Pray Tell

RM20 million seems to the min cost for building a new mosque going by Mohsin Abdullah’s writing and the plea from Setia Alam surau one fine Friday sermon a few weeks back.

The Khatib – a Kelantanese Imam who recites the Al Fatihah with much aplomb and finesse – spoke of the said sum to a typically packed congregation for the proposed new mosque in the up and about new township sandwiched between Shah Alam and Klang.

Apparently, Muslim residents there had started a donation drive. Collections however impressive at RM700k looks to be a dead option when looking at the price tag being bandied.

Just like Mohsin, I too remember PMNTR’s RM20 million allocations for the Kampung Baru mosque: “... to fund the renovation and upgrading of the mosque which would become the starting pointand transformation icon for the area which would be turned into a high-value, sophisticated and modern area…”

I’ve paraphrase two sentences to the above actually, but that’s the gist of it.

Mohsin, in a second article on Kampung Baru, wrote: “…the wrecking ball descended on the mosque. The back portion demolished.. the project train set in motion. Poser: Could this mean, taking into consideration what the PM had said, that the Kampung Baru facelift is also on its way?

“Or will it be done soon, despite the ongoing protest of residents?”

He asked some really valid questions in fact.

The government has a nasty habit of bulldozing through, urm, “developments” despite some particularly sustained protests. Lynas, Pengerang, EPF loan for poor housing, 100 storey Tower, Section 114A…

There could well be exceptions, but nothing comes to mind at the moment.

I used to believe in the “big picture” justification. Not anymore.

With plots of land being carved out for mega developments – Sungai Buloh RRI land, Sungei Besi airport  – the folks in Kampung Baru (the few enclave left of bustling, busy and chronically overbuild capital City) would well be forgiven to cast suspicious glances at seemingly Blitzkrieg- styled tactics.

As for the mosque in Setia Alam, how I wish I was a millionaire; no, make that a billionaire…

Treasonous Ingrates

During the course of an FB chat, a friend asks for my comments on a former reporter colleague’s posting of choosing between peace and prosperity, or freedom, rights, integrity and transparency.

In the Malaysian context, this is supposedly a Hobson’s choice.

As it was close to midnight, I yammered some incomprehensible reply before logging off but an article on the massacre of 57 people, including 31 journalists, on a November morningthree years ago in Maguindanao got me thinking again on the question.

Yes, we have been blessed with relative – the main blemish being the May 13, 1969 riots - peace and prosperity throughout the 54 years of the nation’s existence.

Why couldn’t we, then, put in place principles that upholds one's freedom and rights, governing integrity and transparency – and if I may add – moral and ethics into the way we administer the country?

Can’t we have both? What is it about the latter that is so threatening to the former that co-existence is supposedly impossible?

We are not talking about unbridled freedom and rights but in the context of the proper adherence to the Rule of Law; i.e. where EVERYONE knows exactly where the boundary lies and the penalties for transgressing this line.

Realistically, it is here that we have been found wanting for quite a while now with seemingly two sets of rules being in play: one for the politically favoured and, another, for the rest of us.

That, and the seeming politically-expedient way of our execution of some laws: the most recent being the charging of a Border’s bookstore staff over the banned Irshad Manji’s book.

At least, there is a Judicial Review on the matter.

The retroactive nature of the alleged offence and the seriousness of its outcome (for the staff’s livelihood and freedom) means that there shouldn’t be any other way forward than to contest the charge brought against her under the Syariah Enactment.

So, can it be argued that the Rule of Law is alive and well as such?

Before we come to the said conclusion, do remember that Borders is owned by Berjaya Books and in Malaysia, Berjaya is a biggie.

There shouldn’t have been a charging in the first place had the Rule of Law really been adhered to.

All things said, I have to admit that the country is a relatively peaceful place to live and work in.

Not necessarily play, though, (pun intended) – what with the, ahem, increased perception of lawlessness apparent amongst some of the populace.

What is also true, however, is that some of the natives are restless; a sentiment simmering just below the all-glossy,shiny surface of the nation’s peace and prosperity facade.

Restless over perceived and actual bias in the implementation of national policies, over the seemingly accepted culture of rent seeking as a valid method of earning a living, over a more apparent division of class on top of the already well entrenched polarization of race, over the increasingly burdensome chase of economic over social well being…

Perhaps these are just the middle class / urban suburban / Gen X manic responses to the crushing economic malaise of late.

Or mere ravings of the disgruntled, treasonous ingrates as purported by some of our politicians.

Sadly, the peace we’ve held for so long did not see the putting into place a system of governance where such grievances could have been amicably tackled.

I’ve often asked this question: how and when did the country go off tangent in its nation-building to come to this sad state?

When did we make peace and prosperity, and governance, rights, integrity and transparency a Hobson’s Choice?

To some, this was when the Doctor was in the house.

Was it? Why did we let it be so?

Did we want our people to be forever in hand outstretched for crumbs mode?

The Tyranny of Thanos the Titan

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.

Simply Toxic

When I quit the NST in March 2008, there was already some considerable clash of ideals within me.

Just as the nation was hit with the so-called 2008 Electoral Tsunami, so too was our motley group of media practitioners (chewah!) in Ipoh similarly affected.

I guess I just got fed up with having to toe the political line in having to cover the functions and events of the-then sore losers of Perak Barisan.

On hindsight, I am sure glad I am out of the journalistic loop vis-à-vis the current scenario of heavily politicized and overly partisan “news” coverage.

So much so that integrity is being given a quick and painful kick in the butt. Just like this alleged replacing of the word “Scientology” with “Islam” of a supposed speech by Australian Senator Nick Xenophon as per the following excerpt:

“What we are seeing is a worldwide pattern of abuse and criminality. On the body of evidence, this is not happening by accident; it is happening by design. Islam is not a religious organisation. It is a criminal organisation that hides behind its so-called religious beliefs.”

Were the words uttered by a Malaysian, surely there’ll be groups calling for his or her head by now.

It is a silly act, though, as such copy pasting could be - and in fact was - easily discovered.

But then again, I remembered having to tweak an article on the political sentiments of the Kinta Valley Chinese community as to favor the Barisan Nasional pre-2008 General Elections.

My colleagues from the other Press had a good laugh at my expense when the byline-less observations - written under protest - saw light.

I read also today of journalists donning black in protest of violence against media personnel especially during Saturday’s monumental Bersih 3.0 rally which turned quite ugly.

The Chinese papers reportedly came out with Black front pages in solidarity to this cause.

Over at the other main stream newspapers, though, things seemed pretty much status quo.

Saw BH front paging “news” of some horse-ying involving opposition MPs Anwar and Kit Siang and I couldn’t care less what Utusan, Kosmo and Metro had on theirs.

Fair to say that these papers pretty much crossed the Rubicon of impartiality for a while now.

What’s scary is that they continue to be the main source of “news” for a good majority in the community.

Toxic nation building. In walloping dollops.

Imagined Stupor

Should I care
That the moon shuns a cloudless night sky
Should the sun cools a breezy afternoon
When a river trickles through a land parched
If the wind skips a sail held limp

Do I dare
Mouth words written silently in my mind
Capture images floating in a imagined album
Deny a memoir sketch from memory
Cast gloom on a dreamy fantasy

Don’t we fear
When children are adults too fast
Where rulers and peasants crowd the market selling
(Who’s buying we say as we turn away)
Of trusts treated like a private cask
Since liars masquerade as heralds born

Are we to enjoy
A hearty laughter from a stomach empty
At salesmen selling imagination for a fee
The measured trusts of dueling racial rapiers
When piled the land’s riches on barges
(Traversing the sea to destinations unknown)

My frame slouches
As the mind doubts
Of feigned interests
And caring, hyped

So we leave things be
Figuring somebody else
Will carry the burden of ascendency
A life in a stupor of faked serenity…