A reflection

I was looking at this passage from Isaiah chapter 33:1.

How terrible it will be for you who destroy others but have not been destroyed yet. 

How terrible it will be for you, traitor whom no one has turned yet.

When you stop destroying, other will destroy you.

When you stop turning against others, they will turn against you.

[Isaiah 33:1, New Century Version]

I began to think of political dramas, scandals and betrayals in our Malaysian politics as I reflected on this verse. An endless and vicious cycle of hatred and the quest for power for selfish gain. How true it speaks about most of our Malaysian politicians and their devious methods. Do they not realise that what they do to others, will ultimately be their own downfall.

Sayings of George W Bush

• 'The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country.'
  
• 'If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.'
  
• 'One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'.'
  
• 'I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future.'
  
• 'The future will be better tomorrow.'
  
• 'We're going to have the best educated American people in the world.'
  
• 'I stand by all the misstatements that I've made.'
  
• 'We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe . We are a part of Europe'
  
• 'Public speaking is very easy.'
  
• 'A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.'
  
• 'I have opinions of my own -- strong opinions -- but I don't always agree with them.'
  
• 'We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.'
  
• 'It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.'
  

Pieces in life

A journey

Friends we are on a journey

Time has been our judge

It seems it will never end

Neither death nor life are victors

But partners of a greater plan

 

Show me then your life

Must it be cradled with greatness?

What do you seek then?

A moment in life

When you found the meaning of life

 

Walk with me then

Hold me close to you

Will you not cradle me in your arms

When you welcomed me and forgave me

 

Seek not the one, who crushes you

But be the one who forgives

And shows the meaning of life

Friendship…

- P. Sakthivel

What a mess

 Read here Malaysiakini's article.

 Decision on sultan's 'absolute power' unprecedented

Humayun Kabir | May 23, 09 3:39pm

The Court of Appeal judgment giving the sultan absolute power to dismiss the menteri besar is setting a dangerous precedent for a non-elected monarch to dismiss an elected head of state without going through the  process of the state legislative assembly, said Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin’s lawyer .

 Leong said: “The power to dismiss (by the sultan) has always been believed not to exist but now the Court of Appeal has enlarged the monarch’s power to dismiss the head of  the state government

 “What happens if another sultan takes over (Perak) or for that matter any sultan of any state is given such powers which can be abused by the monarch?,” he asked.

 He said: “The Court of Appeal judgment has set a dangerous precedent which will lead to the abuse of the separation of powers between the monarchy, the executive, the legislative and the judiciary.”

 “This means the menteri besar can be dismissed by the sultan without going through the state assembly merely by a group of assemblymen going to the palace and informing the ruler that a majority no longer supports the menteri besar.”

 Leong’s arguments are:

 (1) Although the sultan has the power to determine whether or not to grant a dissolution, there is no express power for him to dismiss the menteri besar even after he has determined that the menteri besar has lost the confidence of the majority of the assemblymen.

 (2) The sultan’s discretionary powers are to be found in Article 16 of the Perak Constitution only and no where else.

 (3) Article 18 of the Perak constitution provides that: “In the exercise of his functions under the Constitution of this state or any law or as a member of the Conference of Rulers, his Royal Highness shall act in accordance with the advice of the executive council…”

 (4)  In 1994, the Federal Constitution was amended to stress that: “Where the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is to act in accordance with advice, on advice, or after considering advice,” he must act in accordance with that advice.

 Court of Appeal is plainly wrong in its judgment

 (5) Professor RH Heckling’s “Malaysian Public Law” in page 76 has written that the pivot on which the whole of the constitution turns is that the power of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (the Sultan) can only as a general rule be exercised in accordance with the advice of democratically-elected ministers (exco).

 (6) The Court of Appeal therefore has interpreted the Perak constitution to allow the sultan to act without advice and without any such express power in the Perak constitution and therefore is plainly wrong in its judgment.

 (7) We will submit to the Federal Court that if the sultan has no such power to dismiss, he also has no power to deem the office vacant.

 Leong said: “How can the High Court findings of fact that Nizar has not lost the confidence of the majority of the aduns be reversed by the Court of Appeal? For what reason? We want to know so we are going to appeal against the decision to the Federal Court soon.”

 He said: “It is a long and established principle of law that an appeal court does not reverse the High Court’s findings of fact. In this case, it was an express finding that Nizar had not lost the confidence of the majority.

 “The High Court judge made the decision after seeing and hearing the witnesses.

 “However, the Court of Appeal is substituting its own finding for that of the High Court despite not having had the advantage of first hand evidence of the witnesses,” he added.

A thot

As I was putting my daughter to sleep, she came by me and hugged me and said, "Papa, I love you". Now that beats anything. Imagine a father's feelings. 

As I looked back at the cross where Jesus was died, he knew that His Father loved him. Do I know that God my Father loves me despite who I am?

TRUE PEACE

True peace is not for the spineless or self-absorbed. It has nothing to do with passivity or resignation. Peace demands honesty. It entails the burden of duty. Peace requires deeds of love.

Reproduced here from Tunku Razaleigh's blog

What is at stake in Perak - Tunku Razaleigh

The Perak crisis is a tragic comedy of errors and bad political judgment that reflects a failure of political leadership. As it continues to spin out of control, it damages our democratic system of governance. To all intents and purposes, one of our most prosperous and developed states has been reduced to a failed state, with a possibly illegal state government in place. This is a condition that can propagate outwards to the rest of the country.

I stated at the beginning of this crisis that by our Constitution, a change of government can only be brought about by democratic means, which is to say, through the ballot box or through a formal vote of confidence in the elected Legislative Assembly. These are the constitutionally mandated means by which the people decide on their government. Any other means of changing the government is unconstitutional and undemocratic, and subverts the basis upon which we are a civilised society.

We now have reason to fear the loss of the people’s confidence in the Constitution, in democracy  and in our constitutional monarchy. Responsible political leadership must support rather than destroy the confidence of the people in these practices and institutions. In particular,  powers reserved for the Legislative Assembly, which represents the sovereign will of the people, cannot be taken away under any circumstances by anyone. This foundational constitutional principle has been affirmed by the Court. We are all sworn to uphold it. Those who do not understand or accept this principle have no place in government.

Some issues can be solved by a court of law, but the Perak crisis is not one of them. The back and forth events of the past week demonstrate this fact abundantly. The Perak crisis cannot be solved by a decision of the Court because it is at heart a political rather than a constitutional problem. There is really no doubt about what the Constitution says. What is now unclear as a result of an ugly series of manoeuvres is whether Perak has a legitimate government, and there is only one way to resolve that issue. Perhaps our political leadership has not understood how important it is that the people’s voice must prevail, and be seen to prevail, in the choice of their government.

The only solution to the Perak crisis now is for the State Legislative Assembly to be dissolved and free and fair elections held. At this stage there is no other way to restore both public confidence and constitutional legality to the Perak state government, and by extension to our entire system of government. Our survival as a democratic and constitutional monarchy depends on our acceptance of the judgment of the people as expressed in free and fair elections. Any attempt to circumvent that  judgment betrays the basic principles and values upon which our nation and incidentally, UMNO itself, stand. I appeal for wisdom and a broader concern for the wellbeing of our country.

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah
Member of Parliament, Gua Musang

Bukit Gantang: Photo the newspapers didn’t show you (from Anil Netto's Blog)

A massive crowd pouring into the streets of Taiping on Nomination Day yesterday - Photo courtesy of Wartawan Rasmi Laman Reformasi (Click to expand)

My contact at the scene yesterday estimated the crowd at 30,000-50,000. It was a huge show of support for Nizar.

Another Perakian reports:

Taiping was jammed and packed with supporters. The police presence was felt with a helicopter above. Pakatan had 30,000 supporters compared to 5,000 for BN. We had fun with the Mexican wave, Indian dancing, crowd singing, families on an outing, young adults and old retirees. All converged into melting pot of Malays, Chinese and Indians.

Malays holding DAP flags. Indians wearing Pas T-shirts. Chinese chatting with one and all. People came from as far as Trengganu, Tampin, Damansara, Shah Alam, etc. Only sour note was when Karpal’s was pelted with water bottles by Umno Youth.

Source : http://anilnetto.com/malaysian-elections/bukit-gantang-photo-the-newspapers-didnt-show-you/

Read about Anwar's shock announcement today

Bkt Gantang: Pakatan confident but cautious

Live coverage here of Anwar’s “Big Shock” announcement from 8.30pm today. Read it this from Anil Netto's website.

What happens in UMNO General meetings

Just look at the antics of some UMNO delegates as reported by Malaysiakini . Read Malaysiakini's report.

An excerpt of the Malaysiakini's article [blue] is produced here:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kelantan delegate Mohd Affendi Yusof, when taking his turn to debate, said Umno has been very lenient and patient towards Pakatan’s antics.He also touched on the Perak fiasco and blasted ousted PAS menteri besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin for his now legendary statement: “Mohon maaf tuanku, patek mohon derhaka.” (Your highness, forgive me for I plead to commit treason).

“In Islam, there is no forgiveness for those who commit treason against the sultan,” he said, claiming that the sultan is considered as God’s representative on earth.
Instigating the crowd, Affendi said now is not the time for Umno to be soft and patient, and said it was time the party uses force to crush its Pakatan rivals.
“We cannot be soft anymore. We must use force. And we will use it immediately after the annual general assembly ends,” he said.

Instigating the crowd, Affendi said now is not the time for Umno to be soft and patient, and said it was time the party uses force to crush its Pakatan rivals.

“We cannot be soft anymore. We must use force. And we will use it immediately after the annual general assembly ends,” he said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If this is what UMNO is then what was said of reforms is just plain lies. Such drama. If we ever are going to move forward, we need to think about each other regardless of race, colour or creed.

How a new goverment is formed by Tunku Razaleigh

Read this article at From Tengku Razaleigh’s official weblog.

Reproduced here for convenience.

How a new government is formed

In a recent interview I was quoted as saying that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong could appoint someone other than the man nominated by the party. The fact that this was reported as “news” shows how far we as a country have drifted from the principles set out in our Constitution.

Let us understand very clearly the transitional situation we are in.

1. The incumbent Prime Minister is about to resign as he has solemnly promised to by the end of this month.
2. On the appointed day (which like so many things in this administration remains a mystery) the Prime Minister will tender his resignation and that of his cabinet to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. With this the government of the day comes to an end.
3. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong will appoint the next Prime Minister at his sole discretion from among the members of the elected lower house of Parliament, the Dewan Rakyat. His Majesty’s choice is guided by his own judgment of who among the members “commands the confidence” of a majority the members of parliament.
4. The new Prime Minister will name his cabinet and form the next government.
5. The Agong’s choice may at any time be tested by a vote of confidence in the Dewan Rakyat. If the Prime Minister is rejected by the Dewan, the King will have to re-appoint another person.

As there has been much confusion on this point let me re-state it:

The Yang Dipertuan Agong has sole and absolute discretion in how he forms his judgment as to who in the Dewan Rakyat commands the confidence of the majority. The choice is his alone.

The choice is absolute but not arbitrary, since it is guided by the Constitution. The right is the Agong’s alone, but it can any time afterwards be tested by the Dewan Rakyat.

This system is democratic in that it provides for the Dewan Rakyat and the Ruler to check and balance each other’s powers in an orderly manner. The participants in this process are the Ruler and the individual members of parliament. Within the Dewan Rakyat, each member is accountable to his constituents as an individual. Political parties do not enter this description. The Agong’s concern is solely for the rakyat. In his formal capacity, His Majesty sees each member of the House only as representing his subjects in a particular constituency. This is why MP’s are referred to only by the constituencies they represent. Their party affiliation is no consideration at all.

Let me draw on some implications of this understanding of how our governments are formed.

1. Whatever undertakings the present prime minister has made with his deputy or with his party about his successor are external to the constitutional process. To think otherwise is to imagine that the prime ministership is a private property to be passed on from one potentate to another at whim. The behaviour of some leaders might have conveyed this unfortunate impression, and caused the public to find the party arrogant and out of touch.
2. The fact that the President of UMNO has also been appointed as Prime Minister is only a convention, as Tun Dr Mahathir, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz have asserted recently. This convention was based on the assumption of Umno’s absolute dominance of Parliament. That condition no longer holds.
3. Statements in the media that it is the right of Umno and BN to dictate to the Yang Dipertuan Agong who should be Prime Minister deny the constitutional right of the Yang Dipertuan Agong, and deprive him of perhaps the most important of his few discretionary powers. Such statements turn the Agong’s role into a rubber stamp for the decisions of a political party. I am waiting for Umno to strongly denounce such statements, especially as we have recently rediscovered our concern for the rights of the Rulers.

Over the last quarter century, the rulers, like the legislature, the judiciary, the police, the universities and all our major public institutions, have had their powers systematically curtailed and their immunities removed to make way for unruly executive power. In the process, fundamental principles such as the separation of powers have been ignored. Umno itself has not been spared this process as it has become autocratic and top-down to the dismay of millions of ordinary members.

Over time the rakyat have been so conditioned to the abuse of executive power that many have forgotten that the government is more than the prime minister and his cabinet. Many have forgotten how a properly functioning government works and what the rule of law looks like. Perhaps this is why it is news to some that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has an independent role to play, just as the judiciary and the legislature do.

Malaysia has fallen into a spiral of institutional and economic decline. If we are to save this country from long term and increasingly tragic deterioration, the next government appointed by the Yang di-pertuan Agong must not only be fully committed to restoring the Legislature, the Judiciary and the Rulers to their proper dignity and independence, it must be seen by the Malaysian public to be capable of doing so.

The Wheel of Life

An interesting view of aging.