I'm not such a social person but it was really not hard to start shaking hands and just talk. The topic of conversations with complete strangers -- politics! It's easy to just talk on and on about what if DAP do not perform, what about Najib & '69, what about Hannah Yeoh being naive, about Tony Pua living up to his manisfestation....
There's a public mutual agent and a property agent at my table, and im the cimbwa agent :P When Tony Pua and Dr. Cheah came to our table to shake hands, everybody stood up and camera-freak me volunteered instantly to help this lady-stranger-sitting-beside me to take group picture for her. She don't really know who are these politicians, she came with the hope to take a picture with Lim Kit Siang!
Anyway... I took home Tony & Lau's poster.... to keep la. The people at my table were warning me not to let my boyfriend get jealous for putting it up!
There were probably about 30 tables, alot of noise, clapping of hands here and there... people are not afraid to come out and be seen. Just like Hannah said "...suddenly you have many friends."
I'm not sure why they still need to translate word by word into chinese... I thought everybody bred in PJ could understand English. There were a minority of Indians and even Malays there, I wish the party would be not so chinesish, I wouldn't mind if they spoke English+Malay instead.
Just let us grow into a one big Malaysian community, where people love & respect people.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
A Concerned Malaysian
~*grabbed from my mailbox*~
In 2004, Morgan Stanley issued a report that estimated that over 100 Billion US Dollars (360 Billion Ringgit) had been lost to Malay patronage in the 20 years preceding 2003. (1984 to 2003) One economist estimates that in the 36 years of its' existence, the NEP has been used to channel over ONE TRILLION RINGGIT to the Malay community through ASN, ASB and other related Govt policies.
Since 1970, the Govt has used the NEP to divert education, employment and every other conceivable benefit to the Malays. These measures have largely been successful with all the top posts in GLCs, Government, Universities, Public listed companies and practically every single area that the Govt has any control over being reserved for one race. No company may be listed with a lower than 30% Bumi equity but there is absolutely no problem if it is otherwise. Some industries have a mandatory 51% Bumi ownership and some industries are reserved exclusively for them. Petronas for example only employs Malays for it's top managerial and executive positions and awards contracts only to Malays.
ALL Govt and Municipal contracts are reserved to class "F" Bumi contractors. All the proposed projects under the 9th Malaysia Plan thus far are reserved for 100% Bumi owned companies. Even open tender projects are awarded to Malays even if their prices are higher with blatantly inferior materials. Micro business loans, business licenses, discounts on property purchases, new Govt employment, EVEN LICENSES FOR HAWKER STALLS are reserved for one race. The list goes on and on but the summary is that the Malays now believes undoubtedly that he is racially privileged and it is their right ASLI's figures of 45% are opposed to the Govt's 18.9% because, firstly, equity value is calculated at par value. For example, if you hold 1,000 Maxis shares of RM 5/- market value each, the Govt
says that it is only worth RM 250.00 as these shares have a par value of 25 cents each. If you owned a company with a paid up value of RM 2/- but conducted business worth millions of Ringgit worth of transactions, the Govt values that company at RM 2/-.
The chief setbacks of the abuses of the NEP are rampant corruption and more cronyism, worsening racial polarization, unrelenting brain drains, warped educational system, thwarted economic competitiveness, ineffectual bureaucracy, retarded economic growth and perverted social values. Such anachronistic and regressive policy has no place in the present globalizing world, and for that matter, in any civilized society.
PM Badawi recently intensified the imprint of the perverted NEP philosophy by prohibiting inter-religious and inter-racial discourse which would otherwise have contributed to greater understanding and
harmony among the races. Consider the hegemony this has created.
The Jasin MP's saga of cheating millions from Customs over timber imports went unpunished. APs are reserved for Bumis only and despite the millions that each of them make year after year, a senator's son has the audacity to clone the APs several times and the whole thing gets swept under the carpet. A Port Klang councilor buys a 43,000 sq ft plot of land set aside for low cost housing valued at 1.8 million Ringgit for 180k and builds a palace without any approval. He gets fined RM 5,000 and still has 30 days from today to submit his building plans. Yesterday, despite all the bad press this issue got, the Selangor state Govt confirms his position and that of his son and daughter in law as councilors. The message is clear. Power has shifted from the people to the executive.
The whole issue of Bumi chauvinism started at last year's UMNO assembly when the very very vocal UMNO Youth leaders stated in short that "It's our turn to be rich." This greed is not going to end. We as a nation of loyal citizens have to put a dent into this rubbish for the sake of our children.
We don't need a change in Govt.
We need a stronger Opposition.
We need to send a message to the powers that be that we will not accept second class status for our children.
Colin Nathan
(A Concerned Malaysian)
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Philosophy Politics Economics: V Ganabathirau
Philosophy Politics Economics: V Ganabathirau
"My eyes were moist as I wrote this post" ~ Tony Pua
I just wanted to say my eyes were moist as I read this post.
Here's a really cool comment grabbed from Tony Pua's blog by anon --
We must be united together to vote BN out. It will be just waste of time to write long paragraphs to attack back one stupid idoit who dont use his brain to analyze.
We will loose him anyway. But try to put the words to strongly send the message to all our friends whether bumi or non-bumi, we need a change in the present government and make and decide a rapid change to deny 2/3 majority in the highest chamber that’s the Parliament.
Our rights as a citizen is drawn down in our federal constitution. So in order to get back the rights we need more opposition MPs in the Parliament. So work on this element and excel deeper to inform all our friends that we vote for the opposition if you want to gain back all your rights and freedom.
I wish to send regrets and sympathy to the 5 great hero’s who have been detained under the most draconian law ISA. No 5 for the Hindus means great victory. All of us are going to see how well the No 5 is going to work from yesterday for our great intellectual persons.
The ballot is in our hands at the coming GE to decide the next government. So from the various incidents which happened to our fellow Malaysians by now everyones will agree that we need major and rapid change.
So cast your vote for the opposition parties (DAP,PRK,PAS) and give them the opportunity after 50 years to deny the 2/3 majority in the Parliament.
"My eyes were moist as I wrote this post" ~ Tony Pua
I just wanted to say my eyes were moist as I read this post.
Here's a really cool comment grabbed from Tony Pua's blog by anon --
We must be united together to vote BN out. It will be just waste of time to write long paragraphs to attack back one stupid idoit who dont use his brain to analyze.
We will loose him anyway. But try to put the words to strongly send the message to all our friends whether bumi or non-bumi, we need a change in the present government and make and decide a rapid change to deny 2/3 majority in the highest chamber that’s the Parliament.
Our rights as a citizen is drawn down in our federal constitution. So in order to get back the rights we need more opposition MPs in the Parliament. So work on this element and excel deeper to inform all our friends that we vote for the opposition if you want to gain back all your rights and freedom.
I wish to send regrets and sympathy to the 5 great hero’s who have been detained under the most draconian law ISA. No 5 for the Hindus means great victory. All of us are going to see how well the No 5 is going to work from yesterday for our great intellectual persons.
The ballot is in our hands at the coming GE to decide the next government. So from the various incidents which happened to our fellow Malaysians by now everyones will agree that we need major and rapid change.
So cast your vote for the opposition parties (DAP,PRK,PAS) and give them the opportunity after 50 years to deny the 2/3 majority in the Parliament.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Freedom, Where Art Thou?
Why my country so lidat! As if you've not already heard about it, its all over the blogsphere. They sent all 5 of them to ISA. The prophecy is said that for the Malays to unite, they just have to push it further for the non-Malays to react, and then as they're pushed until they're on the brink of losing patience... they just have to raise the keris in the air. As simple as that...
It is not that opposition supporters are not peace-loving. I sincerely plead the ignorant public to never think, ever with any part of their brain, that not voting for you-know-what is going to cause more problem. If trouble do arise... it is only temporary. It will not hurt you in the long run.
Think about it... no fight, no winner, no competition, no fun, no exchange of opinions, no need for understanding, no need for thought, no say, no feedback, no adventure, no chance for change. Is change such a scary thing to people?
I read this is my mailbox & found it so meaningful. Wish it could inspire everyone ~*~
Dare to do things worthy of imprisonment if you mean to be of consequence. ~Juvenal
Laws control the lesser man. Right conduct controls the greater one. ~Chinese Proverb
Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it. ~Albert Einstein
When leaders act contrary to conscience, we must act contrary to leaders. ~Veterans Fast for Life
It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong. ~Voltaire
If... the machine of government... is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. ~Henry David Thoreau, On the Duty of Civil Disobediance, 1849
You're not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who says it. ~Malcolm X
Human history begins with man's act of disobedience which is at the very same time the beginning of his freedom and development of his reason. ~Erich Fromm, Psychoanalysis and Religion
Each man must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, which course is patriotic and which isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your conviction is to be an unqualified and excusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may. ~Mark Twain
Integrity has no need of rules. ~Albert Camus
If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable. ~Louis D. Brandeis
Laws are only words written on paper, words that change on society's whim and are interpreted differently daily by politicians, lawyers, judges, and policemen. Anyone who believes that all laws should always be obeyed would have made a fine slave catcher. Anyone who believes that all laws are applied equally, despite race, religion, or economic status, is a fool. ~John J. Miller, And Hope to Die
Disobedience, the rarest and most courageous of the virtues, is seldom distinguished from neglect, the laziest and commonest of the vices. ~George Bernard Shaw, Maxims for Revolutionists
Every actual state is corrupt. Good men must not obey laws too well. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal." ~Martin Luther King, Jr., "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Why We Can't Wait, 1963
We cannot, by total reliance on law, escape the duty to judge right and wrong.... There are good laws and there are occasionally bad laws, and it conforms to the highest traditions of a free society to offer resistance to bad laws, and to disobey them. ~Alexander Bickel
It is necessary to distinguish between the virtue and the vice of obedience. ~Lemuel K. Washburn, Is The Bible Worth Reading And Other Essays, 1911
I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not so desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. ~Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience, 1849
As long as the world shall last there will be wrongs, and if no man objected and no man rebelled, those wrongs would last forever. ~Clarence Darrow
It is not what a lawyer tells me I may do; but what humanity, reason, and justice tell me I ought to do. ~Edmund Burke, Second Speech on Conciliation, 1775
I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do. ~Robert A. Heinlein, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Ordinarily, a person leaving a courtroom with a conviction behind him would wear a somber face. But I left with a smile. I knew that I was a convicted criminal, but I was proud of my crime. ~Martin Luther King, Jr., March 22, 1956
It is not that opposition supporters are not peace-loving. I sincerely plead the ignorant public to never think, ever with any part of their brain, that not voting for you-know-what is going to cause more problem. If trouble do arise... it is only temporary. It will not hurt you in the long run.
Think about it... no fight, no winner, no competition, no fun, no exchange of opinions, no need for understanding, no need for thought, no say, no feedback, no adventure, no chance for change. Is change such a scary thing to people?
I read this is my mailbox & found it so meaningful. Wish it could inspire everyone ~*~
Dare to do things worthy of imprisonment if you mean to be of consequence. ~Juvenal
Laws control the lesser man. Right conduct controls the greater one. ~Chinese Proverb
Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it. ~Albert Einstein
When leaders act contrary to conscience, we must act contrary to leaders. ~Veterans Fast for Life
It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong. ~Voltaire
If... the machine of government... is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. ~Henry David Thoreau, On the Duty of Civil Disobediance, 1849
You're not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who says it. ~Malcolm X
Human history begins with man's act of disobedience which is at the very same time the beginning of his freedom and development of his reason. ~Erich Fromm, Psychoanalysis and Religion
Each man must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, which course is patriotic and which isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your conviction is to be an unqualified and excusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may. ~Mark Twain
Integrity has no need of rules. ~Albert Camus
If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable. ~Louis D. Brandeis
Laws are only words written on paper, words that change on society's whim and are interpreted differently daily by politicians, lawyers, judges, and policemen. Anyone who believes that all laws should always be obeyed would have made a fine slave catcher. Anyone who believes that all laws are applied equally, despite race, religion, or economic status, is a fool. ~John J. Miller, And Hope to Die
Disobedience, the rarest and most courageous of the virtues, is seldom distinguished from neglect, the laziest and commonest of the vices. ~George Bernard Shaw, Maxims for Revolutionists
Every actual state is corrupt. Good men must not obey laws too well. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal." ~Martin Luther King, Jr., "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Why We Can't Wait, 1963
We cannot, by total reliance on law, escape the duty to judge right and wrong.... There are good laws and there are occasionally bad laws, and it conforms to the highest traditions of a free society to offer resistance to bad laws, and to disobey them. ~Alexander Bickel
It is necessary to distinguish between the virtue and the vice of obedience. ~Lemuel K. Washburn, Is The Bible Worth Reading And Other Essays, 1911
I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not so desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. ~Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience, 1849
As long as the world shall last there will be wrongs, and if no man objected and no man rebelled, those wrongs would last forever. ~Clarence Darrow
It is not what a lawyer tells me I may do; but what humanity, reason, and justice tell me I ought to do. ~Edmund Burke, Second Speech on Conciliation, 1775
I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do. ~Robert A. Heinlein, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Ordinarily, a person leaving a courtroom with a conviction behind him would wear a somber face. But I left with a smile. I knew that I was a convicted criminal, but I was proud of my crime. ~Martin Luther King, Jr., March 22, 1956
Friday, November 09, 2007
I joined the DAP Fund Raising dinner!
Guess what! It's the first time I went for a DAP dinner it was a fund raising event, with the theme "Petaling Jaya -- leading Malaysia forward". And I didn't bother to understand the theme, but there's a reason behind why the organisers themed it in such a way...
At this dinner I had the chance to listen to Fong Po Kuan, Tony Pua, Lau Weng San, Dr. Cheah and to Lim Guan Eng. I can understand Tony Pua's speech better and I felt Fong Po Kuan's fiery passion in her speech ~ very charismatic. No comment on Lau and Dr. Cheah... but Lim Guan Eng spoke like a pro "politician". I mean I don't get connected to his way of insulting people and talk so proudly and loudly. Hello? Talking to a humble pleasant crowd of Petaling Jaya citizens?! I dunno, I just didn't feel inspired by his talk although he could speak so effortlessly like he's done this propoganda talk many times!
Tony Pua explained that it is in PJ that the people have the highest per capita income, more educated and reads more... so if people truly want change for the nation, if the change can start with people from Petaling Jaya, then it make more sense for the whole country to follow suit with PJ leading the way.
Tony Pua explained that it is in PJ that the people have the highest per capita income, more educated and reads more... so if people truly want change for the nation, if the change can start with people from Petaling Jaya, then it make more sense for the whole country to follow suit with PJ leading the way.
All in all... hope to see a strong fight for Petaling Jaya, it's just not fun to have parliamentary representatives for a huge Petaling Jaya population who don't voice out much in the parliament. Goodluck for a change in Malaysia!
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Tunku...the musical
I just have to find the time to pen this down, before the memory slips away. The memory of having the one opportunity to catch Tunku -- The Musical, for free courtesy of YTLcommunity. I'd actually wished to go get the tickets to watch it with sayang, but he said 'save money' so we didn't buy the tickets. Later, free tickets were given out by YTLcommunity, and sayang quickly register before the shows went full house.
I'm so grateful for this chance to be part of this oh-my-im-so-overwhelmed-by musical production directed by Joe Hasham, husband of Dato' Faridah Merican. I can't even tell what race they both belong to, but that's the case of the musical story -- the dream of all Malaysians being blind, colour-blind!
I first shed tears listening to the most impeccable light-hearted original score "Laksa", when all the performers dressed in respective cultural costume, praising their own laksa dish as the best. I was entralled and dumbfounded. The Malay laksa stall owner claimed that laksa is a Malay dish (dancing & singing to the Malay tune) and then the Chinese lady sung in Hokkien claiming the laksa is a Chinese dish. I just felt the instantaneous euphoria in my heart... I can't explain how I could cry. I love asam laksa. Wether its nyonya laksa, penang laksa, PJ laksa or Taiping laksa. When I worked alongside the government Malay staffs, I learnt about the difference btwn Kelantan laksa and johor laksa. There are just so many types of laksa, and even my grandma's laksa is different from my grandaunt's laksa. And I loved all of them. It never even occured to me, wether Laksa is a Malay or chinese dish. The music of Laksa together with the dance, melody and lyrics, captivated the essense of a true blue Malaysian culture -- beauty in diversity.
I really felt that the song had for a moment, binded all Malaysians into one, the Malaysian Malaysia. Reminiscence of my kolej uni days during the 1998 World Cup fever, I was sitting alongside a bunch of Malay girls, sharing some snacks watching football on tv in the common living room in the hostel.
The lyrically astouding score ensuite, brought tears to me eyes when Fauzia & Malik, the ahmoi & Malay dude embracing & passionately singing to each other -- Sayang.... Sayang....Sayang.... *ok I don't remember what were the words that came out after "sayang... sayang...". My sayang was glancing back at me and there.. *tissue please*
At the end of the show, of course there's a long-winded touching story behind it, this sayang went over to shake hand with Joe Hasham and Faridah Merican. Well, I'm not quite a PR person, its for me to know, that the musical striked a cord in my heart, and my eyes were still red when is the show is over. I guess when the performers saw me tearing up, they'd know how much I appreciated the show. I was seated only 5 rows away from the stage with my swollen eyes and wetty nose.
I appreciated so many aspect of the musical from the original score, to the talented vocals, to the passion in acting, to the fear and stir of audience emotions, to the detailed production... I would pay a hundred more ringgit to watch it again, bringing along as many friends and family as I could. The most important point to note about the musical, is the fact of history that was never covered in our school book, that was portrayed in the musical. I wonder why they'd not censored or disallow or caused a controversy with the brave portrayal of may13 1969 event.
Atleast I felt relieved to know my gal-friend who never bothered about politics, finally came to know know what actually happened in the may13 riot from this musical play. Politics had ruined the beautiful culturally-rich Malaysian Malaysia, but arts (and also football) could inspire us to dream for a beautiful vision and bring out the spark of patriotism within our heart.
I salute the entire director & producer, cast & crew, heart & soul that made Tunku the musical, so heart touching and pride brimming. Wonder what politicians would comment about this admirable ensemble....
I'm so grateful for this chance to be part of this oh-my-im-so-overwhelmed-by musical production directed by Joe Hasham, husband of Dato' Faridah Merican. I can't even tell what race they both belong to, but that's the case of the musical story -- the dream of all Malaysians being blind, colour-blind!
I first shed tears listening to the most impeccable light-hearted original score "Laksa", when all the performers dressed in respective cultural costume, praising their own laksa dish as the best. I was entralled and dumbfounded. The Malay laksa stall owner claimed that laksa is a Malay dish (dancing & singing to the Malay tune) and then the Chinese lady sung in Hokkien claiming the laksa is a Chinese dish. I just felt the instantaneous euphoria in my heart... I can't explain how I could cry. I love asam laksa. Wether its nyonya laksa, penang laksa, PJ laksa or Taiping laksa. When I worked alongside the government Malay staffs, I learnt about the difference btwn Kelantan laksa and johor laksa. There are just so many types of laksa, and even my grandma's laksa is different from my grandaunt's laksa. And I loved all of them. It never even occured to me, wether Laksa is a Malay or chinese dish. The music of Laksa together with the dance, melody and lyrics, captivated the essense of a true blue Malaysian culture -- beauty in diversity.
I really felt that the song had for a moment, binded all Malaysians into one, the Malaysian Malaysia. Reminiscence of my kolej uni days during the 1998 World Cup fever, I was sitting alongside a bunch of Malay girls, sharing some snacks watching football on tv in the common living room in the hostel.
The lyrically astouding score ensuite, brought tears to me eyes when Fauzia & Malik, the ahmoi & Malay dude embracing & passionately singing to each other -- Sayang.... Sayang....Sayang.... *ok I don't remember what were the words that came out after "sayang... sayang...". My sayang was glancing back at me and there.. *tissue please*
At the end of the show, of course there's a long-winded touching story behind it, this sayang went over to shake hand with Joe Hasham and Faridah Merican. Well, I'm not quite a PR person, its for me to know, that the musical striked a cord in my heart, and my eyes were still red when is the show is over. I guess when the performers saw me tearing up, they'd know how much I appreciated the show. I was seated only 5 rows away from the stage with my swollen eyes and wetty nose.
I appreciated so many aspect of the musical from the original score, to the talented vocals, to the passion in acting, to the fear and stir of audience emotions, to the detailed production... I would pay a hundred more ringgit to watch it again, bringing along as many friends and family as I could. The most important point to note about the musical, is the fact of history that was never covered in our school book, that was portrayed in the musical. I wonder why they'd not censored or disallow or caused a controversy with the brave portrayal of may13 1969 event.
Atleast I felt relieved to know my gal-friend who never bothered about politics, finally came to know know what actually happened in the may13 riot from this musical play. Politics had ruined the beautiful culturally-rich Malaysian Malaysia, but arts (and also football) could inspire us to dream for a beautiful vision and bring out the spark of patriotism within our heart.
I salute the entire director & producer, cast & crew, heart & soul that made Tunku the musical, so heart touching and pride brimming. Wonder what politicians would comment about this admirable ensemble....
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