Tuesday, February 10, 2009

i totally agree!

just had to post this article 'word-for-word' from the NST website.
Too good!
"KOH LAY CHIN A sad state of affairs where everybody pays "

HOW weary it is. This is the season for glory and glitz -- that is, if one were to cast their eye westward. In the shining centres that are Hollywood and London, everybody is in the mood for the great win. It is trophy season, where actors and musicians cross their fingers for that hard-earned victory.

For the winners at the Golden Globes, Oscars, Grammys and others, this means more public adoration and critical acclaim. And thank God for the entertaining performances, all-round glamour and sweet successes at these award shows.It is a welcome sight indeed, a distraction, if you will, for over here in Malaysia, everyone is pretty much on a losing streak. All corners of the political divide are paying the price, whether deserved or not. As the bedlam of Perak still continues to exasperate, let us look at the list of people who have lost something in the process.

Jelapang assemblyman, former DAP member and now independent Hee Yit Foong has lost her credibility and the respect of her constituents. Indeed, her loss is such that even her family members are said to be paying the price for her decision.And the other two defectors, Behrang and Changkat Jering assemblymen Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu?

The two have lost all trust, and those who seek to take them under their wing would know full well the value of what they are getting.Bota assemblyman Datuk Nasarudin Hashim will forever be known as the man who did the quickest political gostan (10 days), and starting the frog-leaping that brought down Perak's Pakatan Rakyat government. Freedom of association may be one thing, but the manner in which these four conducted their swaps is another. Good luck to their future political ambitions, if the voting rakyat will let them have any.

But there are others who are paying a price, no matter which way you look at the Perak fiasco. The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, and his son, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, hitherto the golden royal household, beloved and respected by all Malaysians, suddenly found themselves at the centre of a very public heartbreak. Whether deserved or not, the esteemed sultan's decision on the issue shocked the many supporters of the Pakatan government in the Silver State and beyond, and left them wondering about the rejuvenated pillar of power and moral authority the royals seemed to promise.

For all his Sept 16 bravado and boasting, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has tasted the bitter sting of defection. He has been blamed for his obsession with bringing Barisan Nasional MPs into his fold, and no less than DAP stalwart Karpal Singh has even asked for him to step down as Pakatan's head.The ultimate cost indeed is Pakatan's loss of Perak administration, just about a month short of what would have been their first anniversary.

But Barisan Nasional also pays in this recent turn of events. They may have regained a state, but at what cost? Allegations of poaching with promises of millions have been rife. So have criticisms about the abrupt "takeover", complete with the shooing of former Perak menteri besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin and his team from their offices.

Such disparagement will be the foul-smelling, uninvited guest that BN will have to bear with when the new Umno leadership comes into play in March. Both sides of the political divide have yet to realise that nobody likes a show-off, or a display of gloating.Last but not least, the rakyat pays too. We lose time, money and attention that would be better used on more important things; not the least the mammoth preparations necessary to meet the global recession. We must be one of the few nations now completely engrossed with politicking while the rest of the world quiets down to a murmur to focus on the nitty-gritty of the economic slowdown.

Thus in this sad state of affairs, everybody pays. What can we do besides watching the trophy season to beat this weariness? Perhaps we can all turn to Rudyard Kipling.

In his inspirational 1895 poem If, he urges us to "keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you", and to "trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too".

He writes of not dealing in lies, and not giving way to hate. Of treating Triumph and Disaster, "those two impostors, just the same", and to start again when you have lost everything.

Kipling ends his memorable piece with: "If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, or walk with kings nor lose the common touch, if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; If all men count with you, but none too much, if you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds' worth of distance run, yours is the earth and everything that's in it, and -- which is more -- you'll be a Man, my son!"Perhaps If could supplement the fifth principle of our Rukun Negara -- "Courtesy and Morality" -- which has been given short shrift of late.


well said, well said.

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