Examining The RM 1.8 million Six Facebook Fan Pages Case

KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 — A whopping RM1,758,432 was spent on developing six Facebook pages to promote Malaysian tourism, the Tourism Ministry said today. 

Deputy Tourism Minister James Dawos Mamit said this today in reply to a question from Anthony Loke (Rasah-DAP).

Each Facebook page cost RM293,072 — Cuti-Cuti 1 Malaysia, Citrawarna 1Malaysia, Karnival Jualan Mega 1 Malaysia, Festival Pelancongan Seni Kontemporari 1 Malaysia, Kempen 1 Malaysia Bersih and Fabulous Food 1 Malaysia.

The Citrawarna 1 Malaysia page has so far attracted 20,292 Facebook fans since it was launched on May 21.

Mamit said that the RM1.8 million included costs for designing, flash programming and coding, testing and debugging, uploading and launching the application, system server deployment and campaign management.

“You need RM1.8 million to run Facebook pages and applications? A six-year-old can start a Facebook page.

“If Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen has problems getting people to help start Facebook pages, DAP headquarters can help her out, we have people who can develop these things at no cost,” Loke told reporters later at a press conference.

Loke said that unless Ng explained the reasons behind the “exorbitant” costs for the “social media branding” exercise by her ministry, he would lodge a report to the Malaysian Anti-Crimes Commission (MACC). - The Malaysian Insider

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I was briefly involved in freelance web design process cycle with one of my ex-colleagues that was done as way of making an extra buck out of it and we actually have a rough idea how much these kind of service would cost, depending on requirements, the hosting facilities, the content required, and the time needed. This is then factored with the number of additional people required to complete that work. Back in 2008, we had done this kind of work before, and given of the need to have it ready by a month, we had a few extra hands in India side to help us out. And of course the final cost would wary on that.

At first, when the minister said that it cost RM1.8 million in total for those six Facebook pages, I was at first thinking that the minister has actually no idea of how much is the production cost of developing those pages. It's likely that since there's not many savvy people in IT in that department, it crossed my mind that they have no idea that it would be that high or otherwise. 

As what Anthony Loke was saying in Parliament, any person can create a Facebook fan page without a cost or even a small fee just to get it done professionally. A web page can cost more than that because there is also the annual cost of hosting (depending on the size) and domain name fee, creating other features and so forth. If you are creating a Facebook Fan Page (since it accommodates more than 5000 fans), you don't even need a domain name, no need database and a hosting since Facebook already has it already.

For those who are unsure how a fan page is created, you can view one of the sample guide sites on doing.The first link is a basic how to create a Facebook fan page, while this link has much details and tutorials on doing a fan page.

I decided to do some search via Facebook's search function and Google and it turns out that by entering those entries it turns out to be that some are not really Facebook fan page, but actual pages itself. For instance, confirmed non-Facebook pages are: 1Malaysia Green And Clean, Fabulous Food 1Malaysia, while Citrawarna 1Malaysia is confirmed to be a Facebook Fan Page. I suppose that the Tourism ministry website is also being counted on the RM 1.8 million work that is, since the last update was just today.

Thus, whatever that James Davos was replying in Parliament is not entirely accurate and can be tantamount to misleading the Dewan Rakyat on the information given. One argument about that thing was that he said all of those pages are Facebook fan pages, whereas it turns to be not all. For the cost factor, after looking onto the entire content, the cost for RM 293K per page is acceptable for the three non-Facebook pages, because it requires flashy content, high storage capacity, ability to update information on the go, search engine optimization and the number of people required to work on the website. 

So RM 293K X 3 = RM 879K.

The cost of working on 3 Facebook Fan pages is little fishy here, should cost a fraction of RM 293K. If that is the case, after calculating the above, I suppose that the balance of the RM 1.8 million spent would be on the advertising marketing campaign, in order to promote these six websites.

Unfortunately, at this time, there has been lack of information on the breakdown of costs. We don't know at this time whether there are at least two companies involved in working on those pages. One for design pages, another one for aggressive advertising. The one for designing pages was identified as Impact Creations Sdn. Bhd. There are several references to Tourism Ministry and Impact Creations, with several items related to like:Tourism Minister's Friend Admits Links To Company (referring to Juni Ewe). The rest can be seen on search results: 

Unfortunately, I didn't really agree entirely to some other people who wrote on this matter, including Paula - who wrote it 5 hours ago. But what is interesting on the matter is that politicians from both fronts (e.g Anthony Loke and Khairy) have been pushing for Ng Yen Yen to reveal for it opens the interest of everyone to find out more about the thing. And there must be an emphasis that the answer that James Dawos Mamit gave is not accurate in entire.

Behaving With The "Militant" Tag

John Malott in last July described Perkasa as militant, which he later clarified that the his meaning of militant refers to how aggressive they are in behavior. Their appearances in newspapers and various media - screaming over many subject matters seem to proved Malott's description. You just look at how they behave like school children. The moment if someone says something even the slightest that relates to the Malay rights, they start screaming like crazy or hopping like mad. 

The "schoolchildren" hopping at the U.S embassy wasn't the only case. A few days ago, they are exhibiting but unknowingly what exactly Malott described with that tag. They have staged a protest at MCA headquarters in Jalan Ampang demanding (demand, order) MCA to stop criticizing Utusan, thinking (as what Zahid was saying today) that Utusan represents the voice of Malays

Perkasa declared its intention to spearhead the “1Malay, 1Bumi” campaign and warned MCA that it would “face the consequences” if it did not stop its criticism against Utusan.

The Malay right-wing group also demanded MCA to retract its call for a boycott on the Malay daily, which Perkasa described as the “sole defender of the Malay voice”.

The demand was made in a four-point memorandum handed to a MCA delegate by Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali under the watchful eyes of the police.  - FMT, 25 April

This was what Arman said during the NGOs visit to the DAP headquarters in KL. Zahid would later echo that statement.

“Jangan begitu angkuh memfitnah dan memburukkan Utusan Malaysia. Akhbar ini adalah suara hak-hak orang Melayu. - Arman Hanifah, ex-Wira Perkasa head (from FMT, 25 April)

On Tuesday, Malaysiakini has reported that Perkasa has formed its own special unit comprising of Rela members. Many people think that it is more or less like another paramilitary unit of the organization. Many people voiced opinions unfavorable to forming that own unit. For instance:

1. It is dangerous to allow extremist groups to wear military outfit and assume a militant role. We should stop this nonsense immediately before things get out of hand while the future generation suffer the consequence.

2. Will there later be an official Perkasa component of PDRM, the army and civil service, teachers, etc. I say again, Rela members can be anything they want to be during their own free time, but there cannot be a Perkasa component of Rela.

Rela members are given firearms, does that mean that when they assume the role of Perkasa, they carry their weapons? This is madness.

3. When Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim proposed that Selangor form its own auxiliary police force to look after its citizenries, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said "no." But when it comes to Perkasa to form the Briged Setia Negara, Hishammuddin said it is "okay".

You only need to look at the sequence of events above to tell that they are behaving with the militant tag although they do not know that they are doing it. 

Perkasa and hardcore people say that Malays are always under threat from the Chinese over political power. This is the false mindset that has been implanted over the last 30 years or so, which factually doesn't exist at all. But if we want to justify that claim above, then there is a need of explanation of how some Chinese-own conglomerates are seen cooperating with UMNO over projects. Sounds baffling, right? But before they could rant out further, they only need to go back to see how many Chinese candidates contest in Parliamentary levels (both BN and opposition sides) to see if the numbers exceed that of the Malays.

The numbers don't lie at all. Which means, the whole thing was wrong. And yes, in visiting the point that Utusan represents all Malays, that is a wrong assumption because as according to the history books, even on their own history, there is hardly a unity on one roof. Maybe for a while because of external circumstances but generally it doesn't happen forever. 

One of my Malay friends pointed out sometime back that Perkasa is like a salt to a soup. Put too much and the soup becomes salty, meaning, the more they start screaming and bulldoze things around  (taking too many things for granted) the non-Malay partners, they peeve the other people are and would do more damage to their own self, unknowingly. 

While all the time people like those scream about those trying to challenge their standing in politics, Malaysia is heading towards a possible state of nowhere recovery from disaster. Despite tax money from people, there is hardly progress in social, education and economy, coupled with high cost of living not being offset by high income over the last decade. Indeed, despite tons of promises to people, there has yet to be a vast result that fits those needs above. Instead there are petty squabbles and obsession of sex over higher priorities. The main priorities got screwed mainly because of the dirty, obsessive nature of the political games that keeps going on.

On Tenang

I am not surprised and have already anticipated how the election outcome turns out to be from the beginning, with the exception that heavy rain throughout the whole day yesterday has affected the voting turnover. But what the opposition claimed to have succeeded is primarily on having more Chinese votes than ever and there majority that UMNO wants by 5000 could not be reached at all. In the beginning, mainly it's because of the population composition of Labis and Tenang, it reminded me of how it was way back in Bagan Pinang, with the exception that there is no popularity factor taken into account. Bagan Pinang was like Permatang Pauh, because of the candidate's popularity, they won there - and nothing more. And unlike other places, the people's mentality in Johor is much more backwater in nature than the other states where previous by-elections took place. 

PKR and Anwar Ibrahim To Be Blamed

PKR actually has the biggest blame to take among the three component parties of Pakatan Rakyat. Many have said they are the weakest link of all due to many incidents like the fraud party elections, exit of 7 of their own MPs to become independents and internal problems. The first mistake that PR did was to field a PAS candidate. Although PAS and DAP have managed to handle things well on the campaign side, it is the people's perception of the party and candidate that spooked them all. That is not Kedah, Perak or Penang, but it is Johor and sad to say that their mentality is one step backwards. The moment if a PAS candidate decides to contest here, many non-Malays would associate PAS as "Taliban-style party" and MCA and UMNO would tell the Chinese of many bogeyman like negara Islam, etc..though it is not really simple and quick to change a country to use Islamic laws.

Like Bagan Pinang

The moment PR fields a PAS candidate, Pakatan Rakyat got off to the wrong footing. In this area where there is a mix composition, a PKR candidate should have been fielded instead because people perceive PKR as a party with a multi-racial composition. This is the same mistake that was made in Bagan Pinang and there it reveals the main mistake that BN had now adopted this approach, which is to look for winnable candidates over those who can't do the job. So that's where Anwar Ibrahim and his gang caught with the pants down again. 

Challenge of Mother Nature

The rain factor has also taken its toll against both sides, but more severe in PR's side. There has been raining over the last four days down south, not that severe as in KL yesterday that Labis and Segamat town has already become flooded. But the government machinery has boats, one hand advantage. Because of PR's inability to provide the resources to handle mother nature related situations such as this, the number of votes that they are supposed to gain from absentee of voters was approximately 883 votes. On the other hand, Barisan actually by right if by the numbers only gets another 5% additional majority than in 2008.

PAS: 3875 (2008), 2992 (2011) = -883 (drop of 22.78%)

BN: 6367(2008), 6699(2011) = 332 (5.21%)

Bread and Butter, At What Cost?

In this backwater yard, there is only one priority for those who vote: bread and butter issues. If they think BN takes care of it, then they would go for it. Most don't give a hoot about increase of oil prices, murder, detention, Beng Hock, Interlock role, that issues could not work against this kind of backward mindset. PR came without the FELDA matter ready in hand. Many think that to vote PR and PAS is to bite the hand that supports and helps the FELDA people. 

But it came at a terrible cost. Sometimes, there is land fraud, and just like in Galas, the moment BN wins, the price of petrol goes up. What does that tell you? People got befuddled? Does it mean to say, those goodies handed out are only during campaigning and the assemblyman does nothing after the people put up there? This is the problem and the dilemma: the numbers shown there reflects the complacency and backward mentality of many voters, including the makcik and pakcik Felda - no clue, kena tipu and all sorts of things. With this kind of mentality, Malaysia can never move ahead, because they do not want to change. 

Look at the price of petrol, shrinking of buying power, what does that tell you? A penalty to be paid for ignorance. I scolded once an Indian amah in Hulu Selangor for making the wrong choice long time back.

PKR Can Pack Up and Go

It looks like the PKR party still remains very weak and will have to rely more than just their two main partners. Whenever people criticize them, e.g Raja Petra, we get scolded for nothing. It's just critcism that the party would rather endure than hearing what a yes-man would say. 

The problem still runs around. Anwar is becoming more or less a double-edge sword - A glue or a man who wants to call all the shots. Maybe this might anger some people who might not agree with his style like Zaid, Gobalakrishnan. Maybe many have yet to understand the history of Anwar and Azmin. But in this case of how they handle the election thing, since they are the middle of the three-party alliance, Anwar might as well stand down and get someone who can repair the whole party to be a formidable challenger and reputable party. Otherwise, PKR might want to pack up their bags and close shop. 

PKR will have to prove me and other critics wrong that they are not going to throw towel, pack up and go. How do you want us to fix up, someone from PKR might ask? My answer? Take RPK's bitter pill!

A Voters Primer of Logical Thinking for Tenang By-Election

Introduction

The campaigning for the Tenang by-election campaign is still on until tomorrow midnight and at this point of time, there is still less than 48 hours for the people in the small town of Tenang to decide whether to pick either one of the two candidates - Normala from PAS or Azahar from BN. From what I have observed and gather information so far, the premises and scenarios that the voters are facing in there after various jabs between two parties after another are:

1. You are voter that wants to change for the better but unsure of whether whether the choice you would make this Sunday is a good or a bad choice.

2. Is this party that you are thinking to vote good or not?

3. Whether the party is factually corrected as projected by the word of mouth from either party front or not.

4. "Better deal with the devil than the angel you don't know."

5. Complacency mindset of the older generation of voters.

These are among the few scenarios that the voters are in dilemma of and in order for them to decide properly whom to decide before going to the polling station, I thought it would be a good idea to write a little primer out here for voters to decide on which party to pick. Anyhow, the final decision is up to you people to decide. But remember - each decision has vast consequences so, don't whine if you made the wrong choice as it is a clear penalty and the price to pay for each mistake (very expensive indeed).

Disclaimer: Just to stress in this primer is that I do not put leanings on one party but is based on objective analysis.

Anyhow, the most common problem that voters particularly in this case is "dealing with the devil syndrome", but we will cover to that shortly. Now, on to logical thinking:

"Voting for PAS is voting for an Islamic nation with Islamic laws"

This claim by the Chua Soi Lek about such thing above is bullshit. Facts established in to prove that it is not as true as he claims to be.

Logic: If Malaysia is to use Islamic laws, the Federal constitution must be amended and it must get the consent from the Malay rulers council. You need 148 out 222 MPs to vote for the amendment (2/3rd majority). But then, in the last few editions of the general PAS only contests for 48 parliamentary seats average. Using mathematics, is 48 / 222 equivalent to 2/3? Therefore, there is no need to worry about voting PAS is equivalent to implementing Islamic laws. 

Logic: PAS cannot pursue that agenda without the consensus of its coalition partners of DAP and PKR presently. Even if they want to do that law in state nation, they would surely get consensus from the people and event the Sultan's consent to do so. So it's no run in the mill task job and no need to worry about it.

The problem raised when Barisan raise this kind of race-religion card is that it makes people think that PAS is a Taliban-style party with all of its outlook and appearance. But on the close look, it is revealed that the number of Malay-educated professionals in PAS are far more than UMNO and much more competent than its other parties are. Look at the picture above from Malaysiakini? If you apply your logical thinking, that sentiment actually doesn't exist at all!

"PAS is second-standard to DAP as they are the ones that call the shots"

Logic: DAP and PAS have in the past years were proven to demonstrate real racial-harmony together in many occasions recently. The 2004 disaster of partnership has actually became lessons of working together in a coalition, with mutual respect for one another. As the saying goes, it takes two hands to clap. Look at this picture above from the Malaysian Insider. The claim that they are second-standard to DAP as perceived by MCA is not accurate. And it simply paints the inside picture of the two parties.

Logic: MCA goes around and says to people that they offer themselves to protect and represent the Chinese. Likewise, this also goes to UMNO who offer themselves to represent the Malays. This is still on the present situation now. The question here is - they represent your race but from whom?

The fact has been established that the last conflict that involved Malaysia, the Emergency ended 50 years ago. World War 2 - where the Japanese runs Malaysia ended 65 years ago. If those conflicts are no longer happening right now, so what those two parties defending their race from? It indirectly paints the picture that - Malays are the enemies of the Chinese, and vice-versa.

Logic: Having viewing the political pattern trend between UMNO and its big partners, the method of inter-party problem solving is in big contrast of PR, contrary to what it was written on paper. The structure has become more or less as UMNO a.k.a. Class 1 party, MCA / MIC as Class 2 party, while the other BN component parties have become Class 3 parties. This was by simple implies that UMNO dictates the whole thing while Class 2 and Class 3 parties will have to obey to the latter, like the "yes man" system.

For example: if there is a religion-related issue, a big man from UMNO (but still within the coalition) will say "please stop politicizing" - a message actually has been sent out to the other component parties to toe their lines.


Rais: People in Tenang must remember UMNO-BN's deeds

The statement from what Rais (the minister fingered out in the rape of an Indonesian maid case) said to the people in Tenang. Also, look at a similar statement made by Muhyiddin about don't make the mistake. However, Bernama's reputation is being a right-wing news channel way from the beginning and see how it spins.

Logic: The inverse of the statement is- if you don't vote for us, you are called as ungrateful. This is a subtle way of intimidating the voters. It clearly robs the people of the idea of deciding by yourself and cast. A vote is a person's decision, not to be forced by others. From information of some people there, MCA too sometimes use this tactic as well. The statement is much more direct like "You should be more grateful that we helped you."

Logic: No need to feel intimidated or afraid straight away. You don't have to take that claim straight away. If you really think there should be a change, just send your message in the form of your ballot. Yes, you do have to be aware of some people intimidating you by saying that if you vote for opposition that there will be bad things happening to you and so forth. No need to be that serious but being yourself. 

BN Says That Have A Good Record While Opposition Doesn't Have Any

Logic: Many would agree face first, but the logic is that how can the opposition will be able to show their record of what they do if you do not put them up first? All the time, they are in the opposition area and of course to see and judge which party does better, at least the opposition will have to be a representative for at least one term to see the result. This is where many people do not know and foolish about it.

Logic: Fine, have we looked at what the previous assemblyman / parliamentarian has done to your constituency? Have you noted down and even bother to talk to your assemblyman about what he / she has done to your community? What are the accomplishments from the late Sulaiman Taha's in Tenang? Did they do build the school that the Chinese in Tenang have asked for? These are the tons of questions that voters must asked themselves seriously, not to become complacent and lazy thinkers and just stick to the same old same old. If you think that the dead old croon doesn't do much previously, then change to another party. Who knows if the person from the other party can do better and fulfill things faster than waiting longer to get whatever you want?

"Better To Deal With The Devil Than Dealing With The Angel You Don't Know" Syndrome

Comment: This is where people get wrong. This is where people get caught with the pants down. This is where people do not think far enough. This is where people get slack and complacent.

Logic: No one is controlling you. You just have to do what is right rather than following the whim of others.

Logic: Think this: If you try to deal with the devil and you lose, then what are you? You end up dancing to the devil's tune. For example: you trust party A, and no sooner a few months after that you are suffering from price inflation of fuel. What does that tell you? Nothing or they have broken their promise of taking their welfare? This illustrates the example of not following your instinct. If your instinct prompts you to change for better, then don't stick and go for the angel you don't know. There is a saying: if you work for the devil, be prepared to die for him.

Logic: There are others who are not that lucky as you but staying in the same area and could not benefit as you do. We didn't see the others. You can't clap with just one hand without seeing and clapping other hands. The other hands is none other than your friends outside your race.

Comment: I have read an interview with several people in Labis, as it was written in the Malaysian Insider a few days ago. I take an excerpt here:

“Most of us are comfortable. I can say more than 80 per cent of villagers here are not facing difficulties,” said Razak Ahmad, who owns a rubber and palm oil smallholding in his village of Kampung Tenang.

- Example of complacency and lack of social awareness of other races. Shouldn't we see from the eyes of others?

“During Pak Lah’s time, the increase was very sharp. We were shocked and many shops took advantage of the hike, maybe that caused the opposition to increase their votes,” said local resident Mazlan Ibrahim.

- I view that as the case of person who wants to change but couldn't do so out of the fear of repercussion and other things. There is nothing to be worried about of picking something unusual.

Conclusion

So where do we go from here? Social awareness of the problems in the country for people there is lower than those in major urban cities. And I noticed that due to lack of awareness of voter rights and the real factual logical news, people can get spooked easily, or people do not have any knowledge of all of which party is contesting and the background of candidates contesting for proper analysis and decision making.

There are also cases where parties come in and make tons of promises before election but those promises never happened at all. Or consider if you vote that party but the party later increases petrol prices (claims to care for people but instead burdening it), do you think that there are false promises made from the beginning, all just to get your support? 

It would be nice if I thought that this last minute primer prepared can get people to think. But the Felda Uncles and Aunties there at times have blind faith to the party even though they at times think of need of change. One of the nature of law's rules that everyone of us forget is that there is no such omnipotence in life.

The news in papers and TV are not entirely accurate, so a voter will have to use whatever logic and application as to help you decide correctly which candidate you want. The latest survey on the ground there shows that most people have already decided to choose whom they want way from the beginning with other factors will not influence them last minute. But there is a word of caution there: it's just like in other places - that casting your vote is like a move in a game of chess. Make the wrong move, and everyone pays the price for the mistakes of the majority. 

So it's happy voting on Sunday, I suppose.

This Is Where Old Men Get Bash Up

A lot of beans involving sex of BN politicians got spilled recently. For example, the alleged "maid rape" finger-pointing at Rais Yatim, Jamalluddin Jarjis' groped a waitress at Le Meridien, Pornstar Chua's sex in the hotel room and so on - those are a few instances that caught BN by the pants down largely due some "own surveillance" work by normal citizens and the online community.

In fact, the citizens own brand of surveillance over Barisan Nasional's mismanagement has contributed to their uncustomary losses in the 2008 GE. And then, the tons of exposure on Taib Mahmud's mismanagement and abuse of wealth is driving most of these old men bonkers.

And of course it is no strange that these old men, e.g Rais Yatim, Hishamuddin, and Nazri are about to announce a series of guidelines pertaining to the definition of "online sedition".  Only at the feudal age. Until we get to hear what defines as "online sedition", we can first of all say that it is tantamount to online censorship.

There have been several attempts to introduce online censorship, e.g Green Filter, bloggers registration and classification, online monitoring of Wikileaks by Foreign ministry and other silly stupid things that Barisan Nasional would do, but whenever they open the mouth on that, people would bashed the old men who would suggest such a thing. For instance, last year, the old man by the name of Rais Yatim gets bashed left and right over Facebook, Twitter control. Many believed even in the capacity as the Minister of Communications, he doesn't even know how to use e-mail at all.

Yes, the government is very nervous over the Wikileaks and many of the alleged exposures of malpractices by the online community. They said that it is a lie., but if you study the pattern, the obvious trend is "if they say that is a lie, then it is actually true.". Translate that into a scenario: if politician A says that he has not heard nor received a military report on case X, that means, he actually heard and received it. Many exposures, including the soon to be released 1000 plus documents by Wikileaks on Malaysia is going to embarass Barisan Nasional, and they need to stop the damage via a few measures, online sedition is being one of the sinister things to see soon. If you think exposures like in Malaysia Today is as hallucinogen, think Wikileaks as hallucinogenic 5 times stronger

Don't forget that Britain, who once introduced the Sedition act previously, had abolished it themselves, in place of Freedom of Information Act, where any exposure is treated as something that needs to be investigated by the police and Scotland Yard in particular. Sedition Act is 63 years old. Time to go...but we're still seeing elements of neo-Feudalism here. 

Whatever these old men are doing is not going to go well with the online community. If misused by them, it is equivalent to privacy invasion. If there is solid proof of misconduct by politician exposed, they would shut you up a.l.a gangster style. If that happens, but politicians committing sex, isn't that banning what is legit while allowing what is wrong?

According to Hishammuddin, six existing laws will be incorporated into the guidelines - the Penal Code, Sedition Act 1948, Film Censorship Act 2001, Printing and Printing Publishes Act 1984, Multimedia and Communications Act 1998 and the Internal Security Act 1960. He said, “Offences will be charged under these six laws”.   - Mariam Mokhtar, Malaysia Chronicle

Say 5000 people do the same thing. That same thing falls under the those 6 laws. Are you going to send 5000 people who carry commit non-passion crimes like those to prison? Doesn't that sound like sending people into prison for just owning a copy of a book the government doesn't like? Well, this is coming very ugly in terms of people's privacy. Gomen is starting to get busy body, gawking at every single one of us....so get ready...

And that is where there is no country for old men like those. That is where old men get bashed up by the world.

The UMNO Boogeyman Games in Tenang Has Begun!

According to Harakah, there are leaflets, indirectly pointing to UMNO that has been circulating around the town of Tenang, ahead of the nomination on 22 January that obviously contains the cliche elements of fear at the voters. The leaflets, obviously said that DAP is anti-Islam will ban azans, PAS politics are bad and so forth. The circulation of these leaflets obviously would start at first at FELDA areas in that district because FELDA forms part of the 42 percentage of total voters in Tenang.

Unfortunately, I could not find an English version of this piece, so I would provide you an excerpt here, the rest is from the Harakah Malay version link.

Risalah tidak bertuan yang mula tersebar di Dewan Undangan Negeri (Dun) Tenang bertujuan mempengaruhi pengundi Melayu, dakwa Ketua Pemuda PAS Johor, Khairul Faizi Ahmad Kamil.


Beliau berkata, pihaknya ada melihat risalah berbentuk buku kecil bertajuk DAP anti-Islam dan 'Khawarij dan Politik PAS' itu namun belum terserempak dengan individu yang melakukan penyebaran itu.

"Sekarang ini dah mula banyak risalah tidak bertuan mula disebarkan di Felda dan nampaknya risalah tu lebih kepada nak mempengaruhi pengundi Melayu.

"Banyak risalah yang kita jumpa telah diedarkan yang ditinggalkan di kedai-kedai makan, bukan sedang diedarkan. Jadi kita tidak boleh tuduh sesiapa sebab tak ada nama," katanya ketika dihubungi Harakahdaily hari ini.

Menurut beliau, yang merupakan Pengarah Keselamatan Pemuda PAS negeri, pihaknya tidak akan teragak-agak membawa perkara itu kepada pihak polis sekiranya menjumpai individu yang melakukan perbuatan itu.

"Kita minta unit keselamatan pemuda, sekiranya menjumpai risalah yang disebarkan, kita ambil dan buang.

"Kalau kita jumpa mana-mana pihak yang menyebar risalah ini kita tidak akan teragak-agak untuk bawa mereka kepada pihak polis kerana risalah ini lebih kepada menyampaikan fitnah kepada masyarakat," katanya.

Ujarnya, kemunculan risalah-risalah fitnah ini lebih wajar diberi perhatian berbanding menuduh PAS mula turun berkempen.

"Dalam media Umno BN tuduh PAS mula berkempen. Memang kita turun tapi atas nama parti ataupun organisasi seperti melancarkan jentera pilihan raya dan sebagainya. Itu perkara biasa.

"Tapi ada pihak yang turun tanpa menamakan diri mereka siapa dan mengedarkan risalah. Ini satu kempen yang tidak sihat," katanya.

Sebelum ini, sebuah portal berita melaporkan Pengerusi Majlis Pimpinan Negeri PKR Johor, Datuk Chua Jui Meng mendedahkan penyebaran risalah fitnah ini di sekitar Dun Tenang.

Risalah DAP anti Islam mengandungi nota yang bertulis DAP akan mengharamkan azan, majlis maulidur rasul dan sebagainya jika Pakatan Rakyat memerintah.

The police has no doubt, unknowingly and indirectly has played their part of the boogeyman game by stopping various public speeches by Anwar and PR. Sure, whenever Anwar starts to talk, the police would come in. Of course, these people had to obey orders from the superiors otherwise, they would find themselves in disciplinary investigations and punishments for insubordination. My gut feeling is that whoever the superior that handles this matter is surely taking orders from a big man who is carrying the party membership card - hand me down order that is and the saying that Anwar is too hot to handle in Tenang. FELDA communities there are very interested to hear what Anwar and PR would say because of ANAK, standing for the FELDA community rights. According to Malaysiakini, FELDA Cempelak drew about 3000 people but many got blocked by the police.

UMNO screams at Malay politicians from opposition parties for not propagating the Ketuanan Melayu concept. They call those people traitors to the Malay race, traitors to the Nation, etc. All those calling names are always the second step that they would use to scare the normal Malay citizens of the danger of losing Malay rights and so forth. But the term Malay rights never existed in Article 153! They are hoping that many, who do not have the knowledge of the Federal constitution would panic over such fear-mongering. If a politician says that, then:

a)  either the man doesn't bother to read the Federal Constitution - a LAZY thinker. OR

b)  if the man knows but says that, then he / she is trying to lie to everyone. Menipu Melayu that is.

In fact you can go out and buy a book, English or Malay version and read it for yourselves to see what they claim is true or not. Sure, every bookstore from MPH sells that at an affordable price. No way it can be too expensive for one...And of course those who would say that are those deservedly called by Singapore (in the Wikileaks thing) as incompetent politicians and people who are bankrupt of ideas.

No need for me to repeat this and I must compliment RPK for releasing a new style of presenting the audience in his No Holds Barred column: podcast. Interestingly, the podcast is in Malay and it would be nice if people get their hands on the recording and listen in plain Malay for the sake of the majority of the audience and for those who have problems in understanding English of course.

I for one for once a while would encourage people to do a little searching around the net, since broadband penetration in Malaysia has hit more than 50 percent. What people can do is to look for not politician videos, but civil society videos, e.g Hishamuddin Rais videos that do speak similar subjects in that but in Malay as to get the idea.

Pakatan's Handicap Match vs BN And How They Blew It

1. No need for me to elaborate further than to say that Pakatan officially has 3 parties compared to Barisan Nasional that has 14 component parties together. This means that they have bigger resources for campaigning and they don't even give a shit on the election budget of campaigning, as stipulated by law -  a maximum of RM 100K / 200K per candidate, depending on whether it's state or parliament level. And in the aspect of manpower, it has become clear that PR is outnumbered 5 to 1. 

2. Recently, several quarters including MCLM and Human Rights Party Malaysia have come forward to offer themselves qualified candidates that could help to booster the young coalition. The Waythamoorthy brothers-led HRP have offered 15 candidates to stand in Indian-populated Parliamentary seats - which is better if they are to go head to head vs MIC. MCLM is going to offer at most 30 candidates to contest in the general elections. The Socialist party too have done that already, and they have got representatives in Kota Damansara and Sungai Siput.

3. The one thing that is sure from this is that these people can contest under the PR ticket. The only catch is that they have the right to say yes or no to whatever the party's decision on some policies and so forth. It is a give and take thing that PR has yet to come to terms. Batu Sapi would not have become a three-corner fight if Anwar gives Teck Lee all the clear run to contest in that area itself.

4. Many people still misinterpret these groups as the "third force" despite clear debunking of the claims by several people including Haris. These parties in are not trying to spoil the vote or to make the contest a three-corner fight. Instead the main objective is to supplement the pool of candidates available instead of having one politician being in two places, e.g: Teresa Kok, Khalid Ibrahim, Azmin Ali etc..Basic fighting strategy tells us that you are in a severe disadvantage at start of the fight if you do not have enough numbers to face multiple opponents in a fight. Though I clearly see a misinterpreting sign by the

5. Sometime ago, Barisan Nasional has major infighting in several component parties that is hardly reported on the main mass media. Unfortunately, Pakatan was still unable to seize the advantage and instead got themselves into infighting, particularly during the PKR elections itself. Fallouts and rages still keep going on and on, with the latest being Gobalakrishnan whacking Anwar Ibrahim left and right. What makes it more worse is that PR is unable to discern its enemies and its allies properly.  There are backstabbers out there where they can be hinted by saying all those sweet words that can make someone  getting too complacent. This is illustrating by saying that those who are willing to help PR out is sabotaging their efforts compared to UMNO. But remember, many supported PR not because of their love for the group by it's simply out of the hate of Barisan Nasional.

6. The frog-leaping cases of politicians jumping to the mob group is a consequence of the problem.

7. If I am called out for a cup of coffee to give an honest opinion on this subject, I would say "Screw You. You Blew It". They are not able to understand even the basics of fighting your opponent. By making the wuss out of the MCLM and other parties who wish to help but instead giving a tell tale sign of snubbing, they are making things worse for themselves. "Taking over Putrajaya" plan that they crave of will just end up as a pipe dream.There are some, if such thing happens that PR should deserved it, would end up saying sarcastically to them, "I told you so."

8. This is a very interesting take or leave offer. The first situation of PR is that being in a handicap situation, outnumbered and insufficient resources to fight in the long run. Last I heard, the door remains open for PR to come in a sit down on a table with MCLM by the third week of January. As of now, I see no reply to HRP's offer of the 15 seats and securing of Indian votes. The Indian mindset is primarily deciding on the present situation, not future or the past. Currently it's messy with the killing each other necks right now. Imagine if the fight becomes 14 vs 8 or 9, then I can say the chances of winning gets a little better. 

9. If I am in the shoes of a big man of the coalition, I would start talking with HRP first then others and then churn out a win-win power sharing agreement. The power-sharing offer must already be in hand before starting the talks.

10. Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia's decision on not participating, though they could  have add to the numbers of evening the playing field, is something that is not right. If they go and speak in ceramahs, they are facing the same AUKU thing. But are they ready to take the risks under the AUKU act? It is clearly that they too perceived the idea of MCLM as a Third Force, whereas it is actually not.

If RPK calls PR Niamah, then I say Screw U.

Little School Children Running Parliament

I won't go that much into talking about Anwar being booted out of Parliament over APCO thing, maybe I'd talk about it later but, I just find how amusing how most BN MPs behaved yesterday like if they are acting as 8-year old school children inside the body of a middle-age adult.

It's the same thing that happened in Perak that got carried over again. If you can imagine their psyche, it's the same as in Parliament. As soon as Barisan Nasional managed to get back Perak via defections of the three assemblymen there, they raved and like if they got the ball from another child. But they got the ball via unfair and brute means. So when it's time for them to pass the ball back to the rightful owners, the little child will not let go the ball at all costs. Or, the child will refuse to hand the ball back even though the child was wrong. Like the child, Barisan Nasional would manipulate the law to their own whim to deny what is rightfully the people (i.e various ridiculous rulings in courts) .

All in the end, once the thing has been done, they want to manufacture the concesnt of the people to say that what Barisan Nasional did to suspend Anwar and the other 3 MPs over the APCO jibe was correct. However, everyone is falling into the trap here. The whole thing, the aftermath here is to manipulate public opinion into accepting this thing, although, in the beginning, after evaluating things back and forth, it seems that APCO was actually misleading the Parliament to protect their clientele.

If the government has been doing things right from the beginning, APCO in fact is not needed and the acts they have done can speak for their reputation themselves. 

There are a few MPs during that episode in which no matter what they jibe or who they whack with, they more or less behaved like schoolchildren, worst than those MPs in Britain that fight by facts over the increment of tuition fees for universities. Many lack decency to behave and many behaved as yes man instead of men and women who used their heads to think whether whatever proposals would be beneficial for their own consituents or not. In fact, they have degraded into becoming not real Member of Parliaments, but Members of Party. 

This fact, etched in my mind, was one of the reasons I warned previously of the consequences of voting Linda Tsen in Batu Sapi. Sadly not many listened for they are being misled by BN.

Suspending Anwar and the other three MPs because this has clearly revealed how childish they really are, Nazri in particular since he's the one who came out with the motion. Denying them to defend is likely violating God himself, imagining that God never gave Adam the chance to defend himself. Parliament is the bigger level than the state assembly and having school children running the Parliament is a much more embarassing thing if such recording hits out worldwide. And worst come to worst, there is no fulcrum that acts as the watchdog, check and balance function since BN is bent of removing numbers that could deny 2/3rds majority.

Barisan Nasional in particular knows no shame and to keep their loot and whatever they think that people is taking back what is rightfully theirs, they started to behave like school children, unwilling to give it back. But this doesn't mean that I am whacking one side. Pakatan Rakyat too should not be spared from the similar rod. But given of the episode that day, I can give a leeway for Pakatan whom had to ask for the right to speak and defending themselves. On that day, Pakatan had one hand tied to its back. One that day, the BN mob slapped 3.9 million people who voted for PR in the face. 

These MPs from the BN front should be branded little school children who ran Parliament without shame.

And The Cheating Games Has Begun!

Consider this: 4 MPs (Anwar, Sivarasa, Karpal and Azmin) to be suspended tomorrow onwards likely for six months. With four out, this gives BN MPs a good advantage to approve  or amend any law they like with a 2/3rd majority. That is if the 7 Independent MPs also show their hand of support together.

This is their slick way to get what was lost in 2008 in a cheating manner: customary 2/3rds. For them, like school children, there are unwilling to part what is considered to be an essential tool for their survival. 

Malaysiakini took a quote from Rasah MP Anthony Loke saying that with the majority, they can do things like amending the Constitution or redrawing the election boundaries. The latter would go first because the present election boundaries, state and federal level, have already reached the 10-year interval and just in the right time for a election, if a snap that happens likely. 

But this is part of the cheating game for Malaysia. Unfortunately, the Barisan  Nasional still does not know that there are economic hitmen who would ask them to cheat in such elections in order for them to continue referring to their need of their services. And worse come to worst, whatever policies that the people think that is inappropriate, either in the present situation, would go on to their whim even without touching the people because of the 2/3rd majority that they can use in approving new law / amending existing law.

1/3rd of Barisan Nasional MPs are from Sabah and Sarawak, which gives the central leadership a hand in suspending Anwar and his trio of partners, as first order of business. However, what interests me most is that the bulk of these MPs, except for the known few hardly makes an active and real MP there. Which means that they are not real MPs but Wakil Parti. And what about Linda Tsen in this case? Wakil Parti, is my gut feeling, apart from being told by opposition MPs to study science videos to address her problem.

I don't really want to say much, but RPK's talk about 2/3rds gained by suspending 4 MPs answers the bulk of my thoughts of what to write here. And it's already past bed time now...

Witch Doctors At Work: To Con Us, The Rakyat!

According to this Malaysiakini article, Najib has cautioned the people they would mortgage the country's future to the opposition who are only good at making promises. On Thursday, Muhyiddin said that BN has to defend Putrajaya for the sake of the people.

What these both men have inferior statements in it. On the flipside of the coin, the hidden message is simple: if you vote for the opposition a.k.a Anwar Ibrahim's coalition, the BN will go down, the power of Malays will erode and whatsoever bullshit will surface and blabbered by the BN. Yes, people, there are politicians, like 'witch doctors' are out to scare people out and in the end try to con us out.

This is the most common cliche used by the BN to scare the people out of not voting for the opposition. Several instances were referenced, with one clear cut example - in 1999 the BN returned to power thanks to the non-Malay votes because they were told by then Dr. M that their rights would erode if they vote for the opposition. The common cliche is akin to the witch-doctor telling village people. Hishamuddin Rais has mentioned this several times before: the Malays get spooked by people such as witch-doctors: - 'orang-orang kampung ditakutkan oleh cerita hantu oleh bomoh. Maka mereka akan memberi apa saja barang untuk meredakan hantu' - same thing as if UMNO scares them, they would go to UMNO for cover. 

Does it sound familiar as like those protection money stories we sometimes hear?

Bariasan Nasional recently have gone to name calling Pakatan Rakyat as an evil-coalition, We actually don't make allegiances to the government, but the country instead. The rest of whatever is actually happening to BN is referred here to Thuan Chye's piece last week. 'Nuff said.

Then again, you might to reconsider again. These people above talk shit. Who is actually mortgaging the country? Pakatan is not running the country. It is Barisan Nasional! They talk about how capable they can run this country, bla blah blah whereas people are now suffering from price increments, subsidy reduction, no income increment to compensate that, there and there. Barisan brings consultants like McKinsey,  and Boston to advise on the economy. 

But don't they know that they are listening to economic hitmen with the agenda to cheat a nation with billions of dollars until Malaysia has to get an IMF bailout someday soon? Haven't we all read the book Confessions of the Economic Hitmen and notice that something similar is happening as what was written in that book?

So who is actually mortgaging the country? Who's really selling Malaysia out?

Didn't I Warn You Before? Now We All Pay The Price!

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 3 — The price of fuel and sugar will go up from midnight tonight as part of the Najib administration’s ongoing drive to reduce subsidies, but it is fraught with political risks as he mulls early elections next year.

The price of RON95 will increase by five sen to RM1.90 per litre, diesel by five sen per litre to RM1.80 and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by five sen to RM1.90 per kg. Sugar will also cost 20 sen more at RM2.10 per kg.

Through these price hikes, the government expects to save subsidy payments of RM621.9 million on RON95, RM213.2 million on diesel, RM63.5 million on LPG and RM283.5 million on sugar a year, or a total of RM1.18 billion annually.

RON97 will remain on a managed float based on market prices.

This is the second wave of subsidy cuts following the first round of hikes on July 16, when prices went up by five sen per litre for petrol and diesel, 10 sen per kg for LPG and 20 sen per kg for sugar.

Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) CEO Datuk Seri Idris Jala said today subsidy rationalisation was needed to bring down government expenditure.

“We are... doing this to make sure that our deficit is reduced. We are a responsible government. We will make sure that we will live within our means,” he said at a media briefing on the latest subsidy cuts.

Also present was Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

“One of the measures to reduce cost is to rationalise our subsidies because Malaysia’s total subsidies are higher than many other countries. Our subsidies are also not targeted at the poor. There’s quite a lot of leakages and abuses.”

The savings will be used to fund rural development, education, urban transport and other areas under the Government Transformation Programme (GTP), he added.

Idris stressed, however, that prices for fuel and sugar in Malaysia will remain one of the lowest in the region even after the subsidy cuts take place.

“Even after we have put this five-sen increase... our selling price for RON95, and also LPG and diesel and sugar, is still lower than Indonesia, lower than Singapore and lower than Thailand,” he said.

The minister in the Prime Minister’s Department was heartened by fair public reception to the last round of subsidy cuts, which he attributed to the government’s success in keeping inflation under three per cent.

“The CPI (consumer price index) increase was very, very small and that is why, when we did this, it was well taken by the public and the public didn’t really feel financially disadvantaged,” he said.

“We are controlling inflation in this country despite the first wave of increases. Because it’s very small increase, we are still able to contain everything so that does not put any burden onto the people.”

Idris said the government would take into account public feedback and the strength of the economy before deciding on when to make further moves to cut subsidies.

He added that renegotiation of independent power producers’ (IPPs) contracts was ongoing but declined to comment on the status. - The Malaysian Insider

********

This has been much of expectation to come when Idris Jala and Sabri Yaakob called for a 3 p.m meeting for a "second wave" of subsidy rationalisation (actually it's a con word for reduction). I don't really believe that reduction from subsidy is going to help much since a bulk of the money is used for amassing campaigning resources to ensure BN winning Batu Sapi last month. 

Let's make it clear and simple. If you vote for BN, be prepared to pay the price like this. They are virtually bankrupt of ideas and the current national debt stands at RM 550 billion, which means, we are in the red margin, not in the black, as what the newspaper would say. I have already warned people many times that their fate and future lies on whom you pick and picking the wrong person means "grim future". As to recuperate more money from bad debts, there goes the service tax increment next year, the insistance of having saman ekor, the hasty implementation of the AES, Rosmah kicking Hassan Merican out of Petronas, etc..

Macam-macam digunakan untuk menipu rakyat!

What most people do not know is that subsidy reduction is part of the ECONOMIC HIT MAN suggestion to the politicians / government. The following is an excerpt from the book Confessions of an Economic Hitman:

The G8 nations, World Bank and IMF are once again exploiting these nations and they are calling it "debt forgiveness". They are insisting on conditionality that are cloaked in phrases like good governance, sound economics and trade liberalization. While the language is enticing, it is also terribly deceptive. These policies are good and sound only if you are looking through the corporate windows. The countries that agree to such conditionality are called upon to privatize their health, education, electric, water and other public services - in other words, sell them to the corporate. They are forced to drop subsidies and trade restrictions that support local businesses while at the same time accepting that the U.S and G8 countries can continue to subsidize certain G8 businesses and erect trade barriers on imports that threaten G8 industries.

Removing subsidies on RON 97 and instead giving only to RON 95 is actually deceptive too. With that it gives an excuse to the government to increase the price when the appropriate moment comes. Everyone is pushed to one side, that is almost everyone using RON 95, just because of the mere arguement that RON 95 is okay, though not as great as RON 95. In other words, sacrificing quality for the price. This is actually a daily con job that most people do not seem to be aware about. And yet, people have blind faith over something that is not really true. 

I suppose they need not say anything. The fact that they are in Barisan Nasional, and Umno is the lead partner in Barisan Nasional, and Umno upholds and propagates Ketuanan Melayu, means that the non-Malays also support Ketuanan Melayu. They don’t have to make statements saying they support Ketuanan Melayu. The fact that they remain silent and remain in Barisan Nasional is an indication of their support for Ketuanan Melayu.

And the non-Malays scream and curse Umno. How stupid when it is the non-Malays who make Ketuanan Melayu possible. Bodoh! - RPK - Indians and Chinese support Ketuanan Melayu

The only problem is complacency attitude by the people. The people themselves are to be blamed for the mess. They made the wrong choice. Period. Blaming the politicians can come second to none.

Do you think that the third wave is coming by May next year?

Flawed Policies and Laws: Human Psychology Factor Missing In Account Like The Proposed Copyright Act Amendment

KUALA LUMPUR: Buyers of pirated DVDs and VCDs will be fined five times the price of the genuine products once the Copyright Act is amended.

Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (Ayah Dafi) said the ministry was hoping to table the proposal for first reading in Parliament, in the coming sitting beginning next week.

"Currently, the Act only allows us to take action against pirated DVD sellers but not those who buy these products.

"We hope that with the amendment to the Act, we will be able to curb the piracy issue in the country," he told reporters after attending the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia Hari Raya open house here Thursday.

On how the ministry would carry the enforcement once the Act was amended and whether house-to-house raids would be conducted, Ismail Sabri said the details were being planned.

He said the ministry would also work with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to stop illegal downloading from the Internet.

"We will work with MCMC to see if we can bar those involved in illegal downloading from accessing the Internet," he said.

Ismail Sabri said another amendment of the Copyright Act would also involve the collection of royalty.

"The Act will be amended to make it compulsory for all companies which collect royalty payments to register with our ministry.

"There must also be an agreement between these companies and the artistes involved to allow the former to collect the royalty," he said.

He said other intellectual property related laws like the Industrial Design Act, Patent Act and Trademark Act were also scheduled to be tabled for first reading in the coming Parliament sitting.

In April, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had said the amendments would not only tighten the enforcement of intellectual property rights but also protect small and medium enterpreneurs as well as the creative and entertainment industry. - The Star (7 October 2010)

***

Note: In this article, I will refer Sabri Yaakob as Ayah Dafi since Dafi is his son who won AF5 reality show. 

I have seen a few articles on how the Malaysian authorities would use hard-man, hard fist style tactics like that above to combat problems in the country.The article above is an example of how a hard-fist approach is used to deal with the problem that is besetting Malaysia. After a while if you seat down and think hard on this situation, you would realize that it is virtually impossible to combat such crime. Some people would come to realize that such approach and policy to be implemented is deeply flawed because there is one key factor that is missing in the writing of law: human psychology.

Failure to Understand Human Psyche

It is very essential to understand the human psyche and the reason of them acting when dealing those problems. In this case of the piracy problem, there was a lack of viewing from the perspective of the person who would be buying a product labeled "pirated" by authorities and the entertainment industry. In this case, Malaysia is not a high-income country yet. Poverty rate is still above the actual norm lines. Some people don't like censorship. Some people could afford even RM50 to buy a movie title or music CD (genuine) from shops. Video shops might not have that title they are looking for and so forth.

We can go through one or two examples to illustrate why human psychology factor was missing in the approaches of solving problems in this country. For example:

1. Why are there phone booth vandalism?

Answer: Some people who are poor who wants to dig up coins to buy food to feed their hunger. Money collectors don't come routinely and on time to collect the money in the box, instead it is left to go overflow.

2. What is the genesis of a mat rempit?

Answer: Youngsters who have motorbikes who have the desire and the yearning to be free from the shackles of controls of old paranoid men and parents who do not understand them at all. These young men, are not rich people, and mostly they are not able to afford money to buy even a single car due high protectionism amount included into the final cost of car sold in Malaysia. If they can't get a car, motorcycle would be the next best thing of mode of transport. The national economy state also forms part of the genesis. If they do not buy motorcycles, sales from manufacturers of motorcycles would be abysmal. A weak public transport system also forms part of the reason and in fact forms the biggest reason such existence. Lack of public transport planning in both city and rural areas tends to frustrate many people in as a resort.

Many come from poor environments. Not the kind of comfort houses, but hut style houses (e.g Pantai Dalam) , getting out from stuffy environments, lacking the chance to compete in real proper motorcycling races. Or perhaps from jobs that don't give them much income - that's the problem of not having minimum salary clauses.

Therefore, it is wrong for the police and the IGP to say that all mat rempits are violent and behave like gangsters. This means, you cannot simply do a hard-fist action on them at all times hoping that will solve the problem. No, it is a 50-50 likelihood that starting a hard-fist action can make them do it again and again that will disregard the law at all. Notice that from their point of view and feelings, that they do not take kindly into police as like parents putting a brakes into something that they are in the middle of doing something.

If there is a better way to solve the problem, Hishamuddin Rais proposed this: (and Subramaniam the Human Resources Minister has to do it immediately, no excuses!)

Apakah betul kerajaan ada keinginan untuk memperbaiki hidup mereka?

Jika jujur dan berniat baik maka : Susun dan tubuhkan kesatuan pekerja di semua pasar raya. Tubuhkan kesatuan sekerja untuk semua pekerja di Seven Eleven, di Giant, di Tesco , di MacDogal, di Burger King, di warong-warong Rehat Lebuh Raya Utara Selatan. Pastikan mereka yang memburuh ini bukan hanya menjadi kuli batak untuk pemodal antarabangsa. Pastikan anak anak muda yang merempit ini dibayar selumayan mungkin. Pastikan mereka tidak ditindas dengan gaji yang kecil. Wujudkan gaji minama untuk seluruh buruh pekerja.

Ini baru langkah tepat yang mendahulukan warga. Bukan mendahulukan keuntungan untuk pemodal.

Jangan hanya pandai menghina anak anak muda yang merempit sebagai wabak. Mereka bukan penyakit. Mereka adalah sebahagian dari kita. Mereka adalah anak semua bangsa. Jangan hanya pandai mengutuk dan menangkap.

Coming back to the Copyright Act amendment, it is virtually impossible to eradicate technology piracy completely. No matter what are the measures to be taken, even if they want to sent buyers to jail, in Malaysia, it will only serve to anger more people, particularly the poor. True, it will anger other parties as well. A few months ago, vice-president of Universal Music International, Francis Keeling, clearly admitted of such impossibility.

Quote from BBC (18 May 2010):

"We've got markets like Spain and Italy, where [people say] 'You buy music? What are you doing buying music when you can get it for free?' 

"Clearly those markets are in the situation where, unless we can turn those markets around, we're going to have a major problem having a music business there."

 

Proponents of anti-piracy laws even including Ayah Dafi blame much of the piracy from P2P clients used such as bit torrent. However, what Ayah Dafi does not know about it is that by saying that is tantamount to declaring chairs as illegal. He also doesn't know that it is also a new way of companies doing content distribution, selling software via digital download without having the need to produce hard-copies and CDs to be sold and distributed to their customers.  

At this point of time, it is unrealistic to go busting illegal downloaders unless other problems that cause this phenomenon are solved first before going for the last. 

Dinesh Nair wrote a view in The Malaysian Insider date 15 June 2010, in which I concur with the rest which augments one of my arguements. Excerpt:

Both the ministry and the minister fail to see that bittorrent and P2P can instead be put to better use. Flood it with legal content not otherwise available through normal channels. Independent film and music producers and directors have long faced barriers in getting their films to viewers, no thanks to the middlemen and channels which control the distribution chain now. Read: aforementioned recording and movie companies. Releasing a film to be seeded on bittorrent is one such way of bypassing this control, and it is no wonder the MDs of these companies are worried. They do not want to lose their mojo in deciding what you and I get to see or hear.

Blocking P2P on the network or even banning P2P users from accessing the network is not going to work either. It would be trivially simple for people to utilise servers outside the country to download P2P content, and then hop it back into Malaysia using regular web or FTP connections. This would make the bandwidth asymmetry much worse in addition to making any such ban ineffective. Given the cost of internet access now, this scenario would possibly make it worse.

Reversing content download from outside the country is paramount, and P2P helps in that if used correctly. Banning the technology for what some people do on it is myopic, but instead we need to look at the real reasons why piracy happens and address those. The short and curly of it is that the content is just priced too high and people do not see the value in it. However, by giving viewers a better experience (saw Avatar in 3D didnt you?), content producers can recover any revenue they may have lost. But innovation is important in achieving this.

One cannot keep shovelling the same drivel and expect the consumer to keep paying more for it. Nor blame a useful technology in order to retain control over a distribution system which has gone stale.

I truly appreciate efforts of some parties to have open source technology since it is free of charge, and it can be improved by everyone. Everyone is welcomed to contribute and add to the existing content. Which is why, many technological solutions are now leaning towards open source and it is favored by companies who do not have the big amount of budget and resources to develop and manufacture their solution / product. The problem is that big brand products licensing fee (annually) is very expensive, especially in a big organization and when you convert US dollars to ringgit, which at this point of time, still unfavorable even though it is just above the 3.00 level.

For example, Adobe Flex, single license costs $700 USD, or RM 2200 approx. The amount would be exponential if 100 (no bulk special price) units are ordered and to be used by a medium-level organization. If such budget is unacceptable, but requirement of working mandates that use of product, having to use a pirated copy is the very last resort that companies will have to do.

Putting a block or regulating Internet is equivalent to against Mahathir's assurance of no Internet control when the MSC started at the end of the 1990s. A sinister agenda that some believe about such moot for regulation (mentioned a few days ago by Rais Yatim) is that of identifying content that do not speak the same language as the government even though there is a valid reason of not saying the same thing.

Outdated and inflexible Malaysian censorship

Even if the government wants to block connections to ISP over an offense of illegal downloading, people would still find other ways to get what they want. Even pirates would find another way to around without facing the music.

The censorship laws in Malaysia remains unrealistic and people who do not like the censorship (since it disrupts viewing with mute sounds, sudden cuts etc) would definitely look somewhere else outside official sources to get the uncut content. 

The one that suffers mostly from unrealistic Malaysian censorship would be independent mediamakers themselves. Their artistic vision will be chopped down due to inflexible rules, outdated ones or otherwise and things that do not make sense at all. I am told recently that tax breaks were not given even though if a movie is shot entirely in Malaysia largely because of the Bahasa Malaysia requirement. Language condition should be secondary, it should instead be given as an additional tax break, not a clause that people might not agree upon. Also, independent films were not given opportunity for proper marketing. The bulk of media marketing would be hogged giant international studios. When this happens, coupled with unrealistic censorship laws and ratings, Malaysia can never showcase its unique media to real giants even though they get attention from other international circuits. India, whose income is lower than us also gets spotlight in Hollywood due to its Bollywood culture craze.

Did Malaysia give tax breaks to the studio that produced Anna and The King since it's shot in Batu Gajah and Penang?

An article titled The Price of Censorship sums up what I too wish to convey.

Hard-Fist Approaches Won't Work, Ayah Dafi

Recently, having returned from holiday in Australia, the cigarette packs there adopt a different and more positive approach in tackling smoking problems. Instead of displaying all the negative signs of smoking (showing damaged organs in autopsy sessions), smokers are coerced and get to call the quit smoke hotline and counseling that can encourage them to gradually go away from smoking (a more positive and humane approach). It is also a win-win situation, where counseling also creates jobs for people who like to do sweet talk but can't get a job in sales outside.

One way to combat that piracy is to have more video and music rental shops all around town. You can rent a title for a small amount of money, also beneficial that those who don't want to buy but want to listen / watch. There should be a chain of such shops that should be operated by those who have the unique business skill, not those who only know basics only, which in turn can help reduce the problem in a more better approach.

When I was in Singapore, I asked a family friend of mine, of such low prices in purchasing televisions (brand new) and media players. My first answer was maybe because manufacturers have their factories there as well, reducing the cost, but what was missing is that

Now what Ayah Dafi may or may not know is that in that process, if Ayah Dafi wants to send little fishes to prison, government may have to build a bigger prison and indirectly, the volume of little fishes, instead of hardcore criminals who commit more violent crimes are put into prison over crimes deem petty in moral grounds. The bottom line is that any social-related policy or law that is to be implemented cannot simply go on without taking human psyche factor and understanding it into account.

In short, many policies and laws like Police Act, UUCA Act and even this proposal are flawed and outdated because ministers and politicians didn't take human psyche and psychology into consideration. There was a saying, to manipulate a man is a careful project. Move a man lightly, and he moves at his whim. Move a man harder and he would turn against you. 

The Ships Raid By Israel

While the world has been condemning Israel for its actions over the ships bound for humanitarian aid in Gaza, I've read a confession by an Israeli official detailing what really happened behind the scenes. It was really a real confession by someone who wished that they would have do something else rather than raiding the ships bound for the flotilla.

Quoted from his confession article, there were actually three solutions to be considered by the Israeli government prior to the raid:

1. Allow the ship to pass - this would end the blockade. The cabinet secretary supported it but in the end more ships and bigger ones will come.

2. Stop the ship - check for suspected weapons and terrorists before letting them go. This would not break the blockade principle but raises vague suspicions. Obviously this was the best choice of the three.

3. Capture the ships and bring them to Ashdod, risking fights from the activists.

What he admitted in the end is true. Whatever decisions made from step one is wrong. But we do know that Netanyahu's government is very hawkish in nature. Hawkish in the sense, that of all the alternatives presented, the worst of all would be chosen.

If Binyamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, the Chief of Staff and the commander of the navy did not understand that this would lead to killing and wounding people, then it must be concluded - even by those who were reluctant to consider this until now – that they are grossly incompetent. They must be told, in the immortal words of Oliver Cromwell to Parliament: “You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately... Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!”

If we go back in history, way back from the historical times, the Jews were persecuted everywhere, particularly in World War II, towards the year prior to the foundation of the state in 1948. Towards the period of persecution, the have developed the mentality and  desire to remain independent - having their own sub-camp, to stand up for themselves and so forth. And there is also a desire to protect their people from threats from enemies, sometimes in the form of hitting back the same way as it does (a.l.a. eye of an eye).

Operation Wrath of God - launched in the aftermath of the Munich 1972 Olympic games massacre of 11 athletes is an example of how Israel hits back at the suspected members of the Black September - in a preemptive manner. Malaysiakini has an article whereby a volunteer claims that there was a list of nine activists that Israelis had marked to be killed. Operation Wrath of God is very similar, but not in the scale where Mossad agents go around and hunt down Black September members or so forth.

Perhaps Malaysians should have been given the chance to understand the modus operandi and how the Israeli officials think. The Steven Spielberg-directed Munich film was the closest people could have been access to have the knowledge. Obviously, Malaysia still has the animosity towards Israel, for example when Mahathir decided not to allow Schindler's List to be played in Malaysian cinemas at the end of 1993. They offered to censor sensitive portions, but given Spielberg's reputation of not allowing people to cut against his will, his decision was take or leave thing. When Syed Hamid Albar's ministry decided not to do so, it was a double-edge sword implication - avoiding the Muslim sensitivities but not allowing people to understand the workings of Israel - since it was accurate in details of what they do there.

While I am happy that Malaysians who are part of the journey to the flotilla save, with except of one or two who gets hit by rubber bullets by Israeli commandos, the ball is now in America and Obama's floor to tame the wild dog, the loose cannon is Israel. Some say that Israel is America's extension. And look at how they reacted towards world criticism as if the world is a nobody thing there. The catch is that attempting to go through the blockade has raised the eyebrows of many people. Turkey is already in anger over the killing of nine people on board. Mahathir, with its Perdana NGO-funded people getting caught in the raid is of course not happy at Israel as well, so what's there to say?

If we all condemn Israel for what they have done to Palestine, why is Malaysia still behaving exactly like what Israel is doing? This nothing more than not walking the talk. But we do know how the UMNO mentality is, to show how great they are as if behaving like village kids, each trying to show off how great they are in the village. And why aren't people from the own UMNO party dares to say that they are not doing what they preach? Silence in exchange of loyalty and rewards? It is nothing more than hypocrisy being shown.