I am a supporter of Affirmative Action, even though I worry that there is too much dirty politics associated with it.
Firstly, the % of reservations must keep reducing over a period of time. So if we today have 50% reservations for , that number must keep coming down with time. The reduction may well take 50 years, with just a 1% reduction happening every year; but it’s important that we recognize that quotas are inherently the opposite of meritocracy and while they are required, they have to come down over time. Unfortunately, our past experience has been different. Like I wrote in my earlier post: Though the original Constitution only allowed for a 5-year time bound reservations policy, the timeline has been routinely extended all the time by all the governments.
The second rule should be that those who get the benefits and move up the social order should cease to get benefits in the future. This is the so called “creamy layer”. This is but obvious – the whole purpose of AA is to provide a crutch to those who have been oppressed for a long time so that they can rise up the social order. The moment someone comes out of oppression, the benefits should stop. The purpose of AA is not to oppress the upper castes by reducing access to resources to them and perpetuating quotas for the dalits. The purpose is to help the underprivileged with temporary crutches. It’s like when the car breaks down on the road, we need a towing van – but the towing van can only tow the car to the nearest service station – it cannot continue towing the car for the rest of its life.
What could possibly be the rationale for raising the cut-off to this extremely high level of Rs 1 lac a month? This is a really high income level. I don’t think anybody in the government makes this much money (at least not officially!). If anyone does, then maybe it’s the seniormost secretaries. So basically, the new limit is not rational – but purely political – it will virtually leave out everybody. Its intent is to completely nullify the concept of the creamy layer. Again, from my previous post of this subject: AA policies have divided the society as children of creamy layers like doctors, engineers, CAs, actors, consultants, media professionals, writers, bureaucrats, defence officers above the rank of Colonel, HC and SC judges and Class A&B employees of the Central and State governments continue to enjoy benefits inspite of the Supreme Court’s specific instruction for them to be excluded. None of the above professionals who work either for the government or for other Constitutional bodies would be disqualified by this new income criterion.
If the government was serious about doing good for the Malay dalits, they should have thought of addressing the factors that lead to this poor condition. Instead, it has chosen to make a political statement.
The real truth is that politics all over MALAYSIA – and especially in UMNO– is still fought on race and religious grounds. The other truth is that we have too many elections – every year, some or the other state is going to the polls. And everytime there are elections, this dirty politics get played out. I don’t think this is going to change anytime soon – one can only hope that economic progress – with better distribution of wealth – makes people step out of their historical prejudices……
Umno Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin to wanita umno chief
SHAHRIZAT ABDUL JALIL why did you have to do it so openly
dedicate this song to you with love
A RM73.64 million government project — linked to minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s family — to create Malaysia’s “Beef Valley” has turned into a mess, a federal audit report said.
Shahrizat’s three children, Izran, Izmir and Izzana, reportedly play key roles in the NFCorp. Izran is CEO while his brother and sister are executive directors.
No matter how much Umno Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin is going to argue and present the so-called facts on his blog ( I guess there is no traffic there) or to the online papers to support the Umno version of what happened at the National Feedlot Corporation, it will not make sense to normal folks.
Everyday Malaysians would like to eat beef at least twice a week if they can afford it, or else the only source of protein for them will be chicken which is still considered affordable. Fish especially from the sea is almost out of reach for them, the price of fish has sky rocketed to new highs in recent years, with the price of the people's favorite ikan kembong (scomber) is about eleven ringgit a kilo!
With this in mind if the NFC can sell beef cheap to the normal folk, this will make sense to them. Then he can argue till all the cows come home and nobody would mind. Right now it is better for him to shut up, and keep his distance from the NFC debacle.
Before the cows, there were the APs
The great NFC scandal will surely affect Shahrizat and Prime Minister Najib Razak more than anybody else. It is highly unlikely she will be chosen to challenge her lost seat of Lembah Pantai, or be given a seat to contest at all.
This is going to make her arch enemy and predecessor Rafidah Aziz aka Mrs AP rub her hands in glee. I can imagine the smirk on her face now - she was waiting for this day. As for Shahrizat, this will be the end of the road for her recently resurrected political career, but well, at least she got a hefty bonus and a condominium from Umno and several cows with love.
Dresses smart, looks smart, walks smart but ...
Coming back to the former Top Gun on the 4th floor, he dresses smart, looks smart, walks smart but is a pea brain when he shoots his mouth. If he wants to stay in politics especially, Umno he needs to have a strategy to strengthen his base. He may be strong on paper qualifications, but his basement is weak. It's something he needs to rectify fast.
Currently he has an MP's seat in Rembau and is relevant to Umno and to his own political career. If he is not an MP he is finished, so he must make sure he is fielded in the coming polls.
For this, he has to work his butt off or put all his money where his mouth is in order to win in the elections and stay relevant in politics. In the event if he is not chosen to run in the elections, which is unlikely given his position as the Umno Youth Chief, then he has to make a choice.
Leave Umno to survive in his personal political career so that if at 40, he can't be the Prime Minister, then at least at 55, he can be one. That means, he would have to take his place in the queue after Mukhriz Mahathir (The Chosen One) or Nurul Izzah (the People's Favourite) have had their turn.
De-facto PM to a nobody
The 35-year-old Khairy, who used to rule the nest of young strategists hired by his father-in-law and former premier Abdullah Badawi during the 2004 to 2008 period must surely miss his cushy 4th floor office in Putrajaya.
From de-facto PM, Khairy is now at the basement of Umno politics. Even with a powerful portfolio as an Umno Youth Chief , he was not given a ministerial post, which was a disgrace.
And to rub salt into the wound, Mukhriz was appointed the Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry, although this was possible only through the intervention of the Mighty One (his father and former premier Mahathir Mohamad).
Will Dr M ever forgive Khairy
Now everyone knows Mahathir detests Khairy, they don't get along well. For Khairy to immediately emerge from oblivion, he has to face his nemesis, the great Mahathir, and fight his fear of the ex-PM. If Mahathir forgives Khairy, then all will be well for him in Umno.
Khairy can't turn to Najib because the PM is fighting his own little devils inside and outside Umno, and whether Najib is able to maintain his own hand on power is suspect. So Khairy has no choice but to fight his battles on his own, his father in law is of no help. Other options he has are to hibernate for a few years in the business world or leave Umno and join another political party.
Whatever he chooses, he has to do it fast - time is not on his side with all the brickbats Umno is receiving from the opposition because of huge scandals. Indeed, an on-the-run Umno is fast losing ground to the opposition and the chances of Umno forming the next government is vanishing.
Even the Basement will not be there for Khairy if he doesn't act fast now.
Neither men nor women wish to deviate from their original roles vis-a-vis each other -- he, the protector;she, the nurturer. What then is all the fuss about?
When a man declares he is confused about how to deal with the new independent, self-sufficient woman, he obviously hasn’t bothered to find out what makes her tick. More often than not, scratch the surface and beneath the hard exterior, he will find the same vulnerability and need for companionship that -she has always had.
When a woman says she can look after herself and doesn’t need a man for protection, she is only uttering a half-truth. She may not need a man to feed her anymore, but she still needs him as a companion, to love and be loved in return. And though she may not NEED him as a provider and protector, who says she wouldn’t WANT him to still play these roles for her?
Basic instinct acquires a whole new meaning. It isn’t easy to do away with the instincts of centuries, when a woman needed a man who could protect her and her children from the big, bad world. Instinctively she would look out for the most macho, the strongest and the most aggressive male rather than a romantic softie! Look at a woman today – she still hasn’t forgotten her instinctive attraction to the aggressive bad guy, has she?
There are certain basic equations in the man-woman formulation that will never change. Biologically, she will always be the one with the maternal instinct, the nourisher and the nurturer. Physically, he is the stronger of the sexes and so will automatically fall into the role of the protector and provider.
What then has changed, if not the basic roles the sexes play out? Perhaps a woman’s awakening to and an understanding of her own identity and individuality is the biggest change that has played out between the sexes. Threatened by women entering what was their exclusive terrain, on an equal footing, men suddenly didn’t know how to react to the “new woman”. It was easier to convince themselves that women had changed irrevocably and so men needed to change as well.
Men have always had this need to feel essential to the system and to women; the problem is that they have overrated their role as protector and provider, while sadly underrating their role as companion and support. No longer seeing themselves as essential components of women’s need for food or protection, they have almost written themselves off, not understanding that women need them just as much for love and companionship and for procreation!
Perhaps what does need to change is attitudes. Both sexes need to understand that a woman’s independence is a natural evolution and not a direct threat or challenge to men’s traditional role. The role of protector that falls to men is more about responsibility and liability, rather than about authority. His role complements and balances the role Nature has decreed for her. So how can it be something she doesn’t want from him anymore?
A woman still needs a man to make her feel like a princess, just as he needs her to make him feel like a million dollars. She basks in his compliments, indulgencies and courtesies as much as he revels in her attention, dependence and warm care. Most men wonder if they are still expected to hold open a car door for a woman, allow her to precede them into a room or stand up when she walks in. I cannot answer for diehard feminists, but YES, say most of the women I know. We certainly expect a guy to maintain basic courtesies.
A woman, however independent and free-spirited, loves it when a man makes her feel ultra-feminine just as much as a man loves to be made to feel all macho and strong by a woman. She would still like to be picked up and dropped back by her guy and to be protected by him, just as he would love her to provide him with a good meal and look after his children. If these basic needs are met, there are a lot of adjustments that can be made in other spheres.
So, neither men nor women want each other to change or deviate from their original, basic roles. However they do need to change their attitudes to make space for the new woman to spread her wings within the relationship; she is now truly an equal who demands respect and attention. The way the sexes interacted with each other has to change, as do expectations.
Says a friend, a woman-of-the-world, “If you ask me about the kind of husband I would like, I would say he should be very rich and generous, funny, understanding and liberal; have a hearty laugh and give me good times. If he is all this, in return I will turn a blind eye to whatever else he does away from me, so long as the good times last! We cannot expect to have our cake and eat it too, can we?” she adds with a wink.
Interesting! I turned my attention to a young man-of-the-world and asked him the same question. His considered reply, “I would want a girl who is reasonably pretty, particular with her grooming, intelligent and understanding, a good cook and a great mother!” How would he react to her working late hours and travelling alone on work? “Oh, that would be cool,” he says, so long as she fulfills the other criteria…”
When a man declares he is confused about how to deal with the new independent, self-sufficient woman, he obviously hasn’t bothered to find out what makes her tick. More often than not, scratch the surface and beneath the hard exterior, he will find the same vulnerability and need for companionship that -she has always had.
When a woman says she can look after herself and doesn’t need a man for protection, she is only uttering a half-truth. She may not need a man to feed her anymore, but she still needs him as a companion, to love and be loved in return. And though she may not NEED him as a provider and protector, who says she wouldn’t WANT him to still play these roles for her?
Basic instinct acquires a whole new meaning. It isn’t easy to do away with the instincts of centuries, when a woman needed a man who could protect her and her children from the big, bad world. Instinctively she would look out for the most macho, the strongest and the most aggressive male rather than a romantic softie! Look at a woman today – she still hasn’t forgotten her instinctive attraction to the aggressive bad guy, has she?
There are certain basic equations in the man-woman formulation that will never change. Biologically, she will always be the one with the maternal instinct, the nourisher and the nurturer. Physically, he is the stronger of the sexes and so will automatically fall into the role of the protector and provider.
What then has changed, if not the basic roles the sexes play out? Perhaps a woman’s awakening to and an understanding of her own identity and individuality is the biggest change that has played out between the sexes. Threatened by women entering what was their exclusive terrain, on an equal footing, men suddenly didn’t know how to react to the “new woman”. It was easier to convince themselves that women had changed irrevocably and so men needed to change as well.
Men have always had this need to feel essential to the system and to women; the problem is that they have overrated their role as protector and provider, while sadly underrating their role as companion and support. No longer seeing themselves as essential components of women’s need for food or protection, they have almost written themselves off, not understanding that women need them just as much for love and companionship and for procreation!
Perhaps what does need to change is attitudes. Both sexes need to understand that a woman’s independence is a natural evolution and not a direct threat or challenge to men’s traditional role. The role of protector that falls to men is more about responsibility and liability, rather than about authority. His role complements and balances the role Nature has decreed for her. So how can it be something she doesn’t want from him anymore?
A woman still needs a man to make her feel like a princess, just as he needs her to make him feel like a million dollars. She basks in his compliments, indulgencies and courtesies as much as he revels in her attention, dependence and warm care. Most men wonder if they are still expected to hold open a car door for a woman, allow her to precede them into a room or stand up when she walks in. I cannot answer for diehard feminists, but YES, say most of the women I know. We certainly expect a guy to maintain basic courtesies.
A woman, however independent and free-spirited, loves it when a man makes her feel ultra-feminine just as much as a man loves to be made to feel all macho and strong by a woman. She would still like to be picked up and dropped back by her guy and to be protected by him, just as he would love her to provide him with a good meal and look after his children. If these basic needs are met, there are a lot of adjustments that can be made in other spheres.
So, neither men nor women want each other to change or deviate from their original, basic roles. However they do need to change their attitudes to make space for the new woman to spread her wings within the relationship; she is now truly an equal who demands respect and attention. The way the sexes interacted with each other has to change, as do expectations.
Says a friend, a woman-of-the-world, “If you ask me about the kind of husband I would like, I would say he should be very rich and generous, funny, understanding and liberal; have a hearty laugh and give me good times. If he is all this, in return I will turn a blind eye to whatever else he does away from me, so long as the good times last! We cannot expect to have our cake and eat it too, can we?” she adds with a wink.
Interesting! I turned my attention to a young man-of-the-world and asked him the same question. His considered reply, “I would want a girl who is reasonably pretty, particular with her grooming, intelligent and understanding, a good cook and a great mother!” How would he react to her working late hours and travelling alone on work? “Oh, that would be cool,” he says, so long as she fulfills the other criteria…”
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