Returning Awards

It all started when Dr M went and vilified a notorious crook, who holds high public office. He is famously of Bugis ancestry, this particular crook.

Unfortunately, said crook isn't the only Bugis in town.

Back in the 15th century, the Bugis were the best seafarers in the region, quite expectedly, given that they were predominantly Sulawesi islanders. A small number of them were also pirates.

A few of them, however, held court in the Peninsular. Literally. By that, I mean they were Rulers - Selangor royalty, for example, are of Bugis ancestry.

Unfortunately, it is this group that Dr M has managed to offend by pointing out the piracy connections that the Bugis have.

Perhaps this is similar to pointing out that white people have been slave-owners, and even doing it in a pejorative way. Malaysians don't particularly shy away from hurling abuse at each other, quite frankly.

I don't think there was any doubt in the collective minds of the crowd, at whom the vilification and somewhat personal slur was aimed. No one was thinking of the Selangor palace. But the palace took offence nevertheless, and rebuked Dr M for it.

This is always an awkward situation, because two generations of sultans had awarded Dr M (and his wife) in the past; once in 1978 and again in 2003.

It became a lot more personal after newspaper tabloids (namely government rags Utusan and Star) fuelled the flames of dissent by taking up vast columns and pouring out volumes of angst.

In other words: making a mountain out of a molehill.

You and I know what the game plan is. Najib wants to create ill-will towards Dr M - understandably, since Dr M has been taking him to task over his ridiculously kleptomanic tendencies.

So Najib has to deflect the insults to a wider group of recipients including the Sultan of Selangor, who now becomes forced to make statements and even rebuke Dr M publicly.

But you gotta hand it to Mahathir Mohamad. He does not hold on to awards with the sentimentality of the aged.

One of those was the highest order awarded by the state. It did not hold them back. Both Dr M and Dr Siti Hasmah returned them with no comment.

(Other than, perhaps, "Nah, nak ambik, ambik ah!")

Some people see it as a sign of arrogance, others as disrespect.

I am, however, impressed. It brings a new dimension to the guy I used to call the Loony Tun, because while I thought he was power-hungry, he is clearly not bogged down by niceties and convention.

Siapa Mudah Lupa?

I learned a new thing today. I now understand why Dr M is vehemently against Najib Razak.

Some of you may remember that in a previous post, I wondered aloud, "Dr M clearly has an agenda, be it for nationalistic reasons (he is in his 90s after all), or to achieve a personal vendetta (you'd think he'd have mellowed by now)."

I think I have my answer: it's a bit of nationalism but also a healthy dose of personal vendetta.

While the rest of us were blithely getting on with life, it turns out that back in May 2016, Putrajaya withdrew Mahathir’s police outrider service, in vengeance for his attendance of the anti-government demonstrations.

A few months later, they also ended the contracts of Dr M’s cook and office assistant.

And now it looks like they have even withdrawn his special police protection.

Now I can see how this might deter a lesser man. But Dr M is a fighter, and his charisma attracts loyal followers who take up his cause. Najib does not quite have the same mettle, and this is where he loses the battle.

Dr M himself, was highly vindictive during his youth, especially in his dealings with Tunku Abdul Rahman. He was formidable in his taking down of Anwar Ibrahim, imprisoning him for sodomy. He was brutal towards those who opposed him politically.

I have not forgotten. Dr M may say, "Melayu mudah lupa," but I am not easily duped into warming up to him.

Justice Pao: The use of ISA to detain Tan Ka Kheng - who was trying to fight against the Bukit Merah Rare Earth plant (ARE), Bakun dam, etc, to protect the people of Malaysia - by Mahathir shows that the law has been misused by BN.

This liar of a PM has been blatantly using ISA to remove anyone who stood against him so that he can protect his children and his cronies, who have been pilfering the Treasury.

Yet he has the cheek to say that ISA is good for the country.

Clearly others remember his shenanigans as well, and note that he didn't always have the citizens' interests at heart.

Ferdtan: Thank you Malaysiakini for choosing professor Tan Ka Kheng to interview in 'ISA Focus'. He is a much lesser known ISA detainee nabbed under Operasi Lalang in 1987.

It is heartwarming to know there are people like Tan who unselfishly gave up his time and liberty to stand with the common folks against the tyrannical government then under Mahathir.

The beauty of the whole article is that Tan remains steadfastly resolved after many years had passed to continue the struggle, this time with the Stop Lynas Save Malaysia (SMSL) group.

I agree. In fact, Tan Ka Kheng did the same thing that Wong Tack of the Himpunan Hijau group did, by protesting the harmful industry that our nation was about to accept in exchange for a higher GDP.

Though Wong also embarked on a long walk from Kuantan to Kuala Lumpur in his attempt to raise awareness and garner much needed publicity for his cause. Given what had happened to Tan Ka Kheng, it was highly risky for Wong Tack to do the same. Under a different Prime Minister, Wong Tack could have been arrested under the ISA and put away for some time.

Notwithstanding that he had also vowed to block Kuantan port if that rare-earth crap ever came in. Now there's a man who sacrifices his all. As I have always said, this man is a hero.

So then you have Najib crowing about the lack of ISA arrests under his administration:

He contrasted his government’s approach to dealing with political detractors during the administration of the fourth prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who had made an about-turn by allying himself with DAP leaders he had previously detained under the ISA, notably the father-and-son duo Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng.

“They even went to jail. Kit Siang went to jail, Karpal went to jail, Guan Eng went to jail, under ISA. They said this Mahathir is a dictator. Biggest dictator.

“I want to ask you, ladies and gentlemen. How many people have I put under ISA? How many? Zero!” Najib said to thunderous applause.

Except that Najib just replaced the ISA with the Peaceful Assembly Bill. No points there for Najib, kleptocratic or not.

Nice try.

Anti-Kleptokrasi

I confess it's all getting very confusing for me.

From the very beginning, Dr Mahathir was never an ally to any protest that I have ever attended. In fact, most of the draconian measures for crowd control that were employed by the government, had been put into place by Dr M himself.

Even the Internal Security Act (ISA) was frequently used by the Mahathir administration, and was handed down to the Badawi administration. Check out how the FRU dealt with anti-ISA protesters.

Back then we easily achieved over 100,000 protesters. There was one event that even had a tally of 200,000; however, these days, they struggle to achieve a tenth of that. Even the organisers admit to only 25,000; Malaysiakini is more truthful in admitting it was only 8,000 at its peak. Naturally the police claim it was much less.

They do that everywhere, by the way. They always claim there were fewer people than there actually were.

I confess it is hard work trying to count the people as they seem tiny in a sea of human bodies, but it irritates me when they attempt to belittle a movement just to please their political masters.

But what is behind the decrease in number of people attending these rallies and demonstrations? Have people grown weary of protest?

There hasn't been much news coverage on it yet, save Malaysiakini (of course!) and intriguingly, Sinar Harian.

I suspect they are throwing their weight behind Dr M as he has teamed up with the Opposition (Pakatan Harapan as it is called now) who supports this rally. Clearly, he has been a key ally in the attempt to bring Najib down, with some rather interesting promises to make: "First thing we do when we're in power," he said in the closing speech, "is to arrest MO1 and try him."

This is far more fiery than anything we have ever seen in the past. The Opposition has always been very tame in front of the media, inexperienced but anxious to sell their brand of politics to all walks of life, from rich to poor, urban to kampung, Chinese, Indian, Malay, East Malaysian. Everyone.

Dr M clearly has an agenda, be it for nationalistic reasons (he is in his 90s after all), or to achieve a personal vendetta (you'd think he'd have mellowed by now). Back in those days, I used to call him the Loony Tun.

Though, somehow I do get the impression that in those 20+ years of power, the shenanigans he's been up to was well-intentioned but misplaced, from firing the judiciary who ruled against his wishes, to urging the administration of the day not to be soft on protesters.

He saw himself as a benevolent dictator, and that seems to be an equation that works for Singapore.

I am not so sure how I feel about his calling Ambiga's datukship to be stripped; it just seemed extraordinarily malicious.

Well, there you have it. Zaid Ibrahim seems to be throwing his weight behind him, and implies that he is the solution to "a country gone mad".

I am not sure I can forgive Dr M for the draconian laws that he employed, and the way he screwed up our democratic system. But he's here, and we need Najib to be gone. And we are going into this strange political relationship with our eyes open.

I don't know if protests are any indicator of election votes, but I am hopeful. Perhaps we may see some change in GE14.

Stay Classy!

It's unbelievable how the tables have turned.

Good ole Mahathir, who once ruled the roost with his 'Melayu Mudah Lupa' catchphrase and penchant for selecting his successors in a purportedly democratic nation, is now experiencing INSUBORDINATION!!!

Maklumlah.

The antagonist in question is Ahmad Zahid Hamidi aka Bugis Antarabangsa aka Jawa-yang-hilang-panduan, or as my Other Half commonly refers to him: The Grinning Imbecile. He earned the last moniker after we had to line up for 2 days to get my passport done. After all that waiting, a massive poster of him looking insufferably cheerful was too much to bear.

Anyway, Mahathir must clearly have done something egregious to earn the vicious attack. After 1MDB losing billions of ringgit, I could not bring myself to find out what Mahathir must have squirrelled away for himself. But I sacrificed myself for you, dear reader.

It turns out, the answer is: NOTHING. His shortcoming was due to - wait for it - his race!! Turns out Mahathir punya bapak has Indian ancestry.

PUT THOSE ROTTEN EGGS DOWN!! I know! It's such an anti-climax after the international fiasco over embezzled funds!

We all knew that ole Mahathir had Indian blood lah. We didn't call him Kerala mama and Kutty ayah for nothing!

It's just that Malaysian politics, pretty much like its American counterpart, sinks lower when you didn't think it was possible.

Norshahril Saat in The Straits Times, says:

These personal attacks speak volumes about the behaviour of Malaysia's political elites: They are willing to publicly shame opponents if things do not go their way. They are also eager to expose their opponents' weaknesses, while concurrently ignoring their friends' fallacies.

Currently, Mahathir seems to be attempting to salvage lost Malaysian pride in his criticism against the ruling administration, but he has already played that game one too many times. He has quit UMNO in a huff, and rejoined later, on numerous occasions!

I mean, he was the guy who gave Tunku Abdul Rahman a hard time! Johannan Sim elaborates on what happened when Mahathir left UMNO the previous few times.

All I am going to say, is that politics is so unpredictable. A lot of us have been tirelessly working to effect change, for free and fair elections. For democracy to work.

But sometimes, all it takes is a freak incident that snowballs into something else. Like the American Civil Rights Movement. Like the Suffragette Movement.

I'd like to think that change happens from sheer dedication and hard work. The sad truth is that often, it does not. It's often a serendipitous play of coincidences and bloody old Mother Luck plays a part too.

The whole world is in upheaval. God only knows we could do with a lucky break.

Unholy Alliances

I am inclined to agree with Dr Kua on this topic.

Perhaps I am just wary by nature. I haven't forgotten the blunders he has made in the past (documented by Ahmad Mokhtar Hj Mohamad), with which he tried to cover up using various tactics.

And I am not about to forget that his son was involved with Lynas, an Australian rare-earth refining company that was about to use Malaysia as its dumping ground.

So I can understand why Dr Kua would see this as a betrayal.

MAHATHIR AS THE TOP DOG OF PAKATAN HARAPAN: AN UTTER BETRAYAL OF REFORMASI
Press statement by Kua Kia Soong, Suaram Adviser, 20 July 2017

It was bad enough when Pakatan Harapan made an alliance with the unrepentant former autocrat, but now that Mahathir has been made the ‘top dog’ of the coalition, it is the biggest betrayal of the Reformasi Movement yet.

Well, now that Mahathir has been made the Chairman of the coalition, Pakatan Harapan will have to answer for all his scandals. PH must be prepared for more than the RM30 billion forex losses incurred during Mahathir’s term.

It is not as if the former Prime Minister had sincerely become a ‘born-again democrat’ by showing a sliver of contrition, but up to now, he has not. He is not sorry for the white terror of Operation Lalang; for the political conspiracy against Anwar Ibrahim and saying on record that the latter is morally unfit to be PM because he is a womaniser and sodomiser; for squandering more than RM100 billion in the financial scandals during his term in office through crony capitalism and bailing out failed businessmen including his son…

The litany of woes inflicted under Mahathir’s rule has been well-documented and every community has its story: The 10,000 indigenous peoples who were forcibly displaced from their ancestral homes in Bakun in order to make way for yet another of Mahathir’s grandiose dam projects at a time when the project had been suspended during the financial crisis in 1998; the Indian plantation workers whose communities were destroyed through Mahathir’s neo-liberal capitalist policies and who were forced to become urban settlers; the needless communal controversies created around mother tongue education during the eighties including the Unified Examination Certificate in 1975, the National Culture Policy, the unqualified school administrators sent to Chinese schools in 1987, and others.

Let us not forget that Mahathir was also the first Prime Minister to claim that Malaysia is an Islamic state and as recently as the 2013 general election, criticised Najib for wasting public money on the Chinese voters after they had voted for the Opposition. He is also the top dog in the new ‘Pribumi’ party which is only open to ‘Pribumis’ no less.

You have to be a “Zombie Democrat” to accept such a party into the coalition that is supposed to embody the Reformasi Movement! Do the PH leaders still remember what their Reformasi programme stands for?

I am amused by the "zombie democrat" comment, but after having observed US politics for a while now, I can see that their voters are just as stupid as the worst of the Malaysians, or perhaps even worse.

Malaysian Leadership

I don't know how many of you are regular readers of Zaid Ibrahim's blog, called ZaidGeist (which I find to be a genuinely funny play on the word Zeitgeist), but a few days ago, there was a rather interesting and insightful piece about Najib, Muhyiddin and the Loony Tun.

Only recently, I heard the Loony Tun complain about Najib breaking his promise to build the crooked bridge. It appears that the damned crooked bridge is the bane and downfall of every Malaysian politician.

Zaid Ibrahim is convinced that UMNO president and Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Razak is about to be replaced by his enemies in the party.

Go here to read why.

The Fools Behind Malaysia Airlines' Downfall

Most of you have probably heard of how Khazanah Nasional has taken Malaysia Airlines private.

They're calling it an overhaul, but you and I know that it's essentially a bailout - using taxpayer funds.

As usual.

I have stated in the past, that a major aspect of Malaysia Airlines loss is due to crony involvement.

The cronyism was well on its way even back in the 1990s, when the Loony Tun and his prodigy Daim Zainuddin were piloting this country into destruction.

For the full story, read this piece: Here Are Insider Reasons Why Malaysia Airlines Bailout Will Not Work.

It's mind-blowing.

First Malay, Now Chinese Dilemma

There is no end to Old Nyanyuk's babbling!

He started off writing a book called The Malay Dilemma, where he recited the 'failings' of the Malay race and how they needed to be controlled and manipulated (perhaps not in those exact words).

Apparently, there is now a Chinese version of it.

Excerpt from the Malaysian Insider:

It is giving the DAP or Anwar Ibrahim far too much credit to suggest that many Malaysians voted for them because of their rhetoric or electoral promises.

It is also plainly dishonest to say that Chinese voted for DAP because they wanted political power.

Read the rest: No dilemma, Dr Mahathir, just the need for a better Malaysia

Asia Sentinel - Post-Election Payback Time in Malaysia

Mahathir backs moves to punish minorities and reward pro-government voters, companies

Last week, the Malaysian government announced its allocation of public university seats for the upcoming academic year.

Only 19 percent of Chinese students got places, along with 4 percent of Indians despite the fact that the two together make up about 30 percent of the student population.

Last year, Chinese students got 23 percent, in line with their proportion of the overall population.

That was the first tangible fallout from the 13th general election held on May 5, in which the Barisan Nasional, the ruling national coalition, won 133 of the 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat, or Parliament, preserving its majority despite the fact that it only received 47.38 percent of the popular vote against 50.87 for the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition headed by Anwar Ibrahim.

The second came yesterday with the revelation by Democratic Action Party National Publicity Chairman Tony Pua of the award of a RM1 billion (US$314 million) commuter railway project in the massive government-backed Iskandar development in the southern state of Johor to Metropolitan Commuter Network Sdn Bhd, a 60:40 joint venture between Malaysian Steel Works Sdn Bhd and KUB Malaysia Bhd, both of which are linked to UMNO, to build and operate a 100 km inter-city rail service in Johor.

According to an official with the company quoted in local media, Masteel will receive a 37-year build-own-transfer arrangement on the project despite the fact that it is slated to break even in 12 years.

Although Masteel says the project was a private sector initiative dating from 2008, it is inconceivable that it would have been granted without the imprimatur of the government.

Read the rest here: Post-Election Payback Time in Malaysia

"Don't Be Soft"

Old Nyanyuk may have left his once lofty position as a Premier a while back.

But dictating terms to "lesser mortals" is what he considers a personal calling, therefore he is still at it:

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad has urged the government to no longer be soft towards the opposition who continue to insult the nation's democratic system.

"We need to be a bit tough and not give them face," he told reporters after attending a dinner in conjunction with Langkawi International Dialogue (LID) 2013 here today.

He said the opposition who wanted to recognise the people's choice changed overnight when they failed to get majority support in the 13th general election (GE13).

"Initially, they wanted to recognise the people's choice but now they want to topple the government. They reject the democratic system and opt for street demonstration."

Read this, folks, and be outraged.

We don't need a low IQ politician telling us what or what not to think. Freaking thugs-with-fancy-self-ascribed-titles that they are.

The Stripper

Okay, I concede that the title was a cheap stunt to lure readers!!

But you must admit, that under the circumstances, Old Nyanyuk does deserve the title of "The Stripper".

Awhile ago, Old Nyanyuk along with the Indian Muslim organisation called Kimma made an appeal for BERSIH co-chairman Ambiga Sreenevasan to be stripped of her datukship.

Now, I personally don't think much of datukships -- anymore than I do knightships or OBEs or MBEs (if you're British). They are meant to be an honour, but if the body or person who bestowed it upon you is not honourable, it means nothing at all.

However, citizenship is a completely different thing altogether. No one really has the right to strip anyone of their citizenship, certainly not an unelected government who unlawfully sits in office by having cheated and rigged elections for decades.

This line of thinking obviously does not sit well with Old Nyanyuk, as he believes that voters should give two-thirds majority to the BN government so that they can amend the constitution to enable them to strip Ambiga of her citizenship.

BERSIH has come back with a disappointingly weak response, saying merely that Dr M must apologise to Ambiga, Bar Council.

But then again, perhaps they are a lot more professional than to suggest in turn that Old Nyanyuk be stripped of his citizenship for treason in randomly giving out citizenships to foreigners in exchange for votes to keep his party in power.

I digress. Ambiga has done the nation justice by trying to set straight what is crooked and corrupt.

Any person capable of logical thought would see that in a democracy, calling for free and fair elections is a very noble and responsible gesture.

I am personally in favour of free and fair elections, and am in sound mind to recognise that Malaysia does not have free and fair elections hence the constant need to demand them especially by taking to the streets.

The last time I checked, BERSIH 3.0 attracted a crowd of 200,000 to the streets. This, in spite of knowing that they could be arrested and charged under draconian laws.

Would Old Nyanyuk and the BN government like to strip those 200,000 people of their citizenship too?

These Are Signs

It looks like Barisan Nasional know that this is going to be a tough fight.

They're going to go down fighting at least, by bringing in the big guns like the ex Premier.

The question is, does Old Nyanyuk still have clout?

Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia's longest- serving leader, will hit the campaign trail to help Prime Minister Najib Razak's ruling coalition win a 13th straight general election after sitting out during the 2008 vote.

"I have promised that I will campaign," Mahathir, 87, said in a Dec. 5 interview in Putrajaya, Malaysia's administrative center near Kuala Lumpur. "I don't know whether I have enough influence or not, but I think people still remember me."

I remember you, mate. But not for reasons you will like.

Talk Regarding May 13

The question now appears to be: Najib or Mahathir?

If you're an average, somewhat-intelligent life form, of Malaysian nationality, you might regard this as being between the devil and the deep blue sea. I don't blame you.

But this is what is being debated between Haris Ibrahim of The People's Parliament and Raja Petra Kamarudin.

There are a couple of things that I whole-heartedly agree with RPK:

1. UMNO political strategy is indeed being guided by Mahathir. From who was to succeed him as Prime Minister to the formation of a right wing organisation called Perkasa and a paramilitary organisation called RELA (whom everyone seems to forget about).

2. There are very likely plans to cause trouble post-GE13. It has been mentioned a number of times and the arms and weapons training that RELA have recently undergone points in that direction.

And for the sake of it:

3. Pakatan Rakyat do deserve some of the whacking that they receive.

But I digress. Back to the debate over keeping to Plan A or adopting Plan B.

Every somewhat-intelligent Malaysian life-form (and far more so the intelligent ones) would agree with Plan A: Vote for Pakatan Rakyat.

That is what I'm planning to do myself -- no secret there of what my vote will be.

The issue at hand is Plan B: Accept defeat should PR lose due to BN's unscrupulous cheating.

I find that hard to stomach, for many reasons:

1. The Malaysian public have issued an ultimatum to the BN government to implement the election reforms or face our wrath. Personally, I don't like going back on my word.

2. I don't believe in cowering to threats of violence and unrest. The bloodshed of May 13, 1969 happened a decent number of years before I was born and the matter is still being brought up every now and then. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, GIVE IT A REST!!! At the end of the day, it will only be brought up if people still fear it.

3. It is entirely possible that Mahathir and his minions are expecting the Malaysian public to be frightened by these threats and back down. Why should we prove them right each time?

4. When May 13 happened, no one conceived that such a thing could happen. Today, we are aware and thus forewarned. People are prepared.

5. Perkasa and RELA would have to be extremely motivated to risk their lives for political ambition. Yes, they are aware that they have a lot to lose. But they have been complacent and comfortable for years, and it is hard to see them willing to be killed.

6. Malaysians have a lot to lose if the BN government stays in power. The people have been bled of natural resources, financial coffers, good governance and just plain justice. I expect to see a fair amount of indignance from being cheated of their democratic right to vote and elect the government of their choice. I know of people willing to die for their beliefs.

I am glad to see that the social and political activists have gone down to Ground Zero to reach those who need to be reached.

Too much effort has been put in for anyone to back down now.

Now You Know Why .....

... Lynas is being stubbornly hailed as a necessity in terms of job opportunities etc, in spite of the danger it poses.

Because Dr M's son Mokhzani holds a significant share in Lynas!

PETALING JAYA: Former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has an ulterior motive for supporting the Lynas rare earth project, claimed an NGO.

“Mahathir’s eldest son Mokhzani Mahathir, the CEO of Kencana Petroleum has a large stake in the Lynas rare earth refinery project, said the Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL).

Its spokesperson, Steven Hang, said: “Kencana Torsco Sdn Bhd is a subsidiary of Kencana Petroleum that won lucrative contracts from Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

“Kencana Torsco is involved the design, fabrication, lining, supply, installation, and commissioning of carbon steel and stainless steel tanks worth RM9.1 million for the project.”

Hang made this claims based on facts obtained from Bloomberg Businessweek, a US-based business website portal.

Read the rest here: ‘Dr M has vested interest in Lynas’

More Fraud: Ex-EC Chief Issued 60,000 Fake ICs

From Malaysiakini:

A leaked US Embassy cable carries an explosive charge against former Election Commission (EC) chief Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman - that he admitted to issuing more than 60,000 fake Malaysian identity cards to foreign workers in Sabah in the 1990s on Umno's orders.

The cable, posted on WikiLeaks, quotes former Malaysians for Free and Fair Elections (Mafrel) chief Malek Husin as claiming that Rashid confessed this to him during a private meeting at Rashid's house on Oct 25, 2006.

In the cable marked confidential, Malek is said to have told US Embassy officials that Rashid also confirmed Umno's launch of a "shadowy" campaign in the 1990s to wrest political control of Sabah - held until 1994 by then opposition front PBS.

"During that decade, Umno granted citizenship and Malaysian identity cards to over 600,000 foreign migrant workers (predominantly Muslims from Indonesia and Mindanao in the Philippines) in Sabah, in exchange for their votes in state assembly elections.

"According to Husin, Rashid 'admitted to personally issuing over 60,000 fraudulent Malaysian ICs in Sabah', to help Umno assume political control there," the cable says.

Up to the time of writing, Malaysiakini was unable to get an answer to calls or a text message sent to Abdul Rashid's mobile phone.

Instant citizenship and voting rights for illegal immigrants have long been an issue in Sabah, with local leaders within and outside the BN coalition having repeatedly demanded a solution from the federal government.

However, nothing has come of their demands.

It is claimed that the situation became acute in the 1990s, with the blame placed on then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad for allegedly launching what is now called 'Projek IC' - a clandestine operation said to involve the National Registration Department, related government agencies and their agents - to artificially boost votes in favour of Umno and the BN.

In the 1994 state election, PBS - which had held Sabah as an independent opposition front since 1985 - saw its majority hold of the state assembly reduced to a razor-thin margin over the BN.

Although PBS was eventually toppled with a string of defections to the BN by party stalwarts, many blamed the contentious 'Projek IC' for playing a major role in the success of BN's hostile takeover of Sabah.

Wan Ahmad is 'anti-reform'

The cable, created on March 16, 2007, also includes Malek's claim that Rashid had described EC deputy chief Wan Ahmad Wan Omar as "an Umno member who is anti-reform".

Malek is said to have told US Embassy officials that Rashid had intended to stay on as EC chief until "the number two is gone", with the aim of easing in then EC secretary, Kamaruzaman Mohd Noor, as his successor.

In a separate meeting with Kamaruzaman, the cable quoted him as telling US Embassy officials that the EC was not in a position to push for reforms, as each and every proposal had to go through the Prime Minister's Office for approval.

Kamaruzaman is also reported to have said that the EC has no power to investigate election day abuses, with it having to refer allegations of fraud or election tampering to either the police or the Anti-Corruption Agency, the predecessor of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

Battle for polls reform 'very steep'

Based on meetings among US Embassy officials and the EC, Mafrel, Bersih and several academicians, the cable summarised that electoral reforms in Malaysia faced a "very steep uphill battle" as it moved towards the March 2008 general election.

It ironically proved to be a watershed outing for opposition parties, which were able to deny the BN a two-thirds majority in Parliament.

The cable described the "Umno-led BN governing coalition" as keeping a tight rein over all important levers of power, including the EC, leaving little wiggle room for any efforts to open up elections to greater transparency and fairness.

It pointed out that, despite concerted efforts by Mafrel and Bersih to push for grassroots engagement in their bid for a revamp of an electoral system heavily tilted in BN's favour, "their best efforts will almost certainly not produce meaningful reforms", at least in the medium term.

"Umno, in power since independence, faces no effective public, opposition party or internal pressure to reduce its overwhelming powers of incumbency," the cable states.

Race And Mahathir

I blogged very briefly about Loony Tun's autobiography some time back.

I wasn't aware that his book was going to be such a bestseller among the Malaysian public - looks like this man still has many fans.

It's also evident he has a great number of critics, some of whom have commented on his skill in being a political chameleon.

His race appears to be a bone of contention for most of his critics. In his autobiography he claims his ancestors hailed from Kerala, India, but he claims he is "Malay".

Anyone who has seen Malayalam movies on Astro can tell right away that Mahathir has a typical Malayalee face. This has somehow ended up as a chapter in Mahathir’s memoirs entitled, “I am a Malay”.
- Joe Fernandez

I actually don't have a problem with him calling himself a Malay. In Malaysia, anyone can claim to be a Malay since the definition of "Malay" in the Federal Constitution in itself is very broad and ambiguous.

Old Nyanyuk may have perfected the art of blending into a culture, but Ridhuan Tee and many others have both earnestly and casually followed suit.

And seriously, what does it mean to be "Malay" anyway? The whole of South East Asia is predominantly comprised of a race that is derived of Indian and Chinese parentage.

Malays are essentially Chindians - part Chinese, part Indian and in some occasions part Arabic thrown in for good measure.

So are the Indonesians, Filipinos, Thais, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Myanmarese etc. All Chindians.

Going through lengths to prove that a particular Malay has Indian ancestry is an exercise in futility - it is already a fact that he does.

The Malay language and culture is a testament to the Indian heritage and influence.

So I am not interested in debating about whether Mahathir is Indian or Malay. He can be Malay for all he likes - race in this sense is purely semantics coming into play, if you ask me.

But if you go beyond the stereotyping of his looks and ancestry, some of his critics do put across a salient point: If not for Article 153 in the Federal Constitution and the New Economic Policy that favour Malays, would Mahathir claim so proudly to be a Malay?

He has expressed some of his frustrations with the Malay way of life in his book "The Malay Dilemma" which was published long ago.

Perhaps he meant well for the Malays. Perhaps he wanted to associate himself with a group that was superior. Or perhaps he may have wanted to be the big fish in a small pond.

I really don't know because I don't deign to read his mind.

Old Nyanyuk has done much damage to this nation with his divisive, autocratic brand of politics, however, and I do not admire him for that one bit.

Perhaps we could do well to disregard the whole issue of race as being pivotal to our state of mind and intellect.

In The Eyes Of The World

There is a very fine line between staying credible and becoming ridiculous. But our favourite news agency has tottered over the edge after spinning itself dizzy.

It began with reporting Old Nyanyuk's "woes" as described in his delusional autobiography.

Apparently, Old Nyanyuk finds himself nursing a grudge against Anwar for making him look bad with his internationally publicised sodomy charges.

Now, this is rich, considering Anwar got himself imprisoned for a few years, had his reputation smeared, his eye bruised and bloodied, and his career in tatters.

The charges? The act of sodomy between two consenting adult males? How could that be anything but a personal matter??

Is it not convenient that those charges came at a critical moment when Old Nyanyuk found himself potentially ousted from office by a then strong contender?

With these charges being of such a private nature, could there really be impartial, unbiased rulings with untampered evidence?

The very act of imprisoning Anwar is criminal. And yet, they talk about joining the International Criminal Court.

Mongolian models have been blown up with C4 explosives and no one charged for the crime but two commandos with no clear motives - how could it even begin to be credible?

We have a monstrous record for deaths in custody. Citizens are dying in the brutal hands of the police, the very people supposed to be protecting them. It is truly shocking.

With our human rights record: abusing participants of street protests, tear-gassing them, spraying them with chemical laced water and beating them among other things, how could we as a nation be seen by the world as anything but overrun by despots?

This news agency either has a grim sense of humour or a severe lack of comprehension.

Mahathir's Autobiography

Numerous authors have found this man fascinating enough to write a book on him.

Tom Plate and Barry Wain are two of these authors.

But this man has decided in all his narcissistic splendour that he would write his story in his own words. And thus, the autobiography came about.

It was a bit of a shock to note that the book cost RM100 though! I wouldn't have paid even RM10 for it, and you probably couldn't pay me to place it on my coffee table.

I really don't care what race Old Nyanyuk descended from - what bothers me is that he fuels the flames of racism.

It doesn't matter that he made a lot of blunders when he was in power. What upsets me is that post-departure, he still hasn't learned to keep his mouth shut.

Oh well. Each to his own.

Wasn't Me Again!!

Ladies and gentlemen: Bring out the popcorn. The Punch & Judy show is on again, starring The Loony Tun and his running dog.

The first episode began with Ops Lalang and the mastermind behind it. Unbeknownst to the world (much less the nation) the mastermind had had his powers usurped by the cops.

Oh yes, only in Malaysia.

Today, we discover that the draconian Internal Security Act, popularly known as the ISA was almost scrapped, except the damned cops beat the crap out of The Loony Tun and left him crying in a corner.

Someone ought to do something about these cops.

Seriously, I heard that The Loony Tun was in the process of eliminating poverty and famine in Africa. But guess who stopped him in his tracks?

You've guessed it! It was the damned cops!!!

The Loony Tun was just about to stop the Chernobyl nuclear disaster which caused massive damage and widespread disease in the region. But it was the damn cops at their dirty tricks again.

In fact, The Loony Tun was on his way to receiving his Nobel Peace Prize award for creating peace between Israel and Palestine when he was stopped. No prizes for guessing by whom.

Oh wait. Israel and Palestine didn't quite work out. But it was only because The Loony Tun was held up in a traffic jam caused by the cops who set up a police blockade. Otherwise, peace was just around the corner, I'm telling ya!

Those damned cops - what a menace to every self-respecting, God-fearing, mother-loving citizen of this nation!

It Wasn't Me

In November 2000, an up and coming American artiste called Shaggy, released a song that became a number one hit in both the US and the UK.

Since then, I have observed that "It Wasn't Me" has become the most popular refrain of politicians and other scoundrels worldwide upon being caught red-handed.

Our very own Tun Dr Mahathir is no stranger to this bizarre little attempt to extricate oneself from hot soup.

In a very amusing twist of events totally lacking in credibility, he claims that the massive crackdown on his political opponents was not his decision, but that of the police.

"Well, I would have handled it differently, except that the police wanted to do these things because they say it is necessary...

"I actually met all of the opposition members (beforehand) and assured them that they would not be arrested. And you know what the police did? They arrested them. My credibility is gone," he said.

"You must have been furious!" retorted Tom Plate, the interviewer and author of the book, 'Doctor M: Operation Malaysia - Conversations with Mahathir Mohamad'

"Yeah, but what can I do? You see, I have to accept that they are the people on the ground that makes a decision. I give general authority to them," continued Mahathir, who was known as a strongman who brook little dissent.

I nearly died laughing.

Some of you political stalwarts may have read an old publication by Ahmad Mokhtar Hj Mohamad called NEVER FORGET: The Mahathir Blunder.

It summarizes almost every single scandal and scam that Mahathir has ever been involved in. Whenever he landed himself in trouble, Mahathir always looked for a distraction or directly removed the voice of dissent.

It was a steady and consistent pattern with which he fashioned himself. He has managed to repress our freedom of expression, freedom of speech, freedom of press and nearly everything else that would aid him in controlling the masses.

In the case of Ops Lalang, he desperately needed to buy himself time. There were heaps of problems:

a) The UEM scandal with which opposition leader Lim Kit Siang was hounding him.
b) Internal politics within UMNO - many did not agree with his unethical ways and opposed him. His win was very narrow. He proceeded to make UMNO illegal and then set up UMNO Baru.
c) Unemployment, recession and other socio-economic issues.

Bear in mind people, Ops Lalang wasn't the only measure he took. He also sacked judges who opposed him - even the Lord President Tun Salleh Abbas!

The Mahathir administration also amended the Constitution to redefine jurisdiction and powers of the Court and that of Legislators. He toyed about with the highest authority, our Federal Constitution!!!

Did he have the motive to deploy Ops Lalang? Hell yeah!

So I really don't give a hoot about his account of the events in 1987 - very little that comes out of his mouth is not a lie.

Haris Ibrahim appears befuddled as to why the former IGP corroborates his story - "why is Hanif jeopardising his own reputation for this past-the-shelf-life politician?"

The intricacies of I-scratch-my-back-you-scratch-mine don't overwhelmingly interest me, to be honest.

Perhaps Hanif Omar wanted a loaf of bread, and Mahathir Mohamad gave him one.

Or perhaps Hanif Omar took a loaf of bread when he thought no one was looking. Who knows.

It could even be admiration for the man.

If you ask me, the world has handed more accolades to Mahathir than he deserves - numerous books written about him by Tom Plate, Barry Wain etc.

And you have to admire his ability to raise a ruckus even after "retiring". Nothing about this man is graceful.

Whatever it is, I am confident that it was he who ordered Ops Lalang. You are free to think what you like.