Hindraf and security of the citizens

According to MT, the Malaysian home minister, in response to the Wall Street Journal said "We have and will take action against any individual or group that is inciting racial or religious hatred, regardless of their political affiliation."

And somehow some members of some particular political party have never been inciting racial or religious hatred. They have merely waved weapons, called citizens of other races as lodgers, talk about supremacy. But they have never, never ever incite racial or religious hatred.

Now, Hindraf, apparently, did that when they felt that they should raise the issue of the hindu AND poor (AND because not all Hindus are poor and not all poor are Hindus).

For some reason, no one paid attention to the message (kind of a habit of the world already).

But the way the message is delivered sufficient cause for detainment under ISA. I guess the Malaysian laws are too weak (or does not exist) to be used against a bunch of protestors. And putting them under ISA will shut up the rest (fear), and gain the government some respect for dealing with an issue in a firm and decisive manner. Well, it is a kind of an improvement since the rakyat always complain about the flip-flop stance. (Yes, flip-flopping can be almost like a stance if you do it long enough and fast enough.)

And in the same response, he mentioned, "The top priority of any government is to protect the security of its citizens."

Absolutely true, although there are also many other top priorities of any government, security is definitely one of them. I am glad and relieved that the Malaysian government ministers are talking this way to the foreign press. I am proud of what he said. Protect the security of its citizens, indeed! (Note: Yesterday, a policeman in that vicinity was shot in the leg in a scuffle with a bad-guy, so the brave public helped apprehend the bad-guy. Oh, and there were some 12 police cars blocking the roads too. Talk about Police-Public cooperation!)

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see the same letter published prominently in the online versions of TheStar or NST. Guess the locals dont need the explanation. We can see what is happening.

Seems that our government really has the interest of the public at heart. Especially important is to explain it to those in foreign lands, who are not able to see what is really happening. Because they cannot see, they will believe what they can read.

I should have thought of that!

Financial Turmoil - Money Politics

We have this money politics issue that even some of the politicians criticize. Money politics is as simple as it can get in any form of vote seeking. I pay you, you vote me. No complications, no subjective measurements.

While the world is reeling from possibly the worst economic crisis they have seen, our little world is full of people talking about others offering and accepting little envelopes of cash. Amounts ranging from RM200 to RM20,000 have been mentioned, with no evidence whateverso.

Perhaps it is not true. Maybe it is merely those that are think that they are losing in the elections claiming cheating by the winning ones. Afterall, I didn't hear any of the leading candidates claimed that they had to pay in order to win. Only some those that are not leading may have claimed that they were asked to pay.

On the side note, if it was true, perhaps it is good that there is a informal way to re-distribute wealth.

Oh, the reason why I dont believe that people pay to get into the job of a minister is because top CEOs are highly paid. The companies compete for them and offer them millions to run a efficient and profitable ship. Have you heard of a CEO or senior management candidate who has to pay the existing staff in the company so that he can get the job? Absurd idea.

Unless of course, being a CEO or senior management rewards much more than what he had to pay out to get the job. Sort of like entertaining a big client so that you get the bigger order.

But our ministers and government servants are not paid highly. So there, there cannot be money politics. Unless there is something else?

Much like how people pay for memberships in distinguished clubs. So the rich pay for it. It is for the honour to serve the country.
Honour! I should have thought of it!

Police and thieves

A few weeks ago, a little article in the newspapars....

2 men were fined RM100 each for insulting the police. Apparently, these two workers at a convenience store said something insulting while two policemen were in the store. Appropriately, one of the policeman arrested them for insulting the police. And thus, they were fined. Afterall, we should not insult those who shoulder the responsibilities of protection and safety of the citizens.

Same newspaper on the same day was this piece of bigger news.
There was this police station that suddenly became so well-known when it was moved(according to the police) or removed(according to a minister). Apparently, it is situated in a red-light district, that is dirty and surrounded by vice and diseases.

According to this minister, this police station is surrounded with too many undesirable characters, so much so that it has become unsafe for the police personnel. And the area is also dirty, with many diseases lurking around because it was a redlight district. So the police moved out of the area. For their own safety? Afterall, shouldn't it be our responsibility as citizens to protect and ensure the safety of the police personnel?

I should have thought of it!

Financial Turmoil - find work in new growth areas

The world economy is collapsing due to (primarily) to failure in many financial institutions. Of course, when banks fail, there will be credit crunch, leading to low confidences of investors and consumers, etc. Which means for the rest of us, that our jobs may be at risk, or lost.
Because a large number of Malaysians work in Singapore, especially in the electronics manufacturing industry, we should expect that these foreign workers will be the first to face any form of cost cutting aka retrenchment. Possibly, it will number in the order of tens of thousands.

This morning, I saw the best suggestion so far for those retrenched or going to be retrenched. A Malaysian minister reminded us that there is this multi-billion ringgit Iskandar Development Region somewhere in Johor (the Malaysia state nearest to Singapore for those who are unaware). And there will be a huge employment opportunity there.

Hey, just go and find a job there. It is so obvious.
Afterall, when the construction of the region is complete, isn't it logical that there will be many jobs there? I mean, the companies there will want to employ, and who better to employ than those working returning from Singapore.

I should have thought of it!