rants

finally... something our PM says that i agree with. i just hope it's not rhetorics as usual, as many of the speeches made by politicians are. (i do wonder whether they can keep track of all the false promises they make, or whether they recycle them depending on who their new audience is)

quoted verbatim from the star:

A nation should provide channels for its people to voice their concerns and where constructive criticism was encouraged, the Umno president said in his opening speech yesterday at the party general assembly.

“Differences of opinion should be viewed objectively and not necessarily be seen as being anti-government,” he said.

The media, he noted, now had greater freedom to publish news highlighting the mistakes of the Government and its agencies. The Government, party and elected representatives, he said, were not immune to criticism.

“But there are those in the Government and the party who are uncomfortable with this freedom. There are those who believe that the Prime Minister is not in control.

“The truth is that I would rather see heated exchanges in the pages of the press than to see raging riots on the streets.

unquote

what would be even better would be if the heated exchanges resulted in a positive outcome for the lay ppl. after the uproar regarding zakaria's (the non-mention of his title is deliberate as it's an insult) palace and his other cronies' mansions without permits, all they received was less than a slap on the wrist. is our state government actually insulting our intelligence? by stupid remarks like 'he didn't do anything wrong except not apply for the permit etc etc'. geez... wake up guys. we are not that stupid. did anyone try to find the answer to the question of the origin of his immense wealth, which culminated in the building of that egoistic-booster of a mansion?

and don't you just hate it when moronic public servants make even more moronic spastic comments, and then claim that the press 'misunderstood' them? HARLOOO!!! this trick may work once, but all the time? come on... at least be a little more creative with your excuses. the fact that the penang municipal council president's remarks that a reporter's 'sexy' outfit warranted the attention of a cctv technician in focusing on her thighs just shows what kind of ppl we elect to represent us. he is more than a pathetic moron. he's taking us back all the way to the times when women were persona non grata. did his parents educate him properly? do the ppl he mix with breed this type of 'male chauvinist pig-ism'. talk about being backward!

actually, the fact that he thought the reporter's clothes were sexy really shows what he's missing huh. he's either been trapped in a time warp or he really hasn't been watching tv for the last 30 years. you kinda feel sorry for the little twerp. he must be so deprived.

i personally don't think a public apology is enough. i think he should be sent for some sort of brainwashing / re-training / or rather re-thinking programs.