Daily Whatevers – Page 40

February 9, 2015

The Bittersweet Alliance – Part 1

The philosopher Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás or George Santayana once said that those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it. The recurrence of history is part of life’s cycle, but always in different forms. Those who do not remember how certain historical lows were handled are bound to make even bigger mistakes.

Recently, there was a furor following the statement made by UMNO’s Ismail Sabri , the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries Minister, asking consumers to boycott greedy Chinese businesses. While it is normal to hear the communal-party-disguised-as-a-non-communal-party DAP lashing out at Ismail Sabri, the call by MCA’s Youth Chief, Chong Sin Woon, for the sacking of Ismail Sabri did not go down well with UMNO and 92 Divisions of the latter rallied behind Ismail asking for Sin Woon to be sacked instead.

While I refuse to indulge in a debate over what was said by Ismail Sabri, there is a need for consumers to boycott profiteering businesses who whine about high cost of fuel and pressured the government to allow them to increase the price of their services, but refused to lower prices when the price of fuel has gone down by half. What I am more interested in is the bittersweet alliance between UMNO and MCA, and how history is repeating itself.

While the movement for the independence of Malaya had started decades before, there was no cohesion between races. In 1946 when the Malayan Union was formed, the republican-in-nature Partai Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya (PKMM) and the non-Malay Malayan Democratic Union (MDU) were quick to support the formation. The PKMM, a spin-off from the Batavia-leaning KMM of Ibrahim Yaacob, was all for a Malaya not ruled by the Malay Rulers, while the MDU liked the idea of automatic citizenship (read more in Seademon’s The Road To Merdeka: Persekutuan Tanah China ) for the immigrants. On 1st March 1946, more than 40 Malay organisations met up and 41 decided to form the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) to champion the Malay rights. The Malays were then a minority in his own land, poor, sidelined from economic development, health care and formal education. With the help and encouragement of the then-British High Commissioner, Sir Henry Gurney, the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) was formed on the 27th February, 1949. Gurney aimed at winning the allegiance of the Chinese community away from the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) (Colonial Office Record 537/773(1) Memorandum by Henry Gurney, 28th January, 1949).

There was apprehension and distrust between the Malays and Chinese. The alienation of the Malays by Chinese mining tycoons and rubber estate owners, followed by the preference of the Japanese of the Malays over the immigrant Chinese, and this in turn followed by retribution against the Malays by Chinese sympathizers of the CPM after the Japanese surrender have had contributed enormously to this animosity between the two.

It was since 1950 that Henry Gurney had wanted to introduce some form of democracy to Malaya through elections to satisfy the public’s hunger for democracy versus the communist’s way of winning self-government. Alas, he was only a High Commissioner and still had to go through the true rulers of the Federation of Malaya – The Malay Rulers. So, during the 10th Malay Rulers Meeting on the 22nd and 23rd February, 1950, Gurney presented his recommendation, only to be met with reluctance of the Malay Rulers. In the minutes of meeting, the Sultan of Kedah stated his reservation:

“The most important prerequisite for democracy is education. Without enlightened public opinion a democratic system of Government will be liable to unsteadiness or even confusion and chaos. One danger is that it may be transformed into a single party government through a few skilled electioneers working among the apathetic population and this will work towards dictatorship.” (Colonial Office Records 537/6025(1))

The Malays, as mentioned above, were left behind educationally and may not know what is best for them. For the same reason the PKMM and MDU were in full support of the Malayan Union four years prior to this event. And whatever the outcome, the Malays would have ended up the biggest losers if no one champions their rights. Noted William L Holland in “Nationalism in Malaya” (WL Holland, 1953):

“There was already Malay discontent in the pre-war period over the poor economic position vis-a-vis the Chinese and Indians. Malay peasants and fishermen, noted S.H Silcock and Ungku Aziz, were dependent on Chinese middlemen while Malays worked as messengers in offices where Chinese and Indians were clerks.”

The phrases made bold above by me, still holds true today and became the basis of Ismail Sabri’s main grouse against profiteering businessmen.

Gurney had to bring about some form of democratic self-rule that would benefit all races. Separately he discussed on numerous occasions with both MCA and Dato’ Onn and impressed upon them that self-rule would only happen if there is a closer relations between the communities (The Making of the Malayan Constitution, Joseph M Fernando, 2002, Page 15). Gurney was all for the promotion of Sino-Malay talks to tackle long-term problems. Gurney minuted the following:

“The outstanding issues at that stage were citizenship and the economic backwardness of the Malays. The Chinese leaders sought a more liberalised citizenship than those contained in the 1948 Federation of Malaya Agreement. Onn meanwhile , had approached the Colonial Office to secure financial assistance for the Malays.” (Colonial Office Records 537/773(1))

Onn Jaafar, however, was more open towards a better relationship between the Malays and other races if UMNO was to achieve the long-term ambition of self-governing the nation. In the UMNO annual general meeting in Arau, Perlis, on the 28th May 1949, he said in his speech:

It is absolutely important for the Malays to obtain closer ties with the other people in this country. It is time for us to take the view wider than the kampung view. I ask of you, which will you choose, peace or chaos, friendship or enmity?” (Straits Times, 29th May, 1949)

It was at this meeting that UMNO had agreed to accept non-Malays as associate members. Two years later, in June 1951, Onn went a step further by proposing that UMNO should open its doors to the non-Malays, and that UMNO be renamed the “United Malayan National Organisation.” While the top echelon of the party was supportive of this idea, the grassroot felt it was too radical. The bitterness resulting from the years of resentment and occasional interracial violence were too new for them to accept the non-Malays into their political fold. As a result, Onn left UMNO to form a new party called the Independence of Malaya Party (IMP) despite Gurney’s insistence that the former should remain in UMNO. Onn gambled that UMNO would fall apart and would rally behind him. Instead, UMNO rallied behind its new leader, Tunku Abdul Rahman, who sought to retain and strengthen UMNO’s communal organisational structure. The Tunku also threatened to expel from UMNO any member that joins or had joined the IMP (Straits Times, 18th September, 1951).

The MCA meanwhile remained a loose association of both “neutral” Chinese and the hardcore sympathizers of the CPM. Gurney had felt that the MCA had not gained much support from the Chinese community and the CPM sympathizers especially to help bring about a speedy end of the First Emergency. The Perak MCA Chairman, Leong Yew Koh, wrote to Cheng Lock on 1st June, 1950:

“Although the Perak MCA membership is 40,000 strong, the branch is a mere basin of loose sand.” (Tan Cheng Lock Papers, ISEAS Singapore, Folio IX)

Cheng Lock was quick to suggest that the MCA should become more political in order to better represent the Chinese:

“The MCA should not exist only for the limited, though vital, purpose of the meeting the emergency. It is a living institution which should consolidate itself on a strong and broad democratic foundation, in order that it may be ready to play a part in Malaya of the future as well as the present.” (Colonial Office Records 1022/176)

Thus, the stage is set for two political giants to go against each other for political power, after which we will see whether it was the Tunku or not who played the pivotal role in making the alliance between UMNO and MCA come true.

Stay tuned.

January 28, 2015

Reduced To Ranks

An Indian man displays the indelible ink mark on his finger after casting his vote in Mumbai India - source www.dailymail.co.uk — An Indian man displays the indelible ink mark on his finger after casting his vote in Mumbai India – source http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Another Air Force personnel has been punished after being found guilty of more or less the same case as former Major Zaidi Ahmad. Quoting an unnamed source, the Malaysian Insider reported that Flight Sergeant Jamal Ibrahim “…was not brought to court but was still punished for the alleged offence,” something that I find outrageously absurd. However, coming from the Malaysian Insider, I am not at all surprised.

The source said Jamal was given an option whether to fight his case in the martial court or be tried by the commanding officer and he chose the latter.

Before this gets blown by idiots who do not understand the system, first of all, whiners should not join the Armed Forces. If you have problems following orders, get a pound for yourself at the SPCA or at a similar organisation. Secondly, people are already starting to say that Zaidi’s dismissal from the service versus Jamal’s reduction of rank reeks of political arm twisting.

Zaidi was an officer. Jamal is not. An officer holds the King’s Commission, an enlisted man does not. An enlisted man’s rank is given by the service chief. An officer up to the rank of Captain gets his promotion from the Armed Forces Council, while Major and above get it from the King himself, as recommended by the Armed Forces Council. Which is why you no longer have promotions exams once you have attained the rank of a Major.

So why was Zaidi tried by a court-martial and not given the option to be tried by his Commanding Officer like Jamal? Why the harsh treatment?

Section 96 (1) of the Armed Forces Act, 1972 clearly states the following:

After investigating a charge against a commissioned officer below the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel or its equivalent, or against a Warrant Officer may, if an Authority has powers under the following provisions of this Part to deal with it summarily, be so dealt with by that Authority in accordance with those provisions

So, why didn’t that authority deal with Zaidi summarily? Firstly, Zaidi did not have a Commanding Officer. He WAS the Commanding Officer. Furthermore, Section 89 (7) of the Act also mentions that “where an officer is sentenced to imprisonment, he is also sentenced to be dismissed with disgrace from His Majesty’s service.” As only His Majesty has the power to dismiss an officer, only a Court-Martial could try him.

Jamal on the other hand is a serviceman. A non-commissioned officer. Not even an Appointed Officer or a Warrant Officer, let along a Commissioned Officer. His Commanding Officer has the choice of giving him lesser punishments as prescribed by the Act including detention of not more than 90 days, or anything lesser. He was also, at the beginning of his summary trial by the Commanding Officer, be given the choice of either being tried by a court-martial, or by his Commanding Officer. We know he chose the latter. The normal proceeding would follow, in accordance to the law, with the unit’s Adjutant advising. On arraignment, he will be read the charge according to the charge sheet and asked for his plea. I would expect Jamal to plead guilty, given that that would give him a lesser punishment. With his service taken into consideration, the Commanding Officer gave him the lesser punishment of reduction of rank (demotion, for those not well read) when it could have been any number of days in a gazetted detention center.

So, there you go. No one was given a harsher treatment. Everyone was given due process according to the law. Now, please stop politicising the Armed Forces. That kind of thing is only done by anarchists bent on sowing the seeds of a civil war, unless you are one.

And for those in the Armed Forces, if you think you cannot serve the country apolitically, get out at the earliest opportunity you can get and once you get your NRIC, go ahead and peddle your political agenda.

January 24, 2015January 24, 2015

Do You Choose A Person Who Is A Populist, Or One Who Can Actually Work?

It is interesting how time and time again we, our ASEAN neighbours included, vote in or root for people who are popular rather than people who can actually do the job. The Philippines had Cory Aquino, Eric Estrada; Indonesia had Gus Dur (Abdurrahman Wahid). In Malaysia, we have people rooting for Anwar Ibrahim despite the comical and absurd nature of his “struggle” to become a Prime Minister come what may. What is more absurd and even funnier was the populist campaign designed by Najib Razak’s consultants to paint a popular image of the incumbent.

And that failed badly.

So, what do we Malaysian people actually want? Someone who wins on a big popularity ticket, or someone who can actually work, proven to have truly serviced his/her constituency and not just offer lip service?

Indonesia now has Joko Widodo. See one person’s observations of him before and after the elections and see how the same reflects many politicians here in Malaysia.

January 16, 2015January 16, 2015

Conduct Unbecoming

“Loose Talk Could Sink This Ship”

“The Walls Have Ears”

The above are among reminders you would normally see then in a military establishment. Whether or not these reminders are being repeated today remains to be answered. At least such reminders should be repeated in all courses attended by military personnel.

Back in the 1970s, at the height of the Second Emergency, soldiers got killed after wives talked eagerly in public about the husbands going for operations against communist terrorists. Mind you, wives and children are the only people in any military establishment that are never vetted by security agencies.

One such wife was even employed as a typist at one military establishment. For years she mailed the carbon papers of each important military correspondence to the intelligence service of a neighbouring country before she was arrested.

In the late 1980s, 10 officers and men of the Armed Forces were nabbed by military intelligence after they were found to have sold strategic defence files to the intelligence agencies of a neighbouring country. The highest amount paid for a file was USD96,000 for a document on contingency defence plans of a particular state. The rest were defence plans of an Air Force Base, a naval base, and the layout of a military hospital.

In the Armed Forces too you have channels to complain or air your grouses. Your quarters is leaking, you complain to the Facilities Officer. Your mess food sucks, you complain to the Mess Messing Member, or in the case of the other ranks (rank and file if you must), complain to the Duty Officer who is supposed to eat the food you eat with you. Your senior officer has wronged you, the Armed Forces Act, 1972 allows you to seek redress of wrong. Your indelible ink wears off your finger in less than a day, you complain to the Officer Commanding the Administration Branch. Better still, if it is on the same day of voting, you complain to the Elections Commission officers at your place of voting.

There is a reason that you are an Armed Forces member and not a civilian. It means that you are not a civilian. You come from a highly disciplined institution that lives by its codes of rules, regulations, standing orders and orders. You cannot whine like an old lady in public, more so when you are in uniform.

Former Major Zaidi bin Ahmad was a good officer, until the day he appeared in the photo above. He was my junior by two intakes. He was a good pilot. He flew the F-5E Tiger II before progressing to a F-18 Hornet driver, after which he was picked to lead No.12 Squadron (F-5E Tiger II) as its Commanding Officer. He was a quiet man, well-mannered, and according to those who know him, it was no secret that he is a staunch supporter of PAS.

There is nothing about being a military man and have a liking for whichever political party. When I was a serving officer, I told my men that they were free to vote for anyone they wished, but as a member of His Majesty’s Air Force, they should remain apolitical in their conduct.

Granted that Zaidi might have had good intention by talking about his experience with the indelible ink, he went against the Armed Forces Council’s Order No. 13 of 1960. What more, he was wearing his uniform. As a member of the Armed Forces, you are not to talk to the media unless you have prior clearance from the Public Relations Office at both the Air Force HQ and the Ministry of Defence. You might be subjected to unguided and mischievous questions and you might answer wrongly. You might give away more than you should, as the information you are privy to may cause harm to the defence of the nation if leaked whether intentionally or unintentionally.

After the episode above, he was under investigation I presume, and an orders signal was issued for him to be transferred to a lesser sensitive post pending investigation. Each signal (in the civilian world before the advent of the E-Mail is much like the telegram) is either an unclassified document (Pendarjahan TERBUKA), or RESTRICTED and above (Pendarjahan TERHAD ke atas). I would expect the signal pertaining to his transfer was classified as PERSONNEL-IN-CONFIDENCE (SULIT DARIHAL ANGGOTA).

A transfer is normal when one is under investigation. Policemen under investigation are always transferred to “desk” duties. The same applied to Zaidi. Instead, perhaps for political reasons, he decided to show the signal to journalists who do not have the necessary security clearance to be privy to the information on the signal.

One might argue that a transfer order is hardly detrimental to the security of the nation. Well, in this case, maybe it wasn’t. It is not so much the content that is in question but the act of showing any document to those unauthorised to view it. Imagine if his grouses are bigger, I cannot imagine what a Commanding Officer of a fighter squadron, charged with taking care of the nation’s defence, could and would reveal to unauthorised people. That act, to me, shows how this senior officer’s conduct was very unbecoming, and is not trustworthy to be looking after the nation’s defence. To add insult to injury, Zaidi even sent out an SMS in the form of a political incitement; definitely unbecoming of a senior officer of the Armed Forces.

Was the punishment of being discharged from His Majesty’s service received by Zaidi harsh? My answer is a definite no. Firstly, Zaidi was a senior officer and a Commanding Officer. He was not some less-educated Private or Airman. He was charged under Section 50 (2) and Section 51 of the Armed Forces Act, 1972, for disobedience to superior officer and disobedience to standing orders.

If I may read to you the punishments prescribed by these sections. They read:

Every person subject to service law under this Act who, whether wilfully or through neglect, disobeys ny lawful command of his superior officer/standing orders shall, on conviction by court-martial, be liable to imprisonment or any less punishment provided by this Act.

The scale of punishments for an Officer of the Armed Forces prescribed by the Armed Forces Act, 1972, can be found in Section 89 (2) of the Act. They are:

Death,

Imprisonment to a term not exceeding 14 years,

Dismissal with disgrace from His Majesty’s service,

Dismissal from His Majesty’s service,

Forfeiture of seniority of rank,

Dismissal of an officer from the ship he belongs to,

Fine,

Severe reprimand,

Reprimand,

In the occasion of expense, damage, or loss, stoppages.

In the case of Zaidi’s, the gravity of his offences and his rank and position make only the first four punishments applicable to him. However, since the death punishment is out of the question, the members of the Court-Martial chose the least: dismissal from His Majesty’s service, meaning that he is still entitled to his benefits.

Is that harsh? Not at all. There have been officers dismissed for lesser offences. Examplary? Yes. And very necessary.

Zaidi no doubt was a good guy. However, his political beliefs led him to do what every officer and man of His Majesty’s Armed Forces should not do: disobey orders and putting the uniform you wear to shame. A King’s Officer does not whine about his grouses in public like a yeast-infected aunt. He should live the organised life of his organisation instead of abusing his uniform for his own benefit. There were channels he could have gone through but no. He thought he knew best and in doing so he did injustice to his family.

He is now a political celebrity, a nicer way to call a donkey in politics. He will now be part of a circus act and may earn a bit from the collection made from the spectators of the nightly circus shows he will be performing in, all in the misguided name of justice. Once the next general elections is over, we hope he would have found a steady job by then.

December 28, 2014December 28, 2014

Banjir: Luaskan Minda Sepet Anda

Jikalau kita menyebut kepada orang yang berminda sepet akan dua perkara iaitu, pertama, peperangan di Timur Tengah boleh menyebabkan kenaikan harga minyak secara global; dan kedua, kenaikan harga minyak akan menyebabkan kenaikan harga barangan keperluan, mereka lebih tertumpu kepada perkara kedua dan tidak memperdulikan perkara pertama yang menjadi asas kepada perkara kedua.

Ini adalah kerana minda yang sepet lebih mengutamakan perkara yang lebih mempunyai pengaruh kepada kehidupan seharian mereka.

Maka, berbunyilah suara-suara sumbang apabila saya menulis mengenai Kenapa Tidak Isytihar Darurat Bencana semalam.

Perkara yang mereka nampak hanyalah mengenai urusan tuntutan insuran mungkin terjejas sekiranya Darurat Bencana diisytiharkan. Timbullah bijak pandai berminda sepet yang bertanya pula: “Berapa ramaikah di antara 160,000 mangsa banjir yang telah mengambil insuran untuk melindungi rumah dari bencana alam seperti banjir? Berapa ramaikah orang kampung yang telah mengambil perlindungan insuran untuk bencana banjir untuk pondok buruk mereka?”

Jawapannya ialah tidak ramai. Bahkan, saya mungkin boleh menyokong minda sepet mereka dengan mengatakan tiada langsung pondok buruk yang diinsurankan dengan perlindungan bencana banjir. Tetapi, untuk yang tidak tinggal di pondok buruk yang ada membuat perlindungan dari bencana banjir di dalam insuran am mereka, pengecualian tuntutan boleh dikenakan oleh syarikat-syarikat insuran, dan ini akan merugikan mereka.

Maka, minda yang sepet dengan segera bersuara menyatakan bahawa hanya mereka yang berkemampuan untuk menambahkan sejumlah 0.5% dari kos insuran mereka untuk perlindungan banjir sahaja yang akan menerima manafaat sekiranya Darurat Bencana tidak diisytiharkan. Jawapannya ialah: ITU TIDAK BENAR.

~~Hampir sepuluh hari yang~~ Pada tahun lepas, satu pekeliling telah dikeluarkan untuk mangsa banjir di kalangan kakitangan kerajaan yang mempunyai pinjaman perumahan untuk membuat tuntutan insuran :

Bayangkan masalah yang boleh mereka hadapi sekiranya Darurat Bencana diisytiharkan.

Walaupun kuasa untuk mengisytiharkan Darurat Bencana berada di tangan Perdana Menteri atas nasihat Jawatankuasa Pengurusan Bencana Pusat, Perdana Menteri masih perlu berbincang dengan kerajaan di negeri-negeri terjejas untuk pengesahan keadaan darurat kerana kuasa kerajaan negeri-negeri tersebut mengikut undang-undang yang termaktub di bawah Perlembagaan Persekutuan masih wujud. Sekiranya kerajaan di negeri-negeri tersebut tidak merasakan bahawa sesuatu bencana itu sudah diluar kawalan, dan menyebabkan jumlah kemalangan jiwa yang amat besar, boleh menyebabkan keselamatan dan ketenteraman awam di negeri tersebut berada di luar kawalan, dan tidak lagi selamat untuk para pelabur untuk terus beroperasi di situ, maka bolehlah mereka bersetuju untuk mengisytiharkan darurat.

Walau bagaimanapun, tanpa mengisytiharkan Darurat Bencana, Kerajaan Persekutuan telahpun mengerahkan aset-aset di bawah jabatan-jabatan dan kementerian-kementeriannya untuk membantu dalam operasi bantuan bencana banjir bak kata orang kampung, “Beyond the call of duty.” Malah, segala kos operasi bantuan bencana banjir juga ditanggung sepenuhnya oleh Kerajaan Persekutuan, bukan oleh kerajaan di negeri-negeri terbabit.

Yang berminda sepet ini juga mahu Darurat Bencana diisytiharkan agar aset-aset Angkatan Tentera Malaysia dapat dikerahkan di negeri-negeri terbabit. Ingin saya bertanya aset apakah yang digunakan di dalam gambar-gambar berikut?

Tidakkah mereka nampak seramai 1,000 orang anggota tentera darat, 50 buah bot telah dikerahkan ke negeri Kelantan sahaja? Ini tidak termasuk aset-aset seperti bot-bot dan pesawat milik Tentera Udara dan Tentera Laut!

Itulah yang tidak ternampak oleh minda-minda sepet. Mereka hanya nampak perkataan insuran yang telah saya tulis, dan Perdana Menteri umumkan semalam.

Perkara kedua yang telah saya tulis dan tidak ternampak juga oleh minda-minda sepet ialah berkenaan para pelabur boleh mengeluarkan pelaburan mereka dari negeri-negeri terbabit sekiranya keadaan Darurat Bencana berlaku tanpa membayar sebarang kos kepada kerajaan negeri-negeri tersebut. Tetapi, seperti yang saya nyatakan di permulaan artikel ini, pelaburan asing tidak memberi kesan secara langsung kepada minda-minda sepet. Perkara seperti itu adalah terlalu rumit bagi mereka dan hanya kerajaan negeri sahaja yang patut memikirkan kesannya. Minda sepet hanya hendak tahu mengenai insuran yang mereka tidak beli, dan harga teh tarik yang mereka gemari sahaja. Sama ada saudara-mara, rakan-taulan mereka akan mempunyai pekerjaan setelah Darurat Bencana diisytiharkan bukan menjadi keutamaan mereka.

Oleh itu, saya amat berharap mereka yang waras dan mempunyai minda yang ufuknya luas, dapat memahami keadaan dan prihatin terhadap bukan sahaja sesuatu keadaan, tetapi juga bagaimana keadaan tersebut boleh memberi kesan langsung kepada orang-orang yang di penghujung ufuk pandangan dan minda mereka.

Itu sahaja harapan saya kerana yang sepet tetap akan mengatakan pandangan yang sepet itulah yang betul.

December 27, 2014December 28, 2014

Kenapa Tidak Isytihar Darurat Bencana?

Di atas adalah petikan takrif “Darurat Bencana” yang menjadi tajuk perbualan ramai terutamanya apabila keadaan banjir di lima negeri terutamanya negeri-negeri pantai timur Semenanjung menjadi lebih teruk. Dari takrif tersebut yang diberikan melalui Arahan Majlis Keselamatan Negara No.20, jelas bencana banjir yang melanda kita sekarang masih tidak menepati kehendak maksud “Darurat Bencana.”

Namun, masih ramai yang merasakan bahawa Perdana Menteri harus mengisytiharkan Darurat Bencana tanpa mengetahui akibat pengisytiharaan keadaan tersebut.

Untuk yang tanya kenapa tiada pengisytiharaan darurat bencana, berikut adalah jawapannya: Sekiranya diisytiharkan darurat, mana-mana perkara yang boleh dituntut melalui insurans, tidak akan boleh dituntut termasuklah insurans bangunan dan kenderaan yang diambil untuk premium bencana. Untuk masa ini, di Kelantan, keseluruhan pembiayaan kos banjir telah diambil alih oleh Kerajaan Persekutuan sepenuhnya melalui agensi-agensi Kerajaan. Jawatankuasa Pengurusan Bencana pun telah diambil alih oleh Kerajaan Persekutuan semalam hasil persertujuan pihak Kerajaan Negeri.

Ini adalah kerjasama Kerajaan Persekutuan dan Negeri di mana YAB MB Kelantan juga telah keluarkan kenyataan bahawa buat masa ini tiada keperluan untuk isytiharkan darurat dan semua pengisytiharan juga akan dibincangkan bersama dengan Kerajaan Persekutuan.

Pengisytiharan Darurat juga akan menyebabkan Kerajaan tidak boleh lagi menahan keluar pelabur yang telah membuat pelaburan sebelum ini di kawasan banjir tanpa apa-apa pampasan kepada pihak Kerajaan dan pekerja sekiranya tertakluk kepada perjanjian pelaburan.

Ia secara langsung beri impak kepada negeri tersebut.

Harap maklum.

December 20, 2014December 20, 2014

What Become With Government Foot Hand?

Morning just now I read article inside picture upstairs I sigh myself, “Mother grandfather! Why English language foot hand government appalling very?”

Who we want blaming? Try you answer that. Who we want blaming? Language Malaysia fighter? Answer its easy: LAZY. Yes! Foot hand government making portal this find road simple. Type inside Malaysia language and afterwards put inside Google Translate and press click. With simple work his complete.

Afterwards, they angry with people say they many fat and work steal bone. Morning come work, punch card, then coffee. 9.30 morning new enter office. 10 morning friend work come place his and invite go drink coffee. After drink coffee 11 morning new enter office. Look one two file then 12.15 middle day go out eat lunch. 2.15 evening new enter office then go for pray Zohor. 3 evening new enter office. 4 evening friend work invite go tea pull. 4.30 evening punch out go back. If foot hand government that already marriage, Thursday must go back early because Thursday Night Friday – must go surau read Yaasin. Actually no say wife want unity!

Reason that citizen Malaysia no looking foot hand government with respect. Citizen Malaysia always angry with government foot hand reason they see foot hand government make work at time own, many fat, work steal bone, eat salary blind.

When leader foot hand angry foot hand say foot hand all many fat, foot hand write letter kite send to director say leader no good, work no good, no friendly, always bully foot hand.

This foot hand now. Some correct many fat and lazy. Pity foot hand making work correct. They become victim situation. Leader department must conserve worker good with ensure worker no good no get punishment like no rise salary, no rise rank. New foot hand good happy and giving service good.

Government must ensure rate service department government all good from foot hand rank low most until to foot hand senior. If no then we no become one country which productive and possess effort compete. Foot hand government must can speaking and writing inside language English so they can

Today Saturday foot hand government no working. Therefore, I want go eat wind. Safe leave to all.

December 13, 2014December 13, 2014

Duli Yang Maha Menghina

I refer to this post on the Malay Mail Online yesterday, Non-Muslims Can Use Allah in Penang .

In justifying his action, Lim Guan Eng says that the Administration of Religion of Islam (Penang) Enactment 2004 applies to Muslims only.

He said the state government had not passed any law to allow the enactment to apply on non-Muslims.

A list of 40 words, including Allah, Solat, Ulama, Soleh, Mufti, Iman, Surau and Nabi, were decreed as exclusive to Muslims by the Penang mufti and enforced in 2010 as provided under subsection 48(3) and (4) of the Administration of Religion of Islam (Penang) Enactment 2004.

Firstly, Lim Guan Eng should know that the Enactment is not a fatwa. It is. A law that was passed by the Dewan Undangan Negeri of Pulau Pinang that consisted of both lawmakers from the then-government and then-opposition, Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Therefore, it is a state law, not a Muslim-specific law. This law is then used as a base for a fatwa that was gazetted in 2010.

Furthermore, the Head of Islam in Penang is the Yang DiPertuan Agong. Lim Guan Eng has no right to show his absolute rudeness to His Majesty by usurping His Majesty’s authority and powers. He is merely a servant of His Majesty and His Majesty’s rakyat, not the king himself.

I call upon the Rakyat to deplore this king-wannabe.

December 8, 2014December 8, 2014

The Malay Sybarites

This is a bit overdue. With all the “bangang” accusations being thrown to and fro between pro-UMNO bloggers (I was made there are several camps with different paymasters) and the independent pro-BN bloggers, I decided to hold the issue for a while until things have quieten down. I am not exactly a pro-BN blogger, nor do I have any love for the opposition and their loose coalition, nor that I am a paid blogger as I have never had to use political connections to feed my family in any way whatsoever. I am the simple nine-to-five, salary-earning employee who watches what goes on around him and voices out once in a while when things are not right. The “bangangs” then would be those who are chosen by the rakyat to govern on the rakyat’s behalf yet think they can do no wrong and are above criticisms.

The reason for the title above is because people don’t find it bordering on racism if I bash the Malays. Malay-bashing, in Malaysia, is not racist at all and outsiders (non-Malaysians) are often invited to bash the Malays as well. Furthermore, being a Malay, it would make me a racist to bash those from my own race. However, be advised that while what I will write will orbit around the title above, with a broader mental horizon you would be able to see that what follows may also apply to other races. Of course, to maintain a non-racist post, I shall name my victims collectively as the Malays.

Like it or not, the UMNO of today is a far cry compared to the UMNO people of my age or older were. I touched on how the late Tun Razak was when it came to shouldering the responsibilities the post of Prime Minister burdened him with. In my opinion, UMNO was and is still regarded by those who join it as a platform to make money on the pretext of helping the Malays. Mind you, the same phenomena also exists in other political parties on both sides of the fence. You would not have seen this in the initial phase of the Barisan Alternatif; you’re seeing this now in the Pakatan-ruled states. The saying “power corrupts” still holds true.

When one joins UMNO (or any other political party for that matter), it is almost always on the invitation by someone who already is a member. The new member will first be introduced to the introducer’s circle of “friends” who will have a Padrone, who is either the Branch Head, or the Deputy Branch Head. Then comes the need to champion whoever the Padrone is in order to put him in place, and make sure the Padrone’s people fill up as many committee posts as possible. This is then replicated at the Division level. Getting into the Division’s Padrone’s good books allows one Branch Padrone to solicit small contracts as a Bumiputera Class ‘F’ contractor, which job then gets sub-contracted to (almost always) a non-Bumi contractor. This simply means that at times, a non-Bumi contractor will become a project-financier, or finance the bid for contracts that are meant for Bumiputera contractors simply because the Malay contractors are a lazy lot and all they want is big bucks for less or no work done. So, for those who whine about inequality, please bear in mind that the Bumiputeras are only allocated 30 percent while the non-Bumiputeras have 70 percent to grab. Demographically, 61.4 percent of the population are allocated 30 percent of the opportunities to make wealth while the other 38.6 percent (of which the Chinese make up 24.6 percent) have the 70 percent opportunities to make wealth.

You see the above also happening in the Pakatan-run states albeit with different mechanisms. Same goal, nevertheless.

Money begets power, and with every party election, more money has to be made in order to retain the power and position to make money – and this is true on both sides of the political fence. Hence, you see absolute nepotism in parties like PKR and DAP, while cronyism remains rife in other political parties. You have cronies becoming CEOs of important companies; young brats who cannot even make proper presentations. Then you have the opposition condemning such arrangements as being non-ethical when they themselves do it in government machineries in the states that they control. What makes it worse are those who continuously condemn the government in public and on social media, yet thrive on servicing government contracts.

Political parties and members no longer lead the monastic way of life as how the political parties and members were back in the 1950s, 1960s and the 1970s. The uplines, if you must, live lavishly, while their downlines slog to maintain this while trying to earn some crumbs for themselves as religious acolytes would. I don’t know how UMNO, or any other political party went down the drain this way, but this greed must have predicated on a system that was created perhaps in the late 1980s. I have not made any mention of PAS because PAS is in a league of its own, abusing religion for its own survival as if it exists to represent God on Earth.

How do we change all this? In my opinion it would take a miracle for this to change. As long as the young idolise their sybarite leaders, this country will continue to slide into the cesspool of failed nations. Perhaps, changing the system would help arrest the rot, but it would take political will to effect change. And that is where we need miracles!

November 17, 2014

Kiss And Tell

Six days ago I received a Whatsapp screen capture of a conversation between a “Tweet-famous” and a friend where the former gleefully told the latter that she had a sexual relationship with a politician. Apparently, this “Tweet-famous” person is famous for her “kiss-and-tell” sessions and is known to flaunt her expensive handbags even though she is just holding a managerial post at a government-funded Foundation related to national security.

Whether or not the tryst is true, but I am of the opinion that even if it isn’t, such a person should not be trusted to be in an organisation that is linked and privy to senior ministries and information that flows from those ministries, or to any other government agencies.

Below is the screen capture which I have pixelated the name of the “Tweet-famous” and the Ministry her self-claimed sexual partner represents, especially to protect the politician mentioned.