The Election Year Outsourcing that No One’s Talking About
The media-friendly catch-phrase “It’s the economy, stupid” appeals to those who like their politics, and their government, simple. By and large people do vote their pocketbooks. But those same people have sons and daughters in the military, work for companies with international operations, and are threatened, at least to some degree, by terrorists in dark alleys of foreign capitals. Let’s call this globalization. Our economy, and the jobs it does or doesn’t produce, now exists in an international set of complex networks.
So the economy the “stupid” candidate talks about, whether specifically or more likely vaguely, cannot be separated from this world. This means that our leaders, especially the president and vice-president, better know something about the world in which we operate and to whose financial, banking, communications, security, environmental and a host of other systems we are connected.All of which suggests that the traditional three categories of policy — economic, foreign and defense — are interconnected and international. Thus, knowing a good deal about the 21st century world, having traveled it and experienced it, is more crucial today for a president than ever before in our nation’s history.On this scale, Obama-Biden beats Romney-Ryan hands down. President Obama, as the “birthers” dementedly remind us, had an African father and was schooled for a time in Indonesia. Yet he is an American, born in America. Vice-President Biden made foreign policy his focus in the Senate. Like the president, he is comfortable in the widest variety of international arenas. They both know how to relate to and communicate with foreign leaders and peoples.Their opponents, on the other hand, have only the scantest experience in today’s world. Mr. Romney served in a Mormon mission in France in his youth. Mr. Ryan has yet to share his international experience and outlook, quite possibly because he has spent his public life trying to calculate how to lower taxes and balance the budget without both shredding the social safety net and destroying all the discretionary spending that keeps our food, environment and streets safe, our workers trained and healthy, and virtually every other public service necessary to a civilized society.
We should not hold out much hope that the media will focus on this wide difference in tickets. This is in part because most political journalists have yet to understand the degree to which our economy — jobs — is internationally dependent and because the new strategy of campaigns, especially on the Romney-Ryan side, is to prevent the candidates from answering difficult questions or departing from a simplistic, scripted “message.”
In a perfect world, the focus of this campaign would be international and the degree to which creation of jobs in America is so closely interwoven with world affairs. If that were to be so, this election wouldn’t even be close.
Netto is back with another tembak. Keeping on dream, Bro. No man is indispensable. That applies to Anwar as well. that you can read DSAI mind and predict the future. So what if DSAI’s announcement is calculated to increase PR votes, the other side has done worse to achieve the same ends. It’s interesting that you find “power fascinating and yet find its exercise abhorrent”.
Power can be used wisely as has been shown throughout history. Since you have observed the exercise of power for 4 decades and found its exercise abhorrent, can we take it that you find the practices of the single entity that has been in power in Malaysia for the past 4 decades objectionable?
Let us decide on the outcome of GE-13. We want honest, competent and accountable government. Since UMNO-BN is corrupt and inept with a badly tainted Najib at its helm, we should throw it out. We need change
Whether it is Psychological Ploy or whatever we have enough of BN. Many would agreed that what can be worst that 55 years under BN. If we can kick BN out, we can do so to PK. Gurubachan Singh is right, “No man is indispensable”. BN though they are but it time for us to tell them through our votes that they are not. Well, it can be said that we are choosing the better of two devils. What other choice we have? And for those who think likewise than stand up to be identified, make a different and not just provide lips service like the author, Netto…all talk and no actio the magnificent par excellence monuments of KLCC, KLIA and Putrajaya that Malaysia has on display for the entire world to see and ignore the massive debts our nation incurred to put up this monstrosity to perpetuate Mahathir’s legacy to this once great nation of ours.
Ignore the hideous and insane profiteering by Umno politicians, their families and their cronies in the building of these monstrosities.
Ignore the dire need for decent housing of our poor, the deplorable lack of proper medical care for the needy, the impossibly high cost of travel on the toll highways and the many other needs of our nations which the costs of building these monuments have deprived us of.
And in the same manner I can go on bashing and whacking Anwar Ibrahim until, like what that contemptible ex-IGP Rahim Nor did to him while he was defenseless, Anwar is left senseless and critically wounded.
Anyone who writes can do this and tell you that the reason he is doing so is in the name of justice, fair play and telling the truth.
No Tunku Abdul Aziz, on whatever level you choose to put yourself on, I fear that what you are doing in calling Anwar the Don Quixote of Malaysian politics is purely for personal gain –for vested interest –your own!
You quote from earlier writings to impress upon us that you have not changed in your thinking on Anwar. Then pray tell me, why did you endure your time in DAP when Anwar is head of Pakatan Rakyat?
Your lack of decorum in mentioning about the goings on in the course of a DAP central executive committee meeting where you said a very senior DAP colleague said of Anwar “Ah, well, you know….”.
Surely a man of honour, integrity and principle would not divulge such comments made not for public consumption? Or are you not a man of honour, integrity and principle anymore?
And Tunku I beg to differ on your comment “I cannot imagine anything baser and more grotesque than attempting to corrupt and seduce perfectly decent and honourable parliamentarians to betray the trust of the voters who have put them there in the first place to represent them in their constituencies”.
Where, Tunku, do you find these “perfectly decent and honourable parliamentarians” who will not betray the trust of the voters? Surely not in Barisan Nasional?
As you said, and I quote you here “I have always said that elections in our country are free but not fair”. Who Tunku do not make them fair? Pakatan Rakayat or Barisan Nasional? Our gripe is this Tunku –if election has been free and fair then maybe Pakatan Rakyat will already be in government and not Barisan Nasional!
Who engineered Perak?
To quote a friend of mine Azam64
“You talked about Anwar trying to engineer a mass defection among MPs in the land below the wind. It did not materialise, maybe Anwar did not have the resources or he did not try hard enough. That it did not happen then does not speak much of any such incident.
What about an incident that really happened? The Perak state government fell because of defections. Somebody engineered it. You did not mention anything about it. This state of selective amnesia is not limited to only one person. How can you talk of anybody losing the moral high ground when you forget a case that is so similar? In case you have also forgotten, the Sabah state govt under the PBS of Pairin Kitingan also fell in 1994 because of defections. Who engineered it? It was the party that you now seems to be in bed with.
Engineering defections is not anything new in Malaysian politics, although undesirable. Always it was the party that you are in love now that gained”
Yes Tunku, politics is a game of political hypocrisy and mutual deception – one that it would seems you want to put yourself above joining.
For these sentiments we will hold you in high regard and reverence. Now please stay at that high and exalted level you have placed yourself at and try to resist the temptation to join us sub-humans in the abyss that is Malaysian politics. You owe yourself that much. Salam!
Raja Petra Kamarudin
PAS not practicing maturity in politics when handling Nasharudin’s issue in Mecca with PM – Mustapa
(Bernama) — PAS leaders and members have not shown maturity in their political ideology in the recent issue whereby its former Deputy President Nasharudin Mat Isa was seen in a photograph, seated beside prime minister Najib Tun Razak during a meeting in Mecca.
Kelantan Barisan Nasional (BN) Liaison Chief Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed who is also International Trade and Industry Minister said PAS members should not make any assumptions based on the photograph.
“They (PAS) should me matured in their political ideology and not conclude that when both leaders are seen together it meant Nasharudin has joined Umno,” he told Bernama when met at the Hari Raya Aidilfitri Open House hosted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Cabinet Ministers at Seri Perdana here today.
Nasharudin, upon his return from Mecca on Thursday had said that his meeting with Najib and religious scholars in Mecca had not touched the issue of Umno or PAS, because the topic of discussion was regarding the ummah.
Last Wednesday, Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat had said he would not be surprised if Nasharudin quits PAS after being seen together with Najib in Mecca last Tuesday.
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Malaysia has what is called The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism, or the MCCBCHST. As you can see, Islam is not part of that Council or else it would be called MCCIBCHST, meaning The Malaysian Consultative Council of Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism.
Now, let us put aside politics for the meantime, at least for this paragraph, and ask: why is Islam not in that Council? I am only guessing, of course, but I suppose it is because Muslims do not feel ‘threatened’ or consider Islam as being ‘under attack’, like maybe those from the other religions. Hence Muslims do not feel that Islam needs the ‘security’ that the Council can offer.
Anyway, I said I am only guessing but the fact still remains that Muslims are of the opinion that Islam needs no representation in that Council. Muslims feel that the government can take care of Islam so they do not need a ‘movement’ to look after the interests of Islam.
Now, the Muslims are ‘divided’, as even the government admits, into pro-government Muslims and pro-opposition Muslims. And, say what you like, it is Islam that divided them in the first place when the ‘liberals’ and ‘conservatives’ in Umno disagreed on matters concerning Islam and the ‘Muslim Wing’ left Umno to form PAS (then called the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party or PMIP) on 4th April 1956. (Coincidentally, PKR was also formed on 4th April, but in 1999).
Note that Umno was formed in 1946 so PAS is just ten years younger than Umno — but ‘older’ if you consider that Umno (Baru) was actually formed 32 years later in 1988 and hence can be considered a ‘new’ (Baru) party.
Anyway, that is not the issue but merely my ‘normal’ way of turning a short article into a long (cheong hei) article to irritate you and get you to comment on all sorts of things that all have nothing to do with this article.
The point I want to make is, let us say that there are two Muslim groups in Malaysia, one pro-government and the other anti-government. Both groups, however, the pro-government as well as the anti-government, refuse to work with the MCCBCHST. In that sense, although the Muslims may be divided politically, they are still united in certain matters — such as not to work with the Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and Taoists (meaning to not join the MCCBCHST).
Malaysians at large may not be aware of this, but if Muslims can set aside their political differences, they can actually work together. However, because religion is also politics, at least as far as Islam is concerned, this stands in the way of Muslim unity.
At times, however, Muslims from both sides of the political divide do attempt to reach out to the other side on the platform of the ummah (or community, normally meaning the Muslim community). The news report above is one such occasion. But there are many other occasions where ‘secret’ meetings have been held and which have gone unreported.
I know many people, even from the opposition, are very unhappy about the recent meeting between the former Deputy President of PAS, Nasharudin Mat Isa, and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. And the fact that this was reported makes them even angrier.
My opinion, however, is that we should not get angry about this meeting and start calling Nasharudin all sorts of nasty names, like what you are doing now. It is good that this meeting was reported. It could have been worse. The meeting could have gone unreported and no one would have known about it — like in the case of so many of the other meetings since 2008 that were held but went unreported.
When the meetings are held openly and are reported, then at least we would know what is going on. If the meetings were ‘pushed underground’ that would be worse. Then we would be totally ignorant about the existence of these meetings and about what they discussed.
On Wednesday, Malaysia Today is going to publish a report, which is going to surprise you. You thought you understood the Malays but actually you do not. And this report is going to reveal what the Malays are really thinking.
I would rather, instead of whacking those from PAS who meet those from Umno (since they are still going to meet anyway whatever we may say), we ensure that the meetings are aboveboard so that we can monitor the progress of such meetings and not get caught with our pants down.
Ideally, of course, people from PAS and Umno should not meet, even if they meet not to discuss politics but just to discuss Islam. However, the Muslims do not have the equivalent of the MCCBCHST and are not part of the MCCBCHST. Hence they will meet on an ‘informal’ platform. And this will raise a problem because although they meet to discuss Islam and not to discuss politics, since Islam and politics cannot be separated, invariably an ‘agreement’ on Islam would upset the political equation.
So how do we resolve this problem then? Well, wait for my Wednesday’s report to understand why it is a problem that cannot be easily resolved. We must instead figure out how to accommodate the problem rather than how to eradicate it. Sometimes, some problems do not have a solution and instead of going head-on we may need to navigate around that problem.
- There’s a misconception that the party received Salehuddin’s services for free. He agreed to accept RM9,000 a month remuneration, although earlier he requested for US$3,000 monthly. The sum was not paid by the party but by a supporter,” according to Syed Husin Ali.Salehudin’s anger towards the party leadership climaxed when his “application” to be CEO of Syarikat Perangsang, which carries a monthly emolument of more than RM50,000, was rejected.Salehuddin’s recent anti-PKR stance could be due to the Selangor government’s decision not to appoint him as chief executive of Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor Bhd. Kumpulan Perangsang, owned by Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd, is one of the biggest state-owned conglomerates with interests in infrastructure, utilities and properties.There is peculation that Salehuddin is masterminding an exodus from PKR,YOU CAN FOOL SOME OF THE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME
- read more http://themalaybusinesstribune.blogspot.com/2012/08/terence-netto-and-raja-petra-kamarudin.html
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