The circus

And so the circus that is the Perak political situation continues.

Yesterday, the High Court ruled that the Barisan Nasional government that is currently in power was void as the means of dissolution of the previous opposition government went against the state constitution. The ruling also required that the current state assembly members who formed the government relinquish their positions immediately and vacate their offices. Many saw this as a triumph of the law.

Yet, just this afternoon I received an sms from a friend of mine who is from Perak saying that the Court of Appeal has granted a stay of execution. That basically means that the current people in office get to stay until a further verdict is issued concerning the High Court ruling. I have just confirmed this from The Star web page.

And who would have thought how quickly the appeal would have been granted. I'm no judge or lawyer, but I would have thought that it would have taken at least a few weeks. But from what I gather, the appeal was submitted at 9.30 am just today, and granted before even lunch time was over. That's within 24 hours of the High Court ruling. Amazing speed.

So, yes, it's another twist in the political drama that is unfolding in Perak.

And finally, I can't understand why the whole Perak State Assembly can't just be dissolved and allow fresh elections to take place. It seems the most efficient and logical way of solving this political impasse but it's not being done. Why?

Only reasons I can think of are negative ones: 1) somebody has a personal agenda to fulfill in this whole thing, and 2) someone is just afraid of losing if elections are called.

Politics.

The crunch

I have been wanting to post something but just couldn't bring myself to sit in front of the computer to do so...until now. Actually, I was compelled to do so.

I was reading the local newspaper just this evening, and what do I see on the front page? A picture of a throng of people with several smoke trails descending from the sky. Yup, it was another demonstration. And of all things, the reason for the demonstration was about the teaching of Mathematics and Science subjects in English?

Huh???

It's absolutely mind-boggling! A protest because English is used instead to teach these two subjects? If there were something that really would make us a laughing stock for the whole world (as some have pointed out about a certain gathering under some certain trees recently), I think that this would be the icing on the cake!

It seems to me that certain quarters of the Malaysian population really have a penchant for politicising issues. The usual scenario: a politician speaks his mind about something trivial and then other people start jumping on the bandwagon giving their sometimes uneducated opinions, and suddenly it becomes a national agenda! Incredible!

Forgive me for sounding so negative, but I cannot see the reason for such happenings. How is it that we call ourselves a developed nation, yet our thinking is still lagging so far behind. A few years back, I heard an absolute stranger commenting on our nation's apparent lack of forward thinking despite all our achievements: "first class facilities, third class mentality."

If anything needs to be politicised, why not politicise the extremely poor healthcare facilities that are available in some states in Malaysia especially Sabah? We don't even have a proper hospital anymore because the current one, the Queen Elizabeth hospital (supposedly the state's main hospital) has been found to be unsafe for operations. So, what happens? Sick patients have to sleep on the floor, doctors and nurses are unable to treat due to unavailable equipment. Who suffer? The people, especially those of us not fortunate enough to afford private healthcare.

What is being done? Discussions, discussions, and more discussions. No Action, Talk Only. I am told that we'd be lucky if Sabah gets a new one within 5 years. The more realistic projected time for the building of a new hospital would be between 10-15 years. What happens till then? People suffer.

It's a sad time.

Strrrrrrike! You're out!

Another blow to the ruling Barisan Nasional as Member of Parliament, and Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development, Tan Sri Joseph Kurup has lost his seat due to the Sabah High Court declaring the election result for the Pensiangan seat null and void.

That's the biggest news for the people of Sabah today, well, at least for those who have some interest in it. I've read and heard so many stories about the incident on nomination day (negative ones) that I have been wondering ever since whether the court could actually do anything about it.

Well, yesterday, the court did just that. Apparently there were 'irregularities' in the way the nomination papers were handled by the returning officer which caused other candidates to be disqualified from standing for election.

And now, I'm also just wondering whether it will be another white wash against the BN , as it was in Permatang Pauh, if a by-election were to take place (which almost certainly will).

I'll adopt a wait and see attitude.


p.s. What is happening to this country???

Point of view

What’s the hottest topic in today’s news? None other than fellow Sabahan, Datuk Yong Teck Lee. While I’m not overly interested in politics, I’m not totally averse to it as well, hence the subject of today’s post. I’m sure he has his reasons on why he intends to get his MPs to table the vote of no-confidence (whether personal or otherwise), but that’s not what interests me most. The fascinating thing about today’s big news is the point of view presented by the different dailies – our Sabah-based Daily Express and the national newspaper, The New Straits Times.

Tell me if you don’t notice a rather accusatory tone in NST’s front page: DOUBLE CROSS, it proclaims of Yong in bold capital letters. Compare that with “SAPP’s ‘no faith in PM’ shock” by Daily Express – not quite the judgmental stance of NST, is it? Compare too the statements given by the SAPP Deputy President in NST and Daily Express.

“There is no reason to do this. It is completely wrong,” NST quotes.

“As far as I’m concerned, I don’t know. I have to ask the party President,” Daily Express reports when the Deputy was asked about the motion.

Same event, different stories. That’s life. Want to exercise your brain? The next time you read a piece of writing, try examining whose point of view it is taking. Then, make your own conclusions rather than having it done for you by the writer.

On a lighter note, this is my point of view of Adelle enjoying herself with mommy at the Sports Complex pool this evening. Look at her backstroke!