Sanusi Junid Blames "Mamak" Datuk Reezal Naina Merican for his Sacking as President of Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA)

From Malaysiakini

Read here: Who is Reezal Merican Naina Merican?

Tan Sri Sanusi Junid mendakwa setiausaha politik menteri kewangan sebagai dalang yang mencadangkan beliau dipecat daripada presiden Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) awal bulan ini.

Bagaimanapun, bekas menteri besar Kedah itu, enggan menyebut nama setiausaha politik terbabit dengan alasan tidak mengetahui namanya.

Menurut Tan Sri Sanusi,

"Saya tidak tahu... tetapi setiausaha politik menteri kewangan hanya seorang sahaja.

Saya sebenarnya dipecat melalui saluran setiausaha politik menteri kewangan, yang kebetulan salah seorang ahli majlis UIA yang telah saya cadangkan kepada DYMM ketua perlembagaan UIA untuk menjadi wakil alumni di dalam majlis UIA.

Dalam hal pemecatan saya, ahli majlis ini telah menjadi batu api dan seterusnya rajin menghubungi wartawan untuk mendapat kepastian yang segera daripada saya mengenai urusan pemecatan walaupun sebelum saya menerima dan memahami kandungan isi suratnya," katanya.

Adakah wakil alumni di dalam majlis sudah berubah daripada menjadi jambatan antara UIA dan perdana menteri kepada menjadi punca kekeliruan yang menggembar-gemburkan perkara pemecatan ini melalui wakil media sebelum surat pemecatan diumumkan oleh UIA?

Adakah seorang setiausaha politik menteri kewangan yang duduk di dalam majlis UIA mempunyai kuasa dan mengetahui lebih dalam hal ini daripada anggota kabinet?"

Malaysiakini difahamkan, Datuk Reezal Merican Naina Merican memenuhi ciri yang digambarkan oleh bekas presiden universiti itu.

Bagaimanapun sejak minggu lalu Malaysiakini masih gagal mendapat reaksi beliau sehingga kini.

Sanusi mendakwa lagi, ahli majlis tersebut "bukan sahaja tidak rajin menghadiri mesyuarat majlis kerana terlalu sibuk, malah telah menggunakan kedudukannya untuk mengutamakan kepentingan orang tertentu."

PAS YOUTH's Islamic Life-style: WRONG Priorities!

From Malaysia-Today: Read here


Excerpts: Read here for more

“Pas to push for Islamic lifestyle”.Read here

"We will use Kelantan as the guide as it had introduced changes such as banning gambling, limiting the sale and public display of alcohol and separate checking counters for men and women in supermarkets,” said the Pas Youth vice-chief Azman Shapawi Abdul Rani.

Anyway, why only separate checkout counters for men and women?

Separate Counters for Homosexuals?

What about separate checkout counters for gays?

We will actually need four checkout counters because some women prefer being in the women’s line and some men in the men’s line.

In case this Pas Youth number two does not know yet, there are women who get turned on by women and men by men. So how do we segregate the sexes to avoid unnecessary orgasms if we just focus on men-women mingling when women-women and men-men mingling poses more problems.

....if a man is caught with a man, he can get sent to jail for six years, even if the alleged sex act was committed in an apartment block that has not been built yet.

Muslim CIVIL Servants Cheating Their Employers (Rakyat)

The Pas Youth (vice-chief) should look at things such as the more than ONE MILLION CIVIL SERVANTS, who are predominantly Muslims, earning a salary but NOT doing any work.

Yes, that’s right; that is even more frowned upon by Islam.

Islam stipulates that one must not cheat one’s employer. Cheating one’s employer or stealing from one’s employer is haram, worse than a man standing behind a woman in a supermarket checkout counter, especially if that man is not turned on by women anyway.

So, if you earn a salary but do not do work corresponding to that salary, then that is haram because it tantamount to short-changing your employer.

For example, if you are paid a salary to work from 9.00am to 5.00pm with an hour off for lunch, then you must work your FULL shift.

But if you disappear, like going to perform your prayers, then you are CHEATING your employer. The more than one million civil servants, mostly Muslims, fail to understand that their employer is the people, Rakyat Malaysia.

Non-Muslims Paying Salaries of Muslim Civil Servants

And, according to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, 90% of the tax is paid by the NON-Muslims.

That means the non-Muslims are actually paying the salaries of the Muslim civil servants.

So this makes the non-Muslim Malaysians the EMPLOYER of the Muslim civil servants. Now, the non-Muslim employers are paying the Muslim civil servants billions of Ringgit a year to do an honest day’s work.

Did the Muslim civil servants ask permission from their non-Muslim employers for time off to go do their prayers?

What if the non-Muslim employer, the taxpayer, does NOT endorse the Muslim employee, the civil servant, taking time off to do their prayers?

Would this not be haram?

What the Muslim civil servants should do instead is either:

• get permission from the millions of non-Muslim taxpayers who contribute to 90% of the taxes for time off to do their prayers, or
  
• they should refund part of their salary or take a salary cut for all the ‘illegal’ time off that they took to do their prayers.

You see, prayers, to the Muslims, are done for God; as do all the other religions as well believe. You are supposed to sacrifice part of your time for the sake of God.

But in this case, OTHER people, the employer cum taxpayer, is made to sacrifice instead.

Your prayers would make more sense if YOU sacrifice for the sake of God by doing it YOUR OWN TIME at no loss to others than by doing it on your employer’s time and making your employer pay for the time off to do your prayers.

Yes, sincere prayers where you pay for it through a salary cut instead of forcing your employer to pay for it by screaming that Malaysia is an Islamic country -- so they have no right to stop you from praying when you should be working as what you have been paid to do -- is a better Islamic lifestyle than separate checkout counters for men and women.

We also know that the Malaysian civil service is extremely corrupt.

Incest

And did we not say that the Malaysian civil service is predominantly Muslim? According to Sheikh Imran Houssein, corruption is one of the 80 sins of usury.

And the sin of the lowest level of usury, explained Sheikh Imran, tantamount to the sin of intercourse with one’s own mother or father. Imagine having sexual intercourse with your own mother or father. And this is what corruption is equivalent to.

Doesn’t the Pas Youth number two think that sexual intercourse with your own mother and father is worse than men and women standing in the same line in a supermarket checkout counter? I would imagine he would put this on his list of priorities instead of focusing on separate checkout counters for men and women.

Islam and PAS's Two Check-out Counters Mindset

Yes, propagate Islam by all means. Let us introduce an Islamic lifestyle, which can only be good for the country. But let us get our priorities right.

A chronically corrupt civil service and civil servants who cheat on their employers and short-change the taxpayer is the real problem this country is facing. Muslims must be made to understand that they need to become more Islamic by earning halal money. Muslims must be made to understand that haram money is just not on.

Unfortunately, no amount of legislation will achieve this. It is education and not legislation that is needed.

But if the Pas Youth number two ‘educates’ Malaysians by saying that an Islamic lifestyle means separate checkout counters for men and women, then what hope do we have in seeing a change of the Muslim mindset?

And is this the message we want to send to the non-Muslims: that Islam means separate checkout counters for men and women but corruption is very okay?
- Raja Petra Kamarudin

PAS Youth: A Real Pain in the Ass to Malaysians, with an Attitude No Better than UMNO Youth

From Malaysiakini: Read here


PAS Youth is keen on implementing hardline Islamic laws that ban gambling, limiting sale of liquor and introducing dress code for office workers in all Pakatan-ruled states.

In taking the first step towards introducing such laws, PAS Youth will organise a seminar in August to discuss the possibility of doing so.

The movement’s deputy chief Azman Shapawi Abdul Rani said that committees to study the proposal would be established in Kelantan, Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor.

“We are aware that it is not going to be easy in states like Penang and Perak where PAS is a minority but we will push for it,” said Azman, according to Bernama.

Azman said that the proposed laws would not negatively affect non-Muslims despite the proposals directly touching on gambling, liquor and dress codes.

He also claimed that the proposed laws would not affect the “good relations” between PAS and other Pakatan coalition parties.

Azman said DAP would object to the youth wing’s proposals but believed there was room to implement the proposed laws as not all leaders in DAP have the same position.

“If we look at the DAP leadership in Penang, they are very open and tolerant. They also raise the allowances of religious teachers,” he said.

Azman also issued a cryptic warning that Pakatan coalition parties cannot stand on their own.

"PAS cannot move on its own, neither can DAP nor PKR in Selangor. All of us have to support each other," he added.

"Meet The Press" Tim Russert Dies at 58

Tim Russert
(1950-2008)

Read here: By Howard Kurtz and HERE

Tim Russert, the Democratic operative turned NBC commentator who revolutionized Sunday morning television and infused journalism with his passion for politics, died this afternoon.

Russert suffered a heart attack while working in his office on Washington's Nebraska Avenue.

Russert served as NBC's Washington bureau chief and the host of "Meet the Press," the top-rated Sunday talk show, which had an enormous influence on politics and was marked by his aggressive style of interrogation.

As a frequent commentator on the "Today" show, "NBC Nightly News" and other shows, Russert wielded such clout that when he declared that Sen. Barack Obama had wrapped up the Democratic nomination last month, his pronouncement was treated as a news event in itself.

Russert's television career was marked by a voracious appetite for politics and a shrewd understanding of how politicians interact with the media. He also wrote a book about his father, titled "Big Russ and Me."

Last week, he moved Big Russ to a nursing facility.

Former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw gave MSNBC viewers the news of Russert's death at 3:40 p.m.

"He worked to the point of exhaustion so many weeks," Brokaw said, adding: "This news division will not be the same without his strong, clear voice."

Brokaw said Russert had just returned from a family trip to Italy with his wife, writer Maureen Orth. Their son, Luke, graduated from Boston College this spring, Brokaw said.

Russert served as host of "Meet the Press" longer than any other person and was "one of the premier political analysts and journalists of his time," Brokaw said.

The Buffalo native got his start in New York politics, working for then-senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and then-governor Mario Cuomo.

Russert took over "Meet the Press" in December 1991. It became the most watched Sunday morning interview program in the country. It is the longest-running program in television history.

His signature trait there was an unrelenting style of questioning that made some politicians reluctant to appear, yet confident that they could claim extra credibility if they survived his grilling intact.

This year, Time Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Carl P. Leubsdorf, president of the Gridiron Club, an organization of journalists, said in a statement,

"It was a measure of the degree to which Tim Russert was respected in the journalistic world that he was the first broadcaster elected to membership in the Gridiron Club after the rules were changed in 2004 to end our century-old restriction to print journalists.

Russert had Buffalo's blue collar roots, a Jesuit education, a law degree and a Democratic pedigree that came from his turn as an aide to the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York.

He was born in Buffalo, N.Y., on May 7, 1950. He graduated from Canisius High School, John Carroll University and with honors from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

Before joining NBC in 1984, Russert served as counselor in the New York governor's office in Albany in 1983 and 1984 and as special counsel in the U.S. Senate from 1977 to 1982.

He was admitted to the bar in New York and D.C.

Russert is survived by his wife, Maureen Orth, a writer for Vanity Fair magazine, and their son, Luke.

CORRUPTION in Malaysia at CRITICAL Stage, Report Says

Read here in FORBES.com and HERE

In 1996, Malaysia's corruption score was 4.00, based on the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) index.

A decade later, in 2006, Malaysia scored only 2.36 on the same ICRG index.

(NOTE: A LOWER score represents GREATER corruption).

Based on above ICRG index ranking,Malaysia is in ninth (9th) position out of 19 countries , just AHEAD of Indonesia, Mongolia and the Philippines but BEHIND Brunei, South Korea, India, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

On the other hand, SINGAPORE’s ranking IMPROVED from 4.00 to 4.50 over the same period, making it the LEAST corrupt Asian nation ahead of Hong Kong and Japan.

Malaysia is a long way off from matching the standards set by Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan, the top three Asian countries who are least corrupt.

(Note: Based on the World Bank’s Control of Corruption Index Malaysia is in sixth (6th) place out of 29 in 2006.

Malaysia is also ranked sixth (6th) out of 25 countries surveyed in the Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index.

Both the indices also showed corruption in Malaysia has worsened over the past decade to 2006.)

According to Transparency International, corruption in Malaysia has reached a CRITICAL level, warning the government to act or lose its competitiveness.

Ramon Navaratnam, country head of graft watchdog Transparency International(Malaysia Chapter) , said,

"A LOWER index may signal that bribery and rent-seeking behavior is still rampant in lower levels of the government.

It is worrying because it is a BUSINESS index which reflects on our domestic investment, foreign direct investment and confidence in the economy.

Corruption is at a critical level here. Our economic structure, the way we do business here, needs to be reviewed, renewed and redesigned.

Malaysia can do much better if there is stronger political will to fight corruption.

Given the rapid pace of globalisation and increasing economic competition among Asian countries, it's time to pull our socks up.

If bribery and corruption provisions are too broad in the management of natural resources, laws and policies can be manipulated to the will of big businesses and not for the benefit of the people.

State-colluded degradation of the environment and illegal land expropriations can drive small scale farmers and indigenous communities into abject poverty, further hampering efforts to improve the livelihood of these groups. "

Navaratnam warned that Malaysia could lose its competitive edge if it remained 'complacent and inefficient.'

He said corruption in Malaysia was deeply entrenched in the negotiation of contracts. Bribes were paid to government officials to speed up trade licences, for police protection and for loan transactions.

According to Transparency International’s Bribe Payers Index, companies from China, India, Russia, Taiwan and Malaysia involved in the extractive industries frequently pay high levels of bribes when conducting business overseas – often when their own natural resources have been exhausted

Navaratnam pointed that corruption often transpires in the form of negotiated tenders, bribes connected with import and export licences, exchange control, tax assessment, police protection or loan transactions.

“This form of dishonesty extracts the highest price from the weakest in society as it diverts goods and services or benefits targeted for the poor to well-off and well connected households, who can afford to bribe officials,” he said.

He also said that these distortions undermine an efficient delivery system that is vital in reducing bottle-necks in the supply chain to improve the flow of goods and services.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was elected on an anti-corruption platform in March 2004, but opposition leaders say progress has been slow.

Following his government's recent drubbing in national polls he announced several measures to tackle corruption and reform what many view as a compliant judiciary.

A royal commission recently authenticated a tape showing a top lawyer brokering judicial appointments with the help of politicians during the premiership of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Earlier this week, a senior judge said judges were indoctrinated and threatened with dismissal to pressure them into making pro-government decisions during the former premier's rule.

Justice Ian Chin: Former PM Mahathir Pressured and Threatened Judges with Dismissals

From AFP Newswire

Related article

• From Borneo Post: High Court judge makes explosive judicial disclosures

Malaysian judges were sent to an indoctrination "boot camp" and threatened with dismissal to pressure them into making pro-government decisions, a senior judge said according to reports Wednesday.

In explosive allegations made in open court, Justice Ian Chin also said he was threatened by former premier Mahathir Mohamad over high-profile cases, one involving a close associate of the then-leader.

"Now, though he is no longer the prime minister and so no longer able to carry out his threat to remove judges, the coalition party that he led is still around," he said, according to the Borneo Post.

Chin made the allegations, which were picked up by the national press Wednesday, before hearing a dispute over results of March general elections in Sarawak state on Borneo island.

He said he was targeted by Mahathir after refusing to award "astronomical" payouts in two libel cases in 1997, while a judge who agreed with the then-premier's views was promoted to the Federal Court.

Afterwards, Chin reportedly said he was packed off to a five-day boot camp with selected judges and judicial officers.

It was without any doubt "an attempt to indoctrinate those attending the boot camp to hold the view that the government interest as being more important than all else when we are considering our judgement," he said.

Chin also said he was aware of other judges who were told how they should rule on particular cases.

Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenavasan called for an inquiry into the allegations, which she said were "both startling and damning."

"Judges, both present and past, must be encouraged to come forward and provide information on any such instances of interference so that further action may be taken," she said according to the New Straits Times.

Mahathir stood down in 2003 and his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has been criticised for failing to carry out his promises to tackle corruption, which is deeply entrenched in politics and business.

Chin's allegations add to the pall cast over the country's judiciary by a recent royal commission into a sensational Mahathir-era video clip that showed a top lawyer brokering judicial appointments with the help of politicians.

The commission found in May that there was evidence of an "insidious" conspiracy to influence the appointment of judges, and the government promised to investigate those implicated.

Mahathir has challenged the authorities to charge him.

"I want them to charge me in court. Only then will I have the opportunity to expose more conflicts faced by the judges, including those who have implicated me," he said.

Mahathir's spokesman Sufi Yusoff told AFP the former premier was aware of Chin's comments and would respond in due course.

An aide to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the premier declined to comment on the issue.

What Justice Ian Chin said: Read here

"....I am smarting over the complaint that the detention of my father and brother during the time of the Mustapha regime in Sabah in late 1969 and the early 1970 should have been but not disclosed.
(See Sabah Foundation & 2 Ors vs Datuk Syed Kechik & Anor, Kota Kinabalu High Court at http://kkhighcourt.com/Completed Civil Matters/SabahFoundation.doc) .

What I am going to disclose relate to what happened AFTER two of my judgements were handed down. One was the judgment in a libel case which I handed down on February 5 1997 .
(see Raveychandran v Lai Su Chon & Ors at http://kkhighcourt.com/Completed Civil Trials/RaveychandranNST.pdf) by which I distinguished MGG Pillai V Tan Sri Dato Vincent Tan Chee Yioun & Other Appeals (1995) 2 MLJ 493 and refused to give what I consider to be astronomical award for damage to reputation in libel cases.)

Shortly after those two judgements, the Judges Conference was held from April 24 1997.

The then prime minister was scheduled to have a dialogue with the judges on that date. What was termed a dialogue and later reported as one was anything BUT a dialogue.

The then prime minister went there to issue a thinly veiled threat to remove judges by referring to the tribunal that was set up before and stating that though it may be difficult to do so, it was still done.

He said all that after he had expressed his unhappiness with what he termed ‘the Borneo Case’ and after he had asked whether the judge who decided that case was present or not.”

No one had any doubt that he was referring to the election case though he (then prime minister) did not mention it specifically which he decided on Feb 13, 1997.

After he was done with issuing that threat, he then proceeded to express his view that people should pay heavily for libel.

He managed to get a single response from a Court of Appeal judge who asked whether he would be happy with a sum of RM1 million as damages for libel.

He approved of it and he later on made known his satisfaction by promoting this judge (since deceased) to the Federal Court over many others who were senior to him when a vacancy arose.

I was devastated after hearing all that but help came immediately after the “dialogue” was over when Federal Court judges came to my side and asked me to ignore him.

Equally comforting were the words of my brother High Court judge who later told me that the then Prime Minister was too much.

It will be recalled that the then prime minister not long after he assumed office had said, in a much publicised campaign against corruption, that he will put the fear of God in man but this apparently, given his diatribe in that conference, changed to instilling a fear of him if any judgment is to his dislike.”

Chin went on to say that to commemorate his “dialogue” with the judges a group picture was taken (which can be viewed by going to http://www/kkhighcourt.com/judgesnMahathir.htm.

To rub it in, he said, Bernama circulated a press release with one appearing in a Sabah newspaper (The Daily Express May 25 1997) which “was far from stating the truth”.

A month later, Chin said he was packed off to a boot camp from May 26-30 together with selected judges and judicial officers.

"...The boot camp was without any doubt an attempt to indoctrinate those attending the boot camp to hold the view that the government interest as being more important than all else when we are considering our judgement.

Stating this devilish notion was by no less a person than the President of the Court of Appeal. Everyone was quiet during the question sessions.

Also invited to the boot camp was a lecturer from a university who berated the election case and the bright spot in this episode was that a judicial officer, during question time, told the lecturer that she had no question but only a statement to make which was that the lecturer was in contempt of court.

The then prime minister was scheduled to talk but he did not turn up and instead sent his then deputy who instead of talking invited questions and the one question I remembered being asked was — Are politicians looking for girls when they are often seen loitering at posh hotel lobbies?

The perversion of justice did not stop there. My brother judge Kamil Awang was one morning looking for me after clocking in; we were both then serving in Kuching, Sarawak.

When I met up with him in his chambers he was distraught and he told me that he had last night received a telephone call from the then Chief Justice asking him to dismiss the election petition that he was going to hear in Kota Kinabalu.

He sought my opinion as to what to do with the telephone call.

We went into the possibility of making a police report or of writing to the Chief Justice a letter to record what he had said over the telephone but in the end he decided against it since it will be his words against that of the Chief Justice."

Chin told the court that he was happy to later on learn that Kamil did not bow to the pressure by the Chief Justice and went on to hear the petition and thereafter making a decision based on the law and evidence.

The High Court judge said he had twice stood unsuccessfully as a Barisan Nasional candidate for a parliamentary and later for a state seat in Sabah in the 1980s and in one of those elections he was defeated by a DAP candidate.

He said he had also heard other election petitions, namely Yusuf Abdul Rahman v Abdul Ajis & Ors and Lee Hie Kui v Song Swee Guan & Darrell Tsen.

“...Now, though no longer the prime minister and so no longer able to carry out his threat to remove judges which should therefore dispel any fear which any judge may have of him, if ever there was such fear, nevertheless the coalition party that he led is still around and the second respondent won on a ticket of that coalition party and it may cross someone’s mind that I may have an axe to grind against the party concerned or any member thereof.

The petitioner in this case may also have similar view with regard to my defeat by a candidate standing on the ticket of a party to which he belongs.

So I wish to hear from the parties as to whether they (counsel or parties) in this case entertain any such notion and whether they wish to apply for my recusal so that, if any, I can make a decision thereon.

After this disclosure, litigants who were affected by the hundreds of judgment that I had handed down since those infamous days may justifiably worry as to whether any of my judgments were in any way influenced by this attempt to hang the Sword of Damocles over my head.

No amount of words from me would assuage you of your worry; you will have to read my judgments as to whether they are according to the evidence and the law or whether they were influenced by threat.”

Chin then adjourned for half an hour to let the parties digest what he had said and to consider whether they wished to make any application for his recusal.

However, they expressed their full confidence in him in presiding over the hearing of the case.

Justice Ian Chin - Background: Read here

JUSTICE Ian Chin, 60, is the most senior of Malaysia's 48 High Court judges, having been appointed in 1992. He is serving in both Sabah and Sarawak.

He was previously a lawyer before being elevated to the Bench.

According to his disclosure in court, he had twice stood unsuccessfully as a Barisan Nasional candidate for a parliamentary, and later state, seat in Sabah in the 1980s. He lost to a Democratic Action Party candidate.

He also disclosed that his father and brother had been detained in Sabah in late 1969 and 1970, but he did not give reasons for their detention.

According to senior lawyers, Justice Chin has a reputation for being independent-minded and bold.

PAS Denies Any Secret Discussion With UMNO on Collaboration

From Harakah

Ketua Penerangan PAS, Mahfuz Omar menafikan laporan dakwaan adanya rundingan sulit antara PAS dengan Umno selepas Pilihan Raya Umum lalu, apatah lagi dakwaan untuk bergabung.

Dalam satu ulasannya, Mahfuz menyifatkan laporan dan SMS mengenai perkembangan itu sebagai satu FITNAH.

Beliau seterusnya berkata, laporan yang mendakwa PAS telah menghantar satu rombongan perundingan dengan Umno bagi menyertai BN atau membentuk kerajaan campuran adalah tidak benar.

Sambil menyifatkan penyebaran berita seumpama itu sebagai hanya 'mainan politik' dan perang sarah media tertentu memburuk-burukkan PAS.

Beliau juga menyatakan penyebaran fitnah itu hanya mahu mengucar-kacirkan parti-parti yang bekerjasama dengan PAS dalam Pakatan Rakyat.

Mahfuz menegaskan, PAS tidak sama sekali terfikir untuk mengkhianati mandat dan menghakiskan kepercayaan yang telah diberikan oleh rakyat.

The Songkok Issue: The DAP Central Executive Committee is Being Petty and Trivial

Read here for more the article "To wear or not to wear songkok " and READ here commentary in Rocky Bru's Blog

We say,

The DAP Central Executive Committee has lost its bearings. Sadly, it is still behaving and acting like a party in Opposition mode.

There are bigger issues to worry about than to dabble in an issue about DAP State Assemblymen wearing a songkok. The songkok has been accepted as a Malaysian headgear, worn by Malaysian dignitaries attending official functions in audience with the Sultan and the Agung..

The DAP CEC members should realise that the songkok does not make you a Malay or a Muslim. It certainly identifies you as a Malaysian.

For the DAP CEC to be petty about its politicians wearing a songkok is unbecoming of a major political party that is now either running a state government or a major player in two other state governments.

The DAP CEC members should get out of their parochial mindset and get on with the major concerns and problems facing the nation and ordinary Malaysian. The songkok is not an issue for Malaysians.

The songkok is every bit Malaysian, as much as the womenfolk wearing the baju kebaya or the batik shirt.

Silly fools.
-Malaysian Unplug

Excerpts:

The four DAP assemblymen in the state are in a limbo over the wearing of the songkok at the opening of the Johor state legislative assembly.

The assemblymen from Bentayan, Mengkibol, Senai and Skudai, are in a dilemma as some members of the DAP central executive committee (CEC) don't want them to wear the headgear at the June 19 event where the Johor Sultan would be present.

However, a state DAP meeting decided on April 20 that the assemblymen could wear the songkok as a mark of respect to the Sultan.

State DAP vice-chairman Norman Fernadez said it was unfair for the CEC members to practise double standards as assemblymen in Selangor wore the songkok at the opening of their state assemblies.

“Their (CEC) argument that the assemblymen in Selangor are members of the Government does not hold water.It is not fair to put the Johor DAP assemblymen in such a difficult position, especially with the Sultan,” Norman said, urging the four to wear their uniform, including the songkok.

Johor DAP chairman and Skudai assemblyman Dr Boo Cheng Hau said the state committee had made a decision but it was now up to the CEC to give the final nod.

Mengkibol assemblyman Ng Lam Hua said personally he did not mind wearing the songkok as a mark of respect.“I asked my constituents and they said they do not care what I wear but are more concerned about what I say at the state assembly,” he said.

Senai assemblyman Ong Kow Meng, who also did not mind wearing the songkok, hoped the CEC would clear the confusion.

However, Bentayan assemblyman Gwee Tong Hiang said that he did not mind taking his chances by not wearing the songkok during the opening.

Speaker Datuk Ali Hassan advised all the assemblymen to wear their official attire including the songkok. "Assemblymen in Johor are different. They may not be able to enter the assembly without the songkok,” he said, adding that he hoped the DAP assemblymen did not create problems on June 19.

US Politics: The Secret of Barack Obama's Success - Lessons Malaysia's Pakatan Rakyat Leaders Can Learn A Thing or Two

From The Telegraph (UK) "The secret of Barack Obama's success" by Philip Sherwell

By

Philip Sherwell

Excerpts:

To celebrate becoming the first black presidential nominee for a major party in history, Barack Obama has planned a "date" with his wife, Michelle, a round of golf with friends and a cycle ride followed by a pizza and sleepover party with daughters Malia, nine, and Sasha, who is nearly seven. Some thought they saw the hand of campaign strategists in this cosy schedule.

Did the artfully constructed weekend not echo the careful attention to detail that has been the secret of Obama's political strategy?

From the start of the fight for the Democrat nomination, the quiet determination which led to the nickname "No Drama Obama" was cast into the shade by the glare of the high-voltage Clinton campaign.

In late 2007, Obama's White House hopes appeared remote. Even some of his most fervent supporters were losing faith as he stood becalmed in the national polls, a gaping 20 per cent behind the former First Lady, with her legions of big-name backers led by husband Bill, the former president.

Leading Obama fundraisers were so alarmed that Penny Pritzker, the Hyatt hotel chain billionaire heiress and Obama's national finance chairwoman, had to urge the candidate to make personal calls to convince them that there was a GAME PLAN.

And there was.

For under the radar of both Mrs Clinton's campaign – which was confidently portraying her as the "inevitable" candidate – and the media, Mr Obama was putting in place the most formidable insurgent operation in American political history.

He was certain he could sway voting intentions by harnessing the 2008 version of what would once have been called "people power".

Much is invariably and rightly made of his skills of oratory and how his message of change excited swathes of Democratic voters after two terms of President George W Bush.

But just as crucial was the campaign's success in outmanoeuvring the Clintons by focusing on the minutiae – from simple strategies such as raising money online using millions of small contributors to mastering the Byzantine rules of delegate allotment in Democratic primaries and caucuses.

And those strategies reflected Mr Obama's own experiences, from the competitive corridors of Columbia and Harvard to the tough streets of Chicago's South Side, where he cut his teeth as a young community activist, then went on to sharpen his elbows as a steely political operator.

Dan Watkins, a 60-year-old lawyer and Democrat from Kansas City, can testify to the success of this unprecedented grassroots operation. His "prairie state" votes solidly Republican in presidential elections and is not normally a crucible for national Democratic politics. But after Mr Watkins attended an Obama fundraiser last May, he was invited to a campaign strategy session in Chicago for about 100 fellow Obama-supporting Democratic activists from across the US.

1. When they sat down in a Chicago ballroom a year ago today, they were presented with a folder with a cover sheet bearing the legend "Obama University". This was, after all, an education process.
   
   
2. The participants were given presentations on strategy, planning and fundraising by key members of the Obama team, including campaign manager David Plouffe, Ms Pritzker and Jeff Berman, the national delegate mastermind.
   
   
3. And then they were ushered in small groups to the nearby campaign headquarters on the city's prestigious Michigan Avenue to meet the candidate himself.
   
   
4. Enthused by this encounter and armed with the know-how imparted earlier in the day, they fanned back out across the country to launch operations.
   
   
5. The campaign also held a series of so-called Camp Obama sessions, training young volunteers in the arts of grassroots campaigning, lobbying and organising.
   
   
6. The end result was a political network that reached even the smallest of towns in all 50 states and several overseas territories.

Mr. Watkins,who has been involved in Democratic politics in Kansas for more than three decades,said:

"I have never seen a campaign like this.

From the top to the bottom, there is not a hint of arrogance. It is all about giving you the tools, the know‑how and the motivation to empower you to go out and get things done.

And it's been remarkably successful."

By the time Kansas held its caucuses on Super Tuesday, in early February, the Obama campaign had 18 staffers on the ground and offices across the state, vastly outnumbering the three full-time Clinton operatives.

And Mr Obama cleaned up on the day, claiming 23 of the pledged 32 delegates up for grabs.

It was a similar story across America.

While the Clinton camp focused on the high-profile big states, the Obama operation eked out delegates wherever it could, sweeping such political "backwaters" as Idaho and minimising its rival's winning margins in the likes of New Jersey and California.

They ended with an insurmountable delegate lead based on better organisation, better fundraising, better motivation and better understanding of the rules.

That was no surprise to long-time Chicago South Side resident Loretta Augustine-Herron. With her friends Yvonne Lloyd and Margaret Bagby, she helped choose the baby-faced 24-year-old college graduate to run the church-based Developing Communities Project (DCP) in 1985, working with neighbourhoods battered by the closures of factories and steel mills.

Says the 65-year-old special education teacher, Loretta Augustine-Herron:

"I see the same Barack on the campaign trail and in the debates as I got to know back then.

He was a great listener, but then this young kid would be the one advising us what to do.

He really inspired us. He's practising what he preached and following the same strategies he taught us.

He told us, NEVER GET RATTLED, do your homework, STAY FOCUSED on what you're trying to achieve and, above all, DON'T GET ANGRY, because anger distracts your attention."

He studied law at Harvard, where he became the FIRST black president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review.

He returned to Chicago in 1991 and worked for a summer at the leading Chicago law firm Sidley Austin, where he met Michelle Robinson, the young lawyer who was to become his wife. But Mr Obama turned down a job with the company and returned to the DCP.

He headed a voter registration drive from a shared office in a former Methodist church. He made it the most successful such project the state has ever seen, stunning his colleagues as he registered 150,000 new voters in less than a year.

A young man in a hurry, Mr Obama soon had his sights set on national politics and tried to unseat Bobby Rush, a long‑standing Chicago congressman, in 1999. He lost badly and was portrayed as an elitist outsider – a salutary experience that taught him the need to consolidate power bases and plan his battles.

Dan Shomon, an Illinois political strategist who worked with Mr Obama for several years, said:

"Barack NEVER forgets the lessons he learns along the way.

He creates energy and enthusiasm, but he is also very aware of the importance of organisation.

He is brilliant at relating to people, whether it is speaking in churches, at chicken dinners on the South Side or a barbecue in rural southern Illinois.

Those are skills he honed in Chicago."

In retrospect, Mr Obama's most politically significant stand in Chicago was, ironically, one that did not even earn much local media coverage at the time.

In late 2002, he was one of various speakers who denounced the impending war with Iraq – a position that has proved crucial in his emergence as a national figure.

Within two years, continuing his stellar rise, he delivered the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in summer 2004 – including the memorable line:

"There's NOT a black America and white America … there's the United States of America"

Abner Mikva, 82, a former Democratic congressman and federal judge, became a political mentor to Mr Obama after he turned down a job as his law clerk, and was one of the "wise men" who counselled him to run for the presidency in late 2006, when others said he was too young. He said:

"Our country is cyclical. At times, we want to move forward and change. At times, we want to hunker down.

It's fairly clear that this is a time we want to move forward and Barack is the man for this time.

Chicago was a great place for him to cut his teeth. He learnt the importance of the grassroots as a community organiser and he also learnt that you need to be tough.

That will stand him in very good stead."

Nicol, We Are So Proud of You: First Recipient of the Order of Merit

From Bernama: Read here


Nicol David
The Order of Merit conferred by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin on national squash queen Nicol Ann David is seen as the country's HIGHEST recognition for sports.

Nicol, 24, is the FIRST recipient of the award given to Malaysians who are renowned at national and international levels.

Established on June 26, 1975, the award is limited to 10 recipients who have made significant contributions in the arts, science and humanity. The award, however, does not carry any title.

"She deserves the award. We in the SRAM (Squash Racket Association of Malaysia) are very proud of her achievement and congratulate Nicol for it.

"The SRAM hopes the award would spur Nicol to progress further in squash. The award is the country's highest recognition to Nicol for her hard work in bringing glory to the country," said SRAM deputy president Datuk Syed Mustaffa Syed Ali.

Penang-born Nicol was first introduced to the sport at the age of 5.

Her successes in the sport include recognition by the Women's International Squash Players Association (Wispa), and her latest win was the British Open title last month.

For the record, Nicol has won 27 titles in the Wispa World Tour series as of May out of the total of 79 championships which she has competed in since 2000.

She is currently competing in the Seoul Squash Open Championship in South Korea from June 2 to 7 in a bid to win her fourth title of the year.

Besides Nicol, several other athletes, former athletes and sports association officials have also been conferred awards in conjunction with the King’s birthday today.

Here's ANOTHER Reason NON-Malays Should NOT Vote UMNO in Any Future General Elections and Bye-Elections

Read here article in Malaysia-Today, "Malaysia’s two systems of justice"

Average Non-Malay Malaysians and NON-Malay Bumiputras have LITTLE future for their children and their grandchildren IF they still vote Barisan Nasional which allows UMNO to remain in Government - it was before, it is today, and it will be tomorrow.
-Malaysian Unplug


Related Article:

• HERE is ONE Reason WHY Chinese, Indians and Other Non-Malays Should NOT Vote UMNO in ANY Future General Elections and By-Elections

Excerpts from article by Raja Petra Kamarudin, "Malaysia's Two Systems of Justice"

by

Raja Petra Kamarudin

"Last month, Umno Johor said that the greatest mistake they made was in giving the non-Malay immigrants citizenship in August 1957. Now that they have been given citizenship they show their ingratitude by voting for the opposition.

Yes, non-Malays, even those born in Malaysia, are immigrants. And, being immigrants, they must vote Barisan Nasional. And if they do not vote for Barisan Nasional then they are ungrateful.

Yes, voting is your right. This is your right according to the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. Malays can vote for whomsoever they would like to vote for because the Constitution allows them to do so. Malays, therefore, can vote for the opposition.

But, if you are non-Malay, then you must vote for Barisan Nasional because you are an immigrant. If you vote for the opposition then you are a traitor, you are ungrateful, and it was a great mistake giving you citizenship in 1957.

Tun Dr Mahathir’s father was born in INDIA. But Tun Dr Mahathir can vote opposition. He can even oppose Umno like he is doing so now. In fact, he can even become the Prime Minister. He is not an ungrateful immigrant who should be sent back to India.

Tian Chua, however, can’t oppose Umno. Tian Chua, whose family settled in Malaya long before the Portuguese came in 1511, is an immigrant. And if he is not happy and if he opposes Umno then he should go back to China.

And Umno Johor regrets giving Tian Chua citizenship in 1957 but does not regret giving Tun Dr Mahathir citizenship.

Why? Because Tun Dr Mahathir is Muslim while Tian Chua is not.

But if Tian Chua circumcises and takes on the Muslim name of Musa Bin Susah and marries a Malay woman, then he need not go back to China and Umno does not regret giving him citizenship in 1957.

The Malays have a very warped view of justice. Malays practice two standards of justice.

There is one standard for the Malays and another for the non-Malays.

And 90% of the tax is paid by the NON-Malays and 10% by the Malays, says Tun Dr Mahathir.

But 10% of the scholarships must go to the NON-Malays and 90% to the Malays.

And when they propose to change this to 40% for the non-Malays and 60% for the Malays, the Malays raise a hue and cry.

And they call this justice. And they say Islam is about justice."

US Politics: Two Reasons Why Presidential Nominee Barack Obama Should Make Hillary Clintion His Vice President

From News Compass website:Read here

1. First Reason: "Keep your friends close but your ENEMIES closer" (Sun Tzu)
   
2. Second Reason: "It's probably better to have [her] INSIDE the tent pissing out than OUTSIDE pissing IN." (LBJ on J. Edgar Hoover)

Reason: TO KEEP HILLARY CLINTON OUT OF MISCHIEF

Alternatively, If Obama Wants Revenge for Hillary's Bad Behavior and Attitude?

Advice: "Revenge is a dish best eaten COLD"? (Bismarck)

By offering the Vice President post to ANOTHER WOMAN: Perhaps to rapidly rising star, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius

HERE is ONE Reason WHY Chinese, Indians and Other Non-Malays Should NOT Vote UMNO in ANY Future General Elections and By-Elections

Read here for more


(Image courtesy of Mob's Crib)

UMNO Youth education bureau chief Ahmad Ikmal Ismail objected on the increased percentage of PSD scholarships given to non-bumiputera students today.

Ahmad expressed concern in remarks published today over the steep increase in scholarship granted to non-bumiputera students, from 10 percent to 45 percent. He alleged that the move would make bumiputera students lose out on opportunities.

"We object to this move because it now means that 700 scholarships for bumiputera students are gone," Ahmad was quoted as saying in the Star.

Outstanding bumiputera students should not worry about being deprived of scholarships if their qualifications meet the criteria set by the Public Service Department (PSD), said MCA Youth education bureau chief Wee Ka Siong.

Wee, also the deputy education minister, said in a statement today that generally all students should not fear losing out to lesser performing candidates if they had met all the criteria set by the department.

US History in the Making: The First BLACK Democratic Presidential Nominee

From ABC News article by JENNIFER PARKER

Excerpts

Barack Obama becomes the FIRST African-American major party presidential candidate in the nation's history.



If Obama is elected president, he will be, at 47, among the youngest presidents in history. His Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., would be the oldest presidential candidate to win a first term in office at age 72.

Obama became the fifth African-American senator in U.S. history.

He was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review.

Background

Born to a white, American mother and a black, Kenyan father, Obama has spoken openly of his struggle to find acceptance in the black community.

Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4, 1961, to Barack Obama, Sr. (born in Nyanza Province, Kenya) and Ann Dunham (born in Wichita, Kansas).

His parents met while both were attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was enrolled as a foreign student. Barack Obama’s birthname is Barack Hussein Obama. She married Barack Obama Sr. three months after she becomes pregnant with his child. They were both students at the time. He was a dynamic, captivating, mesmerizing intellectual and the first black student at the University of Hawaii. He left Hawaii and his family when Barack was one year old and went to Harvard to further his education.

Barack Obama, Sr.was born in 1936 in Nyangoma-Kogelo, Siaya District (now in Bondo District), Kenya. His father, Hussein Onyango Obama (c. 1895-1979),[1] belonged to the Luo tribe. Barack Obama Sr. died age 46, from injuries received in an automobile accident.



Barack Obama Sr. poses with his son in the Honolulu airport during Obama Sr.’s only visit to see his son while he was growing up in Hawaii. Young Barack was in the 5th grade when the photo was taken.


Barack Hussein Obama shown with his mother who was born late in November 1942, in Wichita. She died of cancer in 1995.
First living in Hawaii, Obama's family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia, when he was 6, where he lived for a time with his mother and Indonesian stepfather.


At their home in Jakarta, Ann Dunham poses in this undated photo with her second Indonesian husband, Lolo Soetoro, their daughter, Maya, and Barack Obama.


Barack poses with his mother, Ann, half sister, Maya, and maternal grandfather Stanley Dunham in Hawaii in the early 1970s after the family returned from Indonesia. Neighbors remember the close relationship between young Barack and his grandfather



Barack Obama’s half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, is shown here with her husband, Konrad Ng, and their daughter, Suhaila.


Maya Soetoro-Ng, Barack Obama’s half sister, shown teaching her Education in American Society class at the University of Hawaii.


BARACK WITH HIS KENYAN GRANDMOTHER, SARAH HUSSEIN OBAMA


BARACK OBAMA AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY DURING HIS GRADUATION DAYS WITH GRANDPARENTS, STANLEY AND MADELYN DUNHAM


At his high school graduation, Barack Obama gets a hug from his grandmother Madelyn as his grandfather Stanley beams. His maternal grandparents raised Obama in Hawaii while his mother was living in Indonesia

He has credited his upbringing for making him sensitive to America's flagging image abroad.

Attending Columbia University and Harvard Law School, Obama worked as a community organizer, a constitutional law professor, and a lawyer in Chicago before becoming a senator in the Illinois state Senate in 1996.

He also developed a reputation as someone willing to reach across the aisle to build consensus.

Charismatic and Inspirational

Many Americans -- indeed, many Democrats -- had never heard of the charismatic politician before he delivered a stirring speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston in July 2004.

He called on Americans to leave behind party polarization, saying, "There is not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America."
Obama's newfound stardom and oratory skills made him a draw at political events and fundraisers across the country, able to attract media attention and raise money for other Democrats.

Expanding on his speech, Obama's 2006 book, "The Audacity of Hope:Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream," rocketed up The New York Times best-seller list.

Even his candid admission that he used cocaine and smoked pot in high school and college , in his first book, "Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance," did little to tarnish his image as an up-and-coming political phenomenon.

Historic Bid

Announcing his presidential bid in February 2007 on the steps of the Illinois state legislature where Abraham Lincoln gave a famous speech condemning slavery and calling for the United States to unite, Obama said that as president he would heal a divided nation.

"I know that I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. But I've been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change," Obama said.

A Front-Runner Falters

Last year, Clinton was considered the front-runner, with big-money donors backing her bid, not to mention a political team mirroring her husband's inner circle and an organized effort to attract women voters.

But Clinton's message of experience, Washington resume and her front-runner strategy left some Democrats cold and open to Obama's and Edwards' anti-Washington message.

Waging an outsider campaign, Obama's campaign raised a record-breaking $58 million during the first half of 2007, and boasted record-breaking support among people donating $200 and less.

Obama also attracted high-profile celebrity endorsements from talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey, and won highly sought-after Democratic establishment support from Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of former President John F. Kennedy, Sen. John Kerry. D-Mass., and California first lady Maria Shriver.

In March tapes surfaced of incendiary sermons by Obama's longtime pastor the Rev. Jeremiah Wright in which the pastor said, "God Damn America" for the way it treats blacks, and said the United States brought on the 9/11 attacks with its own "terrorism."

The controversy led Obama to make one of the most stirring speeches of his campaign on the issue of race. Standing in the Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Obama condemned Wright's remarks, and then offered a historical perspective, citing "the complexities of race in this country that we've never really worked through."

"Race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that the Rev. Wright made in his offending sermons about America -- to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality," Obama said.

Obama's speech on race prompted New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to endorse Obama, and other superdelegates followed.

Obama vs. McCain

Obama goes into the general election as the new kid on the block, younger and less experienced but armed with an appealing message of hope and change against a Republican tied to the Iraq War.

The Democratic presidential candidate may also benefit from a Republican president with record-low approval ratings, and 82 percent of Americans who say the country is seriously on the wrong track.

Ezam Has Damaged His Own Personal and Moral Integrity as a Political Leader

Read here article by Wan Nordin Wan Yaacob

Ezam pernah kata :"Tunjukkan saya orang yang masuk Umno itu ikhlas."

by

Wan Nordin Wan Yaacob

Sekitar era reformasi pada tahun 1998-2000, Ezam Mohd Nor ketika itu seorang penceramah yang amat dikenali dengan kelantangannya menghentam kepimpinan Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad dan Umno.

Ezam juga antara tahanan Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) dan Akta Rahsia Rasmi (OSA) yang dizalimi kerajaan Umno/BN ketika itu kerana kelantangannya mendedahkan penyelewengan yang berlaku dalam kerajaan.

Dalam satu ceramahnya di Ibu Negara ketika itu (tahun 1998), Ezam antara lain pernah berkata bahawa "kepala otak dia, tunjukkan saya mana satu pemimpin yang menyertai Umno kerana ikhlas".

Ezam juga pernah berkata, sekuat mana tekanan, sekuat mana tawaran ke atasnya diberikan, beliau tidak akan berganjak dari perjuangan kerana ia adalah janji beliau kepada diri beliau.

Beliau juga dengan bersemangat menyatakan bahawa "lawan tetap lawan" dan rela dipenjarakan sekali lagi demi memperjuangkan hak rakyat.

Beliau juga pernah memperlekeh kepimpinan Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi berikutan laporan rasuah setebal 632 muka surat yang diserah kepada Presiden Umno itu tidak disiasat dengan baik.

Ezam juga pernah berkata bahawa beliau tidak akan menyerahkan dokumen setebal 632 muka surat tanpa sebarang bukti, tetapi selepas menyerahkannya dengan bukti, orang yang dituduh terlepas begitu sahaja.
Tetapi kini Ezam kembali kepada Umno dengan tidak menyatakan syarat malah mengakui ikhlas membantu Presiden Umno untuk memperjuangkan Umno.

Ezam juga sebaliknya menyatakan bahawa ingin membantu Perdana Menteri yang juga Presiden Umno meneruskan dasar-dasar kerajaan yang dilihat berada pada landasan yang betul untuk 'reform'.

Walaupun rakyat, dan bekas Perdana Menteri, Tun Mahathir Mohamad menyedari dan mengakui kepimpinan Abdullah terlalu lemah selain berlaku banyak penyelewengan, Ezam tetapi kembali ke pangkuan parti yang dipimpin Perdana Menteri kepada 'Kerajaan Tiga Beranak'.

Sejauh mana Ezam ikhlas, hanya Allah sahaja yang mengetahuinya, tepuklah dada tanya iman.

RELATED ARTICLES

Ezam Kembali Bersama Katak-Kataknya?

Read here for more

by

Sheih Azidi from "Kickdefella" blog

Excerpts:

"Ezam Mohd Noor berdiri di pentas di Kampung Kedai Piah tidak sampai 100 hari yang lalu dan menjerit-jerit dihadapan lebih kurang 300 orang mengupas hujah-hujahnya tentang bertapa buruknya UMNO dan betapa busuknya Barisan Nasional.

Intipati pekikan Ezam berakhir dengan kesimpulan bahawa Kerajaan Pimpinan Abdullah Ahmad Badawi adalah terlalu hina dengan korupsi yang menjadi-jadi.

Sedekad yang lalu, Ezam keluar dari UMNO bersama enam kotak yang dilaung-laungkan sebagai berisi segala dokumen yang boleh menumbangkan kerajaan Barisan Nasional.

Sampai hari ini saya menanti Ezam membongkar isi keenam-enam kotak itu. Ezam rela ke penjara mempertahankan enam kotaknya. Dan minggu ini, Ezam kembali ke dalam UMNO bersama enam kotaknya.

Ezam kembali ke dalam UMNO bersama enam kotak? Apakah isi kandungan kotak-kotak itu? Hari ini segala-galanya telah jelas lagi bersuluh.

Sebenarnya satu ketika dahulu Ezam keluar UMNO dengan enam kotak kosong, tetapi hari ini, Ezam kembali ke dalam UMNO dengan 6 kotak berisi.

• Apakah yang diisi di dalam kotak-kotak itu?
  
  
• Apakah enam kotak itu berisi segala bentuk dokumen yang boleh memusnahkan Anwar Ibrahim dan mereka yang setia dengannya?
  
  
• Apakah enam kotak itu berisi segala dokumen dan skandal yang boleh menumbangkan kesepakatan kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat?

Atau enam kotak itu berisi berjuta-juta ringgit sebagai habuan kepulangannya ke dalam UMNO.

Seorang Ahli Parlimen yang juga amat rapat dengan Anwar Ibrahim memberitahu saya, Ezam menawarkan RM10 juta kepada 3 orang Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri Perak untuk mengikutnya menyertai UMNO. Jika ini berlaku, tumbanglah kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat di Perak.

Kembalinya Ezam ke pangkuan UMNO dijadikan pesta seperti dahulukala, bila ada pegawai kanan Parti Komunis Malaya menyerah diri, mereka dipaksa untuk membuat kenyataan terbuka dan menyebarkan propaganda Kerajaan.

Melihat Ezam di kaca TV memberitahu bahawa beliau memohon untuk kembali ke dalam UMNO kerana kerajaan Pimpinan Abdullah adalah kerajaan yang Pro-Reform, bahkan Ezam seperti tidak tahu untuk menjelaskan keputusannya itu dan asyik-asyik berputar-putar pada kalimah ‘Pro-Reform’ mengingatkan saya disewaktu kecil dahulu menyaksikan bagaimana Musa Ahmad, bekas pemimpin kanan PKM tampil di kaca TV menceritakan mengapa dia menyerah diri.

Mengapa Ezam terjun ke dalam kapal yang hampir pasti akan tenggelam? Mengapa Ezam membiarkan dirinya sebagai tropi suasa Abdullah Badawi? Mungkin didalam darahnya ada sesudu dua darah amfibia dan menjadikan dia bersedia untuk melompat seperti katak.

Tetapi mungkin juga tindakan Ezam itu berdasarkan perancangan teliti yang memakan masa hampir setahun diperingkat perancangan. Perancangan yang diilhamkan oleh seorang ahli politik pembangkang yang amat bijaksana yang terkenal dengan pemikiran ‘out-of-the-box’.

Kembalinya Ezam ke dalam UMNO sudah tentu menambah percakaran di dalam Majlis Tertinggi UMNO dan juga di peringkat akar umbi di mana Ezam terpaksa bertapak semula. Ezam akan dilihat sebagai Pro Abdullah lantaran menambah gelodak akar umbi yang masih ingat siapa Ezam.

Kembalinya Ezam dilihat oleh akar-umbi sebagai satu permulaan kepada usaha membuka pintu kepada Anwar Ibrahim untuk kembali semula ke dalam UMNO dan seterusnya meneutralkan Najib Razak yang mungkin akan bergabung dengan Muhyiddin Yassin menentang Abdullah."

Wahai Pemimpin PAS: Dimana Maruah dan Prinsip Engkau?

From Penarik Beca Blog :

Read here the article "Jalan ke Putrajaya"

" Seorang kawan menghantar tulisan di bawah kepada saya. Sebab saya rasa dia tahu apa yang dia tulis dan dia tidak merapu, saya siarkan tanpa edit.
-('Penarik beca')

"Puluhan tahun Pas dilanyak oleh Umno.

Bukan sahaja Pas difitnah, tetapi petugas dan penyokongnya dibuang kerja, dipindah ke ulu benua, tak naik pangkat, didera, ditangkap, ditembak dan DIBUNUH.

Top-top apabila Umno nak runtuh, dan seteru barunya, Anwar Ibrahim nak memerintah Malaysia, Pas hendak berkawan dan memerintah bersama dengan Umno pulak demi ketuanan dan kepentingan Melayu.dan Islam(betul ke tu?).

Wau, memang ulamak Pas (kalau ulama Umno, dipanggil ular dalam semak) pandai berhujjah dengan nas quran dan hadis. Paling kurang pun ada usul fiqhnya untuk bersekongkol dengan Umno semula. Kalau dengan DAP ada hujjahnya, inikan pula dengan Umno yang sebangsa dan seagama.
Takkanlah pemimpin Pas begitu naïf dan tidak menjangka yang Pas akan meruntuhkan Umno bila bersama BA atau kini PR.

Kawannya ialah DAP yang anti Islam dan mendokong Malaysian Malaysia. Takkan tiba-tiba kesian kat UMNO dan tak percaya dengan DAP dan tak percaya Anwar yang kita tau dia lebih libral dengan islam dan Melayunya.

Sebenarnya apa wahai pemimpin Pas oi.

• Engkau hendak jaga matlamat perjuangan Pas ke.
  
  
• Atau engkau dah takut bersekongkol dengan DAP ke.
  
  
• Atau engkau tak percaya dengan Anwar yang kau bela kes liwatnya bagai nak rak ke.
  
  
• Atau engakau hendak jadi menteri ke.
  
  
• Atau engkau pun dah nyanyuk, maklom le usia pun semacam Umno juga.

Nak ke syurga ke nak ke Putrajaya. Hanya satu jalan ke syurga.

Tetapi ada dua jalan ke Putrajaya. Tetapi kedua-dua jalan ke Putrajaya, Pas hanya sebagai penumpang sahaja.

50 tahun kita pertahan prinsip. La ni kita bukan langgar prinsip tapi mau jual prinsip.

Masa kita lemah, kita jaga prinsip.

Bila kita kuat, kita jual prinsip lak.

Kita tak sanggup jadi Abu Dzar!!!!!!!

US Politics: The Book That Would Destroy Republican John McCain's Presidential Ambition

Title: What Happened:
Inside the Bush White House and
Washington's Culture of Deception

by

Scott McClellan
(former Press Secretary of President Bush)

Available on Amazon.com: Click here

The Author:

Scott McClellan was a member of the President Bush's inner circle, a trusted confidant.

Scott McClellan (born February 14, 1968) is a former White House Press Secretary (2003-2006) for President George W. Bush. Karen Hughes, Governor Bush's communications director, hired McClellan to be Bush's deputy press secretary.

McClellan served as Governor Bush's traveling press secretary during the 2000 Presidential election. McClellan became White House Deputy Press Secretary in 2003. McClellan replaced Ari Fleischer, who stepped down as White House Press Secretary on July 15, 2003.

McClellan announced his resignation as Press Secretary on April 19, 2006. Many newspapers at the time reported that McClellan was forced to resign due to the Valerie Plame issue and handling of Hurricane Katrina relief.

The Book

McClellan's book is valuable, coming as it does from an insider, someone who was there, who saw it and heard it firsthand.

What is it we learn from reading his new book? That George W. Bush and his White House crew manipulated, deceived, rearranged the facts and bullied friends and foes alike in order to build a public case for striking Iraq.

McClellan's portrait of the president as a stubborn, willful man, unable to admit error, plunging ahead in the certitude of righteous truth.

Excerpts from McClellan's Book

• "No single decision caused the wheels to come off the Bush White House. But the way we went about executing the decision to go to war -- from making the case to the public to inadequately planning and preparing for its aftermath as we rushed into it -- sent us badly off track."
  
  
  
• "The president had promised himself that he would accomplish what his father had failed to do by winning a second term. . . . And that meant operating continually in campaign mode: never explaining, never apologizing, never retreating. Unfortunately, that strategy also had less justifiable repercussions: never reflecting, never reconsidering, never compromising. Especially not where Iraq was concerned."
  
  
  
• "I still like and admire George W. Bush. I consider him a fundamentally decent person, and I do not believe he or his White House deliberately or consciously sought to deceive the American people. But he and his advisors confused the propaganda campaign with the high level of candor and honesty so fundamentally needed to build and then sustain public support during a time of war."
  
  
  
• "If anything, the national press corps was probably too deferential to the White House and to the administration in regard to the most important decision facing the nation during my years in Washington, the choice over whether to go to war in Iraq. The collapse of the administration's rationales for war, which became apparent months after our invasion, should never have come as such a surprise. . . . The 'liberal media' didn't live up to its reputation. If it had, the country would have been better served."
  
  
  
• "I know the president pretty well. I believe that if he had been given a crystal ball in which he could have foreseen the costs of war -- more than 4,000 American troops killed, 30,000 injured, and tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens dead -- he would never have made the decision to invade, despite what he might say or feel he has to say publicly today."
  
  On the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's name to discredit her husband, administration critic Joseph Wilson:
  
• "The top White House officials who knew the truth -- including [Karl] Rove, ["Scooter"] Libby, and possibly Vice President Cheney -- allowed me, even encouraged me, to repeat a lie."
  
  
  
• "It was all too characteristic of an administration that, too often, chose in defining moments to employ obfuscation and secrecy rather than honesty and candor."

Related Articles:

'What Happened' by Scott McClellan

McClellan Says He Became `Disillusioned' While Working for Bush

McClellan Book Confirms Center's Iraq: The War Card Report

Ex-Bush-PR man admits Iraq 'propaganda'

McClellan: Bush "veered terribly off course

Former spokesman's book says White House sold war with propaganda

Ezam Mohd Nor Lied to PAS Leaders. Was Ezam Bought Over for RM 1 million by Khairy?

Read here in Harakah article by Mohd Rashidi Hassan

Ezam ibarat "Ayam jantan yang gah berkokok berderau-derau, tetapi ekornya bergelumang dengan najis"

by

Mohd Rashidi Hassan

Quote:

"....Sewaktu Ezam 'bercerai' dengan KeADILan, beliau begitu rapat dengan pemimpin-pemimpin PAS, antaranya Dato' Husam Musa, Mohamad Sabu, Mahfuz Omar dan Salahuddin Ayub. Ezam juga sering berjumpa dengan Tuan Guru Dato' Nik Aziz Nik Mat dan Dato' Seri Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang.

Ada banyak janji 'tidak akan masuk Umno' yang sering Ezam ulang-ulangkan di hadapan pemimpin PAS.

Ada banyak "Sumpah Keramat" Ezam dalam ceramah-ceramahnya yang menempelak, mengecam bekas PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Abdullah Badawi, Najib dan banyak lagi yang masih ada dalam rekod berbentuk kaset dan VCD.

Sewaktu saya berbual-bual dengan rakan-rakan KeADILan di pejabat Anwar di seksyen 16 Petaling Jaya beberapa hari sebelum PRU, saya ada memaklumkan kepada mereka bahawa bekas sahabat baik mereka ada mengunjungi Harakah.

"Ah! Engkau pedulikan sahaja dia tu, dia dah kena beli dengan Khairy (Khairy Jamaluddin)," dakwa seorang bekas Setiausaha Anwar.

Belum pun saya bertanya lebih lanjut beliau mendakwa, "Kami dapat maklumat dari budak-budak Gerak, RM1 juta dah masuk dalam akaun dari Norza, budak Khairy."

Saya faham mereka mendakwa seolah-olahnya Ezam sudah memperolehi sesuatu dari Khairy, melalui Dato' Norza Zakaria, Ahli Majlis Tetinggi Umno, yang dikaitkan sebagai kroni rapat menantu PM itu.
-Mohd Rashidi Hassan

Ada banyak rumours diperkatakan apabila Ezam Mohamed Nor menyerahkan borang keahlian Umno seumur hidup kepada Presiden Umno yang juga Perdana Menteri, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi di Parlimen semalam.

Ezam mengatakan beliau berhasrat masuk Umno bukan kerana mengkagumi personaliti Abdullah, sebaliknya perubahan dasar yang dijalankan khususnya dalam persoalan Badan Pencegah Rasuah dan isu kehakiman, begitu menarik minatnya.

Hakikatnya pada beliau perubahan dasar yang dibuat oleh Abdullah, Kerajaan Barisan Nasional yang ditunjangi Umno begitu mendorong pendiriannya untuk berubah.

BN dan Umno sudah berubah? Benarkah begitu? Apakah pendirian yang diambil Ezam sekarang ini, sinomin dengan perjuangan beliau selama ini?

Ezam sejak dua tahun lepas adalah orang yang tidak berparti.

Kisah Ezam keluar KeADILan bukan lagi menjadi isu. Dua tahun lalu beliau meletakkan jawatan sebagai Ketua Angkatan Muda atas alasan hendak menumpukan kepada Gerak.

Namun, ada yang mengatakan beliau bergaduh dengan Naib Presiden KeADILan, Mohamed Azmi Ali, ada juga yang mendakwa Ezam bergaduh dengan Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Ketika Anwar dipecat pada tahun 1998, Ezam adalah Setiausaha Politiknya, manakala Azmin sebagai Setiausaha Sulit.

Kedua-dua anak muda ini merupakan antara tonggak utama dan orang kepercayaan Anwar untuk menggerakkan gerakan reformasi semasa Anwar merengkok dalam tahanan.

Dalam parti politik, pemimpin memang ada banyak perbezaan pendapat. Soal pergaduhan dan bagaimana bentuk pendekatan masing-masing tidak perlu dihuraikan di sini.

Kunjungan Ezam ke Harakah

Kira-kira tiga minggu sebelum Parlimen dibubarkan Februari lepas, Ezam Mohd Noor berkunjung ke pejabat Harakah, menemui Ketua Pengarang Kumpulan, Ahmad Lutfi Othman.

Jika tidak silap, hari itu hari Ahad. Hari cuti. Banyak pejabat ditutup, begitu juga dengan Harakah. Hanya dua tiga orang sahaja yang bekerja.

Kami mencadangkan perjumpaan dibuat pada hari lain, namun beliau tetap mahu berjumpa katanya, atas urusan yang amat penting.

Saya dimaklumkan oleh Ketua Pemberita, Wan Nordin Wan Yaacob tentang kehadiran Ezam bertemu dengan Lutfi, tetapi tidak dapat turut serta kerana ada tugasan di Alor Setar.

Butiran mengenai pertemuan tersebut dimaklumkan oleh Lutfi dalam mesyuarat Jabatan Pengarang selepas itu.

Dalam pertemuan tersebut saya dimaklumkan Ezam begitu beriya-iya meminta dibekalkan bahan-bahan untuk membantunya berkempen membantu pembangkang, khususnya PAS dalam Pilihan Raya Umum ke 12.

Bahan utama yang diminta beliau ialah mengenai laporan Badan Pencegah Rasuah dan sebarang dokumen mengenai penyelewengan yang membabitkan Menteri Besar Selangor ketika itu, Dato' Seri Mohd Khir Toyo.

Bahan-bahan tersebut sememangnya ada pada Lutfi, kerana sebelum ini beliau begitu giat mendedahkan apa yang disifatkan penyelewengan, salah laku dan rasuah yang membabitkan seorang bertaraf MB.

Pada saya, apa yang diminta Ezam barangkali ada relevannya dengan peranan beliau sebagai Pengerusi Gerak, yang digiat memperjuangan budaya bersih rasuah dalam negara.

Namun, sampai kesudah Lutfi ENGGAN menyerahkan dokumen tersebut, setelah didesak beberapa kali oleh Ezam.

Saya bertanya kepada Lutfi, mengapa tidak diberikan sahaja dokumen itu kepada Ezam, barangkali boleh membantu kempen PAS di Selangor.

Namun Lutfi enggan memberikan, katanya, dia berasa hairan mengapa Ezam tiba-tiba meminta dokumen mengenai Khir dan merasakan ada sesuatu yang pelik berlaku.

Benarkah Ezam dibeli?

Sewaktu saya berbual-bual dengan rakan-rakan KeADILan di pejabat Anwar di seksyen 16 Petaling Jaya beberapa hari sebelum PRU, saya ada memaklumkan kepada mereka bahawa bekas sahabat baik mereka ada mengunjungi Harakah.

"Ah! Engkau pedulikan sahaja dia tu, dia dah kena beli dengan Khairy (Khairy Jamaluddin)," dakwa seorang bekas Setiausaha Anwar.

Belum pun saya bertanya lebih lanjut beliau mendakwa, "Kami dapat maklumat dari budak-budak Gerak, RM1 juta dah masuk dalam akaun dari Norza, budak Khairy."

Saya faham mereka mendakwa seolah-olahnya Ezam sudah memperolehi sesuatu dari Khairy, melalui Dato' Norza Zakaria, Ahli Majlis Tetinggi Umno, yang dikaitkan sebagai kroni rapat menantu PM itu.

Persoalan mengapa Ezam meminta dokumen mengenai Khir Toyo terjawab. Khairy dikatakan tidak menyukai bekas MB Selangor itu dan berusaha untuk menjatuhkannya dengan menggunakan Ezam.

Oleh kerana itu pada saya, kebimbangan Lutfi di atas gaya body language Ezam dalam pertemuan mereka barangkali juga ada asasnya.

Di kalangan KeADILan diberitahu, Ezam ada membuat beberapa kali pertemuan dengan Khairy, sebelum ini.

Kes tentang apa yang didakwa membabitkan 'perundingan' Ezam dengan pemimpin-pemimpin Umno bukannya baru.

Beberapa tahun lepas, didedahkan kes yang sama timbul sewaktu 'perundingan' diadakan dengan Dato' Seri Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin, bekas Menteri Pembangunan Luar Bandar.

Kalangan yang masuk Umno ketika itu, membabitkan bekas Naib Ketua Pemudanya, Zahid Mat Arif dan bekas tahanan ISA, Lokman Nor Adam yang didakwa memperolehi sejumlah wang atau 'ghanimah politik' di atas penggadaian prinsip perjuangan mereka.

Zahid dan Lokman beserta beberapa yang lain, ditempelak hebat kerana meninggalkan perjuangan untuk memasuki Umno.

Ketika Lokman ditempelak, untuk menjawab segala tohmahan, Lokman mengatakan bukan inisiatif beliau pada asalnya pertemuan yang diadakan di sebuah hotel di Subang dibuat.

Katanya, beliau ada bukti dan gambar ada pimpinan tertinggi KeADILan yang mengetuai delegasi perundingan untuk memasuki Umno, ketika itu. Ada yang mengatakan dakwaan mereka ada kaitannya dengan Ezam.

Jika ini benar, soal Ezam hendak masuk Umno, bukannya perkara baru.

Maka Ezam tidak boleh mengelak untuk dikaitkan dengan persepsi bahawa, perundingan beliau masuk Umno barangkali membabitkan soal jawatan dan 'peruntukan'.

Soal banyak mana, apa yang diperolehi oleh Ezam dan rakan-rakan rapatnya, yang mendorong mereka memasuki Umno, tidak dapat dipastikan.

Apa yang Ezam mampu lakukan dalam Umno?

Sebelum ini, khususnya sewaktu Ezam 'bercerai' dengan KeADILan, beliau begitu rapat dengan pemimpin-pemimpin PAS, antaranya Dato' Husam Musa, Mohamad Sabu, Mahfuz Omar dan Salahuddin Ayub.

Ezam juga sering berjumpa dengan Tuan Guru Dato' Nik Aziz Nik Mat dan Dato' Seri Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang. Ada banyak janji 'tidak akan masuk Umno' yang sering Ezam ulang-ulangkan di hadapan pemimpin PAS.

Ada banyak "Sumpah Keramat" Ezam dalam ceramah-ceramahnya yang menempelak, mengecam bekas PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Abdullah Badawi, Najib dan banyak lagi yang masih ada dalam rekod berbentuk kaset dan VCD.

Semua rekod-rekod ini menjadi bukti bahawa Ezam sebenarnya sudah menggadaikan prinsip perjuangan yang beliau sendiri bersumpah acapkali.

Tanpa disedarinya sumpah-sumpah ini semua sedang memakan diri Ezam. Hanya masa dan waktu sahaja akan menentukan. Wallahu a'lam.

Apa pun yang berlaku, sama ada ungkapan Ezam berbentuk janji, sumpah dan sebagainya, hakikat yang dibuktikan sekarang di hati Ezam hanya ada Umno, bukan PAS, jauh sekali KeADILan.

Ezam barangkali berfikir, laluannya memasuki Umno, menerusi Khairy terus kepada Abdullah boleh menjadi suatu advantage baginya.

Semuanya belum tentu! Orang-orang Umno sedang mencongak, ada tiga kemungkinan yang boleh berlaku dengan kemasukan Ezam ke dalam parti yang hampir karam itu.

1. Pertama, seperti kata Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak, 'Ezam ada banyak maklumat'. Mungkin maklumat-maklumat ini boleh digunakan untuk membelasah Anwar dan menghalang pembentukan Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat.
   
   
2. Kemungkinan kedua; Tidak boleh dinafikan wujud persepsi bahawa Ezam masih agen Anwar Ibrahim. Dalam keadaan sekarang, ada kalangan ahli Umno yang bimbang, Ezam boleh digunakan Anwar untuk menambahkan kerosakan dalam Umno.
   
   
3. Kemungkinan ketiga; Tiada apa-apa pun perubahan yang boleh berlaku kepada Umno! Sewaktu berbondong-bondong ahli Umno diketuai bekas Presidennya, Dr Mahathir keluar Umno kerana kegagalan Abdullah Badawi, Ezam pula hendak masuk Umno atas alasan Abdullah sudah mengubah Umno dan kerajaan.

Apa yang Abdullah ubahkan pun tidak diketahui. Malah Abdullah, BN dan Umno ditolak rakyat dalam PRU Mac lepas kerana dasar-dasar yang lapuk yang tidak boleh diterima.

Malahan sebahagian besar orang-orang Umno berpendapat, parti itu hanya akan berubah hanya apabila Abdullah Badawi meletakkan jawatan.

Umno ibarat Titanic dan tongkang pecah yang sedang menanti untuk karam. Mudah-mudahan 'niat' baik Ezam dan suku sakatnya menyertai kapal, boleh menampung kerosakannya untuk terus berlayar.

Barangkali Umno/BN boleh terus berlayar, tetapi bukan sebagai kerajaan, tetapi sebagai pembangkang.

Ikutlah, mungkin juga nasib Ezam untuk terus menjadi pembangkang.

Cuma, pesanan bekas rakan-rakan seperjuangan kepada anda, jangan jadi seperti "Ayam jantan yang gah berkokok berderau-derau, tetapi ekornya bergelumang dengan najis."

Apa pun, well...good luck saudara Ezam!

*******************************

Related Article

UMNO Masih Persoal Niat Ezam


by

Amir Hamzah Amha

Excerpts: Read here for more

Ramai ahli UMNO dikatakan kurang senang dengan tindakan Perdana Menteri membenarkan Ezam memasuki semula UMNO tanpa syarat dan mempertikaikan mengapa tiada seorangpun bekas ahli KeADILan yang menyertai UMNO pada 2004 seperti Roslan Kassim dan Lokman Noor Adam sudi menemani beliau.

Didalam temuramah bersama TV3 Ezam ternyata jelas menyatakan hasratnya untuk meneruskan Agenda Reformasi Anwar Ibrahim di dalam UMNO dan cita-citanya adalah untuk membanteras rasuah di dalam UMNO.

Ahli-ahli Pakatan Rakyat akan terus memerhatikan berapa jauhkah dan setinggi manakah Ezam dibenarkan menyusup didalam UMNO untuk melaksanakan Agenda Perubahan yang diulang Ezam di dalam temubual tersebut berkali-kali.

Harus diingat ungkapan 'Agenda Perubahan' adalah 'Manifesto Anwar Ibrahim' yang menjadi teras persefahaman Pakatan Rakyat.

Sekiranya percaturan bijak pimpinan tertinggi Pakatan Rakyat ini berjaya, berkemungkinan besar Ezam akan memainkan peranannya untuk melakukan 'Agenda Perubahan' ini serta-merta dan kesannya akan dilihat pada keputusan pemilihan UMNO nanti. Sama ada kesan ini positif atau negatif kepada Dato' Seri Abdullah Badawi atau lawan-lawannya - kita tungguuuuu!

From Sin Chew Daily

Article by TAY TIAN YAN (Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE)

Read here for more

Ezam Mohd Nor used to be an important assistant to PKR Adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and they shared similar fates. When Anwar was in power in Umno, Ezam was a rising star. While Anwar left Umno, Ezam was as well out of luck. And when Anwar was sent to jail, Ezam was imprisoned too.

During the most difficult time for Anwar and PKR, Ezam was there but when the party is about to rise, Ezam chose another path.

Outsiders find it hard to understand whether it is necessary for him to give up his sacrifices and contributions over the past 10 years just because of the breakdown of his relationship with PKR President Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail.

Umno is a huge cruise ship (that) hits an iceberg in the dark, its navigation has been disrupted and it might sink at any moment. PKR is a speedboat (that) has successfully overtaken the iceberg and it is now speeding up.

It is logical if someone jumps from the cruise ship into the speedboat.

The other way round ??? Is Ezam a fool or has he gone mad?

Former PKR Youth leader Ezam Mohd Nor is not a fool to rejoin Umno. But what’s happening actually?

"At this moment, Umno needs Ezam and Ezam needs Umno."

Anyway, it is not surprising as Ezam is back in Umno. There were rumours three years ago when he left PKR. However, he did not choose Umno at that time but to form a non-governmental organisation called Gerak.

At that time, he was still playing the role of criticising those in power, including submitting a 600-page report to testify against a senior minister who was allegedly involved in corruption. However, no action has been taken after the report was submitted to the government.

Years ago, there were rumours about Ezam would rejoin Umno. He personally denied it at that time and convincingly, he said:

“As the leader of Gerak, I constantly report offences committed by Umno members to the police.

How could Umno accept such people like me?

Moreover, if I want to rejoin Umno, I must first fight for higher position in PKR to have a greater bargaining chip.”

We can still clearly remember his words but as the environment changed and the time has come, his stand as well “flexibly” changed. At this moment, Umno needs Ezam and Ezam needs Umno.

After the great shock of the 8 March general elections, Umno knows it very well that it's image is poor, especially in the eyes of the young generation. The party is almost a synonym for the words privileges, conservative, money and arrogance.

As Umno is now led by aging leaders and it is lack of young leaders. Ezam, whose image is healthy, can actually help the party to get close with the grassroots.

For Ezam, he has lost his stage after he left PKR. The space provided by Umno is an opportunity to him. A charismatic young leader is currently needed for Umno Youth and Selangor Umno as well needs a new strong leader. Ezam can fill in.

However, there are dissidents within Umno.

Some members are worried that accepting Ezam would be like bring the “Trojan Horse” into the party. It may be Anwar's strategy to polarise Umno.

Umno Youth Chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein's response was very subtle. He brought up three questions: What benefit could Ezam bring to Umno? Does Ezam recognise the struggle direction of Umno? What role can Ezam play in Umno?

It is impossible for Ezam to rejoin Umno without the approval of Umno President Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. And he may not be accepted by the majority member after he rejoins the party. Certainly, as an outsider, he would not be welcomed as the Umno Youth and Selangor Umno already have their existing teams.

Ezam has came alone into a Roman arena for gladiatorial contests of power and interests. It would be like the Prometheus in Greek mythology if he wants to perform his talents in there because it is still a question whether he can survive.

It is quite impossible that Ezam is the Trojan Horse because it is too obvious. He will be targeted even before he can reach the city.

Umno is the fiery Mount Doom in the movie The Lord of the Rings and even Hercules will turn weak in there.

Moreover, Ezam is not Hercules.