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