1 Malaysia – Najib’s I had a dream…

It is interesting to see the amount of money being pumped in by the GLC’s to advertise the 1 Malaysia slogan. Its been in the papers everyday. Maybank certainy has been leading the charge.  The saying is, if you say  it enough times, people will believe it. So i guess that is exactly what Najib is trying to do, say it enough times so people will believe it.

Unfortunately, the ability to realize 1 Malaysia is not an issue with the rakaayat (citizens). Most of us life fairly interactive lives – at work, at home. After all your neighbor, is your neighbor. The kids certainly don’t have an issue with mixing, in fact for most of them it is not even mixing, its just having fun with friends.

The real problem of 1 Malaysia is really in the politics and at the policy level.  The entire system is designed not for integration but for tolerance.  UMNO – MCA – MIC  have over the years nurtured a balance of tolerance to co-exist and act as united front for all to identify with. But the reality is a malay cannot be an MCA member, a chinese cannot be an MIC member and an indian cannot be an UMNO member. However the rules for chinese and indians or for any race  changes if they are Muslim – as a muslim you can be in UMNO.

The role of UMNO is to champion the rights of the Malays, MIC the rights of the Indians and MCA that of the Chinese. And over the years the three have learnt how to tolerate each other in a manner that was acceptable by all.  As times passed things changed and certainly through the nineties and into the 2000’s somehow that perception of balance has shifted and is now obviously fairly off balance.

To the chinese possibly  it has shifted too far towards the Malays. To the Indians possibly it has shifted too little in their direction. To the Malays possibly not enough.

Pre 1997 the country was in growth mode. The economy was expanding – salaries were rising – stock market was booming (remember “politically linked counters ”  So in that period there was enough to go around and keep everyone happy. Tun M was a master at ensuring everyone was sufficiently  happy that he managed through 2 great UMNO upheavals.  Its not that the seeds of discontent were not there, they were, but the general population was happy enough to keep things in check.

Since the Asian Financial crisis – we have never really recovered. The crisis taught businesses that they has to diversify out of Malaysia, it created new competitive grounds for FDI – such as in Vietnam and Cambodia and of course China came out full steam.  While all of this was happening,  the Malaysian PIE was no more growing, at least not at the rates before.

Suddenly  what was tolerable started to look intolerable.  People started to see and feel the effects of Corruption, Lack of enforcement, Crime , red tape, little napoleons etc. When the pie is not growing, even the smallest grievances become big. And progressively it has become bigger and bigger.

We now are on a downward spiral that, if we are not careful, is going to get stronger and stronger. Not because people don’t love the country, not because we are racially intolerant of each other but because the political representation doesn’t appear to be representing what the people want and wish for.

As a simple example – everyone hates corruption.  We would therefore expect the whole nation to solidify behind Ong Tee Kiat  with his stand on exposing PKFZ. Yet that is not the case.  UMNO, MIC, PKR, PAS, DAP GERAKAN, you name it,  have been tepid on the issue. In fact in MCA they want to remove OTK.  What gives?

The balance of power is now morphing into a balance of ideology that is being slowly defined.  Its the  polarity between the current form of government that seeks to protect its interest versus a government of the people, by the people for the people; in short a government that can be held accountable for its actions or lack of it.

When there was no real alternative to the BN juggernaut – accountability didn’t quite matter and  matters were easily swept under the carpet.  After all, what was important was the balance of power between the big three.

Today there is a credible alternative to BN, and the alternative is getting stronger and stronger.  For BN It is an unfortunate situation of “having to oversteer to get to center.”  Events like what happend  in Perak, the rumblings in Kedah, Selangor, Teoh Bang Hock, no matter what the real reason is, people will believe that it is BN trying to “fix” the opposition. The harder BN tries, the worse it will get. After all BN has lost 5 by elections on the trot.  I wonder when in history has this happened before?

And the reason for this is that people do not see in any visible way – UMNO in the first instance or BN trying to change. What people see is a continuance of trying to preserve the status quo but masking it with makeup. Instead of focusing on the badly needed internal reforms, it is focusing on pushing out the opposition.  At least this is the perception.

For me personally this perception is reality. I live in an area where almost every night we endure extremely bad air pollution.  The chinese new village surrounding these factories have suffered for years. Yet no one seems able to stop the pollution.  Why? because the business is “protected.”  DOE have done everything in their powers but to no avail as there are higher powers that be that allow the factory to go on.  Every high court slaps the factory with a paltry fine.

And for every night every resident  in this area of maybe 50+ thousand people (Malays, Chinese, Indians, etc) have to breath and live in this pollution. We  are UNITED as I Malaysia fighting for the right to clean air. Unfortunately our government is not on our side. So to us, the problem is not our ability to unite, our problem is our government that ignores us and our plight.

So  Prime Minister Najib, you can go on sloganeering 1 MALAYSIA for all you like, but for as long as your policies and inaction force us to breath in BAD air,  we know we are not the problem – you are. You are now the third PM to preside over our problem. Show us you care. Solve it for us. Show us that we matter.

PM Sir – people unite for common causes and against common enemies.  In the 50’s it was the colonial masters, today it is the political masters!

HAPPY MERDEKA.

Bird Flu in Sg Buloh

The Bird Flu red alert as reported in the Star

Key messages from the article are:

PUTRAJAYA: A case of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu strain has been detected in a village in Sg Buloh, the first incident in Malaysia after the outbreak in March last year.

…eight teams from the Veterinary Services Department had been dispatched to cull all chicken and birds within a 1km-radius of the village Kg Paya Jaras Hilir beginning 2pm Wednesday.

Also affected were three other villages in the surrounding area – Kg Paya Jaras Hulu, Kg Jaras Dalam and Kg Kubu Gajah.

“On Saturday (June 2), the Petaling veterinary office in Shah Alam received a complaint from a resident in the village that 60 of his chicken died suddenly in the past three days.

“Our officers visited the site the following day and took samples from the sick animals for testing at the Petaling Jaya veterinary laboratory.

“Initial testing showed that it was the virulent bird flu strain H5N1. This was subsequently confirmed by another round of testing at the Veterinary Research Institute in Ipoh.

“We have put this case on ‘red alert’ throughout the country and all officers in the other states have been directed to monitor birds in their areas,” he said here on Wednesday.

The areas within 10Km radius of the affected villages would also be put on a three-month clinical surveillance for signs of any recurrence, added Dr Zulkifli.

This is the advisory from the CDC

I thought this might be helpful in the event one should come across a dead bird, in a bird flu zone. This the advisory from our veterinary service department:

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO WHEN YOU FIND DEAD BIRD/S

If you find a single dead garden or wild bird then you do not need to call JPH.
You should follow the guidelines below for disposal: (People should follow some
simple precautions to minimise the risk of infection. It is hard for people to catch
avian influenza from birds and the following simple steps are also effective
against avian influenza.)

1. Avoid touching the bird with your bare hands.

2. If possible, wear disposable protective gloves when picking up and handling (if
disposable gloves are not available see point 7). Use a mask covering the mouth
and nose, if available.

3. Place the dead bird in a suitable plastic bag, preferably leak-proof. Care
should be taken not to contaminate the outside of the bag.

4. Tie the bag and place it in a second plastic bag.

5. Remove gloves by turning them inside out and then place them in the 2nd
plastic bag. Tie the bag and dispose of by burying deep enough to avoid being
dug out by stray animals.

6. Hands should then be washed thoroughly with soap and water.

7. If disposable gloves are not available, a plastic bag can be used as a make-
shift glove. When the dead bird has been picked up, the bag can be turned back
on itself and tied. It should then be placed in a 2nd plastic bag, tied and disposed
of as above.

8. Any clothing that has been in contact with the dead bird should be washed
using ordinary washing detergent.

[Report to JPH Perak (Tel: 05 545 9111 or 9122 or 9133) if you find a dead
swan, goose or duck or 3 or more dead wild, or garden birds, or village chicken
together in the same place]

Ijok, be fair to the rest of us, please vote the opposition…

Dear Ijok Voters, please please vote the opposition!

You have been so lucky to have this by-election and see millions of ringgits poured into your community. For fifty years nothing has happened and overnight you have become more hip and happening even compared to Bangsar and Sri Hartamas

Your landfill has been closed, your roads upgraded, schools, mosques improved etc. etc. Now you must be fair to the rest of us rakyaat. We too want the same. Right now the best we can do is pray our assembly man dies before the next General Elections and hope we benefit from another by-elections.

If you vote for BN, it means that BN will get cocky and the next by election the community will not benefit as much as you have. If you vote opposition, BN still rules the country but they will be less cocky and have to pour more money .

I recall Rocky’sBRU posting a piece of how he and the resident of his area has to suffer the stench of a waste dump, I hope his assemblyman dies so the problem can be resolved.

My area in Sg Buloh – Valencia / Sierramas / Desa Seri Aman suffers from the most noxious air pollution which continues today despite the fact 2 Ministers stay in this vicinity and the Selangor Environment guy, Dato Ch’ng Toh Eng just talks but does nothing either. No wonder you guys in ijok were smart enough to ensure no less than Khir Toyo made the announcement.

Topping their list of grievances was the Batang Berjuntai dumpsite that had been the rubbish disposal area for several districts in Selangor.

The makeshift site had turned into an ugly hill, earning Batang Berjuntai, within the Ijok constituency, the uncomplimentary nickname of “dumpsite town.”

Last Tuesday, it was shut for good. Selangor Executive Councillor Datuk Ch’ng Toh Eng had earlier announced the closure, but folks insisted on hearing it from Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo himself.

Said one new village grassroots organiser: “Locals are not taking words lightly. Tell them the dumpsite will be closed for good and they demand to see it in black and white.

“In fact, they refused to take the word of Ch’ng when he announced the closure several days before Dr Khir did.”
COMMENT BY LOONG MENG YEE
The Star

Frankly, I have given up on “the government machinery and all the promises the cheap words they use”. All talk no action. I am now learning from you , people of Ijok and I am down to praying my assemblyman dies to so this environmental problem gets resolved. Sad isn’t is, but all other channels just don’t seem to work!

Valencia, Sg Buloh, moving again on air pollution

Today 16.04.07 we convened a meeting among resident in Valencia, Sg Buloh, to discuss the issues pertaining to the ever worsening air pollution in our area.

What is important is that we recognize that we are not the only people affected but there is a larger community that surrounds us that is just as affected.  Right now we have to figure out how to  move forward.

Just to give a feeling of how bad it is, when the bad stuff is in the air, I cant event step out of my front door.  Just to go to the mail box I will have to cover my nose and hold my breath.  Think of the worse haze that we have had and this is just a bit worse.

So here is my realization, in Valencia we have fantastic security to keep the bad guys out, but at the same time we have factories around us spewing up foul smelling air that keep us locked in our houses. How ironic.

Let see how it goes….

Lunch with 3 Polis

I was headed to meeting this afternoon and I was about 30 minute early.

I spotted a police car stopped at a rojak and cendol stall so I figured I should take oopportunity to have a chat with them.

All 3 were decent young men, about 10 years of service in the Police. Certainly did’nt seem to be the “stereo type – cari makan” cops.

In fact when I asked then about their biggest grouses it was 2:

1. Pay was low and that they are frustrated with the empty promises

2. And this was most interesting – Police bashing by the government. They said that now if there was no arahan in black and whit, they will not take the initiative to do any thing. Stop the wrong person and he may send a quick sms to the powers that be ad they would be clobbered, despite the fact, they were right in stopping.

They say, if last time the public had respect and were scared of the police, now there is neither respect nor fear. In fact they (the cops) feel like laughing stock.

All because so many arahan keeps coming giving so many exceptions to the rule.

True or not I don’t know but the 3 were decent fellows. All I hope for is that the salaries for the police force does go up….

As I was to leave, I said to the mamak running the stall to “kira semua,” and his face changed. Then he whispered to me, polis makan free…..

My community

This is where I will post stories about what is happening in my community area.

(Taman Ehsan Fasa 3B, Tmn. Ehsan Timur, Tmn. Ehsan, KIP Damansara, Kg. Melayu Batu 13, Kg. Org. Asli, Tmn. Sri Aman Height, Kg. Bukit Lagong, Kg. Masjid, Kg. Sentosa, Tmn. Wangsa Permai, Kg. Desa Aman, Sierramas, Tmn. Suria, Kg. Sri Bunga, Valencia.),

My community located in Malaysia, in the state of Selangor and adminsterd under the jurisdiction of of the Selayang Town Council which are run by these councillors.

The State Administration is led by the Mentri Besar and my interest are represented in parliment by my Member of Parliment .

Given what is said in the Selayang Town Council Web Site, this is the person assigned to look after the interest of the residents in my community .

Now I just need to figure out who he is an how do I get in touch with him…. Should you know who he is, please let me know.

The new residents association

Today was another milestone in the evoution of the Valencia community. The “Registrar of Society” approved Residents Association had its first AGM allowing for the pro-tem committee header by Dato Khadar to step down after 3 years of service and a new team to be elected. New president is Mohan Singh… best wishes to him.