The tide may be turning

Been busy the past few days and had no time for this blog.

Today, I just want to tell you all that my friends who are campaigning in Cameron Highlands told me that BN may have a good chance to win the by-election.

They said BN has so far not making any wrong move and their campaign, especially the fielding of the non-party member Orang Asli candidate have been very well received.

Well, I don't know lah how true are all those because I'm not there on the ground.

Wish I could be there, but I'm quite tied up with things in KL right now.

Honestly, I'm skeptical that BN could bounce back from the GE14 defeat just eight months ago to win anything, let alone a by-election.

But my friends insisted that things are different this time.

They said Umno for instance seems to be more stable now ever since Mat Hassan was made the acting-president following Zahid's decision to "take a rest" after he was slapped with multiple corruption charges.

On this, I have to agree with them.

Mat Hassan seems to be the slow and steady type. My perception of him is that he is more of a kampung Malay type of a leader with minimal flash and glamour.

That I kinda like of a leader as I always believe that a leader who talk less tends to be more of a worker.

At the moment, Umno needs a leader who works instead of one who talks too much.

And I think Mat Hassan must have played a big role in the decision to field Ramli, the Orang Asli candidate in Cameron Highlands.

I also think that the best that happened to BN in Cameron Highlands was the ability of its component parties, particularly MIC to agree with the decision.

Maybe all the knocks they suffered the past eight months had put some sense into their head.

Yeah, maybe the worst is over for them.

Those who were accused of corruption are already starting their time in courts, the disloyal ones had jumped ship (though many are now floundering in the water because they were not accepted by Pakatan), and attempts to totally destroy BN and Umno so far have failed.

I think they have hit rock bottom and can't sink any lower.

Well, at this point, I think Umno and its few remaining loyal friends in BN can seriously start the rehabilitation process.

Maybe if they could snatch victory in the Cameron Highlands by-election, it could be a turning point for them.

Furthermore, I also think that the people are beginning to see the failings of Pakatan government in so many fronts now, especially its inability to fulfil its election promises.

Even the prices of goods and services have not improved for consumers these past eight months. Lagi naik harga ada lah.

Then there's the quality of Pakatan ministers which is so teruk. Honestly, Ahmad Maslan seemed so much cleverer than Teresa Kok these days. Really, I'm not kidding you. Hectare and acre also not sure which is which, how?

Okay, let's not even talk about the racial issues this time. I have to admit that I'm a bit tired of people calling me a racist for highlighting those.

But seriously, I don't think Pakatan can keep on selling the same BN ghost stories as before GE14 till the next general election.

Eight months and people are already tired of those stories. Najib and the others are already at the courts now, so nothing to stretch from them.

Now the people just want a better government than the previous BN one. At the moment, they are not getting it. They can make all the zero corruption claims about the new government, but those are just that - claims.

Anyway, I think it would be good if Umno and its friends could really be strong again as we need a strong opposition to keep the Pakatan government on its toes.

At least the time when people are just simply swallowing all the bullshits will be over.  That's what democracy is all about, I believe.

Cameron Highlands, BN cannot, Pakatan can

This is a rather weird story by Bernama,

Wan Azizah admits PH chances 
in Cameron Highlands by-election slim

First this is in paragraph two, which more or less explains the headline;

The Deputy Prime Minister also said the by-election would be a tough fight as the opposition (BN) had fielded an Orang Asli person as its candidate.

Then there's this one in paragraph six, which made the story all confusing;

Asked about Manogaran winning the seat, Wan Azizah said his chances were good because of the change in government at the federal level. 

It's either Bernama was not sure what to write or Dr Wan Azizah was not sure what to say.

Slim and good chances are not the same, you know.

Mind you, Dr Wan Azizah is our DPM.

Well, the story also highlighted several other things about the ongoing campaign in Cameron Highlands,

Paragraph seven;

Asked if disciplinary action would be taken against PKR Senator Bob Manolan Mohd following claims that he allegedly threatened a group of Orang Asli village headmen in Cameron Highlands recently, Dr Wan Azizah who is also Chairman of the PKR Advisory Council said she had spoken to Bob Manolan about it and he said that was not what he meant.

- Hmmm, threatened only....lucky the Orang Asli headmen are not firemen.

Paragraph nine;

When asked to comment on photos of a woman wearing a PH t-shirt who was seen giving out money in Cameron Highlands, the Deputy Prime Minister urged the reporter concerned to check the authenticity of the photographs and the claims.

- Hmmmm, I agree. This is like the video of her husband last time. Need to check the authenticity. Maybe the woman giving money got bigger tummy.

Dr Wan Azizah also said this in the last paragraph,

“One of the outcomes of a positive mind is the ability to sieve through information. There is a lot of false information on the social media. We should learn from the May 13 incident and we do not want a repeat of it,” she said. 

I think she sounds quite a bit like an Umno leader before the GE14. Of course, if she's an Umno leader, she'll be accused of being a racist trying to scare people with May 13.

Anyway, this Cameron Highland by-election is interesting unlike the previous ones since Pakatan won the GE14.

The others were Pakatan seats, so no problem there for them.

As we all know, in a by-election, the incumbent usually wins. As far as I can remember, there were only three by-elections where the outcome didn't favour the incumbents; Lunas 2000, Kuala Terengganu 2009 and Teluk Intan 2014.

The Cameron Highlands by-election is also extra interesting because it came about when the BN guy who won it in GE14 was ruled to have bribed some Orang Asli to vote for him.

So, in a sense Pakatan was supposed to have an advantage there as they have been campaigning on the anti-corruption platform.

But of course now, there were allegations that Pakatan was doing the same thing when a photo of a Pakatan official giving money to some Orang Asli became viral the other day as pointed in the story above.

While Dr Wan Azizah had asked reporters to check on the authenticity of the photo, other had said Pakatan was just giving out "duit minyak" to campaign workers.

Duit minyak, duit kopi....whatever.

Anyway, I'm quite pleased that BN has decided to field an Orang Asli candidate who is not even a member of Umno or MIC or MCA (seriously, I'm not sure if MCA is still with BN).

Ramli Mohd Noor is a retired senior police officer with the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP); who is a local Orang Asli of Semai descent.

That must be quite a shock for some because many people thought all Orang Asli in this country are uneducated and backward because they were being oppressed by the previous BN government.

Well, I hope Ramli will win so that the Orang Asli community will have a voice of their own in Parliament.

I do wonder why Pakatan didn't field an Orang Asli candidate too, considering that the community is quite big in Cameron Highlands.

Nonetheless, I think BN shouldn't campaign too hard on the fact that they fielded an Orang Asli candidate, because Pakatan people may accuse them of being racists.

Then if Ramli actually wins, the Orang Asli community may ends up being accused of racism for voting one of their own.

We don't want our Orang Asli be labelled as racists, don't we?

Whatever it is, I think Pakatan still have the advantage to win.

The Cameron Highlands electorate breakdown are Malay 33.5%; Chinese 29.48%; Indian 14.91%; Orang Asli (Peninsular Malaysia) 21.56%; Bumiputera Sabah 0.12%; Bumiputera Sarawak 0.06%; Others 0.37%. 

Looking at that and back at the GE14 results, I think DAP's Manogaran probably already have up to  44.39 per cent of the votes in his bag already.

He just needs a bit more votes from the Malays and Orang Asli community to win.

Furthermore, Pakatan can give out "duit minyak" this time.

Yes, BN cannot, Pakatan can.

Malaysian Malaysia colonialism

Met an old friend for tea the other day.

The guy occasionally invited me for lunch or tea just to chit chat.

It turned out that he was not very well and just  had an appointment with a doctor before meeting me.

Despite him being very much older than me, it was the first time I saw him being less healthy than myself.

If he had told me about his condition, I would have declined his invitation so that he could rest.

Still, it was pleasant seeing him.

As usual, we talked about current issues and politics.

He was quite unhappy with the way the current government handles itself.

By the way, my friend was considered to be one of the best young ministers in Dr Mahathir's Cabinet in the 90s.

So, he knows quite a lot about the difference between the administration at that time and the current one, even though they were led by the same man.

"These days, everyone wants to talk. Some ministers talked so much that they ended up talking about other ministers' portfolio....even the junior deputy ministers talked as if they were ministers themselves. And they don't care about things such as the secrecy policy," he said.

I asked him about this one,

Fuziah lauds gov't decision in ordering
 Lynas to remove waste

excerpts;

The Kuantan member of Parliament said she was informed of the decision reached at a Cabinet meeting today following suggestions from the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change.

"I'm quite sure Dr Mahathir would have been very angry about that. Who is this woman to tell the world that she knew about what were discussed by the Cabinet. Back then during my time in the Cabinet, Dr Mahathir was very strict about the confidentiality of the Cabinet meetings," my friend said.

I was actually wondering why it was Fuziah of PKR and not the DAP minister Yeo Bee Yin who made that claim to the public.

Is it because Yeo needed Fuziah to handle the Lynas workers who are mostly Malays?

Yes, the Lynas workers whom Yeo had refused to meet.

I did imagine if the workers are mostly not Malays, maybe Yeo would not be so sombong.

Maybe she would not even be too eager to shut down the Lynas plant after the review committee that she herself appointed had said that it doesn't pose any danger.

I also asked my friend what does he think about the way things are ever since Pakatan took over the government.

"We are undergoing a new phase of colonialism. This is a Malaysian Malaysia colonialism," he said.

 Malaysian Malaysia 

My friend argued that supporters of the ideology which primary aim is to deny the special rights of bumiputera as enshrined in the constitution are now poised to reshape the country.

"They are very smart and are now in control of the country's finances and communication. They will slowly but surely shape things as according to their wishes," he said.

My friend added that the process of shaming the bumiputera for what were their rights have already began.

"They want us to be ashamed to claim our rights.

'They want us to give up everything that are ours in the name of racial equality but they would not let go of theirs such as the vernacular schools.

"They can call us all sorts of things but we can't say the same about them,. If we do, then we are racists. That's the way things are now ," he said.

In a way, I think my friend was right.

Nowadays, it seems okay to openly describe the Malays as lazy or by any other negative character.

But if you try to point out that a Malay Muslim fireman was murdered because of his race and religion, then you are bound to be branded as a racist....even by people you thought are your friends.

After all, Malays are supposed to be meek and accept anything said about them with a smile.

Well I did try my best to be that, actually.

When someone shouted at me the other day, calling me a racist and other not so nice things, I just smiled and pretended to be okay.

Well, that's better than me beating up a fireman to death, like what some other people did, isn't it?

Whatever it is, I don't think the Malays and other bumiputera should complain too much about all these because they are also responsible in choosing the current government.

So, maybe this Malaysian Malaysia colonialism is not so bad.

This country was colonised by the white men for hundreds of years before this and the Malays and other bumiputera survived it by being farmers, labourers and such.

Probably they will be okay being like that again.

After all, they were said to be lazy and all the other negative stuff.

Not the right material to be lawyers, doctors, prime minister and such.

Well, that what was said lah.

Maybe after a few hundred years there will be another Merdeka and they can have another go at having their dignity again.

Who knows, maybe the weather changed by then, causing the Malays not to be lazy anymore.

That's provided Malaysia is still around lah.

For instance, maybe they need to change the name of the country. The Malay part may sounds too racist.

An honest review of Proton X70

In this previous post, I said I'll be waiting for the full review of Proton X70,

• Handsome old man and Proton X70

Well, this is a quite good and honest review of the car which is likely to change Proton's image for the better,

I think the review is just nicely done for a  layperson like me to know the Proton X70.

Now I'm planning to go for a test drive myself.

Who knows, maybe if the car is really as good as its review, I may want to replace my now six-year-old car.

For more reading, please click on this link;

Proton X70, unsurpassed value-for-money

Kurang ajar maximum

I'm honestly not very keen to comment on the resignation of Yang Di-Pertuan Agong because I don't think it will make much difference to the overall scheme of things.

However, my best friend from Kuantan forwarded these stuff she picked up from social media and requested for me to highlight them in this blog.

Jae Senn

The only mainstream news portals that reported on this were the Malay dailies.

I guess The Star didn't deem it newsworthy either because plenty of people over there agree with this Eric Liew chap. 

This is a clear example of how some non-Malays belittle and mock the culture and institutions that Malays hold dear. 

Although the Council of Rulers have their reasons to persuade His Majesty to abdicate and acknowledge & accept his stepping-down, it's in bad taste and highly disrespectful to utter such statements towards an outgoing King. 

We may not be as extreme as Thailand with lese majeste laws, but neither are we a republic with toothless monarchs. 

The bigger issue here isn't about one person making a disparaging remark against an outgoing monarch, it's about how this is being seen as yet another example of an important Malay institution being trampled with impunity by those that have absolutely no respect for the feelings and sentiments of the majority.

The slower the current government takes action against this case, the more they will be seen to be anti-monarchy and anti-Malay. 

This association is not entirely true, of course, but politics is more about perception than truth, and Pakatan should know it better than anyone. 

Being the government of the day, it's a significantly more difficult task to appease and manage the perception of the masses than to communicate the right things that you've done. 

Previously, when the topic of reverse discrimination came out, many non-Malays on social media and various local forums vehemently denied that there were incidences of non-Malays insulting and disrespecting the royals.

Now, when this Eric Liew issue came up, I'm also seeing many comments from these people in support of him, and stating that the royals are a waste of taxpayers' money. 

Incidentally, social media is also full of screen captures of many non-Malays insulting the YDP Agong with worse statements than Eric Liew. 

It appears that it has become a hobby for some people to stir up Malay sentiments in order to accuse the Malays of being an angry backward crowd when they do react. 

No wonder Mahathir is confident of turning Malaysia into a republic. 

With so many "Malaysians" that have no regards for our system of Constitutional Monarchy, with no knowledge nor respect for this country's history and the roles of the sultanates, these people will cheer Mahathir's move to further curtail the authority and discretionary powers of the rulers, thus effectively removing yet another pillar of check-and-balance in our Federation. 

To the Malays who are in support of a republic, think carefully before you leap. The YDP Agong's discretionary powers are what's keeping Article 153 relevant and in force. 

To the non-Malays who are in support of a republic, let's remember that the sultans and YDP Agong have been a vocal force of moderation and stability in recent years, speaking out against the extremists and questionable politicians, and assuring all of us that the royals are looking after everyone's interests.


Well, I don't think I have more to add to those.

Some people went around insulting others, and then just said sorry and expect all things to be okay.

But from experience, they will do it again as they believe they can get away with it as nothing happened to them the first time.

That's the trend these days in this Malaysia Baru.

They even bashed up a fireman who was trying to do his job to death just for the fun of it and expect nothing to happen.

And they expect us not to even say anything about it being a race hate crime.

Ya, I will always remember that.

Financial Times a fake news outlet?

So, Anwar said

Report on sabotage is fake

excerpts;

In the report, it was said that Anwar told the FT in an interview that there are "pockets, people who for their own reasons would like to sabotage these arrangements," most likely referring to the agreement within Pakatan Harapan (PH) in which Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad would step down after a certain period of time and Anwar would succeed him.

At a media conference today however, Anwar denied he had said such things, when asked about the report and whether there was a conspiracy to halt his rise as prime minister.

“I never said that. No fake news will be entertained," Anwar said.

Well, there it goes, Malaysia's incoming prime minister accusing Financial Times as a news outlet which writes fake news.

You can read the report by Financial Times which Anwar said is fake here,

https://www.ft.com/content/7b5b23ec-03e4-11e9-99df-6183d3002ee1

But wasn't the interview given by Anwar himself? Has he complained to FT about the fake report? Does FT keeps a recording of the interview?

To know more about this Financial Times, which Anwar said published a fake news about him, please click on this link,

Financial Times

Okay, I know that some of you are too lazy to click on the link, so here are bits of it,

excerpts 1

The Financial Times (FT) is an English-language international daily newspaper owned by Nikkei Inc, headquartered in London, with a special emphasis on business and economic news.

The paper was founded in 1888 by James Sheridan and Horatio Bottomley, and merged in 1945 with its closest rival, the Financial News(which had been founded in 1884).

excerpts 2

According to the Global Capital Markets Survey, which measures readership habits amongst most senior financial decision makers in the world's largest financial institutions, the Financial Times is considered the most important business read, reaching 36% of the sample population, 11% more than The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), its main rival. The Economist, which was once 50% owned by FT, reaches 32%. FT's The Banker also proved vital reading, reaching 24%. In addition FT was regarded as the most credible publication in reporting financial and economic issues among the Worldwide Professional Investment Community audience.

And this is the Financial Times journalist Anwar accused of writing the fake news.

Stefania Palma

She is the Singapore correspondent of FT, educated at University of Oxford and previously with mtn-i, Global Capital, China-Britain Business Council and The Times. 

Looks impressive to me.

Definitely more credible than Sarawak Report, I think.

Does such a news organisation really churns out fake news?

Well, maybe Anwar was so caught when the reporters asked him about the report right in front of Dr Mahathir and other Pakatan leaders that he needed to deny it.

He did look like a snake trying to wriggle out of a hot frying pan when the question was asked at the press conference.

Personally, I think Dr Mahathir was quietly saying, "Here, try to wriggle out of this one," as he shoved the microphone to the fidgeting Anwar.

Another tight DAP man

Seriously, I don't think men should wear tight clothing.

It affects their blood circulation, I believe.

For one thing, the oxygen-carrying blood may find it difficult to get to the brain, thus causing the man in tight clothing to become stupid and irrational.

Like the one in this case,

Really, Wong Tack needs to wear looser clothing....especially the pants.

For one thing, the impeded blood circulation clearly caused him to lose his mind quite a bit that he couldn't even acknowledge that those people he was scolding have a court order to clear the land.

This is very much like his anti-Lynas crusade of simply hantam to make people think he's a hero of some sort.

The guy also needs to know that such tight clothing is more for younger people. Old people like him shouldn't try too hard to look young with that kind of tight shirts and pants.

But then again, wearing tight clothing seems to be the trend among DAP men these days.

I wrote about this previously,

DAP tight style

See, Wong Tack have the same style and behaviour as this kurang ajar Malay DAP guy,

And Wong Tack's "I'm running the government today!!!" part is so typically DAPish.

These DAP men really need to loosen up a bit.