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Sakmongkol ak 47

ariff.sabri@gmail.com

Friday 19 November 2010

Regaining lost ground

I have read numerous comments saying UMNO is doomed. I too have been criticizing UMNO quite a bit but I have also maintained my faith in UMNO. It's difficult to abandon something you were a part of and indeed got elected on its ticket. So while I criticized and shall continue to do so, I maintain my belief in this party which Malays can identify with.

If so, why did the party lose a lot of Malay support in 2008? It lost a number of states. I have already written two articles on that and shall continue to point out in some follow up articles.

It's easy to criticize a party when they dropped in the polls. And it now seems clear that the polls of 2008, things didn't look rosy for UMNO and BN. from a commanding position of securing 2/3rds majority, it has lost that lead. It now has 140 seats in parliament while the non BN parties have 82. As I said in my two articles the chief cause for the losses are UMNO's arrogance and their trivializing of risks.

The problem for the BN and UMNO is obviously that they're and will be looking at quite a sustained period of bad news. Presumably we're looking at many months of sluggish economic growth, more job losses, and just the general mess that Governments have to put up with.

The PM, UMNO and BN will hope to be able to announce a turnaround in the economy which the public actually notice and feel. For example, they have postponed the introduction of GST- which the public will definitely feel. What's the use of implementing a tax system that actually hurts the lower income group who will be compensated only later in the form of aid package?

But they still need to do something to keep their polling numbers up in the meantime. The government can't expect to do this just by lining up "feel good news" stories - public holidays, minor tax breaks etc.

Instead there seems to me to be two options. The first is deliberately choosing a few very high-profile rows on those issues most important to the public, above all the economy. This would involve the deliberate highlighting (and exacerbating) of major policy disagreements such that the public was forced to choose in their own minds between two competing futures.

For example, the policy makers in the government can put up a spirited case as to why the ETP projects will indeed work. So far the opposing side has shown nothing other than just opposing these plans. Another is to justify the construction of the 100 storey building by PNB when many are questioning the wisdom to do so including this author. employ consultants if you need to put every one of us in our place. You need to show just one success story to silence your critics.

The second model would be to follow the one created by Clinton in the mid-90s - where he announced a series of high profile policies designed to show that he was in touch with the values of Malaysian voters such as serious action against corruption, real reform on the judicial system with the retirement of nonproductive judges, a cleanup of the police force again through retiring the rotten apples in the force, or even retiring some non performing ministers. Also policies on steps to introduce transparency such as mandating open tenders.

Perhaps the two most important issues that are creating public distress are corruption and lack of transparency. In the former, what would immediately earn public respect is action against people who are generally believed to have amassed wealth beyond their means while holding high office.

Najib should find it be possible to create a "values agenda" here, demonstrating that UMNO/BN are in touch with the public, and the PR people with their own internal feuds and squabbles are out of touch. The areas which we outlined above offer an endless supply of policy announcements that should be relatively cheap but high impact. While no one issue will be enough to turn the polls, the public will end up getting the message in the end.

The main objective is using people's concerns with the state of Malaysia to make them think "I'm just glad they're in the charge and not the other lot." If we can instill this kind of thinking in the public, the opposition parties are gone.

33 comments:

Anonymous,  19 November 2010 at 08:22  

I am a Malay but I don't recognize UMNO as being legitimate in protecting the Malay political interest. Not anymore. UMNO is blatantly corrupt. Having said that I don't believe there is a credible political party which Malays can identify themselves with. No, I am apolitcal. TQVM

Anonymous,  19 November 2010 at 08:28  

Dato', the options look good.
Wonder how PM wants to do it when many unanswered issues are related to him and remain to be seen as his baggage.
The perception is damning unless he is willing to be wiped off or at least put his other half in the cold storage.
UMNO members have to make a choice and which is very tough unless there is self voluntarily reaction for the sake of the party and the MAlays, then, may be lost ground can be recaptured.
So there is always a way-kalau nak lah dato tetapi sebelum tu pemimpin semua kena lah sedar diri!!! Jangan tembak sana tembak sini but using blanks.

Quiet Despair,  19 November 2010 at 09:36  

To those who predict BN is doomed, you ain't seen nothing yet.
UMNO is spearheading the BN apparatus to be a forced to be reckoned with.
Najib is really serious in consolidating the party strength.
They will soon be coming out with a new BN charter.
There will be a cabinet reshuffle and they are changing the state UMNO chiefs in states like Kedah, Terengganu and Penang.Possibly Kelantan too.
Ever the optimistic me think BN will regain Kedah, Selangor and will hold on to Perak.
P.s. Sak, please write about the Keadilan debacle and how it will sway voters to BN.

Anonymous,  19 November 2010 at 10:03  

Here you go again with your blind faith in UMNO and your false hopes the party has the interests of all malays in mind despite you knowing exactly the hanky panky that's going on in your own corrupt party.

You are still hoping that the party will revert to it's original platform of it's founding fathers. You are better off praying for a miracle or go look for a guruji to work some magic spells. Today's UMNO stands for greed, cronyism, corruption, nepotism, etc which you have written about and yet not one single UMNO leader has actually done anything about it except just talk talk and talk (like you). UMNO and you are in a state of total denial.

Melayu Baru,  19 November 2010 at 10:39  

Assalamualaikum, Dato' Sak,

'It's the economy, stupid'

Well, you are well read, and you know the above was Clinton's battlecry against senior Bush. And a successful one, too - for Clinton went on and became the president.

Now, what hope do we have for the local economy? You and other bloggers (and other economist) have dissected the GTP, NKRA, KRA and other alphabet soups. The prognosis remains bleak. APCO can try to spin, BERNAMA and the pliant government media can join the chorus, and the ignorant can cheer. It will not change the fact. You have agreed, to a point, as such.

Now, the interesting part. The other change that you said.

Ok, let's find some measures which indicate that this government is in touch with the masses. So, let's do a Clintonesque type of change. Reform! (Where have I heard of that before?) Change! (With UMNO?) Cleanup! Transparency! Serious Anti Corruption measures!

Let me laugh to that, Dato'. A cynical laugh. One riddled with hopelessness.

DO you seriously think this government has the courage to do even the most minimal meaningful suggestion? You can take away the cosmetic, unrealistic ones - such as cabinet reshuffle.... or like replacing the head of MACC with some new sloganeering but no action person....

On corruption alone, the government can score huge gain if the make any real change. In reality, you and I know it will not happen, no? If it were, then half the cabinet members will be gone. Ok - so MACC catch the so called sharks. The AG and the gang? They will work tirelessly to put up a watertight case against them? (I think not - look at them high profile cases) Then there's the judiciary. They will be interested whether the bribe was received from the left or right hand, and release them on technicality. Not happening? Unless you're Rosli Dahan, off course.

Ok, so let's be more positive. Now, the government sees this and change the police/MACC/AG/Judiciary. Now, they are really good - and act without fear or favor. They charge everyone that is guilty, and conviction increased. That will be good for Malaysia. But for the wrongdoers? To heck with them. But you and I know this is not going to happen, yes? For most of the guilty ones (let's say perceived) are from the current government.

So, no go, Dato'.

As I said earlier, Katak Rebus....

The hope is on change. Clinton's Change vs more of the same. Obama's Change. Change is sorely needed here, Dato'. We both hope for change. We're opposite side on the same course. You want UMNO to change, I just want change. If UMNO can change, I applaud it. I will support it.

But as pointed out by many, a leopard cannot change its spots. A zebra cannot change its pattern.

You know a monkey because it look like monkey, it acts like monkey and it lives like monkey. Cant change that.

Now, if it look like UMNO, it behaves as UMNO and it live like UMNO - say goodbye to change. UMNO is as UMNO does...

Melayu Baru.

OneMalaysian,  19 November 2010 at 10:44  

Dear Sakmongkol

“The main objective is using people's concerns with the state of Malaysia to make them think "I'm just glad they're in the charge and not the other lot." If we can instill this kind of thinking in the public, the opposition parties are gone”.

In this article you have uncharacteristically gone soft – very soft. You don’t sound like you. Your readers expect you to use your sharp intellect like a surgeon’s knife to cut open the political mess so we all can see the disease inside. But this article is just fuzzy stuff that political spin-doctors are paid to do – build an impressive façade to cover up severe cracks to the political edifice.

Your readers by and large are a thinking lot. That’s my impression any way. You are not reaching the vast majority of Malaysians who will decide based on their feeling of the political situation. They may not spend a lot of time analyzing and thinking about the political landscape, but they feel deep inside their guts what is happening in this country. They know that corruption is deep and pervasive. They encounter that everyday in small ways, and that is reinforced by what they hear and read about big shots getting away with massive loots, while the MACC is only interested in ikan bilis cases. The enthusiasm with which the MACC pounced on Yayasan Selangor today over what is really an immaterial case points to selective investigation when the ex-MB of Selangor is not investigated for the massive house that he has built. And they remember PKFZ, with the case slowly dying in the courts. Does any one still remember who Datuk Tiong is?

What of Police brutality, and the incompetent judges? And what about all these big tenders going to favoured cronies as before. And when they look at themselves, many see that their livelihood has not improved by much. Their salaries have not kept up with the soaring prices of houses. They know that the GST has been postponed, but it hangs over their heads like the sword of Damocles. They know that subsidies will be removed after the elections, because Idris Jala has warmed that the country will go bankrupt if we continue to get subsidies. There is some truth in what Idris Jala said. What he didn’t quite say was that subsidies have to be withdrawn partly because the government has been profligate, wasting money on showy projects, and another one is coming – the 100-storey Mother of All Meneras.

The people know things have not changed. The rhetoric is being turned up because it is election time. There is a pail of water. You put your hand in and stir; the water moves around, agitated. But when the hand is removed the water is still again. And so the next election will come and go, and it will be the same situation the day after if the same parties form the next government.

Anonymous,  19 November 2010 at 11:14  

I am a non Malay and respect everyone irrespective of race, religion, creed or colour..of course respect is a two way thing.

Umno was started with noble aims, but unfortunately the aims have now been wiped out...greed for material wealth, greed for power and control has made UMNO into a party that is least respected in this country. Najib is trying, but is overwhelmed with opposition within his own ranks..there is a need to change mindsets, habits and attitudes, all this stuff about being 'inclusive' must be real..tap the best resources and brains irrespective of race or religion..and i am sure there are many in this country from the various communities..and let 'apolitical' well paid professionals run the country professionals who should be responsible and accountable for their actions ..not the half baked bankrupt, greedy politicians..which you find in ample amount in the BN

Anonymous,  19 November 2010 at 12:09  

SAK,
We do admire your courage to put up a good front for Umno!
Umno will not change because they just dont have quality people running the show.Scumbags who are mostly corrupted are running the show in this country not forgetting Sarawak and Sabah!
Why dont you admit it that corruption cannot stop even with the opposition running the next government.Its the easy money to paradise no mater what and we cannot dispute it.50 over years the malays have been gliding this path to heavenly gains without sweating and being a crony is a license to it.
Who wants to rock the boat? Definitely not the malays and the non malay givers'.

Anonymous,  19 November 2010 at 13:03  

"..action against people who are generally believed to have amassed wealth beyond their means while holding high office."

What a joke. EVERY SINGLE UMNO LEADER IS TAINTED WITH CORRUPTION!! I repeat EVERY!!

Anonymous,  19 November 2010 at 13:27  

@Quiet Despair

You starting to sound like kermit the frog - utterly muppet.

UMNO is spearheading!? for real?

No, I dont want to wait and see

Where's the cabinet shuffle? head has to start rolling now or forever stay silent similarly as Pak Lah Era

- Ikan Tongkol -

Anonymous,  19 November 2010 at 13:45  

UMNO is just a tall tree that looks strong but its roots are all rotten. Eventually the tree has to fall.

Your attachment to UMNO is purely emotional and nostalgic. Reasons and common sense have taken leave of your senses.
Yes, UMNO can continue to rule - by cheating, suppression, threats etc - with the help of the Election Commission, PDRM, MACC, the AG chambers and the Judiciary.

But what will happen to the country?

rance,  19 November 2010 at 13:55  

Dear Dato'Sak, Below is the quotation by Mahatma Gandhi -The Seven Sins:-
The politics without principle
The wealth without work
The pleasure without conscience
The knowledge without character
The commerce without morality
The science without humanity
UMNO/BN must have the courage to face the above if they want the opp. to fade away.[I have taken off the seventh sin because i do not want to touch on religion.]

OneMalaysian,  19 November 2010 at 15:54  

Dear Sakmongkol

I must say that I think this image remaking seems a bit flat. I much prefer the previous masthead with the fearsome boxer, real gun and all. That seems to suit your style as a fearless, relentless fighter, with a no-holds-barred style, take no prisoner approach. Now this rather toned down image conveys an image of a genial university professor smiling from his ivory tower. But this may well be the Sakmongkol Version 2.0.

Anonymous,  19 November 2010 at 17:19  

I can't believe you are this piece is being written as PKR is self-destructing.. Why.

As as PR benefitted from BN own-self-destruction, BN will now benefit from PKR and PR on self-immolation..

NOTHING UMNO/BN or PKR do will come close to the benefit of the other side's misfortune and self-damage.

Which means that the debate of doing anything is MOOT. Its a question of taking turns in self-destruction and we all paying for it.

Anonymous,  19 November 2010 at 19:13  

masuk pas jer la dato...umno ni dah karat...umno ni bukan tempat untuk berjuang melainkan tempat untuk cari makan...yg berjuang makcik makcik kampung felda..yg kenyang dato dato, tansri tansri, datuk seri datuk seri..juak juak, pengipas, pengampu, pembodek, penipu dan segala peeeeeeerrrr lagii...

Anonymous,  19 November 2010 at 21:16  

Quiet Despair,

you said UMNO is spearheading BN , etc etc.

UMNO/BN will be utilising the EC to cheat during PRU13. THere won't be a fair election...looking at past by-elections. Pengundi hantu banyak kot, "gua tolong lu, lu tolong gua" which Dato has blogged about, dirty tactics dan sebagainya.

kalo UMNO/BN kalah, mereka tu akan undur dari putrajaya dengan aman tak?

orang kampung

Quiet Despair,  19 November 2010 at 22:06  

Dear Ikan Tongkol and orang kampung yang perlu ke dihormati? Kalau tua, kenalah.

Being nasty eh. It's lovely being Kermit the frog. At least I owned Sesame Street.
But you are the Woody Woodpecker. Peck, peck, peck but the trees are still standing.
I am so much aware that you all regard UMNO lovers like (to quote the late King Ghaz) najis dadah berbahaya.
This is evident in the postings here with the caling of Sak as blind faith or false hope, soft-pedalling etc. etc.
But when he is criticising UMNO, wow you all are alive and springing forth with nauseating praises.
Consider you all lucky because he allows his blog to be a battering ram for UMNO. I can cite you all the PKR lover blogs who don't even allow a line of my comments against Anwar or Azmin or Zaid. The delete button is on there.
Linked to UMNO is the taboo word Malays. We are made to feel like Pariah if we pride ourselves as Malay. Say what?
You all brought up the same old litany UMNO is corrupt, nepotism, stupid, idiotic and other unsavoury comments.
You mean other parties are angels with leaders of sterling repute?
Wakaka. So laughable.
With the debacle in PKR, you guys are still ye old faithfuls??
So be it. You go your way, I go mine.
If you want me to be apologoeic, NO, NEVER.
I am like 70% other Malays. Are we stupid??

P.S. Sak, your blog make-over is beautiful. Carry on what you are doing. Many UMNO people read your blogs.

Anonymous,  19 November 2010 at 22:34  

Dato

If by your standard, regaining lost grounds translates into a successful turnaround for UMNO, then I am disappointed. I don't see any improvement in the livelihood of the rakyat and most of all, I don't see any change at all in UMNO's corrupted ways. UMNO is just throwing more of the rakyat's money to buy votes and puiblishing false news and data to con people into thinking things have changed!!!

You want people to have faith in UMNO, do 2 things:

1. Extradite Bala back to Malaysia and take action against him for making false statutory declarations. How can we tolerate such crime against the leader of a country? A criminal should not go unpunished.

2. The PM should sue Raja Petra and the opposition for the libellous slander against him and his wife. How can the leader of the country stand such false accusation and not try to clear his name?

Get international judges to sit on these trials, so that it is seen to be fair! If UMNO and the PM do not even take these steps, the people will continue to believe there is some truth in these false accusations.

walla 19 November 2010 at 22:57  

A: 'I think our blogger has made some sensible suggestions. A values agenda is the main piece of the puzzle missing at the moment for Barisan. Umno in particular. What do you say, my dear Sir?'

B: 'I'm too preoccupied to answer you, Sofea.'

A: 'Oh, why so?'

B: 'Still trying to figure out where that dental wire which had broken off has gone.’

A: ‘Grief! But not to worry, Sir. Time will sort things out.'

B: 'But in this case, time is what Umno doesn't have, Sofea.

You see, if those suggestions had been taken up immediately after GE12, particularly with regards high-impact programs for a real values agenda, the momentum of change would possibly have made a difference by now.

What did they do instead? Prevaricate, stretch things out in the hope the rakyat won't notice, cook up counterattacks, bought over some amphibians unfit even for the menagerie of that local exotic animals smuggler, and hold a meeting behind closed doors in Shah Alam.

If now these suggestions are taken up, what difference will it make?'

walla 19 November 2010 at 22:58  

2

A: 'But, Sir, surely the rakyat will then see that Umno is earnest if let's say it dispatches a few of its admirals just to show it means business?'

B: 'Like what it had done with Isa, Rustam and the others? They were dispatched alright but see how fast the mail came back?

Let me hypothetically ask you. Would Umno dispatch Toyo, head of Barisan as opposition in Selangor? Yes, or no? Let me ask you again. Would Umno insist at next Wednesday’s meeting as the hero of Balas had insisted in his blog that the Barisan cabinet members declare their assets? Yes, or no? Let me ask you a third time. Would Umno in the interest of international justice reopen the Mongolian case to answer the question who had ordered the hit and why? Again, yes, or no?

I thought so, Sofea.

What is the modus operandi of Umno, Sofea? One, it makes all the rules. Two, it then proceeds to break them with impunity whenever it likes. Three, when the rakyat complain as they sooner or later do, it spins round and round to make the rakyat dizzy, and, four, when they get worked up, it then assumes a timid disposition like an alley cat and asks for amnesty like it has some right so that it can do it all over again.

Sofea, doesn't that remind you of the prodigal son, spoilt right through but still thinking it can get away with it again and again by dint of some self-appointed birthright?

Incidentally, that's a common trait criminologists have noted - cynicism about what's right and wrong - until it reaches a stage the miscreants get their kicks only when they can get away with it; warped, don't you think?

Now, after GE12, Umno held its meeting in Shah Alam. That's just next-door to Port Kelang. In that meeting, did they talk about Toyo and others in the same breath they would have talked about Deros? Think about it, Sofea. Someone can buy a place purportedly for rm3.8 million and yet be in arrears of rm300 a month in his assessment payments.

But, on second thought, if they had done so, wouldn't they be pointing their fingers at themselves?

Sofea, don't you know what the rakyat don't want? They don't want to be their government's keeper. They don't want to have to look over their shoulders everyday to see whether the government they have elected is cheating on their money or practising double standards on rules it sets on some cooked-up convenient ground that it is for some airy-fairy better good. Better good for who?, the rakyat have finally woken up to ask.

And in Umno the rakyat see a print shop for all this scheming. It not only prints all your bank notes out of thin air and unbacked by anything - notice lately how crisp they all have been? - but it can kononnya also approve bills and invoices by buddy contractors that say construction of a gift shall not be above a predetermined price. And then our Macc will say everything's alright because the documents say so. It's like taking ownership of a jag for a ringgit if one can suspend disbelief for even a second.

Similarly, the same felons can print gazettes to regulate a society which asks too many questions. That's what a two-third majority ultimately means, doesn't it? To regulate society until it cannot question who is printing the bills to hide the real costs of things given as gifts in return for special awards forged out of the power of political positions.

Sofea, politics is not just about ruling a country. In this land, it has become a state-of-the-art supply chain for special offers crafted in the dusky salons of dangdut joints.

walla 19 November 2010 at 22:59  

3

One is reminded of the Philippines. It had everything going for it - manpower, resources, first-mover advantage in Asia. Today? Similarly, us. We had the same blessed national privileges. Today? We have slipped far, far below Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, countries which couldn't have held a finger to our past. And the case-study on the Philippines pointed out the cause. Political corruption and lassitude killed their economy. Today it is climbing up again. But the lost victories, the missed opportunities, the generations sacrificed to the tide of time - all because of the greed and dishonesty of hardhearted politicians playing on the simple emotions of the guileless masses who could only hope and pray they won’t have to go through what their forefathers had to go through in order to create a better world for their own children. Does anyone in Umno know the meaning of generational progress?

A: 'But, Sir, if we don't give Barisan a chance, we won't ever know whether its members have reformed. And that will be as big a loss as any win by the Opposition.'

B: 'It depends on your frame of reference, Sofea. And yes, I did notice your wordplay. How can the magnitude of a loss be the same as the magnitude of a win, especially for apolitical rakyat who want change?

Now, if your frame of reference is that of the group of young Malay men at a coffee table after the GE12 results were announced, then i can tell you it's quite sad.

They were just sitting there looking stunned. Not a word. So if we ask why, we will have no other answer except it was because their wellbeing was dependent on a Barisan win. And if we ask again why that should be so, we will have to conclude it was a Barisan government which had provided them with their means. And if we ask whether a government is supposed to do that, then we will have to answer for ourselves whether Umno wasn’t being monoracial in providing means and by a method which actually discouraged segments of the rakyat from fending by themselves in a world into whose admission self-reliance would be a given prerequisite, and if we were to ask why again when everyone else was doing it, including those Malays who were penalized for not supporting Umno, we will see that it is just a scheme to maintain voting loyalty, even at ruinous costs to the national economy, even at the cost of more efficient distribution of means to those who are more deserving. A vicious cycle is thus created and the result is what we see today. A country whose biggest industry is a cheesy government so much in the red the a-longs will have to ask for the ink formula.

Let's take another frame of reference. This frame says the rakyat don't care which banner runs the country. It only wants the best government service prompted by the healthiest political philosophy consonant with the diversified complexities of our nation couched precariously at the precipice of a deep and drowning chasm.

Now who can deliver that? Look at Barisan today. Here on the peninsular, it has Umno and components like Mca and Mic. There’s another one; unfortunately its name escapes me. But with people like Mca’s Wee twisting to imply it is alright to add Bahasa Indonesia users to our national language users in order to spin a broken record of international relevance, who is actually running the whole show? Only the Umno leadership shadowed by a group of Malay right-wingers. So I ask you, how different is the set-up right now from Japan’s LDP which actually lost twice, once in ’93 and then more decisively in recent memory? There, the causes were manifold – ageing demographics, postal privatization issue, rivalries, power-mongering, scandals, corruptions, even loss of savings records. Taken overall, any different here?

walla 19 November 2010 at 23:00  

4/4

A: ‘But Sir, what if Umno really wants to change? All those economic programs are bold and beautiful.’

B: ‘Are you for real, Sofea? Let me ask you back. Who would you choose for the country? A simple man who makes millions from fresh ideas while working in an attap hut or a haughty man who spends millions of other peoples’ money on hairbrained schemes while ensconced in a glass-and-steel mega-million highrise?

Let me ask you another question. What were displayed at our pavilion in the recent world expo? Anything that showed we have been working hard and smart to elevate our value curves like perhaps the Koreans? You know we were ahead in getting investments for electronics and yet we have not been able to tap the mobile devices market. ‘

A: ‘But Sir, Pakatan is no better today, don’t you think so too?’

B: ‘I knew it would come to this long ago but it was from measuring their learning curve and capacity. You know they must have been as surprised as Barisan that they had made such good ground in GE12. So it would take them some time to learn how to manage a government. Especially when files and records were removed by Barisan even from offices that are supposed to serve the common rakyat.

As for capacity, they must find it challenging to try and run programs while cash-strapped. Now if your reaction to that is dismay, then I shall say you are wrong because if one is cash-strapped it means one is not being corrupt. As for Barisan, giving away rm400 million the last time so that the BN chieftains could dispense their sums to try and please their constituents only makes the rakyat ask where that money had come from. The consolidated fund of all the rakyat. See how skewed the dissemination of funds is? As for the third factor, capability, let Penang and Selangor answer for you in much the same way you hear nothing these days from Zamry of BN Perak.’

A: ‘Ok, Sir. I must now add that people are saying PAS is kow-towing to DAP.’

B: ‘Really? I thought PAS people are pious enough they only kow-tow to Him. You are free to add flesh to those assertions, if you can.’

A: ‘What if after reading in on all this, Umno has a sudden and massive change of heart and transform itself tomorrow?’
B: ‘With what, Sofea? It’s not so simple as a one-stroke exercise. As an internationally-recognized Malay management expert had once said, the rot has gotten into the bone-marrow.

Take a recent example. A good-hearted man lamented that so much would be spent on a luncheon. He did the right thing. But because there was a systemic aberration in the landscape, someone else in a proximate network made rm40 million which could have gone to do a lot of good otherwise. So you have a saving of a few hundred grand here, but a loss of a few hundred million there. If the entire national system had had integrity and proper-checks-and-balances from day one until now, we would have an embedded culture of honesty and integrity unbroken for fifty years and the likelihood of this happening would be automatically miniscule. Who broke it and who are continuing to break it? Answer me, if you will.’

A: ‘Honestly, Sir, are you happy with what you have just all said?’

B: ‘No, Sofea. Because I know my friend, I am dismayed at myself for being so severe in my stance. But what the heck, who cares who says what these days?’

Anonymous,  20 November 2010 at 02:24  

@ Quiet Despair

Tuan,

Thank you for your positive feedback to my earlier comments

Needless to say with the permission of Dato Sak - I quote Dato AK47
"Challenge Every Assumption"

Tuan Quiet Despair, It is evident you jump the gun and summary me as a woodpecker, peck peck and yet the pokok still berdiri.

Oi Mate, neither i am saying UMNO thumbs up nor PKR,DAP,PAS albeit opposition is Two thumbs up either. Its so obvious that UMNO needs to change before individuals like you simply have the knee jerk reaction tetiba nak hurus keris.

Tak perlu itu semua tuan,

Spearheading - when you mention that instantly cross my mind "Sparta- the movie"

Irony is UMNO suka jerit terpekik terlolong similarly macam element Woodpecker jugak.

Alamak sorry lah the point i am trying to say in a simple malaysian manglish - UMNO pok pek pok pek, Lu tolong wa, wa tolong lu lor ...
"Cah Keting" "Towering Malays & Glokal" and many more... yet there's no Results apparently.

You guys UMNO up there are merely lifting a finger, semua dejavu cam paklah time "the all feel good factor"

Macam Mana UMNO nak dapat balik 2/3 majority ?

Beli Beli cam Ipoh Mali ala decoup ke!???

- Ikan Tongkol -

Anonymous,  20 November 2010 at 03:35  

whatever happened bn will still retains putrajaya maybe with 2/3 majority or less, but who cares about the number. only intervention from the heaven will see things come out differently.

bn has all the govt machineries under its' fat butt, the monies from the tauke and also from its' crap companies.

one of the reasons it didn't win big last time was due to the dissactification of "slumberjack pm" and "s.i.l". substantial numbers of bahagian umno butt hurt each other and sabatoging candidates.

umno's tenticles have been there for years sucking the blood of the kampung folks. the crap ketua2 cawangan still from the same family, during voting for cawangan all their family members from all over coming back to the kampung to perform this butt rape ritual. all in the name of power, money, and jobs in the state gov.

challenge for the ketua cawangan post means war with butt shit thrown to each other and lesser with few stiches in the face. even sadder for the opposition members, they are sidelined forever and theirs kids will never get to work with the state gov agencies unless they repented in the name of umno's god totally.

all these butt hurt were for nothing. kampungs' folks only have one mosque, one balairaya, one tadika kemas, one silly small tared road full with holes, a funny looking longkang and one old butt face ketua cawangan umno and his cronies.


the same story is happening in the umno's higher hierachy.

Anonymous,  20 November 2010 at 06:12  

Bn will not loose in the next g13. This is known fact and with much turmoil going in opposite bn has the higher ground to prove its still in the game. The most we could expect is for bn to change the strategies and proof to people it is serious about changes. Layman will not understand what etp and other jargon of economic transformation means. Numbers should be put in to context for people to understand better...

walla 20 November 2010 at 07:48  

corrections:

1
"Today? We have slipped far, far below Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, countries which couldn't have held a finger to our past."

replace 'countries' with 'economies'.

Taiwan is a province, not a country.

(;P)

2
'couched' - replace with 'crouched'

3
'let Penang and Selangor answer for you in much the same way you hear nothing these days from Zamry'

replace 'in much the same way' with 'just as'

maaf dan danke.

Anonymous,  20 November 2010 at 11:50  

To Quiet Despair,

By golly, you have just admitted that you are really Kermit di bawah tempurung. So why don't you just stay comfortably in your tempurung and continue croaking away your beloved UMNO tunes.

Anonymous,  20 November 2010 at 12:47  

Walla,

U r wasting yr time.

Nobody (that's those in the power to do so) will ever listen to yr rants. The blogger included.

Come what may, those - ignorant, educated, Machiavellian, scumbag, even gold-hearted - their guiding light within their limited anachronistic siege mentality is self-preservation.

1st is self & family. Then race & religion. There is NO place in any of their hearts for others.

Nothing proved more than the BIG Gini gap among their kind. If they can do that to their own kindred what do u think they will do to the 'pendatang'?

In a sense they r the worst sinners as proclaimed by their religion.

With more & more pseudo-malays clamoring for the benefits of that twisted special positions as stated by the FC, by masquerading as Malay, the readiness to change will never surface. In fact it will be vigorously defended.

No hunter will ever give up his easy prey without fight, even more so when the prize is up for graft on a silver plate.

The only outcome for M'sia will be fatalistic to all for a long time to come. While those propagators r enjoying their ill-gotten gains some where outside this cursed land!

Anonymous,  20 November 2010 at 18:10  

To guys like Quiet Despair,


You guys can go ahead and syiok diri about the new gained popularity of UMNO or BN.

What actually have they done other than to syiok you guys with "castles in the air". The trillions of new investments Hahahah. Try contacting Pemandu... and check with them if they have the money for anything.

PKR troubles is already interpreted as PR losing power. How naive you guys can be? If you look at the mood of the rakyat especially in 2008, it was anyone so long as it is not BN. A monkey will get elected then... as did happened. Many monkeys go elected.
hahaha. Yes, there are many monkeys and they lompated.

Those PR - be it PKR, DAP or PAS did not actually do anything to bring about the tsunami 2008.

Today, we are talking about getting an alternative... a two party system as you call it.

Anuar, Lim Kit Siang, Kapal Singn , Aziz etc etc are not actually important (although these Dinosaurs still think themselves to be so). They so happened to be there to form a second choice. That is the view of most.

Even Annuar goes, nothing will change.

So the current PKR troubles with high ego Zaid, will not make much difference. The people vote for anything other than BN .. that is all.

So you can continue to syiok diri. So far did nothing to change other than talk talk and more double talks... and expect the rakyat to flood back to you?

Come on ... everything equal, PR should be given a chance to run. Arn't you tired of 53 years of decline?

PR is still led by Malays.. in fact many more fair minded Malays (not your kind though, who enjoys the labours of others) and shown to avoid corruptions.

Your kind is unsustainable in ANY COUNTRY.

Anonymous,  20 November 2010 at 20:04  

Dear Walla, it speaks well that you recheck your words. This care for accuracy and correct turn of phrase, unfortunately is sadly lacking elsewhere.
There has been a lot of agonizing and pulling of hair by the other responses.
I would say,
So much chances given to Barisan, time and again they have been wasted and lost through greed, greed and greed. Yet there are still some "patriots" out there who want to save their country from going further downhill on a journey of no return.
What can we do that will make the governing party sit up and act?
Will Sofea rebut: Much ado about nothing, Sir!
Opening the BN membership to all and sundry is a futile exercise,a 3 day wonder.
Can I answer, what's new pussycat!
sincerely,
PowerOn

Quiet Despair,  20 November 2010 at 22:20  

Anon 20 Nov. 2010

"Give PR a chance after 53 years of decline. They are Malays, fair-minded ones and shun corruption."

Hmm, interesting. Which One? Name one in PR whom I can trust.
Seriously I only know the supporters of PR are people Like you and some in the cyberworld.
In my circle, no one acknowledges PKR let alone think of putting them to power.
We are mindful that everything we touch in this country are the fruits of UMNO's success.

Anonymous,  21 November 2010 at 18:39  

Quiet Despair ...

You are a joker for sure to say...

"We are mindful that everything we touch in this country are the fruits of UMNO's success."

Tell us ONE (other than Felda)
and compare to our neighbours.

Which parts have UMNO succeeded in doing other than wasting money and time for all of us?

Crime rate?
Economy?
The ringgit compared to Sing? MAS vs SIA?
University?
Education standards?
"Going bankcrupt by 2019"?
Why brightest brains leaving and we have to get Bangladesh doctors?
Are you after so much help... still need help after 40 years? So you say you succeeded.

There are tons ...etc
etc
etc
etc... all have yet to say it is UMNO's success.

I think you mean to say 'failure" right? Or your right brain have gone to the "left"?

Anonymous,  22 November 2010 at 21:58  

Dato, this is my first comments in your blog. I still puzzle why PM 1Malaysia still pretending "buat bodoh" and still want to cheat the rakyat? PM/Umno will damn fail in the next GE cause he has fail to prosecute those in the high level rankings in UMNO/BN that involves with crystals clear corruptions, those involved still scots free. From the ground, rakyat still feel the pinch of increased in petrol prices and others daily cost of living. The rakyat do not want to listen to PM's execuses as he himself put on deaf ears to rakyat's protes to 100-storey building. PM must shows leading by examples cause till now that actions does not materialsed yet. Do not daydreaming to win election without genuine reform on the rampant corruptions in BN/UMNO.

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