Wednesday, March 20, 2019

After the Christchurch mosque massacre, we still want the Death Penalty banned?

Erdogan urges NZ to restore the death penalty
KL, 20 March: The Christchurch massacre teaches us a lot of things. One of them is that the campaign by some Malaysians to ban the death penalty is foolish and unjust.  
Brenton Tarrant, who mercilessly gunned down scores of unarmed Muslim civilians during Friday prayers last week, will live. Imagine that. Oh, sure, he has been charged and they say he "faces unprecedented sentence" but, be that as it may, he will live happily ever after. 
Why? Because there is no death sentence in New Zealand (and in Australia, the killer's country of birth). 
In New Zealand, being found guilty of murder usually comes with a minimum of 10 years in jail before possible parole. Imagine that! The longest-ever murder sentence imposed in New Zealand was in 2001 when a judge sentenced William Bell to life imprisonment with a 30-year minimum term for a triple murder. Which works out - yup - to 10 year's per life taken, give and take a couple of years. 
Tarrant knows this and obviously he does not want to die (otherwise, he'd have killed himself after the massacre, which is what they usually do). This man recorded the whole heinous act so apparently he fancies that one day he would be able to discuss what he'd done and why. Books will be written about him. Maybe even a movie. Heck, I won't rule out a video games. Along the way, they might try to make him out to be the "real" victim. Eventually, a hero. Others would want to emulate him. 
Elsewhere, including here in Malaysia, Tarrant would pay for his heinous crime with his own life. He would get justice.
I believe that the laws we have today, here in Malaysia, especially the death penalty, is the reason why we still live, work and pray in peace. Many didn't give it much thought before  but now, after the massacre in New Zealand, many believe the death penalty does not mean that life is cheap; on the contrary, it reminds us of how precious life is. 

Read also:
"How many countries do we have to cite as examples to show that the death penalty isn’t the magic pill to solve crime? In the Global Peace Index, the top seven safest countries – Iceland, New Zealand, Austria, Portugal, Denmark, Canada and the Czech Republic – have all abolished the death penalty." - Abolishing the death penalty: Q&A with Ambiga Sreenevasan and Ding Jo-Ann, November 2018

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Pakatan a one-term wonder? Helen says yup, AKJ says noooo!

Here's a one-hit wonder Who let the dogs out, quite relevant seeing how dogs are in the news these days [Dog broke my wrist, says Najib's lawyer]

Puchong, 13 March: A. Kadir Jasin thinks Pakatan Harapan "has actually made a pretty good progress for itself and the country". 
First and foremost, "Malaysia is no longer a kleptocracy"
"Secondly," Kadir writes in PH is not a one-term government, "the problems of the people are being attended to in a more systematic and transparent manner with a longer-term view of making "shared prosperity" the basis for sustainable wealth creation and distribution".
But there's no "thirdly" or "fourthly" or "finally", though. The rest of AKJ's posting turns into one big lament. Not just Kadir's but also Dr Mahathir Mohamad's:
“What difference does it make whether they wear black or white shoes?” 
“Yes, cigarette smoking causes cancer but how do we know whether the smokers are three metres away from the restaurants?” 

“And what is Malaysia Baru? Is it exclusively about the election manifesto?”
Never one to mince words, AKJ says heads must roll for this government to work:
"As the one-year milestone approaches, the PH will be subjected to greater scrutiny by the people, the press and investors.
To pass this public relations and confidence test, the PH has to improve its story-telling. It may even have to consider rearranging or even firing some cast members.

The plot and narrative must be understood and believed by the people and the cast must be respected. There is no role for clowns and comic characters.

Ministers, Menteris Besar and Chief Ministers must engage in self-examination and, where necessary, self-criticism.

Don’t rush to blame the press and the people if the flying car story flew past their heads and the government is seen as inept, arrogant and aloof.

Moving ahead, the PH must work hard and smart to fulfill the aspirations of the people and to prove to them that it is not a one-term government. It is here to stay.

In Harapan, a one-term government Helen Ang says if Umno and Pas stay happily married, GE15 is in their bag. DAP's panicky response to the union is very telling (and damaging to the coalition), she says. The poor Indians are being marginalised under Pakatan, with little bargaining power, she adds. And the antics of the PH ministers mainly from Pribumi (Mahathir's party), are not helping, Helen tells us.
"All three of the ministers embroiled in dubious or missing bachelor's degree scandal are from Pribumi ... 
"Yet the most cohesive and solid Harapan party DAP is kowtowing to the party's weakest party Pribumi. Harapan makes a mockery of the meritocracy concept. 
"There is no way Harapan can last more than one term in Putrajaya."


Thursday, March 07, 2019

Politics of terror

Updated 8/3:
Umno and PAS did declare war but NOT against non-Malays
Preparing for Guan Eng's war by Life of Annie

Original piece 6/3:
Utusan says Guan Eng needs to be responsible

Frightening. If Dr Mahathir Mohamad's Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng was correctly attributed in the Malaysiakini headlines above, you are right to fear for the children. Yes, racially and religiously insensitive politicians do not reside only in DAP but this one is trying to pull down Malaysia - Baharu or not - to a new, shitty lho.   
Guan Eng knew this so he quickly corrected himself ...
But if he thought he'd done damage-control by swapping "WAR" with "TARGET", he must really think we're all idiots. The amendment does little, if anything at all, to reduce the terror (Wee: Lim's "declaration of war" statement is inflammatory) of the message. And the resultant anger and despair of anyone reading it. If anything, it just reaffirms his original intent. 
So, will Dr M take his Minister to task?

Flashback h e r e 
Most likely NOT. It took the former Umno president many decades to admit he was wrong about the DAP. One bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch, girl [give it one more time before you give up on love :-]. Plus, Dr Mahathir needs their support more than ever now.

Monday, March 04, 2019

"An irreplaceable hero ..."

KL, 4 March: And when you think you've done something power, always know that someone else has made a much bigger difference, without so much ado.   
Sharing with my Dear Readers a clip the guys at The Mole did recently on Azrul Aziz, an awesome human being ...

Friday, March 01, 2019

Semenyih: Anwar won't change voters' hearts this time

TTDI, Mar 1: PM-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim's revelation about some money PAS leader Hadi Awang purportedly paid Claire Rewcastle Brown to get their lawsuit settled out of a London court stinks to high heavens of - if you're old enough to have witnessed - the old 80s and 90s politics of intrigues and last-minute disclosures before a major election.
I told a fellow journalist who's been covering the Semenyih by-election that what Anwar is doing is so typical of the dirty politics of old. I thought the "new" Anwar will be above it. I thought we had left all the "lapoks" in this Malaysia Baharu. 
"Anwar and Clarie (Rewcastle Brown) may do as they wish, bro," my journalist friend said, sounding a little disinterested. I thought. 
"Sure," I prodded, "but surely Hadi must respond to the RM1.4 million accusation and I suppose he would want to do it very close to midnight so that Anwar and Claire can't counter whatever he has to say." [The deadline for campaigning is midnight before the by-election day). 
"No matter," the journo said. "The people of Semenyih have already decided who they are going to vote tomorrow".
Ah, they have?
Anwar's Pakatan Harapan is defending the seat, 9 months after winning it big at the 14th general election, following the death of the incumbent Bakhtiar Mohd Nor. PH, which is the ruling coalition, is fielding Muhammad Aiman Zainali, who is Bakhtiar's  son-in-law from Bersatu, the component party led by PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad. 
Barisan Nasional, fresh from a crucial by-election victory in Cameron Highlands on Jan 26, is banking on 58-year old Zakariah Hanafi. 
Hadi's PAS is not contesting the four-cornered by-election but is seen as the force that could help BN wrest the seat from Pakatan.
Early voting for this by-election starting last Tuesday (see story below) saw a 79 per cent voter turnout.