Being Magnanimous

Congratulations to Azizulhasni Awang, the Pocket Rocketman, for winning a bronze medal in the Kierin event at the Rio Velodrome recently.  It is an achievement to be proud of.

However, he spoiled the celebration by making a statement, thanking the Terengganu Menteri Besar sarcastically for NOT rendering any assistance to him and his teammate in their preparations for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Taken from Azizulhasni Awang's Facebook page
Taken from Azizulhasni Awang’s Facebook page
It is clear that Azizulhasni Awang, or Jijoe to his fans, felt frustrated for not getting any support from the Terengganu State Government as he was born and bred in the coastal town of Dungun. He alleged that a proposal for a road bike had been sent a year before the Olympics to the Menteri Besar but no response was ever received, and that calls to the Menteri Besar by his manager was never answered.

Several questions here: why send such proposal to Ahmad Razif and not Datuk Rozi Mamat who is the Terengganu Executive Councillor for Youth, Sports and Human Resources? Did Azizul’s manager call the Menteri Besar personally? To whom was the proposal handed over to and was it by mail or by hand?

Azizul is not without controversy.  He was almost expelled from the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow for making a political statement in support for Gaza.

Courtesy of Paul Chesterton SIPPA/Pinnacle
Courtesy of Paul Chesterton SIPPA/Pinnacle
The Commonwealth Games Federation shuns any form of political statements being made using the Games as a platform.  In his defence, Azizul stressed that his statement was humanitarian in nature and not political.

It’s inappropriate for any form of protest in a Games venue – we respect everyone’s right to protest out-with. He has had a strong reprimand from his team management and he has apologised. In apologising profusely he now knows any repetition will see a removal of his accreditation,” said Mike Hooper, chief executive of the Commonwealth Games Federation.

Azizul loves to do things without giving a thought first. Those who know of his political leaning would also remember this tweet that was not a reply to a topic, but a reply to actually start a conversation with a certain politician asking the latter to pray for his success, while other sportsmen and women showed political neutrality as they were there representing Malaysians irrespective of political beliefs and creed:

A tweet sent by Azizulhasni Awang to Anwar Ibrahim on the 5th August 2016
A tweet sent by Azizulhasni Awang to Anwar Ibrahim on the 5th August 2012
Whatever his political inclination may be, he ought to know that the name “Azizulhasni Awang” reresents all Malaysian  He can be Jojoe in private but that name is a household name.  While the Menteri Besar of Terengganu should investigate into the allegations made by Azizul, the latter should also remember that for three season in a row he was Terengganu’s Sportsman of the Year.  He had receive more than RM20,000 in awards from the state government while the state government has to be fair to 50 other state athletes and state sports associations.  It is not the duty of the state government to provide assistance to individual athlete as that remains the duty of the associations to which the respective athlete belongs to. The duty of the state government is only to provide the facilities that can be used to train athletes. This was pointed out by one Dr Aznil Hisham in his Facebook posting:

Screenshot of pictures of Azizulhasni Awang and the Terengganu Hockey Association receiving state awards
Screenshot of pictures of Azizulhasni Awang and the Terengganu Hockey Association receiving state awards taken from Dr Aznil Hisham’s Facebook page
Dr Aznil went on in another related Facebook posting to say that Azizul could have been more magnanimous and less rude about the whole situation by rewording the statement in a much nicer language.

Najib Razak has always been magnanimous.  Why am I including him in this post? If you remember the campaign by Mahathir to oust Najib started in the second half of 2014.  Since then Mahathirs goalpost has changed so many times that I have lost count. This includes the inclusion of the Altantuya case by Mahathir in May 2015 when Najib didn’t flinch, and sending out his pariahs to lodge reports overseas in order to put the Premier in a bad light.

When things really seemed bleak for Najib, I asked some of his close associates why hasn’t the PM hit back at Mahathir?  Apparently, they asked this question to Najib but he replied saying that the last thing he would want people to see is hi being rude to an elderly figure – and that is VERY un-Asian, let alone not-Malay.  Najib’s magnanimity crosses political boundaries and has been seen on occasions taking time to visit opposition leaders who fell ill, and although he was in Turkey when the late Karpal Singh passed away, Najib made a blog entry dedicated to Karpal – in spite of being called a murderer in Parliament by Karpal Singh’s Gobind Singh Deo, and allegation that is baseless and has been proven in a court of law that Najib is not linked to the case in any way.  Not once would you hear harsh words being directed towards anyone, including to his detractors.

You would go far being magnanimous, especially when your name is big enough for people to remember.  In contrast to Azizulhasni’s uncalled for outburst, Joseph Schooling participated in the Olympics, beat the reigning champion to win the Gold, without a single help from the Singapore government.  Yet, when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong asked for permission for a selfie to be taken with him, Schooling obliged and was gracious about it.

schooling

I hope the Menteri Besar of Terengganu would investigate thoroughly Azizulhasni’s allegations and make public the findings.  And I also hope that the state would assist him with his road bike, using state funds.  And as pointed out by Dr Aznil Hisham, if Azizulhasni does not improve and get a Silver in the next Olympics, be prepared to be criticised and eat the humble pie for having used taxpayers’ money but fail to give something back in return. Furthermore, he received RM2.85 million from the Sime Darby Foundation before he went to Rio de Janeiro and will be receiving another RM100,000 from SDF as a reward for his achievement at Rio.

Now, how many RM12,000 road bikes do you think Azizul could have bought before going to Rio with RM2.85 million?

Now, tell me if his outburst on Facebook is justifiable?

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Cheap Discount 

The Discounted Lim Guan Eng

Mention the name Lim Guan Eng and two words come to mind: cheap and discount. Not only did he buy the bungalow with a cheap discount but he also takes cheap shots, while anything he says to defend himself can easily be discounted.

From the day he was released on bail after being arraigned and charged for being a corrupt official, Guan Eng, or more famously known now as Tokong has been going around for public sympathy and bad-mouthing the Attorney-General that if I were the Chief Justice, I would have issued a Writ of Mandamus to the court handling Tokong’s case to cite him for being in contempt.

Yes, contempt.

Tokong has been charged in court and a court proceeding process commences the moment the accused is arraigned. Unlike in the UK, the power to cite a person for being in contempt in Malaysia is given by statute. Attempting to influence opinions on a case that is still in process is being in contempt.

The Attorney-General has issued a warning to Tokong to stop his attacks on the former. My take on this is that the presiding judge should be firm and issue a warning to Tokong et al.

It is funny how Gobind Singh Deo, the counsel for Tokong, issued a counter-warning to the Attorney-General in support of his client’s behaviour.


I believe Gobind, a DAP office-holder, is just prodding the Attorney-General to see what ticks by making things more personal. It is just a ploy to find a reason to get the Attorney-General to be disqualified from the trial. For those who don’t know, the Attorney-General is a no-nonsense man and is a man with very few words. He is very careful with what he says and the need to say it.

Gobind is trying to say that it is within Tokong’s right to explain himself to the people, and I would like to reiterate that it is in contempt of court. I would like to bring you to an earlier event to show the hypocrisy of the DAP and also Tokong.

There was a time when government-appointed prosecutor Shafee Abdullah went on a roadshow to explain the Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy 2 case. The whole opposition jing-bang went to town to crucify Shafee. This included an opposition-leaning institution that is well-known for issuing statements drunkards would – aptly called the Malaysian Bar. They even wanted to disqualify Shafee from the legal profession.


Let us remember that Shafee conducted his roadshow AFTER the Sodomy 2 trial had concluded and a judgment had been made. In no way was Shafee ever in contempt as firstly he was explaining the case, and secondly he never disputed the judgment made. Tokong on the other hand had gone to town trying to vindicate himself and say that the Najib government is trying all out to oust him. And this is done while the trial is still underway and judgment has not been made.

Interesting that Gobind, as Tokong’s counsel, had asked the Attorney-General to shut up instead of giving proper legal counsel to his client. And for making public statements, I remember what the Malaysian Bar had said about Shafee:

“…holding press conferences, giving media interviews…”

I hope to see a motion by the Malaysian Bar to censure Gobind but I won’t bet on it. But I sure hope Penang Langs would discount Lim Guan Eng from being next term’s Chief Minister of Pulau Pinang.

Off With His Head

Off with his head, and set it on York gates;
So York may overlook the town of York.

(William Shakespeare, 1592 – Henry VI Part III)

Shouts of “Pecat (Expel)” and “Nyanyuk (Senile)” reverberated the hall where UMNO President, Najib Razak, gave a closed-door briefing to UMNO divisional and state committee members on the issues of the 1MDB, the RM2.6 billion donation and the accusation by his deputy (also his former Deputy Prime Minister) Muhyiddin, and former Prime Minister Mahathir made saying that the people of Malaysia will soon become beggars.  Both Muhyiddin and Mahathir made this claims countless times in spite of various explanations and proof saying otherwise. Of course, in Mahathir’s own words:

"I don't have enough evidence" - Mahathir
“I don’t have enough evidence” – Mahathir
This is why he started off attacking Najib and the 1MDB with the claim that RM42 billion had gone missing to 1MDB is a debt-laden company. Idiots would be quick to accept Mahathir’s statement as the 1MDB is a government company. However, those with brain and usage of brain cells know that although the 1MDB started off with a RM42 billion debt, it is backed by assets worth RM51 billion. The RM42 billion is not even the rakyat’s money. In comparison, if you earn RM3,000 a month, and purchase a car worth RM70,000, you are debt-laden, especially if you stay in a rented house with no other assets to back you up. And it is not just YOUR money, it is also the money you use to support your family.

Now why does one still want to harp on  an issue when one does not have evidence of any wrongdoing? Why should an UMNO member add more fuel to the fire set by the Opposition? In my world that is called treason!

On the economy, removing Najib is not going to get the oil prices to go up. The economy will not improve and jobs created with the removal of one person. To believe so is bordering on senseless stupidity. Our current economic fundamentals are nowhere near what it was when Mahathir was at the helm in 1997-98. Sometimes I am inclined to believe that Mahathir allowed Anwar to err in order to find a solid reason to remove the latter whom he found to be a threat to his position (You can read more about it here).

Malaysia’s competitiveness ranking is 18th in the world, and first in the Islamic world. Malaysia’s GDP rose 61% from RM202.26 billion in 2009 when Najib took over the helm to RM326 billion!

Despite claiming that Malaysians now eat grass daily to stay alive (or become beggars as mentioned by Mahathir), Malaysians bought 103% more cars in October 2015 compared to October 2014. Car sales as at end of October for 2015 stands at 541,142! No wonder the people are eating grass! They would rather spend money on cars!

  
As for the 1MDB issue, you can read all the explanations on their website. Google the URL. 

Muhyiddin…

Muhyiddin is a different animal altogether. He is one person who can show disrespect then change his tune. Just look at how as a Johorean and one who claimed he has the support of the Istana, Muhyiddin did not wear the white band on his songkok as a symbol of state mourning just a day after the late Tunku Jalil Iskandar of Johor was buried.

  
It seems that Muhyiddin has a knack for using the Malays to achieve his goals – including selling the Malays out. Those who were born after 1980 may not remember how Muhyiddin was kicked out of Johor as the Menteri Besar in the 1990s by the then Sultan of Johor but was saved by Mahathir. You can read more about Muhyiddin’s sins to the Johor people HERE.

I will tell you this story about Muhyiddin and Mahathir as it was what my comrades and I had bitterly experience back in 1998.

For those who watched the live telecast on RTM when two Malaysians made it to the summit of Mount Everest. There was a teleconference between Mahathir and the Team Leader and Mahathir asked who the two Malaysians were. When the Team Leader replied “M Nagappan and M Magendran” in a disappointed voice Mahathir asked, “Siapa lagi?”

Mahathir seemed disappointed that his “countrymen” has made it to the too while the Malay climbers did not. I was at the Malaysian Ex-Commandos Club on Jalan Kelantan up Federal Hill in late 1997 when its then President, the late Rahim King, instructed us to form a team to regain the Malay honour by skydiving at the North Pole. Rahim became the Chef de Mission. Another former Air Force commando, Aziz Ahmad, was assigned the Team Leader, in-charge of selection and training, while I became the Deputy Team Leader in-charge of logistics and planning. Captain Datuk Azmi Hamid Bidin was made in-charge of the support team based in Malaysia to iron out finances and other support. It was an all-Malay team, to be supported by a television crew from TV3 as the official media. Initially TV3 had offered Karam Singh Walia, a renowned broadcast journalist, but we were told it had to be an all-Malay team.

To cut a long story short, Anwar had started his nepotism and cronyism battle-cry and the exonomy was really bad that members of Mahathir’s cabinet shunned him – afraid of being seen to support Mahathir in case Anwar manages to depose of his mentor. Our expedition’s launching ceremony on the 30th March 1998 broadcast live on TV3 had Mahathir attending alone without his cabinet ministers, not even Muhyiddin who was then the Minister for Youth and Sports. That was how Muhyiddin repaid the kindness to the man who saved him. That was how lonely Mahathir was in 1998.

The expedition departed for Moscow early April 1998 after Anwar announced in parliament that the finances for the expedition had been finalised, when it really wasn’t. We almost did not make it to the North Pole if it weren’t for people like (then) Datuk Adzmi Wahab, Managing Director of EON Berhad; Datuk Abdullah Hj Ahmad Badawi, Foreign Minister; and my friend Zahid Hamidi who was the UMNO Youth Chief. Anwar, Muhyiddin never responded to calls for help even from Capt Datuk Azmi when we were being threatened by the organisers who were all ex-Soviet military and  I believe with obvious links to the Russian mafia.

Muhyiddin is a chameleon, a self-serving one who would go to lengths to achieve his personal goals, even at the expense of selling out the Malays, or to switch political camps faster than he changes his underwear.

If the Malays in UMNO and the people of Pagoh still do not realise the potential harm this man could do, then the Malays are doomed.

He will be like Darth Vader, loyal to the Emperor until it’s time to protect his self-interest.

  

Off with his head!

Endorsing The Enemy

Almost three years ago the nation witnessed the slaughter of several police officers and men by a bunch of low-life thugs from the Southern Philippines, men of the self-proclaimed Sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram III landed in Kampung Tanduo in Lahad Datu and demanded for the return of Sabah to the Sultanate.

 
The women above lost their husband and their children have lost forever a normal life.

Anwar Ibrahim, too, lent support to the thugs. He met up with Nur Misuari before the incursion and Jamalul Kiram III openly announced his support for Anwar as the new Prime Minister of Malaysia should BN fall during the 13th General Elections.

   
 
Treachery must run deep in Anwar’s family. On the 9th November 2015, his daughter and MP for Lembah Pantai, Nurul Izzah, went to lend her support to Jacel Kiram, daughter if the now rotting Jamalul Kiram III. Talk about insensitivity! Jacel Kiram still claims that Sabah belongs to Sulu.

  
To add insult to injury, DAP’s Teresa Kok had this to say to reporters about Nurul Izzah’s visit:

  
The visit is not serious, she said, and the events that took place at Kampung Tanduo is a bit of an old story.

I hope she could tell China to now stop asking for an apology from the Japanese, and that the Jews should forget the Holocaust ever happened.

Whoever votes for these MOs again ought to be castrated and raw iodine poured on their wound.

When M&Ms Aren’t Nice

  
M&Ms are nice. They melt in your mouth, not in your hands. Easy to swallow. Not so the M&M that are being referred to in this latest article posted by Sin Chew .

Muhyiddin isn’t new in the arena of backstabbing. He was rescued by Mahathir in 1995 after he fell out of favour with the then-Sultan of Johor when he was the Menteri Besar of Johor. Mahathir had him switch posts with Ghani Othman who was then the Minister for Culture, Youth and Sports.

He quickly aligned himself with Anwar Ibrahim whose meteoric rise to the Deputy Premier’s post was orchestrated by none other than Mahathir himself. So confident was Muhyiddin then that he announced to several reporters that “when Anwar becomes the PM, I will be his deputy.

When Anwar fell out of favour with Mahathir, Muhyiddin immediately abandons Anwar and pledged allegiance to Mahathir while another close ally of Anwar then, Zahid Hamidi, languished in a cell of the Kamunting detention center under the ISA courtesy of Mahathir.

Therefore, it is no surprise that when he saw the chance to oust Najib as Mahathir stepped up his attacks, Muhyiddin backstabbed Najib. He went around claiming ignorance of the 1MDB issue when he, as the DPM, had sat in the briefings by Arul Kanda.

In a recent exposé by Tawfik Ismail of the G25 movement Muhyiddin and Mahathir had approached the group for support to oust Najib. Tawfik had also told Muhyiddin bluntly that the latter has so many skeletons in the closet to be the Prime Minister of choice. Apparently those in the 20s too young to remember anything can read about some of Muhyiddin’s sins here.

The Master of Backstabbing however isn’t Muhyiddin. He should remember, he is not the second person who thinks that the MM thing stands for Mahathir-Muhyiddin. Mahathir’s one-time deputy, Musa Hitam found that out the hard way.

Mahathir and Musa was thought to have forged a concrete partnership that made UMNO formidable. MM, people thought meant Mahathir-Musa. Both once were presented with a motorcycle each bearing the plate number MM1 and MM2 respectively. But a journalist once asked Mahathir what MM meant and he replied, “Mahathir Mohamad.”

Anwar too was almost certain of becoming the PM. Before he became DPM, Anwar used to go horseback riding with Mahathir,something the elder politician still does even when he is abroad in Argentina. When Anwar ousted Ghafar Baba, Mahathir said to his younger apprentice, “No more horseback riding, Anwar. It would be a security risk for us to be together.” Of course, in private Mahathir said something to the effect that “we might have a Brutus in the party.”

Mahathir ousted Musa, blocked Razaleigh, did nothing to help Ghafar Baba, ousted Anwar, and finally ousted Abdullah Badawi as the Prime Minister, reportedly with the help of Muhyiddin. Abdullah was too nice a man. Now he tries to get rid of Najib come what may.

  
Mahathir would oust anyone who disagrees with him as the puppet-master. Muhyiddin would likely face the same fate if he had become the PM. And when he doesn’t get things to go his way, he plucks stories from the sky and feeds them to thr masses, creating panic and distrust of the Najib administration. The universe, he thinks, must revolve around him. 

3,228 years ago, someone with that similar thinking, that the world revolves around him, ruled Egypt with an iron fist, and lived as long as Mahathir is now.

And for someone who “gate-crashed” the “Nothing To Hide” program a few months ago because he was interested to speak out on behalf of the “oppressed” rakyat, I find it amusing that Mahathir did not take the opportunity to question Arul Kanda at this morning’s event where Arul explained and took questions on the 1MDB issue.

It is true then that he never had any evidence on 1MDB. And he is only interested in hoodwinking the rakyat to serve his interests, and those of his cronies.

And where was Muhyiddin?

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.

I Don’t Know What To Say

There is this flurry of signals flying around that factions within UMNO that are aligned to Najib Razak are at war with those pro-Dr Mahathir. Some accuse Dr Mahathir of being behind a movement to topple Najib, while the latter is being accused of using Anwar Ibrahim to hit out at Daim Zainuddin, Dr Mahathir’s long-time confidante.

I don’t really care who is fighting whom; I have stated time and time again in this blog that I was and shall remain a soldier and my loyalty is to my King and Country. However, if the allegations about both parties are true, the next general election will become UMNO’s curtain call.

You see the same thing happening in MIC where supporters of the President and Deputy President are at war, and the dormer President, Samy Vellu, has been dragged into the fray.

I don’t know what to say. But this blog posting from former Chief Editor of Utusan Melayu and former Information Minister, Zainuddin Maidin, paints the chaotic picture of the squabble within UMNO itself.

It is in Malay. Malaysians should be able to read and understand the post. Only non-Malaysians would need Google translate for this:

Salam Terakhir Zam Kepada Penulisan Politik

PKR: The Big Fat Joke – Part 5

Now that Azmin Ali has been chosen to replace Khalid Ibrahim as the Menteri Besar, PKR has come up with a resolution that accepts Azmin Ali as the Sultan’s choice as the MB, and in the same letter displays its rude behaviour again towards the Sultan.

Now, as Deputy President of PKR, I am pretty certain Azmin Ali supports these resolutions and with a thick skin attend his swearing-in ceremony tomorrow.

Good luck, Selangor! I hope you have applied enough KY onto your buttcrack again this time.

RESOLUSI MAJLIS PIMPINAN PUSAT KEADILAN BERHUBUNG PERLANTIKAN MENTERI BESAR SELANGOR

Majlis Pimpinan Pusat KEADILAN (MPP) telah mengadakan satu mesyuarat tergempar pada hari ini, 22 September 2014 berikutan perkembangan terbaru perlantikan Menteri Besar Selangor.

Berikut adalah resolusi yang telah diluluskan sebulat suara di dalam mesyuarat tersebut:

1. MPP mengambil maklum bahawa pada 22 September 2014, pihak Istana telah mengutuskan satu surat memaklumkan kepada Saudara Azmin Ali, Timbalan Presiden KEADILAN akan perkenan Duli Yang Maha Mulia Tuanku Sultan ke atas perlantikan beliau sebagai Menteri Besar Selangor. Beliau telah juga dijemput untuk upacara angkat sumpah pada 23 September 2014.

2. MPP melahirkan rasa yang amat kesal dengan layanan yang telah diberikan oleh pihak Istana terhadap pencalonan Dato’ Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail yang telah memenuhi kehendak Undang-undang Tubuh Negeri Selangor dengan sokongan majoriti 30 ahli Dewan Negeri. MPP juga tidak bersetuju dengan cara pihak Istana menangani proses pencalonan yang melibatkan Dato’ Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail sehingga beliau langsung tidak dipanggil mengadap walaupun mempunyai sokongan majoriti yang jelas.

3. Oleh itu, MPP berpendapat bahawa proses memperkenan lantikan Menteri Besar Selangor yang baru ini tidak mengikut kehendak Undang-undang Tubuh Negeri Selangor dan bertentangan dengan amalan prinsip demokrasi berparlimen. Ia juga menjejaskan kemuliaan institusi raja berpelembagaan.

4. Walau bagaimana pun, MPP juga mengambil kira keperluan menyelesaikan isu perlantikan Menteri Besar Selangor ini secepat mungkin demi menjaga kepentingan rakyat.

5. Makanya, MPP telah memutuskan untuk menghormati permintaan Dato’ Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail untuk beliau menarik diri dari dicalonkan agar isu ini dapat diselesaikan segera. Berikutan itu, MPP juga bersetuju dengan cadangan yang dibawa oleh Dato’ Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail agar Saudara Azmin Ali dikemukakan sebagai calon Menteri Besar supaya pencalonan Saudara Azmin Ali itu adalah dari parti mengikut tuntutan amalan demokrasi.

6. Ini selaras dengan pendirian MPP bahawa kemuliaan perlembagaan dan keluhuran undang-undang perlulah dipertahankan sepanjang masa. MPP menegaskan juga bahawa proses yang tidak menepati kehendak undang-undang ini tidak boleh dijadikan satu duluan (precedent) di masa hadapan.

MAJLIS PIMPINAN PUSAT KEADILAN

Insolence

Yesterday, Lim Guan Eng issued a press statement to the media apologising for selecting only one name for the purpose of HRH The Sultan of Selangor to select as the next Menteri Besar of Selangor.

Today, Anwar Ibrahim also apologised to HRH The Sultan through local media for his behaviour citing that he was only following the Selangor Constitution.

One, you don’t apologise to HRH The Sultan via the media. You write to His Majesty personally and send copies of your apology to the media. This is called MANNERS.

Two, you don’t apologise to His Majesty then give an excuse that you don’t think you’re in the wrong in the same length of breath! That is called INSOLENCE.

And insolence is not a Malaysian culture. It is the culture of barbarians!