'MCA go home' vs 'Where was DAP 13 years ago?' at Jonker Walk
What?! Gan qualified his being there as a survey, not to protest? Let alone to lead the protest? Did Mr. Gan Tian Loo realize that the MCA protest carries more weight than DAP protest many times
over. The state government, being UMNO-led government, considers the DAP as the opposition working hand-in-hand with PAS and PKR to oust UMNO from power, rescinding the directive on the request
from DAP leaders will make the party even more popular. I thought, at first, here come the MCA, finally to do what it's supposed to do. Then the expected happened. He got cold feet. The
reporter who covered the protest reported Gan was suddenly cautious . He was like ..."I'm here to lend my support to..the .. no, wait! I am not here to support the traders - but just to do a quick
survey! But I am glad to be standing here with the protesters but reporters, please put it down in black and white I am not, I repeat, am not here as part of the protest. This is the reason the MCA
was shunned, I mean has been shunned by the Chinese. They do not represent the Chinese anymore. They cannot get things done anymore unlike in the old days. Gan admitted his meeting with the chief
minister was fruitless, but would keep trying. Keep trying for what? He should stop embarrassing the MCA and reducing its credibility further by continuing to beg despite being rebuffed earlier.
Again, this proved that the Malaysian Chinese Association has really completely lost its usefulness. If a small matter like Jonker Walk closure was beyond its power then, that 's it.
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By David Lang
The following stories may fire your imagination, pique your interest. Some say 1MDB is Malaysia's Sovereign Wealth fund; to others they asked what wealth fund when its total capitalization is just One million ringgit? But, then again, if you think you can look down on the pet idea of the Malaysian prime minister, think again. His idea has the potential of turning the now world famous - or shall we say, infamous - 1Malaysia Development Berhad into a giant corporation you can ever imagine - even bigger than Bill Gate's Microsoft! At least, it could be, if the original course is stayed. It was supposed to inspire Malaysians to think big besides advance growth, according to its slogans screaming out of giant bill boards throughout the country. 'Backed' by the finance ministry who owns it - which means money will never be the problem - it can only succeed. But..it didn't. It failed! That's why it may have piqued many people's curiosity. How can a company flush with cash and can borrow any amount (billions) anytime could fail? Well, this may be in line with your thinking. People have seen since its inception - I mean after its name was changed in 1999 from Trengganu Investment Authority (TIA) to the present - it hasn't done any business! I have used present tense deliberately. It hasn't done any business yet. I mean if you are in business you need to make profit or find ways to make profit. Or close shop. Oh, I had heard about their filings of tax returns and hiring of a couple of internationally known auditors to sign off on their balance sheets; but these concerned only the company's borrowings and interests to be paid. Two massive bonds were issued to the tune of $7 billions. To buy up power plants. Again I want to say if you are in business to make money even investing in independent Power Plants, it should be done with the view to making a profit. The decision may be long term or short term, it doesn't matter, it has to make money, or no deal. May be they have done the right thing. Maybe luck was not on their side. Still, the amount is staggering. I didn't know having or managing so much money can be a problem! But many - especially the Malays - have not given up hope yet. Yes, may be the durians are just ripening; may be they need time and may fall soon!
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Malaysia's Vision 2020
By:David Lang
Malaysia is supposed to be on its way to becoming a developed nation, by the year 2020. Will she make it (in less than five years -tick-tuck, tick-tuck)? There is no doubt the year 2020 is coming whether the country is ready or not, and if that will be the only requirement then Malaysia will attain that developed nation status on schedule. There is a question, though, Will Malaysia, or Malaysians, for that matter, be ready for that status as far as their affluence, quality of life's concern? Currently Malaysia's GNI per capita stood at US$10060. According to the World Bank high income economies are those with GNI per capita of US$12,745. And until Malaysians earn much more to be there, the developed nation status may not be achieved even by the year 2020. The futility of declaring a country a high income country when it's not, achieves nothing. May be even counter-productive; it lulls the country into false sense of success and premature celebration. Don't forget China reportedly overtook Japan as the world's second largest economy, but in actual fact China's citizens' ca pita income is a fraction of the incomes of the Japanese who earn $37,000. Chinese incomes range from $13,000. China's gross domestic product, taken as a whole, may beat Japan's, but in term of quality of life, and GNI per capita income, the criteria for a developed nation status, China still has a lot of catching up to do. That's why China still qualifies as recipient of Japan's economic aid meant for developing countries. Comparing with the Chinese per capita domestic product, Malaysia is even worse off. Unless the government bucks up and rushes to create more wealth for its citizens, the Vision 2020 dream may remain just that ..a dream.
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when I received a call the other day (night) from a Miss Lee complaining about her fridge not working (she noticed the temperature inside the fridge was warm comparable to room temperature), I asked her to check if the fridge's power switch was at on or off?
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Apr 11, 2012
Syria A Chink In Iran's Armor
So, it had been decided. All of a sudden, somehow someone had decided time's up for president Bashar al-Assad. He has to step down. Gives way. Cedes power. Delegates power to his deputy. Whatever. It means the same thing: regime change. They want his job.
It does not matter whether the president of Syria is guilty of the crime he's been accused of; or that he had to act to protect his people, Syrian sovereignty, or in self defense, he had been judged as quilty; prejudged.
Nobody cared that he had been in power for more a decade without much problem until the Arab Spring started. Even if it was true Assad did crack down on dissent, it was to be expected. What leader would stand for such a challenge to his authority. You can try the it any where the reaction will be the same. Even in America itself. I don't think President Obama would find it amusing to have a large crowd rallying in front of the Whitehouse with banners calling for his downfall.I will be surprised if he hesitates to call in the FBI or CIA to spirit away every person to prison, or worse to join with Private Bradley Manning in his soliditary confinement.
What Presideht Assad has done can happen anywhere. Bangkok! Not long ago, during the anti-government demonstrations by the red shirt group who supported Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawat, who was toppled in a coup by the powerful military who then paved the way for Abhisit Vejjajiva to succeed him. The majority of Thais saw red and launched their protests. Prime minister Abhisit then ordered the army to put down the rebellion with heavy loss of life and hundred injured (the protesters were unarmed men, women and children and were killed in cold blood). Did the hardworking UN intervene? No! Nobody, noone, in the US or England or France, said a word. Their hiatuses were unacceptable. They should treat all human lives the same. I wonder why these people can become so pissed off with Assad but not with Abhisit?
And what about President Robert Mugabe of Uganda who brutally seized the Whites' farmlands, and ignored the human rights of his political rivals and Simbabwe's people in general? (Mugabe was also charged by the world court for crimes against humanity but surprisingly was left to his own devices, pretty much, until today.
To his credit though, Robert Mugabe relented and allowed Morgan Tsvangiraj to be his prime minister in the unity government. Next, the Burmese generals. These generals were so powerful that people or the world treated them as if they had nuclear weapons. Only the United States 'dared' to stand up to Mynmar. Though gingerly. These generals were so cocksure of themselves that they thought of themselves as gods. They trampled on the Burmese people as if they were made of clay not flesh,blood and brains. Even monks were not spared. And what about the catastrophes in Darfur, Sudan, where ethnic cleansing was brutally carried by its president, Omar al-Bashir? Well... so far nothing has happened to him, although the World Court had laid charges against him. Was there a compromise, a deal struck? A quid pro quo? Forgiven not forgotten, or forgotten not forgiven? Or both? Which equals: case closed...due to...ack of evidence, lack of support from the Arab Leaque, African Union, opposed by India, China, Russia. Or lack of will? May be lack of appetite. Not very doable...could be messy. Didn't care. But. But..wait a minute. President Omar al-Bashir was coaxed into agreeing to allow the South people to freely choose whether to remain with Sudan or break away and become an independent state. They chose the latter. Fine. But what about the murders he or his agents had commited for which he was charged. Perhaps President Omar wouldn't agree to the referendum unless the charges against him were unconditionally dropped?
So if President Assad can hang in there for while, while his army goes all out to stamp out the opposition once and for all, like his father, he could expect to be reprieved in a similar deal? He could give Idlib province (which is already infested with unfriendly Turks anyway) independence like Omar al-Bashir gave to South Sudan.
There is no difference between Sudan's Omar al-Bashir and Bashar al-Assad of Syria, for crying out loud; except the former killed ten times more of his people. Omar al-Bashir was given a way out because not only the West lacked appetite for a possible remake of the scenario as depicted in the movie 'Black Hawk Down' in which US soldiers were killed and their bodies dragged round by pickup trucks in the dusty streets of Somali which led to President Bill Clinton to decide the US was done with Africa, but probably because the ends might not justify the means.
While Sudan may have oil, like Syria, which was tempting to energy-hungry West, it was not enough. Syria on the other hand was the key to Iran's far flung influence in the Arab world. Without Syria - or shall we say Assad, Iran will be isolated, encircled by the Arab countries backed by the US, and will be eventually hemmed in. That's the caculation everyone is focussing on. The West had recently lost Lebanon to Iran, or Syria, or Hezbolah, it makes no difference, which, and they were angry. They calculated if they could do a 'libya' to Syria, they could undermine Iran's power as well as its influence in the Middle East, which had spread to Iraq (another loss experienced by Washington), and even Afghanistan.
Even the small kingdoms of Kuweit, Bahrain and Qatar, to name a few, ruled by the minority Sunnis over Shiia majority, are not safe from Iran, even with the American Fifth Fleet stationed there. So they had to do something. In Libya, they dragged their feet. But in Syria, they were in forefront calling among the loudest for President Bashar to step down. No surprises there.
Unlike in their kingdoms, it's said, the majority of Syrians are Sunnis. Many, in the West, put Assad's Alawite tribe as about ten percent. Was that right? I don't know. But if that's correct, then President Bashar al-Assad must have ruled Syria well (without the oppression or brutality he was labelled with) to win over more than 60% of Sunni Syrians to support him. Granted, some Sunni Syrians may choose to support Assad due to fears. But if he has had only fifteen percent support (Alawite 10% plus Christians and Kurds another 5%), no matter how strong or brtutal his army was, Assad could never be where he's today. Even his army consisted of Syrians from all ethnic groups. Women were free in secular Syria, as were their sisters in secular Egypt and Libya. The Christians, the women, and Kurds, in their right minds, would never dump Assad. To them, he's a known devil. He allowed everyone the freedom to do his own thing... practice his own faith except..except one taboo: to replace him. Or his son, later. This he will never agree. Nor will his son, if he's one to succeed him.
But it seemed that's exactly what's happening. Oh, the Muslim Brotherhood had tried that; and they had been defeated. No problems. The MB, as they are also refered to, had also been active in the Mubarak-era Egypt, too, and there were no problems, too. Except; the words 'defeated' in the past had been transformed into oppressed or suppressed. Now the western media as well as the Qatar-based Al Jazeera, are peddling the snake oil to the world that Syrian president oppressed his own people, killing them mercilessly. Saying therefore he has lost the legitimacy to rule. Even the western governments preferred to avoid mentioning the Muslim Brotherhood are in the forefront in the attacks or being attacked in Syria at present. To their credit, American officials are not very enthuasiatic about intervening in Syria due that dreadful fact. But to these western governments, or Arab countries, especially the Gulf Cooperation countries, or Turkey thrown in, Assad represents their nemesis as well as the key to defang if not defeat Iran. With Assad gone, Hezbolah's aggressiveness or their sense of invincibility will be much reduced. At things stand, Iran never felt so confident. It's well established in Iraq with a Shiia government in power (it's unlikely the Sunni minority can muster the strength to challenge the Shiia government for a long time); it's actively working with the Taliban and may be even with the Kabul government against NATO in Afghanistan.
At present Iran is safe. Syria is safe. Despite the departure of the Khaled Meshaal, Hamas defacto leader, which the western media or governments used to discredit Assad, Hamas had become a client of Egypt under the influence of another Muslim Brotherhood. It also remains under the influence of Iran and ready to carry out its bidding. Moreover, Khaled Meshaal seemed to have lost the absolute power he once weilded. His well-publicized deal with Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, in which he agreed to Abbas remaining as president as well as becoming the prime minister in the proposed new unity government, was not enthuasitically endorsed by the authorities on the ground in Gaza.
At this moment in time, nothing much the west or the MB-dominated oposition in Syria could, except wait. Wait or hope for the crack in Hamas leadership.
If they wish to do 'a libya' to Syria quicker, they need to work to enhance the disagreement or division among Hamas leaders. Hamas is one of the chinks in Iran's armor.
But Iran's foes, Assad's foes, or Hamas' foes, should hold their breath for a moment. The division, let alone the breakup of Hamas, is not a sure thing; inevitable or imminent. Dont forget this is a terrorist organization. Its aim is to destroy Israel. Other matters don't count or matter. They have so much difference with the West even if they do break up, their loyalty stays with terrorism and destruction of Israel. It's alright for the West to indulge in a dream of the breakup of one of Iran's proxies, but in reality it's just a disagreement according some Hamas leaders. It, they are confident, can be resolved through lawyers they said. So there you have it. They intend to patch things up. But irrespective of what is going to happen, or what Hamas leaders decide, the leadership on the ground seems to have a sway for those in exile. And the Hamas in Gaza depends on Iranian largesse to make its payrolls in Gaza.
But on the other hand, if Iran becomes another North Korea and explodes a nuclear bomb, and uses denial or silence or stealth to elude discovery until it has successfully tested the nuclear device, everything is changed. So far Iran seems unstoppable. It denies it's making a bomb; so how to stop it? What president Obama said was true when he said if Iran really wanted to build nuclear bombs, they can. "What we can do to their ambition to emulate North Korea, is to delay it. Not stop it," he admitted. "The only way," according to Obama, "to stop the Iranian project of weapons of mass destruction is to coax them to stop it themselves. Like Col. Qaddafi of Libya agreed to former president George W. Bush's advice to dismantle and cancel his nuclear bomb project." Except that nothing good came out of that listening to Bush. In fact, Iran was watching and came to the conclusion that Qaddafi erred; and he paid for it with his life. So Iran may go for North Korean's example instead, which was better. They could secretly research, develop through trial and errors and then explode a few nuclear bombs, which they could deny as vigorously as they could that they were nuclear bombs, at first, but later admitt they were. They could claim it was for peaceful purposes, though!
So far the North Koreans, or their beloved young great leader, are not imminently going to face problems. Except for the rice or food aid promised by Washington may be suspended for a while. Who cares for the rice or food aid? National pride is more important. Already they have nuclear bombs. Now they are going to send a satellite into space on their giant rocket, which they can also use to send nuclear bombs in the future after they have successfully managed to miniaturized them enough to be fitted to the rocket tips.
Washington, Japan, South Korea and the Pliliphines took note of the North's intention. But only Japan warned North Korea their missiles or any parts may be shot down if they are deemed headed for its territory, while the North declared if that happened it would consider that act as an act of war (declaration of wars). But I don't think Japan or any country, even the US, for that matter, will go that far. Don't forget North Korea has nuclear weapons. Primative may be, but still nuclear bombs.
The North Koreans may threaten the US with an intent to drop the first bomb on the South, the easiest. It just has to load it on its military plane, flys it over to Seoul and drop it (like the Americans dropped theirs on Japan during WW2. Of course, the Obama administration would likely put North Korea's leadership on notice, there will be retaliation in kind, which will mean the end of the young beloved leader, if not the whole of North Korea. Will the North be crazy enough do it? Will President Obama make good his threat? I think nobody even dare to calculate. Only President Obama knows what he will do, will not do, have to do.He alone decides.
So, in view of that, I believe President Assad is safe, at least for now. No matter how many egged him to intervene in Syria, which the US has the power to, Obama could not relish the idea of intervening in every country that everyone wants him to. "We just can't intervene in every country in the world, " were his own words. "Tempting, but no! In Libya it was different. The world was united then; and Libya was much smaller, weaker, poorly equiped country - doable."
The Syrian army is ranked sixth in the world. Numbering 320, 000 excluding the reservists. What's more, they have sophisticated air defenses, large stockpiles of chemical weapons and nerve gas.
In an all out war with the US, if it comes to that, there is no doubt who will win; but there is also no doubt, we will pay a high price. It has become clear that if left alone, President Assad will easily triumph over his opponents, Muslim Brotherhood or not.
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