Mudslingers of Malaysia

 

It is Chinese New Year,  the time of the year when the politicians of Malaysia,  namely,  the Malays, Chinese and Indians from their various parties get together, in a so called 'open house' of the Chinese New Year celebrations. In an 'open house" party, the public, no matter what race or religion they are, are cordially invited to join in the celebrations.  The foreign tourists are also free to join in. There are traditional dances and songs to enjoy and the attendees can have a go at the several dishes that is provided. Well, that is mainly why the public came for. Free food and drinks! 

I mentioned politicians,  didn't I? Yes, the politicians, who had been  mudslinging against each other  on the days, prior to this, now, suddenly, are very  cosy and buddy-buddy with one another,  very jovial with ear to ear smiles! They happily join in the Yee Sang event, a special tradition of the Chinese  New Year revelry. They try to show they have got nothing against each other. What a rotten lot of pretenders. Just wait, after the new year celebrations  are over they will start throwing  mud at each other again!

It is the same thing over and over again at the open houses of the festivals of Deepavalli of the Indians, and the Hari Raya Puasa open houses of the Muslims, and also during Christmas celebrations! Yes, it happens year in and year out! This is my Malaysia!

Malaysia, the land of beauty, but.....

In these not so good times of unsavoury messages  in the social media platform, tiktok,  between  many netizens of Malay and Indian Malaysians, mainly touching on the controversies around the locations of the Indian temples in Malaysia, it was very pleasing, indeed, and also quite relieving to see the Malay Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim visiting the famous Indian Batu Caves temple of Kuala Lumpur, on the occasion of the Thaipusam festival celebrated by the Indians. The date was January the 30th of 2026. I am quite sure that this was his way of showing that he, as the Prime Minister, also cares for the activities of the Indians  and, in a way, to also imply  that he desires their support and help in the continuous administration of the nation. 

He was welcomed warmly by the temple delegation and given the all Indian cultural honour of  being wrapped with a golden shawl around his shoulders and being garlanded. The Prime Minister was no less irresponsive. He, happily  and respectfully,  greeted the people around him the Indian way, pressing both palms together in front of the chest.

Correspondingly, the honorable Inspector-General of Police,  Dato' Sri Mohd Khalid Ismail visited the temple on Thaipusam day itself on February 1, 2026, to oversee the security aspect, due to the huge congregation of people to the multicoloured and multifarious celebrations. He seemed honoured and happy to be given the respect that was due, by the  temple delegation, in that ceremonial way that was accorded to the Prime Minister, two days earlier.

Not to be outdone, the main TV channels of Malaysia which are mostly managed by Malays, generously telecasted long live reels of the Thaipusam festival activities of the celebrations. 

This is Malaysia, the land of beauty, the country of tolerable  skirmishes amidst happy faces of the mainly Malay, Chinese and Indian communities of the Peninsular, and the fewer Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau and Murut of Sabah, and the Iban, Bidayuh and Melanau of Sarawak.

My take on world affairs - 17.1.26 -

 

1)  Enigma of Trump - I am sure every morning people interested in world goings-on, quickly, search the news portals to see foremost what Trump is up to. Everyday, something  ridiculous  from him! Ha ha ha!

2) Now that their common enemy Israel is lying low, other Middle-east countries are beginning  to fight among themselves. They have the time now. 

3) I have noticed that the health portals in the browsers are always contradicting with each other. One will say coffee  is good for you. Another will say coffee is bad for you. It is the same with the other edible  products, too. For me, coming to a decision is no small matter. Phew! 

4) Trump has little respect for NATO, EU and even UN. That is why he is doing what he is doing. His exploits on Greenland and Venezuela are good examples.

5) On January 15 2026, Venezuelan  opposition party leader, Maria Corina Machado presented her Nobel peace prize medal to President  Trump. Unsurprisingly, Trump was very pleased indeed. Now, finally, he had in his hand the medal he was so infatuated with, and who cares from where it came from! So friends, if you have power,  you do not need to go out, searching for an object that you so desire. It will come to you!.

Hello 2026!

Just when everyone thought and hoped the year 2026 will bring peace and calmness  to the world, all hell broke loose. USA stunned the world by sending its military to  Venezuela and forcefully capturing its president and his wife and taking them back to USA. 

And in the middle-east, unexpectedly, Saudi Arabia and UAE began their skirmishes involving Yemen. This too looked strange to the world as all the these countries together with the other nations in their zone, were, unitedly, concentrating on the Israel-Hamas war. Now to everyone's astonishment Iran is in turbulence within, with large protests and rallies. There is fighting in Syria between the Syrian army and the Turkish  backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) with mostly the Kurdish people being displaced elsewhere. And God knows what else to come in this area.

Greenland and Colombia are waiting expectantly on what will the Americans next do to them. The other superpowers Russia and China are watching and watching. It is frightening! Hopefully, nothing comes out from their watchfullhess. May the conscience, if there is any now,  for the wellbeing of humanity prevail.

Nature, too has not been patient! Floods and landslides occurred in Indonesia and  killed over 1200 people. Philippines and Malaysia  also experienced these catastrophes. Australia was hit by bushfires and heatwaves. Major wildfires continued in parts of South Africa and forest fires were reported in Portugal. Earthquakes, though not devastating, occurred in parts of Philippines, Japan and Mexico.

Not to be outdone, human arrogance or carelessness caused another painful tragedy on New Year's  Day itself, in a bar in Switzerland  when a fire  which they said was caused by sparkling candles atop champagne  bottles, killed around 40 people and injured many.

Looks like it will be the same  old, same old. Good bye 2025. Hello 2026!