The Other Casino in Kuala Lumpur

Popular Islamic preacher Azhar Idrus has come out in defence of Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, saying the PAS spiritual leader had not called BR1M recipients animals but blamed the Barisan Nasional (BN) government was treating them as such.

Harakahdaily reported Azhar as saying at a lecture here today that Nik Aziz’s analogy comparing BR1M handouts to animal feed had been misunderstood, adding advice to the public to be careful with what they read or hear in the media.

Azhar, who anchors his own TV lecture programme on Astro Oasis called “Kemah Keming Ustaz Azhar Idrus”, clarified that Nik Aziz had only meant that the administrators of BR1M, a government initiative where the poor are given RM500 cash handouts, were treating the people like animals by giving them money.

“In truth, what we heard from the video clip of Tok Guru that likens BR1M recipientst animals, was actually Tok Guru saying that those who are administering the BR1M handouts are trying trying to turn people into animals.

“It is like feeding them, and then slaughtering them.

“Meaning it is evil that these people are only offering aid when they feel they need to... when the elections are far away, they don’t even give help,” he was quoted as saying in Harakahdaily during a lecture at Masjid Pengadang Baru near Kuala Terengganu.

Malaysia Chronicle, 22 February

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The metaphor / analogy that Nik Aziz said of is very identical to what I've been saying in the last few months or so. Because of BR1M, I often viewed UMNO as the other billion dollar casino in town apart from the only one in Malaysia, Casino Genting. My analogy of UMNO as a Casino is that they will give you some money out of gratitude and then, a few months after the general election, there would more things that could be imposed on the people including GST, the continuation of poorly executed AES summonses and future taxes / price increments including the global carbon tax (due in 2016 onwards).

If you are someone who have visited casinos before, playing there with real money bets can be addictive. As to keep you, the player happy, the casino are happy to offer you incentives, including free stays - usually in the form of memberships. Since they are casino, they are likely to win more money compared to the money they are likely to lose.

The same metaphor also applies to UMNO. One of the traits of the lazy native is that they want to make quick buck without shaking much of a sweat. Even this involves charging a high amount but with a lousy quality of a service that would be given. One of the examples is of course the Internet broadband service here, still at a yet to be satisfactory level, but at a high monthly fee.

Anyway, back to BR1M, I am actually overqualified, hence I can't take that money. In the months after the 12th GE, Pak Lah announced of a RM625 fuel subsidy (one time) given to people, but collected from the post offices nationwide. If you divide it, the subsidy can help you for about one year, based on a medium size car and your way of managing monies.

Anyone who has some finance-related education would know that this BR1M is merely a short-term measure. It can maybe help between 1-3 months. Of course this was given to make people - especially those who react by emotionally to feel appreciated and giving support to the coalition. But the danger is that expect more money being milked out by the people back to them after six months or so. This is of course in contrast to the proper way of having extra disposable income and letting your money generate money.

You can sure understand the reason the casino in Kuala Lumpur called UMNO is doing so, because the intelligence reports from the Special Branch about losing badly compared to 2008 is far more grim for them. This would definitely being one of the biggest gambles Najib and co would do in order to recoup their investments later on. And breathing down on the necks of the board directors as well as the pit bosses is of course the casino owner, Mahathir Mohamad, (remember he registered the party after the original was de-registered in 1988 by court order). It's all of course of a destruction to his legacy and his plan of putting his three boys in key positions that forms the reason of why the boss would do various things including flipping his own statements made before.

The problem is that there are still many people who think emotionally. As RPK put literally in "Why are Malays so narrow minded":

The Malays have to learn to be like the non-Malay Malaysians and not rant and rave every time you do not like what someone says. And this was what Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad lamented about when he said that the Malays are too emotional and feudalistic and should be more pragmatic like the Chinese. And Dr Mahathir is right. The Malays are too emotional, unlike the Chinese and Indians.

In this age, disasters and events shaping the nation no longer recognizes race, as with the common sayings of "Death knows no bounds" and many more. And yet, many still take religion into factors, a zero sum result that doesn't really affect all people, except the naive ones.

The only main difference between a normal casino and Casino UMNO is that the games played doesn't involve luck and people can choose to take their monies back or in a rather sarcastic way, spilling more of their own money unwillingly in future to an organization that is found to commit white-collar crimes but above the law. 

 

I am sure you can figure out the solution if you are honest with yourselves and put in a situation where you have to choose between life and death of self-esteem with no option to back out, with abstinence means also death as well. 

Keeping It Simple and Short

Quite a while, I have taken a backseat from blasting non-stop politically every day except on some cases where some people asked me questions about what's going to happen in Malaysia in the next 3-5 months or so. I had two things to consider writing as Chinese New Year is coming up in the next three days and given of the current scenario that is happening in Malaysia, I thought of bringing up the first matter, that is on being a voter perspective.

There have been politicians from both sides talking about good and bad about one another but the worst part is dragging their family members into the mess merely to get the brownie points. And also I have observed by listening to audio recordings of many ceramahs by the Opposition politicians and excerpts from what BN politicians to say,  I noticed that you don't even need to be confused on listening who is correct or not.

You only merely need to see what situation are in and your pocket. In fact it is a keep it simple and short thing that will help you decide whether you need rectification or not.

It's a sad thing that to this day, there are still people out there, especially the Malay community that are still looking at race and religion factors, disregarding the more important basic need factors such as living and standards of life. The four horses of Apocalypse does not know any skin and religion, and so does the economy.

In fact, many of us still are not sincere with ourselves. That is in fact a problem, a trait of a lazy native. Maybe you have to answer a few questions about yourself and if you are those who have kids, picture what happens if you fail them in the next 10-20 years or so. Empowerment would be needed then, but not to the point of making yourself confused and full of information to be swallowed in one single go.

Well, since there's at least another 50 days to go before the rumored date of elections, you need to think hard of the questions - non-political but your needs. From the way it goes, it looks like the casino owners in PWTC are unlikely to change, even if the claim to say so because of the need to feed their warlords and pitbosses.

If you are senior citizen, you may think of this as the last shot of a better future for your grandchildren. If you are someone like myself, having problems of livelihood also ask yourselves. And as my friend said, if you keep choosing a white-collar criminals in the elections, it you yourselves to be blamed for any disaster that is to happen in the future for your choice was proven wrong. I keep mentioning this in commenting to some people who lamented after by-elections in Bagan Pinang and Hulu Selangor.

In line of keeping it simple ask yourself this (you can add questions apart from that):

1. Which coalition is presently running the government? How long?

The first question is important because the subsequent questions will be that under that present government:

2. Are you having problems getting things that can improve quality of life?

3. Do you really mind paying exorbitant prices and owe monies to the banks just to get a place to stay in the city?

4. Are you angry but still will to pay twice of the actual price just to get a good car or changing one?

5. Have you look your children / grandchildren and notice how at times unhappy they are at times?

6. How you feel if white collared criminals getting away free in immunity whereas they actually did it?

7. Do you notice that the number of non-Malaysians coming in for low labor are out of control?

8. If you are being raped by the person whom you chose, would choose that person again? How about replace person with a party?

9. Are you happy with your present savings that can last you for the next 20 years or so?

10. Have you picture yourselves being in countries such as Greece?

This where you have to be very sincere with yourself. I am not going to push much but would give the breathing space for you people to think minus political mileage and factor. You have to decide. Sure, the brilliant minds are being put in violent persecution by the mediocre minds, as Einstein said.

Wanted: To ABU In Gopeng

I was in Ipoh for these few days over some personal matters including attending a schoolmate's wedding. Yesterday, I went to the car workshop in Maxwell Road (Jalan Tun Razak) for my usual car service. These people know me well there for most of car maintenance work was done there. 

Usually, the two men there, Hussain, the store manager and Zul, the workshop manager would greet me whenever I am there. This round, I was surprised when Zul greeted me with "Ubah". I immediately thought that he must have gone to a DAP ceramah or something there. He then told me about the possible parliament being dissolved on 22 February with polling date on 30th March

I said, "Ubah is DAP's", and suggested instead with "ABU - Anything But UMNO" reasoning that it could have more impact, considering some people who still may have a negative perception of DAP (being chauvinist, anti-Malay). I asked Zul whether he had went to a DAP ceramah where he must have got that slogan or so. But instead, Zul revealed that he also moonlights as a PAS member in Gopeng.

Just to refresh the memory, the MP for Gopeng is PKR's Dr. Lee Boon Chye (formerly the Ipoh Specialist Center cardiologist) and under the constituency would be three places: Sungai Rapat, Simpang Pulai and Teja. Of course Sungai Rapat's incumbent assemblywoman is of course Hamidah Osman.

Zul asked me whether if there are any materials that can be helped to inform voters abreast of the current issues, in all areas and especially to increase voter support for PAS in Sungai Rapat (remember that Hamidah won by less than 700 votes vs IR Radzi Zainon). 

I replied that materials from the ABU website would be sufficient to help his PR team more. I told him to print the leaflets including the Lao Tzu vs CSL comics, show and distribute those videos there to the public to keep them informed. Also, rather than people bashing, I asked him to try bringing out those bread and butter issues and asking the public about the present problems they are facing like buying a house or a car, or even get them to think rationally out of the box rather rather than on religion and race matters - an issue that can never escape from the Malay mindset.

I also explained that the Christian state problem is a zero sum game, for it requires not 2/3rds but 3/4ths of the MP support (stage 1, being an extraordinary case) and the overall consent from the Council of Rulers (Majlis Raja-raja Melayu, stage 2) before it can happen, but chances of that happen is less than 5%.

With the permission to use their office computer, I showed the ABU website including the leaflets to the entire staff that can be downloaded, printed and distributed to the masses. The only problem for Zul's PR team was to have Chinese versions of the Mengapa Harga Barang Naik - considering that Simpang Pulai and Teja is Chinese majority area - which if possible to provide a Chinese version of the leaflet as well.

Lastly, I cautioned Zul and team to be very very careful of Ngeh, Nga and associates. Not because of prejudice, but sometimes their actions indirectly caused the fall of the PR state government in 2009. Lately, the two cousins were mentioned prominently in a scandal in MediaPerak ran by friend and fellow blogger Mat Saman Kati. Also, we got to remember the incident in Taman Kaya where old man Simon got harassed by a couple (I know who but won't mention here). 

If PR wants to recapture Perak and run a full 5-year term, then one of the things that must be done is that Ngeh-Nga people have to control their ego by not calling the shots, lest it will be the same mistake repeated over and over again.