Legislative Assembly in February because it was barely one year old, Court of Appeal Judge Datuk Md Raus Sharif said.

-'Sultan Was Right Not To Dissolve Perak Assembly'

========================================

There have been numerous apologists for the rape of Perak by Mr. 1-Malaysia, in February - from Mr. Shad Saleem Faruqi (who initially claimed that by virtue of the Interpretations Act, the power to "hire" includes the power to "fire"), to the various spin doctors in the MSM and among the intellectually bankrupt BN politicos.
Just when we thought that "spinning" was the forte of propagandists in the media and "legal education" industry, the Judiciary has now stepped in to challenge that monopoly, by "legalizing" a travesty of justice. In effect, they have rendered themselves, nothing more than glorified postmen of the pirates who launched the coup d'etat in Perak.
It appears to me as a layman (where the Law is concerned), that the "judges" seem to be a highly twisted bunch of despatch clerks bent on doing the bidding of their political masters. It almost seems that they have redefined the word "judgement" in legal-speak, to mean " to appease those who wield power".

Pardon my ignorance should there be any in the following, wherein I might have erred - but I intend to attempt to dissect what was given by Bernama, before I read the full text of the 49-page spin doctoring by Rauf (or was it just Bernama shaming him??).

In his 49-page judgement dated June 2 released Friday, Justice Raus said that in order for a dissolution of the assembly to take effect under Article 36(2) of the Perak State Constitution as requested by the then Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, the assembly must be in the conclusion of the five-year term when a general election was contemplated.

It certainly beats me, how Rauf (bending over backwards) had come to this conclusion that "that in order for a dissolution of the assembly to take effect... as requested, the assembly must be in the conclusion of the five-year term", when the very next sentence, in article 36(3), it is "screaming out" that :
"The Legislative Assembly unless sooner dissolved, shall continue for five years from the date of its first sitting, and shall then stand dissolved."

I wonder if this Rauf knows anything about how a parliament is supposed to work ......
Although the following aren't exactly in the order of the press release, the message within really takes the cake - Rauf has explicitly denied the role of the Legislative Assembly in determining the majority, and unwittingly approved of a coup d'etat!!
What he has effectively said is, that the parliament is irrelevant, and that all that is required to prove the majority is a piece of paper, with signatures - without any consideration for the manner in which these signatures were obtained, and so rendering a vote of confidence unnecessary/insignificant!!!

He also said Article 16(6) did not express mandatory requirement that there must be a motion of no confidence passed by the assembly against a mentri besar before he ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members.
"The circumstances in the present case clearly shows that on Feb 5, Nizar no longer had the confidence of the majority of members of the assembly. There were signed letters from 31 members pledging support to Barisan Nasional which were presented to the Sultan,"
"The fact that a mentri besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the assembly can be established by other means. It cannot solely be confined to the vote taken in the assembly,"

Never mind that it is not mentioned anywhere that the majority may be determined through any other means other than a vote of confidence - what Rauf says here is that, theoretically, anyone with the support of the "security forces" bent on grabbing power, may abduct the members of legislative assembly, get the signatures from them at gunpoint, show it to the head of state - to "clearly show that they have confidence of the majority" and be considered legitimate in a parliamentary democracy!!

Moving on to the issue of the appointment of the Mentri Besar ....
Bernama published the following "judgement" made by Rauf:

"The Sultan of Perak in exercise of his royal prerogative under Article 16(2) of the Perak State Constitution is at liberty to appoint another mentri besar to replace Nizar," he said.
"His refusal to tender his resignation and the resignation of the Executive Council was not merely a breach of convention and undemocratic but more importantly, it contravened the clear mandatory constitutional command under Article 16(6) of the Perak Constitution and, therefore, unconstitutional.
Raus also said that the question of Perak having two mentri besar did not arise because Article 16(6) demands that once the mentri besar was made to know that he had lost the confidence of the majority of the members of the assembly, he should take the honourable way out by tendering his resignation.

Article 16(6) states that :
If the Mentri Besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Legislative Assembly, then, unless at the request of His Royal Highness dissolves the Legislative Assembly, he shall tender the resignation of the Executive Council.

While it is true that the Sultan may appoint A Mentri Besar, I fail to see where it is mentioned that the sultan may appoint "another Mentri Besar", while the current has not been proven to have lost the confidence of the majority in sitting.

As "unconventional" as it may be for the Mentri Besar to refuse to resign may be, it must be kept in mind that Article 16(7) states that
"Subject to Clause (6) a member of the Executive Council other than the Mentri Besar shall hold office at His Royal Highness' pleasure, but any member of the Council may at any time resign his office.

So, unlike the Executive Councillors, it has to be taken into consideration that the Mentri Besar DOES NOT SERVE AT THE PLEASURE OF His Royal Highness
Take Note that there is no "clear mandatory constitutional command under Article 16(6)" as mentioned by Rauf in his attempt to indulge in spinning the Constitution.
(This is probably, as N.H Chan calls it - plain and simple legal "gobbledygook").
Therefore, what Nizar did was perfectly Constitutional and democratic, as it was in accordance to the principle of the holding the Parliament supreme, and the Monarchy subject to Constitution.
As to how Rauf has come to the conclusion that it is "undemocratic" is indeed mind-boggling.

After all the spinning, he then indulges in "masturbation" to flatter himself and the powers that be, that what he delivered was actually a "judgement"-
"In my judgment, the situation confronting His Royal Highness in the state of Perak was one such situation, and His Royal Highness had, in that critical situation rightly exercised his constitutional powers provided under the State Constitution, which exercise was without any doubt, solely for the best interest of the people of Perak,"

All these, Rauf as a dutiful postman has said in his so-called "judgement", while neglecting to take into consideration Article 18 (1) which states (subject to Clause 2,3 & 4) that:
"In the exercise of his functions under the Constitution of this State or any law or as a member of the Conference of Rulers, His Royal Highness SHALL ACT IN ACCORDANCE with the advice of the executive Council or of a member thereof acting under the general authority of the Council except as otherwise provided by the Federal Constitution or the State Constitution; but shall be entitled at his request, to any information concerning the Government of the State which is available to the Executive Council".
(1A) Where in the exercise of His functions under the Constitutionof this State or any Law or as a member of the the Conference of Rulers, His Highness is to act IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ADVICE or on the advice of any person or body of persons, His Royal Highness SHALL ACCEPT AND ACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUCH ADVICE.

Considering the circumstances, one cannot be blamed if he were to suspect that this verdict/ judgement was written by the likes of Shafee Abdullah (who got to sit in the DUN in the May fiasco) or even V.K. Lingam .....

Next in line of Constitutional spinning by these dispatch-boys, would be the legalization of a speaker who was appointed while the Legislative Assembly had yet to commence its sitting. It would be interesting to see how they would spin that story.

The long and short of it, those responsible for this "judgement" have taken liberties, to read the State Constitution literally and piecemeal - simply as sentences which are totally unrelated to the big picture, the message and spirit within.
This is also how the Umno media and politicians (like Mahathir) - in keeping with their culture of deceit - choose to twist and interpret the Federal Constitution, so as to justify their much hyped, non-existent "social contract", religious bigotry, racism, the NEP and corruption - while totally disregarding the long term consequences of doing so. This also means that they do not mind rendering Malaysia a failed state (while publicly deploring it) - so long as they can hold on to power to facilitate their plunder and rape of the resources we have.

What a pity that our Courts of the land no longer serve the the Law, but pervert it for usurping pirates bent on grabbing power, and are reduced to being dispatch-boys delivering letters for their masters in the corridors of power.

Nurturing the "1-Malaysia" Malay Ghetto ....

============================

First we had one Merican shooting doctors for the failure of the preventive measures of the Ministry of Health, in curtailing the Dengue epidemic. Then, we have another Merican, shooting the Chinese media for "straying from the national agenda"!!
[We shall not mention anything about another Merican at the head of a Petroleum conglomerate whose accounts are like - "take what we give - and you better bloddy well, believe it!"!!]

He once opined (NST Online : Perspective: The PhD — is it overrated?) that :
"Suffice it to say that a professor need not necessarily be a scholar and a scholar need not necessarily be an academician and an academician may be far removed from being an intellectual."
Maybe so - but was/is he trying to imply that as a professor, you don't have to be any of the above? Neither scholar, academician nor intellectual? Could it be that he was justifying political appointments to "academic" posts?
With ones like these holding professorship in our universities, is it any wonder why we have such an admirable education system? Little wonder, we had some people started who started the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English - and that is to improve English (and not S&M)mind you - and believe that otherwise, Malaysians will be doomed to be stupid!

Truly amazing, this "professor" fella (picture below)- he is reminding the Chinese dailies to be grateful and advises them "not to stray from the national agenda". (Silly me - and here I was thinking all along, that the agenda was to improve the nation through accountability!)
He then wants the Malay to learn about the Chinese, and the Malay media to publish in Chinese- not because he wants them to truly learn, but because he wants "Malays" to impose their values in the Chinese in order to "determine the direction of Chinese journalism"!!!
In other words, he wants to learn from/ about the Chinese, so as to control them! Is it any wonder why (even MCA/MIC or any other variety) people, racists or not, don't trust these UMNO guys?
This guy definitely has some thinking skills, I'd say ....

Just read what he had to say here:
Akan tetapi, para wartawan dan surat khabar Cina nampaknya terasing daripada aliran perdana negara. Sebagai bekas wartawan dan sekian lama mengkaji kewartawanan dan persuratkhabaran di Malaysia, saya dapati masyarakat kewartawanan Cina wujud dalam dunia mereka tersendiri, seolah-olah enggan berganding sebagai satu fraterniti kewartawanan di Malaysia.....
Ketiga, memandangkan kepada pengaruh kewartawanan Cina kepada masyarakat Cina di negara ini sehinggakan ia menjadi satu arus aliran yang bertentangan dengan saluran maklumat berkepentingan negara, ada baiknya pemilik surat khabar/media Melayu, dan para wartawan dan editor Melayu menerbitkan surat khabar berbahasa Cina.
Tidak kiralah sama ada ini strategi terbuka atau tidak. Apa yang penting, Melayu juga ada hak untuk menentukan arah aliran kewartawanan berbahasa Cina.
-Melayu Mesti Kaji Cina, Malaysian Insider.

Not realizing that the pathetic Malay print media is ignored by the educated Malaysian (and Malays themselves too, mind you), this Merican guy accuses the Chinese media of being in their own world!
He seems to believe in the idea that people aren't entitled to their own opinions - he actually feels that Malays should run Chinese enterprises. Not that there anything wrong with that - but the very fact that he thinks it has to be the way for (Umno)Malays to "control", says much about this politician, masquerading as an "educationist".
There is nothing wrong with a Malay heading the Chinese establishment - but the problem is that he refuses to think of anything else beyond remaining in his comfort zone of "being and thinking Umno-Malay", while firing salvos against those who don't think like him. In other words, he actually wants to force the Chinese (media & people)to think like the Umno-Malay! It doesn't matter to this clown if it loses its Chinese character, or doesn't reflect the thinking of the community it is meant to serve.
What matters to this "professor", is that it caters to the needs/ opinions of the Umno-Malay community, although they don't read it!!!
You never know- Maybe this is the prelude to putting Melayu-Umno guys as Editors in all MSM.
It's anybody's guess if this is in line with the much fabled "1-Malaysia, People First, Performance Now" Policy..... to "regain the trust of Malaysians".

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I hope my work will contribute to the study of Malay society, says Ahmad Murad Merican
Associate Professor Dr Ahmad Murad Merican holds a PhD (history and philosophy of science) from the University of Malaya. He has two bachelor’s degrees (journalism and political science). He has immersed himself in the College of Liberal Arts and made the Dean’s List at the University of Minnesota.

PROFESSOR Ahmad Murad Merican
from Universiti Teknologi Petronas' Department of Management and Humanities
was recently appointed as Perdana Leadership Foundation's (PLF) first Resident Fellow
under the foundation's Honorary President Fellowship Award.
As the foundation's first Resident Fellow, Ahmad Murad will receive
a grant of RM100,000 from Yayasan Al-Bukhary to conduct his research on
"Malay Attitudes Towards the West: Engaging Malay Thought on European Civilisation
and Modernity in Constructing Self, Nation and Identity".

-NST
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Maybe this Murad Merican fella should be given another RM100,000 grant to do some research on "Attitudes Towards Malaysia: Primitive Malay Thought on Civilisation and in Constructing Self, Nation and Identity" , instead of the one of the above- which is bound to be toilet paper anyways ...

Lastly, I leave you with a very "interesting" comment from an Umno reader of the article linked above (needless to say, it was "lowly rated"). Even if it was someone pulling your leg, it describes how these guys think quite well (unlike what Jed Yoong might have you believe - that Umno is learning real fast).
So here it goes:-
...
written by Kasim Amat, June 22, 2009

"As a Umno member, it is very firm that we are all united behind the concept of 1 Malaysia. In order to achieve this concept, it is important that the Chinese and Indian acknowledge the dominance position of the Malay and accept the special rights accorded to us. The world has changed and the Malay is now a dominant force in the business and economy of Malaysia. It is important that all other races to realise this change to give up their self-clinging identity if they are to support the 1 Malaysia concept. In order to realise this concept, it is imperative that all Chinese and Indian Independence schools must be closed. All Chinese and Indian Business Chambers, associations, clans and communities should also recruit Malay members so the the concept of 1 Malaysia can be realised."

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