Ignore the close one eye Jasin MP Mohd Said Yusof, his confession can’t stand valid for real. Look for another context from another perspective.

The trouble with many politicians is that while they are quick to criticise what they perceive to be sinful, the same decibel is not heard when it comes to corruption.

Corruption is a sin and surely we should hear more politicians back Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in his fight against graft.

Not only are many of our politicians not on the forefront, but they also seem to shy away from talking about accountability and credibility.

Many, including those seemingly religious in their diet and dressing, appear to be selective when it comes to their pick of sins. Somehow, corruption, abuse of power and women do not affect their religious practices, regardless of their spiritual belief.

Between sex and corruption, which is more sinner? Or merely a strategy by Jasin MP to distract the attention away from his sinful act?

Something to cheer about.

Ailing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) who is still in the process of recuperating, reporting a net profit of RM240.3mil (US$66.2 million) in the quarter ended Sept. 30, rebounding from a loss of RM366.4mil in the same period a year earlier, thanks to improved business conditions, cost-cutting measures and one-off gain of RM194mil (US$53.4 million) from the sale of properties and other payments.

(SOURCE: Malaysia Airlines Media Release, 28 November 2006)

"We have beaten our financial targets for the first, second and third quarters for both our passenger and cargo businesses," chief executive Idris Jala told reporters.

"The company has achieved more than 1 billion ringgit improvement to our bottom-line but we are cognizant of the fact that we are not out of the red yet."

Idris Jala is confident that he would be able to restore the airline back to profitability by 2008 with a net profit of RM500mil.

A few months ago, Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin a.k.a ZAM refused to accept the idea of parliament TV, saying that racist Malaysian viewers are not ready for live parliamentary proceedings.

Yesterday, he repeated the similar call. "No live parliamentary proceedings," said ZAM.

"The time has not come for RTM to telecast the parliamentary proceedings live because our society has not attained a mental maturity where it is insensitive to racial issues,"

"As such, imagine what could happen during live telecast of the parliament session where politicians from various races get to speak openly."

"Recently, there was a question on the cost of the new Istana Negara. This has touched the sensitivities of the Malays as it concerns their rights of ownership,"

Now, please read this, this, this, this and this, then you tell me, who has proven to be mentally immature over the period?

People, huge new year gift from Works Minister S Samy Vellu, right a month before the arrival of Year 2007!

Starting from Jan 1, toll rates for five highways will go up starting Jan 1 next year. The typical and annual recurrence factor: The Government no longer afford to subsidise toll increases, but able to sustain the development of a new RM400mil palace complex.

Expect the similar announcement next year, common reasons applicable, still.

Umno veteran member Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, fondly known as Ku Li, who once come very close in toppling former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad as the Umno president in 1987, said that Mahathir is entitled to his opinions.

However, unfortunately, according to him, Mahathir’s opinion wasn’t heard as certain group of people were trying to shut him down.

"Everyone’s opinions must be heard. Whether correct or otherwise is another matter. But as a former Umno president, when he (Mahathir) questions something, we have to pay attention to what he raises," he said.

"Whether it was correct or not depends on the government," he added.

"Now today, people don’t allow Mahathir his right to air his views. They were all his proteges when he led the country. There is no reason why attention shouldn’t be given to Mahathir."

Tak kenang budi, is that the reality of realpolitik?

Via The Star:

(SOURCE: The Star, 25 November 2006)

The Star’s K. Suthakar was caught by surprise with the full attendance and branded it as a rare moment.

Rare moment? What does that mean?

Meanwhile, the son of Port Klang assemblyman Zakaria Md Deros, Zainuri Zakaria, whose DZ Satay House was torn down by the  Klang Municipal Council,  was among 18 councillors sworn in yesterday.

Sworn in again? What does that mean?

You tell me.

Correct me if I’m wrong, we (Malaysians) love to take great pride in Malaysia’s cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity which has always defined our national unique identity.

On the other hand, religious issue is always a sensitive matter, what’s more when you’re talking about an Umno Youth Leader(?) of admitting writing to the Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP) calling for the temple to be torn down.

(SOURCE: Image courtesy reader Andrew)

According to the Youth chief from Umno’s Bukit Mertajam Division Ramlan Ishak, the 20-years-old temple (mind you, 2 decades old temple) was constructed without a plan approved by the local council and added that it’s his responsibility to convey the grouses of the people to the authorities.

Fine, the argument is, it’s wrong to build a plan without approval, doesn’t matter whether it’s 2 decades old or 2 centuries old. Fine.

However, the question is, when the fate of the temple was supposed to be decided at Wednesday’s state exco meeting due to the intervention of Penang state exco Toh Kim Woon and Berapit state assemblyperson Lau Chiek Tuan, why it was destructed by MPSP last Friday, days before the impending decision? Why the total ignorance of its sensitiveness?

No wonder Bukit Mertajam will remain a stronghold of DAP and will continue to be so in years to come.

When CNN Future Summit: World in Motion debuts today on CNN International, one of the on-going discussion of the technology and how they’ll change our lives is about space exploration.

Mind if I ask fellow politicians, civilians or in another word, every single Malaysian to watch this on CNN, imagining yourself ask ing the group of panelists which iclude four individuals; two who have experienced space travel from different perspectives with this question: Teh Tarik, Roti Canai, Sambal Belacan or Made-in-Malaysia’s traditional games on space, in the name of R&D into space exploration?

My guess is at times, I do believe that we need to utilize global stage with such scale to blow the sickening egoism of wasting resources to nowhere for nothing!

Rude awakening.

Remember DZ?

At last, it was torn down.

What’s the lesson that we’ve learnt from this scenario? Do Malaysians need national attention together with great effort to unseat merely a municipal councilor who go against the law?

What’s more when Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi complained that he is still dissastisfied with the efficiency of the civil service including its public delivery system.

Food for thought.

Be it 18.9% or 45%, here comes something refreshing.

At a public forum titled "Is the NEP still revelant?", Penang economic Planning and Education committee chairman Dr Toh Kin Woon that race was only a masquerade for the adoption of policies that served the elite, especially those close to the leaders.

However, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was quick to dismiss the notion, saying that the policy has succeeded in reducing the poverty rate from over 50 per cent prior to the introduction of the NEP to five per cent now.

"So, I totally reject the contention that the NEP has benefited only certain groups," [...]

"Many non-Malays have received the spillover and contracts from the government and also certain approvals."

Hear it well, the supplementary factor of the NEP implementation is for non-Malays to to receive the "spillover and contracts" from the Government. Fine.

But the best part is, he said, under the NEP, had also created many opportunities for the non-Malays to the extent that many non-Malay corporate leaders had become rich during the period of its implementation.

Can’t you see the differences? You can’t tell the people that you’re creating many opportunities for certain group when they are at the another receiving only the "spillover".

Meanwhile, Najib agreed that several speeches during the Umno general assembly last week can be regarded as extremist, but it’s not right to assume those speeches reflect Umno’s stand.

Scrap the proceedings live in the future? By all means, scrap it. Malaysians have had enough of ethnocentrism talks, we can live without it.