A picture paints a thousand words

1) Look and analyze the above picture of the Home Minister at his office carefully.

Can you deduce the level of efficiency which we all dreaded when visiting a government department?

2) It is certainly a mountain of problems which are caused by some inept officials whose duties seem perfunctory that the applications are piled so high. While some managed to get their applications for citizenship and PR approved without much hazels, others who are more qualified are made to wait and run around in circles.

3) Inefficiency breeds inefficiency.

With the mountain of boxes, it will be extremely difficult for the official to identify and extract the file of an applicant. In the event an applicant was to ask for the status of the application, the most probable answer will be: file sudah hilang. So, the frustrating cycle of application continues.

4) The storage of the documents seemed so haphazardly organized and devoid of a good storage system. Unless, the applicants’ information are stored in the computer data system, the mountain of problems will continue to escalate.

5) Why must it take a new PM and Minister to expedite the application process?

Does it mean the previous Minister has been sleeping on the job all this while?

It clearly shows that it is the political will of the government that drives the efficiency of the system, but only if they want to. What a pitiful and stupid way to progress.

6) The engagement of agents to deal with government officials to hasten and smoothen one’s job is already a culture. While the above picture explains part of the reason, the rest is up to the relevant authorities to identify the causes.

A wake-up call

As the world watched in horror at the deadly unrest in the capital of China’s Xinjiang region which left more than 150 people dead, it has brought back the memories of the nightmarish nights of the May 13^th 1969 racial riots which we all prayed that it will never happen again here in Malaysia.

If we take a hard look at the mayhem in the Xinjiang unrest, we will notice that there are some similarities to the 1969 riots: it is an ethnic clash, many innocent people were killed, properties were damaged and people lived in fear. While the unrest in Xinjiang is apparently due to oppression of the Uighurs by the Chinese government, the 1969 riots here is due to the highly charged political environment caused by the politicians.

Even today, the peace and harmony of our diversified society lie in the hands of the politicians. I sincerely hope the current turmoil in the world will make our politicians realize that no matter what political differences there are, it will be a folly for them to stir racial hatreds among the people, for we cannot afford to have a repeat of the 1969 incident. We need to let this diversity in ethnicity of our country be a major strength and not a hindrance to peace and prosperity for all.

Today, the world is bombarded with so many protests and unrest, political or otherwise, that one can only quivers and shivers if this ‘trend’ is spread worldwide and which we have already started to witness: from Iran to Thailand and from Honduras to Philippines. It will be most destructive to the country’s economy if this is allowed to continue and not quelled. The protests in Thailand by the red and yellow shirted supporters recently which have caused a huge lost in tourism revenue demonstrated the economic destructive nature of a political unrest.

Although we live in a multi-racial society and more often than not, while some dimwit politicians seemed to be keen on destroying our harmony, the bondage among the people still remains strong. It is the fervent wish of every Malaysians (except the dimwit politicians) that we must remain united to propel this country forward. This country is blessed with richness in natural resources and human capital which make the economic pie big enough for all.

Whether we can make this pie bigger will depends on all of us.

Life of a parent

Every Saturday is a day that I normally look forward to with earnest like a child waiting to be taken out for an outing. My plan is to make every Saturday a family day, a day where all the family members can sit together over food to chit-chat and discuss matters of family interests.

One Saturday my eldest daughter called, “Papa, I am going for a movie with my boyfriend and will not be joining you for dinner.”

“But today is a Saturday which is supposed to be a family day,” I answered with a slightly raised voice.

“Aiya, I have been working and working. Got to enjoy a bit, you know,” she reasoned out and having said that hung-up, knowing very well that I will relent to her dating.

Hardly an hour later, I received another call, this time from my second daughter.

“Hi, papa I am attending a friend’s birthday party tonight and will be home late,” she sounded so excited and bubbly which she normally do.

“Ok, make sure you try to come back early and be careful when you friends fetch you back. The security is not good you know. Tell your friends to beware of mat rempits. Be careful. Just be careful,” my voice sounded with full of worries.

“When our daughters were schooling, you worried over their education. Now that they have grown-up and have graduated, you are worried over them mixing with the wrong friends,” complained my wife.

Well, maybe in the eyes of the parents, the children can never grow-up and hence, the worries will continue even when they are married.

When my two daughters called, I can either scold them or command them to come back by disallowing them their outings or to understand and allow them to enjoy their time with their friends.

I chose the later because I have come to realize that the children of today are very different from that of yesterday, especially the mentality and outlook in life. On the other hand, if I chose the former and ‘rule’ them under the clutches of my hands, then the children will be rebellious which will ultimately developed into a strained relationship between father and children that can cause great unhappiness in the family. Having said this, I would like to stressed that there must be a balance of what can and cannot be allowed for the children lest they become spoilt, ill-mannered and arrogant.

I have two grown-up daughters who have just graduated and started working and a son who is in Form Two and whom I worried a great deal over his future education. Like any parents, we love our children very much and always try to make them happy. In fact my wife and I have struggled to bring them up from the early parts of their childhood. It is certainly not easy when you are not born with a silver spoon and financially strong. We just ‘ploughed’ our way through this journey of bringing up our children to provide them a sound education and hopefully, happiness in them.

Whether my children are able to give me the kind of love that I have showered them is not important. As long as there is happiness in them, there will be happiness in the hearts of their parents.

What a maid-ful of problems

The ban by the Indonesian government to ‘export’ its maids to work in Malaysia seems to have put many families in a quandary as if they cannot live without them. The ban which is being triggered by the many reports of maid abuses by the employers has lased out a cry for justice by our Indonesian counterpart.

While we cannot deny that there are indeed cases of maid abuses, there are also many cases whereby the maids are causing havoc to the employers’ families with some in the brink of breaking-up. There have been many reported cases of thefts, violent abuses against children and the elderly which are equally inhumane committed by the maids. And the most shocking is the resorting to the use of hocus-pocus by some maids to cast spells on the employers by cooking foods with panties that are tainted with menstrual blood!

Despite these incidents, why then are some people seemed so helpless without them? How can the parents go to work with a piece of mind by leaving the children under the care of a total ‘stranger’ in the house? Can’t they talk to the in-laws, sisters, relatives or friends to look after the children (with salary of course)? Why can’t they seek the services of the many local babysitters or daycare centers in their vicinity?

The main reason given by the working families is the essence of time. Because they are working, they do not have the luxury of time to do household chores and by the time they got home, most probably they would be sapped of energy. Although I do agree this reasoning in general, my concern is still the well-being and safety of the children, which should be of paramount importance above all else. As for the household work, I suggest they get a local who can be engaged on a one or two day per week work basis.

Another reason which is not usually revealed is the fundamental use of economic: ROI (return of investment).

With the same amount of money paid to the local babysitter, one can use the maid to baby-sit and do all the household chores like washing clothes, car and cooking. And once the maid has finished the house work, she will be taken to the shop for further work which most probably will save the employer another worker’s salary. In some instances, the maid is even 'loaned' to the employer's siblings or relatives. With such a wonderful ‘product’ that is of multiple uses, reusable and transferable, it is any wonder why they are in great demand?

When one is confronted with constraints, where options are limited and pushed to a corner, then one needs to change and adapt to survive either in politics or business.

And in this case, adapt and change to solve this maid-ful of problems.

New kid in cyberspace

Just as we thought that the cyberspace is already crowded with too many news portals and out came a newly launched one: www. malaysianmirror.com

It certainly takes a lot of courage for the entrepreneurs to venture into such a competitive industry. To dispel the notion by the viewers as just another ‘me too’ product will indeed be a great challenge for the profitability of the company. Anyway, when so much of efforts and money have been poured in, I am sure the company must have solid plans ahead. Maybe they will go into a niche market where no one dares to venture and be different from the others.

When the mainstream medias are under the control of political parties, do you expect to get a fair reporting where truths and fairness prevail? For far too often we have come across news that are distorted to suit the political masters and truths that are half-told. In some instances, one newspaper is allowed to publish news that are seditious and detrimental to racial harmony with impunity.

And when explosive scandals that seem to involve some people with political connects, such news are either censored or swept under the carpet.

In this age of cyber era where the source for information is unlimited and uncensored, a solid platform is available for the people to seek the truths and issues can become clearer from the murkiness of our local reporting.

My philosophy for explosive news is as such: Believe 50% in the local mainstream medias and the other 50% from the cyber medias. I will do an analysis from the facts and figures from both sources and then conclude my own judgment, which normally do not disappoint me.

The wrongdoers can run away from facts but they cannot run away from the truths.

And truths kill.

The wise man is in town

1) The eight-day visit of Singapore's Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew to Malaysia must have brought many nostalgic memories since his last visit decades ago. Singapore, under the stewardship of LKY has indeed come a long way since independence in 1965. With a land area of only 274.2 sq.m which is almost barren in natural resources, it has become the 5th wealthiest nation in the world in terms of GDP per capita. It is the foresight and the wisdom of LKY that he managed to achieve this miracle. Hence, like a superstar in town, everybody( except Mahathir) would like to be photographed with him.

2) A wise man makes friends, not enemies. It is better to have one more friend than to have one more enemy. With this wisdom in mind, LKY has been calling on all political leaders during his visit: Umno, MCA, Gerakan, DAP and even PAS. With the extension of such friendships, LKY hopes that any bilateral issues between the two countries can be resolved amicably.

3) During the ancient times in China, the concubines of the Emperor played an extremely influential role in the decisions making of the Emperor. Whether it is this wisdom or otherwise, LKY called on Rosmah because he had been told that she and her husband worked as a team and it was necessary for him to understand both members of the team.

4) In the areas of economic cooperation in the Iskandar economic corridor and the building
of the third bridge, LKY has stressed that decisions on cooperation has to be long-termed and cannot be cooperation today, non-cooperation next year and then back again, backwards and forwards. Imagine the embarrassment caused, if LKY were to say it blantly:"Please do not flip-flop in your decisions. I have heard enough of it."

5) Mahathir has mentioned that he sees no reasons for LKY to see him in an almost sarcastic manner. Many of us, maybe LKY too, just do not know the reasons why Mahathir has shown so much displeasure against Singapore. Could it be that there are still some unsettle personal scores while he was studying medicine in Singapore or it is just plain jealousy of what Singapore has achieved under the wisdom of LKY?
Maybe, when the time is up for Mahathir to go, he will let God know.


Related posts: Only fools do not follow:I
Only fools do not follow: II

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Or else, those scrolls will be treated just like another tissue

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It is obvious for all to see that something must be fishy

To get things done, one needs to give some candies

Do not be surprised when there are more collapses with untold calamities

We were once a sporting nation that used to play soccer like a tiger

What we are seeing now are some glimmers that usually end with a whimper

When millions are already spent, how many champions are there for us to pamper?

And with so many failures, shouldn't those shameless seat warmers be goners?

Our transport system is plague with a never ending story heading to nowhere

Ticket touts here and there, traffic jams seem to be everywhere

Taxi drivers blatantly overcharging do not give a damn and just do not care

Are the authorities so helpless to act as if they do not even dare?

MACC, I see you see, do not be a folly

Show you bravery to nab those regardless of the identity

Through sports and unity

We can bring the country back to its glory