While a large population of the world is singing "Peace on earth" and celebrating Christmas, another group is furiously rushing to be a nuclear power. Iran has warned the west that they will be a nuclear power and everyone has to learn to live with it.
The U.N. sanctions against Iran's nuclear policy doesn't seem to bother them. Instead, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the Iranian President said that the resolution passed on Saturday was a "piece of paper" adding that the 15 countries who voted in favour would regret it- BBC news.
How did Iran acquire the knowledge to build nuclear plants? It definately must have come from one or more of those who already have the nuclear capability. China and Russia have interest in that nation. In return they would have given them the necessary 'aid' to build the nuclear plants not to produce energy but to build nuclear bombs. This is how the big powers play the game. How else could India and Pakistan have joined the nuclear club? One was aided by Russia and the other by America.
Look at the Mujahideens and the Taliban. How is it they are able to operate the latest weapons and have so much arsenal in their possesion? When they were fighting the Russians, the Americans helped them and gave them the firepower they needed . All this 'aid' must have brought the Americans some financial gains. Now, these same group has turned on their benefactors and have been classified as terrorists. Another war got started and the war mongers were rubbing their hands with glee as more weapons and bombs were purchased. War is good for their business. The bottom line is, it is all about money. The super powers are dictating the terms. The U.N. is a toothless bulldog that can bark but has no bite.
There will be no peace on this earth as can be seen from all the killings that are going on. Somalia, Chad, Darfur, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine. Strangely though, most of these battlegrounds seem to involve Muslim nations. I wonder why! Even the occasional bombings in southern Thailand is in the Muslim areas. Now we have to live with a Muslim nation run by fanatics who think they are the only godly people and everyone else(the infidels) is morally corrupt and deserve to die! Having said that we must also remember that now they have the ability to make nuclear bombs thanks to China and Russia! God help us all!
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Thursday, December 14, 2006
The Mat Rempits
In Malaysia, we have this new problem of youths who hold illegal racing along our highways and main roads. In the beginning it was all about racing at odd hours, but now they have gone on a crime spree. They are no more the helpless and less fortunate young people that many 'bleeding hearts' have made them out to be in the papers. They are a serious threat to the peace and security of the nation.
The gang rape of a 13-year-old girl and two robberies reported in Bukit Mertajam on Sunday morning are believed to have been committed by members of the Mat Rempit gang. The state police chief of Penang, Deputy Comm Datuk Koh Hong Sun said the incidents occurred within an hour of the George Town police chasing away 600 motorcyclists who had gathered in Gurney Drive. He said, “Some of them could have separated from the main group and embarked on a crime spree. Other than the three cases, they also smashed a car windscreen and sprayed foam from a fire extinguisher into the vehicle. We have not ruled out the possibility that the group could also be behind the stoning and throwing of firecrackers into a police station in Kubang Semang on Oct 15." These people are not afraid of the law or of anybody else.
I was told by a friend that one of the tactics used by these 'renegade bikers' is to place all their helmets on the road. When any car travelling along that stretch comes across these helmets, they ofcourse will stop their cars. These thugs will rush out and smash the windscreen and spray gas at the occupants and then rob them of their valuables after beating them up.
These are the same people whom the UMNO was trying to recruit as UMNOputeras. No wonder they are so arrogant. They think they have the backing of the major component of the ruling party. The government needs a rethink of their social concern activities. It is good to help children who have gone wayward through no fault of their own. They need guidance and maybe financial help to get an education to better themselves. This is not the case here. These people have money to buy motorbikes and to fiddle with them to get more power and speed for racing. Now they have turned to crime. The police have to come down hard on them and restore peace and order in this country.
The tourism industry is not the only thing at stake here. Our own safety which should be the major issue is also at stake.
The gang rape of a 13-year-old girl and two robberies reported in Bukit Mertajam on Sunday morning are believed to have been committed by members of the Mat Rempit gang. The state police chief of Penang, Deputy Comm Datuk Koh Hong Sun said the incidents occurred within an hour of the George Town police chasing away 600 motorcyclists who had gathered in Gurney Drive. He said, “Some of them could have separated from the main group and embarked on a crime spree. Other than the three cases, they also smashed a car windscreen and sprayed foam from a fire extinguisher into the vehicle. We have not ruled out the possibility that the group could also be behind the stoning and throwing of firecrackers into a police station in Kubang Semang on Oct 15." These people are not afraid of the law or of anybody else.
I was told by a friend that one of the tactics used by these 'renegade bikers' is to place all their helmets on the road. When any car travelling along that stretch comes across these helmets, they ofcourse will stop their cars. These thugs will rush out and smash the windscreen and spray gas at the occupants and then rob them of their valuables after beating them up.
These are the same people whom the UMNO was trying to recruit as UMNOputeras. No wonder they are so arrogant. They think they have the backing of the major component of the ruling party. The government needs a rethink of their social concern activities. It is good to help children who have gone wayward through no fault of their own. They need guidance and maybe financial help to get an education to better themselves. This is not the case here. These people have money to buy motorbikes and to fiddle with them to get more power and speed for racing. Now they have turned to crime. The police have to come down hard on them and restore peace and order in this country.
The tourism industry is not the only thing at stake here. Our own safety which should be the major issue is also at stake.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
To Each His/Her Own
It is disturbing to read political leaders issuing directives and making them laws on how the citizenry should dress or behave in public. The factors taken into consideration for making the rules were based on morals of decency. The problem here would be decent according to whom? How does one define decent dressing in a multi-racial, multi-cultural environment? We in Malaysia have lived side by side peacefully for 'donkeys' years because we respect one another's culture and belief.
In America they have the freedom of speech where one is allowed to say almost anything he or she feels like it. We don't do that here because we take into account the sensitivities of our fellow citizens who might get hurt from what we say or do. As someone said, "Your freedom to swing you hand ends where my nose begins." And so we have lived and progressed this far.
Lately we have been hearing from people who seem to live in a different time zone from ours. They speak about championing their race, their religion and their language as if all others don't matter and need no mentioning. They even have begun telling us how to dress! These people are trying to get political mileage by using the race and religious platforms without realising the damage they are doing to the peaceful working relationship we have in this land.
There is enough killing and suffering in this world. Do we need to jump into that wagon also? What's with this Menteri Besar of Kelantan? Look at what he said, “It is an Islamic ruling, so nobody should undermine or question it." Such a dangerous statement which can only be made by religious leaders who hide behind their holy books to avoid discussion. It's almost like he is afraid of losing the state in the next election so he is trying to pull in some extra votes from the fanatical Muslims in that already backward state.
Why can't we agree to disagree? We need to take a closer look at the politicians who run for office at the next election and vote wisely if we want to have a better future for Malaysia. As for me, I say to each his/her own.
In America they have the freedom of speech where one is allowed to say almost anything he or she feels like it. We don't do that here because we take into account the sensitivities of our fellow citizens who might get hurt from what we say or do. As someone said, "Your freedom to swing you hand ends where my nose begins." And so we have lived and progressed this far.
Lately we have been hearing from people who seem to live in a different time zone from ours. They speak about championing their race, their religion and their language as if all others don't matter and need no mentioning. They even have begun telling us how to dress! These people are trying to get political mileage by using the race and religious platforms without realising the damage they are doing to the peaceful working relationship we have in this land.
There is enough killing and suffering in this world. Do we need to jump into that wagon also? What's with this Menteri Besar of Kelantan? Look at what he said, “It is an Islamic ruling, so nobody should undermine or question it." Such a dangerous statement which can only be made by religious leaders who hide behind their holy books to avoid discussion. It's almost like he is afraid of losing the state in the next election so he is trying to pull in some extra votes from the fanatical Muslims in that already backward state.
Why can't we agree to disagree? We need to take a closer look at the politicians who run for office at the next election and vote wisely if we want to have a better future for Malaysia. As for me, I say to each his/her own.
Monday, December 04, 2006
No Sexy Dressing
No Sexy Dressing - this is the headline screaming across the STAR (one of our dailies). Kelantan which is one of the states in Malaysia is controlled by an Islamic based party. That's the only state which is in their control, thank goodness!
Any women caught wearing 'sexy clothing' or is 'indecently dressed' will be fined RM500.00. The Kota Baru Municipal Council's enforcement officers will be going on their rounds to check on women whom they consider to be indecently dressed. What an important job these guys have. If they wear glasses, they have to make sure the glasses are very clean so they don't miss anything while scutinising the women's attire. They might even have to take a long time looking at the women's 'clothes' just to make sure it is revealing or indecent before they take action.
This is what you get when you vote religious nuts into power. Their reason for coming up with this rule is that the council had received many complaints from ratepayers regarding this 'clothing' issue. It seems these women are trying to attract customers by wearing sexy clothes. Those 'ugly' women in burkas and 'tudungs' are losing out in the business arena. To further strengthen their complaint, they claimed that the sexy dressing was an insult to Islam! I think that was the deciding factor. So, the brilliant solution that the council can come up with is to fine women wearing sexy clothing! This way the coulcil don't need to advice the burka business women about customer relationship, to be friendly and serve with a smile, to keep the place clean and hygenic, to sell things that people would want to buy instead of worrying what other's are wearing. And since the state is governed by an Islamic party, the decision is very Islamic!
What is going to happen to the Indian women? Their traditional sari and blouse will definitely show the mid-section of their body which includes the navel. That is the cultural dressing of millions of Indian women all over trhe world. They will surely be fined RM500.00 after being ogled over by the officials under the pretext of closer inspection.
There are so many more important issues at hand, like eradicating poverty, reducing unemployment, housing for the poor, raising the living standards of the people, scholarships for the poor, protecting the environment ..etc. What do these people come up with? Checking on what women wear!
Any women caught wearing 'sexy clothing' or is 'indecently dressed' will be fined RM500.00. The Kota Baru Municipal Council's enforcement officers will be going on their rounds to check on women whom they consider to be indecently dressed. What an important job these guys have. If they wear glasses, they have to make sure the glasses are very clean so they don't miss anything while scutinising the women's attire. They might even have to take a long time looking at the women's 'clothes' just to make sure it is revealing or indecent before they take action.
This is what you get when you vote religious nuts into power. Their reason for coming up with this rule is that the council had received many complaints from ratepayers regarding this 'clothing' issue. It seems these women are trying to attract customers by wearing sexy clothes. Those 'ugly' women in burkas and 'tudungs' are losing out in the business arena. To further strengthen their complaint, they claimed that the sexy dressing was an insult to Islam! I think that was the deciding factor. So, the brilliant solution that the council can come up with is to fine women wearing sexy clothing! This way the coulcil don't need to advice the burka business women about customer relationship, to be friendly and serve with a smile, to keep the place clean and hygenic, to sell things that people would want to buy instead of worrying what other's are wearing. And since the state is governed by an Islamic party, the decision is very Islamic!
What is going to happen to the Indian women? Their traditional sari and blouse will definitely show the mid-section of their body which includes the navel. That is the cultural dressing of millions of Indian women all over trhe world. They will surely be fined RM500.00 after being ogled over by the officials under the pretext of closer inspection.
There are so many more important issues at hand, like eradicating poverty, reducing unemployment, housing for the poor, raising the living standards of the people, scholarships for the poor, protecting the environment ..etc. What do these people come up with? Checking on what women wear!
Race Law In Hong Kong
I have written many times on racial policies in Malaysia but this one is about racial discrimination in Hong Kong. I received this article which appeared in the Observer and decided to post it here for every one to know what's happening in Hong Kong.
Race law 'is a memorial to my Harinder'
Campaign by a journalist who lost his wife forces Hong Kong to bring in an anti-discrimination law
Stephen Vines in Hong Kong
Sunday December 3, 2006
The Observer
One of the last things Harinder Veriah said before her death in a Hong Kong hospital seven years ago was: 'I am bottom of the pile here. I am Indian. Everyone else here is Chinese.'
Her husband, the British journalist Martin Jacques, believes that neglect derived from racial discrimination was responsible for the death of his wife after she suffered an epileptic fit on the first day of the new millennium, which left him to bring up the couple's son Ravi, then just 16 months old.
As he struggled to make sense of the tragedy, Jacques's anger grew. He is still pursuing a negligence case against the hospital through the courts. But he also grew increasingly convinced that it was wrong that, in Hong Kong, supposedly an international city, there were no laws outlawing racial discrimination. And he was determined to act.
The legal battle with the hospital over responsibility for Veriah's death is still to be resolved. But last Wednesday the Hong Kong government finally yielded to the campaign that had been sparked by her death and announced the introduction of anti-discrimination laws.
It was a campaign that exposed some of the taboo subjects in a largely Chinese society where racism is deeply ingrained, and a campaign that gave a voice to victims who were supposed to remain silent.
Harinder, better known as Hari, was excited about coming to Hong Kong both to pursue her career as a lawyer and as a Cantonese-speaking Asian brought up in multicultural Malaysia. She soon found out that what she thought were cultural advantages were overshadowed by the colour of her skin. It was a discovery made earlier by other members of Hong Kong's Indian community.
It was against this background that Jacques caused shock waves by appearing in a coroner's court quoting his wife's words to him about racial discrimination she was experiencing in the hospital. But the evidence was dismissed by the coroner, who delivered a verdict of death by natural causes. Jacques did not accept this judgment and he sought a new inquest in London. This resulted in an open verdict, with the coroner, Dr Stephen Chan, saying 'there are questions as to the level of care given to this unfortunate woman in those final 20 minutes and the level of management care during her short stay in hospital'. She suffered an epileptic fit on 1 January, 2000, and was dead the following day. The hospital that treated her has firmly denied all claims of negligence and racism and is fighting the negligence case.
However, Veriah's family is not alone in alleging that racism led to a fatality. Cristina Solano, a Filipina domestic helper, died after doctors failed to diagnose a condition resulting from rabies infection. Her relatives believe that her nationality explained why she did not get more careful treatment. The Hong Kong government consistently maintained that legislation was not a proper way to solve problems of discrimination, but as the campaign at home mounted, and it was regularly embarrassed by harsh criticism from the UN human rights commission, it finally yielded and has produced a bill that outlaws racial discrimination.
The former British colony is therefore set to be the first piece of Chinese sovereign territory with an anti-race discrimination law. On the Chinese mainland, the constitution outlaws discrimination 'against any ethnic group' but, like many parts of the Chinese constitution, the rhetoric is not matched by reality on the ground.
Meanwhile, Chinese nationality law insists that only those of Chinese race or being of a recognised ethnic minority within China can qualify for citizenship.
The new Hong Kong law is seen by some as a major step forward, but has provoked disappointment from others who campaigned for its enactment. 'It is much worse than we expected,' said Law Yuk-kai, the director of Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor. The bill's definition of racial discrimination is based on that contained in Britain's 1976 Race Relations Act, which was seen as so inadequate that the law had to be amended.
Jacques is cautious about endorsing the new legislation. But he said yesterday: 'Hari's death led to the wave of indignation and protest that has culminated finally in this bill. In that sense, she did not die in vain. It is a memorial to her. The bill addresses and acknowledges racism.
'That is a big advance on it simply being ignored and condoned. In time, the lives of hundreds of thousands of people of darker skin will be improved. Out of the carnage and destruction of her death, something has happened that should make life better for those of darker skin. It is a start, an important beginning.'
Harinderveriah.com
Race law 'is a memorial to my Harinder'
Campaign by a journalist who lost his wife forces Hong Kong to bring in an anti-discrimination law
Stephen Vines in Hong Kong
Sunday December 3, 2006
The Observer
One of the last things Harinder Veriah said before her death in a Hong Kong hospital seven years ago was: 'I am bottom of the pile here. I am Indian. Everyone else here is Chinese.'
Her husband, the British journalist Martin Jacques, believes that neglect derived from racial discrimination was responsible for the death of his wife after she suffered an epileptic fit on the first day of the new millennium, which left him to bring up the couple's son Ravi, then just 16 months old.
As he struggled to make sense of the tragedy, Jacques's anger grew. He is still pursuing a negligence case against the hospital through the courts. But he also grew increasingly convinced that it was wrong that, in Hong Kong, supposedly an international city, there were no laws outlawing racial discrimination. And he was determined to act.
The legal battle with the hospital over responsibility for Veriah's death is still to be resolved. But last Wednesday the Hong Kong government finally yielded to the campaign that had been sparked by her death and announced the introduction of anti-discrimination laws.
It was a campaign that exposed some of the taboo subjects in a largely Chinese society where racism is deeply ingrained, and a campaign that gave a voice to victims who were supposed to remain silent.
Harinder, better known as Hari, was excited about coming to Hong Kong both to pursue her career as a lawyer and as a Cantonese-speaking Asian brought up in multicultural Malaysia. She soon found out that what she thought were cultural advantages were overshadowed by the colour of her skin. It was a discovery made earlier by other members of Hong Kong's Indian community.
It was against this background that Jacques caused shock waves by appearing in a coroner's court quoting his wife's words to him about racial discrimination she was experiencing in the hospital. But the evidence was dismissed by the coroner, who delivered a verdict of death by natural causes. Jacques did not accept this judgment and he sought a new inquest in London. This resulted in an open verdict, with the coroner, Dr Stephen Chan, saying 'there are questions as to the level of care given to this unfortunate woman in those final 20 minutes and the level of management care during her short stay in hospital'. She suffered an epileptic fit on 1 January, 2000, and was dead the following day. The hospital that treated her has firmly denied all claims of negligence and racism and is fighting the negligence case.
However, Veriah's family is not alone in alleging that racism led to a fatality. Cristina Solano, a Filipina domestic helper, died after doctors failed to diagnose a condition resulting from rabies infection. Her relatives believe that her nationality explained why she did not get more careful treatment. The Hong Kong government consistently maintained that legislation was not a proper way to solve problems of discrimination, but as the campaign at home mounted, and it was regularly embarrassed by harsh criticism from the UN human rights commission, it finally yielded and has produced a bill that outlaws racial discrimination.
The former British colony is therefore set to be the first piece of Chinese sovereign territory with an anti-race discrimination law. On the Chinese mainland, the constitution outlaws discrimination 'against any ethnic group' but, like many parts of the Chinese constitution, the rhetoric is not matched by reality on the ground.
Meanwhile, Chinese nationality law insists that only those of Chinese race or being of a recognised ethnic minority within China can qualify for citizenship.
The new Hong Kong law is seen by some as a major step forward, but has provoked disappointment from others who campaigned for its enactment. 'It is much worse than we expected,' said Law Yuk-kai, the director of Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor. The bill's definition of racial discrimination is based on that contained in Britain's 1976 Race Relations Act, which was seen as so inadequate that the law had to be amended.
Jacques is cautious about endorsing the new legislation. But he said yesterday: 'Hari's death led to the wave of indignation and protest that has culminated finally in this bill. In that sense, she did not die in vain. It is a memorial to her. The bill addresses and acknowledges racism.
'That is a big advance on it simply being ignored and condoned. In time, the lives of hundreds of thousands of people of darker skin will be improved. Out of the carnage and destruction of her death, something has happened that should make life better for those of darker skin. It is a start, an important beginning.'
Harinderveriah.com
Friday, December 01, 2006
Racial Policies
Everytime I read about racial policies that have been given the green light by the government in the name of eradicating poverty among a specific race and to raise their economic status, it reminds of South Africa when apartheid was the in-thing then. The Africaners used that policy to maintain the supremacy of the minority white over the black majority in that country.
From CNN online news I read that in SUVA, Fiji, there is trouble brewing over a policy just like that. The government was trying to pass a legislation through parliament two land rights bills that Bainimarama says would unfairly favor Fiji's indigenous majority over the large ethnic Indian minority. Who is this Bainimarama? An outsider? A white human rights activist? A Fijian Indian maybe? No! He is an ethnic Fijian who knows what is right and what is unjust and has decided to do something about it.
Fiji military chief - Frank Bainimarama
I salute this man who dares to go against his fellow countrymen and his government for his beliefs. The legislation aims to give all the coastal land to the ethnic Fijians and he feels that this is a racial based policy which is not good for Fiji as there are other races living and working there who will lose out.
I wish we had such a leader in our country. All we have are tripods who are just waiting to be promoted and receive a fat paycheck. To hell with the people and their rights. We have a lot of little Napoleons serving in the various government departments issuing out their own racial policies in the name of helping one particular race - the Malays.
A calssic example would be the Negeri Sembilan Education Department. They issued a circular to 3 town schools with regards to the new student intake. 90% must be bumiputra and the remaining 10% for the non-bumiputras. The non-bumiputra must have scored 7 A's but no mention is made of what is the requirement for the bumiputras! One parent (non-bumiputra) complained about this policy in the papers and the HQ in Putrajaya must have had many phone calls. In todays Star, the Negeri Sembilan Education Department has been directed to withdraw that circular because the Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the circular was against the ministry’s policy of inculcating integration in national schools. It needed the Federal government to intervene to put right the matter.
Does it really end there? I don't think so. There are so many worms that have been let out of the woodwork and are sitting in high places because of racial policies favouring them. We need Bainimarama's to clean this corruption before we sink like the Titanic.
From CNN online news I read that in SUVA, Fiji, there is trouble brewing over a policy just like that. The government was trying to pass a legislation through parliament two land rights bills that Bainimarama says would unfairly favor Fiji's indigenous majority over the large ethnic Indian minority. Who is this Bainimarama? An outsider? A white human rights activist? A Fijian Indian maybe? No! He is an ethnic Fijian who knows what is right and what is unjust and has decided to do something about it.
Fiji military chief - Frank Bainimarama
I salute this man who dares to go against his fellow countrymen and his government for his beliefs. The legislation aims to give all the coastal land to the ethnic Fijians and he feels that this is a racial based policy which is not good for Fiji as there are other races living and working there who will lose out.
I wish we had such a leader in our country. All we have are tripods who are just waiting to be promoted and receive a fat paycheck. To hell with the people and their rights. We have a lot of little Napoleons serving in the various government departments issuing out their own racial policies in the name of helping one particular race - the Malays.
A calssic example would be the Negeri Sembilan Education Department. They issued a circular to 3 town schools with regards to the new student intake. 90% must be bumiputra and the remaining 10% for the non-bumiputras. The non-bumiputra must have scored 7 A's but no mention is made of what is the requirement for the bumiputras! One parent (non-bumiputra) complained about this policy in the papers and the HQ in Putrajaya must have had many phone calls. In todays Star, the Negeri Sembilan Education Department has been directed to withdraw that circular because the Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the circular was against the ministry’s policy of inculcating integration in national schools. It needed the Federal government to intervene to put right the matter.
Does it really end there? I don't think so. There are so many worms that have been let out of the woodwork and are sitting in high places because of racial policies favouring them. We need Bainimarama's to clean this corruption before we sink like the Titanic.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Whining Delegates
Some of the Youth delegates at the UMNO General Meeting are really pathetic. They try to get some political mileage by making outrageous statements if not downright silly. In that racial atmosphere, everything looks great.
Take a look at what Datuk Reezal Merican Naina Merican said, "For every RM 1.0 mil contract awarded to a bumiputra, only 20% went directly to him. The other 80% goes to the non-bumiputras". He made it sound like the non-bumiputras are laughing all the way to the bank even though the government was under UMNO(the major component of Barisan) from the time we got independance and with the implementation of the NEP for more than 20 years.
He is actually saying all the agencies set up by the government to help bumiputra contractors have not been doing their job from the time Tunku Abdul Rahman was the Prime Minister until now! I wonder if the rural Malays reading the news swallow this hook line and sinker.
If the bumiputra Malay contractor managed to get a supply contract or an M & E contract, the bulk of the contract sum would definitely go to the purchase of the equipment. Supposing the contract was for the supply of water pumps and according to the specifications the pumps could only be obtained from Europe, 80% would go to the supplier. 10% would be the cost for the installation and the rest for Preliminary costs and profit. This is normal and it happens to any contractor who gets such a contract.
If on the other hand the bumiputra contractor was "given" a building contract, he must have the skilled manpower, the construction equipment and the knowhow to complete the job within the time frame and make his profit. But if he gives it to sub-contractors and just takes a cut of the contract sum, whose fault is it?
The main issue should not be about how we slice the cake, but to teach the people how to make it and then go and sell it in the open market. Our human resource is our most precious asset and we still do not see that. We are still bickering over quotas and rights according to race. Our neighbours are moving forward because their citizens are busy catching up with the latest technology and improving on it.
Take China for example. Due to their closed door policy everyone thought they will lag behind. The minute they opened up to foreign investors they are moving at top speed. In IT, they are using Internet Protocol Version 6 while the Americans are still using IP4! The Chinese are forcing the Americans to change!
And what are we doing? Arguing on how to calculate the percentage achievement of the Malays under the NEP and we can't even agree on a suitable method! Going by the UMNO Youth delegates emotional presentation, the conclusion could be that they want 80% for the bumiputras, 20% for the Chinese and more Indian movies for the Indians on Astro! That would bring us to be the most developed nation by the year 2020.
Take a look at what Datuk Reezal Merican Naina Merican said, "For every RM 1.0 mil contract awarded to a bumiputra, only 20% went directly to him. The other 80% goes to the non-bumiputras". He made it sound like the non-bumiputras are laughing all the way to the bank even though the government was under UMNO(the major component of Barisan) from the time we got independance and with the implementation of the NEP for more than 20 years.
He is actually saying all the agencies set up by the government to help bumiputra contractors have not been doing their job from the time Tunku Abdul Rahman was the Prime Minister until now! I wonder if the rural Malays reading the news swallow this hook line and sinker.
If the bumiputra Malay contractor managed to get a supply contract or an M & E contract, the bulk of the contract sum would definitely go to the purchase of the equipment. Supposing the contract was for the supply of water pumps and according to the specifications the pumps could only be obtained from Europe, 80% would go to the supplier. 10% would be the cost for the installation and the rest for Preliminary costs and profit. This is normal and it happens to any contractor who gets such a contract.
If on the other hand the bumiputra contractor was "given" a building contract, he must have the skilled manpower, the construction equipment and the knowhow to complete the job within the time frame and make his profit. But if he gives it to sub-contractors and just takes a cut of the contract sum, whose fault is it?
The main issue should not be about how we slice the cake, but to teach the people how to make it and then go and sell it in the open market. Our human resource is our most precious asset and we still do not see that. We are still bickering over quotas and rights according to race. Our neighbours are moving forward because their citizens are busy catching up with the latest technology and improving on it.
Take China for example. Due to their closed door policy everyone thought they will lag behind. The minute they opened up to foreign investors they are moving at top speed. In IT, they are using Internet Protocol Version 6 while the Americans are still using IP4! The Chinese are forcing the Americans to change!
And what are we doing? Arguing on how to calculate the percentage achievement of the Malays under the NEP and we can't even agree on a suitable method! Going by the UMNO Youth delegates emotional presentation, the conclusion could be that they want 80% for the bumiputras, 20% for the Chinese and more Indian movies for the Indians on Astro! That would bring us to be the most developed nation by the year 2020.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Brilliant Deduction
During the council proceedings at the Penang Municipal Council last Friday, one of the reporters who happened to pass by the control room saw the image of a woman's thigh on the monitor of the CCTV. She quickly alerted her friends who were covering the proceedings for their respective papers and the woman whose thigh was under 'observation' reported this matter to the council secretary.
In todays Star, the reply from the Penang Municipal Council President Datuk Abu Bakar Hassan was , "If the dress was not sexy, the incident would not have happened."
Does this sound familiar? Not too long ago a mufti in Australia came under fire for making a similar remark. Maybe the two of them studied at the same 'madrasah'.
Good management is mostly common sense. The CCTV was installed for a definite purpose and when that is abused, the common sense thing is to zoom in on the offender and take the necessary measures that such things do not occur again. This is the smart and logical thing to do. No need to educate other people on how to dress or more importantly, no need to put your foot in your mouth. The person monitoring the camera was in the wrong and he knows it. All that was needed was an apology to the victim and a firm warning to the culprit and nobody would have heard about this incident.
When we have lousy managers on top, we get all kinds of problems compounded by religious beliefs of one party being imposed on the rest of us. Dressing code indeed. How to solve the transportation problem in Penang when the council is now busy with the dress code!
In todays Star, the reply from the Penang Municipal Council President Datuk Abu Bakar Hassan was , "If the dress was not sexy, the incident would not have happened."
Does this sound familiar? Not too long ago a mufti in Australia came under fire for making a similar remark. Maybe the two of them studied at the same 'madrasah'.
Good management is mostly common sense. The CCTV was installed for a definite purpose and when that is abused, the common sense thing is to zoom in on the offender and take the necessary measures that such things do not occur again. This is the smart and logical thing to do. No need to educate other people on how to dress or more importantly, no need to put your foot in your mouth. The person monitoring the camera was in the wrong and he knows it. All that was needed was an apology to the victim and a firm warning to the culprit and nobody would have heard about this incident.
When we have lousy managers on top, we get all kinds of problems compounded by religious beliefs of one party being imposed on the rest of us. Dressing code indeed. How to solve the transportation problem in Penang when the council is now busy with the dress code!
Friday, November 10, 2006
Enforcement Blues
The problem with our country is we do not enforce our laws and rules of conduct on the citizens when it is necessary and pertinent to do so.
Take for example the blatant disregard for traffic rules by so many road users. They treat the traffic lights that are placed at the junctions as if they are decorative items put up by the City Council! No wonder we have so many road accidents. All it takes is for the traffic police to go around the city and check randomly and fine these law breakers. The police don't even have to stay put in one place. This random check will be very effective provided the fines are meted out without fear or favour. After some time we will have more law abiding citizens behind the wheels.
This sort of 'total disregard' problem also exists at parking lots, toll booths, paying counters. The queue jumping characters need to be house-trained and it is the job of the management to enforce the rules.
Look at how this person has parked the car. It is not even a big car to claim that you have parking problems! Simply 'couldn't be bothered' attitude.
I believe the 'tidak apa' attitude is the root cause of all these problems. We need to buck up and tackle the task at hand and do it properly and efficiently if we want to succeed in making our visions and missions come true for Malaysia. It starts with the small things, for when you excell in the smaller things you will be ready for the bigger things in life.
The various government departments and law enforcement agencies have been empowered to carry out their duties but there seems to be a general reluctance to enforce these rules and laws. They seem to be going through an 'enforcement blues' period. The only time there is a hype about checking road users is during festive occasions where you can see the police setting up their 'speed traps' along the highway. The idea of adhering to the traffic rules must be an everyday affair and not only during festive occasions. The police must do some rethinking about their methods of enforcing the law for the good of the country.
Take for example the blatant disregard for traffic rules by so many road users. They treat the traffic lights that are placed at the junctions as if they are decorative items put up by the City Council! No wonder we have so many road accidents. All it takes is for the traffic police to go around the city and check randomly and fine these law breakers. The police don't even have to stay put in one place. This random check will be very effective provided the fines are meted out without fear or favour. After some time we will have more law abiding citizens behind the wheels.
This sort of 'total disregard' problem also exists at parking lots, toll booths, paying counters. The queue jumping characters need to be house-trained and it is the job of the management to enforce the rules.
Look at how this person has parked the car. It is not even a big car to claim that you have parking problems! Simply 'couldn't be bothered' attitude.
I believe the 'tidak apa' attitude is the root cause of all these problems. We need to buck up and tackle the task at hand and do it properly and efficiently if we want to succeed in making our visions and missions come true for Malaysia. It starts with the small things, for when you excell in the smaller things you will be ready for the bigger things in life.
The various government departments and law enforcement agencies have been empowered to carry out their duties but there seems to be a general reluctance to enforce these rules and laws. They seem to be going through an 'enforcement blues' period. The only time there is a hype about checking road users is during festive occasions where you can see the police setting up their 'speed traps' along the highway. The idea of adhering to the traffic rules must be an everyday affair and not only during festive occasions. The police must do some rethinking about their methods of enforcing the law for the good of the country.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Corruption Ranking - Latest
The latest from Transparency International's 2006 Perceptions Index has placed Malaysia as the 44th in their list of 163.
Our neighbour down South, Singapore is in the 5th place- the only Asian country in the top ten group of the least corrupted. As the ranking number gets bigger so does the corruption level.
Thailand has taken the 63rd place while Indonesia and Papua New Guinea are tied for the 130th place.
India and China are in the 70th place in this ranking while Pakistan is at 142nd place.
The United Arab Emirates is at the 31st place which makes them the best among the Arab nations.
At the bottom at 160th place is Myanmar followed by Haiti at 163rd based on the CPI score.
Based on this list, it seems the people who do the most shouting about their religious beliefs are the worst performers.
"Cakap tak serupa bikin la.."
Our neighbour down South, Singapore is in the 5th place- the only Asian country in the top ten group of the least corrupted. As the ranking number gets bigger so does the corruption level.
Thailand has taken the 63rd place while Indonesia and Papua New Guinea are tied for the 130th place.
India and China are in the 70th place in this ranking while Pakistan is at 142nd place.
The United Arab Emirates is at the 31st place which makes them the best among the Arab nations.
At the bottom at 160th place is Myanmar followed by Haiti at 163rd based on the CPI score.
Based on this list, it seems the people who do the most shouting about their religious beliefs are the worst performers.
"Cakap tak serupa bikin la.."
UMNO Campaign Fever
It is that time when UMNO politicians start their campaign at the expense of the other races. The Johor MB has kicked it off with Johor UMNO's position on ‘Bangsa Malaysia’, meritocracy in the education system, the teaching of the English language and the position of Bahasa Melayu which are all hot topics in this country. With such a platform, he is definitely aiming for the top. With people like him around, the NEP (National Economic Policy) will become the Never Ending Policy for sure. For him, only the Malay race is important in this country. The rest of us are just numbers collected by the statistics department to present to foreign investors to attract FDI. This is the time when the UMNO politicians start issuing warnings to the other races, talk of Malay sovereignty and the continuance of the NEP to protect the Malay rights.
Equality is a dream for the non-Malays but a marketing slogan for the government to attract foreign investments. Just take any phone directory and look for the director of the government departments to see who is sitting on top. Even the second-in-command is enough. Look at who runs the schools now. Even the section heads in most government schools are selected from bumiputras even if they are very junior.
If this country is to achieve its vision of being a developed nation, you will need competent managers, engineers, educationists, economists, scientists and all the skilled people you can get to make it come true. This means we have to go by meritocracy. We cannot go by racial guidelines for promoting the workers.
The Prime Minister has just launched the Iskandar Development Region in South Johor and it is targeted to be like Hong Kong. We can’t even compete with Singapore for crying out loud! We are still employing workers by racial composition, insisting on the 30% bumiputra ownership! The security is in shambles, who would want to invest in Johor or Malaysia for that matter? Our police can't even tackle the snatch thieves or the Mat Rempits! Even the Singaporeans are shying away from this project. They are reminded by the ugly concrete pillars that jut out from the seabed. These pillars are part of the failed 1.7 billion JB Waterfront City that never took off. Why? Incompetent managers appointed by the government based on race most probably.
Malaysians can handle big jobs and do it well. I mean Malaysians, regardless of their race or religion. Just based on their merits, ability and knowhow we can choose the right people for the job. Take a look at the top 10 richest Malaysians and you can see why we can do it. There are no politicians in the top ten list. On the other hand, if a person does not declare his/her assets, we will never know their status now will we?
Equality is a dream for the non-Malays but a marketing slogan for the government to attract foreign investments. Just take any phone directory and look for the director of the government departments to see who is sitting on top. Even the second-in-command is enough. Look at who runs the schools now. Even the section heads in most government schools are selected from bumiputras even if they are very junior.
If this country is to achieve its vision of being a developed nation, you will need competent managers, engineers, educationists, economists, scientists and all the skilled people you can get to make it come true. This means we have to go by meritocracy. We cannot go by racial guidelines for promoting the workers.
The Prime Minister has just launched the Iskandar Development Region in South Johor and it is targeted to be like Hong Kong. We can’t even compete with Singapore for crying out loud! We are still employing workers by racial composition, insisting on the 30% bumiputra ownership! The security is in shambles, who would want to invest in Johor or Malaysia for that matter? Our police can't even tackle the snatch thieves or the Mat Rempits! Even the Singaporeans are shying away from this project. They are reminded by the ugly concrete pillars that jut out from the seabed. These pillars are part of the failed 1.7 billion JB Waterfront City that never took off. Why? Incompetent managers appointed by the government based on race most probably.
Malaysians can handle big jobs and do it well. I mean Malaysians, regardless of their race or religion. Just based on their merits, ability and knowhow we can choose the right people for the job. Take a look at the top 10 richest Malaysians and you can see why we can do it. There are no politicians in the top ten list. On the other hand, if a person does not declare his/her assets, we will never know their status now will we?
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Baptism of Muslims?
It was reported in todays Star that the police are investigating a rumour that a group of Muslims will be baptised in a church in Ipoh. It spread like wildfire through SMS. Actually, what it means when the paper uses the term 'spread like wildfire' is it spread like wildfire among the Muslims.
The Muslims from the 'wildfire group' all rushed to protest in front of the church like buzzards circling around a dying animal. They included members (Muslims) of the opposition parties and non-governmental organisations(probably a branch of the Islamic party). The director of the Perak Religious Department was also there(I wonder how such a senior person found the time to attend church). The secretary of the Perak Pusat Khidmat Islam was also there!
These people gathered for four hours and refused to disperse despite warnings from the police. What were they expecting to achieve? What dastardly deed were they planning to do? Are they emulating the Indonesian Muslims? This is Malaysia.
It shows how idiotic people can be in the name of religion!
It turns out that it was actually the first Holy Communion for 98 Indian children of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes!
In such a situation, the common sense thing when you receive an SMS about such a sensitive subject is to find out who it is from and to verify the authenticity of the message. But I guess it is too much to ask from these 'Neanderthals' who would rather torch and burn down churches in the name of religion. Would the same thing happen if a group of Buddhist and Christians got converted to Islam in a mosque?
We might just make it as a developed nation by 2020, but we will be a far cry from being civilised if such things are allowed to go on. It will just be a matter of time when the violence starts and we will be just like Kashmir or Palestine.
The Muslims from the 'wildfire group' all rushed to protest in front of the church like buzzards circling around a dying animal. They included members (Muslims) of the opposition parties and non-governmental organisations(probably a branch of the Islamic party). The director of the Perak Religious Department was also there(I wonder how such a senior person found the time to attend church). The secretary of the Perak Pusat Khidmat Islam was also there!
These people gathered for four hours and refused to disperse despite warnings from the police. What were they expecting to achieve? What dastardly deed were they planning to do? Are they emulating the Indonesian Muslims? This is Malaysia.
It shows how idiotic people can be in the name of religion!
It turns out that it was actually the first Holy Communion for 98 Indian children of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes!
In such a situation, the common sense thing when you receive an SMS about such a sensitive subject is to find out who it is from and to verify the authenticity of the message. But I guess it is too much to ask from these 'Neanderthals' who would rather torch and burn down churches in the name of religion. Would the same thing happen if a group of Buddhist and Christians got converted to Islam in a mosque?
We might just make it as a developed nation by 2020, but we will be a far cry from being civilised if such things are allowed to go on. It will just be a matter of time when the violence starts and we will be just like Kashmir or Palestine.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Week Of Statements
1. Another property of Zakaria, The DZ Satay House restaurant, has been found illegally built and has been slapped with a closure order by the Klang Municipal Council (MPK).
“Yes, it has been sealed because the restaurant sits on JKR (Public Works Department) reserve land, which is state land,” municipal councillor Datuk Teh Kim Poo said yesterday. ”Furthermore, the restaurant does not have any temporary occupancy licence or a business licence.
Datuk Zakaria’s press conference statement :
“I thank those, including the media, for giving me guidance on the need to follow rules and regulations.”
The Klang Umno division rallied behind its chief Datuk Zakaria Md Deros with a show of support and loyalty, claiming that he had been “sabotaged” by the Opposition.
“The entire thing is the work of the Opposition to discredit him. The only thing wrong here is the non-submission of building plans, that’s all,” division information chief Shoimi Shafie told pressmen at 6.45pm yesterday after the division held an emergency meeting.
2. Faizal Abdullah, a councillor from the Klang Municipal Council said,
“Yes, it is my mistake for not submitting the building plans before constructing the house,” Faizal said, when contacted yesterday after it was revealed that a property under his name in Jalan Melikai, Kampung Raja Uda here, had been slapped with a stop-work order from the council.
3. ‘Everyone is doing it, but my house is small' – Datuk Mazlynoor Abdul Latiff
The second Klang Municipal Councillor caught building his house in Kampung Raja Uda in Klang without approval.
4. The 2am raid by religious officers.
A Kedah Religious Department spokesman said the raid conducted at 2am on Oct 12 was made following public complaints of immoral activities at the condominium.
“The officers only knocked on the door and they did not enter the condominium.”
Retired policeman Randal Barnhart, 62, and wife Carole, 61, had complained the officers demanded to see their marriage certificate although he had told them that they were Christians and should not be subjected to Islamic law.
The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) wants the Cabinet to reassure all Malaysians that their privacy will always be protected and nobody is subjected to harassment from Islamic Religious Officers.
“The CFM joins the voices of other concerned groups in the country in affirming the personal freedoms guaranteed to every person in our Constitution and that no person should be subject to laws other than what is sanctioned by Parliament,” it added.
5. Malaysia has recommended its policy of transparency and open scrutiny of government plans and policies to China and other Asean countries as a means to increase investment in their countries. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said greater information flow and transparency, especially on economic and industrial development, was vital.
6. From today consumers in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya will pay more for water. Under the new tariff there will be no increase for the first 20 cubic metres used, and consumers will continue to pay 57 sen per cubic metre.
Selangor Infrastructure and Public Utilities Committee chairman Datuk Fatah Iskandar said the Government saw the increase as a way to get consumers to conserve water as they would not have to pay more if they kept their usage below 20 cubic metres a month.
Businessmen involved in industries that use lots of water will wait for next month's water bill before deciding whether or not to raise prices.
“There might be an increase, but I think we will wait for next month's water bill to see how much more it'll be,” car wash supervisor Teh Leong Ket, 47, said yesterday.
“Yes, it has been sealed because the restaurant sits on JKR (Public Works Department) reserve land, which is state land,” municipal councillor Datuk Teh Kim Poo said yesterday. ”Furthermore, the restaurant does not have any temporary occupancy licence or a business licence.
Datuk Zakaria’s press conference statement :
“I thank those, including the media, for giving me guidance on the need to follow rules and regulations.”
The Klang Umno division rallied behind its chief Datuk Zakaria Md Deros with a show of support and loyalty, claiming that he had been “sabotaged” by the Opposition.
“The entire thing is the work of the Opposition to discredit him. The only thing wrong here is the non-submission of building plans, that’s all,” division information chief Shoimi Shafie told pressmen at 6.45pm yesterday after the division held an emergency meeting.
2. Faizal Abdullah, a councillor from the Klang Municipal Council said,
“Yes, it is my mistake for not submitting the building plans before constructing the house,” Faizal said, when contacted yesterday after it was revealed that a property under his name in Jalan Melikai, Kampung Raja Uda here, had been slapped with a stop-work order from the council.
3. ‘Everyone is doing it, but my house is small' – Datuk Mazlynoor Abdul Latiff
The second Klang Municipal Councillor caught building his house in Kampung Raja Uda in Klang without approval.
4. The 2am raid by religious officers.
A Kedah Religious Department spokesman said the raid conducted at 2am on Oct 12 was made following public complaints of immoral activities at the condominium.
“The officers only knocked on the door and they did not enter the condominium.”
Retired policeman Randal Barnhart, 62, and wife Carole, 61, had complained the officers demanded to see their marriage certificate although he had told them that they were Christians and should not be subjected to Islamic law.
The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) wants the Cabinet to reassure all Malaysians that their privacy will always be protected and nobody is subjected to harassment from Islamic Religious Officers.
“The CFM joins the voices of other concerned groups in the country in affirming the personal freedoms guaranteed to every person in our Constitution and that no person should be subject to laws other than what is sanctioned by Parliament,” it added.
5. Malaysia has recommended its policy of transparency and open scrutiny of government plans and policies to China and other Asean countries as a means to increase investment in their countries. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said greater information flow and transparency, especially on economic and industrial development, was vital.
6. From today consumers in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya will pay more for water. Under the new tariff there will be no increase for the first 20 cubic metres used, and consumers will continue to pay 57 sen per cubic metre.
Selangor Infrastructure and Public Utilities Committee chairman Datuk Fatah Iskandar said the Government saw the increase as a way to get consumers to conserve water as they would not have to pay more if they kept their usage below 20 cubic metres a month.
Businessmen involved in industries that use lots of water will wait for next month's water bill before deciding whether or not to raise prices.
“There might be an increase, but I think we will wait for next month's water bill to see how much more it'll be,” car wash supervisor Teh Leong Ket, 47, said yesterday.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Corruption
What is corruption?
literally means to destroy (from the Latin corruptus);
is not a rare phenomenon;
takes many forms with different types of participants, settings, stakes, techniques and different degrees of cultural legitimacy;
is not only about stealing: it can also relate to the abuse of power in decision-making processes.
It is a form of behaviour that deviates from ethics, morality, tradition, law and civic virtue.
Corruption may be defined as any conduct which amounts to :
a) influencing the decision-making process of a public officer or authority,
or influence peddling;
b) dishonesty or breach of trust, by a public officer, in the exercise of his duty;
c) insider dealing/conflicts of interests; [and]
d) influence peddling by the use of fraudulent means such as bribery,
blackmail, which includes the use of election fraud.
e) Any person who directly or indirectly accepts, agrees or offers to accept any gratification from any other person to benefit him-/herself or any other person
is guilty of the crime of corruption. The person who makes the offer or inducement to another to commit a corrupt practice is also guilty of the crime of corruption.
Although there is an active and a passive side to the crime,
both parties are equally guilty of corruption.
(The information above is taken from : http://www.anticorruption.info/corr_def.htm)
2004 Asia corruption ratings
According to an enquiry conducted by Political & Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd, a well-known Hong Kong consulting group, Indonesia, India and Vietnam are considered the three most corrupt countries in Asia. The survey covered 12 Asian countries, interviewing 1000 non-resident businessmen working with various Asian countries.
The survey asked them to rate a country’s level of corruption on a scale of 0 to 10. Bangladesh, which for three years in a row Transparency International has rated the most corrupt in the world, was left off the list.
According to the survey's results, corruption has gone down in 8 of the 12 countries with respect to last year. Compared to previous years significant improvements were said to be made in China and Thailand, countries which in year's past had received many negative votes while still ranking number 5 on this year's list. The three countries considered having the least amount of corruption were Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong.
The 2004 corruption ratings in Asia are given below:
Indonesia: 9.25
India: 8.9
Vietnam: 8.67
Philippines: 8.33
Thailand, Malaysia, China: 7.33
South Korea: 6.67
Taiwan: 6.1
Hong Kong: 3.6
Japan: 3.5
Singapore: 0.5
This interesting article can be accessed at : http://www.odiousdebts.org/odiousdebts/index.cfm?DSP=content&ContentID=9627
The ratings might not necessarily be the most accurate but it is an eye opener.
Latest news from BBC :
Tommy Suharto freed from prison.
The son of Indonesia's former President Suharto has been freed from jail on conditional release after serving only four years of a murder sentence.
Hutomo Mandala Putra, also known as Tommy, was given a 15-year sentence in 2002 following his conviction for ordering the killing of a judge.
His sentence was first cut to 10 years, and then reduced further.
It's not surprising Indonesia is on top of the rating. We are not too far from the leaders. This rating was done in 2004. Another 2 under and will be par with Indonesia.
literally means to destroy (from the Latin corruptus);
is not a rare phenomenon;
takes many forms with different types of participants, settings, stakes, techniques and different degrees of cultural legitimacy;
is not only about stealing: it can also relate to the abuse of power in decision-making processes.
It is a form of behaviour that deviates from ethics, morality, tradition, law and civic virtue.
Corruption may be defined as any conduct which amounts to :
a) influencing the decision-making process of a public officer or authority,
or influence peddling;
b) dishonesty or breach of trust, by a public officer, in the exercise of his duty;
c) insider dealing/conflicts of interests; [and]
d) influence peddling by the use of fraudulent means such as bribery,
blackmail, which includes the use of election fraud.
e) Any person who directly or indirectly accepts, agrees or offers to accept any gratification from any other person to benefit him-/herself or any other person
is guilty of the crime of corruption. The person who makes the offer or inducement to another to commit a corrupt practice is also guilty of the crime of corruption.
Although there is an active and a passive side to the crime,
both parties are equally guilty of corruption.
(The information above is taken from : http://www.anticorruption.info/corr_def.htm)
2004 Asia corruption ratings
According to an enquiry conducted by Political & Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd, a well-known Hong Kong consulting group, Indonesia, India and Vietnam are considered the three most corrupt countries in Asia. The survey covered 12 Asian countries, interviewing 1000 non-resident businessmen working with various Asian countries.
The survey asked them to rate a country’s level of corruption on a scale of 0 to 10. Bangladesh, which for three years in a row Transparency International has rated the most corrupt in the world, was left off the list.
According to the survey's results, corruption has gone down in 8 of the 12 countries with respect to last year. Compared to previous years significant improvements were said to be made in China and Thailand, countries which in year's past had received many negative votes while still ranking number 5 on this year's list. The three countries considered having the least amount of corruption were Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong.
The 2004 corruption ratings in Asia are given below:
Indonesia: 9.25
India: 8.9
Vietnam: 8.67
Philippines: 8.33
Thailand, Malaysia, China: 7.33
South Korea: 6.67
Taiwan: 6.1
Hong Kong: 3.6
Japan: 3.5
Singapore: 0.5
This interesting article can be accessed at : http://www.odiousdebts.org/odiousdebts/index.cfm?DSP=content&ContentID=9627
The ratings might not necessarily be the most accurate but it is an eye opener.
Latest news from BBC :
Tommy Suharto freed from prison.
The son of Indonesia's former President Suharto has been freed from jail on conditional release after serving only four years of a murder sentence.
Hutomo Mandala Putra, also known as Tommy, was given a 15-year sentence in 2002 following his conviction for ordering the killing of a judge.
His sentence was first cut to 10 years, and then reduced further.
It's not surprising Indonesia is on top of the rating. We are not too far from the leaders. This rating was done in 2004. Another 2 under and will be par with Indonesia.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Insensitivity
Insensitivity : The inability to respond to affective changes in your interpersonal environment.
Could this have been the problem with Australia's top Muslim leader? In his sermon, he was reported as saying that women who do not dress moderately as "uncovered meat". He went on to say that" If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside.... and the cats come and eat it, whose fault is it, the cats or the uncovered meat? The uncovered meat is the problem". Maybe he should "meat" with the parents of the Muslim computer engineer who was raped and murdered in Johor. She was covered from head to toe. Of course she didn't stay at home at the time as our government's policy was to educate its citizens regardless of gender and make them productive to support the vision of being a developed nation by the year 2020.
The cleric might not know of such plans or couldn't be bothered with such trivial matters. He had higher aims, to make sure all women were properly covered and stayed indoors! When you give too much power to religious people you can expect a lot of problems. Politicians can be thrown out at the next election but religious people hide behind their 'religious holy books' and it is next to impossible to get rid of them once they are in power.
My question is why did an Egyptian religious man migrate to Australia knowing that women here do not wear the 'hijab'? This is the land of sunshine and beaches, where the people love to surf and swim and sail. Even the Aborigines are not dressed properly by his standards! Why didn't he just stay in the land of 'hijabs' and turbans and long robes and beards? He wouldn't be in trouble now would he? If he had made that statement in Egypt or Saudi Arabia or Pakistan or Afganistan or Bangladesh or Iraq, the people would have clapped their hands and called him their hero. He should go back to Egypt, but I think it's all about personal freedom which you don't get in a Muslim country.
Another example of insensitivity is the 2.00 am raid by religious officers on a visiting American couple in Langkawi, Malaysia who were accused of 'khalwat' (close proximity between man and woman who are not legally married). The American is demanding a written apology from the religious department and compensation for the air ticket he had to buy for his wife who wanted to go back home after that frightening experience.
A new shopping complex, Souq Bukhary, has just opened for business in my city with 'Giant' as their anchor tenant. I heard some non-Muslim girls who wore skirts were barred from entering this complex by the guards! I am not sure if this is true as I have not personally witnessed it. But if it is true, this is no way to do business in a multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious environment. It is not necessary to teach one's customers how to dress in such an environment. How to attract tourists to Kedah????? No wonder the tourists are flocking to Thailand. We have ostriches with their heads in the sand in charge of developing the business in this state.
The same thing happens in Government departments or Government agencies managed by the 'Little Napoleons' who make their own rules. They have the gall to put up notices saying people who are not properly dressed will not be served! These people come to pay bills! The government will of course deny any such rule but will not take action against these 'Little Napoleons' who make their own laws.
The non-Muslims in this country are not allowed to preach to the Muslims. This is law in this country. You can't sell liquor or pork anywhere you like. We have to be sensitive to our Muslim brothers' beliefs. We have learnt to live with each other peacefully and harmoniously for so many years because we respect one anothers' beliefs. That is the key! When we lose this respect and become insolent and insensitive to one another, we will have problems - big problems. I sincerely hope this doesn't happen in Malaysia.
Could this have been the problem with Australia's top Muslim leader? In his sermon, he was reported as saying that women who do not dress moderately as "uncovered meat". He went on to say that" If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside.... and the cats come and eat it, whose fault is it, the cats or the uncovered meat? The uncovered meat is the problem". Maybe he should "meat" with the parents of the Muslim computer engineer who was raped and murdered in Johor. She was covered from head to toe. Of course she didn't stay at home at the time as our government's policy was to educate its citizens regardless of gender and make them productive to support the vision of being a developed nation by the year 2020.
The cleric might not know of such plans or couldn't be bothered with such trivial matters. He had higher aims, to make sure all women were properly covered and stayed indoors! When you give too much power to religious people you can expect a lot of problems. Politicians can be thrown out at the next election but religious people hide behind their 'religious holy books' and it is next to impossible to get rid of them once they are in power.
My question is why did an Egyptian religious man migrate to Australia knowing that women here do not wear the 'hijab'? This is the land of sunshine and beaches, where the people love to surf and swim and sail. Even the Aborigines are not dressed properly by his standards! Why didn't he just stay in the land of 'hijabs' and turbans and long robes and beards? He wouldn't be in trouble now would he? If he had made that statement in Egypt or Saudi Arabia or Pakistan or Afganistan or Bangladesh or Iraq, the people would have clapped their hands and called him their hero. He should go back to Egypt, but I think it's all about personal freedom which you don't get in a Muslim country.
Another example of insensitivity is the 2.00 am raid by religious officers on a visiting American couple in Langkawi, Malaysia who were accused of 'khalwat' (close proximity between man and woman who are not legally married). The American is demanding a written apology from the religious department and compensation for the air ticket he had to buy for his wife who wanted to go back home after that frightening experience.
A new shopping complex, Souq Bukhary, has just opened for business in my city with 'Giant' as their anchor tenant. I heard some non-Muslim girls who wore skirts were barred from entering this complex by the guards! I am not sure if this is true as I have not personally witnessed it. But if it is true, this is no way to do business in a multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious environment. It is not necessary to teach one's customers how to dress in such an environment. How to attract tourists to Kedah????? No wonder the tourists are flocking to Thailand. We have ostriches with their heads in the sand in charge of developing the business in this state.
The same thing happens in Government departments or Government agencies managed by the 'Little Napoleons' who make their own rules. They have the gall to put up notices saying people who are not properly dressed will not be served! These people come to pay bills! The government will of course deny any such rule but will not take action against these 'Little Napoleons' who make their own laws.
The non-Muslims in this country are not allowed to preach to the Muslims. This is law in this country. You can't sell liquor or pork anywhere you like. We have to be sensitive to our Muslim brothers' beliefs. We have learnt to live with each other peacefully and harmoniously for so many years because we respect one anothers' beliefs. That is the key! When we lose this respect and become insolent and insensitive to one another, we will have problems - big problems. I sincerely hope this doesn't happen in Malaysia.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Abuse of Power
I read in the paper (The Star) that the swearing-in-ceremony for Klang municipal councillors has been postponed. Nobody seems to know why! Selangor Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo said, "Maybe some issues have not been settled." What could these issues be?
Could it be because of the Port Klang state assembly man Datuk Zakaria Md Deros building a 'palatial' four-storey house without first getting the approval or because he had not paid assessment for another property in the same area for the last 12 years? The MB said, "no one was above the law". Unless ofcourse that nobody has a lot of money and can employ a very good and crafty lawyer who knows all the loop-holes in the law!
NO ONE is above GOD's law. Everyone of us will answer to Him on Judgement Day, including all the crafty lawyers. In this world it will seem the rich and the politically connected will get out of trouble easily. Let's see what happens in the Klang assembly mans case.
To top it, he was re-appointed to the council together with his son and daughter-in-law! Here's what the daughter-in-law had to say, "If you take it negatively it will be negative. If you take it positively, it will be positive. Our intention is to serve the people." The example of serving has been set by her father-in-law, only he was serving himself! What can you expect for future development in Klang from this bunch? What does this say about our political scenario in Malaysia? Why do we keep appointing people who blatantly abuse their power for their own benefit? The other example is the assembly man from Jasin. When the customs stopped an illegal shipment of sawn timber from Indonesia he made a big hue and cry about it. He said he was fighting for his constituents. It turns out the company involved in the fray was actually his own!
Later on he started to attack the customs department with regards to the disposal of seized luxury cars. It turns out he didn't get the Mercedes he wanted!
With people like these in parliament, do you think they will help to plan for the development of all Malaysians, the eradication of poverty among all the races, give solutions to the unemployment problem regardless of their race? At the moment we find that they are busy with acquiring wealth for themselves. There are probably many more doing the same quietly in the background. When it comes to issues like equity and equal opportunities for all Malaysians, suddenly there will be people drawing their krisses and warnings will be sounded not to offend certain groups of people! This is Malaysian politics. We are champions at speaking out and coming up with slogans against corruption and drug abuse and what nots, but in practice, its sooooo different!
Could it be because of the Port Klang state assembly man Datuk Zakaria Md Deros building a 'palatial' four-storey house without first getting the approval or because he had not paid assessment for another property in the same area for the last 12 years? The MB said, "no one was above the law". Unless ofcourse that nobody has a lot of money and can employ a very good and crafty lawyer who knows all the loop-holes in the law!
NO ONE is above GOD's law. Everyone of us will answer to Him on Judgement Day, including all the crafty lawyers. In this world it will seem the rich and the politically connected will get out of trouble easily. Let's see what happens in the Klang assembly mans case.
To top it, he was re-appointed to the council together with his son and daughter-in-law! Here's what the daughter-in-law had to say, "If you take it negatively it will be negative. If you take it positively, it will be positive. Our intention is to serve the people." The example of serving has been set by her father-in-law, only he was serving himself! What can you expect for future development in Klang from this bunch? What does this say about our political scenario in Malaysia? Why do we keep appointing people who blatantly abuse their power for their own benefit? The other example is the assembly man from Jasin. When the customs stopped an illegal shipment of sawn timber from Indonesia he made a big hue and cry about it. He said he was fighting for his constituents. It turns out the company involved in the fray was actually his own!
Later on he started to attack the customs department with regards to the disposal of seized luxury cars. It turns out he didn't get the Mercedes he wanted!
With people like these in parliament, do you think they will help to plan for the development of all Malaysians, the eradication of poverty among all the races, give solutions to the unemployment problem regardless of their race? At the moment we find that they are busy with acquiring wealth for themselves. There are probably many more doing the same quietly in the background. When it comes to issues like equity and equal opportunities for all Malaysians, suddenly there will be people drawing their krisses and warnings will be sounded not to offend certain groups of people! This is Malaysian politics. We are champions at speaking out and coming up with slogans against corruption and drug abuse and what nots, but in practice, its sooooo different!
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Religious Fanaticism
It's coming to a point where I am not sure I am living in the Malaysia I know. I grew up in a Malay(muslim) community. Our backdoor neighbours were Malay. A lot of my classmates were Malays. We mixed quite freely, played games together, visited each other's homes without worrying about losing our own faith. Today we have the so called 'religious' people telling the muslims in this country not to mix with the non-muslims. The present government is wondering why there is no racial intergration in the schools or the universities! The Prime Minister has his head in the clouds.
You let the worms out of the woodwork and let them sit in management places and what do you expect. Emails like the one sent out by the Takaful Malaysia’s Syariah department head Fauzi Mustaffar forbidding Muslims to wish Hindu friends Happy Deepavali. Where did this guy come from? Is he a real Malaysian or a dropout from the Taliban school?
Ofcourse the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Abdullah Md Zin immediately declared that it was not a fatwa but a personal view of Mr. Fauzi. The fact is he is still sitting there and influencing the many ignoramuses working under him. My friend got so pissed off he decided to send an email to the PM regarding this matter. I wonder if he will get a reply. Below is his email to the PM :
YAB Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Perdana Menteri Malaysia
Bangunan Perdana Putra
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan
62502 Putrajaya.
YAB Datuk Seri,
Laporan Akhbar The Star (11hb Oktober 2006) : E-mail from Takaful man 'not fatwa'
Adalah saya merujuk perkara tersebut di atas dan kepada mukasurat N8, akhbar The Star bertarikh 11 Oktober 2006 dan ingin mengalu-alukan kenyataan Menteri Di Jabatan Perdana Menteri YB Datuk Dr Abdullah Md Zin yang telah menyuarakan rasa tidak puas hati beliau terhadap En. Fauzi Mustafar, Ketua Jabatan Syariah, Takaful Malaysia yang telah menyatakan bahawa mengucapkan "Selamat Deepavali" kepada penganut agama Hindu adalah bertentangan dengan ajaran Islam. Tambah YB Datuk Dr Abdullah, kenyataan oleh En. Fauzi Mustafar hanyalah merupakan pendapat peribadi beliau, dan bukannya sebuah fatwa yang hanya boleh diisytiharkan oleh Majlis Fatwa Negara ataupun Jakim di negara ini.
Apa yang mengewakan ialah kenyataan sedemikian telah dibuat oleh seorang pegawai atasan di sebuah instituti kewangan negara. Tindakan begini sememangnya akan mewujudkan rasa tidak senang dan/atau membangkitkan rasa curiga-mencurigai di kalangan rakyat berbilang kaum di Malaysia. Pada waktu kerajaan di bawah pimpinan YAB sedang giat mengidupkan semula perasaan harmoni dan muhibah di kalangan rakyat jelata, e-mail yang dihantar oleh En. Fauzi Mustafar kepada rakan-rakan pejabatnya adalah amat mendukacitakan.
Malangnya, isu sebegini telah timbul di sebuah jenis institusi kewangan yang terbaru di dunia iaitu yang mempromosikan sistem Takaful. Malaysialah yang menerajui sistem ini di dunia buat masa ini, dan oleh yang demikian, Malaysia haruslah memberi gambaran positif dan universal kepada seluruh dunia.
Berikut adalah sabahagian petikan daripada akhbar Arab News di laman web www.arabnews.com bertarikh 21 Ogos 2006:-
Takaful Growth in Malaysia Fails to Take Off
Mushtak Parker, Arab News
However, the major psychological hurdles for Takaful market penetration remains the lack of players, the low capitalization of Takaful companies, the absence of an established Re-Takaful (reinsurance) market, lack of products, lack of market awareness, poor culture of consumer education, a misconceived religio-cultural distrust of and objection to insurance, and the mixed messages some of the Shariah advisories are giving, endorsing Takaful products in one breath and preaching against them in another breath. (Source: Arab News (The Middle East’s Leading English Language Daily), www.arabnews.com dated 21 August 2006)
Sememangnya, di dalam artikel tersebut, isu agama-budaya (religio-cultural) telah dikenalpasti sebagai salah satu perkara yang membawa salah tanggapan skim Takaful di kalangan masyarakat. Malangnya, kenyataan En. Fauzi Mustafar menepati salah tanggapan tersebut.
Adalah diharapkan YAB selaku Menteri Kewangan Malaysia dapat memberi perhatian dan mengambil tindakan yang sewajarnya terhadap pegawai tersebut.
"Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri & Selamat Hari Deepavali"
Sekian, terima kasih.
K.Viyasan
11 Oktober 2006
I hope the PM will send a clear message to people like him that this is a multi-religious, multi-cultural, multi-racial country where a little bit of tolerence and understanding will go a long way in maintaining a peaceful and productive nation. All of us had a hand in bringing this country to where it is today not just the Malays or muslims. This fact must be taught in every school so that the younger generation will respect one another regardless of race or religion. Our future depends on our ability to live together on equal terms.
You let the worms out of the woodwork and let them sit in management places and what do you expect. Emails like the one sent out by the Takaful Malaysia’s Syariah department head Fauzi Mustaffar forbidding Muslims to wish Hindu friends Happy Deepavali. Where did this guy come from? Is he a real Malaysian or a dropout from the Taliban school?
Ofcourse the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Abdullah Md Zin immediately declared that it was not a fatwa but a personal view of Mr. Fauzi. The fact is he is still sitting there and influencing the many ignoramuses working under him. My friend got so pissed off he decided to send an email to the PM regarding this matter. I wonder if he will get a reply. Below is his email to the PM :
YAB Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Perdana Menteri Malaysia
Bangunan Perdana Putra
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan
62502 Putrajaya.
YAB Datuk Seri,
Laporan Akhbar The Star (11hb Oktober 2006) : E-mail from Takaful man 'not fatwa'
Adalah saya merujuk perkara tersebut di atas dan kepada mukasurat N8, akhbar The Star bertarikh 11 Oktober 2006 dan ingin mengalu-alukan kenyataan Menteri Di Jabatan Perdana Menteri YB Datuk Dr Abdullah Md Zin yang telah menyuarakan rasa tidak puas hati beliau terhadap En. Fauzi Mustafar, Ketua Jabatan Syariah, Takaful Malaysia yang telah menyatakan bahawa mengucapkan "Selamat Deepavali" kepada penganut agama Hindu adalah bertentangan dengan ajaran Islam. Tambah YB Datuk Dr Abdullah, kenyataan oleh En. Fauzi Mustafar hanyalah merupakan pendapat peribadi beliau, dan bukannya sebuah fatwa yang hanya boleh diisytiharkan oleh Majlis Fatwa Negara ataupun Jakim di negara ini.
Apa yang mengewakan ialah kenyataan sedemikian telah dibuat oleh seorang pegawai atasan di sebuah instituti kewangan negara. Tindakan begini sememangnya akan mewujudkan rasa tidak senang dan/atau membangkitkan rasa curiga-mencurigai di kalangan rakyat berbilang kaum di Malaysia. Pada waktu kerajaan di bawah pimpinan YAB sedang giat mengidupkan semula perasaan harmoni dan muhibah di kalangan rakyat jelata, e-mail yang dihantar oleh En. Fauzi Mustafar kepada rakan-rakan pejabatnya adalah amat mendukacitakan.
Malangnya, isu sebegini telah timbul di sebuah jenis institusi kewangan yang terbaru di dunia iaitu yang mempromosikan sistem Takaful. Malaysialah yang menerajui sistem ini di dunia buat masa ini, dan oleh yang demikian, Malaysia haruslah memberi gambaran positif dan universal kepada seluruh dunia.
Berikut adalah sabahagian petikan daripada akhbar Arab News di laman web www.arabnews.com bertarikh 21 Ogos 2006:-
Takaful Growth in Malaysia Fails to Take Off
Mushtak Parker, Arab News
However, the major psychological hurdles for Takaful market penetration remains the lack of players, the low capitalization of Takaful companies, the absence of an established Re-Takaful (reinsurance) market, lack of products, lack of market awareness, poor culture of consumer education, a misconceived religio-cultural distrust of and objection to insurance, and the mixed messages some of the Shariah advisories are giving, endorsing Takaful products in one breath and preaching against them in another breath. (Source: Arab News (The Middle East’s Leading English Language Daily), www.arabnews.com dated 21 August 2006)
Sememangnya, di dalam artikel tersebut, isu agama-budaya (religio-cultural) telah dikenalpasti sebagai salah satu perkara yang membawa salah tanggapan skim Takaful di kalangan masyarakat. Malangnya, kenyataan En. Fauzi Mustafar menepati salah tanggapan tersebut.
Adalah diharapkan YAB selaku Menteri Kewangan Malaysia dapat memberi perhatian dan mengambil tindakan yang sewajarnya terhadap pegawai tersebut.
"Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri & Selamat Hari Deepavali"
Sekian, terima kasih.
K.Viyasan
11 Oktober 2006
I hope the PM will send a clear message to people like him that this is a multi-religious, multi-cultural, multi-racial country where a little bit of tolerence and understanding will go a long way in maintaining a peaceful and productive nation. All of us had a hand in bringing this country to where it is today not just the Malays or muslims. This fact must be taught in every school so that the younger generation will respect one another regardless of race or religion. Our future depends on our ability to live together on equal terms.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Out Of The Ordinary Pics
The Pied Piper strikes again!
"aaaaargh! There's a snake in my mouth!"
"Careful dear, you might fall off the edge".
"Hey, you are going over the speed limit!".
"ssssssssssss, it's sooooo coooooooooool!"
I wonder when it is going to roll down.
"aaaaargh! There's a snake in my mouth!"
"Careful dear, you might fall off the edge".
"Hey, you are going over the speed limit!".
"ssssssssssss, it's sooooo coooooooooool!"
I wonder when it is going to roll down.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
HPTC Project
The HPTC (High Performance Training Center)project is on again. According to the Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, this contoversial project was necessary to realize the government's vision of excelling in sports at international level as reported in the Star today. What exactly does this mean? We are incapable of producing world standard athletes if they are trained here? Why is that? Is there a problem with our athletes? No talents to be found? If they are not talented enough when they are here, how will they be world class just by being trained in foreign soil? Is it the training techniques plus the sophisticated equipment? If that is the case, why not hire them? It will definitely be cheaper in the long run.
The emphasis on saving money here is because the Prime Miniter's statement on the financial status was on the front page. The civil servants were demanding for a pay rise and his reply was , "We have discussed their demands. At the moment, the Government is not ready to spend so much money. We need to take into account the government's finances because we need to spend money on development."
IN the state of Kedah, the Welfare Department has run out of funds to help the needy! It was reported that the poor in the district of Baling have not received their allowances for four months! The Kedah Welfare Department director said that the shortage of funds affected those in all districts of the state. Wouldn't it be humanitarian to channel some of the funds to the Welfare Department to pass it on to the really needy?
Back to the HPTC. The government want's to bring up the standard of football in this country as it is at the moment in the pits. My question is, did the Argetinians build a training center in UK for their players? Or the Koreans, or the Italians, or the French, or any of the African nations even? The problem lies with management. You don't bring politicians into sports and expect to get a world class team. Their choice of who represents the country vastly differs with that of a competent coach or manager.
We need the money to help our needy first, and then we need to build sports centers in every state which is easily accessible to our youths. Then only we will have a large base to choose the best athletes from. At the moment my home town doesn't even have a sports complex which could house most of the games played here. Such a complex could greatly help in popularising various sports which at the moment is not easily available to the vast majority.
They let the politicians manage the sports events and when they got hold of the funds, a grand swimming pool was built in the middle of the paddy fields! Only frogs and monitor lizards will be there now. The surrounding villagers are mostly muslims and taking off their clothes and wearing swimming costumes is not their culture. It would have been fully utilized if it was built in the city. We could not only train swimmers but also divers. China has produced world class divers. Why can't we?
So, I say we should spend our money wisely by selecting the best coaches, the best athletes and buying the best equipment and do our own training here.
The emphasis on saving money here is because the Prime Miniter's statement on the financial status was on the front page. The civil servants were demanding for a pay rise and his reply was , "We have discussed their demands. At the moment, the Government is not ready to spend so much money. We need to take into account the government's finances because we need to spend money on development."
IN the state of Kedah, the Welfare Department has run out of funds to help the needy! It was reported that the poor in the district of Baling have not received their allowances for four months! The Kedah Welfare Department director said that the shortage of funds affected those in all districts of the state. Wouldn't it be humanitarian to channel some of the funds to the Welfare Department to pass it on to the really needy?
Back to the HPTC. The government want's to bring up the standard of football in this country as it is at the moment in the pits. My question is, did the Argetinians build a training center in UK for their players? Or the Koreans, or the Italians, or the French, or any of the African nations even? The problem lies with management. You don't bring politicians into sports and expect to get a world class team. Their choice of who represents the country vastly differs with that of a competent coach or manager.
We need the money to help our needy first, and then we need to build sports centers in every state which is easily accessible to our youths. Then only we will have a large base to choose the best athletes from. At the moment my home town doesn't even have a sports complex which could house most of the games played here. Such a complex could greatly help in popularising various sports which at the moment is not easily available to the vast majority.
They let the politicians manage the sports events and when they got hold of the funds, a grand swimming pool was built in the middle of the paddy fields! Only frogs and monitor lizards will be there now. The surrounding villagers are mostly muslims and taking off their clothes and wearing swimming costumes is not their culture. It would have been fully utilized if it was built in the city. We could not only train swimmers but also divers. China has produced world class divers. Why can't we?
So, I say we should spend our money wisely by selecting the best coaches, the best athletes and buying the best equipment and do our own training here.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Another Sad Case
Went to a town called Sungai Petani which is approximately 36 miles to the south of where I stay. The purpose of this visit was to check on my childhood friend who was knocked down by a speeding car while he was riding his motorbike.
He was unconscious for 3 days. By the time I heard about it he had regained consciousness. I took my son along for the drive as I tend to get sleepy on long drives. He recognized me when I walked towards his bed. He had 5 broken ribs which had done some damage to his insides. He had a tube running from the injured side leading to a container - to drain away the blood. He was bleeding internally. Fractured his collar bone. That bone was already fractured a long time ago when we were boys. Both of us fractured our collar bones.
His head received a hard knock and so the doctor had sent him to the hospital in Alor Star to get a scan. Fortunately the head was intact. The problem now was his immediate family were all living in Alor Star, 36 miles away. They needed to have him transfered to the Alor Star Hospital so one of them could look after him. After talking to the hospital authorities, he was transfered to the Alor Star Hospital.
Went to see him yesterday. He was showing signs of withdrawal. He had taken up smoking a long time ago. Without cigarettes for 8 days, he was very restless and wanted to go home where he would have more freedom. He definitely would not be allowed to smoke at the hospital. He kept asking me to send him home. I had a hard time trying to explain that I could not take him out of the hospital in his condition. The tube going through his side was still there. I could see the blood oozing out. He also needed another tube to the bladder to remove urine. He had another one supplying oxygen as they suspected his lungs might have been damaged.
Went to see him today. Same story. He wants to go home. He hasn't improved. He will start babbling every now and then. Tried to keep him in conversation which was not easy as he had only one thing on his mind. He kept asking me if I was coming in the evening to send him home. I think the problem is not only related to smoking but the fact that he is in a helpless situation. He was one of those very independant and macho characters. He trained guard dogs and now he can't even go to the toilet. He is bed-ridden. That is a stressful situation.
He wanted to shift his position a bit higher up the bed. Tried to help together with his sister who was on the other side of the bed but to no avail. He was too heavy and I could only hold one side of his body. Obviously the fractured collar bone side could not be held. I was also not as strong as I used to be. Called in some help from the hospital staff and managed to shift him a little. As he was about to doze off I sneaked out.
He did call me using his sister's cell phone to remind me to come and get him. I will be going to see him at 12.00 noon tomorrow. Hope his internal bleeding would have stopped by then so that the healing process can begin.
He was unconscious for 3 days. By the time I heard about it he had regained consciousness. I took my son along for the drive as I tend to get sleepy on long drives. He recognized me when I walked towards his bed. He had 5 broken ribs which had done some damage to his insides. He had a tube running from the injured side leading to a container - to drain away the blood. He was bleeding internally. Fractured his collar bone. That bone was already fractured a long time ago when we were boys. Both of us fractured our collar bones.
His head received a hard knock and so the doctor had sent him to the hospital in Alor Star to get a scan. Fortunately the head was intact. The problem now was his immediate family were all living in Alor Star, 36 miles away. They needed to have him transfered to the Alor Star Hospital so one of them could look after him. After talking to the hospital authorities, he was transfered to the Alor Star Hospital.
Went to see him yesterday. He was showing signs of withdrawal. He had taken up smoking a long time ago. Without cigarettes for 8 days, he was very restless and wanted to go home where he would have more freedom. He definitely would not be allowed to smoke at the hospital. He kept asking me to send him home. I had a hard time trying to explain that I could not take him out of the hospital in his condition. The tube going through his side was still there. I could see the blood oozing out. He also needed another tube to the bladder to remove urine. He had another one supplying oxygen as they suspected his lungs might have been damaged.
Went to see him today. Same story. He wants to go home. He hasn't improved. He will start babbling every now and then. Tried to keep him in conversation which was not easy as he had only one thing on his mind. He kept asking me if I was coming in the evening to send him home. I think the problem is not only related to smoking but the fact that he is in a helpless situation. He was one of those very independant and macho characters. He trained guard dogs and now he can't even go to the toilet. He is bed-ridden. That is a stressful situation.
He wanted to shift his position a bit higher up the bed. Tried to help together with his sister who was on the other side of the bed but to no avail. He was too heavy and I could only hold one side of his body. Obviously the fractured collar bone side could not be held. I was also not as strong as I used to be. Called in some help from the hospital staff and managed to shift him a little. As he was about to doze off I sneaked out.
He did call me using his sister's cell phone to remind me to come and get him. I will be going to see him at 12.00 noon tomorrow. Hope his internal bleeding would have stopped by then so that the healing process can begin.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Funnies
Funnies are good for the health. When we laugh or smile we exercise our facial muscles. Smiling is better. They say that it takes 37 muscles to frown and 22 muscles to smile. So Smile. It conserves energy ) :) :) Haven't you heard? "Happiness Is Only Grin Deep" heh heh ...
Below are two humorous stories dealing with children :
I wonder what this cub is whispering to its mummy.
Chicken Story
Have a nice day!
Below are two humorous stories dealing with children :
I wonder what this cub is whispering to its mummy.
Chicken Story
Have a nice day!
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Who's Confused?
There was an article on the front page of one of our local news papers regarding phone numbers to call during an emergency. The paper pointed out that many people were not familiar with the numbers and that for those who knew the numbers, they were not sure which number was for which service. Too many emergency numbers was causing confusion it seems.
I do agree that not many people are aware of all the numbers but I had hoped that the papers would at least get them right. Look at the caption which I took from the front page :
For cell phone users, is it 121 or 112? Heh heh... No wonder we all so confused!
I do agree that not many people are aware of all the numbers but I had hoped that the papers would at least get them right. Look at the caption which I took from the front page :
For cell phone users, is it 121 or 112? Heh heh... No wonder we all so confused!
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
To Tree Or Not To Tree
There were four healthy big trees with lots of foliage giving lots of shade and contributing to the healthy environment around my neighbourhood. One would think that the people living nearest to these trees, who benefit the most would take care of them. Nah! Tree here today, gone tomorrow!
The trees in the background.
No more trees.
What the scenery looks like now.
In front of my house, the trees are very helpful to humans. See how they bend over to protect the car from the ultra-violet rays from the sun.
By the way, we are not allowed to cut trees over here. Only the City Council has that right and they have just used it.
The trees in the background.
No more trees.
What the scenery looks like now.
In front of my house, the trees are very helpful to humans. See how they bend over to protect the car from the ultra-violet rays from the sun.
By the way, we are not allowed to cut trees over here. Only the City Council has that right and they have just used it.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Loan Terms
The Prime Minister of Malaysia was said to have given a directive to the SME Bank to give loans to all deserving Malaysians regardless of race (The Star, August 28th). He also declared that the SME Bank belonged to all Malaysians. What a wonderful statement! Obviously, he failed to convey his speech to the officers running the bank or they couldn't be bothered with politicians as they are holding permanent posts whereas politicians come and go. The bank staff probably think it is another political statement to fish for more votes in the next election. Which could be true, looking at realities.
In today's paper (The Star) there's was an article titled Loan Terms Upset Traders. It was reported that the SME Bank imposed all sorts of conditions. Among them the applicant must have a degree, the company must have a 51% bumiputra ownership, provide collateral and have fixed deposits. As usual the key officials of the bank were conveniently not available for comments.
They don't seem to understand the Prime Minister's speech which was meant for harmony, prosperity and long-term peace in this country. Especially when there is a lot of frustation and distrust in the government's policies in distributing wealth using the NEP in the name of maintaining stability, peace and harmony among the races.
When questioned regarding the 51% bumiputra ownership requirement, the bank officials said it was an unwritten rule! How is anyone going to know for sure if you have not followed the rules if it is unwritten? Who makes up these unwritten rules anyway? How does anyone know if it has not been modified to suit certain parties? The Prime Minister or his senior assistants need to follow up on his directives, to ensure that they are understood by those implementing them.
If we want to be a developed nation by 2020, we need to help all sectors to be productive and successfull. You can't achieve this if you have officers with narrow minds blocking the way of progress. If the Prime Minister was sincere when he made the statement about the availability of loans from the SME Bank to all Malaysians, he should take up the phone and straighten out the key officials who at the moment are conveniently missing. He needs to do this to affirm his leadership, otherwise he will just be a puppet for the oportunist behind the scene.
In today's paper (The Star) there's was an article titled Loan Terms Upset Traders. It was reported that the SME Bank imposed all sorts of conditions. Among them the applicant must have a degree, the company must have a 51% bumiputra ownership, provide collateral and have fixed deposits. As usual the key officials of the bank were conveniently not available for comments.
They don't seem to understand the Prime Minister's speech which was meant for harmony, prosperity and long-term peace in this country. Especially when there is a lot of frustation and distrust in the government's policies in distributing wealth using the NEP in the name of maintaining stability, peace and harmony among the races.
When questioned regarding the 51% bumiputra ownership requirement, the bank officials said it was an unwritten rule! How is anyone going to know for sure if you have not followed the rules if it is unwritten? Who makes up these unwritten rules anyway? How does anyone know if it has not been modified to suit certain parties? The Prime Minister or his senior assistants need to follow up on his directives, to ensure that they are understood by those implementing them.
If we want to be a developed nation by 2020, we need to help all sectors to be productive and successfull. You can't achieve this if you have officers with narrow minds blocking the way of progress. If the Prime Minister was sincere when he made the statement about the availability of loans from the SME Bank to all Malaysians, he should take up the phone and straighten out the key officials who at the moment are conveniently missing. He needs to do this to affirm his leadership, otherwise he will just be a puppet for the oportunist behind the scene.
Monday, August 21, 2006
The English Language
A friend sent me this article on the English language which I found to be not only true but very amusing. For those who one way or the other need to deal with this language, will probably find it an interesting read and an amusing one at that. For your reading pleasure :
The English language
You Think English is Easy??? Read to the end . . . a new twist to an oldie ;
Can you read these right the first time?
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row .
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
Let's face it - English is a strange language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.
PS. - Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick"
You lovers of the English language might enjoy this.
There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is "UP."
It's easy to understand UP , meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?
We call UP our friends And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special.
And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP . We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.
We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP , look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP .When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.
One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP , for now my time is UP , so........... it is time to shut UP .........!
Oh . . . one more thing:
What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night? U-P
The English language
You Think English is Easy??? Read to the end . . . a new twist to an oldie ;
Can you read these right the first time?
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row .
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
Let's face it - English is a strange language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.
PS. - Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick"
You lovers of the English language might enjoy this.
There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is "UP."
It's easy to understand UP , meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?
We call UP our friends And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special.
And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP . We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.
We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP , look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP .When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.
One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP , for now my time is UP , so........... it is time to shut UP .........!
Oh . . . one more thing:
What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night? U-P
Monday, August 14, 2006
Home Alone
As the title suggest, I am home alone again, "sort of". Not that I am totally alone as my younger son is still around. My wife is not around. Gone for some meeting. So I have the house to myself for the most part of the day. Not that it means much to have the house to myself as I don't cook, can't conjure a decent drink and we also don't have a garden for me to potter around in. I'd rather share it with my wife. She would be cleaning the house, cutting some fruits, making coffee or some wifely thing while I watched TV or just lazed around. That's the life.
It feels good to have people around you. Now I have the TV, the computer, the fridge, the car and the whole house and feeling quite bored. It's not about food or drinks as I can get them quite easily. Breakfast is served just behind our row at the local coffee shop. Lunch and dinner I have to buy anyway. It's about the companionship. Somebody to talk to or argue with or to yell at even. Not that we yell at each other but that there is an opportunity to do so if someone was there with you.
Even the TV shows are not so attractive as there is no one to laugh with or pass comments to about the silly show we were watching! I even went to bed at such an unbelievable hour. My late nights on the net didn't seem so inviting with no one to yell at me to come to bed. That's what married life can do to a man.
Things will be back to normal by tomorrow night. The plane arrives at 8.40pm, I think. Anyway, she is sure to call and keep me informed about such matters as I am the official driver around here.
It feels good to have people around you. Now I have the TV, the computer, the fridge, the car and the whole house and feeling quite bored. It's not about food or drinks as I can get them quite easily. Breakfast is served just behind our row at the local coffee shop. Lunch and dinner I have to buy anyway. It's about the companionship. Somebody to talk to or argue with or to yell at even. Not that we yell at each other but that there is an opportunity to do so if someone was there with you.
Even the TV shows are not so attractive as there is no one to laugh with or pass comments to about the silly show we were watching! I even went to bed at such an unbelievable hour. My late nights on the net didn't seem so inviting with no one to yell at me to come to bed. That's what married life can do to a man.
Things will be back to normal by tomorrow night. The plane arrives at 8.40pm, I think. Anyway, she is sure to call and keep me informed about such matters as I am the official driver around here.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Senseless Killing
Another victim of a snatch thief in Kuantan. Ng Chiew Lim , a 25 year old sales girl was pushed down a stairway by a snatch thief in a shopping mall on Sunday. She succumbed to head injuries without regaining consciousness the next day.
On the 29th of July two robbers on a motorcycle attacked the first-year Tunku Abdul Rahman College (KTAR) accountancy student when he was walking back to his hostel with a friend after having dinner nearby and hacked him to death.
The police have responded with this plan to set up a number of CCTV's(closed circuit television) in and around Kuala Lumpur. A total of 255 of these cameras currently only used to man traffic in the city will soon be helping police fight rising crime. Known as the Integrated Transport Information System (Itis), it has already helped the force to solve vehicle thefts, robberies, kidnap and murder cases. The RM365mil system assumed the crime-fighting role when police requested for help from the company which managed the system.
I think it is good that the police are using any means available to them to fight crime. But I think they should not be overly dependent on these electronic gadgets. They should get back to basics of patroling these areas to prevent crime rather than trying to solve them after they have been committed using high tech equipment.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Malaysia's Education System
Read an article in one of our local dailies regarding our education system. Augusto Lopez-Claros, chief economist and director of the global competitiveness programme at the Geneva-based World said that our education system has a lot of catching up to do. He said we need to look at Taiwan, South Korea and Israel as benchmarks to help us improve our system.
Taiwan and South Korea maybe but Israel, I don't think that is a good choice right now. Anyway, he was commenting on their tremendous improvement because of their attitude towards education and the resources they have put to train their labour force. They also seem to have a close collaboration between the business communities and their universities. By doing so they can produce what the market needs and the end result as in South Korea which used to be an agriculture economy is now a high technology power today. Agusto went on to say that Israel has also evolved from a major citrus exporter to a high technology power house due to its enormous investment in education.
Can we evolve into a high technology power house? We could if we had some minor changes to the education line up that we have right now. At the moment our education policy makers can't seem to see further than their noses. Look at the "Ethnic Relations Book" bungle. It needed the Prime Minister to solve it. Certain universities are more concerned with the women's headgear than upgrading their educational level. Look at what happened at UPM. The students acted like thugs. There's no intergration and this seems to be exactly what some people want. We need to change these worms that came out of the woodwork and who are now sitting in management positions and making stupid decisions. Some are even lecturing!
If Malaysia is going to be a high technology power house we need to have a different mindset. We need to think of ourselves as Malaysians. We must not hear of students who obtain 11A's not getting scholarships. We should not have to read about those handicapped high achievers who can't get admission to universities because of their handicap. There must be a working system that will cater for these students who do well in their studies. We do not need the minister to step in to help. We can do it if we leave the politics out of education and think of the bigger picture - our country. If this isn't a wake up call I don't know what is.
Taiwan and South Korea maybe but Israel, I don't think that is a good choice right now. Anyway, he was commenting on their tremendous improvement because of their attitude towards education and the resources they have put to train their labour force. They also seem to have a close collaboration between the business communities and their universities. By doing so they can produce what the market needs and the end result as in South Korea which used to be an agriculture economy is now a high technology power today. Agusto went on to say that Israel has also evolved from a major citrus exporter to a high technology power house due to its enormous investment in education.
Can we evolve into a high technology power house? We could if we had some minor changes to the education line up that we have right now. At the moment our education policy makers can't seem to see further than their noses. Look at the "Ethnic Relations Book" bungle. It needed the Prime Minister to solve it. Certain universities are more concerned with the women's headgear than upgrading their educational level. Look at what happened at UPM. The students acted like thugs. There's no intergration and this seems to be exactly what some people want. We need to change these worms that came out of the woodwork and who are now sitting in management positions and making stupid decisions. Some are even lecturing!
If Malaysia is going to be a high technology power house we need to have a different mindset. We need to think of ourselves as Malaysians. We must not hear of students who obtain 11A's not getting scholarships. We should not have to read about those handicapped high achievers who can't get admission to universities because of their handicap. There must be a working system that will cater for these students who do well in their studies. We do not need the minister to step in to help. We can do it if we leave the politics out of education and think of the bigger picture - our country. If this isn't a wake up call I don't know what is.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Sigh Of Relief
The Prime Minister has finally decided to step in and settle the issue of the Guidebook on Ethnic Relations used by University Putra Malaysia. The book will be withdrawn and replaced by one drawn up by a panel of historians.
After meeting his Cabinet behind closed doors, a unanimous decision was reached and the view taken was "the guidebook — which assigns blame on incidents to race groups and political parties — had no place in a course aimed at breaking down the walls of prejudice and suspicion among races." This is good for Malaysian politics and a sign of maturity among some of the leaders. I can't say the same for the Minister of Higher Education though.
The Prime Minister announced the decision himself and also said "There is no need for us to hurl accusations at other races. We should not blame a race simply because a group or individuals of that race have done something wrong. For instance, if there is a group of Muslim terrorists, we cannot accuse all Muslims of being terrorists." Hear hear.
I hope he sends this message to all his ministers and at the same time instruct his ministry to send circulars to all the universities, schools and government departments regarding this matter. This has to be done to help the small minds to see the bigger issues.
After meeting his Cabinet behind closed doors, a unanimous decision was reached and the view taken was "the guidebook — which assigns blame on incidents to race groups and political parties — had no place in a course aimed at breaking down the walls of prejudice and suspicion among races." This is good for Malaysian politics and a sign of maturity among some of the leaders. I can't say the same for the Minister of Higher Education though.
The Prime Minister announced the decision himself and also said "There is no need for us to hurl accusations at other races. We should not blame a race simply because a group or individuals of that race have done something wrong. For instance, if there is a group of Muslim terrorists, we cannot accuse all Muslims of being terrorists." Hear hear.
I hope he sends this message to all his ministers and at the same time instruct his ministry to send circulars to all the universities, schools and government departments regarding this matter. This has to be done to help the small minds to see the bigger issues.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Racial Unity or Disunity?
It was reported in one of our local dailies, New Straits Times that "a noble approach in tackling racial polarisation in universities has backfired."
The article was refering to the newly introduced course on Ethnic Relations in University Putra Malaysia. What is the furore about? It seems the 'authors' of the book who were supposed to write about the various races in this country in view of bringing a better understanding of each other have instead writtem some things which could ignite hatred and distrust which in turn could worsen the polarisation that already exists.
This issue was also brought up by the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz who even lamented what these 'writers' were trying to prove. He went to the extent of saying that anyone who wasn't happy with the book could make a police report. What was the reply from the Higher Education Minister, Datuk Mustapa Mohamed? "the Government was prepared to make amendments if there were factual mistakes in the book. However, he said the contents were based on facts. The Minister then told the House(our Parliament) that the Government stood by its stand that incidents listed in the textbooks were correct."
How did the authors of this book come to know 'the facts of the case'? Take for example the May 13th incident. No arrests were ever made and as of 2004, the official report on May 13th is still covered under the Official Secrets Act. So, how is it a couple of 'education material writers' have been able to get the so called 'facts' and managed to publish it without being arrested? What about the Kampung Medan incident? There was no information given to the public by the Malaysian Human Rights Commission or from the Police. Where did these 'writers' get their material and who gave them the clearance? Something fishy is going on.
The government has been emphasizing on the importance of having good race relations and encouraged racial intergration in the schools. It seems there is a different story at the university level. The Higher Education Minister must have missed out or played truant during the short courses given by the PM on "The Importance of Racial Intergration, Open Houses during Festivals, The Natianal Service, etc... How on earth could the government support something like this? Is this minister out of his mind?
One of the reasons for forcing young people of various races to live together under the Nationa Service program was to encourage intergration and to foster better understanding among the younger generation who are our future leaders. It is a good plan and I applaud the government for introducing it. But what are these 'writers' trying to do? Just look around us and see the carnage that comes from hate and distrust. What happened in Bali and recently in Mumbai. The bombing at Kings Cross and now the shelling of Lebanon and Haifa. Do we want something like this to happen here? When those students graduate from University Putra Malaysia after having learnt the 'facts' they might end up being teachers. What do you think they are going to teach the impressionable minds of the young ones? The same distorted 'facts' that they have learned from the university! The vicious cycle goes on.
The Prime Minister hasn't made any statements regarding this issue as yet. He is too busy with his 880 projects worth RM15 billion. Sooner or later he has to make a stand on this issue! Our country's peace and harmony is at stake here.
Below are some photos of atrocities committed because of racial and religious intolerance.
The article was refering to the newly introduced course on Ethnic Relations in University Putra Malaysia. What is the furore about? It seems the 'authors' of the book who were supposed to write about the various races in this country in view of bringing a better understanding of each other have instead writtem some things which could ignite hatred and distrust which in turn could worsen the polarisation that already exists.
This issue was also brought up by the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz who even lamented what these 'writers' were trying to prove. He went to the extent of saying that anyone who wasn't happy with the book could make a police report. What was the reply from the Higher Education Minister, Datuk Mustapa Mohamed? "the Government was prepared to make amendments if there were factual mistakes in the book. However, he said the contents were based on facts. The Minister then told the House(our Parliament) that the Government stood by its stand that incidents listed in the textbooks were correct."
How did the authors of this book come to know 'the facts of the case'? Take for example the May 13th incident. No arrests were ever made and as of 2004, the official report on May 13th is still covered under the Official Secrets Act. So, how is it a couple of 'education material writers' have been able to get the so called 'facts' and managed to publish it without being arrested? What about the Kampung Medan incident? There was no information given to the public by the Malaysian Human Rights Commission or from the Police. Where did these 'writers' get their material and who gave them the clearance? Something fishy is going on.
The government has been emphasizing on the importance of having good race relations and encouraged racial intergration in the schools. It seems there is a different story at the university level. The Higher Education Minister must have missed out or played truant during the short courses given by the PM on "The Importance of Racial Intergration, Open Houses during Festivals, The Natianal Service, etc... How on earth could the government support something like this? Is this minister out of his mind?
One of the reasons for forcing young people of various races to live together under the Nationa Service program was to encourage intergration and to foster better understanding among the younger generation who are our future leaders. It is a good plan and I applaud the government for introducing it. But what are these 'writers' trying to do? Just look around us and see the carnage that comes from hate and distrust. What happened in Bali and recently in Mumbai. The bombing at Kings Cross and now the shelling of Lebanon and Haifa. Do we want something like this to happen here? When those students graduate from University Putra Malaysia after having learnt the 'facts' they might end up being teachers. What do you think they are going to teach the impressionable minds of the young ones? The same distorted 'facts' that they have learned from the university! The vicious cycle goes on.
The Prime Minister hasn't made any statements regarding this issue as yet. He is too busy with his 880 projects worth RM15 billion. Sooner or later he has to make a stand on this issue! Our country's peace and harmony is at stake here.
Below are some photos of atrocities committed because of racial and religious intolerance.
Bali
Lebanon
Mumbai
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Something Interesting!
Can You Read This?
cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg.
The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid,
aoccdrnig to arscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy,
it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are,
the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.
The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm.
Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef,
but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?
Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!
Will the spelling bee contests be terminated? I geuss not. You stlil need to konw the wrods beorfe you can raed tehm in whtaever oredr. heh heh....
cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg.
The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid,
aoccdrnig to arscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy,
it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are,
the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.
The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm.
Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef,
but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?
Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!
Will the spelling bee contests be terminated? I geuss not. You stlil need to konw the wrods beorfe you can raed tehm in whtaever oredr. heh heh....
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
RM4 Billion On Liquor And Gambling???
I didn't know that the Malays in this country could spend RM4billion a year on liquor and gambling! Most of the Malays are Muslims. At least 99% of the Malays I know do not drink. In this country they are not allowed to enter casinos. There are those who buy 4 digits but the amount they spend is peanuts compared to what the other communities spend on gambling. So, where did the State Mufti get his data? The Income Tax department should contact him for the details as they would be missing on a lot of revenue!
All the time I was made to understand(from the Muslim religious groups) that only the 'infidels' (unbelievers) indulged themselves in these worldly pleasures. This statement regarding the RM4 billion was issued by the Perak State Mufti, Datuk Seri Harussani Zakaria. He is the same guy who came out with the statement that we should not practice kongsi-raya celebrations because it was detrimental to the faith of the individual Muslim. Talk about putting your foot in your mouth!
Somebody is bent on dividing this country along religious and racial lines. Will we become another Kashmir? or Palestine? or Sri-Lanka? If these religious leaders are given more power, we will most definitely end up having suspicion and distrust among the races leading to the dissapearance of peace and harmony which we boast to the international community every chance we get.
These religious people like to make general statements without facts just to project themselves as champions of their religion or race. They would issue statements like "Muslims in the country also face other threats such as pluralism, hedonism and liberalism." or " the worrying trend to the secularism that had crept into Islamic society here." The simple people will immediately believe every thing he says because of the bombardic words condemning everything that is not Islamic. At the moment religious intolerence is rearing its ugly head everywhere. People who used to be friendly and considerate are now changing to being arrogant and rude.
There was a time in my younger days when we mixed freely among all the races without worrying about losing or the weakening of our individual faiths. I guess we were stronger and more faithful to our respective religions then.
All the time I was made to understand(from the Muslim religious groups) that only the 'infidels' (unbelievers) indulged themselves in these worldly pleasures. This statement regarding the RM4 billion was issued by the Perak State Mufti, Datuk Seri Harussani Zakaria. He is the same guy who came out with the statement that we should not practice kongsi-raya celebrations because it was detrimental to the faith of the individual Muslim. Talk about putting your foot in your mouth!
Somebody is bent on dividing this country along religious and racial lines. Will we become another Kashmir? or Palestine? or Sri-Lanka? If these religious leaders are given more power, we will most definitely end up having suspicion and distrust among the races leading to the dissapearance of peace and harmony which we boast to the international community every chance we get.
These religious people like to make general statements without facts just to project themselves as champions of their religion or race. They would issue statements like "Muslims in the country also face other threats such as pluralism, hedonism and liberalism." or " the worrying trend to the secularism that had crept into Islamic society here." The simple people will immediately believe every thing he says because of the bombardic words condemning everything that is not Islamic. At the moment religious intolerence is rearing its ugly head everywhere. People who used to be friendly and considerate are now changing to being arrogant and rude.
There was a time in my younger days when we mixed freely among all the races without worrying about losing or the weakening of our individual faiths. I guess we were stronger and more faithful to our respective religions then.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Sports Fever
The World Cup has come and gone like a hurricane even though it went on for one month. There's a lot of crying and gnashing of teeth worldwide. This state of affairs can be seen in Brazil, England, Portugal, Germany and now in France. Penalty shootouts can be nerve wrecking. It is a nightmare for the English team and now the French have joined them. I still think that a field goal like the header from a corner kick by the Italians would have been a glorious way to win rather than penalty shootouts.
A lot of people made money on the sidelines and thousands more lost a lot of money. The business community had a good time, especially the media people. I wonder if it is possible to estimate just how much money has been made from an international event like this.
Anyway, on the Wimbledon front, the French still have something to celebrate about. Amelie Mauresmo has taken the ladies event at the Wimbledon Championships. She is now the undisputed queen of tennis. I thought Henin would be the champion but after taking the first set she just choked up. Her game collapsed as she started making too many unforced errors. The other reason could also be the fitness factor. Amelie looked very fit as she moved around the court tirelessly. Kudos to Amelie.
In the gentlemen's event Roger Federer has again emerged the champion for the fourth time, defeating Rafael Nadal 6-0, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3. It was a fantastic game of tennis. Although I watched it live on TV, I wished I could have been there to soak up the exitement at the courtside. I know Roger has made someone very happy. Happy enough to 'belanja' cold beers.. heh heh..
The Chinese have something to celebrate about too. The Chinese pair of Zi Yan and Jie Zheng took the ladies doubles title making it the first Wimbledon title for China. The Chinese seem to have a good master plan to produce world class tennis players. We will be hearing more of Li Na and other Chinese players in the coming tennis tournaments.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Humour - Another Funny One
Sounds ridiculous but neverthless a funny story.
Subject: Diary of a young wife
Monday:Now home from honeymoon and settled in our new home. It's fun to cook for Tim. Today I made an angel food cake and the recipe said, "beat 12 eggs separately." Well, I didn't have enough bowls to do that, so I had to borrow 12 bowls to beat the eggs in. The cake turned out fine though.
Tuesday:We wanted a fruit salad for supper. The recipe said, "serve without dressing." So I didn't dress. But Tim happened to bring a friend home for supper that night. They both looked so startled when I served them, I think it was the salad.
Wednesday:I decided to serve rice and found a recipe which said, "wash thoroughly before steaming the rice." So I heated some water and took a bath before steaming the rice. Sounded kinda silly in the middle of the day. I can't say it improved the rice anyhow.
Thursday:Today Tim asked for salad again. I tried a new recipe. It said, prepare ingredients, then toss on a bed of lettuce one hour before serving."I hunted all over the place for a garden and when I got one, I tossed my salad into the bed of lettuce and stood over there for over one hour so the dog would not take it. Tim came over and asked if I felt all right. I wonder why? He must be stressed at work, I'll try to be supportive.
Friday:Today I found an easy recipe for cookies. It said, "put all ingredients in a bowl and beat it." Beat it I did,to my mum's place. There must have been something wrong with the recipe, because when I came back home again, it looked the same as when I left it.
Saturday:Tim went shopping today and brought home a chicken. He asked me to dress it for Sunday. I'm sure I don't know how hens dress for Sunday. I never noticed back on the farm, but I found an old doll dress and it's little cute shoes. I thought the hen looked really cute.
When Tim saw it, he started counting to ten. Either he was really stressed because of his work, or he wanted the chicken to dance.When I asked him what was wrong he started crying and shouting out "why me? why me ?" Hmmm....It must be his job.
hehehehe....
Subject: Diary of a young wife
Monday:Now home from honeymoon and settled in our new home. It's fun to cook for Tim. Today I made an angel food cake and the recipe said, "beat 12 eggs separately." Well, I didn't have enough bowls to do that, so I had to borrow 12 bowls to beat the eggs in. The cake turned out fine though.
Tuesday:We wanted a fruit salad for supper. The recipe said, "serve without dressing." So I didn't dress. But Tim happened to bring a friend home for supper that night. They both looked so startled when I served them, I think it was the salad.
Wednesday:I decided to serve rice and found a recipe which said, "wash thoroughly before steaming the rice." So I heated some water and took a bath before steaming the rice. Sounded kinda silly in the middle of the day. I can't say it improved the rice anyhow.
Thursday:Today Tim asked for salad again. I tried a new recipe. It said, prepare ingredients, then toss on a bed of lettuce one hour before serving."I hunted all over the place for a garden and when I got one, I tossed my salad into the bed of lettuce and stood over there for over one hour so the dog would not take it. Tim came over and asked if I felt all right. I wonder why? He must be stressed at work, I'll try to be supportive.
Friday:Today I found an easy recipe for cookies. It said, "put all ingredients in a bowl and beat it." Beat it I did,to my mum's place. There must have been something wrong with the recipe, because when I came back home again, it looked the same as when I left it.
Saturday:Tim went shopping today and brought home a chicken. He asked me to dress it for Sunday. I'm sure I don't know how hens dress for Sunday. I never noticed back on the farm, but I found an old doll dress and it's little cute shoes. I thought the hen looked really cute.
When Tim saw it, he started counting to ten. Either he was really stressed because of his work, or he wanted the chicken to dance.When I asked him what was wrong he started crying and shouting out "why me? why me ?" Hmmm....It must be his job.
hehehehe....
A Little Humour
This is one of the best jokes that I have come across. Everytime I read it I can't help bursting out in laughter.
Three men were sitting together bragging about how they had given their new wives duties.
The first man had married a Bengali girl, and bragged that he had told his wife she was going to do all the dishes and house cleaning. He said it took a couple of days but on the third day he came home to a clean house and the dishes were done.
The second man had married a Tamil girl. He bragged that he had given his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes and the cooking. On the first day he didn't see any results, but the next day it was better. By the third day, his house was clean, the dishes were done and he had a huge dinner on the table.
The third man had married a Punjabi girl. He boasted that he told her that her duties were to keep the house cleaned, dishes washed, lawn mowed, laundry washed and hot meals on the table for every meal. He said the first day he didn't see anything, the second day he didn't see anything but by the third day most of the swelling had gone down and he could see a little out of his left eye.
hehehehehe......
New Wives
Three men were sitting together bragging about how they had given their new wives duties.
The first man had married a Bengali girl, and bragged that he had told his wife she was going to do all the dishes and house cleaning. He said it took a couple of days but on the third day he came home to a clean house and the dishes were done.
The second man had married a Tamil girl. He bragged that he had given his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes and the cooking. On the first day he didn't see any results, but the next day it was better. By the third day, his house was clean, the dishes were done and he had a huge dinner on the table.
The third man had married a Punjabi girl. He boasted that he told her that her duties were to keep the house cleaned, dishes washed, lawn mowed, laundry washed and hot meals on the table for every meal. He said the first day he didn't see anything, the second day he didn't see anything but by the third day most of the swelling had gone down and he could see a little out of his left eye.
hehehehehe......
Sunday, July 02, 2006
School Bullies
A 14 year old girl from St. Joseph Secondary School,Miri was assaulted by a few girls from another school over a remark about the boyfriend of one of the girls. The victim was punched, kicked, slapped and pushed around. Someone had time to capture this scene and post it on the internet but didn't have the heart or mind to stop this foul deed. It has now become a police case.
We seem to be hearing more of such cases in recent years and they are getting more and more violent. There was the case of a school boy who died after being assaulted by several of his schoolmates. What is the reason for these assaults. Why so violent? It is not about drugs or taking someone's lunch money. Something is wrong with our school system but the top management does not want to admit it. One of the reasons is the poor management of the school personnel by the top management.
We had bullies in our time but the problem was not so serious because it was attended to immediately. Action was taken against the guilty party but most importantly, the person who was assigned to this task was always there and did their job promptly without fear or favour. The present school system with its shady method of promoting its staff based on racial quota leaves much to be desired. No wonder the teachers look the other way when there is trouble between the school children. There is no motivation from the top. I must admit there are teachers who care but solely because of their own principles, but these are few and far in between.
The other reason could be the parents themselves. Nowadays you hear of parents marching into the school to see the Principal or the teacher concerned for punishing their child and threatening to take them to court. In one case in Penang the mother came with a pair of scissors and attacked the teacher who had disciplined her daughter. Parents also have to take part of the blame for this decay. The children's upbringing would play a very important part in the way they handle themselves socially. If they learn hatred for others in the house, that's what they bring with them to the school.
In some schools the teachers are the culprits for segregating the students with regards to race and religion. The government is always talking about intergration but this is only lip service during election and for the foreign media. The selection of students to represent the school for a competition or for receiving awards or for getting scholarships tells a different story. All these factors could also contribute to the tense nature of these students who then take it out on some of their own schoolmates who might not be part of a gang.
When I was in Standard 2, we did have a bully from Standard 3 going around giving us a hard time. One day I gathered all my classmates(about 35 I think) and chased him around the school. He was smart enough to hide from us that day. He never disturbed us after that. Sometimes we have to learn to protect ourselves.
We seem to be hearing more of such cases in recent years and they are getting more and more violent. There was the case of a school boy who died after being assaulted by several of his schoolmates. What is the reason for these assaults. Why so violent? It is not about drugs or taking someone's lunch money. Something is wrong with our school system but the top management does not want to admit it. One of the reasons is the poor management of the school personnel by the top management.
We had bullies in our time but the problem was not so serious because it was attended to immediately. Action was taken against the guilty party but most importantly, the person who was assigned to this task was always there and did their job promptly without fear or favour. The present school system with its shady method of promoting its staff based on racial quota leaves much to be desired. No wonder the teachers look the other way when there is trouble between the school children. There is no motivation from the top. I must admit there are teachers who care but solely because of their own principles, but these are few and far in between.
The other reason could be the parents themselves. Nowadays you hear of parents marching into the school to see the Principal or the teacher concerned for punishing their child and threatening to take them to court. In one case in Penang the mother came with a pair of scissors and attacked the teacher who had disciplined her daughter. Parents also have to take part of the blame for this decay. The children's upbringing would play a very important part in the way they handle themselves socially. If they learn hatred for others in the house, that's what they bring with them to the school.
In some schools the teachers are the culprits for segregating the students with regards to race and religion. The government is always talking about intergration but this is only lip service during election and for the foreign media. The selection of students to represent the school for a competition or for receiving awards or for getting scholarships tells a different story. All these factors could also contribute to the tense nature of these students who then take it out on some of their own schoolmates who might not be part of a gang.
When I was in Standard 2, we did have a bully from Standard 3 going around giving us a hard time. One day I gathered all my classmates(about 35 I think) and chased him around the school. He was smart enough to hide from us that day. He never disturbed us after that. Sometimes we have to learn to protect ourselves.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
'Hot' Member of Parliament
The 'honourable' Member of Parliament from Jasin has come out strongly against the 'corrupt' Customs officers who he said were selling seized luxury cars to their friends in the palace and government offices very cheaply in return for other favours. It could be true, but coming from him! Why? Why now? The customs have been seizing luxury cars that were illegally brought in for years. Something is fishy!
Remenber this guy? He is the one who tried to import sawn timber illegally from Indonesia and was reported to have asked the customs to 'close one eye' over the matter. When the customs refused to oblige and it became known to the public, he is now on a warpath against the customs.
Who is he to talk about corruption? When he intervened to help the company that imported the sawn timber, everyone thought that he was trying to help his constituents as he also claimed. After further investigations by our local reporters we find out that the company belongs to him!
This is what is going on in this country, but this guy must have rubbed someone the wrong way, otherwise we would never have heard about this issue or even this MP's name. We'll see if he survives in the next election. Most probably he will be bringing up racial issues like the rights of bumiputras and about religion to cover up his activities and most probably he will be elected.
Remenber this guy? He is the one who tried to import sawn timber illegally from Indonesia and was reported to have asked the customs to 'close one eye' over the matter. When the customs refused to oblige and it became known to the public, he is now on a warpath against the customs.
Who is he to talk about corruption? When he intervened to help the company that imported the sawn timber, everyone thought that he was trying to help his constituents as he also claimed. After further investigations by our local reporters we find out that the company belongs to him!
This is what is going on in this country, but this guy must have rubbed someone the wrong way, otherwise we would never have heard about this issue or even this MP's name. We'll see if he survives in the next election. Most probably he will be bringing up racial issues like the rights of bumiputras and about religion to cover up his activities and most probably he will be elected.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Rudest Cities
One of our local dailies highlighted the announcement that Kuala Lumpur (Capital of Malaysia) is now the 3rd rudest city in the world! This status was derived from a survey carried out by Readers Digest magazine. It's reporters were sent to the 35 cities in which it publishes it's magazine to carry out the survey. The result was reported by The Times of London.
According to the survey, New York topped the list as being the most polite followed by Zurich. The most impolite turned out to be Mumbai, Bucharest and Kuala Lumpur in that order.
The criteria was what is considered courtesy in the West - holding doors, helping strangers and service with a smile.
I think the survey is not very thorough and most probably the subjects selected were not enough to be used as a yardstick against the rest of the population of the particular city. How many reporters could they send to each city? How many people could they have tested? What were the status of the subjects? What about the population of the cities concerned? Was all these taken into account?
The population of Mumbai is approximately 12.7 million. 1% of this is 127,000. This figure is about 35% of the population of Zurich which came out 2nd most polite city. How many people in Zurich and how many in Mumbai were surveyed?
Asian culture is different from the western although I admit there are universal values of politenes like giving a helping hand, a friendly smile etc. The way we greet each other also shows our way of being polite. The Thais clasp their hands and say 'sawadi' while the Indians would say 'nameste' in a similar pose. The traditional Chinese would close one hand into a fist and place it in the palm of the other hand and would say some Chinese greeting. The Malays here would shake your hand while uttering the Arabic greeting and after shaking would touch their chest with the hand. I guess all these practices weren't important for these surveyors. The holding of the doors is definately a western culture.
In Asia the doors are open most of the time so there is no need to hold them. That is why most of the Asian cities failed miserably in that test. It was an alien thing. I have lived in Kuala Lumpur in 1975 and again in 1986. I didn't meet that many rude people then although there were some rude people at the bus station, inside mini buses and 'pasar malams'. This would not qualify Kuala Lumpur as the 3rd most rudest city in the world. The publishing of the results from this so called 'survey' is not fair to the Asian cities and definately not good for tourism. Personally I think this is some sort of sabotage by interested parties to divert the tourist to the Western countries.
According to the survey, New York topped the list as being the most polite followed by Zurich. The most impolite turned out to be Mumbai, Bucharest and Kuala Lumpur in that order.
The criteria was what is considered courtesy in the West - holding doors, helping strangers and service with a smile.
I think the survey is not very thorough and most probably the subjects selected were not enough to be used as a yardstick against the rest of the population of the particular city. How many reporters could they send to each city? How many people could they have tested? What were the status of the subjects? What about the population of the cities concerned? Was all these taken into account?
The population of Mumbai is approximately 12.7 million. 1% of this is 127,000. This figure is about 35% of the population of Zurich which came out 2nd most polite city. How many people in Zurich and how many in Mumbai were surveyed?
Asian culture is different from the western although I admit there are universal values of politenes like giving a helping hand, a friendly smile etc. The way we greet each other also shows our way of being polite. The Thais clasp their hands and say 'sawadi' while the Indians would say 'nameste' in a similar pose. The traditional Chinese would close one hand into a fist and place it in the palm of the other hand and would say some Chinese greeting. The Malays here would shake your hand while uttering the Arabic greeting and after shaking would touch their chest with the hand. I guess all these practices weren't important for these surveyors. The holding of the doors is definately a western culture.
In Asia the doors are open most of the time so there is no need to hold them. That is why most of the Asian cities failed miserably in that test. It was an alien thing. I have lived in Kuala Lumpur in 1975 and again in 1986. I didn't meet that many rude people then although there were some rude people at the bus station, inside mini buses and 'pasar malams'. This would not qualify Kuala Lumpur as the 3rd most rudest city in the world. The publishing of the results from this so called 'survey' is not fair to the Asian cities and definately not good for tourism. Personally I think this is some sort of sabotage by interested parties to divert the tourist to the Western countries.
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