Sedangkan haiwan lagi nak bermesra

Ada yang bandingkan video ini dengan pekerja Malaysia yang digigit harimau di zoo Singapore hingga mati.
Tak payahlah.
Yang pasti, haiwan pun nak bermesra jika kita pandai berdamping dengannya.

Kenapa Bukit Gantang bahaya untuk Umno/BN

Malam ini bermulalah Pesta Demokrasi di Perak, Kedah dan Sarawak.
Saya pernah menulis ceritanya sikit tentang pertandingan di dua Bukit dan satu Batang - macam lucah ya, heehee.

Di Batang Ai, Sarawak, BN dijangka menang.
Ini ramalan saya dan ramai orang lain.
OKlah tu sebab 8,600 pengundi, kebanyakannya Iban, mungkin tak begitu marah dengan kerajaan.

Di Bukit Selambau, Kedah, 30 peratus pengundi adalah kaum India. Ini satu kawasanundi yang antara paling banyak pengundi India, seperti di Ijok, Selangor.
BN tidak dijangka menang di sini. Dan tak semestinya Pakatan Rakyat-PKR menang, sebab penyokong Hindraf nampaknya tak senang hati dengan pilihan Anwar Ibrahim yang menamakan seorang penjual kereta second hand sebagai calon. Jadi yang menang mungkin calon Hindraf - calon bebas. Ini kata orang.

Tetapi, tempat yang paling bahaya untuk Umno dan Barisan Nasional, sebenarnya, ialah di Bukit Gantang, Perak.
Di sini, Pakatan meletakkan bekas menteri besar Perak Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, yang jadi MB selama setahun-kurang-sikit. Beliau adalah dari Parti Islam SeMalaysia atau PAS.
Di sini, 60 peratus adalah pengundi Melayu.
Pengundi Cina ialah 30 peratus dan India 10 peratus.

- Jika ramai pengundi Melayu menyokong Umno-BN di Perak ni, orang tak kisah sangat. Biasalah mereka sokong parti Melayu, dan lebih lagi yang kian nak pulih.
- Jika ramai pengundi India tak sokong Umno-BN pun orang tak kisah sangat. Ini kerana mereka masih marah kerana isu-isu India belum diselesaikan dan ketua-ketua Hindraf - semua hero yang memperjuangkan mereka - masih merengkok di penjara.

- Tapi yang menggerunkan untuk Umno-BN ialah jika pengundi Cina sekali lagi todak menyokong Umno-BN di Perak.
Ini kita tak boleh kata 'biasalah'.
Sebabnya begini: Dalam Mac tahun lalu bila orang Cina Perak mengundi Pakatan, mereka tak tahu bahawa Pakatan akan menang besar.
Mereka mengundi, kata orang, dengan mata tertutup. Dulu undi marah!
Tetapi kali ini, mereka akan mengundi dengan mata terbuka! Ini undi dengan sengaja (Mungkin masih marah!).

Kali ini, mereka tahu yang mereka akan undi itu ialah seorang ketua parti Islam.
Dulu mereka bukan mengundi UNTUK wakil PAS, tetapi kerana TAK MAHU mengundi Umno-BN.
Ini bermakna orang Cina dah takut lagi dengan PAS?
Atau sekurang-kurangnya tak kisah sangat dengan PAS.
Mereka tahu undi mereka itu akan menunjukkan Pakatan dan PAS lebih digemari oleh orang Cina, dan bukan Umno-BN lagi.
Itulah sebabnya sama ada Umno-BN menang atau kalah, pada saya yang lebih harus dimikroskopkan dan didalami ialah tren mengundi orang Cina ini.
Jika orang Cina dah mula mirip balik kepada Umno-BN, gembira hati PM-baru.

The Chinese in Bukit Gantang, this time around, will not vote like in March 2008 where they voted without knowing the whole country would be shaken up. And the state taken over by Pakatan.
The Chinese this time around will vote with their eyes wide open.
Fuyoh.

Dr M, Abdullah, Najib semeja? Itu satu harapan

Baru habis pengundian hari Rabu dan Khamis, dah nak gaduh lagi pulak Dr Mahathir Mohamad dengan PM Abdullah Badawi.

Tapi kini yang baru didengar, baguslah.
Ada banyak baiknya: Bakal PM Najib Razak nak semejakan mereka berdua.
Tak tahulah sama ada mereka berdua ni sanggup semeja kerana kemungkinan besar tak ada apa yang dapat diselesaikan.
Isu yang menegangkan yang terbaru ialah kemenangan KJ.

Jika Dr M nak paksa KJ turun dari jadi jawatan ketua Pemuda dan adakan undi semula tanpa anak 33 tahun ini, takkan Abdullah mahu.
Pasti penyokong-penyokong KJ, dan mereka yang kurang senang hati dengan cara 'kasar' Dr M juga tidak akan menerimanya juga.

Tetapi yang pasti: Jika Umno nak dikembalikan kekuatan, 'tension' dalam parti mesti dikurangkan. Ini selain daripada merapatkan kembali hati rakyat dengan parti merdeka ini.

Jika tidak, Umno jadi sabut kelapa.... glug glug glug.

Najib dapat 'Tim Reformis', sekarang kena kerja

Panggillah mereka Tim Reformis atau Tim Impian.
Najib Razak telah dihadiahkan dengan barisan yang diharap dapat memulihkan Umno.

Muhyiddin Yassin, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Hishammuddin Hussein dan Shafie Apdal.
Di belakang ada sedikit goyang, pada sesetengah orang, tapi boleh dibetulkan - KJ, Shahrizat Jalil dan Rosnah Shirlin.

Letaklah apa label pun.
(Tentunya pembangkang akan serang nama seperti JJ dan Idris Jusoh yang di dalam Majis Tertinggi).
Sekarang masanya untuk membuktikan label-label itu adalah tepat.
Bukan saja warga Umno menunggu, dan bukan juga hanya orang Melayu.
Tetapi seluruh rakyat Malaysia.

Dream Team or Dreaming Team?
Reform Team or Malformed Team?
Change or be changed.

"Jika malam itu gelap, bukannya salah matahari tetapi salah bulan yang tidak mengambang." - lihat apa kata Kluangman

S'pore beats Malaysia - New DPM, Cabinet shuffle

You Malaysia so slow lah, wanna let 2,600 delegates vote and all.
And kena tunggu King approve lagi.
Singapore beat you to it!
(Jokinglah, jangan marah ah, brudder and sistah).

This is the man to watch after the Singapore reshuffle:
Teo Chee Hean, 54, former Navy chief.
He is the new Deputy PM.

Singapore had two Deputy PMs before this - S. Jayakumar and Wong Kan Seng.
S. Jayakumar will become Senior Minister.
Wong remains.
Teo rises.

Goh Chok Tong is the other Senior Minister, or SM.
Lee Kuan Yew is Minister Mentor.

Like it or not, Singaporeans will now start wondering whether Teo has been earmarked to replace Lee Hsien Loong as PM when he retire one day.

------------------------------------------------------

Singapore PM names new deputy in reshuffle

SINGAPORE, March 26, 2009 (AFP) - Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday named a new deputy as part of a cabinet reshuffle.
Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean will become one of two deputy prime ministers on April 1 alongside the veteran Wong Kan Seng, who is concurrently the home affairs minister in charge of internal security, Lee’s office said.
S. Jayakumar, a former foreign minister, was shifted from deputy prime minister to the post of senior minister alongside Goh Chok Tong, the city-state’s former prime minister, the official statement said.
In Singapore’s political system, senior ministers serve as key advisers to the cabinet.
Lee Kuan Yew, the republic’s founding prime minister, holds the unique title “minister mentor” in his son’s cabinet.

RAHMAN Theory becomes fact. Well, soon.

(From Blogs in straitstimes.com)

Reme Ahmad talks about a prophecy that has been making the rounds for years.
---------------------------------------------------------------

TODAY is a new day in Umno, with the rise of a new president who is slated to be the sixth Prime Minister next week.
And today too, a semi-mystical term often whispered within Malaysia's biggest political party is completed.
It has been called the RAHMAN Theory for a very long time. But today, we can perhaps elevate it to the RAHMAN Fact.
Well, almost.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak will still need to be officially appointed Prime Minister to complete this Nostradamus-like "prophecy". The appointment is expected to happen next week, on April 3.
For a long time, many in Umno believed that to become the party president - and thus by tradition the prime minister - your name must start with a letter from the name of the first prime minister.

See this list of Malaysian PMs in the last 52 years:
R = TA Rahman
A = Abdul Razak Hussein
H = Hussein Onn
M = Mahathir Mohamad
A = many thought it would be Anwar Ibrahim, then the fast-rising deputy premier. But Abdullah Badawi emerged instead.
And now, to complete it, there is:N = Najib Razak.

Of course, we can quibble that Datuk Seri Najib's full name is Mohd Najib Abdul Razak, just like we can say that the whole thing is hocus-pocus because the full name of the first PM is actually Tunku Abdul Rahman, not just Rahman.
No matter. This is because the formula has become a "must-follow" magical prophecy in Umno circles.
That was why, when Anwar was pushing to change the govt by Sept 16 last year, many in Umno had said quietly that this would not happen, simply because after the "A" comes the "N".
Some supporters of Anwar argued jokingly then that RAHMAN could perhaps be stretched a little to become RAHMAAN - the extra "A" to slot in Anwar. And who knows, they argued jokingly, the N could then be filled up by Anwar's daughter Nurul Izzah!

Today, some naughty voices are whispering that the whole RAHMAN thing remains a Theory still until April 3, when Mr Najib is expected to be sworn in as Prime Minister by the Malaysian King.
I say "expected" because both PM Abdullah and Mr Najib have not declared openly when exactly the handover will happen.
There are some in the party, including former premier Mahathir Mohamad, who have claimed that unless he is pushed out, Mr Abdullah wants to stay on as Prime Minister although he is no longer Umno president.

So now that the Theory is as good as Fact (well, almost), where do we go?
Must we now find another magical term and say that all future PM's must come from this lineage of letters?
Do we start a NAJIB Theory? Or do we stick with a New RAHMAN?
To the opposition, who thinks they will form the government after the next general elections - to be held by 2013 - this is irrelevant.

Speaking about the rise of Mr Najib, veteran opposition leader Lim Kit Siang said in a speech this month (march): "This also raises the question whether the 'N' in the most famous political prophecy in the country, RAHMAN about the first six Prime Ministers in the country, has a double meaning.
"That it signifies Najib as Prime Minister after Tunku Abdul Rahman, Razak, Hussein Onn, Mahathir and Abdullah, but it also marks the 'end' of the line of Umno Prime Ministers, UMNO hegemony and Umno government in the next 13th general election."

Mr Najib knows that he has a hard slog ahead to ensure that Mr Lim’s prophecy does not come true.

R.A.H.M.A.Najib, KJ dan Legacy Abdullah

Hari ini, jika semua berjalan lancar, penuhlah kekata ajaib RAHMAN ni.
Saya pernah tulis tentang apa pandangan saya tentang legacy Abdullah Badawi - pada bulan September lepas, tapi ceritanya masih relevan.

Tapi semalam, legacy atau peninggalan Abdullah telah berubah.

Hari ini, legacy Abdullah ialah anak muda Khairy Jamaluddin.
Tak semestinya kita negatif sangat sebab ini adalah hari baru untuk KJ.
Sesiapa yang kenal beliau semasa Abdullah menjadi Timbalan Perdana Menteri dulu mengetahui bahawa anak muda ini bijak dan tajam.
Selepas itu beliau "termasuk" Umno dan bermain politik.
Saya harap KJ yang lama ni kembali.

Umno - Dah menang, ada jerit 'Khairy rasuah'

From pro-Abdullah spin machine, The Malaysian Insider:

Refresh for Umno Latest

• Several Umno youth men shout Khairy rasuah after official results announced. Mukhriz asking his supporters to calm down. Police moving in.
  

Khairy's victory is the clearest sign yet that Mahathir's effort to influence the outcome of party elections has failed.


--------------------------------------------------------

Pertandingan tiga penjuru Pemuda Umno memang susah nak diramal keputusannya, dari awal lagi.
Di satu sudut, anak Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Yang lagi satu menantu Abdullah Badawi.
Yang ketiga orang kuat Selangor.

Pemenangnya dijangka jadi Menteri, kerana itulah hadiah untuk Ketua Pemuda.

Masalahnya untuk orang yang BUKAN AHLI Umno ialah begini:
Ketiga-tiganya dikatakan mempunyai kelemahan tersendiri.

- Jika anak Mahathir dipilih, dikhuatiri bapanya kembali rancak dalam kabinet Najib Razak sebab Mukhriz akan beritahu segala yang terjadi.
Mungkin ini tanggapan salah, tapi itulah pandangan orang luar. Tak semua orang yang suka dengan cara 'kasar' Dr Mahathir dan kisah-kisah beliau kononnya memelihara kroni.

- Jika sang menantu naik, dikhuatiri nama bapa mertuanya akan selalu timbul.
Jika Umno nak membetulkan diri, dengan adanya Khairy di dalam kabinet, akan mengingatkan ramai orang tentang kelemahan kerajaan dan parti dalam zaman Abdullah Badawi.
Abdullah juga dituduh membela kroni-kroninya dan dituduh merosakkan kestabilan antara-bangsa dan antara-agama di Malaysia.

- Jika Khir Toyo naik pula, ia akan mengingatkan ramai orang luar bahawa Umno ini kononnya tetap 'kotor' kerana mempunyai seorang menteri yang namanya dikatakan tidak seputih yang diharapkan.

Sekarang, Khairy dah menang. Dia baru 33 tahun.
Masih ada masa nak kejar jadi PM apabila umurnya tiba 40.

Kenapa pemuda mengundi seorang yang telah didapati bersalah bermain politik wang (tapi tak digantung)?
Adakah ini bermakna bahawa pengundi Umno hari ini kelak (Khamis) akan mengundi Muhammad Muhammad Taib untuk menunjukkan mereka marah terhadap apa yang terjadi kepada Mohd Ali Rustam?


To outsiders, the choice of any one of the three Youth leaders, sorry to say, is like the tagline from the Alien vs Predator (AVP) movie: 'Whoever wins, we lose'.
Then again, now is the time for KJ to show people have been wrong all about him, and for him to repair the serious damage done to the country by his FIL.

Now - KJ seems to be leading!

And seems to be some dispute over counting.
Earlier, Khir Toyo was heard to be leading.
But Shahrizat remains in front, apparently.

Pengundian Umno - Khir, Shahrizat mendahului

Menurut rakan-rakan di PWTC dan juga Malaysiakini: Khir Toyo dan Shahrizat Jalil di depan.

Ada apa2 berita dari anda?

Ucapan Najib - Satu analysis oleh MSO

Di sini ada analisa menarik dari penulis/penganalisa MSO, Mohd Sayuti Omar, mengenai ucapan Najib Razak, bakal PM, sebentar tadi - di blognya Merah Tinta (red dot - biasanya yang dipanggil "red dot" ini ialah Singapura!).

Panjang cerita MSO. Saya pendekkan:

- ungkapan-ungkapan bahasa Arab yang digunakan Najib. Wah tak lama jadi Pak Sheikh lah.
- rancangan nak melatih pemuda Umno bukan di hotel mewah tetapi di luar bandar, Najib tak kata pula di mana pemuda-pemuda Umno ni nak park Merc dan BMW mereka, tepi parit ke? Kahkahkah. Boleh ke mereka ni tidur kalau tak ada aircon?

- nak teruskan dasar PPSMI - ulasan saya sendiri di sini.
- juga bahawa cara percakapan Najib seperti beliau yakin sungguh nak jadi PM tak lama lagi, malah macam dah jadi PM.

- tidak merendah diri dengan berkata bahawa perpaduan Melayu adalah penting - iaitu memberi isyarat kepada PAS dan orang Melayu di luar Umno mungkin, bahawa kekuatan Melayu boleh diperolehi jika semua bersatu.
- Najib seperti gedebe nak pikul tanggungjawab pulihkan Umno dan kekuatan Melayu sendiri.


Sayuti: jangan marah ya, saya petik banyak. Dah lama tak gi sembang.... Saya duduk Singapore lah tuan, sebulan sekali saja ke KL. Tak dapat teh tarik di Wangsa Maju.

Najib, sticks his head out, signals PPSMI to stay

Well, maybe he did not quite say it directly.
But he indicated very strongly that the six-year old policy introduced by Dr Mahathir Mohamad is here to stay.
He said these (see below) in a speech tonight at opening of Wanita, Pemuda and Puteri meetings.

It is a brave thing to say, but the incoming PM knows that there is no time to waste - ie either you say 'yes' or 'no'. Do not dither like Abdullah or Education Minister Kerishammuddin, who will indeed raise (but NOT unsheath) the keris on Wednesday.

As I have said before, I fully support PPSMI - the teaching of science and mathematics in schools in the English language.
Then again, I also qualified myself by saying that I am from another country where I am a minority and had little choice in the matter anyways.
Nevertheless, if you want to embrace technology fast, you got to sacrifice something.

I wonder what Anwar Ibrahim will say now - as all his kids can speak English-Malay "like water" (macam air).



-------------------------------------------------------
Najib: Don't waste time arguing over use of English
The Star 24March 2009.

KUALA LUMPUR: Stop wasting time politicising the learning of English and embrace the language without fear, Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.

He said learning another language would not diminish the Malay race but would make them stronger and that the younger generation must master the English language.

“Let us not waste any more time. Stop these pointless polemics. Put an end to the ridiculous politicising of this issue,” he told delegates from the Wanita, Youth and Puteri wings Tuesday night.

Najib was referring to the ongoing debate about whether the teaching of Maths and Science in English should continue.

He said the special position of the Malay language would always be upheld no matter what happened but that the language of the people would be of no use if the people themselves perished.

“Consider Latin after the collapse of Rome. It is now almost extinct but for ceremonial use in academic institutions and traditional ceremonies.”

Sanskrit, the Incan and Aztec languages, he said, had all perished with the extinction of the people who spoke them.

“The more important consideration is strengthening the people or the race that speaks the language.”

Najib said only a people of great strength and high standing would raise the dignity of their own language, culture and value system.

“To do this, we must first master knowledge and wisdom, much of which is today documented in the English language. Therefore, our younger generation must master the English language.”

Najib says Malays too are abandoning Umno

It is a rare acknowledgement by anyone in Umno that the Malays too have begun to abandon the party of independence, or as some of them love to say "parti keramat Melayu".

In a speech at the opening of the Wanita, Pemuda and Puteri wings, tonight, he said:

“What is painfully clear is that Umno must learn from the message that was conveyed to them by the Malays through the ballot box”.

“If we do not heed this message, their seething anger will become hatred and in the end this may cause them to abandon us altogether."

In less than 24 hours, we will get a glimpse of whether the message has been received as the three wings pick their leaders.
We will see who they would pick and interpret the whys.
Salah pilih, dan Umno mungkin bungkus.
The main elections of office bearers will be on Thursday.


As Najib said:

“Starkly different from the party elections of previous years, at stake this year is not just a handful of party posts, nor is it a matter of positions or status for any individual. What is at stake is nothing less than the very fate of Umno."

Baguslah kalau yang ketua dah sedar. Yang di bawah tu cepat-cepat bangun sebelum terlambat.
Masa ada masa lagi.

- He now wants to revamp the quota system for Umno voting.
- He also wishes for MORE members (not outsiders) to be able to vote in top leaders.

Nizar is Bukit Gantang by-e candidate!

PAS puts in a big bet.
Nizar Jamaluddin is its candidate for Bukit Gantang by-election.
Wow. Panas.

FRU teargas crowd listening to Anwar rally -report

In Bukit Selambau, Kedah, police had just teargassed a crowd which was listening to a rally featuring Anwar Ibrahim.
A PAS SMS alert that I subscribed to said "Ramai cedera".
No way for me to confirm yet
Still, this is a dark day for the opposition because the government had also banned Suara Keadilan and Harakah newspapers for 3 months.
Umno assembly starts Tuesday (tomorow), Najib Razak will be PM end of Thursday.

Umno corrupt? Let's do drive-by of their homes

There is REAL Anger in America over the payment of US$165 million in bonuses to executives of AIG, the giant insurance group.
This is the same group whose executives dabbled in exotic financial products that led to the world's economy to near collapse right now.

The Obama government has pumped in millions after millions of taxpayers' money to ensure the group, its subsidiary in Malaysia is AIA, does not collapse and cause more suffering.
Most of my personal insurance is kept with AIA - not much perhaps, but if it were to collapse, that's the end of my old-age funds and savings I want to pass down when I die.

Americans are angry that these same AIG people who caused the economy of the country (and the world) to suffer the worst recession since the 1923 Depression are being paid huge amounts of bonuses - something like an average of US$4 million each.
AIG said these are contractual bonuses and it would help to retain these executives. Americans are saying: So don't pay them and if they want to leave, good.
Also, Congress now want to have a law, retrospective no less!, to levy a 90 per cent tax of these idiots who stole money from Americans.

And then THE PEOPLE ROSE.

Someone organised DRIVE-BY TOURS of a well-heeled neighbourhood in Fairfield County to show the HOMES OF AIG EXECUTIVES - see story here and below (or Google 'drive by and AIG').

The tour bus stopped outside a home and it goes something like this: This is that AIG guy's house. Look how well he lives and see his big cars. And now he is being paid millions in bonuses which will come from our pockets as taxpayers.

AND SO,
What if someone suddenly hatched the idea to bring the same concept to Malaysia!
As a way of Name-and-Shame strategy?
Or at least to admire the lives of their ministers that they put in office.

The Malaysian Insider, a pro-Abdullah website and promoter of his spin, has said that some of Malaysia's minister live wayyyyy beyond their salaries of RM15,000 to RM25,000.
The boss of Malaysian Insider, in another unbylined article, wrote here that:

Let’s face it. Only a clutch of ministers in the past 20 years would have been able to pass the public scrutiny test of living beyond their means.
Nearly every minister in the Mahathir and Abdullah administrations live in posh bungalow houses in tony neighbourhoods and their garages are packed with Mercedes Benz, Lexus, Range Rovers and BMWs.
Their children attend RM30,000-a-year private schools, their spouses have enough bling to offer Habib Jewellers stiff competition and they have multimillion ringgit holiday homes in Kensington. Their official salaries: between RM15,000 and RM25,000 a month.

So now, what if someone were to get the addresses of the ministers and deputy ministers, Umno and non-Umno, so that drive-by tours could be organised?
Or maybe the tours should be limited to those in Umno who have been hauled up for money politics?
Many people would want to know how RM15,000 to RM25,000 could buy so much. Maybe they would share the secrets of their success with the rakyat?
This is not an allegation of corruption, because maybe they DO indeed know of secrets that stupid taxpayers like me don't know about.

That would indeed be a popular tour.
Heck, they'll be a riot to get onto such buses!
And maybe someone will make a zillion dollars for organising such tours because he is given an exclusive direct-nego, government-buys-back-contract if it fails deal to do so....

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Drive-by AIG protest on Fairfield's elite street
NY Times March 21, 2009.

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — The bus pulled to a stop, and a pastor whose sister-in-law was facing foreclosure, a laid-off steelworker with a wife and five children, and a few of their colleagues nervously stepped out, like sightseers in some exotic land.

The exotic land was a residential neighborhood here in one of the wealthiest places in America, Fairfield County, where, at the end of a cul-de-sac a short walk away, an A.I.G. executive lived. The pastor, the steelworker and about 40 others slowly made their way up the street, past the house with the four-car garage, as an international press corps numbering about 50 chronicled every step.

The pastor, Mary Huguley, and the steelworker, Mark Dziubek, wanted to knock on the door belonging to the A.I.G. executive, Douglas L. Poling, and deliver a letter.

They got as far as the edge of the driveway.

A security guard wearing a dark blazer and sunglasses met the approaching crowd and told Ms. Huguley that she could leave the letter in the mailbox. She did, but not before Asaad Jackson, a community advocate, read every word of it aloud, standing outside Mr. Poling’s clapboard colonial style home as Fairfield police officers and news crews looked on.

“They’re all about themselves,” Ms. Huguley said of A.I.G. executives. “The more they can get, the more they want.”

More than 400 employees at American International Group have been paid at least $165 million in bonuses, but the Connecticut attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, said on Saturday that the total was about $53 million more.

The identities of most of those current and former employees remain unknown to the public. But for the handful of executives whose names — and addresses — have slipped out, life is no longer the same: guards watch over their homes, reporters seek interviews in their long driveways, and, on Saturday afternoon, a bus and a caravan of other vehicles invaded their neighborhoods.

Organizers called it “Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous” — a bus tour of the Fairfield homes of two A.I.G. executives. It was organized by the Connecticut Working Families Party, a coalition of labor and community groups. For the participants, the tour was street theater or sorts, bringing the public outrage over the bonuses to the doorsteps of A.I.G. employees.

In the end, the outrage was left on the bus. Outside the executives’ homes, there was only civility on display, and awkward but polite exchanges with stone-faced security guards. Ms. Huguley left her letter in the black mailbox at Mr. Poling’s home, and Mr. Dziubek read his letter and slipped it into the mailbox outside the residence of James Haas, another A.I.G. executive who lives in Fairfield.

“It was never the intent to have any sort of mob action,” said Jon Green, the director of the Connecticut Working Families Party. Mr. Green and others aboard the bus said they did not feel that they had crossed a line or infringed on anyone’s privacy or property. Mr. Green said the two executives were chosen — they had wanted to visit a third but ran out of time — because their names had been reported. “We felt that given the climate, we didn’t need to be outing other individuals,” he added.

Mr. Dziubek said that if either Mr. Poling or Mr. Haas had come to the door, he would have thanked them, not berated them. Mr. Poling, who received the largest single bonus check, for $6.4 million, said he was returning it, according to an A.I.G. spokesman. Mr. Haas told a reporter in his driveway on Thursday that he had rescinded his retention contract.

“It has been reported that you intend to return your bonus,” the letter left at both men’s homes read. “This is a good start, and we applaud this step. Most of us will never know what it feels like to turn down millions of dollars.”

The advocates were outnumbered by the media and, at times, overwhelmed by skeptical questioning on the tour and at a rally outside the offices of A.I.G.’s financial products division in Wilton.

The organizers said the broader issue was that many Americans’ struggles were being overlooked as the government bailed out an insurance giant that rewarded some of the very employees that had nearly destroyed it.

And the letters also contained an invitation, suggesting to the executives that they come visit the advocates in their neighborhoods.

Penang PKR reels as Dy CM Fairus quits

First it was the fall of Perak.
Then Kedah sways a bit (when Bukit Selambau assemblyman disappears amid allegations of 'marriage' problems).
And then Eli Wong's pictures came out to rock Selangor.

And now we have Penang Dy Chief Minister Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin, who was a few months ago publicly reprimanded by Anwar Ibrahim to work harder and connect with his constituents, has resigned.
Apart from alleged poor performance, he was allegedly involved in graft.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said Fairus will remain as Penanti assemblyman. For how long I wonder as the knives have been out for him for long months.
Among all the opposition leaders, he is the only one, it seems, to have garnered so much hate within his party's own ranks as part of their infighting, that there are even dedicated blogs to attack him.

It might so simple as to put up another guy to replace Fairus, but the episode has shown that instead of trying to help the rakyat, politicians have enough free time left to attack each other.
So, BN or Pakatan, in the end human frailty rules.

Tinggal Kelantan yang masih stabil.

Old Causeway checkpoint to, errrr, reopen

Yep, I don't want to mention the two-F words when you do something today without thinking it through properly, and then reverse it very soon.

And there is even a bad joke in this story, because an MP whom you thought would know better because he is from that area, says:
"In fact, a lot of Singaporeans take a leisurely walk to Johor Baru to have breakfast or lunch before walking back”.

EH? Got ah? Why would any Singaporean want to walk at least 2km (from Woodlands town centre to a restaurant in JB just to makan? And by crossing into another country too!
Nonsense.

When the old checkpoint was opened, the bulk of the walkers were people who got tired of waiting because the bus queues are long. And especially if the weather is just nice.
These walkers are mostly JB workers, not food lovers.

The Singaporean food lovers DRIVE into JB.
Or if they walked at all, it is because the bus queues were long. No one takes leisurely walks between the two countries just for fun.
Have the Datuk tried taking a stroll along the Causeway? He should try it soon and tell us whether it is a nice leisurely stroll as he tried to picture it.


PICTURE: You can see how far it is for anyone to take a leisurely stroll to, and then come back with a full tummy. I have walked across quite a few times and I tell you, it is not fun with the gas fumes, heat and smelly seawater (When lah the super-crooked super-bridge problem-solver project gonna be restarted?)

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Old CIQ to be reopened soon
The Star 21March 2009.

JOHOR BARU: The old Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex at the Causeway will be reopened to pedestrians.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the decision was made at a recent Cabinet meeting and the Immigration Department would study the matter.

“I cannot give a definite date for the opening but it will be soon.

“We are looking into the logistics, including manpower for the counters at the old CIQ,” Syed Hamid told The Star yesterday.

He said the Government sympathised with the pedestrians, including workers, who were not allowed to walk across the 1km Causeway since the new CIQ in Bukit Chagar opened.

He hoped that business in the city would be rejuvenated with the reopening of the old CIQ.

Syed Hamid said feedback showed that the congestion problem at the new CIQ was improving.

Johor Baru MP Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad when contacted described the reopening of the old CIQ as timely and hoped that the Immigration Department would speed up the process.

“This is definitely good news for people including those commuting between Singapore and Malaysia as I have received a lot of complaints since the new CIQ opened, especially from those who have to walk a long distance to get to the city,” he said.

Malaysian Indian Business Association president P. Sivakumar said the move would be good for business.

“There will definitely be an increase in the number of people coming into the country as a lot of people walk between Malaysia and Singapore.

“In fact, a lot of Singaporeans take a leisurely walk to Johor Baru to have breakfast or lunch before walking back,” he said, adding that many shops were closed when the old CIQ ceased operations.

The opening of the new CIQ in December led to many complaints of congestion along the two-lane access road leading to the checkpoint and pedestrians had to walk a long way from the CIQ to get to town.

Other complaints were about poor signages and a lack of bus bays.

Abdullah bastion NST turns positive on Dr M

This is nice. To have a long positive story (21 paras) about Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in an Umno-controlled paper that has long been negative on him.
Or maybe the singers' are a-changing and so must the tune must too.


Whatever it is, that is good.
Pakatan and opposition lovers will kill me, but I prefer NST's layout and presentation of stories to all the other Malaysian papers (I read the English and Bahasa ones almost daily as part of my job). Content we can debate lah, but as part of the mainstream media - albeit in another country - I can emphatise with NST.
Content is king, but what if the king controls the content?

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My father would have been proud, says Dr Mahathir
NST March21, 2009.

PETALING JAYA: It's been over half a century, but Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad could never forget how he felt when he was finally allowed back to school.

It was 1945 and Japan had just surrendered at the end of World War 2.

Bounding out of his home in Alor Star, Kedah, a young Dr Mahathir rushed straight to Sultan Abdul Hamid College, which had been off-limits to civilians during the three years of Japanese occupation.

Unable to contain his excitement, he did what any young man would instinctively do -- grab the nearest thing he could find and drew graffiti all over the school.

"I was approaching 20 at the time. I was so excited to get back to school after three years, I just picked up a piece of charcoal and started writing my name all over the walls.
"Of course I was caught by Mr Lim Chen Chai, one of the teachers at the time, who scolded me and made me clean up the walls," the former prime minister said with a smile recently.

Dr Mahathir spoke with pride of the school days he spent at Sultan Abdul Hamid College, or SAHC as the old boys call it.

And it helped that it was his father, Mohamad Iskandar, who was the founding headmaster of the school, which in the beginning was the nurturing ground of the aristocracy.

From educating royals, the school went on to mould many great men, some of whom would eventually lead the nation.

Among the most notable allumnus was Malaysia's father of independence, Tunku Abdul Rahman, who was not spared the cane by "master" Mohamad Iskandar, as teachers from the school were addressed then.

Dr Mahathir would also follow in Tunku's footsteps as the fourth prime minister.

"A lot of old boys ended up in important posts, two of them became prime minister. Leaders just came up naturally in Kedah."

And today, a year after the school celebrated its centenary, SAHC can lay claim to another milestone.

In what Dr Mahathir calls a beacon of the school's innumerable contributions to the nation, the Sultan Abdul Hamid Old Collegians' Association (Sahoca) now has a place to call home at Wisma Sahoca here.

"I think SAHC has contributed quite a lot to education in the country, so it deserves some prominence."

Dr Mahathir believes the establishment of Wisma Sahoca would have been a point of pride for his father, if he were still around to enjoy the moment.

"My father was one of the few Malays who ran away to school to get an education.

"His parents were against the idea of him going to a missionary school to get an education, so he ran away from home and went to Penang Free School to study.

"I'm quite sure if he was alive, he would feel elated, everything he did was justified ... to see the school he helped found last 100 years would have been very satisfying.

"I hope the students will appreciate the school, like how we old boys feel about our alma mater.

"Loyalty to the place where you gained your education is important ... it helps us understand the concept of hutang budi (gratitude)."

Forget Umno! Read "And then the fight started...."

1) My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary. She said, 'I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds.'
I bought her a scale.
And then the fight started...

2) When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take her someplace expensive... so, I took her to a petrol station.
And then the fight started...

3) I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my order first.
"I'll have the strip steak, medium rare, please."
He said, "Aren't you worried about the mad cow?""
"Nah, she can order for herself."
And then the fight started...

4) My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was flipping channels. She asked, 'What's on TV?'
I said, 'Dust.'
And then the fight started....

5) A woman is standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror. She is not happy with what she sees and says to her husband, 'I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment.'
The husband replies, 'Your eyesight's damn near perfect.'
And then the fight started.....

6) I tried to talk my wife into buying a case of Tiger for $14.95.
Instead, she bought a jar of cold cream for $7.95.
I told her the beer would make her look better at night than the cold cream.
And then the fight started....

7) My wife asked me if a certain dress made her butt look big.
I told her not as much as the dress she wore yesterday
and then the fight started.....

8) A man and a woman were asleep like two innocent babies.
Suddenly, at 3 o'clock in the morning, a loud noise came from outside. The woman, bewildered, jumped up from the bed and yelled at the man 'Holy crap. That must be my husband!'
So the man jumped out of the bed; scared and naked jumped out the window. He smashed himself on the ground, ran through a thorn bush and to his car as fast as he could go.
A few minutes later he returned and went up to the bedroom and screamed at the woman, 'I AM your husband!' The woman yelled back, 'Yeah, then why were you running?'
And then the fight started.....

9) I asked my wife, "Where do you want to go for our anniversary? "
It warmed my heart to see her face melt in sweet appreciation.
"Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!" she said.
So I suggested, "How about the kitchen?"
And that's when the fight started....

10) My wife and I are watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed. I turned to her and said, "Do you want to have sex?"
"No," she answered.
I then said, "Is that your final answer?"
She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying "Yes."
So I said, "Then I'd like to phone a friend."
And that's when the fight started....

Malaysia flip-flops again. This time over Limbang

UPDATE 9.30PM
-------------------

Another Brick in the Wall has something to say about Limbang here:

"Knowing his negligence for details, what is the specifics of the deal? Is this to be outgoing PM's last flip flop or perhaps another flop for the road?"


--------------------------------------------------------

Sometimes I harbour hopes for Abdullah Badawi, despite his flip-flopping ways.
But to embarrass the country in front of the Bruneians, a Malay Muslim 'brother' country, is unforgiveable.
Just days after claiming that he had managed to resolve what Dr Mahathir failed to do over Limbang, now Malaysia kena flip-flop after Brunei denied it was ever resolved.

Malu lah, aku.

-----------------------------------------------------
Today, March19, SinChew

Rais Yatim: Limbang issue not discussed with Brunei

(Kuala Lumpur, March 19) Foreign Minister Rais Yatim said Malaysia and Brunei did not discuss the claims on Limbang, and Brunei did not say that it would drop claims over Limbang.
He said the word of "Limbang" did not appear during the meeting between Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
"However, when two countries solve the territory demarcation issue based on the five existing historical agreements, the issue of Limbang will be solved" Rais Yatim told reporters after giving cheques to Non-governmental organisations for implementation of humanitarian aid programme for people in Gaza.
"Some people think that the Limbang issue can be solved through above principle and basis. This is not wrong, but the time is not now. We must wait until the technical committee to measure the land and sea. This will take two years," he added.
Abdullah, at a news conference with Malaysian journalists after the signing of the LoE on Monday, said that Brunei had officially dropped its long-standing territorial claim over Limbang, Sarawak's northern-most division.
-------------------------------------------------------

Bornei Bulletin, March18, 2009.

Brunei denies Limbang issue discussed with Malaysia

YB Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Dewa Dato Seri Setia Awg Lim Jock Seng, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade II, yesterday said claims on Limbang were never discussed during Monday's deliberations between Brunei and Malaysia.
He was responding to YB Dato Paduka Hj Puasa bin Orang Kaya Seri Pahlawan Tudin's query on the contents of the "Letter of Exchange" signed between Brunei and Malaysia, which also touched on Brunei's claims over Limbang at the Legislative Council meeting yesterday.
Pehin Lim said there were certain press reports yesterday claiming that Brunei has dropped claims over Limbang.
"In actual fact, the claim on Limbang was never discussed. What was discussed was the demarcation of land boundaries on the whole," he said.
"The joint press statement issued yesterday mentioned that the demarcation of the land boundaries between the two countries will be resolved on the basis of five existing historical agreements between the Government of Brunei and the State of Sarawak, and, as appropriate, the watershed principle.
"After that a working group comprising general surveyors of the two countries will follow with the technical aspect to solve the land border issue," Pehin Lim added.
His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Seri Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi held a four-eye meeting at the Istana Nurul Iman on Monday and signed the Exchange of Letters to mark the successful conclusion of negotiations.
The negotiations have been ongoing for many years on outstanding bilateral issues between the two countries with regard to historical, legal and other relevant criteria involving both sides.

Indonesia polls - Islamic parties staring at defeat

While in Pakistan and even Malaysia, Islamic parties are on the rise - the Malaysian one by adapting to a more multiracial approach - the story is different in Indonesia's ongoing polls.

The nine Islamic parties will likely do very badly.
Whether they are the United Development Party (PPP), the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the National Mandate Party (PAN) or even the National Awakening Party’s (PKB).

Here is the story from Jakarta Post.

Of the 38 parties taking part in the April 9 legislative elections, only 8-10 are likely to get enough votes to survive.
If a party gets less than 2.5 per cent of eligible votes, it cannot take part in the next elections.
Hey! Malaysia should have the same rule, don't you think?

Umno guna bomoh nak kenakan Pak Lah!?

Cerita dari Sin Chew, akhbar Bahasa Tionghua terbesar di Malaysia.
Dua kerat kertas dengan tulisan Jawi dijumpai di bawah meja Pak Lah duduk di bilik mesyuarat Umno.
Siapa main bomoh dan nujum....
Main kasar nih!



Spell Found Underneath Pak Lah's Desk

2009-03-18

KUALA LUMPUR: The last UMNO Supreme Council meeting before party elections will be held on 25 March. And at the height of tension over the party elections, two small pieces of paper which look like a spell have been found stuck underneath the desk of party president at the 38th floor meeting room in UMNO headquarters.
When the bomb squad from Kuala Lumpur police conducted a routine carpet search in the meeting room a few days ago, two small pieces of paper with Jawi script as well as a small piece of wood wrapped up in a piece of white cloth, were accidentally discovered underneath the desk of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
The police have so far not detained any suspicious person for investigation, but it is understood that they have taken the statements of three individuals with electronic card access into the meeting room: two policemen and the assistant of a politician with Datukship.
No CCTV has been installed in the meeting room. Besides politicians, cleaners may occasionally be allowed to enter the room for cleaning.
The police conducted the search two weeks ahead of the Supreme Council meeting to ensure that the meeting will run smoothly.
These two objects have since been sent to the chemical department for analysis but no reports have yet to be received.
The police have sent the questionable objects for chemical analysis after failing to ascertain the actual content of the spell.

MySinchew 2009.03.18

Umno - What if everyone now back Mat Taib?

Soon after he took over the party in 2003, PM Abdullah Badawi made big noises about reforming the party and turning it clean.
And then, he won big in the March 2004 general elections (GE). No, in fact, he won HUGEtime.

And then came the September 2004 Umno elections.
Mr Clean Abdullah made more noises amid the happy scenes of having won HUGE in the GE.
He wanted his men to win big in Umno triennial polls.
The new broom wanted the party to sweep clean and reform.

But what happened?
Some of those who won the top posts and the Supreme Council seats (25 elected posts) were names that many people said were tainted.
I don't need to name them, but everyone was shocked by the results because instead of reforming, the 2,300 delegates chose to show their new boss the finger.
They purposely chose some tainted names (allegedly of course) to show the real boss are the delegates.
One editor of a mainstream paper said when he heard the list of winners: "This is the most nonsensical results".

Fast forward to March 2009, and the way has been cleared for Muhyiddin Yassin to become the new deputy president of Umno, and thus the deputy prime minister.
Genial Mohd Ali Rustam, whom my friend Joceline Tan of The Star dubbed Mr Likeable, is gone.

But wait a minute, we seemed to have forgotten Muhammad Muhammad Taib, aka Mike Tyson, aka Mat Taib, aka Panjang Hensome.
He was a distant third in the trio of candidates.

Now that there are only two left the conventional wisdom is for Muhyiddin to win hands down.

But pssst!, what if Ali's supporters now all throw their weight behind Mat Taib?
Just to spite the new boss? (Since Najib Razak is being blamed for this red card against Ali).
Some of the delegates are angry with this "selective prosecution".

Then we will have Mat Taib as the new Deputy Prime Minister!

Then again, Mat Taib will likely be persuaded to withdraw from contesting at the very last minute (Or else he might also see a red card, apparently).
And then Muhyiddin would indeed become No.2 in party and country.
But brudder, shy-lah win like this.
Tak gereklah, kata orang Bishan and Keramat.

Abang, kakak and tuanku, the game is not over.

Umno - When media names you, you're in trouble

There is an unwritten rule in media circles when covering top government politicians.
When that person is in trouble, especially BIG trouble, the mainstream media (MSM) - in countries like Singapore and Malaysia - will usually gingerly tread into the story.
This is simply because these politicians and their parties and backers will bite back hard if you get the details wrong.
Imagine if the MSM accuse some top government leader of some wrongdoing and it turns out to be wrong. Whoa, get ready to get into huge problems yourself, buddy.

But when the MSM DO put your NAME up front and centre, then you know that the story is quite true.
Because it often means that they have done their checks and confirm everything. But still, their report would be couched carefully.
The person's name, though, will be in bright lights.

On Monday, Sin Chew Daily sent out a SMS alert and had a story that one of the candidates for the Umno deputy presidency might be suspended.

The three are of course, Ali Rustam, Muhyiddin Yassin and Muhammad Muhammad Taib.

And at 10.10pm, The Star put out this story below, zooming in on one person:

(This story was understandably careful, though, in NOT saying what could happen to him. After all, it did say that Ali was just subject to "speculation" of what he had allegedly done).

--------------------------------------------------------

Uncertainty over Ali Rustam's bid for No.2 Umno post

PETALING JAYA: Uncertainty has clouded Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam’s bid for the Umno deputy presidency following speculation that he is under investigation for money politics by the party’s Disciplinary Board.

There has been talk for days that Mohd Ali, 59, who is said to be doing well in the three-man contest, is being investigated but the Disciplinary Board has refused to comment.

Besides the Malacca Chief Minister, party insiders said several other leading candidates for various top Umno posts had also been hauled up by Board.

The Disciplinary Board is scheduled to hold a press conference at 4pm Tuesday while the Umno management committee headed by deputy president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is also expected to meet on the matter.

(The Star's website)

Indonesia polls - official campaigning starts Mon

Official campaigning for Indonesia's general elections will start in a few hours' time, on Monday March16.
They will have fun for two weeks until four days before polling date.
Polling date for the legislative election is on April 9.

(The three Malaysian by-elections are on April 7! And then there is the Umno general assembly March 24-28, plus supposed PM-changover on April 3).

There will be some 12,000 candidates from 38 parties (yes, it's true!) for elections into Parliament, and provincial and district positions.
Ooi, their party flags, macam-macam ada!!! Syiok - see here.
My favourite is PDI-P's cap seladang hitam and pokok rendang (banyan) Golkar.
But quite a few, actually, have the seladang and the banyan as their logo.

There are 171 million voters, out of 238 million people.

(Malaysia has some 10 million voters out of its 27 million population. Singapore maybe has 20 voters and they all polled PAP anyways; I am kidding!).

The Indonesian legislative assembly - the DPR or Parliament - will have 560 seats.

No, that's not the end of things.
There is another polling date for the Presidential elections.
A party or a coalition of parties needs to get at least 20 per cent of the DPR seats, or 25 per cent of the popular votes, to nominate a leader to run for president.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono or SBY (Partai Demokrat) is a favourite to become the country's president again.
But there are other challengers.
Chief among them is his current Vice President Jusuf Kalla (Golkar).
Another is former president and chief of the PDI-P (Partai Demokrasi Indonesia-Perjuangan,
Megawati Sukarnoputri.
And then there is a hopeful - Yogyakarta's ruler and Golkar elder, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X (whom I always call Sultan X because his name is too long).

The Presidential elections will be held in July.

The bet is for Partai Demokrat to get a big bulk of the seats in the DPR, with Golkar second and then PDI-P.

The Islamic-leaning parties (ie depa ni bukan macam PAS punya 'Islamist party' nak tubuh Negara Islam, tapi Islamic-leaning - cenderong ke Islam) will then come below them.

At the end of it all, the big parties are expected to form coalitions, which may include the Islamic-leaners, and SBY will again emerge as President of the biggest Muslim country in the world.

As long as there is peace in the run-up to the polls, everyone will happy.
I got no budget to travel there :-(

PICTURE: My fav Indo party logo: Seksi/Garang seladang hitam ni! Don't mess with me! It looks a bit like the seladang of Parti Rakyat Malaysia - though the Malaysian one is lame.
If I were to vote for the sexiest party logo, this PDI-P one would be it for me! Kahkahkah.

Ku Li sees sad mirror of society in Chow Kit

In Chow Kit, an area we'd rather pretend doesn't exist, he found a mirror of society.
His best writing yet if you ask me.

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I have fallen a little behind with my blog. People have been asking me what I think of the so-called Second Stimulus Package. What I have to say about it can wait a little while longer. My comments would do little to lift the dismay of our citizens and business people with a package as puzzlingly weak, and directionless, as it is large.
Last Thursday I visited Rumah Nur Salam, a centre for homeless children in KL’s Jalan Chow Kit area. Rumah Nur Salam is founded and led by the indefatigable Dr Hartini Zainuddin, the daughter of dear departed friend of mine. I spent some time with the children and toured the centre, which is, as its name implies, a haven of peace in a very troubled area.
Here, in Chow Kit, in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, less than a kilometre from the Twin Towers and a stone’s thrown from PWTC, life is cheap, drug users shoot up in the back alleys and children wander the streets hungry. Infants are bought and sold by syndicates, young children are supplied for prostitution and child-pornography.
Hundreds of children are on the streets or homeless. They beg and hustle and sell themselves for sex. They are runaways or abandoned or neglected children, vulnerable to STD and HIV, to drug addiction and to rape and murder.
Many among them have no registration papers. Although they may have been born to Malaysian parents they are “stateless” and therefore ineligible for free inoculation, medical education or education. They are abused and traded with impunity by criminals and corrupt officials because when they disappear it is without trace. They are nobody’s constituency.
Homeless children and street children in Malaysia number in the tens of thousands. They are in Chow Kit, but also in Dengkil, Jinjang, Pantai Dalam, Kepong, Selayang, Subang Jaya, Petaling Street and Pudu and in the bigger towns across the country. In Sabah and Sarawak, the problem of stateless children is acute.
I sat down to listen to a small circle of community leaders, social workers and volunteers. Some worked with these children. Others worked with other “at risk” groups such as prostitutes, drug users and transsexuals. What these groups have in common is that they are rejected by society. Many of the leaders come from the very groups they now serve. Having picked themselves up, they immediately felt called to give back to others. The work they do is more than a job.
It is a full-time commitment around which they have shaped their lives. Some have served here for decades, walking daily up and down streets that the police recently considered “too unsafe” to keep a beat base open in.
They told me of a set of linked issues: poverty, bigotry, crime, social breakdown and bureaucratic indifference. They spoke about government that could not join the dots between ministries to help people, and of announcements of assistance that amounted to nothing.
Having served a constituency in the depths of Kelantan for forty years, I have seen my share of poverty, but urban poverty is brutal.
The family unit is broken. Women and children are left to fend for themselves. The weak are prey to the strong. People are bought and sold like things.
Chow Kit holds up a mirror to our society. It is an image we would rather not see. The way we treat the weakest among us places the worth of our entire society in the balance. In God’s sight this weighs more than all the wealth we could accumulate.
There is another sense in which urban poverty test us. It is the weathervane of our social and economic ills. Since December, the number of abandoned children has risen dramatically. For the children freshly abandoned to the street, and for their parents, the recession occurred more quickly, and undeniably, than for our leaders.
Behind the evasive and woolly talk we have had about growth figures and fiscal stimuli are the absolutely tangible consequences of our policy decisions in the lives of ordinary people. Economic management, or the lack of it, has disproportionate consequences on the life-prospects of the most vulnerable members of our society.
I came away humbled by the visit. The quiet, day by day heroism of the community leaders and volunteers working to make a difference in Chow Kit was a lesson in leadership as service. I am grateful for all that they and the children shared with me with such open hearts.

Hari ini teratak di Kelantan, esok gegar dunia

Inilah rumah keluarga Nik Nur Madihah Nik Mohd Kamal, pelajar dari Kelantan yang mendapat 19 1A dan satu 2A dalam SPM tahun ini - di Singapura, keputusan yang sama tarafnya ialah 'O' Level, iaitu peperiksaan meninggalkan sekolah menengah.
Bapa pelajar 18 tahun ini ialah seorang nelayan.

(Saya yang membesar sebagai anak orang miskin di sebuah kampung di West Coast Road di Singapore, dalam tahun-tahun 1960an dan 1970an, pun tak berkeadaan sedaif ini).
(Di kampung saya ada sebuah anak sungai yang dijadikan juga saluran najis yang dibawa ke laut kira-kira 200m dari rumah sewa keluarga kami. (Apabila hujan lebat musim tengkujoh dan air laut pasang, air sungai ini melimpah masuk ke rumah!
(Orang di kampung-kampung lain menamakan kawasan kami Kampung Taik. Begitulah daifnya keadaan hidup saya dulu).


Yang pasti, anak-anak orang miskin seperti kami inilah yang selalu ingin merubah hidup dengan drastik, dan ingin melonjak berjaya, bukan anak orang kaya yang manja dengan permainan dan berperut kenyang.
When you are at the bottom, the only other way is UP.

Tak payahlah saya menulis banyak, baca perasaan seorang anak Kelantan apabila melihat gambar ini:

http://msomelayu.blogspot.com/2009/03/celoteh-murai-35.html

Tanpa mempunyai kemudahan IT, internet, handset (mungkin) dan laptop dan sebagainya, Nik Nur Madihah boleh belajar dan mencapai kejayaan lebih hebat daripada puluhan ribu pelajar lain yang mempunyai segala kelengkapan belajar dan juga mengambil kelas tambahan atau yang mempunyai tiga handset!

Dan di sini, Prof Hamirdin berbangga dengan kejayaan anak kampung di negeri yang di perintah PAS.

http://hamirdin.blogspot.com/2009/03/assalamualaikum-utusan-malaysia-hari.html


GAMBAR: Utusan Malaysia, Hafiz Johari.

Rakyat wins. New Budget Termie at KLIA

Harganya agak mahal dong, RM2 bilion.
Tapi takpe lah, sekurang-kurangnya orang tak akan tertawakan Malaysia kerana bengap nak buat Airport Labu Labi di Negeri Sembilan.
Satu idea bodoh dapat dihapuskan oleh warga blogger. Yahoo.

Baca di sini.

Hear! Hear! Dr Mahathir jawab isu PPSMI

Saya menyatakan di sini bahawa jika kita belajar dan mendalami bahasa Inggeris, ia tidak bermakna kita membuang bahasa ibunda.
Seperti anda, saya mempunyai ramai rakan-rakan yang berdwibahasa.
Di Singapura, banyak masjid yang mengadakan khutbah dalam bahasa Inggeris secara berselang-seli, atau sekali dalam sebulan.
Dan di sini, pemimpin yang memulakan PPSMI menjawab kontroversi tentang isu ini:

Dari Utusan Malaysia:

''Apa pun apa yang kita nak mula, akan ada masalah, maka tugas pemimpin ialah untuk atasi masalah itu.

''Kalau kita kata guru tak tahu bahasa Inggeris, kita boleh ajar guru untuk faham bahasa Inggeris dan zaman ini guna perisian komputer, amat mudah malah dia bukan sahaja boleh mengajar tetapi belajar bersama murid.

''Takkanlah guru kita ini sampai tak boleh belajar bahasa. Saya bukan orang putih, orang Melayu, tapi boleh juga cakap orang putih,'' katanya pada sidang akhbar mengumumkan perasmian bangunan Persatuan Bekas Pelajar Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid (Sahoca).

Sehubungan itu, Dr. Mahathir menegaskan dasar PPSMI perlu diteruskan kerana dasar tersebut yang dimulakan ketika era pentadbirannya bukan bertujuan untuk mempelajari bahasa tetapi mempelajari bahasa untuk menguasai cabang ilmu.

Katanya, sains adalah subjek yang tidak statik kerana ia berkembang hampir setiap jam dengan ratusan kertas kajian dalam ilmu sains diterbitkan dalam tempoh itu dan untuk mencari orang bagi menterjemah daripada bahasa Inggeris ke bahasa Melayu adalah mustahil.

''Kalau kita dapat kuasai bahasa kertas itu ditulis maka kita boleh akses ilmu kajian itu secara langsung. Kita nak lihat rakyat Malaysia yang berilmu, bukan sekadar boleh bercakap bahasa kebangsaan.

''Islam gesa umatnya menuntut ilmu dan orang Arab dahulu belajar bahasa Greek untuk mendapatkan ilmu daripada orang Greek dan begitu juga orang Eropah belajar bahasa Arab untuk dapatkan ilmu daripada orang Arab pada abad ke-15.

''Jadi kalau kita mahu kuasai ilmu yang ada pada orang lain maka kita kena belajar bahasa mereka. Kita mahu lihat rakyat Malaysia yang berilmu bukan setakat boleh berbahasa kebangsaan.

''Hari ini kita kena akui siapa belajar perubatan akan menggunakan buku teks dalam bahasa Inggeris, tiada buku teks dalam bahasa Melayu,'' ujarnya.

Justeru, Dr. Mahathir menegaskan, semua pihak di negara ini sama ada suka atau tidak, harus mengakui yang bahasa Inggeris adalah bahasa lingua franca dunia hari ini.

Kata beliau, ini dapat dilihat bagaimana kerajaan China sendiri mahukan 200 juta rakyatnya boleh menguasai bahasa Inggeris dan begitu juga Korea yang mahukan semua rakyatnya menguasai bahasa tersebut untuk berinteraksi dengan dunia luar.

''Saya sendiri belajar sepenuhnya dalam bahasa Inggeris dari zaman persekolahan sehinggalah ke peringkat universiti tetapi saya masih boleh cakap bahasa Melayu.

''Saya sendiri masih anggap diri saya seorang nasionalis Melayu. Saya tidak pun jadi nasionalis Inggeris hanya kerana saya boleh bercakap bahasa Inggeris,'' ujarnya.

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From NST:

KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad defended the use of English to teach Science and Mathematics, saying it is necessary to ensure Malaysia can keep up with the rest of the world.

The former prime minister said the policy's detractors were misguided as they failed to see the point of the policy that he initiated six years ago.

Reflecting on Islam's golden age, he pointed out that the Arabs at the time learned Greek so they could understand and preserve the knowledge of the Greek civilisation. "Likewise, the Europeans learned Arabic so they could gain the knowledge of the Arabs," he said at a press conference announcing the opening of the Sultan Abdul Hamid Old Collegians' Association building here.

"English is the lingua franca, whether we like or not. If you meet a Korean, can you speak to that person in Malay?"
Dr Mahathir said science, for example, was a "very peculiar subject" that does not remain static.

"To get someone to translate hundreds of transcripts a day is just physically impossible.

"It would be better to arm people with the language so they can get the information themselves. We want Malaysians to be knowledgeable, not just good in speaking Malay."

Dr Mahathir took a swipe at the non-governmental organisations and politicians who led the demonstration to protest the policy last week, saying they had forgotten that they too had benefited from learning in English.

"These people who are protesting were all English educated ... its like they don't want to see others rise to their level.

"For myself, despite having studied in English all the way I am still a Malay, still a Malay nationalist."

Last time it was Isa Samad, now it's Norza

Hours after a survey found that most Malaysians thought Umno was corrupt and out of touch with the ground, news were leaked to TV3 last night that Norza Zakaria will be brought to book for money politics.
And of course, there is that other big-fish money politics case against Tourism Minister Azalina Othman to the ground.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad had attacked Umno for the strange goings-on in money politics that no one seemed to be guilty of.
Now suddenly, we see a lot of action. Quickly now! Before the March 24-28 general assembly, so that we can say that we are indeed taking action.

Call it the Isa Samad Syndrome.
Only when a lot of people, a hell of a lot of people, made noise, it seems, would action be taken.
That is the impression I get. I might be totally wrong.
As for now, I will just say this: Same old, same old.

Singapore Press cuts salaries 2 to 10 pct

Just a day after I blogged about the possibility of more companies in Singapore asking its employees to take forced no-pay leave, and maybe even shedding workers, my employer SPH, cuts salaries by 2 to 10 per cent.
For every 2 per cent in pay-cut an employee gets one day "special leave".
The CEO kena potong gaji 10 per cent.
Nasib baik saya kuli biasa....

----------------------------------------------------
The Associated Press 12March2009.

Singapore Press Holdings Ltd., which publishes most of the city-state's newspapers and magazines, said Thursday it will cut the salaries of 3,000 workers as it attempts to stay profitable amid a severe recession.
The company, which owns 17 newspapers in four languages and two radio stations, plans to reduce wages by between 2 per cent and 10 per cent starting April 1.
Staff with higher salaries will see a bigger percentage cut while workers earning less than 2000 Singapore dollars ($1,300) a month will not be paid less, the company said.
"We need to bring our costs down in the face of a weaker advertising market and uncertain business environment," Chief Executive Alan Chan said in a statement. "It is imperative that we prepare for a longer than expected downturn."
Singapore's gross domestic product plunged a seasonally adjusted, annualized 17 per cent in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter as a collapse in demand from the U.S., Europe and Japan hit the country's exports.
The government expects the economy to shrink between 2 per cent and 5 per cent this year.

Recession - forced NO-PAY LEAVE coming....

As a worker, would you rather get retrenched and get some/lots of money for every year that you worked?
Or would you rather take NO-PAY LEAVE enforced by your company?

- If you are a secondary bread winner or have another regular job, maybe you won't mind getting laid-off and getting retrenchment benefits - roughly 1 month pay for every year worked.

- But if you are the main bread winner, maybe you would rather take a no-pay leave.

In Singapore, worse hit than Malaysia or Indonesia because the economy is more plugged into the global economy, this forced no-pay leave is expected to become a dominant way that companies cut costs without shedding workers.
This is effectively a pay-cut, but the company allows you NOT to come to office-factory to account for the lowered salary.

Read below a report that Singapore Airlines has started this - a first used company-wide on the island republic. It is offering employees to take no-pay leave. If not enough people volunteers, I guess the company might decide to pick the unlucky souls.

And I wrote here some weeks ago about this cabbie's story, which I repeat -
Jan 28:
"I took a cab to work just now.
The taxi driver told me that his daughter, who works at a property consulting company, has started a forced-leave regime at her company.
She is forced to take a 2-week vacation every 3 months.
This is effectively a pay cut. I calculated about a 17 per cent pay cut, though her pain is reduced cos she can sit at home for about 5 extra days every month (saves money on buses/MRT/food and time) .
But at least she retains her job.
And she also gets time off, rather than has to take a pay cut while working in full."


--------------------------------------------------------
The Straits Times
March 11, 2009.

No-pay leave offer to SIA staff

Voluntary scheme open to all employees

By Karamjit Kaur, Aviation Correspondent

FACED with excess staff because of its plan to ground some of its planes and cut flights, Singapore Airlines has told its more than 14,000 employees that applications are open for no-pay leave.

Staff have till the end of the month to decide whether to take up the offer to go on unpaid leave - for anything from one week to two years.

The voluntary scheme, an SIA spokesman told The Straits Times, was to 'manage the surplus manpower arising from our planned capacity cuts'. He did not specify the extent of the 'surplus'.

Amid a global business downturn, airlines have resorted to grounding planes, cutting routes and in some cases, shedding jobs.

In January, SIA carried 1.6 million passengers - a 10.4 per cent drop from January last year - and filled just 74 per cent of all seats.

Last month, it announced plans to cut capacity, measured in terms of the number of seats available and total distance flown, by 11 per cent over the coming financial year, which begins next month.

SIA has already pulled out of Amritsar in India. It will withdraw from Vancouver in Canada soon, and trim flights to most markets. Frequency has also been reduced on its non-stop all-business class flights to New York City and Los Angeles.

It will also take 17 aircraft from its fleet of just over 100 planes out of service for at least a year.

Over half of SIA's staff - 7,300 people - are cabin crew. With the flight cuts, there could be as many as 400 to 500 stewards and stewardesses twiddling their thumbs on the ground every month.

A Singapore Girl who did not want to be identified, said: 'Opening up the scheme to everyone is a good idea and better than targeting selected people.' She is considering taking up the offer.

This is believed to be the first time such a scheme has been introduced company-wide, and comes about two months after SIA's cargo arm, SIA Cargo, made a similar request of its pilots.

If not enough staff take up the offer, other steps will be taken. Mr Alan Tan, president of the SIA Staff Union, which represents cabin crew and other rank-and-file staff, said the fallback plan is for every member to take one or two days of no-pay leave.

As for SIA's 2,000-member cockpit crew, Captain P. James, president of the Air Line Pilots Association-Singapore, said that plans were still being worked out and would be clearer next month.

SIA has said repeatedly that retrenchments would be its last resort to cope with the downturn.

Its decision to ground planes and cut capacity earned it some kudos. A report by the aviation research team at Standard and Poor's released on Monday said it showed that 'management is not afraid to take necessary and decisive action'.

For the nine months to end-December, SIA posted a net profit of $1.02 billion, compared to $1.52 billion a year earlier. Thai Airways reported a $900 million loss last year and Cathay Pacific is likely to follow suit. Standard and Poor's said: 'SIA remains our favourite among Asian airlines for its financial strength and strong track record in tough times.'

After the RM60b stim package, MORE questions....

I asked some questions earlier about the so-called stim package, let's ask some more.
Though, again, let us not bee too negative, people.
The government didn't announce anything, kena scolding; announced a RM7 bil package kena scolding for too small; now announced a big one also kena marah.

But the right to ask pertinent questions is an open door.
And since it is always easier to criticise and condemn rather than come out with good ideas, here we go:


- RM10 billion allocated for equity investments.
How come this one sounds like a market-propping device?
Taxpayers money is used to buy shares sold by foreign funds who want to exit sunny Malaysia?
Of course, propping up the stock market will also save some of our local tycoons from having to top up their accounts. (They had pledged their shares for bank loans but the shares must be of a minimal value, or else the banks will knock on their doors to ask for cash top-ups).
Or am I talking rocks here?
No one had ever get a full accounting of past public money (from even during Mahathir-Anwar times) which was used to prop up the market time and again.

Though then again, I sense also a 'nobler' cause - since EPF, Tabung Haji and other government funds hold big stakes in many locally-listed companies, these institutions cannot report profits and pay dividends if the share prices keep collapsing.
In other words, they use my tax money to support shares so that at the end of the year EPF can pay me my 5 per cent dividends.
Telan mati emak, muntah kedarah mati bapak.


- For everyone who sell his car 10 years or older, and buy a Proton or Perodua, he will get a RM5,000 discount on the new car.
Apa nih? Why should taxpayer money be used to subsidise something crappy like Proton?
And why help Daihatsu-Toyota, a huge Japan automaker (Toyota owns a large stake in Daihatsu), the real shareholder and prime mover of Perodua?
If the idea is to stimulate the economy, why only try to save a failed champion and a rich carmaker?
Why not give vouchers, say, to allow people to buy local products (whether local rice or biscuits or shoes) at supermarkets, at a discount.
Why do we still need to save a stupid, inefficient, failed carmaker called Proton using my taxpayer money??? Orang besar Umno also don't want to use Perdanas....
Enough already!


- There is a RM10 bil extra fund to be given to Khazanah Nasional "to promote domestic private investments". That is just super.
Because how come I got a feeling that some pet projects (ie about-to-fail ones) will be saved using this money?
Somehow, forgive me, I am thinking of slow-moving things like projects in the so-called Corridors being given, quietly now, free money injections.
And surely this is not something to "stimulate" the economy immediately?

The Star: Khazanah "will focus on strategic sectors such as telecommunications, technology, tourism, agriculture, life sciences and projects related to Iskandar Malaysia."

OK, we give them benefit of the doubt in agri, life sciences although I have grave doubts after seeing Abdullah Badawi's Green Book agri projects all masuk longkang.
But, hello, didn't the latest story from The Edge said Arab money slated for Iskandar might not turn up? The Arabs were about the only big prominent investors in the area.

(Singaporean money has so far, wisely, remained mostly away because many Singaporeans do not feel too welcomed by the angry buzz that for every 'Chinese' investment from the south, Johor Malays will be pushed to the edge of the jungles).

A lot of good local money (taxpayers' dollars) have already been thrown into Iskandar, tak cukup ke? I thought enough are being poured in already to build up the infra?
Let the foreign money come in before expanding further, I feel.
I apologise to my friends from Iskandar and Tan Sri Amok, but I see in Iskandar a project that will crawl along like the MSC and Putrajaya (ie a lot of money thrown in for little returns), rather than a government success story like the KLCC development or the investments into Petronas.
I really hope to be wrong.

- There is a RM200 million allocation for an "automotive development fund" and an Automotive Institute of Malaysia.
If it is what it sounds like - more pouring in of easy money into Proton - then I protest.
Nak develop apa lagi? Malaysians have rejected Proton, including orang-orang politik Umno yang tak mau pakai Perdana.
Malaysians would rather buy Toyota-Daihatsu cars branded as Perodua in Malaysia, or would rather be seen in a Kia or Hyundai if they cannot afford a Merc or a Beemer.
Then again, the money is supposed to help auto dealers tide through hard times - I don't think every auto dealer will get help though, jeng jeng jeng, just those selling certain brands.

- "Private finance initiative projects" worth RM7 billion.
Uh-oh, this one also sounds suspicious. Like, a sweeheart company wants to build a project but do not have enough money, so it goes to the PFI funds to dip its grubby hands.
Great. But let's not be too neg. Just watch what this money will be used for.


LET'S NOW BE POSITIVE!

There is a lot I like lah:

- The establishment of the Financial Guarantee Institution will ensure that companies are not burdened by the inability to get access to funding.

- Tax deductions for companies who employ retrenched workers. I know how it felt to be retrenched and jobless for a long time (I was jobless for 8 months in Singapore during the 1985-87 recession, if anyone can remember that!)

- RM200 million tourism fund. Good because tourism is a big foreign exchange earner, but the Minister needs to be changed.

- The government will employ 63,000 people including those on contract basis. The government is already bloated so adding 63,000 more won't make a diff. Still, it will remove some people off the streets with gainful employment.

- 100,000 training opportunities and job placements will be undertaken as joint collaboration between the government and the private sector.
Can lah, a better educated workforce is always better.

- 22 Jobs-Malaysia Centres will be created and upgrading of 109 existing centres. These centres will be located in high-density public areas, including shopping complexes to facilitate access for workers and employers to obtain job placements, career counselling and information on training opportunities.
Sounds good, though we could of course question its implementation lilke, who will get the plum contract, eh.

- The government will undertake to finance tuition fees and research grants up to RM20,000 for every student pursuing PhDs locally. For students in the Masters programme, the government will provide up to RM10,000 per student.

ETC.

After the RM60b stim package, the questions....

We must all first extend our appreciation that the Malaysian government has at last woken up to the danger of the global economic slump.

- Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew from Singapore (Singapore lagi!) just last week said its economy might shrink by an unbelievable 10 per cent this year.
- All but one of Britain's bank have been nationalised.
- Citibank, formerly the world's biggest banking group had its share price so deflated that its market value is lower than CIMB Bank!
- The World Bank has said that the world economy will shrink to its worse since the 1923 Depression.
- A company which I had almost all my insurance with AIA, once the world's mightiest insurer, is still wobbling near collapse.
You get the picture.

Malaysia and Indonesia, being less exposed to global trade and exports, would of course suffer less. Thank goodness.
Now, Finance Minister Najib Razak said the economy could grow +1 per cent or shrink by 1 per cent this year.
Not bad. On two counts.
One, last year the economy grew by 4.6 per cent. Just months ago, the government was saying the economy could grow by 3.5 per cent this year, a number decried as unachievable by economists.
Now the government has berpijak di bumi nyata. That the economy could go into recession.

Two, 1 per cent contraction of the economy is not that bad lah (Unless you lose your job and cannot find another within 3-5 months).
Ie yes, many people will lose jobs, but more people will NOT. I mean, if Singapore is talking about -10 per cent and Malaysia shrinks by 1 per cent, ok what? Quite.


And now we have a RM60 billion stim package. To be disbursed over two years.
Pakej nak merangsang ekonomi.

Never mind the questions about HOW FAST the money will be dished out, and WHO will get some of them.
More road projects for Umno guys, Finance Minister? Got wheel-of-fortune for contractors like in Kuala Terengganu?

Also, why is the government including a RM674 million subsidies to stabilise the prices of sugar, flour and rice as part of the "stimulus package"????
And why include RM480 million to be paid to highway toll operators so that tolls would not be hiked, as part of the "stimulus package"???

A year later, Umno still looks like Titanic

On Feb 27 last year, a few weeks after the March 8, 2008, electoral tsunami, I wrote:

"The Economist wrote that Badawi was simply 'shuffling deck chairs' on his 'sinking Titanic'.
That is, it does not matter anymore what he does, the bloody ship is sinking fast.
Still, maybe there is some redeeming factor left - he better get his vessel ship-shape soon, else he might be shipped out."

Well, PM Abdullah is being shipped out very soon, thank goodness.

But Umno still looks like the Titanic.

Read what I wrote last year here.

I am too tired to replay the topsy-turvy games of the past 12 months. Because I see more games all the way to the next general elections.

PICTURE: How will history judge Malaysia's biggest party? The biggest fun party indeed Umno had been having while at the helm of the country, according to its critics.

IGP - Democracy vs Demo Crazy

Repercussions will keep coming from the demo at the Istana Negara in KL on Saturday against the use of English in teaching Maths and Science.
Police fired teargas - lots from the pictures I have seen - as if they protesters were doing anything other than a peaceful march to give a memo to the Agong.
As is often said by critics, if this was an Umno-led protest, police would have protected the protesters not gas them.


a) The police chief, Musa Hassan as quoted by The Star:

“I assure the public that stern action will be taken against those involved in organising the demonstrations.

“They are not fighting for democracy but are demo crazy,” he added.


b) Meanwhile, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah slammed the gassing of schoolteachers in his blog.

"I am astonished at the way they have been treated.
"Was it necessary to tear gas Malay teachers and linguists, and a 76 year-old national laureate?"


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UPDATED SUNDAY 12.15PM
--------------------------------

Pak Samad Said, who was teargassed for the first time in his 76 years of life:
"Rupa-rupanya begini caranya untuk menyelamatkan bahasa"

(Click on the the Sinar Harapan report here)


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NOTA TAMBAHAN
----------------------

Sebenarnya saya SETUJU dengan dasar mengajar Matematik dan Sains dalam Bahasa Inggeris.

Memang saya dari negeri lain dan mempunyai pengalaman hidup yang berlainan sebagai kaum minoriti di Singapore ni, tetapi yang pasti pada saya ialah peluang pekerjaan akan lebih cerah jika seseorang itu berdwi-bahasa.

Tetapi saya akur bahawa untuk menukar haluan seperti di Malaysia ini memang tenat. Guru-guru yang nak mengajar Matematik dan Sains dalam Bahasa Inggeris belum pandai sangat dan murid-murid semua belum biasa. Malah memberontak dalam hati.
Mereka pulang dan komplen kepada ibubapa, yang juga tak pandai langsung Bahasa 'penjajah' ni (terutama yang di kampung).
Memang susah, dan mungkin satu generasi akan kehilangan.
Tetapi pada saya, jika dasar dwi-bahasa ini tak digalakkan, orang Melayu di Malaysia akan terus kebelakang.

Mungkin ada yang kata - orang Korea, Jepun, China semua guna bahasa sendiri, tak tertinggal pun. Perlu diingat bahawa mereka semua adalah bangsa yang berindustri tinggi, bekerja keras.
Mereka mencipta sofwe dan komputer, kereta dan jentera, ada Toshiba dan LG (barangan elektrikal dan elektronik).

Di Malaysia, maaf kata, ekonomi pun bukan dikuasai oleh orang Melayu (maaf juga kepada orang Tionghua - anda yang kuatkan ekonomi pun kena marah!)).
Ramai orang Melayu cuma tumpang jadi sales assistant, waitress, marketing executive, security guard (Kat Singapore pun sama lah).
Yang ada syarikat dan bank 'Melayu' pun kerana dijaga oleh kerajaan Umno, yang sekarang banyak betul dikritik, termasuk oleh saya.

Apa barangan antarabangsa yang dicipta oleh orang Melayu?
Atau ciptaan orang Malaysia secara umum?
Proton?
(Yang ada ialah hasil bumi minyak mentah, gas asli dan minyak sawit).

(Singapore pun tenat juga - ada sedikit saja barangan ciptaan rakyatnya yang ada nama juga di pasaran antarabangsa - Creative Technology dan Akira.
(Itu pun ramai yang tak kenal nama-nama ini sebab musuh besar Creative ialah ipod dari Apple dan Sony. Dan musuh ketat Akira ialah TV dan barangan elektrik dari syarikat gergasi seperti Toshiba dan Samsung).

Memang susah - nak selamatkan Bahasa atau Bangsa?
Jika Bahasa Malaysia naik (iaitu tanpa dasar dwi-bahasa) saya rasa orang Melayu akan tertinggal sebab Bahasa Inggeris ialah bahasa komersial dunia.
Tetapi jika dwi-bahasa diamalkan, Bahasa Melayu pasti pudar (seperti di Singapore), bagaimanapun ekonomi dan daya saing Bangsa Melayu dapat naik. Ini pun belum tentu!

Ini isu yang harus dibincang dan didemo oleh rakyat Malaysia.
Jika saya cakap banyak takut kena tembak senapang gajah NUJ-UM.... Heehee.