Sunday, February 04, 2007

M is for Nobel

Most demonized ex-PM nominated for Nobel Prize for Peace. This year’s list includes American Al Gore, Finnish peace broker Martti Ahtisaari and Chinese dissident Rebiya Kadeer.
The nomination papers described Dr M as the Third World’s “most illustrious contemporary” and its “most courageous advocate.
June Wong from The Star has an exclusive, here.

32 comments:

  1. Hello Rocky,
    Wa !!! your blog is very famous one now eh..Saw your blog quoted on blogsphere discussion in Screenshot Jeff Ooi.

    Thanks for dropping by in my blog ,am honored Sir.

    As for TDM there is a saying that goes 'hanya Jauhari mengenal Manikam'( this one is not base on Johari and Manikavasagam)..
    People of Kubang Pasu is certainly not of Jauhari kind.

    To TDM...Congratulation Dear Sir ..you make us proud as you always do!!

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  2. Anonymous11:54 am

    Gawwdd i'm so proud of TDM. cant think of anyone who deserve this more than the great Man himself...

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  3. Anonymous12:32 pm

    Bru and all,

    Be forewarned, there'll be POWERFUL Malaysian parties who will sabotage his nomination.

    They tried this when they used Wisma Putra and our High Commission in India to sabotage the award by the Indian Government to him some months ago.

    Under the Hadhari government (I will not smear Islam by linking it to this had-hari label), all good Malaysians must be put down unless they kow-tow to the KAM.

    KAM is in a state of euphoria now. Another cucu is on the way. Congrats Nori and KJ.

    TDM deserves the highest award humanity can offer. But nothing is higher than our love and respect for him.

    PS: His only decision that does not enjoy my respect was his choice of deputies!

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  4. Anonymous1:47 pm

    hahaha - please stop , you are killing me!

    from Victims of 513

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  5. Anonymous4:06 pm

    TDM man of peace? Pse tell me something new.

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  6. Mahathir is the person who cowardly used ISA, OSA to silence is critics and boxed the freedom of voice and judiciary to reign is rule by law. This octogenarian should be the last person is inducted into Wall of Fame.

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  7. Rocky!

    Listen to all of you morons, Karna included!

    And listen very carefully, I gauge evvery word I said and I shall and will not repeat myself again!

    The late Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin, otherwise known as the butcher of Palestinians was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 1978, together with the late President Anwar Sadat of Egypt. As a leader of the Irgun terrorist group, Begin bombed King David Hotel in Palestine in the 40s and killed hundreds of innocent people! He ordered the killing of Palestinians and Arab leaders sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, and yet he was nominated for Nobel Peace Prize, and he got it. He and Sadat got it for trying to bring peace in the middle-east !

    So Tun Mahathir placed some political leaders under ISA or OSA, really no big deal! He did it because leaders do not know how to behave in a multi-racial setting! As a Prime Minister and a leader he brought up this country quite okay, people are pissed off with him yes, but yet Malaysians were happy and dignified. No vernacular group will try his patience to ask for ridiciulous demands. He did not condone corupt practices among leaders, he did not allow for foreign intervention in this country's domestic affairs! In fact he will agree with me if we have to put many more evil people in this country now under ISA! So I believe Tun Mahathir will win the nomination, and we will at least regain some of our lost pride as a people under the present situation!
    Cheers!

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  8. Anonymous10:51 pm

    Sirs,

    Of course, we are all emotional, subjective and selfish. We don't like the man, therefore he must be bad!
    It is true that nobody gave third world a voice the way TDM did. Internationally, he fought for peace in Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. and he continously supported the bullied countries in their fight to preserve national interests. The man, whether he is of our political preference or not, SURELY deserves the nomination.

    Greetings to all and all the best to Rocky.

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  9. Anonymous10:52 pm

    Pasquale, thank you for explaining to these mudah lupa ingrates.

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  10. Anonymous11:32 pm

    What if Dr Mahathir actually wins the Nobel Prize? Even if the chances are remote, it's still a possibility. So what if he does? Interesting thought indeed!

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  11. Anonymous11:51 pm

    This is so funny, TDM for Nobel. TDM is the man who destroyed this country's civil society. Maybe Pasquale is too young to remember how democratic the country was before TDM, the newspapers were free (TDM suspended Star) and the judiciary was independent (TDM changed that). TDM was so power crazy that he was willing to do anything to remain in power.

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  12. In November 1998, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad issued a challenge to the scientific fraternity to produce a Nobel Laureate by the year 2020, calling on them to transform Malaysia into a world player in science and technology.
    I was at Cambridge at that time and students at the various colleges started a discussion via group e-mail on whether this is achievable.
    The questions they raised were many; one of which was whether the country’s first Nobel Prize winner would be a Malaysian in Malaysia or a Malaysian working or doing research overseas.
    They feel the restrictions were many, so it would be a long time before we see a Nobel Prize laureate from the local scientific fraternity.
    Today, we read that that same man who issued the challenge some 10 years ago have been nominated for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for helping the country after its bloody civil war.
    Could he be the first Malaysian Nobel Prize Laureate? We shall see.

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  13. kurt,

    TDM must have seen that those under him were power-crazier than himself, hence, he step down. Duh?

    Now, TDM has regained his 'sanity' to try and stop future world wars whilst the crazies left in the administration are leading us to the loony bin.

    *I think I'll leave Pasquale some room for his 'magic bullet'*

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  14. Siapa mudah lupa? It's the people who rave about TDM, not the people who recognise him for what he has always been and what he remains: an ingrate. Mahathir is a false hero.

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  15. Mahathir is responsible for turning Malaysia into a greedy, immoral and violent country. He destroyed public institutions created to protect individuals and stoked traits of the depraved human race previously mentioned. To mentioned his name and the Nobel Peace Price in the same article, let alone the same paragraph is an act to either cheapen the award or forget the evil of the ogre that was Mahathir.

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  16. Mahathir is responsible for turning Malaysia into a greedy, immoral and violent country. He destroyed public institutions created to protect individuals and stoked traits of the depraved human race previously mentioned. To mentioned his name and the Nobel Peace Price in the same article, let alone the same paragraph is an act to either cheapen the award or forget the evil of the ogre that was Mahathir.

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  17. What is wrong with us all?

    Our former Prime Minister has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
    we should be happy and proud.
    I know I am.

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  18. nuraina:

    The problem is that some of us are of the opinion that he never deserved to be PM in the first place.

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  19. Anonymous10:06 am

    To Johnleemik,

    Then luckly for the rest of us, that your opinion didnt count

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  20. Anonymous11:33 am

    That old man is being given credit for the good deeds he had done to Bosnia, not all the shits he has left to the Malaysians, which take us a few generations to pay the price.

    So let's be rationale, one thing at a time. Don't just emphasize on misdeeds he has done.

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  21. Anonymous11:54 am

    Hey I think they made a mistake. Mahathir should be nominated for the Ignoble Piss Prize.

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  22. Anonymous11:59 am

    Johnleemk

    I do believe that the "some of us" you kindly mentioned can be counted within my 10 little fingers.

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  23. outsider,

    IPPs are for cronies only.

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  24. Anonymous1:45 pm

    To: johnleemk
    .....deserved to be PM in the first place.

    Well a typical mentality of a "16-year-old teenager living in a suburb of the Klang Valley in Selangor"( as stated in your website profile) who doesn't go thru the era of pre independent time and the hardship tat we had to shoulder.

    Young man take time to know our country history then you will appreciate what we are having now. I still remember at that time when Kuala Lumpur hosted the world Boxing championship (Tat time Dato Harun was the MB of Selangor). This is how the commentator said in the Black and white TV set. “ Welcome to ……….bla bla bla.. We are here in Kuala Lumpur NEAR SINGAPORE”.

    At least during TDM era, he made the world know where MALAYSIA is and we are proud to be Malaysian.

    Anon fm Miri

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  25. Err....Johnleemk,
    you said some of us are of the opinion that he should never have been PM...
    Are you referring to you as one of us?Pardon me, but from your website you mentioned you are 16 years old?
    Sorry, but last I know, you are not considered as an eligible voter, hence your argument don't count.

    I have voted in the last 3 elections.
    I am sorry that I voted in the last one. Even though TDM, may have given room for those who doubted him, under his leadership, I never encountered any problems, as Joe Public. I can't say the same about the current administration. FOr, under this Govt, through their 100% owned subsidiary, my wife was put out of her job of 14 years!
    COme February 21 we will find out if they were right!
    Oh, did I say why?

    www.muststopthis.blogspot.com

    p.s I hope that TDM wins the Nobel, . .btw did't an ex terrorist win the Nobel too?

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  26. We think that whatever done good is of no consequence but any mistake should be judged accordingly. I would say, look at the way the country progresses over the 22 years and look at how the country has since plateaued as well as sliding of just 3 years under current government.

    Uh...the plateau began after the 1997 crisis. The country's economy has yet to fully recover. Since more of the elapsed time was spent under TDM's administration instead of AAB's, I'd say some blame can be apportioned to him.

    Furthermore, the rising tide of development was brought on by globalisation, not TDM. Any man smart enough not to touch the controls would have been uplifted anyway thanks to the sudden rise of the East Asian Tigers in the early 90s. After all, Indonesia and the Philippines were also slowly recovering from their previous excesses then, were they not? Should this then be used to justify restoring the administrations they were under then?

    Furthermore, look at some of TDM's megaprojects. KLIA and Putrajaya are ideas dating back to Tun Razak's time. Why does Mahathir deserve credit for being a "visionary" in these fields? And the Petronas Twin Towers have not contributed much, if any, to our public image. Every time I've been to the West, mentioning that we have the world's tallest twin towers has only elicited a blank stare from people.

    At least during TDM era, he made the world know where MALAYSIA is and we are proud to be Malaysian.

    That's a pretty delusion spun by the same spinmongers now working for AAB. Every time I've been to the West, it's only the Southeast Asians who know what Malaysia is. To everyone else, it's nothing. The only way I can get them to have an idea of where or what we are is...yep, you guessed it: "We're just north of Singapore".

    Sorry, but last I know, you are not considered as an eligible voter, hence your argument don't count.

    I know a number of eligible voters who think Mahathir ruined the country, so no, I'm not alone. And if I was a registered voter then, what would you say? How does my personal status have any bearing on the quality of my argument? The fact is simple: TDM ruined our country.

    He could have taken advantage of globalisation to spur us on to greater heights. Instead, he got us bogged down in our superiority complex - the false belief that we could rest on our laurels thanks to all his megaprojects that supposedly put us on the map - and he made the Bumis lag behind the rest of the country in terms of development, because his policies removed any incentive they may have had in the past to struggle and strive for success.

    I know it's an unpleasant fact, but it's a reality. The problems biting AAB's administration in the behind are not just AAB's fault. They are also TDM's legacy. After all, was AAB around as PM when those hundreds of thousands of unemployed graduates were in secondary school? Was he the one who started our culture of money politics or the one who made the distribution of patronage through megaprojects the natural thing to do? Nope. He's just been continuing TDM's legacy.

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  27. Anonymous6:13 pm

    As a Malaysian and lived thru all the 22 years of his administration, I cud not have been more proud of him. he definitely deserve the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE! Why so late?

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  28. johnleemk,

    For a 16 year old, you appear wiser than some adults I know.

    As you're aware, some of us here, through anecdotes given, have had the privilege to witness 'first-hand' what TDM did and/or could not achieve during his tenure as premier whilst your presentations, though compelling, are, at best, acquired through economic and political readings plus top-down discussions with like-minded personalities.

    Nevertheless, I'm keen to know your viewpoints about the ringgit/dollar peg instituted by TDM during the '97/98 crisis which was, at that time, considered sacrilegious.

    Btw why do we have to register as a member on your blog? Time constraints to moderate?

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  29. As you're aware, some of us here, through anecdotes given, have had the privilege to witness 'first-hand' what TDM did and/or could not achieve during his tenure as premier whilst your presentations, though compelling, are, at best, acquired through economic and political readings plus top-down discussions with like-minded personalities.

    While I definitely agree with you there, I am not blind to TDM's few accomplishments, such as the capital controls he imposed (even if it was mainly meant to save his cronies' firms) during the '97 crisis. Still, I feel that taking the macro view, TDM did not do much, if anything for the country. At the very least, he wasted a lot of our potential. The money we spent on the Twin Towers could have been funneled into our horrid education system (it is surprisingly very common to hear of IT teachers being assigned to teach history, and physics teaches being assigned to biology classes), for example. TDM also created several problems that will plague future administrations, such as the culture of the "Sultan syndrome" and little Napoleons that Dr. Bakri Musa has often written about. These problems were minor prior to TDM's time, but even though they already existed then, TDM's administration accentuated them.

    I don't deny that in the micro view or on a short term basis, TDM looks like a pretty successful PM, but even so, this is mainly for the development we saw during his tenure, which, as I said, largely stemmed from the rising economic tide our country was swept along by. And in the long term, TDM harmed our country and the Malay race by harping on a few towering Malays, while largely leaving the rest of the Malays behind economically. (By the way, it's a proven fact that income disparities within the Malay race widened very greatly during TDM's term.)

    Nevertheless, I'm keen to know your viewpoints about the ringgit/dollar peg instituted by TDM during the '97/98 crisis which was, at that time, considered sacrilegious.

    I think it was the right decision made for the wrong reasons. The right reasons would have been to note that the markets were irrationally panicking. After all, the crisis had not harmed our economic fundamentals. Our factories and our resources had not suddenly been wiped off the face of the earth. Economically, the markets were overreacting, so TDM was wise to take such measures as to prevent this overreaction. However, as I said, it seems unlikely that this was TDM's main motive - its more probable that he just intended to save his cronies' firms and assets from oblivion.

    Btw why do we have to register as a member on your blog? Time constraints to moderate?

    Yeah, I don't have a lot of time to moderate comments. I made registration very simple, and once you're registered, all your comments appear live on the site's forum without any need for moderation.

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  30. Anonymous11:35 am

    johnleemk
    When I was 16 I also was idealistic like you, though I spent more time chasing girls than chasing dreams. But I admire your spunk. And maturity for so young a person. But I take issue with your calling the opposition castrati. Some opposition figures have been incarcerated without trial, tortured and had their human rights grossly violated - just because they chose to expose and oppose the government's misdeeds. They suffered for Malaysians as a whole but got nothing but mental and physical scars to show for it. The simple fact is, Malaysia is not yet ready for a political change of seismic proportions, as on your wish list. The rakyat will have to go through much more suffering and when they have had enough, they will the ones to make the change. Just like in the Philippines, when people power got rid of Marcos. But that, unfortunately, might not happen within my lifetime - and yours.

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  31. Anonymous1:28 pm

    did anyone see TDM on 101 east (aljazeera english)? it'll be on this week. hoo-hoo.

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  32. Anonymous4:48 pm

    *Groan* I hate it whenever I see pasquale's comments. He sounds as if he uses purely Malaysian Education System (commonly known as Malay Schools) textbooks? I read both the Malaysian Independent Chinese School (shall we just call them the MICSS?) version and the Sejarah textbooks as well. Both are srikingly different based on what they actually report and what has probably been censored.
    And John can call the freaking opposition castrati because the opposition may seem to be castrati because they lost a lot of people to the ISA, OSA and other SAs. I'm somehow willing to believe that if Mahathir was still in power, Teresa would be in real deep.

    So, I myself do not think that Dr. M deserves that prize. Then again I may be a petualang bangsa and therefore ignored.

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