The Day the Govt Almost Lost the Parliament

  This is the news of the day:

Speaker slams opposition in narrow Budget vote

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 — Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia today criticised the Pakatan Rakyat for taking advantage of missing Barisan Nasional lawmakers to try defeating the Budget 2010 last night.
Pandikar called it dishonourable to catch the government with ‘their pants down” during the third and final reading of the budget proposals before it goes to the Senate.
“The opposition should not have taken advantage of the situation when there wasn’t enough BN MPs,” he said when commenting on the narrow 66-63 approval for Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s first Budget as prime minister.

Trivial Parliament

Let's look at the following excerpt from a news report:

Anwar's motion to discuss drop in Petronas' revenue rejected

By: By Husna Yusop and Hemananthani Sivanadam at the Dewan Rakyat (Mon, 14 Dec 2009)

Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14, 2009): THE Dewan Rakyat today rejected a motion by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PKR-Permatang Pauh) to discuss the 37.5% drop in Petronas' half-year revenue this year to RM98.2 billion from RM157.2 billion in the same period last year.

Deputy Speaker Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said although the issue was specific and of public importance, it was not urgent to be debated.

When his decision was questioned by several opposition MPs, Wan Junaidi said the government has considered the facts before drafting the 2010 Budget and Petronas has said it would be able to meet payments to the government.

He also said the House was rushing to approve the budget at committee stage and the issue could be brought up later when debating other bills.

In his motion, Anwar said that according to the Petronas financial report, the national oil company suffered a serious drop in revenue amounting to RM58 billion for the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year.

Hari AIDS Sedunia

Bahaya AIDS sentiasa mengancam kita.  Jangkitan HIV boleh berlaku secara sukarela atau sebaliknya.  Yang dimaksudkan dengan sukarela ialah apabila seseorang begitu 'adventurous' menjerumuskan diri ke dalam kancah aktiviti seks yang terlarang oleh agama.  Tanpa rela ialah apabila jangkitan berlaku melalui insiden seperti pemindahan darah.

BTN: Dolak Dalik BN Melucukan

Dolak-dalik BN dalam isu BTN berterusan dan rakyat sedang menonton drama yang melucukan.  Dalam BN sendiri, tidak ada kata sepakat tentang BTN.  Ada suara menentang (contoh: orang baru Idris Jala), ada yang mahu digubal semula (contoh: pragmatis Nazri),  ada yang mempertahankan (contoh: statis dan denialis Shahrizat), dan ada yang cuba menjustifikasikannya (contoh: Ketua Penerangan UMNO cum Timbalan Menteri di JPM Ahmad Maslan).

Sistem Dua Parti untuk Kestabilan Politik

Sehingga Mac 2008, Malaysia sebenarnya mengamalkan sistem satu parti. Sama ada rakyat suka atau tidak, mereka akan pilih BN untuk memerintah negara. Tiada pilihan lain. Benar wujud banyak parti politik. Tetapi selain BN semuanya kecil, lemah, kerap dicantas sebelum dapat berdiri teguh, atau ditelan oleh BN yang gagah perkasa itu. Ketiadaan parti kedua yang cukup gagah boleh menjuruskan negara kepada kehuruharaaan apabila rakyat tidak puas hati dengan prestasi BN, sedangkan tiada jalan yang sah di segi undang-undang untuk menyuarakannya.

BN Atau BTN?

Rakyat Malaysia dahagakan kejujuran - daripada pemimpin mereka.  Rakyat Malaysia mahu menghormati pemimpin mereka, tetapi terlalu kerap mereka digagalkan, malah dikhianati. Tanda rakyat Malaysia dahagakan kejujuran dapat dilihat di sana sini; PRU12 hanya satu daripadanya.  Keupayaan menbaca isyarat yang diberikan rakyat Malaysia sangat penting untuk kejayaan sebuah gagasan politik, dan kestabilan negara.

Alahai Muhyiddin ...

Read the following piece taken from the Malaysian Insider, and draw your own conclusions.  If you do not have much time, just read the two highlighted paragraphs.

DPM defends BTN courses against racist brainwashing charges

Muhyiddin says BTN courses are not for ‘converting’ participants. — File pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 — Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin defended the controversial Biro Tata Negara (BTN) courses today as a form of nationalism in line with the 1 Malaysia concept despite growing criticisms of racism and political indoctrination.
The deputy prime minister denied that the courses, which are compulsory for civil servants and public university undergraduates, are aimed at “converting” participants to the political ideology of Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN).
His defence of the BTN courses comes a day after the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat (PR) administration moved to bar its civil servants and students from state-owned institutions from the course described as racist and a form of political indoctrination by the federal government.
PR leaders have accused the federal government of using the BTN courses to “brainwash” participants.
It has been reported that participants of BTN courses were repeatedly told of the concept of Ketuanan Melayu, or Malay superiority. Participants are also told not to question “Malay rights” and the “social contract.”
“There are no ulterior motives. These courses are well intended,” Muhyiddin said in Muar today.
He claimed that the Selangor state government had been misinformed and given a wrong impression of the courses.

But his comments today appear to run counter to a proposal by his own Cabinet colleague Datuk Seri Idris Jala to revamp BTN courses in an acknowledgement that it did not promote the 1 Malaysia concept.