Winning Muslims' hearts and minds

Some of you all commented in my last post about PM Anwar's recent visit to Saudi Arabia.

Some said he went there to draw in investments while others ridiculed him for failing to even meet with the rulers of that country.

It was quite hilarious too when Anwar's supporters yesterday tried to defend the merit of his trip there with the entire Malay Mail's webpage being filled with such stories for several hours.

Wished I could tell my old friend Leslie Lau that he and his Malay Mail gang are turning into what NST used to be for Umno - not very smart and spineless mouthpiece. 

On my part. I didn't even read the story when I saw the headlines about Anwar's trip to Saudi Arabia..

As far as I'm concerned, it was just another Anwar being a pious Muslim show.

If his intention was to get investments, then he should instead go to Beijing.

Trying to cosy up to the Arabs may land you into jail, okay. Look at Najib.

Well, cosying up to a chubby Chinese conman is also not good.

But, Anwar is not too stupid not to know that.

The way I see it, what he needs more now than anything else is being seen as a highly moral Islamic leader, at least among the Muslims..

Visiting Saudi Arabia looks very  Islamic to most people, you know.

Why now?

It's because state elections are coming in a few months time.

Pakatan, Umno and the gang would need to win over the Malay Muslims' votes and they can't do that with their government being linked to programmes such as the Jom Ziarah Gereja event.

They also can't have things such as the Thai Hot Guys or Cute China Doll stuff....at least for the time being.

So, Anwar as the PM needs to take the lead by showcasing his pious Islamic image for now, thus the Saudi Arabian trip.

Just like all that many years ago when he, along with several others founded Abim.

Other leaders should also showcase their fondness of Islam and how much they love the Muslims.

Maybe Hannah Yeoh could attend more Ramadhan programmes. 

Donating some of her MP allowance to masjid and surau the other day was a good move. I think it melts the heart of Muslims after all the nonsense about the gereja programme.

Malay Mail could do a lengthy article about it.

Seriously

They need to jaga hati of the Malay Muslims over the next few months....at least until after the state elections.

A lot is at stake, okay.

Of the six states that will hold the elections, Penang is probably Pakatan's only good bet.

Looking back at what happened in GE15, the Malay-dominated Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah are likely to stay with Perikatan, while Pakatan-held Selangor and Negeri Sembilan are in danger.

It would be a very tough fight in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan with both states having a higher percentage of Malays than Johor.

If Pakatan and Umno fail in the two states, then Pakatan would probably have only Penang left while Umno has Pahang, Johor, Malacca and Perak.

Sabah and Sarawak, as they were following the outcome of GE15, would go where Umno would go.

If the Malay votes' swing continues, then Umno may be forced to switch sides or die.

Okay, I know, they are already half dead after GE15, but another humiliation at the state polls would seal the coffin for good.

Looking at the way Zahid manages the party now, I think it would die.

Honestly, I gave up on them after all the post-GE15 nonsense within the party.

It's too much for me to bear.

Well, I'm not an Umno member anyway, so Umno people shouldn't get angry with me.

Learning from the shit that happened

As many would agree, the Malaysian economy is not exactly doing that well now despite all the positive statistics and data being showcased by the government.

Many are now struggling to make ends meet..

Personally, I'm also in trouble as I may lose my job soon.

The small company I'm working for is still struggling to survive after being hit hard by the Covid pandemic. No help from the government there, okay.

I'm preparing for the worst as I don't have any other skill than what I'm doing for the company now.

In case I got retrenched, I'm planning to buy a small cheap car (maybe Proton Pesona) and become a Grab driver.

My driving skill is quite good, you see.

Well, I don't need to earn that much. 

I would be okay as long as I can pay my bills and not go hungry.

I actually thought of doing other things such as opening a darts cafe or setting up a vegetable farm but those would need a lot of money to start.

And running such a place would also involve quite a bit of stress without much guarantee of success in the current economy.

Being a Grab driver would be easier and involve lesser risks.

Yeah, the worst that could happen is me getting stabbed and robbed by a crazy passenger.  But I believe the chances of that happening would be quite remote.

Anyway, I will not hold any grudge if I got retrenched. It happened to me before.

I would thank my boss for giving me employment over the years and I will remember only the good things about my work place where I had earned my living. Same as when it happened the last time.

I believe if that happens, it's because Allah has better plans for me.

Maybe I would even enjoy being a Grab driver more than what I'm doing now.

It's the same way I look at what's happening to this country.

Maybe we are going through the current shit so that we could become better people.

It's like getting rid of the bad blood.

Anwar said he would be a great PM and many people believe him, so Allah moved Malaysians' hearts to vote the way they did in GE15 so they could experience the truth in all that BS.

Maybe we will be wiser after going through more shit over the next few years. Obviously we didn't learn enough from the shit that we went through after GE14. Especially the Malays.

Maybe the shit we are enduring now will shape a better Malaysia, just like the shit that happened after the fall of Soviet Union shaped a better Russia.

Maybe one day we can have our own Putin and invade Singapore because it was part of the tanah jajahan taalok negeri Johor.

Hahahaha....that's a nice thought, right?

Or at least give Penang back to Kedah.

Yeah, why do we need to recognise all those treaties made with the colonial masters who conned our ancestors into it.

It would be nice if we grow a backbone and do that after going through the current shit, right?

Hmmm...maybe Kedah can have back Penang after China have back Taiwan.

Ok, ok, ok, I think I'm rambling now because of low sugar in my blood.

I'm fasting, okay.

Eh, enough lah.

Cheers.

Nothing much except nonsense after almost four months

It has been almost four months since Pakatan Harapan returned to power with the help of Umno.

Now, I think I can comment again without people accusing me of jumping the gun on a new government.

By the way, I have been resting since my last post as I was not well. I'm feeling better now to start writing again.

Firstly, I don't think things are better now than before GE15.

And I don't think it will get better, even if you ask me to wait some more.

What has the new government done so far?

Except for some sound bites and the obvious, nothing much really.

Menu Rahmah? Sure.

It's not even better than the Ismail Sabri's administration, okay.

At least back then we can criticise the government without fearing a police report will be lodged against us.

Now, say something and off they run to the police station crying for an investigation.

Anwar is now threatening action against those whom he categorises as racial bigots and religious zealots.

Guess why Dr Mahathir suddenly can't even get a venue for his Malay gathering.

Ya, why else.

I'm actually quite concerned though that the 97-year-old guy may end up in jail soon.

Mukhriz really need to tell his father to rest now. Not worth it for the handsome old man to be running around at the risk of being jailed at his age.

Well Muhyiddin, who is already 70 may be going to jail soon while Hadi is being investigated for saying something. 

On another front, the liberal shit is starting to fly all over the place again.

They were quiet for awhile after GE15 because they were scared of losing Umno's support but now they are back with the same nonsense like it was in 2018.

Just look at that Mentega Terbang movie, which was clearly intended to upset the Muslims.

The scene where a Muslim father told his teenage daughter that he's okay if she wants to go murtad really made my blood boils.

If Anwar really meant it when he said he will act against those who try to cause racial and religious strife, then I would like to see all those involved in making the movie be thrown in jail. 

At the very least, Anwar should condemn the movie.

Or is he too liberal and "inclusive" for that?

And what was that about the Jom Ziarah nonsense programme?

Hannah Yeoh, after all the uproar, said it doesn't involve Muslim youth. However, before that the advertisement of the programme didn't say that.

Does the government has anything better to do?

I have been to church many times when I was in college because of my friends who were members of the Christian Fellowship but I'm being there got nothing to do with the government.

I went there just to play ping pong with my friends, actually. 

Despite not being a proper good Muslim, I'm not like Syed Saddiq, who thinks it's okay for Muslim youth to go to churches and temples to learn about other religions. 

Come to think of it, I don't even spend time in mosque to learn about my own religion as I should be, okay.

Anyway, there's too much of religious things on TikTok already.

Well, I'm sure the LTTE/BJP wannabe extremists in DAP are enjoying all these nonsense.

I suspect they are now under a gag order as DAP don't want to spook Umno ahead the coming state elections.

They'll surely make noise again after that.

Would Anwar dare to "firmly act" against those DAP elements?

DAP is after all the real power behind Pakatan as it has more parliamentary seats compared to PKR and Amanah.

Even the seats own by PKR and Amanah are mostly courtesy of DAP supporters' votes.

As far as I'm concerned, the real fight now is between DAP and PAS, which is the real power behind Perikatan.

The rest, who are now making a lot more noises compared to them are just their instruments.

As for Umno, I can't even bear to look at it these days.

Too much nonsense happening within the party now.

I also wonder whether Anwar will act on Umno soon for advocating Malay nationalism and upholding Islam. 

Maybe after he has no use of the party or when DAP wants it done pronto. 

Commenting from the limbo

Zahid said 

Dr M indoctrinated us to hate DAP

Really?

Dr M heads Umno from 1981 to 2003, while DAP was founded in 1965.

How about the first 16 years? Umno didn't hate DAP in those years?

And how about from 2003 onwards? 

Dr M was to be blamed for all the hate over the past 19 years too?

And I thought the hate was mutual. DAP seemed to hate Umno too, okay.

Anthony Loke wants to blame Kit Siang for indoctrinating DAP to hate Umno all those years?

Ya, it's that silly.

Never mind.

Well, I guess, Umno people need to learn to love DAP now that they are in the same camp.

Good lah. Zahid can show the way.

Personally, I never really hated DAP. 

I just disliked the conducts of some of its leaders and members, especially the extremist groups.

Yeah, DAP has extremist groups, like the LTTE and BJP wannabes as well as those who hate the Malays and Muslims for no apparent good reason.

Other than those bunch, I'm okay with the other DAP people.

Really. I have quite a lot of friends among them.

I'm even okay with DAP people who support the Chinese schools. 

In fact I wrote quite a lot in the past about my support for Chinese schools.

Even been in love with one of those Cina Bukit, actually.

I actually wrote this back in Oct 2020

Umno being friends with DAP is nice

I know it was silly, but never mind that.

Now, I just can't be bothered anymore.

Umno, DAP or any of the other parties can do whatever they want and I'll just make sure as much as I could that it would not affect me.

After GE15, there are only two camps, the Pakatan side anchored by the DAP's non-Malay supporters and Perikatan side anchored by PAS' conservative Malay Muslim supporters.

And I don't think I belong to any of the two sides.

I always thought that I'm with BN because it's centrist.

Unfortunately BN got obliterated in GE15 and its leadership, or to be exact Umno leadership decided to join Pakatan.

So, I'm now without a side to support again.

Well, it's not really too bad as I can sit still and continue commenting from the limbo.

By the way, I think I'm done with BN and Umno as they are now.

Umno election is coming but I don't think it would heal the party.

Zahid and the other useless leaders will be returned unopposed as they control the divisions and the shit will continue.

 I can't see the point in supporting a party which eats its own shit, okay.

That's all there is to it.

Cheers.

Between lying bastards and irresponsible idiots

Now, this is cute.

I never said no political appointees in GLCs, expect some: Anwar

excerpts;

“I never said that individuals involved in politics cannot be part of (GLC) management. However, they should be bound by certain conditions and have the required qualifications in the relevant fields."

Okay, whatever lah.

He may as well says;

“I never said that individuals involved in corruption cannot be part of government. However, they should be bound by certain conditions and have the required qualifications in the relevant fields."

Which is actually happening, by the way.

Nah, never mind.

I can't be bothered by all the bullshit anymore.

How about you all?

You all still care about what the politicians are saying?

Nowadays, I only want to care over what they actually do....if any.

Their words don't count for a dime these days, really.

I have concluded that from now on I need to take care of myself rather than hoping for those lying politicians to do things for me and this country.

If they actually do something good instead of bullshitting people, then that's good for them.

If they don't, then fuck it. I wouldn't want to care one bit.

The people? The people voted for those liars, so they deserve what they got.

As simple as that.

Anyway, it's raining quite heavily where I am now.

Been like this for days.

I'm now somewhere near Bukit Istana in Kuantan. This place never get flooded, so, I'm alright.

Elsewhere over 71,000 people were evacuated yesterday. Mostly in Kelantan and Terengganu.

Chose pemimpin Islam pun kena banjir ke? 

So much for being ruled by PAS then.

Heard the Terengganu MB was holidaying in New Zealand despite the state being the worst hit.

Sigh.

See, it's the same shit on the other side too.

Turn left, get lying bastards, turn right, get stupid irresponsible motherfuckers.

Not much of choices, right?

Well, as I said, I'm going to take care of me myself and stop expecting anything from those bums.

I suggest you all do the same.

When being loud is right

 Back in college, one of my law lecturers said something like this;

"When you go to court as a lawyer, you should argue intelligently. If you can't argue intelligently, then you should argue convincingly. But if you can't even argue convincingly, then the best that you can do would be to argue loudly."

I remember the whole class laughed when he said that.

We thought he was just joking.

Turned out that he was not.

Nowadays, loud people have a better chance to be the winners.

People don't care about facts as much as they care about perceptions.

If you can outshout your rivals, you may still win, even when you are in the wrong.

Just look at our social media conversations, and you all would know that it's true.

Those who shouted the loudest and most frequent are the winners.

Now this being loudest thing has reached a new level.

Look at this,

Motion of confidence on PM Anwar passed via voice vote

Yup, there was no voting for the motion.

The Dewan speaker just made the decision to pass it based on who made the most noise on the floor.

So, the louder ones were the winner.

Nice.

Honestly, I don't really care.

Democracy has after all became a joke in this country since the outcome of the GE15 that day.

I believe more such jokes are coming our way over the next five years.

No point in complaining, okay. 

We voted for this government, remember?

But still, you better be careful with what you shouted out after this.

I actually begin to suspect that this current government will be less tolerant than the previous administrations.

The signs are already there at this early stage that we will have less democratic freedom in the coming years.

You shouted the wrong things, and you may find yourself in the lock up or getting your ass sued off.

I also think that going to rallies such as the Bersih demonstrations of yesteryears is now not a very good idea.

Najib was the PM who stopped the police from beating up street demonstrators and even abolished the ISA.

But then again, the guy was seen by us as being too soft and tried too hard to be nice.

Some even called him Mat Kepit.

Now we have Anwar as PM, a jail-hardened guy.

You try la call him names like that and see what happen.

So, don't fool around. 

The days of baton wielding FRU and water cannon may be back, okay.

"Oh, those violent protesters are just Islamist extremists. They deserve to be beaten and locked up. We are just ensuring peace and stability in the country as according to the laws," they would say.

And in a way they would be right. 

This country needs the peace and stability to move forward, especially during the coming global recession.

Democracy? 

Who cares? We already turned it into a joke the other day, what.

Forced votes of confidence

The politicians will have another show at Dewan Rakyat tomorrow.

First before all else, they will vote to confirm whether Anwar has the majority needed to be PM.

The parties which were supposed to vote for Anwar have already signed an MOU to compel their MPs to toe the line.

Among the points of agreement under the MOU was that the parties would sack any of their MPs who votes against Anwar and vacate his/her seat.

I believe that's illegal.

You can't take away an MP's seat just because he/she voted in Dewan Rakyat against the wishes of the party leadership.

So said legal experts who have commented on the matter.

The MOU was obviously done to scare the rebels in those parties, especially those in BN.

I suspect half (some said more than 20) of the 30 BN MPs were against Anwar and the tie up with Pakatan.

If they voted against Anwar, then the so-called unity government would be under pressure again.

The Sarawakians and Sabahans could switch sides again, if push comes to shove.

Then again those rebel BN MPs need balls of steel to defy the MOU threat.

After all, if the whole thing goes to court, I'm not sure they will win despite the rather obvious legal points against the legality of the MOU.

The courts, I think, have been rather funny since 2018, if you know what I mean.

If I'm one of those rebel BN MPs, I just don't turn up for the voting.

That would be a safer way to register the protest, I guess.

There would be other votings in the Dewan Rakyat to go all out against Anwar being the PM.

The party leaders, who are propping up Anwar could not possibly sign an MOU every time there is voting in parliament.

But all these mean the country will not be stable over the coming years.

The administration would be as shaky as the others since 2018.

I already highly doubt it could successfully handle the coming global recession.

Now, signs were already there that Anwar's rule will not be as democratic as many would like to believe it would be.

His early moves looked more and more similar to the way things were done back when he was the protege of Dr Mahathir in the 1990s.

Anwar, who was not really a champion of democracy at that time now looked as if he's preparing to rule Malaysia for a few terms well into his 80s or maybe 90s, maybe to match or outdo the legacy of his former mentor.

No signs of real reforms that he and his supporters had always shouted during the rallies, which sometimes got violent over the years.

I'm quite concerned about this.

Well, hopefully I'm wrong.