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Update on Feb 23
I would like to thank the Academy…..for choosing this movie.
Slumdog swept the Oscars, picking up 8 of the 10 Oscars it was nominated for. What can I say?
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What a movie!
This movie brings to memory all those many times I rooted for Arsenal while watching the game at a joint filled with Manchester United fans.
Slumdog Millionaire is a tribute to all the underdogs in the world.
Quite apart from all that sentiment though, this is a tightly narrated story, alive with visual metaphors, interspersed with heartbreaking innocence and bald-faced representation of cruelty.
My favourite scene has to be the C’est La Vie smile on Jamal’s face when he encounters the Three Musketeers question.
Bravo Danny Boyle!
A.R Rahman, well, what more can I say about this guy who scored so movingly for this sleeper hit. Long way from the ad jingle days. The Indian diaspora loves this genius. Now it’s the world’s turn.
This tour-de-force has won its share at the Golden Globes and the BAFTAS. It has also picked up 10 Academy Award nominations so far.
Good luck at the Oscars!
Now….lemme go get the book, Q&A by Vikas Swarup. Was told its riveting.
They say you must walk a mile in a person’s shoes before criticising or judging him. I’d like to say the same to Khir Toyo, who is demanding the resignation of Bukit Lanjan Assemblywoman Elizabeth Wong.
On Facebook yesterday, I joined a group that was set up to support Eli. A friend of mine asked me if i could send the copy or link to the compromising photos that led to her tearful resignation. This friend of mine also said she sympathised with Eli’s plight.
I asked myself then, wouldn’t it be compounding the problem if I were to respond to accede to that request.
What if it was your photo that was making the rounds? Wouldn’t it make u feel worse if your friends and family saw it, rather than total strangers?
Let’s respect the privacy of Elizabeth Wong, who was the victim of a crime of malicious intent. The woman has already been betrayed by someone close. Must we, in our basest voyeuristic curiosity, perpetuate the violation again and again?
Why are those pictures still around? Can’t the police crack down on this website?
And to Khir Toyo and all those sanctimonious asses out there, why don’t you pay attention to those tudung-clad Malaysian chicks who are gleefully showing off their exhibitionistic tendencies for the world to see, doing it in offices and X-ray rooms, obviously aware of the video camera.
Eli’s pictures on the contrary, were taken and uploaded online without her knowledge or consent.
Last I checked, pornography was a crime in this country.
Yes, this chubby critter who was the Selangor MB in his past life, got picked up by the cops a couple of hours ago in an aborted public demonstration by Umno Youth in Georgetown, Penang.
That was according to Malaysiakini.
Apa rasanya kena turun balai?
This is the guy who prompted a friend to coin this saying Hidung Tak Mancung, Pipi TerBotox-Botox.
Rabble rouser extrodinaire who went to Penang to “mempertahankan kedaulatan Raja Raja”, calling for action to be taken against Karpal Singh.
Come one, dude, many many people feel the same way as Karpal. Check out this report.
Umno Youth can go to hell la. Malaysians are not idiots. The seething people of Perak will be heard. They will be heard in Bukit Gantang.
The Bukit Selambau by-election will be a referendum on the rest of Malaysia’s sentiments.
I pity Najib for thinking he has scored a coup de grace. Short-sighted fella. And this guy is gonna head UMNO and the country.
Even Ku Li is saying Umno is beyond redemption. I really pity Umno and BN now. In the eyes of most Malaysians, they can do no right.
Heh Heh!
I’ll bet my favourite nasi lemak bungkus that it happens.
This is February 2009.
In March, there is a power handover that signals the end of the Abdullah administration.
The “heir apparent” has has already sharpened his claws and is now straining the leash.
From what I hear, editors were told in no uncertain terms that their coverage of Kuala Terengganu elections would be monitored, and to expect payback if they “transgressed”.
Media coverage of even bread and butter issues in Pakatan Rakyat states are difficult because the powers that be objects to any positive coverage given the reps of the incumbent government.
Petty. Childish. Best ignored.
And yet such pettiness and childishness from those at the top of the power heap, can signal much anguish for the people. Not to mention the future of the country.
Tian Chua warns of a new media crackdown. Not surprising considering the rest of what’s written here.
For now the Home Ministry is concentrating on the Opposition rags. Never mind the equally mind-numbing, racist, rabble-rousing garbage written in the likes of Berita Hairan and Utusan Meloya.
Not long before the crackdown extends to the rest. The Star represents an interesting conundrum though.
On one hand it is ruling coalition-owned. On the other hand, MCA post-March 8 is a different animal altogether. Add to that the fact that it is headed by a former party outsider who has been putting his own praetorian guard in place.
Ong Tee Keat and the new MCA may not be on the same page as BN on all issues. This is sure to give The Star’s editorial policymakers a tough time.
What I’m trying to say is, The Star is not above a KDN warning. A painful Ops Lalang more than 2 decades ago is still not forgotten. Which is a sad predicament for the paper to be in. Because in the aftermath of last year’s election disaster, this was one paper that had tried to change and be more objective.
The Sun? I don’t know. I’m not so sure about this paper that tries so much to please the people but somehow sounds dodgy after a while. Some issues raised are valid, true enough, but the elements of “masuk bakul, angkat sendiri” is unbecoming of a news rag, know what I mean?
NST? Don’t read it enough to form an opinion.
Malay Mail is lost. Enough said.
Malaysiakini? Come on. This net paper is the opposite side to the mainstream media. The slant here is obvious.
Far less obvious is the business weekly’s The Edge slant, though I know which way they are inclined. Entertaining, insightful pieces are found here though.
Malaysia Insider tries outwardly to be objective, despite the initial “pro-Khairy” bad mouthing it suffer. The Nut Graph shows some effort, but suffers still from anonymity in a world dominated by giants like Malaysia Today, which is more of a news/view/gossip portal for every political goings on in the country.
I don’t read Mandarin or Tamil, so I can’t say much about Sin Chew, Nanyang, Tamil Nesan and the rest, but I don’t think any of them mentioned above can be assured of immunity from government persecution in the months to come.
This is a government that has long forgotten that it owes a duty of accountability to the people who elected it to power. Even March 8, 2008 have not cured them of their arrogance, the recent Perak ugliness suggests.
To me, it just reinforces the popular view that Umno and Barisan Nasional is a corrupt, evil caucus that has outlived its usefulness.
I’ll best another nasi lemak bungkus, that any candidate fielded by Pakatan Rakyat in the coming by-elections in Bukit Selambau and Bukit Gantang will win.
Simply because Umno is being Mugabe.
Poster stolen from mah buddy Mob1900 the posterblogger extraodinaire.
Anwar Ibrahim must rue the day he promised people that Sept 16 will change the nation. Even if it came true then, it would have been a betrayal of people’s mandate. Now, he has proven he can’t even control the riff raff within his party from jumping over.
And the events of the past few days prompt me to ask, is Malaysia really a democracy? Because the politicians seems to have made a mockery of every tenet of democracy.
Our votes do not matter at all. You can vote for candidate A from Parti Katak. He wins, but there is no stopping him from jumping over to Parti Kodok, even if he derails the entire government in the process.
The Sultan of Perak’s decision may have far reaching consequences for our system of governance. Now, it looks like a precedent for other states, jumping frogs can help change government without having to go though the ballot process.
Say, in Negri Sembilan tomorrow some ADUNs go missing. They come back with a change of heart and decide to say goodbye to BN. The new Yang Di Pertuan Besar Tunku Mukhriz might follow his brother ruler’s move and say “No need for Elections. The MB has to resign or his position will be declared vacant”.
Nice precedent to set, YM Tuanku Sultan Perak. It’s very telling that the matter being referred to court was also conveniently ignored.
And I have another issue top raise here. Two of the Perak defectors are under investigation for corruption/bribery. Once they are charged and found guilty, don’t they have to vacate their seats? In those cases, there would have to be by-elections held.
Is this something Najib considered when he took in those two guys. Yeah yeah, they are still technically independents, but we know what they are about, don’t we?
I’m inferring that by joining forces with BN, the two ADUNs must have been promised that their corruption charges will be made to “go away”. Rest assured, readers, that the Cangkat Jering and Behrang Assemblymen jumped ship for more than money. It was to save their necks.
Najib my think this is a coup de grace for him (you know, some people may even say it sounds like that successful dawn raid of Guthrie. Those who know otherwise still laugh at the victors).
But it may return to bite him in the ass. The price is an unstable government in Perak and the hatred of the masses. If Anwar had delivered on his Sept 16 promise, the crossover exodus would have earned equal wrath from the public.
Now, all across Malaysia, the hatred level will return to the scale that lost Barisan Nasional their traditional 2/3 mandate in the first place.
Another point that comes home to me is that the people who have voted in a candidate, has no control whatsoever over what happens next. They can’t come out and say “we don’t recognise this guy anymore cos he breached our mandate”. There is no avenue for it in our system, in which a public referendum is an alien concept.
The deputy prime minister, in his zeal to consolidate his power and cement his position, has demonstrated that he will employ whatever means to claim that power. I don’t know if he is familiar with the term Pyrrhic victory but this dirty manoeuvre in Perak is going to come at a very high cost.
I would like to suggest to BN to ensure that their MPs and state assemblymen are healthy and all. Because the next time one drops dead, the ensuing by-election is just a formality. All the postal votes ain’t gonna save BN. Everyone is going to vote in an opposition candidate just to teach BN a Perak Lesson.
There, I’ve coined a phrase. The Perak Lesson.
Najib, after the Kuala Terengganu fiasco, dreads any move to seek fresh mandate through an election, that much is clear. He knows that the tide will engulf them. Hence these underhand tactics.
Now the lessons to be learnt are these.
1) PKR fellas can be bought.
2) Hell hath no fury like a woman denied her Toyota Camry (hey! It rhymes!)
3) DAP stalwarts can be bullies.
4) We have a very, very dodgy character waiting to take helm of the country. He makes Dol Kepala Batas smell like roses.
*sigh*
Screwed up country.
