What Farid Means |
 You are loving, compassionate, and ruled by your feelings. You are able to be a foundation for other people... but you still know how to have fun. Sometimes your emotions weigh you down, but you generally feel free from them. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row. You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace. People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality. |
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Lame but Interesting
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Last night I felt like taking out my old diary and read some pages from it. It was like taking a walk down the memory lane.
The first entry in my old diary began in early 2001 and lasted till early 2006. No, it isn't that thick. It's just a notebook which I kept for myself, writing in it once a while. Practically, whenever I felt like writing down my thoughts.
I saw a noticeable pattern about my experience throughout the journey between 2001 till early 2006. I couldn't escape from the feeling of awe and sorry for it. I guess that is just my weakness point. However, I also noticed that I grew up a lot, particularly when I lived in the States. My entry included the experience of being snubbed as troublemaker among PETRONAS scholars. Well, I understand that I came out from that mess victoriously but the tragedy still remained in me.
There were some writings about letters I wrote to Anwar Ibrahim when he was still in the prison, and my conversation with Izzah about his father's well being. There were times that I harshly commented and questioned DSAI's leadership through my letter criticizing his act when he was in office. Gladly I always get an accommodating reply from him personally.
Yeah, I have to admit that I was political at that time. Being student abroad enabled me to free my mind and looked things from idealist's perspective. Majority of my friends that I communicated quite frequently were keen on opposing the establishment. It was no accident that it led me to my demise in summer of 2003.
Being political at that time also made me constantly in healthy argument with my roommate, Brian, for I was in Democrat and he was a Republican. I remember that I campaigned for John Kerry in my dorm while Brian was supporting George Bush Jr to the bone. We occasionally debated about US foreign policy whenever we watched History channel about America's war on someone else's sovereign land. That kind of debate taught me to always stick to the facts rather than rumors. However, politics in Malaysia is almost always depending on the rumors because 90% of the rumors are true.
Oh well, heartbroken moments were also recorded in my diary. That made me smile a bit when I read it last night. I just realized that I even wrote a poem out of it. Somehow it proves to me that I could be a 'not that bad' poet. Hahahaha...
Something that I always want to include in my blog is about my affinity about the America's landscape. It is something that I rarely get elsewhere. I remember that I used to stop by somewhere along the interstate I-80 after the Lehigh Tunnel. The landscape view is stunning! Especially during early fall season. The feeling is spectacular. That is why I always stop whenever I made my trip to visit friends in Lehigh Valley.
Anyway, that's my thought for the weekend. What's yours?
The first entry in my old diary began in early 2001 and lasted till early 2006. No, it isn't that thick. It's just a notebook which I kept for myself, writing in it once a while. Practically, whenever I felt like writing down my thoughts.
I saw a noticeable pattern about my experience throughout the journey between 2001 till early 2006. I couldn't escape from the feeling of awe and sorry for it. I guess that is just my weakness point. However, I also noticed that I grew up a lot, particularly when I lived in the States. My entry included the experience of being snubbed as troublemaker among PETRONAS scholars. Well, I understand that I came out from that mess victoriously but the tragedy still remained in me.
There were some writings about letters I wrote to Anwar Ibrahim when he was still in the prison, and my conversation with Izzah about his father's well being. There were times that I harshly commented and questioned DSAI's leadership through my letter criticizing his act when he was in office. Gladly I always get an accommodating reply from him personally.
Yeah, I have to admit that I was political at that time. Being student abroad enabled me to free my mind and looked things from idealist's perspective. Majority of my friends that I communicated quite frequently were keen on opposing the establishment. It was no accident that it led me to my demise in summer of 2003.
Being political at that time also made me constantly in healthy argument with my roommate, Brian, for I was in Democrat and he was a Republican. I remember that I campaigned for John Kerry in my dorm while Brian was supporting George Bush Jr to the bone. We occasionally debated about US foreign policy whenever we watched History channel about America's war on someone else's sovereign land. That kind of debate taught me to always stick to the facts rather than rumors. However, politics in Malaysia is almost always depending on the rumors because 90% of the rumors are true.
Oh well, heartbroken moments were also recorded in my diary. That made me smile a bit when I read it last night. I just realized that I even wrote a poem out of it. Somehow it proves to me that I could be a 'not that bad' poet. Hahahaha...
Something that I always want to include in my blog is about my affinity about the America's landscape. It is something that I rarely get elsewhere. I remember that I used to stop by somewhere along the interstate I-80 after the Lehigh Tunnel. The landscape view is stunning! Especially during early fall season. The feeling is spectacular. That is why I always stop whenever I made my trip to visit friends in Lehigh Valley.
Anyway, that's my thought for the weekend. What's yours?
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Dasar Ekonomi Baru has nothing to do with Hak Keistimewaan Orang Melayu
This afternoon I received a phone call from my friend. He asked me to be in Shah Alam for a demo. This demo aims to 'deliver' a message to the Selangor government that the Malay people 'protest' for its move to abolish NEP. For anyone who doesn't know what the hell is NEP, it simply means that you are not apart of this country. NEP stands for New Economic Policy or Dasar Ekonomi Baru. My friend claimed that the special rights of Malay is on the verge of extinction. I said to him,"I'll go if I have time for it".
I believe this demo was organized by UMNO people. And for that reason, I detest to join it.
To my understanding, NEP is not apart of 'hak keistimewaan orang Melayu'. NEP was born in 1971 after the racial riot on May 13, 1969. It was aimed to combat the poverty issue among the bumiputera, especially the Malays, and to increase the Malays holding on corporate equity up to 30% by 1990. This policy dictated that it would end in 1990.
As of today, the Malay participation in equity has increased till 45% if we take into account of the Malay participation in government linked companies (GLC). This was done by the independent research team in ASLI.
For NEP sake, the Malay participation would require an estimated of RM 214.6 billion to achieve the 30% corporate equity. However, research found that in 2005, the Malay corporate equity in terms of volume has shot up till RM 325 billion. Given the total amount of market evaluation of Bursa Malaysia in 2005 is RM 715.4 billion, it is very clear that NEP has reached its target.
The question is, why NEP has not been abolished since it has achieved its target? The next question would be, why the Malaysia government produce a figure well below 30% for Bumiputera corporate equity?
But the real question remains, who actually benefit from this Dasar Ekonomi Baru? Is it the Malay per se, or only the UMNOputra?
It's time for us to reconsider the NEP. And please, NEP has nothing to do with hak keistimewaan orang Melayu. If we are terbilang, cemerlang and gemilang as what the UMNO claims, then why must we be afraid of the challenges without NEP? This will only strengthen our claim that we the Malay are indeed terbilang. cemerlang and gemilang.
After all, I just follow the advice of Pak Lah that "demo is not in our culture". Hehehehe.
This afternoon I received a phone call from my friend. He asked me to be in Shah Alam for a demo. This demo aims to 'deliver' a message to the Selangor government that the Malay people 'protest' for its move to abolish NEP. For anyone who doesn't know what the hell is NEP, it simply means that you are not apart of this country. NEP stands for New Economic Policy or Dasar Ekonomi Baru. My friend claimed that the special rights of Malay is on the verge of extinction. I said to him,"I'll go if I have time for it".
I believe this demo was organized by UMNO people. And for that reason, I detest to join it.
To my understanding, NEP is not apart of 'hak keistimewaan orang Melayu'. NEP was born in 1971 after the racial riot on May 13, 1969. It was aimed to combat the poverty issue among the bumiputera, especially the Malays, and to increase the Malays holding on corporate equity up to 30% by 1990. This policy dictated that it would end in 1990.
As of today, the Malay participation in equity has increased till 45% if we take into account of the Malay participation in government linked companies (GLC). This was done by the independent research team in ASLI.
For NEP sake, the Malay participation would require an estimated of RM 214.6 billion to achieve the 30% corporate equity. However, research found that in 2005, the Malay corporate equity in terms of volume has shot up till RM 325 billion. Given the total amount of market evaluation of Bursa Malaysia in 2005 is RM 715.4 billion, it is very clear that NEP has reached its target.
The question is, why NEP has not been abolished since it has achieved its target? The next question would be, why the Malaysia government produce a figure well below 30% for Bumiputera corporate equity?
But the real question remains, who actually benefit from this Dasar Ekonomi Baru? Is it the Malay per se, or only the UMNOputra?
It's time for us to reconsider the NEP. And please, NEP has nothing to do with hak keistimewaan orang Melayu. If we are terbilang, cemerlang and gemilang as what the UMNO claims, then why must we be afraid of the challenges without NEP? This will only strengthen our claim that we the Malay are indeed terbilang. cemerlang and gemilang.
After all, I just follow the advice of Pak Lah that "demo is not in our culture". Hehehehe.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
It has been in my mind about the idea of working with DS Anwar Ibrahim. Yes, i did write to him a few letters when I was still a college student. At that time, he was having his vacation in Sg Buloh 'Iron Curtain Resort'. Lucky me when I received a couple of reply letters from him.
And now, after a major sweep of opposition in winning few states in Malaysia Peninsular, I am thinking of closing the gap between me and the de facto leader of PKR. Oh yeah, I'm thinking of volunteering some of my precious time to do some work in his office.
I made contact with Izzah and told her of my intention with one condition. I can stick with my own job. And this job with DSAI office must not interfere with my job. She was glad to hear that and she quickly gave me a phone number. I guess that number will connect me to whoever in charge of this issue.
We'll see what will happen next. Nick said once to me, "Answer to your calling". I guess this will be the first step of many many many steps ahead for me.
Whatever it is, here I make my first jump!
And now, after a major sweep of opposition in winning few states in Malaysia Peninsular, I am thinking of closing the gap between me and the de facto leader of PKR. Oh yeah, I'm thinking of volunteering some of my precious time to do some work in his office.
I made contact with Izzah and told her of my intention with one condition. I can stick with my own job. And this job with DSAI office must not interfere with my job. She was glad to hear that and she quickly gave me a phone number. I guess that number will connect me to whoever in charge of this issue.
We'll see what will happen next. Nick said once to me, "Answer to your calling". I guess this will be the first step of many many many steps ahead for me.
Whatever it is, here I make my first jump!
Monday, March 03, 2008
It's time to 'jual mahal' - Part 1
Edward Beruang | Mar 2, 08 12:35pm
Malaysia is like a marriage. We, the rakyat, are the wives and our husband is the Barisan Nasional (BN) led by Pak Lah. The question is: Has our husband been faithful to us? Kept his promises to control crime, corruption and the cost of living? To care for our children's safety? Or has he taken us for granted - like a doormat - because he knows we will still love him no matter what? Despite whatever neglect from our husband, most Malaysians are not ready for divorce - yet. There are other boyfriends who want to woo us, but we will cling on to the BN like a faithful wife, hoping he will change for the better.
When we tell him that we've been hurt by widespread corruption and inflation he says, ‘Okay, Okay, I'll launch five more corridors just like the Multimedia Sleepy Corridor.’ We tell him criminals are snatching handbags and slashing women on the streets, kidnapping children like Sharlinie and Nurin just 20 metres in front of our homes before raping and killing them. And he says? ‘Okay, Okay, I'm setting up another royal commission.’ The first royal commission on the police had already emphasised four years ago that we must clean out corrupt cops from the force by setting up an independent complaints body called the IPCMC.
Our husband promised to do it, then U-turned, just like how he U-turned on the crooked bridge to Singapore. And what about the current Royal London Circus, er...I mean royal commission on VK Lingam? Bet it will ‘look like justice and sound like justice.’ And then conveniently four years later, ‘cannot remember’ what the hell justice is. So like frustrated wives, three times last year, 2,000 lawyers, 40,000 Bersih folks and 30,000 Hindraf people who could not tahan anymore and went out on the streets to ask our husband to improve himself.
Did he say, ‘Darling, what's wrong? Why are you upset? How can I help?’ No. He slapped us with water cannons and told us to shut up. ‘You have no right to scream out your complaints on the streets. You cannot embarrass me like that. You will jeopardise the stability and harmony of our marriage,’ he told us. ‘You can complain quietly in the backroom. But I'll listen to you only once every five years.’
It's our only chance now. And maybe it's time for us to jual mahal and play ‘hard to get’. Politics is something like the pasar malam. The hawker ‘opens price’ at RM18 but we want to buy something for RM10. As long as we're still standing at the stall, looking a bit ‘too interested’, the price will only go down to RM15. But the moment we walk away, there the hawker comes, desperately chasing after us, ‘Ok, Ok RM10 can-lah.’ So please don't get me wrong, this is not about hating husbands, bashing Pak Lah or being anti-BN. Even real life husbands often lose respect for a housewife if she just smiles even when she's regularly lied to and cheated on.
Our BN husband is not doing his job well simply because there’s no pressure on him to do so. He’s just being human. As it is, Pak Lah even lied about the date of elections when asked by reporters the very day before he announced it. He didn't need to at all. He could just have said, ‘Oh I can’t reveal the date yet.’So why did he lie so casually about it? Because he just doesn’t respect us? So maybe it's time to merajuk and throw a little tantrum.
Took voters for granted
We can't bear to leave him, but maybe we should tell him: ‘Honey, I ain't gonna wash your clothes or cook your dinner no more till you change your ways. ‘Cos you been hurting me real bad.’ In other words, let our BN husband lose 40 or 50 Parliament seats - in the desperate hope that he will wake up (!), reform and come running back to us - not just with sweet words, but real love. That's the way life is - in both romance and politics.
Remember the Sabah state elections of 1995? The opposition was then in power and the BN went all out to court Sabahans with fantastic promises of a ‘Sabah Baru’ where ‘poverty will be wiped out by the year 2000'. Well, that BN ‘welfare state’ promise has been so, so broken with the government's own Ninth Malaysia Plan admitting that BN-ruled Sabah is the country's poorest state with 23 percent of its' people living in poverty compared to PAS-ruled Kelantan's 10.6 percent.
But at least Sabah got their own university - Universiti Malaysia Sabah. Now in 2008, the BN is promising ‘Kelantan Baru’ where, if only they turned their affections away from PAS towards the BN, they would be loved with hundreds of millions of tax cuts, projects and other goodies.
On Feb28, Najib told the Kelantanese: ‘Just give us a term and see what we can do in that four or five years. If you still feel that we have not delivered, then you have the power to choose others. Four years is not a long time. But if you remain with PAS, you will get more of the same...we are thinking of the Kelantanese and their future.’
Okay, rewind that. Substitute the word Najib for Anwar Ibrahim. Change the word Kelantan for Malaysia, and PAS for BN. What is that called? That’s what the opposition is telling Malaysians! To try them for four years! And what does Pak Lah call that? A ‘dangerous experiment’. An ‘irresponsible’ and ‘unrealistic’ welfare state.
Think about this for a moment. If Kelantan and Sabah had been loyal wives, voting BN time and time again, would our BN husband have taken so much trouble to charm them back with all kinds of tempting promises? Or would he have taken them for granted and forgotten their birthday and wedding anniversary? That's what usually happens when a woman loves a man ‘too much’ despite the man’s glaring faults. The proof of this is in the 2006 Sarawak state elections, the 2007 Ijok by-election and now, the Hindraf awakening.
The Chinese of Sarawak were deeply unhappy that the state government wanted to charge them a whopping 50 percent renewal fee for leasehold land in the name of ‘development’. Imagine paying RM200,000 for a Kuching home, and then being asked to pay another extra RM100,000 or else the government could grab your land and house. Did the state BN care about the Chinese discontentment? Whatever for? Except for one or two seats, Sarawak was a BN ‘fortress’ and most Sarawakians were ‘devoted’ supporters.
In other words, they took the voters for granted. Then came the ‘shocking’ loss of nine seats (out of 71) in the state elections. Result? That renewal fee has been ‘magically’ lowered to 25 percent. Similarly, Ijok in Selangor had been a BN ‘stronghold’ for decades. Like an old wife, it was semi-neglected despite being just one hour's drive from KL. And then another ‘boyfriend’ showed up. When Anwar Ibrahim wanted a showcase opposition victory there, he pointed out that some people did not even have water and electricity supply. Lo and behold, suddenly tens of millions in projects and hand-outs were poured into Ijok within just two weeks.
Proper mutton curry
Did Pak Lah then call it ‘financial irresponsibility’as they are now calling the opposition's generous promises? S Samy Vellu was giving out Singer sewing machines to the Indian estate folks like Santa Claus (like Sabah 1995, this was another ‘welfare state’ campaign). Abracadabra! He waved his magic wand and instantly, once potholed roads were gleaming in fresh tar. A huge rubbish dump that steadfast pro-BN residents had complained about for years (to no avail) was finally relocated.
What a fairy tale ending to one of the biggest ‘buy elections’ ever! And now Hindraf. Why are the Indians pissed off? Well, what did they get for being a faithful wife, solidly voting in the BN for 50 years? One of their landmark temples was torn down just two days before Deepavali last year, along with dozens of others around the country in the past few years. As an American Negro might say, ‘Brother, we don’t get no respect.’
Oh yes, of course, the government says there is ‘no discrimination’ against the community. Haha. You and I know better. And so did 30,000 Indians who said Dey poddah! to that on the streets of KL. They had the guts to stand up for their rights despite repeated warnings and police beatings from Pak Lah (who had promised back in 2004 to ‘listen to the people’ as he wanted them to ‘work with me, not for me’). The Indians call Hindraf makkal sakti (people's power). For our discussion, let's call it the biggest merajuk ever.
Suddenly, all kinds of leaders and academics are publicly analysing how, where and why the BN and MIC should ‘improve its delivery’. Even the demi-god Samy Vellu is sweating and for the first time ever we are seeing full page advertisements in English newspapers avowing that ‘MIC Cares’. And my oh my, Thaipusam was even declared a holiday in KL. What a lot of achievements for just one day of demonstrations!
Of course Pak Lah tried to disguise the real reason for the extra Thaipusam giveaway by limply saying it was because ‘KL ada trafik jam-lah’ during the festival. Poddah to that too. And what if Indians massively vote against the BN this time? Our dear husband can't leave a permanent block of opposition supporters out there, can he? He (or Najib) HAS to try to win them back. Maybe more government jobs? Some scholarships? Amanah Saham India? At last, no more dry leftover crumbs of murruku but some proper mutton curry.
The lesson in romance and politics is clear. We have to play a little ‘hard to get’. We all know what happens when a woman ‘gives in’ too easily to a man, it’s ‘wham, bam, thank-you ma’am’ (pardon my language) and he then rolls over into a snoring sleep, losing all interest. In other words, stop selling ourselves cheap and let’s start to jual mahal. Only then, will our ‘value’ go up.
Part 2 will appear tomorrow.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
EDWARD BERUANG is a pseudonym. The writer likes to look at politics with some humour and a twist of limau every now and then.
Edward Beruang | Mar 2, 08 12:35pm
Malaysia is like a marriage. We, the rakyat, are the wives and our husband is the Barisan Nasional (BN) led by Pak Lah. The question is: Has our husband been faithful to us? Kept his promises to control crime, corruption and the cost of living? To care for our children's safety? Or has he taken us for granted - like a doormat - because he knows we will still love him no matter what? Despite whatever neglect from our husband, most Malaysians are not ready for divorce - yet. There are other boyfriends who want to woo us, but we will cling on to the BN like a faithful wife, hoping he will change for the better.
When we tell him that we've been hurt by widespread corruption and inflation he says, ‘Okay, Okay, I'll launch five more corridors just like the Multimedia Sleepy Corridor.’ We tell him criminals are snatching handbags and slashing women on the streets, kidnapping children like Sharlinie and Nurin just 20 metres in front of our homes before raping and killing them. And he says? ‘Okay, Okay, I'm setting up another royal commission.’ The first royal commission on the police had already emphasised four years ago that we must clean out corrupt cops from the force by setting up an independent complaints body called the IPCMC.
Our husband promised to do it, then U-turned, just like how he U-turned on the crooked bridge to Singapore. And what about the current Royal London Circus, er...I mean royal commission on VK Lingam? Bet it will ‘look like justice and sound like justice.’ And then conveniently four years later, ‘cannot remember’ what the hell justice is. So like frustrated wives, three times last year, 2,000 lawyers, 40,000 Bersih folks and 30,000 Hindraf people who could not tahan anymore and went out on the streets to ask our husband to improve himself.
Did he say, ‘Darling, what's wrong? Why are you upset? How can I help?’ No. He slapped us with water cannons and told us to shut up. ‘You have no right to scream out your complaints on the streets. You cannot embarrass me like that. You will jeopardise the stability and harmony of our marriage,’ he told us. ‘You can complain quietly in the backroom. But I'll listen to you only once every five years.’
It's our only chance now. And maybe it's time for us to jual mahal and play ‘hard to get’. Politics is something like the pasar malam. The hawker ‘opens price’ at RM18 but we want to buy something for RM10. As long as we're still standing at the stall, looking a bit ‘too interested’, the price will only go down to RM15. But the moment we walk away, there the hawker comes, desperately chasing after us, ‘Ok, Ok RM10 can-lah.’ So please don't get me wrong, this is not about hating husbands, bashing Pak Lah or being anti-BN. Even real life husbands often lose respect for a housewife if she just smiles even when she's regularly lied to and cheated on.
Our BN husband is not doing his job well simply because there’s no pressure on him to do so. He’s just being human. As it is, Pak Lah even lied about the date of elections when asked by reporters the very day before he announced it. He didn't need to at all. He could just have said, ‘Oh I can’t reveal the date yet.’So why did he lie so casually about it? Because he just doesn’t respect us? So maybe it's time to merajuk and throw a little tantrum.
Took voters for granted
We can't bear to leave him, but maybe we should tell him: ‘Honey, I ain't gonna wash your clothes or cook your dinner no more till you change your ways. ‘Cos you been hurting me real bad.’ In other words, let our BN husband lose 40 or 50 Parliament seats - in the desperate hope that he will wake up (!), reform and come running back to us - not just with sweet words, but real love. That's the way life is - in both romance and politics.
Remember the Sabah state elections of 1995? The opposition was then in power and the BN went all out to court Sabahans with fantastic promises of a ‘Sabah Baru’ where ‘poverty will be wiped out by the year 2000'. Well, that BN ‘welfare state’ promise has been so, so broken with the government's own Ninth Malaysia Plan admitting that BN-ruled Sabah is the country's poorest state with 23 percent of its' people living in poverty compared to PAS-ruled Kelantan's 10.6 percent.
But at least Sabah got their own university - Universiti Malaysia Sabah. Now in 2008, the BN is promising ‘Kelantan Baru’ where, if only they turned their affections away from PAS towards the BN, they would be loved with hundreds of millions of tax cuts, projects and other goodies.
On Feb28, Najib told the Kelantanese: ‘Just give us a term and see what we can do in that four or five years. If you still feel that we have not delivered, then you have the power to choose others. Four years is not a long time. But if you remain with PAS, you will get more of the same...we are thinking of the Kelantanese and their future.’
Okay, rewind that. Substitute the word Najib for Anwar Ibrahim. Change the word Kelantan for Malaysia, and PAS for BN. What is that called? That’s what the opposition is telling Malaysians! To try them for four years! And what does Pak Lah call that? A ‘dangerous experiment’. An ‘irresponsible’ and ‘unrealistic’ welfare state.
Think about this for a moment. If Kelantan and Sabah had been loyal wives, voting BN time and time again, would our BN husband have taken so much trouble to charm them back with all kinds of tempting promises? Or would he have taken them for granted and forgotten their birthday and wedding anniversary? That's what usually happens when a woman loves a man ‘too much’ despite the man’s glaring faults. The proof of this is in the 2006 Sarawak state elections, the 2007 Ijok by-election and now, the Hindraf awakening.
The Chinese of Sarawak were deeply unhappy that the state government wanted to charge them a whopping 50 percent renewal fee for leasehold land in the name of ‘development’. Imagine paying RM200,000 for a Kuching home, and then being asked to pay another extra RM100,000 or else the government could grab your land and house. Did the state BN care about the Chinese discontentment? Whatever for? Except for one or two seats, Sarawak was a BN ‘fortress’ and most Sarawakians were ‘devoted’ supporters.
In other words, they took the voters for granted. Then came the ‘shocking’ loss of nine seats (out of 71) in the state elections. Result? That renewal fee has been ‘magically’ lowered to 25 percent. Similarly, Ijok in Selangor had been a BN ‘stronghold’ for decades. Like an old wife, it was semi-neglected despite being just one hour's drive from KL. And then another ‘boyfriend’ showed up. When Anwar Ibrahim wanted a showcase opposition victory there, he pointed out that some people did not even have water and electricity supply. Lo and behold, suddenly tens of millions in projects and hand-outs were poured into Ijok within just two weeks.
Proper mutton curry
Did Pak Lah then call it ‘financial irresponsibility’as they are now calling the opposition's generous promises? S Samy Vellu was giving out Singer sewing machines to the Indian estate folks like Santa Claus (like Sabah 1995, this was another ‘welfare state’ campaign). Abracadabra! He waved his magic wand and instantly, once potholed roads were gleaming in fresh tar. A huge rubbish dump that steadfast pro-BN residents had complained about for years (to no avail) was finally relocated.
What a fairy tale ending to one of the biggest ‘buy elections’ ever! And now Hindraf. Why are the Indians pissed off? Well, what did they get for being a faithful wife, solidly voting in the BN for 50 years? One of their landmark temples was torn down just two days before Deepavali last year, along with dozens of others around the country in the past few years. As an American Negro might say, ‘Brother, we don’t get no respect.’
Oh yes, of course, the government says there is ‘no discrimination’ against the community. Haha. You and I know better. And so did 30,000 Indians who said Dey poddah! to that on the streets of KL. They had the guts to stand up for their rights despite repeated warnings and police beatings from Pak Lah (who had promised back in 2004 to ‘listen to the people’ as he wanted them to ‘work with me, not for me’). The Indians call Hindraf makkal sakti (people's power). For our discussion, let's call it the biggest merajuk ever.
Suddenly, all kinds of leaders and academics are publicly analysing how, where and why the BN and MIC should ‘improve its delivery’. Even the demi-god Samy Vellu is sweating and for the first time ever we are seeing full page advertisements in English newspapers avowing that ‘MIC Cares’. And my oh my, Thaipusam was even declared a holiday in KL. What a lot of achievements for just one day of demonstrations!
Of course Pak Lah tried to disguise the real reason for the extra Thaipusam giveaway by limply saying it was because ‘KL ada trafik jam-lah’ during the festival. Poddah to that too. And what if Indians massively vote against the BN this time? Our dear husband can't leave a permanent block of opposition supporters out there, can he? He (or Najib) HAS to try to win them back. Maybe more government jobs? Some scholarships? Amanah Saham India? At last, no more dry leftover crumbs of murruku but some proper mutton curry.
The lesson in romance and politics is clear. We have to play a little ‘hard to get’. We all know what happens when a woman ‘gives in’ too easily to a man, it’s ‘wham, bam, thank-you ma’am’ (pardon my language) and he then rolls over into a snoring sleep, losing all interest. In other words, stop selling ourselves cheap and let’s start to jual mahal. Only then, will our ‘value’ go up.
Part 2 will appear tomorrow.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
EDWARD BERUANG is a pseudonym. The writer likes to look at politics with some humour and a twist of limau every now and then.