Having been caught by the rain during the last few evenings and yet not having to suffer the consequences, I was intending to write on immunity this day. However, this letter from a tourist which appeared in the Star newspaper takes me to something more pressing in my country, Malaysia. Let us look at a part of what this tourist has written.
"But what’s most outstanding were the people. No matter of which race and religion, all of them share the same traits: open and extremely friendly.
They are very polite and always helpful. They seemed to get along well with each other in their social lives and working relationships. I did not see any unpleasant incident, unlike in so many other places where social segregation and disturbances are clearly visible.
Despite their differences, the people here appeared to me as genuine Malaysians. Happy is the country where people can live in harmony and understanding with their neighbours and not bother about colour, religion or ethnicity."
There is so much truth in what this tourist has written. I agree whole-heartedly with his impressions of Malaysians from all walks of life. Malaysians as a whole get along very well with each other no matter their differences in race, culture or religion. We respect each others' belief and practices. We never think of our friends as immigrants from another land for none of us are; we are born in this land and this is our country.
Unfortunately, we have powerful, influential political leaders who abuse their positions to ram into our minds every so often that some are more supreme than others, that they are the guardians of one particular community despite their standing as national leaders, that the minority people are less deserving of being equal in every way to the majority and these minority are still considered 'immigrants'.
Lately, there was the government creating a foundation for just one race with the so called noble idea of helping the poor having a share of properties in the country which according to them would otherwise be in the hands of the elite. Which elite? If it is to help the poor, every community has its poor. Such a foundation to help the poor ought to be for all poor Malaysians and not just for one community. Who actually benefits from such a foundation? It is the rich in that community who will become even richer. How much can the poor, especially those who live from hand to mouth benefit from such a foundation? With this crooked thinking (How true is knowledge I gained from the book 'Straight and Crooked Thinking'.)politicians find ways to gain at the expense of the really poor whose name they abuse. Can it be a 1Malaysia when projects usually divide the people?
Well, I am sorry but most Malaysian politicians I detest.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
A real scumbag!
Never in my life have I ever dreamed of the day when such a dastardly deed such as this could happen in the human race. We have known animals to fight with their lives for the safety of their young. These are the ones who are supposed to possess no brains, nothing to help them think of morals and right moves. With the knowledge of this horrible case, those young of such protective animals are really fortunate to come from parents with a strong instinct for love.
Perhaps, some of you could have already read of the case of this scumbag from Jainpur Village in Faizabad District in Lucknow who had his two daughters murdered to claim insurance money. And the insurance money was not exactly a life or death issue but merely to purchase a piece of land.
To kill his two daughters he gave a neighbour Rs50,000 and his motorcycle as payment so that he would commit that foul act. The two trusting girls followed the neighbour to watch a cinema show before they were shoved into the nearby river to drown. What kind of neighbour could commit such cold-blooded murder on children known to him? This is a case of people descending to the lowest level of depravity; people who are worse than animals I would like to say but they cannot even be compared with those beautiful creatures; no, these are people beyond redemption.
Well, it is true that it takes all types to make a world. And it looks like the worst type is sometimes hardly recognisable or easily identified. Would those two girls who died ever realised the purpose of the neighbour taking them for a show? Would they ever thought their own father would send them to their graves?
would they know that, to their father, the value of their lives is equivalent to just a piece of land? Those poor unsuspecting girls died without even a hint of the cause of their demise.
In a way, we see that when people buy insurance for us, it is not something to be happy about. There could be a motive. For, when people hope to be the beneficiary and receive money from such an insurance, the motive cannot be said to be good. There would be greed and perhaps the hope that the insured would die soon.
In buying insurance, the insured must be the one to desire such a protection, either for himself or herself; or the loved ones. When it is the insured decision, then there is no thought of achieving money through insurance which can only emerge through greed.
It would be interesting to study those two scumbags, the man and his neighbour, on how their minds work but that would take up too much space. For example, I wonder if greed and a thinking mind could have lead those two scumbags astray. Was greed too great to fend off and did the mind help greed to overcome intrinsic love? I wonder.
Perhaps, some of you could have already read of the case of this scumbag from Jainpur Village in Faizabad District in Lucknow who had his two daughters murdered to claim insurance money. And the insurance money was not exactly a life or death issue but merely to purchase a piece of land.
To kill his two daughters he gave a neighbour Rs50,000 and his motorcycle as payment so that he would commit that foul act. The two trusting girls followed the neighbour to watch a cinema show before they were shoved into the nearby river to drown. What kind of neighbour could commit such cold-blooded murder on children known to him? This is a case of people descending to the lowest level of depravity; people who are worse than animals I would like to say but they cannot even be compared with those beautiful creatures; no, these are people beyond redemption.
Well, it is true that it takes all types to make a world. And it looks like the worst type is sometimes hardly recognisable or easily identified. Would those two girls who died ever realised the purpose of the neighbour taking them for a show? Would they ever thought their own father would send them to their graves?
would they know that, to their father, the value of their lives is equivalent to just a piece of land? Those poor unsuspecting girls died without even a hint of the cause of their demise.
In a way, we see that when people buy insurance for us, it is not something to be happy about. There could be a motive. For, when people hope to be the beneficiary and receive money from such an insurance, the motive cannot be said to be good. There would be greed and perhaps the hope that the insured would die soon.
In buying insurance, the insured must be the one to desire such a protection, either for himself or herself; or the loved ones. When it is the insured decision, then there is no thought of achieving money through insurance which can only emerge through greed.
It would be interesting to study those two scumbags, the man and his neighbour, on how their minds work but that would take up too much space. For example, I wonder if greed and a thinking mind could have lead those two scumbags astray. Was greed too great to fend off and did the mind help greed to overcome intrinsic love? I wonder.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Dangers in reversing a car.
This is not the first time; neither is it the second time nor the third time I have read about someone reversing his car into something behind him.
Why I have done it at least twice in my life. At a parking lot, one of the supposedly safest place to reverse, I drove into a low, big potted plant and was only aware of my carelessness when a thud shocked my senses to get me to instantaneously brake too late as damage to the rear portion of my car had already occurred.
Another time, I reversed from an entrance with the road cleared of any traffic only to be told by that sudden thud again that something had suddenly appeared from a nearby side-road into my path. Fortunately, there was hardly any damage as both cars belong to the tough thick metal variety of earlier days.
I was lucky as all that has happened to me had nothing to do with human lives. However, that is not to say that such tragedies do not take place. Well, only this morning I read in the Star newspaper how a little two-year old girl paid with her life when an uncle reversed his car out of their house in preparation for a trip with her and the family. When the thud was heard, the poor child was down with some brain damage and the hospital could not help her.
It was such an incident that I read of more than twenty years ago that caused me to be very cautious about having children near my car especially when I wish to reverse. In fact, since reading of that similar incident in the late 1980s I reversed into the house so that I drive straight into the road each morning. Somehow, we are more careful when we reverse into our house as we do not wish to crash into the door or the wall. Well, we are more cautious. Besides that I would ensure that my children were inside the house, behind the bars of the metal door, when I reverse in, as I wish to be very sure any damage I make while reversing could only be to the door, the wall or the car. And that is not because I have no confidence in my driving. It's better to be safe than to be sorry, right?
Now, with my children grown up and none of them around most of the time, I conveniently park as most people do; drive straight into the porch and reverse out into the road. However, if there are small children around, we ought to learn from such tragic incidences.
Why I have done it at least twice in my life. At a parking lot, one of the supposedly safest place to reverse, I drove into a low, big potted plant and was only aware of my carelessness when a thud shocked my senses to get me to instantaneously brake too late as damage to the rear portion of my car had already occurred.
Another time, I reversed from an entrance with the road cleared of any traffic only to be told by that sudden thud again that something had suddenly appeared from a nearby side-road into my path. Fortunately, there was hardly any damage as both cars belong to the tough thick metal variety of earlier days.
I was lucky as all that has happened to me had nothing to do with human lives. However, that is not to say that such tragedies do not take place. Well, only this morning I read in the Star newspaper how a little two-year old girl paid with her life when an uncle reversed his car out of their house in preparation for a trip with her and the family. When the thud was heard, the poor child was down with some brain damage and the hospital could not help her.
It was such an incident that I read of more than twenty years ago that caused me to be very cautious about having children near my car especially when I wish to reverse. In fact, since reading of that similar incident in the late 1980s I reversed into the house so that I drive straight into the road each morning. Somehow, we are more careful when we reverse into our house as we do not wish to crash into the door or the wall. Well, we are more cautious. Besides that I would ensure that my children were inside the house, behind the bars of the metal door, when I reverse in, as I wish to be very sure any damage I make while reversing could only be to the door, the wall or the car. And that is not because I have no confidence in my driving. It's better to be safe than to be sorry, right?
Now, with my children grown up and none of them around most of the time, I conveniently park as most people do; drive straight into the porch and reverse out into the road. However, if there are small children around, we ought to learn from such tragic incidences.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Riches is neither good nor bad.
The last few days I had to leave this blog unattended as I went to Kuala Lumpur to attend to matters pertaining to my car at Bukit Aman. While I was there I met an interesting young man who was always impressing upon all that he met that he can afford a very luxurious life-style.
I had a long talk with him as we talk of the possible wealth that awaits him from his academic success. He was not talking of thousands but millions. At the beginning I felt that was not altogether bad as dreams are what takes people to heights of success in life. But as we talked on I realised that his feet were not securely planted on the ground. His dreams were obviously unreachable, not possible with what he intends to do anyway. As Napoleon Hill said,"Whatever the mind of Man can conceive and believe, he will achieve." Well, this man was dreaming of millions but he could not conceive how it could be done and he was asking if it could ever be possible. Yet, it is certain that this man has a great thirst for wealth. He has that inferiority complex which could give him the drive to go the distance to achieve it.
He has this thirst for wealth because he has known hardship and poverty. He came from a family where the father had looked for no job as the grandfather was very rich.
Well, his is the story of a man (the man's grandfather) who gathered so much wealth that when he passed away he left behind so much money that his children had never had to worry about anything that money could buy. Some of the children did well; using the money to earn more money but a few depended upon their inheritance and as a result did not search for a job or did any kind of business. The need was just not there!
One of those who merely enjoyed their lives with the fortune left behind was the father of this man whom I met. As he was neither thrifty nor careful, the money soon ran out. And when he found himself with hardly sufficient to continue his luxurious lifestyle, he found no one willing to employ him as he was either too old or without a skill. The most unfortunate ones were this new acquaintance and his siblings. They had to do with whatever little the father could earn as a small vegetable seller.
So, it is no wonder that this new acquaintance had this inferiority complex. According to another person who was there too, I was told he would spend more than what he could afford. I realised that he was trying to cover up the fact that he was poor. But it resulted in him being in debt even when he was studying in the university.
Fortunately for this acquaintance, his success academically surely would give him the chance to overcome his financial position if he is careful and manages his finances well.
Now, it the rich grandfather had done better parenting and ensured that the children work despite his wealth, the children and grandchildren would not have to suffer the 'disadvantage' of being too rich. For wealth need not necessarily hampers dependents from improving themselves or reaching out for their own successes.
I had a long talk with him as we talk of the possible wealth that awaits him from his academic success. He was not talking of thousands but millions. At the beginning I felt that was not altogether bad as dreams are what takes people to heights of success in life. But as we talked on I realised that his feet were not securely planted on the ground. His dreams were obviously unreachable, not possible with what he intends to do anyway. As Napoleon Hill said,"Whatever the mind of Man can conceive and believe, he will achieve." Well, this man was dreaming of millions but he could not conceive how it could be done and he was asking if it could ever be possible. Yet, it is certain that this man has a great thirst for wealth. He has that inferiority complex which could give him the drive to go the distance to achieve it.
He has this thirst for wealth because he has known hardship and poverty. He came from a family where the father had looked for no job as the grandfather was very rich.
Well, his is the story of a man (the man's grandfather) who gathered so much wealth that when he passed away he left behind so much money that his children had never had to worry about anything that money could buy. Some of the children did well; using the money to earn more money but a few depended upon their inheritance and as a result did not search for a job or did any kind of business. The need was just not there!
One of those who merely enjoyed their lives with the fortune left behind was the father of this man whom I met. As he was neither thrifty nor careful, the money soon ran out. And when he found himself with hardly sufficient to continue his luxurious lifestyle, he found no one willing to employ him as he was either too old or without a skill. The most unfortunate ones were this new acquaintance and his siblings. They had to do with whatever little the father could earn as a small vegetable seller.
So, it is no wonder that this new acquaintance had this inferiority complex. According to another person who was there too, I was told he would spend more than what he could afford. I realised that he was trying to cover up the fact that he was poor. But it resulted in him being in debt even when he was studying in the university.
Fortunately for this acquaintance, his success academically surely would give him the chance to overcome his financial position if he is careful and manages his finances well.
Now, it the rich grandfather had done better parenting and ensured that the children work despite his wealth, the children and grandchildren would not have to suffer the 'disadvantage' of being too rich. For wealth need not necessarily hampers dependents from improving themselves or reaching out for their own successes.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Children can be innocently destructive.
"Oh, no! Look at all the photographs on the floor! Who cut them into small little pieces?" the shout arose from one of the ladies in the house. Her dismay attracted all the other members of the house-hold. They watched in disbelief as the lady squatted and scooped up the cut pieces from the floor. Nearby was a pair of scissors.
"Look! this must be the scissors used to cut up these photos," she turned round to show the others the evidence of the crime.
When she held up the scissors, the elderly man nearby spoke up, "I think it's the work of Seow Lik." He had seen his little grand-daughter with the scissors cutting up what he had thought were pieces of unwanted papers. At that, they helplessly looked in the direction of the little girl's grandpa.
"Oh, my God! Why didn't you stop her? Look at all these spoiled photos. You should have kept an eye on her," one of them cried.
Well, this is a case where the old man did not realise that very young children in their enthusiasm of performing new skills would use practically anything at hand to enjoy. The little girl must have just learned how to use a pair of scissors and finding photographs available for cutting had done just that. To the educationists, it is creativity. So no parent should punish the little girl, for by doing so, there would be more harm than good done. Since it was over, the harm to the adults was completed but that did not mean that the child cannot benefit from the creativity. Anyway, it was not the child's fault.
Yes, definitely no fault of the child. The fault lies with the adults for not understanding their child. As children grow older, they are bound to be curious, active and bent on creativity. If we understand this, then we obviously will keep things not to be used by the children away or out of their reach. Then, those things will be safe.
Whether it will be a lesson or not to the adults again depends upon how the adults take it. If they think it the fault of their children, then the adults have learned no lesson, have no understanding of children and certainly would have faulted the children, perhaps scolded or worse, given them a caning.
Furthermore, parents ought to watch out for their children at this exploratory age as they could also put themselves into all kinds of danger. Parents are the ones who are supposed to be having the knowledge for bringing up the children safely and properly while children in their ignorance are expected to make some mistakes in their learning process.
Therefore we need knowledgeable parents who can guide their children through their early learning years to safer and greater development.
"Look! this must be the scissors used to cut up these photos," she turned round to show the others the evidence of the crime.
When she held up the scissors, the elderly man nearby spoke up, "I think it's the work of Seow Lik." He had seen his little grand-daughter with the scissors cutting up what he had thought were pieces of unwanted papers. At that, they helplessly looked in the direction of the little girl's grandpa.
"Oh, my God! Why didn't you stop her? Look at all these spoiled photos. You should have kept an eye on her," one of them cried.
Well, this is a case where the old man did not realise that very young children in their enthusiasm of performing new skills would use practically anything at hand to enjoy. The little girl must have just learned how to use a pair of scissors and finding photographs available for cutting had done just that. To the educationists, it is creativity. So no parent should punish the little girl, for by doing so, there would be more harm than good done. Since it was over, the harm to the adults was completed but that did not mean that the child cannot benefit from the creativity. Anyway, it was not the child's fault.
Yes, definitely no fault of the child. The fault lies with the adults for not understanding their child. As children grow older, they are bound to be curious, active and bent on creativity. If we understand this, then we obviously will keep things not to be used by the children away or out of their reach. Then, those things will be safe.
Whether it will be a lesson or not to the adults again depends upon how the adults take it. If they think it the fault of their children, then the adults have learned no lesson, have no understanding of children and certainly would have faulted the children, perhaps scolded or worse, given them a caning.
Furthermore, parents ought to watch out for their children at this exploratory age as they could also put themselves into all kinds of danger. Parents are the ones who are supposed to be having the knowledge for bringing up the children safely and properly while children in their ignorance are expected to make some mistakes in their learning process.
Therefore we need knowledgeable parents who can guide their children through their early learning years to safer and greater development.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Regurgitation of milk by babies can be dangerous.
Recently, a baby died in the afternoon after taking his milk. It is obvious from this case that anything not done properly, possibly without the right knowledge, can be dangerous.
This seven-month old baby is believed to have choked on the milk given to him. Therefore mothers and care-givers must be equipped with the proper knowledge of taking care of babies.
In this case, the baby had just been given his milk and upon finishing it had immediately been left to lie down in his cot. There is this probability of the baby having regurgitate the milk. If the milk returned to the mouth while it was lying down on his back, it could choke the baby. This regurgitating of milk often happens and care-givers or parents must be prepared for it. To be safe, the baby ought not to be placed in his cot unaccompanied. The adult caring for the baby should look after the child for a while or soothe the back of the baby with gentle strokes of the hand.
I believe this is not the first time a child regurgitates his/her milk. So parents should look out for this probable action on the part of the baby.
This seven-month old baby is believed to have choked on the milk given to him. Therefore mothers and care-givers must be equipped with the proper knowledge of taking care of babies.
In this case, the baby had just been given his milk and upon finishing it had immediately been left to lie down in his cot. There is this probability of the baby having regurgitate the milk. If the milk returned to the mouth while it was lying down on his back, it could choke the baby. This regurgitating of milk often happens and care-givers or parents must be prepared for it. To be safe, the baby ought not to be placed in his cot unaccompanied. The adult caring for the baby should look after the child for a while or soothe the back of the baby with gentle strokes of the hand.
I believe this is not the first time a child regurgitates his/her milk. So parents should look out for this probable action on the part of the baby.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Strength and health.
Well, same types of topics seem to crop up at particular times. Only the other day, I was asked where I went for my morning exercise by a friend. When I told him about my daily daily trek up the hill and down again, he was shocked that I would do such a thing at my age. According to him, it is an activity I should no longer take part in.
Immediately, I thought of those words that had been thrown at me since age forty-five. At that time, I was merely jogging through rubber estates. "What? You think you are still young, don't you. You will suffer pain in your joints soon unless you stop," my well-intentioned friends used to advise. If I had been unfortunate enough to follow that advice, today I would most probably be shuffling my feet slowly to move.
Instead, I got bored with jogging and went on to trekking hills where I could sometimes jog and skip along unknown paths. As for pains, I did have some but with greater strengthening of the leg muscles, I managed to send those pains packing. Today, all I ever suffer from are some tired muscles. Oh, yes! I did almost get cramps in my thighs the other Sunday when I trekked about thirteen kilometres at Penang's National Park. But I recovered fast enough to trek up the little hill at Taman Semarak the next morning.
In fact, fitness and health is mine today because of the exercise on that hill. It gave me sufficient exercise to keep my muscles toned and enough perspiration to remove some of the toxins. I also get the chance to empty my lungs of any stagnant foul air to be replaced by truly fresh air from among the trees. Of course, it is only a part of my health programme. Nutrition is just as important.
So, as I age, I have to maintain my health with this kind of programme to ensure, I can enjoy life as much as any healthy person.
Immediately, I thought of those words that had been thrown at me since age forty-five. At that time, I was merely jogging through rubber estates. "What? You think you are still young, don't you. You will suffer pain in your joints soon unless you stop," my well-intentioned friends used to advise. If I had been unfortunate enough to follow that advice, today I would most probably be shuffling my feet slowly to move.
Instead, I got bored with jogging and went on to trekking hills where I could sometimes jog and skip along unknown paths. As for pains, I did have some but with greater strengthening of the leg muscles, I managed to send those pains packing. Today, all I ever suffer from are some tired muscles. Oh, yes! I did almost get cramps in my thighs the other Sunday when I trekked about thirteen kilometres at Penang's National Park. But I recovered fast enough to trek up the little hill at Taman Semarak the next morning.
In fact, fitness and health is mine today because of the exercise on that hill. It gave me sufficient exercise to keep my muscles toned and enough perspiration to remove some of the toxins. I also get the chance to empty my lungs of any stagnant foul air to be replaced by truly fresh air from among the trees. Of course, it is only a part of my health programme. Nutrition is just as important.
So, as I age, I have to maintain my health with this kind of programme to ensure, I can enjoy life as much as any healthy person.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Is medicine which can cure in just one day considered good?
This evening, my brother and I talked about how doctors can be wrong and yet be praised and admired by his patients.
There was this doctor who gave medicine so that his patients always get miraculous recoveries. And patients of his would declare,"That doctor is really good. His medicine would get you well in a day."
Imagine that! Just in a day, this doctor could get rid of the sickness. It certainly sounds better than the doctor who took a week or two to cure a sick person. But I just could not stomach the idea that decent and good doctors are considered bad when the doctor with such miraculous cures is considered good.
As a result of being born with a weak and sickly body,I have always had an interest in nutrients, body immunity, the various types of sickness and medicine in general. Through knowledge gained, I understand that when antibiotics are taken to overcome bacteria, the full full course has to be taken to ensure that all bacteria are completely destroyed so that none is left to evolve into stronger bacteria. So, the guy who thinks he is cured after one day's antibiotics could have thrown away the remainder and not complete the course. In time to come, a stronger bacteria may attack his body. Then, the body would need even stronger medicine for a cure.
Besides that, if too strong a dose is given to a patient, knowledge tells me that our own immune system might not be given the chance to work and strengthen itself. That would not be assisting the body to develop even better immunity. Of course, immunity can also be strengthen through a healthy body provided with the right nutrients.
However, doctors who prescribe medicine that is too strong are strongly supported by his patients. I have even heard one to claim,"That doctor is good as he dares to use such a strong dosage." Well, if anyone were to say that it is good to have a really strong dose to cure his sickness, why not resort to steroids. But what happens when sickness returns with even stronger bacteria, will there be anything stronger than steroids to fight it?
Well, that is what I understand of steroids and medicine. I hope those who are sick would finish all the antibiotics provided by their doctors. And do not take steroids unless ordered by their physicians. Those who take excessive steroids can develop Cushing Syndrome, even though Cushing Syndrome caused by the taking of steroids can be treated by stopping the use of steroids and treating the various symptoms it brings.
Well, always consult a good qualified doctor.
There was this doctor who gave medicine so that his patients always get miraculous recoveries. And patients of his would declare,"That doctor is really good. His medicine would get you well in a day."
Imagine that! Just in a day, this doctor could get rid of the sickness. It certainly sounds better than the doctor who took a week or two to cure a sick person. But I just could not stomach the idea that decent and good doctors are considered bad when the doctor with such miraculous cures is considered good.
As a result of being born with a weak and sickly body,I have always had an interest in nutrients, body immunity, the various types of sickness and medicine in general. Through knowledge gained, I understand that when antibiotics are taken to overcome bacteria, the full full course has to be taken to ensure that all bacteria are completely destroyed so that none is left to evolve into stronger bacteria. So, the guy who thinks he is cured after one day's antibiotics could have thrown away the remainder and not complete the course. In time to come, a stronger bacteria may attack his body. Then, the body would need even stronger medicine for a cure.
Besides that, if too strong a dose is given to a patient, knowledge tells me that our own immune system might not be given the chance to work and strengthen itself. That would not be assisting the body to develop even better immunity. Of course, immunity can also be strengthen through a healthy body provided with the right nutrients.
However, doctors who prescribe medicine that is too strong are strongly supported by his patients. I have even heard one to claim,"That doctor is good as he dares to use such a strong dosage." Well, if anyone were to say that it is good to have a really strong dose to cure his sickness, why not resort to steroids. But what happens when sickness returns with even stronger bacteria, will there be anything stronger than steroids to fight it?
Well, that is what I understand of steroids and medicine. I hope those who are sick would finish all the antibiotics provided by their doctors. And do not take steroids unless ordered by their physicians. Those who take excessive steroids can develop Cushing Syndrome, even though Cushing Syndrome caused by the taking of steroids can be treated by stopping the use of steroids and treating the various symptoms it brings.
Well, always consult a good qualified doctor.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
For the love of her mom.
I have heard about this lady quitting her last job in a big international company to take on a smaller post in a comparatively smaller company from some of her friends. I have often wondered what had happened to cause her to take such a move.
Today I was fortunate to have the beautiful lady come to my house. After talking on some health topics, I found out that she was working today, a Sunday in Malaysia. Here, when it comes to a lot of offices, they are closed on Sundays. So, her having to be in the office on a holiday got me wondering about the need to attend to office work when everyone else is resting.
She explained about her duty as the head of a department to ensure all the work would be completed and only a small percentage of it allowed to be carried forward to the next day. The amount of work could not be cleared recently due to someone being sick for the last few weeks. Listening to her talk about her duty I felt she really had a heart of gold.
Since we were talking about her work I took the opportunity to enquire about her previous post in that bid international company with its main office in the United States. She told me it was because of her mom who was getting more and more serious with her high blood pressure.
It was at that stage that the company wanted her to be the director of operations in the East Pacific Area and to move to station herself in the Hong Kong area. That being the case, she wondered how getting her mom to the new place would affect her health. Without her, the mother had no one to look after her. Her post was high and the pay was big. So, she had to choose between her successful career and her mother.
What would you choose? Well, where she was concerned, her mother came first. She left her big pay-check and returned to Kedah to care for her mom and found another job with a small company and, of course, a much smaller pay. What a great sacrifice she had made! She is one great lady!
However, she is happy with the smaller pay as the lifestyle is different. Her present way of living does not require so much money. She is happy to be with the mother whose blood pressure has gone down to normal again. And she is just as happy to be with her friends, friends like me, you see.
But then, according
Today I was fortunate to have the beautiful lady come to my house. After talking on some health topics, I found out that she was working today, a Sunday in Malaysia. Here, when it comes to a lot of offices, they are closed on Sundays. So, her having to be in the office on a holiday got me wondering about the need to attend to office work when everyone else is resting.
She explained about her duty as the head of a department to ensure all the work would be completed and only a small percentage of it allowed to be carried forward to the next day. The amount of work could not be cleared recently due to someone being sick for the last few weeks. Listening to her talk about her duty I felt she really had a heart of gold.
Since we were talking about her work I took the opportunity to enquire about her previous post in that bid international company with its main office in the United States. She told me it was because of her mom who was getting more and more serious with her high blood pressure.
It was at that stage that the company wanted her to be the director of operations in the East Pacific Area and to move to station herself in the Hong Kong area. That being the case, she wondered how getting her mom to the new place would affect her health. Without her, the mother had no one to look after her. Her post was high and the pay was big. So, she had to choose between her successful career and her mother.
What would you choose? Well, where she was concerned, her mother came first. She left her big pay-check and returned to Kedah to care for her mom and found another job with a small company and, of course, a much smaller pay. What a great sacrifice she had made! She is one great lady!
However, she is happy with the smaller pay as the lifestyle is different. Her present way of living does not require so much money. She is happy to be with the mother whose blood pressure has gone down to normal again. And she is just as happy to be with her friends, friends like me, you see.
But then, according
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Some people have a one-track mind.
They were always meeting each morning for their daily walks. They would exchange greetings and talked about a good number of things. As they got to know each other better, Ho was more confident about discussing more than general topics.
"Ismail, how can that politician say that non-Malays are not patriotic. Yes, there are very few non-Malays in the army but that does not mean the Chinese, the Indian and the others are not patriotic. Some of these UMNO politicians are too much," he commented to his friend, believing that his friend would sympathise with him and his community for being branded not patriotic.
"What do you know about that? Of course, if they are not willing to join the army, then they must be not patriotic. That was an UMNO politician you were criticising. He must have known the reason to make such a comment," Ismail shouted.
Our friend, Ho, got a shock at the rebuke he got when he was expecting some sympathetic views. And even if the guy did not agree with his statement, as a friend, he ought to try find out what and how Ho felt before explaining how that politician could have come to such a conclusion.
So, when he told Din and me about the incident, we told him that some people are like that. They do not wish to hear anything different from their own views, even when those views are coming from a friend. Or maybe Ho is still not considered a friend, merely one of those acquaintances of his whose thoughts and friendship are not worth considering.
At this point, I remember a Malay friend from Kota Kuala Muda who was sympathetic to the cause of poor non-Malays. You see, at one time I was poor. I used to ride a motorcycle to school. So when I got married and, after a number of years, was still without a child, this friend thought I dared not bring a child into this world yet because unlike a Malay child, it would be difficult to get scholarships and places in the public university. Unlike Ho's friend, this friend was close and we used to discussed many topics some others might find too sensitive. I remembered his very words: Don't worry, Ai Wei. By the time your children are big enough for school, things would change and your children would have just as much chance as any Malay children for educational progress. Though his words have not come true, it was his sincerity that touched me to such an extent that I will always remember there was such a Malay friend. May God bless him always. It is his influence and those of others like him that I find myself capable of mixing well with the Malays.
However, I am aware too that there are people who think differently; who thinks the world is for them and them alone. Some of them are racial in their thinking. Some of them think that they are the best, the only ones with God, the only ones entitled to this land and nothing can ever changed their ideas. As I understand that it is better to go round the wall instead of trying to climb over it or bang at it, that is what I always do. It saves us from a lot of frustration or anger and hurt. I just do not give them a chance to take away my happiness. If we think we can help them, then we try. However, if I think they have built a solid wall between them and me, I just go around them. They are happy and I am happy too.
We just tell ourselves; it takes all types to make a world. We do our best and let God do the rest.
"Ismail, how can that politician say that non-Malays are not patriotic. Yes, there are very few non-Malays in the army but that does not mean the Chinese, the Indian and the others are not patriotic. Some of these UMNO politicians are too much," he commented to his friend, believing that his friend would sympathise with him and his community for being branded not patriotic.
"What do you know about that? Of course, if they are not willing to join the army, then they must be not patriotic. That was an UMNO politician you were criticising. He must have known the reason to make such a comment," Ismail shouted.
Our friend, Ho, got a shock at the rebuke he got when he was expecting some sympathetic views. And even if the guy did not agree with his statement, as a friend, he ought to try find out what and how Ho felt before explaining how that politician could have come to such a conclusion.
So, when he told Din and me about the incident, we told him that some people are like that. They do not wish to hear anything different from their own views, even when those views are coming from a friend. Or maybe Ho is still not considered a friend, merely one of those acquaintances of his whose thoughts and friendship are not worth considering.
At this point, I remember a Malay friend from Kota Kuala Muda who was sympathetic to the cause of poor non-Malays. You see, at one time I was poor. I used to ride a motorcycle to school. So when I got married and, after a number of years, was still without a child, this friend thought I dared not bring a child into this world yet because unlike a Malay child, it would be difficult to get scholarships and places in the public university. Unlike Ho's friend, this friend was close and we used to discussed many topics some others might find too sensitive. I remembered his very words: Don't worry, Ai Wei. By the time your children are big enough for school, things would change and your children would have just as much chance as any Malay children for educational progress. Though his words have not come true, it was his sincerity that touched me to such an extent that I will always remember there was such a Malay friend. May God bless him always. It is his influence and those of others like him that I find myself capable of mixing well with the Malays.
However, I am aware too that there are people who think differently; who thinks the world is for them and them alone. Some of them are racial in their thinking. Some of them think that they are the best, the only ones with God, the only ones entitled to this land and nothing can ever changed their ideas. As I understand that it is better to go round the wall instead of trying to climb over it or bang at it, that is what I always do. It saves us from a lot of frustration or anger and hurt. I just do not give them a chance to take away my happiness. If we think we can help them, then we try. However, if I think they have built a solid wall between them and me, I just go around them. They are happy and I am happy too.
We just tell ourselves; it takes all types to make a world. We do our best and let God do the rest.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
What's uncommon becomes common when knowledge is acquired.
"Some time ago, I witnessed one of the most amazing aspects of nature."
I was all ears upon hearing that as what a man of seventy years can find fantastic must be something out of the ordinary.
"Do you know that it rained at that time?"
What was so astonishing about rain at his place? It is an almost everyday occurrence in a tropical country like mine. I was going to say farewell and move off when he continued,"It was raining so heavily at my house up to the gate and after that point there was no rain at all. The children opposite my house were playing. But then they too stopped and watched to witness the road forming a border between the rain on my side and dry air at their place. It was the first time in my life I have ever experienced such a sight. You would most probably not believe me but that was exactly what happened and those children were real lucky to see it at such a young age.
He told me that since that day, should anyone claim such and such a thing is possible he would never be the one to oppose or reject such ideas as things can happen; things beyond the human brain to comprehend.
Yes, I totally agreed with him as I myself have witnessed happenings that others believed not. Actually, we refuse to believe something because of our limited knowledge and understanding. However, with proper knowledge comes understanding. With understanding, we are no longer amazed by our experience. That is why we ought to listen to others and their experiences, some of which we may not have the opportunity to have. And if we have the chance to try out things or experience them, we should open ourselves to them. Unfortunately, some have one-track minds and refuse to open for new thoughts and understanding.
Take my friend for example. He had not understood how rain comes about. He knows not that water from the ground evaporates. The air containing very minute droplets of water is borne by the wind to form clouds. The clouds carry these water droplets up and to wherever the wind takes them. As more droplets gather, they knocked into each other and form bigger and heavier droplets. Sometimes water condenses out of the air into these droplets. When the droplets become heavy, they will fall as rain. So, if the heavy droplets are accumulated above a certain area, rain will fall in that area only. Outside that particular area there would be no rain. So, it's as simple as that. It's a common happening. Nothing magical about it.
However, it is good to have something fascinating happen in our lives. It lifts our soul and brings us a kind of joy and we realise the wonder of being alive to witness such a scene. It lifts life out of the ordinary and tells us life is still worth the living as there is still something not yet known.
That is why to be a little ignorant is not a bad thing as it gives us a sign that there are still so many surprise, so many joys and so much more we can learn and do with our lives.
I was all ears upon hearing that as what a man of seventy years can find fantastic must be something out of the ordinary.
"Do you know that it rained at that time?"
What was so astonishing about rain at his place? It is an almost everyday occurrence in a tropical country like mine. I was going to say farewell and move off when he continued,"It was raining so heavily at my house up to the gate and after that point there was no rain at all. The children opposite my house were playing. But then they too stopped and watched to witness the road forming a border between the rain on my side and dry air at their place. It was the first time in my life I have ever experienced such a sight. You would most probably not believe me but that was exactly what happened and those children were real lucky to see it at such a young age.
He told me that since that day, should anyone claim such and such a thing is possible he would never be the one to oppose or reject such ideas as things can happen; things beyond the human brain to comprehend.
Yes, I totally agreed with him as I myself have witnessed happenings that others believed not. Actually, we refuse to believe something because of our limited knowledge and understanding. However, with proper knowledge comes understanding. With understanding, we are no longer amazed by our experience. That is why we ought to listen to others and their experiences, some of which we may not have the opportunity to have. And if we have the chance to try out things or experience them, we should open ourselves to them. Unfortunately, some have one-track minds and refuse to open for new thoughts and understanding.
Take my friend for example. He had not understood how rain comes about. He knows not that water from the ground evaporates. The air containing very minute droplets of water is borne by the wind to form clouds. The clouds carry these water droplets up and to wherever the wind takes them. As more droplets gather, they knocked into each other and form bigger and heavier droplets. Sometimes water condenses out of the air into these droplets. When the droplets become heavy, they will fall as rain. So, if the heavy droplets are accumulated above a certain area, rain will fall in that area only. Outside that particular area there would be no rain. So, it's as simple as that. It's a common happening. Nothing magical about it.
However, it is good to have something fascinating happen in our lives. It lifts our soul and brings us a kind of joy and we realise the wonder of being alive to witness such a scene. It lifts life out of the ordinary and tells us life is still worth the living as there is still something not yet known.
That is why to be a little ignorant is not a bad thing as it gives us a sign that there are still so many surprise, so many joys and so much more we can learn and do with our lives.
Gambling is the worse habit!
Most of us are bound to become parents one day. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that we ensure our children never take up the gambling habit.
To be very sure my children never get addicted to gambling, they were never given the opportunity to gamble even on special occasions such as Chinese New Year. To me and my wife, it is an unnecessary activity.Of course, as the parents, to show a good example, neither of us ever gamble, buying lottery tickets only once in a blue moon.
Even buying lottery numbers, hoping to strike it rich can lead a person astray. In an earlier posting I have told about a relative, a Chinese Physician, who was already very rich with lots of money from the many clients who seek treatment from him. He had this idea of compiling all the numbers that appeared in the results of each lottery draw throughout the whole of ten years. With that he pointed out to me that certain numbers seem to appear regularly. And with that he planned on betting on that number to appear in a few months' time, with him placing a higher and higher amount on it so that when it did appear he would be a sure winner. Sad to say, he lost too much for him to ever return the sum he owed. One night his whole family disappeared into the night never to return.
Was it greed? Or was it the mind that thought it had a fool-proof idea of becoming rich the easy way? Was he too confidence in his mental capability? Whatever it is, he lost too much at a time when his career was going full swing.
When it comes to gambling, in order not to give the habit the chance to develop, we must ensure our children do not mix with the wrong company. Mixing with the wrong company can take our children to disaster. If it is a group of drug addicts, the child could be doing drugs soon, if it is loiters, it would be loss of education and advancement opportunities for the child; and if it is a group of gamblers, no doubt the child would turn to gambling.
Where would gambling lead a person? Well, newspapers very often carry stories of gamblers who borrow money to support their habit. The latest was a young man, one working in a bank, who developed an addiction to gambling. So you see, it does not matter what a person's job is, how intelligent he can be, he is just as susceptible to the thrill of gambling. Gambling caused the young man to lose all control of his senses, enough to have him get into a debt of RM70,000. Unable to return the loan he got from loan sharks, he did the miserable deed of exposing his own family to harm by providing those loan sharks a photocopy of his own mother's identity card so that they could go after her.
As a result of that action the loan sharks demanded money from the poor mother and when she could not return the money, the amount escalating with each day, the family was threatened with harm, paint splashed on the car and part of the house. Eventually they even tried to burn the house! Their lives were certainly at stake, all because of a gambling son.
As for the gambling, he became a fugitive from those loan sharks. To do that he had to leave a good job and disappear God knows where. Look at all the problems and the bleak future for this gambler. Like that relative of mine, this gambler would also have to disappear for good.
So, how much effort are we willing to put in to prevent such a destructive habit from ever surfacing? If you look at the above young man, he has lost everything that his parents had helped him to establish. As for the parents, they have lost a son, at least for the next foreseeable future.
“My son gave one of these loan sharks a photocopy of my identity card and asked them to recover the money from me,” said Lim’s mother Chong Shue Koon, 60.
She said her son had left her and her husband Lim Loi, 58, a note saying that he owed loan sharks RM170,000, and that he was leaving.
Lim Loi said his son, who works as a bank clerk in Kuala Lumpur, had developed an addiction to gambling last year.
To be very sure my children never get addicted to gambling, they were never given the opportunity to gamble even on special occasions such as Chinese New Year. To me and my wife, it is an unnecessary activity.Of course, as the parents, to show a good example, neither of us ever gamble, buying lottery tickets only once in a blue moon.
Even buying lottery numbers, hoping to strike it rich can lead a person astray. In an earlier posting I have told about a relative, a Chinese Physician, who was already very rich with lots of money from the many clients who seek treatment from him. He had this idea of compiling all the numbers that appeared in the results of each lottery draw throughout the whole of ten years. With that he pointed out to me that certain numbers seem to appear regularly. And with that he planned on betting on that number to appear in a few months' time, with him placing a higher and higher amount on it so that when it did appear he would be a sure winner. Sad to say, he lost too much for him to ever return the sum he owed. One night his whole family disappeared into the night never to return.
Was it greed? Or was it the mind that thought it had a fool-proof idea of becoming rich the easy way? Was he too confidence in his mental capability? Whatever it is, he lost too much at a time when his career was going full swing.
When it comes to gambling, in order not to give the habit the chance to develop, we must ensure our children do not mix with the wrong company. Mixing with the wrong company can take our children to disaster. If it is a group of drug addicts, the child could be doing drugs soon, if it is loiters, it would be loss of education and advancement opportunities for the child; and if it is a group of gamblers, no doubt the child would turn to gambling.
Where would gambling lead a person? Well, newspapers very often carry stories of gamblers who borrow money to support their habit. The latest was a young man, one working in a bank, who developed an addiction to gambling. So you see, it does not matter what a person's job is, how intelligent he can be, he is just as susceptible to the thrill of gambling. Gambling caused the young man to lose all control of his senses, enough to have him get into a debt of RM70,000. Unable to return the loan he got from loan sharks, he did the miserable deed of exposing his own family to harm by providing those loan sharks a photocopy of his own mother's identity card so that they could go after her.
As a result of that action the loan sharks demanded money from the poor mother and when she could not return the money, the amount escalating with each day, the family was threatened with harm, paint splashed on the car and part of the house. Eventually they even tried to burn the house! Their lives were certainly at stake, all because of a gambling son.
As for the gambling, he became a fugitive from those loan sharks. To do that he had to leave a good job and disappear God knows where. Look at all the problems and the bleak future for this gambler. Like that relative of mine, this gambler would also have to disappear for good.
So, how much effort are we willing to put in to prevent such a destructive habit from ever surfacing? If you look at the above young man, he has lost everything that his parents had helped him to establish. As for the parents, they have lost a son, at least for the next foreseeable future.
“My son gave one of these loan sharks a photocopy of my identity card and asked them to recover the money from me,” said Lim’s mother Chong Shue Koon, 60.
She said her son had left her and her husband Lim Loi, 58, a note saying that he owed loan sharks RM170,000, and that he was leaving.
Lim Loi said his son, who works as a bank clerk in Kuala Lumpur, had developed an addiction to gambling last year.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Give opinions only when appreciated.
The other evening I attended one of the Rukun-Tetangga (an association for fostering the unity of a housing community) meetings and was shocked to see the place already broken into, some of the cushions and cloth thrown outside, window-panes cracked and broken, some food not belonging to the community center lying around and in another part of the building, feces left on plates.
On a table was the sign of candle wax. Initially, we thought the intruders had used candles as it must be dark at night. But then, there was electricity and the lamps did work. So, we suspected the intrusion to be the work of drug addicts.
However, the community centre was not under our care. We merely borrowed the premises for our meetings. We informed the person in charge of the place. He came and investigated, noting the damage done to the place. I suggested that we ought to bring it to the attention of the police but there was apparently no interest in doing so. The person just destroyed the food of those intruders and repaired the lock.
Well, since the care-taker was in charge, I did nopt pursue the matter. But I thought it a bad idea to just lock those undesirable elements out and destroy their food. Certainly, those people would be back in the night and what would anyone think those people would do. Well, they had broken the lock once. What is there to prevent a second break-in? The locks were obviously of no match to those people. Furthermore, there were lots of windows for them to break and climb into the place.
And when they discover their food thrown away, they would be on a rampage to vent their anger.Who would be there to stop them if the police was not to be notified. There is certain to be further destruction.
But then, experience has taught me that some people do not wish to listen to others. Well, they have a mind of their own which in certain circumstances would be excellent. And if we hit against a wall more than once the damage to self might be too great. We only get to hurt ourselves, nothing more can be achieved. We just have to let others do things their way unless it really does affect our lives. Sometimes, we just have to shut our busybody mind and close our mouth.
On a table was the sign of candle wax. Initially, we thought the intruders had used candles as it must be dark at night. But then, there was electricity and the lamps did work. So, we suspected the intrusion to be the work of drug addicts.
However, the community centre was not under our care. We merely borrowed the premises for our meetings. We informed the person in charge of the place. He came and investigated, noting the damage done to the place. I suggested that we ought to bring it to the attention of the police but there was apparently no interest in doing so. The person just destroyed the food of those intruders and repaired the lock.
Well, since the care-taker was in charge, I did nopt pursue the matter. But I thought it a bad idea to just lock those undesirable elements out and destroy their food. Certainly, those people would be back in the night and what would anyone think those people would do. Well, they had broken the lock once. What is there to prevent a second break-in? The locks were obviously of no match to those people. Furthermore, there were lots of windows for them to break and climb into the place.
And when they discover their food thrown away, they would be on a rampage to vent their anger.Who would be there to stop them if the police was not to be notified. There is certain to be further destruction.
But then, experience has taught me that some people do not wish to listen to others. Well, they have a mind of their own which in certain circumstances would be excellent. And if we hit against a wall more than once the damage to self might be too great. We only get to hurt ourselves, nothing more can be achieved. We just have to let others do things their way unless it really does affect our lives. Sometimes, we just have to shut our busybody mind and close our mouth.
Monday, November 08, 2010
A trip to Penang National Park.
Sometimes, things just go wrong but that does not mean happiness cannot be ours. Tough no doubt but there are still times and places in between which makes life interesting.
Yesterday, a Sunday, after trekking round Bukit Semarak for an hour, I felt an urge to go somewhere and make the day different. So, I phoned a friend and asked her what plans she had for the day. She had none but was eager to join me if I had any intention to go anywhere. Then, all of a sudden, she suggest Gunung Jerai or Kedah Peak, a mountain in the central part of Kedah State. Why not! So we decided to meet at nine-thirty that morning. I packed an extra set of clothing so that I could have a change of dry clothes at the end of the day. Then some water and food, and I was ready for the trip. However, when it came to mu camera I found that the shutter had been damaged. What a clumsy fellow I am!
Unfortunately, she discovered that it was raining at Kedah Peak. So, we changed our plans and headed for Penang National Park at Batu Ferringgi, Penang Island. When we reached the place at about 11 o'clock we had to register ourselves. We were asked whether we were there for trekking or camping.
From the starting point we could choose one of two paths. We chose the one leading to Pantai Kerachut and Teluk Trampi. The path to Pantai Kerachut was straight-forward and there was no way anyone could get lost. There was a lake and according to the information given on a signboard it is one of a small number of such lakes where the higher density sea water is below while the lower density fresh water is above the sea water. It was a beautiful lake and it was then that I wished I had my camera with me. My dear friend pacified me and said one camera was enough. (She di have her camera with her.) There was at least two places marked as turtle crossing. Further along that beautiful beautiful of soft, beige coloured sand was a turtle sanctuary with nets and a white stick stuck in the sand to indicate where the eggs were. There was also a long jetty for boats to take any exhausted tourists back to the starting point.
As it was still early, we decided to head towards Teluk Trampi. The path was not as clear as the previous one bit we managed to reach the place after slightly more than an hour. There were no tourist met along the way, only found a few boatmen having some food. Nothing much of interest there, so we made our way through the forest. Then as we reached the top of the hill, we were lost. But we could hear the waves crashing onto the rocks. So we made our way towards those rocks. Oh, no! The tide was coming in and Teluk Trampi beach was a little distance away. So we were forced to climb from one rock to another to reach the beach. It was precarious but that was where I had my thrill of overcoming the obstacles.
Again, we headed up the path towards Pantai Kerachut. And of all things I experienced pain in both my legs, both thigh muscles threatening to cramp. I knew it must never happen. So I slowed down, massaged my legs while my poor friend, Boey, had wait. When my legs recovered slightly, I used the better leg to carry the weight of my body, allowing the weaker leg to trail behind. After some time, I had to give the stronger leg a rest while I put more weight on the weaker leg. It was quite a torture having to bear the pain, yet move along up the slope. Again, we lost our way and this time we went on taking a new direction from the previous path. Well, we have never gone through many thorns and vines; yes, vines that held onto our legs and body, entangling us with such strength that I could not break apart any of them. They made us stumble and fall a number of times. Fortunately, again by heading towards the sound of waves, we managed to reach Pantai Kerachut again. Then it was back to the starting point, the Penang National Park's office. It was already closed by then as it was about six o'clock in the evening.
Luckily, Boey could drive as the minute I stopped moving and sat down on the car seat, my muscles cramped. As boey drove us back to Sungai Petani, I massaged my legs and got the muscles to stop pulling and cramping.
We ended the evening with a bath and then to Chennai for banana leaf vegetable rice, fruits and watermelon juice. The food, fruits and juice were tasty and it was a happy ending to an adventurous day. What an experience. It is most memorable.
Yesterday, a Sunday, after trekking round Bukit Semarak for an hour, I felt an urge to go somewhere and make the day different. So, I phoned a friend and asked her what plans she had for the day. She had none but was eager to join me if I had any intention to go anywhere. Then, all of a sudden, she suggest Gunung Jerai or Kedah Peak, a mountain in the central part of Kedah State. Why not! So we decided to meet at nine-thirty that morning. I packed an extra set of clothing so that I could have a change of dry clothes at the end of the day. Then some water and food, and I was ready for the trip. However, when it came to mu camera I found that the shutter had been damaged. What a clumsy fellow I am!
Unfortunately, she discovered that it was raining at Kedah Peak. So, we changed our plans and headed for Penang National Park at Batu Ferringgi, Penang Island. When we reached the place at about 11 o'clock we had to register ourselves. We were asked whether we were there for trekking or camping.
From the starting point we could choose one of two paths. We chose the one leading to Pantai Kerachut and Teluk Trampi. The path to Pantai Kerachut was straight-forward and there was no way anyone could get lost. There was a lake and according to the information given on a signboard it is one of a small number of such lakes where the higher density sea water is below while the lower density fresh water is above the sea water. It was a beautiful lake and it was then that I wished I had my camera with me. My dear friend pacified me and said one camera was enough. (She di have her camera with her.) There was at least two places marked as turtle crossing. Further along that beautiful beautiful of soft, beige coloured sand was a turtle sanctuary with nets and a white stick stuck in the sand to indicate where the eggs were. There was also a long jetty for boats to take any exhausted tourists back to the starting point.
As it was still early, we decided to head towards Teluk Trampi. The path was not as clear as the previous one bit we managed to reach the place after slightly more than an hour. There were no tourist met along the way, only found a few boatmen having some food. Nothing much of interest there, so we made our way through the forest. Then as we reached the top of the hill, we were lost. But we could hear the waves crashing onto the rocks. So we made our way towards those rocks. Oh, no! The tide was coming in and Teluk Trampi beach was a little distance away. So we were forced to climb from one rock to another to reach the beach. It was precarious but that was where I had my thrill of overcoming the obstacles.
Again, we headed up the path towards Pantai Kerachut. And of all things I experienced pain in both my legs, both thigh muscles threatening to cramp. I knew it must never happen. So I slowed down, massaged my legs while my poor friend, Boey, had wait. When my legs recovered slightly, I used the better leg to carry the weight of my body, allowing the weaker leg to trail behind. After some time, I had to give the stronger leg a rest while I put more weight on the weaker leg. It was quite a torture having to bear the pain, yet move along up the slope. Again, we lost our way and this time we went on taking a new direction from the previous path. Well, we have never gone through many thorns and vines; yes, vines that held onto our legs and body, entangling us with such strength that I could not break apart any of them. They made us stumble and fall a number of times. Fortunately, again by heading towards the sound of waves, we managed to reach Pantai Kerachut again. Then it was back to the starting point, the Penang National Park's office. It was already closed by then as it was about six o'clock in the evening.
Luckily, Boey could drive as the minute I stopped moving and sat down on the car seat, my muscles cramped. As boey drove us back to Sungai Petani, I massaged my legs and got the muscles to stop pulling and cramping.
We ended the evening with a bath and then to Chennai for banana leaf vegetable rice, fruits and watermelon juice. The food, fruits and juice were tasty and it was a happy ending to an adventurous day. What an experience. It is most memorable.
Saturday, November 06, 2010
Actions speaks louder than words.
It's in times of difficulty that we discover who our true friends are. There have been such times in my life and one of them happened more than ten years ago.
I once got to know a man and since he seemed to be always friendly, I treated him as one of my friends. We used to get together, exchanged news and jokes and sat down to drinks every now and then whenever fate put us together.
Then, one day, I lost my identity card which I had kept in a small plastic plastic bag together with some money. This is a tiny piece of plastic which I take everywhere together with my wallet. However, in the mornings, when I go up the hill for my daily exercise, I would take this plastic bag along so that should anything happen and the police were to ask for my identity, I would have the card to show them. As for the money, it comes in useful whenever there is need to buy some food or drinks. And I used a plastic bag as if it ever rains when I am up the hill, which does happen, my document and money would be dry even when I am drenched to the skin.
I believed that the plastic bag with my identity card must have dropped when I checked its contents just outside my gate. However, after its loss, I could not find it although I searched everywhere.
Then, the next day, two young men came to my gate and told me somebody has found my identity card and the person who found it wanted fifty ringgit. I agreed to it and told the two men to tell the person to give it back to me.
After about an hour,the person who turned up to return the identity card was the friend i mentioned at the beginning of this true story. According to him, the people who found it wanted fifty ringgit and they had asked this man to get it for them.
As it was so ridiculous that they would not dare to turn up to claim the money that I had agreed to but got another person to involved to claim the money, I was suspicious of this friend's non involvement in the monetary claim. An idea came to mind.
I told him I have changed my mind and would only give twenty ringgit as there were already more than fifty ringgit in the plastic bag and it was no longer there. I wanted to see his reaction to my decision. When I told him that he told me it would alright if I were to give thirty ringgit. From this I immediately saw through his involvement, for if he were to be only an intermediary, certainly he could not make his own decision to negotiate and accept anything already agreed to.
After I had taken my identity card, I waited for him to return, perhaps to convey the dissatisfaction of the people who had sent him but he did not come back. In fact, if he had returned, I would have been willing to give another twenty ringgit and that would have proved that he was not involved to getting financial gain for the return of my identity card. Not only that, to this day, he avoids me and I have had no chance to find out more about the incident.
Sometimes, it is only though incidents like this where money is involved that the true nature of a person is known.
I once got to know a man and since he seemed to be always friendly, I treated him as one of my friends. We used to get together, exchanged news and jokes and sat down to drinks every now and then whenever fate put us together.
Then, one day, I lost my identity card which I had kept in a small plastic plastic bag together with some money. This is a tiny piece of plastic which I take everywhere together with my wallet. However, in the mornings, when I go up the hill for my daily exercise, I would take this plastic bag along so that should anything happen and the police were to ask for my identity, I would have the card to show them. As for the money, it comes in useful whenever there is need to buy some food or drinks. And I used a plastic bag as if it ever rains when I am up the hill, which does happen, my document and money would be dry even when I am drenched to the skin.
I believed that the plastic bag with my identity card must have dropped when I checked its contents just outside my gate. However, after its loss, I could not find it although I searched everywhere.
Then, the next day, two young men came to my gate and told me somebody has found my identity card and the person who found it wanted fifty ringgit. I agreed to it and told the two men to tell the person to give it back to me.
After about an hour,the person who turned up to return the identity card was the friend i mentioned at the beginning of this true story. According to him, the people who found it wanted fifty ringgit and they had asked this man to get it for them.
As it was so ridiculous that they would not dare to turn up to claim the money that I had agreed to but got another person to involved to claim the money, I was suspicious of this friend's non involvement in the monetary claim. An idea came to mind.
I told him I have changed my mind and would only give twenty ringgit as there were already more than fifty ringgit in the plastic bag and it was no longer there. I wanted to see his reaction to my decision. When I told him that he told me it would alright if I were to give thirty ringgit. From this I immediately saw through his involvement, for if he were to be only an intermediary, certainly he could not make his own decision to negotiate and accept anything already agreed to.
After I had taken my identity card, I waited for him to return, perhaps to convey the dissatisfaction of the people who had sent him but he did not come back. In fact, if he had returned, I would have been willing to give another twenty ringgit and that would have proved that he was not involved to getting financial gain for the return of my identity card. Not only that, to this day, he avoids me and I have had no chance to find out more about the incident.
Sometimes, it is only though incidents like this where money is involved that the true nature of a person is known.
Friday, November 05, 2010
Some neighbours are not needed but some have hearts of gold.
The world is getting smaller, As a result, everywhere we turn, there are neighbours. Who are these people? What kind of neighbours are we going to get? That is a very big, important question as neighbours will be around for a fairly long time.
Take a look at one of my friends, Hor. One day while he was outside the house unobtrusive behind one of his trees but looking in the direction of the neighbour's compound, he found himself watching one of members of the neighbouring house taking out letters from the letter-box. Then, to his astonishment, he saw the neighbour throw one letter onto the road and walked back into the house with the rest of the letters.
When he felt it safe to move to the gate to find out if the neighbour had really thrown away one of the letters, he found his observation to be right. As nobody was in the doorway of the neighbours' house, he quietly unlatched the gate and went to have a closer look at the letter on the road. It was addressed to someone with a Chinese name but his neighbours were Indians.
You would have thought that Mr. Hor is someone who does not like Indians to have told about this. As if to rmove such a thought he next told me that not all Indian are like that. For there was once another Indian living a few lanes away who came to his house with a letter addressed to him. The person asked whether he was the one the letter was addressed to. Upon confirming that, the letter was handed to Hor who found a cheque for money returned from the income tax department.
Of course, Hor was glad to receive that and they chatted for some time. The post man had been apparently careless and had slotted Hor's letter into the other person's letter box. And this, according to the person, was not the first time it happened.
So, there are the good guys and the bad guys. Well, this world comprises of both types and that is why we have to be careful,vigilant and understand both types well. And when it comes to neighbours, good or bad, we have to accept that everything depends upon either luck or fate.
To dilute his sadness over his fate of having such a neighbour, I told him it is the same everywhere. I told him of a guy at the end of my row of terrace houses. Look at his house, its beautifully kept exterior and even the patch of land out side the house with it well-looked after grass and plants. You would have thought such a person would want the surrounding areas, if not the whole world, to be just as beautiful. So I directed him to look across diagonally to the other side of the person's house. Beside the house opposite this guy's house was a heap of weeds and rubbish, all removed from his garden and front portion to be deposited there.
What kind of selfish attitude would cause a guy to look good at the expense of another? And the worse part is the fact that just beside his own house are two dustbins. Why not put all the rubbish into those bins which are so near? Or did the guy study psychology of some sort where the study of contrast could have been one of the topics. Thus, with the rubbish exposed at the side of another house, the mess could be a contrast of his neat patch of ground. As they say, we appreciate light because there is darkness, and we should appreciate his cleanliness and tidiness even more because of the mess nearby.
Whatever it is, there are all sorts of people we encounter in life. And some of them are truly exasperating. Uggh! But then, that's life and it is through such contrast that we love the good ones even more. They would smell like the breeze of fresh air when luck or fate brings them to us.
Take a look at one of my friends, Hor. One day while he was outside the house unobtrusive behind one of his trees but looking in the direction of the neighbour's compound, he found himself watching one of members of the neighbouring house taking out letters from the letter-box. Then, to his astonishment, he saw the neighbour throw one letter onto the road and walked back into the house with the rest of the letters.
When he felt it safe to move to the gate to find out if the neighbour had really thrown away one of the letters, he found his observation to be right. As nobody was in the doorway of the neighbours' house, he quietly unlatched the gate and went to have a closer look at the letter on the road. It was addressed to someone with a Chinese name but his neighbours were Indians.
You would have thought that Mr. Hor is someone who does not like Indians to have told about this. As if to rmove such a thought he next told me that not all Indian are like that. For there was once another Indian living a few lanes away who came to his house with a letter addressed to him. The person asked whether he was the one the letter was addressed to. Upon confirming that, the letter was handed to Hor who found a cheque for money returned from the income tax department.
Of course, Hor was glad to receive that and they chatted for some time. The post man had been apparently careless and had slotted Hor's letter into the other person's letter box. And this, according to the person, was not the first time it happened.
So, there are the good guys and the bad guys. Well, this world comprises of both types and that is why we have to be careful,vigilant and understand both types well. And when it comes to neighbours, good or bad, we have to accept that everything depends upon either luck or fate.
To dilute his sadness over his fate of having such a neighbour, I told him it is the same everywhere. I told him of a guy at the end of my row of terrace houses. Look at his house, its beautifully kept exterior and even the patch of land out side the house with it well-looked after grass and plants. You would have thought such a person would want the surrounding areas, if not the whole world, to be just as beautiful. So I directed him to look across diagonally to the other side of the person's house. Beside the house opposite this guy's house was a heap of weeds and rubbish, all removed from his garden and front portion to be deposited there.
What kind of selfish attitude would cause a guy to look good at the expense of another? And the worse part is the fact that just beside his own house are two dustbins. Why not put all the rubbish into those bins which are so near? Or did the guy study psychology of some sort where the study of contrast could have been one of the topics. Thus, with the rubbish exposed at the side of another house, the mess could be a contrast of his neat patch of ground. As they say, we appreciate light because there is darkness, and we should appreciate his cleanliness and tidiness even more because of the mess nearby.
Whatever it is, there are all sorts of people we encounter in life. And some of them are truly exasperating. Uggh! But then, that's life and it is through such contrast that we love the good ones even more. They would smell like the breeze of fresh air when luck or fate brings them to us.
Thursday, November 04, 2010
Sometimes, a little knowledge is really dangerous.
When I was about the age of ten, my parents lived in a village in Caunter Hall. Today, the place is known as Jalan P. Ramlee after the famous singer, actor and director of Malay films. Well, although we lived in the same area, he must have been older than me for I did not have the opportunity to do hop, hop, hop, step and jump on those squares drawn in the shape of a cross on the group or play marbles with him. Otherwise, I could have appeared in his autobiography and became quite well known too. Sometimes, luck comes only with the right timing.
Anyway, P. Ramlee's attap house and my village were just a short distance away and I must admit that village life is quite interesting and enjoyable for little children; those like me, anyway. It was in this village that I experienced the pain and fear of being chased by bees.
It all started when one of my neighbours found some bees starting a hive in his kitchen cupboard. "Ahh! Here's the chance to have pure organic honey right at my doorstep," the elderly man thought. So, day after day, to get those bees to produce honey at a faster rate perhaps, he fed them white sugar.
Initially, when the hive was still small and the number of bees was not too many, the man had no problem from them. Eager for the honey, he supplied the bees with sugar without fair, every morning and evening. Gradually, the hive increased in size until the cupboard door could not be closed tightly. The population of those bees became larger and each time, the wife and the children had to go to the kitchen, they had to be cautious so as to not touch or obstruct the path of the flying bees. Inevitably, first the wife, then the children, got stung by those bees. The man himself was stung one day. The stinging from the bees became a daily affair. The wife and the children could not stand the attacks any longer and demanded that the man removed the hive.
Now, how do you remove a hive from a kitchen cupboard? Perhaps, put a big plastic bag over it and have it dislodged while it is inside the plastic. Unfortunately, that is just my idea as I sit writing about this as plastic bags were either not available then or the villagers and I were still ignorant of the use of plastic bags.
The man hit on the idea of killing them with hot boiling water. So he boiled a big kettle of water. It was just after an early dinner. In those days, the Chinese used to have dinner at about five o'clock. Perhaps they had it so early so that they could enjoy some supper just before bedtime. When the water was boiling, he took the kettle to the hive and poured hot water into the cupboard at a spot just above the hive. Some of the bees were killed and warm honey flowed down onto the ground. But his thoughts were far from the honey as he waved his hands above below and everywhere as he tried in vain to ward off the angry bees which attacked him. Unable to take the pain any longer he fled together with his wife and children who had also been attacked.
The bees flew amok and attacked any human in their sight. Soon, almost every villager was fleeing out of the village towards some tall grasses. I was among them and it was then that I discovered the advantage of being smaller than most of the people. I could hide deeper and further inside the grass. There, the bees could not reach me and I was safe. As for the others, including my parents, they had round angry red patches every where on their exposed skin.
After a while some kind soul got candles and joss-sticks for everyone. The smoke did help to keep the bees at bay and eventually darkness came to our rescue. For once, we were so appreciative of the darkness. We even forgot about the usual nasty mosquitoes. The cool evening air brought even greater relief as it cooled the hot stinging pain that almost every villager was suffering from. It was really a night to remember for those people and myself.
I know not whether the man who started the problem was ever scolded for the incident. However, I do realise we ought to gather sufficient knowledge to understand things thoroughly; know the cons just as well as the pros. Just as my elder son says,"Dad, when you study nutrition, don't just know the benefit of the food, know and understand too the possible undesirable side-effects it can bring." And there is a lot of truth in his words. And from the above true incident, I know a little knowledge without total understanding is sometimes really dangerous.
Anyway, P. Ramlee's attap house and my village were just a short distance away and I must admit that village life is quite interesting and enjoyable for little children; those like me, anyway. It was in this village that I experienced the pain and fear of being chased by bees.
It all started when one of my neighbours found some bees starting a hive in his kitchen cupboard. "Ahh! Here's the chance to have pure organic honey right at my doorstep," the elderly man thought. So, day after day, to get those bees to produce honey at a faster rate perhaps, he fed them white sugar.
Initially, when the hive was still small and the number of bees was not too many, the man had no problem from them. Eager for the honey, he supplied the bees with sugar without fair, every morning and evening. Gradually, the hive increased in size until the cupboard door could not be closed tightly. The population of those bees became larger and each time, the wife and the children had to go to the kitchen, they had to be cautious so as to not touch or obstruct the path of the flying bees. Inevitably, first the wife, then the children, got stung by those bees. The man himself was stung one day. The stinging from the bees became a daily affair. The wife and the children could not stand the attacks any longer and demanded that the man removed the hive.
Now, how do you remove a hive from a kitchen cupboard? Perhaps, put a big plastic bag over it and have it dislodged while it is inside the plastic. Unfortunately, that is just my idea as I sit writing about this as plastic bags were either not available then or the villagers and I were still ignorant of the use of plastic bags.
The man hit on the idea of killing them with hot boiling water. So he boiled a big kettle of water. It was just after an early dinner. In those days, the Chinese used to have dinner at about five o'clock. Perhaps they had it so early so that they could enjoy some supper just before bedtime. When the water was boiling, he took the kettle to the hive and poured hot water into the cupboard at a spot just above the hive. Some of the bees were killed and warm honey flowed down onto the ground. But his thoughts were far from the honey as he waved his hands above below and everywhere as he tried in vain to ward off the angry bees which attacked him. Unable to take the pain any longer he fled together with his wife and children who had also been attacked.
The bees flew amok and attacked any human in their sight. Soon, almost every villager was fleeing out of the village towards some tall grasses. I was among them and it was then that I discovered the advantage of being smaller than most of the people. I could hide deeper and further inside the grass. There, the bees could not reach me and I was safe. As for the others, including my parents, they had round angry red patches every where on their exposed skin.
After a while some kind soul got candles and joss-sticks for everyone. The smoke did help to keep the bees at bay and eventually darkness came to our rescue. For once, we were so appreciative of the darkness. We even forgot about the usual nasty mosquitoes. The cool evening air brought even greater relief as it cooled the hot stinging pain that almost every villager was suffering from. It was really a night to remember for those people and myself.
I know not whether the man who started the problem was ever scolded for the incident. However, I do realise we ought to gather sufficient knowledge to understand things thoroughly; know the cons just as well as the pros. Just as my elder son says,"Dad, when you study nutrition, don't just know the benefit of the food, know and understand too the possible undesirable side-effects it can bring." And there is a lot of truth in his words. And from the above true incident, I know a little knowledge without total understanding is sometimes really dangerous.
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
Education is vital to a country's progress.
Unbelievable! Astonishing! But it is a fact that there is at least one village in Sabah which is more backward than some or the worst places on earth! There is Sabah is a village of approximately 200 families who do not seem to think right, do not know how to differentiate between right and wrong or good and bad. And the name of this village is special too. It is known as Kampung Istimewa which is Bahasa Malaysia for Special Village.
There we have all the villagers who refuse to really participate in the process of selecting the right representative. They do not want to know any opposition candidate. Yet, they are apparently not stupid as they have a banner up informing opposition parties not to campaign in their village.
Or are those people so stupid that they have become someone’s puppets on a string, obeying every move of a puppeteer who, if there is one, must be from the governing party. And from what they said, they seem to refuse to see the weakness of previous politicians.
They knew that their previous elected representative, who was from the governing political party, had not fulfilled his promise to build the villagers a water tank. Yet, they believed the next elected representative from the same party would do it for them although they had never met or known the person at all.
And when they were asked of the opportunities the ruling party had given to help the poor of their town, they could not think of anything. And those approximately 700 Kampung Istimewa residents lived in “tattered conditions with many youths jobless and the others, working in low-wage jobs as factory workers or fishermen’, according to a writer in The Malaysian Insider.
Some would say, ”Serves them right to support so blindly despite living in such conditions and with promises not carried out.”
Can we actually blame them? Could it be a lack of knowledge and education? Even among our more educated ones, there are those who refuse to see that there is a better alternative. And any alternative must be better if our future seems to be stuck while other countries such as Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines push ahead economically despite having less natural resources than our country. Furthermore, if the alternative does not prove to be better, we can always go back to the first party after five years.
And the worst, most unbelievable part of it all is that those villagers consider the citizens who voted against the government as traitors. Do they understand the democratic process? Obviously no! They do not understand that speaking out our problems and voting in people we strongly believe can help us solve them is a basic right in a democracy.
When such basic things are incomprehensible to those people, where is the place for reason and understanding? Nowhere! Unless we change that and such a change can only come about with education. That is why education is of great importance in developing a nation.
The opposition of course respected the right of those people not to listen to it, but the opposition must not just walk away and leave those poor folks to suffer in their ‘darkness’. Win or lose, the opposition must be willing to take education to those people so that their minds can see the light of knowledge and truth. Education is the tool to knowledge and better understanding of the various issues of life and truth.
There we have all the villagers who refuse to really participate in the process of selecting the right representative. They do not want to know any opposition candidate. Yet, they are apparently not stupid as they have a banner up informing opposition parties not to campaign in their village.
Or are those people so stupid that they have become someone’s puppets on a string, obeying every move of a puppeteer who, if there is one, must be from the governing party. And from what they said, they seem to refuse to see the weakness of previous politicians.
They knew that their previous elected representative, who was from the governing political party, had not fulfilled his promise to build the villagers a water tank. Yet, they believed the next elected representative from the same party would do it for them although they had never met or known the person at all.
And when they were asked of the opportunities the ruling party had given to help the poor of their town, they could not think of anything. And those approximately 700 Kampung Istimewa residents lived in “tattered conditions with many youths jobless and the others, working in low-wage jobs as factory workers or fishermen’, according to a writer in The Malaysian Insider.
Some would say, ”Serves them right to support so blindly despite living in such conditions and with promises not carried out.”
Can we actually blame them? Could it be a lack of knowledge and education? Even among our more educated ones, there are those who refuse to see that there is a better alternative. And any alternative must be better if our future seems to be stuck while other countries such as Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines push ahead economically despite having less natural resources than our country. Furthermore, if the alternative does not prove to be better, we can always go back to the first party after five years.
And the worst, most unbelievable part of it all is that those villagers consider the citizens who voted against the government as traitors. Do they understand the democratic process? Obviously no! They do not understand that speaking out our problems and voting in people we strongly believe can help us solve them is a basic right in a democracy.
When such basic things are incomprehensible to those people, where is the place for reason and understanding? Nowhere! Unless we change that and such a change can only come about with education. That is why education is of great importance in developing a nation.
The opposition of course respected the right of those people not to listen to it, but the opposition must not just walk away and leave those poor folks to suffer in their ‘darkness’. Win or lose, the opposition must be willing to take education to those people so that their minds can see the light of knowledge and truth. Education is the tool to knowledge and better understanding of the various issues of life and truth.
The ugly truth.
"If it had not been Teoh Beng Hock’s brother-in-law that day but instead it had been a Malay with a songkok wearing an Umno or Perkasa shirt, these Chinese would have quickly stepped aside and would not have even dared stare at the chap."
The above is a quotation from Raja Petra's 'No Holds Bar' in Malaysia Today. I copied it as there is so much truth in those few lines. It is most unfortunate that due to the positions certain Chinese leaders(?) hold, they forget they are in the same position as every non-Bumiputra in the country. They know their 'step-children' status yet they would not dare to question and fight for the rights of those their party is supposed to represent. One day, I hope their children and grandchildren would question them about this. Yet, these very Chinese leaders would allow their followers to beat up another Chinese just because those weak, outnumbered Chinese were fighting the cause of a dead opposition man.
Why was there the need to beat up a person; and there is no possibility of denial that such a thing took place as a photograph of the MCA deputy minister watching unperturbed as the incident took place can be seen in the Malaysian Insider; when those bereaved people were merely seeking justice for a dead person. And those people seeking such justice were Chinese. Should not the MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association) be listening to these Chinese even though the dead person was an opposition man?
The deputy minister with his big group of supporters could have just ignored them if that deputy minister had not wanted to be of any help to the three men and one lady. Well, the MCA people had sufficient people to bully these four helpless people. Furthermore, like Raja Petra said: They were not Malays, UMNO (United Malays National Organisation) big brothers or Perkasa (a non-government Malay group which is racial in its rantings) people who they would not even dare to stare at. I know many would agree with these words of Raja Petra as this is true.
The brother-in-law and sister of the dead man as well as the two friends who accompanied them to approach the MCA were bold as they knew their number was small. They faced an unfriendly crowd but to achieve their fight for justice, they must have thrown caution to the wind and so received the consequences of their action; being beaten up.
Who are the real heroes? Would the winner of that scuffle have dared to beat up an UMNO or Perkasa man? No! It happened because the MCA crowd knew those poor Chinese were not capable of putting up a fight.
The above is a quotation from Raja Petra's 'No Holds Bar' in Malaysia Today. I copied it as there is so much truth in those few lines. It is most unfortunate that due to the positions certain Chinese leaders(?) hold, they forget they are in the same position as every non-Bumiputra in the country. They know their 'step-children' status yet they would not dare to question and fight for the rights of those their party is supposed to represent. One day, I hope their children and grandchildren would question them about this. Yet, these very Chinese leaders would allow their followers to beat up another Chinese just because those weak, outnumbered Chinese were fighting the cause of a dead opposition man.
Why was there the need to beat up a person; and there is no possibility of denial that such a thing took place as a photograph of the MCA deputy minister watching unperturbed as the incident took place can be seen in the Malaysian Insider; when those bereaved people were merely seeking justice for a dead person. And those people seeking such justice were Chinese. Should not the MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association) be listening to these Chinese even though the dead person was an opposition man?
The deputy minister with his big group of supporters could have just ignored them if that deputy minister had not wanted to be of any help to the three men and one lady. Well, the MCA people had sufficient people to bully these four helpless people. Furthermore, like Raja Petra said: They were not Malays, UMNO (United Malays National Organisation) big brothers or Perkasa (a non-government Malay group which is racial in its rantings) people who they would not even dare to stare at. I know many would agree with these words of Raja Petra as this is true.
The brother-in-law and sister of the dead man as well as the two friends who accompanied them to approach the MCA were bold as they knew their number was small. They faced an unfriendly crowd but to achieve their fight for justice, they must have thrown caution to the wind and so received the consequences of their action; being beaten up.
Who are the real heroes? Would the winner of that scuffle have dared to beat up an UMNO or Perkasa man? No! It happened because the MCA crowd knew those poor Chinese were not capable of putting up a fight.
Monday, November 01, 2010
Is cheating an innate characteristic of humans?
"Is that all you have?" I asked the son of the Indian Muslim owner of the little sundry shop a little distance from my residential area. Those bananas were a little too ripe and was not attractive to my sight.
The son nodded his head but the father quickly told me there is another batch of at the back of the shop. He got the son to get it out.
When I saw it it was still green; a little too green for my liking. But then, what he said next caused me to take some of it off his hands. He complained, "These bananas have been with me the last three days and they have not ripened yet. I wonder when they would ever ripen."
His exposure of that fact aroused my appreciation for his honesty. Seldom do sellers reveal information that can repel possible buyers from a sale. Yet here was one, although someone familiar with this buyer, who exposed the truth that those bananas would never ripen ever.
In reciprocation to such honesty. I bought it with the full knowledge that those bananas would decorate my table rather than become nutrient rich food for me. This morning, four days after the purchase, they were as green as ever. I went back there to look for another bunch of bananas. I confirmed the shopkeeper's worry that those bananas have not ripened yet but I was not at all annoyed with the fact as I was told that was the possibility.
Upon being told that, he informed that the bananas came from one of the villagers who has been frequenting his shop on and off. In fact, the shopkeeper was doubtful about their ability to ripen when he saw them as they were not only too green but extremely hard. But then, the owner insisted that they were sufficiently matured. "I have been planting and growing bananas for so many years. Certainly I would know whether bananas are matured enough to ripen or not," he claimed.
"I cannot believe he would cheat me, such an old man. So, I took it despite my doubts," he sadly informed.
"Well, it can happen," was all I could say then.
Has anyone of us never cheated in his life? It was a question that hung around me for the rest of the morning. I reached into my mind and searched for a time when I myself could have cheated. Our mind is protective and refuses to reveal things that might incriminate us. However, I managed to dig in deep enough to remember that during a class test in which the subject teacher's supervision was not enough to deter us from getting answers from the textbook, a lot of students surreptitiously did just that and I was one of them.
Of course, when it comes to bluffing, it is practised so often, people do not think much about it. Of course, sometimes to avoid having to reveal embarrassing information or happenings, we just had to bluff, what is termed as a white lie.
But to cheat; is that a basic characteristic of humans? How many times we have been cheated for financial gain? In fact where monetary gain is concerned cheating is so rampant that we are always on the alert for such a possibility. Complaints have often been heard about someone being overcharged or given inferior goods. Nowadays, we have a dangerous form of cheating where companies would supply transport which are not road worthy, thus resulting in road accidents. Is there an innate urge to cheat only subdued by our moral strength and ego?
Perhaps it is not so much the urge to cheat as it is greed.
The son nodded his head but the father quickly told me there is another batch of at the back of the shop. He got the son to get it out.
When I saw it it was still green; a little too green for my liking. But then, what he said next caused me to take some of it off his hands. He complained, "These bananas have been with me the last three days and they have not ripened yet. I wonder when they would ever ripen."
His exposure of that fact aroused my appreciation for his honesty. Seldom do sellers reveal information that can repel possible buyers from a sale. Yet here was one, although someone familiar with this buyer, who exposed the truth that those bananas would never ripen ever.
In reciprocation to such honesty. I bought it with the full knowledge that those bananas would decorate my table rather than become nutrient rich food for me. This morning, four days after the purchase, they were as green as ever. I went back there to look for another bunch of bananas. I confirmed the shopkeeper's worry that those bananas have not ripened yet but I was not at all annoyed with the fact as I was told that was the possibility.
Upon being told that, he informed that the bananas came from one of the villagers who has been frequenting his shop on and off. In fact, the shopkeeper was doubtful about their ability to ripen when he saw them as they were not only too green but extremely hard. But then, the owner insisted that they were sufficiently matured. "I have been planting and growing bananas for so many years. Certainly I would know whether bananas are matured enough to ripen or not," he claimed.
"I cannot believe he would cheat me, such an old man. So, I took it despite my doubts," he sadly informed.
"Well, it can happen," was all I could say then.
Has anyone of us never cheated in his life? It was a question that hung around me for the rest of the morning. I reached into my mind and searched for a time when I myself could have cheated. Our mind is protective and refuses to reveal things that might incriminate us. However, I managed to dig in deep enough to remember that during a class test in which the subject teacher's supervision was not enough to deter us from getting answers from the textbook, a lot of students surreptitiously did just that and I was one of them.
Of course, when it comes to bluffing, it is practised so often, people do not think much about it. Of course, sometimes to avoid having to reveal embarrassing information or happenings, we just had to bluff, what is termed as a white lie.
But to cheat; is that a basic characteristic of humans? How many times we have been cheated for financial gain? In fact where monetary gain is concerned cheating is so rampant that we are always on the alert for such a possibility. Complaints have often been heard about someone being overcharged or given inferior goods. Nowadays, we have a dangerous form of cheating where companies would supply transport which are not road worthy, thus resulting in road accidents. Is there an innate urge to cheat only subdued by our moral strength and ego?
Perhaps it is not so much the urge to cheat as it is greed.
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