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Welcome Jeff Ooi to DAP – let it be a catalyst for more bloggers to take political stand

Welcome Jeff Ooi to DAP

Welcome, Jeff Ooi, Malaysia’s pre-eminent blogger to DAP and Malaysian politics!

Jeff has created waves in the Malaysian blogosphere. We await a tsunami from him in the political arena.

Jeff’s statement of the reasons for joining the DAP is an eloquent expression of patriotism of a Malaysian, illustrating that patriotism is an integral part of all Malaysians and not the monopoly only of those who hold office or high positions. This makes the 50th Merdeka anniversary particularly significant.

Recently, one political upstart said:

“It is the law of the jungle and we need to take action against one ‘monkey’.

“I think the other ‘monkeys’ will also get scared.

“They are not above the law.”

This upstart was referring to Malaysian blogs. Apart from his loyal following, he will not find much agreement from bloggers.

It is regrettable to see the use of such derogatory language and the debasement in the standard of public discourse.

Many however will agree if his description is applied to public and political life, especially with regard to corruption, crime and public accountability and transparency where the rule of law appears to have been replaced by the law of the jungle.

There will also be considerable agreement as to the identity of such “monkeys” in the law of the jungle of public life and politics.

But will any action be taken against one “monkey” so that the other “monkeys” will also get scared and the country can begin to see the restoration of integrity, efficiency and effectiveness in public and political life?

I do not want to use the “monkey” language but this will be one of the challenges of Jeff Ooi, together with others in the political arena, to fight back the creeping law of the jungle and to restore the rule of law in Malaysian political and public life.

It has been said that Jeff Ooi’s decision to join the Opposition is a loss to blogging.

It should not be so. It should be a gain to both politics and blogging in Malaysia, enriching both.

I will like to see more politicians taking up blogging and more bloggers entering politics.

After all, blogging particularly socio-political blogging is not an end by itself but a means to an end and a time must come when bloggers must decide whether they should “dirty their hands” and make the transition from advocacy of their political ideals in cyberspace to enter the political terrain to be able to directly translate their ideals into action.

There is the perception that politics is dirty. It it is not politics that is dirty.. Politics is an honourable calling demanding conviction, passion, selflessness and sacrifice. If politics is regarded as dirty, it is the politicians who make politics dirty. Let bloggers get directly involved in politics to cleanse and rid it of “dirty”, unscrupulous and unprincipled politicians!

This welcoming party for Jeff Ooi to is significant both for Malaysian blogging and Malaysian politics.

It coincides with the 50th Merdeka anniversary celebrations which should be a milestone to assess both our achievements and failures in five decades of nation-building so as to chart the nation’s course for the coming decades. It also takes place in the midst of a “war on blogs” declared by the powers-that-be, demonstrating that the those in power have not come to terms with the influence and implications of the new media.

We are at the end of the fourth year of the Abdullah premiership which had received the unprecedented mandate of 91% of parliamentary seats in the 2004 general election. There is now a full-blown crisis of confidence over the lack of political will of the Prime Minister to honour his reform pledges and agenda to lead a clean, incorruptible, efficient, accountable, trustworthy and democratic administration which is highly competitive to face the challenges of globalisation with world-class institutions like world-class civil service, world-class police, world-class universities, world-class judiciary, world-class Parliament, etc staffed by towering Malaysians.

But we have yet to make a real start in this direction while in many instances, we have regressed and gone backwards.

We, including bloggers, have to pick up the pieces. I call on more bloggers to emulate Jeff Ooi to make the 50th Merdeka anniversary a catalyst for a political commitment to create an united, progressive, democratic and just Malaysia where all Malaysians are proud of the country and can walk tall in the world.

I look forward to see Jeff Ooi and other bloggers taking their places in the next Parliament and State Assemblies to create a better Malaysia for ourselves, our children and our children’s children.

(Speech at the “Jeff Ooi’s Welcoming Party” as member of DAP in Petaling Jaya on Tuesday, 31st July 2007 at 11 am)

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173 Replies to “Welcome Jeff Ooi to DAP – let it be a catalyst for more bloggers to take political stand”

  4. Pingback: Jeff Ooi joins DAP | Malaysia Buzz with YeinJee

  6. WELCOME JEFF OOI

    Another booster to power this great Rocket and remember this Rocket is going to take our very first malaysian into space and not umno or the barang naik(bn) government.

    Three Cheers For DAP

    For those who do not agree, like poster Taikor, think out of the box and weigh the differences.

    50 years is ENOUGH
    Vote For A Change
    Vote For Any Opposition
    Give Them A Chance To Change For A Better Malaysia
    Remember bn Is A Useless Grouping Of Self Serving, Corrupt, Dictator, Power Crazy, Racist, Kris waving, etc, etc type of parties.

  10. Jeff Ooi needs to learn to keep his temper in check. We had a tiff some time over over his unnecessary bashing of Harry Lee, and he called me all sorts of names in his blog. Something like “small-minded minion”. Hope he learns to accept alternative and sometimes contrarian views.

  11. yes Jeff also had a tiff with me calling me names like practising self-righteous when I chastised the ppl including him over some Akademi Fantasia sms votes.

    Nevertheless, I wish him well and to me whoever sits in DAP will still get my family’s votes.

  12. well, even if he doesn’t contribute in any other way, he would be a great noisemaker.. however, i’m still waiting to see what the new opposition line up can do.. at the moment, it’s still only promises..

  14. “Jeff Ooi needs to learn to keep his temper in check. We had a tiff some time over over his unnecessary bashing of Harry Lee, and he called me all sorts of names in his blog. Something like “small-minded minion”. Hope he learns to accept alternative and sometimes contrarian views.” – Godfather

    ‘Small minded minion’??? hahaha … ohh I bet that was really like a kick up the backside for a peacock like you. :)

    So, tell me are you still in Europe or you are back in Malaysia?

  15. It is obvious who he is referring to but why? – kleptocrats said.
    Well MAYBE Taikor was comparing Blog Owner RPK’s defiant response to authorities over the allegedly offensive 11 comments disparaging the King and Islam to two cases involving Screenshot’s commenters: –

    · One by the nick of “Anwar” who compared Islam Hadari and money politics in unsavory language in a posting of September 2004; and
    · Another, IImran who posted “Somebody, please shoot this Gunasegaram for good” and had a run in with P. Gunasegaram, the executive editor of theSun and NexNews Groups.

    In the above 2 cases, the commenters were made to account in one way or another due to official action whilst in Malaysia Today’s case, the 11 posters and their IPs are still unknown.

  16. Pingback: Bloggers:Called to Join Politics Following the Likes of Jeff Ooi « t.he. r.e.b.e.l w.i.t.h.i.n u.s

  17. Common Law applies to human-beings only, and not to bloggers, since bloggers are classified as animals by a representative of the ruling government, who is also the sil of the pea-am.

  18. Jeffrey,

    I can understand what you trying to say. Well, Taikor may has something to add to his initial comment later.

    To All,

    Just thought of this. Can someone be liable if a racial/hatred etc remarks were posted on a different site, but retype (copy) as part of a reference, or a pointer, in a totally different comment with different meaning (by different person) posted in, again, a different blog, say in LKS blog. Will LKS be made liable too? Given that it is only a reference rather than a direct racial remarks spur on by the original writer’s article in a different blog? Or they just catch you using the exact “word by word” without taking the tune, the whole structure of the comments, the objective into consideration etc etc.

    Hmmmzz…maybe I am just confuse over this whole racial, hatred remarks thingy.

  19. devilmaster said in Malaysia Today//BN only managed to secure 64% of the total votes. But they managed to get 92% of Parliament seats because of rural areas, some with only 3000-4000 voters only.

    Foreign election watchdogs have been criticizing our Election process, when you see big constituency like Bukit Bintang having 50,000+ voters, whilst some small areas like in Pahang with just less than 7,000 voters, could also be considered as a Parliamentary seat.//

    Yes, well said. In countries like Japan, it is illegal to have a constituency with numbers of voters bigger than twice of the smallest constituency. This is one of the main tricks why UMO is in power for so many years.

    Our opposition parties needs to fight on such injustice and vote manipulations.

  20. RealWorld:

    An UMNO stooge will not fathom how I could write to blogs 24 hours a day. Unlike the cybertroopers paid by UMNO, I write and comment for my own pleasure. Jeff Ooi and I had a tiff, but he didn’t steal from the rakyat unlike your UMNO bosses, so I will vote for him anytime over any BN candidate. Heck, I may even campaign for him.

  21. He called me a minion in the heat of the moment, just as I probably called him names in the heat of the moment, but we are united in a single purpose – to show the country that we should live without the UMNO thieves, cheats and liars.

  22. One more good reason for not reading the controlled media such as The Star, The Straits Times, Sin Chew, Nan Yang, Oriental Daily, Berita Harian, Utusan etc.

    Good on you Jeff, now if only Rocky will consider.

  24. Mine wasn’t just a mere tiff or petty argument.

    What could be worse than having your entire family being leveled with insults?! Sore loser!

    We got into a misunderstanding and he started to attacked me with all sorts of imaginable verbal abuse. After much explanations and lengthy posts, as he began realise his BLUNDER, he gave me a last insult and banned me from responding to his allegations. I was denied the right to defend myself!

    It was not the first time he exhibit his angst at me and fellow posters who expressed their views differently in his blog.

    The last time we entered into explosive argument was also the last time I appear in his blog. It wasn’t a case of me deserting his site. He banned me!

    I seriously doubt his sincerity to ‘serve the people’. Such a person, full of venom in his head, lacks credibility.

    His joining of DAP might just be to pick up a fight with the UMNO goons.

    Some people here might think it’s a good thing that he’s joining and adds DAP’s firepower. Don’t be too sure. He’s a coward! He’ll show his face when EVERYONE’S are shouting at the goons but if you think he’ll lead the charge, forget it.

  25. Best wishes to Jeffery Ooi. Hope you will make a mark for the rakyat. Like to see more new blood from other races, people like RPK, Dr Azly Rahman, Ms Arbiga, Dr Azmi and many more to to join the opposition be it DAP or PKR and run for parliamentary seats. My family and friends will give you our vote.

    This country needs talents who can rational issues beyond own race to lead. Not those ‘monkeys’ in the BN/UMNO running the Parliament, court house, town councils and country like a circus show, only know to play racial and religious cards to cover up own corrupt practice.

  26. Hear, hear. Jeff Ooi’s entry into politics is one small loss to political fence-sitters and one Giant Leap for a Malaysian Malaysia.

    Having followed Jeff’s Screenshots for so long, on an almost daily basis, (more ‘religiously’ than I have ever done for the STAR and none for NST – that’s the absolute truth!), one can detect unmistakably his conscience-of-the people’s approach to the varied issues confronting the common folks and the time and trouble he has expended to acquaint himself well with the nitty-gritty of those issues – be it tolls, petrol, police excesses etc. etc.

    What awes me is that to be a conscience-of-the-people, Jeff would have to live with and face up to more stresses (perhaps harassments too) from the warped conscience that is the BN government.

    The fact is not lost on Malaysians that for decades BN has murdered its conscience, strangled its scruples, screwed its morals, raped its ideals and anaesthesized/desensitised all its nerve roots to the extent that all BN component parties (UMNO, MCA, MIC, GERAKAN, PPP etc…) are now left with no more feeling for the people. BN leaders now only feel for their own pockets! Just look at all those multimillionaire BN ex-Ministers and ex-MPs!

    The assemblage of Tony Pua, Jeff Ooi and others who have joined shoulders with the others in the DAP bandwagon i.e. YB LKS, KARpal, Guan Eng, Dr TAn Seng Giaw, Theresa Kok etc augurs well for a nation that’s fast falling apart at it’s seams.

    Kudos to you, Jeff – for putting the nation’s weal before self.

    Hear. Hear. Did I hear Jeff saying ‘Fellow Malaysians, lend me your ears’. Malaysians must give DAP a voice to speak on behalf of the Malaysian people. Even such fundamental liberties are now fettered by the clampdown and intimidation exerted upon bloggers.

    So for freedom of expression, a moral conscience and MORE of a Malaysian Malaysia – VOTE DAP/PKR.

  27. Godfather,

    Lets put aside our debate for awhile.

    Personally I rate Jeff Ooi (even though he is joining DAP) , unlike you I dont use one brush to paint the entire potrait. It is good to see some young professionals joining DAP, but I feel the party needs to have a more multi racial field.

    I cant wait for the next GE … it will be interesting.

  29. These are what the past 50 years of independence have brought:-
    the separation of powers, that is, legislative, executive and judicial, are being concentrated in the hands of a few persons,
    the machinations of the ruling party and the excesses of its officials
    a bloated yet hugely inefficient civil service,
    declining academic institutions (especially tertiary institutions),
    a rising yet uncontrollable crime rate,
    rampant corruption right up to the highest level,
    rampant frauds (especially unrelenting looting of the Treasury),
    unabashed state-sponsored racism/religious bigotry wholly for political expediency,
    stagnant and shrinking economy due to its inability to move up the value chain,
    the shortage of talent/capital/FDI due to unfavorably skewed government policies/strategies

  30. Recently, one political upstart said:

    “It is the law of the jungle (UMNO’s laws???!!!) and we need to take action against one ‘monkey’.

    “They are not above the law (UMNO’s laws???!!!).”

    Maybe the political upstart should stop ‘running around’ with frenzied squeals and debate on TV3 either Tony Pua or Jeff Ooi on “The blogosphere, not UMNO, operates like the law of the jungle” or something like that. Helluva clever little ‘Political Upstart’ can be given a handicap and even allowed to choose to be either Pembangkang or Pencadang. I’d be delighted to be the moderator but would be equally delighted to settle down as a mere listener in the audience. Malaysians would like to know how an Oxford political upstart performs against another Oxonian or a local USM boy, Jeff. Otherwise, cease and desist and forever hold your peace. Even third-graders with the connections and strong-enough strings can be an Oxonian. Or am I scandalously wrong?

  31. “It is the law of the jungle and we need to take action against one ‘monkey’.

    “I think the other ‘monkeys’ will also get scared.

    “They are not above the law.”

    When those words were uttered it was meant Raja Petra for allegedly posting seditious articles on his blog.

    Now that his father-in-law is found to be in the same boat as Raja Petra, I guess the former is the biggest monkey of them all!!!

    Ha!Ha! Well done, Oxford Grad!!!

  32. I would vote for DAP but not Jeff. He is abrasive, offensive, obnoxious and thinks too highly of himself to become an opposition politician who is receptive to rakyats problems. Too many tiffs with too many ppl

  36. dear bystander, lets all hope that he will (he has to) learn to control his emotions better then! if he can, i am sure he will benifit the rakyat more and its a plus plus for us.

    to be honest, we do need more young blood doing mature politics in malaysia. with kj on the other side, lets see how well they all square off.

  39. How can a not so young fart learn when he has no respect for elders and no humility like YB. He must apologise to all bloggers first for his offensive language and insults. Lets see whether he is prepared to come down to earth and be humble before taking on any greater challenge ahead. “It takes a great man to listen and a greater man to say he is sorry.”

  40. I can see some unhappy people with Jeff Ooi joining DAP. Some even claimed that they will not vote for Jeff Ooi! What happened to your support for your party? Gone so fast already!!?

    All those previous chest thumping i.e. “I will support DAP etc etc” is looking more like a show now.

  41. “I would vote for DAP but not Jeff.” – bystander

    Dont make sense, dude. If Jeff is contesting under DAP in your area, when you are in the polling box, you cannot want to vote only DAP but not Jeff.

  42. Jeff Ooi, we wish you all the best and good luck in your political endeavours. Internal pressure within the country is not enough. More international pressure must be garnered to get rid of corrupt practices and human rights violation in Malaysia

    USA and Australia are doing the right thing not to seal any FTA agreement with Malaysia http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_FIN_MALAYSIA_AUSTRALIA_FREE_TRADE_ASOL-?SITE=ASIAONE&SECTION=SOUTHEAST&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-07-31-05-24-37

  43. I am a reader of screenshots for many years. Yes Jeff Ooi has sometimes potrayed himself as an arrogant b*stard, this much I agree with people like Taikor. Pls remember he too is under a great deal of pressure from the authorities due to inflammatory postings from us readers. He’s even being taken to court because of you and me. Let’s forgive the man for he’s only human and unite behind him and his party to make this a better country.

  44. “He must apologise to all bloggers first for his offensive language and insults” – bystander

    Hasn’t your personal adventure went too far across the borders? I have no knowledge that he has to apologise to Tony, Lim Kit Siang, and many others who are bloggers.

  45. Jeff Ooi joining DAP is good. he is a good guy overall and yes he can be very opinionated and has his views. He can do a good job and DAP needs people who are visible and don’t need too much introduction like Jeff ooi. Jeff is very Malaysian and his likes for pantun etc is refreshing.

    I know of Jeff Oo and hope he can be elected to parliament cos he can really do good there with his research etc.

    Jeffrey – yes the 2 commentators got into trouble in Jeff’s site cos of their comments. One could be his site is located in Malaysia thus the law can get hold of the people and Jeff easier. Or maybe Jeff gives away info on the ‘bad’ guys.Not sure which.

  46. Being an UMNo apologist, I would not expect you to understand. If UMNOputras and apologists can comprehend then we dont have all these unresolved problems such as NEP, special privileges, freedom of speech and religion, constitutional crises. Instead UMNO apologists get paid to stir up troubles in blogs to prop up these corrupted UMNOputras. Otherwise how can they cari makan.

  48. In fact Jeff has warned that any reader who posted inflammatory postings will be banned from his blog and will be reported to the authorities if required. You have been warned so you can’t blame him if he “betrays” you.

  49. “Jeffrey – yes the 2 commentators got into trouble in Jeff’s site cos of their comments. One could be his site is located in Malaysia thus the law can get hold of the people and Jeff easier. Or maybe Jeff gives away info on the ‘bad’ guys.Not sure which.”

    Didn’t hear or see any news that his server was being confiscated for forensics, so I’m guessing it is highly possible it is the latter.

  50. You are entitled to your opinion and so do I. And I beg to differ. Lets see whether he is a small man bending with the wind (small minded like what Taikor says and I fully concur) or a great man.

  51. “Another booster to power this great Rocket and remember this Rocket is going to take our very first malaysian into space…”

    Remember too, that this old rocket is red-hot and is coming from the outer reaches of space spiraling to earth. Malaysia may not survive after the blast which is coming.

  53. “I would love to see some prominent Malays joining DAP.” dawsheng

    That can only if the DAP is driven less by ideology and more by political pragmatism. I leave you to consider what ‘political pragmatism’ means.

    But does it mean the DAP will have to sacrifice the very principles they stood for when it started?? Well, it is all about public perception, about ‘old’ principles dressed up to look new.

    DAP must evolve and adjust to new situations. It cannot afford to be static. It must roll with the blows or be rolled over by the blows.

  55. That fellow human being ho refers to others as “monkeys” has indeed got a hugely inflated opinion of himself, an is likely the sort who would treat his fellow human beings as primates, tossing them bananas as and when he likes. Such a fellow is an arrogant sort, looks down on most people, considering himself to be a superior species, and would abuse his power (if ever in a high political position) by becoming something of an Adolf Hitler. Such a person must be voted out before he puts Malaysia on E-Bay and auctions it off to the highest bidder!

  56. Pragmatism??? Like DAP having a Malay leading the party? Or else how it is going to form a govt ever? The way I see it now, DAP = MCA + MIC + DAP. It is still race based politics although it says its not, I hate to disagree.

  57. The DAP must seriously start looking for suitable Malay candidates. Looks like with the last few candidates, DAP’s long term policy is to forever play second fiddle to this government…..with a strategy of this nature, they would have counted themselves out as serious politica governors……….and we voters will rightly only vote for them in seats where we feel we need a firm oppostion candidate……..this party cannot grow.

  58. dawsheng, you are beginning to sound like Jeff. Just because someone has a differing view, doesn’t mean he is wrong and you have to insult that person. it shows how small minded you are and you are no better than UMNO trying to curb an individual rights to free speech and expression. Pl stick to your view on Jeff and brag about him if you are his supporter. That’s your right and you can be different. I wont hold it against. Dont be so immature and childish. But dont hold it against for being different. Dont be like UMNO.

  60. I have been reading his blog screenshots for sometime. I have seen him in his dark times and happy days. There were times he bared his soul for all to see. He gets critisised and he defends himself well I would say.

    The quality about him, reading the threads above that did not come out and I must add, is his shining quality, is that he is a bloodhound when he gets on a case! His investigative instincts are excellent! We need this quality in the parliament.

    The vehicle he chose, DAP, some may disagree as some feel Jeff transcends race and may not sit well with some. But this is only the start of his politcal journey.

    Its a brave start, Malaysia needs a strong thinking oppostion party as we all know what the ruling party is. Its not about Jeff, friends its about Malaysia.

  64. bystander Says:

    July 31st, 2007 at 20: 01.06
    Sorry dawsheng. maybe you are one of those UMNo cybertroopers like RPk says. Are you?
    ………………………………………………………………………………

    Naa… I am a transformer fan!

  65. Jeff Ooi can be abrasive some time. Politics could blunt his sharp edges. We cannot deny that he is learned, intelligent and “wow!” in his investigative style. It’s up to Hon. Mr. Lim to lead him to the correct political path. Good luck Jeff!

  68. Having individuals like Jeff Ooi stand in the GE under the banner of the DAP, could be a tacit acknowledgment of the kind of pragmatism that is needed to help the DAP evolve into the kind of political party which together with a Malay-based political party could reasonably hope to replace the present national coalition that is also facing problems of survivability.

    It remains to be seen.

  69. It is obviously a feather in the caps of those who eased his entry into the DAP. But his proposed candidacy in any of the constituencies regarded as DAP stronghold is bound to generate resentment among die-hard and loyal DAP members, both young and old alike, who see his entry as a threat to their own future.

  70. New members who stood on a platform of ‘change’ for change sake, should be given their baptism of fire by making them stand in Malay dominated constituencies. He should be made to earn his stripes like those who come before him.

  71. Yes, I hope Jeff Ooi learns some respect and control his temper. He at times appears to be OVER confident and highly arrogant with his views and draconian control over his blog.

    We had some tiff over some issues as well over some things in his blog and u would be shocked to see how shallow this man can get. I still keep his emails. Dissapointing and shocking indeed.

  72. Whatever tiff you may have had with Jeff Ooi you must not lose sight of the fact that if he were to stand as a candidate for DAP it is he you must cast your vote if you believe strongly a vote for MCA or MIC or Gerakan (for that matter any component party of BN) is a vote for corruption,NEP,racial fanatism,relirious fanatism and for the big bullying tactics of UMNO.Otherwise you are only a big pretender!
    Let us recap what Mendela says. “devilmaster said in Malaysia Today//BN only managed to secure 64% of the total votes. But they managed to get 92% of Parliament seats because of rural areas, some with only 3000-4000 voters only.”.
    This is done by a process called gerrymandering areas in the urban areas with say 70000 people are delineated as a constituency and a rural area with only 5000 to have one MP.This is skewed to favour Malay-based party specifically UMNO and it is done throughout the 22years of Mahathir’s rule. This is only possible because of the two thirds majority of BN.How to undo this?An impossible and very likely never because to break the two thirds majority the total opposition MPs must be 72. At present opposition is only 13 or 14.
    I would even go so far as to suggest DAP to look into the possibility of forming some form of coalition with PAS even tho I am fully aware of what happen to Kit Siang,Karpal Singh and others.But you really don’t have a choice if you want to beat this gang of thieves.

  74. I do not trust Jeff Ooi at the moment. At one point, he is used to bash Tun M, and then lately, he started to ampun him.
    You can see his recent article (First They came, dated July 25) where he made it a point to specifically state that Tun M had retired by the time these things occured.

    Seems like a flip-flopper to me. However, because of my dislike of the DACING government, I hope DAP and the rest of the opposition is able to give them a huge scare in the next election.

  75. bystander said, “would vote for DAP but not Jeff. He is abrasive, offensive, obnoxious and thinks too highly of himself to become an opposition politician who is receptive to rakyats problems. Too many tiffs with too many ppl”.
    I agree with your description of Jeff but I would still vote for him because I support DAP. Jeff, would be still better than any BN stooge.
    Unless Jeff changes, he will not last long in the DAP.

  78. Pingback: Global Voices Online » Malaysia: GVO's Jeff Ooi joins Opposition Party

  79. OK! Some of you guys out there are flawless, congratulations! Anyway, this is not a beauty contest or something like that, you are in the wrong blog I guess. Is what Jeff Ooi can do that matters, he had done it without DAP, he now wants to do it with DAP. Obviously someone here thinks he is better than Jeff Ooi, if that is true, than soon it will your debutaré in this blog.

  80. Look, like some of you, I’ve had my differences with Jeff Ooi, but I’d vote him any time over any monkey from BN. Over time, Jeff will understand his limitations and he will be the better for it. Remember, our mission is to vote out the thieves and any blogger monkey is better than any BN monkey.

  81. YB,

    It is evident that everyone here has got his/her points and way of looking at things and from what I can see there is no consensus. The proportion of voices expressing misgivings here, whether fair or not fair, versus those of support cannot be gauged by mere arithmetic of postings here because it may well be the case that many falling within the category may reserve their comments in an occasion of an auspicious announcement as such that was just made.

    All I can say is that you have benchmarked sovereignly the highest ideals of politics of which your political career has exemplified and set the standards to which DAP is consequently also identified with – “Politics is a honourable calling demanding conviction, passion, selflessness and sacrifice”.

    This is very well said. In sum, it is character – it is even more important than intelligence – and we are reminded, now more than ever, that it is dearth of these qualities amongst our ‘clever’ politicians that we find ourselves in the quagmire and morass we are in presently….

  83. “…//….Let bloggers get directly involved in politics to cleanse and rid it of “dirty”, unscrupulous and unprincipled politicians!…//…”

    This is an interesting concept because it prima facie decides that bloggers are ok in terms of “conviction, passion, selflessness and sacrifice” to rid politics of “dirty”, unscrupulous and unprincipled politicians!

    Now that Rocky Bru was mentioned, why do we leave out the irrepressible RPK? :)

  84. “Look, like some of you, I’ve had my differences with Jeff Ooi, but I’d vote him any time over any monkey from BN.” – Godfather Says:

    Second to that man, don’t ever want animal farm in Malaysia again.

  85. “Look, like some of you, I’ve had my differences with Jeff Ooi…. Over time, Jeff will understand his limitations and he will be the better for it. Remember, our mission is to vote out the thieves and any blogger monkey is better than any BN monkey.” Godfather

    I will vote for anything that moves except anything that is dead and dying and more of the same – which is how I’d describe BN today.

    As for Jeff Ooi the man, I tend to agree with jigsaw’s brief assessment of the guy.

    I still think the DAP should give him the baptism of fire and let him stand in a BN or Malay dominated constituency. That would please the hardliners among the leadership of the party who see themselves as having been bypassed by a relatively young upstart.

  86. Jeffrey,

    Everybody loves to hate the politicians. The engineers and doctors have their talent which they use to good effect for the benefit of their communities. I hesitate to mention lawyers i.e. the next group of people everybody loves to hate.

    It is not peculiar to Malaysia. The story is the same everything else. Everybody loves to hate the politicians (and lawyers). Why is that so??

    Kit says politics is not dirty but it is the politicians who make politics dirty i.e. assuming the two can be separated.

  89. undergrad2 says ///I still think the DAP should give him the baptism of fire and let him stand in a BN or Malay dominated constituency. That would please the hardliners among the leadership of the party who see themselves as having been bypassed by a relatively young upstart.///

    absolutely agree with you.

  90. ” BN secured 64% of votes but 92% of seats “.

    If true, representation in Parliament and election are grossly unfair.

    Fair election and representation are most important in a democracy system. How long has this been going on?

  91. One word for all that against Jeff joining DAP: Enough of talking. Show your action.

    If you think you can make a different to the country, do now. Why just talk? Be it good or bad, as long as show the action, it is something different.

    If you can talk one word, you do one action. If you can talk two words, you do two actions.

    Not all political parties are perfect. But it is only associate with politics then you can do something, in Malaysia. Look into Malaysia’s perspective. Get yourself involved in more real life experience in the country. Offer your service to government. Try. You will know it is not the same in other country.

    Jeff has my 100% support no matter which political party he goes. My IC address is in Perak. But now I stay in Puchong. So I will change my IC address and make sure I can vote for him. That’s the action.

  92. Jeff Ooi joining DAP is more against the BN than actually as a long term asset to the opposition. The fact that he vascillated indicate a person that takes too long to make up his mind about the principles and challenges of which the DAP stands for. I have no doubt Jeff agrees with DAP in principles but in politics? Its a rough world out there in political sea and the DAP is not without its ills and broken promises. Its not a place for those that are not willing to pay a heavy personal price, its not about idealism so much.

    Lets hope Jeff does not dissapoint us.

  97. ‘If a thief confronts a victim and the victim is a politician,instead of asking him to “Give me your money.”, should he say “Give me my money.”.Undergrad2.
    Great and an improvement to it can be “If a thief confronts a victim and he is an UMNO politician he will say ‘Look, where is my money. Give it back to me.”.

  98. The increasing political awareness of non Malays and the slow but important spread of accurate, complete and meaningful information to the people will force the government to change…..but when?

    Hope the damges done in the past decades are not permanent and its impact could be minimised and change not too late……..with the PM sleeping as claimed by many.

  102. Jeffrey, your comments on character above cleverness is punctilious to a fault. Say that again:

    “In sum, it is character – it is even more important than intelligence – and we are reminded, now more than ever, that it is dearth of these qualities amongst our ‘clever’ politicians that we find ourselves in the quagmire and morass we are in presently….”

    Now, let’s look at BN MPs. Save for a handful like Toh Kin Woon and ……(I have great difficulty adding to the list!). Like Marina Mahathir said in her blog, we’d all be ashamed to encourage our children to adopt BN politicians as role models!

    Now, the storm in a tea-cup over Jeff Ooi’s abrasive style….well, one basic point many missed out is that the message and the medium is always tailored to the audience. So Screenshots represented the heart-cry of a civic-minded citizen who sees so many absurdities and wrongs wreaking havoc on the socio-economic fabric of the country. The damage went unnoticed by literally millions of ‘sleeping’ Malaysians and with the mainstream media locked in complicity with the corrupt powers that be, damage and collateral damage went unimpeded and with impunity. Tell me, I would forgive Jeff is his style was abrasive. I would have been similarly outraged if I was taking the heat and burning at those frontiers.

    Now that Jeff Ooi has launched himself into the political arena, he would be the first to understand that his message and audience would need some tweaking even though his medium would remain largely unchanged. I guess henceforth his language would be more ‘parliamentary’ and the ordinary folks would not be so ruffled…but opposition BN MPs would, as usual.

    All said, Jeff is a very good guy and would be able to contribute effectively and meaningfully to a robust DAP seeking to raise its voice above the din in Parliament.

    As to Undergrad 2’s suggestion “I still think the DAP should give him the baptism of fire and let him stand in a BN or Malay dominated constituency”, I don’t think Jeff would fear this at all. On the contrary, I perceive he would relish a good fight, even in Pekan or Kepala BAtas, Sg Siput or where is that Ong Ka Ting’s seat – Johore? OKT is from Perak and perhaps lives mostly in the Klang Valley, why is he running scared to a safe seat in Johore? OKT should contest in Ipoh Timur if he has ‘brass balls’, to borrow Jeffrey’s terminology made famous by Undergrad2.

  103. What are your purpose of quoting :-

    “Hardliners loyal and dedicated with many years of service aren’t going to take this lying down. A newcomer with no track record within the Party being promised special treatment?

    I see a coup coming!”

    trying to incite hatred and chaos within the party ??

  104. Hornbill,

    I don’t know of any other way to put this but if the DAP is to be true to its principles and its objective of ending race-based politics then it should not field people like Jeff Ooi who has yet to earn his stripes in direct contests only with MCA candidates. I think he should be made to stand against not just MCA, Gerakan candidates but against UMNO candidates in Malay majority constituencies to test the support he has or claims to have.

    Two reasons. 1) Such a move would placate demands by party conservatives and loyalists who have devoted their whole lives to fighting for the party and who are now being bypassed 2) the baptism of fire that he would be made to go through would be just and fair to all.

  106. “OKT should contest in Ipoh Timur if he has ‘brass balls’, to borrow Jeffrey’s terminology made famous by Undergrad2.” HORNBILL

    Now that is a strange way of testing someone who has brass balls. He’ll sink! No doubt about it.

  107. Oops, I forgot the relative density of brass is more than water. So you are right, OKT will sink in the next GE with or without Jeff Ooi’s help!

    Now the saying goes, ‘Brass is thicker than water’!

  109. What about the party conservatives and loyalist? They have performed poorly as far as we can see, what has they done and where is DAP today? The results speaks for itself. No doubt DAP has capable leaders but the party certainly needs more of it, Jeff Ooi is one of them. If you are a DAP member and you have been there for decades and you think you deserves something because you have been loyal, it is time to join UMNO or MCA.

  110. If a coup is coming just because Jeff Ooi is on board DAP then let it be, I certainly welcome it and I want to see if there are any capable leaders and if they can do a better job than Jeff Ooi, fire at will. Please!

  111. It is a good thing to see Jeff Ooi has taken one step forward by taking action in addition to talking. This is a progress, and we should be happy for him and for all of us. I do find Jeff Ooi pretty abrasive at times in commenting our comments, but it is just a debate and we should take it easy, as one hand alone does not make the clap.

    A person can grow (Or develop), and Jeff Ooi is still young and has plenty of time to learn and grow and DAP is good enough to give him a space. This is good news to everyone who is advocating an alternate government.

    Don’t pass a conclusion to a person too quickly before the plank of the coffin is nailed. There is also no perfect person like a saint. In life, we are learning all the time before we close our eyes for ultimate peace.

  113. sonicwall Says:

    July 31st, 2007 at 23: 33.05
    Kit

    Please consider recruiting RockyBru to join DAP since He has already taken his stand: “I will walk with Jeff”.
    ……………………………………………………………………….

    Yes! Get him!

  116. Dear bystander,

    UMNO apologist?? What is there to apologise for in the first place?? You need to get your head straight on this first. We are not appointed, we are voted by the rakyat. If you are frustrated in not being able to make it in Msia, dont take the easy way out and blame others. Look at yourself first. I find it especially odd when you comment that we have unresolved issues in religion, speech and etc. Are you in any way hindered or prohibited in practising the religion of your choice??? You seemed to be an unhappy chap. You dislike the system, the government, Jeff Ooi not stroking your ego correctly etc etc.

    Do yourself a favour, stop the whingeing and maybe you will see the positive side of life.

  117. ‘It is good to see some young professionals joining DAP, but I feel the party needs to have a more multi racial field. ‘
    Realworld ;
    A multi racial party must first to recognise that we r all Malaysians other wise i should consider BN is only a multi racist party like sleeping on the same bed having a different dream.

  119. Realworld
    not really, Malaysian should be fighting for the Malaysian that is the way we should live on after 50 yrs of staying together right ? A multi racist will apply only to those people like MCA UMNO and others BN members serving only to a particular race !
    hahaha. r u a MALAYSIAN ?

  120. I do not trust this guy, he is more into his own agenda than to fight for righteuosness.

    Like the others who has things to say about this guy, this guy does not care what is right but more concerned about self preservation.

    My encounter with this man shocked me, he does not care about right or wrong, and does not care to make amend to his mistake and barred me from exposing it. I still have all the records with me.

    I guess he thinks he has authority to hide things like this in his blog.

    Uncle Lim, I respect DAP. Hope he is not what he was.

  122. “My encounter with this man shocked me, he does not care about right or wrong, and does not care to make amend to his mistake and barred me from exposing it. I still have all the records with me.” Myke

    Set the records straight if you really respect DAP. Publish it!

  123. real world,
    U r a Malaysian right ? why only serve your own race? why only fight for your own race in the expense of others? HA….HA….HA. 50Yrs in a family but still dare not claimed yourself as a true Malaysian Why? Why? cos u r a racist M I RIGHT!

  124. For every ringgit that UMNO steals from the rakyat, it gives 10 sen to people like Real World who knows how to sing the UMNO tune. The other 90 sen goes into the pockets of the UMNOputras at the top. It’s called multi-level marketing.

  125. RealWorld is probably some highly paid civil servant with nothing to do, so he dutifully goes to “work”, and comments on blogs between 9.30 a.m. and 4.30 p.m.

    Or maybe he is one who has been nominated by Norza and Azalina as a cyber patrol squadron leader.

  126. hey real world,
    what are you doing here babbling about this and that? how come i dont see you giving your so-pro govt comments on malaysia-today? why here? and whatever you say doesnt really help anyone but at the end just creates a lot of hot air.
    why i say hot air? because all you do is talk rubbish. hello, this is uncle kits website i.e. DAP i.e. opposition. If you want your voice heard loud and clear, may i ask you go to kmpu.net or agenda daily. im sure you would have heaps of supporters.
    and i dont believe that LHW will win hands down in subang. i know him personally and he is a nice man but jeff ooi is something else. im sure there will be a good contest there. you are like an ignorant donkey that cant see the forest for the trees.
    by the way, real world, im not far away, i have my rights and i will say what i damn please. you been talking a lot of damn stupid things and i for one has had enough with your crap antiques.
    i will now use UMNO’s mentality on you. YOU TAK SUKA YOU KELUAR DARI LIM KIT SIANG BLOG!
    when your RM2750 gaji coming from azalina eh?

  127. “If a coup is coming just because Jeff Ooi is on board DAP then let it be…..” dawsheng

    The following is an observation by a writer often quoted by Malaysia-Today in reference to Jeff Ooi being given the red carpet welcome by some DAP leaders.

    “The ruling party has the luxury of rewarding ’selection-jilted’ party faithful’s with choice appointments, while our opposition leaders can only offer consoling words, which may sometimes be not enough. And internal sabotaging would occur, which if not remedied well could see the disintegration fo a party – oh, any party in mind as an example fo this?”

  128. dawsheng Says:

    August 1st, 2007 at 15: 14.18
    “My encounter with this man shocked me, he does not care about right or wrong, and does not care to make amend to his mistake and barred me from exposing it. I still have all the records with me.” Myke

    Set the records straight if you really respect DAP. Publish it!

    —————————————————————-
    My permission from Uncle Lim first.

    May I.?

    [dear myke, if I may, let us move on. To err is human, to forgive divine. We have many important battles in front of us. Let us all learn from the past to better face the future.- kit]

  129. Myke, before you set the record straight with what the public might not know, let us just dwell for a moment what is on record that the public do know.

    What is on public record is firstly what YB articulated in earlier blog thread, which I take it to be also the DAP’s position, that ours is a “secular state with Islam as the official religion and not an Islamic state” and this is based on the Merdeka social contract and Malaysia Agreement.

    Now it is very strange to me that if we are a secular state why was it so wrong and offensive for the NST to publish a cartoon of a busker, apparently drawing on something, with a board next to him depicting that he was caricaturing the prophet, and the busker “Kevin” being described as achieving the goal of the most feared man in the world…?

    No one would have taken notice or complained about this cartoon until it was brought to the public realm by Screenshots with these words (and I quote):

    “Screenshots was alerted to look at a comic strip published in a national English tabloid today.
    The readers asked me whether the cartoon is tantamount to mocking Prophet Mohammad? They also asked me, by carrying the derogatory comic at a time when the global controversy over the offensive caricature of Prophet Mohammad is about to ease off, whether it serves anybody any purpose? The tabloid that runs the above comic strip commands a sizeable reach as it has an audited circulation of 135,000 copies per day, making the cartoon extensively exposed since this morning. Why did the editors, including the Commander-in-Chief in the newsroom, decide to run the bad-taste comic today? Was there a hidden message from these seasoned mainstream journalists? To quote a minister, are there petualang and agen asing in our mainstream media? This is the full comic strip which apparently brings the Prophet to the profane, street-level. The national English tabloid in question is none other than The New Straits Times” (Unquote).
    See this link : http://www.jeffooi.com/2006/02/post_6.php

    Is the attack on the cartoon for whatever reason consistent in principle with the DAP’s position that this is a secular state?

    Can someone enlighten me?

  131. “If you are a DAP member and you have been there for decades and you think you deserves something because you have been loyal, it is time to join UMNO or MCA.” dawsheng

    I’m sure you know there is such a thing called ‘justice’ and ‘fairness’. In the case of Jeff Ooi being given a red carpet welcome as no other has, becoming the blue-eyed of certain leaders within the party and coming so soon after he saw it fit to give Gerakan the middle finger, one can legitimately ask “What’s next?”

    Loyalty and seniority should be rewarded. Don’t you think so??

  133. No I think Myke is displaying basic courtesy. He considers it discourteous and ungraceful to introduce hitherto unknown (likely unsavoury) information on a person touted to be probably the biggest catch in living memory’ for DAP, whom the DAP has recruited to contest the coming polls, in this very blog and thread of a welcoming speech for that person.

  134. “Loyalty and seniority should be rewarded. Don’t you think so??”

    Not forgetting that there is always a price to pay for everything that one gained, one way or another. Is there absolute loyalty in politics? I don’t think so. And seniority doesn’t guarantee one win the election. Both can be liabilties as far as politic is concern. Justice and fairness are not for those who fight for justice and fairness, it is for Malaysians.

  135. “..//…Justice and fairness are not for those who fight for justice and fairness, it is for Malaysians…//..”

    Can we Malaysians reasonably expect entitlement to justice and fairness when we don’t think it important to give justice and fairness to the very people who fight for justice and fairness for us?

  137. “Can we Malaysians reasonably expect entitlement to justice and fairness when we don’t think it important to give justice and fairness to the very people who fight for justice and fairness for us?” Jeffrey

    What comes around goes around! That’s why I am not surprise with what Malaysia is today, you reap what you sow. As Uncle Kit put it; “politics is an honourable calling demanding conviction, passion, selflessness and sacrifice”, even when everyone loves to hate you.

  138. dear myke, if I may, let us move on. To err is human, to forgive divine. We have many important battles in front of us. Let us all learn from the past to better face the future.- kit

    ————————————————————-

    Many important battles in front of us indeed. Some will come from external and some will be within.

    THe battle is not only to fight to keep others in the right but the battle is also to keep us from swaying to the dark side.

    As i said to a person before who denied me the right to express my view;

    Good luck in your quest for righteousness.

  140. “Let us all learn from the past to better face the future.”
    This is good advice but is it ever followed? Country is already fifty years old, are the nation’s keepers – the ruling coalition – learning from past and is the country getting better?

    In the past, the country was premised by its leaders on a secular state that gave as much as possible within parameters of the Merdeka Social Contract every Malaysian a place in the sun but what is it today? Increasingly the narrow and parochial minded are monopolizing and dictating what may be said and what not said. The past (what happened in May 13) is denied or given a distorted interpretation.

    Is there any learning from mistakes of the past? Yes – repeat or aggravation of past mistakes, like using the old threats of sedition (disparaging Religion and King) against cyber dissident like RPK in this new millennium of Information Technology when new interface paradigms have already long replaced the limited interface devices and methods controlled by the draconian laws like Sedition Act, Printing Press Publication Act etc….

    Whether nations or individuals, it will still boil down to character, a function of the gene pool interacting with the way character was formed in formative years and quality of guidance, whether good or bad and the net quality of that person/nation. Once twisted and gnarled in the formative years, the mellower years, even with the benefit of greater experience, will not help change that person or nation much better or increase the capacity to learn from the past to better face the future.

    Talking about people or nation with complexes, is it easy to rid the complexes? What is learnt from backlash of the past is often not so much to rid the complexes but to camouflage them and express them in other ways unknown so as to not invite backlash from others.

    Which is why there’s old saying a leopard does not lose its spots!

  141. ““Let us all learn from the past to better face the future.”

    With due respect to Kit, I feel the above is too limiting and rather pessimistic. We need to move with gusto and confidence for the future. A more gutsy reaction is needed and so perhaps, “Let us learn from the past so that the course the future takes is in our grasp, and rather than be influenced by the future, the future is ours to influence.”

  143. Jeffrey:

    There are other bigger catches out there, not just Jeff Ooi. It’s a question of whether some of us feel comfortable about the sacrifices that need to be made under the DAP umbrella.

    Whatever the misgivings of the readers posted here, the fact is that Jeff Ooi is going against the corrupt, cheating and lying BN government. That, to me, is good enough for my support.

  144. Why is everybody getting so worked up over Jeff Ooi’s entry into politics?

    Firstly, I surmise Jeff’s entry into DAP politics is unconditional. Is there anything to say otherwise?

    Secondly, whether or not Jeff’s portrait ever gets to see the light on an election banner is not Jeff’s prerogative, remember? It is the decision of DAP’s ruling hierarchy based on a set of their own criteria, not BN’s, Azalina’s cyber-troopers, Myke’s or Realworld’s.

    Thirdly, whether or not Jeff would be a winnable candidate in the GE cannot be decided by ‘Myke’ or ‘Real World’, whoever you are and whatever yr credibility (which is, of course, unknown, like all other posters here; so you can quite easily be scandalous yourself, judging from yr proclivities). Finally, the constituents will decide based on a product mix of what Jeff can offer on a DAP platform. There will always be detractors and supporters; no different here.

    Fourthly, I’ve sworn at more than a couple of people myself, privately though. That doesn’t make me a ‘bad’ guy. They probably deserve it. Perhaps, ‘Myke’ and a couple of others on the receiving end may have been given the short end of the stick but that happens in real life. I have collected so many short ends myself but that doesn’t make me a chronic skeptic or doomsayer. What makes me a chronic skeptic and doomsayer is having trusted the BN for 50 years and going by available records, we have all been given the raw end of the butt! How long have you known Jeff? Have you met him and seen how nice and balanced a person he is? It’s different close-up oftentimes. But I can tell you I have had many close-up encounters with BN leaders…well, you can also say that my experience isn’t generally reflective of everybody’s experience; sure, but suffice to say that I would neither trust them with my mother’s purse or my virgin sisters!

    Fifthly, I can go on…but this is one of those pursuits after vanity and a chasing after the wind. Besides, I think I’ve already used up more than a fair bit of LKS’s bandwidth. Suffice to say again, that I think on the balance of things, Jeff Ooi is a welcome addition to the DAP family (of which I am but a mere observer; I try very hard to keep my objective lenses on and am vaccinated against any jaundiced views because I have mixed and melted in the same pot with BN’s crowd, in particular, UMNO’s stalwarts too). If I may say so, my vision is 20/20. I am neither myopic nor hyperopic!

  145. Godfather,

    Your argument here – and the prevailing sentiments of many here – seem to be that for so long that the ruling coalition is the “the enemy”, then anyone, as long as he is able bodied, could flex a muscle or two and willing to fold up his sleeves and fight the common enemy, he is therefore acceptable as a friend, never mind other considerations or standards, never mind to look further into motives and other consistencies or inconsistencies or future consequences – all fade into unimportance, for the moment at least. Right?

    I agree that this is a common human tendency. History bears many examples of this approach. The allies collaborated with Stalin to fight Hitler’s Nazis hegemony; when the Japanese attacked the British here too collaborated with the Communists etc

  146. Which is why I don’t see PAS as that much of a problem under an opposition coalition. Ideologically, we could be far apart on the political spectrum, but we must be united in the quest to oust the den of thieves.

  147. However, there is a big element within the DAP that says that it is absolutely forbidden to have a coalition with PAS. If this element gets too influential, then it’s curtains for our efforts to get rid of the den of thieves.

  148. Personally I don’t subscribe to this argument at all of ‘the enemy of my enemy is therefore a workable friend’, and don’t recommend it to others. It is not a principled approach but an expedient, some say pragmatic, one that targets on the immediate problem for solution that may beget largher and more problems to come, and sometimes even leads to absurd and incongruous results….For example it would mean that if for whatever reason Samy Vellu were to (hypothetically) be endorsed to join DAP and contest by DAP ticket in (say) Puchong/Kinrara, everyone here who called him “semi value” will have to rejoice and celebrate and give him a big welcome in this blog; it means that we have to put up with the prospective Islamic theocracy of PAS just because it is a trade off to rid the moribund corrupt ruling coalition from the scene….No I don’t think that is the right approach. If it were so what is there to welcome – what’s the big deal? Any Tom Dick and Harry – never mind the merits or demerits between them or that one is inveterate liar or the other a womaniser or whatever – who join to fight to BN will be welcomed. This is ‘bandaraya’ recruitment – no need for discussion.

  149. undergrad2 Says:

    August 2nd, 2007 at 08: 24.36
    “Justice and fairness are not for those who fight for justice and fairness, it is for Malaysians.”

    Huh?
    ………………………………………………………………………………

    Quote:

    Now my friends, I am opposed to the system of society in which we live today, not because I lack the natural equipment to do for myself, but because I am not satisfied to make myself comfortable knowing that there are thousands of my fellow men who suffer for the barest necessities of life. We were taught under the old ethic that man’s business on this earth was to look out for himself. That was the ethic of the jungle; the ethic of the wild beast. Take care of yourself, no matter what may become of your fellow man. Thousands of years ago the question was asked: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” That question has never yet been answered in a way that is satisfactory to civilized society.

    Yes, I am my brother’s keeper. I am under a moral obligation to him that is inspired, not by any maudlin sentimentality, but by the higher duty I owe to myself. What would you think of me if I were capable of seating myself at a table and gorging myself with food and saw about me the children of my fellow beings starving to death?

    Eugene V. Debs The Issue, speech delivered at Girard, Kansas May 23, 1908 [2]

  150. All the above quote says is that we should not follow the “ethic of the wild beast” to be selfish but to be morally obligated to take care of others as if we were “brother’s keeper”. This means it is Ok for those few to be our brother’s keeper and fight for justice and fairness for us Malaysians. It does not imply justice and fairness are not for those who fight for justice and fairness for us…..If that were so, we (who are beneficiaries of other’s fight) are also following the “ethic of the wild beast” – selfish.

    We should equally be concerned that those who fight for justice and fairness for us (ie Malaysians), equally receive justice and fairness – if not more.

    Who would fight for your rights if when the situation turns from push to shove you don’t stand up for theirs and it is only one way street?

    Of course if you’re capable of seating yourself at a table and gorging yourself with food and saw about you the children of your fellow beings starving to death you should share your food but how do you feel when the next day all the children are gorging the food and you have none and they don’t spare any for you?

    This is how the statement “justice and fairness are not for those who fight for justice and fairness, it is for Malaysians” sounds though you probably don’t mean the way it sounded to us.

  152. Semi Value joining DAP ? This is like saying the sun sets in the east. If you all want to take a “principled” approach, then all you get is maybe 15 – 20 parliamentary seats and you continue to piss into the wind for an eternity.

  153. And I always thought that the traditional support for DAP has always been based on the fact that it (led by YB Kit) had taken the principled approach beyond all else. See what happened the last time the principled approach was relaxed for the expedience of joining up with PAS led Barsian Alternative : the traditional support moved away with our Opposition being PAS’ Hadi. You may say ‘piss into the wind’ for an eternity but you’re forgetting that situation in the country might be very much worse – than what it is now – had DAP not played the role of the barking dog so to speak to rake up into the public domain the abuse of power. The moment you place expedience more important than the principle you lose your moral compass and drift to unchartered waters.

  154. The excuse that if PAS and DAP become (strange) bedfellows then we could beget larger and more problems to come is simply fallacious. We have elections every 5 years. If PAS and DAP can “earn” the scorn of the rakyat like the way the BN thieves have “earned” their scorn in the various blogs, then by all means vote somebody else in at the next elections.

    Are we so immature that we think that problems caused by the ousting of BN could possibly last another 50 years ? Are we so immature to think that we will not walk the talk, and put up candidates of questionable pedigree ?

    The first step for you guys is to accept that DAP can’t do it alone and if you can’t accept that, then you deserve to get more of the same for the next 50 years.

  155. Jeffrey:

    So the DAP becomes the eternal barking dog and the BN thieves still walk all the way to the bank.

    We can’t beat our chests and say “without the DAP, it could have been worse”. The country is bleeding and some of us think that maybe we should let them accelerate the theft of public funds until there is nothing left to steal. That’s when UMNO – and by extension the other component parties – implode because the very essence of their existence (which is to steal) disappears.

  156. “…//…The excuse that if PAS and DAP become (strange) bedfellows then we could beget larger and more problems to come is simply fallacious. If PAS and DAP can “earn” the scorn of the rakyat like the way the BN thieves have “earned” their scorn in the various blogs, then by all means vote somebody else in at the next elections….//…”

    If it were that easy how is it the incumbent BN has not been voted out by the same process described in this last 50 years? Why are the BN guys like this – talking about women’s menstrual cycle in parliament etc – if it is not because it is an issue of them putting up candidates of questionable pedigree, which if I get the drfift correct, it is no big deal as long as they are prepared to fight the other side hated???

  157. “If that were so, we (who are beneficiaries of other’s fight) are also following the “ethic of the wild beast” – selfish.” Jeffrey

    Exactly, therefore those who stepped up like the case of Jeff Ooi and those before him in DAP has to ask themselves again and again, is it worth it? You volunteered to be sacrifice, not you asking for the reward as the reward are for selfish Malaysians whom might not even vote for you, where is justice and fairness in the first place? Like I said, if you are looking for justice and fairness for yourself and find yourself in DAP. I am sorry, wrong place, and please leave.

    “Who would fight for your rights if when the situation turns from push to shove you don’t stand up for theirs and it is only one way street?” Jeffrey

    Mr Lim Kit Siang fight for justice and fairness for all Malaysians. Ask Uncle Kit. Has justice and fairness ever being accorded to him all these years in politic? Again I quote Uncle Kit: “politics is an honourable calling demanding conviction, passion, selflessness and sacrifice”, he didn’t mention justice and fairness did he? As for the quote from Eugene V. Debs, it is the reflection of all of it.

  159. Dear Dawsheng,

    I hope you’re not suggesting that if today they were to put Uncle Kit into jail for no good reason, we Malaysians are not going to object with voices stentorian and go to the streets to stand up for him and protest his incarceration.

    “…//… Mr Lim Kit Siang fight for justice and fairness for all Malaysians. Ask Uncle Kit. Has justice and fairness ever being accorded to him all these years in politic?…//…”

    This is something only YB can answer.

    But I think at least for now he is really Ok. Who for no good reason want to or dare to trifle with him? Woe betides such a person. Kit is by now an icon lah with a special place in the hearts of many and respect of even some of the more matured of his political adversaries in BN. Don’t believe you ask him. Even his old ‘adversary’ TDM had time to see whilst in hospital where the PM failed. He is also emplaced in various parliamentary select committees and invited in some government sponsored programs or trips befitting of his role as Opposition Head.

    For those who don’t make self enrichment the main goal in life and who view a purposeful life to be measured against achievements and accomplishments in one’s calling – in his case politics – what more can one ask if one has the gratitude, respect and affection of all around whom he has touched their lives, fought their cause with great sacrifice in earlier years? It is a satisfaction that those who have not walked the path cannot possibly emphatise fully. That’s also a kind of reward. We all wish YB good health and happiness and I think – I also like to think – it is not all “blood sweat and tears” (to borrow Churchill’s expression), as bad as the way you have interpreted Eugene V. Debs. That’s just my opinion only.

    Cheers. :)

  160. No, I am not saying that we should put up candidates of questionable pedigree, at least not as questionable as monkeys like MP Jerai, MP Kinabatangan and MP Jasin. What I am saying is that even though there are misgivings against Jeff Ooi (and that relates more to his slightly abrasive personality and the iron-fisted management of his blog) we should be prepared to overcome such minor misgivings.

    As to why BN has remained in power all these 50 years, the answer is simple – the majority don’t believe that the Opposition is credible. The majority think that we should have an opposition voice – hence the barking dogs – but nothing more. They won’t take the risk of overturning BN and we must appreciate why. Is there a viable alternative front ? Is each opposition party looking out for its narrow self-interests ? Is there a shadow cabinet that can put the existing cabinet to shame ?

  161. And the burning questions: Can the DAP do it (i.e. overturn the BN majority) on its own ? If not, what needs to be done ? Or has everyone given up and is prepared for the role of a barking dog ?

  162. Yes, Godfather, we refer to that as the politics of pragmatism. The question is to find and define its boundaries, and to cross which we would be crossing from the politics of pragmatism to the politics of the unknown.

    DAP and PAS would make strange bedfellows. Yes! If that is allowed to go forward into a civil marriage of parties with the same sexual orientation, while it may not produce children, the attempt itself may attract the wrath of God for PAS.

  164. Godfather,

    First of all, I think – as a mater of fact – detractors here are not looking at a “slightly abrasive personality and the iron-fisted management of a blog…” but I don’t think this is an issue it is right or fair for us to discuss or argue in an open blog here….

    The other point about “the majority don’t believe that the Opposition is credible” is another debatable point. It is not that DAP is not credible but considerations of race and religion weigh decisively for the majority.

    I understand the frustration of having what to you is a ‘den of thieves’ ensconced in a position to continue the pillage.

    Again what is the DAP prepared to trade and compromise to have a chance to evict the incumbent?

    There are too many factors that are unpredictable when it detaches from the anchor of principles and navigate according to politics of pragmatism and expedience….

    To name a few:

    1. many traditional supporters who don’t share your priorities might withdraw support for the DAP as happened in general election before the last one….
    2. And even if the DAP joins a PAS led Barisan Alternative, there is no certainty that the BA will win (since the other side does not play fair) but in the process the DAP may lose its credibility to collaborate with PAS whose raison de etre is to set up an Islamic theocracy that makes whatever DAP advocates on a secular state hollow!
    3. and even BA should win, again, the other side that does not play fair may not abide by rules to hand over the government since too much vested and financial interests are at stake;
    4. also for the DAP to prioritize expedience and pragmatism over principles, there is no certainty that the 2nd echelon leaders together with the rest of the other opposition will not do what the BN is doing now if one believes that corruption is very much part of prevailing culture…..I don’t know if Undergrad2 is joking or serious but I do think that once we discard principles for pragmatic compass we “would be crossing from the politics of pragmatism to the politics of the unknown” which may be worse, – but that’s just by own value judgment;
    5. I see strange bedfellows (a lesbian with a heterosexual or even another male homosexual getting into bed together) for common convenience and cause to defeat an enemy as just not right (just like Dap believing in secular state with Pas believing in a theocratic one). Remember, the Allies/Stalin Soviet immediately launched into a geopolitical contestation of territories and a Cold War dividing Europe to East and West the moment Hitler was defeated?

    As to whether the situation is hopeless and requires, as you said, an ‘implosion’ when oil runs out or other cataclysmic events galvanising a sea-change of opposition against the ruling coalition, I think much of these discussions will necessarily be “speculative”, better left to another forum than the present one thread in diminution of the Kit’s bandwidth here.

    Thanks very much for the exchange of views.

  165. NDANGERED HORNBILL,

    Your comment is highly contradictory,

    “Firstly, I surmise Jeff’s entry into DAP politics is unconditional.” NDANGERED HORNBILL.

    Unless u are him, how exactly are you to be sure of this other than to say “u guess”.

    “Have you met him and seen how nice and balanced a person he is? It’s different close-up oftentimes.” NDANGERED HORNBILL.

    Thirdly, whether or not Jeff would be a winnable candidate in the GE cannot be decided by ‘Myke’ or ‘Real World’, whoever you are and whatever yr credibility (which is, of course, unknown, like all other posters here; so you can quite easily be scandalous yourself, judging from yr proclivities). NDANGERED HORNBILL.

    One moment you indicated that one needs to know a person in person before one can judge and the next moment you adjudge “Myke and “Real world” can easily be quite scandolous.

    Your judgement base on just one comment is adequote in this case?
    Is this hippocratic in nature?

    I’m not here to play god telling uncle Kit who’s bad or good.
    I’m here to say my experience with this man.

    In the mean time, my opinion states if one wants to be a public figure he should have tot of his/her misdeeds being exposed, and if so own-up to what he/she has done.

    Isn’t this a mature politician you are looking for but not able to find in the BN..?

    Don’t fall into the very people you fight.

  166. NDANGERED HORNBILL,

    “Firstly, I surmise Jeff’s entry into DAP politics is unconditional.” NDANGERED HORNBILL.

    Unless u are him, how exactly are you to be sure of this other than to say “u guess”.

    —————————————-
    My apologies, I misinterpreted surmise as “summarise”.

  167. Godfather,

    You are really into making assumptions, arent you. Well, if it turns you on, I can only say good for you and keep going at it. I am sure an idiot wont mind looking more like a gimp as well.

    Cyber trooper??? hahaha You must be watching too many cartoons. Try Sesame Street, it is more educational.

  171. Actually I kind of like RealWorld because he replies to just about everyone (in the standard UMNO parrotting of “We are the champions”), and he doesn’t do the “Oooh, oooh, gimme my banana” chants the other UMNO monkeys do.

  172. Realworld
    u r buta not me ok? you answer my question first to proof that you are not . Shiver is right and Godfather is very analytical.
    Please ask your BN men to hv a blog too so that we will hv a chance to F888 them !

  173. real world,

    you are the idiot in the highest degree. yes i will thump my chest when i see a fool like u as i really feel like kicking you to mars. unfortunately you talk as if you know so much and act like you know what is going to happen.

    people like you are a disgrace to every malaysian in malaysia and around the world, yes, we know your vote will go to dacing and yes, when dacing is down suddenly a magical box from our soldiers and police serving in dont know which kampong will then come in and all the votes go to your dacing.

    real world, again as i say, you are a freaking disgrace to be called a malaysian. there is no point talking and exchanging facts or meeting of minds.

    go fly a kite real world. thats what you age group and people of your mentality do, dont they?

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