Why bother to blog?

People often ask whether I am pro-government or pro-opposition. They seem to think that most bloggers are pro-opposition the way we criticize the government. Perhaps they have been misled in why we bother to write. It's not about choosing the people in power, its about putting the rakyat in power.

You don't have to believe in politicians, the idea is to believe in a system. That's what we fight for, an idealism of good governance, transparency and accountability.

That is what we want to push forward; an idea of a system that works and benefits the people, not place hopes in one man and ask him to lead the way; because never put your hope in man lest he disappoints you.

Even if a person deviates from this idealism, we hold on to the idea of it, and change the leadership when they have lost track of what they're meant to do.

The idea is to put the power back in the hands of the RAKYAT, we make the decisions, and that is where every person should play a part. Stand up and be counted, if not there is no use complaining about the governance in this country.

We often seem anti-government because the current government gives us no choice but to be so. On the other hand, if the opposition were to form the next government, we will continue to watch and criticize.

I have heard people complaining that there is noone good enough to lead the country. That politics is about money and corruption, it doesn't matter which side we choose, we'll never get out of this situation. I, for one, believe that it is not about choosing sides, but rather about changing the mindset of the people in this country.

Only if we are able to do that, are we able to alleviate ourselves from this current situation. We have to send the message, that we want change; and the reason why we reject BN is because we do not even see a hope of change in their continuing governance. The same message goes to PR, give us the change we need if you do come into power, if not we will pull you down.

We blog not just to put the PR into government, but we blog for building awareness, for pushing the right ideas and for better governance. That means that even if PR is in government, our job is not over yet.

Further evidence to show BN is irrelevant

The landslide majority win by Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday has proven that the citizens do not believe in the rhetorics used by the BN machinery. The Permatang Pauh by-election has shown BN dropping to a new level of low, where personal attacks and videos of Saiful's swearing were played during their campaign. Instead of focusing on what they would do for the constituency and the nation, the ruling government preferred instead to resort to character assassination to discredit their rival.

Clearly, the government would rather distract voters from the real issues at hand i.e. the current rising inflation, which is reported to be at an all time high in 27 years, and the fact that the KLSE stock index has dropped 25% this year due to foreign investors losing confidence in this country.

Many comments suggest that BN should contemplate performing a post-mortem. In my opinion, post- mortems happen only to dead bodies, so really BN is officially dead. Remember the coffin being carried out in Permatang Pauh? That is an omen to BN that they are dead.

What killed them? I would say that it was suicide really. The fact that they did not understand the wake-up call from the March 8 elections, the fact that they stay continuously disconnected and selfish towards the rakyat, and the fact that they are using Neanderthal methods and ideology to govern, these are all contributors to their present state. And also, the fact that we have been continuously bashing them in cyberspace sending them the same message over and over again which they choose to ignore and instead instigate that we are traitors, non-patriotic and seditious even.

I hope and pray for the day when we are truly 'Merdeka' from this bunch of goons who think they can run the country by instilling fear and banking on people's ignorance. And judging from the sentiments of the Permatang Pauh voters, who by the way a good majority represent the youth group of age 21-40, that day will come as long as BN continues to dig their own graves.

After Permatang Pauh: The crucial next 20 days

What's the significance of September 16? Here's a list of events that came out of my Google search:

-September 16, 1908- The start of General Motors, the car company.
-September 16, 1923- The birth of Lee Kuan Yew, founder of Singapore.
-September 16, 1956- The birth of David Copperfield, world-renowned illusionist.
-September 16, 1963- The formation of Malaysia from Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak.
-September 16, 2008- The date Anwar Ibrahim promises to form a new Malaysian government.

DSAI has won a tough battle by capturing the Permatang Pauh by-election today- I call it tough because it's a David vs Goliath fight against the BN election machinery. Even so, this August 26 by-election is viewed as walk-in-the-park for Anwar by many political analysts and bloggers alike- the BN 'machinery' was just fresh beaten to the pulp during the last March 2008 General Elections. Anwar, the accredited architect behind the huge Opposition win, was expected to win if he turun ke padang himself, bearing unforeseen circumstances. The Malaysian public know these 'unforeseen circumstances' very well- the results of elections in Malaysia have been proven vulnerable to postal votes and phantom voters' votes. A leading vote count could be washed away by the sudden appearance of the mysterious postal votes.
Above: Lee Kuan Yew-
the least worried guy.

But what happens in the next 20 days is even more crucial in the formation of Anwar's government. BN will go for broke in preventing Anwar's government formation. The sodomy case will intensify- I won't talk about it here- it is disgusting using religion (Quran swearing) as a political tool. What's the last triumph card? Racial riots of course. Incite racial riots, get people killed, get the Parliament suspended and the NOC takes over like in the year 1969. Why are there such conspiracy theories brewing in peoples' minds? Well, this country is run by thugs and crooks right, so anything can happen. After all the king of thugs who propagated the use of the Internal Security Act (ISA) also coined the term 'Malaysia Boleh'.

It wasn't too long ago (year 2006) that UMNO Youth openly supported road thugs Mat Rempit by planning to 'retrain' and convert them. Convert them into what?? Eyes and ears of the Government of course.

Left: Hallo bruder. KJ with a Mat Rempit. Photo courtesy of The Star.

"The ultimate goal of Putera Umno is to make Mat Rempit the eyes and ears of the police and to report on the activities of rogue Mat Rempit."- Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, the Putera Umno chief 2006.

These Mat Rempit guys will be most suitable candidates for creating unrest and disorder. If Anwar has the numbers, it is advisable these numbers turn up and get started to form a new government before September 16. Don't wait any longer because the worst shit hasn't come out yet. Time is passing by, Anwar; after all you have pulled a David Copperfield already.
Left: David Copperfield looking detached.

BN should stop lying to themselves

Yesterday, I was tickled with laughter over Najib's remarks that the only reason why Anwar has been promoting the quota allowance for non-bumiputra's admission into UITM is because he does not have the support of the majority of Malays. According to Najib, Malays either support PAS or Umno, therefore Anwar needs to garner the support from Non-malays.

This seems to me a ridiculous statement. And I make this observation from my point of view as a citizen living in the urban city of Kuala Lumpur, where my neighbors and friends are culturally, religiously and racially diverse. Speak to any urban Malay living in Kuala Lumpur, I guarantee you that one out of three professes their support for PKR. The reason being that PKR is able to capture the younger generation of voters who have grown up in the 80's and 90's era where globalisation has kicked in, the means of transportation in travelling not only around the country, but around the globe has become increasingly easier and more affordable.

These are the people who have traveled the world, garnered enough knowledge and realize that the way forward is to be more competitive and to constantly challenge oneself in this 'dog eat dog', 'survival of the strongest' world. These are the people who shy away from the Islamic professions of PAS, not to say that they are non-religious, but because they believe that religion and the state has to be separate and imposing one's religion is not the best way to profess love for that religion. These are the people who are tired of the constant manipulation and corrupt practices by Umno and their BN components, using racial divide as their 'command and conquer' technique.

These are the people who are fed-up, tired and struggling to make ends meet. They are sick of the government, they cannot subscribe to Pas' ideology, yet they cannot fit-in with the dominantly Chinese DAP, these are the people like me. Does it matter that I'm not Malay? No, because as long as we still talk in terms of racial demographic, we will never really be able to move forward and embrace our cultural diversity.

I do not profess to say that PKR is the best political party ever, but currently it is the only one which I feel I would be likely to fit in. It does not care that my forefathers were from China, and it speaks languages that I understand best, English and Bahasa (I admit I have a poor grasp of my own mother tongue). It professes to be multi-cultural and multi-racial, and is SEEN to be multi-cultural and multi-racial. It is not the best, obviously not with the lights of people like Zulkifli Nordin as one of the MPs, but is there any other alternative?

And because there is no other alternative, PKR is seen to be the only party that can bring a wave of change and has adapted to the current sentiment of young urbanite voters. That is the support they garner, it is the support of youth, of people who are desperate for change, and who feel any kind of change is better than the current situation. Lets forget whether these people are malay or non-malay, that's besides the point, and UMNO is still not getting the point!

Anwar's speech at Stadium Shah Alam, June 20 2008

Video courtesy of Malaysiakini

Anwar praises the good governance in Kelantan and Penang and change which Guan Eng has made to Penang since DAP took over. He also briefly talks about his recent Dubai trip, meeting Middle East taikos and the prospect of bringing Middle East investments to Selangor. To the supportive crowd he lists the achievements done so far in Selangor State and adds to talk about good economic growth without corruption. With this, Anwar energetically requests BN MPs to cross over to PR.

KeADILan HAS CLEAR AND FIRM STAND ON NEP / PENDIRIAN KeADILan TERHADAP DEB JELAS DAN TEGAS

KeADILan HAS CLEAR AND FIRM STAND ON NEP /PENDIRIAN KeADILan TERHADAP DEB JELAS DAN TEGAS



Saturday, 15 March 2008

--PRESS STATEMENT--

by Dr. Syed Husin AliDeputy President/Timbalan Presiden, KeADILanMarch 15, 2008

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People's Justice Party) has a clear and firm stand on the New Economic Policy (NEP). As explained by the Ketua Umum of the Party, Anwar Ibrahim in his 20-page article as well as through his many public pronouncements and ceramah, and further reaffirmed in several Party documents, including the Election Manifesto, we intend to replace the NEP with the Malaysian Economic Agenda. The NEP, after nearly 40 years is already anachronistic. It has been abused by a handful leaders and cronies in Umno-Bn to rob the country of its wealth to enrich themselves, in the name of the Malays as a whole. It has led to discriminatory practices that are against the spirit of justice and fairness for all Malaysians, particularly the poor, marginalised and disadvantaged groups of all races. The Malaysian Economic Agenda aspires to:

(a) institute and implement fair, just and equitable redistribution of the wealth in the country;

(b) fight against and finally abolish the evil practices of corruption, cronyism and nepotism and ensure the award of contracts and projects are done in open and transparent manner;

(c) continue the policy of positive discrimination in favour of poor dan deprived Bumiputera while at the same time giving equal opportunities to poor and deprived non-Bumpiputera on the basis of need and not racial greed;

(d) utilise the wealthy resources of the country to provide better social facilities – especially education, health and housing – for the poor, irrespective of ethnic backgrounds; and

(e) generate pro-people development and strengthen the competitive capacity of Malaysia so that she can stand tall with all developed countries, starting with those in Asia.

Those leaders of Umno-Bn and the media they own that accuse Parti Keadilan Rakyat as having no stand on the NEP and on other ways of improving the lot of the poor, marginalized and disadvantaged Malays are deliberately indulging in lies to mislead the public. We wish to emphasise that a policy of positive discrimination in favour of all Malaysians who are poor, marginalized and disadvantaged will benefit the Malay rakyat more, because they form the big majority of this category of people.

--- Kenyataan Media --- Parti Keadilan Rakyat (KeADILan) mempunyai pendirian yang jelas dan tegas terhadap Dasar Ekonomi Baru (DEB). Seperti yang dijelaskan oleh Ketua Umum keADILan, Anwar Ibrahim dalam sebuah artikel 20 halaman dan diterangkannya melalui beberapa kenyataan serta ceramah umum, dan ditegaskan dalam beberapa dokumen Parti, termasuk Manifesto Pilihanraya, kami berhasrat untuk menggantikan DEB dengan Agenda Ekonomi Malaysia. Selepas dilaksanakan hampir 40 tahun, DEB ternyata sudah ketinggalan zaman. Ia disalahgunakan oleh segelintir pemimpin Umno-Bn serta kroni-kroni mereka untuk merompak kekayaan negara bagi mengkayakan diri sendiri atas nama seluruh rakyat Melayu. Ia telah mengakibatkan amalan diskriminasi kaum, bertentangan dengan semangat memberi keadilan dan kesaksamaan kepada semua rakyat Malaysia, terutama sekali mereka dari golongan miskin, terpinggir dan terbiar dari semua kaum. Agenda Ekonomi Malaysia berhasrat untuk:

(a) memperkenal dan melaksanakan dasar pembahagian kekayaan negara yang adil, seimbang serta saksama;

(b) memerangi dan akhirnya membenteras amalan jijik korupsi, kronisme serta nepotisme dan memastikan pemberian kontrak serta projek dilakukan secara terbuka dan telus;

(c) meneruskan dasar memberi pertolongan kepada golongan Bumiputera yang miskin serta terbiar tetapi pada masa yang sama memberi peluang yang sejajar kepada golongan bukan Bumiputra yang miskin, terpinggir serta terbiar, atas asas keperluan dan bukan kemakan kaum;

(d) menggunakan sumber kekayaan negara untuk menyediakan kemudahan sosial yang lebih baik – terutama pendidikan, kesihatan dan perumahan – untuk golongan miskin dan susah tanpa mengira latarbelakang kaum; dan

(e) menjana pembangunan yang menguntungkan rakya serta membina kapasiti bersaing supaya Malaysia dapat berdiri sama tinggi dengan semua negara maju, bermula dengan yang di Asia.

Pemimpin-pemimpin Umno-Bn dan media mereka kuasai yang menuduh kononnya Parti Keadilan Rakyat tidak mempunyai pendirian terhadap DEB dan cara-cara untuk mempertingkat taraf hidup orang Melayu yang miskin, terpinggir dan tercicir sebenarnya berdusta dan segaja cuba hendak menipu dan menyelewengkan perhatian rakyat. Kami menegaskan dasar memberi keutamaan untuk kebajikan golongan miskin, terpinggir akan lebih banyak memberikan keuntungan kepada rakyat Melayu, kerana merekalah yang merupakan majoriti paling ramai di dalam categori ini.