We never ask for it!

I was away in KL for a few days and wasn't in the mood to blog, especially with the usual politicking nonsense we read these days. What really got on me was the staged demonstration against Khalid Ibrahim's proposal to open up UiTM by 10% to non-Malays.

As far as I know, we would not ask for something which we know we could not get, and it was a real surprise that he even thought of that, for us! Even Raja Petra thought he was silly in doing so and suggested whether he could be sabotaging Anwar's chances in Permatang Pauh!

So, Mr. PM for all Malaysians, do what you think is necessary to keep your supporters happy. It is expected of you and all that Umno stands for anyway.

I watched the tv press conference and this spokesman thought he was great in pointing out that Khalid Ibrahim had forgotten that he was a beneficiary of the NEP. Inevitably, the reason (read excuse) was the people are not ready for open competition. When is the right time? I hope we will get some indication from this mother of all by-elections, which essentially is the closest we can get to electing a Prime Minister.

Excellence in the right environment

While our Minister of Higher Education worry over our students getting involved in politics, I wonder what could happen if we were blessed with a child prodigy in medical field.

A year ago a footage emerged from a remote village in India . The video showed a young girl receiving surgery to separate her fingers, which were badly burned and fused together. Why did this operation make headlines around the world? The surgery was performed by a 7-year-old boy named Akrit Jaswal.

Now 13 years old, Akrit has an IQ of 146 and is considered the smartest person his age in India -a country of more than a billion people. Before Akrit could even speak, his parents say they knew he was special.

'He learned very fast,' says Raksha, Akrit's mother. 'After learning the alphabet, we started to teach him joining of words, and he started writing as well. He was two.'

At an age when most children are learning their ABCs, Akrit was reading Shakespeare and assembling a library of medical textbooks. When he was 5 years old, he enrolled in school. One year later, Akrit was teaching English and math classes.

Akrit developed a passion for science and anatomy at an early age. Doctors at local hospitals took notice and started allowing him to observe surgeries when he was 6 years old. Inspired by what he saw, Akrit read everything he could on the topic. When an impoverished family heard about his amazing abilities, they asked if he would operate on their daughter for free. Her surgery was a success.

After the surgery, Akrit was hailed as a medical genius in India . Neighbors and strangers flocked to him for advice and treatment. At age 11, Akrit was admitted to Punjab University .. He's the youngest student ever to attend an Indian university. That same year, he was also invited to London 's famed Imperial College to exchange ideas with scientists on the cutting edge of medical research.

Akrit says he has millions of medical ideas, but he's currently focused on developing a cure for cancer. 'I've developed a concept called oral gene therapy on the basis of my research and my theories,' he says. 'I'm quite dedicated towards working on this mechanism.'

Growing up, Akrit says he used to see cancer patients lying on the side of the road because they couldn't afford treatment or hospitals had no space for them. Now, he wants to use his intellect to ease their suffering. '[I've been] going to hospitals since the age of 6, so I have seen firsthand people suffering from pain,' he says. 'I get very sad, and so that's the main motive of my passion about medicine, my passion about cancer.'

Currently, Akrit is working toward a bachelor's degrees in zoology, botany and chemistry. Someday, he hopes to continue his studies at Harvard University .

SoPo Networking

Pole (Dominik) with a Vietnamese hat, Vietnamese (Ninh) and Cheng in Vietnam recently.

Cheng missed one event organised by UKEC as posted in her predecessor’s blog
MSLS Forum with Tony Pua and Khairy -- niknazmi.com and Tony Pua’s
Philosophy Politics Economics: Khairy Face-Off

In fact, during the last week of her holiday, I wanted to arrange a visit to Parliament House where she could meet MPs like LKS, Dr. Rama and Fong Po Kuan in one place, but visitors were banned for the first time!

But she managed to meet her seniors like Wong Chin Huat and Yap Swee Seng, and a number of ex-HELP students in KL.

For me, I particularly like our bonding like before, when she asked, ‘Is it too late to come and fetch me in Bangsar?’ No problem! I was afraid she wouldn’t ask for me when she needs something!

Pakatan leaders having 'reliance mentality'?

I am refering to Raja Sherina Cheng's letter in Malaysiakini, Get rid of 'reliance mentality', Pakatan leaders

I think Raja Sherina missed the point on why YAB Lim Guan Eng kept harping on the federal funds due to Penang, and I am most surprised Pak Lah dismissed it with such nonchalance as reported in The Sun, ‘Abdullah: We don't owe Penang any money’.

If I am not mistaken, taxes collected from companies and individuals in every state by federal government, excise duties and import duties collected by Customs, together with Petronas’s contributions (oil royalties, corporation tax, dividends, etc.) are re-allocated to various states by the Finance Ministry. Isn’t it obvious that the PM who is also the Finance Minister is in charge of the carrot and can be (in fact, likely to be) prejudiced against Pakatan governed states? How would Raja Sherina like if she were to contribute towards her family budget but her father decides to discriminate her by not allowing her to stay or have meals in the house? I know this is not a good example as dutiful daughters are expected to contribute without expecting anything in return but the idea that it will create resentment because of the unfairness is the same. In this case, the people of Penang pay taxes but not getting due returns in development funds.

I am pretty sure that if the laws relating to federation of the states were to allow higher level of autonomy, Penang is likely to see a greater inflow of investments and with the CAT (Competency, Accountability and Transparency) principles of governance, Penang can be exemplary in development. As the law stands, even public transport is under federal control and we can see how policies cannot be effectively planned with greater integration and administration. This is similar to having Sherina’s father deciding for her how best to run her life even though she should know best what is good for herself. The principle of ‘subsidiarity’ comes to mind. Subsidiarity is an organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralized competent authority.

So before Sherina accuses Pakatan leaders of having ‘reliance mentality’ she should understand the true situation first. Trengganu’s ‘wang ehsan’ was a good example of how the federal government made things difficult for an opposition state government. There was no shame whatsoever.

It takes a foreign observer to see through our folly

and I take the liberty of reproducing the comment from Bradley Clay in Malaysiakini's:

VoxPop: No-contest for Rafidah? Why?

Bradley Clay: I would like to say, as an ongoing expatriate observer, that the mindset within this government is totally beyond reckoning.

To read now that Rafidah is finally stepping down is a relief - she really should have stepped down after all the AP incident issue.

But now I read that she is asking her fellow Wanita Umno people to not contest against her or her deputy in the upcoming Umno elections.

What right does any politician have in a democracy to choose their successor?

Is it not the right of the people to choose who will represent them? And in this case, should it not be the right of the party to choose who will lead them as well? Not the choice of the current outgoing leader.

The same thing is happening with Abdullah and his choice of Najib to take the position of PM.

This sort of behaviour by the leaders of any country would have me asking what has been promised or given to these outgoing leaders to pass the torch of leadership to a particular person.After all, the positions these people are being ‘given' are powerful positions in government, positions controlling vast assets, public monies, and, of course, power.

I say the only way to stop the possibility of this sort of inherited leadership corruption is to outlaw it. If someone is stepping down, have a proper democratic election.

If someone dies, then the deputy temporarily holds the position and hold an election as soon as it is possible.

I have heard what it ‘costs' to get a government project, and as we all know, these projects are large sums of money in themselves, often mismanaged because they don't go to the right person for the job and often failing and having to be fixed with more money by another ‘project winner'.

Who or where is this money going? Now, I am not about to start making blind accusations, but someone somewhere is receiving this money for these government projects, and I blame this inherited leadership process.

I call on whomever has the power to pass law that all political positions, both within the government and within their respective parts, must be elected positions.

The next thing we can expect is a rountine 'butt out' response from Umno Youth.