Thursday, April 29, 2010

Hishamuddin must now sack the IGP!

Malaysiakini’s IGP: We'll pull cops off the streets if that's what you want tells everything about the puerile ‘blackmailing’ mentality of the Malaysian police chief.

It’s utterly pathetic that an IGP would resort to childish petulant sulking nonsense. The tax-paying public don’t have to take this unacceptable rubbish from this public servant. He’s not entitled to do any of that. The police force is not his private property, to hold as ransom over the heads of the true employer, the Malaysian public.

For too long the Home Minister (one after another) has been negligent or cowardly for not taking firm steps against such rebellious threats from a police chief.

In 2006 the previous IGP, Mohd Bakri Omar, had threatened retaliation against AAB’s agreement to establish the IPCMC.

In my 2006 post IGP worried, PM wishy-washy, PAS whoring? I wrote:

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng
criticised the police threats of its work-to-rule and en bloc resignation consequences if the IPCMC is established:

“By threatening to allow crime to rise is utterly irresponsible and a complete surrender of the moral and legal authority of the police."

“Those who can even entertain allowing crime to rise and put property and public safety at risk as a mark of protest should either resign or be sacked for such selfish and anti-national interests attitude.”

“Abdullah must act quickly to regain the initiative over his agenda of anti-corruption, transparency, accountability and good governance by ending the open police ‘revolt’ so as to regain control of the police force.”

At that time I wrote a letter to Malaysiakini (published), that the police arrogance might yet turn into a blessing in disguise for a then increasingly unpopular PM Abdullah Badawi. I commented that it was ironical that AAB had been presented with a God-sent opportunity to redeem himself.

If he had tamed the feral Malaysian police force by immediately sacking the IGP and the top layer of police officers, he could well be another Truman or Sadat - dull 'deputies' who took over from flashy flamboyant predecessors, but who by a fate of history became world or outstanding national leaders in their own rights.

Fate indeed presented Abdullah Badawi with a golden opportunity at a crucial moment in his career. Alas, he failed to seize that momentous opportunity. Carpe diem capitulated dreadfully!

Instead AAB saw the blackmailing former IGP off with a hero’s send-off and a Tan Sri award. What an utter f*up.

Now, does Hishamuddin dare to take appropriate disciplinary action against a threatening IGP? Sack him immediately!

[But people, don’t hold your breath though - Hisham rather waves a keris than his ministerial authority]

UPDATE:

The Malaysian Insider IGP reminds media not to twist police statements where it was reported that the IGP said: “I am sad by what happened to the victim and his family. I am sadder that my statement had been twisted to give another meaning.”

above underlining are mine

Isn’t he a nice guy – he certainly has his priority correct and all in the 'right place'!

Related:
Wish IGP was Japanese!

Najib & Khairy the political twins?

I wonder whether you have noticed that there are lots of similarities between Najib Tun Razak and Khairy Jamaluddin. For a start, both of course are UMNO-ites.

Both were educated overseas in UK. Both are vey fluent in Malay and English. Both are cosmopolitan, clever, crafty (cunning if you like), convincing and charming (when they wish to be).

Both are scions of UMNO warlords (Najib had his dad and Khairy has had his f-i-l). Both are aware they have enemies within UMNO, but both have been, are and will be survivors.

Khairy has followed Najib’s footsteps to be UMNO Youth Chief.

Najib has oozes of ministerial (and MB) experience, acquired since he was 21, while Khairy has some de facto ones too (while at the 4th Floor) at an early age.

Both are adept at playing the keris-waving or the 1Malaysia game. That’s part of their craftiness, charm and chameleon-like survival instincts in action. Whether they’re convincing enough will depend on their target audience and most certainly not on you, the already committed (or prejudiced) sceptics.

Both are now playing the centrist role.

Najib does so for obvious reasons – he wants the Indians and the Chinese back as supporters to neutralise both PAS and PKR, and he cannot afford to rely on MIC and MCA.

He isn’t so much interested in winning over the DAP faithfuls which have generally existed in solid un-chippable fashion since 1969 – he knows they’re virtually ‘untouchable’ like the PAS core supporters. It’s the uncommitted Indians and Chinese that he woos.


The opportunity to demonstrate fulfilment of his promise to grant RM3 million to the Rasa Chinese primary school following the BN victory in Hulu Selangor was god-sent, a golden occasion to exude sincerity, inclusiveness and a ‘changed’ UMNO, a politically sweet picture enhanced immeasurably against the backdrop of a shrill bigoted Perkasa.

Khairy supports him by rejecting Perkasa’s call to the UMNO government to marginalise the Chinese for their ingratitude.

The three differences between them (apart from their age) that I can think of at this stage are:

(a) their personal ambitions


(b) the demeanour of their respective spouses ;-)

(c) one is loved by Dr Mahathir (or dihutang budi because of his dad) and the other … wakakaka.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Perkasa warns MCA

The Malaysian Insider - MCA blames Perkasa for loss of Chinese support

The Malaysian Insider -
Chinese abandoned MCA before Perkasa was born, says Ibrahim

Actually both are right …

… unless you consider Perkasa as an extension of UMNO, a subsidiary where the usual waving of the Chinese blood dripping keris, issuing of tebuan warnings and brandishing the May 13 red book have been devolved to this so called NGO …

… then Chua Soi Lek would be correct.

Ibrahim Ali pointed out that Perkasa or no Perkasa, MCA has consistently failed to win in Chinese-dominated areas in the urban constituencies such as Kepong or Bukit Bintang so WTF!

... though of course UMNO with its waving of the Chinese blood dripping keris, issuing of tebuan warnings and brandishing the May 13 red book have was always around ... to f* up and undermine MCA.

Now, a challenge Ibrahim Ali has tossed to Chua Soi Lek, as reported by The Malaysian Insider:

Ibrahim said: “If they keep accusing Perkasa, MCA will have a dark future because in the next election the Malays will not vote for MCA candidates.”

Well Chua Soi Lek, what do you have to say to his threat?

Who sent that email?

Now, who (or which party) sent that email threatening poor Peter Vanezis and his family, causing him to think of going home soonest.

In case you don't know, Peter Vanezis is the British forensics pathologist consulted by MACC to look into Teoh Beng Hock's not-so-mysteriously mysterious death.

Yes, who (or which party) had sent that email?

[for more, see Malaysiakini's 'Threat by email', expert lodges police report]

Monday, April 26, 2010

Chinese failed Malaysian concept of 'gratitude'.

"If we win this by-election, you can come to Kuala Lumpur the next day to look for me. I will write a personal letter to approve the money and it will be transferred to the school board's account. If we lose, don't have to come."

The above was attributed to BN chairperson, Najib Abdul Razak who had allegedly said so during his campaigning in the Hulu Selangor by-election – see Malaysiakini Educational absurdity in Hulu Selangor.

The alleged quote has led MKINI columnist Azly Rahman to lambast Najib Razak for having reached the highest level of idiocy in charting the future of Malaysian education.


Azly lamented: How much shame must we parade in our desperation to win this or that election that is a theatre of the absurd anyway? The essential question is, how dare we use education - the only means for social and economic progress for ALL races - to bribe voters!

Then we come to Malaysiakini’s Tengku Adnan: Chinese will not be sidelined.

Perkasa leader, Ibrahim Ali, the ultranationalist who plays the game that UMNO used to play, namely, to pile on a siege mentality among the Malays by telling them that the Chinese will take over (or are arrogant etc), so that UMNO can conveniently slide in to be the ethnic warrior to save the 'threatened' malays.

The Perkasa agitator was the man whom Hulu Selangor MP Kamalanathan defended for his (Ibrahim's) outrageous bigotry, and as if that wasn't enough, hugged Ibrahim affectionately during the by-election campaign. Well, Ibrahim has been at it again.

As 75% of the Hulu Selangor Chinese cast their votes for PKR's Zaid Ibrahim, the Pasir Mas man wants the government to stop all allocations, grants and whatnot to those Chinese for not being “grateful” to the BN (read that as UMNO) government.

According to Malaysiakini, the @$$h*le suggested that the Chinese voters in Hulu Selangor should be punished by the government for not fully supporting MIC candidate P Kamalananthan.

However, BN sec-gen Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said that the government will not adopt the @$$h*le's suggestion because there are also HS Chinese who voted for BN in the by-election.

Do you see the difference in their mentality?

I don’t. Both believe government (or rather public) funds belong to a political party, namely UMNO, where to give or deny financial allocations will depend on the wannabe recipients’ show of gratitude to the UMNO-BN.

This attitude seems to stem from the days of Hang Tuah or even earlier, when the ruler was deemed a demi-god, endowed with wealth bestowed by divinity. It was a concept of divine rights inherited from Hindu India via the Sri Vijaya – Mahapahit religious socio-politico culture.

The Chinese also practised a variant of this belief, except in the case of the Chinese, it was the ‘mandate of heaven’, a green ticket given by god to a ruler to rule with legitimacy over the unwashed. But luckily for the Chinese, they have an escape clause, in that god could withdraw the ‘mandate’.

Thus unlike the Hindu version of perpetual divine rights, the Chinese mandate of heaven would only be valid so long as the ruler behaved – that’s when people like Koh Tsu Koon comes in with his KPI, to report on the conduct of the ruler.

If, say, the ruler misbehaved (do I need to provide any examples?) the god (or heaven) could and would withdraw its mandate. Then it’ll be open slather and slaughter when the naughty ruler could be overthrown, not unlike an election in a modern democracy. The mandate of heaven would then be transferred to the person who was likely to rule best.

Thus the Chinese had been overthrowing (or on a number of other occasions, attempted to overthrow) their bad 'emperors' regularly, those of the dynasties of Xia, Shang, Westen Zhou, Eastern Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Xin, Eastern Han, 'Wei, Shu & Wu' (3 Kingdoms), Western Jin, Eastern Jin, Southern & Northern Dynasties period, Sui, Tang, '5 Dynasties & 10 Kingdoms' period, Northern Song, Southern Song, Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming, Shun, Qing, Yuan Shikai's 'Empire of China, Sun Yat Sun's Republic, and some of the Communist Dynasty's like the notorious Gang of Four.

But not everyone subscribes to that, so there continues to be a belief that divine-chosen rulers can do what they like with the nation’s wealth, like their very own. And if you can get something from one of these divine rulers, indeed you ought to be grateful.

This may possibly explain why those Felda people felt grateful for receiving RM50,000 which in reality was their own money, and RM50,000 was only part of the sum owed to each of them. Their land had been sold off but they didn’t receive any payment, until now (and to remind everyone, only part of it).

I heard the next installment of the money owed to the owners will be during the next election (gratitude expected), with the 3rd in another possible by-election or general election (again their gratitude is mandatory).

Hand kissing is optional.

Hulu Selangor - the morning after!

If you’re wondering what post-election comments I’ll be offering, please read my Morning after: What does Hulu S’gor augur? at the website of Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI).

And listen to the Shirelles sing Will you still love me tomorrow?

Tonight you're mine completely
You give you love so sweetly
Tonight the light of love is in your eyes
But will you love me tomorrow?

Is this a lasting treasure
Or just a moment's pleasure?
Can I believe the magic of your sighs?
Will you still love me tomorrow?

Tonight with words unspoken
You say that I'm the only one
But will my heart be broken
When the night meets the morning sun?

I'd like to know that your love
Is love I can be sure of
So tell me now, and I won't ask again
Will you still love me tomorrow?

It's all in the game

Malaysiakini - 'Dirtiest and most corrupt' by-election ever: Zaid!

Zaid and Uncle Lim both shed a tear each at the unfairness of the by-election process.

I dedicate the song It’s all in the game to them, with my modified lyrics below:

Many a tear has to fall but it's all in the game
All in the wonderful game that we know as election
You have words with other side and your future's looking dim
But these things your hearts can rise above

Once in a while the voters won't call but it's all in the game
Soon they'll be there at your side with sweet bouquet (of votes)
And they'll kiss your lips but not your hands (like someone did)
And your heart will fly away to Putrajaya

Hulu Selangor by-election - winners and losers!

Winners

(a) Najib
(b) Kamalanathan – will now assume position held by Liow Tiong Lai (who took over from Koh TK) as Raja Bodek
(c) S Subramaniam (former deputy president MIC) – hehehe at Palanivel
(d) S Subramaniam (HR Minister) – hehehe at Palanivel
(e) Koh TK and Gerakan – hehehe at MCA (see below)
(f) Hulu Selangor freebie receivers
(g) Zaid Ibrahim – for keeping his dignity intact
(h) Lim Kit Siang and DAP – for showing his/their loyal commitment to Pakatan
(i) Pak Haji Aziz – for showing his commitment to Pakatan as well
(j) PKR – for shedding off dead wood

(k) Azmin Ali - hehehe Zaid Ibrahim
(l) HS Chinese school (Rasa Chinese primary school) – RM 3 mil unless ... (see below)

Losers

(a) Najib – despite spending a 'known' RM64, people still don't believe in his 1Malaysia when they know how dirty the BN campaign had been, which even involved the EC, for changing the polling stations of 14,000 voters, mainly Pakatan supporters.
(b) Kamalanathan – lost all his dignity and self respect
(c) Zaid Ibrahim – odds were stacked against you so don’t fret (see above under ‘winners’) - wait for next BIG one
(d) EC - EC violated constitution by illegally transferring more than 200 voters from HS into the Selayang constituency, confirming what voters have suspected all along
(e) Muhyiddin – Najib didn’t trust Muhyiddin to run the election campaign just like he didn’t trust Koh TK to run the report card scheme. Najib had to turun padang himself in Hulu Selangor at least 3 times to direct the campaign. Traditionally the deputy chairman of BN is the election director but not so in this one.
(f) MIC – lost sovereignty and whatever little respect it had; no say in HS by-election even though a MIC was the candidate, UMNO took over control including nominating the MIC bloke
(g) Poor Palanivel – what can I say, stuffed from the very beginning by own side
(h) MCA – koyak kau kau liao – HS has 16,000+ Chinese voters; MCA has 8,000 members in Hulu Selangor yet Zaid received 76% of Chinese votes – how to explain to Najib?
(i) PAS – losing trust of DAP and PKR; should DAP/PKR continue supporting PAS?
(j) HS Chinese school – if Najib plays you out (because Zaid won some 76% of Chinese votes)
(k) Democracy – due to a corrupt election process


I don't know where to place Anwar Ibrahim?

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Hulu Selangor - BN's blame game; preparing for defeat?

After UMNO sidelined Palanivel to hang high and dry like a sotong (squid), the MIC No 2 was so cheesed off that he said, words to the effect, UMNO shall now be responsible for Kamalanathan’s victory.

At best that was Palanivel saying if Kamal were to bomb out in the by-election, blame UMNO. At worst, it could be anything from Palanivel and faction scratching their b@ll$ and picking their noses while drinking kopi-o throughout the campaign period to sabotaging the young upstart picked by UMNO.

Private conversation overheard in HS: Pordah, they can go f* themselves; why the f* should I slog anymore for those @$$h*le$.

Meanwhile, Najib thinking he has sown up the Malay and Indian votes, worries about the forecast 75% (minimum) of Chinese votes, including those cast by HS’ MCA members wakakaka, going to Zaid Ibrahim. So he piled the pressure on the new MCA leadership by declaring the HS by-election is the acid test for Chua and Liow.

Private conversation overheard in HS: Mafulat, ta’sangka ahli MCA undi ni kaki botol juga!

Tapi Datuk, orang Cina syiok kaki yamseng lah hehehhe!
[thinking he was smart making a joke]

[cold stare a la Tun Razak - joker shut up, straightened face and assumed apologetic welfare face]

Janji 3 juta untuk sekolah china jikalau BN menang. “Oi ah Pek ah Mm, lu latang Kialar Lumpoe cali saya jikalau Ah Larn menang. Saya bagi cek.”

However Chua said victory for Alan (I’m sure by now you know who) is the responsibility of all BN component parties.

Private conversation overheard in HS: Tiu nia seng, your man called our women ‘kai’ (chicken) and you still expect the Chinese to support your man, or the MCA kena blame. Real harmkarch’an lah. Ah Larn? Nah, your Larn T'ooi lah! Watch me serve the responsibility back like Datuk Lee Chong Wei.

Hulu Selangor - lessons observed on eve of by-election

I have posted in my blog as well as written to Malaysiakini that the by-election in the Hulu Selangor federal constituency and its results tomorrow evening will be a bellwether for the next Malaysian general election.

By demographics alone, it possesses the typical Malaysian political scenario, with the three major ethnic groups in numbers approximating the national population ration (with the Indians in far larger percentage in this constituency).

The first salutary lesson is that no candidate can win solely on ethnic appeal, hence an indication of how we should progress Malaysia – together in close cooperation! But of course organizations like Perkasa will miss this message as it sole motivation has been, is and no doubt will be to ensure the UMNO-BN gravy train continues a choo-choo-ing while the ‘chosen ones’ (mind you, I don't mean Malays but BN-putras) have unfettered access to the happy lucky manna ride.

The second lesson is Malaysian by-elections unfortunately permit the party with juggernaut-sized political machineries and deep pockets to focus all its resources on one locality in one lousy week of official campaigning (itself an outcome of uneven-sided politics) where we see and hear more polemics than policies, where alas, there’s far too much sludge, dirt and dirty tricks but very little civility, vision statements or truths. Malaysian politics has a long way to reach the so-called Vision 2020 status …

… though there was a momentary glimpse of the Vision in the 2007 Ijok by-election as I had posted in
Ijok - glimpses of Vision 2020 wakakaka.

The third lesson is the by-election with its congenial opportunities to foster ‘incentives’ has poor PKR undergoing pruning by ‘political attrition’ Malaysian style. If the party survives the fallout of the incentive-ised ‘migration’ it may yet be a stronger party … but be warned (for forewarned is forearmed) the character of PKR after that will be irreversibly altered. Get use to this possibility!

The fourth lesson is PAS, with some exceptional people, has not been a reliable and committed coalition ally. Its lamentably lackluster lukewarm participation in the campaign (until the arrival of Pak Haji Nik Aziz) has been embarrassing and frustrating to its Pakatan allies.

These PAS wonders seemed to have forgotten that Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin’s victory in the Bukit Gantang by-election where UMNO received approximately 53% of the heartland votes had been assured by 80% Chinese support as a result of solid hard work by DAP. The Pakatan is a formidable coalition if every member party and their members play their part sincerely.

As I mentioned, there are exceptions. In Malaysiakini
You can't pigeonhole this man, journalist Terence Netto described Pak Haji Nik Aziz as ‘probably the most beloved of leaders of what is increasingly referred to as 'Middle Malaysia'’.

‘Middle Malaysia’ was of course first mooted by Lim Guan Eng, to marshal all Malaysians of moderate views and beliefs to stand together against extremism, bigotry and racism. The venerable Pak Haji, notwithstanding his devotion of Islam and its causes, and indeed his exalted status as PAS spiritual leader, can be unquestionably described as the ‘Prince of Middle Malaysia’.

I only wish the ulama group of PAS and its more conservative members would follow Pak Haji’s example, and not forget the real movement behind Nizar’s resounding victory in Bukit Gantang.

The fifth lesson is that the DAP is by far the most committed and most reliable member of the Pakatan coalition. It has demonstrated its sterling worth in by-election after by-election since March 2008, regardless of which component party of Pakatan nominated the candidate to stand.


In Hulu Selangor, while PKR has been and still is occupied defending its candidate’s Muslim-ness and flaking off its putrefied dead skin, and PAS (until the entry of Nik Aziz) was vacillating, Lim Kit Siang & company have been slogging their backs off.

He has just called for the Herculean task of marshalling 85% of the Chinese votes a la Bukit Gantang to ensure a Zaid Ibrahim victory. Lim has also audaciously appealed to MCA members (comprising half the Chinese population in Hulu Selangor) to see the bigger picture and vote Zaid. I believe this is do-able as was proven in Bukit Gantang ...


... and which may be why Najib has put the onus on MCA to make sure the Chinese votes for Kamalanatan - for more, see my post Najib targets Chinese as key to defeat Zaid Ibrahim.

Finally, the support of the Malays and Chinese in Hulu Selangor are more or less known – it’s only the quantum of commitment that’s still being unceasingly teased out by both coalitions to their max possible. But the Indians’ …?

The Indians in Hulu Selangor won’t be reading kaytee’s blog nor anyone’s, that’s for sure. So how many erudite Tamil speakers are there in Pakatan to present their message to these voters? Is Pakatan really reaching them, or has Pakatan surrendered the initial to MIC-BN?

I need to ask one minor as well as one major question on people who can reach the Indians in Hulu Selangor. The minor question is: Where is Dr Jeya who won the Sungai Siput fedral seat with the help of Pakatan. He is respected by Indian Malaysians for his unceasing dedication to their plight. Why is it we haven’t heard anything about him or PSM supporting the PKR campaign?

The major question is of course: Is Hindraf going to stay ‘neutral’ (there are many definitions of this word with regards to Hindraf) because of the petulance (self interest?) of a couple of its so-called ‘leaders’ and allow the continued exploitation and marginalization of Indians in Hulu Selangor?

As I had said, the outcome of the Hulu Selangor by-election will be the bellwether for the next general election.


If Kamalanathan, a man who has publicly supported Perkasa and publicly embraced Ibrahim Ali, wins tomorrow, let it be on those Hindraf leaders’ heads if the BN consequentially takes the Indians for granted (as it had for 52 years) and continue their marginalization for more years to come.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Hulu Selangor - UMNO's growing trepidation

Do you know Calvin Sankaran? If you are a Pakatan supporter you're better off if you haven't wakakaka.

He’s one of the mainstream media’s (msm) reporter who (in my view) specialises in attacking DAP. Recently he wrote a piece where he attempted to psycho-analyse Lim Kit Siang on the latter’s concern about Zaid Ibrahim’s chances in the Hulu Selangor by-election, naturally in favour of BN.

As a msm reporter, apart from playing pseudo-Freud, he couldn't help ending up lauding BN’s chances in capturing the federal seat. Alas, plugging away for the BN did kinda spoil his amateur attempt at political psycho babble.

Well, it’s my turn to play Calvin Sankaranooops … I mean … Sigmund Freud.

When I read in The Malaysian Insider’s
Dr M says don’t trust Zaid the ‘frog’ I suddenly realise how bad it must have been for the BN in their campaign in Hulu Selangor, to bring in such a top gun with all his 30mm cannon blazing away.

Dr M who had earlier asserted he won’t campaign for the BN in Hulu Selangor (and why should he for a by-election when he’s virtually a national senior statesman) has down turun padang against his own words, no doubt to to shore up and lend impetus to the BN’s very dirty ad hominem campaign aainst PKR candidate, Zaid Ibrahim.

However, I find his accusation of Zaid Ibrahim as a frog a wee off track because I recall Zaid had the decency to resign completely from his ministerial post on a point of principle – in protest against the ISA-ization of smart sassy sweetie Teresa Kok and a sweetie journalist for a Chinese newspaper.

A political frog is define as a representative (must hold a federal or state parliamentary seat) who after winning a seat under the banner of Party A defects across to Party B, taking his/her federal or state seat across to the new party.

If a pollie doesn’t have a federal or state seat but changes political party, he/she won’t be deemed a frog. If he/she does hold a seat but resigns from that seat and then changes party, he/she would in fact be considered as an honourable person with strong principles.

Anyway, Dr M’s very fierce but very ad hominem attacks on Zaid Ibrahim indicates the underlying grave concerns of the BN for the outcome of the by-election on Sunday.

That he went into overdrive by moving Zaid Ibrahim’s yamseng-ing into the latter’s potential drunkenness while at work only accentuated the growing trepidation within UMNO* that Kamal will lose.

* Note that it’s mostly quiet on the MIC front – it was only last evening that they managed to drag out Palanivel. Look, regardless of Palanivel's performance as a former MP for HS or his ability, can you blame this bloke, the No 2 man in MIC, for sulking after his unmitigated humiliation by UMNO and utter betrayal by his own boss?

I am not going to comment on Dr M’s equally fierce attacks on Anwar Ibrahim because the Grand Old Man has never ever forgiven (nor ever will) his once-beloved heir apparent, so it’s a no brainer he would attack Anwar whenever wherever whichever however, without my amateur psycho babble required.

What will UMNO think of next to attack Zaid Ibrahim?

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Kamalanathan kissing Muhyiddin's hand - bodek-ite or budak baik?

The only hands I’ve ever kissed were those of my teenage girlfriend – then I was only an 18 year-old teenager full of amour.

Kissing the hands of one’s elders is a lovely Malay custom, showing great respect and also reflecting on one’s upbringing – in other words, a credit to one’s parents for bring one up as a well mannered and cultured person. Penangites praise this as 'oo kar see' or 'have been taught manners well', a highly esteemed accolade.

However, in Malaysian politics, when one is powerful as Tun Dr Mahathir when he was PM (and probably still is) you see many people (not just Malays) rushing to kiss his hands.

If you have seen those scenes, you would wonder whether those hand-kissers were respectful to the PM or just bodek-ful (sycophantically obsequious).

Then, when Dr Mahathir was on the ‘outer’ during PM AAB’s era, he commented that people who once kissed his hands were ignoring or even badmouthing him. That sort of confirmed that those hand-kissers (who subsequently ignored him) were insincere Bodek-ites.

Now Kamalanathan, the MIC (or should it be UMNO) candidate for the Hulu Selangor by-election was seen, in fact photographed kissing DPM Muhyiddin’s hands. Kamal tried to deny it when asked, but alas (for him), he was photographed in that act.

photo from Malaysia-Today

Was he being respectful or bodek-ful?

One, his denial didn't sit very well on the bench of sincerity. He indicated his embarrassment or even shame, so it may be reasonable to assume he only wanted or preferred that to be a private act between him and his patron and not known by everyone.

How could we then consider him kissing Muhyiddin's hand as a respectful gesture?

Two, if Muhyiddin is as old as Dr Mahathir or Pak Haji Nik Aziz, both eighty-ish, then I reckon it goes without saying that it would be respectful to kiss the hands of such elderly people, regardless of whether we like or dislike them on political grounds, as they should be accorded due respect for their age rather than their power.

And that showing respect by kissing an elder’s hand happens to be a Malay custom is irrelevant – good customs should be adopted by all Malaysians.

However, Muhyiddin is hardly 65, let alone 80. He's still a relatively young-ish politician. Somehow I reckon Kamal kissed his hands because he is the DPM rather than for his age or wisdom.

Is that bodek-ish?

I have no doubt that Kamal will also kiss younger Najib’s hands, but will he Zaid Ibrahim who is more or less the same age group as Muhyiddin and Najib? After all, it would just be showing respect.

Will Kamal also kiss very elderly Pak Haji Nik Aziz’s hands? What about also practising this lovely Malaysian custom on Uncle Lim Kit Siang?

No need to do that with Uncle Samy Vellu because he would expect Kamal to kiss his feet.

Najib targets Chinese as key to defeat Zaid Ibrahim

Last night I posted Hulu Selangor - Indian votes vital where I said that while the Malay votes are crucial to Zaid Ibrahim, the Indian votes would be even more vital.

Of course all these have been based on the premise and perception that the majority of Chinese votes will be for Zaid. The consensus is that 70% of Chinese votes will be cast in favour of the PKR candidate, while daring kaytee ;-) thinks it may even be 75%.

I suppose my daring has been influenced by my take expressed in another of my post
Hulu Selangor's Chinese, where the local MCA has virtually conceded defeat in their campaign for Kamalanathan.

Thus it can be said that the Chinese votes will form the bulwark of Zaid’s claim to a seat in Parliament.

It would not be far amiss to say that everyone is aware of this, that the Chinese in Hulu Selangor is becoming the central pillar of Zaid’s campaign to represent the rakyat in that constituency.

So it's hardly surprising we now read in The Malaysian Insider’s
Hulu Selangor acid test for MCA, says Najib that Najib has started his campaign for Kamalanathan by attempting to chip away at Zaid’s central pillar.

Najib has put the onus on MCA to perform rather than pressure the Chinese voters directly. Yes, 'onus' is the appropriate (& perhaps terrifying) word for the new MCA leadership of Chua and Liow.

The Malaysian Insider reported Najib as stating: ... the Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election is a test for not only his New Economic Model (NEM), it’s also a test for the new leadership of MCA. It was a test whether they had the support of the Chinese community or not.

In his usual ‘iron fist in a velvet glove’ style, he also added in a direct appeal:
“I want the Chinese to join hand-in-hand with the Indians, Malays and other races to move Malaysia forward. We need them to come on board ... we need the Malaysian Chinese to support us.”

Leaving aside the dirty tricks campaign (after all, this is a norm in Malaysian politics), isn’t Hulu Selangor a wonderful constituency, where the man who commands most of the support of all ethnic groups will be the one who wins.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Hulu Selangor - Indian votes vital

In my letter to Malaysiakini earlier this month, I wrote:

To conclude, the pros and cons for both BN and PKR candidates are just too numerous and varied to enumerate, where we need an expert like Kian Ming to do justice to a forecast on the likely by-election result. But perhaps a layperson’s simplified forecast by adopting the assumption that 70% of the Chinese and 25% of Indians still support Pakatan and thus PKR, leads us to the conclusion that PKR must win at least 50% of the Malay votes to scrape home, or we’ll witness another piece of déjà vu, that of G Palanivel repeating Partiban’s victory in the 2007 Ijok by-election.

This was of course before the dirty tricks campaign started. I believe the yamseng association has adversely affected Zaid Ibrahim's standing among the voters of the heartland. No matter what logic Pakatan uses to mitigate that bad image or whatever comparisan with UMNO yamseng kakis are drawn, it's too late - it's a damaged Zaid at the sharp end and the pious of the heartland will be troubled by the impact of UMNO's first strike.


Politics is dirty, more so when it's the Malaysian variety.

I now fear it is unlikely that Zaid will get the desired 50% of the Malay votes, unless Pak Haji Nik Aziz can work out a miracle for his Kelantan mate.

Polling experts Bridget Welsh and my matey Ong Kian Ming have different opinions. Welsh reckoned BN will win while Kian Ming thought PKR will, unless the party mucks up.

In Sin Chew’s The chances of winning Lim Sue Goan also suggested that PKR requires at least 50% of the Malay votes.

In a worst case scenario for Zaid Ibrahim where he receives only 40% of the Malay votes, Lim thinks it’s still winnable for Zaid if he gets 70% of Chinese votes and 50% of Indian votes.

So Lim and I share the expectation Zaid will receive 70% of Chinese support, but I am willing to stick my neck out and provide a slight increase in Chinese votes for PKR, up by another, say, 5%. Lim Tiong Lai and Koh Tsu Koon aren't exactly inspiring figures to persuade the Chinese to vote NathanKamal.

Assuming the yamseng dirty tricks campaign affects Zaid to an extent he gets only 40% Malay votes, he must then win 45% of the Indian votes (preferably 50%). This would be an increase of 20% from my original prediction of 25% - it's a big ask.


But of course I had based that prior to UMNO's arrogant humiliation of Palanivel (with the probable connivance of Mr Toupee). I believe there will be the likelihood of consequential intra-MIC sabotaging or at the very least passive non-support of NathanKamal.

So Zaid may still have a chance to go to Putrajaya if the Malay:Chinese:Indian votes for him turns out to be 40%:75%:45%.

Inasmuch as the Malay votes are crucial the Indian votes will be the deciding factor.

Will the Indians support Zaid or NathanKamal?

Hulu Selangor's Chinese

The Malaysian Insider - MCA turns to Najib after Chinese shut-out

Malaysiakini - Intense battle for Chinese votes [more appropriate title should have been: Intense battle by MCA for Chinese votes]

The MCA has virtually admitted the Chinese votes in Hulu Selangor have been lost to Pakatan.

A typical local MCA comment: "It's not easy for us. Every time we enter a new village, we got scolded. Therefore, we have to improve our strategy by getting more leaders from the MCA divisions throughout the country to help us."

They are also crying out for Najib to win the Chinese votes.

Next, they will appeal to Najib to choose their election candidates. WAIT, sorry about that – my bad. UMNO has already decided for MCA who their leaders should be, so it's automatic that in the next general election, the MCA candidates will be a la Kamalanathan.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Some advice on pantang's about SNAP

Malaysiakini - Snap officially joins Pakatan Rakyat.

My advice to Anwar Ibrahim and Pakatan’s leaders on this – for f* sake, don’t try to lord over the Sarawakians or be patronising to them.

Nothing pisses a Sarawakian and a Sabahan more than a Peninsula-an talking down to them or trying to ‘teach’ them what to do.


Coordinate, certainly; discuss, okay, but don't ever try to be bossy.

Keep Tony B-LIAR out of Malaysia

Tony B-LIAR is a war criminal, principally because of his hubris. And he’s coming to Malaysia because a Singapore company says so.

According to Malaysiakini’s Activists want Blair banned from entering M'sia The Malaysian Islamic NGOs Consultation Council, a coalition representing 26 Islamic groups, said they opposed Blair's presence in Kuala Lumpur because of his role in the 2003 United States-led invasion of Iraq.

Well, it’s not just Islamic NGOs, I too don’t him in Malaysia.

But what galls me is that a foreign company can decide whether he comes or not. MIKINI reported:

Blair's hosts, a Singapore-based company called Success Resources, insisted that he would attend Saturday's gathering in Kuala Lumpur. He is slated to deliver a 90-minute speech on leadership to more than 3,000 participants before leaving for Singapore for a similar talk.

"Yes, he is coming. Malaysia is still a very safe place, everyone is entitled to their opinion as long as you don't break the rule or hurt anyone," Richard Tan, the company's chief executive officer, told AFP from Singapore.

WTF is this Sing character Richard Tan to tell Malaysians about who we want in our country and what we can or cannot do!


Related:
(1) Blair: Subservient Pillion Rider to USA
(2) What Tony Blair Relishes is Sick
(3)The Hypocrisy of Tony Blair
(4)Blair & Bush War Criminals?
(5) Tony Blair - Power Crazy War Criminal?
(6) The Vanities of Tony Blair

(7) Bellicose Balls-Bearing Blair Betrays British!

Najib & Ku Li partnership?

Bakri Musa wrote an article titled ‘Salvaging Najib’ which sounds to me like ‘Savaging Najib’ wakakaka.

Bakri is a very erudite writer but one who has broken the hearts of many Chinese Malaysians including mine. For such an intelligent and supposedly 'exposed' person he has been shamefully biased in his dislike of Chinese, and unforgivably careless and ignorant in attributing their worst points to Confucian ethics and their ethnic culture and characteristics. Be that as it may, I still enjoy reading his articles, except when he made those ignorant and indiscriminate accusations against Chinese (like sweeping every Chinamen down with one long bamboo pole).

As to be expected his articles in the main focused on Malays and Malay issues, and most certainly we can learn from them. From my regular reading of his articles, I gather the impression (and I believe I’m very correct in this) that his idols are Tun Razak, Dr Ismail, Tun Ghazalie Shafie and Tengku Razaleigh (Ku Li), the Malay political giants. At one time (long ago) I noted that he included Tun Dr Mahathir but lately Bakri has consigned the doctor to the group that he (Bakri) is embarrassed of.

To cut to the chase, he drew the top UMNO teamship of Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Razak as a model for Najib to emulate, a partnership of the charismatic but intellectual lightweight Tunku and his deputy, the intellectual giant and visionary Razak.


To Bakri, Najib is like Tunku, not an intellectual giant but easy-going and perhaps even hedonistic to an extent, who needs an intellectual deputy like his late dad, Tun Razak, as a partner to shore up the substance of the current UMNO top partnership.

I’m not too sure about Tun Razak as an intellectual - Dr Ismail and Ghazali Shafie certainly, but Razak ...? No, I respectfully disagree.

But Tun Razak had street-wise cunning, certainly ruthlessness, and leadership qualities but then we are talking about a period when the body politics for the Malays were fairly simple and uncomplicated. Immediately after Independence there weren’t many highly educated Malays, with some of the UMNO leadership and public servants being the exception.

There were of course the well educated young Turks like Dr Mahathir, Ku Li, Musa Hitam and civil servant Ghazali Shafie etc but they were precisely what they were, young Turks and not yet in the top leadership. Tun Razak’s strength was in recruiting them to groom as future UMNO leaders.

Some ministers in Tunku’s cabinet had very basic educational qualifications but surprisingly they were in the main quite good leaders (being old-fashion street smart with a feel for the rakyat), in contrast to today’s UMNO so-called leaders where many are PhD holders but utterly f*-up politicians whose only hold on power, popularity and claimed persona has been based on pathetic pariah provovcative Perkasa-ish polemics and policies.

Naturally in the intellectual department, Bakri deemed Najib’s top team partner, Muhyiddin, not up to scratch and should be dumped (or sidelined into a cushy job as a golden handshake).

Bakri toyed with the idea of a younger chap as a new partner for Najib, like Khairy Jamaluddin (which choice initially surprised me) but then only briefly before he dismissed the young buck for the excessive baggage acquired during his father-in-law's time ;-)

This of course led Bakri to what he really wanted to propose in the first place, namely his idol Ku Li as Najib’s new DPM. This was hardly surprising as Bakri had previously proposed Ku Li to be AAB’s DPM.

Of course the late Tun Razak and Dr Ismail were long gone or Bakri would have asked for them to come back. And dear Tan Sri Ghazali Shafie was (during AAB’s tenure) far too old to be drafted or that true intellectual would have been a sure choice too. I too would have supported the choice of the late Tan Sri.

I doubt Najib will want Ku Li for a variety of reasons, chief among which would be Ku Li as a ‘clear & present danger’ to him, an inevitable challenger for his own position as PM.

Besides, Ku Li is hardly likely to tolerate having young chico Najib as a boss, who was probably in diapers when he (Ku Li) was already in the UMNO top leadership - okay, I exaggerate a bit on the 'diapers' bit but the contrast in their respective seniority and experience is far too embarrassing (and even humiliating) for Ku Li to remain as deputy to a budak kecil like Najib for too long. Remember that top leaders have monstrously humongous egos.

With Tun Razak’s coup d’etat immediately post May 13, when he betrayed and humiliated Tunku (there were other humiliations of Tunku subsequently), the vaunted loyalty of Malays in general and UMNO in particular were left by the wayside.


Today Tun Razak’s son faces imminent threats from every which direction - Muhyiddin, Ali Rustam (who’s more popular in UMNO than Muhyiddin and who would have been DPM if not for a wee ‘inconvenience’), and a host of many others including younger bucks like Khairy Jamaluddin.

Will the sin of the father be visited upon his son? Well, they say history repeats itself!

Monday, April 19, 2010

He's Kamal but not Nathan!

He’s off to an ignominious start at the (wannabe) sharp end of his political career.

According to the dictionary, ‘ignominious’ means:
(a) Marked by shame or disgrace
(b) Deserving disgrace or shame; despicable
(c) Degrading; debasing

UMNO selected candidate Kamalanathan unbelievably supported the antics of ultra rightwing Perkasa, no doubt in a frantic bid to win Malay votes. Perhaps he might even be vaguely aware that UMNO strategists may actually want him to lose the by-election so that the ketuanan Melayu party can justify staking its claim for the constituency in the next election, so he plays a game to show he is more UMNO than MIC.

Every Malaysian knows that the abbreviated form of Kamalanathan is Nathan, so it’s little wonder that sweetie Helen Ang queried in her succinct article titled Why MIC Hulu S’gor candidate defends Perkasa at the website of Centre for Policy Initiatives, why is he known as Kamal but not Nathan?

Is he beginning to resemble in character another bloke who calls himself a Malay when ethnically and by name he isn’t?

Helen also remarked that Nathan Kamal talked about making Hulu Selangor an education hub with the possible location of an UiTM campus in the constituency when it’s well-known UiTM caters ONLY for Malays and not other Malaysians so how's that going to help those poor tambys of MIC and indeed others?

Obviously he’s playing to the Malay gallery in Hulu Selangor rather than campaigning to all voters.

And most sycophantic of all, he wants to win the by-election, not for the rakyat in the constituency, but as a present for his boss (no, not uncle Samy Vellu nor that person whose MIC career is now in trouble, Palanivel) but Najib Razak.

As a present?!! Just how frivolous and sycophantic can a candidate be?

In defending Perkasa (I still can't get over his ignominious insult to his ancestors) he has obviously forgotten (or pretended to forget) the cow head insult and the followng.

Helen reminded us that Najib Razak’s ‘erstwhile’ aide Nasir Safar … commented that the Indian forefathers come here as “beggars”. It elevates the Malays to put down the calibre of the ‘pendatang’. No surprise either that Perkasa should be the first to rally to Nasir’s defence and
urge that he be given a chance to explain the context of his remarks.

Now, would we be able to conclude that Nathan Kamal, implicit in his shameful defence of Perkasa, also wants the Indians and Chinese of Hulu Selangor to give Nasir Safar a further chance for his description of Nathan’s Kamal’s parents and grandparents as beggars?

Helen further wrote: Nathan Kamal, who is MIC information chief, has a professional background in public relations. Judging from the scorn still poured on Indian ethnicity, it’s evident that their image problem has not been rectified. Kamal has done a poor job for MIC’s Indian publicity.

With people like Nathan Kamal, is it any wonder that the Indian Malaysians have been marginalised for 52 years?

Friday, April 16, 2010

Mandore-ism - A letter to Aneh

Private Memo

To:

My dearest most respectable yang sangat berhormat (DMD*) Uthy,
(*dimasa depan)

C’est moi, your tamby, Dodgee Dimsum. My dear dear Aneh who is like Puratchi Thalaivar, eppati irukkinga? Unnai rumba izhanthu vittean.

Enakku udhavi seivienkala? I wonder what you think of the situation in Hulu Selangor. I ask only because my dear Aneh has been noticeably silent about it, unlike your usual wonderfully succinct blasting at that Chinese communist dictator up north on that island, and demolition of his mandore deputy.

Aneh, I was expecting you to lambast those people in Hulu Selangor too for being mandore-ish, in toeing their Big Aneh’s line. They have lost their sovereign dignity, mind you, not that there was any existing before.

Isn’t it just mandore-like of them when even the president’s personal recommendation was ignored and chucked aside, and the deputy president (and future president, though now this is very much in doubt) was left in a devastatingly humiliated state. They were treated, so to speak, like mandores.

Thus I was a wee surprised that Aneh didn’t immediately lambast those mandores. Methinks Aneh is just reserving your energy for that No 2 man up north on that island, but you know best.

My grandfather who saw life through the British colonial period into our nation’s independence, told me of Aneh’s people, brought over from the homeland. There were two groups, one from an island (not that one in our north where your mandore lives) but the one which is more ‘Eelam-ish’ just across the samudera (I feel so privilege to use this word from your homeland), and the other from the sub-continent.

Those orang putih deployed them according to their skills, the islanders (because they were better educated) into their civil bureaucracy and the latter into plantations or as labourers.

All of them, from the two groups, were considered by those colonial masters as mandores, but my grandfather was amazed that among the two groups, the islanders considered the other group as mandores, and would not permit their children to ever marry anyone from the mandore group (though in recent times, a few brave ones have). There was a very conscious division based on class, caste and pannikote origin, and it saddens me because aiyoyo ma, no one with sub-continent ancestors will ever have a chance to marry the delicious hot looking daughter of the man once-reputed as Malaysia’s richest. Sayang saje.

The class distinction was so unlike Chinese society, which could explain why Chinese are more likely to lean towards Marxism while Indians are not so, being faithful to God - a case of agama but not bangsa.


Again it may explain why Indians in our military have been more trusted than the Chinese by the Malay authorities. Chinese could be potential commies, and which a rather ‘flexible’ politician (in Washington recently with the PM) has brilliantly identified one such Chinese communist dictator, up north on that island. Apparently there was a golf story behind this but let's leave that for another day.

I hope to hear from Aneh soon, if not to me privately, then via the media, about mandore-ism in Hulu Selangor (unless of course, their Aneh gives you the land for 98 Tamil schools in Selangor). Apram paarkalame.

I am, your most respectful and obedient tamby,

Dodgee Dimsum.


The Yum-Cha Chronicles:

(1) Apology - A letter to the minister
(2) Bloggers - A letter to the ministry
(3) Drama queens & kings wanted
(4) May 13 Book - a letter to the minister
(5) Appreciation - a letter to the minister
(6) Goblok to Golek - a letter to the minister
(7) MGR-ish makeover - a letter to a minister
(8) Bahasa Mělayu - a letter to Yang Běrhormat
(9) 'Convincibility' - A letter to Yang Amat Berhormat
(10) Political defections - a letter to a future PM
(11) Healing the nation's wounds - a letter to the PM
(12) Dodgee Dimsum's Statutory Declaration

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Palanivel stabbed in back ... right from the very start!

Two weeks ago I posted Hulu Selangor by-election - Déjà vu Ijok? where I stated (extract):

It’s likely that despite the Malay majority in the constituency, Najib will nominate Palanivel unless of course Samy Vellu interferes with that, by either putting his own name in or selecting someone who isn’t likely to be a greater threat to him than poor Palanivel. This is not inconceivable of Samy’s manoeuvring, manipulating Machiavellian mischief in order to remain MIC's No 1 for another zillion years.

Then 4 days later MKINI published Najib says it's MIC but leaves Palanivel in limbo.

Prime Minister Najib Razak has today confirmed that the BN candidate for the crucial Hulu Selangor by-election will come from the MIC. However, he fell short of endorsing G Palanivel [...], giving rise to speculation that he could be bumped off the list.

Poor Palanivel.

On that same day my letter to MKINI was published with a tautological title of
Deja vu again at Hulu Selangor (why ‘again’?) where I wrote:

Samy himself is not unaware that a Palanivel nominated, elected and appointed as a cabinet minister will become an even bigger threat to his position as MIC president, and will in all likelihood expedite his obliteration from the political landscape. In fact one shouldn't be in the least surprised if he forwards to Najib his own name, toupee and all [maniacal laughter]. Thus, between now and April 14, it's virtually more than a political life time for Palanivel.

Sadly my prediction for poor Palani came true

Today in Malaysian Insider’s
Kamalanathan has work cut out in Hulu Selangor campaign it was reported:

Samy Vellu informed Palanivel of the bad news, and toyed with either party secretary-general S. Murugesan or Kamalanathan as a replacement. He eventually picked Kamalanathan, who has the support of vice-president Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam and his son Vel Paari and the backing of the Dewar clan which controls the MIC.

Samy Vellu’s decision to back off after putting up a strong front has roiled the MIC CWC, with members already angry with the party president for failing to keep his word. A campaign has already been started to ask Samy Vellu to take responsibility and resign.

I believe from all these we can safely conclude Samy hadn't been sincere nor serious about his biggest threat, Palani, getting the nomination.

And in Malaysian Insider’s
Barisan names Kamalanathan after battle of wills we read:

Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced the candidacy of Kamalanathan, […]

“He is a workaholic, straightforward, one who means what he says. He’s the only candidate. There is no candidate but him,” Muhyiddin said of Kamalanathan
as a smiling Samy Vellu flanked him.

I suppose poor Mugilan was a red herring after all - an ambitious and naïvely hopeful young bloke, but one used mercilessly by an old crocodile.

Hmmm, I wonder who had stabbed Palanivel in the back?

High Noon for MIC? Or will it be Hightail?

Malaysiakini’s latest news is that MIC threatens to sack Mugilan if the bloke is named today as the BN (meaning UMNO’s) candidate for the Hulu Selangor by-election.

Not only that, MIC leaders have threatened the party’s withdrawal from the campaigning and support.

So if Muhyiddin’s “local boy” (from Perak wakakaka) but now Khairy Jamaluddin’s "youthful candidate" is sacked from MIC, the BN could be (note, not will be) in a quandary in supporting a person in a by-election (or for that matter, election) who is not a member of one of the BN’s component parties, which according to the BN set of rules, is a no no!

I like to see MIC carry out its threat because that will (a) show the party leaders have finally rediscover their balls which they surrendered to UMNO eons ago and (b) accord fit punishment to selfish party members who sabo their own party people for their personal interests (I despise traitors more I despise the enemy – at least the enemy fight for their own side)

But look, having said all the above, there are actually both solution and precedence for Mugilan’s case.

Precedence first – remember that Murugiah bloke who was kicked out of PPP. Kayveas demanded he be removed from his deputy minister post he held under the BN’s allocation of ministerial positions to PPP. But bloke is still around, regularly cooing out ‘our beloved PM’ wakakaka.

[incidentally another bloke who coo-ed ‘our beloved PM’ is Liow Tiong Lai – on reading that I had an immediate bath, with hot steaming water, industrial strength detergent and copperwire brush].

So if the PM wants a bodek-ite around him, he gets him/her regardless of that person’s political membership.

Now the solution – well, MKINI reported that MIC CWC member KP Samy warned that BN could potentially face a boycott should Muhyiddin name anyone other than Palanivel. He said: "Its either Palanivel or we might withdraw from the race and let Umno contest."

The key words are “Let UMNO contest.”

Therefore Mugilan could join UMNO to be legitimate, but of course he needs to be a Malay-Muslim like Ridhuan Tee, which requires him to embrace Islam, speaks Malay regularly even when he’s dreaming or cursing (no more pordah but pergilah), and practises Malay customs and traditions – then all would be kowtim.

[I wonder why Ridhuan Tee who calls himself a Malay still hangs on to his Chinese ancestral name when Ridhuan Abdullah sounds more authentic as a Malay name]

Yes, there’s always a solution. Perhaps Murugiah (formerly of PPP) should also consider this option for added assurance to his tenure as a favoured deputy minister. Sorry Kayveas, but hey, do go ahead and eat your heart out, but aneh, you can still curse pordah wakakaka.

As for Chua Soi Lek, better watch your back because there’s also a our-beloved-PM-ish 'Mugilan’ in the MCA - hint: very very (physically) close to you ;-).

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

MIC fights back at UMNO, MCA ...?

In reacting to the possibility of UMNO picking local boy youthful candidate (wakakaka) V Mugilan over MIC’s preferred candidate (and deputy president) G Palanivel, the spokesman for Selangor MIC divisions, A Saktivel, stated:

“It has never happened in history that a candidate not chosen by the party president is fielded.”

“We don't want a candidate who is allowed to contest for the seat through the back door. This is about party dignity.”

"If MIC has no say in the choice of candidate, there's no point having MIC around. We will lose our face. We won't be able to face grassroots members."

Even though MIC is an @r$eh*le party he’s right.

In my post yesterday titled Will UMNO get its way and nominate its own MIC man for Hulu Selangor? I wrote (extracts):

Basically all parties in an alliance or coalition [like the BN or Pakatan] are ‘equal’ though of course the bigger or more powerful party is accepted as the primus inter pares or ‘first among equals’ – note the term ‘among equals’.

… the federal and state seats are negotiated and then allocated – sure, there’s the usual pre-emptive strikes (like what PKR tried to do against DAP just before the 2008 general election), tradeoffs, stealing, cheating etc etc, but once a seat is allocated to Party X, Parties Y and Z have to butt out and mind their own business.

Unfortunately (for MCA, MIC, Gerakan – no point mentioning the mosquito parties) in BN, UMNO vets and approves the other parties’ candidates.

Now in Hulu Selangor, it would appear that UMNO has taken an additional step – it directly selects the candidate for MIC!

Accepting this as an UMNO prerogative would be the most shameful indignity that MIC will have to suffer in its 50 over years of history.

So I support Saktivel’s statement as reflected in Malaysiakini's Hulu S'gor MIC branches issue 'final' ultimatum to BN as a rightful fight back for dignity.

They warned that if Palanivel is not chosen as the BN candidate, it would be a blatant show of disrespect to MIC and its leadership

"We will not go out to vote if it is not Palanivel," said grassroots leader K Alloo Pillai, suggesting that BN could be facing a boycott.

Hulu Selangor MIC information chief Raily Muniandy has threatened that all the party branches in the constituency will be closed.

Good show, but what about MCA?

Malaysiakini reported in Hulu S'gor MCA to ensure 8,000 members vote BN that Party president Dr Chua Soi Lek said all the MCA branches had been given the list of voters and their polling district to facilitate them in tracking down the voters.

"We must ensure that every MCA member numbering 8,000 who are also voters in the constituency come out and vote for the BN candidate.”

[Sigh]


This should be the time for MCA/Chua to demonstrate it has balls by showing solidarity with MIC and say, words to the effect, “If MIC’s preference is not respected, MCA will not support the BN candidate.”

Dei Chua, today it’s MIC, tomorrow it may well be MCA, and by the way, have a read of my other but related posts below - wakakaka!


Related:
(1) Liow Tiong Lai's godfather coming to save him?
(2) Najib and Muhyiddin fighting for Liow Tiong Lai


UMNO's MIC local boy metamorphoses into MIC youthful candidate

There’s either a lot of memory loss experienced by some people these days or the reporters have been misquoting them.

Small fry is no small fry – it’s small committee (jawatankuasa kecil).

He picked Mugilan but no, he didn’t pick Mugilan.

Dr Pornthip was assured protection if she wants to come to testify; then when Dr Pornthip said she be here, protection will only be assured only after Dr Pornthip provides details.

BN wants a local boy – ooops, he’s from Perak; now BN now wants a youthful candidate.

There have been more of such ... er ... misquotes, but cukup ler.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Will UMNO get its way and nominate its own MIC man for Hulu Selangor?

The still-undisclosed BN’s candidate for the Hulu Selangor by-election is a very clear example of why the BN is not a coalition but a unitary political party with UMNO as its superior.

The dictionary says that a coalition is basically a combination or alliance, especially a temporary one between persons, factions, states, etc.

Thus rightfully the BN should be an alliance of a number of parties. In fact, in the old days (pre 13 May 1969) the BN was called Perikatan or Alliance.

An alliance indicates a formal agreement or treaty between two or more parties to cooperate for specific purposes.

Basically all parties in an alliance or coalition are ‘equal’ though of course the bigger or more powerful party is accepted as the primus inter pares or ‘first among equals’ – note the term ‘among equals’.

But the non-UMNO component parties in BN have since then sold off their sovereignty, independence, dignity and pride to UMNO, behaving and grovelling as subordinates and not as equals (even if they aren’t the ‘primus’).

In an alliance like Pakatan, the federal and state seats are negotiated and then allocated – sure, there’s the usual pre-emptive strikes (like what PKR tried to do against DAP just before the 2008 general election), tradeoffs, stealing, cheating etc etc, but once a seat is allocated to Party X, Parties Y and Z have to butt out and mind their own business.

Unfortunately (for MCA, MIC, Gerakan – no point mentioning the mosquito parties) in BN, UMNO vets and approves the other parties’ candidates. If say, MCA picks Ah Kow to stand in Bukit Bintang, and UMNO says no because someone in UMNO doesn’t like Ah Kow, then MCA won't be allowed to field him.

Recall the pre-2008 Kelana Jaya’s MP, Loh Seng Kok from MCA?

Well the brave bloke went on a verbal rampage in parliament, raising issues that hitherto had been considered taboo, especially more so for a BN bloke. He criticised our ‘imbalanced’ history textbooks, new prayer recital guidelines and the problems faced by non-Muslims with regards to places of worship.

Loh was damn mad that the approved syllabus and history textbooks were grossly deficient and negligent in that they ignored (1) the contribution of non-bumiputeras in Malaysia. and (2) focussed only on Islamic civilisation.

In these limitations he reckoned the books would restrict exposure for the students and hamper their critical thinking.

After Loh finished his coverage of the other two issues, he was warned by both UMNO and a PAS MP not to thread on ‘dangerous grounds’. I was surprised he was even allowed to finish his speech.

I wrote in my 2006 post 50 UMNO Youths Threatened MCA MP! that:

… 6 days later, a mob of 50 UMNO Youth members, led by Kelana Jaya division chief Abdul Halim Samad, paid him a surprise visit. Abdul Halim handed him a letter and told him ominously, “We don’t want to hear any explanation now; this is our letter, you read and answer it!”

Loh was warned that UMNO Youth would ‘take action’ if he failed to respond to the letter within a number of days. Some in the group had brought along video cameras to record the brief meeting.

The Kelana Jaya division claimed Loh had hurt the feelings of those sensitive touchy feely UMNO Youth members. They reminded Loh that the majority of voters in his Kelana Jaya parliamentary constituency are Malays. Aha! Here's a chance for PKR in next general election.

Well, it was obvious UMNO didn’t want him, because he did not stand in Kelana Jaya or anywhere in 2008, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise for him because he escaped facing the humiliation of losing to his clansman Loh Gwo Burne of PKR who joined the party just one week prior to 08 March 08 on the personal invitation of Anwar Ibrahim wakakaka.


That's the veto power of UMNO over its subordinates like MCA, Gerakan and MIC, etc. Galling, isn't it, but WTF could those Chinese and Indians do?


Back to Hulu Selangor - while MIC has nominated Palanivel to stand in the by-election (Hulu Selangor being allocated to MIC), it’ll be UMNO who has the final say, because we've just heard that "I'm a Malay first, then a Malaysian" Muhyiddin has nominated V Mugilan instead.

But at least, as reported in Malaysiakini’s MIC, Umno face off over candidate? MIC is prepared to go to war (of a sort) if UMNO has its way. Samy Vellu has threatened to sack V Mugilan from the party for lobbying for the seat as well as for carrying out underground activities to tarnish Palanivel.

Aiyah, no worries lah Mugilan, if you are elected, you will then join Muru-whatever his name is, that bloke who was sacked from PPP, as Najib's handymen, notwithstanding the BN constitution that a no-party person cannot be in BN. If UMNO boss wants, UMNO boss gets and f* any BN agreement.

The asymmetric relationship in BN sees UMNO treating MIC not as its alliance partner but rather as a subordinate, deciding by itself who in MIC should stand.

That’s not going to happen in Pakatan, not with parties like PAS and DAP.

Ikan Bilis fight back

photo from The Malasian Insider


To him, interfaith panel is just ikan bilis
but ayoyo, it's one with quite a hefty kick
because now they won't attend the majlis
Those non-Muslims think he's such a prick

He gave in to that bloke from ultra Perkasa
Telling the pseudo-warrior it's only for show
No worries buddy, there won't be any dosa
Sandirawara only to make 1Malaysia glow

wakakaka!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Pornthip - the most profound statements are often said in silence

The Sinister – first she was stalked!

The Overt – then she had a police report made against her by, gosh gawd omigosh, by the very party with a vested interest in not having her expert testifying made in court,

The Covert – now she is made persona non grata in Malaysia, with this message conveyed to her ‘quietly’ through informal channels (and there are such between nations throughout the world) that she is not welcomed to testify in court after the 2nd autopsy.

They want her silenced, but we know that the most profound statements are often said in silence.

She was the one who alerted us, post 1st autopsy, that Teoh Beng Hock was probably a victim of homicide, contrary to the findings of the 1st autopsy, an indictment on so-called professionals that populates Malaysian public institutes.

As for Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz, officially the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and unofficially the government’s chief head-kicker, I have to confess sometimes I like what he said though alas, most times I don’t.

But in his disgraceful unsubstantiated criticism of Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand as a liar and one who had lied in (the inquest) court, obviously a too-hasty and over-the-top reaction to her bombshell that the Malaysian authority sent a veiled threat to the Bangkok authority that she isn't welcomed in Malaysia, I would say “The minister doth protest too much, methinks" with apologies to William
Shakespeare for paraphrasing his quote in his Hamlet, Act III, scene II.

As Gobind Singh Deo, representing the Teoh family in the inquest into Teoh Beng Hock’s now-not-so-mysterious death, said to Nazri:

“I challenge Nazri to offer himself as a witness at the inquest to prove his allegation that Dr Porntip had lied in court.”

“Instead of assisting the Teoh family and trying to solve the problem, Nazri Aziz has spoken volumes for the government to the contrary.”

“Is there a real desire on part of the government to see justice done for Teoh Beng Hock or do they hope to discredit those who have helped establish a case against suicide on his behalf as seems to be the case here?”

I can answer the last part – no and yes!


NO to any real desire to see justice done for Teoh Beng Hock, and YES to discredit those who have helped establish a case against suicide (meaning it was homicide)!

Do you recall how the former IGP, Mohd Bakri Omar, threatened UMNO that the police will not support the BN in the general election if AAB established the IPCMC, and that the government backed down?

In my May 2006 posting IGP worried, PM wishy-washy, PAS whoring? I wrote:

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng
criticised the police threats of its work-to-rule and en bloc resignation consequences if the IPCMC is established:

“By threatening to allow crime to rise is utterly irresponsible and a complete surrender of the moral and legal authority of the police."

“Those who can even entertain allowing crime to rise and put property and public safety at risk as a mark of protest should either resign or be sacked for such selfish and anti-national interests attitude.”

“Abdullah must act quickly to regain the initiative over his agenda of anti-corruption, transparency, accountability and good governance by ending the open police ‘revolt’ so as to regain control of the police force.”

I also wrote:

... the police arrogance may yet turn into a blessing in disguise for an increasingly unpopular PM Abdullah Badawi. It's ironical that he has been presented with a God-sent opportunity to redeem himself.

If he tames the feral Malaysian police force by immediately sacking the IGP and the top layer of police officers, he could well be another Truman or Sadat - dull 'deputies' who took over from flashy flamboyant predecessors, but who by a fate of history became world or outstanding national leaders in their own rights.

Fate indeed has presented Abdullah Badawi with this crucial moment in his career. Will he seize this momentous opportunity gratefully? I fear not!

I was right.


Instead of investigating whether Dr Pornthip’s allegation has any truth, Nazri’s obscenely hasty pre-emptive attempt at protecting MACC (like AAB obligated to concede to the police) merely confirms UMNO’s continuing obligation, regardless of the merits of the case, to its political apparatus like the police, MACC, etc.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

The disease of 'sehelai kain pelekat & RM100'

He was acquitted by an Australian State district court of currency regulation breaches involving more than 1.3 million Australian dollars, to wit, knowingly making a false currency report when entering Australia on 16 Dec 1996, and another of failing to declare currency when leaving six days later.

But a superior court subsequently ruled that the trial judge had made legal errors in directing a jury which acquitted him, which was not reported by Malaysian newspapers (and why should we be surprised by our mainstream media's omission?)

Luckily for him Australian law is such a person cannot be tried again on a charge of which he has been acquitted.

We’re of course talking about Muhammad Muhammad Taib (Mat Taib) who’s better known as Mike Tyson.

In an article in The Malaysian Insider today titled Mat Taib or bust for Hulu Selangor voters sweetie Clara Chooi wrote (relevant extracts only):

Barisan Nasional (BN) will cruise to victory if Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib is fielded as a candidate.

Interviews with the locals across the constituency the size of Malacca over two days, however, showed two glaringly significant trends: that voters on both camps, BN and Pakatan Rakyat, want Muhammad —or “Mat Taib” — as their MP, and that BN may face defeat if they put up Palanivel again.

Putting aside the views of cyber-cafe operator, Rozairi Mohd Zain, who said that he would look at the ‘skin colour’ of the candidate before casting his vote in the coming by-election, we even have a Chinese former DAP supporter (stress on 'former') who declared that Mat Taib is an ace.

So what do we have?

(a) a man who got away with false currency declaration in a foreign country by claiming he couldn’t speak or understand English, but subsequently found by a superior court that his acquittal was incorrect, and got away again by the legal technicality of ‘no double jeopardy’ (cannot trial a man twice for the same crime even if he is guilty)

(b) a man who needs to explain (if not to the Tax Office or the ACA/MACC, at least to us) how he came by those millions, ...

... yet is a man who is, according to sweetie Clara Chooi’s article, adored by all and sundry in Hulu Selangor, and would be a surefire walkaway victor if he stands in the coming by-election.

What does that tell you?

Again leaving aside people like Rozairi Mohd Zain who see the world through coloured lens, Malaysians in general, especially those of the earlier generations, don’t give a sh*t about corruption or corrupt pollies, or such stuff as accountability and transparency so long as they get some benefits, namely the sehelai kain pelekat and RM100 (allowing for inflation).

This has been why BN and in particular UMNO have been getting away with blatant corrupt practices for the past 52 years (and expect more years of such to come) as manifested in the overtly obscene ostentatious Bali Palace and the Satay Palace in Klang, ...


... and how 600 Janome sewing machines and even the arrogant boast of how 10 years of public works was compressed into one month won the day in the Ijok by-election in 2007.

Conclusion? Momentary syiok-ness followed by decades of marginalization are acceptable for some people - in fact they want more!

Will such an appallingly abysmal attitude prevail in the future, say in 2013?