Thank God that Zaid Ibrahim lost the Hulu Selangor by-election

Thank God that Zaid Ibrahim lost the Hulu Selangor by-election otherwise the damage will be bigger. I respect Anwar Ibrahim for his fighting spirit, never say die attitude and he is the only Malay Umno is really scared of.

Look at the way all the BN-controlled TV channels, radio and newspapers team up with Zaid to attack Anwar. BN and Zaid are real cowards because there is no chance for Anwar to defend himself through these channels.Let the ghost of Zaid go. There is no need to rub salt into the wound. Most of us know the fight will be between Umno-BN and Pakatan Rakyat, and the likes of Zaid with his correct but outlandish aims will not make an iota of difference. Zaid has muddied the water but now the opposition water is getting clearer. I believe that PKR has a lot of reforming to do. After all, it has been 13 years. Zaid has proven without a doubt that he is not a reformer but good only at jumping on the bandwagon of reform and trying to take the credit from it. He certainly has shown that he has no staying power.

• Open your mind to change

  TAXIDRIVER WARNING TO HARRIS IBRAHIM BRUTUS AND PETE

  STOP NOW

  

  

  

READMORE WHEN THIS TIGER WALKS, THE JUNGLE STANDS IN ATTENTION WHEN ANWAR STRIKES BARISAN RAN HELTER-SKELTER

PKR has to take stock and remember that vested interests will stifle renewal from within. Once the warlords start taking control, reform-minded members will leave.

I wish Anwar were more of a statesman. Perhaps because he was addressing a PKR crowd, he needed to take a more robust stand. Zaid is history. I'll give the man respect for old time's sake as his current ideas are utopian, beyond the practical reach of the present political environment.

Over the years, some leaders have left us but the party is still intact.

Monash University Malaysia political scientist James Chin says that by democratising the party, PKR has set an example for other parties to follow and will strengthen it ahead of the next general elections.“This amendment will mean that PKR is now the most democratic party in Malaysia today,

:MR AN WAR IBRAHIM“brings the narrative that everyone wants to return to — that MALAYSIA is the land of extraordinary opportunity and possibility,

“To those MALAYSIAN whose support I have yet to earn,” he said, “I may not have won your CONFIDENDENCE but I hear your voice but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your prime minister too.”(in waiting)“moment, change has come to Malaysia

even though enemies has spurred false rumors and insinuations about his background and CAN WE THE MALAYSIAN PEOPLE RISE TOTHE OCCASSION WHEN THE NATION NEEDS US? CAN MALAYSIA DEPEND ON US?

“Over the years, some leaders have left us but the party is still intact.

If there's nothing left to say, then it spells the end of your relationship. For it's essential to have the intention to share and converse.

We have all heard of a companionable silence. And yet how long can silence help nurture a relationship? Too much silence between people can sever ties since there is nothing to build on. Conversations have as important a role to play in the building of mutual ties as silent companionship does.

Give each other space, but not so much that the chasm becomes too wide to build a bridge over. Think about this. When two people meet, they trade information about experiences, their lives prior to meeting each other, opinions, et al. After a while of doing this, they discover they are able to talk about the same things as they now have shared experiences. Soon they start repeating themselves, starting conversations with, "Have I told you this before… oh I have? Ok..." And after a while the conversation peters off...

There is nothing left to say. Have you ever experienced this? With a spouse? With a lover? Or, with a friend? It can be scary. There you are all eager to talk and connect, and there is nothing to say! Or, at least nothing the other is interested in! Is this the end of the relationship? If there is nothing left to say to each other, how or why would you enjoy each other's company? What would you look forward to?

This can only happen when neither of you makes an effort to keep the conversation, and hence the relationship, going. For that it is important to educate yourselves away from each other, to make an effort to grow in different directions and pick up new skills as you go along. For, if you have an enriched life and experiences, there is always something to share with your loved ones. Apart from having enough to ponder over and talk about, it is also important to have the intention to share and converse. A friend, Alka, shared this interesting instance of her husband Rahul's attempt to keep meaningful conversation going in their lives. "Rahul has always had this abiding interest in Hollywood films. Somehow, somewhere along the way I had missed out on most of the English classic films.

Whenever he brought up a character from one of these films or quoted instances from these as running parallel to life, the conversation would be kind of one-sided. He didn't really let me know this upset him, till one wedding anniversary, he gifted me a huge box full of the best English classics in films! He told me to watch each of these. As I would watch one, we would discuss it threadbare, from every possible angle. He would give me his take on it and listen to my opinion with deep interest. This gave a new shot in the arm to our relationship and suddenly there was something to look forward to! I consider this one of the best gifts Rahul ever gave me, because with this he gave me a key to himself, to his innermost thoughts and ideas…"

So even good conversations require some amount of work to be put in, some preparation, the intention to talk and share. If Rahul hadn't bothered to make the effort of getting the movies, or Alka hadn't bothered to watch them, they wouldn't have found their new togetherness. So when you are about to meet a friend with whom conversation has dwindled, make that extra effort not just to prepare the eatables and drinks, but also the gift of conversation. Think beforehand of some topics of common interest that will keep both of you hooked.

A colleague would reply to every question asked and every topic brought up, with "Give me some time to think and we will talk about this." And, he wouldn't forget! Sure enough next day he would get back with preparation and the conversation that followed would be well worth the wait! Some deep thinking and a consideration of various aspects would bring a depth to the conversation that would have been missing otherwise.

But what do you do if the other person is just not interested? Jyoti, deeply interested in reading, tried her best to get her husband interested as well so that they could not just share books and visits to the library, but also be able to have interesting literary discussions. But Sanjay was just not interested and any attempts on Jyoti's part to make him read would be met with derision. On the other hand, Sanjay's interest in juicy gossip left Jyoti totally cold. As a result, most attempts at conversation would end in bitterness.

As part of conversation, couple of us started discussing what could have been done by either Jyoti or Sanjay under the circumstances. One suggestion was that Sanjay, even if he didn't want to read, could at least have kept the conversation going by asking Jyoti either to read out to him or share the story with him. Another suggestion was that Jyoti should have at least the patience to hear him out when he indulged in gossip! To my mind, their lack of conversation and of any attempt to show an interest certainly showed lack of camaraderie or the will to sustain the relationship.

And true, sometimes no amount of conversation, nor attempts at it can save a relationship that one doesn't have the will to save.