Sunday 31 May 2015

About being grateful, successful Chinese and happy Malays

It was a good trip today.

The person I visited was doing fine despite his health problems.

Fate has been quite unkind to him but he said he accepted it as Allah's will.

"Maybe Allah loves me. Maybe I may become a bad person if I have a normal life," he said about his ailment.

I had to hold back my tears when he said that.

The guy could have been a successful engineer if not for his ailment.

We had lunch and spent some time chit chatting before I drove back to KL.

I made a promise to myself that I will try to visit him more often.

As I was driving back, it occurred to me that compared to the guy, I have been very lucky.

Told myself that I should be more grateful to Allah for what I have in life, instead of just bitching too much about things.

Some people used to tell me that we shouldn't be comparing ourselves with those who are supposedly lesser than us.

We should set our benchmark higher so that we would be motivated to do better, they said.

Agreed, but I think we could put things in better perspective if we also compare ourselves with those who are less fortunate.

I believe it could help us appreciate ourselves more and stop us from turning into Singaporeans.

Well, then again, I'm not an ambitious person.

Maybe that's why I have that consideration.

Maybe it's the moderateness in my Malay blood which makes me think that way.

I always joked with my Chinese friends that they will always be more successful than the Malays, but the Malays will always be happier than them.

I believe the Chinese, as a whole race, are more serious in everything compared to the Malays.

They are even serious about how to be happy.

They planned, saved, invested and do other tedious stuff so that they can be happy.

The Malays on the other hand are mostly happy if they can lepak all day long.

Yes, they can be quite hard working but given the choice, most Malays would prefer to spend their time relaxing and contemplating loftier stuff than working their ass off.

Most of them are not even sure why the Chinese got all worked up in their pursuit to own everything.

Okay, I know some of you all are going to call me a racist again.

Relax, it's just me rambling.

I actually came to those conclusions based on how I see my parents.

My mother is more successful and earns a lot more than my father but she tends to be so tensed up all the time.

My father, on the other hand, is more into all those ideals, principles, dignity etc which don't really help him make more money.

For all that, he is a more relaxed and happy person.

But of course my mother tends to spoils my father's happiness by being so garang with him all the time.

She always pushes him to do better, even occasionally threatening to divorce him if he didn't buck up.

Of course my father always gives in to my mother despite him supposedly being the ketua keluarga.

The way I see it, their relationship is very much like the Sino-Malay relations of this county.

True, isn't it?

So, excuse me ya for having that stereotype of Malays and Chinese.

Anyway, sorry....I'm really rambling aimlessly tonight.

Just a little break from the Najib-Mahathir thing, okay.

Well, need to sleep early now as I'm really tired after driving the whole day.

Good night.

p.s.1 In case there are readers who are not aware - my mother is a Chinese while my father is a Malay.

p.s.2 Comments whacking my parents in any way will be spiked off.

A long Sunday drive

I'm going on a long drive north today.

It's just a day trip to visit someone I love very much.

Sorry, no time to do any proper posting.

So, please just enjoy this music and have a good Sunday.


Cheers.

Saturday 30 May 2015

A bitter and vindictive old attack dog

I have to admit that every time I read what the attack dogs going after Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said about the statesman, I felt like joining those attacking PM DS Najib Razak.

So far, I still manage to resist that, but I did feel this furious anger inside me whenever I read garbage such as this,

Press Statement by Tunku Abdul Aziz

These are among words used in the press statement to describe Dr Mahathir;

spewing scurrilous lies about 1MDB

reduced himself, in the eyes of many, to a figure of fun and ridicule

he presents himself as an embittered, vindictive man

He froths at the mouth every time he accuses 1MDB

He explained with that familiar self-satisfied smirk on his face 

Typically Mahathir denied responsibility and to this day he remains unrepentant, blasé, and unapologetic

His manic gambling with Bank Bumi and BNM money

Sounds to me like this Tunku Abdul Aziz is the one who is bitter, vindictive and whatever else.

I do wonder what Dr Mahathir had ever done to him that he became so rabid.

Jealous of Dr Mahathir's achievements, perhaps?

Anyway, what has this Tunku Abdul Aziz, described as a towering Malay when he was with DAP, ever done for agama, bangsa dan tanah air?

Has he done more than what Dr Mahathir did as the country's prime minister for 22 years?

Does he really think that by badmouthing Dr Mahathir, he is helping Najib?

Whoever the minder of this Tunku Abdul Aziz, I don't think he really cares that people like me are disgusted and grow more hostile towards the prime minister because of these sorts of things.

Tunku Abdul Aziz first attacked Dr Mahathir early this month,

NST columnist takes potshots at Dr M's years as prime minister

Then when Dr Mahathir replied to his accusations,

Tunku Aziz stays mum on Dr M's response

These are what Dr Mahathir said about Tunku Aziz's accusations against him,

Tunku Abdul Aziz tries to pin the BMF scandal on me on the basis of a statement by Lorraine Esme Othman as quoted in his article thus:

“He (Lorraine) asked me (Tunku) whether he alone could have made the decision to move billions of US Dollars without instruction from “high above”.
He assumes that “high above” Lorraine was me. There are lots of people high above Lorraine. I will not name them here because I don’t like making inferences when I have no concrete evidence. Lorraine went to London where he was jailed.

Neither Bank Bumiputra nor BMF were directly under me. I had nothing to do with their management. Please show proof of my involvement in the affair of BB or BMF.

14. I was informed of the measures to be taken to resolve the scandal and I agreed to sending an officer to check on the deals with the Carrian Group. He was subsequently murdered.

15. Tunku Aziz is a director of the International Instittute of Public Ethics and a member of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

16. I would like to ask Tunku Aziz whether his attempt to accuse me of being involved in the BMF scandal on such flimsy ground is ethical or not.

17. And as member of the Anti-Corruption Commission, he can make a full investigation of my record to find out how many billions I stole from the Government as he seems to imply. If he fails, he should at least have the decency to apologize.

18. And as someone who professes to be concerned about corruption, shouldn’t he ask how Jho Low and Riza Aziz have hundreds of millions of dollars. And shouldn’t he be interested in public officers who live well beyond their means. Or has he got selective awareness of what is going on around him. An American paper reported that now Malaysia is among the ten most corrupt countries in the world. Shouldn’t he try to find out why?

Those were part of this Dr Mahathir's posting,

1MDB (Part 3)

Well, in case you all are wondering, I'm not attacking Najib. I'm just defending Dr Mahathir, the best statesman this country ever have.

Friday 29 May 2015

Annie in the middle

I may be a bit tired.

But , apparently it was not so with the almost 90 year old former PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Today, he came out with another posting which I'm certain was personally written by himself.

REPAYMENT OF DEBTS

excerpts:
3. In business, money can be lost through bad investments or bad management. That is acceptable though the CEO and Managers would be sacked.


4. But when money is lost and the management cannot explain where it went and how it disappeared then management would still be responsible even if there is a bailout or the debts paid.


5. Thus with money claimed to have been invested in Cayman Islands and despite claims that it had been brought back and is now in Singapore, the money cannot be demonstrated to be there in tangible form, then management will be held responsible for its loss. The assumption must be that management had misappropriated the money unless otherwise proven.


That is the second posting by Dr Mahathir in the last 24 hours.

If he keeps this up, his postings on the need to oust  PM DS Najib Razak could be compiled into a book.

If combined with Najib's replies, I think such a book will make a very interesting read. 

Meanwhile, those of us who are still wishing for some sorts of compromise between the two guys for the sake of the establishment and more importantly the country are slowly losing hope.

As pointed by Rocky, the fight between supporters of the two leaders has gone

Just another notch lower  

In this case, the idiotic goons on Najib's side are apparently still at it.

They are making things worse just to be in the good book of their bosses.

The Dr Mahathir's side will definitely retaliate and the tit-for-tat will continues. 

Honestly, this is sad.

Since I'm now sitting in the middle of the two factions, I'm getting whacked by both sides.

Those who know me should realize my deep loathing of some Najib's people for what they did to me.

In fact, because of that, I have more reasons to see Najib falls than many of those pro-Dr Mahathir bloggers.

But, I don't feel that should be an excuse for me to go all out attacking Najib.

That would be selfish of me and makes me no better than those mercenaries with vested interests.

I believe that there should be a better way to turn around the situation.

After all, the way I understand it, Dr Mahathir's real objective is not really to topple Najib but to prevent Pakatan from winning the next general election and thus saving the country.

So, I'm trying to stay focused on that bigger picture and contribute what ever little that I can afford.

I may be losing hope but I will hang on there as long as I'm able to do so.

Thursday 28 May 2015

A bit tired

I'm a bit tired of people who can't seem to read properly and understand what I have been trying to convey.

I don't mind that much being called a bitch, makan nasi kangkang, etc but after a while I can't avoid feeling tired of such nonsense.

I would like to suggest for those people who called me such names and accused me of all sorts of things regarding former PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to read back my earlier posts about the guy.

You all can just type "Mahathir" on the search column to get to those postings.

As for the allegation that I'm a pre-paid or post-paid blogger and such, let me make a pledge here:

"Semoga Allah menghukum aku muntah darah malam ni kalau benar ada sesiapa pernah upah aku duit atau apa saja untuk aku menulis dalam blog ini."

Puas hati?

Well, let me tell you all that this blog is actually just an outlet for me to express myself and present what's in my mind and heart over things that are happening around me.

It's not an authority on anything. I previously wrote about this.

On top of it all, I'm not asking or expecting you all to agree with me.

I have also tried to publish all of your comments as long as they are not contrary to the very minimal regulations which I imposed on commenting. Get the details on the right side of this web page.

I think I have tried my best to be fair.

Having said all that, I would like to get some rest now.

Wish I can have a massage.

Sigh...

Never mind.

Well, here is a bit of nice music for going to sleep,


Good night.

Lying versus smearing, allegedly

Former PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his team appeared very well prepared in their battle with PM DS Najib Razak and his supporters.

Less than 24 hours after the release of the latest FAQs by the prime minister which you can read here, Dr Mahathir posted another critical entry about Najib in his blog,

SIAPA BERTANGGUNGJAWAB

Dr Mahathir this time completely ignored the Najib's FAQs and had instead pressed on along this angle of attack from his previous post,

NAJIB DAN PEMBOHONGAN 

Excerpts from Dr Mahathir's latest post,

4. Perdana Menteri telah jelaskan bahawa wang sebanyak USD 1 billion tidak dibawa balik ke Malaysia kerana Bank Negara akan menganggu urusan keluar masuk wang yang lebih dari 50 juta.
5. Setahu saya bank-bank telah diarah menyoal urusan yang lebih dari RM50,000/-. Jika urusan tidak ada kaitan dengan “money laundering”, iaitu yang didapati secara haram, ia tidak jadi masalah.
6. Soalnya apakah 1MDB dengan pengetahuan penasihatnya terlibat dengan money laundering, sehingga wang dari Cayman Islands terpaksa disimpan di Singapura.
7. Singapura juga memeriksa dengan teliti wang yang masuk-keluar negara itu bagi mengelak jenayah money laundering. Apakah 1MDB tidak tahu akan peraturan Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)?
8. Atau apakah tujuan sebenar ialah untuk membohong berkenaan penyimpanan wang ini di Singapura, iaitu sebenarnya tidak ada wang yang disimpan di sana, bahawa wang sebanyak lebih satu billion U.S. dollar sudah hilang.
9. Jika tidak dapat dibuktikan wang ini ada di Singapura, maka sekali lagi, pegawai dan menteri bersalah kerana membohong.


Now it's really becoming a case of tit-for-tat between the PM and his ex-boss.

In his latest FAQs, Najib among others said, "Much of what Tun has said lacks objectivity and is downright wrong."

Dr Mahathir today simply responded by reiterating that Najib may had lied or attempting to lie over the 1MDB issue.

Personally, I would prefer for both of them to be inaccurate in their assessment of each other.

I would rather want to believe that Dr Mahathir was being fed with the wrong information by people with vested interest, causing him to attack Najib out of fear that his former protege may cause the downfall of Umno and Barisan Nasional.

I would also like to believe that Najib on his part was given poorly prepared information by his less than brilliant people, causing him to give a less than satisfactory explanation of the 1MDB issue, thus prompting Dr Mahathir to come up with the idea that the PM was trying to dupe the people.

Those would be better than having to believe that either of those two guys is a crook.

Yes, maybe both men should consider the position of each other and try to be more positive about it.

I still believe that the only way this Najib-Dr Mahathir spat could be put to an end is for both of them to meet and talk with each other for the sake of not only Umno and BN, but also the country.

But since both at the moment still prefer to continue fighting, I think I will try to study more carefully BN's chances of winning the next general election under Najib's leadership.

Honestly, I doubt Dr Mahathir will be able to force Najib to step down from his PM post before the polls.

I also don't think anyone credible in Umno have the balls to challenge Najib for now.

Well, in the light of that, who knows, maybe Najib can really pull it off even if all of Dr Mahathir's supporters decided not to vote for BN in the next general election.

That would be brilliant....but again, my money is not on it happening.

Wednesday 27 May 2015

No Japanese truce between Najib and Dr Mahathir

The last blog post by former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad is,

NAJIB DAN PEMBOHONGAN 

which was on May 24.

This is the opening paragraph of that post,

"Amatlah menyedihkan apabila saya dapati saya tidak dapat elak dari kenyataan bahawa Perdana Menteri membohong . Dalam kes wang 1MDB yang dikatakan telah dibawa balik dari Cayman Islands dan disimpan dalam bank BSI Singapura, jawapan tertulis oleh Perdana Menteri kepada soalan Parlimen tidak menepati kebenaran sama sekali."

That's three days ago.

I learnt from Rocky's post

PM, Dr M in Tokyo

that Dr Mahathir had since been to Japan for a follow-up on an eye surgery. 

At the same time, PM DS Najib Razak was also in Japan for an official visit.

From what transpired today, it is quite obvious that the two didn't meet up over there to settle their differences.

In a statement today, Najib went on the offensive again.

Here is the statement in full with those I found interesting in blue,


1. I accept criticism with an open mind and will continue to address legitimate concerns and feedback. 
2. We must also always respect our elders who have done a lot for Malaysia.  
3. However, I know many believe that it is time they let the next generation run the country, and this includes overcoming problems and challenges on our own. 
4. Malaysia is a democracy. I was elected by UMNO, and by the people of this country, to lead them. Therefore, I have their mandate and I am answerable to the party and the people, not to any one individual. At the next general election and party election, the party and the rakyat can exercise their democratic rights through the ballot box. 
5. Furthermore, many of Tun’s criticisms are unfair or misleading
6. He is opposed to the implementation of GST, although all credible economists believe that broadening our tax base is the right thing to do. The revenue will be used for the welfare of the rakyat. Indeed, the idea was first mooted during his administration. 
7. Tun has echoed malicious opposition rumours concerning my wife and family. For example, in a recent speech in Ipoh, he cited a fictitious statement that the opposition has been peddling through the use of a doctored Utusan article.  
8. Also, he regurgitated a false smear started by the opposition at the time of the last general election that my wife owned a RM24 million ring. It is a lie, and the company that owned the ring clarified in detail at the time that such a ring was never bought by Rosmah. It is regrettable that someone of Tun’s stature should pass on such slander to the people.
9. He also echoed the opposition in raising the purchase of the replacement government jet, claiming that the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong does not use the jet, calling me a liar. But again this is false – His Majesty was in fact the first VIP passenger to use the newly arrived aircraft for a trip to Langkawi, and will continue to do so. 
10. Tun has used the financial challenges facing 1MDB as an excuse to attack me. It is true that 1MDB is facing challenges, but not at the level being alleged. 
11. Indeed, some of the allegations that have been made have no grounding in reality, for instance Tun’s claim that I am responsible for a loss of RM42 billon on 1MDB’s balance sheet. This appears to be a deliberate twisting of the facts as 1MDB has not made a loss of this amount. This is the amount of its total debt; debt that is far exceeded by the company’s assets of RM51 billion, as audited and confirmed by Deloitte. Most large companies around the world have high levels of debt, there is nothing unusual about this. 
12. He also claimed that I do not answer issues surrounding 1MDB, but I have gone beyond that – and instructed the Auditor General to conduct an audit of 1MDB, the results of which will be presented to the bipartisan Public Accounts Committee. This should ensure that the process is transparent, and all questions that have been asked of the company are independently answered by legitimate bodies rather than politically motivated sources. 
13.Tun often claims that he is doing something because of what people tell him when they come to see him. However, he should check whether such hearsay and claims have any evidence and truth before airing them. He knows well that many allegations were made about what happened under his administration.  
14. And always Tun’s answer was: “Where is the proof?” He should be applying the same test to what he hears. 
15. Although much has been achieved in the first six years of my administration, all of the progress that our country and BN has made are being ignored in favour of baseless allegations and lies started by the opposition.  
16. Much of what Tun has said lacks objectivity and is downright wrong. The question should be asked – what is Tun’s motivation in choosing this moment to regurgitate smears manufactured by the very opposition groups that he previously denounced as liars? 
17. During his 22 years in power, Tun had always insisted on party members supporting the leadership, especially during challenging times. We did our part then, and I supported him through thick and thin. I did so because I believed then, as I do now, that party unity is a prerequisite for what we want to achieve for the country. The vast majority of UMNO members still recognize that real loyalty means working together to build the party for the good of the rakyat. 
18. It is wrong for Tun and any party members to undermine today’s party leadership just because their personal wishes are not met. The interests of the people and the party are far more important than any one individual. 
19. I was democratically elected by both the party and the people, and, as I have the mandate, will complete my term as party President and Prime Minister. My priority is to ensure that we achieve Vision 2020 and the economic, governmental and political transformation that will benefit all Malaysians.

It is quite a well written article.

I guess the Prime Minister must had composed it in between his busy schedule in Japan.

Well, I guess Barisan Nasional and Umno supporters will just have to bear with the tussle until the next general election.

I'm not putting my money on it, but hopefully the BN coalition and that parti keramat orang Melayu will survive beyond the polls.

Real journalists on media strategy of 1MDB

I wrote this over a year ago,

Stupid media strategy leads BN into the longkang

Unfortunately, it's still happening now and in fact had turned from bad to worse with the 1MDB issue.

I'm of the opinion that the advisers, consultants and big time editors were really making a mess out of the whole thing.

Apparently, others share the same view on this matter.

These quotes by senior journalists about the handling of information on the 1MDB issues were from an article in Malaysia Online (The Mole);

Syed Nadzri
“The government and 1MDB are not doing a good job in communicating with the masses as people are still wondering when the crisis started and when is it going to end.
“The way they are handling the information is terrible. One minute the money is in Cayman Island, suddenly it is in Singapore. First, they said it was in cash but now it is in units. Which one is the truth?” 

Rashid
“It is not in the interest of everyone associated with 1MDB to share their troubles at every juncture. They were probably hoping for a comprehensive solution, hoping that time would afford them a breather. It was not to be because they were confronted midway by body politics. Journalism arrived after the facts."

Rejal
“More importantly, where is the money now? Such huge loan will not be approved by only one bank as it usually requires approval from a consortium of several banks and how could those banks approve the loan? Was there any pressure being put on them? These are the questions that need answering.”


Rocky
“What Najib needs to do is defend and explain his policies, not attack his ex boss. I am quite certain Lim Kok Wing would agree with me, that the PM’s existing strategy, which is to attack Mahathir to defend Najib, via the newspapers and prime news, is backfiring.”


To read the full article, please click on this link,
Senior journalists call for better handling of 1MDB issue

Tuesday 26 May 2015

Maybe Anifah is more humane than Aung San Suu Kyi

I doubt that many Malaysians knew about Wang Kelian until a few days ago.

Well, I have been to the place, which is located at the Thai-border in Perlis.

I was at the minor border crossing many years ago to check on its weekend bazaar.


On weekends, Malaysians were allowed to cross into the Thai side of the border there without their passport or border pass for several hundred meters to the bazaar which the locals called "Nat".

It's a nice place to be.

The greeneries of the Nakawan range which made up the back drop of the place was picturesque.

I enjoyed my afternoon at that place.

However, I also got to know that the place was a smugglers' heaven.

I'm not so sure about now, but back then I observed that the smuggling activities there were rampant.

The small time smugglers whom I saw were actually Thai villagers who carried mainly packets of high grade Siamese rice through the border check point to be sold in Malaysia.

I noticed the same thing happening at the main border check-point of nearby Padang Besar.

The smugglers went about their business right under the nose of the border guards of both sides, who seemed to tolerate the whole thing.

I did ask a friendly member of the Unit Pencegahan Penyeludupan (UPP) stationed there as to why he and his colleagues didn't take any action against the smugglers.

"Mereka tu orang kampung cari makan je dik. Bukannya penyeludup betul. Lagi pun tu semua Siam Islam. Kesian dia orang susah cari makan kat sebelah sana tu," he replied.

Nonetheless, I was told by my friends among the locals that the border guards were given some "incentives" by the smugglers to turn a blind eye.

I was also made to understand that the goods being smuggled were also not all entirely as harmless as just the beras Siam. There were cases of firearms and drugs being smuggled across the border too.

A few years ago, there was even a tremendous uproar over the smuggling of Malaysian subsidized diesel through those border checkpoints.

As we now know it, these breaches of our border had actually turned into something even more sinister.

Who would have ever thought that there were mass graves to be found in this country.

But that's the hottest news about Malaysia now,

Here is the news by UK's The Guardian,
Mass graves of suspected trafficking victims found in Malaysia 

And here is a feature by The New York Times
Migrants Flooding Into Malaysia and Indonesia Trade One Nightmare with Another

In light of these developments of the migrant/refugee issue, I think it was a good thing that our government had decided to provide humanitarian assistance and temporary refuge for the boat people, especially the Rohingya refugees who were forced to flee Myanmar after being prosecuted in that country.

Kudos to Foreign Minister DS Anifah Aman whom I was made to understand as being the man who single handedly pushed the government to make that decision.



As I had previously wrote, not all of those in the administration of PM DS Najib Razak are bad.

Not only it was the right thing to do, the move may had actually saved the country from being labeled as being inhumane when faced with such a human tragedy.

Just imagine the kind of bad Press that our country would have to suffer if the mass graves in Wang Kelian were found while we were still hesitating to decide whether to assist the Rohingya refugees who may be dying on those boats.

As the authorities continue to comb the forested area in Wang Kelian for possibly more graves of victims of the human trafficking syndicates, it is hopeful that they could also devise a strategy to prevent such a human tragedy from happening again.

The authorities also need to tighten security at the border.

Maybe they should spend more on high-tech surveillance equipments such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) while at the same time enforcing stricter discipline among security personnel guarding the country's border.

Cooperation on security with neighboring countries should also be enhanced.

Last but not least, I am also of the opinion that countries such as Myanmar should be chastised by the international community for being irresponsible in letting its domestic problems, such as the ethnic prosecution of the Rohingya to cause incidences of human tragedy such as now being discovered in Wang Kelian.

I do wonder what happened to that Nobel laureate democracy heroine Aung San Su Kyi as her country washed its hands over the Rohingya refugees issue.

Here is a report on her by Al Jazeera,
Aung San Suu Kyi's inexcusable silence

After reading that article, I can't help but to have a fleeting thought that maybe Anifah Aman is a better humanitarian than her.

Sunday 24 May 2015

Sports day

Earlier this morning, I joined my friend and her husband at their son's school sports day.

They are the ones I mentioned in the post,

Nasib penyokong marhaen Najib

My friend told me that it was the first time that her husband managed to attend their son's sports day as he was previously working elsewhere and only got to be home about once a month.

My friend's husband was forced to quit his job recently and now spends more time with his family.

"I am quite happy, actually. Despite the uncertainties of him not having a proper job now, he drives back from KL almost every weekend to be with us," she said.

It was indeed a pleasant occasion as it was also the first time I attended a school sports day ever since I finished schooling.

I just sat at a corner of the field and observed the carnival like atmosphere.

My friend's son, who has autism attended special education classes at the school.

He took part in several events but didn't win any of them.

According to my friend, her son doesn't really understand the concept of being competitive and therefore doesn't really care whether he finished first or last in anything.

It may be a handicap for most of us, but maybe Allah had blessed the boy with a life without malice being the way he is.

Here are some pictures I took at the sports day,

The special education contingent

My friend's son finished second last in this 80 meters race for special needs students. He seemed contented running behind his friends.

The 4x50 meters race between the blue, red, green and yellow houses. It was fun watching the kids ran, but I actually can't remember which house won the race.

At the creatively decorated tent of the special education contingent.
Well, it's nice to occasionally post something like this instead of those political bickering.

I really enjoy my relaxing time here in Kuantan with my friend and her family.

So not looking forward to go back to KL tomorrow morning.

Saturday 23 May 2015

"I love PM" gathering not far from me today

It's a quiet Saturday.

I'm at my friend's place in Kuantan.

She's the one I mention in this post,

Nasib penyokong marhaen Najib

Unknown to me, earlier, PM DS Najib Razak had a gathering at a nearby air-force base here.

I saw the Bernama report on the gathering just now.

Here it is with the parts I found to be interesting in blue:
  • KUANTAN: Umno president Najib Razak said today the confidence in him and the support of the people gave him the courage to continuedespite the pressure lately.
  • Najib said the feedback gathered from visits to several states recently gave him confidence that the people would continue to support his leadership.
  • “We are gathered here today (at RMAF Kuantan air base) with about 12,000 people, in fact we can gather 20,000 or even 40,000, after all in Tawau (Sabah), we saw 40,000 people while in Johor 15,000 people turned up. I know figures are not everything but I can see the sincerity of all of you present. We will win because we work together and when we believe in our leaders, the party will get stronger but when we fight among ourselves, God will take away our power,” he said.
  • The rally at the air force base here was attended people from 14 Pahang Umno divisions and Pahang Umno Youth chief Shahar Abdullah, Maran Umno division chief Ismail Abd Muttalib and Paya Besar Umno leader Abdul Manan Ismail.
  • Najib said that even though Pahang Umno chairman Adnan Yaakob was not present, he had asked that undivided support to be given to Najib by the entire state Umno.
  • “The Sultan of Pahang also supports me…from royalty to the people…I am touched by this support and with the mandate given to me, I will do the best for the country and Pahang,” he said to cheers.
  • Najib said problems could be resolved without the need to create new conflicts. “(There are) No problems that cannot be resolved, even in the past when there were problems, I was Tun M’s (former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) lieutenant, I defended him, now it is the turn of the Pemuda to defend me.
  • He said he was elected as Prime Minister and Umno president by thousands of individuals and Umno members throughout the country, and he would not give in to the demand of one individual who wanted him to resign.
  • “The ship has set its sail, the wind has started to blow, do you want me to turn back, surely not,” he said.
  • -BERNAMA
Well, at least Najib acknowledged that, "figures are not everything".
Whatever it is, I think the internal Umno fight will only get worse after this.
I just hope that it can be resolved by the next Umno general assembly to be held later this year.

Either that, or it needs to be settled through the party election next year.

Umno doesn't actually have much time to heal itself from this ongoing internal conflict as the next general election is just about two and a half years from now.

If the fighting continues, I believe it will be a repeat of what happened during the general election in 2008.

Only this time, I seriously doubt Umno and Barisan Nasional will be able to survive, if the current situation remains the same till then.

Bear in mind that then PM Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had gone into the disastrous  battle in 2008 after winning the general election handsomely in 2004, which result was the best ever recorded by the ruling coalition.

Najib, on the other hand, will be going into the next general election after suffering a not so encouraging result in 2013.

The PM's currently harshest critic, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had described Najib's electoral performance that year as being worse than Abdullah's performance in 2008.

Najib has since rebutted Dr Mahathir's claims.

Considering all these, I believe both sides need to sit down and talk, if the impending disaster is to be avoided.

I know...there's not much hope of that ever happening...but we can at least still just hope all the same, can't we?

Mr PM, please make people feel safe

My mother sent me these last night,



It's about a robbery in our hometown Kluang earlier in the day.

A family friend died in the incident.

He was hacked to death by the robbers.

Last weekend, one of my relatives, also in Kluang, was also robbed at his business premise.

My mother said our family members were all very worried over the apparent increase of criminal activities in our hometown.

I don't know what to say about recent reports that the country's crime index is on the decline.

Betul ke?

What's happening on the ground indicates that things seem to be getting no better.

Hopefully PM DS Najib Razak can tell the Home Minister and his law enforcers to do more so that the people are more assured of their safety.

And while he is at it, can you all give him a break so that he can do his job properly?

Well, at least until my hometown is okay and my family members feel safe again.

After that you all can go ahead and whack him again, okay.

Friday 22 May 2015

Only a Sith deals in absolutes

I'm now in the office doing actually nothing.

Told my team members what to do for the day and now just goofing around a bit.

So, I decided to ramble a bit here.

Had lunch with someone just now.

Nope, the guy tak sembahyang Jumaat.

He's Buddhist.

The lunch was pleasant.

Anyway, this is a comment from my last post,


Annie, i know u hv frens from among the PMO ppl thats why you hv this denial that Najib is a penyangak. You want to believe your frens tht Najib is a good guy. But i told you before, if they are najib's men, they are not good men. Anybody who is willing to stand by Najib and insisting that he is a good man, cannot be a good man.

Accept the hard facts Annie. Najib is not what you think he is or what you want him to be. Your frens are blinded by money, positions, glam or simply not righteous enough to say the truth.

This is not about Tun M attacking Najib. This is about 42billion debts that Najib shoved down our throat to pay while his family and jho low enjoy. So what you need to ask is for Najib to settle it without affecting us instead of asking for umno to stop fighting. Because if we stop attacking Najib then the nx thing we know all our funds cud be empty and all the lands allocated for bumi had been sold! It is what is going on now...thts why we need to increase the pressure and make sure tht he stops all transactions pending investigation.

Can you understand that Annie?


Well, of course I understand why there are those who wanted PM Najib Razak to step down.

I know of the concern that the much cited RM42 billion of 1MDB may have been stolen.

I'm not against those critics of Najib nor their demand for him to be replaced, okay.

In all likelihood, their intentions were probably noble.

Demi agama, bangsa dan tanahair....maybe.

But really, as I had previously wrote, I still find it hard to believe that Najib is a thief.

I actually observed the man closely since 2004 and so far I just don't see him capable of stealing that money.

Even though I agree that he is definitely not of the same level as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as a prime minister, but to accuse him of being a thief is something I can't do yet.

Even Dr Mahathir has yet to accuse Najib of stealing the money.

The handsome old man has so far just asked Najib the whereabout of the money.

And I am also not comfortable with the personal attacks such as that directed at Najib's wife DS Rosmah Mansor.

The woman can be quite irritating sometimes, but as of now, I haven't find anything solid yet which suggests her as being truly evil or as bad as other infamous women of history such as Imelda Marcos or Marie Antoinette.

You can read my thoughts on all that here,

Five questions on Najib versus Dr Mahathir

Maybe I am wrong, but still I hate to condemn others just because that's the popular thing to do.

You see, I do have very serious complaints about Najib, especially concerning the people around him.

For me, many if not most of them, are self-serving parasitic mercenaries.

It's I think Najib's biggest weakness - surrounding himself with bad people who give him bad advises and do bad things.

Who knows, maybe they are the ones who are the thieves.

But to say that all of those Najib's people are bad is not right too.

I know that the one or two friends I have at the PMO (prime minister's office) are good people.

This guy, I'm very certain is good as I know him for many years.

A good PMO guy

You see, I don't have that many real friends.

But those I considered as my friends are really good people, as otherwise I would not have wanted them to be my friends.

I believe that I'm a good person, or at least one trying to be a good person. So, in order to be that, I have to have good people as my friends.

To that Anon, who posted the above comment :

Can you understand that?

Err...the title of this post?

That's what Obi-Wan Kenobi said before he had that fight with Anakin Skywalker aka Darth Vader at planet Mustafar.


For reference: Duel on Mustafar

Annie may have to join DAP

Someone asked me last night why I am not making a definite stand on the ongoing Umno's internal conflict.

The guy was not happy with my self-declared "observer" status.

At one point, he even accused me of wanting to be on the winning side by not making my stand clear.

That pissed me off a bit.

Let me be honest here, if I want to be on the winning side, I would have choose to be on the Pakatan's side.

Yes, they are the winning side now and they will stay to be so till the next general election if Umno continues to tear itself apart.

Pas and DAP are taking pot shots at each other now, but I believe they will kiss and make up sooner or later for the sake of giving Umno and the rest of Barisan Nasional the final knock out punch less than three years from now.

And let me tell you this, if I'm going to the other side, I will most likely be joining DAP.

Well, why not? I think I can go quite far in DAP. After all, I'm a half Chinese...like Zairil.

Maybe I can be a member of parliament like him.

Hmmm...eat your heart out Dyana Sofya.

Anyway, I can't see myself joining Pas.

Their alim ulamak wouldn't like me. I don't wear tudung and smoke (quite a lot these days).

PKR on the other hand is just a cartoon party. I can't be joining such a party.

Whatever it is, if I have to join DAP, I will most likely have to mentally block this image,


URGH!!!!

p.s...can you all Umno people stop fighting? Pleaseeee....

Thursday 21 May 2015

1MDB - yet another opened card of Muhyiddin (updated)

UPDATES

Apparently TS Muhyiddin Yassin had responded to the posting of the video of his speech on 1MDB which had went viral earlier today.

For details, please click on this link to the blog of Minda Intelek Melayu :

YANG SEBENARNYA : VIDEO TS MUHYIDDIN YASSIN TENTANG DS @NAJIBRAZAK & #1MDB

ORIGINAL POST

Pro-establishment blogger Apanama, who has been critical of PM DS Najib Razak  have this video clip in his latest post,

Luahan hati Timbalan Presiden Umno - 1MDB -


I'm not exactly sure at which function DPM TS Muhyiddin Yassin was recorded in the video clip, but it's definitely after his boss PM

Najib quashed talks of rebellion, while Dr Mahathir continues attacks


I believe the video was secretly recorded as the Umno function appears to be a close door session.

Muhyiddin in his speech clearly disagreed with his boss that 1MDB should be given time until the Auditor General's report and investigation by the Public Account Committee have been completed.

He felt that the fact 1MDB had accumulated such immense debt at the expense of the rakyat over a short period of time and without any clear explanation was enough ground for PM DS Najib Razak to sack the company's CEO and board members, or even get the police to investigate them.

Muhyiddin repeatedly insisted that the 1MDB issue could caused Umno's downfall if not immediately settled.

"I have my own position and stand. Tentang soal-soal yang begini yang saya yakin kalau tak diselesaikan atau di atasi segera , dia akan jadi seperti orang kata the last straw on the camel's back," he said.

Muhyiddin added that he will take the bull by its horns...even though he said he was not sure who was actually the bull.

I would like to suggest for you all to take note of the expression on the face of Umno VP DS Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan as Muhyiddin delivered his speech.

Maybe there will be an Umno election next year after all instead of it being deferred to after the next general election.