If only Najib is around to help Anwar

Umno supreme council member Puad Zarkashi has dismissed Dr Mahathir's Malay proclamation as just a gimmick.

Puad, whose statements were published almost daily by news portals these days is the new main frontman of Umno.

Just cringy, if you ask me.

I know that many Umno people in Batu Pahat feel the same about the guy.

What to do, Umno has now been reduced to that.

Anyway, the news portals are doing all they could to discredit the Malay proclamation.

Here's another similar story posted today,

Malay unity a myth, Mahathir caused disunity, says ex-MP

Nice. That's coming from the son of the late Tun Dr Ismail.

Malays should never be allowed to unite ever again.

The last time they did was actually in 1946 and as many DAP people have said, the country then suffered under Umno's rule for decades.

Malaysia was as bad as Zimbabwe because of that, they said.

Fortunately, the non-Malays have over the past decade been united under DAP to overthrow the evil Umno and transformed it into a nice little junior partner of the ruling Pakatan Harapan.

Well, now this business of uniting the Malays had been taken over primarily by Pas, which is scarier because of its Islamist ideology.

Its main sidekick, Pribumi Bersatu is made up of the more radical Malay nationalists who were kicked out of  Umno.

They made quite a lot of inroad in the Malay-dominated states in the last general election and expected to repeat the performance in the coming state polls.

It was feared that they may even gain ground in the less dominated Malay states such as Selangor and Negri Sembilan.

It's now paramount for Anwar and gang to stop these Malay Islamists.

How?

I'm not really sure, actually.

Definitely not by letting loose irritating characters like Puad to criticise Dr Mahathir, Pas, Pribumi Bersatu and their gang.

That would only make more Malays wanting to side with them.

I think it would be a better move for Anwar to let Umno improve its standing among the Malays so that it could win back its support base to neutralise Pas and Pribumi Bersatu.

Get more credible Umno leaders like Mat Hasan and Jo Ghani to be the faces of the party instead of someone like Puad.

Too bad that Najib is still in jail. Otherwise, he'll make another good spokesperson for the party. to win back Malays' support.

Yes, I know the guy was convicted for corruption but the truth is that Malaysians don't really care about such things.

Really.

Anwar was convicted for sodomy, yet after he was given royal pardon, he went on to become the PM.

Malaysia is perhaps the only country ever to have a PM with such a conviction.

Well, Najib is still highly popular among especially the Malays despite his conviction for corruption.

For many, it was political prosecution, the same as it was with Anwar's sodomy conviction.

Despite 1MDB, Najib's administration was arguably the best that the country has had since Dr Mahathir's first stint as PM.

So, if Najib is available and he goes campaigning around for Umno, in support of Anwar and the gang, then many Malays will not go over to the other side.

Perhaps Pakatan people who oppose a royal pardon for Najib should reconsider.

After all, it's not as if Najib will become a PM again.

Having Najib around is not such a bad thing for Pakatan people compared to Malays being united under Pas and its gang.

Oh, by the way, I think Anwar turning around the country's economy for the better would help too.

Unfortunately, no sign of that yet.

Pas is going all out to unite the Malays

Hadi and the other Pas leaders have apparently signed Dr Mahathir's Malay proclamation last night.

This was obviously part of preparations to unite the Malays for the coming state elections.

Dr Mahathir's influence may no longer be the same among the Malays but the significance of Pas supporting his initiative for a united Malays should not be dismissed.

Looks like the handsome old man, despite his advanced age, will be campaigning for Perikatan over the next few months.

He may to a certain extent sway some undecided Malays to vote for that coalition.

Well, Pas is now not shying away from having even its long-time foe Dr Mahathir on its side.

The outcome of the state elections may not change anything in Putrajaya but Perikatan's possible successes may put a lot of pressure on the Anwar's administration.

This is particularly so if the Malays overwhelmingly vote for Perikatan.

Penang, which has slightly more Chinese and Indian voters compared to Malays would probably be the only safe state for Pakatan.

Based on the outcome of GE15, an overwhelming victory for Perikatan could happen in the Malay-dominated states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah.

What would be more worrying for Anwar and his allies would be the outcome of the polls in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.

Being currently just an arm-chair observer, I can't tell whether the so-called green wave has gain or lose momentum over the past half a year since GE15, but I can sense that the situation is still worrying for Pakatan.

Anwar would be relying heavily on Umno to stem the tide but the once dominant Malay-based party is currently at its weakest point following the devastating losses in GE15 and subsequent internal purges.

Many Malays now regard Umno as being just a junior partner in the Pakatan-led government and this may lead them to shift their support for the Pas-driven Perikatan. 

The Anwar's administration will definitely be in danger if Negeri Sembilan and even more importantly Selangor fall to Perikatan because of the possible Malay tsunami, 

Pakatan will be reduced to only DAP-dominated Penang. while Umno-led BN, which now controls Perak, Pahang, Melaka and Johor may reconsider its position for fear of losing those holdings.

Sarawak and Sabah will as usual follow which ever side that could offer them the best deal.

On the positive note though, Anwar and his allies could take comfort on the fact that Perikatan has not been very vocal on Malay and Islamic issues since GE15 as compared to how Umno and Pas were relentless in exploiting them after GE14.

This was probably due to Pakatan's success in preventing Perikatan from exploiting such issues.

DAP in particular had done well in shutting up its extremist elements, who were very vocal after GE14.

Fo instance, the BJP/LTTE wannabes within its ranks have been relatively quiet, which is a good thing.

Alhamdulillah. No more beating up a fireman to death this time.

I think they also fear that Pas and its allies will ride on the majority Malay votes to take over the whole thing and once in power go after them.

Hopefully those extremists will continue to shut up after the state elections.

Lady journalists

 NST carried this Bernama's story today.

Women still underrepresented in senior editorial roles in Malaysia

and uses this picture to go with it

Why three of the ladies are wearing sleeveless clothing and two of them have weird coloured hair.

Trying to be extra feminist and woke, is it?

Journalists should wear proper working clothes and put on decent appearance la.

If I'm an editor, I wouldn't let them go on assignments like that.

Well, if women journalists want to be taken seriously, they should take their duties seriously and put on the appropriate appearance.

So, not enough high ranking women journalists in Malaysia?

Honestly, I don't think that's a real issue.

As far as I know, the gender of a journalist in this country is not really a barrier for him/her to be successful.

You work hard, play the office politics well, and you will get promoted.

I never actually heard of someone not being given a top post in media organisations in this country because she is a woman.

Only feminists like to think otherwise.

They like to think that women are being victimised but the fact is I know many good male journalists who were also deprived of promotion to senior positions.

It's even a matter of luck, sometimes.

Sometimes the bosses simply just don't like your face.

Or maybe because you are too bitchy and talk back too much.

Or it's because of your political affiliation.

That's what I know about the newsrooms in this country.

Really.

Never heard of a bunch of media bosses sitting in a meeting saying "Let's not promote her because she's a woman".

"Let's not promote her because she's too bitchy" got la.

Ladies, you want to get promoted to that top job, work for it and navigate the office politics well.

Don't expect to be promoted on a woman quota as that would not make you a good journalist.

If you become a top editor just because you are a woman, then your organisation will suffer for it and your colleagues will only have contempt for you.

Same as those who got promoted because of their cables.

Anyway, the media organisations as we know them are suffering these days.

Low advertisement revenue and the social media are killing them.

People expect news to be free, not knowing that the business of news gathering requires a lot of money.

That should be the immediate concern, instead of whether the bosses are male or female.

Senior editors should be those who could guide their media organisations to produce good news contents and bring in the needed revenues.

Doesn't matter whether they have penises or vaginas.

Raya with Covid

Today is the third of Raya and the first time I'm up and about since almost a week.

Believe it or not, I'm now recovering from Covid-19.

Been dodging it for three years and kena juga in the end. Sigh.

I'm drinking lots of warm lemon water, coconut water and Coke.

The Coke is for my sore throat, actually.

I'm still not 100 per cent okay, but can do a bit of work and do this little post.

As I said in my last post I don't really celebrate Raya like most people do and Covid made sure I didn't celebrate at all this year.

Heard others are going all out at it.

The PM and his people are going from state to state with it.

As if the country is already fine and dandy now.

Government has too much money, is it?

Why we want to celebrate anything when things are still tough for most people?

I'm not sure but it does seemed more and more like part of a political campaign for the coming states' elections.

Using government's money that is.

BN leaders used to do that with their funfair-style events disguised as government programme.

Didn't do them any good as we can see now.

Except for their own supporters, I don't know who really want to go to those events in the current hot and hazy weather.

There's the danger of Covid-19 too.

It's stupid anyway.

Islam doesn't teach Muslims to celebrate Raya that way.

For me, Raya is time for reflections and counting our blessings for what Allah bestowed in life - rezeki, family and love for each other.

More important than Raya

About a week from Raya and I have not done anything for the coming celebrations.

No baju or kuih raya this time as I need to save as much as I could due to my current financial constraints.

Last year made pineapple tarts but butter is so expensive now.

I also intend to stay here in the East coast for the occasion instead of going back to KL.

Save duit minyak and toll as well as other expenses that come with travelling.

It's also much cheaper to spend time here.

Basically my Raya is just going to be some greetings via WhatsApp and maybe a bit of nasi impit and rendang on the first day.

Doesn't really matter as I'm not too much into Raya or any other kind of celebrations anyway.

After all, celebrations were meant for good time and it's not a good financial time for me right now.

Really, it's okay. I always believe in living within my means.

I'm not sad or anything because despite my difficulties, I still have enough to go on by.

It's not like I'm starving and couldn't pay my bills.

I even still have wifi, okay. 

Ya, having wifi is more important to me compared to spending money on berhari raya.

I also always keep in mind that there are many more people who are less fortunate than me.

They are struggling to provide for their families and some even having to rely on handouts and soup kitchens to survive.

Just look at the current urban poverty situation in KL.

Almost half a year since we have this current government and things are still like that.

What? Rahmah meals? Sure.

Ya, I know. They need more time.

Later they are going to say they need another term to turn around the economy.

Sure.

Well, fuck that. I don't really care anymore.

Just trying to survive and take care of myself for now.

Everyone else have to take care of themselves too. 

Shouldn't care too much about other people when you yourself are struggling to continue with life.

Forget the bigger picture.

And students, you all better listen to the PM. 

The other day he said you all shouldn't go to the streets if you are not happy with how things are.

Focus on studying, so that you all don't end up with just a general degree of some obscure social science course because you spent too much time protesting  here and there.

Betul lah tu.

Unless, maybe if you are dreaming  of becoming a PM yourself one day...just by selling BS...like the current PM.

Anyway, I really enjoy this ongoing Ramadhan as I can stay at home all the time now.

Not too many distractions or temptations.

It helps to discipline me to perform my obligatory religious rituals, particularly the daily five prayers.

I know, it's very basic, but still I'm grateful as I always struggle on that one.

Just want to focus on that for now.

Oh, and I'm also trying my best to cleanse my heart, be more sincere, as well as avoiding anger and stress.

Yeah, I would gladly trade berhari raya to achieve all that.

The judiciary is not supreme

 No one should be supreme except Allah.

Yup, not even the raja-raja are supreme. 

If they do wrong, then we have to say that they had  done wrong.

The same with the three branches of the government that are the executive, legislature and judiciary.

None of the trio is supreme as they have to be the check and balance of each other.

I actually learnt this basic stuff in my first year at law school.

These days,  it appeared that there are those who think the judiciary is supreme and its conduct could not be questioned.

In the news today were former Bar presidents and prominent legal experts who insisted that the MACC's investigation on Justice Nazlan who sent Najib to jail for 12 years was an attack on the judiciary.

Well, MACC is part of the executive, which job is to "check and balance" the judiciary. 

It's checking and balancing, the judiciary....not attacking the judiciary.

Can't a judge who was suspected of committing a crime be investigated?

As it turned out the MACC had found that Nazlan was not being proper in his conducts while sitting as the judge before Najib.

That's why those supposedly legal experts are all jumping up against the whole thing. 

They are actually not defending Nazlan or even the judiciary but instead were defending the judgement made by Nazlan against Najib.

I'm quite sure they would be very okay if the MACC had instead found out that Nazlan was a model ethical judge with no vested interest in Najib's case.

This is all about politics again.

They are making their ugly noises because they want the 71-year-old Najib to stay and die in jail.

I'm no longer supportive of Umno but I would not agree for these people to use the judiciary to unfairly punish Najib or commit injustice against anyone else.

Judges are not supreme beings who are devoid of mistakes and biases.

It's the same as being a lawyer does not necessarily makes one clever.

There are many idiots among the lawyers too.

After all, it's not so difficult to become a lawyer. 

I know this because I could be one if I had really wanted to. 

Got my LLB (Hons) by actually doing minimum amount of studying.

You would not believe it but many idiots got through the whole thing too and became stupid members of the Bar  Council.

Some became the Bar president where they made idiotic noises all the way until they are no longer holding the post,

So puffed up in their sense of self importance.

Really guys, these people who supposed to read the laws are not all bright or even good people.

They have their own selfish agendas too.

They go to toilet to shit too, just like we all, okay.

Winning Muslims' hearts and minds

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why now?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Maybe Hannah Yeoh could attend more Ramadhan programmes. 

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

Malay Mail could do a lengthy article about it.

Seriously

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

A lot is at stake, okay.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It's too much for me to bear.

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