It's been an interesting Raya week, to say the least and its incredible how the smallest of things can be turned into an issue akin to the countries economic woes.

Firstly on the cards, Hindraf paying a visit to the PM's open house over at PWTC on the first day of Raya. Government Main-Stream-Media (MSM) has spun the incident into something way beyond what it should be. Utusan Malaysia even called for stern action against Hindraf for creating a ruckus at the gathering. The RPK fellas also where there along side their Hindraf brothers and they too took a lot of slack from the MSM. It is reported that various individuals and bodies have asked that sterner action be taken against these people, who are deemed as disruptors of a grand celebration.

So this whole issue has been blown out of proportion. Why can't, for the sake of national peace, this incident be downplayed? Raya visiting can also make the news and this incident with Hindraf has further cemented people's opinion that these guys are mere trouble makers.

Secondly, someone in Batu Caves decided to erect a large poster of Anwar Ibrahim and this has made headlines. Yup, a poster (for lack of a better name) can also make news. Apparently, it hit the news when the Mufti of Perlis called it an idol. PAS was quick to come out to say it is perfectly alright to have the poster and it's not an idol or carved image.

So the nation is heading for a hard time economically and we have our leaders fighting over Raya visiting and a large poster of Anwar. All these are mere smokescreen to the true state of the nation. The KLCI tumbled 14 points yesterday, markets around Asia are reacting to the US financial crisis which is underway now. If everyone is watching all these sensational news, then who is watching Malaysia?

Scanning through the news MSM is feeding the populace, it seems clear that they are trying hard to win back the trust of the people. News, nowadays, seem balance; just that BN gets all the front portion of the paper while news on PR gets a place close to the obituary.

Not all things are bad and should be politicized. Yes, I bet you the Hindraf folks would have never made the news if they did not identify themselves as being from Hindraf. The huge poster of Anwar may not have been an issue if it was an image of Pak Lah. So what really is the problem? Would a visit by Hindraf to a public open house be detrimental to the nation's security? Would a poster be detrimental to the believers of various faiths in Malaysia? So what is the issue?

Only in Malaysia!