Meeting Bill Clinton again in KL

I had the privilege of catching up with Bill Clinton when he was in KL for 24 hours to give a lecture at the KL Convention Centre on Friday. If previously, I had only about 30 minutes for the interview in New York, this time I had the honour of talking with the former US president for at least two hours. This time, there were no over-protective aides.

Together with others in the group, which included US Ambassador James Keith, Clinton shared with us his impression and views on a broad range of issues. From state funerals he had attended to corrupt leaders, he had plenty to talk about.

Luck was with us as he was in a talkative mood. He spoke about the leaders he had high regards for and they included people like Jiang Zemin, Yasser Arafat and Nelson Mandela. He spoke well of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, particularly his handling of the 1997 financial crisis. The decision to peg the ringgit, he told the listeners, was a right one. While it may not work elsewhere, certainly it worked for Malaysia. Interestingly, Clinton said he used to talk about the Malaysian experience at the White House with his aides. When I spoke to Clinton in September, he talked about Malaysia's consecutive economic growth during the Mahathir years. He could even recall the figures.

I remember talking to Dr Mahathir immediately after he stepped down as PM. He told me that the 1997 crisis was the most difficult moment in his 22 years as PM and certainly, he had sleepless nights when he decided to go ahead with the unconventional decision. The early telephone calls that came in after he made that move included one from Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka Shing who assured him it was a good decision.

The global economic crisis was a popular talking point with Clinton on Friday night at the home of his host, businessman Vinod Sekhar. All of us were eager to find out how Obama intend to lead the country through the recession. For Clinton, the president elect is "a smart and sensible man," who wanted to prove himself. For Malaysians, the question was whether Obama, with his close links to the powerful trade unions, would be protectionist in his trade policies. His campaign reportedly received US$200mil in funds from the unions.

After all, previous Democrat governments had used various issues like human rights, child labour and the environment to impose new rules on trade in developing countries. Asian countries were often the target. But Clinton said he believed Obama would not be protectionist, saying he had tried hard to reach out to the world. That question, according to Clinton, was posed to him when he met the PM and DPM. Clinton promised to convey to Obama the concerns of Asians on this issue and their perception of the new president.

But more importantly, it was good to see Malaysian leaders from the BN and PR turning up to listen to Clinton at his lecture. The man was given a standing ovation, at least three times, and as we listened to the man, many of us must have wished that our Malaysian politicians could be like him. We surely like to see and hear more substance.

Obama on trying to give up smoking: No, I Can't!

Reggie Lee's take on Obama as published in The Star on Dec 10 2008

Finally, the cat's out of the bag. President elect Barack Obama has admitted it has not been easy in his attempt to give up smoking. In an interview, he has sheepishly admitted that he had "fallen off the wagon" a few times. But promised that he would not violate the no smoking regulations in the White House. He has so far failed to give a straight answer, during press interviews, on his smoking habit which he has promised to kick. But it seems to be pretty hard for Obama so far. Still, he said he has done a "terrific job" of making himself healthy under the present circumstances. See Yahoo for more.

The speculations is that Obama would also be bringing his wine to the White House. Under George Bush, he didn't drink nor smoke. Obama has also said it would be tough giving up on his Blackberry, another addiction of his. The Secret Service has told him they would have stopped him from using the gadget because of security risk.

Of politicians and politicking - the same story

Some things just don't change even if there is a change of government. Politicians may say that they want to be elected to serve the people but at the end of the day, they just want to serve themselves. Politicking is what they do best. So it comes as no surprise for Malaysians to read from Malaysiakini that two Penang PKR leaders have been at each other's throat.

Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Mohd Fairus Kamaruddin has earned a reputation in Penang for being incompetent and inefficient. We are now told that Anwar Ibrahim has warned him to buck up or risk losing his job. He has been reportedly late for work and absent from functions. His Penanti constituents have long complained about his under performance to the PKR supremo, saying he has been evading field work. And what is Fairus' defence? The standard "they are jealous" of me. Sounds familiar, isn't it? Almost a leaf from a BN elected representative's standard operating procedure manual. He has denied that he would be replaced, according to Malaysian Insider.

That's not all. Another state exco member from PKR, Abdul Malik Abul Kassim, is now accused of plotting Fairus' downfall by feeding information to bloggers. He has denied that he was given a dressing down by Anwar but the talk continues that the state PKR secretary is eyeing the Deputy CM's job, according to Malaysiakini.

The March 8 political tsunami saw voters supporting many Pakatan Rakyat candidates regardless of their education background and experience. The opposition coalition itself had little time or little choices over candidates. Some dubious characters, projecting themselves as people's champions, are of course now facing charges in courts for various offences. It would be easy to just dismiss these charges as "politically motivated" but in a big organisation, there would be all sorts. Just because they are in opposition, it doesn't make them saints.

In the next round, the PR would certainly be working on this problem as they would have a bigger pool of proven talent to choose from. The New Straits Times recently quoted Kedah PKR exco member Tan Wei Shu as saying that he almost wanted to give up after his third day in office. For the Chinese sinseh-masseur turned politician, a state exco member's job was just too much.

The Bukit Antarabangsa Tragedy

Click on image for more dramatic pictures from Star Online
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Sometimes it has to take a tragedy to jolt us out of our senses. The landslide that hit us today did not choose the race of their victims. The tragedy has already claimed three lives - a Malay, a Chinese and an Indian - and injured 15 people. The rescuers did not look at the skin colour of the victims. The soldiers, the police, the Red Crescent and the Rela personnels put their entire hearts and minds into helping the people.

Racing against time, some rescuers had to use their bare hands at time, worried that any use of heavy machines at this time would worsen the soil conditions. The police have been extra careful by advising the media from hiring helicopters to take aerial shots. In turn, they have supplied very dramatic pictures, some showing the best of Malaysians at work in times of tragedy. An NGO even sent its team to rescue 50 cats out from a house. No one was forgotten. The skies have turned dark, the rescue work would be more difficult and at this point, the priority of everyone is to make sure no one is forgotten. Please pray for everyone in Bukit Antarabangsa, they need it. God bless Malaysia.

Quality education should be the priority

My parents sent me to study in an English medium school for a few simple reasons - the St Xavier's Institution was a premier school and they realised the importance of English. Both my parents were Chinese-educated and Taoists. It did not matter to them that SXI was a missionary school. That was in the 1970s.

Today, it doesn't matter whether our children are studying in a national school or a vernacular school, the fact is that the standard of English has dropped. It is so bad that many of our politicians, who talk so passionately of our local education system, are sending their kids to private or international schools. So, if they are so convinced that our schools are producing the best, then they should tell us why are they sending their kids to these elitist schools? Why aren't their children spending time with ordinary Malaysian kids? For that matter, we should also ask how many of these politicians study in a local university or did they get their education overseas too.

Why have our schools become mono-ethnic? In fact, why do our authorities even allow some colleges to remain almost mono-ethnic? Have our schools become more religious, as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said so many times.

The real issue is not about the kind of schools we have. Our priority should be to provide the best education to our kids. Let's provide our teachers with better salaries and allowances. Let's attract the best talent to teach our children. Let's keep politics out of schools.

Anger management course for Tajuddin needed

Pasir Salak MP Tajuddin Rahman has lost his temper again. Which is, of course, no longer news to Malaysians. If he uses crude and foul language, again, that's not news either. The man needs help. He needs to see a shrink to help him to deal with his foul (oops, pardon the pun) temper, that means he needs to take an anger management course.

Speaking at the Dewan Rakyat, he does not understand why he has been a target of criticism, saying he did not mind being punished if he had done something wrong. In short, he does not realised what he has done. Or he is pretending. He has also fired The Star for what he claimed to be unfair reporting against him by contributor K.Baradan.

The Sultan of Selangor speaks his mind

Not many people are aware that when the Sultan of Selangor travels, he enjoy waiting for his flights at the normal lounge, like other ordinary passengers. Whether it is the KLIA or anyone else, he prefers to be treated like everyone else. Malaysian tourists in London have been stunned to bump into his Royal Highness watching a play or a musical by himself, without the presence of bodyguards. He does not believe in travelling with an entourage or bodyguards, believing taxpayers money should not be wasted. Not many are also aware that he often drives himself except when he performs official functions. That's the Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah for Malaysians.

He has certainly demonstrated himself to be more progressive and reform minded than many Malaysian politicians, who still thrive on trivial issues and to project themselves as communal champions to win votes. In an interview with his Royal Highness last week, the Tuanku made known that he was unhappy with politicians who harp on trivial issues, play up racial issues and more important this is his message - Malaysia belongs to all and this country is built on the contribution of all races. It must be acknowledged, the Tuanku said. He is also concerned with the "quality of our politicians." That's not all, he is not awarding any Datukship to politicians this year, The Star reported. The Tuanku has certainly said it all, on behalf of Malaysians. Daulat Tuanku! Read The Star for full questions and answers. The Malaysian Insider also has a report here.