Curry Fishhead, Rotting and Rising heads

Chinamen, and I am definitely one unless the nurses switched me as Babe's name tag at birth by accident, go to great length, like a thousand Li, to savour good food. Desiderata is not that crazy, he would only travel about 15-20km to nearby Mantin. I'm skipping lunch today as I make myself to Mantin (yes, where the men look like they just came out of a tin-can, and the women ...ah, better not describe them until after dinner, as most play chefs.

As I was saying, two close media friends are coming all the way from Petaling Jaya to rendezvous at about 5.30pm at the China sounding coffee shop; can't remember its name, only can tell the aroma coming out of its kitchen from late afternoon, in the middle of the first block on the RHS after one enters the sleepy-looking town from olde Seremban, after a Shell station. (I'm not promoting this particular petrol brand, okay, otherwise, some Blogger friends may accuse Desi of selling out to Big business, but actually I don't mind 200million, WTH!:)

Now back from Digression, which has become an expertise of mine, like C&P which is every other Blogger's expertise, I just had 1/2 portion of morning BF ('morning' is actually redundant here because who would be BF-asting in the PM or at midnight unless you don't own a watch and are also colour-blind. I don't own a watch, the lust one I bought at CheeCheongKai did not last two months, althogh one FashionistA assured a warranty of two years... but that's cheapskate Desi, not FA's secret asset. But I am not colour-blind, otherwise how could I have writ those XXquisite poems. 'XXquisite' was used by an AP-tive reader from Ipoh, not humble Desi, K!:( as I don't blow the trumpet tho I do some R&R with a seven-stringed guitah.

So if you can find your way through the Negri Maze and meet Desi dare at 5.30PM-&.00PM, join in the eats, but please bring along your Platinum card; I have to ask the 'lady' if she accepts MyKad at 7.45PM. Otherwise, one of us may have to stay back to do work in the 'kitchen" and you never know, you may not come out again, like that curio cat Mat Salleh at the Mambau DimSome shoppe.


I hear one ER whispering he/she (could tell the gender because it ranges from Sir John's to one of the BeeGees bros...) DOESN'T like CurryFishHead as many unscrupulous restau rat eurs (NOTE there is no 'n' as in rant, OK! Only a rat.)serve thee ROTTING fishheads.


I assure you ALL THE ROTTING FISH HAVE SWAMPED/swum to THE ROYAL TOWN OF KLANG. So it's safe with Desi in Mantin, or your money back @7.45PM.

The Star Page 1, right hand column, make sure you catch it and not let the fish (Or isit crocodiles? because they can transform wan in Klang) swim away.

Thursday October 26, 2006


MB: Only two in family can be councillors


SHAH ALAM: No more than two members of a family will be allowed to be councillors in the same local authority in Selangor at the same time, Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo said.

He said if several members of a family were nominated for council posts, the state would only allow two.

“Our state executive councillors have given their feedback and we have agreed that only two members from the same family can sit (in a council) at any one term.

“It is a collective decision to ensure that fiefdoms are not formed and the confidence of the public is maintained,” Dr Khir said during his Hari Raya open house held at the Dewan Belia Section 7, here.


The state exco decision came after a public outcry against Port Klang assemblyman Datuk Zakaria Md Deros, whose son Zainuri and daughter-in-law Roselinda Abdul Jamil were also going to be appointed as Klang municipal councillors for the 2006-2008 term.

All three were to have been sworn in as councillors last week but the swearing-in ceremony was postponed.
:
:
:
ROTTING

DESIDERATA:

Q1: Is this Menteri Besar for real?
“It is a collective decision to ensure that fiefdoms are not formed and the confidence of the public is maintained,” Dr Khir said...

HEY, THE FIEFDOM HAS ALREADY BEEN FORMED!
HEY, THER CONFIDENCE HAS ALREADY BEEN SHATTERED!

Or he has not learnt of the English saying (Howsy, can give some tution ah?):
Closing the stable's doors after the horse has bolted...

ISA: That the Prime Minister orders all the three of this Zakaria family NOT BE APPOINTED as the Klang councillors as the old man had set a terrible example, and it would be a killer tradition for the family (fiefdom) members to perpetuate -- building a five-storey or s-x-story mansion next?

Pak Lah should then send Zakaria Md Deros a SHOW-CAUSE letter why he should not be removed as a Selangor State Assemblyman. Don't sack him=lah, because DAP or PKR won't take him either, ayether. Mayhpas PAS, they can re-habit-litate him?
The citizenry expect nothing less than this -- Zakaria's sacking from Dewan Undangan Negeri Selangor. An elected representatiive is expected to be a good role model. Not a crooked man who built a crooked 'small" house i a crooked prescinct. Who is a law unto himself. To his son. To his daughter-in-law.

Q2: Why was the piece of land alienated to Zakaria's wife at lelong prices in the first instance. Is the state assemblyman and family living within the hardcore poor group in the most advanced sate in NegaraKu?

Q3: Those construction workers building the mansion -- are they ILLEGALS from neighbouring countries? Is someone trying to do a "Sabah" in Selangor?

I think I will stop asking too many questions lest ELEGANT SILENCE is swamped with too many fish rotting from their heads. One former PM to deal with is already pening-ing his kepala, Desi won't want to add on kepala croc...Oops, wrong species, kepala ikan.TheSun hinted now there is a third Councillor in the asSli ship, listing anyone?



RISING

The following is Cut&Paste from Raja Petra's malaysia-today.net.
I urge "fellow Malaysians to think deeply whether they want to give the former DPM a chance to redeem himself and prove to be the RISING ONE among all the rotting fishheads and listing ships?"

24/10: Saying no to corruption
Category: General Posted by: Raja Petra
Business needs to be held accountable in developing economies

By Marc Gunther, Fortune senior writer

(Fortune Magazine) -- Anwar Ibrahim was a rising star in Asian politics during the 1990s as Finance Minister and then Deputy Prime Minister under Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. But in 1998, after leading a campaign against government corruption, Ibrahim was thrown in jail on trumped-up charges and held in solitary confinement for six years.

He has since become an advocate for democracy, a teacher at Georgetown University, and honorary president of AccountAbility. Fortune's Marc Gunther spoke with him recently in his office on the Georgetown campus.

What did you learn from your experiences in Malaysia about the role of business in development?

Business has to be part of the development process, so we made intense efforts to promote the private sector. I strongly support market reforms, deregulation, privatization, all the mantras of today's global economy.

But for this to work, we need business to be accountable, and we observed serious flaws in this regard. In my experience, business can tend toward cronyism, corruption and other poor practices in the absence of a free press, a vibrant civil society and effective law enforcement.

Was the corruption driven by local businesses, or were global companies involved as well?

It was primarily local, but the multinationals cannot be absolved. Often it's not a question of blatant, outright corruption. It's the subtle endorsement of unsatisfactory practices - for example, when it comes to labor standards or the exploitation of natural resources. Some international corporations become involved in inappropriate practices when meeting their financial bottom-line goals requires working with repressive governments.

Some say that it's wrong to apply Western ideals on issues like the environment, labor rights, and democracy to the developing world. What's your view?

Many use the notion of Asian values to make excuses for governments that do not support democracy, accountability, the need for a free press and an active civil society. Others say security and development take precedence over freedom and democracy.

I don't accept any of this. Certainly there may be regional variations in how business is done, but accountability, universal human rights, an independent judiciary and a free press are not Western or Eastern values. They are universal values that we should all embrace.

Still, there are those who say it is wrong for Western governments or NGOs to force the developing world to adopt the labor or environmental standards of highly mature industrial societies while they are still developing.

Emerging economies should not be dictated to by European or North American lobbies. In Malaysia we have in the area of Sarawak about two million acres of timber. More extreme environmental groups would deny us the right to any extraction. This position is as misguided as the equally extreme position by the Sarawak state government to allow for the indiscriminate rape of these jungles. Sustainable forestry is the right balance, accountable to those communities that need a livelihood with the need to protect the environment.

Did any companies you dealt with in Malaysia impress you with their commitment to accountability and social responsibility?

Intel and Motorola come to mind as two that made major investments, shared technology, invested in training locals and were more honest and transparent than others.

Any that disappointed you?

Many, sadly, but this is not the place to name names. I recall one occasion when a major multinational hosted me for a dinner shortly after I came into office. They proposed an "arrangement" to facilitate their interests, pointing out that this was merely a continuation of their ongoing practice in Malaysia. They were astonished and distressed when I referred them to the official ministry channels rather than to an intermediary through whom they could funnel funds on my behalf. These occasions convinced me of the need to introduce stronger measures against corruption when I was acting Prime Minister in 1997, a decision that ultimately landed me in jail.

Did any of the Western companies you had done business with come to your aid?

None that I'm aware of. Many individuals and human rights organizations took up my case, but it was only after I came out of prison that some businesspeople expressed sympathy.

Would you have known if any businesses had lobbied on your behalf?

Oh, yes, they could have contacted my wife, my family, my lawyers.

Did they?

No.


DESIDERATA:

The highlights (THUS BOLDED) are mine. I won't add any comments to the above as my ER know my stand as far as Sdr Anwar, the Adviser to Parti Kedailan Rakyat, is concerned.

Meanwhile, I hope my EsteemedReaders even after the festive celebrations the past few days, will continue to keel their "heads" firmly on their shoulders, also above H2O. Strangely, I similarly adivsed my sonny Len back from UUM campus break to always "be level headed". No, it was not over fishhead curry in Mantin. It was at an evening CON BFing! Figure that one ouuch!:) and I'll pay for that Man-tin outing