Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
| Posted: 30 Nov 2011 10:18 AM PST The scene is a small terrace house, somewhere in Kelana Jaya. Ten year old Mary and her younger brother Timothy approach their father who is sitting in the living room flossing his teeth after a large meal. Azmi Sharom "Papa, Timmy and I would like to tell you something" "Oh, really, both of you want to gather together and say something?" "Yes, we think it is a very important issue and we would like to express ourselves to the whole family". "I see, so you want to assemble peacefully. You are not going to get violent are you?" "Of course not Papa!" "Good. Good. Very well, you can't say I am a wicked and authoritarian father. I am in fact very liberal; much more liberal than other fathers, for example that Mr Hlaing from Myanmar. I am very happy to give you the space to get together with your brother and express yourselves to your little hearts' content". "Oh thank you Papa. You are such a kind and understanding Papa". "I know, I am, all my buddies tell me. However, I just have a few teeny tiny conditions" "What are they Papa"? "There are some places in the house where you cannot gather. The kitchen is one. It is a very sensitive area where food is being prepared and I don't want you to get in the way of your mother who is busy cooking there. Also you can't gather in the dining room because that is where we eat. The living room is off limits due to the fact that the television is there and you would be interrupting the quiet enjoyment of the family by making noise when we are trying to watch TV. The garage is a no go zone. If you go tramping around in there you might jolly well scratch my car and we can't be having that can we?" "I suppose not Papa. Is there any where else we can't gather?" "Let me think. Of course! You can't assemble in the toilet". "In the toilet? Why not?" "You know very well that I suffer from incredible bouts of gas and I need the toilet to be free at all times so I can relieve the build up". "So, where on earth can we gather"? "Your bedroom". "How can the other family members know what we are complaining about if we are stuck in our bedroom"? "You silly little thing. If the rest of the family want to hear what you are saying they'll just have to go to the bedroom isn't it? Except little Annie. She's too young and I don't want her getting confused by what you have to say" "Are those all your conditions Papa"? "No, I have one more. If any of the family members complain about what you are saying, then I won't let you speak". "That is not fair. You know that big brother Abe never agrees with us and he is bound to complain. He is your favourite and you always listen to him no matter how stupid his views are" "Now, now, you are being over emotional. I don't have any favourites and it is irresponsible for you to say so. See, I let you speak and you say irresponsible things. There are limits to freedom you know". "Your limits have no limits papa. This is too much." "Alright then, if you are unhappy with my rules you know what you can do." "What" "You can go to your room and talk to yourself over there". Mary and Timothy trudge unhappily to their bedroom. Suddenly their father calls to them. "Wait! Wait! Mary, I said you can go to your bedroom. I did not say that you and Timmy can go there together in a procession. When you walk in a group you block up the hallway and that is very bad. There's a good girl. Now off you go and when you are finished, go make me a cup of tea".
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| Mahathir-Najib made us debtors Posted: 30 Nov 2011 09:44 AM PST The growing national debt has left oil rich Sabah and Sarawak liable to almost RM80 billion in combined owings. In 2009 when Najib took over the reign's from ex-premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the national debt stood at more than RM362 billion. Now our national debts stands at RM437 billion. Awang Abdillah, Free Malaysia Today Umno has seen good leaders and bad ones. How bad is bad leadership depends on what kind of characteristics and value system he picks up. If he picks the extreme form of negative values then the nation is in deep trouble. Umno, since Independence and until 1981, saw three late prime ministers who made positive contributions to the country. They each proved to serve the national interests first which is the essence of good governance. But things began to change in 1981 after the fourth premier – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad – took over. Under his reign good governance took a backseat and things went from bad to worse and now under Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, we're sinking from worse to the worst. Over the past 30 years we have witnessed how Umno and Sarawak's Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) have spewed their bad and evil traits without any feelings of remorse . Abuses of power, corruption, plundering and looting of state and national wealth were done on a massive scale. The national debt keeps on growing at a rapid pace . Drowning in debts In 2009 when Najib took over the reign's from ex-premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the national debt stood at more than RM362 billion. Now our national debts stands at RM437 billion. In contrast our expected revenue for 2012 is only about RM186.9 billion! If the debt is to be shared by all the 13 states of Malaysia, then each state will bear a debt of RM39.7 billion directly or indirectly. Knowing this, is it worth supporting the Umno /Barisan Nasional government, anymore? Instead of giving us returns for exploiting our wealth, Sarawakians and Sabahans are now burdened with RM39.7 billion debt each. Global history has repeatedly shown us how a bad leader had acted alone. We had (Germany's Adolf) Hilter, (Iraq's) Saddam (Hussein) and (Philippines' Ferdinand) Marcos – all of them acted alone and individually to create havoc upon mankind and their people. These are called dangerous leaders – which is of the worst kind.
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| Posted: 30 Nov 2011 09:40 AM PST For a long time now, Umno has been 'in the red' due to the sheanigans of its top leaders, who seem to have little or no shame in indulging in acts that go against the very grain of the party. For a long time now, Umno has been "in the red" due to the sheanigans of its top leaders, who seem to have little or no shame in indulging in acts that go against the very grain of Umno, that is to uphold the aspirations of Malay nationalism and the dignity of race, religion and country. Jeswan Kaur, Free Malaysia Today Should the country's largest poltical party, the United Malay National Organisation or better known as Umno pride itself for having become larger than life, if best, for the sake of its survival, think again. As the party stands today, the despicable power-play and miserable antics of its top guns have only proved otherwise. The recent occurences involving Umno's bigwigs are a clear reflection of the tattered image the party is left with. The most recent controversy involves Umno Wanita chief, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil who having lost her parliamentary seat in the 2008 general election to youngster Nurul Izzah Anwar of PKR made a "comeback" into politics via the "backdoor" after being appointed a senator. Three years down the road and Shahrizat, who is the women, family and community development minister has made news for the wrong reason. Currenty embroiled in a fiasco involving allegations of misuse of state funds, Shahrizat has to prove that she is worth every vote. Lashing out at the opposition for trying to ruin her political career will not do. Shahrizat, instead, has to come clean with the rakyat on why and how her husband Dr Mohamed Salleh Ismail became the NFC director. The NFC first became embroiled in controversy when its operation was criticised in the Auditor-General's Report for 2010. The report, released last month, criticised the RM250 million federally-funded cattle project, pointing out that it was now "in a mess". It also said production in 2010 was only 3,289 head of cattle or 41.1% of the target set. The "helping hand" lent to Shahrizat by Umno deputy chairman and deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin is not going to absolve Shahrizat, a lawyer by training, of wrongdoing. Muhyiddin's declaration that the public should be the best judge of the NFC fiasco and that there is no reason for Shahrizat to resign, in spite of pressure mounting for her to do so, has only proven that cronyism is still very much the order of the day in this country. Umno in the red For a long time now, Umno has been "in the red" due to the sheanigans of its top leaders, who seem to have little or no shame in indulging in acts that go against the very grain of Umno, that is to uphold the aspirations of Malay nationalism and the dignity of race, religion and country. And whilst Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak keeps reiterating calls to reduce ethnic tensions and protect minority rights, the truth as ironical as it is, is clear that Umno is doing otherwise by consciously stoking racial sentiments. Time and again the race issue is raised by Umno using its general assembly platform, forewarning the non-Malays not to "mess" with the Malay rights laid down in the Federal Constitution. It was in 2006 that then Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein at the Umno Youth assembly warned the Article 11 Group of bringing up the issue of Article 11 and Article 121 (A) of the Federal Constitution. Hishammuddin was also against the setting up of the Inter-religious Commission. The Article 11 Group undertook a nationwide campaign to make people aware of their rights to religious freedom. In 2006, Hishammuddin had said: "Umno Youth opines that questions and issues relating to Islam should be heard and decided by the syariah court and not the civil court in line with Article 121 (A) of the Federal Constitution." He added: "Do not make fun, question and challenge the position of the Malays and Islam in this country. Any movement, in whatever form or name, even in the name of religious freedom, freedom of speech or press freedom, will not be allowed to challenge the rights as enshrined in the country's constitution."
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