Thursday, June 08, 2006

ERASING DR M

Bandit, a visitor to this blog, wrote this paragraph in a long-ish comment he left in response to my last posting (FOR ADULTS ONLY?).

..."In the meantime, let's not ignore the true mission of the NST 2004-2006 Edition: it is painstakingly trying to deconstruct all facets of Mahathirism. If possible, they are undertaking historic revisionism and erasing all the good that Dr M did but boosting all the bad he committed, if ever."

Try placing the paragraph in the perspective of Dr Mahathir Mohamad's outburst against his successor and our Prime Minister yesterday.



35 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:28 pm

    Sdr Rockybru, I am very sad that things have came to this with our country, our once fine institutions like the New Straits Times and our political leadership.

    It seems that whether about Umno, Pas, Keadilan, the MIC or SUPP, the concern is not about the people but the few people running them.

    What about the welfare of the people? Fuel prices went up by the highest margin in history. Electricity rates went up after the Prime Minister himself scaring us by saying that TNB would go bankrupt.

    He told us that the Government is broke. He said Mahathir finished all the money. But he and his deputy lavishly renovated their government houses. Seri Perdana has so far cost taxpayer RM15.3 million and Najib RM3 to RM5 million. PM and DPM went gallivanting around the world as if there's no tomorrow.

    Inflation is touching 5%. That is the official figure. In reality it could be more. EPF return is only 5% and investment return is even lower. So, in reality we are being impoverished while our present and past leaders slug it out.

    It should not be about Abdullah betraying Mahathir or Najib standing by his man (Abdullah). It should be about the betrayal of the people who voted so wholeheartedly for the BN in 2004.

    It is sad that Najib should sound so untterly pathetic and so utterly unconvincing when he said Pak Lah was given big mandate by the people (NST pg 1). It is because we gave him huge mandate that we expect him to take better care of us. We trusted him more than we trusted Mahathir in 1999.

    But the BN is paying its debt of gratitude to us by raising local government rates, water rates, electricity rates, fuel prices. The economy is moribund. The Bursa Malaysia is directionless. Interest rates are rising. Crime rates are rising. Alongs are killing debtors and debtors are killing alongs. Even the police is defying the PM.

    Is this democracy or is our country turning into an anarchy? The people must act if they care about their families, their neighbours and their friends and most of all if they care about this beloved land of theirs.

    Please think Sdr Rockybru.

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  2. Anonymous12:41 pm

    there we go again bru. the great pontificator mr Pereira editorialising about an event that neither he nor his minions were present. nst was not at Mahathir's PC yet this Brendon fellow wrote PG1 story as if he was in Mahathir's underwear. new jourlanism man. let's call it pontaficalism. with a half-past six boss like hisham and man-thor like kali, what do you expect? kali-ism. for those placing hopes on zainul ariffin and manja, forget it man! these are professional "gaji makan" apple polishers. Bru, post comments more often man ... hati sudah panas. this is good. put mahathir on PG1 and get all the ball carriers to hantam in PG7. mahathir can't win. but he won't die a coward.

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  3. Anonymous1:29 am

    The Hatchet Job
    I’m a little amazed that my little piece of assertion outlining the deconstruction of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had been eerily prescient. And that Rocky had been altruistic enough to give it the extra elevation.
    I had immediately written a more in-depth analysis of the hatchet job on Dr M but before I post that, let’s ponder first on the NST’s Pg 1 story and how the spin was unleashed.
    I gather that the denizens malingering in Rocky’s Bru had absorbed the commentary authored by Brendan Pereira (I will refuse to emulate the incivility of some visitors who deliberately misspelled Brendan’s surname into something derogatory. Be civil even if you need to savage someone. Take a leaf from Hannibal Lecter!), so you will be familiar with the many sentences designed to deliberately embarrass Dr M.
    The following are the prime sentences used as a sledgehammer to batter Dr M’s interview into a “shapeless beast” and how key “spin words” were strategically positioned:
    ► He has been unhappy for some time now. A whisper here. A barbed comment there. And sharp remarks sprinkled here and there.
    ► But yesterday, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad dropped all pretence and laid bare his anger towards his successor, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
    ► All decorum was tossed aside as he accused Abdullah of betraying his trust by reversing many of his decisions, going so far as to imply that he had picked the wrong person to lead Malaysia.
    ► The Government has not publicly accused Mahathir of excessive spending, and ministers and other politicians reacted with surprise to the personal nature of yesterday’s attack.
    ► When Abdullah does speak in the days ahead, his words will not likely be steeped in venom. He knows some people on the sidelines want a confrontation, but he also knows that is not what 25 million Malaysians want or need right now.
    ► Too many years in the past three decades have been spent in fighting mode, turning friends into foes and distracting the country from its goal of becoming a developed country by 2020.
    ► Too many years have been wasted trying to paper over fissures in the ruling party.
    ► Abdullah is not willing to go down that path again. Whatever the provocation. That is why even after being told that he headed a "half-past-six" administration, and after being chided in public for not going ahead with the bridge to replace the Causeway, Abdullah was happy to meet Dr Mahathir in Tokyo recently.
    ► There was no shortage of provocative remarks in Dr Mahathir’s interview.
    ► He is also upset that the pace of development of Putrajaya has slowed; peeved that the Johor bridge project has been scrapped; and angered that the National Automotive Policy has put Proton at a disadvantage.
    ► So what is provoking this no-holds-barred attack? Concern that his legacy is being undone? Concern that the country is on the wrong track? Or is it prompted by disappointment that the man he put in office has not turned out to be a yes-man?
    ► So what’s his end game?
    ► But he did say he would continue watching the Government. So will the millions of Malaysians who gave Abdullah the biggest mandate in history at the 2004 general election.


    The Page 1 was not straight reporting, let me remind you. It was a piece of commentary trying to masquerade as straight reporting.
    In any event, it is a tactic that the NST had employed in the past, publishing a comment piece as its main story.
    Whatever. The Kalimullah-Brendan tag team surely outdid themselves in framing Dr M. But the manner in which they authored the piece was more low-rent opportunism than in-depth analysis. It is a bizarre spin of Faustian proportions not seen since the authoritarian days of A. Kadir Jasin, himself a spinmeister par excellence in Dr M’s big squeeze against Anwar Ibrahim back in 1998.
    Although Brendan carried the by-line, I suspect that some “money quotes” grafted into the hatchet job was consistent with Kalimullah’s handiwork. Berita Harian somehow refrained from emulating the hatchet job, preferring straight reporting.
    The New Straits Times revved right through the 7th gear to spin Dr M’s barbed remonstration against Pak Lah. For good measure, the NST and Berita Harian also rounded up several “enslaved” Cabinet Ministers (all who have forgotten that they owed their privileged Cabinetship to Dr M) to vulgarly cast their octogenarian mentor as a “loose cannon who went berserk” now that his legacy is being dismantled piece by piece by Pak Lah’s callow underlings.

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  4. Anonymous11:10 am

    Brother Rocky, Tun Mahathir is just being himself when he critices the present administration. Even after giving up his post as PM, he continues to influence the lives of Malaysians.Tun M is like a father to many of us. We may not agree with everything he says, just as we do to our biological fathers. He is never one to mince his words, preferring always to call a spade a spade. This is a man who is seing the gradual loosening of the centre, and someone who senses that more problems will surface in the years ahead. He fears that the Govt may not be able to handle them in the way it has not handled many of today's problems.

    The govt has merely delayed addressing issues. In the meantime, more problems come up. The fate of the IPCMC is unknown: the restlessness of the police force is there for all to see: the 30 sen fuel price hike causes problems but the media is not highlighing it: the allegations of corruption in the judiciary is disturbing: the business community thought they can bank on the 9th plan, only to be told that projects have been given out to friendly parties: the BN lost 9 seats in Sarawak. On and on.

    Tun M has left behind a Cabinet that whose members have turned a blind eye on some of these problems. If they were yes men in Tun's cabinet, they are now YES men par excellence! Just look around and see whether there are any creative ideas launched in tackling the people's woes! Instead, a minister like Khaled Nordin compete with so-called journalist like Brendan in trying to counter Tun's views! Musa Hitam? He's trying to score points, that's all. Why don't the ministers address the real problems of high graduate unemployment, small time contractors have to close shop because they have no business, increase in violent crimes, contracts given out without any public announcement, etc. Does anyone know who got the contract to build the low cost terminal for Asia Asia? Nobody knows Brother! I thought that this is somewhat strange ,cos we are told that today's govt is more transparent! Tun M, whether we like it or not, will always be relevant to us one way or the other. The present that be shouldn't miss the wood for the trees. The real foe to PM and the country is not Tun Mahathir. It's the people around him that are more interested in amassing wealth so that they can holiday in style and change their cars as often as they like. Malaysia Boleh!!

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  5. Anonymous3:37 pm

    Bru, bandit's good. who's this fellow anyway? looks like this guy is either "embedded" in the nst or were once with nst. a sharp fellow like this should be running the nst, not some half-past six pontificator. See nst? Dr M out of line, says brand new "Tun" Musa Hitam. Haha... for someone who is seldom in line, Musa is like kettle calling the pot black. Ah, I miss the days of partying with Musa at the Tin Mines in the old KL Hilton. Bravo Tun Musa. Sock it to him man. Bru, you're hot in nst's newsroom. A kaki went there to look around and pick up some stories. Kali firewalling you a big story. You're a pain in the rear for him.

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  6. Anonymous3:39 pm

    It is quite obvious that the recent Mahathir-Pak Lah media fiasco is none other than the work of a so called young over achiever with high ambition and his ex newpaper boss friend (or is he? I heard he's even more powerful now in his non-executive position).

    If comments in the papers by ministers and other leaders are anything to go by, it proves nothing on the part of Dr.M being wrong to critisize the PM but rather exposes the back-side-kissing nature of our leaders. When Dr. M was in power they all stood behind him, some even willing to wipe the old man's behind if asked to do so. Now, it is purely expected that they are willing to do the same for the new guy.

    Najib's comment on Dr.M is in many ways out of line. True Pak Lah had a big mandate by the people but (and I'm quoting a line from original Superman movie) "with great power (i.e mandate) comes great responsibity". It is in fact the responsibility of the PM to answer to any and all questions thrown to him by the people who put him where he is today, citizen Mahathir Mohamad included. Asking your old and tired goons to do the attacking for you is surely un sportsman like.

    Furhtermore, if you're going to unleash your dogs, at least make sure they are good attack dogs. The ones who've commented so far are themselves facing or have gone through a major crisis/scandal.
    Today's NST had reports by Samy Vellu (apart from back stabbing Dr.M is now in the midst of outsting his competitor), Effendi Norwawi (who seems to be better at commenting about other people's fued rather than his own with his recently divirced wife) and Nazri Aziz (who himself was broiled in a controversy some time ago regarding taxi permits). If these are the characters offering comments people shouldn't be taking them seriously.

    It's all a big sham. After all, the Malaysian public loves to see some drama every now and then. What better way to avoid the bigger issue of rising living costs, increasing electricity tariffs (with IPP gas subsidies intact) and a host of other bigger issues affecting our everyday lives than to play an all out media frenzy over issues as petty as an ex-boss commenting on his successor.

    It is certainly worth a shot on the part of the PM. It seems to be working for now. Today most of the coffee shop talk was about the differences in governing style of the two PM's. Who knows, with world cup just around the corner, even the Mahathir-Pak Lah battle will lose steam to the question of who'll win the world cup.

    Let's wait and see....

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  7. Anonymous7:04 pm

    I really dont know whether to believe this. Over drums of brew at the Guiness/Anchor tavern during our Anchorman Annual someone was very confident that this "fued" is being engineered by the Barisan spin-(sters) to divert attention from rising fuel, inflation ad infinitum. Tell me this is not true Rocky.....we rely on u and "bandit" to brew up the correct stuff to go with the world cup. Damn the fued....let them quarrel, but dont mess with my world cup.

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  8. Anonymous8:27 am

    Today Tun is on about the bridge again. Well, it is, "LIKE A BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER..........."
    Maybe he should call up Lee Kuan Yew and Bush Senior.All 3 old men can have tea and enjoy their twilight years.

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  9. Anonymous1:32 pm

    zorro, I agree with you. The spinners are at work. We should not honour them with such titles as spinmasters or spinmeisters. They are half-past six middle-ranking ex-foreign correspondents and sports writers. Please don't smear the memories of great nst/bh editors like Tan Sri Lee and Tan Sri Nordin Sophie.
    They people are not even in the league of Captain Jack Sparrow. At least was honourable. But these people hujacked the PM and poisoned him mind on the Old Man. Mr Pereira, being ex-Straits Times journalist never liked the Old Man. Kali is the lallang in the wind. He goes where the wind blows and where there's money to be made. But the real power, I think, is Khairy Jamaluddin. He sleeps with the PM's daughter (halal of course) in Seri Perdana. It does not surprime me if his company or kaki got the contract to renovate Seri Perdana. He is the puppet master to Kali, Brendan, Hisham and the spineless Umno Youth chief.

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  10. Anonymous1:48 pm

    Among the people who commented on Dr Mahathir comments, the top three pathetic awards go to Musa Hitan, the Tun, Zam the Menteri Peniarangan -- from penerangan dan keriangan -- and the directionless Nazri Aziz. The rest they make me laughed. Where is the know-all and do-all Khairy? Is he ashamed of his father-in-law's "elegent silence". Let's hear from him. Or are we already hearing from him via kali, brenden and hisham aun?

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  11. Anonymous2:45 pm

    The Hatchet Job: Redux
    There they go again, spinning Dr M like a wobbling Kelantanese gasing. Oh, the byline used this time was of a different author but it is irrelevant: after much editing, the language’s overtones and twist is classic Brendan Pereira with, of course, the orchestration of Kalimullah Hassan.
    The Kali-Brendan tag-team just cannot leave the ex-Prime Minister’s words intact, especially when they push it to the front page. It must be accompanied with a spin, tenuous or otherwise, to “demonise” him, in Dr M’s lamentation, and make Pak Lah looked supremely benign beyond belief.
    Ethically, Kali-Brendan made no attempt to label the frontpage report as a commentary, even if it’s a hatchet job. Check out the spin trying to pass off as straight reporting and observe how it bulldozes over the real Dr M utterances:
    Again, it was vintage Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad all over.
    ► Two days after suggesting that he made the wrong choice in picking Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to inherit his mantle and railed against him for rolling back some of his policies, the former PM attempted to hit the pause button.
    ► And from now on, Malaysians must get used to the ebb and flow of Dr Mahathir’s missives against the Abdullah administration.
    ► Some days, he will go for the jugular, like he did on Wednesday when he launched the scathing attack on the PM, accusing him of back-stabbing him.
    ► Some days he will use the lexicon of a victim, like he did yesterday, when he said that he was not being personal when he attacked Abdullah.
    ► Instead, he now accuses the media of demonising him; and he accuses his former Cabinet colleagues of turning their backs on him.


    Then only does the real straight report start, using the standard “Dr M said ….”
    Oh, the NST did have this quick rejoinder with emphasis in brackets: (The Proton management and the Government have explained in detail the reasons for these decisions). If this was the case, then why is Dr M still haranguing away, giving the impression that he is bitter, uncaring and untenable?
    For a slightly more straight rendition, read The Star instead (Even if they wanted to, The Star really has no editors with the “twisted talent” to spin Dr M’s remonstrations. It is both a blessing and a curse for them).
    I think we all know Dr M better than the demented persona projected in the NST. For one, he is not a statesman to waffle in triviality and pettiness but the way he was “disfigured” gives the impression that he is “senile, off his rocker, disturbed, a loose cannon.” In short, he is truly being demonised.
    Dr M will have to resign to the fact that every Press conference/statement he gives from now on will have to be “treated” as if it’s bio-organic material unsafe for human consumption. Oh, well…Dr M did complain of a media blackout. Now he can’t!
    In fact, the Kali-Brendan tag-team would squeal in delight every time he gives a Press conference or statement. The reason is journalistic.
    Unlike the dour and hapless Pak Lah (just ask any journalist who had ever covered the PM and hear them groan) where they struggled to make him appear plausible, Dr M’s acerbic wit, wicked sarcasm and barbed comebacks is still readable discourse and fits into a newspaper or radio-TV scheme of things for crackling quotes and snappy sound bites.
    In short, Dr M is still a marketable media superstar but get this: every sentence he articulates and every phrase he blathers will NOT be censored or filtered (unless he spices it up with some Eddie Murphy Ebonics metaphors, then he should be institutionalised) but his general utterances and missives will be coloured, chipped and shaped as a weapon to be literally used against him.
    Could this actually be worse than censorship? It certainly looks that way. Kali-Brendan will see to it that the emphasis will be on Dr M’s so-called disgruntlement to divert readers from also probing what he had been demanding all along: getting to the crux of the dubious sale of MV Agusta, the questionable bridge project cancellation and the scandalous AP distribution.
    No wonder he turns to the foreign Press for a more effective coverage, a delicious irony if you remember 1998. It was the same tactic Anwar Ibrahim deployed to repel Dr M and his Cabinet’s collective assaults.
    For us mortals, we can only sit back and gape in awe at this titanic revolt while we also gape in awe at Ronaldinho, Zidane, Riquelme, Gerrard and gang.

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  12. Anonymous8:44 pm

    Bru, your commentators are awesome man. Great. bandit is class man. he is tearing kali-brandan tag-team to pieces man. your other participants are good too.

    no wonder kali ordered your blog firewalled. mesti panas telinga. mesti ada anak buah bisik-bisik punya. those makan gaji type has no loyalty. depan datuk, belakang kutuk. why hisham no feature man? bru, who's this bandit fellow. bandit, gua respect lu.

    bru, is it true that JK is in Germany watching World Cup on Astro's expense?

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  13. Anonymous8:58 pm

    Sdr Rocky, tentulah Tun Musa sokong Pak Lah dan belasah Dr M. Pak La baru bagi dia gelaran Tun.

    Pak Lah budak Musa. Dia ikut Musa tubuh Team B lawan Dr M. Dr M simpan Pak Lah fasal Pak Lah tak join Tengku Razaleigh. Dr M lantik Musa jadi duta khas ke PBB fasal Musa sabotaj Tengku Razaleigh. Tengku Razaleigh ada prinsip tapi dia salah baca Musa, macam Dr M salah baca Musa, Anwar dan Pak Lah.

    Musa anggap diri dia de facto PM. Pak Lah guna Musa dan Najib jawab Dr M. Pak Lah terus main selamat. Musa memang seronok dapat publisiti. Kalau Pak Lah buka mulut, lagi teruk. Jadi lebih elok diam membisu seribu bahasa.

    Budak-budak press pun pening kepala bila Pak Lah buat statement. Dah lah mereka tak cerdik sangat, kenyataan Pak Lah pula susah nak faham. Sebab itulah press kena putir dan spin betul sampai kering baru boleh faham atau nampak ok sikit.

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  14. Anonymous8:59 am

    Bandit,

    You hit the nail on the head.

    The NSt report on Dr Mahathir wasnt a report but a commentary and opinion of one person (could be be khairy) or all three, Khairy, Brendan and Kali.

    It takes a real journalist to know the difference between a news report and commentary.

    With regards to Musa Hitam's critism of Dr Mahathir, what do you expect. He has an axe to grind & a score to settle with our previous PM.

    After all, dia baru dapat gelaran Tun, bila lagi nak berterima kasih pada pak Lah.

    For someone who preaches the Malays to be "kurang ajar", he is certainly a good example to follow.

    Can you imagine, if he was the PM, Musa's office would be filled with a constant stream of starlets & actresses.

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  15. Anonymous12:15 pm

    Rakyat voted BN in 2004 hoping the promises given will bring better tomorrows, not because AAB can be a better PM than TDM.

    As it is at this moment, better tomorrows are still empty promises. Has AAB failed? Let you judge for that.

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  16. Musa Hitam described Pak Lah's silence as "elegant silence."

    That is the biggest joke. Pak lah simply is unable to answer all the whys Dr Mahathir had put forward cus pak lah is clueless as to what is happening. After all, the "thinking" has been done by his menantu.

    What do you expect Musa Hitam to say abt Dr Mahathir... sing praises? Ayo, this man has an axe to grind and a score to settle with Dr Mahathir.

    Musa Hitam stepped down as deputy Prime Minister in 1986 kerana merajuk & with the hope that Umno members would rally around him. Pujuk & panggil balik. Unfortunately nothing of that sort happened.

    You know why dia merajuk? Because Dr Mahthir retained his arch enemy, Tenku Razaleigh, in Cabinet despite the fact Ku Li was defeated by Musa Hitam in their bid for the Umno No.2 post.

    Sorry Musa, I dont think much abt the interview you gave to bernama.

    By the way Tun Musa, didnt yr ex-Peruvian wife got the proton dealership during Dr Mahathir's time?

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  17. Anonymous3:46 pm

    Sdr Rocky, congratulations for successfully attracting so many participants to this blog. I believe the majority of them are journalists and, most likely, from the NSTP Group -- past and present.

    I appreciate that some of them are unable or are afraid to reveal their true identities. If the NSTP had acted against your blog, can you image what will happen to those poor souls if they are caught responding to you?

    I would like to make a small correction in response to the writer who introduced himself/herself as "the paper that scares". I can't recall exactly who left during my time, but certainly not Datuk Fauzi Omar. He left years after my resignation in 2000.

    Thank You.

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  18. Anonymous4:46 pm

    Bru, this is classic man. PM issued with traffic summonses amounting to RM3,300 and he claimed he didn't know. Wow, mamy things out PM didn't know. Thanks deputy IGP for telling him.

    Looking forward to kali-brandan spin. This is the PM who expressed sadness people died in road accident. He's a law breaker himself.

    Lucky for him he's PM. Otherwise he could have been arrested. So who says nobody is above the law.

    Bravo Bernama! Bravo Malaysiakini!










    ghebpodypozwoyWhy

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  19. Anonymous12:25 am

    Dude

    The spindoctors are really out of their league. They must have thought they were smart by going after Dr M.

    The spindoctors began work soon after PM assumed office, by working on the formula of making others look bad to make the PM look good.

    By going after Dr M., "demonising" him and putting him on Pg 1s, the spindoctors had unwittingly put the matter for all to see, conclude and finally take sides.

    There are enough people out there who would admire Dr M and Pak Lah no matter what. Similarly there are enough people who hate Dr M and thus the reports merely stoke their anger to the former PM.

    The spindoctoring was to sway the undecided and Dr M supporter.

    Unfortunately, when people read the newsreports there is a strong kelihood some of what Dr M said will stick, raise doubts and result in some people start to ponder the questions posed by Dr M.

    Is the old man right? Is Pak Lah really as helpless, unfocussed or clueless as many have suggested.

    Dr M's reputation aside - which now he is villified as a backstabber and one with delusion of grandeur - it is Pak Lah's reputation that is being put up for all to comment, based on the issues raised by Dr M.

    For some people Dr M is already evil, thus the attacks on him could not have been milder.

    Thus, ironically, the only person that is hurt by all the spindoctring is the PM.

    Just to show too much spin may not be good for you, afterall.

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  20. Anonymous12:07 pm

    Our PM is just not intelligent enough to refute any claims made by Dr.M nor is he intelligent enough to answer any of the old man's queries. If Musa Hitam calims that Pak Lah's silence is elegant it should be reflected in the manner the PM potray's himself.

    For a man who claims to be simple he sure does stake claim to things which we're all sure he had little participation in. For example, does anyone remember the headline in the paper that read "Pak Lah Scores Double" some time ago? That headline was suppose to be our PM's claim at bringing the Dell R&D centre to Cyberjaya as well as having Malaysia become the centre for anti cyber-terrorism or something like that. You'd never get those kind of headlines when Dr.M was PM. Even if we did achieve something as significant as that during Dr.M's tenure the headline would've probably read: "MALAYSIA to become....". With Pak Lah, it seems to be a personal achievement. No surprise there. For a man who puts his family ahead of everything else including the country it would be of no surprise that a national achievement would be reduced to a personal achievement.

    This is obviously the work of his so-called intelligent over-achieving family member no doubt and his press controlling merchant banker friend. If the was a law for us to sue for false advertising this would certainly fit the bill.
    The way they've portrayed him in the media is as if the PM is so smart and hardworking. If that be the case, I'm sure a few questions from Dr.M can be answered without much contrversy if the PM is really the man the current press make him out to be.

    Anyway, we're not stupid and it is an insult for his media people to think that we are.

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  21. Anonymous1:41 pm

    Sdr Rockybru, don't you think the NST has become the victim of its own spin? Tun Dr Mahathir has successfully cornered the Nst and forced it to carry his statements and, in the newest episode, his letter (signed by his Press Secretary, Encik Sufi, a former NST journalist but not a Kali disciple).

    My contacts in the NST told me that the NST had boycotted Dr Mahathir a long time ago. Mr Pereira had apparently told his minions that "Mahathir nyanyuk" so no need to cover him.

    So NST and Berita Harian did not sent reporters to cover Tun's PC on June 7. But because wire services and websites like Malaysiakini, Malaysia Today and KMU reported the proceeding widely, the NST had no choice to to use Tun's statement grudgingly after consulting Kali, Khairy and Md Zaki. But they continued to spin. Kali was and still is the chief spinner, forcing Sufi to fire them a letter which they printed in page 26 today.

    They are so desperate that to kow-tow to Pak Lah that they printed a footnote to say that they received many letters supporting Pak Lah. Of course if you write to NST you have to sokong Pak Lah. You sokong Tun your letters go into the bakul sampah.

    This thing about silencing Tun is not new. Sixth months before Tun vacated the seat in favour of Pak Lah, Khairy and Kali had held a strategy meeting with foreign journalists on how to silence Tun. But it backfired because foreign correspondents told Kali and Khairy to go fly kite. They kept their words. They turned up full force to ask Tun questions about Pak Lah on June 7.

    Pak Lah once said if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. But Pak Lah did not know that Lake Garden's monkeys don't eat peanuts. They eat KFC, Mcdonald and Pizza given to them by the visitor. But Pak Lah must know, monkeys are monkeys no matter what he feeds them.
    I have no problem with monkeys if they are employed to pluck coconuts or perform in a circus.

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  22. Anonymous3:32 pm

    I extracted this from Malaysia-today sent by a reader:16 Comments:
    melayu terpinggir said...
    THIS POSTING IS AN E-MAIL SENT BY A READER TO KALIMULLAH NST & WAS FORWARDED TO ME & FEW OTHERS.

    Dear Dato’ Kalimullah,

    On Sundays, after my morning prayers, I will anxiously wait for my newspaperman to come by. Your column in the NST is the first article that I will finish. I’ve also written to you before reminiscing your piece about Kroh, for which I unexpectedly received a reply of which I feel appreciated.

    The wily old man, Dr. Mahathir making fun of your name was unfair but not unexpected, for we are all used to his rabble rouser style for 22 years.

    However, some of the issues raised by him are legitimate issues, which also linger in the minds of the mass. I would have expected you to receive feedback from the ground, from your foot soldier reporters, unless they have chosen not to reveal all.

    Supports published in the media by all and sundry are common traits just to make sure they are in the good books. This by no means is genuine. That’s not how people on the ground are responding.

    Dear Dato’,

    As a person within the inner circle of the present Prime Minister, I would like to share with you my thoughts about issues raised about the Prime Minister on the ground and seek you response. These are all in relation to the clean image portrayed and promises made by Pak Lah on assuming office.


    1. PM’s Advisers
    ------------------------
    It is open knowledge that Pak Lah has few youngish advisers who are all buddies of his son-in-law, Khairy (KJ). No doubt these young chaps are highly educated, but what credentials do they possess to advise the no. 1 person in the country, over and above seasoned diplomats and technocrats? Where did they acquire the knowledge and know how to be able to do so?

    On chap who is a law graduate holds a B grade officer’s post. He is over qualified for the post. He advises on policy. Can a B grade officer be the PM’s adviser?


    2. Renovation of Sri Perdana
    ----------------------------------
    I was troubled reading in the NST sometime ago that the government spent RM 12 million for renovation works before PM moved in. Considering his humble background, why did the PM approved/needed such a renovation for a place which was occupied for 2 preceding years . The amount translates into 480 low cost houses. Was it the PM himself who wanted the renovation? I’m sure you have the answer. I wrote to the Editor of NST and it was conveniently not published.


    3. Corporate Exercises
    ---------------------------------
    The PM had told pressmen that he doesn’t have knowledge of some corporate exercises involving the GLCs and firms which his relatives have interest. I wouldn’t want to elaborate but as the Finance Minister, shouldn’t he have knowledge?


    Dear Dato’,

    The people are worried on the ground. Where is the destiny of this nation which some of these mind-boggling issues. Dr. Mahathir did plenty of unpleasant things while in office in 22 years. But the magnitude of things happening in the last 3 years especially issues involving relatives, beats them all!

    What say you?

    Monday, June 12, 2006 9:55:23 AM
    ---------------------------
    I dont think the e-mail would see the light of day in the NST.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous10:38 pm

    So Bru, Dr Mahathir was rite all along. He has a case. Pak Lah was stonewallin'. Now, the Star SMS service said Pak Lah will answer Dr M.

    So what's all these fuss, these condemin', spinnin' and editorialisin'? Dr M was askin'for some straight answers.

    Let's see if Pak Lah can be convincin'. He'll be ok if he doesn't listen to musa hitam, shahrir samad, nazri aziz, kj, kali and anwar zaini. He should listen to his guts feelin' and seek counsel from people ain't have no self interest man. Ask Dr M.

    Make peace man. Guys like me are in dire straits. What say you bru?

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous12:53 am

    aisay... why lah? daughter cry in australia also must write about ah? why so melodrama one?

    whatever happened to straight-forward news reporting? to witty, insightful and thought-provoking news commentaries and columns? stories injected with droll humour that readers either get or dont get? stories which at least give some semblance of balance for us readers to think and decide?

    i am just an average malaysian trying to make a decent living amidst fuel hikes, inflation and impending recession. just a normal thinking and working malaysian who has been a reader of the NST for years. but one who has become disenchanted and soooooooo bosan with news reports in the NST on the pak lah vs dr mahathir issue.

    report aje lah. no need to get personal or emotional. no need to justify story by reporting that calls were made to the star's editor. and certainly no need to bring daughter into picture. dont underestimate us readers. if we want drama, there's always the korean soap operas or bollywood tear-jerkers.

    i am glad this blog has come about for us thinking malaysians to get and provide an alternative view on this whole issue. good for you, rocky!

    btw, my nephew cried last week. anyone wants to know about it ah?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous7:47 am

    Kuliyuga spoke too soon. Pak Lah would answer Tun M's queries, he said. It must be heresay. The Star said PM would direct concerned ministries to respond.

    There we go again. Our PM would resume his elegent silence and his bumbling ministers and kniving civil servants would fumble again. Remember Rafidah's answers on AP were no answers at all? Same people are getting APs.

    Pak Lah won't dare take on Tun Mahathir. Even his son, daughter, son-in-law, the Zakis, the Annuar Zainis, the "weeping" Kalis and Musa Hitams won't face him off with Tun Mahathir. The old man will make a salad out of him.

    My two cents worth of advice is Pak Lah should find a way outside his ameturish, self-serving circle to make peace with Mahathir. Even Anwar Ibrahim wants to make peace with Mahathir, but his advisers keep frustrating it.

    If he wants to survive this battle and restore Umno's support, Pak Lah must keep away from listening to his children and son-in-law, his ameturish office and the Kalis of the mass media. Stop blaming the past, take care of the present and ensure the future. The past is gone, the present is troubled and the future uncertain.

    Free Thinker, Kali wrote about his daughter. What's new and news. He writes about his tepi kain all the time. Like his boss, he is not sure whether he wants to be editor or father. He keeps mixing them up like Pak Lah with Khairy, Kamal, Nori and his ex-sisters-in-law.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous9:15 am

    On "Elegant silence"...just wanna share this with u guys from Jeff Ooi's screenshots posted by a reader, Thana Ramayah.

    "...Silence is not a virtue always. Megawati, the daughter of a famous nationalist father, became Ibu to 220 million Indonesians in 2001. She hardly gave any interviews as she lacked opinion. She disappointed the masses who expected a charismatic leader. She is an honest and reliable constitionalist but a fragmented country like Indonesia needed a team of honest, uncorrupted politicians to alter its fate.
    She could not deliver and chose to be silent on biting issues. Finally the same silence made her shrink into non- existance within three years.

    Here are some Quotes on "Silence"

    Adrienne Rich: Lying is done with words and also with silence.
    Alice Walker:
    No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow.

    Bob Dylan:
    I accept chaos. I am not sure whether it accepts me. I know some people are terrified of the bomb. But then some people are terrified to be seen carrying a modern screen magazine. Experience teaches us that silence terrifies people the most.

    Confucius:
    Silence is the true friend that never betrays.

    Francis Bacon:
    Silence is the virtue of fools.

    Mark Twain:
    It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

    Martin Luther King, Jr.:
    We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

    Martin Luther King, jr.:
    Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

    Martin Luther King, jr.:
    In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends

    Martin Niemoller:
    In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.

    Martin Niemöller:
    First they came for the Jews. I was silent. I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists. I was silent. I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists. I was silent. I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me. There was no one left to speak for me.

    Rachel Naomi Remen:
    The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention…. A loving silence often has far more power to heal and to connect than the most well-intentioned words.

    Robert Greeleaf:
    Many attempts to communicate are nullified by saying too much.

    Sally Berger:
    You never saw a fish on the wall with its mouth shut.

    Sam Levenson:
    It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it.

    Sam Rayburn:
    No one has a finer command of language than the person who keeps his mouth shut.

    Anon:
    Sometimes silence is not golden--just yellow.

    Paramahansa Yogananda:
    In shallow men, the fish of little thoughts make such commotion. In oceanic minds, the whales of inspiration make hardly a ruffle.

    Thana Ramayah:
    When Laws are silent interpreting becomes noisy..."

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous5:09 pm

    This could be the end of NST. It suffered putting dwon Anwar. Anwar was deputy PM. It'll suffer more putting down Dr Mahathir. Dr Mahathir is ex-PM. Read the latest AC Nielsen readership report in The Star.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous11:41 pm

    hey, ex-reporter, you want the nst to die, just say so. ask the government to close it down, and also close down the sun. star will then be the only english paper. are you happy?

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous7:51 am

    The Star on June 13 had a front-page story of sugar going missing from super markets and in the inside of smaller super markets, mini markets and shops closing down.
    The Star is not merely reporting. It is sending strong singal to the Govt of Abdullah Badawi that while he and his children and their friends are going about, bumbling and fumbling trying to kill Mahathir once and for all, the econony is suffering. These are not Malay super markets. Malays don't have super markets or big businesses like PM's sons, son-in-law, ex-sisters-in-law and friends. Malays are still poor. These are Chinese-owned concerns. The kueh selling Malay Mak Cik cannot get sugar, the big Chinese traders too are suffering. If you are a Bumi like me and is struggling in business, let me assure you, Pak Lah and his cronies are destroying it with their business-shrinking policies. Soon, thanks to Rafidah and her negotiators, we will open up everything, including kontrak jalan kampung to the Americans. Only The Star reported about American demands in free trade negotiation with Malaysia. I think the time has come for all of us, including the PM, to cermin diri. If we can't rule, we step don't. If we can't support, we withdraw our support. On account of being nice and being democratic, we cannot allow this beloved country of ours to be destroyed. PM spending RM15 million to renovate Seri Perdana? And we are told no more mega project? My fellow Malaysians, please think.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous8:19 am

    Saya seru Pak Lah dan Tun Dr Mahathir bersatulah untuk menyelamatkan negara. Pak Lah kenanglah jasa Tun. Janganlah tuntuk kepada anak menantu dan kuncu-kuncu yang ada agenda sendiri.

    Mereka bukan menyokong Pak Lah. Bila Tun naikkan Pak Lah, mereka terkejut. Mereka tak sangka Tun lantik Pak Lah. Merekan sendiri berjinak-jinak dengan Najib pasai mereka sangka najib akan naik. Tanyalah anak, memantu dan kawan-kawan anak menantu Pak Lah.

    Bukan mereka yang lantik Pak Lah. Tun yang lantik Pak Lah. Pak Lah orang agama. Orang Baik. Janganlah Pak Lah biar diri Pak Lah diperalat anak, menantu, kawan-kawan anak menantu, abang adik dan ipar. Dah cukup apa yang Pak Lah buat dan bagi kepada mereka.

    Tolonglah! Buat pula kebaikan dan kebajikan dengan nama Allah kepada rakyat jelata yang bagi mandat besar kepada Pak Lah. Kami dah susah. Harga barang naik, jenayak naik dan macam-macam lagi naik.

    Buruk dan jahat sangatkah Tun Mahathir? Rumah besar yang Pak Lah duduk, kapal terbang yang Pak Lah dan Khairy naik balik Pulau Pinang yang saya sambut di Bayan Lepas tu siapa beli? Nak naik jadi pemimpin tak apa, tapi berdosa lupa budi dan jasa orang tua-tua.

    Tun orang tua kita. Dengarlah cakap dia. Pak Lah, ingatlah mak pak dan tok Pak Lah orang beragama. Satu Malaya kenal mereka. Apa agama ajar kita?

    Janganlah Pak Lah taasub sangat dengan anak menantu. Dengan Musa Hitam dan kaum-kaum liberal yang nak jahanamkan Melayu. Melayu jahanam, jahanamlah Tanah Melayu ini. Orang bangsa lain ada duit. Dia boleh merantau. Orang Melayu mana nak pi. Hat ini Pak Lah kena ingat. Ingat orang yang undi Pak Lah. Ingat budi Tun. Tak selamat kalau kita tak kenang budi. Si Tenggang jadi batu. Tuan Rocky, tolong siar. Minta maaf. Orang Melayu marah la in.

    ReplyDelete
  31. nstman,

    Kali & Brenden are doing just fine without the help of others to bring the paper down.

    Spin some more stories, Kali...spin, spin spin & NST certainly will go spiralling down.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous7:01 pm

    in case everyone forgot, bringing down nst only serves to make that other paper happy.

    and don't forget, Star is MCA! Also gamen paper-mah. run by rich chinamen some-more

    ReplyDelete
  33. Quote "everyoneloses said...
    in case everyone forgot, bringing down nst only serves to make that other paper happy."


    Blame it on the spin doctors in the NST if its loyal readers have stopped buying the paper.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Trying to be optimistic of our country but the way things are going I really am worried...

    Btw, good blog, Rocky :)

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous8:18 pm

    Bro, i just wanted to share this email a former classmate from st johns institution forwarded to me, thought it was funny. enjoy:




    During the Mahathir Era.....

    One lousy day in the middle of the economic crisis,PM Mahathir was
    feeling extremely frustrated and wondering how another neighboring
    country can be doing better than Malaysia.

    One of his aides said, I heard that the leaders consult Feng Shui
    masters to ensure prosperity for the country.

    Dr M thought if that is the case Malaysia Boleh also,and went to seek
    the top bomoh's advice in the country.

    After reviewing the case,the bomoh told Dr M that there are 2 things
    that he must do:

    Bomoh: Step 1. You must blame the crisis on SOROS for everything.

    Dr M: But Why?

    Bomoh: Because SOROS stands for: "Speculate On Ringgit Or Stocks".
    You must blame him, and look at ways to control the ringgit and stock
    market.

    Bomoh: Step 2 - You must get rid of ANWAR.

    Dr M: What, why him?

    Bomoh: Because ANWAR stands for: "A Nation Without Any Ringgit".

    Dr M: But how? This is most difficult to do, he is popular with the people.

    Bomoh: Aiyoh, you bodoh lah! Look at your name, MAHATHIR, see what it
    stands for !! "Make Anwar Homosexual And Then Highlight It
    Repeatedly"

    And that's how Malaysia's Economy and Politics went downhill...

    ReplyDelete