1430H / 2009....Only CONSTANT is UNCERTAIN!

" You can fool SOME of the people ALL the time,

ALL the people SOME of the time

but NOT ALL the people ALL the time" ~Abe Lincoln~

Just came back from a wedding cum holiday up north (including Thailand). Things are bleak. Despite assurances by no less our DPM a few weeks back i.e. the economy is resilient, strong internal demand will ensure sustainability etc. etc...things are NOT what it seemed.

Based on qualitative interviews conducted on a random sample...the following were observed:-

• In Penang, staff in the semi-conductor industry are facing "pay cuts" and "forced leave".
  
• In Kulim, Kedah work in certain factory(ies) have reverted to "single shift". Elsewhere, on the outskirts of Alor Setar...a factory dealing with basic food neccesities will chalk-up losses in the millions if there is no government intervention.
  
• In KL, "businesses are closing down"....I personally know 5 business owners who are in various stages of shutting down their businesses.
  
• In Thailand, ...based on conversation with business owners in Padang Bezar, revenues and visitors have tumbled...compared to previous years

The "denial syndrome" or "everything is normal" statement have got to end. Concrete actions via stimulus packages, fiscal policy (BNM included) and the full gamut of initiatives available at the government's disposal have got to be utilised/undertaken BEFORE the slump worsens!

Let this be a Strong reminder to politicians(BN or PR) across the board - start doing what you are paid to do and what we elected you for vis-a-vis people's welfare......or else! One might just take a number and join the ranks of the unemployed!

Be Prepared for a NO-FRILLS & HARD WORK 2009! Happy New Year.

"A New Year, A New Start, A New Chapter, A New Beginning,

Forget the Bad, Cherish the Good,

I Sincerely Wish You & Family a very Blessed New year Ahead!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009"

~ received via SMS from my Bang Long in JB ~

ASEAN CHARTER.......tentative steps towards ASEAN UNION?

"...short of a Military Intervention,

there will NOT be a regime change in Myanmar"

~ anonymous ~

Yesterday, I attended a talk by Tan Sri Ahmad Fuzi(ambassador at large) on " ASEAN Charter: Moving Forward" organised by Asia-Europe Institute (AEI) as part of their Ambassadors Lecture. Kudos to the speaker as he managed to elucidate the ASEAN mechanisms and brought me up to speed in less than an hour what my friends doing the International Masters in ASEAN Studies(IMAS) takes hours to learn.

Matters that piqued me:-

• ASEAN Charter have "come to force" i.e. ratified in December 2008.


• USA was the first country to appoint an ambassador to ASEAN. However, the Japanese ambassador(Masahiko Horie) pointed out that Japan had appointed a "dedicated ambasador" to ASEAN back in October...unlike the US ambassador who is in lieu of another word "multi-tasking".


• Secretariat of ASEAN have an operating budget of just USD 10 million annually.


• ASEAN have more than 700 meetings yearly... However, this pales in comparison to the European Union who conducts hundreds of meetings monthly.

PS: I first met H.E. Masahiko Horie in February 2008 in Cyberjaya during the launch of DreamEDGE Malaysia and found him to be a very affable, approachable and hardworking ambassador. I believe it's a matter of time before his promotion as his services would be required elsewhere.

JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE!!! ...We Are NOT Living in UTOPIA

" JUSTICE is KNOWING the JUDGES who DECIDES,
DEMOCRACY;
is KNOWING the PEOPLE who COUNTS the VOTES "

Much brouhaha have been said about the importance of Judicial Independence (JI). The notion sounds good and appeals to the hoi polloi but, the fact remains that Judicial Independence as a concept is USELESS if the judges aren't impartial.

In MALAYSIA, the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is supposed to be the first step towards JI.....but even then who can say to a science that the judges nominated won't be biased based on the premise of religion, race, culture, experience, sex or age!

In USA...the so-called benchmark by Hollywood aficionados as a being bastion of JI, selection/nomination of judges to the Supreme Court is based on which party(Democratic or Republican) is holding power. Republicans tend to nominate judges who are more conservative and pro-life whilst Democrats will be skewed towards nominating liberal and pro-choice judges. One can argue till the cows come home but, can anyone prove that the judges nominated are impartial? With an average age of 68 who dare argue that they won't be biased towards the young! Coincidentally, the USA was home to the first recorded terrorist in the modern world.

In UK...who can prove or disproves the notion that Law lords and judges are not biased in favour of English culture and conservatism when deciding cases involving cross-culture matters. Even the term "LAW LORDS" smacks of the "hollier than thou" attitude....as if they were a cohorts of Demi-Gods!

JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE remains an illusion which is an abstract in concept unless a judge's impartiality can somehow be solidified. JI.....Anywhere in the WORLD???

......COME ON! Unless, I've died and when to heaven....or, am dreaming of Utopia and Shangri la in the same dream.

MALAYSIAN POLITICS 101

I've just finished a course on Malaysian Politics taught by Dr. Sivamurugan Pandian from USM. My group had to make 2 presentations and we presented on:-

• "Bracing for Malaysia's Future: post-Mahathir, 2002" and,


• "Selection of Candidates in Election: A Comparative Study between 2 Political Parties in Malaysia - UMNO & PAS"....Our heartfelt thanks go to Tan Sri Sanusi Junid & Haji Ishak Surin for giving us the interviews and providing us with valuable insights as to how their respective candidates are selected and the process flow.

After the course, I went around asking my classmates(especially the international students) as to what they will remember on Malaysian politics or, what their conclusion will be.

Some of their frank responses:-

1) There's more action and drama in Malaysian politics as compared to European politics...(in Europe, calling a politician a homosexual will not have its desired effect. However, parading matresses is something else!)

2) The incarcenation of nonsense...We have the same SHIT where I come from!
3) Hussein Onn is the most brilliant Malaysian PM.......he choose Mahathir!

4) Anwar Ibrahim is an ANGEL...as he was accussed of being involved in unnatural sex when the building is not in existence(before the prosecution amended the charge). Therefore, he must have WINGS which only angels have!

5) The European political parties should sent delegations to Malaysia for study visits/in-depth study so as to create more excitement for the average observer.

Refreshing answers.....GO FIGURE!