148 posts tagged “politics” (page 2)

This topic brings up a very good memory of an argument erupting in a kopitiam and my elder brother, Ahmad Farris Baharom. Perhaps you've read of him before in the Metro section, though somehow he lost his "Ahmad" in all his articles.

The argument was purely political. Before the election, I thought Tony Pua had good credentials to be an MP, and Farris didn't. That's right, I think Tony Pua, a DAP fellow, would make a good MP and no, I'm not on hallucinogens.

After such an argument, we didn't talk for three or four months.

But that is exactly how deeply rooted our political beliefs affect our relationships and looking back at it, sure, it does sound utterly ridiculous.

Take the current situation into consideration. We now have two Gerakan figures working for the state government of the Opposition party, and both of them have been defamed because of it.

And of all political parties to be so critical of switching sides, Gerakan?!

May 13th aftermath? Joining the government?

Ring any bells?!

Why the serious show cause letter? For working for the benefit of the entirety of the state of Penang and Selangor?

This makes me not talking to my brother look like peanuts. It utterly sounds like a scenario where a couple divorced due to one preferring a Macintosh over Microsoft PCs.

When we are looking towards the good of a community as a whole, it is the duty of every person to do what's best for the nation, not their party affiliation. This is something I think our idiotic politicians on both sides need to take note, and I thought was made very clear with the recent "political tsunami".

Grow up, dear politicians. You are there to serve your constituents, not your party, not your boss, nor the PM. You are there to serve the people.

We're your boss. And if we say that you have to go across party lines to make our lives better, you do it!

And for a party like Gerakan, stop trying to be an UMNO and be independent! You were, once. Go back to that!

First and foremost, it's sad to know that the last Kennedy brother now has a brain tumor.

With that out of the way, back to Malaysian politics.

Should Pak Lah step down now that Mahathir, the grumpy old man who has been extremely critical of his governing, quit UMNO?

Of course not. Quoting Tun Musa, Mahathir was a thorn in UMNO's side. He basically got rid of everyone he didn't like or had dissenting opinions and literally worked to Sinatra's "My Way" for 22 years.

Now suddenly when all his misdeeds are dug up after being compost for 22 years, he's gone all sentimental and states that nobody cares about him and quits UMNO?

This is exactly why Pak Lah should stay, because it just goes to answer the question. Are people loyal to the stances and agendas of the United Malay National Organization, or simply being cronies to Mahathir?

156 cronies from Kedah answered that question rather well.

Mahathirs' own son, bless his soul, saw through his father's BS and made the right choice.

While Sharir Samad states the gloomy predicament of preparing for another general election, I honestly think otherwise. Abdullah Badawi still has the mandate to rule, regardless of dissenting voices within his own party.

If they want him gone so badly, they need to step up to the plate and answer this question for me.

Who's going to replace Pak Lah?

If you tell me Najib, I'd rather vote Anwar Ibrahim as next PM.

Same goes for Khairy, Hishamuddin, or even Tengku Razaleigh and Syed Hamid Albar.

Muhyiddin Yassin shows promise.

If you say Sharir Samad, I may vote UMNO after all....depending on who you put up in Shah Alam, of course. Not going to vote for no 70-year-old 4 term MP who doesn't do much.

I hate it when Wong Chun Wai beats me in writing something....

But what he says is correct. The federal government currently in power had better watch out for the interests of the Sabahans and Sarawakians, because like it or not, they've got Semenanjung BN by the balls.

Not exactly the most polite way of saying it, but it gives the description of just how easy it is for the ruling coalition to lose power nonetheless.

The recent announcement that the government is not even thinking of changing the oil royalty rates to be granted to Sabah and Sarawak was a dumb move by the government. With the Opposition offering a fifth, or RM2 billion equivalent, the ruling coalition really ought to try and top it.

The age of depending on loyalties without question is gone. Now comes the age of mutual benefits.

And Dr.M has got it wrong. The Malays are not losing power, just that the Malays now have to prove that they belong in power through reason, and not 22 year ruling by an iron fist.

For those who do not know by now, this young and greenhorn MP is the son-in-law of Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

While I object to this fellow on a personal level, the fact that his line of logic is parallel to mine is downright disturbing and unnerving.

Here are the points brought up by Khairy Jamaluddin, MP of Rembau, in his debating the Kings Speech.

1. The formation of a Judiciary Commission in charge of promoting judges is a good one to restore faith in the Malaysian Judiciary after the crisis in 1988.

2. The restructuring of the Anti Corruption Agency to be an independent commission known as the Anti Corruption Commission plus the forming of the Protection Act for whistle blowers is timely and appropriate. The power to prosecute should also be given to this commission.

3. Fight bribery through technology. Fight corruption with technology.

4. A freer media by abolishing the Printing Press Act.

5. Put a quota on the petrol subsidy to avoid abuse.

6. Focus more on food production with technological advances.

..... And after that all hell broke loose because he kept taunting the Opposition, but not giving them any leeway to rebuke his statements.

Not so smart, Khairy, but damned slick.

If I were to base his speech only on the points, I would definitely state that his was one of the better ones. But then, I simply don't like this guy personally.

So I'll stick to liking his points.

Right.

Next up: Datuk Abdul Ghapur Bin Salleh (who?), internal opposition?

What happened to the war lasting 100 years.....?

What happened to not believing in climate change initiatives...?

Is the elephant turning donkey-ish?

The honorable MP from Batu Gajah took "center floor" and brought up the following points on the 8th of May 2008:

1. Regardless of party, put the needs of the nation first.

2. Get the younger generation of MPs to lead. Mentions MPs Serdang, Puchong, Lembah Pantai, Labis, Balik Pulau and Rembau.

Sadly, she left out Kelana Jaya. Kesian Loh Gwo Burne.

3. Ministry of Tourism being unfair to withdraw funds for tourism in states controlled by the PR.

4. Ministry of Entrepreneur Development withdrew state development funds from state government to MARA, another unfair move.

5. Ministry of Rural Development's move to create both JKKK and JKKKP with similar objectives, is divisive.

6. The use of state funding in Perak to handle the food crisis instead of federal funding is also misappropriation of funds.

7. The space program. Why is there no cash when the PM and TPM said we had enough cash last year?

8. The wasting of RM2.4 million ringgit on indelible ink which was not used by the EC because of a rumor that the move would be tainted. Four people were investigated, and no outcome or charges were filed. The PM must take responsibility for this blunder.

9.Post mortem by the EC. When will it done?

The cili padi strikes again. Seriously, though, if there was ever a person to lead DAP to a more relevant future and stop the shouting "father and son lawyer team", it would definitely be her.

Her points are quick, to the point and are definitely in my mind as well.

Kudos to Fong Po Kuan.

Up next: Khairy Jamaluddin

This one was on the 8th of May 2008, when the MP of Rasah brought forth the question, why the funding for each Parliament seat was brought down from RM2 million to RM500,000 after the election.

Here was a reply:

"Yang Berhormat, mudah sahaja untuk mendapat peruntukan daripada kerajaan,Yang Berhormat kena masuk Barisan Nasional."

Translated: "YB, it is very easy to get funding from the federal government, just join Barisan Nasional."

This one was from the Bigfoot of Kinabatangan himself, Bung Mokhtar Radin.

Also,

During Fong Po Kuan's speech, about how Thailand and Singapore were doing better than Malaysia.

"Saya tertarik dengan ucapan Yang Berhormat tadi yang mana menggambarkan bahawa negara kita ini tidak baik. KalaulahYang Berhormat diberi pilihan antara Thailand, Singapura dan Malaysia mana Yang Berhormat pilih."

Translated: "I'm impressed with YB's speech which portrays that our country is bad. If YB could pick between Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, which one would you choose?"

As if we were all dumb enough not to spot another "get out of Malaysia" remark, right?

This one came from the MP of Putatan, Datuk Dr. Marcus Makin Mogijoh.

And yet, another dumb remark made by a fellow with a doctorate.

That's 3 for BN, 0 for Pakatan Rakyat.

Haih, I gave the guy some points and he goes and brands an entire political party as the Gigantic Pig Project, or Projek Khinzir Raksasa, PKR.

Amazing, just amazing, Khairy. Goes to show if you give a fellow enough rope, they decide to tie a noose and hang themselves. Oh well.

But then I know why Khairy did what he did. He was countering Azmin Ali from Gombak, who likened the initials of PKR to the acronym for UK's Public Interest Disclosure Act of 1998, or in Malay, Akta Perlindungan Kepentingan Rakyat, PKR.

Honestly, I think Khairy's just pissed because of Azmin's reply that if Selangor, Kedah, Penang and Perak were to declassify state documents, BN and UMNO would suffer.

This was on the 8th of May 2008, and it is in the parliament review.

Thus the war over acronyms. That's just fine in Parliament. After all, the PKR is leading the state of Selangor which is centralizing their pig farming activities.

A potshot, but not below the belt.

And then there was a guffaw that led to another riot in Parliament, when Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui accidentally said that orangutans "were not found in Malaysia, but mostly focused in Sabah and Sarawak".

Haih...and he's from Bintulu, right?

Well, you know how the Opposition reacted to that. They literally saw blood and went for the jugular, stating that we shouldn't separate Sabah and Sarawak from Malaysia.

At least Datuk Peter Chin had the guts to admit the mistake and change it to Peninsular Malaysia instead.

The gym seems to be a place to ask for opinions of relevance these days.

Recently at the gym in Menara Axis someone asked me what I thought about the road issue. Now, I may not be the most knowledgeable person when it comes to this issue, but reading through some of the press, here's what I've understood so far.

Basically, a private owned company developed a road under contract with the federal government to build up a tolled road.

Somehow, in the midst of all the negotiations, the deal turned sour and the road has been blocked off to avoid anyone from using it.

Then the public took notice of this road and started using it, thinking that their taxpayer ringgits are actually paying for it's maintenance. The company, which developed the road got pissed and blocked it off for two times in a row.

The federal government, which contracted the road, remains quiet about everything.

Then the company puts up barricades, the people take down the barricades, the company puts up the barricades again, the people get the politicians in the Opposition side involved to take it down again....

And now the police get involved, basically charged with protecting private owned property being infringed by the people who are using it.

That's the story I've gotten so far.

Did I miss out anything?

I'm sorry, but just because the people are pissed because they have to pay RM0.90 to and from home does not justify breaking the law and trespassing on private land, even if the toll has been raised twice.

And for politicians from the Opposition to support breaking the law in such a way, instead of forming a coalition to discuss the issue and negotiate a settlement with Narajaya and Grand Saga, is stupid and unreasonable.

Why hasn't the Selangor state government, which is so sympathetic to the people, simply negotiate the purchase of the road from Grand Saga or Narajaya and make them toll free?

Narajaya, you now have a defendant to sue for trespassing and aiding and abetting to commit trespassing.

That would include the state government as Selangor with Khalid Ibrahim issuing the statement, along with Ronnie Liu and all Selangor state politicians who are involved in the removal of the barricades, including the contractors.

We continually argue that we are a nation of laws and we need to be lawful. This act of trespassing on private property is unlawful. What say all of us now?

Do we sacrifice our laws because it's more convenient to do so?