My views on the Perak 'crisis'.

There's already enough articles on the net talking about this issue. Most of my friends, though, support the notion that BN was in the absolute wrong in the Perak crisis. I would like to disagree with them slightly on this issue. Although I detest the way BN handled the Perak crisis, it is the method which BN try to 'justify' their claims that I disagree, not the claim itself.

Technically, there is absolutely nothing wrong about claiming majority in Perak because the truth is BN DOES HAVE majority. You may not like how BN got its majority, but this doesn't change the fact and defection is perfectly legal, though it may not be ethical. They (the defectors) could do it (defect), though they should not have do it.

You may claim that 'the people' disagreed with these defections. But, the people had their chance in the last general election and we screwed it. Whether it's a deception or just bad luck, we voted and it turned out that we had 'bad eye-sight' and we misjudged the character of some of our representatives (note: we were wrong in the judgement of the person but not necessarily the party). Technically, it is absolutely not necessary to go through another election to decide whether the people does indeed disagree with the defections. Election is important, but this is not a process that we have to go through over and over again to settle disputes. At least, technically, this is not a requirement. Besides, the so-called people who disagreed with the defections are the 50+% people that voted for the opposition in the general election a year ago. Even if 55% agree with Pakatan, there'd still be 45% that disagree. Are those 45% not also 'people'? The opposition have always claim that democracy is not just about majority but also about the respect for the minority. And they should stop being a hypocrite now.

What that may have gone wrong is that BN was too impatient and couldn't wait to table the vote of no confidence. What may have gone wrong is that the Sultan of Perak has decided to act a bit too quickly. If BN just waited for the next meeting to table the vote of no confidence, none of this would have happened, and BN would have won it fair and square. But perhaps there is a good reason for BN to be impatient. 'Frogs' like to jump a lot. One day they can jump here, another day they can jump elsewhere. So it was perhaps important for them to seize the day.

Initially, I was very reluctant to write this post because BN already has enough ammunition against the Pakatan (BN controls police, the courts and the mainstream media), and I didn't want to add any more ammunition for a government that I did not vote for. But I figured, if n>>0, then n+1≈n. I'm that small and I probably wouldn't matter. =D

However, as I have said earlier, what I was totally disgusted was the manner which BN handled the so-called crisis. The way BN control the courts, the police, the mainstream media were totally disgusting. The confiscation of Pakatan's DVDs of the May 7 events but did nothing for BN's 'showcase' of the same thing days later was utter double standard; denying detainees the access to lawyers; dragging of the 'former' speaker of Perak, etc. All the detentions that has happened so far was absolutely unnecssary. What was the danger of these protests? Some was just a 20 person candlelight vigil, what possible harm could that cause to the 'harmony' of the country? BN is going to win the courtcase and Zambry is going to be the CM anyway. So these 'aggressions' were totally unnecessary but was only used as a 'shock-and-awe' strategy to intimidate the people and democracy.

Again, I reiterate - it was the means the our PM has sought to justify the claims that has disgusted me and make me wonder after this person's ethic and worry about our future since he is our leader for years to come.

Another question is that does the Sultan has the absolute power and discretion to refuse the CM's request to dissolve the assembly? Or to appoint a new CM once the former CM has ceased to command the confidence of the assembly?

I'm not a lawyer by profession. So I do not know if the Sultan does really have the abovementioned powers. But I do feel that the Sultan SHOULD NOT HAVE those powers. It's a no-brainer (my former Senior Manager's favourite words) that Malaysia is not a feudal or monarchy state. We are not ruled by the Kings and Queens. As much as we respect our Sultan, and appreciate the royalty as an integral part of our heritage and identity, it is clear that the Sultan's power to rule the country is and must only be symbolic. This is what constitutional monarchy system should be about.

If the Sultan has the power to refuse the CM's or PM's request to dissolve the assembly, then the Sultan would be in indirect control of the date of the elections. This is unacceptable under the principle of democracy or a nation ruled by the people, of the people and for the people. Election is an integral part of a modern democratic nation and it is not an overstatement to claim that election is the single thing that a democratic nation cannot do without. Election is the sole process where people are able to 'rule' the nation and it is the mechanism that most clearly differentiates us from the obsolete monarchy system of the past. The CM is elected by the people, and therefore has been entrusted by the people to decide when to dissolve the state assembly and call for the next election. The Sultan, on the contrary, isn't.

If the Sultan also has the power to elect a new CM, once the current CM has ceased to command the confidence of the assembly. Then this would mean that the Sultan will have, at its complete subjective discretionary, the power to decide whether one has ceased to command the confidence. This would be disaster for democracy. It would mean that the Sultan can just choose whoever to be our country's leader. Then how would this system differ from one of the feudal or monarchy state in our history books, which countless nations fought so hard to get-rid off? (In the history of Malaysia, this has never occured because we were colonised since 1511. But if we look at the history of France (French Revolution), China (the fall of the dynasties), U.K. (Oliver Cromwell), etc. this is not uncommon.)

I am of course not asking to get rid of our Sultan or the royalty. I have a lot of respect for the Sultan and the instituition. But I failed to understand his decision this time round but I'm sure he has his reasons for choosing to do so. However, other than saying that he has the right to do so, he has said so little else about his decision. I hope to hear more from him soon in the press.


************************************************************
If you are unsure about what actually happened in Perak, refer to the comment I posted here.

Where's Einstein?

Ever since I step foot onto Cambridge University, I've been asking myself this question. Where are all the Einstein?

Ok, there are smart students. Abundance of them. But I haven't met many people that I could use the word 'genius' on them.

That is, until, I stepped into the world-famous Cavendish Lab today. I talked to a handful of researchers there and immediately I knew that here's where all the "Einsteins" are. It's difficult to describe in exact words, but suffice to say that the people there are 'hard-core'. I need to hang out with them more...

(FYI, up to before this, I reserve the word 'genius' only for my friend Foong Yake Ho)

Gandhi alive and well in Malaysia!

OMG.....

if there's another Mandela or Gandhi, I doubt that he/she is here in Malaysia.

Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years. Let's see him detained under ISA for 27 years and then tell me he's willing to continue his fight. Of course, it's easy for him to 'talk big'. BN MPs are virtually immune to ISA detention (or detention under any other draconian laws in Malaysia for this matter).

And FYI, Mandela fought against the Apartheid. But you leh, Mr. Zambry? You fought FOR, not against, the semi-apartheid regime that BN has believed in for so many years.

Nice try Zambry.

This is just like the conversation I just had with my friend Cash Chow (again). As mentioned before that he is a fanatic Newcastle fan. So much so that he puts his club above his current employer, DAP. But you see, today Newcastle has finally managed a win after a series of loses. This long awaited win clawed Newcastle (just barely) out of the relegation zone, but yet Cash Chow says, "we're back!" in a tone like they've qualified for UCL. I have just two words for you la....just like Zambry, you "talk big".


********************************************************************8
In response to Zambry's suggestion that he is like Mandela/Gandhi here.

the mainstream media...

Noticed something of late? The mainstream media has only excerpts of speeches and media conferences from BN...

Where did Pakatan's MPs go? Well, I think I know where they went... (it was censored, the so-called 'balanced' report from our minister la!)

Let me know if you feel otherwise, or if you noticed the same trend.

A joke on democracy...

I don't understand why so many people are interested in the politics of middle east and the rising of China when politics in Malaysia is so much more "interesting".



This is a total freaking joke on democracy.

But like in the past, all crack-downs like this will soon be forgotten. I hope it won't be the same for this one. Let's remember May 7.

The perfect imperfections

I've watched this, not less than 10 times.
Every time, my eyes feel heavy. Every time, my tears urged to drop. But I held it.

It reminds of many things. Most importantly, it reminds me of my family. The quarrels we often had in the Chin's family is exactly like what the ad said, "in the end, it's this little small things that you remember. the little imperfections, that make them perfect, for you."

"...it was these imperfections, that reminds me that they are still here..."

Barca Barca Barca!!!

The bar was chanting, "Barca! Barca! Barca!"

This is why I love watching football in England. Even at the bar, the atmosphere was awesome!

I was just turning to tell my friend Zern Chu how good Iniesta is. He ran all over the pitch for 90 minutes, suffered no less than 7 fouls against him and is still doing all the passing for Barca. This is when he struck! Thundered into the back of the net!

"Barca! Barca! Barca!" I shouted along with the bar, clenching my fist in the air.

But, really, it wasn't Iniesta who should have got an award. Because...the Oscar goes to....Didier Drogba!!!! Really, Drogba, you the man.

1 Black Malaysia

垃圾，即刻放人 ！Release Wong Chin Huat and others NOW. If there was any glittering hope of Najib being a true change to Malaysian politics, this has quenched all our doubts - he is just another Mahathir.

I know I 've been putting Arsenal in priority instead of the 'big event' coming up today May 7 in Perak. But, well, what can I say...

My good friend Cash Chow described this most aptly. You see, he is an ultra-strong supporter of DAP and Newcastle. But on the msn few minutes ago he claimed that if BN took over Newcastle, he would have supported BN. That's how much he love Newcastle. And that's how much I love Arsenal too!

Anyway, I've not forgotten about May 7. 1 Black Malaysia, Democracy First, and Elections now. Since no one would be able to see me wearing black on this day anyway (because I'm the U.K.), and I do not have a black shirt, so I'm going to wear a black underwear instead...

Not dying this way...

Ok...when i said, "go die la", I did not mean this.

Someone hanged himself after Arsenal lost. That's too extreme...

Arsenal, go and die la...

Ronaldo is alone in front. He brings a long ball to his chest and uses his speed to go past Sagna, but he is soon closed down. With a turn, he sent in a cross into the penalty box. It seems harmless.

Kieran Gibbs is there to interce...he slipped!! Park Ji Sung has all the time in the world...he scores!!!!!!!!!!!

*******************************************************

He slipped? Yes, he slipped!!!!!!!!!!

Look Arsene Wenger (aka Arse and Wanker), I don't care how bleak the economy looks right now, but you had better invest in new players and a new tactic. Man Utd were like playing against school boys today.

Kieran Gibbs, Clichy, Eboue and Djourou at the defence? You gotta be kidding me. They are a bunch of jokers. Toure is always alone up against the entire attack squadron. And Walcott, he has speed alright. But besides that he has no technique, no upper body strength, no brains and no balls.

Maybe you want to say Arshavin? Yeah he's good alright. But that's because he hasn't been 'cultured' into an Arsenal player yet. Once his training under Arse n wanker is complete, he'll pick up the ball, look around for like 10 minutes and wait till all the defenders come back before passing to a striker guarded by 4 defenders. Once he has been properly 'assimilated', he will pass the ball when he is in the penalty box and not shoot. The reason because he's still such a brilliant player is because he isn't a full Arsenal player yet. And so he is a kinda 'surprise' to teams playing against Arsenal.

Yes, I know Chelsea, Liverpol and Man Utd all do that sometimes. They pass inside the penalty box. But NOT ALL THE TIME! Arsenal does it like 95% of the time. To base most of the team's strategy on slow passing game when you have a young, inexperience and poor technique squad is a bad idea.

You can't build a champion team by always selling off your players and bringing in the reserves and young players. These players need seniors to impart experience to them. Who is there to do that? Fabregas? Puhlezz, he's 21. Arsenal, you are like Ajax in the 90s! Wake up!

You used to be 1 or 2. Then 2 or 3. Now it's 3 or 4. Surely even a 3-year old can see this trend. Just connect the dots - it's a straight line with a -ve slope! Time has change, the top 3 is getting all the top players they can and yet they still can groom young players - take Ronaldo for example, he was brought to Man Utd at a very young age and look at him now. He's the World Player of the Year for god's sake. And who is Fabregas? The so-called most successful player ever to emerge from your ranks of young footballer. He's not even half the footballer Ronaldo is, although he is good. If Arsenal still do not invest this season, its demise will be inevitable.

******************************
The score was 2-0 when I walked away. Dejected.

Spring in Cambridge

In countries with 4 seasons, I get a more complete sense of time passing by.
In Malaysia, I will realise a year has passed only during CNY or X'mas.
But here, I'm reminded 4 times each year. Each time, by the transition of one season to another.

One season has passed since I'm in the UK...
And spring is finally here...


It's the time of the year where people get out to the fields and enjoy themselves..


Or have picnics...

and...
and what is this??????

This picture is definitely not taken in Malaysia. This car was parked right in front of my house in Cambridge, U.K. The original Proton Saga. Why buy Proton when you can get Volkswagen for the same price?!!?

In pursuit of happiness...

It's funny that when we pursue happiness, we can sometimes end up being sad. Sometimes, we get happiness by inflicting pain upon others. Happiness, is always about me and the rest of the world.

So, in an attempt to group people based on their methods of pursuing happiness, this is the categories that I came up with:

in order from the most evil and sad cases to the good and saints..



SADIST
Sad people, who not only is himself miserable but makes other people miserable too.
e.g. psychopath, college shooting in the U.S., parents who kill their own children when they divorce, people who hurt their ex girl-friend or ex boy-friend when they breakup.
*Only in small amounts but these people always make the headlines.

SLUMDOGS
Sad people, who incurs pain upon himself and has no whatsoever influence on anybody else.
e.g. drug addicts, people who live in extreme poverty, suicidal
*Many people on this planet is of this kind. 2nd most.

VILLAIN
Happy people, who makes himself happy by making other people miserable.
e.g. Hitler, Genghis Khan, George W. Bush, the British during colonial times, Japan during WW2.
*usually are those people with enormous amount of power. Fortunately, with enormous amount of power means that these kind of people/entity are usually small in numbers at any given time on this planet. Funny thing is, these people always call themselves a hero.

EARTHLING
Happy people, who himself is happy but has little or no influence on the larger community.
e.g. people who goes to work, comes back home, eats and sleeps, spends time with family, plays games or loves shopping. but doesn't care much or care very little about global and local politics or does not bother to do things to improve the world/community around he/she because he/she would think, "with or without me it doesn't make a difference". All they care about is the people immediately around him/her.
*70% of the population on this planet are of this type.

SAINT
Sad people, who sacrifices himself/herself for the greater good. Thus, making other people happy.
e.g. Ang San Suukyi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Galileo, YueFei, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Sun Yat-Sen
*These are the people who make it to the annals of our history. Great people whom who talk about for generations to come.
(note: you could claim that these people are 'happy' because they wanted to do it, they were willing and 'happy' to sacrifice themselves. I argue otherwise, because if given a choice, they would have done their great deeds without resorting to sacrifices. Therefore, I categorise them as 'sad'.)

THOU DOES NOT EXIST
Happy people, who himself is happy and is capable and willing to make other people happy too.
*Such person does not exist!!


**Obviously, I'm being a bit pessimist here. There are, of course, happy people who are making many other people happy.*