The PanDarren Effect

BN's desperate as ever. ISA my ass! - Malaysiakini

2008-09-13T00:08:00.003+08:00

I've been rather lazy lately and too occupied to blog BUT...

This is ridiculous! BNis so desperate to cling onto power that they are acting like sulky kids! After not getting a certain something, they whine to their parents and start throwing accusations around.

First: it was Raja Petra, editor of MalaysiaToday.

Second: Sin Chew Daily News reporter Tan Hoon Cheng

Third: DAP's Teresa Kok

Seriously...WTF?

All 3 were telling the truth and get detained under a draconian law while Mr-I-Can-Be-Racist-Because-I'm-Under-Umno-And-People-Should-Apologise-To-Me-Because-You-All-Are-Chinese-Jews-And-Squatters-Ahmad-Ismail is free from work for 3 years???

The prediction game is going on, we have a few guesses in mind but we are certain for one thing. Ahmad Ismail won't be detained!

Pls all, don't fall into the government's trap, they want to start an chaotic situation and set up emergency rule. However, if Anwar gets arrested,all hell breaks loose.

Ps: Pls attend a solidary session and protest against the use of ISA against RPK this September 15 at 8 p.m. at Kelana Jaya Stadium. See you all there!

Pakatan to capitalize on fuel hike?

2008-06-08T22:40:00.002+08:00

From Malaysiakini:

PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim today said his bid to seize power with the help of defecting government lawmakers had been boosted by an unpopular fuel price hike.

Anwar said that at least 30 parliamentarians are willing to crossover to the Pakatan Rakyat opposition alliance, and that if the opposition gained power, the fuel price would immediately be cut.

"According to our timetable it is still on. Now it is more attractive after the price hike," Anwar said at a press conference after a meeting with members of PKR supreme council.

"In the light of the political and economical uncertainties led by the government, we have seen clearly more interest and support for Pakatan Rakyat and this applies even to members of parliament," he said.

"There is absolutely no reason... for them to remain and support the leadership that has failed the nation."

Anwar said Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's decision last week to hike the price of fuel by 41 percent and restructure the country's oil subsidy system was an "ill-conceived" plan.

He said that as Malaysia was a net oil exporter, the current high price of crude oil on world markets would earn the country a fortune in additional revenue.

"I stand by my decision that when Pakatan Rakyat forms the new government fuel prices definitely will be cut. I will immediately resign, if I do not keep my word and reduce the price of fuel," said Anwar, a former finance minister.
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How much of this is really feasible? How much of this concerns pure political agenda?

Every Malaysian, young or old will wish that the fuel price will drop, that the prices of everyday goods stay the same and for their lifestyle to not be affected badly. However, are they able to think outside the box?

I strongly disagree with Anwar's statement that he WILL reduce the price of petrol after he gets into power. We don't want the country to be bankrupt. The price of fuel should never be reduced. We have to move ahead and not remain stagnant and backwards.

Politicians will remain politicians. I'm not saying that I'm siding BN or PR(pakatan rakyat)....they have no choice. For the sake of winning the rakyat's support, they promise the sky, but the big question remains; do they deliver?

Anwar should suggest a remedy to improve the lives of the people-better transportation, minimum wage etc. When a problem shows itself to you, i would prefer to be prepared to face it then to hide from it. Our petroleum will run out at approximately 2014, that gives us another 6 years and with simple logic, the price of petrol will only increase yearly.

We need alternatives, we need solutions and we need them done! We need a leader to think far far ahead on issues such as global warming, depletion of resources, overpopulation etc. We need a leader to be open minded and educated; to stand strongly on issues such as; the ridiculous statement that school uniforms are too sexy and the waste of public funds for a space tourist.

The country needs a change, we need an Obama, we need a Hilary. Out of UMNO, MCA, MIC, PKR, DAP, PAS, etc-->can we find one?

Sure sure. Anwar promises change, Anwar promises this and that, he MIGHT do better than Abdullah or he might not. There is only one way to know which is to get him into power via the defections of mp's from BN (approx by June 23). He is the lesser of 2 evils and should be given a benefit of doubt. However, a lesser of 2 evils does not shine him as an angel.

I strongly disagree with the idea of mp's jumping ship. I would prefer ethically if a component party jumps ship and not individuals quitting the party and joining another. That might be the case for a component party to do so. But it should be made clear principally that you might burn yourself.

If the idea of jumping ship is made acceptable, other parties can follow suit. A collition of UMNO and PAS would be very possible-do we want to see that happening?

BN=Barang Naik!

2008-06-05T01:56:00.004+08:00

Check out Malaysiakini(where else do we get news these days?)

Starting from now(June 5th), the price of petrol will increase by 78 sen, an increase of 40.6%, a jump from RM 1.92/litre to RM 2.70/litre.

Petrol increase? Use diesel! Cheaper!

Reality check: The price of diesel also go up, a hike of 63.3%, from RM 1.58/litre to RM 2.58/litre.

Ever since Sleepy Head became prime minister, petrol sudah naik 97.1% and diesel at 231%.

For easy viewing, look at this graph(From Malaysiakini):

They say, when petrol price increase, everything also increase! True enough, Tenaga Nasional Bhd will be raising electricity rates by 20% for homes, and 26% for business users.

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Years before, the government promised that public transportation will be improved to counter the inevitable-the removal of subsidy for oil.

Looking at things now, is there an improvement? Taxi's still don't use the meter, busses never come on time, the KTM is guaranteed late? Its highly unlikely that its possible to not go about without a car these days. The route our public transportation takes is too far spread out and too few to be even close to be convenient.

Instead, the government tries to silence the rakyat where vehicles below 2000cc will receive an annual rebate of RM625 , road tax for vehicles above 2,000cc will be reduced by RM200m road tax for motorbikes above 250cc will have their road tax slashed by RM 50 with a minimum rate of RM2 for road tax.

Meanwhile, diesel subsidy for fishermen and vessel owners have been fixed at RM1.43 per litre. Previously fishermen bought diesel at RM1 per litre while vessel owners paid RM1.20 per litre.

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Now for common sense, will that stop the price rise for groceries, food, etc? The price for all of our basic necessities will still increase regardless of whatever rebates that are given out!

I'm not suggesting that the government revert back to subsidizing fuel because i think that its a bad idea to begin with. The practise of subsidizing fuel does not bring any benifit because its only delaying the inevitable, crude petroleum will one day run out!

It is high time that the government with the pressure from NGO's push for an alternative to oil. Malaysia has so much natural resources but thanks to mismanagement and corruption, all has gone to waste. Make full use of that acres and acres of oil palms planted on our lands! Brazil set the trend with ethanol from sugarcane+petrol and even our neighbours in the north are following suit with biofuels. Malaysia with its Wawasan 2020, with its "stabilized economy", with its project after project is unable to do this? Modern cars do not even need modifications to run on biofuel which is cheaper and burns better...but?

Revamp the taxes! Cars should not be taxed based on capacity! Cars should be taxed on their carbon dioxide emissions. Whats the point if the car runs on a small engine but gives out more CO2 than a truck??? This will make more sense in purchasing a hybrid car. This will make more sense is buying a more frugal car to save on fuel and tax cost.

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BUT, sad to say, this will NEVER happen in the near future.

WHY?

Most of our politicians are close minded and they keep mentioning for us to change our lifestyle in facing higher prices. Change our lifestyle? Middle class become poor people? Poor people leh? Starve? And this happens while our datuks/datins use private jets and corruption thrives?

The new subsidy scheme ENCOURAGES CORRUPTION. With money being handed out to people, its hard to keep track on how much goes missing.

The biofuel will not be implemented in the near future. Why? Petronas is the main reason. Most of our politicians get oil money from Petronas. Malaysia is a net exporter of oil. With oil price rising, we should be in a more comfortable state. Yes we are-the politicians la of course-who else?

CO2 based tax emissions will not be considered. Why? We got 3 "national carmakers" what? "potong"(proton), "perodua"(actually toyota) and "naza"(rebadge maestro). You think that they will make their cars more frugal? I want to see proton come out with a hybrid car lmao!

A good example is the recent rulling of rear seatbelts being compulsory. Most cars already have them, why now only implement such a law? REason???---> our national cars. Its no secret that our Kancils, Kenaris and old Sagas have no rear seatbelts. More lengths to protect them....

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Demonstrations are gonna be a norm these few weeks, you can bet on that. But there is no point to it. It won't solve much because there is no initiative to change things in our country. Even our opposition colition is sadly, not strong enough and indecisive. If Anwar comes into power, he'll probably bring the country into bankruptcy and increase subsidies to please the masses.

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The big problem with Malaysians is that they don't see the big picture. They point fingers, save their own backside instead of trying to solve problems. The government should totally remove the subsidy for oil and invest on education!

Sad to say, a huge portion of the country needs education or we'll forever be recognised as a corrupted 3rd world country.....

Obama Vs McCain

2008-06-04T16:29:00.002+08:00

As we all know, Barack Obama has clinched the presidential nomination among democrats to represent them against John McCain of the Republicans.

I've always been rooting for Hilary Clinton against Obama for many many reasons.

1) She has experience and knows where she stands for

2) Obama is so f***ing fake!

On similarities, both are different then the usual stereotype American president, one is black and one is a woman. But wait for a second and think again, is America ready for a black president? The Clintons can always claim on proven experience and rally the support of blue collared americans, women. hispanics etc but Obama only gathers the internet voters, blacks and ultra liberals. In a fight versus the typical white and conservative John McCain, guess who will win?

If Hilary won and faced off against John McCain, there is a very high chance of her winning. Obama? The gap will be further than the last 2 elections of Gore vs Bush and Bush vs Kerry.

Take a look at their outgoing president and his followers of largely rednecks, do you think Obama will stand a chance? Heck, even John Edwards will fare better.

A short survey!

2008-05-31T21:33:00.002+08:00

Im gonna use this blog for a while. My "narrow"band connection under streamnutz is really really slow lately that i can't even open my main blog.

I know this blog is meant to be political but:

1) My main blog is down

2) My old blogspot is screwed up(i can't post titles etc ever since the switch to google)

3) This blog is rather abandoned...

I'll start with a short survey :)

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Instruction: Remove one question and in your personal question, make it a total of 20 questions, then tag eight people in your list, list them out at the end of this post. Notify them in your chat box he/she has been tagged.

1. At what age do you wish to marry?
No intentions at the moment. If I happen to get married, only when I’m after 30.

2. What's your favourite thing to do?
Leisure time with friends.

3. Do you think money can buy happiness?
Yes and no. You can be happy without money but you can be much happier if you had more money.

4. Do you believe you can survive without money?
Nopez, lets be realistic here.

5. What are you afraid to lose the most?
My friends and family.

6. If you win $1 million, what would you do?
Pay my education fees to my parents, get an apartment and a car.

7. Where do you like to go to spend your free time?
The MUSA lounge?? I barely have any free time, unfortunately… :(

8. List 3 good points of the person who tagged you?
Independant, firm and understanding

9. What type of person you hate the most?
Indecisive and attention seekers.

10. What is your ambition?
Short term- pass my exams. Middle term- be independent from my parents. Long term- be recognized for what I do(politician?).

11. If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her?
Yes. But only if she responds to my advances.

12. What do you think is the most important thing in your life?
ME. (it is my life…no?)

13. If you could undo doing one mistake in the past, what would it be?
We should never regret our actions. To answer the question, ask me, I’m not gonna write it down here.

14. If you have a chance, which part of your character would you like to change?
Me taking people for granted.

15. What is the one thing you definitely can do without?
“Lala”ness. Definition, stereotyping of Chinese that try too hard at fashion, resulting in each separate piece of clothing mismatched in colour, design and overly focusing on what’s cute and “adorable”. Not forgetting to act all cute, plastic and fake. Don’t forget the hand signals, high knee stockings, glitter and coloured hair that’ll make pom-pom pale in comparison. Hey, I’m a self hating Chinese! :P

16. What is the one thing you cannot do but wish you could?
Read minds.

17. What is the one thing that u want now?
To recover from my flu.

18. What is your stand-out trait?
My determination to succeed.

19. If you could change something in the country (Malaysia), what will it be?
To abolish the ISA, give freedom of speech and ban all racial/religious based political parties! Educate the people already!!!

20. When is the first time you meet the person who tagged you?
During buddy training. Noticed her during the elections. Got to know her through Melly and FC,facebook.

Who I’m tagging:

Kate, Zhen Yao, Ben Lee, Jason Chan, Beatrice, Sue Fei, Sue May, Sookie
Plus, everyone reading this!

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PAS man as Perak's MB???

2008-03-12T21:52:00.002+08:00

The Panda learned today from Malaysiakini that the Sultan of Perak has appointed Pasir Panjang state assemblyperson and Perak PAS secretary Mohamad Nizar Jamaludin as the new Perak Menteri Besar with state DAP chairperson and Sitiawan state assemblyperson Ngeh Khoo Ham and and indian candidate as the deputies.

For all to know, it is in the states constitution that the MB of PErak has to be a malay muslim to officiate religious matters although there is a fine line that allows the sultan to waive the requirement.

The initial candidates vying for the MB post was Nizar, Ngeh and a PKR guy-Behrang assemblyperson Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi. Before the announcement, DAP(which won the most seats) backed the PKR candidate as MB with the Ngeh as deputy(PAS has the least amount of seats).

There is now a huge uproar as Uncle Lim(Lim Kit Siang) voiced his displeasure on his blog and DAP Perak Assemblymen will stay away from the swearing-in ceremony for Perak Mentri Besar scheduled tomorrow.

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BN 1: Barisan Rakyat 0
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The Panda understands that if the Perak MB has to be a malay, but why the candidate from PAS???? There is obviously some hanky-panky action going on here!

Me figures that BN has indirectly appointed the PAS member to be MB to cause discord among Barisan Rakyat parties.

WE as the Rakyat want simple things-we want equality, we want justice, we want transparency and we want a lot of things like a new car, new house(ROFL-just jkin)..

But in all seriousness, PAS, why did you fall in UMNO's trap? Why did you even send a candidate to be suggested as a MB? It is ethically unfair for DAP especially since they won the most seats and the Perak people get a PAS MB. PAS has already got two MB posts-Kelantan and Kedah-that is an extra one!-not enough ah?

There is no denying that PAS's ultimate goal is to turn the coutnry into an Islamic country, not a secular state. DAP fights for equal rights and democracy. See the contradicting visions?

Mr Anwar Ibrahim, you have been preaching on equality, on not using the racial card-go help your party for once, go help your coalition, walk the talk-PLS prevent the PAS guy to become the MB. DAP backed the PKR candidate for a reason.

The only reason PKR managed to win so much is because it is looked upon as a multi racial party and the middle path compared to ultra-conservative PAS and the democratic fighting(too modern for some) DAP. Yes, the presence of Anwar might have made a difference but remember the last general elections where PKR was almost wiped clean?

/me KNOWS that the BN controlled newspapers are gonna have a field day tomorrow! Way to go guys!

One LESS show to see...

2008-03-11T20:48:00.002+08:00

It has been reported that former Port Klang assembly person Datuk Zakaria Md Deros died early today after suffering a heart attack.

Since I wanted moi posts to be as noobish as possible, here is a short recap on grandpapa Zakaria.

In 2006, there was an uproar in Selangor and soon the entire country when he built a Mansion in the middle of houses of less fortunate people(as a sign of supremacy perhaps?). He did not submit plans for the mansion, did not pay assessment for another property for 12 years, and operated an illegal satay(skewered meat on long thin bamboo sticks) stall on government reserve land.

And his mansion can also be called an "Istana"(castle) for a more relevant reference. It has 21 bathrooms and 16 bedrooms, a VIP room, three living rooms, a dining hall, a prayer room, a swimming pool, several gazebos, an orchard, a two-hole golf lawn, an office, a storeroom, two rooms for maids as well as a wet kitchen and a dry kitchen.

The people complained! His neighbours; chinese, indians and malays all demonstrated outside his house but in true "taikor" style, there were mean gangster looking men in bid sunglasses(some holding sticks/iron rods) standing outside his house. Perhaps they were just gardeners or innocent bystanders auctioning for the new "Men in Black" movie?-the panda wonders?

Nice or not??? Hey, that house would probably dwarf a state municipal building!! And this is just one man!

But lets remember that this is Bolehland, anything also BOLEH! Wanna be a Datuk?-BOLEH! Wanna build a castle on illegal land?-BOLEH! Want to have a peaceful people's assembly?Of course cannot lah!-Terrorist act wei!!! :p

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But PanDarren does not want to make a mockery of D. Zakaria's death, hey the person died and while there are rumours on how he actually died and why, we missed a deserved passing of judgement....

If he stayed on, he would be grilled left, right, centre(and some say belakang) by the new state government. His daughter already lost in the elections, there will no longer be any "favours" and do you think the new Selangor government will sweep it all under the rug???Enough is enough!(hey, the DAP's tagline sounds so much like it came out of Lim Kit Siang himself!).

But in all seriousness, i wished he did not die. I would rather see some more drama and proper judgement!

/me gives a nutritional advice. Em bamboo shoots>>>satay! Less cholesterol=less chances of heart attacks!

Politics for dummies-meaning behind denying BN 2/3 majority.

2008-03-10T10:58:00.002+08:00

The Panda pretty much understands that many of ya homosapiens are as homo as ever and not understand the significance of BN being denied its 2/3 majority.

As put by a friend of mine, she pretty much sums it up that BN is now denied its veto-ing power.

As simple as that, now they can't hanky-panky for fucks.

There ya go! Understand? Comprende??

/me goes back to breakfast, munching on those beer flavoured bamboo shoots....

2008 Malaysian General Elections

2008-03-09T22:58:00.006+08:00

Well obviously this blog will be political. Hey, Pandas can be political savvy too!

Taking a break from bamboo shoot chewing, turning on the TV, checking out Malaysiakini for some political entertainment can be very rewarding.

Yea, back to Malaysia's 12th General Elections, for those living under a rock, here are the results:

First, we have the state seats, also known as DUN(ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri). Basically, members of "DUN" forms the state government once there is a simple majority. A simple majority means anything more then half of the state's available seats. (ME knows that i'm talking in a very noobish way but hey, you'll be surprised how many people are totally blur to politics-you can thank me later, get me some beer and i'll dance for ya!).

The national alliance(Barisan Nasional~BN) has been dominant since its formation from "Parti Perikatan" which itself has been dominant since the country's independence from the British. UMNO(United Malays National Organisation) represented the plight of the Malays and knowing that the British will only allow independence when the welfare of the minorities Chinese and Indians were secure, decided to form an alliance with MCA(Malaysian Chinese Assosiation) and MIC(Malaysian Indian Congress) which represented the chinese and indians respectively.

The only setbacks suffered from BN was during the tragic 1969 and 1990. In 1969, BN lost out Penang, Perak and Kelantan to the opposition(than, Gerakan and PPP was part of the opposition). I'll rather talk about May 13, heck, i wasn't born than so my sources are screwy.
The other setback was during 1999 where BN lost out Terengganu while failing to recapture Kelantan from PAS(Parti Islam Semalaysia).

Another interesting fact is that since independence, BN has achieved 2/3 majority of the parliment, enabling them to change/amend any laws as they please. The main opposition parties of Malaysia are DAP(Democratic Action Party), PAS and PKR(PArti Keadilan Rakyat).

And i now present the results of the 2008 Malaysian General Elections.

Figure 1: State Seats

Figure 2: Parliamentary Seats

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From figure 1 which shows the state seats, take a look, rub your eyes and look again. The opposition has taken a total of 5 states!

Kelantan-Retained by PAS with a larger majority then 2004

Kedah- Won for the first time by the opposition, hometown of the ex-Prime Minister(Smirks)

Penang- Gerakan and MCA wiped clean out of the state by DAP. Penang is the only chinese majority and chinese controlled state in Malaysia and has been in Gerakan's grasp for a long time.

Perak- Barely won by the opposition but a win is still a win :D Taken from BN for the second time since PPP(Peoples Progressive Party) took it and joining BN after that (-_-"). Ironically, the President for PPP, Datuk Dr. M. Kayveas lost out in Taiping.

Selangor- The BIG BIG BIG surprise of the night. Selangor is the most developed state of Malaysia and has never fell to the opposition before.

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How about the parliamentary seats? The opposition has managed to deny BN a 2/3 majority for the first time, winning 82 out of 222 seats.

/PanDarren keeps emphasizing that future Parliament meetings will be at least 2-3 times longer then usual. The opposition has good representation this time around.

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I only have 2 words to say..

POLITICAL ORGASM!!!!!

The Panda in the spotlight!

2008-03-09T21:40:00.000+08:00

First of all....I'm not a Panda. PanDarren is a nickname given to me by a good friend :p

Secondly....I'm not an unemployed female.
"Bloggers are liars. They use all sort of ways to cheat others. From what I know, out of 10,000 unemployed bloggers, 8,000 are women.
Bloggers like to spread rumours, they don’t like national unity. Today our country has achievements because we are tolerant and compromising. Otherwise we will have civil war. Malays will kill Chinese, Chinese will kill Malays, Indians will kill everybody else."
-Tengku Adnan/Malaysian Minister for Tourism-

Thirdly....This blog will not be about myself-it will be about issues that plague us daily-locally, federal and internationally.

/me bows down before the audience, throw me roses already dammit!

Speak your voice of forever be unheard of!