Wednesday 30 June 2021

Muhyiddin may stay as PM for two more years

I don't believe the parliament will have its sitting anytime soon despite the mounting pressure on Muhyiddin.

I still think it's only going to be after Aug 1.

Even the state assemblies are going to sit after the Emergency is over.

Muhyiddin will probably just ignore everyone and continue as usual.

In fact I even suspect that he probably told the Agong, Art Harun and others to join the chorus so that people will not be angry with them over the current state of affairs.

He probably told them that he will be solely responsible for parliament not being immediately reconvened.

What can Anwar, Dr Mahathir and the rest of the gang do to him after all, right?

I think he will only tell parliament to sit after he has enough number of MPs to defeat any no confidence motion against him, and that I estimate to be around September or October.

At that time more people will be vaccinated and Covid numbers have dropped to a manageable level.

Yup, I think he can pull that one off.

So far, he has even managed to get some Pakatan MPs to switch sides.

Well, unless I'm wrong and that Muhyiddin already have enough MPs now, he may call the parliament to sit tomorrow.

Really, I don't think he will just roll over and die, letting Anwar to take over.

He surely has learnt the lesson from Najib.

Najib handed over the government to Pakatan without much fuss after GE14 and look what happened to him.

Once you hand over power to your enemies, rightly or wrongly, you'll end up in court and possibly in jail.

So, better hang on to power by any mean whatsoever.

I think that would be the new SOPs for all Malaysian PM.

Well, you all may not like this but I think Muhyiddin will be Malaysian PM until at least the next general election in 2023.

Ya, another two years, okay.

Who knows, most of you may probably change your mind about Muhyiddin by that time.

Hahahaha.

Eh, also remember ya, Muhyiddin is where he is now because you all wanted to change the government back then. You got that, what.

Me, I don't want to care too much anymore.

Nowadays, I just want to make ends meet.

I think there are a lot of other people like me now. 

More works, less pay. Sigh.

Never mind. 

Tuesday 29 June 2021

Serba Dinamik vs KPMG: A classic case of deluded high and mighty

Someone asked for my opinion yesterday about Rocky's posting on the fight between Malaysian company Serba Dinamik and global accounting firm KPMG.

First I have to say that I hardly write about corporate stuff because I'm not of that world.

I don't like the corporate world and in fact I don't really like most corporate people because of their profit driven attitude.

"All I care about is the bottom line. I couldn't care less about your campfire stories."...one of them told me once. Urgh. What an arrogant prick.

Okay. Enough of that and back to this Serba Dinamik (SD) versus KPMG case, which Rocky found to be so interesting to write about.

I will try to make it as simple and easy to understand as possible.

The way I see it, it's a case of a bunch of arrogant  (in this case most likely young) pricks backed by the name of their all powerful international firm who think they can bully their lesser equals from a local company.

I suspect the fact that SD is a bumiputera owned and run company also contributed to the inflated ego of the KPMG boys and girls who were assigned to handle its accounts.

It's a known fact that among corporate people, bumiputera companies are not as highly regarded as others. Of course they don't say it, but such a racist mindset does exist in the supposedly "bottom line is all that matter" corporate world. 

Anyway, do bear in mind that what basically happened was that SD actually engaged KPMG to handle its account. KPMG then found something that it deemed not right and reported it to Securities Commission causing SD's shares to suffer thus prompting SD to want to sue because KPMG didn't even bother to discuss the matter with it before lodging the report. 

It's like you hiring someone to check on whether your cooking is good and that person think you didn't put enough salt in it. Instead of telling you of the need to put more salt, that person went straight to your mother-in-law and told her that you were a lousy cook leading to the whole village thinking you were not only a bad cook but also a cheating wife. Well, you know lah how people's mouths are.

To understand why the KPMG boys and girls ended up doing that, we need to see how these supposedly reputable and mighty global firms work when it got a puny (Rocky's word) local company as a client.

They would assigned a bunch of inexperienced junior executives (most are probably fresh grads) to handle the assignment. It's after all just a puny bumiputera company's account.

But mind you, despite being green and none the wiser, these cikus have the same mentality as their seniors of looking down at companies such as SD. Hey, they are from KPMG what, one of the Big Four, or is it now the Big Three....whatever.

That attitude is what I believe that led them to report to the regulator without bothering to discuss the perceived problems with SD.

SD has said that the problem reported by the KPMG cikus could have been simply rectified if it was discussed. Well, too late, damage done already as SD's shares had went down like crazy because of the report.

Personally, I don't have much sympathy for SD per se, as they were foolish enough to buy into the hype over KPMG being among the Big Four as the best for the job of handling its account. They should have just hired a bunch of good local accountants at very very much lower price to do it with equal or even better results.

Why I bothered to write about it is because the majority of actual SD shareholders are normal people and in a way that includes me. Hey EPF money is in there, okay, so that means my money is also there.

Anyway, it's good that SD is taking KPMG to court as this may not only help to reverse the dropping of its shares but also possibly change things for the better in the corporate world.

Maybe, it would make the corporate boys and girls realise that they are living under the hyped impression that they are always  superior than others, the very same attitude of those KPMG pricks when they dealt with the SD account.

Hopefully, this whole thing will really get to court and become very public instead of being shelved after another round of corporate wheelings and dealings.

Monday 28 June 2021

Thank you Japan

I felt that my fondness for Japan was properly justified when I read this report the other day,

Japan to send a million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Malaysia

The report also stated (excerpts);

It will also send two million additional doses of the vaccine to Taiwan and Vietnam and a million doses each to Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Japan has previously pledged US$1 billion (RM4.2 billion) and 30 million doses to the the global vaccine sharing scheme Covax and has arranged direct shipments to its Asian neighbours to speed up delivery.

When it comes to being a friend, I think Japan is the best.

Despite struggling with its own vaccination programme, Japan is being mindful of its more unfortunate friends facing supply problems caused by other rich countries hoarding the vaccines.

It had also already rushed 1.24 million vaccines to Taiwan, which supplies were possibly being blocked by the communists in Beijing who claimed it as part of their territory.

Why can't the Chinese government send vaccine to their supposedly Chinese brothers and sisters in Taiwan?

I seriously believe that the communists are trying to use the pandemic to bring Taiwan to its knees.

Anyway, I think we should do more to thank Japan for its generosity in helping us and others during this difficult time.

I tried my best to do so by sending a thank you note to all my Japanese friends via WhatsApp and they were genuinely happy that their country could help us.

They didn't complain about their government's decision on the matter despite most of them are still waiting for their turn to get vaccinated.

Well, it's good manner to say thank you to those who help us.

The Taiwanese did their best to thank Japan, United States and Lithuania, the only three countries I know so far, which had helped them by sending vaccine supplies.

Lithuania was the extra special one being a small country of less than three million people, yet it sent 20,000 doses of vaccine to Taiwan.

The Taiwanese response was so fantastic. They among others organised a campaign to buy Lithuanian goods and even sent a consignment of popular Taiwanese snacks to the Baltic country to demonstrate their gratitude.


My mother told me that this I Mei milk puff  which they sent to Lithuania was her favourite snack when she was a student in Taipei.

I believe we need more of these positive stories in weathering the pandemic.

I know, things are hard but I also believe that we will pull through this.

Let's not be too negative.

We can't win this war if we keep saying that we were already screwed up.

Tuesday 22 June 2021

Don't believe in Covid-19 lies

 I think KJ did well with this,

Khairy tells why vaccine supplies have been slow

excerpts;

He said the vaccination rate of Malaysia depended on vaccine supply, which is monopolised by countries in the EU. Advanced Asian countries including Japan were also left behind, compared to the EU, US and the UK.

Khairy said the process of vaccination in Malaysia should be compared to Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Philippines where Malaysia was ahead and almost catching up with Japan.

He said the unfair supply of vaccine has long been raised because the UK bought the vaccine five times its population and similarly with Canada.

It was only after advanced countries had achieved herd immunity did countries such as the US, Japan and even China start supplying vaccines, for which Malaysia has been waiting for so long.

I believe in his explanation because I have a friend in Japan who has yet to receive his vaccine jabs.

My friend lives in a big city there, so I guess those in the rural areas of that country are more likely not yet vaccinated too.

So, Malaysia is not that far worse when it comes to Covid-19 vaccination than the super efficient Japan.

And I heard Taiwan is also struggling with its vaccination effort.

It's not about being efficient, but rather the availability of the vaccine.

Anyway, KJ had also said more vaccines are coming soon so that the inoculation process could be hasten further and we may even be back to normal by year end.

There have even been reports that we may have GE15 soon once we overcome the pandemic.

It's good to be positive like that

Honestly, I'm a bit tired of those who keep saying that the country is doomed.

The way I see it, there are too many out there who are trying to capitalise on our worries.

I don't really like the current government, but when its critics started to paddle nonsense on Covid-19  in order to take over Putrajaya, I told myself that I don't want such people to take over.

They really shouldn't exploit our vulnerabilities to get what they want.

That makes them no better than those in government now....or even worse.

Even if we are angry with the government, we shouldn't resort to lies to achieve our objectives.

That's simply not sustainable as proven by what happened with the Pakatan government of 22 months.

They projected an image of a totally corrupt BN government even though they knew it was not as bad as they depicted and once in power they turned out to be no better or even worse than that.

It's the same thing this time. They are using lies again to get what they want without offering any guarantee that they could do any better.

The worse thing is that, they are doing it amidst real sufferings and deaths caused by the pandemic.

I want a change of government too, but not that way.

And I don't want those liars to be the next government .

Friday 18 June 2021

Better get ready for GE15...and more Covid deaths

A friend in Japan asked me yesterday what to make of the Rulers' decision for parliament to reconvene.

I told him that they have most likely did so because they were trying to distance themselves from the increasingly unpopular Muhyiddin's administration.

I believe that the Rulers felt that Muhyiddin and his gang are making them looked bad.

For instance, the state of Emergency issue got the Agong entangled in it with people believing that he was in cahoot with Muhyiddin by allowing it to happen.

I was reliably informed that one of the Sultans had even refused to take calls from the PM prior to the Conference of Rulers meeting on Wednesday.

Now the pressure is on for the parliament to be reconvened and Muhyiddin has to deal with it on his own.

His people are now selling the idea that parliament should reconvene in September or October and I think that's because they are trying to buy as much time as possible to make sure they have enough MPs on their side to face a no confidence vote which is almost certain to come.

Well, for one thing, the vaccination process is now getting better and this is important because the more people have it, the less anger there would be against the government.

Businesses may even be okay again with more people vaccinated.

This is what Muhyiddin's opponents don't want to happen when it's time for them to table that no confidence motion.

They want to do it now while the government struggles and fumbles, so that it could be used to justify themselves taking over Putrajaya.

Looking at things the way they are now, I think Muhyiddin will indeed hang on to power as this is after all a matter of survival.

He can't give up the fight because if he does so ,he would not only be condemning himself but also those who have been supporting him.

As I previously wrote, let's say Pakatan takes over, I'm quite sure people like Azmin and the other PKR turncoats will have their asses fried by Anwar.

They will indeed fight back and persuade Muhyiddin not to give up.

After all, they still have the edge of being the ones who hold state powers now.

I'm quite sure Muhyiddin would even try to cut a deal, especially with Umno, to make sure he has enough number in parliament to face a possible onslaught by Anwar and gang.

Anwar will of course try the same thing, but I have a feeling that Muhyiddin will win on this one as he, being in power has more to offer.

Then there's DAP inside the Anwar's camp which many Umno people may still probably find hard to accept as their ally.

Anyway, even if Anwar somehow managed to get Umno inside his pocket, Muhyiddin still have the option to dissolve parliament and call for a fresh election.

I was hoping for this not to happen because of the pandemic but it's now becoming a very likely scenario.

Sarawak, for one, is getting prepared for its state election with the end of the Emergency.

In the event of a snap election, I think Muhyiddin and his people may even be willing to compromise with Umno/BN or even be its junior partner to form a solid Malay Muslim block along with PAS against Pakatan.

His Pribumi Bersatu's motto may even be changed to "Asal Bukan Pakatan".

Azmin, for instance may likely think it's better to be bullied by Umno than getting his ass fried by Anwar in revenge for the Sheraton Move. Pakatan led by Anwar may just throw some corruption charges against him the way they did to Umno leaders after GE14. 

Sigh. That kind of quarrels can be quite bitter, you know.

Anyway, the election will of course cause another wave of Covid-19 infections and more people will die.

That actually goes without saying. For the sake of democracy, I would say. 

Quite expensive this democracy thing, actually.

Well, let's just hope that by that time, the majority of Malaysians are already vaccinated, so that not too many of us will die because the country needs to decide who should lead it.

Sunday 13 June 2021

Pushing for a new government now may lead to an election amidst the pandemic

The Agong has met with Muhyiddin and leaders of political parties ahead of the Rulers Council meeting on Wednesday, supposedly to decide on the state of Emergency which will end on Aug 1.

So, what will happen?

From what I read, most wanted the Emergency to end and parliament to reconvene.

Fine, but why does the parliament needs to be reconvened?

Is it because we need to ensure the present government does its job properly, especially in managing the Covid-19 crisis, or is it to replace the government altogether?

I have been against the Emergency from the start, but doesn't like the idea of changing the government while the pandemic is still raging across the country.

After all, there is no evidence that a new government would handle the crisis any better.

Yes, they all said they are better than the current government, but that's just them saying.

The same when Pakatan said they were better than BN and when given the power they proved that they are no better or probably even worse.

Furthermore, we are now in a middle of a real war with the pandemic and things can get messy if we try to change the country's leadership now.

Let's say the parliament reconvenes and a no confidence motion be tabled against Muhyiddin, do those who initiate it have enough votes?

And are we certain Muhyiddin will wait and does nothing till that point?

I have a feeling that he may dissolves the parliament even before that happened.

Then we will have a most intense general election amidst the pandemic.

This terrible scenario really shouldn't be discounted.

I believe Muhyiddin has learnt from the Sabah state election fiasco which kickstarted the current Covid-19 wave - the blame is not on the one who dissolved the state assembly, but on those who pushed for a new state government.

Yup, people blamed Umno for that one (even though Pribumi Bersatu is the real winner) and not Shafie Apdal who dissolved the assembly to trigger the state election instead of handing over power after a count of chairs in the hall.

Well, Muhyiddin may do it as he has nothing much to lose, I guess.

Anyway, even if Muhyiddin is willing to hand over power after a vote of no confidence against him, others in his camp are not likely going to give up without a fight.

People like Azmin and the other PKR turncoats know they are dead meat if Anwar, for instance takes over the government.

They would rather go down fighting.

Others who have problem with Anwar may also side with the Muhyiddin's camp.

I don't think Dr Mahathir for one, wants to wait and see whether Anwar will let him be after all those years spending time in prison because of him and then being cheated out of the PM seat when Pakatan collapsed last year.

There's no way Dr Mahathir really think Anwar is better than Muhyiddin as PM, at least not as far as his personal interests are concerned.

Then there's Umno, which has not really committed anything other than saying that parliament should reconvene to provide check and balance to what the government is doing, especially in handling the pandemic.

Nothing bombastic has come out of them so far, which is good.

Unlike Pakatan people who have started talking about a new government, Umno seems to be muted in that department.

They probably want to maintain their previous stance which was they will not try to push for a change of  government as long as the pandemic is still raging.

That's unless of course if the government haven't done anything extraordinarily horrible.

For that, I feel that the current government may not be as efficient as many wish it to be, but it has not been too horrible either.

Well, at least I can't say that they are much worse than the previous Pakatan government. Really.

So, as far as I'm concerned, I don't want a change of government until the Covid-19 war has been won or at least until the situation has reached a manageable level.

Elections, for me, need to be avoided at all cost till then.

And yes, if there is going to be a change of government, I rather it to be done via a proper election instead of other means, including a count of chairs in the parliament.

Only a government, properly chosen by the people via an election, could put this country back on its track.

Otherwise we will be stuck with one bad government after another.

But again, election must only be held after the pandemic is over.

For now, I rather bear with the current government rather than changing it with another one, which may even be worse.

Whatever it is, I just hope that it will not lead to an election amidst the pandemic, which is the worst case scenario.

May Allah protect Malaysia.