Sum of Many Parts

Malaysia is not about a particular group nor is it only one ethnic class. Unlike Japan or Korea where the Japanese can proudly call themselves Japanese due to a majority ethnic class (bar the indigenous groups), Malaysia is a sum of many parts. Malaysians are made up of dozens of ethnic groups all striving to irk out a living.

So for one group to claim "lordship" over others just sounds wrong when, politically, this group needed the help of those from outside their party to stay in government. It is wrong to assume they have total say in everything Malaysia without a thought for those who help keep them in power. Now, we are seeing a jostling for position in the said party. Position in the largest political party in Malaysia comes with much perks. It is an open secret that these top party officio live off government projects and what-nots. In fact, by being the largest stake-holders in government, they continue to enrich themselves.

But here-in lies the problem. The people of this fair country are automatically forgotten by those in power when in truth it was these people who put them into power. And when the public speaks out via street demos or blogs, the government is quick to clamp down on them. Arrests are made in the name of "doing the public a favor" (I thought favors are asked for?), media is twisted to spin lies and corruption on the highest level is sugar-coated to hide the truth.

It is the people who make up this fair country and the government is a servant to the voice of the majority - the people of Malaysia. And the people of Malaysia is a sum of many parts. The people of Malaysia sweep across political, religious and racial lines. Malaysians are Malaysians and is known by no other name. So why do our politicians seem to think other-wise?

Ministry watching blogs playing up controversies

The Home Ministry is monitoring blogs to check if bloggers are posting comments that confuse the people on controversial issues.

At the moment, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung said the ministry was merely advising bloggers against the misuse of blogs.

“So far, we are only telling them not to use their blogs as a mechanism to confuse people or as a weapon against those they don’t like.”

Source: The Star Online

We the people of Malaysia are a greedy bunch, just ask Shahrir Samad.

Shahrir says Malaysians are greedy

Datuk Shahrir Samad, the minister who has faced the brunt of criticism over oil prices, courted even more controversy today when he suggested Malaysians were greedy if they expected subsidies to continue.

The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister, whose job is to regulate prices, said subsidies are meant to only cushion the burden of high prices.

"When prices come down it will just be greed on the part of consumers to insist that they be subsidised," he said.

Source: Malaysia Today

Sometimes you just sit and wonder...

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Auto Pilot Administration (APA?)

I must apologize for my in-frequent blogging these pass week. I've been caught up with work and have not found the time to sit down and churn out my thoughts on what is happening in Malaysia. To a few friends, I must state here, "No, I've not been detained under ISA!" I was just busy with work and also editing my second novel, which I hope to send to a publisher come the new year.

For the record, I've not received my royalty for my first book. The recession seems to have hit the publisher of my first published novella. Sad but well, I'm writing not for the money but it would be nice to see a fat check come Christmas.

Sometimes I wish I could just go into autopilot mode. Get all my work to work themselves out. Get my blog to write itself, posting out articles that spurn and turn your minds. Get my iBook to write all my books, while I sit and merely think about the plots and twists to the story. Autopilot is the best thing since chocolate ice-cream waffles.

But Malaysia is run like that. Our leaders love to leave things to autopilot while they frolic elsewhere. Take the statement by the Deputy Chief Minister of Sarawak who mentioned that politicians need a strong civil service. It doesn't matter if the politicians are bad, as long as the civil service is strong.

In a world that is heading towards recession and what-nots, we need leaders with enough balls to lead us through it. The civil service of Malaysia is only as good as the leaders it has. Lead by example. The politicians should lead the way in showing a good example for others to follow. They are wakil rakyat - people's representative. If the leaders are stooges then can we infer that the people they represent are equally stooges?

Herein lies the deepest problem in Malaysian politics. The politicians leave things in auto-pilot mode.

Where clear leadership is needed, we are left with hapless officers who merely tell us, "I have to refer to boss.."

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What is Justice in Malaysia?

It's great to receive comments on your blog. You feel like you have contributed to the bigger body of knowledge by allowing people to post their views and (hopefully) generate meaningful discussions. There have been times in my blogging life (since 2003) where some people have not been happy with my postings and even at one time a reader threatened to sue me for a comment posted by another reader.

But I must say something to arjun who graciously commented on my post "ISA for Crimes of Opinion". He made a reference to my post "Khairy Jamaluddin in ISA?" where I mentioned that KJ would never be caught under ISA. KJ will not be caught under ISA, not because he did not have an opinion or stuff to say but rather because he is the SIL to the current PM. arjun should read the article again and see the angle I am writing from.

KJ will never be caught because he is UMNO. KJ will never be caught because he is not Opposition. So KJ will go on saying whatever he wants to say and nothing will be done to him. Make as many police reports as you want against KJ, yet no action will be taken. Remember, KJ is KJ and the rising star of UMNO young turks. His veil ambition to be the next prime minister at the age of 40 is an open secret so do you honestly think this bastion of UMNO young blood would be caught under ISA?

So arjun, read my article again and hopefully you will see my point. The hope now is for KJ to not be elected as the UMNO Youth head. Stop his rise and let's see justice take its place. It is only just that the one person who has had influence in the dealings of this country be made to pay for his misdeeds.

What is Justice in Malaysia?

Justice is when we have a government that returns back to what it was destined for - to care for Malaysians. But over the years, this BN government has set out to enrich a select few and elevate their own into positions of power. They ship-wrecked the economy by hiking up the fuel prices and then asking that we all change out lifestyles while they live off our tax-money.

Now, will I be caught for a Crime of Opinion? I don't know, ISA is a funny tool that seems to be selective in its implementation.

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Race Based Business Politics

Something our incoming Prime Minister said just makes you roll your eyes:

"Kerajaan tidak mahu perniagaan diuruskan berdasarkan soal perkauman," kata Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Oleh yang demikian, katanya, kerajaan sentiasa menggalakkan semua syarikat di sektor swasta supaya memainkan peranan membangunkan vendor tempatan, termasuk vendor bumiputera.

Source: Malaysiakini

On one hand you say do not manage business along racial lines yet you also ask corporations to give more incentives to bumiputra companies. So what are you really saying here?

In fact, business in Malaysia is so skewed it's almost impossible to run away from race based management. The way tenders are supposed to be awarded speak volumes to this fact. Bumiputra companies are given priority and this is the way things are done in Bolehland. And if one was to follow the rule book then these are the rules, one need to follow.

So if Najib does not want businesses to be managed on a race base platform then he has to remove all form of preference to a particular race. This way, the business scene will be open and the best business-man wins. In turn, only the shrewd and best in their area of expertise will survive and wouldn't this be good for the nation? But is Malaysia prepared for this?

In the same statement, Najib also asked corporations to help build up local vendors meaning Bumiputra vendors. So no management along race-based lines yet please help the Bumiputra vendors. See the contradiction?

It'll be interesting what would happen when Najib Razak is PM. We can only hope that this "British trained economist" would be able to bring a revival in the way business is done in Malaysia. As such we see, abuses and enrichment of a select few in the Malaysian business world. Projects are tendered and awarded in dubious ways (helicopters anyone?). Yet, the man at the centre of dubious military business scandals is now telling us how to do business.

Hey, if we pay attention we may learn how to gain millions in kickbacks without lifting a finger. So folks, listen to your incoming PM.

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Our Leaders do not seem to be able to talk right.

Singapore announced it's anti-recession measures and just across the cause way our PM (Pak Lah) announced, "Hey, we're ok. We're fine. Everything is going to be alright!" Ok, he didn't say it that way, but it was to the same effect.

It was funny because I was expecting something along the line of, "The leaders are concern and are monitoring the situation. We will have the best interest of the people in mind and would put measures into place if the situation worsens. For now Malaysia is fundamentally strong...."

Hence, the problem with our leaders is that they lack communications skills to reach out to the masses. Instead, they probably only know how to talk to one another but not to the people who voted them in. So we get rather crude statements that are insensitive to the general populace. By right, there is something wrong in the economy, if not why would so many governments (richer than ours) prepare for the worse? Yet, our leaders seem to have care-free attitudes when it comes to real pressing issues, which affect the nation.

Instead, our leaders attention is focus on party elections and nothing else. Their own squabbling become news (we read this daily) while the whole world brace for a recession. Everything our leaders talk about is skewed for their own political millage. They lower themselves to say anything that would garner those votes, which would set them up for a lucrative life as a career politician. Honestly, would any of our leaders work for free? Working for the sake of the people of this nation, literally taking no pay but merely giving service to the people of Malaysia? Would they be willing to serve and only to serve?

I doubt it.

In times like this we need leaders who can motivate and encourage the populace. Leaders who can reach out with words that inspire and calm. Yet, we have slapstick comedians who stumble and flop over their own statements and at the end of the day people wonder whether their vote was really worth it. Don't you think so?

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With all eyes on the UMNO elections, whose eyes are on the nation?

Do we give a dipstick on who would be the next UMNO president or VP? Does it really matter except the fact we kind of know, who the next PM and DPM would be since by pure default it has to come from UMNO? Does it really matter who gets the nominations to vie for the post (up for offer) in the coming UMNO convention?

In fact, if you really look at it; it doesn't really matter at all. When all eyes are turned to the squabbling of career politicians looking to secure their positions in UMNO, the state of the nation is not addressed.

Who is looking into the state of the country's economy? Who's going to put into place, safeguards to protect the populace when the recession hits Malaysia? While all these UMNOputra folks are squabbling over position and status, who is looking after you and me?

The American DOW JONES tumbled to its lowest level in 5 years yesterday. Governments in Europe are preparing bailout plans to save their financial institutions and these same governments are watching Asia. Markets all over Asia (and the world) are taking a tumble, Malaysia included. A few years back, Pak Lah used the KLSE as a barometer to gauge the health of the nations economy (that time we were riding high) and commented that Malaysia was moving along strong. Well, take a look today at our KLSE and with the current slide, the economy is headed for a heart-attack.

The economy is sliding down-wards yet the cost of living is going up. Why? Because the current BN government raise the price of fuel so drastically it took everyone by surprise. The populace cried foul but our BN MPs rubber-stamped the decision and told us to change our lifestyles. Was there not a decent brain in parliament at the time they debated the bill to increase the fuel price?

Raise the fuel price and traders will raise the price of goods. Simple logic, you don't have to be a "British trained economist" to know this. Then we get the announcement, the government will review the price of fuel on a month-to-month basis. They have since reduced the price of fuel twice and I'm expecting another price cut at the end of this month because the price of crude is hovering below USD90 per barrel.

Reduce fuel price but has the price of goods been reduced? No.

Even if the price of fuel returns to a point below RM2 per liter, the price of goods will remain where it is now. It makes pure business sense to keep it there. Business is about making the highest return on your investment, no business minded trader would want to lower the price of their goods when they are already making huge profits now.

So the BN government, in saving their subsidies, placed stress on the populace. Where is the rational in that? Did the BN MPs have that in mind when the bill was tabled in parliament after the fuel hike? So with Najib as Finance Minister and PM in waiting, will we see a reversal of all these "smart" economic decisions?

It seems a trend in Malaysia in recent years; if a Minister express discontent with a particular group then the police would investigate. This can happen even after the incident, then the police would step in, do some questioning and arrest a few people, and Minister happy, BN happy and people confuse.

HINDRAF would be investigated for unruly behavior at the Raya event the PM had last week. Question-why weren't any arrests made at the time of the offense? The police were there, the press was there and the PM was there, yet no arrest for "unruly" behavior. Why only now, a week after the incident, there is a call for the police to investigate HINDRAF and since when was "unruly" behavior at a Raya gathering threatening to national security?

This is a trend that needs to be checked and countered. It clearly shows the police agency under the influence of those in government positions and the directive seems to flow from these ministers. It should not be this way, the police have to investigate when there is clearly a crime committed and not on the perceived pretext that a crime was committed.

In the wake of all these things happening to our nation, the limelight is on the UMNO elections. Reading about who gets the highest nomination from the divisions is better than watching paint dry but what relevance does that have to me? I want to hear news about policies the government will put into place to counter the global crisis hitting our economy, which in turn will affect whether I can put food on the table. I want to know whether next year I can afford to put my kids into school as the cost of education steadily rise.

With all eyes on the UMNO elections, whose eyes are on the nation?

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Raya visiting by Hindraf and Anwar's "Idol" Image

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!

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Cut the crap, we're all RACIST!

Let's not be apologetic. We're all RACIST and it's the truth. 51 years on and Malaysia is still grappling with race issues and its no fault of our own. It's is in fact a collage of problems heap into one and perpetuated by a weak government unable to deal with the tide of transparency hitting the populace.

We have a political system with race-centric parties. We have government policies to "protect" various races from exploitation or from getting too weak. We have ideologies that segregate the haves and the have-nots. So is it any mistake that we all turn out RACIST?

So stop pointing fingers at each other and acknowledge the fact that for 51 years Malaysians have been fed by ideas and policies that promote RACISM. We see it in the politicians who create government policies, we see it in division of education, we see it in the banking systems, we see it in the breakdown of civil servants, we see it in the make-up of the arm forces, we see it in the jigsaw puzzle called the Malaysian economy. RACISM has tainted every strata of Malaysian society.

Ahmad Ismail blames his out-of-context statement on Chinese reporters, Now, at least two(2) Chinese reporters have come forward to say he did say those words. Yet Ahmad Ismail refuses to apologist and he's backed up by the Penang UMNO members, and this goes against the opinion of his boss, Abdullah Badawi, who is himself (the PM) from Penang. What gives?

Everyone is crying bloody RACISM yet no-one is owning up to their mistakes. The government has been at naught in tackling this matter because to do so would mean they are siding with the Chinese and Indians and justifying the notion that they have been practicing RACISM all this while.

Scrap all RACE base parties and just setup a two(2) party system. GOVERNMENT and OPPOSITION. The majority wins the label of GOVERNMENT and the minority the label OPPOSITION. Let the politicians play their game, jump or not jump is totally up to them AS LONG AS the people get what they want. Low cost living, high level of education for our children and the opportunity to fulfill a comfortable life. Equal opportunity by merit. The harder we work, the better the opportunity to gain monetary rewards. No hint of RACISM, no hint of FAVORITISM. Instead, everyone living the MALAYSIAN DREAM.

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Knee-jerk Government

It is now pretty obvious the current government is one that is knee-jerking it's way. It's reactive in nature and seems to have no proper direction. We now hear that the government would lower the price of fuel before the onset of Aidilfitri. Remember what can be lowered can also be raised and the trend of the government to lower the price at will seems headed for disaster.

Disaster as it would throw the price of goods into a chaotic frenzy. It takes time for prices of goods to adjust itself to market forces and the strongest force at the moment is the cost of transportation which is passed on to the consumer to bear. If fuel prices bounce around like a ping-pong ball in a box, the prices of goods would also bounce around like a ping-pong ball. Traders would have a hard time fixing prices for essential goods. Though this may ultimately be good for the consumer whereby they can scout around for the best price, in the long run it may even slow the market down. Uncertainty is the root product of such a volatile market.

When people are uncertain about a situation then they tend to react in fear. With the government being uncertain about the price of fuel and with no clear measure on how they would control the price of essential goods, traders would react in fear. They would price goods at a price that they perceive would blanket them from these mad fluctuations of cost. Some goods may be overpriced and remain overpriced over market price in order to cushion the traders pockets. Fair enough, the traders are entitled to protect themselves.

Would the government react to this?

I think they would. This is after all a knee-jerking government, who doesn't seem to know what's going on and worst still, the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. Gone are the days when Malaysia was a trend setter in Asia. Instead, we now have a government that reacts badly towards whatever situation it gets itself into.

Sure, lower the fuel price in time for the Hari Raya holidays and maybe the price of essential goods would catch on fast enough and everyone would have an affordable raya. If they lower it now, would they raise it again if the price of crude increases?

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Budget 2009 - will we get what we want?

All I want is for things to be cheaper and life a little easier. Is that too much to ask for? But this government is bent on spending my tax-money on stuff, which makes no sense. Why not plow all the tax money into lowering the cost of fuel? Wait, if they do that then there will be no left-overs for some cronies to eat from. Our tax money is being used to feed the jokers whom lead government.

Forget the one month bonus, it will help nothing. Instead, increase the basic pay or introduce minimum wage. Up the salary scale and this will help the fix income earners in the long run. Up-lifting the lives of 1.2 million civil servants would spill over to the private sector. Increasing the income of civil servants would pump money back into the market, moving local and generating business for local businessmen. It would also be a relief for banks who suffer when money lies stagnant in bank accounts.

All I ask for is to have more money in my pocket and it should be channelled in directly. Not via rebates or hand-outs but directly through tax-cuts, low cost of living or lower contributions to the EPF. It is all I want, more money and I believe all Malaysians want this yet the government has been so caught up in itself, it has failed to see this.

Don't expect much from the Budget for 2009. I suspect it would just be a reactive budget. Trying to fix fires yet not moving anything forward.

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Malaysian bloggers vs the BN government.

Malaysia-Today has taken the bullet from the BN government, yet you can't keep a good man down so Raja Petra has moved it to another location that by-passes the government-controlled-kow-towing ISPs. Is Malaysiakini going to be next? Or will bloggers fall like dominoes in the wake of a cyber "Operation Lalang"?

Looking at the parliament, we now have more active bloggers joining it. Anwar Ibrahim has a blog, Lim Kit Siang has been blogging for ages, Jeff Ooi, Tony Pua and a host of other MPs have a presence on the internet. Forget the BN lame attempt at joining the blogosphere since they are hesitant at being labeled as monkeys. A term the BN government used against bloggers before the 12th General Election.

But the BN government lost because of the monkeys in a lawless jungle.

So now the BN government is bent on sending these monkeys the way of the Dodo. Malaysian jails will not be housing the robbers, rapist or murderers but bloggers. Yes, the robbers, rapists and murderers will be plying their trade on the Malaysian streets while the police round up the bloggers and dump them into crowed prisons. This is the state of the Malaysian BN government now, paranoid at the prospect of loosing their grip on power and resolving to putting their critics into prison.

Stupid and ridiculous because there is no way for the BN government to stop bloggers. It is akin to cutting telephone lines and telling people to resort to using carrier pigeons for their messaging needs. Remember, it was the government under Tun Mahathir that opened up Malaysia to the Internet and now the government after Tun Mahathir is resorting to clamp it down. There is really something wrong in the minds of our ministers who agree that this is the best course of action to take in the wake of their defeat at Permatang Pauh.

Sore losers!

I say, go ahead. Clamp down on bloggers and independent news providers or the alternative media. Go ahead, round them up, put them into prison or slap court charges against them. Go ahead and see what would happen. The people will take to the streets to demand justice, the people would un-subscribe from using the services of ISPs who kow-tow to BN government pressure, the people would stop listening to government propaganda channels such as RTM and TV3. The people would take matters into the own hands and come 13th General Election, the BN government would be relegated to a sentence in our history books. Heck, it could happen as early as 16th September if Anwar Ibrahim follows through with his plan.

I say, BN government go ahead with the clamp down and you will see a fight between Malaysian Bloggers and you. The winner has been decided, the results were seen during the 12th General Elections. Bloggers won and pushed your 2/3 majority out of the window, bloggers exposed your wrong doings, bloggers shifted the mind-set of the people. Bloggers can do it under the pressure of everything the BN government threw at them and who says bloggers cannot survive a clampdown now?

And may I suggest that they also investigate the comments and postings on BN blogs or blogs by BN MPs because they also have seditious and "hot" issues. Look at the WHOLE Malaysian blogging community, not just the opposition blogs. Some of the most racist comments are found on pro-UMNO blogs. Why aren't they investigated and brought to court? You tell me.

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Will there be a fuel price review? - Malaysiakini

If I remember correctly, the government is suppose to review the price of fuel and make adjustments base on the market price of crude oil. Thus, if the price goes up, we pay more per liter but if the price goes down we should be paying less. The review would be a monthly affair and I am waiting to see what would happen at month end.

As of now the price of crude oil is USD130.28 per barrel. Way lower than the USD150 it hit some weeks back. So would the government review the price?

Abdullah Badawi MUST keep his word. If the price review is to come than we should see cheaper fuel at month end and the reduction must be a snap move much like the price hike.

Setting the price of fuel to the market price would have an effect on the price of goods, which in turn would be good for the consumer. We would be able to shop around for the best price. Marketeers would have to make adjustments as and when cost of transportation changes due to lower or higher fuel prices.

The amount saved from subsidizing fuel prices should then be allocated to improving the standing of local food producers. This would keep the price of local products down and thus, allow the people can enjoy a lower cost of living. This should be the goal of the government in light of the increase of crude oil, reduce the living cost for the people and thus, you uplift the living standards of the people. When people can eat or afford to eat, you will have happy people. Happy people mean greater respect and the current government needs all the respect it can muster.

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Hard economic times for Malaysia?

Malaysiakini had a report on the Malaysian Bursa that took a tumbled in response to the results of the 12th Malaysian General Elections (12thGE). This should not be a surprise as most of the companies listed on the bursa are partly government owned or government-linked. These companies have the most to fear from the lost of the ruling BN in states such as Penang, Perak and Selangor, where most industries are located and also Kuala Lumpur where most companies have their headquarters.

What is in store for Malaysia in the coming years?

They may be a slowdown in terms of the performance of the bursa. The ruling BN made the mistake of tagging the health of the nation (economically) to the performance of the bursa. Performance of the bursa does not mean the nation is healthy economically. Instead it merely means that money is shifting hands on a level that is purely limited to a select few. Only a few players are earning from it and not the general public. The people may be poor but those playing the shares game are the ones getting rich.

The tumble is not because of the fear of instability rather because of the strong presence of the Opposition in parliament, the movement of government money to support the bursa would now be closely monitored. It merely means that more eyes would keep watch over the nations money rather than a select few. This is the fear of the GLC (Government Linked Companies). Previously if they performed badly, big-brother (government) was always around to bail them out. Now, it would not be that easy.

So would the bursa correct itself and start moving up again? I think it will but the movement would be slower than usual.

Hard economic times for Malaysia? I believe so and it has nothing to do with the resources of the nation but everything to do with the political struggle going on behind close doors.

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