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.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Thursday, January 25, 2007
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.
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.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, January 22, 2007
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.
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.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
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.
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.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
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.
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.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
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 :
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 :
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