Wednesday, November 28, 2007

New industries to meet national demands

Ain't it phenomenal how Scomi soared this past four years? It's practically a national Midas.

It's wrapped up manufacturing buses for RapidKL and RapidPenang, clinched the Kelana Jaya LRT expansion job, and doing lots of drilling and all that oil and gas stuff. Not bad at all for a young turk.

Then yesterday, we were treated with this:


Hebat. Our very own monorail right out of Rawang.

Scomi's definitely got a nose for money. Question is, what's their next niche?

Judging from recent events and the frequency they're happening (not to mention the on-coming toll hikes, petrol hikes etc) here's my best bet:








Yeah, the way FRUs were shooting these puppies on Sunday at the Hindraf rally, they'll be needing supertanker-loads for the coming year. Repackage it with some TLC and sell it for a couple of hundred ringgit a pop, man, they'll be minting money.

Not to mention doing their bit for peace and national security. Who needs the ISA.


pic credit:
Topmost - The Star
Above - http://www.big-ordnance.com/

Monday, November 26, 2007

How to dig a grave

Restraint.

The police showed restraint at the Hindraf rally yesterday. So said everybody with half a position in the govt, including Minister of Frequent Travels Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Strange word to bandy around, especially led by a Parliament which has shown anything but ( read bocor, terowong, close-one-eye, mau lawan?)

Here's restraint, Malaysian-style.

Restraint is showing up at 2am (or 4am) at Batu Caves, corralling citizens as sheep behind the temple gates, and then jet-spraying the shit out of everyone there with chemical-laced water, and for desserts, tear gas.

If that's restraint, what is otherwise? Hanging 'em by the balls?

Restraint is setting up roadblocks (four lanes into one) three days before the event to sic out Malaysian Indians who might be coming to town with 'wrongful' ideas. How stupid is that?

The supporters threw rocks and bricks, so it was reported. It was the way it was reported - the impression that everyone there came with a bagful of fist-sized rocks. If such missiles were that prevalent, the mainstream media and bloggers would have shown pics of people in the act.

Every picture editor in the MSM would've used this picture big (like colossally big) to carry their accusatory tone of 'Defiance'. And yet... none. Fuckall.

And when things get hot on the PR side, here's what losers do. They lie. IGP Musa Hassan's getting very comfortable with it. He said:
(NST) "A Molotov cocktail was thrown into a bus which was razed but at no time did we use any force, including water cannon or tear gas, in and around the temple vicinity."

(NST) "There was no body contact from my men."

(The Star) Musa said no tear gas or water cannons were used at the demonstrators during the incident (at Batu Caves).

And Jeff Ooi has this in response.

This govt has lost every last morsel of legitimacy it once had. Its counsel is irrelevant. It is past due.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

The happy bond between Beruk and Bersih

During the Umno General Assembly, the Son-in-Law described would-be participants of the Bersih Rally as "beruk". Monkeys prowling the streets, he hollered. Not so long ago, that same honorific was used on socio-political bloggers in this land, too.

Ma-aaan, truth be told, Khairy J is spot on. The man's exhortations has scientific basis.

Read here for the scoop. And more importantly why. Monkeys, bloggers, rallyists.... we're a team! And what a team.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

The national power nap

Here's what you get in the aftermath of Nov 10:
The Prime Minister is in denial. The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and the ill-informed Information Minister are being their typical irrational selves. Pahang's Umno chief and Menteri Besar is now asking for swift use of the ISA. The general response from the other side has been bitter and vindictive. Poor Malaysiakini, a lone domestic voice among the dunes of MSM-propagated lies.

It's clear this govt refuses to acknowledge the Message sent this past Saturday. Instead it mocks. It dishes out more venom. It believes it can subvert this show of dissatisfaction by either ignoring it or thumbing its nose at the whole idea in the hope that it dies a typical worn-out death. Oh yeah?

We must make this govt listen.

Make it listen hard and act no less. The key, however, is to do it without causing hardship to innocent parties. i'm not advocating another rally anytime soon because there's high chance another show will be met with merciless action on the part of the police.

i'm advocating an action where no brutal police force can be meted because it's so widespread; harmless yet potent in point. i'm advocating the power of the individual rumbling in unison to become a power of the masses. All this without so much as lifting a finger.

So how about this? Let's shut down Malaysia. In an act of mourning and prayer, let's shut it down by consensus and as a mark of protest over the pathetic response from this govt.

For half an hour - a pregnant half an hour - let's together put this country to sleep. Stop working, stop eating, stop driving, stop studying. Just stop. Even individual policefolk can participate - after all, there's no more Dataran Merdeka to be cordoned. Unions can shut down their buses, delivery trucks, newspapers, banks, etc. Lawyers can request for an adjournment, architects a brief stop-work order. All activities except those that involve life-safety and personal security.

Half-an-hour is not going to hurt the economy, not going to make a student go dumb, and certainly not starve a person to death. But half-an-hour - synchronised across the country in all fields - will speak a lot. And if it's still met with impunity and indignation on the govt's part, we shall shut down longer the next time.

If enough concerned citizens in their various capacities across the country take part in this movement - and the signs are there are - we would have sent a huge message to the ruling party. It would show them that we the people own this country. Not them. Never them. They serve us. And they better start with electoral reforms. Like now.

i'd suggest that Bersih again take the lead. Pick a date, set a time, spread the word. Spread it in style. Let's go into a self-induced coma.

Make this the one snooze the PM will never ever forget.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Zero deception

Scrutinise this picture. No, not the fact that pictures of the PM always seem to show him pointing at something. Deduce the number of people present.



The Star reports that more than 10,000 people showed up at FT Minister Zulhasnan Rafique's Hari Raya open house yesterday. AAB himself was there, delighted at being boot-licked by yet another machai.

Not to be outdone, the NST reports that more than 60,000 people happily gorged and oohed their Saturday evening at that Palace-on-Lowcost-Land Zakaria Md Deros' open house in Pandamaran. There was no mention if AAB was there.

Fuiyo! The numbers.... It seems like Al Jazeera missed big-time. The real action was over rendang and air bandung in the abode of Umno show-boats, where everyone celebrated in peace and left the respective places burping in B minor.

In stark contrast, the very same media reported that 4,000 people showed up for the "foiled" and "illegal" Bersih Rally. No pictures were carried except traffic jams caused by police roadblocks. The truth? This is how 4,000 looks like:



Numbers don't mean nothing to the editors of the mainstream media, who are by simple extension pitiful running dogs for the govt. Not just numbers, but facts. Cold, hard facts. I'm sure it's become routine; spineless cari-makan journalists and editors bowing down to a Fourth Floor memo to remake facts. It's just words and digits after all. One zero, two zeroes... what does it matter?

They don't seem to learn, do they?

Virtue always wins. The more you lie, the more you lose. And here in Malaysia, baby, the dam won't hold for long.

Given the coverage of the Bersih Rally by the mainstream media yesterday, that the police were forced to use water canons and tear gas on participants, that it was the police who kept the crowd under control, when everything to the contrary was caught on Al Jazeera's tape and beamed across the globe, who could believe you anymore?

And when govt-sanctioned rats start hacking into personal and NGO websites and changing the contents, or roaches which come out at night placing flyers perpetuating the lie that the Bersih Rally was spearheaded by a five-person anti-Muslim group, who can trust you to lead anymore?

All it takes is for every rally participant to inform 10 friends of the lies perpetuated, this govt's in deep trouble. And yet they foolishly continue with the path of deception.

From just this context alone and seeing how the media has carelessly responded, there is no question anymore that the AAB govt lied about the Batu Burok incident (Bersih's other infamous episode) as they have lied just about every thing that is of rakyat value in this land.

I hate liars.


pic credit: (Top) The Star
(Bottom) Minaq Jinggo

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Do you Yellow?

We needed this. After a disgusting August 31, where history was distorted, shamelessly reenacted by a current leader and his son-in-law... people who didn't earn their badges, but craved the limelight no less, we needed this.



The unofficial merdeka gathering happened this afternoon.

There are many reasons to be elated. We - the tens of thousands; that uncle from Penang, the makciks from Perak, the bro from Segamat - have made our point in the rain. We came in peace, walked in peace, and left in peace. And a memo from Bersih calling for free and fair elections is now in the hands of the Agong.

This despite the PM pathetically making it a personal issue with him, and the deployment of thousands of policefolk to thwart this rally. Cars were checked, buses turned away and key transit points under strict watch. It is they - the ruling party - who inconvenienced the public.

The Unit Amal Malaysia deserves a million thanks for flawlessly organizing the logistics. They were on hand at every intersection directing people and traffic flow. I am impressed.

I cannot only speculate, but i suspect the Agong must have ordered a safe passage to the Istana gates. The walk was relatively trouble-free despite whirring choppers and FRU presence. If so, we thank you, Tuanku.

Even so, international news reports reveal that police used tear gas and water canons on citizens at Masjid Jamek. This is tragic and illustrates the desperate nature of those in power. These people came in peace; there is no reason for such aggressive show of force. Let's await global condemnation on this whiny loser of a govt.

But for now, let us stand proud. For the brothers and sisters i met, for the common love shared, for those who believe but could not be there, we will stand firm. And we shall steer this nation yet to its just glory.

Nov 10, 2007 - for me, it was Free Malaysia's finest hour.


ps. there must be many more pics and posts being uploaded in cyberspace. This is just my token share.

Friday, November 09, 2007

He wants to break the Bersih rally

At the Umno General Assembly's winding-up speech, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said this:

"They are challenging the patience of the rakyat who want this country to be peaceful and stable. That is what they are challenging, not me.

Tapi saya mesti kata saya pantang dicabar." (Trans: But I have to say that don't you dare challenge me).

- excerpt from Malaysiakini

Abdullah, wrong on both counts. For crying out loud, you're not even in the picture. You're merely Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, flesh and bone, a blip in the country's ever-unfolding storybook. See, this isn't about how much we like or hate your face, if that's not too hard to understand.

This is about institutions and fundamental structures. This is about safeguarding the integrity of the country's pillars and never allowing them to be subverted by foul motives.

So, 'atok, if we want a free and fair elections, what's so wrong with that? And if hundreds of memos on this matter written to both the govt and the Election Commission received stony silence and no replies, how then? You might choose the bed (it's peaceful no?), but for some people it's important enough to alert the Agong to this illness.

I am one of them.

And I absolutely hate it when someone tramples on my fundamental right as a citizen of Malaysia. Especially someone who's sitting on the esteemed position of Prime Minister, yet still not know the basic duty of that institution.

Siapa cabar siapa, Abdullah? Seems like you're the one making the threat, authorising the police to make arrests. And to that, all I can say in full empathy is: Screw you.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Notes to self


  • Get yellow t-shirt
  • Get raincoat (in case of water jets)
  • Check med insurance (in case of swinging clubs)
Even if they threaten, we must stand.

We must.

Friday, November 02, 2007

The angka in angkasa

Yeah, the pie must be getting smaller in Bolehland. As they say, out there, the sky's certainly the limit.

I suspect they're double-verifying this experiment: "Can durian runtuh in deep space?"

Oooo...

From The Star today:

KUALA LUMPUR: Anyone who takes part in the illegal gathering on Nov 10 at Dataran Merdeka to demand for a “fair and clean” general election will be arrested.

Police will not hesitate to pick up anyone seen in the area where 100,000 people are expected to congregate from 3pm.

The plan was for those attending the gathering to march to various parts of the city before heading to Istana Negara where a memorandum would be submitted to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.


So, Deputy Commissioner Zul Hasnan, tested your water canons lately? Choppers all fueled? Tear gas canisters? Should be easy using them on unarmed citizens at a peaceful gathering, no? Like sitting ducks.

The thing is we've come to expect nothing less from you fellows. You may threaten to arrest us, maybe beat us, bloody us, break some ribs, why hell, even shoot us. And yet, we'll still be there.... the rakyat including the blind, the wheel-chair bound, women and children. All to see a memo get to the Agong.

What does that tell you about the state of the country? Think it's pretty, Zul?

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Debt management

Ramli Yusoff, chief of Commercial Crimes Investigation Department, is likely to be charged by the ACA today. It seems only natural if one considers what's behind the scenes; the effects of a downward spiral in a crumbling relationship between bigger players. Poor Ramli... a chess-piece who's more than a pawn - perhaps a rook - but expendable no less.

The clearest picture emerging out of this saga is the shameless patronage crippling the running of this country. It is but a snapshot of the sinister web of IOUs between soulless bigshots and peasants.

It reaffirms the suspicion: You are in a position of power not because you're good but because of favours done and favours owed. You may be at some pinnacle, but you are Owned. You are a puppet. And that makes for a very pathetic reason to exist, if you ask me.

At this point, it is irresistible to ask one single question - What if? What if Ramli had refrained from conducting investigations on the suspected underworld taiko back then? Would he then be on a happier umrah this Saturday? Would he be tagged as future IGP? Just wondering...

It has become painfully obvious that in Malaysia worms and fellow grovelers succeed if you help this govt keep its power. Merit? Aptitude? Feed that to the fishes.

Melaka's chief minister Ali Rustam will not be punished by his Umno clans-folk despite his obnoxious remarks at the PPP assembly. Zakaria Deros remains very happy in his palace. The Altantuya trial was scarred even before Day One and is proceeding on a curious trek. The people behind the Port Klang Free Zone fiasco continue to walk freely.

There has been incredible inertia displayed by the powers to act on the VK Lingam videotape, as damning as it is. Why?

IOUs.

Simple as that. And simpler than that is the next question: You gonna just watch?