Der Spiegel: Obama's Shadowy Drone War

Lately we have been hearing attacks on suspected Al-Qaeda/Taliban operatives in Pakistan's Waziristan province bordering Afghanistan by CIA armed drones which are unmanned aircraft controlled by operators on the ground using satellite communication links. These drone attacks had also caused the lives of many innocent civillians and would likely only stop after the American forces finally withdraw completely from Afghanistan.


For those interested what follows is an article from the German Der Spiegel written by By Klaus Brinkbäumer and John Goetz.:


Obama's Shadowy Drone War
By Klaus Brinkbäumer and John Goetz


Part 1: Taking Out the Terrorists by Remote Control


excerpts:
In the 21 months since his inauguration, President Obama has ordered or approved 120 drone attacks on Pakistan. There were 22 such attacks in September 2010 alone, reportedly killing more than 100 people. In contrast, Obama's predecessor Bush ordered just 60 attacks in eight years.


Obama has made drones the centerpiece of his strategy in the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaida. These terrifying weapons circle over Afghanistan and Pakistan, changing the war and making it colder and more anonymous than before. They pose a constant threat, can be operated with the push of a button and, according to the CIA, are precise -- at least most of the time.


The drone war is being waged by the US Army, by the US Air Force and, most of all, by the CIA. It is taking place in a shadowy realm beyond the reach of war tribunals, public debate and the media. The only time it made headlines recently, and then only for a day, was when it resulted in the deaths of a number of German citizens. The men, who were killed in a drone attack on Oct. 4, were presumed terrorists who were passing through the town of Mir Ali in the Pakistani region of North 
Waziristan.

No Americans Killed


The CIA's drone war allows the government in Islamabad to act as if it had no knowledge of what is going on, and it allows Obama to wage a military campaign on the territory of an ally without having to send troops to the country.


When it comes to their support for the program, the two main American parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, are in rare agreement -- mainly because the drone war doesn't claim American lives.


The CIA doesn't release any numbers -- not about its successes and certainly not about civilian casualties. It attacked Baitullah Mehsud, the head of the Pakistani Taliban, 16 times. In other words, either informants or the drones' cameras identified Mehsud's location 16 times and the drones fired 16 times. The first 15 tries failed. Then, in the last attempt, when the report was correct and Mehsud was in fact at his father-in-law's house, Mehsud and 10 friends and relatives were killed. According to sources in Islamabad, CIA drones killed some 700 civilians in 2009.


read in full Part 1 here.


Part 2: How armed drones were invented.

excerpts:
Retired US Air Force General John Jumper, 65, is a military visionary and a creative force of war. A former fighter pilot in Vietnam, Jumper also served in Europe during the Balkan wars. At that time the Americans, hoping to improve their reconnaissance capabilities, formed a task force at the Pentagon that was called "Predator 911." The orders were issued, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the US military's R&D division, designed the first "Predator" drone, an unmanned aircraft that was 9 meters (29.5 feet) long and propelled by a small engine.


The device was quiet and barely visible from the ground. It flew at an altitude of about 3,000 meters, and it could stay up in the air for 24 hours without having to refuel. The cameras were the most important feature of the early drones, which, as intelligence-gathering tools, were intended to provide information. Jumper's job was to figure out what else the device could do.


He had the propellers replaced and gasoline engines installed. Then he had new wings made, with small perforations through which chemicals could flow to protect the drones from icing up. At the time, no one thought of arming the drones.


But then, in 1999, during the Kosovo war, Jumper saw his drones taking off and delivering high-resolution photos. He saw Air Force pilots climbing into their jets and flying into battle. And he saw all the information the drones provided. The only problem was that the pilots flying into the combat zone didn't see the information obtained by the drones until later, when it was much too late to do them any good.


Read in full Part 2 here.


Part 3: The Accountability Vacuum


excerpts:
The evolution of warfare means that many countries are now building drones. Some 40 nations already have them. Did the United States open a door, once again? Sounding somewhat cautious, Jumper says that naturally the weapons are attractive.


On what basis, and by what right, is the CIA acting in Pakistan, on the territory of an ally? "I don't think that this (new kind of warfare) imposes any new strains on the legal system that don't already exist today," says Jumper.


There are others who aren't just concerned about the legal implications, but also the moral consequences of Jumper's idea. The United Nations has a "special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions," a post held until a few weeks ago by the Australian Philip Alston, a clever man who also teaches law at New York University. Alston is soft-spoken and parts his white hair on the left, and his glasses are constantly sliding off his nose. In a 29-page report he wrote for the UN Human Rights Council, he argues forcefully that the United States should exercise restraint in the use of drones.


His line of thought is clear, ending in the theory that if everyone starts using drones, it will spell the end of civilization. International law will no longer exist, because any nation will take it upon itself to declare person X a terrorist or a trainer of terrorists or a sponsor of terrorism, and then person X will simply die -- without so much as a trial or any further investigation.


Alston singles out Israel, Russia and above all the United States as trendsetters. According to Alston, all three countries argue that they are fighting "asymmetrical wars" and "terrorism," stretching the law in the process. "The result has been the displacement of clear legal standards with a vaguely defined license to kill, and the creation of a major accountability vacuum," he writes in the report.


Read Part 3 here.


Part 4: Al-Qaeda Strikes Back


Excerpts:
No one had expected that those being hunted by drones would strike back. It is part of the very essence and definition of the drone war that the United States does the attacking while remaining inaccessible to the enemy.


But the enemy is learning. On Dec. 30, 2009, it responded by attacking the headquarters of the CIA's drone war in Afghanistan.


Read Part 4 here.


I understood the Drone Attacks in Pakistan better now after I read  the above article, I think it is a very cruel way to kill innocent civillians from the sky. Expect more revenge attacks on American and Nato Targets in Afghanistan and Pakistan until these killings stopped.

Dr Rais very angry at certain bloggers, apa kata kalau semua duduk semeja and settle it over kopi kurang gula

Well I suppose every one in the Malaysian blogosphere and everywhere else for that matter are very aware of Dr Rais's anger over postings made by blogger BigDog and Datuk Ahirudin.


Dr. Rais since his days as MB of Negeri Sembilan strikes me as a no nonsense and very articulate politician. You can count on him to be forthright and honest with his opinion and the great thing is that he can deliver what is on his mind eloquently. Its understandable that someone of his good reputation would be furious at even the suggestion that some one close to him is doing something that should not be done. To cut a long story short, a police report has been made and Datuk Ahiruddin has already been called by the authorities and his PC and modem has also been confiscated, I suppose it would not be long before blogger BigDog, the solid UMNO supporter would be called in also. 


On further reading, I thought that the postings in question are an  innocent call for transparency in Government awards which would showcase the ongoing Government Transformation as put forward by the PM Najib. I hope the investigations reveal the same findings.Saya rasa tidak ada niat untuk memfitnah atau memburukkan sesiapa pun.


God forbid, if the authorities do take action against UMNO/BN friendly bloggers like BigDog and Datuk Ahirudin, it would be a loss-loss situation. Unlike the Opposition, the BN do not have that many effective bloggers who can influence voters thoughts, so lets keep what ever good bloggers that is on BN side as much as possible lah. Otherwise BN could be severely handicapped, as cyberspace is the unknown frontier as far as votes influencing are concerned. I hope that the PM and DPM is monitoring the situation which could get ugly before it gets better.


I pray that common sense will prevail, I hope the good Dr Rais, bloggers BigDog and Datuk Ahirudin settle the matter amicably with a gentleman's handshake over a kopitiam table.

An interlude..a melancholic song of beautiful days gone by

Interlude - I last heard this wonderful song in 1980 back during my student days, lost the LP record of CrosbyStillsNash during house moving in the UK eons ago, stumbled upon the song just now and it brought back many great memories of my MRSM Kuantan days long ago. Sigh......Carried Away..

Dr Mahathir is simply brilliant in his latest writing..different interpretation of 1Malaysia gives rise to conflict

The short stay at the nice Melbourne Hospital in Australia must have had a very positive effect on Dr Mahathir. The latest posting in his blog is simply BRILLIANT..the Grand Old Man has indeed recovered.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR, MELBOURNE
By Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on October 13, 2010 12:15 PM

1. I would like to apologise to the students and others for failing to turn up to give the talk I had agreed to.

2. I would also like to thank those who sent get well messages, fruits and flowers while I was in hospital in Melbourne.

3. Honestly I feel I have lost an opportunity to meet and talk to what may be the future leaders of Malaysia. For this reason I am writing down here what would have been the contents of my talk.

4. The suggested topic for my talk was, "Are we ready for 1 Malaysia: Does Race Still Play a Part?"

5. I will be frank but factual. My only interest is the country we all love. I am past self-interest.

6. First let me refer to the slogan "1 Malaysia".

7. Without the Government spelling out the precise meaning of 1 Malaysia, different people are giving their own interpretations which not only differ from each other but are in conflict with each other.

8.The Malays generally interprete 1 Malaysia to mean real adoption of the national language as the home language by every citizen as happens in other multiracial countries. They also expect the abolition of Chinese and Tamil schools and ensuring the private sector has a fair participation of Malays and other Bumiputeras.

9. The Chinese and Indians interprete 1 Malaysia to mean amendments to the constitution to eliminate provisions for the special treatment of the Malays and their protection by the Rulers, removal of the quota for Malays in the Civil Service, termination of the NEP, termination of the 30 per cent quota for Malays and indigenous people in business, termination of the quota for awards of licences, contracts and Aps. All awards to be on a competitive basis and open to all irrespective of race. They also expect perpetuation and maintenance of Chinese and Indian schools by the Government.

10. These two interpretations of 1 Malaysia admittedly are by the more extreme groups. The more moderate ones from both sides are milder in their expectations but their minimum intetrpretations still provide irreconcilable conflicts. 1 Malaysia clearly means different things to the different races.

11. This is the present position and it is obvious that race still play a very important role.

12. Question: It is now more than 50 years since independence. For how long do the Malays expect to be treated as special and different from the other citizens?

Answer: For as long as the Chinese and Indians prefer to be identified with their countries of origins. For as long as they want to keep their home languages and their schools.

13. Question: The so-called social contract were made a long time ago. We were not involved and we cannot be bound by it forever. When can we ignore the social contract and draw up our own social contract?

Answer: When everyone agrees to throw out the old social contract and replace it with a new one.

This will take a long time. As the new contract will be between races, racial factors would be included. Unless both sides agree to give up their races' own rights as spelt out in the first contract i.e. the preservation of own home languages and schools etc. the rights of the indigenous races to their special position etc must remain a part of the new social contract.

It is not certain that each would not demand for more than what they got under the old contract. It is likely there would be no agreement and no contract. Ths would lead to perpetual conflicts.

14. Question: So there will be no solution. The racial divisions and conflicts will remain.

Answer: In Vision 2020 one of the objectives is to create a bangsa Malaysia.

The belief at that time was that if Malaysia becomes a fully developed country, it would become very prosperous.

This prosperity would be fairly shared between the races. There would be less jealousy between them. There would also be less fear of any race being dominated by any other race.

The political cooperation between the races would also be made more meaningful as loyalty to the country would override other loyalties. In fact non-racial parties would be the trend.

It would take a long time perhaps - depending on fair wealth distribution. But once it takes off the pace will increase.

Malaysians of all races would be so proud of their country and its great achievements that the desire to be linked with other countries would be much diminished if not disappear altogether (as happens in prosperous multi-racial countries like the US - where the German, Eisenhower led the war against Germany. Eisenhower was American first and his country of origin was irrelevant to him).

The Malaysians at that stage would be Bangsa Malaysia first and always. The thing to do now is to ensure prosperity for the country and its fair distribution. Removing current rights of any of the races at this moment will only lead to racial conflicts which would obstruct prosperity.

15. Question: There are Malays in the opposition who condemn the NEP as unfair discrimination.

Answer: There are also Chinese and Indians who appreciate what the Malays have done and support the NEP. They are not so vocal for obvious reasons.

One should look at the Malays who condemn the NEP. If they are politicians or supporters of certain parties their views are motivated by a desire to get Chinese support. They assume that they themselves would lead the nation and enjoy power and opportunities through Chinese support. But there will be a pay-back period. The support is not for free. The Malay leaders will be like Nizar (Jamaluddin) when he was Menteri Besar of Perak - mere puppets.

The non-politically educated Malays feel ashamed that they have to be helped. They would like to be recognised as people who succeeded on their own. If we study these people almost invariably they have benefited from the NEP. They appear to be ashamed of this.

They are ashamed to admit that they were unable to compete with the other races. I am not ashamed to admit that I cannot compete with the Chinese and Indian students when studying medicine. They had much better results than me and the other six Malay students for entry into the Medical College. Even at that time the British promised to the Rulers to help educate the Malays. I had my chance because of the affirmative action then. On pure merit I would not be a doctor today, not because I was not qualified, but my qualification was lower than others.

One has to remember that the Chinese civilisation is more than 4000 years old. No other civilisation has lasted that long. Naturally they have developed a culture better able to survive under all conditions. It is my belief that if the percentage of Chinese in the United Kingdom for example is the same as in Malaysia, UK would be better developed than it is now. It is not surprising that the Chinese excel in developing Malaysia (for which they are amply rewarded).

It is not shameful to lose out against them. Simply to catch up with them we need handicaps. To be given handicaps is to ensure fairness, not discrimination. That is why in golf you have handicaps. That is why in all contests there must be equality between the contestants.

It is selfish if having benefited from the handicaps you want to deny others from having them.

But when all is said and done, those who are given the benefits of handicaps must make honest efforts to use them properly. If they don't then they must forfeit the handicaps in the future.

read in full here.

Dear Cabinet members, why not have a national referundum to decide once and for all whether the PPSMI should be continued or not

When will our politicians start not to play around with the education of our children, the PPMSI was abolished despite evidence showing that the learning of Maths and Science in English is important in keeping with the explosion of knowledge of Maths and Science in English that far outstripped the ability of any linguist to translate English to Bahasa Melayu. Before I ramble on, just have a read at the latest statement of the Kementerian Pendidikan:

Science & Mathematics: Plan will boost BM, English


2010/10/11
MOHD SOLIHAN BADRI, Corporate Communications Unit, Education Ministry
letters@nst.com.my


THE Education Ministry would like to refer to the letter by J. Suresh of Kelana Jaya, Selangor ("Science and Maths: Changes must be made now" -- NST, Sept 23).


The cabinet approved the bill to abolish the Teaching of Mathematics and Science in English (PPSMI) policy on July 8 last year and replaced it with Dasar Memartabatkan Bahasa Malaysia dan Memperkukuhkan Bahasa Inggeris (MBMMBI) -- Upholding the Malay Language, Strengthening Command of English policy.


Through this new policy, the teaching and learning of Bahasa Malaysia and English are further enhanced through more diversified and improved teaching approaches.


The government's decision to replace the medium of instruction for the teaching of Mathematics and Science from English to Bahasa Malaysia was made after taking into consideration intellectual debates and expert consultation with stakeholders.


The MBMMBI aims to provide equilibrium towards the mastery and importance of both English and Bahasa Malaysia without compromising on the strengths and importance of both languages to Malaysians.


The decision to reverse the PPSMI policy is also in line with Article 152 of the Malaysian Constitution which ensures the freedom to teach and learn in other languages, including English, Chinese or Tamil.


With this decision, the teaching and learning of English will be further improved to increase students' mastery and competence in the language. Competence in English will enable students to explore various fields of knowledge from extensive resources and motivate them to pursue their education to higher levels.


The abolishment of the PPSMI is a positive move by the government to realign the paradigm of Science and Mathematics education in Malaysia in accordance with the Education Act 1996 (Act 550) which states that:


- The national language is the main medium of instruction in national schools, including for the teaching of Mathematics and Science;


- Chinese is the main medium of instruction in national type Chinese schools, including for the teaching of Mathematics and Science;


- Tamil is the main medium of instruction in national type Tamil schools, including for the teaching of Mathematics and Science; and;


- The national language is the main medium of instruction in national secondary schools, including for the teaching of Mathematics and Science.


The decision to revert to these media of instruction for the teaching of Mathematics and Science in primary and secondary schools in Malaysia is aimed at improving the teaching and learning of scientific and mathematical concepts in schools.


Hence, the MBMMBI policy can provide relevant and effective mechanisms to uphold the national language and at the same time improve English mastery and proficiency among students.


Through their respective languages, students will be able to understand their teachers better and apply the knowledge that they have gained more effectively.


The MBMMBI policy, therefore, will serve as an effective strategy to uphold the national language and at the same time improve proficiency in the English language among students.

Read more here.

Seems the Government based on the decision of the few Malaysians in Cabinet are bent on depriving our young from getting the full spectrum of knowledge in Science and Mathematics in English. Now even  Quoting the Constitution Article 152 and the Education act even. Speaking of Article 152, an enlightened blogger SatD has this to say about whether the Article 152 provides protection for schools whose medium of instruction is in Chinese or Tamil read here and for good measure read also Dr Mahathir's very persuasive argument on the PPSMI read here.


Enough of my ramblings, this is a quick and loaded response from the father mother action group for Malaysia Education PAGE, LISTEN TO THEM lah Bapak-bapak Menteri:

A response to MOE’s defence of abolishing PPSMI —  Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim

October 12, 2010

OCT 12 — The Education Ministry via  Encik Mohd Solihan Badri, Corporate Communications Unit, has posted its arguments in defence of its decision to abolish the policy of teaching and learning Science and Math in English (PPSMI) with the new policy Upholding the Malay Language, Strengthening the Command of English (MBMMBI), (Science & Mathematics: Plan will boost BM, English, NST October 11, 2010).

The Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (PAGE) would like to correct a few misleading and incorrect statements by Encik Mohd Solihan.

In 2008, after the fourth ministerial roundtable discussion under the leadership of the previous Education Minister and the late Arwah Datuk Razali Ismail, and intellectual debates and expert consultation, the general agreement was that PPSMI was a good and beneficial policy and that it would be maintained.

However in 2009, our new Education Minister under pressure from the street demonstrators and without consulting the stakeholders, completely overturned the policy within just three months of taking office, just days prior to the Manik Urai by-elections.

It was clearly a political decision with very weak “intellectual” arguments which PAGE has extensively won over in previous debates and forums.

In May 2010, in reference to a suit by some students against our government to declare PPSMI unconstitutional, our High Court ruled that PPSMIBahasa Kebangsaan 1963/1967”.

The spirit of our Education Act 1996 also mandates that our government takes into account the general principle that students should be educated (in the language) according to the wishes of their parents.

No doubt, the new MBMMBI policy will increase the teaching of the English language from 16 per cent to 21 per cent of teaching time. However, with the removal of Science and Math in English, the overall exposure to the English language will drop from 41 per cent to 21 per cent.  This is a significant drop by half. Any linguist will tell us that it will be a total disaster for our students’ as far as comprehension of the English language is concerned.

Scientific English will also be totally wiped out to be replaced with Scientific Malay which has no commercial or intellectual value in the current competitive knowledge-based economy. We may stand tall against Indonesia which currently is the biggest exporter of maids and cheap labour to our country.

Other than that, God help us.

Comparing English vs Bahasa Melayu, the percentage of knowledge or articles available in the two languages are approximately 99.9 per cent vs 0.1 per cent respectively. We can find a significant number of intelligent and knowledgeable articles in English but the ones in Bahasa Melayu or Bahasa Indonesia are mainly from blogs with very little intellectual content.

Muslims believe that the first injunction brought by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is “Iqrak” or “Read” to gain knowledge. With the new MBMMBI policy our children’s comprehension of the English language will be extremely limited and their access to the knowledge of the world will also be severely handicapped. This is totally in violation of the principles of the Islamic religion.

PAGE calls upon our leaders to do what is right. Reinstate PPSMI in schools that want it. Ego and saving face of politicians is a small price to pay for the future of our children and our beloved country.

Simply put enough of this arguments, why not have a national  referendum every body should be asked to vote a YES or a NO to continue the PPSMI. This is too important an issue to be decided by a group of politicians some of whom are not even Members of Parliament. It is time that education policy be placed on the hands of Parents rather than politicians who could at this very time send their children to Private Schools learning Maths and Science in English.

One more thing Mr Ministers Sirs just to be clear;

 if you Google "Mathematics" you will get 82 million search results & if you Google "Matematik" you will only get a measly 7.2 million search results.

And

if you Google "Science" you will get 1.16 Billion search results & if you Google "Sains" you will get a measly 9.8 million search results.

So what does that tells you about how much knowledge our children will be missing in the future?

PPSMI or not, a referendum to find out what Malaysian Parents want for their Children is surely necessary now, forget about the political votes for a while, think about the future of our Children education in this increasingly globalised planet. Bapak Menteri should throw away that ego, we are only human and are bound to make errors in judgement once in a while.

Of Tragic Bus Accidents, High Speed Train linking Singapore and Penang, and what the Government should do

The recent tragic bus accident on Sunday which claimed 12 lives is very sad indeed. It has affected many of us, more so for me as a frequent bus traveller between JB and KL being a weekend husband myself alternating between driving a car and travelling by express bus.


The Star carried the news here...Public demands explanation over senseless deaths


Utusan has the news among many here...'Rasa bagaikan kacang dalam botol digonchang'


I remembered those horrible Bus crashes that claimed many lives:


In 2007, 20 die in gruesome bus accident in Malaysia- Vehicle overturned, roof was ripped off and seats were flung into the air


Just last year In 2009 where many victims were decapitated by the guard rail...10 die in Malaysia Bus Crash


In all the accidents the blame game starts, every thing and every one is wrong, the reckless driver, faulty bus break mechanism, burst tyre, the express bus owners are irresponsible for pushing the drivers to the limits of exhaustion and even the guard rails are at fault, and the Ministry of Transport and Lembaga Perlesenan always say they will investigate. So far these investigations are unknown and the results are never made public, I don't know why but as road users we shouldn't we be informed. There should not be too much secrecy to protect the establishment from litigation or public ridicule.


The MOT minister say that an investigation to the latest crash will be thorough, I call on the Minister to make good his words and also make public the Ministry's findings and recommendation. I am asking how many more accidents does the Government wait to happen and how many more lives are lost before they start getting serious about it, I mean dead serious like enacting and passing Laws that governs:


1. How long a Bus Drivers is allowed to drive continuously per day before he takes a mandatory rest.


2. All drivers must pass a mandatory test conducted by the JPJ which will determine also their profile and aptitude, only those certified by JPJ as Bus Drivers can drive buses. We cannot have serial speed demons driving our loved ones in buses and endangering their lives.


3. Making it mandatory for all outstation buses to Have Electro mechanical speed limiters, modern buses are high powered monsters I have on few occasions at night being overtaken by a double decker express bus while I was driving at 120km/h and that is God's honest truth.


The Government, the MOT and even the General Public should visit this very well written article by an experienced driving instructor which was posted after the two horrible crashes in 2007 and 2009, the blogger Cikgu Yap, knows his onions MOT and the Government and everybody who cares should listen to what he has to say:


10 ways to reduce Bus Accidents; Some Ways & Means To Prevent Major Accidents Involving Buses From Happening.


Looking at the number of bus companies in Malaysia with different owners from different background and political affliations, I think there would be a lot of resistance by the many bus company owners to enact Laws to make Bus Travel safe because of the cost involved which will have to be passed to the ordinary public.


So I have a suggestion, forget a while about the costly high speed trains proposal from Singapore to Penang which will cost much taxpayer's money for the benefit of a few, and maybe the Government should move to consolidate all the Bus companies under just one or at most three mega bus consortium so that it could be better managed and the fundings be used to buy better structurally safer and stable buses and employ good drivers with better pay.


If the Government can act to consolidate the local Banking industry and limit it to a few anchor Banks to make the industry more efficient, then what is there to stop the bus companies from being consolidated into a few efficiently run bus companies like Transnasional or even Mara Liner or Plusliner. 


All it needs is political will. What say you Minister of Transport Sir? Our Lives and the lives of our children are at stake here.


How many Parents do we want to see prematurely burying their children before the nation do decide to act holistically?

To be or not to be a future Prime Minister of Malaysia

Hishamuddin, cousin of our PM Najib, UMNO vice President and the current Menteri Dalam Negeri is getting a lot of flak lately, notably from BN /UMNO friendly bloggers and from what I hear during the Hari Raya visits and open houses people are actually complaining about his performance or rather a lack of it as the Menteri in charge of Homeland  Security. Apparently there is a momentum towards calling the Menteri Dalam Negeri as Menteri Amaran Keras and it seemed that he is in danger of being stuck with the nickname long after his political career is over. 


Hisham comes from a Malay aristocrat lineage, his grandfather is the great Malaysian Patriot Dato' Onn Jaafar and his father Tun Hussein Onn was our third Prime Minister. Being a descendant of great politicians and leaders does not guarantee that you will be endowed naturally with leadership and political skills  as Hisham would find out along his political career. The good name of one's family can only get one to a certain level after that one have to earn one's keep. Hisham's mercurial rise in UMNO seemed very well planned and quite painless, he has however not gone thru' the baptism of fire like real leaders such as Tunku, Tun Hussein and Tun Dr Mahathir had to go through, his leadership of UMNO Youth is nothing to shout about either. 


His Ministerial career is mediocre at best, having been Menteri at Kementerian Sukan, Pendidikan and now Menteri Dalam Negeri which is a very senior cabinet post. His Ministership at KDN is proving to be very demanding of his mediocre skills though, as now he is placed right in the centre of the spotlight with his every move and statement dissected and scrutinised by ALL Malaysians. Whatever the NKRA or KPIs of KDN are, the ordinary people see a Minister who has yet to perform and deliver. Lately there were some trial baloons launched by Hisham's supporters on the idea that he will be PM some day after Najib, unfortunately they did not took into account the ferocious opposition to their idea by none other than pro BN/UMNO bloggers:

Blogger Another Brick in the Wall came up with this fierce article..‘Pondan’ undeserve the helm of nation leadership

This was followed by a chilli pedas article from Tuan Syed....The Next Prime Minister?


A good unsolicited advise from Blogger Bujai to Hisham......You are a Home Minister, Hisham!!!

Folks please read and think about it for some moment, do you think Hisham has got what it takes to become our PM?


I think Hisham needs a good plan and fast for a makeover of some sort, his tenure at KDN showed that his famous family name can get him only so far but the rest is really up to the him. In my mind and probably many also, his image as a Leader was badly dented when he unsheath the kris at an UMNO assembly some time ago and later forced to issue an apology for the act after BN did badly in the last GE12. For that, Hisham can forget about the PMship for a while yet as he rebuilt his image, but with the KDN complaints of inaction I think his image has turn out  for the worse in the eyes of many.


This is Hisham's baptism of fire, how he reacts to criticism will reveal whether he is a Leader fit to be a candidate for Prime Minister or just a political wannabee with aspiration of the highest office in the land.


Perhaps, a visit to see Dr Mahathir like Bujai proposed is a good thing to do, Hisham has got nothing to lose if he seeks to see the numero uno the Grand old man of Malaysian politics, who has this to say about being a good leader:

Tun Dr. Mahathir menggariskan tujuh kualiti untuk menjadi pemimpin yang baik, iaitu;

1. Seorang pemimpin yang baik tidak semestinya merendah diri tapi sekurang2nya tidak bercakap besar.
2. Beliau mesti bersedia menerima tanggungjawab tetapi tidak boleh terlalu mendesak dan berkeras dalam memimpin.
3. Beliau tidak harus menyalahkan orang lain bagi kegagalan tetapi mengakui kelemahan diri serta tidak harus menuding jari atau mencari seseorang untuk dipersalahkan.
4. Beliau harus bersikap luhur dan tidak pentingkan pujian dan kemasyhuran.
5. Beliau patut tahu bagaimana mengendalikan pengikutnya begitu juga pihak atasan serta perlu sensitif dengan sensitiviti orang lain.
6. Beliau patut bersedia melakukan apa yang diharapkan oleh orang lain untuk beliau laksanakan serta mendukung slogan kepemimpinan melalui teladan.
7. Beliau perlu bijak dan lebih pintar sekurang2nya berbanding orang yang berada di bawah pimpinannya.

Good Luck in your quest YB Hisham, you certainly need all the luck you can muster on the road to the PM's office as it is indeed long and winding and the Rakyat demands that only the Best and the Brave shall be Malaysia's Prime Minister. No "pondans" allowed.

Its official, Malaysian citizens who are loyal and have contributed to Malaysia's Development are definitely not pendatang

I never use nor teach my children the word "pendatang" or "alien" to describe our  Chinese or Indian brethrens, some people do use it but they are mostly politicians or political wannabees with their own personal agenda.

Except for Pendatang Tanpa Izin (PATI) used to describe illegal immigrants, I would dare say that largely the word "pendatang" to describe our citizens is very alien to the vocabulary of the Malaysian public. Definitely it never crossed my mind to call my Chinese or Indian friends a pendatang as they are Malaysians who does not show traits of well, shall we say, a "pendatang".

PM Najib gave a very good speech at the MCA AGM yesterday, read here and here. In the speech which seemed to be well received by the MCA delegates, among others, PM Najib clearly said that the Chinese are not "pendatang" in recognising the Chinese loyalty and contribution to Malaysia's development. 

Najib also said that:

"There were numerous Umno leaders whose constituencies had a large number of non-Malay voters.

Non-Malays make up more than 40 per cent of voters in some of the constituencies represented by Umno."

“Do they think they can win without Chinese or Indian support? We have to be realistic. We cannot be emotional or racist and must work together.” 

He said that while he understood that political parties needed to demand allocations for their constituencies, it must be done in the spirit of give-and-take and in the national interest.

“You look after me and I’ll look after you. You can’t just make demands but don’t give us the support we need when the time comes. 

“You must tell the Chinese that it’s not just about the community, but about the nation.”

So now you have it folks, its official no more using the word "pendatang" to describe our Malaysian brothers and sisters, our PM said so, and from yesterday on everybody should strive to ensure that they be it individually or in groups DO NOT show traits of a pendatang or an alien community within Malaysia. 

If in doubt then maybe you want to read and answer these questions from blogger Tukang Dok Peghati:

Adakah anda ingin menjadi seorang 'WARGANEGARA' atau anda seorang 'PENDATANG'?

....as the Malay saying goes..."Tepuk Dada Tanya Selera".

Afghanistan War: US Spend USD50million to kill 1 Taliban Freedom Fighter?

This is a very interesting article about how much the Afghanistan war is costing the United States. If the figures are correct then it is possible that the US Spends USD50 million to kill just one Taliban Fighter. How many fighters are there, if you kill one probably three more will replace the the fallen, it will be an endless war for the mighty US with no end in sight. 


Does the US have such deep pocket that it can last until the last Taliban fighter is taken down, I doubt so. History tells us that all mighty armies that ever invaded Afghanistan never get to stay long, the Brits even the USSR had to withdraw under fire. The US should just cut its losses and go as soon as fast as they possibly can.

Spending millions to kill each terrorist
Ron Smith


We cannot win the war in Afghanistan through conventional military means, so what, exactly, are we doing there?
Ron Smith
4:51 p.m. EDT, October 7, 2010


Is there any way to look at the war in Afghanistan as anything but a mounting failure? I don't think so. The "metrics," as former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld would say, aren't looking good.


This week, as the ninth anniversary of the start of the Afghanistan war was observed, we learned that the death of each Taliban fighter we battle costs at least $50 million. That's a conservative estimate. It could actually be $100 million. This figure came not from the Pentagon, which goes to great lengths to conceal such accounting, but from an enterprising reporter named Matthew Nasuti, who works for Afghanistan Press.


Consider the source, you say. OK, but aside from the fact that Mr. Nasuti worked "at a senior level" within the U.S. Air Force, math is math. Numbers don't tell the whole truth about anything, but they tell a lot.


The best estimate of Taliban killed annually by coalition forces is roughly 2,000.The direct cost to the Pentagon of waging war in Afghanistan for 2010 is about $100 billion. Indirect costs are approximately another $100 billion.


"One has to simply divide one number into the other," says Mr. Nasuti. "That calculation reveals that $100 million is being spent to kill each Taliban soldier."


He cut the estimate in half by doubling the number of slain fighters to 4,000, even though that is highly unlikely. So, under the lower estimate, the cost to the American taxpayer to kill 20 individual Taliban members is a breathtaking $1 billion.


Using Mr. Nasuti's calculations, Killing the estimated 35,000 Taliban fighting the occupation would cost $1.75 trillion. We've been at it over there for nine years, and our generals say a military victory is not in the cards. But we have to stay until the job is done.


What job? Are we to magically transform that land and its people into a facsimile of American democracy? Only a child, a simpleton or a foreign policy intellectual could possibly believe that....


read more here.


Ron Smith can be heard weekdays, 9 a.m. to noon, on 1090 WBAL-AM and WBAL.com. His column appears Fridays in The Baltimore Sun.