Chief Justice should be serving six months sentence.

Malaysians must be wondering in amazement that the P.M. is even considering and pondering over the decision to extend the tenure of Chief Justice, AhmadFairuz.
Despite his 'elegant silence in his role in theLingam Tape,Ahmad Fairuz should be serving a six month sentence behind bars instead of being rewarded with a six months extension of his tenure.
Ahmad Fairuz will go down in history as the ChiefJustice that brought the Judiciary to the depths ofdisrepute and infamy and to honour him with anextension of his tenure is to make a mockery of ourJudiciary system.
To redeem some measure of pride and preserve thegood name of our judiciary,a tribunal should be formed to investigate his unsavoury role in the Lingam saga.
Anything short of this would cast serious aspersion on our Judiciary and besmirch the good name of those innocent judges who unfortunately are lumped togather with the bad apples.

No, Not another space tourist at our expense.

I refer to the Malaysiakini report, Second citizen into space in 2 years.
Many Malaysians would have thought that sending one flight space participant is already an extravagant pastime but now we are being told by Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology Jamaluddin Jarjis that 'Muszaphar's back-up candidate, Faiz Khaleed, would become Malaysia's next astronaut or angkawasan.'
Are our leaders so egoistic that after spending a wasteful astronomical sum without achieving anything we are now about to consider sending another 'angkawasan' who is nothing but a space tourist?
Despite, Nasa’s official classification that Muszaphar is a space flight participant, our leaders continue to insist that he is an astronaut. Perhaps before jumping to their conclusion I should remind them that prior to this there were two other flight participants who paid US$20 million for the privilege of being a paid space tourist.
They were an elderly American billionaire and a wealthy middle-age woman of Iranian American descent. As with Muszaphar, they underwent a year of fitness training programme prior to a similar journey to space. So what exactly is the difference in training that distinguish Muszaphar's classification as an astronaut whereas the other two were merely space flight participants?
As for the misleading publicity that he would be conducting some experiments. Perhaps they should be forewarned that space tourist are not allowed to conduct or perform any experiments on board lest the wrong experiment may jeopardise the space odyssey.
Further, also be forewarned that space tourists are also not allowed to simply press any buttons or panels lest the wrong button may send them on a reverse trajectory back to earth. This would be an utter embarrassment for a Malaysian space tourist to be responsible for cutting a journey of 15 days to just three days.
Just as Rome was not built in a day, a cosmonaut or an astronaut was not trained in one year. That essentially explain why after training for one year, Muszaphar is not a cosmonaut but a mere space tourist.
For that reason alone, it would save our government a lot of money and embarrassment if we just forget the idea of sending another space tourist at the expense of the taxpayers money.

Dont fight for race but fight for a cause.

I wish to refer to Dato Lee Hwa Beng's letter (BN's tradition of quotas protect non-Malays) and Fahri Azzat’s reply, An apologist for racial politics.
Like Fahri, I feel insulted that Dato Lee should justify the present race-based BN concept as a means of preserving the few insignificant nominations for councillors and candidates for state and Parliament position for his non-Malay party (meaning MCA). His astonishing view that the Malays would vote en bloc on racial preference is an insult directed specifically at the Malay intelligentsia.
The present generation of educated, middle-class Malays are no longer as compliant as Dato Lee would like to think. The Malays of today are astute and more confident than their predecessors and if circumstances force them to, I am sure they will vote intelligently focusing on qualities of good governance, accountability and integrity.
In discharging their obligation, I am confident that they will not vote along racial lines but on the calibre of the candidate. I can only hope the Chinese and Indians can be just as astute.
As an insignificant participant in the ‘Walk for Justice’ with the lawyers, I saw Muslim Malay women and men, despite the fasting month of Ramadan, braving the inclement weather, and finally waiting in the drenching rain waiting for the Bar Council president to appear from the PM's office after presenting the memoranda for a royal commission.
Dato Lee should have been there because what I saw were brave men and women fighting not for their race and religion but they were there fighting for a cause.

Believe Me, Lingam Tape is Genuine

What is the rationale for Najib Razak to appoint a three-man panel to authenticate the Lingam tape? The credentials of those appointed are more suited to adjudicate a court case with the exception of social activist, Lee Lam Thye. What we perhaps need are people with technical expertise to determine the authenticity of the tape using forensic and other specialised methods.
However, even a layman with no expertise whatsoever can easily vouch from the tone of voice and the mannerism of the speaker that it was a genuine tape.
Even the topic that revolves around the appointment and rejection of judges bear a stark semblance of reality. Lingam would have to be an expert soothsayer to predict the outcome of the appointment and promotion of the judges and chief judge that was elevated subsequently.
The most convincing piece of evidence was the video picture of Lingam gesturing with his hands as he talked. The words and sentences that flowed from his mouth did not appear to be dubbed or there would have been a mistiming of his gestures and his words.
If ordinary mortals like me can surmise the accuracy of the tape, I wonder what the technical experts can do if given the opportunity to authenticate the tape.

No Sane P.M would do away race-based Politics.

To ask Barisan Nasional to surrender their race-based politics and to work towards a non-race based parties would be akin to asking them to surrender their extravagant and luxurious lifestyle of the rich and famous.
For the last 50 years, they have been so accustomed to easy plundering of the nation's coffers that it is unlikely they are going to give up without a fight.
Every ministry without exception, from the high-tech Defence Ministry to the lowly mundane Sports and Culture Ministry have been the target of politicians and civil servants who deemed it fit to inflate contract price of goods bought so that they can rip off the ministry's coffers.
Therefore, what incentive would there be for them to abandon the race-based party politics that have served them so well in exchange for a non-race-based politics that would subject them to meritocracy and a level-playing field.
No wonder when the proposal was put forth at the Gerakan Assembly, it was quickly shot down by the PM because no sane PM would want to miss the opportunity to reap the proverbial pot of gold especially when it is their turn.
As for the ordinary rakyat, our only hope is that the majority of the voting people will awaken from their 50 years slumber and banish this nightmare from our midst.

Sharir-UMNO man to the core.

I refer to Malaysiakini letter, Shahrir has finally crossed the rubicon.
For many terms, the Johor parliamentary constituency was virtually given to Shahrir Samad on a platter. He won on the same seat every time he contested not because he was an Umno member but because for many he was a beacon of hope for the downtrodden and the underdog.
At times he was even prepared to incite the wrath of Umno members who thought he was on the other side of the divide. But throughout his term of service in his constituent, he was always faithful and dependable to his principles. Such was his integrity that he gave up his chairmanship at the Backbenchers Club because he supported an opposition motion which lacked the support from his own party.
However, all his good work came to nought when in one single moment of madness, Shahrir castigated the 2,000 lawyers for participating in the Walk for Justice to present a memorandum for a royal commission to the PM. That act alone should convince his fervent supporters that a leopard never changes its spot.
Shahrir has finally reveal his true identity that he is an Umno man to the core.

Municipals councils getting too much

Lately we saw municipal councils all over the country raising their quit rent and assessment rates some as much as 100 to 200 percent. Now that they are flush with their new found wealth, most of these municipal councils don't seem to know how to spend it.
From Seremban to Kota Baru we see municipal councils tearing down lamp posts and replacing them with those with a 'flowery' design. Why should they suddenly have the urge to replace good working lamp posts with ones costing about RM8,000 each is anybody's guess.
But my guess is simple. Only by replacing these utilities can someone siphon the money from the municipal's kitty.
But after reading the malaysiakini report Howls of protest over 'nab the dog' contest' on the Selayang Municipal Council's stray dog-catching competition, I must say this idea takes the cake as far mindless spending by a municipal council is concerned.
If this is any indication how our municipal councils are going to spend our hard-earned money from the increase in assessment and quit rent rates, then I am going to register my protest by not paying them at all.
For too long our municipal councillors have not been held accountable for their extravagant expenditure and with each passing year they are getting more and more innovative in their wasteful spending.
The presidents and municipal councillors are appointed and not elected and most of them are more acquainted with rural living rather than urban living. When appointed to their posts, they don't seem to know what their duties entail. The only thing that don't requires any expertise is to simply spend on wasteful and unnecessary projects which at the same time also accrue to them some side income.
Other wasteful expenditure (as in Seremban and Kota Baru) is to remove the existing pavement and pathway tiles and replace them with one of a new design. Some of these pavements, however, are located in the most ridiculous places where perhaps the only ones using them would be cows and goats.
As usual we can shout from the top of our roofs but our pleas for some sanity to prevail will most likely fall on deaf ears.