Courting the Malay votes.

27.8.2016.

At a "warong" this morning, I had to share a table with another two patrons, because all other tables were occupied by people like me, having their late Saturday morning breakfast in the many similiar "warongs" in Ampangan. As I sipped my piping hot "teh O kosong", I couldn't  help hearing their conversation: it was about local politics. A gist of it was, that the MB only has the support of 3/8 of the NS Divisions; that the incumbents in Jelebu and Rasah are keen to take over the Negeri helm; that the proposed new party, Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (BERSATU), has been making its rounds in parts of NS and has caught the ears of the Malays.

With UMNO's current affliction with the Najib-created problems, the numbers crunched at the recent Sarawak State elections followed closely by the two Parliamentry bye-elections at  Sg. Besar, Selangor and Kuala Kangsar, Perak, it goes without saying the next GE would be about numbers, pure and simple. The party that gets them wins.

The Election Commission reported that UMNO received 3,252,484 votes in GE 13, out of the total 10,861,683 cast. A recent UMNO info says the party has 3,549,061 registered members, made up of 1,198,239 ordinary members, 1,364,947 Wanita, 607,336 Youth, and 378,539 Puteri. These are not overwhelming numbers when compared to each other. One obvious conclusion is that not all of the members voted for UMNO in GE 13. If BERSATU manages to attract many UMNO members away from the old party, it could spell big trouble for UMNO.

I've blogged much earlier about Najib's innately obtuse strategy of having the people around him handle the 1 MDB  debacle in and out of Parliament, and in and out of the country. Obviously if you lie in Parliament, it's a different category of deceit than your normal street bluff. And all the while, Najib hasn't actually even tried to answer the questions himself. The closest he came was when he chickened out of PWTC for the "Nothing To Hide" session he'd agreed to earlier, when he found out the Old Fox was there. Some "Pahlawan Bugis"!

I've blogged about the non-denial of the 2.6 billion donation. In fact the "bidan terjun" (literally: diving midwife) AG he hastily replaced Gani with went further to admit the banking in of money into his personal account: he said to the press, proudly holding the coloured diagram somebody must have drawn for him, unknowingly displaying more than was intended,  that the donation has mostly (more than 2 billion out of the 2.6) been returned to the donor, who happened to be one very dead Saudi King !

I've blogged about the disbandment of the PAC. I've blogged about the arrest of non-terrorist Khairuddin AND his terrible but equally non-terrorist lawyer for making the police report, under the anti-terrorist SOSMA. The sacking of Muhyiddin, Mukhriz and suspension of Shafie have also been referrred to earlier. Also, I wrote about "Big Hearted & Gentleman" Najib controlling the 2015 UMNO General Assembly, denying popularly elected Muhyiddin his rostrum, and silencing the strangely cowed delegates in an utterly bizarre conference, acting for all he cared in neither a big-hearted way, nor  in any  gentlemanly manner whatsoever!

Surely it's not impossible for the ordinary Malays to understand the facts:

1. Various and varying versions of the bull shit  have been put to Parliament.

2. A huge amount of money went into Najib's bank account.

3. Government Institutions have been tampered with: the office of the AG; the MACC; the Police; the PAC; the operations of the MoF; the Central Bank. This is not an exhaustive list, mind-boggling though it already is !

The very aggressive rebuttal by Najib and his team requires response, so that the Malays could compare the different view points. Let's take them one by one:

1. Mahathir cannot interfere.

Mahathir was not sacked, but resigned from the PM's job. People asked Mahathir to query Najib about 1MDB because he's the only one left to make Najib listen. DAP and PKR for some time have started raising questions, to no avail.

2. Mahathir should just pray to God and don't disturb the running of the government.

It's because of his piety that he's forced to do what he has done, because no one else seemed to make any impression on Najib.

(By the way, if that photo of Najib standing for prayer is untouched, his posture is incorrect: the right wrist should fold over the left, not the other way around !)

3. Now Najib is officiating several portions of the LRT in KL and PJ because he says, unlike Mahathir, he's concerned about public transport woes in the capital.

When was the first LRT plan tabled ? Moving the administration to Putrajaya hasn't contributed to unjamming the woes of KL/PJ traffic? Whose idea was Putrajaya ?

4. Billions were lost in Mahathir's time.

Business can suffer losses. The important thing is everything was above board. No money went into Mahathir's pocket. Anyway, where was Najib then ? Why didn't he make any noise ?

5. Malaysia has made the best Olympics showing ever under Najib.

Who was the Sports Minister, and the Education Minister under Mahathir ?

6. Without Mahathir now Proton is making progress.

Who started Proton ?

7. Ku Li and Musa Hitam have joined the fray to have a go at Mahathir.

Throughout his entire political career Musa was  hopelessly outmanoeuvered by the wily fox - Musa just can't stand the painful memory ! Yet Mahathir made him Chairman of Felda and Malaysia's Rep. to the UN and with full ministerial status. I don't think Musa would do the same if the position was reversed.

Ku Li lost to Mahathir in the fight for UMNO's Presidency. Like a sore loser, his team caused UMNO to be struck off by the ROS in 1987 and he formed S 46. And Ku Li said Mahathir is like a monkey who will not let go once he holds something. So he lost to a monkey! 

8. The 1MDB case has now gone to US DoJ, the AG of Switzerland, and Monetary Authority of Singapore.

This is not foreign interference as claimed by Ir.Idris Harun of Melaka. Surely he must have been a bright student to have that "Ir" before his name, even if he speaks like a Std. 6 student. We are talking about USA, not Cambodia (apologies to Hasan Malik, our ambassador there).

My fellow Malays ! God gave us thought. Think. Mahathir is no Nabi. Najib is no Nabi either. Look at the facts carefully. When Dollah didn't perform in the GE 12, Najib and Muhyiddin were instrumental in asking him to go, and he went.  Najib now says you cannot make a popularly elected PM go. Najib numerically performed worse in GE 13. And that was before 1 MDB. If Najib really loves UMNO and this country of ours, his one single action of resigning would save everyone the trouble. That would be very big hearted and very brave.

Or is there someone stopping him ?

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When

24.8.2016.

When

The swallows drop

 From the evening sky

And the sun slides 

Behind the western hills

When the cloak of night 

Pulls gingerly 

Across earth's beaten chest

When

Songs of yesteryear

Whisper through the silent trees

And memories stir

The cobwebs of time

When soft voices 

Murmur those old words of yesterday

And they hang 

Suspended

Restrained by faded lips

I pause

Tongue-tied

And fail to ask the question

When.

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What can we learn from the Rio Olympics ?

23.8.2016.

The Rio 2016 Olympics have just ended.

I've blogged about positive publicity. To prove my point, just view the uproar about that US swimmer's false report about having a gun pointed by Brazillian police at his head.  He escaped arrest by leaving on a plane while his team-mates were pulled off another later flight, and the whole story spilled out.

Watching the closing ceremonies live, we can surely genuinely appreciate the host's efforts and give them our true praise for work well done in the face of incredible odds, and unimagineable difficulties.

There was a write-up to-day that aptly made a fair assessment of each country's performance based on its population titled "Population-adjusted 2016 Olympic medals." Although USA came on top with the most medals, and Great Britain second, with populous China third, this report  perhaps put things in proper perspective. 

I'd tweeted earlier that I'm both happy and sad, that while my country got a few medals ( 4 silver & 1 bronze, said to be its best performance ever ), the number is meagre. Looking from the point of view of this population-adjusted performance, I was surprised Malaysia isn't at the bottom of the pile. India, with a population second only to China, is !

In fact at the top is Grenada, with 93.61 medals per 10 million population. Grenada has only 100,000 people ! USA only occupies number 43. Malaysia is ahead of 27 other countries.

I remember a write-up during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics about the supposedly physical advantages of the Negro athlete, specifically the "spur" on their heel bone that gave black athletes that extra "flick" when they run or jump. I remember the 100 meters was won by USA's Bob Hayes at 10 seconds flat, and he went on to become a successful American football player. To think about it, after more than half-a-century, the 100-meter sprint  has improved a mere 7 %! This with bigger athletes and better equipment and running surfaces !

One feature that has emerged through the years has been the dominance of the black athlete, male and female. I went through the Olympics on the You Tube, from London 1948,  and can see the rare few black male athletes and the even rarer female ones. The more recent games, up to Rio 2016, show how much the picture has changed. Where the black athletes were mostly dominating the sprints, now you see them dominating all events, including field events and the water sports. In the endurance races one hardly sees a non-black face in the victorious position anymore. And, remarkably, it doesn't end there. Even European countries like Sweden and Finland and Italy and, of course, Britain, display black athletes winning for them. Even Japan, non-European of course, won their remarkable silver medal in the premier 4 x 100 meter relay with the help of one "Cambridge", obviously of mixed black parentage.

There has been the thesis that family influence play an important part in the success of the athlete. Certainly in badminton in Malaysia, the Chong brothers, the Sidek brothers, and the Tan brothers could prove this  point. Golf also is full of parental influence on world-class performance.

Then there's the so-called college system of America. Study apparently is integrated with sports, or the sports itself is well established as a subject of study. It's important to recognize this because that integration as far as I know doesn't exist in Malaysia. Students are only supposed to study and pass examinations. Sports is for those who don't want to, or can't study.

In fact I remember back in my university days 50 years ago there was a saying among us students that the 'varsity was the grave yard for sportsmen. I remember a promising National 400-meter runner from V.I., Lee something, I can't remember his full name now, whose athletic career simply stopped when he became an undergraduate at the U.M. We had an inter-varsity game with Singapore University, you know when Lee Kuan Yew was declaring his "rugged society" and we bystanders at those games shouted "bugged society !", and other than that our teams didn't do particularly well.  

The other thing that has been mentioned when looking at the dismal performance of India is that of culture. India isn't without its sports of choice. Just look at cricket.  And field hockey. In fact Malaysia's earlier fame in field hockey in this part of the world was because its Indian citizens made the sports popular in the country. How the change of rules and astro-turf have changed field hockey !

That was also the case with badminton in Malaysia. There has always been a culture of badminton. In fact in the old days local neighbourhoods formed "badminton parties" when they wanted to start the game in the locality and to attract players to participate in the game.  Setting up the courts was easy, and the equipment  cheap, and you don't have to change the shuttle-cocks until all the feathers were gone ! To-day everybody, I mean everybody in Malaysia follows badminton. Luckily I was far-sighted enough to buy my own tv set in my own corner of the house, in addition to the large screen in the sitting room watched by the family.  I don't know how many games are listed in the Olympics, but my family only watched badminton, badminton and badminton !

Then we have sponsorship, both governmental and corporate. As it is, in Malaysia there is insufficient supply, or getting it is not easy. And in the US, at least, this is the key to the discovery,  and development, of talent in all sports, and most importantly, from an early age.  

Back to the black athlete, the US and Carribean Negroes may have benefitted from natural culling of the weak because of the terrible long journeys from Africa. The strong genes survived, and through migration to other parts of the western world , this is carried along. Then you say, what about the Kenyans and the Nigerians and the Ethopians who regularly excel in the Olympics ? I suggest this is also through natural selection because of the geography, climate and food, producing hardy and athletic stock.

The suggestion is much can be learned from environment and culture and physical development. My simplistic thesis is not even pretending to be scientific. It's just a view point by a sports enthusiast that may provoke thinking - about how we can do better at  future Olympics. Tokyo 2020 may be too near, but it's a nice target. 

And stop politicising sports. If you are a Chief Minister, and a budding cyclist wants a trainig bicycle that's too expensive for him, buy him one instead of ignoring his request and saying I didn't know. When that cyclist is successful and mentions the lack of assisstance, the blame olympics start.

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Positive Publicity

7.8.2016.

A more positive publicity for the just-started Rio Olympics would do wonders.

My impression is that the press, through all its media, is slanted negatively. Is there a bias against the staging of the Games for the first time in South America, a "summer" event being held in a southern "winter"?

From the beginning the news was rampant with all the problems with the constructions of the different venues and infrastructures, as if London in 2012 and the preceeding cities did not have them. But for poor Brazil they were made more stark.

Then there was the Zika scare being given maximum exposure, so much so many otherwise stout-hearted athletes suddenly became faint-hearted and too scared to come. As a keen follower of golf, I was particularly disappointed that some of the leading professional golfers have used this health scare as their excuse for not going to Rio, never mind the huge historic effort at introducing golf to these Games.  Except that just very recently Florida also announced the finding of zika there, where many of these millionaire players live. Now let's see what they say about leaving the state !

Brazilian politics haven't helped. We all know the mess they've made for themselves, and that was sufficient to next make the western political leaders, led by USA, to decide to skip the opening ceremonies yesterday.

Of course the downturn of the bullish Brazilian economy that made their bid for the game years ago seemed triumphant now seem foolhardy. The talk of playing to empty stadiums has been nicely played up in the  media.

But watching the opening ceremonies (even these were sabotagued by US Networks showing delayed telecast) we can make an excellent comparison with the best staging of world-class sporting events elsewhere. I think the Brazilians have put up a show worthy of these Games.

To think that even in days prior to the start of the Rio Olympics, Western media still found it newsworthy to dwell on the petty street crimes, the sewage spill in the bay, the cracks on the newly paved roads, the lodging problems in the Olympics Village and other nasty creature comfort issues that actually right now plague all the leading Western capital cities.

Expect mishaps in the next two weeks. These always happen when you put a million human beings in one place. But let's also appreciate the good things that are achieved, not least of which is the spirit of goodwill sought for, and the contribution of  everybody who tries very hard to make these Games a success. When that happens, and I'm sure it will, we all owe Brazil a big "bravo".  

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The unscientific SAINS.

17.5.2016.

SAINS, the NS water authority's  acronym may suggest a smart organization. It's not.

I had been happily paying my water bills all these years under the name of the previous house owner. When I bought the house in 1995, I didn't bother to change the name. Until July last year.

All this time the monthly bill came to about RM 8 - 10 a month. Gradually under Syarikat Air Negeri Sembilan Sdn. Bhd. until about the middle of 2014 it surged to RM 15 - 16. That was still ok. 

From January 2015 to April the same year it jumped to about RM 22. That was about a 50 % increase. Then from May to August it jumped another 149 % !, about RM 56 !

On 9th. of July 2015 I went to inquire at the SAINS office Central Market, and lodged an official report.

When the August bill came to RM 63, I jumped, and on 12th. August went to the same SAINS office and lodged another official report.

That was when I was told I needed to re-register under my own name. I did. I paid RM 114.40 plus GST. Luckily I kept the copy of the payment record. Remember, this was almost one year ago! Because this was where SAINS' incomprehensible idiocy emerged in these last  two months.

On 11th. April this year, I received a letter from SAINS accusing me of running a meter unregistered with them.

On top of that letter they printed the meter I was having "No. meter SAINS 13A29032" ! So I called, and was asked to see "Roslan", which I did. I brought along all the paid bills from 2011 to 2015, the "Borang Bayaran" transfer account holder, the two official reports, and even my house grant to prove the transfer of house ownership. Roslan made copies of some of the items and let me go giving the impression everything was then in order.

Imagine my surprise yesterday, when at about 2 p.m. the water stopped running in the house, and I went to check the mains and found the water meter missing ! I immediately called SAINS and one "Norsiah" asked me to come before 4.30 with my supporting documents, after I explained my meeting with Ruslan last month.

I'm satisfied that I kept my temper under control ("extreme control", I might add). I repeatedly explained how my meeting with Ruslan went, and pointed at the "Borang Bayaran" as proof of settlement of new owner's account. I said how can they just come to the house unannounced and simply "pull the plug" with no consideration for appliances in use etc.

That was 3.45 pm. Finally Norsiah said they'd reconnect the supply at 6 pm.

6 came and went. At 7 pm  I called their complains number and under questioning repeated several times the chain of events, and the guy finally said the connection would be done before midnight.

Midnight came and went. At 6.15 am  I called the complains number again, and as I'd expected I had to repeat everything to the guy when he said my account does not exist according to his record. He said he'll investigate further. I left for golf.

When I came back from golf, I saw nothing has changed. Soaking in sweat because of the extreme heat today, I called the complains number again.  Again the guy said my account does not exist from his record, and I grit my teeth and repeated to him what happened last month and yesterday. He said he'll investigate.

So I called Norsiah at about 11 am, after I'd taken my bath and was comfortable and cool in my air-conned den. Surprisingly, one ring and she picked up the phone. I said you promised 6 pm yesterday, and now it's 12 pm the next day and nothing has been done. "Not done ?" she sounded genuinely surprised. "Give me 5 minutes. Give me your number" After several failed calls to her, and one and a half hours later I drove to the bank for some urgent business, and went straight to Norsiah's office, again.

I met Norsiah at her office at about 2.30. What a relief ! There was no need for repeating anything. She gave me a copy of the new account number, and the phone no. of one "Asyraf" to call for installation problems, and said I should get my water supply back by 5. The guy came at 4.

Apparently the SAINS system f.u. the "new account" done in August last year. By creating a new number this morning, everything is now ok.

That's not just water under the bridge. That's a lot of shit,too.

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Ghafar & Najib.

23.4.2016.

To-day, 23/4/2016 is exactly ten years since the death of Tun Ghafar Baba. A tahlil of sorts was held at his old house in Peringit, Melaka, where I had occassion of being present.

"Of sorts" because it wasn't the traditional tahlil. "Occasion" because at the very last hour I somehow got "invited".

The "traditional" tahlil is a sombre, sitting-on-the-floor affair, attired in "baju Melayu" reciting of the Quranic verses and offering supplications for the dear departed during evening prayers.

This was a music-band accompaniment of tables-of-eight domed luncheon under a big tent at high noon. A lot of "songkoks" were seen among more bare heads and all casual street clothes. The doa recited by the Melaka CM sounded authentic enough, though, and hopefully God Gives compassion for Ghafar's soul.

My late father knew Ghafar, and I'd met him many times. He was in fact born in Tebat Kering, my kampong. His parents were buried in Melang, where both my parents were also buried. My father used to tell stories about Ghafar in the early years, about his humble beginnings and poor post SITC days, how he used to stay in friends' houses when travelling around the country, campaigning for whatever causes he was pursuing then. But later, when Ghafar resigned as the CM to concentrate on MARA, my father would relate with admiration the fact that Ghafar declined the gratuity of 25,000 ringgit offered by the state for his services as the CM. That really struck him, because of the relative enormity of the sum against Ghafar's humble background. That story, and Ghafar's continuous refusal to accept any State or Federal honours until the final Tunship at the end of his career (which happened after my father's death) impressed on him Ghafar's political sincerity.

Ku Li spoke of Ghafar's wit. They were, if true, really good jokes, but unfortunately Ku Li is no comedian, and speaking in English, while I grinned, even having heard the two jokes before, the humour was lost on the crowd. One was about people coming to him for donation, and he gave RM 100. "But your son, Tamrin, gave RM 1,000 !" Ghafar replied "his father is the DPM. Mine was a bullockcart driver !" The other one was about visitors to Tanjong Rambutan mental hospital who saw an inmate holding a fishing line in a bucket of water. They asked " are you fishing ?" The mental patient replied " you crazy ? There's no fish in the bucket !" But the gist of Ku Li's speech in remembering Ghafar made its point.

Tamrin opened things up when he was first to speak after the tahlil. It was an eulogy to his father that, like Ku Li's later, made its point. But the greater part of his rambling speech was highlighting his association with the v.i.p.s present, from the Governor, the PM, right down to the chairman of Tabung Haji who was also present. The crux of the matter was his public apology to Najib about his behaviour before this, and the public request for support in establishing the Tun Ghafar memorial. Najib agreed to both.

Najib's speech was short and tame, except for the part about betraying UMNO, and that sharp jab was meant for you-know-who.

In fact, while this was an occassion in memory of a true UMNO stalwart, Najib came to turn it into a gathering of those-against-Mahathir. Many of them were there. Dollah Badawi, Musa Hitam, Ku Li, Nazri (Tourism), Bashah (Kedah), Aziz (TH), Ali(ex CM), Isa(Felda), Syed Hamid (SPAD), Zahar Ujang(Senate), and even a Sabahan whose name escapes me, but it must have been somebody pro Najib or anti Shafie. And Tamrin himself was before this with Mahathir, like Ku Li. But news that Ku Li is becoming the new Finance Minister and the second DPM is blowing hard, and explains his turnaround.

I call this piece "Ghafar & Najib" because I see the stark contrast. Ghafar was the simple political figure fighting for the Malays' honour from a muddy peasant background.. Najib is the sophisticated and complex political scion fighting for personal glory from a gilded upbringing. 

This was a strange scene. Was this a Melaka state affair with the state UMNO liason managing the honouring of a Melaka hero, or was this a national event honouring a national hero? There were non-Melaka dignitaries of present and past ilk, but not enough of them to make this truly "national". But the local crowd seemed insufficiently large to make it clearly significant. Not all the tables under the single large tent were filled up, and there appeared to be more veterans than youth present.

Musa and Ku Li and Dollah Badawi were from "Team B" fighting Mahathir and Ghafar from "Team A" in 1986, that's common knowledge to UMNO followers. And here they were together heaping praises to Ghafar in his own house in Melaka. He must be turning in his grave in KL !

Even the video presentation and the phamplet distributed took obvious pains in avoiding any mention, much less pictures of Mahathir who was the UMNO President longer than anyone else in the Party's history.

Everyone in UMNO knows the Tamrin Ghafar story. Getting him to very publicly supporting Najib again must rank high in Najib's propaganda. But we all know Tamrin. He's Ghafar's son, but he's no Ghafar.

If the whole thing was an exercise in isolating Mahathir rather than remembering Ghafar, it was pathetic. What Mahathir and Ghafar went through together in the short history of UMNO makes it impossible to mention one without the other. Any deliberate attempt at highlighting one cannot block out the role of the other in as far as UMNO goes thus far. 

I went because it supposed to be about Ghafar. It seems it was all about Najib.  

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What's happening now is dead serious.

2.4.2016.

It's dead serious.

Malaysians who love this country in spite of all the bad reviews these last six decades should do something right now. I don't know what, but something !

This is no longer about party politics: UMNO and DAP and the rest of it. This is about saving the country from unchecked dictatorial lawless rule, and I mean the real dictatorship, not the hyperbolical political denunciation.

Let's take stock.

Najib has not denied having RM 2.6 bilions in his personal bank account between 2013 and 2015.

The latest WSJ revelation said he spent millions on luxuries in the same period. Charging his credit card made sure the shopping was traceable.

He dismantled the investigating machinery he set up when the 1MDB fiasco first broke out: he sacked the AG; he transferred out the anti-corruption officers in the middle of the agency's investigation; he broke up the PAC team in the middle of its own investigation; he charged and for several weeks put behind bars Kahairuddin AND his lawyer Matthias under SOSMA for being the leading official police complainant at that time (now overtaken by Mahathir's civil suit); he sacked the MB of Kedah; he sacked the DPM and Minister Shafie Afdal; he ignored the Governor of Bank Negara report. 

Now he's sending out the dogs on Mahathir.

And all because everyone is asking about 1MDB and the money trail. And all that is required is an explanation.

Do we buy the changing stories about donation from ever changing sources - a group of Arabs, an Arab prince, a dead Arab King, about cash and then no-cash-but-units, in Caymen Islands then Singapore and so on, about 2 bilions being returned to the donor, about money spent on the 2013 GE ?

Najib must think we're all fools.

We must be, if we don't do something.

Government leaders and whole governments have been removed for less indiscretions. This one is totally  offensive.

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