RELA – PM NAJIB’S FINAL LINE OF DEFENCE?

PM Najib says that there are 2.8 million RELA (Paramilitary People’s Volunteer Corps) in the country (Malaysia Chronicles, Saturday 28 Jan). That is a much bloated figure that far outmatched the collective strength of the Armed Forces and the Police put together. From my reading, there are only 500,000 odd Rela members.

Now, how and where did PM Najib pluck this number from? Does he not know what it takes to maintain such a large force? I think this figure even doubles that of the Indian Army. If indeed there are 2.8 million RELA members, then we don’t really need the Armed Forces and the Police…….. Just disband them and let the RELA take over the defence and security of the country. And with that kind of number, there wouldn’t be any more thieves, murderers and illegals in this country. Everything will be safe and sound, and it may cause some concern to all the neighbouring regional states.

And what really scares me was when PM Najib said that “when the chips are down, RELA will be with this government to defend the country”. What ‘chips’ is he referring to, and what is the threat that the government is trying to defend……external or internal security threat or a political threat from the opposition.

Please PM Najib, be weary with the kind of words and language used. What you have said can be interpreted to mean many things, and to people like me that had served 34 years in the military, I take it to mean that RELA would be your ‘final line of defence’; I suppose to be deployed to defend the country when both the Armed Forces and the police have lost their battle. And do you seriously think that when the Armed Forces and the police have been defeated, RELA can take over the defence and security of the country? I have serious doubts.

Now, there is already a move by the Home Minister Hishamuddin to arm the RELA. Yes, arming them may frighten Abu, Ah Kow and Muthu, but this will not frightened an enemy’s military force. It has taken years to build an Armed Forces and the Police with some credibility, and there is no way that RELA can be credible by just arming them to be trained once a week in basic weapon handling.

Defence and security training is not just about weapon training. PM Najib knows this very well for he was a long serving Defence Minister. And if someone were to ask me whether our Armed Forces and the Police today are well equipped and trained to defend this country against an external threat, my answer is one of skepticism. And if my answer is to be believed, then it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that the Armed Forces and the Police attains an appropriate level of ‘force credibility’ as a matter of urgency.

I think there is now a lot of confusion about the roles of RELA, made worse by the statement of PM Najib. I think RELA started as an unarmed paramilitary civil volunteer corps that predates to the time when the government was saddled with the influx of illegal immigrants. It was never meant to be a force involved in defence and security because they are not organized and structured as such. Rather they are to work alongside all other security enforcement agencies, to assist them in dealing with security and social issues arising from the mass influx of illegal immigrants.

My stand on this issue is that the roles and tasks of the RELA should not replicate that of the Armed Forces and the Police. They should remain subservient force to assist, rather than being involved with defence and security per se.

In restructuring the RELA and boosting them the extra allowances, I hope the government does not have a hidden political agenda, especially one that is connected to the upcoming elections. Let me be honest and straight with the aforesaid statement. I will agree that RELA should be given an increase in their allowances that has been meager in the past, but I will certainly have my reservations if their roles and tasks are to be changed.

CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

IS IT A GREVIOUS SIN TO JOIN DAP?

Hello Khairy Jamaluddin, what is so wrong for a Malay to join the DAP? You should be asking yourself why are the Malays joining the DAP at a time when you think that there is no other party in the country that can serve the Malays better? Yes, UMNO have for the last 50 odd years served the Malays, but it has now become increasingly a party of the elitist that only takes care of a handful, rather than all Malays (regardless of their political affiliation). You may want to ask why is it that UMNO itself has been claiming that the Malays are still poor and need to be looked after. You mean to say that 50 odd years of UMNO/BN rule isn’t enough? Now who do you blame for the never ending predicament of the Malays – is it the DAP or PCG (Parti Cap Gajah)?

Search your soul Khairy and you will find the answer as to why the Malays are joining DAP. You don’t need to ask those that have joined because should they answer, you will then reply to them by saying that they are traitors of their race. But let me ask you Khairy, aren’t the Malays in UMNO traitors themselves? Just look at the faces of those that surround you? Do you think they are all an incorruptible lot? Corruption to me is the most heinous of all crimes performed by those that have little regard for their faith and are blind to Allah’s retribution in the hereafter. And I do not wish to bring out the many wrong doings of UMNO during the time of the Constitutional Crisis of 1992 where the Malay rulers were battered defenseless; stripped naked of their honor. That was the time when UMNO were really kurang ajar and please don’t deny this Khairy. You must be a school boy then when this entire Malay ruler’s bashing episode happened.

Now please don’t get me wrong Khairy. I am not saying that you are corrupt, but the talk about you being corrupt around the time when your father-in-law was the PM is so resounding that it is too difficult to disbelieve. I remembered your name being mentioned repeatedly around the coffee shops as the smartest 27 year old and a PM in the making. They also say that you acted like a ‘gate keeper’ and what this really implies, I do not know. I find it hard to believe that for a person like you, so young and to be educated at one of the most reputable and recognizable universities in the world is not able to reason why are the Malays joining the DAP, and you need others to give you the answer.

I am surprised that it was Khairy first that was able to sense the sudden migration of the Malays into the DAP. Now I hear that DPM Muhyiddin has also sounded a warning to the Malays “not to fall for the DAP trap”. I do not know what trap he is referring to – not a mouse trap I hope. We will now have to wait for a day or two before Perkasa’s Ibrahim Ali and other Pro-UMNO NGOs to join in the fray with a threat to hold a massive public rally against the DAP; something that they are good at i.e. waste of time.

Let me warn UMNO that the Malays that joined the DAP are not the ‘kucing kurap’ or the ‘katak lompat’ type that goes around begging for favours and contracts. They know what they are doing. They are all learned and with a clear vision of change for the better for the country and its people. More importantly, they are clean and are yet to be exposed to the rot that is plaguing UMNO politicians today. Regardless of who and what they are, I personally think that they will be our leaders of the future. Mark my word.

Now, let me also say this that with Malays joining the DAP, this has further emboldened the Chinese, especially the fence sitters to say that they must be something good about the DAP that had drawn Malays to the party, knowing that the Malays in the past would not want to be associated with a Chinese dominated party, let alone become a member. Clearly, in this regards, the MCA and Gerakan has lost its Chinese appeal and attraction, and especially the MCA’s so oft slogan that they are a party that takes care of the Chinese race is no longer true. I now believe that a party that is based solely on racial lines is no longer attractive and cannot survive the new Malaysian mindset.

With this new political development and shift, can the UMNO Malays now say that they are the only party to defend the rights of the Malays?

CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

ABU-HINDRAF FRACAS – SIGNS OF A FAILED POLICE FORCE

The ABU-Hindraf gathering at Jalan Kebun, Shah Alam on 21 January 2012 that ended up being roughed up by Malay thugs and ruffians allegedly at the behest of UMNO and in connivance with the local police proves that this country is at the verge of a total collapse of civility, respect and tolerance. Viewing the video that was uploaded in several blogs, it was clear that the fracas was started by a group of thugs led by one Muhamad Razali alias Baharom. I do not know if he is from the force or paid by someone to create trouble, but one thing was certain i.e. from the language uttered by the thug, it was derogatory aimed at the Indian community intent at causing a riot.

My question is what if it were an Indian guy that started the fracas and the audience were mainly Malays? I am quite sure there will be a riot and the police will be there in droves and in double quick time making the arrest. What is actually happening to this country today, especially that of the police force that is suppose to protect us? Is the government in control or have they lost the interest to run this country? Or has that responsibility to govern being handed over to the police? Can Home Minister Hishamuddin say something please? Where are the 60,000 security guards that the government has been talking about? Blue Ocean strategy they say.

I am utterly disgusted at the initial response by the state police officer whose remark reflects total ignorance, arrogance, lack responsibility and incompetency. I just wonder where he was when the trouble was brewing. Was he at home or attending a kenduri kahwin somewhere? Wasn’t he briefed by his officers or was the briefing given by the thugs themselves? And now he comes up with a statement that they have arrested six people whose age ranges from 16 to 19 years old. But the video shows that the main perpetrator to be someone much older and a fatso. Why hasn’t this thug being arrested? Or has he being told to go into hiding until all is safe and clear?

If this is what we call efficiency of the police force, then I beg to differ. If the police had responded well and professionally, they could have affected arrest that same night because there was police presence that was witnessed to the fracas. Obviously the policemen that were there didn't have the slightest clue as to how to react and to control the situation. This clearly shows the standard of training of the policemen now that were no better than the Rela guards. I am sorry to say this because I have many police friends, but I believe they too are equally disappointed at the lack of professionalism in the policemen. Had they been some military guys, I would have hit at them much harder.

I do not know if the six and several others will be charged for causing a public disturbance. Whatever the outcome, the punishment must be seen to be punitive and not just a simple fine and a warning. This incident could have caused a racial riot that we do not wish to experience it once more.

CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

IBRAHIM ALI – PLEASE STOP MEDDLING

Perkasa’s court jester Ibrahim Ali has now made himself an unwarranted spokesman for the NFC. Now who is he to be briefed by the NFC’s Chairman about the much talked fiasco of the NFC? Who is he to make a comment after the briefing by the NFC Chairman that all is well with the company and for making some racist remarks that there was a non Malay that stole some money from the company and had exposed the NFC’s ‘misappropriation’; I suppose to the opposition.

If indeed money was stolen from the company, why wasn’t it reported early in the case? And why has the court jester to make a reference that it was a non Malay that had stolen the money? Now, is the court jester saying that there aren’t any Malay thieves involved in the fiasco? Now, who actually listens to this court jester – I wonder? And why would the NFC Chairman wants to brief Ibrahim Ali when there is already an ongoing investigation by the police and the MACC. And does he not know that the government had announced that the NFC accounts will be audited by a reputable auditor? Is Ibrahim Ali that reputable auditor?

My advice to Ibrahim Ali is to get off this case as he has nothing to do with it. He is a no body but just being a busy body. And I think he just want to be seen by his ‘masters’ to be doing a just service. I do not think he has a clue about accounting and even if the books were thrown at him, he wouldn’t know what to look at. Is Ibrahim Ali now questioning the integrity of the Auditor General who was the person to have brought out this issue to the public? And all Malaysians must thank the Auditor General for being brave and honest to highlight the many flaws in the management of the NFC.

After Ibrahim Ali, we now hear of another court jester i.e. Perkasa’s Secretary General declaring that Islam is under threat in Selangor with Selangor’s MB Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim taking over the portfolio of the Exco for Islamic Affairs. This court jester even questioned the religious credentials of Khalid Ibrahim whom he deemed as being unqualified for the job.

Now may I ask this court jester, what are your religious credentials? Do you honestly think you are more qualified than Khalid Ibrahim? Don’t you know that even if Khalid Ibrahim does not have the right credentials, I am quite sure he will have his religious advisors to assist and advise him to make a decision on all religious issues that arises?

Now, just look at all our Malay rulers. They all are the Head of the Islamic religion within the state. And do you think they will make a decision regarding matters of the Islamic faith without any consultation with the religious experts? Even PM Najib has an Islamic religious advisor in the person of Jamil Khir. So what is so wrong with Khalid Ibrahim taking over the post of the Exco for Islamic Affairs of the state?

My sincere advice to Ibrahim Ali is to start looking at all the corruption issues that are being reported involving UMNO politicians and their cronies. To begin with, go and investigate the people that are involved in the illicit money transfer out of the country that runs in the billions. If this is too big a job for Ibrahim Ali, then why not interview the PM’s wife Rosmah Mansor to ask if she did or did not spend that RM300,000 for her clothing in Australia as reported. And if this is also too difficult for Ibrahim Ali, why not interview the two secretaries, Azlina Othman and Awang Adek whether they did or did not received cash from an UMNO contractor as alleged?

And finally, if Ibrahim Ali is too shy to interview all the personalities stated above, then ask UMNO what have they done for the Malays for the last 54 years. You should know the answers.

CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

BN, RETURN THE BOOTY, BREAD AND BUTTER TO MALAYSIANS by J.D. Lovrenciear

After five decades of BN governance, what have Malaysians gained and at what price and what have we lost in exchange?

To begin with, where is all of this nation’s booty? There was a time when the colonial masters (rather raiders) came and took all our rubber and tin. But at least they gave us education, healthcare, roads and rails without asking us to pay toll and taxes. Right?

But what can we say of our post-independence masters? The lorded over us and sold us the ‘nationalism’ mantra. They sang ‘Look East’ and ‘Buy British Last’. Later, they seemingly sold us that piped-dream of a modern Malaysia with jobs for all and wealth to be shared by Malaysians.

And so we ran the race at full throttle for the local masters and helped them build their own cartels and fortunes. Today, not only are we left in serious debt but have also pawned our bread and butter jobs that are enriching neighboring countries at the expense of the 27 million citizens of this land.

The factory jobs have gone to foreign labor. The petrol kiosk attendant and car wash jobs have gone to the illegal labor. The maid jobs are sold too. The construction industry is no more an easy entry for locals. Let us not forget the plantation sectors.

We are not even talking about the thousands of massage parlor workers and sex workers coming in under the cover of tourist visas.

Even pasar malam stalls, taxi driving, retail outlets – and many more have all gone to the foreign labor. Just take a tour of Petaling Street or any pasar malam all across the nation to see the reality.

And mind you, there must be truth in the perception that while there may be two million legalized (or authorized) workers here, it is everyone’s guess that the figure could just as well be doubled given the illegal workers coming and going and the recently ‘malaysianized’ foreigners.

So today we have a situation where foreign workers are not only taking back money by the millions from the country, but are also leaving us with a youth population that knows nothing about housekeeping, building and construction, harvesting the fields, trading, and a long list of economic activities, survival skills and know-how.

And let us cut the bull out of that argument that the nation is advancing and therefore Malaysians will not take on menial tasks. Take a look at the West or the East if you will. Their retired folks are gainfully engaged. Their youth population has the option to go into any of the industries that BN has ‘pajak’ to the foreign cheap substitute.

No small wonder then that we are now wrestling with Mat Rempits, drug addiction – including steroids, aesthetic and designer drugs, house break-ins, street crimes and what have you.

The BN led government has failed to ensure technology transfer to all Malaysians. They have failed to build alternative industries to keep Malaysians as economically viable. They have failed to keep the wealth of the nation within its borders. True?

Instead they absorbed the compromised-graduates into the civil service and we all know that half of them are only clocking the punch cards as there is no work. Or if there is work, much of it is redundant, repetitive and unproductive. Ask the traffic cops who man the stations and they will tell you many more stories of doing ‘bodoh punya kerja’.

Have we also not heard the all too often song that Malaysians are shying away from the jobs available and so we have to give it to the foreign workers?

It is indeed a wonder how the politicians can get away with such answers. Either Malaysians are fools or they are far too exhausted to even whimper.

We know that unhealthy profit taking is the only motivator for all those hiring foreign workers. Not nationhood. Period.


In any case, if the BN campers knew that Malaysia would not be an attractive cheap labor market eventually, then there are two questions that beg serious answers.

Firstly, then why did the Tun Dr who helmed the nation for 22 years pawn our citizens into cheap labor marketplace in the first place? Why did he take this short cut if not to push his own agenda for power and control?

Secondly, what were all the BN campers doing all these 30 years – why did they not map out strategic master plan to re-engage and transform our labor market into self-reliance?

We could have created our own knowledgeable workforce of construction and plantation workers, maids, traders and cottage industry hands by institutionalizing these sectors. We could have made it if the lords of contemporary Malaysia had kept interest of the rakyat as a priority above profit-taking and self enrichment in that process.

Today, our friends from neighboring countries are enriching their own nations with wealth brought in from the global market place. More there are also enriching their nation with craft and skills that will keep the country in good stead should the world economy crash.

But we – what have we got? The Abu, Ah Chong and Muthu can hardly bang a nail in concrete; the Siti, Swee Wong and Meenachi hardly know much about housekeeping and knitting yarn let alone growing chili in the back yard.

You can have all the skyscrapers. You can have all the flyovers. But when CORRUPTION and SELF INTEREST has blinded you, you leave the population paralyzed in the face of a global meltdown. And when the tides hits our shores do we blame the Soros and Jews again, just like the Tun Dr did before?

Thanks to BN. And thanks to all Malaysians too for believing the Tun Doctor’s dream for far too long, out of fear and passive submission.

Today, while half the working population is clinging on to their jobs for dear life, another half is drifting without much hope given the economic and financial storms brewing across the globe. And between these extremes is a tiny fraction enjoying the spoils of patronage for the new gurus of Malaysia – the POLITICIANS TURNED TYCOONS.

CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

BN IS NOT FOREVER, NOR IS MAHATHIRISM by J.D. Lovrenciear

This past decade has seen Malaysians politics boil and simmer, simmer and boil again. All these are puncturing too many holes in the armour of our economy while steadily shredding at the seams of our social cohesion.

For how long will we continue to be battered by the politicians who are hell bent in their determination to hold on to power is even beyond the soothsayers prediction.

But as long as BN politicians are determined and resolute to remain in power at all costs – even at the expense of democratic principles, then this nation will only sink deeper into the gutter of a failed nation status.

But looking at the daily unfolding of political drama after drama, it is everyone’s best that the rakyat are increasing getting fed up. Like in all nations across the globe, perhaps our youth will when tested to the limits someday soon, burst the seams of social order.

Is this what the BN is waiting and plotting for?

Not only are we the citizens worried about the looming global financial crisis, but even trying to grapple with the runaway cost of living is already a nightmare.

Civil servants are also scoffing at all the political rubbish pilling up. Same too goes to our men and women in blue. Talk to them over a cup of teh tarik and they will not shy from telling you “tak tahu lah apa sudah jadi sekarang”.

Whichever camp you belong to, let us face the fact – by virtue of the fact that BN has been in command of the nation’s political governance all these decades since independence, it must take absolute responsibility for the current state of crisis waiting to explode.

What BN is contributing and experiencing speaks volumes about the bankrupt leadership. And one need not be a management guru or leadership expert to decipher this, really.

BN should not blame the rakyat or the opposition camp for the state of mismanaged politics and bad governance that BN is being labeled with. If only BN had led wisely, the opposition would not be a threat; if only BN politicians had not succumbed to greed and corruption, BN would not have the rakyat abandoning them.

BN, you got it?

If truly people choose BN again, then walk in and get on with the business entrusted. If they lose, then pack and leave peacefully with a resolute will to be more transformed to the liking of the electorate by the next general elections.

BN must stop all these political scheming, talking down to the populace, dishing out threats, continuing to wallow in corruption and scaffolding individuals in their camps who have been alleged to have amassed illicit wealth, testing the justice system of the nation, and what not.

Already the longest serving Prime Minister has failed the citizens miserably. Instead of using his track record, power and influence to show the erring politicians the way forward, he has today become the ridicule of the entire nation. Even senior journalist in neighboring countries have not sparred their ink on the Tun Dr. Why?

For those of us who travel in and out of the country, we have first-hand experience of how many citizens in other countries are beginning to look at Malaysia with great suspicion. It could be far worse with potential investors though. In fact even newspapers in other countries are beginning to identify the serious state of political affairs in the country.

If there is any word that can best describe our current situation, it is this – we are in a mess.

CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

GONG XI FA CAI

In just a few hours from now, Malaysian Chinese will celebrate Gong Xi Fa Cai to usher in the ‘Year of the Dragon’. May my family and I take this opportunity of wishing all Malaysian Chinese a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION