The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

Posted: 16 Sep 2011 05:31 PM PDT

SEPT 17 — Glued to the radio, I listened as the prime minister took away some laws and announced plans for new ones.

While it was heartening to note that the next time my friends and I are at the mamak running down the latest idiotic statement from a politician or debating a government policy, we wouldn't be arrested for our opinions or because we were an "illegal assembly", the cynic in me cannot help but wonder what future legislation awaits the common man.

I celebrate learning that the Internal Security Act (ISA) will be abolished. But I still worry about the new laws that are to be enacted to protect peace and harmony. And wasn't buying submarines we couldn't afford to protect peace and harmony, too? If the two new laws are only to be used in instances of terrorism, how do we first define "terrorism"? And who decides who's a terrorist?

I worry that we are swapping one evil law for two. We need to know the details of these new pieces of legislation. And will the authors of these laws be open to debate outside the two Houses of Parliament? If these laws are to protect our people, then our people, including civil society, needs to have a say in it.

Hishammuddin Hussein may have his job made easier in not having to defend the ISA anymore, but that is not to say that the home minister is not going to whip out another "waging war against the King" excuse for another ridiculous reason.

I need more convincing here. The government's track record has been sordid. While these announcements on Thursday night may at first glance seem to be a step in the right direction, they are not.

The doctrine of the separation of powers is a beautiful pillar of democracy and, when practised in reality, will ensure that the rights and interests of the common person are looked after.

Unfortunately, teh tarik sessions and laws being amended so a judge can enjoy his pension does not give me enough faith in the system for the executive not to have a hand in deciding that a "terrorist" should be jailed for however long.

Similarly, the PM announced that media laws are to be amended. But while newspaper and broadcast organisations may not have to apply for yearly permits any longer, they are still under threat of their licences being revoked.

The decision to amend the Printing Presses and Publications Act sounds more of an administrative benefit rather than a freedom of the press insignia.

If under existing laws, Utusan Malaysia can get away with murder, I rest my case.

Political survival or not, I am not won over. We still have a deplorable state of human rights protection. I still sigh when I pay my food bill. I am constantly cheesed off with the education system. I hate the fact that I earn lesser than people overseas who do half my job and I'm irritated with myself that I love Malaysia too much to want to leave.

It is going to take a lot more than these whitewashed announcements to win my vote.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Where is Fernando Torres?

Posted: 16 Sep 2011 05:26 PM PDT

SEPT 17 — What on earth has happened to Fernando Torres?

A little over a year ago, he was a sensational striker: fast; strong; great balance; good in the air; sublime finisher — he had the lot.

In fact, in one of my very first articles for The Malaysian Insider, back in October 2009, I recall describing him as "the greatest striker in the world."

At the time, it seemed a perfectly reasonable estimation. He had, after all, just scored a superb goal in Liverpool's 2-0 victory over Manchester United at Anfield, taking his tally for that Premier League season to nine goals in nine games.

Now, though, he's not even the best striker at Chelsea — never mind the rest of planet football. In 23 appearances for the Stamford Bridge club since his £50 million (RM244 million) move from Liverpool in January, Torres has scored just once. One goal in 23 games! That really is appalling.

And it's not just that Torres has been failing to score. The general level of his performances has also been below standard, with only occasional flashes of the brilliance that he displayed on a match-by-match basis during his time with Liverpool.

And, just to make himself even more unpopular with the increasingly doubting Chelsea public, Torres has been in the news this week after describing his new teammates as "very slow" in a Spanish media interview.

At least, that's one version of events. Torres himself claims that is a mis-translation of his actual statements, which were in fact a description of the team's style of play. That would be marginally better but, either way, it's hardly the sign of a player who is content in his surroundings.

The move to Chelsea has clearly not worked out well for Torres, and that kind of thing does sometimes happen — for whatever reason, a player fails to settle at a new club and never emulates his previous form. But Torres' problems seem to run deeper than that, because his decline set in long before the megabucks move from Merseyside to West London.

Going further back, he endured a miserable personal 2010 World Cup finals for Spain, failing to score in six appearances and suffering a game-ending groin injury within minutes of appearing as a substitute in the final against the Netherlands; while his teammates were celebrating Andres Iniesta's championship-clinching goal, Torres was lying on the ground in agony.

Injuries were a recurring part of Torres' life at that stage — he had only just recovered from a knee injury sustained in action for Liverpool two months before the start of the tournament in South Africa — and I believe it's likely that a lack of peak physical fitness is at the root of the Spaniard's current problems.

Look at it this way: he went into the World Cup finals injured after having a knee operation in mid-April 2010; he ended the World Cup with a new injury after damaging his groin in the final; he started the new Premier League season still recovering from those injuries but carried on anyway, playing with a gruelling schedule of 10 games in six weeks... and he's never fully recovered.

What Torres badly needs, I feel, is time off — the same kind of time off that has so reinvigorated Wayne Rooney this season. Rooney has just enjoyed the real rarity of a summer off — eight full weeks without competitive football — and he looks a completely different player from the jaded individual who laboured his way through much of last season.

Torres hasn't suddenly become a bad player, and at the age of 27 there should be no question that he's over the hill. But just over a year ago he suffered two bad injuries in the space of two months, was unable to enjoy the benefit of rest or a proper rehabilitation period, and as a result both his form and confidence have gradually dipped. From being a confident player on top of his game, he now has no zip, no spark, no edge.

Unfortunately for Torres, extended time off isn't a luxury that he's likely to be granted anytime soon. Chelsea's schedule is packed full with Premier League and Champions League fixtures, and Spain's qualification for Euro 2012 is already assured, so the striker faces the daunting prospect of back-to-back football for another 20 months — until May 2013, when he might finally get the chance to put his feet up.

That doesn't bode well for Chelsea's hopes of seeing their record signing return to the form that encouraged them to part with £50 million to secure his services. Maybe the arrival of Belgian prodigy Romelu Lukaku and the continued emergence of Daniel Sturridge will provide Torres with enforced rest by restricting him to the substitutes' bench, and that could be their best hope of recovering his mojo.

This weekend, Torres and Chelsea travel north to face rampant Manchester United. The very best players generally have the ability to save their best form for the very biggest games, so maybe tomorrow's meeting to Old Trafford will mark the beginning of Torres' rejuvenation. But I wouldn't bet on it — he just needs a break.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Sabtu, 17 September 2011

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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