A Mysterious Tragedy

The PM Datuk Seri Najib Razak had concluded that the MH370 ended its fight in the Indian Ocean, suggesting that 339 lives went down into the boisterous sea with it. A tearful gloom descended on the nation, bemoaning the departure of beloved ones with no concrete evidence of their demise. The objects identified by satellites in the area believed to be the watery grave for MH370 had not been positively proven to be related to the ill-fated aircraft. Not even any of the 122 objects recently identified.

Two primary questions remained unanswered.

(1)Why did the aircraft make a u-turn presumably to get to the nearest airport for an emergency landing - the airport being Langkawi International Airport? Is it due to a fire as a result of an electrical short circuit which required all power lines and the on-board transponder to be switched off, or there was some kind of hijacking?

(2) Why did the aircraft overshot Langkawi and continued to fly on autopilot until it ran out of fuel, assuming that the sudden descent from 35,000 feet or so to 5,000 was due to the intended emergency landing.

The questions will remain unanswered until the black box is found, or some kind of a foul-play is proven. Investigations are still going on and it's unfair to blame the Malaysian government or the authorities involved as inefficient in handling the investigation or hiding certain information.As it is Malaysia had released a lot of what would otherwise be classified information to nations involved in the search.

The scope for a suspicion of foul-play is endless. Planes have been hijacked for many reasons and not all mysteries are solved for hidden hands can remain unseen or presented as a helping hand.It would be too much for Malaysia to be involved in that kind of investigation. Helping the bereaved is the first priority. Let the international players handle the cloak and dagger issue, if there is one.

For now, there are still those who hoped that the plane has been hijacked and are kept in a secret place. If that is true and the passengers will be returned alive and well one day, we shall yet see people thanking hijackers, whatever price they seek for the return of the hostages, for saving their loved ones.

After all, the impossible can happen in international politics and power play.

The Missing Plane Mind Boggler….

The attention of all Malaysians and kind-hearted sympathisers in fifteen nations (including countries whose citizens were among those on board) has been focused on the missing MH370 for over ten days now. The most advanced technological know-how and aeronautic expertise have been utilised to locate the missing plane with some 230 people on board, without any success. With the exception of one Malay mumbo-jumbo expert (bomoh) called in to help out in the search, no paranormal psychologists or prescience experts had been summoned to assist. I am sure these gifted people can also help in some ways to give more focus to the search. As of now it had been moving around from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean, to the Straits of Malacca, to the Australian desert and God knows where next.some pray only when desperate

It's most amazing that human beings have been involved in space probes,microcosmic and microscopic research and research into the unknown spheres of spiritual life with some startling result. Yet the search for a missing plane continues to baffle everyone while the fate of more than two hundred lives on board hang in the balance giving nightmares to the bereaved relatives.Under the situation I for one would be happy to know that the plane has been hijacked and kept in a secret place with everyone on board alive and well. One might even consider granting the hijackers an amnesty with some rewards (especially for the pilots and his assistant) if all the people on board are returned safely to their families….the anguished relatives

This exasperating drama and unsolved mystery with more than 230 lives at stake, had however proved that people in many countries and of all races can work together, share information and trust each other, in spite of the differences in their political belief and faith. The amount of theories and speculations put forward, attests to the fertility of the human minds when agitated by a human tragedy. Yet when agitated by national and political interests, nations and people in the same nation can go for each other's throats and kill without any mercy or compunction, especially with the help of the advanced technology (in weaponry and armament) which they had developed.waiting for the loved ones to return

How unthinking and capricious can the human beings be! We readily mobilised national assets, human power, and expertise to save human lives,but can waste them mercilessly because of a transient political dogma, a wacky political or military leader, and the powerful, brainwashing media.How pitiful….how stupid sometimes.

So let us intensify the search for the missing plane and the lives involved, using all the technologies and human expertise we have. Let's have less talk and more work at both the manual and spiritual level, calling in all nations to assist in whatever way they can. If this exasperating and perplexing drama can help the nations of the world to get together and the people on board the plane brought back alive and well, it can then be considered as a God-send challenge to us human beings… The Malaysians have of course been traumatised by the incident and have renewed their faith in the will of the All Mighty.

big heart small wallet..big wallet small heart...

Too many a time while having some food at a restaurant or an eatery, a blind beggar walks in assisted by a well-dressed woman or man with perfect eyesight, holding out his hand for some alms. Even the beggar is quite well dressed and on one occasion he was wearing an expensive-looking windbreaker. I gave him a fiver and he went around from table to table collecting red and blue notes from no less than twenty customers at the eatery. He must have collected close to a hundred bucks or even more.begging even with a kid in the street

Next he was doing the same in a nearby restaurant. I got suspicious and after finishing my dinner I followed him at a distance to a car park. I saw him stopped at a shiny compact car, drew out a cigarette from a golden box, stuck it to his lips with a flourish, then lit it up with a golden lighter which gave out a rich 'tinkle' when closed, denoting one of a high quality. After a few puff he got into the driver's seat, the lady assistance taking the seat by his his side and they drove off.in the shop

That's the modern beggar. My wife said that he would go round again visiting the same restaurants and eateries after a few hours to get more money from people with a big heart. I am told that there are also syndicates using smaller boys and girls to go around begging and being later paid a certain percentage of the money collected. Some of them also hanged around gas stations armed with some papers to show that they were collecting funds for building a mosque, a school for the poor, a welfare home etc.a child beggar pulled away by the authority

People with a big heart would give to the beggars and fund collectors without raising any question. I noted that they were the people with small or rather old cars, even with just a motor cycle for transport, and not by their dress not too well off. They gave out just a small sum, often with a smile, a look of pity or concerned, and never asked for a receipt or any token from the fund collectors. They really are big hearted for they certainly know that begging and soliciting money without a proper letter of authorisation is against the law. I have never seen any of them threatening a beggar that he or she could be reported to the police or the welfare department and be arrested.

But I've seen some well dressed and authoritative characters driving around in big expensive cars, not only turning away some beggars or the fund collectors but threatening to call the police to arrest them. In view of the fact that the beggars hounding the restaurants and eateries or fund collectors, looking more like beggars, seeking contributions at the same places or at the gas stations, can really create a bad image for the nation, I tend to agree that such activities should be discouraged. But my heart always sympathise with them, even when I suspect that they are deceiving the public. Giving away a few ringgit certainly would not make me any poorer. But scolding them or threatening them in the public as done by some of the people with big or fat wallets, simply doesn't appeal to my sense of righteousness.

Cash Assistance for the Poor….

More than 30 years ago when I was in the civil service, I suggested that cash assistance be given to the poor in this country to ease their problems and allow them to focus full attention on their work and help them come out of the quagmire of poverty. After all,the poor and unemployed in many developed countries are given social welfare assistance (monthly cash payment) to enable them to live a decent life.

Of course the idea was considered as unacceptable or even stupid. "Give the poor some money and they will spend it in no time at all without having any long-term impact on improving their source of income. The famous reply was: 'give people some fish and they will have food for one day; teach them how to fish and they can have fish all their life.'Giving them subsidies, development projects, material and technical assistance etc was considered as a better alternative.


Well. the "Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia" or BRIM has now come to stay, if the present government remains in power. It's direct cash assistance given periodically (once a year to be exact) to those earning less that RM3000 a month, including those who are not married as yet. BRIM3 has just been given out and we see pictures of smiling faces of young and old in the newspapers and TV celebrating the magnanimity of the government. More than 3 million Malaysians will receive the gift when the distribution is completed. In addition the government is also giving cash assistance to ALL students in primary and secondary schools while book coupons are also given to help students buy text books and other school requirements.

All these are indications, of course, that the economy of the country and government finance are in a very healthy and promising situation. The financial burden of these cash assistance is nothing much compared to the Funds and Financial Assistance given to the the investment and development sector of the nation, especially to bail out GLCs which are in trouble. The difference is that while the investment and development funds are bound to bring in substantial returns in the near future, the cash assistance given to the low income people are just 'give-away' without any expectation of a financial return.The money can be spent in any way they like and that makes the recipients very happy. The extra money can of course stimulate extra spending and boost up business, for as long as the money lasts.

The question is, how far can the RM650 a year go? You cannot plan anything to make the best use of it because it is not a regular income, not something that you can take into account in your expenditure budget. A cash assistance of, say RM100 a month, can at least help to make ends meet, on a regular basis. But distributing the RM650 over a year will give only RM50+ a month. How much of a help is that? I think there are many other ways direct cash assistance can be given with better long term result in boosting the income of the poor.

But people are very happy receiving the once-in-a-while gift. Like kids receiving an angpow from a rich Uncle, with no conditions attached in terms of how you can spend it. So, happy spending folks! When the money is gone just wait for BRIM 4,5,6 etc.

, PS. Tun Dr Mahathir, the former PM of Malaysia expressed the following view on the BRIM cash assistance:

'Tambah Mahathir lagi, kerajaan telah memperuntukkan RM3.5 bilion kepada 7 juta rakyat Malaysia dan ianya disifatkan satu pembaziran dengan jumlah yang besar.( gist: the payment of RM3.5 million to 7 million is considered as a waste).

“Masih terdapat golongan individu atau keluarga yang miskin di negara ini, kita sepatutnya menggunakan peruntukan tersebut untuk membantu mereka,” jelasnya. (there are still poor individuals and families who should be assisted).

Transform or Reform?

Everybody wants to change for the better. But what is better? How do you ensure that the change is not for the worse? Sometimes one is not even sure whether the change (or changes) that came about is what you want and gives you a better deal in life or it's more retrogressive in nature. The same applies to a country as it does to a person.

When a person is transformed, we expect a change in his or her personality and character or maybe even in his or her physical look through modern plastic surgery. Always for the better but some old characteristics can be expected to remain, maybe in a more refined manner. If he were disrespectful or dishonest before, we expect hims to become respectful and honest. The change is not total but very markedly significant, moving from a negative to a more positive position or grading. But if a person is reformed, it means that he had undergone a radical change as in the case of a criminal who has undergone a reformatory confinement. We expect a restructuring of his or her personality, to the extent that some old habits or traits are entirely eradicated and replaced with new and healthy ones. A criminal might turn into a very religious and God-fearing person.high income=high cost of living

We in Malaysia seem to face a choice in our political development: a transformation (transformasi) or a reform (reformasi). I don't think anyone had cared to explain to us the difference except that one is mooted by the government in power and the other by the opposition. The government had embarked on a program of political and economic transformation, to become a developed nation by 2020. Well, we are only some six years away from the target and only three to four years away from the next GE.Much has been done by the government to transform things on many front with a very intricate/sophisticated system of evaluation which the common man may find difficult to follow.yee sang,prosperity for all (but the poor)

But certain things are obvious in spite of the success shown by the self-developed indicators. Some of the so-called political transformation in the parties that form the coalition government do not show convincing results and too much of the old characteristics remained as before or as some say in an even worse form. Can a party change or transform itself when most of the old personalities remain
without undergoing any radical change? The attitude they show in facing pubic complaints about rising costs (if you don't like the country go elsewhere, if certain things are costly don't buy them, let's cut public expenditure -on administration and services - and subsidies to reduce government spending etc.), show a haughty or some say, a stupid response. While many steps are being taken to reduce government expenditure, billions are being spent on the creation of multifarious Funds (who distribute them?), subsidising private companies which had taken over public services through privatisation and are not doing well because of exorbitant pay packets for high executives (often ten times or more that of senior government officials) and expensive management style not checked by government, and giving periodic handouts to the low income people to assist in keeping up with the rising cost of living.a long way to go

The transformation programs have been going on for a couple of years now and the public is evaluating their result. The old trademarks of the parties in power are still the same in spite of the addition of new faces for they must follow the ethics of the old vanguards or be thrown out. The reformists have been in power in some States for quite some time and are yet to show results better than the transformists.There seem to be too much squabbling in their ranks and one can understand why they cannot do much being surround by the transformists. The water woes in Selangor is case in point where the State cannot tackle the problem the way it wanted because of Federal influence.

So, transformasi or reformasi, things go on as usual. Do our young citizens understand the issue or are they too busy watching TV with all the choice of programs now made available by Astro. They seemed to so engrossed by the modern TV dramas and soap operas while the modern handphones served all other communication meeds, that they don't care if the costs of thing doubled or tripled. After all their parents are still paying the bills until they set up a home of their own and they find out that even a one-storey terrace house might cost almost a million ringgit. The water and electricity bill can take away a huge chunk of their income and annual evaluation rate for their homes might leave them constantly in the red.

Crazy Weather, Hope not the people too.

frozen Lake Michiganeven the sphinx's not spared We've read about the weather going crazy in many places in the world. Snow is falling like crazy in certain parts of the US, UK and China. Rivers and Lakes including the mighty Niagara and the great Lake Michigan are freezing. We might have river of ice entering certain towns or cities. Snow has fallen in some part of Egypt, the Philippines and, even Indonesia? The temperature in certain parts of the northern coast of Malaysia has dropped to 17 degrees Celsius.That's cold for an equitorial country used to a temperature of 30-38 degrees.
snow in Indonesia?

What's going on? Is this the very early sign of a new Ice Age with the Poles shifting position as some people say? Or is doomsday approaching?

What's more disturbing is the virulent changes in the political climate in many countries especially in the middle and far east - Eqypt, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Afghanistan, Bangkok etc. People just seem to have become so belligerent towards fellow citizens who don't share their political sentiments, support other candidates other than theirs in the election, hold different convictions on how to run the government, hold different views in religion, support different masters or accept different countries as their saviour. People resorted to violence and killed each other without compunction or compassion. Peaceful negotiation and brotherly compromise seemed to have been thrown to the dogs. Everyone seemed to be getting at someone
else's throat.

What's going on with the world?There seemed to be so much hatred and frustrations, that people are willing to kill their own kind (hopefully not their kith and kin) to get what they want, especially when they have been in power for some time. or a long time and people want a change. And yet we say that people are now more educated, more sophisticated and more mature in their views and thoughts. I sometimes see the people in a country warring and killing each other as half-witted children who just like to vent their anger on those who don't accept them as friends.

A very interesting question to ask is: to what extent has the what may be called the "democratic liberators" of the world helped to bring about order and peace to these troubled countries, especially where they intervened directly. Are the countries they had liberated and democratised more peaceful and progressive than before? Or are they worse of? The world can surely judge for itself but how can you judge the judges? Thet's another great craziness that I see affecting the people of the world today.

The New Realities

There's no doubt that so many things have changed in Malaysia. For better or worse? That depends on what change we're talking about and which side of the fence you're sitting on. The most heated issue now seems to be the rising cost of everything that you require to live a decent life, and the use of the word "Allah" in reference to God Almighty in the Bahasa Malaysia version of the bible.


It's obvious to me that the second issue is slowly becoming more malignant as presented by the media. Heated arguments are heard everywhere especially after JAIS ( Selangor State Department of Religion) raided a church and confiscated several volumes of the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia where the word "Allah" is used. Such usage had been prohibited by the State Religious Department.

Is this a way of 'cooling down' the first issue? I was ready to accept the rising cost as a result of rapid development and the salary hikes which government servants have been receiving and the promulgation of a minimum pay for all workers. Until I was asked to pay 50 sen for every piece of "kueh" (tea-time edibles such as char kuey, kueh gulung, fried banana - not cakes
which can cost up to RM8 a piece or more) which I could get three for a ringgit before.Other popular food such as roti canai and nasi lemak have gone up in price so many times that nobody cares anymore. What's interesting is that there has never been a survey on all these prices and an assessment of whether the prices are reasonable or not.

If the advice of some ministers were to be followed, we shouldn't buy anything when the price goes up. Don't buy clothes if the price goes up! Don't eat chicken if the price is too high!So,don't buy the cakes. Let only the rich Malaysians enjoy life in Malaysia while the not-so-rich and, of course, the poorer lot can just watch. We talk of 1 Malaysia where Malaysians of all races enjoy equal status and privileges. But what about the widening gap between the high-income or high-salaried lot and the still-struggling low income or 'new poor'? That can certainly create a new division or socio-economic dichotomy.It's a well-known fact that the income distribution in Malaysia has become more distorted in recent times, not to mention the Bumi and non-Bumi gap. Are all these issues being also overshadowed by the usage of "Allah" in the Bible squabble?

I feel that Malaysians today are loosing their sense of priorities and significance. More critically important things are being hushed up or soft-paddled while the highlight is given to emotional and highly equivocal issues which can never be resolved without a simple compromise. Attentions are easily swayed by the media; the age-old issue of overcoming poverty and dealing with rising prices resolved by doling out some financial gifts periodically without any assurance of getting them on a regular basis. Even the police seems to be concentrating on issuing summons for traffic offences and collecting fines rather than deal with thefts and housebreaking which are rampant.

Malaysians must certainly review their priorities in the light of the new realities facing them now. They should not allow the media to draw away their attention from the things that are affecting their lives more critically than some of the issues now focused on by the prime media.