Who Is Behind Pakatan Rakyat?

You know how obsessed I am with WWII history, especially the Third Reich?

Well, this is part of a movie that has been subtitled to fit just about every other political situation there is - and it's been tailor-made for the Malaysian scene!

If you speak or understand German, it may not be wise for you to have the speakers on because you will understand what they're really saying. :)



For the record, I don't believe Wolfowitz is behind the Malaysian politicial Opposition.

And the sodomy charge Round II? You gotta be kidding me.

But I like humour.

Walking The Talk

I happened to be browsing. One thing led to another, and I found myself in this blog, As Zewt As It Gets.

There was a post in there with which I completely identified with, regarding collective action.

You know what's wrong with us Malaysians? We talk a lot.

And these days, the jaw-lubricating action has been translated to typing. Heck, Malaysia Today receives over a million hits, and you and I know how many comments are posted every single day.

It's immense. Monstrous. Unbelievable.

But what is even more unbelievable is that we are quite capable of saying one thing and doing another. We wax lyrical about how the government's actions are unacceptable and unreasonable, and earnestly pledge to oppose it in anyway possible.

So what exactly are we doing? Not much I'd say. Zewt gives an example:

Then there was a time when MT was distributing car stickers for a particular reason and comments flooded in to ask where people can get it and how many claimed they will put it up in support of MT.

Until today, I have yet to see a single car with MT car sticker. Heck, I don’t even know how it looks like!

I know what he's talking about. As far as I can see, I'm the only dudette proudly and defiantly displaying the sticker on my car.

My parents have frowned with disapproval. They warned me that my nifty little Toyota Vios was going to get vandalised by pro-government hooligans.

Folks. That sticker has been up for a year, and nothing has happened.

I still remain the solitary display car modelling Malaysia Today. Like Zewt observes, I haven't seen anyone else having it on.

Seriously, folks. What else do we need to motivate us to walk our talk?

The goddamn Pussycat Dolls in a saree???

Measure Of Our Success

Lulu claims not to be the brightest spark in the room. But she sure makes some of the best observations on the blogosphere:

Our government thinks that the nation's success is measured by the tall buildings we build, our ability to pay someone to go to space, having the longest jalur gemilang on the great wall of china, having the longest pizza, a personal luxury jet for the prime minister, that kind of thing.

Lulu thinks the measure of a nation's success is how they treat the poor, regardless whether they are our citizens or not. All are made in the image of God, all belong to this big-big race known as the human race.

And in this aspect, we have failed greatly.

I'm afraid Lulu is right in her remarks directed at our poor treatment of refugees, as documented by Tenaganita.

Our government is more interested in sweeping issues under the carpet and putting away people like Irene Fernandez (who helms Tenaganita) with a trumped-up charge of “maliciously publishing false news”:

In 1995, Fernandez published a report on the abuse of migrant workers, cataloguing the malnutrition, physical and sexual abuse and the appalling conditions the workers endure, and set out the facts about the detention camps where they end up and where many of them die.

The research included interviews with as many as 300 migrant workers. The embarrassed government admitted that 46 people had died of various medical conditions in their detention centres, but, in March 1996, Fernandez was arrested at home and charged with ‘maliciously publishing false news’.

Her trial became the longest in Malaysian history and many of the witnesses she was relying on were deported before she could make her defence. In 2003 she was finally found guilty and sentenced to a year in prison, having by then appeared in court more than 300 times.

The UMNO government treated her very badly, but it's good to know that she is at least recognised abroad with a Right Livelihood Award.

But we Malaysians are not only mean to our refugees. We discriminate against Africans as well.

Now I'm not going to claim the Africans are perfect either. Some of them can misbehave when in a group, talk loudly and appear more than just a little aggressive.

I've lost count of the number of Africans who have posted notes on my various online social networking sites to inform me that they know that I am "the right one for them" and that they "look forward to a brief relationship before moving on to marriage".

And all this at first encounter! :-) I wouldn't give a Malaysian like that any time of the day, much less a foreigner.

But not all Africans behave such. Some are actually quite funny, witty and intelligent. I like making friends with foreigners, so I've managed to get acquainted with a few.

It hurts me when they're treated badly by my own countrymen.

You see, folks, we tend to complain that we get discriminated against when we work or live abroad.

Only on Friday, my Indonesian colleague (who works with my company on a contract basis) was telling me about the discrimination he and his colleagues faced in Australia (Melbourne and Sydney to be specific).

On different occasions, someone once hurled a bottle at his friend, the bus driver yelled at them for speaking in a foreign language, and Aussies have driven past, screaming, "Go back to where you came from, bloody Asian!"

We Malaysians were shocked.

But it doesn't occur to us, that we treat our foreigners just as badly, if not worse in Malaysia. Very often, it is based merely on their skin colour.

I was reading what Pat wrote about kindness only today and couldn't help agreeing with feeling.

I think the true worth of any nation is its people. And we are a great bunch of people - or we could be, if we just got our act together. Along the way here, some of our good-ness has been eroded away. We weren't always this rough-shod, rude, kiasu, and unfeeling lot. I am old enough to remember when we used to be a lot nicer, you know.

We need to be nicer to our foreigners - all of them, not just the ones who have a lot of money.

And we need to be nicer to each other.

Free RPK!

I miss RPK. :(

I started reading his blog over 2 years ago, stuff which I found highly entertaining, and at times, even informative.

He brought us Malaysians all together.

The irony of being Malaysian is that the really good ones go to jail and the bad ones ... go to the parliament house.

Today RPK is under a draconian piece of legislation which has outlived its usefulness - the Internal Security Act or ISA.

And today is his birthday.

He took a gamble some time ago, and lost. He gave us an ultimatum, and it remains unfulfilled today. I don't like having my back pushed into a corner, but I still like this old bugger.

I want him out. I have signed this petition, have you? I am spreading it to my friends and relatives, will you?

The ISA may have had its uses once upon a time. Oscar The Grouch of The Dandelions gives us a brief glimpse into the conception of it and why it has no place in our political system today.

Haris Ibrahim of The People's Parliament has some great ideas with Hartal ISA. I can't seem to get into his site for longer than brief snatches, probably due to the high volume of traffic, so I can't read every post.

But I think some of ideas are actually workable, and I'm in!

I'm sure you're aware of what this Hartal constitutes but let me remind you through the words of Fahmi Reza of 'Sepuluh Tahun Sebelum Merdeka':

Hari ini aku berhartal. Maksudnya dari jam 6 pagi tadi sampai ke 12 tengahmalam nanti, aku ambil bahagian dalam satu tindakan mogok dan general stoppage of work.

Ertinya aku…
…tak keluar bekerja
…tak naik bas
…tak naik LRT
…tak bawa motor
…tak pergi pasar
…tak keluar beli suratkhabar
…tak pergi shopping
…tak beli apa-apa barang
…tak keluar makan
…tak keluar tengok wayang
…tak keluar lepak dengan kawan-kawan
…batalkan semua temujanji aku hari ni
…terpaksa cancel interview dengan media untuk cakap pasal Revolusi '48
…tak pergi acara sambutan Hari Malaysia hari ni
…tak pergi candle-light vigil malam nanti
…tak pergi parti housewarming kawan malam nanti

Aku hanya duduk kat rumah

Now you're wondering what staying at home has to do with making a change in our legislation.

Firstly, it will show how many people are supportive of this initiative. It is sending a message to the government.

Secondly, it is about unity. It remains to be seen whether we can be easily broken down by threats and concern for one's job. I am curious to see who puts one's job first before the best interests of the nation.

That day hasn't been decided yet, this initiative is on standby.

If that day is like any other, there is only one thing I can say: We truly DESERVE the government we currently have.

Identifying The Weeds

The government is going to town with the news that the PKR dudes have been caught with their pants down.

It looks like the Anti-Corruption Agency has suddenly tubo-charged itself into super-efficient mode. Every misbehaving PKR member is getting the limelight treatment.

Of course, some of them really do deserve it. Check out this idiot who had sex with a Chinese woman:

“What is important is we did not ask for the women. He supplied them to us. If people sedekah (give), don’t you want to accept the sedekah?”

Obviously, the baboon has no sense of right and wrong. However, I understand what he means by "we did not ask for the women". The ruling coalition puts in special orders whenever there is a business trip.

Some of the special requests included halal women, believe it or not. How do I know? I have friends who work for ASEAN and other organisations as independent consultants in various fields. Our ministers are a constant source of embarrassment for them.

But regardless of whether these PKR dudes were tempted or not, what they did was very wrong. And they don't deserve to serve us as councillors and elected representatives.

Though I must admit, this Mohamad Imran - ACA officer on overdrive - playing the role of the devil is helping us weed out the bad eggs in Pakatan Rakyat indeed.

How can we ever repay his kindness?

Unemployed Female Blogger?

51 Ideas For A Better Malaysia - #4

Updated!*

I was tagged by Michelle Yoon of I Am Malaysian about a week ago to participate in this blogger initiative started by Nizam Bashir.

The idea behind this initiative is to come up with 51 ideas on how to make a better Malaysia, with one blogger posting one idea per week.

This week, it is my turn to come up with:

IDEA #4: Courtesy On The Road

I am predominantly a socio-political blogger. Most of my posts are dedicated to either criticising the political system or highlighting instances of gross power abuse within the government.

Nevertheless, I couldn't conceive a single idea that was political in nature which hasn't been hashed out in some blog or the other.

And sometime last week, I stumbled upon it. The idea I was looking for, one I could completely identify with, though it wasn't the least bit political in nature.

You see, I get stuck in the traffic jam everyday, going to work, and on occasion while driving home. My commute is approximately a 50km distance one way, so I do spend a lot of time on the road.

I could blame the government for not building or implementing an adequate road system, including traffic lights, the timing etc.

And when they do in fact build new highways, they slap on a gargantuan amount of money on the driver and call it 'toll'. It's rather interesting, we pay a lot of tax, but we also pay for toll.

And with the recent, drastic reductions in fuel subsidy, I have yet to see any improvements being made on our public transportation system, which would ease the number of cars on the roads.

We need a change of government quite badly. The government doesn't even bother to hide the fact that it is steeped in corruption.

But it wasn't my intention to wax lyrical about the government. We need to work on them later, but for now, it's what we can and need to do when we're on the road.

Firstly, we need to follow the rules of the road. Emergency lanes are for emergencies. Two-lane roads are for, well... two neat lanes of cars. But not where I live.

During heavy traffic, the two-lane road miraculously transforms itself into four lanes. I kid you not. People ignore traffic lights and push their way through with no regard for oncoming traffic.

By the time I pass that disorderly mess of traffic, I'm usually in a foul and aggressive mood. I refuse to give way to any car signalling its intention to come into my lane.

And I humbly admit that I hate what I have become.

So if firstly, we need to obey road rules, then secondly, we need to bend our norms. Instead of refusing to let drivers into my lane, I'm going to stop or slow down to let them in.

And if I'm the one allowed in, I will wave my gratitude.

Now I know I'm going beyond the limits of what the Malaysian public, especially those living in Kuala Lumpur are used to.

It is entirely possible that drivers on the road will be so shocked at seeing me wave at them, that they may crash their car into the curb.

I may be singularly responsible for the most number of traffic accidents in one day due to a severe shock reaction from unsuspecting drivers in my path.

Who knows, maybe I might even get thrown under the Internal Security Act for being a threat to public safety (and thereby, achieve international fame). :)

Jokes aside, this whole road courtesy thing has to be give-and-take.

Once in a fit of reckless kindness about a year ago, I allowed a driver who had been waiting for a while at an intersection to turn into my crawling lane, jammed with traffic. I even gestured the invitation like some waiter of an upscale restaurant.

Folks. You have no idea how pleased the dude was. He beamed a smile and waved (I nearly had an accident from the shock of seeing a wave) and after that was so unbelievably courteous on the road with other drivers.

He even let a lady enter into his lane, who promptly smiled back at him. If the situation got anymore sweeter, I'd have had to make a trip to the dentist. ;-)

But I thought it was wonderful that for that day, I had initiated the courtesy and the good feelings that followed.

*Updated: Next nominated for pulling out a great idea is Patricia of The English Cottage, a site which is as cosy as it sounds! :)

Enforcement And Abuse

This Race Relations Act has got to be the most freaking-stupid-thing I've heard in a while.

One thing's for sure. Pinky and the Brain (or lack thereof) never fail to cook up elaborately asinine ideas.

We have lived together for over 50 years. At some point, we learned to give and take. We've survived through racist policies like the NEP.

And you think we need an Act to keep us in line?

No Act or Law in the world can protect anyone, if it is abused or enforced unjustly.

You and I know how good the BN government is at the 'divide and rule' policy, and abusing every Law in sight.

To Cover Up

I happened to wander into Lulu's blog when I saw this:


Now Lulu thinks that they're smelling something unpleasant. :)

Somehow, I don't think so.

Some of you know that I am a voracious reader. I read practically everything. When I was a student, it used to drive my parents crazy because unfortunately, rather low on the list of reading priorities were my textbooks.

But something jogged my memory on the topic of psychology as I studied the picture.

They're not covering their noses, though it looks like it. It's actually a subconscious attempt at covering their mouths. You know why?

Those two creeps are lying. Check out How To Spot a Liar:

1. No eye contact. His eyes will look away. If the room has a means of egress - that's where they'll look.
2. Crossing of arms and/or legs (a protective instinct).
3. The pupils of the eyes will narrow. Lying is stressful.
4. Hands on the face, especially the mouth. They are "covering" the lie.
5. Talking fast. A liar wants to get it over with.
6. Sometimes the head will nod a "no" when answering a "yes" question or visa versa. This is a subconcious movement.
7. Mispronouncing the words or mumbling. A liar kinda thinks he is not lying when he pronounces words incorrectly or mumbles.
8. Overstated friendliness/laughing. He wants you to believe and he wants you to like him so you will believe him.

If you're still skeptical, check out this site on behavioural psychology:

They cover their mouth as if to cover the lie. A lot of face touching in general is not a good sign.

I really wonder what they were lying about.

Economic Impact Of PM's Leadership

It's not the first time the Wall Street Journal is commenting on our sorry state of political affairs.

Late last year, there was a piece in response to Abdullah's op-ed regarding the arrests of the HINDRAF 5 under the draconian ISA.

It certainly did not flatter the man. This one doesn't either.

WALL STREET JOURNAL ASIA

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced this week that he has enough parliamentary support to unseat the current government, led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. If he does, Abdullah’s lacklustre economic management will be largely to blame.

The prime minister has not introduced any substantive reforms during his nearly five years in office, preferring to rely instead on opening up the government purse. Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan announced in 2005, he expanded public-sector spending to RM200 billion annually from RM160 billion. In his Midterm Plan Review this year, he increased this outlay to RM240 billion. The national debt now stands at RM285 billion, up from RM192 billion in 2004. The official fiscal deficit has risen to 4.8% of GDP this year, from 3.2% last year. Revenue is being spent faster than it is coming in.

It’s hard to argue that these outlays have served the broad public interest. Much of the funding has been channelled to elites in the majority Malay community, under the country’s pro-Malay affirmation action programme. That has created discontent with many Malays who don’t see the full benefits of the programme, and among the minority Chinese and Indians, who are excluded from it altogether.

Abdullah’s stewardship has had a real impact on the economy. Capital flight has risen sharply; Malaysian investment abroad now exceeds inward foreign investment. The Kuala Lumpur stock exchange has lost almost one-fifth of its value this year to date. Malaysia’s currency, the ringgit, saw its biggest one-month loss last month since the end of the dollar peg in 2005. Although GDP growth has averaged a robust 5% annual growth under Abdullah, that record is now under threat. Inflation reached a record 8.5% this summer. Job creation has reached record lows, as unemployment, particularly among young majority Malays, remains high. Ironically, only the opposition-led state governments are attracting new foreign investment - and without the federal government’s help, no less.

Abdullah’s 2004 attempts to promote growth and investment - such as through the promotion of the biotechnology and agricultural industries - have failed. He also fumbled discussions with the United States on a free trade agreement, which have now stalled. What Malaysia really needs is education reform and the liberalisation of its labour markets to improve its economic competitiveness.

The political opposition, in the form of Anwar and his Pakatan Rakyat coalition, have seized on these issues. They have promised to root out corruption and to implement a new economic policy to address the concerns of all ethnic communities in Malaysia. Their platform aims to move beyond populist spending to introduce structural reforms in government procurement programmes and in the management of government-linked companies.

When Abdullah assumed office in 2004, he inherited an economy in need of structural reform. Malaysians have had to pay for his poor stewardship through higher prices, stagnating wages and growing private sector debt. Soon, Abdullah may have to pay the political price for that record.