Non-Muslims Looked After

The Prime Minister said that non-Muslims were looked after and that various ministers in the Cabinet were charged with this responsibility. What a load of bullshit.

He was commenting on a request by Indian-based non-governmental organizations for the Government to form a non-Muslim Affairs Department to look after the interests of believers of other faiths. This request was brought up when they had a heart to heart meeting with the PM a few days ago in the hope that something concrete would be done. Looking at his reply, nothing is going to happen and that special meeting the PM called with the Indian based NGO's was an eyewash. Another political ploy to get votes.

I am sure all the Ministers mentioned by him would be flabbergasted to know that they were actually responsible for the religious problems of their ethnic groups. Those Hindu families that had problems with the Islamic Religious Department would certainly be surprised to know that all that while when they faced the rude officials from the Islamic Departments who had backup from the police, they actually had a hero Minister in the Cabinet who wasn't doing his job. When the dead body of their spouse was whisked away by the Islamic officials, when properties and accounts were frozen and placed under the Islamic Affairs Department, there was no Minister around to help them.

The proposal by the NGO's is a very sound one to help the non-Muslims in this country to sort out their religious problems with the Islamic Affairs Department. The Non-Muslim Affairs Department need to be empowered to be able to help the non-Muslims citizens of this country. We must have that right. Don't chicken out at this juncture Mr. Prime Minister.

The existing Ministers in the Cabinet have their own duties. The MIC leader does not have any influence to help the Indians. Just look what happened during this Deepavali. The UMNO General Assembly was held at the same time and no one went for the Open House. That is a slap in the face for the MIC leader Datuk Seri S. Samy Velu. Even the UMNO don't respect him!

There must be something wrong with the current system to cause more than 30,000 Indians from all walks of life to march down the street and demand for a better treatment. You have to take heed and come up with a better solution than make a sweeping statement like this :

“For instance, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting looks after the interests of the Buddhists, Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu covers the Hindus and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Bernard Dompok covers the Christians in the country.
“For the time being, this is quite effective and we have always been addressing the problems brought up by followers of the different faiths.
“We also have a National Unity Department which looks into matters relating to unity and the various faiths embraced by the various races in the country.
“In fact, we have always looked after the interests of non-Muslims and pay attention to any issue they may bring up to us,” he told reporters after visiting a kerepek factory in Kg Bukit Bangkong yesterday.

The march by the 30,000 or so Indians is an indication that all is not well with their lot and also that the existing system and the leadership is not functioning as expected. Then there is the problem of all the little Napoleons running the various government departments who have their own agenda which also needs to be addressed. The lack of non Malays in all various posts in the government service has added to the distrust of the government. The street demonstration is not about wanting more, or taking from others. This is exactly what our Deputy Prime Minister had in mind when he said, “We will not do anything that is seen as depriving other races of their rights. We will only demand whatever rights the bumiputra has. That is all,” Najib said.

The Indians want the same thing, education, jobs, business opportunities, housing etc.. The basic necessities is what they want. Not more not less. Is that too much to ask?

Cholestetrol

God works in miraculous ways but He also allows medical professionals to help in the healing work.

It seems I inherited the high cholesterol level problem. All my brothers and sisters also have high levels. Following the advice of my doctor, I embarked on finding a drug that will help to lower the cholesterol level. After trying out three of the statin drugs, I thought there was not much hope. Finally my doctor introduced Vytorin. Even though it is a combination of Simvastatin & ezetimibe, it seems to work for me for the moment. So far no side effects and the results are good.

I have to keep a lookout though for signs of side effects like : muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness with fever or flu symptoms and dark colored urine;decreased urine or rust-coloured urine; blurred vision. These are some of the allergic reactions to Vytorin.

Results:
The LDL dropped to 2.19 (<258). The Triglyceride level dropped to 1.66 (<1.68). The Total cholesterol/HDL ratio is 4.5 (<5.0). Total cholesterol is now at 3.8 (<5.2).
What a relief! Now I just have to work on the HDL which is below 1.0(>1.03). Need to play more golf and tennis!

Arrest, Arrest and more Arrests!

The Malaysian Police have been very busy the past few days and it looks like they will be kept busy with more arrests on the way.

The whole episode of street demonstrations with police water canons shooting water laced with chemicals and baton wielding police charging at the demonstrators could have been avoided if the top brass in the Police Department had used their brains instead of listening to stupid politicians. The media, whether local or international look for news that will bring higher ratings. Boys throwing rocks at the advancing Israeli tanks in Palestine is news. Korean riot police bashing the demonstrators is news. Myanmar’s army crushing the peaceful march by the monks is news. So, when the peaceful march by the Indians in K.L. is violently disrupted by the police, it will make the news. It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.

All they had to do, was give the permit for the peaceful rally with conditions relating to the safety of the populace and traffic control while limiting the number of people allowed to approach the embassy. I very seriously doubt that the Queen or the British Government would immediately go into action just because the British Embassy in Malaysia received a petition from a bunch of Indians! But no! They had to show who was more powerful.

It is the right of every Malaysian to differ with the government. We need not be an elected representative to voice our dissatisfaction with government policies as some elected politicians seem to think. The people must not be afraid of the government. The government must be afraid of the people. We put you there and we can take you out. So if a sizeable number of the people have some grouses to voice out, it is the government’s duty to not only listen but to take action on them if they are found to be true. Very simple really.

No need for riot police, bloody clashes, unwanted international media exposure, definitely no need for the ISA and most of all no need for the many silly explanations from the political fraternity. Some of our ministers truly embarrass the nation when they open their mouths and try to speak in English. Listening to one of them on BBC’s Hardtalk and one more bantering with an Aljazeera reporter was enough.

To top it up, we had one Member of Parliament who wanted to remove the crosses and statues of Mary in Christian schools! It seems our country being a ‘Muslim nation’ cannot allow such things. He must have graduated from the Taliban school. One of the leaders of HINDRAF will be charged for uttering seditious words that could incite racial disturbances. So what happens to the MP who insulted the Christians?

Indians Protest In Malaysia

In September I wrote in my blog that the situation was getting worse in Malaysia. This I attribute to mismanagement by the people in power. The top is filled with incompetent people who can’t seem to see further than their noses. Just because they are in power, they seem to think they can do whatever they want and get away with it. Only time will tell and by that time, this country will be in a sorry state.

Much of the blame for this sorry state of affairs must go to the previous Prime Minister who let out the worms from the woodwork using the NEP in the name of correcting the economic imbalance between the races . But the NEP favoured only one race. Now that they are in power, they are dictating terms to the rest.

Is it a surprise that the Indians went to the streets to protest? It was just waiting to happen. The Indian representatives in the government were not doing their jobs. The Indians in this country are at the bottom of the pile. Even their places of worship were being demolished with impunity! Ever heard of a mosque being demolished because it was illegally built a hundred years ago?

The Prime Minister said don’t challenge me. You have been challenged, not once but twice. I hope the elections are held soon to determine if the present government can still maintain it’s majority. Some of them are so arrogant they think they don’t need the votes of non-Malays to win the elections. As they say, power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely!

Below are some pictures of the protest held in Kuala Lumpur. A picture is worth a thousand words. Do the protesters look like thugs as claimed by one of our ‘honourable minister’?

FREE BURMA

Stop The Rot

The state of affairs in this country is getting worse. The crime rate is rising. The corruption level is high. Trust in the judicial system is eroding so much so that even the lawyers have started marching in protest. The powers that be must take the responsibility for this state of affairs.

The first thing to do is to change the policies that are causing the nation to be divided along racial lines. Basically this is the root cause of most of the problems. What was introduced as a help to the underprivileged has been greatly abused until today. After 50 years do you still need the NEP? Shanghai has become a super city within 10 years. Our leaders are still clinging to their crutch stating that there are still many Malays below the poverty line and as such the racial quota system must stay.

The problem is there are two generations of people who are in powerful places because of this policy but know nothing of how this nation came into being. They see no reason to change anything as they have benefited from it. The education system, the awarding of scholarships, places in universities, awarding of contracts, business licenses, availabilty of houses, price differences in purchasing of these houses, etc. All these are considered as inheritance because the major 'tribe' considers itself 'sons of the soil'. This mentality was placed there by the previous Prime Minister and is continued by the present one.

They talk about racial integration but they divide the students by race in school.
There is no sincerity in the policy makers.

You need to have more non-Malays in the Government service at the top. You also need to remove the little 'Napoleons' in the various government sectors who do not follow the policies decided in Parliament. Otherwise we will end up like Afghanistan or Iraq or Palestine or Sri Lanka where the neglected and downtrodden have no choice but to take up arms. There will be no peace in this land if there is no give and take policy. The religious problem will add oil to the fire. The clear example is in the state of Kelantan. The state government does not allow the non-muslims to open the food outlets before 3.00pm. They think that since they are fasting, the whole world should fast also! What would happen if the syariah laws were implemented! As it is one of the local universities is checking if the female students are wearing skirts! If they do, they will be fined by the campus security!

If we want unity, peace and progress, we need to change policies and also the deadwood that obstructs the policies. It is easy to make grand speeches at Merdeka about our glorious past but it takes a brave and courageous leader to take into consideration all the races that make up this nation and make changes for the good of this country of ours. This country doesn't belong to one particular race but to all who are Malaysians, regardless of race, colour or creed.

Let All Races Benefit

'Let all races benefit from govt funds,' is the statement made by our Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Doesn't it sound like a bait before the fishing begins? We know elections is around the corner. This is the same man who made the statement that Malaysia is an Islamic country knowing fully well what is written in the Federal Constitution. He was probably fishing for votes among the rural Muslims. Now he wants to give handouts to the non-Muslims to garner their votes. I wonder how many people will be taken in by this?

We don't need handouts. We need clear policies governing our basic needs like freedom of worship, a place for our children in the universities, jobs for those who graduate and business opportunities for our children who want to venture out into the business world. At the moment the little Napoleons in the various government departments dictate who should get a place in the university, who should get scholarship, who should get the business licence and who should get promoted! Most of the time it looks like all this is done by looking at the racial card.

If the DPM is serious about what he said, he needs to just look at the government departments and see how many non-bumiputras are employed there. Check the Ministry of Education and see how many Principals of schools are non-bumiputras. That's not too dificult to do. If you want all races to benefit, make sure they all have access to higher education so that they can take care of themselves. No need for handouts from any political party.

Below is an example of a handout that is vague :
A Selangor state assemblyman, when contacted, said Barisan assemblymen receive about “a few hundred thousand ringgit” a year to organise programmes for the rakyat.
“It is already a practice for the assemblymen to share the allocation with local Barisan component party leaders.
“However, the money cannot go to any political party.
“Rather, the parties will recommend where we should channel the allocation and the money will go straight to the rakyat,” he said.

Has any money ever gone straight to the "rakyat"? It sounds like a money train. The train will stop at designated places and the train driver will just throw out bags of money to the people waiting at the respective stations! How wonderful!

Wedding Anniversaries

What is it with anniversaries that causes so many flare ups and frictions between couples? All because one party forgot the date! And another thing is the menu for that special event. Even that can be a big problem.

One good friend of mine asked what we had planned for our anniversary which incidentally falls on this day. I told her nothing special. We woke up in the morning to go to market to buy fruits. Had our breakfast there. Came back to do the household chores as usual. We had a good lunch together with our younger son. Tom yam chicken soup, fish, clay-pot tauhu and vegetables with a nice cold drink. This is what we like.

I think couples should learn to enjoy each others company everyday then anniversaries will not be a problem. You don’t need candle-lit dinners and champagne. The only time we use candles is when there is a blackout. We try not to eat during that time as the visibility will be poor and there will be uninvited guests flitting around the candles and land on the food!

And further more, when you gaze at each other’s eyes there will be no more twinkles in the eyes. Twitching maybe and the dull reflection of the candles! Get real.

What we would really enjoy is opening up a number of durians, say around 10 numbers, and sit on the kitchen floor and finish them off! Now that, would be a great event for an anniversary! We have ordered the durians and are now awaiting their arrival.

Accountability

The big news in one of our local dailies is about a big scam on imitation spare parts for the police patrol cars. Supplier tries to pass off imitation spare parts as genuine" goes the headlines.

To me this is nothing new really. Things like this have been going on for ages. I don't know why the Inspector-General of Police looked so shocked! Why does something like this have to go all the way up to his level before something is done?

This is what I am talking about. In every department, company, business or co-op, there will be some 'smart alec' who thinks he can get away with cheating his employer in order to get easy money. That is why we have supervisors, auditors, etc..

What are these people doing? They have been given jobs that require them to check on their subordinates. That's why they are paid more. In the government service, many are promoted to higher levels not based on merit or capability but purely on race. These people do not know how to supervise or manage others below them nor do they have any inkling on what action to take or that they indeed are required to take action!

This is what is happening in our country. Lousy management leading to very little or no enforcement. If the IGP is serious, he will start by calling the chief of the Police Logistics Department and give him an ultimatum. That will start the ball rolling all the way to the procurement officer who should by now be shivering in his pants. Everyone involved must be made accountable and this will send a clear message to others who have not been caught as yet. This is the only way to straighten out the government servants. A slap on the wrist and a transfer to another section will not do.

It is very common for government servants to be let off the hook very lightly because of the Malaysian mentality. "Nanti kecik hati" is the usual term used by the Malays. The Chinese will say "lose face". Take the incident in Sarawak where some 200 girl boarders were punished by their warden for the careless attitude of one student. The warden made the girls squat in a murky fish pond in the rain for an hour. All this because one girl left a sanitary towel in the toilet bowl! Since when did the Education Ministry give so much power to wardens?

But the interesting thing is the satement by the Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein which goes like this "We do not want to point fingers at anyone now but we will take action against those who are wrong".

On the other hand, the Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department in Kuching, Sarawak, Fatimah Abdullah said the case should be brought to the school’s disciplinary board and a report handed over to the state education department. She said any punishment meted out must be in accordance with the school’s rules and regulations.
“But I’m sure the punishment for those caught throwing a sanitary pad into the toilet bowl is not asking them to squat in a pond.”

So you see they are not really talking about the 'culprit' who made the girls squat in the pond for 1 hour in the rain but the 'culprit' who threw the sanitary towel in the toilet bowl. This is the Malaysian way. Is it any wonder Malaysia lost to China, Uzbekistan and Iran! Management is the key word.

Cry For Justice And Fairness

Every day we hear of unfairness, nepotism, corruption and general disregard for the legal system in this country. Scholarships being denied to those who are eligible without any reasons given. Majority of contracts given out to one particular race. Government policies which favour one particular race. There is a cry going out through the land for justice and fairness for all Malaysians regardless of race, creed or colour.

Do we have a choice in leadership? The current leadership have let us down in every way. They talk alot and churn out slogans during their campaign trail but "cakap tak serupa bikin".

What we need is a strong opposition that caters for the Malaysian people which is not race based or religion based. This is the only thing that will unite the people and bring law and justice to this country. We will be able to use all our resources wisely to become strong economically and be politically stable. Otherwise, our resources will soon dwindle and we will be at the mercy of 'profiteering super powers' who will come in to 'help' us as has happened in Iraq, Afganistan, etc.

The last thing we need is a religious based party in this country. We really don't need these clowns who get their training from Pakistan or somewhere in the middle-east and who would like to establish their style of law here. God forbid that this should happen!

Do We Need Religious "police"?

I heard that a good number (more than 10) officers from the religious department in K.L. went on a checking spree. They went to one of the Indian restaurants (non-muslim) to do some checking and after that, they left with a ‘writ’ instructing the owner not to put up pictures of their Hindu deities on the walls as this will be a problem for muslims to eat there!

This is a typical banana leaf Indian restaurant, run by Indians who are Hindus. What else would they put up on their walls? Pictures of Osama, Ayatollah or any other mullah? What is wrong with this country?

I have been quiet for some time as there were too many stupid things that took place and it was just hilarious the way the politicians made their excuses for the many blunders and the amount proposed to remedy the defect!. The leak at Putrajaya (the pride of the country), another at the grand courthouse and the numerous shortcomings at a number of hospitals that were just completed. It is all about lousy management and no enforcement whatsoever! The case of the murdered Mongolian woman that is going on where the antics in the courthouse is like a circus act. Where is the dignity of our courts?

And now they have let loose the “religious police” to check on the “infidels” in this country. If the Prime Minister does not do something about these clowns, he will be in for a rude shock at the next elections. I feel the time has come and the general public(the non-muslims) have had enough of these “religious’ groups pushing us around. They are not elected but seem to be given more power than the elected.

One day the situation will be like that in Palestine or Afganistan or Pakistan even. In Pakistan, the members of the local mosque seem to be more powerful than the police or the elected representative. They are even better armed. Bombs going off everywhere and no one knows who or why anymore.
“Tuesday's violence began when about 150 militant students attacked a police checkpoint close to the mosque. Police fired tear gas and the students fought back with sticks and guns. They were joined by dozens of women from one of the madrassas attached to the mosque, who chanted in support of holy war. When police responded, some of the students snatched their weapons and tried to kidnap several police, according to police.
The students then fired on Pakistani forces, killing at least two security personnel and wounding seven others, police said. The students, some armed with Kalashnikovs and wearing gas masks, held positions behind sandbags in camps located around the mosque compound. Pakistani forces returned fire, killing at least four students. A Pakistani journalist was killed in the crossfire, and several other journalists were wounded -- including a cameraman, who is in critical condition.” Extract taken from CNN.


Our government is always talking about tolerance and racial unity. It is time to put the money where the mouth is. Stop the rot before it is too late or we’ll end up with a situation like the one in Islamabad.

Boring Entertainment

Attended our Indian Golf Festival Dinner tonight. The heavy rain didn't stop the members from attending this function. After the dignitaries had all arrived, the guests were invited to help themselves to the wonderful food.

The food was good, the company was good and while we ate, we were entertained by a talented couple. The man played the keyboard while the lady belted out some very popular oldies. Until that moment, everything was just fine.

Then the M.C. for the evening announced the next show. Two stand-up 'comedians'. That was the most boring performance. It was so embarrassing to watch two adults putting on what they thought was a 'funny act'. No one was laughing and even when there was some laughter, it was more like being polite so as not to put down the two guys. One was dressed like a woman and the other was supposed to be the husband. Maybe we expected too much from them as we were entertained the previous month by a very talented guy who had the crowd in stitches with his jokes and showmanship.

I guess this happens in the entertainment world. If you want to survive, never get behind a more talented person.

Totally Racial!

Read in one of our local dailies that a major local bank that is linked to our government has issued a directive to all legal firms that have business dealings with it that they are required to have a 50% bumiputera partnership.

Doesn’t this sound like those racial policies that we used to condemn in the 50’s and 60’s which were implemented in other countries, especially South Africa? How is it we are implementing it here in this age? Where is the equality and fairness to one and all that our politicians are boasting of every time there is a by-election?

In my opinion, this is a direct result of the NEP policy. When this policy came into force, a huge number of less than qualified people came into power with the backing of the government, all in the name of restructuring society and correcting the economic imbalance between the races. These ‘worms’ that crawled out of the woodwork now are sitting in high positions from where they make policies that are favourable to them and their cronies. The government mentioned only 30% in their NEP masterplan but as can be seen, these ‘worms’ have now increased it to 50% without having to go through any parliamentary debates or voting by all the races.

What do the political leaders have to say about it? Nothing, because the dirty work is being done by others. They just shake their heads and look dumb. From here we can only speculate that before too long more directives will be sent out from other government controlled financial institutions, government agencies, local councils, education departments where all the 'worms' have entrenched themselves, with regards to compulsory bumiputera participation in all areas!

Our ‘mamak roti canai stall’ will be having a new sign board – “Dawood & Khairi Enterprise”. The local mini market could have – “Chuan Huat & Jalaludin” instead of the existing “Chuan Huat & Sons”. The worst hit will be the Indians. The local barber shop – “Samy Hairstylist” might become “SamyAhmad Hairstylist” although I find it hard to imagine how the barber is going to break even with this partnership. Most of them go it alone. What will be the bumiputera partner’s contribution? Sweeping the hairs from the floor?

If the Prime Minister doesn’t see the folly of these ‘policies’ issued by these ‘opportunist’ and take some sort of remedial action to put a stop to this nonsense, I think we will not progress but rather will fall behind Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and even Indonesia. Many of our enterprising and intellectual young people will migrate to greener pastures or at least where they will be rewarded for their own hard work and not have to surrender half of it to undeserving parasites.

A Break From Issues

Read an interesting 'prayer' in Suddenly Senior' today. This is how it goes :

The Senility Prayer

God grant me the senility

to forget the people I never liked anyway,

the good fortune to run into the ones I do,

and the eyesight to tell the difference!

I realised how true it was even though the author might have written it with humour in mind.

Unity In Diversity

I have always stated that our country's future lies in the ability of its citizens to respect one another's difference. We are a multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-religious society. We have understood this and so did our founding fathers who prepared the Constitution to uphold the delicate mixture that exists in this beautiful country of ours. Of late, certain elements are trying to undermine this very foundation thereby creating an atmosphere of suspicion, distrust and hatred among the various races. Because of this situation, most of the speeches made by public figures go in one ear and come out the other. I have no more faith in our political leaders.

When I read the article on the keynote address by the Prince of Perak Raja Nazrin Shah at the Young Malaysians' Roundtable Discussion on National Unity and Development in Malaysia : Prospects and Challenges for Nation-Building, it was so refreshing! Coming from the royalty and of such a high rank, it really was what this country needs at this juncture. I hope all our politicians took note of his speech. This man is speaking from his heart for the good of this nation. Sit up and take heed.

In his speech he said, "In the case of Malaysia, nation building has occurred in generally peaceful circumstances. It was not imposed by another country. And it is undertaken mainly by collective choice rather than compulsion. The fact that we have been able to forge a nation without resorting to the rule of the gun has made us something of a rarity and a case to be studied, if not emulated. It has allowed a relatively effective system of governance to develop. Our track record at development and resolving problems such as illiteracy, poverty and poor health has been good."
This is in recognition that all races were involved in the development of this country.

He also said, " First, Malaysians of all races, religions, and geographic locations need to believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that they have a place under the Malaysian sun. Only when each citizen believes that he or she has a common home and is working towards a common destiny, will he or she make the sacrifices needed for the long haul. In Malaysia, the Federal Constitution, the Rukun Negara and Vision 2020 encapsulate the rights, hopes and aspirations of the population in a way that no other documents do. The integrity of these documents must be defended and promoted, especially the first."
How very true! We will know if we are defending the Constitution in the near future! (The Federal Court has fixed May 14 to hear R. Subashini's application for leave to appeal against a decision ordering her to bring her divorce and custody claims to the Syariah Court. For the uninformed : Subashini is a Hindu whose husband converted to Islam without telling her. The Syariah Court is a religious court for the muslims.)

Strangely though, not many of our top political leaders had anything to say about his views on nation building. There were many comments from non-muslim groups, NGO's and a few bloggers, praising his stand on the importance of the Constitution. I waited a few days to post on my blog as I was hoping there would be some favourable comments from the top leadership but I didn't read or hear anything from them in the papers or the news. I guess they don't have time for such trivial stuff as National Unity!

As long as there are people like Prince Raja Nazrin, there is still hope for this land. The full text of his keynote address can be found at thestar online.

Barbarians At The Gate

Recently our government has opened up an area in the State of Johor, south of the Malayan Peninsular called the Iskandar Development Region to help boost our struggling economy. To get foreign investors to participate, the Prime Minister unveiled incentives and also announced the relaxation of certain rules that were considered the stumbling blocks. The main one is the removal of the requirement for the foreign businessmen to set aside 30% interest in their business for local Malay business partners.

This is of course common thing to us Malaysians as it is spelt out clearly under the NEP (New Economic Policy). Initially the 30% was meant to be the guideline, which later was abused until it became not less than 30%! Until today if this matter is brought up by the non-Malays, it is considered a threat to their rights and some people will unsheath their kriss and wave it in the air and threaten blood shed!

The reason for the special rights of the Malays is to correct the economic imbalance among the races especially between the Chinese and the Malays. The NEP was launched in 1971 by Tun Abdul Razak who was the Prime Minister at that time. The NEP ended in 1990. It is now 2007! Isn't it time to do away with this racial policy? This is the Malaysian political scene. The crutch is very difficult to throw away even when you can walk without it! Such is the subsidy mentality.

The Strange thing about the Iskandar Development Region is that the government is willing to forego the 30% for the Malay businessmen just to attract the foreigners!

"The opening up of the Iskandar Development Region to foreigners should not be seen as a threat to the Malays." says Entrepreneurial and Cooperative Development Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin. He also said that Malays should take up the challenge to compete against foreign companies. Why is it there is so much confidence when it comes to foreigners but not with the local businessmen?

If the government is really sincere about the matter, the 30% requirement should be abolished throughout the land on all matters and level the playing field for all Malaysians. We should first try it in the local arena before we give the opportunity to foreigners. We are already inundated with illegal Indonesians who seem to get better treatment here than they get back home! There is a Malay saying, "Kera di hutan disusukan, anak mati kelaparan!" It means feed your children first before you take care of the monkeys in the forest.

Where Is The Religious Freedom?

Any country that is progressing economically will definitely have certain salient points that are very necessary for it to advance. They will most probably have hardworking citizens. There would be law and order to ensure peace and harmony among the citizens. The government of the day would have ensured freedom for its people to practice the religion of their choice, to be able to protest if there is injustice. To be able to seek justice through the legal system. An efficient armed forces to protect the land from invaders and so on and so forth.

We in Malaysia have most of it but of late we see the emergence of intolerant attitudes in religious matters. Those in power somehow feel obligated to favour one party over the other when it comes to religion. Take for example the case of R. Subashini whose husband converted to Islam. He is trying to convert the children too. Subashini is trying to fight for her rights in getting a divorce settlement in the civil courts. On March 13, a panel of judges had ordered Subashini to take her case to the Syariah court! She is a Hindu. Why should she go to the Syariah court to look for justice? The Syariah court is for Muslims. It is a religious court.

How could the honourable judges come to such a conclusion? It shows the hidden forces playing behind the scene. Some people are trying to turn this case into one that is against Islam. It is about the religious freedom that is guaranteed under the Federal Constitution. To deny her the right to take her case to the civil courts is to deny justice to all the non-Muslims. That's what it is. The government is trying to fish for votes in the rural areas or it is worried that the opposition party, namely PAS would condemn it as being un-Islamic. We cannot allow the mullahs or ayatollahs to dictate to us about how we should live.

It is very important that the government make the right decision if we want to have peace and harmony in this land. The government must ensure the rights of every citizen regardless of race or religion. Even in Iraq where the majority are muslims, they still kill each other simply because they belong to different groups. Do we really need this type of Taliban mentality here?

The latest news about R. Subashini is she has obtained a temporary injunction from the Court of Appeal to preserve her civil rights pending her appeal to the Federal Court. I sincerely hope our legal system allows her to fight for her matrimonial rights in a civil court, whatever the outcome.

Water Woes

If the electricity supply is cut off, all you have to do is light up a few candles and voila, you have light. But when the water supply is cut off, that is a different kettle of fish.

We have been having water problems for a few days now in our fair city. Today is the pits. Our tap is bone dry. The information I got was the operator of the water treatment plant was having trouble with the pumps. The newspaper has an article on this sad state of affairs but even the papers don't seem to give a clear picture of what is happening. They are more concerned with the plight of students at the local university. None of their 'investigative' reporters seem to zoom in on the real story. How could 8 pumps break down simultaneously? There was no mention of who is operating the water treatment plant and how such a situation could have come about. Every pump at any treatment plant has a stand-by pump. In the event of failure of the operating pump, the stand-by pump would be utilised to minimise interruptions to the supply of water to the consumers.

Nobody seems to ask how 8 pumps could breakdown at the same time! The running of the water treatment plant has been privatised and I guess the operators of this treatment plant have powerful connections which has enabled them to be kept out of the news! So much for 'investigative' reporters in this country.

Operating a water treatment plant is not very difficult, actually. It is easy money if the operators pay attention to the maintenance part of the job.

The raw water is extracted at (1. Intake). Depending on the quality of the raw water - chlorine, allum and lime are added and the water flows to the flocculation tank(2) and then to the sedimentation tank(3) where the unwanted particles settle down and are periodically removed. The water is then channeled to the filters(4) where the finer particles are removed and the clear water is collected into the clear water tank(5). Chlorine is added for disinfection purposes and lime to control the PH value. At No. 6 is where the pumps used for pumping out the clear water to elevated reservoirs are located. The problem could be here. If the pumps are not maintained properly, then they will breakdown and no water can be pumped out.

On the other hand, if somebody had been sleeping on the job and had allowed the clear water tank to overflow, the excess water might have flowed into the pumphouse and inundated the pumps! That could also be a possibility. We will never know as all our 'investigative' reporters are busy at the University Utara Malaysia taking photos of students playing with water pumped from wells at the campus.

Why are they having wells at the campus is another mistery especially after the government had spent millions to lay trunk mains leading to the campus, building reservoirs on the hilltop for them and a special pumphouse to pump the water up to these reservoirs! Maybe they had advanced knowledge of the possibility of 8 pumps breaking down simultaneously at the water treatment plant!

Turning Point

This morning was a good day at the golf course for me. I managed to beat all 3 of my golfer friends who were playing with me. Even Mr.Consistency gave up after hole 5. Tomorrow I will be playing with 1 less stroke.

In order to encourage me, my friends(the more experienced golfers) gave me strokes. It will start with 1 and will be increased each time I lose until I get to the turning point where I actually beat them with the given number of strokes. After that the strokes will be reduced by 1 if I keep on winning.

Tomorrow we tee-off at 7.30am. Hope I can hang on to my winning streak! Another lady wants to join us and I have to give her 5 strokes! Cor blimey! I hope I remember the way Tiger Woods swung his clubs at the recent WGC-CA Championships. That will come in handy plus all the tips my friends gave me as I was playing with regards to course management.

One of them even gave me some equations to remember. "If your equation has trees in it, remove them and you will be alright." Which simply means if you had teed-off into the woods, tap the ball following the easiest way to the fairway so that you will be in a position to attack the green. Good advice. Must remember to execute that equation.

Still On Golf

Went to the practice green to brush up and hone my skills in putting, chipping and pitching. Spent nearly 2 hours, bent over and swinging my clubs diligently trying to put the balls near to the pin as possible. Going into the hole is more of luck for me at this stage.

Something else happened from all this diligence. A small muscle at the lower back to the right side has started to complain. Now I can't straighten myself too quickly after bending over for so long. Got to do it slowly. Anyway, that cumbersome nagging pain didn't stop me from going for golf again the next day. Must beat those guys and that 'gal'.

The four of us teed-off at 7.30am. From the beginning I knew it wasn't going to be my day. By the end of the 9th hole I was at the bottom of the score list. Bummer. I have to rest for at least a week to get over that sore muscle. Anyway, that 'sore' muscle didn't stop me from playing tennis in the evening. Had a good game and even forced one of the opponents to retire midway in the 2nd set due to exhaustion! That's what I call a workout.

I am still watching all the golf competitions that are being shown on TV to see how the professionals play and learn more about how the game is played. My day will come.

Golf Anyone?

I have played various types of games in my lifetime. From the group games that we invent when we were kids(police and thief, hide and seek) to the more established and internationally recognised games like football, volley-ball, badminton, ping-pong, tennis and golf. Of late I have the opportunity to play more golf as I am retired and have more time on my hands than I care to admit.

It is a strange game where one has to hit a small round ball into a small hole. The distance from the stating point to the hole varies, between 300+ - 500+ yards. The first blow is called a tee-off where one uses the biggest 'club' in the arsenal of clubs to whack the ball to as far as one can or as in my case, out of my sight - probably into the 'forest' or pond or 'unmown' area of the course. This seems to give a certain amount of pleasure to my opponents as I have the knack of playing from one side of the fairway to the other side as I slowly approach the 'green'. I am also very good at playing from tree to tree and am very familiar with the location of all the ponds and drains on our 9 hole course.

But I am getting the hang of the game and have started to hit straight, maybe not towards the pin, nevertheless straight as opposed to the 'curvaceous' shots that carry my ball out of bounds. Of late I have been buying a lot of drinks but all this shall come to an end.
Note to self:"I must go to the driving range and the practice green to hone my driving, pitching and putting skills so I can beat some of these guys and 'gal'."

An important factor in playing this game is the exercise I get, dragging my golf set for 5 or 6 kilometers. Hopefully by the end of the year I will be slimmer, my knees will be stronger and my HDL will increase.

Hole1(Par 4) where we Tee-off. To the right is the practice range and to the left is a pond.

Hole 5 (Par 5) Drain right across with a pond about 300yds on the right.

Hole 7(Par3) The pond in front has gobbled up a lot of balls.

The practice green.

The Arts?

There was an article in the World Section of our local newspaper about a show in Rapid City, South Dakota where French performance artists vomited, simulated sex and threw fake faeces besides stripping and called this ‘art’! The promoter for these Frenchmen, Kevin Dorsman seems to think that it was well done as performance art although it was stopped shortly after the simulated sex act involving a carrot. The promoter did apologise as he discovered that the act was too extreme for the people of Rapid City. It seems nobody really knew what these guys were going to do when they hired them. Is this really art?

When you say art to me, not necessarily ‘performing’, this is what comes to my mind :

Venus de Milo, an ancient Greek statue and one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture.

Mona Lisa, or La Gioconda (La Joconde), a 16th century oil painting on poplar wood by Leonardo da Vinci.

The Taj Mahal (sometimes called "the Taj") generally considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements of Persian, Turkish and Indian.

Performing arts would bring to mind things like cultural dances, Shakespeare, musicals, mime, magic shows, stage bands, opera, and so on and so forth …

How could vomitting, throwing fake faeces and simulating sex act with a carrot be calssified as art? What is the world coming to or did I miss something in the last decade or so? I might have been in a Rip Van Winkle zone when they reclassified the term ‘performing arts’. But if given the choice, I would rather have nothing to do with it even if I am considered as a prude or old fashioned. I have to draw the line for myself and this type of ‘performing arts’ stays out of my zone. Waaaaaaaaaaaay out.

Staying Healthy When Old

One thing I notice when I am on my usual morning walks is that the ones who are religiously exercising are the older generation. Even their numbers are more than the younger generation. There are teenagers and the young adults, but they usually come to socialize more than actually exercise. They will run a few hundred feet and then end up running around the trees chasing each other.

Whereas the older generation, made up of the healthy to the sickly, are very serious about the whole ‘keeping healthy’ workout. We always take our health for granted when we are young or when in the pink of health. When something happens to wake us up from our stupor, then we start to prioritise our activities and manage to make time for exercise and other health related activities.

I can see so many elderly people who have survived heart attacks or strokes and who are regularly exercising to stay healthy. When we start losing that precious commodity that was given freely at birth, we try to work hard to keep it as long as we can. Growing old gracefully was probably coined for greeting cards. There is no ‘gracefully’ with old age. You lose your strength, your stability, your reflexes, your memory, sometimes your sense of humour and probably have a lot of gas as well.

What you really need is to be healthy with strong muscles and limbs to carry your body around. For the mental workout, reading is about the best exercise. Otherwise you would end up being a burden to those whom you love. What I have noticed is that no one wants to die before their time. And those who are surviving, staying healthy and strong seems to be the priority. Life after death is another story.

Smoke Free Environment

It is a good thing to have a smoke free environment, especially in an air-conditioned hall or building. We had a dinner and dance function at our club last night to celebrate the end of the Chinese New Year and also our regular fellowship night which is held once a month. The organising chairman has been advertising the event and calling up a lot of the members to give support to make this event a success. When he approached me to get some tennis players to attend, I did mention to him that we all love to go but most of us are not happy that smokers are allowed to puff away in the enclosed area. We do not want to be second-hand smokers.

I read that inhaling second-hand smoke is worse than smoking the cigarette and besides the obvious danger to our health, the smell of smoke on our clothes is also a put off. The smoke can penetrate right down to the undergarments! After listening to my complaints, he said he will do something about it.

Last night before the dinner began, he made the announcement to all smokers, "You are free to smoke, but do it out on the balcony. There should be no smoking inside the dance hall". That made our day. The music was good. We had a live band from K.L. called the 'Ghost Riders' who belted away the type of numbers that we liked and got almost everyone on the floor. There was of course the better dancers who walked away with the hampers. They could swing their hips better than most of us and the swinging lady also happens to be a good friend. There was a special prize for the best dressed gentleman and one also for the lady who happened to be our good friend also.

All in all it was a fun night with wonderful music and good company and most of all without the smoke. I hope that policy stays for future events. Below is a photo of some of our gang.

Waiting Room Blues

It was time for our car to be sent for servicing. Reached 51,000km and according to the manual, the car needs servicing. When I was still working, the practice was to drive to the service center and leave the car there. The service center people will send you back to the office and when the car is ready, they will send the car to you.

Things are different when you are retired. You don't have to go to work. You have plenty of time so you can wait at the service center for the car to be ready. I went around 9.30am and told the guy I wanted the car to be serviced plus to check the brakes as they were making squeaky noises when I applied the brakes. He said no problem and invited me to the customer waiting room. There was a receptionist there to assist you should you need anything. I surveyed the room and noticed a TV, an automated coffee machine and an ice cream 'box'. Everything was self-service of course.

I am not used to serving myself, so I asked the girl if she could turn the tv on. She said no problem but informed me that there was some problem. She didn't mention what the problem was but turned on the TV anyway. As she was trying to get into the many channels offered by Astro, I asked her to click to the sports channel. Everytime there was a message, 'you are not subscribed to this channel'! Then she turned around and told me they (employer) may not have paid the Astro bill for this month. What a bummer! She said I could watch some movies from their VCD collection if I wanted. She brought the list of movies available and I quickly chose 'Pirates of The Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest'.

While I was waiting for her to get the VCD, I looked around and saw two other customers sitting at a table and deeply engrossed in the local newspaper. When you have a lot of time on your hands, you tend to read everything in the papers, from the news, the advertisements, the sports section right down to the obituaries. I didn't bring my reading glasses so I didn't have to do that. After she started the movie going she asked if I wanted a drink. I said yes and asked for 'Nescafe'. She was kind enough to get me the cup of 'Nescafe'. I settled down for the next one and a half hour wait, watching 'Dead Man's Chest' with a steaming cup of 'Nescafe'.

The film was not as good as the first one. Too much slapstick and couldn't quite get the plot of the story. Anyway, the car was ready before I could finish the movie. The bil came to RM 338.50. Cost for changing the engine oil, oil filter, brake oil, power steering oil, spark plugs and services charges. When you own a car, you have to get prepared to pay for the upkeep.

The squeaky sounds have dissapeared, and the car is running smoothly.

Stop Snooping

"Stop snooping" was the instruction given to the Terengganu State Islam Hadhari Committee chairman Datuk Rosul Wahid by the Prime Minister. The PM said there was no need for the policing of the morals of muslims. He went on to say that instead of devoting too much time and effort trying to police the morals of Muslims, state religious departments were better off concentrating on programmes that could strengthen the Islamic values and morals of the community.

Finally there is a voice of reason from the government. Such activities gives a bad image of our country. Such practices must be curbed at the beginning. If it is allowed to bloom then it will be too late and we will end up with situations like in the middle-east and some other muslim countries where the religious police are more powerful than the regular police.

We should be concentrating on strengthening our economy, racial intergration and eradicating the quota system giving equality to every Malaysian. This should be the target of a fair and democratic government. As it is we losing tons of money due to the ridiculous system of awarding contracts based on race. It is time for a rethink for the good of the nation as a whole.

How To Murder

I read in the New Zealand Herald that kiwis are a heathy and active lot but don't feel safe on city streets at night. Many reasons were given for feeling scared which included dangerous people, media reporting on crime, alcohol and drug problems and badly-lit streets. One reason that they left out could be because it is the latest to emerge.

Howick College has given it's students a special assignment to stimulate their thinking. How to carry out a perfect murder and dispose of the victim's body. Only one parent complained about this gross assignment and insisted the college give an apology. The principal, Bill Dimery, said the aim of the assignment was to get students reading the Roald Dahl book Lamb to the Slaughter, in which a woman kills her husband with a frozen leg of lamb, which she then serves to the investigating police officers for dinner.

He then acknowledged that, setting such an assignment was probably poor judgment.
"The intention was to get kids thinking about people and their actions and their motivations and there was an assignment which was couched in terms of plotting your own murder." The teacher later apologised to the parents.

What about the rest of the kids who completed their assignments? What would be their conversation during break? The one who got an 'A' would be in cloud 9 and pleased with himself that he can get away with murder. What would happen if his classmates think that his plan would not actually work and dare him to prove it. Things like this always happen in school compounds. I heard someone's child jumped off their apartment after watching Superman! So what's to stop these kids from carrying out the 'perfect' murder? Who will be the unfortunate victim?

Schools must be more careful on what they put inside impressive minds of the young. Do they really need to learn how to kill to stimulate their minds? This kind of teaching method is carrying it a bit too far. I am glad my sons are not in that school.

Religious Zealots

When will the politicians in Malaysia come to their senses? This is a multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural society. We have lived in harmony for so many years because we respect each other and are tolerant to each other's peculiarities. Even our religious differences didn't keep us apart. We learnt to live with each other and have prospered this far.

Lately there seems to be an emergence of relgious fanatics who think they are championing their faith by introducing laws and rules based on their religion and want to implement them on the rest of us.

An example would be the dressing of women(it always is about the women for these zealots). The various heads of government depertments started warning the public that they won't be entertained if they didn't dress properly! Properly according to whose standards? Then came the stupid rule about the fine of RM500 for sexy dressing in Kelantan. The next one was about the suggestion that women should wear chastity belt to 'protect' them from rapist! Nothing is mentioned about any study being done on why the men resort to rape. The victims are not always beautiful, sexually attractive females. Little children and even grandmothers are not spared. Shouldn't they start looking at the men for a change to look for the reason?

If that wasn't good enough, now one of the so-called 'elect' among the Muslim society has decided to set up a group which he termed as 'Mat Skoding'. Their job would be to spy on unmarried couples who are having sex and report them. Basically I would describe them as peeping toms. These people in religious departments have never been voted by the people but they seem to be progressively gaining more power as the years go by. Very soon they will have their own religious army! This is bad for the nation.

Politicians can be voted out but these religious zealots hide behind their 'holy books' and once they have power they are almost impossible to be removed - short of a bloody revolution. Our leaders must wake up and put a check to these zealots before it is too late.

First Time For Everything

We have never opened up our home for any function before. So, when I was nearing 58, my wife said now would be a good time to try it. We planned to invite a small group of close friends. That itself was a big headache. When you sit down and write the names, the list is not so small anymore. This was one of the many obstacles that we had to cross. Somehow we trimmed it down to 12 and duly informed our 'victims' that they were required to present themselves at our residence for lunch. When all had confirmed their participation after trying their best to find out what the occasion was for, we started to plan the menu.

There is no cooking in this house so everything has to be catered. We wanted to keep it simple so we ordered chicken and mutton (Indian restaurant). There will be no rice this time, so we ordered 'capati' and 'idli'. We also ordered fried chicken (Chinese restaurant) called 'inchi-kibin', whatever that means. That looked very simple. After a few days someone told us it is better to have more food than less food, so I rushed to the Indian restaurant and increased the chicken quantity and the 'capati'. I checked with him three times to make sure he didn't forget my order and to make sure there was sufficient salt in the curry. I also told him none of us was diabetic. I remembered the last time I ate there the cook didn't put enough salt. He reassured me everything would be fine.

That morning we went to the market to buy some fruits. We managed to get 'nangka' and 'papaya'. At 11.30 I took my wife to the restaurant to collect the food. The man told us everything was ready except the 'capati'. The person who makes the 'capati' hasn't turned up for work! I told him my guests will be arriving very soon. What are they going to eat with the curry? My wife settled for rice. Lucky fellow. I would have made him sweat longer. She also ordered 'papadom', fried fish and vegetables that she said looked good. We collected the 'inchi-kibin' from the Chinese restaurant and went home to wait for our guests.

They all arrived on time and soon everybody was enjoying the meal. We were all 'yakking' away so much that I forgot to bring out the 'papadom'. I went in to open a bottle of wine but was having some trouble with it. Fortunately an expert wine bottle opener was present that day and she opened the wine bottle with ease. The wine was sipped slowly by some while others just gulped it down. No matter. As long as the bottle was emptied. Then someone, who had found out that it was my birthday, had brought a cake and I was made to blow out the candles(there was not enough candles though!). The 'yam cake' was delicious though.

All in all it was a good time for all who were present and a very good experience for us in organising such an event at our home. Maybe we might do it again for my wife's birthday, God willing.

Just A Thought

I always wondered why someone could not come with a design for cell phone batteries that would last for , say 1 week before it needs to be recharged. Wouldn't that be wonderful? It could also trigger a chain reaction leading to greater inventions!

For example, we already have solar cells that convert the sun's rays into energy that can be utilised for lighting and heating of water in the house. What if we had such small batteries that could last for more than a week. Some brilliant or crazy person could come up with a device that could magnify this source of power so that it could be used to move pistons! If that could be done we would be driving cars using small batteries that would need recharging about once a week. There would be no pollution of the atmosphere. The noise pollution would also drop. Best of all, this invention would break the oil cartel that is controlling the world economy and giving so much power to a few families in the middle-east.

Once everyone is used to moving around in a noisless, pollution free environment, another brilliant or crazy person might come up with the idea of using the gravitational force around us. A vehicle that uses gravity to propel itself will be the beginning of the space age. Not rocket fired, fuel guzzling monsters that we are familiar with. We must have a design that uses the natural environment around us without destroying or depleting it. This is the real space age. The moon has its own gravitational force around it. A vehicle that can use such natural forces can also operate over there.

That day will come, but when? I wish it would happen within my lifetime. Imagine the possibilities. It could go places even a helicopter cannot reach. There would be no need to cut down trees to build highways! We can only hope and wait.

Police Efficiency

It's a feather in the IGP's cap as it was reported that the police took only nine hours to crack the Saturday night jewellery heist at the Subang Parade shopping mall. That's a job well done. The next step the IGP should take is to send some of those efficient police officers to tackle the snatch theft problem that is still rampant in all the states.

These punks are not working in the dark. They are doing it in broad daylight and sometimes in busy areas. I am sure these officers can come with a plan to nab these scoundrels. It only takes a few success stories which will be highlighted in the papers to act as deterent for the other crooks. As they say, 'Justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done.'

These robbers prey on defenseless people causing bodily harm and sometimes even death. It is time the police took a more serious look at these crimes even though they may not look so glamourous. Neverthless they are criminal acts and many lives have been lost even though the financial losses are small.

If the IGP can solve this problem which affects the people on the street, I am sure a lot of people will feel safer to go out in Malaysia and he will not only receive accolades from the PM but from all the 'rakyaat'!

Costly Blunders

I read in the New Straits Times regarding costly blunders in awarding contracts. These facts were revealed yesterday by Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop and deputy Auditor-General Anwari Suri.

The article was about contractors who were incompetent, who lacked expertise but yet were awarded government contracts. These contractors didn't have the finance, the skilled manpower and didn't have the equipment in the first place. How was it that they were able to get the government contracts? You don't need Agatha Christie or Hercule Poirot to solve this one.

The government has itself to blame when the 'give to bumiputra contractors only' policy came to effect. Why would the bumiputra contractor be bothered about competency, or doing a good job or even finishing it. The subsidy mentality is in existence. The government will bail him out all the time. He would have got 15% as advance payment to be used to start the contract. So, when he gets the advance, the first thing is to get an E-Type Jaguar to be used for site meetings among other things. Then get a second wife although maybe not in that order. When things are given out, the welfare mentality takes over. In the beginning the suppliers will agree to supply the required materials and the banks might give loans based on the Letter of Acceptance. When the money doesn't come in, the supplier and the banks will turn the screw tighter. The supplier will demand cash for the building materials.

The contractor will go crying to the government that the non-bumis are not helping him! The little 'Napoleons' in the Finance Ministry and the Works Ministry try to help the 'poor helpless' contractor by getting him some money from the revolving fund meant for the deserving bumiputra contractors. That money will also dissapear. The contract will be terminated with some poor civil engineer who happened to be in charge of that project having to write out a full detailed report on what happened. It will then take months for the contract to be retendered. The cost of the project of course would have gone up. Is this really news? This has been going on for a very long time.

Poor management in the various government departments is also to blame. This is because of another unwritten policy that the head of any section must be a bumiputra and it doesn't matter if he or she is inexperienced. This state of affairs will go on until the government wakes up to the fact that non-bumiputras can manage the department and manage it well too. The government has to stop playing the races against each other just to stay in power. It was announced that RM2.1 billion has been reserved for 32,000 class F contractors. Who are the class F contractors? Bumiputras. What about the rest of the non-bumiputra contractors? Who is being marginalised here? The government must come up with a plan that will include everybody regardless of their race or religion.

There must be a paradign shift in the minds of the executive from being fearful of other races to that of working together for the good of all. Take a look at the Chinese muslims in Malacca. Just to allow the Chinese muslims to build a mosque for them to worship is a big problem for the Malays there! "Mosque for Chinese Muslims unnecessary, says Malacca CM" screams the headlines. When are the politicians going to grow up in Malaysia?

Leasing An Airbus

This interesting piece of news caught my eye as I was browsing through today's paper. The title of the article was 'Government leasing Airbus'. The Prime Minister was denying some reports that the goverment had purchased a corporate jet for his personal use. He said the goverment was only leasing an Airbus from Penerbangan Malaysia Bhd. which would be cheaper than buying the plane. He also mentioned that the AIrbus was not only for his use but would also be used by the king.

The interesting part of this news is PMB (Penerbangan Malaysia Bhd.)is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the Government’s investment arm. So, indirectly the government is still buying the plane and leasing to itself!

Who gets to use the plane when it is not used by the Prime Minister or the King? Is it left idle in the hangar? Is this a win-win situation for both parties? I am not good at accountancy or in doing business, and that is probably why it doesn't seem to make sense to me.

Ethnic Relations Module

The revised Ethnic Relations Module has been approved by the Cabinet for use in public universities as reported in the Star today.

The contributions by the Chinese and Indians in the fight for independance is mentioned in this revised version. The May 13 racial riots in Kuala Lumpur in the year 1969 is mentioned without any reference to any political party. The introduction of this module is to help in the intergration of the various races in this country at the university level. It is a good policy by the government but I think the introduction is in the wrong place.

If the Prime Minister and his government is dead serious about racial intergration, they should start with the primary and secondary schools. These children are our future leaders. They should be taught such things when they are young and at their formative years.

We should not start with university students. By the time they reach university level, many would be active in politics and would have carried with them the prejudices which they picked up from their school teachers. So, the first step is to weed out the fanatics in the schools and to introduce inter-racial programs. Choosing teachers according to merit and achievement would be a great help. Segregating classes using religious studies as the reason is a hindrance to intergration.

Encouraging sports activities would go a long way as children don't see the colour of the skin when they are playing. It is the adults who use religious issues to spoil everything. Promoting teachers who deserve it(regardless of their race) would be a good start to improve the education system in this country as they would then concentrate on educating the children in their care instead of giving tuition to make more money.

At the moment many schools segregate the students and I believe this is the source of non-intergration at university levels. Neverthless, introduction of the Ethnic Relations Module is a good proposal even though it is introduced at the wrong place.

To Lower Or Not To Lower?

We were having dinner just before our monthly meeting and during the consumption of our food, the topic of high cholesterol happened to crop up. One of the members who happened to be an orthopaedic surgeon kept emphasizing on the importance of monitoring the cholesterol level and more importantly, doing something about it - namely taking prescribed medication and adjusting our lifestyle to help lower the LDL and increase the HDL. He kept on harping the fact that it would be too late to do anything after one has had a stroke. Prevention is always the better strategy.

My good orthodontist friend tried to get the surgeon to declare at what level would he consider the need for medication. At this point I mentioned that mine was at 7.5 and I am taking medication. My doctor has prescribed to me 'Ezetrol' as the statin drugs were giving me problems.

I do believe the surgeon has a good point. When one has reached the age of 50, we need to be more conscious of the status of our body, both internal and external. We need to exercise and if possible do some weight lifting to tone and strengthen the muscles. Internal care includes taking supplements and medication prescribed by the doctor after the regular checkups. It is not wise to prescribe herbal medicine for yourself as you would never know what will happen as one of our friends at the table found out. He had rashes all over his body from taking medicine bought from a medicine shop for lowering cholesterol.

This is not unusual over in Asia as quite a number of people have their own remedies passed down from their grandmothers and grandfathers. Even my good friend was taking some concoction made by her mother! I think the surgeon's reminder was a timely one for the others. I started testing my blood some 8 years ago and changed my lifestyle based on the results besides learning that I had the H factor to deal with. H for hereditary. Somethings you can't change but with modern medicine you can keep it in check for as long as is possible.

English Proficiency Test

The Education Ministry of Malaysia has finally decided to test teachers who are teaching Science and Mathematics in English for their proficiency level in the English language. The teaching of these two subjects using the English language was introduced in the year 2003. It took them 4 years to realize that a large number of teachers who were supposed to use the English language to teach, were themselves not proficient enough to carry on a conversation much less teach Maths and Science in that language.

I think the root cause of having so many teachers who were not proficient in English but yet assigned to teach subjects in English was because of the monetary rewards offered by the Ministry to teachers who are involved in this program. Anytime there is news of money, there will be the 'boneheads' who will pull cables to get into such programs as long as they can get extra cash. This is very likely what has happened but no one will admit it officially.

What does this tell us? Poor management. The government has many good policies and they still keep churning them out. The Prime Minister's publicity manager is doing an excellent job to make him look good locally and abroad. They came up with a blueprint on Education as if there was none before. Introduced a new term - 'Cluster schools'. Before that the Ethnic Realtions subject was introduced in the Universities to improve intergration among the various races, starting with the students. Good policy but somebody forgot to tell the reason for this policy to the Minister of Higher Education. The book that was introduced to one of the University, blamed a particular race for incidences that happened. The book was withdrawn after much protest from various groups. The implementation of the policies have much to be desired.

It seems the Prime Minister doesn't have a task force to see if his policies are being carried out as planned or he is not bothered. The announcement of billions of ringgit for the 9th Malaysia Plan sounds very good for the economy. But is it really planned to help all Malaysians. Everytime one reads the papers, the politicians talk of projects to help a particular race. This is the problem in this country. It is becoming very racial and I think somebody is planning to keep it that way just to be in power. It is so difficult to find mature, open-minded and non-racial politicians in this country. We have people who talk of bloodshed and like to play with their kriss though. What a bummer.

Scholarly Thinking!

Yesterday, our honourable Prime Minister said, "Malaysia should create an Ulul Al-Bab community of between 5,000 and 10,000 scholars and thinkers in science and technology by 2020 to ensure the nation’s success." When I first read the headlines I thought to myself, now our leader is moving in the right direction for us Malaysians to keep up with the rest of the developed world. On further perusal of the said article, I realised that he was talking exclusively to the Muslim population of Malaysia but it sounded like he was addressing everybody, Muslims and non-Muslims. Otherwise, how could he bank on only the 52% Muslim community to come up with 10,000 scholars to ensure the nation's success? Malaysia's success in science and technology depends on every Malaysian, regardless of race or religion.

This is the problem with this country today. Everything seems to revolve around race and religion. Even the schools are doing it openly. It seems the intoduction of the Arab language will be an advantage for our students and learning an additional language will good for the children. It is stated that the learning of the Arab language has nothing to do with Islam but what goes on in the schools is very different. Why? Because the implementors of this policy have their own agenda. They start the lesson with a prayer. What do the non-Muslim children do during that time? Are they advised what to do? Why in the first place should they have prayers during the learning of a language be it Arabic?

The Prime Minister looked surprised when he was told that though he had good policies, the situation on the ground was very different. He looks like Alice in Wonderland, in a world of his own. His son and son-in-law have been accused of amassing wealth using his influence. He has denied all that but it has never cleared the air. Now he thinks only Muslim scholars can ensure the nation's success! The rest of us are useless.

In contrast, I read in the paper that a Pakistani murdered his sister because she had entered the university while he was working as a fruit vendor in Lahore. It seems she disobeyed him when she enrolled at the university! How can a girl be more educated than a boy! That's too much!

Pakistan is a Muslim country. A number of our so called Muslim 'thinkers' go there for their 'higher' education. I sincerely hope they do not bring back that kind of mentality to our country. Not only will it dash our Prime Minister's vision but it would be bad news for our Muslim women folk, many of whom are already in the various universities in the hope of improving their future when they get their degrees.

If we keep sending our Muslim brothers to Pakistan they might end up with the standard of English as shown below, although it surely is not representative of all Pakistanis.

Old Age And Health

When one is young, it never crosses the mind about the total well being of oneself. This is understandable as there are too many things to do and there are many new things to learn which occupy our minds.

It is different when you get past middle age and beyond. You begin to think of the dire consequences if certain parts of your body do not function properly. Take for example your brain. What will happen if one day you become senile or mad! If you have a close knit family, the chances are that someone will look after you until you kick the bucket. What if you don't have such a someone?

Or, if you have all your faculties intact but your body is not. You had some problem with your spinal cord and cannot move certain parts of your body. You will also be totally dependant on someone to stay alive. Between the two, I would think the person who went senile or mad is better off. He has no idea of what is going on. The people who suffer most will be those around him and the one who takes care of him. As for the physically handicapped person, he will go through mental anguish as he or she cannot do the many simple things even if he or she wants to. The people close to him or her also feel the pain and the suffering.

Some people would even think of suicide under these circumstances but death is not an option. The appointed time of departure will come as determined.

So, as we approach old age, we must try to stay fit, be choosy about what we eat, read more to exercise the mind and be happy! The rest is in God’s hands.

AAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

Today is the 4th of January. There was so much on my mind on the 30th of December 2006 but I was not able to log onto my blogsite to write it. I must start writing my thoughts offline and blog it when I get the chance. So many things have come to pass and we have moved into the new year so suddenly.

No time for resolutions that are meant to be broken. Saddam has been executed and there seems to be a great debate going on in the BBC corner between the supporters of Saddam and his enemies. Personaly I think he got what he deserved. End of story.

Then there was the earthquake near Taiwan which showed us how vulnerable the internet is. Not to forget about the many who suffered in Taiwan. Recently the tragic ferry disaster and the missing plane in Indonesia. That place is a haven for disasters. Especially after the tsunami near Acheh.

Before that there was much hype about the serial killer in UK. He murdered 5 prostitutes. The police have arrested a man suspected of being the killer. Hope they get the killer and put him away for good.

In the local scene we are awaiting the trial of the man who is suspected of murdering the Mongolian girl. A lot of theories going around about that case.

Latest - I found out that taking green tea to lower my cholesterol isn't working for me! The reading(Total Chol./HDL ratio) is 7.5 now! Now waiting for my doctor to find me a drug that will work for me.

Finally, we had one of the worst floods in the southern state of Johor. They still haven't recovered from the flood as can be seen from the pictures in todays paper. Below are some pics of the flooded areas :