Posted on

Abdullah should direct the 54 BN MPs to cut short their “blur blur” agriculture study tour of Taiwan

Malaysia’s image and international standing are trampled upon and “rubbished” by the 54 Barisan Nasional MPs currently on a “blur blur” agriculture study tour of Taiwan as they are been tracked by the Taiwan print and electronic media as if they are bizarre or exotic creatures from a strange land if not from another planet.

Instead of conducting themselves as proud elected representatives of a nation held in high esteem in international circles, the 54 BN MPs are caught in a hide-and-seek with journalists as if they are fugitives from justice or agents of rogue nations as they are unable to give a honest and honourable explanation of the real purpose and reason for their sudden trip to Taiwan.

A Guang Ming Daily columnist has rightly coined the phrase “mong cha-cha” or “blur blur” tour to describe BN MPs junket to Taiwan, for the BN MPs were in a “blur” when summoned by SMS to submit their passports for the “trip to nowhere” as the country destination was not known and undecided, “blur” when they boarded the flight and continue to be “blur” when they landed in Taiwan.

The 54 BN MPs know that they have become a laughing stock in Taiwan and a standing joke wherever they go in the island republic. As a result, they cannot hold their heads high when appearing in public in Taiwan.

Continue reading “Abdullah should direct the 54 BN MPs to cut short their “blur blur” agriculture study tour of Taiwan”

Posted on

Racist Ahmad Ismail provocation – will 13 Penang Umno division leaders be disciplined too?

What action will the Umno Supreme Council take at its emergency meeting today to end the15-day national furore over Ahmad Ismail’s provocative, inflammatory and acist “penumpang” reference to Malaysian Chinese – a simple and straightforward issue which should have been nipped in the bud when it surfaced publicly on August 26 instead of being allowed to snowball into a “no-holds-barred” political and nation-building crisis escalating into the Bukit Bendera Umno divison chairman:

• Warning the Chinese in Malaysia not to mimic American Jews in seeking to control the country’s economy but also its political power;

• Wanting Gerakan to leave the Barisan Nasional;

• Demanding that Gerakan acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon should be stripped of his post as the state Barisan chairman and the post be given to the MCA; and

• Public tearing of a picture of Tsu Koon.

What would have ensued if there had been a public tearing of the picture of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi or the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuik Seri Najib Razak by a Gerakan division leader of Chinese or Indian descent? Continue reading “Racist Ahmad Ismail provocation – will 13 Penang Umno division leaders be disciplined too?”

Posted on

We are all “pendatangs”

Jac Tan emailed a very interesting and timely blog from Syed Iman’s kuda ranggi.

Syed Imran is an Arab-Malaysian born in Penang, Malaysia, ex-Bernama journalist (1971-1998) and former press secretary to Minister in PM’s Department.

Syed Imran provides a Bangsa Malaysia voice in the nation-wide furore which had erupted as a result of Ahmad Ismail’s irresponsible, opportunist and racist reference of Malaysian Chinese as “pendatang” and “penumpang”.

Syed Imran blogged:

“Secara peribadi, saya tidak setuju dengan apa yang didakwa dikata oleh Ahmad Ismail atas beberapa sebab.

“Bagi saya, hampir 90 peratus rakyat Malaysia, khususnya di Semenanjung, adalah pendatang dan kita semua sebenarnya menumpang hidup di bumi Allah. Kita bukan pemilik kekal tetapi hanya menumpang…

“Kita adalah kaum pendatang yang menumpang hidup di negeri ini. Golongan yang boleh diiktiraf sebagai orang asal atau anak bumi tulen adalah mereka yang kita kenali sebagai Negrito, Jakun, Semang, Jahut, Orang Laut, Orang Darat, Senoi dan suku kaum masyarakat Asli lain yang masih menjadi penghuni belantara.

“Kita semua adalah rakyat Malaysia.”

Syed Imran’s blog touching on the lineage of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir, Home Minister, Syed Hamid Albar, Ahmad Ismail himself should be compulsory read for the agent provocateurs out to sabotage the realisation of a Bangsa Malaysia – whether by constant keris-wielding or the canard of “pendatang” and “penumpang”. Continue reading “We are all “pendatangs””

Posted on

Of Pakatan, People, Principles, Patience and Prudence

by Martin Jalleh

With each passing day, Umno, which had very arrogantly declared that it would bury Anwar Ibrahim politically, continues to dig its own grave.

The results of the by-election in Permatang Pauh sounded the death knell to the supremacist party. It was the last nail that the party drove into its own coffin.

After the General Elections in March it became evident that Umno is not short of leaders like Ahmad Ismail who desperately seek to write Umno’s obituary.

Sharing this privilege is Dr M, whose self-deceiving sarcasm puts him in a state of denial especially over the fact that Umno started to decay and decompose during his days!

Umno’s colleagues in the BN whose parties are also disintegrating have made it clear that they can no longer swallow nor stomach Umno’s political vomit and venom.

The PM increasingly looks like a lame duck, kept afloat by a pool of lame-brained ministers like Najib, Nazri and Syed Hamid – experts at offering lame excuses.

It is against this dark despairing scenario that Anwar and the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) offer much-needed hope. There is great urgency to bring about real and radical change. Continue reading “Of Pakatan, People, Principles, Patience and Prudence”

Posted on

A Racist Start to Ramadhan

By Farish A. Noor

It is not often that I sermonise in my articles, and it has been a month since the OtherMalaysia.org research project was brought to a close. Yet despite everything the tone and tenor of Malaysia’s convoluted politics and the country’s slide into decline forces us to take stock of how far Malaysia has travelled over the past 50 years of its independence, or hasnt.

With the feeble administration of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi teetering on the verge of implosion and collapse, Malaysians are preparing themselves for the worst to come. Since 2004 Malaysia has in fact been running on autopilot, a point made clear to me by a European diplomat who once asked me ‘Is anyone running this country and does Badawi even know what is going on?” Coccooned from the realities of a society that has experienced large scale and even traumatic changes, the Badawi government proved itself to be totally dislocated and clueless over what was happening. Continue reading “A Racist Start to Ramadhan”