Sunday, February 7, 2010

Return from Bamboo River (Final Part)


Friends have been coming to me with pieces of a vast, multidimensional jigsaw that's still in the process of being assembled.

Where was I during the five days I spent comatose in the Intensive Care Unit of Sungai Buloh Hospital? (I can't call it the ICU after seeing Avatar without fantasizing about the beautiful blue-skinned Neyteri...)


My beloved friend Selina - whose eyes can penetrate the many veils of reality - said she meditated with the Blue Buddha mantra as soundtrack and found herself looking at my lifeless body all hooked up to life support equipment. There was nobody in. So she searched the astral planes for me... and eventually found me sitting on a rock, looking very relaxed in a sarong, with a cup of tea.

We had a long conversation and I conveyed to her that I was utterly fed up with the entropic, apparently deteriorating conditions in the 3D Matrix. She used the full force of her feminine charms and persuasive powers to convince me that it was worthwhile returning to my physical body. "You don't want to miss the grand celebration when all of us break through to the next level!" she said (or something to the effect) and offered me her hand. My expression softened at that point, she said, and I reached out to touch her.

Well, I was pleased to hear Selina's report - though I can't confirm if this astral encounter really did occur. Around the time she had this vivid vision, thousands of other people - immediate family, close friends and total strangers from around the world - were praying for me or sending positive vibes. For sure, my soul must have felt the massive force of all this love and was humbled by it. Perhaps falling ill was my soul's way of sulking, but such an outpouring of concern would certainly have convinced me that life on earth wasn't all that terrible and that I really ought to renew my earthly visa and return to physical embodiment.


A couple of friends - a practising shaman and spiritual master from Germany named Rainer and his angel-voiced wife Karin - visited Magick River with six other pilgrims in tow and stayed 13 days, about a week after I was discharged from the hospital. Rainer and Karin came with many messages for me: essentially, they wanted me to be aware that I was embarked on a whole new phase of my earthly mission with dramatically enhanced powers - and that it would require some time for me to fully integrate the new software.

I was grateful for Rainer and Karin's inspired insights and their magnanimous friendship. Seems ironic to me that the people closest to me physically are the most reluctant to acknowledge me for what I am - and that it takes a group of relative strangers coming from halfway round the planet to recognize and appreciate my gifts. In any case, I felt richly rewarded by Rainer, Karin and their friends' wonderful company.

I was required to report back to the hospital on 14 January to get a clean bill of health from the doctor in charge of my case - but when I showed up he was nowhere to be found. The nurses said he was busy on his rounds, so I distributed the thank-you cards and fancy chocolates I had brought (courtesy of my daughter Belle) and checked in with Dr Zulkifli, head of the psychiatric unit, who had said he wanted to see me.

Dr Zul wasn't in a chatty mood. He sat me down in his office and told me I had MDP. "What's that?" I asked. "Manic depressive personality," he said laconically. I wasn't in the mood to argue with Dr Zul who struck me as essentially a decent guy, even if he appeared completely caught up in his role as drug-dispensing psychiatrist and arbiter of sanity. I detected a trace of the Inquisitor in his ego-field and knew at once he wasn't keen to hear my opinion of psychiatry.

Dr Zul's prescription was 2 mg Risperidone to be taken twice daily. I knew from Dr Zul's expression that he was utterly convinced it was his moral and professional duty to slow down my brain functions and return me safely to the 3D Matrix where I could take my place amongst billions of other well-adjusted tax-paying robots.

Now, the question is: I was admitted to the hospital for malaria. So how did the shrinks insert themselves into the story?

As I have already narrated in earlier segments of this report, I emerged from my 5-day coma completely renewed, with gleaming neural circuitry and upgraded software. My brain functions were crystalline and I was able to navigate several dimensions simultaneously (imagine being promoted from driving a 4-wheeled internal combustion earthbound vehicle to piloting a flying saucer).

Naturally I was ecstatic and ebullient. Dr Zul's assistant, Dr Siti, had come around to interview me after the nurses reported on my being awake most nights. She subsequently told my daughter: "Your father is too happy." Belle found that amusing. "Isn't it a good thing that he's happy?" Dr Siti's enigmatic reply was: "Yes, but not too happy."

So, because I was too happy, I needed to be tranquilized, sedated and occasionally strapped to my bed whenever I did anything to upset the normal routine (for example, on two occasions, I tested the staff's response time by pulling on the emergency cord in the shower. Both times they took nearly five minutes to arrive on the scene and were chided by me. They must have taken offence when I suggested that the only acceptable response time was one minute. That would make the difference between life and death for whoever needed help.)

I must confess that I've always considered myself a top-level Quality Control Inspector whose job is to ensure that all systems are running perfectly. Hence the terrible frustration I have felt most of my life on this planet where dimwitted mediocrity still rules in so many areas - especially the country I chose as my operating base.

Why was I so over-the-top happy?


Simply because I had glimpsed the inevitable outcome of all evolutionary threads - and it was an extremely happy one. Our destiny is to be fully conscious in the body and free of all robotic indoctrination. We are not fated to remain semi-conscious, semi-intelligent slaves to any system. Indeed, we are baby gods who will someday take over the management of the entire universe - when we have become totally compassionate and infinitely patient.

Of course, the fast-crumbling and benighted power structure would like us humans to remain sheep-like and half-asleep forever. After all, it depends entirely on us for "manpower." The so-called ruling elite have for countless generations fattened themselves off the blood, sweat and tears of so many species. To them we are merely farm animals, their property. That's what feudalism is all about: a gross misunderstanding of the nature and ultimate purpose of existence.


However, there is absolutely no call to hate or resent the ruling elite - because they are only maintaining a misguided tradition inherited from their distant ancestors, the not-so-noble Creator Gods who established the early civilizations on this planet. And these were indeed great civilizations with astonishingly advanced architecture and a complex bureaucracy. Without their tutelage, we would be without written language, mathematics and technology. Not such a bad thing, actually, since the introduction of alphanumeric symbols eventually led to a left-brain-dominant culture at the expense of our animal instincts and intuition.

Those who believe they wield ultimate power on earth are, in truth, terrified of their own shadows - which explains why they allocate almost two-thirds of their time and resources to defence systems and live in a perpetual Green Zone behind barricades and barbed wire. They are trapped in their own compulsive, paranoid need for secrecy, gathering data through covert agencies and 24/7 electronic surveillance of the population at large. Take away their protective armor and sophisticated killing machines - and what you get is an increasingly desperate and bewildered bunch of overaged delinquents, totally panicked by the prospect of losing control over what is essentially uncontrollable. It is beginning to dawn on some of the brighter ones that money, power and prestige will not get them through the frequency gates. The qualities that will - compassion, empathy, integrity, and the capacity for love - cannot be acquired through reptilian cunning and public relations.

But there's no way back - only the way forward.

From simplicity we became enmeshed in complexity; and now it's time for us to evolve to another level of simplicity - the Zen state of Buddhic consciousness so lucidly described by modern mystics like Eckhart Tolle.

pic courtesy of dpchallenge

In my beatific state of fully expanded awareness, I could see all humanity finally released from drudgery and meaningless toil; from cruelty, injustice and oppression. Freed from mechanical routine, we would swiftly blossom into cosmically conscious beings and take our place in ever larger constellations of sentient beings as galactic citizens.

It would be the end of disease, debt, decay and death. Physical immortality (or at least indefinite life extension) would become an option. We would regain our childlike curiosity and sense of wonder and many of us would choose to become adventurers and explorers (but not colonizers, that's a big no-no), beyond the confines of our native planet. Yes, the promise and prophecy of Star Trek would be fulfilled!


From my expanded perspective, the political shenanigans taking up so much bandwidth were nothing more than a ruckus in the schoolyard. Even the most villainous players became mere manga characters in an X-rated cartoon universe.

PlayStation wasn't invented when I was a kid - but I now found myself in a 4D virtual reality game in which I could gleefully immerse myself with absolutely no fear of getting hurt. Within the confines of the 4D Matrix, all objects and characters appear 3D. Humans are programmed to behave in specific ways and whatever they say is scripted. And because the fictitious deity they invented happens to be a punitive and vengeful one, they have become compulsive liars in order to avoid - or at least postpone - punishment.


If you're a truth-speaking entity in virtual world populated by congenital liars, you'll definitely be viewed as a serious MDP case. MDP is what Dr Zulkifli chose to call my "condition." Other shrinks might have labeled it dementia praecox, schizophrenia or bi-polar disorder.

Truth is, my clinical death and resurrection experience had cleared my cache and made room for a massive file some might call the God Program. I wouldn't call it that for the simple reason that every time anyone installs that particular software and attempts to run it in public, they either get crucified for blasphemy or incarcerated in a madhouse.

Binder dundat.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Two good reads from Free Malaysia Today...


BN shows how bankrupt it is of strategies

The lacklustre Hobson’s choice premier Mohammed Najib Tun Abdul Razak, who has been struggling to be taken seriously and continues to struggle mostly, in vain, to try and restore the dwindling fortunes of his party, is behaving like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a fast approaching vehicle.

[Read the rest here.]


Bad omens and political quakes

The year of the Tiger, according to Chinese soothsayers, does not augur well for the premier, who was born on July 23, 1953, the year of the snake. Astrologers say the Snake and the Tiger aren’t pals. For the snake the “DNA for 2010 is poor people relations, poor health and poor luck.” The Tiger of 2010 is “the year to trigger any possible unfortunate event.”

[Read the rest here.]

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Haunted by the specter of Teoh Beng Hock?


SHAH ALAM, Feb 4 — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) moved its Selangor head office from Plaza Masalam to Wisma PKPS last month, but officials said it had nothing to do with the death of Selangor government political aide Teoh Beng Hock.

View from 14th floor window at the former MACC office in Plaza Masalam
A top MACC official said the move was to serve the public better as advised by one of its advisory panels.

“The new office is more accessible than the one in Plaza Masalam,” the official told The Malaysian Insider.

Last month MACC Selangor quietly moved to new premises on the 7th floor of Wisma PKPS

The 30-year-old Teoh was found dead on the 5th floor of Plaza Masalam last July 16 after he was interrogated overnight in connection with suspected abuse of state funds by lawmakers from the Pakatan Rakyat state government. An inquest into his death will resume on February 19th.
MACC was quick to label Teoh's death a "suicide." They also hinted that hired thugs may have killed him.
The MACC Selangor headquarters was located on the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam. The new office is on the 7th floor of Wisma PKPS which is opposite the Blue Wave Hotel in Shah Alam town centre.

[Source: The Malaysian Insider]

Teoh haunts Plaza Masalam… literally

Retribution for the murderers of TBH and all those who blatantly try to cover it up, is at hand.


The tragic case of Teoh Beng Hock has taken a supernatural twist, with three individuals reportedly having seen his spirit roaming in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s Selangor headquarters in Shah Alam.

According to China Press, his apparition was spotted on the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam, where his remains were found, and on the 14th floor, where the MACC office is located.

The report said a security guard and two MACC officers had bumped into the spectre.


The sightings took place sometime in October, more than two months after the 30-year-old’s death. The security guard, who wished to remain anonymous, said he did not see Teoh’s face, but the apparition was clad in the same clothes which the deceased had worn when he came to the MACC office.

“I saw his dead body after the fall. I am sure that it was Teoh even though I could only see him from the back,” he said, adding that the incident happened around 6.30pm.
Recalling the spine tingling encounter, the security guard said he went to the washroom located on the fifth floor where he suddenly heard footsteps. The other officers were not on duty at the time.

“I had a strange feeling. Usually at that time, nobody would be around. So I walked out of the toilet… then I saw a man in front of the lift, he was wearing a black coat and white pants,” he said.
At that point, it did not strike the security guard that this could be Teoh’s spirit.

“I asked where he was going as no one was upstairs. He just answered ‘I am going upstairs’, the lift door opened and he went in.

“That was when I thought it could be Teoh, so I rushed to the security room to check the CCTV and saw there was nobody in the lift,” he said.


Another encounter
The security guard also related the experience of a MACC officer.

“He was sitting on the sofa watching TV when he suddenly felt something biting his neck, and when he checked, he found a red mark on his neck.

“When he was sitting in the reception area, he saw Teoh walk out from the office.

“Then the officer felt as if someone was pulling his leg. He got scared and rushed out,” he said.

Following this, the security guard said the officer requested for a transfer to the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya and “never came back.”

Teoh, who was the former aide to Selangor exco Ean Yong Hian Wah, was found dead after a marathon questioning session by MACC officers which dragged into the wee hours of the morning.

Although the official version is that Teoh had committed suicide, his family refused to believe that the father-to-be, who was slated to get married the next day, would take his own life.

Following a massive public outcry, the government ordered for an inquest to be held to determine the cause of death.

Teoh’s remains were exhumed for a second post-mortem after renowned Thai pathologist Porntip Rojasunand made the startling revelation that there is an 80 percent probability of homicide.

The inquest continues on December 9th.


A Comment on Malaysia Today:
1.
Unfinished business could make a soul remain on Earth instead of progressing to where it should go. Obviously Teoh’s soul is crying out for Justice and he wants his name cleared of all alleged wrong-doings. Probably he is also worried about his wife and child she is expecting. May his soul rest in peace. A win in the next GE13 will set his soul free!

2.
“The Chinese believe that if you die unjustly and violently (yuen wong) the soul/spirit of the deceased would not leave this earthly place and would haunt and linger around the place where her/his death occurs eternally until justice is done or his/her spirit is appeased. Now you know why the spirit of TBH is haunting Plaza Masalam. There will be more sightings and uneasy feelings experienced by people who are extra sensitive to such phenomenon. It is a way of the deceased’s spirit telling the us that she/he is yearning for justice and to set his/her spirit free.”


[Source: Anak Bangsa Malaysia]




SAIFUL, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

WE'RE BEHIND YOU ALL THE WAY, BOY!

Hmmm... you DO have a nice plump rump!





Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Thanks, Jibby, for making Anwar look better than ever!

Courtesy of Malaysiakini

By doggedly pursuing the ludicrous sodomy charge against Anwar Ibrahim, Najib Razak and his co-conspirators in Umno have given the Opposition Leader's public image a massive boost and made him look like the Prime Minister we all deserve after 52 years of parasitic and piratic misrule.

Indeed, Sodomy II has given Anwar unprecedented international media attention and the moral support of a huge upswelling of sympathy from Malaysians of all walks of life, even those normally apathetic about local politics. Anwar has never looked better - at least Malaysian taxpayers didn't have to fork out RM20 million in professional fees to a Jewish PR company named APCO Worldwide - while Najib has never looked worse.


Pic by Jack Ooi for The Malaysian Insider

Nik Aziz, spiritual leader of PAS, arrives at the High Court in a show of support for Anwar Ibrahim as his trial commences (Pic by Jack Ooi for The Malaysian Insider)

Anwar hugs an elderly supporter who broke through the crowd to bless his hero (Pic by Jack Ooi for The Malaysian Insider)




Malaysia itself is in the dock ~ Wall Street Journal

FEB 2 — More than a decade after he was beaten, tried and jailed, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim will once again face a Kuala Lumpur court today on charges of sodomy. The accusations are highly dubious and raise a serious question: Is this moderate Muslim democracy becoming a nation with no real rule of law?

The circumstances surrounding Anwar’s prosecution are suspiciously familiar to most Malaysians. In 1998, he was arrested as he was mounting serious arguments against the increasingly erratic government of United Malays National Organisation chief Mahathir Mohamed. On a nearby page, Anwar’s former aide Munawar Anees describes being tortured and forced to confess to sodomy, a criminal offense in Malaysia. Anwar was convicted of sodomy and abuse of power and served six years in jail before the sodomy ruling was overturned in 2004. He was allowed to run for political office again in 2008, which he did, in earnest.

Anwar was arrested again in July 2008, a day after participating in his first nationally televised debate in more than a decade—an event that showcased his political skills and highlighted the growing momentum behind his three-party opposition coalition. He was accused of sodomy with a 23-year-old former aide, Saiful Bukhari Azlan. Saiful was taken into protective police custody after he made his allegation and has since rarely been seen in public. The government denies any political motivation for the charges. Saiful himself has not been charged.

As in 1998, the evidence in this case is thin at best. The police made a show of arresting Anwar, put him in jail for a night, and forced him to undergo a humiliating medical “examination.” The government then passed a bill in parliament to give the police expanded powers to collect DNA in criminal cases. Anwar’s lawyers claim they have a hospital report that shows no sodomy occurred.

Also troubling is the public involvement of Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was deputy leader at the time of Mr Anwar’s 2008 arrest—and the man most politically threatened by Anwar’s popularity. Najib acknowledged that he was photographed with and spoke to Saiful (pictured right) after he was allegedly sodomised and before he went to the hospital for tests. Najib says he didn’t influence Saiful’s decision to press charges. Saiful couldn’t be reached for comment.

This story would sound familiar in a tin-pot dictatorship. But Malaysia isn’t one. Along with Indonesia, it forms the backbone of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Its citizens today have far more access to news and information through the Internet than they did 12 years ago. They also have the power to vote.

And that may be the mechanism that keeps Malaysia free and honest. Ordinary citizens—including the majority ethnic Malays—increasingly support Anwar’s secular platform of religious tolerance, economic liberty and modernisation. The opposition won five of 13 states in national elections in 2008, and it has since won seven of nine by-elections. Anwar was re-elected to parliament in a by-election the month after his arrest in 2008. There will likely be protests in front of the courthouse to show support for him.

The trial that begins today threatens domestic political unrest and undermines confidence, at home and around the world, in Malaysia’s rule of law. ~ Wall Street Journal

RPK is convinced Anwar was poisoned while in prison




"Although things remain calm on the surface, civil society is traumatized by such a naked display of power and crude perversion of justice. The trust between the government and the people is broken and the government’s respect and legitimacy bleeds away. Deep undercurrents of discontent are created which must eventually manifest in some ways. Anwar’s fight to clear his name will be a defining moment for Malaysia. This is not about one man’s fight for justice but an indicator of the path the nation is taking." ~ Bruce Tan, Harakah

Monday, February 1, 2010

Another case of much ado about nothing


Many years ago I met a Sufi master whose profound understanding of Islam truly impressed me.

But before I continue with this story, let me state that almost all the Muslims with whom I have had close friendships have either been Sufis - or were gravitating towards a mystical interpretation of Islam. The mystical approach is experiential and private; whereas ritualistic religion is regulated by public behavior and therefore tends to be tribalistic in nature.

I find it impossible to have an intelligent conversation with fundamentalists of any persuasion - whether Muslim, Christian or whatever. This is because fundamentalism is antagonistic to intelligence. Wherever violence erupts over religious differences, fundamentalism is invariably the root cause. Brawn and brute force override brain and heart when independent thinking is suppressed.


Looking up the word "fundamentalism" in my trusty digital dictionary, I found this concise summary:

"Islamic fundamentalism appeared in the 18th and 19th centuries as a reaction to the disintegration of Islamic political and economic power, asserting that Islam is central to both state and society and advocating strict adherence to the Koran (Qur'an) and to Islamic law (sharia), supported if need be by jihad or holy war."

There you have it. Fundamentalism is basically an outward manifestation of ego insecurity. An entire tribe or nation can suffer from ego insecurity and seek refuge in hardline dogmatism and fanaticism. You could say it's a pathological condition and, as such, can be quite easily cured - once the hidden hand behind the reactionary forces is revealed and surgically amputated.

In every case you will find that the chief puppetmaster isn't even a believer. He cynically exploits the gullibility of the mindless mob and manipulates its collective pain-body through control of the mass media and law enforcement.


Coming back to my Sufi friend who enlightened me about the essence of Islam. He pointed out the significance of a triconsonantal syllable in Arabic and Hebrew which expresses peace, harmony and wholeness: the Arabic SaLaM and Hebraic ShaLoM are the commonest embodiments of this key to being truly muSLiM.
Sin-Lam-Mim (Arabic: س ل م‎ S-L-M; Hebrew: שלם‎ Š-L-M) is the triconsonantal root of many Semitic words, and many of those words are used as names. The root itself translates as "whole, safe, intact."
[Wikipedia]
Note that this triconsonantal syllable forms the root of the words "Islam" and "Muslim." This places the frequency of peace, harmony and wholeness at the very core of Islam and any sentient being that consciously aspires towards attunement and harmonization with the Whole of Existence is intrinsically Muslim.


When one has embraced the essence of Islam, no other rules apply. All observances, injunctions and rituals (specific to a historical and sociocultural context) immediately become irrelevant and meaningless and fall away of their own accord. As such, Islam in its pure, essential form can be said to be the ultimate guide to attaining cosmic equilibrium and liberation from illusion. This is precisely the teaching of wu-wei found in the Tao Te Ching and it corresponds perfectly with the highest aspirations of Zen Buddhism. It also resonates effortlessly with the concept of yoga or sacred union with the Godhead or Source.

What about the name "Allah"? Does it have a special meaning? My learned friend explained that the word, written as Al-Lah means The Great Void - or The Nothingness from which Everything was born. In other words, Source.

Every Tibetan Buddhist aspires to return to and consciously merge with The Great Void. The Nothingness is a key element in Chaos Theory which postulates that Order (structured existence or an actualized state of being) emerges either randomly - or as a focused expression of desire and will from the Primordial Chaos (Infinite Potentiality). It all makes perfect sense to me.

The mystical understanding of Allah and Islam frees us from a narrow and limited distortion that can only lead to divisiveness and discord. Indeed, the way my Sufi friend explained Islam made me instantly receptive and I realized that this was truly a sophisticated philosophy with universal appeal and cosmic wisdom. No compulsion, no harsh and punitive rules, no exclusivity.


Alas, the crafty hoodlums who rule over unthinking mobs must of necessity opt for the most demented, inane and constricted interpretation of any belief system in order to have any control over the untutored passions of their flock. They will set up formal councils and academies to determine the parameters of belief and behavior and vigorously persecute (and even execute) anyone who preaches any form of "deviancy" from the orthodox doctrine.

We have seen what the Spanish Inquisition (which lasted from 1478 till 1834) was really about - the brutal and violent suppression of religious dissent and heresy for the benefit of a corrupt and greedy ruling elite. In this day and age we need a Malay Inquisition like we need a hole in the pocket.

Allahu Akbar! The Nothingness is All! So why so much ado about NOTHING?

Meanwhile... back on the Flat Earth...

A STINK IS BREWING IN UMNO:
HOW WILL THE CHIPS FALL?


As Malaysia moves into the last stretch of an inevitable political transformation, the risks of civil unrest and emergency rule have increased, and neither appearances nor declarations made by its ruling elite - whether verbal or written - can be taken at face value or for granted anymore.

By Wong Choon Mei | Harakahdaily

So when Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin (right) urged his party to return to the middle ground, warning that its current hard line approach over the Allah issue may spell political doom, quite a few pundits were surprised by his courage and questioned his motives.

KJ – as the son-in-law of former premier Abdullah Badawi is also known – was stating what was obvious to most Malaysians and issuing a most needed wake-up call to his party, which has ruled Malaysia since independence in 1957. However, his remarks came at a time when his bosses, including Prime Minister Najib Razak and Deputy PM Muhyiddin Yassin, have chosen to bury their heads in the denial mode perfected decades ago by leaders such as former premier Mahathir Mohamad.

Unlikely therefore that KJ’s comments will bear any fruit for moderate Malaysia, which is trying to fend off yet another attack from a bullying Umno against its constitutional rights - this time, the religious freedom guaranteed by the Federal Constitution.

So whatever Khairy’s motive was – whether to pose as a moderating light amidst the groundswell of Umno belligerence or to signal to these hawks (some say on behalf of Najib) that it is time to cool down – is immaterial. Because above him, a bigger game with higher stakes is being played, and unfolding much quicker than anticipated.

Hard-nosed Malaysia

Weeks before the December 31 High Court ruling allowing non-Muslims to use the word Allah, rumblings were already growing in Umno that a power tussle at the very top - between Najib and Muhyiddin - may finally be breaking into the open.Two incidents fired the rumours. One was the sudden call by Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi - previously regarded as a Najib loyalist but lately believed to have switched over to Muhyiddin - for Gerakan to surrender the Penang BN chair to Umno. The other was the messy way in which Zahid chose to expose the theft of two jet engines from a military base.

Both incidents embarrassed Najib. The Umno president is really not sitting as pretty as his minders have tried to make it appear. No doubt there have been gushing news reports and ‘independent’ polls that try to portray growing popularity, but the reality is that hard-nosed Malaysians have already had a whiff of the future and they don’t like what they smell..


In 2009, along with Umno cronies and several Government-Linked-Companies, Malaysians shifted billions out of the country – about 50 percent of its GDP, which in 2008 was some RM739 billion. In its latest report, UBS Securities Asia wrote: “Question: which Asian country had the biggest FX reserve losses in 2009? The answer is Malaysia, and by a very wide margin; we estimate that official reserves fell by well more than one-quarter on a valuation-adjusted basis.”

“Why is this bizarre? Well, in the first place because Malaysia runs a current account surplus – and not just a mild surplus but rather the largest in Asia, around 17% of GDP. Other structural surplus neighbors like China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand have all seen sizeable increases in FX reserves over the past 12 months and yet Malaysian reserves nearly collapsed. How did this happen? In short, Malaysia must have seen massive foreign capital outflows – and sure enough, when we measure implied net flows, the numbers are simply stunning: peak outflows of nearly 50% of GDP, i.e., more than twice as large.”

Indeed, it would appear that hard-nosed Malaysia is not at all convinced that Najib can hold the fort. Neither is it willing to bet that Muhyiddin can do better. And judging from the massive outflows recorded, it would seem that neither the cronies nor the GLCs have faith either.

Will Umno be matured and civilized?

The future may be more complex than we can imagine. Even if Pakatan Rakyat fails to sweep to federal power in the next general election, it can still win further ground.

Can Umno accept this, when already it has shown itself prepared to push to the limit its war to regain Selangor, as witness the Teoh Beng Hock catastrophe? When it has shown itself ready to turn upside-down the judiciary and the Federal Constitution just to grab and cling to power in Perak?

Should the Pakatan win decisively - and this is looking more and more probable - will Umno be matured and civilized enough to accept such an outcome? Seriously, what are the odds that Umno can rise above brute force and intimidation? Small and as of now, it would be fairer to say that civil unrest and emergency rule are the more likely scenarios to follow a Pakatan victory at the next general election.

Indeed, these are the eventualities that Malaysians must confront and prepare themselves for. They must overcome their fear of trouble and think of the type of future they want for the children.

Otherwise Malaysia will become whatever the hawks in Umno say it is supposed to be, and this will be whatever they believe is to their advantage and not the nation's – both politically and financially.

The new Pak Lah vs the new Mahathir

Already, the country's largest political party is being overtaken by opportunists who see nothing wrong in using strong-arm tactics to maintain their positions and benefits. Former premier Mahathir, who still wields considerable influence, is also plotting his next move. In his corner is Muhyiddin, who has been alarming moderate Malaysians with a rash of hawkish statements. He has made it clear that he is DPM for the Malays first, and only then the other races. Will this be palatable to the non-Malays, should they accept him as the next Prime Minister?

As for Najib, it is obvious that he has been playing a double game, but can he hold out against their onslaught? Born into a privileged background, Malaysia’s sixth PM is - at the personal level – liberal and progressive. But he also believes that he has to show that he is willing to play hardball to keep his party in power. Or be ousted like his indecisive predecessor Pak Lah, who won himself the nickname Sleeping Beauty during his four years in office.

So for Najib, it has been a case of trying to do both. Win the hearts and minds of Umno and also the rest of the country. Unfortunately, the two prongs cannot meet or be reconciled, simply because the Umno of today has more political thugs than talent on its membership lists. The Umno president may have found out the hard way that when you give an inch, they want a yard! This has left the PM's 1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now stuck and unable to get off the ground.

Just as Najib is now increasingly seen as another Pak Lah, Muhyiddin is regarded as a new Mahathir. But neither men are the solutions that Malaysia needs. Neither men can take the country forward.

For now, only one thing is clear - Malaysians need to be brave if the current tailspin into backwardness and poverty is to be arrested and reversed. Otherwise, from becoming a developed country by 2020, we may well slip further in the ranks of the third world, economically overtaken by Vietnam and politically comparable to Myanmar.

[Wong Choon Mei is a consultant editor for Harakahdaily]