When can I say I am proud to be Malaysian?

Last saturday, my mother received the worst possible news at 3pm. Her Korean student who had gone to Kuala Lumpur for a week long English course was found murdered, alongside an Indonesian maid, in a bungalow in Ukay Heights. There were no signs of break in and nothing was stolen. We scratched our heads wondering why anyone would want to kill a shy, timid 17 year old boy and an Indonesian maid in the wee hours of the morning.While CSI on TV might have the tagline that the "dead has spoken" through their high tech gadgetry and DNA profiling, here in Malaysia, we only have "the dead man tells no tales".

Two days prior to the news of the murder, my mother was informed of her students being mugged and robbed of their belongings in KLIA. Yes, the Kuala Lumpur- maybe-one-day-all-airports-will-be-like-this-one-international Airport. I shudder to think that one day all airports will see us travellers being mugged and robbed. Those type of airports, I can really do without.

And just before we heard that story, a friend told me that his house in Wangsa Maju was broken into in broad daylight. They ransacked the house and basically robbed them off everything of value.

Crime is so rampant nowadays, most of us have personally encountered or suffered one ourselves. If you throw a stone you're bound to hit someone who has had her handbag snatched, or have his house broken into.

And so we ask, what the hell is the police doing? And where the hell are they?

Apparently busy holding stupid roadblocks. And dressing up in balaclavas and arresting Anwar Ibrahim. Sending 9000 policemen to hold roadblocks all over the city which they termed "in order to maintain safety" because there was a rumour of a protest in front of the Parliament by Keadilan/PKR members?

While the rest of us are living in perpetual fear of being robbed/maimed/murdered when we walk the streets of Malaysia, the powers to be are busy squabbling over Anwar Ibrahim, merging of UMNO and PAS, Mercedes Benzs and Proton Perdanas, issuing statements asking Condoleeza Rice to mind her own business, disagreeing about Penang being an UNESCO Heritage Site and yelling at each other in Parliament.

Oh, how I wish I could one day say I am proud to be Malaysian and actually mean it.

when all we have become is an indirect consequence

“The talks are a good early step to resolving unity problems among the Malays of different political views.

“If that can lead to unity and stability, I’m sure the Chinese and Indian communities will welcome it because stability will lead to the people being able to improve their lives.”

- Umno supreme council member Datuk Mohd Shafie Apdal.

Huh?

How do talks which are centered around Islam and Malay unity(Malays of different political views)lead to stability which will lead to people being able to improve their lives?

Would it not make more sense for the PM to have talks with all political parties to decide how this political degradation can be resolved? Lim Kim Siang is right to ask "Why Malay unity and not Malaysian unity?"

Why indeed?

Since when did it become the primary focus of the PM to shelf us into Malay and Non-Malay? What happened to the PM for all Malaysians? What really happened during these discussions?

If we sit down and think about it, what IS there to discuss about Islam and political differences? You are either a Muslim or you are not. Is there a demarcation between an UMNO Muslim and a PAS Muslim? It is akin to saying there is a difference between a Christian MCA member and a Christian DAP member. Or a Hindu MIC member and a Hindu Keadilan member. Yes, I know religion has been politicised, but theoretically speaking, both UMNO and PAS are championing Malay rights. So what discussion are we talking about when one says its about unity and stability?

If you ask me this is what I understand from this discussion: Look, we only care about the Malay people and how it is fragmented inside UMNO now and how PAS should be reeled in to join UMNO instead of sticking with PKR so that we can dominate the country and get rid of the irrelevant other Non-Malays (and Anwar Ibrahim who is technically Muslim but you know, is now considered lain-lain with the rest of us Non Malays).

If indeed the PM was truly interested in bringing about unity, he should stop thinking in terms of Malay and Non-Malay. Unity affects us as a WHOLE. It affects us as Malaysians. Not as Malays, Chinese, Indian and so on. It should not be a "if I solved this part of the problem, the indirect outcome is that the rest of you benefit." Since when did us Non Malays get lump together as an indirect outcome or consequence?

This ignorance which is masked behind so called necessity for the country's stability and improvement of lives is so shameful. And what makes it even more shameful is the fact that our PM is not even aware of it. And shame turns into sheer fright when we discover that the PM might just never ever be aware of it.

Threesomes

"We are owned by the government and our financial result has been EXCEPTIONALLY good this year and we DON'T need THAT much to reinvest for the future. So, we are able to increase our dividend for the government." [emphasis my own]

-Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican , Petronas President and CEO

Okay, backtrack.

A month (or two) ago, was this not the same man who was whining about rising costs of sourcing for fuel? And that the Government was right in doing what they did?

And didn't the government say they cannot AFFORD to subsidise petrol because its eating into its funds? And that if they continue with the subsidy eventually it will go bankrupt? Or whatever bullshit crap they fed us?

So, what is with this RM62 billion given to the government's coffer?

WTF??

There we were being told it was necessary, that it was inevitable, rising prices of crude oil, it is natural for prices to soar, its a must, DEAL WITH IT.

Then they tell us actually well, Petronas is doing pretty f**king-fantastic? And can afford to give so much because they don't need so much to invest in the future? I may not be the sharpest tool in the shade, but even I can see that something is rotten here.

So the question now is, what is the Government going to spend the RM62 billion on? Obviously is not to upgrade the current public transport system because it is still in the "planning" stage. You know the compulsory three stages of all these so called grand plans.

First: Lay out grand plans in all major newspaper with graphics and illustrations so everyone goes "OOOHHH AHHHHHH" and include big ass launch of grand plan to introduce it to the people.

Second: Delay. Delay. Delay. Delay. Give lack of resources as reason for delay. Delay some more. Pray hard everyone forgets about Grand Plan.

Third: Scrap plan because there is not enough money to execute grand plan. Money found to have been used to pay consultant to set out the illustration and to draw graphics and another consultant to plan the big ass launch in First Stage.

Then it goes back to the starting point where its "the rakyat must understand why we cannot afford to subsidize these things. We do not have enough money which is urgently needed for more important national interests things!"

Repeat stage 1 to 3 again.

So at the end of it all, we have all been taken for a ride.

After all, there are three types of lies, just like the three stages of grand plans.

Lies;
Lies; and
DAMNED LIES.

Admit it. its Rep Ipsa Loquitor!

The state of the country's politics have reached a stomach churning, bitter taste in the mouth, sickening state.

There is the alleged "intimidation" of the ex-DPM, there is the opposition MPs staging a walkout from the Parliament after its motion of no confidence was rejected, then there is the lewd gesture by oh-so-famous Bung Mokhtar, the incessant yelling in the Parliament...and well, the list goes on.

I for one am sick and tired of these mud slinging tactics and constant primary school kids type of bickering. I was of course reminded by my friend J over dinner the other day.

J: See? Opposition voter!See what you have done!
Me: What?
J: See how everything is going to the dogs? The economy is suffering! While I agree that there should be change, we are not ready for it!
Me: What do you mean by we are not ready?
J: The economy is crashing!The whole world is suffering!
Me: So when will we be ready?
J: Not now.

You see the thing about the so called non opposition voters is the fact that they like to BLAME the opposition(and its voters) for everything that goes wrong. The current state of affairs does not come into being unilaterally. The PM did not perform, people get upset and ask for change. The current administration was waist deep in corruption, the people are furious and yearn for change. The DPM allegedly blew some Mongolian up, bloggers get upset and blog about it, and people are informed and they too get upset and demand for justice and the truth. The Government throws everybody they have no concrete evidence to charge in court,into prison under the ISA, people question the validity and demand for change. The Government classify every document which is suspicious under the OSA, people demand for transparency.

Makes sense doesn't it? It is clearly a Rep Ipsa Loquitor situation. "The thing speaks for itself."

As much as BN supporters would LOVE to pin the whole sickening state of politics on the Opposition and its voters alone, the truth is that there was already something rotten in the state of Malaysia and this is something that is inevitable, and maybe just maybe, necessary before we can move forward.

Of course, whether the current situation is the best way to move forward, we have yet to conclude on that. Can the opposition do a better job? Definitely. Can they be more productive instead of just pointing out the problems, but offer no solution? Yes. Can they give us a concrete alternative instead of just words? We truly hope so.

And can the Government eventually accept its mistakes instead of denying they exist? Hopefully. Can the current administration hear the voices of the people and act according to their interests? We can only pray they do.

I do not deny there is a urgent need of improvement on both sides. But until the BN supporters open up their ears and their eyes to the many wrongs of the current administration, they will continue blaming the Opposition for the sad state of affairs. And until the Opposition voters start using their heads and start thinking of great alternative ideas to EFFECT change instead of just ASKING for it, we will just be a bunch of empty, noisy vessels.

I think we should call it a truce. And try to work together. I think that is the only way forward. (All these political bickering are starting to harm animals.Lim Guan Eng's dog is suspected to have been poisoned. Like come on people. No animals should be harmed in the making of this sad political state of affairs.)

Frankly dear, I dont give a damn

FRANKLY,

I do not care about where Bala is. In Asean? Not in Asean? Stashed away by the police? Went into hiding by himself? Who cares?

I do not care whether his first Statutory Declaration is the truth or whether the second one is. He told his nephew the first one was true? He told his popped out of nowhere lawyer the first one was done under duress? Who cares?

I do not care whether the Mongolian was murdered by the DPM or not. Did he introduce her to the political analyst in Paris? Who cares?

I do not care whether the DPM's wife was there to watch the Mongolian being blown to pieces. Why is she not suing for defamation if it is not true? Who cares?

I do not care whether ex-DPM jailed for corruption and sodomy did or did not fabricate his black eye report. Who was there and witnessed it? Who cares?

I do not care whether the above mentioned ex-DPM does or does not want to swear on the Quran or whether the ex-DPM's student leader I-was-sodomised accuser wants to swear on the Quran or challenges the ex-DPM to swear on the Quran. Does the Quran automatically make one speak the truth? Who cares?

I do not care whether the Americans are meddling in our internal affairs or not. What right do they have to say they will not tolerate any political conspiracy against the ex-DPM? Who cares?

I do not care whether the ex-PM held a boot camp for judges when he was still PM. Why did the judge only speak of it now and not then? Who cares?

I do not care whether the MIC dude who left MIC will only rejoin MIC when that man who never leaves the President seat finally leaves. Who cares?

I really do not care.
If the truth(or whatever version of it) is revealed, I do not mind knowing it.
But I do not care about it.
Some of you may, but what is the use of caring?

What I DO care is this:-

How the PM is going to stop the fuel increase to ease the burden on the rakyat?
When is the Parliament going to start being a place where great minds meet and not where fools gather?
When will the rakyat finally see the fruits of BN's labour which actually benefits each and everyone of us?
When will Malaysia cease to be a developing country and be a developed one?

When will what we want actually matter? When will the government listen to us?

What we always have are questions, but what we will never attain are truthful satisfactory answers.

Sodomy is SO yesterday

"If there is more than one way to do a job, and one of those ways will result in disaster, then somebody will do it that way."
- Edward Murphy

Now, this quote came to mind when I read about the sodomy fiasco that is Anwar Ibrahim and Saiful.

Firstly, this whole fiasco is termed a "job" because whispers are heard saying that this is another conspiracy to bring Anwar Ibrahim down. After all, Mr. PM never expected the man he released after winning the 2004 General Election as a means of appeasing pro PKR voters and showing the rest of the citizens that he is a "fair and kind" man, would somehow be his worst feared adversary in 2008. While the PM must be whacking himself on his head saying "STUPID STUPID STUPID!", Anwar is once again made to defend himself and his sexuality.

Now, I for one do NOT care about Anwar's sexuality. Whether he likes it from the front or from behind, does not matter to me because the only direction I want to know about is his direction for the country. Where we are headed and where he thinks we should be heading and how the hell we are going to get there.

I do not care if he has his own guilty pleasures in the confines of his own home (or whatever high class condominium in Damansara Heights) just as I did not and still do not care about Chua Soi Lek's visits to the Johore hotel for his romp in between the sheets.

Many of us lament that this is a lame attempt by the Government and the fact that there are pictures of this Saiful-I-was-sodomised-woe-is-me taking pictures with BN Ministers JUST before he decided to join as a volunteer for PKR, makes us stop in our tracks and for a second think, "Hmmmm....mere coincidence or a well thought and planned conspiracy?"

After all, logically, IF Anwar Ibrahim is gay and he wanted to have sex with another man, why would he choose ANYBODY who works for him? I mean, the gay community in Malaysia is not a minority as many of us think. It is quite substantial and I am SURE many of them would willingly be Anwar's fellow romp mate if he needed one and would definitely not be making police reports against him. In fact they might boast "Do you know WHO I was with yesterday!? ANWAR IBRAHIM!WOOHOO!SCORE!"(okay perhaps less theatrics, but you know what I mean)

So where IS the logic? I for one will think Anwar has more brains and sense than the Government does. I for one think that the man has a little more integrity than a lot of other politicians with their holier than thou attitude and I for one expect these type of conspiracies to die with the old administration.

So the questions remain. Did he or did he not? Is he or is he not?

I can smell the disaster that is coming our way.

Let us hope we are all ready for the consequences.

The wonderful Malay

If you ever had any suspicion that the ex-MB who is now in the Opposition in Selangor is NOT man for all races let me confirm that suspicion for you today.

Q & A with Khir Toyo today in the NST:-

"Q: Why did you enter politics?
A: I wanted to help the Malays.(followed by bla bla bla, irrelevant things)

....

Q: What do you do in your free time?
A: Thinking and reading. I do a lot of thinking to understand what is going to happen to the Malays, and the country and the situation is an uncertainty now. I spend two to three hours a day thinking..."

Now, I for one, am a person who finds it impossible to only spend two to three hours thinking. In fact, every minute of the day, I am thinking. When I say something, I think. Right before I say something, I think. While I am working, obviously, I have to think. So how DOES the ex- MB do it? Only two to three hours in a day that he ACTUALLY THINKS. The rest of it, well, he spends..erm, not thinking. Ahhh.. the high requirements one needs to comply with in order to be a politician. I am envious.

Anyway, moving along. Now, this interview in the NST was a real eye opener. I mean we always had our suspicion that the Ex-MB was never a man for the rakyat. After all there were/are allegations of corruption and mismanagement of funds which saw only a minority of the people profiting.

How can a man who was the Menteri Besar of Selangor, announce to Malaysia that he joined politics to help the Malays and all he thinks about (in the two-three of his thinking hours in a day) is how to help the Malays (and oh yeah, the country comes second to the Malays)? The last I checked, Selangor has other races living in it too. Like oh, I dont know, Chinese, Indians, Sikhs...? Should he not be thinking about the people who live in Selangor regardless of their race? Should it not be "I am thinking of how to help the people in Selangor, or I am thinking about how to improve the situation in Selangor?" Apparently not. Apparently, it is all about the Malays and UMNO.

So what is this man who was once suppose to look out for Selangor people saying? That he truly does not care about non-Malays? That all he cares about from the first day he joined politics (after witnessing how handsome Mahathir was apparently) was all for the Malays?

When asked why BN lost in Selangor, he says" I dont want to blame people but basically the Chinese and Indian voters did not vote for BN"

Gee, we wonder why.

SOLAR POWER BRA!

Malaysians have never been big on conservation or recycling.

We have recycling bins placed at the weirdest places, such as the front entrance(or side entrance) of Jaya Jusco (Kinta City) in Ipoh, where we are expected to carry our rubbish (all sorted out in order of bottles, paper and what not) and lug them to the front/side entrance of the mall and deposit them in there. I mean who would not want to get all dressed up for shopping and while you're on the way inside the mall, you carry rubbish for disposal and deposit them in the bins in the name of saving the environment?![Its a fantastic idea I tell you. I wonder if all other countries place their recycling bins in the perfect spots just as our country does- HAH!How clever are WE?!]

Now they also offer re-useable bags as an alternative to plastic bags. I first saw them being offered in Bangsar Village and they cost RM5. And now Jusco has them too, for a mere RM2. Many people have written in to newspapers calling for the Management of shopping malls to offer these bags for free(for obvious reasons), in order for the customers to choose to use them over plastic bags. If you think about it, while you're standing at the counter paying for your groceries, and the lady asks if you would like to BUY a reusable bag for RM2, OR get the plastic one for free, how many of you (honestly) will say, "give me the bag for RM2"?
A majority of us will say " HAH? RM2? TENTULAH PLASTIK!PERCUMA-MA!"

So what was my point again? Right, that Malaysians are not big on conservation. After all, we have never been encouraged to recycle and reuse. I am not solely blaming the Government for not doing enough (though I think they are NOT doing enough) because we each as individuals should also make an effort to recycle and reuse.

SO you see, I would like to share this UBER creative idea by the Japanese people.

As reported in the Sun today:-

"SOLAR BRA FOR CONSERVATION"

Lingerie maker Triumph International Japan unveiled its environmental-friendly, and green-coloured, Solar Power Bra(must be yelled out along the lines of yelling ULTRAMAN GABAN!) recently in Tokyo which features a solar panel worn around the stomach.

But as the panel requires light to generate electricity, the concept bra will not be in stores anytime soon as "people usually (important to note,its not always, but USUALLY)cannot go outside without wearing clothes over it" .

But it DOES send the message how lingerie could possibly SAVE THE PLANET(ala, SAVE THE CHEERLEADER SAVE THE WORLD!!). The bra however should not be washed or sunned on a rainy day to avoid damaging it. (How can it be SUNNED on a rainy day?) [italics and bold are my own]

See how the Japanese people are trying to be more environmentally friendly? Now if my bra can generate electricity on its own (who cares about partial nudity in public? ITS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT PEOPLE!Get with the programme!) I can charge my mobile phone batteries on the run. I will NEVER EVER run of battery power. Its like "hello? Oh wait, my phone battery is running low, hold on while I hook it up to my SOLAR POWER BRA(!!)to charge it!"

And if its possible to hook it up to a coffee machine, imagine how much money you can also save by making your own coffee. Even better, if you could have electric cars, you can charge the car just by hooking it up to the bra!
THE POSSIBILITIES (and potential) ARE ENDLESS!!

If only Malaysians were so innovative.

My very own budget

Here is my very own list of things the Government can do to tighten their belts:-

1. All Ministers trade in their luxury cars and drive a Proton. In order of importance, PM gets a Perdana V6, DPM gets Waja Campro. All other Ministers get Gen-2/Persona and the Deputy Ministers can drive a Satria.

2. Send all Ministers for a holiday together-gether in Pangkor/Penang/Redang. It is in line with VISIT MALAYSIA year AND it saves the taxpayer a heck load of money AND it fosters better understanding among themselves.

3. All Ministers must give up their drivers. They have to start driving the cars themselves. It saves our taxpayers money and they can feel how it truly is to be Malaysian by driving their Perdana/Waja/Gen-2/Persona/Satria and experience it first hand how the automatic window dies on you and the bumper falls off after a slight bump .

4. No more police escorts whenever they want to go somewhere. They have to sit in the jam just like the rest of us. (Oh wait, this does not technically save any money but heck, its MY list and I sure as hell think it should be in it!)

5. No campaigns to launch stupid things like a new Malaysia Boleh song, or a new National Day song. Firsly because it always sucks. The tune and the words suck. And secondly, we do not care. We do not know how to sing it and frankly we do NOT want to sing it. So why bother launching something we Malaysians do not care about?

6. The Agong's birthday should ALWAYS, ALWAYS fall on a working day and should be a public holiday. We frankly do NOT care about the stupid processions, and the money wasted on jet plane fuel flying and performing stunts and money to decorate the whole Dataran Merdeka. What we really want is a public holiday. That is how WE (okay maybe just ME) would like to celebrate the Agong's Birthday. Seriously.

7. We also could not care less about the National Day Parade. All the processions are stupid and it causes people's children to be burnt under the sun for no reason. Instead of using the money for stupid processions, we would prefer if the Government save the money on the processions and just instruct all private companies such as Astro, Maxis, Digi and whatnot, to give all services for free for that one day in the name of being Malaysian.

8. Ask the cosmonaut to give all the cash he will receive from the book he is selling (if there are any sales at all) back to the Government to repay the money we used to send him there.

9. Ask those damned scholarship holders to come back and work here in Malaysia. And whoTF cares if you are married and waiting for your spouse. You use our taxpayers money to study overseas, you jolly well bring your ass back here and work for the Government. And make those who have been offered a scholarship sign an undertaking to come back or pay back and if they do not, their parents should be declared a bankrupt and not allowed to travel out of Malaysia unless and until they pay back the costs of their studies. Yes I am serious.

10. Stop building stupid universities or colleges just so you can allow more unqualified stupid people to get useless, worthless degrees. Instead of spending on building building and building, use the money wisely on improving the current universities and colleges.

11. Spend money only on athletes who are worthy. Nicol David, Josiah Ng, those badminton dudes and girls, our swimmers and divers. Those who actually WIN something when they go overseas and whose training actually produces results. Our football team sucks. BIG TIME. Stop sending them anywhere. Stop giving them money for being the suckiest football team in Asia.

12. Stop launching stupid "Anti Rasuah" and Ops Sikap and Ops this and Ops that and then print T-shirts, make badges and print banners to tell Malaysia of it. We can do without these stupid shoutouts. We just want the authorities to NOT take bribes. We do not need a campaign to tell us that. We do not need the policeman to wear a badge saying he is "ANTI-RASUAH". Save the money. Just tell them to don't bloody do it.

For now, this is the 12 I can think of.

I am sure there are many more out there and with more brilliant ideas on how the Government can save money and ubah cara hidup.

40% from me, 10% from you?

OOOOHhHHH, NOW I get it.

They RAISE petrol prices by 40%, ask us to tighten our belts by 40% just so our expenditure balances and we do not go into deficit, but they themselves only reduce their excessive spending by 10% for useless things.

So here is a list of some BELT-TIGHTENING measures which the PM has introduced to save RM2 billion of US TAXPAYER'S money.

A) Entertainment allowance for cabinet ministers and deputy ministers cut by TEN PERCENT
- Wahlau, now the PM only has RM16,978.50, and Najib only has RM13,513.50, ministers only have RM11,088.00 and the deputy ministers only have RM5400 to spend on entertainment.
( What type of entertainment allowance are we talking about? Who is auditing these expenses? If I were a Minister and I bring my family for a dinner at Sudu in Hilton and come up with a bill of RM3000, is that considered "entertainment?" Who is overlooking the authencity of the claims?)

B) PAID ANNUAL vacations for ministers and deputy ministers limited only to Asean countries and domestic destinations, and only for a week.
- Firstly, I didnt know they have PAID ANNUAL vacations. And I did NOT know they used to go overseas with OUR DAMN MONEY. HELLO? WHY do they need PAID ANNUAL VACATIONS? WHY are WE paying for their damn vacations?? Lest the current government forget, you are suppose to SERVE US, not the other way around! SOB!
And now just because you limit it to Asean and domestic destinations we are suppose to jump on our feet and yell Hallelujah?

C) DEFERMENT of purchases of assets like cars, furniture, computers and office equipment.
- The important word here being DEFERMENT. Which also means, they pretend to NOT buy them now, and when the rakyat is no longer scrutinizing the budget as closely as before, they go on a spree. OR they use this deferment time to think of BETTER excuses to the reason why Ministers need BMWs, Mercedes, and other types of luxury cars available in the market.
(Like hello Mr. PM, you so DAMN PROUD to be Malaysian why isn't your official car a Waja? Or a Gen-2? Or the new Proton whatchamacallit which is worth RM80k?)

D) No expensive gifts.
- Er, what is classified as EXPENSIVE? And what gifts are we talking about? Who is receiving it? Who is buying it? WTF IS IT?

And this is only a snippet of the BELT TIGHTENING measures which the PM has ingeniously come up with to save RM2 BILLION.

Now, it is clear to ME these expenditures are not necessary. (I do not know about the rest of you)To me, it is NOT necessary for ministers to be sent on holidays (they can use they own damn money to finance their own damn holidays)and it is not necessary for entertainment allowances to be given to the Ministers. IT IS NOT NECESSARY. So you increase the petrol price by 40% and you cut your own allowances by 10% and reduce what in the first place is NOT necessary from SUPER EXCESSIVE to just plain excessive?

What are you expecting from the rakyat? GLORY HALLELUJAH?

The current government is a joke. You spend our money like water and you come up with a reduction of what I would term a "blatant misuse of fund" measures supposedly to "ubah cara hidup" in line with what the rakyat has to do?

Spare me the theatrics.

SOB! You mean we PRODUCE FUEL???!!

If there is one thing more obvious than the wig on Lim Kok Wing's head, is the fact that our beloved PM is not a man of his word. Remember those days not so many donkey months ago where he assured us that the rumour of a petrol hike was the "oppositions' way to discredit the BN"?

And then yesterday he announces that due to the rising costs of fuel in the world, the Government can no longer afford to subsidise fuel as it could previously? And that the costs of fuel did a triple jump and landed at RM2.70? But you know, its still cheaper than other countries (who do not produce their own fuel but is used for comparison just because they share boundaries with us and is lumped together as South East Asia)? In theory, even with my limited economic, number crunching, lack of mathematical skill half functioning brain, I can figure out that IF the costs of fuel in the world is soaring, it would automatically mean that Malaysia, as a country that produces oil/fuel should be laughing with glee because we export good fuel to other countries and import shi-no, I mean crap, no, I mean..yes I mean shitty ones for our own people. Right? I mean I MAY be wrong, but I am pretty sure that is how it works.

So how is the subsidy cut justifiable? And what happened to the promise he made the last time about upgrading the public transport? As far as I know, the Putra line still stops at Kelana Jaya, the Star Line stops at Ampang and Bukit Jalil (I forgot the one after Bukit Jalil) and the Komuter still takes forever to arrive anywhere and the Monorail requires a mad dash across the road in the rain to actually get there.
Upgrade?

The only upgrade that anybody has experienced since Bodohwi has taken over, is only himself and he now has a Jeanne, he has his own plane to fly around for his many holidays and his son in law somehow ends up richer and richer everyday through his many "successful" business ventures.

For the rest of us, this is what we have, which includes but is not limited to:-

1) Cost of petrol eventually hitting the ceiling cost of who-knows-how-much;
2) A dead Mongolian and her remains somewhere in Shah Alam and a bunch of loser policemen investigating it;
3) Rising costs of food, electricity, water and whatevernot we require to survive;
4) Proton cars selling at RM80k eventhough its 1/3rd the quality of imported cars;
5) Riots, riots and more riots;
6) ISA is suddenly the best invention ever when there is opposition to BN;
7) OSA is the second best invesntion when there is sinister truth to be buried in the ground never to be heard again and
8) A Malaysian astronaut sent to space at the costs of who knows how much and who knows for what.

I cannot WAIT for our PM's next set of promises!

When push comes to shove...

Sometimes, we have to take charge.

Sometimes, we just have to learn to step forward and take the lead.

Sometimes, when push comes to shove, we have to be ready to be a leader, and not merely a follower.

And the reason I am being philosophical about this?

Reported in the Sun today:-

"Prostitutes in deep water"

Five suspected mainland Chinese prostitutes were left screaming on board a speeding boat on rough seas after is coxswain (cox wha-?I know, a quick look at the dictionary revealed that it means 'helmsman of a rowed boat')jumped overboard during a police chase in HK waters.

Marine officers had to leap on to the speedboat (it cant be going THAT fast then if they can leap on to the boat right?) to stop its engine as (and here comes the best part) the five women CLUNG SCREAMING ON TO THE BOAT.

Ohhkkaaayyy.

Now, if I were on a boat, and the man steering the boat jumps off the boat, my first thought would be to rush towards the steering wheel to try to control the boat, or at least step on the brakes or even turn the engine off.

But that is me-la.

Obviously those "suspected prostitutes" thought it better to CLING to the boat and scream themselves hoarse. Nobody was in the right mind to step up and take charge of the situation.

It just makes me ponder, at 9am in the morning, of how sometimes we just have to step up and take the lead. While we are comfortable in some situations in life for someone else to be at the helm, when the situation warrants it, we have to be bold enough to take charge.

That I suppose applies to our current political situation as well. If your leader is no longer performing, or in this situation has jumped off the boat (to distract the policeman who had to stop the speeding boat while he tries to swim away), SOMEBODY should step up to the plate and take charge.

After all, that is better than clinging to the boat and screaming like a bunch of wusses, rite?

I think so.

RM8m out of RM700m?Its just a drop in the bucket!

You know someone is deluded when they are former state excutive councillors, no longer in the ruling party of the state, and cannot come up with a justifiable reason as to how and why they spent RM8 million of the rakyat's money, when they say that leaders of the Pakatan Rakyat state government should stop misleading the public on the money spent by them and warned that "if they continue with their finger pointing (and witch hunting), legal action will be taken against them."

Now, that is what I call the epitome of delusion.

Now this Datuk Dr. Zambry Abd Kadir has gone to the media to warn the PKR leaders in Perak that they should stop criticising the previous BN administration just for political mileage. According to him, the PKR leaders were on a finger pointing frenzy to divert the people's attention from having to explain their non-performance in their first 100 days of their administration.

"They are desperate for issues. They are looking for a smokescreen because they have not come up with anything for the people."

Because you see, according to the former state executive councillor, the RM8 million which was allocated for the small projects development fund was used up in roughly 60 days because it was spent to repair community halls and drains, and were channeled into 30 projects like repairing roads and buildings.

And the fact that it was used in the first three months of the year eventhough it was supposed to be for the WHOLE year of 2008, and coincidentally the general election JUST SO happens to be in March, does not mean that the money was used for the election campaign. It was just a mere coincidence.

Just a coincidence that prior to the General Election(GE), all the drains and buildings were allegedly repaired. Coincidentally, prior to the GE each state exco member was allocated RM100,000 in addition to the RM75,000. Coincidently, just before the GE, the state government was NICE enough to use up the RM8million allocated in the first three months to actually benefit the rakyat! We in Perak are such a lucky lot! Perak Nombor 1! *cue Perak No.1 song*

But seriously.

Come on, RM8 million is heck of a lot of money. Even if the former state executive council members may justify that "what is RM175,000 when spread over a population of 200,000 in my constituency?"

Yes, what is it indeed?

Let see, if the WHOLE RM8million was spent in the first three months, what happens in the next 9 months to come? What happens if more important things happen to roll along and GOD FORBID may require money to be spent?

I lived in Ipoh, and I go back to Ipoh every other week. And every time I am there, I do not see any "small projects" being undertaken in Ipoh. The roundabouts remain the same, the roads remain the same (and frankly, the road right in front of the MB's house needs a major repair job. Seriously.), the deplorable state of the town remains the same and besides an absolutely useless flyover near Jalan Golf, everything else remains the same. In fact the only small project I can think of which was implemented was the parking book project. Where a lot of money was/is spent printing those stupid booklets which require quite an amount of mental prowness to figure out how to scratch the correct time and the correct date, display it on your dashboard, and then having to run out and repeat steps above when time runs out. Like HELLO? Humans are at the brink of being replaced by robots here and we are still doing the scratch and display ticketing system?! The ONLY thingamajic I want to scratch is when it says scratch AND win and I actually DO win something. OK?

How about saving the environment here? Ever heard of an electronic parking system where you just put money into the machine, punch your car number and lot number and then skip off into the sunset?

So really, PKR leaders are not looking for issues, they are not hoodwinking us Perak people by this so called "witch hunting" exercises. They are ACTUALLY doing something worthwhile for us. They are actually letting us into the elite world of the BN spending and where the money goes. They are actually announcing to us that hey look, the money that you have worked hard for every day, slogging in the office for 8 hours a day, in which a majority of which ends up as taxes, is actually POSSIBLY, being misused by these people who are suppose to have your interests at heart.

These type of finger pointing frenzy, I like.

These type of witch hunting exercise, I welcome with open arms.

And if indeed PKR leaders are so called "liars because we (previous BN administration) left about RM700 million in the state coffers", well, only time will tell.

But for now, I want to jump unto the bandwagon in this bandit catching exercise. Come on people!

Its fun!!

Aiya, so ugly! I dont want la!

Just recently, in an online legal classified, a law firm advertised a vacancy in its firm and as one of its requirements, it laid down that potential candidates should be "nice looking".

The furore it created in the legal circle was to some, understandable, considering that in this time and age, people should not discriminate based on looks, wealth or what-not.

So the NYLC (National Young Lawyers Committee for the uninformed) President/Chairman issued a public statement asking for the removal of this advertisement as it was insulting and degrading to judge a potential candidate on his or her looks. And that after all "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" and one should be judged based on their qualifications and their ability to perform at their jobs.

Frankly, I do not see the insulting or degrading part in the ad. So the firm wants to their lawyers to look "nice". So they prefer pretty or handsome looking lawyers over fugly ones. So they want their firm represented by hot chicks and hot guys. They want the firm to look good from the outside with well dressed, immaculate, non-asthetically challenged guys and girls. So, what is the problem?
It IS their firm isnt it? It IS their business and their rice bowl right? Isnt it their right to pick and choose as they like? Why must they adhere to the standards of being "politically correct"?

How many of you are ignorant of the fact that many law firms discriminate against CLP-graduates and UK Bar graduates? What does the NYLC say about that? Are those who are Bar grads better equipped at handling the law than the CLP grads? And some discriminate against those who obtained their legal degrees overseas against those who did it externally. What difference is there? They are both equally good degrees.
So, just because its not politically correct to discriminate based on looks, it is suddenly wrong? When discrimination based on "local" and overseas grads happen ALL the time? Is that politically incorrect too? Who is standing up for external CLP grads? NYLC? I think not. They are too busy making comments about how "beauty should be in the eyes of the beholder".

If I want to discriminate against ugly, I shall.
If I want to discriminate against stupidity, I can.
If I want to discriminate against one's sexuality, I am allowed.
Why shouldnt I?
Of course whether I DO discriminate against them is a different matter altogether. But I should be given the liberty to.

I represent myself. I represent my own business and my own interests. However, if I put myself in a public position such as being elected as MP for the constituent of say, Jinjang (if such a place actually is considered a constituency) then I cannot say I discriminate against Ah Bengs and Ah lians (yes, it is a generalisation of all people in Jinjang- my bad) when I choose councillors or whom I want to help.

But if its a private entity, should I not be allowed to run MY business the way I want it to be? The way I envisioned it to be?

What if the legal ad had placed "only ugly need apply" would the rest of the legal fraternity get their panties in a bunch?

I placed a comment on the discussion board of the legal circle on this issue and got hit from left and right. They yelled that I am promoting discrimination in terms of religion, sexual preference and race.

So examples of the Government discriminating against non Bumis. I have been vocal about this, but I think there is a demarcation here.

That being the Government is there to serve the people, without fear or fervour. Without discrimination. To serve the rakyat and not a section of the rakyat. So, therein lies the BIG difference of why one can discriminate and the other cannot and should not.

I stand by what I believe. It is quite exhausting nowadays to be so politically correct. We are no longer entitled to discriminate- whether it be wrong or right. After all, to each its own. Just as we choose our friends, people can choose whom they want to employ.

I have yet to find a person SO perfect as to be able to declare, I do not discriminate against ANYBODY or ANYTHING. (Ok, maybe Mother Theresa, but hey, who knows for sure?)

We ALL do. It is just whether we say it, or merely think it.

Badawi vs Mahathir. FIGHT!

I tried.

I tried to ignore the newspapers. I tried to refrain from glancing at the headlines when I am at the book store. I tried to switch the channels everytime the news come on.

I tried.

And STILL I cannot ignore the happenings in Malaysia for the past week.

And so, I am back, but perhaps with just a little less anger, but more annoyance.

It is quite obvious from my previous posts that I am not pro Bodo- I mean, Badawi. I guess you can say I lean more on the side of Mahathir. However, in the past few weeks I have to seriously rethink my stance in regard to these two men.

Now, many have exclaimed that Mahathir has made a fool of himself with all his statements and calls for Badawi to step down as PM. For me, I feel he has reached a point in his life, where after 22 years as PM, many years as a politician, having lived through 1969, the Semangat 46, the expulsion from UMNO and what not, he can say whatever he wants. After all, these are his own thoughts and opinions. And for Gods sake, he is already in his 80s. Let the man yell whatever he wants. What has he got to lose?
Many of you will say he has lost respect and many say he should have resigned quietly and gone into hiding, with reputation intact.

However, if you think about it, Tun has never been one to retreat into anywhere quietly is he? He did not back down when faced with the pegging of the RM issue. He did not back down when there was an economic crisis and he sure as hell did not give two hoots to his detractors when they questioned his loans amounting to billions to finance KLIA, Sepang and the Twin Towers. And in the end, Malaysia emerged stronger economically, and tourism has been boosted 1000 fold. Of course, the VK Lingam tape has caused a major stain in Mahathir's 22 years. (I do not want to revisit the Salleh Abbas issue) but at the end of the day, the people who are most answerable are the judges who have meted out the judgments in favour of benefits to themselves. But that is another issue to be discussed in another post.

So now, why is Tun so pissed off with Badawi? Obviously the big loss in the General Election is a big indication of Badawi's leadership skills. I mean, Tun must be REALLY pissed to quit UMNO.(Sure, trust Tun to have a flair for dramatics) So is this the right thing to do? To publicly show one's disfavour for the country's leader? I say, yes and no.

Yes, because Tun is a voice of so many of us. So many of us want change, we went to the polls and we chose and we made some changes, but the constitution is still intact, UMNO President remains the PM. So in a way, Tun is helping us push for change (albeit with means which may at times seem questionable)

And a No, because all these public spats are becoming such an annoying occurence. You cannot open up a newspaper every day without Tun berating Badawi or UMNO. Sometimes we have to say, ENOUGH ALREADY. We GET IT. MAHATHIR+BADAWI = bad chemistry.

So what then is the conclusion of the whole story? My stance remain that I still lean in favour of one man over the other. But I think at this point in time, both men are not doing the country any favours. If only loyalty to one's party can take second place to the love of the country and the people. If only one does not allow personal feelings to cloud one's judgment of a person. If only one would step up and be a leader of the nation instead of being in denial. If only one could admit their mistakes and be humble about it. If only, we had a choice as to whom we want to lead our country.

If only, if only, if only.

Life would perhaps be a little easier for all of us.

The fear of self combustion

It has been brought to my attention that I have been putting up some very angry, pissy posts lately.
And many have mentioned that they are afraid I will soon self combust and die in a fiery ball of anger.

Hence, I think it is time for me to retreat into the cave of calmness, serenity and acceptance(of all things wrong and evil).

Till I am "healed", I shall take a break from here.

Takde Planning Langsung-la...

Many of us have been in a situation whereby we tell person A that we are hanging out with person B when in fact we are out partying with person C. And of course the smart ones will tell person B about this "cover up" storyline. You know, just in case person A calls and asks for us and person B can cook up a " I think she went to the loo" or "damn, I just walked away from her for a while, can she call you back?".

We all anticipate this verification of the story line and hence that is why we always, ALWAYS inform person B of it. We dont leave Person B in the dark and expose her to a call from person A asking where we are and her going "HUH?"

Why am I rambling on about something which has obviously confused all of you with so many persons and so many alphabets?

BALKIS.(Association of Wives of State Assemblymen and Members of Parliament in Selangor- I know. Like WTF? They have an association for THIS? Apparently they do.)

You see, the Wife of Former Menteri Besar of Selangor, one Datin Seri Zaharah Kechik transferred RM9.9 million (of Balkis's money) to another association Bakti (Federal Organisation of Wives of Ministers- repeat exclamation of incredulousness above) three days after Selangor fell to the Opposition in the general election. And then the previous committee tries to dissolve the assocation and set up a new body- Balkis-BN (fuyoo!Like ULTRAMAN-GABAN)

So obviously many people are of the thinking that this MUST be illegal. After all, how can you transfer money as and when you like it?

So Wife of Former Menteri Besar of Selangor Datin Zaharah said that following the dissolution of the Association(which she says she had power to do), the RM9.9m were transferred to Bakti according to Article 15(2) of the Balkis Constitution (wahlau DAMN impressive, she actually read up the Balkis Constitution)and that if we the rakyat doubt her, she can prove that the auditors have been consulted and everything was in order.

And today on the front page of the newspapers, the auditor says HAH? . We were not consulted (okay, crudeness was inserted by me- just for effects).

So you see, if I were Wife of Former Menteri Besar of Selangor, I would have at least told the auditors, "hey look. I told them you were consulted. So you say you were and I will share a little of the RM9.9m with you-la. We together-gether benefit ma.

But instead, the auditor was OBVIOUSLY left in the dark. Oblivious to everything that was going on. And only learning of the alleged( see, I am politically correct, I do not make wild allegations until its proven) illegal transfer of money was brought to light last Friday.

So Wife of Former Menteri Besar of Selangor, how now brown cow?

How to explain the transfer of money and the dissolution?

I already have my popcorn and coke ready for the sandiwara that is to come!

I am sorry you are such a jerk, I really am.

"I apologise if this has affected anybody. I apologise to the non-Malays if they felt afraid of the symbol.

"To the Malays, I also apologise because I cannot defend the symbol of our heritage."

-Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

There are crap apologies, and then there is Hishamuddin stupid, can-you-BE-more-insincere apology.

What type of an apology is this?

I apologise to the non-Malays if they felt afraid of the symbol?

It is the type of apology which is classified under "I am sorry you are such a jerk." or "I am sorry I said what I said and made you cry because I should have known that you're a sensitive bitch" or perhaps even "Please accept my sincerest apologies for doing what I did. I am truly sorry you are too stupid to understand why I did it."

But before that, since WHEN is the keris a symbol of the Malay heritage or UMNO's struggle? Just because it is customary for UMNO to kiss it and raise it and whatever else they do to it before the UMNO meeting starts, does NOT make it a symbol of Malay heritage which requires "defending" (WTF does this even mean? Raising it and yelling like a mad cow constitutes defending it?)Okay, so maybe I might be wrong. But this really is the first time I hear of the need to "defend" it.

But anyway, moving along.

We are NOT afraid of your damn symbol ok? Did you hear that, let me repeat that, we are not NOT afraid of the symbol you hold so highly and revere.

In the first place, there is nothing to fear. It is a thing. An object. (Attaching sentiments to it does not automatically make it something to be feared- it is still an object,a lifeless object) The only thing we fear is the fact that you are our Education Minister and you waving a keris yelling BLOOD does not augur well for the Non-Malays in our already rapidly declining education system.

And just because you make your yearly rounds to Chinese or Tamil schools, smiling, cutting ribbons, and making generally nice comments about these schools, does not mean you do not, in the privacy of your own home (or in PWTC during UMNO assemblies) call for slaughter of Non-Malays(symbolically or otherwise).

We know better. And that is why we made it known to you, LOUD AND CLEAR in the general election that you can shove your keris up your you know where.

And of course, the question of why it took you so long to issue an apology (an insincere one at that) is a mystery. It is a mystery because as Education Minister, we thought you have more brains (of course, many a times, we are wrong to assume politicians have brains) and thought process to sit down and think the BEST time to apologise for the keris wielding exercise is probably right after it happened. Not a year and a half later, or after UMNO's dismal performance at the general election.

Understandbly,your reason for this delayed apology is because:-

"the issue was not as big as it was made out to be.

But the reality is such, and I am not someone who is so filled with pride or arrogance that I cannot accept this fact."

Pride and arrogance is ALL you have, our dear Education Minister.

Because if you had indeed been as humble and sincere as you want us to think you are, you would not even have to issue this insincere apology (for whatever it is worth).

Because you would have never done the wrong you have done in the first place.

Why I envy Penang (Just this ONE time)

"My objective is clear and it has remained consistent throughout my political career, which is to serve the people.

My decision is motivated by the fact that Penang's interest cannot be compromised by any politicial consideration."

- Datuk Lee Kah Choon on why he quit Gerakan after accepting the post of director in InvestPenang and Penang Development Corporation.

THIS is probably the only time I envy Penang.
(I mean, prior to this, I never envied their bad traffic, their bridge woes, their dirtied beaches and their bad drivers.)

But now, I envy that they have a man, who is above the rest. A man, who actually stands out and ABOVE all petty politicking. A man who truly believes he serves the interest of the state and the nation above his own. A man who made the bold decision to quit his party because "BN had never had the policy of working with an Opposition party".(BN supporters? Do you hear that? Its not about what is best for you as citizens. It is ALL about what is best for the party.)

Someone whom we can finally heave a sigh of relief because he actually exsists and wants to serve the country. And its not about which party he belongs to, and what party interests he has to serve, and its not all about TALKING about serving the people(subject to it being within party limits) but actually DOING it.

A true statesman indeed.

A round of applause for this great man.

So can this man live up to the heavy burden placed on his shoulders? Many doubt his abilities. Many yell that he has NO experience. And to this, I ask, did the ex Chief Minister have any experience prior to being elected to the Penang's Development Corporation? Not that I know of. Did Penangnites give him a chance? They sure did. Did the BN people shout obscenities of his inexperience? Not that I heard of.

Let us see whether he can perform in his new shoes. His heart and his head is in the right place. That already scores brownie points with me.

Penang, I envy you. Just this once.

Eh, you Malaysian meh?

By now, all of us know that one Mongolian woman by the name of Altantuya is dead. And she was allegedly killed by three Malaysians. And one of these three Malaysians allegedly did it at the behest of some top politician. The trial is still ongoing. (its going into its 107th day now I think)

And while many of us were excited to know the outcome initially, many of us really couldnt care less about it anymore. (yes, such is the mundane nature of a real non-tv related trial- no SURPRISE witnesses, no SURPRISE finger pointing no JENG JENG JENG moments where some surprise exhibit is tendered or a witness swooshes through the front door).

What irks me is the family of this murdered lady. First his father complains that the trial is taking very long. Like hello? Other people in MALAYSIA have to have their trial go on too you know? What your daughter is the only murder victim in the country?

And then he goes to the media and complains about how he finds it hard to "pick up the pieces emotionally and financially". And that Altantuya's children are missing her, one has an enlarged head from fluid retention, the other had to be tutored privately because he could not stand the jibes he got from school due to his mother's death (what jibes? that she is dead? that I suppose IS cruel). AND of course there is the disappointment with the Malaysia NGOs.

And I quote from the Sun :-
" Shariibuu said he was disappointed that the Malaysian non-government organisations (NGOs) had not spoken up or offered any assistance to the family, while the Malaysian media has been potraying Altantuya in a bad light."

AND

"When it came to one prostitute in UK, the whole country and Umno was talking about helping her and sending assistance for her, but here we have two children who have lost their mother and nobody does anything."

Okay, uncle. Just FYI,

Firstly, your daughter (and yourself and your grandchildren) are NOT MALAYSIANS? HELLO? Just because she was allegedly killed IN malaysia does not automatically mean she is entitled to be OFFERED any help by the Malaysian Government (or NGOs). What do you think? That us Malaysians OWE you something? We work hard to earn our money. We pay our taxes and just because 3 men of Malaysian origin ALLEGEDLY killed her, we surrender our money to HELP YOU?

Call me selfish. Call me whatever you like. But I am NOT surrendering any help or agreeing to any help being given to you. Sorry. Many other people IN Malaysia, who ARE Malaysians need more help than you. Many Malaysians live below the poverty line, many are struggling everyday, and you, YOU who can travel all the way from Mongolia every time there is a trial, want us to help you financially?

And FYI, many Malaysians have gone overseas and committed crimes and have been caught there, and the Malaysian government has been consistent in its stance that we will not extend any help to them. If you dare commit the crime, then you must serve the time. Period.

What am I getting it? Well, I am just saying that many Malaysians are waiting and hoping for help by the Malaysian government, but they do not get it (whether they deserve it or not) and here you are, a Mongolian citizen, DEMANDING us to offer help and BERATING us for not helping you?

Come on. Dont make me slap you around and call you Shabu-Shabu.

And secondly, you have to be very clear that UMNO offered to help that Sufiah girl in the UK. Not the rakyat. They do NOT speak for us. And Malaysians have this tendency to tumpang glamour when we know of any famous/infamous person who has 1/800th of Malaysian blood. (OH GUY SEBASTIAN!He used to be taken care of by Malaysian god parents, MALAYSIAN! Oh Che'nelle!She stayed in Sabah for 9 years!MALAYSIAN!)

Anyway, I digress.

My point is, yes, Sufiah should not be offered ANY help. In the first place, she does NOT need help. Prostitution is a choice. (To me anyway, many people may disagree) So she might not have made the best choice, but she still made a choice which she is entitled to. And besides, what type of help are we talking about here? Brainwash? Offer her money so that she doesnt have to sell her body? Come on. She has the brains. She CAN make the money without selling her body. She just does not want to.
So let her be.

Oh wait, I digress again.

Okay, my REAL point is, Mr. Shaariibu, who are YOU to make judgment calls on Malaysia? We want to help Sufiah? So what? We do not want to help you? SO WHAT? We are entitled to! Its our damn money!

While we are sorry your daughter was murdered, allegedly by 3 Malaysians, we do NOT owe you anything.

So stop going to the media to try to gain sympathy. You do not have my sympathy. It really just makes me want to go over there and slap some senses into you.

Stop, Pause. Smell the Roses....

Every once in a while, you see a picture like this and feel blessed to know that despite our differences in religion and culture (perpetuated by mindless politicians and certain royalty) we are above all, Malaysians.

The Iron Lady spews words of wisdom?

Today the headlines screamed this:-

RAFIDAH'S REMINDER...UMNO's Iron Lady Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz says:-

"Remember, we are not changing the(Umno) President, we are changing the prime minister. Other parties can change their president tomorrow they can tell their president to go today, not Umno. We are talking about the prime minister and this country has never had a prime minister who has been pushed out in our history, always remember that."

I am SO thankful that we have Iron Lady (how is she an iron lady? Cos she spews nonsense out of her mouth with no consequences? Or that she managed to hold on to her position even with the AP fiasco?) to go to the Media and remind us of the obvious. Like, how lucky are we??
Some of us might have forgotten our beloved PM is actually the President of UMNO. Or that when we ask for beloved PM to step down, we are not just asking him to vacate the post of UMNO President but also as PM. So these sort of reminders are timely and appreciated.

To say Iron Lady is stating the obvious is an understatement. To say she is uttering nonsense is even more of an understatement.

Seriously Iron Lady, we the rakyat are not as stupid as you think we are. May we also send a few reminders to you.

No.1: History never had a PM whose wife died and he married his ex sister in law while still serving as PM;

No.2: History of Malaysia never had a PM who managed to singlehandedly incite more riots and street protests in his short tenure;

No.3: History of Malaysia never had a PM who listen and acts according to his son in law (but live in denial that he might actually be more stu- I mean, not as clever as he thinks he is)

But it still happened didnt it?

So, Iron Lady, YOU remember this:-

History cannot be changed (unless it involves Hang Tuah and his glorious life being taught in History classes until it was discovered he might be Chinese and swiftly removed from the History Books as being irrelevant to the History of Malaysia). However the Future can. We learn from History. We do not emulate the historical past. And we sure as hell do NOT, stick to what does not work in the past. We improve.

Just because it never happened before does not mean it can never happen.
(Please Iron Lady, go and read your World History. The Revolution? Ever heard of that? The Communist Party taking over China? Things change.)

Just because the PM happens to be the President of UMNO and you UMNO people do not remove your president as you like (cos you are all lalang and will pledge your support for whomever is in power just so your pockets remain full and your children remain well provided for) does not mean he should not be removed.

He is the PM first and foremost. If he fails in his duty while wearing that nametag, he should step down. And if that means he vacates his UMNO presidency, so be it.

UMNO does NOT rule us. UMNO is not the Government. We do not care what happens in UMNO.

We care about whether the PM is working or not. We care about whether he is fulfilling his promises. We care about ourselves. And are we being selfish? Yes. Do we have the right to be? YES. Its OUR country. Its OUR wellbeing. OUR money and our economy and OUR future at stake.

So Iron Lady, do not remind us of things irrelevant to the wellbeing of Malaysia but only relevant to you and your blind loyalty to your President.

Just dont.

And remember this too:-

UMNO(aka BN) screwed up.
Shit Happens.
Live with it.
Learn from it.
Move on.

the Consti-what?

Remember the whole Terengganu MB fiasco?

Remember how our beloved PM chose candidate No.1 Mr. Jusoh, and how the Sultan of Terengganu(aka Agong) chose candidate No.2 Mr. Saad? And then all the UMNO members rallied behind their beloved UMNO president(because those people are "yes men" according to our beloved EX-PM and will bend like lalang whenever the wind blows) and cried that they will NOT support the Agong's choice but will stand behind Mr. Jusoh?

And did you know NONE of the mainstream media published all the wrongdoings of Mr. Jusoh? One Terengganu Newspaper detailed every single misappropriation of funds by Mr. Jusoh. From the Monsoon Cup to the Petronas subsidy. But mainstream media? None of that. All we get is, INFIGHTING BETWEEN PAS AND DAP. BN GETS SUPPORT BY RAKYAT. WE HEART PAK LAH. WE HEART BN.

Um, sorry. But some of us, do not HEART Pak Lah nor BN.

So they yelled and they scremed that it was not right for the Agong to interfere. They protested, they demonstrated. And what did the PM say of this bad behaviour and disrespect to the Agong? Nothing. But when Lim Kit Siang made a comment on his blog about his displeasure with the Sultan of Perak's decision to accept a PAS man as the MB of Perak, he was called disrespectful to the Sultan and asked to apologise.

To add insult to the injury, our beloved PM then looked the TV crew in the eyes(and straight into the cameara thrusted in his face) and said "ia tidak mengikut Perlembagaan Malaysia" ?

I nearly died laughing.

PERLEMBAGAAN?

When did this country EVER respected the Perlembagaan? I do not remember the PM citing the Perlembagaan when he ordered the people to be arrested under the ISA just because they took to the streets to yell that they want RM1 million compensation each(albeit a stupid request but apparently it was for a much bigger cause), or sprayed water cannons and tear gas into the Bersih rally (freedom of expression?), or disallowed the inter religious conference,or kept mum when there was a discussion about whether one can convert out of Islam, or when some idiot of a Minister yelled Malaysia was a ISLAMIC country and that if the rest of us were unhappy, we could leave or somehow spared the water cannons when his son in law and his posse marched in front of the KLCC Convention Centre to give a memo to Condoleeza Rice (who CARES for what?) and also spared the UMNO(and BN) supporters the rough treatment of dispersing the crowd when they gathered in front of Komtar?
Equality before the law? CONSTITUTION?

Where is the "TIDAK MENGIKUT PERLEMBAGAAN" comment that was much needed and desired from the PM?

We didnt get jackshit.

Instead we heard crickets. That or a deafening silence.

However, when you challenge his choice of candidate for an all important post right after he suffered a humiliating loss (loss to Non-BN supporters but still a STRONG SUPPORT win if you are pro BN) and have been asked to step down as UMNO president and as PM, suddenly there is talk of this all elusive Perlembagaan.

Its one of those things we have HEARD about it but never really knew whether it actually, truly, exists. Now, we know, it MIGHT exists. Because the PM actually mentioned it.

However, the PM soon suffered a memory loss and forgot all about the fact that he said it was unconstitutional. He comes before the rakyat and declares(semacam hero)that he RESPECTS the decision of the Agong, and that he will support whichever candidate that will be sworn in a MB and so all his posse quickly rallied behind him and started kissing Mr. Saad's hand. Oh, we will serve you. WE HEART SAAD!

It really sends shivers down my spine to know that this MAN, this MAN who claims to represent us, the one whom we think should know the law and the workings of the country at the back of his hand, might actually be, an empty husk.

And merely a puppet.

Waiting for the Politicians to grow up

Another DAP man quits. Then changes his mind. SIX hours later.
This is not a "I think I should eat that cake. No I shouldnt. No I should. NO I should. No wait, I will" scenario ok?

This is Politics. This is you, representing those who have VOTED for you, to speak on their behalf. This is you being responsible not only for you own wellbeing, but for many others. This is you being a representative. A YB. This is you, at least trying not be an idiot of a person you truly are.

So, what made him quit and change his mind 6 hours later?

He says he was unhappy with the fact that there is only ONE indian man on the Perak exco.(or was it there was None? I forget) Apparently this does not represent the many indians in Perak. He wanted MORE representation. So, because he didnt get what he wanted, he whined and pouted and quit.(If only Samy Vellu was a quitter we wouldnt have had to endure him for this many years but fret not because luck is finally on our side this year!)
If DAP-PKR-PAS were not dependent on the two seat majority to retain their power in Perak, I would say thank you very much you lousy candidate/respresentative, be gone and dont come back!

Come on, first Fong Po Kuan and now this??

Don't ANY of you actually know anything about being matured about something? About discussion? About negotiation? That you actually sit to think, hmm...why is there only one Indian man on the exco?(Or none, as mentioned above, I forget) Is it because there is a lack of Indians in the party? Is it because the Indian majority is smaller? Is there an oversight? Maybe I should speak to Lim Guan Eng.

No, instead its, I QUIT!NOW GIVE ME WHAT I WANT IF YOU WANT ME BACK!

What are you?6 years old??

Women are not well represented in the Exco, did the women MPs quit??
(On this point, I would like to point out to a certain article in Star which said that women were not well represented in Parliament and this article mentions that Rafidah Aziz being UMNO Wanita Prez should have been given a spot in cabinet, I say "PLEASE LADY!Do you NOT know what Rafidah has been doing???What has she done for women anyway???I am SO glad she is gone. Even with the AP issue, she still lingered around courtesy of our dear PM- at least he has smartened up a bit)

Did the women yell, shove and pout and tender their resignation?(Fong Po Kuan is a different story la cos she doesnt represent women. She represents herself and her interest only. Oh I quarreled with some people in DAP. I want to quit. I wont change my mind, I will stick to my decision..I will..OOOHHH...ok, I changed my mind. LALANG!)

Ok, I digress.

You know what I think? I think politicians should just grow up. (No, its not a joke. I know many of you will laugh at the obviousness of this statement but I HAD to say it)Do not put yourself out to represent us when you are a man who cannot be rational.Someone who cannot even think of the Party as a whole and not only for himself. Someone who disrespects his leader. You say you can represent your people?
Please. Spare me the I AM STANDING UP FOR INDIANS. (Samy Velu also asked for Hindraf people to be release what...you think we believe everything Politicians say??)

I wish they would just grow up.

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.