[Politikus] Happy 52nd Merdeka

[Politikus] Happy 52nd Merdeka

Happy 52nd Merdeka

Posted: 31 Aug 2009 04:33 AM PDT

 NegaraKu

Let me wish all Malaysian Citizens a Happy 52nd Merdeka, most important, please drive home safely if you have travelled far during this long holiday season.

Also a warm Welcome to all foreign visitors and hope that Malaysia has given you a lasting impression that you may consider coming back to our beloved country again and again in the future.

Overheard in the kopitiam today, "I love my country, but does the Government love me?"

And overheard others throughout kopitiams around the nation:

1) 16As and no scholarship, whereas the dongoi who cant speak a full sentence of English goes to Medical School …

2) Cowhead March and no one detained – Peaceful Virgil and people get locked up …

3) Innocent reporter spent a day in ISA lock up!

And to echo Patrick Teoh (the long time DJ for Radio 4): "NIAMAH!"

Look East Policy

Posted: 31 Aug 2009 04:14 AM PDT

Is there a lesson to be learned?

Hatoyama's grandfather would have been proud of him. After a 30 year gap, the 3rd generation Hatoyama (Yukio) is now set to rule the country, a feat that his grandfather tried but did not manage to, years ago.

The rise of the Democratic Party of Japan's (DPJ) landslide victory over the weekend is nothing miraculous. It has not been producing anything significant since Taro Aso was declared the Prime Minister. But what Aso was trying hard to achieve, the DPJ was only smart enough to fan the anti-LDP sentiments and ride the wave of displeasure till it hits the voters right in the face. With a growing generation of aged population and crumbling Japanese economy, anything but LDP will be alright with the populace.

In the 80s and early part of 90s, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad propagated the concept of Look East – meaning, we should learn from the more advance economies especially Japan for inspiration. We were told to work hard and imitate Japanese creativity in breaking-through our more traditional reliance on agriculture stock to expanding towards industrialisation.

Part of that was the culmination of the resolve to have our own automobile industry in the form of Proton. And in support of that, many more satelite industries were produced, all in the hope of helping to sustain Proton as a viable and eventually 'lead car producer' in South East Asia.

Now this article is not about what is now history to us, but I just want to reminiscent back on whether the Look East attitude is still in many of us. A seed that was germinated from 20 or more years ago. Fast forward to 2012(3), could this be the fate of BN also?

There's always a myth that 50 years is a magic number in any political cycle. India had a change of guards, Taiwan had it and now Japan. With Japan closest to our country in this purported political "tsunami" (Japan had a long history of undivided rule by a single Party/Coalition of 54 years, except for the short period of 10 months where there was a transfer of power) is somewhat an echo of our own democracy.

Today, we celebrate our 52 years of Merdeka, also 52 undivided years of rule by a single coalition.

Can we draw any parallel between what DPJ has achieved over the weekend with what Pakatan Rakyat is trying to achieve? Is there any lessons that we are still blinded by despite the results of 12GE-308. Has UMNO been sincere enough to look through the web of illusions that they have been relying on and start to make incremental and truthful changes.

Despite what the PM Najib is trying extremely hard to do, there are more in the backyard that needs to be cleaned up before we can see a return of faith with the BN. With most of the component parties experiencing internal turmoil – the Chinese fighting each other, most probably another episode of Chair Throwing will come soon, the Indians are not willing to remove a permanent human asset from their Party and smaller parties trying hard to find their foothold, we'll be lucky if Commander Adama (a.k.a. Najib) is able to pull off a successful Battlestar Galactica journey for us to the newfoundland.

In the end, we can say Japan is too remote an incident for us to draw any parallels and hide our head in the ground, but I fear that there are more similarities than differences between the two. Taking a hint from former Deputy Prime Minister Musa Hitam, what he alluded to today in Sinchew (31 Aug) is cause to raise an alarm. The hindsight that he provides tells us intimately that UMNO is still living on 'cloud nine' and that they believe that nothing can 'touch' them.

The experience that I have with my attempt to service my own constituency tells exactly the same story. The inability of local UMNO warlords in changing their approach and the arrogance of supremacy their exude everytime 'we' try to help the voters is a shining example of doom and end of the tunnel.

We can believe that Najib is capable of bringing the country and the nation forward, and I have no doubts about that, but what I fear most and afraid of seeing is that, in time to come, when Najib has charged far enough and he takes a look behind only to find 'numerals' behind him, while most other warlords and eunuchs are trying to compartmentalise their own influence over a vanishing dynasty. You have seen it in Russia (the Tsars), in China (the last Ching dynasty) and now in Japan – when are we going to learn?

I'll start believing (that change is possible) if anyone can quote me the next acronym after R.A.H.M.A.N.
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