Wednesday, July 16, 2008

The Day After the Debate

Anwar may have been the winner of the debate - but Shabery won the expectations game. The question now is how the two balance out... and whether it was in BN's best interest not to put a bigger pit bull like Nazri or even Najib.

Marina Mahathir made some interesting comments on her blog. On the observation that no ties were worn I might add that a while back CNN did a piece on the psychology of it - youthfulness, casual demeanor, that sort of thing. Sort of like the Peron-era taking-off-your-suit to be with the working class idea. CNN noted two interesting personalities hat did that: Barack Obama, and
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. I also like her parting comment that further debates would be interesting... though I get a feeling her father, Tun Dr. Mahathir wouldn't mind being on prime time again.

Personally, I think that you can't have it both ways about Petronas. Either you think it's a part of the government or you don't - and thus if it's doing well, it's true that it is a credit to the Barisan. You can say that the earnings are not used to the people's benefit, but you have to acknowledge the success. On the other hand, what's the point of an entity well managed by the government that doesn't benefit the people the government is meant to serve? Petronas is really a double-edged kris.

Quote of the evening:
"Naik minyak mendadak, inflasi tidak akan naik: itu teori ekonomi siapa yang ajar begitu?"
Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim

Faux pas of the evening:

"Kita tidak perlu berarak di jalan raya... atau membuat konsert yang tidak senonoh seperti baru-baru ini." Datuk Shabery Cheek
Tuan Menteri... tak kan pengajur konsert sengaja buat tu. Tambah juga, ingat sikit siapa yang buat pergerakan tidak senonoh di Parlimen.

"Kita dalam pemerintahan ini nak jaga siapa - nak jaga tauke besar dan kroni atau nak jaga rakyat? Kita jaga semua." Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim
Maaf, Datuk Seri - cukuplah jaga rakyat, biar tauke besar dan kroni jaga sendiri...

Monday, July 7, 2008

The Big Picture is Sometimes Smaller

Have a look at this article from the Star:


Remember di bangku sekolah we suka highlight textbooks? Well, sometimes bila kita highlight, rumusan itu menunjukkan ramuan tertentu:


Si Monyet kata:


"Konteks itu penting juga."

Friday, July 4, 2008

Siapa Buka Durian?

Meaning, what's that smell, not why so sedap.

I've started this blog because I want to complain sikit. The difference between me and some other bloggers is that I admit it. The shared similarity is that I say I complain sikit, but I end up complaining banyak. What to do. Malaysia boleh, wat.

Everyone is talking about this Saiful fella. Whether he did whatever with Anwar. Why he took a picture in front of Najib's office. Anwar's side says he works for Najib. Anwar's side shows pictures. Najib's side says he took a photo at the DPM's office when he was going for a scholarship, and he was a student leader.

My favourite monkey is going to go off the beaten track.

Si Monyet kata:

"Saiful got a government scholarship, from Deputy Prime Minister summore. Saiful was a student leader. And Saiful dropped out of uni. Siapa punya orang yang kita bagi biasiswa?!"

In other words: siapa buka durian?