Patriotism is the refuge of tyranny. Devil's advocate series no 14.

1. Samuel Johnson said, patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.

2. I would make some adaptations about what Leo Tolstoy said regarding this. 

3. He said patriotism means plundering. 

4. I would say patriotism is the first excuse to plunder 

5. The state uses patriotism to ask ordinary people to impoverish themselves for the splendour and the decadent life of the elite, the aristocrats. 

6. The elite leverages on the blind support of ordinary for their interests. 

7. That is why somebody said, to say someone is patriotic is an insult and a disrepute. Deserving of odium, contempt and public revulsion. 

8. Because it can mean that person is a plunderer. 

9. In Malaysia, only 1 party unashamedly uses patriotism for it nefarious and víle ends. 

10. That political party is UMNO. Patriotism is used to justify plundering, theft and everything it wants . 

11. Patriotism to UMNO is no longer restrictions to love and loyalty to the country and to other socially accepted parameters chosen by UMNO

12. But more importantly, its love and loyalty to UMNO and it's leaders. 

13. Sure, the ordinary UMNO people get their 10 minute-fame at the PAU cracking jokes and making rhetorical speeches, but that's about it. 

14. They get free lunches and perhaps entertained by concerts. 

15. Giving credence to the saying originating since roman times, bread and circuses make people happy and contented. 

16. Coincidentally, maybe the Romans learnt the trick from the Malays who taught them shipbuilding. 

17. But the plunder and the sakau are being carried out by UMNO leaders, elite and neo feudals. 

18. Hiding behind the much heralded slogan of PATRIOTISM. 

19. The proposition asking us to be patriotic is a proposition fraught with dangers 

20. We ought to be weary and circumspect of it. We are asked to look the other way, while people and leaders asking us to be patriotic plunder, steal and do all nefarious and vile deeds , carry out harmful policies that suppress and oppress and so on 

21. Let me give you a recent example. One that looked innocent on the surface but actually has deeper bad implications. Silly, oppressive and bad economics . 

22. The case of BYD refused license to open up CKD plant in T.malim. 

23. It's patriotic because the refusal protect domestic player like proton and Perodua. 

24. Syabas and takbir say the petai eating Malay supremacists. A patriotic move, BYD is from China anyway. The car seats maybe pig skinned. Haram! 

25. I am asking people to be rational. BYD isn't competing with makers like proton and Perodua. 

26. It's competing with makers of range Rover, Audi , VW, Honda, Toyota, Ford and even Mercedes. 

27. The refusal is oppressive, repressive, irrational and economically unduly constraining 

28. Because the refusal deprives people from getting access to a reliable brand with low maintenance. 

29. But we are told to be patriotic. 'ita so goot ' Awang San. Hait! Jolly good. Jawohl! 

30. In Brazil, BYD was blacklisted because of its labor practises, not for it's manufacturing and technology prowess. 

31. What happened to BYD in Malaysia is an example of tyranny hidden behind patriotism. Indeed, patriotism is misused for other purposes too. 

32. Racial patriotism leads to the imposition of master race on other races. Recently , it also led to the attribution of superman qualities onto Malays by intellectual fraud. 

33 . Economic patriotism justified economic grab and predation of businesses owned by non malays 

34. It has led to the unchecked expansion of central command economic measures or ' solution' 

35. A supervisory body consisting of politicians and 'gas chamber' komandants give licenses, monopolies and untendered contracts to picked and chosen individuals . 

36. Religious 'patriotism' has led to bigotry and outright tyranny. 

37. It has led for example to the maniacal claimed to be evangelical, destruction of temples. 

38. In the name of fairness and justice, I have asked this question. 

39. Many suraus were also built on government trespassed land; will these be mercilessly demolished? 

40. Patriotism to king has been borrowed to enforce authoritarian and dictatorial impulses. 

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Reformasi in the economy. Part 3. Devil's advocate series no 13.

1. If the PKR people think reformasi is the shouting and shrieking part, it's misplaced enthusiasm and excitement.

2. It's not about getting mass feel good feeling or hysterical orgasm - the doing part is more important 

3. It must be the surgical overthrow of the 'ancient regime', it's political culture and in this particular instance, the specific economic model 

4. An economic model based on 3 principal elements. 

5. A pick and choose business model which is discretionary , depending on the leaders' despotism and never principle based. 

6. Buttressed by a host of preferential treatment and affirmative policies. Challenge to them is regarded defiance, disloyalty and unpatriotic. It's essentially class protection. 

7. It's a model based on the zero sum principle. Non Malays can only gain, by depriving Malays economic opportunities. 

8. The enabling superstructure is of course, central command economics. 

9. That is why, you see most civil servants mythified as technocrats are cocky bastards 

10. This pick and choose winners economic model must be done away with. Just so you wouldn't think we are envious these people got rich because the government picked and chose them, we will give economic rationale 

11. This model prevents the rise of resilient, competent and genuine entrepreneurs in the economy 

12. This holds back the Malay economy as the genuine entrepreneurs, not artificially created ones from emerging. 

13. The pick and choose economic model creates a new putera class from the bumiputera hoi poloi. 

14. The putera class is incapable or rather do not want to produce the trickle down effects expected of them by the voodoo economics planners 

15. They are more interested in lining their own pockets rather than uplifting the lot of their fellow beings 

16. Uplifting others are only spoken words by sly politicians wanting to calm them and secure their support 

17. Have you seen these puteras helping out the bumis? 

18. Empirical evidence will show ,the income disparity between the T20 and the B40 remains unchanged. 

19. The average monthly income of the T40 is now probably RM12000 while the average monthly income of the B40 is around 2000 Ringgit. 

20. The income disparity between interracial and intraracial will likely remain because we got it wrong with our basic economic model. 

21. As long as the pick and choose winners economic model remains, there will be no economic redress. 

22. From the heydays of this economic model ( starting from the days of Mahathir) till now, our economic set up remains unchanged 

23. Now, we have the chosen and picked like bestinet, nexG and others that carry the pick and choose flag. 

24. After enjoying initial successes, they will eventually fail because the patronage with which they initially grew is no more. 

25. Most of those picked and chosen by Mahathir failed. The same fate or end awaits those now nurtured by Anwar. It's destiny. 

26. They failed because their strengths and competences were built exogenously instead of endogenously . 

27. If the 2nd line leaders in PKR especially and PH in general, don't realise that economic reformasi require a radical change in the basic pick and choose winners economic model, things will remain status quo. 

28. How can there be? If these leaders don't know and understand what economic reformasi entails, how can they in turn communicate what are the changes needed? 

29. I have been saying this repeatedly, if these leaders approach their portfolios, without a reformasi state of mind, things will be the same. 

30. We must also reject the zero sum mentality. 

31. We can't go around with the idea, that economic gains by non malays mean depriving and robbing Malays of economic opportunities 

32. That would mean that we are at constant loggerheads. Instead of finding ways to expand the economic cake, we are always fighting over an assumed constant economic pie. 

33. That by the way, is the economic thinking that predicates the economic agenda of UMNO and the Malay supremacists. 

34. Therefore there are valid reasons to do away with the zero sum mentality. It at once remove the
source of much racial tensions as well as prevent the overall decrease of national productivity. 

35. There's an added incentive to do away with the zero sum mentality. It removes the arsenal from parties like UMNO from using the technique to gaslight Malays. 

36. The zero sum mentality and the pick-and-choose- winners economic model come together in the embrace of Central command economics. 

37. This is the belief that the greatest of economic achievements are determined by the dictates of central command, i.e. by politicians and bureaucratic brahmins. 

38. Accordingly the politicians and bureaucratic brahmins focus not on economic achievements but on the rules and clauses that permit them to regulate and control. 

39. Rather than finding ways to secure economic achievements, the focus is on preferential clauses, affirmative clauses, entitlement clauses etc. Form over substance . Insisting adherence to these are more important than real economic achievements 

40. To me, economic reformasi involved 3 basic things. 

41. Getting rid of the politically motivated pick -choose-winners economic model, get rid of the zero sum mentality, and most important of all getting rid of the restraints imposed by central command economics. 

42. My verdict: sorry sir, no economic reformasi. It's more of the same.

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Reformasi in the economy. Part 2. Devil's advocate series no 12.

1 . The PM is always shrieking about eliminating corruption . It's an unending fight against the sakau culture

2. We have no doubt that the PM is serious about it. Ventilating and harranguing about it is good. But the doing part is the more important part .

3. And it's the easier part. Charge someone and humban dia in jail

4. Although the humban part may take a long time. It may take 20 years for the courts to ascertain the elephant is not the hunted gazelle.

5. Even then the criminals use every trick in the book to see wriggle out.

6. The Javanese primate who has 47 charges and ruled to have a prima facie case, persuaded the AG to propose a DNAA. The kleptocrat in chief is trying to persuade the king to give him a pardon

7. Some argued the DNAA is lawful. It may be so but is it right?

8. What is legal may not be right after all.

9. Apart from these moot points, the fight against corruption seemed to be discretionary, unfocused and more vindictive

10. Regrettably, we are not here to discuss the moot points

11. We are here to discuss the area where reformasi is more needed-the economy.

12. An area, where I am inclined to repeat what James Carville said- it's the economy, stupid.

13. Or the area mentioned by Machiavelli a long time ago- we assess the leader in terms of his ability to prosper the nation .

14. The UMNO way to Malay economic prosperity is to create a coterie of crony capitalists .

15. It's Bush senior's definition of voodoo economics

16. Well not quite voodoo economics of Reagan for Reagan at least targeted the rich

17. Here, it's a bastardized version of voodoo economics. Pick and choose any mat, awang and dol. Give them monopolies, licenses contracts and so.

18. They got to be mollycoddled because they can kneel down and cry and maybe blanja the bureaucratic brahmins to patronize ah bengs massat parlor for manhood massat.

19. Businessmen were given the preferential treatment not because of their competencies or expertise but because of their cunningness, rapaciousness which induce subjective judgement calls from the grand deep state people

20. 2 seeds of destruction are already planted in the pick and choose model of economic winners

21. 1st, the lack of competencies. 2ndly, subjective judgement calls from the grand deep state.

22. This pick and choose economic model originated from UMNO's preferential and affirmative policies. Made as mainstream economic model by Dr Mahathir.

23. As a result, you have the riff raff and the bottom feeders of society getting prominence. Enjoy initial business success but eventually going under.

24. UMNO also operates on the zero sum principle. Economic gains by non malays are taken as depriving and minus-ing economic opportunities for Malays.

25. This behavior violates a basic principle of economic productivity.

26. Which is, factors of production cooperate and work with each other to increase productivity

27. Economic actors cooperate and work with each other to.increase productivity.

28. Being in constant uncooperative state or in economic antagonism, productivity and general economic gains take a dive.

29. But that's ok. The Malays are accustomed to work below par and operate on the levels of mediocrity.

30. I can already see the neurotic responses of these people especially the Malay supremacists and UMNO people.

31. I, a Malay is not Malay enough, not patriotic enough. Wait till you see the parang terbang etc.

32. These, sirs, are typical caveman responses.

33. Are the PKR people, howling the customary reformasi, lawan tetap lawan membujur lalu melintang patah going to change the premises of the existent business model?

34. Will it be change or more of the same? That will be in part 3.

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Reformasi in the economy. Part 1. Devil's advocate series no 11.

1. It was reported this. The government is looking forward to 10 Malay IPOs. They want to create 500m Malay noveu rich

2. When I read this, I know that economic reformasi is fake

3. If the malays are good, why do they need assistance from the government?

4. This is what you get, when you believe that the greatest economic achievements come from the dictates of central command economics

5. The truth is, the greatest of economic achievements result from private enterprise operating under a system of free market economics.

6. Sunway did not grow big because some bureaucrats in Putrajaya guided it's growth

7. The Kuok group does not become big because Amir Hamzah and gang bridesmaid them

8. Similarly, the IOI group doesn't become big because some bureaucrats in Putrajaya tell them what to do

9. On the other hand, as comparison, look at how most of the bumi companies got big.

10. They got big because they were given exclusive licences, monopolies and were given direct businesses by the government

11. They got big from the assistant of what I called the grand deep state.

12. A deep state is the collusion between high government officials and the business community

13. A grand deep state occurs when the is collusion between high government officials AND political leaders and the business community.

14. You think a Bangla can become a big taiko and towkay without the grand deep state?

15. Or nexG becomes a billion ringgit business without the grand deep state?

16. Or the man who rented helicopters to PETRONAS, Syed Mokhtar presently, others got big without the grand deep state?

17. Even NAFAS- can it evolve into a company of leisure and decadent wealth supplying fertiliser nobody wants if not assisted by the grand deep state?

18. Let's get real- this will be a contest between central command economics and free market economics .

19. The companies that thrive for the moment because of central command economics will eventually fail

20. Because they evolved not though building organic competencies but grew because they are hand guided by the grand deep state

21. On the other hand, company that grew because of internal competencies will endure .

22. What happened when 1 day, anvar ebraheem decides to remove the grand deep state and removed monopolies, licenses and so on?

23. The companies that thrive for the time being because of patronage, will go kaput!

24. Will the PM realise that this way of economic growth by the dictates of central command economics and through the grand deep state is the UMNO way?

25. The first step on the road of economic reformasi begins by unfollowing the UMNO way!

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Reformasi and Education. Devil's advocate. No 10.

1. All Malaysians should now know, there won't be any radical changes in our educational landscape

2. There won't be any reformasi there. The quota of 90% bumi intake in matriculation stays 

3. Some celebrate and pay homage to non bumi achievers in the SPM 

4. But the celebration will turn to frustration, when many of these high achievers won't even smell the coveted places. 

5. Because meritocracy is not going to be the main criterion for admission for admission to matriculation courses . 

6. Preferential treatment hidden behind the sanitized term of positive discrimination will be. 

7. Preferential treatment and other affirmative policies are necessary because they are needed to rectify the educational deficit of the Malays 

8. Malaysia isn't ready for meritocracy say the politicians. That assertion is implemented with great fervour by the bureaucrats. 

9. So that's it- the quota mode stays the politicians themselves are dead 

10. Because there will be no reformasi, there goes my plan to supply badges with a nude Rose Chan on them 

11. You would assume that as a Malay I would rejoice because the quota system stays 

12. I am afraid you are wrong. I am opposing it because it is inherently wrong and unfair. 

13. To confer onto ourselves advantages and then compete with others is wrong 

14. It's a almost 60 years since1970, we haven't overcome the constaints we fought against? 

15. This is the 21st century and do we still attribute our backwardness on colonialism and other erasable social injustices? 

16. The Malay supremacists and Uber nationalists, because the educational deficit affects them, will continue to use these factors as justifications to justify the quota system 

17 . In reality, our educational deficit as well as our general backwardness is because we have chosen the wrong political oberbau or superstructure. 

18. By continuing the policies laid down by UMNO and embellishing them, we are in fact perpetuating the social divisiveness enabled by UMNO's social engineering. 

19. It is the greatest of irony, that we are not serious in grafting a bangsa Malaysia. 

20. Indeed, racial polarisation seemed to be the natural outcome as we exacerbate racial differences . 

21. Witness the many bellicose rants coming out and the equally pugnacious and combative responses. 

22. If the Malays require all the assists to get by generally, then it is a terrible indictment on our race. 

23. The requirement is so because the assists are not befitting the 'par excellence ' race . 

24. The race that prides itself as descendants of Abraham, were here since the great floods of Noah, inspired the Egyptians building pyramids, taught the Romans shipbuilding, taught the Chinese how to fly, inspired them to make yee sang and is claimed to have DNA older than the Chinese and Indians. 

25. A race with these superman qualities cannot overcome the impediments to social progress, say in 20 years? 

26. Now , education is important to all races and the area most requiring reformasi. 

27. The problem is, bureaucrats see these intelligent lot as just digits to be manipulated 

28 . The quota system perpetuates institutional discrimination, entitled mentality and social divisiveness. 

29. Leads to misfit of talent pool. As a result leads to suboptimal talent pool . 

30. Deprives the nation of competitiveness and sub optimal productivity 

31. The removal of the quota system is necessary as it removes the entitlement mentality, removes bureaucratic oppression implemented through educational engineering more manipulation in fact but disguised as a well meaning means to rectify educational deficit. 

32. The greatest danger will be that the quota system is accepted as the natural order of things and an integral part of 'good governance '. 

33. It will then be defended by any means necessary and challenges to it in any form will be regarded as seditious defiance. 

34. I am not dismissive of the government's efforts to address the wrongs in our educational system 

35. But the reformasi must not be achieved through a system of preferential treatment and affirmative policies. That is the
UMNO way. 

36. I hold it as a universal and inalienable truth, that the way forward for us not only in education but in all social progress in general, be achieved through hard work, cultivation of competencies and competing on a level playing field. 

37. That , my friends is the Zaaba way. That Malay rara avis , prescription for all malaysians. 

38. And it must be done with minimal interference and intervention from the government 

39. Governmental intervention and interference is just central command management in another form. 

40. Just old school communism.

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Diesel ex-malaysian refinery. Ongoing Sting operations ?

1. Why are we quarrelling as to where the 329,000 or some 52.3million litres of diesel came from?

2. The assertions and denials can be put to rest by sighting the tanker documents. 

3. Sight the commercial invoice, bill of lading, certificate of origin, packing list etc. 

4. The hoo-ha about where the diesel came from is finished . We can even it's price. 

5. What's not finished are the related issues, which to me are more important. 

6. The refinery may have sold, to a trader at subsidized price. Let's assume so. 

7. The refinery may then claim the subsidy quantum. 

8. Suppose, a trader is doing this skunk job . 

9. Buys ex refinery price at a sweet heart price and sells at an agreed price in subic bay . 

10. Maybe then shares the windfall with people at the refinery. 11. That's business acumen. Hurrah! 

12. But picture this. What if the shipload of diesel was loaded bypassing the meter? 

13. Then the whole thing becomes theft . 

14. In the refinery book, there is no booked out volume. No theft on paper. 

15. Only when ullage is taken much later, will the theft be known. 

16. This theft can only be undertaken by an unscrupulous the trader WITH the connivance of some refinery people. 

17. Then kita sama2 kongsi hasil sakau. Can go massat parlor for manhood massat. 

18. Imagine if bought at 2 ringgit ex refinery price , the 52million litres yield 104 million ringgit per operations. 

19. Let's assume the trader makes 6 ringgit per operations. He makes 312 million ringgit. 

20. Imagine this kind of clandestine operations have been carried out on numerous occasions in the past. Horrors! 

21. We can see rod sterling of the Twilight zone saying, picture this. A few ghouls in the refinery conspire with a dracula of a trader.,... 

22. No, Mr PM sir, you can't stop people from talking about this issue. In fact , don't stop. 

23. The shipments to mabuhay country, may uncover a racket going on in one of our refineries.

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Zombie Economics. Devil's advocate no. 8.

1. I have to say this. It's uncomplimentary of the PM. But who cares. I am not PKR so mdm SUA can't issue any show cause letter. I am a Malaysian.

2. Who doesn't want to see Malaysia regress to a kleptocratric state again 

3. Previously under 1mdb,now maybe under bestinet or nexG? 

4. Some people heap accolades on anvar ebraheem. He's the best FM and the bestest economic manager of our country. Blah blah . 

5. I beg to differ, politely sir 

6. Any economist, not only I, will dispute his or his people's claims about good financial governance. 

7. I have my version of the K-percent rule as regards budget deficit and tax refund arrears . 

8. These 2 versions shatter the myth and the hollow claims on good financial governance. 

9. I found the answer given by 'Tom Selleck' Amir Hamzah, the 2nd FM not convincing at all, when Rafizi raised the matter . 

10. Our deficit to my mind should be set around 4% of our GDP. 

11. That's fine and dandy. Except our GDP is not our true GDP and therefore our deficit is not our true deficit. 

12. But because we have included tax refund arrears as revenue in our national accounts aka budget, we have a spurious budget . 

13. Assume the true income is 100b. But because we have included tax refund arrears as realized income, our spurious budget becomes say, 150b. 

14. 4% of 100b is 4b while 4% of 150b is 6b . Hey presto, we have a deficit of 6b . 

15. We borrow to meet the deficit. But we tell people, don't worry-the incremental compared to that incurred by previous administrations is less. 

16. About the incrementals, these are of interest to a academicians in colleges and those busybodies who like to split hairs. 

17 . The majority of people don't give a rats ass of attention to the incremental . All the know the public debt is 1.3 trillion. What are doing to decrease it substantively ? 

18. The point is you can't. Not as long as you include refund arrears in our GDP. 20,30b. 

19. A spurious GDP will lead to a spurious deficit. 

20. This is where a spurious deficit gets interesting. It can be the hotbed for nefarious and mendacious activities by nefarious bureaucratic brahmins. 

21. The spurious deficit can hide these rapacious activities. 

22. It can be used to find bailouts, fund wasteful projects, provide cheap loans to crony companies. And the PM getting no wiser about it. 

23. We can't discount the possibility of these bureaucratic brahmins skimming from the top. 

24. It proves what Milton Friedman says, we are excellent at spending OPM. 

25. Therefore my concern of the deficit isn't confined to it just being an exotic subject shattering the myth of claims of good financial governance. 

26. But more concerned as to the deficit being used to conceal corruption activities by bureaucratic brahmins and politicians. 

27. Aspire to wholly exclude tax refund arrears in the GDP or keep it the barest minimum. Aspire also to achieve a true deficit 

28. I am not holding this back- but I suspect our GDP and our deficit are heavily doctored by bureaucratic brahmins and creative bean counters. 

29. These dishonest people are running circles around our PM who's more interested in reading novels by Vaclav Havel and Gabriel Garcia 

30. The other component of good financial governance is managing the tax refund arrears. 

31. Keep it to the minimum say 2 or 3b instead of 10b and above. An impregnated tax refund areas would only shatter the claims of good financial governance, Sir!

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