Decision Making

A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in use while the other disused.

Only one child played on the disused track, the rest on the operational track.

The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange.

You can make the train change its course to the disused track and save most of the kids.

However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed.

Or would you rather let the train go its way?

Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision we could make........ ........









Scroll down .......









Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one child.

You might think the same way, I guess.

Exactly, to save most of the children at the expense of only one child was rational decision most people would make, morally and emotionally.

But, have you ever thought that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place?

Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was.

This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday.

In the office, community, in politics and especially in a democratic society, the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are.

The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined.

And in the case he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for him.

The great critic Leo Velski Julian who told the story said he would not try to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids playing on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in use, and that they should have run away if they heard the train's sirens..

If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to that track! Moreover, that track was not in use probably because it was not safe.

If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake!

And in your attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.

While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made,
we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right one.

'Remember that what's right isn't always popular... and what's popular isn't always right.'

Everybody makes mistakes; that's why they put erasers on pencils.

R. Seetha - May she rest in peace

The woman who fed paraquat to her four children and herself apparently out of grief over her brother's death died at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah hospital (TARH) today.

R. Seetha, 31, who was admitted to the hospital a week ago with her three daughters and son, died at about 3pm of multiple organ failure as a result of paraquat poisoning.

Human Rights Party (HRP) information chief S. Jayathas said Seetha's husband Manimaran and HRP leader P. Uthayakumar were by her side when she died.

The mother of four was said to have taken the poisonous substance after being overwhelmed with grief following her brother's death.

Her brother Surendran was among the five youths, aged between 17 and 24, killed in a police shootout in Klang on Nov 9.

The housewife had also given the poison to her children, apparently telling them that if they drank it, they could go to their uncle.

The children are reportedly out of danger and in stable condition.

Human Rights Party (HRP) leader P Uthayakumar told Malaysiakini that Seetha died at 3.05pm at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang.

He said the doctor had classified the death as "poisoning due to paraquat with multiple organ failure."

Previously, Uthayakumar had warned that if Seetha died, he would take her coffin to Parliament as a mark of protest against what he described as the 'summary execution' of Indian Malaysians suspected to be involved in criminal activities.

1Malaysia, 56th in Transparency International's corruption perception index for 2009

(Image source - Malaysiakini )

Malaysia suffered a major blow in terms of combating corruption today when it fell to its worst ranking and score in 15 years in Transparency International's corruption perception index for 2009.

In the ranking which was revealed today Malaysia plunged nine places from last year's 47th CPI ranking to 56th position.

At the same time, Malaysia's CPI index score plunged to the lowest in 15 years to 4.5. It previous worst scores below 5 were 4.8 in 2000 and 4.9 in 2002.

Malaysia has been continuously sliding down in the TI index since it best ever placing of 33 in 2002.

In 2003, when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took office, Malaysia was ranked 37. It dropped to 39 in 2005 and 43 in 2007. Last year it was ranked 48.

DAP parliamentarian leader Lim Kit Siang, in an immediate reaction, said while he had expected a poor result, he did not anticipate such a grave fall.

"This is a national shame and major blow for Najib's premiership," he said.

"I have no doubt that the mysterious death of DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock on July 16 and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's role as Umno's catspaw to declare war on Pakatan Rakyat instead of declaring war on corruption were major factors for Malaysia's worst-ever TI CPI ranking and score," he said.

He questioned if Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will react to the embarrassing fall suffered by Malaysia. ( Read more here )


Singapore tied in 3rd place with Sweden in latest Corruption Perception Index 2009, scored 9.2 points out of 10 points.

Top marks went to New Zealand with 9.4 points and Denmark with 9.3 points.

Switzerland had a score of 9.0.

These scores reflect political stability, long-established conflict of interest regulations and solid, functioning public institutions.

Transparency International said 180 countries were surveyed for the 2009 Corruption Perception Index, the same number as last year.

Scoring the lowest points were Somalia, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sudan and Iraq.

The results showed that countries perceived most corrupt were also plagued with long standing conflicts which have torn apart their governance infrastructure.

Dr M "Anwar Ibrahim does not know anything about the economy."

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad believes that Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor Anwar Ibrahim does not know anything about the economy.

"He is a good speaker but not about economics. If you want to bankrupt Selangor, that's the good advisor.

"Of course, you pay him RM1, you'll get RM1 worth,"

Mahathir said that Anwar, when he was in the Cabinet as finance minister, almost brought down Malaysia to its knees during the financial crisis.

"He adopted the International Monetary Fund and made the matter worse. I don't think he knows anything about (the) economy," he said when commenting on Anwar's appointment as economic advisor to the Selangor Government.

Mahathir himself had his ambitions, initiatives, and plans, and launched his favored projects with flourishes of economic nationalism. Yet many of those pet projects entailed huge problems, flaws, and abuses. Moreover, Mahathir’s policies were inconsistent, and several of his major policy turns were in fact “U-turns” made in response to crises, some of which were created by him, albeit unwittingly.

Mahathir and Daim had Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim suspend KLSE rules to allow the leading crony UEM-Renong conglomerate to organize a bailout. That move caused the stock market capitalization to fall by RM70 billion, or 20 percent, in three days in November 1997.

Mahathir government had established Danaharta, Danamodal, and the Corporate Debt Restructuring Committee to restore banking liquidity, manage non-performing loans, re-capitalize banks, and restructure the banking system and major conglomerates. Now it has become clear that the efforts of these three agencies were variously biased and abused, in practice if not in intent.

When it took over billions of ringgit of corporate debt, the government hardly penalized the borrowers. Ostensibly this was because some of them were said to have been performing “national service” with their borrowings. Moreover, the government used public funds to “re-nationalize” privatized assets at prices far exceeding market levels. Critics charged that the regime’s cronies were doubly blessed – first by benefiting from privatization, and then by walking away unscathed from their debts and liabilities. Despite such abuses, Danaharta, Danamodal, and the Corporate Debt Restructuring Committee managed to restore essential liquidity.

Besides, the government’s absorption of corporate losses reached new heights under Mahathir. Perwaja, the steel-making corporation, is a spectacular failure, having lost more than RM10 billion by the mid-1990s. Bank Bumiputra Malaysia was scarcely better. Before it was acquired by Bank of Commerce, Bank Bumiputra had been re-capitalized several times with several billion ringgit of public funds.

As yet, there is no careful accounting of the losses associated with privatization followed by re-nationalization. Public assets were privatized at a discount, but re-nationalized at premiums that were enjoyed by their non-performing beneficiaries. In short, we have experienced 20 years of privatizing profits and profitable assets, and socializing losses and liabilities.

BN government is waging a war of revenge against the Indian community ?

Ipoh Barat DAP secretary P. Sugumaran has accused the Barisan Nasional (BN) government of waging a war of revenge against the Indian community by ordering the police to kill suspected criminals, saying that the police had no right to pass judgement without first asking them to surrender.

“Their actions are clearly the BN’s political agenda to take revenge on the Indian community in the country.

“But how different are they from the suspected criminals they murder when their actions are tantamount to a criminal act in itself?” Sugumaran said in a statement here yesterday.

He cited the Nov 8 incident in Klang when the police had shot dead five robbers during a high-speed car chase and the recent shooting of the Deva Gang leader in Penang.

The fatal shooting of the five members of the PCO Boy gang in Klang triggered an outcry by Indian politicians including former Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders.

Police killings were among the reasons for Hindraf’s massive street protest in 2007, and helped swing Indian sentiment tremendously against the Barisan Nasional (BN) in last year’s general election.

It remains a volatile issue. Six days ago, police shot dead the five they said were responsible for at least 10 armed robberies around Klang Valley since last year.

Selangor Criminal Investigations Department chief Hasnan Hassan was quoted as saying that the men, aged between 24 and 30, had been known to injure their victims. Police also seized a semi-automatic Remington .45 pistol, five swords and a machete.

The shooting stirred even greater controversy after the sister of one of the dead suspects tried to kill herself and her four children two days ago.

R. Seetha, 33, fed weedkiller to her children, aged between three and nine, and then drank it herself. Her family said she was distraught over the death of her brother Surenthiran, 24. Her husband Manimaran said his wife was extremely close to her brother. All five are still in hospital.

Meanwhile, Malaysiakini reported that lorry driver M Manimaran,the husband of seetha, was arrested this afternoon and taken to the Gemencheh police station for questioning.

"The police think his wife had taken poison because of a misunderstanding with him. They are saying he caused her to attempt suicide as he was having an affair and had ill-treated his family," said Human Rights Party information chief S Jayathas.

Following that Seetha's father R Rampathy lodged a police report at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital police beat to state that the police arrest was an attempt to divert the attention away from the real situation.

He said that the police wanted to wash off any responsibilities over Seetha's situation which was caused by them killing her younger brother.

In his report he said that he came to know that the police and the hospital authorities had forced Seetha to sign a declaration to state that her decision to consume paraquat had nothing to do with her brother being killed by the police.

Selangor Criminal Investigation Chief Datuk Hasnan Hassan denied the arrest, he said M. Manimaran was only asked to help in the investigations.

In 1Malaysia, the word "Allah" should be used only by Muslims

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said his country wishes to join Malaysia in proving to the world that Islam is in tandem with modern democracy.

He said the republic also wanted to be together with other Muslim countries in developing a model and proving that Islam too shared the same values as the other civilisations.

"Tun Musa Hitam (a former deputy prime minister of Malaysia) is right, Indonesia like Malaysia wishes to prove that there is no conflict between democracy and Islam. I had just spoken at Harvard University (in the United States) that it is not true that Islam and democracy are incompatible.

"Let us prove that Islamic values also contain values possessed by other civilisations," he said when delivering a speech at a luncheon in conjunction with his official visit to this country.

Is Islam in tandem with modern democracy in 1Malaysia ?

According to a Malaysiakini report, Weekly Catholic newspaper The Herald has lost its publishing permit for next year amid a long-running dispute over its use of the word "Allah".

The government has argued that the word "Allah" should be used only by Muslims, who dominate the population of Malaysia.

The Herald's editor, Father Lawrence Andrew said the Home Ministry cancelled the new permit without any reason.

The Roman Catholic Church has waged a two-year legal battle with Malaysian authorities over the use of the word "Allah".

The row is among a string of religious disputes that have erupted in recent years, straining relations between Muslim Malays and minority ethnic Chinese and Indians who fear the country is being "Islamised".

Earlier this month, Christian groups said that the government seized 15,000 Bibles, most of which were to be sent to the eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak, where the Malay language is most commonly used among people of all religions.

The reason given by the authorities, which was that the Bibles were 'prejudicial to public order'.

Kickdefella gets the "kick" from Pas

The movie director, who achieved blog-fame for using movie posters on his blog to take jabs at Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when he was PM (the name of his blog was inspired by Pak Lah), joined the PAS state goverment of Kelantan one year before the March 2008 by-election where he used the media, especially the new media, to help improve PAS' appeal to Malaysians outside Kelantan.


From Malaysiakini:

The ongoing graft probe at Kelantan Chief Minister Incorporated (PMBK) has resulted in the sacking of its corporate liaison officer Syed Azidi Syed Abdul Aziz.

Popularly known by his Internet pen name Kickdefella, Syed Azidi in an entry in his blog, said he learnt about the termination of his contract with PMBK at noon yesterday.

The speculation is that his sacking was related to the ongoing Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigations against PBMK chief executive officer Mohd Ariffahmi Abdul Rahman.

MACC has yet to reveal its reasons for probing PMBK and Ariffahmi, the son-in-law of Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Aziz Nik Mat, but it is believed to be over financial improprieties.

Syed Azidi said that since the MACC began investigations into PMBK, he had been a victim of many spurious accusations by those who have been brought in for questioning.

He said he would be holding a press conference tomorrow to clear his name before returning to his home in Kuala Lumpur.

He also suggested a possible rift between his detractors and Nik Aziz, who is also the chairperson of PMBK.

"I will stand firmly behind the menteri besar throughout the investigations," wrote Syed Azidi, a staunch supporter of Husam Musa, one of Nik Aziz's protege and state exco member.

Denies involvement

Syed Azidi said that upon learning of his termination, he had met Nik Aziz to accept the termination notice and sought the latter's advice on how to take an oath based on Islamic traditions.

He said he then took an oath in front of the MB denying he was responsible for reports of corrupt practices in PMBK to the MACC.

He also denied divulging information about the corporation to Umno politician and Nenggiri state assemblyperson Mat Yusof Abdul Ghani.

PMBK is an investment arm of the state government directly under the control of the Menteri Besar's office.

Ariffahmi was appointed as chief operating officer in 2008 before being promoted as CEO two months ago. He was questioned twice by the MACC, while his chief financial officer was questioned last Thursday, where several documents including financial statements were seized.

Penamatan Kontrak Serta Merta

Tengahari tadi sejurus selepas saya tiba ke Kota Bharu dari tugas rasmi di Kuala Lumpur, saya dimaklumkan bahawa kontrak perkhidmatan saya dengan Perbadanan Menteri Besar Kelantan telah ditamatkan dengan serta merta.

Sebaik menerima makluman itu, saya menemui YAB Tuan Guru Haji Nik Abdul Aziz Bin Nik Mat, Menteri Besar Kelantan dan Pengerusi Perbadanan Menteri Besar Kelantan.

Di dalam pertemuan pada 2.45pm di Pejabat Menteri Besar Kelantan saya telah,

1. Mengucapkan jutaan terima kasih diatas kepercayaan Tuan Guru selama ini terhadap saya.
2. Memaklumkan bahawa saya menerima penamatan serta merta ini dengan tanpa rasa terkilan.

Saya kemudiannya meminta YAB Menteri Besar mengajar saya bagaimana untuk bersumpah mengikut syarak kerana saya ingin bersumpah dihadapannya bahawa,

1. Saya tidak pernah membuat sebarang aduan/laporan kepada SPRM berhubung PMBK.
2. Saya tidak pernah memberi sebarang maklumat kepada Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri Barisan Nasional dari Nenggiri berhubung PMBK sewaktu Sidang DUN yang lalu.

Setelah melafazkan apa yang ingin saya lafazkan, saya mengucup tangan YAB Menteri Besar dan meminta maaf sekiranya ada kesilapan di pihak saya sepanjang perkhidmatan saya dan meminta dihalalkan makan minum dan gaji yang saya terima selama ini.

Perjumpaan tersebut disaksikan oleh Setiausaha Politik Menteri Besar.

Semenjak Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia memasuki premis Perbadanan Menteri Besar Kelantan, terdapat tuduhan-tuduhan dari pihak-pihak yang ditemubual oleh SPRM terhadap saya.

Saya akan berdiri teguh di belakang YAB Menteri Besar sepanjang siasatan ini.

Esok saya akan membuat sidang media untuk menjelaskan dan membersihkan nama saya dari segala tuduhan yang dilemparkan dan kemudiannya akan terus pulang ke Kuala Lumpur.

Perjuangan Belum Selesai.

Patah Sayap Terbang Jua.

Syed Azidi Syed Abdul Aziz

Kampung Demit