Malaysiaku, Negaraku

At a time when the country is facing unforeseen global economic uncertainties as a result of the war in the Middle East, two former PKR lawmakers have decided to leave the party whose platform they have used to contest and won in the last general election. I am speaking as one, like most of you, who thought that in Rafizi Ramli we have a future Priime Minister worthy of our support. However, in recent months, his efforts to destroy the very efforts he had put in to contribute to the Reformasi movement, has caused me to scrutiise his actions. The last thing both he and his deputy Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad should do is to vacate their parliamentary seats. By vacating their seats, they would most definitely force another two by-elections in the two constituencies - Pandan and Setiawangsa.  Burden to the poeple   That would mean the voters in these two constituencies would have to go to the poll stations again, amidst the economic pressures that they are already experiencing, now both R...

  This morning as I was parking my car here, I noticed this lady who was sweeping the street, when everyone else was having their breakfast at the mamak restaurant just a stone’s throw away.  A thought came, “What about just saying a word of ‘Thank you’ to her?” I decided I must do it even though the thank you costs hardly anything — just a few minutes of my time. When I decided to take a picture of her, while in action, she immediately stopped, and asked, “Why?”  She appeared to be worried that someone may be complaining on her. After all, this is their fate. They work, but hardly anyone notices, but when the road is dirty, people just know how to complain, complain, and COMPLAIN!  To me, my feedback to the local authorities is nothing but just a feedback. It only becomes a complaint if it is not being attended to, and the problem becomes an issue if it is dragged on for too long. Once it becomes a big issue, it goes even to the press.  For me, because I care f...

As Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad prepare to announce their political futures on the very day of Anwar Ibrahim’s party convention, the optics of this timing cannot be ignored. I have a crucial piece of advice for these two leaders as well as many of their followers, as they navigate this pivotal moment. It is easier for me as an outsider to see what these two young Turks fail to see. Rafizi may be assisted by people who know how to project him even through a piece of photograph — even using the background of a morning sun — that depicts him and Nik Nazmi as promising  future leaders.  After reading and understanding some insights, hopefully, you will see through both Anwar and these two young Turks. Let me begin with Rafizi when he first pulled out of politics. His announcement was that he would retire from politics forever. Obviously, he is inconsistent with his own words. When I tried to persuade him to return to politics, he projected himself as one who was deeply hur...

  One ministers, whose work is hardly appreciated by all, is Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa, former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of the Federal Territories. When she was picked to helm the ministry, I knew that she would do a good job to “revive “ the city of Kuala Lumpur.  My first appointment with her was at her office in Putrajaya, overseeing the lake and the iconic bridge in Putrajaya, where together with her personal assistant Ooi Heng we spent nearly two hours of her precious time to discuss about the city.  Having lived in Kuala Lumpur my whole lifetime, I noticed that over the years, great projects had come and gone. What was left of the city was almost nothing we could be proud of to show to our visiting guests or relatives from overseas. “Kuala Lumpur is a soulless city,” I told her. Little did I realise that a number of the ideas that i had always wanted to see happening in the city came to live, and here am I to unravel them one by one t...

  Apa ceritanya, baca untuk ketahui  Aduan Sifar memang boleh dicapai jikalau penjawat awam terutama sekali mereka yang berada dalam kategori Pengurusan itu memaparkan sikap yang lebih proaktif, seperti dalam contoh ini. Saya meneriima satu video seperti yang di atas yang dibuat oleh seorang rakyat biasa menggunakan gambar Google Earth. Beliau  tidak dapat mengambil gambar di tempat kejadian tersebut kerana kelajuaan kenderaan yang datang dan Jalan Kepong yang boleh menyebabkan kemalangan dan nyawa tergadai begitu saja.  Selepas mendengar video tersebut walaupun ianya dibuat menggunakan dialek Kantonis yang biasa digunakan antara kami berdua, saya membuat hantaran video ini kepada Tuan Narendran Maniam, Ketua pegawai eksekutif IWK untuk tinjauan beliau.   Selepas beberapa ketika, beliau memberitahu bahawa team dari IWK akan pergi siasat.  Dalam masa yang singkat sahaja, Narendran memberi maklumbalas:  “Paip air kumbahan kami pecah 450cm RCP. Ini diseba...

  Every Saturday, while I drive past these five MyKiosks at Persiaran Angsana, Bandar Sri Damansara, I think of the RM150 million allocated by the Ministry of Housing & Local Government for this grand project.  Although this is supposed to be a noble project to help hawkers, its implementation is obviously the reason why it is a flop.  The minister, Nga Kor Ming should understand that the implementation tasks can be delegated to the local government, but overall, it is still the responsibility of his ministry in particular the jabatan Kerajaan tempatan to ensure that his pet project is successful and achieve its intended objectives. You simply cannnot delegate a task and expect it  to magically produce the results.  It is the same with the efforts to rebuild the habitat for wild monkeys beside Jalan Gallagher after the king complained about dirty streets caused by monkeys. The lady Vimala  Raghawan   who has successfully solved the monkey issue for...