Giving Up

I really have no other words to express it.

I love my country. It's an amazing country. There's food, there's shopping, nightlife, people, things to do, places to see and a heritage which we could be proud of.

But politics wise...I'm losing hope. Giving up. Writing it off.

However you want to say it.

So. Four members from PAS have crossed the floor. One into BN, and the other three deciding to go down the Independent path. The Independents will however be siding with the government.
Meanwhile, Anwar Ibrahim is going crazy [even though he has yet to show signs of it]. Najib seems to be smug about this newly found victory, considering BN hasn't had a hold over Perak in a long time. All while the rest of Malaysia is struggling to just get by and live peacefully.

Politics isn't what it used to be. It was meant to be For the People, By the People.
Politics is all about a power struggle now. Who's got the power, who doesn't. Who wins, who loses. Who has the final say in each and every decision.
Politics was meant to represent the people, make life better, care for the people. Help those in need, make decisions which will benefit the people when push comes to shove, or even before that happens.

I'd really love to know how this 2020 vision that Datuk Badawi had in mind is ever going to come about. We can never be a first world country without the proper values and the proper base. That idea and goal was a sham right from the beginning, even before it was announced to the country.

I love my country. I love Malaysia.

Just not her current politicians.

Mishy <3

Race-Based Politics

Malaysia not ready to abandon race-based politics: Mahathir

Malaysians are not yet ready to ditch their race-based political system in favour of parties which represent all ethnic groups, former premier Mahathir Mohamad said Wednesday.

Barack Obama's victory in the US presidential elections has triggered discussion about whether a minority leader could emerge in Malaysia, which has until now been ruled by a member of the dominant Muslim Malay community.

Mahathir said there is no constitutional barrier preventing an ethnic Chinese or Indian citizen from becoming prime minister.

But he said the country is a long way from abandoning the current system where the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which represents Malays, leads a coalition that includes parties representing other races.

"It doesn't work, every 'multiracial' party is dominated by one race," Mahathir said after a lecture on Malaysian identity.

"Even the PAP in Singapore is not multiracial, as is very clear when Hsien Loong says no non-Chinese can become PM," he said.

Singapore's premier Lee Hsien Loong said earlier this month that the multicultural city-state of over 3.5 million people is not ready for a non-ethnic Chinese premier in the near future.

"We are still not united if we can't even agree on having a school where all children study together regardless of race, so how can we push aside racial concerns?" Mahathir said.

"Unless people come together and try to have something in common... how can you have a party representing all the different races? You have to have a base first."

Mahathir's nemesis, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, has declared his Keadilan party the nation's first multiracial party as its members and supporters are drawn from all three racial groups.


You know what's sad, is that in a way, however slight it may be...I actually agree with Dr. Mahathir. Not that we are not ready to abandon race-based politics, but that even in schools we are all still allowing our children to continue with a system of education that invites segregation and disunity among the population from a very young age. I mean, already we are seeing that in Chinese and Indian schools, kids must take 7 subjects, whilst in Malay schools, kids only have to take 5. Inequality?
Let me tell you I would be disgustingly annoyed if a quarter of my classmates were told 'Hey, you only have to take 3 subjects' whilst I get told that I'm forced to take 6, and then to add insult to injury, I must excel in all my 6 subjects while Tom/Dick&Harry over there can simply revel in the glory of 3As and go into the same field of work that I want to get into.
In Australia, we have a choice as to what KIND of subjects we take, but really, in the end we all still have to take 6 subjects, no matter what we end up deciding to do.

I have my own ideas on how to improve the education system although I will not propose any reforms here. To be honest, I do not need the government coming to arrest me under the ISA because I 'criticised the education system' and in doing so, have somehow managed to 'insult Islam'.

But I think that Dr. Mahathir is very quick to shift the blame on education. A suggestion I might make? [I am still not criticising Dr. M...at this point, it might seem as though I'm just trying to save my ass, but if I've said something, I actually mean it] We need a base? Yes, let's make a base. Let's start with politics. Children will follow the actions and thoughts of the adults who guide them and teach them. So let's begin at with the people who can make the reform and set an example, so that we may eventually change things and create a more united Malaysia. It is never too late to start anything, and really, it should not matter where this starting point is.

At the same time...parties can be multicultural. They can be if we let them. Just because the head of the party at the moment may be of a certain race does not mean that the whole party will lean towards that race's point of view. Looking at the general picture, if we have a Chinese head one term, a Kadazan head on another term, maybe a Malay head after that...it will show. We need to be as democratic as possible, and to elect a leader among that individual party, no matter what race they are. They should be judged on their qualities. So perhaps a Malay might be the best man/woman for the job. But surely after 50 years, a good Chinese leader must have emerged at some stage. Or a good Indian leader must be popular and good with the people in the past 50 years.

And so what if Singapore is a totalitarian Chinese nation? Must we follow Singapore? Can we not begin our own path, and allow it to be one that leads to fairness and equality? One where the Chinese are not seen as 'immigrants', where the Indians are not shunned and marginalised, and one where society may finally acknowledge the true 'bumiputeras' if, there in fact, are any...The Orang Asli, the Orang Kadazan, the Orang Jakun... Somehow we seem to forget that they are a part of the Malaysian society and that they have been there for much longer than even the Malays have been.

But then, maybe we should remember that we were all immigrants at one stage in time. If you believe in the theory of evolution and migration, that is. So let's just get rid of all this 'bumiputera' nonsense. The Malays are no more bumiputera than the Chinese and Indians, the Orang Kadazan, the Orang Jakun, the Orang Asli and so on. It would certainly save on a lot of squabbling and create a better sense of equality in an already divided nation.

50 years since independence...since the day 'Merdeka' was uttered proudly and loudly in Merdeka Square. I wonder if it was all for nothing.

Mishy <3

Kevin Rudd's Meeting with Abdullah Badawi

This is actually pretty surreal. For me at any rate. I had no idea that Kevin Rudd was going to be in Malaysia, even if it was for a one day visit, but wow. It happened.
And I was there to catch it on the news.
Before I continue my analysis on the report that I saw- let me just say that reading all the reports of K. Rudd's visit to Malaysia has opened my eyes to...let's say a pretty different world.
And I'm gonna have to say this: For goodness's sake, even AUSTRALIA thinks we're messed up.

I know there are a lot of blogs that criticise the state that the Malaysian government is in, and you know, it happens in EVERY country. Every country [except Communist and Fascist ones] is going to be unsatisfied with some part of their government throughout the government's entire existance. But when Australia actually starts taking a break from its criticsm of its own government and starts concentrating on Malaysia, you KNOW it's bad.
Also, I had no idea that there were any tensions between the Malaysian and Australian government. Huh. Well, this is where reading the news actually gets you then.

But basically, the gist of it is that Kevin Rudd has said that Malaysia's 'democracy is flourishing', but he seemed to avoid the issue of discussing 'human rights' in Malaysia.
Trust me, I was a little confused at that one.
But I continued to read the many articles that I found when I googled it, and ALL of them had the same thing. Malaysia's democracy is great, but will not discuss human rights issues.

Should I be worried?

If anyone is left in any doubt, these are the links that I went to check out.
www.theage.com.au/national/malaysian-democracy-flourishing-says-rudd-20080710-3d6m.html
www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24001908-5013871,00.html

There were more, I can't seem to find them at this point in time. =/ A little upsetting at that.
And as far as I can tell, it is Anwar Ibrahim, the Opposition Leader of the DAP who seems to be the root of all this. Not because he's tried to do anything funny to K. Rudd, but because of the sodomy charges that he was accused of ten years ago, and that John Howard somehow got caught up in. [Apparently Mahathir Mohammad told Howard not to come to Malaysia because of the sodomy charges?] And Anwar Ibrahim apparently wanted to 'discuss his plight' with Kevin rudd, but Kevin Rudd would then be in the centre of political controversy and upset PM Badawi and his UMNO cronies, and therefore had to avoid meeting him.

Rest assured, Kevin Rudd has not met with Anwar Ibrahim. Although I am beginning to find these petty tensions rather annoying. If Malaysia is the democracy that Kevin Rudd perceives it to be, then we should not be having any troubles and 'oohs-and-aahs' with his meeting any Opposition leaders, whether there be ten or one, or whether they all have rape and sodomy charges or are as pure as the driven snow. I mean hey, he met up with Deputy PM Najib, who is supposed to be on trial for an affair with some Mongolian beauty queen. Contrasting ideals?

Another issue I decided to pick upon was found in the news report.
At the moment, I cannot actually find the report that I saw on TV, but look at this photo:


Look closely and tell me...what do you think is missing in the photo?
Just think about the make-up of the Malaysian society [especially if you're in Malaysia]. It's not too hard.

I can see Malays. I can see Indians.
I can even see one lonesome white guy at the back [no doubt K. Rudd's bodyguard]
But the Chinese?
If you ask me, I think we're being butted out on purpose.
Whenever something gets shown on TV or in a photo like this one, there's usually a lot more planning that goes into it than most people would imagine. Especially when you're broadcasting something to the world. What gets depicted is what the minds behind it want you to see. I sound incredibly cynical, but I study all this enough to know what happens in the planning stages of the videos and pictures that I see.

But on to slightly more light-hearted topics, I canNOT stop grinning at the look on Kevin Rudd's face. I wonder if that was what he looked like when he got up on Christmas morning and found this massive firetruck toy under the Christmas tree. :P

*sigh* Such innocent times in a pre-political era.

Mishy <3