Shaun Cringeworthy

"Come and get it! It's a running buffet! All you can eat!"

A quickie English lesson:

Cringeworthy:

An informal adjective defined as causing feelings of acute embarrassment or distaste

Example of usage of the phrase from good ol Mr Google:

"The play's cast was excellent, but the dialogue was unforgivably cringeworthy.."

And, a totally unrelated News In Brief, PTPTN has apparently lifted its freeze on loans for the new students of Selangor’s Unisel.

Star quoted Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin as follows:

"It was always PTPTN's intention to test whether the state was serious about providing free education.”

"Now that the university has acknowledged the importance of the PTPTN, it is clear that they are unable to reach the goal of free education."

Note again: News in brief is totally unrelated to the above quickie English lesson.

Like Shaun of the Dead (above) and Shaun the Sheep (below).

 

Both are drop dead funny, though.

And never a cringeworthy moment to boot.

"Baaa..."

Parting Gift

PTPTN has apparently frozen all loans to students’ of Selangor’s Unisel.

Apparently, the move is courtesy of Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin as confirmed to Utusan Malaysia.

Of late, PTPTN has come under the limelight of sorts with calls from the Pakatan Rakyat for it to be abolished and for the Federal government to introduce free higher education.

The issue was debated quite extensively by the dynamic of Umno’s Khairy Jamaluddin and PJKR’s Rafizi Ramli and I don’t believe that any “correct” conclusion was reached despite the heavily partisanship stance on the matter.

Now, rather than leave things on an intellectual banter level between two foes, along came Khaled Nordin upping the ante with a decision with actual impact.

Come on la En Minister…

I might not agree with the whole abolish PTPTN argument, but this is clearly a discriminatory and spiteful move of a political score.

Who do you think the students will blame for the frozen loans? Pakatan?

I don’t think so. Not when there are already moves to provide interest free loans to students from Selangor.

I mean, even PMNTR did not pilih bulu when he distributed the much maligned BR1M cash handouts, correct?

Elligible Selangorians, Penangites, Kedahans and Kelantanese all got their dues.

In terms of political brownie points, such a move just gives Pakatan the extra ammo - already quite substantial in stock thanks to the NFC, the PKFZ and numerous other public procurement debacles - for their campaigns against Barisan.

Abolishing PTPTN is first and foremost a political talk; the reality is that it is not something QED what’s with the multitude on side issues to tackle.

A roundtable discourse on how best to approach the appreciably noble objective of free – or partially free – higher education would have been the better choice as regards the nation’s best interest.

Not this over-the-top, clearly Partisan’s move.

What bloody shame.

Riotus Statisticus

As sweeping statements go, this one uttered in Parliament and published for the news reading public surely tops everything else.

"A study has found that, right now, three out of 10 men in Malaysia are gay. This is scary," he said when debating the motion of thanks for the royal address at the Dewan Rakyat sitting today.

Attributed by Bernama to YB Baharum Mohamad (BN, Sekijang) in a news piece about the call to “establish a homosexual rehabilitation centre to prevent same-sex relationships from getting rampant in the country.”

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at this piece of statistical extravaganza.

And just how did the study extrapolate this particular ratio? By asking people: Are you gay? What about you? Perhaps You, Then?

Or perhaps it was by way of a survey:
Please tick your sexual preference – Gay, Not Gay, Wishy Washy Unsure, Don’t Care, Don’t Know.

How about some simple maths: Take the number of male Representative in Parliament and divide that by three; so some 67 of them are gays going by the so called finding.

Or the whole country: Around 14.2 million men in Malaysia, so some 4.7 million are gays.

I have to agree, THAT IS one huge figure.

And note that the key word here is men: females with same sex preferences are not included so the figure for rehab would balloon even more.

Good business, though, if you can get in: Billions of Ringgit in contracts, surely, for food, lodgings, admin stuff, the works…. PLKN-styled camps, maybe?

Am more curious as to why Bernama pick this, urm, piece of news up?

Scoring political brownie points? Highlighting the inane in our Parliamentary proceedings? Providing some LOL reading moments for its readers? Why?

At least, Bernama could have given us the background of this so-called study and its scope.

Here I was thinking of posting something about Marvel’s second run of the X-team’s Age of Apocalypse miniseries and my missing out on “The Siege” as well as “Fear Itself”, fed up with the unending run of Malaysian politics.

As it is and going by the news headlines of the MSM of late, the 13th General Election must be really, really close.

Can you smell what Jormungand is cooking?

Amazing Simply aka D'oh Rib Ticklers

Amazing, surely.

Going by some Ministerial, Departmental and Agencial(?) pronouncements made over the last few days following the Auditor General’s revelations of financial, urm, miscrepancies (heh!), Tan Sri Ambrin had better get his crew sorted out as they apparently got did not do such a bang up job.

The so-called mismanagement of public funding in supposedly exorbitant procurements giving margins even Kedai 1Malaysia can’t discount for, below board directly negotiated deals, freebies and et cetera are explainable after all.

The latest: “Of that total, 5,742 were slaughtered up to November 2010. Therefore, the target of 8,000 cattle by 2010 was met. It is a success.”

Or this days-old one: “So we admit that the report is true, but we did not overspend. In fact our promotion budget was the lowest in 2009 and 2010, but the amount of direct [negotiations were] higher because we wanted to go right on and get as much value for money as possible.”

See, Tan Sri. Your Audit boys and girls muffed up in their auditing of the Public fund expenditures.

All is either well, explainable or accounted for. EPF non-gomen guaranteed RM55bil loan, Giatmara's sweet decimal mistake, racehorses that don’t race.

Wait. Have the Malaysian Marine Parks Department explained their hefty purchases?

No? Perhaps the higheesh price tags are due to maintenance fees being thrown in.

That’s it. All the man hours needed the service the binoculars and other items post purchase must surely needs to accounted for, don't they?

Something like the good money we paid for the two submarines, lah.

Of no particular relevance to the above posting, I am now reminded of one Harry Hoo, a side character from the campy TV show, Get Smart who goes around saying: "Amazing.." whenever Smart makes his, urm, smart deductions.

Amazing. Simply amazing.

Say it Harry Hoo style, please.

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