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Najib Razak

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Many who like Anwar Ibrahim like him

And the new BearBeary video!

Requiescat in pace : Teoh

“We have lost a bright young idealistic DAP member,” (LGE, 2009)

DAP has lost him, the community has lost a bright young member, the country has lost a young bright leader.

Requiescat in pace.

The whole country is behind you.

Sunburst

Okay. What Mariah Carey, Gwen Stefani, Avril Lavigne, Rihanna, Pussycat Dolls and Beyonce Knowles have got in common?

All of them was banned from performing in Malaysia (At least, initially).

Yes, Avril was allowed proceed with her concert days before Merdeka.

And Pussycat Dolls' escaped when their promoter, Absolute Entertainment paid a RM10 000 "indecency fine". Know what Absolute Entertainment did to deserve this fine? For allowing the female US act to perform "sexually suggestive" routines which amount to "gross indecency". Hahaha these chicks are simply too hot for the Malaysians!

And then, Linkin Park were banned from wearing shorts during their 2003 concert in Malaysia.

Mariah Carey was being asked to comply with "dress regulations".

So, Gwen Stefani revealed only next to no skin during her tour to Malaysia.

But Beyonce is way smarter. She dumps her debut concert in Malaysia, so to avoid being entangled in the mess.

Picture credit : KLue

And the recent one, after their tremendous show at KL Sunburst, the group members of NERD were detained and their passports held. However, Malaysian authorities denied this. Fortunately, after some negotiations they are released because their promoters claim responsibility.

I wonder, who's next?

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p/s : Sooner, when AirAsia tickets is cheap enough (READ : cheaper than cheap) and the flights are frequent, let's just fly to Singapore to watch any concerts, rather than requesting any promoters to organize any in Malaysia.

pp/s : Malaysia, Truly Stone Age

Yusseri Yusoff - Some notes for SPM school leavers

Every writer in The Other Malaysia has their own distinct style of writing. Yusseri Yusoff is as sarcastic as Dr Farish, and his writings has always amused me.

"Yusseri Yusoff can't decide between writing words or code but he has a penchant for the obvious in Malaysia. He runs an MSC company apart from two websites, the humourous www.mentera.org and the serious www.othermalaysia.org "

Some notes for SPM school leavers.

MARCH 12 - So, boys and girls, your SPM results are coming out today. Very good, very good.

You know, it wasn't that long ago that I took my SPM. Almost 20 years ago, actually. Anyway, back in my day, we had to walk 20 miles to school while carrying 30 books just to do nine subjects.

Then, TV only had RTM1, RTM2 and TV3. The boys dreamt of Wan Zaleha and the girls dreamt of McGuyver and both of them had the same hairstyle.

These days, you don't have to walk so far. You probably don't have to carry as many books either.

Because the schools are "smarter" now, eh?

You have computers, multimedia projectors, tablets, notebooks, laptops, CD-ROMs, DVDs, Internet, phone camera porn. Most schools have these things, we hear.

Even those that don't have electricity or running water. It must be fun. You also get to do more than nine subjects. Up to 20 even. That's a lot of learning.

Actually, maybe you do carry more books these days. That's probably why school bags have wheels on them now.

Anyway, the day has come for you to get your results. For the vast majority of you, this would be the bookend of your school days.

You'll never have to wear that uniform again. For a small number of you, you might get another two years of uniform-wearing. Either way, things will never be the same again.

For the next five years or so, you'll be hearing people tell you that you are the "Future Leaders Of The Nation" much more than when you were in school. It's banal and condescending, especially if it comes from politicians.

They don't want you to lead, they want you to follow. Politicians are liars. Well, most of them are anyway. At least 73.46 per cent of them, at the last count.

Some of you will be celebrating your results, especially those who targeted 27 As and got most, if not all, of them. That's great! Your tuition teachers must be delighted. Now, let's hope you get a chance to actually start learning.

Some of you will be disappointed because you didn't get what you (or what your parents or tuition teachers) aimed for. That's okay. No, really. In about 10 years' time, no one will care. Especially not you.

Hopefully, most of you will get to enter university. It's a very exciting time. You may think that nothing could top your school days, but take it from someone who stayed in university for nearly a decade, university days are the best days!

For one thing, people like to pretend that you're grown up (since you would someday be "Future Leaders Of The Nation") and occasionally even allow you to behave like grown-ups. For another, you get to party like there's no tomorrow because while you may be "grown up", you still don't have to earn a living.

Some of you might get into "campus politics". If you're in a local university, this is more akin to being in a social club than any kind of Future Leader training. Also, a small number of you involved in campus politics will actually acquire Socialist leanings.

This is normal because there will always be "politically aware" university students who are idealistic, tree-hugging, whale-mooching, commie wingnuts. You'll grow out of it eventually, though hopefully some of you will remain that way. The nation needs more nutjobs like you. It'll be better than the bunch of lying, self-serving gormless lot that we've got today.

Not all of them are lying, self-serving gormless reprobates, obviously. Some of them are much worse, though there are some good ones, too. About 6.49 per cent of them, last we checked.

However, in local campus politics, the majority of you will align yourselves with either a "pro-government" or a "pro-opposition" group.

I've no idea what those are, in all honesty, and most probably, neither will you. But you'll get to learn how to do "protests" and "demos", which are such important skills for local politics today.

You can, for example, protest against having mixed-race boarding; or against having any other race in your university, even.

You can also be part of a moral police, guarding the purity and sanctity of your campus by vigilantly watching out for couples making out behind shrubs, catching them after you've seen the "money shot", obviously.

If you're amongst the fortunate ones who get to go to a foreign university, good for you.

There'll be many clubs you can join, like Kelab Umno, Kelab Pas, Kelab MCA, Kelab MIC, Kelab DAP, and so on. In my humble opinion, though, avoid those clubs.

They're usually lousy with self-serving, gormless students who think that they're the Future Leaders Of The Nation. Join the gang that always goes to the night clubs and pubs, instead. They're much more fun.

But anyway, for most of you, university would be where you study to get a degree that would, to a certain extent, decide for you what you would be doing for the rest of your working life.

If somewhere in the middle of your university course, you think that what you're doing may not be right for you, have the courage to switch to something else, even if it means you lose a few years. It's not a big deal, and better to lose some years than to regret not doing something for the rest of your life.

If you can, get to see the world a bit. Travel to other countries, and not just to their beach resorts. Go to former war zones. No, not Afghanistan or Gaza or Iraq.

There are much nearer places like Cambodia and Vietnam. Ambon and Mindanao, even. Check India out, maybe. Go to Europe, Africa, the Americas too. In fact, just travel as much as you can. It often helps bring perspective. If you can't, it's not a big deal. You might still get to do it when you're much older.

Speaking of being older, I'm sure you're often told that wisdom accrues with age, and that you lack experience because you're still young.

Well, experience is mainly recognising your mistakes when you make them again. And looking at our Current Leaders Of The Nation, I'm not so sure about the wisdom bit either.

Finally, note that most advice given to you will be useless. They're usually given by most people who wished they'd listened to the very advice they're dishing out. Use what you can, ignore the rest. Some mistakes in life you just need to make yourselves.

How do I know these things? Well, I'm older than you. Just keep breathing, and you might get here some day too. So, all the best, ladies and gentleman, Future Leaders Of The Nation. May you make it a better place, for all our sakes.

Malaysia Is Looking at The Wrong Barometer of Economy

With the prospect of recession looming in Malaysia, I share what I have got from Internet regarding Econ 101. This might help you understand what is sub-prime mortgage.

Econ 101 - Credit Crunch for Dummies

Do you notice the phrase "market/stock rally", "...bullish", "stocks closing lower due to heavy selling", "bull market" or "bear market" on StarBiz everyday? Here you go. Read this.

Wikipedia : Market Trends

In which this term can be seen on major business headlines everyday,

Recession

However, I am too naive thus I don't how how Malaysian Bar can be related to economy at large. But this is interesting. Recession can be divided into technical recession and real recession.

Singapore Slips into Technical Recession

While powerhouse like Singapore is admitting that it is falling into technical recession, Malaysian government is still too stubborn (Yes, I am using this crude term) and constantly in denial. One doesn't need a Bachelor's degree in Macro or Microeconomics to understand the current health of Malaysia's autopilot economy. The economy timetable is severely crashing with political timetable of UMNO's warlords.

And again while powerhouse like Singapore is implementing SD 13.6b or MYR 30b stimulus plan for its ailing economy, our country is boasting on its tiny MYR 10b stimulus package, which is yet to reach the citizen's pocket. The red tape is to blame for this.

To rub salt into the wound, according to MIER's Prof Dr Mohamed Ariff Abdul Kareem, there is 50% chances of Malaysian falling into a "full-blown recession" this year.

2009 is the year of Ox. 2010 will be the year of Tiger. What's in the store for the market in the year of Ox? Read this article through for better understanding on the pattern of ups and downs of Bursa Malaysia.

When will current recession bottoming out? Is this the point of inflection? Thomas Fried has got some interesting points. According to Dr Lin's assesment after considering IMF study on recession for the past 3 decades, recession tends to be worse if the crisis is in banking.

We badly need a hero!

Hey, will Ted Truman gets the US out of the current major crisis? Or after reading Paul Krugman's lecture slide, maybe you will think inflation is not totally a bad thing after all.

I've read some mixed reviews from O&G sector since the fair price of crude oil is around USD 60 - USD 80. Under the umbrella of Petronas, many services and fabricators in Malaysia will be able to survive beyond 2010, but with unhealthy orderbooks.

But nothing is certain in today's uncertain economy climate.

Ohh this is so scary~

Finally, that piece of Pangkor trash is god damn annoying..

RAJA PETRA'S OPEN LETTER TO MB NIZAR JAMALUDDIN

BY : RAJA PETRA KAMARUDIN 

Dear Datuk Seri,

I am going to make this short and sweet. No more cheong hei (nagging) article from me. 

They can lock the Perak State Assembly building if they want. The building is not important. If the building is inaccessible -- say like there is a flood or an earthquake brings it down -- does this mean the State Assembly can’t meet?

Of course it can. It can meet anywhere, not necessarily in that particular meeting.

Go find another meeting place, tonight, now itself, and hold the meeting there tomorrow. Pass a vote of confidence to support you as the Menteri Besar. Then pass all the other motions, including the motion to dissolve the Perak State Assembly. Then drive up to Bukit Chandan as soon as possible and inform Tuanku of the State Assembly’s decision.

If Tuanku refuses to comply with what is clearly lawful, then challenge him and, if necessary, trigger a Constitutional Crisis like never before seen in the 52-year history of this nation.

The people are ready. The next ‘revolution’ is not going to be a race riot a la May 13. It is going to be a class struggle. And I am with the Rakyat on this, never mind my so-called Royal background.

I speak as a Royal but speak for the Rakyat. And rest assured there are many other Royals who share my view. Don’t allow a handful of those who sit on the throne intimidate you into thinking that you are alone, representing the Rakyat, against the Monarchy. No, we are with you, as are many other Royals.

Grab the bull by the horns and bring it to its knees. And if this bull wears a crown so be it. The Rakyat have spoken. Don’t back down now. Go all the way or forever lose that advantage. And if you fail to go all the way, the Rakyat will never forgive you and you will lose our support till the end of time.

Daulat Tuanku. Daulat Tuanku. Daulat Tuanku. 

Patek yang hina sembah Tuanku dan memohon perkenan agar Tuanku jangan kecewakan Rakyat. Hasrat Rakyat ialah untuk mencari kebenaran dan keadilan. Biarlah ini juga menjadi hasrat Tuanku.

Daulat Tuanku. Daulat Tuanku. Daulat Tuanku.

REALISTIC/REAL

Welcome to Perak Darul Katak Melompat

Please REMEMBER THESE 4 KATAKs during your visit!

From top : Mr postman, retired soldier, auntie clerk (do not click!) and mr-don't-know-what

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And...

Whooaa! Well, this is kinda excessive.. 38KKK Sheyla Hershey

Bet her baby will not be hungry~ (Quote : Fareez, 2008)

Ya ya, by the way, anybody know the auntie's daughter? Well, I am single!

Lese Majeste ?

Suing the Ruler in court?

"DAP chairperson Karpal Singh has informed Sultan Azlan Shah and the new Perak government that he would take legal action against the two parties if they proceed with the swearing-in of the new BN team at 3.30pm today."

(Source : Rahmah Ghazali, for Malaysiakini.com)

Malaysians will see more drama unfold tomorrow.

Leaping Frogs

There are plenty of frogs in Perak. They are jumping here and there. especially the four red and blue frogs. Darwin's Theory of Evolution can now be proved wrong because frogs have become as cunning as fox.

Never mind. Now I hate frogs. I'll visit Chinese restaurant more often to eat them so frogs wouldn't overpopulate the state.

Hopefully, there will be no green frogs.

Hohoho the legs are yummy!

Victory for PAS! The Wind of Change Blowing East

Let the statistics speak for itself.

Photo credit : Malaysia Insider

Pilihan Yang Tepat - A Good Choice

It's amusing how people around the blogs can come out with all sort of ideas. This is only a crude photoshop alteration, but still hilarious enough to draw a laughter. Tomorrow is KT by-election.

For KT voters, remember to cast your ballot for PAS

Click here for more.

TAK NAK!

VOTE for PAS. Hudud is not an issue!

Malaysian of the Year

Looks like if RPK is being named as candidate in Kuala Terengganu by-election, Pakatan Rakyat will win by a bigger margin compared to DSAI, assuming that RPK is more popular than DSAI, based on this vote result!

This Caught My Attention

Forgive me for not posting the new article that I have promised. This caught my attention when I surf through blogs of "Yang Berkhidmats (YBs)". It is a letter from a Law student to YB Lim Kit Siang (MP-Ipoh Timur)

Click here : Road Block Cause Failure in CLP Examination

For your information, "Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP) is one of those qualifications entitling the holder to become a qualified person. The examination is conducted by the Board by virtue of section 5(e) of the Act. Applications to sit for the CLP examinations are open to holders of Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degrees conferred by the universities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and certain universities in Australia and New Zealand whose qualifications are not gazetted under section 3 of the Act." (The Malaysian Bar, 2008)

Well, since we are talking something related to law, let's see this. This is something which I least expect to happen.

Click here : Aina Mardiah Sharial, 17

External link : Disquiet by Malik Imtiaz Sarwar

Modus Vivendi

Often Malaysia is described as a plural society, composed of 3 large ethnic groups, Malays, Chinese and Indian. Since the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, politics in Malaysia have been dominated by UMNO which is the backbone of the Coalition government. Thus the government pursued what may be term as "pro-Malay" policies. In the same time, Malaysia has come up with its own plan to resolve problems of inequality and ethnic difference. National Economic Policy (NEP) has been in place since 1971 and certain quarters accused it to have marginalize the minority Chinese and Indians to the status of second class citizens.

Post 8th March have seen political tsunami all over Malaysia. Ignoring BN's rhetoric that "A vote for DAP is a vote for PAS", voters put 82 Opposition MPs into Parliament. Subsequently, five states fell to Opposition, which then formed Pakatan Rakyat and left Barisan Coalition stunned. In Perak, DAP-PKR-PAS coalition formed the state goverment with majority less than 5 seats. DAP having secured all its seat contested in Penang, too formed the Penang state governments in alliance with PKR and PAS. On the other hand, PKR formed the Selangor government with Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as the Mentri Besar. Kelantan remains with PAS while the newly captured Kedah state have a PAS Mentri Besar, Azizan Abdul Razak.

I came across a new term "kafir harbi" while browsing through some group discussion, which I shall keep the sensitive details for myself.

"Islam telah membagi orang kafir menjadi dua macam, yaitu kafir harbi dan kafir zimmi. Kafir harbi adalah kafir yang sedang terlibat konflik dengan umat Islam sedangkan kafir zimmi adalah kaifr yang terikat perjanjian damai dengan umat Islam." (http://www.syariahonline.com/new_index.php/id/7/cn/7655)

"God welcomes you to be kind those who have not made war against you on account of [your] religion, and have not driven you forth from your homes, that you show them kindness (birr) and deal with them justly; surely God loves the doers of justice. God only forbids you respecting those who made war upon you on account of [your] religion, and drove you forth from your homes and backed up [others] in your expulsion, that you make friends with them, and whoever makes friends with them, these are the unjust." (Quran 60:8)

Some Islamic scholars condemn PAS for working together hand-in-hand with DAP, and PKR which they call "kafir harbi". However, majority lauded the move to form Pakatan Rakyat, calling it a step towards a united Malaysian. It is well known that PAS aims to establish an Islamic country and that of DAP, they wish to be the protector of minority rights and opposed the establishment of Islamic country strongly. PKR is stuck in the middle between two extremes, balancing the balls to keep the alliance intact.

To overcome differences, often we will use the principles of consensus. We seek general round-table agreement to exercise follow-up actions from the decision made. Because achieving consensus require serious and respectful treatment from every group member, we strive on values in common rather stressing on the difference between the beliefs in multicultural Malaysia.

Let's put the heavy issue aside. We need to relax.

On air we have M.A.F.U - Here in My Home.