Ah, finally managed to get a copy of " What Your Teacher Didn't Tell You " by Malaysia's favourite political historian, Dr. Farish Noor. It is based on Dr. Farish's public lecture series at The Annexe, of which I am privileged to have attended one of them last year ( Dr. Farish Noor and books ). Of all the chapters in the book, I am particularly interested in "Hang Tuah the Pacifist". Dr. Farish has brilliantly recreated Hikayat Hang Tuah into something new and exciting. I mean, anybody can read and understand the thick hikayat but not many can read and interpret the hikayat like how Dr. Farish did. Frankly speaking, history would be so much interesting if we have people like Dr. Farish teaching the subject in schools. Anyways, I have yet to read the whole book, but have only skimmed through few pages. Still, I am recommending the book for all of you.

A lot have been said and written about this subject since Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak assumed premiership in April 2009. But in reality, 1 Malaysia is not something new. We are in fact 1 Malaysia since Merdeka, or perhaps way before that. What has happened since then? In principle, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the 1Malaysia concept. I believe only insane citizens would want disharmony among themselves. But here comes the famous problem. Malaysians always have problems with policy enforcement or implementations. Whether or not 1 Malaysia will succeed, the outcome can only be seen in the next 5 to 10 years, or maybe even 20 years. According to renowned historian, Prof. Khoo Kay Kim, race relations in Malaysia have gotten worse since the 1960s. The interesting question is, when was the turning point? When did we go astray? National unity (sounds more politically neutral than 1Malaysia) cannot and will not succeed without strong participation, sacrifice and commitment from t

The essences of democracy comprises of freedom of political expression, freedom of speech and freedom of the press. These attributes are essentially important elements for a democratic society to flourish. From the era of Napoleon Bonaparte, who famously stated, “Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets” (1804-14) in 19th century to the modern 21st century, the media have well been recognized as a strong political power, because of its strength and ability to influence the beliefs and perceptions of the populations. The capability for expression increases the participatory nature of democracy in cyberspace while significantly breaking old traditional media hierarchies. In the world of blogosphere today, many of the bloggers are their own writers, editors, publishers and bosses. They set their own rules and agenda on what to write, what to publish, what to censor and so on. The power of this new communication tool between citizens can result in the creatio

May 2009 "We want to see a stop to settlement construction, additions, natural growth -- any kind of settlement activity" - Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State ( Washington Post ). Sept 2009 "US harshly rebukes Israel on settlement plans" ( AOL.com ) Nov 2009 "We do not accept the legitimacy of settlement activity. Ending all settlement activity current and future would be preferable," - Hillary Clinton ( msnbc ). I wonder when will all these diplomatic statements coming to an end? Especially when the outright violations of international law by Israel is so obvious.. And when can the international community, particularly the Palestinians can expect to see some tangible actions be done? It seems as if Israel who is the biggest superpower on earth, not America. Even the US can't tell them what to do.

Happy Ramadhan to all Muslims wherever you are..

Finally! I am taking leave from work for one week. It's been a pretty stressful six long months staying in Klang Valley commutting myself between Subang Jaya, Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam and PJ only. So this is really a much needed break indeed. Inspired by the writings of Muhammad Ibrahim Munsyi in his " Kisah Pelayaran Muhammad Ibrahim Munsyi " and Ryszard Kapuscinski's " Travels with Herodotus ", I am off for a week-long historical cum photography road trip throughout Peninsular Malaysia. And am all set to snap thousands of pictures! Hopefully it'll be an exciting worthwhile adventure. I will also see how far DiGi's Yellow Man will follow me everywhere I go. heheh. Lastly, do pray for my safe journey.. :-) Til then, have a good week ahead folks!

Julia Klein's article, " The Myths of the Third Reich " (Third Reich refers to the era of the Nazi Germany) in the online version of The Wall Street Journal left me pondering over the question of freedom of speech and hate speech - 1. Where is the boundary between the two? 2. Where does one draw the limit? Interestingly, the article ends with the following sentence: "In Germany today, advocating Nazi ideology is illegal. But in the U.S. and elsewhere, balancing free speech with the desire to silence partisans of hate crimes and genocide remains a vital and troubling concern. The exhibition ends, appropriately, with this dilemma clarified but not entirely resolved. " - Julia Klein. Western nations, by and large have their own standard for freedom of speech - no freedom of speech for holocaust denial or anti-Zionist activism - to the extent that one could risk being persecuted simply by expressing doubts about the holocaust or risk being labelled as an anti-Semit

This is an update from my previous blog post. Remembering Natrah (Part 1) Remembering Natrah (Part 2) Remembering Natrah (Part 3) Click on the links above to view the videos. Below are some excerpts from the interview. " ..keputusan mahkamah sebenarnya dihormati oleh semua orang Islam. Tapi yang menjadi rusuhan ialah kerana provokasi suratkhabar Straits Times (yang waktu itu di bawah British). Suratkhabar buat provokasi Natrah tu dengan gambar melutut pada patung virgin Mary..keluar (suratkhabar) berkali-kali, bukannya sekali. Ianya hanya caption story. Orang Melayu marahlah kan. Dah menang (kes mahkamah) fine , kenapa nak provoke . Suratkhabar Melayu seperti Melayu Raya marah. Persoal kebijaksaan pengarang Straits Times. Kisah ini meletakkan Malaya di peta dunia sampai ke Russia, Belanda dan UK. Sebabnya ada banyak pertembungan-pertembungan dalam kes ini. Pertembungan budaya Barat dan Timur, agama Islam dan Kristian. Tapi persoalan sebenarnya ialah soal hak asasi manusia. ..Seben

In 1950, a custody battle over 13-year-old Dutch girl, Bertha Hertogh turns into a violent clash between East and West (source: Monsoon Pictures ). It was only this morning after reading a news report about Nadra (Bertha Hertogh)'s death that I thought to myself, why there is no film produced on this incident. So I decided to search the Net and could only found one documentary, currently in Singapore's national archive titled, ' My Name is Nadra, not Bertha '. Thanks to Facebook, I got to know from a friend that a movie on the Nadra tragedy is to be produced by Monsoon Pictures (poster above), scheduled to be screened next year. Below is an excerpt of my comment posted in Facebook, reproduced here. The issue of Natrah is not just about custody. But the bigger tragedies were the forced religious conversion and the insensitivity of the colonial British towards the local sentiment. First, Natrah was brought up as a Muslim and second, she was legally married to Mansor Adabi

This is an old write up. First posted in my Facebook Note two weeks ago (16 June 2009). "Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu endorses creation of Palestinian state" - New York Daily Times "Netanyahu Answers 'Yes' on Palestine" - Washington Post In a quick glance, the headlines above does sound a little promising. But read on to understand what kind of Palestinian 'state' is Netanyahu endorsing. “Each will have its flag, each will have its anthem. The Palestinian territory will be without arms, will not control airspace, will not be able to have arms enter.” - Benjamin Netanyahu (15 June 2009, Times Online) Funny that of all things, the Israeli PM has to mention flag and anthem first while ignoring the basic and fundamental attributes of a state: sovereignty, territory, authority and population. A future Palestinian state is not fit to be recognised as a "state" - at least in the context of international politics - IF it does not fulfill the basi

New Malay Indian party vows no street protests Malaysia Sun Wednesday 20th May, 2009 Petaling Jaya, May 20 : The newly-formed Indian origin Malaysia Makkal Sakti Party will not resort to street protests, preferring to solve things through discussions. Party president and former Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) national coordinator R.S. Thanenthiran said grievances could be heard through round-table discussions. "Enough fighting on the streets. We are more determined than ever that non-violence is the way forward with dignity and justice," he told reporters on Tuesday. Read the headline above. I think it contains some serious error. I believe it should be read as "Indian Malaysian party". 'Malay Indian party' sounds more like a Malay based party in India. Hehe. I wonder who owns the website. It doesn't look like it is owned by a Malaysian. The flag at the top of the website looks more like an American flag - without the yellow star and crescent. On an

Anak Raja Petra didakwa tuduhan mencuri SHAH ALAM 19 Mei - Anak kedua penulis blog Raja Petra Raja Kamaruddin mengaku bersalah di Mahkamah Majistret di sini hari ini atas empat pertuduhan mencuri dan memiliki motosikal curi serta melakukan pecah rumah di sekitar Shah Alam. Raja Azman Raja Petra, 33, dari No. 5, Jalan BRP 5/5, Bukit Rahman Putra, Sungai Buloh didakwa mencuri sebuah motosikal Yamaha RXZ nombor pendaftaran BJQ 9597 bernilai RM8,000 milik seorang lelaki, Syaiful Setapa. Tertuduh juga mengaku mencuri sebuah telefon bimbit Nokia, sebuah jam tangan Seiko dan serangkai kunci motosikal yang kesemuanya dianggarkan berjumlah RM3,850 dari sebuah kediaman milik Saipul Adli Mohamad Yunus. Oh dear. Pete, what happened to your son? Sudah-sudahlah nak lawan Istana Selangor tu. Tak ke mana pun. He he.

Wesak Procession in KL, near Central Market. I just got back from spending half day in KL when I came across the Wesak procession above, by accident. Fortunately, I saw it from afar, or else I would've use the same road and probably still stuck in the traffic jam. :p Happy Wesak Day to all Malaysians.

source:Wikimedia New book in town! Thanks to Zulhabri and gang for his new effort in bringing excellent books from across the shores. Just to share this piece of news here; if you're interested into more alternative books head over to the "Arts for Grabs + KL Alternative Books" at The Annexe Gallery this weekend. One of Gie's famous quote in his book was; "Seorang filsuf Yunani pernah menulis … nasib terbaik adalah tidak dilahirkan, yang kedua dilahirkan tapi mati muda, dan yang tersial adalah umur tua. Rasa-rasanya memang begitu. Bahagialah mereka yang mati muda." This roughly translates to English as "A Greek philosopher once wrote... The best fate is that of the unborns, the second one is that of those born yet die young, and the worst is that of those who die in the old age. I feel that this is right: Happy are those who die young." [ Wapedia ] In the same event, Dr. Farish Noor will be presenting his lecture on Batik as a "Trans-Cultural

Perak Mentri Besar, Dato Seri Dr. Zambry Abdul Kadir has got a new blog. www.zambry.com In his first blog entry, Zambry took a swipe at Lim Kit Siang, where the DAP supremo called him a "caveman" Mentri Besar for banning alternative media from covering the upcoming Perak assembly. Kit Siang must have a short memory because it was barely a month or so ago when his son, Lim Guan Eng banned the News Straits Time (NST) from covering the Penang state government events. This is just pure and simple hypocrisy, isn't it? It's so damn bloody easy for one to talk about press freedom, democracy, rule of law and all other political jargons when one is not in power. But when the power is in their hand, they failed. Guan Eng's NST boycott is a clear testament to this. DAP talks so much about democracy, but look at their so-called "democratic" party. Kit Siang has been at the helm of party since the days of Tunku Abdul Rahman. Four Prime Ministers, from Tun Razak to Ab

Manohara giving SOS signal? Above is an article from Tribun Makassar (Makassar - home of Najib Razak's forefathers) on the current hot issue in Indonesia; the kidnapping and abuse of Manohara Odelia Pinot, wife of the Kelantan royal prince, Tengku Fakhry. Here's a transcript of the dot points in the article. 1. Manohara dan suaminya tampak menonton pertandingan bola 2. Tapi ibunya melihat ekspresi Manohara sedang minta pertolongan 3. Kerajaan (Kesultanan) Kelantan utus pembantu rumah tangga ke Indonesia - Untuk jelaskan kondisi Manohara (Betul ke ni?) 4. Ibu Mano tersinggung pembantu rumah tangga yang diutus So, who is right? Manohara or the Kelantan royal family? It saddens me if what Manohara's mother claims to be true, that the royal palace sent over their "pembantu rumah tangga" to Indonesia to settle this issue? Oh well, I prefer to see this matter being resolved amicably between the two families without the need to go to the court. And as usual, the national

The Star: Government goes easy on financial sector PUTRAJAYA: The Government will issue up to nine new banking and insurance licences until 2011 and allow foreigners to own up to 70% equity in the country’s Islamic banks, investment banks and insurance companies. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the liberalisation package, comprising six thrusts, was aimed at enhancing Malaysia’s linkages with international economies. I read this news with mixed feelings and many questions. I am not an expert in this field so my comments will only be based on my limited understanding of the subject. Although I tend to be an optimist, but reading the announcement by Prime Minister cum Finance Minister Najib Tun Razak, I can't help but ask; is it financial liberalisation or an economic imperialism in the offing? Yes, we are facing the worst economic recession in history. Yes, we need more Foreign Direct Investments (FDI). But I have strong doubt about allowing foreigners to own majorit

From Raden Saleh, Tun Perak, Abdul Samad Amjah to Mawdudi and Hamid Enayat Visiting the KL book fair has become part of my annual routine for the past 5 years or so. I've lost count how many books lying on my shelves that I haven't read or waiting to be read and yet, today I bought another five books. Well, I guess that is fairly normal for a bookworm, isn't it? Out of the five books, I am particularly interested in "Raden Saleh: Anak Belanda, Mooi Indie & Nasionalisme" ( Komunitas Bambu , 2009) by Harsja W. Bachtiar, Peter B.R. Carey and Ongkokham. It's in Bahasa Indonesia by the way. Many thanks to Gerak Budaya and SIRD for bringing in excellent Indonesian books to our shores. Browsing through the pages of Raden Saleh Syarif Bustaman, a 19th century Javanese aristocrat, scientist and one of the greatest Indonesian painter; I had a lot of questions running through my mind. I began to wonder whether there exist such a distinct intellectual within the Mala

theSun: Fairus resigns as Penanti assemblyman; Another by-election imminent Opalyn Mok GEORGE TOWN (April 16, 2009) : Former Penang deputy chief minister Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin yesterday resigned as Penanti state assemblyman, confirming weeks of speculation that a by-election for the Penanti state seat was likely. In a press statement, Mohammad Fairus, 33, said he took this step to resign as a state representative to protect the interest of his party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). Bernama: PKR Wants To Find Deputy CM In Penanti KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 (Bernama) -- Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin said the Penanti state by-election in Penang is just an avenue for the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) to find a candidate for the post of Penang Deputy Chief Minister I. I think it's no longer a secret that Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) is filled with bunch of underqualified and low quality wakil rakyats. That a by-election is needed just for the sake of getting a new D

Proton unveils its first MPV KUALA LUMPUR: Proton Holdings Bhd unveiled its first multipurpose vehicle (MPV), the Exora, to the public in a gala event here Wednesday night. Launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, the 1.6-litre Exora has already received orders of 2,500 units, even before its public unveiling. The seven-seater -- Proton’s most important model for the year -- also marks the company’s entry into the MPV market, which is growing domestically and regionally. The Exora is a result of an investment of RM450mil and 18 months of intense in-house research and development, the company said. It is powered by a 1.6-litre CamPro CPS engine with 125bhp and torque of 150Nm, and is available in a four-speed automatic version, in trim levels of Mid-Line and Hi-Line. The Mid-Line Exora costs RM69,998 and the Hi-Line variant, RM75,998 for the metallic colours. Click here and here for a full review of Proton Exora by Anthony Lim and Paul Tan. Image source: star-motoring.co

Today, I found out that one of my blog traffic came from The Edge . Curiously enough, I clicked on the link, and saw a commentary of the so-called post mortem of the recent tri-election, containing blog posts from around the local blogosphere. So, thanks to The Edge journalist, Lam Jian Wyn for quoting and mentioning this humble blog in your article; ' Tri-election post-mortem '. Written by Lam Jian Wyn Wednesday, 08 April 2009 15:30 The tri-election fever is gone, sort of. In the wake of the results – 2 to Pakatan, 1 to Barisan – are a slew of blogposts. While some bloggers were wasted from the election frenzy, the blogosphere’s pundits wasted no time in dissecting the results. BN’s defeat in the peninsula was clearly met by some with disbelief. A Voice was disappointed with the component parties of BN. “Much to my chagrin, the Chinese vote did not sway for BN. Did MCA or Gerakan failed to deliver for BN? Does it indicate MCA and Gerakan as being no more relevant to the Ch

NST - Saturday, 11 April 2009 "Just because you're in the cabinet doesn't mean I'm going to keep quite, you know...?" Tun Dr. M to son, Mukhriz. Read between the lines. Hehe. Picture above is the latest cartoon by Lat in today's NST. Lat has never failed to disappoint me with his political cartoons long since I was in primary school. If there is one reason why I still read the NST, it must be because of Lat's cartoons, besides Johan Jaafar and Lt. Gen. (Rtd) Zaini Said's weekly column. Other than that, NST has nothing much great to offer.

Utusan Malaysia: BN 1, PAS 1, PKR 1 According to the news headline above, it seems that BN didn't lose after all! :P Let's be fair to Utusan. Being a pro-establishment paper, definitely some kind of a political spin were to be expected, but who would've thought such a thing? I must commend those people in Utusan for putting up such a creative headline. No, seriously I mean it. Hehe.

And so the results were out. Pakatan Rakyat won 2-1 (4-1, if you count in Permatang Pauh and Kuala Terengganu). To me, the win in Batang Ai has no significance to UMNO, simply because UMNO, as the backbone of Barisan Nasional does not exist in Sarawak. The real battle that UMNO lost was Bukit Gantang. The results of Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau have also reaffirmed that the political landscape in peninsular Malaysia remains much the same since March 8 last year. And perhaps, to some extent it is a strong signal to Najib's premiership or the approval of Nizar Jamaluddin as the rightful Menteri Besar of Perak; whichever way one prefers to see it. One thing is for certain, the impact of the great political Tsunami of March 8 is still around. Kuala Terengganu, Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau remain a strong testament of the rejection of UMNO and Barisan Nasional as a whole. A quick analyze on the tri-election results of the infamous two Bukits and one Batang would show a deep sent

If the popularity trend in blogs has any bearing on the tri-election results in Bukit Gantang, Bukit Selambau and Batang Ai, then I believe Pakatan Rakyat stands to win all three convincingly. But unfortunately, I doubt that is the case here, particularly in Batang Ai where the Internet penetration there is perhaps only around 1% or less. At the very least, the results below could provide some indication where the blogging community is heading. In the new free media of the Internet, should Barisan Nasional and its component party leaders/members fail to recognize the growing and powerful impact of blogs, then it is likely to spell doom for the party. Setting up a blog is one thing, but more importantly is to have a good quality blog content. No point in having a blog if it's not frequently updated or merely posting news reports as blog posts. Anyway, if the three by-elections in Perak, Kedah and Sarawak were to be judged by "popularity in blogs", this is the results. Isma

Argh, what a bloody slow Internet connection! I wouldn't be surprise if TM Streamyx is having issues again, but Izzi broadband is currently slow too. I wonder what is going on. Luckily my other alternative mobile Internet access - DiGi Unlimited Data Access - is doing fine. Maybe this is a sign that I should try to cut down my time spent on the Net. :-)

As someone who belongs to the "Generation M" group - youths who grew up and spent their lives knowing only one Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad - this is what I wrote in this blog roughly six years ago; Sebak rasanya apabila sekali lagi menonton klip video pengumuman mengejut tentang persaraan semua jawatan dalam kerajaan dan parti, termasuklah jawatan Perdana Menteri oleh Dr. Mahathir ketika Perhimpunan Agung UMNO, Jun tahun lalu melalui sebuah rancangan 30 minit di Channel 9 . Dalam sedar tak sedar, masanya telah tiba. Masih semacam samar-samar lagi, masih semacam sukar hendak menerima kenyataan, atau mungkin memakan sedikit masa lagi untuk menerima kenyataan bahawa Dr. Mahathir bukan lagi Perdana Menteri Malaysia. Apa pun syabas kerana peralihan kuasa di negara kita berlangsung dengan penuh lancar, tiada kekecohan timbul. Back then, a website, ThanksMahathir.com was specially created to dedicate our respect and love to the Father of Modern Malaysia. I wonder whether

My favorite magazine, Off the Edge, featured an interview with Muar MP and newly elected UMNO Youth deputy, Razali Ibrahim in their latest issue. I agree with the heading on the mag. Dato' Razali, is indeed one of the few good men in Pemuda, or UMNO in general. I also believe he is one of the future leaders to watch. I hope that Najib will include him in his new cabinet. It doesn't matter if previosly no Naib Ketua Pemuda was appointed to cabinet. What is more important is getting clean and capable leaders. Najib should break away from old traditions if he's really interested in reforms. Old leaders of the Syed Hamid Albar generation should be left out. It's just sad to know that Shahrir Samad has resigned. I believe in the eyes of the public, Shahrir is no doubt one of the best minister in Pak Lah's cabinet. UMNO, at this point of time, is in dire need of clean, intelligent, capable, moderate and incorruptible leaders. Corrupt leaders like Khir Toyo, though he has

Hari-hari terakhir seorang Perdana Menteri A picture says a thousand words. ;-)

View of Kuala Lumpur from my office window. The KLCC towers, KL tower and closer to my place, Sooka Sentral were all in the dark during this historic moment. The only building bright enough from my place was the KL Sentral building. The lights was on for a very obvious reason that nobody should blame the KL Sentral management for not participating. Hehe.

Earth hour is here! Be part of the global campaign! Turn off your lights or other electrical appliances for one hour (8.30pm - 9.30pm) on 28th March 2009! Join Malaysia as we take part in a global movement to stand united with 1000 cities and its peoples for Earth Hour by switching off non-essential lights for one hour. Above is a quote from an email I received. Anyways, I'd like to comment on a letter in The Star yesterday where a so-called concerned citizen critized the idea of organizing such event. I find it totally absurd and ridiculously dumb to say that this huge global movement organized by international NGOs with the support of countless multinational corporations is a "mere publicity stunt". One must remember that this is a 'campaign', hence to run a campaign one needs to have a good publicity to spread the words around. It's interesting that the writer mentioned about Malaysia being a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol. Yes, but that is our participat

So the great tension of the UMNO election has finally settled. It's been with a huge sigh of relief to know that Muhyiddin won the Deputy President post. To me, the Deputy President race is far more important the Ketua Pemuda election. I just can't imagine what disaster if Mat Taib won. Although I was disappointed that Mukhriz lost (and surprisingly finishing third!), as an outsider and a non-party member, I'd like to prefer to be positive about the election of Khairy Jamaluddin as the new Ketua Pemuda. Like it or not, Khairy has to change his arrogant style. I believe the hardest part now is for Khairy to reunite the different factions within Pemuda. This is not an easy task. Mukhriz might seemed to be accepting the result well, but obviously not to his staunch supporters and majority of the grassroots who voted for Mukhriz during the pencalonan period. I wish them all the best.

This is, simply, despicable. I do not wish to post the poster image on this blog (you may click on the link to view it). The person who designed the poster must be one hell of a foolish moron. It just sadden me to see the level of our political fightings have stooped this low. The fact that they're involving the Mufti and the wise Sultan Azlan Shah made it even worse. Heck, why blame the two old men? Blame the frogs who jumped ship lah. Blame the poor quality of your party candidates. I guess it's always easy to put the blame on others, rather than ourselves.

Is Najib sending a subtle signal to Mukhriz Mahathir for the UMNO youth chief post in his opening speech of the party wings convention? I was watching Najib's long and winding speech on Astro Awani when I heard him uttering something like "Pemuda harus mencari pemimpin yang berani berubah..blabla..". For the record "Berani berubah" is Mukhriz's campaign motto or rally cry for the election, while Khairy adopted 'Setiakawan'. Whether this is a mere coincidence or not we shall find out tomorrow.

UCAPAN YBHG TUN DR MAHATHIR MOHAMAD DI PERHIMPUNAN DAN SIDANG KEMUNCAK PRIBUMI PERKASA NEGARA DI KOMPLEKS SUKAN TNB, JALAN BANGSAR, KUALA LUMPUR PADA HARI AHAD, 22 MAC 2009 1. Terlebih dahulu saya ucap terima kasih kepada penganjur perhimpunan ini kerana menjemput saya dan memberi peluang kepada saya untuk berucap kepada hadirin. 2. Saya yakin ramai daripada kita yang hadir, terutamanya orang Melayu dan bumiputra lain, hadir kerana kita berasa kita berada dalam keadaan cemas, keadaan yang merbahaya, keadaan terancam. 3. Kenapa tidak? Kita kini diserang berkali-kali oleh berbagai pihak. 4. Ramai daripada orang lain berkata Melayu adalah kaum pendatang. 5. Melayu mengamalkan apartheid ala kulit putih Afrika Selatan. 6. Melayu tidak adil, suka menidakkan hak kaum-kaum lain. 7. Melayu sudah cukup kaya dan tidak perlu dasar Ekonomi Baru lagi. 8. Semua peluang perniagaan dan pelajaran diberi hanya kepada orang Melayu. 9. Kuasa politik dibolot oleh orang Melayu dan lain-lain. 10. Berhadapan d

This is yesterday's news actually. It's pretty amazing to know that the new President is only 34 year old! I guess he is perhaps the youngest President ever to be elected. The last time I heard about Madagascar is when watching some bunch of crazy animals singing 'I like to move it move it!' hehe.

Recovery, Malaysia-Style . (The Star, 19 March 2009) I was pleasantly surprise to see Dato Seri Najib's article in The Star today that it took me a while just to stare at the page. For a moment I thought The Star is giving the UMNO President-elect a new space in the paper. But no, the article first appeared in Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. It was also translated in Malay in today's Utusan Malaysia - Tukar Cakap Jadi Perbuatan (The headline sounds rather odd to me) I have always believed that to be a political leader, one must also be a thinker. And to be a good leader one must know how to articulate his/her ideas well not only in the form of fiery speeches, but also in writing. 21st century is the age of information and knowledge, and politics in this era is about politics of ideas. This is the era of information warfare. Should one fail to get a hold of these, it means that one(read: aspiring politician) is simply not good enough. To be frank, this is one area where Kha

This is my first attempt of mobile blogging. Not too bad. The posting will be short and brief, I hope. I am going to be frank about the latest decision by the UMNO disciplinary board to bar the Malacca CM from contesting. With or without the decision, to me, Ali has no credibility at all to even think of contesting the Deputy President post. I agree with what Nazri Aziz said that based on technical factors alone Ali is incapable to be DPM. To begin with, he's not even an MP. And secondly, he's already a CM, for f sake. In his recent interview with The Star, Ali said that he is proud to be referred to as Pak Lah's man. What does this means? Voting Ali as Deputy simply means - No Reform. And worse, voting Ali means UMNO stand to lose big in next general election. (Najib could be a possible factor here too but that's another story for another day). I strongly hope that the board will reject his application, if he ever decide to appeal. Ali should look at himself in the mir

Utusan: Chong Wei juarai Terbuka Switzerland KUALA LUMPUR 15 Mac - Pemain nombor satu dunia, Datuk Lee Chong Wei menjuarai Terbuka Switzerland apabila berjaya menewaskan musuh tradisinya, Lin Dan dari China pada perlawanan akhir Siri Super itu sebentar tadi. Chong Wei menang dengan straight set 21-16, 21-18. This is simply smashing! For a moment I thought Lin Dan was really unbeatable, until he lost to Chong Wei today. In the meanwhile, our doubles pair of Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong made it a double joy for Malaysia when they won the doubles title after beating Danish pair Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen. This is certainly a great news for Malaysia. Congratulations to them both for making Malaysians proud and giving us something to cheer about. Sometimes we just need a break. I believe most Malaysians are just sick and tired of the neverending political feud that has been going on since the March 8 general election. Anyways, I believe the next plausible step is to aim for the elusive Th