Issues

Church arson

2010-01-08T19:36:00.000-08:00

Malaysia has finally made it to the international news and joined the many nations facing problems with religious extremist. Not that we didn't have them before but now they seem to have become bolder. A number of churches were set on fire using kerosine bombs. The Prime Minister has condemned the attack.

I have to say that it is my presumption that the churches were burnt by the Muslim extremist as we have yet to hear from the police regarding the identity of the culprits. This incident will no doubt be linked to the usage of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims which is a big issue with Malaysian Muslims. It seems it might confuse the Muslims and cause them to stray if Christians use that word to refer to God. This case went to court and the outcome was in the favour of the Christians.

Now with the arson incident, it looks like court decisions have no value. The government has to come out strongly against this sort of bullying to reassure the people that there is still freedom of worship in this 'boleh land' and that we need to respect the law and the constitution of the country. Otherwise all is lost.

Police Brutality

2009-02-05T08:09:00.000-08:00

Police brutality is not a new phenomena and certainly not confined to Malaysia only. Even the developed nations have many many cases of police brutality against minorities in their records.

The latest in Malaysia is the case of an Indian, Kugan, who was arrested in a car theft case. He is actually a suspect. As in all other cases in Malaysia, a suspect is innocent until proven guilty.

The police have a job to gather evidence to prove their case. In this case, Kugan was found dead while in police custody! What happened? This is the natural question. The police must answer and clear their name. He is not the first Indian to die in police custody. Is there racism in the police department and is it directed against the Indians because they are a minority here?

Independent investigation must be carried out to determine the actual events. If the police want the people to have trust in them, they must not carry out the investigation. It must be done by an independent body and must be done urgently. The job of the police is to uphold the law and maintain peace. If this sort of thing is allowed to go on, I doubt there will be peace in this land. The blowing up of the Mongolian girl has already damaged the reputation of the Malaysian police both within the country and outside the country.

How many Indians have to die in police custody before something is done?

Whither Malaysia?

2008-07-01T07:03:00.000-07:00

Looking at all the happenings around us, one can't help but think about the direction Malaysia is taking.

In the recent election, the government lost 5 states mainly to 3 reasons. Namely,
a) corrupt politicians in the ruling party
b) arrogance displayed by the ruling party towards other Malaysians of different race
c) racial policies practiced favouring one particular race

It seems the surviving party leaders are still in limbo and not aware of why they lost so badly. The recent rebate offered by the government to offset the steep price hike in petrol does not really help the poor people who are the ones in real need. They do not own cars so they can't get any rebates! The rich man with many cars will be getting more money. And further more, why allow Pos Malaysia (a public listed company) to distribute the rebate for which they will charge a fee. Should it not have been the work of the Department of Vehicles? They work for the government so there will be no fee involved. To see who benefits, one needs to find out who has a major share in Pos Malaysia and I won't be surprised if you should find some politicians in that list.

To make matters worse, the PM doesn't even have control over his party members. The other day one of them (a woman) threw a racial slur in the state assembly! The gall of that woman. The PM has yet to say something. They always talk about racial harmony and sensitivity towards others. If someone says something about Islam or the rights of the Bumiputra, that is being insensitive. Other people also have feelings.

Right now I have this image of Malaysia being placed on an iceberg and set to drift towards the equator. Based on the political scenario at the moment, that's the feeling right now.

A Changing Malaysia

2008-03-31T06:14:00.000-07:00

After ruling this country for 50 years, the ruling coalition found themselves with a government without a two-thirds majority! How could this have happened? Dare we dream that the leadership is actually taking stock to learn from all this? I am not so sure.

I am sceptical because most of the previous Ministers were not of quality material. They came into power playing the race and religious platforms. They have been doing this for so long they don’t know anything else or even care about anything else besides making money for themselves. When the people went to the streets in protest, they didn’t get the hint. It is certainly not our culture to protest or even to strike! In all my 36 years in government service, I remember only once when the union called us to picket in K.L. Of course we took leave to stand by the roadside carrying our placards. We were demanding for better pay then.

The demonstrators in K.L. last year were demanding for a decent livelihood. They were asking the government to look into their welfare. It was about jobs, education, freedom to worship, places to worship, rising cost of fuel, food etc... They were not terrorists as they were made out to be by some politicians who were in power then. If the leadership had been smart, they would have studied the situation and assigned the right persons to provide solutions to the problem rather than lock up the protesters using the Internal Security Act. The election results might have been different. The coalition might not have lost 5 states! That’s just my opinion.

I guess it was not just the demonstrations alone that caused the change. There was too much corruption. Our No. 1 enemy is not “Drugs”. It is CORRUPTION! The whole nation can go bankrupt if it is left unchecked. We will end up carrying sack loads of our money just to buy a packet of ‘nasi lemak’, while the corrupt politicians and their cronies are enjoying their ill gotten gains in some Polynesian island!

I think the change came at the right time. My only hope is that the government will learn from the change and do what it is supposed to do – take care of the people. The dust has finally settled and the opposition that has claimed the 5 states are now in the limelight. Lets hope they will do a better job. We do not need a moral police. We only want good governance. Is that too much to ask?

Election - Time For Change In Malaysia

2008-03-08T01:00:00.001-08:00

Today is election day for Malaysians. There has been a lot of talk about exercising the individual’s right to vote in order to change the government for the better. Theoretically it is good advice but in practical terms, this won’t work in this country.

Our politics is still based on race and religion. The more racial you are the more votes you will get from your community. The religious nuts are having a field time glorifying their brand of politics based on their religious order. ‘The only way is our way’ is their slogan and their religious rules are good for everybody.

So you see, it really boils down to the general education of the masses if we really want a good government run by honest people who will consider Malaysia is for Malaysians. It sounds like a dreamer’s view point but I don’t see any dramatic change if the current government loses some seats.

The little ‘Napoleons’ or ‘mullahs’ are still in their places of power within the government machinery. For them their post is considered an inheritance as most of them came in through the ‘back door’ as a result of the government’s policy of helping the Bumiputeras using the NEP. The politicians may be changed but these government servants who don’t seem to know that they are ‘servants’ are still embedded in their various posts and they are the ones who introduce policies that divide the population, especially those in the Education Ministry as this involves our young people. The special treatment and privileges given to the students because they belong to a particular race divides the children at an early age and by the time they get into the university, there is little or no integration between the races.

I blame this situation totally on the Education Ministry and the previous PM who started all this nonsense. Until today he is still not repentant and dares to mention in the papers how can an Indian Malaysian be equal to a Malay Malaysian! He started the rot and we are at the receiving end now with racists politicians and meatheads who think they are our leaders in Parliament.

By tomorrow we will know the outcome of the elections and what is in store for all Malaysians. I still think change will only come when the Malays wake up and realize they don’t need the NEP anymore and accept all Malaysians as their equals under the Malaysian flag. Until such time, we can only wait and hope.

Non-Muslims Looked After

2007-12-19T19:16:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-19T02:33:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-12-14T04:27:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-28T19:14:00.000-08:00

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

2007-10-04T00:13:00.000-07:00

Stop The Rot

2007-09-30T09:22:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-10T10:02:00.000-07:00

'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

2007-08-02T23:51:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-21T22:51:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

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"?

2007-07-04T07:55:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-28T08:26:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-05-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-14T03:33:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-06T05:11:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-02T03:53:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-03-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-28T18:55:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-27T09:50:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-03-19T02:25:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-03-12T03:19:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-07T17:06:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-28T20:58:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-22T18:52:00.000-08:00

"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

2007-02-21T20:04:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-21T05:02:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-12T03:38:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-07T18:46:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-04T22:50:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-04T07:02:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-29T18:23:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-25T08:20:00.000-08:00

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?

2007-01-24T08:36:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-22T06:24:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-01-10T00:06:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-06T17:50:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-01-03T08:21:00.000-08:00

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 :

Peace On Earth

2006-12-24T08:58:00.000-08:00

While a large population of the world is singing "Peace on earth" and celebrating Christmas, another group is furiously rushing to be a nuclear power. Iran has warned the west that they will be a nuclear power and everyone has to learn to live with it.

The U.N. sanctions against Iran's nuclear policy doesn't seem to bother them. Instead, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the Iranian President said that the resolution passed on Saturday was a "piece of paper" adding that the 15 countries who voted in favour would regret it- BBC news.

How did Iran acquire the knowledge to build nuclear plants? It definately must have come from one or more of those who already have the nuclear capability. China and Russia have interest in that nation. In return they would have given them the necessary 'aid' to build the nuclear plants not to produce energy but to build nuclear bombs. This is how the big powers play the game. How else could India and Pakistan have joined the nuclear club? One was aided by Russia and the other by America.

Look at the Mujahideens and the Taliban. How is it they are able to operate the latest weapons and have so much arsenal in their possesion? When they were fighting the Russians, the Americans helped them and gave them the firepower they needed . All this 'aid' must have brought the Americans some financial gains. Now, these same group has turned on their benefactors and have been classified as terrorists. Another war got started and the war mongers were rubbing their hands with glee as more weapons and bombs were purchased. War is good for their business. The bottom line is, it is all about money. The super powers are dictating the terms. The U.N. is a toothless bulldog that can bark but has no bite.

There will be no peace on this earth as can be seen from all the killings that are going on. Somalia, Chad, Darfur, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine. Strangely though, most of these battlegrounds seem to involve Muslim nations. I wonder why! Even the occasional bombings in southern Thailand is in the Muslim areas. Now we have to live with a Muslim nation run by fanatics who think they are the only godly people and everyone else(the infidels) is morally corrupt and deserve to die! Having said that we must also remember that now they have the ability to make nuclear bombs thanks to China and Russia! God help us all!

The Mat Rempits

2006-12-14T19:56:00.000-08:00

In Malaysia, we have this new problem of youths who hold illegal racing along our highways and main roads. In the beginning it was all about racing at odd hours, but now they have gone on a crime spree. They are no more the helpless and less fortunate young people that many 'bleeding hearts' have made them out to be in the papers. They are a serious threat to the peace and security of the nation.

The gang rape of a 13-year-old girl and two robberies reported in Bukit Mertajam on Sunday morning are believed to have been committed by members of the Mat Rempit gang. The state police chief of Penang, Deputy Comm Datuk Koh Hong Sun said the incidents occurred within an hour of the George Town police chasing away 600 motorcyclists who had gathered in Gurney Drive. He said, “Some of them could have separated from the main group and embarked on a crime spree. Other than the three cases, they also smashed a car windscreen and sprayed foam from a fire extinguisher into the vehicle. We have not ruled out the possibility that the group could also be behind the stoning and throwing of firecrackers into a police station in Kubang Semang on Oct 15." These people are not afraid of the law or of anybody else.

I was told by a friend that one of the tactics used by these 'renegade bikers' is to place all their helmets on the road. When any car travelling along that stretch comes across these helmets, they ofcourse will stop their cars. These thugs will rush out and smash the windscreen and spray gas at the occupants and then rob them of their valuables after beating them up.

These are the same people whom the UMNO was trying to recruit as UMNOputeras. No wonder they are so arrogant. They think they have the backing of the major component of the ruling party. The government needs a rethink of their social concern activities. It is good to help children who have gone wayward through no fault of their own. They need guidance and maybe financial help to get an education to better themselves. This is not the case here. These people have money to buy motorbikes and to fiddle with them to get more power and speed for racing. Now they have turned to crime. The police have to come down hard on them and restore peace and order in this country.

The tourism industry is not the only thing at stake here. Our own safety which should be the major issue is also at stake.

To Each His/Her Own

2006-12-06T21:16:00.000-08:00

It is disturbing to read political leaders issuing directives and making them laws on how the citizenry should dress or behave in public. The factors taken into consideration for making the rules were based on morals of decency. The problem here would be decent according to whom? How does one define decent dressing in a multi-racial, multi-cultural environment? We in Malaysia have lived side by side peacefully for 'donkeys' years because we respect one another's culture and belief.

In America they have the freedom of speech where one is allowed to say almost anything he or she feels like it. We don't do that here because we take into account the sensitivities of our fellow citizens who might get hurt from what we say or do. As someone said, "Your freedom to swing you hand ends where my nose begins." And so we have lived and progressed this far.

Lately we have been hearing from people who seem to live in a different time zone from ours. They speak about championing their race, their religion and their language as if all others don't matter and need no mentioning. They even have begun telling us how to dress! These people are trying to get political mileage by using the race and religious platforms without realising the damage they are doing to the peaceful working relationship we have in this land.

There is enough killing and suffering in this world. Do we need to jump into that wagon also? What's with this Menteri Besar of Kelantan? Look at what he said, “It is an Islamic ruling, so nobody should undermine or question it." Such a dangerous statement which can only be made by religious leaders who hide behind their holy books to avoid discussion. It's almost like he is afraid of losing the state in the next election so he is trying to pull in some extra votes from the fanatical Muslims in that already backward state.

Why can't we agree to disagree? We need to take a closer look at the politicians who run for office at the next election and vote wisely if we want to have a better future for Malaysia. As for me, I say to each his/her own.

No Sexy Dressing

2006-12-04T17:57:00.000-08:00

No Sexy Dressing - this is the headline screaming across the STAR (one of our dailies). Kelantan which is one of the states in Malaysia is controlled by an Islamic based party. That's the only state which is in their control, thank goodness!

Any women caught wearing 'sexy clothing' or is 'indecently dressed' will be fined RM500.00. The Kota Baru Municipal Council's enforcement officers will be going on their rounds to check on women whom they consider to be indecently dressed. What an important job these guys have. If they wear glasses, they have to make sure the glasses are very clean so they don't miss anything while scutinising the women's attire. They might even have to take a long time looking at the women's 'clothes' just to make sure it is revealing or indecent before they take action.

This is what you get when you vote religious nuts into power. Their reason for coming up with this rule is that the council had received many complaints from ratepayers regarding this 'clothing' issue. It seems these women are trying to attract customers by wearing sexy clothes. Those 'ugly' women in burkas and 'tudungs' are losing out in the business arena. To further strengthen their complaint, they claimed that the sexy dressing was an insult to Islam! I think that was the deciding factor. So, the brilliant solution that the council can come up with is to fine women wearing sexy clothing! This way the coulcil don't need to advice the burka business women about customer relationship, to be friendly and serve with a smile, to keep the place clean and hygenic, to sell things that people would want to buy instead of worrying what other's are wearing. And since the state is governed by an Islamic party, the decision is very Islamic!

What is going to happen to the Indian women? Their traditional sari and blouse will definitely show the mid-section of their body which includes the navel. That is the cultural dressing of millions of Indian women all over trhe world. They will surely be fined RM500.00 after being ogled over by the officials under the pretext of closer inspection.

There are so many more important issues at hand, like eradicating poverty, reducing unemployment, housing for the poor, raising the living standards of the people, scholarships for the poor, protecting the environment ..etc. What do these people come up with? Checking on what women wear!

Race Law In Hong Kong

2006-12-04T07:28:00.000-08:00

I have written many times on racial policies in Malaysia but this one is about racial discrimination in Hong Kong. I received this article which appeared in the Observer and decided to post it here for every one to know what's happening in Hong Kong.

Race law 'is a memorial to my Harinder'

Campaign by a journalist who lost his wife forces Hong Kong to bring in an anti-discrimination law

Stephen Vines in Hong Kong
Sunday December 3, 2006
The Observer

One of the last things Harinder Veriah said before her death in a Hong Kong hospital seven years ago was: 'I am bottom of the pile here. I am Indian. Everyone else here is Chinese.'
Her husband, the British journalist Martin Jacques, believes that neglect derived from racial discrimination was responsible for the death of his wife after she suffered an epileptic fit on the first day of the new millennium, which left him to bring up the couple's son Ravi, then just 16 months old.
As he struggled to make sense of the tragedy, Jacques's anger grew. He is still pursuing a negligence case against the hospital through the courts. But he also grew increasingly convinced that it was wrong that, in Hong Kong, supposedly an international city, there were no laws outlawing racial discrimination. And he was determined to act.
The legal battle with the hospital over responsibility for Veriah's death is still to be resolved. But last Wednesday the Hong Kong government finally yielded to the campaign that had been sparked by her death and announced the introduction of anti-discrimination laws.
It was a campaign that exposed some of the taboo subjects in a largely Chinese society where racism is deeply ingrained, and a campaign that gave a voice to victims who were supposed to remain silent.
Harinder, better known as Hari, was excited about coming to Hong Kong both to pursue her career as a lawyer and as a Cantonese-speaking Asian brought up in multicultural Malaysia. She soon found out that what she thought were cultural advantages were overshadowed by the colour of her skin. It was a discovery made earlier by other members of Hong Kong's Indian community.
It was against this background that Jacques caused shock waves by appearing in a coroner's court quoting his wife's words to him about racial discrimination she was experiencing in the hospital. But the evidence was dismissed by the coroner, who delivered a verdict of death by natural causes. Jacques did not accept this judgment and he sought a new inquest in London. This resulted in an open verdict, with the coroner, Dr Stephen Chan, saying 'there are questions as to the level of care given to this unfortunate woman in those final 20 minutes and the level of management care during her short stay in hospital'. She suffered an epileptic fit on 1 January, 2000, and was dead the following day. The hospital that treated her has firmly denied all claims of negligence and racism and is fighting the negligence case.
However, Veriah's family is not alone in alleging that racism led to a fatality. Cristina Solano, a Filipina domestic helper, died after doctors failed to diagnose a condition resulting from rabies infection. Her relatives believe that her nationality explained why she did not get more careful treatment. The Hong Kong government consistently maintained that legislation was not a proper way to solve problems of discrimination, but as the campaign at home mounted, and it was regularly embarrassed by harsh criticism from the UN human rights commission, it finally yielded and has produced a bill that outlaws racial discrimination.
The former British colony is therefore set to be the first piece of Chinese sovereign territory with an anti-race discrimination law. On the Chinese mainland, the constitution outlaws discrimination 'against any ethnic group' but, like many parts of the Chinese constitution, the rhetoric is not matched by reality on the ground.
Meanwhile, Chinese nationality law insists that only those of Chinese race or being of a recognised ethnic minority within China can qualify for citizenship.
The new Hong Kong law is seen by some as a major step forward, but has provoked disappointment from others who campaigned for its enactment. 'It is much worse than we expected,' said Law Yuk-kai, the director of Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor. The bill's definition of racial discrimination is based on that contained in Britain's 1976 Race Relations Act, which was seen as so inadequate that the law had to be amended.
Jacques is cautious about endorsing the new legislation. But he said yesterday: 'Hari's death led to the wave of indignation and protest that has culminated finally in this bill. In that sense, she did not die in vain. It is a memorial to her. The bill addresses and acknowledges racism.
'That is a big advance on it simply being ignored and condoned. In time, the lives of hundreds of thousands of people of darker skin will be improved. Out of the carnage and destruction of her death, something has happened that should make life better for those of darker skin. It is a start, an important beginning.'
Harinderveriah.com

Racial Policies

2006-12-01T07:30:00.000-08:00

Everytime I read about racial policies that have been given the green light by the government in the name of eradicating poverty among a specific race and to raise their economic status, it reminds of South Africa when apartheid was the in-thing then. The Africaners used that policy to maintain the supremacy of the minority white over the black majority in that country.

From CNN online news I read that in SUVA, Fiji, there is trouble brewing over a policy just like that. The government was trying to pass a legislation through parliament two land rights bills that Bainimarama says would unfairly favor Fiji's indigenous majority over the large ethnic Indian minority. Who is this Bainimarama? An outsider? A white human rights activist? A Fijian Indian maybe? No! He is an ethnic Fijian who knows what is right and what is unjust and has decided to do something about it.

Fiji military chief - Frank Bainimarama

I salute this man who dares to go against his fellow countrymen and his government for his beliefs. The legislation aims to give all the coastal land to the ethnic Fijians and he feels that this is a racial based policy which is not good for Fiji as there are other races living and working there who will lose out.

I wish we had such a leader in our country. All we have are tripods who are just waiting to be promoted and receive a fat paycheck. To hell with the people and their rights. We have a lot of little Napoleons serving in the various government departments issuing out their own racial policies in the name of helping one particular race - the Malays.

A calssic example would be the Negeri Sembilan Education Department. They issued a circular to 3 town schools with regards to the new student intake. 90% must be bumiputra and the remaining 10% for the non-bumiputras. The non-bumiputra must have scored 7 A's but no mention is made of what is the requirement for the bumiputras! One parent (non-bumiputra) complained about this policy in the papers and the HQ in Putrajaya must have had many phone calls. In todays Star, the Negeri Sembilan Education Department has been directed to withdraw that circular because the Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the circular was against the ministry’s policy of inculcating integration in national schools. It needed the Federal government to intervene to put right the matter.

Does it really end there? I don't think so. There are so many worms that have been let out of the woodwork and are sitting in high places because of racial policies favouring them. We need Bainimarama's to clean this corruption before we sink like the Titanic.

Whining Delegates

2006-11-17T06:58:00.000-08:00

Some of the Youth delegates at the UMNO General Meeting are really pathetic. They try to get some political mileage by making outrageous statements if not downright silly. In that racial atmosphere, everything looks great.

Take a look at what Datuk Reezal Merican Naina Merican said, "For every RM 1.0 mil contract awarded to a bumiputra, only 20% went directly to him. The other 80% goes to the non-bumiputras". He made it sound like the non-bumiputras are laughing all the way to the bank even though the government was under UMNO(the major component of Barisan) from the time we got independance and with the implementation of the NEP for more than 20 years.

He is actually saying all the agencies set up by the government to help bumiputra contractors have not been doing their job from the time Tunku Abdul Rahman was the Prime Minister until now! I wonder if the rural Malays reading the news swallow this hook line and sinker.

If the bumiputra Malay contractor managed to get a supply contract or an M & E contract, the bulk of the contract sum would definitely go to the purchase of the equipment. Supposing the contract was for the supply of water pumps and according to the specifications the pumps could only be obtained from Europe, 80% would go to the supplier. 10% would be the cost for the installation and the rest for Preliminary costs and profit. This is normal and it happens to any contractor who gets such a contract.

If on the other hand the bumiputra contractor was "given" a building contract, he must have the skilled manpower, the construction equipment and the knowhow to complete the job within the time frame and make his profit. But if he gives it to sub-contractors and just takes a cut of the contract sum, whose fault is it?

The main issue should not be about how we slice the cake, but to teach the people how to make it and then go and sell it in the open market. Our human resource is our most precious asset and we still do not see that. We are still bickering over quotas and rights according to race. Our neighbours are moving forward because their citizens are busy catching up with the latest technology and improving on it.

Take China for example. Due to their closed door policy everyone thought they will lag behind. The minute they opened up to foreign investors they are moving at top speed. In IT, they are using Internet Protocol Version 6 while the Americans are still using IP4! The Chinese are forcing the Americans to change!

And what are we doing? Arguing on how to calculate the percentage achievement of the Malays under the NEP and we can't even agree on a suitable method! Going by the UMNO Youth delegates emotional presentation, the conclusion could be that they want 80% for the bumiputras, 20% for the Chinese and more Indian movies for the Indians on Astro! That would bring us to be the most developed nation by the year 2020.

Brilliant Deduction

2006-11-11T17:22:00.001-08:00

During the council proceedings at the Penang Municipal Council last Friday, one of the reporters who happened to pass by the control room saw the image of a woman's thigh on the monitor of the CCTV. She quickly alerted her friends who were covering the proceedings for their respective papers and the woman whose thigh was under 'observation' reported this matter to the council secretary.

In todays Star, the reply from the Penang Municipal Council President Datuk Abu Bakar Hassan was , "If the dress was not sexy, the incident would not have happened."

Does this sound familiar? Not too long ago a mufti in Australia came under fire for making a similar remark. Maybe the two of them studied at the same 'madrasah'.

Good management is mostly common sense. The CCTV was installed for a definite purpose and when that is abused, the common sense thing is to zoom in on the offender and take the necessary measures that such things do not occur again. This is the smart and logical thing to do. No need to educate other people on how to dress or more importantly, no need to put your foot in your mouth. The person monitoring the camera was in the wrong and he knows it. All that was needed was an apology to the victim and a firm warning to the culprit and nobody would have heard about this incident.

When we have lousy managers on top, we get all kinds of problems compounded by religious beliefs of one party being imposed on the rest of us. Dressing code indeed. How to solve the transportation problem in Penang when the council is now busy with the dress code!

Enforcement Blues

2006-11-10T18:57:00.000-08:00

The problem with our country is we do not enforce our laws and rules of conduct on the citizens when it is necessary and pertinent to do so.

Take for example the blatant disregard for traffic rules by so many road users. They treat the traffic lights that are placed at the junctions as if they are decorative items put up by the City Council! No wonder we have so many road accidents. All it takes is for the traffic police to go around the city and check randomly and fine these law breakers. The police don't even have to stay put in one place. This random check will be very effective provided the fines are meted out without fear or favour. After some time we will have more law abiding citizens behind the wheels.

This sort of 'total disregard' problem also exists at parking lots, toll booths, paying counters. The queue jumping characters need to be house-trained and it is the job of the management to enforce the rules.
Look at how this person has parked the car. It is not even a big car to claim that you have parking problems! Simply 'couldn't be bothered' attitude.

I believe the 'tidak apa' attitude is the root cause of all these problems. We need to buck up and tackle the task at hand and do it properly and efficiently if we want to succeed in making our visions and missions come true for Malaysia. It starts with the small things, for when you excell in the smaller things you will be ready for the bigger things in life.

The various government departments and law enforcement agencies have been empowered to carry out their duties but there seems to be a general reluctance to enforce these rules and laws. They seem to be going through an 'enforcement blues' period. The only time there is a hype about checking road users is during festive occasions where you can see the police setting up their 'speed traps' along the highway. The idea of adhering to the traffic rules must be an everyday affair and not only during festive occasions. The police must do some rethinking about their methods of enforcing the law for the good of the country.

Corruption Ranking - Latest

2006-11-06T16:52:00.000-08:00

The latest from Transparency International's 2006 Perceptions Index has placed Malaysia as the 44th in their list of 163.

Our neighbour down South, Singapore is in the 5th place- the only Asian country in the top ten group of the least corrupted. As the ranking number gets bigger so does the corruption level.

Thailand has taken the 63rd place while Indonesia and Papua New Guinea are tied for the 130th place.

India and China are in the 70th place in this ranking while Pakistan is at 142nd place.

The United Arab Emirates is at the 31st place which makes them the best among the Arab nations.

At the bottom at 160th place is Myanmar followed by Haiti at 163rd based on the CPI score.

Based on this list, it seems the people who do the most shouting about their religious beliefs are the worst performers.

"Cakap tak serupa bikin la.."

UMNO Campaign Fever

2006-11-06T03:02:00.000-08:00

It is that time when UMNO politicians start their campaign at the expense of the other races. The Johor MB has kicked it off with Johor UMNO's position on ‘Bangsa Malaysia’, meritocracy in the education system, the teaching of the English language and the position of Bahasa Melayu which are all hot topics in this country. With such a platform, he is definitely aiming for the top. With people like him around, the NEP (National Economic Policy) will become the Never Ending Policy for sure. For him, only the Malay race is important in this country. The rest of us are just numbers collected by the statistics department to present to foreign investors to attract FDI. This is the time when the UMNO politicians start issuing warnings to the other races, talk of Malay sovereignty and the continuance of the NEP to protect the Malay rights.

Equality is a dream for the non-Malays but a marketing slogan for the government to attract foreign investments. Just take any phone directory and look for the director of the government departments to see who is sitting on top. Even the second-in-command is enough. Look at who runs the schools now. Even the section heads in most government schools are selected from bumiputras even if they are very junior.

If this country is to achieve its vision of being a developed nation, you will need competent managers, engineers, educationists, economists, scientists and all the skilled people you can get to make it come true. This means we have to go by meritocracy. We cannot go by racial guidelines for promoting the workers.

The Prime Minister has just launched the Iskandar Development Region in South Johor and it is targeted to be like Hong Kong. We can’t even compete with Singapore for crying out loud! We are still employing workers by racial composition, insisting on the 30% bumiputra ownership! The security is in shambles, who would want to invest in Johor or Malaysia for that matter? Our police can't even tackle the snatch thieves or the Mat Rempits! Even the Singaporeans are shying away from this project. They are reminded by the ugly concrete pillars that jut out from the seabed. These pillars are part of the failed 1.7 billion JB Waterfront City that never took off. Why? Incompetent managers appointed by the government based on race most probably.

Malaysians can handle big jobs and do it well. I mean Malaysians, regardless of their race or religion. Just based on their merits, ability and knowhow we can choose the right people for the job. Take a look at the top 10 richest Malaysians and you can see why we can do it. There are no politicians in the top ten list. On the other hand, if a person does not declare his/her assets, we will never know their status now will we?

Baptism of Muslims?

2006-11-05T18:51:00.000-08:00

It was reported in todays Star that the police are investigating a rumour that a group of Muslims will be baptised in a church in Ipoh. It spread like wildfire through SMS. Actually, what it means when the paper uses the term 'spread like wildfire' is it spread like wildfire among the Muslims.

The Muslims from the 'wildfire group' all rushed to protest in front of the church like buzzards circling around a dying animal. They included members (Muslims) of the opposition parties and non-governmental organisations(probably a branch of the Islamic party). The director of the Perak Religious Department was also there(I wonder how such a senior person found the time to attend church). The secretary of the Perak Pusat Khidmat Islam was also there!

These people gathered for four hours and refused to disperse despite warnings from the police. What were they expecting to achieve? What dastardly deed were they planning to do? Are they emulating the Indonesian Muslims? This is Malaysia.

It shows how idiotic people can be in the name of religion!

It turns out that it was actually the first Holy Communion for 98 Indian children of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes!

In such a situation, the common sense thing when you receive an SMS about such a sensitive subject is to find out who it is from and to verify the authenticity of the message. But I guess it is too much to ask from these 'Neanderthals' who would rather torch and burn down churches in the name of religion. Would the same thing happen if a group of Buddhist and Christians got converted to Islam in a mosque?

We might just make it as a developed nation by 2020, but we will be a far cry from being civilised if such things are allowed to go on. It will just be a matter of time when the violence starts and we will be just like Kashmir or Palestine.

Week Of Statements

2006-11-01T08:33:00.000-08:00

1. Another property of Zakaria, The DZ Satay House restaurant, has been found illegally built and has been slapped with a closure order by the Klang Municipal Council (MPK).

“Yes, it has been sealed because the restaurant sits on JKR (Public Works Department) reserve land, which is state land,” municipal councillor Datuk Teh Kim Poo said yesterday. ”Furthermore, the restaurant does not have any temporary occupancy licence or a business licence.

Datuk Zakaria’s press conference statement :
“I thank those, including the media, for giving me guidance on the need to follow rules and regulations.”

The Klang Umno division rallied behind its chief Datuk Zakaria Md Deros with a show of support and loyalty, claiming that he had been “sabotaged” by the Opposition.
“The entire thing is the work of the Opposition to discredit him. The only thing wrong here is the non-submission of building plans, that’s all,” division information chief Shoimi Shafie told pressmen at 6.45pm yesterday after the division held an emergency meeting.

2. Faizal Abdullah, a councillor from the Klang Municipal Council said,
“Yes, it is my mistake for not submitting the building plans before constructing the house,” Faizal said, when contacted yesterday after it was revealed that a property under his name in Jalan Melikai, Kampung Raja Uda here, had been slapped with a stop-work order from the council.

3. ‘Everyone is doing it, but my house is small' – Datuk Mazlynoor Abdul Latiff
The second Klang Municipal Councillor caught building his house in Kampung Raja Uda in Klang without approval.

4. The 2am raid by religious officers.
A Kedah Religious Department spokesman said the raid conducted at 2am on Oct 12 was made following public complaints of immoral activities at the condominium.
“The officers only knocked on the door and they did not enter the condominium.”

Retired policeman Randal Barnhart, 62, and wife Carole, 61, had complained the officers demanded to see their marriage certificate although he had told them that they were Christians and should not be subjected to Islamic law.

The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) wants the Cabinet to reassure all Malaysians that their privacy will always be protected and nobody is subjected to harassment from Islamic Religious Officers.
“The CFM joins the voices of other concerned groups in the country in affirming the personal freedoms guaranteed to every person in our Constitution and that no person should be subject to laws other than what is sanctioned by Parliament,” it added.

5. Malaysia has recommended its policy of transparency and open scrutiny of government plans and policies to China and other Asean countries as a means to increase investment in their countries. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said greater information flow and transparency, especially on economic and industrial development, was vital.

6. From today consumers in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya will pay more for water. Under the new tariff there will be no increase for the first 20 cubic metres used, and consumers will continue to pay 57 sen per cubic metre.
Selangor Infrastructure and Public Utilities Committee chairman Datuk Fatah Iskandar said the Government saw the increase as a way to get consumers to conserve water as they would not have to pay more if they kept their usage below 20 cubic metres a month.

Businessmen involved in industries that use lots of water will wait for next month's water bill before deciding whether or not to raise prices.
“There might be an increase, but I think we will wait for next month's water bill to see how much more it'll be,” car wash supervisor Teh Leong Ket, 47, said yesterday.

Corruption

2006-10-30T08:05:00.000-08:00

What is corruption?

literally means to destroy (from the Latin corruptus);
is not a rare phenomenon;
takes many forms with different types of participants, settings, stakes, techniques and different degrees of cultural legitimacy;
is not only about stealing: it can also relate to the abuse of power in decision-making processes.
It is a form of behaviour that deviates from ethics, morality, tradition, law and civic virtue.

Corruption may be defined as any conduct which amounts to :
a) influencing the decision-making process of a public officer or authority,
or influence peddling;
b) dishonesty or breach of trust, by a public officer, in the exercise of his duty;
c) insider dealing/conflicts of interests; [and]
d) influence peddling by the use of fraudulent means such as bribery,
blackmail, which includes the use of election fraud.
e) Any person who directly or indirectly accepts, agrees or offers to accept any gratification from any other person to benefit him-/herself or any other person
is guilty of the crime of corruption. The person who makes the offer or inducement to another to commit a corrupt practice is also guilty of the crime of corruption.

Although there is an active and a passive side to the crime,
both parties are equally guilty of corruption.
(The information above is taken from : http://www.anticorruption.info/corr_def.htm)

2004 Asia corruption ratings
According to an enquiry conducted by Political & Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd, a well-known Hong Kong consulting group, Indonesia, India and Vietnam are considered the three most corrupt countries in Asia. The survey covered 12 Asian countries, interviewing 1000 non-resident businessmen working with various Asian countries.
The survey asked them to rate a country’s level of corruption on a scale of 0 to 10. Bangladesh, which for three years in a row Transparency International has rated the most corrupt in the world, was left off the list.
According to the survey's results, corruption has gone down in 8 of the 12 countries with respect to last year. Compared to previous years significant improvements were said to be made in China and Thailand, countries which in year's past had received many negative votes while still ranking number 5 on this year's list. The three countries considered having the least amount of corruption were Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong.

The 2004 corruption ratings in Asia are given below:
Indonesia: 9.25
India: 8.9
Vietnam: 8.67
Philippines: 8.33
Thailand, Malaysia, China: 7.33
South Korea: 6.67
Taiwan: 6.1
Hong Kong: 3.6
Japan: 3.5
Singapore: 0.5
This interesting article can be accessed at : http://www.odiousdebts.org/odiousdebts/index.cfm?DSP=content&ContentID=9627
The ratings might not necessarily be the most accurate but it is an eye opener.

Latest news from BBC :
Tommy Suharto freed from prison.
The son of Indonesia's former President Suharto has been freed from jail on conditional release after serving only four years of a murder sentence.
Hutomo Mandala Putra, also known as Tommy, was given a 15-year sentence in 2002 following his conviction for ordering the killing of a judge.
His sentence was first cut to 10 years, and then reduced further.

It's not surprising Indonesia is on top of the rating. We are not too far from the leaders. This rating was done in 2004. Another 2 under and will be par with Indonesia.

Insensitivity

2006-10-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

Insensitivity : The inability to respond to affective changes in your interpersonal environment.

Could this have been the problem with Australia's top Muslim leader? In his sermon, he was reported as saying that women who do not dress moderately as "uncovered meat". He went on to say that" If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside.... and the cats come and eat it, whose fault is it, the cats or the uncovered meat? The uncovered meat is the problem". Maybe he should "meat" with the parents of the Muslim computer engineer who was raped and murdered in Johor. She was covered from head to toe. Of course she didn't stay at home at the time as our government's policy was to educate its citizens regardless of gender and make them productive to support the vision of being a developed nation by the year 2020.

The cleric might not know of such plans or couldn't be bothered with such trivial matters. He had higher aims, to make sure all women were properly covered and stayed indoors! When you give too much power to religious people you can expect a lot of problems. Politicians can be thrown out at the next election but religious people hide behind their 'religious holy books' and it is next to impossible to get rid of them once they are in power.

My question is why did an Egyptian religious man migrate to Australia knowing that women here do not wear the 'hijab'? This is the land of sunshine and beaches, where the people love to surf and swim and sail. Even the Aborigines are not dressed properly by his standards! Why didn't he just stay in the land of 'hijabs' and turbans and long robes and beards? He wouldn't be in trouble now would he? If he had made that statement in Egypt or Saudi Arabia or Pakistan or Afganistan or Bangladesh or Iraq, the people would have clapped their hands and called him their hero. He should go back to Egypt, but I think it's all about personal freedom which you don't get in a Muslim country.

Another example of insensitivity is the 2.00 am raid by religious officers on a visiting American couple in Langkawi, Malaysia who were accused of 'khalwat' (close proximity between man and woman who are not legally married). The American is demanding a written apology from the religious department and compensation for the air ticket he had to buy for his wife who wanted to go back home after that frightening experience.

A new shopping complex, Souq Bukhary, has just opened for business in my city with 'Giant' as their anchor tenant. I heard some non-Muslim girls who wore skirts were barred from entering this complex by the guards! I am not sure if this is true as I have not personally witnessed it. But if it is true, this is no way to do business in a multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious environment. It is not necessary to teach one's customers how to dress in such an environment. How to attract tourists to Kedah????? No wonder the tourists are flocking to Thailand. We have ostriches with their heads in the sand in charge of developing the business in this state.

The same thing happens in Government departments or Government agencies managed by the 'Little Napoleons' who make their own rules. They have the gall to put up notices saying people who are not properly dressed will not be served! These people come to pay bills! The government will of course deny any such rule but will not take action against these 'Little Napoleons' who make their own laws.

The non-Muslims in this country are not allowed to preach to the Muslims. This is law in this country. You can't sell liquor or pork anywhere you like. We have to be sensitive to our Muslim brothers' beliefs. We have learnt to live with each other peacefully and harmoniously for so many years because we respect one anothers' beliefs. That is the key! When we lose this respect and become insolent and insensitive to one another, we will have problems - big problems. I sincerely hope this doesn't happen in Malaysia.

Abuse of Power

2006-10-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

I read in the paper (The Star) that the swearing-in-ceremony for Klang municipal councillors has been postponed. Nobody seems to know why! Selangor Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo said, "Maybe some issues have not been settled." What could these issues be?

Could it be because of the Port Klang state assembly man Datuk Zakaria Md Deros building a 'palatial' four-storey house without first getting the approval or because he had not paid assessment for another property in the same area for the last 12 years? The MB said, "no one was above the law". Unless ofcourse that nobody has a lot of money and can employ a very good and crafty lawyer who knows all the loop-holes in the law!

NO ONE is above GOD's law. Everyone of us will answer to Him on Judgement Day, including all the crafty lawyers. In this world it will seem the rich and the politically connected will get out of trouble easily. Let's see what happens in the Klang assembly mans case.

To top it, he was re-appointed to the council together with his son and daughter-in-law! Here's what the daughter-in-law had to say, "If you take it negatively it will be negative. If you take it positively, it will be positive. Our intention is to serve the people." The example of serving has been set by her father-in-law, only he was serving himself! What can you expect for future development in Klang from this bunch? What does this say about our political scenario in Malaysia? Why do we keep appointing people who blatantly abuse their power for their own benefit? The other example is the assembly man from Jasin. When the customs stopped an illegal shipment of sawn timber from Indonesia he made a big hue and cry about it. He said he was fighting for his constituents. It turns out the company involved in the fray was actually his own!

Later on he started to attack the customs department with regards to the disposal of seized luxury cars. It turns out he didn't get the Mercedes he wanted!

With people like these in parliament, do you think they will help to plan for the development of all Malaysians, the eradication of poverty among all the races, give solutions to the unemployment problem regardless of their race? At the moment we find that they are busy with acquiring wealth for themselves. There are probably many more doing the same quietly in the background. When it comes to issues like equity and equal opportunities for all Malaysians, suddenly there will be people drawing their krisses and warnings will be sounded not to offend certain groups of people! This is Malaysian politics. We are champions at speaking out and coming up with slogans against corruption and drug abuse and what nots, but in practice, its sooooo different!

Religious Fanaticism

2006-10-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

It's coming to a point where I am not sure I am living in the Malaysia I know. I grew up in a Malay(muslim) community. Our backdoor neighbours were Malay. A lot of my classmates were Malays. We mixed quite freely, played games together, visited each other's homes without worrying about losing our own faith. Today we have the so called 'religious' people telling the muslims in this country not to mix with the non-muslims. The present government is wondering why there is no racial intergration in the schools or the universities! The Prime Minister has his head in the clouds.

You let the worms out of the woodwork and let them sit in management places and what do you expect. Emails like the one sent out by the Takaful Malaysia’s Syariah department head Fauzi Mustaffar forbidding Muslims to wish Hindu friends Happy Deepavali. Where did this guy come from? Is he a real Malaysian or a dropout from the Taliban school?

Ofcourse the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Abdullah Md Zin immediately declared that it was not a fatwa but a personal view of Mr. Fauzi. The fact is he is still sitting there and influencing the many ignoramuses working under him. My friend got so pissed off he decided to send an email to the PM regarding this matter. I wonder if he will get a reply. Below is his email to the PM :

YAB Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Perdana Menteri Malaysia
Bangunan Perdana Putra
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan
62502 Putrajaya.

YAB Datuk Seri,

Laporan Akhbar The Star (11hb Oktober 2006) : E-mail from Takaful man 'not fatwa'

Adalah saya merujuk perkara tersebut di atas dan kepada mukasurat N8, akhbar The Star bertarikh 11 Oktober 2006 dan ingin mengalu-alukan kenyataan Menteri Di Jabatan Perdana Menteri YB Datuk Dr Abdullah Md Zin yang telah menyuarakan rasa tidak puas hati beliau terhadap En. Fauzi Mustafar, Ketua Jabatan Syariah, Takaful Malaysia yang telah menyatakan bahawa mengucapkan "Selamat Deepavali" kepada penganut agama Hindu adalah bertentangan dengan ajaran Islam. Tambah YB Datuk Dr Abdullah, kenyataan oleh En. Fauzi Mustafar hanyalah merupakan pendapat peribadi beliau, dan bukannya sebuah fatwa yang hanya boleh diisytiharkan oleh Majlis Fatwa Negara ataupun Jakim di negara ini.

Apa yang mengewakan ialah kenyataan sedemikian telah dibuat oleh seorang pegawai atasan di sebuah instituti kewangan negara. Tindakan begini sememangnya akan mewujudkan rasa tidak senang dan/atau membangkitkan rasa curiga-mencurigai di kalangan rakyat berbilang kaum di Malaysia. Pada waktu kerajaan di bawah pimpinan YAB sedang giat mengidupkan semula perasaan harmoni dan muhibah di kalangan rakyat jelata, e-mail yang dihantar oleh En. Fauzi Mustafar kepada rakan-rakan pejabatnya adalah amat mendukacitakan.

Malangnya, isu sebegini telah timbul di sebuah jenis institusi kewangan yang terbaru di dunia iaitu yang mempromosikan sistem Takaful. Malaysialah yang menerajui sistem ini di dunia buat masa ini, dan oleh yang demikian, Malaysia haruslah memberi gambaran positif dan universal kepada seluruh dunia.

Berikut adalah sabahagian petikan daripada akhbar Arab News di laman web www.arabnews.com bertarikh 21 Ogos 2006:-

Takaful Growth in Malaysia Fails to Take Off
Mushtak Parker, Arab News

However, the major psychological hurdles for Takaful market penetration remains the lack of players, the low capitalization of Takaful companies, the absence of an established Re-Takaful (reinsurance) market, lack of products, lack of market awareness, poor culture of consumer education, a misconceived religio-cultural distrust of and objection to insurance, and the mixed messages some of the Shariah advisories are giving, endorsing Takaful products in one breath and preaching against them in another breath. (Source: Arab News (The Middle East’s Leading English Language Daily), www.arabnews.com dated 21 August 2006)

Sememangnya, di dalam artikel tersebut, isu agama-budaya (religio-cultural) telah dikenalpasti sebagai salah satu perkara yang membawa salah tanggapan skim Takaful di kalangan masyarakat. Malangnya, kenyataan En. Fauzi Mustafar menepati salah tanggapan tersebut.

Adalah diharapkan YAB selaku Menteri Kewangan Malaysia dapat memberi perhatian dan mengambil tindakan yang sewajarnya terhadap pegawai tersebut.

"Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri & Selamat Hari Deepavali"
Sekian, terima kasih.

K.Viyasan
11 Oktober 2006

I hope the PM will send a clear message to people like him that this is a multi-religious, multi-cultural, multi-racial country where a little bit of tolerence and understanding will go a long way in maintaining a peaceful and productive nation. All of us had a hand in bringing this country to where it is today not just the Malays or muslims. This fact must be taught in every school so that the younger generation will respect one another regardless of race or religion. Our future depends on our ability to live together on equal terms.

Out Of The Ordinary Pics

2006-09-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

The Pied Piper strikes again!

"aaaaargh! There's a snake in my mouth!"

"Careful dear, you might fall off the edge".

"Hey, you are going over the speed limit!".

"ssssssssssss, it's sooooo coooooooooool!"

I wonder when it is going to roll down.

HPTC Project

2006-09-28T19:35:00.000-07:00

The HPTC (High Performance Training Center)project is on again. According to the Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, this contoversial project was necessary to realize the government's vision of excelling in sports at international level as reported in the Star today. What exactly does this mean? We are incapable of producing world standard athletes if they are trained here? Why is that? Is there a problem with our athletes? No talents to be found? If they are not talented enough when they are here, how will they be world class just by being trained in foreign soil? Is it the training techniques plus the sophisticated equipment? If that is the case, why not hire them? It will definitely be cheaper in the long run.

The emphasis on saving money here is because the Prime Miniter's statement on the financial status was on the front page. The civil servants were demanding for a pay rise and his reply was , "We have discussed their demands. At the moment, the Government is not ready to spend so much money. We need to take into account the government's finances because we need to spend money on development."

IN the state of Kedah, the Welfare Department has run out of funds to help the needy! It was reported that the poor in the district of Baling have not received their allowances for four months! The Kedah Welfare Department director said that the shortage of funds affected those in all districts of the state. Wouldn't it be humanitarian to channel some of the funds to the Welfare Department to pass it on to the really needy?

Back to the HPTC. The government want's to bring up the standard of football in this country as it is at the moment in the pits. My question is, did the Argetinians build a training center in UK for their players? Or the Koreans, or the Italians, or the French, or any of the African nations even? The problem lies with management. You don't bring politicians into sports and expect to get a world class team. Their choice of who represents the country vastly differs with that of a competent coach or manager.

We need the money to help our needy first, and then we need to build sports centers in every state which is easily accessible to our youths. Then only we will have a large base to choose the best athletes from. At the moment my home town doesn't even have a sports complex which could house most of the games played here. Such a complex could greatly help in popularising various sports which at the moment is not easily available to the vast majority.

They let the politicians manage the sports events and when they got hold of the funds, a grand swimming pool was built in the middle of the paddy fields! Only frogs and monitor lizards will be there now. The surrounding villagers are mostly muslims and taking off their clothes and wearing swimming costumes is not their culture. It would have been fully utilized if it was built in the city. We could not only train swimmers but also divers. China has produced world class divers. Why can't we?

So, I say we should spend our money wisely by selecting the best coaches, the best athletes and buying the best equipment and do our own training here.

Another Sad Case

2006-09-27T08:09:00.000-07:00

Went to a town called Sungai Petani which is approximately 36 miles to the south of where I stay. The purpose of this visit was to check on my childhood friend who was knocked down by a speeding car while he was riding his motorbike.

He was unconscious for 3 days. By the time I heard about it he had regained consciousness. I took my son along for the drive as I tend to get sleepy on long drives. He recognized me when I walked towards his bed. He had 5 broken ribs which had done some damage to his insides. He had a tube running from the injured side leading to a container - to drain away the blood. He was bleeding internally. Fractured his collar bone. That bone was already fractured a long time ago when we were boys. Both of us fractured our collar bones.

His head received a hard knock and so the doctor had sent him to the hospital in Alor Star to get a scan. Fortunately the head was intact. The problem now was his immediate family were all living in Alor Star, 36 miles away. They needed to have him transfered to the Alor Star Hospital so one of them could look after him. After talking to the hospital authorities, he was transfered to the Alor Star Hospital.

Went to see him yesterday. He was showing signs of withdrawal. He had taken up smoking a long time ago. Without cigarettes for 8 days, he was very restless and wanted to go home where he would have more freedom. He definitely would not be allowed to smoke at the hospital. He kept asking me to send him home. I had a hard time trying to explain that I could not take him out of the hospital in his condition. The tube going through his side was still there. I could see the blood oozing out. He also needed another tube to the bladder to remove urine. He had another one supplying oxygen as they suspected his lungs might have been damaged.

Went to see him today. Same story. He wants to go home. He hasn't improved. He will start babbling every now and then. Tried to keep him in conversation which was not easy as he had only one thing on his mind. He kept asking me if I was coming in the evening to send him home. I think the problem is not only related to smoking but the fact that he is in a helpless situation. He was one of those very independant and macho characters. He trained guard dogs and now he can't even go to the toilet. He is bed-ridden. That is a stressful situation.

He wanted to shift his position a bit higher up the bed. Tried to help together with his sister who was on the other side of the bed but to no avail. He was too heavy and I could only hold one side of his body. Obviously the fractured collar bone side could not be held. I was also not as strong as I used to be. Called in some help from the hospital staff and managed to shift him a little. As he was about to doze off I sneaked out.

He did call me using his sister's cell phone to remind me to come and get him. I will be going to see him at 12.00 noon tomorrow. Hope his internal bleeding would have stopped by then so that the healing process can begin.

Funnies

2006-09-12T20:53:00.000-07:00

Funnies are good for the health. When we laugh or smile we exercise our facial muscles. Smiling is better. They say that it takes 37 muscles to frown and 22 muscles to smile. So Smile. It conserves energy ) :) :) Haven't you heard? "Happiness Is Only Grin Deep" heh heh ...

Below are two humorous stories dealing with children :

I wonder what this cub is whispering to its mummy.

Chicken Story

Have a nice day!

Who's Confused?

2006-09-10T22:26:00.000-07:00

There was an article on the front page of one of our local news papers regarding phone numbers to call during an emergency. The paper pointed out that many people were not familiar with the numbers and that for those who knew the numbers, they were not sure which number was for which service. Too many emergency numbers was causing confusion it seems.

I do agree that not many people are aware of all the numbers but I had hoped that the papers would at least get them right. Look at the caption which I took from the front page :

For cell phone users, is it 121 or 112? Heh heh... No wonder we all so confused!

To Tree Or Not To Tree

2006-09-05T22:11:00.000-07:00

There were four healthy big trees with lots of foliage giving lots of shade and contributing to the healthy environment around my neighbourhood. One would think that the people living nearest to these trees, who benefit the most would take care of them. Nah! Tree here today, gone tomorrow!

The trees in the background.

No more trees.

What the scenery looks like now.

In front of my house, the trees are very helpful to humans. See how they bend over to protect the car from the ultra-violet rays from the sun.

By the way, we are not allowed to cut trees over here. Only the City Council has that right and they have just used it.

Loan Terms

2006-09-04T23:15:00.000-07:00

The Prime Minister of Malaysia was said to have given a directive to the SME Bank to give loans to all deserving Malaysians regardless of race (The Star, August 28th). He also declared that the SME Bank belonged to all Malaysians. What a wonderful statement! Obviously, he failed to convey his speech to the officers running the bank or they couldn't be bothered with politicians as they are holding permanent posts whereas politicians come and go. The bank staff probably think it is another political statement to fish for more votes in the next election. Which could be true, looking at realities.

In today's paper (The Star) there's was an article titled Loan Terms Upset Traders. It was reported that the SME Bank imposed all sorts of conditions. Among them the applicant must have a degree, the company must have a 51% bumiputra ownership, provide collateral and have fixed deposits. As usual the key officials of the bank were conveniently not available for comments.

They don't seem to understand the Prime Minister's speech which was meant for harmony, prosperity and long-term peace in this country. Especially when there is a lot of frustation and distrust in the government's policies in distributing wealth using the NEP in the name of maintaining stability, peace and harmony among the races.

When questioned regarding the 51% bumiputra ownership requirement, the bank officials said it was an unwritten rule! How is anyone going to know for sure if you have not followed the rules if it is unwritten? Who makes up these unwritten rules anyway? How does anyone know if it has not been modified to suit certain parties? The Prime Minister or his senior assistants need to follow up on his directives, to ensure that they are understood by those implementing them.

If we want to be a developed nation by 2020, we need to help all sectors to be productive and successfull. You can't achieve this if you have officers with narrow minds blocking the way of progress. If the Prime Minister was sincere when he made the statement about the availability of loans from the SME Bank to all Malaysians, he should take up the phone and straighten out the key officials who at the moment are conveniently missing. He needs to do this to affirm his leadership, otherwise he will just be a puppet for the oportunist behind the scene.

The English Language

2006-08-21T07:20:00.000-07:00

A friend sent me this article on the English language which I found to be not only true but very amusing. For those who one way or the other need to deal with this language, will probably find it an interesting read and an amusing one at that. For your reading pleasure :

The English language

You Think English is Easy??? Read to the end . . . a new twist to an oldie ;

Can you read these right the first time?

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce.

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row .

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let's face it - English is a strange language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

PS. - Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick"

You lovers of the English language might enjoy this.

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is "UP."

It's easy to understand UP , meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call UP our friends And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special.

And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP . We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.

We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP , look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP .When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.

One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP , for now my time is UP , so........... it is time to shut UP .........!

Oh . . . one more thing:

What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night? U-P

Home Alone

2006-08-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

As the title suggest, I am home alone again, "sort of". Not that I am totally alone as my younger son is still around. My wife is not around. Gone for some meeting. So I have the house to myself for the most part of the day. Not that it means much to have the house to myself as I don't cook, can't conjure a decent drink and we also don't have a garden for me to potter around in. I'd rather share it with my wife. She would be cleaning the house, cutting some fruits, making coffee or some wifely thing while I watched TV or just lazed around. That's the life.

It feels good to have people around you. Now I have the TV, the computer, the fridge, the car and the whole house and feeling quite bored. It's not about food or drinks as I can get them quite easily. Breakfast is served just behind our row at the local coffee shop. Lunch and dinner I have to buy anyway. It's about the companionship. Somebody to talk to or argue with or to yell at even. Not that we yell at each other but that there is an opportunity to do so if someone was there with you.

Even the TV shows are not so attractive as there is no one to laugh with or pass comments to about the silly show we were watching! I even went to bed at such an unbelievable hour. My late nights on the net didn't seem so inviting with no one to yell at me to come to bed. That's what married life can do to a man.

Things will be back to normal by tomorrow night. The plane arrives at 8.40pm, I think. Anyway, she is sure to call and keep me informed about such matters as I am the official driver around here.

Senseless Killing

2006-08-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

Another victim of a snatch thief in Kuantan. Ng Chiew Lim , a 25 year old sales girl was pushed down a stairway by a snatch thief in a shopping mall on Sunday. She succumbed to head injuries without regaining consciousness the next day.

On the 29th of July two robbers on a motorcycle attacked the first-year Tunku Abdul Rahman College (KTAR) accountancy student when he was walking back to his hostel with a friend after having dinner nearby and hacked him to death.

The police have responded with this plan to set up a number of CCTV's(closed circuit television) in and around Kuala Lumpur. A total of 255 of these cameras currently only used to man traffic in the city will soon be helping police fight rising crime. Known as the Integrated Transport Information System (Itis), it has already helped the force to solve vehicle thefts, robberies, kidnap and murder cases. The RM365mil system assumed the crime-fighting role when police requested for help from the company which managed the system.

I think it is good that the police are using any means available to them to fight crime. But I think they should not be overly dependent on these electronic gadgets. They should get back to basics of patroling these areas to prevent crime rather than trying to solve them after they have been committed using high tech equipment.

Malaysia's Education System

2006-08-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

Read an article in one of our local dailies regarding our education system. Augusto Lopez-Claros, chief economist and director of the global competitiveness programme at the Geneva-based World said that our education system has a lot of catching up to do. He said we need to look at Taiwan, South Korea and Israel as benchmarks to help us improve our system.

Taiwan and South Korea maybe but Israel, I don't think that is a good choice right now. Anyway, he was commenting on their tremendous improvement because of their attitude towards education and the resources they have put to train their labour force. They also seem to have a close collaboration between the business communities and their universities. By doing so they can produce what the market needs and the end result as in South Korea which used to be an agriculture economy is now a high technology power today. Agusto went on to say that Israel has also evolved from a major citrus exporter to a high technology power house due to its enormous investment in education.

Can we evolve into a high technology power house? We could if we had some minor changes to the education line up that we have right now. At the moment our education policy makers can't seem to see further than their noses. Look at the "Ethnic Relations Book" bungle. It needed the Prime Minister to solve it. Certain universities are more concerned with the women's headgear than upgrading their educational level. Look at what happened at UPM. The students acted like thugs. There's no intergration and this seems to be exactly what some people want. We need to change these worms that came out of the woodwork and who are now sitting in management positions and making stupid decisions. Some are even lecturing!

If Malaysia is going to be a high technology power house we need to have a different mindset. We need to think of ourselves as Malaysians. We must not hear of students who obtain 11A's not getting scholarships. We should not have to read about those handicapped high achievers who can't get admission to universities because of their handicap. There must be a working system that will cater for these students who do well in their studies. We do not need the minister to step in to help. We can do it if we leave the politics out of education and think of the bigger picture - our country. If this isn't a wake up call I don't know what is.

Sigh Of Relief

2006-07-19T18:08:00.000-07:00

The Prime Minister has finally decided to step in and settle the issue of the Guidebook on Ethnic Relations used by University Putra Malaysia. The book will be withdrawn and replaced by one drawn up by a panel of historians.

After meeting his Cabinet behind closed doors, a unanimous decision was reached and the view taken was "the guidebook — which assigns blame on incidents to race groups and political parties — had no place in a course aimed at breaking down the walls of prejudice and suspicion among races." This is good for Malaysian politics and a sign of maturity among some of the leaders. I can't say the same for the Minister of Higher Education though.

The Prime Minister announced the decision himself and also said "There is no need for us to hurl accusations at other races. We should not blame a race simply because a group or individuals of that race have done something wrong. For instance, if there is a group of Muslim terrorists, we cannot accuse all Muslims of being terrorists." Hear hear.

I hope he sends this message to all his ministers and at the same time instruct his ministry to send circulars to all the universities, schools and government departments regarding this matter. This has to be done to help the small minds to see the bigger issues.

Racial Unity or Disunity?

2006-07-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

It was reported in one of our local dailies, New Straits Times that "a noble approach in tackling racial polarisation in universities has backfired."

The article was refering to the newly introduced course on Ethnic Relations in University Putra Malaysia. What is the furore about? It seems the 'authors' of the book who were supposed to write about the various races in this country in view of bringing a better understanding of each other have instead writtem some things which could ignite hatred and distrust which in turn could worsen the polarisation that already exists.

This issue was also brought up by the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz who even lamented what these 'writers' were trying to prove. He went to the extent of saying that anyone who wasn't happy with the book could make a police report. What was the reply from the Higher Education Minister, Datuk Mustapa Mohamed? "the Government was prepared to make amendments if there were factual mistakes in the book. However, he said the contents were based on facts. The Minister then told the House(our Parliament) that the Government stood by its stand that incidents listed in the textbooks were correct."

How did the authors of this book come to know 'the facts of the case'? Take for example the May 13th incident. No arrests were ever made and as of 2004, the official report on May 13th is still covered under the Official Secrets Act. So, how is it a couple of 'education material writers' have been able to get the so called 'facts' and managed to publish it without being arrested? What about the Kampung Medan incident? There was no information given to the public by the Malaysian Human Rights Commission or from the Police. Where did these 'writers' get their material and who gave them the clearance? Something fishy is going on.

The government has been emphasizing on the importance of having good race relations and encouraged racial intergration in the schools. It seems there is a different story at the university level. The Higher Education Minister must have missed out or played truant during the short courses given by the PM on "The Importance of Racial Intergration, Open Houses during Festivals, The Natianal Service, etc... How on earth could the government support something like this? Is this minister out of his mind?

One of the reasons for forcing young people of various races to live together under the Nationa Service program was to encourage intergration and to foster better understanding among the younger generation who are our future leaders. It is a good plan and I applaud the government for introducing it. But what are these 'writers' trying to do? Just look around us and see the carnage that comes from hate and distrust. What happened in Bali and recently in Mumbai. The bombing at Kings Cross and now the shelling of Lebanon and Haifa. Do we want something like this to happen here? When those students graduate from University Putra Malaysia after having learnt the 'facts' they might end up being teachers. What do you think they are going to teach the impressionable minds of the young ones? The same distorted 'facts' that they have learned from the university! The vicious cycle goes on.

The Prime Minister hasn't made any statements regarding this issue as yet. He is too busy with his 880 projects worth RM15 billion. Sooner or later he has to make a stand on this issue! Our country's peace and harmony is at stake here.

Below are some photos of atrocities committed because of racial and religious intolerance.

Bali

Lebanon

Mumbai

Something Interesting!

2006-07-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

Can You Read This?

cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg.
The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid,
aoccdrnig to arscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy,
it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are,
the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.

The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm.
Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef,
but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?
Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Will the spelling bee contests be terminated? I geuss not. You stlil need to konw the wrods beorfe you can raed tehm in whtaever oredr. heh heh....

RM4 Billion On Liquor And Gambling???

2006-07-11T22:46:00.000-07:00

I didn't know that the Malays in this country could spend RM4billion a year on liquor and gambling! Most of the Malays are Muslims. At least 99% of the Malays I know do not drink. In this country they are not allowed to enter casinos. There are those who buy 4 digits but the amount they spend is peanuts compared to what the other communities spend on gambling. So, where did the State Mufti get his data? The Income Tax department should contact him for the details as they would be missing on a lot of revenue!

All the time I was made to understand(from the Muslim religious groups) that only the 'infidels' (unbelievers) indulged themselves in these worldly pleasures. This statement regarding the RM4 billion was issued by the Perak State Mufti, Datuk Seri Harussani Zakaria. He is the same guy who came out with the statement that we should not practice kongsi-raya celebrations because it was detrimental to the faith of the individual Muslim. Talk about putting your foot in your mouth!

Somebody is bent on dividing this country along religious and racial lines. Will we become another Kashmir? or Palestine? or Sri-Lanka? If these religious leaders are given more power, we will most definitely end up having suspicion and distrust among the races leading to the dissapearance of peace and harmony which we boast to the international community every chance we get.

These religious people like to make general statements without facts just to project themselves as champions of their religion or race. They would issue statements like "Muslims in the country also face other threats such as pluralism, hedonism and liberalism." or " the worrying trend to the secularism that had crept into Islamic society here." The simple people will immediately believe every thing he says because of the bombardic words condemning everything that is not Islamic. At the moment religious intolerence is rearing its ugly head everywhere. People who used to be friendly and considerate are now changing to being arrogant and rude.

There was a time in my younger days when we mixed freely among all the races without worrying about losing or the weakening of our individual faiths. I guess we were stronger and more faithful to our respective religions then.

Sports Fever

2006-07-09T17:24:00.000-07:00

The World Cup has come and gone like a hurricane even though it went on for one month. There's a lot of crying and gnashing of teeth worldwide. This state of affairs can be seen in Brazil, England, Portugal, Germany and now in France. Penalty shootouts can be nerve wrecking. It is a nightmare for the English team and now the French have joined them. I still think that a field goal like the header from a corner kick by the Italians would have been a glorious way to win rather than penalty shootouts.

A lot of people made money on the sidelines and thousands more lost a lot of money. The business community had a good time, especially the media people. I wonder if it is possible to estimate just how much money has been made from an international event like this.

Anyway, on the Wimbledon front, the French still have something to celebrate about. Amelie Mauresmo has taken the ladies event at the Wimbledon Championships. She is now the undisputed queen of tennis. I thought Henin would be the champion but after taking the first set she just choked up. Her game collapsed as she started making too many unforced errors. The other reason could also be the fitness factor. Amelie looked very fit as she moved around the court tirelessly. Kudos to Amelie.

In the gentlemen's event Roger Federer has again emerged the champion for the fourth time, defeating Rafael Nadal 6-0, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3. It was a fantastic game of tennis. Although I watched it live on TV, I wished I could have been there to soak up the exitement at the courtside. I know Roger has made someone very happy. Happy enough to 'belanja' cold beers.. heh heh..

The Chinese have something to celebrate about too. The Chinese pair of Zi Yan and Jie Zheng took the ladies doubles title making it the first Wimbledon title for China. The Chinese seem to have a good master plan to produce world class tennis players. We will be hearing more of Li Na and other Chinese players in the coming tennis tournaments.

Humour - Another Funny One

2006-07-04T18:49:00.000-07:00

Sounds ridiculous but neverthless a funny story.

Subject: Diary of a young wife

Monday:Now home from honeymoon and settled in our new home. It's fun to cook for Tim. Today I made an angel food cake and the recipe said, "beat 12 eggs separately." Well, I didn't have enough bowls to do that, so I had to borrow 12 bowls to beat the eggs in. The cake turned out fine though.

Tuesday:We wanted a fruit salad for supper. The recipe said, "serve without dressing." So I didn't dress. But Tim happened to bring a friend home for supper that night. They both looked so startled when I served them, I think it was the salad.

Wednesday:I decided to serve rice and found a recipe which said, "wash thoroughly before steaming the rice." So I heated some water and took a bath before steaming the rice. Sounded kinda silly in the middle of the day. I can't say it improved the rice anyhow.

Thursday:Today Tim asked for salad again. I tried a new recipe. It said, prepare ingredients, then toss on a bed of lettuce one hour before serving."I hunted all over the place for a garden and when I got one, I tossed my salad into the bed of lettuce and stood over there for over one hour so the dog would not take it. Tim came over and asked if I felt all right. I wonder why? He must be stressed at work, I'll try to be supportive.

Friday:Today I found an easy recipe for cookies. It said, "put all ingredients in a bowl and beat it." Beat it I did,to my mum's place. There must have been something wrong with the recipe, because when I came back home again, it looked the same as when I left it.

Saturday:Tim went shopping today and brought home a chicken. He asked me to dress it for Sunday. I'm sure I don't know how hens dress for Sunday. I never noticed back on the farm, but I found an old doll dress and it's little cute shoes. I thought the hen looked really cute.

When Tim saw it, he started counting to ten. Either he was really stressed because of his work, or he wanted the chicken to dance.When I asked him what was wrong he started crying and shouting out "why me? why me ?" Hmmm....It must be his job.

hehehehe....

A Little Humour

2006-07-04T08:46:00.000-07:00

This is one of the best jokes that I have come across. Everytime I read it I can't help bursting out in laughter.

New Wives

Three men were sitting together bragging about how they had given their new wives duties.

The first man had married a Bengali girl, and bragged that he had told his wife she was going to do all the dishes and house cleaning. He said it took a couple of days but on the third day he came home to a clean house and the dishes were done.

The second man had married a Tamil girl. He bragged that he had given his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes and the cooking. On the first day he didn't see any results, but the next day it was better. By the third day, his house was clean, the dishes were done and he had a huge dinner on the table.

The third man had married a Punjabi girl. He boasted that he told her that her duties were to keep the house cleaned, dishes washed, lawn mowed, laundry washed and hot meals on the table for every meal. He said the first day he didn't see anything, the second day he didn't see anything but by the third day most of the swelling had gone down and he could see a little out of his left eye.

hehehehehe......

School Bullies

2006-07-02T08:10:00.000-07:00

A 14 year old girl from St. Joseph Secondary School,Miri was assaulted by a few girls from another school over a remark about the boyfriend of one of the girls. The victim was punched, kicked, slapped and pushed around. Someone had time to capture this scene and post it on the internet but didn't have the heart or mind to stop this foul deed. It has now become a police case.

We seem to be hearing more of such cases in recent years and they are getting more and more violent. There was the case of a school boy who died after being assaulted by several of his schoolmates. What is the reason for these assaults. Why so violent? It is not about drugs or taking someone's lunch money. Something is wrong with our school system but the top management does not want to admit it. One of the reasons is the poor management of the school personnel by the top management.

We had bullies in our time but the problem was not so serious because it was attended to immediately. Action was taken against the guilty party but most importantly, the person who was assigned to this task was always there and did their job promptly without fear or favour. The present school system with its shady method of promoting its staff based on racial quota leaves much to be desired. No wonder the teachers look the other way when there is trouble between the school children. There is no motivation from the top. I must admit there are teachers who care but solely because of their own principles, but these are few and far in between.

The other reason could be the parents themselves. Nowadays you hear of parents marching into the school to see the Principal or the teacher concerned for punishing their child and threatening to take them to court. In one case in Penang the mother came with a pair of scissors and attacked the teacher who had disciplined her daughter. Parents also have to take part of the blame for this decay. The children's upbringing would play a very important part in the way they handle themselves socially. If they learn hatred for others in the house, that's what they bring with them to the school.

In some schools the teachers are the culprits for segregating the students with regards to race and religion. The government is always talking about intergration but this is only lip service during election and for the foreign media. The selection of students to represent the school for a competition or for receiving awards or for getting scholarships tells a different story. All these factors could also contribute to the tense nature of these students who then take it out on some of their own schoolmates who might not be part of a gang.

When I was in Standard 2, we did have a bully from Standard 3 going around giving us a hard time. One day I gathered all my classmates(about 35 I think) and chased him around the school. He was smart enough to hide from us that day. He never disturbed us after that. Sometimes we have to learn to protect ourselves.

'Hot' Member of Parliament

2006-07-01T20:32:00.000-07:00

The 'honourable' Member of Parliament from Jasin has come out strongly against the 'corrupt' Customs officers who he said were selling seized luxury cars to their friends in the palace and government offices very cheaply in return for other favours. It could be true, but coming from him! Why? Why now? The customs have been seizing luxury cars that were illegally brought in for years. Something is fishy!

Remenber this guy? He is the one who tried to import sawn timber illegally from Indonesia and was reported to have asked the customs to 'close one eye' over the matter. When the customs refused to oblige and it became known to the public, he is now on a warpath against the customs.

Who is he to talk about corruption? When he intervened to help the company that imported the sawn timber, everyone thought that he was trying to help his constituents as he also claimed. After further investigations by our local reporters we find out that the company belongs to him!

This is what is going on in this country, but this guy must have rubbed someone the wrong way, otherwise we would never have heard about this issue or even this MP's name. We'll see if he survives in the next election. Most probably he will be bringing up racial issues like the rights of bumiputras and about religion to cover up his activities and most probably he will be elected.

Rudest Cities

2006-06-21T07:14:00.000-07:00

One of our local dailies highlighted the announcement that Kuala Lumpur (Capital of Malaysia) is now the 3rd rudest city in the world! This status was derived from a survey carried out by Readers Digest magazine. It's reporters were sent to the 35 cities in which it publishes it's magazine to carry out the survey. The result was reported by The Times of London.

According to the survey, New York topped the list as being the most polite followed by Zurich. The most impolite turned out to be Mumbai, Bucharest and Kuala Lumpur in that order.

The criteria was what is considered courtesy in the West - holding doors, helping strangers and service with a smile.

I think the survey is not very thorough and most probably the subjects selected were not enough to be used as a yardstick against the rest of the population of the particular city. How many reporters could they send to each city? How many people could they have tested? What were the status of the subjects? What about the population of the cities concerned? Was all these taken into account?

The population of Mumbai is approximately 12.7 million. 1% of this is 127,000. This figure is about 35% of the population of Zurich which came out 2nd most polite city. How many people in Zurich and how many in Mumbai were surveyed?

Asian culture is different from the western although I admit there are universal values of politenes like giving a helping hand, a friendly smile etc. The way we greet each other also shows our way of being polite. The Thais clasp their hands and say 'sawadi' while the Indians would say 'nameste' in a similar pose. The traditional Chinese would close one hand into a fist and place it in the palm of the other hand and would say some Chinese greeting. The Malays here would shake your hand while uttering the Arabic greeting and after shaking would touch their chest with the hand. I guess all these practices weren't important for these surveyors. The holding of the doors is definately a western culture.

In Asia the doors are open most of the time so there is no need to hold them. That is why most of the Asian cities failed miserably in that test. It was an alien thing. I have lived in Kuala Lumpur in 1975 and again in 1986. I didn't meet that many rude people then although there were some rude people at the bus station, inside mini buses and 'pasar malams'. This would not qualify Kuala Lumpur as the 3rd most rudest city in the world. The publishing of the results from this so called 'survey' is not fair to the Asian cities and definately not good for tourism. Personally I think this is some sort of sabotage by interested parties to divert the tourist to the Western countries.

Who's cooking?

2006-06-20T18:36:00.000-07:00

We were playing doubles with some new friends and to have a good game we (my wife and I) split up. She was now my opponent. Many of my old tennis friends believe I won't play my best when my wife is on the opposite side. This is not true ofcourse but neverthless believed by these people. So when I made a good shot which saw her running to return it but couldn't, because it simply was too good a forehand drive(heh heh), my partner immediately congratulated me and at the same time said most probably I will be getting 'moi'(porridge) for dinner tonight.

It was obvious that this guy doesn't know us that well, otherwise he would have known that my wife doesn't cook and that I am the one who buys dinner, lunch and breakfast!

Eating out1

These days a family could get by eating outside food. We have been doing that since we were married. During my father's time it was different. The man worked and brought home the money while the woman took care of the house which includes preparing the food. Nowadays the situation is not the same. Especially when both parties are working. There's no time for cooking, at least not for us anyway. Our lunchtime wasn't the same and the boys also had diffferent times according to their school activities. So, I used to eat by myself and bought food for the boys so they had lunch when they got home, while my wife ate at the school canteen. Dinner was according to mood. If we decided to eat bread then we all stayed home and that was our dinner - bread with jam or butter or cheese or sausages or just dipped in chicken curry (from the lunch).

Eating out

If we felt like going out then we had a choice of 'kari mee', 'want tan mee', 'koay teow theng', 'nan' with 'tandoori chicken', 'tosai' or 'chapati', 'inyeong', 'yee mee', 'fried sotong', 'satay', etc... Fridays was always restuarant food with at least 4 dishes - scrambled egg with bacon, pork, vegetable soup, sweet & sour fish. What more can a man ask? We have so many people cooking for us. We also don't have to wash the dishes! The important thing is you also have to earn enough to pay for this style of living. Food is not that expensive here so we get by.

So, on with the game and play to win. Nobody is eating porridge tonight.

Father's Day

2006-06-17T23:19:00.000-07:00

Today (18th June 2006) is Father's Day. I wish to dedicate this poem to all fathers everywhere.

What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,

The majesty of a tree,

The warmth of a summer sun,

The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,

The comforting arm of night,

The wisdom of the ages,

The power of the eagle's flight,

The joy of a morning in spring,

The faith of a mustard seed,

The patience of eternity,

The depth of a family need,

Then God combined these qualities,

When there was nothing more to add,

He knew His masterpiece was complete,

And so,

He called it ... Dad

~~Author Unknown.~~

Happy Father's Day!

Doing the right thing.

2006-06-12T05:15:00.000-07:00

The other day, I made an appointment with a friend at 10.00am. The friend came at 10.30am! I chided him for being late and his reply was, 'Relax la brother. Where's the fire? ' It seems to be the fashion to be late. To be on time or early is considered nerdy or not cool!

I think this is not right. We must mean what we say. If we say we will be at a certain place at a certain time, then it is our duty to be there at that stated time baring all unforseen circumstances like a meteor shower, an earthquake, a flash flood etc. It seems rigid but when a person acts according to his/her word you know that person has character. Character in a person makes him trustworthy and dependable. One, Nathaniel Emmons also said "I could never think well of a man's intellectual or moral character, if he was habitually unfaithful to his appointments. " He is so right.

We need to teach the young that these characteristics are admirable and to be desired. It is a good thing not to smoke pot or marijuana which may go against the mainstream of todays cool cats. It is also a good thing not to smoke cigarettes. It is a good thing not to cheat in exams. It is a good thing to do your own assignments and at the same time making time for discussions with those who are struggling with theirs. It is a good thing to tell the truth. As one comedian said, "Be a man. Do the right thing." Of course doing the wrong thing doesn't necessarily make you a woman!

We also must learn to give the benefit of doubt to others regardless of their race or status. I was reminded of this by a friend when I left my T-shirt in the men's locker after our friendly match in another town. When I told my friend that most probably one of the workers there would have taken it by now, she said that I shouldn't say that. We have to give them the benefit that they could be honest also and she suggested that I call the clubhouse to see if anyone had seen it. I immediately agreed with her but decided to call our Captain first. He said he saw it in the gent's room but didn't know whose it was but decided to bring it back anyway. I got back my T-shirt and learned a valuable lesson from my friend.

Coming on time may be a small matter but it speaks volumes about the character of the person. One might think if I can't trust you with little things what makes you think I will trust you with greater things! Granted it is hard work but that's what it takes. "”You cannot dream yourself into a character. You must hammer and forge yourself one." - James A. Froude. Some people also say character is what you do in the dark! Now that's another story.

Freedom of Expression

2006-06-07T20:48:00.000-07:00

What does 'freedom of expression' really mean? I am not sure it has a universal meaning.
Freedom of speech is often regarded as an integral concept in modern liberal democracies, where it is understood to outlaw censorship. The right to freedom of speech is guaranteed under international law through numerous human rights instruments, notably under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, although implementation remains lacking in many countries. In the United Statess of America, the First Amendment to their Constitution bars the federal government from “abridging the freedom of speech”.

The synonymous term freedom of expression is sometimes preferred, since the right is not confined to verbal speech but is understood to protect any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used.

The right to freedom of expression is not absolute; governments may still prohibit certain damaging types of expressions. Under international law, restrictions on free speech are required to comport with a strict three part test: they must be provided by law, pursue an aim recognized as legitimate, and be necessary (i.e., proportionate) for the accomplishment of that aim. Amongst the aims considered legitimate are protection of the rights and reputations of others (prevention of defamation), and the protection of national security and public order, health and morals. It is generally recognised that restrictions should be the exception and free expression the rule; nevertheless, compliance with this principle is often lacking.

Freedom of speech is crucial in any democracy, because open discussions of candidates are essential for voters to make informed decisions during elections. It is through speech that people can influence their government's choice of policies. Also, public officials are held accountable through criticisms that can pave the way for their replacement. This I believe is very crucial in a democracy or any country professing to adhere to democratic principles.

The reason I am bringing this up is because we seem to be facing a storm in a tea cup in Malaysia. The former Prime Minister has lambasted the curent Prime Minister in the newspapers accusing of poor leadership, of scrapping projects that he had initiated before leaving office. He even mentioned that the present P.M. wasn't his first choice as a successor. That was a very personal attack on the current leadership but he is still able to go about his usual business today after saying that. How is that possible? Because the government respects freedom of expression? In your dreams. Simply because he is a 'Tun', a former Prime Minister and a 'Bumiputera'. If that kind of statement had come from an 'AH Chong' or a 'Muthusamy', the ISA would have been used and the said 'culprit' would be in a lockup somewhere.

In my opinion, Dr. Mahathir is not bringing up any issues of national interest or beneficial to the public regardless of race. He appointed the present P.M. even though he didn't get the majority votes. That doesn't say much for Dr. Mahathir's choices either. If he is serious about speaking out about wrongs in this country, he should speak out about the religious rights of the non-muslims which is fast eroding. Otherwise he should just retire gracefully and let the next generation deal with the current issues.

The 'Unholy Trinity'

2006-06-06T22:10:00.000-07:00

The so called 'unholy trinity' on the front page of one of our local newspapers refers to the pact between loan sharks, illegal bookies and the VCD pirates. The main purpose of this union is to cash in on the World Cup fever among gamblers. Granted, there is a lot of money to be made but this group is doing it illegally. Whoever borrows from the loan sharks will have to pay a high interest rate. So, even if they win they won't be getting a lot. The eventual winners will still be the 'unholy threesome'.

You could say they are enterprising and in some cases ingenious. The authorities are having a hard time tackling this problem because most of the 'brains' are in the payroll of people like these enterprising groups. If you were working for the government, why would you want to crack your brains and risk your life when the promotions are not based on merit. The lazy, good-for-nothing collegue who sucks up to the boss and is probably of the same lineage always gets the promotions and other benefits.

I don't think the 'unholy trinity' are worried about the authorities. They are concentrating on getting as many punters as possible in order to make a killing before the world cup fever is over. But whatever it is, this is an ILLEGAL venture. They don't pay any money for a licence to do business, they don't pay taxes and I am sure their workers don't have EPF contributions. They do not contribute to the country at all. They only take for themselves. A legitimate businessman on the other hand does contribute to the nation even if he has an eye on making money for himself.

As to the part of those punters being 'willing victims', the government has been given a mandate to run this country which includes protecting the citizens from unscrupulous opportunist and sometimes from themselves also. Most of us won't last long if we lived in a free for all society. With so many scams going around, the individual is usually not that well equipped or knowledgeable to discern the true from the false. We need all the help we can get to see through these scams. As for the 'Ah Longs', one shouldn't even consider them as 'enterprising businessmen'. They are gangsters with ill-gotten gains who are trying to make more by hook or by crook.

The World Around Us

2006-05-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

A large population of this planet is very engrossed with the upcoming World Cup. Everyday and in almost every newspaper it is football, football, football in almost all the sports pages! Football fever could be classified as an epidemic in its own class. The numbers affected by this fever run into millions! Everyone involved seem very overjoyed and can't wait for the actual event. But there is a dark side which is slowly emerging in Germany. The racial factor. There are people still living in the dark ages who think 'white' is supreme. Black and Asian football players are getting the brunt of these thugs who throw racial insults and death threats at them during the game. If the organizers of these football matches do not take the necessary precautions, we might have a tragedy in our hands by the end of this month.

Talking about tragedy, the Indonesians living in central Java are going through one right now. The earthquake has killed thousands of people and left many thousands homeless and in need of food, shelter and medical aid. This catastrophe taking place just after the tsunami! Foreign rescue teams and international aid workers have gone to the quake zone to distribute food, water and tents.

One thing I notice when something like this happens to any country, the people who offer help are usually from the west. Lately, Malaysians and Singaporeans have learned to send their medical team to help also. Maybe I don't have the latest news but I rarely hear of any team from Iran or from Arabia or from Pakistan coming to the aid of victims of natural disasters. We only hear of death threats from these people who claim to be very holy! Look at Iraq. Two tennis players were shot dead for wearing shorts when playing! I guess one can't expect much from people like that. Maybe I am wrong.

Over in Timor Leste, there is more killing. Army against army, police against police, south against north. What is going on down there? The Australian, New Zealand and Malaysian armed forces have been sent there to help solve the problem. Hope peace will return to that land and people won't fear for their lives when they go out to buy daily provisions.

Over in Malaysia, there is a sort of religious tolerence at the moment. It is slowly being eroded by religious extremist who are gaining inroads into the government. The recent incident in Penang(one of the northern states in Malaysia) where a group of people (about 500) stormed and disrupted a forum on religious rights which was being held with permission from the relevant authorities. The police advised the organizers of the forum to stop in order to avoid trouble! Who is the tolerant party here? We shall wait and see what action the government takes on these thugs who stopped the forum. Then we will know if the Prime Minister walks his walk and talks his talk as he has gone around the world telling of how the government is tolerant to other religions in this country.

The Specialist

2006-05-22T19:51:00.000-07:00

Read in the papers that our government is trying to woo Malaysian specialists serving in Britain back to Malaysia. They will be rewarded with an "instant" pay rise of about RM 4,000 if they were to return. Besides this monetary reward, there were also other incentives like allowing locum in government hospitals and even 'simplified' Bahasa Malaysia exam for service comfirmation among other things. Sounds like a good offer for people already staying here. I wonder if there will be any takers!

My question is, what about those who have been serving faithfully here? What perks do they get? If these guys who have been enjoying themselves with high pay over there now come back and still get better deals than those who never went overseas but stayed home to serve the Malaysian people, what kind of treatment is this? If I were a local specialist I would feel very downhearted. The government must come up with something to appreciate the local specialists also, otherwise we will lose them to the private sector.

With so many rich people(and also the not so rich) getting sick and what with the trend of the rich to be treated by speacialist for almost everything, I would not be surprised if most of them went over to the private Medical Centers! The government hospitals would be left with the head of departments and their senior assistants who assist in looking for files or something like that because the specialist worker ants would be busy making money on the other side... heh heh.

We need to look after the 'baby in the house before we worry about the monkeys in the forest' la.

Teacher's Day

2006-05-15T20:16:00.000-07:00

What can I say. Most of my teachers are dead and gone. There are one or two still around. My primary school English teacher is still alive and kicking. He still remembers my full name! We meet at the park sometimes. I wander'd lonely as a cloud ... or something like that. He introduced us to 'Daffodils' by William Wordsworth, I think. It was so long ago. My secondary school English and Maths teacher was a very strict man. For English class, he made us read one story book a day and use some of the new words from that book in our weekly essays. I was usually picked to read the winning essay. When he taught Maths, everyone remembers getting caned. This was because he always gave weekly tests and every question you get wrong will earn you two swish from the cane on your palm or on the back of your thigh. We wore shorts in those days. But strangely, nobody from his class failed in the final exams! What a teacher. After leaving school I only managed to see him once before he passed away.

There were also those teachers who are best forgotten. They were there just for the pay and couldn't care less if the students learnt anything.

I came across some lovely poems about teachers and decided to post them here in honour of Teacher's Day, and also for my wife who happens to be a teacher also.

Unity

I dreamed I stood in a studio
And watched two sculptors there,
The clay they used was a young child’s mind
And they fashioned it with care.

One was a teacher:
the tools she used were books and music and art;
One was a parent
With a guiding hand and gentle loving heart.

And when at last their work was done,
They were proud of what they had wrought.
For the things they had worked into the child
Could never be sold or bought!

And each agreed she would have failed
if she had worked alone.
For behind the parent stood the school,
and behind the teacher stood the home!
- Ray A. Lingenfelter

Children Learn What They Live

If children live with hostility,
they learn to fight.
If children live with ridicule,
they learn to be shy.
If children live with tolerance,
they learn to be patient.
If children live with encouragement,
they learn confidence.
If children live with praise,
they learn to appreciate.
If children live with fairness,
they learn justice.
If children live with security,
they learn faith.
If children live with approval,
they learn to like themselves.
If children live with acceptance, and friendship,
they learn to find love in the world.
- Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph. D.

Local 'Hot' News

2006-05-11T01:50:00.000-07:00

It was reported that a Member of Parliament tried to influence the Customs Department to 'close one eye' over an illegal import of sawn timber from Indonesia. It seems he(The MP) is the sole proprietor of the company that was involved in this case. This issue was brought up in Parliament by the opposition leader. Is this something new? Something unusual? Unheard of? NAH....

What made the news was the support given to this issue by the Chief of the Backbencher's Club. The BBC is part of the political party that is in power today in this country. For somebody from the ruling party to support a motion from the opposition - this is unheard of. It is not only news but made history. That man has character. Unfortunately the powers that be were not impressed by his actions and so he resigned from his post. That was a sad day for Malaysian politics and showed the immaturity of most Malaysian politicians. Enough said.

The news nearer to home is a number of parents are driving their children to a town called Sungai Petani so that their children can take part in the inter-district tennis tournament. Some of them have to wait from morning to 7.00pm while their children run around the tennis courts in the hot sun! I was more fortunate as one of the parents kindly offered to give my son a lift to the tournament leaving me free to post my blog (heh heh). Of course I phone him every now and then to see how he and his friends are faring. He seems to be enjoying himself.

Much nearer to home, a Royal Military Air Force plane(Pilatus PC-7 MK II) crashed into the padi fields about less than 1km from my house. I could see the tail of the plane sticking out into the air from where I was standing which was about 100m from my house. You could hear the sound of ambulances and police cars and helicopters bringing some excitement to the locals. As there was no explosion, I sincerely hope no one was seriously injured. We will get the details in tomorrow's paper. Couldn't take the picture with my H/P due to the distance. There is a railway line and the North-South Highway between me and the plane, not to mention the 1000m distance!

Picture from a local newspaper.

Drugs With Side Effects

2006-04-22T05:30:00.000-07:00

The science of healing people of their sicknesses has been
around for a long time. As early as 3000 BC we have information that the Egyptians were practicing medicine. We know that surgery was performed around 2750 BC. We don’t know if the surgeons were from an accredited university! Unlike today where the credentials are checked first before one can perform surgery.

In India medicine started over 3000 years ago. Those guys were so good the Indians still use the same methods even today! The Chinese also developed traditional medicine and have been using it for a very long time and we have a lot of Chinese Medicinal shops over here. Those guys have a cure for everything.

Then we have the Hebrews, the Greeks and the Persians (Islamic medicine). The Europeans took all of these and revolutionized medicine by advances in chemistry and laboratory techniques and equipments. And so today we have a large number of drug companies located in Europe making billions of dollars. Medicine has become a money making venture and not about getting rid of diseases or healing the sick.

I realized this when I was prescribed medicine for something and later found out I was having a problem with one of my organs which was fine before but because of this drug it was showing signs of deterioration. This has happened twice on different occasions for different medical problems. And every time I have to pay for the drugs. These problems are attributed to side effects of the drugs and are written off as such.

Case 1
- I have bulging disc at the cervical section of my spine. As a conservative and non-invasive treatment the doctor recommended tegretol to relax my muscle and hopefully allowing the disc to maybe slip back. I had muscle pains and muscle cramps after taking this drug and the side effects far outweighed the benefits. He said these side effects generally did not affect most people. I am now on neurontin and so far, no unwanted results.

Case 2
- I was given a type of fibrate for lowering my high cholesterol level , but it affected my renal function. It didn’t even lower the cholesterol level nor the triglyceride level. Then I was given simvastatin which lowered my cholesterol level beautifully (from the previously high level), but it also lowered my platelets! It seems this happens to only about 2% of the people who use this drug and I had to be among them. Now I am back to the natural method – steamed fish, vegetables and plenty of exercise to raise my good cholesterol. No oily (fried) food, no KFC, no McDonalds, no PIZZA, no ‘char koay teow’ and no fried rice. And I thought by swallowing those small little pills (only one a day), all my cholesterol problems would be solved! Woe is me!

The moral of the story is to get as much information on the drugs prescribed, with reference to side effects, so that we can make a decision whether to take it or ask for a second choice. Sometimes this is not possible but if there is a choice doctors should let the patients know about it.

Clear and Present Danger

2006-03-26T18:04:00.000-08:00

Great title eh! I saw the movie but that is not where this title comes from. It comes from the headlines of this morning's paper that I just read. The article goes to say that the warning signs are clear. A water crisis is looming and the two clear indicators are the pollution level of rivers and the demand for clean drinking water. This statement was given by the Director of the Drainage and Irrigation Department(DID). Very simple.

And I thought it had something to do with the atmosphere caused by the Americans. You know, all the rockets and probes that had been sent up that may have caused some sort of disturbance to our atmosphere thereby causing less rain to fall which could be considered as critically dangerous at present. As such - clear and present danger!

Or, it could have been due to that hole in the sky that was the hot topic among environmentalists some years back caused by the fumes from all the cars (mostly from America- again the culprits) and that this hole might somehow have positioned itself just above our country instead of going to the good old US of A . This could have resulted in all the moisture above our country being sucked up into that hole, thus depriving us of rain. This is a clear and present danger.

Instead, I read that the issue was about river pollution and increasing demand of drinking water! What a let down. As it is we don't even have giant monsters from space attacking our cities as in Tokyo and New York. Even the UFOs don't come here. Only silly statements.
We had pollution all the time. As long as the birth rate is greater than the death rate we will experience an increase in the demand for water. This increase can be stopped if a war breaks out and millions of people are killed. At present I think this is unlikely to happen. The Director's proposal to combat this clear and present danger is to increase water tariffs! The revenue from this increase would be transfered to DID who can then use it to rehabilitate rivers. This coming from a senior government servant!

In our country, water is a state matter. This means that every state government has the rights to its water revenue. Thus the Federal government cannot take that revenue earned from water supply. I am not against river rehabililtation. It was that proposal to raise the tariff. The government had just raised the fuel prices by 30 cents. This raise has raised a lot of other things like my regular bowl of noodles and not to mention the economy rice that we eat everyday. I think the Prime Minister is too smart to fall for something stupid like that. What the Director should have done was to ask the Federal government for grants to take care of the rivers. This will benefit the whole nation and the Prime Minister would probably approve it and would transfer some money from Petronas and pass it to the DID to carry out their job of keeping the rivers free from pollution. The procedure for the fund transfer might not necessarily be according to my description but generally that is what should have been done. NOT increasing tariffs!

Scholarships and Fairness

2006-03-17T18:24:00.000-08:00

In one of our local news papers was a headline "Najib on the new realities - impossible to offer scholarships to all". This statement is from our Deputy Prime Minister. It is not a new reality. We have known it all along. It is just another political statement by a politician for want of something to say. In every country there will be winners and losers. Similarly, some will get scholarship and some won't, even if they are almost evenly qualified. The edge would have been in some extra-curricular activity. We understand that.

That is not the problem here in Malaysia. What is baffling is when students who get straight A's do not get the scholarship but those with less A's get the scholarship! The government has one policy for the media to publish but have a different one at the implementation stage. Either that or they have too many warlords who control the various departments who don't give a damn for the policies.

A perfect example would be the dressing policy. The government said there is no policy to force students to wear 'tudungs' (cloth to cover the hair on the head) but in so many schools the headmaster/headmistress or even the teachers think otherwise. Some teachers even pinch the students if the hair is not properly covered. They even ask the non-Muslims to cover during certain functions like school competitions in the name of uniformity! How cunning can you get. Another example would be the ruling by the International Islamic University for the female non-Muslim graduands to cover their hair on graduation day. When queried they say it is not religious but the university policy! When the French did not allow one student because she wore a scarf to school they were up in arms about freedom of religion. Hypocrites!

In some departments dealing with the public, the head of department even put up signs telling the public that they won't be allowed in if not properly dressed. The gall of some government servants. Properly dressed by whose standards? Who are they serving? Don't they know they are servants and not masters - hence government servants!

But I digress. The issue is about scholarships. We can only wait and see if this time around there is some fairness in the giving out of government scholarships. The intergrity of the Prime Minister is at stake here. He has made many statements about transparency and being fair to all the various races. We shall wait and see.

Fuel Price Hike

2006-02-28T08:05:00.000-08:00

The government has allowed a fuel price hike of 30 cents per litre. In the good old days it used to be an increase of a few cents. Not anymore, as it is reported that the government needs the money to improve public transportation and for development projects! I thought maybe it was to offset the billions that was reported wasted on maintaining public buildings.

This increase will trigger increases in many basic necessities. The people who will be hardest hit are the lower income groups who live in the cities. This group also includes the pensioners. I sincerely hope the present government has some concrete plans to control the price of basic necessities. Just look at what is happening inThailand and the Phillipines. We really don't need to reach such a stage to seek fairplay and justice for the citizens.

Please don't compare fuel prices with neighbouring countries without placing all the cards on the table. That will be like comparing an apple to an orange. I heard Brunei citizens don't have to pay taxes! How about comparing that? The good news is that there will be no further hikes for this year!!! If that is not good news I don't know what is!

Billions Wasted

2006-02-22T05:19:00.000-08:00

The headlines in one of our local dailies read 'Billions wasted in repairing public buildings....' - statement made by our Prime Minister. "Due to poor maintenance of buildings and amenities, we have to allocate big sums of money for repairs. This is a loss,” he said.

All he has to do is to get the Works Minister to tweak the Public Works Department to carry out their job. They have the technical expertise and the manpower but due to poor leadership the department is not functioning as it should. As I have commented before it all goes back to management. The managers need to 'prune' their staff. Get rid of the dead wood for the good of the department as a whole. Many times the lazy and good for nothing staff are not reprimanded but instead are promoted so that they can be transfered to another section. The idiot is still an idiot but with a higher rank and more pay.

This also happens in the education ministry. The teachers hardly go to class and do their core business - teaching. They are involved in co-curriculum activities or some beautifying campaign started by some idiot education official higher up.

The Prime Minister also suggested that schools assign teachers to take charge of the management and maintenance of buildings and other facilities, adding that owners of other public buildings and amenities should also do the same. This will give another reason for the teachers not to go to their respective classes and teach.

It is better to flog the Public Works Department who already have the various technical staff to handle such matters throughout the country to start doing their jobs. It is not necessary for any more working paper or new guidelines for this problem to be handled by teachers or other non-technical staff. Just make sure the technicians do their job and make sure the teachers go to their class and teach. Good management, empowerment and enforcement...that's all you need.

Management Problem

2006-02-06T06:39:00.000-08:00

It was reported in one of our local newspapers that 11 men were arrested during their mahjong session on the second day of the Chinese New Year. They were taken to the police lock-up and had their heads shaved! Incidentally most of these men were senior citizens. Their ages ranged between 31- 69. The 31 yr old was the owner of the coffeshop where the mahjong session was held. The police claimed it was standard procedure to shave the detainees in the lock-up. The Prime Minister has ordered the police to investigate the Kajang police to see if they had really followed police procedures as they claimed.

Meanwhile the 11 'bald men' are suing the police over the alleged mistreatment. My question is was it necessary for the police to shave their heads? Do they look like dangerous criminals? Do they pose a threat to the community? Any Malaysian police worth his salt knows that many Chinese play mahjong. Especially during the Chinese New Year. What is the big deal about these 11 old men? The Kajang OCPD must answer for his actions. He doesn't seem mature enough to hold the post.

I believe this is the main problem in our country. Many people are promoted to high posts even though they do not merit it. They haven't gone through the mill which would have moulded them for the tough job and the difficult decisions that need to be made during the course of their work. They get the post through some short cut or some unwritten rule of having only certain people at the top regardless of their calibre. When such things happen we get silly incidences which are blown up in the news.

The latest news is there will be a major shake-up in the top brass of our police force. Of the 14 names given in the paper only 1 is Chinese and the rest are Malays. Not one Indian at the top !
And the government wonders why the non-Malays don't join the police force! The answer is very simple .. nobody wants to be a coolie all their working life. Maybe it is time the government took a closer look at their policy for promotions and the opportunities available to the non-Malays in all sectors. This could make a difference in the way we manage this country. Just take a look at MAS. If the trend is allowed to go on we will be losing many more millions. Do we really need a mat salleh to tell us how to run our business? We can do it on our own. We only need to appoint the right Malaysians who are qualified regardles of their race.

Wake up and trust other races to be managers. We may make it to 2020 a stronger nation financially, fully committed to our multi-racial, multi-religious, tolerent and peaceful society. Anybody agree with me?

A Grain Of Sand Indeed!

2006-01-23T07:40:00.000-08:00

Not too long ago I posted that inspirational poem about the oyster and the grain of sand inside it. Little did I know that I would be given "a grain of sand" in the passage way(urethra) that passes out urine. Anybody who has had this "grain of sand" would know what I am talking about.

It starts off as an irritation and then develops into a third degree torture. You cannot find any comfortable position and you feel nausea as well. Then your whole body sweats due to the extreme pain. You double up with pain and couldn't care less what people are thinking when they see you walking to the doctors' office with one hand on your side and your head looking down on the floor. You just want the pain to go away. Before the pain can be made to go away you will receive more pain. The needle into the arm to get blood for tests. Another prick on the finger tip to check for diabetes and a double on the rear, the pain killer, which is what I was waiting for. Even that shot took two hours to take effect. Then another needle on the back of the palm to give the drip.

When the drip filled up my bladder I was taken for an ultra-sound scan which didn't clearly show the "grain of sand". When I went to the 'loo' I was able to let go of all that fluid. The doctor said maybe it got flushed out. I was able to go home around 5.00pm. I checked in at 10.00am.
At least now I know it wasn't my kidneys, or some other serious thing that had gone wrong inside my body. Thank God for that.

Now I have to drink lots of water. A friend said she heard that drinking beer could also help. So, cheers mate! I am certainly no oyster! heh heh ... it's good to be free from pain.

An Oyster

2006-01-16T20:29:00.000-08:00

An inspirational poem :

An Oyster

There once was an oyster

Whose story I tell,

Who found that some sand

Had got into his shell.

It was only a grain,

but it gave him great pain.

For oysters have feelings

Although they're so plain.

Now, did he berate

the harsh workings of fate

That had brought him

To such a deplorable state?

Did he curse at the government,

Cry for election,

And claim that the sea should

Have given him protection?

'No,' he said to himself

As he lay on a shell,

Since I cannot remove it,

I shall try to improve it.

Now the years have rolled around,

As the years always do,

And he came to his ultimate

Destiny stew.

And the small grain of sand

That had bothered him so

Was a beautiful pearl

All richly aglow.

Now the tale has a moral,

for isn't it grand

What an oyster can do

With a morsel of sand?

What couldn't we do

If we'd only begin

With some of the things

That get under our skin.

[ Author Unknown ]

Injustice

2006-01-10T18:32:00.000-08:00

I read in the paper today that it has been eight months since the last arrival of aid to the Tsunami victims in Aceh Besar. Why? Is it because of inclement weather? Is it because there is no access to the site where the victims have taken refuge? Is it because of lack of manpower to distribute the aid or lack of transportation? None of the above.

The newspaper reports, "The Belawan Customs and Excise Office has detained 117 containers filled with tsunami aid such as food, clothes, medicines and generators, at Belawan Port in Medan for the past eight months due to 'inadequate documentation' ". And the acting regent of Nias Selatan who is also the secretary to the North Sumatra Disaster Management Committee said that there was a major likelihood that the tsunami aid officially being detained at the Balawan port could actually have been stolen. It doesn't say if he is taking any action on this disturbing news. The newspaper article also mentions that several months ago, canned fish donated by the World Food Programme to the tsunami survivors were instead found being sold in the Medan markets!

My question is, if all these things are known by the authorities, what the hell are they doing about it? How can a nation of over 200 million allow a few corrupt civil servants to do as they please at the expense of so many suffering survivors. Or is it because the corrupt number is not just a few but in fact a larger number? I wonder. This is one place where justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done to get back the confidence of its people and the international community in the elected government.

In the local scene our Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has stated that matters concerning religious conversion needed to be spelt out plainly in the Federal Constitution and other laws to prevent confusion among Malaysians. This is a timely statement especially after the ugly wrangle between family and religious authority for M. Moorthy’s soul.

One local daily reports that "For the family — Kaliammal’s and others in a similar predicament now and in the future — it has been shown beyond dispute that conversions to Islam can no longer be left as a private concern, as they can in legal systems where there is a clear separation of church and state." This country is multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-lingual with some atheists thrown in. We need to have tolerence of each other's beliefs and customs. We cannot demand that one must adhere to the others' laws. It will never happen. History has shown us that there will be blood baths whenever religion and politics become bed fellows. Let's hope and pray that such a thing never happens to this country.

If the country is allowed to be run by religious characters who hide behind their 'holy books' or 'holy garbs' we are in for a terrible time. Take the fatwa issued by Rashad Hassan Khalil of Egypt, a former dean of Al-Azhar University's Faculty of Syariah. He says "being completely naked during the act of coitus annuls the marriage." For such a 'learned' man, couldn't he have explored something to improve the quality of life or encouraged his followers to be honest, sincere and caring to his fellow men so that such incidents like the tsunami aid being stuck at the Belawan port does not occur. What happens to a husband and his wife in their bedroom has become an international issue now! So, the message is very clear. Leave religion out of politics and leave politics out of religion. Otherwise we will have 'religious nuts' running the country. Vote wisely.