This is ridiculous…

Misplaced loyalty from a former premier who shaped the future of the nation? Or is it just blind hatred towards the present number one? Or is he bordering on senility?

His latest move is to urge all BN MPs to lompat to become independents, and then return to BN after the removal of the PM.

This latest call by him changes his use of Umno/Malay sentiments to trying to influence the BN cadres to remove the PM.

Is he being fair to the voters?

Read his latest blog entry here.

How should Pak Lah react?

Now that Mahathir has decided to quit Umno in protest to force Abdullah to step down, it is inevitable that in the coming days a few more shocks will happen.

There will be some pockets of party members who will join MM in leaving the party. Some pundits are even saying that some 200 divisions in Johor alone are ready to follow suit.

Likewise I am sure some veterans will also follow MM. But, how about Umno MPs and state level leaders? Would they jump the ship as well?

I highly doubt it. I think it would be against their self-interest for any minister, deputy minister or and MP to quit the party now.

As it is Abdullah is holding a meeting with Umno MPs today and tomorrow he would have a similar meeting with BN MPs. What will follow is a BN meeting and then Umno supreme council meeting.

I am sure they will discuss the repercussions of MM’s decision and on Abdullah’s future as well.

There are two strong messages which Abdullah and Umno can give MM. They are:

1. Thank you for all your services and now that you have resigned, we hope you will have a good rest. Do enjoy your break.

2. Do not get yourself involved in local politics, especially in Umno politics, as you no longer have the standing to comment on a party which you are no longer a member.

At the same time, MM should be reminded to be prepared to defend himself in court IF he is to be tried for the conspiracy in the appointment of friendly judges, as recommended by the Lingam tape commission.

He should also be reminded to keep himself occupied with completing his memoir.

And finally someone should ask MM as to the real reason he is doing this.

Is it because he loves the party too much that he can’t sit and watch Abdullah ruining it, thus wanting him to be replaced by Najib or Muhyiddin or even Tengku Razaleigh?

OR, is it because he is afraid that Anwar Ibrahim will take over the government if Abdullah remained in power?

MM must openly explain if it’s his dislike of Abdullah or fear of Anwar coming back to haunt him.

The cops seem to have their own agenda

‘Don’t bribe me’ - So says a car sticker found at the back of almost all police patrol cars you see in KL roads nowadays.

I understand the message the cops are trying to send to the public but there is a small problem here, at least for me.

Why is it that the police seem to be trying to put the blame on the public for the corruption in the police force?

It sounds as though it is the public who are forcing the cops to take bribe. I would have thought that a more positive message would be one in which the message reflects the force itself and not the public -something like ‘I don’t take bribe’.

Hang on a minute! Didn’t the cops use to have a ‘Saya Anti-Rasuah’ badges on the uniform?

Yes they did! I know the top brass had removed that slogan in a recent revamp, ostensibly to send a better message to the public.

The problem is that the new message, as found in the patrol cars, gives a wrong impression that it’s the public, and not the cops, who should bear the brunt of the corruption menace!

Something more reflective and self appraisal is definitely needed if the force is genuine in wanting to remove graft.

And I would like to add something else about the action of the police in regards to the residents’ protest for a toll-free access road in Cheras - the superior officer who gave the go-ahead to fire tear gas and spray water cannon two nights ago should be disciplined!

Don’t they ever learn? It has been just about two months since the people gave a resounding warning to the BN government on the various grouses with government policies, one of which was the way the police was acting like kings in many instances while failing to solve more important matters like crime prevention.

And the brutal action by the cops seem to indicate that the force think they are a government on their own. What could have been solved amicable has been allowed to spillover into another people versus government matter.

What were the cops thinking when they sprayed a pepper-spray onto a DAP MP? And what were they thinking in trying to intimidate people who had gathered at the same night in Dataran Merdeka for a candlelight vigil?

If Abdullah thinks he can make reforms, the first thing he has look at is the police force. These guys need serious lessons of public relations and on how to treat people decently.

Not everyone is a national threat, not everyone is a criminal, BUT everyone is a citizen who has his rights that must be protected, especially by the police.

The cops must first ditch their attitude of Us versus Them and start seeing the public as people who they are suppose to protect, not antagonise.

Jakim contradicts PM

On April 19, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the government would introduce a regulation requiring non-Muslims wishing to convert to Islam to inform their family before doing so.

He said this would prevent problems of families disputing the conversion of their loved ones when they die.

He made this announcement after meeting with Islamic religious authorities, giving the impression he had spoken about this to them and had obtained approval.

His basis for such a regulation was to ensure people would not be going at each other over this matter, as it is happening now. In a nutshell, Abdullah wanted a harmonious relationship between all.

However a report in the Star today gives a different picture altogether.

Surprise! Surprise! Now senior Jakim leaders are saying converts need not inform family, and openly rejected Abdullah’s proposal.

This rejection was mentioned by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) director-general Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abdul Aziz himself, saying that it was the joint view of state legal advisors, muftis, syarie judges and Islamic department directors.

And their basis for this - nothing to do with human relations but instead it was based on the Quran!

It seems the holy book does not provide anything that “compel a person wishing to convert to Islam to inform the family before doing so”. Instead they want the need to inform loved ones should be left to the discretion of the person wishing to convert.

So in one hand we have a premier who is thinking about maintaining a racial harmony and thinking like a leader for all Malaysians and on the other a group of religious old-schools who simply refuse to move away from the interpretations of their holy book.

Malaysia for Malaysians? Fat chance if this continues.

First sign of repression?

This was the question posed by opposition leader Lim Kit Siang after the banning of popular Tamil daily Makkal Osai today.

He asked if the daily was denied the renewal of its KDN due to prominence in its coverage for the Pakatan Rakyat.

“Is this the first sign of repression and crackdown on human rights and the little space opening up in the printed media after the March 8 political tsunami?” he asked in a statement today.

Insiders say there are many reasons for that - but chiefly it was for being anti-establishment.

Apparently the ministry was upset that daily gave wide coverage to Anwar (including the Black 14 rally and the police probe that followed) and Makkal Sakthi issues.

The publication of Uthayakumar’s photographs from the Taiping hospital is also said to have riled the ministry.

And finally it seems there was a business competitor who had fed information about Makkal Osai’s misdeeds to the ministry.

I am sure the cabinet had discussed this matter this morning. Is this how the PM is going to regain the trust and support of the Indian community?

As it is I think the one-month suspension of Makkal Osai last August for publishing an offending photo of Jesus caused some resentment towards the government - perhaps it was even the start of such a feeling against the BN.

The government must be smart enough to just renew the KDN and let the daily do its business.

Watch Pak Lah fall (2)

Looks like it is gonna happen sooner than later.

First we had a handful of powerful leaders calling for his resignation (led by Dr M no less).
Abdullah said he was not convinced as he had the people’s mandate.

And then you had individual leaders making similar noises.
Abdullah said these were the minority within the party.

Then came the divisions in Kedah, Penang basically asking him to step down in favour of Najib.
Abdullah said he has some unfinished task in hand and that the people had not rejected him.

The biggest blow, as I see, finally came from Johor divisions, who couched their call for his resignation in a civilised manner - they asked for a succession plan.
Abdullah was in a corner by now, accepting that BN’s defeat was his fault but still determined to hang on.

Then came the clincher - his so-called ally Muhyiddin Yassin first telling on Friday that Abdullah has agreed to discuss succession plan with Najib and then again over the weekend hammering the nail by adding that it was time for a leadership change in Umno to save the party from becoming irrelevant.

Abdullah is silent on these, perhaps realising too late that even his allies are now against him.

Today, former Selangor MB Khir Toyo urged for a quick hand over and urged for an open contest in party polls in December. And another ally, Rais Yatim, also wants Abdullah to be swift with his succession plan.

I am sure more will come out in the open in the next few days/weeks to force Abdullah to step down, perhaps forcing him to announce his intention in the next month or so and officially giving up to Najib in December!

Powdering up for TV appearance

Did you read that the traditional Wednesday cabinet meetings are now to be held on Fridays? What to make of this switch? For me, it shows the lowest level our BN reps can come to.

So low, to the extent of rescheduling the all-important Wednesday cabinet meetings to Fridays so that they can be ‘seen’ doing their job on live parliament telecast.

The question now is this. Fridays, being a holy day for Muslims, mean a limited working day. And then it is also the day for MPs to head back to their respective constituencies.

With all these, can the ministers give us an assurance that they would not be rushing their cabinet meetings to fulfill their religion and constituency obligations? When would they be holding their post-cab meetings and the usual press conferences that follow? Mondays?

Definitely not an effective method of governance.

Also it is uncertain if this arrangement is only during the parliament sittings or throughout the year. I await our beloved PM’s comments on this matter.

The full Bernama report on this can be found here:

Below is the excerpt

“KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 (Bernama) -- The Cabinet meetings usually held on Wednesdays will be moved to Fridays to enable ministers to be present at parliament sittings, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.

He said it also had to do with the planned 30-minute live telecasts of Parliament proceedings from the end of this month.

"Before this, during question time (Q&A) deputy ministers or parliamentary secretaries answer for ministers because they (ministers) sometimes are unable to be present.

"Now with this live telecast move, the ministers themselves will provide the answers as the people will be closely watching the proceedings," said Mohamed Nazri on the "Bersemuka Dengan Media" talk show programme on the RTM1 television channel tonight.”

Watch Pak Lah fall

Will he be forced to go or would he persevere and stay on?

I am talking about the mounting pressure on PM Abdullah to leave the scene and let others to take over. The pressure is so bad that Abdullah has to openly assuring Malaysians that he has NOT resigned.

Bernama quoted him last night as saying:

"I am here. I am here. They speculate that I want to run away. Why should I resign?"

"My government has got a strong majority (although) not the two-third majority. Why must I run away from my entrusted responsibilities."

Now lets look at the situation:

1. He has internal Umno problems - arising from people dropped from the candidate’s list for the general election right up to those upset with the undue influence of his son-in-law Khairy on ALL matters.

2. The pressure from veteran Umno leaders are getting hotter by the day. While his predecessor Mahathir has been openly targeting him, there are others who act in the darkness, ready to stab at any moment.

These factors will come into play as the Umno party polls on Dec 16 draw closer. By then many alliances and partnerships will be formed to challenge the top post, especially from Tengku Razaleigh.

Abdullah will have to be at his best, give away so much concessions and win new loyalists to win support and retain his post. As it stands, these look remote!

However things might not wait till December.

I am anticipating an earlier exit, If Abdullah do succumb to all pressure.

The exit could take place within the next 4 to 6 months and for that to happen, Anwar Ibrahim will be the final nail in Abdullah’s coffin.

Anwar’s political ban expires on April 15, after which he is free to contest in a by-election. More importantly he would be free to head his government, with the help of several party-hopping MPs.

With Anwar gathering force and support to form an alternate government, Umno will have to consolidate and regroup to counter the Anwar factor.

As it stands a weak Abdullah is seen as the cause for the weak Umno. A stronger Umno needs a stronger leader who could bring together all the party warlords to stop Anwar from taking control of the government.

The new man could be Najib, could be Razaleigh or even Muhyiddin. And their ultimate cause would be to safe the party from losing all control to Anwar.

To stop that form happening, even dumping a sitting (sleeping) president would be fine with party delegates and members. You just watch it!

Dr M speaks (writes) out..

Below is Tun Mahathir’s take on the Pak Lah-palace tiff over the Terengganu MB post. The former premier also speaks about his ‘clean’ legacy, on why people have no faith in the government, on the recent calls made for him to apologise to Salleh Abas and as well as his sharp rebuke against Zaid Ibrahim.

The article is also available here

Ask Commission to apologise

By Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

PETALING JAYA (March 27, 2008): A Concerned Malaysian has expressed his worry over the role being played by Sultans in the appointment of the Mentri Besar.

His Royal Highnesses have clearly refused to take the advice of the Chief Minister i.e. the Prime Minister. Instead, they have chosen on their own a member of the state legislature to head the Government.

We hear a lot of opinions on the propriety of the action by the Sultan. Some say he has the right to do this while others point out that as a constitutional ruler, he could not do this.

The Constitution says that the Ruler or Head of State must choose the elected member who enjoys the support of the majority of members in the legislative body to be the Prime Minister or the Mentri Besar. Subject to this provision, the Ruler it is who chooses and appoints the Prime Minister or Mentri Besar.

The Prime Minister, as Prime Minister, has no role in the choice of the State Mentri Besar or Ketua Menteri. His naming of candidate who should be the Mentri Besar is purely a party matter. Obviously, if the State is captured by the Opposition Party, he cannot name the candidate.

However, if the Ruler chooses someone who does not enjoy majority support, he could be deposed at a sitting of the legislative body through a vote of "no confidence".

After that, another member can be appointed by the Ruler to take his place. But if for some reason, there is no other candidate or the candidate with majority support is considered unsuitable by the Ruler, a new Government cannot be formed. The Ruler may then dissolve the legislative body and a new election may be held.

This new election may lead to the same impasse. The Ruler may not like the member with majority support.

However, it should be noted that this kind of thing had never happened during the premiership of the four previous Prime Ministers. Concerned Malaysians should wonder why.

Is it just that the particular Ruler is being difficult, unwilling to accept the principles of democracy, wanting to return to feudalism and the absolute authority of the monarch?

I do not think so. There must be a reason why the Ruler refuses to accept the candidate named by the party. But the Ruler chooses not to reveal the reasons and indulge in public debates. He merely expresses his displeasure by refusing to do what normally the Rulers would do.

Concerned Malaysians must ask what has the particular candidate done which is so wrong that it incurs the displeasure of the Ruler.

There are lots of talks in the town. Terengganu is blessed with petroleum deposits. It should get 5% of the total earning from oil production. The Federal Government; fearing the previous PAS government might use this money wrongly had withheld payment.

But when the Barisan Nasional (BN) regained Terengganu the money, now called "Wang Ehsan", was lavishly spent by the Federal Government on Terengganu. It is not a small sum. Over these years "Wang Ehsan" totalled several billion.

We know that since the BN regained Terengganu in 2004, all kinds of projects have been developed in Terengganu. This includes The Monsoon Cup, luxury housing for sale to foreigners, Crystal Mosque and theme park, university, etc. Some of these projects are very good but many are totally unnecessary and wasteful.

But what the Terengganu people are saying is that all these mega projects costing billions of Ringgit have been contracted out to people outside Terengganu. Terengganu contractors got practically nothing.

But additionally, they say the contracts all went to one person and they are suspicious that behind this person are members of the first family.The rumours also say that the previous Mentri Besar was responsible for these things happening and of course, they think that he might have benefited financially.

The rumours went on to say that the Prime Minister might have influenced the Mentri Besar into doing wrong things. These are all rumours. It will be quite impossible to prove anything as the perpetrators are skilled in hiding themselves.

This is not good for a Government keen to abolish corruption and be transparent. To clear its name, an investigation should be made.

But the public is leery of investigations by Government agencies and departments. Even Royal Commissions are not highly regarded. The people believe, not true of course, that the Government has been interfering with the work of the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), the Police and the Attorney General (A-G)'s Chambers. The say this is borne out by the results of investigations by these agencies.

When a Deputy Minister was accused of accepting money for the release of a detainee, the A-G said there was no case because the detainee said he did not give any money to the Deputy Minister. It is so easy. If you have a case involving someone, all the enforcement agencies need to do is to ask him whether he was involved. If he says "no", then there is no case.

For some reason, judges are finding that people accused of murder are not guilty because of insufficient evidence by the police. Yet people who are totally not involved in a case, who were not accused of any misdeeds and who did not appear in court at all and been given a hearing are found guilty and publicly condemned.

The public cannot be blamed for not having faith in Government agencies doing investigations. The public cannot be blamed for suspecting cover-ups by the Government or worse still the Government may be using these enforcement agencies to threaten people.

To clear its good name, the Government should get credible foreign agencies to do the investigation. Of course, they must be given full access to the documents etc.

Now my detractors are going to say I did worse things when I was Prime Minister. Well, if that is so, let us have the foreign agencies investigate me also. I am aware that people are looking into possible misdeeds by me during my 22 years so as to threaten me and ask me to shut up. So far they have not found anything.

Not only have I not taken anything that was not due to me while I was Prime Minister but I have given back to the Government and the people everything that I had received as gifts during my tenure of office.

The Government had offered me land in Kedah and Langkawi and I had refused to accept. I have a 5-acre plot in Putrajaya which I paid for even though the Government was offering it to me free.

Unless there is a frame-up, I think there should be nothing to pin on me. Even other accusations against me, including the dismissal of judges, were not my doing and I do not feel obliged to apologise. Ask the Tribunal to apologise.

The person asking that the Government should apologise for what happened to Tun Salleh Abbas may have forgotten that as President of the Muslim Lawyers Association, he fully supported the action that was taken. He castigated the Bar Council for condemning Tun Hamid Omar over the dismissal of judges. Now he wants to be more correct than correct. I wonder why.

The Terengganu palace wins

Umno Supreme Council just decided that it would unanimously support the palace-backed Ahmad Said as the new Terengganu menteri besar.

Apparently the council, headed by party president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, directed former MB Idris to accept Ahmad’s appointment.

Abdullah himself said that the next task was to appoint the exco members to get the state administration running.

Well, until yesterday Abdullah was still insisting that Idris should be the MB, even calling Ahmad’s appointment unconstitutional. The party was suppose to sack Ahmad today.

And then came the meeting with the King/Sultan of Terengganu yesterday morning. What transpired at the meeting, no one can be sure but when Abdullah came out of the meeting, he knew he had to back down.

And when the matter was discussed at the council meeting today, sources say that none of the council members objected Ahmad’s appointment. Does this mean only Abdullah was against it, along with Idris?

Whatever it is, the council is likely to have a new member, Ahmad, in his capacity as the state Umno chief. I expect him to replace Idris for the position too.

So it IS bye, bye Idris, and hello Ahmad.

And for Abdullah, he has to keep a straight face even when he knows full well that he had been given a body blow by the royal palace.

Replacing ‘Raja Idris’ with ‘Plain’ Ahmad

[For obvious reasons, I am going to blog this entry by being mindful of the defamation laws, sedition act as well as the treason act.]

According to sources today PM met with the king, who is also the sultan of terengganu, to talk about the menteri besar issue in terengganu.

PM wanted to stress to the king as to why his man Idris Jusoh (IJ) should continue to be the MB. Apparently the king was not interested to hear anything and told PM to have a meeting instead with the royalty’s chosen candidate, Ahmad Said who had assumed office yesterday.

It seems that the PM even put forward a third person as a neutral candidate but the king was adamant of having his man in place. For all it seems, it looks like the PM had to backdown and let the terengganu palace has its way.

The PM also met with IJ and it seems it was a fruitful meeting, according to people close to IJ.

Whatever it is, the matter will be clearer after the Umno supreme council meeting tomorrow when the party is to decide if they want to sack Ahmad.

If they do, then the sign is clear that Umno is ready to battle it out with the terengganu palace. But if they back Ahmad for the post, then we know it is the palace that has won. As a compromise Umno might allow IJ to continue being the party's state chief. The palace has no say in this.

So why is the sultan so against IJ?

Many sources say it has to do with the manner he has been channelling the RM1 billion Petronas wang ehsan in favour of the Putrajaya-backed mega projects (read: monsoon cup, the islam hadhari village and the crystal mosque among others) and not to help alleviate poverty in the state.

Apart from that, it is the issue of IJ being a small-time Raja in the state by not paying any attention to the 11-year-old regent, his advisory council or his father who works as the king in KL. Apparently many religious (Islamic) projects were approved by the MB without consultation with the palace.

And then we have the issue of the Umno-led state administration making a mockery of democracy by using the police to forcibly remove people in Batu Buruk last year and in Marang on election day. Apparently the sultan was upset with the manner democracy was abused on those two days by the Idris government.

And the finally, it seems (I repeat IT SEEMS) the sultan is also unhappy that outside power brokers (Putrajaya fourth floor, Patrick Badawi and others) and IJ are making tonnes of money in the state via mega projects and the sultan feels left out, unlike in other states where his fellow brothers enjoy a good business patronage.

Thus the idea that is being floated is that by removing IJ, the sultan can ensure that wang ehsan is distributed equally to everyone in the state; people would be treated with respect by the police and the Umno politicians; mega projects that have no beneficiary to the state can be stopped; the sultan, his son and the advisory council will be made to be more useful; and finally, the palace coffers will be full again!

Now you get it as to why all the fuss about replacing ‘raja’ Idris with the ‘plain’ Ahmad?

It is in this game that PM has fallen in, either to protect his own financial or political interest, or to stand firm against a royalty who is keen to get back what he has lost by taking Putrajaya for a ride.

What? IPCMC on the top menu?

Prime Minister Abdullah said today that the bill for the setting up of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) will be tabled in the coming parliament session.

The PM said the draft of the bill was ready and was to be tabled in the cabinet before parliament was dissolved for the general election but he held it back because of the GE.

Isn’t that strange?

What about the IPCMC-style Special Complaints Commission Bill 2007 which was tabled for the first reading on Dec 13 in the Dewan Rakyat by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz?

On Dec 14, the then opposition leader Lim Kit Siang called the SCC bill as a fake IPCMC and pointed to the explanatory statement in the bill which confirmed that the bill was a watered-down version of the much-anticipated IPCMC.

This WAS definitely before the GE, which was held on March 8 this year.

So what is the PM trying to do here with today’s announcement? Has he forgotten about the SCC bill? Or is he trying to regain the people’ trust by putting back the IPCMC back into the frontline as a populist move?

Whatever it may be, he need not be sneaky about doing what is good for the rakyat.

A game which Pak Lah can never win

It is now 16 days since the general election. All states have had their menteri besar sworn in but for Terengganu.

The state, although won comfortably by BN with 24 out of 32 seats, seems to be embroiled in a crisis on the choice of the MB. The palace is clearly keen on Ahmad Said, PM Abdullah wants Idris Jusoh.

Constitution says palace has the right, political power says Abdullah has the mean.

However the latest seem to indicate that the palace is indeed winning. Even the 13 of the original 22 who backed Idris and Abdullah are now supporting Ahmad, it is reliably learnt.

Only Abdullah and Idris are steadfast in holding that it should be them who should rule Terengganu.

A win for the palace in the battle means a loss of face for the prime minister. Actually it is the second blow for him from the royalties.

Remember Perlis? The Raja there held on to appoint his own man despite Abdullah insisting that it should be Shahidan Kassim. In the end the Raja won, and had his man sworn in, sending Shahidan into oblivion and Abdullah into his own hole.

Now Terengganu sultan looks set to deliver the second blow. Even if Abdullah uses his political muscle to get Idris appointed despite all, he would still look bad for being a traitor to the sultan!

His new-found nemesis Tengku Razaleigh said this today:

“The Prime Minister's actions suggest stunning ineptness in managing fundamental relationships and straightforward functions of government.

This storm in Terengganu is just the latest in a series of crises brought on by an apparent failure to understand how state powers work relative to federal ones.”

Abdullah can never win this game. He can compromise though by giving in to the sultan’s choice.

What is stopping him? Lost of face? Or lost of business ventures (for cronies and family)?

Why an advisor on family matters?

I still wonder why the PM appointed Shahrizat Abdul Jalil as his special advisor on women and social development affairs. He has also given her a ministerial status with the appointment.

OK, she was an unfortunate loser in the GE. But still, being made an advisor for family matters? Why did he do it? To ensure that Umno Wanita has some representation in the government?

If that’s the case, by right, he should have made Rafidah his special advisor, in charge of international trade and free trade talks. I bet she will do a better job in these than the minister who replaced her at MITI.

While I was wondering on Shahrizat’s appointment, I came across a blog posting by Mahathir’s daughter.

She said:

“The PM also seems unaware that there is a Majlis Penasihat Wanita (formerly known as the National Advisory Council for the Integration of Women in Development (NACIWID)) which comprises of women appointed by the government to advise it on women's issues.

It used to be an independent body until a few years ago when Shahrizat decided to chair it herself. If you've never heard of it, that's understandable as it really doesn't get to do much advising and whatever advice it does give tends to not get heeded much.

I've been a member of it for some years and have always been frustrated by its redundancy. Guess now it'll be even more redundant.”

With this new knowledge, I am even more bewildered as to why Pak Lah made Shahrizat his special advisor. A case of political patronage perhaps?

Is Umno getting weaker?

Why do I ask this question? Just look at what happened today alone:

1. Radzi Sheikh Ahmad quits as Umno sec-gen, 24-hours after he was dropped from the new cabinet line-up. He says he can’t work effectively as he is no longer in the cabinet - how to read this? That you need a cabinet post to work your party post? Is he just sulking? OR has he been dropped from both cabinet and party post as a result of his role in the Perlis infighting?

2. The dropped tourism minister and a big player from the Lingam tape Tengku Adnan says he is the new Umno sec-gen. OK, if Pak Lah wants this man to be the sec-gen, its his prerogative but interestingly Tengku Adnan said Abdullah told him YESTERDAY about the post. Hmm! Radzi made his “shocking announcement” to quit today but the post was already made available yesterday. So did Radzi quit or was he pushed?

3. Iron Lady Rafidah called for a PC to explain her future after being dropped from the cabinet. She revealed that PM only informed her yesterday morning that she was being dropped. An hour later he made his cabinet announcement. Well she could be right to wonder if the PM has no guts to tell her beforehand of his plans. Or is it just a case of PM making last minute adjustments to put out a fresh looking cabinet to impress the public?

4. Veteran Umno man Tengku Razaleigh said he will contest for the presidency post in the coming party polls to heal the party. Whether he gets sufficient nominations is another question. The important thing is that Pak Lah has a challenger. Would there be more to come?

5. All these comes in the heels of Anwar claiming that he has enough BN backbenchers willing to crossover to PKR, to allow the opposition coalition to form the government with a simple majority.

AND what is PM’s reaction to all of these?

Simple: “This government is very strong, we have the support too.”

Does anyone buy that? Only time will tell.

Jawi is the new thing in KL

The KL City Hall is on a mission - it wants to encourage Middle Eastern tourists to the city.

Actually DBKL is on a double mission - it also wants to propagate the prime minister’s pet Islamic Hadhari concept in the capital city.

And how does the DBKL completes its missions?

Simple. It just replaces old road signs around the city with new ones that carry road names in Jawi.

So far, DBKL has completed its mission in Bandar Tun Razak, Taman Seputeh and Taman Tan Yew Lai. In the process now is Jinjang. Please note that the last three residential areas are predominantly Chinese.

Naturally few questions arise:

1. How many people can read Jawi, including the postmen?
2. How many Arab tourists are going to visit residential areas? And what attractions are there for them to see, apart from rows and rows of houses? I have never seen Arabs tourists in Jinjang!
3. And if it is to benefit the Arabs, why use Jawi and not Arabic?
4. Just for the sake of it, why not Chinese and Tamil languages as well?
5. Finally, what is Islam Hadhari? Is it something which alienates the rights of the non-Muslims in this country? The last I heard, it was supposed to be an all-embracing concept which promotes oneness and universal values!!

Both the Star (Feb 4) and The Sun (Feb 11) had carried stories about this new Jawi road signs, indicating that there are grouses from ground level.

Both stories had response from DBKL - yesterday’s Sun quoted an official saying that the new road signs offered “a chance for the non-Muslims to know and learn Jawi”. (see right)

How? By merely looking at the road signs? She must be out of her mind. But let’s not blame her.

It’s the problem of all government officials trying to bodek the PM by promoting his Islam Hadhari, whatever it means.

The fun is about to start

The 12th general election is definitely around the corner. Many pundits believe it could be held on March 8 (Sat), though there are also others who think it could be the following week, March 15.

Well, the signs are here now. The PM says he has found his inspiration. He cleared the air that it would not be called during the Chinese New Year period (so surely not in February).

He is also talking to the BN leaders and members via the media, asking them to “listen to the people” and “do what is right”.

He is also talking about himself, protecting his legacy, saying that he has been working hard and had not “benefited one sen from anyone”.

Well now. Who knows who sort of accusations and allegations that would be made during election campaigns. It would be smart to be prepared...it makes complete sense.

Anyway, lets see when will he dissolve the parliament. Perhaps we should be watching the Istana Negara gates to look out for the PM’s official car!!!

However it looks like the PM has yet to clear some of the issues relating to his component partners.

There are various talks of seat swaps. Similarly there are also talks of how the BN can counter the dwindling Indian support. And how about the MIC factor? Who to contest? Will Subra be given a seat? Will Samy be asked to go?

All will become clear in the coming weeks, I am sure. At the moment, there are so many unconfirmed news making its rounds out there, released by people with own interests. And this is not just for MIC.

Hmm, let the fun begin.

In total state of delusion

He must be getting delusional. Perhaps the anger on the ground has unsettled him. And I think he is totally misreading the community sentiments.

I am talking about the great community leader SV who yesterday warned other BN component parties to stay out of the Indian community's affairs.

"They are trying to stir the pot. Let the MIC worry about the Indian community. The other parties should concentrate on helping their own communities," he had said.

This is bullshit No 1.

And then he goes on to spar with DAP’s Kit Siang, stating that the opposition leader should not interfere in the Hindu faith.

His anger was caused by incidences of people lighting candles inside temples during Thaipusam in support of the Hindraf 5 held under ISA.

"Hindus never hold vigils in a temple. It is against our beliefs. Kit Siang does not know anything about the religion, so he shouldn't ask people to do things against the faith," he said.

This, bullshit No 2.

And finally SV said that MIC was confident of winning all the seats it would contest in the next general election despite the current unhappiness among the Indian community.

The self-appointed community leader claimed that only a small segment of the community was dissatisfied and behind demonstrations and protests.

"MIC has a very good record in the general election and I am confident that the Indian community will continue to support BN," he crowed.

Without a doubt, bullshit No 3.

Perhaps he has not seen the latest opinion poll undertaken by the Merdeka Center, which was released on Dec 26, 2007.

Luckily for him there was no question on his own popularity. However it was very clear that the Indian community is ANGRY.

As at December 2007, Abdullah's rating among the Malays, Chinese and Indians has dropped by 8%, 5% and 41%, respectively.

(See the results of the poll here)

Does Muruga know? Does he care?

PM gave the ultimate Vel! Vel! to the Hindus in KL and Putrajaya today by announcing a public holiday for Thaipusam.

Many would be happy with this announcement, mainly SV - for obvious reasons - as he can claim that the public holiday was obtained at his insistence. And then there is Temple Nadarajah, as it means a bigger crowd and more money.

But how about the main man himself? Lord Muruga? Would he be able to see the political game that is being played in his name? I really wonder!

Don’t fall for these sweeteners

The sweeteners have started coming in for the Indian community. Of course I am talking about the two announcements made by the PM today:

1. He declared public holiday for Thaipusam in KL and Putrajaya, and

2. The setting up of a panel to reduce poverty – not just among Indians but among all races in the next three years.

Wow! Let’s take the Thaipusam issue first.

For 15 years the MIC and various other community representatives have been calling for this day to be made a public holiday. The government didn’t move an inch. Now, with just three days before the celebration, the PM announces a public holiday.

Makes me wonder! Makes me wary!

IS this just an election gimmick? Will the public holiday be continued after this year? Why not make it a national level public holiday? After all if KL is shut down, it means the whole nation – from business to finance to politics are shut down as well.

The PM might as well have announced a national level public holiday. His failure to announce it as such leaves a bit of suspicion on the longevity of this holiday for KL and Putrajaya Hindus.

Of course MIC will be claiming applause for getting the PM to give the holiday. However SV will know deep down that the impact made by the 30,000 protesters in KL on Nov 25 is still reverberating. And we should not forget the role played by Hindraf as well.

Now coming to the eradication of poverty, I am so amazed that after ignoring this matter for almost 50 years, the government has suddenly realized that there are poor Indians too.

Once again, I think the community has a lot to thank to the brave 30,000 protesters (and indirectly Hindraf for being the catalyst).

I don’t know if the government will be able to maintain the public holiday and achieve the poverty eradication, especially when the announcements are made after the government has been forced to act to placate an angry community with a loyal vote bank.

Once the election is over, it might just be status quo.

The community should remain awake. It should not fall for such sweeteners. It should ask for more as what is being asked are not sweeteners but fundamental rights.