Told ya!

UMNO Times (also known as The New Straits Times) reported this on 6 May

Drop in crime index for first four months of 2010

KUALA LUMPUR: The crime index in the country for the first four months of this year shows a drop as a result of initiatives under the National Key Result Areas (NKRA).
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop said the crime index dropped by 15.35 per cent and street crimes by 38.7 per cent compared with the corresponding period last year. ….

Big deal. So what else is new. We knew the crime rate was going to fall. Najib told us about it on 6 April, before it even happened! See the post below.

The announcement of the Selangor CPO’s car getting stolen was just perfect timing. Couldn’t have planned it better myself. Najib’s bullshit is getting deeper and thicker.

Najib to “come up with more statistics”

I watched Prime Minister Najib on Channel News Asia, Singapore’s answer to CNN, last night. He was giving a speech to the Foreign Correspondents Association in Singapore and it was telecast live throughout Asia by CNA. Speaking in English, Najib started off extremely well. He came across as homely, sincere, articulate and intelligent. Perhaps his polished performance was due in part to training in media relations by APCO Worldwide.

Najib on CNA last night

Najib began by giving a long-winded account of how he came up with “1 Malaysia. People First, Performance Now”, which he linked to the process of transforming the Malaysian economy. He almost convinced me that APCO working for Ehud Barak when he launched One Israel and APCO working for the Malaysian government when Najib came up with 1 Malaysia was nothing but pure coincidence.

Next he launched into an explanation of Key Performance Indicators and how they would assist in the management of Malaysia. I was hooked. He had me eating out of his hands and even a cynic like me was rooting for him. Then he started talking about the KPI for crime in Malaysia and he blew it big time. Najib said: “The crime rate in Malaysia dropped by 7.6% in the fourth quarter of 2009 and soon we will come up with more statistics to show that the crime rate is dropping.”

So there you have it. Najib’s answer to the rising crime rate in Malaysia is not to sack the top management of the police force. It is not to revamp processes and policies to ensure better law enforcement. It is not to implement an effective anti-corruption drive. Najib will merely “come up with more statistics” to show that crime is dropping in Malaysia. It is called a Freudian slip, an accidental mistake that actually betrays his subconscious worries.

I fell to the floor laughing. I was laughing so hard that I could not watch any more. So I switched channels to an Indonesian sinetron called Cinta Fitri. At least the Indonesian show made no pretences that it was anything but pure fiction.

Sad Day for Malay Supremacists

Friday, 5 February, 2010 was a sad day for Malay supremacists. On that day UNESCO formally presented a certificate conferring “world heritage status” for the kris to the Indonesian government.

Batik, kris and wayang get UNESCO world heritage status

UNESCO on Friday awarded Indonesia four certificates, three stating that it recognized three intangible cultural heritages and one stating its recognition of the country’s efforts to preserve its culture.

The three intangible cultural heritages were batik, a method of decorating fabric with a special dyeing technique producing specific patterns, wayang, a traditional shadow puppet play, and kris, a traditional ceremonial dagger.

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 02/06/2010

In the citation for the kris UNESCO stated:

The kris or keris is a distinctive, asymmetrical dagger from Indonesia. Both weapon and spiritual object, the kris is considered to possess magical powers. The earliest known kris go back to the tenth century and most probably spread from the island of Java throughout South-East Asia.

I was richly entertained, therefore, by the Malaysiakini report on the official launch of Perkasa, the latest Malay supremacist organisation. It appears that the organisation practically worships the keris. Not any old keris mind you, but the Taming Sari in particular.

Perkasa launch pix ripped from Malaysiakini

As any student of Malay history and folklore can tell you, one day Sultan Muzaffar Shah of Malacca, accompanied by his faithful laksamana Hang Tuah, went to the court of Majapahit in Sumatera to ask for the hand of the princess, Raden Galoh Kirana.

The Majapahit king was none too impressed and a duel ensured, Majapahit represented by their legendary warrior, Taming Sari, and Malacca by Hang Tuah. Hang Tuah won and was presented with Taming Sari’s kris, which was also called Taming Sari. Hang Tuah brought it back to Malacca and, many adventures and years later, used it to kill his best friend, Hang Jebat.

As the story goes, Hang Tuah was set up and falsely accused by one of the Sultan’s sycophants of sleeping with the Sultan’s concubine. The Sultan orders Hang Tuah to be executed without a trial but he is hidden away by the Bendahara instead. Upon hearing of Hang Tuah’s unjust execution, Hang Jebat goes mad and embarks on a one-man rebellion that overthrows the Sultan. Hang Jebat’s justification is “A fair king is a king to obey, a cruel king is a king to fight against“.

Armed with Taming Sari, Hang Jebat was invincible until Hang Tuah reappeared, was pardoned by the Sultan and ordered to kill Hang Jebat. An almighty fight ensued until Hang Tuah tricked Hang Jebat, recovered Taming Sari and used it to kill his principled best friend.

Perkasa’s icon informs us clearly of the calibre and objectives of this organisation. For all their angry words against the pendatang, it seems strange that they have chosen a Hindu-Indonesian weapon as their idol. Not any old weapon mind you, but one that is believed to have mystical powers. Not very Islamic, is it? This particular weapon was used to kill a legendary Malay warrior, who stood for the rule of law, by another legendary Malay warrior, who believed in blind loyalty, right or wrong.

Truly the Taming Sari is a fitting symbol for Perkasa!