Online Credibility - A dispute that was Bru-ing

There are 2 blogs that I read often.
One by Haris Ibrahim, The People's Parliament.
The second, Rocky's Bru, by Ahiruddin Attan.
I have gradually grown to respect Haris' work very much. Rocky's work too.
Even my other favourite blogger, Malik Imtiaz Sawar, has sung praise of Haris. Coming from a just and objective lawyer, it is a considerable credit to what Haris has contributed to this country.
There were recently a few posts on a supposed "meeting" in Bangsar about how to blame our PM on the KT by-election loss.
At the end of the day, Haris relied on an informant on the event, which was against Rocky's word.
So, someone was lying. Who?
Does it matter?
What matters now is that Haris has apologised to Rocky like the gentleman he is.
Hello, you two grown-up men, there is the nation to think about rather than what happened and who said what.
I hope this matter ends with Haris' apology.
I started this blog when RPK went to Kamunting under ISA.
I felt that by writing out what I felt and thought, I would be able to flesh out my ideas and grow from the reflections.
Bloggers often say things they mean, and some things that may not be true.
I have quoted some figures and facts here in this blog that I got from my contacts and these numbers show how much the BN government has been robbing from the people.
I would not lie for the sake of getting more hits, or to create unnecessary trouble.
My only aim is to help make this a better and more transparent country.
I hope this objective is shared by other socio-political bloggers.
Get on with the program, ladies and gentlemen.

Definition

My beliefs define me.
Not what others think of me or who they think I am.
Not my reputation or who people thought I was.
Not what others have heard, not what others think I have done or do.
Not my talents, not my successes, not my struggles.
Not my friends, not my family, not my place of worship.
Not the laughs, not the hurt, not the smiles, not the tears.
It is not my athletic ability, nor my musical gifts.
It is not my mistakes that I wish I could take back or the memories I wish I could relive.
Not anything else.
MY BELIEFS DEFINE ME.

Kudos to JPJ

I can remember the last time I went to renew my driving license. I took a form, filled it up, and waited in a queue for 2 and a half hours before the application was processed.
Yesterday, I went to get a replacement as my driving license was lost by the idiotic security guards at Riana Green condominiums.
That will be the last time I will hand over my IC or driving license to anyone for security reasons.
I went around 0930 hrs, and hoped the queue wouldn't be too long.
To my surprise, I didn't have to fill up a form. All I needed was 1 photo and my MyKad.
I took a number, no. 1148, which at that time, no. 1109 was being served.
Can you guess how long the queue was? It was less than half an hour!
The queue numbers moved at an average of 1 per minute, and with 3 counters open, it moved so fast that people were getting up from their seats all the time.
I have NEVER seen this happen at a government service center before.
My number showed on the display, and I handed over my photo and MyKad.
Paid RM20.00 for the replacement and VOILA! My license was ready!
In less than ONE minute!
All I want to say is KUDOS to all the staff in JPJ at Padang Jawa, and whoever was the brains behind this improvement in service level, BRAVO!
I hope that our government departments continue to improve, and to the people at the Enquiry Counter, keep on smiling.

We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse!

Ethan, this is for you. I had thought of posting this when your youngest sibling comes into this world, but after your fuss about going to school this morning, I decided it couldn't wait.
I’d really like for my children to know about hand-me-down clothes and home-made pastries and leftover meals. I really would.

My cherished children, I hope you learn humility by surviving failure and that you learn to be honest even when no one is looking.
I hope you learn to make your bed and mow the lawn and wash the car; and I hope your mom will not give you a brand-new car even when you have graduated from college.

It will be good if at least one time you can see a baby animal being born, and you have a good friend to be with you if you ever have to put your old dog to sleep.

I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in.

I made sure that you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother. And it is all right to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl under the covers with you because he’s scared; I hope you’ll let him.

And when you want to see a Disney movie and your kid brother wants to tag along, I hope you take him.

I hope you have to walk uphill with your friends and in a town where you can do it safely.

If you want a slingshot, I hope you learn by yourself how to make one instead of buying one.
I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read more books, and when you learn to use computers, you also learn how to add and subtract in your head.

I hope you get teased by friends when you have your first crush on a girl, and that when you talk back to your mother you learn what soap tastes like.

May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on the stove and stick your tongue on something frozen.

I hope you get sick when someone blows smoke in your face. I don’t care if you try beer once, but I hope you won’t like it too much. And if a friend offers you a cigarette or any drugs, I hope you are smart enough to realize that person is not your friend.

I sure hope you will make time to sit on a porch with your parents or go fishing with your uncles.
I hope your mother punishes you when you break something belonging to someone else, and that she hugs you and kisses you when you give her a plaster of paris mold of your hand.

These things I wish for you; tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness.

PAS shows it's ugly side

I believe PAS to be an understanding party.
Yes, it had a bad history like statements about voting BN means going to hell and all that.
Just days after their by-election victory in Kuala Trengganu, their Federal Territory Youth wing is at it again.
This time, protesting the concert by Rihanna.
Previously, they have protested Avril Lavigne and other artistes.
First thing first.
Perhaps this "Youth wing" is not a representation of PAS's views as a whole.
Secondly, they fail to understand that the Malaysian population is not entirely consisting of Muslims only.
Third, they have ignored the fact that there are sufficient guidelines for public performances by artistes, local and/or foreign.
Heck, if these guidelines are not strict, why the hell did Beyonce Knowles skip Kuala Lumpur in her tour?
Because she REFUSED to compromise.
Her show is her show. Her trademark is her curves. She likes to show them off.
If you don't want to see, then up to you.
No one is pointing a gun at our youngsters to go and watch these shows.
SOLUTION: Very simple.
Ban all Muslims from this type of concerts / shows.
See if you get a reaction.
I'm willing to bet you that more than half the Malay population will protest it.
I have suspected something for a long time.
It seems that Chinese movies are a long time favorite among all Malaysians.
Whenever I watch a Chinese movie (which is very seldom), I like to see the variety of the crowd.
Very MUHIBBAH. There's the usual Chinese families, then you will see Indian AND Malay couples too!
Maybe it's because Chinese movies are not censored too much, so it's more enjoyable, even to people who do not understand the language.
That's my hunch.
So, PAS, prove it to me again that your heart and mind is open enough to accept products from another culture.
If there is another protest in public against Rihanna's concert, then it shows that PAS is no different than UMNO in trying to control the way Malays behave and think.
If they wish to do so, fine. It's up to them if they want to be fascist.
Just make sure they do not impede the freedom of other Malaysians to enjoy foreign shows.

An Election BN cannot win

It's very humorous to read how the mainstream media has painted the picture that Barisan Nasional will win in tomorrow's by-election in Kuala Trengganu.
Very well then, so if BN wins, it won because it spent HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of the MALAYSIAN CITIZENS' MONEY on bribing the people in KT.
Contracts for Class F contractors (via "lucky draw", forget open tender, BN does not understand what transparency is), laptops for students, various financial incentives and the most despicable of all, RM 1,000 per vote.
I do not like the fact that the Chinese voters have been given the role of "kingmaker" in this event.
I would like to think of EVERY voter in KT as the kingmaker.
Who you choose in the ballot, is your appointed leader, someone you believe will work for YOU and YOUR COMMUNITY.
Also, it is laughable that BN gave RM300 to each Chinese voter. For some Chinese, RM300 is an amount that some people give to their children for Chinese New Year angpow.
It is an INSULT to the Chinese to think they can be bought over. To Chinese, it is HONOR that matters most. And honor CANNOT be bought.
Maybe MCA members might not understand this very much.
And after all this shenanigans, if BN still loses, then it loses BIG.
So, if win, still a loser. Lose, BN will be a BIGGER LOSER.
So, no matter what happens, the whole country can see with their own eyes that Barisan Nasional is the MOTHER of ALL CORRUPTION.
Even if they win the KT battle, they will lose big time at the next General Election.