McDonald's Drive Thru Shooting

On June 14, 2024, a twenty-two-year-old McDonald's employee in Lakeland, Polk County in Florida, United States was none too pleased with a drive-thru customer's complaint, so she responded the American way 💪 and whipped out her gun. She then went outside and pulled the trigger. 

 

Fortunately, although her gunfire hit their car, it missed the people inside. 

 

"What's becoming disturbing is us hearing more about these types of stories", said Orlando's former police chief Orlando Rolón, via the Independent. "I'm shocked that she had a weapon of that sort in a place such as a McDonald's as an employee". 

 

But then again, it isn't so shocking, being that the fast food restaurant on East Memorial Boulevard where the shooting took place is in Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law that allows employees to pack a pistol – openly or concealed – while they work. In fact, no gun permit or any training is required for said employees.

 

The shooter, Chassidy Gardner (left) has since been arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

 

Russia is refusing to participate in a “performance” before a Western-dominated International Civil Aviation Organization panel about the 2014 downing of a Malaysian passenger jet in Donbass, the Russian Foreign Ministry have stated. 

 

Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was flying from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia when it was shot down in Ukrainian airspace. Not surprisingly, Kiev immediately blamed Donetsk People’s Republic forces and Russia for the incident. 

 

In March 2022, the Netherlands and Australia opened an investigation against Russia at the ICAO Council. However, the council first claimed judiciary powers they did not have, then tried to admit as evidence the two investigations into the MH17 disaster that explicitly excluded Russia – by the Dutch Security Council (NSB) and the Joint Investigation Team – while welcoming Ukraine and other adversely interested parties, according to Moscow.

 

Russia had initially agreed to take part in the proceedings “because we believed that the ICAO platform could be used for professional dialogue about the plane crash”, the ministry said. Russia has proposed “a full, thorough and independent international investigation into the crash of flight MH17, as required by UN Security Council Resolution 2166 and the ICAO Dispute Resolution Rules”, but the council refused, the foreign ministry said. 

 

“Ruled by the countries of the collective West and their satellites, the ICAO Council also refused to take into account the decision of the International Court of Justice of January 31, 2024”, which rejected Ukraine’s claims against Russia in the MH17 case, the ministry noted.

 

The council comprise of 36 members, who vote according to instructions from their governments. Thirteen countries including Netherlands and Australia had promptly and publicly blamed Russia for MH17 before any investigation began, the ministry said. When Russia asked them to abstain from voting in the matter, they refused. 

 

This pattern of behavior “runs counter to the minimum requirements for the objectivity of the proceedings”, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. “Under such circumstances, it is impossible to talk about an unbiased establishment of facts, much less a fair decision” . 

 

The “extensive and convincing evidence”, both factual and legal, that Russia was not involved in the MH17 incident has been made available to 193 ICAO members, the ministry declared. 

 

[FYI, then Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had expressed that there was insufficient evidence linking Russia to the downing of MH17, as reported by Malaysiakini on September 05, 2019].

Mahathir Mohamad Questions Multiracialism

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad (right) on Monday claimed that promoting multiracialism is against the Federal Constitution, which he alleged instead endorses the “Malayness” of the country. 

 

I don't intend to waste precious words on him because it'll be a pure waste of my time. Who doesn't know that Mahathir is a ranting shock jock?! 

 

Chips are vital for everything from smartphones and self-driving cars to advanced computing and weapons manufacturing. 

 

And in the name of national security, the US government last October unveiled a set of export controls banning Chinese companies from buying advanced chips and chip-making equipment without a license. But it didn’t stop there. 

 

For the curbs to be effective, Washington needed other key suppliers, located in the Netherlands and Japan, to join. They did. 

 

China eventually retaliated. In April, it launched a cybersecurity probe into Micron Technology, one of America’s biggest memory chipmakers, before banning the company from selling to Chinese companies working on key infrastructure projects one month later. 

 

On Monday, Beijing imposed export controls on two strategic raw materials, gallium and germanium, that are critical to the global chipmaking industry. 

 

FYI, China is the world’s leading producer of both gallium and germanium, according to the US Geological Survey. The country accounted for 98% of the global production of gallium, and 68% of the refinery production of germanium. 

 

But according to CNN Business, the move is not considered “a death blow” to the United States and its allies. China may be the industry leader, but there are alternative producers, as well as available substitutes for both minerals. 

 

The United States also imports a fifth of its gallium from the United Kingdom and Germany and buys more than 30% of its germanium from Belgium and Germany. 

 

In any case, the United States and China are already immersed in a tit-for-tat chip war. And it is escalating.

Malaysian Politicians Love Their Slogans

Malaysian politicians just love their slogans! 

 

As with previous prime ministers, Anwar Ibrahim (left) come up with a slogan, “Malaysia Madani”, for his government. 

 

Mahathir Mohamed had his “Wawasan 2020” to reflect his eagerness for development. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi came up with “Islam Hadhari” as a reflection of his vision, which he even tried to export to other Islamic countries. Najib Razak used “1Malaysia” on everything from sundry shops to cash hand-outs. Muhyiddin Yassin promoted “Kerajaan Prihatin” as struggling Malaysians hoisted white flags in pleas for help and Ismail Sabri Yaakob had “Keluarga Malaysia”. 

 

Predictably, on social media, sceptics are having a field day. Comments like “another slogan”, “slogans don’t work” to the more crude “Mad Anwar Ibrahim” have been made. 

 

The consensus is that it’s good policies that people want to see. Let’s see where Malaysia Madani goes from here.

Malaysia's GE15: A Tight Fight

Nine hundred and forty-five candidates submitted their nomination papers, the highest in Malaysia's election history, to contest the 222 parliamentary seats in the 15th General Election.

 

For state seats – only 3 states are involved this time around – Perak leads the list of most candidates at 220, followed by Pahang (150), Perlis (64), and seven candidates for the Bugaya state by-election in Sabah.

 

New Straits Times on November 08, 2022 had cited PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli’s assertion that Pakatan Harapan are in a good position to form a government after GE15. He had claimed PH might win at least 85 seats. 

 

This was echoed by PH leader Anwar Ibrahim on Friday who expressed confidence that in fact, they can secure a simple majority (Malay Mail, November 13, 2022). 

 

A day later, Barisan Nasional’s communications director Ahmad Shabery Cheek came out to declare they will triumph in at least 112 seats – and not only that but they believe they can even unseat PN’s Muhyiddin Yassin in his P143 Pagoh stronghold (Berita Harian, November 12, 2022). 

 

Not to be outdone, Perikatan Nasional’s election director Azmin Ali said they are confident they too can get at least 112 seats to form the next federal government (Malaysiakini, November 13, 2022). 

 

In the meantime, Mahathir Mohamad stressed that his Gerakan Tanah Air will not work with PH, BN or PN to form a federal government after GE15. And he added that the GTA campaign is currently going well and is gaining momentum, and he believes the coalition have a chance to win in some seats (The Sun Daily, November 12, 2022). 

 

Note: PH, the largest opposition coalition led by former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim are vying for 206 parliamentary seats. BN, Malaysia’s longest-governing political coalition are after 178 parliamentary seats – and seeking to reclaim their dominance after their shock defeat at the last election in 2018. The PN coalition led by former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin are fighting for 149 parliamentary seats while GTA have put up candidates in 132 parliamentary seats. 

 

It does look like GE15 is going to be a tight fight. In any case, we’ll know soon enough. In five days’ time.

Steering Clear of Snakes

PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar (left) makes a lot of sense when she declared that Pakatan Harapan will not work with Mahathir Mohamad’s Gerakan Tanah Air or Muhyiddin Yassin’s Perikatan Nasional in the 15th general election that is coming soon in Malaysia.

The Permatang Pauh MP said that the decision not to work with either entity is final, as PH will not allow themselves to be “bitten by a snake again”, following the “episodes of betrayal” that took place in 2018 when the PH government fell. 

In a Utusan Malaysia interview published Wednesday, she said “I am returning to the mandate of the leadership, which is strengthening PH. This is not an easy agenda because we went from being the Opposition to the Government to the Opposition again within the span of 22 months. So now we are ironing out our relationships with each other, we are targeting seats together, as one coalition. Let that be our goal heading into GE15”. 

She is right but if PH are honest with themselves, they'll know there's much more work to be done really. And if they want to regain Malaysians' support, they as well as their individual constituents need to rebuild the trust they have surrendered and lost. For their sakes, I hope they know it.

Get real, PH! Today, Malaysians don't believe you are worthy of their votes! 

Yesterday, Napoli steamrolled past Liverpool 4-1 in the opening match of the Champions League group campaign. 

We haven’t learned anything, have we? Jürgen Klopp (right) still opted for more of the same. 

The full-backs were abysmal again in terms of positional work and tracking, the cohesion in attack wasn’t there on or off the ball. And we keep witnessing a catalog of errors. 

Not only that but you really have to wonder what’s going on with the Reds’ energy and power levels? Where has the pressing, the famous intensity, gone? 

It’s time for the manager to stop pretending things are more or less there and start addressing these issues. Surely, he can clearly see Liverpool are nowhere near the levels we are used to. Not even close.

Klopp and his men have their work cut out for them. Let's pray this won't be a season to forget!

Frog Defends Party Hopping

Another Malaysian politician has come out to defend party-hopping. 

FMT reported on Wednesday that Larut MP Hamzah Zainudin considers party-hopping acceptable because it is made in the interest of the people. 

This was based on a Sinar Harian news write-up where he was quoted to have said that party-hopping is for the public’s benefit, not the individual and that party-hopping is the norm.

And he even equated Mahathir Mohamad leaving UMNO and Bersatu with party-hopping. 

FYI, Hamzah is Bersatu secretary-general and is currently serving as Minister of Home Affairs. 

His party have not made clear what is their official stance on the anti-party hopping issue – but it is well-known that many of their MPs are disinclined to support the anti-party hopping bill. 

After all, 26 federal lawmakers from Bersatu (and 11 PKR MPs) hopped over to the other side to team up with PAS and Barisan Nasional to form the Perikatan Nasional coalition – leading to the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government in February 2020.

Malaysian Politicians Are Busy as Bees

In Malaysia, GE15 is expected to be called soon and politicians are busy as bees. They've already begun to lay plans and start to plot and scheme. 

Najib Razak in a Facebook post yesterday contended that Perikatan Nasional's Muhyiddin Yassin (right) is hypocritical in his support for Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, saying that he is meeting opposition leaders behind his back to topple him. 

He said Muhyiddin had covertly met with Pejuang’s Dr Mahathir Mohamad, PKR’s Anwar Ibrahim and Warisan’s Shafie Apdal in his bid to wrest back the premiership from Ismail. 

“But these three leaders – Mahathir, Anwar and Shafie – who he is lobbying support from also want to become the PM”, asserted Najib.

In fact, a Malay Mail news report published yesterday had Muhyiddin himself confirming that he had met Mahathir to discuss possible collaboration to unseat BN. 

His admission came because a day earlier, Mahathir had already divulged that Muhyiddin had sought his help to enable him to return as prime minister. A FMT report published April 01 had Mahathir even saying Pejuang are not ‘going to support somebody who as the prime minister was as much a failure as Najib (Razak) was”! 

Muhyiddin had in 2020 taken Bersatu out of the Pakatan Harapan coalition, leading to the collapse of the government. He then joined forces with former political enemies UMNO and PAS to form the PN government, with him as the prime minister. 

And in August last year, Muhyiddin, in turn, was supplanted by Ismail (right) who is from UMNO.

I’m reminded by what former US president Ronald Reagan once said: “Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first”. 

Anyway, Malaysian politicians don’t have a good reputation!

Yesterday, Liverpool got the job done, despite an unconvincing performance when they beat Watford 2-0. 

Portugal forward Diago Jota jumped between two Hornets defenders to meet a Joe Gomez cross and head past the opposing side’s goalie in the twenty-second minute. And then, Fabinho's penalty in the eighty-ninth minute secured the points.

The Reds face Benfica on Tuesday in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in Lisbon, Portugal before meeting Manchester City on Sunday in what many are billing as the game that could decide the Premier League title. Needless to say, these are the two games in which they must win!

8-year-old Earns a Ph.D

An eight-year-old has received a Ph.D. in veterinary medicine on Friday. Yes, you read it right! 

And he is a Labrador retriever, working as a therapy dog at Virginia Tech’s Cook Counseling Center since 2014, helping students cope with anxiety, trauma and other mental health issues. 

If you must know, Moose (right) assisted in more than 7,500 counseling sessions. Trent Davis, the coordinator of animal-assisted therapy and a counselor at the center explained that therapy dogs chiefly aid in sessions by providing extra comfort and a sense of security. 

And so, his years of service are being celebrated with an honorary degree from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, which is operated by Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland at College Park in Maryland, USA.

I guess you could say that Moose is in the same illustrious company as former Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad who's a prolific collecter of honorary doctorates himself. 

FYI, his most recent ones were awarded by the Asia School of Business, a collaboration between Bank Negara Malaysia and MIT Sloan School of Management (April 2019), International University of Japan (August 2019) and Qatar University (December 2019). 

Congratulations, Moose! BTW, he’s not the only dog to have received an honorary degree; there has been others too!

Donald Trump & The Dancing Chickens

Long before asshole Donald Trump (left) became a bigoted president, spreading xenophobia and picking fights with countries – he was a businessperson and a television personality. 

Amongst appearances on WWE and the Emmys,  Trump twice hosted Saturday Night Live, once in 2004 and then again in 2015 – just 12 months before he was elected as president. 

Trump’s two appearances on the show aren't fondly remembered – but one particular act has resurfaced and went viral – indeed, it is surreal to view it fifteen years later. 

In the 2004 sketch that also features Maya Rudolph, Kenan Thompson, Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers as the dancing chickens, the future president promotes his 'Donald Trump House of Wings' – a fictional chicken wing restaurant which has its own theme tune, an alternate version of "Jump (For My Love)" by The Pointer Sisters.

Trump, who surprisingly isn't completely awful in the segment but is hardly funny, gives the thumbs up to the chicken wing.

The clip has become popular again after it was reportedly shared by pro-Trump video researcher Wojciech Pawelczyk:

And I read that people genuinely don't know whether to cry or laugh! 

Let’s be honest, it wouldn't be as memorable if Trump isn't currently the president. 

Did you know that although the chicken wing restaurant was just a comedy skit, Trump did actually once try to flog steaks to the American public? Check out how convincing he is:

   

FYI, Trump Steaks was launched in May 2007 and was exclusively sold through The Sharper Image but they discontinued sales of the product line after just two months! 

Psst…’sold’ and ‘sales’ are not exactly correct because Inside Edition revealed that the company didn’t even manage to sell anything!

Trump doesn't need to try very hard to be the Joker – he himself is an instant joke! 

Now, that's already scary!

Besides, we're all suffering. 

God help us if he gets re-elected in 2020. America and the rest of the world will stay buried in deep shit for five more effing years!

After attending the 10th ASEAN-United Nations Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (left) on Sunday voiced his unhappiness to the media that Malaysia and ASEAN are caught in the crossfire with the US and China clashing over trade. And he's right when he said that this US-China trade war will end only when Trump leaves office. 

Let's pray Americans will come to their senses when they decide on their next president.

An Open Letter to the Prime Minister of Malaysia

EVERY MALAYSIAN SHOULD READ THIS:

“Dear Tun Dr Mahathir,

I am not a politician, nor an academic, nor a CEO of importance. In fact I am a housewife with no great ambition save for wanting my family to be safe and sound and above all happy. 

A little insight into my background. My father was actually born in Malaysia or rather Malaya as it was called at that time. We are talking about 1933. His forefathers came from Kerala. My mother on the other hand came to Malaya to get married to my father. Now my paternal forefathers did not come as indentured slaves to work on the estates. In fact they had nothing to do with the British at all. It was a rather romantic story actually. My paternal grandfather was a Hindu by the name of Krishnan Nair. He fell in love with a Christian woman (my late paternal grandmother) by the name of Emily D Cruz. Now as it was in the case in those times (and still is in many parts of Kerala) a union between people of two different faiths was frowned upon. So what did these two star crossed lovers do? 

They eloped of course and ended up in Malaya. 

Now Muthachan must've had some cash on him because he managed to secure a piece of land that is now part of the Pahang roundabout next to the General Hospital Kuala Lumpur and built a little house there replete with livestock and a little vegetable plot. He managed to secure a very humble position as a hospital attendant and both he and my Valiammachi started their family. I won't go into much further detail as it is unnecessary. 

Now Mummy on the other hand came all the way to Swarnabumi (in case you have forgotten that Malaya was also known as that. Surprising that it sounds very much like Sanskrit a language known to be from India). Now Mummy's family was not poor in any sense of the word. Her sister whose husband was gainfully employed in the estates worked as a Clerk, her eldest brother was working as an Accountant in the estates and another older brother as a Clerk in Lever Brothers. So they were not destitute shall we say as you implied in your speech that all Indians were. They were educated and decided to seek their fortunes in a foreign land, Much like your late father, who if I am not mistaken was also from Kerala, God's Own Country, right? 

What I want to take from this is that in actual fact you are not a pure Malay as you would like to portray yourself. Am I right? In fact if your claim to be a pure Malay bears any truth in it at all, then Malays do not follow their mother's parentage but their father's. Which would make you what? A Malayalee? (I take that as an unforgivable insult to us – pure Malayalees). 

Now, of course, there is a point to this long tirade. When I read your tirade at the recent gathering of Malays at the Malay Dignity Congress, I was appalled. There was no need to extol the virtues of Malays by insulting the other races. Now Zainal Kling (what a whopper of a misnomer) is a joke. Whatever academic qualifications he possesses, he should not be allowed to teach at all. In fact he should not be allowed to be in public as he is capable of causing mischief of humongous proportions, But you!!! 

What were you thinking when you decided to insult the Indians and Chinese? You who are the offspring of a "Pendatang" yourself? 

What became of the wild promises you made to the Nation (which of course includes all the different races)? 

If it were not for the Chinese who sweated blood and tears toiling away at tin mines and the Indians slaving away at the rubber estates, what do you think would've happened to this beloved country? We built this country Tun. The Malays, the Chinese, the Indians and the other races. Together. Blood, sweat and tears. 

Do not tear it down for your political gain. You did a lot of damage in your previous tenure as Prime Minister. Your old antics of divide and rule did not go down well then. And is not going down well now either. 

When I cast my vote for your party, I truly believed that you had changed and would make a people's Prime Minister second time round. I cried when the then Agong kept you waiting for hours for your installation as PM. 

But a leopard never changes its spots, does it? 

And by the way, let me tell you, yes tell you, that I am proud of my Indian roots. I am proud of my culture, my traditions. It is who I am. I will never ever forsake my roots to help me attain my goals. It is akin to disowning my parents. 

And I am sure the Chinese feel the same way about their ancient and prolific roots. 

You think it is an insult to accept and embrace your father's ancestry? What does that say about you? 

We may be Chinese or Indians by ancestry, BUT never ever question our loyalty. WE ARE MALAYSIANS FIRST. Tanah tumpahnya darahku. We have every right to this SWARNABUMI as you do. Malaysia is for Malaysians. Not just Malays. 

My late father instilled in me the love for my country. He was fiercely proud of this nation called Malaysia. Proud to have been Malaysian. From the time I was a little child till I attained my teens it was a family tradition to witness the National Day celebrations at Merdeka Square. Come rain, come shine, my Dad, my Mom and I would be there. Cheering as the parade marched by. How much more patriotic can you get? Never failing to stand to attention, no matter where we were when the Negaraku was played or singing it out loud with pride. 

If at all you want to talk about pendatangs, then it is the sole right of the Orang Asli to question pendatangs including the current Malays – most, if not all, have ancestors who came from the surrounding countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, China and India. The Orang Asli are the true owners and bumiputras of this beautiful land that you, I and the rest are squatting on. 

It is indeed shameful that a Prime Minister of a country participates in a gathering condemning his own people who together came as a Nation to put him in charge. 

I won’t even bother to talk about your ill-considered addresses on the world stage. You condemn other countries for the atrocities caused by them to unfortunate nations.Yet what are you and your cohorts doing to our beloved Nation? 

I rue the day you took over. You have not changed one bit. You still play the dirty game of divide and rule. God have mercy on your avaricious soul. You are to be pitied. For when your time is over, and it can’t be soon enough for some of us, you will be remembered as someone who not only reneged on promises made but one who caused discord among the races". 

The above is a write-up by a Malaysian, Dr Patricia Cruz. Malaysiaku, Tanah airku!

Malaysia Supports Huawei

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (left) declared Thursday that Malaysia will not shun Huawei. 

Meaning, we will use Huawei’s technology “as much as possible” – and therefore, bucking the global trend prompted by security concerns and a US ban on the Chinese company. 

He informed that Huawei have access to research “far bigger than the whole of Malaysia’s research equivalent”. 

Not only that but he said that he wasn't too concerned over allegations of espionage by China because “we are an open book”. 

He mentioned that the US is not above spying other countries too. 

He’s right – what is there to spy in Malaysia? 

Mahathir said America is apparently afraid of the advancement made by Huawei. In a sense, he was mocking the US of A. “‘If I am not ahead, I will ban you, I will send warships’”.

He advised the US to learn to compete with China rather than confront it. 

Mahathir said the United States and “the West” must accept that Asian nations now produce competitive products, and should not “threaten” business rivals.

Image credit: https://sarahwithasmile.com/durian-king-of-fruit/ 

Malaysians can expect durian prices to shoot up because we have received approval to export frozen whole durians to China, the CNA news website had reported. 

It said this long-awaited announcement was made by China’s Customs Department on Thursday. This comes 10 months after both countries signed a memorandum on the matter. 

Earlier, China only allowed imports of frozen durian pulp. The vacuum-packed fruits have been exported since 2011.

In fact, I read somewhere that durian imports were worth $1.1 billion last year – supposedly attributed to the United Nation’s trade database. Therefore, it is big business and growing fast.

KTHXBYE Is Improper Language

A Mamee Double-Decker billboard that popularly features their blue mascot 

I didn’t know that Melaka officialdom can be so archaic in their ways. 

A gigantic advertisement on a pedestrian bridge featuring Mamee Monster was instructed to be taken down by the city’s mayor, Mansur Sudin.

Malay daily Sinar Harian reported that the hoarding located near to the Al-Azim state mosque in Bukit Peringgit, had to be withdrawn because it had used improper language. 

Picture of the Mamee billboard that has been widely shared on social media. Malay Mail Online, May 10, 2019

It carried a picture of the snack brand mascot wishing drivers using the Internet slang “kthxbye” instead of “okay, thank you, goodbye”. 

FYI, the blue character frequently uses the phrase in social media posts on Mamee’s accounts. 

On Thursday, Chief Minister Adly Zahari said the authorities will review the applications for the state’s billboards, especially those that use short forms as mainly only millennials would understand their meaning.

So what's wrong lah?!?!

On May 9, 2018, the people of Malaysia, tired of a decade of unsurpassed greed and unprecedented corruption by their then Barisan Nasional government, decided to make their voices heard. Led by an unlikely coalition of former political rivals headed by nonagenarian Mahathir Mohamad, the Pakatan Harapan carried out an extraordinary campaign for change. 

Check out the trailer for M for Malaysia and when you get the chance, go watch the documentary that bears witness to the historic 2018 Malaysian General Elections:

 

Our first change of government since independence!

Mahathir Mohamad's Report Card

May 09, 2019 marked the first full year of Pakatan Harapan in power. 

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (left) is upbeat about Malaysia, despite setbacks stemming from legacy issues from the previous BN administration. 

On that day, he presented his report card on his administration, informing Malaysians that the government’s performance was based on 464 initiatives, which are policies and specific actions that are stated in each election pledge – as written in PH’s GE14 manifesto. 

He then announced that 39% of the pledges made during GE14 had already been fulfilled. 

To be honest, given the massive challenges faced by the government – it is a more than decent achievement. 

Former minister Rafidah Aziz added that the report card on PH’s first anniversary only reflects 20 percent of their term. 

“We must allow the full run of the five years before coming to any judgement and evaluation of the Pakatan Government. God willing, PH will be able to meet the expectations of the rakyat before they come out again in four years’ time in PRU 15 (next general election)”, she said matter-of-factly. 

Even Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown had called on Malaysians to be patient as PH work to make the nation better. 

It is pertinent to point out that grave damage from the previous Najib Razak’s government had affected national recovery – so, to be fair, PH will need more time. 

When all’s said and done, at least Mahathir’s PH Cabinet has one year's experience now. So, things can only get better.

This photo of my Competent Communication manual was taken on Thursday – one of 5 copies I am left with. This is copy No. 59.

Once I am done with all five manuals, I will have completed 60 CC manuals or 600 CC speeches todate. This should be a record-breaking achievement, I think.

That was the day I attended the OneWorld Toastmasters meeting – where I had been given a speaking slot. 

Of course, I took the opportunity to deliver a speech and it was for a CC #2 Organize your Speech titled The Clock is Ticking. 

And I am planning to secure another twenty-five speaking slots in the next 4 months (May-August) to ensure I stay on track with my 800-speech KPI.

Photos of the said meeting: