The Malaysian Insider

NOV 7 — Why do we have different states in Malaysia? If we are one country, why don’t we get rid of the states and centralise our government? The correct answer is probably “It’s an accident of history” — if our government could get rid of the states, I am almost certain it would. But we ought to keep our federation of states the way it is — and events this week highlight more than ever the importance of our country’s diversity.

OCT 30 — So, the Perak farce grabbed the headlines again this week, while in my home state, Badrul Hisham Abdullah crossed over to the Barisan Nasional side of the floor. And there is no better way to sum this up: Barisan is a threat to our democratic and peaceful way of life. It is arrogant, drunk on the heady belief that no matter what, it can hold on to power and do whatever it likes — the laws or the people of Malaysia be damned.

OCT 23 — The anti-climactic resolution of the V.K. Lingam saga has not been getting a great deal of press time, even in the alternative media. It’s not a particularly sexy issue anymore, and the quiet whimper with which the government has dismissed it is enough to lull one into a false sense of complacency. But make no mistake about it: this is one of the most disastrous things to have ever happened in our country — so disastrous that once you fully understand its implications, you cannot see things in the same way ever again.

OCT 16 — Khairy Jamaluddin’s maiden policy speech as Umno Youth leader is making waves, and rightly so. For the first time in living memory, the Umno Youth AGM is not a cacophony of racist, keris-waving rhetoric. We should commend Khairy and the Umno leadership for this, no doubt about that. But this remains a first step — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Khairy must deliver on their grand promise to work for all Malaysians. At the moment, while they may be nearing par with Pakatan Rakyat on rhetoric, they are still far behind in terms of a comprehensive programme to make this rhetoric a reality.

OCT 9 — Today, Barisan Nasional promises us change and reform — a stark difference from its previous insinuations that Malaysians want and need more of the same. But Barisan has blatantly failed to deliver, even under the leadership of Datuk Seri Najib Razak. All we keep getting is the same old — pardon my French — crap.

Barisan says it will clean house, tossing out the corrupt and criminal. It’s said that before; Tun Dr. Mahathir entered office promising a slew of reforms, as did Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. We know what they gave us; their protégé, Najib, is giving us more of the same. I need not elaborate on Isa Samad’s rehabilitation; that speaks for itself.