What does it tell? Is it because of the miscalculated visit by Lee Hsien Loong to Taiwan before he became PM even when China warned him severely not to do so? Or is it because China had never regard Singapore as a working partner even though Singapore has been saying so in their own government owned media.

It is an interesting time that we live in as people have forgotten their morale and even ethical mindset as long as they please China. Even Obama administration played down the anniversary of Tiananmen Square as Geithner went to China to assure China that US will protect China interests and that US do view China as a strategic partner in resolving the North Korea debacle.

Without any clear indication from China and no high level visit from China, it seems Singapore is a forgotten child. Malaysia on the other hand enjoys goodwill that its second PM, Tun Razak build when they were the first country in South East Asia to recognise China. Najib, the son of Tun Razak, carried on the goodwill with this current visit together with his mother.

Some commentators even suggest that Taiwan is enjoying better relationship with China than Singapore. This current visit by Najib saw many goodies handed out by the Chinese government which accord some of the highest level of respect to a foreign visitor.

Malaysia not only sets to develop a huge 700km square development project, China will lend money for some Malaysian infrastructure projects. China had set aside some financing with low interest rates for infrastructure projects for South East Asia to which Malaysia seems to be the one that would be enjoying most of the benefits.

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Now, what brought upon the above discussion? While I was downing my favourite wan tan mee at a local shop this afternoon, where tables were placed very near one another, I swore that I was part of the conversation that took place on the table beside me. I almost wanted to butt in every now and then in amazement at one of the fellow sitting on that table. This fellow can be seen as your typical “Ah Beng” or small time gangster. And beside him were two smartly dressed office workers in their ties (even though it is hot and humid in tropical Malaysia).

The topic of purchasing auctioning properties were at the table. Rather than the office workers advising the Ah Beng on proper procedures, it was the other way round. Terms like LACA and NCL cases were thrown about readily. Payments must be made in 90 days or 120 days depending on whether it is the former or the latter. Things like how you should send in your application to the bank with strong credential so that the bank will lend you money for the balance of payment. I thought the Ah Beng must be working for someone like Lehman Brothers or AIG.

I wasn’t too far from the mark when he suddenly remarked to his two buddies (from my deductions, they must be childhood schoolmates) that they shouldn’t come to him for financial help. He had seen far too many people getting the shorter end of the sticks when they borrow from his “organisation”. He advised them to look for proper banks to see if their earnings are enough to meet the criteria of the banks. He even asked if they had been late on credit card bills and other borrowings as they would evidentally show on CCRIS. Apparently their organisation also vet people via another system called Sek See (in cantonese means eat shit).

I was taken aback when the Ah Beng further explains how subprime happened and that we have been tricked by westerners regarding this matter. His best quote was our 97 financial crisis did not even shake the west but yet the west not only shake ours but raped our butts and left us high and dry.

Ah Beng wasted no time in explaining short sellings and how he made a bit recently especially with the volatile share prices. Apparently their organisation knows how to syndicate certain counters. Oh yes, those counters you see going up in a short period of time and then falters like nobody business. Yeah, apparently they have a hand in it. Perhaps he is boasting or he may not as he correctly pointed out a few counters which could easily suggest manipulation of share counters in other countries.

All these lead us to other crucial points. Malaysia has always been in the limelight for the wrong reasons. We were one of the most lucrative pirated software and movies heaven for a while until China took over. We are still one of the transit points for human trafficking. We still trade in exotic animals whether for exhibition or for consumption purposes. Though muslim country, we thrive in the adults entertainment industry, no doubt that even one of our ex-minister supports the industry by watching them.

Malaysia has always been a creative country. If only we are a little bit more open and legalise all these illegal activities, perhaps we could easily match some of the world’s leading economy. Though some would argue it would be morally wrong to do so.

I swore I remembered reading a book when I was a much younger ciku and the title of Top 50 Criminals of the world, there were a couple of Malaysians.

Even recently, we were almost blacklisted as a tax heaven for some and that we are protecting the wrong people. Though I believe that these countries were doing it all the while just that it is possible for some countries to do it, they rather ban the whole industry.

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Thailand was not faring any better as their economy takes a giant beating which had already suffered from a global economic crisis. To some, by using the court to resolve such issues would seem to be fair game. Short of commenting on how courts are run, I believe the public perception of the legal events in the past couple of weeks are nothing short of a public relation disaster for both camps but a lot more weighted on the battled Barisan Nasional.

I believe that it is a matter of time before BN allow for a state election. Frankly speaking, the longer it delays the calls for a state election, the thinner the ice it is standing upon. Tactically, if BN had called for a state election right from the beginning, they would not fare as badly.

BN always had the chance to take the state lawfully but it miscalculated some of its moves. And kudos to the legal advisers whom the PR had been seeking who had suprisingly caused a political impasse. If BN had waited for the reconvening of the state assembly before moving in a vote of no confidence and at the same time bring out of the bag the three state assemblymen, Zambry would have been comfortably sitting on the MB chair. But never let a mistake cover another mistake.

I believe that BN must change. Nevermind if it is caught in cross fires between internal politicking and external threats. But over time, if BN Is serious about changing, they could and would eventually turn out to be a bigger and better party. Perhaps PM should look at its list of people and how genuine they are in serving people. Should they be looking after their own interest first, then perhaps looking for new blood like PR would be a good alternative.

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But it is also sad that our big boss somehow has different vision for Malaysia. Personally, I would prefer if they have let go Perak state and start afresh. Give the power back to the people. In fact if there was anything that Malaysians could wish for when Najib was sworn in as the 6th PM of Malaysia, it would to further strengthen our believes in democracy. Nevermind how the lawyers or the judge would interprete the legitimacy of what has happened. It doesn’t matter. I believe both camps would have some form of legitimacy though in this case, the PR seems to have an upper hand.

I have always believe in sincerity. If you are sincere enough, it is a matter of time people will believe in you. But if you continue to make scenes and then to have those scenes being replayed by the alternative medias over and over again, doesn’t bade well to the rakyat. Fact is, rakyat are the bosses of the big bosses I spoke of earlier.

The equation is rather simple. Every blog talks about it, well except maybe for a few. The ordinary man on the street even talks about it. The cleaning aunties also talked about it. Hell, even my Indonesian maids talked about it. If we want to make ourselves truly democratic, perhaps it is time for the entire thing to be given back to the rakyat and let them decide who will run their state for the next few years. Afterall, the basis of a state assembly is that these people are chosen by the rakyat. In the same breath, we can safely assume that if the state assemblymen can put in a vote of no confidence or by aligning themselves to different parties, surely the rakyat can have a say?

Let’s put it this way, everytime something goes wrong with a company and that there are two parties involved in some sort of disagreement, there would be echoes of how an EGM should be called to resolve these issues? Can’t we do the same for Perak?

Like all my other posts, do give the state back to the people. Let the rakyat decide. Nevermind if BN loses the state election, but try to win their hearts. Be sincere. Weed out the unwanted elements from BN, portray to the people that BN means business and whether or not they are in control of the state, they will bring progress to the rakyat. Rakyats are no fools. Give them what they want instead of give only to the minorities who eventually would not help the state. I believe given the strong history of BN and the heavy machineries backing it, BN can come out the victor in the long run.

I would have no qualms about joining BN even now.

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If fresh elections are held within a month from now, I have a very good feeling that more than 32 seats will fall into opposition hands. BN was too eager to win back the seat and has since created many bad rumours about itself.

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2 Comments

• At May 11, 2009, Bob K wrote:

  Au contraire .. in the case of Perak, BN was/is the Opposition. :)

• At May 11, 2009, Fat4 wrote:

  A little misunderstanding here, but I accept your point. When I use the term opposition it was more so that the federal level, the Pakatan are oppositions. Once again, thank you for making good of the wrong term.

In Singapore, news media are reporting that their ISD is the hero in providing vital information which led to the recapturing of Mas Selamat, which personally I find it weird as they too did not know Mas Selamat has been captured for more than a month. They were the one who kept insisting that Mas Selamat was still in Singapore and yet they couldn’t find him after the escape. They were the ones that told everyone that Mas Selamat has made it to Indonesia when they gave up searching. But yet when Mas Selamat was captured, they claim credit.

In Malaysia, the country which was always being laughed at by Singaporeans who claims that Malaysian police are only good at receiving bribes. But yet they were the one that actually caught Mas Selamat though they have yet to claim real credit for doing so.

Are those political games that politicians play besides kissing babies?

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1 Comments

• At May 11, 2009, lousy wrote:

  i fully agree with you !

  our newspapers, tv, and gahmen should not cover themselves , scare lose face only, headline : mas selamat is captured BUT no courage to put IS by malaysia police

  why don't they like wks, brave enough to say 'malaysia police has done a excellent job' ?

  singaporeans are known to be arrogant n damn stupid : after 1year cannot find still tink mas selamat is in singapore, newspapers reported 3 idiot singaporeans still quit their job to look for mas selamat in singapore tinking they can get the $1million reward,

  our gahmen should give 5 month bonus or $1million to malaysia police for they excellent job, meritocracy, which we ourselves after 1 year fail to do ......

In a true democracy, the crux of a society is that all leaders are selected by the people. Unfortunately, this current state is not the result of BN but rather both camps.

To be fair to BN, it was PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim that started the taunting. He was the person behind 916, a date which he had selected that he will become the 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia. No, not by the democratic way. He had encouraged BN law makers to jump ship to ensure they remain relevant.

However, in the ensuing cat and mouse game, BN prevails with their much larger resources and powerful backing. BN regardless of how many people out there wants to believe, had the majority from the previous election. So let them run the show for the whole term running.

But in a tit for tat, it was BN who finally “persuaded” 3 opposition law makers to jump ship in the state of Perak. Though I do not support such moves, but the fact that PKR was the first to initiate that these sort of party hopping culture is part of their culture, they of all people should just keep quiet and accept their fate.

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How did a world class detention facilities allow its prisoner to escape especially one who is known to be a terror? How did its world class immigration allow him to go through (if it was true that he went over to Malaysia via the legitimate way)? Or how did its world class water police patrol allow someone to slip pass after launching one of the largest manhunt in Singapore’s history?

Rather than actually capturing anyone, they have made a mess and caused many millions of people who had to use the border crossing each month. How many man hours had been lost due to the stupidity of some higher persons in charge? Why hasn’t that higher person in charge come out and acknowledge their problem and resign?

There are just too many whys.

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Human beings have always been a funny kind. I get many nasty comments in the past because for one I do not think like any other human being and that made me unique. Majority of people are like in a herd. They follow blindly what others say without even studying the facts.

Let me try to paint a different picture. If instead of Johor Bahru, the minister had suggested some nice and developed places like Sydney, then perhaps everyone would be jumping up and down and looking towards their retirement.

But dumb I will say. For the stingy $500 that you can afford a month would not even get you accomodation in Sydney, much less a life. In Johor Bahru, you may live like some of the million dollar ministers. Well maybe not that extravagant, but you get the flow.

In the first instance, the reason why old folks are sent to the old folks home is that they are not wanted in a usual family home. So why the fuss about where they will be placed, in Singapore, Johor Bahru or maybe Batam. Ask the children who had to be so busy working, as living standards in Singapore can be expensive, who had forsaken their parents after using their parents fund for education and maybe even post-education-buy-house money. So the very same people who argued how their parents should be kept away from their home because the old folks seem so meddlesome would also be the same bunch who are fighting hard to keep them back in Singapore. Why?

I could only think of two reasons. The first would definitely have to be that they are afraid that if the government begins to send people away, it is only a matter of time that their children will abandon them and they will be sent away as well. So in many ways, again for their own selfish reasons. The second maybe if the parents is kept in Singapore, they would be less guilty about sending their parents away. It is like stealing $100 instead of $1,000,000.

The point is, if they really want their parents to have better lifestyle with better full time caregiver, perhaps an alternative location where the same salary paid to a caregiver in Singapore could employ three caregivers in Johor Bahru would mean more people caring for the same number of patients or old folks. Same goes for administrative staffs.

And because land is cheaper. By that I mean MUCH cheaper in Johor Bahru, the operational costs would be a lot cheaper. Doesn’t that make a lot more sense for the old folks to be taken care of in Malaysia?

Like I have said in my past posts, Air Asia may had been calling bluff in their previous KLIA @ East proposal whereby they would eventually be “forced” to accept a “good for all parties” solution at a specifically designed terminal with tax payers money. I was quite right when Najib announced a RM2billion funding for the building of a new LCCT terminal which could easily last Air Asia for the next decade.

It is interesting how Air Asia conducts its business. Frankly I am at a crossroad because on one hand, I do admire and salute to the almost flawless Sun Tze Art of War strategies as used by Tony Fernandes (including a minion pawn blogger named Kenny Sia). But yet because it is my money and your money in question which will be used to build up another person’s wealth, that got me thinking if it is afterall the right thing to do. (Perhaps if they have bribed me like the other blogger, I might have kept quiet. Afterall, I can be as unethical like the other blogger as long as my own interest is being looked after.) I did suggest that Air Asia had to bear some risks of a new LCCT terminal and for them to purchase some land outright from MAHB to build their own terminal. That way, they have some control over the costs of passengers and their own costs of running their flights.

The thing is with running a business is that you do have risks. Occasionally I do see that Malaysian government had been quite good at reducing the risks of businesses in Malaysia. Like the lopsided highway concessionaire agreements. Like the lopsided Independent Power Producers agreements. And now, Air Asia. No doubt Air Asia didn’t have it good when they first started and they have shown that their model is indeed working succesfully in Malaysia. Now the least they could have done is to continue that success and to ensure that they would be as competitive as they can be without the need of government’s aids.

Updates: I wrote this a few days after I read the budget but since then MAHB has came out and said that they will be looking for private funds for the construction of this new airport which made some of the above points invalid. But then again, the most interesting part would be, if the government has included a RM2billion budget as part of the stimulus project, then now MAHB is looking for private funding then would the RM2billion be “lost” later? *confused*

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