Perak, again

There is a clear indication that something is happening in Perak. The public at large is waiting for an official statement which is believed to have been released by the authority this afternoon.

perak

The Nasaruddin's case is disturbing. Why? Because it involves one of the states that holds/portrays precious historical glimpses. I love perak because its where I come from. I wish that whatever is happening there at the moment is only temporary. Politics is not all about speculating and strategizing. There are many ways of getting to the end means. It is about the "people" who are entrusted to preserving the state of harmony of the polity system by not acting God.

idle

Dear all, this blog will be left idle until further notification. I will however, read - and respond, if it is necessary - messages that come in. Thank you.

Prime ministership

Dear all, this is my response to Ruzaila's question.

1

The success story of prime ministership in Malaysia testifies that the Malaysian political system i.e. in a Malay-Muslim polity needs a continuously strong alliance political organisation and culture that are sound and stable.

2

It is true that all the prime ministers in Malaysia have been so successful. The late Tunku has been successful in achieving independent despite stern actions and challenges from every corner. As already have been indicated by a few scenarios, apart from being an Anglophile, Tunku’s diplomatic skills helped reassure the British that granting independence to Malaya was the right thing to do.

3

Tun Razak – a visionary and and had great empathy towards the people – has succeeded in transforming the nation by putting into place a major economic and societal reform.

4

Tun Hussein Onn, the third premier, made no mistake in continuing the agenda that his predecessor had put into place.

5

The twenty-two years of Tun Mahathir’s administration saw the passing of a decade of the Tun Razak’s New Economic Policy. He was seen as an iconoclastic leader who challenged prevailling ideas and beliefs. He is also remembered for his uniqueness, for he was both a visionary and a man of action.

6

At the moment Malaysia is under the leadership of Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi. Known for his humility and concern for people, Abdullah certainly has a lot of opportunities to rise to the occasions. And as the Deputy Prime Minister has said, “with the increasing pressures of globalisation, stronger demands for a more open and transparetnt economy and business environment, Abdullah’s rise to the top was timely”.

post-Malay Rulers Council

Dear all (with due respect to Rahmin, Zainizam, Dahl & Martz),

I have posted a fairly lengthy entry on that issue in Retorika. Since it is about Malay, the entry posted is written fully in Malay. Many thanks for your thoughtful ideas. Cheers.

gimme a break

I am following Che Det & Gopeng Boy's blogs without fail. I love the way both of them put their words on blogs, as if they are right before me, speaking their hearts out. I wonder how it is like to write and post entries on blogs at their age - other than spending time on newspapers, gardening, or traveling. I was thinking if I could do the same when the time comes. Before, I wished I could write novels or feature articles, and get them published. However, I am a bit sarcastic with the initial idea. I thought - after following Che Det & Gopeng Boy very closely - I would rather spend more time reflecting on things that I really wished to talk about and get them shared on the internet. I will keep on reflecting.

Note: I have just read a book given to me by Dr Nooraini, "The unrebutted charges against Tun Salleh Abas" authored by Peter Aldridge Williams Q.C.

it takes more than mere courage

The present situation of the UMNO election provides at least two interesting scenarios with regards to the study of leadership: 1 - personality or traits of leaders are still relevant when it comes to deciding and accepting leaders despite much challenges posed either by behaviorism or situational views on leadership; and 2 - as far as the UMNO election is concerned, leaders are made, not born.

Mukhriz is cruising steadily - thanks to his attributes (cool, patience, intelectual, and perhaps 'down-to-earth'). Should it be mentioned that Mukhriz is Tun Mahathir's son? Yes, he should be proudly so. But that doesn't warrant him a 'bye' though he has - until last night - secured the minimum quota needed for the election (39 that is). Mukhriz is looked as a young leader - and mind you, he is not known as a young 'Malay' leader - and his involvement in NGOs, Aman Malaysia in particular, puts him right in the spot where altruism (and empathy) is what people are always sought for in a leader's personality. Thus, Mukhriz provides a simple, straight-forward model of leader that surpasses the very traditional concept of reference power; Mukhriz is not a martial arts guru, nor does he is a 'warrior' that needs a keris or currency notes to build his reputation as a leader. Any ways, I personally think that Mukhriz needs a bit of an effective salesman traits and strategies, and that i believe, can be easily retrieved, no other than in his own parents home.

direct vs less direct

Raimee was asking whether the Malay style of discoursing remains the same, i.e less direct when making a point. I think the feature is still dominating. However, I doubt whether the degree and emotion remained unchanged. There is a great difference between Malay traditional discourse with that of academic writing or perhaps the language of mass communication. If i may quote Prof Emeritus Asmah Omar's (in Malay in its sociocultural context 1987, Kuala Lumpur: DBP:47)

"In traditional Malay Malay discourse, as it was in traditional Malay life, directness of expression was considered rude and uncouth, even in admonishing a child. Directness was then correlated with lowbreeding."

morning dew

A flower blooms out of darkness; we seldom appreciate intangible returns for we only wish to have a good look at what we have right before our eyes. Eid is the best moment to perhaps reflect on this very distinctive juncture of uncertainties. I hope my prayer answered, God willing.

eid mubarraq 1429

happy eidul mubarraq 1429!

'bon voyage, Lyana

have a nice & pleasant trip/stay in LSE, Lyana!

round table conference on the future of malaysia

Yasseef,

Yes. The round table conference will take place on Nov 10th, 2008 at Concorde Shah Alam. The conference is organised by the Faculty of Communication & Media Studies UiTM. I will be one of the participants. The format is quite simple & straight forward: every participant/thinker will pen in their thoughts on the issues to be deliberated. Each of them will come up with an article. All articles - written by 40 participants - will be put in booklet form.

Generally, participants are expected to discuss issues pertaining to this basic question:

"Are the basic structural features of democratic Malaysia weakening?"

Let me know if you are interested to attend the conference. Alternatively, you can let the Centre (Centre of Media & Information Warfare Studies, Faculty of Communication & Media Studies, UiTM Shah Alam) know if you are interested to come and listen - out of your academic endeavour. The Centre can be contacted by calling Munis Paran (Senior Fellow) 03-55225568; 03-55225325; 03-55225327/5328.

See you there!

munisparan & osman

1.

Met munis, an old friend of mine, this morning at the tower. He is such an ethusiastic reader and thinker. Talked a bit on the coming seminar in October which is scheduled to be held at the Concorde Shah Alam, organised by the Communication & Media Studies Faculty, Shah Alam. Munis will be talking about constitution; I will be touching on policy, i supposed? I will reflect on the issue after the Kota Kinabalu's seminar also in October.

2.

Osman looked good and healthy... what a pleasant personality! Good day Osman!

where can i get this book?

Im looking for a book - "The Merdeka Book" - which was published by Straits Times in 1957 (the price when it was first published was $1).

That book covers stories of Malaya from early times to full nationhood, the achievements of the past, and also problems of 1950s and the hopes for future. The author - i could not recalled his name - was a journalist. The book was published in three separate editions - English, Rumi and Chinese.

Where can i get it, anyone?

magic, miracle & ...

This is for Di.

I dont think its magic because we did not intervene in natural processes; but it has no scientific basis. Everywhere, magic is the strongest in situations of uncertainty... and you ought to be happy, extremely happy.

Nuzul Qur'an

Glorious & blessed days ahead, every moment, every day, always.

breaking news

Zaid, minister in the prime minister's department today resigned due to his public remarks that ISA was only appropriate for terrorists...

Mahyuddin on the other hand stated that he was only voicing out what the people wish to convey to the leadership.

EMA716

Dear all, I will be taking over Dr Posiah's slots for this weekend. We will be reviewing the last 2 set of slides plus as many current issues as possible. Ive already informed Azhar about this. See you there! Selamat berbuka puasa.

transition

The issue - transition of leadership - remained to be the prerogative of the PM. Mahyuddin is not losing anything..

the tower

The Tower

Why do we have to think twice - or more - whenever it comes to giving the best ever for it?

Budget 2009

Salaam, guys.

Ya, ya. Im inspecting the text. Havent found any new issues as yet. Will update later.

Test

Salaam.

Happy Ramadhan al-Mubaraq!

a question of quality

"Quality can also be looked at in a rather different way, " was my answer to Khuzairi, the Utusan Malaysia's journalist yesterday noon.

"At all times, it must be regarded as the act of putting a thing or saying a thing at its rightful place."

I know it is a broad concept, what more to say in terms of debating an issue such as the recent ones (UiTM & 10%) as suggested by the MB Selangor, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim. He knows his limitations and UiTM knows its limitations as well. Apparently everyone knows his or her limitations as well.

I need to sleep with the issue until days coming.

How small is small?

Spent almost hours sipping coffee at the IBC's cafe days ago. We were engaged in a rather undesired conversation pertaining to the Anwar's case, and the way he was taken away by the authority.

"Well, it is such a small issue", I said to Jumali.

"How small is your small?" Jumali smiled.

"Depending on who's asking..", was my reply.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, if you are asking on behalf of the government, you may want to look at it in a rather 'criminal-case' manner, which is no big deal, too small a case."

"However, if you look at it in a more personal and political perspective, then it is an extremely big case!"

Wak Din came, and we stopped at once. We talked about Tasik Puteri instead.

retrospective

It took me almost an hour to get passed the road block (police) to Sepang last thursday. I managed to get to the hotel on time however and went straight to the seminar room - already packed with participants from the Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment. Met Zul there. Had a long discussion (argument?) with some heads of departments, and ended up with a consensus: top political leaders must do something with the current situation of Malaysian politics. Or is it?

debate

Last nite's debate - between Anwar Ibrahim and Shabery Cheek - was a 'so-s0' ones and it wasn't at all amusing the way it was expected to be. Shabery was just like what he was during his student days in MU (early 1980s); and last nite's platform was used in a rather 'college-debate' way of selling and arguing. Anwar, however, did better, in fact far more better (wiser and matured, because he did not go for character slaying) like what Shabery was doing last nite. Anwar stayed focused while Shabery strayed and seemed to be a bit emotional and shaky. The debate was good indeed, considering it was the first debate aired live by electronic media ever (there was once a forum organised by one tv station years ago featuring Allahyarham Dato' Fadhil Noor, and one government's representative, I think it was Tun Dr Mahathir (?) ). Good start. Congratulations Shabery, Anwar!

Intellectual tradition

I thought this would enlighten Rinie a bit on the issue she was raising recently, about the classification of knowledge - and subsequently the ranking of courses/universities. She was a bit upset with the perception shown by some university officials/& ministers (?) regarding current higher education state of reasoning: that some course are irrelevent and mismatched; thus the courses need to be reviewed.

Personally, I think this has got to do with the officials/ministers prior learning experiences. No doubt, they are knowledgeable, they got all the info needed - that they can utilise in meetings, seminars and even during parliamentary debates - apart from the newspapers and what not. Its just that they dont really understand the importance of history and philosophy. They may be good at something, and they are experts in their very own disciplines - the reason why they are called intelligentsia (distinguish this from 'intellectuals) - but the intelellectual traditition, the history, philosophy and classification of knowledge has long been ignored deliberately.

I thought Prof Osman Bakar's view on this is self-explained:

"The lowest of the philosophical sciences is natural sciences (al-'ilm al-tabi'i) because its subject-matter is comprised of terrestrial bodies, which posses the lowest rank in the hierarchy of beings."

In view of that, S.H. Nasr (in, Science & civilisation in Islam) puts it exceedingly well by saying,

"The link between intellect and reason is never broken, except in the individual ventures of a handful thinkers, among whom there are few that could properly be called scientists. The intellect remains the principle of reason; and the exercise of reason, if it is healthy and normal, should naturally lead to the intellect."

Till then, bye.

falling & raising

Dhani, this is my personal view.

The general conceptualisation of leadership as perceived by researchers and practitioners is that leadership is understood as a social influence process through which one individual exerts influence, intentionally, over others to structure the behaviours and relationships within a group or organisation. Some scholars described it as a dynamic process in a group whereby one individual influences the others to help achieve group tasks. In general, however, people believe that if matters involving leadership are closely observed, there are always three elements or variables emerge on the surface, i.e. (1) the leader qualities of character or personality; (2) the situation; and (3) the group or followers’ needs and values.

With that in mind, it is fairly interesting to see how Anwar Ibrahim deals with the political situations in Malaysia within the scope of current political culture.

In a way, Anwar shows that the greatest glory is not in never falling, but rising every time leaders fall.

And looking at a rather different angle, the current situation has also provided a very good lesson in knowing who are our true friends are, as Thomas Carlyle once said:

"Show me the man you honor, and I will know what kind of man you are, for it shows me what your ideal of manhood is, and what kind of a man you long to be."

So Sorry!

Im so sorry, I will be back by end of the week and will get it updated right away.

Discourse

Dato' Salehuddin & Dr Nooraini,

you were right - absolutely right, and correct - in saying that the current leadership crisis is indeed has got to do with leadership style and personality. I could not agree more.

Heroism

Self-trust is the essence of heroism. It is the state of the soul. It speaks the truth, and it is just, generous, hospitable, temperate, scornful of petty calculations, and scornful of being scorned. It persists; it is of an undaunted boldness, and of afortitude not to be wearied out. Its jest is the littleness of common life.

Unsung Heroes

Mia & Masitah,

I dont have much to say about the cabinet lineup. Its the prerogative of the PM after all. No doubt the lineup seems to be a bit 'shaky' and 'crunchy'. The PM knows what he is doing; and God knows what he is doing. The fact remains that too many politicians/non-partisan go unrecognised.

To be or not to be

I received this from one Shannie. Thank you.

What I am none cares or knows

My friends forsake me like a memory lost,

I am the self-consumer of my woes -

They rise and vanish in oblivious host,

Like shadows in love's frenzied, stifled throes -

And yet I am, and live - like vapors tossed
Into the nothingness of scorn and noise,

Into the living sea of waking dreams,

Where there is neither sense of life or joys,

But the vast shipwreck of my life's esteems;

Even the dearest, that I love the best

Are strange. stranger than the rest.
I long for scenes, where man hath never trod,A place where woman never smiled or wept.

Evaluating service quality

Dani,

Broadly, at least ten criteria are used by customers in evaluating service quality as identified by many. So, a good MP must at least satisfies 6 or 7 of the criteria:

1.Reliability;
2.Responsiveness
3.Conmpetence
4.Courtesy
5.Credibility
6.Security
7.Access
8.Communication
9.Understanding the voters; and
10.Tangibles.

Have a memorable general election then!

Colloquium

All together, 18 papers were presented during the 6th FSPPP Postgraduate & Staff Colloquium held on 14th & 15th February. Thank you for participating actively. Here are some of the shots taken.

Dr. Raoufu -

Mr Norizan Sharrif of Inmind - on local authorities

Supt Zulkifli Alias of PDRM - on regional terrorism,

Electoral Systems

Obama (Im sure this is not that 'Obama', right?),

Broadly, there are four main types of electoral systems ); single-member constituency & single vote (example - countries such as Britain and Canada); single member and second ballot (France); single member with preferential vote (Australia); and proportional representation (Italy, Denmark) (either the list system or single transferable vote).

Have fun voting!

letters to World Leaders

I have just finished reading Marshall Cavendish's recent publication (book) - Dr. Mahathir's selected letters to world leaders (2008). One of his letters - to President Bush, page 53 - sums it all up when it comes to the definition of leader and leadership.

Of all places...

I was in Taiping last week. As I was driving along the Bukit Drummond's road (Kelian Pauh), I noticed that the bushes were all cut and cleared while hills were flattened to make way for another housing project.

Of all places, why there?

Humility

Wee, I couldn't agree more. We got to learn to understand with humility instead of superiority. Hate, afterall, is a confession of fear and lack of confidence. Therefore, why dont we avoid those who spread propaganda of hate, regardless of what position they hold or even what religion they profess.

Have a nice day!

I may be small, but I am big at heart

It was extremely difficult to show to Zuhair that we have two options when it comes to thinking: its whether 'You want to think'; or 'You have to think', as De Bono has suggested some time ago. Zuhair was not amused at all when he was asked to talk less and listen more. The reason being? It is not right to be right at all time!

Faith

Faith is, simply, belief.

Here, in a restaurant at one of the North-South Hiway's R&Rs, Im sitting - and posting this entry - observing anything that I can see and visualize, as I make my way to my hometown. I have so many things in my mind; tiny, small and major things. Tried to get hold of Di the whole day and night yesterday, but to no avail. I told Di we must not have a poor opinion of ourself although we should recognize that we are not perfect. The imperfections, no matter how little or big they are, though, are sight. They are trivial and we need only give them passing notice. Thus, instead of dwelling on the minor things we feel are imperfections, count up the major things in our favor. By doing that, we dont underestimate the things we have taken for granted in the passing years of our life.

I strongly believe that faith is a gift that we have always owned. Im not sure about Di.

I got to make a move. And it rains heavily at the moment. The coffee tastes so good! Why? Because I belief in anything, that is faith in anything.

Have a nice day. Salam aidiladha.

Certainty

This is for Heidi:

"If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts. But if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties".

I rest my case.

Emotional & Intellectual Growth

Mas, your view is highly commendable. Emotions & intellectual growth are both broad concepts. Whichever ways we venture, there must be a certain risk that we have to anticipate. How do we take it? Broadly, I think it is depending on your ability to stay open to feelings, both those that are pleasant and those that are unpleasant.

Have a nice day.

Kuala Lumpur International Batik Convention

Interested in contributing/participating actively as a volunteer in the Kuala Lumpur International Batik Convention next week? The convention – held/hosted by the Yayasan Budi Penyayang/KEKWA – will be held from November 28th – December 2nd at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Accomodation/meals are provided, plus a small amount of day allowance (this is not at all about money; it is the experience/ambience that count, an opportunity that we do not get everyday).

Write to me by 5pm TODAY! I have 5 more seats available.

See you there.

Congrats, Nabilah!

Nabilah, congratulations! Well done.

Miracle

Timi asked me about ‘miracle’ (he was refering to the current state of Malaysian socio-political & economic issues, the recent demonstration by Bersih, in particular).

To that, I think the remarks made by the former PM, Tun Dr. Mahathir, is perhaps appropriate and timely.

He says, “There is no (Asian) miracle. It is just the realization of an idea, an idea of how to manage an economic system. It is making the right choices, the right mixture of political and economic methods.”

Is there truly such a thing as “miracle”?

Substance

Gan, I agree. We must all pay attention to substance as well as form, to principles as well as details. We shouldn't be 'syok sendiri' (lol).

Leave them unanswered

Dear all (esp. Tuju Sukma; Nakahiro; Rani-Rani; Mumtazmahal; Rhandi; Al-Ghazali Jr), apparently, I am at no place to answer all the questions that you have posted to me. Too many questions were asked unexpectedly while my thoughts were divided. As Al-Ghazali iterates, "to all questioners, let them ask God to forgive wherever my pen has transgressed and my foot has slipped, because delving into the flood of the divine mysteries is dangerous, and seeking to penetrate the divine lights from behind is arduous, not easy."

Or as Coolidge (Islamica) puts it, "I can only hope that this preliminary attempt is timely and acceptable in the eyes of Allah. If Imams al-Nawawi and al-Bukhari thought it appropriate to begin with the hadith of sincerity, then who am I to begin from a different angle? This is a struggle we all must face in the core of our souls, and it cannot be avoided. It is immensely hard, but it must be done. Whether one is a graduate student, a professor, a murid (disciple), a talib al-'ilm (student of knowledge), a shaykh, a transnational Muslim intellectual, or whatever, we must face this challenge. If we ignore it and assume we are fine, then we are lost. Of that I am certain, and God knows best."

Modesty & Humility

This one goes to Midi (& the few others).

I hope I can really understand the actual situation.

I admit that some of them appear to have their heads in cloud nine with the word “tuan”, “boss” or whatever, written and stamped all over them. Many do not respect the wisdom, age and seniority but only the artificial barriers between them and the others. They do not hesitate to show off their superiority and ‘greatness’. Too often, they are quick to anger but are too slow to appreciate. Then, after a while, once settled down, do they realise their limitations; and they come down, back to earth again.

Be wise, where have all these wise sayings gone?

1
Kaduk naik junjung
The wild kaduk plant is so thrilled at being treated like a cherished plant that it does not know how to conduct itself with humility and grace.

2
Ikut resmi padi, bukan resmi lalang
Emulate the padi (rice) plant which bows low when richly laden with ripe and golden grain; and not the lalang (wild grass) that stands erect and arrogant (sombong & riak) and has nothing to show off except its trueself.

3
Lembut bukan untuk dipulas, rendah bukan untuk dipijak
Neither is gentleness meant for bullying nor humility for being stepped on.

Note:

Do not worry, we will all come back down to earth, yet once again.

...A true friend he is

This time Hari Raya's holiday meant a lot. Apart from celebrating with families, friends - true friends - add value to this memorable time. Nan & his family were there, back to the kampung since we last met 20 odd years ago. Then we had this old friends - man keling, rawa, shah, bond, arbok, bosham, mail benggali, mi kurus, mi gemok, and a few others, oopss! sorry, don't remember all at the moment - all were there recalling their precious moments which were shared by all. I guess nan was the central of attraction because he has two beautiful daughters and perhaps many are considering to put nan in their 'future-besan's list!

Then on the second raya, I had this group of students celebrating raya with their very own style. But Im not going to reveal how they were celebrating, no, not now. Later, maybe.

Few days later were really something. The best raya indeed, I suppose. Full stop.

How should I sum it all up?

There is scarcely anything more beautiful in the world than the opportunity to be surrounded with genuine friends whose devotion is not measured by one's wealth, nor affected by the lack of it. A true friend is a gem in any setting.

"I can better trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity", so says Midi, one late afternoon.

To conclude, "fair-weather friends" are cheap acquaintances...