Reality and perception. Who will you vote for in GE13?

“In politics, what is important is perception, not reality and this is exploited by the Opposition. Even the truth is always denied as they know that politics is all about perception and not about reality and truth.” 

~ Najib Tun Razak.

Politic is all about the art of deception. It matters little your capability if you are incapable in portraying a good image of yourself while bringing the fall onto others. Could one not wonder how Dr. Mahathir with an Indian ancestry, eventually became our most powerful and longest serving Prime Minister? Many must have tried to bring him down due to his lineage, but he played his cards well, too well in fact, by championing the “Malay rights” to gain power. Thinking back, did he actually champion their rights? Or was it a political ploy to gain power? My view is of the latter.

Perhaps what I want to say here is, it feels like history will repeat itself if we are not careful in who we vote for during the upcoming 13^th General Election on May 5^th 2013. Dr. Mahathir has won tremendously well for “championing the rights of Malays” in the past. Many then thought it was the “right thing to do” as the Malays were very far behind economically. We supported this “right”, and have allowed ourselves to be chess pieces of the great mind’s political ploy, who then led Malaysia through corruption and fear and even cementing his position as a dominant figure until today.

Compare to Mahathir’s era, the “right thing to do” today would be to champion the equality for everyone. Pakatan Rakyat (PKR) has been promoting their pet slogan, Ubah for the past few years. Everyone now clings onto Ubah, not knowing if it will truly be as envisioned, or will it be like the “Malay rights” which in my honest opinion has failed tremendously. Could all the opposition truly care for the beneficial of all Malaysians? Will a second Mahathir emerge from this hope for change, after using us as chess pieces?

Reality and perception must never be mixed with each other as one is only half true. We perceive change, and we embrace it. But can it truly happen with the way we select our leaders? Perception and reality is dangerous because it traps us into believing only the half and never knowing about the other.

“Truth can be stated in a thousand different ways, yet each one can be true.” 

~ Swami Vivekananda

 Here is a story that opened my eyes towards reality and perception.

Three months ago when I visited Sibu for the new years, I was told of a major local murder case that happened last year. The case involved a family of six, the husband, his mother, wife and three lovely kids. The husband’s business was beginning to take off and his then wife was his second wife from mainland China. None of the children were blood related to her. What happened was that four of the family members were brutally murdered on the 3^rd of January 2012, just 20 days short of the then Chinese New Year. One child was knocked unconscious and was in very critical condition when found. The wife however did not had a single scratch on her.

The investigation team arrived later and found several doubtful points from the wife’s testimony.

1.      There was no evidence of forced entry of any kind.

2.      The wife said she heard a commotion downstairs when the murder happened. However, none of the neighbours heard any noise.

3.      The CCTV did not capture anyone else except the wife climbing out of the window to save herself.

4.      No money or valuables were taken.

Furthermore, there was also news that the wife was pregnant during the incident. It can only make sense that the Chinese woman killed everyone for the family’s inheritance. Everybody in Sibu was enraged and condemned the woman.

It was only found out a few days later that the killer was their 17 year old neighbour who climbed into their house through the connected ceilings between his house and theirs. He killed the four victims with a sledge hammer after a failed theft attempt.

With the 13^th General Election nearing, I hope my message can be spread across that we should never always believe what we see. Politics are never easily understood by the small people like you and I, and we will always be one step behind in uncovering the truth. Dr. Mahathir is living legacy of our past failed perception towards his then future political agenda. And with the current fixed mentality for change, the new voters have already casted their vote even without knowing who will the electoral candidates be.

It will prove disastrous if we are actually voting for the wrong government because of a possible falsely perceived image of either side. I strongly urge people to think twice before casting their votes, and not just stick to the party that has been promoting a perceived agenda of change or money goodies. Of course, voting for the party is equally important. But it would be safer in my view to think of the consequences and benefits of voting for the candidate instead and how he or she can actually help our people and country. Voting blindly for the party is just as good as gambling - making a decision without knowing the true odds because everyone says “this is the right choice”.

I was asked once by an acquaintance, if I would vote for a better candidate but from a “lousy” party, or a lousy candidate but from a “great” party. In my reply, I told him that I envision for Malaysia where all voted candidates  to truly help his or her people, despite his party background. I hope I am making the right decision here for a better Malaysia and I hope you too will make the right decision. Please do not stand in the sidelines and follow the votes of others. Make a choice. This is after all, your only home.

For anyone that wants to know more about the Sibu story, please click on the following links. Alternatively, you can also just google for "Sibu quadruple murder case".

1. http://www.chinapress.com.my/node/283200

2. http://ingenuelass.wordpress.com/2012/03/19/sibu-brutal-murder-03012012/

Is Nazri's speech about 114A controversial?

Disclaimer, This note is not for me to bash up on who is right or wrong. I am currently making a fuss because I feel incompetent to not know what 114A is all about, and would like to share my thoughts out in hope that some lawyers out there will teach me wtf is 114A all about. As such, I hope this message will be spread far and wide until a good law teacher is willing to educate me on this.

Have you read this article entitled, "No necessity to review amendment to evidence act?"

If you have not, let me summarize some of the key points which Nazri has pointed out that really makes one wonder, wtf is this guy trying to say.

  1. Section 114A presumes that a person whose name, photograph or pseudonym appears on any publication depicting himself as the owner, host, administrator, editor or sub-editor, or who in any manner facilitates to publish or re-publish the publication is presumed to have published or re-published the contents of the publication unless the contrary is proven. 

 2. Commenting on the Facebook page where Umno Youth purportedly posted a provocative religious message that sparked an uproar, Nazri said the calls to prosecute Umno Youth did not make sense because the public prosecutor had not received any report of investigation from the police.

 This new (BS) law that was fully supported by the man himself CLEARLY states that until the contents of the publication is proven, ANYONE, and this means any soab is to be (quote) "presumed to have published or republished the contents of the publication".

 So when UMNO Youth, or any jokers out there that uses this "pseudonym" to publish this racial and religious hatred online, doesn't that means, by this law, that UMNO Youth is to bear whatever consequences FOR NOW until proven otherwise? I would love to see someone from Oxford and UCL to explain himself about this incident, just for the fun of it. Especially after that particular someone made an insulting joke about Kg Buah Pala and Kg Buah Dada.

 Next.

  3. Nazri said there was no necessity to review the amendment. He also said that the matter did not receive any objection from opposition MPs when the bill was debated in Parliament. 

 4. "The bill was tabled in April and debated for four hours, and I replied to all questions raised by the opposition. They (the opposition) were not totally against the amendment because they are also potential victims," he said.

 No objection from opposition MPS during debate, but can have 4 hour debate about it. Hm...

WHAT TALKING YOU NAZRI??????? 

 I wonder how this peaceful and "no objection" debate went. I curse myself for failing to watch this epic 4 hour debate >.<

Anyways, clearly, either Nazri is going senile, OR

  "It does not make sense. If you do not understand the law, it is better to remain silent and not make a fuss and confuse the people," 

~ Nazri 

 I need some good Malaysian Law 101 lecturing. As I am relatively more naive than this "wise" old man, I have thus written this in hope to find a good law teacher. Anyone here free to teach me?

  Disclaimer, again, 
This note is not for me to bash up on who is right or wrong. I am currently making a fuss because I feel incompetent to not know what 114A is all about, and would like to share my thoughts out in hope that some lawyers out there will teach me wtf is 114A all about. As such, I hope this message will be spread far and wide until a good law teacher is willing to educate me on this.

 Cheers

Stop 114A!!!

What is 114A?
It is an amendment to Malaysia’s Evidence Act 1950 which enables law enforcement officials to hold you accountable for publishing seditious, defamatory, or libelous content online, as long as the allegedly defamatory content is traced back to your username, electronic device, and/or WiFi network. Section 114A presumes you are guilty of publishing illicit content on the Internet unless you can prove otherwise. In short, you are considered guilty until proven innocent.

Scenario:

For more info on what is it, how you can stop it, what we can do about it, please visit the official Facebook page or visit their blog for more info.

A Malaysian, in the Olympics

 
Perhaps the most important thing that everyone failed to see about the Olympics, is that it has unconsciously brought the nation together as one. This is the time of a racial tension, a tough racial divide amongst us all. Yet one man, stood tall and against all odds fought to the very last second and close to the very final point, has successfully united our nation and promote the name Malaysia for the world to know.

Compared to the leaders of today who tried their very best to put us together as one, this man, shouldered the burden of our nation and united us all in supporting for 1 cause. A Gold for Malaysia. A Gold for Malaysians.

Even though he has failed to get a gold for us all, when he played out there valiantly, he was a Malaysian. When he took a point from his opponent's hand and continued trying for 80 long minutes despite his recent recovery, he was still a Malaysian. And although he lost, he lost, also as a Malaysian.

It is for this very reason, we are and will forever be very proud of him, to carry our flag across the globe, to show the world that a small country just above a little well known island, can fight head to head, toe to toe with the powerful mammoth up north, with pride and honour.

My hats off to Datuk Lee Chong Wei, not for winning a Silver in the Olympics, but for making everyone of us proud, as and to be a Malaysian.

The man who truly won is the man who went against all odds for a country that was never noticed until now. 

~ Rin 

 Thank you, Datuk Lee Chong Wei

The Forgotten Land

"Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat."
~ Mother Teresa 
 

Hi, my name is Fong, and I come from Malaysia. I was raised here, loved here, and taught here, that this is my country, my home, my shelter, my first love. I am a Chinese, but I am not from China. My friend, Muthu, is an Indian, but he's not from India. My another friend, Mat, is a Malay, but he's not an Orang Asli. We consist of the 3 main races, and we call ourselves Malaysians.

But what about my friend Apai? And my friend Raden? Entulu? Masahor? Gapur? Moggie?

Who are they?

Where are they from?

Have you heard of their names before?

Were they ever in your school books?

Are they foreigners?

"People will forget what you said,

people will forget what you did,

but people will never forget how you made them feel."

~ Maya Angelou

Lets go to Johor! We can have some Otak-otak in Muar. Oh oh!!! Mee Bandung too!!! Maybe some Nasi Briyani Gam from Batu Pahat as well.

No no! Lets go to Malacca for Sate Celup!!! Chicken rice ball is also a must eat! Maybe some ikan bakar and some Kuih Nyonya too while we are there.

I thought people normally go to Penang for food? There's Penang Char Kuey Teow, Asam Laksa, Beef Kuey Teow Soup, Lor Bak, Chee Cheong Fun, Durian and so much more. Cannot eat finish wan...

Aiyoh...Just stay in KL lah. What also got. All the Johorians, Malaccans and even Penangites come to KL to find work, can definitely find their food here.

But...

"Only the forgotten, are truly dead."

~ Tess Gerritsen, The Sinner.

What about Kompia? Sup Ponas? Tomato Kuey Tiao? Kueh Chap? Ngiu Chap? Soto? Have you seen it on your restaurant menu? Are these Johor food? Or is it Malaccan? I am sure I have never seen it in Penang before...Can I find it here in KL?

“A man thinks that by mouthing hard words he understands hard things. ”
~ Herman Melville

Defend Putrajaya, "even if our bodies are crushed and our lives lost"!

 "I would endeavour to deserve my life, Sire."

~ Thomas Blood 

They have taken away our trees. Our land. Our culture. We are robbed of our own food, and clean fresh water. They dirty our rivers, for the pockets of the few. Our daughters are raped by millers and workers everyday on their way to school. Our sons are forced to work from dawn till dusk, because immigrants are cheaper and plentiful.

We have lost our natural habitat. And yet, we still uphold our principles to the highest honour. Let alone an injured animal that passes by our village, or any friend or enemy for that matter we will treat him like he is our brother.

We are a proud race. Our ancestors were here long before the Whites set foot to this land. This is our land. Yet, we have not demand for your absence. We are peace loving people. Do not force us anymore.

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed."

~ Mahatma Gandhi

Hey, have you heard of the Port Klang Free Zone? I heard it was a massive RM12.5billion scandal! The culprits have yet to be caught unfortunately. What is going on with the cops these days?

That's nothing. Heard of the Scorpene deal? I heard that our Prime Minister is linked to this case when he was still the Defence Minister. There is no substantial evidence to prove this yet, so I could be very wrong but then again, whats there to believe in in today's Malaysia?

“I am opposing a social order in which it is possible for one man who does absolutely nothing that is useful to amass a fortune of hundreds of millions of dollars, while millions of men and women who work all the days of their lives secure barely enough for a wretched existence.”
~ Eugene Victor Debs

 

In recent years, reports have shown that Taib Mahmud, the longest serving and current Chief Minister of Sarawak is currently one of the richest man in Asia whose fortune is estimated to be about RM4.6billion. The Bruno Manser Fund, BMF has acknowledged that this research only covers publicly available information from Malaysia's Register of Companies and other official company registers, meaning that the actual figure is most likely only a fraction of his actual wealth.

Yet, his people were never heard and are kept in poverty. The people are denied electricity while his family and politically linked partners lives lavishly. People either sacrifice their freedom or risk prosecuted, swallowing their pride, or risk seeing bloodshed.

“When someone steals another's clothes, we call them a thief.”  

~ Basil the Great

Lets not forget Sabah, Land Below the Wind. Home to Malaysia's tallest mountain known to almost any keen hikers and nature lovers around the world.

In 1970, Malaysia has a population of about 10.5 million people while Sabah has about 600,000. In just 40 years, Malaysia has increased its population by 165% to about 27million whilst Sabah increased 390% to 2.5 million.

Our government have denied this many times over, but the truth is that the local Sabahans themselves have begun to believe that it is possible for the immigrants to have already outnumber them, in their own land.

Jobs are scarce, and people are also kept hidden through poverty, so that they too can not be heard. So that they too will not be helped.

 “It is too difficult to think nobly when one thinks only of earning a living.”
~ Jean-Jacques Rousseau

“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.
~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

I wish to voice to all my fellow family, friends, neighbours, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunties, to put down our selfishness for once. To put down our stubbornness in believing and throwing a false belief to our future generations to come, that Malaysia was born on the 31st of August 1957. 

Lets us all fight, and create a new chapter in history together, and tell our unborn children that Malaysia was born on the 16th of September 1963, the day when Sabah and Sarawak joined us all to form a complete Malaysia. Let us tell our brothers and sisters in Sabah and Sarawak, that we have not forgotten them, and we will celebrate our independence together.

Most importantly, let us make a stand, for the first time in the history of Malaysia, so that it can be recorded that its people celebrated its true independence on the Sunday of 16th September 2012.

Why I am I who I am today, and why I support Bersih.

http://www.globalbersih.org/2012/04/18/bersihstories-clement-ting-petaling-jaya-formerly-in-melbourne/

I was once a Malaysian that held 0% interest in politics and love for the country. I had the belief that as long as I can stand on my own two feet and excel academically, I will be able to succeed anywhere in the world. I never had much love for the country much as I felt the country did not have much love for me. I studied in Australia for my 3 year degree where I had planned to migrate, live there, and die there. Having met people from various backgrounds and nationalities made me felt highly embarrassed to be a Malaysian. Every time a foreigner asked me about my country, I often came up as highly critical.

This all changed after having a chat with an Indonesian girl who overheard my criticism about my country. She was 17+ back then. Yet, she was able to change my life and views completely. I remember she told me that this is the country that I grew up in. No matter how bad it has treated you, this will always be your home. Irreplaceable memories grew from it. Unforgettable friends were made there. Our families live there. Our teachers, neighbours, and everyone else that we love, are still there. Yes, Australia is a better country to live in. A higher income, an easier lifestyle, and a more promising career. But will you be satisfied? Will you be content, living in a foreign land with no roots?

Though 3 years younger than me, she was able to think more maturely. I felt highly ashamed after that, realizing how cowardly I was, I began to ponder upon my actions. For many nights before closing my eyes to sleep, I began to think about my past, my memories and my friends. Yes, those were sweet memories. I remember the tough times that I had went through, the silly things that I did, the sad or even my painful moments.

Looking back, these are the experiences that I can share with my friends, make a laugh about it, and felt great to have live through life in this way. This is the fun-painful times that I too wish my future children will be able to live in. To have a life that I once had, to have a place that they too can term it their one true home, and when they reach my age, talk about it with their friends, and too, smile at it.
My plan was to always run away from this problem. Never once have I thought of facing it.

However, the advice I was given by the girl also made me realize how fortunate I was to have an education, more so one from a prestigious university. It made me realize that if I can stay abroad, who is going to take care of those that I love that are still stuck in the country? Not all my friends and relatives are fortunate as me. Some failed to even enter college because they were just not gifted academically. Who is going to take care of them, if not people like me? More importantly, who is going to take care of my parents while I am gone?

All these thoughts changed me completely. I soon realised that there were many Malaysians, working hard to pave the way towards a true democracy by standing up to the current government. This provided a shed of light to what was what once seemed to be completely dark cave in my world. The unravelling of Bersih 2.0 was this light for me. It made me understand how much home meant. When we sang the national anthem at Federation Square in Melbourne as one people and one voice, I could truly appreciate its meaning, for the first time as a Malaysian.

I would like to end this by sharing a quote from a friend which has touched my heart. “Why is it human nature to remember their bitter memories better than their happy ones? Because it is also human nature that we continue to never stop searching for our happy ones. Would you like to join me and search for a happy future together?”

Public Transport comparison between PJ + KL with Melbourne.

The importance of transport, and how it may affect property prices and human productivity.
We all know about the importance of public transport. For one, it takes us into the busiest place in the shortest period of time (yes, I am talking about Kuala Lumpur), provided that it has its own personal road/rail/tunnel etc.  It is also cost saving at the individual level (excluding car pooling for some cases) and most important of all, environmental friendly. Now would not this be a better Malaysia, if people were to use public transport more often?

My transport experience in Melbourne
I just recently got back from my three years of study in Melbourne, and I do not own a car there because it was not necessary to own one. In Malaysia however, a car can be categorised under essential goods. We relied too heavily on our personal vehicles to get to work, university, travel and/or even going out to the market which is a five to ten minutes walk away from home!

Unlike my three year stay in Melbourne, I can do all these through public transport alone with hardly any worries of ever being late! Public transport in Melbourne, I dare say, has fulfilled all my general transporting requirements from grocery shopping to work, university and even out for a holiday!

Unlike Australia, most of my Malaysian friends who recently entered college or just started working have already gotten a car on their own or from their parents. Their reason, “it’s hard to get around in KL without a car”. After getting a car, fresh graduates will then complain about having to commit 25% of their monthly income to petrol and car installments and parking spaces everyday while those in Melbourne only complain about trains being three to five minutes late.

Actually, these complaints are the least of their worries. Having no choice but to take roughly an hour to reach home because of the traffic on a journey that is usually 10 minutes or less is another pain in the butt. We are already forced to spend lesser time with our families by working on occasional weekends. Yet, we still have to waste our lives on the road. A simple Subang or Petalling Jaya resident working in KL wastes about 80 minutes (40 minutes for one way) a day for 5 days a week. That is equivalent to a loss of about 6 hours a week! Imagine if Malaysia relies heavily on public transport (such as Melbourne), I dare say that I can reach home in half the time than my current situation.


The difference between Melbourne train system, Metro and KL’s train system.
Metro, Melbourne’s lifeline train company is more efficient than our average KTM, Monorail, LRT etc all combined. Actually, it cannot be compared to the Malaysian train system at all! The difference between these two is one, efficiency, two, price relative to purchasing power and the ticket’s traveling frequency and three, the train’s capacity. I will leave out the first as it is obvious and need not be explained further.

Price Relative to Purchasing Power and the Ticket’s Travelling Frequency
I pay about $10 (RM32) per day for UNLIMITED transport usage. In Malaysia, if I were to take the LRT and the monorail, I will be paying about RM8 for just 2 ways. I have not included the bus fare home or other fares should my boss suddenly ask me to go meet up a client.

Train Size/Capacity
For trains that only operate very close to or within Kuala Lumpur, the frequency is fairly often, which is a good thing. But the amount of passengers it can carry at one time is VERY VERY small. In Melbourne, their city heart-line, Metro, operate their trains at the size of KTM trains (with many more fleets of trains, unlike KTM of course). Metro transports passengers from as far as Cranbourne to Melbourne CBD in one hour. That is as far as Kuala Lumpur to Seremban. Furthermore, the train frequency during busy hours can range from 5 to 10 minutes or even lesser!


What causes this difference? Why are people not driving to the city?
1.       Expensive Parking Fees. Why not utilize the efficient public transport instead?

How did the Melbourne government made their people take the public transport instead of driving their own car? For starters, parking in Melbourne is ridiculously expensive. A typical parking lot in Melbourne CBD can cost up to $3 (RM10) to $10 (RM32) per hour! Even though cars are more affordable there, this move have successfully changed the mindset of Melbournians because having to pay (for example) $30 (RM96) a day, five days a week is psychologically more painful (and more expensive in the long run) than paying $6000 (RM19,200) for the car.

2.       Efficiency

Probably the most important reason for this difference would be the accessibility of public transport in Australia. This will be surprising for Malaysians because we have not experience the life of efficient public transport and hence may find it hard to believe. In Melbourne, public transport is highly accessible. When I say highly, I mean HIGHLY. Those living close to the CBD area can hop onto the tram anytime (and pretty much anywhere too). Trams have their somewhat private road where cars cannot simply just enter; giving easier access for trams to move and reach their destination on time.

3.       Fuel Prices and Environmental Reasons

Fuel is also another determining factor. Malaysian fuel is highly subsidised, unlike Australia. Furthermore, the average Australian is much “greener” than the average Malaysian and hence, chooses to walk or rely on public transport instead of private ones.

The Effect caused by this difference
Those that have never been overseas will fail to see this. Kuala Lumpur is very dense when compared to Melbourne. As mentioned earlier, Metro can ferry passengers during busy hours at the FULL CAPACITY of KTM trains in every 5 to 10 minutes or less. What this creates is people living further away but can still come to the heart of the city on time without having the need to wake up before dawn just to catch the early train or risk lining up for a later train during peak hours.

Furthermore, there are plenty of condos in PJ and KL. Assume a large plot of land having the capacity to fit 40 average houses, with each house owning two cars per family (80 cars for 40 families). Instead of building 40 houses, condos with the capacity to fit 240 families plus two parking lots per condo were built. This averages out to roughly about 480 cars but let’s be conservative and assume 400 cars instead. Now, use this logic/formula for the amount of condos, apartments and flats in Kuala Lumpur, and tell me, HOW ON EARTH are we suppose to cope for the future as more and more condos are being built EVERYDAY?

One more thing to note, there are not that many condos in Melbourne compared to KL and PJ. It is mostly houses. The same for Seoul, Korea and many other developed nations with the exception of a few places such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.

Imagine the possibility of having people from Seremban coming to KL for work everyday. Would that not allow the majority of KL and Petaling Jaya people to move further outskirt where houses are cheaper but yet, convenient? Their transport to KL will also take about the same time as in their current situation even though they are living closer to the heart of the city

Currently, people in Melbourne are willing to live even further than Cranbourne (the equivalent distance of Seremban to KL) because property prices are increasing every year. Similarly, if KL follows this system, people, too will start to move further and further away. When the population density of a place increases, development will happen even without the forceful development intervention like Putrajaya because Putrajaya is just in between Seremban and KL.