MCA - The Curse of the Malaysian Chinese

When Parti Keadilan, DAP and PAS decided to contest the last GE under Pakatan Rakyat’s banner, the MCA, Gerakan and to some extent, UMNO, were warning the non-Muslims not to be taken in by this loose coalition because of the fear of PAS’s Islamic state agenda. The DAP was accused of selling out Chinese interests for political gains. Both the MCA and the Gerakan had a field day! They did all they could to instill fear among the non-Malays, hoping against hope that the Chinese were stupid and could still be led by the nose. Little did they realize that the non-Malays, especially the urban folks, were already sick and tired of their constant lies and wanton exploitation of the Rakyat.

Over the last few days we have been reading about this UMNO – PAS unity talk that has taken place on three occasions, it seems. From press reports we know that the other members of the BN were not consulted at all, but then, the other component parties have not voiced any objections to this courtship either. The MCA was very vocal about the Pakatan Rakyat but now it is as though they are not aware of the current developments, or are they busy giving their UMNO masters a bj, which explains the silence. Come to think of it, the MCA and Gerakan were never here for the Rakyat, they are here to make UMNO feel and look good!

A leader in the MCA has voiced that they have no such intention (unity talk with DAP). He said the MCA will not be talking to DAP. Boy, am I glad to hear that, and I believe that a good number of Chinese would not want the DAP to talk to them too! After all, to me, the MCA never had the interests of the Chinese, and all they have done the last 50 years was to prostitute themselves as well as the Chinese community in this country!

Quote of the Day

Jeff Ooi asked "Assuming Najib is to fix Anwar, and RPK is to fix Najib, so, who is to fix this country?"

UNESCO World Heritage Site

The celebration begins today. Penang shall be celebrating her successful application for listing as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Several attempts were made before but each time we failed. This time, making a joint application with Malacca, both were successful.

The Khoo Kongsi (Clan House)

The past week or so, the inner city has been abuzz with activities. Municipal workers have been busy putting up decorations and lightings. While some are rejoicing this new -found status, many seemed not to bother with it.

I would have thought that celebration of such nature should involve everybody. Well, almost. It is most tragic that the school children have been denied celebrating this event. In fact the mainstream media has been doing their best to play down this event. It is tragic that on an occasion like this, where the government has spent so much money and effort to secure this important listing, they have decided to treat it like a non-event!

We do not know if this is a directive from the Ministry of Education or is it the little Napoleon in the Penang State Education Department who decided to snub the State government’s celebration. In either case it does not bode well for the state and country. It is childish and irresponsible.

The Kek Lok Si Temple

For reasons best known to themselves, the BN government has seen fit not to work together with the Penang state government or other opposition state governments. What kind of message will this action send to our young school going children? What hope have we got to build unity and strength for this nation?

I really have my doubts if Mahathir’s 2020 vision can come true. When the Prime Minister is more concern with Malay unity instead of Malaysian unity, that alone is explanation enough why there is such a book called “Malaysia – A Failed Nation”

Superyacht Leopard 3

Mention Alinghi or Oracle and most would know where you are directing the conversation. These two are the most outstanding boats competing in the America's Cup, one of sailing's most prestigious trophy. Leopard 3 ? Sounds more like a beer!

Sailing enthusiast at the last Sydney Hobart Race may have noticed this boat. Unfortunately, she did not impress then. However, back in Britain now, she has performed tremendously well, breaking 3 records in a span of a month!

The 3 records she holds are:

Cowes-Dinard-St. Malo 11th July '08

JP Morgan Round Island Race (Isle
of Wight 28th June '08

BMW Round Ireland Race
25th June '08

Her most impressive win surely must have beenon 3rd June, 2008, at the Trans Atlantic Speed Sailing Record, where she clocked 7 days 19 hours and 21 minutes, shaving 8 hours from the previous record! The length of the course was 2,925 nautical miles.

The boat is 30m long, 6.8m wide, with a 5.5m draft, a towering mast of 47 m high carrying a sail up to 15, 000 sq. ft. The keel cants 40 degrees either side of the centerline.

Would surely love to crew one of these beauties.

From the frying pan into the fire!

Here is an email I received which I would like to share with fellow Malaysians.

The bottom line: BN really sucks!!
BN has to go, permanently.


Please read this email as it is very well-written and easy-to-understand….especially the last few paras in red which makes a lot of sense.

where is our direction for our next generation..? Greetings to all, For those who started work around 1973, a 1.3 Litre Japaness car was RM 7000 Today the equivalent is.... let's say RM 60000...........8.5 times In 1973 a double storey house was about RM 45,000..or less Today it is about RM 300,000............6.6 times (It was advertised in a school magazine at 37,000, Taman Lumba Kuda) This makes it 8.1 times In 1973 an Engineer's pay was RM 1000 Today it is about RM 2000 +/-............2 times.... From 1973 to 2008........35 years......what is the Trend.? Bearish !!!! In a stock market when the trend is bearish , what do we do?..Exit !!! When a country's trend is bearish what do we do? This Bearish trend is more difficult to turn around as compared to the stock market. I have used these 3 items House, Car & Salary as a measurement of the country's performance for the past 35 years.... Foreigners also ask about these 3 items to gauge our standard of living. There is a book I saw in MPH bookshop entitled : Malaysia : The Failed Nation some of you may be interested to read it I agreed with the writer..... This morning I was having Coffee at McDonald ( now the coffee..100 % Arabica beans..is quite good@ RM 2.90....free refill !!. I asked how much per hour is their pay? RM 3.00 ! x 8 hours = RM 24 per day... x 25 days = RM 600 per month My daughter works part-time during her University days..she worked at Gloria Jeans Coffee.... the pay ? Australian $ 14.00 ( @ 3.15 = RM 44 per hour.....x 8 = RM 352 per day !!! x 25 days = RM 8800 13.3 times more !!!!! ......Price of houses in Perth is about the same in KL Price of cars are about 23 % cheaper...in Perth.( Australia ) I think more and more people are becoming aware of this Bearish trend. Developed country by 2020?...means High income country Let's look at some as of year 2005 ( Financial Times ) USA GNP per capita US$ 35400 UK GNP per capita US$ 25510 Australia GNP per capita US$ 19530 Singapore GNP per capita US $ 20690 These are developed countries by income measurement Malaysia 's GNP per capita US$ 3540 Year 2020..developed country? Really...a sad story. Worrying Trends, isn't it?? Ringgit sliding further and further under BN Gan | Jul 8, 08 4:03pm Recently, I interviewed some fresh graduates applying for jobs with my engineering company. I accepted two applicants on a starting salary of RM1600. It struck me as odd that 15 years ago, I myself started work as a fresh graduate engineer for the same pay. Indeed, if you compare the salaries of graduates now and 15 or even 20 years ago, you'll find little difference but that their purchasing power is vastly different. It's the same story when you compare salaries of shop assistants, office staff, factory workers and others. To compound the effect of inflation, the ringgit has depreciated greatly against all major currencies. The real income of most Malaysians has moved backwards. This is why many Malaysians suffer under the petrol hike. The root of the problem is that our real incomes have shrunk in the face of inflation and depreciated currency.. Malaysians have not been spoiled by subsidy but are unable to move out of the time lock of stagnated and depreciated incomes. If you compare the per capita incomes of Singapore , Hong Kong , Taiwan and South Korea , they are a few multiples of ours although at independence all these countries were the on the same economic level as Malaysia . What has gone wrong? We were the rising star of East Asia , a country rich in natural resources with the most promising potential. The reason is massive corruption, plundering of resources, wastage of funds for huge non- economic projects, anti-public interest deals with politically-linked companies and passing-of-the -buck to the man in the street.. Four decades of NEP where education, economic and employment policies are defined by race ensured that meritocracy took a back seat. Our university standard has declined and the today best and brightest of our youths emigrate to escape the racial inequility only to contribute to the economies of foreign lands. The reputation of our judiciary which was held in high esteem worldwide has sunk so low that foreign investors now insist on arbitration in Singapore in case of any dispute. We also have a slew of oppressive laws such as the ISA, OSA, Uuca and PPPA which stifle free speech and are designed to keep the ruling parties in power. We have become less attractive to foreign investors and now lag behind our neighbours in Asean for foreign direct investment. Even some corporations who have established themselves here are moving out. All the economic and social malaise cannot help but affect the value of our currency. The strength of a country's currency is after all, a reflection of its fundamentals. Furthermore, Bank Negara has a policy of weak ringgit to help exporters, never mind the burden on the common folk. The government is pro-corporation, not pro-rakyat. While the poor and middle-class are squeezed, an elite group gets breathtakingly rich. We have the distinction of having the worse income disparity in Asean. A re-distribution of wealth is under way from the poor and middle-class to a select group of politically-connected elite. The end result of this re-distribution will be a small group of super-rich while the majority are pushed into poverty and the middle-class shrinks. This is what happens when the rich gets richer and the poor get poorer. There is much that is wrong with Malaysia . The responsibility for pulling the country backwards can be laid squarely at the door of the ruling regime. It is BN's mis-governance, racial politics and culture of patronage which has seen the country regress economically and socially. We seem to be sliding down a slippery slope, further down with each passing year of BN's rule. Another five years of BN rule and we'll be at Indonesia 's standard under Suharto. Another 10 years and we'll be touching the African standard. What a way to greet 2020. Is there any hope for Malaysia ? Faced with the reality that BN will never change, many Malaysians desperate for change turn their lonely eyes to Anwar Ibrahim. Pakatan Raykat has promised to treat all races fairly, to plug wastage, fight corruption, reform the judiciary and make Malaysia more competitive. But some have questioned whether we can trust Anwar and his loose coalition of disparate parties.. The question is not whether we can trust Anwar and Pakatan Rakyat but whether we can afford not to. Can we afford another ten years of BN's misrule?

FARHAN

Guys....

Remember this girl Farhan? Used to sing at the lobby of Sheraton Hotel those days with her dad and Cikgu Akib on the sax.... Check her out....We know her by the name Farah I guess...

THE SAFEST SPORT FOR AL JUB

If only Anwar had taken up fishing and patronize the above shop for his fishing needs, it may have kept him out of trouble!

First of all why are you guys so concern about his well being? He was being accused by a guy who says he (DSAI) sodomised him. And yet who the hell is he to make demands that he would like the AG's people to do the investigation and not the AG himself...Who the fuck is he to refuse the DNA test? Who is he? He's a nobody. He's just a guy who wants to be the PM irregardless of what ever happens.
Why the fuss? Why the refusal? Why must he be so langsi.? Demanding this and that. These are all his personal case. There is nothing about the rakyat. What is he fighting for the rakyat now? The 50 cents decrease of fuel price if he was the PM? Bullshit. He's a real asshole. Get his case through and proof himself right, then he should talk about what he wants to do to the country. As of now, he is basically looking for sympathy. Creating hoo hahs here and there and trying to divert the public from the SODOMY case?

It was a good thing the police arrest him before he got to his house. He was acting like the guy who has all the powers. And yet he is just an asshole bandit. Demanding this and that. Shit...I hate his character.

I guess Datuk Seri Wan Azizah has a lot to tell if she has the chance. She is basically the closest to him and should know his intimate likings. If only she would reveal.

I seriously hope the court follow the correct proedures in handling the case and prove without reasonable doubt who ever is guilty.

And I seriously hope Anwar is the one. He is really an asshole.

All his fights are about his earlier judgement. Though the judges believe that the "act " did happen and it was only the evidence that doesn't hold that makes his deoarture sooner than ever bail
\

THE ASSHOLE COPS

Once again Malaysian blogosphere shall be bursting at its seams with the arrest of Anwar Ibrahim and by now, Raja Petra too. From news reports gathered so far, things are not looking very good for Anwar Ibrahim. The way the arrest was carried out does not indicate in anyway the impartiality of the PDRM. It is also obvious that they are people who deserve very little trust from the Malaysian public.

In a short span of 24 hours, they have twice reneged on their assurances. First, they gave Anwar a 2 p.m. deadline to surrender himself yesterday, but arrested him before then. Next, assurances were made that bail would be allowed; it was even reported as such in a foreign publication (Canadian, I think), but when I read the news this morning, I learned that he has been detained overnight!

As I understand, Raja Petra should be with the police right now and I suppose they would be arresting him today. Last week was the lull before the storm, this week the excitement begins. The plot thickens, but how the story develops is anyone’s guess. Out of this whole mess, there is only one thing we can be sure of, the losers; US (the Rakyat).

DEBATE

My Worst Fear Came True

The AFP just reported that a warrant of arrest is out for Anwar Ibrahim. So if they arrest him now, there will be no debate tonight then.

CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE!

9 p.m. tonight over TV9/Astro 119, Astro 501/502 shall have this debate between Shabery Cheek and Anwar. While Shabby Cheek has projected a very confident façade, the PKR side is kind of fuming that air time has been reduced to 52 minutes from the originally slated 90 minutes. If it does happen, it should be a lively debate and then we shall see who has more brains, the BN government or the PR think tank?

DSAI claims he has a plan on how to reduce fuel prices if they come to power and he is suppose to reveal it tonight! Let’s hope it is a plan that works, something that makes sense, something that’s gonna make the BN look stupid. Something tells me that in all probabilities, the BN is not too confident about their performance tonight. Originally, this debate was to be carried live on all networks, but I think because of their incompetence (which is their hallmark), the programme shall be aired live on TV stations which the rural folks shall have problems accessing! Notice that RTM 1 and 2 and TV3 is not airing the debate!

Personally I shall not be surprise, if the debate is not aired at all, they are very good at last minutes excuses, or worse, they’ll get Anwar behind bars and put the blame on the police for the failed debate! MALAYSIA BOLEH remember?

A SINGAPOREAN PERSPECTIVE

DON MARTIN'S WHO DUNNIT?

This has been a relatively quiet week as compared to the last one. I suppose we do need a breather after the fast paced dramas of the week that was. I was hanging out at the beach for the most part of yesterday, which explains why there was not any posting on the blog. It was another windless day, so there was no sailing done too. However, there was enough beer and conspiracy theories to keep us around till late. Inevitably, the conversation centered on P.I. Bala’s Statutory Declarations.

Some of us shared the same theory while others had their own hypothesis. After much arguments and debates about who did what to whom and why, we all concurred that one of the two Statutory Declarations was actually made under duress, it is anybody's guess which one. Basing on that theory, someone propounded that if that were the case, then the party that put him under duress must have detained P.I. Bala! The latest piece of news in this story is that his house has been broken into. That seemed normal, considering the fact that the house is vacant, and that burglars do keep abreast with the news too! All this took a sinister turn when someone suggested that it might not be what it seemed! Some argued that it was probable that during his detention, he has been made to reveal where he has kept physical evidence pertaining to the Statutory Declarations, and the parties concerned have retrieved them and made it look like a burglary!

What’s your take?

TUN Dr M

HAPPY 83RD BIRTHDAY
TUN DR MAHATHIR

Say what you want, curse what you like still Tun is the best so far. My respect for him is beyond imagination. What he does to Malaysia to make it what it was now is no easy feat.

Will there ever be another one like him? P.Ramlee has been gone for 30 over years, no replacement as yet. Don't think there'll be another you...No one's perfect. Flaws are with everybody.

LOST HORIZON

Remember this movie adapted from the 1933 James Hilton novel? I never knew that the first time it was made a movie was in l937. I only know of the remake, which was a musical, produced in l973. It was not too successful as a musical; in fact, it was the least successful of all the Hal David – Burt Bacharach collaboration, and the only reason I went to the movie was because it starred the then heartthrob, Olivia Hussey.

Actually, today’s post has nothing to do with this movie. I just happen to remember the movie because of the misery we Malaysians, especially Penangites, have to endure at this time of the year annually! Every year from June to early October, the south wind blows, and with it comes this gift from our friendly Indonesian neighbours called HAZE! The south wind itself is already bad enough because it effectively ends the sailing season. Most of the accessible beaches are located on the northern coast, which means the winds are off-shore, making it a giant hassle to return to shore at best, or near impossible to get back without rescue! First, you do not get to sail, then you get choked by the haze; a double whammy!

Mother nature can be quite a teaser. Sometimes when it gets real hot, the venturi effect comes into play and brings in the sea breeze from the north west. Those would be the odd days when we get to sail. This would also send the haze back south for the time being. Come nightfall, the south wind would pick up and the haze comes back. So with the aid of mother nature, the haze shuttles back and forth, effectively going nowhere except hovering around the island! It would only clear with a heavy downpour, but this is the dry season and there ain’t no April showers!

The term “Lost Horizon” would, for most people, immediately conjure images of Utopia, but far from Shangrila, in Penang, what we have is “no horizon”. You just cannot tell where the sea meets the sky!

WORST PRIME MINISTER

Had trouble going to sleep, so went online, keyed in "worst Prime Minster" (images), and what you see above is the result!

Birthday Wish from reknown Leftover Hippie

Richard Starkey @ Ringo Starr celebrated his 68th birthday yesterday in Chicago. His birthday wish "Peace & Love" and insisted on the Larry King Show that he actually feels only 24!

MISSING !

No, no, no, no! I am not referring to P.I. Bala, I am talking about pictures like these. Don't get to see much of these after the GE, or famous PM quotes like "Aku tak tahu". Is he wide awake and in the know now? Frankly, I don't think so.

COLD TURKEY

It has become unusual when the politicians stop playing games. Like addicts denied, some of us may just need rehab!

GROUNDED !

Last night was a different kind of Saturday night. A rather quiet Saturday night, and you would have probably guess by now what I am driving at if you have been following this blog. Yes, the mats and minahs rempit were missing! Usually the siren from the inept cops come first, followed by the roar of their exhaust. Somehow, I choose not to believe that this has got anything to do with the Wimbledon Ladies Final at The Championships; that is simply not possible. The peace and quiet was too good to true, felt kind of eerie. It must be the immediate effect of petrol price increase!

On one hand, it is good that the increase has effectively curbed this not so healthy activity; on the other hand, it is scary because of the speed with which we have been hit by the adverse effect of the petrol price increase. Where we used to have up to three groups of mat rempits on a Saturday night, there were none last night! Anyway, that was a pleasant change and I am not complaining, especially so when one could hear the line calls with clarity (I mean the tennis game).

Clarity! Yes, it has become very clear that we are staring bad times in the face! It is now possible for one to start driving from Tanjung Bungah at about 10.30 am to Butterworth, make a U-turn at the end of the bridge and be back where you started before noon (within regulated speed, on a Sunday). This was proven last Sunday when some of the guys, expecting a good south wind, decided to pack their windsurf equipments and headed to Butterworth. On the main span of the bridge, they saw the windsock indicating the wind from the north! So they made a u-turn and headed back to the Club.

They are going to do it again today (going to Butterworth, it is the south wind season now) and I wish them luck.

ANIMALS....

There you go agsin. A statutory declaration depicting wrongdoings of government men, will get thumbs up from you guys. Anything that go agsinst the "OPPOSITION" will be questionable or lets put it as what two toner says, with a price. Enourmous gifts. Lots of money involved. Wake up guys. Lets look at it open mindedly. Lets give some thought.

With the way things are going now, a declaration that supercede the other, evidence of wrong doing here and there, don't you think that politicians are taking us all out on an "EYE OF MALAYSIA" ferris wheel ride?

Man made law, man break law is so bloody rampant these few days. They come out with something which looks like something so solid and yet was watered down just the next day? Who but the politicians are the ones capable of orchestrating this scenario.

In the case of BALA teh P.I, it is just like watching football. Your favourite team scores and there you go, analysing the moves, the tactic, the what should have been done and all that jazz. Next minute he scores an own goal. There you go again, counting how much he was paid, who paid him, why they pay him and all the shit.

Let us just sit back and watch the show. Let us be as what the photographers of national geographic would do, that is to record it and play it to someone else. Coz if you try to stop the tiger from killing its prey, you are depriving him of his food. That is nature. And that is what our politicians are practising now. They eat each other up. Let them...Lets watch...

RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT?

"I repeat"

A DOCTOR'S LEGACY

Remember the famous cookie advertisement “now you see it, now you don’t” so which is it, Mr. Balasubramaniam? If the first SD was made under duress, do we take it that the second one was made with offers of enormous rewards or even more duress? Pray tell. However, we must thank the man for correcting this silly misconception that we have carried with us since childhood; and that is, only white men who drink firewater speak with a forked tongue! Well, at least that was the picture painted, when as kids, those cowboy and Indians comic books used to portray. So now we know that is not a white man’s privilege but others are also allowed to do so.

According to another report, it seems a few hours after the first SD was released, he was summoned by the police. Now we do not know if this second SD is the result of this police intervention. We probably never will, and honestly, I don’t care! Our judiciary has been compromised long ago and has been functioning as the national circus for the last 20 years or so. Weak attempts at lending it credibility by the current administration was so badly done that it appears to be worse than ever before! The topping was when the sacked judges accepted the ex-gratia payments without any apologies from the government.

I do not know when the credibility of our judiciary can be redeem, if ever, but for now we have to say a very big thank you to the ass hole doctor for the anal preoccupation that this country is besieged with.

MALAYSIA TRULY BOLEH

Malaysia – truly Asia, a claim made to promote tourism in the country. No arguments about that, it is true that this is a country with multi-ethnicity and cultures. However, one important fact that the tourism brochures left out is that this is also the most exciting country to call home currently. The tourism ministry has never bothered to explain this omission, but I suppose it has something to do with linens.

Like most Malaysians who have chosen to ignore the mainstream media, I tour blogosphere for my daily feed about the on-goings in the country. I liken today’s tour to a windfall! It is simply too much, multiple exposes from various blogs coupled with reports about the military and the police having joint operations sent shivers down my spine.

Instead of elaborating on the various issues for fear of adulterating them, I would prefer to direct you to the respective sites where they can be found.

1 The Farmers’ subsidy read here
2 Explosive Statutory Declaration read here

Stay away if you have a weak heart!

MALAYSIA BOLEH

The latest report in “The Sun” newspaper reprinted at the Bar Council website says “the Kuala Lumpur Hospital has not released or revealed any information, findings or made any conclusion concerning the examination of Mohd. Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the man who accused Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of sodomy.” This contradicts earlier reports from “Utusan Melayu” and Datuk Wong Chun Wai’s confirmation this morning that the medical report was completed and handed to the authorities!

Full and fair investigation indeed!

THE ANAL CHRONICLES

If one cares to read, there are countless accounts of “The Anal Chronicles” circulating in Malaysian blogosphere. Basically, it is the story of a man who would be king if not for his penchant for posterial adventures. He is alleged to be a repeat offender. Apparently, the first time he was involved was 10 years ago. Convicted and jailed for a number of years, he appealed and successfully got the verdict overturned and walked out of jail a couple of years ago.

Though he did not contest in the last GE, he is widely regarded and accepted as the leader of the opposition. A charismatic leader, he led the opposition to unprecedented results in the last GE that sent the UMNO leadership running around like headless chickens. Growing from strength to strength, his loose coalition of parties are actually causing panic in the UMNO hierarchy. The results of the last GE have necessitated a change in the UMNO leadership. The party number one, BADawi has pleaded with the members to allow him to step down after their December AGM, but there are ambitious and impatient people who have other ideas.

Several characters within the party have voiced their intentions to contest against BADawi come December, and with the emergence of this hero from “The Anal Chronicles” BADawi has certainly found it necessary to cover his ass! It is plain to see that this anal guy is a threat to quite a few PM wannabes from UMNO. In fact, this anal character has bombarded the party number two since some by-election months ago! Others who would like to see him put away would be his ex-boss, an asshole doctor, who was responsible for his incarceration 10 years ago.

The PM has denied any government involvement in this latest accusation. He declared that neither he nor his deputy are involved. In fact, no one has claimed responsibility for the accusation. The police have promised a full and fair investigation, but what’s holding them back? It has been about 4 days since the news broke; the hospital has examined the “victim” and their report submitted to the police. This was even confirmed by Datuk Wong Chun Wai of “The Star”.

So, what is in the report, we wonder? Why can’t it be made public as is? Why the delay? Perhaps, it needs doctoring, or stitches?

Snippets at the coffee table

I was at the Club this morning, and as expected, there was a lot of speculation and theories about who was responsible for setting up Al Jub. Of course there were also those who believed that it was no set up but likened it to a drug addict who is unable to kick the habit. We may never know. I am sure that the AG’s office and the PDRM shall be able to dish out a concoction acceptable to the masses, depending on which side of the divide you are at. We shall wait and see if we are going to get the truth this time or, will they dutifully insult our intelligence again.

There have been too much excitement in the country of late and it is getting worrisome. Politicians from both sides are so busy looking after their own skins, the country is actually running on autopilot! The juicy entertainment the politicians are providing us today will not make up for the chaos when food shortages stare us in the face! I just hope that these imbeciles (UMNO politicians) would just get down to work before the situation spirals out of control.

Behind all the drama, the reality is that lives have changed since the elections and the petrol price increase. I overheard recently that one of the most glaring changes since DAP took over the state government are the complaints by those petty traders in and around Komtar. Turnover has dwindled, especially for the coffee stall owners. Though they did not say it in so many words, they are actually having second thoughts about putting the DAP in office. Reason? The Napoleons and their army have stopped taking those extended tea/coffee breaks in and around Komtar! On the bright side, it sure is pleasant to see the municipal council guys doing their job, meaning, maintenance of shrubberies, trimming of grass where required. During the days of the BN/Gerakan government, it was actually done on a selective basis.

The petrol price increase also effected some drastic changes in the traffic situation. I have confirmed with some of my friends that traffic has eased in Penang. There is also talk that traffic on the Penang Bridge has also reduced greatly. According to hearsay, the drop is close to 4,000 vehicles a day! It would be nice if the petrol price would also curb the activities of the mat rempits. Shall be monitoring the situation this weekend.

Well, as they say “the only constant in life is change” and I hope these are changes for the better.

Old Habits Die Hard

Yes, I may have been a little too hasty as pointed out by Bangsa Malaysia. Guilty as charged! I just could not help myself and do allow me to state my case. While it is true that one should not jump to conclusion pending police investigations, one must also have the presence of mind to remember where we are! Bro, do not forget, this is Bolehland, where everything is possible!

Here are some of those things that should not happen, but they did, and the perpetrators got away with it. Remember the Tun Salleh Abbas case? The Tun Mamak declared that after the usual Wednesday Cabinet meeting he went to the Palace and recommended to His Majesty to remove the Lord President. Fact is that fateful Wednesday was 1^st May, 1988, which was Labour Day, a public holiday, so need I say more? Petrol price increase, if ever, can only happen sometime in August, 2008. It went up a whopping 41% at midnight, the very same night!

After the 12^th GE, they declared that they shall be more sensitive to the Rakyat’s need and so there was talk of IPCMC and cleaning up the police force. That was it, just talk. Nothing has happened as far as the IPCMC is concerned. And as for cleaning up the force, all they did was to come up with a new look for them! The new look was sure clean, I am not so sure about the force. Couple of days back I was still able to come across newspaper report about some young girl raped by police! I still see traffic cops positioning themselves 50 meters away from road junctions behind bushes beneath giant trees! And very naively, I always thought that a policeman’s role is supposed to be a preventive role! How preventive can it be when they make it a point not to be seen?

It would certainly help to change my perception of them had they hauled in people like Hishamuddin during his keris waving frenzy. Incessant sounding of siren half an hour preceding the arrival of the mat rempits is also no preventive measure, more like clearing the road for them to me! Talk to any Indonesian construction workers; even those with permits, find out their opinion of our PDRM. Go to YouTube to see them in action, see how they supplement their income.

Coming to the AG and the judiciary, I also have my reservations. We all knew what happened on the eve of the Altantuya trial. Last minute changes to the prosecution team and antics like that does give cause for suspicion. Then we have the AG declaring, even before the case got underway, that there are only 3 people involved. The case has not even been tried, how could he be so sure? Or was he dictating it to be so? The findings and the expose of the famous Lingam case speak a lot about the state of affairs in the judiciary. Our new de facto Law Minister, a man found guilty of money politics in UMNO, not even selected to contest in the last GE, but made a Minister, suddenly wants to return credibility to the judiciary, and how does he do it? I always thought you’d use detergents or some kind of cleaning agent to cleanse things, but this guy uses money (ex-gratia payment) to do it!

The hippies thrust two fingers in the air reinforcing their call for peace, alas, in Malaysia, when you talk about justice, I only have my middle finger to show.

AL JUB

Well, well, well...The New Episode : So Do My people says...

Two toner said to me he feels so lucky being a Malaysian now coz the politics in Malaysia is very very interesting nowadays. Beat the Chinese soap opera on TV hands down.

Chulia Street, Blue Diamond is the witness when we discuss about the two most mysterious case in Malaysia. 1 is Altantuya and 2 is DSAI's sodomy case. Well, a new version, a remake or a sequel has just emerged. Lets do it right this time, since the Judiciary Institution has been raised to its actual platform by Zaid, the guy who was called more western than the west.

I am the sort of guy who would believe easily all these accusation coz I have not liked DSAI Al Jub all along. To be able to make a report that your ass has been intruded is not easy. Not an easy task coz you will be hated upon all your life by all of Al Jubs supporters. Moreover he was just engaged to be married to a very pretty young girl. Two toner has already put his mind to deem the report as hogwash. The way I read his comments on it. Don't you want to wait for the police report to be investigated? Let it go to court and I hope Gani Patail will get a second chance and not make a blunder but to prove to the world that the law in Malaysia still has its integrity and whack the "bugger" good.

This is not me siding anybody but since there was a big hoohaa about the judiciary, hoohaa's by the opposition that the present govt is open and transparent lets make this as a guinea pig for the new facelifted Judiciary to show their mettle...

Let the show begin...

Judicial Reform?

Disgusting! For the day to begin as such is simply awful. First thing I saw on CNN was this ticker reading that "Anwar accused of sodomy". It made me sick. After all this sideshow about judicial reforms and ex-gratia payments and now this.

It got worse when browsing the blogs, to find out that the man was purportedly forced to make this report and had been missing for 2 days. The stench is certainly getting unbearable! Mr. Zaid Ibrahim, what do you say?

Hope to learn more in due course before commenting further.

PHYSICS FOR HELL

Found this brilliantly presented piece while browsing the blogs. So I decided to seek permission to copy and paste it wholesale. The ever accommodating Zorro Unmasked has graciously allowed me to do so and here it is.

"I don't want to speculate about the existence of the above. To me, we do our hell on earth. For the too religious amongst us, if you thrive on self-immolation or a fire-loving hell-raiser and want to go to hell, I ain't stopping nobody. Enjoy this read that I received from my brother Mike:


The following is an actual question given on University of Washington chemistry mid term.
The answer by one student was so 'profound' that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well:

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume
of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, and then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over. So which is it? If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, 'It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you,' and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct......leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting, 'Oh my God.'

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED AN A+.

Don't Try This At Home!

Multi-tasking in computers are acceptable. For us, mere mortals, it could be dangerous!

PENANG

Was planning on reaching Penang yesterday, but so happens there was no connecting flight to Penang by the time I reach LCCT. Travel cheap my friend. It is much cheaper to travel by air nowadays if you were to really put your mathematics to test. With the cost of fuel jetting up to 2.70/litre + the toll + the energy + the swearing that you do + the possibility of getting yourself trapped by the speed limit + engine oil + tyres + wear and tear...well, lets fly guys...get high. At least the view of buns wiggling up and down the aisle is worth seeing and imagine...hahahaha.

Will be reaching Penang 2:30pm, 27/6/08 and hope to savour the delights before I leave and fly back to Timbuktu... My other half is not in Penang right now, enjoying with her family in London and Aberdeen for their sisters wedding, well, I'm left without transport in Pg. Lucky twotoner is available to pick me up..Been a long time since I last saw him. Had a lot of catching up to do too.

At the LCCT food court now writing this. Had about 2hrs to kill before my flight. Damn..What to do ha? Look at the MILF's? Hahahaha. None in that category so far.

Misai Nasi Kandar, Tajuddin Hussein...Here I come.

JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT

I am no fan of Tun Mamak, but I have no choice but to concur with him when he says that those sacked judges were bribed to speak ill of him.

I used to sympathize with them and felt that justice in Malaysia died when Tun Salleh was removed and some of the senior judges sacked. Twenty years later came this circus and it completely changed my views on the tragedy. At first, I was quite happy to hear of Zaid’s proposal, thinking it was good that attempts are being made to right the wrongs of the past administration. However, the way it was done has left me a very disappointed man. Disappointed the way the exercise was carried out, disappointed with the parties concerned, and now very convinced it’s a giant attempt by the government, the Bar Council and the aggrieved parties to insult our intelligence.

No amount of ex gratia payments can be considered adequate unless accompanied with apologies. If I have been wronged, I would expect nothing less than an official apology. The aggrieved parties acceptance of the ex-gratia payments without apologies actually surprised me.

It may be true that the mamak had misbehaved and threatened/bullied the Bench. However, it is true that these judges started to bad mouth him AFTER receiving the payments. The bottom line is, NO APOLOGIES WERE OFFERRED BY THIS GOVERNMENT!

So, it is obvious that this administration is no better than the last one.

GIVE PEACE A CHANCE !

Last Sunday, 22^nd June, 2008, saw some 6000 people, 5814 to be exact, congregated at Stewart Park, Ithaca, N.Y. With two fingers thrust into the air, these people gathered and formed a giant peace sign, capping a three-day festival.

Trevor Dougherty, a student at Ithaca High School, organized the event. The crowd stood for about twenty minutes and word is, that this could actually make the “Guinness Book of Records” as the largest human peace sign.

Could this be a rebirth of Hippiedom?

X-GRATIA

Good to see the blog is up and running again after a lapse of quite a while. Twotoner must have been very busy, I guess.

Heard about those judges that was given 1.5mil each for being fired after the tribunal found them guilty of misconduct 20 years ago? Even the judge who was suspended and later reinstate was also given ex-gratia on the grounds that he was put in cold storage after that?

Have to admit that I feel it's not right to take such a move by the present govt. If they were found guilty by a tribunal, set up another one to clear them from the earlier judgement. Make it transparent as the Lingam's case rather than simply pay them with the taxpayers money. Its our money, mind you. Who is Zaid for that matter to make the judgement freeing these guys of all accusation without it going thru a tribunal or whatever shit that its suppose to go thru before coming out with a decision that cost the govt millions of ringgit.

This guy Zaid was not even elected by the people. He was not even a candidate in the last GE. He was suspended from UMNO because of money politics. Yet, he was hand picked by Pak Lah to be a minister in the PM's dept. Now he's going round showing off, like a peacock on all that he has done to reinstate the integrity of the judges in Malaysia. He is basically an instrument to condemn the earlier govt under Tun, as Tun was being very vocal towards the present govt under the indecisive Pak Lah. This to me is bull.

The judges that was given ex-gratia were given pension and some of them were also made directors of this and that. Not that they were penniless or anything...About that guy who claims he was cold storaged, there are so many Malaysians who are cold storaged too, just because they work accordingly and not to the fancy of their bosses and don't get into the good books. Why? Straight employees and crooked bosses don't get along...Why not pay these fellow Malysians who also goes thru the same problem.

Ex-gratia like these seems to make them overwhelmingly happy and starts to blab blab blab and comparing how good the present govt is, very transparent and all that shit. Only a few of them are happy and praising Pak Lah at a cost of a few million ringgit while millions of Malaysians are going thru a hard time trying to make ends meet with all these price increase.

Well....Negaraku....Tanah tumpahnya darahku....Rakyat hidup selalu kena tipu...Rakyat derita....Pak Lah kaya raya.... Raja kita...Selamat berharta....

Botanical Lessons at The Championships, Wimbledon

It's the time of the year when they congregate at Wimbledon. Will it be a 6th consecutive title for Roger Federer or is it going to be the upstart, Nadal, or could it be Djokovic? No one can tell really.
Both Federer and Nadal have won their opening matches convincingly. There is no sure bet where the ladies are concerned too! We have a new number one in Ivanovic, and of course the Williams sisters, Sharapova and lots of big names in the running.

I was watching the Men's opening game between Federer and Hrbaty and that was when I learned that the oldest potted plant in the world, planted in 1775, can be found at the Kew Gardens, London.

The plant is commonly known as the cykad. It is known as a jurassic plant, meaning it existed during the days of the dinosaur. Botanically speaking, it is described as extinct. In other words, this plant cannot be found in the wild anymore! Currently, they can only be found in private homes or public parks and places like Kew Gardens. Well, I am no botanist, so I have decided to do a copy and paste job and the following is what I found for your reading pleasure.

The World’s Oldest Potted Plant

‘Laughing Stock or Hero?’ James Wandersee and Renee Clary ask, as they consider potted plants and profile one mighty example, from Kew Garden. Thank you, Jim and Renee, for another five-star (if flowerless) project. Your work on the sociology of plants continually inspires us.

By James H. Wandersee and Renee M. Clary
EarthScholars™ Research Group

Vice President Dan Quayle remarked of his role in White House conferences, “I am not, as they say, a potted plant at these meetings.” Brendan V. Sullivan, the famous criminal defense attorney, once exclaimed, “What am I, a potted plant? I’m here as a lawyer, that’s my job.”

Potted plants get little respect. Indeed, most people think of them as passive, trivial, dispensable, a nuisance to tend, and purely decorative. One cannot even assume that indoor potted plants are alive, given how easily today’s artificial (“silk”) potted plants can deceive the untrained eye!

However, there is a particular live potted plant you can visit that reclaims the dignity of potted plants everywhere....

Moving the giant cycad
Royal Botanic Gardens—Kew
c. 1980
Photo: NCCPG

This species (Encephalartos altensteinii) reproduces via seed cones, not flowers. It is a member of the Cycad family. Such plants have changed little since the days of the dinosaurs. This family’s fossils date back to the early Permian Period ~ 280 million years ago. The Ginkgo tree also appears in the fossil record about this time. Both taxa are considered “living fossil” plants.

So where can this amazing palm-like potted plant be seen? In a far corner of the Palm House at the venerable Royal Botanic Gardens-Kew (near London). Its iconic glasshouse home, 363 feet long, 100 feet wide and 66 feet high, was designed during Victorian times to house the exotic palms then being collected and introduced to Europe. Just two horticulturalists and two assistants maintain the entire Palm House plant collection today.

Francis Masson (1741-1805), RBG-Kew’s First Plant Hunter
Photo: Plant Explorers

This particular cycad was sent to Kew in 1773 by the famous plant hunter Francis Masson, at the encouragement of Sir Joseph Banks. (Banks became famous as the chief naturalist aboard the Endeavour, serving on the first round-the-world voyage commanded by Captain James Cook.) In other words, this plant is at least 234 years old, or about as old as the US Declaration of Independence!

Near a side entrance to the glasshouse, atop an old, perforated, cast-iron grating, the world’s oldest potted plant resides in a large teakwood box. (Actually, this is probably not the oldest potted plant specimen alive today, but, after our after being led down many botanical-historical pathways only to find flaws in documentation or unanswered questions, it is the best known and documented candidate we have been able to find.) It has been over 180 years since this particular cycad plant grew a cone (both male and female plants are necessary for reproduction to occur). Emma Fox, Kew’s Keeper of the Palm House, watches and waits with great anticipation. When the Palm House was renovated in the 1980s, this grand old plant—weighing in with its soil and container at over 2 tons—had to be moved very gingerly to temporary quarters.

Kew’s “ambassador from Africa”
Photo: EarthScholars™ Research Group

This unique potted plant has the potential to be a marquee plant, but for some reason, Kew doesn’t publicize its presence much. It is a potential ambassador of endangered plant species in Africa as well as a repository of rare genetic material. In Africa, this cycad is known informally as a “bread palm,” since a bread-like, starchy food can be prepared from the center of the stem.

Alas, many visitors leave the Gardens without ever seeing it! The recent, full-color, BBC book, A Year at Kew (2004) —a wonderful insider’s view of plant life year-round at the Gardens—allocates only one sentence to the huge cycad (p. 108). We have observed it many times during our studies at Kew and never cease to marvel at how long and well it has been tended, and how it continues to grow. Laughing stock or hero? We say hero! Who of us can live and grow that long?

As for the other potted-plant prejudices, these creatures are far from passive. They simply move and grow on a scale that differs from human time, something Charles Darwin pointed out long ago in The Power of Movement in Plants (1880). Potted plants are far from trivial. B.C. Wolverton, a retired NASA research scientist, has written How to Grow Fresh Air (1997), describing the scientific research on house plants as air purifiers; Wolverton explains how air contaminants enter our homes and notes the adverse effects these chemicals can have on human health. The book provides concise, quantitative data about which substances some 50 different houseplants remove from the air. In addition, potted plants release (and use some) vital oxygen.

So potted plants have aesthetic value, health value, cultural value, and teaching value. We can testify to the latter. Our nation-wide research studies on public understanding of plants have found that the sustained, observation-driven, recursive interactions involved in tending a plant throughout its life cycle (whether a potted plant or a garden plant) heighten a person’s visual awareness of all plants—indoors and outdoors—and lead to an increased appreciation of the importance of plants in human affairs and in the biosphere. Plant-caretakers also can recognize the missing details, subtle color differences, and false perfection of artificial plants.

Kew’s old cycad is a hidden treasure for plant connoisseurs, and we think it should be on the life list of every plant lover. Yes, we have appropriated the term life list from bird watchers because we assert that plant watching is equally challenging and interesting. Why not start your own life list of plants this year? There’s a large and fascinating kingdom of plants beckoning you!

Posted by Julie on 03/09 at 03:34 PM
Culture & Society • Gardening & Landscape • Permalink

Page 1 of 1 pages

Barisan gets motion passed with big majority

That was how the headlines in "The Star" read today. So he lives to fight another day. In the meantime, this is where he is leading the nation to. Picture is self explanatory.

Neighbourly Advice from TalkingCock Singapore!

by Pak Cham Kai

Despite the International Court of Justice ruling that Pedra Branca now belongs to Singapore, the Sultan of Johor has told the Johor State Assembly, “It doesn't matter how long it takes, but I will find ways until the island is returned to Johor.”

But how? We speculate:

1. Challenge Singapore to a winner-take-all match of Lom Chiam Pas.

2. Late at night, when no one is watching, secretly swim out and kapo it.

3. Threaten to blockade all overland deliveries of durians from Segamat until they give Pedra Branca back.

4. Quickly point at Indonesia, shout, “Look! What’s that?” and then quickly swipe the island away.

5. Wait until the next Great Singapore Sale and buy it when it’s on discount.

6. Hire a squad of super-bomohs to magically whisk the island back.

7. Make a photocopy of Singapore’s face, and paste it at his void deck with the words “Owe Island, Pay Island”. If that doesn’t work, hang a pig’s head outside his flat.

8. Hire a bunch of Nigerians to email Singapore with some scam, and bluff them into giving us their island.

9. Hire a group of China girls to “act cute” with them, and bluff them into giving us their island.

10. Quickly take the island, and then escape with it through a toilet window – those sotong Singaporeans sure cannot catch me one!



Note:

The above unsolicited advice is used without permission!

Monday Blues at Parliament

Can the PM survive this?

HAVE WE BEEN HAD?

Prior to the 12^th GE, the various political parties in the country have made numerous pledges and promises to the Rakyat. Election manifestos of the ruling elite and the pretenders to the throne were filled with all the niceties on good governance and the like.

There shall be no increase at the pump (petrol) they said, oh, such sweet music to the electorate. It was most unfortunate that oil prices just kept rising and it did not take much for the rakyat to anticipate that there was no way the government could go on subsidizing. Rumours went round about a hike in petrol prices and the government responded swiftly by announcing that if there were to be any price increase in petrol, it would only come sometime in August 2008. At midnight that very night, the petrol price in the country was raised by a whopping 41%! The Barisan Nasional government lied! Man, you lie in court, it’s called perjury, when the government of the day lies, it’s called good governance! So this government is not so “bersih” after all, I do not know how “cekap” and “amanah” they are.

In the name of national reconciliation, they made ex-gratia payments to some sacked judges and the former Lord President, but they claim that it should not be construed as an apology! What this whole episode was about is still a mystery to many. However, most would view it as an attempt to make the mamak look bad. Anyway, the whole exercise was a complete farce. When this decision to reimburse the judges was made, it was decided that the official announcement would be made over dinner and at the same function, a major overhaul on judicial appointments would also be announced. Here comes the funny bit of the story. This dinner was paid for by the government, hosted by the Bar Council, Malaysia, official announcement of major reforms on judicial appointments, but save for those entitled for the ex-gratia payment, the entire Bench was benched! Now, was the Bar Council coerced into ostracizing the Bench or were they so ignorant of protocol and decorum!

Well, we all know what happened on that fateful day in March, 2008. There was and still is a lot of confusion in the BN camp. There were like little lost lambs looking for direction, unsure of their positions and also quite confident that they are unable to rule the entire 5 year term. Try they did by resorting to rhetoric and veiled threats to the non Malay community. Suddenly we have unheard of before Malay organizations claiming erosion of Malay supremacy, which the PDRM felt was perfectly all right and no sedition at all. So much for the impartiality of the Malaysia police!

The biggest joke of all was their findings at the post mortem as to how they fared so badly. They blamed it on the internet, when it was all about corruption, arrogance, racism and much more.

On the other side of the fence we have the Pakatan Rakyat, a loose coalition of strange bedfellows. Though they have their own ideologies and differences, somehow, in their quest to make the coalition work, all three were signatories to “The People’s Declaration”. Signing the document was a major show of solidarity and of course this sent the general public into a frenzy. Putting ink to paper effectively changed the political scenario in the country into a two party system, which is a welcomed change. Unfortunately, after the euphoria of the elections, this alliance started showing cracks! I may be extremely wrong, but in my opinion, we Malaysians are most unfortunate to have politicians of such character and caliber!

There were some things they did which deserve praises but basically deep down, these parties are still trying to promote their own agenda. The latest is the call to protest the appearance of some artistes at a football game by PAS youth. Certain characters in the DAP who refuses to wear the “songkok”. These politicians are nothing more than hypocrites of the highest order. I just cannot fathom why it is all right for Malaysians to wear the baseball cap and not the “songkok”. These are headgears, period! I am cocksure these DAP fellas had sometime in their life worn the baseball cap, which has nothing Chinese in it! More shocking is the announcement by the party that no disciplinary action will be taken against this Gwee (devil, satan in Hokkien) fella! Come on, we gave you our vote so that we may get some representation in Parliament/State Assembly, so where is my representation when you chose to be a spectator at the proceedings!

Looking at the antics of these Opposition Parties, I do not believe this Bangsa Malaysia thing has any future. The opposition politicians have shown that they are no better than the slime balls and scumbags of the Barisan Nasional!

Perhaps what we need is some kind of foreign invasion before the Bangsa Malaysia in us can surface. For now, I think we’ve all been had!

FUEL....

Man...it has been a long time since I set foot in this blog..Been busy actually running up and down burning fuel in the east coast. Since the recent increase in price I have no choice but to install a new meter for the car...









Then I had another image that I guess all of us should have a look at since the government is saying that we still are having the cheapest domestic fuel comparing to other countries.