Screenshots

hey jeff,

the economist (july5th 2008) has an article who termed Abdullah Badawi as the South-east-asia gorbachev.... check it out. i think it's a great time for malaysia!

JEFF OOI says: Yes, onb Page 40. But the title on the content page reads: "Familiar Scandal".And the insider page, referring to the latest allegations on Anwar, the subhead says: "Allegations may backfire on the government." ;-)

http://tinyurl.com/5qa4x5
http://tinyurl.com/6qq82e

I ROFL when I see the title,
"PM buys time to reform"

it should be correct and read as
Buys time to swap country coffer to E-See-M-Lee-bra

Ghaz:'(scratches jaw). You may be right again.'

Neil: '(scratches ear). About what?'

Ghaz: 'That the last man standing will still be the imam of putrajaya.

Now, looking back, it was a brilliant stroke of almost Karpovian dimensions.'

Neil: 'Karpov?'

Ghaz: 'His technique was to make petrosian-like moves to accumulate small advantages, and then wham! Dead meat, all.'

Neil: 'but there's still hope; no one, and i mean no one, has ever survived the Fischer see-saw attack. All pieces are wiped off the board.'

Ghaz: 'and pray who will be delivering that final masterstroke, Neil?'

Neil: 'the Fischer see-saw attack will be delivered by the rakyat in GE13, Ghaz.'

Ghaz: 'a long way to go yet, Neil.

Meanwhile i am just admiring the way it was done. The elegant silence was used as a strategic buffer while the battlefield raged on.

First the admission of mistakes and the will of the rakyat. Then silence as calls clamored for his resignation. Those who championed those calls ended up fingering themselves. Then some bluster about the need for reform and there were still things to be done. Then silence again as the predecessor hurled his multiple warhead iranian rockets and self-destructed with his own resignation. Then the mention of a timetable but no date. Then the crisscrossing of SDs amidst the fuel crisis. Still silence for a few days followed by some weak reassurances. Then silence again broken by a hint that iron gloves were being considered. Then this.

All like water ebbing back and forth.'

Neil: 'you're hallucinating, Ghaz. He doesn't have that strategic foresight.'

Ghaz: 'who said it was he who was doing the thinking?'

Neil: 'you mean someone on the roof?'

Ghaz: 'could be, who knows? I have a question for you. One chief said there was no report done during his time. My question is this: was he the same chief when the incident happened?'

Neil: 'under the present situation, it would not be amiss to use conditional truths to escape further queries.

Meanwhile, what's going to happen between now and the handover, you think?'

Ghaz: 'Muh and Raz should come together and realign somewhere else.'

Neil: 'history has shown that Umno members have always aligned themselves towards the bigger battalion.'

Ghaz: 'but they have also talked about change, so why not CHANGE? I mean really change. Change so that things like that stupid ISA will be abolished once and for all. Tell me, Neil, which country will jail conscientious objectors against the rape of citizens while murder suspects walk free, get awards, and are given standing ovations even? It is a crime against humanity to do so, Neil. It is a crime against the rakyat for the girl to die without being able to see the father detained in prison on some bullshit charge of disturbing the peace. What peace, damnit?! Let me ask you, are the Umno members of today happy with the present political and economic situation of this country? Don't you think they don't feel shame inside from finally realizing that the ketuanan melayu that has been sold to them all these years is nothing but snakeoil talk peddled by self-serving politikuses? Neil, they're neither here nor there. They're in limbo. The middle-class cannot progress, the poor cannot uplift themselves, the rich are keeping to themselves. The young look for a real vision. The old hanker for truth, justice and good principles again. At the end of the day, they just want to be fair and progressive people. And yet we see nothing but their cheapshot leaders can day in day out play all sorts of sandiwara games on them. Meanwhile the pressure piles up on their trying to make a living. After 50 years - we are all back to day one of trying to grind a daily menial existence. What kind of a deal in nation-building is this, Neil? The basic infrastructure is decaying, six year old girls get raped, men get shot, women go into comas, parents have to pay for tuition and inefficiency rules the day. Neil, the most efficient thing in this country are those petrol pump one-armed bandits.'

Neil: 'I think you wanted to say what he done so far, no?'

Ghaz: '(calms down). Yes, Neil, i want to know, as a fair man to everyone, did he or did he not say keris bathed in blood? If the cousin can make a half-hearted apology for the keris, will he say the same tomorrow? Or will it be another twist of ze tongue? Apart from dropping a few british-sounding words that seems to qualify a foreign pedigree education in a cloistered lifestyle, what has he done, and how much does he know of the rakyats' bottomline, as an economist, for instance? Has he read Vietor's How Countries Compete, or Porter's Competitive Advantage of Nations, for instance? Does he know anything about vernacular education and non-malay culture, for instance? Or will this country be seeing droopy eyes following sleepy eyes, as a sign of national leadership progress, for instance?'

Neil:'In terms of getting the pulse and the message across, people have put Anwar above Mahathir above Najib. The incumbent is of course off the chart completely.'

Ghaz: 'it won't be just strategic communication, Neil. They have to play the background with members within their own circle first, then neutralize the opposition, then create some oompah nationally. That i assure you the guy on the roof will be doing. But for who, one asks?'

Neil: 'your mystery man may not exist, Ghaz. It could all be happenstance.'

Ghaz: 'like this country, Neil. I am just worried whether justice will really be done in that case or will it be dragged on.'

Neil: 'And all should keep their eyes peeled for when one is about out, and the other is about in, there will be new business alignments and configurations, doubled.'

Ghaz: 'The key is Sabah and Sarawak, Neil. Have their MPs been neutered?'

Neil:'Politics is so ruthless.'

Abdullah is a disaster but I think it's gonna be much, much, much worse if Najib goes up

Anwar is too ambitious & I dare not imagine what will happen if he gets the power of PM.

Either way, we are all screwed

Is there someone else from the opposition that can do the job?