Fraud and Incompetent (Penipu dan Pembodoh)
Malaysia-Today.net June 25, 2007
After nearly four years as Prime Minister, I have difficulty deciding whether Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s leadership is a fraud (penipu) or simply incompetent (pembodoh). My quandary arises from my initial mistaken assumption that the two would be mutually exclusive when in fact that with Abdullah, they are not. His leadership is both.
The circumstances of his recent wedding serve both as an example of as well as a metaphor for his leadership. First there was his communications director hauling the country’s editors and commanding them on what and what not to report. True to pattern, like little good schoolboys and girls, they all obeyed. Their subsequent copies were replicas of the official announcement, down to the punctuation marks. Oh well, these editors do get to choose the fonts and discretion in paragraphing!
That reflects Abdullah’s respect for the media and the concept of the freedom of the press. Frankly, those editors deserve what they get.
Second, Abdullah wanted his wedding to be a simple private affair (he is entitled to it), yet the event grabbed headlines in Malaysia as well as regionally. Even the couple’s visit to Abdullah’s late wife’s gravesite, which should have been an intensely private and highly emotional moment, was widely publicized. This was a public relations exercise to portray the image of a man still devoted to his late spouse.
If Abdullah had genuinely wanted his wedding to be private, then he was terribly inept and downright incompetent in executing his wishes. He could not even make UMNO-controlled New Straits Times not to accept those nauseating bodek advertisements. A better and surer way would have been to have the akad nikah privately, and only then made it public. By announcing it ahead of time, Abdullah practically ensured that his wedding would be anything but private.
Alternatively, had Abdullah wanted his wedding to be widely publicized, then his initial request for privacy was nothing more than a cynically coy ploy to ensure just that. It is a variant of the lady (or in this case the groom) doth protest too much. That being the case, he is guilty of perpetrating a contemptuous fraud on and mockingly manipulating citizens’ emotions.
What should the public and the world to make of this charade? Indeed charade has been the defining trait of Abdullah’s leadership, whether in his much publicized but ineffective fight against corruption or in overhauling the civil service. The man simply tak tau buat kerja (does not know his job).
It would not surprise me if Abdullah were to announce general elections soon to exploit the personal “good vibes†generated from his wedding. He is shrewdly counting on the warm afterglow of the wedding to cover the blotches of his leadership.
Already toadying academics and commentators have opined that Abdullah’s popularity has “soared†following the wedding. Presumably they all have conducted their own private polls. Some boldly declared that Abdullah would now be invigorated as a leader as he would a man. Sadly, marriage will not magically transform an ineffectual leader. There is as yet no viagra for weak leadership.
That notwithstanding, Malaysians will again vote for his party. Again he and his advisors will delude themselves into thinking that as a rousing endorsement of his leadership when in fact it would merely be a choice of the least unacceptable. If there were to be a choice of “None of the above†on the ballot, it would be the overwhelming pick of voters.
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Facts From Fantasy, Rumors From Reality
In 1971, Pierre Trudeau, then Canada’s most eligible bachelor as well as its charismatic Prime Minister, stunned everyone with his secret weekend wedding to Margaret Sinclair, 28 years younger. His aides thought he was off skiing while her family thought it was going to be a formal family portrait session! It was her only way to make them dress up without having to reveal the real reason.
Besides being charismatic, Trudeau was also a brilliant and competent leader. He knew how to get his way, both in running the country as well as in protecting his privacy. He went on to become Canada’s longest-serving Prime Minister at a time when the country was threatened by a dangerous split between English- and French-Canadians.
Alas, Abdullah is no Trudeau. Malaysia is today dangerously polarized along racial and religious lines. Abdullah’s incompetent leadership contributes to the deepening of this split. His penipu allows him to continue perpetrating hoaxes on the citizens; his pemdodoh insulates him from contemplating the dangerous consequences.
Abdullah’s crudest and most consequential hoax is his Islam Hadhari. As Prophet Muhammad, s.a.w., reminded us in his last sermon, the verities of our faith are both eternal and universal, for all times and for all mankind. There is no need to add a modifier to Islam. Abdullah fraudulently leads Malaysians to believe that banning books and locking people up without due process is compatible with his Islam Hadhari.
If only he had spent more time implementing the ideals of his Islam Hadhari and less on spouting them endlessly, he would do a lot more good for himself and the nation. Not to mention in enhancing the image of the faith. Islam Hadhari succeeded only in polarizing Muslims and dividing Malaysians, a reality obvious to all except Abdullah.
His earlier blatant public denial of his relationship with Jeanne Danker is illustrative. I could not care less of his denying details of their private life, except to state that his denial merely illustrates his inability or unwillingness to discern facts from fantasy, and rumors from reality. Such cognitive dissonance would ordinarily disturb one’s mental equilibrium; Abdullah however takes it all in with equanimity. Only a simpleton or a congenital liar could do it with the ease of Abdullah.
He did not have to lie; he could have just kept quiet, as he had done on numerous other occasions. Now that the truth is out, what are we to make of his earlier denial? To me, that was yet another demonstration of his contempt for the citizens. He does not take them into his confidence. A liar does not trust others, thinking that everyone else is like he is.
Abdullah is a leader who would unashamedly lie to citizens as when he self-righteously declared that his son did not benefit from any government contract. When confronted with the facts, he clarified without even blinking an eye that he was not personally aware of the truth. A leader reveling in his own ignorance!
When Raja Petra exposed the government’s purchase of an ultra luxurious corporate jet to the tune of over RM200 million for his use, Abdullah again boldly denied the allegation. When confronted with the facts, he again denied the reality. It was not the government that bought the plane, he allowed, rather a private government-owned entity that purchased it, a semantic clarification that would make a Philadelphia lawyer proud.
He makes a mockery of his inaugural address as UMNO President. Then, with all the pretensions of an undiscovered poet, he declared, “Aku cari bukan harta bertimbun-timbun/Untuk hidup kaya/Aku cari bukan wang berjuta-juta/Untuk hidup bergaya.†(I seek no material wealth or riches. I seek neither millions nor a luxuriant lifestyle.) All talk, no walk!
Abdullah’s leadership (if it could be called thus) is nothing but a shadow play, a sandiwara, one that has no plot, no theme, and unmercifully, without an ending in sight.
Fool Me Once, Shame On You; Fool Me Twice, Shame On Me!
Contrary to the above Chinese proverb, Malaysians are not suckers for Abdullah’s many lies. The citizens have long ago seen through and are resigned to them. The real suckers are those who believed wholeheartedly in the man, in particular his ministers, UMNO Supreme Council members, and leaders of Barisan Nasional component parties. They wholeheartedly swallow what Abdullah regurgitates. To them, what comes out of him is not vomit but predigested food, as a mother vulture to her hungry and rapacious brood. They eagerly lap it up!
When Abdullah pens his poem, they would all imitate him, even if that meant blatantly plagiarizing someone else’s creation. After all, if they readily believe lies to be truth, the word plagiarism cannot be in their collective vocabulary.
We now know that those “heartfelt†congratulatory messages, even the canned ones, were not even sent personally by those “sucking up†ministers. Even they delegated that to their assistants!
As for Abdullah’s supposedly bright young advisors on the Fourth Floor, they are too green to realize that Abdullah’s chronic lying and fraudulent acts will ultimately reflect upon them. As for their intelligence, they cannot be too bright if by now they have not realized that their master is both a fraud and incompetent.
The last laugh is on them, and the hardly know it!
July 2nd, 2007 at 11:34 pm
Dr Bakri,
It is a sad commentary on my generations (60’s). All we can do is to produce a national leader like Badawi. It is just unbelievable, and the country will suffer as a result. One would have thought that the system would weed out such incompetents.
Badawi dulls my mind. The PM thinks he is doing a great job from the feedback he gets from his advisors and other bodek and kipas types. Maybe, I have to take lots of Johnny Walker Black Label so that I can be like one of your smart bloggers, Mika Angel-0, not a bangsat.
July 2nd, 2007 at 11:35 pm
Dn to read Din.
July 3rd, 2007 at 4:57 am
Yo Bakri!
I will die laughing.
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH, Allah!!!
July 3rd, 2007 at 7:25 pm
well, we could always hope that the citizens of malaysia will not make a fool out of themselves (me included) by re-electing him. problem is, just how many of us really see the fact, and how many were blinded from it?
by the way, mr mika, are you being serious, or are you trying to throw an insult? just being curious ^_^.
July 3rd, 2007 at 8:15 pm
” ……he is guilty of perpetrating a contemptuous fraud on and mockingly manipulating citizens’ emotions.” - Dr Bakri Musa
Yes, doc you have rightly exposed him! I find it blatantly pretentious with never-ending celebration by si-bodeks and si-kipas trying to outdo one another using state funds.
To compare him with the late Pierre Trudeau, Canada’s most flamboyant and charismatic Prime Minister, is in bad taste. Pierre Trudeau is a man in his own class. There is no comparison here.
This guy’s quite a character otherwise how else could he have escaped the former dictator’s strict scrutiny(for details)? He has made Dr Mahathir look an amateur indeed!
July 4th, 2007 at 1:15 am
first things first - what is that word “pembodoh” that you use? Surely living in the US has not completely messed up your Bahasa dude.
Going to your point on Islam Hadhari, i truly agree that that is probably his greatest mistake/folly/sin. That fiasco in itself shows how different he is from Tun M, who kept his Islamic references to the minimum. Tun M, i suspect, is a firm believer in the Quran only school of thought, akin to Raja Petra and Kassim Ahmad.
On another note, what do you make of the whole astronaut thing? A comment from you wd be nice, what with your unique perspective and all. Check out the site at http://www.angkasawan.com.my.
July 4th, 2007 at 4:13 am
This man has no zest, energy, enthusiasm, imagination and brain to run the country. He should have been more honest with God, the people and himself; don’t take up the PM post.
Mahathir must take the blame for the first 2 years for putting him there and the following 2 years for failing to bring him down. Couldn’t Mahathir see the poor, weak and uninspiring qualities in the man? Perhaps he has his own motives?
What’s next after Badawi? Shouldn’t be much differences.
July 4th, 2007 at 4:19 am
Dear Gerrard,
Yes, Dr. Mahathir is an enlightened and forward looking Muslim who believes in the Holy Quran and Sunnah. He is not someone who uses Islam to serve his political agenda. He knows about Islam and can take on the PAS crowd single-handedly in any debate on the subject.
You should read his speech delivered in February, 1991 delivered at the Malaysian Business Council when he launched Vision 2020 entitled “Malaysia–The Way Forward” to understand him. Dr. Mahathir’s vision is of Malaysia as a pluralist democracy, a united nation, a modern economy, and a caring society where Malaysians–irrespective of race, color or religion– can live in peace and harmony.
On the other hand, what Badawi has done is to make the Malays in particular more conscious of their Malayness and exclusivity, or maybe their exceptionalism (?). While professing to support Vision 2020, he is actually rejecting it in favour of Islam Hadhari. He even incorporates Islam Hadhari into the 9th Malaysia Plan.
In order to gain legitimacy for Islam Hadhari at home, he entered into a faustian bargain with our conservative ulamas. Today, these ulamas are imposing their so-called “pristine Islamic morals”on our multi-ethnic and multi-religious country. That apparently includes snooping into the private lives of ordinary people, threatening young Muslim women, and peeping on couples under the cloak of Khalwatism.
Under Tun Dr. Mahathir, these ulamas could not even lift the turbaned heads. But they can even step on Badawi’s head, as they have now chosen to do.
As if that is not good enough, he goes around the Islamic world to places like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia selling his Islam Hadhari. The Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia including King Abdullah told him to his face that Islam Hadhari is “haram”, and that they only recognise of Islam of Prophet Muhammad pbuh, not the one being promoted unashamedly by this half baked “Islamist” from Kepala Batas.
Pakistan which produced the likes of the great philosopher-scholar Muhammad Iqbal, and others like Fazlur Rahman and Maulana Muhammad Ali probably laughed when Badawi lectured them during one of his all too frequent globe trotting overseas trips.
I have not even talked about his economic agenda and his mega-projects and his 2004 Election Manifesto which are NATO (no action talk only).
What better word can you use than Bakri’s “pembodoh” to describe our incumbent Prime Minister and his antics. He can’t be “bijak”, can he? Any suggestions, Mika Angel-0?
Thanks.
July 4th, 2007 at 10:04 am
Subhanallah!
(what else can and could I say, Bakri and Din - so Cheers! with a thursday nite note)
PEMBODOH
The floor, the forum, the fame
t’is your’s as such as you would wish
as in sorrow still, in the calm and the calabash grip
remember the word you must
- most apt, most apt
Bakri and Din -
P-e-m-b-o-d-o-h!!!
Remember!
Ha ha
The tears of a crocodile
fooled not the hunter
when only the tail of a manta
was all it took
and the heart of the hunted
beats better no more
Remember!!
Ah,
he’s got narry a prey
nor a prayer
- Nay!!!!
(we shall weep, we shall weep
thus, let me my laughters now
when said the smirking rex
no prayers for the prey today)
Remember!!!
do you think it is like a cancer, doctor abdullah?
or a titan arum
a meglomaniac watermelon me:
seandainya kamu berani bermain agama
apalah lagi halal dan haram
harta dan nyawa kami?
July 4th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Tuan Mika Angel-O,
Shalom.
You sound like my favorite folk poet of the Vietnam War years, Alan Ginsberg.
Your poser to “Dr” Abdullah Ben Abu Hadhari is worth quoting:
“do you think it is like a cancer, doctor abdullah?
or a titan arum
a meglomaniac watermelon me:
seandainya kamu berani bermain agama
apalah lagi halal dan haram
harta dan nyawa kami?”
Menang, bukan saja Ben Abu Hadhari berani main ugama macam dia main guli, tetapi juga dia suka berpura-pura dan bersandiwara ala Pulau Pinang (Boria—a derivative of the Malay word, BORAK). Rakyat dan negara jadi mangsa. Adoi! Adoi!
His latest exhortation is that we should grow orchids in our garden plots, especially the specie named after his wife, Datuk Seri Utama (Melaka) Jeanne Abdullah. In order to improve public service delivery, he has directed his staff in the Prime Ministers to wear red ties, red tudongs and red scarfs starting with special occasions.
We will have no one except ourselves to blame if we allow him to continue do things carte blanche. So let us go out to register,check the register, and vote wisely.He thinks he has done well. Let us give a dose of reality in the next Elections.
Johnny has a great impact on your mood swings. With that, who needs a shrink!! Would Johnny help Ben Abu Hadhari, or would you and Din rather recommend a shrink for him?
Thanks.
July 4th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
Prime Ministers to read “Prime Minister’s Department”. Maaf.
July 4th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
Abu Mazeen you sound very much like Din Merican. Tak payah sembunyi identiti lah. Siapa yang tak tahu cara penulisan Pak Din. Nampak sangat termasuk cara you kata “thanks” dan meminta “maaf”.
Waduh jangan gensi dong.
July 5th, 2007 at 1:08 am
Pak Din,
That may have been Dr. Mahathir’s vision, but what did he do to implement it? To be frank, I do not see any difference between now and Dr. Mahathir’s time. What we are seeing under Badawi are just the fruits of Dr. Mahathir’s misguided policies - he may have dreamt of a non-racial, liberal and egalitarian society, but his policies seemed aimed at creating a class of “Towering Malay” crony capitalists instead. The only reason we felt like a Bangsa Malaysia in the early to mid 90s was - as one UMNO Youth leader blithely admitted to a South Korean political scientist who wrote a book on Dr. Mahathir’s regime - the economic bloom. After the ‘97 crisis, things returned to the same old communalist story.
The way I see it, it is partially the fault of Dr. Mahathir that we have this sort of “Islam Hadhari” thing today under Badawi. After all, Dr. Mahathir intentionally co-opted Anwar to pander to the Muslim fundamentalists - and I even recall Dr. Mahathir heavily promoting “Islamic values” in the civil service and praising inventions like a special toilet/bidet for Muslim ablutions, etc. Then after the PAS resurgence in the ‘99 GE, it was Dr. Mahathir who proclaimed Malaysia an Islamic state.
I think what we see under Badawi is just the manifestation of Dr. Mahathir’s policies being carried out under a truly incompetent leader. What were just bad ideas in competent hands are now bad ideas in incompetent hands.
July 5th, 2007 at 1:39 am
i beg to differ. there ARE a lot of differences between mahathir’s and abdullah’s administration.
July 5th, 2007 at 8:35 am
“I think what we see under Badawi is just the manifestation of Dr. Mahathir’s policies being carried out under a truly incompetent leader. What were just bad ideas in competent hands are now bad ideas in incompetent hands.” - johnleemk
Well said johnleemk! I can’t agree more. Dr Mahathir has alot to be blamed for the situation that we are in. He will go down in history for leaving behind all the mess of a HP6 government, including his inability to ‘dethrone’ his choice mentally challenged successor, 4 years on.
July 5th, 2007 at 8:36 am
“I think what we see under Badawi is just the manifestation of Dr. Mahathir’s policies being carried out under a truly incompetent leader. What were just bad ideas in competent hands are now bad ideas in incompetent hands.” - johnleemk
Well said johnleemk! I can’t agree more. Dr Mahathir has alot to be blamed for the situation that we are in. He will go down in history for leaving behind all the mess of a HP6 government, including his inability to ‘dethrone’ his choice mentally challenged successor, 4 years on.
July 5th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Al Capone, your Indon is a little off the mark. It should be, “jaga gensi Om”. That is more appropriate. Cheers.
July 5th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Al Capone,
Abu Mazeen is certainly not me. Dr. Bakri knows that because he has all email addresses. By the way, I do not have a monopoly on the use of — or the copyright for–the words “thanks” and “maaf”. My email address is dmerican@yahoo.com.
I have always used by name whenever I write. I am not afraid to express my views, which are often downright critical of the government of Imam Badawi and the man himself.
I was very critical of Mahathir too but I can say that the former PM got things done. He too is a politician–a very good one indeed–but he is got things done, some good, some bad, and others wrong. Mahathir like the rest of us is all too human. Only his kaki bodeks and pendikar kipases made him a superman, a Ayn Rand’s John Gault-like character (read Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged?).
Al Capone is not your real name whereas young and brilliant johnleemk is real. You can visit his blog. So before you can accuse me of being Abu Mazeen, look at yourself. I suggest you use your own name.
Terima Kasih.
July 5th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Dear Johnleemk,
Surely, you can’t take Mahathir’s declaration of Malaysia as an Islamic state seriously, if you truly understand his Vision 2020. Bad ideas?
Islamisation was Sunni Anwar Ibrahim’s because he was inspired by Ayatollah Khomeni’s Shia Revolution in Iran. If you have read Zaiuddin Sardar’s book, you would have known that Anwar wanted to make Malaysia the new Andalusia–the center of Islamic Learning, Culture and Arts!! Where does Anwar stand today with his “Islam thing” today?
To me, Anwar is more a neo-Con with close friends like Paul Wolfowitz and others at the American Enterprise Institute and Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington supporting his agenda for a civil society oriented Malaysia.
With Mahathir, on the other hand, one always knew where he stood. I certainly did and knew that I could do business with him. Mahathir was ruled by sheer force of his personality and knew how to use the power of his office.
But he could not have done what he did if he did not have people who were just yes men around him. We too were equally “mea culpa” because we in general were just “tiada apa” types then. We are even so now with Badawi.
Badawi’s problem is also that he never reads. He thinks he can be like Ronald Reagan forgetting that the “Gipper” reads (and writes) and had the talent for identifying talent and used them to serve his vision of America as a “City on the Hill”.
Reagan had Jim Baker III in the White House, George P. Shultz at State Department, Casper Weinberger in Defense, Bill Bennett in Education, Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan at the Federal Reserve and a host of others in critical Cabinet posts. He empowered them and made them accountable for results but he was fully charge. In Malaysia, we know Badawi is not charge. He cannot control his Cabinet colleagues.
Even Badawi’s Islam Hadhari was crafted by people like Hamid Othman and Abdullah Md. Zin. In Badawi, we are dealing with a man without political convictions. He is basically a drifter and globetrotter who can talk about ” a first world mindset” on one day, growing orchids and vegetables the next day, and extolling the virtues of red ties, red tudongs and red scarfs on yet another day. He then forgets all that he had said.
In short, Badawi is man who is not resolute in purpose and has no focus. No doubt, he is a very nice man. But can he lead? My answer, John, is obvious to you.
Cheers, Din.
July 6th, 2007 at 1:29 am
Pikir kuat2 la……kalau lu percaya Pak Lah dah dapat memperbodohkan Mahathir, lu punya hero, Bakri sama Din, macam mano lu orang ngak bisa dibodoh2kan dengan adegan yg sama……..
July 6th, 2007 at 1:35 am
Bakri dan Din, the lesson to be learnt is that: never under-estimate the thinking and strategy of a Chinese, or half-Chinese, for that matter!
It’s simplified but just study how the Chinese deal with the American, the current superpower, as opposed to the Russian, Arabs, Al-Queda and Indians.
July 6th, 2007 at 2:11 am
Abangcina,
Kalau itu macam, towkay boleh sepuloh tahun lagi. Itu pun tak tentu, lo. Mungkin dia tidor lagi. Apa dia strategi and fikiran cina atau pun setengah cina yang towkay maksud kan itu?
Boleh tolong kasi tahu sama saya. Yang saya nampak pada masa sekarang semuanya tembak saja!
July 6th, 2007 at 3:11 am
Dr Mahathir is accountable for whatever happened during his 22 years tenure as Prime Minister - the mess he has created and we are still suffering from the spill-over. There’s no denying he was a dictator. Had he pronounced that the moon was green in color, all those spineless goons in umno and BN, would nod in total agreement.
Yes, I agree with Din Merican that Mahathir could not have done what he did without si-kipas and si-bodeks around him. And NO, I do not agree we were equally “mea culpa”.
Remember “Ops Lallang” when his opponents were placed under detention without trial?
Remember when his tyrant deployed his Special Action Unit(UTK) boys(fully masked) to drag a defenseless Anwar Ibrahim from his house in full view of his young children, family members and supporters? Your memory can’t be that short, Din?
Remember the infamous BLACK EYE inflicted on Anwar by the then Inspector General of Police who now has to live in shame?
Mahathir Mohamed had the cheek to call it “self-inflicted”. His remark shocked the world. How could he call himself a doctor when he hardly examined that black eye!
Remember the many political opponents and NGOs who were detained for months on ends without reasons given and were never charged in court ? Tian Chua, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, Lim Kit Siang, Irene Fenandez, Hishamuddin Rais and Syed Husin Ali to name a few. And all because they disagree with his policies and never see eye to eye with him.
Mahathir’s supporters were proud of him, some still are although many have realised they were made his instruments.
They loved him for building Putra Jaya, Cyber Jaya and Petronas Twin Towers - all these mega projects were built to feed his ego; he’s a megalomaniac of the worst kind!
The 420 meter tall Petronas Twin Towers alone cost a whopping US$1.2billion but few realised that the project had helped line the pockets of those in power and their many cronies, 420m deep into their pockets. But since many had benefitted from such generosities they have little to complain.
Today, we see defects appearing in newly constructed and renovated govt buildings -ceiling falling down, walls cracking up and pipe-bursts. It is common knowledge that most of those buildings were built during Mahathir’s era. Let’s be fair, should the current Prime Minister take all the blame? Abdullah Ahmad Badawi merely inherits his mess. Need PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi say it loud and clear or should he maintain his elegant silence and be proud of it?
The greatest mistake PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi made was to keep Mahathir’s servile followers in cabinet. Malaysians were happy they saw the last of Mahathir and gave Abdullah the mandate to form a new and vibrant cabinet but he let it slip by.
Abdullah had all the opportunity to do so but he was not “jantan” enought to strike it out on his own, thought he was playing safe but little did he realise everything comes with a shelf-life. What he now has is nothing but BN deadwoods masquerading as demi-gods.
The ball is now at our feet. Kick it in the wrong direction and we will get the same monkeys hogging the limelight. I have enough of them.
Regime Change is what Malaysia needs!
July 6th, 2007 at 3:13 am
Oops 4th para, line one, should read:
“Remember this tyrant ….. “
July 6th, 2007 at 3:43 am
Ah Din, one tips to you: Pak Lah is moulding the minds of melayu to make them courages enough to challenge the norms, traditions and the authorities, i.e. sultan and the government, by pretending to be weak and “sleepy”.
Hang Jebat was an abberation, but is the real Malay hero to me. But it happened only once 500 years ago la!
July 6th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
Jong,
The majority now feel that Mahathir did a lot of good for Malaysia, despite his proclivity to micromanage. His “soft” authoritarianism and his Edward de Bono type “lateral thinking” was what Malaysia needed in the 1980s.
It was a period of Reaganism and Thatcherism, of privatization and less government, of strong global economic growth and of the Japanese economic dominance and the rise of South Korea. Mahathir sought to take advantage of this favorable economic and political climate to create a role for a small country like Malaysia. There can be no doubt that Malaysia is what it is today because of his foresight and effort.
I am afraid we are slipping back into the days of 1960s and 1970s. Today, the achievements of Tun Razak (as there is no doubt that Tun Razak accommplished a lot during his 6-year rule) are being highlighted and Mahathir’s programmes are being rejected. In its place, we have Badawi’s Islam Hadhari and his nostalgic return to hi-tech agriculture via bio-technology and his vision of tani moden!
Badawi wants to be different, but it takes great minds to do that as such minds stand on the shoulders of their predecessors. To put it simply and starkly, we do not reinvent the wheel, but can make improvements to it and build on the momentum.
Let us move forward and find our niche in a technology and knowledge driven global economy. We must build on legacies of the past, and Mahathir’s legacy is built over 22 years with lots of hard work and good execution.
His politics is something else. It is difficult for a non-politician like me to comment. We accepted his leadership and voted consistently to keep him in office for 22years+. This means he was doing something right. Now we are judging him with the benefit of hindsight.
With regard to Anwar Ibrahim, you tend to be a bit sentimental, I think. He is not a political angel, you know. He is a student of Machiavelli and rose to prominence on the back of Islamic resurgence. But today, he has abandoned his Islamism in order to rise again. This is for the sake of convenience. Even the Americans do not know the real Anwar. He is a chameleon, and responds to moods of the political moment. He gambled against Mahathir and lost.
Abangcina,
Badawi is not “sleepy”. He actually sleeps, and is a poor time manager. Anyway you of course know the “Chinese Way”better than I do. I hope you are right about Badawi and I am wrong.
But please don’t come back in 5 years’ time and say to me that “Din, you are right”. It would be too late as our country would have been left far behind by countries like Vietnam and even Laos (remember, our national soccer team of “Malaysia Boleh” types lost to the Laotian team, some years ago).
Kamsia.
July 6th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
Malaysia punya football team was one of the best in Asia kan ? Sometime after the match fixing scandal, we went downhill and the bottom is still not in sight.
I suppose we can’t rest on our laurel and that something must be done to check the downward spiral.
July 7th, 2007 at 3:42 am
For the amount of funding and availability of world class facilities, so players sent to Amsterdam for training, the Malaysian Football team is nothing but a great joke, worst in Asia.
This is Malaysia Boleh!
July 7th, 2007 at 4:20 am
Sorry,
Line 2 should read: “facilities, with so many players sent to…”
July 7th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Saying that Abdulah is incompetent is rather an understatement. The guy is mentally challenged and is being manupilated by those pembodeks particularly the son-in-law. He’s the emperor with no clothes on.
What scares me is that our hard-earned money being wasted away on white elephant projects. The BN government wants to show that development is taking place and in full swing. Billions are being poured into projects that yeild no financial returns. On top of that, billions are going to be poured in for the upkeep especially on mega buildings that seem to keep falling apart as soon as they are built. Spending rakyat’s money this way is akin to putting a curse on future generations. When is this going to end? Abdullah may be stupid but Malaysians who continue to vote for the BN are no brighter either.
July 7th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
Loosingmalaysia,
Well said.
We should ask our family members, friends and associates to register, check the register, and go out to vote on election day, rain or shine.
Right now, I am told that some 5 million Malaysians who are eligble to vote have yet to register. This is shocking news. Malaysians are indifferent!! Why?
We need to have a strong opposition as check and balance and the opposition parties must put on the ballot qualified candidates who can improve the quality of debates on — and be very critical of — policy and programmes in our Parliament.
At this juncture, most of BN members in our august legislative body can only shout at the Opposition– and the Opposition shouts a little louder in response–and engage in name calling and insult our women. Go and read our Hansard and judge for yourself.
Most of the time the BN Parliamentarians spend their business hours discussing big contracts and deals in the posh canteen.
I told Lim Kit Siang of DAP in an e-mail sometime ago that he should choose his candidates carefully. No reaction from him. Kit Siang seems interested in a creating a “Lim dynasty” in DAP. Perhaps, Oxford trained Tong Pua can point him in the right direction.
KeADILan is a different story: it is neither here nor there because Anwar Ibrahim is a thorougly confused man, not knowing whether he is an Islamist, or a Neo-conservative. He can’t even control his propaganda chief,Tian Chia and surrounds himself with ahli bodeks.
PAS appears to be the only viable opposition. But it may be not electable since its leadership has not abandoned hopes of a Darul Islam–Islamic Rule/State– in Malaysia. You cannot win in a plural society by catering to the interests of a minority in the Muslim community.
Well, if we are stupid enough to be duped with rubbish from Badawi, his ministers and his spinners, laksamana bodeks and pendikar kipas, we deserve all the crap we are getting now, and will get in the next 5 years. In short, we will get the government we choose, and so do not complain if we failed in our basic duty as citizens to elect the right people to positions of high trust and responsibility.
We must also be very careful because the Badawi Government is capable of playing pugs with our electoral rolls, bribing voters and engaging in downright cheating. That is why Khairy Jamaluddin and his henchmen like Kalimullah Hassan and others in the media are indispensible to Badawi.
Badawi himself is only capable of being sultan, even then a bad one at that. He wants the job, the glitter and the travel that comes with it, but not the headaches and responsibility. For that, he has Najib like the Tunku had Tun Razak.
Anyway, go out to register and vote with a clear conscience. Collectively, we can make a difference in a democracy.
July 8th, 2007 at 4:56 am
” Kit Siang seems interested in creating a ‘Lim dynasty’ in DAP”
Woh, sounds familiar, wasn’t that a Mahathir remark? Somehow DinM seems to have conveniently forgotten about the other dynasty, the “Ong dynasty” of MCA. Ong Ka Ting’s brother Ong Ka Chuan who jumped over many heads to get to the Sec-General post, to be closer to kid-brother. I guess the Opposition parties had better things to do than into petty-branding.
As for Tony Pua, I am pretty sure things are lining up for him in the coming months, he’s afterall like a rare diamond in the opposition camp, waiting to be polished.
As for Tian Chua and his antics of photo-doctoring, he is bad news for Parti KeAdilan Rakyat. The guy has lost all credibility. What he did was dispicable, desperate and sick! He’s now a good target for Najib’s C4 attack.
.
July 8th, 2007 at 5:29 am
Aiyo Ah Din, how to compare Mahathir to Reagan and Thatcherm, his despised enemies mah….moreover, they were not so transparently corrupt leh…..
Ah Din, don’t be emotional and blind la….just compare mahathir’s legacy and corruption with our nearest neighbour: Singapore la! Don’t you feel small your hero is a dwarf next to Lee Kuan Yew and his team!
July 8th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
Bro Din
Mahathir may have led Malaysia towards a developed status through physical development but he certainly failed to developed Malaysia through civilised thinking and progressive democracy.
Mahathir dismanteled the judiciary and also made the royal families puppets to the government. It got so bad now that the Mufti of Perak and JAIP is running the state of Perak even though the Sultan of Perak is the head of Islam in Perak. Both the Sultan and the Raja Muda are well educated and was one the Lord President, but no comments coming from HH on the latest incident in Ipoh.
So while “Malaysia” have the tallest, highest, longest and biggest this and that the “Malaysians still have the smallest voice in government, the weakest opposition, the most corrupted civil service and police, the least tolerance towards religion and the scariest religious police.
July 8th, 2007 at 8:48 pm
Shrek, Jong and Abangcina,
Did I say Mahathir was perfect? Yes, he was decisive, tough and an n-Achiever but not perfect. To understand n-Achievement, I suggest you read David Mclleland’s “The Achieving Society”.
Thanks.
July 9th, 2007 at 7:19 am
Shrek,
Re the infamous Mufti of Perak - Harussani Zakaria, that guy is a total disgrace! He has caused so much animosity and distrust among the various races, muslims against non-muslims in the country. How he continues to remain a ‘religous leader’ of the State of Perak, baffle not only Perakians but Malaysians alike.
Many felt it was a shame that he be allowed to officiate and solemnise the Raja Muda’s “akad nikah” and felt that the dignified royal wedding was marred by Harussani Zakaria’s reputation and his presence was a total disgrace.
I guess the Perak Mufti should count his blessings and be thankful to the Perak Sultan and Raja Muda for their magnanimous and forgiving gesture. I would not dare to imagine the treatment he’ll get if he is somewhere else, say …Johore?
Again, how do we get all these mess? We have Dr Mahathir Mohamed to thank for his declaration of “Islamic state” !
The Lina Joy’s case verdict is another sign of troubling times ahead, with an incompetent government and a mentally-challenged Prime Minister who does not seem to know what’s going on. zzzzzzzzz!
July 9th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
Jong,
Perak is a trend setter. You got a very enlightened Sultan and a brillant Raja Muda cum Harvard trained economist, and you also have a mad mufti called “Dato Seri” Harussani Zakaria.
“Harus dia sani di buang kerja” and then this mad mufti should be put on small isolated island somewhere far away from our shores. He can then preach to himself. Maybe, to be kinder, we could add Mr. “Saya Tak Tahu (I don’t Know)” together with him for company so that they can b.s. together till kingdom come.
I think this will make Malaysia a better and happier place. What do you and your other city slickers think of this?
July 9th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
Yeah, a materialistic “religious leader” who proudly drives around in his Mercedes E-class and swank around with an i-pod on one hand. It just makes me wonder what’s this mad man trying to do, show that he’s cool?
I would expect religious figures lives humble lifestyle and rightly they should as is preached by their prophets? It just makes one wonder what’s with this character; interesting to know what else he has in their closet?
July 9th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
Aiyo Ah Din, sure mahathir is never perfect, but why are you so blind to his imperfections that destroy the nation, for both Malay and non-malay, in the longer term?
It’s no genious like you and me who can dispense Panadol to cure short term pain, just as what mahathir did to Malaysia la…….
July 9th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
Jong,
All Islam Hadhari ulamaks are rewarded with perks like a Benz and generous allowances. They have been given higher status under Badawi since the Sharia Court is on par with our conventional courts.
It is normal and it is also beneficial to talk tough and appear a holier than thou type. In fact, the tougher these ulamaks talk the more publicity and power they get. This, in turn, increases their bargaining power for even more perks. It is a circle of perceived virtue and wisdom. Add a red turban and a white goatee to that, the ulamak is on the way to the top.
Of course, they can now afford i-pods and geesmos. They too have their benefactors and sponsors who seek their blessing to survive in the high risk political game.
This is the image of the Islam Hadhari (Civilisational Islam) ulamaks (ulam mak!, may be ular, mak!). But when it comes to substance, you will find nothing from them except homilies and threats, justified by quotes from the Holy Quran and/or the Hadith which are usually taken out of contact.
As far as Harussani is concerned, I think, he is a smart politico who knows how to bodek and kipas his bosses. This is standard Malaysian formula for keeping one’s job, and getting promoted. At least we can say that Harussani boleh cari makan la.
July 9th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
Abangcina,
I am not blind. I rather let history be the judge of the man’s achievements and failures. I am too close to that history to be completely objective.
My own suspicion is that once all the evidence is declassified, researchers on the history of the Mahathir era will be kinder to him than you and others who refuse to see his good side.
Your mind is so made up that no amount of effort on my part will ever change that. I am not going to try.
July 10th, 2007 at 12:35 am
Bro Din
One of Dr M weakness is to allow certain parties to manipulate and dominate the business opportunities in Malaysia in their favor and then turning all these opportunities into failures. This reflect badly on Dr M. Here we are talking about King of MoU and the likes. If only Dr M had allowed more people to benefit from the NEP it will be a different scenario. Imagine making 10 billionaires and 6 failed as opposed to making 1000 millionaires and even if 600 failed there is still 400 millionaires. Numbers game.
Dr M was a different person when he was in political wilderness after being sacked by UMNO. He was always hanging around MARA and Pak Chat’s office, He was also humble in his early days as PM. Towards the end Dr M became very arrogant, out of touch with reality in Malaysia and paying more attention to world affairs instead of attending to issues in Malaysia. Among his favorite is the South South program, develop thy neighbor, CHOGM, OIC and the likes. When he led trade delegations the audience was expecting to have adialgue with Dr M but instead after delivering the keynote address, he disappeared real quick and thus disappointing the attendees.
Look at the transit system in KL. How can Dr M endorse having 3 systems, each built on different platform and not integrated. Transit system should be seamless and commuters can connect to all three systems without having to leave the station. Perhaps enriching 3 cronies is better than one huh. After evrything is said and done, the government have to take over the transit system. The government should have develped the system itself.
Don’t be too hard on AAB. He didn’t seek the position. Dr M appointed him to be PM of Malaysia. So any deficiency of AAB should be blamed on Dr M. Malaysia is a democratic country and under the Constitution the majority party can propose to the King a suitable candidate who will be the Prime Minister. Nowhere does it says that the retiring PM can appoint his successor. This is not a monarchy where the outgoing King can appoint his son to be the next King. Dr M can’t stand having someone smarter than him working him. Secondly Dr M wants the world to know what a wonderful PM he was and so he chose a bumbling idiot to succeed him. Now the world can compare Dr M and AAB and credit DrM as the better PM. Real cunning.
July 10th, 2007 at 8:48 am
Bakri & Din,
An old arguement we have here that take me nowhere.
Although I must say this dude is good. Shrek, man, you hit the nail right smack on the head! Baaam!
Love does strange things, though; and so does hate.
Cheers, all! (I’m gonna have me some Kit-Kats)
July 10th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
Have you been drinking lately DinM? Try a better whisky but if you drink and cannot remain sober don’t, it’s not worth it.
I don’t know what you are trying to get at by your last para addressed to me. It’s such an irritant and I don’t see it as funny at all.
July 10th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Mika Angel O
Please spare me the praise. My rear end has suddenly swelled and now I’m stuck in this chair and can’t get off.
If there is one conference you should attend then go to Disruptive Technologies Conference , September 4/5, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, Washington DC
Joining in on the band wagon of recommended readings, here’s an article on “How I came to love the veil” by Yvonne Ridley, Political Editor of Islam Channel TV in London and coauthor of “In the hands of the Taliban” Robson Books.
July 12th, 2007 at 8:43 am
Malaysia Boleh kerana Cik Det. Apa pun dia buat, negara maju. Apa lagi mau. Makan tapi buat kerja lebih dari telan dan raksyat sengsara, negara tergadai.
Cik Det siang malam jalan, walau pun letih tak pernah tidoq.
July 12th, 2007 at 8:46 am
Malaysia Boleh kerana Cik Det. Apa pun dia buat, negara maju. Apa lagi mau. Makan tapi buat kerja lebih dari telan dan raksyat sengsara, negara tergadai.
Cik Det siang malam jalan, walau pun letih tak pernah tidoq. KEPIMPINAN MELALUI TELADAN. Cik Det tak pernah guna agama untuk kepentingan politik.
Aku suka Cik Det, kau suka ……..
MELAYU MUDAH LUPA ||||||||
October 19th, 2007 at 12:20 am
What to say?
Islam Hadhari, tapi maksiat dan jenayah menjadi-jadi,
keturunan ulama, tapi rambut bini masih terbuka,
Nuri terjunam, pak lah lari Najib kena jawab dalam tv,
banjir melanda, pak lah tengok saja dari australia,
ucapan raya pm, isteri pm nak glamor sama,
Apa yang penting dalam negara, adalah jeanne abdullah happy sentiasa,
Kalau berucap nada menekan, maknanya pak lah minta tepukan,
Dinasti aku, bermakna dinasti menantu,
Pak lah.. Pak Lah..
Pak Lah dan Tun Mahathir ibarat langit dan bumi..
Labu Jeniang.