Anwar's Appeal Afterthought Part 2

Part 1, written in October is here.

Interlude is here.

***

Around 12 hours before the outcome was delivered at exactly 12.10 pm one week ago, I've asked one of my friends and source over whether if Najib can do an 11th hour act on the appeal outcome. The obvious reason is that he may need an unlikely ally to fight against Daim and Mahathir in the likes of Anwar Ibrahim.

No was the definite answer. The Old Man is controlling the shot here. No way he'd let Anwar move out on the street and office as usual to indirectly help Najib. It can implied while Najib is PM in name, but the action is being controlled by someone else. 

"Are you going down to Putrajaya to witness the proceedings?" I asked, being the last question before we adjourned our dinner talk.

"No. There's nothing much to be surprised and awed about. Just go home and go to bed, wait for the bickering from the trial to die down and see the usual stuff that the other ultra primates will do in craziness before they start shaking legs like nothing happened....

"We're not going to depend on him anyway like if it's the end of everything." I finished the line, knowing that I am no fan of him, having being bored of the stuff he talks since 2011.

****

At least this time, unlike 3 years ago that these Pakatan people were already expecting the thing to come. When the High Court first declared a not-guilty verdict in 2012, the spanner was thrown into the plan since it was built on the assumption that he'd be sent to jail directly at that time. But even if they are ready this time round, there still remains the question mark of who will stand in his place - until they have finished their meeting later tonight or so forth.

The PMO's statement, released immediately after the panel of judges dismissed the appeal raised some eyebrows over whether it is still a fixed trial despite repeated statements that it had prepared both guilty and not guilty press statements. It comes days after Mahathir's statement asking for the court decision to be "accepted"  with other bigger issues that remains to be unanswered including 1MDB, the real motive behind Altantuya's murder (a loose end since the two cops were sentenced to death) and a few other scandals that yet to reach the conclusion. 

19 days ago, Zulkifli Noordin and the NGO Tibai have made a wild accusation saying that Anwar will flee the country if the verdict is against him and have asked for police action to avoid the circumstance that happened to Sirul. Sirul was not in court when the Federal Court delivered a death sentence for his part in the Altantuya murder. But his response, his 10 day-roadshow and his last  defiant-oriented press statement before going off to Sungai Buloh prison is to portray himself as an example of someone going against the myth of the lazy native and embarking on the spirit of adventurism (semangat adventurisma).

According to Revolusi Mental, the definition of a lazy native includes characteristics such being a fatalist, insincere of oneselves, not seeing to their own faults, lack the courage to fight for the truth (read: everything must be accepted, even if wrong), making promises that are warm as a fowl's manure, contentment - that is no courage to take risks and many more that can be named.

In July 1995, Dr. Mahathir made a call:

“Semangat adventurism ini kalau dalam bidang ilmu ialah kesediaan untuk diuji dan dicabar. Kita tidak boleh mendakwa menjadi orang ilmu atau pakar sekiranya kita tidak diuji pada peringkat paling tinggi.”

In observation and on the outset, Dr. Mahathir wanted to encourage things that will break the myth of the lazy native. He ultimately failed, in what was admitted as his biggest failure in his 22 years as PM. Pak Habib Al-Attas once saw Anwar as a person who can pick up that baton and continue that fighting spirit, considering of the age gap, but this ideal has yet to demonstrated and seen by the masses.

Why is our Police Inspector-General agitated when a cartoonist and a opposition MP have made a statement of disagreement and then demanded a Sedition-Act investigation against them? The two men are just defending the country against a government. Could this a sign that we are heading to a failed state, with the top cop showing a sign of not being impartial like what he tweeted?

Does it imply that everything cannot be questioned at all and people should be meek?


***

congratulations, UMNO, to incarcerate one man you fucked the whole country.
— cina™ (@YouTiup) February 10, 2015

I will not be surprised that within one year or so after this, Shafee Abdullah will be given the post of Attorney General when Gani Patail, having finished banging his table for the 3-year quest of incarcerating one man. I won't be surprised that the supporting players in this drama are given various rewards for the role they played.

Yes Or No, What Is The Vote Count?

Note: This posting can be considered as filler for Part 2. Part 1, written in October 2014 can be read here.

There is less than two days to go before the Federal Court decides if Anwar Ibrahim's appeal against Sodomy II conviction is dismissed (read: Go to Jail) or overturned again.

Three weeks ago I was invited for a dinner session by a friend at Bangsar as to discuss certain business matters having driven straight away from a small retreat in Bukit Tinggi. I've asked him whether if he had seen a live streaming of Anwar Ibrahim's talk session at One World Hotel held on that afternoon itself. 

He said no, but asked what are the points that Anwar mentioned throughout the three hours there. 

Based on what was mentioned in certain news portals, I just gave him the points in summary based on what I've skimmed through. After that, based on what Anwar said, my friend speaks of things that seems to be certain.

"This means my information is correct. They (judges) are going to throw out the appeal and send him to the jail."

So it seems to confirm my hunch feeling that I've written a few months ago (assuming that the judges are going to deliver on that same day). A few days to that, Syed Akbar Ali's information seems to match with what he said and what I felt. So it confirms my suspicion that some of the politikus aligning to the Old Man is determined to throw him off. And I keep imagining that the AG has been banging his table for more than 3 years since the High Court gave a not guilty verdict baying for his blood like a hound.

"What's the vote of hands?" I asked.

It's 3 to 2. 

Hmm... seems to match my hunch too. My friend doesn't think that it would be 4-1. One week ago, Raja Petra Kamarudin seems to think it's 4-1, if the judges have their own way.

The next question was who are the judges likely to send him to jail. My friend and his source said "You know, the usual lot"...

Scratching my head, I tried to recall the names of 5 judges who presided in the Federal court appeal. 

According to the insider source, it is likely that Raus Sharif, Suriyadi Omar and Ramly Ali are the ones that could vote yes to dismissing appeal, while the CJ Ariffin and Hamid Embong (they say he has a very good singing voice) is likely to say otherwise. When I asked about Raus and Suriyadi, my friend scorned at hearing the names of the two judges.

The last question we went to our business matter talk is of what happens after that? Assuming that we stick to the guilty verdict, I believed that there are many UMNO supporters and flea-primates are likely to jump up and down in excitement to see someone so badly in jail and then after a few days would shake their legs as if business is back to usual and the trend of "yes man" behind the scenes resumes as usual.

"You got it wrong, my friend."

He went to elaborate that once the verdict is out, people, starting with the opposition supporters will start to get angry at Najib, government and UMNO. Next few months down the line, ordinary people will start to join the queue, once they start to feel the real pinch of GST and worsening economy from the ongoing currency and petrol price wars between the big nations. Later, more people, especially the Malay people out of sympathy could jump ship in support. So this too hews closely Syed Akbar's opinion as well.

"You can be surprised that he can do more damage from the prison."

In anyway, Najib and Co gets a double whammy. Even at the 11th hour, with Najib deciding to intervene with the 5 judges,  considering possible reaction, his internal party would not be very happy would start to use any means to kick him out. The label "incompetent" is hovering around Najib by some of them.

If there are people thinking that everything will vanish one way or another after the fallout of the trial, they are sadly mistaken. I will not be surprised the outcome in the future can be turned into a revolution one way or another, internal or external. And as Matthias Chang once said, it's not surprising that the new four letter work replacing the word "FUCK" is "UMNO".

Praying By Itself Will Never Solve Problems

If there's one thing common that I've seen on twitter whenever there is an incident such as the Airasia QZ8501 / Malaysia Airlines MH 17 or the east coast flood lines is that the hashtags for those incidents will something like:

#PrayForMH17 #PrayForMH370 #PrayForPantaiTimur and so forth.

It is something that I didn't really 

The Malay Mail's Boo Su Lyn has succinctly summed up what I'd want to say in the last few days. She said:

We live in the 21st century.

But instead, we still have such superstitious beliefs governing Malaysian life.

When the ferocity of the floods hit, hashtags like #PrayForPantaiTimur and #PrayForEastCoast emerged.

Similarly, after Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501 disappeared Sunday, hashtags #PrayForQZ8501 and #PrayForAirAsia appeared.

There is nothing wrong with prayer. Prayer may be a very calming act at a time when everything seems to fall apart beyond one’s control.

But it is far more crucial to take preventive measures so that such environmental and aviation disasters do not happen again.

Kelantan Deputy Mentri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said last Friday that disasters were God’s will which could not be stopped by humans and went on to pass the buck to Putrajaya over the floods.

Prayer will not prevent floods from happening again this year or the next if Kelantan insists on prioritising considerations of deity over practical measures. - 

See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/opinion/boo-su-lyn/article/the-bad-in-beseeching-deities-during-disasters#sthash.W1feMmQu.dpuf

In his Kastamonu speech (30 August 1925), Ataturk, the founding father of Turkish Republic said:

"In the face of knowledge, science, and of the whole extent of radiant civilization, I cannot accept the presence in Turkey's civilized community of people primitive enough to seek material and spiritual benefits in the guidance of sheiks. The Turkish republic cannot be a country of sheiks, dervishes, and disciples. The best, the truest order is the order of civilization. To be a man it is enough to carry out the requirements of civilization. The leaders of dervish orders will understand the truth of my words, and will themselves close down their lodges [tekke] and admit that their disciplines have grown up.^"
 

In light of our disasters, what do you really get hope to get asides from the idea coping yourself the lazy way as she asked? But this does not mean that we should not pray. 

Rather, the problem is that we've been too much relying and dwelling on spiritual and material benefits in the guidance of the clergy. We seem to be neglecting the importance of the progressive mankind. Even the holy books never explicitly say that it should be interpreted base on the time when its narratives were written. Vision 2020 also alludes on civilized community one that is well knowledgeable and radiant, but we've not yet reach that kind of society that was striven 23 years ago. We're about 5 years to reaching that target but not much of progress seen.

Malaysia should not be a country that has the same attribute that Ataturk has said above.

Are we saying that we should be pray but without accompanying action as of what the columnist said pray for the beggar but not offering food, shelter nor clothing?

Are we saying that while we pray, we leave things as it is, left untouched?

Why didn't we lift a finger in improving the drainage and rainwater flow system years earlier? Is it just because we have a zero-sum thinking that the other party should not collaborate with the federal level for everybody's benefit?

Why didn't we bother to pay attention to the slightest portions of the current air aviation system ineffectiveness? 

Do we need to have an apocalypse or something to bang in your head to wake up? Too many times, people have ignored it until they finally wake up when people reach the end of the world.

No wonder the fatalistic attribute described in the Myth of The Lazy Native rings true. Fatalistic in the sense of  saying "everything is the will of God" but we didn't bother doing things to accompany it. Fatalism is this kind of attribute that Patton, the famous WW2 general poured scorn onto it. 

As for side note, there have been question of why our Arab friends aren't helping in form of action aid to our airplane crisis nor the country's floods whereas it is China and Taiwan who are offering aid first?

Why aren't our Arab friends helping us in this time of trouble when we keep harping praises of the Arabs?

Why do you keep calling China communists while they came and offer relief humanitarian aid to our flood victims?

Get real!