Earth Hours (yes plural)

In lieu of the Earth Hour campaign, I'm going to make this entry more earth-y and yet very much political, because(!) well if those people at the top don't change things, us people on the ground won't change, and vice versa.

Much hype in Malaysia have been about our own political conundrum without actually realising that we are quite isolated from global events. Like it or not, when it comes to global participation, we are more focused towards the economy, dispute over islands and rocks, negative coverage of our incoming PM and of course, Mongolia.

If we were to ask people who is our environmental minister, the answer would probably be, "Err do we have one? I think it's Bung Mokhtar, he seems to love bigfoot". Okay that probably won't be the answer but the fact is people don't really know. By the way it's Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas from Sarawak.

Much have been said around the world with regards to global warming and climate change. I'm sure many of us understands and know it, but have we really done anything about it? Have our government act upon it? The answer to both questions is, negative.

Global warming is a controversy in itself. Is it true? Is it not true? Is it the biggest hoax ever played on men? Well I don't really care if it's true or not. Because if it is true than we must do something about it and if it is not then it probably will happen and we do need to do something to prevent it.

Among the chief perpetrators and contributors towards global warming is the rising of atmospheric concentration of various greenhouse gases like, CO2, Methane, CFCs and Nitrous Oxide, among others. Most of the increase in CO2 is done by fossil fuel burning and also deforestation.

We are very much an economic based country and our vision and mission has never lie elsewhere. It is always about the prosperity of the nation and our future generation through economic means (and a little bit of that academic thingy). But what we don't really realise is the fact that, our future generation might not have enough of everything in the near future.

According to all those scientist people, we are destroying the earth faster than Speedy Gonzalez can run (okay they didn't actually say that). With concentrations on fuel emission, the use of CFCs and excessive use of Nitrous Oxide, we don't realise that our economical achievements now might determine the fate, or ill-fate, of our children.

Have we enacted any laws to lessen environmental pollution? Have we done anything to counter climate change? Have our government enact enough restrictions on deforestation? Have Douglas Embah said anything at all about the environment? Sadly no.

In other parts of the world, though nothing much have been done by world leaders to act against global warming, the people on the street are much more aware. World leaders however have this tendency to listen to the higher power (if only this higher power is God). I'm talking about the corporate and industrial CEOs of the world that are too greedy and too focused on their own coffers that everything that surrounds them are nothing but annoyance.

Currently, the richest industry is oil and gas. The main contributor to global warming would also be oil and gas. We have been duped by them before (price of oil sky rocketed because someone said the resources are scarce) in order for them to gain more income and get record profits. Exxon Mobil it seems recorded their best profit last year at a time when the economy was going down for everyone else.

So this is my plea, since we cannot change our lifestyle because of all the technological advances that we have been so accustomed to, we should at least change our ideas of what living in the now and in the future is all about. If it is about survival, then generations before us have been able to survive without doing much to pollute the environment.

It is funny how our Environmental Minister is an economic graduate and not some scientist. I'm sure there are politicians who are a lot more well-versed with the environment. I'm not saying Douglas isn't because I don't know him, but surely someone with a more solid background would do wonders don't you think?

Simply put, we must not get carried away by greed and power but must do a lot more for the sake of our children. I for one have started thinking about my daughter and the life she will be having. It is said that the rate of asthma has risen among children. Sometimes we eat and drink the right things but it just so happens the source is not right. So we must stop these problems from rotting further.

I do support Earth Hour, but it is not just about that one hour of sudden realisation. It is about the future and the many Earth Hours we should have. We should change the face of economy. Instead of wasting and polluting, the economy should be environmental friendly. We the consumers should realise that our actions determine the fate of our economy and so by being environmental driven in carrying out our consumer-deeds, we can change the industrial structure and hopefully counter climate change.

The devastation is real. We've seen what happened to New Orleans with Katrina, the tsunami which happened in our own backyard, flooding in India and the rising water levels in Bangladesh and the Netherlands.

Turn off the lights for that one hour and for that one hour also, think about the future and the direction we are taking. Earth Hour is not a mere celebratory campaign, since there's nothing to celebrate -- I sense this Earth Hour thing to be a kind of cheap publicity campaign. I know that that is not the intention but the way things are done here, it seems like so -- It is a campaign for realisation.

Peace :)

Condemn The Israelis

In recent months, the Israeli are under constant attack, not from Hamas or Hizbullah, but from the rest of the world. We have been told of numerous lies by the Israeli of how they have only been defending themselves, that Hamas is the actual wrongdoer on any occasions and that Israel have not used any excessive or illegal force on anyone. But now, the world is tired of the same lame excuses.

Yesterday it was revealed that a special UN team has analyzed the recent attack on Gaza and concluded that Israel have been using excessive force on civilians and have been targeting them and even using them as shields.

On one occasion, Israeli soldiers had used a Palestinian boy, age 11, as a shield by making him walk in front of the soldiers even though they were under heavy fire. They then have the cheek to say that Hamas had been using civilians as human shields.

But then of course the Israeli denies any wrongdoing and blamed the report as being bias towards them because of the fact that the Arab and African countries are against them.

Last week it was also revealed that Israeli soldiers had been making, and wearing tactless t-shirts that display vulgar messages which ultimately showed their ruthless illegal offensives against the Palestinians - and being proud of it. With regards to this, the Israelis merely remarked that the t-shirts were not meant to be worn by the soldiers outside of their military compound. The t-shirt would say something like, “death to the Palestinians” or “kill the woman and children”.

Retired Israeli soldiers have also made it into the news by confessing what they have done and their ill-feeling towards all of it. These soldiers blamed the superior for their own acts. One soldier made an astonishing confession when he told of one military operation gone awry. According to him, their mission at that time was to execute a militant and as they were about to finish off this particular mission, one unexpected event led to another and it ended with 2 civilian casualties. He felt remorse at that time but was told by his superior that the mission went well with not a single glitch. He was congratulated and they celebrated their “successful mission”.

This is not something new though, as we have been hearing about this more and more each year. However, because of the bias western media and the super power that is the US and Britain, most of the wrongdoings has gone by without justice being served on the wrongdoers. But in recent months, because of their reckless act of “retaliation” and “defence” on Gaza a few months back, more voices of condemn are being heard.

Today another case cropped up which ultimately shows that Israel does not abide by any rule of law and act according to their whim and fancy. An American peace activist named Tristan was shot in the head by a tear gas canister and this caused the man to have a head injury and remains in critical condition. According to witnesses, Tristan was situated far away (about 1km) from the barrier where the main protest had taken place. Witnesses also said that the gas canister (labeled in Hebrew "40mm bullet special/long range") was shot straight at Tristan.

The question is, why were they shooting high velocity tear gas canisters at peace activists who were situated far away from where the actual protest took place? The answer is simple, they don’t care who you are, as long as you’re in the way they will shoot.

That is how their military operations have been done over the years. Man, women, children, young and even old have been victim of these heartless humans (if we can call them that) and no one has done anything to stop them. With recent revelations of their brutality, I would be surprised if Israel does not get the global condemnation they deserve - not only by the people, but by the leaders as well.

The Child That is UMNO and our Democracy

In 7 years time my daughter, who is now 5 months old, can totally relate with UMNO and Malaysia's democracy. If of course she wants to draw such comparison. Or you know I can draw such comparison for her...ehem. Moving on...

Because at the moment UMNO and democracy in Malaysia is at a stage where maturity is still out of sight and out of mind. No one can think rationally, and that is the biggest obstacle towards maturity.

Recently the International Herald Tribune (IHT) published an article which touches upon the failing democracy in Malaysia and relate it with our immaturity and our nonacceptance of the principles of democracy.

The way I look at it is we practice democracy because other people are doing it. To draw comparison; a child wants what others their age are having. "Mum, Sofeah's mother bought her a barbie doll and I want one". But then that child who wanted that doll -and in fact gets the doll- would later on not appreciate it as much and leave it all torn and raggedy. In Malaysia's case, "Look we will practice democracy because we have seen how successful it is in our mother land, England". But now we are being treated to a failed democracy whereby the 3 organs of government are so intertwined that it doesn't even conform to the grounds in which democracy works.

The entity which failed our democracy does not know that it is their dirty hands that's doing all the dirty work. We see reasonings like; it has already been a practice that we elect the leader of this country from the leader of one party. It is illogical for someone to plea to the ruler not to appoint him as the PM because the party which elected him supports him.

Isn't democracy about people's power? Since when does democracy define "people" as those who are within a certain party? If it is up to the people, Abdullah would still be in power come the end of April because his approval rating is even higher than Najib's.

The use of the word "tradition" is rather immature in itself. Since when is democracy about tradition? It is about a system and therefore tradition does not play a part. Democracy in this country is written in the federal constitution and since when is the federal constitution a tradition?

A child could be forgiven for saying something like, "We must go to the grave on every hari raya because that is the tradition" or "What? There's no tahlil for your grandpa? But that's tradition!". A child doesn't know the reasoning behind each and the actual ruling of each. But when a grown man says something like "The leader has always been picked from this party, that is tradition, and it is illogical to act otherwise", then that's just plain dumb isn't it?

I can understand Dr.M's remarks regarding the plea by Zaid Ibrahim and branding it as "stupid". It is because he does not believe that the monarchs in this country should have a mind of their own. So "stupid" in this case is anything that does not kowtow to his ideas. Furthermore, after years in power he has the cheek to say, UMNO has failed to turn things around and clean up when in 22 years of power he didn't do anything to shake things up. First of all, he created the corrupt mess we're in and then fails to clean things up himself. Therefore his talk about "cleaning up" is what is rather stupid and childish.

When anyone from UMNO speaks of "change" and wants "change". it is nothing more but hopeful talks of a man (a child) who does not really believe that they will do it. That is also child-like. A child, some not all, would say something like, "I'll definitely fast till the end of the day today" and would break his fast not long after. Or he would say something like, "Yes ma! I will clean the room right away", but instead, makes more of a mess. UMNO's promise of change is along the same line.

The fact that they use independent bodies like the judiciary, the ACA (then) and the police force for their own self-interest also speaks volumes of our failing democracy. Such bodies are supposed to be independent for a reason. It is called check and balance, but check here is spelled cheque and balance, well let's just say it is the balance between having a paycheck or unemployment.

A child could not accept defeat easily. If a child loses in a game, he will sulk or throw a tantrum. Worst case scenario, he would cheat.

One of the points made in the IHT is the fact that political parties in Malaysia have failed to accept defeat in elections. That is very true. A mature democracy wouldn't have talks about party-hopping or defections as much as we have here in Malaysia. Both the opposition and the ruling coalition has failed to recognize "people's choice" and that is the reason why we have all these talk about constitutional crisis.

In Malaysia's case, sulking has already been done. Much of the ruling coalition's members talk about how the people have failed to recognize what they have done for 50 years. They blame the people. Then came throwing a tantrum here and there. Road block all over the country. ISA being used on innocent individuals. Charging people for questionable offences. After much of the sulking and tantrum throwing have passed, they cheat. This needs no further elaboration.

So yes, democracy is still at an infant age in Malaysia. The ruling coalition, especially, is at a different age then their old wrinkly face would suggest. But in order to truly determine where our future lies, (will we mature any time soon are we doomed to be a child forever?) we have to wait awhile. Some child matures late, and maybe this nation is like that. I know that the people themselves have somewhat mature, now it is the government's turn.

Peace :)

Ali and KJ: The Political Break Up Song

Aly & AJ is female pop duo that has a song called, "The potential break up song"...seriously I looked it up on Google. So the title is very much a play on that...sadly.

The difference between what Ali Rustam received and what was ruled on KJ is very much political. In order to “save” UMNO, actions must be taken and it must be something which is “severe” and seen as a “change” in UMNO’s political ways. Indeed what happened is severe but nevertheless it is pretty much insignificant in the face of current political development throughout the nation.

Ali Rustam got barred for money politics and KJ is given a warning for the same offence, both were found guilty. But apparently severity plays a part in giving judgment. Ali Rustam had more agents and was well aware of the conduct of his agents, KJ on the other hand apparently had fewer and was probably not aware. Plus Ali was giving hard cash whilst KJ treat people to food and what not -- this, according to one of the disciplinary committee member.

That committee member could’ve have gone further to say that, “KJ is a good looking guy as compared to Ali Rustam. The committee was somewhat perturbed by the logics; how can such a handsome guy do such a dishonest thing? We therefore have reasons to believe that, he might not have known…err yeah. And who doesn't treat people to luxurious food nowadays?"

Question is, if KJ is not aware, then why is he guilty in the first place? Even if he had fewer agents and also whatever was exchanged wasn’t as solid, a guilty verdict is still a guilty verdict. Once guilty you must be punished, and warning isn’t much of a punishment for such unethical behavior. Plus, it is very much a corrupt practice which stepped over ethical misbehavior. Is it right for a teacher to just warn his student who got an A by cheating, to not do it again in the future? What are we teaching our kids?

My theory is simple. Ali Rustam is a scapegoat simply because his position is not deterred by such punishments. So what if he can’t contest, he still is Chief Minister of a state that is not at all threatened by whatever political developments that's going in neighbouring states. If the axe had fallen on other UMNO warlords like Muhyiddin, Muhammad Muhammad Taib, Khir then the result would’ve been disastrous. Each has their own agenda in securing UMNO’s political future, but Ali Rustam’s agenda isn’t as significant. KJ, well he is still son-in-law of the current PM so letting him off the hook is probably the last contribution anyone can make towards Abdullah.

Having said that, Ali didn’t get the same punishment Isa Samad got in 2004 which raises the question, what the hell is wrong with UMNO?? Who are they trying to protect? The reactions by those who “care” within the rank and file in UMNO seem to suggest that this is a big thing. To me, those reactions are just play-acting; something they do in order to give it more of an impact (also the media helps). Arguably by acting that way, people would be duped into believing that UMNO is actually changing. Err, yeah right tell that to Mazlan Harun and Kadar Shah. I agree, it is nothing but a bargain.

But seriously, I’m quite surprised that the long term effects of having a corrupt Chief Minister have not been realised by UMNO even after PRU-12. The trend that people in general do not believe in UMNO politicians have not been captured by UMNO. The fact that they maintain having a Chief Minister who is guilty of corrupt practices (albeit in party sphere only) is okay is quite ridiculous. Do they not see how people view them?

So anyway, surely with Abdullah recently saying that UMNO’s corruption problems are getting worse and also the statement by Home Minister Hamid Albar which is along the same line, we cannot be made to believe that only 15 people are guilty with over 1,000 reports lodged. Hamid Albar even said that the trend of money politics is getting worse and people are practicing it in the open now. If Hamid Albar who cannot even differentiate between a detention and a protection can see that, why can’t the disciplinary committee?

Of course all is well and good for Muhyiddin whose reaction to the barring is pretty much what is expected. He said people must respect the decision of the committee. Surely no one expected him to say, “The committee should reconsider their ruling because Ali is one of my bestest friend in the whole wide world and I refuse to compete if Ali’s not in it. Never ever ever never will I ever compete in it ever”. For all we know, he’d be like, “Yes we must respect the decision of the committee. Umm can anyone please do that UM survey again, you know the one which said that Ali would garner the most votes”.

The conspiracy theorists are having a ball with all the selective persecution of several high ranking politicians, namely Norza Zakaria and also Azalina Othman byt the MACC. Fact is anyone who observes Malaysian politics would hardly miss the investigation and charging as selective. Indeed, the fact that Norza is KJ’s right-hand man and Azalina is Abdullah’s protégé, so to speak, would not have gone unnoticed. These are the individuals that’s not needed in Najib’s grander plan of “change”. Therefore “change” here equals some people getting the boot in a situation where everyone else is also in the wrong. The target of this booting can be easily picked by the essence of loyalty. UMNO is on the verge of a civil war and the winner would ultimately be the premier’s side.

Hence, Najib’s speech which he delivered at about the same time the committee declared their findings, in which he said, “We’ve to sacrifice in party’s interest” is a hint. Yes sacrifice he did and there’s no better sacrifice for UMNO then to rid of bad apples from an already rotten apple tree.

But sadly, as everyone knows, the party is corrupt to the core and whatever “changes” anyone in the high-ranking positions wish to implement wouldn’t succeed as the party grassroots have already been brainwashed by years of corruption. Money politics is something that they do and has been perceived as normal. That’s why Norza received rapturous applause recently in a meet-the-candidate in Ipoh and that is also why Ali Rustam’s supporters are defiant and cannot accept the decision by the independent committee to bar him from contesting having been found guilty of money politics.

**

Get this, Khir Toyo said, “We had lost the last GE because of the dwindling support from the younger generation. So the issue at hand in UMNO is the younger generation. I am offering myself to revitalize the movement with the motto ‘Brave Youth’.” Ok then he went on to say, “I also offer some tempe half price, in conjunction with this revitalization. So whoever wants it you better move fast because I’m telling yah, tempe works wonders and a lot of people want it”. Ok he didn’t say that, but tempe and Khir never gets old…does it? By the way, brave youth also means a more thuggish and law defiant youth apparently. Will UMNO change? Doubt it.

Peace :)

Arrivederci Mr Khir!

Most politicians care about money and nothing else. Some do it for power whilst some would do it in order to make a change in this world - or at least the nation. In my mind though, all of the above are inter-changeable. One can have a proper purpose at first but then discards that for power, or money. While a person may at first do it for money, but then change for the better. Power however is always certain.

Teng Chang Kim (the Selangor assembly Speaker) had gone on record to say that he is earning less now than he did when he was a full practising lawyer. A Speaker gets about RM16k monthly compared to a lawyer than can gather RM30k at least, per month. Nizar yesterday said, he could easily get RM40k per month as a businessman, but is earning RM16k per month by being an MB. So money is probably not a factor for these people.

Some however had never been as lucky. Some who were lucky enough to get thousands before wants millions after becoming a politician. It's never enough for these people.

Recently, there has been series of accusations about money politics, corruption and also cows that it's only a matter of time before someone actually blows up. That person is the always calm -- borderline annoying, actually he is already annoying -- Khir Toyo.

Who would've guessed? Last year he was the king of allegations. No one from Selangor was safe. Even the makcik that sold him tempe probably could've received a beating. He'd be like, "I've got sources that says your tempe is way overpriced. The whole community in Puchong petitioned against you makcik, so I'm just doing my job by reporting it. If you're innocent then you have nothing to be afraid of. But the 10cent difference between the one you're selling and the one in the supermarket is mightily suspicious".

Now allegations of the Mecca deal, land scam, Rovers and Disney trips are just flying all over the place. It makes me wonder why he would challenge the current MB in the first place? With petty accusations of cows and car services. Surely if there are any wrongdoings, something bigger than just cows and car services is more convincing.

His act of accusing others when he knows his can easily be exposed is mind boggling. Probably he thought, as the state administration remains quite for a year, he is now safe. That, as Simon Cowell would say, is a bit dim-witted. In fact if Simon were to judge an American Idol-like show I would so brilliantly call Political Idol, he would probably comment Khir's performance as, "a drunken lounge singer who yells out whatever that comes to his head without ever thinking of the consequences. A stupid move that would eventually blow up in your face. Very disappointed in you" (with a snobby British accent).

Yesterday, Khir had had enough and asked one assemblyman to "watch out". Apparently suing and going to court is not an option anymore and allegators (is this right?) should now "watch out". This is how the Selangor UMNO youth go about confronting the other party nowadays. Previously 22 UMNO youth members from Selangor confronted Karpal in more or less the same manner.

For them it's as simple as, if you do any wrong to us, whether rightly or wrongly, the best thing for you to do is "watch out". Isn't that slightly thuggish? As far as I know, sportsman do that. If you get 2 boxers in a match, yes one could say watch out. Or a footballer who got tackled hard, if he's not injured (or just simply play acting ehem Christiano Ronaldo ehem) then he would get up and say watch out. But politicians? That's a new low.

See, with Khir, all the 3 elements mentioned above are in existence. He cares about money (I'm sure of it), he wants power -- he even got power before and now so desperately want it back -- and he's doing it also for the "change", hence the handing out of a broom.

Now with all the fingers pointing back at him, it is only typical for him to claim "sabotage" and "people are out to get me". The fact is, that is what he has been doing all along to others. He may have a calm exterior, but I'm sure with serious allegations made by the current administration and with evidences to support them, on the inside he's trembling with fear.

It won't be long until we see the last of Khir, unless of course he wins the chief youth position. But that too is in doubt. He may have the widest media coverage now but they are all for the wrong reasons. His ability to win back his constituency is also in doubt for the next GE because the can of worms which he has been holding tightly, has holes in it apparently.

So let me be the first to say, au revoir Mr. Khir! And take your broom with you.

Same Characters, Same Ending, Different Viewers

Politics just got a lot more interesting these past few months after a brief period of dullness towards the end of last year. Yes last year was all about a new era, a new beginning. It was filled with hope and everyone was feeling quite optimistic. Even the monarchy was given its due compliments (yes I gave them the thumbs up too in my blog and that was last year, so it’s different…they were different)

It got more interesting not so because everything is different and that everything is mega scandalous and all that. In fact everything is the same. Whatever that’s going on now, has probably gone on before this. But what’s interesting is the extent of the stretch mark that’s been left on the ruling coalition and its partners (partners here should read the executive, the judiciary and all the secretaries in the world) fat belly.

Back in the days whatever issues that have cropped up would probably have been brushed off with a simple swipe. But now, every matter is looked upon with heavy scrutiny. The media, though arguably might still be a tad bias (I’m being modest here) has a competition in online news portals that are viable alternatives.It wasn’t hard for the likes of UMNO to brush aside a constitutional issue as the one seen in Perak. Now everything they do would be countered. Then their "experts" would start babbling stuff that would contradict every other opinion.

An UMNO expert would say something like, "Yes that's very constitutional what UMNO's doing. I can find no fault with that. Basically the Speaker as we can see in the oxfords dictionary refers to a kind of electro-acoustic transducer that converts electrical signals loud enough to be heard at a distance. So, no they don't have powers outside the assembly and is subjected to investigation".

Things now can get a little bit tricky. BN only have a simple majority in Parliament so any changes they want to make to the constitution would have to wait until…well, never. Back when Mahathir had a beef with the rulers, he made it a point to brainwash the whole BN to accept his version of a true Parliamentary monarchy - Rulers are but a figure in the administrative chart. Now that the Tun's ‘charm’ has run out, these same politicians are suddenly enthralled by another spell - the monarchy cannot be challenged at all even though the constitution beg to differ.

It's funny how things turns out. The Malaysian political scene has never been without its fair share of corruption and abuse of power. But now, these cases are more unambiguous. People knew about them then and everyone knows about them now. The difference being, people just won't let go.

In 1987, our premier-to-be, during a rally by the UMNO youth team to make a stand against the Chinese for questioning the Malay rights had boldly got up on stage and proclaimed to soak the keris that he was holding with the blood of the Chinese. Then when a blitz by the ISA warriors came to scour the nation of "bad apples", he was conveniently "away". When he returned to Malaysia, nothing happened. People then forget. Had people wanted to get rid of him then, it would've been a piece of cake. Such criminal intimidation must have been too big to be ignored (even Chamil Wariya the UMNO ass kissing writer wrote about this in his autobiography of Najib).

In 2007, when his name was linked to the Altantuya murder, people took notice but it wasn't considered so seriously by many - except for those who really hate him. Now 2 years later, all sorts of allegations and evidence are still brought upon him to bring him down. The latest being the article written in a French newspaper which is well known in Europe itself. Surely the global population would not care of whatever that is covered up here in Malaysia and believe what they read in their own papers. This would be definitely Najib in such a bad light that it would be amazing if he comes out of this unscathed.

In France, the chief of police resigned because in a totally accidental occurence, one of his man shot another officer during a marching routine. In South Korea the whole cabinet wanted to resign because of the American beef issue. In England, a blind cabinet member resigned because he fast tracked his girlfriend's maid's visa application (or something). In all these issues, people power won over political power. But here in Malaysia, politicians can be left scot-free murdering others (not implying anything) and they won't feel guilty at all.

Before PRU-12 corruption has been rampant. It's been going on for years and years. But before PRU-12 and before the MACC, corruption wasn't pursued as proudly as it is now. The ACA wasn't doing it's job well and the AG didn't want to pursue high profile cases. However, no one was doing things proudly then. Everything was kept under wraps.

Now in 2009 and with the MACC, still corruption is at the highest level. Throughout 2008 we hear Abdullah Badawi slaving (too strong a term here) himself to make sure his "dream" of fighting corruption is realised before he moves on. He knows for a fact that when he mentions "corruption" it must refer to anyone from BN or BN elected administrative people from different ministries and entities. However, yesterday we have the MACC chief saying that, there are no case of corruption whatsoever after investigations are done. How can that be? Apparently, everyone in Malaysia except the MACC people knows for a fact that corruption is rampant.

The good thing is, everyone knows the MACC is not doing it's job well. Before MACC everyone knew ACA wasn't doing it's job but people were just suspicious. This time it's not just suspicions, it is definite. Whatever biasness they portray is real and apparent. Everyone is able to criticise and no one can really deny this fact. Ask any BN supporters, do they really believe there are no case of corruption within the rank and file of the oldest, dirtiest party in this country?

Ask them and they'll be like, "Hei! Anwar was corrupt too when he was the Deputy Premier"...yeah when he was in UMNO. But let's not look back at the past now. He had his share of punishment if indeed he was involved in anything illegal.

The past and the present are not that different. The difference is, people are tired of BN's abuse of power and crappy cover ups. It's like an ongoing bad theatre with not-so-good looking actors who are apparently plucked from the same talent agency, Corrupt Talent Agency.

Good thing people now realise, corruption would only go a long way. But it won't go on till the end.

Peace :)

When Secretaries are The Boss/The MACC is Basically the ACA But Worse

When the secretary decided to declare that the state building be closed, his power and authority in the state is questionable. Does he have the authority? Who does he work for? Isn't his superior the Speaker himself? Who should the police actually listen to?

I don't want to touch on the legal issues because constitutional experts are popping out everywhere at the moment. Just want to touch on the logic.

The answer, logically, is simple. He answers to the Speaker and therefore the police should also answer to the Speaker. The Speaker has got nothing to do with the executive and therefore the police in this case should not take any other order apart from the Speaker himself - reason being, he has the authority within that sphere.

But somehow, nothing make sense anymore in Perak. It's like one day the Speaker announced, "Okay tomorrow we'll have a meeting! Everybody should be there...except you 6". Then the secretary walks past the Speaker with a notice in hand, and pasted the notice on the meeting room door, "NO ONE CAN ENTER THIS ROOM FOR...ERR...WHENEVER IT IS THE SPEAKER WANTS TO CONVENE A MEETING". Now if this happens in an office administration somewhere, who would the security guard listen to? The boss or the secretary?

It just does not make sense with whatever it is that's happening in Perak. The fact that scores of FRU unit squads would block the state building to listen to instructions by the secretary not only show how bias they are, but it shows how much these people understands bureaucracy. Sad.

In fact these police people are really something. One minute we have the IGP saying that the police has no authority in Parliament buildings -- you know, to stop those thugs from harassing Karpal -- and then few days later we have these same PDRM calling upon units of FRU to block a state secretariat building. I know it may not be the Parliament, but it's almost the same isn't it? It's where lawmakers meet to make law.

I like how the UMNO people are all over the place with this issue and saying that the meeting under the tree is making us a laughing stock in the democratic world. Well, it may not be perfect but it surely isn't 7 FRU units blocking lawmakers from entering the state building upon instruction by a secretary and letting BN supporters (laymen with no authority whatsoever) make a picket and denying these lawmakers their right to meet. That, in particular, is sad.

Let's move on to other issues cause the Perak debacle is sad...sadly, saddening, sad.

MACC have been so bias it's amazing. First there's the Khalid Ibrahim issue, with the statement and all. Now, we have the MACC saying that the Perak Speaker can be investigated and not immune. Sure he's not immune. If he kills a person, go get him. If he accepts bribe, go ahead. But if he does things within his duty, then he is immune.

In what way is he not immune in these last few weeks? It was all done according to the constitution I believe.

Then MACC also made a statement (when I say MACC I mean the head, that Said guy) that so far there's not a single genuine case of money politics in the offing. Seriously, who is going to believe that? It's like he's saying, sure there are thousands of reports on money politics but not one is true. These people, who reported are liars, including Tun Dr. Mahathir, Tengku Rithauddeen, Abdullah Badawi, Muhyiddin Yassin, Ku Li and all the likes who claimed that there are such cases, they are all liars.

But seriously, with claims by those who reported these cases saying that they haven't even been asked to cooperate and give statement then that just makes the MACC look ridiculous. Surely logically the MACC have to question thousands of people. I don't think that has been done at all. Not only have they not questioned people from Pakatan who lodged report, but even the ones from UMNO have not been questioned (evidenced by the statement made by the 2 UMNO seniors who reported Abdullah and Najib for money politics)

They have the cheek to say that there aren't any cases worth pursuing so far when they haven't even started on anything!

It's sad that the hopes we have in battling corruption is handed and put upon the shoulders of another incompetent authority. The ACA was highly unreliable and ineffective. The MACC it seems, is worse because they are supposed to be independent.

Remember 2009 people. 2009 is the year where authorities, constitutionality and democracy went haywire. This is the year that corruption breeds at its worst. Come 2013, the vote should reflect what we've seen so far (at least what I've seen so far).

Sad...