March 8 is just around the corner. Are you a registered voter? I know I AM NOT.... yes i'm a typical Malaysian born with the 'tidak apa' attitude. I've been talking on and on about wanting to finally vote... till i forgot to register.
Yes i am the greatest hypocrite!
However, that wont stop me from bloggin about voting. You see, the state of affairs in the country is getting worse. To be frank and honest, there's no party worthy of running this country. If you dont believe me.. do check out each party's manifesto.
Anyhow..... I never thought I would hear myself say this, let alone type this out.. I wish The Tun was still in power. I mean, to a certain extend, I do believe it is his fault that the racial divide in this country has grown.
He was the man who deliberately had a Chinese chauffeur and in 1969 declared that he didnt need chinese votes to win. Naturally he lost to the PAS candidate.
The great Tun was also the guy who wrote the book 'The Malay Dilemma'... which he sought to explain the causes of the May 13 Incident and the reasons for the Malays' lack of economic progress within their own country. He then proposed a politico-economic solution in the form of "constructive protection", worked out after careful consideration of the effects of heredity and evironmental factors on the Malay race.
Once again I have to say as I've mentioned in many blogs before... since when is Malaysia for Malays? shouldnt it be for MALAYSIANs???? As mentioned before also, how sure are we that Malays were here first????
Anyhow, back to the book.... do you know that part of the book forms the basis of Malaysia's NEP????
Inspite of all his inadequacies.. i guess the Tunku was a better leader..... and did the right thing to fuck the Tun up back in the days.
Anyhow..... inspite of all that, I do admire the Tun. He fought so passionately in what he believed in. He is man who has guts. He'll tell the white man to Fuck Off and mind your own business....
More importantly... he cared about the country... between the late 80s and late 90s, he did afterall improve Malaysia in so many ways. During this period, growth averaged over ten percent and living standards rose twentyfold, with poverty relatively almost eradicated and social indicators such as literacy levels and infant mortality rates becoming almost on par with developed countries.
Malaysia became a high-tech manufacturing, financial and telecommunication hub. Great initiatives such as Perwaja, Proton and Astro have helped Malaysia in so many ways.
However, these projects have serious issues. One has a corrupted boss, the other had to be bailed by Petronas the last one... well we all love Astro dont we?
He does love the country and embarked on many large scale national projects the North-South Expressway (don't you just love it?).... MSC... KLIA... Twin Towers, Sepang... Putrajaya... Cyberjaya.....
Although I still feel that the money used could have been used for better reasons... however, to a certain degree, these projects have put us on the World Map....
What i respect most about him is that he was Mat Cool during the 1997 financial crisis.... Stupid George fucked us.... and we desperately needed IMF and the World Bank to bail us out... but the Tun told them to fuck off... as he knew best... lets be frank.. we did recover faster than expected.... and apart from Singapore... i think we're pretty alrite... as compared to our neighbours in the region...
All and all.. he did alot for the country... but he was a stubborn man... he had alot of flaw... made alot of mistakes.. but he did more good than bad...
what can we say about his balless successor?????
here's what my favourite Malaysian comedians have to say.....
Happy Voting y'all
Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Monday, 4 February 2008
Mamak moments
I seriously think that the mamak stall is a 'malaysian' phenomenon. First and foremost, the term 'mamak' as defined by wikipedia: 'is a term (derived from a Tamil word meaning uncle) used in Malaysia to describe the Malaysian Indian Muslim community and culture. Most Indian Muslims consider this term to be pejorative'.
The mamak stall is (as the name suggests), a stall operated by mamaks. Its incredible that one can find a mamak at almost any street corner in KL. Though traditionally mamaks are roadside stalls with a few tables, we now have restaurant and cafe-type mamaks all around. No other eatery has much cultural significance in Malaysia, apart from the kopitiam, of course.
Everyone goes to the mamak. Whether its for a proper meal or late night football watching, or just to have a quick drink in between errands, we all go to the mamak.
There have been many terrifying urban legend type mamak tales to share ranging from creepy crawlers to 'creative ingredients'. And i'm sure you have your own tale to share. However, my misadventures arent as scary.
I remember 1 particular mamak stall that we used to patronise during our secondary school days. It was the stall next to the Esso on Pasar Road. I do not understand why we go there, but we do. I remember it was the stall very near to Hafiz' house and next to his brother's burger stall. The gang, would just 'lepak' there on most nights, flipping burgers and jamming on 'kapok' guitars.
Anyhow, back to that infamous stall. The owner was this really old dude..... and he had a few helpers. This particular helper will take our orders almost everyday. I don't know what's his deal, but he never comes prepared with pen and paper. Irrespective, being a person whose job is to 'take orders', one should be fairly proficient after 'years' on the job... rite? Now, our group goes there almost on a daily basis, and its the ussual 3-5 jokers........ and we generally (being creatures of habit), order the same drink.... maybe its our luck, but its always that same ol' dude who comes to take our orders. As predictable, he's never equipped with pen & paper. What this joker does is that he'll just go to the kitchen area and prepares 1 drink, and return with that 1 drink. then takes the order for the remaining people. Goes back to the kitchen area and perpares just another drink and returns to take the order of the remaining people.
If you think he's bad? lemme tell you of the other mamak stall we used to patronise during our school days located in maluri - near the 7-11. This guy is still the champion. I remember during nite scouting activities, the whole gang whole gather at that mamak. There would be at least 10-15 of us. Naturally we would all order different drinks. But the dude there, perhaps felt it was his 'paternal' duty... he would calmly take the orders (also without pen & paper)... return to the kitchen area... and after say 10 minutes of waiting... he would return to our table with about 15 cups of MILO AIS.... !!!!! I KID YOU NOT!!!! (even if there were only 10 of us and nobody ordered MILO AIS!)
lemme tell you 2 more recent incidents...
Incident 1: As you know, i'm ga-ga over salsa. I spent so much time at the studio these days. As such, i'm ALWAYS at Devi's corner (mamak) just beneath the studio. I must admit, the food's not too bad. Nothing fantastic, but just nice. As mentioned before, I am a creature of habit. As such, for the past few years, my no 1 drink at mamaks is TEH O AIS KOSONG. The thing is, i dont really like sweet drinks and i love the taste of tea.
One thursday night, after salsa class, the gang gathered at the mamak for a our ritualistic 'yum char' session. I think at that point in time, it was just Mary-Ann, Karen and myself. Anyhow, as ussual, i ordered my 'TEH O AIS KOSONG'. The dude nicely wrote down our orders and proceeded to the kitchen to process it.
About 5 minutes later, he returned with our drinks. I was totally shocked with what he had intepreted TEH O AIS KOSONG to be. Lo and behold, this is what the dude gave me:
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The mamak stall is (as the name suggests), a stall operated by mamaks. Its incredible that one can find a mamak at almost any street corner in KL. Though traditionally mamaks are roadside stalls with a few tables, we now have restaurant and cafe-type mamaks all around. No other eatery has much cultural significance in Malaysia, apart from the kopitiam, of course.
Everyone goes to the mamak. Whether its for a proper meal or late night football watching, or just to have a quick drink in between errands, we all go to the mamak.
There have been many terrifying urban legend type mamak tales to share ranging from creepy crawlers to 'creative ingredients'. And i'm sure you have your own tale to share. However, my misadventures arent as scary.
I remember 1 particular mamak stall that we used to patronise during our secondary school days. It was the stall next to the Esso on Pasar Road. I do not understand why we go there, but we do. I remember it was the stall very near to Hafiz' house and next to his brother's burger stall. The gang, would just 'lepak' there on most nights, flipping burgers and jamming on 'kapok' guitars.
Anyhow, back to that infamous stall. The owner was this really old dude..... and he had a few helpers. This particular helper will take our orders almost everyday. I don't know what's his deal, but he never comes prepared with pen and paper. Irrespective, being a person whose job is to 'take orders', one should be fairly proficient after 'years' on the job... rite? Now, our group goes there almost on a daily basis, and its the ussual 3-5 jokers........ and we generally (being creatures of habit), order the same drink.... maybe its our luck, but its always that same ol' dude who comes to take our orders. As predictable, he's never equipped with pen & paper. What this joker does is that he'll just go to the kitchen area and prepares 1 drink, and return with that 1 drink. then takes the order for the remaining people. Goes back to the kitchen area and perpares just another drink and returns to take the order of the remaining people.
If you think he's bad? lemme tell you of the other mamak stall we used to patronise during our school days located in maluri - near the 7-11. This guy is still the champion. I remember during nite scouting activities, the whole gang whole gather at that mamak. There would be at least 10-15 of us. Naturally we would all order different drinks. But the dude there, perhaps felt it was his 'paternal' duty... he would calmly take the orders (also without pen & paper)... return to the kitchen area... and after say 10 minutes of waiting... he would return to our table with about 15 cups of MILO AIS.... !!!!! I KID YOU NOT!!!! (even if there were only 10 of us and nobody ordered MILO AIS!)
lemme tell you 2 more recent incidents...
Incident 1: As you know, i'm ga-ga over salsa. I spent so much time at the studio these days. As such, i'm ALWAYS at Devi's corner (mamak) just beneath the studio. I must admit, the food's not too bad. Nothing fantastic, but just nice. As mentioned before, I am a creature of habit. As such, for the past few years, my no 1 drink at mamaks is TEH O AIS KOSONG. The thing is, i dont really like sweet drinks and i love the taste of tea.
One thursday night, after salsa class, the gang gathered at the mamak for a our ritualistic 'yum char' session. I think at that point in time, it was just Mary-Ann, Karen and myself. Anyhow, as ussual, i ordered my 'TEH O AIS KOSONG'. The dude nicely wrote down our orders and proceeded to the kitchen to process it.
About 5 minutes later, he returned with our drinks. I was totally shocked with what he had intepreted TEH O AIS KOSONG to be. Lo and behold, this is what the dude gave me:
The dude brought me a glass of TEH O and a glass of AIS KOSONG????????? hence TEH O AIS KOSONG! i guess in future i have to be more specific. That's why nowadays, i order TEH O KOSONG (dropping the ever confusing AIS!). However i wont be surprised if they find a way to screw that up!
The second incident happened just last Friday. After the weekly Friday salsa session at Little Havana, we proceeded to our regular mamak not too far from LH. I do admit that their nasi goreng kampung and food in general is VERY GOOD.
Anyhow, as always, i ordered my NASI GORENG KAMPUNG and as ussual, i asked for cili padi. Now, mamaks or rather non chinese in general do not really slice the cili padi finely. They would normally cut them up into small bit sizes. However, this is probably the laziest display of chilli cutting i've ever seen.
Just take a look at that. They gave me alot of cili padi... but i would prefer them in smaller sizes! They were all either cut in half or left in full.... Sigh... don't people understand the meaning of the phrase 'cili padi potong?'
Anyhow, mamak is something that's here to stay. You can complain all you want, but without them, life does get a lil dull...... Perhaps i'll see you at a mamak nearby for a cuppa!
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Would like to seize this opportunity to wish all of you a great YEAR OF THE RAT!!! (another thing you can find at most mamaks!)
Monday, 14 January 2008
New Year - same shit
Dear all, I do humbly apologise for being such a poor blogger. Its been a while since I've been surfing from blog to blog, yet alone blog meself. Well, blogging has been for me a great escape from work. As I havent been in office since Christmas, there is nothing to escape from!
Firstly, a very Happy New Year to all. I was celebrating and partying virtually everyday since the eve of Hari Raya Haji. It was great time off with the numerous gatherings. However, I must admit that being on leave - doesnt necessarily mean a jolly good time. I spent many a days running errands such as the never-ending problems with my car, banking, etc, etc.
I return to the office tomorrow. Not sure if i remember how to work. But return to work i must!
During the festive season, there were many great parties of note. My favourite was probably Andrew T'ng's house warming and the nighty activities en route to New Year's Eve!
However, what has brought me to blog tonight is to highlight a few things that have been on my mind of late.
Firstly - the sorry state of affairs with my beloved Liverpool Football club. For a team that host such big names ; so many national players, we have had very dismal showing of late. The unfortunate draw away to Man City, the stupid draw at home to Birmingham and of course the nonsensical 1-1 result in the FA Cup.
I've been a big fan of Rafa. However, I do think he has lost the plot. I am a hopeless romantic who's loyalty (i believe) is second to none. I was upset when Daglish resigned, was upset the Roy Evans left, and felt that Houlier deserved another season. But who am I kidding? Rafa's stubborness to field the right team has led me to many frustrating football nights. It is a miracle that inspite of all this, we're still 4th in the league.
I still stand firm that Rafa is not about only winning Cups. I'm sure the premiership is on his mind. However, he must stop rotating. the squad is not good enough to play too many combinations. Its ok i guess to tinker 1 or 2 players from match to match. However to change an average of 4-5 players is completely nonsensical. It may have worked at Valencia - but it sure as hell not working in the EPL.
Secondly - is the sorry state of affairs of Malaysian Politics. Its sad that there really isnt any political party that deserves to lead Malaysia. However, I think its time for BN to step down and stop bullying the country, let alone lead it to self destruction.
We have to stop them from having a 2/3 majority. I dont want my 'Tanahku tercinta' become the next Pakistan or something.
We proudly boast 50 years of independence. Do you know that a country that young, has amended the constitution a total of 690 times? Come on! That's almost 14 times a year. We complain about The United States of America being a bias country filled with corruption, etc. but a country with more than 200 years of independence, they have only amended its constitution 27 times! Lets not look so far. Singapore has only amended its constitution 4 times. So why the fuck do we need to amend ours 690 fucking times?
Let me tell you why. The amendments provides the powers that be - MORE POWER. its almost ABSOLUTE POWER. Are we living in a republic? I know, i know. Some countries have it worse. FOr instance in China - Loyalty to the government is FORCED upon. But do we want to go down that route under the guise of Democracy???
I dont need to explain further what these amendments have done for our country. You can read them in so many blogs.
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Ok, enough ranting. I think i wanna take a shower and get ready for bed. Hopefully, your humble narrator will return to his little realm and waste more space in cyberspace regularly once more. Until then, i bid you adieu!
Firstly, a very Happy New Year to all. I was celebrating and partying virtually everyday since the eve of Hari Raya Haji. It was great time off with the numerous gatherings. However, I must admit that being on leave - doesnt necessarily mean a jolly good time. I spent many a days running errands such as the never-ending problems with my car, banking, etc, etc.
I return to the office tomorrow. Not sure if i remember how to work. But return to work i must!
During the festive season, there were many great parties of note. My favourite was probably Andrew T'ng's house warming and the nighty activities en route to New Year's Eve!
However, what has brought me to blog tonight is to highlight a few things that have been on my mind of late.
Firstly - the sorry state of affairs with my beloved Liverpool Football club. For a team that host such big names ; so many national players, we have had very dismal showing of late. The unfortunate draw away to Man City, the stupid draw at home to Birmingham and of course the nonsensical 1-1 result in the FA Cup.
I've been a big fan of Rafa. However, I do think he has lost the plot. I am a hopeless romantic who's loyalty (i believe) is second to none. I was upset when Daglish resigned, was upset the Roy Evans left, and felt that Houlier deserved another season. But who am I kidding? Rafa's stubborness to field the right team has led me to many frustrating football nights. It is a miracle that inspite of all this, we're still 4th in the league.
I still stand firm that Rafa is not about only winning Cups. I'm sure the premiership is on his mind. However, he must stop rotating. the squad is not good enough to play too many combinations. Its ok i guess to tinker 1 or 2 players from match to match. However to change an average of 4-5 players is completely nonsensical. It may have worked at Valencia - but it sure as hell not working in the EPL.
Secondly - is the sorry state of affairs of Malaysian Politics. Its sad that there really isnt any political party that deserves to lead Malaysia. However, I think its time for BN to step down and stop bullying the country, let alone lead it to self destruction.
We have to stop them from having a 2/3 majority. I dont want my 'Tanahku tercinta' become the next Pakistan or something.
We proudly boast 50 years of independence. Do you know that a country that young, has amended the constitution a total of 690 times? Come on! That's almost 14 times a year. We complain about The United States of America being a bias country filled with corruption, etc. but a country with more than 200 years of independence, they have only amended its constitution 27 times! Lets not look so far. Singapore has only amended its constitution 4 times. So why the fuck do we need to amend ours 690 fucking times?
Let me tell you why. The amendments provides the powers that be - MORE POWER. its almost ABSOLUTE POWER. Are we living in a republic? I know, i know. Some countries have it worse. FOr instance in China - Loyalty to the government is FORCED upon. But do we want to go down that route under the guise of Democracy???
I dont need to explain further what these amendments have done for our country. You can read them in so many blogs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok, enough ranting. I think i wanna take a shower and get ready for bed. Hopefully, your humble narrator will return to his little realm and waste more space in cyberspace regularly once more. Until then, i bid you adieu!
Monday, 10 December 2007
Are we living in a police state???
I dont get the whole Hindraf terrorist link
I dont get the arrests during the march yesterday
I dont get the whole 'protest are illegal' thing
I dont get the fact that 'gatherings' are illegal - peaceful or otherwise - hell i've seen loads of birthday gatherings that are less peaceful than the Hindraf, Bersih or yesterday's march all put together!!! on that note - guys dont come to my house for christmas... you'll never know if the cops are gonna arrest us for 'assemblying' illegally as we will 'be discussing politics' etc etc... as you know.. it would be dumb for me to obtain a 'permit' to hold a party... eh?
btw - when our forefathers march towards obtaining our country's independence - did they have a permit???
how the hell will this country exercise democracy if the powers that be arent practising it in the first place....
sigh....
I dont get the arrests during the march yesterday
I dont get the whole 'protest are illegal' thing
I dont get the fact that 'gatherings' are illegal - peaceful or otherwise - hell i've seen loads of birthday gatherings that are less peaceful than the Hindraf, Bersih or yesterday's march all put together!!! on that note - guys dont come to my house for christmas... you'll never know if the cops are gonna arrest us for 'assemblying' illegally as we will 'be discussing politics' etc etc... as you know.. it would be dumb for me to obtain a 'permit' to hold a party... eh?
btw - when our forefathers march towards obtaining our country's independence - did they have a permit???
how the hell will this country exercise democracy if the powers that be arent practising it in the first place....
sigh....
Tuesday, 27 November 2007
Truth and justice are no longer a Malaysian way
Interesting read i received from cyberspace
Michael Backman
The Age
THE Government of Australia will probably change hands this weekend. There will be no arrests, no tear gas and no water cannons. The Government of John Howard will leave office, the Opposition will form a government and everyone will accept the verdict.
For this, every Australian can feel justifiably proud. This playing by the rules is what has made Australia rich and a good place in which to invest. It is a country to which people want to migrate; not leave.
Now consider Malaysia. The weekend before last, up to 40,000 Malaysians took to the streets in Kuala Lumpur to protest peacefully against the judiciary's lack of independence, electoral fraud, corruption and a controlled media.
In response, they were threatened by the Prime Minister, called monkeys by his powerful son-in-law, and blasted with water cannons and tear gas. And yet the vast majority of Malaysians do not want a change of government. All they want is for their government to govern better.
Both Malaysia and Australia have a rule of law that's based on the English system. Both started out as colonies of Britain. So why is Malaysia getting it so wrong now?
Malaysia's Government hates feedback. Dissent is regarded as dangerous, rather than a product of diversity. And like the wicked witch so ugly that she can't stand mirrors, the Government of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi controls the media so that it doesn't have to see its own reflection.
Demonstrations are typically banned. But what every Malaysian should know is that in Britain, Australia and other modern countries, when people wish to demonstrate, the police typically clear the way and make sure no one gets hurt. The streets belong to the people. And the police, like the politicians, are their servants. It is not the other way around.
But increasingly in Malaysia, Malaysians are being denied a voice — especially young people.
Section 15 of Malaysia's Universities and University Colleges Act states that no student shall be a member of or in any manner associate with any society, political party, trade union or any other organisation, body or group of people whatsoever, be it in or outside Malaysia, unless it is approved in advance and in writing by the vice-chancellor.
Nor can any student express or do anything that may be construed as expressing support, sympathy or opposition to any political party or union. Breaking this law can lead to a fine, a jail term or both.
The judiciary as a source of independent viewpoints has been squashed. The previous prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, did many good things for Malaysia, but his firing of the Lord President (chief justice) and two other Supreme Court judges in 1988 was an unmitigated disaster. Since then, what passes for a judiciary in Malaysia has been an utter disgrace and the Government knows it.
Several years ago, Daim Zainuddin, the country's then powerful finance minister, told me that judges in Malaysia were idiots. Of course we want them to be biased, he told me, but not that biased.
Rarely do government ministers need to telephone a judge and demand this or that verdict because the judges are so in tune with the Government's desires that they automatically do the Government's beckoning.
Just how appalling Malaysia's judiciary has become was made clear in recent weeks with the circulation of a video clip showing a senior lawyer assuring someone by telephone that he will lobby the Government to have him made Lord President of the Supreme Court because he had been loyal to the Government. That someone is believed to have been Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim, who did in fact become Lord President.
A protest march organised by the Malaysian Bar Council was staged in response to this, and corruption among the judiciary in general. But the mainstream Malaysian media barely covered the march even though up to 2000 Bar Council members were taking part. Reportedly, the Prime Minister's office instructed editors to play down the event.
Instead of a free media, independent judges and open public debate, Malaysians are given stunts — the world's tallest building and most recently, a Malaysian cosmonaut. Essentially, they are given the play things of modernity but not modernity itself.
Many senior Malays are absolutely despairing at the direction of their country today. But with the media tightly controlled they have no way of getting their views out to their fellow countrymen. This means that most Malaysians falsely assume that the Malay elite is unified when it comes to the country's direction.
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, a former finance minister and today still a member of the Government, told me several weeks ago in Kuala Lumpur that he could see no reason why today Malaysia could not have a completely free media, a completely independent judiciary and that corrupt ministers and other officials should be publicly exposed and humiliated.
According to Tengku Razaleigh, all of the institutions designed to make Malaysia's Government accountable and honest have been dismantled or neutered.
It didn't need to be like this. Malaysia is not North Korea or Indonesia. It is something quite different. Its legal system is based on British codes. Coupled with traditional Malay culture, which is one of the world's most hospitable, decent and gentle cultures, Malaysia has the cultural and historical underpinnings to become one of Asia's most civilised, rules-based, successful societies.
Instead, Malaysia's Government is incrementally wasting Malaysia's inheritance.
Michael Backman
The Age
THE Government of Australia will probably change hands this weekend. There will be no arrests, no tear gas and no water cannons. The Government of John Howard will leave office, the Opposition will form a government and everyone will accept the verdict.
For this, every Australian can feel justifiably proud. This playing by the rules is what has made Australia rich and a good place in which to invest. It is a country to which people want to migrate; not leave.
Now consider Malaysia. The weekend before last, up to 40,000 Malaysians took to the streets in Kuala Lumpur to protest peacefully against the judiciary's lack of independence, electoral fraud, corruption and a controlled media.
In response, they were threatened by the Prime Minister, called monkeys by his powerful son-in-law, and blasted with water cannons and tear gas. And yet the vast majority of Malaysians do not want a change of government. All they want is for their government to govern better.
Both Malaysia and Australia have a rule of law that's based on the English system. Both started out as colonies of Britain. So why is Malaysia getting it so wrong now?
Malaysia's Government hates feedback. Dissent is regarded as dangerous, rather than a product of diversity. And like the wicked witch so ugly that she can't stand mirrors, the Government of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi controls the media so that it doesn't have to see its own reflection.
Demonstrations are typically banned. But what every Malaysian should know is that in Britain, Australia and other modern countries, when people wish to demonstrate, the police typically clear the way and make sure no one gets hurt. The streets belong to the people. And the police, like the politicians, are their servants. It is not the other way around.
But increasingly in Malaysia, Malaysians are being denied a voice — especially young people.
Section 15 of Malaysia's Universities and University Colleges Act states that no student shall be a member of or in any manner associate with any society, political party, trade union or any other organisation, body or group of people whatsoever, be it in or outside Malaysia, unless it is approved in advance and in writing by the vice-chancellor.
Nor can any student express or do anything that may be construed as expressing support, sympathy or opposition to any political party or union. Breaking this law can lead to a fine, a jail term or both.
The judiciary as a source of independent viewpoints has been squashed. The previous prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, did many good things for Malaysia, but his firing of the Lord President (chief justice) and two other Supreme Court judges in 1988 was an unmitigated disaster. Since then, what passes for a judiciary in Malaysia has been an utter disgrace and the Government knows it.
Several years ago, Daim Zainuddin, the country's then powerful finance minister, told me that judges in Malaysia were idiots. Of course we want them to be biased, he told me, but not that biased.
Rarely do government ministers need to telephone a judge and demand this or that verdict because the judges are so in tune with the Government's desires that they automatically do the Government's beckoning.
Just how appalling Malaysia's judiciary has become was made clear in recent weeks with the circulation of a video clip showing a senior lawyer assuring someone by telephone that he will lobby the Government to have him made Lord President of the Supreme Court because he had been loyal to the Government. That someone is believed to have been Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim, who did in fact become Lord President.
A protest march organised by the Malaysian Bar Council was staged in response to this, and corruption among the judiciary in general. But the mainstream Malaysian media barely covered the march even though up to 2000 Bar Council members were taking part. Reportedly, the Prime Minister's office instructed editors to play down the event.
Instead of a free media, independent judges and open public debate, Malaysians are given stunts — the world's tallest building and most recently, a Malaysian cosmonaut. Essentially, they are given the play things of modernity but not modernity itself.
Many senior Malays are absolutely despairing at the direction of their country today. But with the media tightly controlled they have no way of getting their views out to their fellow countrymen. This means that most Malaysians falsely assume that the Malay elite is unified when it comes to the country's direction.
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, a former finance minister and today still a member of the Government, told me several weeks ago in Kuala Lumpur that he could see no reason why today Malaysia could not have a completely free media, a completely independent judiciary and that corrupt ministers and other officials should be publicly exposed and humiliated.
According to Tengku Razaleigh, all of the institutions designed to make Malaysia's Government accountable and honest have been dismantled or neutered.
It didn't need to be like this. Malaysia is not North Korea or Indonesia. It is something quite different. Its legal system is based on British codes. Coupled with traditional Malay culture, which is one of the world's most hospitable, decent and gentle cultures, Malaysia has the cultural and historical underpinnings to become one of Asia's most civilised, rules-based, successful societies.
Instead, Malaysia's Government is incrementally wasting Malaysia's inheritance.
Thursday, 15 November 2007
Where's the democracy?
I wonder how the hell did Zam become our minister of (mis)information. If any of you had watch the Al Jazeera interview with our beloved minister regarding the recent BERSIH rally, you would be shocked by his choice of words. Let alone suffer his constant stammering.
He kept contradicting his words on top of his constant insult of other nations. Lets make a TOP 3 list of his nonsensical chatter which to me is nothing more than 'hot air' coming out of a moron...
1. he said its ok to protest (because we are a democracy), then he said its illegal to have protest because we have erection (election)
2. he said we have 'ERECTION' once every 5 years... i'm not sure about him, but i think i get enough erections!
3. he mentioned burma and myammar as being 2 different countries... err... so i take it he thinks beijing and peking are 2 different states?
perhaps English is not the first language in Malaysia - i guess we could pardon him for being english challenged.... however - as the minister of INFORMATION... the nation's spokesmen.. WTF?????
however, his contradictions are worse than Mclaren's decision iro the England Football team... (come on Russia!).... the dude keeps digging and the hole inevitably gets deeper...
anyhow... i'm just really ashamed of the whole fiasco... my views on BERSIH are as follows:
1. why is the protest / march illegal in the first place? don't you remember that if Malays did not march (peacefully) against the Malayan Union in white scarf... we might still be under British rule? (not sure if that's a bad thing.....
2. why is our legal system so fucked? i dont get it? i read somewhere that a recent World Bank survey on resolution of commercial disputes that ranked Malaysia 63rd among 178 countries, and a report by the US State Department warning American businessmen that cases before the Malaysian courts take inordinate amounts of time to be adjudicated. One case of medical negligence, he said, took 23 years to reach the Court of Appeal.
countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong have very similar legal system as us... similar laws, and whose judges and lawyers are trained as ours, are ranked in these surveys as amongst the best in the world (Hong Kong is placed first and Singapore ranks fourth). The reason is obvious: these countries have undertaken major reforms in their court structure and procedures and have introduced more efficient and transparent commercial courts so as to attract the foreign investor.”
3. why did the local press not cover the protest? why no mention of tear gas and water cannons? How come all write ins from the public to public newspaper were 'anti-protest'.....
4. how did Malaysia get to this state?
5. i'm still not ready to vote - as i dont know who to vote for... all i want is a govt that FOR the RAKYAT... and not just themselves and playing mindless stupid 'war of words' and name callings... such as the stupid asshole who used words like 'sam seng' 'stupid' 'babi' etc in parliament (because he couldnt find words to construct proper sentences).... i'm not sure if the opposition can help me.... but one thing's for sure... the govt isnt...
anyhow... i'm too sick to write anymore.... the RAKYAT needs to realise that the powers that be arent supporting us.... its SICK SICK SICK i tell you.... sigh.... i think Namewee should write another song telling these morons such as Zam to FUCK OFF and go back to grammar school...
guys... the comedy doesnt end there.... there's gonna be another Al Jazeera interview tonight at 10.30 this time with the 3 stoogers... Khairy, Imzat and Nazri... better get your popcorns ready for i hear that its gonna be the COMEDY of YEAR!!!!
anyhow... please take the time to watch the following videos...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1_GQ-K7P_w this is the link to mr Zam's stuttering
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9S0W4iyegs - the prime minister and his nephew tokkok
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9zmRMoDt58 - Malaysian's at the crossroads....
BRING THE POWER BACK TO THE PEOPLE! GET UP STAND UP.... DONT FORGET YOUR RIGHTS!!!!
He kept contradicting his words on top of his constant insult of other nations. Lets make a TOP 3 list of his nonsensical chatter which to me is nothing more than 'hot air' coming out of a moron...
1. he said its ok to protest (because we are a democracy), then he said its illegal to have protest because we have erection (election)
2. he said we have 'ERECTION' once every 5 years... i'm not sure about him, but i think i get enough erections!
3. he mentioned burma and myammar as being 2 different countries... err... so i take it he thinks beijing and peking are 2 different states?
perhaps English is not the first language in Malaysia - i guess we could pardon him for being english challenged.... however - as the minister of INFORMATION... the nation's spokesmen.. WTF?????
however, his contradictions are worse than Mclaren's decision iro the England Football team... (come on Russia!).... the dude keeps digging and the hole inevitably gets deeper...
anyhow... i'm just really ashamed of the whole fiasco... my views on BERSIH are as follows:
1. why is the protest / march illegal in the first place? don't you remember that if Malays did not march (peacefully) against the Malayan Union in white scarf... we might still be under British rule? (not sure if that's a bad thing.....
2. why is our legal system so fucked? i dont get it? i read somewhere that a recent World Bank survey on resolution of commercial disputes that ranked Malaysia 63rd among 178 countries, and a report by the US State Department warning American businessmen that cases before the Malaysian courts take inordinate amounts of time to be adjudicated. One case of medical negligence, he said, took 23 years to reach the Court of Appeal.
countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong have very similar legal system as us... similar laws, and whose judges and lawyers are trained as ours, are ranked in these surveys as amongst the best in the world (Hong Kong is placed first and Singapore ranks fourth). The reason is obvious: these countries have undertaken major reforms in their court structure and procedures and have introduced more efficient and transparent commercial courts so as to attract the foreign investor.”
3. why did the local press not cover the protest? why no mention of tear gas and water cannons? How come all write ins from the public to public newspaper were 'anti-protest'.....
4. how did Malaysia get to this state?
5. i'm still not ready to vote - as i dont know who to vote for... all i want is a govt that FOR the RAKYAT... and not just themselves and playing mindless stupid 'war of words' and name callings... such as the stupid asshole who used words like 'sam seng' 'stupid' 'babi' etc in parliament (because he couldnt find words to construct proper sentences).... i'm not sure if the opposition can help me.... but one thing's for sure... the govt isnt...
anyhow... i'm too sick to write anymore.... the RAKYAT needs to realise that the powers that be arent supporting us.... its SICK SICK SICK i tell you.... sigh.... i think Namewee should write another song telling these morons such as Zam to FUCK OFF and go back to grammar school...
guys... the comedy doesnt end there.... there's gonna be another Al Jazeera interview tonight at 10.30 this time with the 3 stoogers... Khairy, Imzat and Nazri... better get your popcorns ready for i hear that its gonna be the COMEDY of YEAR!!!!
anyhow... please take the time to watch the following videos...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1_GQ-K7P_w this is the link to mr Zam's stuttering
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9S0W4iyegs - the prime minister and his nephew tokkok
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9zmRMoDt58 - Malaysian's at the crossroads....
BRING THE POWER BACK TO THE PEOPLE! GET UP STAND UP.... DONT FORGET YOUR RIGHTS!!!!
Tuesday, 30 October 2007
What is Malay?
my brother in law recently had an interesting post entitled 'i,Malaysian'.... This post had led to a pretty interesting series of comments on marginalisation and questioning is Malaysia truly 'muhibah'?
i was planning to blog about it myself but must stress that I have been extremely busy of late. As such, I'll just cut and paste the comment i left on his blog here below. It would probably make more sense if you read his post before reading my comment below... aiya... u mite as well read all the comments to that post...
i think there's a small community be it in blogsphere, broadwalk or whereever, where the concept of 'Malaysians' represents a harmonious multi-racial society. However only in our beloved Malaysia can the concept of race and religion mean the same. and by virtue of Article 153 / 160 of our Constitution, 'Malay' in a Malaysian context is defined as a Muslim Malaysian citizen born to another Malaysian citizen. so in other words, since my parents are Malaysian citizens, and should i wish to practice Islam, wouldn't that make me Malay?
I'm not being racist and you guys should know that I'm not one. But this master - people(slave) relationship does damper my spirit in believing that Malaysia is for Malaysians and not minus 'sians'.
For the record, i love this country and enjoyed my childhood. but the more i learn about our constitution, may 13, business privileges, AP, NEP, etc,etc... it does makes me wonder 'why' should i be a loyalist when the powers that be can say as they please in paliarment and abuse their rights.
I just conducted a course on Malaysian tax incentives etc, etc today... and explained the rationalisation of these incentives since the 1960s. Most of it was due to compete with Singapore. However i realised that we hardly achieved any targets since whereas Singapore has progressed by leaps and bounds. Now we complete with China (whom have just overtaken us)... even Vietnam is better than us. Aint that sad?
all i wanna say is that - dear powers that be - u fuckers suck! stop thinking of urself and ur birth rights and start fucking saving this country from self destruction. Amen.
it now brings us to today... i read something very interesting this morning. I have been trying to understand the logic of 153/160 etc, etc for some time now.... i'm trying understand more about where Malays came from... are they truly the owners of Malaysia... let alone the Masters of my home...
even if you wikipedia Malays and the malay achipelago, etc, etc... you'll find origins from taiwan, australnesia, etc... so question is... who came to my birth land (where i have virtually no birth rights) first???
please read this post on the Origins of the Malays.. i think the puzzle pieces are starting to fall into place....
ps: i write based on what little i know... but i write because i feel the heat... i.e. in terms of education, opportunities, work, business.... etc....
i was planning to blog about it myself but must stress that I have been extremely busy of late. As such, I'll just cut and paste the comment i left on his blog here below. It would probably make more sense if you read his post before reading my comment below... aiya... u mite as well read all the comments to that post...
i think there's a small community be it in blogsphere, broadwalk or whereever, where the concept of 'Malaysians' represents a harmonious multi-racial society. However only in our beloved Malaysia can the concept of race and religion mean the same. and by virtue of Article 153 / 160 of our Constitution, 'Malay' in a Malaysian context is defined as a Muslim Malaysian citizen born to another Malaysian citizen. so in other words, since my parents are Malaysian citizens, and should i wish to practice Islam, wouldn't that make me Malay?
I'm not being racist and you guys should know that I'm not one. But this master - people(slave) relationship does damper my spirit in believing that Malaysia is for Malaysians and not minus 'sians'.
For the record, i love this country and enjoyed my childhood. but the more i learn about our constitution, may 13, business privileges, AP, NEP, etc,etc... it does makes me wonder 'why' should i be a loyalist when the powers that be can say as they please in paliarment and abuse their rights.
I just conducted a course on Malaysian tax incentives etc, etc today... and explained the rationalisation of these incentives since the 1960s. Most of it was due to compete with Singapore. However i realised that we hardly achieved any targets since whereas Singapore has progressed by leaps and bounds. Now we complete with China (whom have just overtaken us)... even Vietnam is better than us. Aint that sad?
all i wanna say is that - dear powers that be - u fuckers suck! stop thinking of urself and ur birth rights and start fucking saving this country from self destruction. Amen.
it now brings us to today... i read something very interesting this morning. I have been trying to understand the logic of 153/160 etc, etc for some time now.... i'm trying understand more about where Malays came from... are they truly the owners of Malaysia... let alone the Masters of my home...
even if you wikipedia Malays and the malay achipelago, etc, etc... you'll find origins from taiwan, australnesia, etc... so question is... who came to my birth land (where i have virtually no birth rights) first???
please read this post on the Origins of the Malays.. i think the puzzle pieces are starting to fall into place....
ps: i write based on what little i know... but i write because i feel the heat... i.e. in terms of education, opportunities, work, business.... etc....
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