Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Welcome 2011 - Year of Hope and Promises






Welllll...New Year is here again, with lots of promises to raise everyone's hopes to the sky.

In Malaysia we see the political parties in power undergoing a soul-searching transformation to face the 13GE. The National
Front (BN) sees UMNO, MCA and MIC overhauling themselves with old leaders taking a backseat ( or heading a no less powerful vehicle with less vroom) and new faces taking over. In many cases the new faces came as a surprise (even out of the blues) edging away some well-known characters. ( Thus the common edgy response: It's better to work with the devil that you know..) Even rejected leaders maybe pulled back to the front seat, Aaaagh. Many powerful Cabinet seats are not filled by popularly elected leaders but by trusted friends of the Numero Uno. And many popularly elected leaders are not pulled into the corridors of power.

Be that as it may, the size of the development funds and budget as announced from time to time by the government gives the impression that money is growing on tress in Malaysia. Billions here and billions there, hundreds of million there, more huindreds of millions here. Normal projects have become megas. Contractors all over the country must be dancing with joy. But are they? The smaller ones seem to be still grumbling. Probably the millions are not coming their way but through well-planned channels. Wallahu alam.

One thing that bothers everyone: the leakages and losts of public funds through negligence, mismanagement or corruption ( let the MACC determine which) are also running into billions and hundreds of millions. The GLCs seem to be where the biggest leakages occur with prominent politicians at the head while some senior civil servants and professionals have also been implicated and promptly brought before the court of justice. Many investigations involving the former seem to fizzle out without the real culprit brought to book and this seems to cause serious indigestion among the opposition members in Parliament and the more public-spirited men on the street. Independent bloggers are most articulate and noisy on this matter
while the mainstream media is very cautious and laconic.

As a last remark in welcoming the New Year, we cannot avoid noting the fact that the Pakatan is undergoing a serious strain
with some differences between the Party Keadilan Rakyat, PAS and DAP becoming more and more pronounced. Worse is the leadership struggle that seems to go on within the constituent parties, especially PKR. The de facto leader is not only under seige by the law but also by his former collegues.

Well, that's the scenario in brief without getting into specifics. A most interesting fact is that while there seem to be a lot of stress and strain on the political front with doubts and uncertainties riding on the financial state of the nation, the people and country seem to be stable and moving along well. There are flashes of racial tensions and conflicts in the press and in Parliamentary debates, but you certainly don't see them in the street. All races seem to be on the best of terms when enjoying teh tarik, ruti canai and nasi lemak in the restaurants and food stalls. There is no sign of tension whatever in the shopping complexes except among husbands saddled with a huge shopping bill.

On the social front, everything seems to point to a glorious 2011. We just hope that the political and economic squabbles among major contestants will not upset the peace and harmony that had prevailed for years.

11 comments:

Si Yoyop Bah... said...

Happy New Year 2011 Norzah.

norzah said...

Thank you, Hjh Sue. and happy new year to you. I Still haven't heard about your new year plan yet but one thing is sure, no more hotpants and sleeveless T shirt
except perhaps when in the house. Perhaps the track suit is more appropriate for a hajjah but for a slim and petite one who is single and very "cun", the boys are going to be deprived of a one big thrill.
Thanks again for dropping in.

kaykuala said...

Akhi Norzah,
We've been anticipating some tsunami stuffs in 2011. With the impending GE13, the worst is yet to come. Now, the prosecution scene is in high gear, including a no.of big fish roped in.

Jostling for seats is simmering in the background. The BN squabbles may not be apparent. We may see big fights from the PKR as each of the 3 components think they are stronger than the other.

For the moment just take a peak at 'Hugging' which is posted as 'To Remember Her By' in Rainbow at imagery77.blogspot.com

rambomadonna said...

Well my view of 2011, it will still not be a smooth sailing year for all Msian but at least much better than 2010. Perhaps 2010 is the year when people start to reflect upon themselves, decisions that they need to make etc. So taking into consideration the happenings in 2009 and 2010, people may be cautious in choosing their leaders.

Anyway, looking at our neighboring countries, thailand and indonesia ... maybe we need corporate figure intervention in order to improve our economic standing ... however, at a cost! Orang tak kaya macam kita tak akan merasa kemewahan negara kita except ... better exchange rate!

Hahahaa ... lamanya tak bagi komen!

Al-Manar said...

Begitulah setahun lagi berakhir.Harapan selalu menggunung diawal tahun baru. Sama sama lah kita berdoa.

norzah said...

Akhi Kaykuala, your comment seems point out to greater
problems than I anticipate. The GE 13 is going to be a real test of Barisan's tenacity and Pakatan's acceptibility. While UMNO seems to be doing its best at the national level to regain the rakyat's confidence, the kampung level leadership shows no change. People complain of seeing the same old faces with the same attitude. MCA and MIC
are stlll grappling with their leadership problem. Pakatan is of course facing all the problems of consolidating its strength and credibility.
I've read your poem on 2011 and the mood is so optimistic,
a contrast to the the mood in your comment. Is that just a coincident or writing poetry makes one feel differently?

norzah said...

Akhi Kaykuala, your comment seems point out to greater
problems than I anticipate. The GE 13 is going to be a real test of Barisan's tenacity and Pakatan's acceptibility. While UMNO seems to be doing its best at the national level to regain the rakyat's confidence, the kampung level leadership shows no change. People complain of seeing the same old faces with the same attitude. MCA and MIC
are stlll grappling with their leadership problem. Pakatan is of course facing all the problems of consolidating its strength and credibility.
I've read your poem on 2011 and the mood is so optimistic,
a contrast to the the mood in your comment. Is that just a coincident or writing poetry makes one feel differently?

norzah said...

Dear J, i am so happy to see you back on the blogsphere.
I know that your new job demands a lot from you but it certainly should not consume you entirely. There' s time for everything in life and i hope that your blog will continue to record some of the most exciting moments of your life. Happy new year.

kaykuala said...

Akhi Norzah,
You read the mood well. Plainly poetry as I see it, is a similar take. Perched in the idealism for what we crave, I think!

Happy New Year to you and Datin. Hoping the ensuing year would be just as challenging with lots of fun things to do. Great!

norzah said...

Selamat tahun baru 2011, Akhi pakcik Al-Manar dan selamat meneruskan dermabakti Pakcik yang begitu diperlukan oleh anak-anak bagsa yang kurang mampu untuk meneruskan pelajaran di sekolah biasa.

norzah said...

Memang sayu juga bila menyedari 2010 telah pergi dan tak akan kembali seperti manusia yg meninggal dunia, Akhi Pakcik. Perginya senyap saja kecuaLI bagi mereka yang meraikan kelahiran tahun 2011 di kelab-kelab, hotel-hotel dan tempat-tempat keramaian lain.
Saya hanya melihat bunga api yg menyinar sebentr kemudian kembali gelap.