Man in space - another BN project

All newspapers today highlighted the historic space journey of Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha yesterday. Rightly so, I should add. After all it is not always we get to put one of us in space.

However I have always maintained that this was a useless effort for Malaysia. Even after all the euphoria of seeing our Angkasawan lift off yesterday, I still think this was a waste of public money.

Honestly I don’t see the government being able to somehow drastically turn us into a leading nation in science and technology field. Not when the government wants to concentrate on agriculture and almost has given up hope on heavy industries (Proton, Hikom, Perwaja come to mind).

As I see it, this space trip was just another ego-booster in the Malaysia Boleh mould. Well, we have lived up to that by sending a man to space.

PM says the second choice candidate too might get his chance to go in the next trip.

And what I could not digest above all was the way the entire space trip was turned into a religious affair.

We had an international fatwa forum to discuss how religious obligations should be performed in space. We had the astronaut himself as saying that he wanted to fast and pray in space.

And to top it all, Sheikh Muszaphar also said he hopes to get closer to God when he ventures to the stars during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

I am afraid that what should have been a scientific expedition has been hijacked by the Islam Hadhari apologists.

I fully agree with what Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang who said:

"Malaysia is sending a Malaysian who is a Muslim into space and not a Muslim who happen to be a Malaysian."

Next stop: BN ceramah in kampung in the run-up to the general election, with the government leaders making triumphant remarks that they have put a kampung boy to space - Satu Lagi Projek Kerajaan BN!

The cost? At the last count, slightly more than RM93 million.

The result? Another way to con the simple voters that the government is taking the nation places.