Late last night
as I lay in my bed between going to sleep and being asleep, I allowed myself to
think of life.
I am already past
that most basic of human needs of food, water and shelter. Past the survival
stage, past the procreation stage and even past the stage where I am a mature
adult…for I am now past 60…more an ageing adult past my mid life crisis and
deep into my last main stage of life.
Physical decline
has already set in and I am already preparing myself for inevitably more
decline and perhaps, looking at my wife who has dementia, maybe dependency on
others as ageing sets in with a vengeance.
I do not deny
these realities but accept them with good grace for I am fortunate that with
old age, I have also gained some wisdom….not too much of it but enough to know
that as in all things in life, I must strike a balance between what I want to
do and what I can do. A balance between finding out the meaning of life and the
acceptance of the inevitability of coming death.
I let my mind
wander amongst all these thoughts with contentment because I am now at peace
with who I have become – someone who was born into this earth 67 years and
since then had lived my life as I choose to do and where I choose to live it
and in the process now finds myself in a part of the world – Melbourne – where
all that I had wanted of myself and for myself are blissfully provided
for…..the physical nearness of those people that matters to me and the
financial means to keep body and soul together….all in all a good place to be
when you are deep into the last main stage of life.
How many of you
can have claim to the same things? Not millions in the bank for sure…not even
thousands. No property or personal possessions of any note bar those that I
need but certainly enough to get by and most rewarding of all…the ability to
accept that this is my lot and be content with it. Ahhh life…I wonder what
tomorrow will bring! I wish upon you all the same contentment and grace that a
decent marriage to a good spouse can bring to any one...as it has done to me. Amen.
The sum of all its abuses in the time it has been in government are now beginning to outweigh all the good that it has done while in government in the past half a century! For Umno and the Barisan Nasional coalition it leads, the time for reckoning is nigh.
No longer can it hide behind any OSA, the ISA or any other A’s that it has put in place to deflect, dismiss and debunk the mounting criticism and disquiet that has been building up within the masses for the manner of government that Umno has burdened our nation with.
No longer can Umno protect it’s leaders from having to answer to the people of Malaysia for the pillaging and plundering of the country’s wealth to satisfy their greed and avarice – a familiar refrain that now permeates through the ranks of all its coalition partners in Barisan Nasional.
Armageddon is about to visit Umno to spawn its wrath and wreck asunder what Dato’ Onn Jaafar, Tunku, Tun Razak,Tun Hussein and a vast array of Malaysians have taken many years to put into place in the time after Merdeka.
This Armageddon will herald the dismantling of the vast and tenacious tentacles that Umno has extended into the very lifeblood of its coalition partners, the Malays, the Chinese, the Indians, the Kadazans, Dayaks and many other Malaysians who have been voting Barisan Nasional into office for as long as we can remember!
Umno will say that for Barisan Nasional to no longer govern in Putrajaya there must exists a level of organization and coordination between the three coalition partners of Pakatan Rakyat -PKR, DAP and PAS to work together to oust Barisan Nasional – a conspiracy theory even! Umno insists the opposition does not have the capability not the ability to coalesce what more offer a viable alternative government to the people of Malaysia.
And if you were to listen, read and believe what the mainstream media and television stations under their control invariably churns out you will think it was so!
And if you have come under the spell of BTN and other government linked organizations whose only reason for being is to promote the notion that Pakatan Rakyat and those who do not support Barisan Nasional are a threat to the nation’s national security, to the Malays, King and country…then you too will be thinking that without Umno there will be chaos and mayhem in a country whose multi racial population are ill equipped to handle freedom – both personal and civil without a government led by Umno.
How wrong can they be!
Anybody who cannot see the future that the people of Malaysian now want for themselves must surely be living in denial!
Denial of the changes that has been crystallized in the result of the last general election where the majority of the electorates have already dismissed Barisan Nasional as their preferred federal government!
Denial of the momentum that has irreversibly been infused into Malaysians of the need for change that will reflect the desire, nay the demand, for an end to corruption and the beginning of good decent leaders who will do government in Putrajaya for the common good of all Malaysians. And more overwhelmingly apparent……the demand to bring to justice all those who have perpetrated so much pain and suffering upon our nation and our people because they have abuse the trust our people have vested unto them when they were leaders of our country.
We must also not forget the need to give recognition and pay our dues to those who have suffered physical and mental harm and injustice under the BN government – especially since the coming of Mahathir.
All this will happen as sure as there will be a tomorrow…as sure as the sun will rise and set from the time that this Earth has come into being. We will see all this come to be in the very near future – maybe even before the next general election!
Look around you today. We are a nation crumbling under the weigh of our own self-inflicted burden of massive endemic corruption. Corruption that has now become part and parcel of the structure of government and of our society!
We have an Umno ledBN government that is so blind that it cannot see it’s own coming demise, so deaf that it cannot hear all the dire predictions and warnings of its own demise and so dumb that every sign of its coming demise is dismissed as a conspiracy by those intent upon the destruction of the Malay race, the Islamic religion and comically, Royalty!
And in the midst of all these conundrum the passing of one of our own, Karpal Singh, can only bring a sense of urgency to this unfinished business of change – change that has been long in coming despite the valiant and constant efforts of people like Karpal Singh.
Does Umno realize that we are no longer a nation of “Yes Sir Yes Sir, three bags full Sir”?
Umno no longer has the unqualified and unquestioning support from the very people they are champions of – the Malays! Political power for Umno no longer comes from the Malays but from Sabah and Sarawak. Umno governs like a racing dog without stamina always with an eye to the need to do what is best for themselves and their leaders rather than for the country and its people.
There are already enough of our numbers in parliament to ensure a robust opposition and outside parliament the alternate media and the internet are a presence much feared by politicians on both side of the divide. It will, at the very least, keep these political bastards honest in their dealings on pain of being expose for doing anything untoward.
There is a palpable and overt presence in the air that tells us that all will be well for our future because we the people are now in charge of it! The devil is in the details.
We are yet to gain the momentum that the People Power in the Philippines had when they mobilized themselves to oust Marcos. Nor do we have the enthusiasm of the Egyptians, the determination of the protestors in Thailand, Kiev, Istanbul and other cities where protests to push leaders of government that are corrupt and authoritarian are, at this very moment, being waged…but we are all united in that we want to oust leaders who have gerrymandered political systems, used money to win elections, tainted the judiciary, stifled media and muzzled civil society…. all done to secure political power.
Two issues make Malaysia different from many others. One, we have a government willing to use race and religion to rule and divide our people and two, despite extreme provocation from the Umno led Barisan Nasional government, the people of Malaysia have yet to willingly bypass democratic politics for street justice!
But this is an impasse that is likely to change in the blink of an eye. Already out of necessity, Umno is moving away from the two R’s – race and religion – simply because in the growing discontent of which the Malays themselves are embroiled in, the two R’s are double edged swords that can cut both ways for Umno.
Umno’s chief nemesis are Malays – Anwar Ibrahim from PKR and Hadi from Pas – and it is within PKR and Pas that the Malays are now massed in numbers large enough to constitute a threat to Umno’s claim to be the champion of the Malays. And so Umno must now look at new alliances to bolster their political survival come the 14th general election.
As for the people’s reluctance to bypass democratic politics for street justice it would not take much to push Malaysian over the edge as they are increasingly thwarted by draconian legislation preventing dissent through the democratic process and the heavy handed response of PDRM in the times that they are allowed to vent their dissatisfaction against corruption through the democratic process. Activism in Malaysia is today a process that invariably takes into consideration the need for street justice if one’s voice of dissent is to be heard.
If wiser heads are not to prevail the increasing edgy and fragile truce between political activism by opposition forces and the force being wielded by the government to ‘manage’ dissent outside and within Parliament will rapture.
As I have said before, the passing of Karpal Singh merely serves to focus our thoughts on the struggles he and many others have been engaged in – that of ensuring good governance in Malaysia and that reason and justice should prevail for all. If anything this would be as good a time as any, to pause and reflect where we need to go from here.
For the opposition let not Karpal’s passing be in vain. By all means appeal to the people’s sympathy for his death to bring whatever electoral advantage to Pakatan Rakyat it can but do so responsibly and with respect for what Karpal stood for whether in race, religion or politics - reason and integrity.
Reason and integrity should prevail in all things Malaysians for without reason and integrity we will certainly descend down to the hellhole of political, racial and religious fanaticism. And when we do it will be too late to ask where are the Karpal Singh’s that we need to guide us back to sanity?
Do not believe anyone who says that there is no racial discrimination in Australia! There is racial discrimination here. The following you tube clip shows an Aboriginal player, Adam Goode, being called "an ape" by a young spectator only 13 years old. What he does next is to point out the girl to security and they escort her out of the stadium immediately.
It is what happens after the game that shows how disgusted Australians are when one of their own are racially discriminated against. We can only hope that one day soon racism in Malaysia will be treated the same way it is treated here in Australia. All Australian laws (Commonwealth and State) impose some responsibility on schools and individuals, be they teachers or students, to take steps to prevent and combat racism. The Australian laws are aimed at protecting individuals from racism at school and also to protect those individuals who make complaints about racism. Commonwealth and State laws make it unlawful for a person to racially discriminate against another person at school and also make it unlawful to encourage, incite, permit or allow racist acts to occur. For this reason, the Australian laws do impose an obligation on everyone to be vigilant about racism and to take action when incidents of racism occur, particularly where those incidents might be unlawful. After the game the President of the opposing team went down to the dressing room and apologized to Adam Goode for the racial slur uttered by the girl. In the coming days after this unfortunate incident public disgust for what the girl did was played out in the media and television and it eventuated in the girl apologizing on camera for making that racial slur on Adam and there was praise all around for the manner in which Adam handled the situation - with dignity and integrity. A few months later this was the headline:
Adam Goodes Australian of The Year
Anyone will have to think twice before making a racial slur on any other Australian. If a politician did so...it will be political death for him/her. Compare this with Hishamuddin waving a Keris and threatening rivers of blood against the Chinese population!
But what Hishamuddin has done will most probably not be repeated again in Malaysia because the Rakyat will no longer tolerate such racial shenanigans again. Slowly but surely these racists are being pushed further into the closet and hopefully we will soon lock that closet door and throw the keys away for there is no place in our society for racists!
And soon the weight of public opinion and the wrath of your peers would be reason enough for any racists to desists from making their views known to anyone else but a few like minded racists. There will always be racists anywhere we go...but when the people are overwhelmingly against racism it will die a quiet and natural death and be gone. No more will politicians be tempted to use race to divide and rule our people, no more race profiling for education, job opportunities, government contracts or even crime.....and that time has irreversibly already been set to come as our population become more educated, more knowledgeable and more understanding of the concept of 1Mlaysia as it should be. All for one and one for all! And let us have no more of these kind of racism....for not only does it not give respect to the dead but it brings ALLAH down to the level of these Barisan Nasional politicians...
For those of you
who still lives while YB Karpal Singh is dead…ask yourself if when you are gone, will
people speak well of you as they have spoken well of YB Karpal? The outpouring of grief has been overwhelming and why not, for we have lost one of our own.
I have never seen Kit Siang look so old and so tired...my dear Kit Siang there are still battles to be fought and work to be done if we are to honor our YB Karpal Singh. I know you will shoulder any burden needed to be carried now that DAP is without one of its venerable leaders. I can only wish you well and good health for the task ahead. Enough of grieving. It is never too soon to renew again the task of making change happen in a Malaysia that is already floundering and grasping for some hope that a decent future is possible. YB Karpal's death brings on a sense of urgency for the old guard within Pakatan Rakyat to make ready the next generation of leaders from within its ranks...for age and death will surely come to all of us....let us be ready for it when it comes.
I read early this morning, with much sadness, the passing of one of our own, Karpal Singh...the man I thought would have best serve his retirement as Governor of Penang for he deserve nothing less.
Not Dato' Sri Karpal Singh, not Tan Sri Karpal Singh ....no he was just Karpal Singh s/o Ram Singh...and at most he would probably accept, the Tiger of Jelutong. We have lost a great Malaysian and nothing I say will do justice for this man.
Whether he is a Politician first and a Lawyer second or a Lawyer first and a Politician second is moot, but he certainly is a Malaysian First! I am sure like me, many many Malaysians will hear of his death this morning and feel much love and a sense of deep loss at his passing.
Karpal feared no one....I cannot forget how, even when in a wheelchair, he stood his ground against those UMNO youth thugs who surrounded him in front of Parliament...and all his life he has done that in the face of any threats from any quarters.
I salute you Sir....and my condolences to his Family. We all feel your loss but be comforted that by his passing he has left a legacy that will surely be remembered by those that come after him for a very very long time....and excuse me while I shed a tear or two for this truly great Malaysian! Alfatihah!
Veteran Malaysian opposition MP Karpal Singh dies in car accident
I see that Mahathir’s latest posting on his blog is “TAKUT” …so here goes my posting on my blog on “BERANI!”
I have a confession to make. It was only about a couple of months ago that I understood who ‘Anon’ was! Ok I see some of you smirking…some of you smiling away and a few of you shaking your head at the stupidity of this old man who calls himself steadyaku47! Tak steady lah dia ni! Stupid old man says the UMNO goons! Ok confession time is now over and it is time to get to the nitty gritty!
I think it is time that all the ‘Anon’s’ in Malaysia come out into the open! What have you to fear but fear itself!
We must step forward and let Barisan Nasional know that we are no longer afraid of anything that they can do to us! And we are not afraid anymore because they are just too many of us. And the sooner they know that there are too many of us, the sooner they will understand that defeat for Barisan Nasional is a certainty bar the formality of us all casting our votes!
People being shot at makes mistakes. Just think what UMNO and Barisan Nasional will do when they see opposition to their regime growing everyday as more and more of us no longer hide behind ‘Anon’ but start to tell UMNO and Barisan Nasional who we are!
We are no longer that faceless ‘Anon” from Perak. That faceless ‘Anon’ from Perak has now become Shazali Jantan from Hutan Melintang. The other faceless ‘Anon’ from Selangor is now Tan Lai Kwin from Kepong and ‘Anon’ from Negri Sembilan is really Joe Fernandez from Kuala Pilah. UMNO can now begin to see who we are and where we come from. Do you not think it will rattle them? Do you not think it will begin to put the fear of God within them to see that we are everywhere!
Its time! Time for all you ‘Anons’ to identify yourself and add your numbers to the ABU! Movement. Time for all you ‘Anons’ to come out and stand beside Pakatan Rakyat and all those organization that have declared themselves to be for change and for sanity. In fact we should even begin to think about starting a blog where we can proudly put our name down as being with Pakatan Rakyat and for ABU!
NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell resigns (sydney COPY!)
The New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell has resigned.
In a shock move this morning the Premier gave the media ten minutes notice of the press conference where he announced he will be stepping down. No questions were taken from reporters.
He said a thank you note will be tendered to the Independent Commission against Corruption for a bottle of wine he still cannot recall.
The handwritten thank you card appears to be signed by Mr O'Farrell and his wife.
"Thank you for the kind note and wonderful wine. 1959 was a good year even if it is getting even further away! Thanks for all your support, kind regards Baz & Rosemary."
Yesterday, O'Farrell flatly denied suggestions he wrote a letter supporting Australian Water Holdings (AWH) in exchange for Liberal Party donations.
Nor did he recall receiving a bottle of vintage Grange wine, bought for $3000 by AWH and apparently couriered to his home just after the 2011 state election.
The note tendererd to ICAC in which former NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell thanked Nick Di Girolamo for a bottle of wine he didn't recall receiving. Photo: Supplied.
This morning the Premier called it a "significant memory failure on my part" and said he will "accept the consequences".
"As someone who believes in accountability, in responsibility I accept the consequences of my action," he said.
"In no way did I seek to mislead wilfully ... the Independent Commission Against Corruption. That would go against everything I am, but this has been a clearly significant memory fail on my part, but I accept the consequences of my actions."
"And that is that as soon as I can organise a meeting of the parliamentary party next week, I will be resigning the position and enabling a new Liberal leader to be elected."
The Prime Minister Tony Abbott addressed the media a short time later telling reporters that Mr O'Farrell "innocently" and "inadvertently misled" the Independent Commission against Corruption.
"I have enormous respect and admiration for Barry O’Farrell," the Prime Minister said.
He referred to the out-going Premier as a "great servant of the Liberal Party".
Prime Minister Abbott said Mr O'Farrell texted him a short time before he announced he would be stepping down, and they had a short phone conversation.
"I said to him that he was acting from high honour, and I just said how sorry I was this wasn’t happening in four years’ time," Mr Abbott said.
"I think he’s been a very capable premier and I think he will be missed."
He said it has been a "long, long time since anyone in Australian politics has acted with this standard of honour and integrity".
Mr O'Farrell was on Tuesday quizzed before the NSW corruption watchdog about a letter he wrote to then-AWH chief executive Nick Di Girolamo in late September 2010.
He agreed it was "broadly supportive" of the company's push to secure a lucrative public-private partnership.
"We can show you lots of money going into Liberal Party coffers which coincides with this letter of support. Did you know anything about that?" counsel assisting Geoffrey Watson, SC, asked Mr O'Farrell.
"No, the Liberal Party's financial code requires members of parliament to be at arm's length from fundraising," Mr O'Farrell replied.
"If your inference is that this letter was signed by me because of donations made by Australian Water Holdings then I reject it completely."
Mr Di Girolamo has told the Independent Commission against Corruption he bought Mr O'Farrell a bottle of Grange wine to express his congratulations on securing the premiership but denied using the gift to "butter Mr O'Farrell up".
The ICAC has heard the 1959 vintage bottle - aged since the year of Mr O'Farrell's birth - was delivered to his home in Roseville, on Sydney's north shore, on or around April 20, 2011.
The public inquiry has already heard testimony from Mr O'Farrell's former chief-of-staff Peter McConnell, Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos, three former NSW premiers and ex-Labor MP Eddie Obeid (pictured), whose family allegedly had a secret stake in AWH. Photo: AAP
But Mr O'Farrell said he never received it and that he may have been away on a family holiday to the Gold Coast for Easter when the bottle showed up.
"It's the Don Bradman of wine. Unforgettable," Mr Watson said.
"Yes. If it had been received, I don't believe I would have forgotten it," Mr O'Farrell replied.
The gift was never declared on the premier's pecuniary interests register and ICAC investigators have been unable to find a document from the courier company to show when it was dropped off.
But Mr Di Girolamo has told the inquiry he received a thank you call from the premier after sending the wine - and on Tuesday afternoon, Mr O'Farrell was shown a record of a 28-second telephone call from his mobile number to Mr Di Girolamo's, made about 9.30pm on April 20, 2011.
"I've no knowledge - I don't know about this phone call," Mr O'Farrell said.
"What I do know is if I had received a bottle of 1959 Penfolds Grange I would have known about it and I did not receive a bottle of Penfolds Grange."
