The patriotic spirit among Malaysian youths is not up to expectation, said Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ismail Sabri on Saturday. He gave the index on patriotism among youths at only 68.2 per cent as many of them “still questioned the social contract when the country achieved independence.” [Bernama]
So, questioning the social contract means that we are not patriotic? Interesting perception Mr Sabri.
50 years ago we didn’t have internet, mobile phones, Viagra, AIDS, Proton, AirAsia etc. Lots of things have changed over the span of 50 years… and lots of things have become irrelevant. Why are we not supposed to question any contracts or rules that were made 50 years ago?
I was not even born yet back then, and I am not sure if we actually do have a 50-year-old social contract. Why shouldn’t I question the legitimacy as well as the relevance of the contract?
If asking for a fair-for-all-Malaysians policy is considered as unpatriotic, just be it… I don’t want to be a second class patriot.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has awarded Pulau Batu Puteh (known as Pedra Branca in Singapore) to Singapore while Middle Rocks to Malaysia.
The UN court in The Hague ruled by 12 votes to four, that PBP sovereignty belonged to the Republic of Singapore, thus bringing an end to the 29-year dispute. [BBC] Both countries have expressed earlier that they would accept and respect the decision regardless of the outcome.
Frankly, I think our legal team should be blamed for the lost with the infamous fake photo incident still ringing in my mind. Although the picture might not be carrying much weight in the case, as there are lots of other facts to be considered for the verdict… but the quality of our legal team made me sweat.
I don’t think Malaysia has lost much from the verdict though, besides some pride perhaps. The judgement probably means that Singapore will have larger territorial sea and thus their navy could travel a bit further into our water; but economically wise, both nations shared the same rights over the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) anyway.
A drug suspect made his escape yesterday in the police car he was being escorted in.
The drama happened when the escort stopped for a toilet break at the Tapah rest area… it is believed that two policemen alighted from the vehicle while one stayed behind to watch over the suspect.
The suspect, however, managed to get into the front seat after a scuffle, successfully pushing the officer out the door and taking off in the car. [Thestar]
The National Islamic Students Association of Malaysia is calling for a review of uniform policy, saying that the current uniform is too transparent for girls and it becomes a source of (unwanted) attraction which encouraged rape and pre-marital sex. [Thestar]
The association is probably referring to the baju kurung style school uniform, and I won’t deny the fact that it could become a bit transparent when the cloth is getting thin.
Whether it’s sexy or not, it’s leave to personal implementation… there are people who could be turned on by nurses’ uniforms, stewardesses’ uniforms, school uniforms etc. and there are people who are more attracted to other attires, bikini for example (btw, does that mean that ladies shouldn’t wear bikini to beaches as well?) and there are those who like ladies who cover their whole body.
Point is, attires play the least factor in rape and pre-marital sex cases… it’s about the moral values and criminal minds that are embedded within the inner soul of human beings. Rapists won’t bother much about what their victims were wearing but looking for easy preys instead.
Frankly, how to tackle depleting moral values is something that I am always hopeless in… but blaming it on school uniforms and sexy attires is just meaningless.
Malaysia have failed to meet the criteria and standards set by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Pro-League ad-hoc committee, who have recommended 11 countries for eligibility to field teams in the AFC Champions League next year.
The assessment was based on 10 aspects… organisation, technical standards, attendance, governance, marketing and promotion, business scale, match organisation, media, stadiums and clubs. Of the 21 countries (assessed), Malaysia were ranked 18th. [Thestar]
Seems like Malaysian football is sinking deeper and deeper into nowhere. Set the standard of players aside, I can understand that we simply lack the football talent to succeed at the highest level… but what’s the excuse for Malaysia to be disqualified from the competition?
The standard of our football teams is just one of the criteria, the rest are mostly organisational standards. Our footballing bodies from FAM at the top to clubs management at the bottom level should take the blame for this issue. After millions of dollars being spent into the sport, this is certainly not something that Malaysians are hoping for.
Well, pointing fingers is meaningless now… what we need is to find solutions in rebuilding our local league and improving our standard, but FAM clearly have no solid plans that are executable at the moment. Lots of their programs are ad-hoc and not aiming for any long term revival.
From the current development, the future of Malaysian football is not looking good at all.
The first volume (191 pages) of the Royal Commission report on the VK Lingam video clip, which is the key portion of the report, is available online in PDF version via Malaysiakini.
Not sure if any common citizens would want to read through the 191 pages though; a few of the key highlights have been published in major newspapers anyway… Read the rest of this post »
DAP leader and member of Parliament Karpal Singh received a live bullet in an envelope at his law firm in Jalan Pudu Lama yesterday afternoon. [Malaysiakini]
The live bullet was accompanied with a note warning him against speaking out on the controversial issues of Malay rights and the constitutional powers of the Sultans.
Video: Karpal Singh interviewed after lodging a police report at Dang Wangi police station
To be frank, if the person who sent the bullet does want to harm Karpal, he would have use the bullet straight away. Not saying that we should take this death threat lightly though; it’s better to be safe than sorry.
What I really don’t want to see is the whole situation being blown out of proportion… some bloggers are already turning this death threat into a racial issue, but fact is the threat is probably plotted by one single individual and not a whole race.
I wish Karpal well… hopefully it’s just an act of cowardness instead of a serious threat.
Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced Monday at 12.35pm that he is quitting Umno, citing a lack of confidence in the current leadership.
Dr Mahathir urged other party members to quit too, as a way of pressuring Abdullah into vacating his post. However, he advised those who do quit not to join any opposition party, adding they can all rejoin the party once there is a change in leadership. [Thestar & Malaysiakini]
The impact of Mahathir’s resignation is still unclear, but I doubt it could lead to a mass exodus of Umno members.
This reminds me of another story though… a recent TV interview featuring Perak football coach Steve Darby. He said that Malaysians have an odd mentality of supporting their team only when they are winning but not otherwise.
Mr Darby was quite right obviously. If Umno and BN had won handsomely at the March election… all these crossover and exodus saga would not have surfaced. At this time of crisis, it’s the moment when all Umno members should join their hands together and rebuild their reputation.
Umno members should stop listening to oppositions’ propaganda to bring down Badawi but to use their own logical sense instead.
Would Umno be any better if they change the leadership at the moment? Do they have suitable candidates to replace Badawi? The only obvious winner if Umno got into turmoil is Pakatan Rakyat… Mahathir should know that, and all Umno supporters should know that too.
Backstabbing and holding your top leadership at ransom is not something politicians should do, it’s the act of gangsterism… and it’s kinda disappointing to see that some politicians are acting like gangsters in our political arena.