Once you're dead, you've lost a big part of your life!

I do not know what the big fuss about the Judicial Fiasco of Tun Salleh Abbas is about. And I sure as hell do not know why some would call for an apology either by the current government or by the previous PM.

Seriously. It happened such a long time ago. And frankly, most of us either:-
1) Do not care, or
2) Have forgotten about it, or
3) Want to move on, or
4) Wish for the focus to be on the current state of judiciary than how it was before.

I fall under category 3 & 4. While I do not care deeply about it, I of course wished such a "fiasco" did not marr the judiciary of Malaysia. But then, we are suppose to MOVE ON. We learn from mistakes and we MOVE ON.

We dont come into a new Malaysia (or whatever they call it after March 8) and harp on PAST issues!We do not say MALAYSIANS HAVE SPOKEN! We are tired of the OLD SHIT! We want CHANGE! WE WANT A BETTER FUTURE! And then say, however, before that, lets revisit the past and ask for apologies.

Come on. Who the heck cares whether the government/ex PM apologises? Does it change anything? Does it automatically change the state of the Judiciary now? Does it make all appointments of judges now legitimate? I think the answer is obviously a resounding NO.

For me, I do not care much about what is to be done to "correct" the wrongs of the past. I want to know what can be done to correct the wrongs right before my eyes TODAY. NOW. Tell me why some lawyers without any criminal experience (and I mean WITHOUT/NIL/NADA) can be a High Court Judge deciding on the lives of people? Sending them to the gallows when frankly, she has been doing Family matters all these while when in private practice. Even we do not approach a conveyancing lawyer and ask him or her to help us fight a litigation. We find a litigation lawyer. And what more being placed before a person who will decide on your life or death. Does that not send shivers down your spine?

So really, give the apology thing a rest. Look to the future. Focus on the present. Give us something to chew on NOW. We want changes. We want things to improve for the better.

Yes, while some of us agree that an apology for past wrongs will ensure a smoother transition to improvements in the future, unfortunately, its too late now. Wrongs have been done. And frankly, all that happened was that some people lost their jobs. Albeit high ranking jobs. I think more importantly, there are some people NOW with their lives in the hands of incompetent ones. That I think is more important that losing one's job or pride.

Because you know, in Brooke Shield's words "once you are dead, you've lost a big part of your life".

Gosh, such wise words to live by.

Some people just cannot accept change!

So the whole Perak MB issue has been settled.Finally.

In my previous posts, I have ranted and raved about a PAS man being the MB and DAP not putting up a fight. However, recent events have made me reconsider my stand. Firstly, I have to admit, Nazir is the most qualified candidate of the three men proposed for the MB position. He is qualified academically, he has had experience in nation building ( well, more like projects but these skills can be honed) and he can even speak a little (enough) of the Chinese language. He addressed the Perak constituent with Mandarin after being sworn in. (to which us Perak-ians unanimously shouted HAO! when asked by Nizar NI HAO MA?!) We are told he is actually of Chinese-Malay parentage(so chinese people are happy, malays are happy and if only he also had Indian blood...)

I would like to wish him the best and hope that he will do a great job in the position as MB.

(Yes, sometimes I may be wrong and I will admit it. However, time will tell whether the new MB will indeed perform)

So then the next issue everyone (including the NGOs- seriously? NGO? What is THEIR problem?) was harping on was the State Exco of Perak. It consist of 6 DAP, 2 PAS and 2 PKR members (if I remember correctly). Now, what irks me is the fact that everybody wants to have a say about how it "tidak mewakili komposisi bangsa Melayu di Perak" as the DAP party got 6 positions in the State Exco.

These NGOs and busybodies hold press conferences to yell "TIDAK BOLEH DITERIMA!".
Seriously, what IS their problem? DAP won most of the seats in Perak. The most important seat was given to a PAS man. Whom, in case these NGOs and other busybodies did not notice, IS A MALAY MAN? Already DAP decided, ok, let the best man be the MB and we shall not fight for it.
So, does it not make sense that DAP (who just so happen to have more Chinese members than Non Chinese- but does not automatically mean they ONLY represent non Chinese member's rights [unlike UMNO]) who won more seats and have relinquished the MB position be given a bigger share of the pie, so to speak?

What is there to yell about "tidak boleh diterima"? Er, hello?! Go take your damn mic which you shouted in and shove it in your foul-unthinking-selfish-racist mouth!

The people in Perak have actually moved on. There is no longer an issue about race. Yes, initially there was. And in fact, if the Non Chinese people DID want to make an issue about the MB being from PAS, eventhough DAP won most seats, we would have stormed the streets and shouted for it. But we rather not. We trust out Sultan and his Son. We trust that the party whom we have chosen to represent us can make the decision in our interests. And besides, even if all previous statements are not true, we have better things to do then stand around the street protesting when we seriously, do not know jack shit about the agreement PAS-DAP-PKR made in power sharing. Whatever it is, I feel its a good deal.

And for the rest of you who think more Malay people should be in the exco. Stop being racist. When BN was in power and EVERY damn person in the Exco and in whatever top administration post was Malay, do WE Non Malays make a fuss???

Do we ask why the President of UMNO AUTOMATICALLY becomes PM? Because a lot of us sure do NOT agree. Do we ask why why MBs MUST be malay? Do we question all these Malay dominated domains? We dont. We just accept it (albeit disgruntedly) because in the infamous words we "tolerate" it. So if there is a domain where Non Malays can actually dominate or be given an opportunity to shine, I'm sorry, but we are seizing that opportunity. It IS our country too, just in case you forgot.

My advise to you my racist so called NGO and busybodies alike, accept change because change is here, and its happening whether you like it or not.

So, shut up already and go be productive for once.

Short term memory

"RECOGNISE MALAY SUPREMACY"

We are back at that again arent we?

It is frustrating to know that Malaysians forget that we exists as a nation. Its once again about being Malay, Chinese, Indian, Sikh or "lain-lain".

Once again, its about recognising the Malay Supremacy. The Malay right to everything good and great. The Malay right to the NEP. The Malay birth right to all the privileges they have been receiving.

The Malay right.

The only rights I will recognise are the right to be Malaysian, the right to say I am Malaysian, without having to classify myself as being of a particular race in order to determine whether I am entitled to some things or not.

What is with the Malays? Why are they so dependent on the NEP? Have they not reached a point in their lives where they MUST say, "I have to stand up for myself?"

I just dont understand the mentality. You call for MALAY SUPREMACY. But you insist on the NEP. The NEP is at the core of it, to help those who cannot help themselves. The helpless ones, the ones who just cannot stand on their own two feet to make their own money without getting a nudge from the Government.On one hand you say "I AM GREAT AND SUPREME", on the other you say "HELP ME. I CANNOT DO THIS MYSELF. I NEED IT."

How are you supreme when you need handouts?

I thought the Opposition garnered a lot of votes because the Nation as a whole was tired with all the race politics. The analysts in the aftermath of the political "tsunami" said that Malaysians have risen!They are no longer tied down to the idea of race politics!They have voted for PKR eventhough there were calls by their leader Anwar to get rid of NEP. And the Malays have finally realised that its time to cast away the NEP idea.

Then barely two weeks later, we have protests when they is even a HINT of a talk of abolishing the NEP or not implementing it.

Talk about short term memory.
Talk about BS.

Change can NEVER come when people refuse to cast away old ideas and tradition. When people refuse to stand up for themselves but instead let someone else decide for them. When people are complacent and are adverse to having to work hard for something(when they never had to).

Change has to start from within us. Do not call for changes from the Government, the Opposition the Machinery of Administration when we ourselves are not ready to give up anything or give in to anything.

If you want something, sometimes, you have to give up everything.

An Ipoh girl sits and ponders...

The soalan cepu emas now is this :-

If DAP cannot stand up for itself, how can it stand up for those who voted for them?

Obviously by now everyone knows about the whole Menteri Besar fiasco in Perak. DAP won most seats, followed by PKR and then PAS. So logically, DAP should be the candidate for MB. Logically la. Just like logically, Malaysia as a country that has fuel should not be paying so much for it, yet we do. So, logic always gives way to Malaysia Boleh-ic.

In Malaysia Boleh-ic, PAS becomes the MB in Perak. Do I hear echoes of WTF? Apparently, the fact that DAP won most seats in Perak is "not a consideration" according to PAS vice President, because the constitution says that the MB has to be Malay. And besides, he adds that a Malay man must be MB to ensure "stability".

Stability?

WTF does that even mean? Stability from racism? Stability from illogical stance? STABILITY? I SPIT on that. Dont throw that word at us just like UMNO threw TOLERANCE at us.

The Perak Sultan has the discretion to swear in a Non Malay MB. He will decide who is the best person for the job. But hey, he threw DAP and PKR a line and do they take it?
No.
They swam past the line into the dark abyss called stupidity in the name of so called stability.

Secretly, BN is laughing behind our backs. Laughing at this so called power sharing coalition. Laughing at how DAP has been taken for a ride. Laughing.

And we would hate to admit that DAP is in fact no opposition at all. You are not an opposition if you cannot even stand up for yourself and your principles.

Lim Kit Siang is the only man now. He is unfortunately, the lone ranger who will fight for what he stands and what he believes.

So where do we go from here?

How a pessimist tried to bring me down..

Now, I have a friend, (whom I shall refer to as J) who over dinner and coffee one night told me "Its better to have something than to have nothing" when I asked why he was such a big BN supporter.

His rationale? That the Non Malays have quite a lot now. Its not a lot but its enough because, as said above, "its better to have something than nothing".

When the election results were announced on Sunday, I texted him to say, "Well I guess not everyone thinks along the same lines as you. We actually believe its not better to have something compared to nothing. We can actually have more."

And I received this reply:-
"Nope, its more of our future is now filled with more uncertainty. in a global perspective investors may just pull all funds out. Then there goes our contry and our livelihood. many just dont see the magnitude of their actions. The consequences will come..and I hope we are all ready to move backwards."

On Monday,Mr. I-told-you-so aka J texted me to say "KLSE dropped 99 points and closed in the negative. But no point crying over spilt milk"

Of course my immediate reaction to Mr. I-told-you-so was that he obviously had not read the reports of analysts and the news surrounding the market drop. All SEA markets have been steadily dropping as a reaction to US job cutbacks. Even the US market dropped 140 points. And Malaysian market being one which is influenced by everything, would drop too. (As confirmed by Ex Bursa Malaysia President on Bernama TV yesterday)

But of course Mr. I-told-you-so was quick to jump at the opportunity to shout HAH!I TOLD you the economy will go to the dogs because of these stupid actions of the electorate voting for the Opposition. (Without doing much research on the issue I must add)

Now, this is why I beg to differ from Mr. I-told-you-so.

Many fail to see the long term effects of this election result. There will now be more accountability and transparency in the Government and its spending. That can only augur well for the country. No more mega projects without accountability. No more selling of Proton(or what not) for RM1. No more cancelling projects as and when they like. No more of these bullshit. And how is that bad for the country?

I wonder whether these non believers actually sit down to think, now the Opposition Coalition could have won by such a big majority only if a lot of the rakyat actually thought they can actually perform. The voters who live in Bangsar, Perak, Selangor and Kedah are obviously not uneducated, non investors and un-economically savvy. They would have definitely thought about their votes and their livelihood and their investments. They made an informed choice. They KNOW what they were voting for. A portion of those investors and sharemarket players LIVE in Bangsar. A huge portion of them live in those areas where the Coalition was given a majority.

As much as Mr. I-told-you-so wants to deny it, he cannot ignore the fact that the supporters of the Opposition might actually know more than he does. But then, its not my nature to jump up in other people's faces and go HAH!I told you so! I prefer to be more subtle by spewing facts and statistics. (wah, konon...)

Of course I must add here, I have my doubts about some of the choices made by the electorate. Loh Gwo Burne for Kelana Jaya? Nurul Izzah for Lembah Pantai?

Sharizat has been doing a good job and I sympathise with her for being kicked out just by being in BN. She has done a lot for Bangsar and she has also been a MP who has been vocal about Women's Rights. Of course many have said Nurul Izzah should be given a chance. But I think perhaps. just maybe, Lembah Pantai is too big for her this time. Not as a newbie with no experience. I have doubts. But of course, unlike Mr. I-told-you-so, I will not dismiss her completely. I shall give her a chance.

Loh Gwo Burne?
I have nothing to so. All he did was take the V K Lingam tape.
Seriously. That is all that man did. And people voted him to represent them in Kelana Jaya?

There is Anti Government, and there is Blindy cutting your nose to spite the face.

Well, the winds of change have finally arrived in Malaysia.

I will embrace it, but of course, with a tinge of caution.

The rakyat has spoken.

I am thankful for the winds of change. I embrace it.

Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold.

If there is anything that I have learnt over the past two days, its the fact that you have to choose your friends carefully.

Look at Anwar Ibrahim. Look at his "former" friends going public about all the wrongs that he is responsible for or is perpetuating. Of course these former friends of his are just doing it "out of a sense of duty as a citizen and a voter" and that if they did not come out against Anwar, they would have "failed in (my) responsibility to my fellow citizens and my nation".

Wahlau.
Damn hero-lah.
(Where are all these people when you need them to say speak out against the politicians who lie to us in our faces everyday?)

What I find quite interesting is the fact that Anwar's fomer friends(FF)are saying that Anwar is now singing a different tune from when he was in government. When he was in government, he was not a multi-racial-I-want-to-abolish-NEP type of man. He was more of a I-will-make-sure-the-temple-bells-would-not-ring-in-the-country-anymore (in relation to the Kampung Jawa clashes) type of man.

Personally, I think being incarcerated for 6 years, with alleged police brutality and unfounded(as recently admitted by Mahathir) allegations against him, does and CAN change a man. It can make a man who was a gung ho UMNO supporter or anti non-Muslim advocate, to be one who thinks, you know what? If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. If this is how the Government can bring you down in a day after it took you almost a lifetime to build yourself up, I think I am in the wrong camp.

I have attended Anwar's talks before. He IS a great orator. And I have mentioned before that he may be all talk and no substance, but I have not dismissed him entirely. Many have asked him why he is singing a different tune now compared to when he was in Government, and he explained that yes, he was foolish then. He had all the comforts, but things have changed now. He has seen the "dark side" and he thinks he can help now.

I mean, even I have changed in the past 6 years. What I thought was important then may not be important now. In fact, I am more politically aware now than I was before. So my outlook has changed. And I would think Anwar had a comfortable life prior to being plucked out and dumped in prison. He MIGHT just have changed. His FF obviously do not think so. Well, they are entitled to their opinions. But if only they had be gentlemanly enough to keep these mud slinging out of the press. (Then again, anything PRO-BN always make it to the front pages. Especially when its DIE OPPOSITION!DIE!)

Many politicians have had their fair share of FF. And even Mahathir was once out of UMNO. Even Badawi. Everyone has had their fallout but have been fully embraced back into their party as years passed. Things change. People change. And we can only wish that these changes are for our own good. We may all be sceptics. But we may all also choose to be a believer.

So, while I sit down and write this, I wonder whether I myself have been taken in by the calls for change. I wonder whether I believe Anwar and his calls for the abolishment of the NEP and reduction of fuel prices. I wonder if I am convinced the DAP can bring the crime rate down. I wonder if indeed BN has been effective all these while and can continue to be so.

I wonder. Is it time to look at hard facts and statistics? Or listen to the IF only, If only stories?

I suppose, I still have 2 more days to think about it before I have to cast my "X".

I think at the end of the day, it boils down to whether after all these years I have been given the opportunities I am entitled to. Whether all these talk about unity and freedom (ala BN's radio announcements) is what truly matters to me or whether its the abolishment of so called positive discrimination that I really want to hear.

My ears are listening. My eyes are open.

But I dont see anything.

the "Prudent List"

"The Government must be prudent when using our resources.."

- Finance Minister, Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yackop.

When I read this response by the Government to Anwar Ibrahim's promise to reduce the price of fuel if given the opportunity to rule, I burst out laughing.

It is funny how the Government can come up with these words of wisdom. I suspect they have a dictionary of "something stupid to say today".

Firstly, the word PRUDENT does not exist in the Government's vocabulary. The word prudent obviously did not crop up when the Government decided to:-

1) Abandon Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad which houses the Court Complex, construct a monster at Jalan Duta, full of defects such as leaking roofs, non functioning air cons, lack of parking space, you name the defect, it has it.

2) Build another Istana(What is wrong with the current one? Too small?)

3) Give the Islamic Consumer Association RM10 million to help Muslims who have borrowed money from Ah Longs repay their debts.

4) Spend RM1million on BN campaign flyers and ads. (OUR TAXpayer's[pro BN or otherwise] money)

5) Construct hideous arches along the highway that says "Selamat Datang!" or "Bandaraya Petaling Jaya cantik selalu". Or just a stupid arch with no words or messages, but constructed merely to assail our sense of sight.

6) Spend money building a sports complex somewhere in the UK, eventhough it has been told by the council that it is impossible for the complex to be built and frankly, nobody can use it due to its unsuitable soil conditions.

7) Send two athletes to a Sports Meet, but 20 officials to accompany them- with allowances, flight tickets, food and accomodation all fully paid for.

8) Send local council officials on a LAWATAN SAMBIL BELAJAR tour of how to manage toilets. And spend tons of cash on making "official uniforms" for their "special occasions".

9) Purchasing/Renting a private jet for our beloved PM to go on any one of his 13 holidays in a year.

10) Giving ciplak engineers the job of constructing the middle ring road, susbsequently having problems with the major defects then having to hire "specialists" from Europe(costing millions)to find out the problem and remedy the defects.

And this is only the short list of how kind the Government has been in spending our resources prudently.

Imagine what other prudent use of resources that the Government have omitted to tell us.