Selamat Pagi Malaysia...
We are told that the country is in chaos. Anwar is not able to handle nor run the government and the country.
This government is expanding the role of Jakim to help draft a national development policy framework based on Malaysia Madani. How will Jakim raise the dignity and status of our nation? Will the Muftis and scholars in Jakim do more preaching? Will Jakim be providing more training and organizing more Al-Quran recitation and memorization competitions? Will Jakim Khalwat Squad be more invasive more often in more states on more Malays? We want less of Jakim, not more...so says the moderate Malays and many others!
Concert guidelines for entertainment activities in higher education institutions - what the hell for? Do they want to segregate male and female? Is this another "conservative wave" making its way into university campuses?
And recently we heard that this government has announced the introduction of teaching Iman Al-Nawawi 40 Hadiths in schools. It would seem that reversing Islamization in education is close to impossible. In a free fall, the direction is always downward.
And the civil servants must be won over with better pay and pensions? Really? The Civil Service is a fat-bloated cow that has been spoiled rotten by its political masters in the mistaken belief that they must be pandered to because it is an essential "vote bank" for any political party. In truth, the civil service needs to be trimmed down and rampant corruption within its ranks has to be curtailed: not more pay, more bonuses, and more pensions! And do get on with the business of improving the work ethics and morality of the civil servants.
Then there is that DNAA issue. With Zahid Hamidi prima facie established, the new AG's job should have been to find ZH guilty. Then Zahid can go to appeal court. Instead, they say DNAA. Now the whole country is upset with PMX and the unity government is in jeopardy. It seems DSAI doesn't have the right advisors. Really?
All of the above are but just a few of the things that these "politically mad" Malaysians are talking about as they go about their daily lives. They talked about it every day. They discuss and debate about it, and they write about it ad nauseam every day. And then they go to sleep, wake up, and discuss the same thing again the very next day.
In Malaysia, and for many Malaysians, it is Groundhog Day every day: a situation in which a series of unwelcome or tedious events appear to be recurring in exactly the same way every day!
After thirteen years of doing the same thing - blogging - I decided to go back to KL and see for myself the condition my country condition was in...and these are just some of the things that I found out.
Who you are no longer matters....what matters is what you know and what you can do to add value to the things that you want to do for yourself and for others. A "saya sokong" letter from a Minister or the PM, is no longer a sure ticket to getting a tender or being awarded a project with the government. Your proposal must have merit, be credible, and be good for Malaysia, and Malaysians.
Yes, everybody you meet has an opinion on things political in Malaysia....just as they have an opinion as to which is the best Nasi Briyani Ayam Madu (Mahbub in Bangsar), which is the best place to see and be seen: Alexis in BSC or Alexis in Great Eastern Mall (the Chicken Rice is expensive and not as tasty as the Chicken Rice Shop, and the Coffee is bloody expensive).....but the ambiance and the great service makes up for all those things and more.
Do not be concerned that everybody you meet will tell you about their fears of the Green Wave, their worry that politicians are getting away with being corrupt, or that the traffic jams in KL are simply horrendous...because as soon as they finish telling you about all that...they go back to trying to earn a decent living and forget what it is that they have been gripping about. Malaysians just like to talk...and they will talk if you listen...so listen at your own peril. All things considered, Malaysians go on with their lives no matter what happens in Putrajaya. That is how it has been for decades, and that is how it will be for more decades to come. All we can hope for is that whoever is in Putrajaya will have our interest at heart.
Yes, the Traffic Jams are horrendous....you have all those elevated highways all over the place channeling thousands of cars into what? Into more traffic jams! And Malaysian drivers lack patience, and discipline and are totally immersed in the "ME" mentality to the exclusion of everyone else. That "ME" mentality works if you are being escorted through traffic by police outriders - but for everyone else, it is a never-ending traffic struggle when going from point A to point B. And Malaysians just get into their cars every day and head towards those traffic jams every day ready to spend a few more hours in those traffic jams as if it was as common as breathing.
I am still trying to figure out many other things in KL, but this much I know! The day of political dominance by one party, one race, one religion, and one individual....is over. As we move forward towards this new maturity...a new dawn in things political...we can be thankful there will not be another UMNO, another Mahathir or even anyone like that Fake Tunku claiming the Federal Territory to be his personal fiefdom, or that short guy claiming FELDA to be his own ATM.
Mainstream media are only as good as what they can and dare to publish. Election does matter and YBs, to a great extent, come and go at the whims and facies of their electorate. UMNO warlords are an increasingly rare breed and soon, as rare breed goes, will be declared extinct to the relief of many of us.
Yes in KL those with money live as they like and still think they are as entitled as they have been all these years ....but they stay within their own kind and will not venture outside their turf lest they be told to remember that those days of the obnoxious entitled pricks are long gone. You need to be a decent human being to get respect from others. Money and power simply do not cut it anymore. Social media is a great leveler for people!
I am now in Melbourne. I want and will go back to that KL. The KL that has physically changed so much since I left it over a decade ago, but it is still the same KL that I left. We Malaysians are great survivors. Nothing can be worse than the EMERGENCY that ended in July 1960 or the May 13 racial riots. Compared to these two events, Konfrontasi and the leaving of Singapore from Malaysia are minor ailments that we have fully recovered from. Now it is bad politics that is the next challenge that is facing us all. And as far as politics goes, the worst is behind us. Any party can now win the next general election. Anybody can be the next PM. The electorates will decide these matters - and surely that is the very essence of Democracy....kan? Long live Malaysia and Malaysians and I for one, am proud to be a Malaysian. Merdeka!
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