Updates 30/3/08

I've been quite busy this week, had to finish the research report, logbook and other assignments...
Didn't have enuff time to update.... These are on the news this week:

- Pemilihan UMNO akhir tahun ini
- Pak Lah sedia dicabar
- Scrap nomination quota: Dr M (Pak Lah surely feels the chill right now)
- Sultans's choice of MB stripped off UMNO membership
- MT terima Ahmad Said (UMNO members have to lick their spit???! Idris gigit jari laah)
- 10,000 greets the King
- Apology to the sacked judges: Zaid
- Another Deputy Minister resigns
- Sabah wants more cabinet posts
- Selangor teruskan polisi setinggan sifar: Khalid
- Raikkonen wins in Sepang (hail the prancing horse)
- Man U won 4-0 against Aston Villa in Old Trafford (keep the good job boys... Glory Glory Man United)


By the way, last night was the Earth Hour. Missed the opportunity to light off (I was on the way from Pekan last night)...

Riverine Clinics Ulu Tembeling 1

Just wanna share a few pics from my visit to the riverine clinics in Ulu Tembeling, Pahang last week.

On the boat... 4 hours until the destination.

Just a shot on the boat...

The rapids... one of 9 on the way upstream

river latrine??!

a bridge under construction (for the people or loggers?!!)

the election campaign even reached here... a big salute to the candidate

finally, arrived at the destination (Kg Bantal)... after four long hours

with the guesthouse owner, Ayah Dali...

this is the biggest clinic in Ulu Tembeling... no medical doctors. Anyone want to apply??

Regent's Reminder for Leaders

Perak's Regent has reminded the political leaders to learn from the history and not repeating past mistakes.

“Only a small number of those given opportunities to become leaders actually did enough to create history and build civilisations. Many of those given the opportunity to lead allowed the joy and passion of having power to lead them astray," he said in his speech during the state-level Maulidur Rasul (Prophet's birthday) celebration at the State Secretariat here Thursday.

"Some became complacent, some went astray, some were ill-advised, some adopted wrong decisions and some made miscalculations, "he said. (The Star)

Did The Highness mean the newly appointed MB or the PM. I think the statement should be generalized for all leaders...

You can read more here.

New Cabinet Line-up

A new cabinet line-up has been announced. However, the conflict still remains. Surely Pak Lah will still have nightmares in his sleep. There were different reactions to his choice of ministers and deputies. NST has reported it as a cabinet of reforms (I wonder if it's really true). Still, many new faces has entered the cabinet including those who did not contest in the GE2008 (including contoversial faces, you can guess who).

I think internal politics of UMNO will be interesting to be looked at until the party's general assembly in August. The disgruntled party members who were dropped will play significant role in the greatest Malaysian drama. Pak Lah will have to be prepared for his decision to drop the big names. Even those who were selected to be deputies declined the post because they felt that they're senior enough to be full ministers. Of course, if there's someone more junior than you can become a full minister why can't you.

Bold moves by Mukhriz and Ku Li alone can put Pak Lah on fire. I think many other UMNO members are playing "wait and see". I'm looking forward for the next plot to unveil...

Post-political "tsunami"

In the last general election, we have seen so many unexpected results. The government (BN) who usually won comfortably in previous elections had lost its 2/3 majority in the parliament and additional four state governments to the opposition coalition. I would have never imagined this, and I think nobody did.

Political analysts came with various comments on the PRU12 results. Many said this is truly a new dawn for Malaysia. No more race-based politics, the people has united under one name - that is Malaysia. Some suggested that we can see the emergence of two-party political system. Some suggested the BN to truly merge into a one party. Another popular comment is that the people did not really support the opposition but the PRU12 is seen as silent protest of the injustice, the economical hardship that the people is going through lately.

Whatever the reason, the most appropriate thing for the victors to do is to smoothly form a government and get down to work. This will show the people that they have done a good choice, that they have chosen candidates that can fulfill all the election promises. However, for the past one week the political development is a letdown. There are many bickering, infighting and disagreement between the opposition coalition. Up to now, there is still no MB for Perak. Every party wants their reps to be the MB, and more of their reps to be the EXCO.

Why can't everyone sit down together and settle these things smoothly. Let us be truth to our words, to truly serve the public. If the opposition fails to perform, I wonder how many years will it take before it will be given another chance. Maybe 30 to 50 is a reasonable guess.

BN also does not exempted from the problem. There's more serious problem in UMNO. The party leaderships are silently plotting to save their pot. Everyone is very cautious in making comments except one brave son of Mahathir, who loudly called for PM's resignation.

In the states, up till now there's uncertainty of who will fill the MB posts in Perlis and Terengganu. In Perlis, the Highness Raja Perlis chose a different candidate than PM's. Sultan of Terengganu has yet to accept Idris Jusoh as the MB. This time around the palaces are truly display their power. This give another headache to the PM. Huh, I wonder.

Let's hope that in the following week, all parties can come together and solve their problems and smoothly continue proper governance to serve the people. Given current situation, I don't think two-party political system will materialize. At least not in ten years time. Anyway, let's congratulate the Malaysians for being courageous enough to change.