China - The devouring beast from the book of Daniel?

“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking [c]pompous words." (Dan 7:7-8)

Who or what is this fourth beast? Could it be China? China fits into Daniel 7 description 'nicely'. But how is that? 

1) China is the only communist country growing stronger. All the other existing countries (Cuba, N.Korea) is collapsing under their own doing. But not China. It is growing from strength to strength...exceedingly strong in many aspects.

2) China has huge military power i.e. numbers and technology. China's President Xi Jinping has warned certain countries (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet) that it will smashed its enemies bodies and bones to the ground...breaking in pieces and trampling the residue with its feet. 

3) China has shown it has what it takes to oppress and devour its population systematically i.e. Christians and Muslims. No mercy is shown to any groups dissenting its Communist party rule. One of the rule is that no religion is permitted to practice freely in this atheistic country. No one and no religious institution is able to escape from its tyrannical claws!

4) China military power and capabilities is yet to be comprehended fully by the world superpowers. Is has never participated in any major war for now (Afghanistan, Iraq etc) nevertheless the nations of the world are wary of its might. The countries around China does not want to put the beast in an uncomfortable position eventhough China has encroached into these nations very sovereignty for the last 20 years.

Hence, China could be the fourth beast that will rise at the end of the age. Let's wait and see what it does with the money and the technology it has. It is vicious and acts without mercy just like what Daniel has described in chapter 7. 

Lastly, it has made a deal with the oldest running government in the world to strangle and uproot whatever remaining underground churches there are in China.

Terrible.

Let's wait and see.

Waiting again?? - 1st Week of Advent 2016

Wait for what? Who likes to wait for the bus/LRT or a bum-friend. I for one just hate the idea of waiting in a queue.  But as we enter into Advent the Church is asking us to WAIT. Again?? For what???

Well, for a start it is not WHAT we are waiting for but for WHOM!  The reason of our waiting is Christ Himself! Remember we love singing Christ the reason for our season?

And if it is Christ then it has to be a completely different kind of waiting as oppose to how we wait for a bus or friend. 

It means we wait with a different kind of attitude all together! And what that means is we wait expectantly and in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. Sounds familiar? It should!

And awaiting for Christ must certainly mean we are inviting Him to break into our lives the same way the He broke into the world 2000 years  who was so in need of His touch.

More than 2000 years ago the Jewish people awaited with bated breath for a Messiah and they got one. Our Heavenly Father definitely did not and will not disappoint us as we wait in hope.

But did the Jewish people recognize Jesus when He came to them? Unfortunately, no! You see even if you had all awaited expectantly and hoping with anticipation you could still miss the Messiah!  How is that possible?

The reason the people of God missed it is because they were not prepared and that is the key of this four weeks Advent celebration. Since they were not prepared their hearts and mind was not ready to receive Him. 

They were hoping for a revolutionary or a warrior-king like but what they got was a baby! The idea of a Messiah in the form of a baby did not resonate well with the Jews even when Isaiah prophesied 700 years earlier - “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Emmanuel” (Is 7:14).

How about us today? The reason we celebrate Advent over and over again year in and year out is so that we over-prepare ourselves to recognize and receive Jesus which I’ve said is the key. But what is the purpose of this waiting really? It is for His glorious second coming. He is coming to take us home. But we have to be ready, people.

And make no mistake about His identity this time around. When He is comes for the second time He is making it very clear that He is coming as a King and a Judge of the world; not a baby anymore.

The only difference this time around is the timing! We do not know the time or the hour of His coming. And as Jesus said He will surely come but like a thief in the night or when we are busy celebrating or partying with family and friends (we love to do this during December, no?J).

And by the way Advent is not JUST about shopping, partying, decorating, even caroling! And it’s not about DOING either. It’s us taking a step back in our lives and start BEING  and LIVING these values   so we can have the desired breakthrough in our lives in Jesus. And being broken as we are - we thoroughly need His personal but mighty touch in our lives – in our families, carrier, business, relationships, ministry etc.  I know I need Him very much!

And what values does the Church exhorts us during this Advent time?

-          We wait expectantly

-          With hopeful anticipation

-          And with joyful preparation

Simple, right? In practical terms we should:-

-          Pray daily

-          Read and think about God’s Word daily

-          Share with others especially the poor

-          Be thankful in all things

-          Understand the Advent/Christmas symbols during this celebration…they must be something meaningful in it

So, how is your Advent been so far? No worries! We just started today.

Let’s make the best of it and finish strong!

Amen.

Our 5 Percent in God's Hand!

It is the LORD!

All glory, power, honor, praise and thanksgiving be unto our God!

My wife Karen and myself were blessed with our first child, Ivana on 12 Feb 2016 after 5 years of marriage.

It has been an interesting journey for both of us as initially we thought of going for an IVF treatment. I was reluctant as I knew pretty well the church’s position on this matter and explained to my wife too.

But not wanting to discourage Karen I agreed to just go for the consultation first.  It turns out we were both physically fine to have children.

But the doctor said we only have 5% chance of conceiving naturally as our age was in the late 30’s already. In a way he was pushing us to go for this treatment soonest. My wife answered we will think through it first.

During the trip back home I thought “Now, if it is not physical, could it be due to some spiritual reason/s we are yet to have any children?”.

That night I took our problem to the Lord. I prayed, ‘Lord, I know very well what is the Church’s position on this IVF treatment is. Also, there weren't  much practical advice to go about on how to deal with this issue. But you've got to give us a way out if this method ain't Yours . BTW, please convince Karen if we do NOT need this IVF. I really need you to show me YOUR way out of this problem”

Early next morning after chores Karen blurted out “Who is that doctor to even think that we only have 5% chance of conceiving? He is not god to say that. Lets’ give our 5% to God and let Him handle this!”

Now we are in agreement!

That night I asked the Holy Spirit who has been sent as our Helper “What must we do to have our own children?”

Immediately, He answered clearly through an inner voice“When you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to your Heavenly Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you”(Matt 6:6).

What better way to ask for something we secretly long for but be rewarded in public? I knew what needs to be done and thus my prayer life began. I did exactly what Jesus taught in Matthew's gospel. It started with just 10 minutes every morning then gradually to 20, 30, 45 minutes and eventually to 1 hour! I pressed on, ready to go to the mat with God for a child.

As if that wasn't enough, I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to pray even at night. I obeyed and did the same starting with 10 minutes and gradually to 30 minutes every night. I was relentless and thank the Holy Spirit for the fruit of perseverance during that time. I prayed in the Spirit too.

It was during this prayer time that the Holy Spirit revealed many “great and mighty things which I did not know” (Jer. 33.3).

In one of the mornings, the Lord revealed that I had deep seated bitterness and un-forgiveness and He showed me a way out of this. Till that point I really didn't know about this long, deep anger and resentment existed in me but as the Lord led me I was able to release those things from my life. It was my spiritual blind spot and the process took a few days and I was glad He restored me.

Today, I find it easier to forgive and to apologize if I have committed any offences towards others. This was my first refining process.

Then, as I was still pursuing God for an answer the Holy Spirit led me to read certain parts of the Bible (read all of Paul’s epistles) and even books that would help me in my journey of prayer (i.e. Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets).

Holy Spirit the Teacher also taught me to remember Bible verses which has something to do with children for e.g. the Shema of Israel – “Hear O Israel. The LORD is GOD, the LORD is ONE. You shall love the LORD your GOD with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach your children diligently and talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you wake up” (Deut. 6:4-8).

As I was meditating on this verse I asked the Lord “How can I teach my children about You if I don’t have children of my own? You've got to answer my prayer for this commandment to be fulfilled.”

Then, I also learnt about the childless women in the Bible; Sarah, Hannah & Elizabeth. All eventually had children but because it was of God’s direct intervention in their lives. I believe God’s direct intervention could also solve this same predicament we were having.

As I was pursuing God in my daily prayer I came across God’s commandment to “be fruitful and multiply”. God mentioned this twice in Genesis to Adam and Noah as a command and a promise too. I struggle and question  God as we wanted to obey. I also asked God how can I multiply when I’m not being fruitful in the first place? So, there was constant struggle and persistent dialogue in my prayer before it could be answered.

Half way thru in our prayer journey I told the Lord that I was NOT going to give up or give in till the end until we receive an answer. It does not matter if it took 1 year, 5 years or even 10 years…that I was going to pursue You all the way just like Jesus told us to – that is to be bold as in the parable of the persistent widow (Lk. 18: 1-8) and audacious as in the parable of the “midnight friend” (Lk. 11:5-8) until we have a child in our marriage!

It was relentless and intense and it seems it was a warfare but the Lord by His sheer grace and in His infinite mercy directed me day in and day out with His precision guidance on His battle plan! It was all His and I just needed to stand firm!

One day I found a book in an old box title Prison to Praise by Merlin Carothers. It gave me new perspective on our Christian life as it calls us to practice radical gratitude. The easy reading book taught me on how and the why we MUST thank and praise God at all times regardless of circumstances. For once I understood what Paul was writing in this famous verse “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done” (Phil. 4:4-7).

Then came the moment of truth. The Holy Spirit asked me something that might be controversial to some, “Do you believe that you are the head of your wife as Christ is the head of the husband?”

I knew this is in one of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 5:23 I read earlier. I responded, ”Come on, we are no more in those ages where the husband is the boss over the wife. I said we were equals in this marriage.”

“Ok then, now pray over your wife’s womb for it to be open/loosed to conceive” the Holy Spirit instructed me.  I knew it was the same binding and loosing application Christ taught to His disciples in the gospel of Matt 18:18.

That very night as my wife was sleeping I prayed a simple prayer over her womb to be open and life to come forth in Jesus name.  I waited for 2 weeks nothing happened, then 4 weeks also nothing happen and then 5 and then 6 weeks. I asked the Holy Spirit how come there is nothing?

Then, the Holy Spirit taught me one powerful spiritual principles in life. “I already said but you did not listen. You cannot open your wife’s womb as you don’t believe you are in authority over her. Only those in authority holds the key to open doors and blessings will flow”. I responded, “Holy Spirit, I believe now”.

But does that mean I started to boss around my wife? Not at all! I needed this mind-set change as far as my relationship with my wife is concern! In the process the Holy Spirit taught me that “you are not the head of all women but just your wife...remember that!”

I repented of my disobedience and the Holy Spirit instructed me to pray over my wife again. I prayed over my wife’s womb to be open in Jesus name again and this time I knew it was a done deal!

And it’s time to wait upon the Lord. For once, I knew what it means to wait upon our Lord as scriptures says in Isaiah 40:31, “Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary”. I waited with expectancy and continued to praised and thank God for this blessing as though He has given us a child. My faith greatly increased during this waiting period.

And Praise the Lord! The good news came in mid-2015 just before Father’s Day. My wife, Karen conceived and somehow the news did not surprise me as I knew in my heart we had received our miracle. We broke the news to our parents few days later on Father’s Day with much rejoicing.

Indeed, God has not forgotten us. He is ever faithful as His Word has come to pass in our lives.

God’s timing also couldn't have been more perfect. 9 months later the Lord gifted us with a healthy and bubbly baby girl right on our 5^th wedding anniversary; 12 Feb, 2016. Yup, you've heard it right!

His ways are truly perfect and “His grace is readily sufficient for me for my power is made perfect in weaknesses” (2 Cor 12:9) and also “my God will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19).

We named our daughter Ivana which means God is Gracious. Truly, He has been gracious to us and our family thru His amazing miracle!

As I reflected on this journey I could see the Lord’s hand guiding me every inch of the way. He willingly took 99 steps just so that I can make that 1 step back to Him to entrust Him with that 5% chance!

What more can I say now? If the Holy Spirit can birthed a Church surely He can also give birth to all our dreams and our heart’s desires including to have children which is also our domestic church!

On our part we just need to Listen, Obey & Trust in HIM.

We proclaim it is thru Him, and in Him and with Him we have seen and experienced the Lord’s wondrous deeds and His loving kindness in our lives as we share this testimony to you.

We acknowledge the “great cloud of witnesses” (Heb 12:1) who has been supporting us with their prayers to our Heavenly Father too.

May our Father in heaven, Jesus Christ, His Son and our Savior  and our precious Holy Spirit be blessed forever more!!

Amen and Amen!!!

Damian & Karen

(..viral this)

Entering Our Rest or Promised Land

3 hindrances in entering our Rest or Promised Land, namely:-

1) Distrusting God
2) Complaining or murmuring
3) Harden hearts (harden not your hearts as at Meribah)

What do we need to BE to enter our Promised Land?

A) Trust in God to depend on HIM for everything
B) Be grateful and thankful always
C) Obey the Holy Spirit

So, Listen, Obey & Trust in the Almighty!

Amen!!

2016 Sarawak Elections - Is Adenan Najib's proxy?

The Sarawak state elections is fixed for 7 May 2016. VIPS from the Peninsular has been making their rounds into the interior of Sarawak which you don’t normally see they do on other days. And it is interesting that Sarawak is the only state that still hold their elections on their own. But will the people really vote on their own for change or fallback to status quo?

I believe BN still holds the fort in Sarawak just like before. But what most Malaysians are hoping is the opposition will slightly better their performance than the last time. They need to achieve that in terms of the number of seats won and the popular votes as well. What is at stake for Sarawak and also for the rest of Malaysia if BN wins handsomely this time? There are several questionable activities that has been going on under Najib and also from the previous Chief Minister of Sarawak which needs correction but you cannot expect the crooks to correct their own wrongdoing!

Firstly, let us not forget Taib Mahmud the longest Chief Minister in Malaysia (1981-2014). He is famously known as the last white haired rajah in reference to the British Brooke family who ruled Sarawak before UMNO decided to colonize her again! Taib and his family has been regularly accused of corruption and siphoning off billions since the dawn of time and has personally benefited from Sarawak’s huge and rich natural and economic resources. You can say that Taib Mahmud is the Sarawak Marcos and his rule has been stained and tarnished by the many land acquisition of NCR lands of the indigenous groups. Taib Mahmud blatantly confiscates and steals from his own people without any regards for compensation. For all his ‘crime’ Putrajaya has awarded him to become the Governor of Sarawak in 2012. What sort of leader do we have at the top? Are Sarawakians just going to let this Pek Moh go away quietly or will the Sarawakians stand up and make a difference this time around?

Secondly, Sarawakians should not be fooled by Adenan Satem rhetoric of defending the indigenous and minority groups which has been marginalized by their own state and also Putrajaya. This two culprits has been doing a good job in depriving Sarawakians of a better life. As the majority in the state the Dayaks has been stripped from all types of benefits and rights that should have been accorded to them. The Dayaks are not recognized except to call themselves as ‘lain-lain’ in this country. If we remember well enough Pak Lah also used almost the same rhetorics to gain an upper hand in the 11^th GE in which he won 90% of Parliament seats. The same tactics is employed now to give a mandate to Adenan Satem to rule the resource rich Sarawak. But what all of us should be wary is does Adenan has the power to fulfill his election pledges to his people without any interference from outsiders?! I doubt he has that political will to do so. It will be back to status quo for Sarawakians and it is necessary for them to rise and give a knock out (KO) result against BN as a whole and send the correct message to him that enough is enough! What other means do we have to ensure Sarawakians rights are well protected from the power hungry ghost of BN and Putrajaya? Sarawakians should deny Adenan and Najib from ruling over them in 2016 AGAIN and the faster this is achieved the better it will be for the lives of all Sarawakians!

Thirdly,  Najib and his more than ‘40 thieves’ has been making money at the expense of the rakyat thru implementing GST, increase of tolls & utilitiy bills, embezzling Tabung Haji, SOCSO, KWAP and KWSP monies. The rakyat is being sucked high & dry in every aspect of their lives and the only way to put a stop to his evil ways for now is through this state elections. Najib has shown what he can do with 1MDB and just imagine if he were to have a similar company in Sarawak. It is already catastrophic today looking at the PAC report on this company. 1MDB as we understand it is a vehicle for Najib & Rosmah to fulfill their extravagant lifestyle that they have been dreaming off. A big BN win in this elections will send the wrong message to Najib and his cohorts in Putrajaya that the rakyat is ok with their shenanigans.

There are many voices attempting to use UMNO entering Sarawak as a scare tactic  to win this election. What is the difference between what UMNO has done from the time of Dr. Mahathir and what Taib Mahmud did against the Sarawakians in the past? Both have plundered and pillaged many Sarawakians of the many opportunities that they should receive as the rightful sons of the soil. ? Both parties do not represent the aspirations of the very people they are supposed to act for & protect. Do you think think Adenan Satem will bow to the needs of his people or will he kowtow to Putrajaya first?

This election is an important one in which all Sarawakians needs to show these unscrupulous politicians who are the real masters of their land! Sarawakians needs to regain that respect at least in the eyes of Malaysians in general. DO not give an inch and take none from these elected thieves this time around. Do that and you will see your state improved for your own betterment.

I always challenge my East Malaysian friends that Putrajaya has been siphoning off your oil right under your nose and has built 2 bridges in Penang and multiple highways in the whole of Peninsular. And only now has the government open their eyes for a need of a Pan Borneo highway for them. You will be cheated and be shortchanged if you allow this politicians to rule over you for another 5 years Don’t give them that luxury!!!

I hope that the change we envision for the whole of Malaysia can start from the great Land of the Hornbills. This is your moment to make that change! The only person that can stop you from making that change is only YOU!

Sarawakians, can we count on YOU???

GTP: Real deal or a farce?

The Government Transformation Programme (GTP) has been an utter failure if we were to look at the way things has been for the last 3-4 years. The transformation mooted by Najib has indeed turn the tables against the very rakyat whom should have benefited from this programme but which it keeps getting worse by the day!

What does it take of this  ‘People First Performance Now’ government to ensure the success of their own GTP?? This is their own initiative and please know that we have moved onto the 3^rd and final phase of the many programmes launch by Najib and his cohorts in anticipation of Vision 2020.

And where are we now in terms of the 7 NKRA’s that Najib and PEMANDU has been extolling day in and out in the mainstream media? I strongly believe the rakyat knows better as they are feeling the real pinch than all the data that PEMANDU can spin or churn out.

Reducing Crime

The best measurement for this NKRA is to answer this question – “Do you feel safe nowadays?” Most Malaysians will not hesitate to say NO! Every now and then we are seeing or hearing in the news how are people getting involved with violent crime i.e. murder, rape, robbery, kidnapping etc. There are times we may even know the victims themselves.

The statistics may say that our crime rate has fallen by 40% the last 5 years but somehow we feel unsafe walking down our dark busy streets.

What  is the cause of all this? I firmly believe that the lawlessness at the top has crawl down and many are resorting to the same mindset of taking  an easy way out. Meaning that if you are not happy and want something just rob, maim or finish them. And this is what our country has become!

Unfortunately, if the powers responsible for keeping our lives safe wants to spend a big part of their resources monitoring the social media then we shall end up with an ever increasing crime rate and feeling unsafe most of the time. Whatever the reason of the crime in this country it needs to be addressed holistically and  speedily. Let’s not make Malaysia a haven for crime for anyone and there must be a concerted effort to tackle this challenge without fear or favor!

Fighting Corruption

This must be one of the best jokes of the year whichever year you care to pick!  How could this nation fight corruption when their leaders have the gumption to acknowledge and revise their definition of corruption to commission and then to donation!?? We should have named it as GRAND CORRUPTION!

A national leader which such tainted reputation is definitely not the best poster boy to tackle this menace in the country.

Many have long lamented that nothing gets done in this country unless it gets oiled by some undercut money and the root of this sickness can be traced back to Dr. Mahathir. Corruption has become rampant so much so it has become a way of life of some Malaysians. 

Come to think of it we are no better off than India, Indonesia, Phillipines or most of the African countries.

In addition, data from World Bank has shown that Malaysia is one of the top country in the world to have the biggest illicit money outflow in the world when our national population is just over 30 million! The amount of money just does not make sense if compared to the other top 4 countries such as China, Russia, Mexico and India where their population exceeds 100 million and more.

Which means that even if we are yet to reach the per capita income  of a develop country rest assured we could already be holding the World’s No. 1 of per capita income for black money! Isn’t this crazy?

Our so called “drive” against corruption has spewed more and more illicit money over the years and there are no signs of stopping at all in the near term.

Does this NKRA works? Below data shows  where we stand in the “underground” world!

Assuring Quality Education

Most parents aspire their children to high quality and affordable education. But how can our youngsters be given the chance to pursue that sort education in this country?

Many are questioning about it and there has been a lot of dissatisfaction such as the standard of our schools and universities are falling year by year. Just a simple English test will tell you where we are heading as a nation.

Does it take much for our government to provide proper education to our young people? We pride ourselves in preparing our youths for a steady job market but the question is what sort of job market are we creating for them when those in power are allowing our education standards to fall by the year?

A huge gap exist in the way we plan for our education on paper and the way we are pursuing this particular KPI to provide quality education for our students. We are  great in drawing plans and visions but hopeless when delivering these initiatives and it is being done at the expense of our children’s future!

Critical thinking is definitely  a  prized goal nowadays! The way our education is geared towards is meant to create 2 things:-

-          - To breed a generation of un-thinking Malaysians so that a particular political party could rule in perpetuity

-          - To be a yes man/women to their employers i.e. MNC’s, GLC’s others

I remember very well during my school days some of my best teachers were those who studied up to Standard 5 or 6 only.  But their classes were one of the most enjoyable and educational ones. That generation of teachers are hard to come by now. And come to think of it we don’t really need high flying plans on paper to provide a solid education; just competent and dedicated teachers with great pedagogy for our syllabus.

As far as this NKRA is concern I share with other Malaysians that we are yet to even reach half the level we would like to be. How do we move forward if we keep falling backward?

Raising Living Standards of Low-Income Households Overview & Addressing Cost of Living

Notice that the programmes under this NKRA targets the most vulnerable and poor amongst us which is what it’s supposed to do. Malaysian poverty rate which currently stands at 3.8%  hopes this NKRA will reduce further  down to 2%. I must say there are some good programmes in this KPI such as 1Azam, improving nutrition levels, enhancing healthcare and housing facilities and also business opportunities such as  micro sourcing etc.

The bottom line is what needs to accomplished to improve the standard of living amongst the low income households? If this NKRA wants to raise the standard of living of this group then it must first and foremost bring down the cost of living in this country!

There has been considerable discontentment regarding the rising price of goods and services in this country for a long time but this time around it’s just gotten worse and all complaints from the public seems to be falling on deaf ears!

Some may argue it’s due to yearly inflation problem but it’s been proven most of these the rising prices are cause by the very people who gave us the dreaded GST. On one hand this ‘People First’ government talks about raising the standard of living of the poor but at the same time it is raising the cost of goods and services in this country by cutting down subsidies and implementing GST. Isn’t this contradictory?  The poor has to fork out more now just to get by their necessities. SO, what does this NKRA does forthem?

If you really want to know the impact of these rising cost of living (toll, electricity, fuel, GST, etc) talk to the poor and they could give you a livid demonstration on how they are competing in the market place just like you and me! I hope the data to be produced by PEMANDU will not be a colorful one like in the past but just the plain TRUTH to inform where are we in terms of this critical KPI and what will the government of the day DO about it!

Improving Rural Development

The main tasks of this NKRA is to expand infrastructure access of gravel roads, treated water, electricity and providing housing facilities to the rural folks. The standards are set and implementation is in progress. 

The question we should ask is - As access to the above facilities is open to the rural population (Orang Asal, the Penan and other indigenious groups in East Malaysia) will these benefits trickle down to this group of people or will it open the floodgates to the influx of developers and greedy companies to rob and contaminate their land further?

We know of many incidences in Sarawak whereby the Penans and other rural people has been blocked to harvest the fruits from theirown jungle and land just because certain companies has begun to exploit the jungle resources for their own bottom line! 

This KPI should take into account the needs of the rural people and try to fulfill those needs first without imposing our city people thinking – “We Know Best mentality” on what is good or disastrous for them. The development brought about by this KPI has to be on rural folks terms.  It’s about time we city-folks take some time out and LISTEN to the rural folks on what their needs are. Surely this KPI will achieve its objectives but under whose terms?

Improving Urban Public Transport

It is quite Klang Valley centric but what it propose is to have a sustainable and integrate all public transportation by enhancing the capacity of buses, KTM Komuter, taxis, parking management etc.

But what about the rest of Malaysia? Doesn’t rest of the country needs a fully integrated public transportation as well? Generally, Malaysians are getting fed-up of getting stuck in traffic jams but what choice do we have? 

Many years ago, the government introduce car-pooling for those entering Klang Valley. I thought it was a good idea but somehow it did not take off at all. In fact car-pooling, don’t seem to take a liking for those in Penang island but working Mainland and vice-versa!!

But when the Penang state government introduced Park & Ride bus services between the two areas which feeds all the way to the industrialized zones the buses were almost full. The public is willing but are the authorities prepared to invest resources for a strong system that works for all??

Only a political will on the part of the federal & state government is able to solve this perennial problem for the rakyat.

And what about the ferry services in Penang which is almost in a pathetic state due to certain powers wanting to reduce its ferry to skeleton services - this has cause much unhappiness to its daily commuters as the current arrangement seems is plan to cater to the ferry owner’s wanting to minimize lost.

These grievances needs to be dealt with promptly and systematically in the national NKRA’s or this government is doomed to be known as a ‘Cronies First, Performance Later’ government!

The biggest question is can this government be relied upon to look into the well-being and transform the lives of the rakyat or will it use the NKRA to whitewash its own weaknesses?

MAS, Soros & Najib

Perlis Mufti Asri Zainul comment on MAS stewardess dress code has brought a frenzy response  in the social media. Many did voice out that MAS stewardess should be give the freedom to don their tudung while working on flight. Even some non-Muslims thought the same. 

Perhaps, they should be given the freedom to choose whether to clad a tudung or not. 

MAS will not go bust if the stewardess dons a tudung or not. MAS is already on the verge of bankruptcy long before this issue came about!

The same goes for our country!

Do you think this is an issue that Malaysians should be grappling with right now? I mean the externals is taking precedence over other important matters in this country.

Did our society become morally better when we focus on the externals? The results has shown otherwise. For the last 5 years or more our society has become morally bankrupt in more ways than one! We have issues that stinks all the way up to our nostrils  i.e. 1MDB, $2.6 ‘donation’, massive high cost of living & GST, racism, bigotry, human rights violation etc.!

Why aren’t our leaders focusing on these? They can’t as they are the very culprits behind these alleged abuses and massive corruption practices in this country. And they have always been part of the problem and never the solution.

So, let’s not get carried away by the externals and conveniently forget what goes on inwardly in the minds of these people because what comes out of those in the corridors of power affects us the most!

Take the massive price increase of our goods in this country.  I don’t think the prices of goods in this country is affected by what people choose to wear or not to wear! As we have seen in 2015 it is the incompetency, moral degradation and grand corruption of our national leaders (and his spouse) that has almost brought our nation to its knees. 

People on the streets are suffering as they have to deal with these on a daily basis. Those in Klang Valley pay the toll moment they leave their doors.

And if we look at the actions, policies, laws that comes out of Putrajaya nothing of those has really benefitted the rakyat at all. Zilch. Nothing! 

It was never people centric to begin with and the very policies or actions has put more burden and I sense that people overall are just getting tired of all these. For e.g. we have fuel, electricity, toll increase which put additional and unnecessary burden on the man & women on the street. 

Why should the rakyat pay dearly for our leader’s incompetency? We should STOP electing people to high office just so that they could make our lives more miserable! 

Today, Putrajaya is filled with rotten dead woods churning out rotten dead policies & actions to the detriment of rakyat especially the low income earners. 

The multi-billion ringgit corruption which has been conveniently termed as “donation” and other brazen abuses of power at the highest level by our government is happening right in front of our eyes and yet most rakyat feel helpless to do anything about it. Is there a way out of this? The rakyat will not stomach this nonsense!

We have been through other crises before but I must say this is a self-made crisis induced by our very own leaders. In the late ’90 we had Soros as our scapegoat but today our very downfall was orchestrated by the highest leaders of our land working in collusion with his cohorts! And he still leads the country comfortably from the corridors of power.

But this time around Najib is no scapegoat. Is Najib the new Soros of the 21st century? You tell me!