2. I hope we are right in forecasting the effect on us of the collapse of the world’s financial system. But I have a sneaking feeling that all is not well.

3. We are a trading nation which trades with all countries of the world. The United States and Europe are among the biggest of our trading partners. Roughly 40 per cent of our total trade is with them. I may be wrong but I believe that if our buyers cannot pay for what they import from us, we would not make the profit we had expected. In fact we would lose a lot of money as we will not recover the cost of the goods we sell even.

1. Seluruh Negara sedang perhatikan penamaan calon-calon jawatan Majlis Tertinggi UMNO. Keputusan Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi untuk tidak pertahankan kerusi Presiden parti telah menyemarakkan lagi minat terhadap siapa yang akan memimpin UMNO. Ini kerana jangkaannya ialah siapa yang dipilih jadi Presiden UMNO akan turut dilantik Perdana Menteri Malaysia. Jika pengundi UMNO gagal memilih seorang pentadbir yang baik dan jujur, negara akan sekali lagi menempuh keadaan yang tidak stabil dan kejatuhan ekonomi. Tidak seorang pun rakyat Malaysia yang inginkan keadaan ini. Di dalam keadaan terdesak mereka mungkin akan pilih parti pembangkang pada pilihanraya akan datang. Dan ini tidak akan membuat keadaan menjadi lebih baik. Malahan ianya akan menjadikannya lebih buruk daripada penyandang jawatan yang tidak cekap yang ada sekarang.

2. Bagi UMNO empat tahun akan datang ini amat penting. Sesiapa juga yang menjadi Presiden parti, jika gagal memulih parti, bermakna bahawa masanya telah tamat bagi parti yang tertua di antara parti yang memperjuangkan kemerdekaan sesebuah negara. Jika ini terjadi maka kepimpinan UMNO yang akan datang ini akan termaktub dalam sejarah sebagai pengkhianat kepada parti politik yang pada satu masa dulu amat berkuasa dan terkenal.

3. UMNO telah menggunapakai sistem demokrasi untuk pastikan pengkhianat parti dapat ditolak dan digantikan dengan mereka yang lebih berupaya. Tetapi jelas demokrasi UMNO tidak selalunya berjaya. Ramai yang berjaya merebut jawatan walaupun mereka sebenarnya tidak berkebolehan dan tidak jujur. Apabila sampai ke puncak mereka gunakan jawatan dan kuasa yang ada untuk menghalang demokrasi daripada menyelamatkan parti. Dengan memberi jawatan dan wang serta pangkat, dengan menyalahgunakan kuasa yang diberikan kepada mereka, dengan menggunakan pelbagai bentuk ancaman, mereka ini telah berjaya menyekat apa-apa usaha untuk mengusir mereka, setidak-tidaknya untuk sekian masa.

2. Penuntut yang dapat masuk universiti ini amat bernasib baik kerana lebih daripada 10,000 yang pohon untuk masuk tetapi hanya 500 sahaja yang diterima. Ramai yang diterima mendapat biasiswa daripada Petronas, JPA dan lain-lain agensi Kerajaan dan juga syarikat-syarikat petroliam. Lebih 10% daripada graduan terdiri daripada penuntut luar negeri.

3. Dewan Besar amatlah cantik dan dapat menampung sebilangan yang besar daripada graduan dan ahli keluarga mereka.

2. A weak Government would not be able to deal with the quarrelling between the races, which is the natural tendency of most multiracial societies. Indeed in some multiracial countries violence and fighting are common. Witness the countries around us.

3. For the slightest reason the races would be at each other’s throats. One incident was the reaction in some countries because of the currency crisis.

A commentator on my blog remarked that I did not sit together with Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak at Friday prayers in the National Mosque just before the end of Ramadhan.

I must explain that since I became Minister of Education in 1974 I had always prayed outside the main prayer hall. When I became Prime Minister the ushers led me towards the place just behind the Imam. I declined because I still preferred praying outside. Even today I have been praying outside.

Only for Hari Raya prayers when the Agong would be present I would show respect for him by praying in the same row with him.

2. The startled party and party officials suddenly found Zaid appointed as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department responsible for law. They were puzzled by Abdullah’s choice. But then it is not so unexpected after all because he appointed another campaigner for PAS as Deputy Minister, and a man with dubious past as Senator and Minister.

3. The moment Zaid was appointed he went to town. Apparently without bothering to consult the Cabinet or the Prime Minister he publicly proposed so-called legal and judicial reforms. He proposed that judges should be appointed by a panel on which sit several members of the Bar Council. He did not think it odd that members of the bar would in the course of their work be facing the judges they appointed. I suppose he thinks that it will be alright because gratefulness is not a Malaysian value.

Pegging

The Bretton Woods System did not fail because the United States ran out of gold. It failed because Britain decided to devalue the pound. President Richard Nixon decided to go off the gold standard much later.

After that it was a free for all as currency traders fiddled with valueless paper money.

If we have a trading currency, it should be controlled by an international body unbeholden to the US or anyone else. Poor countries must be adequately represented.

Like all systems we need to study the pros and cons before we approve.

If during all these years we could use the US Dollar as a kind of standard, I don’t see why we cannot use gold. Gold prices do fluctuate but the range is far less than with paper currency. Besides there will always be a demand for gold so that you will not lose too much if gold depreciates.

1. I feel so sad about the plight of Khairi Jamaluddin, one of the candidates for head of UMNO Youth. He says that he is being prevented from meeting UMNO youths. This might result in his losing the race for the much coveted post.

2. I would advise him not to be disheartened. There are so many other ways of influencing Pemuda than meeting with them. I will not enumerate them as he will know how to use these other ways.

3. If I remember correctly he won the post of Deputy Chief of Pemuda without anyone casting any votes. He won it uncontested. Apart from UMNO Youth chief Hishamuddin Hussein who gave other possible candidates a tongue lashing – telling them in no uncertain terms that they must not contest the position because it was reserved for the Prime Minister’s son-in-law, others suspected of having ambitions to contest for the post received phone calls from family members of the PM and other influential supporters not to do anything to spoil the ambition of this first time UMNO member with absolutely no track record from winning uncontested.

2. This, I am told, is at the insistence of Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He is said to need this time in order to put the country right. This includes eradicating poverty, judicial and legal reforms, social reforms and something about Islam Hadhari.

3. He had had five years to do all these but everyone knows nothing has been accomplished by him. Now he says he will do all these in three months. Can we believe he can? Can we believe these are the real reasons why he will not go until March 2009, only three months after the originally scheduled General Assembly?

2. She has a remarkable memory for dates, not just her own or our special dates but she can remember the dates of birth of all her children, the dates of their marriage, the birthdays of all 17 of my grandchildren and even of her sisters and brothers and late parents.

3. So I can rely on her and sign the birthday cards she passed on to me. Unfortunately she cannot remember much of what she read when studying medicine. So I used to coach her. Thus we complement each other.