THE year is winding down to a close. In three days’ time, 2014 will give way to 2015. It has been quite a year. As I had to file this week’s column early so as not to interrupt my year-end holiday, I thought it would be fun to reflect on some of the most amazing things said by Malaysians in 2014. The quotes that inspired were few and far between.

Instead, the quotes that got the most attention, not to mention got us into the global press for all the wrong reasons, seem to come one after another.

So, here are some of the most outrageous, idiotic, and humorous quotes (in no particular order) that I have selected that, in my opinion, definitely enraged and entertained Malaysians.

I am sure there will be more to come in the new year, so let us learn to laugh about such verbal antics.

1. Controversial Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin put his foot into his mouth, yet again, this time linking the German football team to Adolf Hitler.

After Germany humiliated Brazil 7-1in the semi-finals of the World Cup on Wednesday morning, Bung tweeted

“WELL DONE..BRAVO…LONG LIVE HITLER”.

July 9, 2014, The Star

2. Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali, in responding to the open letter by the Group of 25:

“I am a moderate too.”

December 14 at Perkasa’s annual assembly in Kuala Lumpur.

3. Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) international bureau central committee member Dr Norhasliza Ahmad Fauzi, on why “moderation leads to sinful choices”:

“Moderation allows for a wide avenue of freedom of speech, human rights and sinful choices, even though this is prohibited by Islam. That freedom helps people belittle the capability of Islam and its contents and demands. This is why we object to it and we voice out.”

The rakyatpost.com Dec 19

4. Isma has once again stirred up controversy by saying Malays should not wish Christians “Merry Christmas” and celebrate along with them.

Isma activist Abu Ameen:

“In a world which has lost all sense of God and has turned to alcohol and consumerism to drown its sorrows, we as Muslims can show there is a better way of life for all mankind to experience peace — not by kissing under the mistletoe or visiting Santa, but instead by embracing Islam.”

The rakyatpost.com Dec 21

5. Road Transport Department Director-General Datuk Seri Ismail Ahmad had estimated how many people the Department “wants to see dead” in road accidents approaching 2020.

In an Astro Awani interview, Ahmad can be seen saying “We estimate that 10,716 people will die before 2020 (in road accidents)”.

“Our initiatives are part of the efforts to reduce the number of Malaysians dying on the road because we have a KPI.”

“We want to see only 5,358 people dead approaching the year 2020.” (“Kita nak orang ramai mati 5,358 orang sahaja menjelang tahun 2020”).

Astro Awani, Nov 4

6. Sarawak DAP MP Chong Chien Jen was slammed, rightly, for his idiotic Facebook posting questioning why the national anthem was played before a movie, during the National Day and Malaysia Day celebrations. The MP later apologised.

In his original posting, not mincing his words, Chong labelled the move to play the national anthem as an “absolute disgrace and ridiculous”.

“Is Malaysia heading towards the communist Mao era where everywhere you go, you must shout out loud and show that you are a patriot?”

Malaysia media in September

7. Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the missing MH370:

“I can find it in 1 second if I am to be given power. ‘’

Southern Weekly Magazine, April 5

8. Bomoh Ibrahim Mat Zin aka Raja Bomoh Sedunia Nujum VIP aka Datuk Mahagury at the KLIA to help locate the missing MH 370, using “Zam-Zam” water, two coconuts, a “magical” walking stick and carpet.

“The purpose of the rituals is to weaken the bad spirits so that the rescuers can find the plane if it indeed had crashed,” he told reporters.

The Star, March 21

9. Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin, again, for claiming that some passengers are being “fondled” (diraba) at Malaysian airports and may be “sexually stimulated” as a result, while undergoing security pat-down checks.

The MP for Kinabatangan asked why Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad (MAHB) did not use handheld scanners for passengers who had triggered off metal detectors at security checkpoints, but resorted to manual pat-downs instead.

“It makes passengers uncomfortable when they have to undergo such inspections. This is dangerous because it may be sexually stimulating (menaikkan nafsu),” he said, drawing laughter from the floor.

He said that checks conducted on women were gentle, but men had to go through a rougher process.

“They check us all over our bodies and sometimes touch us in places that can cause discomfort,” he added.

The Star, Nov 11.

10. Kedah PAS Youth leader Ahmad Tarmizi, on the two MH tragedies, saying MAS and the government had earned God’s wrath for “serving alcohol and the dressing of MAS flight attendants, which crossed the boundaries of Islam.

Malaysian media July 22.

The bridges that connect us as Malaysians are far more important than the walls that some want to build to accentuate our differences. 

WE can all do with a bit of good news, which seems to be a rare commodity these days in Malaysia, where the voices of bigotry and extremism seem predominant.

It is good to read that all the 31 hymn books meant for the orang asli parishioners, which supposedly contained the word “Allah”, have been returned.

We are sure the 100 orang asli members from the Catholic church in Johor would look forward to singing praises to God during the Christmas mass.

In this season of Advent (traditionally, the Advent season lasts for four Sundays leading up to Christmas), it is appropriate that Father Cyril Mannayagam has said he wanted to put the incident behind him.

He has emphasised that the books are meant for the Bahasa Malaysia-speaking orang asli community living in Bekoh.

On a note of optimism, Father Cyril reportedly said there would not be any similar problems with the authorities in the future after explaining to the police the purpose of the books.

Father Cyril also said the parishioners had been using the word “Allah” for more than 100 years when practising their faith.

The hymn books titled Mari Kita Memuji Allah Kita (Praise Be to Our God) contained the word “Allah” and had a picture of a church with a crucifix printed on the front page. They were confiscated from a bookshop in Tangkak by the police following a tip-off on Dec 5.

The seizure of the hymn books by the police – and not the religious authorities – had caused uneasiness among Christians, coming so soon after the closure of the Bible issue in Selangor.

In the Selangor case, which dragged on for nearly a year, the crisis came to an end after the intervention of His Royal Highness the Sultan of Selangor himself to resolve the issue.

What was more disturbing in the case of the hymn books in Johor was that the police had described the books as “sensitive” and classified the case under Section 298A of the Penal Code for causing disharmony, disunity or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill will on the grounds of religion.

The unilateral involvement of the police was most unusual. After seizing the hymn books on Dec 5, the cops could not decide what to do, saying they had referred the case to the deputy public prosecutor on Dec 7.

The use of Section 298A has also been criticised by lawyers, who point out that the apex court had ruled as far back as 1988 that this section of the Penal Code is “unconstitutional” and cannot be used on issues affecting Islam.

It goes to show again how difficult it is when matters affecting the faith are subjected to legal and judicial interpretations.

We can be sure that these two cases in Selangor and Johor won’t be the first and the last because Bahasa Malaysia church services are conducted not only in Sabah and Sarawak, but also in an increasing number of churches in the peninsula.

This is the reality that we cannot avoid as a new generation of Malaysians, schooled in Bahasa Malaysia, would be more proficient and comfortable with Christian religious material in the national language.

It is also a fact that many Sabahans and Sarawakians are working in the peninsula. For practical reasons, we cannot be telling them to pray differently and use other versions of the Bible – those deemed appropriate by the authorities – when they are on this side of the South China Sea.

Let us not forget that many Indonesians working here are also Christians and like ordinary Malaysians, they also have spiritual needs. They too attend church services conducted in Bahasa Indonesia.

We need to find a middle ground that is acceptable to all. Common sense needs to prevail and we must understand and respect the state laws in place. As with any middle ground formula, not everyone would be happy but we would like to hear better solutions, if there are any.

The Bahasa Malaysia Al-Kitab that were seized from the Bible Society of Malaysia in Selangor and the hymn books in Johor have a distinct similarity – they were meant solely for the use of the Christians, and not for propagation to Muslims.

Churches in Malaysia understand the line and they will not cross it – it is an offence to propagate to Muslims and the usage of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims is also prohibited in many states.

But we also must take into account the historical practices of some Christians, especially native groups, and this is where the 10-point solution needs to be better understood and upheld.

It is a Cabinet decision and it is important that Federal and state agencies understand and respect the 10-point solution.

The Cabinet has reconfirmed the validity and its support for the 10-point solution, as was originally announced in April 2011, to manage the polarity of views between the various religious groups, in particular Christians and Muslims, taking into account the laws of the country.

As stated in the 10-point solution, for Sabah and Sarawak, there is no restriction on the import and local printing of Bibles in any language, including Bahasa Malaysia/Bahasa Indonesia and indigenous languages (referred to collectively as the “Alkitab”), as the Government recognises that there is a large Christian community of indigenous origin in these two states.

It is also in line with the spirit of the 18- and 20-point agreements, when Sabah and Sarawak became part of Malaysia. It has been argued these agreements allowed for full freedom of religion in both states.

The 10-point solution states that “as for Peninsular Malaysia, the Alkitab, whether printed in Malaysia or imported into Malaysia, must have the words ‘Christian Publication’ and the cross sign must be placed on the front cover as imposed by the Government in the interests of the larger Muslim community in Peninsular Malaysia”.

The paragraph above is important because in the case of the hymn books, they reportedly carried the picture of a crucifix, which would have clearly denoted that it is a Christian publication.

Sensibility vs sensitivity

There is no need for anyone to feel “sensitive” over a picture of a cross. In fact, churches become “centres” instead of “churches”, with local authorities flexing their muscles to show their displeasure over the word “church” on signboards. What more a cross outside the churches.

But to avoid unnecessary controversy, churches should consider stating boldly on all their Bahasa Malaysia publications that these are meant for non-Muslims.

Once this is explicitly stated, no individual or religious agency should have any reason to seize such publications on the grounds that they are deemed “sensitive”.

To put it in a simple way: it is like movie classifications. You do not go to a cineplex with your young children and choose a movie rated 18 or R because you know what they can or cannot watch.

These issues of seizing religious publications for whatever reason will continue to be with us because everyone will want to interpret the law in their own way. The religious authorities, the police and the Attorney-General can have differing viewpoints, which is why such matters continue to be played up in the press.

And all such reports will go global, giving the impression that Malaysia is becoming intolerant of other religions, even if they are isolated cases.

The 10-point solution, if given proper respect, can surely co-exist with the various state Islamic laws if the stakeholders can work out a practical arrangement, where an understanding can be reached and followed.

Some have correctly argued that the solution cannot have the force of law as it is only a Cabinet decision. But we as a nation have always shown we can agree on many things without them being written down in black and white. It is this musyawarah spirit that we must continue to build on, so we are not caught in legalistic battles over what can or cannot be done.

We, as a people, must love and care for one another to help pull this nation together. The bridges that connect are far more important than the walls some want to build to accentuate our differences.

Religion has never become so contentious in the history of Malaysia. It is frightening as groups seemingly compete for God’s attention and how we should call Him. So much anger has been invoked in the name of God and some of us have also unfortunately resorted to some very ungodly methods to push our agendas.

As we reach the end of the year, let us take the time to ponder and to extend the hand of friendship, to forgive and forget.

Regardless of our difference in religion, we must focus on the commonalities of respect, tolerance, compassion, patience, forgiveness and certainly moderation.

Let us not be afraid of the extremists with their hysterics because all religions teach us not to be afraid of men, whether kings, religious leaders or politicians, because they are mere mortals – but to be afraid only of God.

> This writer is deeply encouraged by the actions of the 25 eminent Malays and those behind #IamNo26 in their attempts to bring moderate Malaysians together. There is hope and we hope 2015 will see moderates make their voices grow louder. I also wish Malaysians a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Our obsession with nationality and race often clouds our judgment when they involve government policies, which include putting the best people to helm our government-linked corporations.

THIS is the reality – our Malaysia Airlines is already in the intensive care unit (ICU) and it desperately needs quick and effective treatment to rescue it from deteriorating further. To put it bluntly, it faces certain demise if a good doctor isn’t found in time.

The last thing we want to do is to argue over the nationality, race or religion of the doctor. What matters most is that we need a qualified doctor who is able to perform the surgery competently and fast enough.

Unfortunately, our obsession with nationality and race often clouds our judgment when they involve government policies, which include putting the best people to helm our government-linked corporations.

The presumption that only a Malay is able to safeguard the country and community’s interests, in this case, MAS, has been proven to be a horribly flawed prejudice.

There is no need to presume that CEO-designate Christoph R. Mueller will not be able to do the job simply because he does not hold a Malaysian passport.

I don’t think we need to even bring up again the scandalous decisions of some previous leaders in the national airline which have led to its present dire financial straits.

Mueller has a Herculean task to not only put the books in order, but also to restore the credibility of the airline that lost two aircraft this year, resulting in the loss of 537 innocent lives.

Flight MH17 was shot down by a missile over Ukraine in July, and Flight MH370, which disappeared in March with 239 on board, remains an unsolved mystery.

Consumer confidence must soar again. And this cannot be accomplished with slogans like MH – or Malaysian Hospitality – or by changing the design and colour of the MAS logo. Unnecessary expenditure at a time like this is simply not right.

It bears repeating that MAS, despite the recent tragedies, is a well-regarded airline globally. But the airline needs to focus on improving its performance and offer better services to draw back its customers. This is the real challenge for anyone willing and able to take the hot seat that not many people want.

Mueller, 52, will learn soon enough that he is not taking on the role of an ordinary CEO who only has to worry about pleasing the shareholders.

Make no mistake about it, he has to learn to navigate the political minefields and cleverly find ways to boost the bottom line and engage in cost-cutting measures without upsetting a myriad of interested parties.

Luckily for him, he does not have to spend sleepless nights flying to Third World countries in Africa and South America, with no potential revenue, in the name of South-South cooperation simply on the basis of government-to-government decisions.

I salute the Prime Minister for having the political will to hire Mueller for the job as he has a proven record of turning around ailing airlines. The notion that Khazanah, the national sovereign fund which owns 70% of MAS, has undermined local talents by hiring Mueller is simply ridiculous.

Mueller will start work on Jan 1 and he will also be nominated to the board as a non-executive director. Let’s give him a chance.

Mueller is credited with turning around Ireland’s loss-making national carrier Aer Lingus within a year.

According to reports, Mueller took over as CEO in 2009, when the struggling airline was facing tough competition from low-cost rival Ryanair. He reportedly steered the company through several difficult battles, including fending off a takeover bid from Ryanair itself, and managed to expand the airline’s trans-Atlantic services and reposition it as a more service-oriented carrier.

Likewise, MAS has to fend off stiff competition from low-cost carriers like AirAsia, and at the same time compete with other airlines which fly here, including Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific.

His biggest headache would be to cut about 6,000 jobs at MAS, which would be an emotional issue with lots of political baggage. There are 22,000 workers in MAS, and many can be expected to run to the politicians, whether in government or opposition, to take up their case.

MAS won’t be the first company to reduce headcount in a difficult business environment but Mueller will need plenty of support from the government to push this through.

According to reports, when he was at the helm of Sabena, Belgium’s national airline, which was also suffering huge losses, jobs had to be cut too. Bitter strikes followed and, in the end, the airline went bankrupt in 2001.

The good news for the German CEO is that most suppliers to MAS are agreeable to have their supply contracts re-negotiated as part of the restructuring exercise. That’s one headache less.

It has been reported that all the current suppliers under the existing MAS can either migrate or be left out once the new company takes over the airline’s operations.

One of the areas that can help MAS save costs is procurement, as it is said that some of MAS’ supply contracts are way above market rates.

These supply contracts are said to make up 30% to 40% of total costs for the airline. Even if renegotiations result in a 10% reduction, that will translate to millions of ringgit in savings.

It is generally believed that some of these contacts with private firms – supposedly with political connections – should not have been signed in the first place.

How Mueller handles these procurement contracts, some seen as unfavourable, would be a test as to whether he can function professionally. There should be no political interference in his decision-making, or preferred vendors that he has to deal with.

Mueller must be given a free hand to run the company and his priorities include combing through expenses that have dri­ven up the costs for MAS.

Let’s not impose the race agenda on him if we want him to succeed in making MAS healthy again. He does not have much time left as the RM6bil pumped in by Khazanah will burn up very fast. Malaysia needs Mueller to succeed.

There is a lesson to learn from the MAS fiasco. We saw the financial burden building up and we kept trying to postpone treatment, pretending that by pumping in more money, it will be enough.

Sadly, it has to take two tragedies for us to wake up to the reality that we need to cure the illness.

Having expatriate CEOs especially in the financial, telecommunications and media sectors is not unusual for most private companies. Why should GLCs be an exception? Not only should the expatriate option be available, but they must also be allowed to draw on the talents of all Malaysians, regardless of ethnicity.

There should only be one criterion – pick good and honest people, regardless of their race or religion, who have the interest of Malaysians at heart.

We have reached a point in the nation’s history when Malaysians are tired of listening to the overplay of racial and religious sentiments, fanned by extremists, to create fear when there are none.

The reality, if we look hard enough, is that the real treacherous actions against the country are by those given high positions but commit criminal breach of trust and corruption for their own benefit.

Having foreign talents is good – can we imagine watching the weekly Barclays Premier League matches with only British footballers playing? What will the live telecasts be like without Alexis Sanchez, Robin Van Persie and Yaya Toure? It will be utterly boring without these colourful, foreign players.

We should lift a quote from the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, who said, “It does not matter whether a cat is black or white, if it catches mice, it is a good cat.”

I AM worried about the economy of Malaysia as we head towards 2015, and I am sure many Malaysians also share my concerns over the uncertainties in the coming months.

All the assurances and figures given by our leaders, we are sorry to say, are no longer convincing as they don’t seem to connect with market sentiments and the realities on the ground.

If we only listen to all the glowing official reports, everything is supposed to be all hunky dory. In short, there’s nothing to worry about as the economy is on course and Malaysia is doing everything right.

Rhetoric by politicians and certain individuals, which smacks of racism and political bullying, are not going to help the economy. It can only worsen race relations in Malaysia and make investors think twice about us.

And if you listen to the palaver of some politicians, it sounds as if there are more pressing issues than the state of our economy to worry about.

The impression given seems to be that the mundane issues of the economy should be left to the economists, businessmen and academics.

These are the delegates who see threats and ghosts from fellow Malaysians when there are none, but they are not able to see the huge economic challenges staring them in their faces.

Even if they are not business owners or part of Corporate Malaysia, they should be concerned about how these challenges will affect the ordinary people, including their livelihood.

This is the time when companies have to worry about paying the salaries of their staff, meeting targets, ensuring a clean sheet for the quarterly reports and planning for the next year.

The weak market sentiments and growing inflationary rates, coupled with the already tight wallets of many consumers, are hitting the lives of ordinary people hard. And even politicians too.

When companies don’t do so well, they have to cut down on operating expenses, reduce bonuses – possibly even increments – and do away with certain perks and privileges.

According to CIMB Research, the third-quarter results fell below consensus estimates, which was another reason for the weak overall stock market performance.

Based on the 117 listed companies the research house tracks, the percentage of stocks that missed expectations increased from 30% as at end August 2014 to 36% in the latest quarter.

Kenanga Research, meanwhile, said that during the third quarter, it “saw the highest number of companies under our coverage delivering below expectations results, or 40% of the stocks.”

These samplings provide a fair picture of the general performance of most companies listed on our stock exchange.

And it is, of course, not just the public companies but the private ones too that have to deal with these economic challenges.

In short, ordinary Malaysians have to brace themselves for a tougher year. Other economies like China and Singapore have also predicted lower single-digit growth for next year.

When the going gets tough, we will realise that many of us are living beyond our means, and the accumulated household debt will become problematic.

These are the substantial matters that we should all be talking about, not just at political meetings but also together as a nation.

We should all focus on expanding the economic pie and giving good suggestions on how to overcome these challenges.

It’s absurd to still talk about vernacular schools or sulk over the voting patterns of the Chinese voters in the last two general elections.

We are at a crucial juncture where the price of oil is sliding downwards and the ringgit is getting weaker. These are two factors that will have an impact on our Budget, which may even need to be revised.

The falling oil prices, which shows Malaysia’s exposure to external factors, pushed the ringgit to its lowest level since February 2010 against the US dollar on Thursday.

These grassroots-level politicians should be worried about the price of commodities, especially palm oil, as it would have a deep impact on the rural smallholders whom they claim to champion.

They should be asking our leaders if these would affect our vision to become a high-income developed nation by 2020, which is only just five years from now!

One does not need a degree in economics to know that our heavy reliance on the export of oil, palm oil and rubber for the country’s revenue means the decline in global prices for these commodities will hit us hard.

We are talking about the effects on our half-a-million rubber tappers and smallholders who are already struggling with the daily cost of living, as media reports predict over a 60% drop in earnings since early this year.

Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd reported its first quarterly loss of RM12mil for the quarter ending September, with its stock price taking a beating after the announcement.

Worse, the company only achieved 53% of the market consensus full year profit.

Just over the last one month, foreign investors have reportedly taken out over US$3bil (RM10.4bil) from the country.

Among us Malaysians, there seems to be an extreme obsession with politics, and there seems to be no real concern with business and economics.

Reading political blogs and getting into a frenzy over race issues in social media seem to be the preoccupation of many, when we all should be working together to achieve our growth target.

There’s no point talking about how the economic cake should be cut when it is getting smaller and needs to be expanded.

Some of us are remarkably arrogant and think that we are better than our neighbours because they are the ones who supply us with maids and construction workers.

This kind of thinking will be our downfall as these countries, with their bigger markets, quickly put their act together.

The depreciation of the ringgit, while making our exports more attractive in price, will also mean costlier food bills as we are a net importer of food.

All this may sound gloomy and even seem out of place as the year comes to a close and when most of us have to clear our leave and spend time with our families during the holiday season.

But the point to politicians who still live in a world of their own is that they should worry about the economy and how ordinary people live. After all, the reason they are in politics is to seek power and helm the government, which has to be responsible for many of these issues.

American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr once said: “We may have all come on different ships but we are in the same boat now.”

Some of us may still want to argue over this saying but make no mistake about it – as Malaysians, we share the same destiny.