Bribery: All in the name of 'Convenience'

This is my comment in Malaysia Today on the article "Bribes and the moral high ground"

It was noted there will be a pay rise for police personnels to reduce corruption in the force.

I support the pay rise. The police pay is actually very low. I've heard of some having only a few hundred ringgit salary. It is almost not possible to survive in KL with that amount of money.

However, I do not believe such move will reduce corruption.

Surprised to read this from New Straits Times but the writer does have some notable points on the bribery issue.

It takes two to tango. The Briber and The Bribed.

Many Malaysians do not think of the big picture when they perform bribes. All they think is their personal convenience as exemplified in this case. They do not want the hassle of lodging a report. They prefer to pay a bribe.

Bad things start from a small way. From such level of bribery, it can become a major issue where it may go into the local council and government.

A RM50 bribe mentality can turn into a RM50 million bribe all in the name of convenience.

Isn't it more convenient to bribe for a license rather than using the traditional hard way?

At the end of day, a system will be established. Everyone seeking to do business or pass certain tests may have to perform bribery. No bribe no pass. No bribe no license.

This mentality will spread into other previously unaffected government departments as well.

Finally, this is where the big picture settles in. When all areas run bribe systems it becomes a Culture or a Norm. The country is then a Corrupted Country.

Corrupted Countries do not go far in economy.

All this happened because of selfishness and "convenience".

It is more "convenient" to park our car at the roadside rather than in parking lots. Convenient for yourself maybe but all other road users are made inconvenient.

It is more "convenient" to bribe rather than report against bribery. I wonder why there is no one who thought it is more "convenient" to steal instead of working for the things that we want.

It is conceptually the same.

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When corruption becomes powerful , it will be the primary role of the government (having the power issued by the citizens) to put an end to the corrupted system.

This is where the government failed. There can be no excuse about it.

The citizens hands would almost be tied with such system. Only the government has the power to put a stop to this provided the chief control of the system is sincere.

However, how do we expect people with serious Corruption Charges and Credibility to stop this wrongdoing?

Good luck....

What is Integrity? NST's Version and Mine

This is my comment based on the article "Racking up the muck" in Malaysia Today.

EXCERPT FROM ARTICLE:
Integrity is in essence an ethical question rather than a structural problem, and requires a personal makeover in attitudes and values rather than changes in institutions.

MY COMMENT:
Ladies and Gentlemen, please give a big round of applause to New Straits Times Editorial for such Refined Language.

Good spinning there, dear doctor.

Let me reword the sentence above:
Integrity is in essence an ethical question and also a structural problem.

The government needs to create and practise a structure (or system) that promotes and defends integrity.

As such, this requires a personal makeover in attitudes and values of the Head/Leader of the structure (or system).

"Sincerity of the Head/Leader" is the keyword in the "makeover". Otherwise, there will be no changes in corrupt institutions.

Without sincerity, the corrupt will stay corrupt and Integrity is violated. Perhaps, citizens should think of changing the governing institutions instead to instill Integrity in the country.

MCA is walking a Dangerous Tightrope

I have written a comment and review on the article "Damned if you speak up, damned if you don't" in Malaysia Today.

See, people, if you read the whole article, what MCA is trying to say is they cannot pressure the government although they are the 2nd largest component party. I am wondering what or who else can do that if the 2nd largest can't do so. Ong Ka Ting still unshamefully claimed that everything is done in the dark or behind closed doors.

A sign of obeyance to UMNOputra is they say they cannot "stir up a hornet's nest" (as mentioned in the article). It was Badruddin favourite words. In fact, he is the first UMNO member to use this phrase in public in year 2005. The 'show' was performed along with the brandishing of a book on the May 13, 1969 racial riots

Link: http://ktemoc.blogspot.com/2005/12/badruddin-amiruldin-gets-his-way.html
Link: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/30305

That is their explanation to the chinese in public on why they are seen not doing their work (according to my understanding). For goodness sake. can anyone believe this? can you believe this? can you?

This further confirms my writing "MCA members Never Reject, They Only Accept"

Allowance for disgrace
MCA talk about their leaders not banging tables or take to the streets on issues. Well, what they say should be true. After all, Team A and Team B only bang tables and throw chairs in General Meetings among themselves but not on the streets. Fight among themselves for power but no exclamation to ascertain rights on important issues.

They say when they raise sensitive topics, they will put the government in the tight spot. I agree what they said is true. However, by not raising would mean putting the Chinese voters feelings in a tight spot and put MCA themselves in tight spot. The only one in the "Free" spot are the UMNOputras. UMNO members are free to wave keris around, brandish May 13 books, tell the non-Muslims to leave Malaysia or threaten to increase the bumiputra equity from 30% to 70%.

It that a right thing to do? Perhaps, MCA is not emotional. In my point of view, that is what UMNO expects MCA to do. What has MCA accomplished for the Malaysian Chinese in this area? Nothing?

That is what MCA did and the Merdeka centre public opinion poll is the echo. MCA get what it deserved.

Closed Door Solution: Begging or Persuading?
Ong Ka Ting said "Too many public quarrels and a war of words will lead to a lose-lose situation. That is something we want to avoid.". From a philosophical viewpoint, what he said could be true. On the other hand, by keeping quiet/mum over issues by public self-restraint, what has been achieved? From what I can see, most of the time, nothing has been achieved, hence, MCA got what they deserved in the Merdeka centre opinion poll.

Ong Ka Ting claims his approach of closed door solution proves successful when it includes how MCA has successfully persuaded the government to build more Chinese schools. Is he sure about this? From the last information that I gathered, there are no new chinese or tamil schools in Rancangan Malaysia ke-Sembilan.

Only one example has been stated in the 'closed door solution' context. What are the other issues solved? There is only one thin line between begging and persuading. As a saying goes "beggars can't be choosers". Malaysian Chinese is in a serious need of a party who can fight for their rights, not beggars !

Poor Leadership
As the party’s Number One, he admits he has been speaking up a lot more of late, as he tries to assuage the people that he is indeed "respectful, firm and polite".

Respect is earned, not assuaged. Besides, what has he spoken up, I wonder? Perhaps, any bloggers in-the-know here can relate to me?

Last year, Ong Tee Keat raised the issue of funds misappropriation for chinese schools in Parliament. He was reprimanded by the Cabinet. Is Ong Ka Ting's idea of speaking up means saying "Ong Tee Keat's issue has no relation to MCA"? Ong Tee Keat was left to take the fall alone for bringing up matters crucial for the Malaysian Chinese.

Read Shen Yee Aun's comments on this matter:
http://shenyeeaun.disagrees.net/?p=30

How does Ong Ka Ting intend get respect with that kind of attitude?

Unclear Image-Building Strategy
As for the image-building, it is futile to just approach English-educated chinese and expect them to follow the tail of MCA. There is only one image for MCA now. Be it Chinese or English educated, they view it the same way.

One wonders how convincing it could be when Madam Chong Eng mentioned that MCA's other synonym should be "Money Collecting Agency".

Unless the rebranding is to remove the word "selfish" from the party, MCA will forever and ever be the same undependable party it is today.

Until a proper Image is built, MCA will be 'damned' in the next election.

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NST is Right !

Below is the comment that I have posted on Malaysia Today. The article is titled "Hello Mr. NST, that’s a bloody cheap shot!" by Biggum Dogmannsteinberg .

NST wrote an article that made Biggum not very happy.
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Dear all,

I think there is nothing wrong with NST posting this article.

If you read the words carefully, they are only highlighting certain usages of the blog.

They say blogs are good for advertisements and it is free. They even put it in the "U Buy U Sell" page.

So, from a logical point of view, I would recommend to all bloggers to tell the readers of NST to post all their advertisements online to save money. Even NST said blogs are great for that ! NST is right !

From what I gather, when NST put up that advertisement in "U Buy U Sell", that is what they are trying to do. Informing their readers of a better advertising avenue.

So, bloggers, from today onwards, I will not waste money by paying for advertisements in printed press like NEWSPAPERS.

Moreover, why post in CERTAIN newspapers that CHEAT, LIE, PLAGIARISE AND PROVIDE LOPSIDED news. Why give money to a newspaper that is NOT ETHICAL in journalism?

Whoops, NST, you are an ethical newspaper right?

Hahaha, yeah right. Hmmn, right, yes, yes, yes ok, good ahherrmm.. (Cough cough, sneeze sneeze) .. sorry i gotta go to the sink to spit (Ptui, ptui)

Just make them go broke. We all post online.

Thank you NST. What a sound advice you have given. You are right. Government is right.

Pak Lah never tell any lies, yeah, hmmn, ahherm, yeah, that's right, my throat is itchy, gotta go to the sink again. I drank a cheap shot of alcohol last night. This is the result.

Bloggers United: Support Jeff Ooi and Ahiruddin Atan

Raja Petra wrote in his Malaysia Today:
See you at Wisma Denmark, Jalan Ampang, at 2.30pm on Thursday, 22 February 2007. The New Straits Times and four others are suing two Bloggers, Screenshots and Rocky's Bru. Please turn up in full force as a show of solidarity.
Timestamp: 20/02/2007 13:16:37

The owner of Screenshots ( http://www.jeffooi.com ) is Jeff Ooi, a freelance journalist and Rocky's Bru ( http://rockybru.blogspot.com ) is Ahirudin Atan, a former editor of The Malay Mail before a major restructuring coming from the direction of New Straits Times.

For those not in the know on why they were sued, view here:
http://www.kualalumpurishome.com/104/jeff-ooi-and-rocky-sued-bloggers-united/

There are links right after the article. Read what other Malaysian bloggers have to say about this suit, which is first in Malaysian history:
http://www.kualalumpurishome.com/102/malaysian-bloggers-sued-the-first-in-history/

As a blogger myself, I will be there to show support in tandem with the official statement from "Bloggers United" here:
http://kickdefella.wordpress.com/2007/01/19/calling-one-calling-all-defend-your-right-to-free-speech/

Please be there, do not let Suits silent us.

MCA members Never Reject, They Only Accept

The comment below refers to the article 'MCA always open to criticism and feedback' in Malaysia Today.

For your information, OK Thing is the nickname for Mr. Ong Ka Ting, the President of Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA). He is called so because he will say "OK" to everything that UMNO said even though there are racist rethorics or unfair policies being implemented.

The article is a transcript of an interview between a New Straits Times reporter with OK Thing. To read the entire interview, please access this link:

http://www.malaysia-today.net/blog2006/newsncom.php?itemid=2576

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OK Thing said:
Anything that can help to alert and create an improvement in ourselves, we are willing to look at to improve our position. I feel we cannot just reject everything that is not in our favour.

OK Thing also said:
"From there, we will have to work hard, strategise and go deeper into understanding the whole political atmosphere, find out what had made the respondents feel that way. We will face it and not brush it aside."
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My opinion:
Well, the problem is MCA will not reject. They will just keep in quiet, when "everything that is not in their favour" occurs.

Ohh yeah, by the way, isn't keeping quiet on critical issues equals to "not facing the issue" and "brushing the issue aside"? Is that a lie from OK Thing or a contradiction or both? Take your guess.

For instance, when UMNO members talk "RACISTLY" in their general meeting, MCA did not reject (maybe only Mr. Ong Tee Keat), but kept quiet. In cases as such, later, MCA may "accept". In this case alone, MCA said they accepted Hishamuddin's Keris Wielding episode as "Not Racism". MCA said it is OK. Yes, "Semuanya OK" !

They say that even though almost all Malaysian Chinese except for MCA core administration say it is "Racism".

I know the word "RACISTLY" does not exist in dictionary, but I find the word RACIALLY is too polite, too tame to describe UMNO's statements.. need to be direct for all to understand

Malaysian Chinese jaws dropped nationwide, surprised at how MCA still unashamedly claimed they represent chinese, adding more kerosene to the already brightly burning fire. The fire of immense anger and hatred.

So, tell me, when is it that they every REJECTED? They have always ACCEPTED or KEPT QUIET. For me, silence means agreement. Keeping quiet/mum basically it is the same thing as acceptance.
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I think he is still sleeping in his job, just like Pak Lah.

If the whole nation can feel so angry, and you still do not know, it means you are sleeping.

Let's talk about maturity. If someone can think a few birthday greeting cards can reduce the amount of restlessness on the ground, the maturity level must be very low.

Birthday greeting card is cheap. Talk is cheap, OK Thing. You can talk, bullshit, lie, spin but it is still cheap. The extent of restlessness now is even the uneducated Malaysian Chinese do not believe your stories anymore.

They know Rights are "expensive". The Malaysian chinese have paid for it badly through stupid MCA with its poor selfish management for decades.

So, it is time for you to get lost. I can assure you many feel the same as what I have described above.

I hope appropriate actions are taken to get rid of these useless people in this useless party.

Having a label "Malaysian Chinese" as the name of your party does not mean anything. It is just a screwed up advertisement. Advertise using the head of a "Cow" but you are actually selling "Dog" meat.

If there is anyone that destroyed the image of MCA, it is MCA itself.

Ptui.. Pui (spitting sounds), rubbish... Nuff said.

Outstanding NST report: Mongolian Model Murder Case

Comment based on article from NST: Love Affair That Went Horribly Wrong

Link: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Saturday/National/20061111094053/Article/local1_html

To quote from Screenshots: "Is this NST reporter, and the editor who cleared the copy, worms in the analyst's intestines?"

Link: http://www.jeffooi.com/2006/11/prejudice_subjudice.php

1)"They were in love but the woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu, wanted a lasting relationship. She wanted him to marry her. She wanted him to take on a second wife. "

- Wah, NST reporter, who told you this? Altantuya or Abdul Razak? Other related people?

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2) "Faced with her insistence, he decided to end their affair last March.
And that was when the badgering began. He was flooded with text messages and e-mail."

- Goodness, who told you that? Did Abdul Razak Baginda tell you this? NST reporter, do you have special access to his e-mail account or something? Otherwise, how would you have known?

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3) "Then, he changed his mobile phone number, Investigators believe that this led the Mongolian beauty to visit Malaysia "

- Wow, NST reporter knows the number change is related ?! FROM SOME ASSUMPTION or FROM SOME RESOURCES? How do you know that Abdul Razak Baginda change his number because of her? I mean, it could be of other reasons like he does not like the current telecommunications company, or he wants a more "auspicious" phone number.

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4) "The alleged harassment from Ms Shaariibuu, however, continued. In one of her telephone calls, she masqueraded as his daughter's friend, claiming she had a parcel for him."

- Seeee, does the police investigation unit knows about this too? How does this NST reporter know? From what I gather disclosing evidence or making up stories regarding a person is punishable by Law the last I recall.

However, with very high confidence, (I am not sure why I am imbued with this strong unparalleled feeling :-D ), this NST reporter is abiding the Malaysian Law and will not do anything against it. After all, I am very sure NST is very professional, anyone disagree with me? No, right?

:-D

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5) "He did not want them to know what was happening."

- Wooi shoh, NST reporter, seriously how do you know that? Did Abdul Razak or someone told you Abdul Razak's decision?

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BIG HIGHLIGHT:

Another serious note, aren't those information CLASSIFIED INVESTIGATION INFORMATION? Classified means it cannot be exposed? Can legal action be taken by the court if this is found against the Law?

I am impressed... NST reporter, by the wealth of information provided.

How do you know so much? Who are you?

Anyone here knows?