The story o 3 sons

Malaysian Parliament In our Parliament recently, an UMNO MP during his speech told a story..... "There was a father who gave RM100/- each to his 3 sons and asked them to buy things and fill up a room completely. First son bought hay for RM100/- but couldn't fill the room entirely. Second son bought cotton for RM100/- but couldn't fill the room entirely. Third son bought a candle for RM1/- and lit it up and the room was filled with light completely." The proud UMNO MP declared: "Our Prime Minister NAJIB is like the third son. From the day he has taken charge of his office, our country is filled with the bright light of prosperity." A voice from the backbench asked, "Where is the remaining RM99/-??" Now the whole nation is asking this same question!! Author: unnknoun Source: WhatsApp forward

Hannah Yeoh: "Malaysia on fire. Don's spoil vote. No time for 'sunscreen'

Hannah Yeoh, AUUN for Subang Jaya, has a piece of advice for those intending to spoil their votes this coming 14th General Election prompted by her daughter coming home looking very tanned.

"Why didn't you put on sunscreen I gave you?" asked Hannah

Daughter: The fire alarm went off – supposedly a fire drill – and they had to gather in the school field under the hot sun.

Hannah's daughter, clearly frustrated with my logic, exclaimed "It's a fire mommy! How can I find time to put my lotion?”

Malaysia is on fire (dire straits). Eating out is expensive. Cooking at home is not cheap either. Schools have become political tools for BN. Teachers are held to ransom for their votes. They are not free to educate what is right. The quality of education had dropped. Bullies. Drug addicts. Children are abused, sexually and physically. The entire vicious cycle goes on repeat.

How do you reset a nation without securing federal power?

No one will willingly surrender power without giving it a good fight. How far will Umno go to give it a good fight? Najib once said "to win at all costs." Scary.

The political scene remains an non-level playing field. Look at the redelineation exercise by Elections Commission. Look at the excessive prison sentence given to Rafizi.
(https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/411383)

In 2008, it was a call for stronger opposition. Despite having a stronger opposition, BN can still cook up a scandal as big as 1MDB. 2018 must see the dismantling of federal power for BN. A stronger opposition is no longer enough to un-do a nation "on fire."

Please don't spoil your vote. Vote Pakatan Harapan to enable them to rule Malaysia for the next 5 year term to "put out the fire".

Read more at https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/411861#F1eTs9YoUW6pZaG5.99

Pray for Malaysia - why?

The web address (URL) of the website "Blog for Change" is
pray-for-malaysia.blogspot.my
Just why was such a long web address plus with the word PRAY in the URL for this blog?

This blog was started way back in early 2017. That was before the historical 2018 12th General Election Election which saw Selangor, Penang and Perak falling into the hands of the opposition (plus Kelantan which stayed with PAS. That was after realizing how the ruling UMNO/BN government were lying to us about the true state of affairs of our nation. All we were reading were the mass media printed newspaper and TV!, TV2 and TV3. We didn't realize yet the bad shape Malaysia was in then. It was bad then. It is much much worse now.

After glimpses of the true state of affairs of the nation via online means, I decided to get involved by joining talks, protests, BERSIH, a political party and assisting our likely candidates for the state and parliamentary contests.

But we were also realistic and realized how difficult it would be to dislodge the ruling UMNO/BN government via elections that perhaps only prayers can change things. Pehaps it did.

I distinctly remembered how pessimistic we were about the chances of our then Parliamentary and State seats contestants Tony Pua and Lau Weng San when we were gathered to support the candidates nominations at SRJK Puay Chai in SS2. The cheer leader had to find ways and means to overcome our pessimistic mood.

So why PRAY in the web address? Well, I am not a great payer warrior plus I had then been of the opinion that chances for change the only way for reforms for the better for Malaysia was then so difficult that perhaps prayers would help. Since I am not a great prayer warrior, why not put the word PRAY FOR MALAYSIA in the URL?

Did that help? I don't know but I think the 12th General Election was a game changer and we were so surprised that our candidates Tony Pua (Pua Kiam Wee) and Lau Weng San won. So perhaps that powerful word in the web address did contribute. Thank you God.

BTW below is Tony Pua's autographed election poster for the 12th General Election. How did I get it? When the election result was announced, everyone was so surprised that many people were asking Tony Pua to sign on the election posters. When I saw it, I figured I too wanted one. And I treasure my humble role so much in my small contribution to the historical 12th General Election that I kept that autographed election poster till now.

Speech by Lim Guan Eng to all Malaysians

I didn't read this in my daily diet of online news website or blogs so copy-paste the speech by Lim Guan Eng which was email forwarded to me with a plea for me to also forward it to 10 other people. For me, the easiest way for me to spread the message is to post it to this Blog for Change blog:

Since Merdeka, two million Malaysians have migrated overseas because they do not see a future for themselves and for Malaysia. It is time that we don't live in our past that is filled with hatred and fear. We should look to the future led with hope and harmony between all Malaysians.

To put the past behind us, we must stop the politics of race and religion.
To put the past behind us, we must end corruption.
To put the past behind us, we must abolish the suppression, oppression, repression of our basic human rights and freedoms.
To put the past behind us, we must demand good governance and performance from our ministers.

To attain peace Malaysians must stand united and reject those who wish to divide us by preaching racial and religious hatred. If we want to benefit from equal opportunities and realize our human potential we must stop extremists from continually degrading others as inferiors so as to uplift ourselves. Why should Allah not be allowed to be used in the Bible when it is used in the Middle East?

We can only achieve harmony together. Despite our differences and diversity, Malaysians can make our common aspirations of freedom, justice, democracy and truth come true if we remember key values.

That it is not who we are that is important, but what we are that is important; not the colour of our skin that is important but the content of our character; and not our past ancestry that is important but how we connect with the present and with each other to face the future.

We can only be prosperous together. The time has come to focus on the economy, in employment, education and business opportunities as the conditions for prosperity. We must build human talent and be performance-based.

For those who say that PR do not know how to govern, the 4 PR states of Penang, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan have proven our ability by beating the other 10 BN states by attracting RM25 billion in investments comprising 53% of Malaysia's total investments of RM47.2 billion in 2010. For the first time in history, Penang is now the new champion of investments in Malaysia, coming out top in 2010 with RM 12.2 billion.

To put the past behind us, we must end corruption. Barisan Nasional cannot reform to end corruption. Remember, if we do not end corruption, Malaysia dies. If we end corruption, BN dies. The choice is clear.

To put the past behind us, we must abolish the suppression, oppression, repression of our basic human rights and freedom. How can we have a clean government when we do not have clean elections?

We do not want our children to live in fear of oppressive laws as we have lived. A Pakatan Rakyat government will abolish the UUCA, the Sedition Act and the Printing Presses and Publications Act and restore local government elections.

When can we find justice for Teoh Beng Hock, Ahmad Sarbani and A Kugan? When will we have Freedom of Information & Freedom of Speech? When can we have justice that is not only done, but is seen to be done.

To put the past behind us, we demand good governance and performance from our ministers. Malaysia can be an international and intelligent country. We must have digital intelligence with broadband connectivity. We must also have integrity intelligence, so ensure that only honest people are the decision-makers. We must have institutional intelligence under the rule of law. We demand good governance and performance from our ministers.

Has the Transport Ministry done its duty to run our airports and seaports well? Look at the Penang International Airport whose completion has been delayed more than 3 times. And the Penang Port is to be reduced to be a feeder port and privatized to a 3rd party at the expense of Penangites. Why is there no consultation with the people of Penang to restore the port to its former glory? Instead of looking after airports and ports, the Transport Ministry is more interested in vehicle registration numbers and wants to increase the maximum traffic fines to RM2,000.

Director-General of Tourism is wrongly charged of corruption but the Tourism Minister finds nothing wrong with spending RM1.8 million in doing up her Facebook page, when we all know that it can be done for free.

The Health Ministry wants to privatise healthcare when it should be a public good given as an affordable right to all Malaysians. Why allow the wastage of public funds and affect the quality and affordability of drugs when drugs are bought through a middleman at higher prices when it could be bought cheaper direct from the manufacturers, some of which are operating in Malaysia.

The Housing and Local Government Ministry opposes local government elections in Penang, denying our fundamental democratic right to elect our councillors and our mayors.

We believe that Malaysians deserve better. For the last 50 years, the wealth of the nation has been robbed. Let us protect the future of our children by ensuring we have a people-centric government that protects you instead of harming you, that rewards you instead of stealing from you, that respects you instead of abusing your rights. Let us clean up Malaysia to save our children's future.

We must put the past behind us where profits matters more than our health. Lynas concerns all of us because if Lynas is allowed to operate, Barisan Nasional will proceed with building two nuclear reactors. If we continue to put health above profits, what is the use of having all the money in the world if you cannot enjoy it healthily?

The next elections shall be fought on the economy. We refuse to allow BN to use race as the issue in the next elections. We need to increase the incomes of our poor or else they will fall victims to the Ah Longs. For example, Bank Negara's Annual Report 2010 revealed that Malaysia's household debt at the end of 2010 was RM581 billion or 76 per cent of GDP, thus giving us the dubious honour of having the second-highest level of household debt in Asia.

In addition, the Malaysian household debt service ratio stood at 47.8 per cent in 2010, meaning that nearly half of the average family's income goes to repaying debts. As a rule, banks would not lend money to those whose total servicing of loans exceeded one third of their income. In other words, we are spiralling into an indebted nation.

According to the New Economic Model documents, the bottom 40% of Malaysian households are living with a monthly average income of RM1,500 (and three-quarters of them are bumiputera) while 60% of the households (of four persons averagely) live with a less than RM3,000 income, which is near subsistence if one lives in the cities.

These are families living in fear. We will help them live with dignity and not in fear, by increasing their incomes and cutting down their costs, with a minimum wage, getting rid of monopolies, expanding internet connectivity and encouraging creativity, innovation and productivity.

South Korea is a very good example of a nation that chose democracy, performance and freedom of opportunity to become a developed country. With a population of 48 million, its GDP per capita of USD20,000 is more than double Malaysia's. But in 1970, South Korea's per capita GDP was only USD260 compared to Malaysia's USD380. We used to regularly beat South Korea at football. And now our children are fans of K-pop culture and their football team are regulars at the World Cup.

Only when we free ourselves of fear of change, can we be free to prosper. BN cannot change. They need to be changed, for BN wants to rule by fear.

Thomas Jefferson has said "When the governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny". The choice is yours, my friends. I urge you - Let us change so we can have liberty and live with dignity.

*Lim Guan Eng, DAP Secretary General & MP for Bagan

(The above was from an email forward. Don't remember reading it in my regular online news portals so appending a message below. In your case, for the sake of the nation, hope you will let your close ones and friends about this post)

Please remember, by 7th level this email will reach 1 million people and that is only when each of us forward it to 10 people Please do it for the sake of our future. This is a good deed that all Malaysians MUST do.It is our duty to save our nation.

You are going to save 28 million people. Please do so.

A message from Selina for Malay friends

This message from this lady Selina was from an email forward. Read and see if it tugs at your heart:

Selina, a former student of Ipoh Methodist Girls School, took a First Class Honours
degree in physics from Qxford and obtained a PhD in theoretical physics from the
same university.

After a stint with a US investment bank, she now opts to be a writer.

An open letter to my Malay friends

Selina Siak Chin Yoke
3:47PM Aug 31, 2012

August 31 is Malaysia’s Independence (Merdeka) Day. On this day 55 years ago, the Union Jack was lowered for the last time and a new country was born.

Malaysia. She was to be a powerful narrative for multiculturalism. A place where many races – Malay, Chinese, Indian, Eurasian, Orang Asli (native indigenous people) – would live together, work together as one, to move the country beyond the shadow of colonisation.

Malaysia remains a powerful idea. It’s one I believe in. But it has gone badly wrong. That’s why today, I’m writing this open letter to my Malay family and friends.

I believe Malaysia is fast reaching a crossroad; where it goes next will be determined by you, my dear Malay friends. And where Malaysia goes is important to the world – because it remains one of the more tolerant Muslim countries.

First though, I want to say a big thank you. On this Merdeka day, I want to thank you, my Malay family and friends and all fellow Malaysians of Malay descent, for your historic generosity.

Your ancestors welcomed mine when they arrived. You have shared the land with us, and this in turn gave us opportunities we wouldn’t have had in mainland China.

You provided us safe refuge from the turmoil of China. When I learnt what happened there in the past century, I am so grateful my ancestors left. And that they found shelter in the beautiful land now called Malaysia.

My Malay friends, your own ancestors came from other places. They knew what it was like to be strangers in a new country. They treated my ancestors with that gracious hospitality which I myself have experienced countless times. All this I acknowledge, and thank you for.

But now I need to move on to something else: why I left Malaysia, and why I won’t be returning any time soon.

You may already know that two out of 10 Malaysian graduates live outside Malaysia. This is an astonishing fact for a middle-income country like Malaysia. It was revealed in a detailed study on Malaysia’s brain drain, carried out by the World Bank.

My Malay family and friends, do you not care about this exodus of talent? This isn’t just an abstract number: in our family, half those of my generation live abroad. We are the graduates this World Bank report identifies. We compete happily in the world economy and have no need to return.

Perhaps, my Malay friends, you think the brain drain irrelevant, since most of the people who have left are of Chinese and Indian descent? Certainly, this is what many Malays think, as Nurul Izzah Anwar, daughter of Anwar Ibrahim, has alluded to.

“For me,” she says, “one Malaysian regardless of race, who has left the country…is a loss to us. They should be here celebrating, to improve the economy. I detest many people trying to singularly find out whether they are Malays, Chinese or Indians.”

My sentiments entirely. This fixation on race, race, race, in Malaysia is strangling the country. Yes, 88 per cent of the one million Malaysians estimated to be living abroad are of Chinese and Indian descent. So what? My Malay friends, I ask you: does our race matter more than the fact that we have taken our talents elsewhere?

Yet, should I expect anything else? How could any Malaysian not be fixated on race, when you, my Malay family and friends, are accorded ‘special’ rights solely because of your race and religion?

Imagine if the United States had given ‘special’ privileges to the Pilgrim fathers and mothers and their descendants. Special rights to land, schools, gold mines and everything else – all because they sailed first; yes, just imagine! This is exactly what your special rights equate to. If the US had adopted such a policy, do you think it would have turned into a magnet for talent and skills?

Tell anyone about a Malaysian university reserved for people with ‘special’ privileges based on race, and you will see the reaction. What? People stare in disbelief. You must be kidding!

I’m not. And there have been demonstrations against opening the institute up to other Malaysians. Yet, Malaysians are so used to these oddities that we don’t bat an eyelid. We no longer notice the strange ideas plaguing our country.

Your ‘special’ rights, my Malay family and friends, alienate me. They make me feel unwelcome, unwanted and second-class. They are why I left.

They are also why I won’t be back. Rights are a zero-sum game: for you to have more rights, others must necessarily have fewer. TalentCorp (the agency set up to attract Malaysians back) completely misses the point.

And when I see the culture of entitlement your ‘special’ privileges have led to, and the increasingly racist rhetoric this culture generates, I fear for Malaysia. Outrageous remarks are now commonplace, as former US ambassador John R. Malott outlined in his Feb 8, 2011, op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.

Malaysia has once again been called Tanah Melayu (Malay Land). Malay Land was given airtime by none other than Mahathir Mohamed, former prime minister and rabble-rouser extraordinaire, who is himself from a family with Indian immigrants. Malay Land is more than just a name. His is a supremacist concept: a land for Malays, where Malays will be Lords, everyone else their subjects.

Some people say Mahathir no longer matters, but actually he does. I feel less welcome now in Malaysia than at any time in the past. The attitudes of Malay Land are creeping in, and Malay Land is completely the opposite of Malaysia. Malay Land excludes, while Malaysia embraces and includes – a country for all races.

My Malay family and friends, which is it you want: Malay Land, or Malaysia? You cannot have both; you must choose.

On this Merdeka Day, I urge you to think about that choice. Because you, my dear Malay friends, are the only people who can truly change the direction Malaysia takes. Know that we, your fellow-Malaysians who have voted with our feet, are rooting for Malaysia.

We are no traitors as 68 per cent of the Malaysians abroad who were surveyed by the World Bank expressed a strong sense of patriotism or attachment to Malaysia. I am among this 68 per cent. I may have been away for 33 years, but Malaysia continues to be in my dreams.

I left with regret, and I stay away with sadness. I hope Malaysia will prevail.

HINDRAF gathering to hand in memorandum to Queen Elizabeth for help in appointing Queen Counsel to represent them in their class action suit

What is HINDRAF

HINDRAF is short for "Hindu Rights Action Force" which is formed by 30 Hindu NGOs seeking to preserve the Hindu community rights and heritage in secular Malaysia. The group has tried to stop the numerous demolition of Hindu temples by the Malaysian government.

Lawyers from HINDRAF had on 30th August 2007, filed a class action on behalf of Malaysian Indians at The Royal Courts of Justice in London to sue the United Kingdom Government for US$4 trillion to compensate Indians in Malaysia, which if successful, will mean every Malaysian Indians will get US$1 million the the British role in bringing in Indians as indentured laborers into Malaya who were exploited for 150 years and when they could no longer keep then Malaya as a colony, abandoned them, leaving them with a Constitution which they claimed failed to protect the Malaysian minority Indians rights on granting of independence. They hope to present a petition with 100,000 signatures to be delivered to her Royal Highness the Queen of England requesting the Queen to appoint a Queen Counsel to represent them in the class action.

Gathering on Sunday, 25 November 2007

They had planned to organise a gathering to presented the petition to the British High Commission in Malaysia on Sunday. 25 November 2007. The police asked them to apply for a police permit, which was duly done, and which as expected, was rejected. They appealed and it was rejected again for the same reasons. This was despite the agreement of the British High Commission to have some representative to accept the petition.

However, despite the obstacles, HINDRAF was determined to continue with the rally.

Many days before the planned rally, the police set up road blocks to try to prevent participants from getting to the gathering, causing massive traffic jams. They legal Representatives were arrested even before the day of the gathering. On 23 November, 2007, three HINDRAF leaders, P. Uthayakumar, Waythamoorthy, and V.S. Ganapathi Rao, were arrested and charged under the Sedition Act.

Am unprecedented court order was obtained to prevent people to participate in the gathering. Police issued an order to arrest participants on sight.

Many Indians complained of racial profiling, claiming may Indians were stopped at road blocks, their cars searched. I heard an directive were even given to the hotels not to offer rooms to Indians, but cannot confirm if it is true or not. Some HINDRAF legal representatives, organizers were arrested even before the day of the rally

HINDRAF actual on Sunday 25 November 2007

Despite heavy handed actions to try to stop the gathering by the police, huge number of Indians started gathering at various parts of Kuala Lumpur early Sunday morning, way before the planned gathering planned to start at 8.00 am. Many participants gathered at Jalan Ampang and Jalan Tun Razak from as early as 6am Sunday. They were dispersed by the police and Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) who used water cannons laced with stinging chemical water and teargas to disperse the gathering at the Jalan Ampang and Jalan Tun Razak intersection by about 7.20am when warnings to disperse met with no resonse. According to Wikipedia, on the morning of the rally, more than five thousands people gathered near the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur. Riot police dispatched to the scene used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowds. The participants just regrouped in another placed and continued their protest.

Here is an on site report by Al Jazeera with a video uploaded to Youtube:



Another video:



After 7 hours and finally given permission for the organisers to hand in the petition, they already decided they no longer want to hand in the memorandum here in Malaysia (I assume as a sign of protest at the way the Malaysian government tried to stop them from presenting the memorandum. They decided to fly to London to hand it directly to the Queen. Hopefully, they will not be stopped at the airports)

There must be quite widespread dissatisfaction that despite the heavy action to try to stop the gathering, still so many managed to get through the cracks and stage the gathering. How many exactly depend on your source. I think it is sufficient just to say that HINDRAF had succeeded to getting their message heard.

Citizens of Malaysia support Yang di-Pertuan Agong not to extend term of Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz

Here is a short report of the gathering in front of the National Mosque of Malaysia to show support to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Supreme Ruler) of Malaysia not to renew the term of service of the current Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz when he retire.

Here is the photo of Malaysia's National Mosque:



The gathering was a little bit further inside, after the staircase. Here is Lau Tek Hai of PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat or Peoples' Justice Party), Information Head, giving a speech using a loud hailer with others holding the banner imploring our Yang di-Pertuan Agong to act in the interest of the Rakyat (citizens) and not extend the term of the retiring Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz: