Obama has won! It’s official. McCain has conceded. As at the time of writing, BBC reports Obama at 338 electoral college votes to 155 for McCain. There are so many firsts in this win. That he’s a black man is a given. And also gives me hope for my country. But more than that, he won on the politics of hope. NOT the politics of fear; something which we see too much of in this country.

1. The fact that a black man won the Presidency of arguably the most powerful country in the world gives me hope that people CAN evolve out of fear into a state where the nation matters more than the community.

2. The politics and campaign of Barack Obama has been centred around unity, hope, oneness. The same cannot be said of McCain. He championed difference and division. There was a “real” America, according to McCain which automatically implied that there are other parts which are not as authentic. While Obama campaigned for “all” America, black, white, native american, gay, straight, male, female. In a word, inclusion.

We’ve seen that the people of America have rejected that vision of division. But rather opted for the hope of change and the audacity of hope (if I may borrow a phrase). I realise that at present we have leaders who would rather us be divided by race (divide and conquer) but why don’t we try this? Try hoping against hope, not giving in to fear and doing what needs to be done to tell them (our leaders)  that we want a better quality of leader who will lead with hope and NOT with fear. Would it be dreaming too much to ask that for our country as well?

Oh dear. What with princes of the realm fighting each other (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/11495-malaysian-princes-come-to-blows), fatwa’s on tomboy-ism and yoga, you would think that the country is coming apart at the seams. When we have to pick on threads of the very hemline of the social fabric, you realise that something is horribly wrong in Camelot!

However, with the tone and tenor of the UMNO nominations being maintenance of the status quo in fact and only lip service to change is paid, how does one hope? The easiest thing to do would be to leave. To find another country and settle over there. OR to hope against all hope and understand that sometimes, this message of hope needs to come out of a deepest, darkest sewage of our failed ideas. Leaving the country is something that is only available to a few. The majority will have to stick it out here. And that includes members of my family and yours.

I cannot and will not abandon them until it becomes physically impossible to stay here. When I fear for my life. That’s the line I’ve drawn.

The sheer idiocy and small (in every sense of the word) mindedness of individuals who have the time and “breath” to publish rulings on issues like tomboy-ism and yoga are symptomatic of people who basically are grasping at straws to try and control the environment they live in when the perception is that very environment is OUT of control.

I know that the majority of people are more sensible than that. And I hope they (the religious authorities) realise that Muslims AND non-muslims are laughing at these rulings on tomboys and yoga in the sheer derision they deserve. Islam, a great, peaceful, harmonious spirituality, deserves better.

This is a comment I posted on Marina’s blog. It was in response to an article about Obama and McCain and racism.

“Sigh…racism is pretty much the politics of fear. The fear that one group will have hegemony over another. Uncertainty that the group that takes over or the group in power will be unfair to those because of their race/creed/sex…gosh, you name it…

I do believe there is a lesson to be learnt from Obama’s campaign versus McCain’s.

And that is, it is up to the leaders to draw the line. To tell those they lead that it is unacceptable. And unfortunately, in this country it’s not possible only because we do have a racial system.

My belief is that when you have a system predicated on race as a primary measure of governance, then race WILL BE a factor in everythng we do.

The flip side of the coin is also true. That if you have a system predicated on merit/sex/any criteria then the arguments for betterment will also be framed in that criteria.”

The question therefore is; what is it that WE want? Is race the most important determinant and the fear ? Or is it being Malaysians and looking after EVERYONE?

There is a sense that what is said is not necessarily what is meant. Which is why there is a huge credibility gap in what the government and UMNO espouse as to what the man in the street believes. It’s called institutionalised hypocrisy.

To put it in plain english; “let’s say anything and do anything to make sure we keep ourselves in power so that we can safeguard our own rights and privileges and to hell with everything else. Who cares about what the voters want. We can make up excuses about why we couldn’t do it later.”

Looking at the UMNO nominations that seems to be the case. Fear, Anxiety and suspicion. Everything as negative as it can be. Fear of a loss of power (“Malays will lose their political power and be forever colonised again” or words to that effect). Fear of a loss of money and privilege keep people in UMNO voting for those who are so called, “sanctioned” by the Supreme Council. And to further play up the fear card, SMS-es to people as high up as Datuk Sharir Samad, threatening violence if the “sanctioned” two are not nominated. Fear.

The sad thing is the very thing you fear has a habit of coming to pass. That has been my experience. To play with people’s fears is I believe the lowest you can stoop to. And if you have to pay someone to vote for you…well…that’s just…I don’t have the words to describe the disgust and revulsion I feel.

As for those who want another option, there is still one. There is ALWAYS another option however bleak it may be. Remember this moment and if they truly don’t do anything,  in the next General Election, vote them out!

“A great change is at hand, and our task, our obligation, is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for all. Those who do nothing are inviting shame, as well as violence. Those who act boldly are recognizing right, as well as reality.”

This is a quote from John F Kennedy’s Civil Rights Address delivered in 1963. Does this sound about right as to what we citizens need to do?

I’m sure many of you are watching the divisional elections as closely as I am. It’s bleak for the person I would like to win. Namely, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. The one person who has stood for good sense, fair play, justice, democracy, and change is not making much headway in the first few days of these elections. I pray that this changes and soon.

If anyone has the credibility to lead this country it’s him. But as a second choice, my vote is Anwar Ibrahim. I don’t trust Najib and his cohorts. It’s more of the same and more of the money game. I’m certain that every dirty trick is being pulled out of the hat right now including cowing the voters into playing the game. I’ve heard rumours of voting done by show of hands rather than by secret ballot. Can you imagine? People will be too afraid to vote their conscience.

All I can say is pray.

And Ku Li is being interviewed on Awani at 9pm on Astro Monday night, 13 Oct. Watch it.

Tagline in The Malaysian Insider.

Here’s the article…

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KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 — Seventy-one per cent of Malaysians surveyed in a recent poll agree with the statement that Barisan Nasional’s “race-based affirmative action policy is obsolete and must be replaced with a merit-based policy”.

Surprisingly, the poll, conducted by the independent Merdeka Centre between June 18 and July 29, up to 65 per cent of Malays who were asked the question agreed that race-based affirmative action should be done away, compared with 83 per cent of Chinese and 89 per cent of Indian respondents.

The overall consensus against race-based affirmative action was also apparent in that 61 per cent of rural and 75 per cent of urban respondents agreed that it should be replaced with a merit-based policy.

The same result was true in nearly all major categories of race, age, gender and income class, suggesting a majority of Malaysians are now ready to do away with NEP-type policies.

Asked to comment on this, Pas head of research Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad noted that the stated objective and vision of the New Economic Policy is to eradicate poverty and reconstruct society so that economic functions according to race would be ended.

The Kuala Selangor MP said it was the abuse of the implementation that has resulted in such a dire opinion of the policy.

“You cannot deny that poverty has been reduced over the years. But, for example, the Approved Permit system was meant to allow Malay entrepreneurs a stake in industries such as the automotive business. Instead, it became a monopoly for a selected few.

“It’s not redistribution of wealth but reconcentration into a bangsawan (nobleman) class.”

However, Umno MP for Pulai Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said that no one has come up with a detailed alternative so it was doubtful if “this opinion is based on hard facts.”

“I feel it is based on sentiment without actually being properly thought through. What is the alternative? Has anything been clearly defined? The last time the NEP was properly discussed was in the ’90s.”

Centre for Public Policy Studies director Tricia Yeoh agreed with Nur Jazlan in that the statement appealed to the normal idealism that meritocracy is the way forward.

“But when a Bumiputera thinks about what needs-based as opposed to race-based means to him in real terms, he might be less enthusiastic.”

Yeoh, however, said the policy was inherently flawed due to conditions such as the 30 per cent Bumiputera equity or employee headcount.

If work get’s you down, just remember that our glorious leader, Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi is probably in more contortions than an acrobat. A second ago, I read Malaysiakini and the headline was “Abdullah not defending his position.” In The Malaysian Insider, “Abdullah IS defending his position.”

What a circus!

From that font of eknowledge, wikipeadia; A Zero Sum Game is described and defined as

“In game theory and economic theory, zero-sum describes a situation in which a participant’s gain or loss is exactly balanced by the losses or gains of the other participant(s). If the total gains of the participants are added up, and the total losses are subtracted, they will sum to zero. Zero-sum can be thought of more generally as constant sum where the benefits and losses to all players sum to the same value of money and pride and dignity. Cutting a cake is zero- or constant-sum because taking a larger piece reduces the amount of cake available for others. In contrast, non-zero-sum describes a situation in which the interacting parties’ aggregate gains and losses is either less than or more than zero. Zero sum games are also called strictly competitive.”

Sound familiar? No?

OK, let me then put it this way. Remember our so called “social contract” in Malaysia? The one where the non-malays have to accept “sacrifices” in the name of helping our Malay brothers to achieve parity and therefore reducing the imbalance between the races so that we can all live in harmony?

This is an example of a zero sum game. It presupposes that by race alone, Malays are not able to study hard and aren’t intelligent. That the pie is limited and that we need to carve it up by taking from those who have and redistribute it to the others by “affirmative action.” This led to the NEP which, as part of it’s original mission, undertook to “eventually eradicat[e] poverty…irrespective of race.”A noble one.

But the arbitrary nature in which our top-down system handed out the largesse contributed to it’s failure. Although there are some UMNOputras who would talk it up, in a large part, it’s weaknesses were never addressed. No real institutions were given the authority to administer it in neutrality. Instead, it was open to a whole era of Mahathirism abuse, with our ex – PM and his cronies arbitrarily handing it out to people who were judged to be suitable by a criteria only known to them.

It’s been almost 5 months since I last wrote anything.

Frankly, it’s been a personally challenging time. Work had been a large part of that but things at home could have been better. And of course, what was happening was so confused and tumultous that one more voice in the wilderness was just that…another voice.

But what with the obstinate ignoring of a clamouring public by an increasingly beligerent UMNO, I figured it’s time to revive this blog. Like rantingsbymm.blogspot.com and those who perhaps don’t have such illustrious antecedents, it’s time again to add my voice. Hopefully, like the butterfly effect, this may add to the growing chorus which will eventually get through to some thick skulls.

It’s absolutely ridiculous that our duly elected representatives are more interested in what their PARTY says than what the larger electorate is saying.

I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised as they’re in CYA mode; that is “Cover Your Ass.” UMNO now has the dubious honour of being the party MOST associated with corruption, scandal, ignorance, and total disregard for the grassroots. I say “MOST” because the perception is that ALL political parties within the ruling coalition are tarred with the same brush. But as they say in Cantonese, the “big ghost head” is UMNO.

I mean, any party that can make decisions at the Supreme Council level that can ignore the wishes of the actual party members deserves to lose its place in history.