I'd like to share an excerpt from an essay on Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the Time magazine's Essay section in its November 3rd issue by Mark L. Clifford , Executive Director of the Asia Business Council . I think this is a nice piece of a fairly-well balance article. Reason why I say this is because, it is relatively hard to find any positive review by Western media or journalists on Mahathir, especially after the Anwar Ibrahim saga and his infamous "Jews rule the world by proxy" ( CNN ) remark made at the opening of the 2003 OIC Summit in Putrajaya, 5 years ago. Generally, the writer was trying to draw a parallel between the current global financial crisis with the economic crisis that hit several countries in Asia 10 years ago and on what can be learnt and what action should be considered for that matter. Also mentioned was the "unorthodox" measures by former premier, Mahathir Mohamad. "Another lesson: don't be afraid to experiment. Unorthodox mea...

..Fahmi Reza and Pak Mamat 'Cino' (I forgot his real name) at the 'Revolusi 48' film screening at The Annexe, Central Market. Apologize to fellow blog readers for the long hiatus (syok sendiri kejap). Anyway, last Friday night I had the chance to watch Fahmi Reza's ' Revolusi 48 ' film screened at The Annexe Gallery. Four Malayan revolutionary fighters were the VIPs (I can only remember Pak Mamat). The film was actually the first draft and according to director Fahmi Reza, the full film will be released somewhere in November. I feel it is a good film and I enjoy watching it. Reason being is because I think we are still lacking in producing films on historical events. I like the film, but not the philosophy and ideas. Revolusi 48 is not only an anti-British revolution, but it was in fact a pro Communist revolution, albeit a failed one. And this was obliquely referenced in 'Revolusi 48'. The Malayan revolution in 1948 was also an attempt to turn Malaya...

Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad Tun Dr Mahathir Has Locus Standi To Make Any Statement On Umno, Says Rais KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 (Bernama) -- Jelebu Umno division chief Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim Monday lashed out at those who criticise former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for making statements regarding Umno. "There are many who are blasting Tun Dr Mahathir for making statements about Umno. This should not be an issue," said Rais, who is Foreign Minister. " He has the locus standi (standing) to make any statement on Umno. He led the party for 23 years. "If they want to say something to him, look at him straight in the eye and tell him. Dr Mahathir has every right to say what he wants about Umno," he told reporters when met at the Foreign Ministry's friends of Malaysia cultural exchange programme here. Very well said, Datuk Seri.. ---------------------------- On another different issue, I recommend all to read Tun 's latest blog entry, ' The Financial...

It is not that often that I read the 'Letters to Editor' section in The Star. But this one by Hassan Talib is worth reading. Sadly, there are only a few political leaders (or maybe none at all?) in this country that can match the leadership attributes mentioned in the letter. Country in dire need of exceptional leaders GOOD governance comes from a leader who knows how to govern and lead. Therefore, the posts of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister are not meant for any Tom, Dick and Harry just because he is popular with the grassroots. In fact, the business of governing is too serious to be left in the hands of irresponsible and incompetent politicians. I would like to see the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister have the following attributes: > Statemanship; a fearless leader who can lead, with vision and integrity; > Highly educated with strong economic and finance background; a people’s man who can respond to people’s problems; and > One who does not pla...

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 13 ( Xinhua ) -- The United States is adopting similar measures as Malaysia did in 1997 to cope with the financial storm hitting Asia, a Malaysian senior official said here on Monday. In 1997, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the United States criticized Malaysia for not practicing liberal capitalism, said Malaysia 's Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop, adding that now the Unites States was assisting its banks and adopting similar measures as Malaysia did in 1997. Nor Mohamed was quoted by local newspaper The Star as saying that the frequency of financial global crises was caused by weaknesses in the system of liberal capitalism, led by the United States. Such a system has minimal supervision and the government role in the economic sector was reduced, where privatization was implemented on a large-scale, including selling national assets to outsiders, he said. The world needs to find a new alternative to create a fair and b...

The Star - No Vote Against PM KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Rakyat will not be tabling a vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at the moment. Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Pakatan Rakyat Members of Parliament (MPs) instead wanted to focus their attention on the Budget, which he claimed was now outdated in view of the current global economic turmoil. Malaysiakini - PKR: Tiada usul tidak percaya pada PM Ketua Pembangkang tidak berminat meneruskan rancangannya menukar kerajaan persekutuan melalui usul undi tidak percaya terhadap Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi di Dewan Rakyat yang sedang bersidang. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim berkata beliau sekarang menumpukan fokus pada isu-isu ekonomi, termasuk Bajet 2009. "Buat masa ini fokus kita ialah terhadap bajet," katanya. After the failure of September 16 fed government takeover plan, Anwar put the blame on Pak Lah for not allowing an emergency parliament sesson for the no...

This was the second time, I think, that I had the chance to visit Tun Dr Mahathir's Hari Raya open house. The first was the SAHOCA Raya gathering few years ago (mom is an alumni of Sultan Abdul Hamid college). The Mines Resort was nice but I think the food wasn't really that great even though it was prepared by Palace of the Golden Horses hotel, mind you. I didn't had the chance to snap Tun's picture as there were just too many people, so I just shooked his hand, wished Selamat Hari Raya and walked towards the dining hall. I really admire Tun's strength sitting there for hours (open house is from 10am - 1pm, 2.30 - 5pm) to shake hands with his visitors and repeating "Selamat Hari Raya, terima kasih.." for over thousands of time. He should've just put a tape recorder next to him, instead. hehe. Some of the VIP and other notable guest that I met there were, Foreign Minister, Dato Rais Yatim and wife, ex-Minister, Aziz Shamsuddin, former NST Group Editor ...

Note: This is a self-advertisement from the blogger cum camera lover, Shahnon. Hey all, I hope you guys can do me a small favour by voting for my photos for the Sony Ericsson World View 2008 photo competition! hehe. Simple. Just click on the web link above, go to View Photos > China & Asia Pacific > Malaysia, and then search for my photos (7 altogether). :D Alternatively, here are the direct links to the photos. Not sure if it'll work, but worth a try. 8254 , 8255 , 8256 , 8260 , 8261 , 8262 , 8265 Here are some of my camera phone photos submitted (note that the competition rules stated that only camera phone photos are allowed). Petronas Towers, KL Sunset at Port Dickson Wedding reflection, Melaka It's not much that I expected to win, but more of the sheer fun of it. Thanks! :P

Travis - Ode to J.Smith (released date: 29 Sept. 2008) Metallica - Death Magnetic (10 Sept. 2008) Mxpx - Secret Weapon (17 July 2007) [image source: Wikipedia.org ] Introducing two new albums released in September 2008; "Ode to J. Smith" by my favorite Scottish rock ban, Travis, and "Death Magnetic" by all time favorite heavy metal band Metallica and another by Washington punk rock outfit, Mxpx, "Secret Weapon", released in July last year. I'm not a fan of heavy metal, but I guess any music lover of any rock genre would or should know Metallica well. And the fact that they're releasing a new album after a lapse of almost five years makes this album something big. Again, thanks to torrent for the free albums. weehoo! :) I'm still in holiday mood and currently working on my term paper and assignments, so Shahnon.com will probably go on hiatus for awhile. Selamat Hari Raya! 2 Syawal 1429H.