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Entries in "Strictly Malaysia"
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Is Perak kris the Taming Sari?
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Published: May.03.2007 @ 2:54 pm

 2007/05/03

Is Perak kris the Taming Sari?

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Wan Ahmad Arshad showing the diagram of a kris, believed to be the Taming Sari, in the manuscript.
Wan Ahmad Arshad showing the diagram of a kris, believed to be the Taming Sari, in the manuscript.

SEREMBAN: Evidence has emer- ged that the kris at the Istana Iskandariah Bukit Chandan, Kuala Kangsar, is indeed the fabled Taming Sari of Hang Tuah.

A manuscript ,dating back more than 300 years, has been found that describes the kris in detail.

It has a diagram of a kris, labelled the Taming Sari, which resembles that in the possession of the Perak royal family.

Written below are words in Jawi which state: Keris Hang Jebat, sebelah negeri harganya, cerita pengkarang namanya (the kris of Hang Jebat, half a state is the price, author’s story is the name).

Wan Ahmad Arshad, a collector of artifacts who found the manuscript in Terengganu three months ago, believed it could prove that the kris was once owned by the legendary Malacca warrior.
"Going by a visual comparison, there are similarities between the Taming Sari in Perak and the keris shown in the diagram. This could prove that the keris in Perak is the actual Taming Sari."

Besides the Taming Sari, the manuscript also shows a diagram of a kris belonging to Hang Jebat, and 25 other kris.

The diagram of Hang Jebat’s kris also had similar writing bearing the name of Hang Tuah’s companion, who later died at his hands.

"The diagrams also show the intricate designs on the pamor (blade) of the Taming Sari," said Wan Ahmad.

According to legend, Hang Tuah handed over the kris to Tun Mamat, to be given to Sultan Mahmud of Malacca after he (Hang Tuah) failed to persuade Puteri Gunung Ledang to marry the sultan.

Sultan Mahmud took the kris with him when he escaped from Malacca to Kampar in Sumatra.

Taming Sari finally found a permanent home in Perak as part of the state’s royal regalia when Sultan Mahmud’s son, Sultan Muzaffar Shah I, was installed as the first sultan of Perak.

Wan Ahmad said this was an exciting discovery as this is the first time a manuscript containing such diagrams has been found anywhere in the world.

 

GLOBAL WARMING:Will Malaysia be arid like Africa?
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Published: May.03.2007 @ 2:48 pm

 

 

GLOBAL WARMING: Final warning... Will Malaysia be arid like Africa?


03 May, 2007

As global warming looms, many scientists are sounding the alarm. Some are predicting doom. How will it affect Malaysians? Are we prepared for it? MINDERJEET KAUR wades through the gloom to find out KUALA LUMPUR: Heatwaves, floods, costlier food, water shortages and more diseases.

Malaysians must prepare for these over the next 20 years.

Global warming could even turn Malaysia into an arid state akin to Africa’s parched states, according to a weather expert.

And no less a person than Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid says 1,200 sq km of coastline will be under water if no measures are taken to tackle global warming.

The journal Environment and Urbanization, in its latest issue, quoted a recent study which showed that more than two-thirds of the world’s large cities were in areas vulnerable to global warming and rising sea levels. Some 600 million people could be affected.

Malaysians are already feeling the effects of freak weather patterns and now experts warn that by 2025, higher temperatures will cause prolonged droughts and intense floods.

The impact is likely to reduce food supply, causing the prices of vegetables, rice, seafood, fruits and meat to rise.

And families, instead of enjoying mother nature, will either ensconced themselves in air-conditioned homes or in shopping malls.

Parents are likely to restrict their children from playing outdoors.

Climatologist and physical oceanography Professor Dr Fredolian Tanggang said the weather was expected to increase by 1° Celsius in the next 20 years.

"The last 100 years saw an increase of 0.7° Celcius but because of rapid development, the temperature is expected to increase further in a shorter span of time.

"In just 20 years, our temperature would have risen five times more than it did in the last 100 years."

He said cities were getting warmer and more droughts and floods would occur.

"There will be stronger winds, something like typhoons."

He added that the recent Johor floods were tell-tale signs of global warming.

"It should not have happened. It was unexpected. But if temperatures continue to rise, we can expect more such floods."

A Meteorological Department spokesman agreed, saying temperatures were rising.

He said: "We are monitoring the weather patterns. That’s all our department can do."

Drainage and Irrigation Department director-general Datuk Dr Keizrul Abdullah said more floods could be expected as the climate worsened.

Tanggang said: "The climate change will affect everyone. Farmers will suffer and agricultural yield is likely to be reduced.

"If we want to see how we will live in a hundred years from now, take a look at Africa — famine, droughts and people fighting for food."

To escape the heat, he said, almost every home would have air-conditioning.

The demand for power would go up and more carbon dioxide would be emitted.

He lamented that people were not taking climate change seriously and not enough energy- saving devices were being used.

Tanggang said rising sea levels would cause erosion and submerged shores.

"We need to take measures to avoid this.

"Malaysia has not done enough of its own research and most of our facts are based on foreign research."

More... Bracing for food shortages

Also read: Low-lying cities will be badly hit

To comment, click here

Tomorrow: How we can make a differance

© Copyright 2007 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.

Root out corruption and operate transparently
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Published: Aug.26.2006 @ 10:41 am

 

 

Root out corruption and operate transparently

By NOEL F. OLIVEIRO, Ipoh


26 August, 2006

CAN you take offence with rate-payers when they are critical of misuse of funds by local councils ("Hall of shame" — New Sunday Times, Aug 20)? The RM350,000 spent on a flagpole at the Ipoh Padang is shocking, to say the least. The money could have been put to better use, like resurfacing some of our roads.

A new system of monitoring the work of local councils is needed to root out corrupt or incompetent local council staff.

Corruption rots an organisation from the inside out. The longer it is left unchecked, the more damage it will do.

Each council should be required to introduce its own code of conduct and appoint independent people to investigate malpractices.

Local government is the tier of government with which ordinary people have the most contact.

For these reasons, it is vital that councils operate transparently.

© Copyright 2006 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.

Ombudsmen can enhance integrity
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Published: Aug.20.2006 @ 1:56 pm

The Star Online > Nation

Sunday August 20, 2006

Ombudsmen can enhance integrity

BY LOH FOON FONG

KUALA LUMPUR: The role of the ombudsman can enhance the level of integrity in a country, said a retired professor.  

Former Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia anthropology and sociology lecturer Dr Syed Hussein Alatas said the ombudsman protects individuals from governmental injustice. 

“The office of an ombudsman does not deal with corruption as some people had misunderstood. The corruption complaints are handled by the Anti-Corruption Agency,” said Dr Syed Hussein during the 3rd National Congress on Integrity:Concept of Integrity from the Islamic and Christian perspectives yesterday. 

Dr Syed Hussein: ‘When there is much delay in action taken by the government, it affects people's lives’
Someone who has not received her pension for years because an officer had been transferred and could not sign her documents, for instance, could complain to the ombudsman and get it sorted out quickly instead of waiting for years, he said. 

“When there is much delay in action taken by the government, it affects people's lives,” said Dr Syed Hussein who had drawn up a memorandum on the need for ombudsmen in 1991. 

He said his recommendation was not taken up, but the Public Complaints Bureau was set up. 

“There may be things that the Bureau can resolve but it has its limitations. The Bureau does not have the authority to demand files from Ministers or investigate any ministries. The ombudsman has the authority to do this. Also the Bureau cannot interview the officials or call for witnesses,” he said.  

The role of the ombudsman also helps the government saves legal costs as things can be settled quickly and amicably, without going to court, he said.  

Recently, the Cabinet decided at a meeting that an ombudsman system would not be implemented in Malaysia but said other concepts based on such a system were being studied and considered. 

When one of the moderators in the Congress asked why, despite more mosques, churches and temples being built, which could be interpreted as more people becoming religious, corruption cases continue to increase, Dr Syed Hussein said the people could be influenced by the lack of integrity at the top level. 

“This is one of the most serious problems in Third World countries - the lack of integrity among people who run the country. When corruption is practised at the governmental level, it trickles down to the grassroots.” 

Dr Ravi Zacharias, visiting professor at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University, who also spoke at the event said it was difficult for a person's moral authority to be governed by exterior factors. It has to be governed internally by the person's faith and character, or else he would lack courage when he loses a job or position when taking a stand against corruption, he said.  

 

 


 

© 1995-2005 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)

 
Fear keeping BN in place
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Published: Aug.20.2006 @ 1:29 pm

 

Fear keeping BN in place
KLite in Las Vegas
Aug 18, 06 5:48pm


I recently returned to Malaysia for a vacation and met up with a few old friends. We were talking about old times and present times, basically typical 'mamak stall' banter. I couldn't help but ask their opinions about the current hoo-ha between the PMs of old and new. We got talking about corruption and freedom of the press. My friends, being MCA ‘kakis’, gave me their opinions which did not at all make me feel warm and cosy inside.

I was asking them, ‘Don't you want to know exactly how your taxpayers monies are being spent and do you not care if the BN cronies are getting rich from contracts being awarded to them? These contracts are being paid by taxes paid to the government’.

While they did agree with some of my points, they indirectly indicated there was a need for some ‘necessary evils’ for the sake of peace between races. I do not blame them for the BN machine over the years has instilled such fear in Malaysians through the education system, mainstream media and propaganda.

My friends told me there was no way they would let another coalition party rule the country, even to see if five years made a difference. A British philosopher once said, ‘Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear’.

I am, however, encouraged that in recent years more questions are now being asked of ministers and BN cronies regarding corruption and suspicious business dealings. I am pleasantly surprised and happy that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is doing what he is doing now.

Bear in mind he could just have retired quietly and enjoyed his life outside of politics. Perhaps he now realises the nasty seeds he has sown over the years and is trying to make things right while he still can.

I urge all Malaysians to keep questioning the current government engine, for as we all know there are not enough checks and balances to keep the ministers on their toes.

From Las Vegas, I wish all Malaysians a Happy 49th Merdeka Day.

 

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We need laws to end all monopolies
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Published: Aug.20.2006 @ 1:28 pm

 

We need laws to end all monopolies
Ibnu Hakeem
Aug 18, 06 5:55pm


I refer to your report Sugar shortage: End monopoly by ‘kings’. 

The Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (Fomca) is spot on to question the rationale of allowing just four companies to import and refine raw sugar, saying the system must be partly blamed for the current nationwide sugar shortage.

Its director of communications, Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman, had said in your report: ‘We don’t see why the country should limit ownership of sugar refineries to four companies which are controlled by just two people - Sugar King Robert Kuok and Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary’.

But let's not blame anyone else. We have only ourselves to blame. Malaysians are still naive and we do not know when to complain. We complain only when it is too late - when the monopoly licences have been granted and we end up paying through our noses.

Dear Malaysians, other than monopolies over sugar, the government has granted one company the monopoly over the security-label packaging for medical products.

The next time you buy any type of medicine or medical product you will see a shiny plastic sticker on the packaging material. This sticker adds 20 sen to the cost of the bottle of medicine. It is some sort of quality standard, certifying that the product meets Malaysian standards. One company holds the monopoly licence over this plastic sticker.

Considering that every bottle of Panadol must also have this sticker, this company (a Sdn Bhd) is quietly making hundreds of million ringgit in profits.

But we don’t complain, do we?

The UEM group has the monopoly to import and supply medicines for government hospitals. Now the government wants the consumer to pay more for medicines at government hospitals.

Again, we don’t complain.

One private company has been given the monopoly to calibrate and check all weighing machines in use in this country. Charges run from RM7 to RM180 per calibration. Does anyone care about all this?

But Malaysians don’t complain.

The Sun newspaper recently exposed the action by the Petaling Jaya City Council (Town Council before) to grant monopolies to two companies for advertising billboards and pest control respectively in Petaling Jaya.

In PJ, if you want to put up a billboard, only the monopoly consortium appointed by the MBPJ can do it for you. The MBPJ has also granted another consortium the monopoly for pest control activities in PJ. If you are a business in PJ - any business - you must get your premises pest- controlled by this monopoly consortium. Otherwise you will not get a business licence. This monopoly consortium charges above market rates. They are also killing off the other pest control companies.

Do we complain? It’s too late.

Astro still has the monopoly over satellite TV in the country.

Do we complain? No. We are Malaysians.

The time has come for this country to legislate comprehensive laws which will ban or make illegal monopolistic business practices which burden the consumer. We also have to make illegal oligopolies and cartels.

If we don’t, more greedy pirates will appear on the scene and eat up more of our money.

 

 

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Mahathir’s turn to accept decisions now
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Published: Aug.20.2006 @ 1:22 pm

Mahathir’s turn to accept decisions now
SH Huang
Aug 18, 06 5:52pm


Dr Mahathir Mohamad wants to be remembered for mega-projects, some of which have gone sour. One glaring example is the Matrade building project. I would like to look at both the good and bad deeds of Mahathir. I would like to call a spade a spade, good or bad. Yes, he did a lot of good. But he also did a lot of unpleasant things.

For one, look at the judiciary. The former Lord President was sacked unceremoniously. And when five senior judges had an ‘emergency’ sitting on his dismissal, three of them were also sacked.

Two, Operation Lalang was used to ‘weed out’ those who were a thorn in his side. Who gave the order to lock up over 100 people. If there was proof that they did something wrong, then they should have been produced in court. If you have no proof, release them.

Any right-thinking, fair, just person would have brought the detainees to court and tried them in the truest tradition of law and justice; not using strong-armed tactics.

Three, what happened to the 18 high-profile corruption cases which had been floating from the ACA to the Attorney-General’s Chambers, back and forth for so many years. Why are they not cleared to this day?

Four, why did three of Mahathir’s former deputy prime ministers - Musa Hitam, Ghafar Baba and Anwar Ibrahim - have problems with him? Were they really that bad? If so, then his judgement was very poor indeed! Surely a man of wisdom and a man of great stature should be a good judge of people?

Five, was it not bad taste in saying that the present PM received fewer votes than the present deputy prime minister? Indeed, Mahathir has forgotten that he only received the third highest number of Umno votes for his vice-presidency?

Mahathir must accept that he made his choice and he should accept that fact. He must live with it. It is just like choosing a wife. A man must accept his choice and live with it. He cannot later turn round and say it was a bad choice. It is too late.

Six, don't we all think the present PM must be given his chance to prove his worth? He has been hardly three years in office and he is being harassed at every turn. Judge him after his term is over. Be fair and give him a chance. After all, Mahathir had his chances for 22 years.

Seven, the scenic bridge became a crooked, half-bridge and then a scrapped bridge. The whole cabinet had thoroughly discussed the whole issue and decided to scrap it, not the PM alone. It was a collective decision. The legal implications for continuing with project are many.

Mahathir refused to accept these legal consequences. Continuing with the bridge project would have been foolhardy - just like the purchase of mv Agusta which was already debt-ridden.

Eight, Mahathir forgot that he had promised not to interfere with government decisions once he stepped down. Now, it looks like he is going back on his word. A man must be true to his word. His word is his bond.

Mahathir could have stayed back in the cabinet as a senior minister or minister mentor like Singapore. In hindsight, he might be regretting for not following the Singaporean model.
Former prime ministers could give good advice and share their experiences with the younger leaders. Why didn't Mahathir do this? Was it because it would have been below his dignity? However, he is adviser to Proton and Petronas.

 

 

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Mahathir Puts Malaysia Back on the (Wrong) Map
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Published: Aug.20.2006 @ 1:13 pm

 

William Pesek Jr.   
William Pesek Jr. is a columnist for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.

Mahathir Puts Malaysia Back on the (Wrong) Map: William Pesek

Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Journalists in Asia have missed Mahathir Mohamad.

The region has been pretty colorless -- leader-wise, that is -- since Malaysia's firebrand prime minister stepped down in 2003. His successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, is the anti-Mahathir: press-shy, affable, soft-spoken and diplomatic.

Asia in general features a paucity of larger-than-life, charismatic leaders who speak their minds and, at times, dare to take on the global elites. Blandness often pervades the halls of power from Seoul to Singapore and from Beijing to New Delhi.

So you'll excuse us journalists for rejoicing at Mahathir's return to the spotlight. Yet many Malaysians are less than thrilled. Ditto for investors monitoring Asia's No. 10 economy.

Mahathir, 80, has returned with a passion to criticize his handpicked successor, and it's tantalizing this nation of 27 million people. Mahathir's gripe: Abdullah is reversing some of his decisions, including a massive project to build a bridge to neighboring Singapore.

``I gave him time,'' Mahathir said this month. ``I didn't say anything for two years. I was quiet. I observed his promises. I had high expectations. I expected his view to be different from me, but I don't see the government doing what it promises to do.''

The former premier's impolitic comments may prompt investors to avoid one of Asia's more under-appreciated economies. In recent years, most of the surprises in Asian markets came not from reports on growth or inflation, but politics. Asia has seen all too many market-shaking spats, scandals, disputed elections and impeachment efforts.

Slowdown Ahead?

And so Mahathir's rebukes of the prime minister are unsettling Malaysia's markets, too. ``It seems now to be having some effect on a domestic economy which is already slowing,'' Gerald Ambrose, managing director of Aberdeen Asset Management's Malaysian business, said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur.

Record oil prices are weighing on Malaysia's $131 billion economy, slamming consumer and business confidence. Add to that a slowing U.S. economy and concern about the nation's ability to compete with Asia's upstarts. Malaysia may be too affluent to outperform China; too underdeveloped to join the ranks of Japan or South Korea. It also has a public-relations weakness.

That became clear in interviews with investors in the U.S. and Europe over the last couple of months. There was, of course, huge interest in China and India. Yet in cities like London, New York and Stockholm, I found great interest in economies such as Thailand and Taiwan. In Chicago, Paris and Lisbon, folks wanted to talk about Korea, Singapore and Vietnam. In Brussels, San Francisco and Washington, it was Indonesia and Japan.

Politics to Blame

Oddly, Malaysia didn't come up unless I mentioned it first. Given its rich resources, technology industries and unique status as a moderate, predominantly Muslim nation, you'd think Malaysia would be a bigger blip on investors' radar screens. It's not, and politics bear some blame.

In his 22 years in power, Mahathir morphed a tropical backwater into an Asian tiger. While it doesn't excuse him for bizarrely blaming Jews for Malaysia's troubles in the late 1990s, Mahathir had his economic successes. Yet Malaysia has been too slow to boost entrepreneurship and move beyond manufacturing and resource-based industries.

Whether it's wounded pride, an attempt to look out for associates hoping to profit from his mega-projects, or anger at the release from prison of his former rival, Anwar Ibrahim, Mahathir is back with a vengeance.

Mahathir has a point on at least one thing: Abdullah can be painfully indecisive. Many Malaysians are disappointed by how timidly Abdullah has attacked corruption and policies giving preferential treatment to the ethnic Malay majority. Abdullah also should go further to convince Malaysians his family hasn't benefited from government contracts, as Mahathir has alleged.

Bite Your Tongue

Many of Mahathir's other protests are weak, at best, relating to mega-projects that seem more about pride than necessity. If the former prime minister is upset that Abdullah is unilaterally scrapping his initiatives, he has himself to blame. It was Mahathir who masterminded the centralization of power that Abdullah wields. In Malaysia, for example, one man acts both as prime minister and finance minister. It's an awkward arrangement that should be reconsidered.

Even if Mahathir's concerns are legitimate -- and one certainly meets businesspeople who share them -- he needs to learn to bite his tongue for the good of Malaysia's economy.

``It might be difficult to swallow at first, but for the sake of keeping his dignity intact and sparing us unnecessary embarrassment, he should disabuse himself quickly of any notion he might continue to harbor about his indispensability to the Malaysian body politic,'' Tunku Abdul Aziz, a former head of Transparency International Malaysia, wrote in the New Straits Times on Aug. 16. Mahathir must learn to ``eat humble pie once out of office,'' he said.

Rattling Investors

Mahathir is anything but a spent power. He still has charisma to spare, and retains a clear vision of where Malaysia should be in 2010, 2020 and beyond. Yet along with tarnishing his legacy, his tirades could unnerve investors and dent the government's credibility abroad.

Fair or not, Malaysia still has a lot of work to do on its public relations. The economy deserves more attention from international investors than it receives. It won't get much -- at least not the kind it wants -- with its present and former leaders trading barbs.

(William Pesek is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this column: William Pesek in Kuala Lumpur, or through the Tokyo newsroom at wpesek@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 17, 2006 15:51 EDT

What The Star’s role in Coliseum drama?
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Published: Aug.10.2006 @ 5:17 pm

 

What The Star’s role in Coliseum drama?
Alfredo Radzakov
Aug 10, 06 4:25pm


The Star's anti-establishment itch is back again with the usual racial sentiment. The headline story on Aug 3 showed a distressed looking, old doctor crying foul over the government's planned acquisition of the Coliseum cinema in Kuala Lumpur. The picture being painted by The Star is that of a brutal government snatching away unfairly the beloved property of a poor, old man. 

The next day The Star published what the minister of culture, arts and heritage had already explained - that the building would be turned into a National Heritage Centre with the aim of making it a hub for artistic and cultural activities centring around the famous Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. There was no mention of a plan to ‘tear down’ the building.

One wonders why The Star found it necessary to highlight the story of Dr Chua Seong Siew. One also wonders why Chua is so unhappy when his beloved building will become a national monument to be forever preserved and maintained by the government. Does he prefer the building to remain in his own hands so that he can eventually turn it into a money-spinner? Does the present status of the building as a cheap venue for movie-goers make it worthy of being recognised as part of our national heritage?

And worst of all, in order to drum up support for The Star's hidden agenda, it is publishing only dissenting views from the public. Surely there are people who would agree with the government's noble move. Isn't it the media's responsibility to present a balanced view to the public?

The purpose of this message is not to seek publicity but to call upon the good senses of the decision-makers in The Star to be more responsible citizens of this multi-racial, multi-religious and peaceful nation. The Star has a special role to play in this respect.

Needless to say, the English language has become the obvious medium of communication within the various ethnic groups and The Star has, by default, become the leading vehicle for such communication.

What the Chinese, Indian and Malay language dailies say reaches out mainly to their respective ethnic readers, but The Star cuts across all the ethnic groups. The Star cannot and should not, therefore, be seen to represent any particular ethnic group, even if it is owned directly or indirectly by a political party representing a particular ethnic community.

 

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Dr M’s quit call amusing
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Published: Aug.10.2006 @ 5:11 pm

Dr M’s quit call amusing
Sal
Aug 10, 06 4:44pm


I think we should pity Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He is obviously suffering from withdrawal symptoms. After three years, he's thinking, ‘Oh no, I really am not the PM anymore. I need to be the PM again!’

Can't blame him, after all, 23 years is a long time to have been drunk on power. He can say what he wants now, that's for sure. He is completely within his rights to take potshots at the current PM. After all, I myself have been very frustrated by several decisions (not) taken by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to restore democratic governance in this country.

But here's why I laugh at Mahathir's recent tirades. Democracy was destroyed in this country precisely because of Mahathir. I am in my mid-20s (definitely a child of the Mahathir era) and here are some of the juicier aspects of his career that need to be brought to the fore again:

1987: Mahathir used the ISA to arrest 106 activists, academics, artists, teachers, politicians and environmentalists for daring to have independent opinions, just as he claims to be doing himself right now.

1988: Mahathir single-handedly cut our judiciary at its knees by forcing the infamous amendment to Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution.

1997: Mahathir and his cronies led Malaysia into deep financial manure because of his policies

2001: Mahathir declared Malaysia an Islamic state, a further example of his disregard for the spirit and letter of our Federal Constitution.

Let's also not forget his oh-so-frequent attempts at muzzling the media, refusing publishing permits and even closing down prominent publications for daring to exercise ethical journalism.

Let's not forget that several of Mahathir's policies were catalysts for the growth of fascistic Ketuanan Melayu/Islam discourse. Let's not forget that it took Mahathir's administration 15 years before it even decided to pass any legislation on domestic violence, and he of all ministers was most vocal in attacking gay and lesbian Malaysians.

So yes, Dr M, I'm bloody frustrated with Pak Lah. I wish he'd get going on undoing all this misery that you, Dr. M, so cavalierly brought upon us during your 23 year reign. But, Dr M, I'm a much happier Malaysian now than I ever was during your administration.

So, from common citizen to common citizen, I hereby tell you that your call for Pak Lah to step down has as much meaning to me as a bicycle would to a fish.

 

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