Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

---

Rooney quick off the mark as United go back on top Posted: 18 Dec 2011 06:44 AM PST Manchester United's Phil Jones (right) and team mate Wayne Rooney go for the ball against Queens Park Rangers during their English Premier League match at Loftus Road Stadium in London on December 18, 2011. ― Reuters pic LONDON, Dec 18 ― Wayne Rooney took just 52 seconds to find the net as champions Manchester United knocked Manchester City off the top of the Premier League, for a few hours at least, with a 2-0 win at Queens Park Rangers today. Rooney grabbed his 12th league goal of the season with a diving header off a cross from Antonio Valencia on a bright but bitterly cold afternoon at the smallest ground in the top flight. Michael Carrick made it 2-0 in the 56th after taking the ball off Joey Barton in midfield, setting off down the pitch and unleashing a shot from the edge of the box that Czech keeper Radek Cerny could not keep out despite getting a hand to. United have 39 points from 16 games, a point and a game more than neighbours City who were hosting fifth-placed Arsenal in a later kickoff. Chelsea drew 1-1 at relegation-threatened Wigan Athletic yesterday and could lose third place to Tottenham Hotspur, playing at home to Sunderland in an afternoon start. Liverpool were playing at Aston Villa. Rooney's goal was the third fastest of the season so far and United could have made it 2-0 after just three minutes against promoted opponents who last beat them back in the old first division in 1992. Danny Welbeck also had the ball in the net after 24 minutes but was ruled offside and Cerny made two crucial saves in the space of three minutes to keep his side in the game. QPR had a good chance to equalise just before the break when Jay Bothroyd swept in a low cross that was just too quick for Jamie Mackie to get a toe to at full stretch. Carrick's goal ended a 70 match drought for the player, nearly two years on from his last for United in the Premier League. Mexican striker Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez returned to action, barely two weeks after an ankle injury that was expected to keep him out for up to four weeks, as a second half substitute for Welbeck. ― Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Barca thrash Santos 4-0 to win Club World Cup Posted: 18 Dec 2011 04:35 AM PST Lionel Messi of Spain's Barcelona kicks to score their fourth goal during their Club World Cup final soccer match against Brazil's Santos in Yokohama, south of Tokyo December 18, 2011. – Reuters pic YOKOHAMA, Dec 18 – Lionel Messi scored two wonder goals as European champions Barcelona thrashed Brazil's Santos 4-0 to win their second Club World Cup in two years today. The Argentine put the Spanish giants in front with an exquisite chip after 17 minutes in Yokohama before Xavi drilled home a second seven minutes later. Cesc Fabregas stabbed home Barca's third on the stroke of halftime as Barca threatened to run riot and came within a whisker of another goal moments after the restart. Messi made it 4-0 eight minutes from time, brilliantly latching on to a Dani Alves pass and bursting past goalkeeper Rafael Cabral to slip the ball into the net. – Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Features

---

India temple elephants sent on rejuvenating holiday Posted: 18 Dec 2011 06:58 AM PST Decorated elephants walk during a procession for the Jaal Yatra in Ahmedabad. A southern Indian state on December 14, 2011 ordered a vacation for elephants employed by temples as part of an official programme to 'rejuvenate' the weary creatures, officials said. – AFP pic CHENNAI, Dec 18 – A southern Indian state on Wednesday ordered a vacation for elephants employed by temples as part of an official programme to "rejuvenate" the weary creatures, officials said. State foresters herded 45 domestic pachyderms from Hindu shrines and hermitages in Tamil Nadu to the coastal state's Mudumalai forests for a 48-day break to help them regain lost vigour, they said. "The elephants were brought in two batches in trucks from various temples and mutts (hermitages) across the state," said senior forest department official Ameer Haja. They will eat a special diet of sugarcane, coconuts and banana laced with herbal medication and vitamins during their stay at the rejuvenation camp, Haja added. Elephants form a traditional part of Hindu rituals in temples, where they bless pilgrims and devotees with their raised trunks. They are also trained to perform other physical duties at the shrines. – AFP Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Israeli scientists develop cancer ‘cluster bomb’ Posted: 18 Dec 2011 02:49 AM PST Medical researchers from Tel Aviv University say they have developed a new technique for blasting cancer tumours from the inside out. – Photo by shutterstock.com JERUSALEM, Dec 18 – Israeli medical researchers say they have developed a new technique for blasting cancer tumours from the inside out which reduces the risk of the disease returning after treatment. Tel Aviv University professors Yona Keisari and Itzhak Kelson are about to start clinical trials of a pin-sized radioactive implant that beams short-range alpha radiation from within the tumour. Unlike conventional radiation therapy, which bombards the body with gamma rays from outside, the alpha particles "diffuse inside the tumour, spreading further and further before disintegrating," a university statement quoted Keisari as saying. "It's like a cluster bomb – instead of detonating at one point, the atoms continuously disperse and emit alpha particles at increasing distances." The university said that the process takes about 10 days and leaves behind only non-radioactive and non-toxic amounts of lead. "Not only are cancerous cells more reliably destroyed, but in the majority of cases the body develops immunity against the return of the tumour," the statement said. The wire implant, inserted into the tumour by hypodermic needle, "decays harmlessly in the body," it added. It went on to say that in pre-clinical trials on mice, one group had tumours removed surgically while another was treated with the radioactive wire. "When cells from the tumour were reinjected into the subject, 100 per cent of those treated surgically redeveloped their tumour, compared to only 50 per cent of those treated with the radioactive wire," it said. "The researchers have had excellent results with many types of cancer models, including lung, pancreatic, colon, breast, and brain tumours." It added that the procedure would begin clinical trials at Beilinson hospital, near Tel Aviv, "soon." – AFP Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Features To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

---

Cape Verde’s ‘barefoot diva’ Cesaria Evora dies Posted: 17 Dec 2011 04:26 PM PST PRAIA, Cape Verde, Dec 18 — Legendary Cape Verdean singer Cesaria Evora, nicknamed the "barefoot diva", died at the age of 70 yesterday, three months after retiring due to ill health. The singing star who won international acclaim with her sultry voice and melancholy ballads of lost love, died in a hospital on her native island of Sao Vicente, Cape Verde Culture Minister Mario Lucio Sousa announced. In September, her record label Lusafrica said Evora (picture) had decided to end her career due to health problems. She underwent open heart surgery in May 2010. "I have no strength, no energy. I want you to say to my fans: forgive me, but now I need to rest," Evora told French newspaper Le Monde three months ago. "I infinitely regret having to stop because of illness, I would have wanted to give more pleasure to those who have followed me for so long," she said. Evora has sung the blues-influenced "saudade" of her native Cape Verde since a young age, but came to world fame late in life in 1992 after three decades performing in the bars of Mindello, Sao Vicente. Her third album Miss Perfumado, which came out that year, was a worldwide hit with more than 300,000 copies sold to date. In all she has produced 10 studio albums and an anthology of historic radio recordings while touring far from her Atlantic island home. Her mother, a cook, entrusted a seven-year-old Evora to an orphanage after the death of her father, a struggling cellist. From the age of 16, Evora sang in bars and at private parties, earning pocket money with her songs of love, poverty and the sea. Over the next ten years, the young singer plunged into a life of alcohol abuse and solitude, before coming into the spotlight in 1985 with a series of performances in Portugal. Evora's first album was recorded in Paris and appeared when she was 47, in 1988. The name of the album, "La diva aux pieds nus (The Barefoot Diva)" — from her habit of taking to the stage without shoes, would stick with her throughout her career. Evora was also known for taking short breaks during concerts for a sip of cognac or a cigarette. By 1992, two albums later, Evora became a breakthrough success, selling out shows to Cape Verdean and French audiences alike and starting a punishing schedule of concerts around the world. Her voice was compared to that of US great Billie Holliday, and the music press revelled in exotic tales of her African island life, growing up in poverty and acquiring a taste for cognac, smoking and wild nights out. In 2004, her album "Voz d'Amor" won a Grammy Award for "Best World Music Album" and stars like Madonna, David Byrne and Brandford Marsalis descended on her New York concert. Evora gave up alcohol in 1994, but not smoking, and by 2005 she was diagnosed with heart problems and begun a series of operations. She has blamed her health problems on her love for "batathinas" — Portuguese fried chips she was forbidden from eating because of their high cholesterol content. "I stopped, but I had to eat some to check that it was truly the chips which made me weak," the diva had said. In 2008 Evora suffered a stroke after a concert in the Australian city of Melbourne and returned to her Paris base to recover, managing to record her latest album "Nha Sentimento" for release in 2009. In February 2010, President Nicolas Sarkozy decorated her with the Legion of Honour, France's highest award. In April this year, Evora appeared at the Grand Rex theatre in Paris in apparent good form, just five months before announcing her retirement. "I did my best. I have had a career many people would have loved," Evora told Le Monde in September. Paris mayor Betrand Delanoe hailed the diva yesterday as "a popular singer in the most beautiful sense of the term", who introduced the rhythms of Cape Verde to the world. — AFP/Relaxnews Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

US rapper shot to death in Atlanta Posted: 17 Dec 2011 04:18 PM PST ATLANTA, Dec 18 — Rapper Slim Dunkin has been shot to death in Atlanta, police said yesterday. Dunkin, 24, whose real name was Mario Hamilton, was killed on Friday at a studio where a music video was being filmed, Atlanta police said in a statement. "Moments after his arrival, an argument began and the victim was shot," the statement said. Dunkin (picture) was taken to Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital where he died a short time later. He belonged to a group called 1017 Brick Squad, which includes rappers Gucci Mane and Waka Flocka Flame, according to the Atlanta group's Facebook page. Police said there have been no arrests in the case. — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

---

Cuepacs mahu kerajaan batal ‘Exit Policy’ sektor awam Posted: 18 Dec 2011 01:54 AM PST KUALA LUMPUR, 18 Dis — Cuepacs mahu kerajaan membatalkan dasar pemisah atau 'Exit Policy', salah satu komponen di bawah sistem Saraan Baru Perkhidmatan Awam (SBPA) atas alasan ia akan merugikan kaitangan awam. Cuepacs, badan induk kesatuan sekerja awam, juga mengesyaki ia salah satu usaha kerajaan mahu mengecilkan saiz perkhidmatan awam dalam jangka panjang. "Cuepacs mahu dasar pemisah ini dimansuhkan, kami memutuskan tidak mahu terima dasar baru ini," kata Presidennya Datuk Omar Osman pada sidang media sempena perhimpunan dan taklimat membantah SBPA di Pusat Konvensyen CIDB di sini hari ini. Omar berkata, pihaknya khuatir dasar itu akan digunakan untuk membuang mana-mana kakitangan awam dengan memberi markah kurang 70 peratus. Ketika kerajaan hendak melaksanakan umur persaraan wajib 60 tahun, katanya, dasar pemisah itu tidak perlu dan tidak dialu-alukan untuk membuang atau menghentikan mana-mana kakitangan. Malah menurut beliau, dasar pemisah boleh disalahgunakan untuk mengecilkan tenaga kerja. Pelaksanaan SBPA juga telah memansuhkan sekitar 29,000 jawatan. Ketika diminta mengesahkan sama ada pihaknya risau ia akan digunakan untuk mengecilkan saiz tenaga kerja sektor awam, Omar berkata, "kita nampak begitu." Penolakan dasar pemisah merupakan antara lima perkara yang menimbulkan rasa tidak puas hati di kalangan kakitangan awam, kata beliau. Perkara itu akan dibawa ke perhatian Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak semasa pertemuan dengan Cuepacs pukul 11 pagi, Khamis ini. Kata Omar, kerajaan masih boleh membuang atau menghentikan mana-mana kakitangan yang bermasalah menggunakan cara lain termasuk merujuk kepada lembaga disiplin. "Kita ada kaedah-kaedah lain, akujanji, perintah am dan lembagai disiplin. Mengapa hendak gunakan dasar 'exit policy'," katanya lagi. Dalam satu kenyataan kepada The Malaysian Insider 8 Disember lalu, Ketua Pengarah Perkhidmatan Awam Tan Sri Abu Bakar Abdullah berkata pelaksanaan dasar pemisah tidak wajar menjadi satu isu kerana bilangan kakitangan yang tergolong dalam kumpulan mereka berprestasi rendah sangat kecil. Abu Bakar berkata, rekod JPA menunjukkan bilangan mereka yang memperoleh markah 69 peratus dan ke bawah, kumpulan yang terdedah kepada tindakan dibersarakan di bawah sistem SBPA, yang akan dilaksanakan mulai 1 Januari ini, hanyalah 1.1 peratus. Paras itu bersamaan dengan sekitar 15,400 orang daripada keseluruhan 1.4 juta kakitangan awam buat masa sekarang. "Jadi, ini tidak sepatutnya menjadi isu besar ditambah pula dengan jaminan JPA akan menyiasat terlebih dahulu sebelum diambil tindakan supaya dapat dielakkan penganiayaan," kata beliau. Dalam penjelasan itu, Abu Bakar berkata, berhubung dengan isu penjawat berprestasi rendah iaitu markah prestasi di bawah 70 akan dibersarakan, semakan JPA ke atas sampel laporan prestasi bagi tahun 2010 melibatkan 131,196 orang penjawat awam atau 10 peratus, seramai 39 peratus memperoleh 90 markah dan ke atas, dan ia disusuli dengan 55.6 peratus mengumpulkan 80 hingga 89 markah dan 4.3 peratus lagi antara 70 hingga 79 markah. "Mereka yang prestasi di bawah 70 iaitu 69 ke bawah hanyalah 1.1 peratus," katanya. Ketika ditemui pada majlis pelancaran pekeliling SBPA bagi kakitangan perkhidmatan umum, guru, polis dan Angkatan Tentera Malaysia sehari sebelum itu, Abu Bakar berkata, penjawat kerajaan yang tidak memperlihatkan prestasi baik akan dinilai mulai Januari depan, susulan pelaksanaan sistem SBPA dan akan dihentikan kerja jika terus gagal memperbaiki kedudukan mereka selepas proses penilaian. Abu Bakar menjelaskan penilaian akan dibuat ke atas kakitangan awam yang memperoleh 69 markah dan ke bawah. "Kita akan menilai mulai tahun depan. Mereka akan dinilai oleh panel dan akan diberi peluang untuk memperbaiki prestasi masing-masing, dan jika masih tidak berubah, mereka akan dibuang kerja," kata beliau. SBPA akan dikuatkuasakan mulai 1 Januari ini bagi menggantikan Sistem Saraan Malaysia (SSM). Abu Bakar berkata, mereka bukan dihentikan secara automatik jika gagal mempamerakan prestasi tidak memuaskan, sebaliknya akan diberi peluang bagi memperbaiki keadaan. "Tetapi akan dinilai oleh panel, selama enam bulan, mungkin ada sebab mengapa seseorang kakitangan awam tidak berkhidmat dengan baik. Kita semua manusiakan," katanya. "Kita kena beri mereka peluang untuk memperbaiki keadaan, dan jika masih tiada perubahan, baru akan diminta berhenti kerja," kata beliau lagi. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Cuepacs mahu JPA tangguh SBPA, runding semula dengan kesatuan Posted: 18 Dec 2011 12:48 AM PST KUALA LUMPUR, 18 Dis — Cuepacs membuat pendirian tegas meminta kerajaan menangguhkan pelaksanaan sistem Saraan Baru Perkhidmatan Awam (SBPA), yang akan dikuatkuasakan 1 Januari ini, dan mengadakan perundingan dengan badan induk kesatuan awam itu. Badan induk itu mendakwa pihaknya "amat kesal" kerana kerajaan dan Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA) tidak mengadakan langsung perundingan dengan Cuepacs sebelum menggubal dan melaksanakan SBPA. Presidennya Datuk Omar Osman berkata, kerajaan seharusnya memastikan setiap anggota perkhidmatan awam, yang saiznya 1.4 juta orang, menerima maklumat yang tepat dan mendalam sebelum menerima opsyen pelaksanaan SBPA. "Kami mahu kerajaan mengadakan perundingan dengan Cuepacs, kami mahu sistem ini dikaji semula... kalau boleh, tangguh melaksanakan SBPA, ada orang kata naik gaji 1 Januari, tetapi mana yang penting, naik gaji 1 Januari atau mendapatkan maklumat betul dan tepat, faedah yang baik. "Kenaikan gaji 1 Januari boleh dianjakkan satu dua bulan lagi, katakan Mac, kita bayar tunggakan gaji, tiada masalah," kata Omar pada sidang media sempena perhimpunan bantahan dan taklimat SBPA di Pusat Konvensyen CIDB di sini petang ini. Omar berkata, perkara itu akan dibawa ke perhatian Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak dalam satu pertemuan pada Khamis ini. "Soal penangguhan itu bagi kami, itu perkara kedua dan ketiga, tetapi kami mahukan hak perundingan, mahu hak perundingan dikembalikan, sistem gaji ini dikaji semula, berunding dengan kami," kata beliau sambil menegaskan urusan opsyen SBPA perlu ditangguhkan. "Kami meminta ahli-ahli kami tidak menerima opsyen sehingga perkara ini selesai," kata beliau sambil menambah sekitar 900,000 daripada 1.4 juta kakitangan awam mendapat perlindungan menerusi perjuangan Cuepacs. Bagaimanapun Cuepacs tiada maklumat berapa ramai yang sudah menandatangani opsyen SBPA setakat ini. "Kami tiada statistik buat masa sekarang," kata beliau yang turut menambah, pihaknya belum memaklumkan pendirian  penangguhan pelaksanaan urusan opsyen kepada JPA lagi. Cuepacs membuat pendirian itu pada mesyuarat majlis kongres di Perlis Khamis lalu. JPA membuka opsyen menerima SBPA mulai 16 Disember lalu dan ia akan ditutup pada 30 Disember. "Tempoh 15 hari tidak cukup, kami mahu ia dilanjutkan," kata Omar sambil menambah, pemimpin-pemimpin Cuepacs sendiri tidak jelas tentang kandungan SBPA. "Kalau kami sendiri tidak jelas, bagaimana hendak dijelaskan kepada ahli-ahli kami. "Kalau kami diberikan maklumat, kami sendiri boleh lakukan jelajah taklimat tanpa JPA, kami boleh buat, kami boleh tolong. Tetapi ini tidak berlaku, tetapi kami tidak dibawa bersama dalam taklimat mereka," katanya lagi. Sekitar 2,000 ahli jawatankuasa kesatuan gabungan Cuepacs menghadiri perhimpunan hari ini. Omar juga mendakwa kakitangan awam dipaksa menerima opsyen tanpa diberikan maklumat mengenai sifir gaji dan tangga gaji. Beliau mengakui ada kakitangan awam diugut supaya menerima SBPA dan dikatakan tidak boleh masuk pejabat jika enggan menerima SBPA. Apabila diberitahu bahawa ada kakitangan yang sudah dimaklumkan mengenai tangga gaji, Omar berkata: "Kami tidak diberikan buku sifir gaji sepenuhnya. Masa kami tanya pada taklimat JPA (bulan lalu) dikatakan rahsia, tetapi sekarang tidak dikeluarkan. "Memang ada kakitangan diberitahu, tetapi kebanyakan tidak tahu. Ada juga agensi yang tidak ada kesatuan." Katanya, ia jauh berbeza berbanding ketika pelaksanaan Sistem Saraan Baru dan Sistem Saraan Malaysia. SBPA akan menggantikan Sistem Saraan Malaysia. Pekeliling rasmi mengenainya dikeluarkan pada 7 Disember lalu. "Ini kali pertama dalam sejarah, saya sudah berkhidmata selama... ini kali pertama dilaksanakan tanpa hak perundingan, tiada maklumat terperinci," katanya lagi. Mengulas mengenai pendirian kekesalan mereka, Omar berkata, pihaknya hairan kerana kerajaan mengetepikan peranan Cuepacs dan perkara ini tidak pernah berlaku sebelum ini. "Kami amat kesal mengapa ia berlaku sekarang, apabila hendak melaksanakan SBPA. Dulu ketika hendak melaksanakan opsyen berkaitan berpindah dari skim KWSP kepada skim pencen, Cuepacs diajak berunding. "Begitu juga ketika memansuhkan sistem penilaian PTK dan digantikan dengan Prospek, kami diajak berbincang tetapi sekarang tidak, maklumat disembunyikan, tidak diajak berbincang dan dikatakan sulit. Kami amat kesal," katanya lagi. Kata Omar lagi, Cuepacs merasakan tidak wujud ketelusan dalam pelaksanaan SBPA. Mengenai kenaikan gaji tujuh hingga 13 peratus yang diumumkan oleh Najib ketika pembentangan Bajet 2012, Omar berkata, perkiraan pihaknya menunjukkan sebaliknya. Ada yang mendakwa menerima perubahan gaji bawah peratusan itu. "Jelaskan kedudukan kenaikan gaji tujuh hingga 13 peratus ini," katanya. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

---

A world without Iraq Posted: 17 Dec 2011 04:37 PM PST DEC 18 — I was almost late for my morning history class. I ran as far as I could while trying to keep my balance on ice and snow. By the time I entered the classroom, I was gasping for air. For the not very athletic me, it was not easy to breathe hard during a cruel Michigan winter. As I settled in my seat thinking my heart was about to explode and my lungs collapsing, the instructor said, "Today will be about what ifs. What if you were early?" The class burst into laughter at my expense. After several minutes of friendly pokes, the instructor began to share his plan for the day. "But seriously, today will be about what ifs. "What if Venice and other cities had not monopolised the spice trade? What if old European powers were unsuccessful at colonising Asia? What if Dien Bien Phu did not happen? What if the United States had not entered the Second World War? There were many more what ifs. We were discussing colonialism in Asia and we were exploring the importance of certain events by trying to imagine an alternative history where those events did not occur. It required a broad understanding of history. It required all of us in the class to do our voluminous readings. A lot of us, being freshmen and still patting ourselves on our backs for getting into a storied school, did not finish our reading. We gave it a stab anyway. We had enough imagination to run wild. That old memory reran in my mind as President Barack Obama finally, for better or for worse, fulfilled one of his election promises. The US is officially withdrawing from Iraq after more than eight years since the invasion that toppled the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The withdrawal ceremony was being telecast "live" on CNN. As I sat in my chair listening to Leon Panetta making his speech, my mind wandered to Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and the rest of the Arab world. Remembering my freshman lesson, I asked myself, "What if the US had not invaded Iraq back in 2003?" Would Saddam Hussein's regime have become a victim of the Arab Spring? We will never know but nobody can say that would have been impossible. Whether a person is supportive of the war or vehemently rejects the invasion, he or she cannot deny that Saddam Hussein was a ruthless dictator. That makes his removal desirable to some extent. If the 2003 invasion was legitimate in some ways, many in the anti-war camp would support or at least not reject the invasion. If Saddam Hussein was toppled organically by Iraqis just like how Hosni Mubarak, Muammar Gaddafi and Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali were toppled, many more would support the regime change. An Arab Spring for Iraq would have been ideal. It would have removed a dictator without causing bad blood betwewen various sides. Yes, it would be eight years later but in a time of terrorism and religious extremism, a world without the 2003 invasion of Iraq could have spurred deeper co-operation between the US and those that mattered. A world without the war would have the US possibly swamped with goodwill of the kind it received in the aftermath of the September 11 attack but soon after squandered in the run-up to the 2003 war. It could be the case, or it could not. Just as Japan in the Second World War made the colonised natives realise that colonial European powers were not invincible, the US invasion also reminded the Arabs that their dictators were not gods. Sure, the United States of the 2000s was not Japan of the 1900s that was seriously underestimated first by the Russians and then later all the colonial powers in South-east Asia. Still, what is possible is not always evident until somebody makes it a reality. The US with its unmatched military might removed Saddam Hussein. The US made possible a regime change. Or — this might sound repulsive, especially for those in the anti-war camp but consider this – the Arab Spring might not have happened without the 2003 invasion. An alternative reality without the war would have taken away the realization of the possibility, and possibly affected the psyche of the Arabs. What was possible would have remained only one of the possibilities deep in the minds of ordinary men, never to surface to the real world. A world without the war also would have taken away the anger against the US. The US in many parts of the Middle East and Northern Africa had close relationships with many Arab dictators. The relations were maintained in the name of stability and much to the detriment to the freedom agenda. The ordinary man in the streets of the Arab world, already with a low opinion of the US, saw the relationship as a constant reminder of how much they disliked their own autocrats. This only added to local frustrations that had nothing to do with the US directly. All that anger and frustration, along with the cumulative effect of all those issues, created a momentum to push history to converge to a point that sparked the Arab Spring. Without the war, part of the momentum would not have existed. The cumulative anger without the invasion might not have been enough to start the Arab Spring. That sans-Iraq anger might have been just a weak undercurrent, never to surface and threaten the dictators' expensive boats, rocked gently by the pleasant waves. There are a lot of other considerations as well. Maybe without the war, the US would have enough money to bail out Europe. Maybe, Obama would not have been elected as the president. Maybe, we would be still swimming in cheap oil. Maybe. Maybe. Who knows, really? At least we know one part of history is ending. At least we know the next chapter is a whole new world, for whatever it's worth. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Alkisah katak dan katak politik Posted: 17 Dec 2011 04:12 PM PST 18 DIS — Istilah "katak" sering kali merujuk kepada seekor haiwan amfibia yang berdarah sejuk, yang mempunyai daya lompatan yang kuat. Toleh sahaja kepada wajah katak mungkin boleh menyebabkan seseorang itu hilang selera untuk makan mahupun menjadikan mereka fobia untuk menyentuh atau melihat ke arah haiwan berkenaan. Sudah tentu katak tidaklah begitu menggerunkan dan berbisa jika dibandingkan dengan ular namun katak mempunyai peranannya tersendiri. Bercakap mengenai katak, mengingatkan penulis dengan katak tetapi katak yang dimaksudkan di sini ialah katak-katak politik dan bukannya katak sembarangan. Bunyinya mungkin agak pelik sedikit dan sinis. Ada yang bertanya mana mungkin katak boleh berkecimpung dalam arena politik. Tambahan pula, katak tidak berparti, katak juga tidak mengerti untuk berkempen dan katak hanya tahu melompat dari satu tempat ke tempat yang lain. Memang benar katak tidak berkecimpung dalam politik tetapi sekurang-kurangnya katak mempunyai integritinya tersendiri. Sekurang-kurangnya dia tahu bahawa tugasnya adalah untuk mencari makanan bagi memastikan kelangsungan hidupnya. Berbanding pula dengan perwatakan katak-katak politik, mereka ini lebih bersifat talam dua muka, oportunis dan boleh berpaling tadah bila mana keadaan semasa tidak memihak kepadanya. Jelas, katak-katak politik sedemikian semakin ketara dalam persada politik negara mutakhir ini. Bagi katak-katak politik sebegini, melompat parti merupakan satu amalan biasa dan tidak salah selagi ia sesuai dengan kepentingan semasanya. Lagipun, apakah yang lebih penting daripada memastikan kelangsungannya terjamin? Pokok pangkalnya, usah bercakap mengenai prinsip dengan pemimpin-pemimpin terbabit. Di mata mereka, soal memperjuangkan prinsip hanyalah satu pentas untuk meraih sokongan pengundi pada musim pilihan raya sahaja. Apa yang dicakapnya mungkin berlawanan dengan apa yang dijanjikan sebelumnya. Dan rakyat dari satu sudut pula terpaksa menelan kepalsuan tahun demi tahun hingga kesabarannya mulai terhakis. Apabila beberapa pemimpin pembangkang yang mengumumkan keluar parti daripada Pakatan Rakyat baru-baru ini atas alasan hilang kepercayaan terhadap kepimpinannya, ia bukanlah sesuatu yang mengejutkan. Lagipun, ke mana mereka boleh pergi selepas melompat parti? Membuka perniagaan sendiri? Ataupun bersara terus? Lebih menetapi ramalan dalam skrip ini ialah mereka akan seterusnya berkata, mereka tidak mahu rakyat menjadi mangsa. Kepada pemimpin-pemimpin politik ini, mohon janganlah menggunakan rakyat sebagai justifikasi untuk menghalalkan amalan tidak beretika itu. Apa yang cuba dilakukan oleh katak-katak politik dengan melompat parti membuktikan undi rakyat tidak penting untuk mereka. Ia secara terang-terangan menunjukkan mandat rakyat telah diperlekehkan ke tahap yang begitu rendah. Apakah pemimpin-pemimpin sedemikian tidak tahu malu dengan perbuatan tidak beretika itu? Wah, bukan main senang nak umum keluar parti lepas itu umumkan nak sertai parti politik yang lain. Apakah mereka ingat bahawa melompat parti semudah menyalin baju baru? Mereka harus belajar menghormati mandat yang diberikan oleh rakyat. Undi yang diberikan itu bukanlah kertas kosong semata-mata. Setiap undi yang dipangkah itu yang akan menentukan jatuh bangunnya sesebuah parti politik mahupun pemimpin mereka. Sokongan yang mereka berikan bermakna mereka percayakan pemimpin yang dipilih itu. Tetapi dengan melompat parti, katak-katak politik itu bukan sahaja telah mengkhianati mandat rakyat bahkan juga memberi gambaran yang cukup buruk terhadap imej pemimpin-pemimpin politik kononnya semua pemimpin politik mempunyai mentaliti sebegitu. Jangan pula selepas ini katak-katak politik melenting kerana rakyat mempunyai pandangan negatif terhadap mereka kerana sentimen negatif itu wujud kerana angkara mereka sendiri. Sudah sampai masanya pemimpin-pemimpin begini ditolak keluar dari persada politik negara kerana ia mengaibkan imej pemimpin-pemimpin politik lain yang komited berkhidmat untuk rakyat. Justeru, janganlah disebabkan setitik nila, rosak susu sebelanga. Masih ada pemimpin-pemimpin politik di luar sana yang baik, jujur dan ikhlas untuk berkhidmat walaupun tidak sebanyak mana. Sesungguhnya, rakyat lebih rela menerima seorang katak yang bermaruah daripada katak yang hanya pandai mengambil kesempatan, menabur janji-janji kosong dan mengaibkan profesion yang diceburinya sendiri. Katak oh katak! * Segala pandangan yang diberikan di atas hanyalah pandangan peribadi penulis. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com