Sunday, August 30, 2009

PRESERVE OUR SOVEREIGNTY AND PROTECT OUR INDEPENDENCE!



SALAM MERDEKA!



Our forefathers slogged to win us independence allowing us all to be free from the shackles of the British Empire which had ill will towards the native Malays. It was difficult, but they did it without shedding a drop of blood and achieved it within 10 years from its first cry in the depths of rural Malaya.


It is incumbent upon us, the succeeding generation to preserve and protect our Independence whatever the cost and realize that maintaining independence is far more difficult than achieving it. Never take our Independence for granted. Once lost, it will take 7 generations or more to recover. Appreciate our Freedom!

Happy Independence Day to all Malaysian citizens!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

KARTIKA: THE PM NEEDN’T DRAG HIMSELF INTO THIS

The Muslim woman consumed alcohol in public. There is a provision in the Sharia Law to punish her. The public complains about social problems within the Muslim Youths everyday. UMNO in their Annual General Assembly, debates over it viciously as though they are sincerely concerned about the decadence in our society. Today, I read the Prime Minister is using his influence to change the mind of the woman, and decision by the Sharia to repair the moral deterioration within the Malays which UMNO only talks about but never acts upon. As an UMNO man myself who attends every minute of the debates in the Annual General Assembly and have to listen to spirited speeches about our concern with the social problems of the Malays, I urge the good Prime Minister, the UMNO President, to either let the punishment be meted out without any interference, or issue a decree to all UMNO speakers to refrain from debating on moral issues as though we care two hoots about it.

If we apply the rotan on all publicly mischievous Muslims allowable within the Sharia Law, no matter what gender or race, we will see a marked reduction in the social problems that we face today. Why do we turn a blind eye on the activities of the thousands of Muslim/ Malay GROs out there? What about the Muslim men who encourage and use their “services”? Do we even care what goes on in the Kareoke rooms among the Muslims? What about the Mat Rempits? If we enact a law that allows the rotan punishment to be meted out against them, we will see our roads free from this social rubbish. Snatch thefts too will be reduced to almost a single digit.

If we ask ourselves why Singapore doesn’t face these problems, it is because they whack these decadents into obedience, and if that is what it takes to clean our act together, then why not do it! Clearly coaxing, advising and even counseling have not worked in the last ten years. Let’s wipe out the hypocrisy during our Annual General Assemblies and start acting like we do give a damn. Moral and social decadence will not disappear with the wave of the magic wand, but I can guarantee you it WILL with the swing of the ROTAN.

Friday, August 21, 2009

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Selamat Menyambut Ramadhan Al Mubaraq!


The Patriot would like to wish all readers, relatives and friends Selamat Menyambut Bulan Ramadhan. May the Lailatul Qadr visit your homes during your worship in the middle of the night and bring your good wishes and prayers through the seven layers of space into the hands of Allah for his execution.

Peace Be With Your Family and May Allah Bless Our Country.

Wasallam.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

I REMEMBER WHEN....



The Uncut Version


He doesn’t know much about his father as a politician but what little he does were through his father’s correspondence with the country’s leaders back in the 1950s. Tengku Putra Haron Aminurrashid Jumat found out that his late father, Tengku Abdul Hamid Jumat, was an important man in his days - New Sunday Times, August 16 2009.




Tan Sri Tengku Abdul Hamid Jumat P.M.N. preparing to present his credentials to the German Head of State


In my family, the title Tengku was to be used only three times in our entire lives; in birth, wedding and death. This was a directive from my late grandfather, whom I was named after.
That would explain why my late father was only known as Inche Abdul Hamid Jumat (Datuk in 1958 and later Tan Sri when it was changed bearing the same Order of Panglima Mangku Negara) although it was Tengku Abdul Hamid Jumat in his official documents.

It was monotonous having to explain that fact over and over again to people who didn’t know, especially after his death.

When he was alive, I remembered him showing me a file next to the Merdeka albums that I’ve seen before. He said that I was to keep it safely in my custody as it contained important correspondences between him and the Prime Minister during the Independence.

I failed to realise then why I was given the task of keeping it safe while the rest of the documents were given to my siblings to administer. Being the only politician in the family today, I now understand his reasoning and can appreciate his foresight.

I never knew my father as a politician. When I was born, he was already a diplomat for the Malaysian government. Whatever I know of him before 1963 were from the said letters to and from the then Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman and his successor Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, both of whom he served with much pride.

After coming to terms with his sudden demise due to cardiac arrest in 1978, I looked into the file and saw letters that are now more than 50 years old. Though I’ve seen the Merdeka photos before, it didn’t make much sense until I coupled them with the letters from the Tunku, some directly relating to the events like the Baling Talks with Chin Peng, and matters relating to Singapore and its imminent leader Lee Kuan Yew.

It was then that I discovered his active involvement in the history of this nation. He was on the steps of the Istana Besar in Johor Baru as head and representing Singapore when UMNO was formed in 1946. He was vice head of UMNO Malaya (vice president in today’s term, when it was the first time they elected three “Naib yang DiPertua” of UMNO after maintaining only one the previous years) at the age of 38 in the 1950s. It was a post he held for two terms.He was also the first Malay minister, deputy chief minister and at one time acting chief minister of Singapore between 1955-59.




Front row L-R, Abdul Hamid Jumat, Tunku Abdul Rahman, David Marshall, Tun Abdul Razak, Tun Dr Ismail.


Following that, he was appointed Malaysian ambassador to Germany 1963; The Philippines 1965; Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco in 1968; and Holland, Belgium, Denmark and Luxembourg until 1973.

He was offered London as his last posting but respectfully asked Razak’s permission to return to Malaysia to enter the business fraternity.




Tan Sri Tengku Abdul Hamid Jumat and a German official after presenting his credentials to the then West German Head of State.


I found one letter dated November 9 1957 from the Tunku about the impending meeting with Chin Peng then. In the letter, he thanked my late father for supporting his action to meet with Chin Peng after reading from a report in the newspapers on the same day.

He said the others in the Federation were not keen on the meeting, adding that this may be the reason why Chin Peng’s letter to him took a while to finally reach his hands.




Baling Talks.



He asked that my father appreciate the sensitivity of the situation and understand if he nor Lim Yew Hock (Singapore second chief minister from 1956 to 1959) were invited to join in the Baling Talks with Chin Peng. The Tunku eventually did invite him along with Mr David Marshall from Singapore.

It was while serving as a Malaysian diplomat in Germany that Tunku Abdul Rahman wrote a letter dated September 3 1965, offering my father citizenship and to continue in the service of the government.

It also had some of the Tunku’s very private thoughts on Lee Kuan Yew at the time, some of which many would agree with today.

I was alerted by a friend whom I admire very much that the matter of my father’s ambassadorship and Lim as high commissioner was raised extensively in Parliament back then.
Members, had during the November 10 1965 sitting, questioned the Prime Minister on the rationale of having foreigners serving as diplomats for Malaysia. They had failed to realise then that when the two men were appointed to head the respective missions abroad, they were both Malaysian citizens.

When the abrupt decision was made to eject Singapore from Malaysia, the rightful thing to do was to ask them to make the choice of applying to become citizens of Malaysia and continue to be in the service of the Government or remain as Singaporeans.


They also didn’t know that while they were bringing the matter up in Parliament, my father under instructions from Kuala Lumpur, had successfully negotiated a DM15 million loan from the German government to be used for our country’s infrastructure. He was a loyal servant to the Malaysian government.

The decision to expel Singapore from Malaysia, according to one letter from the Tunku, remained only among four crucial members of the Cabinet until it was announced. Such was the way it was then in contrast with today when matters of national importance tend to be leaked from high offices initiating irresponsible coverage and speculation in the media and blogosphere.

My late father was totally loyal and very much indebted to the late Tunku and Razak. The latter died two years before my father and the Tunku passed on much later after that.

I remember when Tun was gravely ill in London, my sister Hasnah, who was studying there, was ordered by my father to station herself at the hospital to relay the developments via telephone reverse charged.

One evening we received a telephone call at an unusual hour for our family. My father rushed to the phone when I announced that the operator was on the line asking if we would accept the call charges from London.



Tun Abdul Razak's remains arrive from London on MAS.

It was indeed my sister bearing unpleasant news. Razak had passed away. My father slumped on the steps of the staircase next to the telephone table and that was the first and only time I ever saw him cry, sobbing like a child.

I was told by my mother later that he didn’t even cry at his father’s funeral yet did so for the man who had helped our family much and more importantly, done so for his people in the very little time that he had as Prime Minister of a young nation. Indeed, all the Malay leaders then started very young but matured rather rapidly.

The Singapore television aired the sad news not long after we received the call but it was only officially announced by the then deputy Prime Minister Datuk Hussein Onn hours after that through RTM.

Earlier in my life, I had despised my late father for taking me out of a private school abroad and putting me into a local government school with 55 students in one class, humid weather with only one fan in the middle of the ceiling furnished with wooden tables that had holes in them with a “ bulls-eye “ drawn in the centre by mischevious students playing darts with the Maths instrument called the compass.

Back then, teachers screamed at the students, with eyes staring hard and wide while holding a short stick. It was a culture shock of the highest magnitude for me.



My father and I on the grounds of the Malaysian Residence in Manila.


My father also made me bring home a different friend each weekend for lunch who came from a poor family background. I am now grateful for it as it has taught me how to eat, live and breathe with my own people enabling me to understand their troubles and serve them naturally without having to fake it like some children of renowned former politicians following in their father and grandfather’s footsteps today.


It is a proud thing for me to think that the blood of an UMNO warrior flows through my veins, but truth be told, I learnt about UMNO politics and the mechanics of the elections from the branch and village leaders in Pulai Johor Baru, whom I’ve since considered as my family.


The writer, a party loyalist and a servant of the people of Pulai, Johor Bahru.


I made my way up in the division the hard way without the blessings of my division leader then, but made peace with him after I won against all odds, in the name of party unity. I also constantly beg forgiveness from my mother’s soul for going against her wish for her children to avoid politics.

It was evident from her reaction then, that UMNO politics at that point in time was not much different than it is today, contrary to the general consensus. If indeed this is my calling, then by God, let me remain here in politics, where I am most comfortable.

NB: Click on the title to get the published version in the New Sunday Times.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

SACK THE HEALTH MINISTER!

GIVE HIM THE PINK SLIP MR PRIME MINISTER!

The Health Minister should be sacked! He keeps on telling people to be calm and not panic when most of the hospitals are packed with patients having the flu symptoms. My son was diagnosed after a blood test with Influenza A last Thursday after waiting for 3 and half hours at Damansara Specialist and was referred to the Sg Buloh hospital mixing with other walkins. At Sungai Buloh, they didn’t even bother to segregate those who came from other hospitals and clinics who tested positive for Influenza A like my son from the others exposing everyone else to the risk of catching it for sure.
The doctor at Damansara failed to tell me that Influenza A is the normal flu that we get with a fever and running nose. From the blood test that she took and we had to pay for exhorbitantly, she could have said that my son didn’t have the Swine Flu because of the level of white blood cells that remained at level 6. She could have explained like the good doctor in Sungai Buloh that if the level went down to 2 it would confirm the Swine flu in him. That could have saved us the panick and the trip not to mention the 3 hour wait at the Sungai Buloh hospital exposed to the risk while standing with hundreds of other patients with high tempratures and some even fainting.

There should be a standard procedure after a blood test to determine whether there is an H1N1 infection at all clinics before they are sent to the Sungai Buloh Hospital. Apperently we can tell from the White Blood Cell Count from the report. I repeat, according to the doctor at Sungai Buloh Hospital, if the count states that it is around 2 or below, that means the patient has Swine Flu. My son’s white blood cell count was 6.3. The doctor at Sungai Buloh explained to us referring to the report from the blood test in Damansara Specialist that my son was only suffering from a normal flu with some fever. We waited for 3 hours exposed to the virus by hundreds of other patients only to be told that we could have been saved the trip had the doctor at Damansara explained to us reading then and there from the report of blood tests done at Damansara Specialist Hospital.

I respectfully suggested to the Prime Minister yesterday through his 1Malaysia Website to make a spot check at the Sungai Buloh emergency area where they have designated an area for H1N1 suspects as one of his walkabouts. He should see first hand how it’s done. Patients with high fever have to stand and queue to register. Even if their parents are there to do it for them, they still have to stand in line because there are no seats for the patients. Imagine one with very high fever and a heavy head that throbs having to stand up in line in humid weather exposing one’s germs to others vice versa? After the registration, they are shown to another area where they have to queue with some sitting while the majority stands. There, they mix the ones who’ve been tested positive for Influenza A with those who are not and they all wait for another hour and a half for their turn to see a doctor. No personnel told them to pay attention to the number on the cards while their names are being called. One good samaritan whose child was ill showed the patients after registration where to submit their cards before waiting further (because there was no hospital assistant to do it) got his registration mixed up by the authorities.
They lost it and people who came after him were given treatment ahead of his child. Can you imagine that? For a minute at Sungai Buloh Hospital, I thought I was in a thrid world African country. I had connections at the Health Ministry and could’ve easily been attended to much quicker but I wanted to experience what the Rakyat had to endure, even if it meant risking my son’s condition, because only then can I empathize with the people and know what they were feeling deep inside.

Ironically, 90% of the patients I observed at the Damansara Specialist (3 ½ hours) and Sg Buloh hospital, (3 hours), were those non Swine eating Malays and Indians. I’m wondering, is there a secret institute somewhere for the swine eating patients to go to for their check ups or are they immune from it? Surely they can’t be taking that perfect a precautionary measure that only 1 out of 20 patients come from their community? Could the reason be because most of the pig farms are located in Malay and poor settlements and not where there is a swine eating majority? Or could the reason be that this bug is airborne and festers in warm and non air-conditioned spaces where the Malays and Indians are usually living? A research should be made on how it attacks. It may not recognize race, religion or one’s eating habits but something has to be done to find out how and why a certain part of the community is the main target. This is not political. I met and spoke to many of them at the Sungai Buloh Hospital interviewing the public like the wakil rakyat for Sungai Buloh. I felt their pain, frustration and fear because they, like the rest of the Rakyat were not given proper information by the ministry, and had to be exposed to the virus while mixing in the same waiting area with those who were tested positive.

All the Health Minister is doing now is soaking in the television and print media publicity on a daily basis. He is reporting on deaths like the county coroner from a small town in Nantucket, while officiating small-time clinics here and there giving press conferences.

This is what he should do:

1. Station himself at the designated hospitals, checking out the mechanics and
format of dealing with patients, segregating the ones tested positive and
documented by other hospitals from the ones that aren’t.

2. Provide enough seats for patients while their loved ones register at the counter
so that they are comfortable and won’t turn into a statistic in the evening news
while waiting to be signed in.

3. Commission all clinics and private hospitals to check suspects using swabs and
blood tests sending them home with proper medication if the report states
that it’s just a normal flu and not the H1N1 instead of sending them to pack
the Sungai Buloh Hospital like a rock concert and be exposed. Again, I’m told
it can be detected through the blood test by checking on the White Blood Cell
Count.



When all the clinics and hospitals including the private ones share the burden of receiving and sieving through the patients, then and only then will we be able to contain the virus from turning into an epidemic. Otherwise, instead of 3 hours for the initial checkup, each patient along with the concerned relatives will be exposed to it for 7 hours in two hospitals in the same day altogether. The clinics and private hospitals must be allowed to charge the patients to ascertain whether they are infected. That, I’m sure will be the least of the problem for those concerned.

4. Find out why there are more of the poor section of the Rakyat, namely the
Malays and Indians who are infected and lost their lives. Could it be geographic
or the surrounding climate. Does it spread better in humid weather and less in
cool tempratures?

Heck! Make an effort to do some research instead of just letting it flow like it’s the plan to genocide the poor and certain segments of the community. Appearing on television looking smart and healthy, telling people not to panick isn’t going to cut it any longer. People want to know what the hell is being done about it!

Where is Koh Tsu Koon in all of this? He should be at the hospitals to see how it is working to gauge Liow’s performance as Health Minister. Is he evaluating ministers’ performances from the comfort of his leather chair and cool office in Putrajaya? Is he judging their KPI by reading cooked up reports by the respective ministers themselves?

As I have informed the good Prime Minister through his 1 Malaysia website/blog, the Rakyat won't be expecting a favourable KPI for the Health Minister and if it shockingly shows that it is favourable, then something is definitely wrong with Tsu Koon's grading system.

Liow should rope in the former Health Ministers for consultation and huddle up to find the best solution to arrest this crisis. Better yet, replace him with someone who is more hands on and committed to the task that is clearly threatening to reach epidemic status.

At the rate things are going, this time next week, we’ll hit 50 casualties and it will increase exponentially if this Minister remains in office doing the same thing he did when the first case was reported. We had more than two months notice to take pre-emptive and precautionary measures. I’m appalled that after that much time given in advance, we are still fumbling over each other with the system at the hospitals, unable to minimize its spread in the best possible manner.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

H.E.' S THE MAN!
H.E. Dato’ Sri Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis
His Majesty’s Malaysian Ambassador to the
United States of America

It is confirmed! Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis will be taking pole position in the Malaysian Embassy in Washington D.C. after receiving his credentials from His Majesty the Yang DiPertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin at a special ceremony held at the Istana Negara yesterday.

While he is undoubtedly the best candidate to fill in the post that was vacant for more than a year, there are some quarters in the blogosphere trying to wash it down dwelling on baseless accusations on alleged cases against him that didn’t see the light of day. Yes he is flamboyant, cavalier, and a cigar smoker but his sharp mind and “in the face” diplomacy will work very well for Malaysia and the Barisan Nasional Government in Washington where it holds currency. The U.S. State Department took only two weeks to vet and clear him as opposed to months for the others before him.

As far as the pinching of the butt report goes, it just went and was withdrawn. He was reportedly at the Le Meridien with a relative of the former Prime Minister and there was some harmless banter by others in his party which may have upset the lady’s boyfriend more than her. There were unconfirmed reports that the Ambassador-designate had a loud verbal transaction with the former Prime Minister’s very close and important confidante at the Corcosa Seri Negara before that. I wouldn’t be surprised if a third party was involved to induce the boyfriend to pressure the lady initially to smear him justifying his exclusion from the cabinet on the pretext of the short-lived former Prime Minister’s policy of a clean Government. That would explain why Bernama, TV3 and the NST, at that time allegedly linked to the fourth floor boys went to town with the so called “induced” police report while the opposition sympathized media in the likes of Harakah and Malaysiakini were uncharacteristically sympathetic to him. I guess not being able to live with a guilty conscience, the good lady then decided to own up withdrawing her report. With no clear evidence from all of the CCTV tapes viewed of the evening by the police to the effect of the initial report, the attorney general decided that there was no case to be brought to the court.

In Malaysia, people especially the media don’t have the decency to clear one’s name with the same publicity with which it was besmirched. I was told once that when people see others fall, it releases a chemical in the brain that causes them to feel pleasure. I was a bit skeptical to digest that fact without clinical proof but I am beginning to feel that in this country at least, there is a scintilla of evidence of it in the way Malaysians behave. I witnessed it in March of 2008 even among our own supporters when Barisan Nasional lost the five States, and I am seeing some of it now against Ambassador-designate Jarjis.