Economic Recession - pouring oil into roaring fire.

The whole world is faced with the economic recession stemming from the US financial crisis starting from the sub-prime loans. Big names in the financial sector like AIG, Citicorp, Lehman Brothers etc, industrial sectors like GM, DaimerChrysler etc are all affected and all around the world from London to Tokyo to Malaysia governments are frantically trying to protect their economies from going into severe recession. Although actual measures differ the modus operandi all appears to be the same - pour more money into the economy and urging the public to spend, spend, spend, spend,spend ........... The rationale - the public must keep spending to spur demand and therefore growth and recovery. Very Keynesian, very conventional, very stupid.

I will be laughing my head off if the situation was not serious and the effects so dire. Did not any of the economists look at what caused the financial crisis and the ensuring recession in the first place? Consumption expenditure, or to be precise, overconsumption expenditure. People were spending like there was no tomorrow, whether or not they could afford it. They were eating into the accummulation of wealth of the past without the commensurate generation of wealth, thus leaving a big bubble or shell which has collapsed with such dramatic effect. And now governments are asking their citizens to carry on the crazy SPEND, SPEND, SPEND activities that caused the financial crisis in the first place and will dig a deeper grave from which perhaps the world may not recover, not in the next 10 years. Yes, we must spend and spur economic activities but only in generating more wealth in the form of investment expenditure, building up again the egg nest for us to spend in the future without threatening the erosion of the disposable wealth. To spend, spend, spend when you have nothing is just plain crazy.

Have we all gone crazy?

A sensitive weapon

I am very disturbed by the warning by Pewaris, a non-government Muslim organisation, regarding the supposedly planned demonstration in conjunction with the funeral of dead-in-police-custody A Kugan. They warned against any demonstration as it might touch the sensivities of some people - you know who.

What in the world has these people got to be sensitive about if people were to protest alleged police brutality? It has nothing to do with Hindu against Muslims (if this is what the sensitivities are about) just the common layman against the perceived (I am not even saying that the police are guilty) wrong doings of certain policemen. But, all too often, this thinly veiled threat (what the hell are they going to do - invoke the Sedition Act or start a racial riot?) is thrown up by these type of people everytime something that they dont agree with crops up. From anti ISA to the detention of Teresa Kok to reactions to racist comments made by Pulau Pinang Bukit Bendara UMNO Chief, the same threat is used. Isnt the use of such threats illegal in civilised society or are we not a civilised society.

Shame on you Pewaris. You are not championing law and order as you claim to be doing so. You are insulting the ability of the police and you yourself are threatening the supposed planned activities of other in dangerously crouched language, which under any other government (and a new one may emerge shortly) would charge you with criminal intimidation.

New Index for Economic Downturn.

When all conventional indices cannot address the level of poverty in the East Coast states some 40 years ago, an unconventional index was used by Royal Professor Ungku Aziz - namely the Sarong index. Clothing is a necessity of life and the number of sarong on the clothe lines reflected the affluence, or lack of, of the household.

Today, Malaysia and the world, is facing a serious economic downturn. How can we measure the people's perception of how bad it is, despite the Government saying that we are marginally affected and that it is merely 'imported' recession. I have an interesting index - the 'ang pau' index. For years, in good times and not so good times, I have noticed that the queue for 'ang pau' covers from the banks is a relatively good indicator of how well the economy is doing, or perceived to be doing. For the past many years, the queue for 'ang pau' covers are long and when given, only a minimal number is allocated per customer to ensure that they have some to give the later customers. So just how bad is the economy this year - at the bank that I use to transact my monetary business, they just put whole boxes of 'ang pau' covers with a handwritten notice - "Please take me home". Isnt this a sign of the times or not.

Herald Publishing License

An open letter to the Honourable Prime Minister.

Dear Mr. Prime Minister Dato Seri Abdullah Badawi,

I am sure that in the spirit of collective decision making, you are aware that your Home Minister/Home Ministry staff has breached a basic constitutional right, indeed a basic human right of all Malaysians, to communicate in the Malaysian Language, Bahasa Malaysia (aka Bahasa Melayu) when he/they forbade the publishers of the Catholic Newsletter, The Herald, from publishing the Malaysian Language section. I cannot understand how a National Leader can forbid his fellow countryman from communicating in the National Language. The constitution states that the Malay language shall be the national language and no citizens of Malaysia can be prevented from using the language. Therefore, the action of the Home Minister/Home Ministry is ultra-vires the Supreme Law of the Land, the Malaysian Constitution that gives legitimacy to this Government. I hope you will do something about this before the sin rubs onto you. You are responsible by virtue of your position as the Head of Government. Do not make yourself accountable by failure to take corrective action which will imply your support for this unconstitutional act of the Home Minister/Home Ministry.

"Gunakanlah Bahasa Kebangsaan Kita"

A loyal Malaysian's Third Angle Projection

Melayu Mudah Lupa

Happy New Year 2009. Whew! What a ride 2008 has been. In the year ended just yesterday, there were indeed earth shaking developments that threatened to blow the country's economic, social, political and whatever fabric to Kingdom come. Demonstrations, ski-masked garbed commando style arrest of Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim, ISA detentions of a helpless journalist, Raja Petra Kamaruddin and YB Teresa Kok for issues deemed so sensitive/important/explosive etc. Yet what happened? Nothing, absolutely nothing. Were the fears exaggerated? Actions taken effective? Matters satisfactorily resolved? You be the judge. As for me it is very simple. To quote our former Prime Minister- "Melayu (and this includes himself first and foremost - Lingam Tapes Royal Commission of Inquiry- and ALL Malaysians, whether Melayu, Cina, India or Lain-lain) Mudah Lupa".

What a panacea time is! But did we all 'lupa'? And is it for the better (whatever it is)?

The Right to Swing Your Walking Stick

I could never remember who said it. It must have been either Mark Twain, the American humourist, or Winston Churchil - the British humourist who mesquaraded as the Prime Minister. Or is it the other way around? Anyway, the saying is "Your right to swing your (walking) stick end where my nose begins"

All of us have our rights. It is one of life's priviledges granted by God and society. Most people (except fora few dregs of society) are quite happy to grant you the right to have and practice your rights. And if they forgot, you are quite within your rights (and that, they will grant you, unless, of course, they are the dregs of society and just became one temporarily) to demand it, to fight for it. Indeed you are expected to unless you are a wimp or want to be labelled as such.

Most principled and righteous peope, self-righteous ones too, do it. I fully support them. However, in fighting for our rights one very important caveat has to be observed - we must never fight for and demand our rights if in the process of doing so we trample on other people's rights. When rights overlap then the most principled thing to do is to fall back to our principles - the ethics that is our responsibility and let the greater need prevail. To demand your right to swing our stick even beyond the tip of my nose is no longer a practice of your right but the megalomanic demand of demented self-serving person. And every ethical person would condemn such a unprincipled flaunting of one's "rights"

Except in Malaysia - the land of the broken noses.

Malaysia - Home of the Shmoo

If you guys are old enough to remember Al Capp's Li'l Abner cartoon series, you would remember the Shmoo - " the greatest menace to hoomanity th' world has evah known." Is it because they are so terrifying, so evil that humanity has to fear the Shmoo? "No, stupid," answered Ol' Man Mose, hurling one of life's profoundest paradoxes at Li'l Abner. "It's because they're so good!"

Let me quote once more from the article on the Shmoo. "Ironically, the lovable and selfless Shmoos ultimately brought misery to humankind because people with a limitless supply of self-sacrificing Shmoos stopped working and society broke down. Seen at first as a boon to humankind, they were ultimately hunted down and exterminated to preserve the status quo. "

And here is where I digress. The Shmoo were not totally exterminated. One always seem to have escaped to Al Capp's Dogpatch fairy tale world. In reality, they metamorphosed or evolved it it is to survive. One, it seemed, survived and metamorphosed in the far away land of Malayia where today they are thriving in their metamorphosed state wrecking the havoc that Ol' Man Mose predicted.

Note: for more information on the Shmoo re-read your Li'l Abner cartoons or visit http://www.lil-abner.com/shmoo.html. You will not regret it.