Categories
Humor Sports

[603] Of NYT’s wrong, Ashes’ weirdos and soccer time

I found out that the New York Times is placing part of my favorite section, the Op-Ed, under paid subscription, the TimesSelect. No fun. Not sure how many sections will fall under this TimesSelect scheme but we’ll see soon enough. I do hope however that this won’t be a reason for me to stop reading NYT. (via)

And a lot of people in England are jumping wildly. Australians on the other hand are sulking and all this is because of a game called cricket.

Yeah. Really. I wish I’m making this up but unfortunately, not. It’s true. Cross my heart. May somebody up in the sky strike me is a bolt of lighting right now if I’m lying.

I’m still alive. Really. I’m still here.

Now, let’s talk about real sport.

Ajax will be up against Sparta Prague in its first Champions League 2005/06 season match. And screw Arsenal. Hup Ajax hup!

Nope. No lightning yet.

p/s – Bush: One of the worst disasters to hit the U.S.. Heh. (via)

pp/s – blackout in LA. It’s Bush’s fault! =p

Categories
ASEAN Humor

[602] Of Malaysian imperialism… err… federalism: Pattani

In recent past, separatist movements in southern Thailand are becoming active again after being dormant for decades. Despite this being Thailand’s internal matter, unfortunately, Malaysia has been unnecessarily dragged into the chaos. Along the way, Thailand has been accusing Malaysia of aiding and fuelling the rebellion. Malaysia denies such allegation. Personally, I’m tired of seeing Malaysia becoming Thai authority’s scapegoat. Now, it’s time to make a stand in a true Pat Robertson’s style – if they think we’re covertly aiding the Malay Thai separatists, we ought to go ahead and do it.

Malaysia is not foreign to covert operations. During confrontation with Indonesia back in the 1960s, Malaysia along with its Commonwealth allies managed to stimulate a coup d’tat in against Sukarno and the communist in Jakarta. That in effect ended the Malaysia-Indonesia war. Another proof of Malaysia’s ability is Mindanao rebels. Malaysian subterfuge activities in southern Philippines were retaliatory in nature. It was done to counter the Philippines’ effort to plant separatist ideas in Sabah despite the north Borneo states’ decision to join the Federation. Several decades later, we can clearly see how the Philippines is still trying to contain the rebels while Sabah remains as a member of the Federation. The expertise gained in previous missions could be utilized to throw these Malay Thai rebels a party.

Malaysia doesn’t need to explicitly send troops to Thailand to aid the separatists. It’s sufficed to force Thailand to conduct a plebiscite via the United Nations – self-ruled or continuation of Thai sovereignty – just like how East Timor gained its independence from Indonesia. The Malay Thai states that should be offered the option are Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.

Maybe even Satun. We could return the province back to Kedah or merge it with Perlis. All three modern provinces were part of the Malay Sultanate of Pattani, closely related to Malaysian states of Kedah and Kelantan. In short, this is a great way to undo the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909.

If the Malay Thai states ever decide for self-rule, years later after things have quieted down, Malaysia could offer these states places in the Federation. So, before; given Brunei’s ascension into Malaysia along with a successful annexation of Sumatra:

After the inclusion of southern Malay Thai states:

Heh, imagine what kind of new national flag we would have. Messy.

Oh boy, I’d imagine PAS would rule supreme in northern Malaysia. On second thought, we should first get all PAS members into ISA and then get to work with Malaysia imperialism. Did I say imperialism? I meant federalism.

This way, we don’t have to worry too much about those Islamists.

Maybe, just maybe, for the sake of screwing up Singapore with a new Kra Canal:

Next: Natuna islands are ours! Huzzah! (maybe Singapore too)

erratum – Natuna is part of Riau. At least, politically. So, I’d assume annexation of Sumatra would include Natuna. w00t! More black gold to be misused!

Categories
Politics & government

[601] Of Sept 11 dedication

Four years ago, around this time, I woke up and was getting ready for chemistry class. On my way, vividly in my mind, I saw something so incredible that I was in a mode of disbelief. I saw tears falling down most strangers’ cheek in the land of the free and home of the brave. I suspect, none of them realized that they were crying – I know I didn’t. And for a tiniest moment then, I had thought I was an American.

But of course, Bush and his neo-con friends made me say much later, thank heavens I’m not an American.

Nevertheless, this post is dedicated to those of whom I saw cried on that day.

p/s – UK is overrated. Go to the US instead. (pst, Go Blue)

Categories
Activism Sports

[600] Of Malaysia Forum in Malaysia

Hah! Finally!

I’ve always thought it’s amusing that there is no Malaysia Forum in Malaysia while there are Malaysia Forums in Stanford, LA, Boston, NY etc. Finally, somebody close to MF is proposing an informal meetup in Malaysia in the near future.

I’ve been to MF at Stanford last May and had the pleasure of meeting some good people there. So, I’ll look forward to MF in Malaysia, or Kuala Lumpur.

Stay tuned for unofficial updates as I scoop my own mailbox.

But if you want to learn more about MF, http://smf.stanford.edu/ should be a good start.

p/s – hail to the Federation. It’s the 60th anniversary of Kuching’s liberation from the Japanese.

Alright, there is no Malaysia 60 years ago but Sarawak is in fact a member of the Federation. And I’m still no nationalist. I just love history.

pp/s – oh fuck (excuse my French). At least Iowa and Ohio State also lost. That should give Michigan some cushion. Whatever it is, I’m now 1 – 1. Heh, so is Michigan ironically.

ppp/s – at least, (I’ve been using too many at least) Ajax won 2 – 0 against Willem II Tilburg.

Categories
Economics Environment Politics & government

[599] Of fuel subsidy, tax reduction and Malaysian budget deficit

An awful lot of Malaysians are happy with the road tax reduction in the face of rising fuel cost. The government assures more is to come. The libertarian part of me jumps with joy. My green half however warns me that the government current policy might be unsustainable.

Fuel prices have been marching forward continuously for many months now. Give and take a jump of another USD20, crude oil price will be at an all-time high. The highest price in 2005 term is USD86 per barrel. Crude oil prices are currently around USD65 per barrel. Roughly a week ago, it was USD70 per barrel.

Consequently, all countries running gasoline subsidy are finding out that the program eats a lion’s share of their expenditure. Indonesia is a perfect example of this. Its subsidy program is so huge – a quarter of government expenditure in fact – that capitals are flowing out of Indonesia at a frightening rate. That capital outflow then forces Rupiah, the Indonesian currency, to plummet 10% against the USD this year alone. This could happen to Malaysia too and it’s crucial to reduce or even eliminate Malaysian fuel subsidy.

The Rupiah today rose after the Indonensian authority confirms that they will cut fuel subsidy further. Almost similarly, Malaysian government has allowed fuel price to increase step-wisely a few times this year. Three times if I’m not mistaken. That in effect reduces deadweight loss.

Despite so, the government has made several promises that are too bold.

First and foremost, the government promises that there will be no more price hike till the end of the year. There reason why this might be more than the goverment could chew is that there can be no guarantee how the global crude oil prices will react in the short term. The market is too susceptible to immediate events like Katrina, of which had forced the crude oil to break the USD70 benchmark. Not to mention, for the northern hemisphere, winter is looming in four months time. Given the no-hike promise, a too liberal price increase could match or even outdo the reduction in deadweight loss.

Second is the promise of more tax cuts. Bigger cuts mean lower revenue.

Combining possible fall in income from taxes with the inability to reduce expenditure, this is a formula only Republicans will endorse. It’s a recipe for budget deficit. A fall in income must be followed with a fall in expenditure if a budget is to be sustainable. Of course, economics allows greater expenditure against an inferior income but it must be noted that only in time of crisis should anybody allow that. This is where normative and positive economics diverge. On top of that, Malaysian 2004 budget deficit stands at 4.5% of its GDP. 2005 deficit is expected to stand at 3.8% of the GDP.

This is type of economics practices by Republicans – from Reagan to W. Bush – might increase the expected deficit for 2005. Our government is doing what an economic populist would do.

This might backfire soon – all the cheer might turn into jeer when the deficit swells in size.

p/s – even the World Bank is worried of climate change.

pp/s – fun flash animation. Don’t you love your SUVs?