Golden Memories

Melodic songs

In memory of my parents

Some modern classics

Have a good sleep.

The halcyon days

4 golden oldies.

Your listening pleasure

Our own game of thrones

I saw this poster and I immediately say they won't cross and  support TDM. Not in a million years.

John Gotti Najib is facing  a number of court charges notably  1MDB. The Java man Wak Jahid has got more court charges than Najib. At one time couldn't even afford to buy baby milk. The fake Tengku is facing a number of charges associated with his tenure as ft Minister.
I wouldn't touch them with a 10 yard pole.

In the bottom row you have the 2nd liner rouges.
The ex taxi driver from Kinatabatangan is just an ordinary redneck who's just happy  to be with his wife  monitoring laddies  menstruation  cycle.  Just an empty vessel.
He has committed minor corruption  at RISDA.
Then  you have the half Indian  ex repo man who has made some notoriety at Tabung Haji. His mission in life is to lick the balls of bosku.
Next you have the Banjar man from Pontian who took 1 million from bosku. Famous for his 7 petala langit, 7 petala bumi adulation of  Mahathir  once.
If necessary I will negotiate with the trio in  the bottom row. Enough to give me the number.  Leave  out the trio in the top row.

If I were a Muhyiddin I  will do that. Finish off the top row crooks. Cultivate the smaller wise guys.

Definitely  the rouges in the top row  won't  cross over to embrace Mahathir.  The latter will not entertain the big crooks. No need to cry before Mahathir.

Mahathir is uncompromising. Muhyiddin on the other hand is softer.

So I think the scenario of the 6 goons supporting  Mahathir  will not happen.

They won't abstain or cross over.

A likelier picture is like  this:-

The  worse to Muhyiddin is a hung parliament. The better thing is he survives with a hairline majority.

In elections, he will lose.

The advantage Muhyiddin has is as the incumbent  pm he can give goodies to 'gratification  now, confound the future'politicians. Hell, he can even make corruption  smelling  like a rose.

A Pyrrhic Victory.

Whatever deal Riza wolf boy offered must be significantly  important  enough  to persuade the DPPs.

Riza must have made an offer the DPPs cannot refuse.  And that could only be he's ready to turn state witness to enable  the government  convict bosku.

In return for the readiness Riza must have asked that  all 5 charges be dropped and wiped out from  his record. So that he is pristine!

Wow! If what  he offered is not earth-shattering we will do what Shakespeare  asked  us to do: kill all the lawyers!

Unfortunately, the deal is a rotten deal no respectable  persons but imbecilic  people will accept.

The plea bargaining (PB) entails:-

1. The return of properties in Beverly Hills., New  York  and London-already seized by the US
2. DOJ Return of monies already seized  by the DOJ
3.  Pay a penalty - not followed

I can see the AG triumphantly jumping up and down declaring he got a lithograph  and the return of USD 108 million. This is a pyrrhic victory.

The  cost is too punitive  to us.  The USD 108 is not even half of the usd248 million…

2. All things returned  already  seized by DOJ
3. The penalty ought to have been 5 x USD 248 M
4. The  charges  would  result in  75 years prison time

The lithograph  would  hardly justify total  pardon. Its unconscionable, unjustifiable  and unjusticiable.

Even if Riza agrees to testify against  bosku, it can result only in reduced sentence  not total pardon.

So I  ask again:why did the judge and the DPPs agree to the  rotten deal? That's why the PB must be investigated.

If the AG did not tell all the fault is his. People  comment on what is given. When they do  it, cannot be determined  by the AG.

Is trivialising corruption part of our national ethos?

Is trivialising  corruption  part  of our amour propre? If it is, we are sub-humans.  We cannot differentiate  what is wrong  and what is right.

I am sorry to visit this subject  again. But I am incensed Riza Aziz got away just like that. Wtf!

I am puzzled how he did this.  Hopefully  he has offered something  big enough  to convict bosku and co.

So what level of sophistication  and sophistry did the AG use? Please tell us in simple terms. Write it down. Didn't uncle Mao say as long as its written  down we can  understand.  Don't use fuzzy language.  Uncle Mao also said too much analysis  leads  to paralysis.

The most damaging thing is the  message.  The government, AGC and the MACC are telling  people to steal big and quote Riza's case as precedent.

Was this intentional on the part of the AG? If that is so, he is not a fool but a bloody fool.

Don't  assume  we are dumb and mute.  The residual voice  of our conscience must be heard by sophisticated  people at AGC. The deal stinks to high heavens.

If the previous  AG thinks there is a strong case it is not opened to the present  AG to cavalierly dismiss the case. There must be continuity.

The present  AG must be lying when he said that Tommy Thomas had agreed to the deal.  Thomas has denied this in writing.

Moreover, it's a question  of integrity,  honesty and credibility  which cannot be compromised.

There were 5 charges proffered  against  Eiza.  Each carries a 15 years jail sentence. Why were these ignored?

Didn't Parliament  as the highest law making body mandated a 5 times penalty to the sum stolen? Why was this ignored?

Over 1 billion  is stolen.  Returning not even  half is a good deal? What kind of maths is this?

What meritorious  deed has Riza Done? The USD 108 million  would have been returned  by the US anyway.  We are giving Riza free credit.

If Riza offered  to satisfy the deal, isn't this prima facie an admission  of some guilt?

The trial judge would  have been invited to mete out appropriate  sentence. Why did he easily agree to a rotten deal?

The DPPs who advised the high and mighty AG acquiesced easily.  Why did they?

Are there grounds to sue the judge and DPPs for dereliction  of duty?

Betrayal  to the pm and to the government  is less important  to me.  Politicians get betrayed all the time. Betrayal to the concept of justice and betrayal  to the people is more heinous.  Will the people  trust the law and lawyers ?

I am less bothered with the way  Muhyiddin gets power. Call it treachery or betrayal.call it anything  you want.  Its making trivialising  corruption  as part of our ethos that angers me.

Is mediocrity the zeitgeist of our times?

A spectre  is haunting the AG Chambers.  It's the spectre of Appandi Ali. Its infamous spell is contained in the phrase case is closed and NFA.

Now its 'end of story' or 'that's  the end of it'. Well it's not the end just because you  mentioned  it.  We are not stupid people you know. We can  and do read between  the lines.

What is it that Riza Aziz returned to the government that are not already seized by the US  DOJ?

It means the AG chambers  got a deal that has got not much to shout about.  So don't lecture us about that's the end of it.

One over billion ringgit  has been stolen and yet our DPPs recommend  the case  be closed. It's not  the end until the fat lady sings.

Let me make a comparison.  There are poor Malays in Tawau, Sabah eating rice with just 1 egg and snake beans for buka puasa. But at the same time we have a legal system freeing a billion ringgit felon. Is this a prelude to a featherlite sentence to bosku?

So much for Wolf of Wall Street and Hermes crocodile skin handbags.

It's a travesty of justice. The  AG conducted a lengthy briefing but a farcical one!

Its true then what Kafka  wrote :a lawyer is some who writes a 10,000-page document and calls it a brief.

Somebody must have felt it that way during the AG's briefing.

The only thing extra the AG got was a lithograph and fine.  All other monies would have been returned to Malaysia  anyway.

Monetized the total sum returned amounted  to over rm400k hardly half the money he took from 1MDB.  Hell, there are hungry people in Malaysia  mah.

The condescending  press  release was symptomatic of people not voted to office. As the people in Pekan say kepala bapak awok!

So tell us Mr smart AG- is justice and the greater good served?

This  is not the thin skull eggshell rule on Riza Aziz.  His frailties are not relevant.  Tell that to the poor who has no inkling  what plea bargain is. What baloney!

The window dressing - press release and the sophistry of the AG hides the quality  of the government  lawyers.  As the chief in 'men in black' says you are expected of the quality of training  from  the government. Thank you.

Let me ask candidly with candour but without rancour-are our DPPs half past six fellas? Have they failed to protect us from the corrupt?

I hope the quality  of their professionalism does not represent the zeitgeist of our age. If it does, it means our judicial  system  is in a mess!

On the contrary, I  hope they represent  the fin de siècle of a 'jaman edan'.

To the defendant I  can only say  your acquittal  does not mean you are  not guilty, it only means you have beaten the rap.

Perhaps  you have achieved this with much deviousness and a hell of a help from  the half past six fellas.

As to the closing of the mad age, to bring us to the next level, we need a more forceful leadership.

As Mario Puzo puts it-a lawyer  with a briefcase  can steal more than a thousand men with guns.


I watched this film with my mother at the Rex cinema in Kuantan.

"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers" - William Shakespeare

Does our law practise double standards? You steal canned sardines and powdered milk you are  sentenced to 2 years in jail.  You steal and plunder 1 billion ringgit, get a sympathetic DPP you can get all changes  dropped!

I texted a few friends about this.  Two said  it's a sad day for our country. One mischievously said if you want to steal, steal big. Another said we are just whistling  past a graveyard  that is our country.  We are  just the reasonable  man on the Clapham omnibus. We  don't have the sophistication  of a DPP!

Surely the AG who was a 4th college boy of UM and the DPP whose advice  he took were in the minority. Even previous  AG Tommy  Thomas  said  he did not agree to any plea bargaining. So who  is  lying?

What is clear, the common good is sacrificed.

What I understand  is that Gopal Sri Ram and possibly Thomas  agreed to consider the proposals from Riza. That is different from agreeing to plea bargaining.

The AG can regale us with stories about the return  of properties  in  Beverly Hills, New York  and London or Timbuktu  for that matter, the  surrender of monies sequestered  by the government  etc.

The willingness  to pay  compound and strict adherence  to the terms of a plea bargain. But tell us dear AG will these erase the original  wrong?

So in the end we feel cheated.  Tell us also, does a plea bargain lead to.a total drop of the charges.?

So this plea bargain involves  complicated negotiations and all the jazz. These are but condiments  to the real dish.  In any case what do we pay you for?

So don't short change us Shylock AG. This is typical of a person who is not voted to office. Ditto for the DPPs.

What say the religious  purists in PAS? Do we condone the  kind of horse-trading?

I end  my  article with a saying:

When the law no longer protects you from the corrupt, but protects the corrupt from you, you  know your nation is doomed.

Plea bargaining ought to be outlawed. Part 1 of 2

The dropping of the money laundering  charges against wolf boy Riza Aziz, is a black mark on Muhyiddin's administration.  It implies that he countenances  corruption.

Not being a lawyer, I thought plea bargaining is for a lesser charge and stealing over a billion ringgit is hardly  one.

I thought plea bargaining entails a lighter conviction  but not getting away scott-free. That appears to be the case for Riza Aziz.

I thought plea bargaining gets you a lighter sentence but not no-sentence. Something is terribly wrong  here.

It can mean that our judicial system is a mess such that judges accept plea bargain to alleviate  overcrowded  court dockets.  But I thought its for low level misdemeanour. Misappropriating money from 1MDB is no low level crime.

It can mean our  prisons are overcrowded. They are full of minor offenders such that jailing a major offender disrupts the life of a rich person. We are compassionate for the rich but severe for the poor.

It is also a question mark on the integrity of judges who are too willing to accept a plea bargain. I hope not.

We can accept the judicial economy  argument  for low level crimes but is stealing  more than 1 billion ringgit one?

A, man of straw will readily accept a plea bargain because he cannot afford a costly and robust defence. But a person with deep pockets like Riza is not a man of straw.

Are our prosecutors overworked? They find plea bargain as a means to lighten their caseloads. But with  so many law schools and graduates a lawyer is a dime a dozen.

That can mean sadly, we have half past six prosecutors or grade-C egg prosecutors. Unable  to argue their cases they opt for an easy way out. Are the Lesser gifted in our prosecution  team? Hope not!.

But in any case a plea bargain assures a conviction albeit a lighter one.  It cannot mean no conviction!

I hope plea bargain is accepted if it means a bigger conviction  for a criminal kingpin.  Let us hope that Riza Aziz  has a damaging testimony against bosku. If not plea bargain is a miscarriage of justice.

But I  still think plea bargain means a lighter sentence but not none at all. I hope this plea bargain does  not amount to  full acquittal. It's a sad day if it does.

I hope plea bargain is not the Plaster of Paris to fill the lacunae in the  law. Don't adulterate the Law.

I am puzzled  why lawyers are silent  on this  issue-either they are not sensitive  in preserving the sanctity of  the Law or  too busy pursuing their Porsche Panamera.

Is the defendant  looking for a more lenient  sentence? That would mean  we can kautim with the law.

It can also mean the defendant  has opted for certainty rather than risks being convicted by a judge.  Then the law is like a free  size t shirt or a spandex.

Or it can be a crafty strategy  by the  defendant  or his lawyer.  He can free the defence  lawyer to concentrate  on a bigger case or allowing  his lawyer join the team defending the criminal  kingpin.

But the nugging question  remains.-are the judge  and prosecutors  compromised?

The Law is an ass!

I read with dismay that  money laundering  charges against  wolf boy were dropped. The message sent is utterly wrong. The law is indeed an ass.

If you want to steal, steal big. If you are caught you can kautim with the prosecutors.

The law fraternity must be patting themselves on the back thinking they are beyond reproach  don't steal a can of powdered milk.

Your misfeasance can be forgiven if you return some of the money. You enjoy the other half.
Even if you return  all the money you don't erase  the wrong.

We, are all suckers if we think the law is just.  If I have the powers I will order a mistrial.

Najib  is smiling  like a Cheshire cat. If he woke stole 50 billion he can cut a deal with government  lawyers.

Chibai'

We cannot trust the law it seems.  They look out for each other.  If you have donkeys as prosecutors  you might as well-read chicken  entrails.

We will mistrust  the law.  We are convinced we have second rate lawyers in the government. We shall have to explain  to them several  times the meaning of justice.

Thieves of the world unite! We have nothing  to lose but half  of our loot.

The No Confidence Vote.

Anwar Ibrahim is now the national opposition leader. So why is Dr Mahathir the author of the no confidence vote?

He's not going to be the PM.  That means he has allowed himself  to be used in  moving the motion.

He appears to dig a hole he himself  will fall into.  It gives me no pleasure to say that of him.

Muhyiddin must have thought long and hard about becoming PM.  It's not as if he woke up one morning and decide  to become pm. He saw an opportunity and took it.

I am not going to be judgemental  on this - you can say he is scheming and unscrupulous  and argue about it till the cows come home or you turned blue in the face, but he was effective then-the ends justify the means.

I don't think Muhyiddin will just stand idly and hand over the premiership  to Mahathir or anyone. He will use any means necessary  to stay in power  including  deceptive  means. There's  nothing illegal  there.

Some people say Muhyiddin's days are numbered.  Mahathir has the numbers. There is dissension  in UMNO.

The  same can be said of BERSATU. Muhyiddin is president of  BERSATU meaning he has his own support. Mahathir made the cardinal  mistake of empowering a rival, and he's paying for it now.

If  Muhyiddin has the numbers just expel Mahathir. All problems solved  for now.

Now I hear parliament  will just meet and will not debate.  The PM can do this. Mahathir  has jumped into the pool but there's no water.

The Politics of COVID-19 part 2 of 2

There are many things we can learn from bungling America  in dealing with COVID-19. It is number  one in corona deaths and number one in cases. It's in that unenviable position  because of  poor leadership.

First we must prevent  the  rise of artificial  and fake leaders.  Remember when Trump  described  COVID-19 as an ordinary flu and it originated in a Chinese  lab?  Now the epicentre  is New  York  and not Wuhan.  Can we now say it's an American disease due to filthy Americans?

Don't show poor leadership and judgment.  The constant lying and trivializing  are hallmarks of a totalitarian leader.

These leaders are a danger to us.  Here we have a health minister who asked us to drink a lot of warm water and consulted  500 countries. Can he tell us which world has 500 counties? And his ministry was alleged to commit some corrupt purchases. The PM must jettison this kind of leaders asap.

Not only he, but all the idiots in the cabinet.  We have a higher  education  minister asking us to play tick-tock application  on our hand phones and a women's minister counselling  us to be lovey-dovey and play act as Doraemon. Out with them!

Never ever shrink our health care system if we ever want to ready to confront  COVID-19. View health care as a social responsibility and not allow the private sector drive our health care system.

We must never  allow the medical -industrial complex to determine our health care system.  This consists the hospitals, doctors, drug companies  and medical insurance  companies. Keep them  out.

At, the same time never  allow the department  f health  to be too overbearing. Yes they are  responsible  for preventing  harmful drugs into our country. But they can also prevent  the  entry  of cheaper and generic  drugs  into our  country. They do this through  their  bureaucratic tyranny  and little Napoleon-ship.

Never appoint anyone not an expert in the field to talk about  COVID-19. In Germany  Bill Gates has suddenly  become the go-to person as Spokesman  for COVID-19. The only  reason why he is treated that way is because  he is rich.
In our country its akin like asking  Robert  Kuok to talk about COVID-19. There are thousands of medical  specialists who can talk about COVID-19.

The Politics of COVID-19 Part 1

I was reading the speech by the Ugandan  president.  It is regarding physical  and social distancing to confront COVID-19. At first instance it is a good  speech.

In truth, it was a condescending  speech.  He calls his countrymen  idiots. The  only way to deal with idiots is to use force and violence. Is the way to overcome idiots?

Did we hear Muhyiddin or Hsien Loon calling the people  idiots? The Ugandan model is not for us.

Obviously, the Ugandan  president, Kaguta Musaveni, does not respect his people. Reading in between the lines he is threatening  the use of force and brutality on his people.

Because  they are  idiots  the use of force  and brutality are justified  clubbing shooting  and raping people are okay.

At one  time  in  America, the whites  labelled  blacks as mad to send them to the sanatorium. In Malaysia, it was okay to C4 Altantuyaa because she was a prostitute.
Funny she wasn't  one when she entertained  Razak baginda and maybe bosku.

In Malaysia, we understand  persuasion  and do not need recourse to brutality. Neither do we use legislation  to secure obedience

Don't forget Uganda  is the land of  Obote and big Idi Amin Dada.  Musaveni may be cut from the same cloth. Atrocity is normal to him.

To be fair Musaveni spoke about valid things.  He  described  COVID-19 as a war without  borders -indiscriminate in its hellacious effects.

As a result of this war we don't talk about refusing to stay at home, children going to school, opening  up business, talk about freedom etc.  We ought to be thankful we are alive. Except in Uganda these are all permanent.

We are  not going to follow the Ugandan  model.  We are not idiots who are too thick to follow the orders of the government temporarily.

Hitler and Mussolini gave stirring speeches too but behaved atrociously. Perhaps Musaveni is too lazy to think of more civil ways to persuade people.

What I am saying is  COVID-19 can be used by authoritarian  leaders to undermine democracy. That could be the motive of Musaveni.

Covid-19 has allowed some unscrupulous  leaders do Heinous things. President Trump for example  said the virus originated in a Chinese lab: that has been debunked by medical  specialists and scientists.  They are mostly American.

Then Trump quarrelled with WHO accusing the latter to have insidious  relationship  with China.  Trump has since threatened to defund WHO.

Like Hitler  before him Trump spoke before adoring and pliable crowds.  Trump's  behaviour is closer to an authoritarian  leader.  He's been described  as a gangster in the White House.

The epicentre  of COVID-19 is not Wuhan but New York.  Trump is using COVID-19 to mask his colossal policy errors.



 I listened  to this song when  I was  small.  My late father bought acrylic  records.

Opinions, Ghostwriter and a Contrarian view on immigration.

I must admit I am opinionated in the sense I hold my opinions tightly. That doest not mean I am overly inflexible  in my opinions.  I do accommodate  the thinking of others if they are well reasoned and thought of.

Those who write in one or two lines are  simply not worth reading.

I am also offended by those who appear  they can evaluate  my writing when I know they are not well versed in the English language  and hardly read any English  books. At all. They must be aping the opinions of some envious souls.

I will also ignore those who continue  to say I don't write my articles myself and say my writings  are crap. Isn't that oxymoronic?

How is it possible that I don't write my own articles yet be responsible for their crappiness?
Must be a moron then. If I write only then I am responsible  for their crappiness.

Take for instance my views on immigration. You may disagree with me and think they are elitist. But who cares!
I hold it to be self-evident  that you are entitled  to your opinion as I do mine. So learn to live with that.

I am all for immigration  for jobs but will never support immigration  that takes advantage of our welfare, education,  health care, transport  facilities.
Yes I would support skills based immigration.  It sounds selfish but why should I take in the riff-raffs?

Sometime in 2019 a Trump Head of Immigration quoted a poem about the Statue of Liberty. He didn't want immigrants who take advantage of welfare but wanted immigrants with abilities. It was a politically incorrect statement but a realistic one.

Give immigrants  a choice of a) stay illegal or b) registered illegal or c) naturalised citizen when qualified. Provided we remain protective and guard jealously our country  (a) means they will not qualify to any of our facilities.

Paradoxically when the immigrants  are illegal it is good for us.  By definition, they are not entitled to any of the facilities  I mentioned.  They choose to be illegal and hence must pay the costs.

Muhyiddin's coup de grace

On the 9th, Pakatan held a ceramah "Kembalikan Mandat Rakyat".  Now that sounds strange to me.  How to give back?

The only way to do that is to have general elections.  Parliamentary action is a waste of time. Vote of  no confidence is just that.

If they find themselves  out of power blame it on Mahathir. He's so itchy-fied to resign. This is no game.

Mahathir thinks it's just a game.  This time he may have overplayed  his card. By choosing to resign he shows he doesn't respect  the mandate from the people. Hell, he doesn't even respect the mandate from heaven.

Dr Mahathir  may have the number in parliament  but that doesn't me he's right.  He's playing Russian  roulette with the people.  MPs are not our overlords.

So to me it's a misnomer to say kembalikan mandat rakyat.  Ask Mahathir  to kembali.

Nobody asked him to resign. Anwar is a non entity. Mahathir says he has no problem with Muhyiddin becoming PM.  So his motion is unconscionable.

Muhyiddin saw an opportunity  and took it.  That's hardly blameable.  Isn't it fair in love and war? Politics is just an extension  of war by another  means.

Can we expect any earth shaking policies from Mahathir  in the twilight of his years? Let's give Muhyiddin a chance. At least he can be better than bosku.

Mahathir  created a dysfunctional  cabinet.  He was  more interested to give member parties of PH their proportionate share.  It wasn't a government  of primus inter pares.  BERSATU seems incapable  of pushing its core policies.

As a result each member party wants to push its own agenda. Each week we are subject to petrol price change regime. Corporations are unable to do businesses under a suffocating regime.
That what is expected  from present day Mahathir.

Whether we like or not the people want core members of the cabinet to be Malays. Do we see Malays composing 15 percent of the Singapore  cabinet? The policies of the first among equals dominate.

Whether  you like it or dont like it-learn to love it.

The no confidence vote is an exercise in futility.

I never knew Saloma sang this song.

I admire TDM.  I have described him as'the man who can walk on water.  He can do impossible  things.  I have called him the 'Don Corleone 'of Malaysian politics. His place in history is already assured.

He has submitted a motion of no confidence against Muhyiddin. The speaker has accepted  it.  Malaysia will be in for another round of political  Tsunami.

But I am afraid it will be a bridge too far for TDM this time. And I will tell you the reasons why. I don't  expect universal agreement  though.

Muhyiddin is still the president of BERSATU is he? Isn't it easier to purge him?.  Is Dr Mahathir  practising a form of political infanticide?

Is TDM the hippopotamus beach master killing  the baby hippo? He may have 1001 valid reasons but the majority  of Malaysia  will be against  TDM. This time.

I am aware that some people saw Muhyiddin did a power grab and rise to power was unconstitutional.  I beg to differ. Muhyiddin saw an opportunity  and seized  it.  He was an effective  leader. Its just that.

Pakatan may not be unified as one thinks. They may sleep on the same pillow but dream different  dreams.
DAP sees itself as lord of shanghai. Didn't Anwar  says he will not play second fiddle to Mahathir  any more? AMANAH will do what Mat Sabu says. They will bend with the wind.

Mahathir  does not know how to lose. One's personal ambitions knows no bounds.
In any case how long more can we endure Mahathir. Surely we cannot  have a PM who is 100? At that time some men play with their own urine and faeces.of course Mahathir is no mere mortal.

The reasonable  man will not want anything of it.  He is not the man on the Clapham omnibus.  The MPs are not the men on the Piccadilly commuter tube either.  Both do read in between the lines.
They read it as Mahathir  wanting to leave a legacy.

I know this issue will be played out in Parliament.  But the MPs have a duty to read correctly what the people  want.  Reading correctly  means they have to repudiate  the  no confidence  motion.

We have to also consider the political fatigue that has drowned the people.  Mahathir's move the other day threw the country in turmoil.  People are tired of political  intrigues.  One more is too much!

Muhyiddins administration  has 2 great things going for it.  The measures taken to combat COVID-19 show the people they are protected.

The slew of financial measures  show  people they are cared for.

The same cannot be said of the Pakatan government. They are more interested  to run the country as a business  unit.  They are manually  driven zombies.

The people  now want stability and certainty.  They didn't get that from the Pakatan  government. The MP's have a duty to give them to the people.

For these reasons I think the no confidence  motion ought to be rejected.  It's an abuse of Parliamentary privilege.

I will end this article with 2 things a friend said.

"Worry is a misuse of the brain"

"Sometimes there's  nothing we can do but wait for the rain to subside and the sun to shine again."

The Economics of COVID-19 part 3/3

The ideas held by many, the government  must do more. We elect them do the minimum wage, tax the rich, because that benefits the poor. Legislate more through manipulation of the employment  act, employment  insurance  schemes-  are all myths.

Myths, I might add are like an air mattress. They are comfortable for many purposes until  they  get deflated. Then you get a jolt.

When things go bad there's always a shift from reliance  of individual  responsibility to collective responsibility. From  self-reliance  to depending  on big brother  and ward keeper.

I doubt  very much taxing the rich will benefit  the poor. What we feel is different  from reality. Let me illustrate.

Take for example politics.who dominate the sphere? Hardly the poor. The very rich may have a few reps but the bulk is from  the middle income group.

The poor are on  the side lines. They are  there in the first place because the have lesser talent, lesser entrepreneurial skills  are unfortunate  to be born handicap or are in groups discriminated against.

From the very rich I could get money, so it's worthwhile to sacrifice  a few seats from the middle income group.  What can I get from the lower income group?
I may feel empathy for them, but the reality is what it is.  The middle income looks after their  own.

So if they look after their interests can we rely on  big brother? I submit, no.

The very  poor may get crumbs  but the middle income get the meat.

There is no good relying on big brother. It only gives them an excuse to impose their bureaucracy  and cause havoc through  their ubiquitous  corruption.

I used to think why Malays remain poor despite Malays dominating  government  instrument  from ketua kampungs to kings? Big brother doesn't help. But that's part of the answer.
The other part is to give big brother an excuse  to become little Napoleons  and impose corruption!

If Everyman were allowed  to pursue their  own interest the good of society is furthered. Adam Smith said that. A long time ago.

But we cannot trust the free market. The free marketeers are profit driven. They are rapacious  people.  So trust the government.
I have  shown what trusting big brother entails to.

So what to do? First of course  existing  facilities  must be managed better. Health facilities rubbish disposal  clean water supply electricity  etc.

Development policies must be skewed towards rural areas. Don't focus on workers only.  The café latte socialists  and Gucci  communists  talked about them. They are hardly the poor. The poor are in the kampungs.

Bank Negara must tell commercial banks to provide cheap loans to kampung people.  Lower interest  loans must be provided to kampung people.  Commercial banks should establish coffee shop bank branches in kampungs.

Housing loans should  be provided at zero interests. Applicants  consisting of  women should be encouraged.

Facilities at pasar malam should be upgraded. Build permanent premises with rubbish collection facilities  and cold room facilities.

Direct income transfers should  be made to the very poor. These are the miskin tegar who are worse off than the organised workers who are defended by well-intentioned do-gooders.

The Economics of COVID-19 Part 2

I was reading an article  asking the government  to do more to help workers.
Surprisingly there is no mention at all of "unions". This tells me unions do not protect  the workers.

We intend to help the workers but very often the outcome is the opposite  of our intention. So who protect  our workers?

There are 951 unions covering 800000 workers in Malaysia.  Are we, able to say the other 800 thousand  are not protected? The pasar malam vendors  have no unions. How are they protected?

Before the trade union  act 1959-we have no unions. Can we say our workers are not protected?

Unions protect  2 classes of people -members and the union officials. The protection given is not equal.

The strongest unions are probably  the teachers union, banking, medical, airline workers, municipal unions. We can hardly call the workers here as poor!

The unions are therefore not relevant in our discussion.  I submit they are not important.

That is not to say unions are not useful-they are.  But their leadership structure  must be re-engineered  and democratised.

That leaves the government  to do its duty:-by manipulating the employment  act through  the EPF or some employment insurance schemes  through  SOCSO etc. Or it monetises its debts. Even this proposal is misleading.

Before independence, we had no government to protect workers but workers got by. So not wholly true the government makes the difference.

Before I discuss some ways to overcome  the economic  downturn  there  are several issues  I want  to  talk about. These are the minimum  wage issue and taxing the rich  more.


Ramon Navaratnam is undoubtedly  a do-gooder who intends  to help  the poor.  Unfortunately  almost always good intentions produced the opposite  effects-producing increased unemployment  and increased poverty.  A do-gooder like Navaratnam becomes inadvertently a tool for special interest groups and the monopolists.

That's what the minimum wage rate does. Strange,  is it?

Think this way. In order  to pay the minimum wage rate the employers look for workers commensurate with the skills and qualifications  demanded  by the minimum wage rate.

What is the effect? The wage rate discriminate  against  those who don't have the required  skills and qualifications. The very people Navaratnam wants to help.
The poor are kept out the job market. They remained unemployed  and poor still.

Well intentions  but the effects  are not.  Have the government  published  results  of the minimum wage rate?

The special interest  groups  like the trade unions will like the idea.  It entrenches them and keeps off competition.
Do the do-gooders still like the idea? Unemployment  and  poverty will be on you!

Tax the very rich and help the poor says 'Robin Navatnam Hood'. Perhaps  he has not heard about Director's law(after Aaron Director). The law says almost  invariably  government  programs like this benefit the middle income group at the expense of the very  rich and the poor.

I can only say to the poor 'be still and wait without hope, for hope is to hope for the wrong  thing'. TS Eliot.

The Economics of COVID-19 Part 1

COVID-19 has affected our economy adversely. It has become a pandemic which bring dire economic consequences.

In response the government has introduced MCO-movement control order. Really, the duration is indefinite.

The government is asking people to stay at home do social distancing wash their clothes  use hand sanitizers wear masks cook more and make love more too. How else to entertain?

We are  also provided  with some comic relief. We have a higher education  minister asking  us to play  tick- tock on the phone.

We have the women affairs minister asking the wives to do the voice of Doraemon when romancing their husbands. Wow! This lady is unsangka-rable!

And we have the Health Minister asking us to drink more warm water. He has consulted 500 countries whereas there are only  195 countries in the world.  Clever fellow-not only is he a medical  doctor but has two ba's to his  name!

Our economy  has undoubtedly  shrunk. Our GDP is down. Many industries have gone south.

The hospitality industry  is down. Hotel occupancy is down. The aviation  industry is laying off workers. 2 to 3 million people will be retrenched.
Poor Makcik Kiah will not be able to sell her goreng  pisang.

The government  has  introduced  a slew of economic incentives.  I hope this policy will not be an excuse to implement  more collectivist programmes.

The normal and typical response  is to ask the government  to do more.  It is precisely more government  intrusion  that makes matters worse.  Sad to say it's not a call for a mini dictatorship  of the proletariat.

The Misuse of Religion.

One of the brothers in Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov said "If god is dead then everything  is permissible".

That means conduct  like killing, rape, plunder, perjury etc can be done.

There are  no  more religious  injunctions  to restrain  you and society at large is mute and dumb.

These 2 things  explained  why Najib  plundered the country.

To Najib at that particular  time god  is dead.  there is no celestial being to restrain him.  Now of course he beseeches  god to let him of the hook! God is back.

If God can be switched off and  on it means God's existence  depends  on how Najib thinks at a particular time.
Surely on this point alone the religious zealots  must censure him.

At that particular  time, i.e. when Najib  stole billions through  the agency of 1MDB, God is either dead or non-existent.  Najib is both ungodly  and blasphemous. He should  be crucified  for this.

For being murtad and shirik shouldn't  death be the punishment?

If the religious fakers are silent on this-not only are they complicit  they undermine our beliefs in religious  morality.  It exposes them as hypocrites!

Aren't  they the ones clamoring  for the implementation  of hudud and shariah laws?

Excuse me-Najib  is not only stealing but behaves that God is dead or non-existent. Isn't that a mortal sin?

We must  not be lenient  towards a person teaching us that God is dead and non-existent. Actually  God has nothing  to do when we commit wrongs.

We are the architect of our conduct  and must answer  for it or be called to account. Doing  a Mad's Alfred-what me know or a Baldric-deny everything  is only sophistry.

Don't  make a sumpah laknat saying you don't  know about 1MDB or you have nothing  to do with a lady's murder, do a repentance because you behaved that God is dead or  does not exist.

Don't use  God when it's convenient  to. Like mullah Nasruddin says to the barber who cuts him as he shaves exclaiming  Allahuakbar and Astaghfirullahal azim -lets leave God aside!

Society is mute and dumb.  That's an insult to us. That's  saying  we don't have an innate sense of what's wrong  or right.
We don't need a terrestrial  big brother like the religious fakers to tell us what is right and what is wrong. No sir!

Like judge Thomas  says-its irrelevant! The concept of vicarious redemption is irrelevant.
Ask some of the humanoids to say they are guilty  on your behalf.  Then you are forgiven.

Is that how it works?

Must find a village  idiot!

Part 2. Pas and Islamic politics

Another problem with PAS is that it claims legitimacy from God.
That is a troubling thought.

God's omnipotence is translated politically into absolute  rule.

There  are many ways to persuade  gullible  people. The clerics are the inheritors of the holy Prophet (pbuh)
There is a very thin  line that separates personal interests from  the common good.

Once this kind of rule is accepted, PAS can justify honour killings, violence and other forms of tyranny.

Our objections are grounded on:
(1) where are  the control mechanisms to reign in unbridled lust for power?
(2) if such mechanisms exist they are weak.

PAS will keep changing the goal posts when we want to score.

PAS derives its legitimacy from interpreting Gods message and since they are derivatives  they ought to be questioned.  But will PAS tolerate criticisms or perpetuate  its emotional manacles?

We don't need a dictatorship  to tell what is right or wrong. We have access to literature and our own reasoning  and abilities.
That makes PAS which eventually leads to dictatorship  irrelevant.

Can the wrongs of a particular person be forgiven  by punishing others? What kind of morality does PAS condone?

It's disturbing to see pas not condemning  the thousands of duds supporting Najib. It appears that PAS condones passing the blame morality.

Therefore, for PAS, its right for Najib to lie and its right  for others to shoulder blame.
Najib's guilt will be written off if others volunteer  to accept  punishment on his behalf.

Can we support a PAS like that?