Dec

8

Fascism & fiction

December 8, 2007 | 1 Comment

nazi.jpgI found a definition of fascism at PublicEye.org, which says, amongst other things, “fascism is a form of extreme right-wing ideology that celebrates the nation or the race as an organic community transcending all other loyalties… It seeks to forcibly subordinate all spheres of society to its ideological vision of organic community, usually through a totalitarian state. Both as a movement and a regime, fascism uses mass organizations as a system of integration and control, and uses organized violence to suppress opposition…”

And according to Wikipedia, “fascism is also typified by totalitarian attempts to impose state control over all aspects of life: political, social, cultural, and economic, by way of a strong, single-party government for enacting laws and a strong, sometimes brutal militia or police force for enforcing them. Fascism exalts the nation, state, or group of people as superior to the individuals composing it. Fascism uses explicit populist rhetoric; calls for a heroic mass effort to restore past greatness; and demands loyalty to a single leader, leading to a cult of personality and unquestioned obedience to orders.”

The above descriptions sound eerily like what’s happening in Malaysia. And, mind you, the Abdullah regime is not the first in Malaysia to be compared to the fascists. An ex-colleague of mine created a clever photoshop image of a Hitler-like Mahathir about ten years ago.
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Oct

29

Is Nazri for real?

October 29, 2007 | 1 Comment

nazri.jpgHere’s a classic quote from the man: “I don’t know. I don’t know anything.” Yes, that quote is not in its proper context. Here’s another one, regardless of context, which just shows the intellectual caliber of the man: “In a democracy, the minority cannot control the majority. The minority does not speak for the majority.”

I don’t know about you, but that sounds like someone who’s running the United States of America to me. Gosh, I guess the smart people have just decided not to get involved in politics.

For the full interview, read the Sunday Times on 28 October 2007.

Aug

9

swat_the_fly.gifIt’s regrettable that Tony Pua lodged a police report against Kelab Penyokong Maya Umno (KPMU), which allegedly insulted Christians and Christianity. Indeed, it’s unfortunate that he even instigated the police to “arrest the writer, editor, publisher and the owner of the website and investigate them under the Sedition Act”. (Check out the Malaysiakini report.)

Just to clarify, I don’t condone anyone insulting Christians and Christianity, or any other religion for that matter. However, I do have a problem with condoning the use of sedition legislation.
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Jul

18

gorbachev.jpgAfter reading Patrick Teoh’s blog, I figured we must be a member of the Axis of Stupidity. Niamah, indeed.

Oddly, whilst reading former President Gorbachev’s speech, I was reminded of how “slow” we are. In his speech, Gorbachev commented about the 5½ decades of Cold War - the confrontation, the hostility, sometimes open, sometimes concealed.

Further on in his speech, Gorbachev said:

“We have already graduated from the primary school of instruction in mutual understanding.”

Well, we’ve had 5 decades of Merdeka… Are we even out of kindergarten yet?

‘Nuff said?

Jul

13

i-not-stupid-2-edit.JPGJust finished watching ‘I Not Stupid 2′ last night and found, despite the contrived scenes, a lot of truth in it. Especially about adults and how they act and react.

To quote the great Frank Zappa, “The world’s most plentiful ingredient is stupidity.”

We in Malaysia, so clever hor?! Here’s a poem (from an email) for us to chew on:
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May

31

lady-justice.gifIt appears that not only are some people in the Barisan Nasional government stupid, some judges in the judiciary are equally stupid.

Article 11(1) of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia – the supreme law of the land, the last time I heard – clearly states that “every person has the right to profess and practise his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it.”

I’m not all that familiar with the intricacies of the Lina Joy case, but I do know that she converted to Christianity by her own choice.

Without even reading the judgments of Federal Court, I believe it’s safe to say that the Malaysia Boleh! spirit has done it again - do something stupid that no one in their right mind would.
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May

2

EinsteinThese days, I cannot help but come across some form of silliness or stupidity as I go about my daily life. From what we read in the newspapers to the behaviour of bureacrats in government departments, we seem to be faced with an endless string of symptoms that signals a dire crisis in Malaysia.

Almost everyday, whenever I read the newspaper I will come across some silly idea or stupid remark from a person in a position of authority. Frankly, there are so many of such instances that I find it difficult to remember all of them.
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