MAHATHIR AND PERKASA

Mahathir the plumber and Perkasa the client.
The end result .........

The stage is set for a battle of wills in Umno after Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad declared his support yesterday for Perkasa as a crutch for what he said was a weak Umno.
His remarks to the New Straits Times published today come even as Umno began this week to distance itself from the Malay rights group.
Dr Mahathir is Perkasa’s patron, which is seen as representing the views of Umno’s conservative faction who are against Najib’s proposed economic reforms which they claim will erode Malay control of the economy. “Perkasa members are Umno supporters. It would not help Umno’s cause to turn them away,” Dr Mahathir told the New Straits Times yesterday.
He told the Umno-controlled newspaper that the party could not afford to alienate itself from Malay groups such as Perkasa, which were formed because they believed Umno was not doing enough to protect Malay interests.

KALAU SOROK, TENTU ORANG CINA

I picked this up from another blogger - http://www.goodworm.blogspot.com/
What he/she has written to makes sense in today's political situation.

"Racism runs very deeply in Malaysian society.
Not too long ago, I happen to stumble upon a conversation amongst some Malay colleagues in the company’s pantry.
In the heat of their conversation on retail hoarding, one of the exclaimed heatedly “Kalau sorok ! tentu orang Cina”.
Then there was these two seconds of embarrass silence when they suddenly realized that I was standing next to them.
What drives this 40 something year old overtly civil Malay colleague to stereotype Chinese as blood sucking, profit grabbing vampires?
The destiny of this nation has been molded by the sins of the past and present leaders of this country."

NEW ECONOMIC POLICY AND ISRAEL

Israeli forces boarded the Rachel Corrie yesterday after it ignored orders not to head for Gaza, but there was no repetition of the bloody violence that erupted when commandos stormed an aid boat earlier in the week.
The Israeli navy, whose actions on Monday triggered an international outcry, took control of the Rachel Corrie and sailed it to this port where it docked yesterday evening, the Israeli military said.
The military said in a statement: “19 people were on board the boat including eight crew, all of whom will be transferred to the appropriate authorities in the Interior Ministry.”

Contrast the 2 scenarios.
1. A Prime Minister who did what he had to do - to uphold his country understanding of security even when he faces tremendous pressure from the international community.
2. A Prime Minister who spoke with so much conviction and clarity when he first proposed the New Economic Model(based on recommendations by economic experts to make Malaysia more competitive internationally) but now crashes when he has to face-on with pressure groups from his own race.
Would you put your faith in a leader who "cracks-up" when the push becomes a shove?
Would you put your faith in that leader when the very future of his country and the well being of your family is at stake?

Pakatan Rakyat leaders have castigated Datuk Seri Najib Razak for not defending the New Economic Model (NEM) against its Malay critics, who claim it erodes their rights.
The prime minister had described the NEM as a “trial balloon”, saying the policy had yet to be finalised in his speech at the closing ceremony of the first Malay Consultative Council (MPM) congress held yesterday at the PWTC. The NEM will be tabled within the 10th Malaysia Plan this June 10.
Datuk Zaid Ibrahim ... said he did not know why people continued to expect so much of Najib.
“What has he done different from before? He hasn’t done anything,” he told The Malaysian Insider.
Zaid said he was not surprised at this development, citing the prime minister’s alleged failure at tackling subsidy reform and plugging leakages in government spending.
Zaid said he was unsurprised by the apparent capitulation.
“He’s not a strong leader. I don’t think he has the political strength [and] this is just one of those manifestations.