Another wedding and a bit on Johor MB

Was at yet another wedding reception today. Been like this for the last four weekends.

To Ahmad Arshad Said and Najwa Solehah Shamsul Bahrin,

Wishing and congratulating both of you on the special day of your lives.
May you have lifetime love, harmony and happiness.
Have a great marriage

I quite enjoyed attending the wedding.

Ate quite a bit too,

Nasi beriyani, Palembang beef, mutton curry, some fruits and chrysanthemum tea

Very sedap, but I think if I eat like that for one week straight, I would probably be dead. Too rich.

Anyway, as I was sitting quietly there eating my food, I received these wassap messages from a friend.

- Jauh MB ko lunch hari ni
- Sampai starhill
- Datang segerombolan

Apparently, Johor Menteri Besar DS Mohamed Khaled Nordin was having lunch with about 10 of his people at the Luk Yu Tea House in Bukit Bintang, KL

Hmmmm....

I guess that more or less an indication that the general election is not likely within the next two or three months.

Many are saying now that it will be in November.

That couldn't be, as Khaled seemed to still have the time to spend his weekends in KL.

If the election is so near, I don't think he would have the luxury to spend precious weekends outside Johor.

I remember his predecessor, TS Abdul Ghani Othman spending all his weekends on exhaustive tour of all the kawasan peti undi in Johor as far back as a year before the last general election in 2013.

Ghani can't do that during the week days at that time because he had the state administration to run too.

I'm quite sure Khaled would do the same too if this coming general election is already just around the corner.

He wouldn't have time to hang out with buddies at a fancy restaurant in KL during the weekends if the polls will be in November as predicted by a lot of people now....right?

Unless maybe Johor BN's election preparations are already in tip top condition that he can afford such luxuries.

Hmmmm.....I'm a bit skeptical about that.

Well....don't know lah.

Talk too much, people get angry with me pulak.

Never mind.

Okay, here's some music to cheer up your weekend,

Nice, right?

That drummer is the fantastic Kanade Sato.

Cheers

Good that Malaysia is really neutral over Arab quarrel

Last month I wrote this,

• Malaysia must not join Arab states against Qatar

excerpts;

I was told that the people who wanted us to take sides in the dispute wanted Malaysia to be with the other Arab states going against Qatar.

Yesterday, Jahabar of Malaysian Insight wrote this,

Qatar emir's visit causes split in Putrajaya

excerpts;

The Malaysian Insight understands Foreign Minister Anifah Aman is firm that Putrajaya, as a neutral party in the Gulf diplomatic crisis, will host Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Hamad Al-Thani when he visits next month

But Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, who is also the Special Functions Minister and seen to be close to the Saudi government, wants the trip delayed until peace is brokered between the Middle East nations.

"There is a spat and Anifah is unhappy, to put it diplomatically, that his ministry's decisions and jurisdiction is being questioned. The emir has been invited and it cannot be delayed," a source told The Malaysian Insight.

Then both Hishammuddin and Anifah immediately denied Jahabar's story,

Malaysia welcomes Qatari emir visit, denies ministerial rift

excerpts;

Hishammuddin Hussein and I have long been working very well and closely with each other on many occasions,” Anifah said in a statement. 

“The government of Malaysia looks forward to the state visit by the emir of Qatar and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with other Malaysian government agencies are currently making the necessary preparations for the visit,” he added. 

He also said Malaysia had made its position clear on “the ongoing difficulties between the Arab Quartet and Qatar”.

“Why should there be rift? The rift is between the Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

“Do you really think that I can stop the emir of Qatar if he wants to come?” Hishammuddin said at a press conference at the Parliament lobby.

Whatever it is, I'm glad that it's confirmed now Malaysia will remain neutral as far as the Arab quarrel is concerned.

I believe that's the best for the country.

It doesn't matter to me that Jahabar's story, and in a way my post on the matter too, were denied by the ministers yesterday.

For me, that's only natural.

I don't know about Jahabar, but I didn't write that post of mine last month simply to make the ministers seemed to be quarreling  with each other over the issue.

I didn't even mention any of the ministers' name.

My posting was actually just an appeal for PM DS Najib Razak and his government to do the right thing which is to remain neutral when it comes to other people's disputes.

In this case, I believe that we have a good foreign minister in Anifah and therefore Najib and the government should trust him and his people at Wisma Putra to handle such matters.

I also think that Anifah is the best Sabah guy that Najib have in his Cabinet.

The guy is cool and I really believe that he knows what he is doing.

These are two of my previous postings on him,

Maybe Anifah is more humane than Aung San Suu Kyi

Please let Anifah do his job

Guys in red look the same

The Pribumi people have been going to town about Umno people being responsible for the fracas at their Nothing To Hide 2.0 forum over the weekend.

Most linked the culprits to the Red Shirts of that funny Jamal Sekinchan Ikan Bakar guy.

Umno people on the other hand accused the Pribumi people of self-sabotage to gain public sympathy.

They said it's the work of the Pribumi's youth wing Armada who themselves organised the event.

There were tones of this debate in the social media.

However, when people asked me what I think of it, I said I don't know.

Seriously.

I was not there, so what can I say?

Both sides of the argument have their own logics.

Honestly, I feel that both sides are more or less the same so that I can't really tell who were telling the truth and who were lying.

They even sounded the same.

In fact, they even look almost the same,

Red Shirts

Armada

What is it with these guys and wearing red?

Personally, I prefer purple.

Okay, I know the Pribumi supporters will say their Armada guys are very much nicer than the Red Shirts.

Well, I don't like the Red Shirts too. They tend to look thuggish and behave as such.

But than again, I find that the Pribumi side, despite their Armada leader looking a bit cute, can be as nasty too.

Just read the comments section of this blog, okay.

They were very quick to jump on my neck whenever they didn't like what I wrote.

And of course they mercilessly whacked people they don't like and any BN or Umno supporters who dare to voice their opinion in this blog.

Sometimes I do wish that they were not too harsh.

I think it only makes people like them less.

By the way, why they called themselves Armada, eh?

It's weird la.

So, I rather look at the fracas over the weekend as just another one of those usual Malaysian political comedies.

Alhamdulillah though that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali were not injured in the incident.

I always feel that the elderly couple should not be exposed to such risks, but since they insisted on going on the campaign trail,  I hope the Pribumi people could tighten security at events to be attended by them.

Pas-Umno cooperation and possible GE14 scenario

After reading this Bernama story yesterday, I was convinced that there will be a real political cooperation between Umno and Pas for the coming general election,

Pas practices mature, constructive politics  - Najib

excerpts,

The prime minister, who is on a one-day visit to Kelantan, said because of Pas’ maturity in politics, the party had become a constructive opposition party.

“We oppose (one another), but in certain matters that bring good and benefit for the people, we can cooperate,” he said.

Most significantly, Najib said all that at an Umno function in Pas-governed Kelantan and in the presence of Kelantan Umno chief DS Mustapa Mohamed.

I think it's sort of a signal to Tok Pa and Kelantan Umno people that it's okay for them to let Pas keep the state as it has now become a good opposition party, and friendly to BN.

In return, perhaps they may probably have a Pas-Umno coalition Kelantan government after the next general election.

The same set-up seems possible in other states too, particularly in the outright Malay majority states of Kedah, Terengganu, Pahang and Perlis.

They may have an arrangement where Pas lead in Kelantan and Kedah while Umno lead in Terengganu, Pahang and Perlis.

If Umno and its BN allies prevail in the other states, Pas elected representatives may also be included in the state administration there even though the party may not be joining the ruling coalition.

BN may also expect support from Pas MPs in the parliament even if they are sitting in the opposition side of the hall.

In return, Pas may get the support of Umno MPs every time it proposes some "Islamic laws".

There may even be ministers appointed from among the Pas MPs at that point.

It's actually a good arrangement for both Umno and Pas.

It secures at least the five outright Malay majority states for Umno in the bigger picture, while Pas may get to lead Kedah in addition to its Kelantan now.

Yes, Kedah may then also have syariah public whippings too like in Kelantan soon. 

Pakatan's Malay parties of Pribumi and Amanah which were expected to contest in those states may not likely stand much of a chance against a combined Pas and Umno arrangement.

Okay, maybe Pribumi and Amanah can put up a bit of a fight in Kedah but I don't think the Dr Mahathir factor is enough for them to defeat a combined Umno and Pas in the state.

Kedahans that I know told me that they will only vote either BN or Pas. They seemed allergic to other than those two parties. It's brand loyalty, I guess.

With that, Umno can therefore concentrates its energy and resources in the other states where Pas knows that it would not be able to do much due to its lack of non-Malay support.

There are Penang, Perak, Selangor, Federal Territories, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Johor, Sarawak and Sabah.

BN will probably not put up too much of a fight in Penang, Selangor and Federal Territories. The anti-BN sentiment on the ground there is probably very bad, that they would not want to waste too much effort and resources.

Meanwhile, Sarawak is already in the bag.

Sabah too. Probably Shafie Apdal's Warisan may manage a decent showing but I doubt it will be able to do more than just winning a few electoral seats.

So the only real fight will be in Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor. They are going to be the key states of GE14.

BN is likely to put more efforts there than elsewhere.

I believe Pakatan planners knew this and will do likewise.

Their chances are the best in Perak and Johor where the racial composition and level of political awareness are similar to that of Selangor.

Pakatan chances in Perak should be for now at about 50/50. and in Johor about 40/60.

Even if they can't wrest those states, Pakatan may likely be able to get extra parliament seats there.

I think Negeri Sembilan and Malacca are at slightly lesser risks for BN compared to in Perak and Johor.

Still, BN does have the over all advantage at this stage.

Worst case scenario for BN is that it loses in Penang, Perak, Selangor, Federal Territories, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor but still wins (with the help of Pas) in Perlis, Kedah, Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan, Sarawak and Sabah. That's 7-7.

But a more realistic scenario is that, BN is just likely only going to lose in Penang, Selangor, Federal Territories and maybe Perak.

Despite some of my friends in Johor saying my home state will likely fall to Pakatan, I still think BN will prevail there. It may lose some more parliament and state seats but I just can't believe that it can become another Selangor.

To a lesser extent, I feel the same about Negeri Sembilan and Malacca.

Combined with Pas MPs, I also think BN will still control parliament even though without the two third majority after GE14. It should basically be about the same as now.

Again, bear in mind that my calculations include the likelihood of Umno-Pas coalition state governments in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Kedah and Perlis.

Okay, at the moment, that's how I think it will be for GE14 and its outcome.

Love songs

Woke up a bit early.

Going to my cousin's wedding in a short while.

So many weddings of people I know over the past weeks.

Mating season, I guess.

Better lah.

The past year, so many people I know died.

It was as if some sorts of deadly plague had set upon them.

Well, weddings are much better than funerals.

I wish I can have one for myself too, but I don't think I have much hope for that.

Better chance of me having a funeral, I think...hahaha.

I'm still not well.

Don't even know if I could get well.

Never mind.

Must cheer up a bit for the wedding.

Sorry, no politics today.

Actually, thinking about funerals is better than thinking about politics.

Politics is really darker and gloomier.

At funerals, at least everyone is a friend.

You don't fight at funerals. Politics seems so stupid at such moments.

Okay, need to go now.

Here's a love song to go with the wedding mood,

I sing this song whenever I think about my love life these days.

Used to sing this one back then,

Cheers and have a good weekend.

A neutral observation

Actually, I did my last four posts the way they are to test the response of readers from both sides of the political divide to views of a neutral observer such as myself.

Two of the posts are slightly pro-BN and the others slightly pro-Pakatan.

About 80 percent of the comments are from the pro-Pakatan crowd.

Most of them were not happy with every pro-BN elements of the postings.

They seemed to react quite harshly to the posts perceived not to be in their favour.

On the other hand, the few pro-BN readers who commented seemed more docile even when I appeared to be criticising their side.

The truth is, I wrote all four posts aimed at highlighting weaknesses of both sides and the need to remedy them.

• A bit on soundbites from Johor over tea

- It's on the need for BN not to be over confident even at its strongholds as the chances of it losing the next general election is quite real.

• Don't be so annoying

-  The post was meant to inform the Pakatan people that they could not hope to replace the BN people if they behave as bad as the BN people or worse.

• Bland stories on a happy day

- This one is to inform the BN people why their methods were not doing so well in the perception war to win the heart and mind of the people.

• An example of how Pakatan people screwed up

- This post is actually to tell Pakatan people not to get arrogant with their opinions because they could be distasteful to many who would otherwise support them.

As I wrote above, I think the BN side reacted more positively to my criticisms than the Pakatan side.

The BN people may not like what I wrote but they were not too quick to jump on my head and accuse me of this and that.

As for the reactions of the Pakatan people, you all just need to go to the comments section of those postings and judge for yourselves.

I feel that the Pakatan people need to be more cool and not too quick to jump to conclusions.

But then again, maybe they just enjoy whacking people that they perceived to be their enemies.

Many people are like that.

The question is, how are they to be better than the BN people with such an attitude?

Think about it, okay.

Anyway, I'm not feeling very well today.

Something to do with my heart. Very painful.

So, that's all for now.

For a bit of cheer, here's a wonderful song,

It's actually requested by an Indian friend.

Nice, right?

An example of how Pakatan people screwed up

Someone suggested for me to read an anti-BN blog written by a supposedly intelligent woman named Mariam Mokhtar.

Honestly, I never read anything by her before this.

So, I gave it a try and read this latest post in the blog,

What has “bumiputeraism” done for the Malays?

It actually made me felt like going back being a full-fledged pro-BN blogger again.

Really. I was that disgusted.

I found the post to be extremely arrogant, insulting and condescending.

If I'm a BN operative, I would like to translate the article to Bahasa Malaysia and distribute it among the Malays, telling them that this is the typical attitude of anti-BN people.

That should be able to secure several hundred thousands extra votes for BN.

It's much better than whacking Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad which only have the opposite effect.

I tried checking the background of this Mariam Mokhtar but can't really find it.

But I bet she's one of those Malays who never care to learn how 70 per cent of the Bumiputera were living below the poverty line before the introduction of the New Economy Policy in the early 1970s.

Now it's almost next to zero per cent, with many these days complaining about their perceived poverty in the social media via their expensive sophisticated smartphones.

This Mariam Mokhtar probably never experienced poverty herself and never feel anything when the Malays were being generalised as stupid or lazy by others.

Her line of reasoning is actually very similar to that of many DAP people that I know.

So, it's not really off the mark to say that's the typical attitude towards Malays of many who wanted BN out.

I think it's also the very reason why many Malays would never accept the opposition, particularly DAP.

Malays as a whole would never accept arrogant, insulting or condescending people like that.

At least Najib, no matter what accusations they threw at him never treated them with such contempt.

A bit of search also revealed that I'm not alone in my opinion about the woman's writings.

I'm putting in full here a posting from what appeared to be a dormant politically neutral blog about another arrogant, insulting and condescending article by Mariam Mokhtar,

A Response to Mariam Mokhtar’s “A superior Malay … is an Arab”

So, The Heat Malaysia featured an article by (who I assume to be) guest writer Mariam Mokhtar. She’s pretty prolific, with her own website and articles/opinion pieces featured in a bunch of news portals. Go click on this link above and then come back. Done? Cools. Okay, if you were too lazy to read the whole thing, Mariam basically is writing about the modern Malay fascination with Arab culture. I’m sure you’ve seen examples of it. Lots of people are emulating the clothes, rituals, habits and speech patterns (using the Arabic names for holidays like Hari Raya, for example). There’s also a pretty heavy focus on religion in many of these cases. Mariam argues that the adoption of this culture is making Malay people intolerant and arrogant towards non-Malays and patronising towards Malays who choose not to adopt those ‘Arabic’ aspects. But here’s my problem. She does it terribly. Ms Mokhtar, if you’re reading this, know that I have no hard feelings on you personally, but your opinion piece is honestly quite horrifying to read. She starts off with an anecdote that goes: “Until the 1990s, a Malay boy would  usually reply that his ambition would be to become a doctor, a lawyer or an engineer. Today, a sea [of] change has occurred. A child social worker said, “These days, many Malay boys aspire to become ustaz. They appear to have no other ambition, or interests.”” I don’t know who this child social worker is, but they’re a horrible child social worker. I thought people in that field were supposed to encourage kids to achieve their dream? I mean, who are you to say that taking up a religious profession means a lack of ambition? She goes on and gives a list of occupations that she thinks are more ‘beneficial’ (engineers and scientists, lecturers and trade workers) and compliments those people for wanting to help their communities, as if those in a religious profession are lazy and ignorant themselves. Come on, Ms Mokhtar, I’m sure you know better than to generalize an entire group? But wait. She then writes: “Many Malays today, are intolerant and arrogant. They claim superiority over other Malaysians, but when it comes to meritocracy, they suddenly cry foul, and blame the non-Malays of denying them of their rights. […] Today, the Malays have allowed the insidious Arabisation to creep into their everyday life, and dilute their own culture. Their children are given Arabic sounding names, which are difficult to spell and are almost unpronounceable. […] Why does the Malay man not ride his camel to work, rather than terrorise other road users with his kapchai or Proton?” You have got to be kidding me, right? Calling an entire culture ‘insidious’? Making fun of their naming conventions? Using ridiculous stereotypes like ‘Arabs ride camels’? I’m sorry, which group of people are you calling out for being intolerant of other cultures again? And here is where the nail in the coffin lies, guys. She ends her piece with this stunning work of journalistic talent: “The Saudi Arabians depend on Pakistani and Bangladeshi menial labourers. We, too, depend heavily on Bangladeshi workers. If he’s not careful, the ‘superior’ Malay will be an Arab… or perhaps a Bangladeshi.” Give this woman a Pulitzer Prize, folks! I’m going to ignore the incredibly obvious question of “How is that at all relevant to this discussion?” because that would be too easy. How on Earth could you be so condescending to foreign workers? If ‘superior Malays’ are not ‘careful’, they’ll end up like Bangladeshis? How do you mean, Ms Mokhtar? Do you mean to say that they will begin to work extremely hard? Do you mean to say that they’ll be willing to travel thousands of kilometres, going through isolation in a foreign country in hope of a better life for their family? Or perhaps you wanted to say that they’d face persecution, abuses of their rights, and offensive opinion pieces put out on The Heat Malaysia treating them like the butt of a bad joke? No, Ms Mokhtar, I don’t believe you meant to say any of those things. You were just trying to make a cheap shot at the expense of one of the most marginalized communities in Malaysia, and while trying to prove how ‘intolerant and arrogant’ a certain group of people were because they adopted Arab culture, you proved that a person could be just as intolerant and arrogant and condescending without adopting it. I have friends from many different national backgrounds, I am happy to say. Some of them are from the Middle East, some of them are from Bangladesh. They vary in educational qualification and income levels, but the most important thing is that they vary at all. They’re not some homogeneous, faceless, monolithic group that it’s okay to make fun of. Your opinion piece was basically the equivalent of saying “Don’t be intolerant… because everyone knows only Arabs are intolerant! And don’t even get me started on the Bangladeshis!” I hope you realize the problem with that statement. I’m sorry, but I’d very much prefer to live in a Malaysia where we celebrate a variety of different cultures, Arab, Malay, Bangladeshi, what have you. The day when a group of ‘Arabicised’ Malay people start giving me flak for being Malaysian-Chinese, then maybe I’ll write about that, but I sure as heck won’t be putting down entire cultures and groups of people while I do.

Posted oApril 7, 2016Tagson A Response to Mariam Mokhtar’s “A superior Malay … is an Arab”