TUANKU JAAFAR DIES

ALFATIHAH.

The Yang DiPertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, HRH Tuanku Jaafar Ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman has died. HRH took his last breath at 11:45 am today at the Tuanku Jaafar Hospital aged 86.

HRH was a State Officer in Negeri Sembilan and Perak before becoming a career Diplomat who served in New York, Egypt, Nigeria and Ghana. HRH was to be posted to Japan as Ambassador of Malaysia when he was recalled by the State Government to become the 10th Ruler of Negeri Sembilan upon the demise of his elder brother Tuanku Munawir in 1967 bypassing the latter’s son, Tunku Muhriz. HRH was also on the throne as the 10th Yang DiPertuan Agong between 1994-1999.

HRH’s remains will be taken to the Istana Besar Seri Menanti for the lying-in-State ceremony and will be laid to rest on Monday upon the return of his children from abroad.

HRH served the country well both as a Civil Servant and a Ruler. The State will observe a 40 day mourning period. May Allah’s forgiveness be upon him and may his soul rest in peace amongst the righteous.

The Patriot would like to extend our deepest condolences to the Royal Family, the Government and the People of Negeri Sembilan.

SELAMAT MENYAMBUT AWAL MUHARAM 1430

Asalamualaikum WBT.

Saya ingin mengucapkan Selamat Menyambut Awal Muharam 1430.

Izinkan saya mengingatkan Saudara/Saudari untuk membaca Doa Akhir Tahun Hijrah, dibaca 3 kali pada akhir waktu Asar atau SEBELUM masuk waktu Maghrib (Ahad 28 Disember 2008) pada akhir bulan Zulhijjah.

" Dengan Nama Allah, Maha Pengasih lagi Maha Penyayang. Semoga Allah mencucuri Rahmat dan Sejahtera keatas junjungan kami Nabi Muhammad SAW, ahli keluarga dan sahabat-sahabat Baginda sekelian.

Ya Allah, apa yang telah kami lakukan dalam tahun ini daripada perkara-perkara yang Engkau larang daripada kami melakukannya dan kami belum bertaubat daripadanya, sedangkan Engkau tidak redha dan tidak melupakannya, dan kami telah melakukannya di dalam keadaan di mana Engkau berupaya untuk menghukum kami, tetapi Engkau memberi peluang untuk kami bertaubat selepas kami melakukan dosa-dosa itu semuanya, maka kami memohon keampunanMu. Ya Allah ampunilah kami. Terimalah Taubat kami ini dan mana-mana perbuatan yang kami lakukan sepanjang tahun ini yang Engkau redhainya dan Engkau menjanjikan kami dengan pahala, maka kami memohon akan diperkenankan perbuatan (amal bakti) yang kami lakukan itu dan Engkau tidak menghampakan harapan kami. Ya Allah, Tuhan yang Maha Pemurah. "

Sesiapa yang membaca doa ini, Syaitan berkata, "Kesusahan bagiku dan sia-sia lah pekerjaanku menggoda anak Adam pada setahun ini dan Allah binasakan aku satu saat jua. Dengan sebab membaca doa ini, Allah ampunkan dosanya setahun".

Kemudiannya bacalah Doa Awal Tahun dibaca 3 kali SELEPAS Maghrib (Ahad 28 Disember 2008) pada malam satu Muharram.

" Dengan Nama Allah ,, Maha Pengasih Lagi Maha Penyayang. Selawat dan Salam kepada Junjungan kami Nabi Muhammad SAW, ahli keluarga dan para Sahabat Baginda sekelian.

Ya Allah, Engkaulah Tuhan yang kekal selama-lamanya. KelebihanMu sangat besar dan Kemurahan Mu sangat-sangat diharapkan. Tibalah sudah tahun baru, Kami mohon kepadaMu agar terpelihara kami sekelian didalam tahun baru ini daripada tipu daya syaitan-syaitan yang terlaknat, juga daripada kuncu-kuncu syaitan dan bala tenteranya. Dan kami mohon daripadaMu akan pertolongan mengalahkan runtunan nafsu amarah (nafsu yang mendorong kepada kejahatan). Kami memohon juga kepadaMu Ya Allah akan rasa sedia ingin membuat kerja-kerja kebajikan yang boleh mendampingkan diri kami kepadaMu. Ya Allah Tuhan yang Maha Agung lagi Mulia, yang sebaik-baik mengurniakaN Rahmat. “

Sesiapa yang membaca doa ini, Syaitan berkata "Telah amanlah anak Adam ini daripada godaan pada tahun ini kerana Allah telah mewakilkan dua Malaikat memeliharanya daripada fitnah Syaitan".

Kepada Allah Berserah.
Wasallam WBT.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, & A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I'd like to wish all Malaysians MERRY CHRISTMAS & A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR! May the New Year bring Peace, Happiness, Prosperity and Good Health to us all!

9 CANDIDATES QUALIFY TO CONTEST FROM JOHOR, BUT ARE THEY ALL DESERVING?

PART ONE

DO WE PICK THEM FOR WHERE THEY ARE FROM OR FOR THEIR CALIBER? LET US DO SOME LIGHT VETTING TO ASSIST US IN OUR FINAL JUDGMENT.

First of all, I must justify the positioning of the two flags above. In my book, the Johor State flag flies higher then any other but is on equal level only with the Malaysian flag on Johor soil, quite like the Texan flag in the U.S.

Having said that, I don’t believe that allegiance to the State means we have to support all the running candidates from Johor vying for the various posts in the UMNO Supreme Council. Political candidates should be voted in based on their service to the Party and the people at large, depending if the election is at the Party or General level. For instance, if all of them from the State have served the Party well and better than the rest, then they all deserve to win. However we must be weary of some who were undeservingly appointed at the government level and are trying to use their positions and the strength of UMNO Johor’s reputation to power their way in. Let us hope the buck stops here for these people. For UMNO to survive and remain relevant, we must choose only the best.

In Part One, we will briefly introduce candidates from Johor for the positions of UMNO Deputy President and Vice Presidents.

FOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Hj Muhyiddin b Hj Mohd Yassin

He is the former Menteri Besar of Johor and served through the Constitutional crisis. Born in 1947 in Muar, he is currently the Pagoh UMNO Division Chief , UMNO Vice President and Minister of International Trade and Industries. He has served with full colours in several other ministries including the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture. He was elected to the Supreme Council for the first time in 1985 and Vice President in 1993.

He is a rare breed in UMNO, one who dares go against the grain in order to do the right thing. While holding the post of Menteri Besar, he stood his ground against the much feared Johor Royal Palace during the Constitutional crisis and recently conveyed to the UMNO President repeatedly of what the general sentiments were of him on the ground with respect to the grassroots while the others kept on providing the President with false confidence. Having exhausted almost all resources, the latter finally succumbed and decided not to run for office and withdraw as Prime Minister in March 2009.

Tan Sri Muhyiddin is a very deserving candidate and should win if he can improve on his public relation skills. He has proven his worth, but it wouldn’t hurt to smile a bit more. At the very least the grassroots should remember his sacrifice for being their voice in the Supreme Council at the high risk of losing his lucrative Government job. If Malay culture is upheld amongst the UMNO delegates, then they should be grateful enough to elect him as Deputy President in March. His action has also accelerated Dato’ Sri Najib’s advancement as President of UMNO.

FOR VICE PRESIDENT

DATO’ SERI MOHAMED KHALED NORDIN

Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled is currently the Minister of Higher Education. Like Muhyiddin and many other great leaders from Johor, he too was born in Muar. He is the UMNO head for Pasir Gudang and was political Secretary to Dato’ Shahrir when he was the Minister for Wilayah Persekutuan in the 80s. He started off as a Legal Officer in Petronas before entering politics. He could’ve risen much quicker having been in the party youth mainstream since his early 20s if not for an unfair advantage given to an outsider who was an untested political novice by the former Prime Minister. He is now the Deputy Chairman of the Johor UMNO Liaison Committee.

Previous to this, he was also Minister of Entrepreneurial Development & Corporatives. He is a stand up gentleman and a cool politician who rose through the ranks. He is not greedy neither is he impatient, and is one who says very little but performs well not having to backtrack and cover any damage like the person he was put on hold to give way to when he was younger.

Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled is experience enough and is a deserving candidate for the post of UMNO Vice President. His service to the Malays in particular is well known. He is an exceptional Minister and a splendid UMNO leader. Like Shahrir, his name is synonymous with Johor UMNO.

FOR VICE PRESIDENT

DATO' SERI SYED HAMID ALBAR

Datuk Seri Syed Hamid was born in 1944 to a much feared senior politician, Tan Sri Syed Jaafar Albar. He is currently the head of the Kota Tinggi UMNO Division and is holding the third most powerful position in the Cabinet after the Prime Minister and his Deputy, as Minister of Home Affairs (in charge of Internal Security and Immigration). The last time a non PM or Deputy PM held this powerful position could be as far back as the seventies when Tun Ghazali Shafie was the Minister.

He has been a minister for more than 20 years holding positions in various Ministries from Defense to Law to Foreign Affairs, the latter being the longest for 9 years. He is very easy to speak to and listens to opinions both pro and contra but is very much firm in making his own decisions.

He was having slight problems in his Division because of his hectic schedule during his tenure as Foreign Minister and the lack of united support from his close allies in his absence. Now that his feet are firmly on national soil, he visits his constituency and division on a weekly basis. He garnered one of the highest winning majority votes in BN in the last General Elections refuting claims that he is unpopular in his constituency.

Civil disobedience which has been a crying nuisance for the general public has reduced remarkably ever since he took the office of Home Minister and his deft handling of Domestic affairs, including the reintroduction of active use of the ISA has appeased the silent majority. Many outlaws too have been either arrested or terminated in action indicating future reduction in crime, translating into savings for taxpayers having to feed and house these criminals, enriching only the lawyers defending them.

Datuk Seri Syed Hamid, with his vast experience and very powerful position in the government should be a definite yes for Vice President. At 64, he would be able to guide the relatively young field vying for the same position. The rest are all in their late forties and early fifties.

FOR VICE PRESIDENT

DATO' SRI HISHAMMUDDIN HUSSEIN

Dato’ Sri Hishammuddin was born into a very prominent family in 1961. His grandfather was Dato Onn Jaafar, the founder and first President of UMNO, and father was the third Prime Minister of Malaysia and forth President of UMNO. His cousin is currently the President Elect of UMNO. He is the head of the Semberong UMNO Division, the National Youth Chief and Minister of Education. He was previously Minister for Youth and Sports. He has been a Minister for 9 years beginning at a relatively young age of 38. Before that he rapidly rose through the ranks from parliamentary secretary to Deputy Minister then Minister thanks to the former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed.

He was Member of Parliament since 1995 and has been Acting or Actual Chairman of the UMNO Youth Wing for more than 8 years. He did a very good job of uniting a divided youth wing during the sacking of the then Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Then when he became powerful within the wing, the struggle became downhill when we started witnessing efforts made to help and defend faraway causes such as Palestine when domestically, very little was done when our national and ethnic honour was at stake.

His worse mistake was how he handled the Keris issue. After giving out extra allocations to Chinese schools thinking that the MCA entourage led by its Youth Chief Datuk Liow Tiong Lai would let bygones be bygones, Hishammuddin still received continuous pressure to apologize until after the recent elections were over. He finally succumbed at a time when it didn’t matter or even mean a thing, which was after the general elections. With his action, he disappointed millions of Malays who thought then that being a person who couldn’t defend his own heritage and the symbol of his people, he has no business being an UMNO leader. This article from BigDogDotCom says it all at http://malaysianpolitics.wordpress.com/2008/04/28/umno-hishammuddins-keris-apology-is-sign-of-weakness/

Furthermore, many people think his lack of action in defense of Datuk Ahmad Ismail from Penang and his lack of strong action in offence to the GERAKAN Wanita Chief, MCA Deputy President and Wanita Chief’s statements on the Malays as UMNO Youth Chief shows that he is no longer serious to work for the benefit or defense of the Malays.

He may be an exceptional orator and an outstanding Minister, but as the UMNO Youth Chief, members can no longer ignore the gap between reality and the promise. He left far too much to be desired. Contesting for Vice President of a Malay Party, he may need to fall back on his bloodline if that is of any use in addition to his Ministerial skills to win, because he won’t be voted in for his Malay struggle for sure. If he doesn’t make it, we hope he will be retained as Minister. We may not miss him in UMNO but we might miss him as a very capable Cabinet member.

Part Two will see a run down on Supreme Council Candidates from Johor.

What is written is not meant to be deemed as gospel but merely a matter of opinion in the hope that we can discuss the merits of each candidate nationwide before finally making the best decision in March based on the information gathered from our discussions in this forum.

Please do participate. I thank you.

BN IS CALLING YOUR BLUFF OLD CHAP!

LET’S SEE IF KAYVEAS IS FULL OF MOUTH, OR IF HE HAS THE STOMACH.

Last week PPP Chairman Mr M Kayveas attempted to hold the Barisan Nasional at ransom by threatening to pull his party out of BN if it doesn’t amend the ISA. http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/94034. This reminds me of an article ( A King’s Ransom for a Concubine ) which I wrote of Zaid Ibrahim threatening to resign from the Cabinet for almost the same reason. http://tpj-one-thepatriot.blogspot.com/2008/09/kings-ransom-for-concubine.html. Well I guess that concubine at least went through with it. Let’s see if this less important one is as principled or is just “ full of mouth but no stomach ”, as they say at the school backyard to the loudmouthed jock.

Yesterday, the BN Chairman explained without choking that there will be no amendments made to the ISA and if PPP wants to leave because of it, “what can we do?” In other words, Adios Kimosamy!!!

“I don't know what to say, I'm speechless and surprised by it. But I don't think Pak Lah meant what he said that we can leave because he's a nice man... but sometimes, what to do," said T. Murugiah, who is the PPP Youth Chief and also a Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department. http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/94590.

Yes indeed Pak Lah is a very nice man. In fact the component parties in BN are also generous. Let’s see the breakdown of the BN parties in Parliament once again.

BN: 137 PARLIAMENTARY SEATS: UMNO – 79, MCA – 15, MIC – 3 GERAKAN - 2,PBB -14, LDP – 1, PBRS – 1, PBS – 4, PRS – 5, UPKO – 3, SPDP – 4, SUPP - 6

Hmm……Ooops! Did I accidentally miss out PPP or DID THEY NOT EVEN WIN ONE SEAT???

There is no PPP, its Chairman got whipped by the opposition yet their Youth Chief is a Deputy Minister meaning one other deserving party had to sacrifice a seat just for them.

The message is loud and clear to the member component parties of the Barisan Nasional. THE I.S.A. STAYS. Seek translation in your respective languages if you must to avoid any ambiguity. This also goes to the MCA Central Committee member Mr Wong Nai Chee who spoke in support of Kayveas. http://www.mca.org.my/English/Commentaries/Pages/MCAsupportsKayveas%E2%80%99remarktoamendtheISA.aspx

Although some may take respite knowing that the PM has been known to make 180 degree turns, this one will probably stick.

My message to the PPP: PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS AND HIT THE ROAD JACK!!

TUN DR MAHATHIR’S MESSAGE TO THE MALAYS

Mahathir The Great

WITH RIZ KHAN ON ALJAZEERA.

I’m not relaying the whole of yesterday’s interview in this posting, but only the message that I thought Tun was sending to us in his classic fashion

“ There is no Ketuanan Melayu because the Malays are the underdog. I keep on telling the Malays that if you are a driver or a shoe-polisher, you are not the Tuan. The man paying you is the Tuan. So if the Malays want to be a Tuan, they have to be successful, be wealthy, own Rolls Royces and then the driver will call him Tuan. I had a Chinese driver once and he called me Tuan. “

Good Heavens Tun! God forbid, you might be hauled up for SEDITION for saying the last sentence! After all, they are the “Untouchables”.

Is there anybody among the UMNO second liners who calls anyone Tuan outside of the Party? If there is none (yeah right!), then please behave like we expect you to in the name of Islam, the Malays and the Country.

DEFEND IT OR BE DAMNED!

“KETUANAN MELAYU” VS “KEHAMBAAN MELAYU” DI BUMI SENDIRI

LET’S TAKE A GOOD LOOK AND SEE.

1. When an UMNO Division Chief from Penang calls our Chinese friends “Pendatang”, the UMNO Deputy President apologizes on behalf of the Party. When the Deputy President of MCA unnecessarily questions Ketuanan Melayu and hurts the feelings of the Malays, he gets the backing and support of his President (according to him in the Chinese dailies) and the whole Chinese community. No apology was forthcoming, not even from an MCA’s branch auditor (pemeriksa kira-kira, the least important officer in a branch) - Round one goes to the Chinese.

2. When the UMNO Division Chief from Penang calls our Chinese friends “Pendatang”, UMNO suspends the gentleman for three years from the Party. When the GERAKAN Wanita chief also calls the Malays “Pendatang” in her speech in a party convention, there is no widespread demand from the Malay leaders for her to be taken to task. No disciplinary action on her is taken by her party. – Round two to the Chinese.

3. When an UMNO Division Chief from Penang calls our non-Malay friends “Pendatang”, the UMNO Deputy President apologizes on behalf of UMNO and the Party suspends the gentleman for three years. When the MCA Wanita tenaciously attacks the Malays in line with her party leaders by saying the “Ketuanan Melayu” is no longer relevant, raising anger among the Malays and threatening racial harmony, no action is taken against her by the party. Round three to the Chinese.

4. When all three of the above occurs with the words “ MELAYU ” being uttered by our Chinese friends attacking the race, it is not SEDITION. When Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir makes a logical and sincere suggestion in order to foster better integration from a younger age between all races, they are calling it sedition. All rounds go to the Chinese.

5. The BN Chinese and Indians can come together and dare to walk in arms with the opposition in the name of their race. The Malay leaders are afraid to even come out in the open to support their brothers from the same party in the name of Agama, Bangsa dan Negara. They seem to have been cowed into submission in fear of being called a “Hero”.

Here’s a Newsflash guys!!!! We only have Heroines in UMNO, everyone is afraid to be a hero, that is why we are being trampled upon by our own friends within BN.

I am beginning to feel like we the Malays are the minority race in our own Motherland. We mean no harm to the others and wish to live in peace with one another. But if our own Malay leaders allow these continued attacks on us to prevail, will there be peace in the end? Will they be able to enjoy their freedom and continue to roam the streets of Malaysia in peace for long? I leave these questions to you with a smile.

A CLASS ACT.

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON TO BE MADE SECRETARY OF STATE.

President-elect Barrack Obama today announced a powerful team to join his Cabinet today after he takes his Oath of Office as the 44th President of the United Sates of America scheduled for the 20th January 2009.

They are:

1. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton – Secretary of State.
2. Robert Gates – Secretary of Defense.
3. Retired Marines General James Jones – White House National Security Advisor.
3. Eric Holder – Attorney General
4. Governor Janet Napolitano – Secretary of Homeland Security.
5. Susan Rice – Ambassador / Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

Senator Clinton was Obama’s former campaign rival before having to concede after a tough 18 months of campaigning for the Democratic Presidential Nomination. She will have to surrender her seat as the Senator from New York to join the Cabinet. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton had to agree with several decisions before Hillary could be nominated by the President-Elect as Secretary of State, two of which were to submit his speaking schedule to review by the State Department and Whitehouse Counsel and refuse donations from foreign governments to the Clinton Global Initiative, his annual charitable conference.

Robert Gates is the current Secretary of Defense under Bush and will continue in that portfolio through the next Administration. Gates' appointment fulfilled a campaign promise by Obama, to name a Republican to his Cabinet.

Retired Marines General James Jones was a platoon commander in Vietnam, then became Commandant of the Marine Corps and later served as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO.

Eric Holder was Deputy Attorney General in the Clinton administration and was United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.

Governor Janet Napolitano is a former Federal Prosecutor, State Attorney General and was elected twice as Governor of Arizona. She is one of the early supporters of Obama. Like Clinton, she too will have to resign from her current position to join the cabinet.

Susan Rice served on the National Security Council and was the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs under President Bill Clinton. She was a senior foreign policy advisor in the Obama campaign for President.

Senator Clinton, Eric Holder, Governor Napolitano and Susan Rice will require confirmation by the Senate. General James Jones will not require a confirmation by the Senate because his appointment is as a White House official. Robert Gates is already confirmed to his post by the Senate by virtue of his current appointment as Secretary of Defense under President Bush and will not have to go through the process again.

Despite these announcements, the Dow Jones industrials plunged 679.95 points, or 7.70 percent, to close at 8,149.09 today. Perhaps it was due to the statement by the National Bureau of Economic Research that the country is officially in recession.

http://www.dailypress.com/news/sns-ap-recession,0,6802955.story?track=rss

President-elect Barrack Obama has his work cut out for him once he takes over the reigns. The Patriot wishes him all the very best.