I used to propose unalike opinion over the issue of UMNO membership in my regular UMNO Divisional Committee meetings years ago.
Every Division was asked to register as many Malays as possible to be members of UMNO in order to strengthen the party by the numbers.
The leaders believed that by having massive membership would make the party strong as the numbers alone can make the party walk tall in any election against the opposition with small party members.
I was strongly against the idea of having mammoth and massive membership for the party as it would bring more negative than positive consequences in the end.
As usual, ideas that came from me or anyone like me would be instantaneously brushed off.
BUT I still hold to that idea of smaller party membership, like 1.5 million is reasonable numbers. The big and gigantic membership list is part of the problems the party faces at this instant.
To my simple minded argument, having big membership, the Division has to set up many new branches and that would be stickier as it is hard to manage the idiosyncrasies of members at the branch level.
At that time, UMNO memberships had grown up to almost 3 million nationwide and that formed almost 40% of the Malays in the peninsular Malaysia.
If the party has 40% of the Malay population there is very great tendency that it has to spend too much time on managing the members than building up its reception to the voting public.
The more branches the party have, the more infighting at the branch level where most of the voters are and ultimately it injures the strong party’s support pattern which we used to enjoy long ago.
At the material time, there were already messy fights at the ground level fighting for branch heads.
The losing group would have the propensity to connive with the opposition in the General Election and that would add up the numbers supporting the opposition in the ballot box.
In 1999 General Election, Kuala Pilah had 24,000 UMNO members but BN candidate Dato’ Napsiah Omar secured only 16,000 votes. Out of the 16,000 votes, 10,000 came from the non-Malay votes as the Chinese and Indians were all out in support of BN then.
To summarize the figures Napsiah only managed to secure 6,000 Malay votes and that included Malays who were non-UMNO members and that was the clear voting pattern everywhere in the Peninsula.
The same situation happened in 2008 General Election when more than 80% UMNO members voted for the opposition in many constituencies.
In conclusion there is nothing to shout at if we have millions of members. The 8th March 2008 election was another proof that big size does not necessarily capable to outdo the small-sized party.
In simple analogy, a big size man may not necessarily be a healthy man, but more often than not the man with big size body are taxed with a lot of diseases some terminal in nature.
UMNO should just have a small numbers of memberships as what most important function of the party is to build up respect and reception of the party by the voters.
People want to see that every policy that is set by the party is likened by the public.
Consequentially the people want to see that all policies are implemented appropriately and accurately and the people have the feel of the implementation of those policies with comfort.
Labor Party of Britain has registered members of less than 180,000 but that party is almost completing its third term as the government of Britain. So do the Conservative which is expected to win in the coming General Election has less than 150,000 members.
I think UMNO leaders’ thinking should be bent and curved in with the changing time.
Malaysian voters, like in advance democracies, are speedily looking at the competence of the ruling party to unveil solid and acceptable policies and correct implementation of the policies.
The people are not tolerating anymore corrupt practices which UMNO is perceived to be synonymous to; people look at corruptors as heinous and not worth supporting.
Committing corruption is too big a sin and it is indistinguishable with acts of sodomy, rape, and day light robbery.
It is not an easy task for UMNO to erase that perception as it has been an entrenched and implanted culture to the party and the blame should go to leaders since 2 decades ago for not addressing the issue seriously and sincerely.
The image of the party is dependable on the image of the leadership. The party must be perceived to be led by congregations of clean and respectable personalities with impeccable and unsullied records of quantifiable deeds to the nation.
To leaders with corrupt and criminal image, they must be ready to resign before the party is voted out and shelved aside by the people.
To UMNO the public is telling the party ingenuously, change the image of the party or you will be replaced by another.
Bear in mind, the people have been waiting for the change far too long and they don’t have any reserve for patience anymore.
To the exasperated public, UMNO has always been taking friendliness of the people as weaknesses and they just commit moral and political offenses with no qualms and guilt.
Lastly let us remind UMNO and its leadership forthrightly; a huge membership doesn’t guarantee a win; it may instead be a betrayal.
We should now find means and ways to reincarnate and reawaken the old and trustworthy leadership which we used to cheer with.
We are in burning desire to have another reappearance of leaders who are not in the race with the rakyat in businesses, and like what we see today, it has already become a norm.
Leadership of pre-Mahathir’s can be a good reference and perfect testimony to reach to that goal.
Those kind of good leaders are already hard to find but I am sure there is at least one or two still living and kicking mingling among the confused leaders in the party.
It is natural that good ones are hard to find but we will be in good care if we are successful in putting up successful efforts to find one for the sake of the nation we dearly feel the affection for.
This great nation is inimitable and she needs good, honorable, upright and trustworthy leader who is not in the league of corrupt and undignified sort.
This country needs restructuring and shakeup in all turfs; it is imperative to find someone who have had the experiences in planning and managing intricacies of Malaysian politics and re-engineering of multiracial, ethnics, religions and social fabrics of the country.
Leave the long sufferings of being led by corrupt and unspeakable leaders behind us and let us create another clean and memorable history for the sake of saving this lovely nation.
Everyone knows who are corrupts and who are not. Permit me to quote our popular Malay adage; bangkai gajah masakan boleh ditutup dengan nyiru.
Official Secret Act (OSA) can only protect the corrupt acts by the Law but that act can’t cover that heinous act by peoples’ perception.
Ultimately the rakyat will know every single truth. To those who feel disquieted by my writing in this instant will in the end agree with me; maybe a decade from now…but that’s fine with me.
Thanks……………………………………………..Aspan Alias
28 June 2009
25 June 2009
MARA : Financially drying up
M.A.R.A as the acronym goes for Majlis Amanah Rakyat is giving awful news to the deserving Malays who are in dire need for assistance to educate their children to tertiary level.
A few told me that their children who have been agreed by MARA to sponsor them for their tertiary education in various universities were told that their sponsorship were put on KIV as the oldest government agency has dried up of their funds.
This information or hearsay is too hard to bear as the country is not anymore competent to finance the needy students to further their educations, the basic responsibility of any reasonable government must accomplish for the growing up children of the nation.
This is an actual history, a real unspeakable one and that reflects the tangible incapacity of the ruling government to function even in disposing its very basic responsibility to her people; that is education.
While we accept that there is a global economic down-spiral, no one can accept that the young sons of the soil being encumbered from studying in universities and colleges just because the government has low cash level.
Why the government of the day is is not giving priority to educational assistance for the deserving people especially for the Bumiputra? MARA is among the only few agencies that provide educational assistance for the needy to lean on.
Providing education is the basic government expenditure. Failing which, it’s like a pair of parents who are not able to feed and provide diapers for their new born baby.
In the decades of late 60’s until end of the 70’s scholarships were provided by many sources. Bank BUMIPUTRA and PETRONAS gave thousands of scholarships right from day one of their operations but that is not happening anymore.
BBMB and PETRONAS were then the real agencies which disbursed scholarships to actualize its real functions to develop the nation and education was acknowledged as the most viable mode and medium to arrive at that goal.
The chief of the 2 agencies were nationalistic enough to allocate large sum of money for the purpose of education and those sent by PETRONAS and BBMB are now serving as heads and important position both in Public Services and Private Sectors.
But all those are history as BBMB itself is no more in existence. The directions have changed since the 80’s where scholarship was replaced by loans that were to be paid in full plus the element of interest plucked to the loan scheme.
At present any student registered in the universities are automatically indebted to more than tens of thousands of ringgit who would promptly receive letters of demand as soon as they are graduated.
MARA is the only place left for thousands of Malay students to seek assistance in going through their financial encumbrances in getting to university campuses.
Now MARA itself is plagued with financial incapacity and this is too much for the majority of the Malays to stomach.
This is contemptible state of affair; what happen with the big talk about bringing the nation to greater height and all the slogans in place? What do all those rhetoric mean if we can’t even spare funds for the education of our children?
Why are we getting further from the basic constitutional rights of scholarships and when can we get the taste of free education like Germany and all the Scandinavian countries?
The 2 and the half months old administration have got this issue to answer instantaneously. This is the issue of the poor majority of the population who voted the government in power.
This is an issue that needs the answer to come from the PM himself, not just from MARA.
This is not the issue of MARA autonomously; it is the issue of government as a whole and in totality. These are issues of dignity of the ruling government and do not to take this issue lightly.
Registrations of new intake of students in all local universities are just around the corner and anguish of poor parents who fail to get their sons sponsored to the universities is very visible.
I am happy to remind my commentators in this blog who used to bash me and alleging me for my critics on the government and alleged me as a thankless creature who forgets the scholarship that the government gave me.
To those commentators in anonymity I can now answer your critics on me without exertion.
While you are right to be thankful for the scholarship you secure for your own studies 40 years ago, you have to bear witness now that your generation is almost denied of their opportunities to get hold of what you had.
It will be too selfish on your part just to mill around your satisfactions of 4 decades ago and you rebuked those persons like me in fighting on for your generation to enjoy what you have enjoyed exceedingly.
The unfortunate lots can be among your own family members and relatives or you neighbors. So it is very unaffectionate on your part to think that a person who thinks aloud for your generation is committing crime and against the government.
Let us agree among ourselves, that education is the basic conscientiousness of any country with government and with constitution. To a nation, scholarship and any educational sponsors is a must; like a must for every one of us to feed our growing children.
I am hopeful that what ever allocation that MARA is due for should be settled with now without further procrastinations.
Our leaders can persist talking about other big economic developments with announcement of economic comings and goings with high and pretentious economic jargons once the basic obligation like student educational assistance through MARA is done.
To PM Najib, please do the needful now. Our sons are in the quench of educational progression to achieve their burning desire to be rounded citizens.
Please unravel the problems with sense of compulsion, and never take it as a favor from your part.
I don’t enjoy writing an article with this tendency, but I am compelled to do so.
Someone has to be upfront in saying it, since no one has the courage to unfasten it in the open.
Thanks………………………………………Aspan Alias
A few told me that their children who have been agreed by MARA to sponsor them for their tertiary education in various universities were told that their sponsorship were put on KIV as the oldest government agency has dried up of their funds.
This information or hearsay is too hard to bear as the country is not anymore competent to finance the needy students to further their educations, the basic responsibility of any reasonable government must accomplish for the growing up children of the nation.
This is an actual history, a real unspeakable one and that reflects the tangible incapacity of the ruling government to function even in disposing its very basic responsibility to her people; that is education.
While we accept that there is a global economic down-spiral, no one can accept that the young sons of the soil being encumbered from studying in universities and colleges just because the government has low cash level.
Why the government of the day is is not giving priority to educational assistance for the deserving people especially for the Bumiputra? MARA is among the only few agencies that provide educational assistance for the needy to lean on.
Providing education is the basic government expenditure. Failing which, it’s like a pair of parents who are not able to feed and provide diapers for their new born baby.
In the decades of late 60’s until end of the 70’s scholarships were provided by many sources. Bank BUMIPUTRA and PETRONAS gave thousands of scholarships right from day one of their operations but that is not happening anymore.
BBMB and PETRONAS were then the real agencies which disbursed scholarships to actualize its real functions to develop the nation and education was acknowledged as the most viable mode and medium to arrive at that goal.
The chief of the 2 agencies were nationalistic enough to allocate large sum of money for the purpose of education and those sent by PETRONAS and BBMB are now serving as heads and important position both in Public Services and Private Sectors.
But all those are history as BBMB itself is no more in existence. The directions have changed since the 80’s where scholarship was replaced by loans that were to be paid in full plus the element of interest plucked to the loan scheme.
At present any student registered in the universities are automatically indebted to more than tens of thousands of ringgit who would promptly receive letters of demand as soon as they are graduated.
MARA is the only place left for thousands of Malay students to seek assistance in going through their financial encumbrances in getting to university campuses.
Now MARA itself is plagued with financial incapacity and this is too much for the majority of the Malays to stomach.
This is contemptible state of affair; what happen with the big talk about bringing the nation to greater height and all the slogans in place? What do all those rhetoric mean if we can’t even spare funds for the education of our children?
Why are we getting further from the basic constitutional rights of scholarships and when can we get the taste of free education like Germany and all the Scandinavian countries?
The 2 and the half months old administration have got this issue to answer instantaneously. This is the issue of the poor majority of the population who voted the government in power.
This is an issue that needs the answer to come from the PM himself, not just from MARA.
This is not the issue of MARA autonomously; it is the issue of government as a whole and in totality. These are issues of dignity of the ruling government and do not to take this issue lightly.
Registrations of new intake of students in all local universities are just around the corner and anguish of poor parents who fail to get their sons sponsored to the universities is very visible.
I am happy to remind my commentators in this blog who used to bash me and alleging me for my critics on the government and alleged me as a thankless creature who forgets the scholarship that the government gave me.
To those commentators in anonymity I can now answer your critics on me without exertion.
While you are right to be thankful for the scholarship you secure for your own studies 40 years ago, you have to bear witness now that your generation is almost denied of their opportunities to get hold of what you had.
It will be too selfish on your part just to mill around your satisfactions of 4 decades ago and you rebuked those persons like me in fighting on for your generation to enjoy what you have enjoyed exceedingly.
The unfortunate lots can be among your own family members and relatives or you neighbors. So it is very unaffectionate on your part to think that a person who thinks aloud for your generation is committing crime and against the government.
Let us agree among ourselves, that education is the basic conscientiousness of any country with government and with constitution. To a nation, scholarship and any educational sponsors is a must; like a must for every one of us to feed our growing children.
I am hopeful that what ever allocation that MARA is due for should be settled with now without further procrastinations.
Our leaders can persist talking about other big economic developments with announcement of economic comings and goings with high and pretentious economic jargons once the basic obligation like student educational assistance through MARA is done.
To PM Najib, please do the needful now. Our sons are in the quench of educational progression to achieve their burning desire to be rounded citizens.
Please unravel the problems with sense of compulsion, and never take it as a favor from your part.
I don’t enjoy writing an article with this tendency, but I am compelled to do so.
Someone has to be upfront in saying it, since no one has the courage to unfasten it in the open.
Thanks………………………………………Aspan Alias
21 June 2009
Unity talks : Fact or Fallacy
Is UMNO beginning to realize where its stands now and what the party can expect in the coming General Elections (GE)?
Does UMNO know that the party is drooping and sagging and going for the dressing down by the voting public? Are their leaders having the worries like I do about losing in the coming GE?
If the party is not doing anything to correct its mistakes and misadventures, has it started to prepare itself to be a splinter group sitting on the opposition bench just after the coming GE in all Legislative Assemblies?
UMNO Deputy President, TS Muhyiddin (TSM) has already using religion to entice PAS to work with UMNO for the sake of the Muslim Unity and he emphasizes that to forgive and to forget is what the religion wants us to observe.
Tengku Razaleigh was the first UMNO leader to moot the idea of Unity Government many months back but other UMNO leaders were abrasive and uncompromisingly against the idea.
While what he (TSM) says is very right on his religious rationale, it is only said when UMNO is on the way for almost total rejection. While UMNO was in the height of popularity there was nothing said about unity and PAS was tainted to be a party of appalling and ghastly attributes by UMNO.
This is the issue that Nik Aziz is struggling to forget and accept that it is natural and inbuilt attribute of UMNO, especially the new ONE.
One point for our own introspection; UMNO must ensure there is unity within the party itself. As it is, within the party, there are clear irritable issues that make the party even more fractious than before.
How could we go and talk to another party while we are weak? We should have been talking to PAS long ago when we were strong? BUT we took different stand by hammering and admonishing PAS while were having muscle and strength.
Mahathir is coming with more issues when he is beginning to disagree with Najib over the third bridge issue which Rosmah is believed to have mutually agreed with one another with Singapore’s MM Lee Kuan Yew(LKY) for it to be built.
LKY recent visit trail adds up more irritation to TDM and he visibly was too annoyed when the visit gave Rosmah the high lights and Najib allows this new culture of getting spouses of leaders to be part of decision making for a nation. I agree with Mahathir to the fullest on this.
Mahathir expressed his disappointments in his speech in Ipoh yesterday and his worries about what is in the making in UMNO and BN as a whole.
He clearly disposed his uncertainties over the future of the Malays, even though he was the man who changed the total culture and the political paradigm and pattern of the country that resulted to the present nightmares.
This 3rd bridge issue is likely to escalate. It is not a small issue as the crooked bridge issue was one of the main contributors to Abdullah’s plummet.
Is Najib going to face the bridge issue like Abdullah? If it is, than the bridges in issue are like sirraatulmustakim bridges which both Abdullah and Najib failed to cross.
Compounding to this subject, many people including the nosy Mahathir who are not happy with the muqabalah between PAS and UMNO which is the hot theme of the day.
Mahathir is not pleased that Unity is just between Malays as the other races would protest resulting in split of BN and Malaysian politics will be along deep inter-racial divide. Again, I concur with his opinion on this pertinent issue.
As it is, the non Malays are already on the other side of the boundary of this divide and the overly emphasized issue of PAS/UMNO talk is going to send the non Malays further apart from giving the support to UMNO/BN.
DS Najib seems to wane his leadership day by day and outwardly seen as helpless and vulnerable on numerous issues.
Meanwhile PAS is strengthening; whether the much-talked about Unity Government issue is successful is not important.
The important and relatable point that the party brings home is to warn her partners in Pakatan Rakyat not to take PAS participation in the loose coalition lightly as she has a desperate UMNO to work with.
PAS can now tell DAP especially not to rejoice too much when the party tastes power as the Malays is still and forever the political master in this God blessed nation.
As long as Malays lead politically the ambience of living in this country would be soothing…and this is in actuality the message PAS is trying to deliver to its coalition partners.
PAS is already in the position that UMNO used to enjoy when come to workings in togetherness with the multiracial population of the country.
The people trust PAS much more than UMNO and for UMNO to regain the full trust she used to enjoy would be tough as the credibility of its leadership have been too much in jeopardy at all levels.
PAS has learned immensely from mistakes committed by UMNO. The arrogance that UMNO has been displaying with the borrowed power for the past recent years make the appetite of the people including the young Malay voters to support the party are getting blunted.
While the Malays are in exodus to support PAS the more liberal Malays are joining the non Malays to join PKR which is multi racial party that seems to be more engaging for them.
Pakatan Rakyat at the very moment just need to convince the Malays that they are well protected which the Federal Constitution provides. Anything less would turn Pakatan Rakyat into just a temporary hidey-hole for the disillusioned Malays who are at odds against UMNO.
Lastly there is another point which needs moderation of good and magnanimous leaders that is the economic issue.
Developing the nation’s economy is one thing but the effort for equitable distribution is another. No nation would be in stable political environment without equitable distribution and fair opportunities for the deserving lots.
If the government fails to develop big chunk of middle class among the population the stability of politics would not be assured as this group of the population gives a big and momentous direction for any country which takes democracy as her ruling system.
Thanks…………………………………………………Aspan Alias
Does UMNO know that the party is drooping and sagging and going for the dressing down by the voting public? Are their leaders having the worries like I do about losing in the coming GE?
If the party is not doing anything to correct its mistakes and misadventures, has it started to prepare itself to be a splinter group sitting on the opposition bench just after the coming GE in all Legislative Assemblies?
UMNO Deputy President, TS Muhyiddin (TSM) has already using religion to entice PAS to work with UMNO for the sake of the Muslim Unity and he emphasizes that to forgive and to forget is what the religion wants us to observe.
Tengku Razaleigh was the first UMNO leader to moot the idea of Unity Government many months back but other UMNO leaders were abrasive and uncompromisingly against the idea.
While what he (TSM) says is very right on his religious rationale, it is only said when UMNO is on the way for almost total rejection. While UMNO was in the height of popularity there was nothing said about unity and PAS was tainted to be a party of appalling and ghastly attributes by UMNO.
This is the issue that Nik Aziz is struggling to forget and accept that it is natural and inbuilt attribute of UMNO, especially the new ONE.
One point for our own introspection; UMNO must ensure there is unity within the party itself. As it is, within the party, there are clear irritable issues that make the party even more fractious than before.
How could we go and talk to another party while we are weak? We should have been talking to PAS long ago when we were strong? BUT we took different stand by hammering and admonishing PAS while were having muscle and strength.
Mahathir is coming with more issues when he is beginning to disagree with Najib over the third bridge issue which Rosmah is believed to have mutually agreed with one another with Singapore’s MM Lee Kuan Yew(LKY) for it to be built.
LKY recent visit trail adds up more irritation to TDM and he visibly was too annoyed when the visit gave Rosmah the high lights and Najib allows this new culture of getting spouses of leaders to be part of decision making for a nation. I agree with Mahathir to the fullest on this.
Mahathir expressed his disappointments in his speech in Ipoh yesterday and his worries about what is in the making in UMNO and BN as a whole.
He clearly disposed his uncertainties over the future of the Malays, even though he was the man who changed the total culture and the political paradigm and pattern of the country that resulted to the present nightmares.
This 3rd bridge issue is likely to escalate. It is not a small issue as the crooked bridge issue was one of the main contributors to Abdullah’s plummet.
Is Najib going to face the bridge issue like Abdullah? If it is, than the bridges in issue are like sirraatulmustakim bridges which both Abdullah and Najib failed to cross.
Compounding to this subject, many people including the nosy Mahathir who are not happy with the muqabalah between PAS and UMNO which is the hot theme of the day.
Mahathir is not pleased that Unity is just between Malays as the other races would protest resulting in split of BN and Malaysian politics will be along deep inter-racial divide. Again, I concur with his opinion on this pertinent issue.
As it is, the non Malays are already on the other side of the boundary of this divide and the overly emphasized issue of PAS/UMNO talk is going to send the non Malays further apart from giving the support to UMNO/BN.
DS Najib seems to wane his leadership day by day and outwardly seen as helpless and vulnerable on numerous issues.
Meanwhile PAS is strengthening; whether the much-talked about Unity Government issue is successful is not important.
The important and relatable point that the party brings home is to warn her partners in Pakatan Rakyat not to take PAS participation in the loose coalition lightly as she has a desperate UMNO to work with.
PAS can now tell DAP especially not to rejoice too much when the party tastes power as the Malays is still and forever the political master in this God blessed nation.
As long as Malays lead politically the ambience of living in this country would be soothing…and this is in actuality the message PAS is trying to deliver to its coalition partners.
PAS is already in the position that UMNO used to enjoy when come to workings in togetherness with the multiracial population of the country.
The people trust PAS much more than UMNO and for UMNO to regain the full trust she used to enjoy would be tough as the credibility of its leadership have been too much in jeopardy at all levels.
PAS has learned immensely from mistakes committed by UMNO. The arrogance that UMNO has been displaying with the borrowed power for the past recent years make the appetite of the people including the young Malay voters to support the party are getting blunted.
While the Malays are in exodus to support PAS the more liberal Malays are joining the non Malays to join PKR which is multi racial party that seems to be more engaging for them.
Pakatan Rakyat at the very moment just need to convince the Malays that they are well protected which the Federal Constitution provides. Anything less would turn Pakatan Rakyat into just a temporary hidey-hole for the disillusioned Malays who are at odds against UMNO.
Lastly there is another point which needs moderation of good and magnanimous leaders that is the economic issue.
Developing the nation’s economy is one thing but the effort for equitable distribution is another. No nation would be in stable political environment without equitable distribution and fair opportunities for the deserving lots.
If the government fails to develop big chunk of middle class among the population the stability of politics would not be assured as this group of the population gives a big and momentous direction for any country which takes democracy as her ruling system.
Thanks…………………………………………………Aspan Alias
18 June 2009
Disunited for unity
The currently widespread discussion is about Unity Government, the proposal that PAS and UMNO should work together for the sake of unity especially among the Malays.
Everybody is yet to understand how the workings are going to be as it is still at an embryonic level, and the heat is building up especially within PAS leadership.
Nik Aziz is adamant and insists everyone to listen to his advice that the proposal mooted by Haji Hadi is not going to work and he went to the extent of warning the Deputy President, Nasharuddin Mat Isa to join UMNO if he is still milling on the issue.
The opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in disapproving tone responded that the issue is not just as simple as Hadi is saying it and insisted that all the Pakatan Rakyat’s coalition should decide whether talk should go on.
PAS secretary General, Mustafa Ali says that PAS is not going alone to talk to UMNO and he assures that PR coalition partners will be brought together to address the issue of PAS-UMNO unity talk.
The issue becomes hotly debated after Najib responded with a statement that PAS is sincere in proposing the unity talk and that statement is very unUMNO-like as UMNO has taken PAS as its punching bag by the weakening party.
To many PAS members who are in engagement with me, think that PAS is already a consequential party and they believe they can go on their own with undivided cooperation from its coalition partners in Pakatan Rakyat.
They feel that the warm response from UMNO is because UMNO is fast dilapidating in the ground support and by working together with the party would result in the voting public to be apprehensive to continue supporting PAS.
Some told me that by working with UMNO means PAS is now accepting the ills and the misdeeds that UMNO have committed all the while, the very reason why the rakyat went all out to admonish and put off the ruling party from power.
Many PAS members and the public have already a mind-set that the Malay unity can only happen and achievable outside UMNO as UMNO is in the midst of speedy corrosion and erosion of credibility especially within the top exclusive line up of the party.
To them UMNO is already synonymous to corruption, misusing of power, clannish and cronyism as well.
The once highly regarded UMNO has changed and holds on to the image of debauched, depraved and infidels. UMNO currently is just clinging in to the executive power that they have which can only last by the next General Elections or even earlier.
UMNO realizes this negative public perceptions and any proposal by some PAS leaders to work together would be a life savior for them (UMNO).
The public are having the opinion that UMNO can only stay alive with drastic changes in their leadership right now, as the current line up that the delegates empowered is of rotting varieties.
In actuality UMNO is denied the public support by its own lowly regarded leadership presently who are linked to ill metaphors of negative all round.
None of the top leadership in UMNO can stand upright and say, "I am clean, I am free of crimes and I shall sue you if you link me to any kind of murderous activity or anything like that."
There are terrific leaders in UMNO but they are sidelined by the distorted system in UMNO. The election processes of leadership are marred by money politics and misuse of power over the cheap and lumbering delegates of just over 2000 in all.
No one among top leadership is valiant enough to come up and say, "The government will declassify all agreements with Highway concessionaires for the public scrutiny or the government will set up Royal Commission on the controversial purchase and procurements of the Ministry of Defense" or anything of sort.
So to many PAS members and the thinking public, they are hopeful that the dissimilarities in the opinion among PAS leaders should be immediately resolved as PAS is going to be the real Malay alternative party in the coming General Election.
To those who have no sympathy for UMNO any more would surely set to give the support to PAS and other components of Pakatan Rakyat and any wrong move by PAS may make them abstain from voting any party.
In short if PAS works with UMNO of current line up, the party (PAS) is just giving another long lease for the corrupt and the misbehave leaders in UMNO to enjoy ripping and milking the nation dry.
"If PAS takes the line of compromise with UMNO, it means compromising with the corrupt leaders who take our country to the ditch. There are no more viable leaders in UMNO unless the party comes up with alternative leader with good track records and respected by the people," said a high corporate friend and a PAS strong supporter.
"We were hopeful that Tengku Razaleigh (TR) be propped up by UMNO, but UMNO is UMNO; they don’t want good leaders and continue on electing deceitful leaders to shred this country into pieces," he continued.
To me the compromise of the 2 parties if successful, can be quite meaningful as the 2 parties are Malay parties. If they can work well it is the cooperation between 2 parties representing the Malays which form at least 60 percent of the population.
If the 60 percent population is united than we can move on to work for a compromise with the rest of the 40 percent, which constitute of the non-Malays.
BUT then again, if compromise is reached, are we still going to see the same current leaders to lead us? If it is still the current person or persons taking lead of ruling us, is there any worth of compromising because it is as good as no change.
If there is no change, there is no new direction, and UMNO/BN is swiftly going to predictable arrival point; that is political insolvency.
Thanks…………………………………………………………..Aspan Alias
14 June 2009
Datuk Zaid Ibrahim joins PKR
Datuk Zaid Ibrahim (DZI), after long last joined PKR as announced by Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday.
This former Cabinet Minister who was sacked by UMNO many months ago made another mile in his political adventure and I personally feel that PKR is the best sanctuary for his active politics.
I have known DZI for the past 37 years and his up-front thinking just cannot fit to the narrow-minded UMNO style of workings. I used to tell him years ago that if he wanted to be successful in UMNO he had to be turning and curving with the mentality of its leaders and members like me.
I reminded him that saying and doing right things is prohibited and going against the opinions of leaders will result in ungainly and miserly consequences.
DZI was not able to act according to the plot set by the Directors in UMNO politics and failed to amuse the big warlords in the party. He failed to realize that he did not need to do well for the country, what he needed was just to amuse the warlords.
All of us must accept the fact that UMNO is a property of a few warlords and the ordinary members are just their workers who are paid on piece rate basis.
Many people have realized that UMNO has ceased to be a Nationalist Party and fighting for Malay struggles is not their priority any further. It has become a business entity, serving the few warlords.
As he had so much apprehension to play and act with the script, DZI was unceremoniously sacked from the party weeks after he resigned from the Federal Cabinet.
BUT he accepted the sacking with no regret as he feels that the sacking is the consequent of trying to to do right things, even though he realizes that he was doing it at the displeasure of some big warlords in the party.
Now that he is there in the alternative party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat, I wish him the best of luck and as I have said earlier, my inner feelings tell me that PKR is the best premise for his political struggles.
No matter what people say I confer him high admiration for his clear political disposition and just ignore the uncultured voices especially those from UMNO and their blinded followers.
I hear and read many UMNO leaders and members giving disparaging and disapproving comments on his move to join PKR.
UMNO has divorced him and he has the right if he wants, to be flirtatious.
A man who divorces his wife has no right to decide on her future if she gets acquainted with another person.
UMNO in the meanwhile can continue on ostracizing good leaders until such point where the party will only be known to political historians.
Thanks…………………………………………………….Aspan Alias.
12 June 2009
Economic, human and political reprising in progress
Of late I have been invited by used-to-be close friends some of whom I have not met for more than 2 decades and at different times, groups and venues.
I was asking myself what made them called and spent a lot of time with me, at times went right after 2am and it is quite on regular basis.
Some are government servants while the rest are either businessmen or the corporate players both the successful ones and those who are still at the position where they started.
They are my peers and within the same age group and now they have time for me as they are either retired or on long leave prior to retirement.
To some who are businessmen told me that they are not getting on good with their businesses and they are cutting losses with the advent of full scale global economic depression.
A few are just like me; everyday is Sunday, every night is Saturday night and every morning is Sunday morning. This group has one common attribute; they are fat and rounded just like me.
I am too elated that we met each other in the end. Just months ago each and every one of us were still long lost friends to one another.
I am also blissful for those who are successful in their careers and having nice and comfortable lives in retirement and I wish I could be like them which I obviously couldn’t.
There are basically 2 topics of discussions when we meet; one is health topic as all of us are approaching the dying age and the second topic is the topic of the present time, that is the global economic downward spiral.
All with no exception believe that the economic crisis is not for anyone to guess when it will end. No one really knows when we will reach to the rock bottom of the crisis.
Along the way, tens of thousands of companies worldwide are going bankrupt and tens of millions are out of jobs.
What started as the financial crisis has now turned up to be a full blown world economic crisis which is the worst that world economic historians could reminisce.
History has proven that economic crisis of this nature resulted in political crisis and many governments were changed hands in consequence.
Some governments are acting in haste to succumb to short term political pressure by announcing stimulus packages but that may prove futile as it may worsen the underlying condition and would do more harm to the economy in long run.
We fail to remind ourselves that a short-cut process would dampen and root up the underlying economic condition that is attached to the system for a long while.
The present economic crisis, according some known economist will take a long time to recover, at least for another 5 years to happen and if we are more fortunate it will be over in slightly more than 3 years.
BUT even when the economic recovery comes back, it will never be at the time it was before, because while the economy was falling down companies and business concerned went bankrupt, workers were losing jobs, many institutions went wayward to the drain.
While in the process of recovering the government was bailing inefficient conglomerates like what happen in the US where the government administrations were bailing out automobile industries using huge sum of tax payers’ money.
In the process also,resources and wealth will be reallocated and the old gives way to the new entity and we shall find a new economic landscape and to some countries a total new political backdrop as the governments changed hands resulting from the deadly crisis.
Let us try to answer the involuntary questions everyone is asking everyone now; when is the recession is going to get over? Is it a factual truth that the recession is a very long one? Is the stimulus packages that have been announced by many governments including ours in Malaysia are really giving positive economic consequences?
These questions are all very important, as everyone is trying to find a perfect spot for them to reposition themselves in facing the crisis for good decision making.
Bankers, developers, manufacturers, property managers and the rest of industries have more reason to decide appropriately over proper economic premises with the gloomy situation in place.
We must consume the fact that the bubbles are bursting uncontrolled, starting with the sub-prime properties in the US. Consequentially the asset prices are plummeting in high velocity and trillions of dollars are swept off.
By statistical principle the situation can only curve positively upwards when the assets have sufficiently repriced downward and the time taken to settle at the final conciliatory point before it moves up depend on other animated and real factors.
The weak and panicky world leadership can be the hindering factor for quick recovery.
To some economists and development planners, many of the stimulus packages proposed to respond to political pressure make the adjustments and the reprising more difficult and intricate.
Obviously the bailing out of automobile and other inefficient industries only end up in prolonging the pain of restructuring at it involves heavy and tremendous public funds.
AND let us be reminded that the human and labor are also the main parallel that add up to the assets in reprising process.
With the globalization human and labor have only one market place and the price is determined by this singular market.
Their salaries and wages are pulled down in billions by the Asians and the African as they can take jobs with much lesser quantum.
The benefits of trade have never been equally distributed even though trade is positive sum game and that will put a strong pressure on protectionism in many countries.
To countries with over leveraged, spending beyond its means would not be able to avoid reprising process through its currency devaluation forcing lower living standard on all its citizens.
Malaysia has gone through the same experience during the Asian Currency crisis when our ringgit was smashed by the money market.
Malaysia then was heavily involved in expressed mega projects and in the process the country had to import in abundant expensive capital goods and consequentially we experienced imbalanced current account.
But our leaders then blamed the money traders and the people accepted it as not the fault of our careless leaders. We are the only country where leaders always blame others for their misadventures, and they remain in denial until to this moment.
This is another big proponent that world political and economic leaders ought to take account and no solutions to the problems in place can be found without this ingredient packed together with the whole exercise.
The economic and human reprising has a direct correlation to the political reprising especially in present time of globalization.
To continue writing on this topic with all the requiring needs of it would take a lot of space and time for me and for anybody who wants to read and digest it.
I reckon the continuation of this heavy and hard-to-digest topic has to be done some days later.
As for me this topic is heavy, as I am neither an economist nor a writer.
Thanks……………………………………………………Aspan Alias
I was asking myself what made them called and spent a lot of time with me, at times went right after 2am and it is quite on regular basis.
Some are government servants while the rest are either businessmen or the corporate players both the successful ones and those who are still at the position where they started.
They are my peers and within the same age group and now they have time for me as they are either retired or on long leave prior to retirement.
To some who are businessmen told me that they are not getting on good with their businesses and they are cutting losses with the advent of full scale global economic depression.
A few are just like me; everyday is Sunday, every night is Saturday night and every morning is Sunday morning. This group has one common attribute; they are fat and rounded just like me.
I am too elated that we met each other in the end. Just months ago each and every one of us were still long lost friends to one another.
I am also blissful for those who are successful in their careers and having nice and comfortable lives in retirement and I wish I could be like them which I obviously couldn’t.
There are basically 2 topics of discussions when we meet; one is health topic as all of us are approaching the dying age and the second topic is the topic of the present time, that is the global economic downward spiral.
All with no exception believe that the economic crisis is not for anyone to guess when it will end. No one really knows when we will reach to the rock bottom of the crisis.
Along the way, tens of thousands of companies worldwide are going bankrupt and tens of millions are out of jobs.
What started as the financial crisis has now turned up to be a full blown world economic crisis which is the worst that world economic historians could reminisce.
History has proven that economic crisis of this nature resulted in political crisis and many governments were changed hands in consequence.
Some governments are acting in haste to succumb to short term political pressure by announcing stimulus packages but that may prove futile as it may worsen the underlying condition and would do more harm to the economy in long run.
We fail to remind ourselves that a short-cut process would dampen and root up the underlying economic condition that is attached to the system for a long while.
The present economic crisis, according some known economist will take a long time to recover, at least for another 5 years to happen and if we are more fortunate it will be over in slightly more than 3 years.
BUT even when the economic recovery comes back, it will never be at the time it was before, because while the economy was falling down companies and business concerned went bankrupt, workers were losing jobs, many institutions went wayward to the drain.
While in the process of recovering the government was bailing inefficient conglomerates like what happen in the US where the government administrations were bailing out automobile industries using huge sum of tax payers’ money.
In the process also,resources and wealth will be reallocated and the old gives way to the new entity and we shall find a new economic landscape and to some countries a total new political backdrop as the governments changed hands resulting from the deadly crisis.
Let us try to answer the involuntary questions everyone is asking everyone now; when is the recession is going to get over? Is it a factual truth that the recession is a very long one? Is the stimulus packages that have been announced by many governments including ours in Malaysia are really giving positive economic consequences?
These questions are all very important, as everyone is trying to find a perfect spot for them to reposition themselves in facing the crisis for good decision making.
Bankers, developers, manufacturers, property managers and the rest of industries have more reason to decide appropriately over proper economic premises with the gloomy situation in place.
We must consume the fact that the bubbles are bursting uncontrolled, starting with the sub-prime properties in the US. Consequentially the asset prices are plummeting in high velocity and trillions of dollars are swept off.
By statistical principle the situation can only curve positively upwards when the assets have sufficiently repriced downward and the time taken to settle at the final conciliatory point before it moves up depend on other animated and real factors.
The weak and panicky world leadership can be the hindering factor for quick recovery.
To some economists and development planners, many of the stimulus packages proposed to respond to political pressure make the adjustments and the reprising more difficult and intricate.
Obviously the bailing out of automobile and other inefficient industries only end up in prolonging the pain of restructuring at it involves heavy and tremendous public funds.
AND let us be reminded that the human and labor are also the main parallel that add up to the assets in reprising process.
With the globalization human and labor have only one market place and the price is determined by this singular market.
Their salaries and wages are pulled down in billions by the Asians and the African as they can take jobs with much lesser quantum.
The benefits of trade have never been equally distributed even though trade is positive sum game and that will put a strong pressure on protectionism in many countries.
To countries with over leveraged, spending beyond its means would not be able to avoid reprising process through its currency devaluation forcing lower living standard on all its citizens.
Malaysia has gone through the same experience during the Asian Currency crisis when our ringgit was smashed by the money market.
Malaysia then was heavily involved in expressed mega projects and in the process the country had to import in abundant expensive capital goods and consequentially we experienced imbalanced current account.
But our leaders then blamed the money traders and the people accepted it as not the fault of our careless leaders. We are the only country where leaders always blame others for their misadventures, and they remain in denial until to this moment.
This is another big proponent that world political and economic leaders ought to take account and no solutions to the problems in place can be found without this ingredient packed together with the whole exercise.
The economic and human reprising has a direct correlation to the political reprising especially in present time of globalization.
To continue writing on this topic with all the requiring needs of it would take a lot of space and time for me and for anybody who wants to read and digest it.
I reckon the continuation of this heavy and hard-to-digest topic has to be done some days later.
As for me this topic is heavy, as I am neither an economist nor a writer.
Thanks……………………………………………………Aspan Alias
10 June 2009
Inter-racial distaste is at its height
It is disquieting to read the ungainly, and to some extent of uncultured remarks in our cybersphere community on racial issues in place, for this reason it makes our lives too nervous and anxious.
The reservations, suspicions and mistrust among races are at the highest pinnacle. I can safely say that the situation is more awful than the environment before the spark of May 13 1969 and there is an urgent need for the issue to be politically and scientifically addressed.
The character of commentaries in the internet, bass beat and disparaging each other is too disturbing and unsettling as if there is no more option for racial tolerances and co-existence any longer.
No one should disagree that racial harmony is the only ingredient for Malaysian to live in community of civility to give scope for Economic, Social, Culture and other aspects of developments to set in motion.
In the absence of racial unanimity standing upright, everyone; Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans, Dayaks, Dusuns, Kadazans or any other Malaysian are not going to live without stressfulness in this great but mismanaged nation.
No one gains by being nasty to each other but instead we only have to endure sufferings and misfortunes that would be a dreadful inherent of our future generation.
Obviously no one is going to win a prize for the misgivings; in fact everyone is going to disburse high compensation for it.
No one race or individual is perfect for each other as nature wants it that way for everyone to withstand and co-exist within the community of diversified races, religions, and culture with full understanding of idiosyncrasies of each race and community or even individuals.
God create us with difference from each other in order to illustrate his Greatness to mankind. He does not create uniformity as that would not actualize the element of respect and recognizing for each other.
It is only through diversities that we can demonstrate the constituent of respect and regards among human beings. Being able to live within the diversities that God creates makes the difference between us and other beings.
Can one imagine if God were to create all human being in uniformity; same race, identical appearances, same value, same in everything. Would there be any live?
Surely there won’t be any element of respect as everybody is the same and have the same values and feelings; hence there would not be any quarrel as they perceive things the same way.
So, there are no struggles, no politics, no police, no army, and no nothing to make up lives with struggles as there is nothing for one to accomplish.
There is nothing to know about others and nothing to co-exist with as everybody is the same and indistinguishable.
Thus, by the differences between us, we are having the option to understand the other or to respect and to accomplish individual struggles within the diversity created by nature.
In shorter way of saying it, ONE who does not respect another creation of God means he does not worship God…and that’s it.
The young may not have the experience of lives in tribulations and we are here to impress upon them that learning through others in the past is the best way of detouring from committing mistakes for our own selves.
Don’t ever go through the soreness yourselves to learn like my generation did, as it would take too much toll to your lives and you would surely meander towards despondency of lives for you and your families.
Lives are short and let us enjoy what God bestows upon us to the fullest within the parameter of IMAN. It is too inane for one to go through the evils and troubles when we can bypass it for harmonious and quietude live.
We have enjoyed this atmosphere of lives and we were all working towards one goal that was national unity through processes of assisting each other to rise economically and other aspects of importance.
I have been blaming the leadership after Hussein Onn for these unambiguous distortions in the effort to unite the people as they spent so much focus on physical development progressions without realizing these physical development would mean nothing if there racial disharmony.
BUT those have passed, and we should struggle for a new phase of politics if the old is already of no corollary. After all our lives are always the struggles with the old forms to give way for a new ones and politics has always been part of it.
BUT the candid questions are what the real new emergence out of the old forms? What is to crystallize out of this new emergence? Can all those changes be adjusted to the desperate need of unity among different races?
Can political contours of our Malaysian politics be pre-determined and ensures excellent environment in place of unambiguous interracial distortion?
OR are we going to let the situation go its own way and just accede to the water finding it own level?
AND in whose account would it be if racial misfortune really takes place?
I say it conclusively; it’s the leaders of all races who are now on the wheel, who have to account for it.
AND to recompense it all, will be exceedingly costly.
So, to all Malaysians, let us live in solace and I still believe that this country is the best sanctuary for nice living.
The only handicap that this country has, is her leaders are perceived to have great passion for corruption. Their towering love for cash is too obvious while their love for the people is too petite.
The public perceive corruption has gone to the core; and they jibe that many of our leaders are experts in ‘Cash & Carry’ business.
Any way the rakyat is going to engage themselves on this issue democratically in the coming General Elections, I am sure.
Thanks………………………………………………..Aspan Alias
The reservations, suspicions and mistrust among races are at the highest pinnacle. I can safely say that the situation is more awful than the environment before the spark of May 13 1969 and there is an urgent need for the issue to be politically and scientifically addressed.
The character of commentaries in the internet, bass beat and disparaging each other is too disturbing and unsettling as if there is no more option for racial tolerances and co-existence any longer.
No one should disagree that racial harmony is the only ingredient for Malaysian to live in community of civility to give scope for Economic, Social, Culture and other aspects of developments to set in motion.
In the absence of racial unanimity standing upright, everyone; Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans, Dayaks, Dusuns, Kadazans or any other Malaysian are not going to live without stressfulness in this great but mismanaged nation.
No one gains by being nasty to each other but instead we only have to endure sufferings and misfortunes that would be a dreadful inherent of our future generation.
Obviously no one is going to win a prize for the misgivings; in fact everyone is going to disburse high compensation for it.
No one race or individual is perfect for each other as nature wants it that way for everyone to withstand and co-exist within the community of diversified races, religions, and culture with full understanding of idiosyncrasies of each race and community or even individuals.
God create us with difference from each other in order to illustrate his Greatness to mankind. He does not create uniformity as that would not actualize the element of respect and recognizing for each other.
It is only through diversities that we can demonstrate the constituent of respect and regards among human beings. Being able to live within the diversities that God creates makes the difference between us and other beings.
Can one imagine if God were to create all human being in uniformity; same race, identical appearances, same value, same in everything. Would there be any live?
Surely there won’t be any element of respect as everybody is the same and have the same values and feelings; hence there would not be any quarrel as they perceive things the same way.
So, there are no struggles, no politics, no police, no army, and no nothing to make up lives with struggles as there is nothing for one to accomplish.
There is nothing to know about others and nothing to co-exist with as everybody is the same and indistinguishable.
Thus, by the differences between us, we are having the option to understand the other or to respect and to accomplish individual struggles within the diversity created by nature.
In shorter way of saying it, ONE who does not respect another creation of God means he does not worship God…and that’s it.
The young may not have the experience of lives in tribulations and we are here to impress upon them that learning through others in the past is the best way of detouring from committing mistakes for our own selves.
Don’t ever go through the soreness yourselves to learn like my generation did, as it would take too much toll to your lives and you would surely meander towards despondency of lives for you and your families.
Lives are short and let us enjoy what God bestows upon us to the fullest within the parameter of IMAN. It is too inane for one to go through the evils and troubles when we can bypass it for harmonious and quietude live.
We have enjoyed this atmosphere of lives and we were all working towards one goal that was national unity through processes of assisting each other to rise economically and other aspects of importance.
I have been blaming the leadership after Hussein Onn for these unambiguous distortions in the effort to unite the people as they spent so much focus on physical development progressions without realizing these physical development would mean nothing if there racial disharmony.
BUT those have passed, and we should struggle for a new phase of politics if the old is already of no corollary. After all our lives are always the struggles with the old forms to give way for a new ones and politics has always been part of it.
BUT the candid questions are what the real new emergence out of the old forms? What is to crystallize out of this new emergence? Can all those changes be adjusted to the desperate need of unity among different races?
Can political contours of our Malaysian politics be pre-determined and ensures excellent environment in place of unambiguous interracial distortion?
OR are we going to let the situation go its own way and just accede to the water finding it own level?
AND in whose account would it be if racial misfortune really takes place?
I say it conclusively; it’s the leaders of all races who are now on the wheel, who have to account for it.
AND to recompense it all, will be exceedingly costly.
So, to all Malaysians, let us live in solace and I still believe that this country is the best sanctuary for nice living.
The only handicap that this country has, is her leaders are perceived to have great passion for corruption. Their towering love for cash is too obvious while their love for the people is too petite.
The public perceive corruption has gone to the core; and they jibe that many of our leaders are experts in ‘Cash & Carry’ business.
Any way the rakyat is going to engage themselves on this issue democratically in the coming General Elections, I am sure.
Thanks………………………………………………..Aspan Alias
07 June 2009
Can two-party system be an alternative?
PAS muktamar have decided on their line-up for this season and some unexpected result surfaced.
The earlier speculation that Husam Musa would win the Deputy President post went flat as the delegates decided to retain Nasharuddin Mat Isa as its Deputy with 199 votes majority over him, which many consider as a thumping win for the ulamak group.
PAS party election invited great interest from everybody especially from the public, because PAS now stands as a formidable party of alternative to the ruling BN.
PAS is already standing tall among the rakyat and its influence is far reaching and together with her coalition partners they managed to take executive charge of three states within the peninsular. PKR and DAP now control Selangor and Penang respectively.
PAS has gained the support of the non-Malays as her process of elucidation and revelation of the party’s struggle has slowly and surely made the non-Malays comprehend, appreciate and support their struggles.
With formidable strength that PAS enjoys presently, the party is also giving good favor for UMNO as the party has to move for transformation without which it would continue to wane and diminish its support of the people including its own members.
To the minds of the public presently having a strong national policy by the ruling party, and formidable strength of alternative party would be good for the nation.
BN has been for the past 2 decades ad infinitum taking everything for granted as they were given unanimous support by the people and resulted in PAS and other opposition parties only had splinter representation in the Legislative bodies for decades.
The continuous, unanimous, undivided support and the friendliness of the voting public have obviously been taken as weaknesses by the BN, and more glaring in UMNO.
UMNO leaders had been unable to feel the throb of frustrations among the members as they believed that Malays will never go against their leaders.
BN leaders have lost all moral sanity to the extent that what they do, even though immoral cannot be criticized and they take offense to critics against them.
UMNO leaders at all levels visibly and perceptibly became arrogant thinking that the world is theirs and that created impassiveness with the public who voted them to be in command.
BN leaders were too apprehensive to lend their ears to the ground and leave the people out of all decision they make. To them we should just follow and bow to their wishes and say nothing against.
For many elections in the past BN never failed to exploit racial sentiments by harping on the May 13 1969 incident, obviously to threaten the unhappy voters not to vote for the opposition, thus covering all their roguish acts.
Supporting PAS was like a crime to them as the alleged PAS is an extremist party that would lead the nation to be isolated by the modern world community which is entirely not true.
The media, both the electronic and printed ones, played the sentiment in tandem with the BN, turned and curved with the power of the ruling party and within that media community there were some unambiguous opportunists which we realized only a while after.
Media community in this country who was supposed to be professional were not professional and in our short history we could see some fortunate media men became multi-millionaires through corporate exercise and paper shuffling.
On the contrary the opposition parties had real tough time to get reached to the people and along the way; some of their leaders were arrested and put under solitary detention.
Going to court for fair arbitration was no more an option as the Judiciary too had been adulterated by BN especially by their leaders with high appetite to rule longer than he should be. That is noticeably one of the many reasons why the rakyat resorting to express their disapproval in the ballot boxes.
The Judiciary has long been put under trial and has been very subservient to the Executive ever since 2 decades ago.
The oppositions were just unable to prove of the corrupt practices of the ruling government as these heinous acts were protected by legislated acts like Official Secret Act (OSA) and the Police Act.
BN went on committing the offence without sense of right and wrong until the rakyat came to the fore and protested against the ruling party in the ballot box in March the 8th 2008 and denied the two third majorities which BN have been enjoying morally illegitimate power for past couple of decades.
From then on the status of opposition parties has been glaringly uplifted to the level of Alternative Parties. They are now very much of consequence and BN is not in the position to disagree with that fact any longer.
Ever since this alternative parties which grouped themselves as Pakatan Rakyat has played an alternative role to the BN in all State Legislative Assemblies and Parliament.
Malaysians are now waiting for the beginning of a two-party system which has been practiced by many advance nations.
The two-party system will in parallel bring in good and viable mechanism as check and balance (don’t be mistaken with cheques and balances), for whichever party that rules.
For instance if Pakatan Rakyat is given the mandate in the coming General Election the voters can always deliver their votes back to BN in the following GE if they are not performing as anticipated by the people.
In essence the system would consequentially provide legitimate support to the ruling party rather than securing support through intrigues and manipulations of power.
It also actualizes the true supremacy of the people as have been rhetorically been the issue and loudly said in the speeches of the current leaders.
Both parties should eventually go through the General Elections with funds provided by the government like what is practiced in many great democracies of the world.
This is not an idealistic attribute of Democracy; it’s basic.
That is all for now and I may express the expansion of my unassuming opinion on this issue in my next posting if necessary.
Thanks………………………………………………Aspan Alias
The earlier speculation that Husam Musa would win the Deputy President post went flat as the delegates decided to retain Nasharuddin Mat Isa as its Deputy with 199 votes majority over him, which many consider as a thumping win for the ulamak group.
PAS party election invited great interest from everybody especially from the public, because PAS now stands as a formidable party of alternative to the ruling BN.
PAS is already standing tall among the rakyat and its influence is far reaching and together with her coalition partners they managed to take executive charge of three states within the peninsular. PKR and DAP now control Selangor and Penang respectively.
PAS has gained the support of the non-Malays as her process of elucidation and revelation of the party’s struggle has slowly and surely made the non-Malays comprehend, appreciate and support their struggles.
With formidable strength that PAS enjoys presently, the party is also giving good favor for UMNO as the party has to move for transformation without which it would continue to wane and diminish its support of the people including its own members.
To the minds of the public presently having a strong national policy by the ruling party, and formidable strength of alternative party would be good for the nation.
BN has been for the past 2 decades ad infinitum taking everything for granted as they were given unanimous support by the people and resulted in PAS and other opposition parties only had splinter representation in the Legislative bodies for decades.
The continuous, unanimous, undivided support and the friendliness of the voting public have obviously been taken as weaknesses by the BN, and more glaring in UMNO.
UMNO leaders had been unable to feel the throb of frustrations among the members as they believed that Malays will never go against their leaders.
BN leaders have lost all moral sanity to the extent that what they do, even though immoral cannot be criticized and they take offense to critics against them.
UMNO leaders at all levels visibly and perceptibly became arrogant thinking that the world is theirs and that created impassiveness with the public who voted them to be in command.
BN leaders were too apprehensive to lend their ears to the ground and leave the people out of all decision they make. To them we should just follow and bow to their wishes and say nothing against.
For many elections in the past BN never failed to exploit racial sentiments by harping on the May 13 1969 incident, obviously to threaten the unhappy voters not to vote for the opposition, thus covering all their roguish acts.
Supporting PAS was like a crime to them as the alleged PAS is an extremist party that would lead the nation to be isolated by the modern world community which is entirely not true.
The media, both the electronic and printed ones, played the sentiment in tandem with the BN, turned and curved with the power of the ruling party and within that media community there were some unambiguous opportunists which we realized only a while after.
Media community in this country who was supposed to be professional were not professional and in our short history we could see some fortunate media men became multi-millionaires through corporate exercise and paper shuffling.
On the contrary the opposition parties had real tough time to get reached to the people and along the way; some of their leaders were arrested and put under solitary detention.
Going to court for fair arbitration was no more an option as the Judiciary too had been adulterated by BN especially by their leaders with high appetite to rule longer than he should be. That is noticeably one of the many reasons why the rakyat resorting to express their disapproval in the ballot boxes.
The Judiciary has long been put under trial and has been very subservient to the Executive ever since 2 decades ago.
The oppositions were just unable to prove of the corrupt practices of the ruling government as these heinous acts were protected by legislated acts like Official Secret Act (OSA) and the Police Act.
BN went on committing the offence without sense of right and wrong until the rakyat came to the fore and protested against the ruling party in the ballot box in March the 8th 2008 and denied the two third majorities which BN have been enjoying morally illegitimate power for past couple of decades.
From then on the status of opposition parties has been glaringly uplifted to the level of Alternative Parties. They are now very much of consequence and BN is not in the position to disagree with that fact any longer.
Ever since this alternative parties which grouped themselves as Pakatan Rakyat has played an alternative role to the BN in all State Legislative Assemblies and Parliament.
Malaysians are now waiting for the beginning of a two-party system which has been practiced by many advance nations.
The two-party system will in parallel bring in good and viable mechanism as check and balance (don’t be mistaken with cheques and balances), for whichever party that rules.
For instance if Pakatan Rakyat is given the mandate in the coming General Election the voters can always deliver their votes back to BN in the following GE if they are not performing as anticipated by the people.
In essence the system would consequentially provide legitimate support to the ruling party rather than securing support through intrigues and manipulations of power.
It also actualizes the true supremacy of the people as have been rhetorically been the issue and loudly said in the speeches of the current leaders.
Both parties should eventually go through the General Elections with funds provided by the government like what is practiced in many great democracies of the world.
This is not an idealistic attribute of Democracy; it’s basic.
That is all for now and I may express the expansion of my unassuming opinion on this issue in my next posting if necessary.
Thanks………………………………………………Aspan Alias
04 June 2009
Sultan Mizan Stadium collapsed - Corruption is the cause
Another living prove that corruption kills the nation and civilization is the issue of ill-fated Sultan Mizan Stadium in Gong Badak, Kuala Terengganu.
The scale of dreadful consequences is not small if corruptors and thieves are involved in the massive development of the sports complex, which is supposed to be the pride of Terengganu.
Last week I wrote on the corruptors and the thieves and 2 days ago the consequence of thieving and corrupting surfaced live in front of our naked eyes.
I was shit-scared to imagine the mishap were to happen in the presence of Tuanku while watching sporting event in the stadium which is named after him.
The question now is, what drove the contractor to cut corners and resulting in delivering shoddy workpiece and putting people especially the sport lovers at risk of losing their lives.
Cutting corners must be the immediate reason for the stadium to collapse, and it can never be other reason. As I have been fond of saying, there must be a cause to a cause.
The last administration of Terengganu Government was the most glamorous administration where we saw people and friends who used to smoke cigarettes suddenly became big cigar enthusiast which cost very dearly.
We could see cronies within the corridors of power smoking cigars while golfing and meetings and discussion done abroad with first class traveling trotting every corner of the world.
These were the ways to dispose themselves different from the rest of the people around them; they had to make sure that people looked at them differently now as they are already in the rich and the famous society which must be respected and amused.
As this issue involves the government, politicians, consultants, contractors and the relevant state authorities, they have to be jointly accountable for this mishap.
Corruption is even worst than drug addiction as it causes harm to political, social and livelihood of the people at large.
I am now not at all wrong for the hard critics that I personally upfront to my readers.
The stadium which was initially bid for 130 odd million by a PLC was awarded to someone else for almost 300 million.
Where did the sum of over the 130 million ringgit gone to? We see MACC is swiftly going onto the messy issue and let us hope that MACC this time around must run after to excess money that contributed to the mishap.
For now let us not speculate the issue further than this. We just wait for the outcome of the MACC’s investigation and the people are waiting with concern all the outcome of the investigation.
If the result comes out as we normally heard, tiada cukup bukti then we just give up hope for better future for us.
Thanks……………………………………………………Aspan Alias
The scale of dreadful consequences is not small if corruptors and thieves are involved in the massive development of the sports complex, which is supposed to be the pride of Terengganu.
Last week I wrote on the corruptors and the thieves and 2 days ago the consequence of thieving and corrupting surfaced live in front of our naked eyes.
I was shit-scared to imagine the mishap were to happen in the presence of Tuanku while watching sporting event in the stadium which is named after him.
The question now is, what drove the contractor to cut corners and resulting in delivering shoddy workpiece and putting people especially the sport lovers at risk of losing their lives.
Cutting corners must be the immediate reason for the stadium to collapse, and it can never be other reason. As I have been fond of saying, there must be a cause to a cause.
The last administration of Terengganu Government was the most glamorous administration where we saw people and friends who used to smoke cigarettes suddenly became big cigar enthusiast which cost very dearly.
We could see cronies within the corridors of power smoking cigars while golfing and meetings and discussion done abroad with first class traveling trotting every corner of the world.
These were the ways to dispose themselves different from the rest of the people around them; they had to make sure that people looked at them differently now as they are already in the rich and the famous society which must be respected and amused.
As this issue involves the government, politicians, consultants, contractors and the relevant state authorities, they have to be jointly accountable for this mishap.
Corruption is even worst than drug addiction as it causes harm to political, social and livelihood of the people at large.
I am now not at all wrong for the hard critics that I personally upfront to my readers.
The stadium which was initially bid for 130 odd million by a PLC was awarded to someone else for almost 300 million.
Where did the sum of over the 130 million ringgit gone to? We see MACC is swiftly going onto the messy issue and let us hope that MACC this time around must run after to excess money that contributed to the mishap.
For now let us not speculate the issue further than this. We just wait for the outcome of the MACC’s investigation and the people are waiting with concern all the outcome of the investigation.
If the result comes out as we normally heard, tiada cukup bukti then we just give up hope for better future for us.
Thanks……………………………………………………Aspan Alias
03 June 2009
UMNO looses total public regards
I sat over coffee with few of UMNO youth days ago and I did not fail to ask how it was going in UMNO.
All of them said that there is no more the enchantment they used to have before and every now and then they have to be in the sideline when people around them were talking about serious and incontrovertible topics.
“Nobody was paying attention to us as the regards for UMNO is too acutely in disgrace and gone were the days when UMNO leaders were made to be term of references on any issue discussed,” said one of them.
“So what do you do now?” asked one of my friends to one of them. “I don’t know,” he answered.
I saw those young boys of early thirties were confused completely as to why their party was looked as a party which looses an attention of the people. They were trying to figure out how would the party fair in the next General Election.
Azman, asked me why are people busy talking about PAS and Pakatan Rakyat and that environment make them feel so out of place when sitting in front of the ordinary people and he claimed that he feels so inferior to the budding activist of the Pakatan Rakyat.
“Uncle, what should we do in order to get people at least to pay attention lightly on us, because right now I have totally lost the pride as a party member?” he asked me.
“I don’t know, as I have never been in that situation when we were active doing party works and in those years people felt secured when they were with us,” I said smilingly.
“Honestly uncle, I don’t really have enough guts to dispose myself as an UMNO divisional youth committee as people look so different on us. They think that we are part of those destroying the party and the government. They really do not look good on us,” he continued.
“I hate the kind of impression they have on us. The first thing they would ask would be, ‘banyak dapat projek’ and question of that sort. We never had anything!” he brooded.
The other guy said, “Ramai yang dapat tapi bukan kita! Ketua-ketua Bahagian, Wakil-wakil rakyat dan yang besar-besar dapat. Yang buat kerja macam babi kita di bawah ni,” said the one who has been quiet since we met.
All of them agreed that they won’t be able to work well in facing the public especially in the coming General Election as they claim that the public do not even have the appetite to wink at them.
This is happening everywhere and is going from bad to worst. The moment they look at any active UMNO member they would automatically say, “Oh! That must be an UMNO fellow,” in cynical.
This kind of expressive impression is contagiously spreading and no leader has been able to cordon the spread.
Let us look at this issue objectively. The reason for the lowly looked upon UMNO cannot happen without reason.
There must many factors that slowly but surely that brought this image to UMNO and consequently disparages UMNO bodily. Surely this negative image has been developed over long period or else the situation wouldn’t be this appalling and horrendous.
I happened to be one of those who was wailing and howling over the current problems when it was still at the embryonic stage but all departments in the party went to admonish me and persons like me and efforts to sideline us came from the state and the Divisional leaders.
They thought that I was not sincere and trying to be a hero. I just couldn’t bear watching the unbecoming values setting in the party then, but now I am happy to prove to everyone that all what I have been saying ultimately turns to be reality.
How could I become a hero when I was not one? I was just alerting what was coming to the party.
Right at this very moment the same people who yelled at me for my guts are unhappy with the atmosphere in the party prevailing presently.
Now that I am no more in the line-up at any level I am just smiling from the sideline witnessing their anguish being active in the party which they feel having little prospect of surviving.
Some came to me for opinions, but I am too apprehensive and hesitant in giving the opinion as I may be branded as disloyalty to the ailing party which I myself a member.
Even if I do give opinion and advice I do not think they appreciate it as it entails sacrifices and pain for them which they are not prepared to do.
Furthermore, to them only Ministers, MB’s and all the rich and the famous are their leaders and they see no reason to listen to persons like you and me who do not have the pips on our shoulders.
UMNO in authenticity is in dire need to find issues that can unite the Malays within its arm but up to now they are still not able to pick up relevant rallying issue.
Rather than having nothing some UMNO leaders are taking Chin Peng as an issue and trying hard to hook up the opposition parties to the Communist in the hope that the Malays would be back supporting UMNO they have ignored.
On the contrary the Malays have gone too far away, that any attempt to bring them back needs a real genius effort in place which no one within the line-up can ever succeed in the attempt as they are by themselves being looked without regards by every quarter.
The Malays seems to prefer to get united outside UMNO and this would follow through until the next General Election.
Some say that it is too painful to unite within UMNO as a united UMNO will house leaders who abuse their power and a fertile soil for corruption to nurture.
I still hope that there will be somebody who has the will and knows exactly what to accomplish in addressing the present adversities and complexities.
Thanks………………………………………………………………Aspan Alias
All of them said that there is no more the enchantment they used to have before and every now and then they have to be in the sideline when people around them were talking about serious and incontrovertible topics.
“Nobody was paying attention to us as the regards for UMNO is too acutely in disgrace and gone were the days when UMNO leaders were made to be term of references on any issue discussed,” said one of them.
“So what do you do now?” asked one of my friends to one of them. “I don’t know,” he answered.
I saw those young boys of early thirties were confused completely as to why their party was looked as a party which looses an attention of the people. They were trying to figure out how would the party fair in the next General Election.
Azman, asked me why are people busy talking about PAS and Pakatan Rakyat and that environment make them feel so out of place when sitting in front of the ordinary people and he claimed that he feels so inferior to the budding activist of the Pakatan Rakyat.
“Uncle, what should we do in order to get people at least to pay attention lightly on us, because right now I have totally lost the pride as a party member?” he asked me.
“I don’t know, as I have never been in that situation when we were active doing party works and in those years people felt secured when they were with us,” I said smilingly.
“Honestly uncle, I don’t really have enough guts to dispose myself as an UMNO divisional youth committee as people look so different on us. They think that we are part of those destroying the party and the government. They really do not look good on us,” he continued.
“I hate the kind of impression they have on us. The first thing they would ask would be, ‘banyak dapat projek’ and question of that sort. We never had anything!” he brooded.
The other guy said, “Ramai yang dapat tapi bukan kita! Ketua-ketua Bahagian, Wakil-wakil rakyat dan yang besar-besar dapat. Yang buat kerja macam babi kita di bawah ni,” said the one who has been quiet since we met.
All of them agreed that they won’t be able to work well in facing the public especially in the coming General Election as they claim that the public do not even have the appetite to wink at them.
This is happening everywhere and is going from bad to worst. The moment they look at any active UMNO member they would automatically say, “Oh! That must be an UMNO fellow,” in cynical.
This kind of expressive impression is contagiously spreading and no leader has been able to cordon the spread.
Let us look at this issue objectively. The reason for the lowly looked upon UMNO cannot happen without reason.
There must many factors that slowly but surely that brought this image to UMNO and consequently disparages UMNO bodily. Surely this negative image has been developed over long period or else the situation wouldn’t be this appalling and horrendous.
I happened to be one of those who was wailing and howling over the current problems when it was still at the embryonic stage but all departments in the party went to admonish me and persons like me and efforts to sideline us came from the state and the Divisional leaders.
They thought that I was not sincere and trying to be a hero. I just couldn’t bear watching the unbecoming values setting in the party then, but now I am happy to prove to everyone that all what I have been saying ultimately turns to be reality.
How could I become a hero when I was not one? I was just alerting what was coming to the party.
Right at this very moment the same people who yelled at me for my guts are unhappy with the atmosphere in the party prevailing presently.
Now that I am no more in the line-up at any level I am just smiling from the sideline witnessing their anguish being active in the party which they feel having little prospect of surviving.
Some came to me for opinions, but I am too apprehensive and hesitant in giving the opinion as I may be branded as disloyalty to the ailing party which I myself a member.
Even if I do give opinion and advice I do not think they appreciate it as it entails sacrifices and pain for them which they are not prepared to do.
Furthermore, to them only Ministers, MB’s and all the rich and the famous are their leaders and they see no reason to listen to persons like you and me who do not have the pips on our shoulders.
UMNO in authenticity is in dire need to find issues that can unite the Malays within its arm but up to now they are still not able to pick up relevant rallying issue.
Rather than having nothing some UMNO leaders are taking Chin Peng as an issue and trying hard to hook up the opposition parties to the Communist in the hope that the Malays would be back supporting UMNO they have ignored.
On the contrary the Malays have gone too far away, that any attempt to bring them back needs a real genius effort in place which no one within the line-up can ever succeed in the attempt as they are by themselves being looked without regards by every quarter.
The Malays seems to prefer to get united outside UMNO and this would follow through until the next General Election.
Some say that it is too painful to unite within UMNO as a united UMNO will house leaders who abuse their power and a fertile soil for corruption to nurture.
I still hope that there will be somebody who has the will and knows exactly what to accomplish in addressing the present adversities and complexities.
Thanks………………………………………………………………Aspan Alias
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