Discipline not what it used to be.WHY NOT?

Friday July 29, 2011

By RASLAN SHARIF
Today’s children do not seem to have much respect for authority, maybe it’s because we have left their upbringing to the school, television, Internet and games consoles.
We hold many memories of our school days, and we never tire of telling these tales to family and friends.
At least some of us do, as I completely understand that there might be a few people out there who would want to keep their memories of school far, far away from recollection.
However, I believe that for many of us, our time at school were some of the best years of our lives and, more often than not, we hark back to those carefree years full of play and laughter.
No doubt, the good times were often rudely interrupted by those inconvenient and awfully long periods of boredom that I was told amounted to education.
But let’s not let that spoil the fun, shall we?
I went to several schools as my civil servant father had to make “tours of duty” in several towns across the country over the course of his working career.
I attended schools in Alor Star, Klang, Seremban and Petaling Jaya.
In between, I also received two years of primary education in the US.
School there was fun in many ways.
There were double recesses (yes, twice), nice teachers, good food at the cafeteria, and lessons in the first and second grade that were a breeze for me.
Not so nice were the fights that broke out at times among some pupils, among other things.
Once, when I was in the second grade, this kid – I think his name was Marcus, if I remember correctly – demanded money from me, with the “friendly” advice that a refusal on my part would result in his older brother in the fifth grade making my acquaintance after school.
Survival instincts honed over millions of years of human evolution immediately kicked in, and I gave him the quarter that he asked for.
He asked for money again the next week, and again my survival instincts got the better of me – I told him no.
I was hungry and I was damn well going to use the money I had to buy food at the cafeteria.
Marcus was pissed and I spent the rest of my time at school that day with a full stomach and the dreadful feeling that the rest of the day was not going to be very pleasant.
Later, as I made my way out of school, I braced myself for the inevitable.
I was about to meet Marcus, and his fifth-grade brother from Hell.
But they never showed up.
And Marcus never bothered me again.
I was lucky.
There were one or two other similar episodes throughout my school days but none as bad as the case of Marcus.
This was primarily (no pun intended) because the environment in Malaysian primary and secondary schools was a lot milder.
At least, that was the case back when I was in school.
Now that I am a father of two primary school-going children, I can’t help but compare what it was like during my time and what I think it is these days.
The most obvious thing for me is that discipline isn’t what it used to be.
Yes, we don’t cane schoolchildren anymore and we now do things in a more “touchy-feely” manner.
But, as far as I’m concerned, respect for authority is just not there.
I’ve seen little children blissfully ignoring the instructions of teachers; forget about prefects and class monitors.
Remember how silent we were during assembly?
Many children at my kids’ school don’t really give two hoots about whatever’s being said and who’s saying it.
Remember about being orderly as we moved to and from our classes?
There’s pushing and shoving up and down the stairs now, if not more of the sort of behaviour that puts personal safety at risk.
Remember how we gave due deference to our teachers when they were in class, keeping our mouths shut and at least pretending to pay attention?
Kids these days think nothing of talking at the back while the teachers teach in front, with some even walking about, or in and out of class.
Maybe it’s a sign of the times, and maybe I’m getting old.
Maybe it’s also an indication that parents, and that includes me, don’t pay enough attention to their children like they used to.
Many of us seem to have left much of the upbringing of our children to the school, and we assume that all will be fine.
And when they are at home, we leave the upbringing of our children to the television, the Internet and the game consoles.
Is it any wonder then that some of them don’t seem to care?

> Raslan Sharif’s school days were not always eventful.

A for apple; P for pokai!*

Of late, I have been contributing to the coffers of a multinational company whose brand is so famous its name need not be mentioned (like Lord Voldemort). Its logo itself suffice, whose interior decoration experts believe in minimalist outlook, the emblem of a partially eaten fruit (the first fruit that we learnt in alphabet class in pre-school) - or is the logo a constant reminder of our exodus from the paradise of Garden of Eden for our original sin? In the modern world, nobody gives a damn about inner beauty and endurance, but of external package and presentation, this telecommunications and computer whiz of a company has managed to make that precisely its selling point.

It all started one day when good old el-cheapo cell phone, due to melancholia, decided to take the plunge inadvertently (or on purpose?) into the monsoon drain as I was coming down the car carrying more than I should. Good old faithful must have been feeling pretty withdrawn and small after seeing all the PYT (pretty young things) strutting their stuff while her overused and abused body had seen better days. And the things the newbies could do with their bodies and the way they flaunt their assets would make any man salivate and go ga-ga!

Not to be confused: The original Apple.

Granny Smith; Founded by Beatles. Lost

in a legal battle to Apple Computer.  Now

collaborating music with iTunes. 

I tried to resuscitate the old one via modified surgery of dismantling its parts and drying it thoroughly. It survived for a couple of days but stopped short never to go again when the LCD panel went berserk. So ended the life of cell phone, which served me for more than 3 years and was a hand-me-down from wifey when my previous RM1 cell phone (after buying a TV set) died suddenly.

About that time, wifey's mobile started giving problems. And my daughter suddenly became obsessed and thought that she could not see another living daylight without possessing a particular brand of a laptop with a logo of a fruit from the same brand of the company of indisputable reputation and nothing doing! There was no talk of Sony or Lenovo, or Asus! Everybody has it, so it must be good, and I want it not now but yesterday!

That started my love affair with the forbidden fruit. I soon realised that the moment I attained the impossible, I realised that it is nothing sacrosanct about it after all. But, on the other hand, with more extraordinary powers come great responsibility, and a greater hole in the pants and thinner the wallet becomes...

*Pokai - colloquial Malay term for being broke (financially). Correct term would be muflis, patah kandar or bangkrap. It must have been popularised by P. Ramlee's movies. In fact, P. Ramlee is credited for introducing many new Malay words into its treasure. Some of the words include pawagam (movie theatre) -shortened from panggong wayang gambar; kugiran (band) - from kugiran gitar rancak! How about bedikari (berdiri atas kaki sendiri) - independent? 

Rule of law, rule by law — by Ambiga Sreenevasan

July 23, 2011
JULY 23 — Good Morning! Chancellor, vice chancellor and graduating students.
It is so good to be back!
I am deeply moved by the conferment of this honour upon me. That it comes from my alma mater is especially significant for me. That it comes at this time is almost providential, for it allows me and all lawyers to reflect on our roles in the societies we live in.
For this honour and this moment of reflection, I extend my grateful thanks to the Council and Senate of the University of Exeter.
Tired of injustice and oppression, people the world over are crying out for truth, goodness, justice and universal love and understanding.
The events in Malaysia over the past six weeks culminating in the rally for free and fair elections on the 9th of July, has taught me so much more than I could have ever learned in the last 30 years as a practising lawyer.
My team and I faced first-hand the full force of the unleashed power of the state, and I realised then the importance of the independence of the Institutions of government, particularly the judiciary, to check such abuses of power.
I also realised how real and present the absence of the Rule of Law can be.
In countries where the Rule of Law reigns strong and true one probably does not even talk about it. But in countries that veer towards Rule by Law, talking about getting back to the basics is crucial.
In many countries, Rule by Law is reflected in the existence of repressive laws that violate the fundamental rights of its citizens. One example of this is preventive detention laws that lock people away without affording them the basic right to a trial. There are many examples of such oppressive laws worldwide and they are not confined to underdeveloped or developing countries.
As lawyers, we are in a unique position. Our years of legal study and practice teach us to see and appreciate the fundamental role that the Rule of Law plays in guaranteeing that the state governs its citizens in a just and democratic manner.
Who better to remind those in power of their responsibilities to their citizens than lawyers trained in understanding the difference between “Rule of Law” and “Rule by Law”?
Our role as lawyers must therefore extend far beyond traditional legal practice.
Here, I make no reference to rules, guidelines, documents, or declarations. My only reference point is our conscience. Can we as lawyers, ever sit back and watch the erosion of fundamental liberties of the people around us and do nothing? Clearly, silence in these circumstances, is not an option.
When I graduated from this university about 30 years ago, things were of course very different. Today the Internet and social media has empowered people with a continual flow of unfiltered and up-to-date information. No longer can the manipulation and control of information be effectively used by those in power to suppress either thought or action.
You are in a world where you know instantly of injustices taking place in any part of it. In this global village drawn together by so many factors, we are one. We can reach out to each other using these new means of communication and we owe it to each other to stand together for what is right.
You may say, “But I studied law to be a solicitor or barrister and to earn money for a decent standard of living”. There is nothing wrong with that, I assure you. I run a commercial litigation practice in a partnership of four where we also do public interest litigation. The two can co-exist quite comfortably.
The point I make is this.
You are graduating from one of the best universities in the country if not on the planet! You are special. And you are now a proud member of an army of people that is equipped with all that is necessary to both practise law and to fight injustice.
I urge you to use this arsenal of knowledge and your passion for justice to fight for those who are downtrodden.
You have already heard of the events of July 9th in Malaysia. Whilst it brought out the worst in some, it brought out the best in others and this is where our hope lies.
There were some in government who opposed the methods used to shut us down.  Even doctors left their comfort zones to speak up against injustices. And of course there were the lawyers and the independent media who stood on the side of truth and justice.
However, the real heroes of that day are our friend and supporter Allahyarham Baharuddin Ahmad who paid the ultimate price in fighting a noble cause, the six members of the Socialist Party of Malaysia who, as we speak, sit in solitary confinement under preventive detention laws and finally the brave people of Malaysia who overcame their fear of intimidation and harassment to uphold their fundamental rights.
With all my heart I dedicate this honour you have bestowed upon me to them.


* This was the acceptance speech delivered by Datuk Dr Ambiga Sreenevasan upon her conferment with the Honorary Doctorate Of Laws, University of Exeter. I like the part she says, "..Even doctors left their comfort zones to speak up against injustices." Guess doctors must be giving the impression of being a totally apathetic lot! Why 'even doctors'??

Malaysian as Tamil movie icon of late 60s

And another icon of the Kollywood silver screen of the bygone golden era breathed his last breath in Chennai on 25th July 2011. Not many know that he grew up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His brother, Bairoji Narayana, was a reader of Tamil news over the radio and telly. The funny part about Bairoji was that he had a unique, deep voice which was outstanding. He once 'acted' in a Tamil whodunit radio drama with him being the killer. It was not much of a thriller as all listeners knew Bairoji was the killer with his distinctive voice as he had made many threatening phone calls for a ransom in the drama!

Ravichandran was sent to India to study medicine. Legend has it that during a term holiday, he was travelling on a train which got derailed. Ravi and his friends were busy rescuing fellow victims. His heroic act and smooth look captured the eyes of Tamil film director Sridhar's talent scouts, who were on the same fateful train. From then on, it was history; he was cast in Sridhar's next movie, the then radically themed movie, 'Kathallike Nerramillai', with sensuous, provocative lyrics in its song.

I suppose that was the end of his medical studies. Now, I read that he missed his medical examinations after a bout of chickenpox. My children are sick and tired of me telling them to do good; if not, God will them with an unavoidable infliction like chicken pox!

Enjoy this clip... Incidentally, Mr R. Viswanathan, our headmaster in PFS, used to be serenaded with this song by the Indian folks (makkal) in school. 

Ravichandran (Tamil actor)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ravichandran (1939 or 1940 – 25 July 2011) was a Tamil film actor who played lead roles in Tamil movies of the 1960s and 1970s. He has also acted in supporting characters in some recent Tamil film and had also directed several films. 
Ravichandran was born P.S. Raman in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He moved to Tiruchirappalli, India in 1951, and studied at St. Joseph's College. He was married twice: his first marriage was to Malayalam actress Sheela, and they had a son, George; he was later married to Vimala, with whom he had a daughter, Lavanya, and two sons, Balaji and Hamsavardhan. Hamsavardhan and George also took up acting as a career, with Hamsavardhan starring in the film Manthiran, directed by his father.
Ravichandran died from multiple organ failure on 25 July 2011 at the Apollo Hospital in Chennai after suffering from a lung infection and kidney disease.

Down the Seremban memory lane...

24th July 2011 was a day of nostalgia of sorts. It was a day down the lane of nostalgia. After working in Kuala Pilah (1989-1991) and Seremban (1991-1992), I never really went back. 1989 to 1991 was a time of life with lesser complications and responsibilities - before marriage (KP) and the time of euphoria just after (S'ban). 20 years later, Seremban looks less green, more 'exposed' and 'brighter'.

Starting ill-prepared after dealing with post-Standard Chartered Marathon malaise and inertia of restarting training (having reached the big one!), nursing a low backache and being pulled into a turmoil of the supra-tentorial type, I started the early morning low budget 21km, run.

This time around, only Suresh and I partook in this regatta. Raj, who was gung ho in doing his maiden half, had to pull out due to irresistible work commitments (or did he really chicken out?) In spite of being of low budget, the run was well run. It started promptly at 6.45am. The same familiar faces were seen again amongst the crowd (die-hard running fanatics). 

Starting at the council grounds in the heart of town, bordered by a temple and gurudwara, it took us along the roads of Seremban...So did my mind, just as I do in most runs, jogging down memory lane...

Life in the late 80s and early 90s was blissful. Having graduated from varsity and starting work, given a lot of responsibility and respect, finally settling down in matrimony after a rough patch, I thought that was it. Of course, there was the desire to pursue to further my career via post-graduate studies; that was okay!

From the starting line, we strolled down Rahang Road via various newly constructed highways and made ourselves to the Paroi area. This Paroi area was familiar as through these roads, I used to speed to make it to punch in after a long locum session in KL through the weekend, feeling tired but happy with money jingling in my pants!

In my mind, I was chuckling at the names of buildings. I was wondering whether Klinik Rahang was a dental clinic or medical clinic as Rahang in Malay meant 'mandible' or 'jaw', and Rahang was also an area in Seremban! That lame joke, my son would say.

Amy Winehouse - Rest her soul!
Back to the Maker (not Rehab)

Taman Rashidah and Taman Guru... What used to be an army camp is now an open-air exhibition ground. Here we turned towards Ampangan. What used to be a sleepy Malay neighbourhood had transformed beyond recognition with residential and commercial buildings. A short while later, we turned off to the Kuala Klawang exit, entering the tarred but old dual-country carriageway. Enjoying the loud, energetic music of FlyFM (no reception for BFM) and enjoying the early morning scenery of the countryside, I almost tripped over when I heard the bad news. Amy Winehouse was found dead! Holy cow! Didn't I just hear a couple of months earlier that the curse of the 27 was to strike soon (over the internet)? Many a great musician has succumbed to the curse of age 27. This includes Jim Morrison (The Doors), Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain (Nirvana). The article had actually predicted Amy Winehouse to join the 27 Club!

All this while, I was just running at my own relaxed pace, oblivious and not ambitious of improving my time. At 1h 1m, I had covered the 10km mark, regularly sipping my self-made concoction of cordial drink with tonic water (with quinine -cramp buster).

Somewhere at Taman Kayu Manis (what a name but sounds 'high class' as 'Cinnamon Garden', though), we turned towards Sikamat. The route was undulating but manageable. The last 3km were, as usual, the 'longest'. And were painfully obstructed by casual and love-struck 10km jaywalkers! From Sikamat, we made it back through Lake Gardens back to our starting point in one piece at 2h 22m. Suresh was in cloud nine after breaking the sub-2h barrier at 1h 57m! Congrats. The last time I heard, he was still flying high!

We celebrated our success by indulging in banana leaf thosai but too early for mutton as the cook had not started cooking yet. Probably still running after the goat to slaughter!

When great nations go broke

The Star

Friday July 22, 2011

Why Not?
By Wong Sai Wan

Populist decisions and fear of election backlash are the surest way a country would go bankrupt.
TAXI drivers went on strike against the issuing of more licences as part of austerity measures adopted by the government by parking their vehicles on the highway leading to the airport.
Another government had to sell off its embassies in 11 countries to raise RM300mil because it could no longer afford to keep them.
And in a third country, the government is in a tussle with its elected representatives as the country hurdles towards defaulting on its US$14.5tril (RM43.4tril) debt.
No, none of the countries referred to is Malaysia. Instead, the striking taxi drivers were in Greece, the embassy selling country is Britain and of course with such a huge debt, the third is the United States.
It’s frightening to think how these three countries – at one time or another was the greatest country of a certain generation.
In ancient time, Greece was the centre of the universe for everything ranging from democracy to sciences to world conquering feats by its leaders like Alexander the Great.
But it can no longer live on its past glories as it wallows in its own Greek tragedy.
Its economy, the 27th largest in the world, is in ruins just like the things that Greece is most famous for.
Britain – once called by everyone as the United Kingdom or Great Britain – had the largest empire in the world just a century ago with colonies in every continent. Malaysia was once its colony.
The British claimed the industrial revolution as its own and is rightly credited for turning manufacturing into becoming the mainstay of the global economy.
It is now a shadow of its glory days and at best is the rabble rousers in the European Union (EU) zone. Gone are its colonies in every far-flung corner of the world that kept its super economy running.
Now the British have even got to putting for sale its huge Chancery in Kuala Lumpur because it would be cheaper for the High Commission to operate out of a commercial building.
As for the United States, wasn’t it the leader of the free world and the fatherland of industrialisation where hardwork is always rewarded with ample financial gain?
But now the country is bogged down with wars on various fronts from Libya to Afghanistan.
Yes, the United States is still the No 1 country in the world as far as the economy size is concerned but for the first time in the past century, everyone else – especially China – is catching up quickly.
The Americans owe more money to everyone than anyone has in the past.
Go to the website http://www.usdebtclock.org/ and you will get the real time feeling of how much the land of the brave and free owe the rest of the world.
It will probably take hundreds of PhD thesis to explain what went wrong for these three nations but suffice to say that successive governments did not do enough to prevent their economies from falling into such a dark hole.
On top of that politics has played a strong role in pushing these economies into even darker places.
Political opponents in these countries, especially in the United States and Greece, have been playing a game of one-upmanship on every issue.
Even now on the brink of economic ruin, these politicians continue to play the game.
As for Greece, there are enough MPs there who want to play the popular game of not going ahead with the agreed austerity drive because it is supposedly too painful for its people.
But wasn’t it their foolhardiness that brought Greece to this position in the first place.
What was the hurry for Greece to join the single Euro monetary system? It was obvious that it was not ready to meet the standards set by the technocrats in Brussels (where the EU is headquartered). The same can be said of Ireland, Spain, Portugal and many of the old eastern block countries.
It is hoped that the Greek government will stand firm against pressures from the likes of the taxi drivers and proceed with the unpopular austerity measures.
As for the United States, the rivalry of Republicans and Demo-crats is threatening to send the world into possibly the biggest depression ever as there is less than 10 days left before America defaults on that huge debt.
The Republicans, who control the House of Representatives are refusing to approve President Barack Obama’s proposed budget on the debt ceiling because they claim it would hurt the American economy (read the rich).
If they default, the entire world can look forward to decades of depression as lenders will panic and demand all nations to repay their debts immediately.
Our national debt stood at RM233.92bil last year or 34.3% to the Growth Domestic Product.
It used to be worse but some of the debts were repaid in the last decade when the ringgit gained in strength.
Yes, surprisingly our country’s debt is not a huge mountain as some people would like us to believe, but what is worrying is the lack of support for efforts to reduce it further.
A sure way of doing it is by reducing subsidies.
In 2009, it was reported that the Government spent RM74bil in subsidies ranging from social projects to energy and food. This translates to an annual subsidy of about RM12,900 per household.
Cutting back on subsidies would be unpopular with the people. The negative reaction to the floating of the premium petrol prices and the allowing of energy prices to rise are examples of the backlash the Government has gotten from its efforts to reduce its subsidy spending.
The most popular comments against Malaysia’s spending cuts has been to ask the Government to reduce the leakages before even thinking of cutting back on subsidies.
Of course, it does not help the Government’s plans that in the past there has been ample evidence of such leakages.
Something must be done to convince the people there is a total war against wastage including using unpopular means. Why not?
After all, the most important lesson from the Greece, Britain and United States stories is that being popular will only guarantee election victories that will eventually lead to financial disasters.
> Executive editor Wong Sai Wan has been through three recessions and fears the fourth the most.

Your mess, your headache!

So there I was, talking to my old friend on the cell-phone. As per courtesy, when he answered, I asked him whether it was a convenient time to speak. He replied in affirmative as he was just waiting to pick his son from school. My friend had 2 sons and a daughter. I came to understand that this was the second son that he was waiting for. The first, a 12 year old lad, had been packed off to stay with my friend's brother in law in Australia. Why? Has he been banished from our motherland for some unforgivable crime sentenced to the pleasure of the King or something like that? Of course not! They are staying in Klang, with dearth of quality international education in the vicinity, my friend thought that for the sake of his future, his son would be better off let to grow up in a foreign land away from his parents!
Well. this is not the first time I have heard off such a 'sacrifice' done by parents, all in the name of securing a bright future for the children (as if children educated here in Malaysia are only fit to sell nasi lemak; not to imply that nasi lemak sellers are educationally challenged and have a bleak doomed future). They forget that many a successful entrepreneurs the world over did not even have the opportunity to even seek shelter from rain in a school compound! Lim Goh Tong and Boon Siew (of Honda fame) are 2 living (deceased) examples.
There is a family friend (an Indian in Thailand), who, in the not that well globalized Bangkok of the 1970s was mercilessly sent away to study in a boarding school in India at an unbelievable tender age of 5years old (no kidding). After being traumatized by home sickness and peer bullying, lucky for him, he continued the rest of his education in a newly established international school in Bangkok then.
And yet another boy (another friend's early teenage son) who after failing to perform well in the Malaysian schools, was bundled off to a boarding school in Chennai.
Hey, am I missing something here? Have I been misinformed all this while? I have always thought that you are responsible to the DNA that you sow. Just like you cannot go around spilling and sowing your wild oats recklessly without taking responsibility as a man, you are also responsible for the product of the half of the DNA that you did not 'waste'. In the immortal words of MSM, anyone can be a father; a good father takes responsibility of his offspring and nurtures him through his financial, physical, spiritual and psychological needs. Nobody likes his little own to be associated with such a brilliant but sickly serial killer like Charles Sobhraj.
My take on this is, you left this carbon foot-print, it is your job to ensure that this isotope, even if it does glow like diamond, it does not burn aimlessly like charcoal in a wild fire! You would not want your mess to be other people's headache.

Now, you understand economics!

http://www.bfm.my/resourcecentre_20110719_ahamed_kameel.html
Another product of Penang Free School and a good buddy of mine with a razor sharp mind but with a gentle personality and demanour. Everyone used to be jealous of his crowning glory of hair which looked a splitting image of Paul Glazer a.k.a. Starsky of the 'Starsky and Hutch' fame. Unfortunately,whilst in university it started dropping till he decided to shave it all off (even before Bruce Willis in Die Hard series) and he know looks like and his mannerisms are like one of Karamchand Mohalal Gandhi!
He was born on the southern most tip of Indian subcontinent in a village named Pannakollam (Lake of Money) overlooking into Palk Straits. His father had earlier started a jeweler's store in Penang in the early years of Independent Malaya. The rest of the family joined him later. AK arrived when he was a toddler, I think.
AK and I started studying in Hutchings Primary School and we progressed to Penang Free School.
In PFS, we were quite close. Before Martell started churning out the board game 'Master Mind', AK had already taught our group of friends his own version of this game (we had not given a name yet!) with paper and pen/pencil! He was (and probably is) a maths whiz and could understand concepts very fast. He was in Double Maths class and did economics as well. He had been quite sure all his life that he was going to do Business Administration and that is what he is doing now - Professor in Business Administration in IIU. How did he land in IIU (International Islamic University)? It is because when he had completed Form 6, he was still holding a red I/C which made him ineligible to apply to the public universities which was controlled by UPU which made it compulsory for entrees to hold blue I/C. And IIU was open to all.
Listen and be enlightened......
http://www.bfm.my/resourcecentre_20110719_ahamed_kameel.html

'Why I am a socialist and intend to remain so' - Dr. Kumar in detention

19 Jul 2011

“Hey Kumar! Still tilting at windmills are you?” a doctor friend greeted me at an MMA function 4 years ago. There had been some news regarding the Parti Sosialis Malaysia in the media that previous week.
For many, the socialist experiment had already been assigned to the dustbin of history and only deluded people would still work towards socialism.
But in the PSM, we believe that socialism has an important, even crucial, role to play in averting a collosal economic-ecological disaster that will occur within the next 30-60 years!
We believe that the world has to find a workable alternative to an economy driven by corporate greed. We advise 3 main arguments for this position.

1. Malaysia’s current economic course recommends to a "Race of the bottom"

The global owners of capital and technological expertise who control market access are a relatively small number of corporations – about 500 to 1000. They have become all powerful in the unipolar world of today and they can “bargain hunt”. Even the biggest governments can’t control them. 

The measures that Malaysia is taking to attract investors into Malaysia include

• Lowering corporate tax and supplementing tax income by enacting a GST. The tax burden is being shifted onto ordinary Malaysians
• Enhancing “labour flexibility”. This is a misnomer - it undermines job security and workers’ rights through allowing contractualizing of labour and by weakening unions.
• Privatization of basic services such as health care and tertiary education.

All these measures pile economic pressure on the lower 70% of the population.
And these are measures other developing countries are also taking – each outdoing the neighbor in the mad rush for FDI. It is very difficult to build a caring society within this framework of development.

2. Chronic under consumption leading to massive growth of financial capital and increasingly volatile financial “bubbles”

The ability of large corporations to “bargain hunt” in the cheapest sites to station their factories has meant mega-profits for these corporations but at the same time has stunted the aggregate consumption power of the global economy. When a US or European firm lays off 100 US workers by shifting to China and hiring 100 Chinese workers at 1/7 the wage, the total buying power of the working class is reduced.
The absence of robust growth in consumer demand dictates that the profits of the corporations cannot be invested in the production of more consumer goods. So the corporations need to try other alternatives to make money such as the Futures Market, Currency Trading, the Share Market, and other financial products like derivatives.
This tendency is highlighted by the fact that “Quantitative Easing” – the release of more money into the US economy in an effort to stimulate industrial production thus reducing unemployment – has backfired into the creation of more financial bubbles in various parts of the world. The problem is sluggish consumer demand, not a lack of productive capital.
The issue here is not insufficient regulations but a misdistribution of the world’s wealth! To address this problem, the power of the corporations has to be challenged!

3. We are reaching the environment limits of growth

The global economy is heavily dependent on petroleum. This commodity is going to run out within the next 50 years or so. We urgently need to think not only of alternatives sources of fuel, but also of much greater fuel efficiency! 
Global warming is with us. How soon and how fast sea levels are going to rise is still a matter of conjecture – but does that mean we can afford to ignore the issue if it only impacts our grandchildren and not us?
An economic model that requires a global average rate of growth of 4% per year to avoid downturns is clearly not sustainable! Not for the next 50 years! We need to redistribute the wealth we already are creating more equitably. We have to cut down waste! Growth cannot be endless.   
All of these are only possible if we are ready to challenge the paradigm that unchecked greed will lead to the best possible outcome for the world’s majority because Adam Smith’s “Invisible Hand” is still operating in today’s corporate led globalization.
The ordinary people of the world need to take power to dictate the direction of the national or world economy away from the hands of the 560 richest corporations of the world.
We need to empower the marhein of the world to take on these tasks through a democratic process. These are the tasks facing 21st century socialism. These are not easily attainable goals.
But the problems we are facing are extremely serious. Unchecked they could lead to an ecological, food or climatic disaster that will lead to a decimation of the world’s population.
This is not the world that I wish to bequeath my grandchildren. That is why I am a socialist and intend to remain so despite the EO/ISA arrest!
Written in detention,
Dr. Jeyakumar Devaraj

Ancient Aliens

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ancient Aliens is an American television series that premiered on April 20, 2010 on the History channel. Produced by Prometheus Entertainment, the program presents theories of ancient astronauts and proposes that historical texts, archaeology and legends contain evidence of past human-extraterrestrial contact. The show has been criticized for presenting disputed pseudoscience. The series' de facto pilot was a TV special of the same name that aired on March 8, 2009. A second season began airing on Thursday, October 28, 2010 in the 10ET/9CT time slot.
Production
The executive producer of Ancient Aliens is Kevin Burns, who also directed and wrote the pilot episode. Giorgio A. Tsoukalos serves as consulting producer and appeared on screen in the pilot. Erich von Däniken appeared in the pilot episode, and UFO researcher C. Scott Littleton served as an expert consultant for the show until his death in 2010.
Radio talk show host George Noory spoke in five episodes, including the pilot. Reverend Barry Downing, known for describing angels in the Bible as ancient astronauts, offered his viewpoints in the pilot episode. Psychologist Jonathan Young appeared on screen in every episode but the first pilot.
Critical reception
Reviewers have characterized Ancient Aliens variously as "far fetched" and "hugely speculative", and of "...expound[ing] wildly on theories suggesting that astronauts wandered the Earth freely in ancient time." The ideas presented on the program have been criticized as pseudoscience and pseudohistory.
Episodes
Pilot (2009)
Episode Title
Original Air date
Pilot (1)
"Ancient Aliens: Chariots, Gods & Beyond"
March 8, 2009
The pilot presents the views of author Erich von Däniken who theorized that advanced beings from another world visited primitive humans, gave them the knowledge of the solar system, concepts of engineering and mathematics, and became the basis for their religions and cultures as he claims are evidenced by ancient monuments such as the Nazca Lines, the Pyramids of Giza and the Moai statues of Easter Island.
Season one (2010)
Episode Title
Original air date
101 (2)
"The Evidence"
April 20, 2010
This episode suggests that aliens made contact with primitive humans, and cites as evidence, Indian Sanskrit texts from around 3000 BC that are suggested to describe flying machines called Vimanas; Egyptian megaliths that are said to show precision cutting work thought to be too advanced for the time; and Jewish Zohar writings that are said to describe a "manna machine" similar to chlorella algae processing of today.
102 (3)
"The Visitors"
April 27, 2010
The episode proposes that alien visitations have occurred around the globe, and cites as evidence, claims that the Dogon people were given galactic knowledge by a star god; the Hopi and Zuni celebrations of Kachinas (or "gods from the sky") that are symbolized with headdress that are said to resemble modern space helmets; and that the Chinese Huangdi was a Han leader who came to Earth on a yellow dragon which is suggested to have been a metaphor for a spaceship.
103 (4)
"The Mission"
May 4, 2010
This episode posits that extraterrestrials have a mission plan for Earth and mankind, and cites as evidence, Sumerian tablets that allegedly describe the Anunnaki as a race of creatures that came to Earth to mine gold; the purpose of cattle mutilations; the mile-long "band of holes" near Pisco, Peru; Egyptian hieroglyphs that are said to depict hybrid creatures that are part man/part animal; and crystal skulls and crop circles that are said to contain messages from aliens.
104 (5)
"Closer Encounters"
May 18, 2010
This episode suggests that alien encounters have been documented in various historical texts, citing as evidence, the 13th century book Otia Imperialia which describes an incident in Bristol, England ascribed to UFOs; the log entries of Christopher Columbus that report lights in the sky; stories of cigar-shaped craft allegedly seen over Europe during the Black Plague; and Medieval art that supposedly depicts disc-shaped objects floating in the heavens.
105 (6)
"The Return"
May 25, 2010
This episode proposes that aliens have contacted man as recently as the 20th century, citing examples such as the Battle of Los Angeles and the Roswell UFO Incident. It also looks at the modern SETI project and speculates what would happen if aliens answered back; what protocols exist to determine who would speak on behalf of mankind, and how we would communicate.

Season two (2010)
Episode Title
Original Air date
201 (7)
"Mysterious Places"
October 28, 2010
This episode examines locations around the Earth that are proposed "hot spots" of UFO activity; such as the Bermuda Triangle; Mexico's "Zone of Silence" an area of land said to naturally disrupt radio signals; the portal-like structure at Peru's Puerta de Hayu Marka; and the curious rock formations of the Markawasi Plateau.
202 (8)
"Gods & Aliens"
November 4, 2010
This episode looks at legends about powerful gods and fearsome monsters that have similarities between them even though these legends are found in different cultures separated by vast distances, and this episode also suggests that these legends may be eyewitness accounts of alien visitations. Also discussed are tales of gods interacting with humans, imparting wisdom and technology and impregnating women to create demigods who are supposedly the offspring of human/alien unions.
203 (9)
"Underwater Worlds"
November 11, 2010
This episode suggests that various underwater structures and ruins found around the globe may have been used by extraterrestrials; such as the temple ruins found under Lake Titicaca in Peru; the geometric structures of Yonaguni off the coast of Japan, and ancient Indian texts that allegedly describe other sunken cities yet to be discovered.
204 (10)
"Underground Aliens"
November 18, 2010
This episode theorizes that various underground places may have been extraterrestrial lairs; such as a lost cave in Ecuador said to hold metal tablets containing alien knowledge; the underground city of Derinkuyu in Turkey; Native American legends of "inner-earth" beings; and rumors of a secret U.S. Military-base supposedly built alongside aliens inside the Archuleta Mesa near Dulce, New Mexico.
205 (11)
"Aliens and the Third Reich"
November 25, 2010
This episode speculates that Nazi Germany had experimented with advanced alien technology and built flying machines; such as the Haunebu and the Die Glocke (The Bell); and rumors that some of this technology may have made its way to the United States and helped jump start the Apollo program.
206 (12)
"Alien Tech"
December 2, 2010
This episode proposes that some advanced weapon technologies currently in development, such as laser and sonic weapons, are rediscovered technologies used by advanced beings in the past. Also discussed are theories that aliens provided gravity manipulation devices to help man construct colossal stone structures around the world.
207 (13)
"Angels and Aliens"
December 9, 2010
This episode looks at various stories of angelic visitations that to some ancient astronaut theorists read more like alien encounters than divine appearances, and suggests they are not supernatural beings, but visitors from distant planets.
208 (14)
"Unexplained Structures"
December 16, 2010
This episode suggests that various sites around the world; such as Göbekli Tepe in Turkey; the Incan ruins of Sacsayhuamán in Peru; the Carnac stones of France; and Zorats Karer in Armenia, show construction techniques and mathematical concepts that were not believed to have been known at the time, and that this knowledge was gained from alien visitors.
209 (15)
"Alien Devastations"
December 23, 2010
This episode surmises that aliens may have caused various disasters, as depicted in the Bible and other texts, or even tried to warn man of them; such as Noah of the Great Flood. Also proposed is that some disasters ushered changes in human evolution and that our leaps in technology over the centuries were achieved with alien help.
210 (16)
"Alien Contacts"
December 30, 2010
This episode proposes that extraterrestrials may have contacted various humans throughout history, such as Moses and Joan of Arc, to help guide and inspire them to achieve great things; or to pass on important messages for humanity; such as a supposed binary message given to a UFO-contactee during the 1980 Rendlesham Forest incident who believes it is the coordinates to a mythical island called Hy-Brazil.
Season three (2011)
Season 3 is tentatively set to premiere Thursday July, 28.

Painting the town red!

As the Tamils have a proverb for a situation like this, 'Like a bear attending Lord Shiva's prayer', I do not know what this retard of a  fan (aren't they all?) - and they call us "Live-a-fool" - was thinking he bulldozed into the sea of red worshipers of Liverpool team. The Kops fans are too level-headed to ridicule the mentally challenged.
Anyway, welcome Liverpudlians to Malaysia. The Liverpool team is made up everyone else but hardly any Liverpudlians anyway but they play in the Merseyside they become Liverpudlians, right?.
From The Star, 16th July 2011....
PETALING JAYA: A Manchester United fan pushed his luck a little too far when he showed up at the Liverpool training session at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil wearing the Red Devils kit. 

Liverpool fans saw red and he was lucky to get away with only losing his shirt. Raging hell-raisers: (From top to bottom) The young man is spotted sporting the jersey, prompting Kopites to force him to strip. He then left, before returning in a Malaysian national team jersey. A video captured at the training session on Thursday and later uploaded on YouTube showed a young man clad in his Rooney No 10 jersey, surrounded by hordes of Liverpool fans, including women, seated directly in front of him. He resisted attempts to strip him, but his jersey was eventually lifted off in front of a crowd yelling “Buka! Buka!” (“Take it off!”). He refused to put on the Liverpool jersey, even as it was forcibly put over his head, and sat stone-faced and shirtless for a moment before he was led away from the jeering fans.
However, the Reds still failed to get him to wear their kit as he was later seen in the video wearing a yellow Malaysia jersey.

Liverpool fans who were nearby as the spectacle unfolded said he was asking for trouble.
“He can come to watch, but he should have known better with the rivalry between the two clubs,” said Zuliantie Dzul, 29. “He was showing off his jersey, making sure everybody saw him,” said Tommy Lim, 27.
The video can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0dcdoU51rk.

British subtlity at its best!

(from Malaysian Insider).....The palace will surely be running an enquiry into the shockingly embarrassing faux pas on the part of the Queen when she met the Prime Minister Najib yesterday. How could her majesty have been allowed to make such an appalling blunder? There could not be a more glaringly bright garment in the royal wardrobe. Brilliant daffodil yellow! From head to toe! If her majesty had worn this on the streets of KL the previous week, she would have been arrested! No question about it!

Was it is a genuine faux pas or is it a classic case of pacifying a child after pinching its butt? Not that the British are not known for their subtleties! I remember be told whilst preparing for the English professional examinations, not to be too confident that that oral examination and viva voce went on too well. The examiners who were just too nice could have failed you too miserably or have written a nasty remarks on your score chit after all that niceties! How do you think they managed to rule over so many advanced civilizations for so many generation? With brute force?

Chariots of the Gods?

Tomb of Mayan ruler Pakal (603-683 CE)
 in Palenque, Mexico. Interpreted as
 depicting an astronaut in his spaceship.

It is better than never. That is what I told myself when I was watching the documentary based on Erich von Daniken's book,  'Chariots of the Gods?' a good 35 years too late. And I was also reminding myself the Tamil saying that says 'what we know is a fistful but indeed what we do not know is ocean deep'!
I always wanted to watch it ever since my English master (KSG) and my schoolmates talked about it  in 1976! Now the chance finally came. Thanks to Ebay!
The narration started on how we would we would ushered when we were to visit a land far far away. With awe, respect, devotion? That the basis of his theory. Ancient visitors did visit us many years ago, to many parts of the world. They were awed by Earthlings who decided to to immortalize the visitors in cave drawings, stone carvings and monuments. They were worshiped. With the technologies imparted upon them, they built mammoth, mind boggling, precise technologically advanced (even for present times) masonry of which their functions are still not fully understood.

 Japanese statue(100-400BC)

His narration covers all corners of the continents.

• Europe and Middle East, he visits the lost city of Troy, Turkey, Egypt; shows us an medieval map of world as if seen from space high above Cairo (?taken from a space ship) with Antarctica on it (which was discovered in 20th century!)
• Africa, a sub Saharan desert which had a highly developed civilization 16 thousand years ago with cave carvings and men in spacesuits;
• Japan and Australia - cave drawings of jet planes and astronaut!;
• Central and South American with the wealth of archaeological findings of pyramids, monolithic stones nicely cut and fitted centuries ago with (?what), of Inca civilization and Machu Picchu, of the Mayans, their calendar and how they suddenly disappeared in 600AD without a trace with no trace of war, famine or plague! And the Nasca lines which are equated to air landing strips;



The Visitors?

• And how there is similarity in drawing in ancient drawings with head gear and space suit like garments - from Sumeria, the holy books (Bible, Qur'an, Mahabharata) right up to Incas.

You will end up more humbled but confused than the confused world we live in.

Machu Picchu, can you see 

Rajnikanth  and Aishwarya Rai

doing set-dance there?

Easter Island: 15–moai ahu excavated

and restored in the 1990s

Why oh why?

 I would be doing grave injustice if I do not mention at least in the passing about the Malaysians of all walks of life and all corners of the globe who came together for a similar cause. Remember this date 9th July 2011.

from all walks of life

During the height of the public rally, from the comfort of the armchair in the cool dry ambiance of my home, (it was pouring outside) I had the opportunity of gazing through some of the most stirring moments since the moment Tunku hailed heartily the cry of Merdeka to the nation in 1957, via the plethora of excellent photographs depicted via Facebook. In a very long time, Malaysians forgot their differences and came together for a single cause -to be heard!

the stand-off

At the end of the whole brouhaha, two things were quite clear to all of us. Everyone has come out smelling of roses in spite of the dented egos, injuries here and there, loss of business for a day and the initial fear of the sequelae. The Government is happy with the police for allegedly handling the crowd professionally (?with tear gas and water hose). The organizers of the rally were smiling happy, in spite of their crimson hued clothes of injuries and wet due to rain and water jet shot at them, with the great turnout which they claim to be 50,000 (vs. 5,000 as alleged by their opponents).
And it also looks like none of the leaders have any control over any anybody (so it appears) and like to pass the buck. The government leaders initially refused to legitimize the rally, tried to discourage it via the media of its ill effect on tourism and local business. When the call became too loud, they insist that the King's consent must be sought. When the King decreed that the stadium would be used. Then the stadium management refused. And the police said no permit for your rally and that they would shoot demonstrators.

guess who joined the party? Marina!

PM said Home Minister is responsible who says that the Police is on consenting to gathering (like the Minister is just there to warm the seat and collect his pay cheque and other benefits), forgetting that the King had given the green light, albeit in a contained environment! The word treason died in the era of Hang Jebat! Hey, who is the Boss aorund here?
During one of the photo browsing instance in cyberspace, I stumbled upon a shot of two individuals, obviously foreigners with an international news broadcasting crew - a Caucasian male behind the camera capturing the clash between police and rakyat around Puduraya and a pudgy Indian lady, from my novice Sherlock Holmes' type of deduction, with post parturition remaining adipose tissue probably with a toddler back home under the care of her mother, hanging behind the camera looking apprehensive. She must be an apprentice of sort or an assistant technician hoping to advance her career in the field of photo-journalism, looking anxious but trying her best to be the one to capture that special moment hoping that her one shot could change the world like the scores of classics we have been exposed to before - the classic helicopter shot leaving Saigon, of the nude young girl running aimlessly after being exposed to Agent Orange, WW2 atom bomb victims, etcetera....
Maybe, sounding chauvinistic in the comfort of my armchair, sounding politically incorrect in this time and age, I ask myself, "Why or why? What is a lady like you doing in a place like this?" The answer I would have probably got (after a tight slap) is ... something I learnt in Dewan Kindergarten in 1969.....
I had joined this kindergarten late after leaving the one near my house as they believed in corporal punishment for pre-schoolers! The teachers in the old school used to tie the tiny children's hands with strings and frighten them with lit matchsticks for mischief. In Dewan, on my first day, every child was happily singing to the tune of the Malay folk song 'Bangau Oh Bangau'. If one were to scrutinize the lyrics of the song which starts with the question of why the stork's leg are so petite, we would come to realize that everything in this world is inter-related. One cannot stand independent or oblivious of the other. No one stands alone. It is a vicious cycle. Somebody got to the dirty job for the betterment of the bigger good (if there is such a word!

Oh Bangau oh Bangau

Kenapa engkau kurus

Macam mana aku tak kurus

Ikan tidak timbul

Oh ikan oh ikan

Kenapa engkau tidak timbul

Macam mana aku nak timbul

Rumput panjang sangat

Oh rumput oh rumput

Kenapa panjang sangat

Macam mana aku tak panjang

Kerbau tak makan aku

Oh kerbau oh kerbau

Kenapa engkau tak makan rumput

Macam mana aku nak makan

Perut aku sakit

Oh perut oh perut

Kenapa engkau sakit

Macam mana aku tak sakit

Makan nasi mentah

Oh nasi oh nasi

Kenapa engkau mentah

Macam mana aku tak mentah

Kayu api basah

Ok kayu oh kayu

Kenapa engkau basah

Macam mana aku tak basah

Hujan timpa aku

Hujan oh hujan

Kenapa engkau timpa kayu

Macam mana aku tak timpa kayu

Katak panggil aku

Katak oh katak

Kenapa engkau panggil hujan

Macam mana aku tak panggil

Ular nak makan aku

Ular oh ular

Kenapa engkau kau nak makan katak

Macam mana aku tak makan katak

Memang makanan aku

Of wallpapers, wallflowers and flavour of the month!

Wallflowers, the band

While meeting up with a friend's father, a mid septuagenarian, who was recuperating from a major illness, his mobile phone rang. After he had completed his conversation, everyone noticed his romanticism from his mobile wallpaper. He had placed a snap of husband and wife studio pose!

Suddenly, everybody was looking at each others' gizmo. Everybody had their accusing eyes casted on my el cheapo G-less cell phone when they saw what saw. Instead of immortalizing the picture of my love of my life or the product of thereof, there was a nocturnal snapshot of Sultan Sulaiman building with its clock tower which I took during my last run! Being a good sport, I just laughed it off.

Hey, my phone wall paper is like the restaurant's flavour of the month. I change it when I get bored with the picture. Before this it was a picture of a comb, preceded by Tasmania pics, etcetera, etcetera...It is not indicative of degree of passion or lack of. I am not a PDA type of a guy (PDA = public display of affection). No one knows what goes in the mind. Everything is a mirage.

Remember, for umpteenth times, suspected gruesome murderers and child molesters have appeared in courts in full view draped in conservatively religious tunics and head gears to highlight their docile predisposition just to be sentenced guilty on all accounts. And the numerous politicians who claim to be servants of the masses just to serve their own coffers.

Here I stand alone like a wall flower.....

Malaysians Passed the Test, Brilliantly!

SUNDAY, JULY 10, 2011
M. Bakri Musa
www.bakrimusa.com
bakrimusa@juno.com

A remarkable thing happened this past weekend. To many, the event on Saturday was nothing more than a massive public demonstration that capped a long brewing confrontation between those advocating “fair and free elections” and those who deemed that our elections are already so.
As with any fight, the drama was played out long before the event, and by the time the actual battle took place, the participants had long forgotten the original issue. Instead, now the preoccupation is who blinked first, who outsmarted whom, and most of all, who lost and who won. These then become the new overriding divisive issues, eclipsing the original one.
The losers would return to their corner with their new resolve: “Next time!” And the battle continues; they never learn! There were plenty of losers this weekend but few winners. The winners may be few but their achievements scaled new heights.
To me, this weekend was one of those moments (much too frequent, I hasten to add!) that test our nation. This time however, Malaysians acquitted themselves well. The same cannot be said of the Najib administration.
If this was an academic exercise, I would grade the performance of Malaysians as represented in Bersih an “A,” while the Najib Administration flunked badly. So dismal was its performance that the Najib administration should have no recourse to a remedial course or supplemental test; expulsion is the only option.

Terrible Trajectory

I would have thought that after the debacle of 1997 with the grossly inept handling of the reformasi demonstrations, and again a decade later with HINDRAF, the UMNO government would have learned a thing or two on how to deal intelligently with dissent and public demonstrations, two inherent features of a democracy. My expectation is not unreasonable, if not heightened, considering that we are today dealing with essentially the same characters in the administration. Most of the ministers who were in power during the reformasi and HINDRAF (now dubbed Bersih 1) are still there in Najib’s cabinet.
Obviously they, individually and collectively, have a flat learning curve. They are incapable of learning. There is a clinical term for that, but since this is a lay article I will resort to street lingo: idiots.
Their flat learning curve is even more incomprehensible considering that the consequences to them were so severe. The 1997 reformasi mess resulted in Barisan being thrashed in the 1999 elections, with Najib nearly being kicked out of his safe seat in Pekan that his father had held for many years.
The price escalated with Bersih 1.0. The general elections of 2008 saw Barisan being humiliated with an unprecedented loss of its two-thirds parliamentary majority, along with five states, including two of the most developed: Penang and Selangor.
I will let readers plot the trajectory as to the consequences of this weekend’s mess should the next general elections be held soon, as is widely predicted.
The iconic image of the reformasi debacle was of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar’s battered face; that of Bersih1.0 was of Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin frothing at the mouth, babbling incoherently in front of the international news media trying to justify his government’s brutal suppression of its people. It was a classic demonstration of that uniquely Malay mental malady, latah (verbal diarrhea). It was also a display of amok, another peculiarly Malay affliction, albeit in this case only of the oral variety.
The iconic image of Bersih 2.0 was refreshing; that of its leader Ambiga Sreenivasan, former Bar Council President, serenely leaving the Istana after an audience with the King. The symbolism could not be overstated, for the Najib Administration had earlier declared her organization illegal! Only those retarded would miss the message, and they are precisely the types we are dealing with here.

Winners and Losers
My award for courage and excellence in Berseh 2.0 goes to those brave Malay masses who defied their government, their imams, and the party that had long proclaimed and presumed to speak on their behalf. In taking a very active part in a movement led predominantly by non-Malays, those Malays showed that they are no longer trapped by tribalism; they had escaped the clutches of chauvinism. There is now no going back.
This significant milestone is not acknowledged, much less appreciated. However, leaders who ignore this do so at their peril. For aspiring Malay leaders, it is now no longer enough for you to display your nationalistic zeal or ethnic instincts. You have to articulate the issues that matter most to the Malay masses: fairness, honesty, and justice, in elections and on other issues. I would also add competence. Those incidentally are also the concerns of all Malaysians.
Yes, there was a time when you could garner Malay support by justifying that the victims of your corruption, injustices and unfairness were non-Malays. Those days are now long gone; get used to it! Malays now realize that while in the past those victims may be mostly non-Malays, today they are increasingly Malays too.
The comforting corollary to my observation is that those capable non-Malay leaders would be assured of Malay support, if they were to address the central issues facing the masses.
Yes, Bersih 2.0 had strong non-Malay support especially abroad. Unanswered is whether a similar movement with equally noble objectives but with predominantly Malay leadership would garner the same enthusiastic support from non-Malays. If reformasi was any indication, the answer would be a reassuring yes.
I am especially heartened by the responses of Malay NGO leaders like Marina Mahathir. When Najib, and others who took their cue from him, began demonizing Ambiga by maliciously injecting ugly racial and religious accusations, Marina unambiguously and passionately defended Ambiga. Marina was of course all smiles and gentleness, as is the traditional halus (fine) Malay way, but there was no disguising her contempt for such odious tactics and their purveyors.
The biggest loser was of course the Najib Administration, specifically Najib and his fellow UMNO ministers. Their inanity was typified by Home Minister Hishammuddin complimenting the police for keeping the peace and stability. Yes, with the streets blockaded, stores closed, and citizens bludgeoned – the ‘peace’ and ‘stability’ of a prison “lockdown.” That was KL all week leading to last Saturday.
The conspicuous silence of other Barisan leaders was noted; that reflected solidarity not out of courage but cowardice. In contrast, even UMNO Youth defied Najib in declaring that it too would stage a counter demonstration.
Despite its defiance, UMNO Youth was also the loser, together with that ultra-Malay organization led by has-been politicians and past-their-peak professors, Perkasa. Good thing that the government had banned their leaders from KL; at least they had a ready excuse for their dismal performance.
The list of losers is long; there is little merit in mentioning more except for just this one, and I do so with profound sadness. A few weeks before the event, all the mosques in Kuala Lumpur, including the National Mosque, were warning their Friday prayer congregants of the evilness of those who led Bersih 2.0 and the sin that would befall those who would participate in it.
At a time when our community is divided, as with this central issue of fair and free elections, I would expect our ulamas and religious leaders to be our healers, to bring us together, to be the balm to our collective wounds. Instead they became only too willing instruments of the state with their canned state-issued sermons demonizing those who saw merit in the objectives of Bersih 2.0.
Obviously to the thousands of Malays who took part in Bersih 2.0, including one particular old man in his jubbah who had to be helped to walk, those characters cloaked in their flowing robes standing at their mimbar every Friday noon are less pious ulamas to be revered but more propagandists for the state to be defied. They may be Imams, but to the thousands who took part in Berseh 2.0 last Saturday, they are carma imams, to borrow National Laureate Samad Said’s term. Carma is the Malay contraction of cari makan, seeking a living. Idiomatically it refers to those who prostituted their honored craft or profession.
Those GI Imams (Government-issued) have flunked their test; there is no remedial course for them either. That is one of the great casualties of last Saturday’s event. For those carma imams, there is no corner they can return to or hide in.

RRF to PPSP: Ep 2

Episode 2: Racial Polarization

University is the epitome of racial polarization in the country. That I found out upon entry to varsity. Everything else follows as this cream of society is destined to lead the rest of the country whose citizen would naturally follow the ideology of their leaders who have been soaked up growing in a soup of racial discrimination.  

University Sains Malaysia (USM) Medical School (PPSP in Malay) started its pioneer batch of students in 1981. Hence, I was in the third set of guinea pigs taught in a new medical education format based on the curriculum modelled by MacMasters Medical School in Hamilton, Canada. It was said that everyone was watching with eyes wide open, in curiosity and possibly for ridicule, its outcome as the system is said to challenge the tradition method of teaching in a medical school.

The enrollment of our class was 96 (after the final adjustments, more later). Admission to the school was via 2 modes- Matriculations (Pre-University course for privileged few) and STPM (A levels in public schools). The standards between this two are like comparing apples and oranges - no compare. Matriculation students are handpicked from the remaining pool of Bumi talent after the creme-ala-creme have been shipped off to represent the country in foreign country with Government-sponsored scholarships. The non-Bumi representative (less than 10%)is predominantly the offspring of those born with a silver spoon or massive political connections. These students are tested on a 6-month semester (then forget about it and concentrate on their next) basis. The mortals like us burn our butts, squeezing 2 years curricula in 18 months just to sit for the easily most difficult examination on planet Earth marked by unknown examiners! 

At the Matriculation course, the playing field is not level. The Non-Bumis are there just as an eyewash. The whole ideology of Matriculation is just to churn a lump of mush to something presentable for the university to them to professionals to meet the Government's social re-structuring. Even in the final exams, when the Bumi student scores 11As of 14As, he is declared the best student through some dubious criteria when there were loads of Non-Bumis obtaining all 14As. In our course of study, the non-Bumis from Matriculation remained aloof on controversies around them but stuck on to their purpose in life - to graduate with a medical degree at the end of the day.

100% of Bumi students (79 in number) in my medical were Matriculation graduates. A handful of them were open-minded and aware of the birds, bees, critical thinking, and could share jokes commonly enjoyed by young adults! Unfortunately, the majority of them were walking zombies. They appear to be draped in Middle eastern desert long tunics with unimaginative colours (both male and female). Speaking English seem alien with unwitting mixing of tenses and gender, e.g. he is having monthly periods!
All Bumi students, rich or poor, were financed by the Government obtained PSD scholarships, 100%. Whilst the mortals, the nons, toil the hot sun to queue to pay our university tuition fees, the bumis would just zoom past in their 650cc bikes. And they wonder why 1-Malaysia cannot be achieved!
Of the remaining 16 non-Bumis in PPSP, 8 were from STPM whilst the rest were from matriculation.
With a motley crew of medical students flocked together in an experiment to prove to the world that their untested system will work, with our future on the chopping block, we, the STPM batch of students, basically spent the good of the first year pondering upon the quality of healers we would be. Or will we just be shamans or kahunas with all mumbo-jumbo happening around us?         

                                        

N.B. In the '80s, when TV tele-serials were in their infancy, and the terrestrial TVs were the only option available, everybody knew all famous, exciting TV shows in all languages. The original 'Shanghai Beach' to the tune of Frances Yip used to echo in the corridors of RRF and was a personal favourite friend of mine, YGC, who used to hum it in class! Even Sudirman and Noor Kumalasari sang it on TV. Talk about spontaneous national integration.