Let's Make Malaysia Great Again!

"Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Many of us may have heard this popular phrase. Several famous personalities, including politicians and historians, have said or used this phrase before. The origin of this phrase came from British historian, Lord Acton (1834–1902). In 1887, he said the following  :-

"All power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

"Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it"

 

One may expect things to have changed so much since 1887 to the extent that this phrase is irrelevant or less applicable now. After more than 120 years, is this phrase applicable in our current environment? We were a great country with multi-ethnic populations working together peacefully to secure independence from Britain. It is somewhat unfortunate if one is to find this phrase to be very much applicable to our country today.

Barisan Nasional (BN) has been in power for almost 56 years in Malaysia since 1957. BN is the only governing regime that many Malaysians know as government. Any other political party is usually known as opposition. Despite the fact that PAS or Parti Islam Se-Malaysia has been governing Kelantan for many years. In the eyes of public, they are still known an opposition party as opposed to a party in power. That goes to show the strong perception of BN as a coalition forming the ruling regime.

BN enjoys deep pockets after decades of harnessing wealth for governing the country under its de-facto authoritarian fashion. Why was there de-facto authoritarian rule? Has there not been election held at least every 5 years? There have been elections. These elections however may not have been clean and fair elections.There are news on how the electoral rolls and system have been rigged. NGOs such as Bersih and Merap have done good work and provided plenty of evidence on electoral fraud, abuse and problems. Sabah RCI is another example. Any Malaysian will not be amused by some of the evidence.

The situation that our country now is certainly not what envisaged by our forefathers during independence or wanted by the general public. Our people do not want corruption, abuse of power or authoritarian rule.

Najib Razak took office in 2009 and has portrayed himself as a transformational prime minister but surveys suggest BN is still viewed as a corruption-plagued, status-quo force. His background was perceived to be tainted by Altantuya's murder, Scorpene sub marine purchase, Boustead's purchase of Awan Megah (Deepak's company), privatised AES, Ampang LRT, Lynas rare earth plant, cost and necessity of MRT, 118 storey Menara Warisan, Razak Excange (Sg Besi military base development by 1MDB), etc. You can see how a crony or the mastermind behind 1MDB spends his money or possibly some other people's money.

There was Abdullah Badawi before him that called for change and clean government. Pak Lah did not have much success either. It was not important whether he was sufficiently sincere or determined enough to do the right thing. He did not do the job wanted by the people, the Malaysians.

It is not literally wrong to say that BN has absolute regulatory and shareholding controls over all the mainstream media including TVs, Radios and newspapers.These media channels are somehow, rightly or wrongly, under some form of duty to portray an 'undesirable' image  of the opposition. One just have to see how many times Utusan Malaysia had been successfully sued and found liable by the opposition leaders to understand this point.

The state of press freedom in Malaysia has now hit a historic low, with the country being ranked No 145 in the latest World Press Freedom Index - the worst since the annual index begun in 2002. Several accusations of Police manipulating crime statistics to report lower crime rates. Reported crime rates in Malaysia have been reduced so much so that we are now reported to be safer than Singapore. A case for Ripley's Believe It or Not? Malaysia has 'high risk'  of corruption in defence according to Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index released by Transparency International UK. BN has shown ample evidence of the fact that the coalition is incapable of changing for better as wanted by the people.

Our country's democracy is in jeopardy now. Our economy have been unfavourably affected. Our people's livelihood is in detriment. One dominating party system for the last 50 years is no longer working. Our best alternative now is 2 party system. We need 2 party system in Malaysia. We dont want either party to have absolute power. Many countries with 2 party or multi party system have done well in recent history. Examples of country with 2 party or multi party system are Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Norway, Canada, USA, UK, Germany. 2 party system can be our way to put our country out of the misery of corruption, abuse of power and unjust practices, and put our country back on the path of a great nation.

Do we have a hope for 2 party system?  Plainly put by Bridget Welsh, "All said, Najib still has the advantage, but an opposition victory is clearly possible." We may have a hope but it is certainly a very slim hope.

Regardless of all the electoral rigging and unfair mainstream media, we, the Malaysians, are the only people who can drive away that advantage of Najib through the ballot box. We have to drive that advantage away if we are to have hope for a better country that is free from corruption, abuse of power and unjust practices. We have to collectively vote to solidify the foundation of 2 party system by voting for a party or coalition that is against corruption, abuse of power and unjust practices.

We dont want Pakatan Rakyat to be too comfortable either. We want BN to watch them like a hawk over any potential corruption, abuse of power or unjust practices. BN has possibly 5 decades of built-up experience and expertise in corruption and abuse of power. They will do a good job watching over the shoulders of Pakatan.

Let's make Malaysia great again! Malaysia was a great nation in securing independence peacefully. Malaysia was well respected as a better developed country within Southeast Asia on par with our neighbour, Singapore. Thailand and Indonesia have progressed ahead of us in many fields including ability to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Vietnam has also done better than us. An overhaul of the leadership and system is critically in need now. We cannot afford to have more corruption, abuse of power and unjust practices in our country. We have to choose a responsible government that is clean and fair to lead us to a greater height.

Let's make Malaysia great again!

 

Do You Hear the People Sing?

Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!

I have always liked this song "Do you hear the people sing?" since I first watched Les Misérables musical many years ago. I bought the CDs of the musical and used to frequently listen to the song. It has been a long time. Along the way, I stopped listening to the song while I got busy with my work and my livelihood. Les Misérables is in French language and it means The Miserable Ones.

This song has become popular in recent weeks with the debut of the Les Misérables movie. The story is about the sufferings of French ordinary people in the 1800's which led to French revolution against the ruling regime. The movie started showing in Kuala Lumpur just weeks before the #KL112 rally, Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat or People's Uprising Rally. It brought a link between French revolution and People's Uprising Rally in Kuala Lumpur on 12 January 2013. The Malaysian People's Uprising Rally happened some 200 years after French revolution. Unlike French revolution which involved armed struggles, this Malaysian People's Uprising was only a rally to create awareness. The participants and the people intended to use ballot boxes to change the ruling regime in a democratic way.

I find the chorus of this song particularly applicable to this People's Uprising Rally. 


"Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?"

This is very true to some 100,000 to 150,000 people who join the rally. They used their own money to travel and to buy food & drinks when they attended the rally. They sacrificed time that could have been spent on work or with their families. They were upset with several things that are happening in this country:

1. Electoral rolls has still  not been cleaned up. Clean and fair election is still out of our people's reach. We probably still have 160 years old Malaysian voter, but she is not recognized for her old age in national or worldwide platform.
2. Lynas rare earth plant, near Kuantan, Pahang, still does not have a viable waste disposal solution. The waste may contain radiation and can not be exported. Hence, the radiative problem remains at home.
3. Kelantanese are still upset that the state does not get its 20% oil royalty from the oil drilling in Kelantan territory.
4. Some Felda settlers are unhappy with the ways listing of Felda Global Venture, FGV, have been conducted. Many EPF contributing Malaysians are not happy that EPF funds are used to support share price of FGV.
5. Malaysians want MRT line to be realigned to save Jalan Sultan’s heritage row. Government is going ahead with its plan regardless.
6. Orang Asli are unhappy with the way they have been treated. They are still backward in living standard as compared to other communities.
7. Our people are not happy with the education system. . Our graduates find themselves "unmarketable" despite their degrees. Further,  Maths and Science knowledge standard of Malaysian students has deteriorated internationally over the past years. Some groups want English to be used to teach Maths and Science as before.
8. Crime rates and criminal incidences are still high in this country. The statistics provided by govt may show that Malaysia is the safest country in Southeast Asia. This claim may turn out to be more like a joke to Singaporeans and Bruneians. Singapore is known worldwide for being safe. Bruneians are probably too well-off to commit crime.
9. The list goes on and on if reported cases on possible corruptions are mentioned. I will just mention a few here. Eg Scorpene submarine, murder of Altantuya, Awan Megah's failure and Boustead's purchase, privatised AES, necessity and cost of MRT, 118 storey Menara Warisan, padi seed subsidy abuse, Sg Besi military base development, NFC cow condo and saga, Ampang LRT extension, etc. 

"It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!"

The rally participants were mostly ordinary Malaysians and not those social elitists or high society people. They sat and stood together with no social class difference. Many were sweating under the hot sun but none were complaining. They did not want to be oppressed, deprived or be the miserable ones in their own country. They wanted to have a small but fair share of the country's economic wealth. All of them were united in wanting to fight against oppression and corruptions. One could feel how passionate these people were when they sang 'Negaraku'. It was the mood of the people. It was the music of the people of Malaysia.



"When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums"

There was no drum performance during the #KL112 rally. There was no performance of any sort at all to entertain the massive crowd. There were speeches that touched the heart of participants. What could be felt was the heartbeat of the people. The pulse of the nation yearning to come together to move the country forward. The eagerness to change the status quo for betterment was thoroughly felt in every each heartbeat.

Inside Stadium Merdeka

"There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!"

All participants knew that general election for Malaysia was coming. It has to happen within the next few months. They were hopeful that things will be better after the general election. In a 'new life' after general election, they want to minimize if not to eliminate corruption, prevent abuse of power by authorities, reduce actual crime rates, have reasonable standard of living, clean and fair election to choose a clean, fair and responsible government, reject industries that are already not environmentally acceptable to other countries, etc. Again, the list can go on and on.

The people are hopeful that when tomorrow comes, there are enough legitimate Malaysians voters to elect a clean, fair and responsible government. We do not want the election result to be overwhelmed by those alleged 'imported' Malaysians from neighboring countries, with newly issued identity card. Election Commission can not  give assurance to our people. We can only remain hopeful that there are just enough of legitimate Malaysian voters out there who will come out to vote. We shall see if we get a chance to have better days ahead when tomorrow comes!

Bird's eye view around Stadium Merdeka

If you like  to listen to the song, a youtube link is attached.

 

The Most Handsome Man in the World?

“I am a rich man, I am powerful, good-looking, wealthy"

This is the exact words of a man. He must have all the key ingredients of a successful man.


"I am popular..., I have film star status... A celebrity (of) Hollywood level"

This man must have likable character or good look. A celebrity of Hollywood stature usually has outstanding look and style.
 

You may be surprised it if I tell you that both quotes belong to the same man. He is probably the most 'handsome' or 'attractive' man in the world since he has good look, wealth and popularity. Now, the traits of a man with good look and success of Hollywood level. Who can you think of?

Tom Cruise

Brad Pit

Justin Bieber

Any of the above? There are many good looking and successful men in this world. The above names are just a few suggestions. I do not wish to offend any of the good looking men in the world. Well, just in case.


Let's leave 'good  look and success' for a moment and look at other quotes made by mankind.


"I cannot be responsible for my son. I don't screw him, I don't sleep with him..... So whatever he does, I don't know."

The person making this statement seems to suggest one has to sleep with another person to know what the other person is doing.


"I agree that Company A's directors include my husband, and my three children while Company B is owned by my husband and children. I did not make it my business to know what it is. I did not make it my business to know... It's our family culture that while we are staying in the same house, we lead very independent lives" 

Company A and Company B were reported to have undertaken transaction that was unauthorized and against government policy. 

The person, who is quoted here, does not  think she should or can know about the other person that she is sleeping with, even though they sleep together as husband and wife.



What is glaring to us? Both quotes do not seem to in sync. Earlier quote on 'to sleep is to know' a person contradicts the latter quote that 'sleeping together is not to know each other'. However, these 2 quotes are consistent in that 'one does not know what one's son is doing'. Not trying to be sexist but there was no mention of daughter in both quotes.

Some may argue that there is a moral breakdown of family values by persons making statements in the above quotes. Husband and wife do not seem to know or care for each other. Parents do not know or do not care for  their children. One goes as far as saying that one can only know about his or her son if he or she sleeps with the son. Some may question if these people belong to a family at all.

Many questions jump into one's mind after reading the quotes. Are these people part of our Malaysian society? Can we expect any of them to be good parent or spouse? Can they be leader of our society? Who do you think would have said the above? Which country do they come from?


Let's put all the quotes made together in category to know the background:

A
"I am a rich man, I am powerful, good-looking, wealthy. I am popular..., I have film star status... A celebrity (of) Hollywood level"

"I cannot be responsible for my son. I don't screw him, I don't sleep with him..... So whatever he does, I don't know."

Both quotes in this category came from the same man. Do you still think that he should be the most  'handsome' or 'attractive' man in the world?


B
"I agree that Company A's directors include my husband, and my three children while Company B is owned by my husband and children. I did not make it my business to know what it is. I did not make it my business to know... It's our family culture that while we are staying in the same house, we lead very independent lives"




Statements in Category A came from Dato' Seri Mohamed Nazri bin Tan Sri Abdul Aziz is a Malaysian political leader from the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), and is a Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of parliamentary affairs. He is also currently the de-facto Law Minister.


Statements in Category B came from Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil is a Malaysian political leader and the former Minister of Women, Family and Community Development in the Malaysian cabinet. She is the Chairlady of the Women's wing of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), and therefore also the Chairlady of the Women's Wing of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.