Oh I See (OIC) it may not be confined to the Middle East alone

OIC map  via Wikipedia

The successful Tunisian Revolution has now been overshadowed by the Egyptian Revolution, and people tend to  have forgotten Tunisia.

Tunisia was the the ingredient Egypt required for it to revolt, and revolt it did to the delight of Iran, Syria, Libya and other hard line Arab states. The revolution took the world by storm and the people got exactly what they wanted Mubarak ousted.

The Tunisians did, it the Egyptians followed and they done it too, so now its an Oh I see issue, it seems to be the wake up call for almost all the OIC countries, not Oh I see but Organsiation of Islamic Conference . and we are one amongst them, not forgetting those who took delight in the Egyptian revolution, Iran, Syria, Algeria and Libya. Iran is learning that it was not such a delight after all.


Are there issues in Malaysia why we the rakyat should be sick and tired of this UMNO led BN regime?

Currently and running right now in front of our eyes is the Anwar Ibrahim Sodomy case, and how it takes a new turn almost everyday. How this became one of the first and probably the very first case where the defense was shut out of  the "facts" of the  of the case by prosecution and the judiciary.

There is the issue of Syabas the private water contractor for Selangor, and the Federal government's refusal to attend to the problem that is causing unnecessary hardship to the rakyat.

There is "Interlok", the book to be used as literature text for our form five children even though the Indian community has vehemently  objected to the referrals to Indians in the book. This issue is politics nothing but politics, it is a showcase for UMNO to demonstrate to its members that   the concept of  "ketuanan Melayu" lives on.

Corruption in government, where every child of a high ranking politician, and in other cases brothers, sisters, brother's in law etc. turn out to become millionaires,a s though these politicians have a magic wand once they assume office.

The propagation of dynastic rule in Malaysia, where Mukhriz and Hishamuddin are well placed to succeed later. We have all seen the blatant way in which Mahathir Mohammed managed to elevate his son even though he was discarded by the UMNO delegates who voted Khairy Jamluddin in as youth president

The  undermining of the ballot box as seen in  the Perak State Assembly.

The increase in prices of food and other essential items, including petrol, whilst the government proudly announces that Petronas has found huge reserves of oil off Sarawak, and even larger deposits of LPG.
" Petronas said on Monday it has discovered new oil and gas fields through the drilling of NC3 and Spaoh-1 wells..."

Petronas earning which are kept secret even from Parliament, and what has happened to the millions of Petronas, has it been used to enrich the Children of  ministers, and even bail them out after the 1997 crisis?
Our oil is not the oil used in our motor vehicles, we import that oil as the oil explored and obtained from our shores are of a higher quality and are sold at a premium price to other countries. There is a net gain in this dealings of buying and selling and Petronas is  entrusted to handle it, and the benefits are supposed to be shared with all Malaysians so what has happened to it?

And now to add insult to injury the subtle introduction of GST that is a burden to the rakyat that is already being squeezed by the rising prices of essential goods, are these reason enough to take to the streets?

Yes with these subtly planned arrogant moves that the BN uses to insult the people as in the Interlock case, and insult their intelligence by way of enriching themselves, the AP's that drive prices of our cars sky high, and where the benefits of the NEP were shared by only a few at the top, there seems to be enough to make the rakyat want to take affirmative action, and with the mood of the moment it may just happen,

Now you see whilst the middle east and North Africa erupts, those eruptions  may not be confined only to the Arab world or Africa , it could hit our shores where our students who return from these countries would have benefited from the  experience in Egypt and other Organisation of Islamic Conference countries.

Related articles

• Malaysia's Petronas finds new energy fields offshore Sarawak (reuters.com)

Ahmadinejad: "It is your right to be free. It is your right to exercise your will and sovereignty"

Karroubi via Wikipedia

Whilst the Tehran  Times carried an article by Chandra Muzaffar glorifying the Egyptian Revolution, titled The Egyptian revolution: The triumph of human dignity, and other news in relation to events in Egypt the paper remained silent about the protests taking place in Iran.

Addressing the Egyptian people, Iranian President  Mr. Ahmadinejad said: "It is your right to be free. It is your right to exercise your will and sovereignty."

After having said this to the Egyptians  who live in a totalitarian state, Iran with all its so called model government is brooking no freedoms, their Members of parliament are calling for the death sentence on two opposition leaders Mir Hossein and Mehdi Karroubi who they have already placed under house arrest.

On the one hand we have the Iranian leadership praising the Egyptians, for their triumphant success in overthrowing the regime of Hosni Mubarak and on the other they will have  none of it in Iran.

For that matter even Chandra Muzaffar of  "Just World," has elected to remain silent and turn a blind eye, he'd probably blame the west for this uprising in Iran.

In Egypt they called for the  sacking of Mubarak and in Iran they are now calling for the sacking of  "Sayyid Ali" a reference to the country's  Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

Iranians are out in the tens of thousands, this could escalate, but in an Islamic republic like Iran, confrontation of these demonstrators with gun power is an option. The Iranians have come out in full realization of the risks involved and the official news agency has reported one death so far, although the unofficial count is said to number about nine people dead.

Internet services have been drastically slowed down and is expected to be shut down as more and more people are using the net to communicate timings and  modus operandi for protests.

These shock-waves have hit the current  Iranian regime, the Iranian people seem to be emboldened by the events in neighboring countries and seem to have taken a cue from their president, Ahmadinejad, "It is your right to be free. It is your right to exercise your will and sovereignty"

Related news: 

11.39 a.m. Malaysian Time 16/02/11

Second protester killed by Police in Bahrain's Pearl square as protests mounts

Iran in Revolt, Egyptian fever spreads

Image via Wikipedia

A revolt is reported to be taking place in Iran, the ex prime minister is said to be under arrest as thousands take to the streets, following the example of the latest Egyptian revolution.

Iran's Ahmadinejad has claimed the Egyptians who toppled President Hosni Mubarak took inspiration form the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran that  put Ayatollah Khomeni into power and the establishment of an Islamic republic with which Iranians today are growing increasingly fed up.

It looks like that inspiration has gone a full circle and has landed back in the shores of Iran, as latest reports indicate that one person has died from clashes taking place in Iran.

It looks like the Egyptian revolution is begining to get Iranians thinking agian about what they ahve achieved since the Islamic revolution of 1979.

A student movement leader who contacted this blog, has said that students are getting increasingly fed up with the regime, its wasteful spending on projects like Hammas, the nuclear Energy programme the objectives which have not been made clear to the Iranians, and the lack of funds for better education and wages for workers in the Islamic Republic.

"Iranian students are fed up with the involvement of the clergy in their daily lives. It has become unbearable, they way we dress,  the Company we keep, the books we read what should be said and what should not be said, the freedom of speech and almost all other basic freedoms are curtailed by this Mullah led regime and we are utterly fed up."

We need change we need to look after our affairs before looking after Arab affairs, then we will be better," said the source. "All University students are in league with the opposition with the exception of a handful and we know who they are."

Is Iran moving towards Egypt, the next few days will tell, but like I said in Iran the Mullahs will think nothing of machine gunning down protesters

Could Mahathir be in early stages of Alzheimer's?

Image via Wikipedia

According to a local paper, 'the Star, Mahathir is reported to have said, "Opposition leaders who met with me before they were arrested under Ops Lalang in 1987 should own up."

“It happened over 20 years ago. I met them but I cannot remember the faces of those people, I certainly remember that Karpal (Singh) was not one of them and I think (Lim) Kit Siang is one of them,"

I think I believe him, but I do not believe he does not know the "opposition leader" he spoke to, it was not opposition leaders but  a lone opposition figure from the DAP.

Yes,  from the DAP maybe, at that time he was a leader and a very middle of the road guy, who preferred to dwell on local issues of his constituents rather then the politics of the nation.

He was romoured to be a special branch agent within the DAP, but was so popular with his constituents that it would have been impossible for the DAP to have removed him.

Mahathir Mohammed met this man and if I am not mistaken it is on record, but the reports of that time indicated that the meeting was after the arrest.

Like all such people he left the DAP, has not uttered a bad word about the party since then and has not really dabbled with politics with the exception  of being a voice piece and  PR man for the BN in caring for problem people.   

How's this man doing today?

Well much better then his ex-DAP counterparts, he was well rewarded by Mahathir or shall we say the regime, and he is extremely comfortable in his present position, or positions if I am not wrong.

Mahathir Mohammed I have given you the clue do you now remember?

His constant forgetfulness seems to suggest early symptoms of  Alzheimers and if he still can't remember he's got to go for an urgent blood test.

Read the fine print below, the devil is in the details.

"the Malaysian Indians used to drink an illegal brew made by  local Chinese brewers, it was bootlegged   in the bushes and got its name they used to call it "Lallang Tani," meaning lallang water or "LLT"  in short. LLT  hmmm.....seems to be very familiar initials not confined only to  this brew.

THOU SHALL NOT LEAK IN VAIN

 Howl Pillai

All you guys out there, who have been castigated in the past by your wife, spouse,lover,boss or friend for indulging in ‘pointless beer talk’,’endless tepi jalan discussions’ or ‘baseless cakap kedai kopi sessions’ - TAKE HEART !

It appears that over the years and for a very long time now, you (yes, humble you and that includes me!) have actually been talking our heads off  like diplomats, politicians and world leaders while having our beers in various states of inebriation. Would you believe that ? We actually were ! Surely we must arrive at this conclusion on the basis of the recent release of secret diplomatic cables by the oddly appropriate and biblical sounding Revelations: Wikileaks. What is even more clear is that bow ties and pin stripped suites notwithstanding, diplomats, politicians, world leaders and even that odd category with a global membership of one, Minister Mentor express ill-informed, biased, nonsensical and self-serving opinions in a language that is patently mean, vicious, ungracious, uncouth and arrogant. It begs the question :If they cannot outdo us at the local long bar, can we entrust this crass lot with the task of making the world a better place ?

So we now walk with a jaunt, feeling both exonerated and exuberant.  Indeed we are a better lot   than this bunch of goons! They have exhibited neither fairness nor fairplay. Or shown wit and wisdom. On the other hand we vouch unabashedly that our beer talk has exceeded by far the quality and contents of the wikileaked diplomatic cables in relation to subject matter, topicality,analysis, arguments for and against, levelheadedness, overall quality of discussion  and for wit and wisdom as well ! We have not had the advantage of travel at the State’s expense. But we have every faith that our view of the world from the vantage point of the long bar is unsurpassed. Ask the barman, if you will !

And yet there is also disappointment. Sadness even. What we deride most as revealed in these leaks is the lack of goodwill, cheer and entertainment. A diplomat said this of President Theodor Roosevelt some one hundred years ago :”If he could, he would want to be the bridegroom at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral “. At least this is entertaining. Compare this with crap that “so and so is tubby tucker and he likes prancing around stadiums”  or words to this effect. This is not our idea of a leader who is composed or compos mentis. There are still many such clowns around seemingly leading the world to a better place. It therefore should not surprise anyone if the next release of wikileaks includes the following samplers:

“At least I am not simian looking “

(Kim Jong-Il on Lee kuan Yew)                                              

“Julia in profile looks like a stork ready to strike for fish in murky waters”

(Kevin Rudd on Julia Gillard)

“Bapa borek, anak rintek”

(Najib on Hsien Loong)

“The bigger the father the lesser the son. I know”

(Hsien Loong on Najib)

“I think he is a Chinaman in ill-fitting and tight Thai costume”

(Goh Chok Tong on Takshin Shinawatra)

“In his youth he was shown the back door in Singapore. He has spent a lifetime now showing others the front door”

(Lee Kuan Yew on Mahathir)

“Well, he had ambitions of being PM of Malaysia. He is still upset that he is only the Mayor of a city”

(Mahathir on Lee Kuan Yew )

“Why me ? I am only a small fish. What about the big sharks?”

(Toyo on being charged)

“This place ain’t big enough for two sharks”

(Najib on Toyo’s complaint)

“ Whatever happens don’t let the Chinese buy the Ascot. We don’t want them putting up signs that say ‘ Ings And Dogs Not Allowed’

(Cameron on China)

All said we will give away a million beers to know what else politicians say  privately and in good taste about their electorate and fellow citizens. What do they say about their political bedfellows? What does the current Prime Minister or President think of his predecessor ? Does Berlusconi brainstorm the state of the Italian economy in brothels? There are , you will easily notice a thousand reasons to drink beer with friends and indulge in diplomatic talk  and take leaks all night. The next time someone who has gone to high places makes a point in high falutin language, just tell them to cut out the crap and give it to you in straight forward diplomatic cables language ala wikileaks. As for me: “Barman, one more beer for me. I feel a great release “

EGYPT - A SUCCESSFULL REVOLUTION?

Image via Wikipedia

Its time for Egyptians to take stock, they have to ask themselves if this was a successful revolution?

Was getting rid of Mubarak the be all and the end all of the revolution?

If it was it was a very shallow objective, the question is now who succeeds Mubarak?

From the look of events that led to the downfall of Mubarak its going to be another General, remember the army indicated it was breaking ranks with him the day before, when the Army's supremem council met without Mubarak. That was the writing on the wall and everyone was so expectant that he would resign, instead he came out and reiterated that he would remain till September. the people wanted him out who succeeded did not really matter till now.

It is quite clear that the Army decided that Mubarak had to go, and he actually has handed power to the military, so who is going to be President and supreme leader now.

In every revolution it is the revolutionaries that becomes its first victims and, the Egyptian revolution will be no exception. Egypt has loss tremendous amounts of money as a result of this revolution, so who is going to get them back on their feet?

Iran? It does not have that kind of funds, moreover they are Shites and Egyptians are mainly Sunni. Then  will it be China, well China may,or  will it be the USA, yes maybe if the Army continues with its current foreign policy the USA may.

Like I said earlier  the Revolutionary will become the victim of the revolution, it has happened the world over, beginning from the French Revolution right to this day. The Philippines is a classic present day example, and Egypt will be no different.

Image via Wikipedia

Maximilien Marie Isidore de Robespierre, know this name? If  not I guess you had better look it up, and Egypt had better be vary, for from this new found freedom may arise another Robespierre. The equivalent of Robespierre has been seen in other revolutions that followed, there was Madam Chiang Jin the wife of Mao Tze Dong of China and her infamous "gang of four,"  there was Stalin in Russia, and if you have forgotten names like Pol Pot and Hun Sen, and in Egypt there will be no difference.

Why is it necessary for Egypt to have a Robespierre type of personality?

Egypt is made up of peoples with different ideologies, the secular Egyptians, there there are the Coptics, the mooderate Muslim, the Shite and the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Brotherhood is bent on a singular idea of how and where Egypt should head for now, very much like Communists of  The Soviet Union and China, they will face pockets of resistance from the groups mentioned earlier,the brotherhood is not prepared to share power with anyone who are  of a different ideological realm, and this reign of terror that will engulf Egypt will come from this the Muslim brotherhood.

IT'S A 'HARD ON' ON THE RAKYAT

Howl Pillai

10 February 2011

No people on Earth have experienced hard ons like us Malaysians. After every horrific accident, despicable crime, monumentally embarrassing cock-up or massive scam, there is a public outcry. Then someone in authority - minister, heads of government department, chief minister, state level official, top cop, supremo of excise and customs, immigration chief or city council chairperson jumps to the fore vowing to ‘come down hard on.......’ . Such statements are given much emphasis and coverage in our daily newspapers. As a consequence every Malaysian knows that the operative words in such statements are ‘hard on’ taken together.

Now while no Malaysian will deny that a ‘hard on’ is a good thing they tend to be wary of it. Especially when it announces itself boldly. When confronted with an impending ‘hard on’ the first reaction is to go immediately into lie-low mode. “Lie-low” properly pronounced in Cantonese translates to “coming”. So it all dovetails in quite nicely. We react this way because we know that when persons in authority have a ‘hard on’ something, then someone is going to get screwed. Often a selection process precedes the screwing. And if you find all this screwing painful you can just pay a bribe without moaning and groaning to avoid the ‘hard on’. When the ‘hard on’ is massive, you will find express bus operators, wild life smugglers, illegal loggers, pirated DVD distributors, counterfeiters, drug peddlers, contraband smugglers, brothel operators, sleazy massage parlours womanned by foreigners, bookies, crooked developers, errant contractors, china dolls and even demonstrators without permits all go into lie-low mode until the heat of the ‘hard on’ passes them by. This begs the question: Should we run a country with ‘hard ons’ ?

If ‘hard ons’ are properly managed and monitored, then some good will surely come out of it. For example, it will be good if our ministers and others in authority can sustain their ‘hard ons’. If possible all year around. It is of little use having ‘hard ons’ just before the festive period when half the population is stuck in a balek kampong crawl. It is equally pointless to have a ‘hard on’ after a speeding bus with a driver high on ganja ploughs into a school bus which itself is ferrying students in excess of the permited number, killing 20. We don’t think it right to come down hard on china dolls just before CNY. Surely they are Chinese ! Or to get ‘hard on’ wildlife poachers after 10 species become extinct. Or to get ‘hard on’ rogue elements of the police force after the whole force is corrupt to the core. We don’t want our government to come down ‘hard on’ on corrupt officials after the Treasury is empty. Therefore like everything else, the timing of ‘hard ons’ is important.

We also think it improper to announce a ‘hard on’ to all the world. It is also very unwise. Bad hats and law breakers are perfectly aware that no ‘hard on’ can last forever. Besides they know that there always new things for our ministers and officials to get ‘hard on’ about. Ask the Chief Minister of Sarawak if you will! Reportedly the state is coming down ‘hard on’ illegal gold digging. And whatever else said about Malaysia in the foreign media, the people remain resourceful. They have even figured out how the ‘hard on’ cycle works :- citizens  get excited to the point they are screaming for some kind of action; then minister as if on cue gets ‘hard on’ ; enforcement agencies and authorities are directed to stiffen up their act ; then one law-breaker out of a thousand gets screwed amidst much publicity ; matter goes to court and case is thrown out for lack of , would you believe it, hard evidence! ; things go limp ; the hubbub dies down ; nothing stirs ; normalcy returns to our land until the next ‘hard on’. At times, shamelessly, old ‘hard ons’ are passed off as new ones with changes in government.

We are also not happy about ‘hard ons’ because there is this widely held belief that the government and the MACC are soft on nepotism, cronyism, racism, religious extremism and very high level corruption . We still don’t know how submarines, jet fighters and warships are actually purchased. Surely these are issues they should be ‘hard on’. Malaysians long for sincere and sustainable ‘hard ons’ from those in authority. Above all , for once, we want them to be hard on themselves. Otherwise they should get off !

 

IN A NEUROTIC STATE

 By Howl Murale


I’ll be honest. Of late I have not been well, in my head mostly. Often times I feel confused,  I feel let down,  see no future and  hope hangs by the proverbial thread. 

The only time I feel good is when I feel funny about things and events happening in this country, especially the paradoxes.

The satirical content in almost everything I see and hear in the news keeps me going,  yes,  I must also confess  I have not given my best on the job these past months and years and  Can you blame me ?

I feel listless, my appetite is poor, recently I have been struggling to digest a large corporate disaster, how do you  contend with the fact that a corporate big-wig went overboard without being above board with the Board? 

It eventually gets resolved in my mind as  I figure out  that ‘board’ can refer to a piece of flat wood, and a board translated into Bahasa is a “kayu”. 

Everyone was a kayu and that's why it happened, millions of ringgit gone up in expensive Cuban cigar smoke ! and so amidst events and happenings like this I have taken to frequenting the coffee shops of my neighbourhood  morning, day and night.

I find a measure of comfort sitting down alone pretending to read the papers while sipping  coffee, I must say that pretending to read our papers is an easy thing because it is the same as actually reading it. The national dailies pretend to publish news and as loyal citizens we pretend to read it. But in the nation’s coffee shops it is a different matter. 

You can overhear all the news that is fit to be heard,  so in the coffee shops it is not my eyes that rove and read,it is my ears! I can overhear everything within earshot and a little beyond,  my trained ears are multi-lingual, and what folks say in coffee shops make a lot more sense than the news on TV or the stories in the papers. 

The news on TV, you will agree, is full of ‘ Minister did this and he wants you to do that ‘ or of horrific express bus accidents and other vehicular crashes, sometimes they also report vernacular clashes, it  makes me wonder what will be news if we improve on road safety and all of us become fluent in English,  maybe then, minister’s wives went shopping or Minister got new wife from outside “1 Malaysia “ will be reported as news.  

If you haven't  noticed topics and issues raging in the Internet for days and weeks on end are eventually and agonisingly reported as fresh news in our papers, ah ! Stale internet news is passed off to those without connections as ‘berita hangat’. In my country if you have no connections it is hard to do business and if you are unconnected you remain ignorant, recently an old friend dropped by, we spoke of many things, before parting he said very quietly : “we must continue to read the papers, at least we can keep abreast of our own ignorance”.

In the coffee shops it is a different proposition altogether, people in coffee shops try so hard to steer our country in the right direction, I envy their enthusiasm, I envy their energy and their animation, one hundred percent for effort. 

Me? I am an old man, well beyond ISA age and merely living in a neurotic state, all I can do for King and country is report what they say,  I must report accurately what I overhear in  coffee shops,  I take this new endeavour seriously,  do it in the national interests and that is  important to me personally, you know,  it helps me keep my sanity, after all, in countries that are dysfunctional,real and important issues of the day are not debated or discussed in Parliament, fortunately these important  issues and matters are taken up by this alternative and honest ‘Parliament of the Coffee Shops ‘. 

Three outstanding features of this ‘Parliament’ are equal opportunity, unlimited talk time without Speaker’s biased involvement and any motion can be coffeetabled and debated by all and sundry without having to toe the party line, so what does this ‘Parliament’ say of the most recent open verdict in ‘le affair Teoh Beng Hock’ ? The overheard ‘Parliamentary’ debate  centers on a few core issues.

Let me start by saying there is unanimity in calling this open verdict the “ngor imchee lor” verdict. From the Cantonese tongue it loosely translates in Bahasa to “Gua ta tau “. 

Speaker after speaker in this ‘Parliament’ felt aggrieved that the coroner had resorted to this old Chinese stratagem. Clearly they felt he was feigning ignorance. He was, they felt, playing the ‘Great Pretender’. I distinctly heard one night a voice two tables away from where I was pretending to read the business section of the national daily say :”Ya lor ! If you bump into your wife when you are out shopping with your new girlfriend  then you have no choice but to pretend you cannot recognise your wife lor. So it is important to know who is the po-ten-tial new life partner of the coroner. Is it the Government or the money ? You tell lor.” Then another voice said in agitation: “ This coloner or whatever you call him is part of the Judiciary system. His  job is to determine the cause of death of this poor innocent fella. Instead the coloner or whatever you call him got the cheek to say “ I dunno la “. Like dat I also can be coloner mah !x@$%#&*^"

Then one afternoon I heard a   sober voice: “Peng Yaw, listen la ! a  coroner’s job is to dig and dig and dig until they find the truth ma, whats the problem ? 

Money is not the problem, government where got broke wan, no money take more from us lor, Time aso not the problem, where got  other job  to do ? Coroner is full time job mah,  not like us,  three contracts at the same time you think easy orh ? So maybe this coroner is a che-kai one and dunno how to dig wan. Not the best wan. Maybe he know how to dig but he dunno what he is looking for, Hai Mai ? Yes or not ?”

“No”, said another voice late one evening.” You got it all wrong la. Let me tell you, friends. In this country now everybody behave like he is the government. They say one thing and do another.  Hai Mai?  Also remember my friends, in this country now, the people who are asked to dig are also told to car-ver the hole.If they cannot car-ver the hole, tomorrow they have no job lor, don’t pray pray with the powerful people, you never kena you can talk, you kena then everything and your life can become  kan-toi,. then you know. 


Actually now uh, everybody very clever to car-ver up lor, everybody ! government, business, judiciary,press ,ordinary people, everybody ! What you get by being honest?. You think you get a datuk for that uh, only my stupid dog clever to dig a hole but bodoh to cover up, actually it is my wife’s dog, what  to do, hai mai ? “

“Talk only easy” said yet another late one night.” nyiamah ! the whole bloody thing is just a show la, for your entertainment,you think I dunno wan,  you think we are all soh- chye ah ,they make a show to tell you got rule of law in this country. 


I ask you, this law is for whom ? Come-on brother ! Lets use our head. We are old a-ready. We have seen poor people hang for less evidence than this. I tell you the truth today. I am convinced. To hang a gardener or a mee-soup seller you only need , say thousand ringgit worth of evidence, but when big short minister go to court you need to show one million ringgit worth of evidence lor, how to show ? All the money the bugger keep in Switzerland or Singapore. The poor mee-seller, where he know how to open foreign account, open his mouth and eat, he know la. Nyiamah “

“Of course la”,said another voice one evening. It came from a table full of empty beer bottles being watched over by a few heads. “ What is the use saying you are powerful if you have no connections to help you out when you are in all sorts of trouble ? Hai Mai ? Connection is only part of the story, you see . When a powerful man fall, the force of the fall is so great that it will also harm people close to him. So people in power are practical and clever. They don’t let powerful people fall lor. That also cannot understand ! Why so difficult to think ? 


But Teoh Beng Hock case, the paper and the news all bull shit wan. This Teoh Beng Hock  case is not about falling. Hai Mai ? His case is about pushing not falling ! What nonsen they are talking. The coroner and all the witness talk so much about falling. Nobody ask who push him. Stupid la. Who was with him that can push him ? Hai Mai ? Nyiamah ! 


Coroner himself open his mouth and say Teoh Beng Hock never push himself out of the window. So who is it ? Tell me ? Whoa ! Today myself very angry lor. The coroner dare open his mouth and say open verdict. If I see him, I say to him, please brother at least open your two big eyes if you cannot open your small little heart. Aiyah ! Kek Sum lor ! Lets go back “

Then this morning amidst steaming cups of freshly brewed coffee, loh mai kai and hot pows I overhead an authoritarian voice say purposefully : “What to talk some more. The coroner give new meaning to the term ‘open and shut case’. It is so obvious. He takes seventeen months to not come to the obvious conclusion. He thinks ‘open and shut case’  means he keep it open and  the public shut the case ! Never mind. Election just around the corner. We know what to do. Come, lets go. Work mah !”

I did not even look up from pretending to read this morning’s paper. I continued pretending.

LADIES: FIRST, FAST AND FURIOUS

 Howl Pillai (as he prefers to be known) is a an old friend of mine, we worked together for a while in 1976. When you meet a gem like this howling Pillai its difficult to forget him. Howl  writes and he writes some really classic articles. Here is one I wish to share with you, and he has promised to be featured more often on my blog.

By Howl!!! Pillai

08/02/11

Without a doubt, Malaysia is truly Asia! And so when it comes to a quick survey of First Ladies we will stick to Asia. Better still, South East Asia, in the spirit of ASEAN

Poor Myanmar. She does not have a First Lady. The Head of State is a senior general, whatever that means (perhaps it means general-mentor). Besides the wife of the junta chief does not qualify as one. 

And so on to Thailand. She is a constitutional monarchy with a king, a queen and a naughty crown prince. It will be insulting to Queen Sirikit to call her a First Lady. She is better than that. The wife of the prime minister of Thailand is called the wife of the prime minister. 

Now to Laos. No First Ladies here. And if perchance there were any, they would be as rare as sighting the legendary white elephant. 

Singapore ? They have a President as Head of State, so they should have a First Lady. But when one cannot even remember the president’s name why bother the First Lady ? 

Brunei is a sultanate in the old tradition. Changes in wife are more frequent than changes in government. And then there are favourite queens and consorts. No identifiable First Ladies here. 

Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy in theory but not always in practice. The current King, Siharmony is a bachelor. Well,six down and four to go.....

Indonesia’s Head of State is the President. They have a First Lady. She, like her predecessors, stays in the shadows although they can be a pillar of strength to the President and the nation in  strange ways. 

A prominent Indonesian social historian said this of Tien Suharto, the wife of the late strongman: “When Suharto rose to power, people believed that his wife had the ‘wahyu’, the flaming womb, and whoever united with her would get the ‘wahyu’. After her death the wahyu has gone”. 

Now to Vietnam. The First Lady here is extremely discreet perhaps on account of a notorious predecessor, Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu. She was the wife of the brother of the President of the Republic of Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, a bachelor and a devout Catholic circa the 1950s and early 60s. 

She and her husband, Ngo Dinh Nhu moved into the Presidential Palace. The government than was a family business- the brothers, wives and relatives of the president held plum ministerial posts and appointments. 

In this milieu, Madame Nhu first passed herself off as First Lady-in -law. Later like our UMNO baru saga, the inconveniently attached words were dropped. Madame Nhu once famously said : “Power is wonderful. And total power is totally wonderful”. 

Later still when the Buddhist monk Thich carried out an act of self-immolation in protest against the persecution of Buddhists, she called his act a “barbeque”.

Next. We can always count on the Philippines to add real colour to anything including this quick survey of ASEAN First Ladies. The current President Aquino is a bachelor but who can ever forget Imelda Marcos. 

The one and only ! Over a span of some 50 years she was ASEAN's longest running soap opera. Compared to her, ‘Desperate Housewives’ is tame stuff indeed. She famously and variously said the following:

“Win or lose, we go shopping after the election”

“I am First Lady by accident. I was not elected by the people but here I am”

“I was born ostentatious. They will list my name in the dictionary. They will use ‘Imeldific’ to mean ostentatious extravagance”

“Never dress down for the poor. They won’t respect you for it. They want their First Ladies to look like a million dollars”

“The Philippines is in a strategic position. It is both East and West, Right and Left, rich and poor. We are neither here nor there”

“They call me corrupt, frivolous. I am not at all privileged. Maybe the only privileged thing is my face. And corrupt ? God ! I would not look like this if I was corrupt. Some ugliness would settle down in my system”

“I am like Robin Hood. I rob the rich to make these projects come alive.....not really rob. It is done with a smile”

And I must end with this exquisite gem:

“If Imelda can make it, everybody else can “

Oh dear ! That's  only nine out of the Asean Ten. 

I have left out Malaysia ! I am getting old and unpatriotic! And forgetful too. Do we really need to talk about our ‘First Lady’ ? We leave that to our free and unfettered press.

 

Egypt a lesson for all Malaysians

Toffeesturn
Feb 5, 11
4:02pm
My predictions were wrong. Hosni Mubarak still clings on to the illegitimate power he wields in Egypt through the power of the gun.

Having said that, one can have nothing but admiration for the Egyptians, a peaceful protest by one million people. We have had the same in our country, with 10,000 people at one of our rallies, peaceful but disrupted by the police.

We were beaten, had chemically-laced water sprayed on us and chased from one corner of Kuala Lumpur to another, but do not forget the Egyptians had that too, till their numbers began to swell on the streets.

The Egyptians threatened for a while yesterday to march to the Presidential Palace, but I think others in the crowd asked them to keep it peaceful for the time being at least. That was about 11pm yesterday - a peaceful crowd exercising their democratic rights.

Imagine Egypt is transparent about the fact that it is not a democracy, and yet today it has allowed its people the right of peaceful demonstrations, and this is only because the people decided enough is enough.

Peaceful demonstrations is a basic human right as basic as the right to breathe, to eat, and if that right is taken away from a person, he is being downgraded to a level below that of a human being, and that is what this government has done to us.

We are supposedly a democracy with free and fair elections, but where they can dabble with the composition of the electoral constituencies, where known opposition constituencies have as much as 50,000 voters and the BN strongholds have as little as 5,000, and sometimes even less. That is our democracy.

In our democracy, the Elections Commission will not listen to the opposition, the speaker of the state assembly declares a seat vacant and the EC decides it will "investigate", which simply means waiting for order from the top. That is our democracy, a kind of crazy democracy.

Corruption is so widespread even the PM's wife can assume official positions although she has not received a single vote for office. She has her own staff and office in Putrajaya, she travels the world speaking to ministers and others, and sometimes making decisions that effect the national purse.

We have multi-billion dollar scandals swept under the carpet and not investigated because those involved are politicians and their cronies.

Children of ministers become millionaires, as though the position of minster automatically makes children of ministers millionaires.

Ling Liong Sik once told us that his 26 -year- old son at that time became a millionaire because he worked hard. This was an insult to ordinary Malaysians who slog day and night and are unable to make even the tiniest fraction of what he had earned by then. Today, that minister is charged, but I am sure he will come out free. Implicating him will open a bag of worms this government is not prepared to do.

The Mahathir boys have come out very rich. Well, I suppose they did a lot of hard work and their father did nothing to help them even in the 1997 financial crisis.

This beloved country of ours is going to the dogs. Only yesterday, I received a message from a Malaysian in Canada, responding to my Chinese New Year weather forecast, she complained how cold it gets there.

Now I am sure you do not want your children to be driven there by hopelessness, so the next time you have the opportunity do something go out there and be counted. Numbers do matter.

We can't just sit on our backsides and hope for change, for us, more so for our children and our childrens children. We owe them at least that much.