ONLY WHEN IT INVOLVES OTHERS.......

ONE trait about people is that they often are able to see where others have gone wrong. They almost always have an opinion about how a department or an agency should do their work. Politicians especially are known to cry freedom and transparency. "Crack down on corruption, catch the crooks, reporters must be free to move and report...."

But investigate them for possible abuse of power and misappropriation of funds and they hit the roof! "It's all racial -- because we are Chinese," suggests Selangor exco Theresa Kok of the on-going investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. But as it is the commission is also investigating five other politicians who happen to be Malays......

To shield itself from further insinuations similar to the one from Kok, maybe the MACC should ensure that each time it investigates a complaint on corruption, it must go after a Malay, Chinese and Indian the way this racial representation is portrayed in the local TV dramas and the audio-visual creations from Filem Negara.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was one of those who wanted more press freedom but that was before he became the head of a government. He found the environment completely different once he assumed the chief ministership and one day decided to ban the NST from his official functions and press conferences. The Official Secrets Act was one legislation which didn't have a special place in Guan Eng's heart. That too when he was just an ordinary politician. But when some local authority decisions were leaked out Guan Eng hinted that he may have to invoke the OSA!

While the political situation in Perak appears to have calmed down by many notches in the last couple of months, Selangor and Penang are hot and both are ruled by the opposition. Some Pakatan Rakyat politicians in Selangor must be feeling hot under the collar now that their utilisation of funds is being investigated by the MACC. In Penang the Kampung Buah Pala issue remains very much in the news and now a recording is being circulated, detailing the assurances and pledges made by PR politicians during the campaigning for the 12th general election last year.

So far Guan Eng doesn't seem to be able to handle this issue well and to the satisfaction of the residents and their supporters. As if that was not bad enough Guan Eng had to shoot himself in the foot with his uncalled for remarks about the lawyer for the residents using his original name as a Sikh even though he had converted to Islam many years ago.

That I think was going a bit too far, especially coming from someone who studied up to university and lives in a plural society like ours. What is a Muslim name, Guan Eng? Please tell me because I can tell you about some Muslim names from around the world. In football there's Frederic Kanoute of Mali and Christian Negouai. Nearer to home I can think of Indonesian artistes Tamara Bleszynski, Primus Yustisio, Emilia Contessa and Alessandra Gottardo. Get the drift Guan Eng?

EASY TO ACCUSE, INSINUATE BUT HOW SURE ARE WE?

IT hasn't been a good week for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. After being first accused by Dap politician Teresa Kok of targetting Chinese (opposition) politicians, it found itself just days later under more intense scrutiny when a witness it had met earlier to record a statement was found dead the following afternoon outside the building which houses the commission.

The death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock at the young age of 30 was tragic. There cannot be any other way except to sympathise with his family, no matter what your race, religion and political beliefs.

The investigation has just started and nothing is being spared. One report says four pathologists are involved while another said the police had also agreed to allow a state appointed pathologist to assist. As it is those of us not involved in the probe have no way of knowing the full story -- the sequence of events. In such a situation I exercise patience and tell myself to allow the investigators to complete their work rather than point fingers, blame people without proof, cast aspersions on the integrity of people and in the process work up emotions and sentiments against the establishment.

By my reckoning because of the very nature of their job, politicians should be the first people to show restrain and not say anything that might stoke the fire. Instead what we are seeing is exactly the opposite. But they are not the only ones. Online I have read all kinds of nasty comments, allegations and insinuations. Some go straight to the point to suggest that the MACC and by extension Umno which leads the federal government are in fact a bunch of murderers, assassins. If you think this is coming from young people still wet behind the ears and prone to believe hearsay instead of facts you are dead wrong.

The nasty writings I have seen have come from the elderly, the highly educated, people who used to hold senior positions at work and yes, guys who for reasons known only to themselves still hang on to their Umno membership!

You may agree or disagree with the MACC for interviewing Teoh from late Wednesday afternoon to 3.45am the following day but to categorically state that he was tortured I don't think I can agree with. Worse this statement in which the writer sounds absolutely sure of comes from someone who's on the run from the authorities and is probably thousands of miles away from Shah Alam!

That questions are being asked about Teoh's death is nothing unusual. What I find tough to compute is to expect the commission to provide answers as to why a young man like Teoh would want to take his own life. How would you know what was going on in his mind on Thursday?

This was what the NST said Selangor state exco A. Xavier Jayakumar had asked: "...the MACC has to answer why a normal man in his 30s would want to take his own life over a simple allegation of misappropriation of funds? We must have those answers for his family."

Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua expressed disbelief that Teoh would want to spend the night at the MACC. "Anyone who had spent so much time being questioned would want to go home once he was released."

Like I said I don't think anyone could have answered the questions posed by Jayakumar, definitely not the MACC. As to Pua's remark, this too does not have a yes or no answer. Teoh may have truly wanted to sleep on the couch at the MACC, as stated by the commission. We don't know his state of mind then. After all it was that late in the day and although he had his car with him as mentioned by Pua, Teoh could have been truly exhausted and sleepy. That would make sense of his decision to want to sleep there, if this was truly what he had decided to do.

I think all of us not linked or related in any way to Teoh will feel better if we don't jump to conclusions. We will feel calmer if we can tell ourselves that stranger things have happened. People have taken their own lives for less although I must caution here that I'm not suggesting that Teoh took his. I'm just trying to tell people that in life there are all kinds of possibilities, no matter how ludicrous they may seem.

May the truth prevail.

THE FORTRESS WAS ALMOST KNOCKED DOWN

IT was said to be a fortress, an impenetrable political one that is. The Manek Urai state constituency in Kelantan was described as one that had managed to withstand all attempts by the arch rival to capture it for as long as one can remember.

The late Pas politician Ismail Yaacob won it for five consecutive terms but his death some weeks ago forced the by-election on Tuesday which saw fish wholesaler Mohd. Fauzi Abdullah facing the challenge from Umno's Tuan Aziz Tuan Mat. You can read the result any which way you want. In March last year Ismail won by a majority of 1,352 votes but this time Fauzi managed to scrape through only by 65 votes.

A win is still a win, we have to agree, but Pas cannot be overjoyed with what happened on Tuesday.

A better way to assess the situation would be to look at the percentage votes received by each of the two parties. Last year Pas had 55.61 per cent of the votes against the 42.52 per cent by Umno but Tuesday saw a substantial swing in the percentage votes for Umno. Tuan Aziz managed 49.15 per cent, an improvement of 6.63 per cent from last year, while the votes for Fauzi totalled 49.75 per cent, a decline of 5.86 per cent for Pas.

Kelantan Mentri Besar and Pas spiritual adviser Nin Aziz Nik Mat thinks the swing to Umno was due to the development pledges made by the Barisan Nasional federal government. And I thought that after what happened in March last year and the subsequent victories by the Pakatan Rakyat parties in several by-elections since then that development no longer gives the ruling coalition a clear advantage!

Or some may say it's because of the change in the Umno leadership in Kelantan from Annuar Musa to Mustapa Mohamed or the hopes and expectations that come along with the new federal leadership under Najib Razak. I don't know and I wouldn't want to put my thinking cap on to try and determine the reasons, for I think it's pointless to try and think what 10,748 Kelantanese had in mind when they went out to vote on Tuesday.

But while the failure to take over Manek Urai from Pas may have been another letdown for Umno, I'm sure that what is more crucial and gives it some encouragement is the increase in the percentage votes received. This becomes more significant when taken together with what happened in the Bukit Gantang Parliamentary by-election last April.

Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin won by a bigger majority compared to the late Roslan Shaharum also of Pas in March last year but the higher votes for Pas came from the non-Malays while Malay support for Umno in the constituency when up by five per cent in April compared to last year.

Thus Umno would have every reason to feel stoked, that there is hope after all and the tide may be slowly changing in its favour as it prepares for the next general election in four years time. But Umno cannot be too confident either. After all what Pas has just gone through at its fortress should be a constant reminder that sometimes it's impossible to predict the trend in politics.

THE BRIEFING WAS RESPECT ENOUGH

FORMER prime minister Mahathir Mohamad is a very unhappy man, feeling letdown by the recent government decision to revert the teaching of science and mathematics in schools to Bahasa Malaysia beginning 2012. He is one amongst many, as indicated by the responses to the online poll at his blog. Almost everyone I know feel the same way.

Mahathir perhaps feels stronger than most because the two subjects were taught in English in 2003 on his initiative, intended to help Malaysians not be left behind by others in a world that has English as the number one language of knowledge. In deciding to reverse the policy, the Cabinet took into account analyses on the effectiveness of the system currently in place. Or should we say the ineffectiveness of it?

But six years cannot be sufficient time to help anyone make an informed opinion. Those against a change in the policy feel that instead the government should find ways to improve the teaching methods while also strengthening the teaching of English, especially amongst rural students.

Before deciding on this last week the government, led by DPM/Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, took the time to brief Mahathir on the impending decision. From his reactions one could see clearly that Mahathir was dead against it. My point of interest though was not so much his objection but rather Mahathir's feelings on how the government had handled it.

The press quoted Mahathir as saying that "he was not consulted, only briefed". Later he said that in announcing the decision, the government did not inform the public his views. On this score I cannot agree with Mahathir because much as many still respect him and will never forget the good things he has done, he no longer has the locus standi to demand more than what the government has done.

I'm sure the government decided to meet him out of respect and perhaps also to consider it as also part of a damage control exercise. I say this because I don't think the Najib administration wants to be seen to be on a collision course with Mahathir. Under the present circumstances I don't think Umno would want to have Mahathir sniping away at the party and leadership the way he did when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was the PM. Furthermore if Mahathir goes on the offensive again I don't think even the current administration will keep quiet. If a collision takes place I think that will be the end of any relationship Mahathir has with Umno.

By all accounts things have been looking up for the Mahathirs since Pak Lah left and Najib took over 102 days ago. Mahathir is now back "in favour" with the Umno press which gives him "good press". Every event of his and those he attends are covered, with his speech given prominence over what others have to say. His youngest son, Mukhriz the deputy minister, has been getting a lot of space in the Umno press despite being a junior deputy service-wise. Even his minister doesn't get that much space. Many in fact say that there has been an overdose of Mukhriz in the mainstream press in last 3 plus months.

The situation is also getting better for Mokhzani as chairman of the Sepang International Circuit. After Mokhzani left Umno to follow his father last year, former Youth and Sports Minister Ismail Sabri Yaacob made it sound as if our friend was a plague that had to be avoided at all costs. Ismail and Azalina Othman Said, a former minister who went up the political ladder more due to Mahathir's goodwill, also suggested that Mokhzani should relinquish the post. Now we have been told that the Finance Ministry, the owner of the SIC, is giving RM40 million for an upgrade of the SIC.

Back to the original point -- The fact of the matter is that the government was under no legal obligation to consult Mahathir on an education matter like this. If it was something on the petroleum or motor industry maybe because of Mahathir's position as adviser to Petronas and Proton. Still the government briefed Mahathir out of respect for him as a senior citizen who was bold enough to switch the teaching of the subjects in English six years ago. Beyond that it is the present administration that is solely responsible for what it does.

WHO DIED -- MICHAEL OR MIKAEEL?

THE first report was in November last year but it wasn't big news in the Muslim world and certainly not in this country, although some were aware of it. The news was first reported by Britain's the Sun, not known there to be a serious paper.

There it was, the story about the conversion to Islam by Michael Jackson who then assumed the name Mikaeel. The man himself never confirmed or denied it and subsequently there was nothing else to indicate that he had lived the last eight months of his life as a Muslim. If he didn't I am not surprised. You need to have the environment right for the religious culture to take root and everything indicated that Michael didn't have this environment with him.

But when he died two weeks ago one local TV station mentioned about the conversion in the second paragraph of the report. I don't remember though hearing the TV news attributing the report to any source. That was enough to get some Malay/Muslims excited, a feeling fuelled further when MJ's older brother Jermaine was reported to have said that he was going to guide his family to give Michael a Muslim burial, as stated in his will. Which will?

There was also another report which said that in one will Michael had said that when he died he would like to be cremated and his ashes scattered on the moon. Considering that it costs millions to get a bird up into space to go to the moon that idea had to be shot down because the entertainer was up to his neck in debts and his finances in disarray.

The fact that the memorial service for him was to take place early Wednesday local time escaped me and I only saw it live on TV somewhere in town. I hadn't realised while watching it that the private funeral service had taken place earlier and was hoping to catch a glimpse of it later, thinking that it would come after the memorial.

But never mind. There it was, the memorial beamed live by CNN across the world, an event which no doubt would rake in millions for those who organised it and certainly for Michael's family/estate. And yes there was Jermaine participating actively in it, singing his brother's favourite song, Smile. All the while the gold-draped casket was placed off stage in the centre.

My understanding of it all is that Muslims do not have such a memorial when they die. Even the reading of the talqin to remind the living present at the cemetery is a matter of dispute. The Wahabbis of Saudi Arabia do not believe in it. Some others are against it because they interpret it as something intended to glorify the dead.

When this issue of Michael's religion when he died was brought up, some cautioned against debating about it, insisting that it was a matter between man and god. But if everything is left to god we will have to agree that there should not be any space for an intellectual discourse on anything.

Jermaine is said to have converted to Islam 20 years ago and assumed the name of Jermaine Friday as a result. He is reported to have gone to Mecca but it's unclear if he went to do his haji. But whatever was in his heart and in Michael's, having a memorial just isn't the way a dead Muslim is remembered. But yes agreed, we will never know because we have to leave it to god.....

LEARNING THE HARD WAY

ONE has had a few minor "face-offs" and his remarks recently show that at least he's made public his awareness that governance is never easy. But unlike PKR's Khalid Ibrahim in Selangor, Dap Chief Minister of Penang Lim Guan Eng is already learning it the hard way.

Obviously Lim has been full of nerves since the Kampung Buah Pala dispute made headlines in the press late last week, resulting in him making contradictory statements, pointing a finger at the previous state administration headed by the Gerakan's Koh Tsu Koon and even going to the extent of trying to pass the burden to the federal government who Lim thinks should buy the land from the owner (to solve his problem!). The latter incidentally is something Lim says his state cannot afford to do and mind you, also because doing that would set a precedent. Yet he sees nothing wrong if that same precedent comes from the federal government.

After keeping silent for a few days Lim went on the offensive against the developer and Koh. On Thursday he maintained that his state government was prepared to cancel the project planned for the area if the developer fails to compensate the residents. He insisted (and sounded rather impressive) that Penang was prepared to face financial losses over the cancellation and if the developer took action.

For the developer he had strong words. "I want to warn the developer not to test the state government's patience because we will not back out just like that." Wow... macho.

His message to Koh: "He should address the matter with the Cabinet as the present state government is not financially capable." And there was Lim saying that his government was prepared to face financial losses.

The drama in Penang caught the attention of his Selangor Pakatan colleague Khalid who said state governments could not simply give in to the demands of squatters as it could jeopardise development. He acknowledged that in the case of the dispute in Penang it was difficult to strike a balance and please everybody. That is precisely what the Barisan Nasional has had to do since independence in 1957 -- a balancing act. There have been successes and there have been failures but it appears that in baiting the people to vote for them in the general election in March last year, the Pakatan parties courted squatters and other pressure groups with all kinds of sweeteners which they later could not deliver.

Many political analysts agree that Pakatan, especially PKR, received strong Indian support that helped them to win many seats in Selangor. That PKR was pally-pally with the now banned Hindraf was no secret. But that kind of association comes with a price.

I remember a news item soon after the election about a visit by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and Khalid to an Indian settlement in Shah Alam. The report said the area had only about 300 residents but they saw fit to ask the newly elected Pakatan government to build two Hindu temples there. Yes not one but two for such a small settlement.

THEY ALL CONTROLLED THE PRESS

I DON'T know if it was reported prominently by the mainstream press but I didn't catch it in the only paper I buy nowadays. Read it online and decided that I must have my say on this.

The news was about the response by former PM Mahathir Mohamad when asked about press control during his time after he had launched another online news portal recently. According to Mahathir it was nonsense to suggest that there was such a thing when he was our CEO. Instead he took the now expected route of taking another dig at his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi by saying the latter did control the press.

My impression was that Pak Lah didn't meddle much with the Umno-owned media because he was seldom on the ball. The story was that he was not into reading a lot of things that landed on his desk, unlike Mahathir who some say read everything, even anonymous poison-pen letters, as was the case concerning me following a senior appointment at the NSTP Group in mid-1990.

Because he read very little Pak Lah wasn't aware about many of the issues around him and what he didn't know could not have affected him. However he was the only one amongst our six PMs so far to have put his men directly in the media -- one at TV3 and another at NSTP. So they ran the show for him, did his bidding.

Mahathir on the other hand left matters of the Umno media to Daim Zainuddin in his capacity as Umno treasurer and thus in charge of Fleet Group, then Umno's main investment holding group. Mahathir's deputy Musa Hitam thought this power would be vested in him, as was usually the case with previous PMs, but it turned out to be a gross miscalculation. So what happened was that Daim decided who he should appoint as the chief editors but based on the trust given him by Mahathir. But it wasn't as if Mahathir distanced himself from these decisions; he had to consent.

I don't know much about the Tunku's time but contrary to popular belief, the Tunku did apply control his own way and did use his power when the situation warranted. The way he acted during the Utusan strike was a clear example that the centre did have control if the press showed signs of going out of control. The man running the Straits Times in KL those days was also the Tunku's regular partner on the golf course.

His successor Razak Hussain left it more to his aide Abdullah Ahmad to deal with the Umno press and word had it that in most instances the editors believed that Dollah took advantage to make his own decisions, give his own directions. Not much is talked about Hussein Onn's time as PM but just as Mahathir left it to the Umno treasurer, Hussein left it to Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in a similar position as Daim. But during this time there was also another man who used his position to put fear in the editors and journalists -- Home Minister Ghazalli Shafie.

So was Mahathir correct in insisting that he did not control the press when he was PM? From what I know he can't be right on this one. In fact not many news reports escaped his eyes. His aides said that before he walked into his office every morning Mahathir would have read at least the NST, the old Business Times and Utusan Malaysia. Was Mahathir more liberal than any of the other PMs we have had? No.

I think Mahathir's pride in his country overwhelmed him. If there was anything negative that could be buried beneath the surface he would not hesitate to do it. I remember the case about eight years ago when the NST carried a story of some people complaining about the dirty water coming out of the taps in their homes. The NST received a call from a Mahathir aide to tell them that the PM wasn't happy at all because it was as if the NST was telling the whole world how dirty the country was!

A PM overly concerned with a press report about dirty water you may say but that was Mahathir for you. The problem for the NST in such a situation was that hardly a week later the rival Star carried more stories and pictures on the same problem, highlighting the issue over two pages.

And is it any different now under Najib Razak? It's too early to tell buy the usual way of appointing editors the political route cast doubts in a lot of people's minds.