2-Party System in Malaysia

Lim Boo Chang says that for a 2-party system to succeed in Malaysia, it can only work if all races have a stake in managing the country. He points out that a poor example is Penang being dominated by DAP representing the Chinese while PAS and PKR merely plays a secondary role (read here)

This is bull crap!

With due respect to our veteran politician, he has completely missed the point. His roots from the past must have gone so deep that racial politics flows in his vein. He forgets the old adage that “too many cooks spoil the broth”. How can we practice an inclusive brand of country management?

He still thinks the current BN leadership of the appearance to include multi-racial composition in the country management is the way to go. He forgets that there is only one party and one person who calls the shots. He is stuck in his old ways and alas posits a poor understanding of a better management model for the country.

The issue is on the quality of leadership to be the leaders of ALL Malaysians. By this, we mean that our leaders, regardless of race and religion they may be, should practice an inclusive strategy based on fundamental needs and national growth for ALL Malaysians. In this way, if any leaders practice forms of corruption, they are deemed to have strayed from this principle as they are taking away from the people whose fundamental needs must be met as well as from our country whose growth is at stake. If any leader only pays attention to a race rather than needs of people, he is deemed to have abandoned the greater good of the country.

In short, we should not care what race or religion the leaders belong to as long as they are capable and committed to care for all Malaysians and be the very leaders of all Malaysians. Their view must be one who will take the country to greater heights while ensuring all Malaysians are cared for. It is not a socialist view but a pragmatic view based on needs of Malaysians regardless of race or creed. They should not speak from all side of their mouths. They should not play to the gallery. Policies must be fair and just and strategic and impactful. Implementation must be vigorous and faithful and not have hidden agendas.

iPhone 5 is finally announced

Apple has finally announced the iPhone 5. After much awaiting from last year, the baby is here. Singapore will receive it come September 21. There is much cheer and a lot more skepticism this time round. Here’s a quick round up on this smart phone leader.

The iPhone 5 now spots a lengthened body giving a full 4-inch retina display. There is now 5 rows for icons instead of the previous 4 rows.

On a cursory glance, the looks remain very much similar but not identical to the iPhone 4S. The general shape is similar and the aluminium-glass construction gives it the classy feel. Reports by people who handled the phone tells us that the wow factor is the “weight-less-ness” of iPhone 5. While looking bigger, it actually weighs less, a whopping 20% less than the iPhone 4S. It should give us the same wow feeling when Samsung Galaxy S2 came out that the lack of weight just blew our socks off.

Then comes the intrinsic power. It is now packed with an A6 chip which runs even faster with a faster graphics processor than the A5. Which means that the iPhone 5 just zips through the screen changes faster and smoother than the iPhone 4S. But nobody actually complained that the iPhone 4S was slow. Composing a 360 shot shows an unparallel speed in stitching up the multiple frames.

Then comes the surprises.

BR1M? There’s a better way

Come September 28, our PM Najib will be tabling the 2013 Budget and we shall find another round of BR1M being given out again, this time may be as early as Hari Raya Haji, Deepavali or Christmas. It is clear to every Malaysian by now that the handouts to students and the needy in the form of BR1M were not budgeted in the 2012 Budget but somehow, somewhere the money was disbursed by the Finance Ministry. It is also very clear to every Malaysian that the BR1M drew favorable sentiments towards Najib and has given him strong indications that the program may shore up potentially good votes for him and BN.

The way that BR1M was given out may be questioned by some parties why the clearly deserving were not qualified and others who do not seem to need it are given. Clearly, many deserving cases didn’t manage to apply as well. Politicians may have abused the process of distribution and banks have been caught to have given the BR1M monies to people who are not on the list as well.

However, this brainchild of Najib seems to have gotten some excellent groundswell of approval. After all, who doesn’t want RM500? The distribution earlier in the year drew good feedback from a survey conducted leading Najib to toy with a second round of BR1M during the June timeframe. The Najib Administration apparently spent between RM2B to RM4B on this program.

Government should know who is deserving

It seems that after spending all the money on IT by Income Tax and Socso that we can’t really tell who are deserving to receive help like BR1M but turned around and put the monkey on the backs of poor Malaysians to figure out how they can get the handout.

Merdeka Day Over, Malaysia Day Near, So is Budget 2013 and GE13

Merdeka Day is over. Janji Demokrasi made a grand yellow impact at Dataran Merdeka. Malaysia Day (16 Sept) is coming and this will include Sabah and Sarawak. And so is Budget 2013 (28 Sept). As for GE13, we will never know.

We are certain that as long as GE13 does not happen, PM Najib will never focus on doing the right thing for our country. He must continue to do the things that makes voters “feel good” with extraordinary spending for the individuals and little to handle the fiscal side of the economy.

Today, we again have another warning from an international body warning us that our credit rating is in danger of being downgraded because of a lack of fiscal reforms. Najib’s GTP and ABC is not working and statistics appear to tell a different story than what is experienced in reality. Read this to see if we have a reason to worry.

Malaysia’s sovereign credit rating may be cut if the government does not deliver promised reforms to cut spending to reduce its fiscal deficits, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) has said in its latest report on the country, joining other global ratings agencies in warnings about the strains on the country’s credit profile (read here).

As long as the GE13 does not take place, we cannot expect any strategic, effective and tough actions on our economy to shape it up as many of these important actions will not be easy for people to accept but is most necessary to improve our situation. We have been going downhill for over a decade and now at a very critical point where our Government muust act. Instead, politics get in the way and Najib cannot afford to lose the 2/3 majority. Hence, everything that the BN Government is doing is for winning the GE13.

Watch out for 28 September when Najib will table the 2013 Budget. We can expect a few key observations.