Norzah's Thoughts On Life

The more people have the more unhappy they seem to be.

2012-02-13T08:32:00.000-08:00

I have been keeping this observation to myself for a long, long time. Having gone through life under six PMs from Tengku Abdul Rahman Putra to Datuk Najib Tun Razak, I was able to observe the various changes in the life style of Malaysians from pre Merdeka days to this age of nanotechnology. I've of course experienced the change myself. But being a nobody your experience means nothing to others.

Let's not bother ourselves with the trivialities of growing from rags to riches. The young people take that for granted although we old ones know how we growled and grimaced to reach where we are today. Those who hailed from the kampungs as I do will never forget the hard days when we went to school with ten or twenty cents in our pocket, with no proper breakfast,have only a par of bata shoes, and walked or cycled to school.
But, and this is what people seldom emphasized, we were happy. Yes, there was some bad experience with the teachers, but otherwise life outside the school was a romance with nature. Fishing in the padi field, swimming in the river, trapping birds, gallivanting in the dusun with a lot of fruit tress, playing tricks on the girls etc. etc.

We had nothing much but we were very happy. No bullies in school, no cigarettes or drugs, no fear of being robbed since we don't carry any money, no naughty calls over the phone, no cars and motorcycles crowding the school area both before and after school, no hassle no traffic jams. Now, the school children have everything they need, all the facilities, and the constant pampering, Yet are they happy? We hear cases of schoolboys being bullied, girls being kidnapped and raped, truancy, delinquency, blackmailing, gang-fight etc. etc. Look at them tugging along their bulging schoolbags, rushing to get into the cars, and the serious ones working their little head out to get as many As in the exam as possible. Can they be happy?

Look at the adults, the men and women of the modern age. They are so busy with work they don't have much time "to sit and stare". Life is a rush, to get through the traffic jams, to meet datelines, to pay bills, to wait for important people, attend endless meetings, keep up with appointments, run around too fetch the wife or kids, pay homage or play host to senior relatives and bosses, etc. Home is comfortable and all the facilities and amenities required for modern living are there, but are you really happy? Do you smile more than you grimace and sigh ( I won't say swear and curse).

Now look at the nations in the world. Are the richest and most modern nations home to the happiest and most peaceful people? They have almost everything yet the number of psychos and people with psychological problems, or the unhappy people are more than what one should expect. The Muslims nations in general are much richer today than they were years ago but are they happier and more satisfied with life than their seniors who have returned to the Creator. Are the younger people today happier than the older forks?

What appears so obvious to me is that the more people have of in terms of the requirements of a good life,the more unhappy and depressed they seemed to be. When people meet at socials or by chance you'll hear more of complaints and dissatisfaction than praise and gratitude to the powers that be for a much better life than that experienced by their seniors and ancestors. Much less heard are "praises to the Lord" or "Allah" for the bounties He had bestowed on them, even when they are at a party with so such sumptuous food to eat while some others are starving and dying. People in both rich and poor nations talk more about wars and fightings,
power-monghuls and power-struggles, ruthless killings of civilian, women and children, economic sanctions and boycott, corruptions and exploitations, murders and crimes taking places at all levels of society, etc. There is precious little heard about being happy with what God has given us, living in peace with our neighbors, and helping our neighbors to live a happier and more satisfying life.

I sometimes think that the world has lost its trust in God. More people seem to think that Men (and women) decide what is going to happen tomorrow, especially people in the rich and powerful nation. The more we search (and fight?) for happiness the more unhappy we become with disenchantment and dissatisfaction. The more the world has the more unhappy and disgruntled people are. I sometimes think that God is laughing in our face at our vanity and foolishness, More education has not made the human race wiser perhaps.

Big Spender -thrifts gone with the wind.

2012-02-07T18:34:00.000-08:00

Must we become a big spender before becoming a high income nation? Can thrift be thrown to the wind when you want to become a high income nation? Are we not spending more than our current productivity allows us? Are we not living beyond our means like some western countries and heading for a financial crisis?

I asked those questions to a friend who had just abandoned his thrifty way of life and joined the big spenders' league. He made the change after getting a hefty contract from the government.
"Who cares about being thrifty when money abounds," he replied with a huge smile. "i used to spend peanuts and got monkeys. Now I splash out and the big fishes came into my net."
"Where do you get the money to splash around?"
"Our banks are flush with money. You must know the right people to back you up and there's no limit to the loan you can get. Big names earn big money. But of course you must give them a big share. That's how wealth is created."
" I thought wealth is created through productivity and shrewd investment.."
" Yes, shrewd investment in the right people..."
" Doesn't productivity count?"
" How do you measure productivity in the provision of services? It's not like running a factory or doing construction work where physical output can be measured or counted. In providing services if the power that be is happy with what they get, you're good. Since the services are essential, if you run into financial problem the government will come to rescue you. So what's the problem?"

The NKRA people all say that our national productivity level is good and increasing. The planners say that our GDP is growing at a healthy rate and those who say that the country will go backrupt by 2019 or 2020 are talking through their rear end. But Che Det is his latest blog entry sounds a cold warning that our productivity is not increasing to support a high income nation style of life. We could be living beyond our means and may end up like the wealthy nations with debts running into trillions. The US and UK resorted to printing more money to pay for the loans but if we do that people will say we are bankrupt.

So, what say our big operators in the service sector, especially the government linked companies (GLCs) where productivity is not easily measured and the costs of operations are not strictly controlled by the government or fund providers. Is thrift just a matter of keeping the share of the fund providers at a happy level and the old principles of being thrifty can be thrown to the wind? Is big spending the only way to get big returns. To whom? The public or the operators and the fund managers who seem to be doing very very well and who can laugh all the way to the banks?

Respect for the Academicians

2012-02-01T18:07:00.000-08:00

When I was small over half a century ago, the teacher was the most respected person around. Even royalties respect their teacher, the most learned person around at that time, whether he (or she) was an ordinary school teacher or a religious teacher. At the university level the teachers became known as lecturers and professors, enjoying the same respect which I had for the teacher in my village school. Other public officials in the government were more feared than respected, especially the law enforcement officers and the "tuans" who determined many aspects of your life.

With the rise of nationalism in the 1950s, politics became the burning topic of the day. The political agitators and leaders became the heroes of the time. There were many teachers involved in the political struggle for Independence. Many of our earliest Ministers were fondly called "Cikgu" (teacher) like Cikgu Khir Johari, Cikgu Senu Abd Rahman, Cikgu Ghaffar Baba, Cikgu Fatimah etc. Many were respected more for being teachers at the initial stage rather than politicians.

But today, the political leaders, the successful entrepreneurs, the professionals and the high government officials are respected (or
just given more attention) than the teachers, the tok gurus (religious teachers) lecturers or professors. Except for those who have been pulled into politics or given an official posting or some consultancy status by government, these teachers, lecturers, associate professors and professors remain almost unknown. Until they say or publish something controversial. If the government like what they say, they get praises and become wellknown. (I don't know whether they are rewarded at all!). If the government doesn't like it, watch out. You'll be pushed to oblivion and if you had been honored with any awards or honorifics before your name, they might be taken off. You're lucky if you're not dismissed from your job and are just stripped off your honorifics.

It doesn't matter whether you've said or published something entirely true and you can prove your point or not. It doesn't matter whether your standing as a respected teacher, tok guru, lecturer, or professor had all these years been unblemished in any way way at all. No one is interested in checking or investigating further whether what you said or published is based on facts and unadulterated truth or not. The government or some big guns don't like it, you pay for it. But if your've your own big cables to exonerate you from blame, the matter might just be swept under the carpet and be forgotten.

What is worrisome here is that knowledgeable and learned people will begin to avoid saying what is true if the truth is not palatable. And critical truth unfortunately has that tendency of being unpalatable like everything else that is critical. Only praises and niceties are sweet and delicious, even when they are said with a tongue in cheek or with a naughty smirk. We don't get changes and improvements if there are no critical evaluation of things around us, things that affect our life. If certain critiques are not justifiable or not based on facts, why not call on the authorities to correct them. After all teachers, tok gurus, lecturers and professors are not always infallible and need to be corrected to at times. If they can misunderstand a certain situation the likelihood of others falling into the same boat will certainly be very great. So explain the situation rather than punish those who misunderstood it. If the untruth or false thing said is done with an unacceptable or dangerous motive, then prove it before punishing the initiator of the falsehood.

What is at issue is the freedom to seek and to know the truth. If unpleasant truth cannot be revealed when do we begin to examine ourselves in order to improve? If we start punishing people with academic knowledge and experience who question certain accepted beliefs that appeared to them unfounded, then we'll never correct the untruths that threaten our lives.

First Month of 2012 has Gone.

2012-01-25T11:51:00.000-08:00

With the passing of the CNY, the first month of 2012 bids us adieu. In the few days left let's reflect on some of the highlights of the month if they could mean anything at all for what's coming in the months ahead. Remember we're just months away from 12.12.12, a very auspicious date according to many.

Aside from the CNY festivities the month has been dominated by public acclaimation and appreciation of the RM500 government handout to families earning less than RM3000 a month. Payment it seems started from 15th January issued to the heads of Chinese families which qualified for the handout, in view of the approaching festival. Many happy and grateful faces were shown in the papers and TV. Previous to that we saw the jubilant faces of young schoolchildren receiving a RM100 gift from Uncle Najib. What we didn't see on the papers and TV as much was the faces of students in secondary schools and institutions of higher learning receiving a RM200 gift vouchers to buy books and other requirements for their studies.

Previous to that there were announcement on the launching of several Funds involving hundreds of million for specific purposes like helping the small scale business entrepreneurs, retirees from the Armed Forces, Teachers, Single Parents, etc. I really lost track of the Funds established but I don't remember any specific Funds allocated to the orphanages and drug habilitation centers in this country. i hope that it's only an oversight on my psrt.

But the biggest announcement was about the New Remuneration Scheme for the Civil Service ( SPBPA). The public civil servants in this country numbering more than a million, had been clamoring for a salary revision for years and now it's coming in a big way. While everyone, it is understood, will get a hefty rise in pay, the remuneration of officers in the Primier Service of the goverment will, it seems, get a pay package comparable to the executives in the private sector. That could mean an unprecedented rise by 300% or more. The retired senior civil servants of the past who are still living, I am sure, will just lick their fingers in awe. Yes, they will also be rewarded with a 2% increse in their pension while inflation has crept up to 4% or more in real term.

Though the Public Services Department is the prime author of all salary revisios, Cuepacs is undeniably the main force behind any revision and request for bonus. The latter has now raused a number of issues against JPA's recommendation and the Prime Minister has given the two authorities three months to revise the JPA's deal. Whatever the basis of the salary revision is, Malaysia has never undertaken a proper job evaluation exercise for all the civil service jobs. As far as I know only pay comparison between jobs with similar designation or categorization in the public and private sectors had been done. No professional analysis of job content has ever been undertaken on a comparative basis.

On the whole January had been a busy month. On the economic and political front, nothing seems to be very clear, like the weather conditions in the country. Economic growth seems to be satisfactory but insufficient according to some people, to bring us to the objective of becoming a high income nation in the next eight years, unless some new impetus for growth is found. While pump priming by the government is necessary for the private sector to grow, the failures of some government related enerprises is most worrisome especially when they absorb too much of government fund. It amounts to the public subsidizing the enterprises rather than the enterprises helping the public.

On the political scene UMNO and its associates in Barisan, still seem to have difficulties in carrying through its trasformation program. The smell of corruption had invaded too much into the chambers of authority that the MACC with its some 400 or more staff cannot undertake a thorough cleansing program. Meanwhile the opposition had raised a number of integrity questions which have not been satisfactorily answered. Within its own ranks the opposition ( Keadilan, DAP and PAS ) has generated a lot of conflict and tension that can reduce its acceptibility as an alternative to Barisan. So, where does that leave us?

Truly, much depends now on the decision of the public in the nexf general election. The date is yet unknown but more and more the public seems to be growing stronger and more critical in its judgement of what is happening today, especially in regard to the misdemeanors of its political leaders.

CNY : Enter the Dragon.

2012-01-20T01:28:00.000-08:00

It's the year of the Dragon and Chinese New Year. Gong Xi Fa Cai. May all our Chines friends have a happy and prospefous New tear.

Wny do the Chinese offer a lot of sumptuous food on the eve of new year snd like to hsve red lanterns, dresses and caligraphic writings to adorn their homes come the New Year. Legend has it that a dragon used to come around on the eve of New Year to eat their harvest and also take away some children. Hence a lot of food was offered on New Year eve so that the dragon or demon would not destroy their farms. Someone also found out that the dragon or demon would not take away children wearing red dresses. Hence they wear red dresses and put up a lot of red decoration when preparing for the NY celebration. Hope our Chinese friends will correct me if I am wrong here. Fire crackers are also lighted up to scare away the same demon.

Over in Malaysia we see the towns and cities going red. ( NO, not going red in the political sense). The red lanterns are hung up everywhere along the streets and around the homes with caligraphic writings wishing everyone health, happiness and prosperity and the effigy of the dragon flying up high in the air. Malacca it seems will display a colossal dragon that will loop up the city, costing a few hundred thousand ringgit. My, my, what a celrbration. Hundreds of thousand will also go up in smoke for a lot of loud bangs. The fire crackers and rockets are now so omnipresent during festive occasions that the police ban on them seems absurd - a mockery of the law.

Two or three days from today the festive cry of " Yammmm Senggg" will be heard from many bars, restaurants and night clubs. All revelers will be red in the face and feel light in the head. The bottle will do the talking. Hopefully it will not do the driving. Every festive occasion the Police will mount an Op Sikap but hundreds will die on the road and thousands will be injured. Millions of summons will be issued. But the tragedy will continue. Maybe some nuts have taken it as part of the celebration with the Police taking the opportunity to expand its workforce to patrol all the roads in Malaysia.

Malaysians will all participate in the celebration or be affected by it. There will be open houses to go to, to eat and drink to ones's heart content. There will be ang paus passing around. Meanwhile food items will take a hike in their prices despite being in the list of controlled items, for the choice is always to buy at a higher price or go wthout them. If the enforcement of controlled prices gets tough the items may just disappear from the shelves. That''s a perennial issue and the government does not seem to have found a solution to it yet. Supply of the items is often limited because all Chinese shops are closed for the holidays. Only the Malay and Indian shops are opem, and their profit making strategy is often different from the Chinese. They often go for short term profits when customers have no choice but to buy from them. Hopefully this attitude will change.

Well, the dragon has already emerged and the mood for CNY celebration has set in. So, a happy and prosperous New Year to all our Chinese friends. Gong Xi Fa Cai.

Spring Cleaning - A new habit in Malaysia.

2012-01-15T17:50:00.000-08:00

The term 'Spring Cleaning' is a familiar one in Europe and the US. That's when people throw out old furniture and household items that they no longer use or want to be replaced with new ones. One might find many useful old items like broken sofa and chairs, worn out rugs, side table, and seven outdated cooking utensils, dump on the roadside. Students and people who have fallen on hard times often collect these items to be reused.

I have begun to notice some of these old items being dumped on the roadside in our residential areas. I don't know who collect them since some of them look quite good and can still be used. But I doubt very much that the less prosperous residents in the same area will take them. They're most probably taken away by the refuse trucks of the Municipal Council or of the company contracted to do the rubbish collection work.

It's really amazing how fast we all amassed some of these old stuff in our living room, kitchen and store. All of a sudden you realize that the living space in your house is shrinking because you keep on adding new furniture and household items every year without throwing some away. We tend to keep them all for sentimental reason. Dad, mother and all the children have their favorites which cannot be thrown away without causing sour faces or even the shedding of tears. The old books and magazines are some of the most difficult things to part away with although they keep overfilling the bookcases, the book racks, places under the coffee-tables and any place else where they can be lodged. The same with old toys although the kids have now become full-grown (and sometimes overgrown) adults. Houses in Malaysia do not normally have attics and storerooms are often refurbished for the use of the maid. Hence overcrowding with furniture and other odds and ends is a very common phenomenon.

My home is the same until "Abang", my grown-up kid who has married and moved to his own residence, told my wife, " You're going to be ousted out of the house by your own furniture, Ma." Only then did she start clearing away some of the old things. Even now a wardrobe and an almira bought when we moved in cannot be removed from the bedroom because of their sentimental and antique value as asserted by my wife. (Very good. I don't have to buy new ones). Only the presence of my books, clothes and musical instruments bothered her to no end. She could not throw those things out without doing the same to me. With JoeNed and Mimi as our live-in feline clowns, there is now hardly much room for moving around.

A few days ago my wife( with her brother sister-in-law and me) went to her parents' home to do some clearing-up job to improve their living space and health environment. Her youngest sister was just too happy to get the assistance. But the next younger sister blared up in anger for many of her valuable possessions were either thrown out or dislocated. She refused to greet us all, locked herself in her room, and told me, "Why don't they clean up their own houses. This is my house." I've never seen such antipathy against house cleaning. You could hardly move in the kitchen and dining room before the clean-up.

Well, now that house clearing or spring cleaning has become a necessity for Malaysians in order not to be ousted out of our homes by the furniture and "rubbish" we hoarded over the years, the question is where to dump the superfluous, outdated or broken
items. Just leave them on the roadside? The rubbish collection trucks don't seem to be too interested in taking them away nor the
lorries which come around blasting away, " Surat kabar lama (old newspaper), tilam lama, battery lama," etc. If only they can be left at specific centers where some charity organizations can collect them, I'm sure many items can be utilized by old people's home or orphanages to improve their furnishing. If repaired some of them can be as good as new. That will also encourage Malaysians to do a lot of spring cleaning when the mega sales season come around.

A Famous Judgement....

2012-01-10T22:07:00.000-08:00

The legal literature is full of famous judgements. In fact legal arguments invariably involve the citation of past cases and judgments. The judgment made in regard to the Sodomy II case of Datuk Seri Anwar has all the qualities of becoming a famous reference and citation in the future since it went against many predictions and the hope of the accused political opponents. It portrays a judgment not in any way influenced by public sentiments or the political climate of the day - a very independent judgement based on the facts of the case.

It has been received with great relief and joy by many and has restored public faith on the independence of the Judiciary amidst the political equivocation of the day. It has even won international acclamation. If DSAI's political opponents and enemies in government had been disappointed by the judgement, they should be most happy to hear that it has returned public confidence in the Judiciary system and, ipso facto, the government itself in as far as it's supposed to uphold the principles of democracy and the separation of the executive and judiciary.

A landmark in legal history should be based on a lot of legal arguments and elucidations. Hence the basis of the judgement should be published in full to serve as a guide and reference for future cases as well as to clear any doubts that now exist on the legal points involved. The lawyers will need it for future citation while the public will need it in order to appreciate some of the basic considerations to differentiate between "acceptable" and "non acceptable" allegations, if not between admissible and not admissible evidence. This is important since today the papers are full of allegations by opposing political parties based on rumors spread out at the grassroots level. As such it is difficult to ascertain what can be believed, what must be taken with a pinch of salt, and what can be summarily dismissed as "unacceptable".

In other words the public must learn to sieve what is possibly true and what is not in reading today's news, We are not lawyers but at least we must be equipped with the basic knowledge in regard to the rules of being skeptical about things and not swallow everything as the gospel truth. This applies more to the less educated, to whom the newspapers are the primary means of getting information together with the radio and TV. Talk about becoming a high income nation, we must also have an informed society. Such a society must be able to differentiate between rumors and possible happenings, fictions and facts, lies and verifiable truths.
Otherwise we end up with a highly gullible society which can be easily swayed by a smooth talker, a conman and of course, the irresponsible politicians who would do anything to become popular and get elected.

Arguments in courts on points of law if properly reported can become a very effective means of education in logic and critical analysis. They can make the public more legal minded and capable of analyzing for themselves the tangled web of social and political happenings as reported in the papers. They can make people more fact-oriented and less susceptible to the influence of rumors and half truths, if not outright lies.

To move in this direction the publication of deliberations in court and basis of judgement if properly reported in the newspapers, can be a great help. Such reporting by journalista trained in covering legal proceedings will not only make people understand the legal arguments involved but also clear any doubt with regard to the final decision of the court, especially where political interference is suspected. Rumors say that Saiful's father is urging the Attorney General to appeal against the Sodomy II judgement. That might start a Sodomy III proceeding which will cost the nation more money and time. The public should be able to participate in evaluating whether that is necessary at all or not in the name of upholding justice in this country by understanding fully the basis of the High Court decision as it is now.

Otherwise the aggrieved party will continue to appeal with the support of DSAI's enemies causing a revival of all the agitations and mistrusts in this country, all because of one man's allegation that he has (willingly) been sodomized.

Media With Teeth....

2012-01-06T18:05:00.000-08:00

It used to be TV3 exposing a number of unlawful and camouflaged criminal activities in Malaysia like illegal logging, dredging sand from the river, polluting the river with toxic waste, the viciousness of the Alongs ( illegal money lenders), cheating by Housing Development companies etc.

Now the New Straits Times has joined the rank of whistleblowers with a big exposure of corruption at the borders. Enforcement Officers earning as much as RM50,000 a day on the take and a senior forestry department officer stashing away some RM720,000 in cold cash like dumping paper or plastic bags from the supermarkets.

Amazing. It was not the Police or the MACC per se which smelled out the rotten eggs but the Media, enabling the MACC and the police to swing into action. TV3 used to (and is still doing it, I hope) expose such wrongdoings and cases of poverty which the government officers fail to detect. It makes one wonder what the disciplinary personnel of the law enforcement agencies are doing? MACC has only about 400 officers to smell out and nab the bad eggs while the Police, Custom and Immigration have thousands of them. Yet heavily subsidized goods and foodstuff are smuggled across the border for huge profits.

No wonder why we can see some very rich and wealthy officers responsible for law enforcement flaunting off their fortune around us. While contractors and entrepreneurs risk their neck in trying to curry favors from some of the officers in order to remain in business against tough competition, the border enforcement officers make their pile in complete safety (with their superiors' connivance it seems).

Is "living beyond ones' means" still a valid reason to investigate the finances of a public official nowadays? Yes, an officer can still keep a low profile although he has piles of cash hidden away. But some indiscreet members or the family can still let the cat out of the bag. The question is whether the thief catcher is not himself a thief.
That, I think, can be said for all levels of public servants, including those elected by the public.

And here we are in 2012, trying to become a high-income nation with the government trying to go all out against corruption. Even some of the big sharks have been nabbed. Yet some pegs in the machinery of government itself are collecting the grease. What are the central agencies in government doing?

Shouldn't we have some kind of interdepartmental scouting (if spying is too strong word) and non law enforcement officials encouraged to keep an eye on their uniformed colleagues. The toothless officers can certainly help nab wrongdoers like the Media if given the trust.

Meanwhile we certainly need more public and private media with teeth, not just silver tongue and fat lips to elucidate and eulogize government policies. The public knows the good things government and public officials have done. It's the hidden foul play and syphoning of government revenues that need tracking and exposure so that MACC can take follow-up action, even on the law enforcement officers themselves.

Here We Are 2012.

2012-01-02T02:46:00.000-08:00

According to the Mayan Great Cycle calender, 2012 marks the end of the Great.Cycle of 13th B'ak'tun and will bring the Armageddon, an apocalyptic phenomenon that will end the world. That will hsppen on 21.12.20012. Malaysians don't subscribe to this belief, especially the Muslims. We believe that doomsday can come any time and many signs of its impending arrival are already noticeable.

Be that as it may, life goes on. The fightings and the killings in many Middle East and west African countries go on despite the fact that the US OF A's war machine had left Iraq. Severe cold and flash floods keep many other countries in constant fear. The global economic situation looks bad and some of the giant business compamies including banks and airlines in Europe and the US are facing the threat of bankruptcy. We don't know how bad the situation really is, of course,since rich people and countries don't spell out their economic woes. Poverty only exists in the poor third world.

Well, Malaysia on the other hand is talking about becoming a high-income nation, a fully developed country and a tourist hub in South East-Asia. All the economic transformation strategies, the social integration framework and the infrastructural requirement seem to in place. What we don't want is to become a modern and developed nation at the expense of those who remain poor and depend on government subsidies to survive. Countries like the US and UK have social securities and welfare schemes to take care of the unemployed and the poor, ensuring that they have a minimum income top live on. We don't, nothing to ensure that the unemployed, the disabled and the very poor will get some money every month to keep them going. To become a high income nation would be a mockery if the streets become full of vagabonds and beggars or full of modern-day Robin-hoods who will rob the rich to help the poor (or just themselves). The poor in a rich nation will suffer more than the not-so-rich in a poor nation. Put in a more negative way which we, of course, don't like, poverty doesn't matter if everybody is poor.

What is most worrisome about becoming a rich nation is that the price of things begin to skyrocket even before people's income take a hike. Look at the price of things in the country now. While the inflation rate is said to remain at less than 4% food prices have good up by anything between 50 to 100% over the last five years. Bread used to be about a ringgit a loaf. Now it's reaching two ringgit. The 80 sen nasi lemak has now gone up to RM1.50 sen or more while the RM1 package will not satisfy a hungry person nor is it accompanied by some palatable "sambal tunis" and a wholesome half of an egg. "Teh tarik" and coffee has passed the RM1.50 sen mark while it was just some 50-80 sen before.

There's no standard price fixed, of course, for cooked food since the same stuff can be cooked in different ways with different accompaniments. But what is important is that you cannot any longer have a wholesome and satisfying lunch with less than RM5. Of course, who cares about this when government has raised the remuneration of all public servants while the income of workers in the private sector has always been better than in the government? The question is , what happens to the self-employed people who have no steady income and live from hand to mouth? Will they just disappear after we become a high income nation? Whereto and how? Do we have a welfare scheme to take of them as they do in the developed country especially in the welfare states?

We are in the year 2012 now. As far as Malaysia is concerned we are also at the brink of a General Election. The NST has just disclosed that there is a lot of illegal activities going on at the border states. Heavily subsidized goods are taken across the border and sold at market price with a huge profit, with some border enforcement officers probably helping rather than taking them into custody. More importantly they are also causing shortages in Malaysia itself. Are there enough anti-corruption officers to deal with this matter? The police has increased it strength substantially but are they being deployed mote to fight crimes such as house-breaking and handbag-snathching than issuing summons to drivers who overspeed by a few km/hour? Holding a gathering of people for public lectures and other peaceful purpose will soon be allowed without a need for a permit but why interfere with university students holding a rally on campus ground? Will 2012 bring more academic freedom and freedom of speech or not?

These are some of the worries that greet us with the entrance of 2012. Otherwise we seem to be doing all right. As for the political struggle that we see between parties and within them, where in the world is politics a peaceful and quiet affair?

Last Few days of 2011

2011-12-27T22:12:00.000-08:00

For some it's a joyous wait for the New Year after a merry Christmas. It's time to close the 2011 chapter of your book of life and look forward to a bright 2012.

For others there are many sad things to recall and it's time to pray that those things will not recur. These include all the victims of war and socio-political uprisings in many Muslim countries causing deaths and destruction by the hands of foreign interventionists or by one's own countrymen. The trouble is not over although many heads of local leaders had rolled and new ones are taking over, without any convincing sign of getting the full support of the entire population. It would appear that once a country is divided, so many factors will come in to make sure that it will remain that way. Especially when the so-called "liberation from autocratic rule" and the "freedom" gained, is brought in with the help of a foreign power. It's more than nine years since Iraq is liberated and the new government which took over can in no way be described as truly democratic and popular. Afghanistan and Libya are in no better position after the the change of leadership and government. And so is Egypt....

Of course no government is really stable for long when the people become fully conscious of their rights, are completely free to express their views and begin to make uncompromising demands on the government.. What makes the difference is whether people move for a change in government in an orderly and lawful manner or take to the streets in anger and frustration. When the government is flexible enough to allow for a change without using its might and military power on the people, the chances for a peaceful transition is greater. Otherwise every change is forced through with bloodshed and followed by more bloodshed. Developing countries would do well to recognize this fact and develop greater flexibility for change without depending on outside powers to help prevent the change or force it through.

Malaysia has been and is still one of the most stable governments in Asia. But like all governments the forces of change are never absent. It is how the government adjusts to and accommodates changes that will determine whether we will continue to enjoy peace and harmony in the near future or be sucked in by the forces of internal conflict and enmity. God forbids but it's the people who cause it to happen and only the people in the country can prevent or stop it from happening. You cannot expect to have peace and harmony in your country if you're more adept at creating conflicts and disagreement rather than solving them.This is more so if interracial matters are highlighted or blown up more than efforts to resolve the differences amicably.

As 2011 draws to a close the importance of the the forthcoming GE13 becomes more obvious. Barisan National owes it to the Malays to see that all the sentiments and allegations directed at UMNO are cleared up and popular new faces are lined up for the leadership rather than maintaining the veterans whose accumulated wealth is a matter of great concern. Unless the trust and confidence of the grassroots is regained, all the efforts made to show that government cares for the welfare of the people might not bring them then necessary votes to stay in power, Especially since the MCA and MIC are showing a renewed vigor in bringing up partisan interest. The loose Pakatan which captured five States in the last election but lost one to Batisan later, may appear to be in a bit of a disarray. But it has much to say against Barisan and a dissatisfied public can be easily swayed by the negative views expressed.

In any case the last few days of 2011 allow us to take stock of what has transpired this year and decide on what is possible in 2012. That would tell us how we should prepare ourselves, so that we wouldn't be taken by surprise. Common sense, right? But that is what we sometimes lack in facing the deluge of unexpected development around us, especially political moves that presage the coming of a general election. Brick walls of resistant to some public demand can suddenly collapse and hangouts undreamt of in the past come rolling in together with improvements in the remuneration scheme for workers.

Well, the New Year is at our doorstep no matter what. Happy new year and be prepared for the consequences of the sudden liberal year-end spending at both the national and personal level.

The Steel Framework of Administration.

2011-12-22T02:36:00.000-08:00

The Malaysian Civil Service used to be considered as the steel framework of administration in the country. It is neutral or apolitical and it serves whoever comes to power through the political processes of selecting the leaders in the nation. All its dealings and decision-making processes are governed by tight and documented procedures to ensure justice and fairness to all. Financial procedures were watertight, to avoid any misuse of government funds which come from taxes and dues collected from the people of the nation.

How far have we moved away from these norms now? Politics have taken over as the steel scaffolding of the administration with policy decisions made by the political bosses, elected by the people and certainly representing some partisan interest. No matter how fair and objective they are in their deliberation, people will think that they will decide in the interest of their supporters. They are not bound by the infamous bureaucratic rules and can side-step all the regulations so long as their legal advisers okayed their move. If any law or regulation stands in the way of what they earmarked as "development", the laws or regulation can be changed or amended through Parliament.

Hence the political leaders not only set the direction and goals of development but also the way it is to be done. This involves the identification and selection of development projects since they determine the priorities according to public demand, who gets the project since the lowest offer may not be the best, and what adjustments must be made since the project must meet the expectation of the public which is best known by the political bosses. Routine administrative matters must also be tempered with at times to speed up matters, take political exigencies into consideration, adjust priorities according to the strength of political influence and make the bureaucracy more sensitive to the urgent need of the public. Even the promotions and emplacement of key officers must be considered in terms of suitability, loyalty and capability, while seniority and experience mean nothing much anymore.

Yes, the civil service has changed a lot and will be changed further. Secretaries-General and Directors-General as administrative heads of ministries and departments must kowtow to the political and private secretaries of political bosses who knew better what the political bosses want. Even the transferring of officers due to promotion, the matching up of expertise and experience woth the requirements of the job, and and allowing for job rotation to get the best out of peoplr, must be agreed to by the political bosses for suitability in terms of working relationship is more important than all of the previous requirememts.

Will the steel framework od administration hold with many of the crucial nuts and bolts removed to allow for political flexibility? Will the old prestige and authoritativeness ofbthe civil service remain when young and inexperienced officers can suddenly take over as the administrative bosses over older and experienced hands, even coming in from outside the service trough laterl entery without any proper training and acclamatization? Will the politicisation of the civil service produce better results than the steel framework of yesteryears? Let's wait and see the outcome of the vsrious changes in the next few yesrs, especially when the political superstructure itself undergoes some critical changes in line with changes in tbe political climate..

Father Christmas is Coming to Town...

2011-12-17T20:06:00.000-08:00

Yes, Father Christmas is coming to town in Malaysia this Yuletide with huge bags of goodies for families earning below RM3000 pm,
cash gifts for schoolchildren, salary increases for all government servants, special Funds for struggling entrepreneurs, for thirtiary-level students in need pf help, for police and army personnel, for needy farmers and fishermen and even for national writers and mosques' officials.

Ho,Ho,Ho,Ho come people and get your goodies. There are some forms to fill in though which require current address, bank account number, and other personal information of applicant to be given. There will certainly be some checking to be done and the possibility that some applications will be rejected. Will that raise more problems and unhappiness than the gifts or handouts distributed? Let Father Christmas and his advisers work on that.

This coming Christmas is certainly a windfall (durian runtuh) for many. Civil servants' salary will increase from 13 - 30% out seems.
The last time there was a raise by some 12% ( I forgot when) the Ministers, their Deputies, Parliamentary Secretaries and the Parliamentarians in general got a hefty increase as well. The real percentage was never disclosed. Will it be the same this time.

And why not? The country's economy is booming and we are racing headlong to become a high income nation. Investments are coming in hopefully as heavy as the monsoon rain and tourist are visiting us in droves. That's the impression I get from following the more than lavish attitude shown and the nature of government spending with hundreds of millions spent on promoting tourism including the billions to be poured to the Langkawi Five Year Development Plan. The Iskandar Regional development plan in Johore sounds like the duck that lays the golden egg. Will the Causeway and the Gelang Patah bridge be sufficient to bring in
the business tycoons and super entreprenuers from our neighboring country, especially since KTM does not go beyond Woodland anymore. May be we have money for another bridge to facilitate the flow of goods and people, a beautiful straight one and not a croocket one anymore.

Well, all the political and economic transformation plans and agenda seem to be rolling on very smoothly with the NKRA measuring the success achieved. Progress on all key result areas seems to be on target as said by the show master YB Idris Jala while the YAB PM himself is renowned for his walk-around supervisory style. Let's hope that he sees what he wants and not just what is shown to him! It really looks like a glorious New Year is awaiting us all and, of course, a promising BN victory in GE13.

Let's be fair and say a few words for the Perikatan - claimed to be at it loosest condition right now. We see the in-fighting and the prominent stars battling each other. Dr Hassan Ali is even suggesting a possible exit, perhaps waiting for a door to open up somewhere. Promises made during GE12 don't seem to be fully met but I hear that some people are very happy in Penang. The welfare state agenda of PAS seems to be an unacceptable alternative to the Islamic State objective for Dr Hassan Ali but when the BN Chief decides to become Father Christmas this Yuletide, I wonder if the welfare idea had not been taken over by him.

Merry Christmas everyone and a cheerful windfall.

Let Our Handphones Talk.....

2011-12-12T22:23:00.000-08:00

While there's no doubt that our country and people are progressing very well on the road to becoming a developed nation, there are many areas in the country where development has gone the wrong way or never picked up speed. These areas are often secluded and buried deep in the rural areas but they can often be seen from the roadside.

What do I mean by development going the wrong way? The most obvious sign is the modern ghettoes. You have modern buildings and infrastructure but the whole area stinks like a rubbish dump. Public facilities are vandalized and left unrepaired, the roads are full of potholes and ditches, and rubbish are strewn around like confetti. You may find this in the urban areas but mostly in the new townships which failed to grow as planned (by charlatans of course). Many buildings had turned green or brownish depending on whether the moss had done a better job that the rain and the red earth or vice versa. The lawn and the playground, if it had been provided for, would only be most comfortable to the buffaloes.

But the signs of progress and development among the people are obvious from the cars that are parked by the houses, the TV antennae, and the extensions done to the small original house, including those which are reminiscent of yesteryears. In fact there are places with a trace of the original village with their fruits and coconut trees which had been displaced by new roads and posts for the power lines but allowed to slip back into a ghetto-like scenario. In fact some villages which had been so-called "modernized" appear more like a deserted and dilapidated area for most of the inhabitants have moved to the towns and urban centers.

Actual poverty stricken areas which the floodlight of development had not spotted also exist in the rural depth. The village development committees have either missed them or averted them because of their unfriendly political leanings. More importantly some village heads have never brought the machinery of or the funds for develpment to these areas because of certain prejudice or misgivings, and no higher authority had seen it fit to intervene.The neglect, purposeful or otherwise, is kept a secret or the people could be reported as non-supportive of the government in power so that the higher authorities would not insist on helping them.

How can we bring out all these neglects and negative development into the open so that the government may recognize their existence and cause an inquiry to be made, call the peoples' representative responsible for the area to answer for them , and get some ameliorative action going? Only the private TV stations sometimes bring these areas into focus as done by Karam Singh Walia
and cause remedial action to be taken. Others remain unknown to the public and the government until found by accident.

It is in this regard that the newfound technology in the form of high-tech handphones with sophisticated cameras, the Facebook, twitters etc. can play a very important role in exposing these hidden or invisible dimensions of negative development or where development had not progressed at par with the national standard. Let us turn our hp cameras in the direction of these misfits and 'misfortunates' in as much as we love to capture the images of modernity, progress and the beauty of our people. We share them through the blogs, facebooks and the many faces of internet so that the government and those responsible cannot miss them. By exposing the areas and conditions in pictures, we will also expose the public servants or leaders who fail to take action to remedy the wrong or patch up the neglect. We cannot just depend oo the private TV station to do that while the radio can only describe the situation without showing convincing pictures. We must actually see them to be convinced and the entire population of the country with hps can certainly uncover every aspect of the neglect or negatives development in this country.

Yes, let our handphones with their digital imaging facilities talk. They don't lie.

LIMA 2011 and Langkawi's 5 Year Development Plan

2011-12-08T09:37:00.000-08:00

The Langkawi international Marine and Air show started on 6th December this yesr and will not end till tomorrow (10.12.11). The island is thronging with tourists and major hotels are full to capacity. Kuah the commercial centre, the Aiport area where the airshow activities are focused on, and Pantai Cenang the resort and entertaiment hubb reaching up to Porto Malai, are buzzing with people. You see them in dark coats and ties (the coperate and business people), in uniforms with shiny brass and colorful braids and stripes ( the police, army, marine and air officials) and those in casual holiday attire ( the tourists and other visitors). The first two groups can be seen rushing around to perform their duties, the thord group enjoying their visitation and shopping spree.

This time around another group became more prominent - the artists and cultural performers. LIMA had been combined with the Langkawi Cultural Festival organised by the Ministry of Tourism,, the Ministry of information and the Local Authority. While the days were filled with LIMA activities highlighted by the sights and sound of screaming jet planes crisscrossing the sky, the nights were filled with cultural shows that attracted the entire population of the island. At all the festival sites new make-shift shopping and business centers sprung up to blend with the existing permanet business premises. All seemed to be doing brisk business.

While the exhibition displaying models of the jet planes, jet engines, warships weaponries etc and the actual airshow with the MIG 29Ns, the Typhoons, the Super Hornets, the Sukhois etc performing all sorts of stunts in the air were excellent and breathtaking, one could not fail to notice that the number of partipants in both had shrunk. There were a number of empty counters in the Exhibition Center and the number of planes taking part in the airshow had decreased. Only five Smokeys took part in the air stunts perFormed by TUDM while there used to be nine. The rolls, the loops, the free falls, the steep climbs, the formation exhibits etc were okay but there was no Red Arrow kind of heart-throbbing performance, no double or tripple rolls with a jet shooting through it since shooting through the trail of a heart as performed by the TUDM wasn't that spectacular. There was no low,upside-down flying accross the airfield, which was shown once before by the Red Arrow team.

I did not visit the Marine show at Porta Malai since not much was said about it and the display of putting out a fire on a ship in open sea and the foiling of a boat's take-over attempt by pirates which i once saw, was not too spectacular either. i did not take the opportunity to see the controversial submarine that TLDM bought at a supposedly inflated price.

The question that must be asked is whether government had exploited the LIMA show to the full to promote Langkawi as a world class tourist destination. The participation of the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Information and Cultural Heritage seems to have made LIMA more eventful but my visit to the Cable Car ride at Gunung Mat Cincang, the Geopark River Ride, the Perdana Galleria, the Buffaloe Park, the handicraft Glass-blowing Center etc , did not convince me that these centers of attraction had been effectively marketted although some centers like the Makam Mahsuri had been improved. They were quite empty during my visit and there was no special events to greet the group visit asit was done outside the scheduled time. I would think that special events should be held when visitors arrived, not force them to come according to the scedule of the operators. The nature and elaborateness of the event or demonstration can be geared towards the size of the visiting group to cut down expenses. These and more events had to be organized if Langkawi is to become a world class tourist center like Bali, Phukett snd even Hawaii.

The M!inistry of Defence had to view LIMA as more than just a military showcase to display all the modern machine and weapons of war and combat and their capability. The social dimensions of defence must be explored and that includes protecting and promoting the cultural and economic aspects of life in Malaysia and on the legendary island. It must also think tourism like all the other ministrues since tourism is fast becoming a major income earner for the nation bringing in RM56.5 billion last year. All potentials for expanding the tourist trade mus be explored throuhg LIMA. Since the public has been shownn through LIMA all the capabilities of the jet planes and warships made by different countries, the public's view can also be sampled during The LIMA celebration. At least the Ministry and the Governmen will know what the public feels abput buying combat jet planes costing RM 3billion each as opposed to buying cheaper ones.

The Langkawi 5 Year Development Plan has also been announced by the PM which intends to bringing in 3 million by 2015 and earmarks a RM5billion investment package. The Plan will focus on promoting the Geopark, developing Pulau Dayang Bunting and Gunung Mat Cincang, building 5 more 5 star hotels, creating a Park Ranger Team, improving infrastructure , provide ding chartered air service and providing more incentives for holding meetings and convention in Langkawi. Would all these really attract more visitors if the entertainment packages are not significantly increased in variety and quality. The Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Information and Cultural Heritage should be spearheading a thorough reorganization, upgrading and marketing of the entertainment packages to support the 5 Year Development Plan.

Religion in a World of Science and Technology

2011-12-01T22:50:00.000-08:00

Superpersonal Objects and Goals
A religious person is devout in the sense that he has no doubt about the significance of those superpersonal objects and goals which neither require nor are capable of rational foundation - Einstein.

A truly religious person will certainly respect the religious activities and rites of his/her friends and fellowmen or women, no matter what faith they espouse. It is usually the less religious or one who hold no proper religious faith that looks askance at or even look down upon people faithfully performing the prescriptions of their religious belief. As Einstein implied the "significance of those superpersonal objects and goals neither require nor are capable of rational foundation", meaning that you don't question them at all.

We don't question the faith that we hold nor should we question the faiths that others adopt. We respect their rights to perform all the activities and rites that their religion requires and we expect them to respect ours. The problem is those who don't hold on to any faith or who just pay lip service to a religion, do not know how to respect its requirements and prescriptions. In Islam especially among the Malays, that include those who consider themselves to be Muslims by birth and had no strong commitment to the religion. These people often flout the call to prayer five times in a day and night, would not refrain from taking food and drinks in the month of Ramadhan , would not go to the mosque for mass prayer and listen to the khutbah on Friday, would join others to ogle at females who strut around in a flimsy dress or takes pride in showing off their bossoms, instead of chiding them etc.

The adherents of a religion who do not uphold the requirements of the religion will of course have to contend with their own God in the hereafter (if at all they belief in that). But when they or those who don't subscribe to any religion, refuse to allow others to take time off to fulfill their religious obligations, that's a different story. They are showing disrespect and denying the rights of people to practice their own religion. This is apparent when, for example, meetings are held during the Muslim prayer time, functions begun in the evening before Muslims could perform the Maghrib prayer, and Muslims are not allowed to go off early on Friday to attend mass prayer at the mosque. Bosses who show such disrespect for the religion, are not only being irreligious but can be classified as anti-religion.

The lack of concern and respect for a religion and the activities or rites connected with it, is often reflected in a general apathy to the provision of facilities for fulfilling the requirement of the religion. The call to prayer in Islam is an essential part of the religion and yet there are people who oppose it, saying that it makes too much noise. What about the chanting and the singing in the church or temple? Printing the time schedule for Muslim prayers in the front page of the papers had been a long established practice. But that has been moved to the second or third page and in today's NST (2.12.11) , it's not even there anymore. The radio usually announced the time as we come close to it, but the TV, I am not sure. Must check it again. Such announcement is very important for the time schedule for Muslim prayers changes unlike the time schedule for Sunday Mass etc.

Even in this age of science and technology, religion still plays a major role in the life of most people.Why? It provides a set of values that never change while other values keep changing with the time. Religious truths are never challenged while all other truths are transient in nature and keep changing. What is truthe today may become an untruth tomorrow. Not in religion. Hence those who live by the good book are never derailed. Those who don't, even when they are highly educated and assume the status of geniuses, can ultimately flounder and become drowned in the quagmire of life's mysteries.

Islamic New Year 1433

2011-11-25T16:48:00.000-08:00

Yes, we in Malaysia celebrate Ma'al Hijrah or the Islamic New Year. But only as a formal and ceremonial occasion orchestrated by the goverment. Year in and year out - it's now 1533 H - there's the usual congregation with invited guests and also opened to the public. There wiil be the usual do'a and al-quran recitals, lots of speeches, some religious show, songs and dances or pantomime, and the price giving ceremony to winners of the Ma'al Hijrahs' personality Awards.

A big do indeed. But it's no national celebration like Aidilfitri or Aidiladha, CNY, Deepavali, Christmas and the Gregorian New Year. It often goes without any recognizable reception in the homes of the average Muslims from all races in Malaysia, although that day is a public holiday and replaceable if it falls on a day that's already a public holiday.

It is the same in other Muslim countries. The muslim New Year has never become an important day to review one's performance in the past year, renew one's resolves and set new goals for the next year etc as is done when ushering in the Gregorian New Year. But in actual fact the first day of Muharam is a very important date in the history of Islam since it was the day Prophet Muhammad SAW and his friends migrated from Mecca to Madinah and started establishing and expanding the influence of the religion. The event is known as the Hijra. - moving from a state of ignorance or irreligiousity to following the path of righteousness as set by Allah through the last of His Prophets and the al-Quran. For the Muskims as a whole hijra means leaving all that is bad and prohibited or disdained by Allah and turning over a new leaf. It is equivalent to reviewing ones performance in the past year and setting new resolves and goals, very much like we are expected to do with the coming of a new year on the Gregorian calender.

Muslims are supposed to hold a special prayer (solat sunat) at the mosques like on the day of celebrating Aidilfitri and Aidiadha. All mosques should be holding that prayer. But are we doing that? In Malaysia we have the big function as already mentioned which does not include a mass prayer. Is this because Prophet Muhammad had not prescribed explicitly that a mass prayer should be held on the occasion of Maal Hijra. The same can also be said about his birthday - Maulid Nabi. Yet tbe celebration is more widely held. Shouldn't there be, therefore, an attempt to make Ma'al Hijrah more meaningful to all Muslims, young and old. After all It's the day that Islam really began to establish itself as a world religion.

Value Conflict- We Sometimes Undo Our own efforts..

2011-11-23T19:51:00.000-08:00

On the one hand we are trying to make Malaysians, especially the Bumiputras, self-reliant, competitive, and not depend on subsidies or government assistance to seek progress. Special rights and quotas are being weeded away to give way to open competition and meritocracy. Even the concept of achieving an equity in capital shares has been thrown overboard just like ensuring bumiputra participation in any new capital venture. A foreign company can now operate in the country without any bumiputra share or involvement at all...

Yes indeed. The Bumiputras have been so dependent on government protection, subsidies, grants, quotas etc such that they cannot compete on their own. (That's the assumption anyway). So now let them learn to compete on their own steam, no handicap whatever, no special treatment. We race on the same ground - all races, one Malaysia.

But are we (or the government) not at the she time undoing some of the new values we are trying to nurture? So many funds are being set up to help those for whom each specific fund is established. I wonder how the Auditor-General can be able to audit all those funds since they are not being controlled by specific government agency. But more. Government seems to be giving assistance here, there and everywhere, mostly in cold cash, like giving school children a handout of RM100 each. So mush money seems to be splashed around in the spirit of "Yohoho, Merry Christmas." Big projects.big spending and big money seem to be the talk of the town, while at the same time government is encouraging people to save and spend money wisely in view of the anticipated global recession.

Everywhere around I see the signs of conspicuous consumption with the increasing number of shopping malls and complexes cropping up in KL and other major cities. Is this the harbinger of the arrival of a high income nation with inflation fast tagging along on its heel? And yet our growth rate is not reaching anywhere near what it sued to be at 7-8%. We will be lucky to achieve a 5-6% growth rate in the next few years.

Well, I hope I'm totally wrong and off the mark. Only that will give us some comfort that things will always be much better than before. This itself is a value conflict - one aspiring for a better life hoping that he is wrong and not hoping to be right.

Giving Schoolchildren RM100.

2011-11-17T05:48:00.000-08:00

A hundred bucks may not be much nowadays. But parents don't usually give away RM100 to their kids for kicks. Once they get into the habit of receiving the big ones for their pleasure, the tenner, the fiver and the little ones mean nothing anymore. Give them a tenner and they might just pull a sour face with a nasty pout of the lips.

Kids from wealthy families in the city maybe used to getting the 100 and 50 smackeroo. Must we now spread that expectation to the poorer kids in the rural areas? Government's intention of giving them the handout as emblazoned by the papers maybe good but that could revive the old dependency on government subsidy and aid syndrome, among the kids of today.

Kids are learning a lot of things from the school today, more than just from the books amd teachers. The school is a melting pot of juvenile behaviors as nurtuted by many families. All the good and bad habits developed in the familly are brought to the school by the kids and are slowly rubbed onto each other through friendship and emulation. It is in the school that children picked up msny of the offensive habits that parents do not tolerate or approve at home. It is there that habits like bullying the young and the weak, cheating to get around certain problems, buying favors and influence from schoolmates, ganging up to protect oneself from other groups and cliques, and even learning to commit little crimes and misdemeanours for kicks as a group activity.

One of the less hihlighted things that children learn in school is spending and saving money. They are given some pocket money everyday. While some received a lot and have no problem of buying whatever they want from the school canteen or even the shops and shopping complexes around their school, others received barely enough to feed themselves during school- break. They thus learn to borrow and cheat some friends with lots of money to spare.

Now, how would the sudden gift of money from the government or any other rich benefactor, affect the spending habit of the children with little money to spare? They would probably go out to buy whatever they have longed for all these while, go on a spending spree that they had never experinced. Of course a hundred ringgit won't take them far but enough to have the experince of being "rich" - a false experince surely for they will be poor gain after the money is spent. Then what? They might expect another handout from the government and if they don't get it, their attitude towards the givernment might suddenly change.

Yes, the gesture of giving money to the needy children in school is certainly good. But as Confucius said, give a msn some fish and he has food for a day. But teach him how to fish and he will have food for the rest of his life. Wouldn't it be better to let the children earn the money somehow? Or put the money in a savings account and let the children learn how to operate and build up the account. That would be more useful to them as a learning experince than to be "rich" for one or two days and then becoming poor again, or feeling even poorer and envious of the rich after the experience. Unless, of course, the government will continue to give the handout off and on, and let the children develop a dependency syndrome that government is trying to stamp out from the poorer Malaysians.

Brief weekend in Penang.

2011-11-12T17:21:00.001-08:00

Nothing's more invigorating than visiting a place which has not been visited a long while. For Penang, a long while could mean just a year or two. My last visit was when the airport was being renovated and we have to wait outside the building amidst road repairs and construction work to get in or get out of the airport. The crowd was chaotic.

While expansion work still continues, much of the renovation is now complete. With the lower and upper level division of the traffic flow into and out of the airport, congestion has been reduced considerably. And there are now several alternative routes that could be taken to and from the airport. So said Mr Babjan who picked my wife and me from the airport and also sent us home today. A most charming private transport owner and operator.

We stayed at a posh new hotel in Queensbay, close to the Queensbay Mall. From the hotel we could see the new bridge being built striding the channel past Pulau Jerejak. I don't know how close it is to that island but since it used to be the grand residential place for ISA visitors, I sure wish to pass by it one day when the bridge is completed. Or maybe even visit the legendary island which has lost its scary reputation after the ISA is abolished.

I had also observed the island from the top of Bukit Bendera. That was our rendezvous the next day - I mean Bukit Bendera not Pulau Jerejak about which I have read quite a lot from ex-ISA detainees who became famous writers. No, they didn't write about the island but their experience as a political detainee on it. The top of Bukit Bendera is more accessible now with the introduction of the buggy ride costing RM30 for a ride with four or six passengers, ( No reduction there but you get a bigger buggy!) . I had a chance to see many of the palatial bungalows hidden in the rich forest foliage atop the hill, owned by rich and famous Malaysians.
A dilapidated canopy-walk facility down to the seashore remained unrepaired after the main trees connecting the rope-bridge was struck by lightening some years ago. It looks like a very precious visitors' item but neglected by the authorities concerned,since the bungalows were not opened to the public.

The funicular railway taking people up Bukit Bendera has of course been modernized and can take up to a hundred passengers on one trip up or down. available every 10 minutes. No queuing is enforced and during peak hours the holding area can be pretty jammed up. I do think that queuing could bring more order and comfort while limiting the number of passengers can allow for a better viewing of the hill vegetation, the scattered farm houses and of course the top or the bottom of the hill. I did not, however, see any major changes in the scenery due to the development of new items of attraction, although some years had passed since my last visit. Nor had the refreshment center or the toilet facilities improved much,

We were in Penang to see the Penang Beat Prelude, a international show of drums sand percussion music performed by artists from Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. It was a most captivating show although starting it off with a price giving-away ceremony by the Head of State for various art competitions, stole away some of the excitement. The performances themselves were awesome and we did not leave the show, half of the time standing up at the back, until 11.30 pm. Although terribly exhausted that night after the show, Miss JY, the young and vibrant State Director of Tourism, found time to have a late nightcap with us at the hotel lounge,together with her most spirited magazine-editor friend, Miss TSA.

We flew back to KL this afternoon with a memory of Penang that is clean, a haven for exotic food, and vigorously growing with new industrial and commercial centers taking shape everywhere over land reclaimed from the sea. What did we bring back beside a delectable memory? Piclked fruits, of course, including jeruk buah pala.. We. of course. did not miss Nasi Kandar Kayu and Cendul, before leaving the island.

A Different World....

2011-11-07T14:10:00.000-08:00

I spent the Aidiladha holidays in my village of origin (which according to the Negri Sembilan Adat Laws includes my wife's village), and bought all the newspapers available for my reading pleasure. They include two or three papers that do not qualify to be considered as the mainstream news media. In fact two maybe considered as the voice of the opposition.

Reading the two latter papers, I found myself in an almost totally different world. The names of people and places are the same but the stories have a slant that makes me feel quite foreign, or an alien who has dropped into a strange and chaotic world. The front pages suggested that this country is so rich that the wife and daughter of it's number one leader could spend a few hundred thousand ringgit shopping from just one foreign department store. Then we have a report on the government financial expenditure as examined by the Auditor-General. God. We seem to pay some RM27 million for an armed combat vehicle which other countries bought at some RM4-5 million. Thus the bill for more than 200 vehicles went up to RM6 billion or more. My maths does not allow men to remember such amount of money whereas only a billion or a little more should have been sufficient if the purchase was not made through an Agent.

Well, who cares if we have so much money.Even a drinking glass which normally costs RM2-3 may cost RM150 or more if we chose one made of crystal. A ceiling light can be bought for less than RM100 but an imported chandelier may cost you a few hundred thousand ringgit. The world offers something for the poor and also for the super rich. But when a comparatively poor country buys a Rolls Royce for its ambassadors, we begin to question the wisdom of the decision makers. However, Malaysia is not that poor and is aspiring to become a high-income nation in 2020. Should we, therefore, start to lead a life of what the economists refer to as high consumption? There is no doubt that government doles out billions of ringgit in assistance, subsidies and bail-outs. No problem. But yes, we have problems when you can't even take care of all the poor and helpless, provide those incapable of doing normal work with a comfortable living allowance, and allow beggars to walk the street begging for a living.

Whatever the reason for purchasing the more expensive material for national defense and national prestige, there is no justification for extravagant wastage. The Auditor General's Report seem to show that rich government organizations are spending far beyond their allocations and making the budgeting process a mere farce.

The voice of the opposition I refer to painted a picture of us living in a totally corrupted nation with corrupted leaders all around us. We are surround by tragic incidents, inhuman sufferings and criminal offenses including murders and rapes. We are among the damned and the doomed. God, no wonder some foreign countries have a totally different picture of life in this blessed country where even the oppositions and the critics live in comfort and plenty. Sometime I wonder if I am really looking at the real or make-belief world around me. It's easy to get confused.

May Aidiladha Be a Blessing to You.

2011-11-02T15:11:00.000-07:00

Aidiladha is here again for the Muslims, another festive occasion but withb a different message and objective from Aidilfitri. It's to commemorate the sacrifice of a beloved son, Ismail, by prophet Ibrahim (AH) as an obeissance to Allah's injunction. Only when he was about to slaughter his son who faithfully submited himself to be sacrificed, did Allah replace the son with a sheep. Thus, the prophet's and his son's undivided piety and subjugation to Allah was proven as well as Allah's magnanimity and kindness. Subhanallah.

Millions of Muslims are now gathered in Mecca al-Mukarramah to perform the Haj, one of the rites being to perform the Wukuf at Arfah. Here all the pilgrims, irrespective of their social or economic standing in life, race and color, will meet to perform the mandatory prayer - the biggest gathering of Muslims, symbolic of the grand assembly of all human before Allah at Mahsyar on the Day of Judgement. On that Day everything that you did in your life on earth will be evaluated and your Book of Life given to you. If it's handed to you with the right hand, you're destined for Heaven; if it's handed to you with the left hand you are bound for Hell...

The Wukuf takes place on the 9th of Dzulhijjah, which this year will fall on Saturday the 5th of November, 2011, followed by Aidiladha on the 6th. On that day of mass gathering and prayer for the Haj pilgrims in Arfah, Muslims all over the world are advised by Prophet Muhammad SAW to fast since that day of fasting can dissove his or her sins for one previous year and for the whole of the next year. This seems to be a most importsnt promise by Prophet Muhammaf SAW which only a few Muxlims have observed or even know about. The emphasis given to Aidiadha had always been on the quban - the sacrifice of animals ( cows, camels, sheep etc) after the Aidiladha prayer in the mosque. This of course will be the day of celebration itself when Muslims will recite the Takbir ( Allahuakbar), Tahmid (Alhamdulliah) and Tasbih ( Subhanallah). The celebration and recitation after prayers will go on for four days. One can compare this to the month long celebration for Aidifitri, after a month of fasting.

So, the celebration for Aidiadha seems shorter and so is the fervor, although the case is reversed, they say, in Kelsntan. We don't even see the shopping complexes and the city streets dressed up heavily for the occasion. Aidiladha seems to be more a commemoration for the pilgrims who will be annointed as Hajis, rather than a celebration. But do Muslims really appreciate the full significance of the occasion in terms of it's most importsnt goal -- for all Muslims to get together in prayer (especially in Mecca) irrespective of their positions in life, racial origins and the color of their skin, to sffirm that they pray only to one God that is Allah, and that they are brethren before God. As the pilgrims in Mecaa do, they should drop all their differences, accept each other ss equal before Allah, and perform all their obligations to Allah and all humanity with goodwill, humility and compasion.

Today's New Craze- 4 Fs

2011-10-30T20:32:00.000-07:00

It appears to me that we in this country (and perhaps others too) face four new craze starting with the letter 'F' - Football. Facebook , Festivities (music, concert, shows) and Films. Of course you can add many others including Food, Fooling around etc. The items may not be new but the fervor and power of attraction are, especially among the younger people.

Negri 9 has just emerged as the Malaysian football champion, a position erstwhile held by Trengganu. It just goes to show that you cannot hope to remain at the top all the time. A little mistake and the position may change. You cannot be complacent and rely on feedback from your fans only. Of course you can regain the position later but lost time can change a lot of things.

The craze for football seems obvious today with the World League, the European League and the Malaysian League becoming the talk of the town. Whether you are in the shopping complex, at bus stops, coffee shops and even in the mosque you can here people talking about football. The National and State footballers are heroes, their names being more popular than some of the less-known political leaders, even among Cabinet members. Let alone World Cup heroes like Pele, Maradona, Becham and Ronaldo. Our football fans seem to know them better than their neighbors. Even children begin to know their names faster than the alphabet. While other sports are also gaining popularity, football seems to have a greater following. At the international level the stars are being traded and bought over for millions by rich clubs, We haven't come to that stage in Malaysia but the price money seems to be going up all the time. And the fans seem to get wilder and more aggressive as the price of tickets go up.

Facebook is of course taking the world by its ears. Almost every computer user (and who is not today?) has his own Wall in FB. Several hours are spent each day chatting or communicating on FB. The world has suddenly shrunk since even friends on the other side of the globe can be contacted almost instantaneously accompanied by live pictures if you like through Skype and video link.
Parents are getting worried to see their children spending more time on the FB than on their studies, husbands and wives getting worried for their partners now could say whatever they want to whoever they want without becoming embarrassed or causing any embarrassment. Some even enjoy reading saucy and weird chats on FB. It can be more fun than watching commercialized soaps on the tube.

Festivities like concerts, music and other live shows on TV and radio have, of course, been popular for decades. A day without listening to some music could be as dry as salad without the sauce. But technology had enabled youngsters to walk (or even drive) around with their ears plugged to a thumbnail pod which contains hundreds in not thousands of music and songs. They seemed lost to the world, sometimes dancing around to the tune even while walking in the street. Otherwise they would be talking into a handphone. People looking from afar would think they are crazy talking to or dancing with unseen partners. Don't try to talk to them when they are not looking at you or you get riled up as do some parents when they ask their children to do something but getting no response whatever because his or her ears are plugged.

As regard films, there is now a great devotion to fantasy films including sci-fi and ghost stories. Triggered by the Harry Porter and Lord of the Ring series followed by the Avatar, real-life stories however interesting and dramatic don't sell anymore. Malay ghost films and pseudo=science fiction with CGIs now conquer the theatres projecting box office returns to double digit millions. Very encouraging but for the fact that they take the young away from realities and into the fantasy world. Ghost stories make fun of the dead and trade on cheap scares. When are the youths and other citizens of the country to be fed with human epics and dramas that develops the soul and character. The malay dramas on TV seem to have no other theme but greed for wealth, husbands' infidelity and adolescent love affairs, That's beside ghost stories as well.

So, where is the focus of the Malaysians, especially the young ones, in terms of striving for progress in life? Is football, Facebook, festivities and films going to be the major concern and attraction or other things that will affect the country's future. Many children today see the sports ( football, badminton, golf, cycling, etc as a desirable future career while becoming a pop singer or filmstar is
a constant dream. Even youths in the rural areas are not interested in producing rubber, oil palm, and planting rice anymore even when the income is most promising. The urban ones with university education are of course interested to become corporate executive without any experience whatever in business and trade. Who then are going to fill in the ranks of entrepreneur apprentice and small businessmen to help propel the country to become a high income nation? The politicians? The professionals?
The technical and blue collar workers?

Perhaps a new human drama is unfolding right in front of our very eyes. But are we focusing on the right thing?

Happy Deepavali and the God of War

2011-10-25T15:40:00.000-07:00

After Hariya Aidilfitri comes Deepavali which is today, to be followed by Hariraya Aidiladha (haji) and then Christmas. Yes, Malaysia is rich in festives days. Happy Deepavali to all my friends who celebrate the occasion and a happy holiday to all others who will surely join them with a feast of muruku and other delicacies.

The celebration for Deepavali will of course be more at home than at Batu Cave as in the case of Thaipusam. I csn already see my neighbor's residence being lighted up since last night. I met my neighbor's wife Sunita on coming from prayer last night and she was pretty upset. Some stray cats had made a mass out of her beautifully colored rice arrangement ( called kolam) and she had to redo it all over again. Thank God i did not let my cat, Joened, lose last night. In fact we never allowed him to come out of the house because the last one we had called Awan, just disappeared after coming out in the morning to follow me to the madrasah a short distance away from our house. We never found him again even after a thorough search of the neighborhood. May God bless him.

It's funny how a pet cat that we love can just disappear like Awan, when several stray cats can be seen loitering and litering around in our neighborhood. Before Awan we also lost a cat which my daughter brought all the way from the Netherland as a beloved pet. She came out of the house for only a very brief period after getting used to our home. It was impossible for her to have walked away any distance at all for she was very timid and cautious of the new surrounding. Some of the stray cats we see around were so noisy amd quareellous that we sometime wished forbthem to dissappear, but they never did.

Batu Cave will not miss out in the celebration anyway for an open house reception will be held there to be attended by the PM, DPM and the other bigwigs of Barisan. It is expected that some 15,000 people will throng the sacred place now dubbed as the Mecca of Hinduism with the efigy of Lord Murugan, the Hindu God of War , reputed to be the largest in the world, guarding the place. It is also said that Batu Cave has become the highest training ground for all Hindu priests ( samis). The place that used to be a tourist attraction spot has now assumed a sacred mentle. Millions of Hindus will flock there during Thaipusam. There are all the signs that the township around the area wiil soon grow into another metroplitan area like Setapak.

Well, the open house reception in Batu Cave seems set to become as hectic and populous as the Thaipusam celebration. Batu Cave under the guardianship of Lord Murugan may yet become the centre of world Hiduism, giving Malaysia a new spot in world history. Happy Deepavali to all Malaysians.

Raising Age of Retirement to 60

2011-10-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

Government had all the good intentions for raising the retirement age to 60 in the public service. It's to retain the services of the well trained and experienced personnel for yet a few more years while the younger ones get their exposure and training. It would also keep able bodied employees to go on working without the having to search for a new job to make ends meet. It would also ensure that experienced workers do not have to leave the service in great numbers leaving greenhorns to handle the job.

BUT the younger people who are searching for employment must necessarily be disturbed. Though government had promised that the creation of new job opportunities will not be jeopardized by the extension in retirement age, it will be the managers who are left to keep the door for new employment open. If they decide to shut the door for a while to take stock of their existing employees, the impact will be strongly felt in the job market, and there's nothing that the government can do to reduce its backlash on the good intention of the policy. The government is certainly putting its future in the hands of the managers.

One obvious response is now seen, from the Public Services itself. It is learnt that the Public Service will not conduct any new recruitment as a result of the extension in retirement age. All existing vacancies will not be filled in. For how long, no one knows. But the universities, the institutions of higher studies and the schools are going to pour out more and more young men and women into the job market. The government being the most important employer in the country would be asking for trouble if the public service closes its door to new recruitment as a result of the newly announced policy.

More importantly, the private sector might follow the Public Service lead. It might also decide to close its door to new recruitment since the attrition rate of existing employees will suddenly take a plunge. Where, therefore, will the new entrants into the labor force go to find jobs? The Public Service should never have frozen efforts to take in new recruits to fill in existing vacancies. It will totally destroy the good intentions of the new government policy. Unless government has other plans to employ the new entrants to the labor force, the action of the Public Service will turn the new policy into a bane.

Religious Pride......

2011-10-14T05:58:00.000-07:00

While we don't have an open war between religion now, there certainly are feuds and enmity between religious groups. When the groups represent different races or nationalities, then the enmity assumes a more serious nature. But thank God, the feuds or clashes so far remain covert and do not flare up into an open war.

More difficult to understand are the clashes and enmity between groups professing the same religion in the same or different countries. In this age of keen competition for survival and progress, one would expect that people professing the same religion would stick together and help each other to establish and strengthen their religious belief (if not to do some proselytizing work). But no, we have many clashes within the same religion because of different sects within the religion. Prophet Mohamed (SAW) said that Christianity would break up into 72 sects while Islam will break up into 73. That presages the clashes that would come about ultimately.

But do all those following a certain sect in one religion know exactly where they differ from the beliefs of the other sects? Or do they just allow themselves to be dragged into a certain sect because of PARENTAL UPBRINGING AND NATIONAL or COMMUNAL IDENTITY? What's amazing is that we don't quite see these differences in everyday life, especially when one's religious belief is considered as a private matter and the rituals involved do not take a prominent aspect of everyday life. If the differences remain unobvious and unobtrusive, there is no reason why they should interfere in the daily life of the various groups following different sects in the same religion, and cause them to clash with each other.

But we do see such enmity and clashes as much as clashes between the followers of different religion. Is it really because of the different teachings or because of the RELIGIOUS PRIDE each group exhibits? Each sect or
school of thought in a religion often considers itself more righteous and sanctified than the others, leading to mutual aversion. In Malaysia the enmity is not even caused by a difference in the school of thoughts or 'mazhab" but by political affiliation. But the aversion for each other has led to various disagreement on matters of religion itself, dividing the Muslims into two different camps - not because of religion but because of politics.

There's yet another divisive factor at work which comes under the category of RELIGIOUS PRIDE. That is the "hollier than thou" attitude of the ulamaks, imams and even Hajis and Lebais in their interaction with the ordinary members of the public, be they Muslims or non Muslims. They have distinguished themselves by their dress. While that does not bother the ordinary man anymore, they often assume that the ordinary man is stupid, ungrateful to Allah, and very irreligious, especially in the Friday sermons (khutbah). They preach to others as if they are beyond any religious reproach while the religious pride they exhibit is enough to be called 'riak.' May Allah forgive them all.

What is important is to note that this RELIGIOUS PRIDE; could be more damaging to the unity of the people of the world with different religious beliefs, and the ummah although under one religion i.e. Islam, than the differences in religion and religious faiths itself. Different religion and even different sects under the same religion do no seem to divide people more than the RELIGIOUS PRIDE that people, especially religious leaders, exhibit among themselves and their followers.

Peoples' Budget 2013.

2011-10-08T21:26:00.000-07:00

Everyone seems jubilant over the 2013 budget as announced by the PM. There are goodies for everyone ranging from a one-off cash payment to a shake-up of the pay schemes with enhanced annual increment or bonus. Families with an income of less than RM 3000 pm will get a subsidy of sort. Even pensioners will get a 2% increase of their pension wef 2013.

Yes, all seem to be very rosy. A propect of some 4% growth in the economy is very encouraging, to be viewed with an awareness of a 4% deficit in the budget. The cash handouts and annual increases are all offerred to offset the increase in the price of foodstuff and other essentials, which however had not been examined in details. The fear is that unless something is done to stop the spiralling price of essential goods, the increse in the income of government servants will trigger an immediate increase in the price of foodstuff. Just watch what will happen to the price of roti canai, teh tarik and nasi lemak. When the price does not icrease, the amount of the serving will decrease. You csn call that the " diminishing food value " principle.

But thank God, no food shortage is envisaged despite the bad weather and the flood that's causing a lot of d amage to our ricefield and food or fish farms. While lots of funds seem to be earmarked for creativity and innovation in the field of management and industrial production, no subtantive amount of funds seems to be set aside for increases in the productivity of our food farms. Shouldn't the ricefield which yielded the highest product per acre be rewarded or the fish farm which produced the highest tonnage of fish per pond? How about the tailor who sewed tne highest number of clothes or the carpenter who made the most number of tables, chairs or whatever is the measure of productivity used. Why do we only reward the badminton player with the highest number of games won, the footballer with the highest numer of goals scored or the golfer with the lowest numer of strokes per game?

The most obvious neglect as far as I am concerned is the lack of incentive payment promised to researchers, writers and national chroniclers in this country. These are the people who will ruduce to writing the greatness and the achievement of the people and the nation, writings that will benread by posterity and eill enrich the literature of the country. Are we happy with just government brochures, promotion leaflets and coffee-books to record the growth and achievement of our nation? We need great research and literary work, memoirs and biographies, books on general knowledge anf fictions to fill our literary vacuum and libraries now full of foreign materials. We need to develop our own repotoire of literary works and it's not going to emerge if left to ithe ncentive offered by the current market demand for local works. In the olden days the Royal Houses and Palace Courts commissioned scholars to write. Who takes on that responsibility now if not the government. Leaving the task to an Agency designed to promote the use of Bahasa is not enough, nor has it achieved more than provide text books for the schools in Bahasa.

I think we need some kind of a speciwl fund to sponsor, finance and reward scholars and writers to produce works that are not for quick sale and cheap publication. If the rewards for our football, badminton, golf, and other sports stars can run into hundreds of thousand, couldn't the goverment pay as much for research and literary works that will remsin for posterity and become a contribution to the intellectual achievement of the nation? Yes, the budget gave a priotity emphasis on developing huan capital. Does that include the developing and nurturing of writers for the nation. I wonder.
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A New Promise of Freedom in Malaysia

2011-10-04T22:16:00.000-07:00

The Prime Minister and the papers have said it bold and clear that the ISA would be repealed. Thus the thorn in the neck of everyone who believes in basic human freedom unless limited by the process of law, can now jump up and down with joy. More, the Prime Minister announced that those detained under the ISA would be released immediately after the ISA is repealed. Some 150 detainees will be released and some 200 warrant of arrest will be withdrawn.

Though two new Acts will be instituted to ensure that national security and political stability would not be compromised, they would be subject to the normal legal processes - no detention without being charged in court.

That the government is willing to curtail its existing power to accommodate the wishes of the people (the rakyat), is a noble gesture indeed. I suppose many political activists who have this far thrived on castigating the government because of the ISA will now be without a 'bone to pick" as the saying goes. But I'm sure they will find something else to hold against the government, perhaps the question of extending help to the poor and disadvantaged groups, not automatically giving scholarships to students with outstanding examination results (although they are the sons and daughters of well-to-do people) in favor of students from impoverished families, extending loans and assistance to bumiputera businessmen who are just beginning to learn the ropes, and perhaps the popular salvo of criticisms on the the special position of the Malays in their own country.

The opposition must of course continue to criticize the government or else lose their popularity. But what all Malaysians hope for is that the criticisms will be on obvious and palpable error of judgement or choice of alternatives which clearly affects the lives of the rakyat. The opposition would be in a position to disclose what are swept under the carpet but only only in as far as how they affect the decisions taken and the policies adopted. Disclosing personal matters for the purpose of character assassination or
lowering the dignity of a man is of course a contemptuous thing, be it done between political enemies or party members competing for a position in the party. Much of the running feuds in the papers seem to involve this kind of issue to the neglect of more important policy matters.

The rakyat now waits for the revelation of the 2012 budget. This would unquestionably be one that presages the election and therefore would project many of the government's future policies and lines of action. If, after the repeal of the ISA, the government can address some of the real outstanding issues that face the public now, it will stand a very good chance of retaining power and perhaps improving its majority in Parliament. Some of these involve the sharp rise in the cost of living and inflation. Even products usually considered as plentiful in Malaysia seem to have made a jump in their prices. Why oh why? Is the mechanism for regulating supply and demand defective? Without some improvement in this area any increase in salary and allowance of the civil servants will not mean much to them.

But if the 2012 budget fails to address the concerns that are uppermost in the minds of the public, the impact of the abolition of ISA might be watered down. What more if the new Acts impose some stringent rules that reduce personal freedom again. Let's wait and see.

Books: Writing and Publishing in Malaysia

2011-09-29T00:52:00.000-07:00

Books are always in demand - story books, books on general knowledge, on politics, religion, motivation. how to do things etc.
Go to our local bookshop and you can get all the books from foreign authors and story-tellers that you want. But look at the section selling locally produced books. Other than text books, books on Islam, and teenage love stories (novel cinta remaja), they are few in numbers and very, very expensive.

I don't believe that anybody has made a study on why local authors are very few in number and even the established ones are not writing as many books as possible.

Obviously the writers who have produced a number of books are those who hold high positions in the government, are closely related to the printing business, or work in a literary agency like Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. Other writers will have to go through a number of humiliating experience to get their work published such as entering an open competition where the judge's or judges' opinion cannot be questioned, works are heavily edited or peremptorily altered, and a piece of work can be rejected because it's too heavy, not in popular demand, not in line with the taste of the publisher or the wider is not well-known as yet. How can a writer become known if his or her work is never published?

For those who braved and accepted all the humiliations, the returns from the work can be most disappointing. We hear of cases where some two thousand copies of a work were printed but three thousand or more sold, with the extra thousand not bringing in any income to the author. More often the number of copies sold is grossly understated to avoid paying a large royalty. For those who undertake to pay the cost of publication themselves, the distributor of the book ie. the sale agent, will demand up to 50% of the price of each book as his commission. This will result in the author getting a poultry sum for his labor and cost of printing or otherwise forcing him to sell the book at an exorbitant price resulting in a very low sale.

Why is the commission demanded so high? The distributor can quote any reason at all like cost of promotion, transport, payment to sub-agent, spoilage etc. More often the commission is based on rates accepted by the largest publication agency in the country - Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. No one has ever examined how come DBP accepted such a high demand in the first instance, allowing the agency to get just 50% of the proceeds from the sale of books or magazines.

Well, the overall result of this situation is that the cost of books published locally are high, only the popular ones are published to cater for light reading and entertainment, many potential withers and authors never had a chance to pursue a writing career and produce high quality works for the nation and the people, and books that get published may not be of the best quality and standard in terms of intellectual and artistic achievement. We have more coffee-table books and memoirs in the market today than
the product of major creative work. We have a spade of teenage romantic novels and entertainment magazines. But good novels for the more mature and intellectual readers, nothing has reached the popularity level yet. Even the novels selected as texts for secondary schools can be questioned in terms of their literary quality and attractiveness, We don't see the adult members of the public reading them and acclaiming them as a major work of art.

With the Internet and the Facebook culture winning the hearts and souls of our young and old, book writing and publication in Malaysia may soon become moribund and uneconomical. We will end up with a high-technology culture with no soul, with materialism as the main force in life.

Tourism and Petty Traders

2011-09-25T18:54:00.000-07:00

"The tourism industry in Malaysia is an important foreign exchange earner, contributing to economic growth, attracting investments and providing employment. The focus of the government is to enhance the country's position as a leading foreign tourist destination, while promoting domestic tourism. Opportunities abound for entrepreneurs, business owners and investors who support the government's direction."

In promoting any industry in Malaysia, it is normal that those who are already established in the trade and industry will benefit the most. Beginners in the trade or small scale industry will have to crawl behind experienced professional and well-honed operators with extensive resources. Unless government help the beginners and the 'trotters' their efforts will end up in a disaster or a 'take-over' by the more resourceful operators.

There are many ways in which an established operator or company can 'smoother' a beginner in any trade or industry. Buy him or her over is a popular way if the beginner is starting to hurt the company's sales. Undercut the beginner's price is another way. If the beginner is operating on or near the company's premise, push him or her out. There are many excuses that can be given like the company is revamping or overhauling the place.

What the government might not be aware of is that a redevelopment, relocation or modernization plan can be used to get rid of petty traders or the beginners in the trade, When they are not considered healthy for the big operators. An official plan can be drawn to clear up the place where the beginners are operating and beginning to have their own group of clients and customers.
They can even be promised a better premise for business once the work is done, a more sophisticated accommodation, and even a substantial loan or assistance....

But, DiSRUPT A BUSINESS WHICH IS JUST GETTING ESTABLISHED AND THE BUSINESS IS GONE. The new premise could be most modern, beautiful and convenient, but the operating cost could be beyond the means and resources available to a beginner. Nor could he or she stand the competition from the more established operators. The rent for the premise itself could put the beginner out of league. And once the old clients are gone, business is over.

So, don't think that a modernization, relocation, redevelopment, revamping plan etc will always provide a new opportunity for the beginners in trade and industry. Especially when the job is being handled by an authority that could be persuaded by partisan interest or where the racial balance of business opportunity is involved.

In the tourism industry, marketing the traditional and local culture is most important. It's the traditional and local object d'art which attracts foreign tourists the most, including local tourists from different states and artistic background. So the petty traders supporting the tourist industry are usually the villagers turned traders, beginning to venture into the field. They need all the support of the government to graduate into real businessmen to balance up the racial economic imbalance which is essential for maintaining national unity.

Do not, therefore, allow the modernization, relocation, redevelopment, revamping or whatever other plans government has, to disrupt whatever roots the petty traders have established in or on the periphery of the city center. Give them time to grow. Open up new shopping areas by all means but don't push them away until the new premises are ready for them. Better still they should be allowed to start a new business in the new premises and the old premise be vacated after the new one has been properly established.

Don't let the efforts to modernize, relocate, redevelop, or revamp places where petty traders are beginning to take root be uprooted or you're uprooting the basic units or the tourist industry. Remember that luxury hotels, seaside resorts, sprawling shopping complexes are more plentiful in the developed countries. Our competitive edge lies in the local and traditional culture and works of arts as handled by the small scale entrepreneurs.

Malaysia National Day

2011-09-14T20:37:00.000-07:00

The merdeka anniversary and Malaysia day have been combined. We celebrate both tomorrow September 16, 2011. How joyously, we'll know tonight and tomorrow.

For about a month the Minister of Information, Culture and Heritage had been exhorting Malaysians through the radio and TV to fly the Jalur Gemilang. Response? See and judge for yourself. I for one don't like to be exhorted or psyched into doing something which should be done through a sense of responsibilty and pride. You don't inculcate or evoke such feeling through exhortstion. In fact some people consciously refrain from doing something when pressured to do so.

I wonder why Malaysians in the peninsular had been so unenthusiastic about flying the Jalur Gemilang in the past.? Only a few cars and some buildings and houses are doiing so. In fact I see the rural people flying the flag more enthusiastically than those in the urban centers.
(As for Sabah and Sarawak we will only know how they respond to the occasion tomorow). Is it because they don't share the feeling of pride and joy on the anniversary day of Merdeka or they are too busy celebrating it in some other ways which the flag doesn't in any way enhance orcontribute to? Whatever the reason is, it surely cannot be that they do not love the country which had given them the peace and prosperity that they now enjoy. Unless they are the most ungrateful type of human species on earth!

I would rather think that the reluctance or indifference is due to some unhappiness about the way things are in thus country. The unhappiness is not strong enough to bring people out onto the street to protest but also not petty enough be ignored and forgiven. Thus the people show their disapproval in the mildest manner possibke by flouting some simple things that the government asks them to do. It's more like a refusal of a baby or a child to take his or her milk becase the parents failed to give them something that they want. Yes, it's a childish act but it does bother the loving parents and sometimes forces them to to fulfil the whims and fancies of the child. It's one of the ways of getting bsck at those who love you.

When it comes to the question of showing our gratitude to the government, a reluctance to do so can often take the form of a lack of love for the country. " I love the conntry but I don't like the way my child is punished by the school", can be an example of such confused reaction. It is this kind of confused thinking that often led us to doing somthing that can put the nation to shame. It's like the saying: cut the nose to spte the face. It ends up with our face -the Malaysian face - being distorted.

I think there are many other things which Malaysians do as a result ofbthis confusec thinking. Some Malaysians resort to litering the streets as a prWotest against the action of the City or Town Council which they don't like. Some resort to writing foul words on prominent wall surfaces - writing graffeti. Other serious forms include destroying public property - vandalusm. - and throwing paints on cars, even perhaps throwing acid on the handsome and beautiful faces of people just because your face is not. This lstter action is of corse more a matter of mental sickness, paranoia or an advanced hatred of humanity. Such an advanced hatred against the community would produce the psychopaths while an advanced hatred against the nation would produce traitors and terrorists.

So, on the eve of our national celebration day, let's take stock of the possiible implications of the reluctancemor refusal to fly the national flag - the Jalur Gemilang. The scarcity of the national symbol being waved around or flying proudly from the windows and the roofs of prominent buildings, may be symptomatic of something amiss in the nation. Don't just exhort the people to fly the flag. Find out what is amiss.

National Quest for Greatness

2011-09-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

Books are permanent intellectual heritage. What type will influence more?

Nations like people always strive for fame and greatness. Even wealth and power. These national and human goals are closely interrelated and one is often confused for another. Thus both nations and people often pursue the wrong goals and only discover the error after they are destroyed or suffer a terrible shame.

Young nations like young people are more prone to make this mistake.An all out strive for power and wealth could lead to the creation of a very greedy and self-centered society as much as it could turn out rapacious and brutal individuals in that nation. Society like individual grows on what it feeds on. If fame and fortune be the food of the time, you can expect the nation and the people to pursue material wealth with no regard for how it's acquired. Corruption, illegal trade and business such as pushing drugs and money laundering , and even brutal crimes such as murder and robbery, will be the order of the day. If the acquisition of knowledge, achieving a high standard of morality and cultural greatness, or a search for peace and tranquility be the priority of the time, then a more humane and righteous way of life would emerge.

So, where is Malaysia heading for? To come up with the right answer one must examine the system of sanctions and rewards in our society. Who are the people being most respected and revered, being considered as heroes and icons within our midst? Who are being hailed and rewarded in society and for what achievement? Compare this with the great nations of the world and what makes them great ( or ugly and repulsive to go in the opposite way). Are we or are we not emulating them?

We know of many great civilizations in the past which flourished and disappeared. Nations rise and fall, their wealth swells and subsides. But what remains of their greatness that we respect even today? Invariably, it is the cultural and intellectual wealth which they left behind through great works of art, literature and inventions. All others will disappear with time. All the wealth and trophies of achievement in life will disappear but NOT the works of art, literature and inventions.

Now, are we doing enough to promote achievements in these intellectual and creative wealth of the nation or are we so obsessed with other material wealth that only casual respect had been given to them. Aren't the institutions of higher learnings now fully geared towards producing the trained manpower needed by the industries with little concern for creating scholars and men of learning to promote the intellectual wealth of the nation? In spite of the efforts made by Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka to promote the production of books on general knowledge and literature, how many such works had drawn the attention of world scholars? Who are the scholars of Malaysia which government has recognized and nurtured through its development efforts? What are the great works that we can hold up as representatives of the intellectual achievement of the nation, not just
memoirs and attributes to a great leader? Who among those awarded the National Laurettes status have risen above the local
level of recognition to aspire for a place among the great literary figures of the world? What is the most authoritative work done on the history of Malaysia so far and who is being commissioned to write it as a full-time work with ample funds provided by the government since no writer in Malaysia can as yet live comfortably from the proceeds of his or her writings.

Literary giants do not necessarily come from people with Ph Ds. While government has a program to step the number of Ph D holders in the country, they do not seem to be producing intellectual works that are published nor have any of their dissertations create a wave in the intellectual world. More pronounced today are the awards of honorary Ph Ds to artists and political leaders such that we cannot differentiate between the academic holders and the honorary ones anymore. Nor are the
Ph D holders being invited to do important research for the country while some in the government service are kept in the back-rooms to do mundane information collection and analysis.

To sum up unless the government of a nation gives adequate attention to the intellectual and creative works of culture and literature in the country, the country's quest for fame and greatness will not reach any significant level. Material wealth is a relative achievement; there will always be some other country with a higher achievement. But when the intellectual product of a nation hits the international circle, even a small and poor country can have a claim to greatness. That work will live through time and be recognized by posterity at the international level.

After the festive days.

2011-09-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

lighting up fire crackers at night

The first thing i hear as a follow up of the festive days is traffic jams. Even in the usually deserted town of Kuala Pilah, the main road must be manned by some traffic policemen. The traffic crawl along the Bahau-KP-Seremban road is nauseating. I am sure it's the same all along the North-South and East-West Highways. People are just rushing back to the towns and cities to resume work.

That by itself is indicative of tbe nations's prosperity. There are possibily more than twelve million cars on the road today seeing that a family wth 3-4 cars or more is a common sight, with maybe eight million motorbikes and more than a million other transport vehicles. I have not seen actual statistics printed anywhere, which suggests that no estimate of how many motor vehicles we can possibly have on each kilometer of main road in the country, has ever been made. Such and estimate of possible road densiity could help the authorities to plan road extension and constructing alternative routes to new residential areas to avoid congestion. Merely widening some parts of the existing roads will not solve the congestion problem as more new bottlenecks would be created.

The second item of interest is the 'Op Sikap'. Thank Allah for making the Police decide to do away road blocks and police check points along the major trunk roads. That has taken away the distressing artificial congestions stretching for miles, with the most disgusting discovery that it is caused by the police themselves, leisurely checking each vehicle as it passes by. Wait a bit. There's no road block but thousands of summons have bern issued in the few days of 'Op Sikap' for traffic offences. This could even be a greater aggravation than the road-blocks. You don't even have a chance to know what offence you have committed or have the satisfaction of arguing that the other drivers forced you to do what you did. You may not win the argument but letting off steam does give some satisfaction even if you have to pay for it.

Aside from that the number of deatjhs on the road continues to rise with the motorcyclist heading the list. Do we blame the motorists for their demise? I'm all sympathy for those on two wheels but when you see the way they snub and spurn the drivers of some cars, the way they overtake you on the left, cut in front if you in mid traffic etc. you wonder whether it's the car driver who couldn' t care less for their lives or they themselves. We seldom hear of the big bikers getting into problem because they zoom off before any trouble can take place. It's always the low powered bikes with high-powered emotional drive riders that get into trouble. Their machine could not move as fast as they thought it could to get out of trouble. Or otherwise, the machine controls them rather than they the machine.

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The next item of interest is the lighting up of firecrackers. The sale of firecrackers has been prohibited since several years ago but this year's 'hariraya ' wtnesses the return of the bang and boom fun-stick both in the urban areas and the villges. I don't know where the firecrackers are sold but they seem to be readily available and can be lighted up without any fear of being booked and dragged to the police station. Some of .the noise makers take the form of flying rockets whike others look harmless in the form of little balls or tiny pellets. But they explode all the same though the big ones can really shake the eardrum. Many could get through the prohibition law as 'bunga api'. But what the heck! For the Chinese New Year huge ones seem to be available besides the stringed fire crackers available in round tincans like cookie containers.

Firecracker wars as seen during the CNY can now be also heard in the villages this Harirays. What prohibition are we talking about? The fun is shared by young and old, by all races, rich and poor. Why don't we just lift the prohibition and pass a law that would enable anybody found to have caused a fire or hurt other people through a careless or a dangerous use of firecrackers to be prosecuted. That would be a more positive approach than banning firecrackers without strict enforcement of its use. Such strict enforcement on the other hand would allow us to see rich and famous 'tawkeys'as well as ltlle kids being hauled up to prison for lighting up the noise-making fun thing. Why stop people from having some fun. Just make them pay for any damage caused. That will breed more responsible citizens, not turn innocent fun makers into criminals.

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Finally, the festive season in Malaysia has always spawned a lot of house-breaking crime,robberies or thefts and snatch-thieving. Even my house was broken into while we were away in the kampung celebrating Hariraya and a sister-in-law fell prey to a pair of snatch thieves riding a motorcycle while she was crossing a road in the city. The loss of money and property suffered is understandable since those are what the thieves want, but the injury caused to the victim and damage to properties seemed most unnecessary. There are so many of these break-ins and thefts that the police are hardly able to deal with them, what more stop them. The advice given to the public on ways to avoid such crimes seem to put the blame on the public for being negligent rather than blaming themselves for allowing the crimes to happen.

No, no one benefits from the blaming game. When the police is spending millions of ringgit to catch road traffic offenders with a substantial increase in the number of the force employed, why can't they step up vigilance for house-breaking and thefts? The approach to prevent such crimes had always been to scare the potential thieves through the presence of the policemen and the flashing patrol cars patrolling the streets and residential areas. Of course the criminals would keep away when the police presence is seen and felt. But they strike when the policemen have gone away. As such we need more undercover policemen, ordinary looking men and women driving around in unmarked cars, to scout around and alert their uniformed colleagues when something suspicious meet their eyes. We need more 'invisible' law enforcement officers posing as streetcleaners, salesmen and saleswomen, cabdrivers and even gardeners to catch the unsespecting criminals. Only then could we catch the housebreakers and night prawlers before they get their job done.

Well, there are many more things that can show up clearly after the Hariraya festivities are over . Let's just keep our eyes and ers open to detact them, especially since we are now moving towards the Merdeka Anniversary celebration. One thing already obvious about the fortcoming aniversary celebration is that the exhortation of the Minister of information, Communication and Culture to fly the 'Jalur Gemilang' so oft repeated over the TV and radio, does not seem to get much response. Why so? Let's discuss that as we approach the anniversary date.

Selamat Hariraya Aidilfitri .

2011-08-24T02:03:00.000-07:00

'Selamat Hariraya' does not really translate as 'Happy Festive Day' like Happy New Year,
Happy Christmas etc. Nor does it mean 'Have a Peaceful (selamat) festive day although Eid does mean festive. Fitri refers to the original or pristine condition of human life, the pure form of nature as created by Allah. So, textually Selamat Hariraya Aidilfitri could mean 'a peaceful return to the original and pure way of life' as known by the Muslims.

But it means more than that to the good Muslims meaning the Muslims who follow the straight path as laid down by Islam and abide by the principles of "amal makruf" and "nahi mukar" ( doing what is sanctioned by Allah, and refraining from what is prohibited). The festival marks the end of thirty days of fasting in the day, from dawn to dusk, which by itself means different things to different levels of self-awareness and piety among the Muslims. To the most devout fasting means total abstention from indulging in fulfilling the demands of the 'nafs' (bodily needs) and senses ( what the five senses like to do in normal life like indulging in good taste, sweet smell, sensuous touches, listening to rumors and profanities, and having amorous feelings). The Muslim of average piety would strictly observe the refrain from food and drinks, indulging in profanities and keeping away from sensuous and sexual act. Many of the more subtle abstentions are unwittingly ignored though to knowingly violate a prohibition leads to a nullification of the fast. The even less pious Muslim will just observe the no food, nor drinks, nor sex rules.

Beside maintaining strict adherence to the abstention rule, the Muslim must also double of triple their efforts in the fulfilment of the prayers and other mandated (wajib) and preferred ( sunnah muakad) acts of devotion to Allah which includes reciting the al-Quran, making personal appeals and requests to Allah through the 'doa's, and observing other recommended accompaniments of the set prayers. Every laudable act during the month of Ramadhan can be considered as a part of the 'Ibadah. (obeissance to Allah) if preceeded by a 'niaat' ( an admission to Allah that the act is done in His name). As such a good Muslim can multiply the rerwards for his piety almost infinitely in the month of Ramadhan, several times more than the reward for the same act of piety done in other months.

That is the essence of Ramadhan al-Mubarak, a month that is more rewarding than a thousand other months. Aidilfitri marks the closure of this propitious and most rewarding month. The very pious Muslims are sad about it but the averagely pious ones are happy that the fasting is over and they can enjoy their food and drinks (especially teh tarik) in the day.

Aside from its religious significance, the fasting has a very important lesson for the young Muslim in Malaysia and the rest of the world. It is the most severe form of training in self discipline. To just take a last meal and drink before 5.30 am or so and then abstain from eating and drinking anything until 7.30pm or there about. is quite a feat. Bear it and no other physical challenge is too great for you. You're free from the demand of the physical self for as long as you want to, free from the immediate demand of the nafs. A boy or girl who has managed to fast the entire month is more 'mature' than a Muslim adult who hasn't managed to do so.

When the stomoch is empty for a period of time our thoughts become very clear and focus. Muslim scholars and ulamaks of the past will fast to enhance their rate of intellectual absorption allowing them to memorize the al-Quran and the Hadiths plus other profound works on religion and philosophy. Scholars like Ibnu Khaldun,Ibnu Taiyimah, Imam Ghazali etc mastered Greek philosophy before embarking on their reknowned works. Hence there's no reason why the Muslim ulamaks of today cannot master the works of science and modern western philosphy. They will loose touch with the modern renaissance men and women if they don't.

So, Selamat Hariraya Aidilfitri. It means more than just enjoying yourself during the festive holiday and the resumption of the usual eating and drinking habits. You should have acquired some new insights into being a Muslim and experience a new kind of awareness of the meaning of life and existence. Otherwise it has just been another "don't eat and drink in the day" kind of affair, not so much in obeisance of Allah's injunctions but for fear of being caught not fasting, by the officials of the religious department. Jazakallah.

A salute to the Police (PDRM)

2011-08-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

If it's true that the Police will not set up roadblocks this festive season, let me be the first to salute the decision. There's no way to set up a roadblock without causing traffic jams. And roadblocks are necessary when some robberies have been committed or some criminals are on the run. Even to check driving licenses or road tax. But , beside the need to block off criminals on the run, roadblocks can certainly be held at other times.

After what we've read about the protest movements,riots and street violence in UK., especially the inability of the Police to stop the violence and destruction of public and private properties, we should be able to reexamine our erstwhile critical evaluation of our own Police force - the PDRM. Whatever allegations have been made against the Police so far, they ( the gallant police personnel) have kept our country safe and secure and our streets free from widespread violence. No, the city streets can never be completely crime-free for the criminals and would-be-criminals are an integral part of human society anywhere at all in the world. There can only be relative peace and security on the street.

The ability of the Police to solve complex and intriguing cases seem to improve as do the number and complexity of the crimes involved. The movies. internet and higher education had improved the methods used by criminals to pursue their villainous trade and the Police is often left one step behind. But the force seems to be catching up very quickly as more and more personnel with higher qualification are absorbed into the service. More and more it seems that the Police must recalculate its manpower need for beat-work, leg-work and brain-work with heavier emphasis on the last item.

One area of concern the Police must look into is its response time to a call for help or a report on some disturbance. The familiar story one often hears is that a call is made to report two people fighting on the street. The fight is over, the fighters have gone and the crowd has dispersed before the Police arrived to investigate. The caller can then get into trouble for making a prank call. Then again, a person who reports and accident or worse still a murder, or even make a complaint to the Police, can get into so much trouble
that it's not worth making the effort. Some say it's better to keep away when you see anything that looks like trouble or a criminal act. People reporting a trouble are often treated like criminals themselves.

Hopefully these are all matters of the past. Policemen on the street should be seen as friends and protector of the public, not someone to hold you up for anything you do that they don't like, or as in the case of the traffic police, to scare people. This will produce a public that would only abide by the laws and regulations when some policemen are around, not otherwise. There was a time when children were taught to be afraid of the policemen because they arrest people and chain their hands.

Well, let the Police show us a new way of controlling traffic and preventing crime this coming festive season. Don't let us have a spade of house-breaking again while people have gone back to their kampungs and miles of jam-ups because of roadblocks. One big question: how come fire crackers are freely lit and exploding away like machine guns in the the towns and cities without anyone being arrested while some boys having a fun time with fire crackers and' meriam buluh' in the villages are often held up
for violating the law? If some of them are injured because of the explosive, it's probably because they had to play in secret, away from the watchful eyes of older friends and relatives. There are no such injuries in the towns and city streets during CNY and Chap Goh Meh because adults are involved.

The Police may have to rethink about allowing fire crackers during festive season for it does provide a lot of excitement. As regards its danger, even a knife wrongly used can cut away your fingers or cause a severe injury, even murder. If fire crackers are banned, then we shouldn't have the volleys of explosion during Chinese festive season. I must say that even policemen enjoy watching the firing away of long strings of fire crackers hanging from some trees of beams during CNY.

Our society is becoming more and more sophisticated. Arresting kids for playing with firecrackers seem to be a bit silly. Let them deal with the danger themselves. I am sure the Police have other more important things to do this festive season and we salute them for their success in keeping us and the country safe.

Getting Ready for Hariraya

2011-08-10T01:38:00.000-07:00

Can you see the roadblock?

While the Muslims have started to prepare for Aidil Fitri, many government agencies I'm sure, are doing the same. RTM with the preparation of Its Hariraya extravaganzas , the Police with it Operasi "Tangkap" ( call it by any other name it involves issuing millions

At least we don.t see this in Malaysia

of summons), RTD with its check-ups on the safety of buses, SPAD on the
issuance of special "Balik Kampung" transport licences, Ministry of Domestic Industry and Consumerism with its check-ups to ensure there will be enough supply of essential food items and that prices are kept under proper control etc.

The interesting question to ask is: are the special preparation going to help people enjoy the Hariraya or cause a lot of problems and heartaches? Why such a silly question? Becsuse in trying to help prople we could be causing more problems and misery. And it eould be silly not to think of the possibilities.

Let's start with RTM special Hariraya programs to compete with other private sector stations. Don't we feel sometime that the shows are just "more of the same " very elaborate and costly but not innovative and exciting enough to hold our attention?. The elaborately dressed comperes often bore us with some of their antics and not-so-funny jokes. The "postcards" shots are still RTM's favorites angle without capturing the depth and mystery of the actions on stage. Sometimes the more simple props used by TV3 appear more captivating or intriguing.

More worrisome is the Police Op Sikap or whatever it's called which has been carried out every hariraya witout much success in reducing the death toll on the road. Every road block causes serious jam-ups. It would appear that issuing out the summons and collecting the fines imposed (which by the way, have been jacked up like the prices of everything else) have become the focus of attention - NOT making the errant driver ashamed of his or her infringement of the traffic regulations, become aware of the danger he or she caused to others and promise not to be inconsiderate again or go to jail. I think a public scolding can achieve the latter objectives better than paying a few hundred or a thousand ringgit fine, which incidently means nothing to the rich but can cause misery to the poorer road users.

RTD's or JPJ's action to stop buses considered not roadworthy from ferrying their passengers home for the hariraya, is praiseworthy from the road safety point if view. But it's inhuman if alternative means of transport are not provided to take them home to join their relatuves and friends for the festuve occasion. Stopping less-than-ideal drivers from taking the wheel has the same effect as holding back the buses. Passengers will be stranded and their plans to go home foiled.

I'm not saying that the checking should not be done but that it should be done well BEFORE the hariraya. The same goes for the Poluce. Why hold the road blocks when the traffic is at its peak? Why not step up the checks on licences and giving tbe speedsters the rap or the ticket well before the huge balik kampung traffic flow begins? By the way the speed limit is another problem. The slow traffic crawl because of the very slow drivers or speed kimits on straight and clear roads can cause more accidents than allowing drivers to exercise their discretion.

In brief therefore, can't the authorities involved in controlling the movement of vehickes and human beings for the hariraya get to work well BEFORE the deluge begins? Don't start checking this and stopping that when people have begun to balek kampung in a joyous mood. Your well meaning efforts could just become an aggravation and a kill-joy. Stop, warn and rap the traffic offenders by all means but do not do things that can cause jam-ups and prople being stranded or made unable to join their relatives and friends. All these can spoil the mood and spirit of Hariraya.

Salam Ramadhan to All

2011-07-31T05:30:00.000-07:00

Well, Ramadhan is here again. a month of restraint on food and drink for the Muslims but also a month of bounty and magnanimity for those seeking Allah's blessings.It is a month when everything that a Muslim does including eating, drinking ( at night of course) sleeping, resting etc can ear n him or her a good point so long as it's done in the name of Allah. Carrying out what is required by the Islam ( wajib) such as praying and reading the al-Quran, will earn him or her a multiple of the normal award given at other times.

It is a month during which a Muslim can redeem himself of several wrongdoings committed in the entire year. One night in the last ten nights of Ramadhan and on an odd date of the Muslim calender ( malam Lailatul Qadar), Allah will show some sign of his greatness and power. Anyone who witnesses this would be awarded some extraordinary blessings and favor by Allah.

It is because of all those special rewards and favors (barakah) that can be bestowed on a Muslim in the month of Ramadhan that the month is given the title al-mubarak. Fasting in the day from Imsak to Maghrib togethere with the special the breaking of fast together at the mosque ( morey) more elaborate night prayers (Tarawih) and the al-Quran reading session (Tadarus). make Ramadhan a holy month. At the end of it the Aidil Fitri celebration is of course a day of feasting and rejoice, which can sometimes stretch for a month.

This entry is written after the first special prayers consisting of 23 raka'ats ( 20 tarawih and 3 witri) was over. Tomorrow is the first day of fasting, although a faithful Muslim would have also done some 9 days of fasting in the previous month. Sya'ban (3 days at the beginning of the month, 3 days in the middle and 3 more towards the end). More devout Muslims may even fast a fewdays every week throughout the year as practiced by the Prophet, Muhammad SAW (pbuh).

What does all these fasting mean to the people of the world? Yes other religions also have their fasting schedule and the purpose is about the same - to cleanse the soul of human sins and misdoings. Fasting is also held to be a good health measure by the medical community for it gives the stomoch and the rest of the body too a chance to rest. But is that all that we can gain from fasting as a socio-religious activity?

I think the world and humanity as a whole can gain much much more through the practice of fasting on certain days of the month and year.. The rich and the wealthy for whom eating and drinking is a significant part of life's pleasure would begin to understand the meaning of food deprivation, scarcity and starvation. They would then treat the food and drinks they consume as a birthright of the rich with more respect as a gift of God, For now they only appreciate the gift of God when they loose their taste and appetite due to some ailment. Or when forced to stay away from their gourmet delights by the doctors.

When fasting people also don't waste their energy and strength on unimportant non-urgent and laborious work. Would they then be keen to quarrel with each other, indulge in surreptitious and devious activities to outdo or outmaneuver each other on a national or international basis to gain supremacy and power, or would they want to attack and kill each other for whatever worldly reason their mind could conjure? When hungry and thirsty in the day people would only be interested in waiting for the evening to break their fast and occupy their time with religious or humanitarian work that could alley their hunger and thirst. They would not be thinking of doing injustice and evil towards others.

What would the impact be on the economy of the country and the world? Food consumption would be reduced however insignificantly, if for a few weeks in a year people don't eat during the day. No, they would gorge themselves to death at night, some might say. well, Wouldn't their early death achieve the same purpose? Seriously reducing food consumption in any way would affect the demand and supply equation and reduce food price which is currently soaring up in the entire world. In the home front when the family spends less money on food there will just be more money for other things, would it not? Simple economy. This would not apply to the filthy rich, of course, for they would always remain filthy!

The Muslims during Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) time even go to war while fasting. And won as in the the Badr skirmish when a great number was defeated by a few. Many believe that people can concentrate on what they are doing better on an empty rather than a full tummy. The Muslims believe that you can learn and memmorize the al-Quran better when fasting. Some doctors endorse this belief. Of course we are not talking about starvation but a voluntary reduction of food and liquid intake in the daytime on certain days in the month or month in the year. In any case that introduces the next issue - starvation as is happening in many poor parts of the world like in Somalia and other parts of Africa. Why do we have starvation there while food is being wasted by already obese people in other parts of the world.

The economic answer is, because of uneven distribution? Why uneven, because of uneven capacity to pay, income concentration, high gini coefficient and other fancy terms that economists know well but are unable to or unwilling (especially politicians) to overcome ( because scarcity can create demand and demand gives them power}. Yes, fasting can effect the power equation as well as shown by Mahatma Ghandi in the 1920s. Fasting can not only cleanse the soul but also reduce human greed for power, for wealth etc., in other words affect human will and rationalit,y, and certainly their capacity to empathize or pity those human beings who are suffering from starvation.

Hey, are those not enough reasons for us to fast on some days whether you are a Muslim or not. The least harm it can do is to reduce your physical weight ( not your economic, social or political power in the least) and slim down - the dream of many beauty conscious ladies irrespective of race or religion. Why then not join the Muslims in honoring the month of Ramadhan which has just begun? Hehehe. For Malaysian I see that everyone is already enjoying the existence of the Ramadhan Bazaar or "Pasar Ramadhan." Buy as much food as you want but please enjoy them at night.

The Irony of High Living

2011-07-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

I think I've done my fair share of observing people enjoying a high standard of livingand living in luxury, sometimes taking a small bite of it myself. Very small just to have a little taste even if it blew a big hole in my little pocket. That included dinner in Paris, breakfast in Stockholm, high tea in the Netherland etc. That was long ago when still thick in the contest of life.

Now is the time to watch more than compete. After touring the high spots for culinary excitement in the country, enjoying a plate of rojak or mee curry, nasi lemak bungkus, or roti canai and teh tarik at a small corner eatery, suits my tastebud more than the buffet and ala carte routine at the Curve, Pavlion or even the KL Tower. Afterall I can only eat so much if I don't want to experience a bloated or stuffy feeling in my middle. Eno helps sosmetimes when that happens.

But what do you know? I often see some familiar faces at the little corner eateries too. Faces that used to feature in luxurious hotels and restaurants. Rather shriveled in spite of the rich and high class food they used to nimble or gobble. They won't recognize me though behind my large dark glasses. country hat and nondescript clothing bought from Jalan Masjid India. Hey they feel great in the sweltering heat. Oh yes. Some of the familiar faces have blown up - fluffy and red. I think they are worse off than the shriveled ones medically speaking. What remains as a reminder of their high status and living standards are the impeccable clothes, rolex watch and belly shoes ( or is it Salvatore Ferrafamo?}. They don't bother me anymore since i found my Bata shoes and Petaling Street timepiece served my purpose just as well.

Most satisfying is when I see some of the familiar bourgeois faces of old joining the common man-in-the-street for prayers at the mosques and madrasahs. I like to watch their lips when the Imam and the Makmum in general are reciting some familiar prayers, more so the less familiar ones. Are their lips moving in tendem with the others showing that they knew the prayers by heart or are they just moving their lips to pretend that they are also reciting the particular verse from the al-Quran or the doa.
I must confess that I was doing just that when I was still pretending to be in their group of buddies.

Now that I am retired ( old is a relative term nowadays for even a young man can die tomorrow), I can at least say that I don't have to pretend anymore. Neither in my clothes, food, drinks nor in fulfilling the injunctions of Allah. If I can fulfill what needed to be done I do it if not I strive to practice or learn how to fulfil it. It's never too late to learn and the funny thing is that the more you try to commit the prayers and the doas to memory the more you forget. Oh how I admire the Imams who rattle the prayers like teenagers singing Michael Jackson's songs. Why didn't I start memorizing the important prayers and doas when I was a young man? It wouldn't have taken too much of my time or memory space. I really don't know how many mega or gigabite of memory space is left noggin though I know the human brains contain more memory space than hundreds of mainframes put together.

Hey. it's good to move around now in all kinds of places to watch out for the old bourgeois faces turned humble and pensive with age. When I watched them it makes me feel young again just like when I watched the young people enjoying life and sometimes making a fool of themselves. Don't be angry men! I did that too when I was young and everyone pof us is entitled to fool around when we are young. The question is when do we stop doing so and start to accept the fooling around of the world as a way of life in the new world ( even if it's old to you). I enjoy learning more than competing in life, now. How about you?

BACK TO NORMALCY

2011-07-15T07:19:00.000-07:00

Driving through KL city and witnessing the Floria Show and Floats at night in Putrajaya will convince anyone that things are back to normal in KL and Malaysia as a whole after the July 9 incident. Clearly the government and the Police had done a good job to stop the street protest from escalating into the anti-government and violent show of emotions as feared. Except for one unfortunate death and some injuries suffered, nothing much happened. The arrest of 700 or more is a different matter - legal not political.

No matter what happened in KL, Malaysia has always been a peaceful country in general. Even during the confrontation and 13th May, things were very peaceful over a large part of the country especially in the rural areas. The common folks will get on with their life as usual and at some common meeting places even in Kuala Lumpur, people will be happily enjoying their favorite food and 'teh tarik' late into the night as in the pic. These shots were taken at the Weekend Family Fare at MATICS near Concord Hotel and another favorite eatery. The food, cultural show, and open market fare at MATIC is held every Saturday night amidst glittering lights and endless music with streams of local visitors and foreign tourists enjoying the sight. sound and tastes of Malaysia delicacies.

When we sit back and witness the people of Malaysia going about doing their things in the day and enjoying themselves at the popular eating and fun places at night, one wonders what the talk about Islamic extremism, communal conflicts , infringement of basic human rights, political wrangling between political parties and within each party, the repression of freedom etc. is all about.We only read about all those in the Press but we don't see them on the streets. We see and hear the battle of words, legal jargons and political accusations and hatred in Parliament and at political caucuses. But not on the streets. On the highways, the streets and the roads we only see traffic jams and people hurrying about, trying to jump the que or beat the traffic light. But no threats, no exchange of insults, no aggressive shaking of fists between citizens of various races and no condemnation of each other.

Malaysians are general very friendly, accommodating and hospitable. Yes there are grouses and unhappiness here and there about the adminsitration, the bureaucracy and traffic jams, the escalating costs of things, the whimsicality of the weather etc. But people are reasonably happy and friendly.

So, who are creating the problems, the scare, the threats to peace and stability, the ill-will and the prejudice between racial groups and ethnic communities? Who are making us citizens of Malaysia afraid and suspicious of each other? Who ore the ones making us fight each other and treating each other like arc enemies? We all have our own answers. The answers will become more apparent and transparent as we approach GE13.

Periodic Disturbance better than a Sudden Collapse.

2011-07-11T22:46:00.000-07:00

The government and the public are still bellyaching over the July 9 event. Everyone's focusing on the negative aspects of the illegal gathering, the diturbance it caused to the public, the loss of business to the shopkeepers, the bad image it gives to the nation etc. The Police is praised sky-high for blocking the gathering and dispersing the crowd which gathered in spite of the fact that holding such a gathering has been declared illegal and against the law,

Our mainstream media seem to cover the event rather cooly, with no highlihtings of any undesirable occurrence and presenting the entire event as an exercise in futility. But AlJazeera TV took it more seriously and captured many of the more disturbing aspects of the people-vs-the authority confrontation. To outsiders the event could have looked like a full scale people's uprising against the governmen.

The government always looked at such gatherings and street protests as unnecessary because there are many other ways for the unhappy members of the public to bring up their grouses to the government. They can bring up the matter through their parliamentary representstives, through the Press or through the website. They can even use the handphone facilities and the SMS. So, why hold streets demonstration and disturb the peace that our nation has been enjoying?

Yes, i canA remember the peace enjoyed bofore the 2008 election. There was not too much of any disturbance and the Barisan was full of confidence that it wiil win a clear majority hands down. The result came as a great suprise to show that a quiet and a non-display of disientient attitude by the opposition can be a worse thing than some show of diagreement on the street. The same same thing occured much ealier (1985) in Sabah when there was not much show of disagreemenr or opposition to Harris Salleh's rule until the election proved that the people was not on his side. Yes, it came as a shock because things look so calm and peaceful before the election and tne Sabah state governmrnt was not prepared for a beating.

This goes to show that it is important for government to allow people to show their concern and grievances in a way that implies they have some power over the government. Taking their anger and grievances to the street is one sure way of allowing them to do that. It is a kind of allowing them to give vent to their pent up feelings and emotions like what the psychotherapist allowed their patience to do in an anger management session. They would allow the patient to get off their anger on some objects by crying out and hitting at the objects as much as they want until the anger subsides. Once they get over their anger they become more ready for treatment. Stop them from letting off steam and they will continue to find ways to let out their feelings and emotions. It is those patients who just kept their emotions to themselves who will literally explode with anger at a later point of time.

If you stop people from giving vent to their unhappiness and anger, they wiil continue to find ways to show that anger at any point of time later. But if you allow them an opportunity to blow off steam for a while under controlled conditions the anger will cool off and they will be more prone to listen to reason. You can certainly cause more harm than good if you stop people from showing up heir concern. anger and fears off and on. Over a period of time if the anger and fears have no outlet whatever, they will really blow off with a big bang. By allowing them to come out into the open bit by bit, you will not only stave off a totol outrbreak but also undersrand their problems better in order to deal with them more effectively. It is better to deal with the smaller expressions of dissatisfaction than to seddenly face a total lost of support at an election.
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Transformers and Transformation

2011-07-08T10:42:00.000-07:00

I just came back from watching Transformers3: The Dark Side of the Moon. The show ended after 12 midnight ( 8.7.11) and on the way back home i saw that several roads branching off from the MRR2 had been transformed: blocked by the police. Long rows of cars were stuck with no indication of being able to get to where they wanted to go and, in some cases, without the possibility of backing up.

Yes,I read somewhere that many roads in KL would be closed after 12 midnight, but surely people must be allowed to drive home unless they had been warned to do so before 12 in no uncertain term. After all the country is not in any state of emergency and the police is only trying to stop a street demonstration from taking place on july 9.

The frustration I had with the sci-fi film in 3D was compounded by the naivete of the police action. How could you just block the entrance to certain roads without showing the alternative route which can be taken? Surely people staying along the blocked road must be given dome kind of a pass to get home. You just can't turn them off like that. In quite the same way the film Transformers 3 asked people to believe the possible exidtence of such electronic anf mechanical giants which can take to the air like rockets and form a comumity of their own to take over the world. Since they were so powerful and could smash skydcrapers and huge building to smitherine with their mechanical arms or with the huge firearms attached to their body, it is just unbelievable that human beings could stand against them.

9.7.11 8.30 pm

Being down with flu I spent the whole day by the radio and tv to see what happens to the illrgal gathering thst has become the concern of everyone in Malaysia.

Yes indeed the gathering is on whether considered legal or not. Thousands gathered at several places and the police began their usual crowd control tactics to disperse them using high pressure water hoses and tear gas. The crowd dispersed and reformed elsewhere. Towards evening more than 700 people and organization leaders had been detained. The Prime Minister had earlier agreed to let the gathering use Stadium Merdeka but it was obvious tha the Police did not agree and closed all entrance to the Stafium. The crowd therefore had no choice but to gather elsewhere and it was learned just now that the people had gathered at Dataran Merdeka (8.45 pm).

It was quite clear from the footage shown on TV that the gathering was multiracial and not confined to members of political parties only. There were both young and old, male and female andbthey were not antagonistic to the Police. I saw some of those arrested holding out their hands to be handcuffed. They came away readily when the polici held them. The 8.00 pm news also showed that they were treated very well bythe police. The most vehement complaints were about the draffic jams at toll plazas and the disruption caused by the gatherings to business. I am still uncertain whether these were caused by the roadblocks imposed by the Police and their crowd contol efforts or by the
gathering of pepole per se.

Whst has the whole thing achieved. If anything at all it has created a social awareness that people can take their grouses to the street and when they decided to do so, the Police cannot really stop them. Arresting the organizers and the political leaders taking part can only show that the government is afraid of such gatherings. The preventive efforts of the Police could create more problem than allowing the peacefull gathering to take place in cpntrolled places like Stadium Merdeka. Trouble makers can be aesily identified when the gathering takes plave in a closed area.

A country and Its Neighbors

2011-07-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

No man is an island and no country is beyond the influence of its neighbors. We in Malaysia have seen Singapore's latest general election where the existing government is returned to power in spite of various criticisms made by the opposition. Now in Thailand, party Peau Thai led by the ousted Prime Minister's sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, has won the election.

What can we conclude from these events. Everyone can make his or her own interpretation but I feel that two things become quite clear. First, people love a continuity of governance so long as it keeps the country in good shape, Two, they don't quite care if the leaders are accused of many dubious dealings so long as what they do clearly benefit the nation and the people.

What countries which had revolted against the leaders who have led them for more than a decade show is that the government has been too autocratic, power and wealth are concentrated on too few, the majority of the people remain impoverished and there is little development in the country. The country is rich but the majority of the people remain poor whilst the leaders have their own jet planes to move around, spending hundreds of thousamd or even millions with every trip.

We always judge the development and progress of our own country by looking around at our neighbors. If they are poorer than us we feel ok. But when we see them moving ahead and faring better than us we begin to question what our government is doing.
Singapore has certainly progressed far ahead as an international port of call. Thailand is wellknown for its agricultural progress with tourism playing a major role in the economic development. How do we fare in comparison?

Again everyone is entittled to his or her opinion. Economically we are doing okay but the old issue of inequity and imbalanced income distribution remains. The cities and towns are for the rich entrepreneurs and executives. Lesser professionals, career employees and artisans can only survive on the outskirt while the farmers. fishermen and menial workers must continue to live in the rural areas, on the farms and fishing villages. Though some of their children had made it to the towns and cities, they mostly fall into the second category who could only afford to live on the outskirt.

Has the pattern of employment and occupational imbalance been really changed? Please yourself with your own answer for that will not change anything. Things tend to remain as they were as if following the principle of inertia. The greatest social mobility and shaprpest ascend on the economic scale seemed to be achieved by the political leaders and their friends. The few Malay entreprenuers who made it to the top would not have been able to do so without the help of strong political cables.

Has that changed today? No one can argue with you. Check who are the nouveau-riche staying in the richest neighborhood of your area. Are they ordinary citizens or close friends of the political bigwigs? Those with no political cable to pull will undoubtedly remain where there were with some progress due to their own initiative, The most notable progress that can be seen among the common man is through achieving a higher level of education at the thirtiary level. Or becoming a politician with close affiliation to the ruling elites.

Turn around again at our neighbors? Have they changed in a different way? We cannot say whether the way they did it is right or wrong, morally commendable or not. That's for the people in that country to decide. What we can say is whether we are moving forward as fast as they are or being left behind. Yes, a country can build itself a wonderful. modern and high-tech infrastructural environment and the income of successful enrreprenuers and high executives can go up to seven figures. But what about the income level at the median ( not the average or mean, ie ) the stage at which most of the population are? If that is still very low, looking at our neighbors can send some negative feeling, though we've done quite well really.

Warnings. Threats, and the Psychology of fear.

2011-06-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

There are enough warnings and threats announced over the air and printed in the Papers to make everyone in Malaysia feel afraid come July 9. The organizers of Bersih 2 do not appear to be in any way willing to compromise with the Police or the government and reconsider its intention to hold the rally, nor are UMNO Youths ready to pull off their anti-Berrsih2 counter rally. Meanwhile Dr Chandra Muzafar has triggered another possibility bv insinuating that the Bersih 2 is related to and probably conceived along the lines of the mass protest movements against the ruling elites as had happened in the East African and Middle East countries.

Whatever the truth is, the planned July 9 rally and the planned counter movement are making everyone in Malaysia scared. Although the organizers of both groups ensure the people, the Police and the government that there won't be any hostilities or brutalities, it would be foolish to assume that when two cars collide there won't be any injuries, bloodshed or fatalities. It would only take some shedding of blood to start a panic and pandemonium in Kuala Lumpur, which could spread like wildfire throughout the country. The Police and the Armed Forces would then take over control and Malaysia. or at least Peninsula Malaysia, would become a Police or Military State.

If that is not bad enough, look at the other possible consequences. If the Police and Armed forces start using their arsenal of deadly weapons against the civilians, the self- appointed police force of the world will find it necessary to intervene in the name of protecting the rights and freedom of the civilians. Doesn't that sound familiar? Hey, we are also an oil producing country you know!

All these possibilities are not impossible. Any attempt by a foreign power to bring its military might into Malaysia might have friendly countries in the neighborhood, ready to provide a base for its military build-up. That's also a familiar scenario. And don't forget that Malaysia has also been accused of harboring Islamic militants. Under the wing of JI. There are all the reasons for a foreign power to intervene in the name of restoring peace and order, freedom and justice for the people.

Would the organizers of the intended rallies take all these into consideration. I can't uderstand why the Home Affairs Miniter is not taking any inititive to meet the organizers face to face and negotiate a happy compromise, instead of just letting the Police flex its muscles and issue all sorts of threats. I thought we are already mature enough as a nation to know that threats never work and will entail a lot of repercussions. Maybe the PM or DPM himself should take the initiative if the Home Affairs Minister is unwilling to so.

Or do we really want the july 9 rallies to occur in order to do some cleansing job before GE 13 or to show what can happen if BN is not brought back to power. The psychology of fear can only work temporarily and like threats will entail serious repercussions.

What Do the Warnings Tell Us and Others

2011-06-24T19:22:00.000-07:00

We hear a lot of warnings issued to the public by the Police and other Government Departments, the City Coiuncils and Local Aithorities and certainly by national leaders, through the radio, tv and mass media. Put them together and read them like a public statement. What impression and what image do we have of the country and nation?

Lets try to do this for size.

Don't walk around alone in quiet places or you can get mugged or robbed.
Don't go out alone in busy town and city streets or you'll attacked by snatch thief ( directed especially to the ladies).
Don't wear expensive jewelry, rings and watches in busy and crowded places or some thugs will try to snatch them away or wait around to jump on you.
Ladies and young girls should not go out with man- or boy-friends alone or risk being abducted, raped or killed.
Don't leave valuables and expensive items (like handphones, laptops and notebooks) in your car when you park it to go somewhere. The screen will be smashed and the valuables taken away.
Don't leave a lot of cash and valuables in your house wnen you go out or your house will be broken in.
Don't speed when you drive for speed ( not incompetent drivers) kill.
Don't exceed the speed limit of 80/90 kph on highways and sometimes reduced to 40/50/60 kph (at least it's 110 kph in NS) while modern cars can go up to 180 kph easy. (Going at 40 kph is like going on a bicycle.
Don't take part in get-rich-quick schemes or scams or you'll get cheated.
Don't trust fast talking peddlers.
Don't trust strangers who come to the house to sell things, seek help or financial contribution to some building schemes.
Don't throw rubbish, plastic bags, broken pieces of furniture and unwanted babies around. (They are almost dumped under the same category),
Don't eat (at foodstalls) or play on the roadside (while most open space and even playgrounds have been used up for development).
Don't respond to annoucement that you've won a prize for it counld be a trick.

God. There are so many other public warnings that I can't recall offhand!

What kind of image do you conjure up when you can't do all those things mentioned? Don't you get the feeling that this is a pretty-screwed up country where the police and the law enforcement people are not doing much to prevent criminal and undesirable things from happening, not prevent people from enjoying the freedom of a developed nation. Crime there'll always be but to take away people's freedom to prevent crime both petty and serious, is taking the easy way out.

Another thing is to prevent the violation of by-laws and regulations ( and sometimes just a new road sign which has not been gazetted) by imposing a fine. Boasting over the total sum of fines collected (running into hundreds of million RM) merely shows that more people are violating the rules and you're quite happy about it.

There are now talks about increasing the compound or the fine for traffic offences to a thousand ringgit or more when even the RM300 fine imposed on a poor motorcyclist who couldn't afford to buy a car, is already a rather pathetic way of fighting traffic offenses. Yet a distinguished ex-political leader who admitted guilt to peddling a sex scandal video was only fined RM1000 ringgit by the court while the others who actually committed the crime were fined RM3000 and RM1500. I think many pornography peddlers would find this a very encouraging development since they can make a hundred thousand times more
money than the fine imposed if caught.

All these again contribute to shaping the image that our country creates both within the country and overseas, aside from the mounting exposure of corruption cases (which is ggod as a process in eliminating the crime). The warnings which are issued to the public sometimes sound so petty as if to take the easy way out of combatting or fighting the crime like saying "don't sleep in the park if you don't want to be robbed, mugged, or (for the ladies) to be raped."

I wish that the Authorities will think more deeply before issuing a public warning. Especially when the warning doesn't seem to carry any enforcement measure.

As Kuala lumpur Rovolves..

2011-06-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

Big deal. I've taken meals in the sky at 10,00 meters (30,000feet plus) on a plane, on top of the Titiwangsa Range at more than 1760 meters ie at Genting Highland, and on the CN Tower in Canada at 553.33 meters. So what is having dinner at some 334 meters above KL City ie. at the revolving restaurant on KL Tower! No cause for excitement.

But there was. It was a Father's Day dinner arranged by my wife and kids. I am a simple village- born man who will be happy with lunch or dinner at a foodstall by the busy streets of KL (difficult to find one now) or a maplei somewhere on the outskirt of the city. The thought of celebrating FD in the sky was as far away from my imagination as the earth is from the sun. I've heard that the charges could be more than a hundred buckaroo per head and paying for 8 adults and two kids would be too much for my kid's purse. Of course I know that my wife will come to their rescue if they ran into a strait by quietly doling out her share of the bill or even taking up the bill all by herself. ( Thank god she's a working wife. Otherwise all commitment would be transferred to my account!).

Well, getting up to the revolving restaurant was itself an adventure. Being a Sunday night the whole tower area was crawling with people dressed in their Sunday best with cars parked quite neatly I must say, on all roadsides. Looking up at the tower from underneath it gave me an Avatar neck without a tail to balance it. Yep. I got a shot of the tower taken with my faithful handphone. (see pic). The base of the tower was thronging with people shopping at the souvenir shop and feasting away at the stalls of the Trengganu food festival . Some children were also enjoying tne pony ride or playing with the animal show. The F1. simulator fun ride shop was closed for that night. I never knew they had all the attractions there.

Up in the revolving restaurant, in spite of the endless array of scrumptuous food offerred at many stalls generating a gourmetic atmosphere and aroma, all newcomers seemed to rush to the slanting glass panel which gave a panoramic view of KL city bathed in bright lights. Some children were playing on the fixed dias while the dinner tables and chairs slowly and almost imperceptibly moved away from them (see pics). I joined the rank eagerly for this was my first visit although I had a hand in developing the idea of building the tower together with the late Tan Sri Mohammad Rahmat, the then Minister of Information. Civil servants never get recognized for their ideas once adopted by the government.

It was a joy to see the city at night from the tower. Stand back on the moving platform where the chairs and tables are and you get the feeling that KL City was revolving around you. The Maybank tower, the PNB building, PWTC and of corse the Twin Tower etc., all paraded by as if taking a salute from you. The light danced merrily and the dark night changed its intensity according to the strength of the luminance which penetrated it. For a while i was lost in the magic of a bird's eye view of the city in which I had lived and worked for years. It all looked so new and strange.

As i savor the unending plates of food which I filled myself or brought to me by my wife and kids, i couldn't help thinking how luxurious the life of the rich and wealthy must be. They have all the great towers of the world to visit and the creative genius of the best chefs to enjoy. But no. I'm not jealous of them. The luxury of the love and concern my wife and kids have for me was worth more than any material wealth and luxury could bring. I pride myself in being a father, standing as tall as the tower itself, as Kuala lumpur revolved around me.

Father's Day: A Brief Reflection.

2011-06-18T10:37:00.000-07:00

Being a Muslim I don't know if churches in Malaysia hold a special service to honor Father's Day. But since it is widely celebrated all over the world on the third Sunday of June each year, there certainly would be a Sunday service when the role and responsibility of fatherhood could be mentioned either specifically or in general.

. In any case I see that Malaysians do celebrate Father's Day in one way or another.Regardless of whether I honor it myself or not, when my kids arranged a special dinner for me on that occasion with some presents thrown in for good measure. who am I to refuse? I would love any day on which such things happened, call it whatever your want.

I've been spared the difficulty of deciding whether to honor it or not - and also Mother's Day - because both my parents had passed away many years ago, long before Malaysians began to celebrate Father's Day. My wife buys a present for her mother every Mother's Day and so I had to reciprocate and complement the gesture by getting a present for my father-in-law when Father's Day comes around as he has become my substitute father. When I see how he treasured the thought as he held the present in his hand, I decided not to miss the honor of getting him that little gift every year. It doesn't cost much and the dinner that we usually have at his house on such occasion, is normally something to look up to by the entire family members. Oh yes, sometimes we have it at some fancy restaurants too, like we do for Mother's Day.

But how seriously and sincerely do Malaysians honor Father's Days now? The question of making it a public holiday does not arise at all since Sunday is already a public holiday. The more important question is: Do Malaysians accept the idea of reserving a day to show love and respect for their father over and above the usual show of love and respect extended to them. More importantly, do the young men and women of today who have worked and achieved a great measure of success in life but DO NOT consider their father as a crucial factor in achieving the success, ever cared to give their father at least a "Hello, how are you.Dad?" greeting on that auspicious day? Why should they do so since their father had not done much for them? they might ask. All I can say is: Ask yourself. Did you inherit your intelligence from your mother or some one else beside your father? If your mother it was that had been the genius in the family, fine. Otherwise, even if your dad had not given you much of anything at all, you carry his genes and the spark of his brains in your head. Unless, of course. you believe that your intelligence comes from someone else besides God's bestowal on you, you still owe him something. Perhaps just the chance to live in this world.

If anything at all, it is this thought which makes me honor, respect and love my father, even though he is dead and gone. The Father's Day concept makes me focus my attention on his role in bringing me to this world and for that alone I would celebrate Father's Day as a beautiful thought, even if it has a non-Muslim origin.

Nothing is ever enough...

2011-06-11T18:11:00.000-07:00

It's just a human trait that nothing you're endowed with is ever enough. You just keep on wanting more and more of it. The simplest example is, of course, money and wealth. The same with power, inflence, beauty, knowledge, love and sex. But it works the other way round in terms of the negative aspects. A little financial or property loss is already a disaster. A little pain or inconvenience is torture. A little disagreement with someone, and you hate or despise him (or her)! A lttle clumsiness on the part of someone is a faux pas.

Why are we human so prone to insatiety and hyperbolical tendency in expressing dissatisfaction. Especially when the former involves comparison with someone else and the latter involves a person we dislike. A lttle less of something becomes a great deprivation. Criticism quickly turns into vilification. All sense of proportion and fairness suddenly goes to the wind.

I think this tendency lies at the very root of societal and coomunal problems in a multiracial society like Malaysia. In the face of rapid economic development and tramsformation, hopes and expectations especially from the poorer group and level of society, swell like the rising tide. Nothing is enough to bring them at par with their richer and wealthier neighbors, not in a year or two anyway. Meanwhile the rich and wealthy will continue to amass more wealth while the poor lag further and futher behind, the heightened pace of economic development causing more dissatisfaction to the poor than satisfying them. The transformation to a high-income nation with the concomitent rise in cost of living, consumer prices , property prices, tax, rentals etc. will make the poorer lot more deprived and left behind.

As a result you suddenly have dissensions and protest movements all around the country as is happening in the Arab and east African nations. The government backed by the super-rich becomes beleaguered by the mass of dissatisfied citizens. Foreign powers which thrive on uprisings and revolutions in less than friendly developing nations, come in to help, and we have what becomes of Afghanistan, Iraq, and others yet to become like them. Just wait and see. The power that they have over resource-rich but poor and underdeveloped countries is never enough. Like the rich, they always want more and more.

Social distance, the cause of misunderstanding.

2011-06-06T01:18:00.000-07:00

The older group of Malaysians i'm sure feel much closer to other Malaysians in their age group than the younger ones. Why? Because when they grew up in the village and small towns, their relationship was closer and more intimate. The younger Malaysians are subject to more divisive forces than their elders

Have we ever considered what these forces are? We talk about 1 Malaysia and uniting the people into a more integrated and cohesive society. But we don't seem to study what keeps people apart seriously so that those barriers to unity and homogeneity can be removed or overcome. Perhaps we assume that we know . But can we also assume that we know how to overcome the problems. Can we just assume that the 1 Malaysia concept will provide a panacea for all the problems of disunity in the nation?

Rapid economic progress had made people drift apart according to their economic status. The luxury housing areas and homes become inaccesable to the less affluent. The rich will shop at luxurious, high-end complexes, the poor and average at jln Tuanku Abdul Rahman and other cheaper places. Even eating out takes the rich and higher middle class into a different direction than the lower middle and lower class- the former frequenting the classy restaurants and bistros, the latter filling in the ' taman seleras' and the 'mapleys'. The latter would not be able to visit even the Mc D and the KFC too often because of the continuously escalating prices. Yes, children go to the same school but not in the same way (by bus) and receive tuition from different sources which separate the well-to-do and the wannabes.

There might not be social classes anymore now, but there certainly exists a social distance between various groups of people in our modern society caused by a change in economic status. This distance is magnified by other differences such as in religious faith, vernacular language , culture, education level, professional interests etc. Can all these be overcome by just one concept - the 1 Maysia concept. I think the government has to do more to close the social distance, once it has been recognized. The bigger problem is we often fail to recognize the problem and dismiss complex issues as a simple
human problem. Worse, we often think that we have resolved the problem through a new policy or regulation, which actually can create more issues than it can solve.

When People Don't Care Anymore..

2011-06-01T06:10:00.000-07:00

If we listen carefully to people talking about politics today, you'll hear an undercurrent of disappointment, frustration or a plain " I couldn't be bothered anymore" attitude. And i don't mean talk among non-politicians only. Even active party members and party office holders can be heard echoing such sentiments. Not to say some politicians holding public office themselves.

Of course most people are never happy with what they get from life. Or from their employers or the government as the biggest
employer in any country. But there's a great difference between being dissatisfied or frustrated and being Indifferent. One is the result of not getting as much as is expected but still hoping to get more,The other is the result of losing interest or concern because things have become hopeless and cannot be improved. Let things go down the drain for one has given up hope for a gret improvement.

That's what one blogger seems to say about the government and even some of the NGOs as they've become today. Let me quote without mentioning the name:

"Once Malaya and then Malaysia was the hallmark of excellence in how a democratically elected government operated.
What happened?

Surely it’s not just about stuffing up the organizations by staffing them up with incompetent people, though there is that
too.

It seems as if at some stage there was a humongous avalanche, where Malaya/Malaysia’s old excellence in governance
was hurled down the slippery slovenly shameful slope, a slope which is now bereft of good management, discipline,
merit , respectability and credibility.

Our institutions have gone to the dogs, with even some, like banks, universities and the police, in repetitive fashion.

Someone or some people has/have a lot to answer for the regrettable plunge towards zero."

(I beg your permission to quote you, Sir).

This seems to be the kind of dissatisfaction and hopelessness and the "I just couldn't accept anything anymore attitude which we can sometimes hear.If it comes from people who are in the opposition camp, we can very well understand. But what if it's reflected in the the comments of people who are not opposed to the government but just fed up with some of the things it is doing or NOT doing, Lately it has to do with the rising costs of foodstuff, increase in the price of fuel, the prolonged court case of shameful sexual behavior with the distribution of pornographic tapes to support the charges outside the court, the dubious conclusion to corruption cases involving some big names and the inconclusive investigation into the death of people under investigation by the MACC or the Police etc. These matters keep appearing in the front pages of the local dailies but there is nothing new that could make the people more confident of a fair and transparent verdict. Things usually end in a way which people thought it would - ie in favor of the government. Hence the charge that even the judiciary is not totally independent.

Most of us however believe that the government is doing its best in the interest of the nation and the people. That was why it was voted to power again and again since achieving Independence. The Prime Minister and many other Ministers say that they welcome responsible and constructive criticisms. But why are some people so cynical nowadays and some unhesitatingly display the "I don't care anymore" attitude? Are we really going down the ladder of excellence and "kecermerlangan" that we pride ourselves in just some years ago?

Comparing costs and charges.

2011-05-27T06:55:00.000-07:00

Today the government finds it necessary to rationalize the prices of many consumer items to reduce the amount of susidies it has to pay to keep the price stable. Even as it is people are unhappy about the rise in the cost of petrol, sugar,chicken and many types of foodstuff sold at the restaurants and eateries. Not only has the price of certain local 'kueh' (cakes) gone up, the size of the kueh like 'buah Melaka', 'putu piring', 'pulut panggang' etc. had shrunk so much. Even the 'roti canai' has shrunk in size like a cheap hankerchief after it has been washed.

People are very unhappy about this of course. There is no control at all over certain accepted standards in the size of kueh such as those mentioned above, the size of the chicken, fish or beef cuts in the curry, or even in the amount of rice or mee goreng dished out in one order. I often found that they vary from shop to shop, ironically offering a bit too much when I'm not too hungry and very little when I'm famished.

Even charges for electricity, water , rents, tolls etc have gone up. The increse is even steeper when the supply and services had been privatized.

In explaining to the people why such increase in price is necessary, the government often resorts to making comparison with what people in other countries have to pay for the same commodity or services. For instance the cost per liter of petrol is compared with the cost in US, UK, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand etc. When the cost per liter here is comparatively quite low, the increase in price is therefore considered justifiable. The same is done for justifying an increase in toll charges where the ringgit or its equivalent for each kilometer of travel is found to be comparatively lower than what is paid by people in other countries. Other increases in price are also justified in the same way.

It must be noted that such comparison is not always valid. In the case of toll charges, for example, one must consider the total charges which must be paid for a trip between two or more popular destinations in a country. How much does an American pay in toll charges for a trip from LA to Pittsburg, for example, as compared to what we must pay for a trip say between JB and Penang. If the toll charges for the latter is more than for the former which contains more mileage, then our charges can be considered as high. You just have to pay more in toll charges than the Americans because there are longer stretches of toll-free roads in the US than in Malaysia.

One must consider the total amount to be paid in relation to the cost of other consumerr items. If you have to pay more than a hundred ringgit in toll charges for a trip by car from Penang to JB or vice versa remember that that could be more than the cost of ten or more meals for one person. That woul not be so in countries where the cos bof living is much higher. Thus the cost of living index must be taken into cosideration in fixing charges, fines etc.. If the index is twice as high then the charges imposed can be twice as heavy for the public to bear. The same goes for the price of petrol and othrr consumer items. When we compare how much we have to pay for certain consumer item or service in this country with others remember that the value of the money to us is different from ithe value of an eqivalent amount in a different country. When the police charges RM300 for a traffic offence, remember thst the amount could feed a poor family for maybe half to one month. An electric bill for RM400 has the same implication. Remember that the poor in the country must psy the cost for any consumer item as much the rich and we don't have food coupons or special discounts for the poor. The poorer Malaysians will suffer from any price increase as a result of removing a subsidy more than the richer Malaysian, in the same way that the payment of a heavier charges or fine on any servive or offence will punish them more than others.

Peace Corp Volunteers to teach English in Rural Areas

2011-05-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

Undeniably, the standard of English spoken by the average Malaysians with SPM qualification ( even with a first degree thru Malay medium) leaves much to be desired. We hear not only a very Malay, Chinese, Indian or other dialectical pronunciation ( Kelantanese English for example sounds a little like French), but a Malay, Chinese or Indian grammatical arrangement. (Where you go ha?)( Buy me apple, can ha?) On the other extreme some oversea -trained highbrows try to speak English like a Londoner or New Yorker. But with many grammatical errors. Most graduates not proficient in English tend to keep mum among friends who speak in English more than Bahasa.

The greater concern is that those not proficient in English also seem to be wanting in ideas and conversational skill.They seem to have problem expressing themselves. What makes for a good conversation is not just the exchange of greetings and information but also bandying with words, joking and 'pulling each other's leg.' When your command of the English language is wanting, you just cannot join in, unless you are with friends whose spoken English is as bad as yours or who mix English and Bahasa, some time doing it intentionally as a joke.

Why has this happened? Some will unhesitatingly blame government policy of promoting the national laguage, Bahasa, in schools and institutions of higher learning.They forget that some ex-students from the same school or college (or university) speak excellent or at least decent English. They don't make embarrassing mistakes like "did went", "must be publish", "people is", "will not takes" etc.More importantly they are vocal and articulate even if they do make some unintentional or unconscious mistakes much as mixing the past and the present tense in the same sentence. (He sat in the chair and reads a book). The most embarrassing person is one who tries to copy the British or American accent but flouting all rules of grammar.

So, to improve the standard of spoken and written English in Malaysia, some Peace Corp volunteers are going to be imported. The US promised 30 but the PM wants 10o to 300 - Note: this is not the same as "He sat in the chair and reads" for the PM just wants (even now) not requested it at the meeting where the promise was given!. Can 30 or 300 or even 3000 "orang putih" help to improve the command of English among Malaysians, especially in the rural areas? Teach students to speak and pronounce the words like them, may be. But enable them to speak fluently with the right grammar? That would be a miracle since even some of the young graduate teachers could not do so efficiently. Just note the number of grammatical mistakes even in English examination papers. am issue raised some time ago.

There are, I think, thousands of ex-teachers and senior citizens( retirees) in the country who speak English reasonably well if not very fluently. Can't the Parent-Teachers Association in every school help to identify these people and enlist their help to teach English in their spare time? I don't think they will ask for a fat allowance for doing so though I wouldn't recommend that they do it gratis. They should be given some recognition in cash or kind and their effectiveness properly evaluated. The English lessons should not be made an extra burden to the students or teachers by holding extra classes on weekends. They must be alotted time within the normal class hours and given equal emphasis like any other subjects of study.

Anyone following CCTV will see how China had trained her TV personalities to speak English with the proper American accent. We used to and still have a few RTM personalities who speak English with
the English accent. Must we follow their accent at all? The Indians and Philippinos speak English in their own way but very fluently. The Japanese never follow the English or American accent but got on very well with advanced technology and the advancement of knowledge, Yet,after so many years of using Bahasa and English side by side, we are only now trying to improve the standard of spoken and written English and calling in the "orang putih" to teach us again.

Ironical but maybe necessary. I for one feel rather ashamed.

Are Our Schools Inculcating the Basic Values...

2011-05-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

Some examples of littered areas.

I've noted s number of tendencies among the young school children of today which makes me question whether they have been taught and infused with some of the basic societal values that help to hold society together at school. Their total neglect of such values makes me wonder whether our schools are really educating the children or just training them to pass examinations.

My first concern is over the lack of respect for the older people which has been voiced by many people before this. Children don't seem to bother about greeting and giving way to older and elderly people anymore. Respect for the older folks is a fundamental value that underlies many others such as obedience to the parents and other older members of the family, respecting authority and accepting the order of seniority in life. We expect this hasic value to be taught and inculcated in the young at school. At home parents and elders are often too loving to enforce this value on the young. As such they are often allowed to have their own ways, with the parents and elders often bowing to their demand. This is, in fact, the basis for creating a very permissive society where the kids and the younger people are allowed to do what they want without any serious criticism by the older members of society.

A second concern hit me while attending the Friday prayer at a mosque recently although I have noticed it many times before. The Imam was delivering his khutbah (sermon). But the school children in the back-rows of the "jemaah" (congregation) were talking to each other as if tbey were in the market place. Many people threw glances of embarrassment at them but the talking went on. Haven't these children been taught by the ustaz in schools that talking while the khatib or imam is delivering the khutbah is a great sin (dosa)? Weren't they trained and conditioned to remain silent while the imam is addressing the jemaah? If the ustaz teaching religion fails to inculcate this simple and basic act of obedience ion the the teaching of Islam, how can he make the children accept and obey other more difficult rules of conduct and injunctions. Have they just been taught but never conditioned to practice what was taught? If the school is not made the training grounds for the observation of the teachings, where else will the children learn to obey the rules? Has our education system failed to inculcate the values behind the lessons that the children are taught?

A third conern is with regard to littering. I have seen children, and in some cases even adults, nonchalently throwing some rubbish out of a car or out of hand while walking by a clean and tidy place as if they had never been taught not to dirty up a clean place but must help to keep it clean. The failure of the ecucation system to inculcate such simple rules and basic values among our young coukd be the reason for many public areas in the towns and cities to be littered, like the location of a night market after the stall owners moved away as seen the next morning. It's enough to make one swoon and the City Council or Local Autnority workers must work darn hard to clean up the place the next morning. . This unconcerned littering despite warnings that one could be fined for doing so, is a clear indication of a basic failure in the education and upbringing of the children ( and the adults too). The failure must have happened in schools where the children received their basic training and education, while at home parents can only holler at an irresponsible act when they see it being committed.
An example of a tidy though rural area.

Yes, many more examples can be given but the above three are enough to show that some simple and basic societal vales which should be taught in schools and effectively inculcated among the young through the discipline in schools had not been successfully done by our education system. The system seemed to be more geared towards passing examinations rather than implanting tne essential good values of human society so that the young wiil grow up into civilized men and women. If the current education system fails to do that, what hope do we have of inculcating the more subtle and complex human values to make the future citizens of tbe vountry more civilized and sophisticated, When we talk about achieving a developed nation statur I believe that these basic values must first be put in place. If the education system failed to inculcate those basic values in the schools, the country will end up having intelligent citizens but quite uncouth and less than civilized.

Reflections on Mothers' Day

2011-05-09T21:07:00.000-07:00

a cake to mark the occasion

It certainly is a great feeling to see both young and old paying tributes and reaffirming their love and respect for their mothers. Mothers' Day this year seems to be celebrated with greater fervour even in Malaysia and among the Malays too. I mentioned the Malays because the Muslims don't encourage celebrations not observed during the times of prophet Muhammad ( PBUH). Even celebrating the birthday of the Prophet himself ( Maulidin Nabi) is denounced as improper by some purists.

My children with their husband and wife like many others, gave their mother ( that's my wife Zaitun, of course) , a grand dinner. It was at a great Japanese restaurant where the menu book itself was as big and colorful as a prayer mat or 'sejadah'. We spent so much time studying the scrumptious dishes available and unable to make up our mind that we ended ordering everything that was suggested by anyone. I think we can visit the restaurant for a week and yet could not exhaust all the possibility.

Ordering food calls for a long, serious deliberation

By the time the first dish arrived i was famished like an undernourished orphan. Forks and chopsticks went flying around like swords in a battle royal trying to get to the nearest morsel.

Yes, as the dishes kept coming and the chomping grew more rigorous, we forgot everything that we were discussing just a whike ago. About the rising cost of food and gas in the country, about inflation, the astronomical rise in the price of land and houses in KL and all the major cities in the country, the low price offered for trading in a car and the exhorbitant price for buying a new one, arguing on why the taxes imposed on imported cars are so high, the failure of our education system to produce nation-loving citizens, the rising tide of racialism andreligious extremism etc, etc. We just ate and drank until we suddenly felt bloated. When the Happy Mothers' Day cake and other mouth watering sweet pies came around, no one was really capable of taking much anymore.

The celebriti was then requested upon to give a speech. I think it's a very good idea to give mothers a chance to address everyone in the family after a good dinner. She can say anything she wants in the spirit of the celebration. I was thoroughly amused. Yes it's easy to level criticims against people including members of your own family. But try to find good things to say about them and you might run out of ideas or vocabulary. I think my wife felt that too but she was too happy and surprised by the reception that the words of praise for her lovely children just flowed out like honey from a bottle.

I had never really subscribed to celebrations like mothers' day, fathers's day, teachers' day , secretaries's day, armed forces' day etc since people of every profession seem to be in the mood of selecting a day of the week for their self-accredition and aggrandization. But i am beginning to appreciate them for the chance they give to be with those beig celebrated and to enjoy their company in a festive mood. I have celebrated Mother's Day before with my wife and her mother. But this time around the children themselves arranged and paid for it. I was so happy to be just a guest and i think i must have eaten the most. It was a blessing to see my wife so happy and satisfied with the brew she had brought up.

Now that the Hunt is Over......

2011-05-03T02:02:00.000-07:00

Will there be other devils to hunt and kill?

No one can really estimate the amount of destruction and the number of deaths caused by the US in the hunt for Osama ben Laden. He gave ex-president Bush the reason to attack any country or people alleged to provide him shelter since he was wanted dead or alive. Afghanitan was almost reduced to ashes in the hunt for the man.

Now that he has been pronounced dead, will the US stop hunting and destroying cities, people and properties under the rubric of 'collateral damage' in the pursuit of the man who alledgedly masterminded the September 11tragedy whicj killed more than 3,000 people? Or will the US declare that there is another devil to hunt and the destruction and killing will continue?

Osama was said to have been killed along with his grandsons and several other men and women. Muammar Gaddafii's son was killed instead of the father. Many many people (some quite innocent) had died in the effort by the US and allied forces to eliminate a prime target. Even the justification for eliminating the prime target was never provern as in the case of Sadam Husin, alledged to posses nuclear warheads and other weapons of mass destruction. Even Osama, accused of being the mastermind behind the September 11 tragedy and many vicious attacks on innocent people through the suicide bombers, has never been proven to be the soul author of the crimes.

It's hightime that a new international law be drafted, approved and enforced by the United Nation stating simply that 'when people fight in their own country it's a CIVIL WAR but when a foreign power lauuched an armed attack on another country it's an UNCIVILIZED WAR. It's really disgusting to even think of a all powerful foreign ppower with a highly educated and civilized population threshing a small and militarily weak state for something that they don't like happening in that state. What gives them the right to interfere in the first place? They can only come in if invited by the legitimate government.

So, let's see if the hunting will stop now that the hunted man is down. Will another 'devil' be found , to be hunted and gunned down wherever he is hiding even if a whole country must be ravaged and destroyed to get him? If the hunt doesn't stop hencefort we will know that the hunter needs only a bluebottle to fly around to bring out the warships. the warplanes and the war machines to hunt down the fly.

Reading, Publication and Development

2011-04-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

A Shelve full of Books

I wonder if the reading habit has caught on at all in Malaysia after all the persuasion made by government for people to read more books. While the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka ( the National Language Agency) and the National Library had prompted people to become more friendly with the books, i don't see people walking around with a book in their hands and reading it while waiting for their name or number to be called out at public counters, while wating to be served at a restaurant or while waiting for a public transport. Reading while travelling in a bus, a car, a train or even in a plane is still a rare sight .
Why are we not as book-friendly as people in the more developed nations? Many possible reasons can be listed. Books are very expensive. Tun Dr.. Mahathir's latest book for example costs RM100. Some imported books of general knowlege cost more than RM 200 while technical or professional books can cost a few hundred rinngit. English novels cost more than RM30 each while Malay novel by local writers more than RM20.

More often the Shelve is full of Ornaments

Why are books so costly? Especially those written by local authors? One reason that i know is that they are printed on expensive print papers
And there are NO copies printed on cheaper newsprint, like books (especiaaly novels ) published overseas. I used to buy cheap textbooks for advanced studies from the Philipines or India printed on very cheap newsprints. And they were as good as the expensive ones. Another reason that I know personally is that the marketing cost imposed by distributors is vey high - between 40-50% of the cost of the book. I wanted to sell a novel that I wrote and published myself for only RM18 and a distributor asked for RM9 for every copy sold. Getting just RM9 for a copy would not cover even the cost of production, let alone earn somtihing from the writing. "If you want more, then raise the sale price of the book to RM30," said the sales agent ( in which case he'd want RM15 or a little less for each copy sold!). I was informed that the 'commission rate' was set on what Dewan Bahasa pays the distributors.
I also wonder what Dewan Bahasa and other publishers pay as honorarium for every book published and how much royalty is paid for each copy sold. I wonder if that has to do with why the National Laurette,A. Samad Said, launched a 'mogok seni' (refusal to write) some years ago. The question is: Are local writers getting an adequate reward for their effort? When sportsmen and sportswomen are being paid so handsomely for bringing a good name to the nations, is the contribution of the writers being given the same recognition or is their conrtibution to the nation considered less significant?
The Director of the National Library, if I'm not mistaken, has announced some time ago that the government has allocated some RM300,000 for writers who would undertake some work for publication. This was supposed to be an incentive to produce more books for the nation. How would the payment be made, how much and when, had not been explained. While the intention is honorable I wonder if the amount set aside is enough to cause new and established writers to pick up their pen and begin to write "for money"?
That brings us to the last point which i want to mention viz. is the quality of the writing good enough to stimulate people to read, especially books on general knowledge and of a literary nature which people only buy and read if they are really interesting and well written.
i wonder how many English educated Malaysias really go out and buy Malay novels for their own reading pleasure and not for their children because the novels have been turned into a text book in school. Many of the novels that sell today belong to the category of romance for the young people. The more mature novels are often too dull to read as compared to the World's or New York's bestsellers. As of today only books on the teachings of Islam seem to be selling well in Malaysi and are coming out in abundance. Of course such books are not brought along whereever one goes for reading pleasure. Hence you don't see the Malays reading books at resting places, in the bus, train etc, or while sitting by the seaside enjoying the breeze. The English educated Malaians might of course be reading some English books, novels or magazines.
Well, i think the government and government agencies resposible for the development of Malaysian minds through reading and producing the reading materials, have to do a lot more than what they have so far done to improve the reading habits of Malaysians. Especially now when the internet offers a lot more interesting things to read than some of the locally produced reading materials. We need to reduce the cost of books and improve the quality of writing. When we have spent so much on improving many other aspects of development in the country including sports and recreational facilities, aren't we going to do just as much to stimulate the production of local reading materials to develop the Malaysian minds?

A Rare Taste of the old Village-style Hospitality.

2011-04-23T17:56:00.000-07:00

A fully commercialized village in Langkawi (a resort) - Bolton Village

After living in and around the city of KL for more than three decades, village life migght become a strange and an intolerable stretch of boredom to some. My kids used to ask me what did I do for fun and games in the village when I was young. There was no telephone, no computer, no video games and no color TV. The few times that i took them back to the village, they stayed in the house and couldn't wait for the next day to go back to the city.

Mowing the grass in my village of birth.

Well they are on their own now and I'm free to go wherever I want with the wife. We've bought a small double-storey semi-detached house some years back in Seremban (our home State) and had never really got to stay in it. The few times that we visited it, the neighbors were pretty much like those in KL- friendly but keeping pretty much to themselves. Every time I visited the house there was a lot of heavy work waiting for me - cutting away the wild weeds, elephant grass and crazy creepers that like to wrap up the fence and turn it into a green wolly mass. The neighbors smiled when they saw me. asked me when I'd be moving in, and gave a blank look when I said that I had no plan to do so yet. Only Hj. Aiman, my neighbor accross the road had visited us and we their house for a cup of coffee.

Senawang, the area where our house is located has grown so much as one of the industrial and commercial satellite towns of Seremban. My neighbors are mostly people who work in Kuala Lumpur or elsewhere and come to stay in Senawang over the weekend. More seemed to have moved in recently and many houses have been renovated, But a few had been rented away. Just two blocks away on the same side of the road, a house had been rented by a group of foreign factory workers who made it a habit to have a karaoke session from lunch time to late at night on full blast. To make things worse, the singing was always offkey and in a foreign language. Hj Aiman had complained but to no avail.

The neighbors in Taman Alamanda, Senawang, are like those in Kl also, very urban though friendly, easy with their smiles and greetings ( except for those with huge cars and golden gates), but keeping pretty much to themselves. But just two weekends ago, my wife and me visited our house to do some clearing work and stayed there from morning till evening. We suddenly realised that our next door neighbor included a middleaged lady with a little boy, obviously her grandson. They boy came and talked to me in the usual prattle that you interpret more from the expression on his face rather than from the unintelligible sound he produces. He was very friendly and I gave him some chocolates. Soon the lady came out and joined us in a very village style conversation which quenched our thirst for such a neighborly interaction.

WE stopped work at about 12.30 am to go out and buy some lunch. But what do you know. The lady came out again with a bowl of rice and another with prawns cooked in our favorite "masak lemak chili api" style, The kindness really floored us for we have long forgotten such an act of neighborliness which we enjoyed only when we were kids in the village. We thoroughly enjoyed the food which really was a lot and then sat down to think of how to reciprocate in the proper way. My wife being more urban than me, thought of giving her some cash when we return the bowls. To me the act was more than what money can buy. So I switched on the old thinking cap, imagining what my grandma would do many years ago to reciprocate such a neighborly act.

Reliving old memories in the village.

The right way was to return the bowls later full of our own cooking or goodies.. Since we don't cook anything in the house though we have all the facilities, I asked my wife to go out and buy something to fill up the two bowls. She did and the neighbors were very happy with what my wife gave them.

That was indeed a reminder of the neighborly act in years gone by. I never thought that it could be revived. Not always, but when it was as done by our next door neighbor, i felt so nostalgic of the good old life in the village. The sad part is that it doesn't happen anymore even when we go back to the village, for urban values have caught on. Only one Makcik that I know used to bring us a very sweet tasting "tapai" (fermented glutinous rice) when we returned home to the village but she seemed more pleased when we reciprocated her kindness with cold cash, a further testimony to the fact that urban values have dominated all aspects of life in the village.

Towards a Healthier Society

2011-04-18T17:57:00.000-07:00

The standard of health among Malaysians, I'm sure, is as good as the standard attained by many of the developed countries in the world. Life expectancy at birth has surpassed the 75 years mark going up to 80 years for the ladies. Children's mortality rate is less than 5%. Cardiovascular problems, diabetes, hypertension and,,...road accidents beside the usual crimes are the main killers as in many other developed countries.

But physical health is only one part of life in society. Social and mental health form the other parts. It's said that more than 70% of people in the US suffer from some form of psychological or mental problems. Some time back i read that the same applies to Malaysia. No that doesn't mean that more than 70% of the population is "loony" or "mereng" (a local term)). It's just that they suffer from some form of obsession,stress or mental pressure. And we all face that problem once in a while although are stable most of the time.

The seriousness of the problem is reflected in the "crazy" criminal cases that appear in the Press everyday. Bizarre murders of old folks by their own children and cases of mistreating them, young girls being raped and killed, children being tortured and abused, unwanted babies being abandoned and left to die, young and old people committing suicide due to the pressure of life, housemaids being brutalised, reckless driving that causes so many deaths and injuries on the road, mothers torturing their children, teachers mishandling students and students attacking their teachers, all forms of criminal activities that become more and more daring each day, corruptions and abuse of power etc etc. All thQese are the symptoms of a deteriorating state of mental and social health.

Yet the most dangerous and brutal form of the mental health problem today seems to involve racial prejudice and hatred. This is the oldest form of mental obsession as presented by inter-racial or inter-ethnic wars and fightings in the past. The obsession still persists today although it has sort of quietened out or remained dormant for some time. There had been periodical outbreaks of the prejudice and hatred in the US and felsewhere in the world, not to forget the unending war and fighting in the middle-east. The interracial, interethnic and sometimes taking the form of an inter-religious prejudice, hatred and animosity had been the most tenacious and harmful mental problem that had plagued human society in the past and it's still so in the present.

In as far as Malaysia is concerned, the multiracial society has lived in peace for most of the years after Independence. The prejudice, hatred and animosity reared their ugly heads in May 1969but the racal clash was quickly quellec by a very effective government headed by the late Tun Abdul Razak. National unity was made a very important aspect of development and in the interest to preserve national unity all Malaysians worked and lived together in peace and harmony.

But recently this mental health problem has returned. The Malays, Chinese and Indians began to voice their own interest in the media and through their political organizations, The coalition government which was once strong and cohesive began to be pulled apart by partisan interests and the opposition became stronger. A new coalition began to be formed by parties opposed to the Barisan Nasional. While the new coaltion seemed to be more loose and tenaacious than Barisan, the Chinese component of the new coalition, seemed to be drawing and pulling all the Chinese in the urban areas of Malaysia. This happened since the Chinese component of the old coalition seemed to be ineffective in voicing the interest of the younger Chinese population.
S
One can read the current dilemma of Barisan in terms of interest articulation and the Chinese demand for equal right as Malaysian citizens. If that is so the political leadership in the country will I am sure be able to find an amicable solution to the problem. But I fear that it's the mental health of the various racial groups in the country that is taking a turn for the worse, since the problem had never been examined by our psychological and sociologgical experts. A political solution to the problem might never be acceptable by all since appeasing the demand of one raacial group will excite and irritate the others. Each will put up its own claim for priority consideration and the demands can be conflicting with each other's interest such that the fulfilment of a demad by one racial group will hurt or insult another.

Why not look at the issue from the psychological and sociological angle. tied up with the problem of mental and social health. Malaysian or all races will have to drop some of the old psychological hang-ups and obsessions in order to strike a new balance to keep the nation on even keel. The old spirit of mutual respect and understanding, tolerence and fleibility, and the overriding concern for national unity above everything else must be revived. If the various races in this country start drifting apart, each demanding its own rights and privileges, the obsession and phobia of May 1969 might return. God helps us all if that happens.

Sarawak: a Most Important Test of Public Confidence..

2011-04-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

Just a day away and we will face a most cricial test of public confidence on many issues facing the nation. While the political scenario in Sarawak may not truly reflect the situation in Peninsula Malaysia, the feelings and aspirations of the people are pretty much the same after so many years of development under the same leadershit style and political philosophy. Many aspects of the political culture and sentiments which prevail in Sarawak are also prevalent in Semenanjung.

At least Sabah has gone throuhj some kind of a change before. If a change of leadership is bad when a country is working hard on its development, we know now that a change does not necessarily spell a doom. It brings about the best in people to save the country from going under. It can even force known enemies to work together, putting their personal interests away to make sure that the ship of state keeps on even keel and stay afloat. More importantly if a crisis does develop out of the change, the true savior(s) of the nation will come forward to take the lead. Only then do we get to know who are the real leaders and who are the opportunity seekers but cloaked in the mantle of vociferous leaders, saying a lot of things but doing nothing of note as a national leader.

What are the major sentiments we face today? To point them out will be to agitate and provoke, causing a lot of denials and refutation.
They best remain unsaid for we all know what they are but cannot say them out, lest you'll be called an extremist, a racialist, a regionalist, a pro this and that. Amazing. More than 50 years of independence and we cannot even face our haunting fears ( the emotional hantus) bravely and honestly to deal with them like intelligent and resposible citizens. We still have to hide between unsaid fears and unmentionable taboos. Must we remain so forever? How can we ever deal with a deep seated emotional problem if we are not prepared to bring it out and deal with it openly. Ask a psychotherapist if he can do that.

Be that as it may, there are many unarticulated issues that bother us all today. The state election in Sarawak will I'm sure indicate some of the sentiments that have remained unsaid and unexplored. Once reflected by the outcome of the election the federal government can use them as a guide for facing GE13.

YESSS.... ....BN GAINS TWO THIRD MAJORITY IN SARAWAK. CONGRATULATIONS.

The Dividing Line between Right and Wrong.

2011-04-07T19:36:00.000-07:00

It seems to me that the dividing line between RIGHT and WRONG today depends entirely on where you stand and what you can do to hold your stand. People don't do things or abstain from doing them because it feels RIGHT or WRONG to do so but because there's much to be gained by doing them or the penalty is too high for doing them if found guilty when charged in a court of law.
As such the line between RIGHT and WRONG can be pushed to wherever you want it to be.

It means that there is no longer any moral, ethical or civil standard underlying all actions. There will only be a punitive or a monetary penalty to pay if you are caught, charged and found guilty for doing the wrong thing, even if you knew it was wrong from the beginning but decided to let your lawyers handle the matter once done. If the penalty is small and manageable (transmutable into cash payment), who cares. Pay and be damned.

This situation is most obvious in traffic offences. Millions of summons for traffic violations are issued and millions are collected as penalty, But the offence keeps increasing. The rich ( and even not so rich) can just pay and walk away with a smile, his self-pride not in the least affected. But what if there's no monitory penalty? Intead you'll be publicly scolded for your traffic offence and required to attend a day's lecture to be held at a selcted detention center, failing which a jail sentence will be imposed depending on the seriousness of the offence you committed. This might even be a better deterrent than a sentence to do some community work which a celebrity will accept with pleasure. He or she might even get more publicity.

What about the crimninal act of corruption which is bedevelling many governments. Has the fear of being caught, jailed and fined become a sufficient deterrent? No, especially since the chance of being caught when working with strong cables is most unlikely. Corruption charges take years to be brought up in court and more years for the legal battle to be fought. Yes, in Malaysia itself we have begun to see some big and powerful names being dragged to the court but the outcome is dubious for each case seems to drag in more and more big names that are not covered by the investigations. Only when small fries are involved will the charges easily stick . A new development in the battle against corruption in Malaysia is that people interrogated or called on to help investigation by the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission begin to disappear or meet unfortunate deaths. . On another front, in as far as political campaigning is cocerned, what offers are made to the electorate during an election campaign is not considered as corruption. No wonder offering money to get elected to a political post (also known as money politics) is not considered a serious crime and can just be subjected to disciplinary action by the political party concerned.

Again, a jail sentence, monetary penalty and a ban from politics, footbal, or other professional activities for a period of time following a conviction on a charge of corruption, is not going to stem out the crime. It must begin with us appreciating what is right and what is wrong at a conscious moral or ethical level. That appreciation is nurtured from family to school and later through our professional training.
When the members of society has no more sense of right and wrong, no more ethical and moral concern about doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong, corruptuion will continue to haunt the current human civilization. Maybe we have to reinvent society again, reinstating the mechanism for distinguishing between what is right and what is wrong which modern soceity has lost over the years.

Need for a Fire Breathing Dragon

2011-04-05T05:21:00.000-07:00

The Prime Minister is on an official visit to South Korea. He left the country while Parliament was debating on whether a scandalous sex videotape involving an opposition leader should be shown to the parliamentarians or not and tne police was investigating the death of a seven year student who was being punished by his teacher. The two issues were the hottest of the day. The sex scandal issue is made to be hotter than the forthcoming Statee-wide election in Sarawak. It certainly would be most embarassing if on arrival in South Korea the PM were asked by someone: "How's the sex scandal (or sodomy) issue in your country, Sir."

News travel fast and even if the question is not asked many Koreans would be bursting with enthusiasm to ask. We Malaysians have made a man- takes-a-prostitute case to a national level of importance, following a sodomy trial that drags on for years. Even the case of a seven year old student who died while being punished by a teacher for stealing RM7, did not receive so much attention as the pornographic tape produced by two strong party supporters who were not even prosecuted for arranging a special screening of the tape to reporters and being in possession of such a tape.

Has politics in Malaysia sunk to such a low level of character assassination? It appears that the ruling party ( only Umno at that) is trying to knock out the opposition leader allengedly involved in the scandal once and for all. Have Malaysians thought what politics in this country would be like without a character like Anwar Ibrahim. Have we forgotten how many national issues he had brought up for the attention of the people. Even if no immediate action followed after some of his charges proved highly relevant to national interest, they opened up many sores under the governmental robe. Many of the issues such as the Lingam's case, the commission on the purchase if sunmarines, the PKFZ case etc. are still not satisfactorily concluded.

Do Malaysians want a government without any fire breathing dragons in the opposition again, Even though we still have four States under the opposition rule, the state leaders seem to have their hands full to indulge in fault-finding vi-a-vis the Federal government. They have their own worst critics - the Federal governtment. Under such a situation killing the fire breathing dragon ( there are lesser ones, of course) in Parliament would make it a very peaceful place for pushing through whatever laws the government wants and justifies whatever it does. Any trouble maker in the ruling party would soon find his way out of Parliament. Only the fire breathing dragon (or dragons) can raise the issues that had made Malayians wiser and better informed.

So, must we kill the fire breathing dragon though various charges of doggie-foolery (sodomy) and now philandering might have destroyed his image as a possible national leader. Let justice prevail on the charges leveled at him but but why knock out an assiduous and silver-tongued critic of the government in power when the nation needs more of such people to stem out the cases of corruption and the abuse of power that seem to be on the rise.

Must We Resort to the Use of Murderous Weapons...?

2011-03-30T23:48:00.000-07:00

There are injustices going on in all Governments. However good and effective the government in any country is, there will be people who feel marginalized, sidelined, unfairly treated, or forced to comply with laws, regulations and policy decisions that affect them badly. There are protest movements everywhere, some peaceful, some very rowdy, but some causing hundreds of deaths and injuries. Revolts, revolutions and civil wars are not dead, only reduced to a very minor and controllable degree. They remain safe where no firearms and murderous weapons are used.

Firearms and the use of destructive weaponry make the difference. They can turn a small quarrel into a bloody feud, a small protest into a bloodbath, a minor uprising into a goary civil strife, and a populaar movement agaist the government in power, a full scale civil war. Especially when a foreign power is just too ready to support the movement and to get rid of an unmanageable tyrant or despot as called by that foreign power. But if that power is friendly with the tyrant or despot, then the military might of the foreign power will be turned on the supporters of the movement.

Whatever the case maybe, when the sophisticated and murderous weaponry of the foreign power is unleashed on the country in trouble, thousand upon thousand of people will die or suffer serious injuries. The intervention may have the loftiest of human reasons, the kindest of intentions. the sanest of arguments. But thousands will die and the country concerned will be turned upside down. Isn't that just crazy, stupid and inhuman? Call the intervention by any name, it's still inhuman and macabre when thousands of innocent lives are lost, due to the use of the so-called sophisticated human invention - the weapons of death.

Can't we quell an uprising or solve the conflicts between people in the same coountry without the use of deadly weapons. Any idiot or brainless person can solve a problem by shooting people who are causing the problem and killing them all. Is that a solution? A real solution calls for a peaceful unravelling of the issues involved, working out an acceptable bargain for both sides of the conflicting parties, and helping them to achieve a better conditions of life. Yes, any fool with powerful weapons can help destroy a nation in a few days then force its own rule on the people. But helping a troubled nation out of it's conflict and difficulties, without the use of deadly and destructive weapons is a different story.

IS THERE A NATION WITH SOUL SO DEAD, WHO TO EVERYONE HAS SAID. WE'RE ONLY TRYING TO HELP, EVEN IF WE HAVE TO KILL EVERYONE.

When Will Malaysians Stop Being Petty?

2011-03-26T19:14:00.005-07:00

When I read the newspapers and see so much space being devoted to sex scandal and rape of the anus, and think of the amount of public money and official time (legal and law enforcement) spent on such maatters, I start to think that we are being so petty and picayune. Other countries and people too have such problems. But they're quickly resolved and public officials involved,removed themselves voluntarily, ( Hat off to Dato Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek}.

But why are the Malaysians, especially theMalays, so hung-up on such matters? Is it because of their religious implications or just a personal vendetta of a political nature? But the whole nation goes agog about them, overshadowing concern about corruptions and "kowtim" arrangements where millions are shared among insiders and friends while the bona fide entrepreneurs get the left overs. Such matters can never be brought to book because....why mention it when everyone knows but no hard evidence can ever be obtained. hy again? Because any things can be condoned when there's mutual consent, except when one party suddenly "blows the whistle" due to discontentment.

The trouble with allegations about corruption today is that, mention any case and there'll be fingures pointing up to the hills and the sky. So many levels of authorities seemed to be implicated that even the beest police force in the world would not be able to sieve out the truth. Only more public money will be spent for the investigations and inquiries which will lead to an impasse or will otherwize fizzle out. Only God knows who were really involved and He doesn't tell. The Malays and Muslims will conclude things with "wallahu alam" just as they will reply "insyaallah" to any request that they are not sure of being able to comply with. At least the English speaking non-Malay might say "I'll try my best, buddy!"

Back to the question of sex scandal and rape of the anus, the court and the neswspapers have brought out things that I would have blushed with shame to even hear them being mentioned as a young boy decades ago. I thought the modern pop and rap songs are already bad enough with their suggestions and invitations to sex ( touch my body, make love to me, f... me etc). But the lawyers in court are doing better with their detailed descriptions of the sex act eagerly soaked up by the newspapers. And the trial goes on for years...

Take any case that is brought to court and even a man-on-the-street can mewntion a good number that are not. Why? Because the alleged violater of the law is a VIP or the vic tim is a nobody. Even police officers and officers of the religious department are sometime involved, They are human beings and human beings do get involved in kinky sex. Bring them to book for heavens sake but why make such cases a national issue or given sensational coverage in the newspapers. To boost up sales of the newspareps? To assasinate the character of undesirable politicians. Must the nation as whole become the laughing stock of the world when the front pages of the newspares talk about sex skandal and the rape of the anus when
Libya is about to become another Iraq, Bahrain a possible Afghanistan when its fight against the Russians was first supported by the US, Yemen is in a turmoil, and many other North African and Middle Eastern countries are facing a revolt of some kind.

Sarawak is facing a State GE while Malaysia as a whole will be facing it soon. Are we going to talk about sex scandal and rape of the anus as the problem of the nation to keep away from the real problems and dilemma? While the PM is talking about economic and social transfromation are the public to be fed with the juicy stories of the alleged sexual adventures of some of our leaders that had been brought up while others remained to be blown open by some discontented insiders?. Someone said in the papers that there are a number of those SS ( Sex Scandals) tapes waiting to be shown. I suppose those tapes will surface before the GE.

Aren't we being petty and overconcrned about certain things while bigger and more important matters are being swept under the carpet?

The Wrath of Nature

2011-03-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

We've seen or experienced it again and again. Earthquake, flood, tsunami, drought t fire etc. The most recent catastrophe that hits Japan with earthquake, tsunami and nuclear plant explosion (with possible meltdown and radiation occuring in quick succession) is the worst that can happen and we still don't know how it's going to end. It beats the calamities that have hit the USA, New zealand, Chile, Acheh, the Philippines etc. in the recent past. Our prayers, condolence and sympathy go to the Japanese snd all those who have suffered the wrath of Nature..

Can natural disasters be considered as the wrath of Nature? i wouldn't want to say the wrath of God for I am not qualified to do so although as far as the Muslims are concerned the al-Quran stated very succinctly that Allah had in the past destroyed many human communities for going against His injunctions and the teachings of the prophets that He chose for them. Even the big flood and Noah's Arc was His way of selecting who and what would continue to livre on the earth.

What have human beings done to incur the wrath of nature in the form of earthquake although Science says it's only the natural result of some geophysical adjustments in the tectonic plates? No one can give a definite answer to such a question but we do know that human beings have been continuously tempering with the earth surface. We built huge dams and artificial lakes which impounded billion metric tonnes of water weighing on the earthcrust in places where nature had not decided to create a lake naturally. We pumped out million upon million barrels of oil everyday, leaving a vacuum which when even refilled with water will not be able to bear the same weght. This happens in many parts of the world especially in the offshore areas. Aren't we threfore not disturbing the narural balance of the earthcrust?

To a lesser degree human beings also keep hacking away at the hills and the mountains. No we don't disturb the really collosal mountains and the plateaus such as the Rockies, the Andes, the Tibetan Plateu, the Fujiyama and the Kinabalu. But we flattened the smaller hills to build homes and residentisl areas towns and cities. We dig tunnels and underground pathways to facilate trasportation. We build bridges and heavy structures to cross rivers, lakes and even the sea where the earthcrust could be rather thin. Aren't we, therefore, not adding on a lot of wieght on the land surface without actually knowing how thick the earstcrust is in the areas concerned.

What about floods. Can that also be a sign of the wrath of nature? Floods resulting from earthquake share the causes of the esrthquake itself - the unending and indiscriminate human activities which shift the weight and the pressure sustaiened by the earthcrust. But there other other things that we do which can cause flooding from rivers and rivulets. We cut away trees, hacked the forests away and denude the land surface. We also construct cement walls, roads and pavements which interfere with the natural process of draining rainwater away. Yes we make our own drainage and irrigation plan but not for all the rivers. Too m any water catchment areas of the world had been converted into towns, cities, and residential areas, while forestland which absorbed the running waters from the hills and mountains had beeen denuded.

So, is Nature (if not God Himself) not angry with us human beings for our many failures to live by its/His rule? The most disasterous earthquake in Shanxi, China, in 1556 killed 830,000 people, the Acheh disaster killed 283,106 oeople and many earlier disasters killed hundreds of thousand. We pray that Japan got away with lesss lives than the loss of properties and wealth which can be regenerated. It's time for human beings to rethink of what they have done to incur the wrath of Nature ( and God), and desist doing those things. If we don't then don't be surprised when Nature hits back, however sorrowful we are of the tragedies that hit us.

Quarter way through 2011.

2011-03-09T18:10:00.000-08:00

We're now ending the first quarter of 2011. What do we see in the horizon at the national and international level? New hopes, inspiring promises. more of the same as last year or more impending problems and trouble? Is our country and the world moving towards a betterment of human relations, peace annd prosperity or adding more stress and strains, spreading more misunderstanding and hatred, and generally moving towards another catastrophe?

In our interest to promote our own ideals and aspiration, our believe and values and our idea of world peace, we sometimes forget that God created Men and Women with different looks and characteristics, different blessings and destiny, and different needs in life. That differences also apply to different countries and climes, different habitat and habitations. Man cannot try to make everything the same in the name of modernization and development, freedom and justice, equitability and equality. Nothing in the world is equal as are our fingers (and many other parts of the body) in length and size.

So, can we have a system of government that applies throughout the world? That will please and satisfy everyone? That will bring peace and prosperity to every part of the world?

I think the answer is clear. No matter how similar things are outwardly, how uniform and homogeneous they look, there certainly are essential differences that make them stand apart. Difference in essence and spirit, even if they are the same in name, structure and functions. All hearts are different in men and women although the heart specialists and cardiologists don't see the differences and treat any malfunction and deformities in the same way.

Now think of people and the different countries, cultures, and habitats that constitute the world. Can we ever say that what is good for one country is also good for all the rest of the world, what makes people happy in one country will also make others happy in other parts of the world, and what satisfies an Eskkimo will also satisfy an Arab living in the desert or a Tibetan living on top of the Tibetan Plateau 4,400 meters above sea level.l. Similarities in certain basic needs ( like food and water) there must be. But even that may differ in the way they cook and prepare them for consumption.

Having said that. think of the American idea of bringing justice, freedom and equitability to all parts of the world through their concept of democracy. Is that logical at all - and acceptable? A new wave of protests and revolts is now sweeping through the Middle Eastern and North African countries and the American are activating their mighty warships and armament in readiness to "protect" the innocent protestors and rebels against the forces of the government. How? By ensuring that the existing leaders be removed, lock stock and barrel ( like what happened in Iraq).

The amazing thing is that, the world just stands by and watches, as if in support of the American heroic initiative. We certainly see some of the glaring inequalities, injustice and shortcomings of the governments that are now under seige - as seen from OUR OWN point of view. But is turning the guns towards thhe established leaders of those government, the way to affect a remedy? We all know what the Americans want by coming in immediately to HELP the innocent people, perhaps through local bigwigs who are working for the Americans as it serves theeir interests to do so. But why is the world so easily persuaded by the good intention of the self-appointed world police (SWOP)? Couldn't the world help out in correcting the wrongs of certain governments by other peaceful measures like helping out the unfortunate?

So. in moving towards the second quarter of 2011. can we see our country and the world moving further towards peace, harmony, prosperity and progress or towards greater tension, more messy problems and conflicts? Don't answer the question. Just convince yourselves over the answer that you give to yourself. All the others are probably doing the same while the world power continues to do what they want to serve their own interest.

A New Wave of Rising Expectation

2011-02-24T17:00:00.000-08:00

First President Hosni Mubarak was ousted out by the force of the common citizen. Then President Zine el-Abdine Ben Ali faced the indignance of the Tnisians. Now Mohamed Ghadafi, oncce the King of Kings in Africa is facing the brewing storm of frustration and discontentment among some of his people. The tidde of rising dissatisfaction and dissappointment seems to be spreading fast in the African countries including Zimbabwe, Ugganda, Cameroon and Senegal. The same is happening in the Saudi Arabiah States of Bahrain and Yemen.

Is this an indication of a new wave of rising expectation and disappointment with the authority that stays too long in power, no matter how fair and benevolent the current leaders think they are, or
what?

It looks as though many of the Muslim or Muslim-preponderant States are being swept by a sudden realization that there is a limit to patience as a part of faith. They are willing to pay obeisancce and be loyal to the authority that rules them in line with the Islamic teaching ' Atiullah waati urArasul was ulilamri minkum,' onnly up to a certain point. After more than 20 years of such rule without any sign of a willingness to give the people a voice tto determine their own leaders and have a say in the government, they will protest and force through a change. They want a say in selecting the Ulilamri - their leaders.

What has happened and is happening now shpuld be seriously heeded by the authoritative leaders that now rule the country no matter how benevolent and fair they think they are. Democratic meeasures must be introduced to allow the people to have a say in selecting their leaders and formulating the policies of governmentt. On the one hand we have good old US of A trying to force democracy in the oil-rich countries (its own brand of course) ) while on the other the Muslims are no longer happy with the teaching "hear and obey" - samikna waathakna. They feel thaat the ummah should have a say in the running of government, especially when the majority of the people remain poor and empoverished after more than twenty years of autocratic rule while the leaders and previleged groups in the country live in wealth and luxury.

The government must immediately looekd at the participation and thee sharing of power to govern with the people, though the form of democracy as espoused by the US need not be the only altlternative to follow. What is most important is that the wealthy leaders should not be seen as enjoying the wealth of the country by themselves without a fair and convincing plan for distributing the wealth to the people.

Have such a plan, convince the people that the plan is being actively ppursued, that the wealth of the country is being shared with them and that they are geeting a very fair share of the wealthh...and things could remain stable and calm. Wealth and luxury are highly visible while mild empoverishment and relative poverty cound be invisible. But they will ultimately rear their ugly face in the country ad people will protest. Better do something beefore the wave of rising disappointment and expectation sweep over the country. No matter how fair and benevolent the currennt government think it is, if it has been in power for more than twenty years without being able to bring about a visible transformation towards a life of comfort and prosperity for the masses, watch out. The tide of angry protest and disappointment will surely come sweeping by.

The new wave of rising expectation can come to your shore, sooner than you think. It's better to throw in the gear of change now. .

One Nation One Nationality...

2011-02-16T08:57:00.000-08:00

There's only one Malaysia and the nationality of its citizens is Malaysian. But the Malaysians can be of different racial origins, embracing different religious faiths and practicing different cultural norms and habits beside the overriding Malaysian cultural mix. Thus we have UNITY IN DIVERSITY. Other nations too have the same national and cultural identity. One national identity but made up of several religious and socio-cultural ingredients.

What's wrong with that? It's true for the US, the UK and other European nations, USSR, Indonesia, Singapore etc. The national identity remains intact and well-respected without any attempt to integrate all the religio-socio-cultural mix into one common
entity loosing all original costituent textures, shades and colors.

While socio-cultural differences can be slowly overshadowed by a strong overarching national culture which evolves through the years, to put all the citizens of a state under one religious faith is an impossibility. In the context of Islam, it is even ludicrous since the Ummah ( followers of the Islamic faith) can only be a Muslim with total subjugation to Allah and His Prophet, Muhammad SAW. Those who don't accept and pronounce the shahada ( Asyshadu anlaillaha illallah waasyhadu anna Muhammad ar-RasuAllah), cannot be considered as an Ummah. As such the slogan Satu Malaysia Satu Ummah must be understood with the limitation of the religious requirement, although the integrative potentials and aspirational aspects of such a call is great.

While all nations aspire to create a single, solid and homogeneous entity, heterogeneity is a fact of life. Allah Himself stated in the al-Quran that He created men with different races and descendants so that they may learn from each other. If Allah has willed it so how presumptous it is of men to want everyone in a country to assume only a single identity? They can only coexist and live together under the same leadership, nationhood, ideological conviction, political and socio-economic regime. But their religious faith, native culture and customs can remain different though under one overarching national identity. Thus we still see the differences among people from different racial and cultural origins in the US, UK, Indonesia or elsewhere although they are all Americans, English, Indonesians etc. Malaysians would also be the same. It is the rights, the privilages, the pride and the security of being the citizen of a nation-state that hold the people together, not necessarily their religious and cultural orientation or their political views.

Thus i Malaysia is a beautiful clarion call for all Malaysians to work together, develop the country and live in peace and harmony. But it cannot be equated with one ummah for we are multiracial and multicultural. What is needed is more goodwill between ummah and non-ummah. More importantly. the ummah - those professing the Islamic religion- must not allow themselves to be torn apart by party and political interest. You'll all answer to the same God - Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala. The breakup, ill-feelings and enmity between and among the ummah, can be more destructive than the social ills of society as a whole. Let the ummah in Malaysia consolidate themselves and the ideals of i Malaysia can be achieved more easily.

The realities of life....

2011-02-06T06:51:00.000-08:00

Life is always a changing mosaic - a fast moving collage of happenings that often leaves us breathless. Do we and can we understand everything that happens before our eyes. Anyone who can categically answer ' Yes' is either a presumptious omniscient or an egoistic ignoramus. What we can understand is only life as we shape it for ourselves, as we understand and picture it in our mind. The real life out there could be far diiferent from what we thought it to be.

Everyone has his or her own image of life and what it should be like. That's the sum total of our ideals. Can two or more people have the same ideals.? Of course you can but only up to a certain point. Beyond that we all have our differences. It is the sharing of certain common ideals that brings people together as friends and colleagues. Different ideals and ideas about life will keep them apart.

That's quite natural . What's not natural is the fact that people having the same ideals and ideas about life have different understading or impressions of the real world as it exists today. They see different achievents of their ideals and experience different levels of satifaction or frustration. The gaps between what they hope for in their ideals and what they see as being achieved in real life are different. What others see as having been achieved they don't see it as such. Even though things have changed they don't see the changes. That is because the image of the world in their mind has not changed one little bit.

This is a very important factor in bringing people together in a society, especially in a multiracial one. The real world as we see it might have changed tremendously but not to them because the picture of life in their minds have not changed. Lets illustrate this phenomenon with a few examples.

The social status of the blacks in the United States has changed tremendously with the election of Obama to the White House. But some people in the world and maybe in the US itself see no change. In Malaysia the status of the non-Malays has changed tremendously after Merdeka and especially now after so many non-Malays occupied keys positions in the government. Yet to some there has not been much changes and the non-Malays are still being treated as a second class citizens. It is something in their minds which has not changed.

The most difficult change to appreciate in the world is the change in religous tolerency. Education has made people more appreciative of each other as friends and colleagues in spite of religious differences but some people still see religion as the root cause of all divisiveness in a multiracial society. Every disagreement, conflict or enmity between racial groups is traced back to religion though people with different religious beliefs have been living together for ages without serious conflicts.

Islam today, for example is still equated by some people with backwardness, intolerence, aggressiveness belligerence, and brutality.The brutality of the suicide bombers for example is seen as more diabolical than the killing of thousands of Muslims in Afghanistans, Iraq, the Palestine , Bosnia-Herzegovina, and various other places in the world. It matters little that some Muslim leaders have become the prime movers of peace initiative in the world. The picture of muslims' brutalities in the war of the Crusades and during the Caliphate years still filled their minds and so every evil thing happening in the world is dumbed on the Muslims. This is the stand of those with an Islamophobiac view of the world,

Undoubtedly some Muslims also carry indeletable images of the attrocities that the west had done to their county and their people. Thus they refuse or fail to see what good the west had brought to them, no matter how beneficial the changes brought about by their interaction had been. This is the stand of the xenophobes. But note that xenophobia is a hatred of strangers, not necessarily of westerners or of Christians as such. There's no word for a hatred of Christians comparable to Islamophobia. Good Muslims are prohibited from hating a fellow human being, but there could be xenophobes around.

These people are the greatest stumbling block that the world faced in trying to seek peace between the East and the West. The islamophobes and xenophobes carry a picture of the old world in their heads whiich had never changed in spite of the various changes that have taken place in modern times. Until they change the picture in their head they can never accept the realities of today and accept the fact that God had made the world not just for people of their own racial origin and faith and that others have as much right as they have, no matter how poor or powerless they are as compared to them . It is the image of the world in our heads which prevent us from accepting the world as it is today with people of all racial origins and faiths living and working together in peace and harmony.

Private and Voluntary Organizations

2011-01-24T00:57:00.000-08:00

In all developed nations there are a number private and voluntary organizations which play a vital role in promoting the welfare of the country and society. They play a great role in the economic, business, industrial and social development of the country, with their own funding and organizational ability.

These bodies usually cooperate but work outside the government administrative infrastructure. They may get some assistance from the government but do not come under the directive of the government. They are independent and make their own decisions.

Such is the case with the trade unions, the various business, industrial and financial associations, and numerous professional groups or associations. They do sometimes act as a countervailing power to the government when there's no effective opposition to evaluate and criticize government's action.

The government is of course free to befriend any private or voluntary organization, give financial assistance and seek its support in whatever program the government is launching. Or on the other hand to contain its activities if they go against the interest of the government. The big question is: to what extent can government assist such bodies financially or provide funding for its activities from the public coffer? Providing some special funding for specific purposes approved and supported by government isokay. Such approval goes through the normal budgeting process.

But can and should government allocate public funds to a private and voluntary organization as if it's a part of the government apparatus? Furthermore can such bodies use public officials to administer and promote its activities which lie outside the scope of normal governmental operations or represent government on an official basis? Can government premises be used for the operations of such private and voluntary bodies? When all the answers are 'yes' what makes the private or voluntary organization private or voluntary as different from a normal government agency?

If such private and voluntary organizations are allowed to take over some of the government's functions then goverment rules and regulations will be thrown to the dogs. Such fear had cropped up when the privatization of some government services was embarked upon some years ago. The privatized agencies function outside government control since they finance themselves.
But as we all know many run into problems and the government had to bail them out. It ends up with the government coughing out huge sums of public money to support their operations. These privatized agencies are known to be quite lavish in their spending, pay their staff high salaries, and escape all forms of review by the government itself. When faced with financial problems they just seek government's help or raise the charges that they impose on the public for the services they provide.

How much is this costing the government and the public today? And now we have private or voluntary organizations functioning very much like government agencies but not placed directly under government control. Is this another form of privatization? These include the association of VIP's wives and and other associations involved in promoting
the interest of bright but disadvantaged children. With all these extra-governmental activities going on, it might perhaps be better if the civil service is reduced to a minimum and more of the services be handed over to private organizations run on public funding. Another way of doing it is to allow politicians and private sector people to head all the important posts in government services as chosen by the political bosses in power. Or to emulate the American system of administration, important public posts can be filled in by popular votes. These include the post of the Chief Secretary to Government, the Inspector General of Police, the Attorney General etc.

The public and civil service in Malaysia has increasingly been overshadowed and denuded by the authority of the political masters. The privatized agencies have taken over many of the functions the civil service used to be responsible for. When will a new evaluation be made as to what the civil service should continue to do and the rest of the functions be handed over to the private sector or the government sponsored private and voluntary organizations?

Skyscrapers and Luxury Apartments...

2011-01-13T18:17:00.000-08:00

The skyline of KL has changed so much that every time you drive on one of the 'lebuhraya bertingkat" or multitiered highways cutting across the city like the lines on your palm, you feel as if you're a stranger in a new city. Especially when all the old landmarks are hidden away and you only see the old roofs or the sophisticated front of new edifices staring at you in the face.
Hey what building is that? you ask the person sitting beside you. Damned if I know, comes the couldn't-care-less reply.

There are so many of the high-rise buildings, not really skyscrapers yet, many of which are modern, high-class, luxury apartments, that you can hardly keep tag of their emergence (as if from nowhere), let alone of their names when not boldly written somewhere on the building itself. Take the new NUKE highway through the Sri Hartamas area and Mont Kiara. for example. All the super-posh apartments must have hit the million or multimillion ringgit jackpot price.

The big question is: Who can afford them? Certainly not the government servants (except in the Ministerial or YB category), the factory workers or the budding entrepreneurs and businessmen. These places can only be bought by the billionaires and millionaires from Malaysia or abroad, especially from Japan and Saudi Arabia. I recall Tun Mahathir's article on Kampung Baru.
If the Malay pseudo-slump area were to be opened up for development and filled up with modern high-rise buildings, who can afford to buy up or rent these su[er-expensive premises as a business center or a luxury home. Certainly not the people in Kampung Baru, not all of them anyway for there certainly are some who have joined the millionaires club. The same question can be applied to the thousands of super-posh apartment buildings springing like mushrooms in KL and the greater metropolitan are, extending to Puchong and Kembangan.

Certainly KL has become too expansive for the common citizens of the country. Especially the original settlers and 'orang asal' who have not become the nouveau riche - including the GLC bosses, businessmen, politicians or corporate executives. These exceptions remain a very small group in the 'orang asal' population as a whole. Their faces could be lost in the throng of millionaires and billionaires in the country. Kuala Lumpur is not for the "orang kampung" anymore, just like "orang Kampung Baru" if the area is opened up for modern development. You can't expect the budding businessmen to open up business in the golden triangles of Kuala Lumpur. They will fold up before one year, especially when they can't participate in the very lucrative night-entertainment, gambling. GROs, multi-level selling and other trades which involve commodities, activities or dealings which are "haram", "bida'ah", or even "syubahah" to the Muslims. . Most of the super-rich tycoons usually have a hand (or just a little finger) in these business though never directly. You cannot get rich by just selling "pisang goreng" or 'kacang putih". You must get your fingures into many and several lucritive business.

So, where does that leave the 'orang asal' ?( I avoid the terms "Bumi" or "Orang Melayu" because they are full of racial overtones!). Wish I can offer an answer. Once certainty is that KL bukan lagi mereka punya. The Skyscrapers and Suoer Luxury Condos are for the super rich, millionaires and billionaires. Unless the government wake up to this fact and do something to ensure that there are some 'orang asal' in the new imposing edifices making up KL skyline, we'll have a foreigners' city in the heart of the country.

Quest for Modern Technology

2011-01-06T11:14:00.000-08:00

In our drive to become a high income nation, the introduction and adoption of modern technology is a sine-quo-non.
Malaysia has made an astounding progress in this regard, especially in the field of communication and transport. We now have our own satellite and GPS system and our automotive industry. Even agriculture has introduced the use of some of the latest high-tech machines and equipment such as the multifucntional and walking tractor.

But most of the high-tech machines and eqipment we use are imported with car production as an exception. After a brief period of borrowing japanese technology, our automotive industry is now striving out on its own to produce cars for local consumption and export. In the IT department some of our own home-grown products are now in the market

Unfortunately, most of the modern tenological equipment and gadgetaries that we use in Malaysia are still imported. Aside from the mini radios, tvs, cameras etc. many of the high-technology equipment used in farming and manufacturing are huge and very costly. In agriculture the walking tractor seems to be the smallest equipment available. Even the grass mowers and kubota tractors are too big and expensive for personal and individual use. They are all imported.

Only in the production of light agricultural equipment such as machines related to the gathering and processing of oil palm and the processing and packaging of food products have we been able to produce our own. The recent MAHA show had displayed many of these. The Malaysian Technology Development Corporation appears to be more interested in the import of the big equipment and machines rather than promoting research, development and production of light equipment and instrumentsfor our daily use.

We just don't seem to able to traslate our technological ideas into mechanical innovation. I rememer years ago when Tun Mahathir as Prime Minister suggested that a special tractor which can float on the slimy mud of the ricefield be invented since tne ordinary tractor will sink too deep into the rice fields. Until today no such machine has been developed and put into commercial use. Many of the ricefields have been abandoned until recently when a new initiative had started to replant rice on a commercial basis using some very heavy ploughing and harvesting equipment. How successful is this endeavor remains to be seen.

I myself have been trying to get a ride-on mower that is small and affordable for mowing the grass and clearing the garden and the larger housing compound in rural homes. Not the big one as in the picture.

It should also be able to vacuum the rubbish not cleaned up by the local authorities. It will also be most helpful if such a machine can pull a little plow used for gardening. I suggested this idea to a graduate electrical engineering student and she said that that would make a good study at PhD level. Many people expressed a need for such a machine since mowing the garden and housing compound of a hector or less can be a very expensive affair nowadays. An average citizen with a love for tending the garden and keeping the compound around his home clean, would now need an arsenal of gardening equipment to do the work himself ( See pic for my own version of his need). Get the 'have-mower-will travel -men' to do the job and you have to cough out a few hundred ringgit a month to keep a well-trimmed lawn.

There're actually many things that Malaysians can invent for their own use or adapt for household use. The sling-mower for example uses a machine that can be adapted for other uses like for moving a buggy and perhaps act as the propellant for a boat. You find such long-stem propellent being used by the Thais on their river. The coconut scraper uses the same machine with some adaptation. The push-mower with clever adaptation can become a self driving machine and the blower can be used for separating the good rice from the husks. MTDC should be looking into these areas of technogical development so that simple machines with advanced technology can be produced by Malaysians for everyday use. It is all these simple. cheap yet hightech tools and equipment procuced locally and made available to everyone that would make our society more modern and sophisticated.

Celebrating 1.1.11 in the Village.

2011-01-02T02:15:00.000-08:00

Yes. I joined the crowd to usher in 2011 at MATIC ( Malaysian Tourism Information Center) on the last night of 2010. There was a big crowd for the Center was holding a final rehearsal for the 1.1.11 celebration to be launched in the morning. The Homestay Association was presenting a showcase of all traditional dances and songs from different States, including the Zapin, the Makyong, the Hadhrah, the Rodat, the Sewang, Semasau etc. AT 12 midnight a firework display lit up the sky over the Centre, echoed by the booms and flashses of other displays held at various other places like the KLCC and Merdeka Square. (see pic)

After the display the crowd at MATIC joined the young dancers on and around the stage to dance through a couple of popular tunes like 'Cuti-cuti Malaysia'. 'Malaysia Truly Asia', 'Poco-Poco', Sewang, the Samasau. Banghla, etc. Even at 1.30am the weekend fair at MATIC was still crowded with the singing still going on, on a special stage set up for the occasion. Flashes of fireworks can still be seen in the sky. The cheers and humming at the Center was suddenly broken by the shrill wailing of a police patrol car entering the area. Heads turned. What happened? Oh, just somebody who got drunk and became too rowdy, came an answer.
The sun rose with full glory on the morning of 1.1.11. I had earlier decided not to attend the launching of the Homestay Show nor the full show that night for I have seen so many of such occasions. I wanted to go back to my village and see how the new year was celebrated, if at all, for I don't remember seeing any such celebration.
Sure enough, there was none at all, not even a flag, a bunting or any sign of celebration. The countryside and the rural areas in Malaysia don't celebrate the New Year. The merry-making is only confined to the urban centers. There was no sign that such celebration had been held in the night either. I had gone back to the village armed with my arsenals to do some weeding and grass-cutting, raking dead leaves and burning rubish - to clear up the compound of my old wodden home which had remained unoccupied for several years and also the village home of my wife.

It'is just a usual pastime engagement for me on weekends, to give my body a proper physical shakeup by doing some tough menial job. Staying in the village home also brings back old memories and the fun of listening to the music of the mosquitoes, the crickets and the other denizens of the rural night.
But on this new year day of i.1.11, on my way back to my wife's village house in the evening, I passed by the children's playground close by the road. The uncared for sight took me by a real surprise.

Being unprepared for what I saw, I could only take a few pictures to show what i mean. Is this the playground that the village children are supposed to enjoy themselves in. The boys in the picture don't seem to care but I felt very sorry for them. Doesn't the Headman in the village care to do anything at all about such a situation? This playground is very close to the Community Hall, UMNO village headquarters. Doesn't anyone really care for the children of the village?
I have seen other uncared for children's playground in other villages. But not as bad and dangerous as this, with plastics bottles and all forms of rubish being strewn about. No wonder Aedis can easily find a nice place to breed and launch their attack on the vlllagers.

I hope the year 2011 will put an end to such sorry sights.

Welcome 2011 - Year of Hope and Promises

2010-12-28T19:37:00.000-08:00

Welllll...New Year is here again, with lots of promises to raise everyone's hopes to the sky.

In Malaysia we see the political parties in power undergoing a soul-searching transformation to face the 13GE. The National
Front (BN) sees UMNO, MCA and MIC overhauling themselves with old leaders taking a backseat ( or heading a no less powerful vehicle with less vroom) and new faces taking over. In many cases the new faces came as a surprise (even out of the blues) edging away some well-known characters. ( Thus the common edgy response: It's better to work with the devil that you know..) Even rejected leaders maybe pulled back to the front seat, Aaaagh. Many powerful Cabinet seats are not filled by popularly elected leaders but by trusted friends of the Numero Uno. And many popularly elected leaders are not pulled into the corridors of power.

Be that as it may, the size of the development funds and budget as announced from time to time by the government gives the impression that money is growing on tress in Malaysia. Billions here and billions there, hundreds of million there, more huindreds of millions here. Normal projects have become megas. Contractors all over the country must be dancing with joy. But are they? The smaller ones seem to be still grumbling. Probably the millions are not coming their way but through well-planned channels. Wallahu alam.

One thing that bothers everyone: the leakages and losts of public funds through negligence, mismanagement or corruption ( let the MACC determine which) are also running into billions and hundreds of millions. The GLCs seem to be where the biggest leakages occur with prominent politicians at the head while some senior civil servants and professionals have also been implicated and promptly brought before the court of justice. Many investigations involving the former seem to fizzle out without the real culprit brought to book and this seems to cause serious indigestion among the opposition members in Parliament and the more public-spirited men on the street. Independent bloggers are most articulate and noisy on this matter
while the mainstream media is very cautious and laconic.

As a last remark in welcoming the New Year, we cannot avoid noting the fact that the Pakatan is undergoing a serious strain
with some differences between the Party Keadilan Rakyat, PAS and DAP becoming more and more pronounced. Worse is the leadership struggle that seems to go on within the constituent parties, especially PKR. The de facto leader is not only under seige by the law but also by his former collegues.

Well, that's the scenario in brief without getting into specifics. A most interesting fact is that while there seem to be a lot of stress and strain on the political front with doubts and uncertainties riding on the financial state of the nation, the people and country seem to be stable and moving along well. There are flashes of racial tensions and conflicts in the press and in Parliamentary debates, but you certainly don't see them in the street. All races seem to be on the best of terms when enjoying teh tarik, ruti canai and nasi lemak in the restaurants and food stalls. There is no sign of tension whatever in the shopping complexes except among husbands saddled with a huge shopping bill.

On the social front, everything seems to point to a glorious 2011. We just hope that the political and economic squabbles among major contestants will not upset the peace and harmony that had prevailed for years.

A Christmas Wish for Mankind

2010-12-23T12:45:00.000-08:00

It's Chritmas time again and we see the towns and cities in Malaysia sprouting green and gold within their premises. The glitters are everywhere with the Christmas trees, the deers and sledges and Santa Clause beaming with Christmas cheers. Especially in the shopping complexes and hotels where the crowds are gathered.

As on other festive occasions in Malaysia, we see the country and people putting on their best festive mood and showing off a happy and prosperous life. The focus this time around is. of course, on the cities and towns, not the more rural areas as on other festive occasions like the Hariraya, CNY, Deepavali, Gawai etc. Even the New Year which will come in hot pursuit is not celebrated as conspicuous and voraciously in the rural areas, as in the urban centres throughout the country.

Do we see a rural-urban divide here? Maybe, but not in a serous way. The Christmas and New Year celebrations do spread into the rural areas because of the holidays and the hoardes of people going back to their rural roots to celebrate. Anyway, I don't remember any occasion other than the two Harirays when people in the rural villages really go all out to celebrate. The spirit of the urban festivities and shindigs does not seem to reach them, unlike when we celebrate the CNY, Deepavali, etc., not explicitly anyway.

Christmas and the New Year are celebrated more by our urban population, centered in the clubs, hotels and fun places. There will be partying, feasting and dancing till dawn. The booze and drinks will flow like the monsoon drains on a rainy day. The revellers represent mostly the business community people, the office workers and high society ladies and gents. They certainly represent the most prosperous segment and cream of the Malaysian Society, the upper and higher middle-class people used to a life of luxury and comfort.

That goes for the whole world including the common folks in Christendom. They will also go all out to celebrate but probably giving more emphasis to the religious tradition and ceremonies attached to Christmas. The church bells will chime, the seats will be full, sermons will be read, the hymns sung while the choir will belt out sweet Christmas carols. The clubs, hotels and fun houses on the other hand will devote all attention to just merry-making.

Are the Christmas and New Year celebrations merely for fun and merry-making? While most people are doing just that. let's not forget that they are others, Christians and non-christians, who are undergoing extreme hardships and torments in life, especially those who are the victims of natural disasters, epidemics, malnutrition and starvation and other calamities created by their fellow human beings such as through wars and socio-political conflicts and unrests. Don't we even think of them when we are drinking and dancing our way through the yultide evening and night, with food and drinks being wasted away like the baubles and glitters which decorate the festives ballrooms, halls and lounges? Are we supposed to forget all the woes and sufferings of these people for the period of the celebrations?

We wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy New Year of course. But I also wish for mankind to think of the miseries and the miserables that plague todays world, in spite of the progress, prosperity and technological perfections achieved. I wish that people will stop killing and hurting each other in the name of promoting justice and humanity, trying to spread peace through wars, fighting corruption with corrupt practices, and instilling kindness among people through cruel laws and regulations. If the true spirit of Christmas and New Year is evoked, we will certainly move a step further towards creating a better world and a more humane society,

A Day of Solemn Reflection

2010-12-20T07:10:00.000-08:00

I had some other plans yesterday (20/12/10) but destiny dictates otherwise. Early morning my wife received a call informing her that a close relative had passed away. We had to be in Juasseh, Kuala Pilah, to pay her our last respect and attend the burial ceremony. The previous evening our daghter had also become the victim of food poisoning. She was still very weak and dazed from a lot of purging and vomitting. We had to take her to her grandma's house before going to Juasseh. At least she'd not be left alone there.

It was some two and a half hours' journey by car to Juasseh before, now shrunk to about just over an hour with time for lunch. How come.? The roads have been improved consirably with a shortcut accross country via LEKAS ( the Kajang-Setemban Express Highway) and a straightened road over the hills of Bukit Putus ( the Seremban-Ulu Bendul Highway or SUBUH - no name given and that is my suggestion). The older North-South highway had become too congested while the old Bukit Putus twister road needs only a heavily loaded truck (lorry) crawling up in front of you to cause a bumper-to-bumper jam over a narrow, hilly area of some six kilometers. The name Broken Hill Road ( Jalan Bukit Putus) was really an appropriate sobriquet for the older passage between Seremban and Ulu Bendul.

The mad-rush journey was quite uneventful. Except for two or three accidents between cars and the same number involving motocycles. Is that uneventful? Yes consideration that an accident like the Simpang Pulai-Kampung Raja bus accident accident can quash 27 lives. No one seemed to be killed in the five or six accidents I saw though but the jams they caused were attrocious. Most surprisingly an accident on one side of a dual highway caused as nasty a jam on the other side of the road as well. People slow down to see and, seemingly, enjoy the sight. Then they speed on again as if nothing has happened.

When we reached the house of our late Auntie, the oft unoccupied house was already teeming with relatives and visitors.( See pics). I've never seen so many people gathered at the house while she was alive, even on a festive occasion. Yes, people really gather together at a house only on two occasions - a death or a wedding. Those are the times when you can see almost all the relatives and friends of people living in that house. Never at any other times. After meeting those assembled under the porch, i learned that the grand old lady had not arrived yet from the hospital at the place she passed away. Her remains was on the way back home, carried by a van dedicated for the transportation of the dead - the modern mobile hearse.

Every mosque in the village seemed to have such a van nowadays with the name of the village which owns it boldly emblazoned on the sides of the van. The van is often new and modern but the stretcher on which the corpse is carried often looked cheap and rickety. I would consider it an insult to the dead, seeing how others respect and pamper their departed. On two occasions, in my own and my wife's village, the Imam was complaining that there was no money to buy a new stretcher. I suppose the van is bought by government or with its assistance. Will have to check on that.

The Muslim's burial ceremony is very simple. The dead is given a last prayer in the house ( or mosque/madrasah) by those in attendance ( even women are allowed to join in), all standing up and in close formation. No rukuk, sujud or iktidal. A representative of the departed will then thank everyone in attendance and proclaim that if the departed had any outstanding debt to anyone, a claim for repayment can be made to him. Normally nobody does and the debt is just forgotten or considered as a gift to the departed. Yes, If the departed rests in the house overnight, visitors will come and read the al-quran (surah Yassin) on his/her behalf almost throughout the night.
The real burial ceremony is again very simple. ( Those who accompany the departed to the graveyard often take the opportunity to visit the grave of beloved ones).

The departed is laid to rest in a grave six feet deep and after the ground is levelled again with a rectangular ridge to mark where he/she is buried, the Imam and crowd sit beside it to perform the "hand over" ceremoney to Allah. The 'takqin' reminds the departed of what his/her answer should be when questioned by Allah's Inquisitioners ( Munkar wa Nangkir), that the joy of life on earth has ended for him/her, and that all were giving a final goodbye to him/her. The Doa will be read and everyone present joins in the endorsement of the praises to Allah the Most Merciful requesting Him to place the soul of the departed among the souls of the blessed.

After that everyone goes home leaving the departed in his/her final place of rest.( For three nights after this some people hold a doa reading ceremony with some refreshments}.

It's a most sobering occasion, inviting one to reflect on one's own journey in life and what one has done to deserve a place in heaven. Or will it be some place else? It's always a sublime experience to me and this is the first time I've recorded it in writing so that others might want to share it with me. Amin.