If it is to be, it is up to me!

Today I want to be different. Instead of writing heavy stuff I just want to digest a few things that I think would give some inspiration to myself and perhaps others too.

The 10 simple words "if it is to be, it is up to me", I picked somewhere in a certain magazine give a profound impression. Philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson who once said "When you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen."

On this beautiful Chinese New Year day, while I want to relax because most shops are closed, I just want to ponder upon those 10 words.

To all of you who pass by this blog I like to wish you great days ahead. It is you who make things happen and if it is to be it is up to you.

Malaysia, after 50 years of its formation, is really in need of refurbishment.

May God bless everyone.

Happy and prosperous Chinese New Year of the Golden Ox

To all our Chinese relatives, friends, neighbours and all Chinese in Malaysia: I like to take this opportunity to to wish you all a very happy Chinese New Year of the Golden Ox.

May you all celebrate the new year in atmosphere of peace and harmony. Insofar as diversity of cultures and beliefs are concerned, Malaysia is a place like no other. The blend of ethnic felicity is our pride. Unfortunately many a time it has been threatened by deliberate extremism by desperate politicians. But the saddest part is that, those destructive hands belonged to those on the corridor of power, who also preach moderation at other times.

With the coming of this CNY it is our fervent hope that this brand of politicians shall come to their senses and cease doing anything adverse to the interest of the country and people.

Qong Xi Fa Cai.

Praise be to him and blame it on Dayak intellectuals and the bloggers

For the past many days I have not been in the habit of reading mainstream newspapers not until a friend rang to inform that Tan Sri Alfred Jabu had once again inviting polemic with the bloggers. I won't say I was shunning myself from those papers. But rather I did not have the 'tamasya' (sanskrit word for 'fun') in reading those papers. The media are meant to inform. Anything short of that would likely cause readers to stay aloof and even allergic to their presence.

That friend told me Alfred Jabu claimed he did not possess the time to stay in his office and sit on his desk to reply to bloggers. Perhaps that could be the reason Alfred Jabu was often seen with the Chief Minister whereever the latter went. I was further told that Alred Jabu also claimed that hitherto noboby in Sarawak has ever proved to be better than him (Jabu) insofar as managing SALCRA is concerned. And despite not asking for any credit he said that he deserved proportionate credit from the Dayak especially Dayak intellectuals. If anybody could have done even 10% of what he had done to SALCRA, Jabu said that it was good enough but there is none to date.

I thought I really don't want to argue with Alfred Jabu anymore after he had failed to take up my challenge for a public debate. I am not interested in arguing with someone who is a coward. But now he has re-started the fire again to which I am compelled to respond. Reading that newspaper in question I am getting more confused with the figures. To date Alfred Jabu has given three sets of figures pertaining to the same thing. The first figure was RM50 million to be distributed to 14,000 participants. The second figure was RM30 million to be distributed to 14,000 participants. And now RM52 million to be distributed to 16,000 participants. But all the three figures refer to the same thing. But be that as it may, the income of a participant is still almost next to nothing.

Alfred Jabu mentioned of 10% of what he has done to entitle any Dayak to criticize him. The first time I have ever heard a citizen has to show that he (the citizen) has to perform at least 10% of what Afred Jabu has done to be eligible to advance a legitimate criticism. It is a new value of democracy I believe, a perculiar democracy that has its root in the Liar Valley, ops! I mean, Layar valley.

To cut the long story short, as I lack the interest to argue with somebody whose brain, thought and bravery have not gone beyond puberty level, I can only make one simple conclusion: praise be to him, Yang Dikasihi, and blame it on Dayak intellectuals and bloggers. By that I mean all of us are in the wrong and only Alfred Jabu alone is right. He is always right with what he says and does. And we are wrong with what we say and do. Translate that into reality, Alfred Jabu has made every Dayak rich through the current policies, especially SALCRA participants.

I am prepared to disclose every bank account that I have to show how rich I have been. I am also prepared to declare every interest pecuniary or otherwise that I have or that of my family or relatives in any company or government linked companies to show my involvement and influence. Yes, prepared to expose everything. Would Alfred prepare to do that to show how economically poor or disadvantaged he is?

Yes, let God grant unto us the wealth and the power that Alfred Jabu has always been saying that we have although we have none. In addition, may God continue to grant us the wisdom to make our country a better home for all.

Refusing the gift of a deputy minister--stupid or smart?

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Abdul Razak , while accepting the defeat of Barisan Nasional in the Kuala Trengganu by-election, said that the result was not a reflection of the people’s lack of confidence in him as the incoming premier.

Before the polling day, when launching the Barisan Nasional election machinery for the Kuala Trengganu by-election at the Islamic Civilisation Park, Najib said, "If they vote for the PAS candidate, he cannot be a deputy minister".

Now that Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh of BN had been defeated, therefore there would be no deputy minister for Kuala Trengganu in the words of Najib. If refusing the 'gift' of a deputy minister was a stupid act then Najib was smart with such a 'gift'. Therefore it was obvious that the 32,883 voters of Kuala Trengganu were stupid for rejecting such 'gift'. But if rejecting such 'gift' was considered smart then Najib was obviously stupid with such a 'gift'.

Considering the timing, the nature of the promise and the circumstances of the making of the promise, by any standard, it is in my considered opinion such promise of gift was a bribery. That being the case, the 32,883 were not stupid but smart for rejecting what they considered as bribery. But of course the more reason being that those voters did not have confidence in the BN to hold such mandate.

On the issue of confidence in Najib as the next Prime Minister of Malaysia taking over from Abdullah Ahmad Badawi this coming March, it is my opinion that the result of the Kuala Trengganu by-election is without doubt a reflection or expression of the peoples' rejection of Najib both as the incoming Prime Minister as well as their rejection of the Barisan Nasional. We Malaysians by and large are very mindful of the reputation of our leaders. Datuk Seri Najib is a very senior national leader, and therefore it is hard to believe that voters in Kuala Trengganu were not mindful of his reputation or in our local slang "would not want to give face" to him without cogent reason. Be that as it may, I am absolutely convinced that the voters of Kuala Trengganu were either had got fed up with Najib and/or the Barisan Nasional as a whole and/or that there was something so appealing that PAS can deliver that they had refused to "give him face'.

On my part, I like to congratulate Abdul Wahid Endut for having won the Kuala Trengganu parliamentary by-election and also Wan Ahmad Farid for having shown a good performance too. But most of all I like to congratulate the voters of Kuala Trengganu for expressing their views without fear.

Boycott US

A friend sent me the following email, which I think I need to share with all of you. It is unabridged and taken in verbatim.
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"America has decided not to sell any more spares for the Boeing jets and has clamped import of All goods from Malaysia"........... ????? our best business partner ...This is the fellow who was at the helm of our country.......

American boycott: Let the Mamak sell Pisang Goreng

I refer to the Malaysiakini report Mahathir: Boycott US products and their currency.
'Boycott US products and their currency' says the know-all Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
As a man who claims has 'never made a mistake' and who is 'speckless', we can expect him to keep this record clean by openly showing Malaysians that he is not a hypocrite in his call to boycott things American.

We can therefore expect the Tun to stop using all forms of computers (laptops, servers, etc) as they are largely the creation of Americans and are enabled by American technologies and products such as Intel/AMD microprocessors, Microsoft Windows operating system, Linux/Unix servers, routers (Cisco), Internet Explorer, Firefox, Microsoft Office, etc.

In fact, we can expect him to shut down his Chedet site as its continued operation would contribute to the coffers of firms such as Microsoft, Intel/AMD, Cisco, HP/Sun/Dell, etc.

If he continues to run his Chedet site, he would be proving to all Malaysians and the world that he is nothing but a hypocrite who says one thing and does another. The Tun certainly will not want to tarnish his speckless record.

In fact, the Tun can be expected to go beyond merely shutting down his Chedet site. His next call should therefore be for the rejection of American firms such as Intel, Motorola, Microsoft, DHL, ExxonMobil, Computer Associates, IBM, Unisys, British American Tobacco, Oracle, Lucent Technologies, Sun Microsystems, Compaq, etc from the Multimedia Super Corridor and free trade zones.

Their continued operation in Malaysia will help them to prosper and contribute to the US economy and the strengthening of the US dollar.

As advisor to Petronas, the Tun can also be expected to call for the termination of contracts with Exxon-Mobil, Caltex and Chevron and to expel these American firms from oil explorations and petrol/diesel retailing in Malaysia - no more Esso petrol stations.

I am sure the Tun will also ensure that Petronas's oil will no longer be sold in US dollars. The Tun should also call for the expelling of Americans such as Bill Gates from the International Advisory Panel of the Multimedia Super Corridor, his (the Tun's) brainchild (which should no longer be referred to as the Silicon Valley of the East but something else).

Going further, the Tun can be expected to call for the conversion of all the billions of US dollar reserves held by Malaysia into ringgit or perhaps into the currencies of poor Islamic nations such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia to help to shore up the economies of Islamic brother nations while punishing the evil Americans.

No more reserve in US dollars for Malaysia. No more sending of Malaysian students to the US. No more Malaysians (certainly no one from Mahathir's family or his supporters) will be visiting US.

No more buying of anything American. In fact, even no more selling to America - why sell something to someone who you hate?
Will Mahathir do all these things to back up his call to boycott the US or is he going to openly prove to all of us once and for all that he is nothing but a mere hypocrite?

From the people back to the people

After a litany of refusal by hotel operators and other venue owners, finally Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) managed to secure an open ground at 4th Mile Kuching-Serian Road for the venue of its January 9th dinner. In preparation for unpredictable January rain, a roofed canvas makeshift hall was erected. Judging from the total number of numbered tables and chairs without tables, the crowd at the dinner was in the region of 4,000 to 4,500 people.

This writing, however, is not about dinner or for that matter, PKR's dinner. It is about choice; peoples'choice. The subject matter of choice is voting for Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat in the next Sarawak State General Election. The dinner was just an opportunity to congregate people from all walks of life to listen to speeches by PKR leaders. Besides Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, among the speakers were Menteri Besar of Selangor, YAB Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, Angkatan Muda Keadilan Chief, saudara Shamsul Iskandar and Gopeng MP, YB Dr Lim Boon Chai.

'From the people back to the people'. That was the gist of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's speech referring to the wealth of the State of Sarawak, which he (Anwar Ibrahim) said had been plundered and continue to be plundered by some leading state's politicians. The role of PKR and its partners, DAP and PAS is to end the 45 consecutive years rule of the BN in Sarawak. It is only by so doing that the peoples' wealth could be legitimately returned to the people.

Either the term plundered is appropriate or otherwise is something subjective. But there is certainly much truth that thousands of acres of land had been alienated to companies owned by State's Barisan Nasional politicians or their families. And among the latest alienation (27th June 2007), in which I have documentary record, is 12,000acres of state land in Baram District to a company owned by the wife of a very senior civil servant. On what basis such a large piece of land being alienated to a very senior state civil servant is not known. This is just one instance. There are a lot more in which we also have documentary record.

By the way, the aforesaid dinner ended with the handing over a memorandum of protest to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrhim by the people of Bengoh over the building of several dams in Bengoh. From the information that I have those dams will greatly benefit only TWO personalities on the pretext of providing electricity to some of the Bidayuh kampongs.

The initial hunting for proper venue of the aforesid dinner reminds me of a proverb, "All's Well That Ends Well", which is also one of Shakepeare's plays. The countenance drawn on the forehead of the people who came out of the makeshift hall after the dinner had ended was an indication of personal satisfaction. Some people reasoned that many who were there only came for free meals. I doubt such allusion carries much truth as many who came were from afar at their own expenses. Why should they come all the way just for a simple dinner? The truth was, they wanted to hear the message that Anwar Ibrahim brought. To them Anwar Ibrahim is more than just a Malay leader but a national leader and a leader for all races.

The Tune of Malaysian Democracy

The Malaysian News Agency, Bernama, reported the Deputy Prime Minister as saying,“If they vote for the PAS candidate, he cannot be a deputy minister”, when launching the Barisan Nasional election machinery for the Kuala Trengganu by-election at the Islamic Civilisation Park Monday night.

In any general or by-election in Malaysia an ordinary Barisan Nsional MP candidate either an incumbant or first timer would promise minor rural projects; the caretaker deputy minister would promise mosques, churches or temples; the caretaker minister would promise community colleges; the caretaker deputy prime minister would promise appointment of the winning candidte as deputy minister and would tell the voters that they (the voters) would suffer great loss by rejecting the candidate as the defeated BN candidate would not be a deputy minister. The caretaker prime minister would promise a multi-billion ringgit bridge, a university, great future ahead or for that matter anything under the sun. In other words, in Najib's language, if voters of Kuala Trengganu refuse to vote for Wan Farid, the BN candidate, they (voters) are kind of stupid.

The above description is not an exaggeration but that of reality. For the past 51 years in the case of Malaya and 45 years in the case of Sarawak, the Barisan Nasional has been using similar strategies to obtain mandate to rule and has been proven to be very effective.

The BN's opponent or better known as the opposition has been accusing the former of using unethical means, which is hardly disputable but yet the latter has not been successful in convincing the voters to reject such unethical ways. It is absolutely unconceivable that voters who had been truly convinced would not reject the BN. But the fact is, they have have accepting the BN despite their rejection of BN unethical ways. I really would like to believe the opposition had actually failed to convince the voters they are better alternative to the BN.

The BN has successfully used the crucial weapon, namely, "only the BN alone is capable of bringing continuous and sustainable economic development to every part of the country". But with continuous physical changes exhibited by the BN through out its tenure of office, how could the opposition convince the voters that they would be better alternative to what the BN has been doing. The BN has been using economic development both as weapon of attack as well as weapon of defence and challenges the opposition to prove the reverse. But what has the opposition done in defence of such attack? The opposition has only succeeded in pointing out the weaknesses of the BN administration but has failed to offer a concrete and comprehensive plan capable of giving the best solution to contemporary and future economic and political problems. In addition to that the opposition, in many cases, has failed to field candidates of quality. Some are not only having poor educational backgroud but also of suspected integrity. Putting up good, popular and well-educated candidates are therefore crucial if the opposition has nothing else to offer. By merely attacking the weaknesses of the BN alone will not sufficiently convinced the voters unless the opposition comes up with well-liked candidates with excellent educational bckground. Of late Pakatan Rakyat is seen implementing programmes that are people-friendly

Inculcating culture of fear and/or the terror of denial of economic development for legitimately expressing dissenting opinion and promised with the hope of a better future under the BN government is a devastating weapon that the BN has been using against the opposition. Living in poverty and also harbouring hopes of fulfilment of those promises have made voters succumb to BN culture of fear in every election.

Many leading Barisan Nasional politicians often reasoned that Malaysian democracy is perculiar to Malaysia alone. Hence they say it should not be compared with western democracy despite the universality of democratic values. It is often said that the west is always associated with everything that is negative whilst the east is always associated with good manners, purity and courtesy. And such is the tune of Malaysian democracy.

Longhouse and kampong politics of the interior of Sarawak is even more perculiar. Votes are purchasable with as little as RM5 cash or some building materials for farm huts. Well-educated, dedicated and illustrious sons of the longhouse can hardly offer themselves to serve because they often lack large sum of money to buy votes and/or they do not have the courage to be part of such practice. It is not surprising that rural constituencies are represented by the rich but without quality, dedication or skills.

The post March 8 General Election has witnessed new dimension in Malaysian politics and Sarawak is without exception. New hopes are incubated in the minds of many Sarawakians. Will those incubated hopes hatch into reality? I believe it will but not without sacrifice.

Free up to RM20 or Just Pure Mockery and Cheap Gimmick?

Most Sarawakians still remember when Pakatan Rakyat took over the administration of the State of Selangor after March 8 General Election, the first thing that the Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim did was to announce free water for all Selangor residents up to RM20. The Menteri Besar really meant it. Any consumption above RM20, the consumer has to pay the extra. For example if in a particular month the consumption is RM20 and below, the comsumer would pay nothing; if the consumption for a particular month, say for example, RM22.90, the consumer would have to pay RM2.90 only as RM20 is free of charge.

In trying to emulate Selangor, the State Government of Sarawak, some months ago also announced a free electricity up to RM20 in any given month commencing September 2008. Everybody was happy with the announcement.

Looking closely at the way Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor and Barisan Nasional in Sarawak in implementing the free-of-charge amenity, there is one minor difference. In Sarawak, unlike in Selangor, consumers have to pay the full amount if the consumption is more than RM20 in any particular month, for instance, if in November 2008 the bill showed my consumption was RM22.56, I have to pay exactly RM22.56 to Syarikat Sesco Berhad. In other words, it is not free anymore. To entitle a consumer to get a free electricity the consumption in a particular month ought to be exactly RM20 or below. And there is one major difference, that is, if a consumer doesn't use electricity at all in a particular month, he has to pay the minimum RM5.

The biggest predicament is, how would a consumer know exactly at what stage he has consumed exactly RM20? There is nothing to indicate that he has used up to RM20 so that the consumer can immediately stop using electricity in order to enjoy the benefit of free electricity. On the other hand, if it can be calculated, and for example, on the 15th day of a particular month, the consumption has reached exactly RM20, the consumer has to stop using electricity in order to enjoy the benefit of free-of-charge electricity of up to RM20. Hence, the rest of the 15 days the consumer has to live in total darkness unless he supplements the 15 days using a private generator. And worst of all, the billing date may not necessarily from 1st to 30th of the month. So a consumer would not know when to begin or when to stop to enjoy the RM20 free electricity. That being the case, IS THAT REALLY FREE UP TO RM20?

To me, and I believe to all other consumers too, the system is not only silly, but also gravely misleading. It is a cheap gimmick enticing consumers into believing that electricity in Sarawak is really free up to RM20 consumption. In my case, for bill dated 11 December 2008, the billing period was from 14 November to 13 December with consumption of RM22.56. I have to pay the full amount of RM22.56. Is it not a falsehood and mockery to say that the State Government of Sarawak is giving RM20 per month free-of-charge electricity? If RM20 is really free, then I only would have to pay RM2.56 for a bill of RM22.56 for the billing period of 14 November to 13 December rightly emulating Selangor's commitment in giving water free-of-charge up to RM20 consumption per month.

I really don't know the motive of the State Government of Sarawak for having such a silly practice. If it is a cheap gimmick, just stop it because people are not so stupid to be ignorant of such gimmick. If it has been just a silly mistake, please, Datuk Sri Awang Tengah Ali Hassan just correct it immediately! I think Datuk Patinggi Alfred Jabu has to make a bit of noise about the matter. This is an appropriate time and circumstance for you, Datuk Patinggi. If you don't make noise Datuk Patinggi, it would only confirm our negative impression of you.

Teaching Old Dog New Tricks

I observe some lines from the media report, which I quote unabridged as follows:

Telling the media after the TDC at the party’s headquarters Kuching on Sunday, Chan said the ‘old guard’ would find new ways and approaches to rejuvenate the party. “It is the thinking that has changed. (From Bintulu.org. Line in this bracket is mine)

“Changing does not mean changing the person but it means changing the mindset. If you change the people and they do the same thing and have the same policies and not find new ways of doing things, it is not changing,” he said according to Bernama.

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I repeat what the media had quoted above and take the risk by assuming the background story that led to Dr George Chan's herein above explanation has been well-read by many of us.

Many politicians have not changed much or if at all in their expressions or attitudes despite the fast changing technology. Dr Chan, in defending the old guards to be retained came up with the above explanation. But education has made many if not most of us understand the world order and political values in better perspective.

The situation resonates many of my past experience and rightly reminds me of an old adage, 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks'. Perhaps I may recommend to readers here: Get a brand new car engine and have it fixed onto a rotten car body, and see if it can run well or even run at all.

Personally, I feel there is no reason for people who have been at the helm for so long and have got everything to refuse to step down when time has come. It is embarrassing to see the once powerful Suharto lying on a hospital trolley being ushered into a certain ward in the hospital. At that time even if a five-year Joe were to jeer at him or strike his nose, there was nothing he could do in retaliation or evasion. See how hopeless the once most powerful man in South East Asia lying like a rotten log and commanded little respect from the society in his last days. It's pitiful but he deserved it so to speak.

Who own a particular language?

It has been reported in several papers, including Malaysiakini, that the Home Ministry decided on Tuesday to approve the renewal of annual printing permit of a Catholic newsletter, 'Herald'.

But the ministry's Publications and Quranic Text Control unit deputy secretary Abdul Razak Abdul Latif said, the approval letter sent to the publisher outlined three rules that they must abide by. They are:

- to cease the publication of Herald in Bahasa Malaysia until the court decides on its move to seek a declaratory relief that it is entitled to use the word "Allah";

- that the publication can only be sold in churches; and

- that it prints clearly on the cover that the paper is only meant for Christians.

By the way, I am very fortunate to have been educated in English from primary school through secondary school and tertiary institution. Had I been educated in Malay there is a real likelihood that Malay or Bahasa Melayu would have been the language that I know best or at home with. Therefore, naturally I would prefer reading the bible or other religious publications in Bahasa Melayu to reading those published in the English language. But the big problem is the Barisan Nasional government led by UMNO disallows many Malay-equavalent terminologies that are peculiar to the bible. The government claims those terminologies, including "Allah" and "ka'abah" are the exclusive domain of the Muslims. But many of us know those words have their origin in Arabic or Hebrew that had been used long before the birth of Islam or the glorious advent of Islamic civilization.

Is it not a great irony when the government has abolished the English medium schools and replaced them with Malay medium schools but refuses to allow Malay terminologies to be used in Christian literatures that have to be written in the Malay language?

Is it not a greater irony that the Barisan Nasional government only allows those Christian literatures to be published in English language after the Barisan Nasional government had succeeded in making the new generation proficient in the Malay language and simultaneously making them retarded in the English language? The Barisan Nasional has been teaching its citizens to master the Malay language but refuses to allow them to use the language on certain subject matter. There is a possibility that Bahasa Melayu is the only language that its citizens know.

The question is, who own a particular language,namely, the Arabic or Hebrew? Who give certain people the right to stop others from using a particular language? Any language is a universal tool of communication and has no owner. Hence it can be studied and used by anybody. As far as I know, it is only in Malaysia that certain category of its citizens are prohibited from using its national langauge in religious literatures or religious worship.

Talking to some of my Muslim friends, I managed to gather that many of them are feeling insulted with such ruling. By such ruling they feel the government belittle their faith and religious conviction. I tend to agree with their reasoning, namely, no Muslim would jump the bandwagon and get converted to Christianity simply because they found the word "Allah" in the Christian bible or certain publication. I once had a devout Muslim teacher who knew so much about Christianity because she took Bible Knowledge and Divinity in her Senior Cambridge and Higher School Certificate respectively. And yet she remains a devout Muslim until today. So what is the rationale of depriving the Christians of the use of the national language in their religious publication?

The rationale of the government's ban on the use of certain words, which are purely a question of language, is not acceptable at best. And at worst it is a sign of stupidity and immaturity of those in power.

There is no use talking about tolerance and unity when those who preach them refuse to practise the same. Last night Tan Sri Azman Hashim, whose Ambank Group was the principal sponsor of AMBANG 2009 at the Dataran Merdeka, when asked about his new year's wish, he said one of them was his hope to see a harmonious Malaysian society. I agree with him. But it is very sad that apparently the attitude of those on the corridor of power do not seem to be consistent with that hope.

Malaysia is a beautiful country having what I call ethnic felicity and with a great future ahead. But in order for this country to continue to succeed and remains internationally competitive it must not take its citizens' intelligence for granted. Citizens are assets and therefore ought to be respected.

By ushering 2009 with such a distasteful decision, my prediction is that the current government is shortening its life span tremendously. Be that as it may, let us watch what is in store for us this post March 2008.

I wish all Malaysians a Happy and Prosperous New Year 2009.