A Dilemma for Young Malaysians

The young people of Malaysia today must be facing a great dilemma, if not a great frustration, looking at the things happening in the political parties governing the nation. The infighting among leaders, the charges and countercharges of corruption and misuse of power, old leaders refusing to make way for younger ones, the nomination of ex-leaders found guilty of money politics to stand for by-election or to remain in power, the police, the anti-corruption Commmission and the Judiciary being suspected of being subject to political pressure and arm-twisting, a rich country facing financial problems due to the great amount of public funds being squandered away through wastage or criminal diversion to private use.....

Barisan Nasional which had ruled the nation for 52 years is no longer what it used to be, the pillar of confidence and trust with great leaders at the helm. Many of the current ones and involving several levels, are facing many allegations of misdeed, misuse of power and self-enrichment in a surreptitious way.

More bewildering are some of the decisions made by the leadership. Port Dickson, for example, which is being promoted as a tourists seaside resort par excellence, has been designated as a 'Badar Tentera Darat' a military town. Wouldn't that name turn people off especially if there's some trouble in the country and the military is called upon to help restore order. A lawyer who was struck off from the register for some allegations of misdeed, was put up as a candidate for election and duely lost. Now an ex-Minister who was found guilty by the party disciplinary board of indulging in money politics ( buying votes - a criminal offence equivalent to corruption) is nominated as a candidate for a by-election. People's Representatives ( Wakil Rakyat) widely publicised as being involved in some sex scandals are being highlighted by the media like heroes and heroines. An ex-Minister alleged to have invaded the modesty of a cute employee had also been appointed as the nation's Ambassador to the United States.

The last two items could be a spiritual boon for the young but a bane to the morality of the nation.All these would certainly be difficult for the young people of Malaysia to digest, while the older and not so young knew that Barisan Nasional has lost a lot of it's earlier glory. The new leadership promised a change in image and attitude but all the above seem to affirm the saying that 'a leaopard cannot change its spots' . Everyone will have a tough time to decide whether to abandon the old Barisan and accept the new Pakatan, or let the old leopards continue to rule the Malaysian scene which is fast changing from the sylvan to the concrete jungle.

The older people could have enjoyed the best that the country had to offer and if things become very bad they'll just have to weather it out. It's the younger Malaysians who must decide now and in the next few years. They'll certainly have to bear the financial burden that the nation is now creating by selling all the bonds and debentures in the international market. If they don't like what is going on now, they have to show their disapproval by quetioning the decisions made by the old leaders and insisting that younger ones be allowed to enter the corridor of power.

The Clan Holds More than Family.

We always seek happiness among family members and friends. Those with huge families and friends may find this enough but I found out that extending the family membership to include the descedents of grandmas and grandpas will extend the happiness beyond expectation. The family tree suddenly blossomed into a glorious spectacle of relationships that included people you'd never imagined to be related to you. Distant maybe but most exciting.



The last few days I've been following up on the clan scenario. The gatherings at my in-laws' house were enough to convince me that if all of them were to give me their support to run for an election, I'd at least not loose my "wang pertaruhan". Menang tu tidaklah kerana not even members of a family support one party, hehe. A gathering of my grandma's and her sister's descendents
(Robah dan Dorai)- a 3rd gathering really- as captured by the above pics, produced a huge crowd that brought back wonderful memeories and brought together doctors, engineers, lecturers, musicians, businessmen, administrators, and... you name it. Yet only about quarter of the clan membership attended the gathering this time.




Closer to the family story, after several attempts for all of us to meet, only four of us managed to do it this time - my 2nd sister Hasnah. my brothers Zainal and Shaari, and mysself. The two little girls are my sister's grandchildren. The other brothers and sisters could not come to the gathering at my Uncle's home in Kg. Kundang, some 3 kilometers away from Ulu Bendul Recreational Center and Resort.


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The other pics show the Pesta 1 Malaysia and Aidilfitri Food Festival at Port Dickson. I never believe that all the various food and dishes offered at such festivals ( from satay to cendol) were free for there are so many of them. The government must be spending a big portion of rakyat's money on the pelanchongan bashes. But what the heck. It's giving the rakyat back what they deserve in terms of fun and festivities...and food of course.

My only regret, at the party in Dr Norzah's home ( she's my sis) I spent most of the time in the music room playing the piano and other instruments that I forgot to snap some shots for the album and blog. Hope somebody else did it and will download the pics to me later for inclusion on this site.

Finally, I got two old pics that I could not recognize. They're among those found in the other shots. If you can identify them through a response to this post, you might just win a prize. Please leave you address, though. or just phonenumber.




Happy HR to u all. It's not over yet.

Hariraya and the Disabled

Whilst there can be a lot of happy memories about hariraya, they may not be as touching, sobering and edifying as the sad ones. On the 3rd morning of hariraya, I drove out alone to visit the old kampung house that my late parents left us with. It has been vacant for a few years since everyone has moved to the towns or cities. It was almost swallowed up by the 'lalangs' and 'belukar' when I decided to take it on myself to rehabilitate the place.. Since then I always go there alone or with company when I feel low and out, to catch up on old memories.

I squeezed out all the calories I've absorbed in the 2 days of hariraya, clearing up the compound, repairing the broken drains, cutting the grass and collecting the stuff that stray cows left behind when they visit your house in the kampung, and dumping it at the roots of starving fruit plants i've planted earlier. I was dozing off in an old favourite chair under a rambutan tree, riding on the wings of a nastalgic revirie, when a car stopped by and my brother Zainal, his wife and kids stepped out of the vehicle. They were on their way to visit our sister when they spotted me sitting alone by the lonesome house. Instead of going straight on and perhaps visiting me at my in-laws house later, they decided to join me at work.

Masyaallah. It was wonderful to see the kids pulling and pushing the lawn mower, swinging the heavy rubbish blower or raking the dead leaves strewn on the ground, in their colourful hariraya outfit. Zainal also joined them until he had to take off his baju to avoid getting it drenched with his sweat. The wife Rosie and daughter went into the house to prepare some drinks and food which i had by chance bought and brought along with me. We had roti canai, mee goreng and some bottled drinks. It was a wonderful little makan, though I insisted that they come to my in-law's house for the real hariraya bash. They did join us for lunch together with some other guests.

Today, September 23rd, my wife and I left the house at 9.30 am to return to KL, but only after doing a round of visits. At the house of my wife's relative, we found her auntie's mother lying helpless in bed, unable to walk or move about to bathe or ease herself. She was very frail and weak. I had got to know her well and as I sat near her I began to give a little massage at various points of the joints. She felt very comfortable after a few burbs and tacitly requested me to give her a little more of what I seemed to be doing well. What do you know? I became a masseur on a hariraya visit! I left her sitting up though propped against the wall but with her legs drawn up to exercise her feet and toes by pressing down and lifting them up from the floor. If she can gain some strength I think she'll walk again.

At another house a 21 year old girl ( a distant nieice of my wife) was lying on the sofa, unable to walk as a result of a motorcycle accident. She had recovered fully from her injuries but could not walk well and recently had taken a fall. Since then she did not want to walk again. After talking a while to her and testing the strength of her feet and hands by asking her to press them hard against my palm, I felt sure that her neuro-mascular problem was more psychosomatic than physiological.She was dreadful of falling down again for the last fall was very traumatic. Except for a few lapses in her cognitive consciousness ( she closes her eyes and seems to fall asleep a few seconds after a few minutes of talking), she seems to be quite all right and certainly has enough energy to walk.

So I coaxed her to say and repeat to herself, 'I can walk' and 'I will walk again.' She said the words enthusiastically and kept repeating them to herself. I challenged her to believe in those words implicitly and she accepted the challenge. She was so grateful to me for implanting that believe in her and promised that she will turn that believe into a reality. By the smile of conviction in her face and the way she started to move and exercise her feet and hands, I'm certain that she will be able to walk again in a short while. Hey. this is the first time I put whatever I know about psychosomatic illnesses and psychic energy into practice. If it works ( I'll certainly check with Dr Norzah my psychologist sister and a few Medic friends on the matter) I'll have to start reading a huge pile of new books and manuals. God, I thought I've had enough of sleeping in the library!

Well, the hariraya is into its 5th day. After tomorrow I think I'll start the 6 day fasting (puasa enam). That means I'll have to attend a few gatherings without taking a bash at the succulents offered. My willpower will be severely tested. Huhu.

Back to Normalcy

It's the 3rd day of Aidilfitri, 22nd September. While the tummy with some groans and spluttering protests has adjusted to daytime food intake the eyes have not. A little reading and they begin to wander to dreamworld. On a full tummy that's quite uncomfortable.

The celebration in my Ulu Kampung (Kg Juasseh, Kuala Pilah, NS)was hectic. Fireworks of the Merdeka celebration type boomed and splintered the sky with myriad of colors until late morning. Who pays for it and did they get a licence, I stlll don't know. Caught a few shots on my hp cam and will try to post them here. Some trouble, for this PC has its own conditions before accenting to u r request.

Our house (my wife's and in-laws) was busy from morn to night entertaining visitors. Since there were more ladies then men and they were more of my wife's relatives than mine, I kept in the background, surfacing only at times to crack a few jokes. (They must have laughed at my poor effort, not at my off-the-cuff jokes). It's a lucky stroke that I brought home a pocket motorbike and a battery-driven kids' jeepeny. The kids went crazy riding them, pushing them when the motor or the battery gave up.
I also drew their attention by my poor effort at trying to fly our RC Heli. My only success was to avoid a crash.

Well today I take my turn to go around visitting. Hope to get some good photos. See u. Selamat hari raya.

Night Before Hariraya in Kampung Juasseh...

It's a tough decision whether to celebrate Aidilfitri in the city or in the kampung -in the midst of modernity and sophistication or in the so-called Ulu.But I've no difficulty in making such a decision for the Ulu is where I was born and bred. I love the sound of the crickets, frogs, owls and ungkas as much as the traffic, the boom-boxes, the fireworks and the police siren.

Today, on the eve of hariraya Aidilfirtri 1430 (2009) most of the family members are back home in Juasseh, Kuala Pilah Negri Sembilan. We spent the last day of Puasa cleaning up the compound of our family home and masak lemang, rendang, ketupat etc and setting up the old 'pelita minyak' (oil lamps) to light up the place come night. Breaking the fast on the last day of Ramadhan was a real feast, sampling all the dishes we've prepared for hariraya and every last thing that we could buy from the Bazaar Ramadhan in Kuala Pilah.

We were about to take a rest with a full tummy when we were woken up to the fact that our kampung is no longer an Ulu. The whole place burst into the flashes and lights and sound as if a war has started. Crackers and fireworks are prohibited but the explosions and display of luminescence in the night sky equal what you can see over Kl on festive nights. The firework display coming from somewhere in the kampung itself, was nothing less than what you see during merdeka celebration (except for the last one). The shot I got is not very colorful but suggestive of the display in the sky. I wonder who bore the cost of some 10 minutes display with all the bursting stars and colours, the shimmering and twinkling lights, the colorful cloud bursts etc. The booms and the bangs were something I never expected. If the police came to stop them I'd have joined the protest movement!

This is the best night before hariraya display that I've seen. It made me forget that I was in the Ulu....and all the houses were lighted up in a way even more beautiful than the brick and motar houses in the city. Tomorrow I'll see how the actual celebration will be....Selamat hariraya.

Selamat Hariraya Aidilfitri.

In wishing all Malaysians in Penunsula Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak a very happy Hariraya or a very happy Hariraya holidays, I like to ask a question: What's eating up most Malaysians today if we're not as happy, friendly and hospitable to each other as we used to be in the past? ( If you're as happy as before or even happier, please tell us your secret!). I gather from reading the blogs and comments made, that many of us have something to blow up on. Even the newspapers are full of angry views between people, parties and between communities...

There can only be a few general reasons, often held back inside, for when we see the crowd of people shopping, dining, yakking by the roadside and shop corridors, they are still a happy and friendly lot. You don't really see them quarelling with each other.
Arguing maybe, but not quarelling. In housing areas we still see people smiling and greeting each other amicably although of different racial origin.

The most likely cause of unhappiness, discontentment, anger or general uneasiness is not so much the economic problem of the nation, the rising costs, the increase in crimes and not even the traffic jams but the POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT in the nation. There's so much bickering and animosity spewed out between the BN and the PR. between component parties within the ruling coalition and also the PR, between the leadership in the parties, and worst between contenders for top poltical positions in the parties. There's so much of bitterness and hatred, backstabbing, allegations and counter-allegations, charges on corruption and missuse of power levelled at each other until the MCCC and the Police are totally confused until their own integrity is challenged doubted.

The rakyat, reading and listening to them all through the various English and vernacular newspapers, the many radio and TV channels broadcasting news in various languages through various stations both governemnt and private, also get thoroughly agitated and confused until the credibility of the newspapers and the radio and TV stations is also doubted. Added to that will be the endless stream of views, comments and news rendered in the no-hold-barred reporting style of the informal and alternative media - the internet and bloggers' website. And don't forget the oft propoganda-loaded news from foreign countries giving their own judgement and cticisms of what is happening in the nation.

It's politics that's making us all so sensitive and suspicious of each other, spreading misgivings, misunderstanding and illwill, capabale of making us all go for each other's throat. Soimething has gone wrong in our political development which turns the multiracial nature of our society into a liability rather than an asset, as it used to be. The political leadership seemed to be breaking up in all the parties and at various levels and the Prime Minister is not allowed to step in by the component parties in Barisan itself to help restore some sanity in the chaos. The Pakatan is also undergoing the same leadership break-up without any promise of an effective consolidation.

Yes, I think most Malaysians are quite sick of the political quarrels that we see around us - quarrels between leaders who are supposed to consolidate us all into a nation of progressive and sophisticated people. Isn't there a way of reducing the political squabbles that we see around us? Cannot the rakyat of Malaysia as a whole take a critical view of all leaders who are now causing more trouble than helping to lead the nation and the people to progress and prosperity, and ask them to cease quarrelling or face a public sanction irrespective of the parties they belong to? The rakyat can actually show their disapproval towards undesireable leaders by just snubbing them!

I suggest that Malaysians should put a smile on their faces again and smile and each other while denying the quarrelsome and
offensive leaders those smile. We, the common men (and women) on the street, have no reason to frown and sneer at each other for whatever happens in the country we suffer or enjoy together. We work and earn our living no matter what political wars and subterfuges are going on. I think we should free ourseselves from all the political talks and concern in this country during the hariraya holidays and enjoy ourselves. So, happy hariraya and holidays to everyone, maaf zahir dan batin.

Indonesian's Anger with Malaysia

As a Bumiputera who has always respected our Indonesian brothers and enjoyed the most cordial relationship with them, the news that some of them are on the war path against Malaysians is most disheartening. And now the leadership in both countries are talking about ensuring the safety of Malaysians in Indonesia and Indonesians in Malaysia, that the anger, the hunt for Malaysians, the burning of the Jalur Gemilang etc, are the actions of only a few who do not represent the nation.

What urks me most is that the Malaysian leadership does not seem to worry about THE CAUSE OF THE ANGER and take prompt action to right the wrong. There's nothing in the news that would assuage those who are angry with us to hold their patience until whatever goes wrong can be righted. If the Malaysian claim over the Balinese Pendet Dance is indeed the cause ( whoever it was that made the claim!) why can't we just admit that we had borrowed the idea, the concept, the movements, the music or whatever, and apologized over the misinformation, mixed-up or the insensitivity involved. Is it too much to apologize and admit that we have borrowed a lot from Indonesia, considering that many of our ancestors came from that great nation!

Do not ignore the anger and wrath of a few for a spark can start off a wild fire. Address the issue and not the concern and worries of the leadership who sometimes do not consider the few as important until they gather support and become a national movement. If a wrong had been made, be gracious and sincere enough to admit it and do what is necessary to palliate or atone for the mistake. The failure to do this is perhaps what is bugging the Barisan Government as a whole. It's not a weakness to swallow your pride once in a while rather than allow a pride to swallow us up, and ultimately, the entire nation.

The Bases of National Unity

Somebody with authority must teach the Malaysians, the bases of national unity again. The older ones may have forgotten while the younger people have a human relations vocabulary based on pop songs and raps. The attitude, language and mannerism we see in use today, be it in Parliament, at political meetings and caucusses, in roadside discussions and verbal exchanges, and especially on the websites, often suggest a total neglect of all the principles of promoting healthy intercommunity relationship, through proper communication skill.

The words we Malaysians pride on before as the bases of out multiracial strengh and harmony include: MUTUAL RESPECT, TOLERENCE. GOODWILL, MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING, GIVE AND TAKE, COOPERATE, PARTICIPATE, SHARE ETC. Do these words hold any meaning to the Malaysians anymore? Or have we all been so INDIVIDUALIZED, MONITIZED, and POLITICIZED that we couldn't care less about our fellow citizens and neighbours anymore in our search for a name, fame, power and fortune. The language of politics has often become so crude and vulgar, the blogging lingo so brusque, daring and bizarre, while the language of the mainstream media has become so equivocal and cliche-ish that we can never get at the real truth about anything important. The language of mutual respect, tolerance, goodwill, mutual understanding, comradeship, friendship and brotherhood etc., seemed to have disappeared from our vocabulary. What we hear more often today is: go to hell, 'pergi mampuslah'. kiss my a**, f***off, it sucks, a**hole, motherf*****. etc. The 'f' word is now commonly used in what is passed on as literary works of international standard.

Malaysians can certainly achieve modernity without aping the linguistic subculture of the west. The young people of today often act as if they're not 'in' if they don't litter their vocab with the the cuss and 'f' words. One would not mind if they use all the swear and cuss words just among themselves but change the mode when talking to their elders or the ordinary member of the public. The trouble is the older folks 'in parliament', in State Assemblies. at political rallies, public debates and discussions etc. are teaching them the most effective ways of using those unsavoury terms - terms that can throw national unity and multiracial harmony to the wind - as an example of fine locutionary and debating skill. And some of the best examples of their
adult words and performance are picked up by the tv and news media for all to enjoy.

We're developing a new culture here- the culture of foul language and offensive oratory. Can these ever lead to the promotion of inter-racial understanding and harmony? I think it's high time we relearn some of the vocabulary of the past when Malaysians of all races lived in peace and harmony. Let's relearn the meaning of mutual respect, tolerance, goodwill, mutual understanding, give and take. cooperate etc. Or have we all become so brazen and insensitive?

What 's an Illegal Assembly?

We've been hearing too many cases of the police breaking up illegal gatherings or assemblies, acting under the Police Act 1967, Section 27.The A.G, TS Ghani Patil said that the Section 23 cow-head protestors would be charged under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act or Section 298 of the Penal Code, and also under the Police Act ( NST, Teus, Spt.8).

But what really is an illegal assembly? It's a gathering or an assembly for which a licennce has not been issued by the Police under Section 27 (1), (2) and (2A). What amused me is that the licence must be applied for by an organization ( also an approved one) or by three people, fulfilling all the conditions required.

The emphasis is on application by an organization or three people. So what happens when a group of friends meet by chance or after a very informal dicussion. No set agenda, no formal arrangement of any sort, no real objective but just to meet and talk at a street corner, a park, a restaurant, a Mama stall etc. More friends join in and you've a group of more than three, Will that be an illegal assembly?

What about a political leader visiting some place and a group of supporters start converging on him. Before you know it you've some 20-39 people gathered around him. He talks to them but for ease of hearing somebody hands him a mike. Has an illegal assembly be formed? If so many government party leaders can be held for holding such illegal assemblies.

How can you apply for a licence if an assembly is formed without any formal agenda, not organized by any approved organization or three people who're members of an organization (as required by the Police Act 1967 Sect. 27(2A)? A coincidental gatherings, one that's not organized, preplanned or arranged for a specific purpose certainly cannot be preceded by a formal request for a licence, and ipso facto, be conseidered illegal because there is no license issued on its behalf.

Oh yes, a Police Officer under the Act can stop a gathering if he feels that its going to cause some public disturbances. But what's there to stop him from telling a spontaneous or unplanned group to disperse, although the group was not causing any diturbances - until the police stepped in to disperse the group.

I think we've to redefine what an illegal assembly is. Otherwise for or five friends ( maybe more) having a fine time shouting at each other in jest, or just frolicking an revelling can be charged for illegal assembly if they don't remain under the confine of a
cafe or restaurant. We surely don't need a licence to meet among friends, discuss our problems and show our pleasure or displeasure. If others join in without invitation and the group swells unexpectedly, how the hell can you make an arrangement to get a licence? An assembly not arranged and organized by an approved organization or three people as stipulated under the Police Act, being thus disqualified from applying for a licence, cannot therefore be considered illegal, It can only be stopped and dispersed by the police if it causes some inconvenience to the public and a complaint is made to the police.

Question is: can the police act without such a complaint from the public and, therefore, acting only on its own suspicion? Maybe the legal experts in the country can answer that.

PS. Even charging the protestors under Section 298 of the Pebal Code for uttering words "with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person" by stepping on the cows head, requires prove of the intent while the cow's head might not be designed to hurt the feelings of the Hindus but to insult the Selangor MB who was alleged to have used State-owned GLC's money to buy 46 cows for the last hariraya korban. The Malay protestors anger at the meeting with Section 23 residents was clearly directed at the MB, not at any Indian.

Halfway Thru Ramadhan

We're halfway thru Ramadhan and Aidilfitri is approaching. At our little Madrasah, I find that the crowd which follows through the Tarawih prayers (20 rakaat) and Witr ( 3 rakaat) is growing smaller, although more and more young men and boys are joining us.
This is very encouraging. At least in our community in Taman Melawati, Ulu Klang, the younger people are becoming more spiritually aware. if not more religious.

However we still have Imams who love to prolong the Tarawih by reciting lengthy pieces from the Quran for both rakaat in each round of prayer. No. Smooth, melodius and fluent recitals are welcome. But reading from the Quran held open on a rostrum infront of them with lots of repetition because of insufficient breath to pause at the right stop (wakaf), because of reading errors, faulty pronounciation etc and making long pauses between each recital and prayer movement to allow the makmum ( followers) a lot of time to complete their own recital, can be very exasperating. Yes, it's a good test of patience, but as waste of precious time is a waste of time especailly when one is already very tired ( and in some cases bloated with food and drinks -halal ones, of course).

One can easily dose off during those long, unnecessary pauses. If you're an expert at doing that, enjoy it by all means but don't torture the rest of the makmum.

That's at the madrasahs and mosques. At the shopping complexes, I cannot ever believe that we're facing an economic slowdown.The crowd and the buying spree people indulge in is as crazy as before. With a 50 to 70% discount notices prominently displayed everywhere, even near counters without any discount ( "Barang ini tadak diskaun, Encik!"), shoppers just go loco. You can easily get trampled by ladies rushing for some hot items....no, to catch up with their husbands or friends too. And hey! Those sporting low necklines, open back, bare arms, lots of legs and wet, red lips, are not necessarily non-Muslim. Excuse me if I was mistaken, for I dared not look twice or too long. Boleh batal puasa, tau?

I stop to wonder if we really are suffering from an economic recession or striding on hard times. Sure, people splurge quite willingly during festive season but if money is scarce, they should be more window-shopping than window-clearing. Only then did I remember that salaries and pensions are being released early this month. I wonder if the Ah Longs are still around to 'go for the kill' - no brutality or evil implied.

I must confess that I haven't gone to places like Masjid India and the Bazaars yet. I'm pretty sure that business is hectic over in these places. If not than Malaysians have moved on to the more classy shopping centers. The authorities concerned must make sure that these classy Malls and Complexes do carry local products, not just imported brands. And make sure that local products are also given a grand display, not just hidden somewhere in the backrooms and dark corners.

Selamat berpuasa and pra-raya shopping.

52nd Anniversary of Independence -2009

Though the 52nd anniversary of Independence was celebrated with pomp and ceremony at Dataran Parliament , it was more a show for the dignitaries. The rakyat in general seemed indifferent, unspirited and in some cases cynical, judging from the very few national flags flying on cars and buildings around the country. There was no merdeka parade, motorcade, concert, firework display, or open celebration for the rakyat to get involved in.

Isn't this a real anticlimax? Yes, blame it on the H1N1 pandemic, on the global economic downturn, on the financial difficulties faced by the nation, bulan Ramadhan, etc. But the rakyat are certainly more concerned with the political crises, the corruption charges levelled at some high-level national leaders and public officials, the scandals involving billions of ringgit, alleged immoral or unethical behaviors among prominent people etc, and the increasing rate of brutal crimes in the nation.

There definitely are enough reasons for Malaysians to feel dispirited, despondent and even devastated by certain aspects of the local scence - even after a change in political leadership and a hectic 100 days of primiership by Datuk Najib. He certainly has made some bold changes by introducing new measures to push the nation towards faster progress. But not all the new measures received nationwide support. One result is that it sparked off a lot of racial issues, causing serious tensions and endangering national unity in general. Like UMNO, MCA and MIC are now embroiled in power strugles and charges of corruption. MACC, the instrument designed to check corruption is now alledged to have become a weapon used to terrorize the opposition.

The rakyat seemed very unsettled and unhappy about many things, especially the leakage of the country's wealth to the power weilders. The country is very rich but has no money to even hold a fitting merdeka aniversary celebration for the rakyat. The cost of living continues to rise while the economic pick up is very slow. When are the KPI indicators forthcoming to show that all the worries of the rakyat are unfounded and that the nation is indeed doing well? Or will they just confirm the obvious?