Lulu Thoughts Strikes Again!

you know how DrM quit UMNO and will not return as long as Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is the president?
"Wait till Abdullah quit as the prime minister and party president and then we can return to Umno," he said.

maybe, just maybe, there's this whole bunch of ex-UMNO guys [and gals] who left UMNO eons ago as a protest of DrM's presence. Maybe there's a group out there who thinks,
"Wait till Mahathir quits the party and then we can return to Umno," they're thinking.

maybe, just maybe, this is the beginning of the in-xodusstarts with Ezam, and cummulates with Anwar? well, Lulu wouldnt discount that. Stranger things have happened. Afterall, who would have thought that DrM would quit UMNO.

Lulu Is Glad She's Not In A Position Where She Would Receive Suggesstions/Letters of Recommendations for The Cabinet

really, what are you supposed to do when you receive such things?

Look at what happened with the indelible ink fiasco/cover up/that-was-what-they-had-planned-for-from-the-start-anyway
The Elections Commissions, a kononnya independant body, received a "mere suggestion" from the Cabinet to not use the indelible ink for the general election.
What does one do with a suggestion from the cabinet?
Now, really, what can one do with a suggestion from the cabinet? Take it as a mere suggestion and do what is right?
The poor EC Chairman, whose tenure was so valuable to the government that they took the trouble to ammend the retirement age so that this trustworthy servant could serve another year, took the suggestion seriously, and cooked up excuses to not use the indelible ink during the elections.
and when all this terbongkar-ed, our esteemed Prime Minister says, "It was not a directive".

Then we have these four Letters of Support by former Transport Ministers in support of the issuance of bonds to Kuala Dimensi Sdn. Bhd (KDSB), the PKFZ turnkey contractor to raise RM4 billion bonds.
Now, really, what can one do with 4 letters of support from no less that the Transport Minister? Two Transport Ministers some more, as one was issued during the time of Ling Liong Sik, and the other two by Chan Kong Choy. Take it as a mere suggestion and do what is right?
When a minister endorses a support letter, one would treat is as an implicit guarantee as it gave the impression to the credit rating agency that the letters were coming from the Government.
Now we have Ong Tee Keat, the current Transport Minister who has promised to reveal the whole truth about the PKFZ later disclaiming the importance of the letter, saying that it was not a guarantee letter.

The lesson learnt from these two events is to pray real hard that you will never ever receive any suggestions and/or letters from the PM, his ministers or cabinet.
Cos if you do, and you don't act on it, you will kena immense pressure from "powerful people". If you act on it, you will have your moments of peace from them [peace within not guaranteed] but when it meletups, they'll disown you.
damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Lulu Hopes That Your Donations Will Reach The Cyclone and Earthquake Victims Part2

Lulu's MP will be going around the pasar malams to do a collection for the victims of the Nargis cyclone in Burma and the Sichuan earthquake in China. All the money collected by DAP will be channeled to the respective countries via World Vision Malaysia.

Tonight, they'll be at the SS3 pasar malam and tomorrow night, it's SS4.

pix from Snap Happy

Part 1 - Lulu Hopes That Your Donations Will Reach The Cyclone and Earthquake Victims

aisehman.... Lulu Seems To Have Missed Out On The Good UMNO Era

from aisehman,

You know, Umno was once a party that truly cared for the downtrodden, the dispossessed and the under-privileged.
I know it sounds crazy, and maybe some of you are too young too remember, but it really was that kind of party.

Lulu is from this era, where she saw

Along the way, however, Umno forgot the reason for its existence, and began entertaining the notion that the reason behind the existence of other things was Umno.
That every single person, not to mention every single Melayu, in this country owed every single thing to Umno.

Adios, Muchachos

Lulu pula saw an UMNO who cared only for the UMNOputeras, neglecting the bumiputeras.
an UMNO who whenever they had problems internally, would divert the attention of the members by stirring racial hatred, believing that the Malays would go for a "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" unity
an UMNO who would out-Malay and out-Muslim everyone out there even though their favourite business partners and lawyers werent necessarily a Malay Muslim.

Lulu would like to see UMNO continue in its existense only if it would return to be a party that truly cared for the downtrodden, the dispossessed and the under-privileged.
only if...
if only...

Lulu Thought Only Children Tantrum Like That

It does sound like one, doesn't it? Like a schoolboy who didnt want to come out to play cos his "enemy" was in the playground. To a certain extent, Lulu can understand [thought Lulu does not agree] his frustrations with Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Lulu wishes the Tun all the best, and that many, many UMNO members will emulate him.

Malaysiakini Mahathir quits UMNO

The Star Dr M quits Umno

A Lulu Fill In The Blank

The Prime Minister's Department has lodged a police report against several newspapers for publishing the Royal Commission of Inquiry report on the V.K. Lingam video clip ______ it _____ made public.

a) before / was
b) forcing / to be

what do you think should be in place of the blanks? a- the official reason or b- the lulu version.

btw, is Lulu alone in thinking that if it were a more "borderline" newspaper, think Makkal Osai,which published the details, it would have been hit with an instant license tarik balik?

Lulu Is Mighty Peeved At The Evil One's Talk On "Substanse"

he goes on and on about "substance" when the reporters met him outside parliament after he and Amirsham got caught for the sham Q&A.

Lulu "hansard"ed the interview after listening to it carefully the 2nd time as what he said during the interview left Lulu mighty peeved.



dia tak nak dengar soalan, dia tak nak dengar jawapan
dia tak nak dengar perkara yang sebenar.
substanse.
mungkin dia takut dengan substanse
mungkin dia takut bahawa apa yang dilaksanakan oleh kerajaan DAP Pulau Pinang tidak dapat penerimaan daripada rakan-rakan kongsi yang lain, dari PAS dan Keadilan.
soal sama ada itu adalah errr soalan dan sebagainya, itu tak penting
yang penting adalah substanse
substansenya adalah dasar ekonomi baru dan ikrar ketua menteri Pulau Pinang yang mengatakan beliau akan meghapuskan perlaksanaan DEB daripada pentadbiran kerajaan negeri Pulau Pinang.
dan sejauh mana itu adalah satu masalah bagi kita di negara Malaysia.
Itu soalannya, dan menteri cuba jawab, tapi saya rasa mereka takut dengan jawapan tersebut.

ikrar ketua menteri Pulau Pinang yang mengatakan beliau akan meghapuskan perlaksanaan DEB daripada pentadbiran kerajaan negeri Pulau Pinang???
He is SO evil, he deliberately left out the part where Lim Guan Eng said, "we will run the government administration free from the New Economic Policy (NEP) that breeds cronyism, corruption and systemic inefficiency", meaning that the NEP will still be practised in Penang, but it would be one free of cronyism, corruption and systemic inefficiency. It has a totally different meaning for menghapuskan NEP fullstop.
Its like saying, "I'll fly you to London on first class in your dreams." and omiting the "in your dreams" when you tell your friends that your husband is flying you to London on first class. A world of difference.

Entah budak ini pergi Oxford belajar apa.
At one point, Lulu actually asked a friend who graduated from Oxford around the same time if this evil one was really, really there or not cos maklum-lah, a lot of fakes going around. Lulu was told that indeed the evil one was from Oxford. After that, Lulu began to wonder if he played games in Oxford. Games which involved a lot of hitting on the head that left him in this narrow minded, racist, manipulative mindset.

Lulu, Unlike Amirsham Abdul Aziz, Was Never Successful In Spotting Questions

Back in school, did you spot exam questions and study/memorise terra-terra what you spotted?
Say you're convinced that the question would be on photosintesis, and so you memorised everything about photosintesis and practically become an expert on the subject matter.
So, when the exam question is revealed to you on d-day, ah... photosintesis! and because you have spotted that, you are able to answer the question brilliantly.
However, if tiba-tiba, the question is on plant reproduction system, and because you had spotted photosintesis and therefore only studied photosintesis, totally neglecting everything else, you have nothing much to write. blank. susah-lah....

Lulu was NOT one of those who was successful in spotting questions.
Nope. An utter failure in that. Lulu's short journey of spotting was marred by failures, and hence, Lulu never got onto this "spot"ting boat.

Reading from Uncle Kit's blog and Malaysiakini, Datuk Amirsham Abdul Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department overseeing the Economic Planning Unit seems to have done a semi-marvellous job in spotting the questions in Parliament.
Some background to this. Before Parliament commences, MPs submit their questions to the various ministries who will prepare written answers to the soalan bertulis and "prepared text" for the minister/deputy for the soalan lisan. Two supplementary questions are usually allocated to each question during the question session. The MP who submitted the question is guaranteed one spot in the follow up question. The ministers or their deputies are usually have to answer the supplementary questions off the cuff as they are asked on the spot by MPs chosen by the speaker randomly, unlike the original question which gave them sufficient notice to prepare for the answer.

So, today, everyone's favourite son-in-law's written question regarding the NEP was answered by the minister himself who [o-wow!] was in Parliament today. The standard answer was given. No drama yet.
Drama began when Khairy asked his supplementary question over a statement made by the Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (DAP-Bagan) on the NEP.
That one memang drama, but the mega drama was when Amirsham, in responding to the question, read from a prepared text to the supplementary question meant to be impromptu and extemporaneous.
Not only was the answer prepared, it was so prepared that it runs into two pages!

Lulu mentioned earlier that he seems to have done only a semi-marvellous job in spotting questions.
Semi because the answer to the subsequent question posed by Prof Ramasamy was shallow, of no substance and did not answer Prof's question.
Adoi!

Either Amirsham is a "spot the question" minister OR he was informed of the Khairy question earlier.

Uncle Kit has a more intersting take on this.
Read about the drama in Malaysiakini here.
The Sun calls it a "caught with his pants down" moment

This incident would have been funny had it taken place in a classroom, but it took place in Parliament, and the question and answer that followed was paved with evil intentions.

Updated 7:33pm
Lulu thinks KJ's explanation is pathetic!
"It is not planted, it's a supplementary question that I asked. The minister is a very intelligent man. I sure he has anticipated what might be the question," he added.
A question which began as whether the government is planning to change existing policies which were formulated based on the NEP spirit, especially those related to assisting the bumiputera could have led Amirsham to foresee a question on Lim Guan Eng's statement on NEP.
My goodness! Go watch this video. Watch his body languange and make your own conclusions. Note the hollow "no!"
And try not to puke at his "substance"

Lulu Undecided Whether The NST Writers Were Lacking In Vocabulary, Had A Poor Choice Of Words OR Is Just Plain Mean

maklumlah, the NST has a lawsuit pending against Jeff Ooi, but for them to write, "Ooi Chuan Aun (DAP-Jelutong) went into sulking mode and forgo his turn to speak today when the deputy speaker Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar cut debating time for each person from 15 minutes to two", that, really makes Lulu wonder if the NST writers were lacking in vocabulary, had a poor choice of words OR is just plain mean and vindictive.

Normally, each MP is allocated 20 minutes to speak. Then it was cut down to 15 min, then 10, then 5, and by the time Jelutong got to speak, he was given only 2 minutes.

Lulu looked up the Hansard recordings of the proceeding on the 8th.
Looks like a typical parliament style "hello" alone will take up 2 minutes.

for eg,

Datuk Siringan Gubat [Ranau]: Terima kasih Tuan Yang di-Pertua. Tuan Yang di-Pertua, melalui Dewan yang mulia ini saya mohon untuk menyampaikan setinggi-tinggi penghargaan serta menjunjung kasih di atas titah ucapan perasmian oleh Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong di Perasmian Pembukaan Sidang Parlimen kali yang kedua belas. Titah Ucapan Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong itu wajar dijadikan panduan untuk melaksanakan khidmat dan kewajipan terhadap negara, bangsa dan rakyat.
Tuan Yang di-Pertua

Tuan Mohamed Azmin bin Ali [Gombak]: Assalamualaikum warahmatulallahi wabarakatuh dan salam sejahtera. Tuan Yang di-Pertua, saya tampil untuk mengambil tanggungjawab membahaskan Titah Diraja dengan mengajak Ahli-ahli Yang Berhormat untuk memberi tumpuan kepada kesan tsunami politik yang melanda Malaysia pada 8 Mac 2008. [Dewan riuh] Umumnya golongan usahawan dan budayawan, warga korporat dan teknokrat, golongan pekerja dan peniaga, pemandu teksi dan petani merasa lega kerana pemimpin Barisan Nasional yang angkuh dan sombong, sang perasuah dan pemeras, dihukum oleh tangan-tangan rakyat yang berkuasa.

Dato' Ibrahim Ali [Pasir Mas]: Bismillaahirahmaanir Rahim, assalamualaikum w.b.t. Terima kasih Tuan Yang di-Pertua oleh kerana masa tak panjang, saya nak bercakap style kung-fu iaitu saya tidak akan bagi laluan walaupun saya suka berdebat sebab masa tidak ada.
Tuan Yang di-Pertua, dalam kita menjunjung Titah Ucapan Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong dan kalau pihak kerajaan sendiri juga turut akur kepada kedaulatan Raja, di mana Agong adalah Sultan Terengganu, kembalikanlah royalti minyak yang sekarang ni masih dalam dana Kerajaan Persekutuan.
[Tepuk]

Lulu thinks Jeff Ooi is right to decide not to speak.
"It is impossible for me to condense my speech into two minutes. With the time allocated, I can't even finish the introduction of my speech," he said.

And for the NST to describe Jeff as "sulking", well, Lulu thinks they're wrong to use that adjective.

Update 10:08am
Just took a glance at the NST.
They've decided to revise the piece and omit the earlier "sulking" paragraph. good thing sensibility prevailed.
btw, Lulu has the screenshot of the article which was posted, but it's at home. will post the it up when Lulu gets home, else you may be wondering if Lulu's delusional.

Lulu Would Rather If The Government Showed Heart Instead Of Big Cheques To The Myanmarese

taken from Letters to Malaysikini, this is a letter from Alice Nah, executive committee member, Persatuan Kebangsaan Hak Asasi Manusia (Hakam) and a co-coordinator of the Migration Working Group.

May fled from Burma after soldiers raped her. If she is arrested, the nightmare begins again. Only this time, she may not be able to raise the money required to buy her freedom. She is already in deep debt.
Kyaw was arrested in 2007. He was kept in different detention centers for two months, and then brought to court. There was no interpreter. He was sentenced to five months imprisonment and two strokes of the cane. He will carry these scars on his buttocks for the rest of his life – Malaysia has branded him for his time here
In a raid last Wednesday in Klang, two days ago, we hear than fifteen children were arrested. They are from the Rohingya community, ethnic minorities from Burma, who are stateless. By accident of birth, and by acts of political power outside their control, they are ‘illegal’ everywhere they go. What will happen to these children?
Will they too, stay detained in detention centers for months, and then get deported to the Thai border? Who will pay traffickers for their release? Will they be sold to brothels or to individuals who will keep them, use them – for sex or as forced laborers – and re-sell them to other ‘private owners’, as has happened to others in the past? It is within our power to help these populations in distress. We are able to, we are obligated to, and we should.

from an Interview with Irene Fernandez Don't forget Burmese refugees here, PM told

Migrant workers lobby group Tenaganita said the government, through people’s volunteer corps Rela, cannot continue to oppress and repress the refugees at gun-point, as done by the military junta that rules Burma. Director Irene Fernandez said in a statement today that “more than 60,000 Burmese refugees with children are being hunted down with a form of vengeance by Rela and the immigration department”.“They are mercilessly arrested and detained (under) inhuman conditions in various immigration detention centres,” she stated
“Why are we arresting them and selling them as slaves or threatening them with deportation to Burma when we know that their lives will be at great risk, even of death? Is this not brutally inhuman?“ Knowing very well the deep political crisis in Burma and now, with the catastrophe (caused by) Cyclone Nargis ...We should start our humanitarian response to the refugees here by stopping arrests of all refugees and going further to recognise them as refugees.”

Lulu's Friend Solves The Mystery Of The Missing Condensed Milk

remember your susu cap junjung? milkmaid? teapot?

not many people realise it but you can't find real condensed milk anymore. Lulu has searched and searched for it, but it has been quietly replace by what is called "krimer manis pekat". Slowly, without you realising it, they replaced the milk product with a palm-based sweetened creamer, disguising it in the same packaging and occupying the same space on the shelf where the condensed milk used to be.

Condensed milk connoisseurs and ardent bakers have lamented the loss of this wonderful product as the substitute is, but a poor substitute.

For a long time, Lulu has joined the lamenters, wondering why we can't find it anymore. Was it a [un]health[y] issue? Was it a demand problem?
What happened?
Why can't we find our condensed milk?

Then, just the other night, Lulu's friend solved the age old mystery of the disappear-ed condensed milk.
Lulu's friend, who is a connoisseur, was reading something which had the list of products under price control.
Petrol, lpg, steel bar, sugar, flour.... and suddenly, a loud exclamation!
Condensed milk is a control priced item. That's why you cant find any here.

Lulu did a check, and these are the historical prices of a 397gm tin of condensed milk as tracked by the Domestic Trade Ministry
1991 RM 1.50
1993 RM 1.60
1997 RM 1.65
1999 RM 1.75
The price has been kept as RM1.75/small tin since 1999. This is a good buy IF you can find it, considering that a carton of milk has almost doubled in price. Lulu wonders where they got the price quote of RM1.75 in 2007 cos they havent been seen on shelves since lulu-doesnt-realise-when-cos-it-has-been-many-many-years.

That is the problem created by controlled price items. Whilst it is good that the rakyat is not burdened by arbitrary pricing, it ignores completely the fact that commodity prices do go up. And in the past year, it has gone up, up and away.
When the cost of the product has exceeded the selling price, it leaves the manufacturer manufacturing to sell at a loss in his expense. And when that happens, he limits his production, creating a shortage.

We have seen it in the case of the chicken, flour, sugar and cooking oil. Especially since these are everyday necessity, the rakyat felt the impact at once.

Condensed milk, however, is not a real daily necessity. No one went hungry or could not bake anymore when the manufacturers decided they could not make any money producing it. Hence, it died an unnoticed death.

Lulu wonders,
1. why was it put into the control price item list. It's not suitable for infants or toddlers. It's not the healthiest of products. Why condensed milk and not milk powder? Could it be because they needed to put some form of milk on the list, and they put the lowest necessity product instead of what is needed the most for our children's nutrition?
2. why dont the manufacturers sell "enriched" condensed milk? By adding a minuscle of vitamins, nutrients and minerals which are "essential" to our diet, their product would no longer fall under the control item descrption. Plain flour is controlled price at RM1.35. But by adding some baking powder, it sells as "self raising flour" at double the price.
3. Are we administering/managing this price control thingy correctly?

Lulu Hopes That Your Donations Will Reach The Cyclone and Earthquake Victims

it helps if you do not use channels like these. Think johor floods, tsunami and even the j.e, and you'll get what Lulu means.

If your heart is moved by the plight, and your wallets are waiting to be emptied, please pass your money through a temple, church or mosque. [Lulu's not sure if the mosques has mobilised anything, but the temples and the churches would have.] Check first how your intended choice will channel the money. If it is through tabungs like the one pictured above, you may want to look for another avenue. If possible, look for groups which has direct patners with those affected.