Blue Sky and Sunshine Again.

After a week or so of thick haze and gloominess, the API reaching a hazardous level when people have to wear masks, we are happy to see blue sky and sunshine again. The cloud seeding efforts to produce rain undertaken by Indonesia and Malaysia (?) to wash away the haze seemed to have worked. Congratulations to the Authorities concerned. The arguments and damage done by the spell of gloominess and haziness can now be forgotten and the culprits who understood the open burning in Sumatra can be forgotten. Until it happens again....

The attitude 'let things be until people start to complain and scream..' seems to become a habit with us in Malaysia. Yes it's good way of getting things done with maximum impact. If things are done before people cry out for action, they never notice the action taken, accepting things for granted. After things hit them in the nose, then any quick action to stop it will be met with applause. It's a simple children psychology. Give them only those that they have begged and screamed for to make them really happy. And also give them a little at a time. Give them too much and you spoil them.

The haze has been happily done away with. Now how about the water woe? This has become a prolonged malady because, at least in Selangor,the blame can be shifted elsewhere. Solving the problem quickly will bring an applause for the wrong party. This is another strategy to bring an enemy to terms, even if thousands must suffer the consequences. It'a sad that public convenience must be traded to gain political mileage, but as Shakespeare said, "Everything is fair and foul in love and war." Enemies don't cooperate until the very foundation of a nation starts to shake. The fear is, nothing can be done to save the situation, when the pillars of trust and confidence begin to crumble. Let's hope that that doesn't happen just because of the water woe...the drinkable water tanks running dry because of dispute in ownership and control. Even in the Arab countries the days are gone when the tribe who owns the water well owns the land around it.

There certainly are many other things that need to be reviewed in this country. The cost of things - everything from the supply of modern equipment to the price of a loaf of bread - needs to be reviewed if the status of a high income nation and providing a higher income level for the Malaysians are to mean anything at all. Every time a mega project is launched or a huge purchase of modern equipment or weaponry from a foreign country is made,the deal is fraught with doubts in respect of it's cost and transparency. One can always hear of a possibly cheaper cost and better quality. The same may be said of building and construction costs. The overheads seem to be just ludicrous but no one can prove anything. Even the Auditor-General would not be able to suggest a more acceptable costing or cost standard beside commenting on the overblown expenditure for certain purchases.

What the public can actually feel to be the result of uncontrolled or unchecked pricing, is the rising costs of household goods and consumer itsms. The price of the so-called controlled items such as rice, beef, chicken etc may be quite understandable though still arguable. But the vegees, the chills, the onions, the fish including salted ones like 'ikan bills' have more than doubled in prices. I was amazed to see the price of bread, before selling at a ringgit plus per loaf, now going up to three ringgit or more. A box of self-raising cake flour and a small round box of margarine costed me nearly forty ringgit. Oh, my God, I thought. I might as well just buy a ready made cake at that price, although just a slice of cheese cake at a reputed restaurant can cost up to ten ringgit. Imagine what a RM100 increase in salary per year means too a worker. Just ten additional slices of cheese cake,and your earned that increase after a year of hard work.

Prices of consumer goods and food items in the market must certainly undergo certain form of checks and control. When RM50 is not enough to buy food items for the kitchen to feed a family of four for one day, an earning of less than RM3000 a month is really living in a state of near poverty.NST's Report on July 7 p.4

The Haze....Clime or Crime?

It's very sad to see everything in Malaywsia wrapped in a whitish pall. The API reading has reached hazardous levels of over 800 in certain areas and hovered around 200 in other areas. Many schools in Johore Bharu and Selangor have been closed. Warnings have been issued to Malaysians to keep indoors and wear a mask if you've to go out into the street. Streets are becoming deserted, an eerie silence creeping into the Malaysian scene, especially at night. Except for a car or two breaking the silence in residential areas, they are becoming almost like ghost towns. One can expect the walking dead to totter around seeking a victim....

This has been happening to Malaysia year after year since the 90s. A lot of discussions and so-called negotiations between Indonesia, Malaysioa and Singapore have taken place but no results. In fact the haze gets thicker and more dangerous each time around. Now people are beginning to suffer saw eyes, sore throats etc in greater numbers. Cloud seeding has been started in Indonesia it is reported while the authority in Malaysia says there's no thick cloud to be seeded. Singapore has brought up the matter with the Indonesian government and the same reply has been given: that some land development companies with link to Malaysia have been undertaking open burning. Malaysia keep saying that the Indonesian government has been offered help to put off the fire outbreaks in Sumatra but no response has been received. The Indonesian government had already identified a few companies as suspects for causing the haze. But Malaysia has not undertaken any investigation itself on these suspected companies nor issue any warning to them, if they are indeed owned by Malaysian.

To us, the victims of the opening burning infraction of the environmental law, it doesn't matter who the culprits are. They should be hauled up under the law as quickly as possible, and perhaps kept in a smoke house to taste their own medicine for a few days or weeks. But that is easier said than done. Aside from the legal procedures involved to convict these slippery, big-time, land developers what happens to land development if they're stopped from doing their thing. The easiest way to clear up the jungle and the wild undergrowth is to cut, pile them up and burn them. Huge areas of land can be cleared up that way in a jiffy and at minima cost. If that is not allowed who'd bear the cost of clearing up the land in other ways? Have the government experts thought of that problem and not just issue orders to stop open burning. This reminds me of how the police try to avoid traffic jams in certain area by closing the road and diverting traffic elsewhere. You just create traffic jams elsewhere without solving the problem.

What's the alternative to open burning when clearing up the forests? An easy answer is to dig up some huge holes and bury the unwanted forest residue. If tree trunks and huge branches are buried that way, we might be even be creating coal for future generation.We can also create artificial fertilizer (compost) by burying the leaves from trees and ilalang. And how about chopping up and grinding the unwanted wood residue of the forest to make papers and other useful things? Hey, the government want people to be innovative but can't even solve the problem of clearing up the unwanted forest product!
Between Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, certainly something can be done quickly to solve the problem of open burning and stop the haze from burying us in a white pall. Undertake cloud seeding if you will. If there's no cloud, employ cloud machines to create the cloud.

As it is the haze is rumored to last until August. Can we all take it with Ramadhan coming up fast? This is the time to see how fast the new (or old) government can act. If it can't clear the haze enveloping the country quickly- a mere physical thing - can we clean up the nation of its ethical haze - corruption?

Awards and Rewards....

There's no doubt that the awards and rewards given out by a country to its citizen are meant to be a form of recognition and an incentive for others to emulate the recipients. The awards can be in the form of an honorary title such as Tun, Tan Sri Dato etc in Malaysia. It could also be a title given for specific achievement such the 'Father of Independence', 'Father of Development','Exemplary Father, Mother, Teacher', Sportsman of the year, Sportswoman of the Year, National Laurette etc. It may carry some cash awards with it or otherwise the recognition and incentive just takes the form of a cash reward with no lifelong title attached to it.
some award recipients

The significant thing about such award or reward is that it establishes or affects the social value system in the country, and may even influence the cash value of certain skills and choice of vocation.In years gone by the Datukship and other higher titles awarded by the Federal and State government were only given to those who have served the Nation or the State as a public servant in an outstanding manner. Now, they have been rightly extended to citizens who have promoted the good image of the nation or State or contribute a lot to its progress. A very pronounced extension of the awards is made to film stars and singers and other entertainment personnel, sportsmen and sports women, and foreign dignitaries who have contributed to the good name of the Nation or State although they have not served as a public servant.a winner of many awards and rewards

Aside form the general complaint that too many of such awards are being made each year and we are being entertained everyday by Datuks (both male and female) through the radios and tvs or through the sports arena, there are also grumbles over the fact that some recipients are too young to be called a Datuk ( which literally means grandfather).With the rapid expansion of trade and business in the country, almost all business leaders have of course been awarded a Datukship or a higher title. Their number is only exceeded by the number of politicians who have received the award. The only noteworthy grumble over the matter is that some very worthy personnel with no contemporary in a position of power in the government to recognize them, have not been duly awarded. candidates for a RM250,00 reward

But more disturbing is the cash rewards given to entertainers, sportsmen and women, writers and academicians and outstanding artisans in many fields of expertise. We see that the rewards for entertainers and sportsmanship have been increasing by leaps and bounds while rewards for literary and scholastic talents have not increased much. The most outstanding example of an award far outstripping that given for literary talent is in regard to comedy performance on TV - the Maharaja Lawak competition. The reward for the first place winner is RM250,000 compared to the the National Laurette recipient who gets only RM30,000 before and increased to RM60,000 in 2003. Today, we cannot, of course, compare what a star footballer or a star golfer gets as compared to a winner of a book-writing competition who spends at least a year to produce his or her work. Little wonder that young boys and girls would rather become a footballer or a golfer rather than a teacher or professor, while a writer can hardly live on his literary earning in Malaysia.

Talk about academic recognition, we also have a plethora of honorary PhDs now,awarded for anything from political achievement to achievement in the fieled of entertainment. Thus, even after the scamp of PhDs being bought from some oversea universities is over, the real academicians become less and less recognizable unless he or she is teaching in the university and is, therefore, called a professor. So, why study hard to become a doctor with a PhD now? Why blow your brains out when you can get an honorary PhD by just singing, politicking, doing business and anything else that can make you rich and famous. Some even say that you can buy an award. If you can do so, you certainly don't need a cash reward for anything at all.

Beutification of the Villages...

With all the heehawing about development and modernization, urbanization and technological advancement, do Malaysians especially the Bumiputras often ask themselves what happened to the villages and the rural abode they hailed from? Even if they visited the "kampungs" once in a while during weekends, have they really noticed what's happening to the land and the village folks? Do they often think of those who have gone and those who remained behind to form the elderly population of the village? Have they realized that the young friends they left behind before had become white-haired and haggard looking old geeks, grandfathers and grandmas?the eyesore

It's most sobering to hang around in a popular coffee-shop in the morning or evening, and meet these old friends coming around for a cuppa. Those who come on foot, on a bicycle or an old Honda Cub with many modern names and variations, will certainly look older than you are, even though they could be younger than you by a few years. Some might look very frail and pathetic for they did not enjoy the benefit of modern medicine as you did or could not afford the price of special attention by private doctors. At the government hospitals and clinics they could only get the usual few-minutes attention and medication.The popular belief that the village elders are healthier and stronger than their city counterparts because of the healthier food they imbibed cannot be further away from the truth. Except in a few case they look much healthier and younger than you because you have neglected to take good care of yourself.another eyesore

In spite of the many rural development projects we hear of, we seldom hear funds being allocated for village beautification and landscaping. Those terms seem to be the prerogative of only the urban folks.Walk through the villages (not just drive through although even that might be enough to give an idea) and note the lush greeneries of wild elephant grass and thorny weeds overgrowing almost everywhere. Note the acres and acres of unutilized lands which were once productive paid fields. Observe the uncared for housing compounds with beautiful but dilapidating houses probably not occupied because entire families have moved to the towns and cities. The kampung scene is more often one of neglect and haphazard construction rather than the scenic gardens and sculptured landscape that one can see in the neighborhood of towns and cities in the west, in Japan and in China.With few exceptions, the villages in Malaysia had been left to become eyesores. Even children playgrounds constructed in some new housing areas often look more like a secondary rubbish dump and a haven for wild weeds. When even personally owned housing compound are often lifted uncared for what else could be expected of company or publicly owned properties, when the authority concerned could not be bothered to maintain them?the desired

The river banks and their surrounding areas in many cases had become a no man's land. Who is responsible for clearing and landscaping them? Is there any funds at all allocated for their maintenance and development? With flash floods becoming a regular phenomenon nowadays, the flood plains of many rivers had become a repositories for river pollutants.

It appears to me that village beautification and maintenance has never become an item in the local authorities development and management budget. I wonder if the State and Federal Budget has any allocation in this matter. When such matters are hidden in the budget for rural and village development in general, one can rest assured that actual beautification and landscaping program had never been specifically identified. While many villages had been made a tourist center throughout the home-stay program, only a very few villages had been really beautified and groomed for the discerning eyes. Most of the rest remained a testimony to underdevelopment and neglect, although the nation is on the brink of becoming a so-called developed country.

Is Religion supposed to be Divisive?

Prophet Muhammad SAW once said that Islam would break up into 23 sects while Chritianity would break up into 22. What we see today is that not only is the world being divided up by religious beliefs more than racial origins, but people of the same religion are going against each other. Be it in the same country and nation or between countries and nations.

Religious beliefs or faiths, therefore, seem to be the most devisive social element in society today, causing open violence and deep seated hatred between people, as it used to be in the days of ignorance and brutal intolerence between people of different racial stocks and cultures. We see instances of such violence and brutalism in both the west, the middle east and the east, with the middle east capturing the limelight.

Is religion supposed to be such a social element in society? Is it not supposed to be the bridge between human beings and their Creator, the compendium of human goodness and ethical excellence, the source of human kindness and benevolence, the source of righteousness and divine justice etc. So what has human beings turned religion into? An excuse for destroying and killing each other, a dogma that sanctified the shedding of human blood and taking away innocent lives and sowing the seed of hatred among fellow human beings?

As people living in the age of knowledge and wisdom,high technology and culture, refined in customs and ethics, the reality of religion today defies what we believe ourselves to be. There is so much of ruthlessness, violence, barbarianism going on that can make us ashamed to be considered as human. There are animals that show more love, kindness and consideration for each other than what some humans are are doing to each other in the name of religion although the evils of politics seem to hide behind all such action. We speak about religion in the most reverent and God fearing manner but we often act in a manner that negates those show of piousness.


In many of the Islamic countries,the age-old war between the various mazhabs such as between the Shiites and the Sunni, the Sunnah wal-Jamaah and the followers of other mazhabs like the Wahabbis, continue to break up people and nation. They are all supposed to be Muslims, praying to and prostrating themselves before the same Allah. But they never seem to be able to tolerate each other let alone live in peace and harmony, each claims that their approach towards attaining Allah's grace and Jannah ( heaven) is more in line with the teachings of the al-Quran and the Prophet Muhammad SAW. The problems they raised in society far outweigh what religion is supposed to do for society.

While the teachings and prescriptions of religion seem to bear less and less influence in the everyday decision-making of the modern Man, the pride over one's religion seem to be on the increase. So much so that religion ceases to become a moderating factor in our attitude towards each other, a pacifying factor in our search for internal peace and external relations, and a universal torch for leading us to world peace, but rather a magnifying glass that highlights differences and incompatibilities, and the rationale for fighting each other.

When, therefore, is human beings going to put religion in its rightful place as a common bridge towards seeking the love of our Creator, no matter what structure or shape the beige takes. It's just the bridge between our terrestrial life and the kingdom of heaven, between our selfish self and our our soul wherein the feeling of Godliness lies. When can we modern people of the world make religion an instrument of world peace rather that an adjunct to the pursuit of human bickerings and warlike tendencies?

The Happy Majority....

Most Malaysians are very happy that the election is over and everything is back to normal. Even if they don't know who the new Ministers and State Excos are, or whether they represent the electorate or not let alone be happy with their selection, someone is there in the seat of power to look after the interest of the people and nation. Only the buddies of the ex-Ministers and Exco members will really feel the lost of the big cables they have been hanging on to in order to help them achieve their goals. For the men-in-the-street, they have fought their own battle with little or no help from the powers that be.

Yes, everything is back to normal, including the traffic jams on the main highways and roads. A few hours journey from one point to another may now take half a day or a whole day. Bumper to bumper and not a single traffic policeman to help smoothen the traffic. They are perhaps too busy controlling the traffic flow on the city streets or directing traffic at some of the big national celebrations like The Colors of Malaysia and the Youths Festival. While enjoying the very slow ride on the roads, observe that some of the election posters, banners and buntings had yet to be removed although more than two weeks have passed after the election. Many are blue in color with the 'dacing' (weighing machine) prominently displayed. No wonder the authorities concerned could not take the offenders to task. Who dares touch the 'dacing' people? - the power behind the throne, so to say.

It is at the time when the political leaders are sorting things out and getting the Cabinet in order that the civil servants are left pretty much to themselves. They have to get things done while trying to get to know their new bosses, if they are new and of an unknown quantity. The top civil servants themselves must make some adjustments, especially when the new boss had not been a real favorite or friend while he was serving in another lower capacity. Some will have the unpleasant experience of finding a person you once rebuffed or refused to cooperate with suddenly becoming your own boss. In politics the villain of yesterday can suddenly become the power-that-be of today, (It might also work the other way around). In the bureaucratic organization itself, a nobody of yesterday might suddenly become your superior since he or she enjoys the trust of the new boss. Well, that's the name of the game and you jus t have to play it.

Be that as it may, a change of the political leadership at the top of an organization offers a good opportunity to rescrutinize the organization's past and on-going programs. Many weaknesses can be removed since the new boss will only be too eager to set his own mark and standards. Many will want to bring about a big change. to stamp his or her personality on the organization's book of record. That's when civil servants can make their own recommendations to "remove previous weaknesses." Must be careful though or you yourself might be removed. Those who have moved up the scale before based on favoritism, will find themselves in trouble.And that is good for the 'apple polisher'(or bottom fanner) can now be removed.

Come to think of the 'transformation' (transformasi) that the PM has been harping on. Is there a real change for the better or will it be more of the same like before. The civil servants can be in the best position to judge. But make peace with your new bosses first or you will end up in pieces. When most Malaysians are happy with the leaders that they have voted into power, who are you to say that you don't like the new boss. Yoiu're the lot that's supposed to be innovative and creative. But do or say something that the new boss doesn't like. No matter how innovative or creative it is, you'd better get ready to be phased out. It's better sometimes to just smile and dance to the new tune set by the new boss.

Back to Normalcy

The general election is over and Malaysians returned to their normal life, when politics seems to be a remote power influencing their destiny. There're rumblings about the opposition mounting a campaign to protest against frauds in the election, about old faces occupying the same seat of power with some shuffling around and only a few new faces being placed in important Cabinet posts, and about how MCA is going to react to the new Cabinet line-up. But otherwise, every Malaysian is happy to continue with their normal life like before. New Chief Minister of Kedah

One wonders how the world would be without politics, leaders vying for power to rule over the masses, using organized institutions to achieve their end. In Malaysia, teachers used to be the moving power behind UMNO and the National Front. And we enjoyed peace and stability for decades. Now the professionals take over the leadership, including professional politicians. Politics become a business with power to control human interactions and the market. We the consumers can shout our voice hoarse without any effect unless,of course, you've huge cables to pull. Correction. Even little cables are okay if you are in the right group. If you're in the opposition camp, say what you want. You can do nothing till the nest GE, four or five years from now.


First thing that I noted after the GE is that the flags, buntings and posters lining up the roads are not entirely removed yet. Some can be very hazardous to drivers because you can't see the other side of the road or what's in the next corner. After a heavy rain these paraphernalia of election campaign are a real eyesore. Two weeks given by the authorities to remove them is too long a period. They should be removed within a week.

The share market shot up in volumes of transaction and values immediately after the election. A real bonus for those in the game but means nothing to the those who don't or couldn't afford to gamble away their meager earnings. Price of things remained the same or even showed a slight increase. There certainly is no new regulations for price control in the next few months and anything can happen. In and around KL the pipes run dry for hours and even days. The opposition (Pakatan) is returned to power and I'm sure it will continue to be blamed for the water stoppage in Selangor and some areas in the Federal Territory of KL.The argument continues and the people affected will continue to suffer. There has been a lot of rain lately and it pays for those affected by the water shortage to harness the gift of Nature and the Creator in their own way for their own use.New Minister of Youths and Sports

Kedah has been recaptured by Barisan ( the National Front) and the son of our illustrious ex-Perime Minister, Tun Mahathir, installed as Chief Minister. It's too early to expect any immediate change of policy or its method of implementation. But many eyes will certainly be focused on what will develop there as well as in the MInistry of Youths and Sports where the son-in-law of our ex- Prime Minster, Tun Abdullah Badawi, has been installed as the Minister. Other Ministerial shuffles are not too surprising although the new Minister of Tourism and Culture had raised some eyebrows since the post required a tremendous amount of good PR stuff and cultural sensitivity.
New Minister of Tourism
The GNP growth for the first quarter of this year is 4.1%, short of what is expected to achieve the high-income aspiration of the nation. But since the PM, the author of the High-Income-Nation goal, shall remain as the Minister of Finance, he will certainly do something to jolt up the economic growth. We can only hope that it shall be done without causing the prices of foodstuff and other consumer goods to take a big leap upward, thus creating a false impression of a faster economic growth and a higher standard of living. Of course, by returning the Barisan to power,we have implicitly agreed to the current price of patrol, the toll rate, and the cost of housing - items which the opposition had wanted to review.