My Anthem

Wednesday, October 07, 2015

THe RULERS have spoken: PERFECT STORM CLOUDS FINALLY APPEAR over PUTRAJAYA

DESi believes the PERFECT STORM CLOUDS FORMATION that st hideaway --arted some six months ago have now crucially ARRIVED OVER PUTRAJATA: AFTER all of NAjib RAzak's troubles seem'd blown away to WAshington UN ASSembly for a two-week holiday, finally DEsi hears the initial LYRICS OF "MY WAY" being sung by the BIg FAt LAdy, "AND now the end is near, and so I FACE THE FINAL CURTAIN...."








THE RULERS  HATH SPOKEN:
 

Nation

Published: Wednesday October 7, 2015 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Wednesday October 7, 2015 MYT 11:43:02 AM

Rulers: Settle 1MDB issue fast

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malay Rulers want the Government to complete the investigation into the 1Malaysia Development Berhad controversy as soon as possible and take “the appropriate stern action” against all found to be implicated.
In a statement, their royal highnesses stressed that all concerned should extend “real and sincere” cooperation for the investigation to achieve its objectives.
“The findings of the investigation must be reported comprehensively and in a transparent manner so the people will be convinced of the sincerity of the Government which shall not at all conceal facts and the truth,” they said.
The statement was released by the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal, Datuk Seri Syed Danial Syed Ahmad, after the pre-council meeting of the Conference of Rulers at Istana Negara yesterday.
The 239th meeting of the Conference of Rulers is scheduled for today and tomorrow.
The statement said: “The failure to give convincing clarifications and answers is feared to have resulted in a crisis of confidence.
“As a consequence, the people believe, whether basing on reality or perception, that this is among the causes for the plunge in the value of the Malaysian Ringgit, impacting the country’s financial market and economic climate negatively and at the same time adversely affecting the world’s view of Malaysia.”
According to the statement, the Malay Rulers were worried that if the issue was not wisely handled, and was allowed to drag on, it could jeopardise the country’s economy and the livelihood of the people.
“To ensure that the Government enjoys the people’s trust, that leaders are respected, that political stability is guaranteed and that the economy continues to grow, all leaders must constantly ensure that justice is meted out equitably and transparently based on the law,” they said.
For this, the statement said, enforcement agencies and regulatory institutions such as the police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Bank Negara, Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Judiciary, as well as related government bodies, should be worthy of God’s trust and the people’s faith in transparency, credibility and integrity.
The Malay Rulers also wanted the leaders to give priority to factors of security, tranquillity, peace and harmony and place national and the people’s concerns above their personal interests.
“The Malay Rulers take seriously issues affecting race and religion and would like to remind leaders of political parties and non-governmental organisations not to sensationalise racial and religious issues to garner support,” the statement said.
Their royal highnesses said the long-prevailing inter-racial and inter-religious harmony and solidarity had been the main pillar for the stability of an independent, peaceful, progressive and prosperous Malaysia.
As such, they said, the harmony and solidarity of the people should be safeguarded at all times and never be sacrificed for shallow political aims. ­— Bernama

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DESIDERATA RECALLS:


#1. Thursday, August 13, 2015

THE UNRAVELLING OF 1MDB CONTINUES -- almost reaching its peak: PART III (Corrected, NOT PARt IV!)



FOR THE PAST  six to se7en months, I have writ much about the 1MDB predicting its impending demise ; following are some key extracts:~~

MANY key institutions in NegaraKu are either dead OR DYING; the love-OR-hate him ex-PM DR MAhathir MOHamad pronounced recently that "Democracy is dead..."; THE 4-Member TASK FORCE IS ALSO DEAD! -- digressing a byte, BANK NEgara GOVrernor, ZEti AKhtar AZiz, WHERE ART THOU? WHY THE "elegant silence"!? (UPDated August 14, 11.28AM: ZETI held a 2-hr PC yesterday...see NEXT POST! YL, DESi)

 THE Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC ) is as good as dead for the past and coming few weeks...wit' one stroke of genius, NAJIB (ala NEro waking up from his nightmare...) crippled PAC by PROMOTIng its chairman JAzlan MOHamed and 4 (SEi liau liau!) others into his wooden cabinet...

We the RAKyat weep for the dead ones, and we howl even louder for the DYING BECAUSE the latter are HAPPENING RIGHT BEFORE OUR EYES. IT'S SURREAL -- like watching THE EMPEROR NERO PLAYING THE FIDDLE AS ROME BURNED...

As I heard it over the radio while driving to town for lunch, the RINGGIT BREACHED the RM4.0 mark against the GREENBACK on Tuesday, as predicted by many business analysts the week before, although closing a byte higher. JUST reproducing part of theSUN REPORT (PRINT++++) yesterday, headlined

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No breather for ringgit as China devalues its currency

________________________________
 

NOW copying from its ONLINE EDITion with a slightly different headline:~~

 

No breather for ringgit as China devalues yuan

Posted on 12 August 2015 - 05:40am
sunbiz@thesundaily.com
PETALING JAYA: The ringgit and the local stock market took a big hit yesterday after China shocked markets by devaluing the Yuan in a move that spiked the US dollar almost instantly.
In the wake of China's record 1.9% currency devaluation, the ringgit slid further to a mere 0.037 points away from the RM4 to the dollar level as at 5pm yesterday.
The local currency strengthened to 3.9735 to the dollar, up 23.67% from a year ago, while the FBM KLCI index lost 17.66 points or 1.07% yesterday.
China's move to devalue the yuan, an attempt to boost its exports, has put all eyes on Bank Negara Malaysia's on next move as one foreign currency (forex) trader reckons that the central bank will have to put the brakes on the "runaway" ringgit if it breaches the 4.00 per dollar level.

He said Bank Negara have not really made a significant effort to stop the ringgit fall although there has been speculation the central bank is buying the currency to stem its losses.
Malaysia's foreign-exchange reserves dropped below US$100 billion (RM397 billion) last month for the first time in five years, partly due to capital outflow from some withdrawal of portfolio funds by investors resulting in further depreciation of the ringgit.
Meanwhile, the KLCI extended its sell down after closing lower at 1,636.71 points despite chalking up gains early morning on the back of bargain-hunting.

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AS I said earlier, there's lots of reprising parts of OLD POSTS HERE -- to put in context the latest (part III) in the ESSAY SERIES, dear ER, please go back to read PART II, partially reprised *** BELOW.

ALSO, Read the COMPANION ESSAY SERIES ****"WHY I Say MALaysia IS movingTowards the ABYSS" PART IV:~~

 

NOTE: I WILL ALSO need to do LOTS OF CUT&PASTry from older posts here to show the TRENDING THAT leads to the FINAL UNRAVELLING OF 1MDB, plus the IMPLOSION OF UMNO-oh-NO party, and its CEO-cum-PM NAJIB RAZAK -- aka "MODERN NERO", cun?  -- AND  hopefully, MALAysians will see PAKATAN RAKYAT'S DE Facto LEADER DS ANWAR ANWAR rising as the proverbial PHOENIX... (MY hope and prayer, OK!:) ~~ YL,  DESi

 

(1) FIRSTLY< FRom my post here dated AUGust 10, 2015, headed "Have a good laugh", ex-PM ON current PM, partial extract follows:Dr Mahathir said that what Najib was doing was unprecedented and that the people are at a loss.
He added that the prospect of Najib continuing to rule the country is depressing and that the Malaysia where elections can even see opposition parties winning whole states will be no more.
“Democracy is dead. It is dead because an elected leader chooses to subvert the institutions of Government and make them his instruments for sustaining himself. There is no more democracy for anyone to undermine,” he said.

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Secondly:

Thursday, July 30, 2015


THE UNRAVELLING OF 1MDB CONTINUES -- almost reaching its peak! --PART II

DEAR ESteemedReaders, treat this post as PART II of my post dated:

 

Tuesday, July 07, 2015


THE UNRAVELLING OF 1MDB CONTINUES -- almost reaching its peak! Don't be like DESi -- lots of CUt&PAStrying these past few months, C! -_-  go read the first part before you continue reading a borrowed piece from mGf -- myGOODfriend, knot gal! -- KIM QUEK, viz:

 

 

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Freedom or totalitarianism?
By Kim Quek
29.07.2015
It is all too apparent that Prime Minister Najib Razak’s lightning move to remove the Attorney General and reshuffle his cabinet on July 28 was done for the singular purpose to neuter criminal investigations and impending prosecution arising from the 1MDB scandal and the RM2.6 billion in Najib’s personal bank accounts.
By removing AG Gani Patail and offering cabinet positions to members of the PAC (parliamentary account committee), Najib hopes to avert impending prosecution and postpone imminent PAC hearings on key players in 1MDB, which in all certainty, will expose the massive multi-billion heist that will grievously hurt Najib.
:
:
:
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(3) THIRDLY, 

....

 

Friday, May 22, 2015


Why I say Malaysia Is Moving Towards the Abyss... IV

MAY I seek thy indulgence by quoting the INTRO from my first part of this  ESSAY SERIES, viz:

Saturday, March 07, 2015


Why I say Malaysia Is Moving Towards the Abyss...


The Impending Unravelling of IMDB could lead towards the UNRAVELLING OF NAJIB RAZAK, described by many quarters as the "weakest PM" Negaraku ever had, including by none-other-than Dr Mahathir Mohamad -- love or hate hime PM who ruled Malaysia for 22 years, no joke! As a journalist-blogger for past 10 years, Desi takes Mahathir seriously, at least he quotes Shakespeare occasionally! Mahathir's nemesis now in-jail-on-trumped-up-sodomy-charges second time around, Sdr Anwar Ibrahim -- also quotes Shakespeare often enough, more than the good doctor around the Putajaya house!

Now the Opposition Leader once oppressed by Mahathir, continues to be persecuted by the current UMNO regime, but Anwar's salvation may come from a surprising quarter -- from the infighting within UMNO. The almigthy Vitamin M may save Najib from the EGM called by his "bodeking" division heads/supporters for tomorrow, but the looming national crisis brought on by the falling world oil prices, (and casuing Petronas to report its first loss of some RM8billion in the closing quarter of 2014), and the concurrent dwindling ringgit excahnge rate, is now compunded further by the UNRAVELLING OF THRE FIVE-YEAR OLD 1MALAYSIA DEVELOPMENT BERHAD.


PLease also NOTE that this FOURTH PART  OF"Why I say Malaysia Is Moving Towards the Abyss... IV" WILL serve as the CONCLUSION OF THE SERIES AND IS still a piece in progress ok!. later, IF THERE is a need to re-open the case, DESi will start a CHapter 2, cun?!  -- Digressing another byte,  like I would like TO RE-OPEN the ALTantuya and DS ANwar IBRAhim's SOdomy2 cases -- BUT THAT WILL BE ANOTHER LONG STORY FOR LATER! -- AND we as responsible CITIZENS WILL Have to rise up to MAKE IT HAPPEN, K!
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IN this blog started some 10 years ago, DEsi has writ a few times that MALAYSIA HAS BECOME A LAUGHING STOCK IN THE WORLD. WEll, a few EXTRACTS (Will do so later, cun?) of news headlines/partial reports would confirm this world status for NegaraKu, proud eh? 

From THE STAR, 1st example now, others will follow, Patience, eh!:


Published: Sunday May 17, 2015 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Sunday May 17, 2015 MYT 6:46:48 AM

‘BR1M was Bank Negara idea’

Home sweet home: Najib chatting with the owner of one of the newly launched Melana Indah flats, Hassan Mohammed @ Hashim, 49. Sitting on his lap is two-year-old Mohamed Waiz Hafiy Shawal. Looking on are (from left) Abdul Rahman and Mohamed Khaled.
Home sweet home: Najib chatting with the owner of one of the newly launched Melana Indah flats, Hassan Mohammed @ Hashim, 49. Sitting on his lap is two-year-old Mohamed Waiz Hafiy Shawal. Looking on are (from left) Abdul Rahman and Mohamed Khaled.
JOHOR BARU: The 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) was suggested by Bank Negara and is aimed at helping those from the lower income group who make up about 40% of Malaysians, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Dispelling talk from naysayers that the handout had made Malaysians lazy, he said BR1M was meant to help the recipients cope with the rising cost of living.
He said BR1M was neither politically motivated nor a form of vote-buying.

DESI: THIS clueless PRIME MINISTER THINKS THE BANK NEGARA GOVERNOR IS HIS BOSS! Najib now sees the tide of criticms of those against HIs pet project BR1M Is OVERWHELMING, AND POor ZETI is being scape-goated. THIS has become clueless NAJIB's habit, disowning any programmes failing in the RAKYAT's eyes, BUT STEPPING UP TO CLAIM credit for any "Successful" people's projects! TYPICAL OF COWARDS WHO DON'T KNOW THE MEANING OF responsibility! 

UMNO SHIP OF FOOLS CAPTAINED BY NAJIB

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##2.. Wednesday, August 05, 2015


ECONOMIC FACTORS that will feed the PERFECT STORM FORMATION

LET me just state this is a collation of events in the recent weeks, the figures cited ARE JUST CLOSE APPROXIMATIONS WHICH ARE good for making TRENDING PREDICTONS.

Writers/writHERs are not soothsayers though one BLOGger exiled to the UK resident in (Woe)MANchester oftense with LOGICAL arguments to support his CONCLUSIONS>making sen pushes his predictions down the readers' throats the past few years, WITH DIDACTIC PREACHINGS AND QUANTUM LEAP OF LOGIC TO make INFERENCES LIKE telling stories from the Arabian 1,001 nights... BEFORE these "Past few years", he was making sense with his WRITES with good background and LOGICAL PROGRESSION BEFore laying out his CONCLUSIONS. I am writing this BECAUSE HE sold out the REformasi CAUse and PKR Leader DS ANWAR IBRAHIM, and I deem him just a fiction writer nowadays, so be FOREWARNED SHOULD you still read his stuff, OK, from UK! KO him from your reading list when surfing, OK!

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NOW I Will list some BULLET POINTS Of the key economic factors that will IMPACT THE formation of the PERFECT STORM NOW forming in the near horizon.

*1.    THE Malaysian RINGGIT became the WORST PERFORMING CURRENCY Versus the GREENBACK or AMerican DOllar since a few weeks back, even beating the INdonesian RUpiah for the HOnour/DISHOnour. THE MAlaysian RInggit breached the RM3.80=1USD, last fixed 17 years ago by THEN PM DR MAHATHIR MOHAMAD as part of his CAPital COntrol MEasures to tackle the ASian FInancial CRisis. I sighted CNN Reporting just a few days ago the exchange rate saw RINGGIT FALling further  to above RM3.84 against the USD1!.

NOTE FROM DESI: I AM just C&Ping opening para; for aMORe please also surf to related post of:

Friday, August 07, 2015


ECONOMIC FACTORS that will feed the PERFECT STORM FORMATION: UPDATED

(FIRST post APPeared on WEDnesday 5 AUgust, 2015: NOTE FROM YL,DESi)

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###3... 

Saturday, August 01, 2015


MR PM, ART THOU KIDDING US?


THE NST PAGE 1 today carried this BLURB:

PM: Negative
perception
against 1MDB has
overshadowed
the good it's done

REPORT ON PAGE 2

'1MDB did more good to people'

CLOUDED PERCEPTION:
Najib blames

rumours for bad
image, cites fund's benefits

(Desi wll cut to the chase as he's NOT Able to copy from NST ONLINE: )

CITATION 1:

HE cited the 1MDB special HAJ and
school kids programmes, repairing
of old homes and channelling of aid
through its corporate social responsibility
efforts as the good deeds.



CITATION 2:

Citing another example, Najib
said Tabung Haji's purchase of the 
Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) land
belonging to 1MDB recently had
caused controversy after claims
emerged that depositors' money
were used to bail out 1MDB.

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DESIDERATA: HEY, MR PM, the two examples you cited would amount to expenses allocated by ANY LISTED COMPANY IS an annual budget for CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PROGRAMMES, no?!

(DESI IS SHAKING HIS HEAD IN DISBELIEF): -- NO WONDER IT HAS OFT BEEN REPORTED THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS MADE MALAYSIA A LAUGHING STOCK WORLDWIDE!



DESIDERATA2: recall that ex-PM had asked of current PM: 

Mahathir (To the effect...): ****Was RM2.6 billion deposited into your two AMBANK PERSONAL ACCOUNTS?

NAJIB's RESPONSE (To the effect...): I never used any of the money for my own benefit /gain.

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UPDATED 6.11PM<,2 August 2015 because new ideas came up after my KAPItalist lunch (treated by not-so-socialist-as DESi) fRiends. 

DESI adds that even a standard 5 or 6 student would know the ****Question stated above is asking for a simple "YES" or "NO" Answer! 

SO art thou, my friend/s, now surprised WHY I SAY "MALAYSIA is moving towards the ABYSS"?



MAy I also share that oft quoted saying:

"YOU can fool all the people some of the time;
YOU can fool some of the people all the time;
BUT YOU CAN'T fool all the people all the time."

NOTE: IN THE last General Elections (GE13) , some 48percent, almost half, of the MALaysian voters were fooled into voting BN led by UMNO. I Hope by the time GE!4 cometh around, These fellows won't be FOOLED AGAIN JUST Because generous NAJIB would raise BR1M from RM900 to RM1,500.

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# # # 4...

Sunday, July 26, 2015


WHY I SAY MAlaysia IS MOving TOwards the ABYSS: BORROWED CLOSING CHAPTER, CUN?

I AM adding today's splendid write by a SUNDay STAr columnist ZAINAH ANWAR as an extension to my four-part series "WHY I SAY MAlaysia IS MOving TOwards the ABYSS": PART I appeared at this blog on MARCh 07, 2015; via LINK  http://desiderata2000.blogspot.com/2015/03/why-i-say-malaysia-is-moving-towards.html and part IV ON FRIday MAY 22, 2015 via LINK: http://desiderata2000.blogspot.com/2015/05/why-i-say-malaysia-is-moving-towards_22.html


I can almost see that her piece in THE SUnday STAR today expresses thoughts almost coinciding wit' the main points I had made in my articles. IT is uplifting to have what I Term sharing SOUL-MATING WITH A fellow activist-scribe:). THANks, SDRI ZAINAH! YL,DESI

Columnists

Sharing The Nation

Published: Sunday July 26, 2015 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Sunday July 26, 2015 MYT 7:30:10 AM

Questions to ponder

As issue and more issues made the headlines, will there be an implosion of all the things that Malaysia had built over the years?
 

I AM beginning to feel as if this country and its rakyat are being crushed and pummelled by wrecking balls. 
The wrecking ball of race and religion, of insatiable greed, of never-­ending sense of entitlements, of unpunished crimes and abuses, of ideology over rational thinking, justice, and fair play.
These concerns are nothing new. What’s new is the breathtaking scale, the endlessness of it all, and the shamelessness with which the perpetrators display their unscrupulous, destructive and criminal behaviour, in words and deeds.
The seeds of this rot were sown a long time ago. Any dominant party in power breeds its own seeds of destruction.
For too long, too many of its leaders and party apparatchiks get away with all manner of transgressions. They tend to believe they are immune from any form of retribution.
I was in Geneva two weeks ago and UN officials and activists I met were asking what was happening to Malaysia.
How did things get this bad? We were once a model country that others looked up to as a prosperous, progressive, politically stable, multi-ethnic society. We are a high middle-income developing country, not a basket case.
Now we are looking more and more like another banana republic, with scandals galore making global headlines.
The deep concern many feel that these wrecking balls could lead to an implosion of everything that we have built over the ­decades is real. And what is scary is that there are people who are priming for trouble to break.
The Low Yat plaza riot will not be the last in their scheme of things.
Thank God, the IGP and his forces acted fast in nipping the problem in the bud and stating the facts clearly and unambiguously. It was a crime; not about one race trying to cheat another.
All those who exploited the situation by making hate speech to manufacture racial conflict must be charged for their role in inciting violence.
Lessons must be learnt fast if we want to stop those determined to destroy the country in order to remain in power and preserve what they believe are their lifetime entitlements – on nothing but the basis of birth.
As desperation over the inevitable closing chapter sets in, there will be more attempts to ignite fires of racial conflict.
The truth is the ruling elite is becoming more and more beleaguered – under the weight and scope of allegations of misappropriation of public funds, plummeting popularity and finding itself devoid of new blood and new ideas, and certainly bereft of courage and will to bring the transformation needed to win back public support.
Let’s manufacture more threats to add to the standard “Malays under threat”, “Islam under threat”. Now it’s “national security under threat” as more and more damning evidence of mind-blowing brazen sleaze and corruption is revealed.
Who is really threatening whose survival? And what has happened to the warnings given at the Umno general assembly last year that Umno must “change or be dead”? It looks like the choice Umno has made is very clear.
Unless a new breed of young far-sighted leaders come forward with the will and courage to change the system – political and economic – to become more inclusive, more just, more honest, more transparent, we are really seeing the end of a long era in Malaysian politics.
Time has run out for this old form of authoritarian politics and rule by a privileged elite.
In their book Why Nations Fail, Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson argue with evidence across history and geography that authoritarian “extractive” political and economic institutions designed by elites in order to and perpetuate their power at the expense of the majority of the people are bound to run out of steam.
The pride we have in our beloved country is that was NOT our history. That was not how Malaysia began. But today this is where we are heading.
Just look at the alleged Mara scandal. An agency set up to redress a historical econo­mic injustice against the Malays ends up led by people cheating the very group they are supposed to help, pocketing millions in barefaced shenanigans.
A policy vehicle pumped with hundreds of millions of taxpayers money to eradicate poverty on the basis of race gets abused by the privileged elite of that race.
This is yet another case of pagar makan padi. Those entrusted to protect you, instead betray you. And there are many more such scandals, just waiting to be surfaced.
Let’s ask some hard questions here.
Why after decades of rigorous development planning, 40% of Malaysian households earn only about RM1,847 a month?
Why after more than four decades of the NEP, 75.5% of those at the bottom are bumiputras?
Why in spite of the billions poured into education and boarding schools, 64.3% of the bumiputra workforce have only SPM qualifications?
Why some 90% of the unemployable university graduates are bumiputras?
Why of the RM54bil worth of shares pumped to bumiputra individuals and institutions between 1984 and 2005, only RM2bil remained in bumiputra hands today?
And why oh why should the bumiputras continue to raise a begging bowl and ask for more of the same kind of handouts from the same ruling elite?
The bottom 40% get crumbs.
Let’s focus our attention on these priorities.

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# # # # # 5.....

Monday, April 27, 2015


Why I say Malaysia Is Moving Towards the Abyss... III

COMING soon onto this screen -- maybe sext week if I survive a tsunami which may hit Malaysian shors anytime, according to my devout Buddhist matey SC, because Malaysia will have to pay for its BAD National Karma! -- YL, Desi, knottyaSsusual

PS: Now be a GOoD boy and go back to read the first TWO parts, OK!

* https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=11493162#editor/target=post;postID=2535473368816246783;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=17;src=postname

** https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=11493162#editor/target=post;postID=2837539081636979560;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=5;src=postname

A former MSM top editor has revealing things to say: worth taking note!

It's NOT OFTEN for former chief editors of mainstream media to break their silence on ongoing "sensitive/controversial" subjects involving the Government's CEO of the day. I say this becasue as a news watcher it's never without fail these editors got to the top of their positions in the heydays TOEING THE OFFICIAL LINE -- which means they did take instructions, explicitly or subtly issued, by the big shots at the Prime Minister's Office.

One of them is now a journo-blogger whom I know -- I won't calim very well because we never made dates to tehtarik on any occasion though we bumped into each other at media events -- is Abdul Kadir Jasin. Here's The Sribe's latest TWO blogposts at kadirjasin.blogspot.com:~~

(NOTE: PLEASe re4ad the full post by surfing to the said DATED 27 April 2015 on my blog, HEAR/here! YL, DESi....)

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##### 6.....or SEX y ending!

THANks for thy patience, I round up this COMPOUND Post with a more recent C&PASTRy! YL, DEsi, knottyaSSusual:~~~


Wednesday, September 09, 2015

Of Emperor NERO, Malaysian HERO and MEDIA/BLOGGERS

I Am extracting an important "OLDEish" item with some  "RELUCTANCE" from steadyaku-steadyaku-husseinhamid.blogspot.com about a personal piece by ex-minister ZAID IBRAHIM.

1. "OLDEISh" as in MEDIA world, both new like BLOGGING, and traditional like PRINT, yesterday's news generally is considered "History" today.

2. "RELUCTANCE" AS DESI has announced going on "fiction writing leave" indefinitely, BUT, being a newsdog by training and nurturing, WAS PULLED BACK "COS A gOOd politikuskaki insisted I must read the latest article attributed to ZAID IBRAHIM.

3. "RELUCTANCE2"  -- please bear with DESi giving thee a long backgrounder, here goes:  AS a blogger now going 10years-plus, DESI had interacted a bit/byte with said SUBJECT-Writer ZAid IBrahim in blogosphere; I had even featured him as a SPEAKER AT a BUM (BLOGGERS UNIVERSE MALAYSIA) annual gathering which I organised as CHAIR for four consecutive years annually from 2008 to 2011,  to mark WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY"; but subsequent years WHEN HE joined Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and very quickly challenged incumbent AZMIN ALI for Deputy Presidency of PKR, but surrendered midway, LEFT THE party in a huff along with COHORTS JEFFREy KITinggan and JOhn SOh & some bloggers, et al, almost burning the PKR HOUSE DOWN in his short stay during which he could not achieve his ambition to head PKR as de facto head DS ANWAR IBRAHIM was facing jail time.

4. is "SEi LOh" in Kantonis meaning "DIE LAH!" as in strange situations, former enemies now become your friends in POLITICS, AS we are often guided by primary dictum "IN POLITICS THERE are no permanent enemies, and permanent friends, only permanent interests"; and secondary dictum, "IN POLITICS, your enemy's enemy becomes your friend".

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I APologise for the long INTRO: here cometh the "MEAT" from: steadyaku-steadyaku-husseinhamid.blogspot.com :




Friday, September 4, 2015


Zaid Ibrahim on Tun Mahathir : The Last of The Mohicans!

with thanks to :


Rally Behind Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad


(The following is the transcript of Zaid Ibrahim speech given at the Royal Selangor Club luncheon)

Thank you, Mr President, for allowing me the opportunity to speak to members of the Royal Selangor Club about what lies ahead for the country. I was once a member of this special Club. I have fond memories of the Long Bar as a special meeting place for lawyers and businessmen, where good spirits and conversation could always be found.

Today we have a Prime Minister who is not only embroiled in a financial scandal the magnitude of which the world has not seen before – he has also deliberately obstructed the machinery of Government from carrying out its duties.

The Government of Malaysia is today run by Prime Minister Najib Razak’s lackeys, and he himself has become dangerous as a leader of this nation. From what we have seen so far, there appears to be nothing stopping him from doing whatever he believes will preserve his power – and that includes the possibility of ruling by martial law.

What lies ahead? Dark clouds and uncertain times. Democracy and a fair, just and responsible government are in jeopardy. Unbridled extremism from both sides of the political divide will reign. Malay extremists will continue to blame Chinese Malaysians and various foreigners for everything that has gone wrong, while the angry “reformists” from the Opposition will blame everything on UMNO and Dr Mahathir Mohammad. The room for sensible political engagement is almost closed. The “you are with me or you are against me” syndrome is now very much alive. I fear that more of this lies ahead.

A nation can be destroyed in a short time. Rwanda was destroyed in a space of only a year of ethnic violence between Hutus and Tutsis. A million Rwandans died for little more than to showcase the politics of hate and the power of violence.

It took Hitler just seven years from 1928 to ascend to absolute power and change the worldview of Germany, such that an entire people could believe that they might rule the world by conquest and close an eye to the mass murder of the Jews. It took a World War to end the political disease and hegemony of the Third Reich.

In Malaysia today, we have Najib who has been in power for six years. He will not follow the law other than to use it for his own purposes, and the longer he rules the worse our future will be. We must therefore act and do our bit.

His removal must be our common priority. I repeat: his removal is our priority.

To do this there is only one option available: either we rally behind Dr Mahathir, or we have to live with Najib for a long time. If we have to work with a group within UMNO to remove Najib, then we must. I know some of you are allergic to Dr Mahathir, and some of you are more gung-ho and believe that we must remove UMNO altogether. If you can do it, then by all means do it. But I would rather try to remove Najib first, simply because, on paper, it’s easier to achieve. Change comes in small doses.

In the past, Opposition parties have become stronger only when breakaway factions formed in UMNO. The first UMNO breakaway was led by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in 1988, which helped PAS gain control of Kelantan. The second UMNO breakaway was led by Anwar Ibrahim in 1998, which helped plant the seeds of Pakatan’s present strength.

These two movements did not change the Government. However, victory may come if there is third UMNO breakaway that is prepared to work with the Opposition. The question is whether the Opposition is willing to work with UMNO breakaway faction Number 3 and vice versa.

This is a big “if”, but it’s possible. First, we need to recognise that within the reformist group there are two main types of people. The first consists of sensible and serious Malaysians who want to see no chaos but a peaceful transformation in our system of government. They see Najib as the country’s biggest curse. They want to see workable change where the Government is led by Ministers who have ability and integrity. They want public institutions to provide good governance for the people.

The second type of reformists are always angry, who write regularly to Malaysiakini about the fault of UMNO and Malays generally. They have a deep-seated anger about the New Economic Policy and about Malay dominance in government. They are angry about almost everything to do with UMNO Malays.  Everyone whom they disapprove of is an UMNO stooge. These people even questioned if I had an ulterior motive when I participated in Bersih. Only they have noble intentions.

The only way we can remove Najib, if at all, is to mobilise the nation. For this, we need a leader. You may want this person or that person, but I tell you there is only one Malay warrior left who is able and willing.

Let me explain why this is important: we can have meaningful change in this country only when Malays accept those changes. Malays will change only if Malay leaders they trust tell them to do so. We have so few brave and progressive Malay leaders to start with, so reformists and the Opposition must learn to trust the leaders we have. Here, I urge all Malaysians especially Malays to rally behind Dr Mahathir. He is the only one who dares, who has courage and—I assure you—he has the country at heart.

When Dr Mahathir attended Bersih 4, some NGO and opposition political leaders talked incessantly about not forgetting his past sins. Some said he was responsible for everything that was wrong in the country. There were even those who accused him of trying to “redeem” himself by latching onto Bersih.

That’s not the way to treat a Malay leader of his stature. Someone like me, who represents no one, and who speaks for no one, can be ignored, but Dr Mahathir—even at this late stage in his life—is still making an effort to change the country for the better and he has a lot of support.

Should we not be generous with him in our words and judgement? Should we not make a special effort to include him in the things we do to make change possible, especially as he is still able and willing? After all, we have forgiven Anwar and embraced him as our new hero even though he was Dr Mahathir’s deputy for many years.

***If we can forgive Anwar for the use of the ISA, for Operasi Lalang, for the Sabah IC scandal, for the sacking of judges, for Islamisation in our schools—all because Anwar is now on our side—can’t we also give Dr Mahathir an ounce of kindness?



****I do not want to talk about the past because the past is done and dusted. Instead, I am trying to offer a solution for the future. The Opposition, the reformists and civil society leaders must give Malay leaders who are fighting for change the consideration they deserve. The Opposition must, for the greater good, work with Dr Mahathir while he is still strong.

It is pointless to rue the lack of Malay support for Bersih 4 when that could have been easily overcome by treating Malay leaders with more respect. For example, it was arrogant to say that Dr Mahathir was responsible for everything wrong with our country. Many Malays like me remember him for how he successfully developed the country and for his master plan as outlined in Vision 2020.

Furthermore, no Malay leader rejected theocracy as firmly as Dr Mahathir when he said that hudud had no place in our country. No other Malay leader had the strength and conviction to make peace with Chin Peng in 1989 so that all Malaysians could forget the past and live peacefully in the future.

No Malay leader had the trust of the Malays to be able to remove personal immunity from the Malay Rulers, but Dr Mahathir did just that for the good of the nation. No Malay leader has built more infrastructure in this country than he has.

I could go on and on but I am not here to promote Dr Mahathir. I am here to remind you that political change in Malaysia requires Malays to accept change; and Malays will accept change only if the Malay leaders they respect tell them to do so. If Malays have fears, no matter how unjustified, they will only be able to overcome those fears and become brave if Malay leaders tell them to do so. That is the cold, hard truth.

Therefore, we cannot let personal feelings obstruct our greater purpose. For example, Dr Mahathir once unleashed some terribly unkind words to describe my political and legal  career; and we have differences on the subject of the rule of law and the judiciary—but we share the same commitment that nothing that we say or do as politicians is about us. It is about the country.

Personal slights are irrelevant sideshows in the greater scheme of things. They can and should be forgiven and forgotten because the larger interests of the people of Malaysia are supreme. It is, and has always been, about what is best for the country.

If the Malay community feels that its leaders do not get the respect they deserve from the reformists, no Malay leader will be able to assure them that their future will be secure if a party other than UMNO comes to power.

The Malay community is watching things closely because UMNO keeps reminding them about what will happen if UMNO loses power.

For this reason, I believe that it’s all the more urgent that reformists avoid being intoxicated by popularity since the mighty waves of yellow descended on Kuala Lumpur. I have already heard cries of “let’s finish off UMNO” when no one has even finished off Najib.

I urge reformists to forget the differences and focus on coming together to remove Najib Razak. Let’s be pragmatic in our efforts to make a success of our political transformation. You might say that Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is no better than Najib, but you cannot judge a leader by how speaks. Maybe if we knew him better he would be an acceptable leader.

Anyway, anyone is better than Najib. Do not be hasty in rejecting anyone from UMNO when the whole picture is still unclear. Some UMNO leaders who are acceptable may be available after Najib sacks them, which I believe he will soon do. So, do not chastise, mock or run down Malay leaders, especially those who are brave (and they are few) and still have influence even though they might currently be without power.

The first stage in our political transformation must be to ensure that leaders like Najib do not hold office. We must be willing to work with everyone who is moderate and law-abiding, even those from UMNO, for the sake of the country. Today, there is no Malay leader who is willing to take Najib on except Dr Mahathir, and so we must support him.

Thank you.

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DESIDERATA: MUST again ask thee to be MS Patience because she's also MS Virtuous as I Adjourn for socialist BF, post to be continued at about 10AM, Cun? I have to comment on the TWO HIghlights above marked in RED THUS *** ANd ****; in gist, I Beg to "correct" The writer on hilite*** and generally ENDORSE HIM On hilite****.

UPDATED 11 September 2015:

I deliberated in resuming the COMMENTS I PROmised on the 2 HIGHLIGHTED PARAS BECause I wanted my ESTeemedREAders to ponder over them.

OK, on ***: I beg to DIFFER WITH THE WRITER ZAID IBRAHIM on BLAMING ANWAR during his DPM DAYS:-- (1) for the use of the ISA, (2) for Operasi Lalang, (3) for the Sabah IC scandal, (4) for the sacking of judges.

I would say it was the PRime MInister of 22 years rule, DR MAhathir MOhamad, who should be held responsible for all the 4 stated sins.

ONLY on the last charge of (5) Islamisation in our schools, would I agree would with ZAId IBrahim in attributing to ANwar the "responsibility, when ANwar was also holding the EDucation MINistry portfolio. EVEn then, any GOvernment policies to be implemented must also imply the PM's approval, so it's futile to argue with a "Strongman" like MAhathir that Anwar could bulldoze the socalled "Islamisation" policies, which to my mind, were still "Contentious" issues.

ON the second HIGHLIGHTED PARA -- ****I do not want to talk about the past because the past is done and dusted. Instead, I am trying to offer a solution for the future. The Opposition, the reformists and civil society leaders must give Malay leaders who are fighting for change the consideration they deserve. The Opposition must, for the greater good, work with Dr Mahathir while he is still strong. -- I more or less endorse ZAid IBrahim's views. YES, we must FIGHT THE CURRENT ENEMY NUMBER ONE FACING the nation. 

 

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