Monday 27 August 2012

THE NEXT BIG THING IN PARLIAMENT

Let just imagine that you are a politician and you are currently a Member of Parliment for your constituency . Now , let say that the election period had arrived and you were elected as a candidate for the second time in the same constituency . Now , all you have to do is to put some RM100K as your financial capital for the campaign , plus some extra cash , maybe RM5K as your betting money . The only way to get back your RM5K is by getting at least 1/8 of the total voters who voted on the election day .

Now , for the interesting part of this article . Just imagine that a publicity booth and a grand stage had been set up in the public field , which belongs to the municipial council . At night , there were hundreds of people come to your speech . You will be only giving the speech on the grand stage and the booth will do the rest for you . It will distribute free refreshments , some souvenirs and registering new members of your party .

Your job of the night is only to give speech and that is all . So , what kind of speech will you be giving ? Is it about promising the citizens of your area that each and every one of them will get free fuel refill for a day , that is the day after the election should you win ? Or you will be using this oppurtunity to slam either Government or Opposition ' s policies , depending on which side you are , when your own policies are worse ? How about spreading the mega plan ; to take over the nation 's capital when you are on the losing side ?

My question is , should you tell the people by using any of the statement above ? Of course no . You are a politician , not a lawyer . You do not make a living by " cheating " on the people like the way lawyers does . When you are giving your political speech , make sure that your contents are based on reliable , accurate source . Do not simply jumble up everything from the Internet , copy paste here and there and expect the people to believe in every words you says .

When it comes to making promises , do not make empty , illogical assurance to your constituency ' s people . If your party or the government itself cannot afford to bring down the car price in Malaysia , do not promise that ! Just make a vow to the people that you will serve the people during disaster times . Just promise to the people that you will bring down corruption in your area . Make a personal guarantee that your office will be like a open house , where people can come in and tell their problems to the people . Or maybe you can set up an special day in a week ,  let say Wednesday night where you can personally listen to their arguments about the problems in the constituency .

Just remember that people do not choose you only because you are good looking or super rich billionaires . They elected you so that you will be their voice in the Parliment , a guy who can speak up for the constituency ' s interest . This is what every politicians ( MPs ) should say .

Now , do not you think that your every vote is important and that you cannot elect someone who is in jail because he or she is involved in crimes . Make your choice wisely . Good night

SAYA PILIH MALAYSIA


Sunday 26 August 2012

SOW THE SEED OF HATRED , REAP THE FRUIT OF DISASTER

Wise man said , " You reap what you sow " . As for me , I truly believe in that statement . I truly believe that if we give the input , we will reap the output . The output can be either positive or negative . If you spread love , you will reap peace . If you plant hatred , you will get a disaster . The concept is very much similar to law of karma . What goes around , comes around .

The reason why I am writing this article is that I had came across several " farmers " who tried to clear the wilderness of " diversity and peace " and turn it into an rubber estate of " anarchy ". What am I trying to say ? I want to use this analogy as a reminder to everyone of you who had been exposed to outside influence especially from any form of electronic and printed medias . I just want you to be careful of these " farmers " who tried to invade and destroy the fabrics which had been mended by our forefathers to form the wilderness of " peace and diversity " that we are living in to this day . 

The million dolar question , " Who are these farmers and how they disguise themselves ? " . These " farmers " can be " anyone . They can be politicians , ministers , officers , even teachers . They disguise themselves under the name of freedom , justice and meritocracy . They are usually vocal speakers for their group , voicing their discontent over any issues regarding their community through social medias such as Facebook , Twitter , Myspace and so on . They even had a blog dedicated for their cause .

These people especially politicians and activists are now moving in a new direction . What is the direction ? Their direction is to win the hearts of many Malaysian especially the youth by  publishing anti - statement about the Government . By this way , they hope of winning more seats in the next general election . I am not saying that all of their anti - Government 's statements are wrong . It is just that many of their claims are baseless and lies . In fact , I would actually support them if they voiced their protest over certain education issues such as JPA scholarships , Matriculation placements and the usage of Bahasa Malaysia in Maths and Science . Sadly , most of these " farmers " overlooked this issues . They are more interested in attacking the Government for the wrong cause at the wrong time in a wrong situation .

I would like to remind all of you who are reading this post , to study their claims and facts in depth . Look out for any websites , blogs and medias who had different opinions on the issue . After reading  on both sides , make your own judgement . If you think that neither sides are correct , then close the book . Do not try to spread any further rumours on the issue . Just think of how many minds you have corrupted if you spread it .   Do not let these " farmers " planted the seed of destruction .

SATU HATI , SATU JIWA , SATU BANGSA
HIDUP MALAYSIA
SALAM KEMERDEKAAN KE 55


Saturday 25 August 2012

WHAT DO YOU WANT ?

Personally , I am a human but I do not understand one of the most despicable human nature ; complains and grumble . Just take the college students for example . I mean , how many of you know of a college guy who never complained about anything ? He or she will not complain about the canteen food , will not complain about the dull condition of the dormitory rooms , will not complain about anything in the college even when the college itself needs some criticisms ? Can you find one ?

As for me , I had not find any of those guys . I feel that these people are " goddess " . They are not so foolish to step down on earth and mix with " devils " like us .  They are up there ,in the heaven , giggling to themselves as they watched us compaining non -stop like in one of those stand-up comedy acts . So what should we do ? I know the answer . The answer is we should stop our grumblish act and put ourselves in the shoes of the college management .

Let say all of us are in the college management team . When some idiots complained about the food being untasty , how can we explain to them that the food is free of charge and green veggies are good for them ? When these pundits complained that the assignments and exams are too hard and numerous , how can we explain to them that they had a lot of challenges  needs to be accomplished in order for them to graduate as a profesional ? When they grumbled that the dormitory looked rather dull and creepy , like something from the Frankenstein classic settings , how can we make them understand that they only have to pay a meagre sum for accomodation and that electricity and water bills are borne by college ?

Now , do not you think that we should ask what we can do to improve our college instead of asking what the college can give us ? Do not be a greedy person . Just accept whatever is offered to you . I am sure , your college life is going to be a nice one .

NOTE : Author wishes the very best luck to friends and students across Malaysia who got the admission into public and private universities this coming September and October .

SLOW IT DOWN , ENJOY THE JOURNEY

Today is Sunday and I am pretty the traffic leading to Kuala Lumpur and other big cities in Malaysia is going at a snail pace . But if you are the one who got stucked in the traffic madness , do not worry . You are just one of the thousand Malaysians who are vying for a  traffic space in which you can speed up your car and get back home as quickly as possible . The festive mood is going to be turned off by midnight and the usual hectic schedule will continue to bother us until the next festive celebration .

However , this had nothing to do with our topic today . Our topic of the day is " SLOW IT DOWN , ENJOY THE JOURNEY " . You see , people are so fixated and obsessed when it comes to reaching the destination or goal , that they sometimes forget something behind ; the journey itself . It is in every human nature that we could not care less about our surrounding and the situation we are in . For everyone of us , the end justifies the mean . This is a wrong concept . For me , we must take it easy , enjoy the journey and try to achieve the goal in a harmless way .

Let me give you an example . Let say that I , Manop will be travelling from Penang to Johor Baru . Now , do you think that I can drive the car whichever I wants , even to the extent of endangering other road users and the passangers inside my car . Do you think it is a proper thing to do ? Of course no . By the way , I am on a vacation in Johor and I do not see any need for reckless , speed driving in which it would lead me into accidents or being caught in a speed trap . Instead , I will drive at a reasonable speed , stop at any rest stations whenever I feel tired , enjoy the the road scenery , maybe even giggling myself to the funny advertisement banner set up along the highway . Now , that is what a travel is all about .

The concept " SLOW IT DOWN , ENJOY THE JOURNEY " can also be applied in our daily life . Take Pandalela Rinong and Datuk Lee Chong Wei for example . Where were we when they are suffering setbacks in the diving pool or badminton competition ? Where were we when they are crying out loud when the supporters said they are just good-for-nothing athletes ? Where were we when they are training like there is no tommorrow for years ?  Sadly , we are only there when they achieved their goals . We are busy cheering for their Olympic medals as if the medals just fell from the sky .

My personal opinion is that we had overlooked the agonising pain they had endured in their journey to Olympic fame . I think that maybe we should slow down and look back closely on their story . Their story is like a journey on a highway . Sometimes , the car broke down . Sometimes , they feel tired . Sometimes , they feel like giving up when they almost reached the end of the journey . Had they been a " reckless car driver " , I do not think they can achieve their destination .

If you are reading this , please remember that the most beautiful part of the journey is not the destination ; it is the journey itself . THANK YOU for reading this .

LOYALTY TO THE PARTY FIRST

Happy Saturday for all of you who are reading this post . It had been a busy but exhilarating day for me .  A lot of things happened today . But however , I do not want to talk about my day . It is simply irrelevant . What I want to talk today is loyalty to the party .

Question is , which party am I talking about ? BN ? PKR ? DAP ? PAS ? No , I am not talking about any of these major Malaysian political parties . Instead , I want to talk about the Chinese Communist Party . Yes , I am talking about the party which controlled the most populous nation in the world and also the second largest economy , People ' s Republic Of China . For your information , the China as we know today was founded in 1949 by the Communist Party of China ( CPC ) . The first chairman and president of China was Mao Zedong who became the head of the state from 1949 to his demise in 1976 .

Furthermore , as the modern Chinese government adopted the ideology of communisme , the state had also adopted a secular , communist constituition . Now , this is the interesting part of the story . Under the the China constituition , in order to be a Communist Party member , one has to forego his or her religious identity . This rule applies to all Chinese citizens , be it a Buddhist , Taoist , Christian , even Muslim . This means that a Muslim cannot observe the fasting month of Ramadan , the Buddhist cannot observe the Wesak day and so on . However , if he or she is not a Communist Party member , he or she can observe and practise own religious belief freely as guaranteed under the China ' s constituition . Now from here , can you understand my main point ? The Communist Party expected each and every party member to put their priority on the organisation first .

On one side , it is a good thing . The communist policy tried to shatter the religious and creed differences in among different ethnics in China by treating them equally once they are the Communist member . The government wants the citizens who are members of the Party to put their heart and soul to defend the communist ideology against the forces of democracy and capitalism . In addition ,  since China is a single party state like the former Soviet Union , no other parties other than the Communist Party  are allowed to exist .

On the other side , the Chinese government tried to promote atheisme among the member of the party . The communist philosophy believes that loyalty to the state is more important than loyalty to their respective ethnics and religions as stated in the ideology . The idea of atheisme and not being able to practise own religion once you are in the party will not work in any democracies be it Malaysia , US and so on . Not for religious person like me .

Nevertheless , I had truly admired the Chinese Communist Party ' s effort in eliminating the religious and racial difference in among its citizens by unifying them under one common ideology that is communisme . After all , they live in one big family that is China . In conclusion , I think that every Malaysians should be united under one common ideology and forego any religious nor racial difference between us . We do not have to be communists but I am certain that we can achieve that goal in our distinctive Malaysian way .

Thank you for reading this . By the way , my religion is democracy .

Thursday 23 August 2012

THE TRUE " MERDEKA " MIND

The Independence Day of Malaysia will arrive 7 days from now . Today is 24th of August and the DAY is on 31st of August . Well , the only reason I want to write this article is to express my gratitude and proudness of being an independent Malaysian who had the freedom to control his own destiny without being subjugated to the wrath of the colonial master from the Western world .

It is widely known that Malaysia had been a sovereign , independent nation for almost 55 years . The independence was achieved as a result of excellent diplomatic skills displayed by our forefathers and also as a part of decolonization process by the mighty British Empire which was hugely endorsed by United Nations ( UN ) and the Queen ' s colonies all around the world . While it is true that the former colonial master , British had leaved our beloved shores for more than half a century ago , they are actually still a coloniser of our mind .

When the British made Malaya the Queen's colony , she does not only wrest the control of economic and political power from the local sultans , she also put the mind of most Malayan under her charm . Through the missionary schools and English government schools , they imparted the impression that anything Western is superior and anything Eastern and Oriental is inferior . They also brainwashed us that it were the Western scholars who had invented and created some of the finest scientific theories in the world .

I had to confess that the Western world did contribute a lot scientific and literature marvels to the world but please remember that the advancement and discoveries that they had made were a result of studies on Eastern scholars such as Avicenna ( Ibn Sina ) , Ibn Battuta , Confucius , Mencius , ancient Hindu scholars and so on . Shall I elaborate longer ? When the whole Europe was going through Dark Age , Eastern civilization such as the Umayyad Caliphate , Abbasid had already established universities and colleges for their subjects . Who could not forget the invention of gunpowders , silks and papers in which the process was discovered by the Chinese , only to reach European market a few centuries later . The modern numbering system was actually derived by the Arab scholars who had learnt it from the Hindu scholars in India .

Now , do you get a clearer picture on the state of our mind . Our mind are still being " colonised " .  We are too busy admiring the Western civilisation when they had actually benefitted from our Eastern civilizations . Therefore , I believe it is the time for us to actually study or own civilisation in depth while not abandoning the centuries of Western legacies and knowledges that exist until today . If we can somehow do just that , I think the Malaysian society as a whole , had achived the true " Merdeka " mind . Be global in your thinking , but be local in your attitude .

Thank you for reading this .
SALAM MERDEKA
SALAM LEBARAN   

Wednesday 22 August 2012

SPANISH SUPERCUP FIESTA

4 KNIGHTS OF BARCELONA
Now , if you are reading this post , you might be wondering what  a Spanish Supercup match has to do with the legendary " El Classico " ?  Need further explanation ? If you are , then let me explain in details . If you see the photo above , it clearly stated the venue , time and most importantly , the match is between Barcelona and Real Madrid . Now ,for your information , the Spanish Supercup match is equivalent to the EPL Community Shield match in which this match will only be held at the early of the season . The participating team are the League champion of the last season , that is Real Madrid and the first runner - up team , FC Barcelona .

This match is interesting because it will be the REAL test for the new Catalan manager , Tito Vilanova who had been appointed to replace the " ONLY ONE " , Pep Guardiola . Pep Guardiola is currently on sabbatical leave while also looking for the right club to coach . Previously , Tito was the assistant manager for Barcelona and is one of the " backbone " for the Catalan giants . It will also be the " Homecoming Party " for both David Villa and Carlos Puyol who will have to prove their worthiness to the team despite being out for most of 2011 - 2012 season . The latest signing , Jordi Alba who had showed the outstanding ability as a leftback during Euro 2012 must use this match to prove himself qualified to be a part of the " DREAM TEAM " .

Last but not least , I wished all the best for FC Barcelona . Whatever outcome or result from the match , I will always be your biggest fan . Like this post if you are the Catalan supporters . Let the Fiesta begins .

XOXO Manop