Choosing our Leaders(1)

No: 7/2009

I wrote an article titled the vicious cycle. There I proposed a novel way( new to UMNO people only) to select its leaders. I proposed using a desire to break up the genetic elite syndrome as a basis when selecting leaders. For too long, leadership in this country and UMNO is dominated by the old family network. People like to quote the fact that UMNO originated in the palaces. This implies that UMNO is by nature, elitist. The leadership has largely conformed to this description. Its leaders are mostly drawn from old family network.

You know the revolting feeling seeing UMNO dominated by the old family. From grandfather to father to son to maybe grandson. Apa ini? Family business ke? As many of you are aware, many leaders become leaders because of happenstance. That is, because they are the offspring of former leaders. In other words, they have leadership trusted upon then. And over the years they improved. And assimilate the values in UMNO. From SOBs they become respectables.

What does that prove to us? It proves that leaders are not born. They can be made into leaders. Its nurture. Initially they may be son of bitches. Over the years we can mould them. That should be convincing enough to accept that leadership is open to everyone other than the genetic elite.

When DS Najib took over as Pekan MP in the 20’s , he was still sporting his shoulder length hair. Many of us tend to overlook that because we think the leadership qualities of Tun Razak were passed down to Najib. Probably they have. The same with Hishamudin Hussin. At the time of the father’s death, Hishamudin was just another rookie in the Pergerakan Pemuda. Indeed a non- descript one hanging out with people like the late Zahari Wahab and calling guys like Nazri Aziz, chief. The jury is not out yet on Hishamudin by which to judge him. But to me, he is just average. Mukhriz Mahathir for sometime lived under the shadow of Tun Mahathir. We assumed that because he has a likeable face, good mannerisms, he must, as if by default, inherit the qualities of Tun Mahathir.

They became leaders in waiting because they came from illustrious genealogy. That was the quality that sets them apart from the average UMNO Joe. Having the right genetic credentials. We look at these offspring as the cavalry raining down the plains to save us from marauding Red Indians.

What is my uneasiness about this way of selecting leaders? Two things. First we rely on a traditional system. Malay society has its elite.. the aristocratic network that supported the feudal system. From this we get our leaders. The system is self perpetuating. From fathers to sons and so forth down the line. Old Malay society was a society revolving around the feudal courts. From there, the talent pool of Malay leaders spring forth. Leaders were selected through myth laden credentials- reliance on dreams, supernatural linkages- descendants from bovine vomit, born in buloh betong, transported in a bubble etc. The worth of a person’s leadership were legitimatised using mythologized genealogy.

Possibly later as economic prosperity occurred, mythologized basis of conferring leadership gave way to the more rational explanation of bloodline. Hence the older way of picking leaders gave way to a more rational way of choosing leader- using bloodline.

Even that is no longer compatible to current social and economic development. Liberal democracy and increasing economic prosperity challenge the validity of such basis. Liberal democracy treats rule of law, equality and meritocracy as the pillars on which society develops. Increasing economic prosperity means increasing mastery by humans on their surroundings which make reliance on things like bloodline, incompatible.

Relying on the good fortune of having good genes is a risky way of choosing our leadership. Invoking mythologized ancestry and citing bloodline may be good ways to entertain and enthral audience in balai rong seris, but probably not a good way for selecting leadership to look after the destiny of our people.

Because then, the process of choosing our leaders does not become a deliberate, calculative and deterministic method. It’s the Malay adage of if you are a coconut husk, you float. If you are a stone, you sink. Not a sure footed method is it?

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Musa Hitam’s Schadenfreude and the IJN takeover.

no: 6/2009

Who is Musa Hitam? The answer is at the end of this article.

The shadowy character who is said to be Pak Lah’s chief consigliore is Musa Hitam. Now he wants IJN by any means necessary. He was the person who very quickly said that TDM’s departure from UMNO was like ridding a thorn in the flesh. After that, Pak Lah was not in a hurry to re-admit TDM. Contrast this when Musa Hitam wanted to resign, TDM allowed a delegation to go to London, to court Musa Hitam to come back. TDM didn’t say, Musa Hitam was a thorn or what.

Musa was also the person who disingenuously described TDM as a person suffering from PPMS- post PM syndrome. With an MA in international studies, Musa dabbles also in psychoanalysis.

Well, inept Pak Lah made him a Tun. That wouldn’t have happened under TDM’s watch. TDM did the correct thing, because we would be very hard-pressed to count Musa’s contribution to nation building in Malaysia. He was just coasting along and pulling on TDM coattails. But Musa is the only person, Pak Lah can fall back on to dish out evil enough machinations. Like engineering the planned take over of IJN.

But like one commentator known as Mek Yam said:-

…guess the man is too slow to figure out that musa secretly despises him because he, once simply dismissed as an inconsequential no-talent in musa's camp, actually gets the plum seat musa himself coveted.

bet musa is already gloating in delicious schadenfreude about the shi*t legacy that abdullah will inevitably leave. :D

Allow me to expand somewhat on the term. Schadenfreude is pleasure taken from observing the misery of another. ( pronounced as shadden-froid) .This is a term that would describe Musa Hitam nicely. He delights on the misery of others. Can Sime Darby expect us to believe that they can maintain low rates to thousands of the ignored poor when its SJMC hasn’t got an iota of good reputation in that department?

The word referring to this emotion has been borrowed from German by the English language. The philosopher and sociologist Theodor Adorno defined schadenfreude as “largely unanticipated delight in the suffering of another. Unanticipated means just that- a bonus gratification arising from some other action. In this case, if the takeover of IJN takes place and that causes suffering in others, that is delightful.

In the original German language, the word derives from Schaden (damage, harm) and Freude (joy); A distinction exists between "secret schadenfreude" (a private feeling) and "open schadenfreude" which is outright public derision.

A more common English expression with a similar meaning is 'Roman holiday', a metaphor taken from the poem "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" by George Gordon, Lord Byron, where a gladiator in Ancient Rome expects to be "butcher'd to make a Roman holiday" while the audience would take pleasure from watching his suffering. The term suggests debauchery and disorder in addition to sadistic enjoyment.

Another phrase with a meaning similar to Schadenfreude is "morose delectation" ("delectatio morosa" in Latin), meaning "the habit of dwelling with enjoyment on evil thoughts". One French writer named Pierre Klossowski (1905-2001) maintained that the appeal of sadism is morose delectation.

A New York Times article in 2002 cited a number of scientific studies of schadenfreude, which it defined as "delighting in others' misfortune." Many such studies are based on social comparison theory, the idea that when people around us have bad luck, we look better to ourselves. Other researchers have found that people with low self-esteem are more likely to feel schadenfreude than are people who have high self-esteem.

Hence it is actually Musa who is suffering from terrible bouts of low self esteem. He must be wondering, how is that he, the superior to untalented Pak Lah who was his myrmidon once, failed to become the PM? what is he now? He is just a glorified retiree with huge salaries and remunerations. Chairman of Iskandar and Sime Darby.

Perhaps to humour Tun Musa further, let me quickly add that his mental state has many equivalents in diverse languages.

In Danish, Musa would fit in nicely in the expression: Der er ingen fryd som skadefryd: "There is no glee like schadenfreude." In the Dutch language:Geen schoner vermaak dan leedvermaak proverb: "No pleasure more beautiful than schadenfreude." In German:- Neid zu fühlen ist menschlich, Schadenfreude zu genießen teuflisch: "To feel envy is human, to savor schadenfreude is devilish." (Arthur Schopenhauer). In the Greek Language:The word herekakia corresponds to wanting or enjoying the misforune of others. In French: the better expression would be "Se réjouir du malheur d'autrui" ("To find joy in another's misfortune" i.e. To gloat) in Japanese, the phrase tanin no fukō wa mitsu no aji , translates literally as "others' misfortunes are the taste of honey."

In Malay, perhaps Musa Hitam is gleefully saying: padan muka means "fits your face" but the more appropriate English translation is: "You got what you deserved"; In Thai, he would be saying som nam na, which can be interpreted as: "You got what you deserved"; "Serves you right"; or "I'm laughing at your bad luck". Arabic: shamaatah shamtan, taking pleasure in the misfortune of others)

Which brings me to this point. Who else can be described of being the same beastly and devilish thing in so many languages? The only one that comes to my mind is Lucifer, the Devil himself. I’d rather be a thorn in the flesh that this description.

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Perspectives of Economic Growth

No: 5/2009.

The very intelligent blogger, de minimis( whose thoughts are not) wrote an interesting essay at the close of 2008. Readers may read it here. And the point I find particularly interesting is a discussion on the economics idea of Ibn Khaldun. We are accustomed to hearing Adam Smith as the father of economics- but a lot more people think Khaldun deserves that accolade.

Who is this bn Khaldūn or Ibn Khaldoun.? I have to ask this question because many Muslims I know, parrot his name but has no inkling who he was. His real name is , ABŪ ZAYD ‘ABDU R-RAHMAN BIN MUḥAMMAD BIN KHALDŪN AL-HADRAMI, (May 27, 1332 AD/732 AH – March 19, 1406 AD/808 AH). He was a famous Muslim thinker and polymath. He was the jack of all trades and master of everything. Just look at his intellectual credentials —an astronomer, economist, historian, Islamic scholar, Islamic theologian, hafiz, jurist, lawyer, mathematician, military strategist, nutritionist, philosopher, social scientist and statesman—born in North Africa in present-day Tunisia. Military strategist? Yes maybe he was the Muslim Sun Tzu.

He is considered the forerunner of several social scientific disciplines: demography, cultural history, historiography, the philosophy of history, sociology, and modern economics. He is sometimes considered to be the "father" of these disciplines, or even the social sciences in general, for anticipating many elements of these disciplines centuries before they were founded in the West. He is best known for his Muqaddimah (known as Prolegomenon in the West), the first volume of his book on universal history, Kitab al-Ibar.

How did he acquire all these? His family's high rank enabled Ibn Khaldun to study with the best North African teachers of the time. Meaning his rich parents knew the value of education. He received a classical Islamic education, studying the Qur'an which he memorized by heart, Arabic linguistics, the basis for an understanding of the Qur'an, hadith, sharia (law) and fiqh (jurisprudence). He received certification (ijazah) for all these subjects. The mystic, mathematician and philosopher, Al-Abili, introduced him to mathematics, logic and philosophy, where he above all studied the works of Averroes, Avicenna, Razi and al-Tusi. At the age of 17, Ibn Khaldūn lost both his parents to an epidemic of the plague which hit Tunis.

Following family tradition, Ibn Khaldūn strove for a political career. In the face of a tumultuous political situation in North Africa, this required a high degree of skill developing and dropping alliances prudently, to avoid falling with the short-lived regimes of the time. Ibn Khaldūn's autobiography is the story of an adventure, in which he spends time in prison, reaches the highest offices and falls again into exile.

So given a choice, I would more likely be convinced by Ibn Khaldun than say, ibn Awang( hj hadi). One of the ideas enunciated by Khaldun is the concept of ‘asabiyya or asabiyah. In the past, this concept in particular has been derided vehemently by PAS firebrands and followers. Indeed anyone labelled as ‘asabiyya’ was made to look as though he was carrying a transmittable sexual disease. Or worse, he is seen as an infidel. UMNO was called an ‘asabiyya party.

`Asabiyya or asabiyah refers to social solidarity with an emphasis on unity, group consciousness, and social cohesion. Originally it was used in a context of "tribalism" and "clannism", but sometimes used for modern nationalism as well. It was a familiar term in the pre-Islamic era, but became popularized in Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah where it is described as the fundamental bond of human society and the basic motive force of history. In the modern period, the term is generally analogous to solidarity. However, the term is often negatively associated because it can sometimes suggest loyalty to one's group regardless of circumstances, or partisanship. Here, in Malaysia, it is used as a means to denigrate others by PAS.

That denigration arises from a failure or refusal to understand the concept. Khaldun's central concept of asabiyah, or "social cohesion", seems to anticipate modern conceptions of social capital arising in social networks: This cohesion arises spontaneously in tribes and other small kinship groups; and it can be intensified and enlarged by a religious ideology. To me then, it is instructive to look at the concept of ‘asabiyya as an older version of social capital. That’s where de minimis’s essay spawns interest.

Khaldun's analysis looks at how this cohesion carries groups to power but contains within itself the seeds - psychological, sociological, economic, political - of the group's downfall, to be replaced by a new group, dynasty or empire bound by a stronger (or at least younger and more vigorous) cohesion.

Interestingly, Khaldun's concept is that social capital is instinctive and does not involve any social contract or explicit forms of constitution or other instructional capital that would provide a basis for appeals, in law or otherwise.

Why do I find the concept of social capital interesting? And that essay by de minimis useful? Because that essay leads us to a re-examine the thinking about social capital. And as modern scholars such as Francis Fukuyama and others attest, therein lies the greatness in the thinking of Ibn Khaldun. Because social capital or ‘asabiyya is important to the efficient functioning of modern economies, and is the sine qua non of stable liberal democracy.

Let’s see. Social capital arises from social networking. It is spontaneous. Khaldun even says its instinctive or second nature. It does not involve any social contract or explicit forms of constitution or other instructional capital.

Would anyone( PAS or UMNO) for example dare say, if one were to reject Khaldun’s idea, then one is un-Islamic? And one of these is the idea about ‘asabiyya and therefore rejection by PAS people, render them unIslamic actually? No? then why do many Muslims/Malays accept wholesale what PAS fatwa-ed on? Unless of course only if people disingeniously say that Khaldun;s Islamic credentials are not that great. But you would certainly find it tough going when looking at the man’s intellectual credentials above. The typical PAS member is also a polymath of another kind- pasar malam trader, medicine man, silat instructor, husband to 4 wives, village preacher and moral gendarme. The problem with the concept of ‘asabiyya lies in the politically negative connotations attached to it. So lets grow up.

Using this concept of Khladun’s ‘asabiyya or its modern version of social capital, I say, one of the major reasons for the failures of the NEP, is because social capital among the Malays is very low. Because it is very low, Malays cant dispense with excessive government patronage, willingness to work needs to be legislated, the Malay’s economic station needs to be decreed and willed into the constitution. So this year, 2009, I shall say it. The NEP has degenerated into a huge protection racket. The UMNO goons want to continue it because they derive power and spoils from there. Those who want a free ride and get everything easy, support the protection racketeers. The comprador Bumiputeras (non Malay towkays), the honorary royals( tengku Lims, tengku wongs) countenanced them because the goons and the free riders will call on them for help- at a humongous fee charge.

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Will KTerengganu be a Dunkirk?

No: 4/2009

In a few days thousands of UMNO soldiers will converge on the battlefields of Kuala Terengganu. Their object? To help the UMNO defenders in KT. Meanwhile the UMNO soldiers in KT will dig in, their resolve steeled to win by any means necessary.

The question on every one’s mind will be, can UMNO win? The spectacle of the KT UMNO digging in, putting up a fight and the sight of thousands converging to help out the defenders, is reminiscent of the Battle at Dunkirk. Dunkirk was described as 'almost a victory' and people discuss the 'Dunkirk spirit' at great length. This 'spirit' refers to the way that a large number of civilian ships crossed the channel to Dunkirk in order to help demoralised British forces return to Britain. Undoubtedly these acts by ordinary British fishermen and sailors were heroic, undoubtedly the British retreat from Pas de Calais was a disaster.

I get amused when journalists write about politics. Something they hatched in their imagination are offered to us as a palatable menu. They read chicken entrails and elevate them to respectable prognosis. One such example, is the reporter Zubaidah A.Bakar’s take on the choice of PAS’s Abdul Wahid Endut as its parliamentary candidate. Therefore to enliven things up, I offer my take.

Whether Abdul Wahids’s choice as candidate is a reflection of a power struggle between the factions in PAS, does not influence the outcome of the elections. It does not improve UMNO’s chances. UMNO must win not because of the imagined strife within PAS but must do so despite the strife, if one does indeed exists.

You see, if you try to analyse PAS through UMNO’s eyes, you get spurious results. They don’t think as UMNO people do. They are not into whether decision A strengthens the Erdogan faction or decision B, fortifies the Ulama faction. Their principal interest will always be, will any decision A or B, further the interest of Islam? That is the final solution. They know where their loyalties lie. UMNOniks don’t.

UMNO’s decision matrix is totally different and at once at variance with PAS’s. In UMNO, they see whether decision A is good for Najib’s people, decision B good for Pak Lah’s people, decision C good for KJ or KT or MM’s interests. Compared to PAS’s denominator, all that of UMNO’s are insignificant. UMNO goes into the KT by elections as a fractious group, not PAS.

PAS people differ on appearances not on fundamentals. They may quarrel about petty issues, but everything is resolved on religious principles. On that, PAS does not quarrel. So I wouldn’t take UMNO’s imagined dissension within PAS as being crucial for their victory. In fact and on the other hand, if UMNO does that, it serves only to confirm that UMNO is weak. UMNO must win on its strengths, not on the perceived weaknesses of others. Savvy?

UMNO will never win if it doesn’t understand how a PAS operative works. Always, the common denominator is religion. That is a constant. No PAS member ever disputes if the decision taken is done according to religion. Once taken, the support for their candidate is ABSOLUTE and TOTAL. Can we say the same of UMNO’s Wan Farid? No? On that point, who wins?

The PAS candidate YB Abdul Wahab Bin Endut may be a 4 or 5 termed ADUN. Yet, he is barely known outside. Everyone was thinking it could be Mat Sabu or Syed Azman. These are well known personalities.

Pas says it sent out 72 party stalwarts to stalk the feelings of the grassroots. They finally came out with Abdul Wahid. Wahid means number one. Perhaps in the minds and hearts of the Terengganu people.

Pitted against Wan Farid, the senator, the ketua UMNO bahagian Kuala Terengganu, Wahid is a lightweight. Wan Farid is well known at national level politics.

In recent weeks, he has stormed the hustings. He has been busy campaigning, establishing relationships with the voters. One day visiting an Indian couple, the other day chatting with an elderly Malay couple. This has been possible because UMNO decide to announce his candidacy very much early on.

PAS took several weeks and decided to announce its candidate late. UMNO decided its candidate very early. What does the difference tell you?

By pitting an unknown to an UMNO heavyweight, PAS shows its VERY CONFIDENT. Why offer an unknown for national level politics? Unless PAS has done a better homework evaluating the rakyat’s feelings.

PAS has chosen its candidate meticulously. It sent out 72 pulse feelers on the ground. That should allow them to read moods better than UMNO.

UMNO’s candidacy was decided by Pak Lah. And Najib, is he says so. The Ketua Perhubungan was reported by my sources as saying even he wasn’t aware of the decision to pick Wan Farid. He would have preferred Zubir Embong, the education officer, not the other Zubir. Idris Jusoh, the other warlord wanted someone else, but he is now a nobody. Who listens to him nowadays?

It has been lean pickings for Wan Farid. Meeting up with old people and with an Indian couple, only serve to indicate that Wan Farid is facing an uphill battle.

For several reasons.

• Wan Farid faces the wrath of Mat Said’s followers. Wan Farid has been associated with the excesses in the application of Terengganu’s compassionate money or wang ehsan. He was seen as the Trojan horse to coral Terengganu’s oil money.
• The defeat of Wan Farid is a secret wish by many of Mat Said’s followers.
• Idris Jusoh would like to see Wan Farid lose so that it becomes the first failure of Mat Said the man who bumped him off as the MB.
• The choice of Wan Farid was forced from above. These people don’t vote for Wan Farid. The people of KT do. The people have spoken to the PAS 72 who went around gauging the support.

The odds appear to be in favour of PAS.But I pray, KT will not be an 'almost a victory' like Dunkirk.

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Now, its the paraphiliacs at IJN's Gates!

No: 3/2009

I have actually written something that I developed from reading de minimis’s economic perspective. Somehow, the issue of IJN came out again. I have decided to defer posting that particular essay. It will appear as article no. 4.

Just when I thought its safe to get into the water, there are still man eating sharks around. And so like Herr Dr.Christian Szell, I keep asking , is it safe?

Apparently its still not safe to get into the water. It is not safe to drill the cavity. I don’t know which is the merchant bank that’s advising SD’s purchase of up to 51% share in IJN. Some of the board of directors are already salivating at the prospects of maybe cashing out at a hefty premium. Screw you all- playing the politics of health care. They are probably saying that. The premium must be hefty as IJN has RM400 million reserves and makes RM100 million profit a year.

What do we term this deal? The mother of all what?

I want to do an amateur Sigmund Freud on this. IJN is a sexy entity. It attracts all kinds of paraphiliacs. These as you know, are sexual perverts.

What is Musa Hitam in this sordid affair or trying to do an Anwar Ibrahim on IJN?. Since he stays in the background, emerging only after public outcry, we shall term him as a Voyeurist after Voyeurism of course. The term refers to those who are sexually aroused observing nude individuals without them knowing they are being watched. Musa Hitam likes who he sees at IJN disrobing each other.

Those investment advisers are Frotteurists, from the term Frotteurism. This term refers to those who obtain sexual arousal and gratification by rubbing their genitals against others in public places. Certainly this fits the description of investment bankers advising this deal who get their kicks by rubbing their phallic analyses on IJN in full public knowledge.

The orang tengah are exhibitionists who get sexually aroused by exposing genitals to an unsuspecting stranger- what else can we describe a person who gets aroused when submitting a position paper to the unsuspecting EPU? Those people at EPU after reading the position paper are of course practitioners of some fetishes. These are people who obtain sexual arousal thinking about an inanimate object ( the paper) or part of the body( touching the paper) for the first time, thinking of some kickbacks.

What about Zubir? He of course is the sadist after sadism which refer to those getting sexual arousal through inflicting pain on another person. By wanting to buy IJN, is he not inflicting pain to millions of the poor?

And Dr Salleh when he gets the bitch’s slap when told by Musa the Voyeurist is a masochist- he gets aroused by having pain and humiliation inflicted upon himself.

What about the shadowy board members, i.e. those who say screw you gomen men? They are Pedophiliacs who engage in sex or sexual activity with children who have not reached puberty. IJN is how many years old? Still in the puberty range? And perhaps some of them are transvestites after Transvestitism, i.e. those who get sexual arousal from dressing in the clothes of the opposite sex. They get aroused by assuming the opposite of doctors, i.e. patients. .

Even before due diligence is completed, Ahmad Zubir, the sadist, has already assured that present rates will stay. Macam mana hang tahu, without us knowing how much you are going to pay for IJN bro? Probably like in the SD-GH-Guthrie merger, Ahmad Zubir has probably hired merger and acquisition experts and human resources consultants to crunch the numbers for this newest venture. The only way IJN can maintain its rates on the ignored poor is by asking the government to top up with subsidies. .

So I am asking the question once asked by unker LKS- who is the orang tengah in this deal? For example, for its shrewd “orang tengah” role, Synergy Drive (CIMB) is believed to have turned its modest invest in the venture (or adventure) into fee income and shares worth hundreds of millions of Ringgit. Not bad for a year’s work. So is it CIMB again? But the DPM was on record saying that none of his immediate family members will be allowed to do deals.

Is it boutique investment bank, Ethos?

Second, is there a mystery “non-Bumiputera” market maker who is responsible for successfully selling this merger idea to the UMNO-led government?;

IJN is for all intents and purposes, a government asset. It is making money. It has large amount of reserves. It has a good reputation and that is goodwill. And goodwill translates into money. Its sexy. So, will another government asset, held in custody or trust, whichever term you may want to use, be surreptitiously transferred to a government-linked company like Sime Darby?;

If that is the route, then the modus operandi of our own corporate raiders has not change. The trend in recent years, is for the government crown jewels to cash out- for that is what it really is. Except it hides behind the euphemism of market capitalization.

Who is the grand wizard behind this deal? Musa the Black? The has been who was given a second lease of life by the inept Pak Lah? The most over-rated MF of a politician. The person reputed to be a political animal? He is more of a rat. A big one at that. And Musa is Pak Lah’s mentor. Also to the primus inter pares, the silverback, Shahrir Samad.

Were any of the top executives at IJN including the fitness freak Dr. Salleh Budu, husband of Shahrizat in the deal? Did Musa Hitam do a Nazir on the executives and board members of IJN- i.e. summoned them to a private meeting. And at the private meeting, Tun Musa brusquely told the IJN executives that their medical establishment was were going to be sold to Sime?

I am sure Dr Salleh knew of Sime Darby’s flirtations in wanting to eat up IJN and the magnitude of the deal is equivalent to the rudest bitch slap to their faces. Possibly being a masochist, he relishes the bitch’s slap or even maybe whipping. Except of course for Ahmad Zubir, who may have taken Tun Musa’s pronouncement with the coolness of someone who knew what was being laid all the time. His coolness is symptomatic of a sadist.

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Year Nine into the 21st Century

No: 2/2009

9 years into the 21^st century.

2009 is not going to be any different. For the majority of UMNO members that is. We have what? 3.1 million members? 80% of which are what? Riff-raffs? Lower ranking salaried earners? Mat rempits? Security guards? Village loafers? The army of rent seeking UMNOniks and an equally bloated ranks of hands- stretched- out myrmidons? With this quality around, what makes us think that 2009 will be any different?

It will be different only to those who are willing to work hard. Willing to pull themselves by their own bootstraps. It will certainly be different for people willing to question the premises of New Economic Policy or its successor. It will be different for people willing to abandon age long assumptions and ingrained bad habits within them. A few days, ago, Muslims celebrated the coming of the new Muslim Calendar year. It will be different for Muslims, if they commit themselves to cultivating themselves in all aspects to make themselves relevant. Other than that, I think, for the majority, it will be the same and more. Even if the call to arms comes from DS Najib.

DS Najib has proclaimed on his watch, changes will take place. Well, start with the UMNO cawangans first then. Insist that all ketua cawangan must have minimum qualifications. No school jagas. Village bullies. Security guards. On the shoulders of these people, Najib expects the new dawn for UMNO to draw forth?

Insist ketua cawangans don’t have criminal records. Don’t harbour illegal immigrants. I know of one idiot who even married one as a second wife. Insist 30% of cawangan committee members be wanita, puteri and pemuda. That means 5 at least from 15. Insist the cawangan secretary have secretarial skills. Train them. Insist each cawangan submit returns each year and hold meetings once every quarter.

Every ketua cawangan wants to become the ketua kampong. Even those who have already served in that post before. They want to become ketua kampong again. Since when was it stated that a ketua kampong must be a ketua cawangan? The government is not a political party. A ketua kampong is not a ketua for UMNO members only. A ketua kampong is the village head for everyone. So the first step that the government must take is to disqualify all ketua cawangan from being a ketua kampong.

Please answer this. If the ketua kampung is just a school jaga, pray tell, what earthshaking improvements can he be thinking for the kampong? Probably at the top of his priority list is to grab as much land as possible, to victimise as many lasses as possible, to carry out a fleece scam as soon as possible. Or in the case of Pahang, on behalf of the JKKK asks from the state some timber concessions and having an EXCO member as advisor to the get rich quick scheme er..scam.

Why should I surrender my intelligence to a jaga sekolah? The next step the government must do is to insist that all ketua kampong must have a minimum level of qualification. Jaga sekolahs are out, village loafers are out, LCE dropouts are out.

In fact, maybe the best thing that the government can do is to abolish all posts of ketua lampung. Having a ketua kampong invites all year round politicking which are costly in terms of development. Each year, the government faces round after round of vicious lobbying from those wanting to become ketua kampong.

Why not create a permanent administrative post?. The government is paying RM 600 per ketua kampong. Maybe RM800 per month later. No wonder every village idiot wants his village to have a ketua kampong. The requirement is fairly easy- there must at least be 50 households.

Ok, throw a wrench into the wheel. Create an official salaried post. A post to be filled by qualified people- no security guards or jagas, no loafers, no political gangsters. There are many unemployed graduates who can be enlisted as Junior Development Officers- Pegawai Pembangunan Rendah. Each junior officer, salaried, qualified, free from political ideology, is responsible for a number of villages. His primary role is to coordinate development and serve as first line liaison officer for the government of the day.

Next the government should commit itself to abolishing the posts of penghulus. Why do you need them? These are relics of the old feudal system and in a system of parliamentary democracy or democracy, such relics are anathema to democracy. Abolish them. Instead, create the posts of Senior Development Officers responsible for say, 3-4 junior development officers. Insist that all SDO must have a basic university degree. This way, al those penghulus having nothing to offer will be cashiered.

What makes you think there will be many changes when there are people giving the customary knee jerk response of- arrest those who blight the sanctity of the prophet? Ban ceramahs at mosques and suraus? What changes can we expect when there are stupidos and dolts wandering around passing as UMNO leaders?

How do you win arguments against those giving ceramahs and suraus? My answer is through doing ceramahs of your own. Invite speakers to debunk the ceramahs by the other party.

There will be no changes as long as UMNO goons prefer the dangdut joints over suraus and mosques and don’t go to suraus and mosques. UMNO goons lament the fact that committee members of suraus and mosques are dominated by PAS supporters when they don’t want to go to mosques. They want the membership to the committee of the chairmanship be given to them free. Even then, they still prefer the dangdut joints that the mosques and suraus.

And who are these kayus who holler and howl when there are blogs blighting the image of the Muslim Prophet? Then you write good things about the prophet while debunking the ideas parlayed by the ‘evildoers’. The problem is you don’t want to read much less write.

So whether there are changes in 2009 even though the calls were made by the incoming PM, these are moot points. Nowadays, the words of politicians even that of national leaders are just a whole heap of bull manure.

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The Shemozzle about Comrade Chin Peng

No: 1/2009

The whole thing about this Chin Peng fellow must be looked at in perspective. I support bringing him back so that he can be tried for all the atrocities committed at his behest. The greatest weapon against the romanticised version of Malayan Communism is showing that justice be done. You know, the saying about justice being not only done, but SEEN to be done. In 1949 at his 2^nd Jungle Conference in Pahang, he recounted the success in killing 482 people killed including 24 planters and over 400 more wounded in the first half of 1948. yes, Comrade Chin Peng started his war of Liberation in 1948.

Chin Peng is no historical bandit Song Jiang and his 36 companions. Certainly they were no outlaws of the marsh. The CTs who followed him were certainly not in the league of Lu Junyi, Guan Sheng, Ruan Xiao, Ruan Xiaowu, Ruan Xiaoqi, Liu Tang, Hua Rong and Wu Yong. Disqualified from the exalted list of freedom fighters, included those who joined comrade Chin Peng later. They were also not of the calibre of Sun Li, Yang Zhi, Lin Chong, Lu Zhishen and Wu Song. The end of British rule was not the end of the Song dynasty. The jungles of Termerloh or Perak were not the Liangshan Mountain, protected by marshes, enabling them to defy armies sent against them.

So what’s the fuss about comrade Chin Peng? Unless the real reason for glorifying comrade Chin Peng is really a version of someone’s wet dream of romanticising comrade Chin Peng. Or even worse, elevating the status of Chin Peng is really an underhanded attempt to snub Malay sensitivities. What’s so heroic about comrade Chin Peng? He was murderous. His minions killed Arthur Walker, the manager of Elphil Estate in Sungai Siput. Murdered too were John Allison and Ian Christian of Sungai Siput Estate. Or perhaps murdering Caucasians did not count as murder as in war for freedom, all is fair eh? You mean, just because RPK says something nice about him, then it must be right?. It SEEMS right because it fits snugly within the bosomy embrace of Chinese chauvinism.

But hey- wasn’t it the notorious RPK who became the chief champion of Chin Pengism? And RPK is for all intents and purposes, a Malay. In RPK’s case, rallying behind an underdog is perhaps just an elaborate exercise of nose thumping UMNO and BN. RPK’s glorifying of comrade Chin Peng is of no significant value.

Ah, weren’t there Malays in the communist movement? One out 20 CTs being Malay, qualifies the communist army as freedom fighters? Here’s the real thing- the presence of Malay CT’s and poor misguided souls was the Communist version of Ali Baba. Abdullah CD who commanded the 10^th Regiment operating in the jungles of Pahang, was murderous too. Make a few Malays looked important, so people can say, Malayan communism’s war, was a war for freedom. Accepting this hoax, will confirm our stupidity.

Now, why should I accept Chin Peng as a nationalist fighter, when I am hard-pressed to accept certain Malay warriors as nationalist fighters? Ask any Chinese whether they accept Tok Gajah and Dato Bahaman as freedom fighters, you would probably be tiu-ed. Then, would the request to accept comrade Chin Peng as a nationalist freedom fighter be a reasonable one, given the fact that the majority in this country are Malays? Lu gila ka?

If you were to ask me, would you regard Dato Bahaman, Mat Kilau, Tok Gajah, Tok Janggut and others of the same description, freedom fighters, I will hesitate for a moment. Every society romanticised about their favourite heroes. In China, bandits and brigands were looked upon with awe and respect. Historical figures were seen as symbols of rebellion against oppression. We like to feel we are on the side of the people.

Tok Janggut’s rebellion was an uprising against unjust taxes by the British occupying administration in Kelantan. While noble in intention, what he started wasn’t able to develop into an organised country-wide uprising. Therefore it could not be classified as a war of freedom. It was just a skirmish within the empire.

The Pahang chiefs rebellion was also an uprising against the British. But the fight they undertook was different from Tok Janggut’s. Tok Janggut was not a territorial chief. These Pahang chiefs were. They were therefore fighting not solely for an injustice.

I know I will be accused of insensitivity and lacking in nationalistic pride to cast suspicions on the motives of the main protagonists in the Pahang Rebellion. That would even more surprising given the fact that I come from the bloodline one of these. Be that as it may, I shall not play to the gallery.

I will say their motives were not exactly pure. They had ulterior motives. Bahaman and Tok Gajah being territorial chiefs stood to loose much when the British took over their monopolistic interests. Hence, their rebellion was just an extension of their economic interests. Cut off from sources of revenue, would entail diminution of their political influence. Therefore I will not say, they were completely freedom fighters. They were rebelling against the British because their own monopoly over the collection of taxes were taken away.

The murder against Birch and Tok Janggut’s rebellion I think would come closer to a truer definition of a fight against oppression. Birch was murdered as he represented rapacious colonial government bent on pushing colonial system down the throats of natives. Tok Janggut was rebelling against colonial greed.

Now ask this: Comrade Chin Peng was doing what? A place in the history of Malaysia? Pray tell, where? In the footnotes detailing the gruesome details of murder? It’s all shemozzle.

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