The Arrogance of It Awes

Last Sunday almost SE7EN days ago I promised that I would ruminate on:
Two eye-opening extracts from Raja Petra Kamarudin's latest post:


THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Warlords and heavyweights: two peas in a pod


WHY "almost"?
Just being a stickler for the Scientific Method -- which requires us to use our critical mind and use LOGIC to put forth or rebut a case or view of point. Or point of view. Strangely English is quirky enough sometimes both instances are correct -- just don't ask Desiderata WHY!
There are certain things one does not ask.

You can ask your teacher why 1+1+1 = 3.
He/she then proves to thee by laying out first 1 matchstick on the desk
Then he pulls out another stick, a 2nd one, from the matchbox and lays it side by side with the first.
Finally he takes out a 3rd stick and lays it alongside the first two.
Then he asks you to count the number laid side by side.
"One, two, three!" you cried out loud triumphantly.

But you won't be able to conduct such demonstrable experiments when it comes to the matter of the heart or soul.
You can't ask a question like:
Pastor, how do you know GOD exists?
OR, Priest, how can I meet my (late) Mother in heaven when I'm not even sure such a Place exists?
(She may even add when I'm not even sure she has arrived at Heaven's gate assuming there is such a Place...
OR, heaven forbids, Mum had led such a bad life on earth she could have arrived at the Other Place called HELL...)

Now, there is NO DEFINITIVE ANSWER to the above second class/cluster/clutter of questions.

TODAY on the GOoD Sabbath -- for Christians refer to this last day of the week, or is it the first? as the Sabbath day -- I promised my ER last Sunday I would ruminate on something I go forth with trepidation.
But go forth I must, occasionallly, for one really need to do some SOUL-SEARHING
to clean up the cobwebs that clutter/cluster/class thy mind. Yes, the human suffers all sorts of pollution, but none so terrifying than that which visits the mind.

Dear EsteemedReaders, Can you tell me quickly why do you think MURDER takes place?

In summary, THREE MOTIVATORS as I've learnt reading Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conon Doyle and Fyodor Dostoevesky (must check full name and spelling, remember "Crime and Punishment"?)Thanks to Moses Foo who sms-ed Desi at dinner-time the correct spelling!:)

Women,
Money,
Power.

You beg to disagree? Then tell me aMore.

And here I quote from the past some cases of arrogance that awes (involving chiefly local politicians-lah!):

Arrogance1:

MIC chief of diminishing value from half when commenting on the slaying of Tenggarah State Assemblyman, said that Krishnasamy had told him he had received death threats weeks before the murder (according to The Star of 13 Jan 2008).

The minister said he, too, had received 10 to 13 such calls a day from people making alll sorts of accusations and threats.

Desi: All I can say if that the semi-valued head had been receiving such frequency of threats, how come he never made any police reports to date? How come he continues to avow that the majority of Malaysian Indians still support him?
All he could state categorically was that "There are a lot of problems created by people in the Indian community and this is through instigation."

My fleeting thought was that politicians should be reminded there is an English saying (I did not invent this, I'm just parroting OK!): "People who live by the sword die by the sword."

Arrogance2:
On Hell -- oops, Health -- Minister's resignation after being caught, metaphorically and physically, with his pants down making it out wit' someone not his wife, one UMNO leader advised his BN colleagues holding public office that "...party members must exercise discipline and abide by the code of conduct of the party."

The context is seen from this news report:

KOTA BARU: Barisan Nasional leaders and members have been told to learn a lesson from the resignation of health minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

They have also been told to behave themselves so as not to embarrass the party.



Desi: Did I say it was like a Port DICKson crab teaching a Furongknight how to walk straight? Ah,it doesn't apply to UMNOputras who have clout wit' the State Religious Department, whose eyes are closed and won't get sexcited even if a nude Madonanna paid them a visit on the Beach of Berahi during a blue moon... The gall of it all. OR the arrogance of it awes!

Arrogance3:

This one doesn't go away -- a RM7-10million four-storey mansion stands out like a sore thumb among a cluster of kampong low-cost houses, and Datuk Zakaria Mad Deros has not embarassed anyone in Pak Lah's Cabinet at all?

"It's only a small house," the SA has the gall to say it all. And he trumpeted his charity by hosting some sycopahntic media nd orphans to a Hari Raya Open House -- and the People's Paper offered that his "problem" did not stem from "breaking the law" like no planning approvals from the mousey-lousey Klang Local Council. It was just due to bad "feng shui" whch was easily fixed with enagaging a sifu-Chinakui to advise him on another million-smallbucks feng shui adaptation. And it's now all hunky-dory at the Zak's family front.

The selangor government was so charitable it approved an adjacent piece of land to that "small house" to the Zak's wife -- hey, the whole family is a basket charity case. YL Chong may even start a Zak Charity Fund this new year to spread awe the goodwill this wakil(L) rakyat has started. Dear moo_t, can you negoatiate wit' this moron and his amsters like Khir Toyol and DPM who has BIG eyes but cannot see the "small house" to be embarassed-- if they would like to patronise th fun-D launch on Feb 7, 2008?

The Arrogance of It Truly Awes!

May God/Allah save us awe from such charitable leaders.
~~ Amen/Amin.

Earlier, I extracted from two of my favourite readers' recent inputs for thee, my most esteemed readers, to reflect on while I take a break for CON BF, didn't I? (I also sent out: Join me if you knoweth where Men Kee is, even if thou be a woman/lady or othervice, for this public place is not restricted to "Men" only. It's for Homo sapiens of all keys. For the record: None accepted my invite.)



Interlude 1


"Judging from the issues that were brought up and talked about during various ceramahs-issues ranging from the rising crime rate, prices of basic household items and petrol, toll charges, corruption and blatant abuses of power, quality and cost of education, healthcare, jobs, social problems, and business opportunities to national competitiveness and the state of the economy and public administration, and the moral conduct of ministers and politicians - it is clear to thousands of eager Malaysians we met that the forthcoming 12th General Elections is not about Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim per se...

The present UMNO-led coalition government is like a huge tree trunk infested with termites: the outside looks good whilst the inside is rotten to the core. It is now only a matter of time before it will implode.. One cannot sweep dirt under the carpet all the time, sooner or later, it will show and tragedy befalls our country.

We have begun to see evidence of systemic breakdown, more so in recent months with the government flip flopping on many issues and policy decisions. Prices of essential food items are spiraling out of control. The worse is yet to come and this discredited government is waiting to approve another round of price increases after the elections. Fuel cost and toll charges are expected to rise. There is a shortage cooking oil because of our failed energy policy. Last year (2007), serious crime rate rose by 13.4%. Because the Prime Minister is weak and incompetent, there is serious infighting within UMNO and its component partners. This list keeps growing. Yet the government spinners, and the controlled media say that Malaysia is in great shape.

50 years of UMNO-BN rule should be enough. What (we) have seen is corruption and abuse of power on the rise, sheer incompetence, a corrupt Judiciary, and total disregard for the rule of law and civil liberties, and a dysfunctional public administration, especially in the once much respected civil service and dignified Police Force.

A new dawn awaits us if we dare to make the change and vote in favour of an alternative government which is committed to good governance, the rule of law, and justice for all led by Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
:
:
:

Malaysia will then be an abode of peace and harmony, where all Malaysians can live and prosper together. There will be justice for all. So, the time for change has come."

Regards,
Din Merican and Ibrahim Yaacob
dino.beano@yahoo.com
http://dinmerican.wordpress.com

Posted by desiderata at 11:02 AM

Interlude2


1 comments:

Stu said...

FFrom T. S. Eliot’s Four Quartets:

Do not let me hear

Of the wisdom of old men, but rather of their folly,

Their fear of fear and frenzy, their fear of possession,

Of belonging to another, or to others, or to God.

The only wisdom we can hope to acquire

Is the wisdom of humility: humility is endless.

HUMILITY, THAT'S WHAT WE URGENTLY NEED IN MALAYSIA.
A new dawn awaits, be humble, and daring. Be brave and make the change.
Vote in favour of an alternative government which is committed to good governance, the rule of law, and justice for all, and above is full of the wisdom of humility.
11:23 PM

*******************************************************

DESI: Note the highlights (THUS BOLDED) in Sdr Din's writing, and also reflect on Stu's musings, Desi is comforted he has such fine mates for company. There's HOPE on the horizon for Malaysia yet. No,it's NOT 'nyet'!


Please turn to my Post dated 9 Jan 2008 on "Moral and Language Policing" in which I indicated I'd embark early on Rumination on a subject (Religion) normally reserved for the blessed day,and even then with reluctance. So consider this week as consisting of two hepings of Sundaes -- how lucky can Malaysians get! I also must thank Raja Petra Kamarudin for his in-your-face thoughts of a Muslim which I find pretty forward and "rare", and assisting him are fellow authors like Farish Noor and Dr Bakri Musa, which give me a non-Muslim much delight because I feel so at ease with members of other faiths when it's not DOGMA they mouth -- it's walking the faith.

Quoting from "The Little Prince", by Saint-Exupéry, which reveals much about the follies of mankind and the simple truths that people seem to forget as they grow older. Desi will always remember this line uttered by the fox to the Little Prince: "On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye).

DESIDERATA must admit there are some"deliberate" gaps in my writing today as this peice was interrupted by my runing around -- in circles, squares, or oblongs? -- and on resuming my write, I decided to leave those gaps gaping because my intelligent readers will find the answers even if I don't paint the portrait compleatly.

I shan't lend too much more than what I touched on on Wednesday, I especially like the short tale sent Desi via email by one mGf -- you do get Gems of wisdom via blogosphere, and these are priceless, okay as good as red label French wine or blue chip pu-erh tea!:)

An elder Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them, “A fight is going on inside me...It is a terrible fight, and it is between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, pride and superiority. The other wolf stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside of you and every other person too.”

They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?” The old Cherokee simply replied… “The one I feed.”

And for us humans not born into wealth and privilege and some are facing lots of trials and tribulations in everyday life or at the workplace, here's a nugget of a quote I stole from fellowBlogger Mei, for sharing, for there is indeed wisdom in believing that GOoD things when shared multiply in value because of the sender's goodwill. Dollars and sen can be quantified,not friendship and goodwill.

***"God allows life to be rocky. His challenge is not to let the rocks grind us into dust, but to polish us to become a diamond. Stay precious as always."****

This message doesn't hold at 11.11PM as I typed this last line in my Update! "Article still-in-progress, hence not polished. Bear with Desi, K!"