No more honour in men

I was at a grand wedding dinner function in Seberang Jaya with the wife. I had the fortune or misfortune, whichever way we want to put it, to be in the esteem company of UMNO bigwigs at our table. It occurred to me that the person sitting right in front was none other than the former YB for Permatang Pasir. We had met once before on a solemn occasion at Masjid Cherok Tokun way back in 1998 on the eve of Anwar Ibrahim’s inglorious sacking. This person was the sole UMNO dignitary accompanying Anwar officiating the mosque newly installed ICT facilities except for the many stern looking standard issue bodyguards who were all about the place. It looked to be that Anwar was being deserted. It was then indeed a foreboding sign of things to come.

Well, let us go back to the wedding and our dinner table. As the former YB sat down, he spewed forth expletives condemning Anwar Ibrahim as a traitor to the Malay race and implied that in Anwar’s greed and eagerness to become prime minister he had even sold Penang to the Chinese by handing over the Chief Ministership to DAP.

Now we have all heard this fanatical mantra before, and we shall continue to hear them and UMNO is repeating it in unison this time, over and over again. Even the DPM is leading the same regurgitated tune unbecomingly. It is the usual Anwar bashing but in an orchestrated and fever pitched manner spouted profusely and spun in a frenzy by the media as if there is some frenetic mass political trance going on in the party. It is now made out in incendiary terms, extreme and as racial as one can get.

Yes, the stakes are being raised up to dangerous levels built upon fallacies, desperation and the malicious invectives are simply plucked from figments of delusional rage and agitation. The former YB and the DPM as well as others were friends, supporters and comrades of Anwar in the hey days of the party. Suddenly they became declared enemies and now they have emphatically sworn to remain enemies. Fortunately for them they did not need to suffer the tribulations that their reviled and denounced colleague had to go through because their loyalty was frail and they did not want anything to do with it. Actually, if they are just honest with themselves, it was they who let him down. He was not only put down but he was made to crawl in the gutter and many thought that Anwar would never be able to come out of this horrible black hole. As one blogger puts it aptly: - Anwar is by far the most talented of Malay leaders in his generation by keeping the PR coalition together and by marching forward in the face of overwhelming odds and a terminator-like enemy.

Anyway, back to the dining table, just after the former YB expressed such unsavoury words, I looked to my wife and she smiled and gave me the smirky look. A live band was playing by so the noise and din was just too loud. I thought of a terse reply but the atmosphere was just not right so I kept it to myself. Providence had it then that the host came by and upon recognizing the dignified guest, he was ushered away to the main table to gather with a gallery of party officials.

I am certain now that there is no more honour in such men.

When pigs fly

When pigs fly

A well known English idiom.

It will happen "when pigs fly". Pigs do not fly, so it will never happen. Usually it means it will be prevented from happening, that it is politically impossible, at least for many decades. (usingenglish.com)

People used to say this before PRU-12, the March 2008 elections, "when pigs fly" meaning a PAS-DAP pact or cooperation will never ever happen.

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Closure Of Abattoir, A Relief For Residents

ALOR SETAR, July 3 (Bernama) --

Residents in Kampung Berjaya here have requested all quarters not to politicise the closure of a pig abattoir in the village because they want it so. Trader Azizan Ahmad, 50, said residents staying within the vicinity of the abattoir, which had been operating for more than 30 years, had long wanted it to be closed as they could not stand the stench."The matter should not be politicised or made an excuse by Kedah DAP to pull out of the state Pakatan Rakyat government," he told Bernama here Friday.

Basharudin Said, 65, said the action by DAP reflected that the party did not care about the needs of the local residents who wanted the abattoir to be closed."Everybody agrees that the abattoir be closed because of the stench...food operators nearby also complain of poor business because not many people go to their shops," he added.

A mechanic, Tan Khien Hin, 48, regarded DAP's action as a futile move because majority of the residents supported the closure of the abattoir."It is apt that the abattoir be closed because it has been there for a long time, not suitable anymore. Furthermore, there are other places to slaughter (pigs)," he added.

Last Wednesday, Kedah DAP chairman Thomas Su Keong Siong announced that DAP was pulling out of the state Pakatan Rakyat government because of the party's dissatisfaction over several issues, especially the demolition of the pig abattoir in Kampung Berjaya.Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak, when asked to comment on the matter, said it was up to DAP whether or not to remain in the state Pakatan Rakyat government as the state government had done its best accommodate their demands.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 (Malaysian Insider excerpts)–

Kedah DAP has applied more pressure on the PAS-led state government in a move that seems to be fueled by the public backing of DAP supremos, Its sole state assemblyman Lee Guan Aik made clear today. While acknowledging that the illegal pig abattoir has been a problem for decades since Barisan Nasional (BN) were in charge, he said that the people voted for a new government “because they want to see a change for the better.”

Kedah DAP has claimed that six sites had been suggested for a relocation but all were shot down while Azizan insists that a site in Pendang near a Chinese village had already been earmarked.
Lee today also said that the 28 butchers at the abattoir “were made to believe that the government was looking for a new site.”

However, PKR Kedah chief Ahmad Kassim said that while the mentri besar promised to facilitate the application process for the new site, the operator had only submitted his application last week.His deputy Tan Show Kang also pointed out that the operator has also been asked to relocate by the BN state government more than 10 years ago but this was not executed.

Pemuda UMNO bertindak berang terhadap DAP dan PAS di Melaka

MELAKA, July 3 (Malaysiakini excerpts)

Pemuda Umno Bukit Katil mengaku ahlinya telah bertindak memecahkan sebuah meja dalam kekecohan dengan DAP dan PAS di pasar malam Taman Melaka Baru, malam tadi.Selain seorang wakil rakyat DAP didakwa mengalami luka-luka, seorang ahli Umno ditahan di balai polis Batu Berendam selama enam jam sejak 9 malam bagi membantu siasatan.

Setiausahanya Safrie Abdullah berkata, kejadian tersebut berlaku selepas pertikaman lidah antara kira-kira 40 ahli dan penyokong Pemuda Umno dengan kumpulan seangkatannya dalam DAP dan PAS.

Pemuda Umno Bukit Katil, Melaka didakwa bertindak liar dengan memecah peralatan milik PAS dan DAP dan menimbulkan kekecohan sehingga tercedera seorang ADUN pembangkang, malam tadi.Sewaktu kejadian, dua parti Pakatan Rakyat itu - yang sedang mengalami konflik besar di Kedah - sedang berkempen menggalakkan orang ramai mendaftar sebagai pemilih baru di sebuah pasar malam.

Naib Ketua Pemuda Umno bahagian Jailani Khamis "dengan bongkak dan sombong memaki hamun pemimpin DAP dan PAS" yang membuka kaunter pendaftaran di Taman Melaka Baru, kata ketua penerangan PAS Melaka, Sofi Wahab hari ini.