The great dynasties of the past in China was bugged by issues with regards to the Emperor’s attitude .
I agree that policies should carry on , RMK 9 has to proceed and let life roll on as usual as we breathe in fresh air each day with a fresh new administration .
Reducing the poverty gap is an issue we must tackle . But to me , these are old plain stories . Do not tell me that we should reduce the income gap , we should care for the poor and we should be charitable and stuff . It has become stale to my ears . That’s like writing an essay in high school .
Poverty gap is being touched on through income taxation and has always been reviewed by each Ministry of Finance in every single country in the world . This of course take place with the exception to war ridden and disease struck countries like Africa and some Middle Eastern country .
The issue of poverty exists due to financial and economic issues . We cannot just make a poor guy rich in a day . This man must prove his worth , must have suitable and proper traits . Why is the rich getting richer ? They were once poor people . Yet they understand the true meaning of materialism and proceed on to gain education , be sociable , have proper network of friends , and they have this status upgrade which in Malaysia we named ‘Social Mobility’ .
However , some lower income folks could not move up . They tend to stick their neck into illegal racing , robbery , time wasting and there does not exist a single pint of self consciousness on the importance of education as stressed in religions and daily teachings in any formal or informal manner . Well of course some of them involuntarily remained poor due to poor health and many other issues . I am not in anyway discriminating poor categories .
I am in every manner a Robin Hood who fight for the controversial policies in certain economies for the poor . But before we blame the government for not doing anything (which obviously they did by laying down free or subsidized education , taxing the rich etc) , we should instead look at ourselves and reform ourselves . I am poor to be honest . Lower middle income to be exact . I came from a poor background a couple of decades back .
I understand how the poor suffered and we move on slowly but surely . Poverty issues are a huge economics problem which I studied in Economic History . But it is not easy to manage without proper health and self reform of the people .
To say that issues about patriotism and ‘minor’ national issues should be overlooked and we should instead focus on huge Malaysian plans is utterly preposterous in my humble opinion . For those non Malaysians reading this blog , Malaysian Government sends 1500 students overseas each year on average . These are selected students out of a total of 15000 aplications or so . And each year , people lodge complaints that their kid did not get a scholarship . So are we to tell these guys to buzz off , get lost and should instead let the government do their job on some missions and objectives laid down in some black and white document saying “Long Term Plan and Objective” ? Are we to tell those local students who failed to get a place in universities to forget it and carry on with their lives ? No way .
Another thing and make it the main reason why I am mad about some issues of the day . The fact that NST is being so obviously biased and having journalism ethics problems are really making me angry and sad at the same time . Read my previous blog entries and you will see why .
Malaysia was doing quite well under the British . In fact , under the ‘umbrella patronship’ of British , we would have done well . We would have prospered to be as rich as United States . We would have been flying the fly so high and everywhere in the Seven Seas with our Stealth Bombers and Aircraft Carriers . Oh yes . It is true . We will succeed . We should not have asked for independence and let the government of Alliance ( Barisan Nasional in those days) rule hand in hand with the smiles of British leaders .
My friends . I am planning to plant a fruit tree in my garden tomorrow . And I have just asked my neighbour whether it is all right with him for me to do so . My neighbors say it is not all right with him . He objects and say that by planting the fruit tree in my humble garden , it will block his view and amount of sunlight that enters his house . So be it , I told myself . Let it be this way .
Oh yes . I am also planning to buy a television and put it in my room in my hostel . But I thought that it would be better if I put it at the hallway of my corridor so that my corridor and neighbors can share the TV with me and we can enjoy all the entertainment together (Not being selfish) . I asked my neighbors whether it is all right for me to put one in the hallway , sharing with them . They objected . They said no way . They said that if I want to put it there , I can do so with the condition that I supply them with some DVDs . And they said I had better not put a TV in my room or they will call they administration to report me of being too noisy and loud with the TV set . So I decided to cancel my intentions . I decided to keep quiet .
Sadly , though I have already bought the TV in the first place , I now have to give it away . But that doesn’t matter . I actually save money by giving it away as I do not have to spend a few more dollars to buy DVDs . Though I have spent $400 to buy the TV , I am actually saving more money by giving the TV and my sovereignty and my rights away as I do not have to incur a few dollars more of expenses on DVDs . Yes . How brilliant .
My friends . This is the case . Follow the example . What we do in our rooms , ask your neighbors first . It is important . The stories I tell above are mere case studies situation and I am not being sarcastic . When I think about certain issues , when I go through my debates in the past , I lay forth my arguments by putting the case in other virtual cases and compare to convince . That is how we should think also . I believe that is the way you people out there argue when you argue with your parents at times . You will put yourself into other families , other kids and argue with your parents that their family let their child have this , allowed them to go here , purchase this and that etc . It is the same way I am arguing for sovereignty .
It is not a matter of why we should not stress over sovereignty issues anymore . That is old fashioned and we should move on , some say . It is true . But for me , to kowtow to another country is utterly nonsensical . Malaysia used to have disputes over some islands with Singapore and Indonesia . Why didn’t we being the gentlemen put it in a silver platter with a broad golden sweet Malaysian Airlines stewardess smile and forget about the islands and shake their hands and tell them ‘You can keep it’ ? Why didn’t we ? I would suggest the next time we want to build a bridge in Penang , we call Thailand to discuss . The next time we want to do reforms or ‘renovation’ in Sabah and Sarawak , we should call Indonesia and Philippines .
Well , maybe I am being too extreme and radical . Maybe there is some security threat till we are forced to sacrifice RM 700 million for nothing when instead if we spend RM 400 million more ,, we could have got the bridge . Maybe there are some things which I do not know . But the current situation , a benevolent , revered and respectable Grand Old Man of Malaysia is questioning . Is he creating a drama ? Is he bored and creating great grandfather fairy tales ? Or is it the truth ? Place your bets . I don’t know which table I am betting on .
I respect the current administration for what they did in housekeeping of corruption and bureaucracy . But the fact that the previous leader is raising these issues are making me wonder what actually is happening and answers provided are not up to the satisfaction of the ex Premier . Does Tun Dr Mahathir know something that we do not know ? Does he have the evidence and are there informers to tell him something is going on and is harming ? We do not know . It is full of mystery and questions .
During Tun Dr Mahathir’s era , people commented that he spends on mega projects , people ask him why his son gets shares in this company and that (which in fact his son is a director and companies do give away shares to directors) . Yet he still answers on the necessity . Why didn’t people support him that time and ask everyone to buzz off and that he should focus on his RMK plans ? He still answered all the small fry issues .
Let the Financiers and Tax Guys do the job to handle poverty . But certain national issues must be kept intact and check and balance should exist . What Dr Mahathir brought up is no small issue . The death of Proton is what we do not want to see , or at least what I never want to see . Now you rich Chinese and Malays and Indians are criticizing Proton . It is because you can afford to buy imported cars . I admit that Proton is an expensive project . So was Honda and Mitsubishi . So was Ford . Be cooperative . Give Proton some time . We are inefficient in our government as well .
Our government departments are operating at a higher cost than other governments like Saudi Arabia perhaps . So , due to popular demand and sentiment that an inefficient firm should shut down due to its costs , then we can all assume that a Saudi government should be replacing our own Malaysian government . This will be better and cheaper for the citizens . This way , our budget allocation can be distributed at a higher percentage to the nation instead of to maintaining a government department . All hail Saudi ? Hmm .
Think about it . Our grudge with Singapore has been a long time . Read Patrick Keith’s latest book ‘Ousted’ . Patrick Keith was a right hand man of Tunku Abdul Rahman . It tells us about the cunning attitude of Lee Kuan Yew . From there you will understand why nationalists like Dr Mahathir and Tunku Abdul Rahman disliked Singapore . If you want me to tell you the story , it will take me a day . When that time comes , hopefully Malaysia’s water supply to Singapore will no longer be 3 cents per thousand gallon .
I admit I am pro Dr Mahathir . But I am not doing this because he fed me with curry chicken or cash till I am so plump ( fat if you want to put it ) . But issues that are worth querying must continue popping up like why Approved Permits were given to two ex Government officials who do not even have car showrooms and why they sell their APs . Questions like why a good CEO like Tengku Mahaleel is removed . Is it because he is not singing the tune of the current government ?
I don’t know . We should not continue drinking our Milo and let the smoke blow past our eyes . Call the firemen . Find the source of the fire , put out the fire . And let there be peace once again with all issues corrected . There is no question of a public revolt , UMNO revolt or whatever government toppling plans . The government of the day must move on . What is wrong must be made right . That’s all we the public want . Any calls to remove the Cabinet line up , I do not exactly agree as long as what is wrong is made right as soon as possible .
Our parents at times make judgemental mistakes on us and we make mistake in life as well . But we are a family and do not ask to remove anyone or kick anyone out of the house . Instead , we use the rotan and incentives ( carrot and stick method ) to make us change ourselves , make what is wrong a right , make our lives carry on as usual and have a happy ending as a family .
Peace mate . Let us continue and let my blog page be the debating page of the day ! I am glad that there are comments that are making me think and rebut and comment . That’s the way pals , guys , peeps . Keep it up and hope to blog another round soon .
Good day mate !
Friday, June 30, 2006
Thursday, June 29, 2006
The Truth
Recently , Dr Mahathir was invited to give a talk by NGOs and Malaysia-Today.net portal . Interesting as usual , Dr Mahathir’s flair and style captured the heart of everyone when delivering his speech . A copy of his video can be downloaded at Malaysia-Today.net website . You should listen to his video speech . I guarantee you that you will understand why he is criticizing the government now .
Dr Mahathir is a man who will fight when the sovereignty of his state and country is being infringed . A true party veteran . Why are we criticizing Dr Mahathir that he is angry because the government is not continuing his pet projects ? Pet projects itself is a wrong term to use . What will Malaysia look like without North South Expressway , KL Tower , Twin Tower , KLIA , Monorail ? Without these , what will KL be ?
Malaysians are a bunch of weird people . When the present government do nothing at say they don’t have money , they say it is true , it is ok , the past administration used up all etc . In the past , if Dr Mahathir didn’t proceed with these mega projects , Malaysians will still complain . What will Malaysian say about Dr Mahathir ? Oh yes , they would have said :
he is not good , what has he done , he is merely sitting there , we have transportation problems and the government is useless , other countries have tourist attraction places and we don’t have , other countries have the ability and affordability to build high buildings , we look like a country with a kampung style administration and still having village days
These will be the comments . Don’t deny it . Remove all those pet projects , Malaysia will still look like the village with coconut trues , huts , shades etc .
Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz is too extreme . Read the papers and you will read a more gentleman side of the extremist ( Nazri ) . Read malaysiakini.com or Malaysia-today.net , you will read the words . Be a jantan and quit Umno , Dr Mahathir . I was shocked to see these comments . When Dr Mahathir was fighting for the bumiputeras , when he was young and challenging the policies of Tunku Abdul Rahman with his own brilliant ideas , Nazri wasn’t even around yet . This is a clear example of a young politician who thinks a hell of himself . This is a clear example of a politician who disrespect a veteran who achieved and reached the highest post in Malaysia (PM) . What has Datuk Seri Nazri achieved compared to Dr Mahathir ?
We can be a pro government Minister . But do not be too obvious that you bark so damn loud , like a general without brains who just know how to shout and hold a rifle and keep firing everywhere without thinking much . When Datuk Seri Nazri wanted a Parliamentary Department , there was support for him initially in the government . I’m not sure about you , but I disagree totally . I was very worried . It seemed that the Parliament is going to be made an umbrella of Barisan Nasional Government . Where is the freedom of our lawmakers in Parliament then when you put a government department for Parliament ? It does not seem logical as the Parliament should go under no one and nothing except the Constitution of Malaysia and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong . Thankfully , there are parties who objected . Of course the Opposition parties objected , and I was happy to read that some ruling party members voiced their disagreement too .
Things like these are really raising eyebrows . What is happening ? What are they thinking about ? What is Datuk Seri Nazri trying to do ? The man he is challenging is Dr Mahathir , not some small part time politician . Dr Mahathir survived so many challenges during his tenure as PM , went through 22 years of leadership , fought for the Bumiputeras , fought for Malaysia’s glory and preserved racial harmony with peace and prosperity .
I call upon all Malaysians . Be judgemental . Look at the newspapers , continue reading them if you want . But it is true they are all out to demonize Dr Mahathir . It is true that Dr Mahathir made mistakes . But his mistakes we must understand too . Being a Prime Minister is never easy . At times as a leader , we must make decisions that distributes wealth , provide opportunities for many etc . Dr Mahathir fought to help Bumiputeras , fought to help keep the Chinese and Indians happy too with businesses here and there . And in these process and his tenure as PM , of course he did make mistakes of decision . Which leader does not make mistakes ? Do you think that Pak Lah didn’t make mistakes at all ? Do you think that Lee Kuan Yew is the perfect PM ? No one is a perfect leader .
The things you read in history books are all manipulated to make the leaders ( be it domestic or overseas ) look like heroes of the day . Read the newspapers now . Did they mention how much sacrifices Tun Dr Mahathir made ? No . We read about Ani Arope , Syed Ahmad etc . There will be more cases where the government of today will cunningly dig out and make Tun Dr Mahathir look like a fool , like a terrible leader etc .
Malaysians as usual will forget all his contributions , say Dr Mahathir is not a good leader , had so many bad judgements . Say what you want , but trust me . Dr Mahathir led Malaysia through a few recessions . Dr Mahathir led the ship through turbulent and peak times . Without him , I think we will be very backward .
Without him , I don’t think Ah Pek – Ah Pek in coffee shop can still enjoy their fruits of labor now , I don’t think the bumiputeras will be as strong and as rich now , I don’t think so . Be grateful . We live in peace and harmony , Dr Mahathir was our fatherly figure behind these . Do not let the current journalism style that digs out one or two of Dr M’s bad cases affect your respect for this great man .
Face the truth . Face the true judgement . Balance things up . Do not be influenced by the media .
Dr Mahathir is a man who will fight when the sovereignty of his state and country is being infringed . A true party veteran . Why are we criticizing Dr Mahathir that he is angry because the government is not continuing his pet projects ? Pet projects itself is a wrong term to use . What will Malaysia look like without North South Expressway , KL Tower , Twin Tower , KLIA , Monorail ? Without these , what will KL be ?
Malaysians are a bunch of weird people . When the present government do nothing at say they don’t have money , they say it is true , it is ok , the past administration used up all etc . In the past , if Dr Mahathir didn’t proceed with these mega projects , Malaysians will still complain . What will Malaysian say about Dr Mahathir ? Oh yes , they would have said :
he is not good , what has he done , he is merely sitting there , we have transportation problems and the government is useless , other countries have tourist attraction places and we don’t have , other countries have the ability and affordability to build high buildings , we look like a country with a kampung style administration and still having village days
These will be the comments . Don’t deny it . Remove all those pet projects , Malaysia will still look like the village with coconut trues , huts , shades etc .
Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz is too extreme . Read the papers and you will read a more gentleman side of the extremist ( Nazri ) . Read malaysiakini.com or Malaysia-today.net , you will read the words . Be a jantan and quit Umno , Dr Mahathir . I was shocked to see these comments . When Dr Mahathir was fighting for the bumiputeras , when he was young and challenging the policies of Tunku Abdul Rahman with his own brilliant ideas , Nazri wasn’t even around yet . This is a clear example of a young politician who thinks a hell of himself . This is a clear example of a politician who disrespect a veteran who achieved and reached the highest post in Malaysia (PM) . What has Datuk Seri Nazri achieved compared to Dr Mahathir ?
We can be a pro government Minister . But do not be too obvious that you bark so damn loud , like a general without brains who just know how to shout and hold a rifle and keep firing everywhere without thinking much . When Datuk Seri Nazri wanted a Parliamentary Department , there was support for him initially in the government . I’m not sure about you , but I disagree totally . I was very worried . It seemed that the Parliament is going to be made an umbrella of Barisan Nasional Government . Where is the freedom of our lawmakers in Parliament then when you put a government department for Parliament ? It does not seem logical as the Parliament should go under no one and nothing except the Constitution of Malaysia and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong . Thankfully , there are parties who objected . Of course the Opposition parties objected , and I was happy to read that some ruling party members voiced their disagreement too .
Things like these are really raising eyebrows . What is happening ? What are they thinking about ? What is Datuk Seri Nazri trying to do ? The man he is challenging is Dr Mahathir , not some small part time politician . Dr Mahathir survived so many challenges during his tenure as PM , went through 22 years of leadership , fought for the Bumiputeras , fought for Malaysia’s glory and preserved racial harmony with peace and prosperity .
I call upon all Malaysians . Be judgemental . Look at the newspapers , continue reading them if you want . But it is true they are all out to demonize Dr Mahathir . It is true that Dr Mahathir made mistakes . But his mistakes we must understand too . Being a Prime Minister is never easy . At times as a leader , we must make decisions that distributes wealth , provide opportunities for many etc . Dr Mahathir fought to help Bumiputeras , fought to help keep the Chinese and Indians happy too with businesses here and there . And in these process and his tenure as PM , of course he did make mistakes of decision . Which leader does not make mistakes ? Do you think that Pak Lah didn’t make mistakes at all ? Do you think that Lee Kuan Yew is the perfect PM ? No one is a perfect leader .
The things you read in history books are all manipulated to make the leaders ( be it domestic or overseas ) look like heroes of the day . Read the newspapers now . Did they mention how much sacrifices Tun Dr Mahathir made ? No . We read about Ani Arope , Syed Ahmad etc . There will be more cases where the government of today will cunningly dig out and make Tun Dr Mahathir look like a fool , like a terrible leader etc .
Malaysians as usual will forget all his contributions , say Dr Mahathir is not a good leader , had so many bad judgements . Say what you want , but trust me . Dr Mahathir led Malaysia through a few recessions . Dr Mahathir led the ship through turbulent and peak times . Without him , I think we will be very backward .
Without him , I don’t think Ah Pek – Ah Pek in coffee shop can still enjoy their fruits of labor now , I don’t think the bumiputeras will be as strong and as rich now , I don’t think so . Be grateful . We live in peace and harmony , Dr Mahathir was our fatherly figure behind these . Do not let the current journalism style that digs out one or two of Dr M’s bad cases affect your respect for this great man .
Face the truth . Face the true judgement . Balance things up . Do not be influenced by the media .
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Proton
Too many problems . Unable to capture market , losing out to Perodua , consumers' perception that they are not up to the mark , not renewing the contract of their capable and good CEO Tengku Mahaleel , advisor of Proton Tun Dr Mahathir being advised instead of advising the management , handicapped by the post Mahathir administration , face stiff national car status rivalry with Naza , and the list goes on and on .
We have to admit that Dr Mahathir was a little hasty and instead of Mitsubishi helping us , teaching us to make our own cars , Dr Mahathir wanted a car as fast as possible from the factory of Proton in the 1980s . Proton Saga was borned , almost all the efforts were attributed to Mitsubishi . But of course , the courage of Dr M to go to the drawing board and even dare dream about making a Malaysian Car in the 1980s is truly awesome . Would you have done that ? No way ! We have to face facts that we are all slow , pessimistic , low in confidence , do not have high visions , dare not dream the extreme .
But Dr M did what we normal Malaysians dare not , could not , would not . He announced the formation of Proton . What did the many Malaysians say in the coffeeshop , kedai kopi , cafes ?
"Aiyar ... this wont happen-lah ! Malaysian made car ar ?? Are you dreaming !? "
Ahuh . That's right . Dr Mahathir was dreaming . But his dreams are what we call vision . The great thing about this vision and mission was that it came true , against all odds and sceptisms . Man ! We were so proud at that moment . Whose credits were those ? Dr Mahathir .
Today ? The Grand Master of Politics is an advisor to the 'child' he gave life to . Proton . Tengku Mahaleel did a great job as Dr Mahathir claimed , accumulating RM 2 billion in cash to have their very own brand new Production Factory in Tanjung Malim , Perak . We even have a Proton City there now . We export cars to the Middle East countries for example . If Dr Mahathir didnt provide the basis , the foundation of a car industry , will we be proud to say "Oh , this is Malaysian made car !"
When I went to Japan for student exchange , the Japanese thought that we do not have the capability to have our own car . But when I told them that Mitsubishi assisted us and now we make many models of cars to cater for Malaysians and that we owned Lotus , they were shocked and amazed . Whose 'jasa' is this ? Dr Mahathir .
And what do we get ? Dr Mahathir is claiming that Tengku Mahaleel was wrongly removed . Dr Mahathir comes out commenting that the Proton management ( at one time led by Datuk Azlan Hashim , Chairman ) was advising him instead of him providing ideas and opinions in his capacity as advisor .
At last , the stage of rebellion has arrived . A father has lost his say on his child . A father has lost power in his house . A father is being told by his son how to live his life . Where is the logic ? Where is the justice ? No one knows .
It is true that Proton is not as efficient as Mitsubishi , Toyota . Imagine a food court where there are two sellers . This will be me selling Fried Rice ( just started selling a month ago ) and another man who is selling Fried Noodles ( selling since 10 years ago ) . Does it mean that if the Fried Noodles operator who is rich and able to sell cheap fried noodles , then should I stop selling my Fried Rice just because I operate at a higher cost than him ? I certainly don't think so if you look at the time span .
Compare Proton to Mitsubishi . Mitsubishi is like the lecturer of Proton . They have been in the business for quite a while , certainly longer than Proton . Can we compare Proton's operating costs to theirs ? No way . Economically it is not right . Mitsubishi would have captured a lot of market share , adopted the cheapest cost methods over time and use the best level of technology with their huge cash treasure chest .
Proton is less than 3 decades old . 3 decades my dear friends . Ford ? Ford is around over a 100 years old ! Should we tell Proton to stand on whatever platform they are on and go grab a sword and fight with Ford ? I doubt they will be able to do so .
Imagine a baby who is just learning how to walk , let this baby be a year old . Imagine a child at 7 years old who has experienced growth of body parts , bones etc . Can the baby fight the 7 year old kid without assistance of any kind ? Unless the baby is Superman , I doubt it .
Well , in economics , we learn that rich developed countries like US normally have a growth of around 2- 3 % as they are already very much developed and there's nothing much left for them to have growth on except a few areas . Developing countries like Malaysia ( officially ranked as Contender Country , a rank higher than developing level now ) have a growth of around 6- 7 % . As time passes by , developing countries will be able to catch up with the rich developed countries ( presumably ) . I might be wrong in this theory but that's not the point . The point is , Proton , if given government assistance , will one day be able to catch up with the already established car makers like General Motors , Toyota . We will reach there one day . We must not be bias towards Proton by saying that they are not as good as carmakers like Daimler , BMW , Volvo , Honda . These are all superpowers and established carmakers . Proton is just an amateur who is just starting her march forward . Give Proton time , proper assistance , and more importantly , change your perception of Proton . Provide them with the support the way you expect your parents to support , love and care for you when you were a child . Baby Proton will soon be an adult and repay your trust in them . Baby Proton will excel .
Will they ? Maybe if things go accordingly . But the current status of Naza , presence of imported cars surge in Malaysia and other automobile issues are causing Proton's legs and hands to tied .
Whether they will survive and achieve what we would like them to achieve , it all depends on the Government of Malaysia , the Prime Minister , and of course the test of time .
We have to admit that Dr Mahathir was a little hasty and instead of Mitsubishi helping us , teaching us to make our own cars , Dr Mahathir wanted a car as fast as possible from the factory of Proton in the 1980s . Proton Saga was borned , almost all the efforts were attributed to Mitsubishi . But of course , the courage of Dr M to go to the drawing board and even dare dream about making a Malaysian Car in the 1980s is truly awesome . Would you have done that ? No way ! We have to face facts that we are all slow , pessimistic , low in confidence , do not have high visions , dare not dream the extreme .
But Dr M did what we normal Malaysians dare not , could not , would not . He announced the formation of Proton . What did the many Malaysians say in the coffeeshop , kedai kopi , cafes ?
"Aiyar ... this wont happen-lah ! Malaysian made car ar ?? Are you dreaming !? "
Ahuh . That's right . Dr Mahathir was dreaming . But his dreams are what we call vision . The great thing about this vision and mission was that it came true , against all odds and sceptisms . Man ! We were so proud at that moment . Whose credits were those ? Dr Mahathir .
Today ? The Grand Master of Politics is an advisor to the 'child' he gave life to . Proton . Tengku Mahaleel did a great job as Dr Mahathir claimed , accumulating RM 2 billion in cash to have their very own brand new Production Factory in Tanjung Malim , Perak . We even have a Proton City there now . We export cars to the Middle East countries for example . If Dr Mahathir didnt provide the basis , the foundation of a car industry , will we be proud to say "Oh , this is Malaysian made car !"
When I went to Japan for student exchange , the Japanese thought that we do not have the capability to have our own car . But when I told them that Mitsubishi assisted us and now we make many models of cars to cater for Malaysians and that we owned Lotus , they were shocked and amazed . Whose 'jasa' is this ? Dr Mahathir .
And what do we get ? Dr Mahathir is claiming that Tengku Mahaleel was wrongly removed . Dr Mahathir comes out commenting that the Proton management ( at one time led by Datuk Azlan Hashim , Chairman ) was advising him instead of him providing ideas and opinions in his capacity as advisor .
At last , the stage of rebellion has arrived . A father has lost his say on his child . A father has lost power in his house . A father is being told by his son how to live his life . Where is the logic ? Where is the justice ? No one knows .
It is true that Proton is not as efficient as Mitsubishi , Toyota . Imagine a food court where there are two sellers . This will be me selling Fried Rice ( just started selling a month ago ) and another man who is selling Fried Noodles ( selling since 10 years ago ) . Does it mean that if the Fried Noodles operator who is rich and able to sell cheap fried noodles , then should I stop selling my Fried Rice just because I operate at a higher cost than him ? I certainly don't think so if you look at the time span .
Compare Proton to Mitsubishi . Mitsubishi is like the lecturer of Proton . They have been in the business for quite a while , certainly longer than Proton . Can we compare Proton's operating costs to theirs ? No way . Economically it is not right . Mitsubishi would have captured a lot of market share , adopted the cheapest cost methods over time and use the best level of technology with their huge cash treasure chest .
Proton is less than 3 decades old . 3 decades my dear friends . Ford ? Ford is around over a 100 years old ! Should we tell Proton to stand on whatever platform they are on and go grab a sword and fight with Ford ? I doubt they will be able to do so .
Imagine a baby who is just learning how to walk , let this baby be a year old . Imagine a child at 7 years old who has experienced growth of body parts , bones etc . Can the baby fight the 7 year old kid without assistance of any kind ? Unless the baby is Superman , I doubt it .
Well , in economics , we learn that rich developed countries like US normally have a growth of around 2- 3 % as they are already very much developed and there's nothing much left for them to have growth on except a few areas . Developing countries like Malaysia ( officially ranked as Contender Country , a rank higher than developing level now ) have a growth of around 6- 7 % . As time passes by , developing countries will be able to catch up with the rich developed countries ( presumably ) . I might be wrong in this theory but that's not the point . The point is , Proton , if given government assistance , will one day be able to catch up with the already established car makers like General Motors , Toyota . We will reach there one day . We must not be bias towards Proton by saying that they are not as good as carmakers like Daimler , BMW , Volvo , Honda . These are all superpowers and established carmakers . Proton is just an amateur who is just starting her march forward . Give Proton time , proper assistance , and more importantly , change your perception of Proton . Provide them with the support the way you expect your parents to support , love and care for you when you were a child . Baby Proton will soon be an adult and repay your trust in them . Baby Proton will excel .
Will they ? Maybe if things go accordingly . But the current status of Naza , presence of imported cars surge in Malaysia and other automobile issues are causing Proton's legs and hands to tied .
Whether they will survive and achieve what we would like them to achieve , it all depends on the Government of Malaysia , the Prime Minister , and of course the test of time .
Winds of Change in Journalism
Firstly , the following is a copy of a letter printed in NST on June 11 th . It was written by Sufi Yusoff , an aide to Tun Dr Mahathir .
The letter :
SUFI YUSOFF for TUN DR MAHATHIR MOHAMAD, Kuala Lumpur
I REFER to the Sunday Column "And who, really, is demonising whom?" (New Sunday Times, June 11).I would like to point out several factual errors contained in the article:
• Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad did not seek an appointment with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi while both leaders were in Tokyo attending the Nikkei Conference.In fact, it was the opposite. Dr Mahathir was only informed by a third party that the Prime Minister was on the way to call on him 20 minutes before he was due to leave the hotel on May 26.To this, Dr Mahathir agreed and the two leaders met for about 10 minutes before Dr Mahathir had to take his leave.
• Dr Mahathir did not invite the foreign Press to, in your words, "lambast Abdullah and his administration".The Press conference on June 7 was called to announce the Perdana Leadership Foundation’s Global Peace Forum to be held from June 20-22. The foreign Press was there for that purpose.However, as in all Press conferences, the foreign Press took advantage of the opportunity to ask questions on other matters.
• Individuals are free to give their views, opinions or advice to Dr Mahathir.Many do that voluntarily.
However, that does not make them "advisers".In this case, as mentioned in the column, I would like to clarify that Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad does not hold any formal post as adviser to Dr Mahathir.
That was a well written letter to correct the now biased NST on their factual mistakes . However , if we look closely at the bottom of this letter , the Editor of NST added a footnote . Guess what ? Read the following footnote by NST Editor .
We have received many letters in support of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Because they express similar sentiments to the correspondence already published, we have decided to bring this subject to a close. — Editor
What on Earth does that mean !? The letter was posted to correct the factual mistakes reported by the Deputy Chairman of NST , Datuk Kalimullah . Then , as we all know , journalists make mistakes as well . And when they made a mistake , for example wrongly reporting the name of CEO , they will say that "We refer to the article on BLA BLA written on ### . The director voted out of the Board in Company MMM was Datuk XYY . It was instead Tan Sri PPM who was voted out . We acknowledge our mistake and sorry for the inconveniences caused".
Well , I don't know if the journalism method has changed to the tone where there will be a footnote on saying "Actually , we received many letters in full support of Tan Sri PPM . However , due to too many similar contents of opinions to some already published , we have decided to close the file" .
It has reached a stage that is too obvious that press freedom did not exist in NST , probably . But then , we must not forget that there are no absolute freedom everywhere , anywhere in the world . I did my research on Freedom Of Expression a year ago . And absolute freedom might not be good . No matter what , this is the first time I see such things happening in journalism .
To see that the Grand Old Man of politics ( Dr Mahathir ) is facing such disrespectful people is a sad thing . Or should I be more straight forward ? Well , we all know Dr Mahathir is helpful to the Malays . And I certainly agree ( though not fully but to a great extent ) that 'Tongkat Melayu' assistance should be given to the Malays as we were all separated racially in the past by the British that caused racial disharmony and income disparities in Malaysia .
I dare say (like many other analysts) that certain Malays are being ungrateful to what Dr Mahathir has done .
The letter :
SUFI YUSOFF for TUN DR MAHATHIR MOHAMAD, Kuala Lumpur
I REFER to the Sunday Column "And who, really, is demonising whom?" (New Sunday Times, June 11).I would like to point out several factual errors contained in the article:
• Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad did not seek an appointment with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi while both leaders were in Tokyo attending the Nikkei Conference.In fact, it was the opposite. Dr Mahathir was only informed by a third party that the Prime Minister was on the way to call on him 20 minutes before he was due to leave the hotel on May 26.To this, Dr Mahathir agreed and the two leaders met for about 10 minutes before Dr Mahathir had to take his leave.
• Dr Mahathir did not invite the foreign Press to, in your words, "lambast Abdullah and his administration".The Press conference on June 7 was called to announce the Perdana Leadership Foundation’s Global Peace Forum to be held from June 20-22. The foreign Press was there for that purpose.However, as in all Press conferences, the foreign Press took advantage of the opportunity to ask questions on other matters.
• Individuals are free to give their views, opinions or advice to Dr Mahathir.Many do that voluntarily.
However, that does not make them "advisers".In this case, as mentioned in the column, I would like to clarify that Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad does not hold any formal post as adviser to Dr Mahathir.
That was a well written letter to correct the now biased NST on their factual mistakes . However , if we look closely at the bottom of this letter , the Editor of NST added a footnote . Guess what ? Read the following footnote by NST Editor .
We have received many letters in support of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Because they express similar sentiments to the correspondence already published, we have decided to bring this subject to a close. — Editor
What on Earth does that mean !? The letter was posted to correct the factual mistakes reported by the Deputy Chairman of NST , Datuk Kalimullah . Then , as we all know , journalists make mistakes as well . And when they made a mistake , for example wrongly reporting the name of CEO , they will say that "We refer to the article on BLA BLA written on ### . The director voted out of the Board in Company MMM was Datuk XYY . It was instead Tan Sri PPM who was voted out . We acknowledge our mistake and sorry for the inconveniences caused".
Well , I don't know if the journalism method has changed to the tone where there will be a footnote on saying "Actually , we received many letters in full support of Tan Sri PPM . However , due to too many similar contents of opinions to some already published , we have decided to close the file" .
It has reached a stage that is too obvious that press freedom did not exist in NST , probably . But then , we must not forget that there are no absolute freedom everywhere , anywhere in the world . I did my research on Freedom Of Expression a year ago . And absolute freedom might not be good . No matter what , this is the first time I see such things happening in journalism .
To see that the Grand Old Man of politics ( Dr Mahathir ) is facing such disrespectful people is a sad thing . Or should I be more straight forward ? Well , we all know Dr Mahathir is helpful to the Malays . And I certainly agree ( though not fully but to a great extent ) that 'Tongkat Melayu' assistance should be given to the Malays as we were all separated racially in the past by the British that caused racial disharmony and income disparities in Malaysia .
I dare say (like many other analysts) that certain Malays are being ungrateful to what Dr Mahathir has done .
No Plagiarism In My Blog
With response to a comment that my blog on RM1.113b for the bridge, RM1.12b for no bridge was plagiarised from The Sun's writer , I beg to differ . I gave full credits to the Author of this article , Miss Pauline Puah by using the phrase "The following are extracts from the article" . Moreover , I gave my own personal opinion at the bottom after that . Thank you .
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
RM1.113b for the bridge, RM1.12b for no bridge
Well , I just finished my Microecons paper today and when I came back to my room , logged into the internet and went to MalaysiaToday's website , I was shocked . According to the latest announcement and findings by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) , to build the bridge costs less than scrapping the bridge project !
The following are extracts from the article :
After a briefing by the Public Works Department in Parliament House, PAC chairman Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad gave the breakdown:
> RM280 million to build a permanent eight-tiered overhead road connecting the new Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex in Johor Baru and the Causeway;
> RM190 million to build other flyovers and connecting roads to the elevated highway;
> RM170 million in payments for work done on the project before it was called off; and
> About RM100 million compensation to project contractor Gerbang Perdana Sdn Bhd (this amount has yet to be finalised).
RM740 million in public funds is needed to cover the costs of scrapping the bridge, compared with the original bill of RM1.113 billion for building the structure.
Amazing huh ? Hmm . We pay so much for nothing instead of getting something ! I'm still having my finals , will be blogging more later .
The following are extracts from the article :
After a briefing by the Public Works Department in Parliament House, PAC chairman Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad gave the breakdown:
> RM280 million to build a permanent eight-tiered overhead road connecting the new Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex in Johor Baru and the Causeway;
> RM190 million to build other flyovers and connecting roads to the elevated highway;
> RM170 million in payments for work done on the project before it was called off; and
> About RM100 million compensation to project contractor Gerbang Perdana Sdn Bhd (this amount has yet to be finalised).
RM740 million in public funds is needed to cover the costs of scrapping the bridge, compared with the original bill of RM1.113 billion for building the structure.
Amazing huh ? Hmm . We pay so much for nothing instead of getting something ! I'm still having my finals , will be blogging more later .
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Comments on My Article(Not To Be Bias)
It has been my nature to respond to every comment I get on my remarks and on Dr M's policies . Haha . It is educational to discuss issues with others and I find it fun though at times there will be an outbreak of argumentative diseases .
The direct comments made by Tun Dr Mahathir was indeed too direct and even Datuk Zainuddin Maidin , a loyal strongmen of Dr M , commented that Tun might have been too direct and hurting . How can Dr M be not direct when NSTP's Chief Editors like Datuk Kalimullah and company are all Pak Lah's men ? News are chopped and writers write the articles in a manner that made a mockery out of Tun . How then can Dr M respond or bring up issues ? If he goes on being nice and speak out in a 'gentleman' way , will he get responses ?
When Dr M brought out the letters of bilateral communications with regards to the bridge issue , there were parties who called for Dr M to be slammed behind bars as the letters were classified premier information protected by the Official Secrets Act . Can Dr M give more hints that what he say is true ? Should he bring out more evidences ? Should he risk it ?
Letting your Ministers go wild by calling the Tun an old man and should stay out , letting your Ministers have the freedom to go around critisizing Tun in the media , are these actions justified ? Do not argue that Tun was too direct.Look at the way Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz responded to Tun's AP queries . Look at the way Datuk Seri Nazri answered Dr M and said Dr M was wrong . It is not the 'wrong' part that we do not accept , it is the way they put it that kicks dust into Tun's face . Can you expect a statesman to be patient and let the Mahathir era be discredited as days go on ? He has been patient and every patience has its limits . That is why Mahathir erupted .
And know why Mahathir said he expected gratitude ? Pak Lah was one of them who opposed him during the 1980s Umno elections . Pak Lah indirectly supported Tan Sri Musa and Tengku Razaleigh who then formed Parti Semangat 46 . Was Mahathir revengeful ? Indeed as we know , politically it will be unwise to bring back a thorn to your side and you should ensure the impossibility of the return of this thorn . But Dr Mahathir did not . He brought back our PM to the Cabinet and today , installed as the Prime Minister . That is why Dr M used the word 'gratitude' in his outburst .
Look at the day Datuk Seri Rafidah said that Dr M was old and he might have forgotten his stuff when Dr M raised the issue of the government . Calling Dr M old and forgetful ? Was there respect shown ? Datuk Seri Nazri had said the decision to build the bridge that was supposed to link Malaysia with Singapore was Mahathir's alone and the Cabinet was not consulted during his leadership . He even said Dr Mahathir was “wrong on all points” in his comments on the scrapped bridge project. And he then added “My Cabinet colleagues and I hope that Tun will keep to his promise when he said that he would not interfere in the government administration when he retired,” he added.
Hmm ... does this mean shut up ? No idea , you decide . Are these rude comments ?
The Tun has no friends these days . Not many . How can he push forward his ideas ? Maybe he should knock on the offices of the Ministers and say "Hi , can you answer this ?" . Can he go up to the media and ask them to bring this issue up ? He certainly can but the way news are reported will always favor the current administration . I might not be in a position to answer government related decisions , but I think the Tun knows more than we do on the issues he raised . Dr Mahathir's patience limit has been breached and he can no longer stand people giving him standard answers . Read the responses , the papers . Answers are all standard . Answers will range from "Tun , keep your promise ; Tun , you interfered ; Tun , we have collectively decided ; and the list goes on" . The answers ?
What Tun said is logical you see . Where did Tengku Mahaleel go wrong in Proton ? The APs issue might be a corrupted one but I think Tun has moved on . He is now demanding answers for why his capable pal , formerly head of Proton , was removed when he managed Proton to save up an amount that is respectable ( at least RM 2 billion ) . The bridge issue might be complicated , with the Tun arguing on the basis of our sovereignty being smacked , while the Ministers say that Singapore wanted sand and air space permission . Tun came back and said that sand and air space permission was not even discussed when he was PM and when the bridge plan was given the green light . Cabinet came back up and say they have explained and Tun shouldn't interfere , the bridge was only wanted by Dr M . Dr M went to the media again and the story goes on and on till today.
What confused Malaysians is that Dr M's plan was a crooked bridge , a bridge that is linked from Johor , to the Causeway of our side . But it was replaced with another plan and now , all plans shattered . That is why Dr Mahathir wants to know why and he is demanding answers .
The following are part of an article from Asiamedia dated 3/3/2005
- What is known is that during their first meeting on Dec 13 last year, Malaysia put forward a proposal to replace the Causeway with a straight bridge as opposed to its previous plan for a 'crooked' structure it began to build, but put on hold, last year. -
And this was what Tun Dr Mahathir once responded on this bridge issue :
- The Singapore PM, Goh Chok Tong in his letter to me clearly stated that " ... if you wish to proceed immediately to replace just your side of the Causeway with a bridge, I shall accept it, though I think this is not ideal." -
- Talks about the possibility of Singapore refusing to allow the bridge to connect with the Singapore half of the causeway is sheer nonsense. The Malaysian bridge will land on the Malaysian portion of the causeway. The only way Singapore can prevent traffic from the bridge from passing through from the Malaysian portion of the Causeway into the Singapore half is to put a barrier across the causeway border. This would certainly constitute an unfriendly act. It would be Singapore cutting its nose to spite its face. The damage to Singapore businesses would be at least as bad as that which Malaysia may suffer. But in reality, Singapore needs Malaysia more than Malaysia needs Singapore. We have our ports and airports to replace Singapore ports, airports and other services. -
I let you judge over the issues . There is nothing against anyone , no hard feelings , just that the issues raised by Tun has too many puzzles and mysteries . I personally have nothing against the current administration , I'm happy with what has been done , but issues raised cannot be waved away . I have nothing against people who write comments in my blog . Discussions are always welcomed and let there be more discussions among youths for progressive purposes . We support peace , not war . As for the moment , many answers are needed to address the queries . Do not focus too much on the Tun's outburst . But if you insist , I guess Dr Mahathir is running out of patience with a hide and seek pile of answers sent to him .
Have a nice day , will be blogging about Proton soon .
The direct comments made by Tun Dr Mahathir was indeed too direct and even Datuk Zainuddin Maidin , a loyal strongmen of Dr M , commented that Tun might have been too direct and hurting . How can Dr M be not direct when NSTP's Chief Editors like Datuk Kalimullah and company are all Pak Lah's men ? News are chopped and writers write the articles in a manner that made a mockery out of Tun . How then can Dr M respond or bring up issues ? If he goes on being nice and speak out in a 'gentleman' way , will he get responses ?
When Dr M brought out the letters of bilateral communications with regards to the bridge issue , there were parties who called for Dr M to be slammed behind bars as the letters were classified premier information protected by the Official Secrets Act . Can Dr M give more hints that what he say is true ? Should he bring out more evidences ? Should he risk it ?
Letting your Ministers go wild by calling the Tun an old man and should stay out , letting your Ministers have the freedom to go around critisizing Tun in the media , are these actions justified ? Do not argue that Tun was too direct.Look at the way Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz responded to Tun's AP queries . Look at the way Datuk Seri Nazri answered Dr M and said Dr M was wrong . It is not the 'wrong' part that we do not accept , it is the way they put it that kicks dust into Tun's face . Can you expect a statesman to be patient and let the Mahathir era be discredited as days go on ? He has been patient and every patience has its limits . That is why Mahathir erupted .
And know why Mahathir said he expected gratitude ? Pak Lah was one of them who opposed him during the 1980s Umno elections . Pak Lah indirectly supported Tan Sri Musa and Tengku Razaleigh who then formed Parti Semangat 46 . Was Mahathir revengeful ? Indeed as we know , politically it will be unwise to bring back a thorn to your side and you should ensure the impossibility of the return of this thorn . But Dr Mahathir did not . He brought back our PM to the Cabinet and today , installed as the Prime Minister . That is why Dr M used the word 'gratitude' in his outburst .
Look at the day Datuk Seri Rafidah said that Dr M was old and he might have forgotten his stuff when Dr M raised the issue of the government . Calling Dr M old and forgetful ? Was there respect shown ? Datuk Seri Nazri had said the decision to build the bridge that was supposed to link Malaysia with Singapore was Mahathir's alone and the Cabinet was not consulted during his leadership . He even said Dr Mahathir was “wrong on all points” in his comments on the scrapped bridge project. And he then added “My Cabinet colleagues and I hope that Tun will keep to his promise when he said that he would not interfere in the government administration when he retired,” he added.
Hmm ... does this mean shut up ? No idea , you decide . Are these rude comments ?
The Tun has no friends these days . Not many . How can he push forward his ideas ? Maybe he should knock on the offices of the Ministers and say "Hi , can you answer this ?" . Can he go up to the media and ask them to bring this issue up ? He certainly can but the way news are reported will always favor the current administration . I might not be in a position to answer government related decisions , but I think the Tun knows more than we do on the issues he raised . Dr Mahathir's patience limit has been breached and he can no longer stand people giving him standard answers . Read the responses , the papers . Answers are all standard . Answers will range from "Tun , keep your promise ; Tun , you interfered ; Tun , we have collectively decided ; and the list goes on" . The answers ?
What Tun said is logical you see . Where did Tengku Mahaleel go wrong in Proton ? The APs issue might be a corrupted one but I think Tun has moved on . He is now demanding answers for why his capable pal , formerly head of Proton , was removed when he managed Proton to save up an amount that is respectable ( at least RM 2 billion ) . The bridge issue might be complicated , with the Tun arguing on the basis of our sovereignty being smacked , while the Ministers say that Singapore wanted sand and air space permission . Tun came back and said that sand and air space permission was not even discussed when he was PM and when the bridge plan was given the green light . Cabinet came back up and say they have explained and Tun shouldn't interfere , the bridge was only wanted by Dr M . Dr M went to the media again and the story goes on and on till today.
What confused Malaysians is that Dr M's plan was a crooked bridge , a bridge that is linked from Johor , to the Causeway of our side . But it was replaced with another plan and now , all plans shattered . That is why Dr Mahathir wants to know why and he is demanding answers .
The following are part of an article from Asiamedia dated 3/3/2005
- What is known is that during their first meeting on Dec 13 last year, Malaysia put forward a proposal to replace the Causeway with a straight bridge as opposed to its previous plan for a 'crooked' structure it began to build, but put on hold, last year. -
And this was what Tun Dr Mahathir once responded on this bridge issue :
- The Singapore PM, Goh Chok Tong in his letter to me clearly stated that " ... if you wish to proceed immediately to replace just your side of the Causeway with a bridge, I shall accept it, though I think this is not ideal." -
- Talks about the possibility of Singapore refusing to allow the bridge to connect with the Singapore half of the causeway is sheer nonsense. The Malaysian bridge will land on the Malaysian portion of the causeway. The only way Singapore can prevent traffic from the bridge from passing through from the Malaysian portion of the Causeway into the Singapore half is to put a barrier across the causeway border. This would certainly constitute an unfriendly act. It would be Singapore cutting its nose to spite its face. The damage to Singapore businesses would be at least as bad as that which Malaysia may suffer. But in reality, Singapore needs Malaysia more than Malaysia needs Singapore. We have our ports and airports to replace Singapore ports, airports and other services. -
I let you judge over the issues . There is nothing against anyone , no hard feelings , just that the issues raised by Tun has too many puzzles and mysteries . I personally have nothing against the current administration , I'm happy with what has been done , but issues raised cannot be waved away . I have nothing against people who write comments in my blog . Discussions are always welcomed and let there be more discussions among youths for progressive purposes . We support peace , not war . As for the moment , many answers are needed to address the queries . Do not focus too much on the Tun's outburst . But if you insist , I guess Dr Mahathir is running out of patience with a hide and seek pile of answers sent to him .
Have a nice day , will be blogging about Proton soon .
Not To Be Bias
It is true that most Malaysians believe our Prime Minister has done reasonably well thus far . His actions as a PM in 'housekeeping' is indeed good . We can see an improvement in Departments' efficiency ( though still not up to the most efficient level ) . Corrupted people were all sent off to courts and punished . It is a good sign for a developing nation like Malaysia . Malaysia has moved on from being a Third World country to being a Contender Country and hopefully by the year 2020 , we will be a developed nation , achieving the dreams laid down by the legendary Tun Dr Mahathir .
Datuk Seri Abdullah has done a great job in managing the country thus far and I can see that he is a patient man . However , the issues raised by Tun are not to be overlooked . What Tun said might be true . If we want to build a new Penang bridge , do we have to tell Thailand that we are doing so ? The current bridge issue is to build a half bridge that is entirely in our own territorial waters . To build that , we need to ask the Singaporean Government ? Or is there another reason ? Which Tun Mahathir say is to bring in the sand issue and enrich certain people like what happened in the APs issue ?
Well , the other day I had a discussion or sort of argument with my pal in Sydney ( Engineering student ) . He argued that to link the half bridge to the current one might cause instability to the bridge , probably putting stress to it . Hmm . How true this is , we are not sure . I have even heard that the building of the bridge will change the course of the Straits water flow to an extent that it will favor Port Tanjung Pelepas . The truth ? No one knows as they are all government secrets protected by the Official Secrets Act . Any leak of it , you will end up in jail !
But the thing is , where is the logic when we can't build a bridge on our own waters , territory ? Explanation has to be given to the analytical Tun and the public I believe .
Probably the Prime Minister has got nothing to do with this , if he insists . Then of course , the responsible ministers should come up with a detailed explanation in the Parliament of Malaysia and cut out the popular part these days where many politicians seem to say "Tun , you have retired , enough is enough , etc " .
I still remember in 2002 at the Umno General Assembly . I was having my National Debates Championship by the Education Ministry of Malaysia . I saw how Tun wept emotionally as he drank the glass of water and announced his resignation to a stunned nation . Who were the ones saying " we still need you , Datuk Seri (at that time) " ? Who were the ones crying and appealing to Dr M to pull back his resignation ? One clear personality was Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz . Everyone heard and saw her saying "Datuk Seri , tarik balik , tarik balik " , but Dr M replied "I've decided , I'm retiring" . Then , they all went to the executive room and everyone appealed to Dr M to stay on for another year . Look at what each minister replied and commented on the issue , read again what many Malaysians say about our great Father of Modernization . Leave aside what PAS said , they called it sandiwara and they will still call it a 'sandiwara' A.K.A drama if these occur again in Umno . Today , when Tun raises certain issues , with the starting point where Tengku Mahaleel was knocked out of Proton for reasons not given , many will say he has retired .
What does this imply ? Are you all up there seating comfortably in the presidential high back chairs merely Yes Men or Oscar Award Winning Actors and Actresses ? Are you all afraid of being jobless to speak out ? Or is that really what you think and feel ? The Tun has retired , yes and indeed he promised not to interfere with the government . But I guess raising issues are not counted as interfering with the government's mechanism . Tun did not say "hey , you must do this , you must you must !!" . Tun merely raised issues that needed to be answered . Give him and we the public the right answers . I believe the issues raised by Tun have been playing in the minds of at least a few if not hundreds or thousands of Malaysians . Just that we do not have the courage needed or power backing to raise the national issues . What will others say if I raise this issue ? Will the authorities say " oh yes , we will look into it and answer you ? " . No way . We will be shot down in a more brutal manner than the responses towards the Tun . We will be told that we are mere citizens , the matter has been closed , we should concentrate more in enriching our lives . Or if we are students , we will be told to concentrate more on our books rather than the issues of interest in the government .
There were certain comments that Tun has done a lot of things in his 20 over years and that the PM merely slows things down to pick up and clean up the 'engine of development' and prepare the thrust towards a developed status . There are also comments that Tun has done a great deal of service and the PM's advisors feel that he should not be overshadowed . Thus , dismantling and cancellation of part of the ongoing legacy (Projects) of Tun has to be done . Well , whichever is true , is none of our concern but it is indeed a concern if what Tun say about our sovereignty is true . Our forefathers fought hard for our country's sovereignty . If we are to kowtow to another country again , I will strongly object to this .
I can understand if Tengku Mahaleel is removed , I'm sure Tun understands but he demanded a reason . Well , when you become a PM , you have to ensure that major positions must be seated with your own men . This is especially so in media like NST and Utusan . TheStar is controlled by MCA and MCA being the peace seeker will always be supportive of the administration of the day . The same goes to Proton probably . Tengku Mahaleel was Mahathir's man and probably he needs to be replaced ? Not very sure about this issue , but cronyism (if you want to use that term) exists everywhere . Live with it . Even we will employ the cronyism approach when we become somebody . It is unavoidable .
Datuk Seri Abdullah has done a great job in managing the country thus far and I can see that he is a patient man . However , the issues raised by Tun are not to be overlooked . What Tun said might be true . If we want to build a new Penang bridge , do we have to tell Thailand that we are doing so ? The current bridge issue is to build a half bridge that is entirely in our own territorial waters . To build that , we need to ask the Singaporean Government ? Or is there another reason ? Which Tun Mahathir say is to bring in the sand issue and enrich certain people like what happened in the APs issue ?
Well , the other day I had a discussion or sort of argument with my pal in Sydney ( Engineering student ) . He argued that to link the half bridge to the current one might cause instability to the bridge , probably putting stress to it . Hmm . How true this is , we are not sure . I have even heard that the building of the bridge will change the course of the Straits water flow to an extent that it will favor Port Tanjung Pelepas . The truth ? No one knows as they are all government secrets protected by the Official Secrets Act . Any leak of it , you will end up in jail !
But the thing is , where is the logic when we can't build a bridge on our own waters , territory ? Explanation has to be given to the analytical Tun and the public I believe .
Probably the Prime Minister has got nothing to do with this , if he insists . Then of course , the responsible ministers should come up with a detailed explanation in the Parliament of Malaysia and cut out the popular part these days where many politicians seem to say "Tun , you have retired , enough is enough , etc " .
I still remember in 2002 at the Umno General Assembly . I was having my National Debates Championship by the Education Ministry of Malaysia . I saw how Tun wept emotionally as he drank the glass of water and announced his resignation to a stunned nation . Who were the ones saying " we still need you , Datuk Seri (at that time) " ? Who were the ones crying and appealing to Dr M to pull back his resignation ? One clear personality was Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz . Everyone heard and saw her saying "Datuk Seri , tarik balik , tarik balik " , but Dr M replied "I've decided , I'm retiring" . Then , they all went to the executive room and everyone appealed to Dr M to stay on for another year . Look at what each minister replied and commented on the issue , read again what many Malaysians say about our great Father of Modernization . Leave aside what PAS said , they called it sandiwara and they will still call it a 'sandiwara' A.K.A drama if these occur again in Umno . Today , when Tun raises certain issues , with the starting point where Tengku Mahaleel was knocked out of Proton for reasons not given , many will say he has retired .
What does this imply ? Are you all up there seating comfortably in the presidential high back chairs merely Yes Men or Oscar Award Winning Actors and Actresses ? Are you all afraid of being jobless to speak out ? Or is that really what you think and feel ? The Tun has retired , yes and indeed he promised not to interfere with the government . But I guess raising issues are not counted as interfering with the government's mechanism . Tun did not say "hey , you must do this , you must you must !!" . Tun merely raised issues that needed to be answered . Give him and we the public the right answers . I believe the issues raised by Tun have been playing in the minds of at least a few if not hundreds or thousands of Malaysians . Just that we do not have the courage needed or power backing to raise the national issues . What will others say if I raise this issue ? Will the authorities say " oh yes , we will look into it and answer you ? " . No way . We will be shot down in a more brutal manner than the responses towards the Tun . We will be told that we are mere citizens , the matter has been closed , we should concentrate more in enriching our lives . Or if we are students , we will be told to concentrate more on our books rather than the issues of interest in the government .
There were certain comments that Tun has done a lot of things in his 20 over years and that the PM merely slows things down to pick up and clean up the 'engine of development' and prepare the thrust towards a developed status . There are also comments that Tun has done a great deal of service and the PM's advisors feel that he should not be overshadowed . Thus , dismantling and cancellation of part of the ongoing legacy (Projects) of Tun has to be done . Well , whichever is true , is none of our concern but it is indeed a concern if what Tun say about our sovereignty is true . Our forefathers fought hard for our country's sovereignty . If we are to kowtow to another country again , I will strongly object to this .
I can understand if Tengku Mahaleel is removed , I'm sure Tun understands but he demanded a reason . Well , when you become a PM , you have to ensure that major positions must be seated with your own men . This is especially so in media like NST and Utusan . TheStar is controlled by MCA and MCA being the peace seeker will always be supportive of the administration of the day . The same goes to Proton probably . Tengku Mahaleel was Mahathir's man and probably he needs to be replaced ? Not very sure about this issue , but cronyism (if you want to use that term) exists everywhere . Live with it . Even we will employ the cronyism approach when we become somebody . It is unavoidable .
Respect for Tun Dr Mahathir
Dr Mahathir has done a lot throughout his life for Malaysia . When Dr Mahathir initiated the plan of Proton’s birth , the public laughed and belittled his vision . When he really did roll out the first group of Proton Saga , the world was amazed that a small unknown country could do such marvels in automobile . I believe when we Malaysians go abroad , we are proud to say we are Malaysians and capable of producing our own cars just like America and Japan .
If a father of a family has no say over his own family and home which he built and started , where is the justice and respect ? If Proton is the brainchild , blood and sweat of Dr Mahathir , why is he being advised and not him advising Proton on many accounts ? Proton does not belong to any Chairman or CEO . They weren’t even there when Dr Mahathir built the empire of Proton . The Tengku Mahaleel episode is already a controversy . Now comes along a one euro sale of MV Augusta .
I am a Malaysian who was taught in school since young that an advisor’s role is to advise and respect means polite behavior to someone . Looks like all transparency and respect has disappeared in the boundaries of Proton . Correct the issues now before it becomes cancerous .
Let Dr Mahathir have a say in Proton in his capacity as Advisor , a project which he pushed through with no serious backing and confidence from the public but succeeded ! Listen to a wise man who has led Malaysia through ups and downs into a more developed state ! A statesman who was so able to lead a whole nation is certainly wise and experienced no doubt . Proton should tap Dr Mahathir’s knowledge and work with him .
If a father of a family has no say over his own family and home which he built and started , where is the justice and respect ? If Proton is the brainchild , blood and sweat of Dr Mahathir , why is he being advised and not him advising Proton on many accounts ? Proton does not belong to any Chairman or CEO . They weren’t even there when Dr Mahathir built the empire of Proton . The Tengku Mahaleel episode is already a controversy . Now comes along a one euro sale of MV Augusta .
I am a Malaysian who was taught in school since young that an advisor’s role is to advise and respect means polite behavior to someone . Looks like all transparency and respect has disappeared in the boundaries of Proton . Correct the issues now before it becomes cancerous .
Let Dr Mahathir have a say in Proton in his capacity as Advisor , a project which he pushed through with no serious backing and confidence from the public but succeeded ! Listen to a wise man who has led Malaysia through ups and downs into a more developed state ! A statesman who was so able to lead a whole nation is certainly wise and experienced no doubt . Proton should tap Dr Mahathir’s knowledge and work with him .
Saturday, June 10, 2006
A Letter of Support to Tun Dr Mahathir
It is interesting to hear Tun's comments again . I believe many of us miss Tun's ideas and comments since Tun retired . In viewing the issues of Proton , APs and the bridge , I think Tun , your comments are right . It is shocking to see MV Augusta being sold for just one Euro . The AP issue is also another controversy but I believe the limit was at the bridge issue .
To build a bridge in our own country is not permitted because Singapore did not agree ? Di manakah kedaulatan negara kami yang diperjuangkan oleh ramai pemimpin dahulu ? Sadly , though Tun you raised these issues , the replies given were not satisfactory . Not only the replies given were not the answers you wanted , Tun . It is not exactly clear to the public either , to a certain extent . Replies given were most of the time to say that Tun has retired and should not interfere in the new administration .
If a member of the public is to raise these issues , what will the authorities say ? Will they say that we are mere citizens and know nothing ? It is indeed shocking to see the amount of disrespect to Tun for what Tun had done for us all these years . Well , we hope to hear more constructive ideas , opinions and comments from Tun in the future . Probably Tun should take up the role of a columnist and express your views just like Tun Haniff and many others .
To build a bridge in our own country is not permitted because Singapore did not agree ? Di manakah kedaulatan negara kami yang diperjuangkan oleh ramai pemimpin dahulu ? Sadly , though Tun you raised these issues , the replies given were not satisfactory . Not only the replies given were not the answers you wanted , Tun . It is not exactly clear to the public either , to a certain extent . Replies given were most of the time to say that Tun has retired and should not interfere in the new administration .
If a member of the public is to raise these issues , what will the authorities say ? Will they say that we are mere citizens and know nothing ? It is indeed shocking to see the amount of disrespect to Tun for what Tun had done for us all these years . Well , we hope to hear more constructive ideas , opinions and comments from Tun in the future . Probably Tun should take up the role of a columnist and express your views just like Tun Haniff and many others .
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