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Soderling withdraws from US Open due to illness Posted: 31 Aug 2011 08:19 AM PDT NEW YORK, Aug 31 – Sixth seed Robin Soderling of Sweden has withdrawn from the US Open due to illness, tournament officials said today. Soderling was due to play Ireland's Louk Sorensen, a qualifier, in a first-round match later today. His place in the draw will be taken by Rogerio Dutra da Silva of Brazil. The nature of Soderling's illness was not immediately disclosed. – Reuters

Parker joins Tottenham from West Ham Posted: 31 Aug 2011 07:55 AM PDT West Ham United's Scott Parker celebrates after scoring against Chelsea during their English Premier League soccer match at Stamford Bridge in London in this file photo of March 13, 2010. Parker completed his move to Tottenham Hotspur from West Ham United on August 31, 2011. – Reuters pic LONDON, Aug 31 – England midfielder Scott Parker completed his move to Tottenham Hotspur from West Ham United today, the first significant deal on transfer deadline day. "We are delighted to announce that we have reached agreement with West Ham United for the permanent transfer of Scott Parker," Premier League Tottenham's website (http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com) confirmed today. The 31-year-old, who is part of England's squad for the Euro 2012 qualifier away to Bulgaria on Friday, had been expected to leave West Ham ever since they were relegated from the top flight at the end of last season. A hard-working cog in central midfield, Parker will provide Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp with more ball-winning options after the north London club opened their Premier League campaign with heavy defeats by Manchester United and Manchester City. Parker joined West Ham from Newcastle United in 2007 and became a popular figure with the crowd for his all-action displays. His performances in West Ham's also earned him the Football Writers' Player of the Year vote last season. Neither club disclosed a fee and Tottenham did not specify the length of Parker's contract. Parker played 129 times for West Ham, scoring 12 goals. "The midfielder has moved to White Hart Lane after handing in an official written transfer request on Tuesday night, despite the best attempts of the Board and management to retain his services," West Ham's website (http://www.whufc.com) said. – Reuters

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Some US firms paid more to CEOs than taxes, study finds Posted: 31 Aug 2011 08:28 AM PDT The study also found many of the companies spent more on lobbying than they did on taxes. — Reuters pic WASHINGTON, Aug 31 — Twenty-five of the 100 highest paid US CEOs earned more last year than their companies paid in federal income tax, a pay study said today. It also found many of the companies spent more on lobbying than they did on taxes. At a time when lawmakers are facing tough choices in a quest to slash the national debt, the report from the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), a left-leaning Washington think tank, quickly hit a nerve. After reading it, Democratic Representative Elijah Cummings, ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, called for hearings on executive compensation. In a letter to that committee's chairman, Republican Darrell Issa, Cummings asked "to examine the extent to which the problems in CEO compensation that led to the economic crisis continue to exist today." He also asked "why CEO pay and corporate profits are skyrocketing while worker pay stagnates and unemployment remains unacceptably high," and "the extent to which our tax code may be encouraging these growing disparities." In putting together its study, IPS chose to compare CEO pay to current US taxes paid, excluding foreign and state and local taxes that may have been paid, as well as deferred taxes which can often be far larger than current taxes paid. The group's rationale was that deferred taxes may or may not be paid, and that current US taxes paid are the closest approximation in public documents to what companies may have actually written a check for last year. US$16.7 MILLION AVERAGE Compensation for the 25 CEOs with pay surpassing corporate taxes averaged US$16.7 million (RM50.1 million), according to the study, compared to a US$10.8 million average for S&P 500 CEOs. Among the companies topping the IPS list: * eBay whose CEO John Donahoe made US$12.4 million, but which reported a US$131 million refund on its 2010 current US taxes. * Boeing, which paid CEO Jim McNerney US$13.8 billion, sent in US$13 million in federal income taxes, and spent US$20.8 million on lobbying and campaign spending * General Electric where CEO Jeff Immelt earned US$15.2 million in 2010, while the company got a US$3.3 billion federal refund and invested US$41.8 million in its own lobbying and political campaigns. Though the companies come from different industries, their tax breaks fall into two primary areas. Two-thirds of the firms studied kept their taxes low by utilising offshore subsidiaries in tax havens such as Bermuda, Singapore and Luxembourg. The remaining companies benefited from accelerated depreciation. Shareholders have responded favourably when companies in which they invest keep a tax bill low through legal methods, thereby benefiting earnings. But Chuck Collins, an IPS senior scholar and co-author of the report, said that is a mistake. "I think it's an exposure of weakness in a company if their profitability is dependent on their accounting department and not on making better widgets," he said. In prior reports, Collins said, out-sized CEO pay was often a red flag of bigger problems to come. The IPS has been putting a pay report together for 18 years. Among those whose leaders have made the high pay list in years past, only to have their businesses falter: Tyco, Enron and WorldCom. — Reuters

China’s ‘moon cake tax’ too much to stomach Posted: 31 Aug 2011 03:02 AM PDT The tax is not new but the fact moon cakes given out by companies are now considered to be "income" that is taxable has set off a torrent of criticism. — foodhunt.net pic BEIJING, Aug 31 — A Chinese tax on moon cakes is not likely to spark an uprising of the sort that earned the Boston Tea Party its place in history, but the move has left a bad taste in the mouth ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Tens of millions of brightly decorated boxes of the fist-sized moon cakes are exchanged at this time of year in a symbolic tribute to the full moon that is considered biggest and roundest on the holiday, which this year falls on September 12. Companies get into the act, and gifts between colleagues and customers have become a costly business ritual across the country. That made the so-called "moon cake tax" an easy choice for tax authorities looking for new sources of revenue. Actually, the tax is not new, but the moon cakes given out by companies are now considered to be "income" that is taxable, according to a new regulatory interpretation, setting off a torrent of criticism. "HURT FEELINGS" "The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional time for family reunions in China. The company is just being solicitous to the employees, and even that is being targeted by the tax department," a manager at a small state-owned company in Guangzhou told Reuters. "It hurts people's feelings." Others said the ruling added insult to injury because it fell disproportionately on average workers. "If the welfare of officials, such as the government cars, were all taxed, people would not have been upset about the moon cake tax", said Xie Wen in comments on a Twitter-like service called Weibo. China's taxpayers are increasingly sensitive to tax hikes as stubbornly high inflation erodes real purchasing power. For the first seven months of the year, fiscal revenues rose 30.5 per cent from a year earlier to 6.67 trillion yuan (RM3.12 trillion), and the growth rate was much higher than that of per capita income. Another online comment on people.com.cn urged the taxman to show a softer heart: "... when it comes to people's feelings and a happy festival, the government needs to consider more than legal taxing... State revenue has increased faster than people's salaries this year, so it would be a way to show the authorities' concern for the people by cutting a little tax before the Mid-Autumn Festival." — Reuters

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Clooney sees ‘cynicism’ in US politics as Venice kicks off Posted: 31 Aug 2011 08:32 AM PDT US actor and film director George Clooney (C) poses with US actress Evan Rachel Wood (L) and US actress Marisa Tomei during the photocall of 'The Ides of March' on the opening day of the 68th Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2011. – AFP pic VENICE, Aug 31 – Hollywood star George Clooney spoke today of his disillusionment with the US political scene ahead of the premiere of his dark political thriller "The Ides of March" at the Venice film festival, the world's oldest. He told reporters ahead of a star-studded ceremony that filming was ready to begin in 2008 when Barack Obama won the US presidential election, but he was initially worried the climate of optimism was not right for his cynical tale. "Everyone was in such a good mood! It only took about a year for that to all change," he said. "At the moment, cynicism seems to be winning over idealism." Clooney, who plays a presidential candidate in the film, denied any political ambitions of his own and said he was happy "hanging around with seductive people." The Serenissima's lagoon was buzzing with water taxis whisking stars and movie moguls to the Lido island ahead of the appearances from Clooney and co-stars Ryan Gosling, Evan Rachel Wood and Philip Seymour Hoffman this evening. Clooney was visiting Venice with former supermodel Cindy Crawford and her husband. The blue-eyed actor's fourth film as a director opens the competition – which will see 22 world premieres compete for the prestigious Golden Lion award – before the stars head to an exclusive party on the beach. The thriller is about a US presidential campaign in which a loyal aide helping the Democratic governor win a primary in Ohio discovers just how dirty politics can be. It has received general acclaim from critics. Based on Beau Willimon's play, "Farragut North," the film's screenplay, written by Clooney along with Grant Heslov and Willimon, showcases the director's reputation for astute political commentary with a dramatic twist. The play, inspired by Willimon's experiences working on a presidential campaign trail in Iowa in 2004, was the "morality play" Clooney had been looking for, as he told journalists in Venice ahead of the film's premiere. The title, "The Ides of March," was chosen for its Shakespearean connotations and at the heart of the thriller, he said, lies the question: "What you are willing to pay for power... whether you're willing to trade your soul for it." The film's cinematography plays on light and shadows, with stylistic nods to film noir and the western which echo the film's theatrical beginnings at times, to evoke the dark underworld of politics in a fictional, current-day America. Clooney's slick lines as Governor Mike Morris – "integrity matters, our future depends on it" – inevitably draw comparisons with a United States currently weighed down by bitter political struggles between Republicans and Democrats. The seasoned star will be hoping to bag his first Golden Lion as a director after winning best screenplay and best actor in Venice in 2005 for "Goodnight and Goodluck" but losing the Lion to Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain." As Venice prepared for the big opening ceremony, luxury hotels buzzed with fans hopeful of catching a glimpse of a-listers from Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow, to "The Godfather" great Al Pacino, and superstar Madonna. The glamour at the opening ceremony is set to continue tomorrow with the world premieres of French-Polish director Roman Polanski's "Carnage" and Madonna's "W.E," which is screening out of competition. Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet are expected on the red carpet for "Carnage," but Polanski will not be present. Wanted in the United States for alleged sexual assault back in 1977, he risks extradition should he travel to Italy. Screaming fans will be out in force again tomorrow evening, however, for the premier of "W.E.", Madonna's film about King Edward VIII's romance with American divorcee Wallis Simpson. "W.E.", starring British actors James D'Arcy and Andrea Riseborough, was two years in the making, and explores the controversial love story between the Duke and Duchess of Windsor through the eyes of a lonely modern-day New Yorker. – AFP

Antonio Banderas in ‘The Skin I Live In’ Posted: 31 Aug 2011 01:44 AM PDT LOS ANGELES, Aug 31 – The first full-length trailer was released for Pedro Almodóvar's The Skin I Live In (La piel que habito), starring Antonio Banderas, on August 29. The footage features excerpts from the film with very few lines of dialogue and a mostly impressionistic suggestion of the narrative, with still-frame images and photos interspersed with title cards. Based on the novel by Thierry Jonquet, Mygale, it is a story of revenge. The thriller centres on a plastic surgeon haunted by his past and obsessed with inventing thick synthetic skin. The actor and director reunite after working together 20 years ago on Tie Me Up! Time Me Down!. Banderas has recently appeared in kids films, including Spy Kids, Shrek and the upcoming Puss in Boots, a spin-off of Shrek. After showing at Cannes, the film has been released in several countries and will be screened at Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival. The Skin I Live In will have a limited release in the North America on November 18. Trailer: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810221069/trailer#26453309 – AFP

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Kelab Putera 1Malaysia mahu bawa balik 11 anak yatim Somalia Posted: 31 Aug 2011 01:34 AM PDT MOGADISHU, 31 Ogos – Kelab Putera 1Malaysia sedang berusaha untuk membawa balik 11 kanak-kanak Somalia yang kehilangan ibubapa akibat kemarau dan kebuluran untuk dijadikan anak angkat di Rumah Permata kelolaan Badan Amal dan Kebajikan Isteri-isteri Menteri dan Timbalan Menteri (Bakti). Untuk tujuan itu, Presiden Kelab Putera 1Malaysia Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim berkata perbincangan sedang diadakan dengan Menteri Kesihatan dan Menteri Pendaftaran Somalia. "Kerajaan di sini tiada masalah; yang masalah ialah proses dokumentasi supaya apabila mereka besar kelak, mereka tidak berhadapan dengan kesukaran di Malaysia," katanya dipetik Bernama Online. Katanya, sekiranya proses dokumentasi berkenaan tidak dapat diselesaikan kerana cuti musim perayaan yang panjang, lawatan kedua ke Somalia akan dilaksanakan bagi membawa mereka pulang. Abdul Azeez ditemui selepas menyampaikan bantuan pakaian dan makanan kepada 300 keluarga yang menjadi pelarian akibat bencana kemarau, di perkarangan Hospital Darul-Al Shifa di sini. Selain itu, 18 doktor sukarelawan yang mengikuti misi berkenaan turut membuat kerja-kerja kemasyarakatan dengan membuat pemeriksaan kesihatan terhadap mangsa kebuluran. Antara penyakit yang dikesan menjangkiti kanak-kanak berkenaan termasuk pelbagai jenis penyakit kulit. Abdul Azeez mengetuai misi bantuan yang dianggotai 55 sukarelawan dan anggota media serta 26 anggota Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia. Misi berkenaan menyediakan 250 tan bekalan bahan makanan dan ubat-ubatan bagi keperluan 45,000 keluarga di Somalia yang menderita akibat bencana kemarau.

Bekas KP DBP Hassan Ahmad meninggal dunia Posted: 31 Aug 2011 01:27 AM PDT Hassan Ahmad KUALA LUMPUR, 31 Ogos – Bekas ketua pengarah Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Datuk Dr Hassan Ahmad meninggal dunia di rumahnya di Petaling Jaya petang ini. Anaknya, Aida berkata, Allahyarham dipercayai diserang sakit jatung dan menghembuskan nafas terakhir sekitar 2 petang tadi. "Ayah saya tidak sakit apa-apa," kata beliau kepada The Malaysian Insider petang ini. Hassan yang ditemui The Malaysian Insider di rumahnya di 30, Jalan 22/49, Petaling Jaya ketika sambutan sambutan Aidilfitri semalam kelihatan ceria menyambut saudara mara dan rakan-rakannya. Jenazah Allahyarham akan dikebumikan esok, kata Aida. Tokoh Bahasa ini kini menyandang Ketua Eksekutif Yayasan Karyawan, sebuah pertubuhan bukan kerajaan. Dalam pertemuan dengan The Malaysian Insider semalam juga Hassan ada berkata yang memoir beliau sedang dihasilkan dan dijangka akan siap akhir tahun ini. Mengikut maklumat yang diperoleh dari laman DBP, Hassan merupakan seorang tokoh yang berpengalaman luas dalam pelbagai aspek yang berhubung dengan penerbitan buku, penyelidikan, pengurusan, dan perancangan bahasa dan sastera. Pada satu ketika, beliau merupakan seorang penyelidik bahasa dan sastera yang banyak menulis tentang bahasa dan sastera terutama dalam tahun-tahun 1960-an. Kedudukannya bertambah penting apabila beliau dilantik menjawat jawatan ketua pengarah DBP, sebuah institusi yang ditugaskan membina, memoden, dan mengembangkan bahasa dan sastera kebangsaan pada 1976.  Sejak beliau mula berkhidmat di DBP pada 1963, Allahyarham Hassan telah memegang beberapa jawatan penting, bermula sebagai Pegawai Penyelidik, Ketua Bahagian Penyelidikan, Pemangku Pengarah, Pengarah, dan Ketua Pengarah selama 13 tahun. Anak bekas pegawai ini lahir di Muar. Pada 1959, Hassan melanjutkan pengajian di Universiti Malaya dan memperoleh ijazah Sarjana Muda Sastera. Selepas menamatkan pengajiannya di universiti, beliau menjadi Penolong Pegawai Daerah Pontian dalam tahun 1962 tetapi meninggalkan jawatan itu pada tahun 1963 untuk berkhidmat dengan DBP.  Dalam organisasi penulis, Allahyarham Hassan pernah menjadi Ketua I Persatuan Penulis Nasional dari 1966 hingga 1967 dan pernah menjadi Pengerusi Majlis Bahasa Malaysia serta merupakan salah seorang yang penting dalam usaha untuk menyatukan ejaan dan istilah antara Malaysia, Indonesia dan Brunei Darussalam. Setelah bersara dari DBP pada 1988, beliau telah dilantik sebagai Wakil Tetap Malaysia ke Unesco.

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Belajar dari Siam Posted: 30 Aug 2011 05:13 PM PDT 31 OGOS — Seorang sahabat memberitahu, dia bercakap dengan seorang pengusaha restoran tom yam berasal dari Pattani, Selatan Thailand. Pengusaha itu ditanyanya, adakah dia balik mengundi dalam Pilihan Raya Umum di Thailand baru-baru ini? Jawanbya, dia dan rakan-rakannya semua balik mengundi. Siapa yang mereka undi? Jawabnya, parti Thaksin. Mengapa? Mengikutnya dia dibayar kira-kira RM300 seorang untuk mengundi parti itu. Jika dalam satu keluarga atau isi rumah itu lima enam orang, bayangkan banyak mana satu keluarga itu dapat? Dalam pilihan raya sebelum Thaksin digulingkan pengundi-pengundi dari wilayah selatan negara itu tidak mengundi parti Thaksin disebabkan oleh kezalimannya terhadap penduduk Islam. Tetapi sekarang mereka mungkin sudah lupa kepada bencana Thaksin terhadap mereka dulu, justeru pengaruh duit yang ditawarkan parti klon Thaksin itu. Duit Thaksin yang didapatinya selama berkuasa dulu tidak habis selagipun dia hilang kuasa. Dengan belanja yang dicurahkannya, dia berbaloi kerana klonnya berkuasa selepas pilihan raya itu. Malaysia sekarang sudah berada di ambang pilihan raya dan demam itu sudah mulai dirasa terutama perayaan hari raya idil fitri. Perdana Menteri dan menteri bukan saja sudah turun padang, tetapi menteri-menteri itu telah diarahkan supaya turun padang. Menjang Aidilfitri, Perdana Menteri mengumumkan memberi bonus RM500 kepada semua kaki tangan kerajaan di bawah kerajaan Barisan Nasional termasuk kerajaan-kerajaan negeri hingga mendorong semua kerajaan negeri di bawah Pakatan Rakyat memberi bonus yang sama. Banyak pihak di kalangan rakyat mendapat limpahan kemurahan hati kerajaan. Pemandu teksi misalnya diumum Perdana Menteri diberi duit raya. Umno Bahagian bahawa mereka tidak peruntukan untuk memulakan gerakan pilihan raya, maka Timbalan Perdana Menteri dengan spontan menjanjikan peruntukan ratus ribu akan dicurahkan kepada setiap Bahagian Umno. Sebelumnya tidak pernah pemimpin Umno mengumumkan untuk memberi ratusan ribu kepada bahagian-bahagian Umno tetapi adalah rahsia umum bahawa duit memang sentiasa mencurah kepada mereka setiap kali pilihan raya. Tetapi kali ini Umno mengumum minta duit dan pemimpin Umno pula mengumumkan untuk memberi duit. Sekali pun kerajaan mengambil langkah menghapuskan setengah sabsidi dan tidak dapat mengawal kenaikan harga barang-barang keperluan, tapi kita takut dengan langkah kerajaan dan Umno mula menabur wang kepada orang ramai, hingga rasakan dapat melupakan rakyat tentang beban potongan sabsidi dan kenaikan harga barang itu. Dulu-dulu pun pemimpin kerajaan dan Umno sudah menabur wang setiap ada pilihan raya. Ia sudah dikira boros sekali pun Perdana Menteri dan menteri kewangan bukan orang yang sama. Semua berasa ngeri apabila Dr Mahathir Mohamad mula menjadikan tradisi Perdana Menteri juga menteri kewangan. Sekalipun Perdana Menteri yang berbeza dengan menteri kewangan tidak banyak dapat menghalang Perdana Menteri memerintahkan apa-apa kepada menteri kewangan, tetapi apabila Perdana Menteri dan menteri kewangan adalah orang yang sama, kuasa menggunakan duit pembendaharaan yang banyak sekatan lagi. Dr Mahathir dulu sudah dirasakan terlalu boros dan tidak teragak-agak untuk membelanjakan duit kerajaan, tetapi Perdana Menteri Najib Razak yang sama naik dengan isterinya adalah dirasakan lebih mewah dan boros dalam sejarah Malaysia setakat ini, dia adalah Perdana Menteri dan menteri kewangan dan isterinya menjadikan dirinya Wanita Pertama. Tiada siapa dapat menyekat Najib berbelanja dan isterinya pula lebih tidak dapat disekat. Gelagat Najib itu lajakan dari orang-orang sebelumnya. Dia belajar dari mereka terutama dalam musim pilihan raya. Dan dia juga mendapat semangat dari yang berlaku di sebelah sempadan Siam. Duit Thaksin dipercaya membawa pro Thaksin berkuasa, maka satu dari cara bagi Najib mengekalkan kuasa ialah membelanjakan apa yang ada dalam kantung kerajaan lebih galak dari Dr Mahathir. Tidakkah Sukarno juga mengeringkan kantung negaranya dulu. Bila kantung kering, orang pun mencetak duit. Tidak mungkinkah Malaysia akan menuju masa mencetak ringgit bila ringgit tidak mencukupi? * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

August 31, 2021 Posted: 30 Aug 2011 05:06 PM PDT AUG 31 — Dear Malaysia, Today, you witness your 64th year of independence. In 16 days, you will celebrate the actual birthday of your name, which was coined in the year 1963. I may not have been there, my parents may not have been there as well, but you will be here as long as the world is still around. You will be as sweet as you have always been, housing the bitterness of your children living within you. What will you observe today, dear Malaysia? Most importantly, I do hope you'll still be called Malaysia, which will mean that Sabah and Sarawak are still part of you. In fact, I hope every son and daughter of Semenanjung Malaysia would have realised that these states deserve more, if not as much as what Semenanjung has achieved all this while. I grew up, knowing these two states only as holiday destinations I had to get to by plane. Lessons in textbooks were adequate only to teach me that they'd merged with "Tanah Melayu" later, but this was not enough to bridge the distance created by the South China Sea. I am sure I was not the only one who was as ignorant. It is time we viewed our fellow countrymen in Borneo as equals. Sabah and Sarawak are valuable components. Race relations? God I hope you've stood strong, dear Malaysia. How I've envisioned that today, people will not even bother with whether someone is Malay or Malaysian first. I have no problems with someone professing that he is a Malaysian and not of any specific race. But as our country was built from the integration of many races, letting go of different cultural identities would be a big waste. Money, or in this case, the economy, is the root of all evil. In my opinion, it is because of this problem that we Malaysians are so polarised and racially-sensitive. I am hoping that by today, affirmative action will no longer be around (even though that is quite far-fetched) but I hope at least the abuse of it would have long stopped, and that we are one step nearer needs-based policies. Oh and yes, Perkasa. Another thing — to hope for its abolishment is unrealistic. As long as there is a demand, there will be a supply. Still I personally hope that by today, considerate intellectual Malays will mean Perkasa is less a pressure group and instead has moved on to start educating and motivating the Malays to work hard for something; not to just subscribe to the laidback thinking that everything will be "delivered" to them from Putrajaya. Most of the time, the solutions can be found from within. And to other unity-loving Malaysians, let us move on from just speaking about racial unity and start to do something about it. I've been called a racist Malay, but please, spend two months of your summer away from your home and family, serving Malaysian children of races other than yours, then we can talk. Moving on to your political masters, dear Malaysia, I hope that by today, most of the dinosaurs would be cruising around the world rather than dictating our policies. I have no problems with experienced leaders who want the best for their countries, including for the youths; yet most are too distanced from the ground (other Malaysians) and prioritise personal and family gains. It is time for younger leaders to step up and lead the change. But recently, I have noticed some sad truths. My generation is very idealistic (in a positive way), which is great. We hate corruption, dirty politics, the trampling of rights and rules and despise many more of the things our elders did. But as the wager gets bigger, we selfishly do all the things we despise. This wager includes job placements, positions in society as well as money, which, in my opinion, translates to wealth and power in the bigger system. We justify dirty politics by saying it is for the bigger cause. We backstab our friends with whom we share great ideas, for personal gain. Worse, we promote incapable friends instead of an acquaintance who deserves the position. I swear I have not made these things up. How, Malaysia? How can my generation, myself included, bring our idealism into the system, instead of the other way round? How can we prevent ourselves from doing the exact same things that we despise? I got the chance to listen to this respected young leader who said that the best thing young people can do is to first enhance ourselves individually, before we even think of changing the system. Maybe that is the way to move forward, to equip ourselves with as much as we can, so that we can be what we want without participating in dirty politics. Maybe we should start motivating our friends to equip themselves, so that if we have to nominate him or her, it'd be because he or she really is great, instead of resorting to the friendship sentiment. Sounds clichéd, but that is the best I have for now. Dear Malaysia, many changes will happen for you while you cry through the rains and shake through quakes. Thank you for being strong for all of us. May your sons and daughters soon find comfort in each other, in their journey to make you the best among the rest. Happy 64th Independence Day, Malaysia, from exactly 10 years back. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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