Nothing Special for Malaysians

Looking at the recent past, there appear to be little to look forward to as ordinary Malaysians. The rich will get richer and the poor will still struggle to be less deprived. Those in power will do their best to remain in power. The under privileged will continue to have lesser still.

Reading from the blogs around, we find that some Chinese Malaysians are preparing to leave the country if 'things' gets worse - of course these would be the already affluent group of the race. The poorer Chinese will still have carry on the daily struggle and hope the political party they support will one day ensure a better life for them.

The Indians had their moment in history - suing the British Government for Trillions of ringgit, getting world news headlines via the Hindraf issue. Sammy Vellu will still hold on to power.

The Malays won't be reaslising that their days are numbered - they are still split now three or four ways - politicaly, socially, religiously and philosophically. The ruling UMNO thrives on the ignorance of the rural Malays while the religious PAS find themselves bobbing between being labeled extremist and modernist. PKR Malays are apologist - trying to pacify everyone from the east, west, north and south.

As a nation who started off quite well in the early days now find itself being relegated to post developing, lost in direction, 3rd world country yet again. While the price of oil is at one of its highest in history, little of that can be translated to better living for the country's citizen. As one of the biggest producers of palm oil in the world, not having any for domestic use is simply stupid!





Presidency of OIC and NAM is more of burden rather than a plus nowadays. No one benefits from such lame leadership NOT EVEN Malaysia.

As far as world focus goes, so far almost all the news have been about scandals, bad policing, poor management and shameful scams. As the world becomes more and more a global village, there isn't much here in Malaysia if you're an ordinary citizen. The fear is will Malaysia too get herself listed with Myanmar for democracy, Zimbabwe for inflation, America for justice and Colombia for freedom? But for some, standing tall alongside America's style of say-one-thing-and-do-the-opposite isn't so bad really.



Nobody listens to the little people anyway! RIGHT GEORGE?

BENAZIR BHUTTO - A Sister Martyred

We all knew, perhaps she knew better, that the destiny of her death was not surprising at all. That the the fate of those who fight for the little people, the general public usually lies with those who have nothing but evil in their hearts. It would seem that democracy is not the way forward for people in power or those who hunger for power.

It would be almost impossible to point the finger at the plotters of Madam Benazir's death. Was it a lone gunman or was it conspiracy? Your guess is a good as mine. The deed has been done and an opponent has been eliminated. That is that!


The little people have to get on with their lives. They can now only remember and cherish their leader. Perhaps a tomb will be built for Madam Benazir and thousands even millions will throng her tomb to lament what could have been. That is the story of other nations - sacrifice and death are commodities that need to be traded for a little freedom and democracy. Their 'fighters' fight to the death and by God's will some good will come from it.

In Malaysia, no sane man or woman will ever blow himself or herself up to prove a point or show dissent. The leaders and their mates may rest easy knowing that none of them will be martyred by such gruesome attack. And so they can continue happily with their indiscriminate raping of the nation's wealth or unabated plundering of the people's right for a life that's free and secure.

Malaysia is a long way away from the tumultuous politics of other nations that are relatively friendly to us. Even Indonesia and Thailand, our close neighbours have their horror stories to tell. With Malaysia, any blowing up shall only be done by those in authority. Any ruckus shall only be perpetrated by well trained public disorder specialist who will infiltrate mass gatherings in case subversive elements are present. And if there isn't any, something can be made up depending on the urgency of the situation.

Yes, Malaysian are really lucky in that any drama on the streets are usually rehearsed with a sprinkle of reality broken legs and bruised ribs thrown in. The docile nature of most Malaysian make it easy for anyone to scare them with their own shadows. We sincerely that hope none of the horrors of true democracy fights ever need to be brought about in Malaysia. All we need is the ballot box!



An orchid in her name

It is always a sad day when somebody dies, especially if their death came about in a sudden and horrific manner. Somebody would have lost a loved one or a shoulder to share the burdens of life or simply a good soul to be with. Madam Benazir despite her shortcomings was dearly loved by the ordinary folks of Pakistan. We Malaysian share in their sorrow. May she rest in peace and May God be Pleased with her soul!

Closing of the Year 2007

The last couple of weeks saw various holidays for most of us - the schools are shut till the new year, the Eid Adha was celebrated albeit one day later than the Saudis, and today was X'mas day for the Christians. Since everyone was in holiday mood or winding down to the end of the year, there was no point in raking up any controversial issues or fanning any fire that was about to burn out. Not to worry, there's plenty of firewood and kerosene around after the new year holiday if there was a need to rekindle any fire about almost anything that we find important or necessary.

Of course, our hearts go out to those who are in detention either of their own renderings or from the instigation of others. A year will have passed with yet again nothing to show in terms of actual fruits that all can savour. Instead, we had a lot, in fact billions of ringgits, of promises upon earlier promises.

I recently stumbled upon a blog by an adventurer writer who visited Malaysia so many years ago and I thought I'd share it with all of you. The musings of an outsider I guess is the nearest honest opinion you can get from a foreign layman who has no interest or agenda other than stating what he saw and understood.

http://www.moxon.net/malaysia/malaysian_politics.html

I shan't be rambling on for too long this time other than to wish all of you

a belated EID MUBARAK, MERRY CHRISTMAS and A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Stereotyping the Malaysian Public - Part 2

Imran Imtiaz Shah Yacob wrote in ASIA SENTINEL..

Ethnic Chinese, who make up 23.7 percent of the population according to the CIA World Factbook, have been disenchanted by rising Malay bellicosity and widespread reports of corruption.

This is the sort of half-truths, sometimes even 'lies' that's spread in the international media about the Malays, Chinese and Indians in Malaysia. By saying 'Malay bellicosity' the writer inadvertently lumps the entire race as 'fight-lovers'. In one sentence the Malays are portrayed as the hooligans in this so-called peace loving country. The Chinese disenchantment with widespread report of corruption is almost a misnomer. Questions should be asked as to who is corrupting whom? Chinese businessmen are well known for their tenacity in making profits and they have little regard for legalities and procedures, if they can get away with it.

The rich have always looked down on the poor. The haves always think they can buy themselves in and out of everything. In Malaysia, the public sector are almost entirely staff by the Malays while the business sectors are held by the Chinese. This structure in the society ensues an almost unavoidable blossoming of corrupt practices by people in hurry or people simply wanting to circumvent the system or by people mis-using their position and power.

That is why we find stories of illegal factories exporting millions ringgit worth of products to overseas market and illegal gambling and nite clubs opened just next door to a police station etc. It has been so almost since the day Malaya got her Independence. It has always been 'I scratch your back and you scratch mine' relationship between the business communities and the public sector - between the Malays and the Chinese. The trouble lies not with the people, the trouble has always been with the government! Not very much have been done to inculcate better or higher values in the society. There have been a lot of talk but no real 'walk'.

That was why when the present PM DS Abdullah won the last General election, he got a thumping majority. The people wanted a change in the government way of doing things. The Chinese have gotten tired of vying one another trying to 'buy' favors and the Malays were fed-up of being 'beggar' a community because a few bad hats were selling their souls and the entire race. Everyone had their hopes high. That was 3 years ago, coming to 4 now - and alls not well but for a few lucky ones.

Somewhere between Tun Razak and Tun Mahathir, there was a working formula that had all the races in harmony and looking towards a workable future. And then somebody got really clever and forsake everyone but himself and his 'clan'. Nation building was the least of their concerns. Getting rich by whatever means was the order for the century. Vision 2020 better get its eyes checked - the future isn't looking so good now!

The fight for Malaysia is no longer a fight for all the boring stuff such as freedom, democracy, unity and race relations. It is now a fight for richness by the ruling elite - Malay, Chinese or Indians! The pawns are the little people who only wants a chance to live an ordinary life. These citizens are really not interested in big conglomerate mergers or billion dollars projects. They just want a little corner of the country where they can earn enough so that they and their children can survive.

Malaysia is the 34th largest economy in the world. As a country it is relatively rich and yet, the way it is governed is as if it is some Banana Republic and the people should understand that the government can't afford to help them. On the contrary, it is the people that are expected to help the government! Its crazy!