This is one swallow, it of course does not a summer make.
But I'm okay with one spring!:)
Thanks Brian M, I'll bribe thee with endless rounds of tehtarik at Lingam's, Paul St, Furong,
Where all the men are charitable, and awe the burung are charming&chirpy!:):)
Please don't bring the CJ A*long! -- YL, Desi
*******
Friday October 31, 2008
When are we going to come of age?
Valley View
By BRIAN MARTIN
WHAT’S the fuss all about? Why would a routine temporary appointment stir up so much rhetoric among politicians and NGOs?
A storm of protest has erupted ever since Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim announced that veteran corporate executive Low Siew Moi would be appointed acting general manager of the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS).
Low: Her appointment as PKNS acting general manager has drawn protests from certain quarters.
Khalid had earlier said that Low’s appointment would be a temporary arrangement until a suitable candidate was found to head the PKNS. But, his choice of Low has not gone down well with certain quarters.
On Tuesday, the Selangor Malays Residents Action Body held a protest against the appointment outside the state secretariat building in Shah Alam.
According to Shah Alam Umno information chief Mohd Azhar Othman, the appointment is against the main aim and policies behind the setting up of the corporation and marks the first time it would be led by a non-bumiputra.
It is certainly and surely sad that after 51 years of independence, there are still people, including so-called leaders, who cannot look beyond the racial lines.
Azhar’s statement is only partially correct – the PKNS was set up in 1964 and has been headed by a Malay general manager ever since.
But, is the appointment of a non-Malay contrary to the aims and policies of the corporation? Or ultra vires the Federal Constitution? Or in violation of the special rights of the Malays? Or even an insult to the Sultan, as suggested by one NGO leader?
I don’t think so and, I am sure, many right and fair-minded fellow citizens of all races will agree with me.
The PKNS is a major property developer in Selangor, having built the state capital Shah Alam and the many modern townships like Kelana Jaya and Kota Damansara. To date, the corporation has built about 150,000 housing units in the state.
According to the corporation’s website, its stated mission is in line with the state policies to promote stability, harmony and social justice.
It seeks to achieve these lofty goals by the implementation of property development, commercial and industrial development and investment.
Its objectives are to encourage and develop housing estates, industry, commercial and new economic centres. agriculture and carry out other approved activities.
Low is eminently qualified to take the reins at the PKNS, having served the corporation for over 33 years, including holding the post of deputy general manager (corporate development) for the past 11 years.
It is learnt that Low will only serve as the acting general manager until a right candidate has been identified.
Selangor state executive councillor Ronnie Liu has confirmed that the Pakatan Rakyat component parties, including PAS, had given their full backing to the Mentri Besar on his decision to appoint Low.
The DAP and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) have publicly endorsed the appointment while PAS has not objected to it.
“PAS has only requested for preference to be given to candidates the party feels are suitable to lead the organisation,” Liu told StarMetro.
Otherwise, Liu said, the state government had no plan to reconsider its decision on Low’s appointment.
He said Low, who was due for retirement soon, had been appointed in an acting capacity to hold the fort pending a permanent appointment later.
“So, we don’t understand why people are trying to make an issue of this,” he said.
The real issue, however, is not Low’s appointment but the very sad and disappointing racial overtone of the whole matter.
When are we ready to come of age and accept each other without the consideration of colour, creed, culture and class?
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
I like to wander while...
I have a problem lingering in my mind.
And it's not of Willie Nelson's kind.
I get the feeling people are less sincere nowadays
I'm talking about Malaysians in general
People just talk and talk
They don't intend to walk that talk
So inside me I ask:
Then why bother?
(The talking, I mean!)
So I like to wander
pondering
wondering
the big and small why
People just open the BIG mouth
and babble on and on
about the problems besetting the country
but that's all they do
pontificating
giing 2sen plus one more sen
of their mental greatness
But when pressed to take part in
any initiative
to try tackle any social
even national
problem
like "Abolish ISA"
or fighting injustices in general
"No-lah, I don't have the time
You people go ahead-lah!"
Stock replies
Then they adjourn to the stockmarket air-con
environ to place more bets
That's quite common nowadays
I mean my wandering
and wondering
What led my NegaraKu-ians to this
state of affairs?
Lousy leaders?
Poor education system?
Or we have all succumbed to that spiral
of effects and CON
because of the ****BIG C?
Dear EsteemedReaders, YOU TELL DESI!
**** The number one problem besetting the country that Leaders
cuntinude to talk about. It's like what UMNO's disciplne bigshot
Rithauddeen was din-ing about, the big C besieging his party,
especially the past TWO DECADES -- da BIG C getting worse with each party erection
-- Ooops, election, according to Rithauddeen, not Desi.
Come on, dear ER, please tell me, What's Da Problem?
DESIDERATA: In context, maybe for the past FIVE YEARS, we had the nation's CEO for
over-talking and under-delivering ...
Desi's last challenge -- CAN HE DELIVER ON JUST ONE LAST ACT?
From The Malaysian Insider, someone reads my mind:)
Ambiga pleads for ISA repeal
By Adib Zalkapli
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 – Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan made an impassioned plea today to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi to abolish the Internal Security Act before he leaves office next year.
"Prime Minister, while it may still be in your means to do so, and as a historic legacy to this nation that both you and I love, I ask you, on behalf of all right thinking Malaysians and on behalf of the legal fraternity of Malaysia, to move to abolish the ISA," Ambiga said in her speech at the opening of the 21st Lawasia Conference here.
She said the enforcement of the ISA had diverted from the original intention for which it was enacted.
"One can see how far we have strayed from the original intent of the ISA when a blogger, a politician, a journalist and a civil society organiser can, independently of each other, be seen as threats to national security," said Ambiga referring to recent ISA arrests.
In September, blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, lawmaker Teresa Kok and Sin Chew Daily journalist Tan Hoon Cheng,were arrested under the ISA. Tan was released less than 24 hours later and Kok was released after one week. Raja Petra is currently is serving a two-year detention order.
Abdullah, however, was non committal when responding to Ambiga's appeal, but hinted that the law will not be abolished.
"I am happy to hear that she raised this issue without fear or favour. As the Home Minister, I have discharged my responsibility without fear or favour," said Abdullah in his keynote address.
Late last year, Abdullah as the Home Minister ordered the detention of five Hindraf leaders after they led a street protest in Kuala Lumpur demanding the government stop discriminating against the Indian community.
On his pledge to reform the judiciary, Abdullah said the plan to form the Judicial Appointment Commission is on track.
"Work on the relevant legislation is progressing well and the government aims to table the relevant legislation to establish the commission by the end of the year," he added.
And it's not of Willie Nelson's kind.
I get the feeling people are less sincere nowadays
I'm talking about Malaysians in general
People just talk and talk
They don't intend to walk that talk
So inside me I ask:
Then why bother?
(The talking, I mean!)
So I like to wander
pondering
wondering
the big and small why
People just open the BIG mouth
and babble on and on
about the problems besetting the country
but that's all they do
pontificating
giing 2sen plus one more sen
of their mental greatness
But when pressed to take part in
any initiative
to try tackle any social
even national
problem
like "Abolish ISA"
or fighting injustices in general
"No-lah, I don't have the time
You people go ahead-lah!"
Stock replies
Then they adjourn to the stockmarket air-con
environ to place more bets
That's quite common nowadays
I mean my wandering
and wondering
What led my NegaraKu-ians to this
state of affairs?
Lousy leaders?
Poor education system?
Or we have all succumbed to that spiral
of effects and CON
because of the ****BIG C?
Dear EsteemedReaders, YOU TELL DESI!
**** The number one problem besetting the country that Leaders
cuntinude to talk about. It's like what UMNO's disciplne bigshot
Rithauddeen was din-ing about, the big C besieging his party,
especially the past TWO DECADES -- da BIG C getting worse with each party erection
-- Ooops, election, according to Rithauddeen, not Desi.
Come on, dear ER, please tell me, What's Da Problem?
DESIDERATA: In context, maybe for the past FIVE YEARS, we had the nation's CEO for
over-talking and under-delivering ...
Desi's last challenge -- CAN HE DELIVER ON JUST ONE LAST ACT?
From The Malaysian Insider, someone reads my mind:)
Ambiga pleads for ISA repeal
By Adib Zalkapli
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 – Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan made an impassioned plea today to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi to abolish the Internal Security Act before he leaves office next year.
"Prime Minister, while it may still be in your means to do so, and as a historic legacy to this nation that both you and I love, I ask you, on behalf of all right thinking Malaysians and on behalf of the legal fraternity of Malaysia, to move to abolish the ISA," Ambiga said in her speech at the opening of the 21st Lawasia Conference here.
She said the enforcement of the ISA had diverted from the original intention for which it was enacted.
"One can see how far we have strayed from the original intent of the ISA when a blogger, a politician, a journalist and a civil society organiser can, independently of each other, be seen as threats to national security," said Ambiga referring to recent ISA arrests.
In September, blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, lawmaker Teresa Kok and Sin Chew Daily journalist Tan Hoon Cheng,were arrested under the ISA. Tan was released less than 24 hours later and Kok was released after one week. Raja Petra is currently is serving a two-year detention order.
Abdullah, however, was non committal when responding to Ambiga's appeal, but hinted that the law will not be abolished.
"I am happy to hear that she raised this issue without fear or favour. As the Home Minister, I have discharged my responsibility without fear or favour," said Abdullah in his keynote address.
Late last year, Abdullah as the Home Minister ordered the detention of five Hindraf leaders after they led a street protest in Kuala Lumpur demanding the government stop discriminating against the Indian community.
On his pledge to reform the judiciary, Abdullah said the plan to form the Judicial Appointment Commission is on track.
"Work on the relevant legislation is progressing well and the government aims to table the relevant legislation to establish the commission by the end of the year," he added.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
From Adelaidenow.com.au, not so lucky news!
Malaysia the neighbouring "lucky" country is privileged to be out of the LIST featuring that Lucky Country where sheep outnumber Homo sapiens and most people are happy all day greAting Thee, a stranger on their shores: G'Dae, mate! (and bump-ing you hard on the back as you've know him/her for a lust century!:). I dunno about the nightz!
For once, not making it to the TOP 5 is a prize! No more comment from Desi as he has many friends Down Under, and this is no laughing matter.:( -- YL Chong
WWF says Australians are world's fifth worst polluters
Article from:
CARA JENKIN, ENVIRONMENT REPORTER
October 29, 2008 10:05am
AUSTRALIANS are now one of the top five polluting and consuming nations in the world, using more of the Earth's resources than ever before.
WWF's biennial Living Planet Report has found Australia has jumped one place in the world rankings of the nations which exploit the environment, entering the top five for the first time.
The report compares a country's ecological footprint, which is the measure of how much of the Earth's land, water and air resources are used and abused.
Australia's position is one place higher than when the survey was last conducted in 2006.
The United Arab Emirates has the worst ecological footprint, but the US is not far behind.
WWF-Australia chief executive Greg Bourne said carbon emissions accounted for much of Australia's footprint.
"We currently have the technology and capital to turn around our destructive excesses - the real question is, do we have the will?" he said.
"Industry and Government must take urgent action to preserve Australia's natural resources that remain."
Each Australian now needs 7.81ha of land to maintain their lifestyle, up from 6.76ha per Australian in 2006.
If everyone in the world lived according to Australia's footprint, more than three planets would be needed to sustain consumption.
The top five countries in order were United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Kuwait, Denmark and Australia.
For once, not making it to the TOP 5 is a prize! No more comment from Desi as he has many friends Down Under, and this is no laughing matter.:( -- YL Chong
WWF says Australians are world's fifth worst polluters
Article from:
CARA JENKIN, ENVIRONMENT REPORTER
October 29, 2008 10:05am
AUSTRALIANS are now one of the top five polluting and consuming nations in the world, using more of the Earth's resources than ever before.
WWF's biennial Living Planet Report has found Australia has jumped one place in the world rankings of the nations which exploit the environment, entering the top five for the first time.
The report compares a country's ecological footprint, which is the measure of how much of the Earth's land, water and air resources are used and abused.
Australia's position is one place higher than when the survey was last conducted in 2006.
The United Arab Emirates has the worst ecological footprint, but the US is not far behind.
WWF-Australia chief executive Greg Bourne said carbon emissions accounted for much of Australia's footprint.
"We currently have the technology and capital to turn around our destructive excesses - the real question is, do we have the will?" he said.
"Industry and Government must take urgent action to preserve Australia's natural resources that remain."
Each Australian now needs 7.81ha of land to maintain their lifestyle, up from 6.76ha per Australian in 2006.
If everyone in the world lived according to Australia's footprint, more than three planets would be needed to sustain consumption.
The top five countries in order were United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Kuwait, Denmark and Australia.
CSM: zorro sounds the bugle for VIGIL in Seremban!
at DATARAN SEREMBAN PARK, Seremban
on FRIDAY, October 31, 2008 at 8.00PM
in SOLDARITY WITH
"FREE RAJA PETRA KAMARUDIN and ALL ISA DETAINEES" campaign
*a CUT&PASTE from zorro-zorro-unmasked.blogspot.com, but minus the pictorials, so please surf to my buddy Bernard Khoo's blog:)
IT'S SEREMBAN BECKONING.....
Angela Ooi, took this initiative to organise the above. The least we could do is to support this effort. Should you need more details you are free to call her at 019-3628367 (she consented for her # to be published).
CLICK ON MAP TO ENLARGE
Besides the map these are some instructions:
From KL:
Take Exit 218 Seremban.
After toll turn left
Drive on that road and pass 4 traffic lights.
Dataran Seremban Park is on the left after the 4th traffic light.
Get creative on the parking.
From south:
Take Exit 218 Seremban,
Turn left after the toll,
Keep left and U-turn under the bridge.
Drive on that road and pass 5 traffic lights.
Dataran Seremban Park is on the left after the 5th traffic
Angela says that she has informed DAP's reps but have had no response from PKR and PAS. Let's be very clear on one thing. This vigil is not a political initiative. It is a call for the ABOLITION of the ISA. We are aware that there are many in politics who are against this draconian law. This is an opportunity for you to stand shoulder to shoulder with fellow Malahsian in their effort to SAY NO TO ISA.
UPDATE AT 5:48PM
AK said...
It is also convenient to take KTM commuter train to attend the vigil as the train station is only 5 minutes walk distance from the venue.
I will be there.
October 28, 2008 5:13 PM
on FRIDAY, October 31, 2008 at 8.00PM
in SOLDARITY WITH
"FREE RAJA PETRA KAMARUDIN and ALL ISA DETAINEES" campaign
*a CUT&PASTE from zorro-zorro-unmasked.blogspot.com, but minus the pictorials, so please surf to my buddy Bernard Khoo's blog:)
IT'S SEREMBAN BECKONING.....
Angela Ooi, took this initiative to organise the above. The least we could do is to support this effort. Should you need more details you are free to call her at 019-3628367 (she consented for her # to be published).
CLICK ON MAP TO ENLARGE
Besides the map these are some instructions:
From KL:
Take Exit 218 Seremban.
After toll turn left
Drive on that road and pass 4 traffic lights.
Dataran Seremban Park is on the left after the 4th traffic light.
Get creative on the parking.
From south:
Take Exit 218 Seremban,
Turn left after the toll,
Keep left and U-turn under the bridge.
Drive on that road and pass 5 traffic lights.
Dataran Seremban Park is on the left after the 5th traffic
Angela says that she has informed DAP's reps but have had no response from PKR and PAS. Let's be very clear on one thing. This vigil is not a political initiative. It is a call for the ABOLITION of the ISA. We are aware that there are many in politics who are against this draconian law. This is an opportunity for you to stand shoulder to shoulder with fellow Malahsian in their effort to SAY NO TO ISA.
UPDATE AT 5:48PM
AK said...
It is also convenient to take KTM commuter train to attend the vigil as the train station is only 5 minutes walk distance from the venue.
I will be there.
October 28, 2008 5:13 PM
Monday, October 27, 2008
It's 10.46, a special time when I sighted this ***poem
somewhere writ on the shore at Redhead beach
as Time stood still
but the river did not run dry
Cos we have running waters of friendship
that flow on, roll on
till the end of time
Before that
souls destined to will meet
those souls not destined to meet
will then have to settle for second best
reading the lines
writ on the shore
at Redhead beach...
hoping, praying and wishing
destiny's child can round the bend
hopefull the Other to meet
**************************
Once upon a time
down at redhead beach...
was writ:
***~ The Psalm of Life ~
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,Life is but an empty dream!For the soul is dead that slumbers,And things are not what they seem..Life is real! Life is earnest!And the grave is not its goal;Dust thou art, to dust returnest,Was not spoken of the soul..Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,Is our destined end or way;But to act, that each tomorrowFind us farther than today..Art is long, and Time is fleeting,And our hearts, though stout and brave,Still, like muffled drums, are beatingFuneral marches to the grave..In the world's broad field of battle,In the bivouac of Life,Be not dumb, driven cattle!Be a hero in the strife!. Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!Let the dead Past bury its dead!Act,~act in the living Present!Heart within, and God o'erhead!.Lives of great men all remind usWe can make our lives sublime,And, departing, leave behind usFootprints on the sands of time;.Footprints, that perhaps another,Sailing o'er life's solemn main,A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,Seeing, shall take heart again..Let us, then, be up and doing,With a heart for any fate;Still achieving, still pursuing,Learn to labor and to wait.
// posted by sweets
as Time stood still
but the river did not run dry
Cos we have running waters of friendship
that flow on, roll on
till the end of time
Before that
souls destined to will meet
those souls not destined to meet
will then have to settle for second best
reading the lines
writ on the shore
at Redhead beach...
hoping, praying and wishing
destiny's child can round the bend
hopefull the Other to meet
**************************
Once upon a time
down at redhead beach...
was writ:
***~ The Psalm of Life ~
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,Life is but an empty dream!For the soul is dead that slumbers,And things are not what they seem..Life is real! Life is earnest!And the grave is not its goal;Dust thou art, to dust returnest,Was not spoken of the soul..Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,Is our destined end or way;But to act, that each tomorrowFind us farther than today..Art is long, and Time is fleeting,And our hearts, though stout and brave,Still, like muffled drums, are beatingFuneral marches to the grave..In the world's broad field of battle,In the bivouac of Life,Be not dumb, driven cattle!Be a hero in the strife!. Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!Let the dead Past bury its dead!Act,~act in the living Present!Heart within, and God o'erhead!.Lives of great men all remind usWe can make our lives sublime,And, departing, leave behind usFootprints on the sands of time;.Footprints, that perhaps another,Sailing o'er life's solemn main,A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,Seeing, shall take heart again..Let us, then, be up and doing,With a heart for any fate;Still achieving, still pursuing,Learn to labor and to wait.
// posted by sweets
triumph of GOoD over evil wishes
Dear Esteemed Readers of My Blue H'aven
and fRiends of Desi-YL of the HINDU faith:
GREaTINGS!
Keep wellA, may this season of Joy
in the triumph of GOoD over evil see
you and family
blessed with inner
p
e
A
c
e
and serenity within
and composure outward
and felllowship of the right kind be with Thee.
"HAPPY DEEPAVALI!"
Cheers, YL, Desi
********* ************ **************** ***********
Public Holidae Flippancy:)
CREATIVE people like writers, poets and artistes have a common trait callled:
idiosyncrasy
From dictionary.com~~~~~~~
id⋅i⋅o⋅syn⋅cra⋅sy /ˌɪdiəˈsɪŋkrəsi, -ˈsɪn-/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [id-ee-uh-sing-kruh-see, -sin-] Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -sies.
1. id⋅i⋅o⋅syn⋅cra⋅sy /ˌɪdiəˈsɪŋkrəsi, -ˈsɪn-/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [id-ee-uh-sing-kruh-see, -sin-] Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -sies. 1. a characteristic, habit, mannerism, or the like, that is peculiar to an individual.
2. the physical constitution peculiar to an individual.
3. a peculiarity of the physical or the mental constitution, esp. susceptibility toward drugs, food, etc. Compare allergy (def. 1).
Also, idiocrasy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Origin:
1595–1605; < Gk idiosynkrāsía, equiv. to idio- idio- + syn- syn- + krâs(is) a blending + -ia -y 3
id⋅i⋅o⋅syn⋅cra⋅sy /ˌɪdiəˈsɪŋkrəsi, -ˈsɪn-/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [id-ee-uh-sing-kruh-see, -sin-] Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -sies.
1. a characteristic, habit, mannerism, or the like, that is peculiar to an individual.
2. the physical constitution peculiar to an individual.
3. a peculiarity of the physical or the mental constitution, esp. susceptibility toward drugs, food, etc. Compare allergy (def. 1).
Also, idiocrasy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Origin:
1595–1605; < Gk idiosynkrāsía, equiv. to idio- idio- + syn- syn- + krâs(is) a blending + -ia -y 3
One day I arrived home and some hawkeyed family member yes, Homo sapiens, remarked:
"Hey, you have been wandering around town with your T-shirt inside out!"
"Yeah, now it explains why there were several pair of wondering eyes following Desi's footsteps as I danzed across the bar-room except I didn't see Cybill Shepherd among 'em!:)" my dry-rumoured reply.
And I gave me rationale, mousey wan mayhaps:
If people don't raise any eyebrow these teenagers cut holes all over in a new pair of Lee or Levi jeans (not Jeanne, K!) or Tee, before putting tem on -- oh holey coww! your .its are showing! -- strutting to the malls to meet their gf (assuming the wearer is male); or bf (assuming the wearer is female) or neither bf nor gf (assuming the wearer is an exhibitor...), why do peeps google at my inside-out T?
My nieces and nephews -- some Y&As like johnL's league -- have acquired my infamous one-liners. They help Desi fill in the silences at the dinner table so I could extend my second helping of sweet-sour porkleg plus vanishing raddish... Ah, that's the way to a man's tummy when you want him to open his wallet, woman ooouch dare!
As I was saying, creatives -- and Desi being a tiuted poet-aSspirant is one, no?! --
have a habit of doing things unconventional. They call it an idiotic sin crazy; but vvvvvvve call it uniqueNURSE.
Chow, if you see me at any Deepavali open house, and Desi has to take off his shoes, look at my socks -- quite likely one is of paler green than the other:)!
Please be discreet about thy obs -- don't shout like as if Desi has committed a capital sin. Yes, it's idiotic, it's crazy, butt bottomline,it's no sin!
Chow2, cockeyedwan!
and fRiends of Desi-YL of the HINDU faith:
GREaTINGS!
Keep wellA, may this season of Joy
in the triumph of GOoD over evil see
you and family
blessed with inner
p
e
A
c
e
and serenity within
and composure outward
and felllowship of the right kind be with Thee.
"HAPPY DEEPAVALI!"
Cheers, YL, Desi
********* ************ **************** ***********
Public Holidae Flippancy:)
CREATIVE people like writers, poets and artistes have a common trait callled:
idiosyncrasy
From dictionary.com~~~~~~~
id⋅i⋅o⋅syn⋅cra⋅sy /ˌɪdiəˈsɪŋkrəsi, -ˈsɪn-/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [id-ee-uh-sing-kruh-see, -sin-] Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -sies.
1. id⋅i⋅o⋅syn⋅cra⋅sy /ˌɪdiəˈsɪŋkrəsi, -ˈsɪn-/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [id-ee-uh-sing-kruh-see, -sin-] Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -sies. 1. a characteristic, habit, mannerism, or the like, that is peculiar to an individual.
2. the physical constitution peculiar to an individual.
3. a peculiarity of the physical or the mental constitution, esp. susceptibility toward drugs, food, etc. Compare allergy (def. 1).
Also, idiocrasy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Origin:
1595–1605; < Gk idiosynkrāsía, equiv. to idio- idio- + syn- syn- + krâs(is) a blending + -ia -y 3
id⋅i⋅o⋅syn⋅cra⋅sy /ˌɪdiəˈsɪŋkrəsi, -ˈsɪn-/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [id-ee-uh-sing-kruh-see, -sin-] Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -sies.
1. a characteristic, habit, mannerism, or the like, that is peculiar to an individual.
2. the physical constitution peculiar to an individual.
3. a peculiarity of the physical or the mental constitution, esp. susceptibility toward drugs, food, etc. Compare allergy (def. 1).
Also, idiocrasy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Origin:
1595–1605; < Gk idiosynkrāsía, equiv. to idio- idio- + syn- syn- + krâs(is) a blending + -ia -y 3
One day I arrived home and some hawkeyed family member yes, Homo sapiens, remarked:
"Hey, you have been wandering around town with your T-shirt inside out!"
"Yeah, now it explains why there were several pair of wondering eyes following Desi's footsteps as I danzed across the bar-room except I didn't see Cybill Shepherd among 'em!:)" my dry-rumoured reply.
And I gave me rationale, mousey wan mayhaps:
If people don't raise any eyebrow these teenagers cut holes all over in a new pair of Lee or Levi jeans (not Jeanne, K!) or Tee, before putting tem on -- oh holey coww! your .its are showing! -- strutting to the malls to meet their gf (assuming the wearer is male); or bf (assuming the wearer is female) or neither bf nor gf (assuming the wearer is an exhibitor...), why do peeps google at my inside-out T?
My nieces and nephews -- some Y&As like johnL's league -- have acquired my infamous one-liners. They help Desi fill in the silences at the dinner table so I could extend my second helping of sweet-sour porkleg plus vanishing raddish... Ah, that's the way to a man's tummy when you want him to open his wallet, woman ooouch dare!
As I was saying, creatives -- and Desi being a tiuted poet-aSspirant is one, no?! --
have a habit of doing things unconventional. They call it an idiotic sin crazy; but vvvvvvve call it uniqueNURSE.
Chow, if you see me at any Deepavali open house, and Desi has to take off his shoes, look at my socks -- quite likely one is of paler green than the other:)!
Please be discreet about thy obs -- don't shout like as if Desi has committed a capital sin. Yes, it's idiotic, it's crazy, butt bottomline,it's no sin!
Chow2, cockeyedwan!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Pearls of Wisdom
and the one about TRUTH.
"If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor." ~~~~~~~ Albert Einstein
This Sunday or Deepavali morning I promised to deliver a piece of writing to a sponSIR! As a responsible SIR myself, I believe a gentleman's word is his bond -- I don't know about gentlewomen, ladies or girls, never been one myself:) -- so today I'm keeping my word.
I'd just completed three months of intensive English tuition to two lucky Furongites -- or should it read unlucky? -- at pre-University level. Such willing guinea pigs are "rare" to find, but they taste exquisite as it offered me a chance to experiment with new teaching methods. I used the word "rare" because I'm forward looking to the continental dinner they are gifting me tonight, and I can alread visualise the succulent roast lamb. It was at the famous "Coliseum" in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman that I learnt the word "rare" to describe a piece of an English goat still dripping with blood that the Mat Salleh and mad sally enjoy attacking as "food". And the gall they had putting up signs like "Chinamen and dogs not allowed" at eating establishments defined Colonial.
That was a "long" Intro which is equivalent to an Entree, and you know Desi's routine is to have a CON BF-- continental breakfast on this special day. So it's a bonus today -- no, not to-die the Oz way as I'm not going down under a-Long with the rest of the world's stockmarkets!:(
****************** PEARLS SHARING STARTS HERE, Leave that dinner plate aLONE! ******************
What "images" does the word "pearl" stir up in thy mind, dear EsteemedReader?
Okay, first the definition according to the dictionary.com~~~~~~~
pearl - 19 dictionary results
Sponsored Links Pearl Necklace Supplier
http://www.pearlnecklacecenter.com/
http://www.pearl-necklace-jewelry.com/
–noun
1. a smooth, rounded bead formed within the shells of certain mollusks and composed of the mineral aragonite or calcite in a matrix, deposited in concentric layers as a protective coating around an irritating foreign object: valued as a gem when lustrous and finely colored. Compare cultured pearl.
2. something resembling this, as various synthetic substances for use in costume jewelry.
3. something similar in form, luster, etc., as a dewdrop or a capsule of medicine.
4. something precious or choice; the finest example of anything: pearls of wisdom.
5. a very pale gray approaching white but commonly with a bluish tinge.
6. mother-of-pearl: a pearl-handled revolver.
7. Printing. a 5-point type.
8. Also called epithelial pearl. Pathology. a rounded mass of keratin occurring in certain carcinomas of the skin.
Some potential answers about the "images" are:
* Coming/kambing from PENANG, you almighty proud one would exclaim: My island in the sun -- Pearl of the Orient -- Pulau Pinang!
** For biblical minded teachers, they warn you about "ingrates":
Don't throw pearls at swine!
*** For movie-goers like me, I remember with nostalgia PEARL HARBOUR. Can you recite or sing the lyrics to the theme song -- "There I'll Be"?
**** For today, I'm zeroing on a special kind of pearls. The one that won many a lad (like Desi?) a fair maiden's heART!
A few weeks ago, I received an interesting offer via Email from a gal named G.G. (my 7rh sense says it's a female; IF I"M WRONG, Gigi please forgift me wit' another string. My early Blog readers would know by now I've often dreamt of owning an I-land for a kingdom -- so if someone is offering Desi pearldom for now, why refuse?
Hence, now starts the post Body I'm alternatively sub-titling as:
Explore Your World of Pearls of Wisdom OR Vicedom!
This is a half-FUNd post as it is sponSIRed as I wrote in the Intro. More on the Truth of the matter, now let's deal with PEARLS. As for Penangites, it's not about your self-centred pearl of the Orient! The Malaysian world does not revolve around the DAP-led island in the northern sun, though I enjoy your oily charkeowteow and its swinging gals -- non-Sarong, for those hail hearty from the little dot south of Johore's border where lots of SIN-ing, SING-ing or SINGE-ing go on, I'm democratic, take your pick! -- with pearly-white teeth:)
Yes, SIR, because I am a wordsmith building up quite (a word which can mean a little, of medium quantity, or plenty!) a reputation in Blogophere, I was contacted to write a 300-wordpost. If I write directly in plain English, you would just skimp over my copy; if I add in some Da Desi Code (DDC), -- which endearment mGf Helen gifted me on my birddae! -- it may gift thee the codeINE for thy headache. And I know many of you are getting headches nowadays with rising fuel and food prices, falling wages and faling stock prices! If you don't understand half of what I have writ thus far, go consult Albert Einstein via Google, for in deed,it's a challenge in life to nail down any TRUTH of the matter! More or aMore of this later, I promise:), wit' Desi's trademarked s-mile seen miles away.
Now, to the core of the matter at hand, or aptly, at heART!:)
**********************************
WHY did I respond to this request from G.G. to write a sponSIRed post?
Ah, it was a moment of charity, I was on a HI! Also, GG, she was so persuasive, especially with his/her prompt responses to my emails. I WAS, AND REMAIN, IMPRESSED BY HER SUPER-SWIFT FOLLOW-UP, A PRE-REQUISITE IN MY VOCABULARY FOR ANY SERVICE SECTOR TO SUCCEEED!
Now I quote an excerpt from
"The Simple Truths of Service"
By Ken Blanchard and Barbara Glanz
"Years ago you could abuse customers and they had no choice. There was nobody else doing your business. Today things are very different. If you don't take care of your customers, somebody is waiting, ready and willing to do it.
Today your competitive advantage is not the quality of your product or service. If you don't have a high quality product or service, you're not even in the game. Your competitive edge today cannot be your price, because someone can always undercut your price. What you need is a fair price. The real competitive edge you have today is how you treat your customers. The one thing your competition can't take away from you is the relationship your people have with your customers. "
G.G. bult up an instant rapport with me -- Desiderata of all people not inclined to Email offers, having been recipient of thousands of offers from princes, tycoons and inheritors of all sorts of fortunes amounting to USD-...millions to share with me, a "stranger" -- it must be a "super-moron" who falls for these Nigerian scams!
So my first real pearl of wisdom to share today -- THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH IN THIS WORLD!
As I was saying, I was huegly impressed by G.G.'s swipt communication via Email and followup action, via postal service, from the first word GO! I received 21 lovely sparkling shining globes stringed on a chain held together by gold-coloured 21-karat jewels (in Desi's eyes, OK!), encased in a chestnut-coloured 2" by 2" by 1/2" box. Like the one you see Johnny Depp whould throw at you at the end of the world following a Carribean outing, but that is, if you have an actor's wilde imagination like Desi! Hollywood trail, remember?
I surfed over via the LINK provided --and hey presto!, you now have a ready source for GIFTS ideas for your loved ones for all the VIP occasions!:)
Today is DEEPAVALI eve -- a festival for Hindus to mark the triumph of GOoD over evil -- it may be a li'l late to buy a necklace or bracelet or band for your girl friend or wife, but you can always plan for next year to gift her a charming "black pearl necklace" plus a pair of exquisite pearl ear-rings to double her bliss! ~~ http://www.pearlnecklacecenter.com/earrings_det_01.htm
The season of GOoDwill internationale is fast approaching -- yes, December 25 is just about two short months away, and it's soon gonna be Bonus time! -- so try to lift her off her feet adorning her with an akoya pearl necklace for starters? http://www.pearlnecklacecenter.com/necklace_det_01.htm
Genuine, all the way from Japan. OR double her bliss, gift her a freshwater pearl necklace ~~~~~~~ http://www.pearlnecklacecenter.com/pearl_necklaces.htm
And the result is you will forever treasure when your darling sweetheART would jump for joy and give Thee that loving kiss -- make it two! -- under the mistletoe so-ON!:) at CHRISTMAS and the NEW YEAR (2009)... when you give her any of these pearls wrapped wit' thy LOVE in a chestnut-coloured box of surprise!
________________________________
From physical pearls, let me close going back to the starting block, and share some more discerning pearls of wisom with my faithful readers:)
Fredrick Nietzsche Quote
1. In the beginning was nonsense, and the nonsense was with God, and the nonsense was God.
Mark Twain Quote
2. Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
Albert Einstein Quotes
3. Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.
4. I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.
Plato Quote
5. One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.
Winston Churchill Quote
6. If you are going through hell, keep going.
7. Yes, that's the one right at the beginning!
"If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor." ~~~~~~~ Albert Einstein
So as to the Truth about pearls, don't take Desi's word for it; I quote from the famous ones for their pearls of wisdom. An for natural or cultured pearls, get the Truth of the gems from the sponSIR!:)
I have tried to fathom the wisdom of man's search for happiness on Earth, and I have not arrived at any set of criteria to fulfill the DesiderataOfHappiness. But for certain, don't wait for the sext World War as Einstein has warned "... World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." It's better to preach the message of peace and hope and joy. And what better way to do it but by giving him/her a SIRprise gift of pearl plus wisdom of thy heART!
So I can safely say, but summarise via a poem as a CONCLUSION (Hey, all writings must have an Intro, Body and a Con......., I remind my obedient students!) to all the female youngOnes and notsoYoung -- and to the males, including Desi, a sweetREmindER!:(
but always YoungAtHeart:)
While Diamonds are a girl's/woman's best friend
Pearls are the way to her heART
So a final, parting word from Desi, poet-aSsiprant
who hence knows aMore than the average Joe
the ways to a lady's inner orb of Joy
Gift your lay love a pearl necklace at her next birthday
She'll swoon over your body, oh Boy!
and demand another one, one more bracelet, band of Pearl
for any other anniversay day
And that's good
It will put both loved birds in the mood
"If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor." ~~~~~~~ Albert Einstein
This Sunday or Deepavali morning I promised to deliver a piece of writing to a sponSIR! As a responsible SIR myself, I believe a gentleman's word is his bond -- I don't know about gentlewomen, ladies or girls, never been one myself:) -- so today I'm keeping my word.
I'd just completed three months of intensive English tuition to two lucky Furongites -- or should it read unlucky? -- at pre-University level. Such willing guinea pigs are "rare" to find, but they taste exquisite as it offered me a chance to experiment with new teaching methods. I used the word "rare" because I'm forward looking to the continental dinner they are gifting me tonight, and I can alread visualise the succulent roast lamb. It was at the famous "Coliseum" in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman that I learnt the word "rare" to describe a piece of an English goat still dripping with blood that the Mat Salleh and mad sally enjoy attacking as "food". And the gall they had putting up signs like "Chinamen and dogs not allowed" at eating establishments defined Colonial.
That was a "long" Intro which is equivalent to an Entree, and you know Desi's routine is to have a CON BF-- continental breakfast on this special day. So it's a bonus today -- no, not to-die the Oz way as I'm not going down under a-Long with the rest of the world's stockmarkets!:(
****************** PEARLS SHARING STARTS HERE, Leave that dinner plate aLONE! ******************
What "images" does the word "pearl" stir up in thy mind, dear EsteemedReader?
Okay, first the definition according to the dictionary.com~~~~~~~
pearl - 19 dictionary results
Sponsored Links Pearl Necklace Supplier
http://www.pearlnecklacecenter.com/
http://www.pearl-necklace-jewelry.com/
–noun
1. a smooth, rounded bead formed within the shells of certain mollusks and composed of the mineral aragonite or calcite in a matrix, deposited in concentric layers as a protective coating around an irritating foreign object: valued as a gem when lustrous and finely colored. Compare cultured pearl.
2. something resembling this, as various synthetic substances for use in costume jewelry.
3. something similar in form, luster, etc., as a dewdrop or a capsule of medicine.
4. something precious or choice; the finest example of anything: pearls of wisdom.
5. a very pale gray approaching white but commonly with a bluish tinge.
6. mother-of-pearl: a pearl-handled revolver.
7. Printing. a 5-point type.
8. Also called epithelial pearl. Pathology. a rounded mass of keratin occurring in certain carcinomas of the skin.
Some potential answers about the "images" are:
* Coming/kambing from PENANG, you almighty proud one would exclaim: My island in the sun -- Pearl of the Orient -- Pulau Pinang!
** For biblical minded teachers, they warn you about "ingrates":
Don't throw pearls at swine!
*** For movie-goers like me, I remember with nostalgia PEARL HARBOUR. Can you recite or sing the lyrics to the theme song -- "There I'll Be"?
**** For today, I'm zeroing on a special kind of pearls. The one that won many a lad (like Desi?) a fair maiden's heART!
A few weeks ago, I received an interesting offer via Email from a gal named G.G. (my 7rh sense says it's a female; IF I"M WRONG, Gigi please forgift me wit' another string. My early Blog readers would know by now I've often dreamt of owning an I-land for a kingdom -- so if someone is offering Desi pearldom for now, why refuse?
Hence, now starts the post Body I'm alternatively sub-titling as:
Explore Your World of Pearls of Wisdom OR Vicedom!
This is a half-FUNd post as it is sponSIRed as I wrote in the Intro. More on the Truth of the matter, now let's deal with PEARLS. As for Penangites, it's not about your self-centred pearl of the Orient! The Malaysian world does not revolve around the DAP-led island in the northern sun, though I enjoy your oily charkeowteow and its swinging gals -- non-Sarong, for those hail hearty from the little dot south of Johore's border where lots of SIN-ing, SING-ing or SINGE-ing go on, I'm democratic, take your pick! -- with pearly-white teeth:)
Yes, SIR, because I am a wordsmith building up quite (a word which can mean a little, of medium quantity, or plenty!) a reputation in Blogophere, I was contacted to write a 300-wordpost. If I write directly in plain English, you would just skimp over my copy; if I add in some Da Desi Code (DDC), -- which endearment mGf Helen gifted me on my birddae! -- it may gift thee the codeINE for thy headache. And I know many of you are getting headches nowadays with rising fuel and food prices, falling wages and faling stock prices! If you don't understand half of what I have writ thus far, go consult Albert Einstein via Google, for in deed,it's a challenge in life to nail down any TRUTH of the matter! More or aMore of this later, I promise:), wit' Desi's trademarked s-mile seen miles away.
Now, to the core of the matter at hand, or aptly, at heART!:)
**********************************
WHY did I respond to this request from G.G. to write a sponSIRed post?
Ah, it was a moment of charity, I was on a HI! Also, GG, she was so persuasive, especially with his/her prompt responses to my emails. I WAS, AND REMAIN, IMPRESSED BY HER SUPER-SWIFT FOLLOW-UP, A PRE-REQUISITE IN MY VOCABULARY FOR ANY SERVICE SECTOR TO SUCCEEED!
Now I quote an excerpt from
"The Simple Truths of Service"
By Ken Blanchard and Barbara Glanz
"Years ago you could abuse customers and they had no choice. There was nobody else doing your business. Today things are very different. If you don't take care of your customers, somebody is waiting, ready and willing to do it.
Today your competitive advantage is not the quality of your product or service. If you don't have a high quality product or service, you're not even in the game. Your competitive edge today cannot be your price, because someone can always undercut your price. What you need is a fair price. The real competitive edge you have today is how you treat your customers. The one thing your competition can't take away from you is the relationship your people have with your customers. "
G.G. bult up an instant rapport with me -- Desiderata of all people not inclined to Email offers, having been recipient of thousands of offers from princes, tycoons and inheritors of all sorts of fortunes amounting to USD-...millions to share with me, a "stranger" -- it must be a "super-moron" who falls for these Nigerian scams!
So my first real pearl of wisdom to share today -- THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH IN THIS WORLD!
As I was saying, I was huegly impressed by G.G.'s swipt communication via Email and followup action, via postal service, from the first word GO! I received 21 lovely sparkling shining globes stringed on a chain held together by gold-coloured 21-karat jewels (in Desi's eyes, OK!), encased in a chestnut-coloured 2" by 2" by 1/2" box. Like the one you see Johnny Depp whould throw at you at the end of the world following a Carribean outing, but that is, if you have an actor's wilde imagination like Desi! Hollywood trail, remember?
I surfed over via the LINK provided --and hey presto!, you now have a ready source for GIFTS ideas for your loved ones for all the VIP occasions!:)
Today is DEEPAVALI eve -- a festival for Hindus to mark the triumph of GOoD over evil -- it may be a li'l late to buy a necklace or bracelet or band for your girl friend or wife, but you can always plan for next year to gift her a charming "black pearl necklace" plus a pair of exquisite pearl ear-rings to double her bliss! ~~ http://www.pearlnecklacecenter.com/earrings_det_01.htm
The season of GOoDwill internationale is fast approaching -- yes, December 25 is just about two short months away, and it's soon gonna be Bonus time! -- so try to lift her off her feet adorning her with an akoya pearl necklace for starters? http://www.pearlnecklacecenter.com/necklace_det_01.htm
Genuine, all the way from Japan. OR double her bliss, gift her a freshwater pearl necklace ~~~~~~~ http://www.pearlnecklacecenter.com/pearl_necklaces.htm
And the result is you will forever treasure when your darling sweetheART would jump for joy and give Thee that loving kiss -- make it two! -- under the mistletoe so-ON!:) at CHRISTMAS and the NEW YEAR (2009)... when you give her any of these pearls wrapped wit' thy LOVE in a chestnut-coloured box of surprise!
________________________________
From physical pearls, let me close going back to the starting block, and share some more discerning pearls of wisom with my faithful readers:)
Fredrick Nietzsche Quote
1. In the beginning was nonsense, and the nonsense was with God, and the nonsense was God.
Mark Twain Quote
2. Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
Albert Einstein Quotes
3. Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.
4. I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.
Plato Quote
5. One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.
Winston Churchill Quote
6. If you are going through hell, keep going.
7. Yes, that's the one right at the beginning!
"If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor." ~~~~~~~ Albert Einstein
So as to the Truth about pearls, don't take Desi's word for it; I quote from the famous ones for their pearls of wisdom. An for natural or cultured pearls, get the Truth of the gems from the sponSIR!:)
I have tried to fathom the wisdom of man's search for happiness on Earth, and I have not arrived at any set of criteria to fulfill the DesiderataOfHappiness. But for certain, don't wait for the sext World War as Einstein has warned "... World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." It's better to preach the message of peace and hope and joy. And what better way to do it but by giving him/her a SIRprise gift of pearl plus wisdom of thy heART!
So I can safely say, but summarise via a poem as a CONCLUSION (Hey, all writings must have an Intro, Body and a Con......., I remind my obedient students!) to all the female youngOnes and notsoYoung -- and to the males, including Desi, a sweetREmindER!:(
but always YoungAtHeart:)
While Diamonds are a girl's/woman's best friend
Pearls are the way to her heART
So a final, parting word from Desi, poet-aSsiprant
who hence knows aMore than the average Joe
the ways to a lady's inner orb of Joy
Gift your lay love a pearl necklace at her next birthday
She'll swoon over your body, oh Boy!
and demand another one, one more bracelet, band of Pearl
for any other anniversay day
And that's good
It will put both loved birds in the mood
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Stock-taking time/s (IV)
I was having tea with a few buddies reviewing the economic panic gripping the world, and Malaysia is not spared, so my business friends in the group expressed concern, saying that many of their business friends are feeling edgy and panicky, especially those who hold substantial shares in the listed companies on Bursa Malaysia.
Generally we are in agreement that being a "tortoise" instead of among the hares running in the frontpack (like Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan) turns out to be a "blessing in disguise" for Malaysia in that Bursa Malaysia's exchange fell in smaller quantums that the rest in the region for the moment, but in the longer term, the local bourse too is subject to "jittery" investors, and the average Joe may just "cash out", pulling the depressed market further down the slide. What this "tortoise" analogy translates into is that the "pain" that has befallen other stockmarkets with immediate effect and in greater magnitude has been spared Malaysia. But if the worldwide "depression" comes about as predicted by the less optimistic US analysts, Malaysia's pain will still finally befall NegaraKu -- perhaps some few months (like 3-6?) later!
So how low can the Bursa Malaysia limbo bar drop?
Based on my business journalist's experience, if what the pessimistic business anaylsts in the US are saying, essentially that the current "Once-in-a-Century Happening" now hammering the US and European stockmarkets and the people be prepared for a depression in the league of the 1929 US "Great Depression", then the Malaysian market would see a down trend for the next six months to a year, and a low of KLCI touching 400 points cannot be ruled out.
Of course if our nation's leaders continue to live in "denial" because of political factors, then the pain will be deeper and faster.
And do we have a solution?
How about giving SD ANWAR IBRAHIM a chance to demonstrate what he can achieve -- which means that the UMNO-led government headed by DS Abdullah Ahmad Badawi must give way to Pakatan Rakyat instead of an UMNO-determined handover to Najib Razak. The less said about this last mentioned scenario the better, because there is nothing positive to say. Desi's principle is that if you have nothing positive to say, PLAYING MUM'S THE BLESSED WORD!
In concluson, I can just quote this phrase: BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH. THat's when Najib is about to take/takes over from Pak Lah. From half-asleep leader to another in "denial" -- HOBSON's CHOICE!
News.com.au Top stories
Global stock prices fall after panic selling
From correspondents in New York
Agence France-Presse
October 25, 2008 07:42am
Panic selling drives down global markets
Analysts tipping global recession closer
Wall St closed down 3.59 per cent, Tokyo 9.6 per cent
GLOBAL stocks tumbled overnight amid a panic-driven market rout, on rising fears of a world recession that would hurt a wide range of industries.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 312.30 points or 3.59 per cent to close at 8378.95, in a volatile session that saw the blue-chip index down as much as 500 points.
The market action capped a week with a drop of more than five per cent for the benchmark Wall Street index.
But New York escaped the meltdown some markets experienced, such as the 9.6 per cent Tokyo plunge and losses of around 5.0 per cent in Europe.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 51.88 points or 3.23 per cent to 1552.03, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 31.34 points or 3.45 per cent to 876.77.
The losses came amid a wave of panic in markets around the world as mounting evidence signalled that major economies are heading for recession from a credit crunch and banking crisis.
The rout came on “fears of global recession weighing heavily on company profits”, according to Jason Kunkel at Moody's Economy.com.
Al Goldman at Wachovia Securities said the plunge was the result of forced selling by hedge funds that are using borrowed cash and which must meet redemptions.
“The main cause is that hedge funds are being forced to liquidate positions because they are so leveraged due to credit default swaps,” he said.
“Estimates run to 30 to 40 times leveraged. This is forced selling, not an investment judgment call.”
Others said the crisis was deepening.
“We have now reached a point where fundamentals and long-term valuation considerations do not matter any more for financial markets,” said economist Nouriel Roubini at New York University.
“What matters now is only flows – rather than stocks and fundamentals – and flows are unidirectional as everyone is selling and no one is buying as trying to buy equities is like catching a falling knife.”
The global slide came after a profit warning from Japanese electronics giant Sony and a similar bleak outlook from US tech giant Microsoft.
French auto giants PSA Peugeot-Citroen and Renault ordered huge production cuts, while Europe's biggest airline Air France-KLM issued a profit warnings.
Chrysler, the number three US automaker, meanwhile said it would cut up to 5,000 administrative and temporary jobs by the end of the year.
Still, some analysts said the market may be getting close to the so-called capitulation that shakes out the last of the sellers.
“The worse and more volatile it gets, the closer the market is to a bottom and a turn,” said Bob Dickey at RBC Wealth Management.
“Markets do not bottom on good news. They bottom when the news is not only bad, but the expectations are even worse.”
Among stocks in focus, Citigroup slid 7.40 per cent to $US12.14 and Bank of America shed 8.39 per cent to $US21.07 as the banking sector took the brunt of the market turmoil.
National City Corp, a struggling regional banking group, fell 24.36 per cent to $US2.08 after agreeing to be taken over for $US5.6 billion ($A8.3 billion) by PNC Bank, up 4.57 per cent at $US59.48.
Oil giant ExxonMobil lost 0.44 per cent to $US70.08 and rival Chevron skidded 3.15 per cent to $US64.67 amid a further drop in crude oil prices, which fell as low as $US61 a barrel in London.
Microsoft lost 1.61 per cent to $US21.96 after the biggest software maker met a profit forecast but offered a weak outlook due to an uncertain global economy.
Bonds offered no relief for the market. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond rose to 3.697 per cent from 3.534 per cent yesterday and that on the 30-year bond increased to 4.087 per cent against 3.969 per cent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
The market action capped a week with a drop of more than five per cent for the benchmark Wall Street index.
But New York escaped the meltdown some markets experienced, such as the 9.6 per cent Tokyo plunge and losses of around 5.0 per cent in Europe.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 51.88 points or 3.23 per cent to 1552.03, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 31.34 points or 3.45 per cent to 876.77.
The losses came amid a wave of panic in markets around the world as mounting evidence signalled that major economies are heading for recession from a credit crunch and banking crisis.
Generally we are in agreement that being a "tortoise" instead of among the hares running in the frontpack (like Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan) turns out to be a "blessing in disguise" for Malaysia in that Bursa Malaysia's exchange fell in smaller quantums that the rest in the region for the moment, but in the longer term, the local bourse too is subject to "jittery" investors, and the average Joe may just "cash out", pulling the depressed market further down the slide. What this "tortoise" analogy translates into is that the "pain" that has befallen other stockmarkets with immediate effect and in greater magnitude has been spared Malaysia. But if the worldwide "depression" comes about as predicted by the less optimistic US analysts, Malaysia's pain will still finally befall NegaraKu -- perhaps some few months (like 3-6?) later!
So how low can the Bursa Malaysia limbo bar drop?
Based on my business journalist's experience, if what the pessimistic business anaylsts in the US are saying, essentially that the current "Once-in-a-Century Happening" now hammering the US and European stockmarkets and the people be prepared for a depression in the league of the 1929 US "Great Depression", then the Malaysian market would see a down trend for the next six months to a year, and a low of KLCI touching 400 points cannot be ruled out.
Of course if our nation's leaders continue to live in "denial" because of political factors, then the pain will be deeper and faster.
And do we have a solution?
How about giving SD ANWAR IBRAHIM a chance to demonstrate what he can achieve -- which means that the UMNO-led government headed by DS Abdullah Ahmad Badawi must give way to Pakatan Rakyat instead of an UMNO-determined handover to Najib Razak. The less said about this last mentioned scenario the better, because there is nothing positive to say. Desi's principle is that if you have nothing positive to say, PLAYING MUM'S THE BLESSED WORD!
In concluson, I can just quote this phrase: BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH. THat's when Najib is about to take/takes over from Pak Lah. From half-asleep leader to another in "denial" -- HOBSON's CHOICE!
News.com.au Top stories
Global stock prices fall after panic selling
From correspondents in New York
Agence France-Presse
October 25, 2008 07:42am
Panic selling drives down global markets
Analysts tipping global recession closer
Wall St closed down 3.59 per cent, Tokyo 9.6 per cent
GLOBAL stocks tumbled overnight amid a panic-driven market rout, on rising fears of a world recession that would hurt a wide range of industries.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 312.30 points or 3.59 per cent to close at 8378.95, in a volatile session that saw the blue-chip index down as much as 500 points.
The market action capped a week with a drop of more than five per cent for the benchmark Wall Street index.
But New York escaped the meltdown some markets experienced, such as the 9.6 per cent Tokyo plunge and losses of around 5.0 per cent in Europe.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 51.88 points or 3.23 per cent to 1552.03, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 31.34 points or 3.45 per cent to 876.77.
The losses came amid a wave of panic in markets around the world as mounting evidence signalled that major economies are heading for recession from a credit crunch and banking crisis.
The rout came on “fears of global recession weighing heavily on company profits”, according to Jason Kunkel at Moody's Economy.com.
Al Goldman at Wachovia Securities said the plunge was the result of forced selling by hedge funds that are using borrowed cash and which must meet redemptions.
“The main cause is that hedge funds are being forced to liquidate positions because they are so leveraged due to credit default swaps,” he said.
“Estimates run to 30 to 40 times leveraged. This is forced selling, not an investment judgment call.”
Others said the crisis was deepening.
“We have now reached a point where fundamentals and long-term valuation considerations do not matter any more for financial markets,” said economist Nouriel Roubini at New York University.
“What matters now is only flows – rather than stocks and fundamentals – and flows are unidirectional as everyone is selling and no one is buying as trying to buy equities is like catching a falling knife.”
The global slide came after a profit warning from Japanese electronics giant Sony and a similar bleak outlook from US tech giant Microsoft.
French auto giants PSA Peugeot-Citroen and Renault ordered huge production cuts, while Europe's biggest airline Air France-KLM issued a profit warnings.
Chrysler, the number three US automaker, meanwhile said it would cut up to 5,000 administrative and temporary jobs by the end of the year.
Still, some analysts said the market may be getting close to the so-called capitulation that shakes out the last of the sellers.
“The worse and more volatile it gets, the closer the market is to a bottom and a turn,” said Bob Dickey at RBC Wealth Management.
“Markets do not bottom on good news. They bottom when the news is not only bad, but the expectations are even worse.”
Among stocks in focus, Citigroup slid 7.40 per cent to $US12.14 and Bank of America shed 8.39 per cent to $US21.07 as the banking sector took the brunt of the market turmoil.
National City Corp, a struggling regional banking group, fell 24.36 per cent to $US2.08 after agreeing to be taken over for $US5.6 billion ($A8.3 billion) by PNC Bank, up 4.57 per cent at $US59.48.
Oil giant ExxonMobil lost 0.44 per cent to $US70.08 and rival Chevron skidded 3.15 per cent to $US64.67 amid a further drop in crude oil prices, which fell as low as $US61 a barrel in London.
Microsoft lost 1.61 per cent to $US21.96 after the biggest software maker met a profit forecast but offered a weak outlook due to an uncertain global economy.
Bonds offered no relief for the market. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond rose to 3.697 per cent from 3.534 per cent yesterday and that on the 30-year bond increased to 4.087 per cent against 3.969 per cent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
The market action capped a week with a drop of more than five per cent for the benchmark Wall Street index.
But New York escaped the meltdown some markets experienced, such as the 9.6 per cent Tokyo plunge and losses of around 5.0 per cent in Europe.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 51.88 points or 3.23 per cent to 1552.03, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 31.34 points or 3.45 per cent to 876.77.
The losses came amid a wave of panic in markets around the world as mounting evidence signalled that major economies are heading for recession from a credit crunch and banking crisis.
Stock taking time/s (III)
From The Malaysian Insider:)
Dr M says Umno will lose power because of corruption
By Adib Zalkapli
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said Umno will lose the next General Election if nothing is done to weed out corruption in the party.
“After the defeat there will be no Prime Minister, minister and other positions. No more contracts, APs and licenses. Everyone will suffer, and be insulted by others. And that is the end of Umno,” said the former Prime Minister.
In his latest blog posting he said that he believes that many people are disappointed with money politics in Umno now.
“I know a lot of money is being used. It used to be only the division Youth heads that received the money. But this had resulted in other office bearers of the movement not cooperating. But now everyone can get it and the return is very substantial for the bribers,” said Dr Mahathir.
“The winners can become lawmakers, Exco members, ministers, deputy ministers, parliamentary secretary, chairman of GLCs and receive contracts worth millions of ringgit,” he added.
He said corruption is expected to get worse by March 2009 when the General Assembly begins.
“Looking at the positions being contested, every delegate can receive up to RM20,000,” said Dr Mahathir.
He said that the Barisan Nasional's victory in the 2004 General Election was because the people believed that the new leadership was cleaner than the previous administration, but Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi had failed to walk the talk.
“Between 2004 and 2008, they could see that Abdullah's administration was full of corruption. They noticed the role played by his family members and cronies and also Cabinet members. What they saw convinced them that the administration is not clean. The result can be seen in the 12th General Election,” said Dr Mahathir.
Corruption or money politics is a thorny issue in the Malay nationalist party.
After the last party election in 2004, newly elected vice president Tan Sri Isa Samad was suspended for three years for his involvement in money politics.
Supreme council member, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, who is vying for a vice president's post even suggested that the positions in the party be awarded to the highest bidder, since money politics is so rampant in the party.
At the Umno Supreme Council meeting on Oct 20, the issue was discussed at length and the party's highest decision making body is expected to announce tough measures soon.
DESIDERATA: No comment please, vve are bloggers. Desi is NOT, and never aspires 2B, or knot 2B, an UMNO member. I'd rather be a harmlass, useful 2B pencil, Sir!
Dr M says Umno will lose power because of corruption
By Adib Zalkapli
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said Umno will lose the next General Election if nothing is done to weed out corruption in the party.
“After the defeat there will be no Prime Minister, minister and other positions. No more contracts, APs and licenses. Everyone will suffer, and be insulted by others. And that is the end of Umno,” said the former Prime Minister.
In his latest blog posting he said that he believes that many people are disappointed with money politics in Umno now.
“I know a lot of money is being used. It used to be only the division Youth heads that received the money. But this had resulted in other office bearers of the movement not cooperating. But now everyone can get it and the return is very substantial for the bribers,” said Dr Mahathir.
“The winners can become lawmakers, Exco members, ministers, deputy ministers, parliamentary secretary, chairman of GLCs and receive contracts worth millions of ringgit,” he added.
He said corruption is expected to get worse by March 2009 when the General Assembly begins.
“Looking at the positions being contested, every delegate can receive up to RM20,000,” said Dr Mahathir.
He said that the Barisan Nasional's victory in the 2004 General Election was because the people believed that the new leadership was cleaner than the previous administration, but Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi had failed to walk the talk.
“Between 2004 and 2008, they could see that Abdullah's administration was full of corruption. They noticed the role played by his family members and cronies and also Cabinet members. What they saw convinced them that the administration is not clean. The result can be seen in the 12th General Election,” said Dr Mahathir.
Corruption or money politics is a thorny issue in the Malay nationalist party.
After the last party election in 2004, newly elected vice president Tan Sri Isa Samad was suspended for three years for his involvement in money politics.
Supreme council member, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, who is vying for a vice president's post even suggested that the positions in the party be awarded to the highest bidder, since money politics is so rampant in the party.
At the Umno Supreme Council meeting on Oct 20, the issue was discussed at length and the party's highest decision making body is expected to announce tough measures soon.
DESIDERATA: No comment please, vve are bloggers. Desi is NOT, and never aspires 2B, or knot 2B, an UMNO member. I'd rather be a harmlass, useful 2B pencil, Sir!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Stock-taking time/s (II)
Stocktake * 1 *From NST Online
2008/10/24
Anwar: No hurry to take over govt
By : Joseph Sipalan
KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Rakyat is not in a hurry to take over the government in view of the looming global financial crisis, said opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
"Our priority now is to engage the government so we can ensure measures are in place to safeguard our economy," Anwar said after unveiling PR's recommendations for the 2009 Budget.
When asked about the progress of the opposition coalition's takeover bid, Anwar avoided giving any direct answers.
"I have said enough on the subject. The government has denied us the constitutional and legal options that we proposed," he said.
Anwar also brushed aside talk of the PR's waning momentum in pushing for a takeover, saying that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's successor, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, was weighed down by much controversy.
"To suggest that Najib has consolidated his position, I don't think is quite accurate.
"He may have consolidated his position in Umno, but not in Barisan Nasional or with the rakyat. He still faces serious allegations that need to be cleared.
"We are still considering our other options... there has to be an element of surprise," he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Anwar had said in an interview with Bloomberg that the PR was running out of options to push its takeover bid.
He was quoted as saying that while they still had options available, it was becoming difficult to execute the plans.
DESIDERATA: Yes, DS Anwar Ibrahim -- PM-in-waiting -- seems to be taking stock, as any Opposition Leader worth his salt would.
But read in between the lines ..."...there has to be an element of surprise," he said.
Draw your own conclusion, babe!
Stocktake *** 3 ***
Published: Wednesday October 22, 2008 MYT 1:53:00 PM
Updated: Wednesday October 22, 2008 MYT 2:20:09 PM
Najib accepts Malaysiakini apology (updated)
By LEE YUK PENG
KUALA LUMUR: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has accepted the apology from the editor of Malaysiakini over the online news portal’s report of his fake manifesto.
“The journlist (Wong Choon Mei) who wrote the article has also resigned as a sign ofaccountability over the fake story. This shows high professionalism on her part,” he said Wednesday at a press conference at the Parliament lobby here.
“I am satisfied with the apology from the editor of Malaysiakini and also the journalist who has taken full responsibility over the story.”
Najib, who is also Umno deputy president, said the culprits behind the report are still hiding as no one knows who is responsible.
Asked whether any investigations would be carried out to determine the culprits, Najib also said he would “leave it to the authorities.”
Najib had on Tuesday slammed the fake manifesto attributed to him in an online report, calling it a complete lie and an attempt to tear Malaysia apart.
He was responding to the online report which carried the manifesto. It came from an e-mail from a purported “Najib Support Group.”
The report said it was Najib’s manifesto to back his bid for the Umno presidency.
Najib’s office issued a statement on Monday denying he issued such a manifesto.
DESIDERATA:
Someone is truly taking stock of his morality, and his magnamity knows no bounds, in being so accepting of APologies from MsWong Choon Mei and malaysiakini.com
Reading in-between the lines, what do you make of the following? " the culprits behind the report are still hiding as no one knows who is responsible. and "Najib also said he would “leave it to the authorities.”
Draw your own conclusion, babe!
COMBINED Stocktakes ** 2 ** & **** 4 ****
Thursday October 23, 2008
Musa: Umno has lost its popularity
KUALA LUMPUR: Umno is in dire need of a drastic change and young blood with new ideas are the plausible solution, said former deputy prime minister Tun Musa Hitam.
“I understand that the experience of seniors are needed for top posts like president or vice-president, but other than that, they should choose the younger ones,” he said.
Speaking his mind: Musa (right) speaking during the Bridges – Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace launch while International Peace Foundation chairman Uwe Morawetz looks on in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Speaking his mind: Musa (right) speaking during the Bridges – Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace launch while International Peace Foundation chairman Uwe Morawetz looks on in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Musa said the party had been raising the same issues which were raised 20 or 30 years ago, and bickering about emotional rather than substantial issues, such as the economy.
“Umno is already over 61 years old and is experiencing penyakit tua (old age sickness) which cannot be remedied by senior citizens but rather the younger generation with new ideas,” he said after launching the Bridges “ Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace forum here yesterday.
He also claimed that Umno was “too introverted” by focusing on its own problems and looking for acceptance among its own members, but not the rakyat, whose perceptions would determine its future.
“It is important for Umno to realise that it has lost its popularity because of public opinion.
“The party has many problems that it cannot rectify, like corruption, accountability issues and abuse of power,” he said.
“The new generation will not accept wholesale what politicians are saying because they don’t accept the politicians,” he said.
Musa believed that certain politicians were fighting for their own benefit rather than for the benefit of the larger community.
“What the nation wants is a party that is sensitive to their needs and is one step ahead of the citizens’ thinking,” he said.
“These are hard words, I know, but I will only say it once. When I say it, I mean it and I’ve been thinking long and hard about it,” said Musa.
From malaysia-today.net,
but report is from
- The Singapore Straits Times
'Tis the season for money politics in Umno
Posted by St Low
Friday, 24 October 2008 09:53
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 - To city folk, RM200 to RM300 sounds paltry, but that could be a month's income to a rural odd-job worker. And, according to some Umno politicians, that is all it sometimes takes to buy one vote.
The Umno election season, held once every three years, has come around again or, as some claim, this is the season to make money.
"Make hay while the sun shines," a former Umno Youth leader joked.
The last time Umno's internal elections were held in 2004, a candidate for a key post was widely said to have paid RM1,000 each to many of the 2,000 voting delegates. That's nearly RM2 million spent over a few days to buy votes.
The sad thing is, tales of money flowing to voters at the ongoing divisional meetings are as hotly debated today as the credentials of the candidates.
But the talk of "money politics" - as the vote buying is called - has got Foreign Minister Rais Yatim riled up.
If the scourge of money politics is not curbed, "it would be just better for Umno to have a tender system so that anyone who contributes the highest amount can be a leader", he said.
Rais, now in his 33rd year in politics, is known in Umno as being miserly - a testament to his steadfast refusal to play the money game.
"We have been approached under the cloak of assistance and cloak of contribution. I'm not a player so you don't see my marks going up very high," he said.
He is unlikely to qualify in the race for nominations for one of the three vice-president posts.
An Umno Youth political worker said he has been hearing whispers of vote buying since the party's 191 divisions began meeting from Oct 9 to nominate candidates for the March elections.
He said he heard of representatives of candidates turning up on the eve of divisional meetings to meet delegates. Armed, of course, with envelopes stuffed with RM200 to RM300.
"Some say delegates from brand-name divisions are offered more," he said.
Brand-name divisions are those headed by popular party leaders, such as the Pekan division headed by Deputy Premier Najib Razak.
A nomination from such a division would be read by others, rightly or wrongly, as an endorsement by that leader, although he has nothing to do with what happened. The candidate could then go around claiming he is, for example, on Najib's menu of preferred candidates.
The story mill about vote buying is getting hotter as the heat has been turned on high in this year's elections, even though the process is still only at the divisional level. Umno's 191 divisional meetings comprise delegates from its 19,000 branches.
The branches have completed their meetings, and the divisions are meeting from Oct 9-Nov 9. The election-year meetings sometimes get heated over claims that some attendees who turn up to cast votes are not "real" members.
In Rantau Panjang in Kelantan last weekend, riot police had to intervene to prevent the 400 Umno Youth members from going at one another.
The divisional meetings are all-important because candidates for the top posts must secure a set number of nominations to qualify to contest. Hence, they need to woo delegates - with money as well, if the rumours are to be believed.
And this is just the start. After the nominations are completed, that is when the 2,500 voting delegates to the Umno assembly would be wooed with great intensity.
These delegates come from the divisions, with each sending 13, and are powerful as they are the only ones allowed to vote for the party's top office bearers.
If rumours from the recent past are a guide, paid holidays are said to be popular, especially to the Indonesian destinations of Jakarta, Medan and Bali. There were also stories of bags of cash being carried to the Umno
assembly, and envelopes stuffed with money slipped into the hotel rooms of delegates along with the names of the generous candidates.
These stories are very damaging - and mostly unproven. The highest-profile candidate punished for allegedly paying off delegates for votes in 2004 is former Umno vicepresident Isa Samad. He has served his three-year ban and has again put up his name as a candidate for the vice-president's post.
The Umno election process is closely watched as Malaysia's biggest party is dominant in government. For instance, the recent resurgence of pro-Malay economic policies began at an Umno assembly three years ago,
while judicial reforms were stymied by the party's objections.
Money politics, however, is a very vague term, with many grey areas. There is outright buying of votes, but insiders say that this will hardly work without a more entrenched system of patronage. "You can't just go in and throw money around; it does not work like that," an observer said.
Most top leaders maintain a wide grassroots network, and there are expectations that the ordinary members would be "taken care of". That can range from giving them jobs or contracts, to funding grassroots programmes.
During election season, leaders are expected to pay for delegates' travel expenses, accommodation and food during their campaign rounds. They also pay campaign workers, who may be delegates.
Is this money politics? Most leaders will disagree.
"Will delegates get rich quick? Hardly," said a political aide, arguing that the money gets spent for the campaign.
As the election campaign revs into higher gear, we can expect to hear more whispers and stories.
- The Singapore Straits Times
DESIDERATA:
The highlights were points made by Tun Musa Hitam and Rais Yatim, not sprig chicken by UMNO standards, so their stocktakes must carry weight, NO? UMNO veterans, UMNO putera dan puteri, and UMNOputras?
Musa said the party had been raising the same issues which were raised 20 or 30 years ago, and bickering about emotional rather than substantial issues, such as the economy.
Musa believed that certain politicians were fighting for their own benefit rather than for the benefit of the larger community.
If the scourge of money politics is not curbed, "it would be just better for Umno to have a tender system so that anyone who contributes the highest amount can be a leader", he (Rais Yatim) said.
"We have been approached under the cloak of assistance and cloak of contribution. I'm not a player so you don't see my marks going up very high," he said.
If you were to read the extracts from the two news reports above, what's your conclusion?
Desi's cuntklusion: Hanp up the RIP SIGN, UMNO-oh-No!
2008/10/24
Anwar: No hurry to take over govt
By : Joseph Sipalan
KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Rakyat is not in a hurry to take over the government in view of the looming global financial crisis, said opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
"Our priority now is to engage the government so we can ensure measures are in place to safeguard our economy," Anwar said after unveiling PR's recommendations for the 2009 Budget.
When asked about the progress of the opposition coalition's takeover bid, Anwar avoided giving any direct answers.
"I have said enough on the subject. The government has denied us the constitutional and legal options that we proposed," he said.
Anwar also brushed aside talk of the PR's waning momentum in pushing for a takeover, saying that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's successor, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, was weighed down by much controversy.
"To suggest that Najib has consolidated his position, I don't think is quite accurate.
"He may have consolidated his position in Umno, but not in Barisan Nasional or with the rakyat. He still faces serious allegations that need to be cleared.
"We are still considering our other options... there has to be an element of surprise," he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Anwar had said in an interview with Bloomberg that the PR was running out of options to push its takeover bid.
He was quoted as saying that while they still had options available, it was becoming difficult to execute the plans.
DESIDERATA: Yes, DS Anwar Ibrahim -- PM-in-waiting -- seems to be taking stock, as any Opposition Leader worth his salt would.
But read in between the lines ..."...there has to be an element of surprise," he said.
Draw your own conclusion, babe!
Stocktake *** 3 ***
Published: Wednesday October 22, 2008 MYT 1:53:00 PM
Updated: Wednesday October 22, 2008 MYT 2:20:09 PM
Najib accepts Malaysiakini apology (updated)
By LEE YUK PENG
KUALA LUMUR: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has accepted the apology from the editor of Malaysiakini over the online news portal’s report of his fake manifesto.
“The journlist (Wong Choon Mei) who wrote the article has also resigned as a sign ofaccountability over the fake story. This shows high professionalism on her part,” he said Wednesday at a press conference at the Parliament lobby here.
“I am satisfied with the apology from the editor of Malaysiakini and also the journalist who has taken full responsibility over the story.”
Najib, who is also Umno deputy president, said the culprits behind the report are still hiding as no one knows who is responsible.
Asked whether any investigations would be carried out to determine the culprits, Najib also said he would “leave it to the authorities.”
Najib had on Tuesday slammed the fake manifesto attributed to him in an online report, calling it a complete lie and an attempt to tear Malaysia apart.
He was responding to the online report which carried the manifesto. It came from an e-mail from a purported “Najib Support Group.”
The report said it was Najib’s manifesto to back his bid for the Umno presidency.
Najib’s office issued a statement on Monday denying he issued such a manifesto.
DESIDERATA:
Someone is truly taking stock of his morality, and his magnamity knows no bounds, in being so accepting of APologies from MsWong Choon Mei and malaysiakini.com
Reading in-between the lines, what do you make of the following? " the culprits behind the report are still hiding as no one knows who is responsible. and "Najib also said he would “leave it to the authorities.”
Draw your own conclusion, babe!
COMBINED Stocktakes ** 2 ** & **** 4 ****
Thursday October 23, 2008
Musa: Umno has lost its popularity
KUALA LUMPUR: Umno is in dire need of a drastic change and young blood with new ideas are the plausible solution, said former deputy prime minister Tun Musa Hitam.
“I understand that the experience of seniors are needed for top posts like president or vice-president, but other than that, they should choose the younger ones,” he said.
Speaking his mind: Musa (right) speaking during the Bridges – Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace launch while International Peace Foundation chairman Uwe Morawetz looks on in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Speaking his mind: Musa (right) speaking during the Bridges – Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace launch while International Peace Foundation chairman Uwe Morawetz looks on in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Musa said the party had been raising the same issues which were raised 20 or 30 years ago, and bickering about emotional rather than substantial issues, such as the economy.
“Umno is already over 61 years old and is experiencing penyakit tua (old age sickness) which cannot be remedied by senior citizens but rather the younger generation with new ideas,” he said after launching the Bridges “ Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace forum here yesterday.
He also claimed that Umno was “too introverted” by focusing on its own problems and looking for acceptance among its own members, but not the rakyat, whose perceptions would determine its future.
“It is important for Umno to realise that it has lost its popularity because of public opinion.
“The party has many problems that it cannot rectify, like corruption, accountability issues and abuse of power,” he said.
“The new generation will not accept wholesale what politicians are saying because they don’t accept the politicians,” he said.
Musa believed that certain politicians were fighting for their own benefit rather than for the benefit of the larger community.
“What the nation wants is a party that is sensitive to their needs and is one step ahead of the citizens’ thinking,” he said.
“These are hard words, I know, but I will only say it once. When I say it, I mean it and I’ve been thinking long and hard about it,” said Musa.
From malaysia-today.net,
but report is from
- The Singapore Straits Times
'Tis the season for money politics in Umno
Posted by St Low
Friday, 24 October 2008 09:53
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 - To city folk, RM200 to RM300 sounds paltry, but that could be a month's income to a rural odd-job worker. And, according to some Umno politicians, that is all it sometimes takes to buy one vote.
The Umno election season, held once every three years, has come around again or, as some claim, this is the season to make money.
"Make hay while the sun shines," a former Umno Youth leader joked.
The last time Umno's internal elections were held in 2004, a candidate for a key post was widely said to have paid RM1,000 each to many of the 2,000 voting delegates. That's nearly RM2 million spent over a few days to buy votes.
The sad thing is, tales of money flowing to voters at the ongoing divisional meetings are as hotly debated today as the credentials of the candidates.
But the talk of "money politics" - as the vote buying is called - has got Foreign Minister Rais Yatim riled up.
If the scourge of money politics is not curbed, "it would be just better for Umno to have a tender system so that anyone who contributes the highest amount can be a leader", he said.
Rais, now in his 33rd year in politics, is known in Umno as being miserly - a testament to his steadfast refusal to play the money game.
"We have been approached under the cloak of assistance and cloak of contribution. I'm not a player so you don't see my marks going up very high," he said.
He is unlikely to qualify in the race for nominations for one of the three vice-president posts.
An Umno Youth political worker said he has been hearing whispers of vote buying since the party's 191 divisions began meeting from Oct 9 to nominate candidates for the March elections.
He said he heard of representatives of candidates turning up on the eve of divisional meetings to meet delegates. Armed, of course, with envelopes stuffed with RM200 to RM300.
"Some say delegates from brand-name divisions are offered more," he said.
Brand-name divisions are those headed by popular party leaders, such as the Pekan division headed by Deputy Premier Najib Razak.
A nomination from such a division would be read by others, rightly or wrongly, as an endorsement by that leader, although he has nothing to do with what happened. The candidate could then go around claiming he is, for example, on Najib's menu of preferred candidates.
The story mill about vote buying is getting hotter as the heat has been turned on high in this year's elections, even though the process is still only at the divisional level. Umno's 191 divisional meetings comprise delegates from its 19,000 branches.
The branches have completed their meetings, and the divisions are meeting from Oct 9-Nov 9. The election-year meetings sometimes get heated over claims that some attendees who turn up to cast votes are not "real" members.
In Rantau Panjang in Kelantan last weekend, riot police had to intervene to prevent the 400 Umno Youth members from going at one another.
The divisional meetings are all-important because candidates for the top posts must secure a set number of nominations to qualify to contest. Hence, they need to woo delegates - with money as well, if the rumours are to be believed.
And this is just the start. After the nominations are completed, that is when the 2,500 voting delegates to the Umno assembly would be wooed with great intensity.
These delegates come from the divisions, with each sending 13, and are powerful as they are the only ones allowed to vote for the party's top office bearers.
If rumours from the recent past are a guide, paid holidays are said to be popular, especially to the Indonesian destinations of Jakarta, Medan and Bali. There were also stories of bags of cash being carried to the Umno
assembly, and envelopes stuffed with money slipped into the hotel rooms of delegates along with the names of the generous candidates.
These stories are very damaging - and mostly unproven. The highest-profile candidate punished for allegedly paying off delegates for votes in 2004 is former Umno vicepresident Isa Samad. He has served his three-year ban and has again put up his name as a candidate for the vice-president's post.
The Umno election process is closely watched as Malaysia's biggest party is dominant in government. For instance, the recent resurgence of pro-Malay economic policies began at an Umno assembly three years ago,
while judicial reforms were stymied by the party's objections.
Money politics, however, is a very vague term, with many grey areas. There is outright buying of votes, but insiders say that this will hardly work without a more entrenched system of patronage. "You can't just go in and throw money around; it does not work like that," an observer said.
Most top leaders maintain a wide grassroots network, and there are expectations that the ordinary members would be "taken care of". That can range from giving them jobs or contracts, to funding grassroots programmes.
During election season, leaders are expected to pay for delegates' travel expenses, accommodation and food during their campaign rounds. They also pay campaign workers, who may be delegates.
Is this money politics? Most leaders will disagree.
"Will delegates get rich quick? Hardly," said a political aide, arguing that the money gets spent for the campaign.
As the election campaign revs into higher gear, we can expect to hear more whispers and stories.
- The Singapore Straits Times
DESIDERATA:
The highlights were points made by Tun Musa Hitam and Rais Yatim, not sprig chicken by UMNO standards, so their stocktakes must carry weight, NO? UMNO veterans, UMNO putera dan puteri, and UMNOputras?
Musa said the party had been raising the same issues which were raised 20 or 30 years ago, and bickering about emotional rather than substantial issues, such as the economy.
Musa believed that certain politicians were fighting for their own benefit rather than for the benefit of the larger community.
If the scourge of money politics is not curbed, "it would be just better for Umno to have a tender system so that anyone who contributes the highest amount can be a leader", he (Rais Yatim) said.
"We have been approached under the cloak of assistance and cloak of contribution. I'm not a player so you don't see my marks going up very high," he said.
If you were to read the extracts from the two news reports above, what's your conclusion?
Desi's cuntklusion: Hanp up the RIP SIGN, UMNO-oh-No!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
When shadows fall
remember there's light
when headaches strike
remember there's a heART beating still
when friends say Hi
in person
via email
or at Comments
we connect
that means we share a bond
however fleeting
Desi APpreciates
more than the RM20,000-gen AP
that satisfies the materialstic wants
the majority of humans hunger after
I wish not to linger
with UMNO, MCA and MIC wolves
that I have encountered
one too many to count
but of those I can call
Buddy saudara/saudari,
putera dan puteri in my eyes
who would find time
to tehtarik wit' Desi
I believe they can be enumerated by the number
of fingers in my God's gifted hands
I count the shadows
of animated figurines
created by these lovely fingers
on the wall
and I realise
I'm blessed
because
these shadows light
up my heART
I live more, when I am lifted
by the shadows
danzing on the wall
PS: This poem is dedicated to the regular or rare, even absentee, visitors -- like DPP, AM (Subang Jaya), AM (Furong), Mave and Howsy (where art thou lately?), PM?, MMmost certainly!, Helen, Primrose, Theels, Sweets, Kyels, Sabrina, JL and da IMp! who's still advising the former to "go *waste a li'l of thy life at the Conquest Lib wit' that Blondie!:):) -- :( Yan-ny! on the quiet from Catsville, Zorro, Anon, et al... YOU fill in the roster, OK! -- who peep into Desi's abode in the steal fo the Furong night, and leave a Hi- or Lo-, even a Behold! msg. It's like ajinomoto -- it's spicy and lifting!
* Dear Brudder Imran Ahmad,art thou steal in' Kampuchea? I did present him with a faded kopi of "Lad' Chatterley's Labor" by DH Ooouchlawrence...
when headaches strike
remember there's a heART beating still
when friends say Hi
in person
via email
or at Comments
we connect
that means we share a bond
however fleeting
Desi APpreciates
more than the RM20,000-gen AP
that satisfies the materialstic wants
the majority of humans hunger after
I wish not to linger
with UMNO, MCA and MIC wolves
that I have encountered
one too many to count
but of those I can call
Buddy saudara/saudari,
putera dan puteri in my eyes
who would find time
to tehtarik wit' Desi
I believe they can be enumerated by the number
of fingers in my God's gifted hands
I count the shadows
of animated figurines
created by these lovely fingers
on the wall
and I realise
I'm blessed
because
these shadows light
up my heART
I live more, when I am lifted
by the shadows
danzing on the wall
PS: This poem is dedicated to the regular or rare, even absentee, visitors -- like DPP, AM (Subang Jaya), AM (Furong), Mave and Howsy (where art thou lately?), PM?, MMmost certainly!, Helen, Primrose, Theels, Sweets, Kyels, Sabrina, JL and da IMp! who's still advising the former to "go *waste a li'l of thy life at the Conquest Lib wit' that Blondie!:):) -- :( Yan-ny! on the quiet from Catsville, Zorro, Anon, et al... YOU fill in the roster, OK! -- who peep into Desi's abode in the steal fo the Furong night, and leave a Hi- or Lo-, even a Behold! msg. It's like ajinomoto -- it's spicy and lifting!
* Dear Brudder Imran Ahmad,art thou steal in' Kampuchea? I did present him with a faded kopi of "Lad' Chatterley's Labor" by DH Ooouchlawrence...
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Stock-taking time/s
Desi, in more ways than wan, is taking stock today. In fact I've been doing that in my mindscape a lot lately -- since 916 did NOT materialise on first stated date, but it's a longer term Merdeka Mission that believers like me and others since Reformasi 10 years ago are looking at. Political struggles do not yield results overnight. In fact, the next generation has to catch the baton the present gen who has started the relay race passes on.
But it's GOoD to once a while to pause, think where we are at, and reflect...
Today I urge fellow Malaysians, especially those who play the stock markets, and those small&medium traders, it's TIME TO TAKE STOCKS.
Hence I am doing a COMPOSITE POST today and may run it as a series till 15th of March, 2009.
WHY 15th? you dare aRsEk?
From cpiasia.net~~~~~~~
FINANCIAL TURMOIL WORLDWIDE: Two perspectives on Malaysia's status
Media Monitor
Written by various
Wednesday, 22 October 2008 07:01
Media take 1:
Malaysia to revise downwards growth forecast for 2009
Written by S. Ramesh in Kuala Lumpur | Posted: 21 October 2008 0217 hrs
Published by Channel NewsAsia's
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government will revise downwards its growth forecast for 2009 from the targeted 5.4 percent, says Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Razak.
Details are expected to be announced in Parliament on November 4.
Meanwhile, the government will inject US$1.4 billion into the stock market to shore up sentiments.
Malaysians and financial analysts are watching keenly for the country's response to the global financial crisis.
For a start, the Malaysian government like its neighbour Singapore has announced that it would guarantee all bank deposits till 2010.
Mr Najib had indicated last week that he would probably be addressing Parliament on Monday about more measures to tackle the current ongoing financial crisis.
His Press Secretary said Mr Najib would likely deliver his speech on November 4.
And that's also probably when the Malaysian government would announce its projected growth figures for next year - expected to be lower than the original 5.4 percent.
Mr Najib said because of the volatility of the financial crisis, the government has to calibrate the figures carefully.
"Your growth figures depend on the assumptions that you make in terms of the price of oil for example, plus other commodities. This relates as well to the level of subsidy. There are certain things we have to look deeper into," he said.
Mr Najib also revealed that government projects will be re-prioritised. Only those with higher multiplier effects will go forward.
But he stressed that Malaysia is not in a financial crisis, even though the economy would be affected by the global financial problems. - CNA/de
*******************************************
Bloggers take 2:
THE FINANCIAL TURMOIL AND MALAYSIA
Posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad
at October 20, 2008 6:19 PM
1. I am glad to hear that Malaysia will be spared from the fallout of the systemic collapse of the whole world's financial system. This ability to isolate Malaysia and Malaysian banks from the effect of the bankruptcies of all the biggest banks in the world must be regarded as a miracle. Our ability to manage our financial system better than others must earn us the admiration of the world.
2. I hope we are right in forecasting the effect on us of the collapse of the world's financial system. But I have a sneaking feeling that all is not well.
3. We are a trading nation which trades with all countries of the world. The United States and Europe are among the biggest of our trading partners. Roughly 40 per cent of our total trade is with them. I may be wrong but I believe that if our buyers cannot pay for what they import from us, we would not make the profit we had expected. In fact we would lose a lot of money as we will not recover the cost of the goods we sell even.
4. Now the common practise is for importers to open Letters of Credit (LCs) with banks to ensure that when they receive the goods the corresponding banks will release the money. However, if the importers' banks go bankrupt they would not be able to transmit the payment.
5. They may be bailed out by the US Government. But they may not consider paying Malaysian exporters as a priority. In which case we will not be paid. Worse still we can no longer entertain orders coming from this market. Our trade must shrink.
6. We are not talking about one company. We are talking about hundreds of companies trading with America and Europe and other countries not getting paid for their exports. We are talking about tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of Ringgit worth of goods not being paid for.
7. These companies all borrow from banks to finance their operations. They hope to pay the banks from the proceeds of their export. When they cannot pay the banks, the banks in turn would have a lot of non-performing loans.
8. The banks would be wary of lending money to not only the exporting companies but to others as well. There will be a credit squeeze which would hurt other businesses. There will be margin calls. When the borrowers cannot meet this there may be foreclosures.
9. We see a lot of construction in Kuala Lumpur, all dependent on borrowed money. If these buildings are not sold or rented, payment by the developer to the banks would not be forthcoming. Again there will be a lot of non-performing loans.
10. When the Government withdrew the subsidy for oil the pump price increased by 40 per cent. The immediate result was to increase the prices of a wide range of food, goods and services commonly needed by the people. In other words the purchasing power of the people had been reduced.
11. Since then the price of oil had been reduced three times. But the prices of food, goods and services have stayed up.
12. Some cranks estimated that every citizen had lost purchasing power by RM300 a year. Since we have a population of 27million, the country's loss of purchasing power amounts to RM8.1 billion. That is a lot money which is lost by food suppliers, cooked and uncooked, goods and service providers at various levels. A lot of small businesses would just fold up.
13. The Government has given back some money but not enough to reduce the losses sustained by the economy.
14. Now the corridors cannot be fully implemented. But this is fine because nothing had been implemented anyway. Unfortunately the anticipated earnings by contractors, sub-contractors, suppliers, workers, teh tarik and nasi lemak sellers would not materialise.
15. Maybe we will not need several hundred billions to bail out our banks. But the banks will also face the problem of unpaid loans incurred by their credit card users. They have been rather lax in providing credit card facilities to their customers, many of whom have no accounts with them. It is believed that unpaid credit card loans is in excess of RM20 billion.
16. Will the Government guarantee depositors will not lose their deposits when the banks which had in the past made huge profits now go bankrupt because of their mismanagement?
17. This is what the peoples of America and Europe are asking. Their money is used to bail out the banks whose profits had enriched their Chief Executive Officers and their share holders so much in the past. The people did not get a share of the profit, but they must pay for the losses.
18. We are told that six billion Ringgit in Foreign Direct Investment would flow into the country. But what about the RM30 billion outflow as foreign investors pulled out of the stock market?
19. I pray that I am wrong. I pray that the Government is right in declaring that the whole world may collapse but we would be the only country which won't. We will sail calmly through the seas of shattered economies.
20. What is happening in the world today is the total collapse of the international financial system. This has been brought about by greedy people abusing the system. Instead of doing business in goods and services they now do business in money, in fictitious money.
21. We had experienced the effects of the trade in our currency in 1997-98. For no very good reason, our Ringgit was devalued so that its purchasing power was halved. And we became poor.
22. Fortunately for us we succeeded in stopping the trade in Ringgit and restoring its value. But the system is still in place. And now it is the US Dollar which is devalued.
23. But trading in currencies is only one of the abuses. The banks are lending more money than they have. They actually go to the people to persuade them to borrow.
24. Their clients can borrow 100 per cent of the money to buy a house for example.
25. They need not worry about paying or servicing the loan. The price of the house would appreciate. You may even have a second mortgage. You may even sell at a profit.
26. In the meantime the bank would register the loan and add the projected earnings from interest maybe over 20 years. That done the bank can put all the loans together and sell it to the hedge funds at a discount after adding potential interest.
27. The more risky the loan the higher would be the interest and the higher would be the profit. The hedge funds which buy the loans can basically sell the mortgages to investors in the fund or to the huge Government financed Federal National Mortgage Association, nicknamed Fannie Mae, and the Federal Home Mortgage Corporation, nicknamed Freddie Mac.
28. Now the hedge funds and the banks would feel safe and enjoy the huge profits that they have made.
29. But when hundreds of thousands of house buyers find themselves unable to pay simply because they have no money, and could not sell the houses and could not borrow from banks, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae would not be able to pay the hedge funds. Then the hedge funds would collapse and drag down the banks with them.
30. This simply is what happened. The same applies to credit cards. People with little or no money would be given credit cards. They would spend more than they can afford and the banks would be faced with huge amounts of non-performing loans. The banks cannot pay the bills submitted by the sellers of goods or suppliers of services. The banks would collapse and there would be a run on the banks and on other banks which had lent the money to the affected banks. And so we see one after another of the giant banks of America and Europe going bankrupt.
31. The Government may try to bail them out. But the confidence does not last long. Soon the bailout would be seen to fail.
32. Actually I am giving a very simplified version of what is happening. All these shuffling of papers and figures cannot but encourage cheating. The bigger the amount of money involved the bigger would be the returns. The tendency is therefore to play with very large sums of money.
33. But where does the money come from? From nowhere. The Government and the banks, including the Federal Reserve Bank conjured up the money from nothing. If you ask yourself where do the US700 billion Dollars come from when you know the United States' Government has to borrow US1.5 billion every day, you will find no answer. Is the US Government holding US700 billion Dollars in its treasury just in case it has to bail out the banks? Not likely when it cannot even make ends meet, when it has twin deficits.
34. So money can be conjured up out of thin air. And this must be the money the banks lent, the money the hedge funds and currency traders play with, the payments for expensive wars etc.
35. Basically the international financial system and the market economy has failed. Unless and until a new system is introduced and Governments regulate with the running and operation of national and international finance and the so-called free market we are going to see the financial turmoil and collapse repeated over and over again.
Media -- Take 3:
Taking stock in a global turmoil
Malaysia In The News
Written by BTS
Monday, 20 October 2008 18:05
Written by Business Times (Singapore)
Published by The Malaysian Insider
October 20, 2008
Malaysia should cut spending, reassess fuel subsidy, energy policies
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 - While Malaysia will likely escape a recession this year, next year is harder to call.
Although one of the stronger economies in the region, it is a major trading economy and will not be immune to the knock-on effects of a deepening global turmoil.
Following the Asian financial crisis a decade ago, the rebuilding of financial systems and stricter governance have strengthened its banking framework and put the country in a relatively stronger position to fend off the contagion effects.
Unlike many nations whose financial systems have been bled nearly dry by sub-prime loans and toxic mortgage-related debt, local banks have negligible exposure to both sub-prime related securities and affected financial institutions of other countries.
The central bank last week sought to give assurance that the financial system is secure when it confirmed that more than 90 per cent of the total assets of the banks and insurance companies are ringgit-denominated assets.
It also pointed out that the banks are more than adequately capitalised, have ample liquidity - complaints about a credit squeeze are not obvious - and the level of non-performing loans have dropped to 2.5 per cent.
It also joined a number of central banks in guaranteeing all deposits - at least until end 2010.
Foreign reserves are still high at US$110 billion as at end September although off a mid-year peak of US$126 billion. The savings rate is robust, and the current account surplus is estimated to have hit over RM100 billion this year. Although commodity prices have plunged by more than half from record peaks reached earlier this year, the commodities are still valuable resources.
Because the problems are originated externally, Malaysia should keep its head down and brace itself for the headwinds. The use of monetary and fiscal tools would be limited given prevailing low interest rates and a fairly big budget deficit, which after extra spending was allocated to counter inflation, is expected to rise to nearly 5 per cent of gross domestic product this year.
But can the government reduce its spending? A record RM208 billion allocation was set aside for next year's budget - the budget is now 3 times bigger than a decade ago - and the current Ninth Malaysia Plan saw an extra RM20 billion allocated towards coping with building material, food and transport price increases.
With oil now at about half of its US$147-a-barrel peak, other than using the additional allocations to further strengthen the social safety net when the economy ticks at a lower pace, spending ought to be reduced to keep the deficit in check.
Petronas's revenue last year accounted for a hefty 44 per cent of the federal income. Because of a one-year lag, the oil income will still be substantial given the oil price average of around US$115 last year.
But the unhealthy dependency on Petronas will be felt in 2010 when its revenue slips dramatically. Which is why as gratifying as the recent fuel price reductions have been at the pump - in line with lower global oil prices - the government should rethink its fuel subsidy policy and use this as an opportunity to gradually reduce the subsidy so that it can be channelled to far more productive areas of the economy.
In the current crisis, a bigger problem could be emerging. Energy players last week warned that imbalance and unsustainable subsidies in the power sector have led to glaring 'structural issues' which are a threat to energy supply security.
A national energy policy is desperately needed to address the possibility of supply shortages which, according to state investment agency Khazanah Nasional, could occur as early as 2010. Petronas has repeatedly warned that its oil and gas reserves are dwindling at a rapid pace, in part due to cheap prices.
Unaddressed, that time bomb can be expected to hit the economy harder - and the worst part is that it will be self-inflicted. - Business Times Singapore
DESIDERATA @1.42AM the day after:
I reprised below a regular Commenter DPP out-of-court with an insightful input:)
"Desi
lately, too much cut and paste stuff we can get elsewhere.
By donplaypuks®, "
which I appreciate verymuch.
I do C&P often because I have adoptd certain broad issues I wish to onitor which I "aggregate" for the benefit ofmy EsteemedReader's leisurely perusal in case they msiied out elsewhere. Further, I do try to thread the various (news) items plus other Bloggers' discerning writes to put on record what I feel are unfolding events that impact on most Malaysians' everyday life.
In a way, My Blue H'aven serves as a journal in a diarist style when TIME does not permit this Blogger much luxury ofpenning his original pieces. As for poetry, when Inspiration strikes.And that one waits for a Blue Moon.
DonPlayPuks, I often also steal your outstanding Posts as evidential theft to prove I do prowl around fellow Bloggers' abodes.
Just a Hi:) from my readers lift the heART, and Desi's, knot his face does need a lift once a while. In exchange I gift thee poetry prose when I can. When I can't -- which is getting into a(nu's) habit -- I do resort to a tailor's suit, Cut&Pasta!:)
smile-s a GOoDnite @1.51AM
Another Wan! ~~ DESIDERATA Updates @7.17AM, October 23, 2008:
Panic returns to global share markets
By staff writers
NEWS.com.au
October 23, 2008 07:50am
Panic returns ... staggering losses on world markets overnight point to heavy falls when the ASX opens this morning
/ File
World stock markets plunge overnight
Local shares set to open 5pc down
Coming up: Market open LIVE
PANIC-selling returned to global stock markets overnight, with Wall St stocks falling to a five-year low, as fears of global recession stalked investors.
News that world leaders are to meet in Washington next month at a summit to discuss the global financial crisis failed to halt a sell-off that began early Wednesday and accelerated in late US trading.
In falls reminiscent of the worst of the turbulence of the last few weeks, prompted by gloomy outlooks and weak company results, European markets lost between 4 and 5 per cent while the Dow Jones closed down more than 5 per cent.
The Australian share market is tipped to open nearly 5 per cent lower, according to the Sydney Futures Index.
(Join NEWS.com.au for live, interactive coverage of the market open from 9.45am (AEDT). )
In Brazil, regulators suspended trade on the Sao Paulo stock exchange after the main Bovespa index plunged more than 10 per cent, reflecting chaos in fellow Latin American nation Argentina.
Don't look at the headlines take a week by week view. The financial crisis is subsiding the markets are stabilizing but still volatile. Now the focus is on the global slowdown. ...
A day after Argentinian President Cristina Kirchner moved to nationalise private pension funds, the main stock market index fell more than 16 per cent.
G20 leaders' summit
The White House announced that leaders of the Group of 20 rich and emerging countries would gather in Washington on November 15, extending efforts to coordinate responses to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
"The president today is going to invite the leaders of a group of 20 countries ... to discuss the financial markets and the global economy," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
"The leaders will review progress being made to address the current financial crisis, advance a common understanding of its causes and in order to avoid a repetition, agree on a common set of principles for reform of the regulatory and institutional regimes for the world's financial sectors."
Britian's 'likely' recession
The announcement came as one of Mr Bush's closest allies, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, acknowledged his country was "likely" entering recession.
"Having taken action on the banking system, we must now take action on the global financial recession, which is likely to cause recession in ... Britain, too," Mr Brown said.
Crucial data is expected to show the British economy shrank in the third quarter after zero growth in the second. The technical definition of a recession is two straight quarters of negative economic growth.
A similarly gloomy assessment came in a forecast from the Swiss bank UBS which said Europe faced "inevitable" recession which would begin "almost in sync" with the US.
Mr Brown's remarks come a day after Bank of England governor Mervyn King said the credit crunch and high inflation were combining to pose "the risk of a sharp and prolonged slowdown in domestic demand".
Currencies hammered
The Australian dollar was marginally weaker this morning at after the plunge on the Argentine stock market turned traders off riskier currencies.
The British pound plunged to a five-year trough but the euro also took a pummelling, falling to its lowest level for almost two years against the US dollar, amid similar rates cut expectations.
There were also more signs of trouble in the emerging markets, with South Africa's rand falling to a six-year low against the dollar.
Crude oil prices careened lower after surging US energy reserves highlighted falling demand in a cooling global economy.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December, skidded $US5.43 to close at $US66.75 a barrel.
In London, Brent North Sea crude for December delivery tumbled $US5.20 to settle at $US64.52. On stock markets elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei share index closed down 6.79 per cent while Europe's major markets suffered big losses.
The London FTSE 100 index shed 4.46 per cent to close at 4040.89 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 plunged 5.10 per cent to 3298.18. The Dax in Frankfurt fell 4.46 per cent to 4571.07.
The turbulence on the stock and currency markets came despite new attempts by the US Federal Reserve to restore confidence in the fragile financial system.
There was also positive new evidence that the credit freeze might be thawing, with interbank lending rates showing modest declines.
In its latest move, the Fed said it would increase the interest rate it pays on excess cash deposited with it by banks, adding to measures to channel funds to lenders and free up credit.
The rate for reserves had previously been the Fed's main target rate minus 75 basis points. The new rate will be the target rate minus 35 basis points, the Fed said.
An opinion poll out Wednesday showed declining support for the US government's rescue policy, with more than half of Americans disapproving of the multi-billion dollar bailout plan.
But it's GOoD to once a while to pause, think where we are at, and reflect...
Today I urge fellow Malaysians, especially those who play the stock markets, and those small&medium traders, it's TIME TO TAKE STOCKS.
Hence I am doing a COMPOSITE POST today and may run it as a series till 15th of March, 2009.
WHY 15th? you dare aRsEk?
From cpiasia.net~~~~~~~
FINANCIAL TURMOIL WORLDWIDE: Two perspectives on Malaysia's status
Media Monitor
Written by various
Wednesday, 22 October 2008 07:01
Media take 1:
Malaysia to revise downwards growth forecast for 2009
Written by S. Ramesh in Kuala Lumpur | Posted: 21 October 2008 0217 hrs
Published by Channel NewsAsia's
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government will revise downwards its growth forecast for 2009 from the targeted 5.4 percent, says Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Razak.
Details are expected to be announced in Parliament on November 4.
Meanwhile, the government will inject US$1.4 billion into the stock market to shore up sentiments.
Malaysians and financial analysts are watching keenly for the country's response to the global financial crisis.
For a start, the Malaysian government like its neighbour Singapore has announced that it would guarantee all bank deposits till 2010.
Mr Najib had indicated last week that he would probably be addressing Parliament on Monday about more measures to tackle the current ongoing financial crisis.
His Press Secretary said Mr Najib would likely deliver his speech on November 4.
And that's also probably when the Malaysian government would announce its projected growth figures for next year - expected to be lower than the original 5.4 percent.
Mr Najib said because of the volatility of the financial crisis, the government has to calibrate the figures carefully.
"Your growth figures depend on the assumptions that you make in terms of the price of oil for example, plus other commodities. This relates as well to the level of subsidy. There are certain things we have to look deeper into," he said.
Mr Najib also revealed that government projects will be re-prioritised. Only those with higher multiplier effects will go forward.
But he stressed that Malaysia is not in a financial crisis, even though the economy would be affected by the global financial problems. - CNA/de
*******************************************
Bloggers take 2:
THE FINANCIAL TURMOIL AND MALAYSIA
Posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad
at October 20, 2008 6:19 PM
1. I am glad to hear that Malaysia will be spared from the fallout of the systemic collapse of the whole world's financial system. This ability to isolate Malaysia and Malaysian banks from the effect of the bankruptcies of all the biggest banks in the world must be regarded as a miracle. Our ability to manage our financial system better than others must earn us the admiration of the world.
2. I hope we are right in forecasting the effect on us of the collapse of the world's financial system. But I have a sneaking feeling that all is not well.
3. We are a trading nation which trades with all countries of the world. The United States and Europe are among the biggest of our trading partners. Roughly 40 per cent of our total trade is with them. I may be wrong but I believe that if our buyers cannot pay for what they import from us, we would not make the profit we had expected. In fact we would lose a lot of money as we will not recover the cost of the goods we sell even.
4. Now the common practise is for importers to open Letters of Credit (LCs) with banks to ensure that when they receive the goods the corresponding banks will release the money. However, if the importers' banks go bankrupt they would not be able to transmit the payment.
5. They may be bailed out by the US Government. But they may not consider paying Malaysian exporters as a priority. In which case we will not be paid. Worse still we can no longer entertain orders coming from this market. Our trade must shrink.
6. We are not talking about one company. We are talking about hundreds of companies trading with America and Europe and other countries not getting paid for their exports. We are talking about tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of Ringgit worth of goods not being paid for.
7. These companies all borrow from banks to finance their operations. They hope to pay the banks from the proceeds of their export. When they cannot pay the banks, the banks in turn would have a lot of non-performing loans.
8. The banks would be wary of lending money to not only the exporting companies but to others as well. There will be a credit squeeze which would hurt other businesses. There will be margin calls. When the borrowers cannot meet this there may be foreclosures.
9. We see a lot of construction in Kuala Lumpur, all dependent on borrowed money. If these buildings are not sold or rented, payment by the developer to the banks would not be forthcoming. Again there will be a lot of non-performing loans.
10. When the Government withdrew the subsidy for oil the pump price increased by 40 per cent. The immediate result was to increase the prices of a wide range of food, goods and services commonly needed by the people. In other words the purchasing power of the people had been reduced.
11. Since then the price of oil had been reduced three times. But the prices of food, goods and services have stayed up.
12. Some cranks estimated that every citizen had lost purchasing power by RM300 a year. Since we have a population of 27million, the country's loss of purchasing power amounts to RM8.1 billion. That is a lot money which is lost by food suppliers, cooked and uncooked, goods and service providers at various levels. A lot of small businesses would just fold up.
13. The Government has given back some money but not enough to reduce the losses sustained by the economy.
14. Now the corridors cannot be fully implemented. But this is fine because nothing had been implemented anyway. Unfortunately the anticipated earnings by contractors, sub-contractors, suppliers, workers, teh tarik and nasi lemak sellers would not materialise.
15. Maybe we will not need several hundred billions to bail out our banks. But the banks will also face the problem of unpaid loans incurred by their credit card users. They have been rather lax in providing credit card facilities to their customers, many of whom have no accounts with them. It is believed that unpaid credit card loans is in excess of RM20 billion.
16. Will the Government guarantee depositors will not lose their deposits when the banks which had in the past made huge profits now go bankrupt because of their mismanagement?
17. This is what the peoples of America and Europe are asking. Their money is used to bail out the banks whose profits had enriched their Chief Executive Officers and their share holders so much in the past. The people did not get a share of the profit, but they must pay for the losses.
18. We are told that six billion Ringgit in Foreign Direct Investment would flow into the country. But what about the RM30 billion outflow as foreign investors pulled out of the stock market?
19. I pray that I am wrong. I pray that the Government is right in declaring that the whole world may collapse but we would be the only country which won't. We will sail calmly through the seas of shattered economies.
20. What is happening in the world today is the total collapse of the international financial system. This has been brought about by greedy people abusing the system. Instead of doing business in goods and services they now do business in money, in fictitious money.
21. We had experienced the effects of the trade in our currency in 1997-98. For no very good reason, our Ringgit was devalued so that its purchasing power was halved. And we became poor.
22. Fortunately for us we succeeded in stopping the trade in Ringgit and restoring its value. But the system is still in place. And now it is the US Dollar which is devalued.
23. But trading in currencies is only one of the abuses. The banks are lending more money than they have. They actually go to the people to persuade them to borrow.
24. Their clients can borrow 100 per cent of the money to buy a house for example.
25. They need not worry about paying or servicing the loan. The price of the house would appreciate. You may even have a second mortgage. You may even sell at a profit.
26. In the meantime the bank would register the loan and add the projected earnings from interest maybe over 20 years. That done the bank can put all the loans together and sell it to the hedge funds at a discount after adding potential interest.
27. The more risky the loan the higher would be the interest and the higher would be the profit. The hedge funds which buy the loans can basically sell the mortgages to investors in the fund or to the huge Government financed Federal National Mortgage Association, nicknamed Fannie Mae, and the Federal Home Mortgage Corporation, nicknamed Freddie Mac.
28. Now the hedge funds and the banks would feel safe and enjoy the huge profits that they have made.
29. But when hundreds of thousands of house buyers find themselves unable to pay simply because they have no money, and could not sell the houses and could not borrow from banks, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae would not be able to pay the hedge funds. Then the hedge funds would collapse and drag down the banks with them.
30. This simply is what happened. The same applies to credit cards. People with little or no money would be given credit cards. They would spend more than they can afford and the banks would be faced with huge amounts of non-performing loans. The banks cannot pay the bills submitted by the sellers of goods or suppliers of services. The banks would collapse and there would be a run on the banks and on other banks which had lent the money to the affected banks. And so we see one after another of the giant banks of America and Europe going bankrupt.
31. The Government may try to bail them out. But the confidence does not last long. Soon the bailout would be seen to fail.
32. Actually I am giving a very simplified version of what is happening. All these shuffling of papers and figures cannot but encourage cheating. The bigger the amount of money involved the bigger would be the returns. The tendency is therefore to play with very large sums of money.
33. But where does the money come from? From nowhere. The Government and the banks, including the Federal Reserve Bank conjured up the money from nothing. If you ask yourself where do the US700 billion Dollars come from when you know the United States' Government has to borrow US1.5 billion every day, you will find no answer. Is the US Government holding US700 billion Dollars in its treasury just in case it has to bail out the banks? Not likely when it cannot even make ends meet, when it has twin deficits.
34. So money can be conjured up out of thin air. And this must be the money the banks lent, the money the hedge funds and currency traders play with, the payments for expensive wars etc.
35. Basically the international financial system and the market economy has failed. Unless and until a new system is introduced and Governments regulate with the running and operation of national and international finance and the so-called free market we are going to see the financial turmoil and collapse repeated over and over again.
Media -- Take 3:
Taking stock in a global turmoil
Malaysia In The News
Written by BTS
Monday, 20 October 2008 18:05
Written by Business Times (Singapore)
Published by The Malaysian Insider
October 20, 2008
Malaysia should cut spending, reassess fuel subsidy, energy policies
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 - While Malaysia will likely escape a recession this year, next year is harder to call.
Although one of the stronger economies in the region, it is a major trading economy and will not be immune to the knock-on effects of a deepening global turmoil.
Following the Asian financial crisis a decade ago, the rebuilding of financial systems and stricter governance have strengthened its banking framework and put the country in a relatively stronger position to fend off the contagion effects.
Unlike many nations whose financial systems have been bled nearly dry by sub-prime loans and toxic mortgage-related debt, local banks have negligible exposure to both sub-prime related securities and affected financial institutions of other countries.
The central bank last week sought to give assurance that the financial system is secure when it confirmed that more than 90 per cent of the total assets of the banks and insurance companies are ringgit-denominated assets.
It also pointed out that the banks are more than adequately capitalised, have ample liquidity - complaints about a credit squeeze are not obvious - and the level of non-performing loans have dropped to 2.5 per cent.
It also joined a number of central banks in guaranteeing all deposits - at least until end 2010.
Foreign reserves are still high at US$110 billion as at end September although off a mid-year peak of US$126 billion. The savings rate is robust, and the current account surplus is estimated to have hit over RM100 billion this year. Although commodity prices have plunged by more than half from record peaks reached earlier this year, the commodities are still valuable resources.
Because the problems are originated externally, Malaysia should keep its head down and brace itself for the headwinds. The use of monetary and fiscal tools would be limited given prevailing low interest rates and a fairly big budget deficit, which after extra spending was allocated to counter inflation, is expected to rise to nearly 5 per cent of gross domestic product this year.
But can the government reduce its spending? A record RM208 billion allocation was set aside for next year's budget - the budget is now 3 times bigger than a decade ago - and the current Ninth Malaysia Plan saw an extra RM20 billion allocated towards coping with building material, food and transport price increases.
With oil now at about half of its US$147-a-barrel peak, other than using the additional allocations to further strengthen the social safety net when the economy ticks at a lower pace, spending ought to be reduced to keep the deficit in check.
Petronas's revenue last year accounted for a hefty 44 per cent of the federal income. Because of a one-year lag, the oil income will still be substantial given the oil price average of around US$115 last year.
But the unhealthy dependency on Petronas will be felt in 2010 when its revenue slips dramatically. Which is why as gratifying as the recent fuel price reductions have been at the pump - in line with lower global oil prices - the government should rethink its fuel subsidy policy and use this as an opportunity to gradually reduce the subsidy so that it can be channelled to far more productive areas of the economy.
In the current crisis, a bigger problem could be emerging. Energy players last week warned that imbalance and unsustainable subsidies in the power sector have led to glaring 'structural issues' which are a threat to energy supply security.
A national energy policy is desperately needed to address the possibility of supply shortages which, according to state investment agency Khazanah Nasional, could occur as early as 2010. Petronas has repeatedly warned that its oil and gas reserves are dwindling at a rapid pace, in part due to cheap prices.
Unaddressed, that time bomb can be expected to hit the economy harder - and the worst part is that it will be self-inflicted. - Business Times Singapore
DESIDERATA @1.42AM the day after:
I reprised below a regular Commenter DPP out-of-court with an insightful input:)
"Desi
lately, too much cut and paste stuff we can get elsewhere.
By donplaypuks®, "
which I appreciate verymuch.
I do C&P often because I have adoptd certain broad issues I wish to onitor which I "aggregate" for the benefit ofmy EsteemedReader's leisurely perusal in case they msiied out elsewhere. Further, I do try to thread the various (news) items plus other Bloggers' discerning writes to put on record what I feel are unfolding events that impact on most Malaysians' everyday life.
In a way, My Blue H'aven serves as a journal in a diarist style when TIME does not permit this Blogger much luxury ofpenning his original pieces. As for poetry, when Inspiration strikes.And that one waits for a Blue Moon.
DonPlayPuks, I often also steal your outstanding Posts as evidential theft to prove I do prowl around fellow Bloggers' abodes.
Just a Hi:) from my readers lift the heART, and Desi's, knot his face does need a lift once a while. In exchange I gift thee poetry prose when I can. When I can't -- which is getting into a(nu's) habit -- I do resort to a tailor's suit, Cut&Pasta!:)
smile-s a GOoDnite @1.51AM
Another Wan! ~~ DESIDERATA Updates @7.17AM, October 23, 2008:
Panic returns to global share markets
By staff writers
NEWS.com.au
October 23, 2008 07:50am
Panic returns ... staggering losses on world markets overnight point to heavy falls when the ASX opens this morning
/ File
World stock markets plunge overnight
Local shares set to open 5pc down
Coming up: Market open LIVE
PANIC-selling returned to global stock markets overnight, with Wall St stocks falling to a five-year low, as fears of global recession stalked investors.
News that world leaders are to meet in Washington next month at a summit to discuss the global financial crisis failed to halt a sell-off that began early Wednesday and accelerated in late US trading.
In falls reminiscent of the worst of the turbulence of the last few weeks, prompted by gloomy outlooks and weak company results, European markets lost between 4 and 5 per cent while the Dow Jones closed down more than 5 per cent.
The Australian share market is tipped to open nearly 5 per cent lower, according to the Sydney Futures Index.
(Join NEWS.com.au for live, interactive coverage of the market open from 9.45am (AEDT). )
In Brazil, regulators suspended trade on the Sao Paulo stock exchange after the main Bovespa index plunged more than 10 per cent, reflecting chaos in fellow Latin American nation Argentina.
Don't look at the headlines take a week by week view. The financial crisis is subsiding the markets are stabilizing but still volatile. Now the focus is on the global slowdown. ...
A day after Argentinian President Cristina Kirchner moved to nationalise private pension funds, the main stock market index fell more than 16 per cent.
G20 leaders' summit
The White House announced that leaders of the Group of 20 rich and emerging countries would gather in Washington on November 15, extending efforts to coordinate responses to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
"The president today is going to invite the leaders of a group of 20 countries ... to discuss the financial markets and the global economy," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
"The leaders will review progress being made to address the current financial crisis, advance a common understanding of its causes and in order to avoid a repetition, agree on a common set of principles for reform of the regulatory and institutional regimes for the world's financial sectors."
Britian's 'likely' recession
The announcement came as one of Mr Bush's closest allies, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, acknowledged his country was "likely" entering recession.
"Having taken action on the banking system, we must now take action on the global financial recession, which is likely to cause recession in ... Britain, too," Mr Brown said.
Crucial data is expected to show the British economy shrank in the third quarter after zero growth in the second. The technical definition of a recession is two straight quarters of negative economic growth.
A similarly gloomy assessment came in a forecast from the Swiss bank UBS which said Europe faced "inevitable" recession which would begin "almost in sync" with the US.
Mr Brown's remarks come a day after Bank of England governor Mervyn King said the credit crunch and high inflation were combining to pose "the risk of a sharp and prolonged slowdown in domestic demand".
Currencies hammered
The Australian dollar was marginally weaker this morning at after the plunge on the Argentine stock market turned traders off riskier currencies.
The British pound plunged to a five-year trough but the euro also took a pummelling, falling to its lowest level for almost two years against the US dollar, amid similar rates cut expectations.
There were also more signs of trouble in the emerging markets, with South Africa's rand falling to a six-year low against the dollar.
Crude oil prices careened lower after surging US energy reserves highlighted falling demand in a cooling global economy.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December, skidded $US5.43 to close at $US66.75 a barrel.
In London, Brent North Sea crude for December delivery tumbled $US5.20 to settle at $US64.52. On stock markets elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei share index closed down 6.79 per cent while Europe's major markets suffered big losses.
The London FTSE 100 index shed 4.46 per cent to close at 4040.89 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 plunged 5.10 per cent to 3298.18. The Dax in Frankfurt fell 4.46 per cent to 4571.07.
The turbulence on the stock and currency markets came despite new attempts by the US Federal Reserve to restore confidence in the fragile financial system.
There was also positive new evidence that the credit freeze might be thawing, with interbank lending rates showing modest declines.
In its latest move, the Fed said it would increase the interest rate it pays on excess cash deposited with it by banks, adding to measures to channel funds to lenders and free up credit.
The rate for reserves had previously been the Fed's main target rate minus 75 basis points. The new rate will be the target rate minus 35 basis points, the Fed said.
An opinion poll out Wednesday showed declining support for the US government's rescue policy, with more than half of Americans disapproving of the multi-billion dollar bailout plan.
Salute to integrity among writers
So it's high marks for Sdri Wong Choon Mei, for showing integrity and responsibility.
This type of hound is a rare breed in Malaysian journalism,
and as the Malaysian Insider commentator says: She has raised
the benchmark for responsibility and accountability and integrity
in journalism practice -- and Desi hopes that the Fifth estaters would
emulate the Fourth Estate code of ethics in reporting and commenting and editing.
Malaysiakini journalist shows the way in standards
COMMENTARY
OCT 21 — It’s NOT a rare day when journalism is on trial in Malaysia. But it’s a rare day when a journalist resigns to take responsibility for an erroneous report.
Today, Malaysiakini journalist Wong Choon Mei resigned for putting out a report late on Sunday on Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s manifesto for the Umno presidency, which the deputy prime minister denied and called “patently false and misleading”.
“It is my fault and I stand ready to take full responsibility and resign,” Wong explained to the popular online portal.
Her editor, Steven Gan, was also quoted in the Malaysiakini portal as saying: “We deeply regret the error.”
In comparison, DAP leader and lawmaker Teresa Kok has had to sue Utusan Malaysia and its columnist Mohd Zaini Hassan over an article titled “Azan, Jawi, Jais, UiTM dan ba-alif-ba-ya” published in the Malay-language newspaper on Sept 10 which she alleges was maliciously intended to defame her.
The article had accused her of asking mosque officials to stop the use of loudspeakers at a mosque when performing azan prayers. Kok has denied these claims. She also spent a week in detention under the Internal Security Act as police investigated the allegations.
They have not apologised and neither has Zaini offered to resign or stop writing his columns. In fact, the Umno-owned newspaper has exacerbated the matter by publishing a short story and poetry which alluded to her case. However, short-story writer Datuk Chamil Wariya, an industry veteran, has denied such allusions.
Writers from other mainstream media outlets and bloggers who used to be journalists have also asked Kok to withdraw her suit, pleading for a case of media freedom in Malaysia.
But Wong, with a just a decade of experience under her belt in The Edge, Reuters and Channel News Asia, has shown these veterans the standards that Malaysian journalism must aspire for.
With her resignation over a mistake, she has now become the standard for professionalism and accountability in Malaysian media. And she has shown the difference between freedom and responsibility in the online world which the mainstream media has yet to reveal despite their years in the industry.
Malaysian journalism will be enriched with the likes of Wong. The online media has shown it answers to a higher standard than those in the mainstream media, reflected in its growing popularity even as circulation falls for most newspapers as ironically pointed out by Chamil himself this week.
Chamil, who is the Malaysian Press Institute chief executive, quoted Audit Bureau Circulation Malaysia figures showing newspaper circulation in the Malay, English and Chinese languages in the peninsula had declined to 3,876,526 up to June 2006 from 3,960,122 in 2004. In the same period, daily circulation in all three languages had dipped to 394,864 from 483,921 in Sarawak and to 164,168 from 165,578 in Sabah.
While the economy is seen as a cause, a number of Malaysians have turned to online sources as they presume the newspapers are owned by politically-linked companies and produce spin and propaganda in their reportage.
Utusan Malaysia's recent reporting has boosted such presumptions although shrill reporting and outrageous articles that border on the fantasy in news portals like Malaysia Today do no justice for online news portals despite talk of press freedom and a responsibile media.
But Wong has proven that there are journalists who can walk the talk rather than just talk the walk.
This type of hound is a rare breed in Malaysian journalism,
and as the Malaysian Insider commentator says: She has raised
the benchmark for responsibility and accountability and integrity
in journalism practice -- and Desi hopes that the Fifth estaters would
emulate the Fourth Estate code of ethics in reporting and commenting and editing.
Malaysiakini journalist shows the way in standards
COMMENTARY
OCT 21 — It’s NOT a rare day when journalism is on trial in Malaysia. But it’s a rare day when a journalist resigns to take responsibility for an erroneous report.
Today, Malaysiakini journalist Wong Choon Mei resigned for putting out a report late on Sunday on Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s manifesto for the Umno presidency, which the deputy prime minister denied and called “patently false and misleading”.
“It is my fault and I stand ready to take full responsibility and resign,” Wong explained to the popular online portal.
Her editor, Steven Gan, was also quoted in the Malaysiakini portal as saying: “We deeply regret the error.”
In comparison, DAP leader and lawmaker Teresa Kok has had to sue Utusan Malaysia and its columnist Mohd Zaini Hassan over an article titled “Azan, Jawi, Jais, UiTM dan ba-alif-ba-ya” published in the Malay-language newspaper on Sept 10 which she alleges was maliciously intended to defame her.
The article had accused her of asking mosque officials to stop the use of loudspeakers at a mosque when performing azan prayers. Kok has denied these claims. She also spent a week in detention under the Internal Security Act as police investigated the allegations.
They have not apologised and neither has Zaini offered to resign or stop writing his columns. In fact, the Umno-owned newspaper has exacerbated the matter by publishing a short story and poetry which alluded to her case. However, short-story writer Datuk Chamil Wariya, an industry veteran, has denied such allusions.
Writers from other mainstream media outlets and bloggers who used to be journalists have also asked Kok to withdraw her suit, pleading for a case of media freedom in Malaysia.
But Wong, with a just a decade of experience under her belt in The Edge, Reuters and Channel News Asia, has shown these veterans the standards that Malaysian journalism must aspire for.
With her resignation over a mistake, she has now become the standard for professionalism and accountability in Malaysian media. And she has shown the difference between freedom and responsibility in the online world which the mainstream media has yet to reveal despite their years in the industry.
Malaysian journalism will be enriched with the likes of Wong. The online media has shown it answers to a higher standard than those in the mainstream media, reflected in its growing popularity even as circulation falls for most newspapers as ironically pointed out by Chamil himself this week.
Chamil, who is the Malaysian Press Institute chief executive, quoted Audit Bureau Circulation Malaysia figures showing newspaper circulation in the Malay, English and Chinese languages in the peninsula had declined to 3,876,526 up to June 2006 from 3,960,122 in 2004. In the same period, daily circulation in all three languages had dipped to 394,864 from 483,921 in Sarawak and to 164,168 from 165,578 in Sabah.
While the economy is seen as a cause, a number of Malaysians have turned to online sources as they presume the newspapers are owned by politically-linked companies and produce spin and propaganda in their reportage.
Utusan Malaysia's recent reporting has boosted such presumptions although shrill reporting and outrageous articles that border on the fantasy in news portals like Malaysia Today do no justice for online news portals despite talk of press freedom and a responsibile media.
But Wong has proven that there are journalists who can walk the talk rather than just talk the walk.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
playin' solitaire wit' thy mind
the government is promoting vvice
as opposed to wisdom
bending a citizen's mind
to its ill will
when its mandate is to safeguard
his wellbeing and welfare
there is nothin' fair
and it's not ordinary fare
when in the steal of the night
these UMNO-inspired goons creep in like
theives
they take you in for your own safety they sing
"VVe want you in custody under the ISA!"
Pronto, cufflinks and blindfold
driven round the bend
it's the mind they are stealing
plus trying to destroy your soul
the body meanwhile i s subject to deprivation most vile
they say it's for your own security
yes, mama mia
bless these goons, and umno guns
are they born of humans like Mum and Dad
or art they from Doomsville
and Kamunting camp is their workshop
bending minds
against the owners' will
playin' solitaire wit' the minds
of MALAYSIANS of GOoDwill
8.48AM
Tuesdya October 21, 2008
Dedicated to mGf fellow blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin plus 63 other Malaysians
of goodwll resident at Kamunting
against God's gifted will;
Inspired after reading the following****:
Dr. Munawar Anees' Story
(http://dranees.org)
http://cambridgecoalition.tripod.com/anees.htm
Written by Dr. Munawar Anees
Published by cambridgecoalition.tripod.com
(Undated)
Dr. Munawar Anees was one of Anwar's friends who was unjustly treated by Dr. Mahathir. This is his story :
HOSTAGE TO MAHATHIR: Living With Open Wounds
A large inscription on the rotunda of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington -- "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny upon the mind of man" -- impressed me deeply on my first visit to the United States as a student nearly a quarter of a century ago. Recently, with the tears of experience welling in my eyes, I revisited that site. My arbitrary arrest and torture in Malaysia had engraved Jefferson's inscription on my heart.
As a student I knew of the horrors of the Holocaust and other human tragedies, but merely as a distant thunder: The violation of human rights and crimes against humanity were only an abstract notion.
That was all fated to change with my arrest last year under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) of Malaysia, which allows for indefinite detention without trial. My crime? I had known Anwar Ibrahim, the deputy prime minister and finance minister of Malaysia, as a close personal friend for many years. We shared and strove for a vision of life firmly rooted in human dignity. We struggled for building an intellectual and political milieu for free expression. Together, we subscribed to the idea of economic prosperity, gender and racial equality and a civil society.
Alas, the Malaysian dictator, Mahathir, under the growing burden of corruption and cronyism, conspired to halt the march of freedom. In order to build his fraudulent case against Anwar, Mahathir himself ordered my arrest.
My kidnapping and detention by the infamous Malaysian Special Branch taught me how it feels to be forcibly separated from one's wife and children. How it feels to be searched and seized, disallowed to make phone calls, handcuffed, blindfolded, stripped naked, driven in an animal cage, shaven bald, endlessly interrogated, humiliated, drugged, deprived of sleep, physically abused. What it's like to be threatened, blackmailed, tormented by police lawyers, brutalized to make a totally false confession, hospitalized for a consequent heart ailment, and treated as a psychiatric patient with symptoms of Stockholm syndrome.
Barely surviving on a meager diet of rancid rice and chicken along with 12 medicines a day, I spent nearly four months handcuffed around the clock to my hospital bed, under the watchful eyes of the prison guards.
Thereafter, my ability to speak, read and write took a considerable time to show signs of recovery. Short-term memory lapses were frequent. I existed in a fluid state in which suicidal tendencies, depression and despair were punctuated by fits of rage and indignation.
Weekly visits of less than an hour by my wife, Nadia, with our young children -- Aisha and Omran -- were my only contact with the outside world and the only inspiration to live on.
In collusion with the lawyer appointed on my behalf by the police, the Malaysian authorities refused the legal assistance of my choice, coercing me not to mount an appeal against the court verdict and threatening me with greater punishment under new charges if I didn't co-operate.
Simultaneously, Nadia constantly endured police harassment, wiretapping and disruption of our e-mail and bank accounts. Some of our friends were met with the same fate and were compelled to abandon us when we needed them most.
But, in attempting to scare off and alienate my friends, how terribly mistaken were Malaysian autocrats in aping gross Gestapo tactics. How they underestimated the temper of freedom in so many places around the world, above all among friends in the West.
Floodgates of human compassion were opened when the futurist author Alvin Toffler, who Mahathir asked to advise him on a pet high-technology project, sent a message of protest to the Malaysian leader within 72 hours of my capture. In a major interview with the Western press, Mahathir even felt it necessary to make assurances -- unfulfilled, of course -- about my well being.
With every passing day, the rising tide of concern for my plight seemed to personify the words of Elie Wiesel: "Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor. Never the victim. Never the tormented."
Friends and strangers alike took a stand and support began to mushroom everywhere. Nadia related to me in the hospital how Amnesty International had declared me a "prisoner of conscience," and how Pen International adopted me as a "writer in prison." Against all odds, two prominent Malaysian lawyers, Manjeet Singh Dhillon and Balwant Singh Siddhu, offered their services unconditionally. To top it all, an international coalition -- Friends of Dr. Anees -- came into existence in defence of my rights. The core group of Naseer Ahmad, Baseer Hai, Safir Rammah, Jamal Mubarak, Anees Ahmad and Naeem Siddiqui mounted a media campaign with phenomenal success.
What touched my heart was that the person, Kamal Mubarak, who set up the Web site had never met me in person. From the depths of my confinement, I could see the magic of human compassion had begun to defeat oppression.
The pinnacle was reached after my release in the warm hug laced with watery eyes of an Amnesty friend in Toronto, Margaret John, who witnessed a pledge of solidarity between me and Devan Nair, the former president of Singapore, for we had come to share a similar fate.
My victimization at the hands of Mahathir's "Asian values" has transformed me in another way. All my adult life, like so many in the Muslim world, I have suspected under every nook and cranny some conspiracy by the West to keep us down. Yet, in this seminal experience of my life, my friends in the West succeeded in saving me, while Mahathir, a Muslim, did everything to destroy me. And he is trying to do the same to Anwar again through his obliging courts on totally fabricated charges.
Mahathir has demonstrated that, though a proclaimed Muslim, his heart is blind to compassion. Tyranny is the hallmark of his bankrupt concept of "Asian values."
My tragedy, and that of my friend Anwar, ought to make our fellow Muslims think very hard when they ponder the West and its role in the world. As we set out to shape our collective destiny in the 21st century, will the values of Mahathir or Jefferson serve us best? Mahathir himself made that choice for me. Sic semper tyrannis.
Dr. Munawar A. Anees
as opposed to wisdom
bending a citizen's mind
to its ill will
when its mandate is to safeguard
his wellbeing and welfare
there is nothin' fair
and it's not ordinary fare
when in the steal of the night
these UMNO-inspired goons creep in like
theives
they take you in for your own safety they sing
"VVe want you in custody under the ISA!"
Pronto, cufflinks and blindfold
driven round the bend
it's the mind they are stealing
plus trying to destroy your soul
the body meanwhile i s subject to deprivation most vile
they say it's for your own security
yes, mama mia
bless these goons, and umno guns
are they born of humans like Mum and Dad
or art they from Doomsville
and Kamunting camp is their workshop
bending minds
against the owners' will
playin' solitaire wit' the minds
of MALAYSIANS of GOoDwill
8.48AM
Tuesdya October 21, 2008
Dedicated to mGf fellow blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin plus 63 other Malaysians
of goodwll resident at Kamunting
against God's gifted will;
Inspired after reading the following****:
Dr. Munawar Anees' Story
(http://dranees.org)
http://cambridgecoalition.tripod.com/anees.htm
Written by Dr. Munawar Anees
Published by cambridgecoalition.tripod.com
(Undated)
Dr. Munawar Anees was one of Anwar's friends who was unjustly treated by Dr. Mahathir. This is his story :
HOSTAGE TO MAHATHIR: Living With Open Wounds
A large inscription on the rotunda of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington -- "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny upon the mind of man" -- impressed me deeply on my first visit to the United States as a student nearly a quarter of a century ago. Recently, with the tears of experience welling in my eyes, I revisited that site. My arbitrary arrest and torture in Malaysia had engraved Jefferson's inscription on my heart.
As a student I knew of the horrors of the Holocaust and other human tragedies, but merely as a distant thunder: The violation of human rights and crimes against humanity were only an abstract notion.
That was all fated to change with my arrest last year under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) of Malaysia, which allows for indefinite detention without trial. My crime? I had known Anwar Ibrahim, the deputy prime minister and finance minister of Malaysia, as a close personal friend for many years. We shared and strove for a vision of life firmly rooted in human dignity. We struggled for building an intellectual and political milieu for free expression. Together, we subscribed to the idea of economic prosperity, gender and racial equality and a civil society.
Alas, the Malaysian dictator, Mahathir, under the growing burden of corruption and cronyism, conspired to halt the march of freedom. In order to build his fraudulent case against Anwar, Mahathir himself ordered my arrest.
My kidnapping and detention by the infamous Malaysian Special Branch taught me how it feels to be forcibly separated from one's wife and children. How it feels to be searched and seized, disallowed to make phone calls, handcuffed, blindfolded, stripped naked, driven in an animal cage, shaven bald, endlessly interrogated, humiliated, drugged, deprived of sleep, physically abused. What it's like to be threatened, blackmailed, tormented by police lawyers, brutalized to make a totally false confession, hospitalized for a consequent heart ailment, and treated as a psychiatric patient with symptoms of Stockholm syndrome.
Barely surviving on a meager diet of rancid rice and chicken along with 12 medicines a day, I spent nearly four months handcuffed around the clock to my hospital bed, under the watchful eyes of the prison guards.
Thereafter, my ability to speak, read and write took a considerable time to show signs of recovery. Short-term memory lapses were frequent. I existed in a fluid state in which suicidal tendencies, depression and despair were punctuated by fits of rage and indignation.
Weekly visits of less than an hour by my wife, Nadia, with our young children -- Aisha and Omran -- were my only contact with the outside world and the only inspiration to live on.
In collusion with the lawyer appointed on my behalf by the police, the Malaysian authorities refused the legal assistance of my choice, coercing me not to mount an appeal against the court verdict and threatening me with greater punishment under new charges if I didn't co-operate.
Simultaneously, Nadia constantly endured police harassment, wiretapping and disruption of our e-mail and bank accounts. Some of our friends were met with the same fate and were compelled to abandon us when we needed them most.
But, in attempting to scare off and alienate my friends, how terribly mistaken were Malaysian autocrats in aping gross Gestapo tactics. How they underestimated the temper of freedom in so many places around the world, above all among friends in the West.
Floodgates of human compassion were opened when the futurist author Alvin Toffler, who Mahathir asked to advise him on a pet high-technology project, sent a message of protest to the Malaysian leader within 72 hours of my capture. In a major interview with the Western press, Mahathir even felt it necessary to make assurances -- unfulfilled, of course -- about my well being.
With every passing day, the rising tide of concern for my plight seemed to personify the words of Elie Wiesel: "Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor. Never the victim. Never the tormented."
Friends and strangers alike took a stand and support began to mushroom everywhere. Nadia related to me in the hospital how Amnesty International had declared me a "prisoner of conscience," and how Pen International adopted me as a "writer in prison." Against all odds, two prominent Malaysian lawyers, Manjeet Singh Dhillon and Balwant Singh Siddhu, offered their services unconditionally. To top it all, an international coalition -- Friends of Dr. Anees -- came into existence in defence of my rights. The core group of Naseer Ahmad, Baseer Hai, Safir Rammah, Jamal Mubarak, Anees Ahmad and Naeem Siddiqui mounted a media campaign with phenomenal success.
What touched my heart was that the person, Kamal Mubarak, who set up the Web site had never met me in person. From the depths of my confinement, I could see the magic of human compassion had begun to defeat oppression.
The pinnacle was reached after my release in the warm hug laced with watery eyes of an Amnesty friend in Toronto, Margaret John, who witnessed a pledge of solidarity between me and Devan Nair, the former president of Singapore, for we had come to share a similar fate.
My victimization at the hands of Mahathir's "Asian values" has transformed me in another way. All my adult life, like so many in the Muslim world, I have suspected under every nook and cranny some conspiracy by the West to keep us down. Yet, in this seminal experience of my life, my friends in the West succeeded in saving me, while Mahathir, a Muslim, did everything to destroy me. And he is trying to do the same to Anwar again through his obliging courts on totally fabricated charges.
Mahathir has demonstrated that, though a proclaimed Muslim, his heart is blind to compassion. Tyranny is the hallmark of his bankrupt concept of "Asian values."
My tragedy, and that of my friend Anwar, ought to make our fellow Muslims think very hard when they ponder the West and its role in the world. As we set out to shape our collective destiny in the 21st century, will the values of Mahathir or Jefferson serve us best? Mahathir himself made that choice for me. Sic semper tyrannis.
Dr. Munawar A. Anees
Monday, October 20, 2008
playGIArhythming away mondae blues
I knew Dr Mave -- I dunno know if his doctor is medical,philosophical or sochai! -- from some three GOoD years ago via blogging. We later met up physically and since bantered a little. Like chickens on the run.
This morning I feel privileged to bollow without his AP some rumination which should appropriately APpear 24 earlier.
But you can't bring back time.But we can adjust our mindset. Treat mondae blues as sundae's ruminACTION and thou'll be GOoD!:)
Cheers, YL, Desi, knottyaSsusual
Monday, October 20, 2008
From maverickysm.blogspot.com:)
I am back
I am back to KL.
Glad to know that Chua Soi Lek is back to helm MCA, and most likely, back to cabinet. Chinese can accept a leader who is courageous to admit his own actions. He deserved to be the deputy president of MCA. I hope he can reinvent MCA. However, he may face difficulty as he has to work with Ong Tee Keat.
I need a rest after five grueling days. Both of my legs are in great pain, probably due to stress. The coming week would equally be hectic and grueling.
Before I say goodnight (ah, it's good morning), I just like to share an abstract of the philosophical thoughts by Grayling on friendship, relationship and parting:
Friendship & Relationship: Human beings are essentially social animals. Relationships are vital to our well-being. Intimate relationships may be few in numbers and idiosyncratic in character and plays a deep role in making us what we are. But friendship have the majority influence in determining the shape of our social personae, especially in the formative period between the second and forth decades of our lifes.
Therefore, one good way to know what sort of person someone really is, is to examine not the friends but the friendships he has maintained through time.
However, it is important not to restrict the idea of friendship to current living beings, for, one can have friendships with those dead and gone, including those characters in the books, historical figures, animals and in particular, those whom we have not met but has somewhat become friends in the cyber-world.
The key lies in who we talk to, and who we listen to, on what really concerns us. What we discuss with friends stays alive in the relationship thereafter, affecting its course and influence the character of the parties to it.
Aristotle described a friend as "another self", and that is sometimes true enough to make a friend the deceiver we need when we need to be deceived, and the absolver we need when we need absolution. But more importantly still, friends are the others we need, and who need us, for the sake of the difference and connectedness which give us the feedback, the testing ground, the support and the acceptably modulated challenges that condition us, and the companionship and merriment that keep us sane.
In a world full of enmity it is always interesting to contemplate the nature of friendship. A friend is a person who gives without being asked; who understands, or tries to, who rejoices at good fortune and supports through bad; who tells unpleasant truths and pleasant untruths when either is necessary; whose affection is freely given, and who makes the innocent and proper assumption that all the claims, expectations, rights and duties of this vital and valuable human bonds are reciprocal.
To treat a friend as another self is always to will the best for the other person for his/her own sake. However, friendship, once made, need tending and nothing replaces time together, in circumstances where other pressures are lifted so that the gates of communication can spring open, allowing free trade to pass between.
Parting: Partings might be endings, or new beginnings; they might be too temporary for the sweet sorrow they are poetically identified with, or, they might leave wounds that either take too long to heal, or never do heal.
The idea of parting of the ways offers a conundrum: you come to the parting, and do not know which road to take in order to reach your destination. You do not know which is, yet you are allowed only one question: what can you ask?
No matter what the circumstances, to part from anything of value, whether people or things, is to forfeit something of oneself. It is as if the other entity has grown into one, suggesting the reason for describing oneself as attached to it. Like the well known lyric:
To leave is to die a little;
It is to die to what one loves;
One leaves behind a little oneself;
At any hour, any place."
Every progression through life is a parting from what went before. Parting do teach us that, to gain you have to give up, that to be alive is to change, and that change involves the death of current so that they can become the past.
Optimistically, we see a fresh beginning in every parting. However, too many beginnings make for few endings. In fact, rather few partings are endings.
The answer to the conundrum of the forked road is: you ask one of the men to point out the road that the other man would say is your route. And then, since the pointed road will be wrong, you take the other road.
The right road is usually clear to anyone who will give some thought to the puzzle of which, among so many wrong roads, is the right one, for truth and falsehood combine to give truth whenever ways reach a parting.
Reference: A.C. Grayling: The Heart of Things.
This morning I feel privileged to bollow without his AP some rumination which should appropriately APpear 24 earlier.
But you can't bring back time.But we can adjust our mindset. Treat mondae blues as sundae's ruminACTION and thou'll be GOoD!:)
Cheers, YL, Desi, knottyaSsusual
Monday, October 20, 2008
From maverickysm.blogspot.com:)
I am back
I am back to KL.
Glad to know that Chua Soi Lek is back to helm MCA, and most likely, back to cabinet. Chinese can accept a leader who is courageous to admit his own actions. He deserved to be the deputy president of MCA. I hope he can reinvent MCA. However, he may face difficulty as he has to work with Ong Tee Keat.
I need a rest after five grueling days. Both of my legs are in great pain, probably due to stress. The coming week would equally be hectic and grueling.
Before I say goodnight (ah, it's good morning), I just like to share an abstract of the philosophical thoughts by Grayling on friendship, relationship and parting:
Friendship & Relationship: Human beings are essentially social animals. Relationships are vital to our well-being. Intimate relationships may be few in numbers and idiosyncratic in character and plays a deep role in making us what we are. But friendship have the majority influence in determining the shape of our social personae, especially in the formative period between the second and forth decades of our lifes.
Therefore, one good way to know what sort of person someone really is, is to examine not the friends but the friendships he has maintained through time.
However, it is important not to restrict the idea of friendship to current living beings, for, one can have friendships with those dead and gone, including those characters in the books, historical figures, animals and in particular, those whom we have not met but has somewhat become friends in the cyber-world.
The key lies in who we talk to, and who we listen to, on what really concerns us. What we discuss with friends stays alive in the relationship thereafter, affecting its course and influence the character of the parties to it.
Aristotle described a friend as "another self", and that is sometimes true enough to make a friend the deceiver we need when we need to be deceived, and the absolver we need when we need absolution. But more importantly still, friends are the others we need, and who need us, for the sake of the difference and connectedness which give us the feedback, the testing ground, the support and the acceptably modulated challenges that condition us, and the companionship and merriment that keep us sane.
In a world full of enmity it is always interesting to contemplate the nature of friendship. A friend is a person who gives without being asked; who understands, or tries to, who rejoices at good fortune and supports through bad; who tells unpleasant truths and pleasant untruths when either is necessary; whose affection is freely given, and who makes the innocent and proper assumption that all the claims, expectations, rights and duties of this vital and valuable human bonds are reciprocal.
To treat a friend as another self is always to will the best for the other person for his/her own sake. However, friendship, once made, need tending and nothing replaces time together, in circumstances where other pressures are lifted so that the gates of communication can spring open, allowing free trade to pass between.
Parting: Partings might be endings, or new beginnings; they might be too temporary for the sweet sorrow they are poetically identified with, or, they might leave wounds that either take too long to heal, or never do heal.
The idea of parting of the ways offers a conundrum: you come to the parting, and do not know which road to take in order to reach your destination. You do not know which is, yet you are allowed only one question: what can you ask?
No matter what the circumstances, to part from anything of value, whether people or things, is to forfeit something of oneself. It is as if the other entity has grown into one, suggesting the reason for describing oneself as attached to it. Like the well known lyric:
To leave is to die a little;
It is to die to what one loves;
One leaves behind a little oneself;
At any hour, any place."
Every progression through life is a parting from what went before. Parting do teach us that, to gain you have to give up, that to be alive is to change, and that change involves the death of current so that they can become the past.
Optimistically, we see a fresh beginning in every parting. However, too many beginnings make for few endings. In fact, rather few partings are endings.
The answer to the conundrum of the forked road is: you ask one of the men to point out the road that the other man would say is your route. And then, since the pointed road will be wrong, you take the other road.
The right road is usually clear to anyone who will give some thought to the puzzle of which, among so many wrong roads, is the right one, for truth and falsehood combine to give truth whenever ways reach a parting.
Reference: A.C. Grayling: The Heart of Things.
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