The election victory of Anwar Ibrahim was expected. That's all there is to it. The unabated excitement about him is simply because he knows how to draw attention to himself. His antics can sometimes be so peurile but draw the opposite reaction. But the truth of the matter is that there is a temporary disenchantment of UMNO, and not because people are falling in love with PKR. At this moment in our history, our politics is still driven by racial agenda, Malay agenda, to be exact. The weight of Malay aspirations still lies deep and heavy within UMNO. For the moment there is a shifting of weigths within, and PKR is a convenient prop for some.
In the late 90's there was a similar agitation within UMNO to get rid of old baggages within. The catchphrase then was reformasi. That is the very catchphrase now, and again only in the sense that a new generation of UMNO leaders wants the older generation to go. Once that new generation is in place, PKR will be no more.
There is an urban legend about Anwar and Najib. (Well, it might not be legend yet, as I have heard it only from one person who claims to be the witness .) A long time ago when they were younger they went to see the mahaguru of Silat Gayong, somewhere in Perak. Both wanted to know what the future held in store for them.
By turn they stood in front of the guru while the guru held several lime fruits and sliced them. The lopped slices would drop either with the cut portion facing up or down. The story has it that for Najib they all faced up, and for Anwar they all faced down. So it was that Najib's fate has ended upward for the better and it is doom for Anwar.
History is still unfolding and the only true lesson, is that each of us must live true to only one standard of truth. I care not for Anwar or for Najib. Leaders will rise and leaders will fall, and as for me, I hold my fate in my own hands.
There is too much ado about nothing. What's worse, Islamic clerics are willing to twist interpretations of their religion to suit their purpose. They are clouding the issue when we expect them to be standard bearers of the truth. There are too many actors on the stage, strutting and fretting about, accomplishing nothing.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
The World's Most Popular Political Quiz
How the World's Smallest Political Quiz redefined politics, took over the Internet, impressed the experts, and made politics fun for more than 9 million people
After taking the World's Smallest Political Quiz, the famous online test that instantly pinpoints your political ideology, no two people have exactly the same reaction.
Consider Courtney, a self-described "young Republican." She took the Quiz and was surprised by the result. "I [scored] libertarian centrist," she said. "I really think I lean to the right, but apparently some aspect of my social liberalism has centered me. Interesting."
For blogger Jessy, the Quiz confirmed what she already knew. The avowed liberal landed smack-dab in the liberal quadrant and said, "I could not agree more."
Then there's Krzysztof -- nicknamed "Critto" -- from Poland. For him, the Quiz was exciting. "I am a libertarian, after taking the Quiz!" he said enthusiastically. "I love the World's Smallest Political Quiz, for it is cute, small, and very useful."
Cute? Well, OK; let's not argue with a guy named Critto. Small? You bet. It takes less than two minutes to zip through. Useful? Absolutely, if the surge of people taking the Quiz is any proof.
Every day, the Quiz is taken more than 5,000 times at the Web site of the Advocates for Self-Government (www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html). That's over 200 times an hour, 24 hours a day. In fact, as of March 2007, the Quiz has been taken more than 9 million times.
Why the enormous popularity -- especially when so many other political quizzes clutter up the Internet?
Sharon Harris, president of the Advocates, has a theory. "The Quiz offers a more diverse way of looking at politics," she said. "It gives people a fast, accurate way of determining who agrees with them most."
That "more diverse" insight is the key. Before the Quiz came along, politics was a two-way street. You were either liberal or conservative, and that was that.
Enter David Nolan, an MIT political-science graduate. In 1969, Nolan realized that traditional political definitions didn't make sense. He observed that liberals usually supported personal liberty (they defended free speech), but opposed economic liberty (they liked high taxes and strict regulation of business). Conservatives were the opposite. They supported economic liberty (low taxes and minimal regulations), but opposed personal liberty (they applauded laws against pornography).
So far, so good. But what about people who supported both personal and economic liberty? They didn't fit. Nether did people who opposed both personal and economic liberty.
Nolan finally resolved the paradox. "I began to doodle around with the idea of trying to reduce the political universe to a graphical depiction," he told The Liberator magazine in 1996. "I thought, 'Maybe we can delineate this on some kind of map, using a two-axis graph.' "
That was the breakthrough. Instead of looking at politics as a two-way line, Nolan designed a political chart that went in four directions -- high or low on economic issues, and high or low on personal issues.
Conservatives and liberals fit in this new political spectrum. So did libertarians and statists, who Nolan added to the mix. Libertarians scored high/high on liberty issues; statists scored low/low. Later, centrists were added in the middle -- and the Nolan Chart, a new way of looking at politics, was born.
In 1985, Marshall Fritz, founder of the Advocates for Self-Government, added 10 questions to the chart. He squeezed it all onto a business card-size handout, dubbed it the World's Smallest Political Quiz, and took it to a local print shop.
The rest is history. Over the years, the nonpartisan Advocates distributed 7 million printed copies of the Quiz to help spread the word about libertarianism. In 1995, the Quiz made the jump to cyberspace where it immediately became the Internet's first and most popular political quiz, with 13,400 Web sites linked to it today.
But is it accurate? After all, the Advocates is a libertarian organization. Did they rig the Quiz so everyone would score libertarian?
No, says an expert. Cynthia Carter, professor of History and Political Science at Florida Community College at Jacksonville, said, "Although this quiz is provided by a Libertarian organization, it does not lead you to answer in any particular way."
That may be why instructors around the USA use the Quiz in their classrooms. If you peeked into classrooms at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, Carnegie Mellon University, or Texas A&M University (to name just a few) over the past few years, you'd find find students answering the Quiz's questions.
Even cynical reporters -- always eager to expose a phony -- have been impressed by the Quiz's insight and honesty. For example, the Washington Post reported, "The Quiz has gained respect as a valid measure of a person's political leanings."
And the Quiz is being used in high school and college classrooms all over the country. Over a dozen major textbooks site the Quiz, either in the books or as an online supplement to the books.
But don't let the scholarly recommendations fool you. The Quiz isn't a boring political science project -- it's fun. In fact, that is the one reaction that just about everybody who takes the Quiz does have in common.
Professional astrologer Adze Mixxe said it best. No matter what your political identity is, he told people, "You will get 100 percent enjoyment from the World's Smallest Political Quiz."
And isn't that a political score everyone can agree on?
The World's Most Popular Political Quiz
How the World's Smallest Political Quiz redefined politics, took over the Internet, impressed the experts, and made politics fun for more than 9 million people
After taking the World's Smallest Political Quiz, the famous online test that instantly pinpoints your political ideology, no two people have exactly the same reaction.
Consider Courtney, a self-described "young Republican." She took the Quiz and was surprised by the result. "I [scored] libertarian centrist," she said. "I really think I lean to the right, but apparently some aspect of my social liberalism has centered me. Interesting."
For blogger Jessy, the Quiz confirmed what she already knew. The avowed liberal landed smack-dab in the liberal quadrant and said, "I could not agree more."
Then there's Krzysztof -- nicknamed "Critto" -- from Poland. For him, the Quiz was exciting. "I am a libertarian, after taking the Quiz!" he said enthusiastically. "I love the World's Smallest Political Quiz, for it is cute, small, and very useful."
Cute? Well, OK; let's not argue with a guy named Critto. Small? You bet. It takes less than two minutes to zip through. Useful? Absolutely, if the surge of people taking the Quiz is any proof.
Every day, the Quiz is taken more than 5,000 times at the Web site of the Advocates for Self-Government (www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html). That's over 200 times an hour, 24 hours a day. In fact, as of March 2007, the Quiz has been taken more than 9 million times.
Why the enormous popularity -- especially when so many other political quizzes clutter up the Internet?
Sharon Harris, president of the Advocates, has a theory. "The Quiz offers a more diverse way of looking at politics," she said. "It gives people a fast, accurate way of determining who agrees with them most."
That "more diverse" insight is the key. Before the Quiz came along, politics was a two-way street. You were either liberal or conservative, and that was that.
Enter David Nolan, an MIT political-science graduate. In 1969, Nolan realized that traditional political definitions didn't make sense. He observed that liberals usually supported personal liberty (they defended free speech), but opposed economic liberty (they liked high taxes and strict regulation of business). Conservatives were the opposite. They supported economic liberty (low taxes and minimal regulations), but opposed personal liberty (they applauded laws against pornography).
So far, so good. But what about people who supported both personal and economic liberty? They didn't fit. Nether did people who opposed both personal and economic liberty.
Nolan finally resolved the paradox. "I began to doodle around with the idea of trying to reduce the political universe to a graphical depiction," he told The Liberator magazine in 1996. "I thought, 'Maybe we can delineate this on some kind of map, using a two-axis graph.' "
That was the breakthrough. Instead of looking at politics as a two-way line, Nolan designed a political chart that went in four directions -- high or low on economic issues, and high or low on personal issues.
Conservatives and liberals fit in this new political spectrum. So did libertarians and statists, who Nolan added to the mix. Libertarians scored high/high on liberty issues; statists scored low/low. Later, centrists were added in the middle -- and the Nolan Chart, a new way of looking at politics, was born.
In 1985, Marshall Fritz, founder of the Advocates for Self-Government, added 10 questions to the chart. He squeezed it all onto a business card-size handout, dubbed it the World's Smallest Political Quiz, and took it to a local print shop.
The rest is history. Over the years, the nonpartisan Advocates distributed 7 million printed copies of the Quiz to help spread the word about libertarianism. In 1995, the Quiz made the jump to cyberspace where it immediately became the Internet's first and most popular political quiz, with 13,400 Web sites linked to it today.
But is it accurate? After all, the Advocates is a libertarian organization. Did they rig the Quiz so everyone would score libertarian?
No, says an expert. Cynthia Carter, professor of History and Political Science at Florida Community College at Jacksonville, said, "Although this quiz is provided by a Libertarian organization, it does not lead you to answer in any particular way."
That may be why instructors around the USA use the Quiz in their classrooms. If you peeked into classrooms at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, Carnegie Mellon University, or Texas A&M University (to name just a few) over the past few years, you'd find find students answering the Quiz's questions.
Even cynical reporters -- always eager to expose a phony -- have been impressed by the Quiz's insight and honesty. For example, the Washington Post reported, "The Quiz has gained respect as a valid measure of a person's political leanings."
And the Quiz is being used in high school and college classrooms all over the country. Over a dozen major textbooks site the Quiz, either in the books or as an online supplement to the books.
But don't let the scholarly recommendations fool you. The Quiz isn't a boring political science project -- it's fun. In fact, that is the one reaction that just about everybody who takes the Quiz does have in common.
Professional astrologer Adze Mixxe said it best. No matter what your political identity is, he told people, "You will get 100 percent enjoyment from the World's Smallest Political Quiz."
And isn't that a political score everyone can agree on?
TO CLIMB THE SACRED MOUNTAIN
Photo by: Dr. Wayne C. Summers
WHO YOU'RE GONNA CALL??
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Monday, August 18, 2008
On The Pleasure of Hating
by William Hazlitt (excerpt)
The pleasure of hating, like a poisonous mineral, eats into the heart of religion, and turns it to rankling spleen and bigotry; it makes patriotism an excuse for carrying fire, pestilence, and famine into other lands: it leaves to virtue nothing but the spirit of censoriousness, and a narrow, jealous, inquisitorial watchfulness over the actions and motives of others.
What have the different sects, creeds, doctrines in religion been but so many pretexts set up for men to wrangle, to quarrel, to tear one another in pieces about , like a target as a mark to shoot at? Does any one suppose that the love of country in an Englishman implies any friendly feeling or disposition to serve another bearing the same name?
No, it means only hatred to the French or the inhabitants of any other country that we happen to be at war with for the time. Does the love of virtue denote any wish to discover or amend our own faults? No, but it atones for an obstinate adherence to our own vices by the most virulent intolerance to human frailties. This principle is of a most universal application. It extends to good as well as evil: if it makes us hate folly, it makes us no less dissatisfied with distinguished merit. If it inclines us to resent the wrongs of others, it impels us to be as impatient of their prosperity.
We revenge injuries: we repay benefits with ingratitude. Even our strongest partialities and likings soon take this turn. "That which was luscious as locusts, anon becomes bitter as coloquintida;" and love and friendship melt in their own fires. We hate old friends: we hate old books: we hate old opinions; and at last we come to hate ourselves.
Courtesy of Bluepete
The pleasure of hating, like a poisonous mineral, eats into the heart of religion, and turns it to rankling spleen and bigotry; it makes patriotism an excuse for carrying fire, pestilence, and famine into other lands: it leaves to virtue nothing but the spirit of censoriousness, and a narrow, jealous, inquisitorial watchfulness over the actions and motives of others.
What have the different sects, creeds, doctrines in religion been but so many pretexts set up for men to wrangle, to quarrel, to tear one another in pieces about , like a target as a mark to shoot at? Does any one suppose that the love of country in an Englishman implies any friendly feeling or disposition to serve another bearing the same name?
No, it means only hatred to the French or the inhabitants of any other country that we happen to be at war with for the time. Does the love of virtue denote any wish to discover or amend our own faults? No, but it atones for an obstinate adherence to our own vices by the most virulent intolerance to human frailties. This principle is of a most universal application. It extends to good as well as evil: if it makes us hate folly, it makes us no less dissatisfied with distinguished merit. If it inclines us to resent the wrongs of others, it impels us to be as impatient of their prosperity.
We revenge injuries: we repay benefits with ingratitude. Even our strongest partialities and likings soon take this turn. "That which was luscious as locusts, anon becomes bitter as coloquintida;" and love and friendship melt in their own fires. We hate old friends: we hate old books: we hate old opinions; and at last we come to hate ourselves.
Courtesy of Bluepete
PERSONALITY OF THE MONTH
I have decided to chose Richard Nelson Sokial as my personality of the month. He owns sabahwarriors.blogspot.com. He blogs about architecture and how it relates to the history and culture of the local people.
He writes regularly for the Daily Express Sabah.
I have just sat down for work, and skimmed through the papers. As I saw his piece, it struck me that here is a guy who is above the fray. When everyone is blogging about the flavour of the moment, namely politics, here is one guy, who is above it all, talking about something that will touch us for the rest of our lives. There is a freshness about him and his writing.
I have read many of his pieces, and I enjoy his insights. It is seldom that we find somebody who loves his history and his architecture, and he uses very fine English too.
As we approach the anniversary of our Independence, we are emboldened to know that there is someone among us who cherishes the past, and at the same time is the symbol of a new generation of confident, knowledgeable, honest and brave people. I am sure there are others who contribute in their small unobtrusive ways to the betterment of our society, and probably we are better off because of their unheralded contributions. But today, Mr Richard Nelson Sokial, I salute you.
He writes regularly for the Daily Express Sabah.
I have just sat down for work, and skimmed through the papers. As I saw his piece, it struck me that here is a guy who is above the fray. When everyone is blogging about the flavour of the moment, namely politics, here is one guy, who is above it all, talking about something that will touch us for the rest of our lives. There is a freshness about him and his writing.
I have read many of his pieces, and I enjoy his insights. It is seldom that we find somebody who loves his history and his architecture, and he uses very fine English too.
As we approach the anniversary of our Independence, we are emboldened to know that there is someone among us who cherishes the past, and at the same time is the symbol of a new generation of confident, knowledgeable, honest and brave people. I am sure there are others who contribute in their small unobtrusive ways to the betterment of our society, and probably we are better off because of their unheralded contributions. But today, Mr Richard Nelson Sokial, I salute you.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
You Can Check Out Anytime You Like
But you can never leave. (Lyrics of a song by the Eagles)
This is what religious freedom means in Malaysia.
By and large "freedom" still hold competing meanings in the mind of Malay Muslims. You are free to walk but you must wear crutches. You are free to chose but the choice is not yours. This is basically how the religion is being taught. You cannot be making your own interpretation of the Holy Book. You must leave it to people who have studied what the ancients have said about it.
The forum on conversion to Islam organized by the Bar Council was opposed by the Malays. One would be right in saying that the mob that came to oppose it being held were Muslims, but one must not forget that in Malaysia, being Muslim is to be Malay. They opposed the forum because intrinsically it was a forum about the Malays.
The issues arising out of conversion are of the utmost relevance and must be resolved, and resolved quickly. The government must take the lead in resolving them instead of reducing itself to being a mere spectator.
It is a Malay issue after all. It will not resolve itself. Why, because the Malays tend to think that the issue is their issue exclusively. They cannot see that others who are affected by our practice of the religion has the moral right to be heard.
The organizer could even have been more brash by calling it the apostasy issue, and in essence that is what this whole thing is about. This issue is sensitive and we cannot just wish for it to resolve itself. The government must step in to show the way.
This is what religious freedom means in Malaysia.
By and large "freedom" still hold competing meanings in the mind of Malay Muslims. You are free to walk but you must wear crutches. You are free to chose but the choice is not yours. This is basically how the religion is being taught. You cannot be making your own interpretation of the Holy Book. You must leave it to people who have studied what the ancients have said about it.
The forum on conversion to Islam organized by the Bar Council was opposed by the Malays. One would be right in saying that the mob that came to oppose it being held were Muslims, but one must not forget that in Malaysia, being Muslim is to be Malay. They opposed the forum because intrinsically it was a forum about the Malays.
The issues arising out of conversion are of the utmost relevance and must be resolved, and resolved quickly. The government must take the lead in resolving them instead of reducing itself to being a mere spectator.
It is a Malay issue after all. It will not resolve itself. Why, because the Malays tend to think that the issue is their issue exclusively. They cannot see that others who are affected by our practice of the religion has the moral right to be heard.
The organizer could even have been more brash by calling it the apostasy issue, and in essence that is what this whole thing is about. This issue is sensitive and we cannot just wish for it to resolve itself. The government must step in to show the way.
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