Gostan: The New Spin from OK-Land

When news broke that the Sultan of Selangor wanted Datuk Zakaria Md Deros out of MPK, I suppose the good doctor went into a tailspin which culminated in this amazing revelation: that Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo had asked Zakaria to resign long before the Sultan made his wise command.

Apparently, the statement said the matter was not made public at that time because the state government wanted to give Zakaria the opportunity to act in the interests of the people and the state and resolve the issue without embarrassing anyone. Hence, a 2-day lapse in the matter being conveyed to the public after the wishes of the Sultan was made known earlier.

What's this you ask?

Nothing new lah!

It's just the latest tagline from Selangor Negeri Maju - "Semua Gostan, Sudah OK!"

But seriously, was it OK to YB Datuk Seri that his machai embarrassed His Royal Highness by a defiant snub of a royal summons in the first instance?

Sometimes, it is better to remain in "elegant silence" than having a big stinky foot stuck in your mouth.

Selangor MB spinning out of logic

Is it logical to ask someone to relinquish a post when that person is not even holding that post?

From the SUN report at page 2 today:-

MB must act in rakyat's interest
comment by R. Nadeswaran

REWIND:
In the regulations it does not say that people who break the law cannot be appointed councillors. We appoint councillors according to their party positions. This is decided by the party, so anything concerning the party, we will refer back to the party management committee.

I will follow the orders, which say appointment of councillors has to be according to their party positions. So, if there is any problem, we will refer to the party management.
- Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo at a press conference after the state executive council meeting on Oct 18.

FAST FORWARD:
The state exco has deliberated on this matter. We have already made a decision to withdraw the councillorship from Zakaria. However, it is better for Zakaria to tender his resignation to the Klang Municipal Council chief by Nov 8.
- Mohd Khir at his open house in his Sungai Besar residence on Saturday.

The mentri besar's statement on Oct 18 was unequivocal - Port Klang assemblyman and Klang councillor Zainal @ Zakaria Mat Deros is untouchable.

Defending Zakaria's re-appointment as a councillor, he argued that there is nothing to prevent law-breakers from being appointed councillors.

At his open house in his hometown of Sungai Besar on Saturday, Mohd Khir was in his element - he made an about-turn and declared "Zainal must go".

One can only guess that he got his courage after the Sultan had advised Zakaria to resign.

The state exco meets every Wednesday, and unless it met on the second day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, it does not compute, but it all seems part of a sandiwara.

What was not in the well-prepared script was that Mohd Khir would be forced to eat his words that the "party determines appointments".

Zakaria's term as councillor ended last month. He was supposed to be sworn in for another term on Oct 19, but that ceremony was called off.

Technically, Zakaria is not a councillor, and therefore, Mohd Khir's ultimatum - resign or be sacked - looks very much part of the script, which also includes the RM24,000 compound fine instead of prosecution under the Town and Country Planning Act, which carries a maximum penalty of RM500,000 and a jail sentence.

So, what's next? Mohd Khir has maintained his elegant silence on why 43,000 sqft of land was alienated to Zakaria's wife, Zizah Ngah and how the state government amalgamated eight plots to build the istana. This is not an isolated case of selective land alienation. The records of the Anti-Corruption Agency will show that there have been numerous reports of abuse of power, including one where four teenagers were given scores of hectares in Selangor.

But leaving that aside, local authorities are coming under close scrutiny. Besides, the Sultan's advice that all representatives put the people's interests first and preserve the good name of Selangor is a timely reminder that all's not well in the country's only self-declared fully developed state.

When Transparency International released its survey on the level of corruption in the Selayang Municipal Council 3 years ago, Mohd Khir pooh-poohed it as an opposition ploy.

But that report reflects what is happening on the ground. It's not only Selayang whose councillors went to Mauritius and South Africa to inspect toilets or Klang where councillors break the law with impunity.

So, what is going to happen to some Petaling Jaya councillors who orchestrated the "donations for advertising licences" scam?

Or about councillors in Ampang Jaya who have built hawker complexes on state land?

The Sultan did not mince his words when he said that he had received letters from ordinary rakyat of Zakaria's antics in Klang. Surely, he must have a dossier on several other miscreants who have disgraced their positions.

When the Sun exposed the PJ billboards scandal, Mohd Khir was quick to say that the Selangor exco did not approve the deal. Instead, he sheepishly accused "the SUN exco" of doing it.

On Oct 10, when the SUN broke the story of Zakaria's palatial mansion which other newspapers - save for Oriental Daily - refused to touch, we braced for a similar outburst and a similar "the SUN exco" excuse.

Instead of acknowledging that the laws had been broken and replying to the many issues which were raised, Mohd Khir bought time to prepare the script.

The mentri besar, as the chief executive of the state is accountable to every citizen that the people he appoints to sit as councillors have credibility and impeccable reputation.

He has the power to hire and fire, and thus, should not wait for a royal prodding to discharge his duties and carry out his responsibilities to the rakyat. Or, for that matter, wait for someone to write the script so that he looks good in the eyes of his party supporters and those he is beholden to.

If he continues to backpaddle, twist and turn or waffle at regular intervals, his continuous cries of Semuanya OK will sound like a broken record.

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The bold emphasis on the above commentary by Citizen Nades is done by me.

I find it strange that after all the scandal surrounding Zakaria Mat Deros, would the people of Klang accept the appointments of Zakaria's son and daughter-in-law as councillors despite their party positions? Are there no moral lessons to be learnt from this shameful incident?

If Mohd Khir insists on doing things HIS way regardless of the views of the rakyat, I guess it is a true reflection of the state of affairs in UMNO. After all, he also appears to be one of the untouchables.

Along with the little and big Napoleans, we have a new breed of leaders who are setting new standards for excellence in staying power.

Di Selangor Negeri Maju - apa pun boleh!

A bunch of pigheads

Look, if these pigheads can't get their act together, might as well shut the whole industry down. That'll teach them a lesson.


From the NST today:-

Pork war hots up over banned growth drug

JOHOR BARU: A "pork war" is brewing.

The Malaysian Pork Sellers’ Association (MPSA) and the Federation of Livestock Farmers’ Association of Malaysia (FLFAM) are pointing fingers at each other over the use of beta-agonist, a banned growth enhancer, on pigs.

...

In May, the Consumers’ Association of Penang advised consumers to refrain from eating pork as half of the samples tested in Penang showed they were tainted with salbutamol, a type of beta-agonist.

On Wednesday, MCA Traditional Agriculture bureau chief Datuk Dr Lee Chong Meng said 70 per cent of the pigs bred in Selangor were tested positive for the banned drug.

His statements were immediately refuted by the FLFAM, which claimed that most of the farmers were using a substitute drug, Paylean, since beta-agonist was banned.

...

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From the STAR:-

JOHOR BARU: About 70% of locally-bred pigs are still fed beta-agonist, a substance banned two years ago, according to the Malaysian Pork Sellers Association.

Association chairman Goh Chui Lai said beta-agonist was still widely-used as a growth enhancer by many pig farms in the central and northern states, and he urged the Government to check the problem at the source instead of fining butchers for selling pork with the banned substance.

... (Health) Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said monitoring the use of beta-agonist was complex and involved many levels in the food chain.

“At our level, we monitor beta-agonist in pork while the Agriculture Ministry monitors the substance in pigs in the farms, before they are slaughtered,” he said. “We had carried out checks on pork and imposed fines on pork sellers. But the action alone is not fair because they would not know if the meat has beta-agonist. So we also trace the farmers through them,” he said.

The ministry had taken two cases against pig farmers to court but lost the cases due to poor coordination and documentation between agencies involved, he said.

“The Health Ministry, Agriculture Ministry and Local Government and Housing Ministry have to improve on the coordination, and enforcement must be strengthened so that there is no power abuse,” he said.

Dr Chua said there was also difficulty monitoring the use of beta-agonist in pigs due to religious obstacles. He said the enforcement had been weak and urged the Government to raid pharmacies that import and supply the substance and feed-additive producers that pre-mix the substance.

...

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What are these pigs trying to tell us? That it is a LOST cause? Eat at your own RISKS?

Like many other issues in this country, the Chinese community should be proactive in resolving this matter of great health consequences rather than look to the government for action.

If consuming local pork is BAD and HARMFUL for you and your loved ones, surely it's not that difficult to abstain from eating them, right?

Who better to teach these greedy and unscrupulous industry players a lesson than the consumer himself?

Is TWO a morally acceptable figure?

From the frontpage of the STAR today:-

MB: Only two in family can be councillors

SHAH ALAM: No more than two members of a family will be allowed to be councillors in the same local authority in Selangor at the same time, Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo said.

He said if several members of a family were nominated for council posts, the state would only allow two.

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Can anybody else see the flaw in the above statement?

No wonder politics is such a big business these days.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!

Wishing all my Muslim friends and readers Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!!

Remembering Endon

Exactly one year ago, we received the shocking news that Datin Seri Endon Mahmood, the beloved wife of our Prime Minister had passed away suddenly after losing her battle against cancer.

This day will be spent remembering a kind and gentle lady whose presence is still felt by those whose lives have been touched by her in ways that may not always be publicly expressed.

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The New Straits Times, Saturday 1 November 2003 (Special Edition: Welcome Pak Lah @ p.10)

"I never felt sorry for myself"

WHEN it happened to me I never felt sorry for myself.

"Cancer is so rampant these days. One in four people in the country has cancer. It is a common disease," said Datin Seri Endon Mahmood.

"I thank God that it happened at a time like this, when I have a son who can look after me. We have the money for the treatment, and I have friends who can help me. Lots of caring people pray for my good health, too.

"You can ask my children. There has not been a time when they saw me cry. I think the only time I shed tears was when I needed Pak Lah. But I always have to tell myself that he has a bigger role to play, a country to look after.

"Now I have to concentrate on looking after myself. I feel that it's important that I do this so that I can assist Pak Lah.

"He has not been able to follow me for my treatments but he calls every two or three days. Even during my last operation, he was busy with an MCA event.

"I know that he felt a bit guilty for not being able to be with me during my operation but I have always assured him that the country needs him more than I do.

"He is so occupied with his work, he has no time even for himself. But I do miss him. I suppose it's because we are so close.

"He often asks me not to forget my prayers. In the end it's just up to God.

"These days, my mornings begin with a bit of meditation after subuh prayers. Then I do qi gong. Pak Lah used to do it with me, but not anymore. He just doesn't have the time."

- (interviewed) By Hisham Harun

********************

She sacrificed her personal needs and her husband for the country.

Would her husband honour that sacrifice and leave a legacy that will make all Malaysians proud? A legacy that will usher in an eagerly awaited golden era of justice, accountability and transparency that will propel Malaysia into a respectable nation in the eyes of the world community?

In the end, what is being done now shall be recorded in future as history. Time will tell. Let us hope that for all of Endon's sacrifices, something good for all the people of Malaysia will come through the leadership of Pak Lah.

May Allah bless her soul.

Blogger Alvin Yap in hospital

I received a disturbing e-mail from Bob Kee on the 16th which unfortunately I only managed to read just now.

He mentioned that one of our fellow bloggers, Alvin Yap was admitted into Hospital Kuala Lumpur on the 15th for observation. He had chest pains and this was soon after he had an angioplasty the week before.

Apparently, Bob had spoken to him earlier that evening and Alvin indicated that he's okay but is facing a lot of challenges in terms of fear and anxiety. Bob added this in his e-mail: "Do remember to intercede for him and those of you who have his number, give him a call just to say hi and tell him that you're praying for him. He will appreciate that."

It's three days since the mail came in.

I wonder how Alvin is doing now. I certainly hope his health has improved and that he is on the road to full recovery.

By the way, I do not know Alvin personally. I can only assume that he is the same Alvin who used to blog at http://alvinyv.org (the URL however is no longer working). I used to interact with him at his blog and he had generously reciprocated by linking to me. He is actually one of the first few bloggers who linked to me when I was a relative newbie, at about the same time as I first got to know carboncopy, who has also now taken a backseat in the blogging world.

Alvin has not blogged for quite some time. Occasionally, I received news of him courtesy of Bob's mailing list.

I can't be too sure whether they are the same person. But nevertheless, I offer my prayers and well-wishes to Alvin Yap. I hope everything turns out well for you soon. God Bless.

Happy Deepavali!

The Festival of Lights is upon us again, and I wish my Hindu readers a joyous Happy Deepavali. May the light shines brightly over you and may you be blessed with all that is good and wonderful throughout the new year.

According to the wikipedia, Deepavali or Diwali is a major Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Indian Buddhist festival/celebration. Known as the Festival of Lights, it symbolises the victory of good over evil, and lamps are lit as a sign of celebration and hope for mankind.

The Sanskrit word Deepavali means array of lights that stands for victory of brightness over darkness. As the knowledge of Sanskrit diminished, the name was popularly modified to Diwali, especially in northern India.

HAPPY DEEPAVALI !

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Light a lamp to dispel darkness. Maybe we all should light lots of lamps in our homes this weekend. It will be a great message of hope for all Malaysians who aspire for real harmony and unity in our fragmented society. We need to find our way home, guided by the light of compassion.

Change of fortune for Mat Cemerlang

The guy who refused to eat humble pie once again has got pie thrown at his face.

It has taken this long for the government to admit that the Mat Rempits are a menace to society. Instead of making heroes out of them as some very misguided souls have proposed to do, our deputy Prime Minister has finally shown enough guts to send out the right signals that law-breakers are not to be tolerated at all.

Najib likened road users who flout the law as “thieves.” “If they think they can ‘steal’ and escape from enforcement, they will do it. They don't realise that they are actually affecting the whole system.”

Yes, let's not kid ourselves anymore that the Mat Rempits are cemerlang (excellent).

We have witnessed enough cemerlang acts performed by many of our elected and non-elected representatives of society lately. It seems to me that we have so many Mat Tak-Malu's and Mat Muka Tebal's around that if we continue to shake our heads at their shenanigans, no telling when such head-shaking habits are going to be a very Malaysian way of life.

********************

And what will be the response of Umno Youth who had great plans to re-package the Mat Rempits into role models for our youth aka Mat Cemerlangs? Looks like they need to find someone else to distribute their flyers and propaganda for the coming general election.

Maybe elegant silence would be an easy way out of this conundrum.

One more bite the dust. Then again, maybe not so soon. But aren't we all glad to see the end of this re-branding nonsense, before the dumb gets dumber?

Oh dear!

My very dear friends and readers, (I'm privately amused by this line: dear, dear blog friends I have a few, but readers ?? tsk!)

I'm sorry for the lack of updates.

Something unexpected cropped up and it has disrupted my routine. It's nothing tragic, so no worries there. However, writing/blogging takes time and unfortunately, I'm just too tied up at the moment to do so.

Meanwhile, I'm also sad to hear that my good friend Dr Yeoh aka Maverick intends to take a long break from blogging due to various commitments. What a damper to my mood ... :(

I shall be back later, if you care to wait.

Oh well - I'm off now to make some lemonades. Bye!

Kerana U, Khairy!

Kerana U, Khairy, MCA and Gerakan have become the laughing stock among the Malaysian Chinese community.

HE refused to eat humble pie,
while THEY could not wipe the pie from their faces!

You can smell the haze in Seremban

The haze right at this moment in Seremban is really awful.

You can actually smell it! It makes my throat feel scratchy. It also gets indoors through window openings.

My poor Buddyboy got nowhere to hide, he has resorted to parking himself between the back of his kennel and the hedge and lying low with his brown nose wedged underneath. Maybe he is smarter than most of us, the air at the lowest point is probably the freshest you can get right now.

And I hope the situation tomorrow will not get any worse than today.

Because the kids are celebrating children's day at school and there'll be some outdoor activities plus lots of moving about due to the parties, mini-concert and a magician making a guest appearance to entertain them.

Of course it doesn't bother them - the haze, I mean. They'll be too excited with a day off normal classwork to notice it. I sure hope they don't come down with a case of conjunctivities this time around - the last great haze saw an outbreak of red eyes among the kids at school and mine were not spared either.

And also late last month, I've seen a resurgence of chickenpox infections among schoolkids here. And this haze no doubt will cause respiratory problems to those susceptible.

Strangely - our government is somewhat nonchalant about this hazy problem this year. Even the major newspapers are not giving it much prominence unlike years past. I wonder why?

One small step to better understanding

We don't see this very often, do we?

I mean, public officers actually agreeing that mindfulness of religious sensitivities should apply to everybody, not just Muslims?

Hopefully, we will see more of such positive mindsets in future, extending to many other areas in society so that it becomes a way of life for every Malaysian to accept each others' differences with open hearts and minds.

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From theSUN (page 6, Monday October 2, 2006):-

“Food at public functions should be halal for all”

SUBANG JAYA: Be more mindful and sensitive to the religious beliefs and practices of everyone when you invite them to public functions like buka puasa, Subang Jaya municipal councillor Aftar Singh Sidhu said.

Speaking at the council’s full-board meeting, he said: “This is a sensitive matter, but we should make sure that the food we serve at our public functions are ‘halal’ for everyone.”

So items like beef should be left out as Hindus do not eat beef, Aftar said, suggesting that meats like chicken or mutton be served instead.

Councillor Ariffin Osman then said, “It’s like this - just imagine we are at a function where pork is served next to the other food. Would we want to eat the other food then? We must think about these things.”

New MPSJ president Adnan Mohd Ikshan told those in charge to take note.

How would u like a J* B** meal?

You see, I didn't make this up, okay?

It appeared in an article published in the Starbiz section of the Star yesterday at page B11.

It was a write-up by their columnist Kathy Fong from Shanghai about Yum! Restaurants China strategic alliance and new business development director Vincent Choo and how he learned that perseverance would be rewarded when doing business in China.

It was reported that the fast food market in China is big and is growing. Mr Choo said that, “Competition is strong, but there is enough business for everyone.”

In fact, he claimed that people were queuing outside Yum!’s newly opened store in Sanya, Hainan province, recently. “It wasn’t just 10 or 20 people standing the line. The queue was like a mile long,” he said, stressing it was not an exaggeration. (and I believe him ... )

Choo also likens investing in China to travelling on a road full of potholes. “However, you would eventually reach your destination if you persevere and not make a U-turn,” he said.

And the last paragraph of the article raised my eyebrows.

Besides KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands that are well known worldwide, Yum! group has developed a Chinese fast food brand Dong Fang Ji Bai, which serves local meals, a move to get a bigger share of the market. (and I can't believe this !!!)

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Ooooohhhhh ... don’t call me names, okay??? I just wanna cheer up Mave with this little posting. Wahahahahahaha !!!!

Sunday's walkabout DEJA VU

This morning's frontpage headline in the NST grabbed my attention at breakfast: Have I heard this one before? Why does it sound so familiar?

In LARGE fonts, occupying half a page, it read:-

SHAKE-UP

Malaysia's top cop wants to bust the complacency syndrome. Tan Sri Mua Hassan is shaking up things with his "walkabout" style. He's on the move to make sure that the nation's policemen are always on their toes.

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I distinctly remember when our current Prime Minister took over the hot seat, the first thing he did was also some sort of "walkabout" to the immigration department.

It certainly got things moving in double quick time after that "surprise" visit. And he followed up on the success of it with a promise to do more "ground" checks from time to time.

And then, predictably after a very short while, I think he got tired of walking on the ground, preferring instead a more glamorous jetsetting lifestyle of preaching to an overseas audience.

So, what happened afterwards was that "the mice came out to play" while the cat was away.

And it has been one grand party ever since he abdicated his responsibility to clean up his own backyard as promised in his election manifesto, hence the little and Big NAPOLEANS that we see scrambling to grab whatever they can get their greasy hands on while the going is still good. (Bet they too heard the rumour that it's not going to last, so better make haste while the sun still shines, or rather while their boss is still in power.)

While some people are busy looting, we also witness the warlords coming out to stir some excitement on the ground by whipping up some long-buried racial sentiments ahead of the race for pole position in the coming elections. These people of course, are doing all they can to ensure their political survival, never mind if they need to sacrifice national unity and harmony in order to achieve their selfish ambitions.

*(What's national unity & harmony anyway but another pretty slogan?)

So this new IGP's first task is really nothing new in Malaysia.

Almost every top brass getting their first taste of power do the same standard routine. And routinely too, they do not last very long, I'm afraid. The trouble with every top brass is that they too will fall into the "complacency syndrome" given enough time to warm their seats. The frailty of human nature, perhaps?

But I guess it must be a Malaysian culture - this "hangat-hangat tahi ayam" syndrome that we all fall prey to so often and never really feel embarrassed to admit that we always like to "cakap tak serupa bikin" in the long run.

We all know, and we all have come to accept that this is the way Malaysians do things. Seperti biasalah. It's just all in a day's work. Besok sudah lupa.

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It has been heavily rumoured that the General Election is going to happen sooner than we think.

A few things crossed my mind.

Shouldn't we all take this opportunity in the next General Election to voice our collective disapproval of racism in our multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious country?

Like - reject communal politics?

Reject parties where memberships are only open to ONE particular race?

Parties like these are the ones who almost always stir up communal and racist feelings without any shame and in the process create hatred and distrust amongst our otherwise rational and peace-loving rakyat.

We have all seen how ugly such racist talks can be. We have all been embarrassed by it. So, why should we allow it anymore? It is time to say a BIG NO!!

And, the only way we can send a message that politics of race is NOT GOOD for our society anymore, even dangerous and harmful to our well-being and peace, is to NOT VOTE for parties that promote such values.

If we reject racism, we must reject such political parties. By NOT VOTING for them in the general election. By only voting for parties that are multi-national and multi-religious. That would be a great message to our future leader who is supposed to be the leader FOR ALL. That would be one way of heading in the right direction for the future good of this country.

And another thought came into my mind.

Multi-level marketing, or the pyramid system.

If one person can convince three others that we can have better governance by changing the system that has proven again and again to be so disadvantageous to the disadvantaged in our society - can you imagine how powerful this force can be?

One important vote plus three more plus nine more plus twenty seven ...

Do we want to convince people that a fair and equitable society can only benefit EVERYONE and not just the chosen few by voting for A CHANGE?

Can we use the multi-level marketing system to generate the momentum and desire necessary to achieve something which has never been achieved before in the history of Malaysia, in a peaceful and democratic manner?

I hope to see more people rise to the challenge of displaying our patriotism and love for this country. Let us all reject what is morally wrong and bad for every citizen, regardless of your race, religion or status in society.

We must learn not to tolerate anymore.

Instead, mutual genuine acceptance and respect for the rights and dignity of each individual should be a way of life for all of us in Malaysia, from the young to the old.

Then, truly then, can we say we are united as Malaysians and we need never be forced to display our Jalur Gemilang proudly each and every day of our lives.

A good government will gradually help us to learn to love our neighbours, not just tolerate them.