Calculating the Odds

I really don't get PKR's Kajang Move.

Whether they are not very good with their math or simply unable to live quietly, PKR seems to have managed to put themselves in a situation very similar to that in Perak in 2009.

It is now a game of numbers, with the odds of PR losing control of the Selangor government being as high as Wan Azizah becoming the MB of Selangor.

There is of course the bonus of PAS leaving PR to go solo and uniting with Umno for political expediency to defy PKR-DAP in Selangor State Assembly should the need arise (I doubt PAS would lick their spittle and unite with Umno beyond Selangor).

For one thing, when they decided to appoint YB Hannah Yeoh as the Speaker, it is obvious DAP did not learn from what happened in Perak, nor did they anticipate Anwar Ibrahim's penchant for drama.

DAP, in their shortsightedness of wanting to be seen as having equal power over the state by having one of their own presiding over the Dewan, gambled away 1 vote in the eventuality of a motion of no confidence in the State Assembly.

PKR, in their abject stupidity, sacked one of their own, reducing their numbers to 13, almost at par with their nemesis Umno at 12.

It is also an absolute show of arrogance that despite being the weakest partner in the Pakatan, PKR expect DAP and PAS to totally submit to their machinations, come what may.

Ironically, the outcome has created a situation in Selangor where even DAP is now subject to the mercies of PAS assemblymen, whom they have collectively threatened, insulted, sidelined and offended over the past year.

Somehow PR's precarious position in Selangor doesn't seem to have registered in the brains of bratty boy who is lording it up north, for he had just thrown another "I'll sue you" threat at a PAS leader over something that he should have been better to keep mum about.

If we were to start calculating the odds, the much touted Kajang Move is simply one brainless move after another, driven by mindless arrogance which is now tinged with desperation.

So if all these moves are part of the Kajang Move, far from solidifying their position in Selangor as a base to capture Putrajaya, they have instead managed to loosen their grip on Selangor.

Just as the PR government collapsed a year after GE12, Pakatan may find itself losing Selangor barely a year after GE13.

PS.  Tsk tsk .. Don't you DAP people realise that politically speaking, you would have been in a better position in Selangor with PAS than with PKR?  Really, you need people who can count the odds in your party, no wonder even Windows Excel is beyond you ...

PR Drama

Aiseh ... another PR drama in session.

I have been trying to avoid all that PKR-PAS drama being played out in all the news headlines.

Then of course CM Lim had to create his own kind of drama too with the surplus/deficit nonsense, like who gives a crap about that?

And you are suing someone for saying the tunnel project is how much again?

If the BN ministers are half as sue-happy as these PR pollies, we would have all the PR activists knee-deep in legal suits.

I really don't get it la ... these PR politicians ...

They have only three states to govern and yet they create so much noise and drama that I am convinced that they are starved for attention.

As if all the hullabaloo in Selangor is not enough to hog the headlines, Pulau Pinang has to creep into the picture too.

Seriously, PAS accuse DAP of whatever, DAP threaten PAS with whatever, PKR charge one of their own of whatever ... it goes on and on, non-stop.

Don't these people ever get tired of all these conflicts?

Why can't they just try to get along and help each other to govern their respective states without constantly bitching about each other?

If someone make a mistake, can't they just tell him/her about the mistake and work something out to rectify the problem, don't simply get all indignant and angry and threaten to sue lah, show cause letter lah, roadshows lah ...

Aiyooo, I get tired just reading about them.

So incredibly childish, it boggles the mind how these bunch of juveniles got elected as lawmakers.

Thank God Anwar didn't become our Prime Minister, otherwise we would have cabinet reshuffles every time one of the ministers make a decision that wasn't referred to him and we will end up with his entire family as cabinet ministers with multiple portfolios.

This is the reason why I shudder at the thought of PR running the Federal government.

Khalid Ibrahim, you should have been prepared for the eventuality of being discarded once you have served your purpose.  It has happened to others before you.

That is the nature of Anwar Ibrahim, everything and everyone's purpose is to serve his interest.

You should have just given in gracefully and let Wan Azizah take over the MB post if the Sultan allows it.

If, as a result, Selangor regresses into a cesspool, that's what the Selangor people totally deserve for not using their brains when they chose their representatives.

You reap what you sow.

As for Lim Guan Eng, why can't someone just tell him to grow up?

My First Million

I didn't even realise BigCat had passed the million mark if it hadn't been noticed by Annie who blogged about it and Rocky ... heh, thanks for the mention guys.

I wasn't really going to make a big deal about it, but I really should thank them, and all of my regular readers, for still reading my nonsense, especially those who regularly drop by even when I hardly write anymore.

This blog really started with the little posting that practically told CM Lim "I know what you said in Singapore last summer" and with Ai's brand of quirky, semi-personal public airings and rantings, it grew in prominence, gaining followers and haters alike.

I officially took over fully in March last year, at the height of the Lahad Datu crisis, simply because Ai had other things to do, and there was no one else to carry the momentum so near to the General Elections.

I am no writer and not really into politics, as my education background is mathematics and economics.  Not even a member of any political party.  It was rather tough to continue the excellent work started by Ai.

The good thing is I never really pay much attention to the blog stats (it isn't really statistics in the true sense of the word), heh ... ironic, considering I am a statistician by training; it helped me to be focused on the writing as opposed to worrying about the numbers.

I was never paid by anyone to blog, despite many accusations that alluded to my being a paid Umno blogger.

I wasn't writing much after GE13 because I was actually bereft of ideas as well as the fact that I found all the post-election posturing almost too much to stomach and had to keep the bills down.

I wouldn't mind being paid to blog, actually, as bandwidth and electricity cost money, but I would never allow my thoughts and opinions to be bought, hence BigCat remains independent under my watch.

So again, thanks for reading and have a nice day.

Making A Difference

Previously I urged Umno to engage Islam-based NGO if they are truly interested in uplifting the lot of the ummah instead of being immersed in meaningless protracted political drama with PAS.

I would like to suggest a better way in which Umno could spend their time and resources for the betterment of the Ummah, if I may.

Instead of having all that annoying rah-rah moments with big "I love PM" rallies, or huge 2-day job fairs that address just a small segment of the intended target, the money is better put to use in creating a lot of goodwill through low-key social programmes with participation from NGOs which are not the usual Umno-related ones.

Start with independent, non-political Islamic social development organisations that run old folks homes, orphanages, nursing homes for mental patients or half way homes for social misfits.

See how these places are managed and find ways to help these organisations administer and run these places while helping out by organising all those Puteri and Umno Youth boys to actually perform voluntary work there on a semi-permanent basis.

Make this as part of their mandatory community contribution, it may help them to get grounded and avoid the pitfalls of the "tin kosong" syndrome when they open their mouths.

They can also create groups of "helpers" that go to the local schools, colleges and universities to counsel students on how to make the best of their talents when choosing specific career paths, help them to recognise opportunities for better career options, assist them to get through any difficulties in their academic endeavours, suggest other options that fit with their capabilities.

It's a positive way of guiding these youngsters to achieve academic success, hence giving them a leg up in fighting for a place in college, universities and the job place, while keeping in touch with these kids without polluting their thinking with all that political rhetoric that is capable of destroying lives.

Maintain this network of youngsters who will then be encouraged to contribute back to society through the same organisation, while they provide each other with business and professional networking that will help Bumiputra businesses to grow bigger and more Bumiputra professionals to become high achievers.

Maybe you won't get lots of photo ops that will fill up the pages of newspapers, but these are things that mean a lot to many people, except the few who think that the world owe them everything, and will allow Umno to constantly be in touch to what is important in the hearts of the people.

You have all those missions to foreign lands, well and good, but don't forget that you should also create goodwill among the ordinary people, who may not need as much help as those poor downtrodden people; to just have their troubles acknowledged and addressed would do wonders of how they perceive you.

There are many little things such as these that Umno members can do to make a difference, I am sure, and people may also have lots more ideas on how to get these done in a more meaningful way, but they should start somewhere instead of constantly lamenting about the perfidy of youth.

PAS-Umno unity very unlikely ...

... if PAS leadership wants their "maruah" to remain intact.

This is of course just my opinion.

The thing is, with the leadership that they have in PAS currently, I doubt that they would be crawling to Umno any time soon anyway, despite all that talk about leaving Pakatan.

The problem with PAS is, I have this weird feeling that all that talk of unity government, leaving Pakatan and what-nots are just political posturing, them maneuvering to get attention for whatever that they are not getting from the powers-that-be within Pakatan.

PAS wants a share of power (prior to GE13, they were even aspiring to the Premiership), which they are obviously not getting in Pakatan states other than Kelantan.

There is only so much you can get out of a state without any coherent socio-economic development planning and implementation in place.

But then reality bites, and they now have one full year to reflect on what they got out of the Pakatan deal after what has been termed as the most successful opposition political achievement ever since the riots of 1969.

However, the state of PAS in Selangor, despite having the same number of seats as DAP, kinda reflect what is in the dish that was shoved to their corner.

Let's not even talk about Pulau Pinang.

They are even reprimanded for attempting to table Hudud Laws in Kelantan, where there isn't a single non-Muslim representative in the State Assembly and more than 95% of its population is Malay Muslims.

Then there is that allusion to idiots in Ariff Sabri's description of PAS as "parti tok alim kampungan".

Of course they are upset, and they want to hit back in whatever form they can, hence the support for Khalid Ibrahim, the leaking of their WhatsApp chat, the insistence in tabling Hudud.

What difference would it be to PAS whether Khalid Ibrahim or Wan Azizah becomes the MB of Selangor?

It isn't as if it would change PAS' lot.  They are both PKR.

But they won't leave the Pakatan, primarily because they will have to eat their words, all those years of constant Umno-hating ceramah, even "doa pecah perut" and "Umno KO".

Really difficult to do that, considering the size of their ego.

How would they explain all that to their members and followers whose life-long "perjuangan" was to fight against the Umno infidel?

I wish Umno and pro-Umno bloggers would just quit talking about PAS-Umno unity as I think if the Malays truly had wanted to be united above any need for personal glory, there would not have been a PAS in the first place.

And their anti-Umno rhetoric has not significantly lessened by any degree either.

So Umno should not waste their time with PAS.

What Umno should do is focus on steering our nation through these difficult times without wasting too much time pandering to those who are dissatisfied with the outcome of their choices.

Instead, they should just pay more heed to some of the Islam-based NGOs which have been quietly active on the ground, have dialogues with as many of them as possible and invite them more often to be part of the planning think tank and implementation machinery of Islamic social programmes.

Be sure to avoid organisations that appear to have over-weaning political ambitions, or narrow definitions of Islamic social development, or those with overly political rhetoric about Malay rights without making any significant work on the ground.

Be smart with your choices will you, Umno, and steer clear of the mess in Pakatan.

Opting Out of Pakatan

Okay, I've lost the depression.  Most of it anyway.

Spent the last 36 hours in isolation, sewing a brand new baju kurung.  That was supposed to be my Baju Raya but I wasn't motivated to finish it in time, so it will now be my Baju Hari Kebangsaan.

For some reason, sewing always calms me down.  That's why I always have my sewing basket handy, and to visit Kamdar regularly to stock up on fabrics.

But I digress.

The reason I am posting so soon is because I read Helen's latest posting here about a TMI editorial piece.  (As a rule, I don't read TMI as a source for reliable information - too gossipy, largely unverified innuendos, and an opposition slant too obvious that it insults my intelligence.)

Helen has always been a good motivating factor for me to write about what little I know of politics .. heh

1.   I agree with Helen - TMI's "analysis" was a desperate attempt to intimidate PAS to stay within the Pakatan fold.

With almost 90% of Chinese votes, all of PAS Islamist Malays votes and whatever hotch-potch liberal urbanites under the banner of PKR and PSM, Pakatan failed to win Putrajaya in 2013.

PAS also lost Kedah.

In GE13, PAS was the biggest loser, while DAP the biggest winner.

The fact that they have already captured as much Chinese support as they can possibly capture, DAP need PAS to retain sufficient Malay support in winning urban mixed constituencies that would have gone either way.

With the confrontational biadapness of the DAP supporters and Christian evangelists, I would be surprised if PR would be able to garner more support from the Malays in these constituencies without PAS, even if they were to field their collection of "awek cun" Barbie dolls as candidates.

So PAS must be compelled to stay in Pakatan to maintain access to Peninsular mosques and suraus, while they concentrate their efforts to penetrate new rural base through Christian evangelism in Sabah and Sarawak churches.

Once Sabah and Sarawak have been sufficiently penetrated, and their Barbie collection are sufficiently accepted by the drooling Malay masses, PAS would readily be kicked out.

2.   Staying in Pakatan is harmful to PAS and will eventually reduce it to a mosquito party.

If PAS were to stay in Pakatan, their support base among the Malay Muslims will gradually be eroded because they are seen to have lost their Islamic conservatism which was their defining identity.

Along the way, PAS seem to have lost their ultra-Islamist credence whenever they are faced down by PKR and DAP, while their vitriol seems to be reserved for everything Umno; not even Umno's non-Muslim coalition partners get the kind of hatred that they heap on Umno.

DAP's arrogance and condescending attitude towards PAS doesn't help either.

PAS' seeming deference, almost subservient attitude, to the ultra-liberal PKR and ultra-chauvinist DAP in matters pertaining to what are deemed (by Malay Muslims) as affecting the sanctity of Islam is a turn-off to young Muslim professionals and the undecided Malays who feel "maruah Melayu dan Islam sedang dicabar".

Now PAS is neither truly Islamist, nor are they nationalist, and they can't compare to PKR when it comes to liberalism and multi-culturism ...

As it is now, I see ISMA as having a stronger political will than PAS to provide the needed check and balance to Umno's commitment, or lack of it, to the betterment of the ummah while defending Islam and Malay interests from DAP and Christian evangelism aggression.

I had a chat with a chap who was a PAS totok while waiting for a flight to Dubai not long ago, and he somehow inadvertently expressed his disappointment "entahla, sekarang ni generally yang biru tua macam lebih islamik dari yang hijau - if things don't change, I may just stay at home next election ..."

So that's my 2 sen ...

Paranoia

The family get-together is definitely over as my sister took the early morning flight westward this morning, back to her job and life on the other side of the globe.

I didn't send her to the airport this time, just my sister (the one I am living with) with all three kids in tow, right after Subuh prayers.

I am not certain why, but I feel extremely depressed the last couple of months and I simply couldn't keep up the happy and carefree facade that I must maintain in front of my family.

I also find it difficult to write about local political goings-on that seem too petty to me when compared to the life-threatening situations being faced by ordinary people in trouble spots throughout the world.

The world of politics and international diplomacy (or posturing more like it) is something I cannot even claim to fully comprehend, nor attempt to analyse.

But I don't need to be an expert to see the proxy wars being fought throughout the world, the manipulations at play, the public posturing of the head bullies (they call them presidents and prime ministers, but they are just bullies to me), and the eventual negotiations which they called diplomacy that will apportion territorial influence over regions, resources and minions after they have accomplished a certain number of casualties.

After all the killings, the number of deaths are just statistics that will determine who had the upper hand in the fight for economic influence and acquired-by-proxy resources.

How little do these warmongers value the lives they obliterate by the thousands to further their ambitions for global hegemony, not that they value the lives of their proxies any higher than those they killed.

Looking at the events that affect our nation these past few years, I have this sinking feeling that peaceful and prosperous Malaysia is being manipulated and pushed into a situation.

Lahad Datu was the first real public threat that test the resolve of our security forces, while MH370 pitted us against China, and MH17 pushed us to decide how to deal with Russia (see how MH17 seems to unite our politicians in condemnation of the perpetrators ... kinda telling that this time around all the opposition MPs were all in agreement, meek as lambs.)

When Malaysia seems to be avoiding conflict by keeping neutral and side-stepping the issues of condemnations, Israel is now accusing us of training Gaza fighters.

It is one thing to be accused of training MNLF by Filipino riff-raffs, but to be accused by Israel of training Hamas is something else.

It can be used as an excuse to bomb us to oblivion.

And amid all these, social unrest is being stoked under various guises of civil liberties by NGOs which have been mushrooming lately, while opportunistic political parties riding on the waves of negativity, take advantage of the situation to further their political ambitions.

Despite our government's efforts to steer clear of creating situations that would trigger foreign intervention, I can't help feeling that we will, sooner or later, be pushed over the precipice into unwanted violence.

Unfortunately I don't seem to see anyone else sharing my concern, definitely not our aspiring politicians.

Maybe it is just paranoia, but the feeling of helplessness is rather overwhelming.

Twisted

When MH17 happened, I wasn't quite satisfied with the news I was getting from the major news agencies because the stories just didn't add up, what with operation against Gaza being launched at exactly the same time frame.

However, I now understand why Cameron's belligerence reminds me of Lim Guan Eng and why Abbott's pronouncements resemble that of Mat Sabu's.

Brainless politicians are the same the world over.

One can't possibly know what actually happened and assigned guilt within hours of a disaster of that proportion, especially since there are warring parties near the crash site, more so when the guilty verdict was delivered by one of the warring parties.

Something was not right.  It was too convenient.

So I started scouring the alternative media outlets and then everything sort of falls into place.

To read about the condemnations of Russia and the Eastern Ukrainian separatists over the shooting down of MH17 by the  likes of US of A, their ever subservient sidekick, Britain, and their eager "Asian" servants, Australia plus their various toadies (read that as their media of global propaganda and subservient Western-dependent slave nations) while they practically approve the mass murder and maiming of Palestinians in a systematic genocide by the criminal state of Israel is hilarious if it isn't just too horrifying.

On the one hand they immediately pointed their fingers at Russia and Ukrainian separatists based on dubious evidence garnered from youtube, facebook and the Ukrainian government who is currently bombing civilians in Eastern Ukraine.

On the other hand, they pointedly allow Israel to murder more Palestinians in Gaza with token calls for ceasefire amid blockades that will give Israel the upper-hand should a ceasefire happens.

When Russia came up with an alternative possibility, backed by concrete military data and satellite images, they were largely ignored because the west and their macais were never interested in the truth.

They conveniently blame Hamas for the violence as if that exonerate the Israel murdering spree in Gaza.

In Eastern Ukraine, Kiev continue their bombardment of Donetsk civilian targets as the powers that be conveniently put the blame on the separatists when the crash site was made inaccessible because of the fighting, totally ignoring the fact that it takes two sides to fight a war.

No recrimination at all against their butchers, whether in Eastern Ukraine or Gaza.

Their obviously differing reactions to these two events simply demonstrate how sick and twisted these western powers truly are.

The pieces that got me started:

http://21stcenturywire.com/2014/07/25/mh17-verdict-real-evidence-points-to-us-kiev-cover-up-of-failed-false-flag-attack/

http://robinwestenra.blogspot.com/2014/07/jewish-nazis.html

http://www.davidicke.com/headlines/israel-bombs-u-n-shelter-with-over-3000-women-and-children-with-multiple-strikes/

http://dprogram.net/2014/07/31/turns-hamas-didnt-kidnap-kill-3-israeli-teens/

http://everything-pr.com/american-media-and-politicians-gambit/249690/

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2014/07/23/the-graduated-palestinian-genocide

http://rt.com/op-edge/175240-uk-intelligence-snowden-gchq-drip/

http://rt.com/op-edge/176548-crime-israel-punishment-russia/

http://www.wnd.com/2014/07/obama-pushing-false-narrative-on-flight-17/

Syawal 1st

My congratulations and best wishes to all Muslims celebrating the Eid ul Fitr tomorrow after a month of blessed Ramadhan.

However, I admit that I find it very difficult to throw myself into a celebratory mode this time around, what with the loss of MH370 and MH17, the inhuman repression, bombardment and murder of Palestinians in the occupied territories, the killings and destruction in Iraq and Syria, the continuous unrest in North African countries, the armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine ... there simply are too many to list them all.

My one wish and prayers are for the killings and maiming to end and for the Mercy of Allah be upon the innocent victims of human avarice.

Prayers for MH17

I can't describe how horrible it is to see reports of The MH17 crash after it was shot down over Ukraine.

154 Dutch, 27 Australian, 23 Malaysian, 11 Indonesian, 6 British, 4 German, 4 Belgium, 3 Filipino, 1 Canadian, and 47 passengers of unknown nationality were reported to be on that flight.

Condolences to all families and friends of those on board.  Al Fatihah.

Wbat saddens me most was, apparently it takes a fairly sophisticated missile system to take down an aircraft at that altitude.

I have more to write about this as soon as I have access to a proper keyboard as I strongly believe that all parties involved in the proxy wars all over the world are equally responsible for the disaster and other dangerous situations worldwide.