Religious Overdose - Enough Lah

Posted by Simon Templar On 4 May 2011

Squatting Monkey, Jumping Lembu

Posted by Simon Templar On 7 September 2009

Incompetent PKR; Bungling Pakatan

Posted by Simon Templar On 19 April 2011

I Got Tear Gassed

Posted by Simon Templar On 9 July 2011

Najib The Ponzi Scheme Master

Posted by Simon Templar On 11 December 2009

Malaysian Government Pays You Cash To Stay At Home

Posted by Simon Templar On Wednesday, December 23, 2009 10 comments
Please quit your private sector job today. You no longer need to work for money. The government is giving free monthly handouts of cold hard cash.

Yes. This is Malaysia. Everything is possible. Previously, to receive this free handout, you needed to sign an employment letter with the Government of Malaysia and appear at the office, sometimes. With the introduction of the Works Ministry's work-from-home scheme, you need not even appear at the office!

Brilliant. Previously, government officers had to bore themselves at the office because 10 people had to do the work of 1. Many such officers had resorted to money wasting teh tariks. The thrifty ones just had to made do with gossips and Drama Minggu Ini debates. All in the name of being in the office.

Now you can watch TV at home, look after your 7 kids at home, iron your clothes at home, wake up at 10 am, or even catch the late morning screening of Avatar at the cinema nearest to your home. All these during office hours and the government will still pay you.

And best of all, no need to go through jams to and fro work. No need to spend 3 to 4 hours in the traffic jams or public transports. Leave that to the private sector idiots.

What a way of life! Excellent for government officers.

Not for us private sector dummies though.


Somewhere in the near future, you receive an investigation letter from the IRB requiring you to call a certain Pn. Norita.

The phone rings for 18 times. No answer. Hang up. Check the phone number printed on the letter. Correct. Hit redial. On the 9th ring...

IRB Hotline Receiver: Jabatan Hasil.

You: Boleh saya cakap dengan Pn. Norita?

IRB: Bahagian?

You: Penyiasatan.

IRB: Bukan nombor ini. Sila dail 03-4289xxxx

And you call 03-4289xxxx. The phone rings, and rings and rings and finally got cut off. Double check the number you wrote down. Call 03-4289xxxx again. After the 12th ring...

IRB: ...

You: ...

IRB: ...

You: Hello?

IRB: Ya?

You: Boleh saya cakap dengan Pn. Norita, Bahagian Penyiasa...

The line got passed.

Receiver: ...

You: Boleh saya cakap dengan Pn. Norita?

Receiver: Pn. Norita takde di office hari ini?

You: Dia cuti?

Receiver: Tak. Dia bekerja. Tapi dia takde di office hari ini. You talipon balik esok.


The next day, you call Pn. Norita again. After the usual ding dong, the line got passed to her.

Pn. Norita: Norita di sini.

You: Puan, name saya Xxxxx. Saya telefon pasal surat puan bertarikh xx.xx.20xx.

Pn. Norita: Ya, saya ingat kes you. Kenapa tak talipon awal-awal?

You: Saya talipon semalam Puan. Tapi Puan tak ada di pejabat.

Pn. Norita: Oh ya. Semalam saya bekerja dari rumah. Fail you pun saya bawa balik rumah untuk tengok.

You: Ha? Bukankah fail saya peribadi?

Pn. Norita: Memang lah peribadi. Tapi kalau tak bawa balik, macam mana saya nak kerja?

You: Jadi kes saya macam mana sekarang Puan? Saya tak faham sangat dengan masalah teknikal ni.

Pn. Norita: Saya memang pelupa lah. Tertinggal fail you kat rumah. Saya kena tengok balik fail. You talipon balik esok.

You: Esok Puan kerja dari rumah atau office?

Pn. Norita: Esok saya ada di office.


The next day, you call Pn. Norita as planned.

You: Boleh saya cakap dengan Pn. Norita?

Receiver: Pn. Norita tak ada di pejabat.

You: Tapi semalam dia kata dia kerja di office hari ini.

Receiver: Dia memang dijadualkan bekerja di pejabat hari ini. Tapi kucing dia mati.


.
| edit post

Our Future Is Not That Bright

Posted by Da Maniac On Monday, December 14, 2009 1 comments

I wish to be an optimist. I really do. But sometimes, I cannot help but to remain pessimistic about what is in store for us in this country we call Bolehland.

Like others, we all look forward to the next General Elections (GE), where the rakyat can teach UMNO-BN a lesson they would never forget (because they seem to have forgotten how much a trashing they got in the March 2008 GE). We all can't wait for Pakatan Rakyat to take over the helm and bring back glory to this beloved country of ours. Pakatan is like the saviour that we all have been waiting for and they will bring with them equality and transparency that we all crave for so much.

Lately, I do not share that hope anymore. Not that I have given up on Pakatan (they have their flaws), but I do not have hope anymore because of UMNO-BN. Why is that? Well, let's think about it for a moment. Come next GE, beyond our wildest imaginations and against all odds, Pakatan managed to form the next federal government, we celebrate with joy a new era for the country. The country is finally back in the hands of the people... or so it seems.

I hate to rain on everyone's parade but reality is that UMNO-BN would be totally angry by this, like how they felt when Penang, Selangor, Kedah, and Perak had gone to Pakatan... along with Kelantan. From then on UMNO-BN had been plotting to get back the states that they lost. They managed to take back Perak by illegitimate means. They are creating all sorts of havoc in the other states to discredit the state governments so the people would be totally fed up with them and wished that UMNO-BN would take over the states again. Mark my words, if Pakatan does take over the Federal Government, UMNO-BN will not sit by and let it be. They will do whatever means to either discredit the new government through the manipulation of the police, judiciary, election commission, or MACC.

Would you think the Police, the judiciary, election commission or the MACC would pledge their impartiality and remain independent despite a change in government? Hell no! These jokers have been on the UMNO-BN payroll for years and we are talking big bucks here. Do you think these jokers would sit still and see their 'income' cut off by the Pakatan government? Nope! They would want things to be status quo, because they have tasted the forbidden fruit and loved it. Ever wonder how does an ex-deputy IGP own estates worth RM47 million? By being a good cop? Yea right!

If UMNO-BN is willing to trample on constitution like what they did in Perak, what makes you think that UMNO-BN will not resort to even more dirty tricks to discredit the new government and when Pakatan takes over? So what can Pakatan do? Get rid of every senior cop, MACC, election commission, and judges? What about the people in civil service? We all know that they can easily sabotage state governments by working slowly, cocking-up here and there, flip-flop on enforcements here and there, enough to piss off the people who would wish then that UMNO-BN is back in power again. Imagine SYABAS conveniently taking their sweet time in their supply and maintenance, or Indah Water being a little slow in processing sewerage, or Alam Flora being inconsistent in they solid waste collection.

There's too much at stake and the big guns would stand to lose huge sums of money. And they won't allow that to happen. UMNO-BN will do whatever it takes to get back the country. They have too much to lose, and they would get it back by manipulating the Police, Judiciary, Election Commissions, the civil service and the MACC.

Do you think they care about every one's rights? March 2008 was supposed to teach them a lesson. Seems that they remain as arrogant as ever judging by what we have been seeing this year. I won't celebrate too much when Pakatan takes over... because then it would be crunch time for this country of ours.


Our future is not that bright.

| edit post

Najib The Ponzi Scheme Master

Posted by Simon Templar On Friday, December 11, 2009 5 comments

Malaysia is close to bankruptcy.

The government has no more money. 2009 must have been a horrible year with little corporate taxes collected (and expected to be collected) due to the economic slowdown. Foreign investments have also slowed to a halt.

And yet Najib's government is trying to spend their way out of the economy. Honestly, if carried out well, government spending is a key component in driving the economy up. But not in Malaysia. The leakages are too large. As a result, the expected multiplier effects do not maximise. The money disbursed end up in the pockets of those who least deserve it instead.

2009 must go on record as the year with the largest amount of government bonds issued. Amanah Saham this and Amanah Saham that. I don't have the statistics but I doubt 2009 will be too far off the numero uno spot even if it does not take the top spot. All sorts of bond were raised and for the first time, take-up quotas drawn along the usual racial lines have been removed.

What does that mean? The government is simply desperate for money. The amount that they could raise from the protected and preferred Malay race have simply maxed up. That left Najib with no choice but to loan from the desperate Chinese and Indians on the pretext of equality and sharing of wealth with all in the country. And at lower rates of returns too.

Malaysians are not well read people. And I bet you that most people do not understand what a bond is apart from it being an investment opportunity that generates interest income higher than that offered by FDs. Bonds are actually IOUs. It is a loan. When you buy a bond, you are actually lending money to the bond issuer and you get paid back upon maturity.

Upon maturity, paying back of bond money is an issue should the bond issuer (in this case the government of Malaysia) has no money to pay. But as the government, this can be solved via a few simple strategies at the expense of the rakyat.

The government may raise new bonds to pay-off the earlier bonds. And this can be done over and over again. The bet by the government is that the government's income will improve in the future and one day, these loans from the public can be paid off. Theoretically, this sounds ideal. But do you genuinely accept that from the government of a nation whose corruption index ranking have been consistently falling to an embarrassing 57 now? Regardless of how much of the nations resources are depleted (our oil is running out by the way; palm oil isn't that popular in the world market unless you are a sucker who believes in Utusan Malaysia; we do not have much rubber; we ran out of tin decades ago), the profit do not go back to the rakyat but the Swiss private bank accounts of our politicians.

So, the bonds will never get to be paid from the ideal profits. New bonds will be issued to pay off earlier bonds. And this will go on and on and on. Over time, with larger amount of bonds raised every time to cover for additional 'nation building and development', government debts will only continue to rise. This is what we call a Ponzi scheme. Read Bernie Madoff. Read cheat. Read con.

The present government is passing it's current problem to the future generation. An irresponsible government indeed. In developed nations, the people are able to appreciate this problem. Parliaments debate after debate on bond issuances. In Malaysia, the Prime Minister approves new bonds while he gobbles down his nasi lemak with ayam rendang and sotong sambal. The future is not his problem anyways. He has his hot seat to protect; lose it or he will get nagged to his death by the thing who sleeps next to him.

Has anyone actually thought that Najib knows that his days are numbered and he is maximising his personal dough collection? Think about it. Whatever he takes from the bonds will have to be paid back by the next government. If he is not going to be the next government, paying back will not be his problem.

But whatever he does now will still be a problem for the rakyat in the future. If BN continues, it will be BN's repayment problem. If PR takes over, it will be PR who is faced with the same repayment headache. The only permanent fixture is that the rakyat is at the losing end.

Some may argue that all the government has to do is to print more money. Yes, that is true. A learned friend of mine once said that the government will never run out of money because it can just print more. That is a brilliant statement. But of course it has it consequences. The amount of paper money in circulation must correspond to the amount of gold and other reserves. If paper money exceeds the value of the reserves - which is what the US is facing right now - then the said currency's value falls. Purchasing power declines. Inflation rises. And a whole lot of other negative economic terminologies.

So you see, printing money to repay government loans solves the loan issue but it brings the country to a whole new level of economic problems.

And yes, you got the message, the rakyat loses.

If you are lucky to live short enough, the problem will not be yours. But your kids? You better leave them enough money to buy bananas at RM1 million per comb.


Additional note by author: Najib has pledged more and more spending. But with limited funds available, other government disbursements will have to be reduced. Hence, the proposed (rumoured) removal of subsidies for petrol, sugar and flour are very real. Expect electricity tariffs to go up too. Rakyat will suffer like never before. Is he not interested in getting re-elected? Does sound like Najib is taking all he can and abandoning ship.

.
| edit post

GST? Stop Pretending To Be A Developed Nation

Posted by Simon Templar On Wednesday, December 02, 2009 6 comments

GST is a serious matter but the general Malaysians are not made aware of it. After all, tax is a complicated matter. And most will choose to ignore it although it affects the dough in our pockets. Taxes are just not our daily comic strip readings.


There is nothing wrong with GST. The government needs taxes to run the country. But the question is, is Malaysia ready for GST?


To debate on this question, we first need to understand what GST really is.


GST is nothing and should not be anything but an ALTERNATIVE TAX COLLECTION METHOD. Right now we have taxes in the forms of corporate tax, personal tax, withholding tax, real property gains tax, service tax etc. Taxpayers go all out to reduce their taxpayers (naturally) via loopholes in the system or through out right illegal means. This is where GST comes in. It ensures a more efficient collection of taxes by the government by having value adding points collect taxes from their customers on behalf of the government. GST should not be a new source of tax revenue for the government that adds on to its coffer.


With GST, the person who sold you the goods or services is now tasked to collect your taxes on behalf of the government and then remit it. The underlying objective is that the collection will be more efficient when the collection ‘agency’ is now no longer paying from his own pockets (there is no heart ache involved). He is merely collecting from his customers; if he fails to collect then he gets penalized – so obviously there is not going to be much incentive for the seller/provider to not want to collect the taxes for the government. If you understand this, then you will see that this is actually a good system. How efficient is the government in utilizing this money is another subject – we are talking about the theoretical effectiveness here.


I mentioned that GST is an alternative tax collection method. It should NOT be an additional tax. But this does not seem to be the case with Malaysia.


With GST, if I were a taxpayer paying RM5,000 per annum, an efficient GST system should not cause me to pay significantly more or significantly less taxes than I previously did. If I were a non-taxpayer, GST should not cause me to have to pay any new taxes. In an efficient market with GST, the only way the government should be able to add to her tax revenue is via the closing of tax loopholes.


Now, how many percent of Malaysians are taxpayers? I do not have the figures but the figures being bandied about is about 15% to 20% of Malaysians only. That means 80% to 85% of Malaysian are not taxpayers. But with the introduction of GST, all Malaysians will be taxpayers. Every time you buy a can of Coca-Cola, you get taxed. Every time you buy an ikan kembung, you get taxed. Every time you buy a karipap, you get taxed. So what we have now are non-tax payers paying taxes at inflated selling prices. Prices are inflated as everyone in the supply chain of production and distribution have to pay taxes to the guy below him in the supply chain. So, you have taxes added on and on and on. And you finally pay the makcik additional 4% tax on her new inflated price.


GST will work if and only if the country is one that is of high per capita income. Quite simply, a developed country. That is because when the average income per head is high, chances are most of its people are already taxpayers. And by implementing GST, the personal income tax rates will be reduced to compensate for the alternative GST. Remember, GST is but an alternative form of collection – not a new form of tax.


If we were to implement this 4% GST, personal income tax must be brought down to below 20%. By this the higher income earners will not have their positions changed. The brackets for the lower income taxpayers must also be enlarged so as to enable more taxpayers to fall into the lower tax brackets. This is not a suggestion – but is a must. Look at countries like Hong Kong and Singapore where GST have been implemented. Their highest income tax bracket is at mid-10%.


But even with the reduction of tax rates and changes in tax brackets, we still do not solve the problem of non-taxpayers. How is the government going to exempt them from paying taxes now? You cannot have a GST exemption card being distributed to certain income group can you? The lower income group is not paying taxes because they are not earning enough. They are low income earners. The taxes are meant to subsidise them. The rich subsidises the poor, remember? Why is the government now trying to drive the lower income group to the edge by increasing prices and imposing taxes upon them. GST implemented this way will then be inefficient and is a departure from the very objectives of GST and the key pillars of the tax system.


What is the solution? Sadly, there is no solution. There is no solution because GST is simply not suitable for Malaysia now. We are not a country that is ready for GST. GST is only effective and efficient in an environment where the people are high income earners where most of the population are taxpayers. And we are not! There is just no 2 ways about it. Our government must go back to the drawing board and first understand the meaning of the word ‘tax’. (Ahem… actually we already know that Najib and goons think that tax means money in their personal bank accounts. Farkers!)


Do not take GST likely. Something as simple as 3 alphabets will turn the country upside down. When the under-privileged in the society forms the mass of the numbers, forcing them up the wall will only bring trouble. When the people could no longer afford to buy rice, petrol, clothes and all other necessities, all hell will break loose. We have seen enough examples in the recent past with Indonesia a decade ago being the best example. Are we willing to risk all this just so that the greedy ruling government is able to pocket more ringgits in their personal bank accounts?


Maybe we should we all join Tok Guru in his prayers regardless of if you a Muslim, Buddhist, Taoist, Hindu, Catholic, Protestant, or Sikh? After all, tax knows no religion.


.

| edit post

Pakatan, What's Your Cut In The PKFZ Bonds?

Posted by Simon Templar On Friday, November 27, 2009 0 comments

Hey Mr. Prime Minister, what on earth are you doing guaranteeing the RM4,600,000,000 PKFZ bonds? You think its your father's money is it? Hello! That's our money you are talking about.

Who are you to be deciding what to do with our money based on your whims? As far as we rakyat know, the PKFZ saga is hardly near the end. How is it that you can already make decisions on key matters of that con job?

Has there been new developments with the PKFZ bond which I have missed? Last I read, Chan Kong Choy said that the letters issued were NOT letters of guarantee. So isn't what Najib doing now contradicting the claims of the man who issued the 'letter of support'?

Aduhai! Which is correct now? Letter of Support or Letter of Guarantee or Letter of Undertaking? What is what BN? What is what now? Is Najib saying that Chan Kong Choy and OC Phang committed CBT and he is now 'forced' to accept their misdeeds? Then charge them in court on Monday.

And where is Pakatan on this matter of Najib guaranteeing the godzillionbillionmillion ringgit?

What has Pakatan been doing about this? Making some noise in Dewan Rakyat - like they always do. Dei... Lim Kit Siang has been doing that for years. Effective ka? No. It is not. Those crooks sitting opposite you don't give a damn. You've got to be doing much more than that. BN will not submit to you. If they have to be forced into relooking their actions, then force them into it.

Pakatan, who put you guys in Parliament? We the rakyat. What does that mean? It means we rakyat have the power. So, use us!

Do you Pakatan political novices read international papers? Or watch international news? Do you not realise that people protests take place very often else where. That is democracy. Do the same. Make a big fuss out of the ruling government's mismanagement. Every time.

Protests! Protests! Protests! Stage it right outside the Parliament House. Stage it right outside Najib's residence. Swarm his car. Chant outside his house at 2 am. Get creative. Get CNN. Get Al-Jazeera. Get BBC.

The bigger the fuss, the bigger the coverage. The bigger the coverage, the larger the pressure on BN. BN is in desperate need to win back votes. They have to appease the public. Pressure them into halting/reversing the decision. If you think that it may not be easy to gather the general public, then what use are your party members? You guys need to know how to play games.

BN will of course make it difficult for the protests to take place. All the better. Suppression of the people's voices. The international media loves it. Wider coverage.

It's ok to inconvenience us with traffic jams. I can tell you that the rakyat would rather get stuck in jams then having the government squandering our money. After all the protest is done to protect the people's money!

PR, you really really need to know how to play games. Politics is dirty. Politics is cunning. You think Obama won the elections because he smiles a lot? Tactics guys, tactics. Strategies. Strategies are not about winning elections only. And definitely not about keeping Anwar out of jail only.

You have got to know how to play your role as the opposition. It is much more than standing up in the Dewan shouting your lungs away or staging walkouts. It is much more about how to win the next elections. Tell the people that you fellows truly have the interests of the rakyat at heart. And not all talk and talk and talk.

Walk the talk Pakatan. And I meant literally walking.

.
| edit post

Childish MACC, Childish PDRM

Posted by Simon Templar On Thursday, November 26, 2009 0 comments

Childish!

That's the best description of the reactions of MACC and PDRM to the court judgement to disallow them from forcing witnesses to answer to them past office hours.

By the way, I think the judge did a good job in delivering that judgment. It shows good use of common sense. Mind you, that is an element that is constantly missing in this country; even though half the term is meant to mean... common.

You just cannot believe the response we are getting from these 2 rubbish of the nation. I could not stop shaking my head in disbelief reading the news of their reactions. MACC to close their offices at 5.30pm sharp. Police threaten to stop taking reports after 5.30 pm. What is wrong with you people?

You get this anger suppressed within yourself. No. It is not anger. It is more of helplessness. The country is at such an embarrassing state being run by tantrum-throwing-children. And we are the ones paying their wages? It just doesn't make sense. How is it that we pay these rubbish to work for us. Are there no better people? And we aren't exactly paying peanuts.

Why? Why? Why?

Why do we have to have this kind of people leading important agencies? Why can't we have decent people working for us?

Has the Head of MACC and the IGP got no shame? Have they got no family names to protect? How do they go home and face their wives and children? How do they answer to their parents?

Buat malu bangsa! These 2 morons are definitely doing the Malays no good. Is it not bad enough that the Malay race is already being labelled stupid and lazy by the others? There are certain things in life that do not require justification and this happens to be one of them. If I were a Malay, I'll be ashamed. (Well I heard the Chinese are really ashamed with the shenanigans of the Ongs, Chuas and Liows).

But come on. Do their reactions really look like one taken by intelligent people? The straight answer is no. It is apparent what the the court is saying - do not FORCE the public into giving statements into the wee hours of the day. That's called torturing. Be professional. Keep interrogation to office hours. But if the witness offers himself, then that's something else. Take that as a bonus.

We know that the MACC understands this. We know that the PDRM understands this. But they instead choose to throw tantrum because they are no longer allowed to do as they wish. I hope they know that they are doing themselves a major disservice. Forget about whatever public relations works they have been up to. They have shot themselves on their feet again. Either they are really stupid or they really love the public to see them as being stupid. And childish. And immature. And there are actually people out there thinking that Najib's administration is doing the people good.

Shameful. Just plain shameful.

This is Malaysia. Never capable of executing anything good. We are the country of shame. I am truly ashamed of all these nonsense going on in the country. All because we have incapable clowns running the country. Maybe the only way for me to console myself is to accept a religion and accept the doctrine that they will be dealt with in the afterlife. But that would be the wrong reason to get religious.

Somebody help us, Malaysians. We are desperately in need of decent humans to lead the country. The bad news is Pakatan Rakyat isn't any better.

Malaysians, we are so screwed.

.
| edit post

The De-Facto Menteri Besar of Selangor

Posted by Simon Templar On Wednesday, November 18, 2009 0 comments

Anwar Ibrahim has made his first major decision in 2009 (even though there are only 2 more months to go, never mind la). We know the economic advisory position is made up. He is basically leading Selangor now la. De-facto opposition leader cum de-facto leader of PKR cum de-facto Menteri Besar of Selangor.

What is your plan for Selangor now, Anwar?

It's about time we Selangorian hear something constructive from the MB's office.

How are you going to resolve the beer sale issue? Can we put an end to that. Restore open selling status please. The 'majority' Muslims cannot lord over the 'minority' non-Muslims. We live in harmony, remember? And can we get the pork sellers back into Shah Alam please. And the Magnums and Totos and what not. Point is: restore your multi-racial image and be done away with the radical Islam mask. Even Tok Guru cannot tolerate such rubbish carried out in the name of Islam. You have a lot to do to win back the voters - of which many have deserted PR if you don't already know by now.

And the water issue. You guys can't exactly go on and on and on about the never ending water issue. There must be something in the law that can be evoked to stop the likes of Puncak Niaga being the cocky bastards that they are. (My apologies for my French but I cannot find other ways to describe them). Has anyone read my earlier article on this? I Want Clean Water posted on 26 October 2009.

But what I really like to see is the end of UMNO running Selangor while PR is the government of the state. RPK is darn right pointing this out. Ask anyone in Selangor. Everyone knows about this. Maybe that's why Anwar took so long to come to Selangor - he is not a Selangorian and hence does not know. Hehehe...

The begging question is what has Khalid been doing with these UMNO goons running about his offices? He wants to be Mr. Popular with government officers is it?

You need not fire the entire office. The lower level personnel aren't the problem - they are lazy by nature and we can live with that. (Actually, I can't. I cannot stand them). And they are the bulk of the headcount. So you have no need to worry about massive unemployment. It is the Little Napoleons whom should have been dealt with. Sack them. Don't want to get into trouble with Labour Law? Fridge them, no?

If I were Anwar, I'll walk into each and every municipal council, gather all heads in a room, and tell them to start counting their days in office. I always believe that the rakyat are not pleased with the government because they are actually most unhappy with the municipal council officers. The decisions of the central government affect you at a macro level but the actions of the municipal council officers affect your daily lives. If Anwar can tackle the municipal councils right, PR will remain government come the next election. It is as simple as that. Politics sometimes really ain't that difficult. Go on, cull them, Anwar, cull them. Bring in new blood. We don't expect the local government service to turn efficient overnight but at least we know that you want to make a difference from what the BN government has to offer. Buat masa sekarang, tiada perbezaan.

And please start a hunt on previous government's misdeeds. I know that the PR government promised no hunting when they first took over. I can never ever understand why. Such a hunt is a must. Why not? So that when BN takes back they won't hunt you back? Is that it, Anwar?

If you are keen on a reformed Malaysia, a strong message must be sent. Previous administration's corruption will be tracked when a new government takes over. By that, the present government officer will have to think a 100 times before he even dare to take a thousand bucks. Let alone the millions and billions being leaked out now. This is what a 2 party system is all about. Counter-checking to minimise corruption and leakages.

But my bet is Anwar will not do this. He has his own baggage from his UMNO days. There is this pact among thieves; you sell me out, I'll sell you too. Anwar was in a position to know a whole lot of things being a DPM. If he truly wants to nail UMNO, he has the info. But he cannot do it else it will backfire upon him. But that is politics. So we the sorry rakyat just have to bite it.

Let's sidetrack from Selangor to the next GE. If PR truly wants to win the next GE, misdeed hunting must be a key policy. The rakyat is fed up with corruption. If Anwar and gang can make this pledge, then a significant portion of the voters have been won over. If Anwar dare to stir the hornet's nest and openly declare that he will change the IGP with so and so, the Chief Justice with so and so, and Head of MACC with so and so, half the battle would have already been won. Let us know who you have in line and we will know if you are serious. With 3 new heads come 3 new reborn arms of Malaysia. And it is then that we will believe that a new Malaysia will rise.

So, what are you gonna do Saudara Anwar? We will be watching you closely. We Selangorians are not easy to please. And oh, one more thing. Please don't go into hiding again.

.
| edit post

Of Najib, Obama and Protectionism

Posted by Simon Templar On Friday, November 13, 2009 1 comments

Bloomberg on 13 November 2009 reported in their article 'Obama Must Be Like Bush in Free-Trade Commitment, Malaysia Says' that:

"Najib Razak urged President Barack Obama to show the same commitment to free trade that his predecessor, George W. Bush, expressed at a meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders last year... "


"APEC in Singapore is a wonderful opportunity for us to make a very strong political statement that we will resist protectionism,” Najib said.


What a whole load of cow dung! Look who's talking here.

Who is Najib to talk about free trade? Who is Najib to talk about open market? Malaysia under the dictatorship of Barisan Nasional is possibly one of the most protected economy in the world. And mind you, protection not to the interests of the ordinary farmers or fishermen or white collared salaried workers but that of the interests of BN politicians and their beneficiary cronies.

(There is nothing wrong if Obama wants to protect the economy of his country, but what I cannot swallow is a robber telling another robber not to rob.)

Proton is an example of a protectionism nightmare. Ridiculously high import and excise duties placed Proton in such a cosy seat to the extend that all that comes out from its factories are jokes that literally kill on the roads. Protectionism kills competition. Without competition there is no pressure for creativity or drive to improve. What more, non-Proton car prices from the little Viva to the high end Maseratis are inflated sky high to the extent that the entire economy is bubbled up.

There is no such a thing as a stand alone component item in the economy. Every item within the economy is inter-related. Higher costs of vehicles lead to higher costs of transportation which in turn affects delivery of raw materials, then sub-components and then final consumer products. Can you imagine if our local car industry is not protected. With car prices falling by 60%, what do you think will happen to the prices of all other goods in Malaysia?

(There are of course concerns with a plunge in car prices and its immediate repercussions on the corresponding loans with banks being forfeited etc. but that is another topic for another day).


I am an advocate for free trade. But that does not mean that I support no protection. There could be areas where protection is required. But the overall benefit to the population has to out-weight the benefits reaped by the few who enjoy the protection they are accorded.

We know that this is not the case in Malaysia. No doubt the restriction on import of rice helps to protect the local paddy farmers. But are the paddy farmers the real beneficiaries? No. Our farmers are still one of the poorest in the country. The profits have landed in the hands of government related conglomerates such as Bernas. And such protectionism also leads to little innovation. Our local rice is of such poor quality that it is deemed 'a poor man's' diet. Those who can afford it are dining on the expensive Thai fragrant rice. In this case, how has a protectionism policy actually helped the general Malaysians? Ever wondered why we cannot produce high grade rice like those of the Japanese?

It is always good to look at the actions of those who have done well for themselves. And in Malaysia, the ultra-rich Robert Kuok is a very good example. If you asked me, I'll say that Robert Kuok have had enough of the Malaysian government and its rubbish. He is a businessman (and a darn good one at it) and has no interest in the political games of Malaysia. Did you know that he is no longer the Malaysian Sugar King? He has already disposed off his investments. And he is definitely getting his other businesses out of Malaysia - you may recall the transactions with his Singapore based Wilmar. His core businesses are now based in China and Hong Kong. So, the richest man in Malaysia no longer stays in Malaysia and the bulk of his businesses are also not based in Malaysia. That must really say something.

Look at another Malaysian success story, Genting. The Genting Group knows that the future of their gambling business lies in the hands of the Malaysian government. Who would like no control over the future of their business? Naturally, they've smart it up. They have now expanded their gambling business to UK and Singapore (to be completed in Jan 2010). They are also venturing into Macau. What is your prediction for Genting Highlands? The Malaysian government can shaft it up their arses for all they care. Genting will die a natural death and the loser is the Malaysian government who will lose out on lucrative tax revenue.

Another form of protection which is not seen by the ordinary rakyat is that of our foreign exchange. Do you think that the ringgit is rightly value at RM3.35 to US$1.00? Nobody seems to think so except for Bank Negara. Why can't we float our ringgit again? Enough bullshit about speculators playing with the ringgit. The Malaysian government is one of the largest forex player in the world pre 1997 meltdown. Don't blame others for your own mistakes and greed. Float the ringgit and I am blardie sure that we will easily be in the range of RM2.50 and Rm2.80. And I read somewhere that based on burgernomics (that's forex and economy based upon spending power on McDonald's products), the real value of the ringgit could even be below RM2.oo (I think that that is s a bit pushing it la).

No doubt that keeping the ringgit high is beneficial for the exporters. But remember, it makes imports very expensive. And we are a country that relies heavily on imports because our economy is so protected that many things produced are sub-standard. So who suffers with a high exchange rate? The rakyat again. That's you and me. Why can't we float the damn ringgit and force our manufacturers to learn to produce quality goods at low prices? Why should we rakyat have to suffer so that our manufacturers can make a profit and make the government looks good with healthy exports? Why must we rakyats pay for everything? Why must the rakyat be sacrificed so that the manufacturers get to buy their S Class and 7 Series.

There are many more protectionism imposed in this country. It will take an entire thesis for me to write about all of them - if that is even possible at all. The point is protectionism is good only if it is not abused. But we know that our government is incapable of not abusing anything.

I say the best thing Obama can do is to tell Najib to shut up and mind his own business. I hope that the US got really offended by Najib's remarks and retaliates. It will be good to see them forcing Malaysia to adopt a full FTA. Failing which they may impose an economic sanction on Malaysia. Let me tell you this; in the short run an economic sanction will hurt Malaysia. But in the long run, every single rakyat Malaysia will benefit from an open trade because right now be are just being suckered by the Barisan Nasional government. Malaysia must be forced into an economic reform or she never will.

We have already missed a boat for an economic reform when Mahathir rejected IMF's reform in 1998. That would have opened up the economy and removed all the political nonsense. Look at South Korea who took up the offer. Take a hard look at South Korea today. Where are they now? And where are we? And why did Mahathir reject the IMF? Because they would have killed off UMNO's power in the country and the wealth of its politicians and cronies. Everything else mentioned about us being colonised by the west via IMF is bullshit. South Korea is still South Korea and not the United States of Korea. Indonesia in not known as United Indonesia. Talking about Indonesia, guess who got kicked out from his lofty seat when IMF went there.

Ordinary Malaysian do not pay just the expensive cars; we pay for much more for everything we incur every day because of protectionism. Economics affect our daily lives much to the ignorance of the uninformed laymen. And the BN government will continue to manipulate economics for its benefits because the bulk of the rakyat do not understand the technicalities of economics.

.................... .................... .................... .................... ....................


For the benefits of those who are not well versed with economic terminologies, here is what Wikipedia has to say about 'protectionism':

Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states, through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other restrictive government regulations designed to discourage imports, and prevent foreign take-over of local markets and companies. This policy is closely aligned with anti-globalization, and contrasts with free-trade, where government barriers to trade are kept to a minimum.


.
| edit post

A Structure for PR

Posted by Simon Templar On Tuesday, November 03, 2009 0 comments

So much is being said out there about the goods, the bads and the rubbish of Pakatan Rakyat. And Anwar Ibrahim. I don't think I'll need to give a recap on these; as it is I myself am quite mual already.

Where has Anwar been? I bet you that a whole lot of people out there are suspecting that he has sold out the rakyat with UMNO holding him by the balls because of his Sodomy II charges. Can you really blame those who think so. After all, where is Anwar? Since 8 March 2008, he has been talking cock, lost a state, bumbled in Sabah and Sarawak, got himself and PKR (along with PR) into a whole lot of mess and nothing much positive for the rakyat.

Is he really that busy with his case? Or is he so guilty that he has to please UMNO by destructing Pakatan Rakyat?

Whatever it is, it is time for Pakatan Rakyat to get organised. I can't stand disorganisation. There has to be a proper structure for anything and everything to work.

I like things done the corporate way. Take a leaf from Thaksin. He has his issues but you cannot deny that he is one of the best thing that ever happened to Thailand. He ran the country the way he ran his businesses - brilliant!

As such, I believe that PR should be run in the same manner. There should always be a clear leader and I've mentioned this before. But maybe this person should not be Anwar. Yes, remove Anwar as the 'Managing Director' of Pakatan Rakyat. This is my proposed structure:



















MANAGING DIRECTOR

The MD should be a person who is NOT a member of any of the 3 of DAP, PAS and PKR. By doing this, the MD will be impartial when it comes to decision making. All decisions affecting PR must be approved and endorsed by the Board (MD + 3 directors). A simple majority suffices. Collective decision is the way to go.

The MD should also be well remunerated from a pooled fund (will come to this later). RM100,000 per month comes to mind. It is a decent amount to live a comfortable life. This amount must be such so as to prevent any 'paid favouritism' - you know what I mean. RM1.2 million per annum may not be a large sum considering what the corrupted government officials can make, but it sure puts off some risk taking (of being caught) as this RM1.2 million is a risk free high paying income. (Singapore is adopting this strategy and I think it is very smart of them).

Who are the candidates? I would like to think that Tengku Razaleigh fits the bill. But that's doubtful. What about Raja Petra? He seems like a good candidate. And potentially Zaid Ibrahim - if and only if he leaves PKR.

And who decides who gets the MD job? That's a tough one. Maybe the 3 parties get to choose by way of vote. Or maybe all registered members of the 3 parties get to vote.


OTHER DIRECTORS

Each component party is given 1 board seat. Regardless of party size or number of state seats or parliament seats held. Why? Because you campaign as PR during the elections and you won the seat because of PR and not because you are DAP, PAS or PKR.

The board member cannot be the leader of the individual party. If you are the head of your party then your job is busy enough. Look at what we have now with Anwar. He is so busy with his case, with 'leading' PR etc. that he has no time for PKR. Anwar should stay focus and look after his upside-down PKR before he attempts to tell DAP and PAS what to do. Isn't that right?

So, 1 seat allocated to each party, and the party representative should be a person with certain level of power within his own party. Say, someone like Karpal Singh of DAP, Wan Azizah of PKR, and Tok Guru of PAS.


Should PR get to form government, should the MD be made PM? Maybe. Maybe not. The candidate could be one of the directors, or he/she could be one of the party heads. But the PM must be decided by PR as part of its election campaign. Voters must know who is the candidate running to lead the country. Let us know beforehand who you have in mind. This must be decided by the MD and the 3 directors so as to prevent unexpected 'problems' on 'unexpected' wins - like GE12. And see, its collective agreement.


DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE

An independent disciplinary committee should be set up to monitor the activities and misbehaviour of all members within PR. Yes, the net is cast wide. This DC is something like the internal audit department. Not very well liked but keeps everyone on their toes. And the members of this DC should not be members of any of the component parties.

The DC has no power to prosecute. And reports directly to the MD. Not the Board because the Board has the 3 party reps. The MD will then decide on if actions should be 'forced' upon the directors to 'clean their house'. This will trap the likes of Hasan Ali and Zulkifli Nordin.

Members of the DC are paid by a pooled fund.


SUPPORTING DEPARTMENTS

Some of the supporting departments that can be created are:

1. Accounts - Ensure that all centralised funds are well managed. The accounts must be audited and made available to the public.

2. Branding and Image - PR is suffering badly from this department because PR is still darn old school. Wake up. This is 2009. Everything is about perception - politics especially. I actually think that Najib is very smart in hiring the professionals for his own branding and image. I still don't like him though. But you cannot deny that this team is doing a good job in making him look good. People actually get convinced by good publicity. The Americans are just darn good at this. And we know Obama spent a fortune on publicity to win his Presidency seat.

3. Strategy & Planning - Enough of listening to Anwar. He is good but he is not Mr. Know All. PR needs a team to cater for PR. Component parties can have their own team but that is for their own purposes. PR as a unit must have its own strategies and plans. Time to rope in the professionals. Time for change. The thing with DAP and PAS is they are still old school. Tweeting doesn't mean that you have moved forward. Having a political blog doesn't make you a changed politician. The mindset must change. How things are done must change. The thought process must change. Did I mention that PKR has to move on from its UMNO style of doing things?


Now how are we going to finance this centralised management team?


POOLED FUND

Each component party must dedicate an amount to the PR central management team for running expenses. What is a good gauge? That depends. We could go based on say RM1 or RM2 per party membership headcount. There may be an issue of party x complaining of paying more due to their broader membership base etc. But PR will just have to learn to live as ONE. Else, what's the difference between PR and BN?

Remember, PR knows no religion or race. So, nothing should be apportioned based on such criterias like what BN is adopting. Leave the BN mentality please.

Fundraising can also be carried under the PR banner. All 3 component parties are allowed to keep all fund raised for own use when raising fund under own banner. But when the banner of PR is used, say 50% of all fund raised must be contributed to the central committee.


So, there you have a very simplified structure for brainstorming. Of course there is room for improvement. This is something I thought off while taking a shower! But it is a start.

.
| edit post

I Want Clean Water

Posted by Simon Templar On Monday, October 26, 2009 2 comments

I've been waiting for reactions. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Nothing happened.

So, it is confirmed that nobody gives a damn about us Malaysians.

I am talking about The Star's report on 21 October 2009 titled 'Operators Fail To Follow Clean-Up Schedule'. Many people I spoke to had no idea what that article was all about. Many missed it because it was carried in the Metro section. But, this is a shocking revelation.

Dear People of Selangor, SYABAS did not wash our reservoirs a single time last year! And a particular treatment plant in Sungai Sireh has not been washed for 10 years. Click here to read more.

And SYABAS had this to say on another report on 23 October 2009, '40 Of 307 Reservoirs Cleaned':

"SYARIKAT Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd. (Syabas) said it had cleaned 40 of the 307 reservoirs in the cleaning programme in 2008 while the rest were rescheduled as the water quality in the reservoirs complied with minimum standards after scheduled inspections."

"He said based on the inspection carried out by the company, only 40 reservoirs needed to be cleaned urgently due to the poor water quality."

"With regard to the other reservoirs, the Government decided to put the programme on hold because in early 2008, the decisions was made to restructure the water sector in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, which led to the freeze of all Capex (capital expenditure) works."

Click here to read more.

Seriously, why do we have to live with this kind of nonsense? SYABAS is contracted to supply us with continuous supply of clean water.

And what? You only clean the reservoir when it is in bad shape? Hello... this is water! A key component of human life. And our health. What on earth are you talking about? Do you take a shower only when you are covered in mud? You have a cleaning program and you stick to it. That is the agreement. We do not want compliance with minimum standards. We want the best quality water money can buy. And that's why we pay you for water usage. And government delays the programme because there is a restructuring exercise? What bullshit is this? And what has capital expenditure got to do with cleaning the reservoirs? Capex is a balance sheet item. Cleaning is an income statement item. You don't have money to buy cleaning equipment? But you've signed up the water supply agreement aeons ago. Are you saying you had never been cleaning the reservoirs from day 1?

How many of us have had to deal with brown water from our tap over and over again? How many of us have had to deal with smelly water from our tap over and over again? How many of us have had to spend money to purchase water filters? Mind you, a good water filter costs a few thousand ringgit. And there's your maintenance costs as well. And we do not even know of the long term impact such filters of sand and charcoal may cause to our health in the long term.

For crying out loud, clean water is a 'given' item. It is one of the most basic of basic human rights. Look at the developed countries. They literally drink right from their tap. Where are we?

What has the Selangor government been doing? What happened to monitoring? The previous state BN government was only interested in taking from us. The present PR government is 'still new', 'inexperienced' and is nothing but a whole load incompetent squabbling fools.

Fellow Malaysians, nobody gives a damn about us. We are like orphans. We are on our own. And I say it is time we all stand up and be counted. They are our servants, not the other way around.

I am toying with this idea. Remember Erin Brockovich? Yes, class suit. Can the rakyat of Selangor who are (obviously) directly affected sue the daylight out of SYABAS? If this can be done, forget about the Selangor government having to buy them out. There will be nothing left by then.

Is there any good lawyer out there who wants to take this up? Can we agree to a success fee of say 10% of compensation? And talking about compensation, I am talking about every ringgit of water charges paid by every water user in Selangor for the past, say, 5 years. Plus, damages and compensation. SYABAS has failed in their duty of care and from the angle I see it, they have breached their contractual agreement to provide continuous supply of clean usable water.

Here is a suggested game plan:

1. Get a lawyer who has the balls to fight against the big boys. Some one who can stand up and live with the potential backlash from those in power.

2. Get a team of professional managers to oversee this project.

3. Start a fund-raising exercise. People of Selangor, this is your fight. And the people of Selangor are the richest in this country (no offense to the others). And in particular the Klang Valley-ites. I am confident we can raise a good few million bucks to keep things rolling. Heck, why not appoint professional fund managers to raise this money. We Selangorians can definitely afford this. The fund raisers get paid on success fee basis. I think a 10% cut is fair. And we will ensure that a Big 4 accounting firm audits the fund. I know for sure that they do many 'community service' audit for free (or a token sum).

4. With this mobilisation fund, engage subject matter experts to study the water system and quality. Don't worry, this will not be a futile exercise. Chances of them returning with nothing to report is as likely as the sun rising from the west.

5. With evidence and studies in hand, it's game on.

6. Our public relations chaps have work to do again. Spread the issue to every corner of the world. Make sure it causes a big hoohah. Make sure it rocks the country. Make sure it reaches the United Nations. With global scrutiny, the issue cannot be buried.

7. We can even hire the Queen's Counsel to advise us. Malaysian law is written based upon the English. And many laws have been in existence pre-1957. Can we have the case heard in some international court? I don't trust our judicial system.

8. Who are the plaintiffs? The rakyat of Selangor. Everyone with a water bill. The lawyers will be given a mobilisation fee from the fund raised to start a signature drive. Sign up and you stand to share the compensation pool (net of expenses).

This is an exercise much practised in developed nations. Why not here? Why are we so fearful to defend ourselves? Why must we continue to live on crumbs thrown out by the government. No, don't wait for Pakatan Rakyat. They are politicians as well at the end of the day. Why can't we start to stand up for ourselves?

I really hope something to this effect can be taken. I am fed up with having to live like a beggar in this country. Why should I compare myself to the Ethiopians or Somalians? Why can't I compare myself to the Swedes or Germans? I deserve more. You deserve more. We the orphans of Malaysia deserve more than this.

There are so much more that we can do. We can take Proton down for selling us suicide mobiles. We can take on PLUS for building killer highways with inferior raw materials. The list goes on. GLCs must be smacked hard right down where it hurts them most, or they will never wake up. It's not easy being a government. Being the CEO of a GLC is much more than pocketing large paychecks. You affect the lives of everyone in this country. We must deliver a strong message to these very people who are making our lives a misery. And they will have to learn it the hard way.

.
| edit post

Banks Stealing Our Hard Earned Money

Posted by Simon Templar On Friday, October 16, 2009 3 comments

Who has tried to get an overdraft facility from a local bank only to be told to place a fixed deposit of similar amount with the bank?

How often have we heard of stories of small time entrepreneurs who needed bank loans to help their businesses only to be turned away because they do not have strong collaterals?

Has anyone who has a business idea but no capital tried approaching our local banks for a start-up loan only to be turned away for having no past track record?

The above are common knowledge among laymen Malaysians. Not to our political leaders though because they are never interested in our welfare and neither are they in touch with reality on the ground. And do not be fooled into believing that only non-bumiputras are faced with the above problems. The available government schemes are not that easily disbursed even to the bumiputra entrepreneurs. Not connected kot...

Malaysian banks are rubbish. From the ridiculously stupid requirement of requiring an introducer to open an account (what the hell for, seriously) to their level of service to the very objective of running a bank.

What are the main objectives of a bank? I will say to accept deposits, and to lend those deposits out for a gain via charging interests.

Are our banks meeting these objectives? Very partially. Accepting deposits - yes. Disbursing loans - no. But yet they are making vulgar profits. Huh?

Our local banks are no longer interested in making money from interests on loan. That's too risky as the loans may go bad. Over a business lunch recently, I took the opportunity to whack a couple of bankers that their bank should cease their operations and look for a new business if they are no longer interested in giving out business loans. (No I was not asking them for a loan). They are simply being overly cautious with their credit assessment. And those 2 idiot bankers had the cheek to ask me how I would feel if I am the one being asked to lend money out. For heaven's sake, I am not in the business of lending money - you are, jackass!

The truth is our banks have no clue what credit assessment is all about. Credit assessment is a difficult task as it requires the assessor to be somewhat of a Nostradamus. But poor skills and lack of capabilities have resulted in lazy approaches to be adopted based on 'policies' created by 'upper management'. It would seem that anybody can do credit application assessment nowadays. Forms have been created. If you meet enough ticks, you get your loan. The bad news is there are no 2 businesses that are the same. 1 simple form is not going to be able to cater for a 'living' entity like a business. How good are these jokers sitting behind the computers in interpreting the profit and cash flow forecasts and projections presented by businesses to the banks? How sound is their understanding of the hundreds of industries out there? Too much effort involved, too much skills required.

Fortunately for our banks, and unfortunately for us, they found a new source of income - service charges. Malaysians are complaining that banks are charging for everything but Bank Negara will not give a damn. After all, they want to keep the banks afloat.

Malaysians are charged like no tomorrow just to use their own money. Your bank charges start the moment you open a savings or current account - admin fee, search fee. Then you get charged an annual fee. Further fees will be charged if you don't maintain a minimum amount. Why? It's my money, why can't I spend it? Farking hell, you even get charged if your account is dormant. If you withdraw money from an ATM of another bank, you get charged RM1. And RM1.50 for internet banking fund transfer. Hello! Didn't I just save you some human effort for going techie? Why RM1.50 per transaction? And a hell lot of other transactions downright to the moment you close your god damn account. Click on any bank's website and look at their long list of service charges.

I really cannot begin to estimate how much our banks make every year from stealing this money from us. Yes, stealing. It is blardie legalised daylight robbery. But what I am sure is that this service charging is a multi-billion ringgit industry. Mind you, corporate accounts get charged much more than individuals. Multi-billion bucks of free income.

The Star reported on 16 October 2009 in the article titled "Public Bank Posts Higher Q3 Net Profit" that:

1. For the 9 months ended 30 September 2009, Public Bank made a net profit of RM1.84 billion
2. Other operating income increased by 10% to RM1.03 billion

What does the above tell you? More than 50% of Public Bank's profit came from non-core business. If that is the case, shouldn't the non-core business of the bank now be called it's core business? After all, Public Bank is no longer earning the bulk of its income from its lending activities.

And I am curious as to how much of this RM1.05 billion is earned from charging service charges.

Something is just not right with the way Malaysian banks are running their business. Consumers cannot be ripped off per the banks' wishes.

Banks have a social responsibility too. That is to move money around the economy. Giving out loans is one important aspect. I understand that giving out loans is risky business. The country's loan system was so poor pre the Asian Financial Crisis that the banks were hard hit. And oh don't we all know of the current Credit Crisis. But understand that these are the results of greedy and unscrupulous banking decisions. In both crises, money was given out like a running tap. There was pretty little credit assessment. And now we have the opposite.

There has to be prudent and sensible credit assessment and not form ticking like what we have now. Seriously, if banks are not willing to put in the effort to earn interest income and yet be able to balance the risks of lending, don't run a bank.

Money has to be earned. If it has to be earned the hard way, then so be it. Our banks are living on free for taking money via imposing never ending service charges. Go back to your core objectives of money lending. If the risks are too much to stomach, then I suggest that the banks look into other lines of businesses. There will be some others who are willing to earn money the hard way.

.
| edit post

Why don't you just shoot yourselves PR

Posted by Da Maniac On Friday, October 16, 2009 0 comments

These people just don't get it do they? For a while we harboured hope that PR would be a viable alternative to the current ever-corrupt UMNO/BN government. But that hope has been dashed by the incessant discord amongst PKR, PAS, and DAP and also within their own parties. The people have had enough of UMNO/BN, and now they have had enough of PR. Why don't you all just shoot yourselves PR! You have proven to be no different from UMNO/BN. Do you really have the rakyat in mind or do you just want to be in power for your own selfish reasons?


Stop the frakking bickering and get your frakking act together for Pete's sake! At the rate you guys are going, I doubt that you can pull it off in the next GE like what you did last GE.
I hope Bagan Pinang was a lesson learnt for you lads and you deserved it. At the rate things are going with you guys... might as well go shoot your frakking sorry selves la.


| edit post

Spinning The Gasing

Posted by Simon Templar On Tuesday, October 13, 2009 0 comments

Everyone's talking about how our local medias spin stories, propagandas and what is and what not. How many of you actually understand what a spin is?

Malaysians are a gullible lot. Most buy into anything as long as it is presented in a way which they think carry weight. Which is why professional conmen love Malaysia.

Malaysians are major suckers - skim cepat kaya, MLMs, pyramid schemes, bomoh tipu duit, feng shui master scams etc. are aplenty in Malaysia. (Embarrassingly I form the statistics too). We are so easy that we must be internationally known because even Africans from the most remote part of Africa are making big bucks right here.

Our local medias know us Malaysians best. They put up whatever serves the purposes of their political masters and chances are some Malaysians will fall for it. I have had enough of Utusan - so let us not even give them any form of coverage here. Let us look at Malaysia's best selling newspaper - The Star.

This is what I picked from The Star on their 9 October 2009 edition.












It reads:


PETALING JAYA: A Merdeka Centre poll found that MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat was the preferred choice to lead the party instead of suspended deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

Almost one third (32.2% ) of the 273 respondents from the Chinese community indicated that they preferred Ong over Dr Chua who polled 5.1%.

Among the 146 Chinese respondents who said they cared about the MCA problem, 60% of them said their choice was Ong while 9.6% wanted Dr Chua.

The Merdeka Centre polled a total of 846 respondents of all races, who were asked for their views about leaders who were corrupt and marred by scandals.

It found that 64% of them strongly disagreed that a leader tainted by sex scandal could lead a major political party while 76% strongly disagreed that a leader charged with money politics in party elections should be allowed to contest in a by-election or general election.

The poll also asked for their perception of the problems faced by the MCA to which 64% of all Chinese respondents felt that it was an internal affair of the party. Asked on their views on MCA’s reforms, 39% of the 846 respondents in peninsular Malaysia felt that its leaders should give priority to resolving the in-fighting.

Another 27% of the respondents wanted the party to focus on regaining the confidence of all Malaysians, while 10% of them wanted the party to win back the confidence of the Chinese community.

The poll also touched on Barisan Nasional reforms, the PKFZ controversy and perceptions of Pakatan Rakyat. The respondents also felt that MCA leaders should concentrate on resolving in-fighting in the party the most.

About 34% of the respondents felt that unless Umno carried out reforms extensively, changes in other component parties would mean little.

..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....


There we have it - a super spin! A spin may not be a lie but is it the ultimate truth?

Page 6 of the country's most read newspaper shouting and rallying for their political master, Ong Tee Keat, that he is the 'preferred' man to lead MCA.

But preferred by whom? One look and you would have thought that the Merdeka Centre has done their survey from all of Malaysia. Before you read any further, be known that I am not challenging the survey or method adopted by Merdeka Centre. The point I am trying to make is on the way The Star spins the survey results. After all, the country's No. 1 newspaper is reporting it.

Now if you read the article, you will find that only 846 people responded to the survey and only 32.2% of the 273 Chinese respondents agreed that OTK is the preferred choice.

We do not know how the 846 respondents responded to OTK being the preferred choice but logic tells me that it is not too good else The Star would have gone to town with it. So, their survey did not turn out to be as what they wanted it to be. What do you do? Look for corners that favor you of course.

The Star decided to show only the portion of the Chinese who responded. It some what achieved some favourable statistics. But what kind of a sample size is 273 respondents? I am pretty sure that it fails all sampling tests requirements. 273 respondents! The country has a population of about 27 million. And they say about 25% are Chinese. That works out to be 273 out of 6.75 million Chinese?

You call that a sampling? Is that good enough data to shout and propagate the way The Star did?

And there was the specific mention of 64% of respondents who didn't feel too much for a sex scandal tainted leader. To report this figure is alright. But what are the other questions posed in the survey? Why not list them all. Is this not called selective reporting?

I don't give a shit about OTK and CSL. And I am not writing about any one of them. My point here is the spin that The Star makes. The above news article is but an example of what The Star is capable of. And I think that this is a bloody good example of a spin.

Please la Wong Chun Wai. Have a bit of dignity and pride la. Some Malaysians may get fooled, but not all Malaysians are idiots. You have turned this newspaper into rubbish. Do you decide what goes on in this paper or is it a collective decision with Clement Hii?

Spinning is dangerous journalism. You cannot say that The Star has broken any law. Neither can you say that they have cheated on the survey. Everything they reported were quite likely to be true. But it is what they choose to report and the manner in which they choose to present them that is morally incorrect.

We Malaysians are a pitiful lot. What is real and what is not in this country? Which is fact, which is a spin and which are wayang kulits?

Come Christmas, I am going to ask Santa for a new laptop. I'll leave him some extra-large cookies from Mrs. Fields to please him. Damn. Better start working on a chimney at home. Not too narrow, I heard Santa is really fat.

.
| edit post

MCA - Tong Tong Cheng!

Posted by Simon Templar On Monday, October 12, 2009 206 comments

Now that the MCA EGM is done and dusted, it is clear who won; Ong Ka Ting and Chan Kong Choy. Even the aunties at the morning market will tell you that they are the 2 behind the '3rd force' who caused the 2 egoistic fools, who challenged each other in a do-or-die battle, to both lose.

I call them fools because they placed their egos above everything else. They have miscalculated their moves. They both thought too highly of themselves. One thought that being President and all he gets the upperhand and can call the shots and play the game from the inside. The other thought that he had nothing to lose and might as well go for broke.


In a game of high stake Baccarat, one placed all his chips on Banker while the other went all-in on Player. But the dealer won with a Tie. None of them are unlucky. The cards have simply been 'fixed'.

I am most pleased that MCA is now in shambles. And what this episode taught us is that Malaysian politicians have again shown that their personal interests are of much more importance than that of the party, party members and the interested general public.

I tell you these 2 jokers really played a bad hand. And they played straight into the hands of Ong Ka Ting and Chan Kong Choy at that. It doesn't take much effort to know why the 2 former MCA taikos would want to kill off Ong Tee Keat using Chua Soi Lek as the bait.

Answer: PKFZ, Ling Liong Sik and UMNO. I will not elaborate on why these 3 put in so much effort to prepare the stage because the answer cannot get any more obvious.


By the way, did you really think that Ong Tee Keat is on leave now to sort out his MCA presidency? He is on leave now to sort out Transport Ministry (and other ministries where he has influence)
contracts which he has promised and of which he is a beneficiary. That is why MCA's central committe is only meeting on Thursday. Why would anyone let the party be on auto cruise drift for 6 days? This is Malaysia. Personal interests must be taken care of. Cronies' interests must be taken care of. UMNO's contracts must be taken care of. It will be too late to handle these by the time OTK resigns as MCA President and hence his ministerial position. UMNO and MCA have been working round the clock since Saturday evening to sort out all contracts and have them signed off this few days.

So, what's left for MCA now? Najib, Ling Liong Sik, Ong Ka Ting and Chan Kong Choy need to put a puppet on the pedestal now. But is there still anybody left?

Liow Tiong Lai is leading the race as I had previously predicted. But this guy is so young. How is he going to control the warlords of MCA. (Yes, from this EGM episode, it has been exposed that UMNO is not the only party controlled by warlords). Mind you most of the Chinese who will or may support MCA are most likely to be the elderly. Can this young chap who has never proven anything be able to win the Chinese support back? He is not even doing a good job running his Health Ministry. He handled H1N1 so badly - starting off with lies to Malaysians that the country is safe from this flu. It was like as though Malaysia is on another planet. And we of course know that he got bombarded like a school boy on meetings with top shots of affected industries for his lack of knowledge.

Side track: If Liow Tiong Lai gets to be president, Khairy must be thinking that he can take over UMNO very soon too. I can see Khairy setting up meetings with Omar Mustapha and gang planning their next steps already. Najib, watch out. You are about to get cucuk-ed from the back.

Kong Cho Ha's name has been thrown in as well. Kong who? Not very sure. What does he do at the Housing and Local Government Ministry? Actually, what does that ministry do? Do they have an office even? This is a low profile fellow. Not much coverage of him in the country. Can lead meh? He won't get to make president la. But then again, with UMNO calling the shots, you'll never know.

Malaysian Insider just mentioned Fong Chan Onn??? Hahaha... This guy still around one ah? Where did this former Minister of Human Resources pop out from? Just retire la uncle... By the way, I think he looks like Hong Kong comedian Michael Hui. You think so?


Message











Back to Fong Chan Onn and politics. He had left the scene. If I were him, I'll continue to live at the sidelines. Come on la uncle, nobody hates you now. You've done no major harm to the Malaysian public in general. Lets keep it that way for your own good. Lest you be reincarnated an Indian in Malaysia in your next life. That's from my earlier article, Indians... The Malaysian Pariahs.

And one major name missing from the above is one Chua Jui Meng. No vision la this fellow. He is a politician; so don't come telling me that he left MCA because he saw the good of PKR. Had he not been too greedy, he will be the president come this Thursday. Hahaha... He must be kicking himself now.

It doesn't look like MCA has anyone. Ng Yen Yen is never going to make it in male chauvinistic MCA. Oh I forgot about Ong Ka Ting's elder brother. Never remember his name. Always the MCA President's brother. Hahaha... Ong Ka Chuan. Yes, that's his name. Maybe he got chance also although no longer popular within MCA. Apparently Ah Ting stil got power wor.

So matilah kau, MCA. UMNO is fed up with you and have decided to turn you inside out and upside down. UMNO will do a MIC on you. What will UMNO call the new MCA in BN? They have Makkal Sakthi Party to replace MIC. Fatt Choy Club, anyone?



| edit post

Indians... The Malaysian Pariahs

Posted by Simon Templar On Wednesday, October 07, 2009 10 comments

I don't quite believe in reincarnation. I know many of you do but not being a very religious person myself, I still pretty much believe in Stephen Hawking. Anyways, say you believe in reincarnation. Who decides where you get reincarnated? There's the karma system isn't it? Do good this life and you will get a better life in the next. If that is true, then we know that bad people get reincarnated at Indians in Malaysia. If you are born into Malaysia via an Indian womb, you are screwed I tell you. Screwed big time.

It sucks to be an Indian in this country. If you are born an Indian in India, you stand a chance of being born in the north where you may one day be the richest man in the world or you may be born in the south where you will be just... poor. (Ok, that's a generalisation but you get the drift). But if you are born an Indian in Malaysia... aiyoyo...

Look at this article, (Indian) Lady Arrested While Making (Police) Report. For those who are too lazy to read... Plain clothes anti-narcotics police raided Indian lady's house for no reason. Coppers took her pawn papers and her son's PS2. Coppers made the 14 year old son sit in the police van and poked fun at him telling him they will arrest him when he grows up. Indian lady then went to police station to make report and claim back belongings, but they nabbed her because her report will get the coppers in trouble.

That's Malaysia. It doesn't matter if the above story is true or not. It doesn't matter if the woman has some untold stories. The point I am trying to make is if you are an Indian, you are heavily discriminated in Malaysia. Everyone knows that. You know that, I know that.

If you are an Indian, and you kena tangkap masuk balai, your chances of dying in there is higher than any other races. Innocence not important. Type of offence also not important. And the chances are extremely high that you will get bashed up by the coppers if you are an Indian.

1 Malay, 1 Chinese and 1 Indian run out of 7-11. If someone shouts pencuri, the coppers will go after the Indian fella. Guaranteed.

A young Malay drives a Honda with super mods, a young Chinese drives a Honda with blue lights all over and a young Indian drives a plain Honda. The police on a road block will stop the Indian chap and ask for his identification.

A group of 5 Malays travel in a Myvi. A group of 5 Chinese travel in a Myvi. A group of 5 Indians travel in a Myvi. The police at the road block will stop the Indians, make them alight the car, and check all their identifications.

The Indians have a special status in this country - the least respectable category. Nobody gives a hoot about the Indians. Now Samy Vellu is even claiming that MIC's education arm belongs to him personally. Hahahaha... brilliant.

What is so different about the Indians that they deserve this? I have many Indian friends. I have many Indian relatives. Heck, I don't care if they are Indians, they are just my friends and relatives. Some are really intelligent, some are brilliant in the office, some are super polite and soft-spoken, some love to drink (a lot), some are just downright lazy, some are out to make a quick buck out of you, some are perpetual trouble makers, some are religious to the core, some are... I know many Malays and Chinese who are just like that too! Why pick on the Indians?

Just because many of them are poor does not make all of them thieves. Come on, it is no secret that the Indians are the poorest among the lot of 3 although some of them have made in big. But look at the majority. Just because Ananda Krishnan is rich doesn't mean that the Indians are all doing well.

And why are the Indians the poorest of the 3 races in the very first place? Why are they always treated as the anak tiri? The government just could not give a damn about them and many continue to get stuck in a vicious cycle. The Brits brought them over as estate workers. Many are still stuck there. Why? Because they have been continuously denied proper education. Without proper education, how are they going to break out from poverty? But that is exactly what the BN government does not want to do - keep them in the trap. I am willing to put 500 bucks on the table that the poorest kampung of the 3 races belong to the Indians. (For discussion sake, lets exclude the Orang Asli).

How are the Indians going to break away from stereotyping? They can't. It is not them who stereotype themselves, but the society who stereotype the Indians. Unfortunately, racism in Malaysia is getting worse. The real Malaysia is a horrible place to live in. Back in school, nobody gave a flying fark what color your skin is. We were simply classmates, friends.

For now, our Indians comrades will just have to 'just take it all in'. Nobody influential is fighting for them. The Indians are unable to rise in numbers because of fear and lack of knowledge. I guess they will just have to wait for a messiah.

Here's a little for you stereotyping Malaysians out there. According to The Malaysian Society Guide Book:

If you are a Malay, you are lazy, stupid and benefits from lopsided preferences.
If you are a Chinese, you are a gambler and you'll do anything for money.
If you are an Indian, you are an alcoholic and a trouble maker.

This is the Malaysia we live in. 1Malaysia my farking arse!

.......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

Author's Note:

There seem to be some misunderstanding on the use of the term 'pariah'. Certain people may have different understanding of this term. For the purpose of this posting, I am using the generally 'understood' version.

Wikionary has this to say:

From Tamil paraiyar. Parai refers in Tamil to a type of large drum designed to announce king's notices to the public. The people who made a living using the parai were called paraiyar; in the caste ridden society they were in lower strata, hence the derisive paraiah and pariah. Now, the term is used to describe an outcast in English.


...
| edit post

    Raykat vs The Evil Regime