Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Another Little Hiatus

Sorry guys, I've been neglecting the blog once again. Believe me, its not out of choice ;-) There's just so much to do preparing for the upcoming elections that all the remaining time left you'd just want to spend it with the wife and kid.

Just what exactly am I doing? ;-) I don't think a written explanation will do my work justice, but it'll go some way towards "explaining" my absence ;-).

For example, writing letters to voters (10% of say, 60,000 voters is still 6,000 letters!) which will involve, writing, editing, layout, printing, signing, folding, inserting into envelopes, picking addresses, printing mailing labels, sticking them on envelopes, sorting letters, arranging for pick up and delivery. (That's why plenty of volunteers needed!)

And for the upcoming Fund-raising dinner on the 1st Nov? That'll involve designing tickets, printing them, making tens (or more) of calls and SMS's to friends, associates, acquaintance, supporters etc. (I've just reached "Y" on the address book), meetings to sort out logistics, walking PJ to sell tickets to PJ residents and businessmen.

Then there's the community service bit where I handle cases and issues brought up by the public from investment scams, irresponsible developers, mom and pop contractors failing to secure payment, social welfare cases, abuse of power by city councils etc. Additionally, press conferences are called to highlight many of these cases. Oh, they'll never be highlighted in the Star or NST (because it's DAP), but you'd find them very regularly in the Chinese press.

Ah, and how about standing in (or moving around) morning markets going "Rocket! Rocket! Read all about it, for just two Ringgit". Hey, it works! Besides managing to sell quite well, quite a few people stopped to talk to me as well, with some having seen me in the papers or visited my blog ;) It certainly helps lift the spirits ;)

That of course, doesn't yet include all the obligatory party activities such as attending party functions, strategy meetings, meeting up with volunteers and supporters plus of course, carrying out my job as the Rocket editor.

So, I certainly am working my butts off and hopefully it'll make a difference. As a consequence, the blog will suffer a little, hopefully not too much. With some assistance from others, I do plan to update the blog with pictures and short write ups of more of my activities, then just commentaries. That way, readers will also probably get a better picture of what I do as an unemployed politician ;)

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tony,
With such hectic programmes, you dont need volunteers but a 'second wife'to help you out.:))

Anonymous said...

Hi Tony,

Keep up the good work and don't give up even before trying to be an MP.

Recently, I have successfully pursuaded all my friends and family members (all of them were ex-BN voters) not to vote for BN this round for the sake of the country.

I can feel that the whole nation and most citizens are getting extremely frustrated with the BN government especially the hypocrite PM Abdullah Bodohwi, the way the promotes corruption, let the judiciary to rot, waste billions after billions on white elephant projects and send a tourist to the space for nothing while poor Malaysians are still suffering....!!!

Really can't wait to sack Pak Lah....the most hypocrite and worst PM in Malaysia's history!!

You will not walk alone!

Good luck!

Former MCA member.

Anonymous said...

STILL WANTING TO VOTE FOR BN.....SOON U WOULD BE WITH NO MORE RIGHTS TO DO THINGS.....

The World already knows NEP = Never Ending Policy. The usual politics. We just have to learn to "work" with it!
I was completely disillusioned on Monday night watching PM Badawi's threats to Datuk Seri Lim Keng Yaik not to "kacau" or face the serious "consequences".

Keng Yaik questioned why after 36 years, Bumi equity ownership was still at 18.9%. (It as 20% in 1990) Clearly stating that he accepted the figure, he merely wanted to know the methodology used to arrive at the figure.

Badawi's reaction is blatantly dishonest. In 2004, Morgan Stanley issued a report that estimated that over 100Billion US Dollars (360 Billion Ringgit) had been lost to Malay patronage in the 20 years preceding 2003. (1984 to 2003) One economist estimates that in the 36 years of its' existence, the NEP has been used to channel over ONE TRILLION RINGGIT to the Malay community through ASN, ASB and other related Govt policies.

Since 1970, the Govt has used the NEP to divert education, employment and every other conceivable benefit to the Malays. These measures have largely been successful with all the top posts in GLCs, Government, Universities, Public listed companies and practically every single area that the Govt has any control over being reserved for one race. No company may be listed with a lower than 30% Bumi equity but there is absolutely no problem if it is otherwise. Some industries have a mandatory 51% Bumi ownership and some industries are reserved exclusively for them. Petronas for example only employs Malays for it's top managerial and executive positions and awards contracts only to Malays.

ALL Govt and Municipal contracts are reserved to class "F" Bumi contractors. All the proposed projects under the 9th Malaysia Plan thus far are reserved for 100% Bumi owned companies. Even open tender projects are awarded to Malays even if their prices are higher with blatantly inferior materials. Micro business loans, business licenses, discounts on property purchases, new Govt employment, EVEN LICENSES FOR HAWKER STALLS are reserved for one race. The list goes on and on but the summary is that the Malays now believes undoubtedly that he is racially privileged and it is their right ASLI's figures of 45% are opposed to the Govt's 18.9% because, firstly, equity value is calculated at par value. For example, if you hold 1,000 Maxis shares of RM 5/- market value each, the Govt says that it is only worth RM 250.00 as these shares have a par value of 25 cents each. If you owned a company with a paid up value of RM 2/- but conducted business worth millions of Ringgit worth of transactions, the Govt values that company at RM 2/-.

The chief setbacks of the abuses of the NEP are rampant corruption and > cronyism, worsening racial polarization, unrelenting brain drains, warped educational system, thwarted economic competitiveness, ineffectual bureaucracy, retarded economic growth and perverted social values. Such anachronistic and regressive policy has no place in the present globalizing world, and for that matter, in any civilized society.

PM Badawi recently intensified the imprint of the perverted NEP philosophy by prohibiting inter-religious and inter-racial discourse which would otherwise have contributed to greater understanding and harmony among the races. Consider the hegemony this has created........

The Jasin MP's saga of cheating millions from Customs over timber imports went unpunished. APs are reserved for Bumis only and despite the millions that each of them make year after year, a senator's son has the audacity to clone the APs several times and the whole thing gets swept under the carpet. A Port Klang councilor buys a 43,000 sq ft plot of land set aside for low cost housing valued at 1.8 million Ringgit for 180k and builds a palace without any approval. He gets fined RM 5,000 and still has 30 days from today to submit his building plans. Yesterday, despite all the bad press this issue got, the Selangor state Govt confirms his position and that of his son and daughter in law as councilors. The message is clear. Power has shifted from the people to the executive.

The whole issue of Bumi chauvinism started at last year's UMNO assembly when the very very vocal UMNO Youth leaders stated in short that "It's our turn to be rich." This greed is not going to end. We as a nation of loyal citizens have to put a dent into this rubbish for the sake of our children. We need a stronger opposition. By sending a threat to Datuk Seri Lim Keng Yaik, Badawi has betrayed us all. Remember this at the next general election.

We don't need a change in Govt. We need a stronger opposition. We need to send a message to the powers that be that we will not accept second class status for our children.

Colin Nathan

straits mongrel said...

Good begets good. It'll be all worth it.

Anonymous said...

I can see in the after math of the end of the world or the apocolypse or armageddon, great red and hot fires will be burning consuming the BN and UNMO who sinned and lied and cheat which shall fuel the flames of hell

Tonberry said...

The hardest thing is not getting a blog started, but maintaining it.

Anonymous said...

It's time for you to expand your team then. Doing it all by yourself is not efficient.

Anonymous said...

Expansion of the team, especially for the opposition, requires much more effort than UMNO. I hope more rich guys out there can donate more money to DAP.

Anonymous said...

Can somebody enlighten me on how the nation and ordinary citizens can benefit from the billions of ringgit spent on our first space tourist (2nd on the way!!!)?

All what I can see it that it only creates a shallow pride for UMNO to cheat kampung folks that Malaysia has achieved significant 'technological advancements', albeit at the expense of our hard earned tax money.

My vote definitely will NOT go to BN this coming general election. I hope more people will gain more wisdom and follow suit.

Jeffrey Chew said...

Keep the faith .... You will never walk alone.

Shawn Tan said...

hehe.. most of the work sounds exceedingly boring!! hope you succeed in your campaining.. tho i'm not in your constituency, will still root for you!! we really need more young people in parliament..

Anonymous said...

Tony,
I propose the RM1 campaign for all DAP supporter. Create a bank account and we will send
Though it might not sound big but it helps

Anonymous said...

Talking about the malaysian being sent out to space. Fellow Malaysian, do you not think that may be fake? To me without seeing the original copy and the person who took it, I just cannot believe that the person in space is from our country.

Although the tv shows it live does not prove that is the true picture. We need a panel to authenticate it and for the original copy to be delivered and also the person who took it must come forward to tell us the true story behind this cosmonut episode.

Well I must be crazy, maybe because of the way the gomen handle the lingamgate issue that changes my mindset that everything in video form must be original only and the one who took it must come forward as well.

50 years is ENOUGH
Vote For A Change
Vote For Any Opposition
Give Them A Chance To Change For A Better Malaysia
Remember bn Is A Useless Grouping Of Self Serving, Corrupt, Dictator, Power Crazy, Racist, Kris waving, etc, etc type of parties.

Anonymous said...

We spent US$ 30 million to send just ONE space traveller (angkasawan) to outer space. And we have had to spend another US$ 1 billion to “qualify”.

With advances in technology, we could have spent just US$ 200,000 per head or a total of US$ 30 million to sponsor 150 “space travellers”. And we “boleh”.

How about sending the entire Cabinet and perhaps the entire BN leadership to outer space for this price? Then everything would be OK down here.

See this :


7 Chinese apply to be space tourists

BEIJING - SEVEN Chinese have applied to become space tourists on a planned commercial flight in the United States in 2009, state media reported.

Six men and one woman have put their names forward in the hope of becoming the first two Chinese tourists to travel to space in SpaceShipTwo, run by British billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic company, said the Beijing Morning Post on Friday.

According to the company’s website, work on the spacecraft design and construction is ‘well advanced’, with commercial flights on the maiden Virgin Galactic craft commencing early in 2009.

Mr Branson’s Virgin Galactic has already begun taking reservations for seats aboard SpaceShipTwo, a six-seater reusable spacecraft developed by American engineer Burt Rutan.

The flights are expected to launch from a remote region of New Mexico in the United States, with tourists paying around US$200,000 (S$291,000) to be rocketed into space to experience weightlessness before returning to earth.

A New Mexico Spaceport Authority official said there would be two or three missions a day, five days a week, and around 700 to 800 flights a year. — AFP



Perhaps AirAsiaXXXXXXXXXX will have a flight for RM 9.99.

Anonymous said...

To fix the rot in the country in every level, this useless hypocrite king Pak Lah MUST BE SACKED in the coming general election!!!

Victor said...

Tony!! Pls allow me to help in anyway I can!! I'm pretty poor monetarily but I can help you with writing, anything that needs to get sorted out , anything i can help online!! Let me help!