Of missed opportunities

The New Straits Times on Friday 2 October headlined it ‘Flown home to safety’.

128 Malaysian students in quake-hit Sumateran city brought back by RMAF, 202 more to arrive later that day.  The students were evacuated following the instructions of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib.

The Sun reported ‘Families of Malaysian students in Padang, which was struck by an earthquake of 7.6 magnitude two days ago, thanked the Malaysian government for its quick action in bringing home their children.

Family members of the students, who had been waiting since 11pm yesterday, were relieved and could not control their emotions when the first batch of students arrived on the Royal Malaysian Air Force transport planes at the RMAF base here at 5.05am today.’

The newspapers also reported that Malaysia will be sending several teams from the army and NGOs to assist in rescue and relief work.

Certainly it would be a very traumatic experience for anyone to be in.  The emotional scenes recorded in the photos are very understandable.

I do not mean to belittle the emotional experiences of the students, and I certainly laud the good intentions of the Malaysian government and the NGOs.  But I cannot help but feel that we have missed a lot of opportunities to do better.

The students, some of them are medical students, missed the opportunities to help in the rescue and relief work.  They could put into practice what they have been taught, and they certainly can learn a lot from actual ground zero operations of rescue work.  Instead they felt that they themselves needed rescuing.

Other Malaysians instead will be going to Padang, but they have to wait for clearance from Indonesian authorities.

Looked like more coordination and stronger leadership is required to ensure all our efforts are more effective.

But what do I know?  In the same situation how would I have reacted?   As a parent how would I feel if my children were there?

It’s Payback Time

It appears that Malaysians are still reeling from the aftermath of GE12 8 March, even after 18 months.

Within the Barisan National coalition parties UMNO is still in denial.  It is still behaving like it is the master party, offering to champion the Malay cause and the Malay agenda, quite oblivious that on the ground the Malay populous are actually looking elsewhere for their champion.  In any case what actually are the Malay cause and the Malay agenda?

The MCA is trying to break loose.  It knows that its future is with BN, but it has lost its appeal to the general Chinese populous who see it to be too condescending towards the Malay partner.

The MIC is gone to the dogs.  It is lost in its world of caste politics but still thinks it has the clout to dictate the Indian agenda.  What is the Indian agenda?

The other parties of the Barisan coalition appear quiet.  Are they too minor to be of consequence to the major partners?  Or is it a case of still waters run deep?  Are they ready to ‘join the bandwagon’?

In the midst of all these, the Prime Minister is promoting his 1Malaysia ideals.  If we free the rhetoric and cut out the political statements, what is 1Malaysia?  Where does the ordinary Malaysian figure in all these?  With UMNO in denial, MCA trying to break loose, and MIC gone to the dogs, does the ordinary Malaysian really care?  There is no point really in explaining the government petrol subsidy when you actually increased the price.

So GE12 is the people’s verdict.  A few states have gone to Pakatan Rakyat while the Barisan National is still allowed to govern the Federal government.

What has developed after 18 months?

It appears that Pakatan Rakyat component parties are no different than Barisan National component parties.

In Selangor we have the ‘Cow Head Incident’.  The Selangor government in its wisdom allowed the relocation of a 150-year old Sri Maha Mariamman Hindu temple from Section 19 Shah Alam to Section 23,  a place with heavy Malay population.  The reason for the decision is to provide for a ‘better environment’ for the relocated Hindu temple.  Naturally the people of that place would protest.  What else can be expected?

But naturally the decision to relocate the temple is a decision that is expected of the Selangor government.  It got into power largely through the support of the Indians.  So it is now payback time.  In democracy people can protest, but the majority wins and the winner takes all.  As the saying goes the people deserve the politicians they voted in, and they got the government they deserve.

The temple relocation is now shelved pending identification of a different site.  The decision was made after a chaotic and unsuccessful dialogue session with the residents of Section 23.  the MB Khalid Ibrahim attended the session together with Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad, Batu Tiga State Assemblyman Rodziah Ismail, Shah Alam mayor Mazlan Md Noor, and PKNS General Manager Othman Omar.  All of them Malays and presumably Muslims.  And they were there to explain the decision and to discuss the right of the Hindus to have their place of worship.

Imagine that!  Muslims defending the Hindu rights for a place of worship.  There was no report that Hindus from Section 19 or Section 23 attended the dialogue session.

But a crowd of Hindus from elsewhere marched to Dataran Merdeka KL to hold a candlelight  vigil to protest the cow head incident.  This show of protest resulted in 16 being arrested for questioning.  They were later released.

A few weeks before all these, State Exco Hasan Ali decreed that sale of beer is banned from shops in Muslim majority areas.  This resulted in hue and cry by DAP Pakatan partners.  There was calculated silence from Pakatan ‘Muslim’ partners.  After such protests, the State rescinded the Hasan decree and decided that the state will adopt a self regulation system where the decision to sell beer is left to the business owners.

It would appear then that where Muslim rights are concerned they have to contend with opposing non-Muslim rights.  And where non-Muslim rights are concerned, they just have to have them.

It is payback time!

In Penang it was reported by the New Sunday Times 6 September that a heated exchange broke out when Komtar Assemblyman Ng Wei Aik with 30 MPPP councilors and enforcement officers confronted 40 unlicensed traders who had set up stalls along busy Jalan Penang.

Ng had insisted that the traders leave as the stalls had cluttered the narrow pedestrian walkway.  Alternative sites at Penang Times Square or Jalan Magazine were offered.

The traders refused to leave.  They pleaded that the stalls were traditionally set up during Ramadan, for the past 24 years.

Penang MCC president Rizal Faris Mohideen defended the traders right to trade at the site during Ramadan.  He chided the local authorities and said that their move was biased.  “This is unfair.  Other roadside traders were allowed to trade during festive occasions such as during Hungry Ghost Festival and Thaipusam.”

The situation was defused when Deputy Chief Minister 1 Mansor Othman said the traders would be given temporary reprieve to operate in the area.

What else is there to say?

It is payback time!  The people deserve the politicians they voted in, and they get the government they deserve.

But Najib feel that he needed to say something.  The New Straits Times 7 September reported him saying that the opposition was now experiencing the discomfort of being on the other side of the fence as the rakyat began to question its policies and decisions.

But the real issue is how these events get translated in the ballot boxes.  Are they really of any consequence?  Maybe Najib should focus more on strategies to retain the Bagan Pinang State Assembly seat, as UMNO come face to face with the verdict of the people yet again.

1August 1Malaysia

On August 1 I made my way by KTM Komuter to the National Mosque. I wanted to record the planned gathering of demonstrators calling for the abolishing of ISA, the law that allowed the government to detain people in prison without trial.   I saw uniformed Police personnel at the exit of the Kuala Lumpur Station.   I was stopped by the Police but they were kind enough to direct me to the front exit of the station nearer the main entrance of the Mosque.  ”The Police have closed off the other entrances to the Mosque”.

On the road leading to the mosque I was joined by other people. Looks like there will be a big crowd.   There were Police presence almost everywhere. A helicopter hovered overhead.  Looked like the Police are also searching bags and personal belongings. There was a kind of festive atmosphere at the mosque courtyard.  I also noticed a number of people with facemasks on.  H1N1!  I thought to myself that I should have taken such precautionary measures as well.

Almost everyone is a photographer, clicking away, recording the moment.  I see people making a show of Police searching their bags with their friends photographing the event.

I had my camera bag but I had not taken out my camera. The loudspeaker had blared out the call for prayer and I wanted to be sure I can enter the mosque for the prayers.

The Police did not search me, did not even stop me.

After the prayers the crowd gathered at the courtyard.  Somebody with a loudhailer informed that they will make their way to Dataran Merdeka and from there to the Istana Negara.  (When you have the loudhailer, you control the crowd.  With shouts of ‘takbir’ the crowd made their way out of the mosque.

Making their way out of the mosque

I followed.  The crowd must have numbered 20 to 25 thousand.  A big crowd but much less than the touted 100 thousand targeted by the organisers.  So far so peaceful.

I saw ahead that the crowd had gone up the viaduct towards Bank Rakyat instead of going down the left road towards Dataran Merdeka.  I saw the reason.  Police had cordoned off that road.  Well, the crowd can still make their way to Dataran Merdeka via the Bulatan Dato Onn by the Bank Rakyat.  So far still peaceful.

Traffic was at a standstill.  The Police had sealed of the roads.

The crowd did not exit at Bank Rakyat.  Instead they were still on the viaduct and had stopped moving.  This was because the Police had also cordoned off all roads leading to the Dataran.  I made my way down towards the Dato Onn roundabout by the Selangor Club and the Police did not stop me as I was alone.  I noticed the red FRU water trucks by Bank Rakyat, and Police personnel by Jalan Raja Laut.

The crowd on the viaduct appeared unsure of the next move.  Where are the leaders?

Then I saw that a group of people had also made their down the viaduct and confronted the Police line.  I made my way towards them.  Bad move.  I should have maintained my distance.  That way I could have obtained better camera shots using the zoom lens.  When I was near the crowd they had pushed their way past the Police line.  The Police allowed them.  About 70 went past and suddenly they became isolated as the Police had strengthened their line and prevented others going past.  Reluctantly the first group turned back and rejoined the bigger crowd.

Through the Police line

Regroup

At this moment there was loud report of tear gas being fired.  Smoke started forming.  People scattered and started running away from the smoke.  More shots of tear gas and I started running away myself.  Actually I was more worried that the teargas canisters would fall on my head.  By this time I had started to feel the sting of the teargas on my face and eyes.  I felt chocking sensation and difficulty breathing.

Where to go?

Run

I wanted to run towards Bank Rakyat but the FRU personnel started forming a line.  So I decided against it and followed the crowed and ran towards Bank Negara.  I felt nausea.  My saliva thickened.  Somebody offered me some salt which I put in my mouth.  The sensation eased a bit.  I asked if he had any water.  I suddenly felt thirsty.  He reached inside his backpack and offered me mineral water.  I took a sip.  He certainly came prepared.  I noticed a lot of people came prepared as well.

The teargas certainly drained liquid off your body.  People everywhere were nauseated and taking salt in their mouths.  The stench of teargas still being felt.

Things had quietened down and I took more photos.

Suddenly a siren blared and the FRU water truck started moving.  The crowd started scattering, unsure where to go.  I know I should not follow the crowd.  But I do not want to get hit by the water cannon, more worried that the water would wreck my camera.  I ran towards Jalan Raja Laut.  Another bad move as by the time I reached safe distance, the FRU had stopped firing the water, and I missed the action.

The Police had succeeded in dispersing the crowd.  It is already past 3.00pm.  I talked to some of the policeman.  They looked tired.  They had allowed some traffic to go through.  Small groups of people are walking around or sitting around.  They are also looking tired.

I decided its time to go home and made my way along Jalan Raja Laut towards Bank Negara station.  Along the way two Black Marias zoomed past.  Some arrests must have been made.  I saw some people being escorted by uniformed police.  More arrests.

Escorted

It turned out that more than 500 were arrested that day.

So what had happened?  What triggered the police to fire the teargas?

I do not know.  But I think when the small group decided to regroup, and the shouting becoming more threatening, the Police decided enough is enough.

The teargas was bound to happen sooner or later.  On the way back I noticed traffic being backed up a few kilometers away.  I suppose the Police decided on law and order and dispersed the crowd so that traffic would get back to normal.

Would the Police still fire the teargas if the crowd had remained on the viaduct?  After all they were not doing anybody any harm!

No answer to that.  But I later found out that there was another group by Sogo and that group was also creating some action.

So the Police still had to disperse the crowd to maintain law and order.  And I think they did it professionally and quickly.  There was no baton wielding and no man-handling, just a lot of running around.

Despite what the blogs say, I was there and I did not see any Police brutality.

What has been achieved today?

The organisers know that they can still organise a demonstration.  Even though the target of 100,000 was not met, 20,000 is still a sizeable number.  They can still expect a government reaction.

The government should realise that bit by bit the Opposition parties have succeeded in eroding Malay support of UMNO.  (The governing parties have already lost the non Malay support).  All the demonstrators were Malays.  The few non Malays that I see were among the Police and the media reporters.

Before I left for the Bank Negara Komuter station, I shook hands with a few of the demonstrators and exchanged pleasantries.  ”Meriah”  I said.  ”It had been very exciting”.

But it actually was a sad day indeed.

The Perak Bollywood Drama

There are three distinctive characteristics to a Bollywood drama. Firstly it is a long playing drama. Secondly it is full of song and dance with some generous sprinkling of comedy here and there. And thirdly the plot and the intrigue. There is the hero who invariably will be the underdog and there is the villain who is a bully and a person of considerable influence. The two will be fighting to win the affection of a girl, and the final fight scene will be played over several rounds.

The hero normally loses the first round. Being the hero, he does not give up and he goes on to win the second round. But typical Bollywood drama does not end here because the villain wins the next round, creating anguish among the hero’s supporters. And in typical Bollywood style the hero wins the fourth and final round to the delight and relief of all and sundry. Good clean entertainment and a message of the triumph of good over evil.

I think we can see a similar Bollywood drama being played out in Perak.

It is turning into a long drawn out affair. It has its song and dance and comedy routines. It has ts plot and intrigue.

Nizar is playing out to be the underdog hero, always being victimized by the bully Zambry. Nizar lost the first round with the Sultan. He won the second round at the High Court. He lost the third round at the Appeals Court. And the drama will soon be played at the Federal Court.

After the Court of Appeals verdict, Nizar said that he is sad to have lost, but he is confident that he is winning the heart and minds of the people. His supporters are of course in one voice in suggesting that there is an unseen hand in the verdict. Yes, the same people who applauded Nizar after the High Court verdict when he said then that Democracy is alive.

While we are being entertained by the Perak Bollywood drama, what is actually the message being churned out?

I can’t help but feel sad and concerned that within the Perak drama, seeds of discontent are being sown among the Malays such that they develop into hatred and scorn towards other Malays ie UMNO. More alarming is that germination of discontent towards the Sultan and royalty in general.

It actually does not matter now who will win at the Federal Court because UMNO and the Malays will still lose.

Whats in a name!

The world is now abuzz with this new epidemic which is now known as Influenza A or A/H1N1.  When the outbreak was first detected in March 2009, it was known as the Mexican Flu.  I believe this was because the outbreak started in Mexico.  That name became suddenly unpopular.  Within a couple of weeks, with the disease quickly spreading, the name changed to Swine Flu.  In Malaysia it was termed Selsema Babi (Pig Flu).  In some cases it was also called Selsema Khinzir (Khinzir is a ‘polite’ terminology for Pig).  

For obvious reason now the consumption of that animal as food dropped drastically and the economy of people whose livelihood depended on the sale of that animal were adversely affected.  Various quarters called for a name change.  This move was supported by the United Nations and the name is now changes to Influenza A or A/H1N1.

Now everyone seems happy.  Nevermind that the virus is mainly found in pigs.  The name is now A/H1N1.  So people who want to can still consume pigs.

The effective leader

A letter published by The Sun on 8 April 2009 caught my attention.  It was titled ‘Leaders need not slave at the desk’.  It refers to a comment made by the DAP that ‘Mohd Nizar (ex MB of Perk) reports to work at 8am and worked until midnight’.

At issue here is whether working long hours at the desk makes a person a better leader or a better manager.

The letter rightly pointed out that a leader’s job is to identify and solve problems, and an effective leader then identifies the tasks to be performed and delegates them to right people to handle them.

Whether this takes a whole day or just a few minutes is not the issue.  The performance of a manager or leader should be how effectively he handles issues.  

How are performance measured?

For a politician I believe it would be measured against the expectations of his constitients as well as the rakyat in general.  

It could be that the DAP is trying to paint a picture of sloppiness or laziness of the previous government.  Thus painting a picture of a hard working MB working long hours at his desk should appeal to the rakyat of Perak.  That is politics.

In this respect I differ in the opinion expressed by the letter that a good manager or leader is someone who can complete his work successfully within the normal working hours.

A successful politician is one who can deftly handle issues, have control over events surrounding the issues, and at the same time take care of the people involved.  This is certainly not a desk job, nor is it defined in terms of working hours.

Perak Drama

This has been quite an eventful week. Perak now has a new Menteri Besar and a new government. A dramatic turnaround and a political coup by Najib Tun Razak. For now, he has silenced Anwar Ibrahim who, since the last General Elections, have been confidently announcing a change of the Federal Government through defections from the BN MPs.

Indeed at the States controlled by Pakatan Rakyat, with the exception of Kelantan, we have seen statements after statements made pointing at ‘abuses of power by the previous government’. With the exception of Kelantan, the governments of Penang, Kedah, Perak and Selangor, have focused on so called ‘abuses of power’ instead of actually government their respective states. They have acted like an opposition party instead of the government.

So now in Perak, they will get to do what they can do best! They will get to mobilise the Rakyat to demonstrate in the streets, against so-called undemocratic coup d tat. An interesting aspect of such demonstration is the fact that it appears only one race is demonstration. Are the other components of Pakatan Rakyat not interested to demonstrate their displeasure?

Nizar, the former MB, became the MB because under the Perak Constitution, only a Muslim can be the MB. Nizar from PAS by right should not be the MB because his party won the lowest number of seats among Pakatan Rakyat in the General Elections. The DAP do not have a Muslim that they can nominate for the MB post. Instead they were willing to support a nominee from PKR, but that candidate was not agreeable to the Palace. The Sultan, in his wisdom, decided to appoint Nizar from PAS. However Nizar, from the beginning appear to act from the shadows of the DAP from the appointment of the state Exco to the appointment of officers at other state departments.
And the DAP, specifically Karpal Singh, would get the chance to do what they know best, and that is to make use of the courts to determine the legality of all these.

Of course the country needs people like PAS and PKR who who organise demonstartions to ‘allow the people to vent their feelings’, and DAP who resort to the courts.

 

But lets see whether BN can really sit down and govern.

Manikavasagam resign as PKR Selangor deputy liaison chairman

MST Online today reported that Manikavasagam has sent his letter of resignation dated 31 Dec as PKR Selangor deputy liaison chairman to Selangor Menteri Besar and PKR Selangor liaison chairman Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim. A copy of the letter has been sent to PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.  

“I have had to take this conclusive decision after finding that certain leaders in the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) are arrogant and reluctant to hold discussions among themselves to resolve problems brought up,” Manikavasagam was reported to have said.

He will decide on his position on PKR supreme council after discussing with PKR adviser and de facto leader Datuk Seri Dr Anwar Ibrahim and former chairman of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) P. Waythamoorthy. 

This now is looking like a sandiwara.  Manikavasagam has to resign after he made certain statements against the PKR Selangor leadership which were brushed aside by Khalid Ibrahim.  But he wants to keep his options open and to keep his hold on whatever marginal political power he has as an MP.

Lets see how Anwar, who remains as de facto leader, plays this out.

Penang CM and Gamuda spat

The NST today reported that Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng slammed Gamuda Managing Director Datuk Lin Yun Ling for his (Lin’s) remark that the electrified double-track project (EDTP) might be delayed due to land acquisition problems in Penang.

Lim said Lin should think carefully before making such accusations against the state government.

“I will give a full reply tomorrow… but for now I want to advise them to think carefully about what they say.”

From what I have read, the remarks referred to by Lim have already been made by Lin, and that Lim will be replying to the remarks, yet Lim is advising Lin to think carefully before making accusations.

Such advise is meaningless as the ‘accusation’ has already been made; so does it mean that Lim is in fact giving a ‘warning’ to Lin of impending action???

It will be interesting to see what Lim’s reply to the remarks will be.

3 December 2008 Vernacular Schools

Very interesting point brought up by Mukhriz, that there should be only one system of education.  The purpose is of course to foster unity.

As expected, this was met with loud cries of protests.

And the loudest seem to be from Barisan component partners.

And the same people would talk about developing one bangsa, Bangsa Malaysia and yet in the same breath want to retain their ethnicity, clinging close to their roots.

And I think now there will emerge a lot of constitutional experts with their own interpretation of the constitution.

I just hope that sane minds will prevail.  Let see the result of the acid test in Kuala Terengganu!!!!