Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Pakatan Rakyat's chances in GE 13
- GTP - It's easy to improve when you're shit
- Our Leaders and their followers need to know: All the glitter and promises galore cannot ...
| Pakatan Rakyat's chances in GE 13 Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:52 PM PDT
Unlike 2008, Idealism is not going to be a dominant feature of the 2013 elections, pragmatism is. PR has not sufficiently differentiated itself from BN but BN has consistently proved that it is stronger. When the differences between two sides is not pronounced, the pragmatic inclination in people will generally sway their decision in support of the side that appears stronger. An opinion of Nehru S.M, private citizen If the elections is called soon, I think the the list of factors that favors a Pakatan Rakyat victory in GE 13 is short. First, there is Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar Ibrahim has always attracted people with his aura of a hero and a underdog, but heroes need a strong villain and underdogs shine brighter in defeat. Since Dr. M's retirement and the opposition's substantial victory in the 2008 election, Anwar Ibrahim's heroic aura has generally been on the wane. Then there is the theme of change. The opposition represents the side that represents change in Malaysian politics and Malaysians are as a whole still pro change. However, a nation's inclination to change is powered chiefly by hopes of future profit. That the opposition has been largely unable to decide on how they are going to cut the profit pie as different segments of Malaysians clamor for their share would probably dampen Malaysians' eagerness for change. Third is the case of corruption. People might be against corruption, but in popular imagination, a person who steals 50 ringgit is a thief, but a person who steals a a billion ringgit is a great man. That the opposition generally exposes multibillion ringgit corruption cases has the unfortunate effect of elevating the personal prestige of those they seek to diminish. Also, too big a corruption case lacks emotional appeal. A thousand ringgit theft off a mother of 5 pulls the heartstrings of an average voter in a way that a 100 billion of illicit cash flow out of the country never could. Then there is the case of institutional reform to increase efficiency and correct past wrongs. This is probably the weakest of opposition promise because in truth, voters either don't really know what it means or they don't care. Chiefly, it excites only academics. Lastly, to curb the abuses in power amongst government officials. While outwardly, Malaysians generally are against the abuses of power by govt officials, especially by the police, but in principal, we are are not as against it as we appear to be. The truth is, we have always known that suspects are probably tortured during police investigations and that bribery is not an uncommon way to conclude business with government agencies, and we are ok with it. If we have any complains about about abuses of power, it tends to be about the scale. As Also, the across board revolutionary fever that helped PR in gaining a foothold in the corridors of power in 2008 has cooled off. 5 years on, the belief that change will bring something better, or that the fight for change is a holy cause, or that change can be brought forth quickly and without much difficulty has largely dissipated. Unlike 2008, Idealism is not going to be a dominant feature of the 2013 elections, pragmatism is. PR has not sufficiently differentiated itself from BN but BN has consistently proved that it is stronger. When the differences between two sides is not pronounced, the pragmatic inclination in people will generally sway their decision in support of the side that appears stronger. Also, that the PR campaign has the misfortune of being viewed outside of the middle class, tertiary educated and Chinese electorate largely as a middle class, tertiary educated and Chinese agitation isolates their appeal and will cost them support. The Sulu army's incursion and the death of Malaysian army personals also does not favor the opposition. People have a natural inclination of forgetting their differences and rallying together when faced with external threats and this favors the incumbents. Also, the fact that all of the fallen army personals are Malays also rattles the "we are in this together through thick and thin" idealogy that is promoted by the opposition. Since the Malays would now feel that they have sacrificed more, they are less likely to be attracted to the idea of equal sharing promoted by the opposition. Combined together, and barring any drastic changes, not only do I think that PR's chances of winning is slim, but that BN is going to win with an improved margin. |
| GTP - It's easy to improve when you're shit Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:24 PM PDT
"I've improved by three spots compared with the mid-semester's class ranking," I thought while paddling, convincing myself: "I did better this time, Papa won't be mad."
Jonathan Fernandez THE longer I stared at it, the wider my smile grew. Soon enough the grin was ear to ear. "I did it!" the jubilant voice inside my head proclaimed.
After tucking the academic report card into my schoolbag, I hopped on my bicycle and excitedly headed home. "I've improved by three spots compared with the mid-semester's class ranking," I thought while paddling, convincing myself: "I did better this time, Papa won't be mad."
I had never cared how my mother would react. I was a mama's boy and I'm not at all ashamed. In fact poor Amma was as scared as me and my two younger siblings on "Report Card Day". All it would take was for any of us three to screw up and all of us would get a lashing, yes, even Amma – because she was "in-charge" of everything at home.
I slowed down as I approached the house. I then see a silver Honda Accord parked nicely in the shade of the old mango tree. My heart rate raced and something told me that it was not because of my Lance Armstrong antics.
Reality was creeping in, and it hit me: "Shit, Papa's home."
I unlock and unlatch the gate as quiet as I can, somewhat convinced that doing this was going to make any difference to the results on the card.
After parking my bicycle at the usual spot of the house compound, with a nonchalance Don Corleone would have been proud of, I stepped into the hall – where my brother and sister were already seated on the sofa with Papa flipping through their cards with a cane between his legs. Yes, he was shirtless, too. Because who wears a top when you're going to blow your top off, anyway, right?
All he needed to do was give me this piercing glare and my hand automatically, and a bit uncannily, reached out for my report card from my schoolbag. I pass it to him.
"What rubbish is this?" he asked with such a frightening calm. "Why are there so many Cs and Ds?" My legs were rooted; my body felt numb – all familiar sensations that I would feel all 26 times in my 13 years of schooling on the bi-annual report card days.
Desperately, I looked around ... Amma was nowhere to be seen. Siblings had come home earlier and would have gotten their share of the shelling already. Amma knew better than to stick around for Round Two. She had probably been in the kitchen at that time in order to avoid being unfairly dragged into this mess. I was left to fend for myself this time.
"Pa, look, I did better than last sem. Last time I finished 29th in class, this time I got No. 21."
If that was supposed to be my lifesaving excuse, then it failed big time and did the exact opposite. Until this day, I have never seen any face which had the "Do I look like I give a f***?" expression so obviously painted on it. Needless to say, he wasn't impressed, not a single bit.
Infuriated, he responds: "Don't ever give me that reason again. Anyone can improve once the person has hit rock-bottom. It's easy to do better when you're performing well below expectations.
"Next year you're going to sit for your PMR. You need to buck up and start fulfilling your potential ... because I know that despite how much your looks suggest it, you're actually not stupid. If you don't start changing, I'm sending you to a boarding school!" he threatened.
Papa had a point at that time, a point still applicable today. Papa should have a word with Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his administration about their so-called improvements based on the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) report. The Pemandu results are sure to drive him up the wall.
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| Our Leaders and their followers need to know: All the glitter and promises galore cannot ... Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:19 PM PDT
If anyone cries of an allegation – or even goes beyond all reasonable doubt to help unravel the stink, our mainstream media takes the proverbial stance of 'see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil'. J. D. Lovrenciear As we inch to our probably, most fiercely-to-be-fought general elections, the exposes of corrupt deeds and intentions are heart-arresting. Because one is innocent until proven guilty, all exposes remain as mere allegations until and unless due justice can ever be dispensed without fear or favor. But ask any humble simpleton on the street, "Is Malaysia not corrupted?" and you better be forewarned for the surprised frown you will get. What is mind-boggling however is the torrent of denials that cascade from the implicated crooks and the rebuttals of poison darts aimed at the whistle-blowers by the die-hard supporters. It is either we have lost all sense and understanding of the true essence of patriotism or those who support suspicious crooks and 'alleged' nation-robbers are just as guilty as they may be siphoning parasites on the branch of corruption and greed. So how do we clean this nation and ensure a fair, democratic and equitable distribution of the nation's heavenly endowed resources and wealth so that all caring and hard-working Malaysians prosper and bask in the sunshine of progress and development? As it is, already Malaysians are on the dole - this is despite the claims by the powers that be that Malaysia is registering very healthy growth rates! The yardstick of sufferings brought about by corruption and greed is in the very grandiose and seemingly sensitively caring actions the PM of Malaysia is peddling. Take the case of the cash hand outs by the BN-administered government. It makes a mockery of aid and assistance. RM500 per year works out to RM41.67 per month. That is a distasteful RM1.39 per day handout to the recipient. Holy of holies! What kind of beggars are Malaysians made out to be? Even a street bumpkin can stretch out his lazy hands and pocket a good RM30 to RM50 a day begging along Chow Kit, mate! Then you have a coffee table book launched by the Who's Who of Malaysia with a categorical proclamation that it would do well for all Malaysians for a 100 - 200 years to come. And we clap our hands in jubilation, while corporations snap up hundreds of books – making it into the Malaysia Book of Records for sales! And we proclaim that we may in all likelihood attain developed nation status well before the deadline of 2020? You have a video expose on land grabs, and you cannot even hear a whisper from within the corridors of power? Restricted ammunition was used to annihilate a sole, helpless fragile woman from a foreign land, and we are still waiting for justice to appease humanity? Cows go missing but we have no qualms in singing "what's wrong in parking a half-million ringgit car in my porch"? We let a water-village to mushroom over decades, and only now you hear of the need to place that large-scale dwelling under security vigilance? Take a look at the way the many more whale-size court cases are being dragged at snail's pace within the Palace of Justice. If 'sandiwara' is not the right word then pray tell what is. There was a time when we were led to believe that Malaysia is a corruption free nation. That was the time when we looked and jeered at our neighboring countries for all the sordid corrupt dealings. But today, we are at a point where our neighbors have fought well and are in the process of cleaning up the messes and putting transparent accountability on the table for all to view. Their media is the catalyst for that change. But can we say the same for ourselves now? If anyone cries of an allegation – or even goes beyond all reasonable doubt to help unravel the stink, our mainstream media takes the proverbial stance of 'see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil'. The on-line media on the other hand has been labeled as untrustworthy anyway by the powers that be. And the authorities who are the vanguards of good conduct and law enforcement, will stand sheltered behind that often quoted statement that we cannot act until a report is lodged. If we can get away by saying 'semua-nya ok' and that infamous edict, 'tutup satu mata'; if we can state without batting an eye, 'aiya, who is not corrupt lah'; when we accept the mantra of 'if he is doing it why I cannot eh?' – then let us face the truth squarely: When our neighboring nations make progress having won their battle fighting corruption and greed with a resolute, national will and conscience, we Malaysians may in all likelihood be sinking with the very yoke of patronizing this sin against an entire nation – past, present and future while the handful laugh all the way to the bank. For as long as we are in denial, we are busted! For as long as we sing that rhyme, 'we have delivered on our promises of grandeur and progress; we will deliver more' when we cannot even lift a convincing finger to arrest the very disease that is depriving Malaysians and reducing them to a point that they have to accept RM1.39 a day of handout, we need to know that we are losers. Let truth be told: all the glitter and promises galore cannot whitewash the sins of corruption and greed. And it is that working rakyat who finally will have to pay that painful price.
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