The Good, The Bad, And The Funny!

The Good

If you've been following some of the news lately, besides the Mahathir-Pak Lah Saga and the whole Pulau Batu Puteh deal, this would've caught your attention in the news:

Govt Has No Plans To Increase Fuel Prices - Shahir

MELAKA, May 24 (Bernama) -- The government has no plans to increase fuel price despite the price hike of petrol by 30 per cent in Indonesia beginning Saturday, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad said.

On the contrary, he said the government was now focusing on managing the subsidy system to prevent leakage and smuggling.

"For the time being, we are not considering increasing the price of petrol and diesel although we are aware of the impact of the crude oil price hike in the world market.

"We will see how the subsidy system is being managed to encourage saving and ensure that there will be no detrimental effects (to the country)," he told reporters after attending a consumer forum and dialogue at Ayer Keroh here Saturday.

Shahrir said, with the fuel price reaching AS$135 (RM434.18) a barrel, it had put the government under more pressure in managing the subsidy system.

Now that's good isn't it? I mean, if there's anything to be thankful for, it's that the fuel prices in this country won't be increasing tomorrow! Then again, those leading the Govt are known to change their minds as often as the price of crude oil changes these days, so I won't be singing praises just yet. Give me a year, and if it still remains, I might compose a song for them, to be sung throughout the ages! Speaking about the price of oil, I picked up today's edition of the NST and I found something 'amusing'. Did you know that 30 years ago, the price of crude oil was around USD1.80 a barrel? Today, the price is USD140 a barrel! It's just so unbelievable that oil was ever that cheap that it just made me laugh!

Anyway, moving on...

The Bad

Alright. This just pissed me off when I read it. Taken from Fong Po Kuan's blog, the MP for Batu Gajah:

I tried but failed. None wants to take responsibility for cancelling the decision to use the indelible ink, four days before the recent general election.

This evening, a few opposition MPs tried hard to find out more about this issue when Datuk Seri Nazri was replying on behalf of the Prime Minister’s Department but we were more confused after hearing Datuk Seri Nazri replies. In fact, I found more inconsistencies.

Nazri blamed it on Election Commission (EC). Also, Nazri kept repeating the “concern” of the Cabinet and stressed that the Cabinet wanted to ensure that none would be denied the right to vote under Art. 119 of the Federal Constitution. He did not deliberate much on the police reports lodged related to “smuggling of ink.” (I will put up the complete details when the Hansard is ready.)

Read more on that here. My say on it: This is just bullshit! You guys fucked up! A few days ago the damn Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar confirmed that there was "no evidence of any indelible ink being smuggled in from neighbouring countries as alleged by the EC chairman". Then after that, on the 17th of May, the SPR chairman issued a statement to the contrary and said he had been instructed by the Cabinet to cancel plans to use the indelible ink. In short, you fucked up! Big time! Now not only can't you explain how it is that the Cabinet had a say in the matter at all, especially four days before the elections, you're pointing fingers that it's the EC's fault for the whole mess.

Hasn't the 12th GE taught you guys anything? THE PEOPLE DON'T TRUST YOU! The rakyat know that you guys just lie through your teeth and you guys just never give us a reason to give you the benefit of the doubt! Come on! Show a bit of humility, be humble enough to admit that you guys fucked up and you won't do it again, that you'll start playing nice, and we might just let you get off on a lighter sentence! Else, the hammer will strike, and you will definitely hear the fat lady sing! So cut the crap, stop lying or hiding, and just come out and be responsible adults, we want the TRUTH! After all, it's not like we don't already know that you guys fucked us up during the last GE in someway, so it won't be anything that'll cause heart attacks nationwide.

Enough of this shit.

The Funny

UMNO = Sarkis (circus)? I stumbled upon this while reading Rocky's Bru. Apparently the comedian, among other things, that was P. Ramlee had quite the balls in his day! The movie 'Bujang Lapuk' has to be one of my favourites of that era and like most, this scene had escaped me as one that was actually poking fun at UMNO.

To understand the joke better, redirect yourself to another post by OpEd, P.Ramlee - Umno = Circus!

Hilarious! Now try imagine any current local movie doing something like this and getting away with it! Ha ha.

Hats off to you Tan Sri! You certainly were quite the joker!

PM Charged

Another interesting piece of news that was out a few days ago:

Indelible ink fiasco: Police report against PM, 3 others

By Debra Chong

KUALA LUMPUR, May 22 – Looks like Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has another headache to add to his expanding cluster.

At 11.30am today, the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) and National Institute for Electoral Integrity (NIEI) lodged a report at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters against the government over the cancellation of the indelible ink at the March general elections.

Faisal Mustaffa and Amin Iskandar, from Bersih and NIEI respectively, in their joint report named the prime minister, Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Ab Rashid Ab Rahman and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan as the parties responsible for causing the cancellation of the indelible ink, bought at a cost of RM2.4 million from India.

The two non-profit organisations, which have been keeping a close watch on the proceedings of the electoral process and maintain that the last general elections were conducted unfairly, want the

named individuals investigated for what they allege was a conspiracy to tamper with the electoral process.

"Bersih and NIEI are of the opinion that the conflicting statements among the four parties need to be investigated and action taken. Based on media reports, it's clear that there was a plot among the four parties named," said Faisal in a statement to the media.

The police report was made following the shocking statement issued by Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar in Parliament on May 5.

Four days before the March 8 election, the EC had announced that it was cancelling the use of the indelible ink, which it had been touting as an additional safeguard against the phenomenon of phantom voters which is believed to have long plagued the Malaysian electoral process.

The EC claimed that there had been efforts to smuggle in indelible ink from neighbouring countries, which would interfere with the exercise. The IGP also claimed that several police reports had been filed in Perlis, Kedah and Kelantan between February 16 and 21 and that the police had conducted investigations regarding the ink smuggling incident.

"In a written reply to Batu Gajah MP Fong Po Kuan, Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar confirmed that in actuality, there was no evidence of any indelible ink being smuggled in from neighbouring countries as alleged by the EC chairman.

"On 17 May 2008, the SPR chairman issued a statement to the contrary and said he had been instructed by the Cabinet to cancel plans to use the indelible ink," said Faisal.

He also accused the EC chairman of being under the Cabinet's manipulation and rebutted the latter's statements that the electoral process was free and fair were untrue.

"EC failed to amend the Constitution to allow or enforce the implementation of the indelible ink. This actually frustrates the citizen's right to a free and fair elections,” Faisal explained, referring to the commission's failure last year to get Parliament to pass the laws allowing the use of the indelible ink.

The EC had overlooked the legal aspect altogether when it received approval from the National Fatwa Council to use the indelible ink.

"Rashid, as EC chairman, must take responsibility and resign immediately for the disappointing unprofessional attitude demonstrated by EC officials in handling this matter so that the next time round, such things won't happen again," said Faisal firmly.

Again, this post is for all those whom I know personally, who would rather wait for me to tell them of such news, rather than go around the blogosphere or the alternative media websites updating themselves. See, I do care for you guys! Oh yeah, I've bold the part of the article that I think would get you up to speed on why the PM, Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Ab Rashid Ab Rahman and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan are being charged.

Interesting. Will post the updates as I get them. For now, I thank God we have groups like Bersih and NIEI still attentive to issues such as this, that most would deem 'water under the bridge', and that they still continue fighting for the rights of the rakyat!

KUDOS BERSIH! KUDOS NIEI!

Who Said Life Wasn't Like The Movies?

*APPLAUSE*

*CHEERS*

People's Magazine rates it as "one of the best plots of all time!"

Entertainment Weekly rates it "two-thumbs up!"

"Completely brilliant!" the Daily Mail

Alright, I probably got you curious didn't I? If you want to know more, read RPK's post here found on Malaysia Today.

Cast your mind back to 2002. Now that you've done that, read this excerpt of that post:

Defence Minister Najib Tun Razak and not Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is Dr Mahathir’s real choice as successor, said an extremely nervous UMNO insider whom I met at a secluded coffee shop on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. And Mahathir had really intended to go at the end of this year, not next year.

Intrigued? Want to know more? I'm not going to ruin the 'movie' for you!

Go on... read it!

I just finished my last paper for the semester.
So, I think I'll take a rest and start out fresh tomorrow!

My comments on the post?

Coming Soon!

Additional Updates (23 May 2008):
I have to apologize as I'm too tired to comment on this post. Besides, I thought it best that those who have actually read the article through the link would have their own view on the matter. Would love to hear your comments though, so feel free to place them in the comments section of this post! Thanks.

Whose Land Is This Anyway?

I didn't think I could go more than a few posts before I touched on this topic.

My ancestral state.

My heritage.

My Sabah.

(Pictures courtesy of www.mysabah.com and Wikipedia)

Those were only some of the pictures that I managed to find on the web. The first picture is of the infamous Mount Kinabalu at dawn as seen from Kundasang, the second a picture of the Kadazan Papar people in their traditional costumes during a festival, and the last one a map of the state itself. To those who have yet to visit Sabah, I suggest you make it your next holiday destination. Or should I?

In recent times, Sabahans have been making headlines in the mainstream media. Wait, maybe I should be more specific. Sabahan Members of Parliament (MPs) have been making headlines in the mainstream media. Yup, that definitely sounds better. Anyway, for the first time since I can remember, I'm finally seeing our electorates making some noise in Parliament over the realities of Sabahans, the issue of the constant blackouts we have, at least on a weekly basis with the recent major 24-hour blackout of the whole state, to the issues of illegal immigrants in Sabah. The MPs are finally speaking out! For the people they serve!

However, I am not so naive or disillusioned to think that they have finally decided to do the job they were elected to do. That is a mere cover. It is common knowledge in Sabah that the most corrupted buggers are those who are involved in politics, especially those that win. And I have seen first hand on how corruption plays its dirty hand in everyday communal living in the kampungs and towns, and even to some extent in the cities. No, there is still a lot to do before I will be allowed to believe that they have finally changed. As far as I'm concerned, nothing has changed about them. The political situation on the other hand, has.

Pakatan Rakyat needs ministers to 'jump ship' to turn the slight majority of Parliament, currently held by Barisan Nasional to form the Federal Government, their way. As such, Pakatan Rakyat has offered Sabah and Sarawak a rise of 15% in oil royalty of both states, from the current 5% to 20%. Another offer on the table is to add two more Deputy Prime Minister posts to the current one, with the additional posts being filled one each by Sabah and Sarawak. The oil royalty issue, for quite some time now, has been an issue for both State Governments with the Federal Government, but with both states having very little say in the Federal Government and all the while being treated with little respect, or as 'second-class citizens', all they could do was be quiet else they lose more of what they have. Now, with Sabah and Sarawak clearly having a bigger role in BN's hold of the Federal Government the importance of these two states have risen drastically. And the MPs know this. Hence the reason they're demanding from BN what PR is prepared to offer them, else they might just "resurrect a dormant Sabah political party and join the Pakatan Rakyat".

Another issue that is currently being raised is the illegal immigration issue. This has been an ongoing struggle for Sabah for decades. The number of illegal immigrants, mostly from nearby Indonesia and Philippines, in Sabah is on the rise, and some of these illegal immigrates are already of the second or third generation, meaning they are gaining more with each generation a liable claim of actually being Sabahans. Quoting Wikipedia once more:

The official population estimate for the year 2006 is put at 2,997,000.^[14] The composition of the population are^[14]:

• Kadazan-dusun: 17.8%
• Bajau: 13.4%
• Malay: 11.5%
• Murut: 3.3%
• Other bumiputra: 14.6%
• Chinese: 9.6%
• Other non-bumiputra: 4.8%
• Non-Malaysian citizen: 25%

1/4 Non-Malaysian citizens. A quarter of an entire state belongs to illegals. They are a bigger composition than any other ethnic group in the state! What makes this more scary than it already is, is that these were the statistics in 2006. And it is a fact that more are landing on our shores than the authorities are deporting back, which to me is pointless because with the current system, all they have to do is catch the next boat back to Sabah!

If there's anyone out there that is of the opinion that we should 'let it be', let me give you this scenario:

What if you were to find out one day, in your home, there is a stranger that you never invited in? And this stranger takes up your space, takes a cut from your earnings, and is eating your food? How would you feel? Would you still just 'let it be'? Would you allow for your home to be invaded by someone that is taking your resources, your earnings to support another home somewhere else, simply because he gets more with less effort from your home? And when you know very well that they weren't meant to be there, you make a report to the local authorities of the invader, only to be told that he is a member of your family that they have legalized?

That is what the Sabahans are fussing about. Instead of supporting the locals, some authorities have taken the opportunity to provide these 'uninvited guests' with Malaysian ICs, whether it is to make a quick buck (after all, 1/4 of the population is wanting it, so it's high in demand) or to increase a certain ethnic group's 'slice of the population pie', so they deserve to have more say in matters of the state! Corruption. Politics. It's a loss for all Sabahans. Now, West Malaysians, you understand why the fuck illegal immigration is a huge issue for us. But if I ever have to hear another West Malaysian poking fun at the illegal immigration problem in Sabah and how we're just making a big fuss out of nothing, so help me God I'll give him or her more than an earful!

Going back on the issue of oil royalties, it's a big issue, simply because it would help a person more to have RM2 in their pockets than to have 50 sen. Especially with the inflation of every damn thing nowadays! I'm not going to just say that Sabah has the WORST poverty in the country, but heck let me show you something I got from Jeff Ooi's Screenshots:

He further states that,

About 23% of households in the state are still living below the national poverty line income, while child poverty rates stand at 42%. More than one fifth of the population aged six and over has never been to school.

So now, with the oil royalty at 5%, which is equivalent to around RM500million per annum, can you imagine how much an additional 15%, to RM2billion per annum will make a difference?

Here's a picture of what hardcore poverty looks like:

(Photo courtesy of www.fotothing.com)

Now, ask yourself, is this something that should still happen in Malaysia, when we can have mega projects in like the Twin Towers, the SMART (or STUPID) Tunnel, and even our very own Putrajaya? Mind you, those in hardcore poverty are mostly the non-Muslim Bumiputeras, who are supposed to be protected of such things through the special privileges given to all Bumiputeras through the New Economic Policy (NEP). Right. Now do you still think that 'joke' is still relevant and working?

As I conclude this lengthy post, I'd like to link another post from Screenshots. When you have the time, I encourage you to read about Isrin Basitul and husband John Leesa's lives living in hardcore poverty.

Oh and by the way, to those who still think the NEP is "working and is still needed", well, I've seen enough that I can say, of that opinion...

I DON'T GIVE TWO FUCKS!

Additional Updates (18 May 2008):
I stumbled upon two more articles that I feel have good points and are great additions to this post. Do have a read:
The Kingmakers: Sabah, Sarawak and the 12th Malaysia General Elections
Winning Over Sabah and Sarawak