Why are they so happy?

Yesterday was an historic day. Barack Obama became the first African-American to be elected to the White House. The scenes of jubilation reminded me of the time when US troops invaded Iraq and Saddam Hussein’s statue was toppled.

I ask myself. Could some of the happiness of the American people be due not so much to Obama’s having defeated his Republican rival John McCain, but that somehow these people have mistakenly seen this as a toppling of the immensely unpopular George Bush?


Related posts - Wrong move

The Palin Effect

Lately we have been hearing a lot about the Bradley effect. Supporters of popular US presidential candidate Barrack Obama are worried that in even though all the polls showed Obama to be ahead of his Republican rival John McCain, he may still lose due to the Bradley effect.

I think McCain’s supporters should also worry about what I call the Palin effect. Although many of them fiercely support her, on the actually polling day, it might suddenly dawn on them that there is a very real chance that the 72-year old John McCain may not survive his full term in office if he wins, and then, horror of horrors, Sarah Palin will take over as president of the United States of America.

Please do not mock the God you profess to worship

Did you see this article in today’s Straits Times? It’s an abridged version of the full report in the Los Angeles Times.

“A cathedral is an odd place for a coming-out party”, began the article. “But not, as it turns out, if you are a former prime minister of Britain and you are preparing to tell the world that God was one of your senior advisors during your 10 years in power.”

I say the house of God is indeed a strange place to mock the God you profess to worship. Just look at this line from the ST report:


“Mr Blair’s aides have long said that his policies on intervention in Iraq, Kosovo and Sierra Leone were motivated not by practicalities or, even in the case of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, fear of weapons of mass destruction so much as a profound sense that they were the “right” things to do.”

This gives the impression that Tony Blair had some kind of divine mandate to invade Iraq. Did your ‘advisor’ tell you to go along with that ‘worse than fierce tiger’ war monger, to invade Iraq under the pretext of getting rid of weapons of mass destruction; knowing full well that Saddam Hussein did not have such weapons?

Did your advisor tell you to ‘sex up’ a dossier on Iraq's weapons capability in order to justify this war which led to death and misery for thousands; when UN inspectors have declared repeatedly that they found no evidence that Iraq had any such weapons?

Did He tell you to switch from a war to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction to a ‘war on terror’ after you could not find any ‘smoking gun’; again despite having no evidence whatsoever that Saddam Hussein supported terrorists?

The report also said;

“In secular Europe, where religiosity tends to be viewed with suspicion, Mr Blair said he kept his belief long under wraps for fear of being dismissed as a “nutter”.

“In our culture, to admit to having faith leads to a whole series of suppositions, none of which are very helpful to the practicing politician.”

Didn’t your advisor tell you about this stern warning which Jesus Christ issued in Gospel of Matthew, (chapter 10: 32, 33)

“Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.”

Badawi is only 20% to blame

One of the happiest persons in Malaysia today must be Mahathir Mohammed. He could not wait to call a press conference to condemn his successor Abdullah Badawi for the dismal performance of the Barisan Nasional at last Saturday’s general elections. Looking like a delighted kid who has just received his favourite toy, he gleefully pointed out that since Badawi had been given 100% credit for BN’s outstanding performance at the last election in 2004, he should now shoulder 100% of the blame.

I would disagree with that assessment. I think Badawi should only receive 20% of the credit in 2004 and 20% of the blame this time. In both occasions, 80% of the creditor/blame goes to Mahathir. Why do I say that?

Ask yourself. What is the main cause of BN’s poor performance? The newspapers have gone into great detail on that. In a nutshell, the people are fed up with the BN’s mismanagement and wanted change. And this desire for change was already very strong in 2004. Hence they were hopeful that Badawi, being quite different in character and temperament from Dr M would bring about that change. Unfortunately they were disappointed. And so now, they are willing to give the opposition a try.

Let’s take a closer look at just a couple of these causes of discontent among Malaysians.

1) Corruption, nepotism and money politics. Did these come about only during the past four years under Badawi’s leadership? Obviously not. They flourished during the Mahathir era. Remember that famous Lingam video? Who was PM at that time? Badawi’s failure was only his inability to deliver on his promises to solve these deep-rooted problems. So I ask you - can Badawi take 100% of the ‘credit’?

2) Marginalization of the Chinese and Indians arising from the NEP (New Economic Policies) which led to exodus of large numbers of talented Chinese and Indians. Again did this arise during Badawi’s term?

3) Crime and social problems. Remember the time when Lee Kuan Yew caused an uproar in the Malaysian papers when he commented that Johor Bahru was crime-infested? Was that during Badawi’s or Mahathir’s rule?

4) Finally, there is the so-called Anwar factor. This one is fact is 100% caused by Mahathir’s petty feud with his apparent successor. Badawi was simply the innocent bystander. His only fault is that he was not as ruthless as his predecessor in finishing off Anwar by dishonest means.

The above are just a few of the many problems that caused the ‘defeat’ of BN. All these problems were deeply entrenched when Badawi took over the reigns from Mahathir. As I said before, here:

冰冻三尺 非一日之寒; or A three –feet layer of ice did not result from a single day of chill.

Conclusion: Mahathir should not be so quick to point fingers at his successor. You know what they say about pointing fingers. One finger is pointed at Badawi, 4 are pointed at himself. That’s why I say Badawi is only 20% to blame.

As an aside, I think the opposition should thank Mahathir for their victories. Just imagine. If Dr M hadn’t so ruthlessly dealt with his previous deputy, would today’s results be possible. If Anwar had succeeded Dr M, he certainly would have continued the BN’s policies; only he wouldn’t be as easy to handle as Badawi. As it turns out, Anwar is now forced to work with the opposition parties and court the Chinese and Indian voters, and win over some disgruntled Malays.

A final word caution to my Chinese and Indian friends – watch Anwar carefully. There is a Cantonese saying; kor kew chou pan. After crossing the bridge, remove the plank.

Wrong move

It was reported yesterday that former US President Bush has endorsed John McCain as the Republican Party's nominee for the next US president. McCain was apparently quite happy.


After Bush spoke, McCain said that his endorsement would "help me enormously in the process of uniting our party and moving forward." (CNN)

I wouldn’t be so happy if I were McCain. Right now Americans are sick to the core with the mess created by Bush Junior during his 7 years in office. They are desperately looking for change. Thus anyone who wants to be the next president should be fleeing in the opposite direction from anything to do with the ‘worse than fierce tiger.

In Singapore we had a similar situation in the last election. The PAP was desperate to win over Potong Pasir from Chiam See Tong. And so they brought in the big gun – or so they thought, in the person of former prime minister Goh Chok Tong to endorse their candidate, whose name I cannot even recall. Goh Chok Tong even threw in lots of goodies in the form of lift upgrading and that sort of stuff to entice Potong Pasir voters, assuming that Singaporean are kiasu and cannot resist goodies.

PAP as we know, lost, and I doubt Potong Pasir residents ever saw Goh Chok Tong again.

Do what I say but not what I do

It appears that the only time Dr Mahathir shuts his mouth is when his heart go on strike. Due to health problems, he has been rather quiet for the past few months. But his heart must be in pretty good condition lately, because he has gone back to working his mouth.

The latest barrage from the famed ‘loose cannon’? He wants Malaysia’s minority Chinese and Indians to stop debating whether or not Malaysia is an Islamic state. “Too much talk about such issues could prove harmful for the multiracial country”, he says. And then he goes on to make exactly the kind of statement that ignited the debate in the first place; by declaring, as did Prime Minister Badawi and his deputy, Najib Tun Razak, that Malaysia is an Islamic state, even though it is not clearly stated in the Malaysian Constitution.

This reminds me of something a Malaysian friend once told me. He said that Malaysia is different from Singapore. In Singapore, if you do not see a “U-turn” sign when driving, it means it is unlawful to make a U-turn. In Malaysia, if you do not see a “No U-turn” sign, you can assume that it is lawful to make a U-turn. Since, the Malaysian constitution did not say that Malaysia is not an Islamic state, the UMNO leaders assumed that that they can simply go ahead and declare it one.

But then PM Badawi said something rather confusing last month. He said that Malaysia adopts a democratic system. In that case, shouldn’t it be the people who have the final say and not the political leaders.

Another thing I find rather confusing about these statements by the UMNO politicians. They keep saying that the constitution guarantees freedom of worship for non-Muslims even though it states the Islam is the official religion. It makes one wonder what exactly is meant by ‘freedom of worship’. Does it mean that Muslims have no freedom of worship? I say this because as long as you are born into a Muslim family, and your parents, or even just one of them is quick enough to register you as a Muslim, you are locked in for life and not free to follow any other religion.

Politicians Bodoh Too?

I saw another two interesting articles in yesterday’s edition of TODAY.

Article No. 1

“Two days after Johor officials declared victory in their fight against crime in the state, a gang of robbers attacked a taxi driver and left a note behind the taxi taunting the law enforcers of the state.

The message to Johor police was, “Polis Bodoh” (stupid police).”

Article No. 2

Bad news; but hardly unexpected, I would say. It appears that the haze is returning; in spite of the numerous high profile meetings by the leaders of Asean, and countless reports in the media.

Apparently the forest burners have the same regard for our politicians as the Johor criminals have for the police there.

Incidentally, have you read my earlier series of posts about (mainly Malaysian) politicians under the title, Politicians Say The Darndest Things. Apparently, they have inspired one Malaysian writer to pen a book of exactly the same title. Haven't you heard of Creative Commons, Mr Amir? An acknowledgment would be nice actually. Malaysia Boleh indeed!

Related posts:

Politicians Say The Darndest Things (1)

Politicians Say The Darndest Things (2)

Politicians Say the Darndest Things (2)

We all sympathize with the people of Johor who have suffered terribly from the massive floods that recently affected the southern part of peninsular Malaysia. Even as the government sets up a committee to investigate the causes of the massive flooding, the Mentri Besar of Johor, Datuk Abdul Ghani has gone public and alleged that it was our land reclamation projects at Pulau Tekong that have contributed to these floods.

There is a well-known Chinese proverb that says:

冰冻三尺 非一日之寒; or A three –feet layer of ice did not result from one day of chill.

It teaches us that the visible effects of a problem are often the consequence of prolonged period of neglect. In analyzing a problem, we must therefore invest the time to probe deep into the root causes. We must be thorough in uncovering all the factors that may contribute to the problem. Failure to do this may lead us to implement measures that merely remove the symptoms without preventing the recurrence of the problem. Even a production operator or bus driver who has undergone QCC (quality control circle) training would know this. Strange that as learned a man as the menteri besar does not know this simple principle.

I suspect that the datuk must have been inspired by the accusations of the Thai generals that Singapore eavesdrops on their secret telephone conversations. It’s simply another ‘Napoleonic’ tactic to divert the attention of the suffering citizens away from his own ineptness.
Personally, I believe the root cause of the floods is the prolonged period of neglect by the government of that part of Malaysia. In the words of Tortrakul Yomnak, the structural engineer who heads the team investigating problems with Thailand’s new Suvarnabhumi International Airport, it’s “systemic failure”. I estimate it goes back at least 22 years. Maybe the big boss was too preoccupied with ‘mega-projects’ and multi-million dollar ‘scenic bridges’ to bother with something as trivial and unglamorous as drainage and rubbish disposal.

That of course brings me back to my favourite Malaysian politician, Mahathir Mohammad, the man who ruled Malaysia for 22 years. We have not heard from the ‘loose cannon’ for a long time. The poor guy suffered a heart attack last year and consequently the guns had gone silent. But thankfully, he has recovered and thus I can continue to look forward to more additions to my collection of Mahathir gems.

Here is his latest salvo.

• Singapore does not really care about the opinion of its neighbours.



• Singapore believes the most important thing is what profits Singapore.



• You will get nowhere with them either being nice or being tough; they only think of themselves.”

Napoleon Comes to Thailand

Having gotten rid of the democratically-elected prime minister by unlawful means, the new leaders of Thailand waste no time to adopt the tactics of Napoleon in George Orwell’s Animal Farm.

First, blame all the country's woes on the ousted prime minister; for example:
- The unrest and violence in the south,
- The new year’s eve bombings in Bangkok,
- Even the cracks in the new airport runways.


Next, find a convenient bogeyman who is out to harm and exploit our country. What better choice than the rich and tiny, and much disliked, proud and snotty Singapore? Accuse them publicly of some sinister plots like trying to eavesdrop on our military secrets.

Finally, of course the show is not complete without a bunch of sheep to chant. "Four legs good, two legs bad. Four legs good, two legs bad."

Now Then Come and Talk Like That

My fellow Singaporeans will have no difficulty recognizing that the title of this article is written in Singlish, our own peculiar brand of English.

I am referring to the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Anan’s recent remarks about Iraq. As his term of office draws to a close, he seems to have found a certain passion about Iraq. For example, last week, he said the situation in Iraq is “almost civil war”. This week, speaking in an interview with BBC, he said,

“I think, given the level of violence, the level of killing and bitterness and the way that forces are arranged against each other. A few years ago, when we had the strife in Lebanon and other places, we called that a civil war. This is much worse.”

In fact he admitted that the situation in Iraq is worse than it was before the war;

“If I were an average Iraqi obviously I would make the same comparison, that they had a dictator (Sadam Hussein) who was brutal but they had their streets, they could go out, their kids could go to school and come back home without a mother or father worrying, "Am I going to see my child again?" And the Iraqi government has not been able to bring the violence under control.”

BBC: Why didn't you stand up in the UN Security Council and say in 2003: "This war is illegal without a Security Council resolution"?

Kofi Annan: I think, if you go back to the records, you will discover that before the war I said that for the US and its allies to go to war without Security Council approval would not be in conformity with the Charter.

BBC: Which is a very sort of UN bureaucratic thing, rather than saying "it's illegal" which would have much more impact. And your aides say to me: "This was Kofi Annan, the cautious man, not wanting to confront."

Kofi Annan: It's easy to - what do the Americans call it? - "Saturday morning quarter-backing", or "armchair critic". I mean, it was one of those situations where even before a shot had been fired, you had millions in the street and it didn't make a difference.

I find it quite disgraceful that this man, who held one of the most influential positions in the world only found the courage to speak out against what he obviously felt to be wrong towards the end of this tenure; and after thousands of Iraqis and US soldiers have lost their lives.

Why didn’t he speak out strongly against the US invasion of Iraq at the time when it was clear to the whole world that Bush intended to attack Iraq regardless of whether or not she had any weapons of mass destruction? The French and the Germans did. Why didn’t you at least lend your support to their objections instead of cowering in the face of the bullying tactics of George W. Bush? If you felt powerless stop the man, shouldn’t you at least step down in protest.

And if any of you think that the next UN chief will do better, may I suggest that you not raise your hopes too high. In his own words, Mr Ban Ki-moon sees himself as a "harmoniser, balancer, mediator" ….

In other words, another toothless tiger who won’t stand a chance against the man who is worse than a fierce tiger.

This Man is Worse Than a Fierce Tiger

Here's a story I read during Chinese class when I was a kid.

Once when Confucius was passing near the foot of Mount Tai in a chariot, he saw a woman weeping at a grave mound. He sent a disciple to inquire of her, saying; "From the sound of your weeping, it seems that you indeed have many troubles." Then the woman said; "It is true. My father-in-law died in a tiger's jaw; my husband also died there. Now, my son has also died there." Confucius said, "Why do you not leave this place?" The woman said: "Here there is no harsh and oppressive government." Confucius said to his disciples, "Young men, take note of this: a harsh and oppressive government is more ferocious and fearsome than even a tiger.

Well President George W. Bush may not be as fearsome as a tiger, but certainly he is more loathed than the harsh Canadian winter.

In the last presidential election, an American friend of mine told me that if Bush won the election for a second term, he may very well decide to return to Canada where he originally left to escape its harsh winters. Certainly you exaggerate, I said. As it turned out, the day after Bush won the elections, CNN reported that the number of Americans applying to emigrate to Canada rose sharply.

Mid-way through his second term, many Americans must be cursing themselves for putting this war monger in the White House and wishing that they could slay this ‘tiger’, or at least get rid of him Thaksin style. But unfortunately, they could not. And so they did the next best thing - they kicked the Republicans out of congress and booted out his lieutenant, Donald Rumsfeld well.

Just why do Americans dislike this man so much? Well for one thing, he behaves like he has divine powers. Plus he lacks integrity. When all the UN weapons inspectors stated categorically that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, our friend continued to insist on the contrary. Here are some statements he and his lieutenants made.

Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons. (George W. Bush, September 12, 2002)

Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent. (George W. Bush, January 28, 2003)

We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction, is determined to make more. (Colin Powell, February 5, 2003)

Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised. (George W. Bush, March 18, 2003)

Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. (Dick Cheney, August 26, 2002)


He could well be saying to himself, “Let George Bush be true and every man a liar.” Well lies there were aplenty - from the intelligence departments of US and Britain, to justify the invasion of Iraq. Simply stated, there is no doubt that George Bust used WMD as an excuse to attack Iraq.

When the whole world protested against invading Iraq, he ignored them and went ahead saying, “You are either for me or against me” (using God’s words from the bible). In the process, he simply dismissed the opposition of his European allies like France and Germany, and practically, “don’t see the United Nations in the eye”, to borrow a common Chinese expression.

Months after the defeat of the Saddam Hussein’s army, when no “smoking gun” could be found, he changed his tune and said that Saddam supported terror. Suddenly the war to disarm the Iraqis of its weapons of mass destruction metamorphosised into a “war on terror”. Again the experts disagreed. Saddam was no angel. He may be a cruel despot, but he was not behind the terrorists directly. See BBC report: Iraq War Justifications Laid Bare, dated September, 09, 2006. Here’s what the opening lines of the article said:

“The Senate Intelligence Committee has found no evidence of links between the regime of Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda.

In a report issued on Friday, it also found that was little or no evidence to support a raft of claims made by the US intelligence community concerning Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

The 400-page report was three years in the making, and is probably the definitive public account of the intelligence used to justify the invasion of Iraq.“

Well, it could be a case of self-fulfilling prophecy because the latest intelligence report from the Pentagon revealed that terrorist activity has indeed escalated ..…. as a result of the invasion of Iraq.


Because of this ‘worse than a fierce tiger’ leader, America finds itself once again in a Vietnam-type quagmire, as what everybody had predicted. To extricate itself, it needs the support of those whom Bush had slapped in the face earlier. No doubt he will resort to his favourite tactic, when all else fails – arm twisting.

And to think that this man is held in such high esteem by our Singapore leaders; and our undiscerning university students cuddle up to take a photo with him.

Going Beyond Words

Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has a brilliant idea to solve the haze problem. According to a Straits Times report today, he wants South-east Asian countries to set up a fund to help Indonesia curb forest fires blamed for the choking haze in the region. Speaking ahead of a crucial meeting of environment ministers in Pekanbaru today, he said the fund could be used for new equipment and technology.

“We know the source (of the haze) but pointing fingers will not do any good. The important thing is for these countries which are receiving the impact of the haze to agree to collaborate and take positive and effective action to ensure that it does not recur.”

Now I understand what he meant when he said at the 5th Shangri-la Dialogue, in Singapore, on June 4 2006 that "We need to go beyond words."

Doesn’t the minister know that even money donated for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami disaster have not reached them after 2 years. By the time our money reach the right people to purchase the equipment and technology he spoke about, there may not be any more forests left to burn.

I have a better idea. We should collect all the money in cash, and then burn them in front of Indonesia’s Environment Ministry (if they have one) sometime in June next year; just before the annual forest burning ritual begins. Then when they see the smoke of our precious dollars burning, they will be reminded to do something. This is because, “environmental watchers worry that the issue will be forgotten once the latest haze ends, at least until the problem returns with the next dry season.”

Preparing For The Next World

I am sorry, but I just cannot resist blogging about my favourite politician. This blog is inspired by a recent article in the Straits Times.

The remarks by the Information Minister, Zainuddin Maidin in this article were of course prompted by Mahathir’s constant meddling in Malayisan politics. Zainuddin must have in mind the Tun’s promise made before his retirement that he would keep out of politics. According to a June 21, 1999 report (Mahathir not seeking senior minister post), Mahathir had said;

''When I retire, I retire. Like a good old man I will spend my time praying because my days are over ..… I have to prepare for the next world.''




In an apparent swipe (so what’s new) at our own (then) Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, he said that he was not interested in assuming the position of senior minister.

In contrast, Mr Lee had made it very clear that he would never completely retire from Singapore’s politics. At the 1988 National Day Rally, when he discussed the leadership transition to Goh Chok Tong in 1990, he said;

“Even from my sick bed, even if you are going to lower me into the grave and I feel something is going wrong, I will get up.”

Thank you dear Mr Lee for your concern for Singapore. But I think it’s better not to wait till then; why not do something now …. about the casinos and the moral decline of our society I mean.

A Simple Way to End All The Fighting in the Middle East

The best way to solve any problem is to get rid of the root of the problem. This past week, 2 wise men came up with the same answer;

First, famous film star and director, Mel Gibson declared that “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.”

Then Iran’s President Ahmadinejad came up with the perfect answer - we should eliminate Israel.



Straits Times, Friday, August 4 2006

Problem is; who is going to hang the bell around the cat’s neck?

Simple, says Iran. Our brave brothers from Hezbollah and Hamas will take the lead. We of course will support them with all the missiles and money that they need. When the time is ripe, we will come in and finish the job.


** By the way, the solution President Ahmadinejad proposed is actually not new. Not so long ago, a man by the name of Adolf Hitler almost succeeded in implementing The Final Solution. But he died a lonely death. And today, his descendents do not even want to retain his name.

** A wise author once wrote: “There’s a reason why drunks in bars always get to talking sooner or later about elemental truths – love, family, death, politics, war and so forth. Alcohol cuts down to size the trivialities that loom so large to the sober mind.” In other words, when a man is drunk, the words he utters come straight from his heart and represents his true feelings and beliefs, which when sober, he is able to hide.

A Fool Never Learns

Full Article here

He should have listened to my advice and ‘shut up and move on’. Now that he has stirred up a hornet’s nest, and all the dirty linens and skeletons are going to come pouring out the closet, he going be stung for sure.

Even if he has never heard of my blog, certainly he could learn a lesson from this man. He was not content to quietly enjoy his outrageous S$600,000 a year salary and gold-plated taps, plus first class travel. Instead he tried to pick a fight with someone who could hit back, and today, he is ‘pierced with many sorrows’.

And even if he has not heard of the NKF Saga, certain he knows the old English proverb, “People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”.

Politicians Say the Darndest Things

I don’t quite agree with blogger Lam Chun See who said that children say the darndest things. I say politicians say the darndest things; especially Malaysian politicians.

Do you remember the famous ‘We will shoot them’ threat uttered by one Malaysian politician (or official) during the time when many Vietnamese boat people tried to land their boats in the east coast of Malaysia. This was in the 70’s. Unfortunately, blogging hadn’t been invented then, and so I did not take note of his exact words. Anyway, the following day, the Malaysian government clarified that what he meant to say was, “We will shoo them away.”

How about the classic “Bangladeshi men are good lovers” remark made by the bubbly trade minister Rafidah in parliament a few years ago? I believe she was trying to figure out why many Malaysian families broke up because local ladies have fallen for Bangladeshi men.

As if not to be outdone, the opposition Islamic party PAS member of parliament said recently, also in parliament, that “single mothers were “gatal” or horny. - Straits Times, 27/04/2006

Finally, of course, there is my favourite Malaysian politician: the anti-Singapore (“There are many ways to skin a cat”), anti-Semitic (“Jews rule the world by proxy”) Dr Mahathir Mohammed. Just when I thought I have run out Mahathir gems to share with you, the feisty ex-prime minister comes to my rescue with a torrent of classics during his latest quarrel with his successor, Abdullah Badawi.

"We made the mistake of giving Singapore to the British. You want to give some more?" – Straits Times, 9/04/2006

“I think this is a half-past-six country with no guts.” – TODAY, 03/05/2006


“Treat your opponents like insects. Knock them down and crush them with your feet.” – Mahathir’s advice to Malaysian Thomas Cup Badminton Team; as quoted by Tawfik bin Tun Dr Ismail on 24/06/2006

“But with Singapore, you cannot smile or negotiate. For 22 years, I have tried, but trying to be friendly with Singapore, it is not possible. They won’t be friendly with us, they think of themselves only. … They are calculative, even one cent they count.” 24 June 2006

But on a more serious note, Singaporeans may just have to agree with the learned doctor’s last observation about our unfriendliness. In the latest survey on courtesy carried out by the Reader's Digest, Singapore was ranked 30 out of 35 cities surveyed. As if not convinced, the Straits Times had to go a do its own survey only to come up with something I have already said long ago; we are a rude people.

If it is any consolation, we are still slightly better than Dr Mahathir’s countrymen in the Malaysian capital, who scored a miserable 33. But if you were to ask him, his likely reply would be; “We are generally courteous; except when it comes to dealing with Singaporeans.”


But not to worry. Our ever-efficient government is going to do something about it. I heard they want to collect 4 million smiles to welcome visitors to Singapore. In fact, last week I was asked to contribute one.

I say we should extend a warm invitation to Dr Mahathir to come and visit us. He said last week that he has not visited Singapore since retiring. Perhaps he is afraid that we will bear a grudge against him for his frequent swipes at us. I think his fears are unnecessary. After all, Singaporeans know that he loves us. We remember, even if he doesn’t, his remarks of a few years ago:

“Come over, we welcome them and love them . …. We love you. On Valentine's Day, we love you. Please come. Please come. I am just jesting. When you meet Singaporeans, tell them: Don't take the Malaysian PM seriously. He likes to talk like that. He doesn't mean it, he has a good heart.”


PS - Thanks to Mr Miyagi for another Mahathir gem here - Mari kita bomb dia!

Well Spoken

"We need to go beyond words."

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, speaking at the 5th Shangri-la Dialogue, Singapore, on June 4 2006.

My Hero

Well, in a few hours we will know the results. But whether or not this man retains his seat in Potong Pasir, he remains my hero. Whilst he may not have the scholastic achievments of many of the PAP scholars, or the oratorical skills of Lee Kuan Yew, Sir Chiam See Tong has all the qualities of a hero.

Guts - We will always remember how he slew the goliath in Potong Pasir 22 years ago, and the many times he stood up in parliament, 1 against 80, including giants like Lee Kuan Yew, and stood his ground.

Fighting Spirit - We will always remember those times when everyone in parliament laughed at his verbal gaffes but he just plodded on, single-minded, and committed, and came out victorious, so that even his opponents conceded defeat and lauded him.

Endurance - We will always remember those images of him meeting his constituents in the humble environment of the HDB void deck, enduring the discrimination, and moving around in his humble Volkswagen; but as always, he stayed focussed on fulfiling the promises he made to his voters.

We should also remember the brave residents of Potong Pasir who endured 2 decades of neglect and stayed loyal to their elected member of parliament. If they finally succumb to the onslaught of the mighty PAP machinery, the rest of Singapore understands. But if you persevere for one more term, we salute you.

From Malu to Marah (Embarrassment to Anger)

Dr M is mad. I mean angry-mad, not crazy-mad. His successor, Abdullah Badawi has scrapped yet another of his grandiose, multi-bilion ringgit, mega projects; the Half Bridge, aka Crooked Bridge, aka Scenic Bridge.

In fact, he should be happy. His disciple did him a favour actually. If they had gone ahead to build the ‘Half Bridge’; it would have made Malaysia a laughing stock; and for generations to come, stand as a monument of the foolishness of a man who ‘shit half-way then look for toilet paper’.

Externally, this project has generated a great deal of ill-will with its neighbour Singapore; quite apart from the many hours of negotiations that could have been put to more productive use. So it was wise of Badawi to apply the Gordian Knot solution to this issue and get it out of the way once and for all.

Maybe the real reason for Dr M's anger is found in the Chinese idiom, 老羞成怒, which means; embarrassment turns to anger.

Remember the time when Malaysia ran into financial difficulties during the 1990s currency crisis? He blamed everyone else: Soros, IMF, even his deputy Anwar. He decided to eat the humble pie, coming to Singapore hat in hand. When Singapore said no - embarrassment turned to anger. From then on, he takes every opportunity to ‘tekan’ us. Many Singaporeans can recall the famous 'there are many ways to skin a cat' remark.

He sacks his deputy, and reluctantly picks his second choice to succeed him. Surprise, surprise. His second choice far outperforms him at the polls and even wins back the state he lost to PAS. Further malu to marah.

Now, one by one, his successor dismantles his pet mega projects; the final insult being to ‘surrender’ to his 眼中钉 （thorn in the flesh）, Singapore. Lagi malu, lagi marah.

I think the good doctor should heed the advice of the management consultant who came up with this SUMO formula: Shut Up and Move On.

Malaysian Information Miinister Not Very Well-Informed

The Malaysian Information Minister, Datuk Zainuddin Maidin said recently that Singapore media liked to purposely paint a bad picture of the crime situation in Johor Bahru; in particular, with regard to car thefts (Straits Times 10 April 2006).

Last year, around October, I befriended some Malaysians at a training course. I asked them whether or not it was true that theft of cars was a serious problem in Malaysia as reported by the Singapore newspapers. These newspapers probably over-dramatized the situation, I remarked.

"No, it's true!", one of them said. He went on to narrate a few stories of his own to illustrate how bad the situation was. According to him, the most popular car was the Toyota Unser. But apparently, even the low-end Perodua was not spared.