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.)

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Khairy vs Rafizi: PPE vs ACA; macro vs micro;...

besides, Umno vs PKR and hopefully, Najib vs Anwar in a similar debate.

Khairy has the advantage of having been de facto Finance Minister, and some say, even de facto PM, from 2004 to 2009. He should have all the information at his fingertips, and together with his PPE degree from Oxford and his experience as a tv presenter, such a debate should have been easy for him.

But what a surprise he got from Rafizi, a relatively unknown corporate man with a chartered accountancy qualification. He was well prepared with facts and figures and with his accounting and auditing experience, he was convincing in his presentation and rebuttal. Since joining PKR, he would have had much experience in Selangor state administration and gained much knowledge in national finance at federal level as well, though without the kind of power and access to information which Khairy had at one time. But generally speaking, when it comes to accountability, accountants should have an advantage. There were many without proper knowledge and yet commenting on accounts which showed they could not tell the difference between sales revenue and profit, or profit and cash flow, for example. Khairy took a cheap shot at Rafizi by quoting Arthur Andersen's auditing fiasco in Enron's case. This is like saying since Dr. M was a dictator, all doctors will become dictators!

I was actually surprised at this well organized and moderated debate, unlike the biased one, when Dr. Chua Soi Lek debated with Lim Guan Eng in Mandarin.

Rafizi questioned Khairy about the Rm270 billion taken from Petronas during Pak Lah's time, when he was personally involved. He avoided answering the question twice. This was just one of many failings of BN which made Khairy appear on the defensive. The other was Umno's preference for mega projects which were padded with excessive profits for party or personal gains. Rafizi explained that without corruption, PKR could finance free education easily.

As the moderator, Dr. Mazlee said, we hope to be able to witness a grand debate between PM Najib and Opposition Leader, Anwar.

It is a pity the authorities are using their powers to silence their critics. For example, Rafizi is being charged under BAFIA rules and now Anwar, Azmin and Badrul are being charged for their involvement in Bersih 3.0 rally. BAFIA and OSA are two specific Acts of Parliament which seem to protect corrupt activities and discourage whistleblowers.

The full debate on Youtube (instead of selective segment):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSUSBNpFEU0&feature=related
Link

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