EVENING WITH DATUK AZIZ SATAR

For me, it is like a long wait to meet this famous actor – Aziz Satar. Everyone fondly remembers him as the team member of the “sudin-ramlee-aziz” team. I have met the late P.Ramlee and the late A.R. Tompel before but then I was very young.



We chatted about the genius of P.Ramlee and how Malaysia lost a visionary actor and script writer well ahead of his time. I recall that Malaysia did not give P.Ramlee the support that he needed when he returned to Malaysia from Singapore. This is the malady of the Malays – inability to recognize real talent and real leadership.

It is even sadder that we still have not woken up to the idea of tapping on the experience and knowledge of veterans.

Dato’ Aziz spoke about 6 things that P.Ramlee told him, which I found interesting:

(a) Aziz, Allah Taala tidak memberi kita segala-gala. Kekurngan akau ada pada kamu, pada Sudin, pada semua kawan-kawan.
(b) Aziz, kalau gua mati, gua akan hidup lagi 1000 tahun.
(c) Aziz, seni gua bukan untuk wang, tapi seni gua untuk masyarakat
(d) Kalau kita sudah ada diatas, kalau ada kawan nak naik, pimpinlah ia.
(e) Rezeki yang Tuhan bagi tidak semua hak kita, sebahagian hak ibu, hak ayah, hak saudara dan ada kalanya jadi hak pencuri.
(f) Aziz, jangan selalu menyalahkan orang lain kerana nak melindungi salah sendiri.

The social messages in P.Ramlee movies are brought forth subtly, sometimes in the manner of comedy.

Dato Aziz Satar recalls a scene in the movie “Semerah Padi” where two farmers in dispute appeared before the penghulu. The Penghulu advised them:

“Apa yang digaduhkan? Kan elok kalau hari ini kau tolong sawah dia? Dan esok dia tolong sawah kau pulak dan buat lah seterusnya macam ni”.

I cannot help thinking that this will be useful advise to politicians in the cause of National interest issues. Apparently, P. Ramlee had PAS and UMNO in mind when he penned this dialogue.

Dato Aziz Satar is currently completing a book recording his experience with P.Ramlee and it is scheduled to be published by the end of this year.

We wish him the best and look forward to the book.

PEACE !

AGAINST NATIONAL INTEREST!

The true test of citizenship is when the country is facing a crisis. I believe that the country is now facing an economic crisis.

At this time of crisis, national interest takes precedence over selfish interests. Hence this is the time to be Raperas and this is the time to “pay back to the country” for all the good times we have enjoyed.

AT time of crisis, there are only two groups – those who worsen it OR those who make it easier to recover. This is the time that leadership that entrusted to safeguard the nation must take RADICAL measures, not the worn out solutions given by the failed Oxbridge and Harvard graduates (who do you think got us in this mess in the first place?).

We have to customize our economic defence and our economic strategies.

In this regard, I submit that the following are anti-national interests:-

1) Banks and financial institutions who refuse to “restructure” debts during these times- by restructure I do not mean another “financial trap” to enslave the borrower.
2) Credit card companies who would rather bankrupt the credit card user instead of giving him a chance to pay according to his means.
3) Civil servants who make it difficult for small and medium industries to earn a living.
4) Civil servants who do not carry out economic recovery plans diligently;
5) Companies that make profits and yet retrench worker without exhausting other methods of cost reduction, including renegotiating pay with the workers;
6) Workers who cause economic disruption by picketing in the face of fair and benevolent temporary pay cuts;
7) Politicians who insist on using these difficult times against each other;
8) Any group who maliciously distract economic recovery efforts by the Government and the people;
9) Any person or persons who diverts economic recovery funds for corrupt purposes;

If you have any more, please add on to the list. The point is – we NEED RADICAL action. It can be done, if there is a WILL.

PEACE !

A Letter of Appeal to Malaysians Politicians.

Dear Malaysian Politicians,

Please stop the power chase, call for a truce and focus on the economy.

I do not claim to speak on behalf of all Malaysians, but I have strong convictions that many share my sentiments.

Our concern today is not who rules the country or heads the state governments but the looming bad economy.

Whether Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat leads, it is meaningless if Malaysians have no job to go to, no money to pay rent and no means to put food on the table.

I am a business owner, like other business owners and managers of corporations I have a responsibility to ensure people under my care and payroll continue to have jobs and a decent income to take home. We work hard and willing to go the extra mile to make sure our nation not only survive this crisis but come out stronger and wiser. We need your help.

Let me explain. I am in the business of Training, Development and Consultancy and have 20 people in my team.

Saedah is 42. She keeps the office clean and helps organise the training rooms. She has four children and her husband is unemployed. She was first hired on a part time basis, because she is very hard working and has a great attitude, we offered her a full time job to help provide a stable income for her family. Even then, when her third child started school this year, it was a struggle for her to buy new school uniforms and other necessities. Saedah lives on a ‘kais bulan, makan bulan’ basis, so, if she is jobless, her tap runs dry.

Samsuri is 27 years old. He lives with his sister and her family in a low cost government flat in Sunway. He does our despatch, helps with various clerical works and occasionally acts as a driver. During the first week at zubedy, we learned that he not only did not have money to buy new clothes and shoes for work, he had no money for lunch. Like Saedah, if he has no job, his tap runs dry too.

Alicia in Client Servicing turns 26 this year. She lives with her dad who is 71 years old and retired. Her mom passed away when she was little. Alicia is a hard-working team member, has a gentle caring outlook and fun to be with. (We like to poke fun at her as she blushes easily). Last May her dad went through a major operation, thank God he has recovered well. Alicia needs a job, both for herself and her dad.

Sudesh, 38, is one of our facilitators. When his father passed away last year, he moved back and lives with his mother in Seremban. He shuttles between Kuala Lumpur and Seremban daily, leaving home sometimes as early as 4 in the morning and returning late at night. He is no stranger to hard work and sacrifice, he knows what he needs to do to survive and to care for his mother, but he too needs a job.

Like fellow Malaysians, every one of us in zubedy needs employment, those that live from hand to mouth like Saedah and Samsuri and others like Alicia and Sudesh with family to care for. We Malaysians need the Malaysian economy to be strong. We need you, our leaders, to work hard and to work together to make our economy viable.

So this is my plea.

Pakatan Rakyat, please stop your attempts to take over the federal government and persuade BN’s lawmakers to join you. Stop all legal proceedings, no more 916 and let go, just let go. The nation can wait till the next general elections if they want change. By doing so, Malaysians will see your party as caring, unselfish and gracious and give you their support in the next elections.

Barisan Nasional, please stop any attempts to take over PR states and win over PR’s lawmakers. You have proven your point with Perak. The nation can wait for the next general elections if they want your party. Focus all your talent, energy and hard work in steering the country out of an economic downturn. By doing so, Malaysians will see your party as caring, unselfish and smart and give you their support in the next elections.

BN and PR! Call for a truce. Get together and compromise. Someone has to give in. Or has hate consumed your heart till it blinds you? You can do it. You have enough intelligent people between you. I am sure you can find solutions. Take the nation to heart. That is why you are in politics in the first place.

Focus on the people.

Focus on the economy.

Anas Zubedy
Managing Director
Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd

LOOKING FOR LEADERSHIP

As March draws close, many are looking towards the new Prime Minister to be - Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak for effective,and firm leadership. The country has clearly undergone an unprecedented five years of total uncertainty and completely new political experiences. Since March 8, 2008, it is as if the country is going through an eternal General elections. Even now, the Rakyat is perceiving that politicians are focusing more on the next General elections rather than the well being of the Rakyat.

The Rakyat has grown very weary. The economy is slowing down and is expected to become worse.

The Rakyat needs HOPE. They need LEADERSHIP to steer them through the economic storm that lurks ahead. They want an end to mindless politicking and desire real economic and social reforms that will truly benefit the Nation.

The messages are clear. The Rakyat wants CHANGE for the BETTER. They do not want any more recycled leaders who have lost their positive creativity. They are tired of rhetoric, puerile advice, dramatic speeches and political drama.

They are tired of cosmetic reforms and the rhetorical call for reforms. They want less talk and more effective action.

This is Najib's challenge - to provide leadership, to present to the People a working, transparent and effective cabinet, at least a cabinet of HOPE. To provide the Nation with a NATIONAL DIRECTION that can capture the imagination and commitment of the Rakyat.

For this to be done, you need a firm hand so that actual work of REBUILDING THE NATION can take place. Enough of theatrics.

We really have to move along.

PEACE !

CRYSTALBALL: THE FAKE UNFAKED before the aisle of May

While he was standing on the shores of the sea with his back to the sea, he closed his eyes and tuned himself to nature. He heard sounds of or what he tought were the sounds of a bird, the waves and the wind. Holding on to his curiosity and to the interpretations of his mind for a few seconds, he then turned to confirm.

What he thought was the sound of bird was nothing more than a little boy exeprimenting with his voice in the sea.

What he thought was the sound of the wind was nothing more than his breathing.

What he thought was the sound of wave was just a boat that passed by.

The FAKE unfaked as it will be by the laws of nature.

Once the fake is unfaked, the predictable ensuing responses will be:
how could we have allowed ourselves to be fooled?
Where did we go wrong?
Ｗｈｙ　ｄｉｄ　ｗｅ　ｄｉｓｐｅｎｓｅ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｃｏｍｍｏｎ　ｓｅｎｓｅ？
Ｗｈｙ　ｄｉｄ　ｗｅ　ｊｕｓｔ　ｆｌｏａｔ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｔｈｅ　ｃｒｏｗｄ？

PEACE！

［ＮＯＴＥ：＂ａｉｓｌｅ＂ｉｓ　ｎｏｔ　ｓｐｅｌｔ　ｗｒｏｎｇｌｙ］

DESIRE OR AMBITION?

Obviously, mainstream thinking will tell you that you need to have ambition. You need to have the drive to fuel that ambition so that you will ACHIEVE. Almost most motivators speak of the “power of ambition”. In today’s largely capitalistic and selfish orientated system, ambition is held in high esteem.

I know that quite a number of “achievers” are fueled by ambition in their lives. Of course many more ambitious people have failed to realize their ambitions, but this story is often not told. Concepts and theories which are dubious but sounds “good” are often supported by looking at the smaller “successes” rather than the greater number of failures.

Ambition is doing something in order to achieve something or to get somewhere. If you get somewhere due to your ambition, you consider your self successful. On the other if your ambition does not lead you achieve the desired goal or does not get you anywhere, you are considered a failure. Ambition is specific goal driven. An ambitious person is one who will do anything it takes to achieve that ambition. Ambition per se may not be a bad thing.

Ambition sets a goal. Ambition gives you a sense of time frame and it makes you aware of the raw materials you need to move towards the realization of that ambition. It also alerts you of what to avoid if you want to achieve that ambition.

What about desire? Desire is to do something because the doing of it gives you pure joy. An act driven by desire gives you joy but it may not get you anywhere. Therefore the very act of doing the act is a success and the consequence of joy is automatic. While you do it, you experience joy. Desire has no goal except to do the very thing desired.

In the above sense therefore, a politician who is driven by desire to do “good” does good simply because it gives him joy. Whether the act of doing good gets him somewhere politically or financially or personally is immaterial. That is not the goal. His joy is derived simply from the act of doing good. When a politician is driven by the desire to serve, he finds joy in the very act of service. In other words, any opportunity to be of service will be a joy. Whether his service is recognized is irrelevant to him. What is relevant is that his service is beneficial to the target group. His success lies in the opportunity to do service.

On the other, an ambitious politician is one who is driven by his ambition to get somewhere - politically, financially, personally. Every act of his, including the good that he does, is a product of his ambition. In order words, doing a good act is not the objective of his act. He does good because he wants the doing of the good to GET HIM WHERE HE WANTS TO GO. If the doing of the good does not politically benefit him, he will not repeat the act. He will feel that he has failed. The fact that he has done good is immaterial to him.

In this line of thinking, if the doing of good is irrelevant to his ambition, he will not do any good. Alternatively, if the perception of doing good is more effective than the actual act of doing good, he will opt for the perception. This is because; his sole purpose is the realization of his political ambition.

If the above reasoning is correct, an ambitious politician is then a person who is NOT motivated by the desire to do good and be of service to the Nation. He will be strongly motivated to chart his political progress based purely on what is necessary and expedient to achieve his political goal. He will learn to the master the essential tools of political “craftsmanship” – ability to influence, manipulate mass sentiments, make fiery and entertaining speeches, create an image of “caringness, cleverness, etc”.

The ultimate goal is the realization of his political ambitions. All else are TOOLs and stepping stones for this sole objective.

Can you then imagine the colossal damage that can be unleashed by a person who has political ambitions from day one? The stronger the political ambition, the more dangerous he is to society and the people. An ambitious politician must necessarily be a narcissist. He sees himself as the center of the world and any reasonable dissent as a personal attack on his ambitions.

Do not be confused. I am not saying that one should not be in “higher positions”. All I am saying is that one should not aspire ambitiously to be in higher positions for the sake of the higher position. On the other hand, one may desire to do a greater good and in that process be lumbered with a greater level of responsibility. What is the difference?

An ambitious person will sacrifice the doing of any good if that may risk him losing the higher position.

A person who has the desire to do good will sacrifice the higher position if that may risk him losing the opportunity to do good.

What do you think?

PEACE !

Look at issues rationally

ON THE BEAT
By WONG CHUN WAI
Sunday February 22, 2009
The Star.

With Malaysians being increasingly caught in political partisanship, we need to keep a cool head and not get over-emotional.

This is a good read. You may continue reading it here or here

MOVIE REVIEW1: ABIYUM NAANUM

A friend suggested that I write about the movies I like on this blog since I speak about them in my talks and discussions. Ok, Here is the first.

“Abiyum, Naanum” means “Abi and me”. It is a well produced movie about a father’s experience of “letting go” ie letting his only child, Abi, grow up into an individual. Abi is his only child whom he loves very much. While the story relates how a loving father copes with the child’s growing up, it has successfully explored other issues marvelously.

Abi is an intelligent child who has a soft spot for “less fortunate people”. One day, when she was in primary school, she brought a beggar back to live with them and asked her father for permission! It is hilarious and yet touching how this subject was approached.

Later when she went off to Delhi for studies, she came back and informed her parents that she was in love with a man. Her father was in a dilemma while her mother was supportive. As events unfolded, the man of Abi’s choice is of a different ethnic origin – a Punjabi! Again, the movie handled magnificently the issue of inter marriage and humanity.

It is also a movie about relationship. About growing up. Fathers who love their daughters should watch.

Over all, the movie is very entertaining while touching on very human issues. You will laugh and be moved by the movie. It is a brilliant movie produced and acted by Prakash Raj as only he can.

I believe such movies should be translated/dubbed and shown here.

PEACE !

[God’s signs comes in Tamil movies too. Allah is multilingual!]

BOOK REVIEW9: THE REPUBLIC BY PLATO

I recall one bored evening when I was in Form Five where I strolled in and out of the many second-hand book shops along Macalister Road, Penang. I came across this book. Read it and re-read it. As a teenager this book shocked me for weeks. I never knew that many things which I had accepted as normal are actually "things" set up by experimenting adults.

I did not even realise that I could question so - called accepted concepts. This book challenged my teenage mind's acceptance of so many things and so many things I was unhappy with. It also opened my mind to the fact that not all adults are thinking people as I had assumed all were. This is one the books that changed my life radically.

Plato was born in 427 B.C. Plato was born into a distinguished family with many political connections. Though he had all the opportunities to be active in politics (since his friends and family members were), he withdrew because he was disgusted with the wickedness of the politics of his time. He also was very upset that the State had put his friend Socrates to death on a charge of impiety and corrupting the young. He had seen that even though Socrates himself had the opportunity for political power, he had risked it by also refusing to be part of any political ploys that not benefit the people of Athens. Plato, apparently met Socrates when Plato was about 23 years of age.

Socrates wrote nothing. But he was always engaged in dialogue with whosoever engaged him. Someone who had met Socrates wrote that Socrates was a wisest man in Greece. Socrates knew that he was not and set out to prove the person wrong. His method of doing so was to cross examine people he met about their beliefs, and their ethical belief in particular, since for a Greek, 'wisdom' had a strong ethical meaning. And his questions would commonly take the form of asking people what they meant when they referred to common ethical questions like self-control, or justice or fairness. He found that they did not really know, or at any rate could not give a satisfactory account of what they meant; and to that extent he was wiser than they - he was aware of his ignorance, they were not.

But the cure of ignorance is knowledge, and so in addition to showing that conventional moral notions were often confusing and contradictory, Socrates insisted on the importance in morals of knowledge. If only we knew what was right, the problems of morality would be comparatively simple; and in the quest of that knowledge he never ceased his constant cross examination of himself and others. It is from this book that I learnt that examination of oneself can lead to the discovery that what we thought we knew, we were actually ignorant of it!

Many, many years later I discovered the correct concept of this in the Quran -"conjecture". We live lives based on conjectures and due to lack of or absence of examination, we assumed it to be facts and norms. We confuse guesswork with facts and truths. Even worse, collective guesswork becomes norms for the society!

Since reading the book, I used to spend hours with Thinavan, a school mate every evening who will entertain me with examinations of various topics like, morality, justice, emotions, sex, "right and wrong" ,etc. I think I carried this attitude through life and sometimes, it does cause problems at home! (people do not like being questioned). It also made me my constant critic.

Back to the book,, if you are looking for a mental adventure into the process of inquiry, a discovery of how foolish our thinking can be, a shocking experience of how we transmit illogical and irrational thoughts from one generation to the next, then this is the book to give you that 'high'.

In this book, Plato records, Socrates's dialogues and conversations with various people on various subjects like education, the philosophical ruler, imperfect societies, the soul, the reward of goodness in life, etc. To me, reading this book is like a roller coastal ride because the journey will be in your mind and heart.

You will enjoy it and if you have the patience to read it through and think about it - it will change your perspective of life radically!

PEACE !

MALAYSIAN ANTI CORRUPTION COMMISSION (MACC) IMAGE SMEARED?

MACC is one of the bodies that has emerged from Pak Lah's reform moves before he quits in March. Formerly, it was known as the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACA). The MACC is meant to be independent, transparent, efficient and carry out their duties according to the rule of law.

The claim by the opposition leader in Parliament recently that an operation concerning corruption which was carried out by ACA has yet to see any development is indeed disturbing. The facts and validity of this claim must be investigated and made public. Otherwise, the public may perceive that the MACC is indeed ACA in new clothes. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said he would seek information on the claims. Read TheStar for the full report.

It is important that the image of MACC is intact for public confidence to be maintained in the body. Corruption must be weeded out but must be done in accordance with the law.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE?

When I first launched this blog a year ago with its message that 'POLITICIANS ARE IRRELEVANT TO SAVING THE NATION", I was softly reprimanded by some of my YB friends on both sides of the political divide.

One said, "Jahamy, you cannot deny that the politicians in power have done much for the country。“ Another said. " Tak kan lah saudara menafikan peranan siasah didalam pembentukkan ummah?". My mental antenna gets even sharper when religious sentiments are invoked, specially when Arabic is used by a non-Arab. To me, both were missing the point.

They missed the point that until politicians are able to evolve into Raperas, they are not only irrelevant but dangerous to the well-being of the Rakyat.

I recall a brain storming discussion with some "high=powered think tanks" (by their own definition) some three years ago. It was at this forum that I first mentioned the need for "Rapera consciousness". I explained at length but was dismissed as being philosophical, academic and idealistic. Of course that was the first and last time I attended that groups' meetings because I decided it is difficult to share the same breathing space with people who have completely different wave lengths on matters that I deem basic. After March 2008, they called me again. I went but only to realize that mind set does not change overnight. In fact on the pretext of a stomach cramp, I left the "meeting" early.

Frankly, I am not too pleased with either side or even convinced that they actually have the interest of the people at heart. Both sides only have power in mind. Both Maybe they are blinded by their apparent "success“ of their political thought and behaviour thus far. March 8 never really exposed their weakness, they rationalise. And the other side seems to think that March 8 is the Rakyat's condonation of what they stand for!

No one seems to consider a third option - the Rakyat is experimenting with balancing the two sides or three!

Whether religious or nationalistic or racial platforms are being used, all these parties still operate within the same out moded thinking arena and the same SYSTEM OF THOUGHT - in principle. You remove the jargon, they are all the same.

Some of them conjecture that they are thinking out side the box. I may be wrong, but I perceive that they are still within the box, though now have moved to another corner of it. Still the same thought processes premised on the same, outmoded perceptions and assumptions!

Some of my friends get upset when I refer to these as the "struggle within the peripherals". What！，they exclaim. How can I ever describe mainstream political thought as peripheral thinking? My response is: when peripheral thought has entered mainstream thinking, it is conceptually still peripheral. In lay man's terms - buang masa dengan remeh temeh. Making a storm in a tea cup. Making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Thinking that the hill is the mountain, we keep missing the mountain. That's how peripherals became mainstream in a society that nurtures sub standard thinking patterns.

IF You DO NOT get the central concept right, you run around in circles chasing your own butt.

So, what is the purpose of current political thought in the country? Is there any other objective other than the primary purpose of being in power?

Are they the only options?

PEACE.

ELIZABETH WONG'S TEST

I have been asked again and again to write something on the recent event in Elizabeth Wong's life - the intrusion into her private life.

This is how I see it:- The "Elizabeth event" is a test for those who know of it, read about it, hear about it and comment on it. It is a test for us. I do not see it as purely her problem, but like everything else it is a test to all those who come into proximity with the issue.

How do people respond to it? The loudest on the streets are of course the politicians. Those who are opposed to her immediately position this issue as a political capital to be exploited. I pray that the same event never occurs to their daughters, wives or mothers. It is comforting to note that there are politicians on the other side who have exhibited humane qualities in responding to Elizabeth's event.

The issue is not merely political. In fact, political is the least of it. It is more a test of our humanity.

I have never seen the photos but if it is true that they were taken while she was sleeping in the privacy of her home as alleged, then it is an evil invasion of her privacy. Do Malaysians want the victim whose modesty has been outraged to be further victimized? The culprit must be severely punished as a lesson to would be offenders.

Our moral ground is being tested. If Elizabeth re-contests in a by-electon and if her privacy has been violated without her knowledge as appears to be the case, then it would appear that the only way to protest against such an evil act is to revote her in. This is beyond party politics. THIS WILL BE A VINDICATION FOR ALL WOMEN WHOSE RIGHTS HAVE BEEN NEGLECTED FOR EONS.

I agree with lawyer Akbar Din that the best legal recourse for Elizabeth is the Penal Code, not the Syariah courts as the impossible issue of 4 witnesses will arise.

In the meantime, I can only share with Elizabeth that Allah has promised that he will not burden us with a burden greater than what we can bear.

PEACE.

POLITICS VS HUMANITY

Does it have to be one or the other? In the final analysis, it is entirely your choice. It does not matter that the whole world is saying that if you are in politics you cannot be a human. If you want to be in politics and yet it is important that you maintain your humanity, then, you simply have to persist with your humanity. Any reader of the Quran will tell you that God had already warned us that the demons will wait for us at every corner to way lay us. So, you have to choose – do you want to be a servant of God or a servant of the demon?

And who says that a servant of God cannot be of service while he maintains his humanity? Look at the world around us. Surely it is not the animalistic politicians that are responsible for the sustenance of human beings? None of them can make the rain come down or stop the downpour. Neither can they make the sun rise or set. Everything that is truly important to you and me is taken care of by “an invisible hand”. However, when things go wrong, like wars, food shortages, lack of housing, etc, we can see the handiwork of the demonic politicians.

Most of us do not even have the chance to personally meet or to know these politicians (which may actually be a good thing). They too hardly touch our lives on a personal level. They do not sit down with you and talk over your problems, do they? When you are short of some cash, you run to your family or friends for rescue not them. When you are sick, who takes care of you? With them hardly affecting your personal lives, have you ever wondered why some citizens place them on pedestals of assumed respect? In fact to the politicians, you are just part of the faceless crowd that they need to show support, to clap and to make their presence noticed. That is why they hardly TALK TO YOU but they TALK DOWN TO YOU. Empathy is a humane quality. Politicians lack that.

It really does not matter that the whole world says you are idealistic if you do not subscribe to the animalistic nature of current politics. Raperas would readily know the difference between what is perceived as pragmatic and what is “right”. Pragmatism is often a tool for the demon to fool the people with short term solutions that will only bring forth long term ruin. It is pragmatic that the citizens are given sweets every time there is an election even though you do not get it when it is really needed. It is pragmatic that one politician must necessarily disagree with another politician from another party even though it is in the national interest.

It is pragmatic that the opponent be “killed off” by any means even though the methods are completely animalistic. When you sit down and analyse the “pragmatic methods” used by these animalistic politicians in almost every sphere of their empty lives, you cannot decide whether to laugh or cry. What makes the dilemma even greater is the frenzy with which the respective uninformed political supporters swamp around their respective “leaders” supporting the pragmatic moves. I always contend that life will be their best teacher and it never fails to teach well.

Raperas must recognize the outmoded, borrowed political philosophies that we faithfully carry on in this country – that too not fully understanding it. I recall a young aspiring politician in this country who does not seem to understand the concept of philosophical foundations. He got into the thick of things and picked up animalistic political behavior thinking that is the norm. I pray that him being still young, he will be short on pride and arrogance and will allow his humility to grow. Perhaps with the sprouting of humility he may learn. The young must be allowed to grow and learn from their mistakes.

Humanity means the quality of being humane; the kind feelings, dispositions, and sympathies of human; especially, a disposition to relieve persons or animals in distress, and to treat all creatures with kindness and tenderness. Is this antithesis to politics? If you think so, then you are simply expressing your own inner preferences but excusing it away as a ‘practical outlook’. Surely there must be a difference between recognizing that current political climate is animalistic and outmoded and, condoning it as normal. To me, it is an aberration.

There has to be real change in political thought. We have to move forward. This has to start with the people themselves, especially the Raperas. We have to understand and accept that humanity does not have to be sacrificed at the altar of politics.

Raperas must reject any politician that sacrifices humanity for political expediency and gain. Hopefully, through such action and awareness among the people, more politicians will be motivated to cultivate their humanity.

PEACE.

The Violence of Hypocrisy

The minds of human beings have been trained by our current system to recognize only what is superficial and what is physically imminent. Our kindergartens, schools and universities are geared towards “physical survival studies”. Hence we may produce excellent technocrats but poor human beings. Academically brilliant but with poverty of character.

You may continue to read it here

What would you do if you knew you were the only one who could save the planet from imminent danger?

It is uncanny. I am in Malaysia and Chris Goslow is in California. I chose the word 'Rapera' in Malay to mean saviour citizen and she produced a piece of music called "Rapera" about a youth who attempts to save the world. This is the email I received from her:


Hi, Jay:

This is quite an extraordinary coincidence. I am a composer of a piece of music called "Rapera" about a youth who attempts to save the Earth. The funny thing is, I chose the title because I was putting rap together with opera, hence "rapera." But your description of what a rapera is http://jahaberdeen.blogspot.com/2008/11/who-is-rapera-and-what-can-heshe-do.html is absolutely consistent with the title I chose. I was inspired to contact you because I thought it could be useful for me in the work I'm doing to extend this work, because I'm thinking of writing in an organization called "the rapera" which is seeking to save the world.

You can read more about my work here: www.cwiggz.com.

Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you.

Best,

Chris Goslow


This is what I replied:

Chris,

You are correct..this is an extraordinary coincidence. I only recently found out that the word "Rapera" means rap! It may be strange that the word "Rapera" inspires both in you and me a sense of being a "savior human". Truths and good works, I suppose are universally connected. I went to your site and when I read the synopsis of your musical work, I had chills down my spine - the story seems to capture precisely the message that I am trying to put across in the word "rapera"! These words that you wrote was like reading my mind:

"but instead he is given an ultimatum: that humanity is given one more chance to redeem itself or else the Earth will be destroyed".

God has already given us the choices and the capability that we need to make this earth (and anything else that comes our way) a "heaven".

I would be happy to be part of any effort to cultivate the "rapera" conciousness.

Please keep in touch and let me know how I may be helpful. I am in Malaysia..and you? US?

May I link you on my blog?

jay.

I hope the work by Chris Goslow can come to Malaysia.

RETHINKING OIL POLICY?

The Journey Towards Crude Oil Independence
By AMIR FAIZAL NAIDU BIN ABDUL MANAN

This was an article i submitted to NST last year, but didnt get published for reasons unknown. So facts may have changed since.
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The Government lately announced that due to the drastic increase in crude oil prices of the recent past, a major revamping of the fuel subsidy structure had to be done in order to reduce the financial burden the country would otherwise have to shoulder. No doubt, there were lots of hues and cries from the public, myself including despite the fact that I positively understand and agree that there is a need for the Government to review the subsidy structure. However, I also understand that this necessary adjustment will not protect us from future oil-price volatility. What will happen when the price is unbearably high and the Government decides that they have to revoke the subsidy completely? Will that then mean that we, the public, would continue to be susceptible to the volatility of petrol prices?

The Government should realize that the restructured fuel subsidy will merely offer a temporary and short-term relieve on Malaysia’s financial stresses. It is not a solution but rather a way of passing the problem from the Government to the public. We need to address the main problem head on and not make it another elephant in the room!

Fact one: global energy demand will continue to rise in the future to come, in fact it is globally agreed that world energy demand will double in the next few decades, particularly in light of the fact that China and India are gradually moving into an energy-intensive industrialization phase.

Fact two: supply of conventional oil and gas will struggle to keep pace with the growing energy demand. Supply of easy oil is no longer easy. Oil companies will surely attest to this, and I believe that the CEO of Petronas (Tan Sri Hassan Marican) confirmed this (NSTP- 6th June) when he revealed that much bigger investment is required to extract less oil.

Fact three: Because of the fact that we will struggle to meet demand with supply in the years to come, the price of oil is subjected to greater uncertainties, and looking at the volatility of oil prices the way it is right now, I seriously doubt that it will get any better. I doubt it will drop below 100USD per barrel, and I doubt that the burden we carry around for being heavily dependent on conventional oil and gas will ease on the public’s wallet and also on the Government’s wallet. But even if does drop below 100USD, I don’t think it will be long before OPEC decides to cut production with hope of driving the prices back to its glorious days (i.e. profitable for OPEC).

The Government needs to start looking into biofuels, which could serve as an alternative for gasoline. I applaud the Government’s effort in developing and promoting the use of Palm Oil for biodiesel. Indeed this is a brilliant step towards the right direction. However, we strongly need something similar for gasoline. We should not be contented and overly focused on the development of alternatives for diesel only, particularly when diesel only represents a smaller percentage of our total transport energy consumption. There are many alternatives that we could look into. Currently, bio-ethanol is assuming a bigger role as a replacement for gasoline worldwide. Brazil is the leader, and is closely followed behind by the US. The EU too is mandating the use of ethanol as a blending component for gasoline, and even in the East, the use of ethanol is gaining popularity. For example Thailand is already currently supplying E10 (10% ethanol blend) and E20 (20% ethanol blend) at its retail stations nationwide. In the news recently, the Thai government announced their plans of introducing E85 into the market by the end of the year, despite the many objections. Philippines on the other hand, too have been offering E10 for the last few years in some of its stations. The Philippines Biofuels Act of 2006, has stipulated that 5% of their total gasoline volume in 2009 will be substituted with ethanol. In fact, many other countries in the East (Australia, India, China etc) are gradually blending ethanol into their gasoline pool. I struggle to understand why we are not jumping into the bandwagon when this is clearly beneficial for the nation. I am not suggesting that we need to have the herd mentality, but bio-ethanol is already accepted worldwide, and car manufacturers are already in the race to develop and promote their versions of ethanol-compatible vehicles. If it is already coming to us, why wait till the very last minute and only follow pace after being left a few generations behind?
Many may feel that there would be compatibility issues surrounding the use of ethanol in our conventional gasoline car parc. However, many also fail to realize that in other markets in the world where bio-ethanol is mandated, typically car manufacturers (OEMs) endorse (and extend the warranty) the use of ethanol in gasoline of up to 10% (E10) in modern (without the use of carburetor) vehicles. Western countries that are big on using bio-ethanol, particularly Brazil, have been aggressively and actively promoting the use of ethanol in their own country in order to reduce their dependence on imported oil and their vulnerability to price volatility. The gradual implementation of ethanol-blended fuel together with the radical measures taken to motivate OEMs to develop and market ethanol-compatible cars (FFVs- flexible fuel vehicles) in Brazil, as well as offering incentives to the public for the use of bio-ethanol, Brazil is now the biggest consumer and exporter of bioethanol in the world. At present, FFVs represent the biggest passenger car market share in Brazil, and they offer gasoline laced with ethanol as high as 85% (E85).

There are lots of OEMs currently producing FFVs and in fact, if my memory serves me right, Ford, not too long ago, established a plant in the Philippine specializing in the production of FFVs for the Asean market. As a matter of fact, Volvo is already offering FFVs in the Thai market.
Ethanol could generally be produced via many ways, using various feedstocks, such as sugar cane, cassava, sorghum potato, wheat, rice, molasses and many more. To avoid competition with food crops, there are technologies out there where bio-ethanol could be produced from waste agricultural products. This will indeed tie in very well with the Prime Minister’s suggestion of developing many more agricultural lands, and would also be a plus side for the environment.
Therefore, why not emulate the same initiatives taken by the Brazilians (and other countries worldwide) and maybe hopefully at some point we could be 85% less vulnerable to the volatility of oil prices ?

FOOD SECURITY

There is a good article on food security which is worth thinking about. Syed Akbar Ali writes on his blog:

"As we are sitting and reading this, little termites are eating away here and there maybe without us realizing it.

We talk about food security, being self sufficient in food production, saving valuable foreign exchange which is now used to import food, providing employment in the agricultural sector etc. We import about 800,000 tonnes of rice a year. At RM1,500 per tonne, we are spending RM1.2 Billion to import rice".

You may continue reading the article at OutSyed TheBox

Why the fight to use the word “Allah”?

The term “Allah” as many in many parts of the world knows is a term that is used exclusively by Muslims to denote the concept of “The” “One God” who has no partners, does not beget nor is begotten. The term “Allah” used by the Muslims also encompasses the following belief:

“God! There is no god but He,-the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permits? He knows what (appears to His creatures as) is before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass any of His knowledge except as He wills. His Throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory)”. (Quran: 2.255).

You may continue reading the article here.

The Passing of a Rapera....Rest in Peace Markus

I never got to know this young man. I did make a note to get to know him. Read his blog last year and found a soul that had a message for the world, a mission of love. Now he has passed away to another "dimension" having finished his task here.

Rest in peace Markus Chung Yau Ng [1985 to 2009].

Without doubt, Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir has been watched very closely by political observers for many years. He has capabilities, those who know him know him as a thinker, and he is approachable. In short, he is viewed as Menteri Besar material. I personally think he is right choice. Only events thereafter will determine whether this view is correct.

However, it may be unfortunate that a capable man is fated to assume such responsibilities under these circumstances. But many say, it is only another political event. What remains important is - can the new Government deliver?

The younger generation Rakyat generally do not seem to care which party is in power anymore. What they want to see is intelligent, efficient and effective leadership that can benefit the Rakyat. They want less rhetoric and more caring action.

The Rakyat is actually waiting to see politicians that can evolve into a higher state of statemen. The Rakyat no longer want to be sponsors for politicians to make wealth, assume power and walk arrogantly. Everyone will have to work hard and honestly for their income. This includes politicians.

If the politicians fail to evolve to this higher level of political existence, they may be viewed as redundant as the appendix - when the pain sets in, surgery is the answer.

Crossovers, other than for explicitly stated inevitable principled reasons (which may even be questioned) would be frowned upon in any society that upholds the sanctity of the voter's mandate. Crossovers WITHOUT the consent of the voters will tantamount to breach of the voter's trust. Politicians must understand what MANDATE means. It is a contract between the voters and the candidate with explicit and implicit terms.

For this reason, the current issue has given rise to objections from many quarters both from UMNO and non-UMNO quarters.

PEACE !

Nazrin: Courts not for political antics

The courts should not be used for political influence or perceived by the people as “a place for theatrical performance with pre-written scripts,” said Raja Muda of Perak Raja Nazrin Shah. You can read the full report in The Star

“Practice according to the highest code of ethics to strengthen the democratic system in line with check and balance mechanisms for the three pillars — the legislative, executive and judiciary,” he said.

DAULAT TUANKU !

The PERAK PERPLEXITY

The Perak political drama is perplexing in many ways. It also gives rise to two issues- one moral and the other legal.

Legally, it involves constitutional issues and if not properly handled, it may give rise to a constitutional crisis in the State. It appears that PR and already seen the Sultan and BN will be doing soon. It will be the Sultan who will then decide whether to dissolve the Assembly or allow BN to form the government. Until such dissolution or forming of the new government by BN, the current PR government i still valid.

On the moral side, there is the issue of unprincipled politicians who go before the Rakyat on one party and then defect to another platform. It may be very possible that such leaders may be completely rejected by the Rakyat should they seek a re-election from the Rakyat. This has to be tested.

Shad Faruqi opines that “Party-hopping is a despicable activity no matter which party does it. Not only does it bring shame to the political process, it is also a bad way to form a government,” he added. You can read it here.

What are your views? Can a politician do whatever he wants once he is voted in by the Rakyat or is his mandate cancelled once he party hops without going back to the voters to get their views?

Peace !

Addendum.

And this is Tun Dr Mahathir's take on Perak:

"Apakah UMNO begitu terdesak sehingga tidak dapat tunggu keputusan mahkamah berkenaan tuduhan terhadap mereka sebelum menerima mereka? Jika diterima sekarang dan kemudian mereka didapati tidak bersalah maka Kerajaan pimpinan UMNO (lebih kurang) akan dituduh mempengaruhi mahkamah. Benar tidak benar bukan soalnya. Pada pandangan masyarakat tuduhan ini tetap akan dipercayai. Ia akan punyai kesan dalam PRU13".

PERAK: BN OR RE-ELECTION?

According to the little humming bird that perched on the window sill, it appears that Barisan Nasional will be governing Perak.

But a crow whispered that if that happens, PR will try to engineer a by-election.

Which is good for the People? A Government that cannot govern its assemblymen must give way to one that can? Or another waste of public funds?

Peace.

RETURN GUANTANAMO TO THE PEOPLE OF CUBA.

President Barack Obama should take immediate steps to return the US naval base at Guantanamo to the people of Cuba without pre-conditions.

Cubans have on numerous occasions demanded that the US dismantle its military base on their homeland which has been there for 106 years. It was established following the Spanish-American War of 1898 and is a direct consequence of colonialism. The terms of the treaty governing the base and its usage are so lopsided that the Cuban people have no choice but to put up with the base ad infinitum --- unless the US government decides to relinquish its control over Guantanamo.

If Obama is sincere about dealing with other states on the basis of mutual respect, he should begin by changing US attitude towards its little neighbor which since the Cuban Revolution of 1959 has been characterized by insufferable arrogance and insolence that has no parallel in the modern world. Apart from perpetuating an edifice of colonial occupation in Guantanamo, successive US Presidents in the last 50 years have subjected Cuba to every conceivable injustice. A suffocating trade embargo against the island has been in place for 46 years. Cuba has been invaded with the active collaboration of the US; terrorist attacks have been conducted on Cuban soil by groups and individuals affiliated to the CIA; a Cuban civilian aircraft carrying children among other passengers was destroyed with the connivance of the US; Cubans languish in US jails on trumped up charges; and numerous attempts have been made by agents linked to US buttressed networks to assassinate Fidel Castro, the leader of the Cuban Revolution.

In a nutshell, US Administrations in the past have not shown an iota of respect for the independence and sovereignty of the 11.4 million Cuban people. It is the Cuban people’s desire to be independent and their refusal to submit to US hegemony that has provoked the wrath of US Administrations. Obama should demonstrate through deeds that he respects those who seek to protect their independence and integrity. That is the change that we would like to see in US foreign policy under his presidency.


Dr. Chandra Muzaffar,
President,
International Movement for a Just World (JUST).


Malaysia,
February 2, 2009.

Detoxing the Economic Crisis4 - MANAGE PERCEPTIONS

PERCEPTIONS as any economist will tell you can be lethal causes that unleash behaviors that will adversely affect the economy. If the businessmen perceive that the economy will slow down, he will already take steps to cut down costs - cut production, meaning retrenchment of resources.

Likewise, if a consumer perceives that the economy is slowing down, he may cut down on consumption expenditure will lead to a decline in demand for goods and services which in turn will affect the productive sector which in turn may lead to rising unemployment.

I think by now you can see the point - negative perceptions about the state of the economy can bring forth chain reactions which actually brings the economy into a bad shape! So perceptions must be managed.

Political instability only fuels negative perceptions.

Average leaders who are totally unimaginative in their economic solutions will only fuel negative perceptions.

Financial leaders who speak negatively of the economic future and/or speak completely unintelligently will only fuel negative perceptions.

Leadership that is unable to provide economic direction and move the public (both on the consumer and the producer side) will only fuel negative perceptions.

Negative perceptions leads to speculative behaviour which will injure the national economy.

These MUST be managed.

There must be firm, intelligent leadership. Rhetoric and mere politics will only drown the country with the economic tsunami which may largely be a result of speculative behaviors due to lack of economic perception management.

Peace!

Detoxing the Economic Crisis3: - Increase Spending

There is enough news already to create an economic slowdown even if there was none impending in the first place - news of 40.000 layoffs, news of factories closing down, etc. Negative economic perceptions often become self-fulfilling prophesies. Perceptions have to be managed because speculative behaviors impact economic realities.

Clearly, spending is necessary to stimulate the economy. However, under circumstances where unemployment is rising and where the private sector foresees dark horizons in the future, they will cut back on investment expenditure (meaning: no new employment) and on costs (meaning unemployment increases). This as we saw earlier will only start the vicious cycle of further decline in income levels and increase unemployment.

But the economy needs investment. There has to be injection of capital into the economy which will allow resources to be employed and generate income so that the economy can grow by the multiplier effect. This expenditure must come initially from the Government. It is a start to counter falling incomes and rising unemployment. The spending however must be in the sectors that can stimulate employment.

The other approach will be to boost private sector confidence and by giving them the access to capital so that investments can increase. The capacity of the private sector to expand and to produce goods and services must be increased. One good move recently by Bank Negara was the reduction of the BLR. Whether the banks will now renegotiate interests with the business sector and consumers is important for the BLR reduction to be of any real effect.

The consumers (people) must also be given the ability to spend by reducing the various taxes levied that largely reduces the real income of the consumers. The capacity of the people to spend must be increased. I am totally amazed that to date the "brains" in the government have not come up with tax proposals that will confront the economic slowdown.

Increase in government expenditure that does not relate to increase in employment of resources may only cause inflationary pressures for example, if 30% of of the government expenditure goes to "commission" or "corruption", then these money increase will not stimulate the economy.

SMEs need stimulus and assistance because they are important agents of stimulating the economy. They have the ability of becoming "shock absorbers" for economic slowdowns.

Mega projects that does not contribute to a substantial increase in the employment of local resources are useless for the purposes of sheltering or reducing the impact of economic slowdown on locals.

So, increase both spending and the capacity to spend.

Peace.

Detoxing the Economic Crisis2: Understanding basics

It is important for Raperas to understand some basic facts about how the economy works. In a free market (which ours is to a large extent), two important forces that move the economy is "demand" and "supply". These are collectively called market forces and the interplay between demand and supply not only affect prices and costs but also determine the distribution of goods, services and resources.

An economic slowdown may be due to factors on the demand side, or supply side or both. In this current crisis, it appears to have been caused by demand side factors when the financial crisis suddenly left many with no "money" (in lay person terms). It will be interesting to note that it was not caused by the supply side factors such as over-production, rising costs of production (and the accompanying consequences), etc.

When we say "demand", in economic terms we mean the desire to purchase something ie desire backed by the ability to pay. In other words, need or desire without the ability to pay is not "demand". Only when there is demand will there be supply of goods and services. Any supply of goods and services without demand will also slow down the economy and result in wastage of resources (meaning unemployment).

Demand, however can happen both on the consumer side and the producer side. Consumers demand for consumer goods and services while the producers demand for resources or the factors of production - land, labour, capital and enterprise.

If for example, the demand for houses increases, this will encourage entrepreneurs to venture into the housing construction industry. This means more resources in the country will now be diverted towards this industry. Engineers, architects, surveyors, construction workers, owners of land, "owners of capital" (banks), etc, etc will now be "employed" by this industry - meaning everyone here earns income. Income represents ability to pay which in turn means demand which in turn will lead to further production of goods and services to satisfy this demand. You can see that one act of employment leads to a multiplier effect in the economy.

Simple explanation of the multiplier effect: If you spend RM1, it is likely that you may spend 70 sen and save the 30 sen. B who gets your 60 sen may spend 40 sen, C in turn may spend 30 sen and so on. In this example, an investment of RM1 has created an income of 70 + 40 + 30 = RM1.40 sen. Imagine if 20 million people spend RM1...how much income will have been generated in the country? This is why spending is important to spur the economy. What you spend becomes someone's income which then becomes someone else's income and so on.

The reverse is also true. If you DO NOT spend RM1, the economy shrinks by a "demultiplier" effect. Th economy shrinks rapidly. Resources become unemployed, businesses become pessimistic and cut costs, income levels drop unleashing a vicious cycle that will bring the economy to a recession.

The above is of course a very simple explanation. However, it is clear that spending is important when economy slows down and the AREAS in which spending is done is equally important if the main purpose is to create employment.

Peace.

Detoxing the Economic Crisis1: THE BANKS - PRODUCTIVE LOANS

A major player in our economic system are the banks. Obviously because they ensure liquidity (meaning money)in the economy - both on the productive side (meaning businesses) and the consumptive side (meaning consumers).

Let us look at the productive side and see how the Banks can play a role in detoxing the slowdown or worsening it. Very often we hear of Government leaders making announcements of funds that have been allocated to banks to ease the economic slowdown and to spur the economy. The reality on the ground is: no money is moving out of the Banks.

I have clients who have major difficulty in obtaining loans nowadays. The answer they receive is that: "The business is viable but let us wait and see after March". This wait-and-see attitude of banks when faced with funding businesses or projects that are viable is hurting not only the business but the economy in general. The longer the waiting period to get the loan approved, the longer the delay of any recovery of the economy. This means resources (meaning generating income) cannot be employed quickly.

The longer the waiting period for the loan, the entire project or the business itself may be called off due to various factors. The cost of waiting can be extremely high and the loan applicant may run of financial stamina.

So, it is about time Banks learn to be nationalistic in their quest to earn the interest and to safeguard their profits. They should not kill off the economy because of their alternative "safer" mode of earning interest from the use of short=term funds.

Small and medium industries, which are so essential for the generation of incomes and creation of employment during crisis periods, should be supported by Banks. Again, I notice from the complaints I have received that such support is not coming or extremely slow. I know banks have "checklist" being used by the banking technocrats.....but it will be useful also if you get the views of someone knowledgeable about the business that is applying for the loans. It is extremely dangerous when all that the bank relies on is the armchair evaluation of a Harvard graduate who doesn't have the slightest inkling about the business that he is supposed to evaluate! Of course it is worse when the evaluator is some young officer fromm some local study place who does not know where he himself is coming or going in the bank. No offence but this is the impression I get and it worries me. During the "good times", every one seemed lax, no everyone seems lost and scared.

I will go so far to say that banks that do not approve loans to viable businesses due to dubious reasons or do not assist in overcoming the "lack of qualifications" that the applicant may have are actually working against national interests.

The Government, the businesses and the Banks have to work together to detox the economy. We have to ensure that there is liquidity in the productive sectors so that this will translate into demand for resources and hence income and employment generation.

On the consumption side, the local Banks must try something that they have never tried before - do not push those who are genuinely out of jobs into bankruptcy. Approach loan and credit cards defaulting with sober approaches that will not worsen the economy and cause further socio-politico-economic problems. Barclays card is a good teacher that knows how to handle defaulting credit card holders in a way that does not destroy the credit card user. Likewise, I understand, Citibank is good at handling those who may have difficulty in settling their credit card repayments.

Moments of crisis requires one to approach matters creatively and not just sticking to set procedures and textbook solutions.

Peace!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR !

Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is one of the most important traditional Chinese holidays. It is sometimes called the Lunar New Year, especially by people outside China. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first lunar month (Chinese: 正月; pinyin: zhēng yuè) in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern Festival. Chinese New Year's Eve is known as Chúxī. It literally means "Year-pass Eve".

According to tales and legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with the fight against a mythical beast called the Nian or "Year" in Chinese. Nian would come on the first day of New Year to devour livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn’t attack any more people. One time, people saw that the Nian was scared away by a little child wearing red. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red. Hence, every time when the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, the Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjunlaozu, an ancient Taoist monk. The Nian became Hongjunlaozu's mount.

The biggest event of any Chinese New Year's Eve is the dinner every family will have. A dish consisting of fish will appear on the tables of Chinese families. A reunion dinner is held on New Year's Eve where members of the family, near and far away, get together for the celebration. The venue will usually be in or near the home of the most senior member of the family. The New Year's Eve dinner is very sumptuous and traditionally includes chicken and fish.

Red packets for the immediate family are sometimes distributed during the reunion dinner. These packets often contain money in certain numbers that reflect good luck and honorability. The red packet itself is said to represent good luck. Several foods are consumed to usher in wealth, happiness, and good fortune. Several of the Chinese food names are homophones for words that also mean good things. Yushengs or Yee sang is a raw fish salad. Eating this salad is said to bring good luck. This dish is usually eaten on the seventh day of the New Year, but may also be eaten throughout the period.

The fifteenth day of the new year is celebrated as Yuánxiāo jié (元宵节), otherwise known as Chap Goh Mei in Fujian dialect. Rice dumplings Tangyuan (simplified Chinese: 汤圆; traditional Chinese: 湯圓; pinyin: tāngyuán), a sweet glutinous rice ball brewed in a soup, is eaten this day. Candles are lit outside houses as a way to guide wayward spirits home. This day is celebrated as the Lantern Festival, and families walk the street carrying lighted lanterns.
This day often marks the end of the Chinese New Year festivities.

KONG HEE FATT CHOY !

The Horse Trick

He goes to town riding a horse expecting to be showered by scented flowers from both sides of the path. He tries a new trick which the horse has never done before. He expects the onlookers to be surprised and applaud him. The trick only killed the horse and he fell breaking his legs. The horse was never made ready for the show. Will he recover?

Peace !

The Politics of NGOs.

How many times have we read in the papers with headlines like “24 NGOs protest against abolition of ISA”, and so on. It conjures up the image of quite a number of thinking people with no vested interest supporting a cause or protesting against some evil.
RAPERAs, not necessarily so. You have to look closer. It could very well be made up just a few people with vested interests hiding behind the façade of an NGO. They could also be serving a hidden master. This is the politics of NGO.

“NGO” is an acronym for a non-governmental organization. It could range from a society for the old to any society founded on some cause, for example, Consumer Association of Penang, Persatuan Ibu Tunggal and so on. NGOs are supposed to be free from Government influence and from mainstream politics. They are supposed to have a cause free from vested interest with an ulterior hidden motive. Of course all NGOs have a vested interest – their own cause. Nothing wrong with that. It is the hidden ulterior motive that we are concerned about.

Reality is however different in this country where hypocrisy is a major value and almost a dominant culture. There is a lot of “silap mata” in country because there are many people with vested interests who actually believe that the silent majority of the Rakyat are fools. They mistake silence for stupidity and helplessness.

Hence, many NGOs are not actually apolitical or without vested interests. Many NGOs are actually formed and backed by politicians with various ostensible objectives but the main purpose being to sustain their power and influence. A close scrutiny will disclose that actual active membership of the NGO is negligibly small and the real persons moving it my be actually one for two persons. Hence it is not at all surprising if “24 NGOs” translates to actually 24 people. The movers of these 24 NGOs may even be just one or two or three persons at the most while the rest have a nodding skill.

SO, RAPERAs, do not be fooled or mesmerized by the “support” or “protests” of NGOs, Some are genuine and many are false serving hidden masters and hidden agendas. For people with hidden agendas and who are prepared to be tools, do they serve free lunches?

Let us look at another aspect of NGOs. There is an NGO called the “Muslim Lawyers Association” (“MLA”). Being a lawyer, I have always wondered why there was a need for this while there is the Bar Council. It seems to “justfy” the formation of a “Hindu/Christian/Taoist/Buddhist/Confucious/Sikh Lawyers Association”. If it is a “Shariah Law Practitioners Association”, I may be able to understand for obvious reasons. So I wonder how Muslims lawyers’ interests are served by the MLA which cannot be served by the Bar Council?

An NGO which has now resurfaced to capture the public eye is the Dong Jia Jong (United Chinese School Committees/Teachers Association) which a blogger has termed the “myopic dong-keys”. This group used to be very powerful among the Chinese based political parties and is supposed to represent “Chinese interest like education, culture, language, etc”. They are asking that Science and Maths be taught in Mandarin and not in English. Great leap forward! Had they not been of “Chinese origin” would they believe in that call too?
At another part of the dried lawn, you have “Persatuan Islam that” And “Persatuan Islam this”. Obviously some of them have Islamic teachings as the premise for whatever their cause may be. However, there are also others where you have to try hard to identify why they named themselves as “Persatuan Islam …”. A Muslim especially cannot avoid thinking that the label “Islam” is being abused for completely some other ulterior motive that has nothing to do with Islam. It may just be a case of pandering to the sentiments of the majority professed Muslims in the country.

A Rapera needs to avoid thinking that every NGO must necessarily be serving a “good cause”. Quite a number may turn out to be devils in disguise.

The art of politics is similar to the art of the sleight of hand or Houdini’s magic – what you see is not what is. What appears most harmless and most innocent may turn out to be the very centre of ………

Think about it.

Peace !

NO POSTINGS UNTIL 16TH JAN

Friends and readers of this blog,

There may be no postings until 16th Jan as I may have to travel a bit. But that shouldn't stop you from sharing your views.

Peace !

"THEY"

A University lecturer friend of mine in England emailed me these lyrics. The song is linked below. Interesting.



"They"

Who made up all the rules?
We follow them like fools,
Believe them to be true,
Don't care to think them through

And I'm sorry, so sorry
I'm sorry it's like this
I'm sorry, so sorry
I'm sorry we do this

And it's ironic too
'Cause what we tend to do
Is act on what they say
And then it is that way

And I'm sorry, so sorry
I'm sorry it's like this
I'm sorry, so sorry
I'm sorry we do this

Who are they?
Where are they?
How can they possibly
Know all this?
Who are they?
Where are they?
How can they possibly
Know all this?

Do you see what I see?
Why do we live like this?
Is it because it's true
That ignorance is bliss?

Who are they?
Where are they?
How do they
Know all this?
And I'm sorry, so sorry
I'm sorry it's like this

Do you see what I see?
Why do we live like this?
Is it because it's true
That ignorance is bliss?

And who are they?
Where are they?
How can they
Know all this?
And I'm sorry, so sorry
I'm sorry we do this

REGAIN YOUR DIGNITY AS A RAKYAT – BE A RAPERA. [PART 4]

A Rakyat is obsessed, mesmerized and awed by politics and politicians. A Rapera knows that politics is not the beginning and the end of life. The beginning of life is life –you are born. The end of life is the end of life – you are dead. Between cradle to grave, there are many challenges, needs, issues, responsibilities, duties, temptations, etc that will be put in your path of life. How you respond to these things will determine whether you are a mere Rakyat or a Rapera.

“Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, "We believe", and that they will not be tested?” (Quran 29:2

These are simple truths of life. These simple truths do not admit differing interpretations. For example, at the very least, one has to eat and shit (no disrespect meant). Between the act of eating and shitting there are so many other simple truths. You either accept them or deny them. A Rapera cannot live in self denial like the common Rakyat. A Rapera must be prepared to confront the challenges with courage, wisdom and patience. In the process, be prepared to feel grieve, frustrations, loss of worldly privileges, etc. But you will not lose your dignity and humanity.

“You shall certainly be tried and tested in your possessions and in your personal selves; and you shall certainly hear much that will grieve you, from those who received the Book before you and from those who worship (serve) many gods. But if you persevere patiently, and guard against evil,-then that will be a determining factor in all affairs”. (Quran 3:186)

How do you guard against evil? Corruption and destruction of societies are not done by the ghosts and “evil spirits”. It is done by humans who worship false gods. Most of the Rakyat may serve and worship many false and created gods – politicians, priests, ego, materialism, tribalism and such. Have we not heard of the phrase for example, “biar mati anak jangan mati adat”? Culture is worshiped at the expense of the sacred life that Allah created. A Rapera is not distracted by these “dazzles of life”. A Rapera serves and worships only the Truth. The crystallization of truth is the performance of righteous deeds.

Politics is a conduit like a pipe. It may carry clean water or human waste. Untreated human waste is stinky and hazardous to life. Politicians that use the pipe to carry clean water or treated human waste are Raperas too. Politicians who use the pipe to carry untreated human waste or dirty water (like what is occurring today) have become part of the human waste. Hence we hear people say that politics is dirty. What is dirty needs to be treated and cleaned. The truth is that simple.

The question is: who will do the job? You or are you waiting for “them”? If you wait, then you are a common Rakyat. If you do what you can to start the cleaning process, then you are a Rapera.

Sure, power can be intimidating to some of the people, especially if power is in the hands of evil or those prone to evil. But look at the truth of power again. Briefly, it is temporary and self destructive in the hands of evil. If you have mixed with “powerful” people, you will realize that many of them are actually extremely lonely narcissists. They all know deep within that one day the curtain will fall and the audience will simply move to another show. That is why the corrupt ones are self deluded in amassing wealth with the false notion that at least I will be okey when I retire”. How much wealth will ease the loss of youth, agility and the audience? Please talk to ex-politicians, ex-high ranking civil servants, ex-judges, all the ex-ses. You can see that some have retired gracefully and some retired compellingly and unhappily.

Power is a subject onto itself that need to be understood carefully by the Rapera. Maybe I can take it up in another article. For the purposes of this article, let me add one more point – even the most “powerful” is not really powerful when you think about it. In the Quran you have the example of the Pharoah who finally died by drowning in his chase after Moses. In modern times, you have the examples of Indra Ghandi, Ferdinand Marcos, Joseph Estrada, Thaksin, Suharto, etc. In this context, Dr Mahathir was wise in voluntarily relinquishing power while he was at his peak. In other cases, you have leaders whose tenure in power have been cut short by events.

“Say: "O God! Lord of Power (And Rule), You give power to whom You please, and You strip off power from whom You please: You endow with honour whom You please, and You bring low whom You please: In Your hand is all good. Verily, over all things You have power”. (Quran 3:26)

A common Rakyat is submissive, and fearful of the powerful evil. Hence he has an excuse not to do the right thing. Hence, he may corroborate either consciously or unconsciously with the evil leader/person. On the other hand, while a Rapera may also be fearful, he is ever conscious that the presence of the evil leader/person is a test to him. The fear of failing the test overwhelms the fear of the “power” of the evil leader. Before God, there can be no excuses, maybe reasons AND there is a big difference between the two. You and I know it – deep inside.

A Rapera must forever hold on to the truth. Raperas need to remind each other of this.

Peace !

NEXT: REGAIN YOUR DIGNITY AS A RAKYAT – BE A RAPERA. [PART 5]

REGAIN YOUR DIGNITY AS A RAKYAT – BE A RAPERA. [PART 3]

When I first read the autobiography of Ghandi when I was in Form 4, I was moved and I was stunned. Was there really such a man who is prepared to take blows and swallow “pride”. So self sacrificial? I had to eliminate the possibility that this character is pure fiction. So I read as much as I can about the man. He is real. Since he is real, then it is possible for me to direct my behaviors and acquire mental attitudes of his – try in the face of hate to exhibit love. Must confess, I have not fully succeeded.

In the Ghandi movie, one of the scenes that will make me cry even to this day is this: - Ghandi was lying on his bed, half dead from fasting as a means to stop the rioting between the Hindus and the Muslims. A Hindu man threw a piece of bread on Ghandi’s chest and pleaded: “Eat! I have killed muslim children because the muslims have killed mine. I will burn in hell but I will not have your death on my conscience. Eat !”

Ghandi replied to the Hindu man; “I know of a way out of hell for you. Adopt a Muslim child whose parents have died in the riots of the same age as your child that died. Treat him as your own...but only make sure he grows up as a Muslim”.

Ghandi is asking the HINDU man to atone for his sins of killing muslims by adopting a MUSLIM orphan and making sure he grows up a MUSLIM. This is how love replaces hate. Hate the sin, not the sinner. This takes great internal strength. A Rapera needs to cultivate internal strength to confront evil in the world.

“O you believers! stand out firmly for Allah, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is next to piety: and fear Allah. For Allah is well-acquainted with all that you do”. (Quran 5:8)

Undeniably, most of the Rakyat have been indoctrinated by the capitalistic-hedonistic-survival-of-the-fittest society that we live in to be tribal in our outlook. While technology may have advanced, the human is still not yet fully human – we are still cavemen living in different “furniture settings”. A Rapera tries very hard to safeguard his humanity from the onslaught of what is around him. In a sense, to be a Rapera, you have to walk it ALONE. If others follow, then they are walking with you – but expect no one but yourself to do what need be done. A Rapera has to walk his talk. A Rakyat merely talks and complaints.

“O you who believe! Why say you that which you do not do?” (Quran 61:2)
“Grievously odious is it in the sight of God that you say that which you do not”. (Quran 61:3)

If you do not walk your talk, you will be compelled to walk the path laid out for you by the evil forces. And you become part of it. You become part of the problem, not the solution. A Rapera must internalize this idea.

If a Rapera feels very strongly against racism and you feel totally helpless to “change the system”, here is something you can do alone – marry someone from another ethnic group. At least you will be a living example that it is possible to live as humans. At least your children will understand that ethnicity is a social and cultural construct. I can already visualize the common Rakyat coming out with many excuses even at this simple suggestion. A Rapera will find a way.

“O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other (not that you may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)”. (Quran 49:13)

Most of the Rakyat are always concerned about numbers, about majority before they even decide to take any action. They are trapped in the mindset that only if there is a majority that thinks like them, then only they may take action. Hence they die never “contributing” because they can never find this majority as a prerequisite. History is clear that the majority always wait for things to happen before they follow the crowd. Generally speaking, following the majority in most cases in most matters merely because of the “majority factor” is “suicidal”. The “comfort zone” is a sure killer in the long run. A Rapera knows this. The Rakyat does not.

“Were you to follow the majority of those on earth, they will lead you away from the Way of God. They follow nothing but conjecture: they do nothing but lie” (Quran 6:116)

The “sad” fact is: the majority does not stop to think and reflect. They hardly make an attempt to obtain and appraise the true facts. They are existential in behavior and attitude. They simply live out the life that is laid out for them on the guess (conjecture) that that is the normal way to live. A Rapera must know this or must verify the validity of this. A Rapera know that majority per se does not make it the truth or right. A lie repeated a trillion times through the generations is still a lie.

The common Rakyat is like the sheep that can only make sense of its life if there is a shepard. They are forever waiting for the “right leader” before they want to right what they see as wrong. Of course, a leader is necessary and important but how do you know it is not you? A Rapera is not too concerned with the issue of leadership for the purposes of taking action. He does what has to be done as best as he can without waiting for a leader. It is not glory or heroism or claps that he is looking for. He merely does what need to be done.

“No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another; That man can have nothing but what he strives for; That (the fruit of) his striving will soon come in sight” (Quran 53:038-40)

“Verily, this is My way, leading straight: follow it: follow not (other) paths: they will scatter you about from His path: thus does He command you. that you may be righteous (Quran: 6:153)

A Rapera will persevere all through his life to be on the right path –the path of doing deeds of righteousness in all aspects of life. This is also known as the “power of one”.

Peace !

NEXT: REGAIN YOUR DIGNITY AS A RAKYAT – BE A RAPERA. [PART 4]

REGAIN YOUR DIGNITY AS A RAKYAT – BE A RAPERA. [PART 2]

A Rakyat may be cowed by positions, power, and wealth. A Rapera knows that only Allah can bestow this on a person and take it away as He pleases. Hence, these glitters of life do not detract him from calling a spade a spade. A thief is still a thief even if he is called Tan Sri Adipandai and lives in a mansion. Why should a dignified human being be intimidated by and bow to a thief? What more if you truly do believe in God.

“They said: "We have more in wealth and in sons, and we cannot be punished." (Quran 34:35)

“Say: "Verily my Lord enlarges and restricts the Provision to whom He pleases, but most men understand not." (Quran 34:36)

A Rakyat may be happy living in the world that his forefathers created, even if it humiliates humanity, affronts common sense and destroys him in the long run. He is controlled by perverse habits of thinking that may be labeled as “norms”, “culture”, “values”, “religion”, and so on. He is enslaved to the human masters that created these ideas for the pure purpose of enslavement.

“When they are told to follow that which God has sent down, they say: "No!, we shall follow the ways that we found our fathers (following). "What! even if it is Satan beckoning them to the Penalty of the (Blazing) Fire?” (Quran 31:21)

A Rapera is evaluative. He evaluates whatever he has inherited. He discards whatever that humiliates humanity, affronts common sense and destroys him in the long run. He tries very hard to free himself from being controlled by habits of thinking that may be labeled as “norms”, “culture”, “values”, “religion”, and so on. He is aware that Allah did not create brains for decorative purposes. He knows that he has change himself first before the society that he lives in can change for the better.

"Because God will never change the grace which He has bestowed on a people until they change what is in their (own) souls: and verily God is He Who hears and knows (all things)." (Quran 8:53)

A Rakyat is easily duped by politicians and religionists, believing that all of them must necessarily be good and sincere because of their speeches and their stature. They have not trained their minds to see beyond form. Hence, they cannot recognize substance.

A Rapera on the other hand, is guided by Allah’s warning – that such men may even swear in the name of Allah and yet commit all sorts of unthinkable atrocities. A Rapera learns to recognize substance over form.

“There is the type of man whose speech about this world's life May dazzle you, and he calls God to witness about what is in his heart; yet is he the most contentious of enemies” (Quran 2:204)

A Rakyat may think that change must occur outside himself. He is forever blaming “them” while forgetting that he is part of “them”. He may think he is helpless in the face of evildoers. A Rapera knows that evil can control him ONLY if he gives up his mind and soul to the evildoer.

"As for My servants, no authority shalt you (Satan) have over them:" Enough is my
Lord as a Disposer of affairs (Quran 17:65)

DO not give the evildoers authority over you. Let us regain our dignity as a citizen of this beautiful Nation. Let us TRY to evolve into a RAPERA.

Peace !

NEXT: REGAIN YOUR DIGNITY AS A RAKYAT – BE A RAPERA. [PART 3]

Have a BLESSED 2009 YEAR

When I was a kid, and then a teenager, I could never understand what my friends and then the adults were on about when they said they were "celebrating" the new year". As an adult myself today, I further could never understand it, especially when I look at what is meant by "celebration".

How does one celebrate what is coming ahead? And that too by waiting in large noisy crowds and counting the second and then yelling "Happy New year"? New Year's eve is a mad night. Unruly crowd who have forgotten all civic consciousness, party animals for whom this is just another excuse to do all that is ordinarily not probable and getting drunk so that he/she can savour a hangover the next day.

What happens the next day of the so-called celebrations? We wake up more determined and have left our bad habits behind? We become more responsible people - fathers, brothers, workers, citizens,friends, etc? Life around us suddenly changes for the better? I suppose it is human malady to keep repeating the same useless, self delusional behaviors that we have been so accustomed to because EVERYBODY has been doing it FOR YEARS!

It would have made more sense to me to ponder over the passing year and/or to celebrate it. Or to give thanks for the coming of the new one. Or to say: "GOd, I am still alive. My work on earth is still not done?".

How about this to celebrate? -

Every new year means you are one year older and hence one step closer to death and old age (ceteris paribus)?

Every new year means you have an additional year to audit your performance on earth - has it been any different, useful or the same useless existence?

Every new year means you have an additional year to struggle to free yourself from the mental and emotional baggages that you have inherited - will you succeed this year?

Every new year means you have an additional year to live a life of a helpless citizen or a dignified "slave" of God or in another language - a decent human.

From cradle to grave, many live a repetitious, predictable and meaningless life. I pray we are not one of them.

HAVE A BLESSED NEW YEAR...a another extension in the lease of our life.

PEACE !