Like Father, Like Son

Hantu Laut

If you are son or daughter of a prominent figure you might be better off going for a tinkle before you show your biceps to some poor security guard.

No matter how right you were, you be deemed the guilty party.Never argue or fight with people below your level of gray matter.Don't expect a security guard to have initiative and uses his own discretion to entertain your wishes.

Minister in the PM Dept Nazri's son was reported to have assaulted a security supervisor here.











(That looks like an expensive Cubano cigar)

It took me back to the past, about three decades ago, when I had to intervene an ugly scene from ensuing between my friend and a club bouncer in Singapore, over a little misunderstanding.Coincidentally, my friend was also a son of a prominent figure in Sabah, no less a chief minister.To cut it short, I reminded my friend that this is Singapore and I am a resident here and lest he forgets his father is not a chief minister here.I was young then but my good sense saved us a night at the police lock-up, me calling my wife to bail me out and worse me picking up a criminal record.

Let see, why this young man has to travel with bodyguards? Is he trying to show off or he has too may enemies? Are the bodyguards to protect him or protect his expensive toy?

Being a son of a minister one may ask if he is he a successful business man to be able to buy a Porsche, which is an expensive toy to maintain if you don't have a deep pocket.If he is not, than tongues would be waging where he gets the money from.

Top of the range 911 Porsche would set you aside well over RM1.0 million.Not sure which model he claimed proud ownership?

What is it about this kind of people? Do they glean vicarious power from that of their fathers?

For some, it seemed to run in the family.

Anwar Gets SNAPPED: The Failure of an Opposition Leader Comes Home to Roost

By Leon H. Wolf

In a development that should be viewed as welcome by supporters of one of the relatively few functional Muslim-majority democracies in the world, signs are continuing to mount that Anwar Ibrahim’s opposition coalition may be beginning to crumble. Earlier this month, Anwar was sharply criticized by Sarawakians for only offering the Sarawak National Party (SNAP) three seats, which many Sarawakians considered to be an insultingly lowball number. Anwar attempted to deflect criticism for this move by claiming that he had an agreement signed in writing with the President of SNAP in which SNAP agreed to only contest three seats. SNAP’s response, essentially, was to call Anwar a liar:

Sarawak Nasional Party (SNAP) has strongly rebutted PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim’s claims that it had signed an agreement with the party, to contest only in three seats a few months before the recent Sarawak election.

SNAP Youth chief Dayrell Enterie said Anwar’s statement was “totally incorrect”.

“This statement of his (Anwar) is totally incorrect as neither SNAP nor its president (who was erroneously named Stanley Jugol in the Malaysiakini article) had entered into any written agreement whatsoever on seat allocations with PKR.”

Fortunately (or, one suspects, unfortunately) for Anwar, his claim was not that he had a formal understanding or a verbal agreement with SNAP regarding the allocation of seats, but that he had an agreement in writing. Therefore, this whole matter ought to be easy to clear up for Anwar – all he has to do is produce the written agreement and all will be well. Given SNAP’s flat denial of its existence, and given Anwar’s failure to produce the written agreement when he first claimed it existed, it is not difficult to guess whether or not Anwar is lying about this agreement.

More ominous than SNAP’s flat rebuttal of Anwar’s specific claim, though is the clear signal from SNAP that it is willing to walk away from Anwar and PKR, if necessary:

“SNAP wishes to reiterate that it is not a push-over party for any West Malaysian entity nor is SNAP a Pakatan stooge,” he said in a statement mailed to FMT.

These political troubles are anything but welcome for Anwar, who is trying together a bizarre coalition with disparate interests – almost none of which are any sort of good news for Western interests or for the ultimate fate of Democracy in Malaysia, especially given that Anwar has been apparently caught on a DNA test doing what the kids today refer to as “pulling a Dominique Strauss Kahn.”

It is hopeful that the political fissures now beginning to show will signal the beginning of the end for a man who mysteriously remains a cause célèbre among some of America’s hopelessly naïve elites. Anwar Ibrahim is lionized amongst the usual suspects in the United States because he was previously jailed on a sodomy charge, which was overturned in 2004. Lost in the wake of the celebration over Anwar’s release amongst these same people is the fact that Anwar was simultaneously convicted of corruption on a scale that would make William Jefferson, Duke Cunningham, and Edwin Edwards blush. This conviction was not overturned and in fact was upheld on appeal.Read more.

"Divide and Rule" - Dividing The Malays

Hantu Laut

Divide et impera or in the sciences of politics and sociology "divide and rule" or "divide and conquer" if literally translated from Latin.

From Caesar,Napolean,Louis XI, the Habsburgs to colonial Europe, divide and rule have always been the maxim for maintaining a hold on to power or breaking up larger concentration of power into smaller chunks that individually would be less powerful and less effective.

Machiavelli in his book the "Art of War" denotes the same application in military strategy.Infiltrate your enemies and divide the forces by sowing the seeds of mistrust among the ranks and file and the generals.

Colonial Europe imperialist territorial expansion gave them global network of colonies, of peoples subjugation and of divide and rule that have allowed the colonisers to exploit the natural resources and the inhabitants of the colonies to the fullest.

For centuries European colonies straddled the globe with territories changing hands among the European powers either through wars, gunboat diplomacy or treaties.The European were masters and enslavers of poor and undeveloped subordinated territories.

The "sun never sets on the British Empire" it was said at its pinnacle . At its height it was the largest empire in history and for over a century, the foremost global power.It held sway a quarter of the world's population and almost a quarter of the Earth's total land area.It ruled not only the land but all of the world's great oceans as well.That was the British Empire at its greatest, the epitome of divide and rule policy.Today, the empire is gone, the endgame of divide and rule.

The birth of the Federation of Malaya from British Malaya and the eventual formation of Malaysia was no less the same process.

Sabah and Sarawak could have been given independence on its own and many Sabahans and Sarawakians think on hindsight that would be the ideal situation, but as much as I do not wish to agree with the British, it seemed inevitable that we have not much choice but to participate in the formation of a bigger nation to counter the threat of Indonesia's expansionist policy then.Due to its weakening economic power and poor military forces the Philippines which has a claim over Sabah was not seen as a threat, it was Sukarno and Indonesia that the British was worried about.

Divide and rule policy inherited from the British had made this racially diverse nation into a very ethnically divided country and existential policies that failed to bring to fruit a national identity.

The Malays remained Malays, the Chinese remained Chinese, the Indians remained Indians. The Chinese speak Chinese and some looked upon China as the motherland and 20% of the population couldn't speak the national language properly. The Indians speaks the Indian language ( mostly Tamil) and some still looked upon Indian as the motherland and sent their sons to India to marry Indian brides chosen by the parents.

The races still eye each other with suspicion and whatever discomfort they may have with each other had been under the lid for decades but has now surfaced threatening to tear the country to shred if no action is taken to stop the racist mudslingers.

On the economic front the picture is even more dreary.

Tokenism! Rampant in both Chinese controlled companies and government controlled corporations.The Chinese would not employ Malays in critical positions as they do not trust them and perceived them too slow and less competent.It became even worse in family run companies where all critical positions would be wholly Chinese and the lowest rank the preserve of the other races.

Malay run GLCs practised the same discriminatory behaviour, staffing almost the entire organisation with Malays.

The civil service, the military and the police force are almost entirely Malays.The same way the Malays are being treated in Singapore by the Chinese, critical positions are not for those whose allegiance are still questionable.The Chinese and Indians have come to accept that they would never be top brass in any of these vital organisations.Most stayed away.

The Malays, the leading political force had cleverly retained the British divide and rule policy and held sway political control for over half a century until the unexpected political tsunami in March 2008 which jolted the Malay political powerhouse.UMNO never dreamt they would be rejected so badly by fellow Malays.They were still in Lala Land till the morning after.

Breaking up and dividing the Chinese and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak into small and inert political parties gave the Malays perfect political control over the other races under the BN concept, probably, the biggest amalgamation of political parties any where in the democratic world, the brainchild of former Prime Minister the late Tun Razak Hussein.A good concept if there were fair play.

There are no less than six active Chinese based parties in the country, DAP,MCA and Gerakan in the Peninsula, SAPP, LDP in Sabah and SUPP in Sarawak.

Sabah and Sarawak also enjoyed a democratic split of the indigenous people.In Sabah, there are at least three active KDM (Kadazan Dusun Murut) based political parties, PBS, UPKO and PBRS and Sarawak has three, SPDP, PRS and SNAP.

To try register a new Malay based party or revive a defunct Malay party is almost impossible.Various attempts to revive USNO in Sabah was rejected by the Register of Societies without giving valid reasons whatsoever. USNO, still has, among the adult Malay/Muslim population in Sabah, nostalgic reminiscent of days yonder when Sabahans had full control of the state.

Since its inception Malaysia has only two active Malay political parties, UMNO and PAS.Both are competing for Malay anchorage but UMNO has the lateral influence while PAS is confined to areas where the zeal for Islam is greater.

UMNO, the doyen of Malay politics has seen its influence eroding among the Malay population and has to share the Malays votes not only with PAS but with PKR, a multi-racial party headed by Anwar Ibrahim, one of the factors responsible for dividing the Malays.

In the March 2008 General Elections some very disillusioned Malays even voted for DAP candidates to show their anger and frustrations with UMNO leaders seen as high muckety muck and corrupt.

Corruptions and ostentatious display of ill-acquired wealth by UMNO leaders,families and cronies had been the rallying call for the diminution of UMNO political influence.The other big factor for splitting of the Malay votes was Anwar Ibrahim who is seen as a victim of UMNO conspiracy.

Anwar could be immoral as can be but Malaysians are bought that he is innocent even if proven guilty.Majority of French people thought of the same of Dominique Strauss-Kahn who now looked more and more guilty of the alleged crime.

Who divide the Malays?

The answer is simple, the Malays themselves but much of the blame would squarely fall on the shoulders of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed, former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and UMNO.

The division of the Malays started with the sacking and imprisonment of Anwar Ibrahim seen as trumped-up charges by many Malaysians.Very few Malaysians believe Anwar was guilty of the crimes brought against him.It was seen as Mahathir's heavy handedness in getting rid of Anwar to keep himself in power.If Anwar had been sacked without his incarceration the story would have been different.

UMNO, itself, is a big factor in dividing the Malays.The legacy of political largesse and massive corruptions in the government have made the ordinary Malays lose their appetite for UMNO.The cornucopia of wealth has become the monopoly of UMNO and the lapdogs. Even the middle class Malays, beneficiries of the NEP were embattled with such idea of breach of trust.

March 8, 2008 was a wake up call for the Chinese and Indians.Both have come to realise the unrealised political power they have. How, with a little help from the Malays they could change the political landscape.

While Sabah and Sarawak were still in their slumbers the West Malaysians woke up to a new day.A day very few expect the BN to have lost its mojo and a new dawn of change appeared on the horizon.The gradual erosion of Malay dominant.

Racial polarisation has risen alarmingly of late and the 13th General Elections would see greater polarisation.

DAP would become a very dominant player in Malaysian politics after the 13th GE.Most, if not all Chinese seats would go to the DAP.All other Chinese based parties would be decimated.

DAP, which is trying to woo Malay members and voters by recruiting and engaging prominent Malay personalities failed to excite the Malays.The Malays, other than Tungku Aziz, Zairil Khir Johari and few others, would always consider DAP a Chinese party.

The Malays, unless they consolidate before the general elections, would be divided between UMNO, PAS and PKR.

BN may still win but it could well be UMNO,Sabah and Sarawak.

"Divide and Rule" one that would come back to haunt you.

Who Says Hard For BN To Get Two-Thirds?

Hantu Laut

Read all the past predictions by some of our local professors and see which one of their educated guesses had been accurate.Gazing at the crystal ball most probably!

In the March 2008 General Elections two very learned persons predicted that BN will get two-thirds majority, one was Assoc Prof Dr Mohamed Mustaffa Ishak and the other political analyst Assoc Prof Dr Mohammad Agus Yusoff. Both were wrong.

Mustapha Ishak said " the minor political, economic and racial issues raised by the opposition during the campaign in this general election would not be able to deny BN the two-third majority, let alone topple the government"

Another political analyst Assoc Prof Dr Mohammad Agus Yusoff echoed the same. He even predicted Penang to remain with BN and Kelantan a tough fight for both PAS and BN. The rest is history.BN got the biggest thrashing of its life.

Here we come again the same professor predicting BN will not get two-thirds majority in PRU 13.Read them at your own perils.PRU 12 prediction here.

I bet he be wrong again.

BN is likely to get two-thirds majority with a very Malay dominated government.

A similar scenario of what happened in Sarawak recently would be repeated in PRU 13.Taib has shown that he doesn't need Chinese votes to get two-third majority.

Taib Mahmud has shown his political prowess by clean sweep of all PBB seats.The failure was SUPP who had fallen victim to DAP vicious propaganda.

In spite of the vicious diatribe on his person and allegations of massive corruptions Taib survived the onslaught and had been a major factor in the victory.The PM and DPM have played equally big roles in his victory.

MCA disastrous outing in PRU12 is pale compared to what in store for them in PRU13.MCA, Gerakan and all Chinese based parties in Sabah and Sarawak would be near total decimation and almost all Chinese seats would go to DAP.

The small windfall in Sarawak was no indication of its growing popularity.The win was more the candidate than the party.Tenacious Anwar would continue with his political charade. PKR would be on life support.

It is also very possible PAS would have left the coalition by then.The Malays, except for the educated fools and the dreamers who think Malaysia can be America would have consolidated their positions to counter the Chinese cohesion.

UMNO may have no choice but to repossess all marginal seats given to Chinese based parties in Peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak. The demand for return of these seats back to UMNO would be extremely loud.

Unless Najib can come up with a magic formula,unfortunately, always shot down by DAP, Malaysia is heading for an unprecedented racial polarisation come PRU13.

Also read:

Guan Eng dares Soi Lek to pull MCA out of B

Dr M says ‘1Melayu, 1Bumi’ movement disastrous

How Sarawakians Going To Vote Today

Hantu Laut

Can the BN retain its two-thirds majority or lose the government? It's a million dollar question with a simple answer.

Major swing to the opposition is expected in Chinese dominated areas.

Last night at a function a Chinese friend asked why are the Sarawakian Chinese against Taib Mahmud which he says he could not understand because Taib has favoured the Chinese all along giving them huge tracts of timberland and state projects and yet they wanted him out.I am afraid only the Chinese in Sarawak can answer his question.

The beneficiaries of Taib's largess could just be a small circle of Chinese towkeys, the larger Chinese population do not see the benefits going to the whole community. There certainly are economic spin-offs that filtered down to other Chinese- owned businesses but the Chinese chose to ignore it.

Taib's spoiled image are confined mainly in urban areas or wherever there are good Internet connectivity.The massive campaign against Taib were mostly Internet based.His image in rural areas have not been seriously shattered. In the rural areas the main source of news are still from government controlled TV networks.

There are about 15 Chinese dominated seats up for grab.As there is no certainty that Pakatan can capture the state to form the government the Chinese are not likely to hand over all 15 seats to DAP, there will be some areas left for the BN.

The likely scenario is that DAP may be able to pick up 8 to 10 seats.PKR and PAS, on the other hand, may have serious problem convincing Sarawakians to let them have a big say in state politics.

Sarawakians are still suspicious of giving full mandate to Peninsula based political parties.If they allow Pakatan to win and take over the state government they would be making the same mistake as Sabah.The state administration would practically be controlled from Kuala Lumpur and the chief minister would become a puppet on a string.

PKR may get some seats but not significant enough to put a dent in the BN's fortress.SNAP may take a few, but still not significant to combine with Pakatan to form a viable coalition.PAS will get nothing at all in view of its Islamic stanch.

Taib Mahmud has it all worked out that Sarawakians will only allow some oppositions but will not sell out the state wholesale to any Peninsula based party, be it Pakatan or UMNO.

Pakatan's Saturday Night Fever

Hantu Laut

The beast rares its ugly head at every elections........phantom votes, tempered electoral rolls, votes buying, cheating, intimidation and last but not least an Election Commission subservient to the ruling party......accusations hurled at the government by Pakatan Rakyat at every elections.

I can't understand how Malaysians got suckered into believing that these accusations were all true.Pakatan feeds on lies and delusions.They eat lies for breakfast, lunch and dinner and than they shit lies all over the country.

If they were true how in hell the opposition managed to wrestled 5 states and denied the BN of two-thirds majority in the 12th General Elections.

Read this.

Will Pakatan get the 'Saturday Night Fever' this Saturday.

With the exception of DAP who may capture significant number of seats, the rest of the gang may need to be hospitalised.

Sarawakians are no hillbillies as Pakatan made them out to be.There won't be any tsunami either.Sarawakians can think for themselves. The East Malaysians know when is the right time to change the government.

TI:Making An Ass Of Yourself

Hantu Laut

Well done! Nazri, I for once agree with you.

Transparency International Malaysia is a donkey organisation headed by a jackass. If this donkey is a dumb-ass than I would excuse him because stupidity is a defect hard to repair but than he is not a dumb-ass and the only defect he has is his askew brain.Apple polishing someone's balls.

Wasn't there free and fair elections in this country?

Let me ask this brainy little man how he accounts for the BN near defeat in the March 2008 General Elections where the long-suffering oppositions captured 5 states and robbed the BN of its two-thirds majority if there had been systematic bias by the Election Commission in favour of the BN?

Even in by-elections, how on earth the oppositions managed to win almost half of the 14 or so by-elections so far yet this smart-ass conveniently closed his eyes and say there is no free and fair elections in this country.

If there was unfair advantage in this opposition's version of a banana republic because we have become as poor as a church mouse according to them, tell me, how could people like Anwar Ibrahim, his wife Wan Azizah, his daughter Nurul and over 80 opposition members get into Parliament?

How did heavyweight opposition leaders like Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh and Hadi Awang get elected? If there was no free and fair elections how did Lim Guan Eng become the Chief Minister of Pinang, Khalid Ibrahim the Menteri Besar of Selangor, Nik Aziz the Menteri Besar of Kelantan and Ustaz Haji Azizan the Menteri Besar of Kedah?

As far back as 1985 in the Sabah state elections where little mouse Joseph Pairin's PBS demolished the mighty Harris Salleh's Berjaya in spite of the full force of the Federal government's support where Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad even promised to "sink and swim" with Harris.

Mahathir had to walk with tail between his legs.Berjaya was decimated left with 6 seats and the giant of a man Harris lost his seat to an unknown. Even then was there no free and fair elections?

You can give away million ringgits worth of sweeteners if the people don't want you, they don't want you.Did not Najib offer the people of Sibu million ringgits worth of development projects? Did they vote for his party?

Before I conclude I would like to ask this jackass to do some soul searching the next time before he spills his guts out.

I apologise for the harsh language but some people do not deserve better.

Was Kevin Rudd Rat-Fucked ?

Hantu Laut

Just two weeks ago, while in Australia, I wrote about whether Kevin Rudd is in the rut.Would he loses his job?

Just two days ago Rudd fell victim, not to the electoral process, but rat fucked by his own deputy.As they say "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" or in this case a deputy scorned.

His deputy, Julia Gilard engineered a midnight coup against him in a leadership tussle of the party.Rudd initially says he would defend his position but later changed his mind.The general consensus is that in view of his declining popularity, his government falling short of expectations and contentious issues with his government he would lose the contests as party members would rebel against him to save the party.

Her source of anger was Kevin Rudd's seemingly contemptuous act of sending out feelers to test her loyalty.Whether she if fair dinkum?

Rudd is well known for his short on the fuse, distrust of those near him and a ruddy human relation problems with colleagues and subordinates.

One of Rudd's big problems is his loggerhead with mining bosses on the super tax for the mining industry which has also exposed his other administrative weaknesses.His poor human relations with colleagues and subordinates has finally pulled the rug from under his feet.

Rudd was not a victim of diminishing popularity with the masses.He is a victim of the rich and powerful mining lobby.The mining companies $100 million advertising war chest has done serious damage to his reputation.

The companies took up television,internet and full-page newspaper ads attacking Rudd' government.One ads punctuates that the super tax “Weaken mining, you weaken the country. But that’s exactly what the government’s new super tax is doing,”

Julia Gilard says she is throwing open the government's doors to the mining industry.That could mean compromise or total withdrawal of the tax.

Was Kevin Rudd "rat-fucked" by his deputy?

What an ebb of tide, a man popular six months ago suddenly died of political back-stabbing.

Shooting Blanks

Hantu Laut

It takes all kinds to make the world go round and Malaysian politicians are one of them.More brawn than brain.

In school we are always being told by our teacher that empty vessel makes the most noise and little knowledge is more dangerous than none.

What have we got here? An empty vessel and a fool? The empty vessel has been shouting to be heard on something that in all likelihood will not be heard.The fool can't tell the difference between a spoon and a fork.

Kota Kinabalu: Umno Kalabakan's public demand for the Merotai State seat that is currently held by a fellow Barisan Nasional (BN) component is a total disrespect of the coalition's spirit of comradeship.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said it not only reflected the (State leadership's failure to discipline members)(this is a democracy mate, you can't stop people from speaking up), but also set a dangerous precedent that could backfire on the ruling coalition.

LDP Publicity Officer, Albert Kok, said LDP felt that the Umno division had placed not only the BN State but also the national leadership behind by making such a demand.

"I totally disagree that the Merotai seat was on loan to LDP from Umno (it is, face the truth) because under the BN spirit the seats are distributed equally to all the component parties irrespective of the seats' voter make-up," he said, Monday.

Kok who is also Private Secretary to the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk V.K Liew, said that in many areas in the country, compromise has been reached to allow even one minority party to contest.

He recalled that the Prime Minister had also made it clear that "we must work as a team and help out one another even if that area has a Malay majority".

According to him, the Hulu Selangor by-election was one of the recent and best examples where despite being a Malay-dominated constituency the seat was given to MIC (MIC did not win the seat,UMNO did)because the national leadership respects the coalition spirit.

In the by-election, he said Umno and all the component parties had worked hard to ensure victory for the BN.

Kok said Umno Kalabakan Chief, Datuk Abdul Ghapur Salleh who had also stated that 191 branches in the division fully supported the demand for Merotai seat "to be returned" to Umno in the next General Election (do you expect anything better from him) would be setting a dangerous precedence.

"If this happens in future they can simply disregard other component parties and simply resolve to do something that is against the interests of BN as a whole.

"If they can do to Merotai, what is stopping them from doing the same in other areas? It also reflects badly on the State BN leadership for its failure to discipline their members (again, your communist mentality, this is the free world)," he said.

"It is totally contradicting the Prime Minister and BN concept of 1Malaysia ... this is not 1Umno," he said. (it is all UMNO mate, they consider you mosquito party)

Kok said LDP is the most senior BN party in Sabah but it had also been continuously victimised. "This is extremely unfair considering we have been loyal (there is no loyalty in politics)and dedicated to the struggle of BN since 1989.

"We were one of the few parties who were instrumental in assisting and sticking with Umno when it set foot in Sabah in the early 1990s.

We certainly do not deserve to be mistreated by certain Umno State leaders lately who are out there to discredit and victimise us to satisfy their greed and fulfil their hidden agenda."

Ghapur, who is also the Kalabakan MP, had said that the Merotai seat belongs to Umno and was only lent to LDP for the past two general elections.

He also accused Gerakan of trying to enlist Umno members and that Sabahans would not be stupid as to vote for a peninsula-based party that was even rejected by the people over there.

Two general elections ago, the Merotai State seat, which is one of the State constituencies in the Kalabakan Parliamentary constituency, was held by Datuk Dr Patawari Patawe who was then moved to Sebatik following re-delineation of the electoral boundary.

Tan Sri Liew Yun Fah who was with LDP at that time replaced him.

In the last election, Liew was dropped and replaced by a LDP Vice President Pang Yuk Ming who is currently the Assistant Infrastructure Development Minister and chairman of Sabah Air.

Liew has since joined Gerakan and was made a Vice President over the weekend

Is This True of Zorro-Unmasked aka Bernard Khoo?

Hantu Laut

I am not sure whether to give credence to the article below.I have met Bernard Khoo once and had few beers with him and other bloggers when they came over here.He was friendly,unassuming and showed great determination in what he was doing.We got along well as fellow bloggers and blogrolled each other until one day when Raja Petra attacked one of my articles that I wrote against Pakatan Rakyat and in a flash my seemingly friendly blogger removed my name from his blogroll.Didn't bother me at all, it is his prerogative, but as a human being I must admit my disappointment.

I still have Zorro on my blogroll, didn't bother to remove it as I consider it too petty to do so. Friendship should not become casualty to our political affiliation.Friends taking different political paths are common all over the world but that doesn't mean they should cease to be friends.

We all have experienced school bully, there is nothing uncommon about it. I have class mates who used to bully me in school but become good friends in our adult lives.Discipline should not be mistaken as bullying.

I'll give Zorro benefit of the doubt.

Below is the unmasking of Zorro.

ZORRO TRULY UNMASKED by Gopal Raj Kumar

Najib Not Out Of The Wood Yet.

Hantu Laut

Najib first 100 days in office has brought some positive results.His popularity soars to 65 percent from the low 42 percent when he first took office. His most popular move was the liberalisation and dismantling of some of the NEP requirements in certain sectors of the economy with a view of capturing FDIs that have detoured to other more attractive locations and at the same time boost domestic investments.The move is also good for local non-bumiputra businessmen, majority Chinese who now can have a more relax regime of doing business and broader scope of investment opportunities.

The abolition of the 30 percent equity reserved for bumiputra for IPO (Initial Public Offering) was probably the best of all actions taken so far by Najib. This allocation for bumiputra is one of the ingredients in the recipe of spoiling the bumiputras and the failure of the NEP.Those allotted with such windfall would dispose of the shares rather quickly to cash in on the quick and easy money.Given the opportunity who wouldn't. Malaysian public companies are not famously known for declaring cash or script dividends to its shareholders.Only those in the blue chip category are safe haven for long term investors. Long term investment in many Malaysian listed companies is like putting your money on the roulette table.

Like many other things given to bumiputras to expand their share of the economic cake majority would eventually end up in the China man's hand.The selling of these shares by government agencies and individuals was one of the reasons for the failure of the NEP to achieve its target of 30 percent equity.This is Najib first step telling the bumiputras that there would be no more of this type of largesse.

The next step is to reduce the number of AP for import of cars.A review of all bumiputras given the APs to determine whether they genuinely carry on the business themselves or not should be done.Cancel those who don't.But don't be fooled by what you see.Some have found loophole by selling the company to China man and become nominee and proxy of the China man.They get paid for every AP they get and are given a comfortable office in the company to make it appears that they are running the operation.

Overall his reforms for the economy thus far has been well received by the business community and he must personally see to it that its implementation is true to the word and not make the same mistake that Abdullah made by not having a monitoring system to keep him informed.Likewise, a failed promise would be a political disaster.

The only thing that is cause for concern in his new policy is the Federal government giving guarantee to corporations to raise funds in the bond market.It is not yet clear whether this is for GLCs only or include private and public corporations and whether the issuance is for domestic market only or both domestic and international.The other bad aspect, if there were no transparency, is the use of this facility by those in power to guarantee crony companies.Najib should insist on stringent rules, conditions and monitoring to avoid abuses.

So far so good, he has proved the skeptics wrong, but too early to say things wouldn't change.The situation is still fluid and the journey is still long,winding and dangerous, one wrong step could cause everything to come tumbling down.

The opposition is ever ready to slaughter his reputation, more so now, after his popularity soars that is not good news for the oppositions.

Najib is not out of the wood yet, he has plenty to do to shift the supports back to the BN.

Former heavyweighs like Mahathir and Razaleigh should give him moral support if they want UMNO to regain its former glory. By the same token Mahathir wasn't wrong when he said UMNO needs revamping at the top.It's about time purging of corrupt leaders be carried out to show seriousness of the talk.

Rocky's Bru's 'Is It Constitutional, Sir?':Groping In The Dark

Hantu Laut

Rocky Bru posted an article 'Is It Constitutional, Sir?' regarding scholarship mooted by the Prime Minister to be given based on meritocracy to anyone irrespective of race. Rocky also highlighted a pro-UMNO blogger's concern that what the Prime Minister is trying to do could be unconstitutional and he should have sought the Malay rulers views and consent before making public the issue.

The blogger calling his blog 'The Thirteen Million Plus Ringgit' did not quote the relevant article in the Constitution that spelled that government scholarships can only be given to Malays.

Can't make everybody happy, isn't it ? If he tries to please the non-Malays, the Malays complained and if he tries to keep everything for the Malays, the Chinese and Indians complained.Tough job to be prime minister.

The some extent the blogger is quite right in his assumption but no right enough to make it unconstitutional.

This particular aspect of the Federal Constitution gave the Yang Dipertuan Agong, not all the Malay rulers, the responsibility and power to safeguard the special position of, not only the Malays, but also the natives of Sabah and Sarawak.The said article also covers quotas for public services, permits and licences for bumiputras.

There is no fixed quota or exclusivity expressed in the article. The proportion of scholarship is left at the discretion of the Yang Dipertuan Agong.

The relevant article is Article 153 of the Federal Constitution.The article under 153(8) and (9) also gave protection to others from being unfairly treated by virtue of its provision.

Najib needs only to seek the Agong's consent to proceed with his proposal. The Malays should not worry of losing out as I suspect this could be a parallel scheme which would benefit the Malays too as there would be more scholarships available for smart Malays.

Big Dog, the blogger, if I assumed his name correctly, did not bother to read the relevant article to its full extent or didn't read it at all. His article is here.

Maybe, it's time the Malays give the PM a helping hand instead of crying for help all the times.

Herd Instinct And Mass Delusion Endangering Malaysia's Political Stability

Hantu Laut

The opposition Pakatan does not want One Malaysia, they want a fragmented Malaysia.A nation clearly divided between Malays, Chinese and Indians.They don't even consider Sabah and Sarawak as part of the Federation because all the times they are harping only on the interests of these three communities. Sabah and Sarawak, as far as they are concerned, is on the back burners, not a priority. They don't even trust the Sabahans and Sarawakians.The liaison chief of Sabah PKR which used to be Anwar himself is now given to Azmin Ali, his trusted lieutenant. Jeffery Kitingan is just making an ass of himself, Anwar Ibrahim doesn't trust him at all.

They ridicule Najib's I Malaysia concept because they knew if the various races are united under one umbrella like the BN their support would be in trouble. The results of the March 2008 Elections is the anomaly of playing the racial card.Pakatan won the five states and denied the BN of two-thirds majority because majority of Chinese and Indians voted for them.

PKR, the pseudo-Malay party got more votes from non-Malays. Malay votes were divided between PAS and UMNO with majority voted for UMNO.Chinese and Indians voted for PAS not because they love or trust PAS, it just happened to be a vehicle of convenience to add numbers to the convenient union.

When Charles Mackay first wrote his book 'Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds' in 1841 about the danger of herd instinct people did not take him seriously then.Today, over 150 years later crowd behaviour has not changed.In fact it has not changed for almost 300 years since the days of active trades and commerce.

The recent global financial meltdown was the results of herd instinct and hysteria.We make the same mistakes over and over again.Mackay's book also demonstrates what scientists now know: when we act in groups we are often not smart. This is proven in how billionaires are made.These are people who do not follow the crowd, have their own mind, use and believe in their own formula.

Herd instinct can also lead to irrational and dangerous behaviour. The recent massive demonstrations in Iran stemmed from herd instinct might have been the result of falsely fed information for which the crowd has no resources to check the correctness of such information, that fraud was committed to cheat Mousave of his right to the presidency. The crowd instinctively reacted on hearsay because they are supporters of Mousave.

Herd instinct and mass delusions were the same perpetrators that brought the financial collapse of Lehman Brothers, AIG and allowed crooks like Madoff and Stanford to fleece the greed of the unwary crowd.

We live in an economic bubble that can burst with over inflation.The global economic meltdown we are experiencing now was the result of our madness to increase price out of all reason.What rhyme and reason has the price of crude to peak at almost US$150 per barrel when there were no serious shortages of supply.It is just an exercise to make a few countries and businessmen richer and make the rest of the world poorer.The price of other people's greed that the rest of the world have to pay heavily for because they used their herd instinct.

Your investment bankers, your stockbrokers including your friendly local banker who introduces you to all the investment funds that promised the sky and the moon as return, are they any different from the charlatans, fortune tellers and con men who convince you they can reveal the future and make big fortune for you.They are the same.They are like herd of cattle reacting instinctively to the crack of the whip.

Going back to politics.It is the same herd instinct that makes or breaks a government, more often than not, out of mass delusion.

Pakatan leaders are good at selling their drugs of mass delusion and drive the cattle to the manger.

Unity Talk, Not Over Yet:Cracks in Malaysia's Opposition Coalition

Hantu Laut

The unity talk between PAS and UMNO will be kept in abeyance for now.It is not over yet.It will come back.UMNO still have a comfortable four years to try break up the makeshift coalition.

Among the three, PAS is the most uncomfortable partner and had sudden realization that if Pakatan should win the next general election, PAS would be a junior partner and the diminution of Malay political power.The splitting of the Malay votes between PAS and UMNO would assure that.

UMNO with greater Malay support would be out in the cold and PAS playing second or third fiddle in the coalition. A grim picture that Hadi and Nasharuddin visualised hence the proposal for a unity government.

The most severe test will come, if they do last that long, in the distribution of seats among the three for the next general elections.Anwar Ibrahim will insist on majority of seats to be given to PKR to make it the most senior partner and assure him the prime minister position.PAS would want the same majority of seats that would fulfill their dream of a path to eventually making the nation more Islamic in outlook.DAP would become the biggest winner taking almost all non-Malay seats in Peninsula Malaysia wiping out MCA and Gerakan.

There is no Bangsa Malaysia, a Pakatan sale gimmick.The people would still vote on racial line and a new government that will be an exact replica of the current one but led by a non-Malay dominant party.

The air of distrust among members of the coalition will re-surface and fulfill UMNO's dream.

Cracks in Malaysia's Opposition Coalition
Despite continuing to win by-elections, organizational difficulties abound.

Written by Our Correspondent

Monday, 22 June 2009

Asia Sentinel

The forces that have held Malaysia's unwieldy Pakatan Rakyat coalition together for the last 15 months appear to be fraying, with the opposition coalition foundering on the ethnic and philosophical differences between the constituent parties.

The coalition is made up of the urban largely ethnic Malay Parti Keadilan Rakyat, the rural fundamentalist Islamic Parti Islam se-Malaysia and the mostly Chinese Democratic Action Party. About all that has held the three together was a desire to oust the ruling Barisan Nasional from its 50-year hold on power.

"There are inherent differences not only within the coalition itself but most of all within Parti Keadilan," says one source. "Keadilan itself is made up of three disparate groups — ex-UMNO types, ex-Abim (Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement, from which Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim sprang before he joined the United Malays National Organisation in the 1980s) and various non-government organizations.

"This underscores a major failing," the source says. "Anwar is a great orator, a guy capable of inspiring people, but a poor organizer. He hasn't been doing a good job in holding together Keadilan, let alone Pakatan Rakyat. Not surprisingly, because Anwar isn't working on minimizing the inherent differences, there is a palpable sense of drift in both Keadilan and Pakatan Rakyat."

Given these problems new Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has moved aggressively to try to woo back enough opposition members to reclaim some of the five states lost to the Pakatan Rakyat in the March 2008 national elections. The same election cost the ruling coalition its two-thirds majority in the parliament.

There have been continuing indications that the coalition was troubled. But the biggest one appeared two weeks ago when Hadi Awang and Nasharuddin Mat Isa, the president and deputy president of PAS, respectively, after the party's annual general meeting openly mused about a unity coalition with UMNO. Then, last week, PAS's spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, agreed in principle with the idea of unity talks, as long as they centered on Islamic issues. Ultimately, after a meeting on Monday, the Pakatan coalition agreed to stay together and for PAS to reject any contacts with UMNO. PAS leaders called UMNO un-Islamic. But that doesn't mean the strains won't continue.

Ever since the 2008 elections, the country's politics have been fracturing. The once almost monolithic Malay vote, which UMNO could count on without any concerns, has eroded badly, with UMNO now taking hardly more than half, as ethnic Malays, disillusioned with corruption, have fled to the urban PKR as well as in large numbers to PAS despite its fundamentalist Islamic roots and traditionally rural northeastern base.

That has created tensions within PAS itself, as the so-called Terengganu faction of rural fundamentalists have seen their power eroded by the more moderate urban Malay rank and file. It appears to be those tensions that have driven Hadi and Nashruddin into thinking of a coalition with UMNO to preserve Malay power.

For Pakatan, the defection of PAS could be an enormous problem, although leaders are trying to put a good spin on a bad situation.

"I think a split is possible though it would be quite a dramatic solution," says a top Pakatan source. "Personally I think this isn't a bad idea because I think those who split will be deeply punished in an election. I think if there was a constituency that was being contested by PAS linked to UMNO vs. Pakatan, the people would vote for Pakatan. I think if there was a constituency within PAS aligned to Pakatan versus UMNO and the Barisan, people would stick with the Pakatan faction. A small group of Pakatan and PAS leaders discussed this last week, and we felt that in the current climate, if PAS did do a deal with UMNO they would not come out of that unscathed."

The fissures, thoguh, are real. Ethnic Malays in opposition find themselves growing irritated with the Democratic Action Party, which has been moving aggressively to assert Chinese prerogatives. In addition, Anwar has from the start called for the abolition of Malay privilege under the New Economic Policy, an affirmative action program guaranteeing ethnic Malays a wide range of educational and other benefits.

There is also an element in PAS, a source says, which is extremely concerned about the issue of Malay rights. Others, particularly the Terengganu faction, believe they could be bigger players in a PAS-UMNO government than in one led by Anwar, especially given Anwar's advocacy of greater rights for non-Muslims and more personal, political and religious freedom.Read more....

Will PAS Snuggles Up To UMNO's duvet ?

Hantu Laut

Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad is opposed to the third bridge linking Johor and Singapore and unity talk between UMNO and PAS.

He has, in no uncertain term, made his feeling known that a unity government comprising only Malays is not good for the nation and he should be lauded for it.

However, looking at the position that UMNO is in now, and the lame and ineffectual MCA, MIC and Gerakan, do they have a choice?

Majority of Chinese and Indians voted for Pakatan's candidates in the 12th General Elections and needless to say the support from these two communities have faltered even further and the outcome of the 13th General Elections would be a forgone conclusion that Gerakan, MCA and MIC would be as dead as the dodo.These three parties are goners if they don't shape up now.

Instead of going out to the field to woo back their supporters the three beleaguered components of the BN are mired with infighting and leadership tussles.The excessive desire for their over-staying leaders to hang on to power, no matter what the consequence, is most appalling.

People like MIC President Samy Velu has been there longest, longer than the longest serving prime minister but still refuses to let go despite having been rejected by the people.His continued presence as President of MIC actually kills the party chance of recovering from its massive loss of support and shocking defeat.

The Indian community have rejected him and deserted the party in droves. What left of the party are losers and political stragglers hoping for miracles. In fact, the BN should have pronounced MIC and Gerakan dead.What's the point of flogging two dead horses when you know you can't depend on them to win the race.Between the two there are only 5 parliamentary seats at stake, MIC 3 and Gerakan 2.

MCA is also mired in leadership crisis and some of its leaders were implicated in the PKFZ(Port Klang Free Zone) scandal.The leaders in MCA should consider merging with Gerakan to form a bigger Chinese party if they want to take on DAP at the next general elections.It will be tough going for MCA to lure back the Chinese but miracles can and do happen sometimes.At the moment MCA has 15 parliamentary seats against DAP 28.

I agree with Mahathir that a Malay unity government is not good for the nation but politics has no hard and fast rules, it's about survival.The end justify the means.Its a case of Hobson's choice, you have many options but there is only one that can guarantee your survival.

Najib is in a dillema, his first priority is how to win the next elections.To stick to the present formula where the other partners are on their death throes or take a gamble on a new formula?

Can the Malays achieve political homogeneity ? It's a scary idea but not beyond comprehension. If you go by population and demarcation of the electoral boundaries, it is not impossible for Malays to have homogeneous political power.There are about 136-140 predominantly Malay seats throughout the nation and with some marginal seats the number could increase even more.

The non-Malay seats in the March 2008 Election are shown below:

Peninsula Malaysia
------------------------
DAP 28
MCA 15
MIC 2
Gerakan 3
PKR(non-Malay) 11
---------------------------
Total 59

Sabah
(non-Malays) 11

Sarawak
(non-Malays) 16
---------------------------
Total 86

UMNO biggest problem is in Peninsula Malaysia where the Malays are divided between PAS and UMNO with majority still in favour of UMNO.

If Sabah and Sarawak delivered the same performance as they did in March 2008 and the Malays are re-united in Peninsula than the Malays can even have two-third majority.

Although, I personally do not subscribe to such an idea and believe political power should be shared among the races, I wouldn't remotely rule out the possibility of it happening if PAS decide to abandon Pakatan Rakyat.

If PAS stays with Pakatan until the next general elections and insisted on contesting majority of Malay seats there is a likelihood it would become the dominant partner in Pakatan easing out PKR and Anwar Ibrahim chance at the premiership.

Being the leading partner PAS will take the prime spot and play the same role as UMNO now.PKR only has 20 Malays MP seats at present and 11 non-Malay seats and due to it multi-racial nature the Malays are not likely to give it more seats than PAS.

Will PAS snuggles up to UMNO's duvet?

Much depend on PAS.

Mindless Supporters:The Zombies

Hantu Laut

They have gone completely gaga, not knowing between what's right and what's wrong. Victims of their own skewed intelligence. Stupid herd instinct and mindless creatures so easily driven into doing what mindful and sensible people wouldn't do.

There is certainly nothing wrong with wearing black, sitting in a coffee shop and sipping black coffee with a few of your mates.It happens everywhere all over the world all the times.These are ordinary people doing ordinary things.

It's entirely different if 50 or 100 of you all dressed in black and took over a coffee shop and have a sit in for hours without considering the owner's loss of business and the possibility of the owner being charge with harbouring illegal assembly.

“Police were coming down hard on us and so we used this unique way to protest and tell people to demand an election in Perak,” says the moronic and self-proclaimed academic and protest leader.“We managed to send the message across.” he said with tongue in cheek.

You want to do, go ahead, do it on your own premises or on any of your friends who got their head just as screwed up as yours.You have no right to come to other people's place and conduct your illegal activities on their premises.

It's right that the manager of the cafe kicked you bunch of idiots out before he gets into trouble with the law.

You need school of hard knocks not that third rate university.

Academic! my foot!

We Need Benevolent Dictator Not Democracy

Hantu Laut

It is a prosperous, clean and functional city, with imposing skyscrapers and state of the art shopping complexes. You can buy any brand name you've ever heard of. The roads are crowded with Mercs, BMWs and whatever brand you fancy. The highways are lined with tropical flowers and a public transportation system unmatched elsewhere.

This tiny red dot at the southern tip of Peninsula Malaysia is one of the most prosperous nations in the world with per capita income higher than the United States and many other Western nations.The IMF lists Singapore at No. 4 with PPP of US$51,142 in 2008.

Once upon a time at the head of this thriving free-market city state is a clever, benevolent, fatherly and no nonsense socialist dictator.

This is Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore.A tiny island nation without any natural resources that have not stopped to amaze the world.Singapore had come a long way to what it is today by the way of, not pure democracy, but 'enlightened absolutism'.The sheer determination and perseverance of one man, the founding father of modern Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew or Harry Lee as he is popularly known among his close friends.

From a tiny mosquito infested tropical island to a sprawling metropolis, the economic and developmental vibrancy have not slowed down.This is a government with a bit of everything, a mixture of democracy, socialism and feudalism and an enviable success story.

In his memoirs 'The Singapore Story" Lee admitted he look upon Switzerland as his model.To defy logic, if such is illogical, today, Singapore had overtaken Switzerland in its PPP (Purchasing Power Parity).

Lee Kuan Yew has interfered with every aspect of Singaporean life, from not allowing long hair for male person during the flower power era, to limit only 2 babies per family, to banning chewing gum and mandatory canning for vandals. These are just a few of Lee's decree of what best for Singapore which some defender of democracy would call infringement of human rights.

Lee is an advocate of corporal punishment.In his memoirs he mentioned that during his time at Raffles Institution in the 1930s that he was caned there for chronic lateness by the then headmaster, D.W. McLeod. He wrote: "I bent over a chair and was given three of the best with my trousers on. I did not think he lightened his strokes. I have never understood why Western educationists are so much against corporal punishment. It did my fellow students and me no harm".

The world have seen good and bad dictators.Bad dictators are mostly self-serving,cruel and more often than not would run down the nation to the ground through massive corruptions and unconscionable abuses of power.Good and benevolent dictator is passionate about his country and the people but believe democracy is a hindrance to progress.

Some examples of good dictators are Napolean Bonaparte of France, Antonio Salazar of Portugal,Mustapha Kemal Ataturk of Turkey, Fidel Castro of Cuba, Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan and of course not forgetting Mahathir Mohammad of Malaysia.

What is the yardstick for determining a benevolent dictator? It's a very simple equation. A continuous economic growth and economic development for the benefits of the people and not just for the dictator, his families or cronies.These are the characteristic of a benevolent dictator.A deep passion not to do for himself but to do for the nation.

Some may argue that Musharraf or even Mahathir should not be in this category.

Let start with Musharraf first.

In 1999 under Nawaz Sharif Pakistan was a bankrupt country, almost 65% of its revenue had to be utilized for debt servicing leaving very little for development expenditure.Public and external debt exceeded 300% of foreign exchange earnings.The country was in deep financial trouble.During Musharraf time from 1999 to 2007 Pakistan went through unprecedented economic growth as shown below:

Pakistan’s economy grew by 100%
Per Capita Income grew by 100%
Foreign Reserves grew by 500%
Exports grew by 100%

The list is not exhaustive.Under Musharraf's watch Transparency International's corruption index improved tremendously, falling from 11th to 41st position.

If anything that can go wrong will go wrong, an adage known as Murphy's Law.When Mushraff suspended Chief Justice Mohammad Ali Chaudhry for corruptions and abuses of judicial power the law fraternity took to the streets in massive numbers in protest of the suspension.In less than two months political parties joined in the fray and took to the streets demanding Musharraf to step down. In August 2008 the Pakistan People Party and Pakistan Muslim League led by Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif agreed to force Musharraf to step down and begin impeachment proceeding against him.It is speculated that Pervez Musharraf would have had to face corruption and even murder charges if he had kept refusing a graceful exit from the president house.

On Monday, 18 August 2008, in a speech defending his record, Musharraf announced that he had resigned.While announcing his resignation Musharraf said "After viewing the situation and consulting legal advisers and political allies, with their advice I have decided to resign. I leave my future in the hands of the people. Not a single charge in the impeachment can stand against me. No charge can be proved against me because I never did anything for myself, it was all for Pakistan. On the map of the world, Pakistan is now an important country, by the grace of Allah. Whether I win or lose the impeachment, the nation will lose. They don’t realize they can succeed against me but the country will undergo irreparable damage."

"Nonetheless, despite those mistakes, he has been that rare phenomenon in Pakistani politics — an honest man with good intentions who tried to serve his country to the best of his abilities. In a country that has suffered so much over the years from corrupt and self-serving politicians, there have been too few figures like him" ____an extract from Arab News, a leading Middle East English language daily.

As I have said in my earlier posts the Pakistani people have thrown out a good man and brought back not one but two known crooks to rule their country.These are crooks voted in by the masses under a Western-styled democratic system.What Pakistan need is 'enlightened absolutism' not pure unadulterated democracy.Musharraf was right when he said it is Pakistan that will suffer.The country is now in the early stage of anarchy and on the road to being a failed state.

Mahathir Mohammad ! Do I need to refresh everything he has done for Malaysia.No, I don't need to.He has left his footprints everywhere in the country.The physical presence of his untiring efforts to make this nation a great nation and the legacy he left behind is visible for all of us to see.He has a passion for the country and the people to excel. Anwar Ibrahim has a passion to be prime minister whatever it takes.

Will Malaysians make the same mistake the Pakistani people have made.Vote for those who are good at organising protests, demonstrations and candlelight vigil to bring down a legitimate government.Those who are good at sweet talking, fabricating wall of lies and inculcate materials of discontent to create political instability to show the rest of the world how rotten this government is.

Give me enlightened absolutism or benevolent dictator anytime rather than a rotten democratic system and rotten politicians than cause instability and political upheavel.

Don't throw the baby out with the bath water just because you heard the thunder.

Malaysians Becoming Terribly Unbecoming In Behaviour

Hantu Laut

I don't know Najib personally but I do know he is now our prime minister. The controversy surrounding him had become volleys for the canons of the oppositions.Some have taken it too far and deserved to be taken in by the law.

With the latest Raja Petra's confessions in his article 'The mystery of the missing confession' we are getting a clearer picture of how RPK was duped into signing a 'Statutory Declaration' based on a story from a person he hardly knows.Was he a pawn in this high stake game of dirty politics ? Desperadoes that would, without any qualms, resort to dirty tactics including murdering someone else reputation to gain political mileage or was Raja Petra a pathological liar and made up the whole story to satisfy his hatred for Najib? Surely, it's only a matter of time when those named in the article would response.

I noticed Malaysians are becoming terribly unbecoming in behaviour.What's the point of sending Altantuya's birthday cakes to the Prime Minister.What are they trying to prove? Are they going to hound Najib for the rest of his live for something that did not even have a shred of evidence other than his close relationship with Razak Beginda.All what we know of are hearsay.

Where are the photographs that so many claimed to exist but yet failed to produce? Look at RPK, how he is taken for a ride based on the assurance of a good friend, someone he knows well, who testify to the truthfulness of a story from someone he doesn't know well.

The big demo that the oppositions planned for tomorrow in Perak, what are they trying to achieve other than disturbing the peace and causing embarrassment to the Sultan.

People are easily taken in by the oppositions venomous propagation.The victory that they have got so far had miscarriage into their heads, so much so, they can't differentiate between right and wrong.

If Nizar and Sivakumar are adamant and bent on inciting public disorder and act of violence than Perak may be asking for an emergency rule.

If you want to change the government use the ballot box not the streets.

Sabah On The Platter:Windfall For Gerakan ?

Hantu Laut

Gerakan may get a windfall in Sabah if party-less Deputy Chief Minister Raymond Tan joins the party.

Tan has been a pain in the arse for other component parties in Sabah BN after he left SAPP and become a man without a party.

SAPP jumped one step too fast into believing Anwar Ibrahim's mission impossible of taking over the Federal Government on 16 Sept 2008. They discarded Abdullah Badawi and the BN to the political dustbin, prematurely. Alas! The day of reckoning for the BN never came. Abdullah has been replaced, BN is still the boss, Anwar Ibrahim is still chasing the elusive dream and new Prime Minister Najib is busy doing his walk-about.He is now in Sabah.

There were chorus of calls for him to step down from his ministerial posts both from the oppositions as well as BN component parties, particularly LDP who is eyeing the positions for the party.

Tan is Minister of Infrastructure as well as Deputy Chief Minister.It was also rumored that Au Kam, the assemblyman for Elopura might join him. If what was reported is true than MCA would be in a quandary.Gerakan will get 2 state seats on the platter while MCA has only 1 state seat after having contested in 2 general elections in Sabah.

Which party Tan wish to join is his prerogative and the component parties should not squabble over it. Keeping him as minister is also the prerogative of Chief Minister Musa Aman who probably didn't want to upset the applecart. Getting Tan to resign or dismissed would create even bigger problems, there would be intense lobbying and infighting among the BN components in Sabah to try get the positions.

Ghafur Salleh lamented that the BN has never agreed to Independent BN supporters, a remark either made out of ignorant, arrogant or just sheer foolishness.

A government can appoint anyone as minister if it can't find one suitable from its own stable. Many advanced democracies especially those in the West, go beyond party politics, to fill ministerial or other critical positions with people or professionals that are more qualified to do the job.

Prime Minister Najib is in Sabah and we would know by to-night whether Gerakan is getting the windfall.

The Picture Tells A Story

Hantu Laut

When I was younger, occasionally, I like to play 'spot the difference' like the one below:


Below is a photograph of a PAS gathering with Husam Musa who is expected to contest the deputy president of the party.A good and charismatic politician with an economic degree behind him. He should go for the president post.



There is something not quite right in the picture. Can you spot it ?