That's life!

This morning I was told that one of the trekkers of Semarak Hill has passed away. They said he had lungs problems with phlegm consistently being dispelled from the body by coughing and spitting.

I think he was about seventy years old and his condition was with him for quite some time before he succumbed to it. Well, time has caught up with him or it is time for him to return from where he came from. At least, his demise was expected and his family and friends were prepared for the time to come.

There were those who exit life unexpectedly, some too young and too tragic. There was this friend whose son phoned the father as he reached Ipoh where he was working. About half an hour later, the shocking sad news that he had been killed in a road accident reached the father's ears.

When we are told of such cases we think of life at least for a while. Life is so unpredictable and what is here this minute may be gone in the next. I have thought of this before, as a result of which I live my life to its fullest possible. Sometimes there just isn't anyway I could squeeze anything more out of it. However, more often than not, twenty-four hours just isn't enough. Almost everyday I have to remind myself that rest and sleep is just as important and essential to a full life.

Of course, though i live as if this day may be my last, I do not simply throw my life anyway but live with the expectancy of having another tomorrow. With that in mind I take care of my health and my finances so that should God say, "Sorry, man. You still have lots to do down there," i would not be left stranded on earth with no more cash or fitness to see me through for no matter how long life may take.

With this philosophy towards life, I have been happy and healthy in spirit, body and mind. Thank God for opening my eyes and mind towards all these.

Although we encourage play, not everything is safe.

Well, I visited this grandma the other day and found her taking some time to respond to my pushing the bell at the gate. And when she did open the door, between her legs was one tiny little guy with his four-year old mischievous face popping out. Then as grandma reached for the remote controller for the gate, the little one's hand reached out to grab the controller. Before grandma could do anything, the small guy had pressed the controller and the gate started to slide open. But then it stopped. If I had wanted to I could have squeezed my body through, but then I was fortunate to have hesitated for the little one pressed the controller again and it started to close once more.

In that instant, a story of a man crushed to death by such a remote controlled gate came to mind. I had read it quite some time ago in one of the newspapers. The gate had closed before he had managed to go through and the power was great enough to cause him fatal harm.

Well, at this point I became cautious as i did not wish to be in the footsteps of the man who was crushed to death. In fact that little used the remote controller as a toy and played with it resulting in the gate opening a little and closing again a number of times. Finally, the grandma had enough sense to forcefully take back the controller and opened the gate wide enough for me to enter safely.

I told her of the man who was crushed to death by such a gate and told her she has to be careful with that kid handling the remote as someone less careful could become another victim to such carelessness.

When it comes to children, certain things ought not to be allowed to be used as toys as they could endanger the child or others. Sockets, electrical wires and explosive materials from fire-crackers are certainly dangerous things to play with, be it adults or children.

Leeches!

It rains every evening for the last few days and the slopes up the hill is constantly wet. As a result of such wetness, leeches appear once more to taste the rich red blood of the unwary as well as the wary.

I seldom receive those leeches' attention. Either that or they are too slow for me as I usually run aver those thoroughly wet areas and was usually gone before they could leap up and hang onto my shoes to creep upwards to exposed skin to puncture holes with their sharp miniature teeth and slurp away at nutrient rich blood. Of course, there were the unlucky times when they happened to be lying in wait for my footsteps to come down upon them to give them a lift up to my delicious blood.

Once a leech even managed to find its way to the upper region of my chest to have me shocked to see blood oozing out of a tiny hole there as though someone had shot a tiny bullet towards me. that part of my T-shirt was wet with a crimson spread.

Then, this morning, a lady told us that the day before as she was hunting for a kind of white sweet nut from a little palm-like plant, two little leeches found their way towards her stomach and made two punctures in her flesh just a few inches from her navel.

From there came this story about a young girl of sixteen who played in a stream. Having her fun in those waters was a daily experience. Then a strange thing seem to be taking place as her tummy grew bigger and bigger as if she was pregnant. When question as to how she came to such a condition, she vehemently denied having had sex with anybody. Nevertheless, believing what they saw rather than her denials, the parents kept her indoor away from public scrutiny until, to her good fortune, a relative who visited her did believe her denials and believed that it could be the work of leeches from the river.

To test her belief, the relative placed something which could create a lot of smoke into a pot and had the sixteen year old sit on the pot. After some time, she felt some wriggling in her anus and, as if experiencing detoxification with coffee enema, the whole mess from her tummy cam tumbling down into the pot. Upon examination they found so many leeches in the pot. She must have been housing those leeches in her tummy as they grew and multiply. The family's dignity was restored and the girl found relief at last.

Is that just a story or is it the truth. Well, worms can survive in the stomach, so why not the leeches? And since leeches can crawl its way anywhere why not up the wet tunnel where blood is just as available, eventually reaching the stomach where there is space and food for raising a family of leeches. The one that went into her anus must have been a female, of course.

The evil that some do, you would never believe until you experience it.

On Thursday night, I went with some friends to attend a seminar on 'camoludin' and as the people with me were ex-colleagues of mine who knew me well, they asked about my life after my wife's demise and from there to the sickness that took her away from me.

I remember November and December 2000 very well as that was the time when my wife started feeling pain in the stomach region and weakness. We went to a clinic where she was told it was her old gastric problem returning. The problem stayed; appearing intermittently until we believed she ought to enter a hospital for a thorough checkup and found that she had gastric ulcer and needed an operation immediately.

She went through the operation in January 2001 and seemed to come out of it without much problem as she had always been strong, with sufficient exercise and proper home-cooked balanced meals. Unfortunately, at that time we did not realise a danger found in operation rooms, the dreaded MRSA, a virus which cannot be eliminated, therefore preventing the healing of wounds. According to what I hear, the MRSA virus is still as dangerous and without any method to destroy it. Well, that virus prevented her wound from healing till the day she passed away in August 2001.

While in the hospital, she was found to have another medical problem, Cushing Syndrome which was the uncontrolled over production of hormones in her body. This lead to all sorts of sicknesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure, bloating of the body with too much water retention. When the doctors, first in the Sungai Petani Hospital, then Nam Wah Ee Hospital in Penang and finally in Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Cheras, gave her medicine to remove the excess liquid, another problem cropped up; the loss of too much potassium from the body with the heart in danger of stopping its beating. They quickly injected her with potassium while I rushed out to get some bananas.

As she got weaker, she got pneumonia and water was found in her lungs. When her lungs weaken as it got worse, the doctors tried to suck out the liquid with a syringe from the lungs and in doing so punctured one of the arteries. She was immediately wheeled into the intensive care unit where she passed away the next day.At the time of her death, the wound with the MRSA was still not healed.

Since she had not taken drugs containing steroids and she had never taken Chinese medicine which, according to the doctors, contained steriods which can cause Cushing Syndrome; what could have brought it on?

As for her getting the stomach ulcer, I personally believe that the cause came from her work as a teacher and senior assistant in a Chinese school where the headmistress was a sadistic tyrant who was happy to see the teacher under her control suffer in one way or another. I had even made a complaint against her but the system is such that the people at the top seem to not want problems to be aired. However, she did manage to get a transfer but then as events proved, it was too late for her to escape the consequences of the pressure she had to endure.

There was a time when friends did ask me,"So, what did you do?"

I could only tell them I had done all I could when she was alive. No matter what I did after her death nothing could bring her back. I had to accept that. But I believe in karma and that those who had done her wrong were in a worse position; my wife was no longer around to pardon all the wrongs that headmistress had done her. She knew what she had done wrong and would have to bear all that forever. That is a universal justice I do believe in. You see, I do believe in God.

When leaders have such low mentality, what can we expect?

I remember with disgust how the one time prime minister of my country telling the ruling party to support the non-government organisation, PERKASA, otherwise it would lose votes in the coming election. There would have been nothing wrong with suggesting such a move as all political parties consider the garnering of votes very essential to its existence except for the fact that this NGO has been very vocal in its divisive racial statements and is so unethical to the extend of spreading lies to get one community to fear other communities taking over political power which can never be for the opposition consists of just as many Malays as the ruling party.

This ex-prime minister who is the sponsor of PERKASA apparently wants its chairman to spread this lie often enough to have people believe it is the truth. Indirectly, he is helping to incite hatred among the people with so much racial talk.

Anyone would have thought the unity, development and welfare of a country is top priority and nothing should be allowed to stand in its way. Yet, the very leaders we hope to lead the whole country to a greater future are still playing community politics. It is sad indeed that we search but could not see leaders who think of themselves as leaders of a nation and not just a community even though they belong to a certain community. Wearing half-heartedly the shoes of national leadership but constantly playing the role of community leaders in order to achieve popularity; how is the country ever to reach the so much dreamt of developed nation status? The country's wealth is available, the structures are in place but human resources are never fully utilised because of this community mentality which is constantly planning mostly for the development of only one community, placing the reign of power and decision only in the hands of this community while the minority awaits on the side pavements of the country hoping a time will come when they can fully participate in the country's development as accepted brothers and sisters, not step children.

The minority has waited long and patiently and there was just no way out as its leaders think merely of their positions; shaking the hands of those in power, proud to hold whatever was granted them, secretly refusing to fight for the rights of the people they represent while outwardly pretending to do so. Even such pretenses did once in while cut into the pride of their masters and when rebuked, would even rephrase their words to appease such masters.

Well, will there ever be a united nation in the true sense of the word? Superficially yes! Even today, the nation is considered united although the country is divided into groups with different rights although all of them are in every sense citizens, patriotic citizens who will be expected to defend this nation when the need arises. When you, a minority achieves something great, a Malaysian has done it, when it comes to demands to be treated equal, it is "If you don't like the situation here, you can go back to your hometown." After all, "The Chinese came as .....and the Indians with their ........look like ....." After 53 years of independence, we talk worse than when our ancestors such as Parameswara, Hang Tuah, Admiral Chen Ho and Hang Li Po first landed in Malaya. In those days, they knew how to show respect because all of them were immigrants. Today, they have forgotten their roots and believe the lies our politicians tell us.

So something has to happen or we will forever be stuck in this mud-hole.

Allow the child to grow into an adult

Today I read the story of a forty-three year old man breaking the arm of his father just because the seventy-one year old man stared at him for shouting at his mother.

Now, even if the old man was not the father, breaking someone's arm just because of a stare is obviously too much. The picture I got in my mind then was a gangster whose ego is such that even a stare cannot be tolerated. In my youth I have come across such a gangster who asked me what I was looking at. In my adolescent recklessness I told him how could he know I was looking at him if he had not been looking at me. So "Why the hell are you looking at me," I shot back. But, please do not emulate my then stupid action. For me at that time, I had the body of a body-builder and every other person is a coward if he is not confident of winning the fight. With no weapon and a body less rugged and faced with a guy who was certainly not timid, he knew the odds and went off.

In the present story, apparently he knew the father was too old to retaliate and dared to break his arm and kicked him. And he knew the others would not dare to intervene as he had a bowie knife in his hand. What a hero! Would he be brave enough to tackle someone his age and size?

Now, I detest such types; they who would take on someone weaker and show their sadistic streak harming those unable to defend themselves because of age, less strength and less power. They people should put their need to satisfy their ego to better use.

And once a child is big enough to be on his/her own, parents must let go and allow the grown-up child the freedom to find his/her own destination. In this sense I agree with parents in certain countries who get their children to be out of their homes or pay for their own expenses once they are capable of earning a salary. In this way, some children would have the opportunity to develop some maturity and be able to think right. When a child is not able to think correctly, his words and actions will not be right. And when words and action are not controllable by the brain, the person will always be in danger of committing wrong.

So, parents must allow the child to grow into a man/woman. Like a kite-flyer, parents must gradually lose hold of the string that hold and retards their child's growth mentally and spiritually. Allow the child to grow into an adult with all the capabilities of a fully-developed one.

Never retire from life.

Looking back, there were those who upon retirement decided to rest from work for the rest of their lives and those people are no longer around today to tell their stories.

There was one man who liked to eat a lot although he had diabetes. Fortunately, when there was work to be done each day; when he had to climb stairs and move from classroom to classroom or back to the staffroom there was movement and the use of energy taking away excess sugar from his body, his diabetes was still under control.

However, the day he retired, he fixed Astro, a private broadcasting station's programmes and soon he was sitting the whole day in front of the television, watching captivating programmes and enjoying some tit-bits perhaps. "That's life!' some would exclaim but soon the television was watching this elderly man instead as he napped in the comfortable chair in front of the entertaining box. And it's my turn to protest,"What kind of life is that?"

Without some form of activity to use up energy and the sugar that is required for it, the body suffering from diabetes was fighting a losing battle with no assistance from the body's owner. A few months later, God sympathetically removed him from the boredom that must have been his.

Many people forget, perhaps conveniently dismissed, that we have a body that needs proper care and cleanliness to have it in tip-top condition, failing which, we may have to suffer some kind of illness or weakness, both of them inconveniencing us in movement and enjoyment of life.

For me, to be able to enjoy life to my fullest possible, I must be able to be painless, flexible, able to enjoy with all my senses, walk and run. When I am unable to enjoy life any longer, I would pray for the journey from this life.

Now, my wish I believe is every other person's wish. The only difference is how much effort or discipline would anyone put in to ensure his/her body would be in such a desirable health. Does the person exercise? Are the exercises the right type? Is it sufficient? Is the body given the best possible nutrients for it to maintain its capability? What about the senses? Is the mind and all the other senses given the necessary stimulation to work well. Reading? Thinking? When was the last time deep breathing was done using the diaphragm to suck in fresh, untainted air to the deepest part of the lungs? Unless we do all these things, is it fair to expect our body and its organs to function at its optimum level?

There is too much life ahead to retire from it yet. Retirement from life ought to be the second we breathe our last.

A nation divided by the very leaders we depend upon ot lead.

"Ai Wei, do you know what my friend told me at breakfast this morning? In places in the East Coast, people of different races, Malays, Chinese and Indians sit down together in coffee-shops to eat halal and non-halal food. You eat your halal food while I eat my non-halal food just beside each other. Why is it so different here on the West Coast? Why are people separating just because of the different type of food they eat. Why is there this division?"

He has asked a very valid question. I know the Holy book, the Koran, says that Muslims must not eat pork but does God say that Muslim must not sit beside someone eating non-halal food? Does God say that Muslims must not look at non-Hala food? or is it a divisive ploy by the politicians in their divide and rule for then perhaps those politicians can seem to be holier or greater than the others. Perhaps that is why there are still politicians who claim their race is the master race in the country.

Whatever the reason, I must admit that they have done a good job of dividing the people, at least when it comes to patronising food outlets. However this does not happen in a state which has been ruled by the opposition for many years, Kelantan.

According to one source, there is even a shop selling pork just opposite a mosque. And Kelantan has a Mentri Besar who is very well versed in the muslim religion. Now, if that news is true, that is what I call a true understanding of what God wants, unity for all the children of God. Yet, Man has abused the name of God so often to achieve their own ends, even threatening to kill or kill which is a most ungodly act.Harming what God has created is in fact going against God. If god wants anyone gone from this earth, His wish will be done easily, not necessary at all through another human.

Politicians use religion because in Malaysia where a particular race is synonymous with the Islamic religion as there are laws to prevent their conversion or allow them to convert.It is time politicians do not abuse the name of God to achieve power and emulate the Kelantan government in displaying the good that is in Islam. Then, if the racial issues are also discarded, unity can be part and parcel of this nation. Then only can Malaysia be a united nation with nothing whatsoever to separate any citizen. Until then, we are never a nation, we are forever divided; the citizens are classed with one group more privileged than another, one group always striving for the nation yet never treated just as well in many spheres of life as a Malaysian.

A traditional diabetes cure?

The following recipe for diabetes recovery, if ever there is such a thing, came to me by email. I wonder at the truth of the matter but since what has been consumed by the lady could never harm anyone as long as the diabetic continues with his/her medicine, there is no harm reading it and trying it if you do have diabetes. Well, all diabetes should try it and if it works, tell your friends so that they can benefit from it. If there is no similar result as given by the old lady, there is no harm done and the ingredients for the recipe are not expensive, an ordinary chicken, lime and a little salt. So, read on and judge for yourself.
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No harm trying for those having high blood sugar.



Kim

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LIME 是青擰檬

My diabetes cured using this traditional recipe



I was then 55 years old when one day I suddenly felt constant thirst and had the urge to drink more water. I also felt constant hunger even just after taking a meal. My legs often cramped and I had severe cold sweat. I went for a check up and the doctor diagnosed it as diabetes; sometimes it reached 250 and it worried me so much. The doctor prescribed some medication and I was on medication for 2.5 years.

My brother who was staying in Malaysia was very concerned. He was a successful businessman. I went to visit my brother and sister when I was 57 yrs old and my brother told me he was given a traditional treatment recipe for diabetes which he claimed to be very effective. As a Hokkienese who suffered diabetes for 25 years; he had previously had complications and was unable to walk, but then he was cured.

Here's the Recipe :

Steam 4 limes (green lime) together with 1 chicken without head and tail), cut limes into half, add some salt with the water level just enough to cover the chicken. I was given this 4 times during my stay in Malaysia.
The taste was not very good but i still took it in the hope of curing the disease. It took me one week to finish a chicken (1 recipe), sometimes I drank it as a soup or for supper.

After 2 months I returned to Taiwan and had a medical check up again. I was surprised to hear the doctor advise me to stop my diabetes medication as the blood sugar level had plunged to below the standard count. He couldn't believe it when I told him what I took. From then on I did constant blood check-up and it was normal. So for prevention, sometimes I still had the chicken and lime once in a while. Lime was not available in Taiwan at that time and my brother sent them to me from Malaysia.

I am now 71 years old, and there's no recurrence. During this time I have been staying in Canada, the USA and I have been on a healthy diet and the chicken lime recipe once in a while; a recipe which saved my life.

As the ingredients are all natural, there's no harm at all to have a try and please spread this to your friends or whoever needs it. (The writer agrees with the last statement although I would advise to not use too much salt especially if there is high blood pressure.)

How come some children have lots of energy?

I met a grandfather this morning and he commented to me about his grandson who is always on the move, doing this and that throughout the day with just a short nap in the afternoon.

"As a man who have lived more than seventy years, I have seen and noticed that some children are slow not just in development but also in movement whereas there are some who seem to have a lot energy throughout the day just like my grandson," the proud grandfather observed.

Yes, some children, like my own sons and this man's grandson, have lots of energy and are always alert and active. I believe it has to do with two factors.

One is the nutrition of the mother during her pregnancy. Once a human egg has been fertilised, a foetus is formed. With formation of the first stage of the foetus, nutrition is required for its development as from then on the foetus develops at a fast rate, the various organs and parts of the body. If the mother does not consume sufficient nutrient for both of them, both may have to suffer from some form of malnutrition. I believe a lot of mothers suffer osteoporosis earlier than man because of pregnancy when the developing foetus may have to take calcium from the mother.

Another factor is the baby's nutrition. Some babies are weaned off milk too early. I have seen parents giving milo, a beverage drink their babies. Upon questioning such mothers, they would claim that their babies prefer the beverage drink to milk. Of course, as milo is sweetened with sugar. It is sweeter than milk. A wise mother would not allow the baby to make that choice and even prevent it as the babies are too small to know the existence of such a drink except through the introduction of it by the mothers or guardians. Mothers or parents, sometimes the problem lies with the fathers, should know that mother's milk is the most nutritious drink or food for babies, and to exchange the best with something else is certainly not advisable.

Without sufficient nutrition for growth and development of the organs, how can a child function at its best; how can there be sufficient energy for play which at that stage is a learning process. Without lots of play, there will be less opportunities to know the various texture on the many surfaces he/she feels or the development of strength in carrying things around, riding tricycles and pushing objects or the development of the brain as he/she thinks of improvising objects to become a vehicle, a pet or some other things within his/her imagination. Without sufficient nutrition, the body and the mind will not work as well and development can slow down while others are many steps ahead in growth, strength and intelligence.

Nutrition is important at every stage of our lives starting from the day we emerge from the egg as foetus. And even when we age we need even better nutrition for it is then that absorption of nutrients may be slower or not as efficient, unless we wish to slide fast downhill during our retirement. Anyway, we can retire from our job but never retire from life as much awaits us and that is when we need the strength and energy to enjoy life truly.

It's wonderful to be healthy and strong.

Being acutely aware that I am alone in this world especially since my poor wife passed away and despite the great number of friend I have, I have always looked after my health.

Actually this concern for my own health has been with me since the day I realised the poor condition of my health at the age of nine when I almost died of measles or smallpox; I am now not sure which it was. I was skinny then and with such weakness there were always someone ready to take me on to show his strength.

Having experienced all those sadistic streaks in other people and being aware that parents and big brother are not all the time around to protect the weak child, I knew everything in the long run depends upon me and me alone. Since that day I had gathered knowledge and ways to strengthen and build a healthy body. In other postings I have already written about how I overcome other weaknesses and sicknesses. Today I am still much involved in ensuring my mobility till the day I bade this world farewell.

But all that had been achieved this far could have ended yesterday morning when as i ran and jumped down the Semarak Hill, at a steep portion my foot slipped on a patch of loose sand causing me to slide forward with the body twisting to one side and out of control. I dropped onto my left hip and knocked the side of a knee against a rock. Fortunately, I somehow managed to see the rock and put out my hands towards it just as my body rolled against it. Painfully, I got up but found nothing broken. My shirt at the left shoulder and the back was brown with the soil. Other than the pain at my hip and knee, everything else seem to be fine. I thank God for that. But then, I believed that had I not been exercising my body, jumping, leaping and running on that hill all these years, my bones could have been weaker, more brittle perhaps at sixty-three years of age. Fortunately, I was still agile enough to avoid the rock.

I suppose I would not be as appreciative of the daily exercise I had been putting in if I do not realise that my being not hurt much was the result of it. This morning I was up the hill as usual, again skipping, jumping, leaping, running and walking, treasuring every moment of sweaty movement, knowing how precious being able to be active and agile is. Again, life and God has shown me the value of exercise and health.

Pros and Cons of rich calcium supplement for the foetus.

During pregnancy, women who take a lot of nutritious food, especially food which contains a lot of calcium such as milk are bound to have bigger babies; babies who at the time of their birth are approximately ten pounds.

When babies are too large, ordinary birth becomes a problem as the size of the foetus does not allow its whole body to move easily from the womb to the vagina and then out of the mother's body. As I have related a day ago about the woman who had to suffer the trauma of difficult delivery because of the huge size of the foetus, there is a need for a machine to suck the baby out (according to the husband of the woman) or go through a cesarean birth. The best procedure to choose would be the cesarean birth but usually gynecologists advise women not to have a third cesarean birth, possibly because of danger.

As for the lady in the previous day's true story, she told me her doctor advised her to drink a lot of milk during her pregnancy. I suspect she needed a rich supply of calcium and in her case the child also benefited with larger bones.

From observation of children I have found that those who are well nourished during life as a foetus and throughout early childhood have better energy and strength than the rest. Possibly the early excellent nutrition has put the child one step ahead of the development of the others. Of course, I have never done a proper research into the subject and am just making a layman's conclusion.

Pain! It was the kind of pain women feel when it is time to rush to the hospital to deliver the baby. And so the lady was hastily taken to the gynecology department where she was immediately warded and examined by a gynecologist. That very evening, she was taken into place where the baby first pushed its head through the vagina. It was big and the body just could not get through. The husband was told that there was a need to get the mother to the main hospital in Alor Star by ambulance. Having trust in the doctor’s assurance that that was the best procedure to take, the husband agreed to it.

Upon reaching the main hospital, the specialist gynecologist allayed the fears of the husband by explaining the steps which would be taken. The baby was unable to come out as the body was too big. The head was out, a little elongated with the shape of a jackfruit (This was what the husband told me.) but the body just could not make it. So, using a machine to suck the body out was the alternative step to take. The vagina had to be cut so that the opening for the foetus could emerge from the mother’s body. According to the husband the procedure was successful and both mother and child were safe. Still, the parents were anxious about the elongated shape of the baby’s head. The gynecologist told them not to worry but go for a rest and return after dinner. Unable to resist the gynecologist’s instructions, they had no alternative but returned after dinner to find the baby’s head the normally expected shape, well perhaps more like an apple than a jackfruit.

But then, the poor wife or the baby’s mother had gone though a trauma which was to prevent any wish to be pregnant for a good many years. When babies are too big, the pregnant lady ought to be advised to go through a cesarean birth which would have prevented such a trauma. (Of course, I am just voicing my unprofessional advice as I am not a gynecologist. Well, the best thing is to prove me right by asking a gynecologist.)

Anyway, modern science has progressed so far that what was once a problem is no longer one. Knowledge has not only made giving-birth safer; with this understanding, fears of the elongated shape of such foetus which had been pulled and stretched, would be a thing of the past. Getting the outline of the soft cartilage to become the shape we desire has no longer been a problem for the last thirty or more years.

A choice between promotion and happiness.

This morning an old friend told me about a specialist gynecologist he once knew.

About thirty-five years ago this gynecologist worked in the General Hospital in Alor Star. He was so good at his job that soon everyone knew about his capability. Praise came from all quarters. He did his job exceedingly well and such was his reputation that people in the capital of Kuala Lumpur soon knew about him.

At that time most of the well known personalities and prominent people in all circles were situated in the capital. So it was that they wanted him there. To get him transferred there they decided to give him a promotion.

Now all of us would have jumped for joy at the prospect of being promoted. Did I hear somebody say 'No!'. Well, that guy is no natural human being. But then some of us might not have thought of being transferred to another place, even though that is the place to rub shoulders with the rich and famous, a desirable idea.

And this gynecologist is one such guy. He might want the promotion but definitely not the transfer. You see, he was a happy man with his family and the small number of close friends that make his life wonderful. With them around, there was nothing else he needed. He was satisfied with whatever he had.

To transfer him was to uproot him from the comfortable environment he has established. With his close friends and family, he knew he was fully acceptable in the jokes he made, the subjects they discuss, the behaviour and mannerisms, the way he dressed and the casual manner he goes about with his life. He also had his sense of usefulness and respect while basking in the praise they bestowed upon his person and his professional career.

According to him all that happiness was worth much more than any promotion which required him to be cast into an uncertain place where happiness could be a question mark especially when he might have to kowtow to others and follow the directions and demands of people who most probably demand respect even when it is not due to them. Furthermore, he was not poor and so in his priority, happiness came before promotion.

Anyway that decision of forgoing the promotion won the respect and praise from the friend who told me this story. After all, as my friend would tell you, happiness is anytime more important than money. Of course, there was be a minimum amount to live on to be happy. But we certainly do not need huge sums of it.

The mind of a child.

One day he was arranging the chairs and stools of different sizes and height in a winding row so that he could climb up at one end, step from one stool to another or from one chair to another until he reached the other end which was approximately twenty chairs and stools away. Fortunately for him, his parents' house was big enough and possessing sufficient furniture to allow him to form a bridge from one part of the house to another.

The imagination of this child was indeed good. Another day, he would create a vehicle out of a computer table, enter it through an open door and have the maid push the vehicle so that it could move on its four small wheels.

A child sees a car and then he sees the vehicle in other furniture of objects in the house. He wants to be in the driver's seat and with that the dream of driving a car comes into existence.

And that is why parents who hope their children would one day be a doctor would buy them stethoscopes and dress them as doctors with the hope that their dreams will come true. Of course it would be easier if the child has a doctor as a father, especially one the child loves and is proud of. However, to foster the desire to be a doctor, children should support extracurricular activities such as St. John's or in Malaysia the Bulan Sabit Merah where they learn how to treat minor injuries. Of course, if the child is not academically inclined, he or she could end up as a nurse or an hospital assistant. But then, except for getting the child interested in reading and learning about science and gaining more knowledge, that is practically all that parents can do. The rest we leave to the child and his/her inclinations or life's destination or fate.

A lot of a child's future depends upon his/her interests and inclinations taking him/her to various directions which would eventually decide his/her future. Whatever it is, parents must allow the child to develop his mind as fast as is possible so that he will be ready when opportunity comes. Give him the chance to imagine, to think and to experience all that can be had. Provide him/her with such exposures to ideas, knowledge and things to help his/her mind to grow and form the foundation upon which his natural interests can given the impetus and motivation to reach their greatest potential.

What kind of earth will our future generations inherit?

Early this morning, before the sun even peeped over the tree-tops, I was moving forward, walking backwards, crab-walking up and circling my way up the slope of Semarak Hill. Then as light gradually replaced the veil of darkness to give a clearer view of the surroundings, I noticed what appeared as mist floating across at the foot of the nearby hills. The mist was so thick that it appeared more like a sea surrounded by hills in the distance.

I went round the hill in a anti-clockwise direction and when I reached the top I ran along the more even ground there. It was at the end of that stretch at the top that I met three friends, a couple and another woman. They had come from a clock-wise direction and invited me to join them going clockwise down the hill. As I had no companion with me then, I joined them.

As we descended the hill, one of my friends pointed to the two columns of thick smoke reaching straight up into the sky.
"Look at that. That's one of the reasons our air is so polluted. Some factories are bellowing smoke twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week throughout the year. Yet we have laws concerning pollution. What's the use of laws when there is no enforcement?" the wife commented.

"I think there's only one day in a year when there is less smoke seen from this hill. Remember, dear, the time I remarked about it to you; I think it was on National Day when almost every big business premise must close for a day," she told her husband.

"I can't remember when but this pollution thing will never be solved as long as there are humans; humans who think more of themselves than others or their future generation," the husband voiced his disgust.

"Yeah, people are selfish even though they know the consequences of their actions. They'll never stop as long as their own interests are affected. Their interest comes first. And it is not that the world has not done anything. Remember the sound by Michael Jackson, 'Heal the World.' His voice is so good and the song is so popular, yet people continue to damage mother earth and they would not stop despite having experience some of the effects even now, what with global warming, snow and ice-bergs at the poles melting and so much more rain and floods throughout the world," the other lady, Grace, said.

"And could all this possibly be the start of the prophesied end of the world?" the man wondered.

"Oh, yes! It's supposed to take place in 2012. What would all those polluters think then when the full realisation of what they have done to this world descend upon them, their contribution to the end of our and their lives as well as the rest of all living things. I wonder," she voiced her feelings.

"You think all those people would ever blame themselves. They'll all be in denial. The fault would be placed on everything else but themselves. As usual, one finger would be pointing outwards accusing others without their being aware that three fingers are pointing at each and everyone of them. Anyway what is the use of anything then. It would have been too late," her husband told her.

"Don't worry, God so loves all His children that He would appear once again to save the world. He will do something to save us, wouldn't He?" Grace enquired.

"Come on! Don't blame God if He does nothing. He has given Man the brains so that he could think and solve the many problems in this world. Yet, instead of using their minds for the good of every thing on this earth, humans have manipulated God's words and usurped the powers of God bestowing themselves with godly powers to sentence others, to dictate to others their own human beliefs and cause so much division rather than unity which should be the aim of all religions. For all we know, God could be angry and wish to remove the mess so that a brand new world with new creations of all his creatures so that a better world is possible," the man put forward his theory.

And I was thinking that it is true that with the powers God has, all that theory is possible as humans seem to be messing up too many things so much so that this 'End of the world.' prediction has been around since my teen-age years. And those who predicted thus have concluded similarly that the world is getting into too much of a mess to get things untangled. Well, the warning has been out and all depends upon the positive reaction to the prophesy of disaster.

Another reason I do not belong to a religion.

I have come to the conclusion that if anyone wishes to join a religion, do not ask too much, know too much or observe too much about the religion. This conclusion, however I must admit, is just only the result of my own experiences and thoughts.

As a young man in quest of the truth and the spiritual paths, I have been into temples, churches, mosques and all kind of places people claim there are spirits and happenings. I have been to processions of the nine emperor Gods, the Datuk Keramat Diety, St. Anne's in Bukit Mertajam and other happenings in temples. I have even personally seen a young Malay boy jump into a trance-like dance while waiting for a Chinese friend outside a small temple even before the usual medium in front of the deity's statue could be possessed by the deity. (Of course, this is bound to be disbelieved by those who were not present then.)

In those days; it was the 1970s then, human beings were more united, communication on religion and beliefs were easily discussed without the present day suspicion. In the mosque, for example, I was allowed entry to every part of it just clothed in a white cloak which was provided by the guardian of the mosque. So there was no worry whatsoever of doing anything wrong unlike these days when talk of sacrilege is sure to erupt should someone wishes to find fault with someone.

Speaking of sacrilege, which is treating a holy place with disrespect by wearing or not wearing, by having or not having or by doing or not doing something, I have always wondered if the rules have been laid down by God or man.

As my parents were Taoists but claimed to be Buddhist, I have been told by them that those people who are having their periods must not enter the temple or place of worship. So, even if there is a need to pray in a temple, the need has to be put on hold. According to the rules the woman's body at the time of menstruation is considered unclean and therefore not presentable to God. That is something I have always argued with my parents about. I could never accept the belief that a body is unclean just because it is in the natural process of removing waste.

If the process of removing waste from the human body is considered dirty, than what about the process of eliminating toxin from the body through our skin as we sweat, the process of removing carbon dioxide from out body through the lungs in the process of breathing or the process of getting rid of waste from the bladder or the intestines. Does that make our body dirty? The elimination of waste takes place every second of the day. So does that make us unclean and so forever not suitable to enter the places of worship. Or is it just menstruation that has been singled out as the impure state of the body? Would that be an act of God? Certainly not! It has to be an act of Man! What kind of fairness is that?

It is such rules that point me towards the realisation that many religious rules are man-made. Only man could be so small-minded as to consider a woman to be in a 'dirty' state at the time of menstruation which is actually a normal, natural process of eliminating one kind of waste. Such being the case, would God be angry with the presence of one his greatest creations? Furthermore, the act of menstruating is not an act against God for God himself created women thus. It is a perfectly purifying process in itself. Yet, man is petty enough to consider it dirty.

If I had been told that the disallowing of women into a place of worship during menstruation was to prevent inconveniencing women who might possibly be in pain, weak and having stains, I would wholeheartedly agree but surely not because they are impure or is sinful for them to be in God's presence then.

When faced with such a rule and other rules which are man-made, I find it uncomfortable to submit or be a part of a religion which requires its followers to obey its rules. Such being the case, I am more comfortable with my belief that God is always with me no matter where I am, be it at a muddy river, a smelly spot collecting manure for my plants or in a well-scrubbed toilet. God will always be there and I am only answerable to God for all my religious thoughts and deeds.

Be vigilant for greed is always present..

The fact that my land remains as big as it is from the time I bought it from the developer and has not changed is the result of luck and facing the forces of what I believe to be corruption.

The proof as seen in the drawn map of the developer is evident to this day that a developer, the developer of Taman Arkid, Sungai Petani, did drew a plan with a piece of my land as a side road so that he could use the land on his side for the building of another terrace house. Despite the developer clearly attempting to turn part of my land into a side road. the land office and the municipal council approved the developer's plan.

When I first complained to the municipal council about the attempt to turn part of my land into part of the developer's side road, I was told it was necessary so as to allign the back lane of the row of houses behind my house with the intended side-road. Perhaps, someone could have given up the matter as a reason by the authorities was extended and who can claim the authorities are wrong.

Fortunately, I have been involved in my place's residential association for the last thirty one years with more than twenty years as its secretary. In those twenty or more years we have fought for the residents' rights which are often trodden on. Therefore, when the municipal council told me that the planned back-lane had to be in alignment with the other back-lane, I went out to gather information on this. I went to other officers in the land office as well as the municipal council without letting on about the case in question. I also discussed this with the residents' association committee members and some of them are very knowledgeable people about this matter. One of them, our chairman is a lawyer working in a consumers' association while another is a retired person who has experiences on such matters. And I was told that a back lane must be straight but it needed not to be in alignment with the other back lane. When I had confirmed this truth, I approached the municipal council again to confront him with the knowledge I had. When he refused to do any changes or act on it, I went out and requested to meet the president of the municipal council. The president agreed that what I knew was true and phoned the officer concerned, giving him instructions to take action on it. Then i was told to meet the officer concerned again and this time the officer phoned the developer to stop him from building that last house so that the area would be the back lane. I firmly told the officer I would be watching every move on that spot and should my land be dug up. I would lodge a police report. I definitely did not trust that man.

How did I become aware of such a devious plan. Well, it all started a few years earlier. One morning as I was tending to a tree in my garden, some people were doing surveys. The guy who did the survey reached under my fencing and hammered in something into the ground. Puzzled, I enquired what was the purpose of that embedded piece of metal. I was told that my fence was on other people's land and I have encroached onto the person's land. Since the fencing was supplied and constructed by the developer of my housing estate it could not be possible and since my fencing had not been removed or changed in anyway, I did not think about as I thought it must have been the surveyor's mistake. And I left it at that although i was suspicious and did mention it to my wife.

Then when the Arkid developer started building the houses, my mind took me back to the day I met those surveyors. I wondered about what had been said. The unease growing at the back of my mind kept me thinking of those surveyors' words. So it was that I went to the new developer's office to have a look at the plan of its housing estate. Studying that plan I realised that my diagonal fencing at the side had been straightened and my land was with the shape of a rectangle instead of it being triangular. I confirmed that that land was where my house stood and still stands.
With that confirmation I started on ensuring that my land would not be the one encroached upon by this developer so that he could make an extra profit with the building of one more house by using part of my land as the back lane.

Only when i had found out all that did the developer sent people to negotiate to buy that part of my land. I flatly refused not matter the price for I hate people who try to cheat and use their wealth to carry out their wishes without considering the feelings of others.

Of course, I won and still has my part of the land with me although the map still exists to show that someone did do something to take away part of my land without my knowledge.

Who makes it a money world?

"The garden of the house has been overgrown with plants here, there and everywhere. Some time ago we had a maid and so it was fairly easy to keep the place clean and tidy but since mum passed away, we have done away with the maid and except for me, there has been no one else to help cut the unwanted plants that seem to grow so easily without any attention or care," she complained to this willing listener.

"well, my dear girl, you still have your father, your brother and his children,' I reminded her.

"Yeah, that's true. However, my father at eighty plus is too old to do much. As for my brother and his children, they stay some distance away and are hardly seen whenever there is work to be done," she explained.

"So, what do you have in mind?" I asked.

"Could you come and help? I do not mind paying somebody to clean cut the plants and clear the mess in my garden," she told me.

Here I am with already too much work to put into twenty-four hours a day and this friend hopes to get some of my time. I was certainly not able to give much time to anybody then and since she has a brother with healthy boys, I felt it unnecessary to offer any assistance.

Then, this morning when I saw her she started complaining the minute she saw me. She told me that she had asked her brother and the children to help out. At first, there was no response until she offered ten ringgit each for the help. Fortunately, that was sufficient to bring themand so the clearing of the place started.

However, she soon realised that the father was so happy to see the grandchildren that he had quickly distributed ten ringgit each to all of them soon after starting. And you know what? With the money safely in their pockets, the brother disappeared from the scene to be followed soon after that by the children. And so it was that she did not managed to get the place properly cleared.

"If it had been some workers, I can understand that they came just for the money. But here are her own brother and nephews, people who ought to give a helping hand without any spoken request. Yet, despite the 'carrot' of ten ringgit, the work was not done satisfactorily," she lamented.

"Well, I don't think it's the children's fault. Somebody has been in the habit of rewarding them with money for every small deed that they had performed," I could not help but told her.

"Yeah, lo! It's my father. He's always giving those children money for running errands, for helping around and for everything. They come expecting some money each time. And when no money is forthcoming, they run at the first mention of work. Children nowadays are so different," she expressed that thought sadly.

Sometimes, parents teach their children wrong values and grandparents pamper them so much that the children just knew how to get the grandpa to respond correctly to their wishes. Children are clever and old folks are too doting where their grandchildren are concerned. In such circumstances children perform not out of love and care but for the money and whatever else that they can get.

Money problems in families.

"You know, I always thought my family has so many problems, more than others until the day the lady who owns her family's printing press complained about her family members. Nobody knowing her with her sweet smile and friendly approach would have thought such a woman could have problems."

I listened intently as she told me what happened. Apparently, the lady boss had a brother and sister-in-law who passed away at a fairly young age. It was due to an accident which took place quite a good number of years ago. The couple left behind two children whom this lady boss, who was the aunt, took up the responsibility of bringing up. Everything was fine and the children grew up as employees of the printing press.

She would not have known of the children's thoughts on the grandparents' property, had the grandparents not died one after the other, their deaths merely a few years' difference.

However, one the last of the grandparents had died, the children wanted their share of the property, demanding that what they get ought to be the same as their aunt. This caught the aunt by surprise as even her brothers had not demanded more than what had been written in the will. Obviously, she gets the lion's share as she had always stayed behind to manage the parents' business while the brothers wander afield to establish their own businesses. The two children were given a small sum as they had done nothing for the business except to be employed as two of the workers in the printing press.

Of course, according to the will and the law, the children will have to accept what has been given in the will. But that did not prevent them from saying so many unkind things about the aunt who had lovingly sheltered and cared for them since the day they were orphaned. In fact they had been given the best possible education except that non of the aunt's or these children were good academically. All the children stopped their education after secondary school as none of them had the kind of results that could have made them eligible for any further studies. Furthermore, all of them seem to have no interest in continuing with their studies. So, all of them either worked for the printing press or in some other occupations of their choice.

As whatever unkind words were uttered not in the presence of the aunt there was nothing much she could do but be patient with them. She did not want any ugly situation that could possibly result as a result of confronting them with their accusations. However, knowledge of what had been said made her feel bitter and sad that her own nephew and niece had the temerity of condemning her behind her back. To her it was the most unkindest cut to be accused thus especially when she had brought them up so well.

Well, sometimes money can cause all kinds of problems and here is one such case. Perhaps but then it is certainly difficult, we should not expect any gratitude for whatever kindness that we do perform. If there is gratitude, treat it as a bonus. And we have to learn to be deaf or if that is not possible, do not let such sad incidences affect us too much. Just accept it as a part of life and treat it as an opinion others are entitled to. If we manage to master our mind in such matters, then depression or stress caused by such things will effect us not.

Experience is the best teacher.

There are many ways to learn but the most important and best method of learning can be none other than learning on the job.

I have been into cosmetics sales (Holiday Magic osmetics), florist work, English Language teaching, gymnasitic coaching, fish and canary bird breeding and massage. I have learned from the experts in all the above fields, going through courses and acquiring whatever knowledge and practical training I could from them. However, nothing beats working as a professional. As a professional, I learn that mistakes could be made despite the knowledge attain from the experts. I learn that our brains work best when we know we cannot fall back on somebody else expertise to come up with the right results. Our ego and pride plays a most important role to have us look into various aspects as we perform professionally. Yes, ego and pride are the most important factors in determining the type of professional we turn out to be. It is nothing but pride and ego which require us to work better to be the best possible professional in the field. And should we find that what we have learned through whatever courses are insufficient, it is the same pride and ego that make us read up or learn more from other experts. We are willing to be humble to achieve satisfaction of pride and ego.

Just as I had my friends and teachers to develop myself mentally, I found that the best teachers were only available through the thoughts from books written by Napoleon Hill, Norman Vincent Peale and Dale Carnegie. Then, when I realised there was still something more I needed I paid more than a thousand ringgit, a huge sum of money for a young man then with a salary of only four hundred ringgit a month, a sum of money that was all I had in my bank account at that time, a big step I took to improve my mind further and I have had no regrets to this day, for the motivator at that course in Kuala Lumpur in 1972 was none other than Lawrence Chan. (Perhaps the reader have not heard of him as his time is past, most probably retired but he was the best then.)Even then, I found that it is when we are faced with real problems that we learn even more. Of course, without those early important teachers, most of the problems could not have been overcome so easily.

As a gymnastics coach, for example, I discovered that it was not so much the stages of development in flexibility, strength and movement that had been taught at all those courses that counts so much as the confidence and belief of the gymnast in me. Believing that I could bring them to perform well was most important in removing any doubt of their ability to do any agility movements, springs or vaults. Then my one hundred percent attention on the learning and practising gymnast to ensure that at any moment a slip would be attended to correctly to have the gymnast land safely is of utmost attention. Though I learned massage and first aid to ensure that injuries would be attended to immediately, I have never had to use them as no injury ever occurred. (For me, an injury during training would have whatever confidence built up diminished if not lost forever. Thus I gave the gymnasts the confidence to do what most people thought was most difficult.

As a teacher of English, I seek and plan ways to make learning easier and so more enjoyable. Knowing the grammar, understanding the words and sentence structures are only part of the tools of a teacher. It is understanding the usage of grammatical items and sentence structures, being able to use them correctly in everyday life that make English Language learning difficult. It is not merely giving them exercises unless those exercises can improve their understanding of its usage and put it into practical use.

And all the ways to get things done well cannot be taught merely through theory. We need to work and face the problems as they arise daily. Problems are handled in two ways. There are those who say nothing much can be done and just try to avoid them, allowing things to be imperfect. Then there are those who have sufficient pride and ego to want nothing but the best in everything they do and these are the people who think of the problems, search for the answers by asking other experts perhaps or reading up on better ways to overcome them and end up becoming better in their professions.

Similarly, we have come across mechanics who cannot detect problems with our cars easily. They change this, they change that and they change almost everything until the problem is solved and the poor motorist has to pay for his daily experiments. And some never think or find out how to get straight to the problem or detect the problem except through trial and error. We have many of these. They do not read up on what they do not know or approach for help from someone who does. Perhaps that is easier said than done as which good mechanic would help a competitor to catch up on him. However, there are ways to learn. A mechanic could go for another course to improve himself. Of course he might have to forgo some earnings or pay for such courses but then for a better future it ought to be worth it. Or he should learn from his mistakes, putting some thought into his experiences.

Thus, practical experience is important especially when we are willing to learn from our mistakes or wrongs, each mistake bringing a better understanding that that is not the way and a new way has to be found or discovered. Well, if we make only new mistakes and not repeat the same mistake, we are learning to minus the wrongs and go towards the right.

Nothing beats working experience for improvement, if there is a desire for it.

It's the age of exploration for those above three years.

One moment the grandmother watched the cute little grandson jumping all over the place with a smile on her happy face enjoying the antics of the lovable little one. Then, barely five minutes after she turned into the kitchen, a crash broke the calm silence of the hall and that broke the old lady running back to the grandson, anxiety written clearly on her face. And she had reason to be for the young rascal had put a plastic stool near a shelf, reached up with extended hand and clumsily toppled a bottle of wine onto the floor, splintering it into a hundred pieces, staining the floor with its reddish-brown colour and permeating the surrounding air with an aroma some adults would certainly enjoy.

She threw up in despair at the scene that greeted her, shouting for the grandson to stay put and not move as sharp glass pieces threaten to cut into the flesh of the little one. Furthermore the floor was wet with slippery wine, certainly not a safe place for a little boy of three going on four years. In her worry she shouted and scolded. No longer was that grandson cute and cheeky but naughty and dangerous.

Wearing a pair of thick-soled slippers, she carefully move in towards her grandson, swoop him up and away from that dangerous splinter-strewn area. Looking all over the child, she was relieved to find nowhere a cut or bloodstain.

When she met me, she told me of the possible danger that could have been possible if not for the lucky stars that had shone upon her then. Yes, the child had indeed been lucky to escape unhurt and stars were not around then as it was broad daylight. Imagine what could have happened had the bottle hit the child as it dropped to the ground! And when the child fell off the stool he could have been cut by shards of glass from the broken bottle. With the floor wet and slippery, a fall like that could have broken a bone. So, without pain, a cut or even a fracture, this young explorer can be deemed to be real lucky.

Children at the age of three and four are curious little rascals who have to be watched at least twelve hours a day, relaxing only when such young explorers take a nap. When the young ones are awake, expect them to look for toys in everything that they set eyes on. Dangerous things such as knives and bottles must be placed out of their reach. Do not tempt them with a position they can reach with some ingenuity. Just like this grandson, any little boy would be able to come up with a stool, a chair, a block of wood, a box and a ladder to extend their hands to grab the things they want. Don't challenge their inventiveness or they will show you the amount of brain cells they already possess even at that tender age. In their curiosity, they would explore the whole house for the house is their first playground. So child-minders and parents must be alert at all times.

I know that is a lot of effort but then years would roll by and soon the opportunity to enjoy their presence will be lost forever. Their exploration keep us on our toes and give us the chance to be active and get some exercise in the process. So our children keep us young until one day when they fly away from the nest and we are left alone to watch television and grow old as the television takes it turn to watch us as our muscles gradually dwindle into fat. So, be glad the children are around to provoke some kind of action or alertness.

Choose the wrong politicians and they will be around to haunt you for five years.

Politicians, apparently without a doubt, are the worst people in the world, Sorry, I ought to say in Malaysia only for I am not so knowledgeable as that to claim that of all politicians throughout the world..

Each day I go around, first up the hill, then to the morning market and after that here, there and everywhere, meeting friends who comprise of all races and there was no problem in communication or exchange of ideas, no problem with mixing among ourselves. No racial problems!

Yet, when we go into the news media in Malaysia we read of all sorts of disgusting racial problems with politicians creating some of them, with politicians aggravating the situation by not acting fast enough on the guilty parties and politicians accusing the less guilty while seemingly letting go of the real culprits.

There were some communal leaders who are always baiting the citizens to join in their racial outbursts with threats of their community losing their political power.
They claim that the Malays in Malaysia would lose power should the opposition, which also have many Malay politicians, ever come to power. What a ludicrous idea!

There were two Malay leaders were obviously talking nonsense as regardless of which party forming the next government, the Malay political leaders will still be the majority and will still be holding most of the power. The present party which have been ruling for the last 53 years does have Chinese and Indians among them. So, should the opposition ever come to power, most of the politicians would be from PKR and PAS where most of the leaders would be Malays. Of course, their thinking may be different, perhaps fairer, less corrupted and more nationalistic and not so racialist. That being the case, every Malaysian ought to look towards such a change.

Thus, the only difference would be different leaders with different ways of governing. And with that the citizens could send off those racial leaders and give Malaysia the opportunity to develope more like America where origin no longer is a problem, where all citizens are not Negros, Chinese, Indians, Europeans, Malays, British but Americans. Similarly, with the new leaders we in Malaysia can hope to be Malaysians first and Malays, Chinese or Indians second. (Even our present Deputy Prime Minister considers himself Malay first and Malaysian second, see!!!)

And it is good to have a two party system whereby any mistake made would be suffered for only five years, after which a correction can be made. If we have no choice, merely one party to choose from, well even when the political head is a dictator, we have no choice but to pick him again and again and again. When two parties are strong, choose not just the party but the leaders. Choose the leaders who can lead us to greatness and prosperity, to a better tomorrow. Thus, if only 60% of the leaders of one party is good, choose 60% of them and the rest of the good one could come from the other party. In this way we cultivate good leaders and weed out bad ones. It could be unlike today when elected Members of Parliament prove themselves community racist who simply shout and utter nonsense that most of the citizens detest.

A country can only progress if the right leaders are given the opportunity to lead. Just as in a business, good partners are not necessary those of the same family. A wise businessman chooses a partner for his capability in developing the business, not for his closeness with the family. It is the responsibility of every citizen to think wisely and vote in people who can make Malaysia a land of plenty and glory so that our future generations will benefit from our choice.

Malaysia ought to be a land of plenty. Compared with our prospering neighbours as we lag behind, Malaysia had its tin-mines, its rubber estates and now tropical wood, petrol, gas, palm oil and tourism. Compare all that with Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and the Phillipines. Despite most of them having to face even natural disasters like earth-quakes, their economy is improving while we seem to be stuck in some kind of mental quicksand, still unable to pull ourselves out of all those lousy policies made.

There's only one way to pull us out and that is to vote wisely, to vote for the right leaders and make our country progress once again.