When a Malaysia’s cabinet minister conveniently giving credit to our neighbourhood’s Lee Kuan Yew, reader jaywalker_82 left a comment regarding the issue on hand, which I believe truly reflects the reality of the feud between former premier Tun Mahathir Mohamad and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

I do not know much about Malaysian politics nor the background of many politicians, I am neither a supporter of TDM nor the current administration.

However, consider this story from a classic Chinese fable:

A clam gets attacked by a flamingo that wants to eat it, the clam retaliates by clamping the Flamingo’s beak, but the flamingo won’t budge and still clings on to the meat of the clam, in the end, a fisherman passes by and saw both clam and flamingo in a deadlock situation, and takes both of them home easily while they are vulnerable.

We have a clam-flamingo fight in this nation right now, but fortunately the fisherman is nowhere to be seen yet. Now, it seems that we are inviting the fisherman to take all?

Even from where I sit right now, I think I can hear the last laugh from Oxley Road, Singapore.

Food for thought.

TIME’s Hannah Beech and Baradan Kuppusamy recently met former premier Tun Mahahtir Mohamad, where he spoke of his feud with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, his legacy, and why the developing world needs a champion.

(SOURCE: TIME, 30 October 2006)

"Planning means looking ahead. When I do things, I think very far ahead, not 10 years, 20 years, [but] 100 years ahead," Tun said when he was asked on whether his legacy as the builder of amazing things for Malaysia is being undermined.

The brutal reality between the duo? Excerpt:

This darker side of Mahathir’s legacy is now showing its face. Festering problems like corruption, cronyism and nepotism have contributed to a drop in foreign direct investment in Malaysia—down 14% last year. With alluring alternatives such as China and Vietnam, Malaysia’s steady, English-speaking economy can no longer count on its competitive edge. Equally important, despite long-standing efforts to stitch together Malaysia’s ethnic patchwork of majority Malays and minority Chinese and Indians, the three groups appear to be growing apart. Abdullah may have come to office with a reputation as a reformer and consensus-builder, but his three-year tenure has so far offered few solutions to these essential problems.

Yet it is precisely how he handles such fissures in the Malaysian economy and society—as well as the debilitating feud with his predecessor—that will dictate the place Malaysia will hold in the new Asia.

In 2004 general election, Pak Lah won a landslide victory, where people decided to give him the benefit of doubt by voting the ruling coalition.

However, in the next few years after the triumph, the people that voted him in were left to ponder whether the right decision was made back then. Miracle, magical solutions in a blink of eye or rather, continue to preserve the little faith?

Anybody?

In Malaysia, under any usual circumstances, when things went wrong, things like this would have been expected. But frankly speaking, I never thougt that it has gone this far.

Well, guess what? Entrepreneurial and Co-operative Development Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin described former prime minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad’s criticism of the Government as worse than that by Singapore Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

"If Dr Mahathir had wanted what he had been doing to be continued, he could have done what Lee Kuan Yew did, but he himself said that he wanted to retire and that he had been in politics for too long."

Let me guess, what’s the minister is trying to say? Telling people that Tun who has contributed towards this country and retired after 22 years of service cannot or in another word, ineligible to criticize the current administration of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi?

Having said so, does that mean a retiree or a plain civilian who is out of power doesn’t have the right to swing the axe on the Government?

Thumbs up for you, Minister!

October 26, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi held a press conference at his press Hari Raya open house in Kepala Batas.

"The sultan’s comment reflects the people’s opinion," he said.

Q: What are your views on the Sultan of Johor’s statement that Dr Mahathir should behave like a pensioner and stop making noise? 

A: The Sultan’s comment reflects the people’s opinion. Many people have said so. When people greet me, they urge me to carry on. They say I still have time. They say I should not feel disappointed. We support you, Pak Lah. We know you are new.

The brutal reality is, someone needs to inform, or rather remind Pak Lah that, Sultan’s comment doesn’t mean it’s reflecting the people’s opinion, or rather, it’s HIS majesty personal point of view.

It’s time to work out on some serious measures, 3 years down the road, I’m not sure who told Pak Lah that he still have that much of time and he is still new, but at least, 23 millions Malaysian are watching very closely since then.

Via Bernama:

Abdullah said he did not want to quarrel with Dr Mahathir. Asked what is going to happen next, he said: "God knows".

Asked whether he intended to meet Dr Mahathir again, the prime minister said: "God knows, may be or perhaps not." […]

Asked what was the reason for Dr Mahathir to criticise him: Abdullah said: "God knows, I don’t know."

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi doesn’t know but God knows.

Oh yes, Pak Lah knows about the "doses of venom".

Via blogger A Kadir Jasin:

I make a lot of mistakes. I choose people and they all turn against me. I am very bad. […]

You know when people come and are nice to me, they cry and something like that to me I said ya, I think he is sincere. Although they were stabbing me before, they come back to me, I accept them. […]

In the 22 years, you had no rival.

Post 22 years, we witness this.

That’s not the end. The echo chamber will continue to run in an infinite loop.

In this auspicious season, I wish all Malaysian Muslim friends and readers: Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir dan Batin!

Whenever I told people of my whereabouts in Jakarta, people can’t help but to ask me this: "Is it dangerous?" or "Is Jakarta in really poor state?"

Well, allow The Star’s Wong Chun Wai tells you this, once and for all.

SPREAD over 800,000 sq ft of retail space, the three-storey Senayan Plaza is the biggest shopping mall in Jakarta, with designer boutiques such as Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo, Dior, Prada and Gucci.

You name it and it’s there. Not too far away, the older mall, Plaza Indonesia, has similar brand names. Yes, there are two Louis Vuitton outlets in Jakarta.

By next year, the One Pacific Place, a mixed development with a 1.6km boulevard, will be ready with more fashion designer labels.

Over the past one year, Jakarta has earned a reputation as the most happening capital in South East Asia. The many cranes on top of half-completed buildings in Jakarta these days remind us so much of the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur previously. […]

The FDI in Malaysia, on the other hand, has dipped to RM14.69bil last year from RM17.09bil in 2004. For the first time since 1990, Indonesia has managed to overtake Malaysia – FDI to Indonesia surged by 117% to RM19.46bil last year. It doesn’t take an economist to notice Indonesia is giving Malaysia a serious run for the money. Unfortunately, many Malaysians still continue to treat our neighbour as a supplier of maids and other cheap labour.

Like it or not, Indonesia is pretty good in playing the catch-up game. Most Malaysians tend to underestimate the strength of Indonesia in a whole, due to its complex relationship between riot occurrences and the residual wage gap between Chinese community and low income groups.

However, don’t caught by surprise when one day, you were told that your jobs are being outsourced to Indonesia due to cost, resource and various factors. The world has shrunk and the world is flattening as we become more connected. Malaysia needs to realise the forces at work because if we don’t, we will be left behind.

The festival of light brings gifts to us all,
happiness to fill our homes,
prosperity to fill our lives,
and love to fill our hearts.

Wishing peace and prosperity to all my Indian friends and readers with Deepavali wishes.

I’m not sure about you, however I’m quite certain that Putera Umno Chief Abdul Azeez Rahim is in the festive mode, thus he is planning to hand out early good news and encouragement to his fellow brothers Mat Rempit, in which the Cabinet has approved stiffer penalties against those involved in illegal racing, including confiscating motorcycles and suspending license.

"Perkara ini perlu dipandang serius kerana selagi tidak ada litar, di manakah anak-anak muda itu mahu menunggang motosikal. Umpama pemain bolasepak, jika tidak ada padang, di mana mereka hendak bermain bola." […]

"Mana tahu pada suatu hari nanti akan lahir perlumba motosikal profesional yang mengharumkan nama negara di peringkat dunia terdiri daripada bekas Mat Rempit."

What do you think? As for myself, I honestly do not hope to see this guy make it to the top.