UMNO:A Ship Without Rudder

Hantu Laut

Is UMNO a political party or a family business or some kind of monarchy system where retiring leaders can appoint their own successors to take over their positions.

Why not abolish the party elections and let the new system takes over and allow everyone from the President down the line to branch chief to nominate their own successors.IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR THE PARTY as there is no need to have an AGM and waste money time and again to conduct its annual affair.

First to the fore was the Prime Minister and President of the party who named his deputy Najib Tun Razak as his successor but needs 2 years for Najib to understudy him before he can confidentally hands over the baton to him.Najib has yet to reach a level of competency to be prime minister.

Than something even more absurd came out of the coconut shell a couple of days ago.Former Minister of Trade and Industry and Wanita Chief of the party Rafidah Aziz announced that her successor is Sharizat Abdul Jalil and that she would be handing over to her in mid 2009, but first, following in the footsteps of the Prime Minister, she must contest in the party elections in December, just six months before she hands over the job. It shows that Sharizat is wee bit smarter than Najib, needs only six months to understudy her boss.

Well, they say great minds think alike, only fools differ.I am not sure whether this is still applicable in today's modern and technological era.It is probably redundant because as we all know the world has progressed much due to people wanting to be different.The scientists,engineers,doctors and most every profession in this world have people that necessitate them to be different from his fellow men to achieve greater height in new discoveries and inventions.

It appears that UMNO has become directionless.It is unable to reinvent itself or make sacrifices for salient changes.It's like a ship that has a captain and a compass but lost its rudder in a storm and drifting aimlessly towards no known direction.

Do you really need to stand for an election just to hold the position for six months? The great minds that think alike didn't see that the fools that differ can read the minds of insincerity and self-servitude. How can the rank and file in the party be enlightened to be servile to party principles and democratic process when the heads apathetically show total disregard for its compliance.

The use of thuggery and violence in jockeying for position has become appallingly vicious.

In Perak a branch committee member was clobbered with a golf club by a fellow committee member upon discovering that his elder brother was not nominated to stand as deputy chairman of the Gopeng UMNO division.In Batu Manikar Labuan police were called in to restore calm and order when a fight almost broke out at the branch meeting.In Sabak Bernam Selangor former Menteri Besar Khir Toyo and his only challenger for the divisional head post are both claiming to have asked ACA to investigate money politics.

All these are not for God and country but for a ride on the gravy train, the exclusive domain of the chosen few.

The one that takes the cake is the report to ACA against the President Abdullah Badawi and Deputy President Najib Tun Razak for alleged abuse of power.The report was lodged by former Youth exco member Datuk Mazlan Harun.Some are probably making trouble for the President to be used as excuses to jump ship when time is opportune to do so.

The party seems to be riotously out of control and Abdullah appears powerless to deal with the thugs, goons and bullies in the party.

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The Anwar Case

Snitching and Sodomizing

By BINOY KAMPMARK 

We are watching re-runs from Kuala Lumpur.  It’s 1998 again.  Then, Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s deputy prime minister, was catapulted from office to prison on sodomy and treason charges.  The instigator then was the mercurial colossus of Southeast Asian politics, Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad.  Having initially welcomed Anwar as the prodigal son of Malaysian politics, he debunked him in a most conscious act of Saturnalia. 

In the theatre of Malaysian politics, buggery is almost as serious as the charge of deviationism in Mao’s China.  The statute books permit imprisonment for up to twenty years.  Dr. Wan Aziza Wan Ismail, Anwar’s wife, could only respond with characteristic stoicism as Anwar was not merely incarcerated but neutralised in Malaysian politics.  

The vicious all-consuming father of Malaysian politics retired in 2003, aged 78.  With Mahathir gone, Anwar could return.  Released in 2004, the former deputy was still on ice, and could only run for office after five or so years.

It’s fine in Malaysian politics to talk about reform as long as a sense of inertia is maintained above the chatter of promised change.  Splendid inactivity – one observes Malaysia’s current Prime Minister, the staid, dull Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as a case in point – suggests continuity.  Change, marked by the dangerous word reform, suggests chaos, the disruption of gravy trains and networks of graft.   Anwar’s mistake then and now was to violate the canon of inertia. 

The ruling National Front (Barisan Nasional) was shaken by recent political showings by Anwar’s opposition alliance, the PKR.  On 8 March, their hold on power suddenly loosened.  The opposition alliance had broken through a barrier that seemed untouchable: reducing the sacred two-thirds majority held by the National Front in Parliament since 1957.  Five of the twelve state legislatures were lost.  The PKR then came up with a bold policy – to form a new Federal Government by 16 September.

Enter (some argue literally), the 23 year-old man who volunteered to work for the opposition during the tumultuous election earlier this year.  He had been Anwar’s aide, and duly fronted with accusations of sodomy at the end of June.   The charges were made public by Bakri Zinin, the federal police chief for criminal investigations. 

Having seen it all before, Anwar fled to the Turkish Embassy, citing assassination fears.  ‘I have been told that my assassination has not been ruled out as means to subvert the people’s will and bring an end to the transformational changes taking place in Malaysia.’  Istanbul, then accused of undue interference in Malaysian politics, hastily ejected the accused.

These political re-runs take place because the main party of Malaysian politics, UMNO (United Malays National Organisation), has run out of ideas. It’s a despotism that has run dry of creativity, not merely in policy, but in dealing with rivals. 

UMNO is naturally following the script: its members had nothing to do with it.  That is the line peddled by Kelantan UMNO information chief, Alwi Che Ahmad: ‘Nobody from UMNO has anything to gain from trying to fabricate (accusations against) Anwar especially in the current political landscape.’  The only flaw in this statement is that UMNO has everything to gain by Anwar’s demise.

That was evident in 1998 itself when Anwar was declared, not merely to be a rampant sodomite with a penchant for chauffeurs, but a masochist: he had, for instance, mysteriously punched himself.   Torture was vigorously denied: the Malaysian police has scrupulously ‘observed’ his rights in detention, but in truth had tried beating the suspect to a pulp. 

Added to the mix now by his opponents is the suggestion that Anwar is America’s snitch.  Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar recently gave a sense of how ‘impartial’ the government is on the subject of Anwar’s innocence: ‘Anwar is a snitch for America.  Every time anything happens, he reports back to America.’  A character portrait of Anwar according to Barisan Nasional: a sodomizing snitch with masochistic tendencies.

The Malaysian authorities have run out of talented conspiracy scriptwriters – they can only revert to programs that were used during Mahathir’s time.  The opposition are even mimicking them, accusing current Deputy Premier Najib Razak of having an affair with a woman before she was killed two years ago.  Najib palmed it off: this was merely a sodomy diversion.  Anwar remained the true star of the show.  Malaysian politics has not merely run out of steam – it has run out of imagination.

Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, University of Cambridge.  He can be reached atbkampmark@gmail.com.

Proton Perdana And Harley-Davidson

Hantu Laut

I was right in my condemnation of the quality of Proton cars.The MB of Pahang and Kelantan had also come out and said their Perdanas incur high maintenance costs.

The high costs in Trengganu were not merely because of Proton poor quality, there must be some element of hanky-panky, those individuals in charge of sending the cars for service and maintenance must be in cahoots with the dealers.

Federal and all state departments should also stop buying Proton cars to send a clear message to those in Proton to pull up their socks to improve the quality of their cars.Those guys are resting on their laurels and are quite happy to produce crappy machines.

If Proton wish to continue producing low quality cars and expect to sell well I suggest they send their marketing boys to Harley-Davidson to learn all about marketing hype.How to sell crappy machines at premium prices.

Harley-Davidson image marketing was so good it managed to fool the whole world big bike lovers to buy their crappy over-sized and under-powered machines at mind-boggling prices.It's an image that comes with a big noise of broken tail pipe,masochistic apparels,swollen balls and wannabe Hells Angels. Exhibitionist of the first order on glorified two-wheelers.

Real bike enthusiasts don't buy Harley, they buy other high-end bikes, Japanese or European.

Harley recently bought over M.V.Augusta, one of the finest and highly regarded high-end bike manufacturers dumped by those myopic men in dark suits at Proton a year ago.

Let's hope Harley don't introduce their crappy engineering to those superb machines.

Lastly, the purchase of those Mercedes Benz cars by Trengganu is now a fait accompli and the Prime Minister, if he can't remove the MB, should let it be and allow those cars to be used by the assemblymen.

Sometimes, favours don't come free, you have to buy them.Maybe, the Menteri Besar of Trengganu should enlighten the Prime Minister why he was so generous to the councillars even in time of economic downturn when government should be tightening its belt.

One thing for sure, he knows the Prime Minister can't remove him, he was appointed by the Sultan.

Virgins from the Philipines at Labuan

Virgins from the Philippines at Labuan

Joe Fernandez | Jun 10, 08 4:07pm

All the banks have only one desk in Labuan which is touted as an International Offshore Financial Centre (IOFC). No work is done in Labuan. All the work is done in KL and elsewhere. Labuan is just used as an IOFC address. MCPX IOFC is just a big scam to hoodwink the country and the world. If you go to Labuan, you will find no development taking place despite the newspaper articles written by journalists in KL. The place is a lot cleaner than it was many years ago, well landscaped, but that's about it. The Labuan International Seasports Centre etc etc, marina and similar developments are all white elephants sitting in the sun in eerie silence. The new international airport is very quiet. Two AirAsia flights a day from Labuan to KL. Some other MAS flights, all rip-offs. There are quite a number of international hotels and cheaper hotels. I told the Labuan Malaysian Airports Berhad chap that I like Labuan Airport because every time I am there, I have almost the whole place to myself. Keep it that way, I told them. It's like being in heaven. Try the nasi lemak at the only restaurant at the airport. Booze and chocolates are cheap (buy in town) because of the free port status and taxi drivers don't cheat. Nothing else is cheap. But prices are not higher than elsewhere. I am happy for Labuan. No development. I am anti-development. No crowds. I am anti-crowds. The people and the territory somehow manage, despite the politicians. Now, the big thing is nightclubs with virgins from the Philippines. They have been mushrooming. I think the patrons come from the offshore oil rigs, Brunei, Miri and Kota Kinabalu (KK). If you can get a zero airfare AirAsia flight to Labuan from KL, try to visit the nightclubs. I haven't been there myself because I don't patronise such places. That doesn't mean I am against people who patronise such places. Labuan is a great place to retire. You have direct flights to KL, KK, Bunei and Miri. From KK, you can get direct flights to many places in East Asia and Australia. Labuan to KK is only 20 minutes by flight. Better don't take MAS because it's a rip-off. Take the ferry and bring your laptop and some books along. Only RM36 first class to KK but it takes three hours. Good chance to catch up on many things. There's an Atur system on board for telephone calls. Don’t die without visiting Labuan and seeing for yourself. Source:Malaysiakini

Another Piece Of Artistic Nudity

Brooke Burke, host of 'Wild On' in her classic nudity pose with a guy.