Silver State A Gold Mine For BN

Voters, The Biggest Losers
By LIM MUN FAH/Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily)

The political situation in Perak has taken a drastic turn. While some lament about the current commotion in the state, others rejoice in it. But many more are enshrouded in gross bewilderment.

The commotion is like a boxing match in which one of the contenders has been toppled, and the other is technically the victor. But then the loser refuses to concede, claiming that dirty tricks have been employed to bring him down.

It will now leave to the umpire and organisers to make the final verdict.

BN is eventually proclaimed the victor. But then this also gives rise to another question: Is the new administration going to be a steady one?

The current situation is that both BN and Pakatan Rakyat have 28 seats each in the state assembly (including one who has returned to UMNO). Three former Pakatan assemblymen are now "independents friendly to BN."

This is a twist that is full of ironies, a childgame that has invalidated democratic elections. Although BN has taken merely ten months to recapture the state administration, the new state government is a "minority" government that lacks public support and mandate.

The way ahead for this "minority" government is going to be very, very tough.

The first issue that lies before everyone is that the new state government will be overwhelmingly dominated by the 27-seat UMNO. With that in mind, how is the party going to share the power with the single-seat MCA and unrepresented MIC?

Next, Perak state assembly speaker Sivakumar and senior executive councillor Ngeh Koo Han have filed a petition in the court claiming that Hee Yit Foong, Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu are no longer state assemblymen for their respective constituencies. Ngeh also claims that it will challenge BN in the court if the latter tries to force out a new state government.

The case could begin from the high court and be extended to the appeals court, even the federal court. We have yet to see whether the lengthy lawsuit will hamper the operation of the new state government.

Three, two former Pakatan state assemblymen have been implicated in corruption charges and their fates are yet to know at this moment. Even if they are eventually acquitted, their images have been severely tarnished.

It is hard to pass a judgement now whether their recruitment into the BN camp is a boon or bane to the ruling party. Warnings by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir and Tengku Razaleigh have not been issued without any reason.

Four, the political twist is the outcome of a dirty power-grabbing race. In the eyes of the public, this is an under-the-table deal inundated with exchange of interests and collusions.

The new state administration may have problems placing the few defecting Pakatan assemblymen, rationalising the legitimacy of its administration, responding to the powerful urges of the voters, and rebuilding the faith and trust of the rakyat towards the government.

But from a more positive perspective, a minority government that lacks sufficient mandate may be forced to go for a more moderate and people-friendly approach at the expense of extremist policies.

Perhaps this is the only hope the helpless public can count on.

Looking back at what have taken place over the past ten days from the time Nasaruddin crossed over to Pakatan to his return to UMNO, the tussles and deceptions have brought on one after another climax.

Noteworthy, in this shocking twist of events, deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has taken on more than just a very critical catalytic role, he has also demonstrated a strongman style which distinguishes this PM-in-waiting from the incumbent Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

In addition, it should be pointed out that although the duel has thus far produced an apparent winner and loser, down to the very core, a lose-lose situation has been created, as well as a chaotic political scenario that is full of instability factors.

BN triumphs because of the defection of its rival members. Such a manner of seizing power is by no means honourable, at least in the eyes of the public. Where integrity and image are concerned, BN has lost a great deal.

Pakatan's defeat could be attributed to its wrongful assessment of the current political situation as well as its unresolvedness.

There are other reasons for its downfall in Perak. Although Pakatan has dished out one after another people-friendly policies during its short 10-month tenure, internal conflicts continue to surface owing to wrestling of power and allocation of interests, blatantly exposing the vast differences and entrenched contradictions in the political ideologies of PKR, DAP and PAS, as well as the major weakness of infighting within the three parties themselves.

As outsiders, we can only say that politics is full of uncertainties. Ten months ago, BN was toppled by public wrath and Pakatan Rakyat was entrusted to take helm of the state government. Ten months later, Pakatan fumbles under the weight of dual internal conflicts, paving the way for BN to recapture the state.

There are no winners in these two episodes of political tsunami, only losers. And the biggest losers are probably the Perak voters who have lost the "People's Power" all of a sudden. (Translated by DOMINIC LOH)

Old Ends For New Start

Billy Joel, singer and songwriter, sang and composed this song in 1989 and went on to peak at the no. 1 spot of the US chart that year.

An extract from wikipedia denotes:

"We Didn't Start the Fire" is a song by Billy Joel that makes reference to a catalog of headline events during his lifetime, from March 1949 to 1989, when the song was released on his album Storm Front. The events are mixed with a refrain asserting "we didn't start the fire". The song was a number-one hit in the U.S.

The song and music video have been interpreted as a rebuttal to criticism of Joel's Baby Boomer generation, from both its preceding and succeeding generations. The song's title and refrain imply that the frenzied and troubled state which others were criticizing had been the state of the world since long before his generation's time, but that this was being ignored by their critics.




Closer to home, all things happens for a reason. For every defeat and obstacles, there's a triumph waiting to salvage and cherish but the infancy of our opposition will have to bear the fruit of labours before real victory will come one day. We were all equally guilty and blinded by quick fixes and hopes and our own demise is inevitable playing with fire and success we are not moulded to flourish and embrace, yet.

Merchants Of Malaya

Legalised get-rich-quick schemes
By R. Nadeswaran (Citizen Nades)

IF YOU want to buy vegetables, you would not be going to the hardware store. If you have a heart condition, surely you would not be going to see a gynaecologist. If you are moving house, you won’t want a fleet of Alam Flora dump trucks to ferry your belongings. If Idris Jala or Tony Fernandes want to buy more planes, they would be talking to the people at Boeing in Seattle or Airbus in Toulouse – not some local company whose registered interest is in the area of food catering.

Today, medical equipment running into millions are supplied to government hospitals by "registered" contractors who do not know which end of the stethoscope goes between the ears. When things go awry or when there are problems with the equipment, there’s little or no after-sales-service, resulting in some being cannibalised. Hence there are hundreds of machinery lying in the stores of government departments and agencies because "there are no spares".

While no one is against the government’s affirmative policies, it is sad that people with no experience or the resources have ended up as "middlemen" and "agents" for multi-million ringgit purchases. They just add a percentage, most of the time running into double figures, for "facilitating" the arrangements to supply goods or services. No one will begrudge them if they have an inventory of spares and qualified people to service the equipment, but when they are no more than one or two-man operations, it becomes evident that these are modified versions of the get-rich-scheme a la Pak Man Telo. Not only prices go up, but after the cheques have been cleared, they just disappear. A case in point: A government agency wanted a few fax machines. The registered contractor went to an electrical shop, ordered them at RM545 each and subsequently billed the agency for RM1,600 each. If this was bad enough, when two of the machines broke down two months later, the agent made himself unavailable.

There are several reasons to do away with such a system. First, there’s a cost element. The middleman’s cost, commission, finding fee or whatever you call it, is added on to the cost which in turn is passed on to the end-user, in this instance the government.

Secondly, the manufacturer washes his hands off when things go wrong because he is not privy to the contract with the buyer. He only has a deal with the supplier. Thirdly and more importantly, as in many equipment which need to be rectified or repaired urgently and which need expert skills, the middleman is unable to provide them.

Everyone knows that tenders were called to replace the baggage handling system at KLIA and everyone knows that there are no local manufacturers. Hence, it opened the doors for a dozen or so "local representatives" of foreign manufacturers. And it is no secret that each added a few million ringgit in the quotations. So, wouldn’t it be cheaper to call for an international tender from manufacturers and make the selection after evaluating their experience, after-sales-service and other relevant factors?

But then, the opportunity for officials to go on a lawatan sambil belajar to "familiarise themselves" with the manufacturing process would be lost. After the official visit, they can be feted to sumptuous dinners and probably, gold at Valderamma or St Andrews.

The time has come for us to evaluate the methodologies of the past and if they have achieved their intended objectives. Have they produced businessmen who have acquired acumen over the years and are ready to walk alone without crutches or have we created an Ali-Baba culture where contracts and sub-contracts are traded at the drop of a hat? Have we managed to reduce costs to the government or have we realised that such a system brings an added cost to taxpayers?

Remember the RM40 screwdrivers and the RM350 car jacks? What about the 30-inch TV which was bought for RM9,000 when the same model could be picked up for less than RM2,000 at Carrefour, Giant or Tesco? Several other observations made by the auditor-general are standing monuments of a system that is rotten to the core. It adds credence to claim and expound the theory that the auditor-general’s report is in reality, a catalogue of shame and inefficiency that have set root in the administration system.

With the government’s directive to cut down on wasteful expenditure, wouldn’t an overhaul of such systems be the first steps? (The Sun)

R. Nadeswaran argues that the more one reads the AG’s report, the more he sees the need for a re-look at the system which legitimised abuse and misuse.

The Power Of Bad

Bastardized Democracy

Quite unlike what the western media love to promote, parliamentary democracy is not something invented by western do-gooders for the good and happiness of the people of the world. It was as seedy and grubby as institutionalized class struggle, but not between the workers and the capitalists, for such a class struggle is usually characterized by strikes, lock outs and sometimes even violence.

Parliamentary democracy was institutionalized class struggle between the capitalists and the aristocracy in England. (Remember that the English capitalists made 2 revolutions which never completely got rid of the aristocracy unlike the French capitalists who were much more efficient). It used to be characterized by violence as well, the very extreme kind where heads get chopped off. But over time, they decided that it was better to spend time making money by robbing and killing other people who were more primitive and hence more easily killed than to chop off each others’ civilized very-difficult-to-chop-off heads.

So it was that parliamentary democracy came to being. It was suited to the conditions of England where the competing classes watched each other like hawks, ready to pounce and turn to violence again should the other break the rules. There was created a happy and peaceful balancing act which over time became a class struggle of slightly different classes under new conditions prosperity and security.

In Malaysia, we happily and blindly copied their model thinking it would bring the same peace and happiness to us. Unfortunately, as usual we neglected to study the conditions required for success. Our parliamentary democracy was never a balancing act. It became one party rule, which over time became even more vicious and corrupt than what our old colonialists used to be. (Remember Newton’s Law, but as a curious side effect, this sometimes creates fond memories of our old masters in some people through the use of selective memories). As they say – power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The trouble with parliamentary democracy is that there is a long period in between elections which is meant for the elected government to rule without distraction. In the west, this period is jealously guarded by competing classes through NGOs as well as a powerful opposition (who are strong enough and rich enough to form shadow cabinets) in case the elected government plays hanky-panky.

In Malaysia, the opposition is too weak to play this role and so also are the NGOs. The end result is that the whole civil service and even private sector gets seduced to support one party rule - the police, the judiciary, the treasurers, the auditors, the election commissions, the journalists and their editors, the towkays and their donations, the municipalities, the village heads and even the post office, the communications, water and electricity boards. Every one of any influence gets seduced.

As the seduction process broadens and deepens, the usual symptoms surface – abuse of power, unabashed corruption, rotting infrastructure, inefficient civil service, an education system that turns out mindlessly-western-aping children who cannot count or read, increasing and increasingly violent crime, unabashed show-off grand projects, fat women draped in obscene jewelry, young women draped in skimpy clothes, loss of morality and good conscience.

I am not saying this process is smooth and regular. Sometimes men and women of good conscience try to arrest the rot and some good progress is made, but too often, these men get shunted aside or put into cold storage for refusing to get involved in corruption.
The end result is what we are living today. Although it is still not a living hell except for some activists / opposition members brave enough to risk the wrath of the system or some poor soul caught by the crime wave or entangled in bureaucratic incompetence or corruption, more and more people are now facing the prospect of a living hell.

The Rule of Law is set aside in an open and transparent way. The Law itself is made into a mockery in an open and transparent way. Policemen and judges break the law in an open and transparent way. The media tells lies in an open and transparent way. The whole civil service is becoming a gang of criminals in an open and transparent way. The government dips into the Treasury without any accountability in an open and transparent way.

The people have no legal recourse. The system is pushing people into taking extra-judicial recourse and the authorities are branding them as criminals and threats to national security. This is becoming a bastardized democracy in the ideal sense in an open and transparent way.

Yet the people hesitate. Yet the people react only so slowly - first individuals, then groups of individuals. All the time the authorities brand them as criminals for not using the legal process which are already primed against them in a Catch 22 manner. Individuals and groups of individuals are easily picked off and made to disappear from the public eye, whether by threats, bribery or incarceration without trial.

The authorities are already trying to blindfold the public. If this carries on, the public will be gagged and then eventually, their hands and feet will be tied. If this is not a picture of a crime victim, I do not know what is. I guess the next logical thing to expect is to be beaten up mercilessly while blindfolded, gagged and with hands and feet tied. Our children are already doing this in militarized institutions though something called “ragging” – as usual, copied from western military traditions.

In the meantime, activists or even just men and women of good conscience who try to remove the blindfolds are branded as criminals. Those who try to remove the gags are also branded as criminals. Those who try to free the hands and feet from bondage are branded as threats to national security. The best sons and daughters of Malaysia are being beaten into submission. Back to no legal recourse.

In the meantime, the public continue to hesitate. So many “in the meantimes” – it is as if time itself were suspended. People start to get inured to seeing vicious brutality and criminal acts in an open and transparent way. It is even entertaining – just like watching Wayang Kulit.

In the meantime, our bastardized democracy is safe. Anyone who tries to change it is a criminal and a threat to national security. Unlike in the west, where extra electoral or even extra judicial measures would have come into play a long time ago, Malaysia remains peaceful and secure, waiting for the next elections to do our patriotic duty and go to the polls. How truly blessed we are.

How should we then handle our self-induced, drugged, peaceful and happy existence? The authorities push anyone brave enough to try and changed anything into the realm of criminality.

Unlike some of you, I for one am quite averse to violence and brutality. I do not think using sin to combat sin or corruption to combat corruption is a good tactic. In this sense, I am a great admirer of Gandhi. I believe that somewhere along the line, people can become so indignant with sin and corruption that they refuse to be governed by a corrupt and sinful government anymore. I believe that this point can be reached.

So while the authorities push people into criminality, people have to resist this and to raise their indignation. While the authorities try to provoke people into violence or extra-legal actions, people have to resist this violence with even more indignation.

With indignation, the line between corruption and decency and between sin and good conscience can be clearly drawn. It is at this point that a corrupt and sinful government cannot govern anymore.

So while, some of you may believe in the secularity of the west and try to copy western ways and traditions, I believe that eastern decency and religious values still apply in the east. We tried the western models and they are not working, instead leading us down the path of brutality and violence. It is time to go back to our roots.

- By batsman