Not long ago, some minority segment in PAS started off with the unity talk.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and his deputy Nasharuddin Mat Isa won the PAS election, that’s when the talk of a unity government became intensified.

The speculation was so rife that political punters were giving the public an impression that a crack is imminent in the PR coalition, no thanks to the duo.

Just when we thought that’s about it, Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat stepped into the picture.

That’s when a united front was being presented to the public, once again, when the PR leadership council led by Anwar Ibrahim had declared their commitment to the alliance, and apparently put an end to the unity government proposal by PAS that had damaged the political ties between PAS, DAP and PKR.

Hadi even appeared in a mass rally in Kelana Jaya, alongside the key leaders to give a speech, bashing the PM Najib Tun Razak for promoting disunity.

Again, just when we thought PR appears as a very united front to dispel any rumors of the crack, a bomb was ticking away.

Now, this is all about the PAS Youth Chief Nasruddin Hassan, who is extremely gung-ho in flirting around with their Umno counterpart, in which they call it an "intelectual discource".

It’s so inteligent that they made their own decision to liaise with Umno, without any consent from the PR leadership. Umno Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin, being an extremely conscious opportunist, immediately jumped in the mess by welcoming the move, to the extent that a joint press conference was held at the Parliament lobby to announce the discussion.

Is the PAS Youth Chief plain stupid or ignorant to talk about the intelectual discourse, especially with the approaching Manek Urai by-election where PAS will fight Umno?

Why can’t these young leaders listen to Tok Guru for not trusting the hands that bite them many years ago?

It’s high time to stop all the dumbass side shows immediately, put the hands together and focus on the larger mission to capture the Putrajaya.

It’s about making people’s dream a reality and I hope Hadi Awang is smart enough to do the right thing this time, by punishing the Youth Chief for being insubordination within the camp and from there onwards, no more stunt, please.

Usually, I try to resist the temptation of taking a swipe at our politician talk or rather, mindset, which I think only God knows what are they thinking of.

However, I can’t stop my hand and my brain from not openly complimenting a job well-done by Information, Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim.

In a report by The Malaysian Insider, he was reported as saying that all media should return to using "swine flu" instead.

The logic: To ensure that the people realised the danger of the disease and to get the message across to them more accurately and it’s also easier for (radio and television) announcers to state "selsema babi" (swine flu) than H1N1 in Bahasa Melayu.

In early May, the World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to drop using the term "swine flu" for the influenza virus and use the term "influenza A H1N1 flu" after various countries and world animal health bodies protested against using the term "swine flu", which they felt was unfair and a serious misnomer.

So much so of a minister material who is trying to keep abreast of international standard, expecting to set a new precedence by expecting the worldwide nations to follow our Malaysia standard of "selsema babi", in defiance of the new reference decided by the WHO and the rest of the world.

Poor Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai, being made to look so stupid by his colleague.

Well, that’s what came out from the mouth of the Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen.

That’s also the amount paid to former Ferrari Formula One team boss Jean Todt to spend over two years as Malaysia’s Tourism ambassador.

That’s also the amount that buys Yen Yen nothing in Europe.

That’s Malaysia.

That’s our money.

But well, that’s nothing.

Less than one-and-half year after the historical March 8 tsunami, the unity government talk continues to haunt the Pakatan Rakyat (PR), be it the coalition members of the public who voted for PR.

Today, once and for all (I hope), PR’s top leadership led by Opposition Leader and PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim unanimously rejected the formation of a unity government with Umno or Barisan Nasional.

"The Pakatan council of leaders has reaffirmed its rejection of the idea of forming a unity government with Umno/BN which is clearly a malicious and desperate attempt to compromise the integrity of the increasingly popular Pakatan Rakyat," read the statement.

This was revealed in a joint statement inked by Anwar, DAP’s Lim Kit Siang and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.

Besides the three main leaders, others top PR leaders present at the meeting were PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, her deputy Syed Husin Ali, both PKR’s vice-presidents Azmin Ali and R Sivarasa, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, DAP Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai, PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali, vice-president Mahfuz Omar and central committee member and Bukit Gantang MP Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin.

Frankly speaking, as a firm PR supporter, I personally think that it’s really an unnecessary disgrace to the PR coalition, just because of the unity dream co-shared by both the president and deputy president of PAS.

It’s really an affront to the PR coalition when the PM Najib Tun Razak came out to say the Barisan Nasional government has the capacity to continue administering the country even without the formation of the proposed unity government and merely responded to the call by PAS.

Who will not, if you’re in Najib’s shoes?

It’s one of the best chance to say "Screw you, wannabeeeeeeeee!", don’t you think so?

Hence, my point is, if both of them (I try not to remember the dudes) are not dreaming of the similar vision even though when you’re sleeping on the same bed, by all means, do what Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat said to the wannabee, quit the party and defect to Umno.

Sleep with Umno and dream big of having a unity government until cows come home by the time PR is ready to take over the federal.

Just like what Chinese proverb has to say, don’t spoil a pile of milk just because there is 2 little dark ink.

As a responsible leader being held accountable for thousands of Malaysians who voted you in, do let us know upfront if you’re prefer to sleep alongside Umno as your election motto and we’ll waste no time to cast our precious votes or else risked being accused of voting irresponsibly for the color wolf.

Why?

This is because as far as I can remember, I voted PAS in the last GE not because I love the candidate (Heck, I don’t even know both the PAS reps till to-date), but due to the fact that PAS is part of the PR coalition and partially due to my dissatisfaction towards the former PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s administration, who has since been forced into early retirement recently.

The same predicament would fall on any PR reps who are trying to be gung-ho if any of them are trying to act stupid in the next election, let’s heed this advice once and for all too for I’ll raise online campaign against the stupidity.

A day after the maverick politician Zaid Ibrahim joins PKR, there are rumors that more MCA members are ready to defect to PR coalition.

Two heavyweights from MCA - a former senator and a former cabinet minister are on the verge of joining.

The fact is, MCA is now in turmoil.

Chinese support for MCA dropped from 30 percent to 15 percent since the GE in March ‘08.

In an online poll published on the MCA president Ong Tee Keat’s blog, majority of the voters felt MCA should leave BN.

However, after wide media coverage on the poll result, the poll was totally removed from the sidebar.

Tee Keat, who is supposed to be in the parliament to be answerable to the rakyat on the PKFZ scandal, is running away from his parliamentary accounting by leaving for overseas on a so-called "business trip".

As of now, at the height of the PKFZ crisis, what can be more important than the RM12.5 billion wastage of taxpayers money? Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang, who is going to move an emergency motion in Parliament on Monday to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the scandal, is furious with the chicken act, condemning him of emulating previous Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy by running to overseas.

Now, the latest, Awang Selamat from the Umno’s controlled Utusan Melayu urged MCA to quit anytime, alleging MCA as an ineffective component party in the BN while questioning MCA’s ability in garnering Chinese votes in the coming GE.

Pada Awang dan ramai lagi, pungutan suara itu adalah sebahagian daripada muslihat MCA mahu menekan UMNO. Strategi sedemikian tidak akan berkesan kerana prestasi MCA merudum teruk dan gagal mengatasi pengaruh DAP yang begitu agresif. Kalau masyarakat Cina sudah menolak MCA, untuk apa lagi memberi muka kepada parti itu?

Malah jika MCA mahu meninggalkan BN, tiada apa yang perlu dibimbangkan. Dengan adanya MCA sekalipun, BN belum tentu dapat memenangi hati masyarakat Cina (termasuk pada pilihan raya umum depan). Sebaliknya UMNO akan sentiasa diasak untuk banyak mengalah kononnya atas nama perubahan.

UMNO mesti bersedia daripada sekarang menghadapi sebarang kemungkinan daripada percaturan politik parti komponen tertentu. Jika ada parti yang mahu keluar, usah ditahan. Biarkan sahaja.

MCA is screwed, but no one in the party is going to admit it while voters nowadays are astute.

By the time they’re admitting their own failure in the next election, it’s not about MCA quitting BN, but it’s more about MCA being kicked out of BN.

The same goes to Gerakan and MIC too.

After many months of noncommittal from the former Minister in the PM Department Zaid Ibrahim by toying around with the idea of joining the PR, he is now officially with the PR by joining PKR.

As much as I can remember this guy, he has been doing the right thing at the wrong place until he was sacked from the his previous party Umno after resigning from the Cabinet where he served as the de-facto Law Minister being entrusted by the then PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to reform the corrupted and tarnished judiciary system in Malaysia.

It’s not a hidden secret that former PM Mahathir Mohamad was so despise of him due to his role in coming out with the idea of ex-gratia payment to all sacked judges during the judiciary crisis in 1998. Even up till today, Mahathir is still not letting up by continuing to harp on this issue as and when the judiciary crisis was discussed.

Being his trueself and an infamous non-conformist too (probably little villain), he created enough of enemies and disgruntlement among his former cabinet colleagues, to the extent that some of them accusing him of going against the Islam (i.e. being so "not melayu") by not showing dissentment against the Ketuanan Melayu concept disseminated since ages ago, or since Mahathir’s administration, to be exact.

I believe be bore the brunt of the repression and malicious intention from the great Umno loyalists among the cabinet members that he decided to quit his ministerial post in protest of the arrests of three prominent individuals - DAP parliamentarian Teresa Kok, Malaysia Today’s Raja Petra Kamarudin, and Sin Chew Daily journalist Tan Hoon Cheng - under the Internal Security Act.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Recently, I read his Saya Bukan Melayu which I would say is a highly recommended "must read title" as the book helps you to understand his political vision - a color-blind society with sustainable equality concept based on real action, not mere cheap talks.

My hope on Zaid, as he is in part of the PR coalition now, is that he will play an effective check-and-balance role in PKR, as well as being the conscience of the PR coalition.

As a voter for the PR government in the last election, it’s with great expectation that Zaid is now ready to walk the talk, by putting his words into action in truly embracing the multi-ethnic multi-religious doctrine and subsequently, a galvanized effort among the coalition members not only to help achieve a tremendous breakthrough in term of an establishement of a much desire racial united nation, but also to serve as a guiding character leading the PR coalition away from the form of leadership style centered around an influential individual, in which to related to PR’s case, it should be more than the Anwar’s factor.

"I am ready to help Pakatan become an alternative and viable government that the people can rely on," Zaid said during the press conference, as reported by Malaysiakini.

Well said!

With this, this blogger would like to extend his heartiest congratulations to Zaid and may his dream of a one nation (not sure about 1Malaysia, sorry!) will come true.

All the best, Zaid!

Let me go straight to the point.

What’s wrong with the MCA Information and Communication Bureau chairman Lee Wei Kiat?

This guy is everywhere, too busy menjaga tepi kain orang.

He said PR is facing conflicts and there isn’t any consensus between the leaders.

He said the call from PAS Youth to maintain the New Economic Policy (NEP) quota does not reflect any sincerity from Pakatan Rakyat to the public.

But hey, hang on a second.

How about the open tussle between the top 2 in MCA? Has that been solved since the "high profile open tea drinking session" printed across the Chinese mainstream or getting worse by now?

How about your party is keeping mum on the Perak coup de’tat as if giving approval to the power grab while your party deputy president believes that fresh polls in Perak is necessary to resolve the political impasse?

How about the on-going infighting within the Johor MCA?

How about MCA’s stance on NEP? Any demand from the MCA to amend the ineffective and unfair policy which is only enriching certain group of cronies, let alone the ethic community group MCA claims to represent?

How about MCA’s reaction to all the challenge from Umno Youth? Is your big brother in Umno giving you any 2 hood about it?

Why not spend time helping to rectify your party, mending the relationship between your party members, or even telling off your bosses that their open squabble is just another shameful episode in MCA?

I believe you wasn’t appointed by the party as the Information and Communication Bureau chairman to keep a close watch on PR’s while keeping a close eyes on its own internal affair, was you?

Learn how to take better care of your own party, do your party more good, put in more effort to salvage your party’s already tarnished reputation before you start bitching about others and implying badly not only on yourself, but your party too. :)

History taught us a good lesson.

During the administration of former PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, he was infamous of his flip-flop decision making, attracting criticism from every corner with the harshest critic came from his predecessor Mahathir Mohamad.

Eventually, with a combination of a few other negative factors, he was forced to pass the baton to the current PM Najib Tun Razak.

A few months after the transition of leadership, while the 1Malaysia ideology by the new PM is still very much, well, a half-cooked ideology, the PAS president Abdullah Hadi Awang told reporters at a press conference at the PAS muktamar that both PKR and DAP have reacted positively to his suggestion in forming a unity government.

Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat called this idea ridiculous with his protege Husam Musa reiterated the similar stance.

The PAS central working committee member voted in with the highest vote Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin also believes that the mooted unity talks with Umno will not take place and the matter was not discussed by the delegates at the muktamar.

Another PAS delegate from Selangor, Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad told the delegates that "it is very important for us to know our enemies or foes so that we would not be cheated by these people claiming they want to be peaceful with us".

DAP leader Lim Kit Siang refuted the claim.

"The question of unity talk to form a Pakatan Rakyat-Barisan Nasional government never arose or discussed at any Pakatan Rakyat leadership meeting," he said.

This is followed by another affirmation from the PKR deputy president Syed Husin Ali that Pakatan Rakyat has not agreed with the unity government involving Umno and at no time has the Pakatan leadership council, has endorsed the idea.

Last but not least, don’t forget the existence of the PAS supporters club too. They’re not there because PAS intends to work with Umno and their objectives should be made crystal clear to the leardership, especially the top 2, if they’re ignorant enough to listen to the members.

“Please don’t do something that could tarnish our image and go back to the old ways by isolating the non-Muslims from the party. What is the meaning of our support to PAS if the party deviates from its original struggle?” said the PAS supporters club deputy president Vincent Lee who expressed concern over the "secret talks".

The bottom line is, PAS is not about a party for the duo - neither the president nor the deputy president. Young professionals and "Erdogans" have a fair share of representation in both the vice-president camp and the powerful central working committee.

In the end of the day, common sense will prevail. If the top duo is so much keen to work with Umno, I’d expect the central working committe to urge their leaders to quit and join Umno without risking the future of the PR coalition, just because the need to fulfill the dream of the duo.

The dream of many Malaysians is a lot bigger than that.

As far as I’m concern, as much as I understand what is "politics" is all about, for the first time in my life, I’ve never been so concerned about the PAS’s party election result.

While I still do not understand why Abdul Hadi Awang’s position as the president wasn’t challenged, I certainly hope that one of the candidates for the deputy president post will prevail.

He, is no other than Husam Musa, who came out openly in the PAS Muktamar that there should not be cooperation with Umno, not when they’re in the position of advantage.

This, is what I call a farsighted leader.

Even Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat shows strong displeasure of such unity talk with Umno.

"Once bitten, twice shy," I remember he was quoted as saying so when asked to comment about the talk.

As of now, there is a mixed reaction between the political pundits of who is going to prevail eventually.

Some say Husam.

Some say the incumbent Nasharuddin Mat Isa.

Another candidate Mohammad Sabu is playing the spoiler role.

We shall pray that Husam will be elected, immediately eliminating any possibility of the so-called unity talk with Umno.

The future of the PR coalition is at stake if the result shows otherwise, nevertheless, I’m fairly confident that Husam will become the eventual winner should the PAS delegates are with their Tok Guru.

It’s Awang Selamat again.

Yes, the one in Utusan Melayu and he did it again!

This time, he feels that Malay in this country is betrayed by the excessive demand from the non-Malay.

Too racist, he commented.

Hati Awang semakin hari semakin ditoreh-toreh oleh tuntutan pelbagai pihak bukan Melayu yang bersikap terlalu rasis selepas Pilihan Raya Umum ke-12. Kita boleh tafsir apa sebabnya. Awang tidak mahu mengulas panjang kali ini, cukup sekadar disiarkan semula petikan kenyataan seorang pemimpin MCA, Tun Tan Siew Sin pada 30 April 1969 (dipetik daripada buku Khalid Awang Osman dan pernah diulas Ridhuan Tee Abdullah) untuk renungan kita semua.

”Orang Melayu menerusi UMNO bermurah hati melonggarkan syarat-syarat dalam undang-undang negara ini sehinggakan dalam masa 12 bulan selepas kemerdekaan, 90 peratus penduduk bukan Melayu menjadi warganegara. Ini berbeza dengan keadaan sebelum merdeka di mana 90 peratus daripada mereka masih tidak diiktiraf sebagai rakyat Tanah Melayu walaupun hampir 100 tahun hidup di bawah pemerintahan penjajah. Sebagai membalas kemurahan hati orang Melayu, MCA dan MIC bersetuju meneruskan dasar memelihara dan menghormati kedudukan istimewa orang Melayu dan dalam masa yang sama mempertahankan kepentingan-kepentingan sah kaum lain”.

Sebelum itu, seorang pemimpin MIC Tun V.T Sambanthan pada 1 Jun 1965 pernah berkata: ”Pada tahun 1955 kita telah memenangi pilihan raya dengan majoriti yang tinggi, selanjutnya mendapat kemerdekaan dalam masa dua tahun kemudian. Dalam jangka masa itu, kita terpaksa berbincang dan menangani pelbagai perkara termasuk soal kewarganegaraan. Persoalannya di sini, apakah yang dilakukan oleh orang Melayu memandangkan kita bercakap menyentuh perkauman? Apakah yang dilakukan oleh pemimpin-pemimpin Melayu? Mereka mempunyai 88 peratus daripada pengundi menyokong mereka.

Apakah yang mereka putuskan mengenai isu kewarganegaraan? ”Jika kita lihat di serata negara Asia dan Asia Timur, kita akan mendapati kaum India tidak akan diterima di Ceylon dan juga tidak diterima di Burma. Sama halnya dengan kaum Cina, mereka tidak diterima di Thailand, Vietnam, Kemboja dan di negara-negara lain. Apakah bantuan berhubung kewarganegaraan yang mereka peroleh di semua wilayah tersebut?

"Di Burma, seperti yang kita semua sedia maklum, kaum India telah diusir keluar, di Ceylon mereka tidak diberikan taraf warganegara seperti juga di Burma. Saya tahu dan anda juga tahu. Apa yang sedang berlaku di Malaya? Di sini kita mendapati pemimpin Melayu berkata, ”Kita akan menerima mereka sebagai saudara, kita akan berikan mereka sepenuh peluang untuk meneruskan kehidupan di negara ini, kita akan beri mereka peluang untuk menjadi warganegara”. Seterusnya pada tahun 1957, dengan tidak mengambil kira kebolehan berbahasa (Melayu) ribuan orang India, Cina dan Ceylon menjadi warganegara. Seperti yang saya nyatakan, saya amat bernasib baik kerana dilahirkan di negara ini. Di manakah anda boleh berjumpa bangsa yang lebih prihatin, bersopan-santun dan tertib selain daripada bangsa Melayu. Di manakah anda boleh mendapat layanan politik yang baik untuk kaum pendatang? Di manakah dalam sejarah dunia? Saya bertanya kepada anda. Ini adalah fakta. Siapakah anda untuk menjaga keselamatan kami? Saya adalah kalangan 10 peratus kaum minoriti di sini. Tetapi saya amat gembira di sini.”

Persoalannya, kini apakah pengorbanan Melayu dikhianati oleh kaum lain?

Hang on a second.

So what?

He is with Utusan Melayu

He is protected.

It’s OK to hurt other races feeling.

No, Internal Security and Home Affairs Ministry wouldn’t send him a show cause letter.

No, Utusan Melayu wouldn’t be banned too.

No, whoever writes under the name of Awang Selamat wouldn’t be charged under Sedition Act too.

This is Malaysia.

So much of 1Malaysia, to be exact.

BTW, the DPM Muhyiddin Yassin expressed disappointment with Umno-owned Malay daily Utusan Malaysia for publishing articles with a racial slant, as reported by Malaysiakini.

Talk, is cheap.

Earlier, ex-Umno leader Zaid Ibrahim lashed out at Malay daily Utusan Malaysia for playing up racial sentiment and said the articles reminded him of how far removed the paper is from the reality of life in Malaysia.