Apa ada pada politik?

'Politik dengan demikian sudah seperti sex: ramai-ramai dianggap kotor, tapi ramai-ramai pula dikerjakan -- terkadang dengan cara tidak legal ataupun tidak senonoh. Dan jika seorang pakar ilmu politik misalnya membedakan sebuah gerakan moral dari gerakan politik, maka ia pun mungkin korban kebingungan yang sama: seakan-akan yang politik bisa dipisahkan habis dari yang moral, dan sebaliknya.' Goenawan Mohamad

Hari ini membuka kata dengan meminjam tulisan Pak Goenawan dari Catatan Pinggirnya. Sebetulnya apa yang ingin diluahkan ialah bagaimana istilah politik telah disalahfahamkan dengan makna yang yang cukup memualkan. Politik dikaitkan dengan rasuah, salah guna kuasa, jatuh-menjatuhkan kawan dan yang paling berat membelakangkan kepentingan rakyat. Pelajar seringkali ditakut-takutkan dengan politik, kakitangan kerajaan tidak boleh berpolitik (habis tu apa yang dia orang buat kat pejabat? bukankan pentadbiran awam itu sebahagian daripada disiplin sains politik?) sehinggakan pensyarah universiti melontarkan kata-kata, ' saya seorang ahli akademik yang tidak mahu berpolitik', nah, habis umat ini bila mahu memisahkan politik dengan kehidupan seharian.... Jadi mari kita bincangkan bagaimana menyucikan politik.....

Another hamper to the voters

Series of hampers:

Kelantan - University?

Terengganu - University .....
and now.............. here we go....

Sarawak bakal miliki lapangan terbang, pelabuhan baru

LAWAS 8 Mei - Lawas bakal mempunyai sebuah lapangan terbang baru yang dapat meningkatkan daya saing bandar di utara Sarawak ini.

Menteri Perancangan dan Pengurusan Sumber II Sarawak, Datuk Awang Tengah Ali Hassan berkata projek bernilai RM150 juta itu yang diluluskan kerajaan pusat di bawah Rancangan Malaysia Kesembilan akan dimulakan tahun ini.

Beliau memberitahu Bernama di sini hari ini, lapangan terbang itu dapat mengendalikan pesawat jenis Fokker tetapi kerajaan merancang meningkatkan keupayaannya untuk mengendalikan pesawat lebih besar pada masa depan.

Bagi menjamin daya maju lapangan terbang itu, kerajaan Sarawak dan Sabah akan membincangkan program kerjasama untuk membangunkan kawasan sempadan kedua-dua negeri, katanya.

Selain lapangan terbang, Awang Tengah yang juga Menteri Kemudahan Awam berkata sebuah pelabuhan baru akan dibina di sini dan tapaknya sudahpun dikenal pasti.

``Dengan adanya pelabuhan tersebut, Lawas berpotensi menjadi pusat eksport bagi pelbagai produk yang ada di sekitar kawasan sempadan di sini,'' katanya.

Beliau yang juga penyandang bagi kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Lawas yang kini dinamakan Bukit Sari berikutan persempadanan semula oleh Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) pada tahun lepas, berkata Lawas juga akan memiliki sebuah hospital baru yang dianggarkan bernilai RM85 juta.

Mengenai pilihan raya negeri Sarawak kesembilan pada 20 Mei ini, Awang Tengah yang dicalonkan semula untuk bertanding berkata Barisan Nasional (BN) bersedia menerima tentangan daripada calon bebas atau calon parti pembangkang.

``Saya bersedia kerana saya tidak memperkecilkan peluang semua pihak dan saya serah pengundi untuk tentukan nasib mereka sendiri,'' katanya.

Bukit Sari yang majoriti pengundi Melayu mempunyai pengundi berdaftar seramai 9,373 orang yang terdiri daripada petani, peniaga dan kakitangan awam serta kakitangan di syarikat persendirian.

Pada pilihan raya negeri 2001, Awang Tengah menewaskan calon Keadilan Japar Suyut dengan undi sebanyak 6,299 berbanding 289 undi yang diperolehi oleh calon pembangkang itu.

- Bernama

Selamat datang aktor baru ruang sivil

Tun Dr Mahathir terus memahat namanya dalam politik tanahair. Boleh diibaratkan bakal menjadi seorang lagenda politik di negara ini, beliau terus menjadi tumpuan utama dalam senario politik Malaysia. Beliau seoalah-olah memberi isyarat bahawa penyerahan jawatan Perdana Menteri dan Presiden UMNO bukan membawa erti untuk tidak mencampuri urusan pentadbiran dan juga politik semasa. Bermula dengan komen bahawa pemerintah sekarang lemah kerana tidak mempunyai pembangkang yang kuat (merujuk kepada kemenangan besar BN dalam pilhan raya 2004), Dr Mahathir terus menggunakan kapasitinya, seperti yang sering dinyatakan beliau, sebagai seorang rakyat biasa yang mempunyai hak untuk bersuara, untuk mempersoalkan beberapa tindakan pemerintah atau lebih tepat lagi jentera pimpinan Pak lah.

Apa yang menarik untuk dibincang ialah bagaimana Dr Mahathir telah menggunakan ruang yang sentiasa dianggap sebagai ancaman kepada pemerintahannya dahulu iaitu ruang sivil untuk menghantui Perdana Menteri yang direstui untuk menggantikan beliau. Masyarakat sivil yang mudah difahami dalam konteks demokrasi negara ini ialah bagaimana individu-individu dan NGO mempunyai kebebasan untuk berkongsi kepentingan dan menyuarakannya untuk kepentingan mereka. Ruang ini sebenarnya cukup bermakna untuk menjelmakan konsep demokrasi walaupun terdapat pendekatan daripada golongan Marxis bahawa masyarakat sivil merupakan satu agen untuk menukar kerajaan yang sedia ada. Namun, pengamal masyarakat sivil di negara ini menyerahkan urusan perebutan kuasa politik kepada parti-parti politik.

Perjalanan masyarakat sivil semasa pemerintahan beliau seringkali dikritik oleh pengamal-pengamal ruang ini dan juga parti pembangkang. Peringkat awal pemerintahan beliau diserikan dengan pembebasan beberapa orang tahanan ISA tetapi beliau mula melihat bagaimana ruang sivil yang ada di negara ini sebagai satu ancaman besar kepada pemerintahan BN apabila Operasi Lalang 1987 telah menafikan kebebasan beberapa aktivis sosial dan politik di negara ini. Akta-akta seperti ISA dan OSA cukup membebankan aktor-aktor sivil dan politik di Malaysia. Ia cukup untuk membuktikan bagaiman masyarakat sivil ini sentiasa diawasi oleh pemerintahn Dr Mahathir.

Oleh itu, apa yang dapat diperhatikan pada perkembangan mutakhir penglibatan Dr. Mahathir dalam menyuarakan pandangan beliau terhadap beberapa isu penting dalam pemerintahan Pak Lah dapat menjelaskan bagaimana beliau menggunakan senjata yang sering mencucuk beliau untuk turut sama dirasai Pak Lah. Isu berkenaan dengan penjualan saham augusta milik proton, pengagihan AP dan yang terkini berkenaan dengan pembatalan pembinaan jambatan menggantikan Tambak Johor telah memeriahkan masyarakat sivil di negara kita. Isu ini berlanjutan apabila Dr. Mahathir telah menyatakan bagaimana beliau telah dinafikan hak untuk bersuara. Ini berpunca daripada keengganan pengamal media utama di negara ini yang kebanyakannya dimiliki oleh parti-parti di bawah BN untuk menyiarkan komentar beliau. Sebagai alternatif, beliau telah menggunakan internet sebagai saluran untuk meluahkan pandangan melalui beberapa surat terbukanya yang dituju khusus kepada pemerintah sekarang.

Dr. Mahathir nampaknya banyak belajar daripada pergerakan sivil yang lain dalam mengamalkan advokasi sosial yang mana pada tahun 1990-an internet menjadi ruang yang paling berkesan untuk melontarkan kritikan sosial dan politik terhadap pemerintah. Dalilnya, semasa pemerintah beliau, sebagai contoh, Malaysiakini seringkali diancam dan kemuncaknya pejabat Malaysiakini telah diserbu polis dan beberapa komputer telah dirampas. Ini kerana media alternatif ini sering memuatkan bukan sekadar berita tetapi ulasan yang kritikal terhadap beberapa tindakan pemerintah. Sejarah berulang, Dr M telah memilih untuk menggunakan ruang siber ini bagi mempertahankan kepentingan legasi pemerintahannya dahulu setelah dipinggirkan oleh media arus perdana.

Untuk seketika, kita lupakan kenangan masyarakat sivil ketika zaman Dr. Mahathir. Mari kita meraikan kedatangan aktor baru masyarakat sivil, aktor yang mungkin dapat memberi udara segar untuk ruang ini terus berlegar dalam meletakkan kepentingan rakyat sebagai pusat utama pemerintahan regim BN.

Tale of the newsmakers

The war among the ex-newsmakers and the days-to-count newsmakers sound interesting. It begin with the comment by A. Kadir Jasin in Malaysia Bussiness sometimes in May 2005 about how an editor from the NST felt very powerful by his relationship with Pak Lah. According to the article:

RECENTLY , an editor wrote an article that started with him telling his readers (including this scribe) of a midnight telephone call from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to congratulate him on his appointment as group editor-in-chief. The Prime Minister, said the writer, had asked him to make his newspaper ‘a credible and professional newspaper’.

If Abdullah had been correctly reported, then the impression I get (I may be wrong) is that this particular newspaper, despite being the oldest in the country, had been, until that telephone call in 2003, neither credible nor professional. If that was what the Prime Minister had said, it’s his right. The Prime Minister is entitled to his views as much as we are to ours. This is what being free and democratic is all about.

Then, the writer told us of yet another Prime Ministerial telephone call a few months later, this time in the evening. According to him, the Prime Minister wanted to know what he (the editor) thought of his (the Prime Minister’s) speech at the opening of an Organisation of Islamic Conference meeting on the Middle East in Putrajaya.

The editor told us that he told the Prime Minister that ‘it was a good speech’. Then, the editor told us, he (the Prime Minister) made a request: ‘I know you have many important stories but if possible, I hope you can use my comments as one of the stories on Page 1.’ Then, he told us that he joked with the Prime Minister. He told us that he said: ‘Sir, you are the PM. You want it on Page 1, you will get it on Page 1.’

Then, the editor told us that the Prime Minister told him: ‘No, no. I know you have other important stories. But I hope you can also use this story.’ Then, we were told that the only other time the Prime Minister called him was to express concern about explicit stories like the Norita Samsudin murder trial being ‘played out’ in lurid details (in the newspapers). I have no problem with editors, writers and journalists being a telephone call away from the Prime Minister or are so close to him that they can tell a joke or two.

Everybody knows that Abdullah is a nice, friendly person. But what bothers me is the impression these kinds of reports create. For example, it gives the impression that the Prime Minister is reduced to making telephone calls to newspaper editors to get feedback on his speeches and statements, and to ask for Page 1 displays and prime-time TV coverage. More fundamentally, it gives the impression that ‘what the Prime Minister wants the Prime Minister gets’. Yet, editors and media owners time and time again claim that there is no official interference and that they are free to report whatever they like and in the manner they wish.

And what has happened to the Prime Minister’s communications team, his press secretaries and press officers – isn’t it their responsibility to liaise with the Press on his behalf? I think the Prime Minister should be spared the hassle of contacting the Press himself so that he can devote his valuable time to serving the people.

Even if he did, should it be told to the whole wide world? Or am I being nostalgic of the time when one of the golden rules of journalism was protecting one’s source of information? Also, maybe, in the past, editors were not powerful and influential enough to warrant Prime Ministers to make personal telephone calls to them.

And when the cartoon issues exploded in Jalan Riong, there are so many corners fight, namely, Hishamuddin Aun, Zam (Min. of Info), A. Kadir Jasin, Jeff Ooi and who else? of course, our beloved former PM, Uncle Tun.

So what's next?

My wish lists as a Kelantanese!!!

Congrats to the BN and their machinaries for the victory in Pengkalan Pasir although some people claimed the war was not on the fair battlefield.....
These are among wish lists, as a kelantanese, to the BN aka government of Malaysia:

1. As a lecturer, please show me the application form for the new university as promised.
2. The chairman of KADA (Kelantan Agriculture Development Authority ?) should be appointed not from the politician but the person who really has the will to develop the agriculture sector in the state.
3. Give an attention to the small scale farmers.
4. Support the religious school.
5. Give PAS a chance to govern the state until next general election.

Me and Superman

Superman

I can’t stand to fly
I’m not that naive
I’m just out to find
The better part of me
I’m more than a bird...
I’m more than a plane
More than some pretty face beside a train
It’s not easy to be me
Wish that I could cry
Fall upon my knees
Find a way to lie
About a home
I’ll never see
It may sound absurd...but don’t be naive
Even heroes have the right to bleed
I may be disturbed...but won’t you concede
Even heroes have the right to dream
It’s not easy to be me
Up, up and away...away from me
It’s all right...you can all sleep sound tonight
I’m not crazy...or anything...I
can’t stand to flyI’m not that naive
Men weren’t meant to ride
With clouds between their knees
I’m only a man in a silly red sheet
Digging for kryptonite on this one way street
Only a man in a funny red sheet
Looking for special things inside of me
Inside of me
Inside meYeah, inside me
Inside of meI’m only a man
In a funny red sheet
I’m only a man
Looking for a dream
I’m only a man
In a funny red sheet
And it’s not easy, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm...
Its not easy to be me

Tension period....

It is an exam week for the students here and all the unmarked papers for the quizes and mid-term test still under the table....

and... make my day worsen... my blog.... where is my blog....?????

Buat baik berpada-pada, jahat jgn sekali...

A 'promise' by a woman to give co-operation to the robber in order to escape from being raped and injured saved her life and gave the robber a 'damn-worth' lesson in his lifetime. Read this http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=11910

Want to get Mawi 'live' 2 times in a month? Try this.....

It's wonderfullllll!!!...
Mawi's fans in Kelantan have been served with two free concerts within a month: first, their heartthrob was presented by State Goverment a.k.a PAS a week before Hari Raya and then a week after Raya, UMNO brought Mawi and his superfriends to Pasir Mas with the agenda to win the voters there.

Moral: If you want to get more Mawi ; 1. vote for PAS or, 2. pray for another by-election in you constituency.....

Aduh Saliha...................

Watch your own backyard!!!!

Having read the comments made by newly 'elected' Student leaders of public institutions of higher learning (IPTA), Mohd Efendi Omar from UM costed my heart shattered into pieces. What publicity this poor boy wanted to gain in his first month tenure in the office. Before you ask the authority from IIUM to review the dress code, you should ponder who you are and on what ground your -not insured- mouth spell those words. i fully agree with Aizuddin Danial's comments: 'How would the students of UM feel if the IIU Student Council President came out and took a holier-than-thou approach and "suggest" that all Muslim students of UM be dressed according to the Muslim dress code? The fact that he would do no such thing indicates a sensitivity that Mohd Efendi obviously lacks'
Yes, female students from UM which barely show their aurah have the rights to do so according to our constitution, but how about another 'constitution' from Allah? I leave it to the Mr 'very democratic' President to answer............

The 'boring' saga

The saga continues......
What Shahril said:
'If requiring cars to contain 90 percent ‘local content’ to qualify as ‘national’ cars has made Proton makes more expensive and uncompetitive compared to imported cars, perhaps it’s time to reduce the requirement to 40 percent' and....
“We have to make a rational decision. If our cars are expensive due to high local content, we need to reduce the price by reducing the local content," and...
"We should not be in a situation in which Malaysia does not gain from Afta," and...
They have already been operating for more than 20 years. If the quality of their products is still not up to standard and cannot be exported, they should close down,”

And Mahathir said:
We just close down Proton if this is what the people want," said the former premier. "And if some feel one way to overcome the many problems we hear today - including Approved Permits (APs) and so on - is that we don't have the automotive industry in Malaysia, we (can) just close down," he added.
When it was suggested that the AP controversy had been going on for months, he said: "Yes. Boringlah." "What I think doesn't matter, what the people think matters. If the people are satisfied that AP should be given to one or two people and they become millionaires overnight, fly around in helicopters and all that, if that is what we want, it's okay," he said sarcastically.

Jeng...je...jeng..............

Mawi in Kelantan

Some words from Mawi:

“Saya suka sistem pengasingan penonton yang dilaksanakan dalam konsert ini. Seelok-eloknya kita asingkan penonton lelaki dan wanita kerana ia dapat mengelak berlaku perkara tidak baik,”

And why this concert was very special to him and all his fans.....

Buat pertama kalinya juga, ibu Mawi, Ramlah Sarlan yang sebelum ini tidak pernah menyaksikan persembahan anak kebanggaan keluarga itu, hadir sama dalam konsert bersama suaminya, Ani Ahmad. (source: Metro Ahad 2 Sept 2005)

Asian Cyberactivism: Freedom of Expression and Media Censorship and Politik dan Keselamatan

I dedicate today's blog to Prof Madya Saliha Hassan (UKM) and Zatul Himmah Adnan (UPM) for giving me two books namely, Asian Cyberactivism: Freedom of Expression and Media Censorship, Edited by Steven Gan, James Gomez and Uwe Johannen, and Politik dan Keselamatan edited by Dr Sity Daud and Dr Zarina Othman.

Asian Cyberactivism: Freedom of Expression and Media Censorship

The book is an insightful look into online political organising in Asia even as the technology and the rules change. Activists provide their perspectives on how new media relates to democracy, and showcase examples that could be emulated to further the cause of democracy. It is also an insight into the political, societal and legal challenges that cyberactivists have to face, and what this means for democratic development in the region. Asian Cyberactivism is the first book of its kind, featuring Asian case studies on political activism via new communication technologies like the Internet. (Reviewed by jamesgomeznews.com)

Politik dan Keselamatan

Buku yang disunting oleh Dr Sity dan Dr Zarina ini asalnya merupakan kertas kerja yang dibentangkan pada seminar antarabangsa khususnya MSC4 2004. Ia merupakan kunjungan semula tentang konsep politik dan keselamatan pasca 11 September 2001 dan juga pergolakan ekonomi pada tahun 1997. Apa yang menarik, buku ini memuatkan multi-disiplin dalam bidang Politik dan Keselamatan. Konsep Politik mengenengahkan isu pilihan raya, politik wang, politik Islam dan Politik pembangunan. Manakala dari segi tema keselamatan isu yang disentuh adalah berkaitan keselamatan insan dan dasar luar Malaysia seperti yang melibatkan hubungan Malaysia dengan Palestin (Zatul punya!).

Happy reading!!!

p/s: Zillions thanks to both of you!!!!

Art of dealing.....

“From licensing and tendering to consultation and approval of projects, or from the acceptance to the completion of a project, we have to give out money. There is always a giver and receiver – contractors and decision makers, contractors and consultants, and contractors and suppliers,” said Malay Contractors Association president Datuk Roslan Awang Chik.

This is the 'reality show' among the contractors (can i make a generalization here?) ...
You need a project (read: money to feed you family) these procedures are inevitable

Pulangkan.......

The Saga continues...
Dr M returned seven proton vehicles given to him. According to the star, ... Sources said the vehicles included the VW Touareg, a four-wheel drive, and the VW Phaeton, which the Proton adviser often used for travelling.... and ... The sources said Dr Mahathir had started using his personal cars to travel to work, adding that he was “deeply hurt” by developments in Proton...

Moral: Don't make the oldman hurt ( or, if you need something to be returned, displease him until get hurted)

Award for loyalty

The episode of the termination of Professor P Ramasamy’s contract at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) gave another 'question mark' to the academic world in IPTA. Regarding to the rules stated by the university, one will be considered to continue his/her service after completing inagural address (Syarahan Perdana) as a mark of their professorship. Contract will be given for two-year basis. However, in this case, many things should be considered:
1. 12 PhD students under his supervision.
2. 22 Masters students
3. Several undergarduate student classes
4. Inaugural address was given on May 10 2005 (if i'm not mistaken, it's abour labour and globalisation)
5. His 'kemaliman' at the Pusat Pengajian Sejarah, Politik dan Strategi (PESEPSI) as well as UKM

Finally, i like to take Mr Bunnell's words in his letter to Malaysiakini - 'And let us not forget, this is a teacher who has been, and remains, a mentor to innumerable students and young researchers – the critical thinkers and actors of the future'

P/S; I'm waiting for his former students such as Mustapha Kamil Ayub from Keadilan, Misbahul Munir from PAS and many others including high rangking officers in government civil services to come out backing their professor.

Conspiracy Theory

All the parties are waiting for the answer from rAPidah Aziz regarding the AP's issues. She has been asked by PM yesterday to make a clarification to the cabinet. There is a theory around the town that the elimination of Tg Mahaleel was the 'barter trade' with Rafidah between both parties, namely Tun Dr M (Proton) and Pak Lah (govt). With all the rumours spread, i think she should choose among her colleagues, who will read her 'surat wasiat' if she's voted out.

Structural Functionalism

Dah lama ya tak update blog ni.... recently, i feel like my life was structured by certain system and well, it 'functionally responded' (some kind like structural functionalism!!). I think it began when i started working here. My life has changed a lot. By 6.30 early morning i have to say a temporary good bye to my family and meet them around maghrib. Ok, that's fine!! I choose to accept this way of life. It's not a big deal. But, what make me feel bad is about i started to count the days when my bank account will be reloaded by the company and fyi, it was in the first week of the month. This is ridiculous. So now i'm in the process of getting rid this kind of feeling or could we call it habit? Hopefully it will return to normal soon (depends on how i manage to control my spending). Or should i apply for AP??? But i don't have a showroom, what!!! without showroom can also have hundreds of APs??? It's really helps Bumis!!! Afundi rAPidah!

To Remember Me

To Remember Me
By Robert N. Test

The day will come when my body will lie upon a white sheet neatly tucked under four corners of a mattress located in a hospital busy occupied with the living and the dying.
At a certain moment a doctor will determine that my brain has ceased to function and that, for all intents and purposes, my life has stopped.When that happens, do not attempt to instill artificial life into my body
by the use of a machine.
And don't call this my deathbed.
Let it be called the Bed of Life,
and let my body be taken from it to help other lead fuller lives.Give my sight to the man who has never seen a sunrise,
a baby's face or love in the eyes of a woman.Give my heart to a person whose own heart has caused nothing but endless days of pain.Give my blood to the teenager who was pulled from the wreckage of this car,
so that he might live to see his grandchildren play.Give my kidney to one who depends on a machine to exist from week to week.Take my bones, every muscle, every fiber and nerve in my body
and find a way to make a crippled child walk.Explore every corner of my brain, take my cells, if necessary,
and let them grow so that, some day,
a speechless boy will shout at the crack of a bat
and a deaf girl will hear the sound of rain against her windows.Burn what is left of me and scatter the ashes to the winds to help the flowers grow.If you must bury something, let it be my faults, my weaknesses,
and all prejudice against my fellow man.Give my sins to the devil.Give my soul to the God.If, by chance, you wish to remember me,
do it with kind deed or word to someone who needs you.If you do all I have asked, I will live forever.

It's all about choices

Life doesn't just happen to you. It's all about choices and how you respond to every situation. If you are in the habit of continually making bad choices, disaster often occurs. Your everyday choices ultimately determine whether you end up living with abundance or living poverty. However life never completely closes the door to opportunity.