ZAHID'S AND ANWAR'S DENIALS REQUIRES THE LITMUS TEST

by Toffee

8th April, 2022 

 

WHY WAS A POLICE REPORT NOT  MADE BY EITHER OF THESE TWO LEADERS?

WHY HASN'T  SAIFUDDIN ABDULLAH ORDERED AN INVESTIGATION INTO THIS ALLEGED INFRINGEMENT OF THE PRIVACY OF PERSONAL CALLS? 

THE ACTION OF EXPOSING THE AUDIO RECORDING  IN ITSELF IS A CRIME.

                                                             Denials are not good enough Action speaks louder then words. 

 It is not difficult to put to rest this issue of whether the calls now gone viral were actually communication between Zahid Hamidi the President of UMNO and Anwar Ibrahim the President of PKR.

At a PKR meeting Anwar has denied that the viral audio recording of a call alleged to be between him and Zahid was a "malicious political move" to bring down his party and that it was slander.

Zahid Hamidi has also come out with an outright denial of the recording and has claimed that it was not him.

To be fair to the two I think we have to give them the benefit of the doubt but for how long?

Well actually the time is up, both Anwar and Zahid or the party who is very sure it is not him in the audio recording should immediately make a Police report and not delegate that responsibility to other party members, this must be their priority number one right now and there can be no delays about this, they must head to the Police Station.

Saifuddin Abdullah the Minister of Communications and Multi Media must order the relevant service providers to immediately conduct an investigation into these calls, get the culprits involved for exposing it or faking it, because whatever it is this is a crime and the responsibility of identifying those criminals falls squarely on his

           He does not need any Police Reports to order an Investigation. This reasoning that he requires a report has become a common lame excuse
 

ministry and Polis Di Raja Malaysia (PDRM). 

It is a crying shame that the minister has not ordered such an investigation as yet, it reflects badly on him and his ministry. -  

Did the government eavesdrop?

The responsibility of the ministry of Communications and Multi Media is to go after those who exposed this video recording, these are people who have illegally got confidential information illegally and they are criminals. 

Their investigations will not be on Anwar or Zahid, but shoudl the audio recording be genuine there will be a different issue  for the police to handle. 

it does not matter if the recording is genuine or not, those who spread it shoudl be arrested there is a case against them, and for this reason too both Anwar and Zahid must make Police reports. 

The Malaysian public are very savvy and can read between the lies wherever it comes from and that has been proven time and time again.

The proof for this issue will be iron clad as the identities of the callers can be made without too much hassle. We have the technology to do that, the records should  still be around and there can really be no excuses. 

If the excuse or the fear, whichever it is on the part of Anwar and Zahid is that the police will blame them on the instructions of the Government they need not be.

After all Zahdi was minister of Home affairs and he has intimate knowledge of how the Police carry out their investigations in such cases. He must give them his trust, they will carry it out meticulously, if however they don't the Malaysian Rakyat are wise enough to see through it.

The rakyat will not buy excuses like PDRM has given in the past, "we can't positively identify the persons on the picture although it looks like them," and that too after one person in that picture  had openly admitted that it was him and the minister. Well as we all know  the rakyat has not bought the story and never will and if there is to be a blotch in the record of the current IGP in the minds of the rakyat  that must be it, and he knows it, so I don't think he will do it.

Once that report is made it is a matter of days if not hours after which the Police should be able to positively identify if the callers are indeed Anwar and Zahid or imposters. 

If they are imposters or even if they are not  immediate police action must be taken against these criminals  and they should be charged to the fullest  extent of the law,  even if it involves a minister.

If it is not, one must be aware that Anwar and Zahid if they made this call indeed committed no crime whatsoever, but if the investigations prove otherwise after they have made a police report and  if they make a police report,  then they would have committed a crime of making a false police report themselves and expose themselves to action as well.

Both men owe it to themselves if they are telling the truth, their respective party members and the rakyat to solve this issue once and for all, without which their integrity will be brought into question with a great degree of suspicion that the audio recording now viral exposing what is alleged to be a conversation between them is not a fake.

They also owe it to the rakyat at large to ensure that there is no illegal eavesdropping into the personal calls of any Malaysian unless it involves the security of the nation. 

The only persons who can eavesdrop are the Government via the Multimedia Ministry, if it is genuine it must be the government unless there was a breach in security which is an extremely dangerous situation and the silence of the Minister in such a case can only mean two things.

The Government ordered the eavesdrop or;

there has been a serious breach of security in the Ministry of Communications and Multi Media.

This gives Anwar and Zahid more reason to go through with this Litmus Test.

It begins with the Police report,then the investigations and like I have said with the technology available it will bean "Iron Clad"  which can go to the courts for them or against them.

They have no choice after having made the denials to take the Litmus Test, by their denial they have put their integrity on the line, now they have to prove it and only they can.

Will they?

 

 

YB ANWAR IBRAHIM!! KEEP YOUR LEGACY INTACT, DON'T SELF DESTRUCT

by; Toffee 

5th March 2021

 

 After all this time Anwar is still trying to become Prime Minister and in desperation is willing to sacrifice the interests of the nation to do so.

I am really sorry for this great man who can still do so much for the nation to put us on the right path. 

                              legacy is greater then the position of Prime Minister

Anwar's majority numbers are not coming from the former Pakatan Harapan but rather from UMNO and his own party the PKR and this is unacceptable, it is just like going for another "Back Door Government." 

It looks abundantly clear that Anwar's deal is with the Zahid -Najib faction and for such a deal to be put in place there surely must be concessions and what else can this be if it is not to allow Zahid, Najib,Rosmah and the train of BN cheats and scoundrels walk free Najib's style.

The heat on the case of Altantuya Shaaribu is not over yet, and in desperation it seems  both Najib and Zahid are  willing to make Anwar the Prime Minister to get over this mess and set them free provided there is a deal written in stone.

Both Zahid and Najib seem willing to give the position to Anwar so that they can walk free and that seems to be the pact but I have this feeling any deal will only be temporary, they will turn around take over everything and jail him again, he is  the favourite for these greedy and unscrupulous UMNO people who will not batter an eyelid to take him out, no matter what he does.

Anwar is too trusting and that is his weakness, he forgave the greatest evil character in the play and got played out, he must learn from his lessons.

Anwar must remain steadfast, he must realise that he is no more Prime Minister Material, he should give up his  dreams but still remain the great leader of Malaysians he is, forget the PM role, it is not destined to be his but a greater role lies ahead.

Time and the battles he has fought have taken its toll  on him, he should realise that,  hand over the reins of  power in PKR to the likes of  Mohd Rafizi bin Ramli and his daughter Nurul and in doing so  get his wife to relinquish her seat to Rafizi that will be a clear sign of really wanting to move forward.

In orchestrating that move he must as a party senior then spend his time to woo the likes Syed Saddiq, , Khairy Jamaluddin and other young and upcoming Malays into the party to really create a young and vibrant PKR as a meaningful alternative to the people. If he makes that move the young will see that he is a genuine leader and they will want to follow his example and that will be right note to take the future of this country on.

PKR will of course remain a multiracial party. 

Going his present course will only destroy all that he has fought for in all these years, the new  PKR with new blood must set itself out not only  to take Malaysia on a new road to development and economic progress, but to weed out all the corrupt of the years that have gone by and get them punished to the to the fullest extent of the law so that others will not  want to follow in their footsteps.

Stop all the division in the country, religion and race must not be used to divide the nation, we must unite as one people.

The new Government has to give priority to real advances in our educations system so that our students do not become  tools to political agenda where they are unable to reason, but to a be really academically strong positive minded and  properly informed  groups of Malaysians  Engineers, Doctors, Innovators  Scientists, Artists, Administrators who will then become our next set of leaders  so that Malaysia can really progress,  and not students of religious schools where the political agenda is drummed into them under the guise of religion to the extent  they can't  see the wicked realities of which they are being made subject to. 

Anwar has to take a lesson from his University days and  especially the Baling incident, where he stood up for rural poverty and HUNGER, for which he was jailed.

Anwar may not have become Prime Minister, a position he longed for after being sacked from UMNO and that is something all Malaysians are aware of, however history must  remember him as a great leader of the peopleand that will be subject to his final moves.

Anwar was never prime Minister but he was one of our greatest  leaders and it was under his leadership and that too from behind the bars of  Sungei Buloh Jail that he led the nation to overthrow the wicked and ruthless UMNO/BN machinery which up till that time was thought to be invincible. 

Anwar has to make this  final contribution in his leadership by relinquishing all dreams of Prime Ministership  to the next generation, take the role of a Party mentor and put the country on a new course, he has already found his place in History as one of the greatest if not the greatest leader this country has had, he must not lose it by the insatiable desire to become PM at the expense of the nation,  that will destroy him and his legacy.

We must admit that has sacrificed more than any other politician for the nation being incarcerated multiple times to ensure he will not become Prime Minister, he should move aside   they may have won that battle against him, but let him now win the war for the nation as the leader who will make that happen by leading the right way and not by shaking hands with the Devil.

THE GOVERNMENT'S CHINESE NEW YEAR SHUT DOWN SMAKS OF RACISM

ANY SYSTEM, RULE OR LAW  THAT SMAKS OF RACISM IS AN ABSOLUTE RED LINE

 Let me begin with a clarification. The Lunar New Year is the  Spring Festival,it is the end of Winter, it's a time of celebration for Chinese who have to cope with harsh winters where in some places temperatures can sink to below -25 to-35 degrees Celsius.

IT IS NOT A RELIGIOUS FESTIVAL

 

Sorry but I have to begin with some more clarifications, or else some of you might say I am talking nonsense and as the Chinese put it, " talk one talk two" whatever that means.

I have been a staunch advocate of a total lock down since October of 2020, I have warned about this rise in figures for what is after all a an exponential spread and the disease is now beginning to rare its ugly head if we are to trust the figures dished out to us by the Government.

I would have remained silent if there was a total lock down, if every one was confined to their homes and maybe the Malaysian Chinese being very practical would have taken it in good faith too, I have no reason to doubt that. 

 The government has ignored calls even from its own Ministry of Health calling for a lock down earlier, my sources tell me that the calls of the Ministry were shot down by the Minister of Housing and the Minister of International Trade and Industry among others who instead of concentrating on their jobs have decided that since Covid 19 is a big issue they use it to cover their own failings.

Even the Minister of Health has admitted that he was calling for  total lock down.

 THE CHINESE NEW YEAR LOCK DOWN 

Well in the  the case of this Chinese New Year lock down declared by this government  it has been made abundantly clear by the PM himself that breaking the rules will result in harsher punishments including jail sentences for those who do not comply with the rulings,  this seems to target one race in particular, it is extremely race specific, because it has been timed for the CNY season,  and in my opinion it is meant to send a message from a bunch of racists to the Malaysian Chinese and this bunch of racists who form today's Government, are telling the Chinese "Remember we are the Bosses, not you."

          Stricter Rules, the army is coming in harsher punishment
 

I am sorry I can't read it an any other way.

Now Ismaail Sabri claims that he is surprised by the reaction of  the Chinese to the CNY lock down, he goes on further to  claim all the Chinese religious heads were consulted and they agreed to what was told to them, I'd like for him to provide us with the details of who these religious heads are and to refer to my clarification above in red.

 HOLY MEN WHO LIVE IN ALMOST SOLITARY CONFINEMENT ARE NOT THE PEOPLE TO CONSULT ON FAMILY REUNIONS

If he sought the opinion of Chinese Monks, well they are not the people to seek permission from and they may be least competent to give an opinion that could represent all Chinese leave alone the Buddhist, and if you even ask the Chinese Buddhist they'll tell you so because these Chinese Monks and the others the Taoists, even Catholic Monks (as I am Catholic) live almost in  solitary confinement, this is out off their realm - earthly celebrations that is, these Holy men celebrate in prayer solitude,  and even fasting, so I wonder if they ever gave an opinion on Chinese New Year and family reunion dinners, I most certainly think not.

Pasar Malams are opened, an if you go to a Pasar Malam you'll notice it is almost impossible to practice social distancing, in a Pasar Malam you are in the midst of strangers, complete strangers, and they are there in the hundreds and yet it is alright for Pasar Malam's to open , but for families to get together it is not, how absurd.

Does Ismail Sabri leave his brains at home before coming to make statements even if it is the official stand of the government and not his, his position as a minster especially a senior minister demands that he uses common sense and not parrot what idiots have decided.  

Should he not question it? 

By virtue of the office he holds - a Senior Minister he should question and if he does not agree with it refuse to make that statement that is why he was selected to represent the people, he was not elected to represent his cabinet colleagues but the Rakyat.

I am seriously  beginning to wonder if it is a prerequisite for Malaysian Ministers in today's government to be stupid, the more I think about it and observe what is happening around, that is today's ministerial judgements, the more I believe that you have to be stupid to be a Minister in Muhyiddin's cabinet.

It is okay for the barber shops to open, the barber does not crop your hair from 2 meter distances that is 6 feet away, he is almost in your face most of the time, what happens if he had encountered a covid infected case before you, or what if you are a asymptomatic case without knowing it, how many people will the barber infect before he knows that he has been infected? 

Well its is okay for the Barber shop to be opened and the Pasar Malam to be opened and for people to mingle,rub shoulders literally and for some to come right into your face, but it is not okay for family members to sit across the table and share a dinner together. Will you not have to be extremely stupid to think out such strategies? 

There you go it must be a prerequisite -case closed.

I remember in the first lock down it was Azmin asking to open Barber shops for which he was immediately overruled by the rakyat, I guess this must have been his call, he seems very close to Barbers I am

                           Has he got an affair with barber shops cleancut everyday?
 

wondering which type the male or the female Barbers or could it be both.

When any of us visit families in these covid times we are more sensitive than when we are with others, we know the risks involved these are our family members, we would not want anyone in our families to get infected.

We don't get them infected by our arrogance and say that was the will of God, we do not blame God we know he has given us sound mental faculties which we have to use and how we use it he has given us a choice and I am sure that is the reasoning of any reasonable thinking individual regardless his religion.

All reasonable thinking people will always put the priority of the family first, this family reunion is to mark just that, the  all important belief and way of life it is not to endanger the family and all those who go for a family reunion and the Government has failed to see that in good faith.

If the government had banned inter state travel I would have backed them, but to ban family members from the same district or neighboring districts or even in the same townships as long s they were not living under the same roof is nonsense, especially when you allow Pasar Malams and Barber shops to open, how do you justify it? 

IF THIS IS NOT TARGETING A RACE WHAT IS?

Then again case confirmed Stupidity is a prerequisite - Case confirmed.                   

 The Army may well be out at Chinese New Year, these soldiers are not competent on Police procedures so anything they can and might do will be excused as "well they are soldiers, they did not know" so watch out, that is really the case, these soldiers are being called to work outside their realm of expertise, some of them may be overzealous to carry out their duties, ordinary soldiers always take orders  now there is a feeling fo giving orders it may make they may act differently, has the government addressed these issues?

What this government is doing makes no sense, had they declared a total lock down earlier, like I said, I saw this coming and wrote about it both on this blog and the Eastern Standard Times blogspot as early as October this would not have been necessary.

If I could have predicted this I wonder what the huge machinery of our government was doing all this while, I warned that it will only get more expensive as time passes us by, today we are told by a report that the UN has reported that foreign investors are fleeing Malaysia, it was a UN report and we are members of the UN nothing of the sort was reported by our very government supportive media that is party to screwing up this country

Instead of looking for ways and means of giving investors confidence in the country, a weak and drained of resources Government that is refusing to allow itself to be held accountable, hiding under the veil of an Emergency carries out such activities targeted by race.

Where are we headed?

If the government was sincere their actions would have been equitable, where necessary advice would have been given and not threats of even more stern action including Jail sentence when openly their ministers an members get away with publicly  defying MCO orders and regulations time and time again over which the Prime Minister who is so dependent on the support of a frail government dares not act.

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH MUST CALL THE SHOTS ON COVID 19 CONTAINMENT - OTHERS STRICTLY OUT!!!

by: Toffee

29, January 2021 

 

  ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!!!!

WITH 5725 CASES THE STUPID FINANCE MINSTER SAYS WE ARE ON TRACK TO NIP THE SPREAD.

THE SIX THOUSAND FIGURE IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER AND BEFORE THE 15TH OF FEBRUARY WE'LL HIT 8000.

NUMBERS DO NOT LIE, AZMIN ALI AND TENGKU ZAFRUL DO.

 

 

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE SEEMS TO WANT TO HIDE HIS COMPETENCE IN FINANCE BY INTERFERING WITH THE HOTTEST ISSUE IN TOWN - COVID 19 PANDEMIC.

THE MINSTER OF ECONOMY AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INDUSTRY HAD BETTER CONCENTRATE  OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT, INDONESIA, VIETNAM, PHILIPPINES AND THAILAND ARE MORE ATTRACTIVE NOW. THAT IS HIS JOB NOT - COVID

 

                                            Tan Sri Dr. Noor Hashim Should be the offical incharge

 

All shots regarding the containment. control and prevention of Covid 19 is the prime responsibility of the Ministry of health,  headed by  the Minister of Health who will be guided and assisted by his deputies and most importantly the professionals in the Health Ministry headed by the Director General of Health Tan Sri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah.

These are the people who are entrusted with that responsibility and no one else should impede any of their responsibilities especially when it comes to protecting life.

Other Ministries and their Ministers regardless of rank in the cabinet  are supposed to support the efforts of the  Ministry Health in all such cases not direct them to the contrary which seems to be the case in Malaysia. Other ministries and ministers are not competent to perform such tasks and can only provide advice an assistance in areas of their specialties as when the need arises but, the decisions in the containment, control and prevention of the disease are taken by the Ministry of Health, period.

This is an unprecedented situation, it is a war where the enemy is unseen, the war can only be directed by the Ministry of health and the support must come from all other Ministries, they should not allow their own interests (interests of their own
ministries) to take precedence over the efforts of the  Ministry of Health in this effort because this is a time of National calamity and the specialists are the Ministry of health. 

                                   Dr. Adham Baba his competence as a Ministter seems at his peak

 

The ever so absent Minister of Health should if he is unable to deliver the goods on this basis do the next most decent thing and that is RESIGN.

Today we have Tengku Zafrul and un-elected Minister made Minister of Finance, reported as having said  in Malaysiakini;  

“Assuming a worst-case scenario (did come true), it will not be a total lockdown on the economy; we will continue to focus on more stringent SOP,”...  WHO IS HE TO MAKE SUCH A CALL, IS HE TRYING TO USURP THE POWERS OF THE PM?

What he meant by that is anybody's guess, he has learned the stupid language of ministers in the Malaysian Cabinet in this short span of time and as it progresses it will get even more stupid.

Tengku Zafrul was also quoted as saying "Base on current model we believe the number of cases will go down."......Malaysiakini

That is as idiotic a statement as many of the others he has made in the past, and we can start counting because I am sure there will be more to follow.  

                                     The ugh! Minister who arrived by the backdoor to a backdoor cabinet

I suggest he goes to my articles ; "Covid 19 to hit a 1000 cases before end October"  written in October 13, "Muhyiddin must act before it is too late" written on October 17, and "Muhyiddin, Proton's 49 cases proves CMCO is insufficient,"   following the fiasco of  the Sabah elections that started this whole mess, and he can see how stupid that statement of the "model"  he is talking about now is, when every other day we get announcements of new clusters all around the country. 

The statement at that time was the same "we'd get it under control" - Bullshit!!!. it's out of control and we know it.

I warned that it would be more costly the longer we wait. 

This is  the Finance Minster talking he should know  numbers, he must be proficient in numbers  and numbers do not lie and the reality is the numbers do not indicate that number of cases will go down, on the contrary it will only go up. 

Infections in this case where it a pandemic are exponential. YES, EXPONENTIAL !!! AND WITH FACTORIES RUNNING, PEOPLE HUDDLED IN CRAMPED HOSTELS STILL, AND MANY FOREIGN WORKERS LIVING ON THEIR OWN IN CRAMPED HOUSES HE STILL THINGS THE NUMBERS WILL GO DOWN. (Malaysian cabinet intelligence)

Now who is the Finance Minister to dictate such terms, he sits in the comfort of his ivory tower, has no one to care about,  he does not have an electorate answer to and when day is done he will try his hand on the election lottery for which Muhyiddin will give him a ticket and, on what basis is this man moved by the back door into a backdoor government talking so big? 

Who does he represent Muhyddin? 

                                           Muhyiddin at the Sabah Election campaign

Then where is Muhyddin why does he not convene Parliament like all other governments do in such events of National calamity. Even an idiot like Donald Trump tried to present his case to Congress which is the lower house in the American system what has Muhyiddin done.

The same applies to the Senior Minister for Economy and the Minister of International Trade and Industry, the ever so famous for the wrong reasons - Mohamed Azmin Ali, unable and totally incapable of delivering the goods of his own Ministry, watching Foreign Direct Investment shrink and more Companies wanting to leave our shores for the likes of Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand and totally inept in that position,  has decided to divert attention and pick on the issues of the  Ministry of Health.

What better opportunity to seeks some fame when his ministry is not functioning or for that matter non functional if you see what is happening to FDI, -Covid 19 is a big distraction so he jumps on the bandwagon to divert attention and cover his you know what.

The issues of the Ministry of Economy and International Trade and Industry are his prime duties, if we must call for a total lock down that is the job Ministry of Health must  determine not him, he must see how he can explain that necessity to industry as  we are not the only country in the world to do so, France has done and is doing it,  UK has done it, Italy has done it, Germany has done it and is doing it,  and China was the first to do it in one of their largest industrial cities, had we done it in October we'd have been out of the woods today in fact within a month or two,we'd have been out but that is water under the bridge.

To differentiate between the two here is the test, "Leaders who make mistakes learn from their mistakes and admit to it, idiots don't."  I suppose you know where we are with our leadership.

Where was Azmin when after the Sabah elections the government allowed Sabahans and other West Malaysians return without quarantine which actually started this whole mess. The warning signs were there before the Sabah elections and yet this stupid government forced the Sabah elections.

There is no thought process with this government, they are incapable of a real thought process, Ministers should not tread into the realms of specialists especially  in fields that do not concern them, on the contrary like in the case of the Ministry of health they must go all out to see how they could support them, the word is support not dictate or take over their duties by pulling rank.

All other Ministers should go all out to mind their own business, be creative look for ways and means to help the rakyat in this hour of need, not opportunities to make money by building expensive halls when hospitals are full. 

Like many other Malaysians  (no offence meant) we feel the Minister of Health has reached his level of competence and he can go no further, he is at his performance' peak and that is insufficient especially today when there is a pandemic.

In fact most  ministers if not all in today's cabinet and even those under Najib and many under the PH government  most of whom have been retained by the current day PN Government have reached the peak of their level of competence to put it politely, and they all  have to be removed. 

As a simple example whilst the Prime Minister,  other Minister's,  the front liners and more responsible Malaysians plead with Malaysians to stay at home, and as our infection numbers keep going up the spiral, we have Zuraida Kamaruddin  the Minister of  Local Government and Housing asking the Government to open up the Parks, how stupid can one get? 

                                                           She is for Social mixing - blurr. Clueless Zuraida Kamaruddin

                                                                                                           

The current situation indicates that we could have one of the foreign mutations of the virus in our midst,  (I am only guessing on the basis that these mutations have spread to over fifty countries worldwide), and these are super spreaders, here we get the Minister of Local Government and Housing asking the Government to open up the Parks. Give up lah.

There are so many examples related to and unrelated to the Covid 19 spread among our Ministers which are clear indications of their Competencies, I think it is time for a revamp and joint unity government to really govern this country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE PANDEMIC YEAR: A THUMBNAIL SKETCH FROM MALAYSIA

 by Howl Pillay

15 Jan 2021

First a confession...

I am addicted to History. For half a century and more. I see the world through its lens.

Spelt with an “H”, it is about us - race, religion, politics, war, peace,economics, sociology,

anthropology, archaeology, science and technology…. All that we know of ourselves. Thus far.   

Enter, COVID-19 in late January 2020 when ushering in the Year of the Rat, the first animal sign

of the Chinese zodiac. The legend is that the Rat outfoxed the Ox, hiding in its ear to be first to

show up at the behest of the Jade Emperor, beating the ox to the draw. Such trickery!

Wuhan? Ah! The combined cities of Wuchang and Hankou on the Yangtze.

The Wuchang Uprising of 1911? That led to the fall of the Ching? Yes, History. Slowly but surely

the virus turns fear into gloom. Pandemic! We don’t panic. Ignorance is bliss. Still time for

politicking.

Then the resignation, driven by hubris and lots of lansi, of that old race horse (pun intended).

More whispers. More rumours. A mad rush to the Palace. Not the Jade Emperor’s. Then like

the zodiac Rat, a new Gomen jumps out the sleeve of the previous one, claiming legitimacy.

There is much indignation all around. What! A backdoor Gomen? What has become of the will

of the people? The Sheraton movers and shakers have more tricks up their sleeves. Remember

the zodiac Rat? They cling to power on the coattails of Covid-19 even as we suspect the stats.

The Westminster model has turned Eastminster.“Oh, East is East and West is West, and never

the twain shall meet”. Shall appoint, may appoint, will appoint….go on debating but the

ironclad rule of the Eastminster model is: “Saya yang berkuasa”. I am in charge now. 

The months pass. The statistics are grim the world over. The mighty are on their knees - rich

countries, powerful leaders, whole industries. Billions of the poor suffer in a still prosperous

world. Wealth inequality comes home to roost. And sloth, laziness and wastefulness too.

Closer home, our politics turns rotten by the day, reminiscent of the bitter tussle to become

Sultan of Perak circa 1870. Roaming the length of our first tolled highway, the Perak River,

the claimants, and there were three then, rallied their geng for the bitter fight. Same. Same.

Months later after more shuffling, Saudara Anwar claims he has the Ace, the Chow Kai.

Negara-Ku Najib has the cash. Banyaknya! And Tun M is the Joker in the pack. Game over?

No lah! Like in the ending scene of Animal Farm, Abah Mu throws a King on the table. Kantoi! 

Meanwhile, the “Never waste a crisis” politicians of the world are running riot. But ours

are a class act, putting to shame the wily traders of the flea-ridden Kabul Camel Market.

By now the Pandemic has taken us by the collective scruff of our necks, its vice-like grip,

unrelenting.

The mosques go quiet, church bells fall silent and priests offer prayers in empty temples.

The faithful pray in their hearts while the atheists smile at the impotence of the Divine.

More shops and SMEs shutter up; the economy nose-dives. Debt piles up. Apa lagi Covid

mau?

The new Gomen empties the coffers to stay in power. Taxpayer’s money is handed out

to the rakyat jelata, now the personified MakCik Kiah, running a warong. What of the Achi

hawking Indian food from a gerai? Curry favour, she is told. The wanton mee lady?

In a hotpot surely.      

But there is not enough money to kill two birds with one stone and have enough left over

to line their own pockets and that of the geng. The rakyat jelata is now told by the quinoa

eating politician, “If you can’t eat nasi, eat your EPF”. Common man vs Conman, huh?

No points for guessing the winner. To save themselves the rakyat jelata must cannibalise

their future. Sama macam Gomen kita. You have a problem with that? It's not hard to do with

some practice: lift right leg, take aim and kick that bloody can down the road.

Susah ke bruder? 

By now the rakyat jelata should know that the ancient war cry of “Agama, Bangsa dan

Negara”, so beloved of our ruling politicians is merely a cover for the three Akus: Untuk

kroni Aku, Keluarga Aku dan Aku. The rakyat jelata are merely the screen for such

skullduggery.

Enough of Aku punya Gomen! Business as usual has no future. Like a giant spotlight,

the pandemic has exposed the good, bad and ugly. We have a front row view of History in

the making. The next act in the drama will take the stage shortly. Now it's intermission time. 

We wait with bated breath. Who will save us with a vaccine? There is time yet for a peek

at History. Yes, we have survived wars, famines, diseases and climate change. Long ago, we

even survived near-extinction by trekking out of Africa, reduced to a few thousand breeding

pairs. 

And we are heir to the same emotions experienced by that ragged band of early

humans - joy, sadness, avarice, envy, anger and all other thoughts and feelings too.

Like them, we too can smell a rat a mile away like when the Gomen called the deferment of

loans as aid. 

Stage and set have changed many times since those very early days but we kept faith with

the human spirit. Then enter ideology via politics and religion. Envy, fear and hatred of the

other is the new binding agent. Mind control is the new power tool. Down with Hammer and

Sickle!

But our sixth sense never fails to warn us that when others control our minds, they rule it;

that those who rule our minds, rule the world. Witness the endless ranks of suicide bombers

with their brainless minds. In the midst of the pandemic, bombs go off in the name of peace.

That tough trek out of Africa with its many twists, turns, and dead-ends, scattered us around

the globe. It shaped our very being. In faraway places, in forgotten time we came up with

language, art, literature and modes of thinking that were peculiar to a place and a people.

Our differences are many. Celebrate! The free human spirit is universal. Celebrate! Science

and technology belongs to all mankind. Celebrate! Different people can live together by

accepting, not subjugating the other. We are not nails to be hammered down for sticking out.  

The current world population is 7.8 billion. That’s a lot of people and a lot of differences.

We should not even try to make us all believe the same things and act and think the same

way. Sisyphus belongs to myth, not modern reality. Shame on those who preach otherwise.

Shame!

There is movement on the stage of History in the making. The vaccine-men are here

bringing the gifts of a free mind bent on saving bodies and not souls! We see five men on

the stage wearing lab coats. All of them scientists, holding vials not magic wands and amulets!  

The first of the five is Chinese. Surprised? Many are of the view Chinese citizens under the CCP

have closed minds. Wrong! Through the ages, highly bureaucratic dynastic rule kept a tight grip

on society. To survive and prosper individuals kept their minds open and sharp. 

There is not a place you cannot see them run a business or practise their craft. To succeed in

foreign places you must surely take the world as it is. Open-mindedness at its best! To say it

again, the Chinese under the CCP are an open minded people living in a closed society.

Next to him, a European. The product of the Age of Enlightenment; of centuries of fighting

to free his body and his soul from oppression by Kings, dictators and corrupt Gomens. A work

in progress but without a doubt open minded and living in a society kept open with Rule of Law.

To his left is an ugly American, holding a thick pile of papers, perhaps a contract. He looks

like the European, a product of Old Mother Europe. On the wild side and mercantile to the

extreme, he comes from an open society where open minds from the world over, flourish.

The Russian is unmistakable in this group. Taciturn and aloof his eyes shine with a sense

of self containment. Independence even. He is clutching a handful of vials in either hand

all proudly marked ‘Made in Rossiya” and stamped “For Internal Use Only”. Russia is forever!

In the midst of this group is an Indian, lean and wiry with eyes that yearn for engagement and

dialogue. And this will surprise many - the Indian lives in an open society but half of them have

closed-minds that endlessly hark back to a past they see as good and virtuous.

The paths of these five men have criss-crossed many times in seminars, symposiums, research

labs and universities. They share one thing in common - an unquenchable thirst for knowledge

and understanding. In their open minds  and their hearts the human spirit is alive and well.

And us? Will we ever share the stage with the other five gentlemen? The honest answer:

we missed the boat when al-Ghazali wrote "The Incoherence of the Philosophers" in the

eleventh century, rejecting in full Neoplatonic thought and Aristotelian philosophy.

Prior to this, the early luminaries of the Islamic world like al-Farabi and Ibn Sina were staunch

exponents of harmony between faith and philosophy; of reason and religion. Then al-Ghazali

brought it crashing down. But not without a fight. The flame still flickered, refusing to die.

Decades later, the polymath Ibn Rushd, Averroes to the Western world, wrote a direct refutation

of al-Ghazali, "The Incoherence of the Incoherence" to restore the old balance. Rejected in the

Islamic world, the book influenced thinkers in the West for centuries. 

Dreams for a proud and prosperous nation shattered, our lives have been reduced to that

ending passage in "The Great Gatsby": So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back

ceaselessly into the past.