Are you ready for this Sunday?

If everything goes as planned, the scene will be akin to something like the video clip posted below, er ... minus the destructive scene of course.  Can you imagine what it will be like when everyone dons on the mask on the halo grounds of Dataran Merdeka and looking at only one direction - the clock tower?  I know it will take anyone's breath away.



People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.

An Invitation : Be part of the Guy Fawkes gathering this Sunday

If the organisers behind this flashmob get what they want, there will be a sea of people in Guy Fawkes masks at Dataran Merdeka on Sunday, which is New Year's Eve.

In a posting on Facebook, the unnamed organisers of the V for Merdeka flashmob called on Malaysians to don Guy Fawkes masks in symbolic protest to demand "real democracy" in 2012.

"We will stage the final dramatic scene in the film V for Vendetta at Dataran Merdeka to show our common outrage against the many injustices and anti-democratic events that happened in Malaysia in 2011.

"We want to collectively say enough is enough, time for real democracy now in 2012!" the organisers say in their posting.

In the final scene of V for Vendetta, a popular film released by Warner Bros in 2005, the British Houses of Parliament are blown up in a bid to restore freedom and democracy.

The explosion occurs as fireworks go off to ring in the New Year, watched by thousands who don Guy Fawkes masks.

'Governments should be afraid of their people'

"Don't worry, there won't be any bombing! But there will be a symbolic building with a clock tower, fireworks and...V," the posting says, referring to the film's protagonist.

"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."

Those interested to join are urged to print out cut-outs of the mask posted on the site by the organisers.

"Put on your V masks during the countdown to midnight and watch as the fireworks go off. Our video and photo teams will capture this reenactment and spread it all over the world!" the posting says.

As of late this morning, 154 people have said that they would be attending the event.

The flashmob is linked to the Occupy Dataran movement, which is an independent grassroots youth initiative to "reclaim Dataran Merdeka as an open and democratic space for the people".

[Source: Mkini]

Where were you, Najib?

For once, it was such a relief that Najib did not turn up for the recent Christmas high tea gathering at the Subang Jaya Full Gospel Tabernacle.  At least, we didn't have to remove crosses, crucifixes or forbidding the choir from singing Christmas hymns.  It was such a different feel compared with the event last year, where everything was a put on to abide by the wishes of the prime minister.  This year, we have the presence of Opposition Leader, Anwar Ibrahim, and one can immediately feel the sincerity of the person when he went around shaking hands with well wishers.  I guess the Christians were glad that they were not once again  humiliated this year had he [Najib] turned up for the event.  Instead, to show the kind of respect of the church, he sent a third rate minister, Koh Tsu Koon, to represent him.  Would it had made any difference had he stayed at home?

[Pix courtesy of Malaysiakini]

Once again, HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone!

Merry Christmas, everyone

That will be the day, MACC

When I came across the headline "No one will be spared in NFC case, says MACC", in the Malaysia Chronicle, one song immediately came to mind

NOW SHOWING : The NFC Cow Scandal. NEXT CHANGE: The Navy Vessel Scandal

Over the last 10 years, we lost over RM1 trillion through illicit transfer.

To say that the Barisan Nasional government hides a monumental submerged portion of financial excesses and rip offs is an understatement.

In this context the current National Feedlot Corporation fiasco involving RM250 million is just a tip of the iceberg.

We are, in fact, readying ourselves now for the exposure of the next big financial scandal…and the next!

Immediately the next possible source of financial legerdemain, with all the necessary ingredients of manipulations and underhand moves, is certainly the cost of six offshore patrol vessels from Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd at RM1 billion each.

The cost has now increased by an unexplainable RM3 billion. How does Boustead get into the vessel building business?

Now, the history of the Malaysian Navy’s purchase of weaponry is a dismal one.

So, let’s get into a little history lesson.

Contract cost ballooned

The original contractor chosen to build Malaysia’s first generation naval vessels was PSC-Naval Dockyard. It was controlled by Amin Shah Omar Shah and his brothers.

(Amin Shah, 53, was reportedly a high-profile tycoon known for his close ties to former Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin. This was during the era of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

(Under the 1990s privatization programme advocated by Mahathir, Amin Shah was among the few bumiputera entrepreneurs who were able to secure government concessions and contracts. And one of these key contracts was the Naval Dockyard in Lumut.

(In 1995, the government privatised the Naval Dockyard to the then PSC Industries Bhd (PSCI), for RM300 million. Amin Shah had a substantial stake in this and the dockyard was renamed PSC-Naval Dockyard Sdn Bhd.

(In 1998, PSC-Naval Dockyard was awarded a mammoth RM24 billion contract to build 27 offshore patrol vessels for the Royal Malaysian Navy.)

By mid 2006, only two of the 27 offshore vessels (worth RM24 million) were delivered. But both failed to pass the pre-delivery trials.

There were 298 recorded complaints about the two boats, which were also found to have 100 and 383 uncompleted items aboard them respectively.

The original RM5.35 billion contract ballooned to RM6.75 billion by January 2007.

No payment vouchers or documents

The auditor also reported that the Defence Ministry had paid out RM4.26 billion to PSC up to December 2006 although only RM2.87 billion of work had been done, an overpayment of RM1.39 billion, or 48 percent.

In addition, Malaysia’s cabinet waived late penalties of RM214 million.

According to the Auditor General, 14 “progress payments” amounting to RM943 million were paid out to PSC from Dec 1999, but there were no payment vouchers or relevant documents dealing with the payments.

How did the government explain such blatant abuses of financial discipline?

On what authority was the ministry authorized to pay money for jobs not yet completely done or not even done yet?

The Auditor General attributed the failure to serious “financial mismanagement” and “technical incompetence” stemming from the fact that PSC had never built anything but trawlers or police boats before being given the contract.

These terms must be the world’s biggest oversimplification.

“Financial mismanagement” is plain corruption and “technical incompetence” is mental deficiency.

[Source: FMT]

Will Mahathir ever learn to keep his mouth shut when it does not concern him

This is a letter written by one Siddharthya Swapan Roy based in Maharashtra, India, who was incensed by the uncalled for remarks made by Mahathir about his country. He was in India where he advised that great democracy like India, with a history 8,000 years in the making, to be “less democratic and more dictatorial so that it can be rich like China”. Still, democracy was the best he hastened to add as his Indian listeners glared at him.

He also did not mention his own iron-fisted two decades-long rule which has brought Malaysia to a step away from ruin, but more likely than not, they already knew since his racist reputation precedes him whether he chooses to admit it or not.

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Dear Dr Mahathir,

A couple of days back I woke up to newspaper reports which quoted you as saying that India’s democracy is a hindrance to its development and, if we did away with the nuisance of democracy, we will become developed.

Well, sir, it is heartening to see your concern about India’s future, especially now that our own elected government has orphaned us. To read that someone from the outside cares about our development sounds so very nice.

But you see, sir, your (apparently) good intentions notwithstanding, your advice to Indians is, well how should I put it… ill-advised.

I’m not really sure if you know much about the history of our nation. Don’t get me wrong.

Going by facts like the general absence of news from Malaysian newspapers; the absence of anything but song and dance in your electronic media; the absence of bookstores that sell knowledgeable books (for example, ones from which you can learn about history and not how to get rich in six steps); the abundance of malls and the stark absence of libraries; the abundance of coaching centres that can make masseurs, air hostesses and a host of quick-fix technicians and the relative absence of centres of higher learning especially in the social sciences; and, above all, the fact that this insanely consumerist and hedonist Malaysia was made under your tutelage, makes me doubt your knowledge of the history of India or any nation for that matter.

So allow me to apprise you of the story of our independence.

We won independence from colonial rulers waging a long and tortuous battle. A battle that sought to replace a discriminatory, unjust and violent regime that had enslaved huge populations with one which was based on the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity.

India was home then, as is now and as will always be, to an immense diversity of people who spoke different tongues, prayed to different Gods, wore different clothes and had different political beliefs. These diverse people said to each other that – we, despite our differences, will strive to live and flourish together and make a sovereign nation which will be democratic, socialist and secular.

We did not anywhere say that we want to be Malaysia or for that matter China or the US.

In India, no one is above the law

We want to become a nation with a system that treats all its citizens as equal unlike your country that officially accords special rights to Malay Muslims calling them first-class citizens while relegating thousands of people of Tamil, Chinese and other ethnic origins.

Despite the fact that they have known no other land than Malaysia as their own, you denigrate them with the tag of being second-class citizens.

We try to work towards having a system wherein a person will grow according to his merit and hard work earning what she or he has rightfully earned.

You may be surprised to know that here in India making cartels based on identity, even if under the name of a holy cow called “Bumipuetra” or son of the soil is looked down upon by most of us.

Here, promoting the selective interests of one’s self or that of his kin is called corruption and nepotism and not, as you call it, development.

We are in fact fighting tooth and nail to arrest the scourge of corruption and (you’ll be shocked to know) get the guilty punished.

Here in India no one is above the law and many a times powerful public figures go to jail for being corrupt or subverting the law.

Now that we are at it, sir, I’m sure it would be interesting to know what the minorities of your country have to say – especially the jailed and beaten ones – about the development-democracy debate.

In fact, sir, your idea of development is largely at odds with many of us here.

Development is no substitute for values

What you did to the tropical forests and water bodies of Malaysia (that is, raze vast acres of them into oblivion to make way for big-buck oil palm plantations and piggeries and so on) would cause huge outrage among many of us who are looking for sustainable development.

We are yet to be unanimously convinced that making cemented roads – however broad, lining them with buildings, even if glass-covered and glossy, and putting cars on them, however fast – is a substitute for our valued bio-diversity.

Many of us are very convinced that displacing huge populations of native people for useless things like racing tracks is a blot on the word “development”.

There are many of us who find it a shameful and cruel hypocrisy that while your country has abundant and openly advertised sex tourism, it still whips women for being licentious!

Thanks to the culture of reading here, many of us know of your penchant for cruelty in your personal career.

A career during which you enacted despotic and violent acts at times in the name (your contorted version of) Islam and at times in the name of security and national interest.

We could recount how you rose to power annihilating huge numbers of your opponents and stayed there for over two decades, continuing your devious rule using tactics and schemes which are far beyond Machiavelli.

Many of us know about your vile Internal Security Act, which you used to crush political opposition – jailing them and putting in place a frail and near-sham democracy and placing the entire nation under a one-man rule of Umno for over two decades.

You will note that I have used words like “most of us”, “many of us” and have tried to stay away from absolute claims.

Misconstrued understanding of ‘development’

Besides the age-old Indian practice of accommodating different opinions, it is meant to recognise that there are people in this country, too, who think like you and will have applauded you for saying what you did.

They, too, think that roads are all that important and not the humans who walk on them or the ones who sleep beside them.

They have misconstrued the word development as development of personal wealth and that this “development” is a holy cow and everything including the rights and lives of fellow humans is of lesser priority.

Their money power helps them buy a lot of print space and electronic bandwidth so they may appear like the majority, but thankfully the truth is they aren’t.

The majority of us recognise and are willing to admit – and even discuss at length – that there are problems in our nation – including bad roads.

But they’ll quickly add that we intend to solve those not by lessening democracy but by ncreasing it.