MIC’s stupid threat 11 April 2009

From the Star:

MIC may withdraw its lone minister, deputies from Government

KUALA LUMPUR: The MIC is studying a proposal for the party to withdraw its one minister and two deputy ministers from the Government as a protest over the lack of importance accorded to the Indian community, said a senior party official.

The official, who declined to be named, said the proposal was drawn up at a meeting of top party officials on Friday.

“The proposal will be tabled in the party’s central working committee meeting on Thursday where it is expected to be endorsed,” he said.

MIC’s sole representative in the new Cabinet is Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam who was reappointed the Human Resources Minister.

The party also has two deputy ministers namely Datuk M. Saravanan (Federal Territories Ministry) and Datuk S. K. Devamany (Prime Minister’s Department).

“The MIC as the third largest component member in the Barisan Nasional had not been given due respect or accorded the deserving treatment by the new government.

“However, even if we do withdraw our representatives, MIC will remain in Barisan but would concentrate on uniting the Indian community,” added the official.

He said party members were unhappy that their request for a senior ministerial portfolio in the Cabinet had not been accepted despite repeated appeals to the then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and later to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

“MIC had requested for the Works Ministry portfolio – a post held by party president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu until he lost the Sungai Siput parliamentary constituency in the last general elections,” he said, adding that former MIC president, the late Tan Sri V. Manickavasagam had held the Transport Ministry portfolio.

The official said the Human Resources Ministry is considered a junior post in the Cabinet and did not fit the party’s status as the third largest component party in the Barisan.

“The MIC brought back Indian voters to the Barisan in the recent Bukit Selambau and Bukit Gantang by-elections.

“The administration line-up will further erode the support of the Indian community for the coalition,” he said, adding that the MIC was disappointed that other component parties were given more and better positions.

I couldn’t help but shake my head in disbelief when I heard this.

Ever since its devastating defeat, the MIC, far worse than all other component parties in the Barisan, has not shown Malaysians any inkling of proof that it can be rescued from the current dire state it finds itself in. When other major component parties had leadership changes to try and save themselves from irrelevance, MIC recently re-elected its long-serving President, Mr. Samy Vellu to another term in office. His challenger, who garnered enough nominations to contest, had his papers rejected unceremoniously and Mr. Samy got elected uncontested.

Threatening to pull out from the Cabinet is, for the lack of better term, stupid. It serves no purpose and proves to Malaysians the selfish interests of its leaders. It is said that MIC’s threat was due to the fact that Mr. Samy was not made a minister in the Cabinet when he had lobbied so hard for post. The party argued that since Mr. Koh Tsu Koon, whose Gerakan was similarly nearly wiped out by the rakyat during the political tsunami of last year, obtained a minister post, Mr. Samy should similarly be appointed as one. With all due respect to Mr. Samy, I do think comparing himself and Mr. Koh is like comparing glass and diamond.

How can it possibly help Malaysian Indians, whom it claims it represent, by refusing posts in the government is beyond my comprehension. Of course, the notion that only Indians can help Indians is in itself an antiquated one, but such is the ‘power-sharing’ formula of the Barisan.  The decades old set-up, which appear to have served the country so well up to now, is tearing at the seams. It is because of having to conform to the Barisan formula that Mr. Najib’s cabinet, which was supposed to be a ‘meaner and leaner’ one, ended up looking like old wine in a new bottle. MCA protested when there were rumours that it might lost a ministerial post. Now, MIC has protested as it did not get more portfolios.

Barisan has become too bloated, too divided and too defined along ethnic lines. MIC’s threat is undeniable proof that the ‘grand old coalition’ is fast losing its relevance.

A BN-PR unity government? 28 February 2009

Malaysian Insider reports that PAS President, Mr. Abdul Hadi Awang mooted the idea of a ‘unity government’, to face the current economic turmoil.

We must first detach the spin that Malaysian Insider has placed upon Mr. Hadi’s call. The news portal website claimed that Mr. Hadi’s proposal was a ’sign that Pas has yet to abandon the idea of forging a closer relationship with Umno’. Yes, PAS last year was ravaged with factionalism over the ‘muzakarah’ with UMNO for ‘Malay-Muslim’ unity, and Mr. Hadi has been ‘implicated’ in the attempts to do so by certain leaders within PAS. However, seeing Mr. Hadi’s statements recently, I do feel that the ‘muzakarah’ faction in PAS no longer entertains the idea with any serious thought.

A reading of the article will reveal that Mr. Hadi never said that the unity government that he proposed was one based on Malay-Muslim unity. His proposal was within the context of national unity. By saying that he has yet to moot the idea to the Pakatan Rakyat leadership, it implies that his suggestion is not a PAS-UMNO government, but a bi-partisan, Barisan Nasional-Pakatan Rakyat government. He said:

We need to look common ground in uniting political parties in carrying out responsibilities, it’s not that we cannot disagree, but we want this common ground to be given priority, before we spend our time on issues that we disagree on.

Most importantly, the people must be united. It has to take precedence over party interest. Let us sacrifice some of our rights sincerely for the sake of saving our country.

I wish to suggest to the outgoing Prime Minister to make some changes, to at least complete his agenda in reforming the judiciary, eradicating corruption and I believe Barisan Nasional cannot do it alone.

To do it fairly it must involve all parties, in times of crisis it is important for all of to carry out our duties collectively.

So the knee-jerk reaction by some at his suggestion is unfair to Mr. Hadi. He has tried to bridge the political divide with his suggestion, and it seems to me that he is sincerely trying end our political woes, especially when we are staring at recession in the face. Indeed, the first Finance Minister and Prime Minister designate, Mr. Najib Razak, has announced that the fourth quarter GDP for our nation is at 0.1%. That is how close we are to a recession.

A ‘unity government’, or ‘national government’, is a broad coalition government consisting of all, or at least all major, political parties in times of national crisis or emergency. Indeed, after the race riots of 1969, a unity government was formed with opposition parties like Gerakan (at that time) and PAS joining Barisan Nasional. Of course, we all know that PAS was later kicked out of BN after it was no longer useful. Yet a unity government is not at all alien to our nation. Even UMNO veteran and Gua Musang MP Mr. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah mooted the idea as recently as last year.

Many feel that the level of politicking in this country has reached an unbearable high. Politicians are more concerned at scoring political points over one another, whilst the rakyat are left to cope with the economic turmoil. A unity government, in theory, would certainly reduce the amount of politicking by these politicians and allow them to focus on brining the nation out of it’s financial rut.

Yet, a unity government will only be as successful as the individuals that make it up. It can only work if both sides agree to work together for the common good of the nation, to set aside political differences for a common goal. Unfortunately, I do not think that our politicians are mature enough and selfless enough to make such a government work. We will probably see more bickering between politicians, with party A trying to upstage party B even though they are effectively in the same government. If you thought the current government is a flip-flop one, a BN-PR government will see more flip-flops than a footwear store!

Politics in Malaysia has come to a point that there is animosity between the parties. So much so that it would be very difficult to set the two main coalitions upon a common table, let alone to reach a consensus. A BN-PR unity government at this point in time would result in a non-functioning government, which would worsen the situtation.

Further, there is also the problem with allocating parties to a respective portfolio. I’m sure DAP or PKR would want the Finance portfolio. PR would not allow BN to hold the powerful Home Ministry portfolio. Who would become the PM and DPM? These questions are difficult to answer and may never be answered.

Thus, whilst I applaud Mr. Hadi for trying to look at the bigger picture, I must say that I feel that his suggestion is doomed for failure. Much as I want PR to be part of the government, just to ‘balance’ BN’s control of the nation, the reality is the idea is too forward thinking and too idealistic to succeed.

Teori-teori mengapa Shah Rukh Khan mendapat ‘Datuk’ 13 October 2008

Keputusan kerajaan Melaka yang dipimpin oleh saudara Mohd. Ali bin Mohd. Rustam untuk memberikan gelaran ‘Datuk’ kepada Shah Rukh Khan telah menimbulkan pelbagai tanda tanya.

Ramai yang ingin tahu mengapakah pelakon Bollywood tersebut, yang terkenal dengan begitu banyak filem-filem Hindi, telah dianugerahkan dengan gelaran tersebut. Apakah sumbangan dan jasa yang telah diberikan oleh Datuk Shah Rukh Khan kepada negara amnya dan negeri Melaka secara khususnya untuk melayakkannya menerima anugerah tersebut.

Saudara Mohd. Ali bin Mohd. Rustam telah ‘menerangkan’ bahawa pemberian anugerah tersebut adalah kerana Datuk Shah Rukh Khan telah menfilemkan filem ‘hitnya’, One Two Ka Four di Melaka dan ini telah sekaligus mendedahkan negeri tersebut di mata dunia. Maka mengikut ‘penerangan’ yang diberikan, berduyun-duyunlah segala manusia dunia datang ke Melaka ingin melihat lokasi-lokasi menarik yang telah dipaparkan oleh Datuk Shah Rukh Khan di dalam filemnya.

Namun begitu, saya sedikit meragui penjelasan tersebut. Sebelum ini, banyak juga pengarah-pengarah filem luar negara, baik dari Bollywood, Hollywood atau Selatan India telah membuat penggambaran di negara ini, dan tidak pula diberikan Datuk. Seingat saya, Chow Yun Fatt pernah berlakon di Malaysia untuk filemnya Anna and the King, begitu juga Jackie Chan dalam filem Police Story (tak ingat yang keberapa). Filem Entrapment lakonan Sean Connery dan Catherine Zeta Jones juga membuat penggambaran di Malaysia dan setahu saya, begitu ramai penggiat filem Selatan India juga telah membuat penggambaran di negara kita.

Berbalik kepada Datuk Shah Rukh Khan, jika logik yang digunakan adalah kerana beliau membuat penggambaran di Malaysia, ia tidak dapat diterimapakai kerana sebab-sebab yang telah saya gariskan di atas. Oleh itu, kita terpaksa membuat andaian sendiri mengapa beliau diberikan Datuk.

Sila ambil perhatian bahawa andaian-andaian di bawah hanyalah teori semata-mata dan tidak boleh dijadikan sebagai rujukan mahupun kebenaran. Tolong jangan saman saya!

1. Ketua Menteri Melaka (ataupun isteri dan kaum kerabatnya) adalah seorang ‘kipas susah mati’ (diehard fan) Shah Rukh Khan.

2. Orang Melaka adalah ‘kipas susah mati’ Shah Rukh Khan dan telah menyampaikan petisyen untuk memberikan Datuk kepadanya.

3. Shah Rukh Khan adalah ‘kipas susah mati’ negeri Melaka dan telah memberikan petisyen kepada kerajaan Melaka untuk diberikan Datuk ‘kerana terlalu sayangkan Melaka’.

4. Melaka mungkin dijadikan destinasi filem terbarunya yang merupakan sambungan kepada ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai‘. Tajuknya? Kuch Kuch Kota Melaka.

5. Ujian DNA (yang dilakukan secara sulit dengan menggunakan wang cukai orang Melaka) telah dilakukan ke atas Shah Rukh Khan telah membuktikan secara konklusif bahawa beliau ada bau-bau bacang dengan Hang Tuah.

6. Ujian DNA telah dilakukan ke atas Shah Rukh Khan telah membuktikan secara konklusif bahawa beliau ada bau-bau bacang dengan Ketua Menteri Melaka.

7. Pengiktirafan kepada Shah Rukh Khan kerana lakonannya yang begitu mantap dan tariannya yang bertenaga sehingga berjaya menggembirakan hati ramai orang Melaka, termasuk Ketua Menteri, lembaga EXCO dan isteri-isteri mereka.

8. Shah Rukh Khan berminat untuk menjadikan Malaysia rumah keduanya di bawah program Malaysia My Second Home dan ini adalah cara negeri Melaka untuk ‘melobi’ Shah Rukh Khan supaya membeli rumah di Melaka.

9. Ini adalah cara Ketua Menteri Melaka ‘mengembalikan’ sokongan kaum India di Malaysia kepada Barisan Nasional. Tetapi strategi ini tidak betul kerana orang India di Malaysia lebih meminati raja filem Tamil Rajnikanth daripada Shah Rukh Khan. Mungkin Melaka boleh menganugerahkan Tan Sri kepada Encik Rajnikanth?

10. Ini adalah cara Ketua Menteri Melaka, yang berangan-angan menjadi Timbalan Presiden UMNO dan sekaligus Timbalan Perdana Menteri Malaysia, untuk meraih sokongan dari para perwakilan khususnya Wanita UMNO yang kebanyakan memang meminati Datuk Shah Rukh Khan. Mungkin seorang lagi calon Timbalan Presiden, saudara Muhyuddin Yassin, boleh membuat cadangan kepada Mentri Besar Johor supaya menganugerahkan Datuk kepada saudara Mawi bagi ‘melawan’ semula strategi Ketua Menteri Melaka yang ternyata begitu ‘efektif’ ini. Umum mengetahui bahawa Mawi bukan sahaja diminati oleh golangan Wanita, bahkan pula golongan Puteri.

Apapun teorinya, kita hanya dapat berspekulasi. Apakan daya, kita hanya rakyat biasa yang bukan bergelar Datuk.

Mungkin selepas ini, Datuk Shah Rukh Khan boleh merasmikan perhimpunan agung UMNO pada Mac akan datang dan sama-sama melaungkan ‘Hidup Melayu!’ dan mencium keris.

Majulah Datuk Shah Rukh Khan untuk negara!

Ku Li and his proposed reforms 7 October 2008

From Malaysian Insider:

Ku Li reforms:Direct elections for UMNO president, single BN party

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah plans to turn the Barisan Nasional coalition into a single political party with direct membership and an elected leader if he wins the Umno presidency.

As part of a slew of radical reforms he plans to introduce to BN and Umno, the 71-year-old leader also wants future Umno presidents to be directly elected.

“I am suggesting that BN becomes a multiracial party open to all. Umno members can, for example, be direct members of BN,” he told The Malaysian Insider in an interview.

“As soon as I become Umno president I will propose this.”

Tengku Razaleigh said he would announce at a later date the details of how he planned to turn BN into a single political party, and explain how such a proposal would affect the interest of all component members.

All he would say now was that, under his proposal, BN members would elect their leaders directly.

Tengku Razaleigh has been the only person so far to have offered himself as a candidate for the Umno presidency. He is likely to take on Datuk Seri Najib Razak if Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi decides not to defend the post.

Asked about the kind of reforms he hopes to bring to Umno, Tengku Razaleigh said there should be direct elections at all levels of leadership, including that of the presidency.

“We have three million over members. If we give them the right to elect leaders at various levels we can get rid of money politics,” he said.

“There is a need to democratise Umno. Power should be given back to members instead of being concentrated at the top.”

He said that “when the masses are beholden to the leadership, we will not move forward.”

As a further step to democratise Umno, Tengku Razaleigh said he would also introduce a proposal to allow members from each division to directly select candidates for the general elections.

He also wants to introduce some form of term limit in the party. “Maybe the president of Umno should be allowed to hold the post for eight or nine years at most.”

Explaining the reasons behind the radical reforms he was suggesting, the Umno veteran said it was because he sees “Umno heading down.”

“I do not think Umno can survive the next elections. People are simply going for material gains now for themselves and their supporters. People are becoming more corrupt.

“This is not the purpose of the party. It is for serving the people and it must be in tip-top condition to do that.”

Mr. Razaleigh’s reforms are quite interesting indeed. He must the first prominent UMNO leader who has mooted the idea of a single Barisan Nasional party. Many other Barisan leaders from the MCA, Gerakan and PPP have suggested that the Barisan merge, but Mr. Razaleigh seems to be the first voice from UMNO, the dominant partner in the coalition.

I must say that in a climate where UMNO’s (very blatant) strategy is to convince the Malays that they need UMNO, it takes a brave man to propose reforms such as the ones mooted by Mr. Razaleigh. I simply do not think that the rank and file UMNO members at this present time would ever contemplate, much less agree to such a proposal. Especially since the majority of Malays who support the party are convinced that UMNO is needed to safeguard the Malays. Their arsenal thus far has been Pakatan’s multi-racial stance and for UMNO and Barisan to go the same route would be akin to blasphemy to some of them.

Yet the way forward for UMNO and Barisan must be to merge. Racial politics can only last for so long. If ten years ago most Malaysians thought that the ‘Barisan formula’ of ‘power-sharing between races’ is best form of governance in the country, now we can safely say that around half of Malaysia’s population are willing to forgo racial interests for the greater good of the country.

But Mr. Razaleigh would be very hard pressed to sell his reform ideas to his UMNO coleagues. To many of them, the problem with UMNO lies with its current president. A change of leadership would return the people’s support to them. I do not agree with this view. They are far bigger and more inherent problems within the party that no amount of leadership change can remedy. But it would seem that this fact has escaped many in UMNO.

Maybe Mr. Razaleigh’s proposal for reforms are his way to rejuvanate his bid for the top post. It is widely expected that Mr. Abdullah would not seek re-election as UMNO president, which would mean that Mr. Najib would be next in line. Whilst a contest between Mr. Abdullah and Mr. Razaleigh would have been close, a contest between Mr. Najib and Mr. Razaleigh would almost certainly result in victory for the former.

Regardless of his motive, UMNO needs more people like Mr. Razaleigh, to moot ideas of reform into the party. The members might not buy it as yet, but for the future of the party, hopefully they will one day.

Not that I care much for the party.

Samy’s U-Turn 30 March 2008

It’s not a publicity stunt, he says. It’s all done in fairness and sympathy, he added. The 5 detained HINDRAF leaders should be freed from ISA, says MIC Chief Datuk Seri Samy Velu. Read the story here.

Seriously Mr. Samy, do you take us for fools? Did you not learn anything from your embarrassing defeat in Sungai Siput? We Malaysians do not forget as easily as your think. We still remember what you said before, during the whole HINDRAF episode and just before elections. In case you have forgotten, I urge your Mr. Samy to type your name on YouTube and see the amount drivel that you have spewed prior to this. And now we’re supposed to believe that you care for the detained HINDRAF leaders?

Stop becoming the laughing stock of the country, Mr. Samy. You have lost your right to speak for the Indians and you have no right to speak for Malaysians as a whole. If this is MIC’s re-branding, then I do not see much difference. Continue with this charade Mr. Samy, and I guarantee you that the MIC will be irrelevant in the future.

A defeat might not be permanent. People can come back after a setback, just ask Mr. Muhammad Taib. But for you Mr. Samy, I think it’s too late. Just enjoy your retirement fund and leave us in peace.