Politics 101: Introduction to Politics

Politics is an intricate subject by itself. But Malaysian politics, I have to admit, adds a fourth dimension, taking the entire topic to another level of complexity. To all the Chemists out there, if Politics were Organic Chemistry, then Malaysian Politics is perhaps equivalent to Quantum Chemistry, which goes so far as saying that the politics in Malaysia is highly convoluted and mind boggling. Therefore, to all of the newbie (myself not spared) out there, the following is an extract from an email I recently received, which gives a rather general, but realistic, view on the basics of politics.

One day, a son asked his father “Dad, what is politics?”
And the dad replied…

“Son, since I bring home the money, so I am the CAPITALIST.”
“Your mother administrates the money, therefore she is the GOVERNMENT.”
“Your grandpa, who keeps an eye over the whole thing, is the UNION.”
“Our maid is the WORKING CLASS”
“ We all want just one thing, your well-being. Hence you are the PEOPLE, meanwhile your younger brother who is still in his nappy is the FUTURE.”

And when the father asked if the kid understood it, the little one thought about it and told his father that he wanted to sleep it over for one night.

Then during the night the boy was woken up by his younger brother’s constant crying and the foul smell in the room. As he didn’t know what to do, he wandered into the parents’ bedroom but only to find the mother in the room sleeping all alone. The mother was so sound asleep that the little boy failed to wake her up. So he then went over to the maid’s room, but this time only to realize the father was having “fun” with the maid, whilst the grandpa was secretly peeping through a hole. They were all so engrossed into their own activities that no one realized the boy was standing there in the room. Seeing that he didn’t know what else to do, he decided to get back to bed and force himself to sleep.

On the following morning, the father asked the little boy if he could, in only a few words, explain what he understood about politics.

Confidently the boy said that he could and started explaining:

“The CAPITALIST abuses the WORKING CLASS”
“The UNION watches without doing anything”
“While the GOVERNMENT sleeps”
“The PEOPLE are completely ignored”
“And the FUTURE is in a shitty mess!”

What can I say..that is politics! :)

To ALL Malaysian Politicians

Stop politicising every little thing, and get on with managing the country and leading the nation through these highly uncertain times. You are all paid to do so. But most importantly, you are shouldering a huge responsibility and many are counting on you. Politics wont save the country. Politicians wont save the nation. Clear and rationale thinking leaders working together as Malaysians is what we need. Put your political differences aside. Take religious differences out of the equation. And remove those personal grudges out of the picture. Your barkings amongst yourselves will do no good to no one. Chasing for power to prove a point will take the the nation nowhere. Put the interest of the nation first and you wont go astray. Let what is beneficial for the rakyat be your guide.

An open letter by Anas Zubedy to ALL Malaysian Politicians. Very well articulated and it gets my support 110% !

Dear Malaysian Politicians,

Please stop the power chase, call for a truce and focus on the economy.

I do not claim to speak on behalf of all Malaysians, but I have strong convictions that many share my sentiments.

Our concern today is not who rules the country or heads the state governments but the looming bad economy.

Whether Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat leads, it is meaningless if Malaysians have no job to go to, no money to pay rent and no means to put food on the table.

I am a business owner, like other business owners and managers of corporations I have a responsibility to ensure people under my care and payroll continue to have jobs and a decent income to take home. We work hard and willing to go the extra mile to make sure our nation not only survive this crisis but come out stronger and wiser. We need your help.

Let me explain. I am in the business of Training, Development and Consultancy and have 20 people in my team.

Saedah is 42. She keeps the office clean and helps organise the training rooms. She has four children and her husband is unemployed. She was first hired on a part time basis, because she is very hard working and has a great attitude, we offered her a full time job to help provide a stable income for her family. Even then, when her third child started school this year, it was a struggle for her to buy new school uniforms and other necessities. Saedah lives on a ‘kais bulan, makan bulan’ basis, so, if she is jobless, her tap runs dry.

Samsuri is 27 years old. He lives with his sister and her family in a low cost government flat in Sunway. He does our despatch, helps with various clerical works and occasionally acts as a driver. During the first week at zubedy, we learned that he not only did not have money to buy new clothes and shoes for work, he had no money for lunch. Like Saedah, if he has no job, his tap runs dry too.

Alicia in Client Servicing turns 26 this year. She lives with her dad who is 71 years old and retired. Her mom passed away when she was little. Alicia is a hard-working team member, has a gentle caring outlook and fun to be with. (We like to poke fun at her as she blushes easily). Last May her dad went through a major operation, thank God he has recovered well. Alicia needs a job, both for herself and her dad.

Sudesh, 38, is one of our facilitators. When his father passed away last year, he moved back and lives with his mother in Seremban. He shuttles between Kuala Lumpur and Seremban daily, leaving home sometimes as early as 4 in the morning and returning late at night. He is no stranger to hard work and sacrifice, he knows what he needs to do to survive and to care for his mother, but he too needs a job.

Like fellow Malaysians, every one of us in zubedy needs employment, those that live from hand to mouth like Saedah and Samsuri and others like Alicia and Sudesh with family to care for. We Malaysians need the Malaysian economy to be strong. We need you, our leaders, to work hard and to work together to make our economy viable.

So this is my plea.

Pakatan Rakyat, please stop your attempts to take over the federal government and persuade BN’s lawmakers to join you. Stop all legal proceedings, no more 916 and let go, just let go. The nation can wait till the next general elections if they want change. By doing so, Malaysians will see your party as caring, unselfish and gracious and give you their support in the next elections.

Barisan Nasional, please stop any attempts to take over PR states and win over PR’s lawmakers. You have proven your point with Perak. The nation can wait for the next general elections if they want your party. Focus all your talent, energy and hard work in steering the country out of an economic downturn. By doing so, Malaysians will see your party as caring, unselfish and smart and give you their support in the next elections.

BN and PR! Call for a truce. Get together and compromise. Someone has to give in. Or has hate consumed your heart till it blinds you? You can do it. You have enough intelligent people between you. I am sure you can find solutions. Take the nation to heart. That is why you are in politics in the first place.

Focus on the people.

Focus on the economy.

Anas Zubedy

Managing Director

Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd

A Tribute to Tunku

An excellent article on the late Tunku by Prabhakaran S. Nair (Feb 15, 2009, The Star). A story about a compassionate human being and a true leader for all races. Some people are just naturally great leaders, but some try too hard because of the power that comes with it and the possibilities of reaping personal gains from corrupt practices. We were lucky to have Tunku as the first Prime Minister. Hopefully someday we will have a leader of such calibre once again.

Last Sunday, the birthday of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra passed unnoticed in the midst of dramatic political developments. The commemoration of Tunku’s birth could have provided a perfect occasion for Malaysians to reflect on our ideals and aspirations as a nation made up of people of different races, cultures and religions.

THE birth of Tunku is a story of compassion that Menjelara, his mother, never tired of recounting. According to various sources, the story is that before Tunku was born, his father (the Sultan of Kedah) had sentenced the Keeper of the Royal Seal to death, and ordered that the right thumb of his wife and that of all his children be severed. This was punishment for deceitfully misusing the royal seal to sell state land for personal gain.
The Keeper’s wife was in a state of great sorrow, unable to imagine the pain and suffering that her innocent children would have to undergo. She ran to Menjelara, the Sultan’s favoured wife, and pleaded in tears for her innocent children to be spared the ordeal.

Being a loving mother herself, Menjelara could feel her pain and sorrow, and promised to speak to the Sultan. But she knew she could not directly ask him or intervene in his prerogative.
Menjelara thought of an idea. She lied to the Sultan that she was pregnant, and expressed her fear that if he proceeded with the punishment, their unborn child might be born without a thumb, or perhaps without a limb.

Her arguments were helped by an age-old belief that the husband should do no evil during his wife’s pregnancy, otherwise something bad may come upon the unborn child. The Sultan ordered the dishonest official to be imprisoned instead, and revoked the sentence on the rest of the family.

Kind Soul: True to his name, Rahman, the Tunku did grow up to be a man of great compasion, with a forgiving nature.

It was now Menjalara’s turn to be worried. She had lied to the Sultan, and she was afraid he would discover the truth. She prayed fervently, and fortunately became pregnant soon after. The child, who was conceived in the womb of the compassionate queen, was named Rahman, meaning “compassionate”.

Interestingly, the words “womb” and “compassion” have a common root in Arabic, suggesting that the womb is not just the seat of life, but also the dawning place of compassion.
The people in Kedah believe that Menjelara’s act of compassion had enabled her to conceive, and that her own qualities of compassion, generosity and open-heartedness were passed on to the child.

True to his name, Tunku did grow up to be a man of great compassion, with a forgiving nature. His life story came to reflect the three most important duties of a human being: “The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.” (Henry James).

Click here to read more (and you should!)

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/2/15/focus/3215398&sec=focus

Elizabeth Wong

I was searching for Elizabeth Wong on the web, and no, I wasn’t attempting to get hold of pictures of her in the nude. Although, to think about it, I wouldn’t have minded reviewing some of them to see what the fuss is all about… :) Anyway I digress and i jest! Somehow I stumbled upon her blog and read through her latest press statement pertaining her resignation etc…

I found something profoundly perplexing. On the one hand she says:

“I have done nothing wrong. I wish to state that I am not ashamed of my sexuality as a woman and as a single person. I have broken no law. I stand by the fundamental principle in a democracy that everyone has a right to privacy.”

And on the other hand she tenders her resignation, as if she is agreeing that she has done something awfully wrong! I am in no position to judge, and indeed I am not judging, especially since I don’t know the content of the pictures. It could be something totally immoral, or it could be something perfectly usual. I don’t know and I don’t want to know.

The way I see it, there are only 3 reasons why she would resign:

Reason One:
The pictures revealed an immoral side of hers that no one ever knew about. IF that is the case, then indeed she should resign given that she is a public figure!

Reason Two:
A top down pressure from the leaders of PKR insisting that she resigns in order to avoid further damage to the party. IF this is the actual reason, then she shouldn’t have resigned especially since she is convinced that she has done nothing wrong! Resigning would only mean that she is acceding to an instruction that is against her personal conviction. She should instead be resigning from the party, and not from the responsibilities entrusted upon her by the voters.

Reason Three:
To regain lost privacy! I would probably not understand this as much as I hope to, given that I have never experienced an undoubtedly life-changing episode such as this. But from the outside looking in, I don’t think resignation would do much good. Whats done is done, and isolating yourself from the eyes of the public will not undo it, and neither heals the scar. Only time heals. How long can you be a media recluse ? Chua Soi Lek is a living proof. Resigned once and now crawling back into politics. So why not just hold your head up high, and weather the storm in these trying times and hopefully everything will wither away with time. You are getting the support from almost everyone, the BNs included! You should be proud to be the uniting factor, and what I gather from the various blogs that I have read, you are a respectable leader. So continue doing what you do best!

Now that all the above is said, I am in no way insinuating that I condone the acts of the perpetrator! Invading the privacy of others is one thing, but to publicly humiliate and demean someone is completely unacceptable no matter how much of a devil she may be. Not that I am saying that she is a devil, but you know what I mean. It is absolutely amazing how inhumanely childish people can be just to seek, what I can only speculate to be, some demented form of vengeance. How can you horribly degrade someone after sharing something so intimate is just beyond my understanding? This is not immoral…this is amoral.

This Is No Doggy Joke!

I will start off by saying that I don’t know enough about the Quran to comment on Islamic matters with the greatest certainty. I will also say that I was never the religious expert back at school or even now. In fact, I have always been the least knowledgeable when it pertains to Islamic rules and regulations. However, very often it baffles me when I see people, whom more often than not are Malays unfortunately, adore cats and despise dogs and pigs. It is absolutely puzzling. Was it ever mentioned in the Quran that dogs and pigs are despicable, low life animals? Please do enlighten me with the requisite knowledge that I must obviously lack. My rational, but lately very slow to function, mind seems to think that ALL animals are God’s perfect creation, dogs and pigs alike. But why do we hate these innocent animals so much? How can you stone a dog and call yourself a Muslim. Islam does not promote hatred…Islam does not promote animal cruelty…and Islam, if anything, is a religion based on love and kindness, not just towards fellow human beings, but to ALL living beings. And the last time I check, dogs and pigs are still living beings. You don’t have to touch it to not hate it. You don’t have to eat it to show respect. Yes, respect animals- these are emotional living creatures too. And above all, these are God’s creation!

Anyway do read more of this on the following sites:

Yasmin: http://yasminthefilmmaker.blogspot.com/2009/02/please-spread-this-little-film.html

Marina Mahathir: http://rantingsbymm.blogspot.com/2009/02/canine-comfort-from-quran.html

This barbarity must cease!

Once upon a time...

It was very hectic for me the whole of last week. But as I was leaving the office on the very last day before the long weekend, a very good Chinese colleague of mine popped over at my desk and uttered, “Amir, happy Thaipusam, hope you have a good one!”

I was absolutely speechless as I sat there smiling away at him thinking how this is the second time someone wishes me for something I don’t celebrate, in which the first was during Deepavali last year.

Now, I was in no way offended by those obviously sincere well wishes. There was nothing offensive about it. None at all! But it occurred to me just how little we know about each other, even amongst Malaysians. IF this were to come from a stranger, I would perfectly understand especially since I look the way I look (a.k.a STUNNING!!). But coming from a fellow Malaysian friend who knows my name, I expected him to know better. He obviously knew my name, and most Malaysians would know that Amir is a Muslim name. Colleagues from the older generations tend to get it right, based on experience.

It saddens me to think that current generations (my generation not spared) have a rather parochial interest and an even a narrower viewpoint. How many of us actually knows what Chap Goh Meh signifies? How many of us could detail the concept of Trinity as per what the Christians believe? How many of us knows what the Quran is all about? It doesn’t make you less of a Muslim if you know the basic tenets of Hinduism. It doesn’t make you less of a Hindu if you know the basic tenets of Christianity. It doesn’t make you less of a Christian if you know the basic tenets of Buddhism. And it doesn’t make you less of a Buddhist if you know the basic tenets of Atheism. Open your minds people! Learn about other religions so that you learn more about yours.

We speak so much about national unity, and how we need the different races to respect each other. But believe me you when I say that having respect between the different races/religions do not even come close to the harmony that we all yearn for. It is merely accepting the cordial existence of the many races that we have. We will not achieve racial harmony just because the ministers, or even the prime minister for that matter, ask us to unite. There is no such thing as “Thou shalt have unity” and therefore everyone unites. Its hard work people, and it starts with taking an effort to understand the people around you especially those with different sets of beliefs. Knowing what other religions are all about. And learning keenly the cultures and traditional practices of the many races in Malaysia. But most importantly, doing all the above sincerely!

I shudder to think what may happen in the future if this goes unabated. It may seem like insignificant everyday occurrences, but it isn’t. Start taking small baby steps to get to know others better, and come what may, we will be prepared!

The Journey Towards Crude Oil Independence

This was an article i submitted to NST last year, but didnt get published for reasons unknown. So facts may have changed since.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Government lately announced that due to the drastic increase in crude oil prices of the recent past, a major revamping of the fuel subsidy structure had to be done in order to reduce the financial burden the country would otherwise have to shoulder. No doubt, there were lots of hues and cries from the public, myself including despite the fact that I positively understand and agree that there is a need for the Government to review the subsidy structure. However, I also understand that this necessary adjustment will not protect us from future oil-price volatility. What will happen when the price is unbearably high and the Government decides that they have to revoke the subsidy completely? Will that then mean that we, the public, would continue to be susceptible to the volatility of petrol prices?

The Government should realize that the restructured fuel subsidy will merely offer a temporary and short-term relieve on Malaysia’s financial stresses. It is not a solution but rather a way of passing the problem from the Government to the public. We need to address the main problem head on and not make it another elephant in the room!

Fact one: global energy demand will continue to rise in the future to come, in fact it is globally agreed that world energy demand will double in the next few decades, particularly in light of the fact that China and India are gradually moving into an energy-intensive industrialization phase.

Fact two: supply of conventional oil and gas will struggle to keep pace with the growing energy demand. Supply of easy oil is no longer easy. Oil companies will surely attest to this, and I believe that the CEO of Petronas (Tan Sri Hassan Marican) confirmed this (NSTP- 6th June) when he revealed that much bigger investment is required to extract less oil.

Fact three: Because of the fact that we will struggle to meet demand with supply in the years to come, the price of oil is subjected to greater uncertainties, and looking at the volatility of oil prices the way it is right now, I seriously doubt that it will get any better. I doubt it will drop below 100USD per barrel, and I doubt that the burden we carry around for being heavily dependent on conventional oil and gas will ease on the public’s wallet and also on the Government’s wallet. But even if does drop below 100USD, I don’t think it will be long before OPEC decides to cut production with hope of driving the prices back to its glorious days (i.e. profitable for OPEC).

The Government needs to start looking into biofuels, which could serve as an alternative for gasoline. I applaud the Government’s effort in developing and promoting the use of Palm Oil for biodiesel. Indeed this is a brilliant step towards the right direction. However, we strongly need something similar for gasoline. We should not be contented and overly focused on the development of alternatives for diesel only, particularly when diesel only represents a smaller percentage of our total transport energy consumption. There are many alternatives that we could look into. Currently, bio-ethanol is assuming a bigger role as a replacement for gasoline worldwide. Brazil is the leader, and is closely followed behind by the US. The EU too is mandating the use of ethanol as a blending component for gasoline, and even in the East, the use of ethanol is gaining popularity. For example Thailand is already currently supplying E10 (10% ethanol blend) and E20 (20% ethanol blend) at its retail stations nationwide. In the news recently, the Thai government announced their plans of introducing E85 into the market by the end of the year, despite the many objections. Philippines on the other hand, too have been offering E10 for the last few years in some of its stations. The Philippines Biofuels Act of 2006, has stipulated that 5% of their total gasoline volume in 2009 will be substituted with ethanol. In fact, many other countries in the East (Australia, India, China etc) are gradually blending ethanol into their gasoline pool. I struggle to understand why we are not jumping into the bandwagon when this is clearly beneficial for the nation. I am not suggesting that we need to have the herd mentality, but bio-ethanol is already accepted worldwide, and car manufacturers are already in the race to develop and promote their versions of ethanol-compatible vehicles. If it is already coming to us, why wait till the very last minute and only follow pace after being left a few generations behind?
Many may feel that there would be compatibility issues surrounding the use of ethanol in our conventional gasoline car parc. However, many also fail to realize that in other markets in the world where bio-ethanol is mandated, typically car manufacturers (OEMs) endorse (and extend the warranty) the use of ethanol in gasoline of up to 10% (E10) in modern (without the use of carburetor) vehicles. Western countries that are big on using bio-ethanol, particularly Brazil, have been aggressively and actively promoting the use of ethanol in their own country in order to reduce their dependence on imported oil and their vulnerability to price volatility. The gradual implementation of ethanol-blended fuel together with the radical measures taken to motivate OEMs to develop and market ethanol-compatible cars (FFVs- flexible fuel vehicles) in Brazil, as well as offering incentives to the public for the use of bio-ethanol, Brazil is now the biggest consumer and exporter of bioethanol in the world. At present, FFVs represent the biggest passenger car market share in Brazil, and they offer gasoline laced with ethanol as high as 85% (E85).

There are lots of OEMs currently producing FFVs and in fact, if my memory serves me right, Ford, not too long ago, established a plant in the Philippine specializing in the production of FFVs for the Asean market. As a matter of fact, Volvo is already offering FFVs in the Thai market.
Ethanol could generally be produced via many ways, using various feedstocks, such as sugar cane, cassava, sorghum potato, wheat, rice, molasses and many more. To avoid competition with food crops, there are technologies out there where bio-ethanol could be produced from waste agricultural products. This will indeed tie in very well with the Prime Minister’s suggestion of developing many more agricultural lands, and would also be a plus side for the environment.
Therefore, why not emulate the same initiatives taken by the Brazilians (and other countries worldwide) and maybe hopefully at some point we could be 85% less vulnerable to the volatility of oil prices ?