Dr Mahathir whacked the Malaysian government and said that there is no democracy in Malaysia, Malaysia does not allow its citizens freedom of speech, Malaysia is a police state, the Prime Minister and his family is corrupted, Malaysia is a tool of Singapore and kowtows too much to that ‘red dot’ in the south, and whatnot.
Malaysia’s petrol prices will be increased soon.
Malaysia will become a net importer of oil by next year.
Malaysia may go bankrupt in nine years if subsidies continue.
97% of subsidies are given on a blanket basis and those not entitled to subsidies also receive them.
Anwar Ibrahim admits to fielding ‘Umno’ candidates in the 12th General Election in March 2008.
MIC accuses Umno of being behind the move to oust Samy Vellu.
PWTC cancels the booking for the anti-Samy Vellu rally to be held on its premises.
Umno Youth says the MIC Youth leader is insolent.
MIC threatens to leave BN.
Ibrahim Ali, PERKASA and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad instructed not to oppose the new football betting licence for Vincent Tan.
Yes, those, amongst others, were the headlines and main news items for today. It certainly is very depressing news indeed but I do not wish to talk about those issues. Let us instead talk about other things.
First of all, PI Balasubramaniam’s lawyers are arranging to be in London on Monday 5th July and Tuesday 6th July 2010. Bala will, of course, also be with them.
Bala’s lawyers have sent a letter via e-mail to the MACC to inform them that Bala is prepared to give his statement with regards to his two Statutory Declarations and the circumstances behind his second Statutory Declaration the following day, which contradicted his first Statutory Declaration.
The lawyers also informed the MACC that they (the lawyers) must be present during the interview and that the entire session must be video-recorded. Furthermore, they do not agree to an embargo or blackout under the Official Secrets Act on what transpires during the interview because what Bala is going to say is already public knowledge and would be no different from what he already said in the three-part video released earlier (see the video links below).
Malaysia’s Special Branch has sent some officers to check out the Holiday Villa at 37 Leinster Gardens, London W2 3AN. This is what I was told by my Deep Throats in Bukit Aman and my Deep Throats have thus far never been wrong.
The Special Branch officers took a look at the meeting room and wanted to know if they could place recording devices (also known as ‘bugs’) so that the entire session with Bala could be secretly recorded. They also want to bug the rooms so that whatever is discussed in the rooms could be recorded as well.
In case you may not be aware, the Holiday Villa is owned by Malaysians -- so rest assured they would have no choice but to cooperate with Bukit Aman.
Bala’s lawyers are not intimidated by this prospect, though. They have already asked someone to speak to Holiday Villa in London about booking a meeting room in their hotel. The Malaysian government would, of course, have to pay the cost, as well as the cost of the airfares and accommodation/food for Bala and the three lawyers -- which will be far cheaper than a two-page colour advertisement in The New York Times.
Unfortunately, the MACC is yet to respond to the e-mail from Bala’s lawyers. Maybe they are worried about the latest news regarding Malaysia going bankrupt in nine years and they are considering whether they can afford the cost of this Bala interview in London after all.
Well, if they want Bala’s statement then they would have to pay for it. There is no such thing as a free lunch -- or a free interview for that matter.
Anyway, to the next matter: Tun Dr Mahathir said that Samy Vellu should leave before the people start hating (benci) him. I remember the Tun saying the same thing about why he decided to retire as Prime Minister on 31st October 2003. The Tun related that his mother had advised him to stop eating before one is full. So he decided to ‘stop eating’ on 31 October 2003 and handed the country over to Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
I know, I know, I know…many of you here hate it when I talk about Tun Dr Mahathir, especially when I talk about the positive side of him. Look, no one is perfect, but there are good and bad sides to everyone…okay, maybe with the exception of me. Even Anwar has his bad side -- and he has admitted that he chose the wrong candidates in the 12th General Election.
While on this subject, Anwar also explained that he had great difficulty in finding the right candidates in March 2008, which resulted in him having to field less than desirable candidates. The problem was that not many wanted to contest the March 2008 General Election. So he was forced to select ‘Umno’ candidates.
We hope, however, to help Anwar solve that problem come the next general election. Even as you read this we are already identifying possible candidates for the next general election. These will be mostly civil society movement activists who may not necessarily be politicians or party members.
It is up to the three coalition members of Pakatan Rakyat (PKR, DAP and PAS) whether to accept or reject these potential candidates. But at least they can’t accuse us of merely criticising without helping to do something to improve the situation. And at least you can be guaranteed that you will not be getting ‘frogs’ like the last time.
Back to what Dr Mahathir said. I remember what my VI (Victoria Institution) teacher told me when he caught me smoking. He was espousing the evils of smoking while puffing on a cigarette and blowing smoke into my face.
When he noticed me eyeballing his cigarette with a smirk on my face, he retorted, “Do what I say, not do what I do!”
I gave him a very blank look, which was worth 1,000 words -- the sort of 'silent treatment' I normally give the Special Branch officers during my ISA detention when they ask me a question I do not wish to answer.
Realising that ‘good advice’ is wasted on me, my teacher handed me a cigarette and we both puffed away in the school canteen, much to the chagrin of the school prefect who thought I should be horsewhipped rather than offered a cigarette.
Yes, Tun Dr Mahathir is, in a way, my role model (sorry chaps). And when Malaysia Today organised that now famous (or infamous) dialogue session in Kelab Century Paradise, Dr Mahathir whacked the Malaysian government and said that there is no democracy in Malaysia, Malaysia does not allow its citizens freedom of speech, Malaysia is a police state, the Prime Minister and his family is corrupted, Malaysia is a tool of Singapore and kowtows too much to that ‘red dot’ in the south, and whatnot.
Well, I too have been saying the same things. And Tun Dr Mahathir is the one who taught me how to say all those things.
And if I am a criminal and a traitor to the country for saying what I am saying, then we have only Tun Dr Mahathir to blame for me becoming what I have become.
Raja Petra Kamarudin
28/05/10
Malaysia’s petrol prices will be increased soon.
Malaysia will become a net importer of oil by next year.
Malaysia may go bankrupt in nine years if subsidies continue.
97% of subsidies are given on a blanket basis and those not entitled to subsidies also receive them.
Anwar Ibrahim admits to fielding ‘Umno’ candidates in the 12th General Election in March 2008.
MIC accuses Umno of being behind the move to oust Samy Vellu.
PWTC cancels the booking for the anti-Samy Vellu rally to be held on its premises.
Umno Youth says the MIC Youth leader is insolent.
MIC threatens to leave BN.
Ibrahim Ali, PERKASA and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad instructed not to oppose the new football betting licence for Vincent Tan.
Yes, those, amongst others, were the headlines and main news items for today. It certainly is very depressing news indeed but I do not wish to talk about those issues. Let us instead talk about other things.
First of all, PI Balasubramaniam’s lawyers are arranging to be in London on Monday 5th July and Tuesday 6th July 2010. Bala will, of course, also be with them.
Bala’s lawyers have sent a letter via e-mail to the MACC to inform them that Bala is prepared to give his statement with regards to his two Statutory Declarations and the circumstances behind his second Statutory Declaration the following day, which contradicted his first Statutory Declaration.
The lawyers also informed the MACC that they (the lawyers) must be present during the interview and that the entire session must be video-recorded. Furthermore, they do not agree to an embargo or blackout under the Official Secrets Act on what transpires during the interview because what Bala is going to say is already public knowledge and would be no different from what he already said in the three-part video released earlier (see the video links below).
Malaysia’s Special Branch has sent some officers to check out the Holiday Villa at 37 Leinster Gardens, London W2 3AN. This is what I was told by my Deep Throats in Bukit Aman and my Deep Throats have thus far never been wrong.
The Special Branch officers took a look at the meeting room and wanted to know if they could place recording devices (also known as ‘bugs’) so that the entire session with Bala could be secretly recorded. They also want to bug the rooms so that whatever is discussed in the rooms could be recorded as well.
In case you may not be aware, the Holiday Villa is owned by Malaysians -- so rest assured they would have no choice but to cooperate with Bukit Aman.
Bala’s lawyers are not intimidated by this prospect, though. They have already asked someone to speak to Holiday Villa in London about booking a meeting room in their hotel. The Malaysian government would, of course, have to pay the cost, as well as the cost of the airfares and accommodation/food for Bala and the three lawyers -- which will be far cheaper than a two-page colour advertisement in The New York Times.
Unfortunately, the MACC is yet to respond to the e-mail from Bala’s lawyers. Maybe they are worried about the latest news regarding Malaysia going bankrupt in nine years and they are considering whether they can afford the cost of this Bala interview in London after all.
Well, if they want Bala’s statement then they would have to pay for it. There is no such thing as a free lunch -- or a free interview for that matter.
Anyway, to the next matter: Tun Dr Mahathir said that Samy Vellu should leave before the people start hating (benci) him. I remember the Tun saying the same thing about why he decided to retire as Prime Minister on 31st October 2003. The Tun related that his mother had advised him to stop eating before one is full. So he decided to ‘stop eating’ on 31 October 2003 and handed the country over to Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
I know, I know, I know…many of you here hate it when I talk about Tun Dr Mahathir, especially when I talk about the positive side of him. Look, no one is perfect, but there are good and bad sides to everyone…okay, maybe with the exception of me. Even Anwar has his bad side -- and he has admitted that he chose the wrong candidates in the 12th General Election.
While on this subject, Anwar also explained that he had great difficulty in finding the right candidates in March 2008, which resulted in him having to field less than desirable candidates. The problem was that not many wanted to contest the March 2008 General Election. So he was forced to select ‘Umno’ candidates.
We hope, however, to help Anwar solve that problem come the next general election. Even as you read this we are already identifying possible candidates for the next general election. These will be mostly civil society movement activists who may not necessarily be politicians or party members.
It is up to the three coalition members of Pakatan Rakyat (PKR, DAP and PAS) whether to accept or reject these potential candidates. But at least they can’t accuse us of merely criticising without helping to do something to improve the situation. And at least you can be guaranteed that you will not be getting ‘frogs’ like the last time.
Back to what Dr Mahathir said. I remember what my VI (Victoria Institution) teacher told me when he caught me smoking. He was espousing the evils of smoking while puffing on a cigarette and blowing smoke into my face.
When he noticed me eyeballing his cigarette with a smirk on my face, he retorted, “Do what I say, not do what I do!”
I gave him a very blank look, which was worth 1,000 words -- the sort of 'silent treatment' I normally give the Special Branch officers during my ISA detention when they ask me a question I do not wish to answer.
Realising that ‘good advice’ is wasted on me, my teacher handed me a cigarette and we both puffed away in the school canteen, much to the chagrin of the school prefect who thought I should be horsewhipped rather than offered a cigarette.
Yes, Tun Dr Mahathir is, in a way, my role model (sorry chaps). And when Malaysia Today organised that now famous (or infamous) dialogue session in Kelab Century Paradise, Dr Mahathir whacked the Malaysian government and said that there is no democracy in Malaysia, Malaysia does not allow its citizens freedom of speech, Malaysia is a police state, the Prime Minister and his family is corrupted, Malaysia is a tool of Singapore and kowtows too much to that ‘red dot’ in the south, and whatnot.
Well, I too have been saying the same things. And Tun Dr Mahathir is the one who taught me how to say all those things.
And if I am a criminal and a traitor to the country for saying what I am saying, then we have only Tun Dr Mahathir to blame for me becoming what I have become.
Raja Petra Kamarudin
28/05/10
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