Saya mahukan pilihanraya kecil (kalau saya pengundi di DUN Penanti) 18 April 2009

Saya adalah seorang pengundi berdaftar di kawasan parlimen PJ Selatan dan DUN Bukit Gasing di Selangor. Setakat ini, saya berpuas hati dengan wakil rakyat saya dan juga kerajaan negeri saya.

Baru-baru ini, pengundi di DUN Penanti di Pulau Pinang dihadapkan dengan kemungkinan akan berlaku pilihan raya kecil (PRK) di DUN tersebut, dengan perletakkan jawatan Mohd Fairus Khairuddin dari parti PKR. Dengan perletakkan jawatan itu, Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya harus menetapkan tarikh pengundian bagi PRK di DUN tersebut dalam masa 60 hari.

Perdana Menteri saya mengatakan bahawa ini semua adalah mainan politik PKR dan negara tidak memerlukan suatu lagi PRK setalah 5PRK telah berlangsung sebelum ini (untuk rekod, Pakatan telah memenangi 4 dari 5 PRK sebelum ini). Seperti yang dijangkakan, media arus perdana mengambil ‘cue’ dari kenyataan Perdana Menteri dan mula memainkan isu ‘ketidakperluan PRK’ ini. The Star, misalnya, telah memaparkan kos yang harus dibelanjakan bagi setiap PRK yang diadakan sebelum ini. Utusan Malaysia pula menyiarkan pendapat mereka yang dikatakan pengundi-pengundi di DUN Penanti untuk memberikan gambaran bahawa PRK menyusahkan rakyat (apa yang menarik adalah mereka yang ditemuramah kesemuanya berumur 50 tahun ke atas).

Saya juga kurang bersetuju dengan mengadakan PRK pada waktu sekarang. Saya fikir rakyat sudah mula merasakan by-election fatigue kerana terlalu banyak PRK. Saya lebih suka sekiranya kerajaan menumpukan perhatian terhadap keadaan ekonomi yang kian meruncing.

Tetapi jika saya seorang pengundi di Penanti, saya tentu akan mengalu-alukan sebuah PRK di tempat saya.

Dengan adanya PRK, perhatian seluruh negara akan difokuskan kepada DUN saya. Petugas, penyokong politik, wartawan dan pelancong politik sudah tentu akan berkunjung ke tempat saya dan ini akan menguntungkan para peniaga di tempat saya. Orang luar akan memerlukan tempat tinggal, orang luar perlu mencari makanan dan orang luar juga sudah tentu akan sedikit sebanyak membeli-belah.

Di samping itu, dengan adanya PRK, DUN saya akan dibanjiri dengan ‘gula-gula’ untuk meyakinkan pengundi-pengundi untuk mengundi sesuatu parti itu. Jalan-jalan akan ditarkan, sekolah-sekolah akan diberikan bantuan dan projek-projek akan diperbanyakkan lagi. Jika kami bernasib baik, kami mungkin mendapat kontrak kerajaan melalui cabutan bertuah, seperti yang berlaku di Kuala Terengganu. Ataupun, gadis-gadis seksi akan membuat pertunjukkan di tempat saya untuk memancing undi, seperti yang berlaku di Bukit Gantang (yang dikatakan merupakan ‘budaya Cina’).

Walaupun PRK memerlukan kos yang tinggi, saya lebih rela supaya wang dibelanjakan untuk kegiatan demokrasi di mana saya akan punyai hak untuk tentukan, daripada ianya lesap ke dalam poket ahli-ahli politik ataupun digunakan untuk ‘besiar-siar’ di luar negara sambil berjumpa dengan watak-watak kartun Disney seperti Mickey Mouse dan Goofy.

Dari segi senario politik Malaysia secara amnya, perletakkan jawatan Encik Fairus seharusnya dialu-alukan. Terlalu banyak alegasi-alegasi yang berkaitan dengannya dan ini akan menyusahkan parti dan kerajaan Pulau Pinang. Kita juga mahukan wakil rakyat kita supaya mempunyai sikap tanggungjawab untuk berundur apabila dipalitkan dengan isu integriti. Janganlah apabila sudah terbukti bersalah masih tidak mahu mengaku salah, tidak langsung berasa bersalah dan menyaalahkan orang lain. Ataupun sudah didapati bersalah masih boleh kekal menerajui sebuah negeri. Samada Encik Fairus ditekan untuk letak jawatan atau dibuat secara sukarela, saya lihat ini sebagai perkembangan positif untuk memupuk satu budaya di mana wakil-wakil rakyat yang tidak lagi layak akan diganti dengan mereka yang lebih layak. Walaupun kita harus ingat bahawa setakat ini, Encik Fairus masih belum didakwa di Mahkamah, apatah lagi didapati bersalah.

Jadi, walaupun saya kurang berseteju dengan politik berlebihan, jika saya seorang pengundi di Penanti, saya tetap mahukan PRK diadakan.

Oleh itu, sekiranya UMNO dan Barisan Nasional merasakan bahawa sebuah PRK akan membebankan rakyat, saya cadangakan supaya mereka tidak meletakkan calon di PRK Penanti dan memberikan walkover kepada PKR.

Khir Toyo, the worst kind 16 April 2009

In politics, we will often disagree when it comes to opinions from people with different political views with us. Sometimes, political affiliations will cloud our better judgment and we tend to defend the actions of our party we support even though we know that they are wrong, and vice versa.

I myself may be guilty of such practices. All I ask is that those who disagree with my views engage me a a healthy discussion. I am quite certain that enough points have been made to convince me, I will not hesitate to concede. Discourse between people of different political ideologies would ultimately result in a more mature and vibrant Malaysia and will pave the way for a ‘first world’ democracy.

Sometimes however, that actions of certain politicians simply cannot be defended. What is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ is so clear cut that it would be almost impossible for the other side to argue otherwise.

This was what I felt yesterday when I read the response from former Selangor Mentri Besar, Mr. Khir Toyo on the Selangor government’s decision not to accept Ms. Elizabeth Wong’s resignations. He said:

Terima atas keputusan (kerajaan Selangor itu)….kita akan mengeksploitasi isu tersebut.

No, he cannot deny that Malaysiakini ‘misreported’ those words, as today’s Sinar Harian also carried a similar quote.

Yes, politic is dirty. One cannot expect to venture into politics without contemplating the possibility of being burned. Yet there must still be taboos and limits as to what we can venture into in our political endeavours.

The fact of the matter is Ms. Wong is a victim in this whole tragedy. Irrespective of whether the photos were taken without consent or without her knowledge, the fact of the matter is that Ms. Wong definitely did not consent to them being circulated and distributed to the press and the public at large. Thus it is clear that Ms. Wong was the victim of a crime , one we should condemn regardless of our political affiliations.

By openly declaring that he will exploit the issue, Mr. Khir Toyo has shown Malaysians once again the kind of person he is; an unscrupulous, unprincipled, gutter politician. Remember, he was one of the first persons to demand that Ms. Wong resign from her position when the news first broke out.

Here is a man who has sucked dry the state’s coffers with holiday trips around the world, expensive gifts and lavish functions, all using the rakyat’s hard-earned money. What is worse is that till today, he remains unapologetic about it. and is adamant that he has done nothing wrong In fact, he even told the current administration not to ‘look for the faults of the previous administration’. Quite the contrary Mr. Khir, the rakyat wants to know what our previous Mentri Besar, his wife, their children and their maids have been doing with our money.

Mr. Khir would like to see himself as a pembela and jaguh of the Malays. Yet, at the same time during his tenure in office, what has he done for the Malays, let alone Selangorians of other races? If he is so concerned about the Malays, why did he not put the money spent by him, his wife, their children and their maids to better use? Are those rewards for his service as pembela Melayu? Or his ‘entitlements’ as Mentri Besar of Malaysia’s richest state?

Looking back, I wonder how Selangorians ever allowed ourselves to suffer under his ‘leadership’.

Now, Mr. Khir wants to talk about morality. About integrity. About leadership. All coming from a man whose tenure as Mentri Besar was filled with corrupt practices. All coming from a man who has quite obviously made cosmetic changes to his face just because he was ashamed that he looked more like a village headman rather than a Mentri Besar.

Mr. Khir Toyo is the epitome of all that is wrong is with Malaysian politics.

UMNO Chooses, Day 1 (or 52 votes away from Khir as Ketua Pemuda!) 25 March 2009

As a non-UMNO, as a Pakatan supporter, as a person who has lost faith in the Barisan Nasional, I shouldn’t be too interested or bothered by the UMNO elections. Yet, for the next 3 or 4 years, I still have to live with a democratically elected Barisan government, with UMNO at it’s core, so as a person who closely follows Malaysian politics, I found myself enthralled by the stiff competition in this year’s edition.

Tonight, the three wings of the Malay party decided on their leaders. We know of the results, so allow me to comment on the some of them.

I’m not even going to bother with the Puteri elections, as to me the Puteri wing is a complete waste of time and money. They have not contributed anything to UMNO and the country as a whole and I still feel that it was created to allow a certain woman minister who was recently embroiled in allegations of corruption to start her political career and by-passing the Wanita wing. At least before this they had a good looking Ketua Puteri, now? And to clear ANY doubts, I must categorically state that I’m referring to Ms. Noraini, the outgoing Ketua Puteri.

Talking about Wanita, Ms. Sharizat has won the Ketua Wanita post from incumbent Ms. Rafidah by a landslide. I suspect that the hardworking ladies of Wanita simply wanted a change as they have been led by the Iron Lady for the better part of more than a decade. Ms. Sharizat is one of those ‘acceptable’ UMNO personalities, who rarely (if ever) spout racist rhetorics, is hardworking and also intelligent. Her win should bode well for Wanita and I predict that she will be made a minister by way of senatorship (remember, she lost her Pantai Dalam seat to a certain Ms. Nurrul Izzah last March). Maybe the Iron Lady dah berkarat.

The most interesting of today’s competitions has to be the fight for posts in the Pemuda wing. I’ll touch first on the Deputy Chief contest, which saw Mr. Razali Ibrahim triumphing over one of my ‘favorite’ politicians; Mr. Reezal Merican. I made no secret my disgust as Mr. Reezal’s racist rhetorics in trying to portray himself as some sort of ‘defender of the Malays’, especially when his own Malay lineage is very much questionable. So the fact that Mr. Reezal did not win is good enough for me. Besides, Johor generally produces good leaders, and Mr. Razali is the MP for Muar (Syed Hamid notwithstanding).

I’ll save the most interesting for last. The race to become Ketua Pemuda, which saw a three cornered fight between Mr. Khairy (the son in law), Mr. Mukhriz (the son of the Tun) and Mr. Khir (the SOB). Of course, we all know that Mr. Khairy won the contest, but the official tally tells us that we were 52 votes away from having Mr. Khir ‘it’s not Botox, it’s tempe!’ Toyo as Pemuda chief. 52 votes! And this after revelations that he and his wife (and their friends) had sucked dry the state’s coffers during his reign as Selangor Mentri Besar. What does that tell you about the Pemuda wing? That they at least have 252 perwakilans which are either stupid or greedy. Or both.

Now, Mr. Khairy, or as he’s effectively known as; KJ. I must admit that out of all the three candidates, I like his political message the most. Mr. Khir is too far right (and too Khir Toyo) and Mr. Mukhriz is too ’somewhere in between Mr. Khir and Mr. KJ’. Mr. KJ’s messege is the most ‘centrist’ of the three, more inclusive and more likely to defend multi-culturalism. Two things that Mr. KJ has as an advantage is that he’s intelligent and he’s ambitious. But he also has a lot of political baggage, from being able to make because he’s the son in law of the PM right up to ‘whacking’ Pos Malaysia money. Of course all these are mere allegations and unlike Mr. Khir’s ‘money-whacking’, still unproven. There are also too many sides of KJ that we have seen; KJ the son in law, KJ the Malay ultra, KJ the moderate, KJ the businessman, KJ of MyTeam, KJ of FAM, too many that we might never know why the 304 delegates chose him. Did he win because of money? Did he win to give a last hurrah to his father in law? Did he win because anti-KJ sentiments were split between the other two? Or did he win because the delegates believed in him?

But whatever the reasons for his triumph, the fact of the matter is Mr. KJ is here to stay, despite the fact that some predicted his demise with Mr. Abdullah’s decision to handover power to Mr. Najib.

But that’s today. Tomorrow should be even more interesting…

What Selangor paid for Balkis (or paying RM206,000 for flowers and hats) 24 March 2009

I’m simply speechless. Read this report from the Sun:

KDEB paid for flight trips for Balkis members to go ’souvenir shopping’

SHAH ALAM (March 23, 2009) : Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd (KDEB) paid for the flight tickets of seven members of the now defunct Selangor assemblymen and MPs wives charity organisation (Balkis) for a “souvenier shopping” trip to Guangzhou, China on May 2007.

The cost of flight tickets for one business class and six economy class seats was RM17,438, KDEB head Datuk Abdul Karim Munisar told the Select Committee on Competance, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) of the Selangor State Assembly on the first day of its probe into contributions disbursed to Balkis.

Abdul Karim said the company paid more than RM206,000 for the souvenirs from China which included a few hundred stalks of artificial flowers in various colours and 2,700 hats – 900 in red, yellow and purple colours respectively.

This was despite the fact that the invoice indicates that the supplier has a local branch based in Kuala Lumpur. The entire cost was absorbed by KDEB which is a state investment arm under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme.

Abdul Karim added that KDEB had spent a total RM65,300 to buy Songket material to be given as gifts to the Sultan, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed and Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali at a function hosted by Balkis in February 2006 and about RM25,000 for souvenir chocolates.

The company also paid RM100,000 for dinner organised by Balkis at the Sunway Lagoon Resort and Spa Hotel on July 24, 2007. This was a week before the association co-hosted three dinners costing RM450,000.

The first two dinners on Aug 2 and 3 were held at the same venue and the third on Aug 4 was held at the Sunway Lagoon Theme Park hotel. The cost was borne by the state government with the approval of the financial officer and endorsement of the executive council (exco).

Grilled by the Selcat which is chaired by Selangor state assembly speaker Teng Chang Khim on Monday over these payments KDEB made under its CSR programme president Karim Munisar said: “We do not question the relevance of this as it was determined by the previous state government, and there are no criteria or guidelines. Now KDEB is under a new government and if they change the policy and stipulate guidelines pertaining CSR programmes, then we will adhere to it.”

Karim was one of the four witnesses who testified before the seven member Selcat panel made up of five Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen and two Barisan Nasional representatives.

The other Selcat members are Bkit Antarabangsa state assemblyman Azmin Ali, Taman Medan assemblyman Haniza Talha, Ulu Kelang assemblyman Shaari Sungib, Bukit Gasing assemblyman Edward Lee, Dusun Tua assemblyman Ismail Sani (BN), and Permatang assemblyman Sulaiman Abdul Razak (BN).

He said if the president approves the appeal for funding from organisations like Balkis then the board would have to endorse it.

Asked what would happen if he had not approved it, Karim replied: “Susah lah! (that’s hard)”.

Several state company representatives and their subsidiaries also admitted that they were obliged to pay for the cost incurred by Balkis saying it was a practice which they did not question.

The heads and former managers of the companies said that although they agreed to pay for expenditures, the approvals were based on estimates.

The final cost would be paid to suppliers based on based on bills that Balkis forwarded to the companies.

Earlier during the morning session, state secretary Datuk Ramli Mahmud said the CSR guidelines for state companies are determined by the companies themselves and that there was no fixed guideline.

“It is for the CEOs to decide on based on their budget allocations,” he said.

Ramli also denied that where the state was concerned there was no special treatment for Balkis as the organisation had to write in to ask for  financial assistance if they wanted it.

He said the RM450,000 contribution for Balkis dinner at the Sunway Lagoon Resort and Spa Hotel and the Sunway Lagoon Theme Park Hotel were a one-off contribution to the organisation and the state took into account the fact that the organisation was run by the wives of state representatives.

We received the endorsement of the state executive council (exco) and the financial officer to host the three events which wives of elected representatives from all 13 states in the country attended , with Balkis as the co-host, he added.

Meanwhile former Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor (PKNS) general manager Datuk Harun Salim agreed with the committee when asked if PKNS was a “tukang bayar” (pay master) for Balkis as the association would forward its bills to the company to be paid.

He said the organisation would usually forward requests to the company to sponsor some of its programmes and admitted that the company usually felt obliged to support Balkis.

Harun however denied that he was concerned about repercussions if he did not endorse the sponsorships because he said his performance and the profits of the company were good.

Therefore this was not a reason he took into account when approving the soponsorships.

PKNS and its subsidiaries had also contributed large sums to Balkis including RM300,000 for the three dinners held on Aug 2,3 and 4.

Pebadanan Kemajuan Pertanian Selangor (PKPS) Mohd Nordin Darhan who also testified before Selcat said the company had on Jan 2006 contributed RM46,000 for the officiating of Balkis complex in Section 7, Shah Alam including the cost of 150 fruit hampers for guests.

And from the Malaysian Insider:

Balkis received huge cash payments from Selangor government

SHAH ALAM, March 24 — Paid trips to Cambodia and Indonesia, cash payments, a mass wedding for converts, and expensive gifts for VIPs, all in the name of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), dominated day two of a public inquiry into the Wives of Selangor Elected Representatives Charity Organisation (Balkis).

Today, it was the turn of Permodalan Negri Selangor Berhad (PNSB) chief executive officer Datin Khairiyah Abu Hassan to be “grilled” by the Selangor Select Committee for Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat), over funds which was provided to Balkis since 2002.

Khairiyah, who was accompanied by four aides, disclosed that it was a common practice for the state subsidiary to adhere to all “request” for funds from Balkis, which amounted to between almost RM500,000 to RM1.6 million, annually.

Khairiyah told the committee headed by Selangor speaker Teng Chang Khim that as a state subsidiary it adopted a “compromising attitude” as they wanted to support the state in all projects which improved the image of the administration.

Khairiyah, who was deputy CEO in 2002, disclosed that it was “usual practice” for Balkis officials to make verbal requests for project funds, and it was not unusual for the payments to be made in cash.

During the inquiry she said the “instructions” were sometimes made over the phone but she later retracted and used the term ‘request’ instead which prompted Teng to remind her that she was testifying under oath.

She admitted she had a close relationship with former Balkis president Datin Zahrah Kechik, who is the wife of former Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Khir Toyo,and added there was no committee to scrutinise the “request” for funds or how the money was used.

Khairiyah said all requests were approved by the PNSB board collectively.

In 2002, PNSB funded a journey of repentance and self-realisation (Keinsafan) for Balkis members. A total of RM82,000 was paid and the money was used to food, accommodation and humanitarian projects as well as an allowance of RM3,000 for a reporter.

Khairiyah said RM38,000 was dispensed in cash and PNSB did not receive a receipt for the money.

In the same year, Balkis also received RM250,000 of which RM100,000 was in cash, to run a motivational camp for SPM students.

Khairiyah said she is not sure what the cash was used for and did not know who ran the course or why the money needed to be paid in cash.

In 2003, PNSB allocated RM1.65 million to Balkis of which RM148,280 was used to fund a mass wedding of 51 couples who were new converts at Dewan Belia and Sukan in Shah Alam.

Almost RM90,000 was spent on food for the estimated 1,500 guests at the wedding and Khairiah admitted there was no proper documentation on how the rest of the money was spent.

“It is negligence and carelessness on our part,” she admitted.

Khairiyah was at a loss to explained why huge amounts of cash was being dispensed to Balkis over the year and who received the money.

In 2004, PNSB paid RM3,600 for a “Summermen” suit for its then chairman Dr Mohd Khir Toyo as a souvenir for attending a Chinese New Year function, contrary to General Orders that gifts should not cost more than RM1,000 .

In the same year PNSB paid RM16,000 for Balkis members to go on a trip to Bukit Tinggi, Indonesia.

Meanwhile in 2006, PNSB paid RM50,000, in cash, for the opening of Complex Wawasan Balkis in Shah Alam,  RM13,000 for food and a singer for a Buka Puasa dinner and RM25,000 for several tables at a Balkis charity dinner.

In 2007, PNSB paid RM338,547.97 for the Balkis annual sports event of which RM33,000 was used to buy uniforms for participants.

Teng remarked that PNSB had functioned like a cashier to Balkis and added the Select Committee was concerned with the lack of corporate governance by the state subsidiary.

The inquiry continues tomorrow.

(emphasis are mine)

Amazing. And all this is merely the tip of the corruption iceberg. Let’s all wait with bated breath what more Selangor has ‘donated’ to the former Selangor Mentri Besar’s wife and her friends.

I agree with the Selangor Assembly speaker; it does seem that these state GLCs were acting as Balkis’ personal ATM.

So over to you MACC, or are you too concerned with cows?

Ada orang cakap saman Utusan sama dengan saman Islam… 13 October 2008

Secara peribadi, saya tahu kadangkala cawangan-cawangan dan bahagian-bahagian UMNO ketandusan aktiviti untuk dibuat. Lebih-lebih lagi di peringkat cawangan, yang selalunya kecil dan mempunyai ramai ahli ‘atas kertas’ yang tidak aktif. Tetapi, nampaknya kadangkala terdapat juga bahagian-bahagian parti tersebut yang juga tidak mempunyai apa-apa idea bernas untuk dijadikan aktiviti yang bermanfaat.

UMNO bahagian Cheras mempunyai seorang Senator. Oleh itu, kalau mengikut logik, bahagian tersebut seharusnya dipenuhi dengan ahli-ahli yang bernas yang boleh memberikan buah fikiran yang memberikan sumbangan kepada rakyat ataupun negara. Kalau mereka tidak mahu tolong rakyat Malaysia secara keseluruhan, tolong orang Melayu sahaja pun tidak mengapa.

Jadi, apabila bahagian UMNO yang mempunyai seorang Senator ini melancarkan ‘Tabung Azan’, untuk ‘memberi sokongan moral’ kepada Utusan Malaysia yang telah disaman oleh Saudari Teresa Kok, saya terkejut juga dengan ke’tidak-pandaian’ bahagian tersebut.

Saya akui, tabung untuk membantu masjid-masjid adalah usaha yang baik. Tetapi, apabila usaha yang baik dikaitkan dengan permainan politik yang berbaur perkauman dan sentimen agama, usaha yang baik itu menjadi sia-sia. Malahan, usaha tersebut tampak seperti usaha untuk mendapatkan publisiti murahan.

Saya mengambil keratan dari blog UMNO bahagian Cheras di sini:

“Syed Ali juga menjelaskan, kutipan tabung itu juga akan disalurkan kepada akhbar Utusan Malaysia yang sedang berdepan dengan saman RM30 juta daripada Teresa, jika akhbar tersebut memerlukan bantuan.”

Saya malas ingin berdebat atau bertekak mengenai isu samada Saudari Teresa ada kena-mengena dengan petisyen memperlahankan azan, seperti yang digembar-gemburkan. Walau begitu banyak bukti yang tertera, ramai masih lagi mahu mempercayakan tuduhan Saudara Khir Toyo yang tidak pernah disertakan dengan apa-apa bukti sekalipun. Dan di antara Saudara Khir Toyo dan pemimpin-pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat terutama sekali dari PAS, saya amatlah cenderung untuk tidak mempercayai Saudara Khir Toyo yang memang terkenal dengan sifat mempunyai ‘dua muka’ (secara literal!).

Apa yang saya ingin tekankan di sini adalah rasional yang diberikan oleh Senator Bahagian Cheras tersebut di sini:

“Apabila pemimpin DAP itu menyaman akhbar Utusan Malaysia hanya kerana isu laungan azan, maka tindakan Teresa itu seolah-olah mencabar dan menghiris seluruh perasaan umat Islam di negara ini,” jelasnya.

Dan:

Beliau menjelaskan, akhbar Utusan Malaysia adalah milik orang Melayu dan sinonim dengan perjuangan UMNO, maka tindakan Teresa itu samalah seperti menggugat kepentingan seluruh umat Islam.

Lebih ketara adalah kenyataan ini, yang dipetik dari Utusan Malaysia:

“Kita terpanggil apabila timbul isu ini. Tindakan Teresa yang mengambil tindakan kepada Utusan Malaysia sama seperti dia menyaman agama Islam,” ujarnya.”

Untuk tidak ‘quote out of context‘, saya sarankan bahawa kedua-dua laporan tersebut anda baca sendiri.

Saya tidak tahu sejak bila UMNO itu sinonim dengan orang Melayu. Saya lagi tidak tahu bagaimana menyaman Utusan Malaysia itu sama dengan menghina agama Islam.

Lihatlah, bagaimana Senator UMNO Cheras ini telah mengaitkan agama yang begitu suci dan begitu agung dengan sebuah akhbar yang pada hari Ahadnya mempunyai sisipan Pancaindera yang sememangnya disukai kerana gosip-gosip artis yang dimuatkan di dalam sisipan tersebut.

Kepada mereka yang ingin sangat menjadi jaguh Melayu, anda boleh lakukan apa sahaja untuk ‘membuktikan’ kejaguhan anda, tapi anda jangan sekali-kali mengatakan bahawa anda melambangkan Islam. Jangan sekali-kali cemarkan Islam dengan pemikiran asobiyah dan sempit anda itu.

Melayu itu bukanlah UMNO semata-mata.

Dan Utusan Malaysia tidak sama dengan Islam. Jauh sekali.

Janganlah cari publisiti murahan atas nama Melayu dan agama Islam.

One has to demolish in order to sabotage… 30 September 2008

A Hindu temple in Ampang was demolished recently by the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council.

Of course, it has caused a furore. The MIC yesterday handed a memorandum to the Selangor Mentri Besar in protest.

My views on places of worship are simple; regardless of the religion, they must be respected. Even if they are illegally built, one cannot simply demolish them arbitrarily.

Pakatan Rakyat’s capture of Selangor was helped in no small part by the previous temple demolition episode under the Barisan Nasional government. If I was Pakatan Rakyat, the one thing I will NOT do is to repeat what the BN did with temples.

Thus, it was very suspicious to say the least when this latest temple demolition episode erupted. Pakatan doubters will point this as proof that Pakatan is no different from Barisan. Short sighted and easily excited people will get angry and perhaps turn on the coalition (to re-embrace Barisan?).

It serves the MIC and Barisan Nasional very well, actually.

It is no secret that the Selangor government, under Mr. Khalid, has not gone on a ‘detoxification’ exercise of the government departments and municipal councils. Mr. Khalid prefers to ‘cajole’ the current crop of civil servants to work with the Pakatan government. A commendable effort, I must say.

But such an approach assumes that the previous government is an honorable loser. It assumes that the previous government is comfortable in its role as state opposition. It assumes that the civil servants are now wholeheartedly behind Pakatan.

Maybe the Selangor government should not have assumed such virtues in humans.

The previous government still has ‘fingers’ within the Selangor civil service. It’s quite easy to ‘prompt’ certain high ranking officers to order something with an aim to sabotage the Pakatan government.

Like ordering the demolition of a temple, for example, directly contravening a state directive. A person who ordered something like that either does not know of the state directive, or is paid handsomely well to ‘forget’ the said directive.

Musim menyumpah! 23 August 2008

Nampak gayanya, sekarang adalah musim ‘bersumpah di dalam masjid’. Terbaru, Datuk Seri Najib Razak telah bersumpah di sebuah masjid di Pulau Pinang bahawa beliau tidak mengenali Altantuya Sharibuu.

Laporan the Star:

Najib swears in a mosque that he did not know Altantuya

BUTTERWORTH: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has sworn in a mosque that he did not know Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu and has nothing to do with her murder.

“Wallahi, Wabillahi, Watallahi (with Allah as my witness), I swear I do not know or have any connection with the Mongolian woman,” he said.

He made the declaration last night at a mosque in Guar Perahu near here after announcing that all mosques and suraus in Penanti would receive a RM1.4mil allocation from the Government.

Najib said his actions did not amount to an “official swearing ceremony”.

“But I am not afraid to utter these holy words in a mosque because I am speaking the truth. Whether others will be willing to follow suit is up to them.

“This is personal between me and God,” he said.

He added that although he has been subjected to taunts and attempts to smear his name, truth was on his side.

Last month in front of Umno grassroots leaders who had gathered at Putra World Trade Centre, Najib said he had invoked the name of Allah and swore that he was not connected with the Altantuya case.

He had said he did it following relentless personal attacks on him linking him with the death of the Mongolian. He added that the attacks were to stop him from becoming Prime Minister.

Kalau sumpah-menyumpah ini dapat membuktikan sesuatu perkara, maka saya cadangkan supaya beberapa orang lagi mengangkat ’sumpah laknat’.

1.
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dan Datuk Shahrir Samad bahawa kenaikan harga minyak adalah kerana ‘kenaikan harga minyak global’.

2.
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi bahawa penurunan harga minyak tidak ada kena mengena langsung dengan Permatang Pauh.

3.
Datuk Shabery Cheek bahawa beliau tidak pernah menyerang peribadi Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim ketika debat mereka.

4.
Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Nordin Kardi, naib canselor UUM bahawa beliau sebenarnya memahami bahawi IPP itu ada kena mengena dengan minyak.

5.
Datuk Ibrahim Abu Shah, naib canselor UiTM bahawa protes pelajar UiTM tempoh hari adalah untuk ‘mempertahankan hak Melayu’ dan bukan bermotifkan politik.

6.
Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar bahawa semamangnya akan ada protes besar-besaran pada 14 Julai yang lepas yang ‘mengharuskan’ pihak polis menyusahkan orang ramai dengan sekatan jalan raya.

7.
Pengerusi Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya bahawa pilihanraya sememangnya adil.

8.
Encik Ezam Mohd. Nor bahawa dia masuk UMNO ‘demi membela nasib orang Melayu’ dan bukan kerana sebab-sebab lain (duit, marah dekat Anwar, tiada prinsip, pangkat dll.).

9.
Setiap dan semua orang ahli UMNO bahawa mereka sememangnya ingin ‘memperjuangkan nasib bangsa Melayu’ dan bukannya untuk sebab-sebab lain (duit, pangkat, kuasa, kontrak, projek, kroni dll).

10.
Khairy Jamaluddin bahawa beliau ‘berjaya’ bukan kerana bapa mertuanya.

11.
Uncle Pet bahawa beliau ‘bukanlah seperti yang RPK katakan‘ (saya tidak mahu cakap lebih dari itu).

Tak payah kita ada mahkamah untuk menentukan kesalahan seseorang.  Tak payah ada peguam. dan hakim. Tak payah ada Parlimen. Tak payah kita ada pembangkang untuk memastikan kerajaan bertanggungjawab dalam pemerintahan. Tak payah kita buat penyiasatan untuk mengetahui kebenaran. Kita hanya perlu angkat sumpah!

POSTSCRIPT: Satu lagi cadangan ’sumpahan’; Datuk Dr. Khir Toyo bahawa rupa barunya itu adalah secara semulajadi dan bukan menggunakan Botox mahupun pembedahan plastik.

How to act in defeat 10 March 2008

The actions of defeated Barisan Nasional leaders in the aftermath of last Saturday’s election results speaks a lot about their character.

On Saturday night, Mr. Koh Tsu Koon won the respect of many by holding a press conference to concede defeat in Penang and even said that he is proud to have served the people of Penang for so long.

Ms. Sharizat Jalil meanwhile came to congratulate her opponent, Nurul Izzah Anwar and told her to take care of the people of Lembah Pantai when it was confirmed that she had lost the seat to the younger Izzah.

Compare that to Mr. Samy’s non-appearance when the official result of his lost in Sungai Siput was announced.

Or how about Mr. Tajol Rosli, former Menteri Besar of Perak? He locked himself in his house and cried after it was confirmed that Perak was lost to the opposition.

Mr. Khir Toyo was said to be quietly trying to smuggle documents from the Selangor administrative building in Shah Alam. He has yet to issue a press statement regarding the fall of Selangor to the PKR-DAP-PAS coalition.

Mr. Zainuddin ‘I-need-English-lessons’ Maidin was a sour grape when he said that his defeat in Sungai Petani was due to protest votes from non-Malay voters. Someone should inform the former Minister of Information that a 9,000 votes majority isn’t a protest, but a rejection. He also said that the people will regret their decision.

Some people are just sore losers.