How should we judge a government?

In Malaysia, if you don't watch television or read newspapers, you are uninformed; but if you do, you are misinformed!

"If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing." - Malcolm X

Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience - Mark Twain

Why we should be against censorship in a court of law: Publicity is the very soul of justice … it keeps the judge himself, while trying, under trial. - Jeremy Bentham

"Our government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no
responsibility at the other. " - Ronald Reagan

Government fed by the people

Government fed by the people

Career options

Career options
I suggest government... because nobody has ever been caught.

Corruption so prevalent it affects English language?

Corruption so prevalent it affects English language?
Corruption is so prevalent it affects English language?

When there's too much dirt...

When there's too much dirt...
We need better tools... to cover up mega corruptions.

Prevent bullying now!

Prevent bullying now!
If you're not going to speak up, how is the world supposed to know you exist? “Orang boleh pandai setinggi langit, tapi selama ia tidak menulis, ia akan hilang di dalam masyarakat dan dari sejarah.” - Ananta Prameodya Toer (Your intellect may soar to the sky but if you do not write, you will be lost from society and to history.)

Friday, April 19, 2013

My take on the expected 3-corner fight in parliamentary constituency of Pandan


Incumbent ex-MP, MCA's ex-President, Ong Tee Keat is not included in MCA's candidate list for this coming GE. Unless there is a last-minute intervention by BN Chairman, Najib, Ong has to stand as independent candidate. This will create a 3-corner fight with MCA's Garry Lim and PKR's Rafizi Ramli.

Most people prefer one-to-one contest between BN and PR, so anyone, for any reason, who is going to join in will be frown upon. It is alright if the independent is a relatively unknown who can be easily brushed aside by the majority of voters. But an ex-President of MCA? Surely he must have reasonable support before to have reached the top.

Most people know OTK as someone who rocked the PKFZ boat which must have upset some top Umno leaders (some ex-leaders who were involved). So OTK's fall was in a way expected of someone within BN who could not keep quiet about wheels and deals in the corridors of power.

Rafizi Ramli has certainly made a name for himself, especially in exposing the NFC scandal. Even as a rookie in this coming GE, he has a very good chance of being elected as an MP. His candidacy was announced well before the news about OTK's exclusion from MCA's list. If he were to stand as an independent in Pandan, then some voters will have to decide whether to have Ong or Rafizi, instead of the expected splitting of votes between Ong and Garry. In fact, most people believe Ong's participation would steal the limelight off relatively unknown Garry, further reducing his already low chance of winning.

If I were to be in that situation, I would choose Rafizi over Ong for a number of reasons. First, Ong has shown to be ineffective in trying to change things from within BN and his efforts seemed in vain but costed him MCA presidency instead. Now that he is an independent candidate, his influence in national politics will be reduced remarkably. His popularity among the constituents in Pandan will be just that, localised.

We have seen enough of popular politicians in Malaysian politics who were forgotten after a number of years, since leaving a political party. No one is big enough to be indispensable, not even Dr Mahathir.

On the other hand, Rafizi represents one of a team of future national leaders under Pakatan Rakyat. He has the necessary qualification (chartered accountant) and experience and exposure in industry (Petronas and Pharmaniaga) and proven himself in many ways in his many exposes.

This GE is like no other in the past 12 GEs (56 years) since independence. This GE is the one in which Pakatan Rakyat stands a fair chance of defeating incumbent Barisan Nasional. For those who value change for the better of the country, this is the best chance, and all other considerations (personal pride and candidacy; differences with fellow party leaders or unhappiness over communal issues and so on) should take a back seat. We should all focus on the main objective of winning against a formidable opponent who has all the advantages of incumbency and government machinery, and who is well known for being unfair in elections. We should avoid all avoidable or unnecessary distractions.

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