TERRORISM IS NOT ISLAMIC

Islamic terrorism, that is what they like to term it everytime there is a violent episode of public massacre carried out by terrorists who happened to be Muslims. In the wake of Mumbai massacre at the Taj Mahal Hotel, Oberoi Hotel, the Jewish centre and the train station, which should be condemned in the strongest term by every individual regardless of race and religion, the media are so quick to call it Islamic Terrorism equivalent to 9/11 in New York in 2002.

Why is the media love to use the term so much, and associates the religion to the act of terrorism when Islam never teaches its followers to do such a violent act especially against the innocent public? Why were the IRA were not called Christian Terrorists, or Sri Lankan Tigers called Hindu Terrorists. Why only Islamic Terrorists? I think the term used is an injustice to Islam as it implies that Islam is a religion of violence and every Muslim is a possible terrorist.

There are over a billion Muslims in this world who came from so many countries and from so many races. China has more than 30 millions Muslims, more than the whole population of Malaysia of 27 millions. Indonesia has more than 200millions Muslims, then there are Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Arab countries, Russia, Albania, Bosnia, Turkey, Philliphines, Nigeria and so many more including the United States and Great Britain. In the US, Islam is the fastest growing religion nowadays.

The term which is popularly used by CNN and BBC, has created a phobia against Islam intentionally or not. In the US, the 9/11 and the continuos emphasis on the term Islamic Terrorism, has made their citizens so scared of anybody looking like Arabs. A lot of the arrested suspects believed to be Arabs extremists turned out to be Sikhs from India. This is the result of stereotyping certain look to certain race and religion, generalization that Muslims are terrorists, Muslim countries are terrorist states. I wonder who created all these to suppot their narrow agenda?

I think the act of violence by those who happened to be Muslims are part of their struggles related to the issues of freedom, independence, politics and vengence in their countries, the act has nothing to do with Islam. The only way to fight terrorism is to find the root causes of disatisfaction or anger, and remove it by offering amicable solutions.

We could trace most of the violent acts by the Arabs regardless of their countries to the issue of occupied lands by Israel, and the injustice toward Arabs in occupied territories. The US has not done enough on this issue through so many peace process and keep failing because the solutions offered were lopsided in Israel's favor. By supporting Israel in terms of moral, monetary and military technologies, the US is seen as the enemy by certain groups of etremists.

The massacre in Mumbai is related to land and independence of Kashmir which is sandwiched between India in the south and Pakistan in the north. India and Pakistan has fought three wars over this mountainous land over the last few decades. The terrorists who were killed in Mumbai last week were believed to have originated from Kashmir according to the Indian intelligence. They also used the act as a vengence against the US, Great Britain and Israel for all the involvement in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan, hence why they were very specific in looking for the tourists who come from these countries. The act as nothing to do with Islam as a religion!

Malaysia used to fight terrorism from after the Japanese left right up to 1986 in the form of Malayan Communist Party. The majority of the guerillas were chinese who subscribed to the ideology tied to Peking eventhough they came from rural towns in Malaysia. Majority of them were Buddhist, but the British back them never called them Buddhist terrorist because it was not proper and will reduce support from the local chinese who did not subscribe to MCP ideology. The British and their Malayan counterparts had launched the heart and mind campaign, introduced steps that removed the reason for the arm struggle among the people and eventually eliminated the threat of communism totally in 1986 via a peace treaty signed in Thailand.

The world should learn from the Malaysian experience in fighting terrorism instead of creating more Islamic Phobia by associating a terrorism act to a religion, instead of the nationality of the terrorists. They should investigate deeply into the root cause that managed to turn a group of young kids into a group of ready-to-die terrorists. Most of them requires permanent political solutions from the related governments.

There is a saying that goes " one man's terrorist could be another man's freedom fighter". Hopefully,we do not have to deal with both versions if we all could solve our differences amicably at the table with a cup of tea and a lot of smiles.

FATWA

This morning paper is buzzing with objections over the latest fatwa issued by the Malaysian National Fatwa Council against practicing Yoga. This came a few weeks after declaring another controversial fatwa on Tomboy and Lesbianism. I myself could not believe what i read.

First thought came to mind was that was it necessary to issue a fatwa (religious ruling) on such an issue and whether an in-depth study on the necessity and effect on the believers directly and unbelievers indirectly was done.

What is a fatwa? Well, it is a religious ruling issued by the religious authorities like imams and muftis who sit on the panel on issues which are not so clear and can affect a Muslim. They are supposed to be a guide when one is not so sure if an activity or thing is haram or not. Subjects which are not clearly mentioned in the Quran (words of God) or the Hadith (the sayings of the Prophet) may require a ruling done as there are many conflicting opinions by various parties regarding the issues. The problem with fatwas in Islam is that once they are issued they become enforceable and therefore those who do not follow it may be subjected to legal implications if they are enforced.

But in the subject of faith which is the core of religious practice of any religion, whereby a person upon confession of one's belief in God and His messenger, the person is to submit himself to all its practices, tenets and do's and dont's as to reflect his commitments as a believer. This unwritten contract between a believer and his God and how good he practices it forms the basis of judgement by God onto him which to affect his rewards in the hereafter. A person may call himself a Muslim because he was born to a Muslim parents, but if he does not practice all the tenets of Islam, he is just a plain Muslim by name. Along his long and winding life, he will face many tests on his faith, situations that may call upon his moral judgement, friends ask him to drink alcohol at a bar or commit adultery or take drugs for instances, how he handles these situations will reflect what kind of Muslim he really is. God will test every believer in many forms throughout their lives so He could reward them and those who failed are given plenty of chance to redeem themselves before they move to the next life.

The question that i want to ask is do we need to be guided every step of the way on every issue with endless rules and fatwas so our iman (faith) is not easily eroded? Are we so fragile that we need such protection? Didnt our parents and education system prepare us enough on the fundamentals of being a Muslim so we can set on a life journey on the right path? Arent we given the minds (akal) to differentiate between what is right, halal and wrong, haram when we come across one in our path? Personally, i would prefer to be tested to the limit on my faith and come out victorious without somebody holding my arms, at least i know i got what it takes to be a good Muslim. In my life, i have been through many tests on my faith, and i am pleased to come out in one piece.

I believe many Muslims are strong in their faith and can tell the difference between right and wrong. A simple activity like Yoga if taken as an exercise to strecth sore and stiff bodies would not erode one's faith. I think most people would know once an exercise becomes entertwined with religious practices and would withdraw if they feel in conflict with their faiths. The religious bodies should stop treating the Muslims in this country like kids as they are matured and well educated and changing with the times. They should concentrate on serious issues which are more of urgent nature like Mat Rempit, money politics, bribery, misuse of power, drug usage, premarital sex among Muslim teenagers, husbands who mistreated their wives, deviationist teachings etc.

If they do need to clarify certain religious issues which are not clear, maybe it should be in a form of advice and not fatwas. Let God decide whether a believer is true to his faith and deserve the rewards in the hereafter, who are we to play God?

DEJA VU

Barely one week after Barrack Obama won the 2008 US Presidential Election, i start to have a bad feeling that the shadow of the old US is still around and kicking. Mr Obama has not even moved in into the White House yet, the IAEA came up with a report that a very minute trace of Uranium was found at the site of the Syrian nuclear reactor site which was bombed by the Israelis. Does this sound familiar? Of course they said it is not enough to prove anything but further probe is required at selected Syrian military sites. The Syrian expectedly will say no as it will affect their security especially when they know who are pulling all the strings - the US and Israel.

To me, the Uranium could have come from anywhere especially the depleted Uranium bombs are used by the US in Iraq and Afghanistan and i am not surprised that the Israelis have them too, and used them in the bombing of the Syrian nuclear site. But like always, the Americans, British, French, Germans and other allied countries are starting to rally around the table to form a pressure group on Syria and eventually like always will use the UN Security Council to pass resolution after resolution which eventually will translate into the US unilateral military action - further bombing of Syria, and another Iraq in the making, mark my word! This looks like Iraq Part 3 as Part 2 is in the making with Iran.

We of course cannot blame Mr Obama for this as Mr Bush is still calling the shot and i am sure he will try to whack Syria before he leaves the Oval Office. It looks like Mr Obama will be under a lot of pressure to deal with this new issue as failure to deal with it will make him look weak through the eyes of the Jewish supporters and lobby groups that helped him win the election. His new Chief of Staff is a jew and will influence him heavily with the pro-Israel policies for the years to come. If he went along using military solutions like Bush did, he will kill all the expectations of the millions of American and the rest of the world have, when he promised change on the day he won the election.

Mr Obama has a unique opportunity now not to follow the old ways used by his predecessors to deal with these kind of issues which never solved any problems, and used a softer approach of negotiation and positive reinforcements in his foreign policies. The main problem that he will face are the people surrounding him who will bombard him with all kinds of advice. Some are hawkish who prefer bomb first and ask questions later, while some others prefer engaging through negotiations which are slow.

The Middle Eastern countries have been victims of years of lop-sided US foreign policy which has always favoured Israel. This has caused a lot of suffering ,and killing the hope of every Arab on the streets for peace and freedom they enjoyed before 1948, when Israel was illegally formed through the help of the British, French and the US. It is time that Mr Obama, the Messiah of Change(i hope), put a stop to all this and bring real peace to that region and eventually other parts of the world.

A NEW ERA

Congratulations! Barrack Obama has done it, he has won the 2008 Presidential Election by beating Senator McCain and in the process become the first ever black president in the 232 years history of the United States of America. The people of the US are in euphoria with their newly elected president who represents change and new ways of administrating the US and the world affairs.

We in the third world countries are also hoping that with the departure of Bush and his people, the US would hopefully change for the better especially in their foreign policy which has caused so much problems to other countries. We hope the US will be more responsible and not biased in dealing with certain countries especially Islamic countries and stop using the instrument of war to pressure and bully others into compliance. Wars should not be used to distract the people from the real issues at home and to cover the administration weakness to handle the economy which has put the US on the brink of the worst recession since 1930. The US also should stop lumping together all the Arabs and Islamic countries into stereotyped grouping as terrorist states, thus putting a barrier for better relationship in the future. Mr Obama hopefully will not walk down this path and make the same mistakes his predesessors had done in the past especially with the background that he has growing up in the Muslim majority Indonesia and having a Kenyan origin.

We also hope the US will be really impartial in solving the Middle East conflict between Israel and Palestin which is really the source of all the militant movements in the Middle East and Arab countries. Should Mr Obama sings the same songs like the previous Presidents in the peace accord which leaning toward Israel, i am afraid there will be no end to the conflict. The problem of terrorism ( fighting for freedom to the Palestinians) needs to be solved at the root and hopefuly Mr Obama understands this and have the courage and charisma to gain support among his countrymen in the Congress to solve it once and for all.

The victory of Barrack Obama is the victory for the colored people and defeat for white supremacy in the US. The Black people have been treated with indifference for so long even before the civil wars in the 1700s up to the mid 60s and the present day. I remember when i was growing up in the early 60s, the black movement were very active in order to gain equal rights. They were discriminated almost everywhere. There were White bars only, in buses the black sit on one side and white on the other, up to World War 2 there were no black soldiers batallion except the Triple Nickle Battalion 555 Paratroopers, even then they were not allowed to fight in the WW2. Names like Malcom x and Martin Luther King are the symbols of the fight to gain equal rights, unfortunately they died at the hands of those who wished to keep the status quo. But now, i guess the Americans have matured after 232 years of independence in choosing a person based on his leadership qualities, his visions and hope that he can bring America into greatness again and liked by the whole world.

We hope Mr Obama can fulfill his promises he gave throughout his campaign trail and bring positive changes to America. The world is watching and hoping that this is the beginning of a new era.

THE SPIRIT IS STILL ALIVE

I went to a Hari Raya open house on Sunday which also fell on the Deepavali Day held by my malay neighbour in the condo i just moved in. I hardly know him but have talked to his friendly wife on the way to the lift one day and she invited me and my family to attend.

Upon entering the crowded hall i was a bit uneasy as i didnt know most of the crowds let alone the MC. My neighbour introduced me to her charming husband and we helped ourselves to the buffet line.

I could not help but notice among the crowds the different races of the attendees -Malays, Arabs, Chinese and Indians. It is more glaring that some of the Indians are very cheerful and acting like a co-host welcoming and wishing the guests. I am very pleased to see that the spirit of friendship is still alive and strong among Malaysians despite what has happened recently in relation to the government's decision to ban Hindraf as an unlawful organisation. I guess not everybody in Malaysia prescribes to extreme idealogies and methods to resolve one's grouses. Open House by various ethnics can help bring the people closer and strenthen the relationship and should be continued. We can have our differences but must not allow it to divide us and cause hatred.

To our Indian friends, i would like to wish Happy Deepavali to all.

SELF TERMINATION

As i sit inside my room and stare out my window towards the half bald hills due to the construction clearing, i just wonder why there are so many problems in this world nowadays. How did we get to this point?

There are countless problems that we are facing ranging from the environmental degradation due to uncontrolled developments like the reduction in green areas which contributed to global warning, siltation and choking of our rivers that can kill the fishes and also cause flooding, uncontrolled disposal of toxic waste that ends up in the food chain, human conflicts with countless wars and disputes over land, honor (and women sometimes!), sovereignty, difference in values in religion, race and cultures, politics and the very latest economic meltdown world wide.

We as a human race are going towards self termination. We do not need the Terminator as we are good in destroying everything around us including our fellow human. The most intelligent animal on this planet - us the Homo Sapien are not so intelligent in the long run. Billions of dollars are spent to build things that are destroying the planet in the name of progress of mankind and economic returns with deadly after effects to the environment. Global warming is on the rise and the sea level is increasing. We are destroying the only planet that supports life so far. Instead of spending money to fix this problems on Earth, we spend billions of dollar for a mission to Mars to study why a planet used to support life once became a barren field of rocks and lost its atmosphere. Now there is only signs of ancient rivers and and atmosphere full of CO2. All the water had dissappeared and become ice in the poles. It is ironic, we have to spend so much to find an answer at a distant planet when we can see the problems right here on Earth and have a chance to do something about it before Earth turns into Mars. But nobody want to spend the same amount of money to clean and revitalise this Earth.

Unfortunately, human cannot see eye to eye to do something about it due to their own selfish reasons. Politics and greed are at the center of it all. If there is nothing to gain, there will be no action to change.

We spend billions of dollars to produce more and more advance weapons to protect us against fellow human beings due to our fear and obsession with supremacy but reluctant to spend a fraction of that to help other human beings who are facing problems to get basic necessities in other part of the world like Africa. Wars have become an instrument of business to certain countries to enrich themselves. Human lives no longer have values, casualties in wars are treated as a statistic figure. The mighty feeds over the weak and defenceless.

Human species used to be one until the migration to the various parts of the world. With the creation and evolution of different races, the disparity in values and cultures and religions eventually become greater and greater. Differences in race and religions caused a lot of friction which eventually led to wars. Conflicts become more complicated with the difference idealogy in politics. There are conflicts within the same races and political party, conflicts with different races and different political parties, and the same goes for religions.

In Islamic religion, there are so many sects with different teaching, each claiming better than the other. The Sunnah Sect and the Syiah Sect are at odds with one another and sometimes led to animosity among followers. Christianity is not spared either, there are the Catholics, Protestants,

Lutheranss and Presbysterian to name a few. Other religions have different sects too i am sure. Conflicts happen between different religious followers too as can be seen in the series of Crusade Wars between the Muslims and the Christians in the 11th and 12th Century. The effects is embedded until the modern day among the two followers. Bush called the Gulf War as the New Crusade at the beginning and then changed it to Freedom War, but is it?

Now, it is a different kind of war happening around the world -The Bailout Wars! In the quest to make more and more money by the big banks in certain countries, have mismanaged their loan practices by giving loan to people many times the level the are able to service them. Eventually the NPL(non performing loans) becomes bigger and bigger until the banks themselves requires to be saved as they lost money big time! The US government had to give US700 billion bailout to rescue her economy. This problem has spread to other continents with deadly repurcussion - world wide recession and probably a Depression worse than the 1930. The effects of recession are endless, loss of jobs, houses, family breakdown, increase in crime, increase suicide, depression,migration to better countries not affected and many more!

My my, what are we going to do? How do we solve all these problems that fill every corner of our minds everyday? Do we have the will power to look beyond our differences in race, religion, status, political stance and selfish interests to overcome these problems one by one and save our selves and this planet so that there is hope for a better tomorrow? Can we overcome our animosity and greed to take the first step? I say why not, cause if we dont we are going towards self termination as a species, i am very sure about it!

VILLAINY WEARS MANY MASKS

"Villainy wears many masks, nothing worse than the mask of virtue" said Johnny Depp in the Sleepy Hollow movie i watched last night. Wow, what a great line!

In reality that saying holds true in many instances. We have seen how greed and passion even got the best of the rich and respected members of the society. Some are businessmen, politicians and even royalties. They got involved in many scandals that defies belief. The latest trends is using the mask of religion to gain respect and positions and to support one's cause.

In Muslim countries, putting up a robe and keep a beard automatically earn a respect as you appear to be a pious man, religiouslly trained and should be respected. However, there are many occassions that this technic is used for the wrong reasons to achieve personal agendas. There are syndicates going around collecting donations at local mosques by men in robes claiming that the money will be channelled to the orphanage etc. Sometimes they would go house to house especially in the rural areas where the folks are unsuspecting and naive. Those more sophisticated, would organise to make it look as though they are legitimate religious organisations, by forging fake approvals from certain ministry for their activities.

I wonder whether these people have any conscience and knows what is right and what is wrong. They believe that as long they are not caught right handed it is alright. I guess money and personal gains are more powerful motives that outweigh the risks.

In the political world, especially in Malaysia, politicians also wear many masks to achieve their agendas. Their masks can be changed daily depending on issues brought up by the media and what are there to gain. Today they are in the ruling side wearing one mask, tomorrow they are on a different side wearing different masks. Then there are those always wearing the same masks and always on the same side, the only thing to wonder is whether the masks they wear are actually representing their true selves.

I think the public have to be weary and not to be too trusting nowadays when evaluating other people personalities and beliefs by not putting too much weighting to their exterior facades and the titles they hold. Nowadays we see lot of villains drive Mercedes cars to commit robbery, some cases of misusses of funds by the people with the titles MD, Dato or Tan Sri, and sexual crimes committed by some religious schools teachers with the title of Ustaz. Even there a few cases where some members of the Police Force got into trouble as reported in the papers. But, there are still a lot of good people left in this world to give hope to the human race that all is not lost, good will prevail over evil.

SHOW ME THE MONEY!

" Show me the money!" Tom Cruise said in one of his movies. I am afraid nowadays people are having problems to show their money due to the value of their savings shrinking by the day.

The cost of living is sky rocketing in the metropolitan areas and slowly increasing in the suburbs and rural areas. The prices of essential items are on the rise thanks to the petrol price increase lately. Yesterday petrol price reduction to Rm 2.30 per liter did no translate to an instant reduction in the food items. So the people are complaining and blaming the unscrupulous suppliers for not reducing their prices. Eventually all costs will be handed over to the consumers, that is the nature of the business chain.

When i was growing up in the 70s and 80s, things were much simpler. I was given a 20sen allowance to go to primary school. With that i used 10sen for bus fare to and fro, 5 sen for a glass of orange juice and 5 sen for a piece of cake during recess. During secondary school, my allowance was raised to 50sen and eventually a ringgit by 1979. Bus fare shot to 40 sen to and fro by the end i finished school and went to university in the States. Roti canai back then was only 20sen and a stick of satay was only 15sen the most. A brand new car Mitsubishi Galant was only Rm9000 during the mid 70s! Back then if your brothers or sisters were getting salary around RM1000 plus, it was considered high. Our electricity bill never exceeded Rm20! A liter of petrol was less than 50sen! and best of all it only cost us Rm1.65 to watch a movie sitting in a first class section!

Fast forward to today where we claim to have to have much improved and becoming a developed nation by 2020. A liter of petrol costs Rm2.30 yesterday, a bag of 5kg local rice cost RM18++, a piece of roti canai costs almost a ringgit, a movie ticket cost Rm11.00, an entry car like Kanchil cost around Rm30,000, and a bottle of mineral water is more expensive than a liter of petrol back then! How much things have changed and the value of money has shrunk! An engineer or architect with an average salary of Rm6000 will struggle to pay for car loan, house loan and keeping a kid or two! He also has to struggle with tolls, increase in car maintenance, tax, increase in medical bills etc. Yesterday i was shocked when a clinic charged close to Rm100 for flu medicine for both of my kids! The cost of everything around us jumped by leaps and bounds but yet the salary increase is very slow at a snail pace. A lot of people have to do two jobs to survive. With the recession around the corner, God knows the hardship these people are going to face. Of course, the rich are getting richer by the day and have no inkling of this or would not care less. The irony is that a lot of them used to be poor! The politicians only stick their necks out only there is something to gain. They are more concerned about taking care of their corporate friends' interests. Mr PM asked us to change our lifestyles and save a lot, question is what is there to save?

Tun Mahathir was right, protect the buying power of consumers by making the value of money high, and keeping the cost down. If need be, repeg the ringgit at certain level. The economy is now export oriented, that is why the government does not want to repeg the ringgit because by keeping the ringgit value low there will be more export to foreign countries bringing in cash flow to the country. But with ringgit value low the import stuffs will be expensive for the local consumers thus reducing the paying power and value of money. A right balance need to be found fast by the government to keep the economy healthy and the people happy.

Otherwise, we cant show you the money as none is left to show!

A BIT OF EVERYTHING, A WHOLE OF NOTHING

I came across a saying today in the internet that goes " it is better to have a bit of everything than to have a whole of nothing!".

I find the saying very interesting and powerful.

I see today in Malaysia, there are groups of people who want to be whiter than white in name of absolute democracy and freedom. They are asking for abolition of all sorts of laws perceived as draconian like ISA. They claimed to represent the majority of the population when in fact there are just a minority who have their own agendas.

Everyday they pick on issues to make the government look bad and go on whitch hunt in the blaming game. They claimed they are being oppressed and have no qualm complaining to foreign governments for assistance, so the elected government can be pressured to give in to their demands. Small issues are fanned everyday to become big issues which can cause cracks in this multi-ethnic and multi-religion society. All in the name of justice, transparency and democracy.

But i wonder, if Malaysia is so bad, why still stay and along the way make a fortune for themselves and families? Why people from other countries are trying their best to come here and settle down legally or illegally? Why not these people go to the United States or UK or Australia, the cradle of democracy? Is it because they wont survive there as newcomers because these countries practice double standards, discrimination, tough immigration laws and also not perfect in their administration?

There are no governments on this planet Earth who are perfect, democratic or socialist countries lumped together. As long human are called human, there will be imperfections in making laws, governing and so on. There will be bias depending from which eyes you are looking from. However, imperfections can be improved and fixed with proper discussion, negotiations and trials and errors.

Creating havoc and chaos to get one's wishes may not be the best way in this land. We have come a long way and become more civilised since the last millenium. Street demonstration and crashing somebody festive celebration with demands are not the way to go in Malaysia. It just creates more hate and hate is not a good thing. Negotiations and tactful discussions will bring the best results. Malaysia also got her independence without firing a single bullet. She is a young country of 51years only, surely one cannot expect it to be perfect in every way compares to the more developed countries in the West. Even these countries are not perfect, so be patient.

It is better to have a bit of everything than having a whole of nothing. Malaysia will be nothing if it crumbles under never ending chaos and internal conflicts. We do not want that do we?

DATUKSHIP A.K.A LORDSHIP

I came back to KL from the Hari Raya trip up north a week ago after a week away. I was recharged a bit after a hectic two weeks of moving house and raya celebration. The traffic was not so bad on the highway as most folks had come back to KL a lot earlier.

I find KL is still the same since i left. Malaysia is still the same with a lot of thorny issues cropped up here and there. Latest hot topic is the award of the Datukship (Lordship) title fom the Chief Minister of Malacca to an Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan from India.

Do not get me wrong, i have no personal issue with Mr Khan as i have watched a few of his movies which includes Kuch Kuch Ho Ta Hei and Akbar The Great. I personally think he is one of the best Indian actors in India along with Amitah Bachan and the Kapoors. The issue which is making it hot is why him?

The Datukship or Lordship title is bestowed by the Sultans, Chief Ministers and Federal Territories MP onto outstanding individuals for their achievements and contributions that benefit this country. Occassionally, non-citizens will be awarded also like Datuk Jean Todd from the Ferrari team. In this case, it could be for the intangible contribution like buying an island in the state of Terengganu for his second home which inturn tie the Ferrari name with Malaysia, therefore indirectly promoting Malaysia's name overseas. The act of awarding the Lordship by the United Kingdom government to outstanding individuals is quite similar although not so rampant.

So, it is the power that be's prerogative to give the award after considering certain criteria whether the individual deserve the award or not. The controversy is not on its right to give the award but the person the award is given to. What has Mr Shah Rukh Khan has done to deserve the award? The papers said because he chose one site in the state of Malacca to shoot his latest film therefore indirectly promoting the state's name. Hmmm...we better wait to watch the movie whether the state's name was even mentioned, otherwise it will be a joke on the Chief Minister. But by the same criteria, there are a lot of local actors and movie makers who used Malacca as their movie backdrops, why are they not given the same title? Why are we very quick to award foreigners the prestigious title and failed to treat the locals with the same respect? And to add salt to the injury, Mr Khan never showed up to receive the award which speaks volume of what he thinks of the award. This is not the Oscar award in Hollywood where you could ask your manager to receive on your behalf, this a Datukship award! How would the Queen of England feel if i did not show up for OBE award personally on that day?

I think, the power that be has to be more strict on the selection criteria to award the Datukship title to anybody to safeguard its prestige. The locals who have contributed so much for the nation should be given priority. Those fallen heroes of WWII and during the Communist Insurgency and Confrontation with Indonesia should be awarded and given lifetime allowance to their families for their contributions. There are still unsung heroes among our brave soldiers who are still alive deserve the title more than Mr Khan does. The veterans of the local film industries deserve the title more than somebody who lives in another continent 3000km away. Hell!...i myself also deserve the title for paying thousands of ringgit every year to the taxman for the last 20 years so Malaysia can have development budget to work with and prosper! So how come i am not getting one?

In the 1980s to 2000, i think there was an explosion of Datukship awards to almost any Tom, Dick and Harry in Malaysia which reached a stage like this joke implies " if you throw a stone along the Chowkit Road crowd, most likely it will fall on somebody with a title Datuk!". There were even some cases where some Datuks were found to have criminal background, and the title had to be retracted by the Sultan. There were also cases reported in the papers that a Datukship title can be bought with the right connection which tarnishes its image.

I hope the power that be, be more carefull and give more thoughts before simply awarding any member of the society or foreigners the Datukship title so it will not become an issue. Malaysia i think has the highest ratio of individuals with Datukship title per million of her citizens! Malaysia boleh spirit? or a good entry into Books of Records?

AFTER PETROL WHAT IS NEXT?

The petrol supply and its price is the lifeline of a country's economy and survival. Too much supply or the lack of it will affect the health of the country. However it is the price increase that is more worrisome as it will affect everything from transportation to electricity bills and cost of thousand items. We can see the effect of the spiraling food prices in Malaysia recently when the government decided to incease the petrol price at the pumps from RM1.97 up to RM2.70 in response to the global crude oil price increase to close to US140 per barrel. Eventhough as an exporter of crude oil, Malaysia has a lot to gain when the price of crude goes up in terms of the country revenue, the effect of the petrol price increase is a political suicide. Too low of the price will reduce Malaysia's income which can be used to support her budget to develope the country, too high a price will increase the inflation rate.

It is estimated that Malaysia's reserve of oil can only last at the most for another 10 years while the gas reserve can go another 20 years. What is next after that? Are we going to be the net importer of oil and at the mercy of oil producing countries?

As a sovereign nation, it is imperative for Malaysia to start looking and researching for the next alternative to produce energy to feed her industries and common use. Malaysia is currently relying on petrol, coal and hydro to produce eletricity. However, the cost of supply of petrol and coal is increasing which will translate to higher bills for the people. The use of dams are clean but might not be sustainable from the point of view of environmental issues.

Malaysia needs to invest money into research of using the solar, wind and as a last resort the nuclear technology to cater for her needs beyond the 21st century. The use of solar and wind power to generate the electricity will be a bit subjective as Malaysia has a large cloud covers over her skies, and sustained blowing wind will depend on locations and season. However, their usage can help reduce dependency on petrol. A lot countries in the world are already using these two methods to reduce their dependency on petrol. Some countries are using the power of the waves along their shoreline to produce electricity to supply small towns. This method can be tested for eastcoast towns in Malaysia where the waves can reach 1.5m for a few months of the year.

The last and most controversial method is the usage of nuclear reactors to produce steams to push the turbines. Nuclear has a long life span of 100 years if i am not mistaken, however it is costly and takes about 15 years to construct, and have a few environmental issues as can be seen in the Chernobyl episode in Russia. But, with a proper planning and management the risks can be reduced and the people of Malaysia can see affordable electric bills hopefully. I believe Malaysia has commenced a research on nuclear on a small scale years ago, what the government needs to do now is pouring more money in this field and start courting with friendly nations like Russia and China for technical assistance in erecting the reactors.

Why am i only suggesting Russia and China and not the US? Well, i believe the US policy in relation to nuclear issues is inconsistent depending on her interest as can be seen in the case of Iran. Russia and China tend not to mix other issues with business unlike the US. With the Islamic phobia going on around the world due to 9/11, will Malaysia being an islamic country going to cause concern by going nuclear? Well, i think it is worth a try for the sake of its people.

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

The US is experiencing another economy turmoil with massive bailouts of Lehman Brothers and AIG after both companies mismanaged their finances in business dealings. This came right after the subprime crisis a few months ago that will make millions of Americans lose their homes. The feelings on the streets are of anger and loathing of the Wall Streets and the government headed by George Bush for failing to protect the man on the streets. The bailing out of all these hugh companies by using the federal money is actually transferring the burden to the government which actually using the taxpayer money. Throughout this episode, very few top executives got their head chopped off which says a lot about accountability and personal responsibility among the group of elite businessmen. The US government is busy in trying to pass a few policies to save all these companies which can drag the US economy back to Stone Age.

Funny, when i look at the whole situation, no matter what they preached others not to do in the last 1997 worldwide financial crisis, they are actually go against their principle when their neck is at stake. What goes around comes around people say. Now, it looks like Malaysia is vindicated when she took her own unorthodox style of solving the financial crisis in 1997 against the screaming of IMF led by the US. We have our ex-PM Tun Mahathir to thank for his bold and brave policy to resuscitate the economy despite all the objections within the country and from international economy experts.

The funny part about the current economy situation is the perception of the people in the US and Malaysia that their governments are not doing enough to elevate their suffering and are more concerned about the health of the business elites. In the US, the people are facing the prospects of losing the foreclosure of their homes due to the subprime crisis, inflation is up with the increase of petrol and food prices, and losing jobs as the big corporations are closing down. The same thing is happening in Malaysia where we can see the people are screaming for heads to roll due to the government's decision to reduce the subsidy of the petrol which leads to the increase of inflation from 4% to 8.2%. In their frustration, they turned to the Opposition party believing all the sweet promises that the whole thing can be turned around instantly if the Opposition is in power. However, nobody is commenting on the policies of the US government which is now showing its true colors eventhough they said should be the standards the Malaysian government should emulate. The truth is, there is not much difference in the style of governing of both countries, the only problem is that the people have different needs and priorities compare to the government. The people are looking at their survival and comfort level and daily problems while the government has to balance between the people's needs and the management of the economy at the macro level, foreign investments, GDP, budget balancing and so on. When the two are not the same then there will be a lot of dissatisfaction among the people which is made worse by the manipulation by certain group of people to achieve their own agendas.

It is not a good position to be in as the President of the US and PM of Malaysia right now, as the pressure is building up to save the economy on one hand and to please their peoples on the other. As the economy of the countries in the world are intertwined due to the globalisation, we cannot help that economical turmoil in one country like the US will affect smaller countries like Malaysia. We can see now the tumble in the Malaysian stock market in response to the jitters relating to the Wall Streets crisis. It is important that the crisis faced by one country be solved their own ways without the preaching by other countries as what goes around comes around.

WHAT HARI RAYA MEANS TO ME

Hari Raya or Aidil Fitri Eid is the day the Muslims all over the world celebrates their victory after a whole month of fasting in Ramadhan. For those who steadfastly fast and performed other good deeds during the month, they will rejoice as they will blessed by God. Those who cheated are those who lost.

When i was a kid, i was looking forward for the arrival of this month. It has a certain aura, excitement and challenge to it. Like most kids, i started fasting for only half a day to test my strength and will power. My mother said it was okay as i was only nine then. Eventually, i managed to fast a full day and become very proud that i could fast like an adult and breakfast with them at the same table. The night time my village friends and i would go to a mosque and surau to learn Terawikh prayer. We would chit chat after the prayers and joked around before going home. Life was simple then and full of joy. Relationship with the villagers got closer during this month as we practiced exchanging home cooked food, i was the delivery guy for my family. The night of Tujuh Likur was celebrated by putting up Tang Lung and playing firecrackers with my friends which includes some Chinese kids. Kind of think of it, now that i have grown up and know the rules, that was the right thing to do. But, i noticed kids nowadays still do it even in KL.

The best day was when the Eid or Hari Raya arrived which is on the 1st Syawal. Everybody got so excited the night before, cleaning the house and the compound, and my sisters and my mother spent the whole night cooking dish and cookies for guests coming to visit us the next day. Everybody got up early and put on their new clothes and went to the Surau for Eid prayer. After the prayer everybody shaked hands, some give angpau (money) away but i prefer receiving instead, what do you expect for a kid? I got plenty enough ang pau money to be stashed away in my piggy bank to buy stuff that i loved, without my mother knowing it of course. The Eid will be celebrated for at least two weeks i think.

Fast forward to the present day, Hari Raya or the Eid still is exciting but not as much as back then. I wonder what changed? I guess when we were kids everything would excite us as we were carefree. I had a lot of relatives back then and all of their sons and daughters were my friends. A lot of them have passed away since them and their kids had grown up and moved to other cities and lost touch. The biggest change for me is that both of my parents have passed away, my dad in 1985 and my beloved mother November 2007. Eventhough my brothers and sisters are still around, Hari Raya for me has lost its biggest reason to go back home.

Now that i have become a father of two, i could see in my kids' eyes the same excitement that i went through when i was a kid. Now it is not about me anymore. Driving home to my in-laws up north is such a drag with traffic jam up to Ipoh and Penang. The five hours journey is very taxing and costly now that the price of petrol had gone up along with the price of car repairs and tolls. Still, for the sake of my kids and wife, the journey is still worth it. I also use the Hari Raya break to unwind from the city life stress, do some fishing and countryside exploration. Perlis has wonderful scenery with imposing granite hills and mountains.

After two weeks break, i would be recharged and ready for KL life again. But sometimes, i wish the old days never change, i missed it so much. But like some famous saying goes " the only constant about life is change".

Selamat Hari Raya/ Happy Eid to all Muslims all over the world, may God bless you all.

UNDER SIEGE

Malaysia is under siege right now in my opinion.

Never before in our 51 years of independence, we as a nation and one people face a crisis in politics, race relations and economy to this extent. We are paralysed by the daily political charades played by the talented politician actors, bombardment of negetive news on racial sentiments which leads to the decline of our economy. When we are preoccupied with all these problems, the other important things become secondary and we cannot progress as a nation. Everything will slowdown and everybody will suffer.

Our economy is the lifeline of the people. You screw it up badly, you will see the effect down the chain and everybody from the mega corporations down to the vegetable sellers will scream, and that includes me and you too. As it is, the people on the streets already losing faith on our leaders especially after the petrol price increase. It is the impression on the streets that our PM has not managed the economy and our country well, compared to the previous administration ,and lack leadership when it is mostly needed. The signs are all over the place, you can hear it in coffee shops, internet, SMS messages in local newspapers and blogs all over the country.

Too much emphasis was given to the Opposition parties and their propagandas which are meant to cast doubts in the people's hearts about their government, rather than to ignore and just focus on running the country. This is made worse by the medias constantly paying up the issues everyday. The Opposition are also to blame for over indulging in political games instead of becoming a responsible and constructive Opposition party like in the UK.

The political uncertainties by everyday political issues has left a bad impression on foreign investors who eventually will withdraw their millions of dollars of investments and go somewhere else, and at the same time put off potential investors to our countries. The after effect will be cancelled projects, factories closures and massive retrenchment of workers. You and me will lose jobs or have to take a pay cut for our companies to survive. Our loans for the cars and properties cannot be serviced and we will eventually lose things that we worked so hard to get. Financial troubles are also a major cause for divorce cases in Malaysia which is on the uptrend nowadays.

All of this is for what? Why do we need to suffer so some politicians can fulfill their ambition to rule the country out of greed for power and money? Those in power are trying their best to cling to it as long as possible regardless how bad they performed. Those opposing will promise the heaven and earth to the people to takeover the power to fulfill their ambitions. If they are too busy defending their posts or fighting for other people's posts, where do they find the time to govern and improve the economy? This situation in my opinion represents a clear and present danger to our country and needs to be pinned right in the butt!

We do not want to be under siege with political games forever and see our economy goes into a state of depression like the US faced in the 1930s.

Is one man's ambition and interest worth the suffering of 26 million citizens? I dont think so! I think it is time to heal this country and move on as we have a lot of work to do.

A SUGGESTION TO THE MEDIA

With the political tension barometer increasing in Malaysia for the last few months since the last election, i see nothing but political turmoil and negetive reporting in the local newspapers. It is sickening really, how priorities are given for these kind of news instead of good ones.

I will like to propose to all local newspapers to take a 3 days break from this practice and start doing the reverse by reporting the good side of the country and promote goodwill. This country needs a breather so it can focus on the right things.

Personally, if i dont see any change, i will stop buying all the papers for a week. It is not much, but it is a personal protest. So, how about it? Can we give peace to this country for 3 days or the profit is more important?

MALAYSIA DAY

There is a debate going on whether our Independence Day should be on 16 September instead of 31 August which is celebrated every year without fail. I think our Independence Day shall remain as that is the day we became a sovereign nation free of British interfearance and control.

The US celebrates the 4th of July as the Independance Day every year eventhough the full formation of the United States which consists of 51 states including Hawaii and Alaska happened at least 200 years later i think. And yet, i never heard of the United States Day, is there such a day?

Personally, i think the debate is academic and being made into a political issue to cause discontent among Sarawakians and Sabahans as they will feel that the lack of recognition when they joined the Federation of Malaya to form Malaysia on that day.

However, it can be resolved amicably without loss to anybody except to the government and private sectors productivity when 16 September becomes another public holiday on the calendar. Malaysia already has plenty of public holidays due to the various ethnics celebration days, Prophet Birthday, Awal Muharram, Sultan and Agong coronation days and so on. Couple these with weekends throughout the year, we have one third of 356 days as off days, wow!

So, Mr PM why not just declare 16th September of every year as the Malaysia Formation Day and give all of us an additional public holiday. Asian are hard workers, surely it is good for them to have an additional off day to spend some quality time with their families. A happy home will motivate staff to become more productive and will balance the loss of productivity on that day i hope.

Besides, if we are targeting to be a developed nation by 2020, we need to take care of our human capital and their welfares like in the US where a lot of companies are practicing a 4 days week or Scandinavian countries which have the highest public holidays in the world. Yet, they are very productive and strong economically.

It is also good to put this matter to rest as the opposition cant use it anymore to score more political points and become more popular, and everybody can start debating on real issues which require more attention from everybody.

Happy Malaysia Day, yay!! I need to plan a fishing trip if it becomes a reality....where is my tekong's phone number?

ISA

Funny, i had just commented on 11 September 2008 about certain laws in dire need of review and how some decisions by the authority in imposing policies or laws were done in haste and leave a bad impression on them. Kaboom !! the ISA is used again on three individuals last week.

I personally feel one of the three was asking for it as that person had been walking on thin ice by being provocative despite so many warnings from the authority. The other two i am not so sure.

I am not here to argue the arrest per say, but the timing of it. The usage will add heat to already tense political situation in this country. Funny, the Law Minister in the Prime Minister Department start to condemn the usage, i thought the PM is supposed to sign the arrest warrant if the ISA were to be used?, unless i am wrong. So, i am sure he will consult somebody right? So, why the conflicting support and condemnation from the same group?

However, i think the ISA should remain albeit maybe with minor amendments on when it is allowed to be used by the Police. I dont know why we should get rid of it as it might serve some purpose. I think those who are scared of it are those who are up to no good. The United States also has the Homeland Security Act that was passed after 9/11 2002 that allows detention of her citizens and even extricate other countries citizens against their wish in the name of internal security and fight against terrorism. The majority of detainees are of Arab origin and Moslims. Yet, i dont hear DAP, the Bar Council, PKR, PAS or Malaysian NGOs complained or make a case about it, funny huh? Why? Is it because it doesnt affect them directly? But, i thought they are fighting for justice, surely it is applicable anywhere else in the world. Singapore also has it with a different name and now even Britain is having it in a different format after the bombing at the train station.

I think the law is not a problem, it is the interpretation of when and for what to use it is a dicey issue. The majority of Malaysian on the streets are not bothered by this law, some dont even know what it is and couldnt be bothered, it is those who thread on the thin ice who are worried because one day they will be next if they are not carefull. So, do not play with fire if you dont want to get burnt!

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

The March 2008 election is over but yet the political wars have not ended. When are they going to implement their manisfestos and prove to their constituencies that they are capable of doing their jobs and make a difference?

Instead, day after day all i read in the papers are the blaming games both sides are playing. Enough is enough! Making the previous administrations look bad does not make the new ones look better. The time for campaigning is over so lets get on with the job! The Police has better things to do then to check on every police reports on claims of mismanagement by the both sides of the political parties. The Police core business should be providing security to their citizen.

When do the people get served? Five months have passed, the only things i see are the blaming games, witch hunts, preoccupation with internal party conflicts, somebody's personal quest to become PM, rumors on defect by MPs and uproar over racist remarks. All these are happening while the economy tumbles, the citizens get brutally murdered by the day by illegal immigrants from the neighbouring country, inflation sky rocketing and we lost an island to our neighbour down south. Where are your priorities? Are your political careers and egos more important than the sake of our country? It is time to get your hands dirty and govern, enough is enough!

TO DO OR NOT TO DO

I am very concerned nowadays with the style of administration of the current Malaysian government on imposing policies and enforcing them.

A lot of new policies seemed to be imposed without in-depth studies and debate, either as a knee-jerk reaction to a situation or a method to show power. Lets take the decision to ban offensive blog sites about two or three weeks ago as the after effects of Raja Petra's court case as an example. The authority is in the right to impose such ruling in order to control the ever increasing blog sites in the net which posted seditious posts and damaging rumours because they can cause instability in the country. The owners of the blogs are bound by cyber-laws which even exists in the United States.

However, i feel the decision yesterday to reverse the decision left me wandering what is happening in the enforcement part of it. Did the government reverse the decision because it cannot withstand pressure from the media and various NGOs, or Raja Petra's threat that he going to make a circuis out of this, or the decision to block the blog was made at certain level and not discussed with the big Boss? If it is the former, then the current government lacks political strength to impose an already existed law and keep changing their minds under duress. If it is the later, then it is worrisome as it shows lack of control and coordination with various ministries which will not improve the BN's image after March 2008 election. The government should stop try to placate everybody and become a populist government.

The same goes for the Cabinet decision's yesterday not to impose Windfall Tax on IPPs and instead they only pay a one-off payment. This happened after much objections from the IPPs eversince the policy was announced. Again, it shows lack of strentgh under pressure.

The government of the day cannot be back-tracking everytime certain groups object to the policies or laws that do not favor their interests, as this will result in lack of respect and adherance to the government and the laws of the land. If our own citizens do not even respect the authority and the government, how do we expect other countries and their citizens to do so? The laws and policies should be well thought of, debated and studied of its effects on the people and its relevancy with the times before approved and gazetted. Maybe, before they are approved and gazetted, the draft should be published for the citizens to give their opinions. At the end, the majority rules.

I feel there are a lot of current laws which were gazetted long time ago need to be reviewed to keep them relevant with the current times. The onus is on the government to make it happen.

RAMADHAN

Everytime Ramadhan month approaches every year, i become excited as this month offers opportunities for Muslims like me to test my spiritual and mental strength and rewards for good deeds during the whole month. Of course, one must not wait only for this month to do good deeds and improve one's spiritual level. Nevertheless, it is the month that has been blessed by the Almighty and rewards for good deeds and religious ritual will be multiplied thousand times.

For me, it always a challenge to better my achievement in the previous Ramadhan. It has been eight days so far and i have not missed a single fasting day, and i performed Terawikh prayer almost everyday.

The most challenging thing to do is not to think of negetive things and control my anger or say bad things as sometimes they come out instantaneously maybe because of old habits. Opening my fast in moderation is also a challenge as after a long day of fasting, shopping at pasar Ramadhan with all the delicacies sold there is very tempting. Most of the times we end up buying more that we can eat and the leftovers become wasted. Despite all that food, i am happy that so far i have lost 5kg just in eight days of fasting. Funny, some ladies have to pay thousands of ringgit at slimming centers just to lose that kind of weight and yet i can lose easily just by fasting. Fasting also give our bodily organs a chance to rest and recuperate, and to reduce accumulated toxin in our bodies. Our bodies will be lighter and easier on our joints.

But the most beneficial outcome of fasting is the improvement of our mental and spiritual strength. Our minds will be trained in resisting hunger and the binge for all sorts of unhealthy food. At the same time, it will make us realised how lucky and blessed we are that we are only experiencing this only one month of the whole year, not like the poor who have to endure this almost everyday in our country and across the world. It is God's intention to impress upon us this feeling so that we will be humble and open up our minds to other people's problems that we can find kindness in our hearts to help them by donating whatever we can afford to alleviate their suffering even for a day. Muslims are asked to pay the compulsary tithe ( Zakat Fitrah) during this month but before the Eid to be channelled to the unfortunate.

Spiritually, fasting is a mean to test one's faith in carrying out God's instruction. How much can Muslims endure to carry out his/her duty to practice one of the five pillars of Islam. Once human can overcome the hunger and thirst by giving up their most common bodily needs from sunset to sunrise for the sake of his/her faith, then he/she has gained a higher level of spiritual development. Of course, there are those Muslims who do not fast comes Ramadhan and will find all sorts of excuses to avoid it. To these Muslims, we hope they will change as they are only fooling themselves but not God. It also sad that this group of Muslims is giving Islam a bad name through their behavior. One can only call himself/herself a Muslim by practicing the teachings not through birth right, as Islam means surrender oneself to God and his commands.

As we go through this holy month of Ramadhan, i will pray that we can do it in peace and harmony, among Muslims brothers and sisters, and other citizens of Malaysia. I call for all Malays from all political parties to stop bickering, name calling, throwing sensitive statements regarding other races and respect this holy month. By the same virtue, other races should do the same and diffuse this unnecessary tension that goes around gathering strength. Lets not be like some countries where their citizens have to live in hostility.

Happy Ramadhan and Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, maaf zahir dan batin.

Drive home carefully, the best part about the long journey is the journey itself, take it easy.

31 August 1957 - Malaysia Independence Day

Two days from now when the clock ticks to 12.00 midnight, cheers of merdeka (independence) will echo across the country followed by fireworks shows and concerts that will last until early morning. Like the previous year, thousand of people will line up the road waving the Malaysian flags in selected locations all over the country watching independence day parade, air show and cultural dance which becomes a feature for would be tourists in this time of the year.

Such are the ways the government and the people celebrate their country's independence from the British on 31 st August 1957 every year. It has been 51 years since the proclamation of independence by the late Tungku Abdul Rahman in the Merdeka Stadium, how we fared so far?

Well, for a young country we have fared quite well considering the steep learning curve we have to go through in shaping this beloved country. Of course, with the multiracial composition and probably one of the highest density of political parties per country in the world, it is not an easy journey. Along the way, there were hiccups, flu and fever, there were the insurgency war with the Malaya Communist Party (PKM) guerillas, Confrontation with Indonesia in 1963, racial clash on 13 May 1969, big flood in 1973, various political controversies up to today, and so on shaped up the history of this country. At the end of the day, with enough tolerance from all parties, our country is still intact and matured. We should keep it that way.

In economy, our industries have grown and become one of the major players internationally in electronics, petroleum, agricultural products and other fields. Malaysia has become respected in international political arena with regular contribution of peacekeeping force wherever is needed, and has led various organisations like NAM and OIC. Our voices continued to be heard in the UN on various issues.

However, there are still a lot of work to be done to appreciate the independence that we have. We need to change our mindset to think and do things our way and cleanse our minds from the effects of colonisation. The new generation nowadays lack focus on obtaining knowledge and skills to compete with others at local and international stage. Opportunities given by the government were not used fully and they seem contented with their current levels. The youths spend a lot of their time on entertainments and time wasting activities. Some of those given the scholarships to study at local universities are not doing well as their focus are misplaced on entertainment and political activities. We need to change all this so our human resource is fully developed to support our country's vision of becoming a developed nation by 2020. We cannot forever rely on foreign workers to build this nation as this will bring other problems also like social ills and crime problems.

In political arena, we spend too much time bickering about who are the better political parties, or leaders and less time looking into issues which matter to the people. Those who cannot achieve their political agendas went overseas to complaint to their previous colonial master as though our independence means nothing! They have no qualms in sacrificing this country's interests as long as they achieve their political goals. The fate of this nation should be decided by the people who decided to have a system of parliamentary democracy with a Monarchy Institution. It has worked so far for the last 51 years of independance and it should work also for the future. What is required is for every citizen to give a bit of sacrifice of self-interest to protect and nurture our independence for years to come. Leaders who are no longer able to serve and lost touch with the people inspirations should voluntary make way for the new and younger ones to inject new blood and ideas to formulate new policies that help the people. Do not cling to your posts forever just to protect your interests because it is not healthy for the country.

For those fallen heroes of early independence, i salute all of you for your contributions, and for the young generation please do not waste it.

Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

TAX RELIEFS

The PM is going to table the new budget soon in the Parliament in the next couple of days. I take it the budget will not be satisfying to everybody i this trying time of world economic slowdown and uncertainty of local politics.

However, i like any other tax payers in this country would wish for certain things to be revised in our favor. One of the main grouses is the tax relief of RM1000 per children per year. For so many years i could not comprehend how in the world the government come up with this figure which translated into Rm83.33 to take care of a kid per month! Did they use parameters from the 70's era for prices related to kid's food, clothing, diapers and medical treatment or they just plucked it from the sky and hope for the Rakyat not complaint about it? Yesterday's news announced that inflation has risen to 8.5% thanks to the petrol price increase as the main culprit which caused the domino effect on the rest of the items. Back to the cost of taking care of a kid nowadays without a maid involved, i am sure is more than RM250 a month which works out to be RM3000 a year! It is very easy to calculate and does not take a rocket scientist to do it.

Basically, a kid needs at least four cans of 22 ounces(medium size) per month, each costs around RM20 plus minus, and 4 packs of 32 or 2 packs of 60 pieces diapers per month which costs around RM60 to RM80, medical costs for clinic visit twice a month for about RM50 for basic treatment, clothing and miscellaneous cost around RM50 per month? This is applicable for kids up to maybe 4 years old. When they grow up, cost of clothing will increase as kids clothing are very expensive compares to adults. Then the cost for kindergarten, school uniforms, fees, books and so on.

Which brings me back to the RM83.33 per kid per month of tax relief given by the government, how in the world they came up with it? Did it come from a lonely economist who never married and experienced the headache of bringing up a kid, or an accountant firm who are not in touch with reality, or some smart politicians who prefer to have big saving in the government coffer regardless the hardship experienced by the Rakyat? Which is it? Dont they know that more money available for the people would generate the economy, help businesses which in return increase corporate tax collection by the government? I think this time they should consider revising the figure seriously, because if the cost of raising a family is deemed to be too expensive, Malaysia will one day end up like Singapore, because the new generation will be more comfortable with a small family size that they can afford. There will be shortage of local human resource eventually, and Malaysia will end up importing more foreigners to feed its industries. More foreigners means more headache with social ills and crime rate increases.

While at it, the government should also review personal relief of RM8000 per year per person, especially with the inflation rate has increased to 8.5% this year. Those living in big cities suffer the most with over dependency on personal vehicles to commute to work as the public transportation system still not at its best. The petrol price hike is a killer, eventually the rental rates for housing accommodation will go up along with food items. Some have gone up already the day after the announcement. They also have to put up with numerous tolls just to come to work. Some companies give COLA to cope up with this, but if the COLA amount is also taxable what is the use? With the average salary increase of 5% per year in most companies, it is becoming more stressfull for those who work in big cities like KL to make ends meet. So, maybe the government should introduce a zone system whereby those who live in KL will get more tax relief than those who lived in small towns where the distance for commuting to work is closer, less toll to pay, cheaper parking rates and so on.

I think it is time for the goverment to feel the pain the people on the streets feel instead taking care of the big corporations interests only.

THE STATE OF OUR SPORTS

Watching the men's badminton final at Beijing Olympic was disheartening last nite as our shuttler fell short of the gold medal that has been so elusive for so many years. Despite that, we have to congratulate Chong Wei for his effort, maybe next time he will fare better.

Sometimes i wonder, why other countries with less government support, subsidies and facilities fared better and won more medals than Malaysia. Countries from Africa and Carribean of late produced world class athletes. What went wrong? Various programmes and overseas training were carried out but the results did not reflect the amount of tax payers money spent on them.

I think the root of the problems came from mismanagement of our human resources right from the school age up to the professional levels. In school, kids were taught to concentrate more on obtaining more A's by parents as that will lead to better future. Even during their spare time and school holiday kids were sent to more tuition classes so they are at par or better than their classmates. Parents are apprehensive when their kids spend some time in the fields playing soccer or running around with other kids as they consider it as a waste of time. Adding to that, more and more public playing grounds were converted into commercial centers in their drive to make more money. Kids will eventually lose motivation to play and involved in sports and some of them turn to video games of simulated sports. Parents perceived career in sports as not really very promising. It will not guarantee them big house and big cars unless they made it to the big time like Nicol David or Shalin Zulkifli to name a few.

But i think one of the main reasons of Malaysia's failure in international stage is the involvement of politicians in sport associations. These politicians who they themselves never played any of the sport of which they become presidents in the association, have used the association as the ticket to glory which can enhance their political careers. Failure of the association will reflect bad on them and their political careers, so they demand instant success overnight and keep changing the policies regularly to achieve their agenda. They will distant themselves from any failure and blame the coach and players for poor show. A lot of times, the poor coach was not given a free hand at selecting the right player and tactics as there were interfearance by the Management. Some of the sports association do not have enough budget for proper training as the lack sponsors. Sponsors usually link to political connections in Malaysia.

The latest decision in the Malaysia Super League policy of not allowing foreign players to be fielded in order to develop the local players is a joke. This issue had cropped up before just to be reversed as the attendance at the stadiums began to drop. This search for an instant fix will not work as we need to develop a comprehensive programmes involving our young ones from the tender age like is being done in many countries. Arsenal, Man Utd and Liverpool to name a few, have a youth development programme to create an second and third liner players for preparation to EPL level. These programmes involves massive cost and time as you cannot produce champions overnight. They do not have politicians running around screwing things up and the whole thing is being run professionally like a business entity. Players and sportsman welfare need to be looked after as their concentration is important during any competition. In Malaysia, unpaid players' salaries by the Management is not uncommon. This happens despite the associations getting money from FAM yearly and get part of the gate collections in every game.

But Malaysians no need to be despair, i think there is still a chance for our country to get gold medals at the Olympics, but only if Malaysia hosts the event and add new events for best politicians in sports, most controversial politicians, best political party, best corruption cases ever and best sports event host ever. We seem to excell in these areas despite not much practicing, i dont know why?

TIME OFF REQUIRED

With the current tension prevailing in Malaysian state of politics where almost any Tom, Dick and Harry is making public statements on sensitive issues, i think it will be a good idea for everybody to cool off and lay low and lets the situation diffused before anything untowards occur.

In their over zealous way of trying to do good through open public forums touching on special priveleges of certain ethnic group and religion which they themselve do not fully understand, the Bar Council is pushing the situation to boiling point and can cause an explosion of objections which can be difficult to control later on. Sooner or later, others will start to hold forums of their own questioning other ethnic groups and religions and inviting other demonstrations. While the intention may be good, there are many ways to skin a cat the saying goes. If they all could be more respectful and sensitive towards the interested group or groups feelings, they could do it differently and achieve the same goal. What they need to avoid is the feeling that they are the only ones that know the laws and constitution that only them can champion the rights of the aggrieved parties, and therefore they can ignore the PM's plea not to hold it in the open. The problem with holding the forums in the open is the level of understanding of the attendees of the law and constitution that they are about to discuss as some of them have very little knowledge and can become emotional in airing their problems. The Bar Council members themselves cannot guarantee that they are one hundred percent impartial on these issues. True enough, the Malays and the Moslim groups showed up and demonstrated to show their anger. Despite this, the Bar Council still did not rule out future forums in the open which shows their arrogant stance on the issue. At times through my observation, the issues and statements issued by the Bar Council and the opposition parties are almost identical that makes me wonder.

Before this issued cools off, the Selangor MB made another statement on the Uitm intake policy which brought another wave of objections from the students. I wonder whether anybody thinks first before making sensitive statements and think about the implications of what come from their mouth, or just could not care as long as he can score a few political points on the issue? We must avoid giving the perception to the Malays and Moslims that they are under siege on all fronts as this action will cause a reaction from them which can be very ugly.

We all need to take a brake from this political turmoil that seems to crop all over the place on almost any issues. Is there somebody orchestrating this for their personal interest? At what cost will it be to this country in the long run? Is it not better for all parties to take time off and lets the situation subside and discuss the issues in a professional manner?

BY ELECTION OR BYE-BYE ELECTION?

Malaysian love politics and elections like soap operas i have observed. It is the truth. One fourth of the Star newspaper content is devoted to political issues, internal conflicts of political parties from both sides, police reports related to politics and so on.

The latest hot topic is the by-election in Permatang Pauh,Penang, after the Keadilan Party President DS Dr Wan Azizah resigned just after a few months in the office to make way for her husband to contest. While this process is part of democracy, i personally think that it is misuse at the expense of the people. Just imagine the trouble voters have to go through to go back to their home town to vote. They have to take leave to vote or otherwise they will lose their rights in choosing the candidate that can champion their cause. There will be mad scramble for bus tickets, train and driving home to vote. Nowadays when everything related to petrol price increase start to go up, it will leave a hole in everybody's pocket. Will the politician reimburse the people for their cost of travelling back to vote? Can you imagine if other MPs start to do the same for their constituencies in favor of their mentors or colleagues political careers? If this happens, when can the MPs start to work and focus on the people's problems?

By-elections should only be allowed for cases that involve death, retirement and court's instruction when there are fraud involved. If this misuse is rampant, then there is no meaning to having elections, and we can say bye-bye to this process which is the essence of democracy. Please put the people's interests above personal gain and start rolling our sleeves and solve important issues.

ABUSE

I noticed that lately the process of law have been wrongly used by certain individuals or parties to spite certain individuals or political parties and put them in bad light. This development is not very healthy as the Police and Courts will be over-loaded with trivial cases instead of focusing on hardcore criminal cases which affect the public interest.

Long gone were the days when the public would think twice before started to go to a police station to make a police report against somebody especially when the issues were trivial. Nowadays, some people are so free to go do a police report even the issues do not concern them. This is because there are some political benefits to be obtained by spicing up certain issues in the local newspapers. Lawsuits against defamation between individuals become everyday news.

While the public want to see justice be done by relevant authorities, it must not come through the abuse of the process and the country's image being tarnished. The public has more to lose as the tax payers money is unnecessarily spent to solve cases which only benefits a few selfish individuals.

PARENTS

"I have learned that no matter how bad our parents treated us when we were growing up, we are surely going to miss them when they are gone." one famous person said in an interview.

I just want to share this with those of you who still have parents, to treat them nice and give them proper respect while they are still around, cause one day we are all going to be parents ourselves. Then we will know why they were so tough on us, it was because they loved us and wanted the best for us.

My resolution is to be a better parent to my kids than my parents were to me when i was growing up. Lets all give a try.

THE DARK KNIGHT REVIEW

I went to watch the latest Batman today and left with a mixed feelings.

The plot was great though the movie was a bit too long at two and half hours making my butt numb. There were plenty of actions, explosion, fight scenes and tension. The Joker played by the late Heath was scary and funny at the same time, vey different than Jack Nicholson's version in the earlier movie.

Batman's love interest did not impress me. I think Batman deserves a better looking girl like Kate Bosworth(Superman's girlfriend in Superman Returns) or maybe Selma Blair.

My biggest objection was the person who played the Batman - Christian Bale. I personally think he is not the right person to play Batman eventhough the producer thinks otherwise. To me he did not look so convincing playing Bruce Wayne in the three piece suit. What i hate the most is the bloody voice when he turns into Batman! It is just annoying, his normal voice is just fine..why need to add another dimension to this character when he is in the costume? Is it to prevent people from knowing his true identity or to put fear in his enemies hearts? I think it is unnecessary because Superman only needs a pair of glasses as a disguise without voice change, and yet his beautiful Lois Lane still cannot recognise him...duhhhh!

The Dark Knight's head gear still needs improvement. The face opening needs to be bigger like in the comic book and less angular. In the comic book, more jaw is exposed and the jaw is angular which lends to the tough look of the Batman. He needs to appear taller in the movie with the cape is more prounounced coming from the front.

The part i loved best in the movie was when he jumped from the top of the highrise and flew like a bat.....that was cool, and the Bat Motorcycle, i wish i could get one of those to go to work!

Will i go to the next sequel? I am not sure if the voice still remain the same.

PERCEPTION IS NOT THE REALITY

That day a well known figure in our local political circle uttered an interesting phrase during an interview with the media - "perception is not the reality" and how perception or the manipulation of it is so crucial to do well in the political game.

This is very interesting because how a person perceives a situation will influence his thinking and opinion on the subject matter and can have an effect on his subsequent behavior toward the subject regardless of the reality of it. Perception plays a crucial role not only in political arena of a country but also politics in offices and personal lives of the public. Perception in politics can be manipulated positively or negatively to serve one's interest.

Take the opposition tactics prevalent in the country for example, they keep on harping on the lack of transparency of governance by the government as though the whole government agencies are corrupted, as a result of that the international communities perceive Malaysian government as corrupted. The investors will shy away from investing in Malaysia as the cost of doing business is expensive and profit will be low. The locals are the ones to suffer as they will lose job opportunities. They initiated public demonstration and ignored the Law to give the impression that Malaysia is not under control and in a state of chaos. The government is then perceived as authoritarian when they come hard on the demonstrators. The international communities are quick to condemn my beloved country as lacking democracy and does not allow the expression of opinion. They forgot that the right to live in peace and conduct one's business and make a living is part of an individual rights in a democratic country. Democracy in Malaysia is thriving according to the new Australian Prime Minister as people are more willing to give comments on issues of governance in the local newspapers and electronic media like blogs etc. These are the right places to express one's displeasure instead on the streets which is immature.

Another trend which is prevalent is to make the Police look bad and give the perception that they are not impartial in doing their duties and corrupted to the core. Of course we cannot deny there are a few bad apples that tarnished the Police's image by getting involved in unethical practices like accepting bribes and so on, but this exists in any organization. All sorts of accusation are flying around as you can read in the papers to make the Police looks like a devil. The Police have a SOP( Standard Operating Procedures) which relates to various Laws in carrying out their duties. Some people practically like to be seen challenging the authority of the Police to look like heroes by ignoring summonses to appear at the Police station to give statements, when arrested they are perceived as victims by the public when in actual fact they ignored the process of Law. The Police will be seen as a big bully and a tool of the government if the case is political, forgetting the fact that the Royal Malaysian Police is one of the most efficient police force in the world with high ratio of solving crime.

In an office, internal politics among staff or departments exist. It can be quite destructing to a well being of a company when good performing staffs or department are made to look bad and perceived as no good by jealous colleagues just to cover the weaknesses in their own performance. The situation is made worse by bosses who only listened to one side of the story without establishing the truth of the situation. Some bosses already have a prejudiced view of certain staff or department, no matter what is the truth it does not matter. Some staff get transferred and marginalized due to fake complaints , or resigned and joined the competitors when the situation get really bad. The company will eventually left with a bunch of mediocre staff who only excels in gossips, complaints and lies.

In private lives, the same situation can arise between friends, relatives, lovers or neighbors when people make a judgement on other people based on gossips, accusations or half truths. The relationship will turn sour or awkward. Most of the time, the victims would not know why the other party treat them that way. It is so damaging when perception can be manipulated through false accusations, but as long as human are human with hatred, jealousy and selfishness are in their dark hearts, i do not see how it can disappear soon.

LIFE IS GETTING HARDER

I read an article in the papers the other day quoting a government official as saying that this year the inflation rate will be below 5% based on their method of calculation using price increase for selective controlled items which are deemed essential.

I for one, am a bit sceptical of his assertion because it does not reflect the actual picture for the man on the streets. That day i went shopping for groceries at the Hartamas Shopping Center and was utterly shocked at the increase in price on some of the items. A bag of 5kg rice Jasmin brand used to cost less than Rm12.00 now costs Rm24.90! Now, it does not take a genious to do a simple math of percentage of increase which is more than 100%! We are talking about a basic food which is a controlled item here, which contributes to the calculation of the inflationary rate for the whole country, of course unless the supermarket flaunted the law by increasing the price to such an extent. The same brand 10kg rice is priced at a whopping Rm44.00! A check for other items showed that the price increase is definitely more than the government's estimate. Couple this with the increase in price for petrol, i started to feel the pinch on my pocket is getting more and more. My bill came to Rm195.00!..for a bag of 5kg rice, less than a kg Bulus fish, 8 cans of softdrinks, 2 bottles of 2kg cooking oil, 3 toothbrushes, a colgate, some cheap chocolotes, bread and a Rm19.90 teddy bear! I was scratching my head at the counter as what costed so much as these items usually totalled up to the most Rm120!

I started to wonder whether the government officer got it all wrong, his calculation, methods, references and all. Maybe the actual figure was higher, and might not be good to publish as such, maybe it will cause the public to panic and they started to scrambled to supermarkets to stock up their supplies, maybe it is not good to show the real figure as it will be a political suicide for the government as it will be seen as the economy is not under control, or maybe there are a lot of unscrupulous businessmen who are taking advantage of this difficult times to multiply their profits by increasing the prices and blame the government instead. But what i know is that, somebody better start to explain the discrepancies in the figures so the public know what to expect and plan their lives accordingly.

On the people's part, what are we to do to face the pressure of ever increasing cost of living in the cities? Well, we can start by taking stock of our financial standing against our life style and pattern of spending. The 30 -30 -40 ratio is a good point to start, we can use 30% of take home income to pay our debts, 30% for saving and the rest to support our day to day lifestyle. Our lifestyle also need changing to cope with increase in cost in almost every items nowadays. We should start to split things into essential and desirable. There should be less weekend outings, clubbing, vacations, outstation trips and of sort which are not essential and cost money. I have already capped my outstaion fshing trip to once a year as the rental for boats has increased due to the diesel price increase lately, and not to mention the petrol price i have to pay for my 4 x 4. I am already thinking to convert to NGV, eventhough there is a rumor that even the gas price might go up, but still cheaper than Rm2.70 a litre. I can recover my installation cost of around Rm6000 in one year. However, i have not done so due to the shortage of petrol stations that have NGV pumps. Petronas anouncement that 200 more petrol stations to have NGV pumps is surely a good news.

On the government's part, please start to think forward with policies and strategies that can make Malaysia self sustained. Being nice and do fire-fighting by giving goodies evertime the rakyat shouted is not good enough! I used to be proud when at one time certain parts of the country are green with padi fields and we were less dependent on imported rice from other countries, now look at how much a kilo of rice costs as this part of the economy is not put enough importance! Looks like i have to plant padi in a tray on my balcony from now on if cost of rice keep shooting up.

We cannot blame every cost increase on the oil price, and use Petronas as a scapegoat as the decision to incease the price is with the government, or use the increase of food prices globally as an excuse. What we want to see is a concrete concerted efforts by the government to deal with this present and immediate danger that can destroy Malaysian's society to oblivion. We also need to see solidarity from opposition parties to stop bickering for a while and think of the health of the country instead during this difficult times. We do not want to see a situation described by a UK's MP as "9 meals away from anarchy" becomes a reality in Malaysia.

Please save the country first while you still have one, because i see no point becoming a Prime Minister of a ruined country.