Make the time, if you can, to watch the Parliamentary debate on the 2009 Budget. Rosyam123 has a great archive going.
Watch for yourself and then decide who ought to be running this country. For me, it's a no-brainer... if you'd rather ponteng, you're basically saying: "I don't care about the the rakyat."
And to that i say: "Get lost."
Last night at Padang Timur, a motion was proposed to the collective subconscious:
"Those in favour of abolition of the ISA wave aye....."
The results:
Reports the Star:
Speaking to reporters Sunday before attending a Hari Raya gathering with Umno Youth members here, Mukhriz claimed that Zaid’s efforts to make the judicial appointments system more transparent and to allow the Bar Council to be involved in the appointment of judges would not play much of a role in the nation’s progress.
He asserted the reform issues raised by the former minister, if not implemented, would not cause the nation to crumble, adding that Malaysians had lived all this while without them.
“Zaid claimed he wanted to reform the system and to save Umno but I don’t see how all the issues he mentioned will benefit the Malays or Umno,” added Muhkriz who is vying for the Umno Youth presidency.
There was this saying about the likeness of father and son...
Let's start with an easy question.
Do you think they can break him?
(Pic was taken at about 1.50pm, when the court broke for lunch. They had to move RPK into the temporary holding cell.)
Do you think they can break her?
This morning, a bunch who'd typically hate Mondays decided to move their butts in a show of love to the editor of M-Today. While Raja Petra was inside, a hundred No-to-ISA people milled outside uncertain if it would be a full session or another adjournment. A full-day session, so it turned out.
Good news, perhaps. In a couple of days, who knows, perhaps we'll get to the part where RPK dishes out the evidence on the Altantuya story. If i were Rosmah - and if there was any shred of truth in the RPK story - i'd be having stones in my kidneys.
And here's one man who's been tirelessly rallying Bangsa Malaysia to wake up, this time taking shots of people all over: the Indefatiguable Haris! Just what ginseng does he grow in his kebun?
Within that little fenced compound of the Sessions Court, the crowd filled its asphalt surface and went about talking, sharing, reassuring - creating the very stuff every chemist dreams about. Bonds.
The PJ Sessions court may be a shabby little enclave of justice, but it has its gems if one cares to see. And as the minutes tick into hours, one begins to discover pretty pockets unexpectedly tucked in corners of the building. Lessons no less. Happy accidents, for they were obviously unplanned. They speak of Freedom and how - with that space to thrive - even the coldest concrete structure gets a soul.
We must create that space, that condition. For tomorrow's sakes, it is now.
They were charged up to RM500 to get over to the other side of the straits. This Raya, it seemed the draw of home was worth it. And cruel brokers - stoked by money and greed - decided cold cash meant much more than these lives. Sumatran lives.
They were squeezed into an 80-person-capacity wooden boat - 140 of them - pushed to the rim, and barely 15 minutes out into the benign waters, they learned that 80 means 80 and never the double of it. Twelve bodies have been found. Crew from larger boats nearby pulled 113 to safety.
In the news reports, there was no mention of the hands behind this cruel deal. No names mentioned. No mention of what efforts the police are taking to track down the sick businessmen. Will it just blow away?
Twelve Sumatrans died on the eve of Raya, the rest lost their livelihood. And though it may be a time for forgiveness, i am not quite in the mood for that. This case has to be fully investigated. The culprits' names must be revealed. Bring down the full weight of the law on them that the ones guilty will forever remember their evil deed.
If i had my way, i'd take them out to sea. A one-way trip. On a paper boat.
He was 36 years young when he died. Born of a black mum and a white dad, Bob Marley was wise beyond his years. His songs are clear evidence. His unpretentious interviews equally so.
"I don't have prejudice against meself. My father was a white and my mother was black. Them call me half-caste or whatever. Me don't dip on nobody's side. Me don't dip on the black man's side nor the white man's side. Me dip on God's side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white."At another time, he once said (and so appropriate for the likes of Syed Hamid):
"Who are you to judge the life I live?
I know i'm not perfect and I don't live to be, but before you start pointing fingers...
make sure your hands are clean."
The problem with essentialising is that you end up with large gaping holes in your thesis. It's a convenient trick in mass comm. It's also lazy. Yet all too often, op-ed writers tend to make broad assumptions like they know the world from the comfort of their leather seats. Even sadder, they expect the reader to soak it all up uncritically.
Karim Raslan, in his column in the Straits Times (Singapore), wrote:
Still, there’s no doubt that Najib is one of Malaysia’s smartest politicians. He is well-read and has a rigorous mind. His unflappable disposition is well suited to the demands of governance. He presides over meetings effortlessly, can summarise discussions succinctly and understands the importance of prioritising issues. In technocratic terms, he far surpasses both Prime Minister Datuk Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and even Anwar, whose flamboyant style is less suited to the tedium of Cabinet life.
“We (Umno) are dominant and we have responsibilities to other races. The other races look up to Umno.”
