Abdullah : 'Bridge The Divides'
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has called on all Malaysians to bridge the divides that separate them and build on the similarities that connect them.
In his Christmas message, the prime minister said that Malaysians must not forget that they share the same future and destiny.
As Malaysians, the common and consistent desire had always been to enjoy peace and harmony of their beloved country, as well as to express goodwill and extend friendship to one another, he said.
"One way we achieve this is by sharing the celebrations of other Malaysians across all racial and religious differences. Let us respect our differences, and at the same time strengthen and celebrate our unity in diversity. The goodwill in us must always be nurtured and practised," he said in the message released by the Prime Minister's Department.
In wishing all Christians a Merry Christmas, Abdullah said that as prime minister of the country, he had dedicated himself to creating a thriving, progressive multiracial society living in peace and harmony, confident and competitive.
A Blessed Christmas : More Flood Evacuees In Johor Go Home
The situation in flood-hit Johor is improving with the number of evacuees dropping to 65,534 Monday morning, compared with 72,109 Sunday night but Muar registered an increase.
A state Social Welfare Department spokesman said the number in Muar, the district with the most evacuees, climbed to 25,191 from 23,685 last night.
The situation in Batu Pahat remained unchanged with 20,506 victims in the relief centres while in Johor Baharu, where the weather is bright and clear, there were still 24 evacuees.
Kota Tinggi had 7,832 evacuees, Kluang (2,137), Segamat (7,522), Pontian (1,309) and Mersing (1,013). A total of 190 relief centres had been closed, leaving 270 still open, he said.
In Kluang, despite the fine weather, the reading at the Machap Dam was still at the danger level at 17.34m while that in Sungai Mengkibol was at the alert level at 23.82m and Sungai Kahang registered a reading of 8.43m, which is above the danger level of 7m, according to a spokesman of the Kluang Drainage and Irrigation Department.
A Kluang police flood operations room spokesman said Jalan Kluang heading towards Mersing through Felda Nitar was still closed at Km115 and motorists were advised to use Jalan Kluang-Jemaluang to get to Mersing while one lane on the stretch heading towards Segamat through the Lam Lee area has been opened to light vehicles.
More updated news at JB Talk Here.
THIS is the usual season to be merry but the joy has been doused in many places by the country’s worst floods in decades. The floodwaters have snatched away eight lives and forced thousands of families to flee their homes. M.VEERA PANDIYAN wrote "Yet again, a case of too little, too late"
Losses caused by damage to infrastructure, power stations, businesses, properties and possessions are certain to be colossal when they are finally added up.
To add insult to injury, the murky waters also exposed the ugly side of Malaysians who did not hesitate to plunder or shamelessly profit from the misery of others. Thankfully, the majority have yet again shown the true spirit of the country through their deluge of human kindness.
Ordinary folk, organisations and companies have joined the government in contributing cash, a wide range of food, bottled water and other basic necessities for the flood victims.
It is most painful for the average wage earner and the poor who have lost their furniture, beds, clothes along with items like stoves and refrigerators at a time when they usually need more money to prepare for the next school year. Hopefully, much more can be done to help lift them from the water-borne wretchedness.
Credit must be given to the various government agencies and organisations for responding to the disaster quickly, especially in evacuating people and in supplying food and water, although assistance to victims cut off in some flooded towns and villages came rather late.
Our calamity response machinery works efficiently and effectively but it is a different story when it comes to preventing disasters or being prepared for them. The easy way out for the authorities, of course, is to blame God.
Let’s look at how we handled this one. When it rained unusually for more than 24 hours in the central and southern part of the peninsula, didn't alarm bells ring somewhere?
Even if such a phenomenon only occurs once in a few decades, shouldn’t it have been obvious that rivers in the areas would overflow their banks and there would be massive floods downstream within a day or two?
There was plenty of time to warn people to leave their homes, remove belongings to higher ground, clear smaller vehicles off the roads, identify places that are likely to be hardest hit, mobilise reserve police units, Rela and other volunteer corps, rescue boats and put in place other preventive steps.
To be fair, the Meteorological Services Department did issue a Red Alert warning but by that time the floods had already struck most of Johor and parts of Malacca.
Many of those who ended up in evacuation centres were wondering why they were not warned earlier. In some new housing schemes, the water rose to a metre within an hour, leaving people little time to rush home and save their belongings.
Perhaps it's time for the Government to review the scope and duties of the National Disaster Committee. In the case of floods, the committee should swing into action before they hit, beginning with the issuance of appropriate warnings. This will help minimise the misery and reduce losses from damage.
Experts, including Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Environment and Development Institute director Prof Ibrahim Komoo, believe that more such floods will be coming our way, based on the changing weather patterns.
If they are right, within a period of between 10 and 20 years, Malaysia will experience higher than usual rainfall at certain times of the year, resulting in massive floods, such as the one that hit the country in 1971.
No thanks to poor planning and profit-derived development policies, many of our housing schemes are already located along the natural flood plains, never mind the cutting of more and more hill slopes for new housing projects that have resulted in landslides and flash floods.
We cannot undo the damage done in the past but we can at least learn how to be safer than being sorry in the future.
Pak Lah, Worry About the Rakyats’ Rice Bowl Instead
(Co-written with Din Merican)
Editorial lead: This is not the time to be nice to any individual. It is time to be nice to ALL Malaysians and worry about their pots of rice.
As he enters his fourth year as Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi still does not get it! He is concerned with his son-in-law’s pot of rice, not that of the rakyats’. Since he cannot brag about the nation’s economic achievements under his leadership, he is reduced to boasting of his son’s wealth. There is no glory if his son (and son-in-law) were rich but the nation poor.
Someone ought to tell him that he was elected to lead Malaysia, not to take care of the well being of his grown-up family, its friends and cronies. His advisers and family members have convinced him that those critics are out to bring him down. If Abdullah persists with his present pattern, rest assured that this belief would be self-fulfilling.
Abdullah should ponder the fate of another leader who was consumed with filling in the rice pots of his family members. Suharto’s downfall was ugly for him, as well as for his family and Indonesia.
Abdullah hides behind accusing his critics of fitnah, a particularly sinister term replete with profound religious implications. That is just a case of yet another rouge politician seeking subterfuge behind religion.
Being intellectually lazy, Abdullah conveniently cocoons himself and is thus shielded from the harsh realities. There he was a few months ago rationalizing that he was just “warming up!” Now he pronounces himself satisfied with his performance! It sure does not take much to make him satisfied, the smug satisfaction of low expectation.
The Curious Silence of Many
Abdullah is impervious to the plight of the poor devastated by his recent reduction of oil subsidy. The demands by civil servants for a 40 percent pay hike reflect the general increasing cost and declining standard of living.
Gone are his promises of open tenders and competitive biddings. Mega projects like the second Penang link and the new palace are being awarded without much discussion or formal tender processes. He has yet to deny disbursing RM600 million to UMNO operatives at the recent General Assembly, the most obscene and expensive display of money politics. Six months after the cancellation of the crooked bridge in Johore and there is still no full accounting of the total costs, including the hefty penalty payments. He spent hundreds of millions on the Monsoon Cup for a sporting event that hardly registered on the Malaysian consciousness.
The self-serving behaviors of his advisors ensconced on the infamous “fourth floor” of the Prime Minister’s Office are understandable; their very positions depend on their ability to humor the old man. As for his family members, there is the traditional Asian filial loyalty: the father being always right, the son (or son-in-law) always the prince. That will never change with Malays, Oxbridge education notwithstanding.
As for the others, there is the residuum of feudal Malay culture: the sultan is always right, challenge him at your peril. Classical Malay literature is replete with heroes presumed to be derhaka (and suffered the fate) for daring to correct the wayward ways of their sultans. Hang Tuah was only the most famous. Whatever the sultan wishes, he gets, and more. Increasingly, Abdullah is behaving like a pseudo sultan, minus of course the heritage or even regal charm.
It Takes More Than A Leader To Destroy A Nation
Thanks to the British colonial legacy, our nation is governed by laws and institutions. Those laws and institutions however, are premised on having competent and honorable leaders and individuals to serve them. With the corrupt and the incompetent, even the best laws would eventually be circumvented, and robust institutions eroded.
Abdullah alone could not destroy Malaysia; his lack of engagement is perversely an assurance of that. His lack of diligence and attention however could by default let others ruin the country. If that were to happen, the blame must then be equally borne by his advisors, ministers, and senior politicians, pundits, and public servants. They let it happen.
There are men of integrity in Abdullah’s cabinet (not many), but they have remained curiously silent. They are either putting their careers ahead of the fate of the nation, or they condone Abdullah’s shenanigans and incompetence. Or both. We look forlornly for a local Robin Cook or Paul O’Neill in Abdullah’s cabinet, men who willingly gave up their cabinet positions to impress their conviction on their wayward leader. More recently, a bipartisan group of distinguished retired Americans told their president publicly and in no uncertain terms that his Iraq policy is deeply flawed.
As UMNO President, Abdullah is answerable to its members. Judging from their collective behaviors at the party’s recent General Assembly, do not expect them to provide responsible checks and balances.
If ministers and UMNO members cannot provide the necessary oversight, then surely there is the UMNO Supreme Council. Their members, except for the few appointed by Abdullah and thus beholden to him, are elected by the membership. Thus we would expect them to be independent. Yet they too have remained curiously silent.
As we look at the roster of distinguished Malaysians who are now retired, we are humbled by their accomplishments and contributions in academia, the professions, and public service. They too are silent. If they agree with the direction the nation is headed, they should voice their support so as to encourage the leadership to do more of the same. If they disagree, then they owe it to their fellow citizens to voice their concerns. Surely the whole country has not suddenly been gripped by mediocrity and low expectations. We cannot find any other explanation for this curious but far from elegant silence.
An African proverb has it that it takes a village to raise a child. Likewise, it would take more than just a leader to destroy a country. Saddam could not ruin Iraq without those “enablers” around him. They too must bore the blame.
When reality strikes and Malaysians find ourselves in an abyss, yes, we will blame Abdullah. We must also pour our wrath on those others complicit: his ministers, pundits, and intellectuals now singing his praise. That ought to make them pause and examine their stance; to have the courage to impress upon Abdullah of this reality before voters deliver their verdict in the next general elections.
Abdullah’s self-admitted poor time management is not an acceptable excuse. His frequent and obvious inattention and dozing off should not be tolerated. If the burden of the office is too much for Abdullah, his advisors, ministers, and senior UMNO politicians owe it to the nation to tell the man to give it up and let others more capable take the helm.
This is not the time to be nice to any one individual; it is a time to be nice and considerate to all Malaysians and to worry about their pot of rice. To remain competitive, Malaysians, leaders and followers alike, must work hard and smart. Malaysia does not need nor should she tolerate sleepy heads.
(Bakri Musa)
Malaysia Abdullah Flood Merry Christmas Rice Bowl
In his Christmas message, the prime minister said that Malaysians must not forget that they share the same future and destiny.
As Malaysians, the common and consistent desire had always been to enjoy peace and harmony of their beloved country, as well as to express goodwill and extend friendship to one another, he said.
"One way we achieve this is by sharing the celebrations of other Malaysians across all racial and religious differences. Let us respect our differences, and at the same time strengthen and celebrate our unity in diversity. The goodwill in us must always be nurtured and practised," he said in the message released by the Prime Minister's Department.
In wishing all Christians a Merry Christmas, Abdullah said that as prime minister of the country, he had dedicated himself to creating a thriving, progressive multiracial society living in peace and harmony, confident and competitive.
A Blessed Christmas : More Flood Evacuees In Johor Go Home
The situation in flood-hit Johor is improving with the number of evacuees dropping to 65,534 Monday morning, compared with 72,109 Sunday night but Muar registered an increase.
A state Social Welfare Department spokesman said the number in Muar, the district with the most evacuees, climbed to 25,191 from 23,685 last night.
The situation in Batu Pahat remained unchanged with 20,506 victims in the relief centres while in Johor Baharu, where the weather is bright and clear, there were still 24 evacuees.
Kota Tinggi had 7,832 evacuees, Kluang (2,137), Segamat (7,522), Pontian (1,309) and Mersing (1,013). A total of 190 relief centres had been closed, leaving 270 still open, he said.
In Kluang, despite the fine weather, the reading at the Machap Dam was still at the danger level at 17.34m while that in Sungai Mengkibol was at the alert level at 23.82m and Sungai Kahang registered a reading of 8.43m, which is above the danger level of 7m, according to a spokesman of the Kluang Drainage and Irrigation Department.
A Kluang police flood operations room spokesman said Jalan Kluang heading towards Mersing through Felda Nitar was still closed at Km115 and motorists were advised to use Jalan Kluang-Jemaluang to get to Mersing while one lane on the stretch heading towards Segamat through the Lam Lee area has been opened to light vehicles.
More updated news at JB Talk Here.
THIS is the usual season to be merry but the joy has been doused in many places by the country’s worst floods in decades. The floodwaters have snatched away eight lives and forced thousands of families to flee their homes. M.VEERA PANDIYAN wrote "Yet again, a case of too little, too late"
Losses caused by damage to infrastructure, power stations, businesses, properties and possessions are certain to be colossal when they are finally added up.
To add insult to injury, the murky waters also exposed the ugly side of Malaysians who did not hesitate to plunder or shamelessly profit from the misery of others. Thankfully, the majority have yet again shown the true spirit of the country through their deluge of human kindness.
Ordinary folk, organisations and companies have joined the government in contributing cash, a wide range of food, bottled water and other basic necessities for the flood victims.
It is most painful for the average wage earner and the poor who have lost their furniture, beds, clothes along with items like stoves and refrigerators at a time when they usually need more money to prepare for the next school year. Hopefully, much more can be done to help lift them from the water-borne wretchedness.
Credit must be given to the various government agencies and organisations for responding to the disaster quickly, especially in evacuating people and in supplying food and water, although assistance to victims cut off in some flooded towns and villages came rather late.
Our calamity response machinery works efficiently and effectively but it is a different story when it comes to preventing disasters or being prepared for them. The easy way out for the authorities, of course, is to blame God.
Let’s look at how we handled this one. When it rained unusually for more than 24 hours in the central and southern part of the peninsula, didn't alarm bells ring somewhere?
Even if such a phenomenon only occurs once in a few decades, shouldn’t it have been obvious that rivers in the areas would overflow their banks and there would be massive floods downstream within a day or two?
There was plenty of time to warn people to leave their homes, remove belongings to higher ground, clear smaller vehicles off the roads, identify places that are likely to be hardest hit, mobilise reserve police units, Rela and other volunteer corps, rescue boats and put in place other preventive steps.
To be fair, the Meteorological Services Department did issue a Red Alert warning but by that time the floods had already struck most of Johor and parts of Malacca.
Many of those who ended up in evacuation centres were wondering why they were not warned earlier. In some new housing schemes, the water rose to a metre within an hour, leaving people little time to rush home and save their belongings.
Perhaps it's time for the Government to review the scope and duties of the National Disaster Committee. In the case of floods, the committee should swing into action before they hit, beginning with the issuance of appropriate warnings. This will help minimise the misery and reduce losses from damage.
Experts, including Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Environment and Development Institute director Prof Ibrahim Komoo, believe that more such floods will be coming our way, based on the changing weather patterns.
If they are right, within a period of between 10 and 20 years, Malaysia will experience higher than usual rainfall at certain times of the year, resulting in massive floods, such as the one that hit the country in 1971.
No thanks to poor planning and profit-derived development policies, many of our housing schemes are already located along the natural flood plains, never mind the cutting of more and more hill slopes for new housing projects that have resulted in landslides and flash floods.
We cannot undo the damage done in the past but we can at least learn how to be safer than being sorry in the future.
Happy Holidays and Season’s Greetings to you, your family and friends!
May yours be a joyous and safe one!
Bakri Musa
Pak Lah, Worry About the Rakyats’ Rice Bowl Instead
(Co-written with Din Merican)
Editorial lead: This is not the time to be nice to any individual. It is time to be nice to ALL Malaysians and worry about their pots of rice.
As he enters his fourth year as Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi still does not get it! He is concerned with his son-in-law’s pot of rice, not that of the rakyats’. Since he cannot brag about the nation’s economic achievements under his leadership, he is reduced to boasting of his son’s wealth. There is no glory if his son (and son-in-law) were rich but the nation poor.
Someone ought to tell him that he was elected to lead Malaysia, not to take care of the well being of his grown-up family, its friends and cronies. His advisers and family members have convinced him that those critics are out to bring him down. If Abdullah persists with his present pattern, rest assured that this belief would be self-fulfilling.
Abdullah should ponder the fate of another leader who was consumed with filling in the rice pots of his family members. Suharto’s downfall was ugly for him, as well as for his family and Indonesia.
Abdullah hides behind accusing his critics of fitnah, a particularly sinister term replete with profound religious implications. That is just a case of yet another rouge politician seeking subterfuge behind religion.
Being intellectually lazy, Abdullah conveniently cocoons himself and is thus shielded from the harsh realities. There he was a few months ago rationalizing that he was just “warming up!” Now he pronounces himself satisfied with his performance! It sure does not take much to make him satisfied, the smug satisfaction of low expectation.
The Curious Silence of Many
Abdullah is impervious to the plight of the poor devastated by his recent reduction of oil subsidy. The demands by civil servants for a 40 percent pay hike reflect the general increasing cost and declining standard of living.
Gone are his promises of open tenders and competitive biddings. Mega projects like the second Penang link and the new palace are being awarded without much discussion or formal tender processes. He has yet to deny disbursing RM600 million to UMNO operatives at the recent General Assembly, the most obscene and expensive display of money politics. Six months after the cancellation of the crooked bridge in Johore and there is still no full accounting of the total costs, including the hefty penalty payments. He spent hundreds of millions on the Monsoon Cup for a sporting event that hardly registered on the Malaysian consciousness.
The self-serving behaviors of his advisors ensconced on the infamous “fourth floor” of the Prime Minister’s Office are understandable; their very positions depend on their ability to humor the old man. As for his family members, there is the traditional Asian filial loyalty: the father being always right, the son (or son-in-law) always the prince. That will never change with Malays, Oxbridge education notwithstanding.
As for the others, there is the residuum of feudal Malay culture: the sultan is always right, challenge him at your peril. Classical Malay literature is replete with heroes presumed to be derhaka (and suffered the fate) for daring to correct the wayward ways of their sultans. Hang Tuah was only the most famous. Whatever the sultan wishes, he gets, and more. Increasingly, Abdullah is behaving like a pseudo sultan, minus of course the heritage or even regal charm.
It Takes More Than A Leader To Destroy A Nation
Thanks to the British colonial legacy, our nation is governed by laws and institutions. Those laws and institutions however, are premised on having competent and honorable leaders and individuals to serve them. With the corrupt and the incompetent, even the best laws would eventually be circumvented, and robust institutions eroded.
Abdullah alone could not destroy Malaysia; his lack of engagement is perversely an assurance of that. His lack of diligence and attention however could by default let others ruin the country. If that were to happen, the blame must then be equally borne by his advisors, ministers, and senior politicians, pundits, and public servants. They let it happen.
There are men of integrity in Abdullah’s cabinet (not many), but they have remained curiously silent. They are either putting their careers ahead of the fate of the nation, or they condone Abdullah’s shenanigans and incompetence. Or both. We look forlornly for a local Robin Cook or Paul O’Neill in Abdullah’s cabinet, men who willingly gave up their cabinet positions to impress their conviction on their wayward leader. More recently, a bipartisan group of distinguished retired Americans told their president publicly and in no uncertain terms that his Iraq policy is deeply flawed.
As UMNO President, Abdullah is answerable to its members. Judging from their collective behaviors at the party’s recent General Assembly, do not expect them to provide responsible checks and balances.
If ministers and UMNO members cannot provide the necessary oversight, then surely there is the UMNO Supreme Council. Their members, except for the few appointed by Abdullah and thus beholden to him, are elected by the membership. Thus we would expect them to be independent. Yet they too have remained curiously silent.
As we look at the roster of distinguished Malaysians who are now retired, we are humbled by their accomplishments and contributions in academia, the professions, and public service. They too are silent. If they agree with the direction the nation is headed, they should voice their support so as to encourage the leadership to do more of the same. If they disagree, then they owe it to their fellow citizens to voice their concerns. Surely the whole country has not suddenly been gripped by mediocrity and low expectations. We cannot find any other explanation for this curious but far from elegant silence.
An African proverb has it that it takes a village to raise a child. Likewise, it would take more than just a leader to destroy a country. Saddam could not ruin Iraq without those “enablers” around him. They too must bore the blame.
When reality strikes and Malaysians find ourselves in an abyss, yes, we will blame Abdullah. We must also pour our wrath on those others complicit: his ministers, pundits, and intellectuals now singing his praise. That ought to make them pause and examine their stance; to have the courage to impress upon Abdullah of this reality before voters deliver their verdict in the next general elections.
Abdullah’s self-admitted poor time management is not an acceptable excuse. His frequent and obvious inattention and dozing off should not be tolerated. If the burden of the office is too much for Abdullah, his advisors, ministers, and senior UMNO politicians owe it to the nation to tell the man to give it up and let others more capable take the helm.
This is not the time to be nice to any one individual; it is a time to be nice and considerate to all Malaysians and to worry about their pot of rice. To remain competitive, Malaysians, leaders and followers alike, must work hard and smart. Malaysia does not need nor should she tolerate sleepy heads.
(Bakri Musa)
Malaysia Abdullah Flood Merry Christmas Rice Bowl
Labels: Politic. and opinion
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