by TT
nowdays in malaysia, the rakyat can’t even tell the government that prices of goods in malaysia is high!.. the government is paranoid!…
approx more than 50 people arrested for a peaceful gathering… indian lady was pushed, hit a pole and punched… people wearing bersih t-shirt arrested… man with 2 ‘special children’ with a baby pram pulled…
all the above actually happened during a peaceful rally in front of klcc and along jalan ampang!… this price hike rally was organised by the colition against inflation (protes)!…
the time i left my house approx 1315 hours with a backpack contained an extra set of clothes wrapped in a plastic bag, disposable raincoat and a pair of sandals.. that was the 1st saturday i didn’t wear my bersih t-shirt and walked out of my house!… still undecided whether to take the train or drive to klcc… decided to drive and expect major traffic as understand the roads will be closed… surprising, the traffic in kl were so smooth as if that was the 1st day of chinese new year!… as soon as i got on to jalan ampang, opposite ampang park… tons of men-in-blue who the rakyat pay their salaries can be seen fm the ampang putra lrt station entrance, mca building, wisma naluri right up to the entrance of klcc!…
got to klcc, parked my car and walk to the entrance of klcc… here and there you get those men-in-blue who the rakyat pay their salaries stare at you as if you are the one who abducted sharlinie!… made a few phone calls and walked to ampang park… before reaching ampang park, saw a group of indians with parti sosialis malaysia (psm) and/or anti isa badge pinned on them in front of the mca building… stopped there and make few more calls… met someone and understand there’s a court which issued on the 25th january 2008 (talk about being efficient) stating they ban the rally and 5 names were mentioned… anyway, ended up in nikko hotel and took the newspapaer… true enough!… anyway, waited in nikko hotel, made a few phone calls… understand the men-in-blue who the rakyat pay their salaries already started their operation… many people are nabbed… at that time already approx 1540 hours… decided to go back to klcc…
on the way saw at least 2-3 thousand of people fm wisma central onwards…
saw a commotion outside avenue k… rushed across the road, before that saw a man-in-blue who the rakyat pay his salary bang on the window of one cab and shouted the driver.. “jalan terus lah!”… mind you, with the strength he used, the window may shatter to pieces!… wonder who will pay for the damage if the window breaks!… anyway, met a well-known blogger and saw an indian lady who is in her 40’s in the fainting/passing out condition… understand a psycho pushed and she hit a pole and apparently she got punched too!… pathetic!… an ambulance stopped right infront of avenue k for the lady… her companion shouted something like… “ini barang kerajaan, jangan harap kita mau naik”… perfect statement i would say!… her friends then brought her few meters away for her to rest… it was then an indian notorious looking man-in-blue who the rakyat pay their salaries shouted loudly… “bawak dia keluar!”… to this, one of her friend replied… “kalau dia pengsan dan mati tengah jalan, you mau jawab kah?!?”.. i would say his comeback was brilliant!… the notorious looking man-in-blue who the rakyat pay his salaries just kept quiet…
a helicopter was hovering above and around us…
walk further down the road and saw a group of men-in-blue who the rakyat pay their salaries was requesting the i/c of a guy with the bersih t-shirt on!… next thing you know he got hauled up the truck!…
another commotion happened across the road, in front of wisma central… a man with a baby pram with his ‘special daughter’ in it was pulled DESPITE he was holding a baby pram!… brainless authorities who the rakyat pay their salaries i say!… couple of more people nabbed minutes after that!…
by that time, it was already approx 1715 hours… crowd dwindling and men-in-blue who the rakyat pay their salaries relaxing and smiling, probably smiling to a victory which they have just won!…
went into wisma central for a quick tea with the well known blogger and continue my walk back to klcc…
the helicopter still hovering above and around us then…
it’s been quite sometime since i last went to klcc, decided to hang around near the bus-stop enjoying the bright sky and the brezzy wind… chatting to 2 reporters from france and hong kong with ‘red pass’.. one of them actually experienced a rela fella want to ‘take’ his watch until that pathetic guy saw his camera and his red pass!… don’t think i want to go into details on what other pathetic stuffs they witnessed and still witnessing in malaysia and the authorities!…
i thought it was all over… until i saw another commotion right smack outside the entrance of klcc… this time another well known blogger, a well know lady who is gutsy activist and another guy nabbed!… why?!?… understand it’s because they are handing out a “2008 elections : time for change” leaflets… pathetic, moronic and iditotic!…
i sighed and walk to the washroom to freshen up before coming out again for a few minutes and left the place…
it was a very good outing!… with the hundreds of reporters and thousands of clicks fm their cameras, it was an excellent awareness to prove what the malaysian authorities are doing!…
only a peaceful price hike rally and they called in hundreds of safety personnels… go look for sharlinie will do you greater things i would say!…
i didn’t regret a single bit for not resting on that saturday (26th janury 2008) after a hectic week!… also, i believe the presence of each and every indivdual made a different and their presence is important to make that change, change for the better that is!…
fore more eye-witness reporting…
(http://zorro-zorro-unmasked.blogspot.com/2008/01/hello-zorrocan-i-have-your-particulars.html)…
(http://elizabethwong.wordpress.com/2008/01/27/saturdays-protest-against-price-hikes/)…
p/s ; this basically sums the whole thing up… (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuOW0_jdCdA)…
#1 by k1980 on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 9:11 am
According to the government, the prices of essential goods in malaysia is the lowest in the whole damn world — only 2% inflation rate! And the people of Brunei are regretting that they did not join Malaysia. Then they would be able to pay income tax!
#2 by TheWrathOfGrapes on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 9:13 am
Kit – off topic – but you may want to put this up as a separate post – another of those showing up the state of education in Bolehland.
But then again, Badawi said don’t compare Malaysia with Singapore and Hong Kong as these 2 are “single ethnic” countries. Wonder what happened to the Malays and Indians in Singapore? Also, he said HK & Singapore are grapes and Malaysia is an apple, so don’t compare apple with grapes. Sounds like sour ones to me…
http://www.straitstimes.com/Asia/Malaysia/Story/STIStory_201120.html
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/news/story/0,4574,265536,00.html?
Business Times – 29 Jan 2008
Nanyang MBA breaks into FT Top 50
It is ranked 46 – the highest ever by a Singapore business school
By WEE JUN KAI
(SINGAPORE) Nanyang Business School’s Master of Business Administration (MBA) Programme has been ranked 46th in Financial Times’ (FT) World Top 100 MBA 2008 – the highest that a Singaporean business school has ever been ranked in the survey of the world’s most renowned universities.
‘FT’s latest rankings confirm that the Nanyang MBA has gained worldwide recognition as a programme that provides world-class training for business leaders for Asia and beyond,’ said Professor Jitendra Singh, dean of NBS which is part of the Nanyang Technological University.
NBS’s 46th ranking is a significant increase over its 67th spot last year, which also saw previously unranked Indian School of Business and Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Antai College of Economics and Management clinch 20th and 41st spots respectively. Singapore Management University’s new one-year MBA programme is still unranked, having just been launched earlier this year. The National University of Singapore failed to make the list.
The strong showing is largely due to good scores in the areas of international mobility, given by the employment movements of alumni prior to and after graduation, as well as student diversity and international exposure, with 81 per cent of students hailing from overseas.
Value for money also factored in favourably for NBS, with its fee much lower than those in the top 10.
However, the survey places a heavy emphasis on the alumni’s average weighted salary as well as their salary percentage increase after the programme, which take up 20 per cent of the final score each. This proved to be where NBS lost out this year, compared to the rest of the universities in the top 50. Salaries seem to be much higher in other parts of the world.
Of course, NBS is not resting on its laurels. Prof Singh said: ‘Even as we are ranked in the top 50, the aspiration we have is really to be in the top 25 in the world…I see no reason why we shouldn’t be able to get there.’
To lift NBS’ rankings further, Prof Singh hopes to give students access to more high-paying jobs through global recruiters in his corporate network established during his tenure at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, which topped the global rankings.
However, Prof Singh added, ‘Rankings are one way to measure our progress, but they are not the only thing.’
‘Substance’ remains his top priority. He cited new incoming faculty but declined to elaborate further.
Prof Singh said: ‘We will continue to excel in rigorous, relevant and innovative teaching and extend our corporate networks. I am confident that our global standing will improve further.’
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
#3 by TheWrathOfGrapes on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 9:17 am
Article pasted below in case you don’t have access to ST online.
Don’t compare Malaysia with S’pore, HK: Abdullah
PUTRAJAYA – SINGAPORE and Hong Kong are places with single-ethnic populations and their progress should not be compared directly with that of multiracial Malaysia, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi said yesterday.
He told 8,000 top civil servants that the two cities are ‘grapes’ while Malaysia is an ‘apple’.
His message was that Malaysians can do better and they should not despair by comparing Malaysia with Singapore and Hong Kong because a direct comparison was unfair.
‘They are grapes…and we are apple. How can you compare grapes with an apple? We can’t,’ he told the annual gathering between the premier and top civil servants.
He also said Malaysia could not be compared with Taiwan because the population of the island was higher than Malaysia’s.
Malaysia’s 27 million population consists of 60 per cent Malays along with 25 per cent ethnic Chinese and 8 per cent Indians. The rest are from other minority races.
Datuk Seri Abdullah brought up the subject in his speech in which he said the government’s efficiency was rated sixth best in the world last year, compared to its eighth placing in 2000.
Quoting the World Competitiveness Year Book released by the Swiss-based business school IMD, he said that Malaysia was ranked above the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and France in places with a population of over 20 million.
Only China, Canada, the United States, India and Taiwan were ranked better, he said.
He said there were differences between Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
The Republic and Hong Kong were single-race territories and therefore faced different challenges and drew up different human development projects. Their economies should also not be compared with Malaysia’s, he added.
Datuk Seri Abdullah said that a better comparison with Singapore and Hong Kong is Malaysia’s Klang Valley and not the whole country.
SIN CHEW DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, BERNAMA
#4 by Tickler on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 9:35 am
‘They are grapes…and we are apple. How can you compare grapes with an apple? We can’t,’
Yeah. Right And he`s a donkey from Zimbabwe.
#5 by ahkok1982 on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 9:45 am
the more he opens his mouth, the more he makes himself look stupid.
I do agree with what he said… but then I also think that he only said the partial truth and not the full truth.
You definitely cannot compare Malaysia with Singapore and Hong Kong. For one very big reason, Both Singapore and Hong Kong have strong and capable leaders who are able to lead the country to progress and actually works to advance the country. Here in Malaysia, we have a so called “leader” who sleeps during meetings & conventions, leaves the country on auto pilot and knows nothing about economy, business or trade. Best of all is that he is a grad from religious studies which would have no place in running a country.
So let’s face the facts, we can’t compare Malaysia with Singapore or Hong Kong. With someone like TDM, we still can say that there is a comparison but with someone like think piece of turd, there is way too much difference in brain matter to know where to start comparing.
#6 by boh-liao on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 9:48 am
PM with elephant ears said: “Speak to me, I’m all ears to listen to my people, and then I’ll walk with my people.â€
He also said: “I can’t hear any complaints from my people. All’s well.â€
How can his big ears pick up voices of his people when his mata-mata and courts prevented his people from having a peaceful public rally to express their voices?
In his speech to civil servants in Putrajaya, PM should have added: “Don’t compare Taiwan, HK, and Singapore with Malaysia. They are guided by the tradition of Confucianism, which is alien to our culture here. We have the more powerful culture here – NEP!â€
#7 by lee wee tak_ on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 9:53 am
The grape and apple talk indicates that Badawi conceded defeat to Singapore. After years of propaganda under Mahathirism, we Malaysians thought Malaysia is the best country in the world but I can tell you that Singapore is a far more advance country than us economically and socially. Although they have much less political freedom, their politicians are of higher quality than ours. I would love to see the Kinabatangan and Jasin MPs have a run in Singapore. Some comedy that would be.
“The Republic and Hong Kong were single-race territories and therefore faced different challenges and drew up different human development projects. Their economies should also not be compared with Malaysia’s, he added. ”
– ok, but the US and Australia also have many different races and they progress much quicker and the racial tones in all aspect of their lives are not as apparent as in Malaysia. The US have even worse racial clashes than Malaysia – slavery (which resulted in civil war), racial clashes in the 1960’s – yet they manage to make racial issue less central to national issues whereas in Malaysia, every darn thing carries a racial tone.
Let’s admit it. Racism is the corner stone of political powers of te ruling party and we Malaysians are no more racist as we subscribed to it.
#8 by k1980 on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 10:04 am
SINGAPORE and Hong Kong are places with single-ethnic populations and their progress should not be compared directly with that of multiracial Malaysia
So how about comparing multiracial Malaysia with multitribal Kenya, where unclean, unfair and unfree elections has brought the once-stable East African country to its knees?
#9 by Short-sleeve on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 10:13 am
“SINGAPORE and Hong Kong are places with single-ethnic populations and their progress should not be compared directly with that of multiracial Malaysia” – k1980
Singapore, the last time I went there back in May 2007 is a multiracial country.
But anyway, lets leave Singapore out as there are a unique country. The country is small, no resources etc etc …
Lets look at USA then, it is a multiracial country. Its a melting pot. Look at the quality of life, media, election, freedom of speech & religion, education standards, business environment, etc etc.
#10 by cheng on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 10:34 am
Compare Perlis and Singapore… roughly about 800 vs. 700 sq. km. I could be wrong in the figure but this one for sure. “Yes! Perlis also sudah maju !!!”
#11 by budak on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 10:34 am
our Gov as good as PIRATES DE MALAYSIA…!
the POLICE are 3-stars Troupe approved by 4th Level to abduct RAKYAT on the street… while the Court not better than any Kangaroo Court in the world…
I pity to our Malaysian; being sucks for 50 years and happily vote for those suckers into position again and again…
Good Luck… :-)
#12 by sotong on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 11:01 am
As long as we are in power….semua OK!
#13 by shiver on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 11:11 am
yah pat yourselves on the back, join in the chorus and start condemning the PM, complain about the inflation and how hard it is to make a living. but, where were you guys on the 26th of Jan?
there wasnt even 200 protestors who came and funnily hardly any chinese.
did you guys even buy a Bersih T shirt?
you want to be quiet voter and vote oppositions, by all means go ahead. just dont look at each other when you are screwed or your loved ones body is snatched when they died or the kids are sent to some reformation religious house.
you guys were never there.
#14 by grace on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 11:11 am
Here we are asked to tighten our belt while the PM is happily jetting round the world attending conferences in which his speech is just like a passing shower.
He should try to save all those extra and be with the rakyat.
Anyway,only here that peaceful demonstration by others ,except one organised by PM’s SIL , are considered illegal and warrant use of force by the man in blue whom we paid for their salaries.
The other night I saw a demonstration in a developed country. The policemen there in fact helped to clear the road so that the demonstrators can march peacefully on the road without hinderances.
Pak lah and his ministers should have learnt from them. but inspite of their numerous trips overseas which is financed by us, they learn NOTHING!!!
#15 by budak on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 11:15 am
Country Total Pop.(m) % Total Muslim (m)
China 1311.4 3.0 39.111
Hong Kong 7 1.4 0.0966
Singapore 4.5 15.0 0.65
Malaysia 26.9 59.0 15.399
http://www.islamicpopulation.com/asia_general.html
1. China has more Muslim than Malaysia by 23.712 million
a. China never practice ethenic cleansing
b. China Muslim never supplied or need TONGKATs
c. China Muslim never demolish other ethics temples
d. China Chinese never demolish mosques
e. China government (Communis) never disturb any religion practices or implement different judicial system for specific ethenic
2. Singapore has 650K Muslim:-
a. Singaporean Muslim also never need TONGKAT too..!
b. They are more happy than Malaysian Muslim, at least they feel richer and “cerdik”. When abroad they happily claimed they’re SINGAPOREAN.
c. Singapore Muslim never demolish other ethics temples
d. Singapore Chinese never demolish mosques
e. They have Syariah Law; but never cheat on “masuk Islam” paper and “rampas” dead body
Conclusion:-
Basically ethenic Chinese government more liberal and softer than UMNO and Co. government. They’re upholding the Constitution and Rights for the RAKYAT. They’re more “cerdik” in running the country and fair in prosperities distributions; based on merits and “hard work”, not CRONYISM. They practicing “know how” rather than “know who” in managing the country.
See and learn from the bright sides of these country…! Our Bolehland WORST than Communist-land…! THINK and ACT…! :-)
#16 by Bigjoe on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 11:16 am
The comments by the PM was obviously to paint the positive and boo-boo the negative. What I don’t get is why? He is talking in front of a bunch of civil servants and need to motivate them now? He just gave them a raise, they are already unmotivated and negative? He has a lot of programs, increasing spending, expanding the civil service and hence opportunities, why the need to motivate them like this?
He is wrong obviously about not comparing to Singapore, HK, Taiwan etc. But why get this wrong? why even risk being wrong even if you want to motivate the civil servants? Does he know he is extremely wrong?
Frankly, I am somewhat confused and worried. Worried he does not know what he is doing, worried that there are problems he knows about that we don’t, but most important worried he has no idea where he is taking this country and the people he leads.
#17 by Tickler on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 11:17 am
Peoples` money
PM`s jolly
BN`s lolly
#18 by People on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 11:22 am
The employment of man in blue, bon, SB whatever you call them has only one main purpose that is to serve the people in power. The second duty is to safe guard their own stomach and only the third is to look into public safety. They are the ones creating unnecessary tension and intimidating and oppressing innocent rakyat!!
#19 by k1980 on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 11:30 am
You can’t hide your lyin eyes
And your smile is a thin disguise
I thought by now you’d realize
There ain’t no way to hide your lyin’ eyes
There ain’t no way to hide your lyin’ eyes
Dude, you can’t hide your lyin’ eyes
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3545/1033/1600/iKabinet.jpg
#20 by pkrisnin on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 11:42 am
When corruption is rampant in the gov. When you have to pay bribes to get contracts. Who do you think the businessman will pass the cost of the bribe too. Of course to us the people. That’s one of your main cause of inflation there.
#21 by Evenmind on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 11:57 am
(Quote from Star online) Abdullah said that the income gap among the three races had also narrowed.
“The income ration between the bumiputras and the Chinese dropped from 1:1.64 in 2004 to 1:1.52 last year while that between the bumiputras and the Indians fell from 1:1.27 to 1:1.23,†he said, adding that the ratio between Indians and Chinese dropped from 1:1.28 to 1:1.23.
This Govt. is the most archaic govt. in the whole world., they should be put into the museum., The world has changed but not them., Hey they are wasting so much of the tax payers monies to to such comparisons like the one above., They so preoccupied with the comparison of their own people., WHY can’t they try to address so many other important matters such as the price hikes and inflation., and to try helping the poor and the needy irrespective of race , creed and colour., Why can’t all be called Malaysians instead of malay , Chinese and indianns ,etc., it is the Govt. ,who is all times inciting racial feelings/ hatred in the country.
Common people power, vote these imberciles out in the next election, otherwise we’d behind time for another century., as the rest of the world is so much more far sighted than the stupid gomen. Look ay USA., Even the whites are cheering for the Presedential hopeful Barak Obama., But over here they are still in the 19th century BC
#22 by Angel_Tan on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 12:06 pm
The useless people only got big mouth to talk nonsense instead of to learn the way of successful from others countries.
#23 by kym on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 12:50 pm
‘They are grapes…and we are apple. How can you compare grapes with an apple? We can’t,’
it all depends on what we want to compare. all i can see is that the grapes are fresh and well grown. never mind if it tastes sour. but what we should be more concern is that the apples are rotten to the core.
#24 by malaysia born on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 1:20 pm
The logical thing to improve oneself is to have a target/objective.
We should strive to improve ourselves by emullating others. In this case, we should strive to emulate (and eventually surpass) firstly singapore, then hong kong and finally japan.
Even my chldren knows that. What does the PM knows?
#25 by lakshy on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 1:22 pm
Ya right 2% inflation. Who you trying to kid la?
#26 by Godfather on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 1:26 pm
“We are not in the business of cheating the people.” AAB, 2005.
Now, which part of this statement don’t you people understand ?
#27 by AhPek on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 1:33 pm
The PM is right.How could you compare Malaysia with Singapore? He has a degree in Islamic studies and failed stats in year 1whereas Lee Hsien Loong is a wrangler from Cambridge just like his father, mother and brother. And do you know who a wrangler in Cambridge is.Badawi’s cabinet is flooded with half past six hardly educated guys whereas Lee Hsien Loong’s cabinet is flooded by first class honours men from Cambridge and Harvard.In fact George Yeo has been mentioned by Alvin Toffler (reputed as one of the outstanding futurists in the world) in his Trilogy as one of the most brilliant ministers he has ever come across.
Lee Hsien Loong makes decision, he hasn’t got the luxury of Badawi who lets his SIL who makes decisions for him.
So these are the reasons that one shouldn’t compare Malaysia with Singapore …. not apple and apple comparison lah! He knows it!
#28 by AhPek on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 1:36 pm
Correction. Should read ‘And do you know who a wrangler in Cambridge is, BADAWI?’.
‘ ………………………, he hasn’t got the luxury of Badawi who has a SIL to make decisions for him.’.
#29 by kowtim on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 1:46 pm
We should only compare ourself with countries starting with the letter ‘M’ . Mali, Malawi, Madagascar. See how advance we are.
#30 by Godfather on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 2:18 pm
AhPek:
Badawi’s cabinet is full of entrepreneurs unlike the Singapore cabinet which is full of technocrats. We have entrepreneurs who know how to issue concessions to their relatives and friends, how to award contracts to their nominees, friends and relatives. That’s why our cabinet ministers live in vast luxury, travel in a brand new aircraft, holiday in Perth and London, drive Bentleys. Heck, even KJ keeps his Bentley in Singapore !
#31 by sotong on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 3:19 pm
Nobody is complaining about narrowing the gap between rich and poor.
But how one acquires wealth is another matter – there is a huge difference between a real businessman in a competitive world and one who acquires wealth through government connections.
The former is the real engine of ecomony growth to create new, rewarding and permanent jobs for the people. The latter is a monopoly with gross lack of competitive and increase the cost of products and services which will significant affect economy growth and standard of living of ordinary people.
#32 by gofortruth on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 4:27 pm
Someone sent me a mail to caution me to vote wisely:-
This joke can be enjoyed by everyone. Not only that. It is politically correct and with a moral lesson.
VOTE WISELY IN THE COMING ELECTION
==============================
While walking down the street one day a Malaysian Boleh Minister is
tragically hit by a truck and dies.
His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.
“Welcome to heaven,” says St. Peter. “Before you settle in, it seems
there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts,
you see, so we’re not sure what to do with you.”
“No problem, just let me in,” says the man.
“Well, I’d like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we’ll do is have
you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose
where to spend eternity.”
“Really, I have made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,” says the Yang
Berhormat
“I’m sorry, but we have our rules,” says St. Peter.
And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down,
down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of
a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front
of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.
Everyone is very happy and dressed in the finest batik there is. They run
to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they
had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They play a friendly
game of golf and then indulge themselves on lobsters, caviar and the most
expensive food there is.
Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good
time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that
before he realizes it, it is time to go.
Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises.
The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St.
Peter is waiting for him.
“Now it’ s time to visit heaven.”
So, 24 hours pass with the Yang Berhormat joining a group of contented
souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have
a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St.
Peter returns.
“Well, then, you’ve spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose
your eternity.”
The Yang Berhormat reflects for a minute, then he answers: “Well, I would
never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think Ai
yam better off in hell.”
So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to
hell. Now the doors of the elevator open and he’s in the middle of a barren
land covered with waste and garbage.
He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting
it in black bags as more trash falls from above.
The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder.
“I don’t understand,” stammers the Yang Berhormat. “Yesterday I was here
and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar,
drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there’s just a
wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?”
The devil looks at him, smiles and says, “Yesterday we were campaigning
just like you during an election…… Today you voted.”
#33 by AhPek on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 5:09 pm
Godfather,
Concur with you that Badawi’s cabinet is filled with
Corrections:(1)YB KIT and not YB KI. A thousand apologies, YB.
(2) THESE LISTS COVER A PRIOD OF ABOUT 50 YEARS SINCE INDEPENDENCE DAY IN MALAYSIA (1957).
#34 by AhPek on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 5:13 pm
The above is for corrections to be made and not meant to be directed to Godfather.However Godfather I concur with you that Badawi’s cabinet is filled with entrepreneurs whose specialty is ‘korek,korek,korek,korek………’.
#35 by gofortruth on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 5:41 pm
It is a well established international fact that Chinese are very hard working and no matter where they are, they are always a positive contributor to that nation. The same can also be said of the Indians.
Malaysia is so fortunate to have a mix 25% Chinese & 8% Indian in the country.
Without the hard working support of the Chinese & Indians, I dreaded to think the condition of the nation. Is it something like Indonesia having to send away millions of Malays outside the country to hunt for food?
Malaysia should thank God for the Chinese & Indians and the BN gomen should tear away the NEP and start treating everyone equal irrespective of race & religion. Then & only then, this apple is golden & not rotten!
#36 by mwt on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 5:46 pm
It was a brutal crackdown (see Pic 5 policemen needed to arrest and hold 1 protester), involving nearly 1,300 policemen, effectively quashed the planned protest aimed at “highlighting public anger over rising prices of food and fuel†– an issue that will figure prominently in the next GE. Tian Chua was complaining “’It’s almost ridiculous, conducting mass arrests before we even converged†More details & updated pics & Video Clip (2min 15s) uploaded
Go H E R E</a
#37 by undergrad2 on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 9:15 pm
“They are grapes…and we are apple. How can you compare grapes with an apple? We can’t.” Abdullah Badawi
The real danger is not grapes are not apples. The danger is when the guy actually believes what he is saying i.e. we would not be comparing like entities when we compare Singapore to us.
#38 by ktteokt on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 9:41 pm
This is typical Malaysian democracy – They tell the whole world they are democratic but they actually practise TYRANNY!!!!
#39 by DarkHorse on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 9:44 pm
The tyranny of the majority over the minority. Is that what some people call ‘democracy’?
#40 by ReformMalaysia on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 10:16 pm
“You can’t even tell the government that prices are high!”
MALAYSIAN…
Now the only way to tell the Barisan Government that the prices are high is through your votes..
#41 by alaneth on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 - 11:45 pm
Frankly, I don’t bother if our prices are high.
Remember KL (Malaysia) came last in the Ranking of World’s most expensive cities???
This also means our wages/salary are low.
Fresh engineer grads in Malaysia are getting RM 2000/month since 1990!!! no change although price go up.
Compare Singapore year 2000 – S$2300, 2007 – S$2700.
But for me businessman, I prefer to pay low salary lar…. High price means I can markup my goods also…
But I an a staunch DAP ally. Vote DAP!!!
#42 by limkamput on Wednesday, 30 January 2008 - 12:15 am
We a functioning market economy, but we never want to let it works. Instead we continue to intervene the market excessively. Almost all the damn things in the country are regulated one way or another, from flour, rice, sugar, chicken, bread, to cars, cement and steel. Just look at the myriad of instruments used – import permits, approved permits, anti hoarding, sale regulation, licensing, and price control. More recently we even want to set up a stockpile for essential goods. Is this how the market economy works? We should have allowed freer and more competition and the prices will generally take care of themselves. Instead, the government thinks it can control every damn thing. This was what the communists did and I guess the consequence is well known to everybody except to that bunch of idiots running the Malaysian economy today. The more we control, the more market distortions, rent seeking and corruption would creep in, which in turn will further affect the ordinary functioning of the market economy.
The government is artificially suppressing CPI to cap the wage levels. People have genuine concern because wages are not able to keep pace with cost of living. Let me show you an example on fuel price which the government has always harped on it as if they have done us a great favour. A litre of so-called subsidised petrol in Malaysia is RM1.92. In Australia it is about A$1.20 (end November 2007). Now, converting the price using the official exchange rate, the government will claim that the price of petrol in Australia is much more expensive than Malaysia and therefore Malaysians should be thankful. But we forget, the people in Australia earn wages in A$ just like the way Malaysians earn ringgit in Malaysia. The starting annual pay of a graduate in Australia is A$30,000. Now what is starting pay of a graduate in Malaysia? May be RM24,000. So if a litre of petrol is A1.20 in Australia and RM1.92 in Malaysia, who actually has lower cost of living? We don’t compare prices using official exchange rates. We compare prices vis-à -vis per capita income also. Fair enough I have not factored in the differences in marginal tax rates.
I am not comparing with Singapore because Singapore has a very different policy of car ownership. But don’t forget, Singapore has an impeccable public transportation system second to none. In any case, the price of petrol in Singapore is not high to Singaporeans who earn S$. One more point, Australia and Singapore are not oil producers. Malaysia boleh my foot.
#43 by limkamput on Wednesday, 30 January 2008 - 12:18 am
Sorry, first line, “We have a functioning market economy…..
#44 by Godfather on Wednesday, 30 January 2008 - 12:29 am
I think the correct statement should be “We have a disfunctioning market economy…” It is run by a guy who doesn’t know what economics is all about. He is prepped up by a bunch of “unseen” hands who also do not know what economics is all about. The art of stealing has nothing to do with economics.
#45 by iggy on Wednesday, 30 January 2008 - 3:50 am
PM LIED about the competitiveness ranking of our country!!
His latest efforts to bolster support for BN!
http://www.imd.ch/research/publications/wcy/upload/scoreboard.pdf
PLEASE EXPOSE THIS TO THE NATION!
#46 by Man_of_Honour on Wednesday, 30 January 2008 - 8:24 am
Digi, “Time to Change”..
2% inflation is based on only 2 comodities wey…
BN smart ass are real good on their maths… No wonder our taxpayers money goes missing so easily!
#47 by megaman on Wednesday, 30 January 2008 - 11:17 am
Hi Limkamput,
Totally agree with you on your analysis. However, how many are enlightened enough to see the same points ?
#48 by cheng on soo on Wednesday, 30 January 2008 - 11:57 am
Msia car price is among the highest in the world! many ppl need to buy one as public transport is generally bad.
#49 by limkamput on Wednesday, 30 January 2008 - 12:10 pm
megaman, spread the words around. Yes i agree, sometimes we are so busy earning a living, we hardly have time to reflect. The lower the wages, the harder we work and the lesser time we have to think over who are stealing from us!