Category: Politics & government

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Politics & government

[1298] Of the crazy libertarian

Okay…:

RON PAUL, a libertarian Republican congressman from Texas, likes to say what he thinks. And among the things he thinks is that the census is a violation of privacy. He has opted out of the congressional pension programme. He claims never to have voted for a tax increase, or for an unbalanced budget, or for a congressional pay rise and never to have gone on a congressional junket. He wants to return to the gold standard. Most notably, he strongly opposes the Iraq war and has from the beginning. [Paul the apostate. The Economist. July 19 2007]

While I am currently backing Ron Paul, I do realize that a lot of the policies he supports are a tad too radical, even for libertarians, especially me. Still, with the Democrats leaning farther left, I think a radical is what we need to balance the see-saw.

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Liberty Politics & government

[1295] Of a vote for MCA, et al, is a vote for Islamic state

What seems to be ancient history now, there was a time when DAP and PAS as well as PKR chanced sitting together amicably to face a general election. With an ambition to setup an Islamic state, PAS became the bane of DAP. BN played their cards well by employing guilt by association fallacy and DAP performed badly in that election. Come 2007, this is the chance for DAP — or even PKR if they have the balls — to turn that table against BN.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said:

Islam is the official religion and we are an Islamic state. [Malaysia Not Secular State, Says Najib. Bernama. July 17 2007]

I personally disagree with that assertion but I am tired of playing the same game over and over again that by now, I do not feel the urge to rebut the DPM’s statement. I nevertheless take comfort in knowing that many in the blogosphere, from Jeff Ooi to Haris Ibrahim have done a good job in rebutting the DPM. So, if I were to rebut the DPM again, it would be a redundant work. Instead, I wish to share a delightfully marvelous politically strategic opportunity to create a major schism between members of BN.

Of course, of course. The non-Malay, non-Muslim members of the Barisan Nasional have no doubt condemned or at least begged to differ with Najib’s statement. If they, MCA, MIC, Gerakan, etc, really disagree with Najib and by extension UMNO, they should sever their political ties with UMNO. Words mean nothing without action.

Yet, it is unrealistic to have them to distance themselves from UMNO. Power attracts and things like this are not strong an impetus for them to refrain from tasting the honey that UMNO provides, the honey that makes slaves out of them.

The real gold mine is the supporters of MCA, et al. These people need to be convinced that a vote for MCA, et al, is a vote for Islamic state. The association of MCA, et al, with UMNO itself is suffice a reason to convince those supporters that MCA and others within BN are supporting the formation of an Islamic state.

Do you hear me?

This is the golden opportunity to undress the facade of harmony projects by BN. It is the crack for the alerted to make benefit of. Hear ye, hear ye. There is a crack; large enough a crack and race-based political parties will be obsolete!

Repeat after me: say no to Islamic state. Say no to MCA. No to MIC. No to anything that is BN. A vote for them is a vote for Islamic state where liberty will be disrespected with sheer impunity.

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Activism Photography Politics & government

[1294] Of a new political star

Some rights reserved. By Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams.

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Politics & government

[1291] Of time to jump off the bandwagon

I used to sympathize with the Democrats not long ago but I have jumped off the bandwagon some time after the Democrats conquered the Congress. Why?

Well:

WASHINGTON, July 15 — On Capitol Hill and on the presidential campaign trail, Democrats are increasingly moving toward a full-throated populist critique of the current economy.

Clearly influenced by some of their most successful candidates in last year’s Congressional elections, Democrats are talking more and more about the anemic growth in American wages and the negative effects of trade and a globalized economy on American jobs and communities. They deplore what they call a growing gap between the middle class, which is struggling to adjust to a changing job market, and the affluent elites who have prospered in the new economy. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat of New York, calls it “trickle-down economics without the trickle.” [New Populism Is Spurring Democrats on the Economy. NYT. July 14 2007]

With the Democrats in power of the Congress, I would like to see a Republican President and Ron Paul would do just fine for me. Maybe even Mitt Romney but that is just because Mankiw is his advisor. I certainly do not want to see the mistake of giving too much power to Barisan Nasional in Malaysia repeats itself in the US.

If a Democrat President sits in the Oval Office, I have a feeling a recession — with their protectionist and anti-trade thinking — will hit us all, sooner or later.

Categories
Politics & government

[1290] Of turning CTOS into a racial issue

Earlier today, Khairy Jamaluddin seems to imply that CTOS is victimizing the Malays.

“Otherwise, many people will be victimised, especially Malays who may have settled their debts but get penalised by the information provided by CTOS,” he told reporters after the opening of the Rembau Umno Youth delegates meeting here.

The meeting was opened by Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, who is also the state Umno liaison chief.

Khairy said he noticed that most of the people on the CTOS blacklist were Malays. [Khairy Suggests Winding Up CTOS. Bernama. July 14 2007]

Worry not Malays because here comes the knight in shining armor to save the day!

It is amazing how he is trying to turn a completely ethnic-neutral issue into a racial one. While doing that, he portrays himself as a savior by calling for CTOS to be winded up. By calling for such action, the victimized Malays would be grateful to Khairy for fighting for the Malays.

Wicked rationale of a populist, I would say.

I personally doubt that CTOS is trying to get the Malays. In fact, CTOS, from my reading, does not blacklist people. It merely provides individual’s credit information which is available publicly.

Regardless, if it is true that most with bad credit rating are Malays, there is one possible easy explanation to that: the Malays make up the majority population in this country. Assuming everything else is the same, it would be rational to expect the number of Malays with bad credit rating would reflect the percentage of the Malaysian population.

I would be interesting to to see the percentage of individuals with bad credit rating based on ethnicity background. I am betting that the relevant percentage would reflect the composition of the Malaysian population.