Category: Idiot Overlords

Our extremely honest and trustworthy information minister – Dr Rais Yatim – claimed today that they were able to conclusively determine from image estimation techniques that there were only about 22,700 people gathered at Bersih 3.0 rally.

I think that our government has lost the forest for the trees.

Firstly, nobody believes in whatever official figures you quote any more as you have lost all credibility. In Bersih 1.0, you claimed that there were only about 4,000 people. Nobody believed you.

In Bersih 2.0, you claimed that it was smaller than Bersih 1.0 with only 5,000 people. Malaysia became the only place in the world where the immutable laws of mathematics have been violated – 5,000 is less than 4,000.

Also, the police managed to arrest a whopping 1,600 people – 30% of the crowd. That’s essentially one in every three person at the rally. I can tell you that no Malaysian can ever believe that our PDRM has such efficiency catching unarmed people.

Now you claim that there are only 22,700 people and I guess that the point is to show that this is the fringe minority who are making noise. All these mathemagic just beguiles the average Malaysian like me.

Does it matter whether it is 22,700 or 227,000? – No.

What matters is that:

1. Bersih is growing. You cannot deny that. I can tell you that for every person that attended the rally, there are at least another 10 who’re unable to attend it due to various reasons and that they will be there for Bersih 4.0
2. Bersih is able to pull in a truly 1Malaysia crowd. Maybe the UMNO birthday bash drew in huge crowds – but it was not a 1Malaysia event. Bersih is the single largest 1Malaysia event in Malaysia.
3. Bersih attendees came on their own volition and under the threat of police arrests, tear gas, water cannons, police beatings, etc. Quantity isn’t the only thing that you should be concerned with – quality too.

So, what I’d like to say is that the numbers are not at all important. What is important is the message, which I think that our government is missing. The people want clear systemic changes, which our government is unable or unwilling to commit to.

You’ve lost the plot.

Watch this official video of the car accident from PDRM.

I saw what seemed like blood stains on the ground, near the driver side-door of the car. I do not know who it belongs to. I thought that it might have belonged to the police.

Now, this other video seems to show someone fighting off the crowds.

Maybe the police came out swinging and defended himself, fearing for his life. But why?

Now, watch this amateur video of the said accident from a different angle.

I saw what seemed like some people flying like bowling pins when they were hit by the police car, which seemed to be trying to brake.

Now, that puts a whole different spin on the story of the car accident.

Was it reasonable for the rally goers to throw stuff at the police car – or was it provoked?
Was it reasonable for the police car to speed away in a crowd – or was it negligent?

Ouch. My head hurts to think about it.

I just read this quote in an article in TheStar a few minutes ago claiming that “fewer students will be able to enter universities if the Government offers free education” and “only students with excellent results will have a chance to further their studies.”

Que FACEPALM!

Honestly, what are some of these cabinet ministers thinking (or not thinking). By implication, he is saying that the current system is the one that allows non-excellent students to further their studies. If it was taken away, these non-excellent students would not be able to go to University.

That explains a lot.

It explains why there are so many unemployed graduates in our country. It explains why the lecturers are complaining about the quality of their students. It explains the drop in standards and rankings of our local universities. It explains it all.

Our ivory towers are flooded by people who are not up to par.

As the Minister of Higher Education, he needs to take the necessary steps to ensure that only the excellent students go to university. That is the only way that we can restore the integrity and dignity into the system.

However, I don’t think that offering free education would make things better. I think that if education was free, the situation would only get worse as students would no longer be given the incentive to work hard and graduate fast, since it is free.

I hope that he does not run in the next GE.

I think that it’ll be fun this time around. I’ll be encouraging my friends and colleagues to join too, as I feel that the risk of a crack down by the police is highly unlikely.

The government is caught between a rock and a hard place.

If they choose to let Bersih 3.0 happen, it may fizzle and die out or it may just embolden the ‘silent’ majority to let themselves be heard. If the event draws the huge crowds that it is expected to, it may just prove that the rakyat truly want change and until we get it, there will be more sequels coming soon.

If they choose to block the event and crack down on the rally goers, it may spell complete doom for the ruling government in the next GE. It is also likely to draw international condemnation if the government gases its own citizens for simply asking for electoral reform. Images of police brutality are unlikely to swing any votes their way.

I don’t want to be the cabinet at this time. It’s difficult to decide on what to do.

In this game, the only way to win might be to not play at all.

PS: I wish that the BN politicians and parties would come join the party too. It’d be fun.

Fiasco is the right word that I’d use too. It’s what this National Feedlot Corporation mess has turned into. I often wonder why it is that our government does not take the bull by its horns. It had an opportunity to do the right thing, but now it’s past. Now, they are left to clean up the mess.

According to the TMI article, “Former senior police officer Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim asserted today that the National Feedlot Corporation’s (NFCorp) controversial condominium purchases are clear examples of CBT (criminal breach of trust), adding the Attorney-General should have no doubt of this when deciding whether to press charges.”

“After having sighted the NFC (National Feedlot Centre) loan agreement that was made available yesterday, coupled with the public statement by the Commercial Crimes Investigations Director (CCID), I would say that the Attorney General’s Chambers should not have any doubts in their mind now, that these are clear cut case of CBTs by agent as defined under Section 409 (of the) Penal Code.”

“In an in intriguing twist to the ongoing NFC saga, CCID Director Datuk Syed Ismail Syed Azizan confirmed yesterday that the police would recommend CBT charges against all NFCorp directors to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.”

“Shahrizat’s son Wan Shahinur Izmir had explained that the company had decided that it would make better use of the money by investing in property during a break in business operations. The break, said Wan Shahinur Izmir, was caused by the government’s decision to suspend the construction of an abattoir that would have been rented to NFCorp.”

Honestly.

The first rule when you’re in this kind of hole is to stop digging. His mother should have taught him not to speak without counsel. The last thing that one should do is to go around admitting to the act and trying to justify their way out of it.

Her son has basically admitted to committing the act. Whether that act is a CBT is a question for the lawyers. It would seem that if both current and former police officers think that it is CBT, there might actually be something there.

The government needs to nip this while they still can before this turns into an bigger issue. Otherwise, they are definitely going to suffer. People are already fed up with multi-billion RM scandals, this one might just tip the balance.

PS: I feel sorry for Sharizat because I think that her chance for a come-back is totally dashed. She will have to sit out the next GE lest she serves as a constant reminder to the fiasco.