Sunday 30 April 2017

Pas alone

The hottest political story at the moment is the ongoing Pas' annual general meeting in Alor Setar.

Everyone who are writing politics have been writing about it since the past weeks.

Everyone are saying Pas will break up with PKR and get out of the Selangor government.

They are going alone, so it was written.

Well, I don't think that will make much a difference.

It's not going to topple the state government.

I even dare to predict that Azmin Ali and gang will continue to rule Selangor after the next general election.

You all really think Noh Omar can lead Umno and BN to victory in Selangor? Seriously?

You think Pas going alone can win Selangor? Come on la.

Well, if Pas really want to get out of the Selangor government, they could had done so way back then when Pakatan Rakyat ended.

They don't need to wait until this AGM.

I guess they wanted to stay there till now as they need to earn a living.

The exco posts, city councillors, etc.

Since the general election is expected soon, it's only natural they want to get out now.

Those posts only last that much after all.

Can Pas survive on it's own?

The probable scenario is that they will face three-cornered fights with Umno and its splinter Amanah in most places.

I think the winner will be Umno because the opposition votes would be split in such a fight.

Tok Pa may even capture Kelantan for Umno.

And Umno may also likely retain power in the other outright Malay-majority states of Terengganu, Pahang, Kedah and Perlis.

Okay, Kedah may be more tricky because of the Dr Mahathir's factor. Maybe the votes may split equally three ways - Umno, Pas and Amanah+Pribumi Bersatu.

But still, I don't see Pas winning even in Kedah. I think it should be between BN led by Umno or Pakatan Harapan led by Mukhriz.

So, Pas may come out of the next general election without winning anything.

Not even Kelantan.

Well, somehow I don't think Pas people would mind that too much.

Their leaders kept saying these days that their struggle is to uplift Islam to greater heights and not actually to rule the country or even winning elections.

Something like a dakwah organisation, I guess.

By the way, Pas president DS Abdul Hadi Awang at the Pas AGM yesterday cautioned Muslims not to be split.


That's good.

Wish he had said that long ago.

In fact I think Pas should be dissolved and its members be made to join Umno.

Or at least it can be transformed into a dakwah organisation like Abim while its members do their politics in Umno.

That way there will be true unity of the Perpaduan Ummah variety.

That way also there will be no more people claiming they are more muslim than the others and use that argument to win votes in elections, especially in the kampung-kampung.

Well, that's just my suggestion, okay.

Anyway, I hope those injured at the Pas complex during the storm yesterday are okay and getting treatment in hospital.

Crazy weather these days, eh.

Okay, a bit of entertainment should do for a Sunday,


Of course the song is not for Pas people. It's too feeling feeling. Pas people are good tough Muslims and only listen to nasyid for entertainment :)

Cheers.

Friday 28 April 2017

People love their freedom

I think this is silly,

WhatsApp group admin may face action if members spread false news


It followed this Berita Harian front page the other day,


Come on la.

If want to catch the real culprits, go and track down those who started the fake news, can or not?

Scare people from becoming Wassap admin for what?

I think this sorts of nonsense will only built more resentment towards the government.

Yes, spreading fake news is bad, but being seen as curtailing freedom of speech is even worse.

How the hell are they going to enforce this anyway?

For me, a much better way to stop the spread of false news is by giving out the real news in such a way that the people believe it more than the fake news.

How?

By being more credible than the ones who spread the fake news.

Make people like and trust you so that they will listen and believe that the news you give them is the truth.

Read this post of mine from the other day to get some idea of how it can be done,

Facts don't win hearts

Anyway, back to that jailing Wassap admin stupidity, let me tell you that even if you are right, the more you try to suppress  freedom of speech, the more people will hate you.

That's just simply the way people are.

This country is a democracy and therefore being liked is important, irregardless whether you are right or wrong.

The people hold the ultimate power because their votes will decide how it's going to be.

If they hate you, you are not going to get their votes. It's as simple as that.

Malaysians will hate you if you try to take their freedom away.

Sometimes, I don't really understand why some people in position of authority can't see this.

They seemed to want to do things the easy way.

Arrest, jail, sue, shut down, close down etc.

Are those the only ways they can think of in countering dissent?

Don't they realise that such tactics will backfire at the polls later on?

Why can't they be credible and smart in persuading people to trust them instead?

Well, never mind. I'm not paid to give these sorts of advice to such people, anyway.

So, let them continue to shoot their own feet.

Actually, I don't really give a shit about this Wassap nonsense.

I'm in only two Wassap groups now- one strictly for work with my colleagues and another one with my family members.

I don't really like Wassap groups.

Used to be in several of them but I quit because I can't tahan the nonsense that everyone wrote and share in them.

Everything want to share....as if I care what they are having for lunch, whether their kids are doing well in school, where they are going shopping etc.

The political nonsense shared in Wassap are the worst. So much bullshit.

But still, to stop people from airing their nonsense in such apps is equally bullshit.

Most people are not like me, okay. They love their bullshit and if you try to take it away from them, they would hate you for it.

Anyway, there are other messaging apps out there.

If they kacau at Wassap, can use the others.

I installed Line last month.

You can check it out here,

LINE : Free Calls & Messages


It's the most popular in Japan and Taiwan.

It's cute.

Here is a Japanese friend of mine welcoming me to Line.

Wednesday 26 April 2017

Rest in peace dear child

This is the sad story of the day,

Beaten tahfiz student dies


What had the boy done that his life ended that way?

Why did that teacher beat him up like that?

Why did his parents sent him to such a school?

He was just 11 years old.

Mohamad Thaqif Amin Mohd Gaddafi

So many questions and I have no real answers to them.

I was lost for words when I first started following this story last week and I still am when I heard that the boy had passed away this afternoon.

I always tried to avoid discussing religion because as I admitted in the past, I'm not a very religious person and have limited religious knowledge.

However, on this one, please excuse me for stating that I am very disappointed that this tragedy happened at a religious school and the teacher who beat up the boy most probably a supposedly religious man.

What actually happened?

Obviously something was wrong.

Religious or not, you are not supposed to beat up an 11 year-old kid.

Especially not to the point of causing the child to lose his limbs and eventually die.

Fine, I'm not going to pass judgement beyond that.

I would wait for the authorities to complete their investigation.

This is just me taking out this lump of sadness from my heart.

Deepest condolences for the boy's family.

Allah loves him more than anyone else, definitely.


Tuesday 25 April 2017

Facts don't win hearts

A pro-Najib friend asked for my opinion on this news,

1MDB and IPIC agree on arbitration settlement


Told him that I have no opinion on it.

Honestly, I never truly understand the 1MDB issue due to its complexities.

That's why I don't really write about it.

My friend on the other hand was happy with the news.

He said it settled the issue.

I didn't say anything or asked for him to explain why that was so.

I suspect that he doesn't really understand the issue too and was only saying he's happy because others who support Najib kept saying that.

The same goes with most others from the other side who whacked Najib over the issue.

They just believe and follow what others were saying without really understanding it.

Many claimed that they understand it, but I believe that's because of pride more than anything else.

Well, never mind.

That has always been the case with most of us when it comes to politics.

Facts doesn't really matter because most of the time people formed their opinion based on sentiments.

No matter how accurate your facts were, if people don't like your face, they will not believe you.

That's why if you want to present your facts, you better make your audience like you first.

If you are arrogant because you said you have all your facts right, they will just give you their middle fingers.

Man with facts : "Hey you all stupid people, see, my facts are all in order. You all better listen to me."

Angry people without facts : "Fuck off you arrogant bastard. Shove your facts up your ass. We don't give a shit. We just hate you all pompous mother fuckers."

Something like that.

This was exactly what happened before the last general election.

The "Asal Bukan Umno" campaign was a sample of how the public was urged to hate without thinking too much.

Once people hate Umno, they don't care what facts were presented before them.

It's simple and effective.

The hate was built on sentiments.

And the sentiments were built on emotive issues such as the death of Teoh Beng Hock back then.

The opposition parties played up the issue to the maximum and it became a major contributing factor which caused the Chinese tsunami of 2013.

People were angry.

And angry people don't really give a shit about facts.

I think the game play will still be the same for the next general election.

It will all depend on how both sides play on the sentiments.

It's not going to be based on facts.

The big question is - are the people angry enough to a point where they don't care what will happen after the election?

The opposition would like to hope so, I guess.

They want the people to be angry enough with BN to a point where they forgot that the opposition were themselves in a bad mess.

BN, on the other hand, really should not irritate the people some more.

Too much of that already.

For instance, I think if Umno have something good to announce, they better find someone else other than Ku Nan to do it.


Sorry, but just looking at his face irritates me.

See, that's sentiment.

I don't have the facts on why Ku Nan's face irritates me....but it just does.

Find someone more handsome to make such announcements, boleh tak?

Otherwise I would not be bothered to listen, okay.

So, having facts alone is not good enough.

You need to be good looking or at least charming too.

If got good clean heart, better still.

That's at least as far as I'm concerned lah :)

Saturday 22 April 2017

A little rambling of a restless mind

Been a week since my last post.

Got some personal issues to settle, so no mood to write.

Anyway, what were there that really matter to write these days?

Some whacked Najib, others whacked Dr Mahathir, the rest are just the usual ding dong...more or less the same over and over.

Seriously, you all really want to read those ka?

Everything more or less the same, isn't it?

Okay, the recent Zairil-Dyana Sofea thing may be a bit exciting....but even if it's true, that's their business. Why should I or you all be so kepoh about it?

Anyway, all these alleged sex or semi-sex scandals are of no point, really.

They don't really have much impact.

Really. Some even have videos, yet still they prosper.

So, what's the point?

Maybe I'm just a bit jaded for now.

Maybe if my mood change for the better, I can write better.

See lah.

Now I'm resting somewhere on the east coast. Long weekend.

Drove here yesterday night.

Took this picture at the Temerloh R&R of the East Coast Highway,


It looks weird because the camera of my phone was foggy due to the car aircon.

Anyway, that R&R is a bit special to me. I managed to help get food and assistance for flood victims sheltered there during the big flood three years ago. One of those memories which made me happy.

Eh, enough lah of my rambling.

Here's a nice song you all can enjoy instead,


I used to sing this song to someone I love.

Have a good weekend guys.

Ciao.

Sunday 16 April 2017

Doctors are criminals? (updated)

(Updates at the bottom of this post)

This is the main front page story of Mingguan Malaysia today,



The story was sent to me by a doctor, who is one of those accused as trying to cheat in paying their taxes.

He accompanied the story with this remark,

"Jahat kan Dr kat private hospital - dah kira criminals nih"

I first highlighted the issue in this post in September last year,


My posts was relatively sympathetic of the doctors.

A colleague, who is an accountant was however not very pleased with the tone of my post.

He insisted that the doctors are cheats and should be dealt with accordingly.

His argument was that the doctors should had hired accountants to do their taxes if they have no intention to cheat.

So, I checked it out with a neurosurgeon friend about the accountant's allegation against him and the other doctors.

The neurosurgeon is the one whom I highlighted in this post

Please give the good doctor what he wants 

Yes, he's the one, who helped out by performing surgeries at a government hospital.

He said when he started his private practice about four years ago, he followed what the other doctors did, that is to hire an accountant consultant to do his taxes.

He did exactly as told by the accountant when it comes to taxes.

His was no different than the other private doctors.

Then, he was told by the Inland Revenue Board that he was not paying his taxes properly.

Now he has to pay the amount said not paid previously, along with quite a huge sum of penalties.

"I was really not trying to cheat my taxes," he said.

" I was just following what was told by my accountant.

"I really don't mind paying the sum they said I have not paid, but when they imposed the penalties, I feel that it makes me some sorts of a criminal.

"And they were not very nice about the whole thing."

Well, I guess the Inland Revenue Board people, being very powerful that they are, couldn't care less about such consideration.

In this previous post which I did as a follow-up to the issue,

In defense of good doctors 

I wrote again about my friend the neurosurgeon (excerpts),

I believe the good doctor I highlighted in that post was also caught in the tax issue.

I hope the whole thing will not discourage him from trying to help the less well-off patients at the government hospitals.

Well, saving lives is not easy after all.

There are people who don't even want to appreciate it.


Unfortunately, it turns out that my friend was actually quite affected by what the taxmen did to him.

He was angry.

He told me a few days ago that he had stopped performing surgeries at the government hospital.

He said since the government has no consideration for him, he doesn't feel very much like helping out at the government hospital anymore.

Actually, I was quite sad and lost for words when he said that.

Nothing much I can say because he volunteered to help out at the hospital and therefore it's his right too to stop doing so. Not many bothered to do what he did in the first place.

Nonetheless, I hope that once he cool off, he would go back and help out again.

They don't have a neurosurgeon at that government hospital and patients with spinal or brain ailment and injury were forced to be transferred to KL general hospital. It lessen the chances of survival.

Okay, maybe my friend could consider helping out in treating all the other patients again except those who are  taxmen and accountants. Can?

UPDATES

Please read these stories too :


Saturday 15 April 2017

Get it over and done with

So, according to this Bernama report, PM DS Najib Razak said,

BN Ready For GE14 

Okay, that's good.

That means we can have the general election early.

Yup, let's get it over and done with.

I think everyone is itchy to settle things early too.

Most are probably tired of the endless bitching by both sides.

Really wasting time and energy.

May as well quickly settle the whole damned nonsense.

If BN wins, then Najib can have another term at the top and everyone can stop with all those allegations against him. After all the rakyat are the ones who would have decided on it.

If Pakatan wins....well, they can do whatever hell they want too.

It's only fair what.

I think the best time for Najib to call for the early general election is just after Sea Games in September.

At first I thought it should be in November after the tabling of next year's budget in parliament, but that budget may not be nice enough to help with winning the election.

Well, whatever.....any which way also can, okay.

Just get it done with minimal fuss.

I want to proceed after that with doing more beneficial things without having to be bothered by all those political bitching.

Whatever it is, compared to the run-up of the last general election, I think this time things are much slower.

I believe the BN's readiness for polls, as said by Najib, is not as great as back then before the general election in 2013.

The Pakatan's one appears the same to me.

Less enthusiasm on both sides of the ground.

At least that's how I feel about it.

Maybe it's true....everyone is tired.

I'm definitely tired.

Writing only just little bits and pieces these days....like this post.

Why bother writing long posts and tiring people to read them, right?

Okay that's all.

I'm going to continue watching Korean drama now.


And here's a nice sad song for what seems to be a nice Saturday,


Thursday 13 April 2017

Hishammuddin ahead of Zahid, maybe...

Almost everyone I know was caught off guard by DS Hishammuddin Hussein's appointment as Special Functions Minister yesterday.


All they could do was to speculate about it.

No one I know could say for sure what's really happening.

Maybe today there will be some proper explaination, but I don't think that would be enough to quell the rumours.

People nowadays simply refuse to believe in political announcements.

They always want to know what they believe was the real story behind such announcements.

Honestly, I'm also not sure what's happening.

And as the others, all I can do is to speculate.

I don't really like doing that but it's all I could offer a friend who asked my opinion about it yesterday evening.

These are what I told my friend,

- PM DS Najib Razak is promoting Hishammuddin ahead of his deputy DS Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

- Hishammuddin will play a more important role in his new capacity than Zahid in preparations for the next general election.

- General election is very near. Maybe between September and December.

- Hishammuddin will be Najib's successor...maybe later, if not now.

- Najib must had felt that Hishammuddin is a better bet for him than Zahid.

- Definitely not a very good news for Zahid's camp.

- Zahid will not protest this move. He can't, even if he wants to because he simply doesn't have the capacity. He's outgunned.

Then again, I'm merely speculating.

Told my friend, who is a hardcore Umno member that it's just coffee shop talk.

Just gossips.

I really got no special interest in it.

I don't mind both guys. Doesn't matter to me who between Zahid and Hishammuddin will be on top,

It's not going to change my life, anyway.

Well, that's about it.

Getting up for work.

Have a good day.

Wednesday 12 April 2017

Cherry blossom

I'm supposed to be in Tokyo with my parents now but we had to cancel the trip because my grandfather is not well again. My mother needs to be here for him.

It's cherry blossom season over there in Japan.

Since we can't go over there, last night my friend sent these pictures, especially for my mother to cheer her up a bit.



Very nice, right?

And these are pictures my friend took as he walked home from work last night,



I wish we can have something similar here in Malaysia.

Also, I wish we have the capacity to appreciate such beauty.

It would be nice if we can pause a bit and appreciate God's gifts to us.

Life should not be all bad.

It should not be just about being power hungry and money grabbing at all costs.

Lie, cheat, steal, back stabbing etc. Bottom line is about who is powerful and rich.

It's something I'm afraid our society is heading to right now.

Once power and money is all that matter, I think all the cherry blossom in the world would not make any difference to us.



To read more about cherry blossom, please click on this link : Cherry blossom

Friday 7 April 2017

Helping poor people better than politics

A friend received this from his wife earlier this morning,


It's from the Facebook page of social activist Kuan Chee Heng.

My friend then forwarded the screenshot to his friend in Kota Iskandar.

The guy in Kota Iskandar quickly did the necessary, and this is the outcome,



The visit to the family's home was at 2.30pm today.

My friend was also told by the guy in Kota Iskandar that Tanjung Puteri assemblyman Datuk Adam Sumiru will do the necessary follow-ups.

It's heartwarming that actions were promptly taken to further help the family.

This is better than all the political nonsense that's been going on.

Hopefully those responsible to care for such matters could adopt the same approach.

Better still if such cases were detected early before it's highlighted in the social media.

Anyway, alhamdulillah that the suffering of the family could now be eased to a certain extent.

Wednesday 5 April 2017

Democracy not for those with serf mentality

Things have quieten down a lot of late.

Not much politics.

Most of those written over the past days are repeats.

I think you all could notice that too.

The pro-establishment blogs and social media players are still as usual whacking opposition leaders, but they are mostly what I had read before.

Nothing new.

The anti-establishment ones seemed even more subdued.

Probably everyone has runs out of ammunition.

Maybe getting a bit tired of the whole nonsense too.

Just like me.

Really.

I'm struggling even to write just this much.

Come to think of it, how much can we actually whack one another.

There must be a limit to it, right?

In more matured democracies, they don't even need to whack one another.

Even if they do, it remains purely politics and not personal.

So unlike us here.

We go to great length to hurt each other over politics.

Cut off ties with each other just because of it.

Well, guess we are not there yet among the better democracies.

But we shouldn't blame ourselves too much over it.

After all, many of us still have the serf mentality.

Just like in ancient time when we were blindly loyal to our feudal lords.

This one is in the US and such. It's different in Malaysia.

It's the lack of education, I supposed.

We don't even know why we have to enslave ourselves to any certain leader.

Even if the so-called leader is clearly a rotten one.

It could also be that we are just following the crowd.

Can't even think for ourselves.

It's really comical, actually.

Well, never mind.

If that's how it's going to be, then let it be.

I prefer to let things go through its course.

Some people got all worked up over the nonsense, but I prefer to do my best and then let things turns naturally. I'm not very religious but I believe that the rest is up for Allah to decide.

Come polling day, I will decide whom I'm giving my votes to, based on whether my life is better or worse since the last election. If it's better, I will vote for the establishment, but if it's worse, I'll vote for the other side.

It's as simple as that.

For the meantime, I will try to do as much good as I can.

Lots of works to be done, okay.

Only fools have the time for too much politics.

Okay, some got paid to work on the too much politics, but for you all who were not paid, why bother la?

After all, the country is still not really in such a bad state.

It's not that we got starving people out there on the streets, right?

Well, I need to get up now and get ready for work.

See, I'm like most of you all too.

Need to work, earn a living, take care of the loved ones, etc etc.

Okay, ciao and cheers.

Saturday 1 April 2017

Semarak Biru - World Autism Awareness Day

Tomorrow, April 2, is World Autism Awareness Day.

There is going to be this event organised for it and everyone is invited,


And this is a message forwarded to me from the Facebook page of Permata Kurnia director Dr Hasnah Toran,


Anak sulung saya yg mengalami autisme sudah berumur 22 tahun. 

Klu sy cerita semua ibu bapa yg ada anak autisme tentu faham. 

Pernah ambil cuti separuh gaji 6 bulan utk buat ABA home program utk dia, sambung cuti tanpa gaji 6 bulan utk sambung buat home program.

Lepas tu suami pulak ambil cuti separuh gaji sambung home program utk dia. 

Lps tu letak jawatan, ambil loan utk buat phd dalam bidang intervensi awal. 

suami yg ada MBA ambil cuti tanpa gaji ikut sy ke US, tlg jaga anak while sy study. 

Cerita takat ni pun dah boleh faham knp lamaaaaa sy hanya drive viva. 

Blk ke Msia, mana ada tempat utk anak saya belajar, autisme dia teruk, berhempas pulas buka Makmal Autisme. 

Kalau parents sekarang complaint tak ada services utk anak autisme, apa tah lagi pada tahun 1990an dulu. 

Parents perlu faham majoriti org Msia tak pernah dengar autisme, kalau pernah dengar pun tak faham, kalau faham pun tak boleh nak empati dgn apa yg kita lalui. 

Sebab tu kalau nak pendidikan inklusif utk anak, nak Pend Khas berkualiti utk anak, nak Permata Kurnia di setiap negeri utk anak, nak tempat bekerja utk anak autisme yg dah dewasa, nak independent living program etc etc etc, KITA KENA BUKA MULUT DAN BAGI ORG FAHAM KEPERLUAN ANAK KITA. 

Tak cukup dgn hanya mengeluh. 

Parents yg hanya mengeluh, saya hanya akan pandang shj, nak jawab pun buat buang karan. 

Mengeluh tak akan improve apa2. 

Kita perlu advocate, nak2 pula bulan April ini, bulan kesedaran autisme. 

Saya cakap terus terang saya sakit hati bila org kata Permata Kurnia membazir, 

wei! kami beri perkhidmatan intervensi awal dan pra sekolah pendidikan khas kpd 300 org anak autisme. 

Yg kata membazir ini adalah org2 yg anak semua sihat2 SPM score 35 straight As. 

Mereka tak akan faham. 

Dan selagi kita hanya mengeluh, mereka tidak akan pernah faham. 

Sebab itu saya mohon pls pls pls sokong usaha kami pada 2hb April ini, pada pukul 745mlm di Dataran DBKL utk acara Semarak Biru. 

Datuk Bandar KL akan nyalakan lampu biru pada seluruh bangunan DBKL. Bukan mudah tahu nak dapat Datuk Bandar yg prihatin macam ni!! 

Macam kawan saya kata, buka tiap2 malam kami mohon sokongan di tengah2 KL, bukan tiap2 minggu, bukan tiap2 bulan. 

Hanya 1 malam dalam setahun!! 

Demi nak bagi masyarakat faham ttg cabaran hidup anak kita, supaya mereka terbuka hati utk bantu, demi masa hadapan anak yg lebih cerah. 

Bersusah payah hanya satu malam, moga2 Allah bukakan jalan untuk Pendidikan Khas semakin maju, Pendidikan Inklusif semakin terbuka pintunya, dan kerajaan2 negeri mula faham perlunya sheltered work place untuk anak2 kita. 

Jom tarik nafas dalam2 pada 2hb April ni, pack bag dgn keperluan anak, naik komuter or bawa kereta ke KL, spend 3 jam bersama kami dari 7.30 mlm hingga 10.30 mlm, doa2 org media datang ramai2, supaya acara kita dapat coverage front page, supaya 1 Malaysia sedar bhw 2hb April adalah Hari Kesedaran Autisme!! 

Jom Supermommies and Superdads! (dan mohon viralkan poster Semarak Biru juga!)

And this is a song for those who have to live with autism,

Umno did the right thing over RUU355

There was this story two days ago,

BN will not table RUU355 Bill 


I have expected that.

If Umno has proceeded with forcing its allies into supporting the Pas-initiated Bill to strengthen the power of Syariah Courts, I believe BN will collapse.

The non-Malay Muslim component parties will leave it.

I believe the component parties in Sarawak will also do the same.

Even Sabah Umno may become very uncomfortable about it.

MCA, Gerakan and the others are weak now, but without them the multi-racial BN simply can't exist.

Umno can't afford to lose them.

If they leave, the multi-racial vehicle which has enabled BN to rule the country all these while will become that of the opposition coalition's.

Pakatan Harapan currently consist Pribumi Bersatu (Malay), PKR (multi-racial), Amanah (moderate Islamist) and DAP (Chinese-based).

Other than that, the BN's Sarawak parties have clearly made their stand that they don't want Pas to gain a foothold in their State. Working with the Islamist party on RUU355 will open the door for Pas to do exactly that. Do bear in mind that the majority of Sarawakians are non-Muslims.

It's almost the same scenario in Sabah.

I actually wrote something about all these in this post on Jan 27,

Be happy and enjoy the celebrations. No way they will throw you all into the sea


Excerpts :

What will happen is that the opposition will seize the opportunity to turn itself into a multi-racial coalition like BN used to be. They have Malay Muslims dominating PKR, Amanah and Pribumi Bersatu.

Umno, after getting rid of MCA and the other supposedly "trojan horses", will be with Pas (which since its inception aims to destroy Umno) and the bumiputera parties in Sabah and Sarawak.

Bear in mind that the Pas grassroots have always been opposed to the idea of teaming up with Umno. I even believe that they hate Umno more than they hate DAP.

And those Sabah and Sarawak bumiputera parties were never comfortable with using race and religion as political tools, as such tactics don't even work over there.

They may even pull out of BN too if Umno insists on going along with Pas on the RUU355 issue.

I was told that even Sabah Umno feels the same discomfort over the matter. 

Contrary to what those RUU355 supporters in Umno think, many Malay Muslims, including those in Umno itself are not with them.

The majority of Malay Muslims are not racial or religious bigots and want to continue living in a peaceful and moderate multi-racial Malaysia.  

Umno may ends up going into the next general election holding just its own balls if it proceeds with supporting the Pas' RUU355 agenda.

However, I do believe that PM and Umno president DS Najib Razak and his better lieutenants can see this danger.

They will not let BN to self-destruct over the matter.

Ya, I think I got it right when I wrote that post.

Weird characters at Pas-initiated RUU355 gathering at Padang Merbok in February

Well, the guy who wrote this in early February also got it right,

Umno’s future is with BN, not Pas


IT came as quite a shock to many when Pas and Pribumi Bersatu announced last week that they had set up a joint technical committee to work out ways for the two parties to work together in the coming 14th general election.
This was especially so, because Pas of late appeared to have been enjoying an increasingly cordial relationship with Umno and that has  led many observers to believe the rival Malay Muslim parties may join forces soon.
The fact that the statement on the joint technical committee was made by Pas deputy president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man and his Pribumi Bersatu counterpart Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir added to the seriousness of the matter.
Pas président Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang was nonetheless quick to play down the significance of the matter by describing it as a “normal meeting” and that the final decision on whether his party will work with Pribumi Bersatu would only be decided by the Pas central committee.
He even added: ”We have set up a guideline and boundary, that is, Pas will not cooperate with any party which have relationship with DAP and Amanah.”
Pribumi Bersatu, consisting mostly renegade Umno leaders and members, is an ally of DAP and Amanah, which are now Pas’ bitter foes after the collapse of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition in 2015.
Several other top Pas’ leaders had also been issuing their own statements which were similar to Hadi’s, keeping the possibility of a Pas-Umno political cooperation alive.
Nonetheless, Tuan Ibrahim, in an exclusive interview with The Mole on Monday, reiterated that Pas will never have any kind of political cooperation with Umno.
He even pointed out that the Pas’ stand on the matter had actually been said many times by Hadi himself.
“Logically, Umno will not follow our terms, for instance, it will not give up its seats in Terengganu to us. Likewise, we (Pas) will not give up our seats in Kelantan to them. We maintain our stand as an opposition party. That (electoral cooperation with Umno) has never crossed our mind,” Tuan Ibrahim was quoted as saying.
On the warming of ties between Pas and Umno of late, particularly effort by both to help the displaced Rohingyas, he said: “Contrary to popular beliefs, we do not cooperate with Umno. In fact, the solidarity and charity events that we had attended were not organised by Umno, but by the non-governmental bodies together with the government to stop the genocide.”
Those unfamiliar with the long history of enmity between Pas and Umno may find these conflicting statements on the Islamist party’s stand rather baffling.
But not so for people such as Kelantan Umno liaison chairman Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, who understands that political cooperation between the two parties cannot be achieved by just the show of goodwill between leaders of both sides.
Last Saturday, Mustapa, whose home state has been under Pas’ control long before he became the Umno chief there, said it would be meaningless for leaders at the highest level to cooperate if they fail to set aside the differences at the grassroots level because “at the village level, there is still animosity”.
The reality is that more time is needed if Pas and Umno are to really work together as political allies, but unfortunately they cannot afford such a luxury as the next general election is drawing near.
Most Pas leaders know this, and for those among them who are more direct in their approach such as Tuan Ibrahim, it is better for the party leaders not to risk antagonising the grassroots with talks of political cooperation with Umno, which they had portrayed among the members as their number one enemy for the past decades.
It is understandable that those who are hoping for a solid Malay Muslim front consisting of Umno and Pas in the next general election are mostly dismayed by the latest development.
However, others, especially Umno’s allies such as MCA and Gerakan will be thrilled by the latest development.
The two Chinese-based Barisan Nasional component parties have been struggling to persuade Umno not to work with Pas as they fear it would spell the end of any hope for them to win back support from their core support base which were mostly lost to DAP in the last general election in 2013.
MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai last month even warned that BN may break up if Umno proceeded with the much anticipated cooperation with Pas for the latter’s Sharia Amendment Bill, a.k.a RUU355.
Now that Pas appears to be non-committal to the prospect of political cooperation with Umno, BN could once again be focused on preparing for the next general election the way it has always been doing – presenting itself as a moderate multi-racial coalition with proven good track record of governing the country.
BN’s strength has always been their large and structured party machinery on the ground and the ruling coalition should capitalise on this by redoubling efforts on directly engaging the rakyat on bread and butter issue, instead of being bogged down by sentiments played to maximum effect by the opposition, especially in the social media.
Done properly, BN may see a resurgence of support from even the Chinese community, which so famously deserted it in 2013.
Signs were there that the percentage of Chinese votes for BN might likely increase as evident in the Sarawak election in May last year when BN did exactly the right things to win the heart and mind of the community.
Everyone in BN should also be assured that the coalition will remain solid in Sabah and Sarawak, where the people are generally known to be not very comfortable with Pas’ brand of Islam. The two states are now arguably the most bankable fixed deposits of the coalition.
Even in the Peninsular, BN’s chances in the next general election should not actually be any less if Pas refused to cooperate with Umno.
In a three-cornered fight scenario, BN actually stands a better chance in Kelantan, Terengganu, and Kedah because Pas’ vote bank of anti-Umno Malays would be divided between itself and that of the main opposition coalition.
In the present political environment, where the opposition parties are divided and fractious, BN need to look inward and see how they can work on their strengths to improve their prospects in the coming general election instead of tearing down their founding ideals and wasting resources to chase something that is less certain.