Heavy Security Presence

Pavilion was located just opposite JW Marriott and during the weekend, President Obama was in town attending the ASEAN Summit Meeting. There was certainly heavy security, Police and Military presence in town, especially after what happened in Paris 10 days back.

Luckily the traffic interruption was more organised than I thought. Flow was actually pretty decent and I was able to get in and out of Pavilion without too much hassle. There was always traffic police pointing the way and there was hardly any queue. Timing was certainly of the essence and it was best to avoid the start and the end of the summit programme as those were the time when road-blocks were set up.

I was out there for a spot of dinner with Anita while enjoying the Xmas decorations. There were certainly plenty of security by the fountain, but that just added to the buzz of the place .....

Obama Wins

I had a busy afternoon clinic today and when I reached home, I went straight to the television. Well, I don't really have much interest in who would win the Presidential election, but I jut couldn't help but to be curious.

So, Obama was re-elected. It didn't come as much if a surprise really. But the electoral process was certainly fascinating. I got the feeling that Obama underestimated Mitt Romney and nearly paid the ultimate price. And the he sure did receive a divine intervention in the form of Superstorm Sandy.

The momentum was with Romney prior to the last stretch, but with the hiatus created by the storm put a dampener to that. And while the East Coast recovered, Obama used his Presidential aura to get ahead. Well played that man!

So, Barack Obama remained the 44th President of the United States, be it by a smaller margin. And after having run his last political campaign of his career, one hope that he could concentrate on the issues that matters, for the global good. Fingers crossed!

Tax Return Due in 10 Days Boys and Girls

Well it is the time of the year again. Time to brush up on your clicking skills doing e-filing or to find out where your nearest Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri branch to your place. Deadline being next Thursday week, we have about 10 more days to do so. At least the deadline has a built in Hari Buruh holiday bundled together the next day. Just in case you need to burn the midnight oil, or to cool down after a quarrel with the spouse .... it can be a tense affair. As for me, I have filed mine in last week, and I did it 'old school', submitting them my local branch in Wangsa Maju.

The American had their deadline last week, on the 15th to be precise. Even my friend Barack and Michele filed theirs in - I'm sure with their accountants lining up to offer their service. And the details are available on the Net. Maybe our politicians will follow suit and make their returns accessible as well. But I'll leave that for other bloggers to comment. The numbers show that the Obamas pay nearly a million in total tax, with their income topping 2.5 mil. And this is before he became President. Mind you, he is also an author, and that's where the main bulk of the income come from.

Closer to home, I found this piece from a fellow blogger which I thought is well worth a read. He highlighted 13 tips for us to cut on our returns. It's too late for me but some of the pointers I have already followed. Amongst them, to file separately rather than join - the Obamas filed in a joint return, buy property below 250K etc - thanks Champdog.

Does Our Leader Need to be Smart?

I always landed up in hot water every time I bring this topic up on the dinner table with my Mum. She is a staunch UMNO supporter. Being born in Permatang Bertam, Kepala Batas - so was I - a mere 200 meters from Tun Abdullah's family home the whole kampung is very close to Tok Lah's family. Note that I use the term Tok Lah rather than Pak Lah, as only people outside the kampung call him Pak Lah. We from the same kampung have more respect for him. I am not saying that Tok Lah is no intellect, but if we compare to other national leaders at the international scene, we were clearly lagging behind.

The question really boils down to a few fundamental questions. Is an intellectual better at running the country compared to others? I think the problem here is the association of being an intellectual and possession of a degree. Is going to university equate to being an intellectual. Actually it's not. Prophet Muhammad (saw) and all the Caliph are smart people, but they went to no Cambridge. The point I am trying to make is, we need leaders that are wise. Not the ones who climbed up the ladder because of the family they are born into, the amount of money they spend in their campaign etc. We need people who are wise to lead, adapt and inspire the country froward. We don't want a leader for the sake of leading. They need to be innovative. Innovation can only come with wisdom and intellect. Even being an Ustaz, you need to be blessed with intelligence and wisdom let alone leading a nation.

Looking around, one cannot sit but to admire Barack Obama for his academic credentials. Graduating magna cum lauda from Harvard Law School, a brilliant writer and orator. Closer to home we have the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsein Loong. Son of Lee Kuan Yew, I am sure he had hardly needed to do anything should he be a Malaysian to become a leader one day. But no! He graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1974 with a First Class Degree in Mathematics and a Diploma in Computer Science. He then got his Master's from Harvard in 1980. He was also an Officer in the Singaporean Air Force, with a stint of military training in the States. He retired in 1984 with a rank of Brigidier General.

When I brought up academics in politics here in Malaysia, 2 names always come to my mind. The late Alex Lee and Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon. Since Alex Lee is no longer with us, let just concentrate on Dr Koh. His first degree was in Physics from Princeton. He then completed his PhD from University of Chicago. Later he became Fulbright Fellow at Stanford University. Before joining politics, he was a Deputy Dean of the School of Education at USM until 1982.

Both Lee and Koh speaks better Malay than most of the Malay politician. They are always measured in the mannerism and does not resort to name calling while in a political debate. This is what we should see and nurtured from our future crop of politicians. Intellectuals and academics are generally fed up with the local politics in Malaysia to participate. Given choice they would rather stay away. This essentially contribute to the dearth of intellects in politics at home. Back to the main question now. Personally I think we should include intellectuals in higher politics. It can at least eliminate the yes man and keep our leaders informed rather than being showered with things they just like to listen to. One can but hope!