Callous Comics

Are you familiar with the term Adjourned Sine Die?

This usually means the suspension of an assembly with the premise of future – but yet unspecified – dates for congregating again.

Christmas may not come twice in a year (Remember this sexist Bond joke?), but the circus in the form of the Perak State Assembly made its appearance yet again today.

They way things are going, this can be expected a routine event for Malaysians to either look forward to for some good laughs or to retch in great disgust.

When our representatives fail us, what do we do?

We hold them responsible and asked them to take the appropriate measures.

Seek a renewed mandate, for example.

Or accept the current hung status and fight it out in gentlemanly debates and discussions.

No two ways about it: they have failed Perakians.

Yes, the BN State Assemblymen and the trio of BN-friendly independents (only in Malaysia) can say that THEY have the mandate of the Rakyat.

And, yes, the PR ADUNs will say that THEY have been calling for a snap election all the while.

Yes, and Yes, and double Yesses.

BUT have they not even an ounce of shame over the shambolic sittings of the Assembly so far after the reverse takeover of Perak?

Please. We all enjoy a good laugh every now and then, but these are becoming sick and disgustful jokes.

For it to occur the following day after the tragedy in Kuala Dipang involving three schoolchildren makes it even harder to stomach.

Come on, respected YBs and YABs. Takkan tak ada sikit pun rasa malu?

The 1Malaysia unity camp tragedy can be quite symbolic of Perak as it is.

Newly erected - but ultimately rickety - foundations, a youthful generation hopeful that the path would lead them to their destination, a few malcontents rocking the situation (for God knows what reasons), and then, the quite thinkable occurs and lives are lost.

Too distinct a tragedy to draw such symbolism?

Maybe. Perhaps. Most probably.

I know I am grasping at straws and probably life will go on as usual for both camps.

No giving, no taking.

Both adamant they are in the right.

If I were a Perakian, the next elections I'll vote ALL of them OUT.

See how they like a truly hung government.

Adjourned Sine Die, gentlemen.

Past Tense: Pos Dipang - Aug 29, 1996

Beautiful Anonymity

I must admit having to do a double take on my views of Malaysian Premier Najib Tun Razak.

The recently unveiled Budget 2010 is a stroke of brilliance on his (and his team’s part) especially in managing the push-pull factor that is inevitable in ensuring the country has enough in its coffers and at the same time score the all important political brownie points with the Rakyat.

Witness the tax on credit cards.

In one stroke, Najib managed to push the message across that the government cares on the proliferation of credit cards and its burgeoning debt levels and at the same time, get back some of the excess profiteering from the card issuers.

Expect a majority of credit card issuers to offer their clients absorption of this tax .

After all, it is they who would lose out if all of us were to cut our cards ownership to a measly one card per person.

To the credit card issuers, the tax imposed is chicken feed easily recouped from the interest on outstandings without batting an eyelash.

Shrewd move.

When the budget came out, I thought - probably like everyone else – Najib was doing the usual sleight of hand's trick of feeding with the right and taking with the left with all the so-called goodies.

There were the increase in personal as well as EPF and insurance relief, the broadband subscription allowance, the 1% income tax reduction for those earning more than RM100k annually...

Against these were the aforementioned credit card tax, the Real Property Capital Gain Tax imposition and news of an impending cut in fuel subsidies.

Can I say Quid Pro Quo?

Anyway, the latter and the National Automotive Policy would be the most important thing to look out for next.

Dare I make predictions?

Here goes anyway: Fuel subsidies will be no more for everyone at large, and accorded only to the following sectors/segments; public transportation, charitable bodies and senior citizens.

The rest of the population – including the poor and hard core poor – will pay the market rate; thank you very much.

NAP is a much tougher cookie to predict, says this armchair critic/analyst ordinaire.

Unfortunately the country’s far-too-long high excise duty scenario precludes any drastic withdrawal which would have the effect of crippling the second hand car industry as well as the original national car maker, Proton.

Is a consolidation in the offing?

Looks pretty likely, as the advantage is plenty for a single conglomerate as opposed to several (just how many so-called National Car Manufacturers do we have currently?) especially in terms of economies of scale.

Can it be done though?

Heck do I know, but the current scenario in so many pseudo national cars running around is laughable when everyone knows these are rebadged versions.

The benefits for us would be in the medium to long term via the weaning in government subsidies to the National (too big to be allowed to fail) Car Maker – whatever name it would assume.

Back to Budget 2010.

I do wish there were some kind of tax on the foreign-laborer intensive industries/sectors though I suppose such an imposition would rake back whatever gains in growth so sorely needed in these tough conditions.

Next Budget, maybe?

PS: Off the topic, I wonder if there is a Quid Pro Quo somewhere in the recent Ong and Chua peace handshake.

PK(Cough! Ahem!)FZ.

A Quid for anyone's thoughts?

Adroit Whatchammacallit

I must admit having to do a double take on my views of Malaysian Premier Najib Tun Razak.

The recently unveiled Budget 2010 is a stroke of brilliance on his (and his team’s part) especially in managing the push-pull factor that is inevitable in ensuring the country has enough in its coffers and at the same time score the all important political brownie points with the Rakyat.

Witness the tax on credit card.

In one stroke, Najib managed to push the message across that the government cares on the proliferation of credit cards and its burgeoning debt levels and at the same time, get back some of the excess profiteering from the card issuers.

Expect a majority of credit card issuers to offer their clients absorption of this tax.

After all, it is they who would lose out if all of us were to cut our cards ownership to a measly one card per person.

To the credit card issuers, the tax imposed is chicken feed easily recouped from the interest on outstanding without batting an eyelash.

Shrewd moves.

When the budget came out, I thought - probably like everyone else – Najib was doing the usual sleight of hands trick of feeding with the right and taking with the left with all the so-called goodies.

The increase in personal as well as EPF and insurance and broadband subscription reliefs, income tax reduction for those earning more than RM100k annually against the aforementioned credit card tax, the Real Property Capital Gain Tax imposition and news of an impending cut in fuel subsidies.

The latter and the National Automotive Policy would be the most important thing to look out for next.

Dare I make predictions?

Here goes anyway: Fuel subsidies will be no more for everyone at large, and accorded only to the following sectors/segments; public transportation, charitable bodies and senior citizens.

The rest of the population – including the poor and hard core poor – will pay the market rate; thank you very much.

NAP is a much tougher cookie to predict; unfortunately the country’s far-too-long high excise duty scenario preclude any such withdrawal which would have the effect of crippling the second hand car industry as well as the national car maker, Proton.

Is a consolidation in the offing?

Looks pretty likely, as the advantage is plenty of a single conglomerate as opposed to (how many so-called National Car Manufacturers do we have currently?) to several especially in terms of economies of scale.

Can it be done though especially with regards the foreign makers shareholding in Perodua, Naza and Inokom (did I miss anyone?)

Heck do I know, but the current scenario in so many pseudo national cars running around is laughable when everyone knows these are rebadged versions.

The benefits for us would be in the medium to long term, unfortunately, via the weaning in government subsidies to the national (too big to be allowed to fail) car maker – whatever name it would assume, and the slow reductions in excise duties for a more open-market scenario.

Back to Budget 2010.

I wish there were some kind of tax on the foreign-laborer intensive industries/sectors though I suppose such an imposition would rake back whatever gains in growth so sorely needed in these tough conditions.

Next Budget, maybe?

PS: This posting doesn’t mean relate to my thoughts’ on the Premier’s political moves, though.

Wondering, too, if the recent Ong and Chua peace handshake is a Quid Pro Quo related to the PKFZ scandal.

Future responses from Ong on the matter will tell.

Beautifully Anonymous

Hybrid Morbidities

We’ve got some kind of world record here though not exactly the flattering type.

According to the AG (Auditor General, not Attorney General mind you), a government owned Proton Perdana is indirectly a world class fuel guzzler worthy of mention in, at the very least, the Malaysia Book of Records.

It manages a monstrous fuel consumption figure of 17.34l per km, or 0.06km (that’s 6cms) for every litre.

(The Hummer H3, the smallest Humvie, is said to get around 6 km per every litre in city driving conditions.)

The above figure is based on the assumption that the Perdana went full throttle at its supposed top speed of 205km/h during the record setting feat between 12.14pm and 12.15 om on Dec 14, 2008.

(Either that or the pump attendant (what self service?) didn’t put the nozzle in the right hole when pumping in the RON97 into the Perdana’s fuel tank.

Are you thinking what I am thinking? Now which hole did the fuel go into, eh? Wicked! )

My take is that it was (still is?) indeed a record breaker as the same Perdana managed the same feat a few days later on Dec 19. And so on.

Wow.

The now-in-abeyance-but-formerly-the-state-government of Perak (and Terengganu, too) so badly wanted to offload their Perdana V6s in place of Toyota Camry’s on the pretext that it’s one high maintenance car.

On hindsight: they got it Wrong, Wrong, Wrong.

Look at it this way:

By continuing to use the Proton Perdana, these state governments (and others too) would be helping the economy grow with frequent fuel purchases (provided, that is, they all fill up at Petronas who is one of our country’s main financier) as well as injecting some needed boost to the car servicing industry.

Methinks these people never heard of the phrase “trickle-down-effect”. Dumbos.

Sadly that last phrase refers to me too.

I have since given up my nationalistic tendencies in helping push through this “trickle-down-effect” thingy with the selling of my Proton Gen2.

Now, I no longer contribute with frequent fill-her-ups at the pumps (Petronas, of course!), or the equally frequent visits to either Proton, approved vendors or the under-the-tree mechanics for the bi-tri-or-more-monthly maintenance / repairs / whatcammacallit, as well as boosting the tow-truck industry every now and then.

I am so (blipping) sorry for my lack of patriotism. Really am.

Gluttonic Tendencies

“We cannot continue transferring the nation’s wealth to those at the apex of the economic pyramid while hoping that someday, maybe, the benefits of that transfer will trickle down in the form of steady employment and improved living standards for the many millions of families struggling to make it from day to day.

That money is never going to trickle down. It’s a fairy tale. We’re crazy to continue believing it.”

This was written by NYTimes columnist Bob Herbert in his commentary aptly titled: Safety Nets for the Rich.

BH spoke of the amazing dichotomy, and incredulous imbalance, in the multibillions in bonuses for Wall Street bankers and the straight jacketed American public, faced with keeping their day job intact even as the country’s deficit grows to US$1.4 trillion.

That is a huge sum in deficit to be covered.

Probably the US would be able to ride their deficit storm, but the longer its economy remains in the doldrums, this figure would continue growing.

What is Uncle Sam to do?

What else but what it does best: send out young Americans to far-away land to fight the good fight for democracy.

I digress, but this posting is not about the US of A.

According to BH (Bob Herbert, not Berita Harian), two-thirds of all the income gains from the years 2002 to 2007 went to the top 1 percent of Americans.

I’m wondering what the percentage is like for our country.

A country will probably prosper if the middle class (in terms of income) is the biggest of its population segment simply for the fact that it would relieve the state from the burden of socialism, which is the reality of subsidies anyway.

State handouts should be restricted only for the poor and hard core poor segment in a country.

Given a scenario where there is fair distribution in wealth – which meant that the poor and hard core poor will be fairly small in size – there should then be an equally fairly equitable distribution in the variety of levels of services.

Far too Utopian a scenario?

Perhaps, but shouldn’t it be the kind of future we should be looking at?

Tun Dr Mahathir was a firm believer of the trickling down theory, whereby the giving of a select few of gargantuan amounts in opportunities to grow and become wealthy would help kick start the downstream effect.

Didn’t work, as the Statesman missed out on the strength of one of mankind’s seven sins: gluttony.

What we got was a suppressed labor market where the wage levels in the 1990s and in 2008 remains pretty much the same plus or minus a few Ringgits for the low paid income earners.

Looking at the many “revelations” from the Auditor General this year, the leaks in RMs that could have instead gone into the economy is same old same old.

(No convenient links here: they're all over the place.)

Old news really, as nothing came out from the AG’s revelations last year.

Surely we're not expecting anything else this year, are we?

Just like it was before, trust us to go about town with these, and watch the furor over what could well be criminality (at least for neglect) in the handling of public funds die a typical Malaysian style death.

Aren't we ever the forgive-full.

Like BH says: It’s one Big Fat (Blip)ing Fairy Tale Dream to be hoping for the hammer to fall on these miscreants.

Semuanya OK.

Whatever the (blip) that means.

Nervy Encounters

Once in a while you would come across books that unnerved you.

The feeling is akin to being caught in a purportedly haunted house with no way out except going forward despite the trepidations of imagined horrors lurking in shadows and badly lit corners.

Osamu Tezuka’s MW is the first non-horror fiction that has managed to do exactly that to me; joining William Blatty’s The Exorcist and Stephen King’s It.

(There was a third novel tackling the subject of reincarnation which I no longer recall neither the title nor its author. My most vivid recollection of this particular novel was its repeated visions of a young girl's fiery death.)

On the face of it MW has an interesting premise: a young man totally devoid of any sense of morality goes about seeking vengeance against those who perpetrated the crime which led to his being the amoral eunuch that he is.

MW, of which the original Japanese serial ran from 1976 to 1978, refers to a military developed poisonous gas responsible for creating the moral vacuum that is Michio Yuki, one of two boys spared the annihilation of an entire island’s population from an accidental leak.

Most of back stories are told in between the current developments – when Michio goes about his vengeance-seeking business – and the background is spelt out rather clearly, leaving no room for second guessing.

MW is disturbing (or perhaps it’s more a sign of age on my part) in its lurid detailing of mankind’s mortal sins – greed, sexual aberrations, cruelty, murderous intentions; all these pretty much appearing in various degrees within its 600-odd pages.

The other boy – then a hoodlum during the leak – became a priest (Father Garai) and was involved in a sexual relationship with Michio.

"He's lured me into an unholy union ... every now and then he transforms himself into a woman and seeks my flesh ...," was Father Garai’s confession.

That the homo-erotic segment of the Manga being quite heavy and highly explicit is a facet of MW that stopped me from reading it cover to cover in one go.

I had wondered then if I should proceed; concerned with what I might discover the deeper I go into the storyline.

In the end, I braved it and found the tale ending in somewhat an unsatisfactory manner for me with a far too convenient deus ex machina of a twin brother and the death in one of them.

(Sigh… You can guess who it was that bit the dust from a mile away.)

That said, MW is another book which I didn’t re-read a couple of times.

Its books like these which make you think of calls for the banning of books, movies, literatures etc. with the latest salvo coming from Puteri Umno who targeted movies featuring ghosts, superstitions and mysticism.

I suppose MW - had they read it in its entirety - might just be one such to be included in a banned books listing.

Did MW teach me anything? Nope, but then again neither did the hundred of other fictions novels and comic books I had read through the years.

Oh what a waste, eh?

The only exception to this admittedly unfair generalisation would be historical fictions.

Interspersed with nuggets of facts (sometimes twisted, but still factual in a way), these are the tales which often makes you look out for its fact-based counterpart.

Michio Yuki is one very disturb character, but we have our fair share of such sickos in real life that a reminder of the fine line between fact and fiction should be appreciated.

Some fictions are ugly only because they reflect life at its most extreme.

That said, life has shown that in can manage to supersede even our wildest nightmarish visions.

The Holocaust. Pol Pot. Bosnia Herzegovina. Rwanda. Darfur .

To cite but a few such instances.

And we want to ban what again?

Voltronic Principles

What if there is truly a TRUE Barisan Nasional?

One where Umno needs no longer countenance the woes the likes of MCA, MIC, Gerakan, PPP, IPF, bla bla.

Right now, many components parties in Barisan Nasional are justifiably pale shadows of whatever formerly glorious political parties that they were.

Barisan Nasional Chief Najib Tun Razak could just wake up one fine day and decide: I will consolidate everyone under the sole banner of the Barisan Nasional and save myself the headache of micro management.

(Of course, this is only a Peninsular Malaysia-centric what if scenario, mind you. The Sabahan and Sarawakian are forces in their own respective right that such a move would mean immediate political death to any such aspirations.)

A leader of this huge conglomerate of a political party would truly be a leader for Malaysia.

1Malaysia in name and practice.

Bagan Pinang has shown that people can be forgiving of your faults if (and this is a BIG if) you can take care (even if it is the mere outward manifestation) of their needs.

Macro politics, or as some politicians are wont to say: the Big Picture.

By consolidating all the parties under a single political organization, Najib will be able to swiftly put a kick in the behind any upcoming Pakatan Rakyat coalition come-together.

The time is ripe for such a mega merger anyway, as some components of Barisan Nasional are very much in political limbo now.

Just think about it.

A whole list of has-been politicians can thus be elevated to Chairmans of inconsequential Quangos, or given senatorship to helm likewise inconsequential posts, something along the lines of Minister for Inter Race Relational Harmonics and Neighborliness.

Or something likewise.

Instead of each component having its own Central Working Committee – and correspondingly, their own respective interests and race-centric needs – Najib should decide on having a single CWC comprising of all the CWCs combined.

One truly big and (now provable) happy family.

No more bitching about being subservient to another party. That particular bullshitting stops as everything would have to be thrashed in the open.

So what if Umno is perceived as a Malay-centric, populists, political entity beyond reprimand.

Heck, if this single entity (the consolidated Barisan Nasional) can undo the never ending political bitching that we are currently indulging in and steer the country towards the greatness that it could and should, so be it.

There will be no more race-centric decisions and policies as without consensus, this mega CWC would not work.

Barisan Nasional has always trumpeted its consensus politics anyway, so such a direction would be child’s play, if not easier.

Let’s face it: if BN wish to come out as a single entity hell bent on creating a successful Malaysia for every Malaysian, it can do so.

In fact, it had such a vision once upon a time.

Right now, Umno is literally carrying the banner of the Barisan Nasional on its own; Uncle Sam’s claim of the Indian community returning to roost notwithstanding.

Isa Samad is the Barisan Nasional that (apparently) people want to see.

Someone acceptable by Ahmad, Ah Meng, Raju, Salmah, Siew Ling and Ramani, checkered past and warts notwithstanding.

Without the hindrance of so many conflicting interests represented by its multitude of components parties, there is no longer thus a need to play the racial card.

Perish such racists’ thoughts.

People will know that their interests are catered for by this mega, multi racial, multi interests CWC.

So what if some of the personalities within are suspect in both quality and morality?

The combined push-pull effect of the CWC will rein these AHs in.

Anyway, the past few events last week (MCA EGM, Bagan Pinang, Makkal Sakthi formation) have shown that morality is the least of people’s concerns anyway.

Flamboyance, charm, deep pockets matters more, really.

No one is perfect. Isa Samad is one such politician, and in a democracy, majority rules.

O(he-who-is-the-perceived-hero-in-the-PKFZ-saga)TK found this out the hard way when he was no-confident voted by his fellow party delegates.

So why bother looking for the unblemished?

Why not just have in place a set up that allows these blemished to work FOR us?

After all, one can daydream, can we not?

Junctions

Melaka is planning a replica of the famed flagship of Admiral Cheng Ho’s Treasure fleet.

I think this would be her second historical vessels replica after the Portuguese Man O War “Frol De La Mar” which is also its maritime museum.

Ironic that the state chose its first Western colonial master’s vessel to be replicated, but since it’s a done deal, let’s just leave it at that.

Back to Cheng Ho's flagship, I wonder if it would be something along the following lines:

“The first Treasure Fleet consisted of 62 ships; four were huge wood boats, some of the largest ever built in history. They were approximately 400 feet (122 meters) long and 160 feet (50 meters) wide. The four were the flagships of the fleet of 62 ships assembled at Nanjing along the Yangtze (Chang) River.

Included in the fleet were 339-foot (103-meter) long horse ships that carried nothing but horses, water ships that carried fresh water for the crew, troop transports, supply ships, and war ships for offensive and defensive needs.

The ships were filled with thousands of tons of Chinese goods to trade with others during the voyage. In the fall of 1405 the fleet was ready to embark with 27,800 men.”

Those reading about Cheng Ho’s many journeys – Malacca provided a more viable stepping stone in his trip to India apparently – will also know there are views that the vessels' sizes are somewhat exaggerated.

Alas, without any clear historical references, we will not know for sure the most accurate version.

A reading of Cheng Ho’s many, many benevolence to the once-great empire that is Malacca, I would push for the most realistically exaggerated version to be adopted.

Cheng Ho’s first visit to Malacca is during the (Malay?) Sultanate years of infancy, and this stop over - which probably helped Malacca thrive further as a trading port of call – was followed with a few other stops before his death in 1433.

Most of the historical text and accounts I read put Cheng Ho as one of the pioneers in spreading Islam in the region as well.

So unlike the more barbaric Westerners; who came, saw and conquered – the Portuguese in 1511, the Dutch in 1641 and the Brits in 1824.

Anyway, back to Malacca’s plan for the Treasure fleet replica.

A question should be asked: What will it represent, really?

Frol De La Mar arguably represented the end of the once-grand Malacca Sultanate; the dark chapter in its history and a pivotal juncture in the country’s own historical growth.

(It was somewhat poetic justice that the ship which played a role in the annexation of Malacca was shipwrecked in November 1512 together with its cache of treasure plunder from the state.)

Who knows how the country might have turned out if Malacca had managed to repulse the twelve hundred odd Portuguese marauders lead by one Alfonso de Albuquerque?

The mind boggles on all the possible permutations available if we were to explore all these “What ifs”.

So, what does Cheng Ho’s Treasure fleet flagship represent for Malacca?

What are we telling the world with this particular replica?

In fact, what are we telling our own people?

History is so damn interesting.

Siapakah yang benar? Jebatkah benar?

Atapun akukah yang benar?

PS: Arguably the most famous of the Sultanate's "history". A quote (and scene with the ever demure Zaiton) from P Ramlee's Hang Tuah.

Nightmarish Visions

"Jaws" (1975)

I managed to squeeze read (somewhat measly) two books in the last few weeks and one of them was Peter Benchley’s Jaws.

For a novel written way back in 1974, the book I had in my hands was in near mint condition.

Somehow, somewhen, I must have bought a new one as I distinctly remember my front cover white shark having a whole lot of blood in its teethy jaws courtesy of my “gatal tangan” and some red inks.

I first read the novel way after watching its 1975 silver screen version by Steven Spielberg which gave me endless nightmarish nights.

The novel was good and so was the movie, but they were far remove from each other that direct comparison would be quite impossible and useless.

In one of the scenes that stand out (to me, at least) in the book, Amity police chief Martin Brody was confronted by the mother of the shark’s second victim and when asked why he did not announce the first attacked, he simply blurted out:

“We didn’t think it would happen again.”

There were, of course, a whole lot more reasons to it but since it will take at least three moons to tell it, I’ll spare you the agony and let you read the book instead.

Watch out too for the end chapters involving Quint the shark hunter.

If you are the type who are forever in a rush, the technique to read “Jaws” is to read the first few chapters (until around the time when Brody closes the beach and a boy became shark bait) and then skip to the final few where Quint, Brody and a shark specialist goes hunting.

(The middle bits are a bit to soap opera-ish, and at times, the shark is forgotten.)

Great stories have this ability to build itself up slowly to its climax and where “Jaws” is concerned, the end is really at the last page of the novel.

No “a large slivery streak catches Quint’s eyes as his life ebb away and his body falling deeper into the abyss with his prized catch; a stark realization hitting him that the nightmare is not over for Amity” kind of horror movie “possible sequel” shit endings.

Books and movies are oh–so satisfying as we know there will be an ending, and while we know roughly what it will be, we hope for a twist anyway.

If only life was something similar, eh?

Take the PKFZ saga, for example.

It Benchley’s Jaws has its mid-break point courtesy of the soap opera moments, then perhaps the current “nothing’s happening after all the high powered committees, the suits, the investigations” is but a prelude to a rip-roaring, all out hunt for those responsible right to its bitter ending.

Just hope there’s no Quint in this local saga, though.

(Just for the record, the movie has two survivors from the shark hunt while in the book, there’s only one.)

Alas, we might be seeing a more realistic playing out of a drama to its also realistic NFA ending.

I (and I think many others too) hope to be proven wrong here, but the signs are not promising.

With so many civil suits pending, task force and committees meeting and reporting, the matter could drag on and on into the annals of history.

As never ending soap opera goes, once the interest wanes it simply goes off the air and is quietly forgotten.

Will PKFZ be likewise?