Going Backwards in Time?

Somehow I get the impression that the Information Ministry is trying to offset the call in malaysiakini to boycott the main newspapers.

It should be interesting to see how long they will keep this up and how often the news articles will be changed.

I estimate after three months all those nice new boards will become a public advertising place - just right for all those "Ah Long" stickers.
What do you think?

Boycott the Newspapers? Now that's Interesting....

Helen Ang writes in malaysiakini urging people to stop buying newspapers.

Her main complaint is that the Malaysian Mainstream Media (3Ms)is worse than useless as the newspapers have become merely a sounding board to parrot whatever gibberish that ministers want published.

Perhaps we could all reflect how our draconian laws muzzle the press and make newspaper editors YES-men have brought such long-established newspapers to their knees.

But newspapers do have an important role to play in society as their reach to the common folks is so much more effective than the Internet.

So we should not kill the newspapers but help them to launch campaigns to become more independent and less subservient.

For example, the newspapers could publish a series of articles on "Election Observer Handbook" published by the OSCE.
This useful guideline decribes in detail how free and fair elections are conducted and is used by 56 participating states.

If you care to browse through the handbook, there are 3 salient points that attract attention:

Allowing people to form political parties
Unimpeded access to the media
Equal suffrage which allows to seats to have voters not more 10% of other seats.

So let's use the proposed boycott to help reform our media.

Another BN Supporter Dissents Over HINDRAF...

So another BN MP has broken ranks over the HINDRAF grievances according to an article in malaysiakini.

Looks as if the BN Whip is going to quite busy in the coming weeks. If only all our MPs develop some courage to speak up, Malaysia would improve as a democratic nation.
Sadly, from the Speaker down, Parliament has become a mere ceremonial rubber stamp.

Only opposition MPs try their best to bring up important issues.

Now Go Tell the Yanks to Piss Off

Some people have told the authorities in India to back off after they complained about the treatment of the HINDRAF marchers for they are Malaysians allbeit marginalised ones.

Now malaysiakini reports that the US State Department has issued a statement that defended "the rights of Malaysians to hold peaceful protests".
Maybe the US State Department was wrongly informed that street demos are OK. After all, someone did organise a street demo to welcome the US Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice not too long ago.

So who is going to tell the Yanks to piss off?

Did you watch the debates in the USA for the coming Presidential elections? Now that is a very subversive broadcast.
All the Presidential hopefuls are lined up and have to debate questions submitted by viewers so that the people can decide who is the best candidate.

They call it the Youtube debates and maybe we should introduce such a system in Malaysia. That way, all Malaysians can weed out poor leaders before they are placed so high that they do damage to our nation. I reckon our national leaders are picked based on the influence of perhaps 30 very powerful people and the other 18 million citizens are just passengers in a not so sea-worthy vessel.

What do you think?

Using ISA to Quash HINDRAF type Gatherings?

(click2 image to enlarge)
I read somewhere that one attains a certain level of wisdom on reaching the age of 60 but the news in malaysiakini is a little disturbing.

Our Prime Minister, in his absolute wisdom at 68 year of age, threatens to use the ISA on peaceful protesters if they insist on street demonstrations.

It seems to be an act of desperation to use such a draconian law on people with legitimate problems.

It also shows how placing too much authority and powers in the hands of a few men can jeopardise all our security and peace of mind. It is time the silent majority takes some time out to reflect on the type of leadership to whom we have entrusted the nation and the future of our children.

If the police had been allowed to grant the permit for the two demonstrations, I estimate only 10% of the police manpower would have been required to maintain orderliness with 90% less problems than what we saw.

How Bad are the Cracks on the Penang Bridge?

So the Penang bridge has several cracks according to this report in the Star.

We have an assurance that the cracks are "all located in non-critical areas". On a bridge, what does one consider a non-critical area?

It is unfortunate that the safety report has been glossed over instead of educating the public what the actual problem is.

The occurrence of numerous cracks may be an ominous sign of overall deterioration and Penang is not really that far from the earthquake zone so there may be frequent earth vibrations that are too small to be felt but which can cause failure after many years.

The Penang authorities should publish their findings in the BEM magazine so that those in the profession can study the problem.

To put the problem of stress failure in perspective, there was a recent documentary on Astro about Aloha Flight 243 that lost a section of the fuselage during flight after minor cracks were observed in the plane's shell.

You can read the full details instead of just one or two lines.

Photo: Thanks to http://www.penang-hotels-classify.com/images/bridge1.jpg

Happy Birthday! Prime Minister

According to malaysiakini the PM turns 68 today.
Hmmm.. we share a common birth month and are both Scorpios.

Maybe that explains the quiet and secretive behaviour and public aloofness. We need to make the extra effort to make friends.

So today will refrain from any sharp remarks.Just want to share a birthday cake.
(click2 to enlarge)