In a study by the Higher Education Rating System (Setara), University Malaysia (UM) has been named as the country’s top university with a perfect score of 5 (excellent) in the research-based university category, for god sake.

But the real funny part comes from no less than the Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khalin Nordin when he proudly proclaimed the system which is used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of public universities so as to improve quality, by continuously doling out more awards to local universities?

As a matter of fact, we all know how UM fares when comes to global ranking for universities.

Remember the "disastrous downward" in the The Times Higher Education Supplement? Top 100 in 2004 and out of top 200 in 3 years time?

It’s awful and terrible that a sound mind is good enough to tell you that total revamp is necessarily vital to regain the glory, excellence, pride and dignity we attained in the past, especially when Royal Professor Ungku Aziz was still at helm, as the VC of UM for 2 decades, starting from 1968? What are essential measures to prod them into action, which is likely to rejuvenate and restore the respected institution to its past glory?

Instead of embolden these institutions via the insignificant award, the Higher Education Ministry should focus on academic and education achievements of our local universities. Honestly, when you’re being labeled as the best, it means you’re basically flawless, or in another word, you’re just perfect!

Hence, what kind of improvement do you expect from an excellent student? Instead of quality improvement as expected from the Higher Education Ministry, I can safely assume that it’s complacency which stands the better chance to creep into the  student’s mind, rather than the motivation to prod them to work harder!

Even if the Higher Education Ministry wants to scream at the top of its lungs the achievements of the local universities, they should continue to pursue various questions, such as, what are the prestigious international awards our local universities have received? What are the breakthrough scientific research produced by the UM academic and research community? What are the percentage of graduates gaining employment within a period of 6 months?

Those will be regarded as the real achievements of a top university, not award like the best among the worst.

When will we ever learn and move forward? It’s indeed shameful while the truth is, glory lies only in the resurrection.

I’m quite intrigued by the low-cost fight between the national carrier Malaysia Airlines and low-cost carrier AirAsia.

Half past midnight, two emails came into the mailbox about the same time, with AirAsia offering international free seats while MAS via it’s low-cost carrier subsidiary FireFly is busy counter-attacking AirAsia’s recent "sub-zero free seats" promotion.

It’s indeed the kind of competition that we’ve longed for and somehow or rather, it’s getting common nowadays, in which, it’s good for us!

In the end of the day, it’s the average joes like you and me that stand to benefit from it instantly, doesn’t matter whether calculators do lie or otherwise.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told parliament that special protection for national car Proton has been withdrawn.

Thanks Mr. PM, it’s a good start indeed, nevertheless, it can be better, definitely.

What about selling off Proton, as well as the pride and dignity that has been the stumbling block for the past negotiation with distinguished international carmakers like Volkswagen and General Motor (GM)?

What about doing away with the Approved Permit (AP) policy which only enriching a small group of cronies and simultaneously cutting down the car prices which directly proportional with an increase in car ownership?

The place I’m currently in now, automobile is dirt cheap that even maids can afford to drive Toyota Vios to the market, hence the total frustration if I’m to do the direct comparison against the scenario in our homeland.

Here in this peace of Boleh-land, we’re indeed living in a very interesting place with interesting development at an interesting time.

It all started when the internal rifle within the Barisan Nasional coalition was further exposed in no other than the Parliament, led by some unhappy men.

Initially, Kalabakan MP Abdul Gapur Salleh has called on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to reshuffle the Cabinet to give Sabahan MPs key ministerial posts by the end of the year.

He also asked for an increase of oil royalty from 5% to 20% so that the RM500mil allocation would be increased to RM2bil.

Now, it’s interesting to note that recently, the de-facto leader Anwar Ibrahim said that if the People’s Coalition forms the federal government, Sabah will get up to 20% of royalties from oil and gas and timber, an interesting idea which was rejected by the Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman as merely a ploy to win the support of the people.

Subsequently, Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan joined the fray, by asking the Federal Government to attend to the state’s problems, saying "it is the only sensible thing to do".

To add more insult to the injury, PKR Sabah chief concluded that the discussion with BN MPs to cross over to PR as "very real".

Now, no thanks to the SIL’s who is very much well protected by the PM, he took a swipe at Pakatan Rakyat by writing it off as only a "public relations" exercise, and worse, referring the state government’s pig-breeding project and labeling it as "Project Khinzir Raksasa" P-K-R (giant pork project).

Let’s see in another few months down the road, the SIL is still credible enough to raise to the occasion on the opposite side and struts across the Parliament hall or merely hiding behind his mother’s skirttails.

As I said earlier, we’re indeed living in a very interesting place with interesting development at an interesting time.

We shall see.

Finally, Raja Petra Kamaruddin was released on bail from the Sungai Buloh prison.

By looking at the reception given to him upon his release, the kind of applause won, hot pursuit from the journalists as well as many shutters happily clicking away with their cameras, it’s apparent that RPK is now being seen as leading the game, celebrated as the people’s champion, if not winning the initial phase of this David vs Goliath battle.

The more the Government looks into every angle to suppress the rakyat’s voice, the more the rakyat want to be heard and the more they’re going to revolt.

I guess, finally, one is safe to assume that the rakyat has been awaken. It’s such a significant social-political awakening in us that many of us no longer fear the intimidation from the Government, given the examples that we’ve witnessed so far.

It’s also worthy for the Government to note that, it has been proven throughout the years that if you can’t fight them, it’s imperative to join them.

Here in Malaysia, after 50 years of monotonic ruling, eventually it’s proven to work equally well too.

However, let’s this be an effortless initiative.

Instead of putting in the little act of intimidation here and there, the Government should assert more focus in looking for ways to win back the rakyat’s heart, especially since the Government via the Information Ministry has voiced out the intention to setup blogs and to promote mutual interaction between the Government and the rakyat, let’s do it with utmost sincerity, pride and dignity.

For a starter like them, to be fair, it might be impossible to be flawless while wanted to be seen as taking active participation into blogosphere and promoting freedom of speech, afterall, it has been totally an alien matter for the Government all this while before the heavy defeat in the last political tsunami on March 8.

However, I can’t help but to ponder, if the Indonesia Government can do it well in such a delicate manner, why not here in Malaysia? What’s the stumbling block?

For the past few days, our homeland has been continuously shattered by undreamed of and unimaginable reality.

Let me tell you why.

Joke #1.

A whopping RM792,325.20 was spent by the Government for the use of executive jets by PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy Najib Tun Razak between Feb 24 and March 7, which is during the campaign period.

Stuck in the traffic jam? Well, go pay toll then!

Joke #2.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Maximus Ongkili said that the Government paid RM39.11mil for the Angkasawan space programme, with RM16.8mil was born by the ministry and RM22.28mil by government-linked agencies.

Not impressed with the most expensive teh tarik, roti canai and sambal belacan in the world?

Well, do you think the Government cares?

Joke #3.

Agriculture and Agro-Based Minister Mustapa Mohamed urge the people to reduce rice consumption in view of high-rise food prices.

Not enough rice to go around? Well, go eat potatoes then!

Not good enough?

Here comes the bomb!

The Information Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek said his ministry is planning to set up blogs to disseminate information and to receive feedback on current issues.

He added that the ministry would also hold dialogue with bloggers who were considered "critical" by the Government.

Interestingly, while the statement was only made less than 24 hours ago, Malaysia Today news portal webmaster Raja Petra Kamaruddin charged under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act for publishing "seditious article" on April 25 on his blog.

While this is totally and definitely a new level of arbitrary decisions here and there all together, it’s pretty fair for one to presume that this has to be a case of the nastiest hypocrite government in the history of our nation.

Now, it’s about time the world putting Malaysia under microscope, with the internet-blocking giant China seemingly a saint out of nowhere.

After the public outcry over the unruly first sitting of Parliament, the Information Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek was thinking of scrapping the live telecast of proceedings in the Dewan Rakyat.

Unfortunately, even the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi also agreed that live telecast of the proceedings should be scrapped, saying that he was ashamed at what had transpired in the Dewan Rakyat.

Luckily, the Cabinet decided to carry on with the half-hour live telecast, with Ahmad Shabery saying that it was too premature to decide to stop the live telecast based on one incident.

"This should be treated as a last chance for all MPs. We have to protect the (image of) Parliament," he said.

Nevertheless, while I believe most of the rakyat were clearly happy to see how their MPs behaved and misbehaved as it was wonderful to see them perform live, there are a few riddles went unanswered:

1. The Information Minister is concerned that MPs tend to play to the gallery by getting cheap publicity with the use of harsh words and name calling by the MPs.

   If that’s the case, the entire proceedings must be shown live, giving all Malaysians the basic right to see and evaluate their own MPs while articulating issues of public importance.

2. Instead of live coverage for 30 minutes, why not full coverage? Full live coverage of the proceedings could improve the decorum of parliamentarians!
3. The Information Minister put the blame on the Opposition’s failure to show appreciation for the institution of parliament and misused it during the session.

   If that’s the case, I’d suggest the entire Cabinet to show full support towards the full coverage, so that when the rakyat are well-informed, the Oppositions will be completely wiped out in the coming General Election?

4. If the first live broadcast is such a pain, how about the bocor statement, short-skirt a.k.a the tunnel remark, "you-tak-suka, you-keluar-dari-malaysia" and all kind of defaming remarks?

   Doesn’t the Information Minister agree that the entire hoo-haa looks trivial to be compared to the old days?

Finally, when the time comes for the entire Cabinet to agree that "enough is enough" for the live telecast, I hope the more sensible question to ask among themselves is, is stopping the live telecast going to deter the usual antics in the Parliament?

Honestly, I’ve no idea how knee-jerk the Information Minister is going to be in handling this matter, however I do hope the Cabinet does understand that the more the rakyat observe, the more it’s going to create a paradigm shift in them and hence more active political participation among relatively apolitical Malaysians.

What we, or rather this country needs, is more creative young brains to help shape the future of this country.

Let’s hope that eventually, common sense will prevail in the Cabinet.

Che Det?

It’s former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad’s nickname as a child and his byline when he wrote for the Straits Times newspaper more than three decades ago.

The title "Che", is a Malay title for young people. And "Det" is an abbreviation of his name.

In his introductory note on the blog (http://www.chedet.com), Mahathir said the site was "dedicated to publishing my writings as and when I am able to pen my thoughts and opinion."

His first entry questioned the move to appoint an independent commission to appoint judges, recently announced by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

On a side note, it’s worth noting that Tun decided to make his debut as a blogger on this fateful Labour Day (May 1), which coincides with the fact that on his last day as the PM in 2003, he described his long service to the nation as simply his "Labour of Love".

Welcome to the blogosphere, Mr. Det!

When the pot is calling the kettle black, the public is going to witness more dirty linen washed in the public.

In this context, it’s a public spat between the duo, racing along the thin line by scapegoating each other.

Give them enough rope and they’ll hang themselves, doesn’t matter the shut up directive from the top brass.

Before the GE 2008, he brandished the keris.

He insisted that the keris does not necessarily imply Malay supremacy but carries multiple significances such as unity, wisdom and knowledge.

He took the whole event into such a delicate manner, despite the uproar from our multi-ethnic community.

That was before the GE 2008.

Now, he is aware that the aftermath of election is too obvious not to be taken seriously.

He apologized.

He denied he is an arrogant person.

He vowed to take full responsibility but refused to step down.

But I’m especially bewildered when he gave no guarantee that he would not repeat the keris-waving again during this year’s Umno annual general assembly?

For as long as he has been seen indulging in the keris-wielding act for the past three Umno annual meets, he as a cabinet minister for several terms should have known that brandishing the keris could hurt the feelings of other races.

My take is that, ostensibly, he wanted to be seen as retracting his own words, doesn’t mind the riddle on the part of his half-apologetic statement.

Unmitigated evil? Undeniably, he looks like one.

But please, take the Ketuanan Melayu, Ketuanan Cina, Ketuanan Indian crap elsewhere while we’re embarking on a new journey of Ketuanan Rakyat, something which I don’t have to further elaborate on.

However, having said that, no matter how vicious he is as shown based on his track records, I’m willing to give him the benefit of doubt and yes, let’s bury the hatchet too, at least for the time being until the coming Umno AGM, whether he is going to uphold his pledge.

As for Hishamuddin, it’s timely for him to learn some tips from blogger Rocky on how to wave a keris on all proper occasions, and in every proper manner.

Arghh, Lim Keng Yaik the old man, such a despicable character, is at it again!

It’s only a few days when he wished Lee "best of luck" while stressing that he was not being sarcastic about it.

Today, LKY being his own-self, no longer able to curb his fervent desire to lash out at the ex-Gerakan strongman Lee Kah Choon and snubbed him as an opportunist.

"The sooner you can see the (real) face the better. No principles. No spirit of struggle and wants to take the easy way out. […] I’m disappointed and angry because he was picked by me," he said.

Maybe he is too frustrated by the fact that even a "young punk" like Lim Guan Eng who has fallen for PKR de-facto Anwar Ibrahim’s sweet talk is good enough to poach his protege to serve the rakyat?

Anyway, opportunist or otherwise, who cares? Why bothers?

To us, what matters most is for him to deliver on the promise on his skills.

The rest, as they say, is history.