Wednesday, April 30, 2008

BENAR - Media Berani Bebas

I'm responding to 5xmom's blog posting to spread the following press release from BENAR. Hope more of you will do the same.


Media Berani Bebas
by SV Singam

Despite the spring that is in the air following the 8th March tsunami, we are distressed to note that the mainstream media (MSM) continue to slant news reports in favour of the BN parties and block news about PR or highlight unfavourable elements. The treatment of the events of 14th April, 2008 in Kampong Bahru comes to mind as a vivid illustration.

More than this, the MSM in general appear to be more comfortable reporting what this or that person said instead of reporting what their reporters observe. They are also still hesitant about conducting investigative reporting that is fearless and penetrating.

The BENAR civil initiative has been formed to highlight this blight in our democratic process and to call upon all segments of society to demonstrate their concern. The rationale of the BENAR logo expresses our stance.

“The QUILL in yellow is our symbol for a media that will speak on behalf of the people with honour and integrity, without fear or favour.

BENAR in white represents the people’s desire for truth and fairness in the media. To this end, we call on the media to stand forth boldly against the dark forces that want to deny the people’s pursuit of justice and liberty.

We recognize it will be a daunting task for a media that shall DARE TO BE FREE but we, the people, will stand united with you and if our hearts were to bleed, we will bleed as one.

Go forth for your badge of honour.”

BENAR will be officially launched immediately following the conclusion of the forum on Press Freedom organised by the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) to be held on 3rd and 4th May, 2008.

Time: 2:00 pm
Date: Sunday, 4th May, 2008
Venue: Annexe, Central Market, Kuala Lumpur

We have invited both the local and foreign media to attend the launch and will explain to everyone our civil action initiative to promote Truth in Reporting. At the launch, we will also announce the Minggu BENAR of 1st to 7th June, 2008 during which week, everyone will be invited to do what they can to persuade those in control to remove the existing restrictions and allow our journalist community to carry out their responsibilities without fear or favour.

We will be challenging our local journalists to Dare to be Free. Civil society can only raise concerns and offer support. Any change has to come from within the journalist community. Minggu BENAR will be the opportunity for them to stand up or walk or do whatever is their preferred mode of expression, to visibly state their case.

We, the public, will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them.

BENAR Organising Committee
29th April, 2008


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Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Mahathir is 70/30, now rate the others

Jeff Ooi thinks Dr Mahathir is 70% a good man , which is a very interesting opinion.

Mahathir Mohamad 70% good 30% ?

Now, how would you rate the following personalities?

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Najib Razak

Khir Toyo

Hishamuddin Hussein Onn

Azalina Othman Said

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Monday, April 28, 2008

Hishamuddin and his patriotism

I thought he was lame and pathetic when I read his so-called apology, published in the local media on Saturday, April 26.

Was there an iota of sincerity in his carefully worded speech?

Now, see how he justified his apology to the Malays as published in a local newspaper today.

Ketua Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein berkata, keputusan beliau memohon maaf secara terbuka ... bertujuan menyedarkan orang Melayu ... berjuang demi bangsa mereka.

Katanya, ... keutamaan baginya adalah kepentingan parti, bangsa dan agama, selain menyedarkan orang Melayu untuk bersatu dan bangkit semula dalam mempertahankan hak sendiri.

Lagi-lagi parti (UMNO), bangsa (MELAYU) dan AGAMA (Islam).

Tak bosan ke?

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

Whatever happened to the first two tenets of our Rukunegara?

Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan (Belief in God)
Kesetiaan kepada Raja dan Negara (Loyalty to King and Country)

I believe I'm a more patriotic Malaysian than someone who only wants to uphold the interests of a particular political party, a particular race and a particular religion in this country.

So sad, isn't it? Seems like the results of GE12 just make them go from bad to worse.

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Sunday, April 27, 2008

17 questions on National Service

Blogger 7th Rangers has raised some very interesting questions about the National Service which I feel ought to be circulated so that hopefully, some MP will pick this up and help us get some answers.

Questions that need to be asked in Parliament, for the 29 elected reps who have yet to submit any questions ...

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Apparently some of our elected representatives have yet to submit their questions for the first Parliament sitting since the 12th general elections. There seem to be twenty nine of them who seem lost and do not have any questions. Well, some of them may be first timers and may be depending on their colleagues to keep Parliament occupied. Or they might not have an inkling on what they have to do. So give them time.

We have seen cases of "bocor", close one eye and tunnels, so one can never be too careful. Maybe they do not want to follow those "icons" of sleaze and crudity, before their time. Or maybe they do not want to spew forth the words racist, racist, say it for around 40 times!

Here are some very good questions of public interest that could be used by these 29 who are lost for questions. Feel free to use them, no charge.

The suggested questions are:

1. How many deaths have occurred in National Service camps and out of camps to date, inclusive of trainers?

2. Who are the cronies ... oops the contractors involved in the upkeep of the camps, the food caterers, the uniform suppliers, the transport suppliers, sanitation contractors etc etc?

3. Any of these cronies ... oops what's wrong with me ... related or linked to UMN... oops again politicians?

4. How many Ministers' children/grandchildren have attended NS training?

5. If exempted, why?

6. Can it be made compulsory for all Ministers' children/grandchildren to attend NS training?

7. How about scrapping the whole National Service program and utilising the money for education scholarships?

8. What is the racial composition of the crony ... oops and double oops contractors ? Give the numbers.

9. How many brawls have there been in NS camps between the racial groups?

10. How many rape cases have occured which the public is not aware of since the inception of this program involving both female and male NS trainees/instructors?

11. How many more deaths are required before this NS farce is shutdown?

12. Has any Minister's child died so far?

13. How frequent are the audits?

14. Do the audits cover the following:
  • a. Food hygiene
  • b. Camp hygiene
  • c. Water hygiene.
  • d. Garbage disposal and frequency.
  • e. Equipment audit.
  • f. Proficiency of instructors.
  • g. Safety. Which certified group conducts and how frequently.
  • h. Religious freedom, are places catered for the various faiths, if none ... alternatives ... I have run out of ideas, feel free to continue ...
15. There have been around 22 deaths, no one is yet to be made accountable, why is that so? Is it due to the indemnity certificate?

16. Why do parents have to sign the indemnity certificate absolving the National Service administrators of blame before a participant attends training? Which is ... in the event ... so and so is not responsible or we are not responsible ...

17. What is the outcome if the parent refuses to sign the indemnity certificate?


posted by Ranger @ 5:22pm

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Saturday, April 26, 2008

What free press?

... when hubby still cannot get the Oriental Daily News delivered to our home together with the English papers ...

The only place you can get a copy of this paper is at the 7-Eleven stores.

Know why?

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

Updated @ 5:05pm, Sunday April 27, 2008 for some answers to the above:-

Daily vs Daily - Challenging the Big Boys (Aliran Monthly 23:7, 2003)
"Sin Chew and its sister publication, Guang Ming, have now joined hands with their old enemies, Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press, to exert pressure on vendors not to sell Orental Daily."

Malaysian media mogul's big China bet (Asia Times Online, Southeast Asia Feb 15, 2007)
"From its inception, however, the Oriental Daily has encountered difficulty distributing through local vendors, who claim they would be denied supplies of Tiong's four publications if they carried the paper."

From the Wikipedia:
Oriental Daily News (Chinese: 東方日報) is one of Malaysia's daily Chinese-language newspapers. It was officially launched on New Year's Day 2003. The newspaper group is owned by KTS Group, a Sarawak timber company founded by late Datuk Lau Hui Kang.

The newspaper actually published its first issue on 29 September 2002, but its publication’s permit was suspended by the Malaysian Home Ministry. The lift was subsequent lifted in December 2002. It was reported a large numbers of journalists from the Nanyang Press group left to join this newspaper group.

The newspaper was also frequently criticised for publishing racially inflammatory articles, particularly on issues concerning the alleged conspiracy instigated by the government to systematically discriminate and suppress the non Malay minorities.[citation needed] Nonetheless, the newspaper has defended its action, saying that its editorial orientation was 'politically justified'.

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Friday, April 25, 2008

Dear Anwar ...

LIFE

All in the dark we grope along,
And if we go amiss
We learn at least which path is wrong,
And there is gain in this.

We do not always win the race
By only runing right,
We have to tread the mountain's base
Before we reach its height.

But he who loves himself the last
And knows the use of pain,
Though strewn with errors all his past,
He surely shall attain.

Some souls there are that needs must taste
Of wrong, ere choosing right;
We should not call those years a waste
Which led us to the light.


- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

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Of movies and dragon tales




Jon Favreau, director of the latest superhero movie Iron Man (opening in local cinemas on April 30) said of his decision to get involved in this genre of film:-

"What's great about superhero movies is even if they're terrible, everybody sees them."

I agree with him. The same can be said of martial art flicks like the Jet Li-Jackie Chan latest offering The Forbidden Kingdom. It may not be intellectually stimulating but the bottom line is, people flock to see it because it provide good entertainment.

Since The Lord of The Rings, I've been patiently waiting for the first Dragonlance movie to come out.

One of my favourite in the series, The Dragonlance Tales is a trilogy written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. There are many other stories in the Dragonlance series written by various authors. According to the Wikipedia:

Dragonlance is a large series of fantasy novels, with over 190 novels printed, and is accompanied by a supplemental campaign setting in the Dungeons & Dragons style. The first Dragonlance novel was published in 1984.

It was originally created by Laura and Tracy Hickman while driving in their car on the way to TSR, Inc. for a job application. At TSR, Tracy met his future writing partner Margaret Weis, and they gathered a group of associates to play the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The adventures during that game became a series of gaming modules that spawned Dragons of Autumn Twilight, the first novel in the Chronicles Trilogy, a core element of Dragonlance.

The majority of the novels take place in the various regions of Ansalon, a small continent, though some have taken place on the lesser known continent of Taladas north of Ansalon.

Peter Jackson, where art thou?

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Monday, April 21, 2008

When an MB rather fund a hotel than service centres

In today's STAR report, the second Finance Minister reportedly urge government agencies not to waste money on needless luxuries.

“It is a moral thing. At a time when everybody is affected by price increases, government agencies should also take heed of the situation by not organising events on a big scale because this might lead to wastage.

“Government agencies should not hold events at five-star hotels, which is quite unnecessary and very costly.

“It is suffice to conduct events in a moderate manner but produce fruitful results. We should start saving money so that we can use the excess to help the rakyat,” he said.

What about state governments who, instead of concentrating on eradicating poverty, improving public facilities and basic infrastructure for the benefit of the rakyat, chose to spend millions in acquiring and refurbishing a 4-star resort hotel?

Is this something that is going to endear them to the rakyat?

KLANA Resort Seremban, which was previously known as Allson Klana Resort, will undergo a refurbishment exercise beginning this month.

Its director Datuk Mohd Haslah Mohd Amin said the refurbishment exercise, which involves 211 rooms, will be carried out in phases and is expected to be completed by June.

"Besides the rooms, we will also be upgrading our kitchen and computer system. We will spend about RM2 million for the exercise," Mohd Haslah said.

He said the hotel will also rename two of its food and beverage (F&B) outlets besides ensuring that all its F&B outlets are halal.

The state government took over the management of Klana Resort in July last year through an asset swap with Glen Glamour Sdn Bhd in a deal worth about RM80 million.

With the takeover, Menteri Besar Inc (MBI) now owns 77.25 per cent of the hotel while the rest is owned by Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Negeri Sembilan.

He said following its rebranding exercise, the hotel expects its average room rate to rise from the current RM128 to RM150.

"For this year, we expect the hotel to record a turnover of RM20 million," Mohd Haslah said.

He also said that the state government has plans to turn Emerald Spirit Sdn Bhd, Klana Resort's parent company, into the flagship company for all its hospitality related businesses.

"The plan is to inject the state government's hospitality assets into Emerald Spirit. We are currently in discussions regarding this matter and hope to finalise it by the end of the year," Mohd Haslah said. (Business Times Online, April 7, 2008)

I wonder when Mohd Haslah talked about the projected turnover of RM20 million whether a large portion of this figure is going to come from the coffers of the state and federal government.

Certainly, not many people in the state of Negeri Sembilan is amused about our MB spending millions playing hotelier. In contrast, it just makes him seem petty for terminating the RM1,500 service centre allowance for state assemblymen on the pretext of cutting costs and channeling the funds to the underprivileged.

How paltry is this sum compared to RM80 million and counting?

And how will the state-owned hotel benefit the ordinary folks compared to well-funded and efficiently-run service centres that could be set up close to them?

Itulah ...

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Friday, April 18, 2008

Fridays are for dinosaur baths

I criticise MCA and one anonymous commenter accused me of being a running dog for PAS and Anuar.

Duh ... who is Anuar ar? :-D

No, never mind. I won't react like one guy called Ali Ketam, who wrote about pigs and then got pelted with over 300 comments. All I can say is, ha ha ha !!!

Ah ... today is FRIDAY and I like FRIDAYs. Because FRIDAY is the day my kids get to throw their schoolbags aside and watch their favourite DVDs until their eyes pop out. FRIDAY is also the day their mom don't nag them to do their homework. The nagging is only reserved for Sunday night, after dinner to be precise. ;-)

I like SATURDAYs too. SATURDAYs are normally MOVIE days. For the last three weeks, we have watched The Water Horse, The Spiderwick Chronicles and Nim's Island. Tomorrow will be a toss between Forbidden Kingdom and Escape from Huang Shi. It's really up to the kids (the small kids and the BIG kid, you know?) I'm mostly there for the hotdog and popcorns. :-P

SUNDAYS are for lazying around. For lying in beds listening to your favourite music or reading a good book. For wishing that God reserves all his rainy days on Sundays. For sharing hugs and tall tales.

How's that for getting in the right mood for a great weekend?

If you need more oomph to jump start yours, maybe you can take up J's suggestion. J is a wise little girl of almost 11 years old. She is her little brother's hero (for now, she doesn't like being called a heroine any more than being made to wear frilly dresses.)

She is the one who came up with the idea of taking dinosaur baths.


I don't know what other charms she put in the tub because she seems to take an awfully long time to complete her ritual.

And I also don't know exactly when she started putting dinosaurs in her bath water.



After taking her bath, she takes them out and hid them behind the bath tub. Cute or not?

Have a good weekend!

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Thursday, April 17, 2008

MCA licked and whacked

When even a small fry like Cheras UMNO division head Senator Datuk Syed Ali Al Habshee starts telling MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting to SHUT UP, you wonder how much lower MCA can sink.

For the MCA leaders, if you don't speak up against issues that riled the community, die. To speak up, also die. Either way, they can never win because of, what else, UMNO lah!

So while MCA continue to be obedient little boys and girls and pledge undying loyalty to Barisan Nasional, those Tuan-Tuan Melayu continue to whack them left right and centre for every little speech that is not music to UMNO members' ears.

And we all just sit back and watch in amazement.

Some people are real suckers for boundless humiliation. No wonder people call them dogs. Dogs are known to be so blindly loyal to their owners to the extent of being abused to death without nary a whimper.

Please lar - stop calling yourselves Malaysian CHINESE Association. You are more like Malaysian CHEKAI Association.

MCA members, please read through the interview that The SUN did with Selangor MB Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim today. (Extra! Conversations, page 14, The SUN April 17, 2008).

I'll reproduce the relevant part below:-

The SUN:
Can you do without federal funding, since the Rural Development Minister had announced that such funds will go directly to BN appointees in the state?

Tan Sri Khalid:
We are not worried about that. If they channel it to Selangor, the multiplier will still be in Selangor.

But, I don't want to waste my time going to the federal government asking for money because I have enough work on my hands, managing the resources.

I am quite happy if the federal ministers do this because the people will now know that these are the people who should not be there. So, over time, they will be cast aside.

The more they continue to do this, the better we are politically.

Let me say to you - these people, they are in Umno ... one example is this pig farming issue. The report shows that MCA proposed this and then Umno worked with them, saying "let's do it".

Nothing to do with racial reasons: it is socially good and economically viable to have a clean and modern pig farming industry.

Now here comes a chap who wants to champion Umno who ignores MCA and now says it cannot be done. Can you imagine?

If MCA continues to lick Umno I don't know what level of dignity they have!

This is the partner that they have. Can you imagine this? And none of the MCA leaders are wiling to speak up.

And here Umno says forget about the pig farmers, forget about the Chinese, even though they are in a weak position. I am enjoying this. It is a good thing for us.

Let the Chinese and the Indians open their eyes to what sorts of fellows they are dealing with. Hey, it's true you know.

If I were an MCA man who promoted this, and now I am being betrayed, what am I going to tell the other Chinese? This is what people tell me and I say promote it so society knows that this is what you have experienced the last 50 years.

Shameful, isn't it? Being exposed like that.

MCA will thus continue to lick Umno as long as they remain in Barisan Nasional. Because that's just the way it works in Barisan Nasional. Because Umno will tell them this: "Kalau you tak suka, you boleh keluar!" To which they will respond with heads down and tails behind their backs.

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Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Can PR state governments do this?

I'm just wondering.

About filling up forms which we do all the time when dealing with government departments. If it doesn't concern the Federal government like applications for MyKad or passports, can the five state governments do away with forms that require the rakyat to fill in their race and religion?

Perhaps that will be a good way to slowly change the mindset of people fixated with putting labels on Malaysians.

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Is NST learning to write from the heart?

This front page editorial from the NaSTy paper today speaks like one of us, eh?

The NST says: GET ON WITH THE JOB

IT’S been five weeks since the general election. The Barisan Nasional was returned to power, albeit with a smaller majority and the loss of five states.

Despite the shock of the result, it was still a mandate that no one could argue with, not even Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in his wildest allegations of electoral fraud. But what has Umno, the leading partner of the coalition and largest party in parliament, been doing since March 8?

Bickering, pointing fingers, baying for vengeance and doing everything imaginable except rolling up its sleeves and getting down to the work of governing.
Enough is enough.

People are getting fed up with Umno’s moaning and groaning, the political wayang and sandiwara its cast of characters is playing up and down the country.

The truth is that the people have long been disgusted with the kind of boorish, loutish behaviour that Umno leaders had exemplified because of their grip on power since independence in 1957.

Brandishing the kris was hurtful to the non-Malays but the party leadership did nothing to take the Umno Youth chief to task for the menacing and insulting gesture. Which was why he was emboldened to repeat it and provide extra impetus for the Chinese and Indians to abandon the BN at the polls.

It also did not go unnoticed that the leadership put up with the racist and inflammatory rhetoric of the delegates at the televised 2006 Umno general assembly.

Then there was the desecration of the temple under the watch of the then Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo which did so much to outrage the Hindus throughout the country and turn them against the ruling coalition. And Dr Khir had the cheek to award a broom to a local council president, when neither he nor the party president could control the warlords who held the party to ransom over the choice of candidates, and stabbed the party in the back when they did not approve of the candidates.

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is now paying for these and other acts of omission, including the undeliverable promises of change that he made when he first became prime minister in 2003.

Every other day, he has had to deflect attacks by party members and ex-leaders who conveniently have absolved themselves of any fault. But every day that he is sidetracked by party bickering is another day affairs of state are neglected — the nation and the people are the losers.

Abdullah has said that he has got the message; he has accepted responsibility for the unkept pledges; and this time, he vows he will deliver on his promises and set the country in order before he retires.

That is, in fact, the verdict of his mandate, and he should be allowed to get on with it. But all the worms crawling out of the Umno woodwork — especially the retired and those with shelf lives past due who have found new breath in their calls for a party coup — won’t let him.

They don’t get it. Abdullah is not solely to be blamed and everything will not suddenly be all well again if he goes. Umno from the roots to the high branches all have to share the blame for their silence, their greed, arrogance and shenanigans that have turned off voters. So stop the navel-gazing and infighting.

If they have to fight among themselves, at least have the decency to keep it civilised and behind closed doors. They don’t have to drag the whole country through their infernal politicking.

There are more important things than private peeves and settling of scores.
Neither the brewing crisis over soaring food prices nor other major issues are going to wait for Umno to put its own house in order. Now is the time for the grand old party to move on, do the things its leaders have promised and show that it still has what it takes to lead the nation.

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

Looks like our mainstream media is also keen to join in the fray. Let's see who shuts up first.

Updated: Oh, I like this photo so much that I'm giving it a thumbs up by sharing it here.

Semuanya OK!









Tanjong Sepat assemblyman from UMNO, Karim Mansor in a German pigsty, photo grabbed from Aisehman's blog.

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Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Darn funny folks

I'm so tickled by this picture. That garland Lim Guan Eng wore with the red flowers so strategically placed. He sure had his tits and crotch well covered!!!


Vaisakhi wishes: Lim and his wife Betty Chew greeting DAP chairman Karpal Singh at the Gurdwara Sahib in Penang on Monday. (The Star, Tuesday 15 April 2008)

HAPPY VAISAKHI, Saudara Karpal Singh! May the new year bless you with good health and much happiness.


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Sunday, April 13, 2008

A song (or two) for Pak Lah

From my favourite band, Simple Plan. You can click on the link to hear the songs.

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

HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN TO ME?

I open my eyes
I try to see but I'm blinded by the white light.
I can't remember how,
I can't remember why,
I'm lying here tonight,
And I can't stand the pain,
And I can't make it go away,
No I can't stand the pain.

How could this happen to me?
I've made my mistakes,
Got nowhere to run,
The night goes on, as I'm fading away.
I'm sick of this life.
I just want to scream,
"How could this happen to me?"

Everybody's screaming,
I try to make a sound but no one hears me.
I'm slipping off the edge.
I'm hanging by a thread.
I want to start this over again.
So I try to hold on,
to a time when,
Nothing mattered.
And I can't explain,
What happened and I can't erase the things that I've done.
No I can't.

How could this happen to me?
I've made my mistakes,
Got nowhere to run,
The night goes on. As I'm fading away,
I'm sick of this life.
I just want to scream,
"How could this happen to me?"

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


ME AGAINST THE WORLD

We're not gonna be
Just apart of their game
We're not gonna be
Just the victims
They're taking our dreams
And they tear them apart
Til everyone's the same
I've got no place to go
I've got no where to run
They love to watch me fall
They think they know it all

I'm a nightmare, a disaster
That's what they always say
I'm a lost cause, not a hero
But I'll make it on my own
I've gotta prove them wrong
Me against the world
It's me against the world

We won't let them change
How we feel in our hearts
We're not gonna let them control us
We won't let them shove
All their thoughts in our heads
And we'll never be like them

I've got no place to go
I've got no where to run
They love to watch me fall
They think they know it all

I'm a nightmare, a disaster
That's what they always say
I'm a lost cause, not a hero
But I'll make it on my own
I'm gonna prove them wrong
It's me against the world
Me against the world

Now I'm sick of this waiting
So come on and take your shot
You can spit all your insults
But nothing you say is gonna change us
You can sit there and judge me
Say what you want to
We'll never let you in

I'm a nightmare, a disaster
That's what they always said
I'm a lost cause, not a hero
But I'll make it on my own
Me against the world

I'm a nightmare, a disaster
That's what they always said
I'm a lost cause, not a hero
But I'll make it on my own
I've got to prove them wrong
They'll never bring us down

We'll never fall in line
I'll make it on my own
Me against the world

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

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Saturday, April 12, 2008

The Malay, non-Malay cat & mouse game

I read snippets of the speech by Tengku Faris Petra, the crown prince of Kelantan here and it gave me goosebumps.

Tengku Faris: Non-Malays should not seek equality. Kelantan Crown Prince Tengku Faris Petra said today that Malays had been coerced into giving non-Malays citizenship and the latter should therefore not seek equality or special treatment.

He said this during his keynote speech at a forum titled “Malay unity is the core of national unity” organised by the newly formed Barisan Bertindak Perpaduan Melayu in Kuala Lumpur today.

Speaking to a crowd of about 1,000 people, Tengku Faris said the Malay rulers would be an umbrella to foster unity among all Malaysians, based on the Federal Constitution and the Rukun Negara ... Malaysiakini in full - subscription required

I don't have a subscription to Malaysiakini which is why I have shamelessly C&P the above from Seventh Rangers' blog.

I don't know what sort of "special treatment" that the non-Malays are seeking as alluded by Tengku Faris that got his goat. It appears to me that whatever it is, Tengku Faris felt he had a duty to issue a warning to the Malays.

As to equality, does he mean that the non-Malays, despite being Malaysians, should be classified differently from the Malays in terms of their citizenship? Like, maybe, 2nd class? Or, third class? Or pariahs?

So, we are back to the argument that the non-Malays are "kaum pendatang" and shall remain so for ever and ever? To me, this is a standard "sandiwara Ketuanan Melayu" and Tengku Faris is no different from Hishamuddin. You don't need to wave a keris to threaten the non-Malays. Sometimes, words are more powerful when targeted at the right audience. Especially an audience that make up of a race known to run amok when provoked.

Tengku Faris has played up a sensitive issue that continues to divide Malaysians.

If the non-Malays can never be "equal" Malaysians, and not entitled to any kind of treatment which is deemed "special" by whatever vague definition the Malays choose to interpret, then pray tell, where do the non-Malays stand under the Malaysian sun?

For once, why not be specific about what the Malays want and don't want from the non-Malays? Be honest about it. Perhaps then, we non-Malays can make an informed choice, not just for ourselves, but for our children and their future.

We also want to know - are we Malaysians or are we merely non-Malay Malaysians?

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Friday, April 11, 2008

On watching list

The person who signed the detention order will have blood on his hands if diabetic P. Uthayakumar dies in Kamunting.

P. Uthayakumar discharged prematurely and suffers silent heart attack.

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Thursday, April 03, 2008

A crime statistic, again!

The first time my office was broken into was in 2000.

The glass door was smashed, a couple of computers were stolen, a camera and some cash. The police were called, fingerprints were dusted, pictures taken and when they finally left, one of the staff noticed 2 boxes of new and unopened floppy disks sitting on her desk was gone.

A few years earlier, my apartment was broken into while I was at work. I distinctly saw that a branded leather wallet was lying on my bed with the contents taken before the police came by. Three guys came in, and while one was talking to my husband and me in the living room, the other two went around the bedrooms to dust for fingerprints. After they left, my wallet was nowhere to be seen. *!&@*#^!!

I don't know which one upset me more, the fact that I lost some precious items including a much loved pair of diamond earrings given by my dad or the disappearance of my wallet in the presence of the police.

And no, I didn't hear anything at all from the police after the report was made in the above two incidences.

And today, it happened again.

My first floor office was broken into last night. The office above me was not spared either. I later found out that the burglars went on a spree last night, getting into almost all of the offices in the whole block.

This time though, nothing seems to have been taken. Well, nothing that I could detect up to now. The old computers are still there, all the other office equipment are there. Since I don't keep any cash in the office, I guess they left empty-handed.

But these idiots left one heck of a mess behind.

The glass door was cracked. The electronic key-pad was cut and yanked from the wall. The padlock on the iron grill was hacked off. The wooden front door was hacked and rendered unusable.

This time around, I didn't call the police. No prizes for guessing why.

I have enough of a headache already.

And as if to add more drama to my day, mom started to act up again this morning. Anyone out there wants to adopt a mom?

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Wednesday, April 02, 2008

No more nasi lemak and teh manis?

It was a standard routine each time SP had to attend one of those SPNB (Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad) meetings.

There on the table would be plates of kuih-muih and cups of teh manis. If the meeting is held in the morning, everyone gets to enjoy nasi lemak complete with fried chicken and sotong sambal. SP makes no apologies for the fact that he thoroughly enjoyed the complimentary delicious nasi lemak, although the tea is a tad too sweet for his taste!

Recently, he read in the MSM that Mr Lim Guan Eng, the new DAP Chief Minister of Penang has done away with such frivolousness in his administration. He directed that only mineral water be served during meetings.

And today, the MB of Negeri Sembilan announced a series of cost-cutting measures to save some money. And he is taking the cue from the Penang CM on using existing cars for Exco members.

Now SP is wondering whether he will still get his nasi lemak at the next SPNB meeting to be held soon.

By the way, is there an Auditor-General's report on the operation of SPNB? The leakages would astound you, and I don't mean the amount being spent on nasi lemak, kuih and teh manis.

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Thought for the day

Choices. Decisions. Selections.

Everyday is filled with dozens of personal crossroads - moments when we are called upon to make a decision regarding minor as well as major questions.

Only through careful mental preparation can we consistently make wise choices. What we think determines what we believe; what we believe influences what we choose; what we choose defines what we are; and what we are attracts what we have.

If we are not happy with where our past decisions have led us, then the place to start is with our current thinking process. As we add new knowledge, we will begin to refine our philosophy. As our beliefs change, so too will our choices. And from better choices, come better results.

Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event.

We do not fail overnight. Failure is the inevitable result of an accumulation of poor thinking and poor choices. To put it more simply, failure is nothing more than a few errors in judgment repeated every day.

Now why would someone make an error in judgment and then be so foolish as to repeat it every day?

The answer is because he or she does not think that it matters.

Failure's most dangerous attribute is its subtlety. In the short term, those little errors don't seem to make any difference. We do not seem to be failing. In fact, sometimes these accumulated errors in judgment occur throughout a period of great joy and prosperity in our lives. Since nothing terrible happens to us, we simply drift from one day to the next, repeating the errors, thinking the wrong thoughts, listening to the wrong voices, and making the wrong choices.

The sky did not fall on us yesterday, therefore the act was probably harmless. Since it seemed to have no measurable consequence, it is probably safe to repeat.

But we must become better educated than that!

Both success and failure involve future consequences, namely the inevitable rewards and the unavoidable regrets resulting from past activities.

If this is true, why don't more people take time to ponder the future? The answer is simple: They are so caught up in the current moment that it doesn't seem to matter.

The problems and the rewards of today are so absorbing to some human beings that they never pause long enough to think about tomorrow.

But what if we did develop a new discipline to take just a few minutes every day to look a little further down the road?

We would then be able to foresee the impending consequences of our current conduct. Armed with that valuable information, we would be able to take the necessary actions to change our errors into new success-oriented disciplines. In other words, by disciplining ourselves to see the future in advance, we would be able to change our thinking, amend our errors and develop new habits to replace the old.

Taken one step at a time, all of the things that success and happiness require are actually quite easy to do.

Changing from errors to disciplines is easy, as is going from failure to success. The reason why it is so easy is because we can do it, and anything we have the ability to do is always easy.

But if it is so easy, why don't more of us do it?

Because while it is easy to do the things that success and happiness require, it is also easy not to do them!

The things that are easy to do are also easy not to do. The primary reason most people are not doing as well as they could and should can be summed up in a single word: NEGLECT.

Neglect is like an infection. Left unchecked, it will spread throughout our entire system of disciplines and eventually lead to a complete breakdown of a potentially joy-filled and prosperous human life.

Not doing the things we know we should do causes us to feel guilty and guilt leads to an erosion of self-confidence.

As our self-confidence diminishes, so does the level of our activity. As our activity diminishes, our results inevitably decline. And as our results suffer, our attitude begins to suffer. And as our attitude suffers, we begin the slow shift from positive to negative, our self-confidence diminishes even more ... and on and on it goes.

Once a negative spiral starts, it is difficult to stop.

We must keep a watchful eye on the subtle differences between success and failure, and be ever mindful of the inner urgings that would have us repeating costly errors rather than developing new disciplines.

The journey toward the good life begins with a serious commitment to changing any aspect of our current philosophy that has the capacity to come between us and our dreams. The remaining pieces of the puzzle of life can be of little value if we have not first made the firm resolve to do something with this piece of the puzzle.

... the first step ... lies in becoming the master of our ship and the captain of our soul by developing a sound personal philosophy.


(Extracted from The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle by E. James Rohn, 2004 Advantage Quest Publications edition, Chapter One: Philosophy.)

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Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Siva's early Mother's Day message

I suppose he didn't have anyone else to blame short of admitting that he was plain stupid. So the Buntong assemblyman did the next best thing - he blamed his mother!

What a stupid joker.

"Siva Subramaniam said his ailing mother was the one who convinced him to discuss his resignation with the party leadership."

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adopt your own virtual pet!