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It’s not about BN or PR — it’s about changing the system

by Pak Sako
CPI
Monday, 16 April 2012

“If a factory is torn down but the rationality which produced it is left standing, then that rationality will simply produce another factory. If a revolution destroys a government, but the systematic patterns of thought that produced that government are left intact, then those patterns will repeat themselves.” – Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

“[T]o dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics, is the first task of the statesmanship of the day… This country belongs to the people. Its resources, its business, its laws, its institutions, should be utilized, maintained, or altered in whatever manner will best promote the general interest… “The people” are absolutely to control in any way they see fit, the “business” of the country.” – Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States of America, An Autobiography.

The million-dollar question for the voting public is not about choosing between a Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat government based on who is more generous, holier or less corrupt.

It should be what to do to shake up the system.

That should be the prime concern of the voting public.

That should be the focus of political analysis and commentating.

The system is where the problems that bedevil the people originate, and it there where the seeds of real change lie.

If there is no intention to review and alter the system, all talk of ‘reformasi’ or ‘transformation programmes’ is meaningless. Continue reading “It’s not about BN or PR — it’s about changing the system”

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Blogger Ipohgal’s review of No More Bullshit

by Ipohgal
April 15, 2012

Book review
Title: No more bullshit, please, we’re all Malaysians
Author: Kee Thuan Chye
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Price: RM39.90 (West & East Malaysia)
Available at: Kinokuniya, Borders, MPH, Popular and Times nationwide

The air is thick with rumors that PRU 13 is coming our way anytime this year. While most Malaysians have already decided whom to vote for, there are still some fence-sitters out there, undecided and left things to the last-minute. This does not bode well for the nation because their hazy decisions will either make or break the hopes of many to see some positive changes for this beloved country of ours.

In his new book, “No more bullshit, please, we’re all Malaysians”, well-known writer Kee Thuan Chye, has put together a compilation of previously published articles to help these undecided voters make up their mind. These articles chronicled recent political developments in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak. Poems as well as excerpts from his plays were included to show the readers how those in power, past and present, were caught in the same net of deceit – greediness, selfishness and their desperation to stay on beyond their shelf lives. Continue reading “Blogger Ipohgal’s review of No More Bullshit”

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Bersih 3.0: A double-edged sword

— Vivek V. Velan
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 17, 2012

APRIL 17 — Nine months have passed since thousands of Malaysians from all walks of life went to ground in anger and hope, tired of the continued deceit, fraudulent politics and false promises of the current regime. Their actions in some way can be derived from the somewhat lack of faith even in the opposition for it takes more than mere economic scandals and backhanded politics to stir up the emotions of the common man to take to the streets. And take to the streets they did for in their hearts they believed that the time for change has come. The Bersih sterling committee headed by Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and Datuk A. Samad Said as chairpersons could not have envisaged the sheer magnitude of response that would follow when Pakatan Rakyat threw its support behind the movement.

In a simpler context, Bersih’s aim was to push for cleaner elections wherein dirty politics is to be abhorred and the entire election system is to be overhauled either by reforms or revamping current systems. The Najib Razak administration’s gross mishandling of the rally where police force was used against unarmed protestors, tear gas shot at hospitals and the unlawful arrests of hundreds of protestors have been highlighted both locally and internationally.

Without going into detail, Barisan Nasional’s ratings fell drastically and the government was under pressure to rectify its mistakes for the people were enraged at the government’s stance in handling what was supposed to be a peaceful protest. Continue reading “Bersih 3.0: A double-edged sword”

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A Pakatan Rakyat government in Putrajaya will set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal

Firstly, I thank the organisers for inviting me to this book launch for Dato’ Lee Hwa Beng’s publication “PKFZ: A Nation’s Trust Betrayed” (written with co-authoress Lee Siew Lian) in the company of Datuk Ong Tee Keat, one of the early “transformation” ministers in the “transformation” Cabinet of Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

I commend Dato’ Lee Hwa Beng for his book on his three-year “national service” as Port Klang Authority Chairman after the 2008 general elections to try to pry open the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal to promote a culture of accountability, integrity and good governance.

Unravelling the full horrors of the PKFZ scandal – which I have described as not only “a can of worms” but “a swamp of crocodiles” – and bringing to justice those responsible for this “heinous crime” against the nation is, however, a still very uncompleted work.

The PKFZ scandal was one of the dominating issues in Parliament before and after the 12th general elections on March 8, 2008.

On 27th November 2007, I moved a censure motion in Parliament by way of a token RM10 salary cut against the then Transport Minister, Datuk Chan Kong Choy for the consistent wall of denial, equivocation and prevarication in refusing to give full and proper parliamentary accounting for the PKFZ scandal. Continue reading “A Pakatan Rakyat government in Putrajaya will set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal”