The New Cabinet

The unveiling of the new Cabinet does not go down too well with a good number of former members of the Cabinet such as Dato Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad and Dato Seri Rafidah Aziz. Obviously Pak Lah did not give an indication as who would not be reappointed but he did say that those who lost in the elections would not be appointed in the new Cabinet. 2. The new faces whom he brought into the Cabinet doesn't excite the people at all, because there seemed to be a lack of a good pool to choose from. Inevitably, the rumblings followed immediately by some who declined the posts as Deputy Minister giving their own reasons and when the Wanita Umno expressed their unhappiness when their Chief was dropped, the deputy Chief was appointed Adviser. 3. When Pak Lah made the announcement over TV on Tuesday, he looked assured and at the same time defiant when he invited questions from the floor. Obviously he wanted to give the impression that he's still in charge. But what he felt deep down, only Allah S.W.T. knows. He's definitely in for trouble. Let's see the developments that will be unfurling in the months to come.

The New Dawn for Malaysia

One big lesson those in politics must learn is not to take the people for granted. Malaysia is now seeing a new dawn on the horizon where the BN Coalition is being supplanted by the BA Coalition in the States of Penang,Perak, Kedah and Selangor. If the politics of patronage and arrogance is not discarded, then people will soon realise that all politicians are the same by whatever hue and colour they belong to. One of the bane of democracy is that popular votes must have a price to it. Thus a candidate who had been elected to office must be prepared to bend according to the demands of the supporters. To me this should not be allowed to continue. A candidate who won the election first responsibility is to the constituency where the people's basic needs are attended to, especially housing, education, health and welfare. There must be a reasonable house for every family with all the amenities such as running water and electricity. Unemployment must be addressed because it's one of the causes which contributed to crime. Unfortunately the constituents expectations are one of the causes that turned politicians to be corrupt. They think the wakil rakyat is the source of endless funds to fill their crave. So the thinking of our electorate must be changed so as not to subject their representatives to unfair demands. I sincerely hope to see a real new dawn emerging on the political landscape, whereby people does not expect their wakil rakyat to be replacing banks and public transport companies in meeting their wants rather than real needs.

Democracy triumphs in Malaysia

Last night I stayed up late to watch the Election 2008 results being announced over the TV network. What surprised me was the lateness of the announcement by the Election Commission as which party would form the next government at the Federal level. In the past few elections, the announcement would be made by midnight, but this time it only came around 1.00 am. But what surprised me most was that Penang was won by DAP and PKR, almost a clean sweep. This morning Lim Guan Eng of the DAP was on TV saying that he would form the new State Government. I never expected Perak and Kedah as well as Selangor to go to the Opposition. This is history in the making. I wish this success by the Opposition will be managed with care and responsibility.

The Morning before Election Day 2008

This morning I was surprised that traffic was relatively light and I thought it was a holiday. Then I remembered perhaps many people have taken leave and go back to their respective hometowns to vote tomorrow. But I might be wrong, when I realised that most schools are closed today in order to prepare for tomorrow's election as they are gazetted as polling stations, therefore less traffic because parents or grandparents don't have to rush sending their children and grandchildren to schools. As I was driving and looked at the string of election posters, some of which have been damaged by the inclement weather the week and before, I seemed to feel in the air that a lot of seats might go to the opposition this time. Even Tun Dr. M is quoted to have allegedly said during an interview at the Perdana Leadership foundation in Putrajaya that vote for more opposition. I wonder whether he really meant it, because sometimes his words have double meanings. But not this time, because he has been an ardent critic of Pak Lah's leadership and of course he would like to see his ramblings be vindicated. So tomorrow I will definitely go and vote, and I will vote according to my conscience. I have always maintained that for a healthy democracy to function there must be a credible opposition. But the opposition must be constructive and not destructive. In our march towards an ethical and accountable government, the leaders must have zero tolerance to corruption which is becoming cancerous now. What we want is a truly an incorruptible government because only then our development will be fairly enjoyed by all regardless of their political affiliations , race, colour, creed or religion.

The Unfriendly Hospital

Yesterday 02 March 2008 I had the occasion to visit my father in Tuanku Jaafar Hospital in Seremban. Being notorious for it's lack of parking facilities, I have avoided going to this hospital like plague. So I had not been there for almost four years since my father was warded there after a fall that cracked his hip bone joint and was operated upon. I thought a hospital first obligation is towards its patients and their visitor's, but unfortunately this is not so. I had to circle several times to find a parking place and finally I had to go up about fifty steps up the hill with two landings before I could find my way to the lifts. The same number of lifts are serving an ever increasing number of visitors and to top it, one lift is reserved for patients even during visiting hours and it was a Sunday! Our hospital administrators doesn't seem to practice it's corporate culture of being caring. I saw the area reserved for staff was literally empty, which is on the same level of the ground floor of the hospital which is on a small hill. I believe it would take light years before the corporate culture of caring to people who come to the hospitals either as patients or visitors will really take root.