The World Through My Eyes.

After seeing that nearly everyone had moved to blogger, I am now following their footsteps. Check out my new blog http://riskandar.blogspot.com/

"Politicians are like diapers, they should be changed frequently and for the same reasons"- Robin Williams as Tom Dobbs in the movie Man of the Year.

Once again the country has caught a fever. The election fever of course. From today till Election Day can be described as crucial period whereby politicians would say anything just to woo the voters in giving them the chance to ‘prove’ themselves once more. They may be incumbents or new faces but let’s just be frank, politicians are politicians. Nothing could change that. No amount of sweet talk can make us forget their somewhat nonintellectual statements that they had issued and controversies that they had triggered before. For those who did, here I bring you a few excerpts from the book "Malaysian Politicians Say the Darndest Things- Amir Muhammad", so that those who are eligible to vote (not me I’m 19) wouldn’t give them another chance to humiliate themselves and the people who voted them. For the record, readers are encouraged to spread and share these ‘words of wisdom’ to others (copy and paste) and by doing so wouldn’t breach any copyright issues :), Enjoy.

"Macam wanita putus haid" - Badruddin Amiruddin (BN Yan) criticizing the quality of DAP leader Lim Kit Siang’s debate in parliament

"Toilets are like new brides after they are completed. After some time, they get a bit spoiled. Even if you do not use them frequently, you need someone to clean them every 25 minutes."- S. Samy Vellu

"It was purely an academic exercise, and should not be held against me for the rest of my life." -Rais Yatim , distancing himself from his PhD thesis, "Freedom under Executive Power in Malaysia. Written when he was in the political wilderness, it criticized Malaysia’s use of the ISA

"F*** You! F*** You!"- Bung Mokhtar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) responding to Chong Eng (DAP-Bukit Mertajam) during a debate on the Islamic State concept.

"If you cannot fight rape, better lie down and enjoy it."-Roselan Johar Mohamed (K.Kinabalu UMNO) while closing the Legal Seminar for Women.

"If such newspapers don’t mention me, it’s fine. They can go to hell ! You can quote me on that." MB Pahang, Adnan Yaacob

"UMNO members only have to answer to the disciplinary committee and are punished according to party regulations for party dealings. They have immunity to laws outside the jurisdiction of the party. This is because their actions in the party have nothing to do with public business."- Nazri Aziz explaing why UMNO members are immune to graft laws and the ACA.

"Where is the leak? Batu Gajah MP leaks every month"- Bung Radin Mokhtar & Mohd Said Yusof comparing water leaks in Parliament House to the menstrual cycle of Fong Po Kuan (DAP Batu Gajah)

And I reserved the best 2 for last,

"Singapore is not a real country, it is a small island. Singapore’s population is just three to four million and there are no opportunities for corruption, unlike in our country."- Nazri Aziz on Malaysia ’s lower ranking in Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.

"Bodoh! Bodoh! Bodoh! Takde otak, Bodoh!" Nazri Aziz to Lim Kit Siang when the latter asked why the government was not doing enough to stop corruption. In parliament.

Well, right back at you Nazri.

For more outstanding quotes you can buy the book, believe me, it is an enjoyable book. VOTE FOR CHANGE!

“Independence is like a tree. If everyone takes care of it, the tree will grow, blossom and bear fruit. If we neglect it, it will surely die and be fit only for use as firewood.” –Tunku Abdul Rahman

It has been 50 years since the Tunku proclaimed Independence thus resulting the born of a new nation. Inevitably throughout these years a lot of changes have been brought about and the previously newborn nation truly had experience a lot of good times and bad. From Malaya to Malaysia, merging to separating and not forgetting the confrontation, Malaysia prevails to celebrate its golden jubilee with lavish celebrations. It seems that we are already complacent with what we have achieved today. Nevertheless there are still many issues that need to be addressed, even though the government dismisses by saying that they have the solutions but they will need more time. Well if that is the case, then let us have look at the current state of Malaysia and see if the government has used the best method in tackling the issues that was brought up to them.

While quite everything in this country changes to meet up with the challenges of the new millennium, there is still one thing that remains the same up until today which is the ruling party, Barisan Nasional and its policies, except the change of name from the original Alliance. During the premiership of Tun Dr Mahathir, with the public concerned about the dire state of corruption in the country, the government which is also Barisan decides on a slogan that depicts the stance of the government at that time, Bersih, Cekap, Amanah (Clean, Efficient, and Honest). Albeit that stance, corruption is still rampant and yet to be dealt with. The situation also did not improve when the baton is passed on to the present Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Hj Abdulah Ahmad Badawi despite his image as Mr. Clean and his oath to wage war on corruption. If the policemen in this country could stop motorists just to add the figures of their income, their officials could be doing the same thing or maybe worse. And lets not get started with the politicians; with such allowance could they afford their lifestyle? If they are really serious in curbing and combating corruption then the government should be cleaned up first as Confucius said “The Governing must be upright. If the leader himself is upright, who will dare to be crooked?”

Malaysia aspires to be a mature and democratic society according to Vision 2020. From my point of view, to be one such society means to have the right to exercise the freedom of speech. Judging from the present situation, it’s unlikely that Malaysia is moving towards that direction. There is hardly any effort from the government to overcome this challenge of creating a mature democratic society and we only have about 12 years left. Is it just a mere false hope given to the people so that they will have something to dream of? Malaysia needs to have a free and fair media where the journalists stick to their journalism ethics and carry out their moral obligation of exposing the truth to the public no matter how ugly it is. To put the government under public scrutiny is the most democratic thing to do as the people have the right to know whether they had made the right choice in giving the mandate to rule to the ruling party. The media has to play the role as a mirror to the government by pointing out flaws and giving feedbacks to them for their actions or inactions, and not by covering facts to make them look good. All in all, a mature and may I stress democratic society can only be achieved if the society is given the chance to express not just their approval but also their disapproval towards the government’s action either through prime media or peaceful rallies.

Despite the ills and flaw of the government and the system, Malaysia had its share of amazing feats throughout the decades. These achievements in a way had managed to make Malaysia known worldwide. In the past, if we go abroad and try to describe our country, we have to say that it is the country next to Singapore. If we were to say that we were from Malaysia, then the reply would be, “Is there such a place?” On the contrary, today if we say we are from Malaysia, the foreigners will reply “KLCC, KL Tower, and KLIA” These landmarks had certainly put Malaysia on the map of the world. Subsequently driving a large number of foreign investors investing in various markets in this country. Undeniably the former Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir should be credited. It is during his tenure all this took place. The government under him also managed to deal with the 1997 currency crisis impressively while other countries like Indonesia and Thailand get tangled with tight conditioned aid. As a result the confidence of foreign countries towards Malaysia bolstered earning Malaysia the opportunity to voice its opinion on certain issues and be heard. This is to the extent that it has been labelled as the champion of the developing countries. 50 years down the road has turned Malaysia from a western colony to a country that is able to stand up to them.

After hundreds of years under western colonization, one of the greatest impacts that it has brought to this nation is its multiracial society. Throughout the years we have been tolerant to one another, accepting each other’s differences and forming an integrated nation. Malays, Indians, Chinese, the Indigenous people of Peninsular, Sabah and Sarawak are now considered to be a Malaysian. Consequently we have developed a unique culture which is known as the Malaysian culture. A culture that is shared by all Malaysians notwithstanding race. Here you can see everyone eating nasi lemak, roti canai, thosai, eating with chopsticks and drinking teh tarik. The way we speak, the way we eat and the way we socialize are all in accordance with the Malaysian culture. If we ask a few Malaysians, for instance, to name a social place, most of them will say the mamak stall whether it is a 24 hours stall or not. Here, we can see that we had achieved an achievement that no other multiracial nation has achieved before, creating the country’s own lifestyle. Now this is something to be proud of.

50 years has passed but there is still a long way to go. If we say that we had faced a lot of tough challenges and obstacles before, remember that it is going to be a lot tougher in the future. No matter what we do, in the end of the day the question is, are we sincere? By answering that question we are determining whether our independence will grow to be a blossoming tree or just be fit as firewood.

After all is said and done, about Ramadhan that is, we find ourselves here, waiting and counting the hours, minutes, seconds and might I say nanoseconds till we welcome Syawal and bid farewell to Ramadhan with a heavy heart.

If it were the old days, I would be on my bed right now, jumping up and down, shouting with the greatest excitement and enthusiasm “Yea..yea… Besok Raya” on and on until I think I was ready for bed. Bless my grandparents for putting up with me.

To do the same thing today would be extremely ridiculous. You might ask how did that came up, it’s obvious. Well let just say that recently I found out that a burden with the mass of 60+ and jumping on the bed don’t match. After the first attempt, I could already hear it cracking.

Incidentally, those who read my blog before are probably wondering what had happened to all those goals that I had fixed to achieve through this holy month. So let us do a little bit of review, shall we? I am happy to say it is finally official; I lost 4 kg from 66 kg to 62 kg. Yeah, 4 kg isn’t such a big of deal and it isn’t going to put me on Oprah for one of those miracle reasons but an achievement is an achievement nonetheless. This shows that it isn’t the end of the world for you fat people out there. There is still hope. J

For a month with no meals during the day, Ramadhan sure brings a few interesting moments. The first is during breaking the fast with Hazwan, Rozairee, and Faiz. This is when a certain someone (who will remain anonymous) came late because he didn’t know that Shah Alam had a KTM station. Owing to him, I got my share of embarrassing anecdote for the night (besides the McDonalds incident) when I honked at a person that I presumed was him and turned out to be someone else. Undeniably, that was quiet a scene as everyone at the bus stop had fixed their eyes on me.

Secondly is during Vin’s birthday celebration last Friday (sorry Sahil couldn’t make it to yours this week). To cut the story short, we need to fit in 8 people in my Myvi. Wait let me check- Sahil, Izyana, Julia, Sze Lynn, Jed Winn and Jillian at the back, YK at the front seat (of course), and I’m at the driver’s seat, yeah that’s 8 for sure. All that’s missing is that we’re not wearing colourful clothes with polka dots, donning white make up with big red round noses. If so, it would be quite a great act in the circus.

Thirdly, is my trip to Malacca. The interesting part is that I drove most of the time and the purpose of the journey; to buy belacan (shrimp paste). It is impressive not to encounter any traffic jams for a drive that far. But it is more impressive when a jam occurs without anything obstructing the traffic but by only a car that has been cleared out from the road (due to accident) and remained stationary by the roadside. It implies that in Malaysia, if one is to commit suicide by any means i.e. shooting himself, cutting his wrist etc. anywhere near the road, it would cause a major traffic slowdown along the North-South Highway .To think that we call ourselves a developed country ,huh…pathetic.

SELAMAT HARI RAYA

Life is a mystery, unfold it,

Life is a struggle, face it,

Life is a beauty, praise it,

Life is a puzzle, solve it,

Life is an opportunity, grab it,

Life is sorrowful, experience it,

Life is a song, sing it,

Life is a goal, achieve it,

Life is a mission, fulfill it.

A US senator is suing God - to make a point about frivolous lawsuits. 

Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers claims he has had enough of expensive - and often pointless - suits clogging up the legal system. He accuses God of causing "widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth’s inhabitants," by using "fearsome floods . . . horrendous hurricanes," and "terrifying tornadoes in the suit.

In the lawsuit, Chambers said he’s tried to contact God numerous times. "Plaintiff, despite reasonable efforts to effectuate personal service upon defendant ‘Come out, come out, wherever you are,’ has been unable to do so," it reads.

Chambers said: "Anybody can file a lawsuit against anybody even God."

The lawsuit was filed on Friday in Douglas County Court,Nebraska.

Chambers said he was moved to act because of a lawsuit involving a 24-year-old woman who said a judge violated her free speech rights when he banned the words, "rape" and "victim" in the trial of Pamir Safi. At the time, Safiwas charged with sexually assaulting the woman. A federal judge said last week that the woman’s suit may not have any legal basis unless she and her attorneys can show just cause for the lawsuit.

Chambers’ suit also says God has caused "calamitous catastrophes resulting in the wide-spread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth’s inhabitants including innocent babes, infants, children, the aged and infirm without mercy or distinction."

Chambers also says God "has manifested neither compassion nor remorse, proclaiming that defendant will laugh" when calamity comes.

How far would one go to prove his own point? In this case, it’s damn too far.

Yes, he has a point to prove. Yes, it is an important point nonetheless. But is God to be blame for it? Why don’t you sue George W. Bush and the architects of the war on terror instead? They have brought much chaos and spilt innocent blood in order to pursue their selfish goals.

This issue naturally exposes the flaw of this manmade system. With that taken into account would we want to rely on such system to maintain order in this already chaotic world?

Moving to a smaller scope, these recent few weeks, Malaysians have been brought to light of the rot in the judiciary system and the ministry that have been hidden from the public for quite some time. It looks like Malaysia from time to time is starting to make a resemblance of the Masonic state, the United State of America, which uses lies and deceptions, to prevent the citizens from knowing the truth.

Apart from that, the fact that these scandals and malpractices have been exposed, gives us a sign that we still have hope to right the wrong. Let us pray that we won’t be a nation that has to rely on conspiracy, deception, lies, corruption, and other scheming actions as a foundation to survive in this new era.

Here we are again, in one of the holiest month of the Islamic calendar, Ramadan. The month of fasting, where we abstain from eating, drinking and doing anything that could tarnish the act of fasting. Sounds to me like a month for self improvement. Let us consider the outcome, shall we. A few inches of the stomach, a few inches of the buns, save money for not buying new clothes (esp. pants) because the old ones fit more than perfect, maybe drop a few pounds, going to surau for maghrib and isyak, waking up for subuh before 7, reducing the risk of cholesterol/heart attack/ other chronic diseases, and the list goes on and on baby. If only I could maintain these outcomes for after the month of Ramadan, then you’re looking at the new Raja Iskandar. Sadly not many Muslims could achieve these wonderful rewards of the Holy month and I’ll tell you why. We assume that just because we have been starving throughout the day, we need to consume breakfast, lunch and not forgetting snack and tea altogether. Well, do I have a bad news for you, that assumption is totally wrong. This is the month for our digestion system to get the rest that they ought to have, after 11 months of working non stop, 24/7.Imagine an empty stomach being forced down with hot milo, sirap bandung, murtabak, assortments of Malaysian kuih, and lastly rice with all its’ condiments. I’ll say that you’ll barely survive the journey to the surau for the Terawih prayer. And then there is Hari Raya, the day where we will try to pay back all the lost meals during the month of Ramadan. Guess what? You will actually gain more pounds and inches than you lost. With all that food crammed in your stomach, I bet that going to the surau in front of your house would feel like walking from Shah Alam to Subang Jaya which I presume is a heck of a long journey. Looking at my youngest brother fasting reminded me when I started fasting myself. I began with what I call ‘puasa setengah hari’. I would not eat anything during morning school (sek, agama), break the fast during lunch, and continue to act like I’m fasting when I go for evening school (sek kebangsaan). Maybe I should consider acting as a future career, hmmmm. The next year, if I fast for 1 complete day, I would get RM2, meaning for 1 month it’s 30 X 2=RM60.Pardon me for the calculation, I’m not underestimating your ability to see the obvious, just to make things clear, J. How I wish I can make that much money so easily today, who are we kidding, don’t we all? I.e. After carrying out Subuh prayer, a RM50 note comes falling from the sky and drops just in front of you. We’ll witness every Muslim fulfilling their responsibilities as a Muslim without making much or any fuss at all because we’ll definitely do it for the money (Oh God, you know you servants too well). Which bring us to the most important question that I want to ask myself and the readers, are we doing our ibadah sincerely?

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

BRAVE NEW WORLD: BY AZMI SHAROM

Instead of formulating arguments, which is a total waste of time, debaters should simply scream at their opponents at the top of their lungs, the louder the better.

IT SEEMS that schoolboys in Johor now have to get crew cuts. The militaristic hairstyle is not only neat and tidy, but apparently it would also encourage discipline and good behaviour.   

I could not agree more. Long-haired louts really are the bane of society. You see them all over the place; shopping centres, parks, cinemas, universities; all waving their locks in a highly undisciplined manner. 

Furthermore, there are no long-haired heroes that these impressionable southern boys can emulate. How can these young men grow into fully useful grown men if they don’t have someone to look up to?   

Now, with their hair shorn short, they can turn to that crew-cut paragon of self-control and discipline, Nazri Aziz MP, to be their hero. 

I think Nazri will be a superb role model. So good in fact that the entire school system should be changed in order to make sure that Nazri’s overall brilliance seeps deep into the education of our youth.   

Let us begin with geography. According to the minister in a rousing parliamentary speech last week (available on YouTube), Singapore is not a country. Yes, you heard that right. Singapore is not a country.   

When faced with questions from the leader of the Opposition, Lim Kit Siang, regarding Malaysia’s slip down Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, Nazri exploded with a reply that was as rich with insults as it was with new definitions of nationhood.   

He shouted “stupid, stupid, stupid”, etc, at Lim innumerable times. Lim’s comparison of Malaysia with Singapore led to Nazri’s amazing statement that the island republic was not a real country. 

In order for a country to be a country, it can’t be a small island, it has to have a bigger population than Malaysia and it must be placed lower than Malaysia in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (admittedly, that last criterion is my own addition, based on what I think the honourable minister implies in his truly luminous and intellectual speech). 

This being the case, geography textbooks should be scoured to remove Singapore from their pages. While you are at it, scratch out these other places: Barbados (pop. 272,000), Iceland (pop. 292,000), Malta (pop. 397,000), Cyprus (pop. 807,000), and Mauritius (pop. 1.2 million).   

These are all small islands, with small populations and low corruption. None of them are countries. 

To make things more interesting for our schoolboys and girls, they can organise a mini-United Nations where they can play the roles of the member nations.   

Together, they can hold a General Assembly in their respective school halls and argue about how best to remove these impostor states from the hallowed halls of 1st Avenue, 42nd Street, New York.   

Why, they can even transcribe their debates and send it to the real UN in order to get the ball rolling. 

However, in case you think that Nazri’s influence is limited to academics, you are seriously mistaken. His shining example can be used in extra-curricular activities as well; namely, the debating club. 

Instead of formulating arguments, which is really a total waste of time, debaters should simply scream at their opponents at the top of their lungs the following mantra: “stupid, stupid, stupid, you have no brains, you have no brains, and (to make sure the point is driven home) you have no brains.”   

The louder the better and if you can get a large number of your friends to cheer you on, then, truly, you would be a super debater. You might even have a future career in politics.   

Dr Azmi Sharom is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Malaya.

Just for today…

I will try to live and delight in the reality of being alive. My past is forever gone, my future an uncertainty, so I will be happy and thankful for each moment.

I will not allow negative input into my mind…happiness is a choice and I choose to be happy.

I will be thankful to God for my health, my loved ones, my business, and my country. I will also be thankful for any pain in crisis that helps me grow because God has said, be thankful in all things.

I will take care of my body, realizing the importance of the words moderation and balance, knowing that as I bring my flesh under control, how much easier it will be to control my will and my actions.

I will treat everyone I meet today the way I would like to be treated. I will strive to have them like themselves better when they’re with me.

I will avoid gossip, jealousy, and negative thinking. Most people don’t think about what they think about. Today, I will make a conscious effort to hold loving and beautiful thoughts in my mind.

I will write down my priorities; thinking of my loved ones and my responsibilities. I may not get everything done, but I will do the most productive thing possible at every given moment.

I will strive to humble myself before others, controlling my ego and making other people feel important.

I will spend time in study, learning how to better serve my fellowman. I know my growth in all areas is in direct proportion to the service I give to others.

I will not take rejection personally. I am first and foremost in the people business and, thus, realize they can only reject my proposal and not me. I will keep on keepin’ on.

I will spend time in prayer, asking God to let others see the light of His shining love through me.