Palestinian's Triumph!!

About an hour ago, 4.30am New York time, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to recognise Palestine as a non-member state, giving a major diplomatic triumph to president Mahmud Abbas despite fierce opposition from the United States and Israel.

The 193-member assembly voted 138-9 with 41 abstentions for the resolution which enables the Palestinians to join UN agencies and sign international treaties.

The resolution upgrading the Palestinians' status (on par with the Vatican) was an embarassing diplomatic defeat to the US. Upon the announcement, a Palestinian flag was quickly unfurled on the floor of the General Assembly, behind their delegation.

Real independence, however, remains an elusive dream until the Palestinians negotiate a peace deal with the Israelis, who warned that the General Assembly action will only delay a lasting solution.

Israel still controls the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and access to Gaza, and it accused the Palestinians of bypassing negotiations with the campaign to upgrade their UN status.

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton had earlier criticised the bid by saying Abbas should renew negotiation with Tel Aviv first on how a peaceful solution can be worked out.

However, the US-brokered peace deal has remained as US-Israel 'diplomacy game' to deny the Palestinians of their sovereign rights.

Israel was worried if the new status would provide the legal basis for the Palestinians to charge the regime at the International Court of Justice for the crime it committed on the Palestinians.

hacked!

apology to readers.

this blog is under 'repair'.

Hurdles to Palestine bid for UN non-member state status

The United Nations will vote Thursday on upgrading the Palestinian status from an 'observer' to a non-member state. Will Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah pragmatic party Fatah succeed in getting such a recognition when UN dominating power US and countries like Australia, France and Germany chose to oppose it?

It is paradoxical that Israel’s current government is so vehemently opposed to Abbas’s bid for recognition.

After all, it was 65 years ago this week, on Nov. 29, 1947, that the Palestinians and their friends in the Arab world expressly rejected United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181, which recognised the need to establish a Jewish state alongside an Arab state in the former British Mandate territory of Palestine.

Now, the Palestinians are 'admitting their mistake' and asking the same assembly to recognise a state of Palestine alongside Israel, and requesting that the boundaries of their state be determined as a result of negotiations with Israel.

Meanwhile, Israel’s right-wing parties - which in 1993 rejected the Oslo Accords that envisaged Israeli withdrawal from parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the establishment of Palestinian autonomy in those areas - are now using, and abusing, that same agreement to prevent Palestinian statehood.

This week’s request wouldn’t be taking place if both sides had abided by the Oslo Accords’ original time frame, if Israel’s peacemaking prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, hadn’t been assassinated in 1995, and if we’d reached a permanent agreement by May 1999, as initially envisioned, some analysts opined.

Britain, one of the world's former colonial master would like the Palestinians drop the demand until it is further discussed by the world body.

However, London is prepared to back a key vote recognising Palestinian statehood at the UN if Mahmoud Abbas pledges not to pursue Israel for war crimes and to resume peace talks.

Abbas has called for Britain's backing in part because of its historic responsibility for Palestine. The government has previously refused, citing strong US and Israeli objections and fears of long-term damage to prospects for negotiations

On Monday night, the UK government signaled it would change tack and vote yes if the Palestinians modified their application, which is to be debated by the UN general assembly in New York later this week. As a 'non-member state', Palestine would have the same status as the Vatican.

Abbas is also being asked to commit to an immediate resumption of peace talks 'without preconditions' with Israel, a condition deemed to be bias and siding Tel Aviv. The third condition is that the general assembly's resolution does not require the UN security council to follow suit.

Australia will abstain from voting on a contentious Palestinian bid for upgraded United Nations status after Prime Minister Julia Gillard caved in to intense pressure from within her party.

The Labor government will not vote for or against the Palestinian resolution when it comes before the UN General Assembly on Thursday, even though Gillard strongly opposes it. She told a Labor caucus meeting on Tuesday she would support the abstention after canvassing the views of her ministers and backbenchers and finding many with views sharply different from her own.

But she warned she did not think the resolution would advance the cause of peace in the Middle East.

However, the key factor is still Washington's refusal to support such a bid. While Barack Obama himself has shown some 'positive attitude' towards the Middle East peace, his administration is still plagued with anti-Palestine sentiment, linking Palestine to Iran, Libya and 'Muslim terrorists'.

I personally see a big divide to the voting on Thursday. With US and allies opposing it, Palestine will remain the world's 'persona non grata'. Its going to be tough... and failure is imminent.

Bangla come, Bangla stay!

Come tomorrow (Monday), more than 20,000 Bangladeshis are expected to arrive at the KLIA to work in our plantation sector.

They are part of the successful G to G arrangement by Hisham KDN and Subra Human Resource to solve the problem of 'worker shortage' faced by major plantation employers like Felda, Sime Darby, Tabung Haji and others.

Hisham and Subra must be proud for such an arrangement with Dhaka. It reflects how benevolent Malaysia is when attending to the needs of the industry. Furthermore, the kickback from such a deal is not small.

Appointed agents usually charge between RM1,000 and RM1,500 to bring a Bangladeshi to Malaysia but this new batch is free of any agent's reach. However, it is not free because their employers - apart from having to pay the levi and other charges - will surely have to allocate 'some' for those who bring them in.

I was told that a 'token' of RM750 is imposed for each worker. This means 20,000 workers will easily translate to RM15 million the amount of kickback for those involved in the arrangement.

A-aaahhh... general election is coming!

But the key issue here is not the kickback. Its 'so normal' for ministry officials to make money from such a deal. Its a known fact and its not necessary for me to elaborate further.

From tomorrow onwards, more and more Bangladeshis will be brought in to work in the plantation sector, and soon for the manufacturing industry. By end of the year, about 100,000 of them will arrive in Malaysia under the arrangement.

This is what our government is all about. They will take pride in such an arrangement, wanting to be seen as caring enough in fulfilling the needs of the industry. Diplomatically, we look awesome but morally we are doomed as a 'half past six' country for failing to take care of the foreigners who are already here.

I am not sure if KDN sec-gen Datuk Seri Rahim is involved in this but his pledge to be the 'force against human trafficking' is only a dream and empty words. He is too busy to please the minister!

The problem with KDN and other ministries is that, they don't listen to the ground. They love the credit so much for being able to cater to demands of the industry. They couldn't be bothered what will happen to the workers once their contract ends.

There are about 300,000 'stranded' Bangladeshis in the country, with no proper job and contract. Why? Because they are part of the 1,000,000 workers brought in from Bangladesh more than 15 years ago to work in various sectors in Malaysia.

Most of them are now aged 45 and above, some hiding in remote areas because their visa, permit and passport are no longer valid. Their High Commission in Kuala Lumpur is having a big problem to identify, register and help them go home.

But they refuse to leave Malaysia as they don't have anything left in their country to survive on. Before they left about 15 years ago, they had sold off their land and house to raise about RM30,000 (each) needed as the 'passport' to come to Malaysia.

Since it is not our policy to grant them with PR status, we simply leave them to rot, here in Malaysia! The 6P program which ended on July 31, 2012 was a total failure.

The company NERS which was appointed by the government to supply all the 'latest gadgets' for the program was treated as a king for the business. Deputy PM Muhyiddin (whether he admits 6P is a failure or not) should take a look again at the system because it contains a lot of flaws.

Even most of the 6P data collected during the 'over zealous' implementation period didnt find its way to the Immigration Dept and that cause a lot of problems, not only to foreign workers who took part in the exercise but also to employers and the government agencies.

The failure of the 6P has also opened the floodgate to graft and cheat. Some irresponsible people and companies took advantage of it by introducing their own set of solution to collect money illegally from the foreign workers.

Graft gets rampant when enforcement officers from the Immigration Office and the police prey on those nabbed at random or during special operation. In many cases, they will free most of those caught once the right free is paid. So, it is not wrong when a politician said recently that graft at the Immigration Dept is from 'head to toe'.

And where do we go from here? Nowhere!

Hisham and his friends will not admit failure in what they had implemented. I think it is not the government policy to admit mistake even though many things went disarray. To them, once a policy is announced and implemented, there wont be any error.

That explains why the Home Ministry refused to listen to others, especially from the market players. The ministry officials will not make way for any fresh and better proposal put forward by the public to help reshape the 6P program, let alone open their door to discussion.

So, welcome to our friends from Bangladesh. Let's see what will happen to them once their contract ends but the usual case is, they come to stay!

Larry Hagman dies

I remember watching the soap Dallas during the late 1970s, envious enough of the rich oil kingpin JR Ewing role played by actor Larry Hagman.

He was a 'darling' then because our kampung just had its electricity supply from Lembaga Letrik Negara (LLN, now TNB). Other classics on RTM were High Chapparal, Peyton Place and The Sullivans.

I am one of Hagman's million fans. Those who watched Dallas will surely miss him. He died yesterday at the age of 81.

He was such a great actor... to me.

Tributes were flooding in from around the world today following the death of Dallas star Larry Hagman.

The actor, who became internationally known as villainous patriarch JR Ewing in the TV soap, died in hospital in Dallas, Texas, his family said.

Hagman’s long-time friend Linda Gray, who played his on-screen wife, Sue Ellen Ewing, was reportedly by his bedside when he died.

Hagman, who had suffered from cancer and liver disease, had been filming the next series of 'Dallas' following the show’s relaunch earlier this year.

His death will now be written in to the soap’s storyline, Channel 5 said.

“Larry was back in his beloved 'Dallas' re-enacting the iconic role he loved most,” his family said in a statement carried by the Dallas Morning News...

read more...

Understanding Gaza...

"WHO STARTED IT" is not the point, genocide is. I don't blame few readers who condemned the Palestinians for firing rockets into the Israeli territory, giving Tel Aviv a valid reason to level Gaza Strip. They (the readers) don't know history.

So, let me tell them - Malaysians and others - something they should know.

Since 2007, Israel has laid siege to Gaza, controlling its air space, its coast line, its long border with Israel, and via compliant governments in Egypt its tiny border with that country. The fact that these Israeli attacks preceded the firing of primitive rockets from the Gaza Ghetto is both undeniable and irrelevant.

During this time, not a single plane has arrived or departed from Gaza’s bombed out airport. The few ships destined for Gaza’s seaport have been violently seized by Israel’s navy, their crew members arrested if not murdered.

Gazans who stray to close to the fence that Israel built to imprison Gaza’s population are shot dead, including a young boy playing soccer earlier this month, whose death predictably provoked the futile rocket fire that Israel uses as a pretext for its genocidal policies.

At the start of the siege an advisor to the Israeli Prime Minister named Dov Weisglass declared that 'the idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger'. An Israeli human rights group, Gisha, forced the government to disclose that the defense ministry calculated the minimum number of truckloads of food needed by Gaza’s 1.5 million inhabitants to avoid malnutrition - and then allowed only half that number to enter Gaza!

Remember, during most of these six years Hamas has been observing cease fires.

Nothing could better illustrate that Israel’s siege has nothing to do with the rockets, and everything to do with deliberately inflicting on Gazans conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction.

This, by the way, fits the definition of genocide set out in Article 2, Section C of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Israel’s siege does not just limit the total quantity of food that Gaza can import but also many specific staples as well as many non-food necessities.

According to a partial list published by Gisha, fresh meat, jam, dried fruit, many spices, and even chocolate are banned. Items used for producing food, such as livestock like goats, cattle, and chicks are prohibited, as are seeds and nuts, fishing rods, fishing nets, fishing ropes, nylon nets for green houses, hatcheries, spare parts for tractors, planters for saplings, etc.

Materials necessary for rebuilding Gaza’s bombed out housing stock, such as wood, cement, and iron are prohibited. Education materials like notebooks, writing implements, and standard sized writing paper are banned. Musical instruments are banned.

Even children’s toys are not allowed in, according to Gisha. Some of the restrictions may have been relaxed amidst the negative publicity surrounding Israel’s murder of Freedom Flotilla activists, but the basic strangulation nature of the siege remains.

Most Gazans are refugees or are descended from refugees who fled what is now Israel in 1948 during the Nakba, when rampaging Jewish armies forced them to flee from their homes. Those homes were given to Jewish families, and their Palestinian owners were never allowed to return. The return of these people to their homes was once a key Palestinian demand, one rooted in the Geneva Conventions.

However, over the decades, Palestinian leaders have gradually given up on ever returning to their homes. Even Hamas has offered a truce if Israel returns to its pre-1967 borders, leaving the final resolution of the problem to future generations.

Yet, despite all claims that they simply want to live in peace, Israeli leaders have always pushed for more. Not just more Palestinian land, but recognition of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state in borders that it has yet to spell out.

Putting aside the fact that the right of a state to exist does not itself exist in international law (ask Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union), what this amounts to is asking the Palestinians not just to accept the reality that they will never get their homes back, but insisting that they say that Israel has “a right” to those homes.

It is one thing for people to accept the loss of a stolen item, but it is quite another to expect them to acknowledge that the thief actually had a right to that item. But that is precisely what Israel and its puppets in the White House and State Department have long demanded.

We often hear that the United States and Israel are tied by shared values. Nothing could be further from the truth. The core values of the American state and the Jewish state are diametrically opposed. The United States Declaration of Independence is based on the premise that 'Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed'.

The American State, at least in terms of its values, is a state of the people it governs. Israel has never been a state for the people it governs. Its declaration of independence is explicit about it being a state for all the Jewish people, whatever governments they live under. It is not a state for Israeli passport holders of Arab descent, and it certainly is not a state for the millions of Arabs in the lands occupied since 1967.

But it is explicitly a state for Jewish people around the world, who are free to come live in Israel simply based on their racial background, while Arabs are excluded from returning to the homes they were driven out of based on their racial background.

We have now heard some government leaders around the world, Obama and others, reiterate that Israel has a right to self-defense (our Anwar Ibrahim is one of them).

No American official has ever spoken of the right of the people of Gaza to self-defense, and it is safe to assume they feel that Gazans have no such right. And judging by some nations' collaboration with and support for Israel’s genocidal policies, they actually don't feel that the Gazans  have a right to food or shelter either.

And while the Americans still have food to eat and a roof over their head, they have lost the right to a government that represents their interest rather than those of a genocidal foreign power. Welcome to Zionist-run America!

So, to those who keep blaming it on the 'attacks over frustration' by the Palestinians, you should at least imagine stepping into their shoe!

Our rubber is only for condoms?

We are just behind Thailand as the world's largest producer of rubber. Vietnam is third but could overtake us as we are now banking too much on oil palm.

No! Rank is now the issue. Its about the product itself, latex and rubber.

A report by Bloomberg yesterday said our rubber lifeline was boosted by higher demand in the production of rubber condoms and gloves.

Ouch! Is that so?

Aren't we also producing other rubber-based products like tyres, plastic, foam, etc?

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the Malaysian Rubber Board sellers' official physical price for tyre-grade SMR 20 rose 13 sen to 848 sen per kg, while latex-in-bulk added 5.5 sen to 560.5 sen per kg.
The unofficial sellers' closing price for tyre-grade SMR 20 increased 9.5 sen to 849.5 sen per kg and latex-in-bulk gained 5.5 sen to 563.5 sen per kg.

Natural rubber prices had received some support over the past couple of months as Thailand introduced a government-backed deal to purchase 300,000 tonnes of Thai rubber at above-market rates in an effort to support farmers' incomes.

Prices in Thailand and Malaysia also received support after it was announced that the top three natural rubber producing countries (Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia) had made plans to cut production and natural rubber exports in an attempt to reverse recent price falls.

These countries are aiming to cut exports by 300,000 tonnes year-on-year in the six months to March 2013. In addition, they plan to reduce production by accelerating the felling of around 100,000 hectares of aging rubber trees over this period. If realised, this may lower exports by a further 150,000 tonnes

Rubber is a major part of many industries. Although synthetic rubber (oil derivatives) gets popular, natural rubber is still very much in demand, especially in tyre manufacturing.

I am not so sure if  condom industry is providing a new lifeline to our production or as to whether we are the world's largest producer of such a product.

Whatever it is, we have been surviving on rubber exports long before Merdeka and until the present day. We should continue listing it as one of our priorities.

Carr to Anwar: "Sorry... we won't help you!"

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said during an interview with The World Today that Australia will not interfere with the election system in Malaysia, and that Anwar Ibrahim's request for Canberra to 'help him' had to be turned down.

A smart minister, and a wise Australia!

Excerpts of the interview:

"Well the Malaysian elections are a matter for the Malaysian people. It's very hard for Australia to do anything about how they're run, as hard as it would be for Malaysia or another government to have a say in how Australian elections are run. We're not the election authority for Malaysia...

"...of course we support free and fair elections in any country. I spoke to Anwar Ibrahim in a private conversation during my recent visit to Malaysia. I heard him express concerns and in the letter he underlines them by talking about, by making accusations of fraudulent and fraudulent registration processes and raising concerns that the elections can reflect the popular will...

"We can't comment on that. An opposition leader is entitled to say that to us. But we discussed the elections with him, I'm aware of his concerns...

"Australia doesn't run elections for other countries. We send observers when other countries ask for them. We receive, we receive submissions from opposition figures in other jurisdictions. We have in this case and we take what is said seriously. Our position is, we want free and fair elections in any country...

"We've got friendly relations with Malaysia and we haven't a capacity to do anything about the internal affairs of Malaysia any more than we have with any other country..."

So, whose help will Pakatan Rakyat has to sought after this? The US? United Nations? Singapore... or Israel?

Not sure if Anwar feels dejected or frustrated with Carr's reaction but Malaysia too, on record, has never interfered with election in other countries unless we are asked to send observers.

The Election Commission is and has done its best to clean up the electoral system but PR seems to not recognising it.

I guess they are only satisfied that the polls were free of fraud in Kelantan, Selangor, Penang and Kedah!

Actually... no hudud, no Islamic state

Its all a political drama, a gimmick to attract attention and to cover whatever skunks they might have. Malaysians, especially the non-Muslim are worried about it - the possibility of Pakatan Rakyat imposing hudud and Islamic state should they manage to unseat BN in the next general election.

It has sucked mostly everybody into this game. Even MCA was dodged, let alone Umno and others.

On PR side, Karpal was so vocal to contest hudud and Islamic state, and so was some PKR leaders. But Lim Kit Siang and son Guan Eng were so silent because they know that hudud and Islamic state will not happen at all!

At least Kit Siang & Son takes the right stand, and I believe many others share similar view. They find it silly and stupid to take part in it.

The fact is, there won't be any hudud and Islamic state. Its PAS gimmick and Pakatan is just too happy to play it for politics.

Hadi Awang, Nik Aziz, Anwar, Karpal, Kit Siang, Guan Eng and many others in Pakatan are abiding to the 'agreement' signin between PAS, DAP and PKR sometimes in 2009 for the Islamic party to drop its demand for implementing Islamic Law and turning Malaysia into an Islamic state.

These leaders were there to sign or witness it.

So, what's the fuss about hudud and Islamic state when its all a 'wayang'? And PAS, claiming itself as being so Islamic, is more than willing to sign a pact with the devil's advocates in order to meet its political ambition - being part of a ruling party!

And what is so Islamic about PAS when its leaders even cannot find a good grip on its own manifesto? Everything about PAS is politics of back-stabbing, corporate and legalistic entity and dominance of the deadwood.

PAS will never accept new roots with fresh and better idea as to how the party should be led and stay relevant and respected.

Just look and listen to their 'fatwas' which contain non other political messages which deviated from the true teaching of Islam.

PAS leaders should go back to basic and repent for issuing 'fatwas' like 'all PAS members will go to heaven' and 'Umno will go to hell'!

They have forgotten how their politics had cause a big split among the Malays and Muslims when they said 'Umno's imam cannot assure a passage to heaven' about 20 years ago, and that nobody should follow any imam who is not a PAS member.

I used to have high respect for Nik Aziz and his 'ulama' for their position, even though I am an Umno member. However, all those 'fatwas' are making me sick! Today, I look at them as a pool of clowns who are only fit to work at Genting Theme Park!

'Flatten Gaza!'

Some astonishing remarks by Israeli leaders on the assault on Gaza:


1. Interior Minister Eli Yishai said: "The goal of the operation is to send Gaza back to the Middle Ages. Only then will Israel be calm for forty years." 

2. Politician Michael Ben Ari told the soldiers: "Brothers, beloved soldiers and commanders! Preserve your lifes. Don't give a hoot about Goldstone! There are no innocents in Gaza, don't let any diplomats who want to look good in the world endanger your lifes at any tiniest concern for your lifes. Mow them!"

3. Gilad Sharon, son of former PM Ariel Sharon said: "There is no justification for the State of Gaza being able to shoot at our towns with impunity. We need to flatten the entire neighborhoods in Gaza. Flatten all of Gaza. The Americans didn’t stop with Hiroshima – the Japanese weren’t surrendering fast enough, so they hit Nagasaki, too."

Barack Obama, of course gives his full support to Tel Aviv although calling for a truce.

Israel, while continued its bombing of Gaza, hinted a diplomacy approach to end the war, hiding the actual truth about its main intention to wipe Palestine off the world map.

And the whole world just stood still... watching!

Singapore: Israel of Southeast Asia

The new war in Gaza, Israel atrocity and the new Zionist of Asia. Blame it on Singapore?

I remember a Middle East diplomat mentioned about the 'little republic in Southeast Asia is another Israel-in-the-making' during a conference in Casablanca in 2008, not naming the nation but was sharp enough to criticise its leadership as having similarity to that of Tel Aviv.

Zooming in to the 'little republic' will lead us to Singapore, the only Asean country that defies ZOPFAN (Zone of Peace, Free and Neutral) by hosting the Israel Embassy, engaging the Zionist military experts to boost its armed forces, doing much trading with them and recognising Israel as among its most important business partners.

And when Anwar Ibrahim went against all odds by supporting the rights and security of Israel, linking him and his political allies DAP with Singapore's PAP and Bank of Israel, the askance toward our south neighbor grew thicker.

And here, Jim Sleeper, a lecturer in political science, Yale University, produced a lengthy-logical analysis about Singapore-Israel strong bond, sharing similar capitalist character and a diplomatic approach which can be described as 'arrogant inteloper'.

Lee Kuan Yew has set the pace, and his successors just follow the chartered path.

In 1965, when Singapore declared its independence, its first prime-minister (and, for many years, its virtual dictator) Lee Kuan Yew asked Israel to design, set up, and supervise its military machine. Israel did precisely that. How successfully? Just this month, the Bonn International Center for Conversion published a world-wide survey ranking Israel the world's most militarized nation -- and Singapore the second-most.

But we in Southeast Asia, especially in Malaysia, are aware of it. As long as nothing across the Causeway harms or provokes us, we are fine with it, right?

Malaysia puts diplomacy above all, and so are the Muslim Indonesia. However, as regional and international diplomatic and social landscape take a new turn, we can expect something 'torrid' to our relations in the years to come, particularly if Pakatan Rakyat wins the upcoming general election.

The similarities of these two little engines that could (and did) become models of state capitalism with high per capita incomes and growth rates haven't often been noted. Both have been governed and stamped by the British. Both have populations of 5 or 6 million, including 2 or 3 million second-class citizens and non-citizens, some of them migrants, some of them openly despised.

I guess many would like to read this interesting part:

The Israelis militarized Singaporean society, even with Israeli military songs, to which Lee's soldiers marched in one of Singapore's first real Independence Day parades. Less symbolically, they showed Singapore how to establish military conscription in a hitherto un-militaristic populace that, according to at least one survey, ranked the profession of soldier far below that of thief, while placing artists, teachers and merchants on top.

So determined was Lee to adjust this that when Israel won the Six-Day War in 1967, vindicating his decision to work with it and boosting Singaporeans' confidence in their Jewish military mentors, Singapore's UN delegation surprised other Third World nations by abstaining on a resolution condemning Israel.

Read Jim Sleeper's Blame the Latest Israel-Arab War on...Singapore?

Anwar shows Mansor the exit

It is confirmed!

Penang Deputy Chief Minister 1 Mansor Osman is not wanted anymore - not by PKR and neither by Pakatan Rakyat, especially his immediate boss Lim Guan Eng.

He will face the axe in a most diplomatic way. PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim is sending him to contest the Nibong Tebal parliamentary seat, a BN stronghold. Although some say its a 50-50 between BN and PR, the chance for Mansor to lose is bigger.

That's the price he got to pay for giving his back to Lim for calling the CM 'cocky and arrogant'.

He is now one of PKR major political liabilities in Penang. He is not worthy as far as PKR is concerned, and that will for sure make DAP and Lim happy enough.

Anwar made the announcement ahead of all other announcements of candidates. So, this means only one thing – Anwar is trying hard to please DAP particularly LGE – as Mansor has antagonised Lim with such a remark.

Guan Eng, a vindictive man even to his own people, can no longer tolerate Mansor and Anwar knows this, thus the decision to move Mansor out of the state seat to the parliamentary seat is the only way to kill and bury him for good.

Mansor is to be sacrificed in order for Anwar gets DAP full blessing to bcome the next prime minister. Antagonising Lim is a big mistake and a sin for DAP’s politics and politics of Penang. Lim is ‘untouchable’ to the extent that even Karpal Singh has to watch his words when talking about the chief minister.

Like it or not, Mansor has to accept the candidacy, his last probably. Nibong Tebal consists of about 43 per cent Malay voters and 40 per cent Chinese, and given the current scenario where majority of the Malays have ‘returned’ to BN, Mansor is in deep shit.

Truly he is now considered as a liability more than an asset to Anwar’s grand plan in the unregistered PR alliance and in fact, the Malay members of PKR in Penang are just Anwar’s ‘stepping stone’ to achieve his personal ambition, not that of the whole Malays.

Now lets just hope the Malays in PKR in Penang see Anwar’s grand plan and react by rejecting it because if they don’t, Penang will be as good as gone.

Anwar is menacing Penang's politic too by arranging Mansor's exit from the picture, irrespective of how much support he gets from Mansor all these while.

Looks like Mansor has to consider his position in politic. Instead of losing his pride and dignity, he better leave PKR in a dignified manner so that Malaysians at large still respect him as a leader, a man who protects the interests of the Malays despite being made scapegoat.

Mansor should show to Malaysians that he is no push-over in politics, that he is a leader for the Malays in Penang.

(Beruang Biru)

Can we tolerate this?

How many more Palestinian should be massacred before Israel put a stop to its shelling and bombing in Gaza? How many more children and woman must be killed before the US and United Nations come to their sense?

We are just observers. We are the onlookers, helpless bystanders. But can we tolerate it?

Surely, now it's time to face reality: military means and violence will never put an end to this conflict. The notion of occupied and occupier must finish.

The Palestinians and Israelis can succeed when they take courageous steps to move forward towards a healthy and sustainable future in which we all share. And the international community can never, any more, turn away.

The Israelis cannot claim self-defence. It is invasion, using all means from all directions – from air, ground and sea.

Israel's Cabinet authorised the mobilisation of up to 75,000 reservists late last Friday, preparing the ground for a possible Gaza invasion.

Rather than self-defence, it is escaping responsibility. By contrast, is it not the right of the occupied to fight and free themselves from occupation and the continuous invasion and humiliations?

Hindraf: Putting words in PM's mouth!

I usually don't like commenting on Nazri Aziz, the minister at PM's Dept, partly because he is 'so close' to the Prime Minister and that he 'speaks for him'.

However, his recent statement about Datuk Seri Najib's willingness to have a dialogue with the banned Indian group Hindraf was very intriguing.

Does PM really want to have people like P Uthayakumar and Waythamoorthy in his office when the two had clearly shown their dissent for the government, creating chaos and inciting hatred among Malaysians?

Hindraf is not a political party, neither it plays a NGO role. Its more of a pressure group that avows dissatisfaction in a wrong and radical manner, tarnishing the country's image abroad and condemning the whole system as if they are above any law.

A check with the PM's Office unveils that Najib has no intention whatsoever to meet with them. Neither had he mention in any meeting to 'invite' Hindraf leaders to his office for a chat or discussion.

"What's the point of meeting them? The PM didn't give any hint (for the meeting). Furthermore, Hindraf is declared an unlawful group and is not recognised by the government," one of his senior aides told me on Monday, declining to say anything about Nazri's statement.

A Najib-Hindraf meeting will put the PM so low and will imply how desperate he and his government is in wooing support for the upcoming general election. Unless he wants to use 'reverse psychology' on Hindraf the same way when he met that 'four-letter-word' Namewee.

Nazri's statement is drawing flak all around. The Opposition media like Malaysia Kini, Malaysia Chronicle and others are giving the impression that Najib is so 'hard-up' to meet with Hindraf leadership.

It also implies how bad the situation in BN is that it warrants Najib to do anything to get the Indian votes!

And I don't think MIC likes the idea of a Najib-Hindraf meeting.

Although its president G Palanivel has shunned the idea that such talk was a sign of the premier’s deteriorating confidence on MIC, the BN component is still faced with an uphill task to convince the Indian community that it is still relevant and far better off than Hindraf and any other Indian-based political parties.

But what prompted Nazri to put words in Najib's mouth, and why is the PM seems to be 'very permitting' in anything that the minister says on his behalf?

I personally don't find this amusing as it depicts Najib as a 'half past six' PM, sorry to say. He himself should be firm when it comes to matters like these and must not allow others to speak for him, especially when it concerns dignity and principle.

As leaders, we should not allow our wife to walk a step ahead of us. Even Islam does not allow that as it is 'kurang ajar'!

Gaza under attack again

Gaza is under attack again. Israel couldn't be bothered with the Maal Hijrah celebrated by Muslims worldwide. When they feel like killing the Palestinians, they will enjoy most doing it on the days when the Palestinians think Tel Aviv would refrain from doing so.

After all, Benjamin Netanyahu had never launched any war on the Palestinians, let alone on Gaza strip.

The Israeli Prime Minister has boasted never having declared a war in the total of seven years he has led the country, despite he himself being a belligerent talker.

About a month ago, in a Knesset speech, Netanyahu accused his predecessor Ehud Olmert of entering 'two unnecessary wars', the Second Lebanon War and Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.

And in Washington, President Barack Obama remains adamant when it comes to Israeli atrocity in Gaza. The most he will say is 'Israel deserves every rights to defend itself from the Palestinian provocation', knowing well that Tel Aviv is ready to massacare a few thousand Palestinians over the death of its one soldier.

The United Nations?

Forget it! The UN is in the US bloody hands. No way they will condemn the air attacks whicn began on Tuesday night. If there is any, the US and its allies in Security Council will veto it.

In Doha, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani warned that Israel's deadly raids on the Islamist-controlled must not go unpunished, state news agency QNA reported on Thursday.

"This vicious attack must not pass unpunished," QNA quoted the premier as saying at a Wednesday meeting in Saudi Arabia of the six Gulf Arab states. "The UN Security Council must take up its responsibility to secure peace and security in the world."

Malaysia also urged the United Nations, particularly the Security Council, to take immediate resolute action over what it called irresponsible military action by Israel against innocent civilians in Gaza.

Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said Malaysia condemned in the strongest terms the continuing Israeli military assaults and air strikes on Gaza, which have led to the deaths of a Palestinian leader and seven others, including two children.

"Malaysia urges all parties involved to stop any provocative action, remain calm and exercise restraint to avoid greater damage and loss of life, especially among the civilian population in the Gaza Strip," he said in a statement today.

And where is Anwar Ibrahim, the opposition leader? Will he issue a similar statement... or will he choose not to say anything about it?

MAAL HIJRAH

To all earthlings, SELAMAT MENYAMBUT MAAL HIJRAH

 

 

Happy Diwali

To Ramu, Jayan, Sekhar, Guna, Loga, Ramesh and families in Kuala Sungai Baru Estate, my heart goes out to you.

I still treasure our childhood memories - we were together most of the time at the school, in the bushes, the river, the padi field and up the trees. It was from you that I knew MGR and Ramesh, Hema Malini and Lata Mageshkar.

We were really one, as Malaysians then. We 'owned' each other.

To all of you and to all Hindus, Happy Deepavali.

May the light shine on you endlessly.

A true moron he is!

Too many people wanted to become political heroes of late, not realising some of their strategies made them look like a moron instead of a smart ass.

Pakatan Rakyat got one too many, including this Rafizi who keeps blowing his trumpet as if he is above everybody and above any law.

Whistleblower of a cheap skate!

Anwar and Gang should tell this guy to behave like a man and not as an idiot. The way he carries himself as PKR strategist is making the party look even more desperate to the extent that anything he says reflect that of Anwar!

He boasts of 'killing' Shahrizat politically over the National Feedlot and then pointed his gun at Nazri over the car issue.

He had been using the Parliament to issue statements and calling for press conferences until he got 'banned' recently over his stupidity about proceedings of the House.

He then started to accuse the Speaker of being pro-BN and that the ban was against the rights of individual to freedom of speech.

Hello! The Parliament is for MPs. Rafizi is acting like a Member of Parliament, and in some events he portrayed himself as someone most important that each and every MP must listen to.

I think he should learn 'democracy' and Parliament rules in other countries which bar outsiders from messing around with the House and treating it like their grandfather's property.

Where on earth can you find outsiders are allowed to hold media conference at the Parliament? Rafizi is not an MP but I believe he is having such an ambition. However, he should wait for his time and not now!

Never in the history of our Parliament that outsiders like Rafizi was allowed to call for a press conference anywhere in its compound. We have rules and regulation here, and is must be fully respected.

Rafizi is and OUTSIDER, and he should admit that and feel ashamed of himself!

'Christmas shopping' again...

During a meeting with a ministry's officials in Putrajaya on Friday, my view was sought as to how the 'unspent' RM320,000 for an agency should be fully-utilised before year end. I said I didn't have any idea (I actually didn't want to have any part in it).

An officer suggested for a holiday-seminar for 2 nights in Langkawi for about 100 staff, another brought up the idea of organising an 'agency and blogger retreat' for 3 days in Port Dickson while a JUSA C officer proposed a 'leadership course' for 3 days in Gunung Jerai Resort.

I remember giving a talk to a 'more or less a workshop' attended by about 80 civil servants from a government agency in Gunung Jerai in November last year. I found out the workshop was organised to spend the 'unspent'.

Well, this is the time of the year when many government agencies and departments appear too busy organising seminars, retreat programs, courses and others.

Their main objective is not to see result of the events but to spend whatever allocated money left. If they don't spend or finish it, they will be perceived as not able to work on the budget or the agency itself will be seen as not in need of any budget to spend.

This is what we call 'Christmas shopping'. It is still very much in practice but I think this habit should be put to a stop as it is a waste of public fund. The money should be returned to the Treasury for other good purpose.

In his book 'A Doctor in the House', former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad wrote: 


In the past, unspent budget allocations for the various Ministries and Departments would be used up at the end of every year for what was called “Christmas shopping”. They were determined to use up all the funds allocated to them for the year; how else might they ask for increased funding, or to resist cuts, for the next year? Public servants try not to return funds because doing so implies that they are inefficient or too generously funded in the first place, so they will do just about anything to show that all their allocations have been spent. Often, it was said, they bought useless things, inappropriate equipment or gadgets that quickly became obsolete after hardly any use.When I assumed office, I announced that this practice would have to end and that funds had to be spent only on approved projects. Departments had to budget to cover only what they felt reasonably confident they could do. Budgeting, I insisted, would not be guesswork; it had to be more precise. I looked over their shoulders all the time and usually drove around on weekends to visit work sites. Rubbish disposal and landscaping were of special interest to me. They say the devil is in the details and I was determined to deal with this devil.

PM Najib should look into this. Ministers and head of departments and agencies should take into account that the unspent money is not for them to spend unnecessarily.

Government's money must be spent wisely, especially in improving the facilities in the rural areas and elevating the peoples' standard of living.

Its time to stop the 'Christmas shopping' habit as it meets no objective, apart from finishing up the money. While we enjoy they seminar and retreat, there are still people who find it difficult to make ends meet.

Think about it!

A slalom awaits Obama's second term

So, Barack Obama gets into his second term as US president. Iran was quick to absorb it by saying it would be good for the the country, hoping US will see the logic in its 'nuclear-for-power' program while Israel was a bit skeptical over Washington's dealing with Teheran.

However, Obama is 'accepted' well worldwide. Even the Cubans see him as a moderate 'leader of the imperialist' while in Teheran, some joys were observed when he was announced winner against Mitt Romney.

However, what does the win mean for the Middle East when Obama and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu get more 'intimately' involved in prospering Tel Aviv regime and orchestrating falsified effort to free the Palestinians?

Obama’s re-election victory represents an important vindication of his approach to Iran and its potential nuclear ambitions – and, for the world, a new face of American policy in the Middle East that will relegate the aggressive policies of George W. Bush into the distant past.

For all of his well-worn criticisms of Obama’s Iran policy as insufficiently bellicose and too reliant on diplomacy rather than military threats to bring Iran into line, Romney never really offered much of an alternative – beyond his insistence that he could create a better outcome by speaking in a louder voice, and the clear implication that he would be more willing to use force against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

His initial ambition to jump-start the faltering Israeli-Palestinian peace process floundered and with it his efforts to rebuild relations with the Muslim world.

His Administration’s attempted 'reset' with Russia, too, was essentially stillborn, while its 'pivot to Asia' has been more a feature of rhetoric than a measurable strategic shift.

Rather than set the agenda, Obama has largely found himself forced to react to crises in the Middle East and the Afghanistan-Pakistan sphere, managing the challenges of extricating US troops from the Hindu Kush and relying on drone strikes to kill off the US enemies there and also in Yemen; averting the dangers posed by the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program by building sanctions pressure on Teheran, and formulating a response to an Arab rebellion that swept aside longstanding US allies and empowered Islamists in their wake.

His administration developed a form of limited military engagement that relied on others to undertake the heavy lifting - known by the ghastly term 'leading from behind' - to help bring down Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, although the killing of four US diplomatic personnel in Benghazi on Sept 11 highlights the fragility of the resulting order.

More recently, the Obama White House has struggled to find similarly low-cost policy levers that could break Syria’s bloody stalemate by ousting President Bashar Assad.

A foreign-policy legacy may not seem the obvious pathway for Obama to pursue given the limits on American power within which he operates. And he’s clearly mindful of the reality that any restoration of US global fortunes depends first and foremost on repairing the domestic economy.

In Bali, Indonesia, Iran president Ahmadinejad who was attending the two-day Democracy Forum which also saw participation by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, criticised the situation in Europe and the US.

“An election, which is one of the manifestations of the people’s will, has become a battleground for the capitalists, and an excuse for hefty spending,”  he said.

An estimated US$6 billion was spent in US federal races, making the 2012  general election the most expensive poll in American history, experts have said.

Ahmadinejad, who did not comment directly on Obama’s victory over his  Republican rival Mitt Romney, added that “democracy has turned into the rule of  a minority over the majority”.

He said problems continued “even in countries who claim to be the  forerunners of democracy”.

“Slavery, colonialism and rights abuses continue to be imposed on human  beings,” he said, without singling out any countries in particular for  criticism.

Romney frequently accused Obama of taking too soft a line toward Teheran, saying Iran today has never been closer to a nuclear weapons capability, and that it has never acted less deterred by America.

Now, the question is how much he has been stung by such criticism? Will Obama retain confidence in his dual strategy of squeezing Iran with economic sanctions while also extending offers of rapprochement? Or will the fact that Iran keeps building centrifuges and enriching uranium despite Obama's efforts persuade the White House it needs to try something new?

Perhaps the greatest and most immediate foreign policy crisis Obama must confront in his second term is the civil war in Syria, which threatens to spill into neighboring states.

The US need to make Syria a priority, and it has to do more to try solve the crisis.

In the Middle East and elsewhere, Obama does not want another war with a Muslim country, even if he is cheered on by Arab leaders in the region who want Iran’s program destroyed.

He fears a backlash by Muslims in the street, the prospect of increased terror against the United States, the possibility of delaying rather than destroying Iran’s program and the chance of being forced to use ground troops that could get mired in another long war.

He also fears that war will cause a spike in oil prices that will doom his program for economic recovery.

If Obama does not attack Iran and Israel feels forced to defend itself from what it sees as an existential threat, the US may face many of the same consequences. Much, of course, depends on the success of any operation, but Obama officials have been warning for months of the potential negative repercussions for US interests of a unilateral Israeli attack.

On a broader scale, Obama has to develop a vision for future relations with the Arab world. His first term policy was neither idealist nor realist; he had no ideology or world view shaping his policies and made ad hoc decisions to address each crisis.

In his second term, he will need to decide if he supports democracy for the region. If so, he will have to distinguish between democratic processes, such as elections, and democratic outcomes that lead to freedom for Arab citizens and the protection of their human rights.

And from now on, he can expect more 'harrowing' moment in managing US foreign policy.

All for free, free for all...ha ha ha ha ha!

Pakatan Rakyat will build more hospitals and clinics if it succeeds in taking over Putrajaya in the next general election!

Good laaaa.... but nothing about healthcare and looking after the aged was mentioned in its 2013 budget despite more people need better medical treatment from various diseases.

And someone told me yesterday the country will need more medical centers under PR. Why? Because its support for LGBT would mean more people will contract AIDS, HIV and its related sickness.

A joke or what?

"No joke lor," says Dr Vincent, a pathologist with a specialist center. "Anwar himself is a bugger. Not from me but many people talk about it. He supports Ambiga and Marina for their freedom and rights of the LGBT... same sex marriage, lesbians, gays and so on.

"So, what you can expect is more chronic sickness from such a sinful social content. You think they will discipline themselves by avoiding what people like Elton John and others do? Hahahaha... such a moral decay summons more medical attention from the government."

Hmmm... there's some logic in it.

But Pakatan Rakyat should also offer free medical treatment to the rakyat. If they can promise free education, no PTPTN and free 'other things', why not free medical treatment as it fits will into their 'negara berkebajikan' slogan?

"You gila ka? What will happen to us, doctors, nurses and those working at private hospitals and clinics?

"If they offer free treatment, it will lead to the closure of all private hospitals and clinics. I am not sure if they will retain Klinik 1Malaysia introduced by Barisan Nasional but I am dead sure I will be dead over no good income!"

Alamak! So true!

Then, I believe it will not be a happy ending for private universities and colleges too. Free tertiary education means the PR government will pay them 'accordingly' and will not allow them to collect fees and impose charges on students.

Free education means free from any cost, right?

So, private universities and colleges may as well close shop soon before PR rules the country. After all, there is no different between education and health business as we had and are spending billions of ringgit in ensuring the rakyat gets proper attention.

Where on earth can we find free education and free medical treatment? Even Barack Obama won the presidential election for his 'strong and vibrant' medical insurance and its related-packages for the Americans, and that's what a fully developed nation can offer.

Are we aware that there is no government hospital in the US that offers free medical treatment? Realising how much it has to spend on medical, the White House encourages the people to subscribe to medical insurance as a mean of security, and no way that the Americans could get free medical, let alone free education.

What is Pakatan Rakyat trying to do? To bankrupt all the medical and education institutions?

This is a better one...

At least MCA avows it aloud that the party, leaders and members respect the Federal Constitution, recognising Islam as the official religion, the rights of Raja-Raja Melayu... and the rights of each and every citizen of Malaysia!

Comparatively, Pakatan Rakyat had on few occasions mention about amending the Constitution, turning Malaysia into a secular country and questioning the rights of the Palace.

When it comes to hudud, DAP and PKR strongly oppose it. On Barisan Nasional side, MCA too joined them but in a totally different tone.

MCA is right, that in this multiracial society, any new law on religion must be clearly explained to avoid it be perceived as intimidation to other faith. And PAS hudud, while still unclear of its content and enforcement mechanism, is rolling on politics.

Many agree that if PR wins the next general election, there wouldn't be any hudud at all because PAS only wants to share the Federal power with its two allies.

However, after that stinging statement by MCA president Chua Soi Lek on 'hudud a la PAS' the other day, many were driven by their Islamic sentiment to condemn him and the party as being anti-Islam and anti-hudud.

MCA has been there much longer than PAS, PKR and DAP, way back before the country achieved Independence and is perhaps the only party next to Umno which understands what Islam for the country is.

And here is a simple statement by MCA about what it's all out against that 'hudud a la PAS'...

KUANTAN: MCA respects the position of Islam in the country but does not want political parties to claim authority over religious matters, said central committee member Datuk Ti Lian Ker.
He said there were already institutions that had been authorised to regulate Islamic matters and political parties should allow them to perform their duties.
"The public should not confuse political parties with institutions like the National Fatwa Council. No political party should encroach into the jurisdiction and authority of these institutions," said Ti at a press conference here Friday.
He said MCA respected the law and the Federal Constitution but would not tolerate political parties that sidelined the Islamic institutions by implementing their own version of the law.
"The law that is to be implemented by PAS is inconsistent and not in line with real Islamic law. For example, the PAS spiritual leader has said it will be enforced on non-Muslims as well. Also, a MP has questioned their law which allows husbands to sodomise their wives.
"From time to time, PAS also amends its law to fit its political agenda. So it cannot be said that PAS law is the same with hudud law," he said.
Ti, who is also Kuantan MCA chairman, said the division would continue supporting party president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek in voicing the people's concerns on PAS' version of hudud.
"It is a flaw to say we cannot comment when a political party wants to legislate laws in whatever form in the name of Islam. It is not right to intimidate or threaten non-Muslims who have questions and want explanations," he said.

The Malays, the Muslims deserve every right to uphold and defend the religion. They usually will react strongly when someone 'non-Muslim' talks about Islam and the Islamic law, forgetting that there are many non-Muslims out there who study and understand Islam better than majority of the Muslims themselves!

On the contrary, there are Malays who like condemning other religions without taking into consideration its sensitivity.

And I wonder how many 'average' Muslims today can read Jawi eloquently like former MCA strongman Lee Kim Said and ex Shin Min Daily editor Cheng Seong Huat.

Remember how the Jawi newspaper 'Utusan Melayu' had to close shop? Partly because the Malays themselves are not interested to read Jawi!

When ministers ignore blogs...

The problem with some ministers is that, they don't have 'hands on' in many things, taking granted that the portfolio will remain theirs in the next general election. Their major concern is to make this and that announcement, calling for press conference and safeguarding their politics.

A few even failed to keep abreast with developments around them, particularly the ones that got a lot to do with their respective ministries and agencies.

And for that reason, maybe, they don't care what is happening outside their office and on the ground.

Worse still, there are ministers who hate blogs and news portal, just because they think they are always right in making whatever decision, that a minister position is like an angel.

So, when we take blogs so lightly, we think we already know everything from A to Z about developments which are related to our area of respobsibility.

However, I am not blaming them all for being ignorance of the importance of blogs and news portal. Why? They engaged lousy media and special officers who only 'makan gaji buta' and keep giving wrong advice and input to the bosses.

And when the opposition and even members of the BN backbenchers made noise about issues affecting our portfolio, we either keep quiet for not having the right set of answers or blow out top for no reason.

How come we are not aware of the al-Qaeda-linked blog 'Tawhed.net' that operates in Malaysia and giving online training to our youths who are easily-led by 'jihad' and religious sentiments?

Why must those outside the respective ministry, especially the public, had to inform us of such a dangerous activity taking place in our backyard? And what are the people we hired doing to detect and identify the culprits behind it?

Well, may we are too busy as ministers and politics that we leave everything to our impotent new media officers, who at every meeting only feed us with the good news!

That's just an example of how we play negligence to our surrounding. We always thought that 'the situation is under control' until it burst on our face.... and any action would come too late. The damage has been so perfect.

Tawhed.net has been there for quite sometimes until it got 'erased' after The Star reported it.

It has been sending messages to potential 'members' worldwide, interacting on how to launch a 'jihad' by means of aggression and subversion, and we still call it 'not alarming' and 'no proof that Malaysia has fast becoming a training ground for such extremists!'

Yes, some blogs are lousy and nasty but even a 'stupid one' can be very helpful in formulating our policy and charting the direction of the nation.

I hate to mention it all over again but perhaps some of our YBs would like to know that blogs are more popular than newspapers these days as the content comes without strict editing.

So, to few of our minister friends, stop sleeping on the job!