The Pakatan Rakyat we want!

There are three  Pakatan Rakyat.

First the Pakatan Rakyat that ‘won’ the 12th general election. This was the Pakatan Rakayat that was there at the right time and the right place to enable the voters to register a protest vote against BN. 

Next is the Pakatan Rakyat that exists now that can never win a general election to enable it to form government.

And the third is the Pakatan Rakyat that we aspire for. The Pakatan Rakyat that can win the 13th general election. This is the Pakatan Rakyat that is still a work in progress today. 

And those of you who are in Pakatan Rakyat…..you must try to see yourself as we the public see you!

We believe that PR meant well. We believe that PR is against corruption and is for open and accountable government. And that PR will ensure equal opportunity for all in Malaysia. But government today is not only about fighting corruption, or making 1Malayisa a reality and taking care of the poor and the underprivileged. We need a government to do all that but, more important, we need government for all – even those who are now aligned with BN. There are many of them. Too many to ignore!  And so PR must be a coalition that encompasses everyone in Malaysia. Only then can it be a government for Malaysians! 

And all this needs a new Pakatan Rakyat. A new way of doing things. A new vigour. A new commitment to the change that must come its way if it was to trump UMNO at the 13th general election. So that we can show to all who care to look, that this Pakatan Rakyat is different from the UMNO led Barisan Nasional.

Pakatan Rakyat must promise that  “power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many, not the few, where the rights we enjoy reflects the duties we owe, and where we live together, freely, in a spirit of solidarity, tolerance and respect” 
Statement of Value, Labour Party under Tony Blair.  

If we have that Pakatan Rakyat then that Pakatan Rakyat shall surely form government come the 13th general election!

The Pakatan Rakyat of today still lacks the totality of what we believers of ABU want! Of course it is better then the endemic corruption and the lack of good governance that Barisan Nasional has imposed upon us since Merdeka – but ‘better’ is not enough!

We want the aftermath of the 13th general election to be a period when we truly have a government for the people, by the people and of the people. I do not want my Prime Minister to knell before me in gratitude for voting his party into government. I want a Prime Minister to whom I will can give respect to because it is due. I want to look up to my Prime Minister as I had looked up to TUNKU many years ago – with reverence and a complete belief that he has my interest at heart. Not his party’s interest, not his children’s interest, not the interest of the people he plays cards with nor those he attends the races with  - but that he has the interest of his Rakyat at heart. That was how I thought of TUNKU. And I remembered the love I had for him as I knelt by his side after he died. I was one of those privileged to receive him when he was brought from the hospital where he died to the house at Kenny Hill before he was returned to his beloved state, Kedah. Even today I can only imagine how much he must have suffered from the treatment that Mahathir and his beloved UMNO had imposed upon him. For TUNKU only death brought relief from UMNO.If UMNO could do that to one of their own what do you think they care about us?  

Now whom amongst all you politicians will be deserving of that reverence from us all?   

Find that person quick PR. Find him/her before this hope within us is disappointed again. Find a leader that will sweep away the hatred that we felt for Mahathir. Find us someone that we will not  questioned as we had started to questioned Pak Lah as he allowed KJ to do more as he did less! Find us some one in whom we will not have the disgust and mistrust we now feel for Najib and his First Lady!

If you give us someone who can only do half of what we ask of them you will only get half our votes. If you have someone who can do all but still lack the affections that TUNKU had for us, then you will not get all our votes. No room for compromises, no time for anyone to grow into this person that we want and certainly do not allow ethnicity or gender to become a barrier to your choice as leader to PR. Chose wisely and we will follow. Anything less would never do.  

ABU ABU ABU!

TUN DR MAHATHIR and PAK MAN TELO : THEIR PLACE IN OUR HISTORY!

This is bordering on the ludicrous! Are we engaging in a debate with Mahathir on how many millionaires or billionaires his government has created in its years of power? And astoundingly Mahathir has decided to join into the debate full tilt with names and ethnic ratios of these millionaires and billionaires!

He said when he was prime minister from 1981 to 2003, “other races also became millionaires and billionaires,” pointing to the likes of Berjaya’s recently retired chairman Tan Sri Vincent Tan, Hong Kong-based Robert Kuok and communications magnate Ananda Krishnan.

“You can count the number of non-Malays who became millionaires or even billionaires during my time. My good friend Vincent Tan became a billionaire. Robert Kuok became a multi-billionaire during my time when the NEP was being implemented – the monopoly of sugar and flour gave him the kickstart,” he told reporters here today.

Which government on the sane side of the civilized world measures its success or failures by the number of millionaires or billionaires that it created?

Do we not measure successes by the eradication of poverty amongst its people? In the measure of civil liberties it allows its people? In the ability of its people to not be discriminated upon by race or religion?

Only in Malaysia do we have a former Prime Minister taking credit for the number of millionaires and billionaires his government has created! And the fact that these millionaires and billionaires are members of his own family and his cronies seems to escape Mahathir! Only in Malaysia!

Tun are you telling us that you made Vincent Tan and Robert Kuok and Ananda Krishnan into billionaires? Tun let me tell you this. YOU did not make them into billionaires – they used YOU to make themselves billionaires. And there is a big difference here!

In one, you, and only you, was responsible for making them very rich by giving them money or opportunities to make money that will not fail. As good as some one who becomes wealthy through an inheritance or winning a lottery – no input from them necessary. 

In the other instance these people sees and opportunity to make money through you. They play you for a fool and took you for an idiot and play you as an idiot and made money for themselves in the process! They will latch themselves on to you and become your cronies, your friend, your machai if that is what you want them to be – and after their work is done with you,  after you are no longer Prime Minister, they move on to their next victim – who would most probably be the next BN Prime Minister! We see this happening with Mahathir, with Pak Lah and now Najib!

You think your children are in business? What fucking business? They are given billions and they ‘invest’ in ‘business’ to millions in profits each year! Any idiot can make more money by putting the money in FD earning interest! Huh! In business my foot! Your children are a disgrace to the word business!

So please…do not say that you made people rich.  It would have made more sense if you had just gave them OUR money and ask them to just use the money to live as they like – they would have used less of OUR money and saved us the billions these people used to do ‘business’. 

Let me tell you what I know. The late Tun Ismail Ali – Governor of Negara –your brother in law – forbid his wife to have any share in any of Robert Kuok’s company. If my memory serves me right, she was asked by her husband to divest herself of the shares that she had bought in one of Robert Kuok's PLC. That is integrity. Tun Ismail Ali made any conflict of interest impossible! You, my dear TUN, would have learn much from this brother-in-law of yours if you were so inclined!
 
And these Jaguh Kampong Malays that you made into millionaires and billionaires? What of them?

Every Malay crony company you had a hand in in has been bailout by the government and is dependent on the government for its survival. These companies have been shuffled from one GLC to another “waiting to be turned around or restructured” and ALL of them are bleeding copious amount of money at the Rakyat’s expense!

Kecana, Sapura.......to many to list! Naza? _ Naza profited from the APs. Naza’s showroom became bonded areas where there was no need for Naza to pay import tax on the vehicles they bring into the country until the vehicle were sold – so no money up front to pay taxes. Nazi cannot survive without political patronage.

MAS? Huh! This brilliant Prime Minister of ours paid RM4.32 a share over and above market value!

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 - Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad admitted today his administration's 2001 bailout of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) resulted in a loss of public funds but was necessary to turn the national carrier around. "People don't lose money for nothing but the takeover was very urgent because we had to turn the company around," the former Prime Minister said of the move to buy MAS back at more than twice the market value at a cost of RM1.8 billion.

The government took control of MAS after paying RM8 per share to Tajudin instead of the market value of RM3.68.

Rule of thumb: When you buy a company that needs to be rescued you buy it at a ‘DISCOUNT’ not at a ‘PREMIUM’ Any high school student studying economics in can tell you that!

And TUN, would you pay RM4.32 a share OVER market value if it were your grandfather’s, your father’s or your own money?

Almost RM1 billion paid to Tajudin over market value for MAS! Money that could have been used to ‘rehabilitate’ MAS – a company then already run to the ground by this ‘Jaguh Kampong’ chosen by this  ‘brilliant’ Mahathir as one of the millionaires he had hoped to create! And today Mahathir’s has the audacity to claim that he did so ‘in the national interest!” – national interest my a@*e! 

And what of MAS today? Has it been “turned around?” MAS is in the same s#*t that it has always been! Now we have Air Asia (a company bought for RM1-yes ONE RINGGIT plus debts) taking over MAS! Malu lah aku! 

How many companies have had the same treatment? How many Jaguh Kampong, including Mahathir’s children, has had this ‘turning around and around and around’  -and every ‘turning around’ used OUR money to profit Mahathir’s compatriots! All this would have been par for the course in any Tin Pot Alley African Nation ruled by a Despotic Idiot – but this is in Malaysia! Hence his favourite catch phrase that covers all his doings: MALAYSIA BOLEH! 

•    Malaysia boleh award cronies and Mahathir’s family, projects by direct negotiation.

•    Malaysia boleh grant a low interest grants and loans in the hundreds of millions. E.g. NFC

•    Malaysia boleh allow that company to run up massive overheads in salaries and perks for these cronies and their families!

•    Malaysia boleh understand why these companies cannot do well.

•    Malaysia boleh bail them out and buy back the whole damm company or project at a premium!

•    And in the process if they must compensate any cronies who has any long-term contract with the said business in order to ‘restructure’ the business, Malaysia boleh  with OUR money!

All this sounds familiar? This is Mahathir’s modus operandi over and over and over again – all the time using not his grandfather’s money, not his father’s money, not his money but OUR money! And this Mahathir thinks that because these billions are being given to some UMNO or UMNO connected company this is money well spent?

Now that we have had the opportunity to look at the ‘achievements’ of this Mahathir do you not agree with me that he deserved to be placed amongst his peers in the annals of our history?

I herby propose that this Mahathir be placed on the same level as Pak Man Telo.

May I respectfully remind you all that while Pak Man Telo scammed individuals and only in the millions this Mahathir scammed on a national level and succeeded in the amounts of billions of ringgits! Pak Man Telo left his mark for one generation only. Maybe two at the most – this Mahathir has left his mark for many generations to come. Many generations will need to keep paying for the debts he has left out country with!

If anyone of you think that because the scale of Mahathir’s misdeeds we should really put him on the same level as Suharto or even Madoff i.e on a global level…then make your case for it. If not be forever silent and let this Tun Mahathir take his deserved place alongside Pak Man Telo. I rest my case!  

AKU BENCI UMNO!

[steadyaku47] New comment on AKU BUKAN UMNO!.

Friday, 24 February, 2012 1:11 AM

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"Anonymous"

To:

husseinhamid@y7mail.com

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "AKU BUKAN UMNO!":

You missed out this one sir;

"AKU BENCI UMNO!"



Posted by Anonymous to steadyaku47 at Friday, February 24, 2012 5:41:00 PM GMT+10:30




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[steadyaku47] New comment on AKU BUKAN UMNO!.

Friday, 24 February, 2012 6:05 AM

From:

"Anonymous"

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To:

husseinhamid@y7mail.com

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "AKU BUKAN UMNO!":

Yes, make ABU an action of civil (r)evolution. Think about it: There is only a small group necessary to start the ball rolling. 

 

Saying "ABU!" to the cab driver when you leave the cab, say "Don't forget ABU!" when you pay at the cashier, and at all and any other moments. Getting off the bus to JB or Penang, remind your co-passengers: "GE13: It's ABU!" Go into the weekend, wish you colleagues a "Happy weekend! And remember ABU". Should this take off, BN would start wetting the pants. And trying to outlaw this. Reply to "1Malaysia" with "Yes, 1 Malaysia and ABU".

The last thing then would be the need to some symbol, for non-verbal communication. Someone allows you to enter the lane in front of a traffic light. Don't wave with "Thanks"; but show the symbol for ABU.



Posted by Anonymous to steadyaku47 at Friday, February 24, 2012 10:35:00 PM GMT+10:30

Cakap cakap...You, Petra, me, our country and our future.

How I wish I could sit down with you and lock horns about the things that you and I agree to disagree about over a cup of coffee…no need for Starbuck…just Nescafe on the veranda at the back of my house would do. And we will talk…….talk about Naib,Anwar, Mahathir, BN, UMNO, PR, DAP, Taib……so much to talk about and so little time! I will have my stories and you have yours….plenty to sembang about. But the tyranny of distance does not allow us these nuances that makes life more tolerable. All I can do is read what you write and hope that you will read mine and then across the thousand of miles that divides us, we throw each other our barbs and our comments!

Believe you me friends there are many stories still to be told. Enough to fill many Khairy Chronicles if Petra wants to set himself the task of doing so. But the 13th general election is almost upon us. We need to prioritise.

Not many have the courage of Petra to tell it like it is. And do not say that Petra is safe in Manchester and that is why he does what he does. He has paid his dues and more!

Me? I just started a few years back when I know I am safe and far away from the clutches of the Special Branch.

We do not write because UMNO pays us though I wish they would throw some of their millions our way. And if they do we will do what PAS told their supporters to do when UMNO throws money their way……take it and still vote for PAS…or in our case, take it but still hantam UMNO and anything else that is not right! That is why UMNO will not talk to us. They cannot trust us to do what they want us to do and neither can Pakatan Rakyat!

We write because we have a story to tell. Sometimes it is all too easy to put everything in words as the mind engages
In sync with the words flowing out of you – like the intertwining of sound and images in a film.

Most times it is a struggle. A struggle to marry thought with words. A struggle not made easier when you know that those that visit your site will judge you not on what you have written but on what comes next! But enough of me! Let us talk about us! 

How we do now live is not how we must live. We are now becoming a people increasingly polarized by what we want and what we need, by our values and all the beliefs that we hold sacred. Race, religion, decency and compassion for each other, education for our children, civil liberties and the ability to earn a living commensurate with our abilities and ambitions…. each of these are now being used as the means to further the ends of the UMNO led Barisan Nasional government. A government we detest. A government unfit to have our trust what more to govern us!

We allow UMNO to dictate the lives we now live. These politicians have told us that we cannot live as one people because how can we be one when no common ground can be found between us? We are Malays and the others are not. We are Muslims and the others are infidels. This is our country and they have come from another. 

Anything and everything that can be used to divide us is used against us by this BN government. Religious, ethnic and nationalistic are artificially created tension and used to keep us on edge. Why must we talk about religious threats to Islam from the Christians when none exists?  Why keep harping about Ketuanan Melayu when you profess 1Malaysia? 

Is this right? Where are we as a people heading? Or more to the point, where is this BN government taking us? Into the abyss of racial and religious conflicts? Or the hell fire of May 13th again? Would it not be ironic if we have a May 13th at the 13th General Election!

Are the people of our country waiting to leave the country or are they hopeful of a decent future for themselves and their children? If they are leaving who are leaving? Are they the educated and the professionals – those whom our country needs most?

Let me tell you what I know. I have met many Malaysians in Adelaide where I am now living. All non-Malays. All professionals in their own right. All with good jobs and some in business living in decent homes, driving decent cars and settling down in a foreign country. Living in Australia is no hardship for them but they would prefer to be in Malaysia. They endure Australia for they know that it would be better for their children’s future.

I also know of Malays who have left Malaysia to live elsewhere for the same reason. The first few years of living abroad is difficult and they miss family and the way of life they have been used to. But we would rather this life then the future we think Malaysia is now heading to. A future where race and religion dictates your place in society.
 
While there are many of us that have left Malaysia there are also many who chose to come to Malaysia to live. And who are these people eager to come into our country? We welcome those who want to spend their retirement in Malaysia – but they must have the means to do so. Their contribution will be their money.

And who else? The poor, the uneducated and the unskilled? Yes they come in the millions to work in our country. They fulfil our need for cheap labour but they send the money they earn back to their family back home. Billions repatriated when that money is much more needed here in Malaysia.

Then there are the pendatangs – they are given citizenship but to what end? Our BN government wants the Malay race to dominate. And these pendatangs qualify as Malays. It does not matter that their coming brings into our society all the ills and the disadvantage of having a people who have only known poverty and hardship. They come not to contribute to our development as a nation but to hinder our progress as they play catch up to the standards of living we have already achieved! What madness is it for our government to do this? Other countries encourage migration of people whose skills they lack we encourage migration based on ethnic consideration in order to boost the numerical number of those that will vote for UMNO.   
Nothing else matters but the building up of a vote bank for UMNO!

That is why our future is uncertain. Our future is bleak. At best there will be a change in government  - a government that hopefully will understand the need for good governance  -but that will not happen in the immediate future – a decade from now possibly. And even if it happens at the 13th general election, the likelihood of change happening will still take time.

For those with the means and the opportunity to leave Malaysia to build a life abroad –they will take that chance and leave. It is just not worth the wait to see if change will happen in Malaysia with or without a change in government. That is the nature of we humans. If need be we are prepared to face daunting odds and challenges to survive but there must be end in sight to what we can put up with the present hardships. For many they would rather migrate to a foreign country, put up with the change in lifestyle, put up with the cold in as long as we know that the future for their children will be better. Better then one in Malaysia!

When will the Malaysian government understand this? That most of us that leave Malaysia to live elsewhere are decent, hard working people who just want to live a decent life?  We want to live under a government that will allow us to do just that.

And once settled we know that our second generation will forget Malaysia. They will forget that there ever was a Malaysia in their lives and our country of choice will be our home. And hopefully our children will grow up to be better people in a better country under a better government.

There is a simple test we can use. Who are the people wanting to get into or get out of Malaysia? Those who want to get into Malaysia are the poor and the disadvantage from our neighbouring countries. Those who want to leave are the educated and those who have money seeking a better life elsewhere…what does that say about Malaysia?

Let me tell you what Malaysia is today. It is a nation where power is corruptly wielded, its people oppressed, a nation held back and it’s people aspirations for a decent future denied. Fifty-Five years of UMNO led government have done this to us. A government diseased and beyond redemption waiting out its last hours of life.

No more…no more.

Anything but UMNO. Asalkan Bukan UMNO. 

ABU!

 

For the men in uniform who joined the police or the army for the true reason of serving the community and acting as protector and defender of the people. Remember you join the force to be a hero of the people and not to cause harm or injure your own people.

Please think and act according to your conscience and to serve the people of the almighty against the evil politicians out to hold on to power at all cost.

Be a true Hero and Defender of the people and not a servant of the evil politician.

Your oath is to protect the country. If a government has wronged the country and its rakyat, it is your sworn duty to protect the rakyat if a government is damaging the country.

When Malaysians gather in Kuantan, Penang, Kota Kinabalu, Ipoh and Johor this SUNDAY do take care of us and if the occasions demand protect us the rakyat.

AKU BUKAN UMNO!

Today if you are against corruption and the divisive policies that UMNO promotes to ensure that their hold on power continues unabated after 53 years what do you say?

When a Malay is embarrassed and shamed by the use of Ketuanan Melayu to enrich UMNO leaders and their cronies what can he say?

If a non-Malay have had enough of being kicked around and treated as a non-entity and second class citizen in a country they call home what do they say?

And when you come across the abuse of executive powers by those in high public as evidenced in the many Government contracts and tenders awarded on the basis of who you know rather than what you know, in PKFZ, in NFC, the award of KIDEX to Tun Zaki and the imminent IPO of Felda Global – what do you say?  

You can say ABUI!
All these abuses and duplicity by UMNO, by UMNO’s coalition partners in Barisan Nasional and by UMNO leaders in the state they control and in the Federal Government can be sum up in one word, ABU!

The advent of ABU has coalesce the critical mass into the realization that we are really one people living tenaciously in a society whose own government has threaten us with dire predictions of racial and religious Armageddon for as long as we can remember! We are living on the very edge of this threat and many times we are the victims of it, and yet somehow we have overcome being totally overwhelmed by it only through the goodwill and respect that we have for each other. We are certain that we no longer want this threat to be used time and time again by this government as their excuse to have their way with us.  

As their excuse to plunder and pillage our country for their own vested interest. As their excuse to stay in power! We want to rid ourselves of this government that has been the cause of this curse. ABU shall be the catalyst for this change.

In this one word : ABU : lies our hopes and aspirations for what we want of our future. Today it has become the word that we greet each other when we want to convey to the other our solidarity under one movement.  ABU! -  That thumbs-up and that determined smile tell the other that we are together in this move to oust UMNO. You and me against UMNO!

In my memory there have not been many movements in our nation that have been able to capture the mood and the imagination of our people of the people with just one word. MERDEKA and REFORMASI comes to mind. HARTAL maybe it but HARTAL is too confrontational and it is a passive movement….a boycott of things we are against.

ABU is pro active, not static. It is alive and well and keeps growing by the day! Any RAKAYT fed up with this corrupt, arrogant and abusive UMNO is with ABU.

Today we all have ABU. UMNO has Ketuanan Melayu. What a difference! ABU belongs to all Malaysians. Ketuanan Melayu only to UMNO. ABU tells us of everything that is wrong with our country. And UMNO is the cause of it.     
 
The tragedy and curse for the Malays is also the tragedy and curse for all other Malaysian. It is simply this: For 55 years we have had the same political masters: UMNO. All that we are and are not today can be directly attributed to UMNO – the good and the bad. And if we are honest to ourselves the bad by far out number the good.

In the multi ethnic and multi religious society that we live in we need to start first with religion and race. Any responsible government would use this diversity as strength to pull the people together and ensure that we understand and celebrate each other’s differences. Instead race and religion is deliberately and irresponsibly used by UMNO to divide and rule the people for their purpose of retaining power and government. And this power is used for the acquisition of material wealth through any means possible.

This started in earnest with the coming of Mahathir. I said in earnest because what we have in Mahathir is an evil genius personified. He made the getting, the holding on to power and the use of that power as the be all and the end all of everything that he did in government. And he succeeded in doing all that and more! Suffice to say that the two UMNO Prime Minister that followed Mahathir were the inheritors and keepers of the corrupt and abusive government that Mahathir perfected to the detriment of our nation, our people and our future.

The good that UMNO does is purely physical. And the gain is more to those within UMNO who profited in the construction of these monuments to UMNO’s abusive management of our country’s resources.

Massive highways that straddles the North, South, East and West of our country. Putrajaya, KLIA, KLCC…all massive physical monument to waste and corruption.

We now have many people hoarding great wealth stolen from the people through their collusion with UMNO. And the greatest blight burdened upon our people is the culture of materialism that now permeates every aspect of government, society and the life of our people. And the damage this has done to our people, past, present and certainly the future will be with us for a long time to come.

From Mahathir onwards all our Prime Minister and their family have unashamedly profited…no I think the right word should be stolen billions of Ringgits of the people’s money for their own keeping.

This culture of materialism is repeated eagerly in various permutations from the Prime Minister down to the lowest ranking government official and political appointee that we can find. All this is done at will and with the tacit if not active collusion by UMNO. It ranges from the RM$5 you fork out to the office boy to the RM500 million given to Razak Baginda by Najib for ‘services rendered’!

NFC, the latest exposure of our ex CJ’s  Tun Zaki Tun Azmi foray into the ‘business world’ are merely manifestations of this disease that UMNO has within itself call materialism or kebendaan - and all those that it touches will be terminally affected by it. And this disease if not eradicated from our midst will destroy us all by the rapidity of its spread amongst those who are susceptible to the promise of easy money and an even easier life – something we are all partial to! The very people who are now agitating for the eradication of corruption in UMNO can easily succumb to the promise of great wealth if that promise comes his or her way. It cuts both ways.

In this orgy of deviousness and duplicity that we see before us anyone will have difficulty in sorting out the facts from fiction. The lies from the truth. The right from wrong. The good from the bad. But even in these situations there are events that defy belief simply because there is no other possible explanation except that what was done is wrong! 

The death of Altantuya, Teoh Beng Hock, Kugan, Aminurasyid, Sarbaini and all those deaths while in PDRM’s custody  - all these are unnecessary deaths!

Any other death that we feel has been unnecessary and can be attributed directly to the actions of UMNO or its affiliates falls into this category – ranging from Memali to the recent death of that cameraman in Sudan! There is nothing this UMNO led BN government can say or do that can mitigate their ultimate responsibility as all these deaths happened under their watch. Each one of these deaths is a national tragedy that questions our ability to continue to have faith and belief in the decency of our own government. Life is intangible and yet the consequence for UMNO of these intangibles will be counted in lost votes and lost opportunities for UMNO to do good.

We know the consequences of greed. From the backhand to the Policeman to the ‘donations’ made to UMNO - we see evidence of money politics and human failings that combines into a lethal cocktail that seeks to destroy even as it quenches the thirst of the drinker!

So what have we all become now? Each one of us is the recipient of a vast reservoir of information and knowledge of wrong doings by our political leaders that seeks an outlet to express itself. Most of us have already processed this information and need no other inputs save further confirmation of our thoughts on the unsuitability of the present UMNO leaders to govern.

Now we want change.

And nothing focuses our mind to change then the thought of a coming general election. We think that what we do will make a difference to the outcome of the election….and of course it will if there are enough of us that think the same way. Hence ABU!

And that is why ABU has caught the imagination of the people of our nation.

Altantuya? That is why we want ABU.

NFC? Another reason for ABU.

KIDEX – ABU again!~

Every ill within our country that can be traced back to UMNO clarifies our need for a future with ABU! The simplicity of ABU sweeps all before it.

Now that the juggernaut that is ABU is well underway there is a need to focus it on specifics that will give direction towards where all the energy now being generated will go. ABU belongs to all of us and yet it belongs to nobody. And here lies the danger of ABU being hijacked to serve the purpose of individuals or groups. And when, rather then if that happens, then ABU will fragment and fail.

I think it is time all of us including Pakatan Rakyat, BERSIH, the family of all those murdered by this BN government ….all of us that has a stake in wanting to evoke change ……we should all work towards giving ABU a formal structure and start the advance towards Putrajaya with recognizable leaders and the right strategies to dovetail with the aspirations of all of us for change! The coming together of the forces!

How all this will happen is beyond me but it has to happen if change is to come our way. The euphoria that ABU is the way forward must be used to its advantage.

Where is ABU now and where will it be when it is time to make the intangible tangible? When votes are to be cast for Abu to whom shall it go? It is better that we ask this questions now then to carry on regardless. All other issues, all other groups, individuals or vested interests must find its place within ABU with the interest of the greater good paramount. Malaysian has not been very good when confronted with this sort of situation. They have willingly abdicated their right to good governance to UMNO for the last 55 years. Let us pray that this ABU movement will provide the impetus to finally awaken our people from this ‘tidak apa’ slumber.

Our votes will be for you if you declare that you are ABU (Aku Bukan UMNO!).

Our votes will be for you if you tell us you are ABU (Asalkan Bukan UMNO).

Our votes will go to ABU (Anything But UMNO).

Here there is clarity in what we have to do! Here there is a sense of purpose to what we must do. 

ABU ABU ABU!

Najib Zig. Anwar Zag. ABU steady aja!

Najib Zig. Anwar Zag. These two zig zag all over the political landscape of this nation. Two solitary leaders out in front without any challengers on the horizon just yet! Each carrying their excess baggage of moral and ethical issues and each waiting to be blind sided by inevitable revelations of their past life that will surely come as the 13th general election nears. And before you become too judgemental and blame them for their own misfortunes I think the laugh is on all of us! How could we allow only these two to be the multiple choice answer to the question of who should be our Perdana Menteri?


Twelve general elections and each time we return UMNO to power. Is that not stupidity in the extreme or are we just gluttons for punishment?

And at the 12th general elections we gave Anwar Ibrahim the mandate to …to do what? Declare that he will take over government in September 2008? Lose Perak? Get embroil in sodomy two? Host a party election that takes PKR to a new low – if that is at all possible!

We are all indeed in one hell of a cock up. And more worrying is what will come up next? Do we stay with UMNO in the hope that they have learned their lesson in humility and heed our demand for good governance? Or do we take a punt with Pakatan Rakyat and hope (hope as in the worst not happening rather than in the best happening) that they will deliver on their promise of open, responsible and accountable government?

Either way with UMNO or Pakatan Rakyat, I say that our future is too important to go on a hope and a prayer!

Some of you are insisting that we try Pakatan Rakyat for five years and if they are not what we want – throw them out? And who is going to do the throwing out? Have we not learned from the past that once entrenched in government, with all the machinery of government at their disposal, those in power will not go away quietly?

It took 23 years to we rid ourselves of this Mahathir and at what costs?

The very fabric of our society has now been irreversibly and adversely changed forever by the presence of millions of immigrants brought in by Mahathir and given citizenship not because our country would benefit from their skills and enterprise but because it was politically expedient for UMNO to do so.

Mahathir is responsible for the debilitating culture of materialism now forever embedded into our way of life. A culture that sucks the very life blood out of our people and destroys the very essence of doing honest work for a decent wage. A culture that breeds corruption and greed!

23 years of Mahathir has now reduced politics to nothing more than UMNO irresponsibly using the explosive mix of race and religion to divide and rule our country.

All the checks and balances inherent in government have been dismantled. And nothing personifies this travesty then Petronas. The financials of this national oil company that brings in billions of ringgits into our national coffers is privy only to the Prime Minister! This UMNO led Barisan Nasional government will not allow Christmas Carolling without a permit but it will allow one politician to decide how the billions that Petronas makes will be spent! What madness is this?

When not dismantled then these checks and balances have been badly compromised. The Police and the Judiciary now takes their cue from the BN government. All heads of government departments are beholden to UMNO for their livelihood. Education becomes an instrument of state – used at will to advance its racial, language and political agenda without due regard to the long term damage it will do to our young as they grapple with the reality of educating themselves amongst others whom have had the benefit of a more enlightened education system.

Nobody today doubts that if UMNO decides that it wants to stay in government indefinitely they have the means to do so with or without the loss of blood – theirs or ours!

What is different from the Malaysia a decade ago and the Malaysia of now is you and me.

We are so much different from the people that lived before us - in temperament, in knowledge and in our commitment to better ourselves and our fellow human beings from the tyranny of a government gone mad…and more empowering….we have the tools, the means and the will to do so. We can only hope that there are million of others who are also empowered and embolden to actively seek the change we all want.

I believe the numbers are there. From time to time we may bicker and we will agree to disagree. At times we do so robustly and at times discretely but our focus is similar. We all want a better life, a better future and a growing commitment to do this together as one people. This feeling of oneness makes me feel good. It gives me a feeling of possibilities.

I am not the only one thinking of ABU. Imagine having many thousands of us……if not millions….. willing for ABU to become our battle cry against UMNO. Imagine how many of us are right now powering our PC impatiently wanting to get onto the net and see what is the latest development on ABU? And those already on line are feverishly posting their comments, their messages to others and contributing their own two cents worth on ABU!

And this is happening in households, offices, educational establishments….anywhere you can power a PC in Malaysia. Each and every one of you is making your own contribution to ABU. This is why ABU is alive and well. It lives in each one of us that believes that UMNO must leave for our country to live! ABU snakes across our country from the North to the South, the East to the West…..and like a snake that seeks its prey…ABU seeks to destroy UMNO!

Let Najib and Anwar zig and zag anywhere they choose to go. We are resolute with ABU. Najib is a lost cause. UMNO even more so!

Anwar is still with us but we give him notice that he is under caution to behave and do good for Pakatan Rakyat and PKR. What good he has done for Pakatan Rakyat still gives him credence to lead from the front but for how long? He will have to see how it all goes on a day to day basis for we know not what will come after these allegations of corruption in Selangor and his proven inability to hold on to alliances with people who have extended more then their time and a considerable amount of their money to assist PKR – this time with John Soh.

We understand that politics is an expensive business in Malaysia requiring copious amount of financial ‘investments’ by people with vested interest in doing good for PKR, for our country or, more often then not, for themselves. We understand too that the cut and thrust of politics requires you at times to be devious and economical with the truth. And the times we now live in pits you against an UMNO that has deep pockets and large armies at its disposal to unleash against you and Pakatan Rakyat.

All this we understand and will make concessions for what you do to counter the might of an unrelenting adversary that is not beyond using any means at their disposal to annihilate its perceived enemies.

But understand this too. We are not UMNO. We are ABU and we will not want UMNO within ABU! Even if from today you commit yourself to ABU and everything that it entails, we will take you for your word. Fail us and you will only fail yourself! If PKR and you have had assist from John Soh in the past just acknowledge his help and get on with what will come tomorrow. If there is corruption in Selangor better to deal with it adequately now rather then later. We can forgive much but do not lie to us as UMNO has done because if you do …tiada maaf bagi mu!

For now all that we can do is wait for what tomorrow brings. Events and issues are being hurled at us at the speed of Najib’s motorcade as it commutes between Putrajaya and KL. As each of these potentially lethal exposures are being unveiled by Pakatan Rakyat, Barisan Nasional, Manchester, Putrajaya or on the Web, we all adjust and realign our thinking with the flow. Everyday brings manna from the heavens for some and consign others to hell and damnation!

Let all of that believes that ABU is the way to go, go with the flow too….but always remember that our commitment to Anything But UMNO is non negotiable.

And so to each and every of you that has silently or overtly committed your time, effort and even money to ABU – and you know who you are! – you can justly be proud that ABU is now a full-fledged war cry that reverberates through the corridors of power in Putrajaya and instilled with justification, the fear of God and retributions from the forces for good upon those in UMNO! These people in UMNO do not understand how this is so because they see nothing of ABU that they can deal with! And yet ABU is everywhere and anywhere! And this is the very essence why ABU will continue to be a force for change and good! Because you and me are part of it…part of something UMNO cannot understand nor will it ever do! ABU ABU ABUI!

Intellectual process of choice between BN and PR or why the people voted for Pakatan Rakyat

Much has been done to try and understand from where the vote of confidence given by the people of Malaysia to Pakatan Rakyat in the 12th General Election in 2008 came from. And much has been said about the shift in loyalty from BN to PR but let us look at this reality.

The numbers of those who have traditionally voted for DAP before 2008 have numerically been small. Enough to win DAP a few constituencies but never a State!

Those with PAS might enable them to give BN a fight in Trengganu but it would not be a sure thing. Only Kelantan is PAS dulu, kini and maybe selama lama nya!

PKR has not been around long enough to have any claims to a proven vote base that they could depended upon. It is still to be seen if those that voted for PKR in the 12th general election will vote PKR again this time around. Lembah Pantai is already on shaky ground even as we speak!

What have made the difference in the 2008 elections were those voters who chose to vote for Pakatan Rakyat through an intellectual process – all it means is that the majority of Malaysian voters made a conscious effort to understand the issues and choices available to them when they voted for Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat. In the main, intellect not race or religion decided the outcome of the 12th general elections and BN lost big time!

Some thought it essential and reasonable to vote PaKatan Rakyat because Barisan Nasional needed to be taught a lesson in humility in order for them stop endemic corruption and the arrogance of power that defined the UMNO’s led Barisan Nasional. 

Some wanted to see a strong and effective opposition to keep those in government honest.

And some wanted change and Pakatan Rakyat promised that change.

But all these votes were given conditionally – conditionally to their reasons for voting becoming a reality!

If Barisan Nasional did learn a lesson from their losses at the 12th general election these “intellectuals” might go back to voting for Barisan Nasional.

If they see that an effective opposition has been  good for the country then they will again vote to ensure a strong opposition – be it BN or PR.

If the change Pakatan Rakyat promised did happen, then they will vote again for Pakatan Rakyat!

So this is why I say that the votes taken from Barisan Nasional and given to Pakatan Rakyat in 2008 were conditional.

UMNO did instituted change within our economy and our society but the changes they made were largely for the interest of UMNO and Barisan Nasional not for the people. However in making these changes UMNO inadvertently reinvented the Malays and the non-Malays. Reinvented them in the way they think and they way they look at each other.

For a start the Malay Intellectuals were indignant at that manner in which the Malays and the non-Malays were being treated – and they were sufficiently committed and passionate about this to do something about it!

They started by discussing this amongst themselves; amongst their non-Malay friends and very soon race and inequality were no longer a taboo subject banned from open discussion by the ISA. The catalyst that enabled these discussions to spread to all Malaysian was the Internet. Now any one and every one could self publish their thoughts and their take on this once forbidden subject. And we must not forget the role Petra and other bloggers contributed to the dynamism of this new medium that enabled us all to participate in these discussions. And this is still in evidence today as the Internet is still the platform of choice to vent our frustrations and passions on these matters

And the Malay intellectuals soon realized that their non-Malay counterparts were as indignant as they were in these matter. And in these beginnings was the epicentre of the earthquake that caused the tsunami that overwhelmed Barisan Nasional at the 12th general elections.

UMNO failed to keep up with the change mentality of Malaysians and in failing to do so sounded their death knell! UMNO hears but no longer listens to the voices of the people…and for this they paid a very high price – lost votes. Nobody in UMNO had the character, the leadership or the intelligence to understand this reality and tell UMNO that it was out of touch with the new psyche of these Malaysians back in 2008!

The Malays numerical superiority can no longer be depended upon to support UMNO unconditionally.The question now for the 13th general elections is whom will these transient intellectuals vote for this time around – and for what reason? What we are all agreed on is that neither BN nor PR has control over how they will vote.

Just as these intellectuals were critical of what Barisan Nasional leaders have failed to do while in government, they too are now critical of what Pakatan Rakyat has failed to do since 2008.
 
‘But the real test of leadership – amongst all the test of policy, judgement, politics and ability – is whether, in the final analysis, you put the country first” and are you “ultimately, prepared to put what you perceived to be the common good of the nation before your own political self”
Tony Blair

And this is what BN and PR leaders must ask of themselves. Who amongst them have failed to do this?

Can we believe that what Najib have done since he became Prime Minister has been for the country and not for himself and the political interest of UMNO and BN?

As Minister of Defence did Najib put the interest of our country first in the purchase of the Scorpene Submarines or did he put the interest of his crony Razak Baginda ahead of all other considerations?

As DPM did Najib put the interest of our country first when he engineered the take over of Perak? He did it not through the ballot box but through the use of money, coercion and deceit. All questionably legal and certainly not in the interest of our country.

And as PM was not his decision to descend into gutter politics to neutralize his political nemesis something our country could do without?

Najib had been tried and tested many times and each time he has put the interest of self and party before country.

Anwar had fared no better. I do not intend to go further into this other then to say that his political self has always been his first priority.

Even as we are discussing the pros and cons of having either of them as leaders attention is already upon the question as to who will be their successor? But this is an issue to be addressed by their respective peers. We can propose, they dispose!

The people who have made that difference in the 12th general election are now asking themselves what they must do at the 13th general election?

You read what I write about Anwar, about Azmin, about PKR and you conclude that I am now with UMNO! They read what I write and they will form their own conclusion as to the credibility of what I post on steadyaku47. Whether I am with UMNO or not is not their concern. What matters are the facts and line of reasoning that I use – plausible or not? 
And who are they? They are the voters who will vote with their hearts, their minds and their hopes for a better Malaysia for all of us. They know what Najib do. What Anwar do. They have access to all the information they need to form an opinion. Some have already made up their mind and some are still deciding. You make them understand your point of view by putting across rational and believable arguments to support your cause.

We say ABU  - they too say ABU - but it is a conditional ‘Yes”. Conditional that ABU comes with a better alternative to UMNO. Conditional to having a leader better then Najib. So their “YES’ to ABU is actually to ask “Who in place of UMNO?” This is just not reality but this is progress.

And there are enough of them out there to vote us in or out. The sooner we understand this, the earlier we start making them understand that our side of the divide is better then the other side under BN.

Why has Najib not decided on an election date? Right now any one can win the election. PR or BN – it is that close. Najib hopes that soon PR will make a mistake, the mood of the public will change to favour BN….that DSAI or any of the PR leaders will slip up or any of the state government under PR will be expose for abuse of power and anything else that will give the advantage to BN.

But ask yourself this. Why is Najib able to give Razak Baginda the RM$500 million commission for our government purchase of the Scorpene Submarines? Why are the Police so riddle with corrupt practices and kill so many in their custody? Why are MACC and the Judiciary opening themselves to ridicule and contempt from the public in the things that they do? Why has NFC happened and why has no decisive action been taken by the authorities to hold those in charge of it accountable?   

The truth of it all is that all these things happen because of people like you and me. We allowed it to happen because of our apathy. Our acceptance that these are the way things are done in Malaysia.   And we are responsible because we voted this UMNO led Barisan Nasional government into power. 

If we had done the right thing and voted for change many years ago, do you think we will have what we have now? A corrupt, diseased and arrogant UMNO that now has the audacity to ask for another term in government to put right what they cannot put right for the last 53 years?
 
It is time we make sure that these things will not happen again. We want ABU but we want a responsible and accountable alternative to UMNO. And the intellectual and thinking public will insists on it. And their votes will make the difference to being in government or being in opposition. Do the sums and work it out for yourselves.

I am not preaching anything radical when I write that PR needs to change – it is PR that needs to understand how these people are looking at them. And PR must do the necessary to ensure that it secures their support at the 13th General Elections. You already have ours!

ABU : I will listen to you. Will you listen to me?

The delightful distractions of high public office and those in government, state or federal, are the preferred options of a number of our political leaders from all political divides. Not for them the onerous burden of serving the Rakyat nor do they have the discipline to do their duty to King and country. For them the good life of wine, women and song beckons. For them high public office is the means to make the good life of wine, women and song their own. The getting of material wealth takes precedence over the getting of wisdom to serve as wakil rakyat!


And this is the life most of us do aspire to live too! Do we not? A Mansion for a house. The latest Beemer or Mercs in the garage. Shopping and holidays in Europe, London or New York. An inexhaustible supply of cash in the bank! And the delightful distractions of a La Dolce Vita life style lived away from the Rakyat and your family!

We humans find it difficult to overcome our animal instincts to be the alpha male/female. In my living memory the two Tun Ismails (DPM and Bank Negara), Tan Chee Koon, Hussein Onn and possibly one or two others – I would need no more then the fingers on my right hand – could I count those Malaysian who have been able to overcome these instincts. Today…..none! What a damming indictment of what we have become!

I started today thinking what I should write to make us understand that there is a right way and a wrong way to do the things we do. While we all have our priorities in life the 13th general elections occupies our minds constantly because who forms the government after this general election will make a big difference to our future.

But how do we start to build a future that we aspire to –one that is different to this oppressive and stifling Malaysia that we now live in? How do we rid ourself of this BN government that is sucking the very life out of our people through its abuse of the political power we ourselves conferred upon them?

We must start clean. We must start with good decent people who will have our interest in mind. We must start with honesty. We are now building the foundation of our future. There must be no compromise to ensure that we do it right. If we get it wrong from the very beginning then we will never get it right ever.

Because we have endured so many abuses by this corrupt BN government many of you have come to the conclusion that we must have change at any costs. Change this bloody BN government first because anything will be better then a BN government. You are all confident that once change has been effected you will ensure that who ever is in government will do as you want them to do – govern this country in a responsible and accountable manner. Let me remind you of the reality.

We elected this BN government into power. We allowed them to be in power for 53 years. And it is only at this 13th general election that we are hoping to change them? Change them with what?

Who amongst you can tell me that you can tell any Prime Minister of this country how to govern this country?

That is the reality.

Do not talk about having an honest IGP or a Police Inspector that will do the right thing by you. You are even powerless to prevent a Traffic Cop from making his ‘duit kopi’ from you everyday of the week day in and day out!

Do you understand that once these bastards are in power you are of no significance to them until the next general election? And before the next general election comes there will be enough time for them to do what they will to ensure that they have their way with us. And who will stand in their way to stop them from doing this? Petra? Bersih? Steadyaku47? The Third Force? Mahasiswa? HUH!

Just look at us now! The most potent force against this BN government is Pakatan Rakyat with DAP, PAS and PKR all aligned against a corrupt BN government – true? Betul? Ya betul…..and how has this BN government dealt with this potential threat from PR? Macham kita tepis lalat!

This is why we need to start without any compromises because once we are prepared to accept a less then perfect leader then we are telling him that we will accept a less then perfect government. And where will that lead us to?

Look at the foundation upon which PKR has been built upon. In their haste to get candidates for the 2008 elections they compromised the selection process. Yes PKR did win the most seats in PR. Yes we denied BN their two-thirds majority. Yes we gave BN hell …but what now?

What is PKR today? A shell of what it was after its triumph at the 12th general election! As bitter a reality as it is for us to accept – PKR has failed us just as it failed itself because it made too many compromises at the very beginning and this compromises became PKR’s way of dealing with anything that came their way.

If we have learnt any lesson from this PKR debacle then when do we to start to change our way of doing things?

You and I will agree that we have never ever been in a better position to make change possible then with this coming 13th general election – so why are we not getting things right on this side of the political divide? Why is BN still lord of all that they survey?

The simple fact is this. We who want change have not been able to get our act together. When I say “WE” I mean our leaders - not only those in Pakatan Rakyat but each and every one of you that can make a difference to what the opposition is – we have all not got our act together!

This is so because we do not have common values. What is right to you is wrong to me. What is acceptable to some is not acceptable to others. It is not a matter of whether you want a Chinese or Malay as your leader – it is a matter of choosing a leader that will be right to lead us.

To have the right leader you need the most basic of values first! We need to trust a leader and we need to be able to depend on that leader to do the right thing by us. Without these two basic requirements then that person you chose can never lead. And if he leads where will he leads us to?

In Pakatan Rakyat the first tier leaders are already from three families – Anwar’s, Kit Siang's and Karpal – and Tok Guru’s son now seems to be heading the same way too. Is this not the nepotism that we accuse UMNO of practising? Or are these leaders in Pakatan Rakyat deserving of their position in the party?

We need to ask ourselves what we want in a leader! Because once in power the Prime Minister of Malaysia is not
some one you or I will be able to go to ask to behave if he decides to misbehave. Do not delude yourself that we the people are in charge! Yes we can vote them out – but only when it is election time.

What happens in between the time they get elected in and when they get elected out…if we can elect them out – is what we should worry about!

You have seen how the election commissions works with the BN government to keep them in office. You have seen what Pakatan Rakyat leaders have done to try and stay in office too in the state they control – successful or not is another matter.

And so to me the only way we can get things right is to make sure that we start right. If we do this then maybe we will have the right leaders to start with and with these leaders we will have the right government doing the right thing for the people of this nation.

I am not convinced that we should accept second best to give ABU a better chance to succeed. It will be an insult to the intelligence of those that support ABU to think that they will accept flawed leaders – because is that not the very reasons they want UMNO out? I cannot agree that if I support ABU then I must accept it warts and all.

Let us make Abu in the image that it was conceived for. It is a rallying point to gather all parties that wants to oust UMNO –and by extension BN. It is an intangible force that must gather momentum now as the 13th general election nears. Let is be a force for good, a force for decent and responsible behaviour and let there be no room for opportunism or questionable values - even if these values can advance our cause in the short term. What matters are long-term gains that are permanent and good for our country. Anything else we can do without.

Because ABU belongs to all of us it is us that will decide where ABU goes. For now we have already agreed to disagree as to who will lead us. And I am sure there will be other issues that will be debated and argued upon.

But ABU is all of us and I know that they will come a time when somehow, by common consensus, the majority of us will decide what is the right way and what is the wrong way for us to move forwards. I hope that when that happens we will have the wisdom to know that it has been decided –then put our differences away and move forward as one towards ABU. Until then let us bicker and disagree in the spirit of give and take because as in every important issue, conflict exists.

For now we are all agreed on ABU! Now what do we have to do to make ABU a reality? To start with let us recognize the elephant that is in the room – Anwar Ibrahim. I have put in my two cents worth on this guy. I have worked for over two years on my blog in support of this guy....until, like so many others, I became another one of those who now know him for what he really is! And I said enough is enough. He is not fit to be our PM!  

I do it not with the intentions of giving UMNO an advantage over what we want to do.

Not with the intentions of weakening your resolve to make ABU a reality.

I do so with the intention of what I think is the right thing to do. And that is to start our ABU campaign in the right manner, with the right leaders and for the right reasons. If what I do makes ABU falters –then let it falter for the right reason – and that is to rid our ABU campaign of anything that could later harm it. I will listen to what others will have to say on this but in return I ask that you do listen to what I say here.

ABU! ABU! ABU!