by M. Bakri Musa
You can tell much about a creed by its practices, in particular that of its leader. By this measure, Islam Hadhari is a cruel hoax perpetrated by Abdullah Badawi on the citizens. This recently concluded Ramadan was Abdullah’s fifth as Prime Minister. On none of those occasions did he see fit to live or demonstrate the spirit of generosity and forgiveness that is the hallmark of Ramadan.
During the tenure of Mahathir, as well as others before him, it was traditional for the King on the advice of his Prime Minister to pardon prisoners during the last days of Ramadan, in time for them to join their families for Eid celebrations. We had the writer and philosopher Kassim Ahmad as well as the scholar Syed Hussin Ali, prisoners of conscience under the ISA, thus released. My classmate, once a fast rising star in UMNO and a former cabinet minister, was also pardoned of his murder conviction and released.
Abdullah has had five Ramadans to demonstrate the generosity or magnanimity of his Islam Hadhari. He missed them all. Equally significant, during the recent 50th Merdeka Anniversary, Abdullah did not see fit to have any amnesty program for prisoners. Nor did he have one on assuming power.
In his typically sermonizing Hari Raya message he exhorted Muslims to be generous and gracious. That was as far as he went; nothing beyond dispensing homilies.
On closer scrutiny, there was nothing in the ten stated principles of his Islam Hadhari about generosity or charity. How foolish of me to assume that the “Islam” of Islam Hadhari would at least have some redeeming qualities like charity, a pillar of our great faith!
Abdullah’s idea of generosity during this last Hari Raya was to host a multi-million ringgit “Open House” at the Putra World Trade Center. Rest assured that the funding of this mega bash would come out of the public treasury. It is easy to spend or give away money when it is not yours.
During this past Ramadan, Abdullah hosted an iftar, (communal breaking of the fast) and then proceeded to lead his guests in the obligatory Maghreeb as well as the optional Taraweekh prayers. A more gracious (and modest) host would have had some other ulama or ustaz from among the guests to do the honors. Not Abdullah, he hogs it all, in the name of piety and humility (or his public demonstrations thereof). His version, that is.
On another occasion, this time with members of the media (only those with demonstrated sycophantic sentiments), he had the writer and political observer Syed Hussein Alattas (Pak Habib) partake in a simple meal of ubi rebus (soup of tuber roots), a cheap staple made infamous during the hard days of the Japanese occupation. The normally perceptive and critical Pak Habib was so taken up by Abdullah’s “humble ” gesture that Pak Habib gushed at the “humility” of the Prime Minister.
This was nothing more than a crude and ineffective attempt at “slumming” for the benefit of the members of the media to see and thus report. You can bet that no such soup would be served on board the newly acquired luxurious RM200 million corporate jet reserved for Abdullah’s use.
The normally “not-easily-bought” Pak Habib, a political commentator I admire greatly, went so far as to have his picture taken with the “humble” Prime Minister clad in his peasant-style sarong and modest baju Melayu. The snap shots of the duo affectionately embracing each other were of course emblazoned on his website. The independently wealthy and fiercely unconventional Pak Habib could not be had with flattery or money, but a simple ubi rebus did it!
He Did Not See as Head of OIC
Thanks to the efforts and international stature of his predecessor, Abdullah assumed the leadership of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) on becoming Prime Minister. While Mahathir was forceful in pursuing the interests of Islam and of Islamic nations in foreign forums, Abdullah has been busy maintaining his so-called “elegant silence” abroad.
His presence at the recently concluded UN General Assembly was hardly noticed, except of course by the Malaysian media. Consequently and by default, the world now increasingly views Islam and Muslims as represented by such crackpots as Iran’s Ahmadnejad.
As head of OIC, he is silent over the two continuing major tragedies occurring in the Muslim world — the American occupation of Iraq, and the horrifying human sufferings in Darfur. His silence reflects indifference. It is a measure of his callousness to human sufferings, just as he is indifferent to the fate of the many prisoners of conscience in his own country. That again reflects his understanding of Islam, and the guiding principles of his Islam Hadhari.
Closer to home, Abdullah is equally oblivious of the atrocities perpetrated by Myanmar’s thuggish military junta. As the self-proclaimed Imam of Islam Hadhari, I would have expected him to have some modicum of sympathy for the brutal oppression of those fellow leaders of faith, the monks. Alas, there was none.
In secular America, President Bush and other senior leaders have to declare publicly their income tax returns. From such disclosures the public gets to know how much these leaders have contributed to charity. It turned out that both Bush and others had contributed generously. God bless them!
Zakat (charity) is a major pillar of Islam. Although not specifically stated in its ten major principles, I would expect that Islam Hadhari too would emphasize charity. If Abdullah could afford to vacation regularly in Turkey and Australia, as well as host a multimillion ringgit Hari Raya bash, I wonder how much this Imam has donated for his zakat this year?
Abdullah and others have been busy proclaiming Malaysia to be an Islamic State. Let’s begin with that basic prerequisite of Islam: making all Muslims give their fair share of zakat. Once we have achieved that, we can then consider implementing the other rules of the Syaria.
Islam Hadhari notwithstanding, one thing is certain under Abdullah’s leadership. The rats that are his cronies and family members have been busy nibbling away at the state’s precious assets. With time all that would be left is a state treasury that resembles Swiss cheese, full of holes with only a thin crust to hold its shape. This is what happens when we have as chief executive a kaki tidor (sleepy head), or to pursue my metaphor, a cheese head (kepala kosong — empty head).
No toast to His Hollowness The Imam of Islam Hadhari. Instead, let him be toast.
“Islam Hadhari is a cruel hoax perpetrated by Abdullah Badawi on the citizens†– M Bakri.
How so, even if – and regardless whether neither government nor the people practise it?
In the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation APEC Business Summit, the President of the country in which Bakri is living comfortably does not share this opinion.
Bush praised Badawi for promotion of the principles of Islam Hadhari as an ideology to counter Islamic extremism and terrorism worldwide.
It seems to me that Bakri’s whole article is devoted to attacking Abdullah Badawi, as a man and his credentials as a muslim, which, as a matter of personal opinion, I find a tat personal and boring – this unremitting Pak Lah bashing.
From whence this personal antipathy comes from which I detect in all his writings?
Though entitled to his opinion and freedom of speech, our Californian surgeon will do well to remember that extreme personal antipathy for another boomerangs and destroys a man’s sense of values and his objectivity.
Do you ever see YB Kit, for example, criticising along such personal line? Criticising his ‘Cakap tak serupa bikin’ policies, Scomi, etc yes but in such terms as Bakri does? Show some maturity, Bakri.
The Islam Hadhari preached by the kepala batas iman should be renamed “Islam Taliban” for its intolerance of multiracial life in this multi-cultural land
we often hear Badawi says, … ‘full force and extent of the law will be meted out to those…(rapist, ferry operators, bus operators….etc..)” but yet he missed out those that take $$$, boleh lepas on technical grounds… thats billions…..
Jeff… but Badawi mentioned that he wanted to know the truth even if the truth hurts!
He (the sleepy one) wants to know the truth but does he do anything about it? His lack of action and decisiveness has caused the general public to distrust him, lose confidence in him and even mock him if not insult him.
See this write-up by RPK on the Malacca’s CM speech when opening the PPP Youth Convention last week:
“…..Ali Rustam took a swipe at the Pahang Menteri Besar. If the Pahang Menteri Besar wants to give you a seat in Pahang then that is his problem. He is crazy and he does crazy things. He can give PPP a seat in Pahang. Why ask from the other states? And the icing on the cake was when Ali Rustam said that if the Prime Minister gives PPP a seat then he has no balls (pengecut). Tak boleh ikut cara dia, Ali Rustam boldly declared.”
Yeah! Even his senior party men calls him a coward with no bolas and we should not follow him. What more the man in the street?
And needless to say Kayveas has complained with a whimper to his master, the Imam.
If I were the President of UMNO I would be devastated if my subordinates say I have no balls. I would have felt slighted and by losing their respect I would feel my position as party president no longer tenable.
If I have any maruah left I would just resign and let somebody more capable take over, somebody like Ali Rustam or even Najib.
My! My! shame on you guys…why bash Pak Imam.. bagi lah dia seronok sendiri dengan isteri baru dia..dahlah Rustam kata dia pengecut..tengkoklah sekarang Najib dah ambil tugas untuk memerintah negara..Orang di tingkat 4, memperdayakan Imam…….Kasihan dia keseorangan sekarang..tiada adviser yang mantap untuk memberi dia dorongan..Imam dikelilingi oleh oleh orang yang tiada integriti, tiada maruah, Hanya yang pandai bodek, cucuk and ampu sahaja.
if truth be told and if there is any whimper of truth in Bakri’s statement then it is only right that the sleepy head retires for good ! We shouldn’t worry about personal attacks or not ,
much more is at stake mr Jeffrey ! Not a matter of personal opinion
…ummm, who is attacking who now eh? PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is a public figure, No.1 CEO of Malaysia and public scrutiny is not wrong even on his personal life. He has to be at his best behavior at all times.
“…//…Even his senior party men calls him a coward with no bolas and we should not follow him. What more the man in the street?…//…†– sheriff singh
That is true. However to the man in the street, ask yourself, are you happy with a leader whose senior party men look up to? What kind of party are we talking about? (He tried to appoint people sometimes without regard to race and religion. Brendan Pereira headed NST. According to grapevine, he approved Brendan Pereira’s departure after considering the pressure from within Umno. BP was criticised at the party assembly. You think they bothered about alleged plagiarism or some extraneous issue like the inappropriateness that BP, a non-Malay headed an Umno newspaper – like some who also took issue with PM’s choice of Idris Jala as MAS’s CEO!)
Many are not happy with him because his rhetoric against corruption is getting on their nerves. Yes so far only the frys get fried, not the big sharks that are free to roam but there is now a little more guardedness even in this roaming because he has set the public benchmarks and aspirations, allow a freer environment of public discourse (not doubt in no small part attributable to Internet) by which civil society, opposition parties, alternative media sometimes even mainstream (like The Sun, and even UMNO’s NST) monitor the radar and expose the shenanigans and peccadilloes going on within the corridors of power. Worse part to these people, unlike predecessor of Operation Lallang infamy, party stalwarts are unhappy that he has been quite liberal on critics of the administration: Under his watch, Anwar was released, there were a lot of threats but no actual arrests of either DSAI, Tian Chua, Sivarasa or Sim (as yet) for embarrassing Judiciary and bloggers like RPK are still continuing their blogs rubbishing everyone in power. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said that at as far as he knew, there had been no detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) after Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over as Prime Minister in 2003. Bernard said that this was a positive thing in terms of Rule of law when opening a human rights seminar for supreme council members of his United Pasok Momogun Kadazandusun Organisation. – http://www.malaysia-today.net/index.shtml
[You think Bernard Dompok ‘bodek’? He resigned from the Parliamentary Commiitee on Integrity – and was the only minister on record for not withdrawing his petition on aricle 121(1)A and the first to declare that he didn’t agree this an Islamic state].
Rakyat are unhappy because no walk the talk in relation to corruption – small frys get fried while big sharks are free to roam – but had he taken on the sharks, the sharks would have encircled and eaten him straightaway! And this Rule of Law stuff becomes a joke with the Lingam Tape, the going ons being bequeathed from last administration. Somehow before he could react, others took the initiative to form the Haidar’s panel and subsequently advised him. See how the system works!
Of course one can criticize : show more leadership and guts, that’s fair comment. But not all of us are Mahathir who thrives on strife.
And there lies the biggest problem where no one is satisfied : although he grasps the nation’s problems (‘World Class infrastructure Third World Mentality – Privatisation of public assets – piratisation of private profits’), nothing much could be done if one has to balance here and balance there (flip and flop here and there over PPP’s demands for seat or whether this is an Islamic or not Islamic State depending on the current and counter currents of pressure), do double and, if necessary, triple talk because of prioritization of political survival.…..There seems to be perception of insecurity as regards the grip on power.
But it takes all kinds. You and I, given position to do good, may try against all odds and go down fighting, at least earn the gratitude of the nation but not everyone, depending on personality, looks at things that way. Politics has a way of making one jettisons ideals for realities. You wait a life time to ascend to the pinnacle : its not easy to throw all away all by the impulse to do unsullied good.
(With no offence to Kit who may be an exception, It is not for nothing that the 40th president of United States – Ronald Reagan –in his infinite wisdom said this of politics and politicians (and I quote) – “Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the firstâ€Â. :)
When all are said, it may be asked, who can be at the helm of BN system and yet be an untainted great leader serving the nation? TDM? The term good leader in terms of altruistically serving the people and being at helm of such a system is an oxymoron lah! (Then again its not only our political system : are there many nations whose leaders have not conned the electorate to get elected and now ensconced in power, actually strenously tries to do good only for the nation or people without feathering his own nest? Name me a few.
To toniXe, yes, I would agree “ much more is at stake†but do you realistically think after his retirement or resignation for ‘non performance’ the next guy from that system would do and deliver better? He may be worse! Come on!
The problem is with the political system (not personalities), fat gloating, self feeding and entrenched, and difficult to dislodge like HIV virus within whatever surviving cells left in the body politic!
Why focus intensely on personalities from such a system and expect miracles? Can the union of a mongrel and stray wolf produce as offspring a good pedigree Labrador saving lives in the Alps? Be realistic.
It is also true what Jong said, that a public figure is public owned and always fair game for criticisms, but let our attacks be based wherever possible on a man’s record and policies, even his leadership style, poor or hypocritical or otherwise but not personal going to a level that he is not much of a Muslim, as I seem to get Dr Bakri’s drift….Sorry if I wrongly perceive this.
“Even his senior party man calls him a coward with no bolas and we should not follow him.What more the man in the street.”.Sheriff Singh.
And Mr. Singh what respect do you think can be bestowed to a Head of state who hasn’t made any decision since coming on board more than 4 years ago!!!Coming from him is either “I don’t know.” or he goes ozzzzzzzzzzzz(Did you see the group photos at the end of APEC conference in Sydney?Even can sleep while standing!!!).
Feeling sleepy in the daytime; after meals; difficulty in concentrating. A sign of onset of diabetes type II generally!
In this instance, I have a different opinion than Jeffrey’s of 10:28.
The press and public media often portrays Abdullah as a simple man, an honest man, a man of integrity, a religious man, and a man which every Malaysian can depend on to continue to be their leader. To the average man on the street, they probably are unaware of Abdullah’s duplicity.
So, I find this article very interesting. Why? Because the author (Bakri Musa) has pointed out several “anomalies” which we would not normally see in as much coverage nor extent in the press. Such as his expensive holiday (funded by ?) trips to Australia & Turkey, his Open House Raya bash at huge cost to Rakyat (funded by ?), the way he plays up to the press to reinforce his “simple” image (even though he is suspected of having expensive taste in reality – the duplicity?), his lack of zakat (relative to his peers, yet, his preaching probably exceeded his peers – duplicity?), and the belief that Abdullah’s family & cronies continue to siphon monies from the nation for unfair personal benefits (despite his constant preaching) …
So, what picture do we have of Abdullah from Bakri’s writings? Is Abdullah indeed the man of honesty or integrity as the Rakyat perceives or portrayed by the press?
Is Bakri’s writings unfair to Abdullah?
To me, I think Bakri is fair in pointing out these duplicities, so long as they remain grounded on observable facts. In fact, I would propose that Bakri should continue to write on Abdullah with greater frequency, and to a wider audience.
Why? For the simple reason that the press continues to paint just the good side of Abdullah in much greater frequency (brainwashing the public?), which reaches a much greater audience. When there is so much at stake, some “check and balance”, some continued “contrary opinions” to this public perception is vital.
So, Bakri, thank you for your articles. Do continue to look out on Abdullah’s duplicity, and do continue to share with us when you see them, as we don’t often get the chance to read these sort of things from the press.
Old Observer.
PS. If anyone else is bored with this article because they’ve seen it before, then, my advice is just to skip this article. You’ll be surprised how many people are unaware of Abdullah’s duplicity.
“To toniXe, yes, I would agree “ much more is at stake†but do you realistically think after his retirement or resignation for ‘non performance’ the next guy from that system would do and deliver better? He may be worse! Come on! ” – Jeffrey
______________
Personally, I can understand Jeffrey’s argument (although I do not accept his view). Yes, if/when BN wins next election, Abdullah would appear to be the safer/better choice to be PM than Najib or another alternative from Rakyat’s perspective over the next 5 yeas.
But do we have to accept a BN government?
Further, do we have to accept a leader if he continues to be unable to change the system despite being there 4 years already as a leader and decades in UMNO?
More importantly, as a Rakyat, rightly or wrong, I put a higher standard of responsibility on our leaders than on the common man. Why? Because they are supposed to be leaders. So, I expect leaders to do things like lead and set a good example, not duplicity.
More importantly, I also expect leaders to institute change swiftly when the system is rotten to the core. The fact that Abdullah has made it to the top shows he knows how to survive and thrive in the current system. Make no mistake about it.
Yet, we have long history of leaders globally (such as China thousands of years ago) who were in same situation as Abdullah when they first inherited power in a system that is full of corruption, and yet, were able to turn around the system within a short time … Can Abdullah study history and apply it here?
Lingam-gate – Abdullah can do something concrete NOW – appoint a RCI – but he has failed to do so for so long already. True Leaders should not make such a bad mistake like this.
Port Klang Free Zone – Abdullah can do something concrete NOW – investigate, pursue, and punish in the most publicly manner the offenders, but I don’t see anything happening here, and this risks being swept under the carpet.
So, I hold a different opinion than Jeffrey. I would hold Abdullah to a much higher standard, and a standard that I would consider comparable to other world leaders such as Lee Kuan Yew, Nelson Mendela, etc..
So, my question is if someone like Lee Kuan Yew is in Abdullah’s shoes right now over the last 4 years, would he behaved exactly the same way as Abdullah has done over the last 4 years, or would he behaved differently? And what do you think will be the result?
So, as a Rakyat, I don’t accept Abdullah’s lack of performance over the last 4 years personally.
Old Observer.
“As the self-proclaimed Imam of Islam Hadhari, I would have expected him to have some modicum of sympathy for the brutal oppression of those fellow leaders of faith, the monks. Alas, there was none.” Bakri
Come on Bakri, you didn’t expect Imam Hadhari to have modicum of sympathy (btw, what is that?), even if he had one, it would be for the Junta. You also know very well and clear Islam Hadhari is a deviant Islamic cult led by Abdullah, the PM of Malaysia. That’s why you wrote this wrong article to condemn him!…
Old.Observer, you said:
“The fact that Abdullah has made it to the top shows he knows how to survive and thrive in the current system. Make no mistake about it.”
Binggo! You are so right. Why Abdullah was finally the chosen one after TDM’s three failed attempts with his former deputies Musa Hitam, Ghafar Baba and Anwar Ibrahim? It’s his conniving nature and duplicity and he successfully made TDM look an amateur indeed!
Old.observer,
Thanks for the interesting comments. Just so that it is clear, I have never argued for an acceptance of a BN government or the system that it stands for from point of view of the nation’s best interest. Neither do I dispute the “duplicity” that you attribute to the man. (Others may disagree thinking that he struck lottery, right place and time, to get the top post. I like to think better. No one can survive in so called viper’s pit and ascend to top position of being leader of the pack and stay there by being naïve without the duplicity). A lot of politics is a game of duplicity, and the question is whether at the end of it all it is done for a good cause or self serving. And the question that is raised here is this : yes vote the BN out if this could be done, but if not who is the best candidate to helm it that can offer best chances and possibilities of either improving the ruling coalition in terms of governance or, if that were not possible, implode or make it unravel itself… :)
You get a leader like TDM as leader of the pack, fully awake, on top of things and follow up on everything, having strength and dominating will and all attributes of a strong and effective leader to get all members of pack to follow his orders, would you think such leader (arising as he is from such a system) will necessarily bring reforms and change the country for the better or would he not consolidate and entrench the existing system deeper? :)
LKY or TDM are, for examples strong leaders but they will feel slightly insulted if people say that they are not duplicitious.
The fact is that Lee Kuan Yew (who leads a different pack) has never been in Abdullah’s shoes and therefore it is hard to imagine what he would do if it were. In fact it is doubtful he could even survive within such a pack. In the time after Malaysia’s formation his call for Malaysian Malaysia were matched by calls from UMNO to incarcerate him under the ISA but it was due to the grace and fairness of man like Tunku that he found a better way to resolve the problem by kicking Singapore out. But fair and graceful men never survived for long, he was blamed for not taking a tougher stance and for giving away a sizeable real estate, and he was edged and manoeuvred out in a manner that the Tunku himself never doubted resembled a well disguised coup d’tat.
I cannot but agree with Jeffrey that Bakri has been singing an old song over and over – but that is because he has no other songs he could sing to his audience. Every time he looks at the chart he sees the same five songs. Since Bakri does not have his own song writer to write songs for him to sing, he could only sing songs written by other song writers.
But I’m not sure if your criticism would be better directed to the producer, rather than the singer.
“Do you ever see YB Kit, for example, criticising along such personal line? ” Jeffrey
Kit is a veteran politician and an old cock at the game not to know that were he to write in the same way and in the same intensity as our Californian surgeon does, he would only end up as fodder for those bent on seeing his political career come to an abrupt end.
Bakri is Malay and Muslim. As a Malay and a Muslim he has the edge over Kit who is not a Malay and a Muslim. Bakri’s criticism does not carry the racial and anti-Muslim sting that could stir an hornets’ nest. Bakri has been called names by members of his flock. But you gotta give it to the man who tries to initiate change from afar, who loves his country.
The songs that he hears are those that make the international charts. He has little or no access to the local grapvine.
Jeffery,
I certainly dont agree with your viewsregarding what Bakri said about Badawi.Remember the old saying, if you cannot stand the heat then get out of the kitchen.
The whole point of the exercise including what Bakri is drumming into our Malaysian head is that we have to change the present leadership and the present race based politcs.After 50 years where are we?to be precise we are heading to be a fail state and a Taliban one at that.PKR with Annuar at the head is offering a refreshing start with a multi-race party.All Malysians must support this move to go into uncharted territory.We have to take this gamble and place our faith in a new order.After 50 years of race based politics which has brought us to the present racial disunity, I think we owe it to our future generation to put in place a govt that can unite all Malaysians irrespective of race and religion.
UMNO, MCA, Gerakan and MIC have all outlived their usefulness.We must discard them and start a new order where all Malaysians of different shades will have a place in the Malaysian sun.
Raced-based politics to borrow familiar economic terminology is ‘facing diminishing marginal returns’ – but it has yet to reach negative marginal returns. Until this point is reached, race-based politics continues to appeal to the short-sighted and those who measure progress in monetary terms.
With some 60% of the population preferring the security that preservation of the status quo brings to the instability that ‘change’ brings, my prediction is that BN will win the GE if held tomorrow albeit without the landslide victory that characterised earlier elections.
Will there ever be ‘negative marginal returns’? I doubt.
I must apologise to Bakri. The song he sings is not the same one. He has added new lyrics which I think Jeffrey has glossed over!
FYI, it appears from todays report page 7 of The Sun Oct 23rd that Bernard Dompok’s statement – that there had been no ISA detentions since Abdullah Badawi took over – might be inaccurate.
The Chairman of Gerakan Masuhkan (ISA) (The Abolish the ISA Movement) or GMI – Syed Ibrahim Syed nor – said “that from 2004 to 2006, there were 48 new arrests and 73 renewed detention orders”. He said this year alone 4 people were arrested for allegedly spreading rumours of racial riots in Johor bharu, and another 5 for alleged involvement in Jemaah Islamish terrorist group (“JI”). Syed Ibrahim further explained that the arrests in 2004 were for alleged involvment in JI and a nuclear arms network, forged documents and passports, in 2005 for alleged involvement in JI and counterfeiting currency, and in 2006 for alleged involvemnt in the Sabah based Darul Islam extremist group, that there are all in about 90 ISA detainees at Kamunting Detention camp.
Dompok, when contacted for comment, was surprised and said, “I will have to look at it, maybe i will reply tomorrow”.
Doc SMS, the world’s 6th space tourist, cost the taxpaters RM600 million?
http://colour-blind.org/?p=1258
theStar, 23 Oct 2007: MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said there were still many Chinese primary schools that needed financial aid for classrooms, facilities, books and important activities.
Likewise, there are also many other schools in need of financial aid from the government.
The money spent on sending a space traveller for a cheap thrill could have been better spent on our schools. Now we plan to have another cheap thrill by sending another space traveller. More wastage of money.
OKT should have the guts to ask our PM for money to be spent on schools (if keris Hisham is not prepared to do so). This is the best time as the oil price is at record high.
Badawi is either a hypocrite or a liar – take your pick. Either option is totally unbecoming of an Imam of Islam Hadhari – and totally against its teachings. There is nothing wrong with bashing the incompetent, bumbling leader of UMNO. The corruption, the indecision, the cheating – the buck must stop with the top guy.
What Bakri has said is factual, even though it is a rehash of old news but we must be constantly reminding ourselves that we live in the midst of such incompetent and corrupt leadership – just as they try to suppress all bad news, or even let our grouses go into a black hole.
So our “Grand-Master of Duplicity” has done it again,
this time he has successfully managed Syed Hussein Alattas, and got him all smittened up?!
I remember Syed Hussein Alattas once questioned PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s motive for promoting “Islam Hadhari” and accused the latter of further confusing muslims in this country with such unnecessary branding. If as what Dr Bakri Musa said the ubi rebus did the trick, wait till Syed Hussein Alattas see the larvish Seri Perdana Soiree 2007 by this Imam of Islam Hadhari at tax-payers expense!
http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/pictures.php?itemid=9087
Hypocrite!!!
“You can tell much about a creed by its practices, in particular that of its leader. By this measure, Islam Hadhari is a cruel hoax perpetrated by Abdullah Badawi on the citizens.” Bakri
You gotta be kidding…
“Islam Hadhari notwithstanding, one thing is certain under Abdullah’s leadership. The rats that are his cronies and family members have been busy nibbling away at the state’s precious assets.” Bakri
Abdullah Badawi was the best among the worst that Mahathir was left to picked from his lifetime failure, UMNO. If you are a Malay, judging by the scenarios we have in Malaysia, you should be very very worry for your future…
No more money left-lah, but can still afford astronaut program
http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/beritankom.php?itemid=9372
So what if Badawi is hollow? Every single PM in this country had their weakness including our great Dr. M who was just ruthless enough to make everyone else pay for his weakness. How many leader does not have great flaws. I met Clinton, Reagan, Carter and Clinton to me is one of the smartest president the US have ever had but when it came to his personal life, he was an idiot.
Badawi character is flawed but he compounds it with his poor skills which makes it unforgivable. You can have personal weakness but not public ones. George Bush personal character is actually better than most US president but his public flaw i.e., his administrative and policy skills are greatly flawed covered up by good men/women. The public don’t forgive that.
Badawi in the end will end up like Bush, punished for his poor policies and skills not his personal flaw.
Surprised to see the comparison between Badawi and Bush. Some people seem to have good impression of Bush’s personal traits. To many people, Bush has also been sleeping on his job. Also, he is not as clean as you thought. While his contemporaries were fighting and dying in Vietnam, he was safely tucked away and dooddling in Alabama, well away from the war zone. Ever heard of his oil company Harken Energy and Spectrum 7? He made money off both companies and the historical stock price of Harken (Amex: HKN) has to be plotted in logarithmic scale to show the declining price. That company was saddled with so much debt after he left that it nearly went bankrupt, saved only by massive restructuring that left its stock price a fraction of what it used to be. Just imagine how much investors had lost in that company. In my book, he is not only just another crook but also a horrendously inept president.
dawsheng: …Mahathir was left to picked from his lifetime failure, UMNO…If you are a Malay, judging by the scenarios we have in Malaysia, you should be very very worry for your future…
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A well-known Chinese educationist in Malaysia, who has interacted with the Malay counterparts in govt committees, etc., once told me that some of these Malays are quite sharp and not as inept as many Chinese think. You should be worrying more about the Chinese for being complacent and tidak apa attitude. By hook or by crook, or whether by policy and constitutional changes, redistricting (gerrymandering), postal ballots, etc., we have been systematically marginalised. Barring any major upheaval, which I doubt would ever happen, UMNO would control the govt for decades more. There might come a time when every constituency would reflect the national racial distribution, and the Chinese representatives in govt would only be there at the pleasure of UMNO. If you think of it, UMNO is not a failure..the people in UMNO has been very smart. For us Chinese to think otherwise and be complacent is just self-denial and self-delusion leading to our own destruction.
I m afraid the writer is wrong, our beloved PM did release a Prisoner in the former DPM, DSAI.
“A well-known Chinese educationist in Malaysia, who has interacted with the Malay counterparts in govt committees, etc., once told me that some of these Malays are quite sharp and not as inept as many Chinese think.” Traveller
I wouldn’t disagree. I am not refering to Malay’s IQ level, what I meant was Malay should be very worry about the rotten leaderships of UMNO which has no noble principles, and it is all about the money, any race under such leadership will one day cease to exist.
“For us Chinese to think otherwise and be complacent is just self-denial and self-delusion leading to our own destruction.” Traveller
Build an army….
Mr Lim,
Please be more careful when passing comments about other people’s religion as it is a treacherous path to walk (politically, i mean) cause when you’re wrong or inaccurate, you make your opponent look good. And that’s not good. That comment of your about Badawi not being humble cause he’s gotta be the imam all the time – wrong! Forget you not that the Prophet was both a religious and political leader at the same time. A leader is ‘supposed’ to lead his people in life and in religion so Badawi was ‘supposed’ to lead in prayer. This is a given, there is no question of humility involved.
So be more careful k? You made Badawi look good there.
The writer was Bakri Musa not LKS. There is always problem when people don’t read properly before coming to a conclusion.
Bakri? owh….thank you Mr Bakri for making us Malays look bad again. Apologies, Mr Lim.