So what was expected, happened. Anwar is back in Parliament after 10 years. Yippee. Errmmm...whatever :) But what was amazing is the amount of confidence that the BN had when they took him on his own hometown of Permatang Pauh. Whatever said about him, it's his town and when he first contested there, he defeated the incumbent from PAS in 1982. If BN thought that they'd win, then they're a bunch of political novices! They never stood a chance and the whatever "win" they could probably muster was to lessen the majority, which they failed.

So, the next few years would be interesting. The opposition need to build on this momentum. The BN, would have to, for better lack of word, keep quiet. Bore the masses and just pray that no major blowup happens while at the same time try to appease the common joe and sally.

What will be interesting is the sodomy case against Anwar. Some think that the Government should just withdraw. First of all, the Government cannot withdraw. Its the sole discretionary power of the AG. If the Government orders so, then what is the independence of the legal system? You can't have all of the cake! So it is ironic that the Opposition should ask the Government to withdraw when it in the first place should never put its hand in the cooky jar. So, my advice would be to either write to the AG or just go through it. If the AG decides to proceed then it is because they feel that they can prove beyond reasonable doubt that there is a case to be made against the former DPM.

Until then...take care Malaysia.

PKR must really learn how to control their supporters. Just a few weeks ago, their supporters were blamed and identified as responsible for the assault on a Guangming Daily photographer. Now at the Permatang Pauh nomination day, another photographer and this time from Berita Harian was again assaulted. What does some PKR supporters really have against photographers actually? The Guanming Daily photographer is a woman and she was kicked, choked and hit on the head. This is really troubling. If this is what PKR supporters are, then they bring with then a brand of culture that is quite alien to Malaysians. I do hope the Police will be able to identify the person and people responsible. This type of aggression has no place in Malaysia and those caught should be dealt with severely. If the former IGP can be charged in Court, then supporters of PKR should be very supportive and assist in the identification of the hooligans among them.

I wrote earlier about football and the Malaysia Cup. About it being one of the oldest competition in Asia and about how as Malaysians we seem oblivious to that fact. Today, open a newspaper, any newspaper and turn to the back page. You will be lucky to see a full page on the Malaysia Cup. This year’s edition of the Malaysia Cup is now in the semifinal stage and I am sure not many is aware. For more than 70 years, it was the competition. It was not only big in Malaysia but also in another independent country, Singapore. Brunei also later joined and they’re still represented, although presently via a club side. Singaporeans looked forward to the Malaysian Cup as much as Malaysians. Stadiums were filled whenever the big boys of Selangor and Singapore clashed. Other notable teams then included Perak and Penang. Later other teams join the fold, Pahang, Kuala Lumpur, Kedah, Johor to name a few.

Our national team were more respected then. We had one of the strongest team in Asia and yeah, we were much better than current powerhouse, Japan. Now, we’re rated lower than our neighbors!

So what happened? It is not that assistance was not given by the government. We went professional. We had foreign coaches and players playing in our professional M-League. The theory is that with the foreign players plying their trade in our leagues, our players would then reap the benefit and get better. But that hasn’t really happened. We didn’t get better. It was actually the opposite. Unlike footballing countries like Japan and Korea, which actually got better. We however, foreever remained time warped.

Recently, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) ruled that there will be no foreign player for next year’s Malaysian league. That was a decision that I couldn’t understand. Is this a knee jerk reaction to everything that is wrong with our local league and national team? And how long would this “ban” stay until doors are opened again? I personally think that the FAM probably could use some new people in their lineup. The PM’s son in-law is a VP. With no footballing background, he has reached one of the highest position in FAM on account of his experience being involved in a reality football show! How’s that?

Is there no other people that is good enough? What about our ex internationals? I can’t believe that none of them are qualified. Perhaps, this is why we are in the situation we’re in. The right people are not picked.

Back to the Malaysian Cup. This year’s semifinalist see defending champions, Kedah, Terengganu, Johor FC and perennial giants, Selangor in it. Kedah will meet Terengganu and Johor FC will take on Selangor. This is I think the first time Johor FC qualified for the semifinals. To clarify, Johor FC is not the local state team but a club. If the form book is any indication, then we may see a first Malaysia Cup Final involving Kedah and Selangor. Or Johor FC may spring a surprise and meet Kedah in the final.

I do hope that our local press would give more coverage to our local league. It has been relegated to small columns when we should be publicizing it. If we don’t, who will? Our kids need to know who our local players are. There are some players with potential out there and we need to get behind them like the good old days.

In a couple of weeks, the English Premier League will start and I can then have a life. Thanks to local politics, I have not been bored too much. But politics can be tiring and irritating. Currently, politics in Malaysia is bordering on resembling a bad circus trick.

Currently, one of the oldest football competition in Asia and perhaps in the world, the Malaysia Cup is in the quarterfinal stage and I can bet that not many Malaysians is aware. How sad but true. Knowadays kids relate to the Liverpools, the Chelseas and Man Us. In fact not many can actually name any notable Malaysian player. But many can actually give you the first XI of Liverpool.

I am a Liverpool fan. I also have not been to a local game for some time. The last was in 1998. Then I just stopped. It's just not fun anymore. Its frustrating seeing the state of our football team. The Malaysian team is currently in 165th place (I think) in the world and 29th (I think) in Asia. Little Singapore are rated better than Malaysia. Back then, even our state teams were better than Singapore. We've gone professional but our whole approach to the game be it on the field or administrating the Malaysian league is amateurish. Next year, the bigwigs ruled that no foreign player is allowed to play in the Malaysian league. How do we attract good foreign players if the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) keep changing the rules? If you're a foreign professional, would you want to play in a league when they can change the rules for one reason or the other? There is no consistency and everyone is eager for a quick fix. There is no short cut to be successful. Even current bigshots like Japan took a good number of years to be where they're now. The Japanese league is one of the best in Asia and is attracting good players. Once we were on par with Korea and now, even the Koreans do not take our national team seriously and would prefer their youth team to spar with our first XI.

Will we ever make it the World Cup? I think we have better chance if we just host it.

So for the time being, its politics for me. Until August 16. Then its the English Premier League and everything else just have to take a number to attract my attention. :)

Why isn’t Saiful charged too? asks PKR leader

Answer:

Maybe because the Prosecution need a witness? And consensual is not a defense. And the alleged person that is the "man" of the act is normally charged?

Dear Law Minister,

Unless the mainstream press have not reported, we have not heard anything from you. The US is questioning our very own legal process that under your leadership, you have took great pains to ensure that it is much more transparent and fair. Surely you must be upset by the US being so abrasive that they intend to monitor the legal proceedings in relation to the court case against former DPM, Anwar Ibrahim. Read it here. Aren't you upset? Haven't they followed your actions ever since you were appointed as a Minister? You have together with the Bar Council president done a lot to alleviate the trust and confidence of the judiciary and the legal process in Malaysia. So far only Rais Yatim have responsed. Its here. I am disappointed that you haven't said anything. Do you agree with the US's actions? I think we should also ask our embassy in Washington to monitor legal proceedings especially those involving captures in Guantanamo Bay. Also why aren't we protesting that too? Tell them that this is not the way to treat people. Charge them or just release them. Preach to Washington the Rule of Law. The Bar Council President can assist you in your powerpoint presentation. Heck, she could sit beside the laptop and click the slides for you.

But back to the legal proceedings involving the former DPM. I again urge you to protest this deliberate action by Washington to tell us how to run our country. Or are we that bad that we need to be told?