Wednesday, December 30, 2009

On the eve of 2010.

30.12.2009.

It's Wednesday 30th. December, one more day before 2010. Tiong Meng said this morning was his last golf round for the year. I'll play one more day, tomorrow.

I came back from Kuantan last night. We stopped at Low Yat to find a replacement for Dekna's  stolen lap top. Petrol cost me RM 174 for the two-way trip. Seri Malayasia Kuantan charged me RM 170 for one night. Dekna  paid for the toll, and we ate at Bangtai's - one dinner on 28th., and lunch on 29th. before we drove back.

Yusni's National Service Camp seems to be doing well. Kuantan seems to be doing well, too. The traffic jams were incredible, though. I can't remember such a mess when I was working and covering Pahang 20 years ago. 

We found a semi-detached house for RM 580 in Tanjung Lumpur. I couldn't believe it is that expensive. We took it anyway, because it seems a nice house in an apparently nice area, and Bangtai is only on the other side of the housing area.  Faraha will join Dekna  in March. 

The politics. Everybody is an expert. Me, my wife and the three boys (minus Dekna ), everybody I talk to at the golf club, and everybody I talk to outside it talk politics. Those supposedly managing the politics, too, only talk it. They're hopeless, thus the onging mess. The BN is turning on its head. Past BN Presidents who are dead and buried must be turning in their graves. One surviving BN President forced another who succeeded him out of office.  If the present one is not careful he might very well follow suit.

Component Parties are in deep shit, too.   Party leaders are being asked to go but all refusing to do so. Even the opposition pact is having their own share of excessive politicking and the accompanying mudslinging. 

There's a BN whip in Parliament, but probably the whip should be used on him with some vigour. C'mon, man. BN nearly lost the vote on the budget. If the pact had won it, they could have used their number to overturn the government and really turn the running of the country inside out. 

Everyone of us who voted in 2008 should demand an explanation from our MPs about where they were that night. We put them in Parliament not so that they can enjoy themselves elswhere. Only old Mahathir dares to criticise the leadership. Whether his points are valid or not is a separate issue, but are the others merely dumb followers ? 

They can obviously lay it on thick on people like Mahathir when they can  ( the loudmouth Nazri was told to shut up), but all seem to keep their own counsel on the strange decisions by the government. Najib will suffer the same predicament that afflicted Dollah, if the rest of the crowd behave like cattle. Najib says "One Malaysia !" and everybody shouts after him "One Malaysia !". I wonder if everyone understands the message. Just like Islam Hadari before. 

The opposition pact is suffering from their unexpected success at the last elections. They were as surprised as the rest of us that they won in five states. They were never prepared to run anything, much less run a state government. They can't even run their own affairs at the moment. Most of their candidates who won were not even properly vetted, and now they and all of us are seeing the quality, or mostly lack of it thereof. 

The economy. In the midst of all these, as they say, "who's minding the store ?". Has the economy recovered after the capitalist meltdown ? The US says it hasn't, and it's bigger and and has deeper pockets. Those Malaysian experts who say we are recovering may not believe their own words, or shouldn't. 

Communism is gone. Capitalism as we know it is also probably gone. Paper wealth should be discarded, and true values of factors of production should be recognized.   The first step ought to be  to replace the greenback as a major international measurement. The gold dinar voiced by Mahathir years ago merit examination. It wasn't his original idea, but he lent voice to it.  We should seriously study and implement it. Greed should not rule the market as it does if left alone. Fair distribution as espoused by the syariah is the answer. Only a government can control that. 

The akhlak. The real mark of civilisation is "akhlak". It's the moral standard that's ordained by the syariah that offers the answer to the decline in the guidance of human behaviour for upholding the welfare and public well-being of the human race. Regardless of creed and religion. The Quran specifically mentions the freedom of choice of religion, and respect for different beliefs, contrary to the current ill-founded commentaries about Islamic fundamentalism. Fundamentalism refers to the true teaching, not the extreme practices of Islam. Akhlak would, in a very small example, restrain the tired bus driver from attempting to answer only to his  greed for more trips, rather than seek rest, and render safety the overwhelming desire for caring for his  passangers. Akhlak also should cause the leaders of the greatest country of the world to give fair assessment of the unfair conditions of the Palestinian one-sided armed conflict. 

I hope 2010 would fare better than 2009. 

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Saturday, December 26, 2009

The Reaper says "goodbye '09, welcome '10"

27.12.2009.

It's been an eventful year with lots of "last minute surprises" worthy of a long blog from yours truly. So much so, it deserves some careful thinking, therefore I'll write after I gather some thoughts and give it some serious time.

2010 is 4 days away. "Happy New Year !" and see you later.



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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Christmas cheer is here.

22.12.2009.

Yuletide is here, and like true Malaysians everyone gets one more excuse to celebrate, but then, why not ?. And suddenly many interesting news came out daily this last one week. I'm referring to the stolen aircraft engines (so far two only), blasting Mahathir, again, on the bilion-dollar wastages of his premiership, the MCA-PAS-MIC-PKR-, and , of course, UMNO - infighting, the near defeat of the Federal budget in Parliament, and the defeat of Ezette by Bung Muktar, also in Parliament. 

I remember when Ishak Tadin was the GM of KTM and he discovered one locomotive engine missing. I can't remember what happened afterwards. Perhaps we should ask both KTM and Ishak, because they're both still alive. 

A Royal Commission for the aircraft engine theft by the General and his 40 thieves is not a bad idea, but it maybe bad for Najib because he was the Minister then. And Zahid of the Kertam shares episode, the current Defence minister, may not want too much spotlight right now. 

The intra party squabbles can go on and on.  That's why it's called a party. The near defeat of the Federal budget in a BN-controlled house must take the prize. Especially because nowadays there's even a full minister in charge of Parliament. Looks like he's a bloody fool minister. I'm only following his style of using the word bloody on Mahathir. What was he doing ? Anyway, except for Bung Muktar and his new-found toy, where were the other MPs ? They cannot all be busy marrying their second young wives ! 

The best story is Mahathir's reply to Lim Kit Siang and Anwar about his spendthrift ways when Prime Minister ( and for many years helped by Anwar). Get on with the Commission, he said. So get on with it, Najib. I don't think Najib is so stupid as to do what Lim & Partner wants. In fact, I don't think his new partner Anwar is that stupid as to really want the Commission, because Mahathir would have a field day on him alone. This is all so predictable, this Mahathir-bashing to just embarass the old man. I'm afraid others might be embarassed. 

Except Anwar. He's beyond embarassment. 

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Friday, December 18, 2009

The continuing Tiger Woods furore.

18.12.2009.

It's a classic demonstration of the power of the pen, though these days one might say the power of the  keyboard. The media is responsible for quickly putting Tiger Woods on a pedestal. Now it's dismantling his image equally quickly. 

All he wanted to do was be the best golfer of his time. That he has become.  And no amount of his image destruction should take away all that he has achieved on the golf course in the last 19 years, from age 14. 

Let's look at that golf record first. In the first 3 of those 19 years referred to, he was the US Junior Champion consecutively. In the following 3 years he won the US Amateur Championship, also consecutively. Not even Jack Nicklaus, the man whose 18 Majors he's trying to emulate, had done that. 

In the last 13 years, as a professional, he has won the 4 Majors a total of 14 times, averaging more than once per year, and that, too, Nicklaus has not achieved. He has won the Player of the Year more than 10 times, the Vardon Trophy more than 10 times, the Top Money List more than 10 times, and in total PGA wins at age 33, he is now 1 less than Nicklaus and 12 less than  the record holder, the late Sam Snead, who won 84 times in a  very long career.

Throughout his career, only two other golfers have held the No. 1 ranking beside him. At the moment his point average ranking is almost double that of the No. 2 player, Phil Mickelson, who is 3 years older. And to top all these, Forbes magazine reported that at the end of this season Tiger Woods has made US 1 billion from both prize money and endorsements, the most for any professional athelete in history. That's RM 3,500,000,000. That works out to RM 22.4 million per month, or RM 750,000 per day. As a comparison Nazir Razak, CIMB, is reputed to be paid RM 400,000 a month.

Golf-wise, at 33, Tiger Wood is only just approaching his prime. Nicklaus won his last Major when he was 46. After 50, most pro golfers in USA join the Championship Tour, where many like Hale Irwin have won more money than when in the regular PGA Tour. This is to say that there is every reason to believe that Tiger Woods can easily double his earnings in another 13 years, when he'll only be a relatively young 46. Who knows how much he'll make in the Championship Tour. 

In the last 13 years Tiger has gone through 3 major swing changes, "to be better" he said. The record shows that he has become better. He had two eye surgeries and two knee operations. He has set the golfing fraternity on the fitness regimen. He made the golf gurus fashionable and rich. He has made golf equipment technology development  big business. He raised the bar for everybody. TV ratings and commercial endorsements and sponsorship have exploded the prize money and monetary benefits enjoyed by pro golfers worldwide today. Without too much exageration, it's all attributable to one man - Tiger Woods. 

And now in gratitude everybody wants to destroy this guy ?

Let's look now at the stories' background. For all the fame and fortune of Tiger Woods, his has not been the Hollywood lifestyle of wasteful extravagance and debauchery. Sure, there's the mansion and the yacht and the private jet, but no more than the next millionaire. There's been no tabloid sensation partner-changing and all-night partying, and until now, wild fornication and wife-swappings. Admittedly, this was a life-style too good to be true. Therein lies the problem, perhaps. Since this is the USA, it's surely legitimate to ask just how many starlets, male and female, making less money and carrying less fame, have done what Tiger Woods is alleged to have done - visiting night clubs and flirting with beautiful hostesses and persumably getting laid in one-night-stands ? How many up-and-coming executive types do the evening rounds in night spots and hooking-up for casual sex ? There's no excuse for religious sin being offered here. This is simply describing what is on open offer in affluent USA right here and now, where entertainment is on sale and the business has never been better. So, how can you spit on one part of the equation, and leave the other unmolested ?

A famous pro golfer, who has been free with his advice, not so long ago was involved in a messy divorce before marrying, for a short period, the wife of his good friend, who was also relatedly involved in his own messy divorce. Don't you suspect that  illicit relationship had started long before, all guilty of unfaithfulness ? 

Let's look at these women who prostitute themselves. Firstly, why "prostitute" ? The defination is "sex for money". So what's the difference between paying a common whore for sex and the "kiss & tell" of those who, having consented to free sex, now go public with their story for pay ? It's always money, the destroyer. Those who dispense of it, and those grabbing it. The dispenser expects to get something for his dispensation. The grabber knows the layout. Without the money, there'll be no talk. After each transaction the game should be over and out. But ego and greed compete endlessly. Somewhere along the line, something always gives. So, who are the guilty?

We have good company - those seeking public office, and those already in office, Presidents of old times and not so old times, Prime Ministers, from East and West, even men of the cloth, dabbling in both opposite and same sex, both officially prohibited. Where are they now ? Have they been made to pay, or have they been forgiven?  Where are friends and acquaintences, or have they all turned away when they should have turned a blind eye ? Now is the time to show support, or at least understanding. One swallow doesn't make a summer. A drop of ink doesn't really spoil the claypot of milk (susu sebelanga lah ) unless it's a very large drop or a very small pot.

What's next for Tiger ? He should stick to his 2010 schedule and produce the brilliant game expected of him. He's The Golfer, and should make his statement in the customary way, on the golf course. Forget about those sponsors who want to forget him. As he has said himself too many times, winning will take care of the rest. Nobody wants his marriage to end,  I would imagine. He has been very brave to have quickly gone public with his remorse. If Elin is rejecting that, then the loss is hers, too. In as much as stupidity overcame Tiger in his times of weakness, the resilience of true love could surely  stand  the strain  imposed by revelations of that stupidity. Wasn't that part of the matrimonial promise, to love and to cherish, in good times and bad ? 

Everyone is entitled to some mistakes in his lifetime. That's part of being human. You don't necessarily "contra" good deeds with "bad". But I'm sure Tiger has been an adequate provider to his whole family. Elin should have a large enough heart to forgive, if not to forget. That's true love. Not the disposable type everyone is drumming up hatred for now.

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Tuesday, December 15, 2009

First transfer.

15.12.2009.

It was just six months ago that Dekna was appointed DPP in Putrajaya. On 4th. January she starts in Kuantan, the first of many transfers to come, I'm sure. 

This afternoon I called Bangtai about the rented house in Tanjung Lumpur that he told Idah he had secured. He confirmed it, saying it's semi-detached and looks suitable and is located in a nice area, and they want 580 for it. Since Dekna would later share the house with another DPP, it seems OK to me. But Dekna wants to make a trip after Christmas to see for herself. This means the weekends at home will now become month-end for Idah, or we could make the trip instead.

About the idea of Idah moving with Dekna,  I don't think she can do that,  with her PEKERTI involvement. 

As for me, RPGC and SIGC have reciprocal arrangements, so my golf only changes venues. 


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3rd. Veteran UMNO AGM.

15.12.2009.

Since its belated inception, this was the third General Assembly of Veteran UMNO Malaysia, held at the Puteri Resort, Air Keroh, Melaka. Muhyiddin officiated at dinner; Ali Rustam footed the bill. Neat. 

We  from NS got 70 ringgit each, exactly the petrol and toll costs incurred. Other states were more fortunate because they have more caring MBs. In a way, this was a downgrading. Last year and the year before it was the PM who came, and the venues were "higher class." This year it was just the poolside for dinner, and the meeting hall could hold all of 500 people sitting in close rows without tables, while the Supreme Council sat in two rows in front facing the delegates on the same floor level. Other than the meals prepared specially for the delegates, no other food, for sale or otherwise was available. And all the rooms were converted for 3 or 4-person-occupancy by fitting in a third or fourth bunk. Still Ali reportedly complained that the 250,000-ringgit bill was much higher than expected.

The belated inception I referred to is arguable, of course. In the first place, surely it takes time for UMNO to produce veterans of any kind. On the other hand, the party didn't quickly warm up to the idea of having another internal movement that might compete for popularity. Seeing as to how incumbent party leaders speak out nowadays, maybe the veterans can play a role in voicing caution to caustic comments causing complicating crisis to caucus. 

In the conversations at dinner and breakfast the next morning, everyone  voiced disappointment at the eroding manners of Cabinet members when giving comments in public.   What is the necessity of going out of your way to be nasty ? Is it really macho, or is it being plain  tactless ? It's this sort of foul-mouthing that turned many UMNO members themselves from casting their votes in protest in the last GE. 

The appointment of the assembly chairman that morning was a joke, if not a faux pas . The Secretary had announced that the Supreme Council had deliberated and selected this SC member to be the chairman for the assembly, but  failed to table it to the floor for endorsement.  This technical error was rightly pointed out  by a few members.  Unfortunately, the selected person   spoke up without diplomacy. Riled up  members joined a chorus of objections. The 15-minute verbal fracas was settled when one sane delegate stood up and said "I propose that Mr X (this same candidate) be appointed as the chairman of this assembly".  The  majority of the 440 delegates shouted  "I agree !". When the idiot  tried to save face by starting to say something more about the issue, everyone shouted "proceed with meeting !".  He took off his songkok and proceeded with the meeting. 

In all the excitement, everyone forgot to sing the UMNO song.

And I left the meeting at 10, two hours before time. 

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Thursday, December 10, 2009

That's why he's Tiger (if the stories are true).

10.12.2009.

To use golf parlance, Tiger Woods is "in the hazard". After the SUV accident, story upon story about illicit romancing have come out like worms out of the, well, wood. I would like to think these are only stories,  until proven true. 

For 13  years, Tiger had been beating them on the mostly White golf tours.  What they can't do to him on the golf course, now they're only too happy to do off  it,  a chance not to be wasted. 

Firstly, assuming it's all true again, it's consensual sex. 

Secondly,   if I'm virile and worth one billion dollars, all the sweet-young-things that come my way could throw  themselves at  me. 

If you can imagine the situation - an upscale night club, beautiful music and beautiful crowd - pretty young things wouldn't think twice about flirting with Tiger. Honestly, I'd be greatly disappointed if Tiger plays it straight and abstains completely.  A sin is a sin, by any religious standard, so there's no excuse for it,  But sowing wild oats is as old as the Scriptures.  If it was other the the most recognizable athlete in the world, I don't think the stories would  make it to the print. 

Jay at the club this morning remarked flippantly that Elin must be "naive".  Tiger and Elin  should get over it and move on, and charge it all to experience. And similiarly we should all also move on. We should look forword to Tiger's next exploit. 

On  the golf course. 

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Obama with Nobel.

10.12.2009.

Surely it's the belligerent image of US , or US-backed forces marauding into Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Palestine, now and not so long ago Panama, Vietnam, Laos and elswhere ,that stands out in the public mind at the moment ? And now the PEACE prize for the US Commander in Chief ? Of course it's up to the Nobel Foundation whom it wants to honour, but isn't there real honour amongst men any more ? 

This looks like the misnomers of old - calling the Speaker who doesn't speak, the Firemen who kill fires, collateral damages for central ones, d.u.i. for drunk driving, friendly fires for shooting your own people and what's friendly there, and the rest of them. 

So Obama sends 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan and asks his European friends to follow suit and that's worth the Peace prize ?

These comments are all questions here because it's all questionable.

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009

3rd. rate mentality ?

9.12.2009.

A prominent Malaysian politician said some years ago that this country has first rate infrastructure but third rate mentality, or something to that effect. My experience this afternoon reminded me of that observation.

Pak Itam and I took the 12 noon commuter from Seremban to Subang Jaya with the intention of going to a golf sale in Kelana Jaya. As usual the commuter train's coaches were half-filled  at Seremban, but at each of the 13 stops to KL Central more commuters came in, and we were standing room only by the time we left the last stop before KL Central. 

On the return journey at 6 pm the situation was twice as bad. In fact in all my years of using this KTM commuter service, this was the first time that I saw many passangers standing all the way to Seremban. 

Many Ministers and the last Prime Minister have seen the situation for themselves, and the usual public promises were duly reported in the mainstream media. The real public complains have always been there, but who listen to these anyway. The solution seems so simple - add more coaches and increase the frequency of the trips.

At the Subang Jaya station Pak Itam and I tried all the 6 or 7 available taxis to get us to Kelana Jaya but all refused, and not in a friendly way at that. Just as we were to leave and try out on the road, an Indian taxi driver finally relented and asked for 15 ringgit, which he said was normal and who were we to be choosy anyway. Why give this sort of people taxi licences in the first place ?

It's a wonder that the condemnation on Malaysian public transport is not any louder and more harsh. It must be the fatalistic Eastern resignation to fate that allows people in this country to endure the shortcomings we see everywhere. But I think it's a scandal that Malaysian authorities often boast of our world-class facilities, and  negate everything with poor operations. It's clear that beautiful plans have been turned to grand constructions of all sorts, but the satisfactory functioning of operations  is still not within grasp. I should be mad, but I am just sad. Until the trains run on time, forget about "vision 2020". 


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