Uneasy bedfellows

How are we all supposed to be united as multi-racial and multi-religious citizens of MALAYSIA after all the unabashed racist opinions being blared publicly from the PWTC during the on-going UMNO General Assembly?

It is hurtful, to say the least. And deeply troubling too.

It also makes one think whether we can count them as real true friends when the going gets tough.

Introducing Pak Lah to Citizen Nades

From the SUN at page 2 today:-

... On the perception that (Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) is slowing down in his fight against corruption, he said he was doing his best but it was difficult without the support and help of the people.

Once again he appealed to the people to "help me to fight corruption by providing evidence".

(Note: Bold emphasis are mine. For full text of Abdullah's speech, log on to www.pmo.gov.my)

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First of all, I find Pak Lah's claim that he is not getting the support and help from the people in his fight against corruption rather strange.

I know he is a busy man, but to give an example, surely he has heard of the good paper the SUN?

No? Surely those boys from the 4th floor have (at some point) read the paper?

Surely, surely, if not he, then someone close to him must have heard of the good work of Citizen Nades?

No again? Gosh, these guys must be living on another planet!

Spine-chilling crime

An affair gone wrong, resulting in a horrible murder and the arrest of a prominent public personality AND three police personnel (a chief inspector, a woman detective and a corporal with the Special Action Force or SAF, more commonly known as the Unit Tindakan Khas.)

The victim - shot dead and blown to pieces with C4 explosives, commonly used for demolition work. Brutal, nauseating, inhuman.

That this heinous crime is purportedly carried out by members of our police force is what makes it so spine-chillingly frightening. What was the motivation for their involvement in this case? What price for such a sinful act? Can there ever be a justifiable price indeed?

I wonder if he felt the same cold shudder that ran through my bones when I found out the name of the guy who was remanded.

Shocking is an understatement. Now, all we can wait for is the IGP's next course of action.

Our faith in the police force is undergoing tremendous challenges, and this latest incident has shaken us to the core.

Let's pray for the soul of the poor woman. She did not deserve to die in this manner.

Not so forgiving after all

"Forget about Mahathir!"

Ooohh ... brave words indeed. After all the hugs, kisses and tears, she has finally thrown down the gauntlet. Is this a signal for the beginning of fiesta lumpur? Now, where are the loyalists just when he needed them most?

Rafidah: ‘I will never forgive him for accusing me of all kinds of things. I cannot take it any more. I have reached boiling point.’

What does JBANS means to you?

It never fails to amuse me each time I encounter the local water department's official vehicle with the acronym JBANS.

JBANS stands for Jabatan Bekalan Air Negeri Sembilan (Negeri Sembilan Waterworks Department).

But in my mind, it invariably translates to JamBANS (not a conscious effort, really!).

Oh, you don't know the meaning of Jamban? It is the Malay word for TOILET. So Jambans would mean toilets.

Since JBANS deals with water, and since we are all so familiar with the quality of our piped water as well as the escalating costs to the consumer without any substantial improvement in quality, I suppose it is really appropriate to think "JamBANS" whenever we think of JBANS.

Goes to show how the unintentional can really hit the right notes sometimes, eh?

Bye-bye building by-laws

According to the MB of Selangor Negeri Maju, Zakaria's mansion cannot be demolished even though it is constructed without approval from the local authorities (hence, illegal) because to do so, would be unfair because there are thousands of illegal structures which are still standing (and presumably still being built) in this developed state.

I understand the YB to mean that because the "problem" is too huge to handle, thus, the better way is to "close one eye" to this issue.

Why pick on Zakaria? Why indeed!

Now I understand something else about this country too.

About the huge discounts that was dished out to traffic offenders to persuade them to pay up? I guess the rationale must be the same.

Because the number of offenders must be really too many to stuff into all the police lock-ups in the country if the police were to arrest all of them, consequently, it is better to offer 50%-70% discount in the hope that most of them will pay up, and then, "close one-eye" to the rest of the recalcitrant ones.

See, it is all about the numbers. The bigger they are, the more clout you have to get away with your "crime" all because the rule of the jungle has triumph over the laws.

I wonder what is the purpose of having building by-laws. Oh yeah! Laws are really meant to be broken, I heard.

My neighbour was mighty pleased with the MB's decision. You see, he is in the midst of extending his house to double it's current size and he has yet to submit any renovation plans for approval by the local authorities.

Well, he said that there is clearly no need to do so now. What a relief to him. And to the thousands of others in the same boat.

Why is Pak Lah so tolerant of slimeballs?

Dr M Bakri Musa has made an interesting commentary regarding the Zakaria Mat Deros case.

He felt that:-

The Sultan should have summoned Khir Toyo, instead (of) Zakaria Mat Deros to the palace over the issue of the illegal building of Zakaria's private mansion.

The Sultan could strip Zakaria of his datukship, assuming of course that the Sultan awarded the honour in the first place. As Malays are still very much a feudal bunch, that would carry significant shame. That such a slimy character was so honoured to begin with says much about the current state of Malaysian, in particular Malay, society.

The sultan should strip Khir Toyo of his datukship for his incompetence. That would be a powerful symbolic gesture. The Sultan would effectively be challenging the prime minister to get rid of this joker. Khir Toyo is obviously fit only to fill in dental cavities, not the chief executive suite.

We have to be angry at the right people, at the right time, for the right purpose, and express that anger in the right way. Slimy characters like Zakaria and his superior Khir Toyo make it easy. We cannot be angry enough at their types. We must totally abhor them. They bring dishonour to our race and nation.

Interesting, huh?

Read the full article here.

Also sad - after 3 years in power courtesy of the people's biggest mandate, slimeballs still rule in Pak Lah's government.

Well, that's the sort of Barisan Nasional leaders the people voted in.

Can we now say we did not deserve this?