Rhetorics

Najib: Reach for the stars

A glocal people with first
class mentality

ad nauseum...


__________________________________________________________

I live in Furong which is about 20 mnutes drive from a smaller PEYTON PLACE named MANTIN, where the fish haed curry is yummy and the Convent girls are chummy, and one made monke givethe Desie goode companye.

Today as a kindhearted teacher I give you a nu'e word which we must taech some politicians on the PWTC4, Wisma MCCA and another wan by Jalan Tun Sambathann stage to know the meaning of.

From the freedictionary.com:


rhet·o·ric
play_w("R0218000")
(rtr-k)
n.
1.
a. The art or study of using language effectively and persuasively.
b. A treatise or book discussing this art.
2. Skill in using language effectively and persuasively.
3.
a. A style of speaking or writing, especially the language of a particular subject: fiery political rhetoric.
b. Language that is elaborate, pretentious, insincere, or intellectually vacuous: His offers of compromise were mere rhetoric.
4. Verbal communication; discourse.
[Middle English rethorik, from Old French rethorique, from Latin rhtoric, rhtorica, from Greek rhtorik (tekhn), rhetorical (art), feminine of rhtorikos, rhetorical, from rhtr, rhetor; see rhetor.]
hm();Sources=Sources 2;
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun
1.
rhetoric - using language effectively to please or persuade
expressive style, style - a way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period; "all the reporters were expected to adopt the style of the newspaper"
rhetorical device - a use of language that creates a literary effect (but often without regard for literal significance)
2.
rhetoric - high-flown style; excessive use of verbal ornamentation; "the grandiosity of his prose"; "an excessive ornateness of language"
grandiloquence, grandiosity, magniloquence, ornateness
flourish - a display of ornamental speech or language
expressive style, style - a way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period; "all the reporters were expected to adopt the style of the newspaper"
blah, bombast, claptrap, fustian, rant - pompous or pretentious talk or writing
3.
rhetoric - loud and confused and empty talk; "mere rhetoric"
empty talk, empty words, hot air, palaver
hokum, meaninglessness, nonsense, nonsensicality, bunk - a message that seems to convey no meaning
4.
rhetoric - study of the technique and rules for using language effectively (especially in public speaking)
literary study - the humanistic study of literature
exordium - (rhetoric) the introductory section of an oration or discourse
narration - (rhetoric) the second section of an oration in which the facts are set forth
peroration - (rhetoric) the concluding section of an oration; "he summarized his main points in his peroration"
rhetorical device - a use of language that creates a literary effect (but often without regard for literal significance)
epanodos - repetition of a group of words in reverse order
epanodos - recapitulation of the main ideas of a speech (especially in reverse order)
ploce - (rhetoric) repetition to gain special emphasis or extend meaning
allocution - (rhetoric) a formal or authoritative address that advises or exhorts
anacoluthic - of or related to syntactic inconsistencies of the sort known as anacoluthons

______________________ Meanwhile, check Desi out at dat Fish-Head Curry House, if you're late,
the fish head may just get rotten in line with the House of Denmark ala Malaysia if you leave it to the likes
of these actors on the PWTC4 Stage, morons or nincompoops. I prefer George Soros' vocab: "You are a MENACE to your own country." __________________

And lest we forget...

___________________________________________________
Umno bares its true colours
Stanley Koh
Nov 22, 06 12:10pm

“You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad.” (Aldous Huxley). Malaysians learnt this in a rather unsettling manner. The truth of the matter is that Umno has shown its true colors. Plainly speaking, the wolf had shed its sheep clothing. There were strong reactions of deep disappointment, frustration, anger, fear and even remorse from those who faithfully voted in support for the government at the previous general election.

Malaysians were shocked and disillusioned by the fiery display of several Umno rank and file leaders. A day after the event, the prime minister and his deputy quickly put in place a damage control syndrome to pacify the nation. It was reported that the Umno top leadership would be “seriously considering the wisdom” of having live telecasts of the assembly in future. Claiming that some “inexperienced speakers tend to get carried away by the occasion” - the deputy prime minister’s excuse is unacceptable.

As an aftermath and with the benefit of hindsight, the public are not convinced of the feeble and lame excuses made in the on-going damage control exercise. Those who witnessed the event saw many smiling faces on the stage apart from many delegates who even applauded in reaction to those emotional remarks. Umno despite being the backbone of the Barisan Nasional government failed in its responsibility in allowing and condoning its “racist followers” to take center-stage during the proceeding. By doing so, the Umno leadership has lost whatever little respect from non-partisan Malaysians, including political fence-sitters. In fact, if “politics is truly a matter of perception” then many would definitely agree that the recent 57th Umno general assembly has cast a shadow across the nation that will also crucially test the courage of the minority. After having witnessed the naked power and might of the ruling party, many moderate and peace loving Malaysians (primarily non-Umnoputeras) cannot help but strongly feel that the display of political power was exploited by the few to trivialise, distort and politicise the creed for their own selfish ends.

Umno was insensitive

The main focus of the ethno-centric agenda of deliberations in exclusion of many urgent national issues conveyed a clear and distinct message to Malaysians that Umno was insensitive to the involvement of other racial communities in nation-building despite the fact that an overwhelming mandate was given to the party. Umno as the leader of the component coalition has formally swept under the proverbial carpet serious contentious issues and other urgent socio-economic challenges in particular corruption, nepotism, cronyism and other negative developments. Issues pertaining to good governance, problems facing local councils and questions pertaining to its integrity of local leadership were either given token attention or completely ignored.

Rather, in truth, the assembly was more concerned with executing its foremost strategic priority to shore up maximum political support for its party president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Secondly, the leadership turned a blind eye to delegates deliberately playing to the gallery or the racial card for a better preference to consolidate the mindset of the Malay voting masses on the Malay agenda through live telecast in view for the coming general elections. All other orchestrated logistic activities seemed to deem periphery to the main objectives. Seasoned political observers generally believed that the “thinking cap” was very much in place in executing the logistic and strategy of the huge event. Careful selection of speaking delegates and even the pre-planned agenda or content of speeches were subjected to finer tuning to ensure maximum exploitation of the political mileage. Vindictive criticisms were deliberately put in place to raise the mood and tone by selected political actors. Without the hidden approval from some influential leaders, delegates would not have dared to forward such provocative remarks in the first place. It was an assembly trapped in history.

Greedy middle-aged men Malaysians who keenly followed the entire assembly agreed that the focus on the New Economic Policy was also a telling-sign that the emergence of a “greedy” middle-age group of Umnoputeras urging for more government assistance is worrying. Viewed by the new generation of Malaysians on the “divide-and-rule” practice, the current Umno leadership is accused of accentuating the gravity of growing polarisation in the country. There is little resistance to the views of Parti Keadilan Rakyat advisor Anwar Ibrahim that Umnoputera Youth being the most vocal in pushing for the Malay agenda via the NEP was to rob wealth opportunities to enrich their members. In fact an article by Prof Shamsul A B called The Economic Dimension of Malay Nationalism had already pointed out that the base of Umno support had changed drastically, currently emerging numbers of Malay new rich and middle-class Umnoputeras had tremendously increased.

In the 1981 general assembly the share of school teachers reached 40 percent as a single majority group but had fallen to less than 19 percent. In contrast to continuous changes, since1987 the share of entrepreneurs or businessmen has increased in proportion. This is also particularly true in Umno Youth. Naturally these changes have a very strong impact on current policies in relation to political patronage and money politics. Or in Frederick Bailey’s term, Umno as a political entity is caught in a vicious circle of “money politics” or the politics of “stratagems and spoils.” The profile of delegates also comprised the Malay new rich, the middle class component (both small businessmen and the self-employed), “sleeping partners” to non-Malay joint businesses, the Malay “rentier’ middle class politicians (political middlemen in urban areas, not highly educated but extremely influential and powerful in rural areas) (quote: Shamsul AB)

In part, these complexities and political actors played an active part in fueling the “fires of racism” at the recent assembly. Some disgruntled Malaysians said it was a pity that British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott (who recently visited Malaysia and was keen to learn ‘the Malaysian experience’) did not attend the assembly. It would have been an excellent opportunity for Umno to show its role model leadership approach, propagating threats and fear towards its minority citizenry. During the visit, Prescott remarked that Malaysia was not dependent on the Internal Security Act but owed “the strong bond among the people to the very good community relations that exists.”

Perhaps, Umno should send him a recording of its recent assembly. Disappearing values There is also some truth expressed by critics that the current Umnoputera top leadership is guilty of actively encouraging and promoting political power in bringing more material wealth rather than nurturing positive leadership values among its rank and file members. The list of prominent examples involving arrogant abuse of power and corruption especially at the level of local municipal and city councils can fill up the pages of textbooks. The academic point of view suggested that much of the traditional Malay standard bearers of values about family, the elderly, neighborliness and so forth are beginning to disappear.

In his publication, Malays and Modernization former senior lecturer with the Department of Malay Studies Dr Tham Seong Chee gained a sociological insight into the Malay psyche. “It seems contradictory to have on one hand a greater participation in the Malaysian economy through direct utilisation of political bureaucratic instruments favoring the “bumiputeras” and on the other an emphasis on the need to be self-reliant in order to acquire success in entrepreneurship. Is the former compatible with the latter?” he asked. “If one were to link the problem to the traditional attitude of the Malays, that is, their reliance on the government, it seems reasonable to assume that the two are mutually inconsistent. An iteration of the government’s role in the economy of the Malays is more likely to emphasise a continuous reliance on the government as a legitimate source of aid and succour. In the end it is bound to work against the efforts to instill attitudes conducive to entrepreneurial success.

“The question is therefore not the rightness of instituting means to alleviate the economic status of the Malays, but rather whether the means adopted so far are the best possible or whether the cognition of the political and bureaucratic elites of the economic situation of the Malays is a correct one,” he concluded. Like the karmic saying goes, “What goes around comes around.” BN component parties like MCA, Gerakan and MIC found themselves at the receiving end of “their own medicine.” Tidur Sekatil, Mimpi Berlainan (Sharing the same bed, but having different dreams) was the Malay idiom used to describe the political partnership of DAP and PAS in the past. Now the BN component parties had a rude awakening, finding themselves sharing the same bed with Umno, with the latter pursuing only the dream of the Malay agenda.

Double standards

The most damaging aspect that has tarnished Umnoputeras and the integrity of Umno overall was the double standards its ruling leaders adopted. Umnoputera leaders in government banned the inter-faith dialogues under the pretext of preventing racial problems but at its own assembly allowing certain Umno delegates from getting away with strongly worded remarks viewed by many as seditious. “Umno is willing to risk lives and bathe in blood to defend the race and religion. Don’t play with fire. If they mess with our rights, we will mess with theirs,” said Malacca delegate Hasnoor Hussein. Malaysian parents found it disgusting leading them to privately question Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein’s action in brandishing the keris when he is also education minister. “No wonder, violence in schools and colleges have increased,” remarked a parent sarcastically.

Hishammuddin’s move prompted another Umno delegate to ask when the Umno Youth chief intends to use the keris. Pushing aside the rhetoric, semantics and polemics, the larger picture is depressing. Of all the lessons learnt from this assembly, this one is the plainest. Umno has come to an age where morality and fair play are disappearing. As citizens of this country, we should ask ourselves whether it is wise to support a Malay supremacy policy or a Malay hegemony society that will inevitably marginalise other minorities? Are Malaysian voters fully convinced that the government’s intentions no matter how noble have not been hijacked by exploitative and greedy political actors? Should we continue to support divisive policies or ponder alternate policies or even an alternate government so that we can leap forward as a progressive and dynamic nation? Equally important, we should remind ourselves that the values of political integrity must be a mainstay in our political arena. Russian human rights fighter Solzhenitsyn once warned humanity that: “Violence can only be concealed by a lie and the lie can only be maintained by violence.” We should reject in the coming general elections any dubious politicians including those who have made innuendos or suggestive remarks on violence at the recent Umno general assembly.

STANLEY KOH is a Buddhist monk and works for a local think-tank.

PS from Desi: He sometimes stealthily rendewoos with Desi near a nunnery where we parctise some serenades, like Beautiful Dreamer? Do you remember, or you need to wait trill September 2?