Greeting to all Malaysians

Your money or your life

Sometimes life can be very funny. It is just like magic: Now you see it, now you don’t. The untimely deaths of Yasmin Ahmad and Michael Jackosn are just two examples of how fragile life can be. Like sometimes, while browsing your morning paper, you would have come across an obituary of a friend whom you have just met a few days ago.

Our lives are not born-out to be perfect. As we grow up, there are a host of challenges and obstacles for us to clear before we can retire in peace: education, employment, children up-bringing and family. However, there are greater challenges that lie ahead: the social and health challenges.

The social challenge here refers to the social elements that can influence the behavior of our children. As parents, we are certainly very concern about how our children grow-up and to prevent them from mixing with the wrong kind of people and indulging in vices. Such a challenge is within our control. It is the health challenge we are facing that is scary.

Our lives are bombarded and ravaged with so many diseases that when we managed to overcome one, the next one awaits us. Just let me name some of these diseases so that you can realize why good health is so important: cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and a host of other major organ diseases.

Of all the diseases, cancer is the most fearful to the extent it simply spells death to the person it strikes. The treatment cost for cancer which can be in the region of a few hundreds to tens of thousands or more a month and which do not guarantee a cure, is simply way out of the reach of ordinary working people. And for those who might have some savings, it will be a predicament: to spend on treatment or to save for raining days.

I must emphasize that it is not only the cost of treatment in cancer that is expensive as there are many other diseases that are equally beyond the reach of many, like hypertension and diabetes whereby the treatment is for life. With each discovery of a new drug that has numerous claims of better efficacy and cure rate, the price marketed by the multinational drug company is simply way above the reach of many. As if the cost of medication is not enough to ‘kill’ you, then together with the cost of hospitalization and the doctor’s fees, your ‘death’ is guaranteed.

Now, while you are still able to, it is extremely important that you pay a lot of attention to your health and well-being. Let us not wait for disease to strike us and when it does, treatment will be too late.

If we are to talk about fairness, then death is the fairest of all. Regardless of who you are, from being a King to a beggar, both must die.

This article is in memory of my late brother James Liew, who was either too stubborn or just not able to look after himself.

Where people dare

The property boom in the country during the last few decades has seen a surge in the development of many houses, shops and complexes.

If you were to take a drive to the many housing estates or to the shopping complexes, you will notice a distinctive feature of the many shops: majority is operated by the Chinese. Even during the current economic slowdown, many are still bold enough to venture into various types of businesses. Whenever and wherever there are opportunities, they will set-up their businesses like a swarm of bees that are attracted by honey.

In my housing estate, where there are so many restaurants that if I were to take my family for dinner by choosing one per week, it would take me a year to patronize all of them. I have noticed that not all of these restaurants are doing well, let alone to survive in this competitive market. In fact, it just amazes me that when one closes down, someone will take over, either to continue operate as a restaurant or to convert to other type of business. I have also noticed that there are more and more boutiques emerging which in future will change the area into a fashion street. There is also a posh snooker center whose capital outlay, I presume could be more than half a million. Just like the snooker center, some of the boutiques and restaurants are equally posh looking. I am just wondering how long it will take to earn back their capital outlay, not forgetting the profits.

I am sure such scenario is very similar throughout the country.

Why it is that the Chinese are bold enough to venture into business despite the many handicaps, while others are complaining of lack of opportunities? Even when opportunities are given on a platter, there are still so many failures? And with these failures, come the blame game.

Let us visualize what it will be like if there are no investments by these businessmen: many shops in the housing estates, shopping complexes and in the towns will be emptied and devoid of ‘life’. The whole place will be plunged into a dark and lifeless area like a ghost town without the vibrancy of human activities. And not forgetting the lost in the many jobs opportunities. With no jobs to feed the families, what will they do? To become small time thieves or big time robbers?

Oh yes, and the loss in taxes: income tax, licensing tax, signboard tax, the 5% Govt. Tax and a plethora of other taxes.

There are basically three attributes to be successful in business: be daring, be first and be perseverance. These attributes do not belong to one race. They belong to all. I am not here to glorify one race, for glory like the three attributes belongs to all. It is how one seeks glory through the use of good attributes that makes the difference.

Wake-up, please

I believe many of us must be extremely frustrated and disillusioned with the current happenings in the country. But then no matter what happens, maybe through the interference of God or maybe through the stupidity of the people who seemed still in slumber land that BN has been ruling the country since independence.

If these articles are not able to wake you up, then by all means, suffer at you own perils: read here and here and here.

Like Najib, who has Bugis blood, I have the Chinese blood. And like Najib who is born in Malaysia, so am I. And so are all the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Sikhs, Ibans and the Dayaks. And we call this rich potpourri of races: Malaysians. As Malaysians, I do believe we still love this country and will most probably die here. As long as we want change for the better, I see some hope in this country, despite the fact that thousands have already emigrated.

By now, you must have woke-up.
So, what are you going to do to change this country for the betterment of all?

Pakatan Rakyat: The way forward

The decision by the Pakatan Rakyat government of Selangor to ban its civil servants and public university students from attending the National Civic Bureau ( NCB ) deserves a round of applause by all right thinking Malaysians for its bravery, righteousness and farsightedness.

The NCB has long being used as a propaganda tool by the government to instill the spirit of dominance in the guise of patriotism to only one race and has caused so much of displeasure to the other races. With this controversial course now hogging the limelight in the medias, it makes me puke when some of the BN ministers said the course is designed in the spirit of 1Malaysia concept. This 1Malaysia concept thing in itself is being grossly overused and manipulated to suit the BN political mileage.

If the government is indeed sincere in wanting to promote racial harmony through the NCB, then it must not be afraid to let the public know the contents in the course modules and the relevant programmes to ascertain that there are no elements of communal poisons and ‘tribal’ indoctrination being pumped to the students. Better still, allow those past students and officials to tell their sides of the story, without fear and favor of course.

Do we want to see these students who will ultimately be the new generation of Malaysians to lead the country to become racial extremists or become leaders with righteousness?

Let this be the beginning of Pakatan Rakyat’s ability to undo whatever injustices that are planned and advocated by BN and to ignite the long awaited baptism of fire for the people to be patriotic.

Sorry Ireland

The winning goal that was scored by Thierry Henry of France in the return-leg of the World Cup play-off between France and Ireland is one of the most controversial and is already being dubbed by the press as the Hand of God II, following the infamous one by Diego Maradona.

The blatant use of the hand by Thierry Henry to stop and then control the ball before pushing it for his teammate to score is shown for all to see how unfair football can be. How can the referee and the linesmen not see such a foul?

With the advancement in video technology, FIFA must be brave enough to embrace new technology to prevent such an incident from making a mockery of football, like installing more cameras at strategic locations so that playbacks can be done instantly and accurately.

To prevent such an incident from happening again especially during the coming World Cup next year, FIFA needs to amend its rules and regulations and which I would like to propose the following:

1) In the event of a truly disputed goal, the referee has the right to stop the game for at least ten minutes but not more than 15 minutes to review the goal on TV.

2) During the review, the Managers of both teams, referee and two match officials must be present.

3) If it is concluded that it is an illegitimate goal by all, it must be shown on the big screen to convince the players and the spectators to avoid any untoward incidents.

4) In the event of a further dispute, then a vote must be conducted among the five officials with the majority overruling the minority votes. And the action of the disputed goal must also be shown on the big screen.

Sex: The subject and the object

Lately, we have been bombarded with the ‘potong’ or ‘cut’ advertisement by a broadband company. Such an advertisement, although seems and sounds ordinary enough, has created a topic for discussion among the public due to its sexual intonation: “Cut already only can go faster ma”. The Cantonese version has a more seductive tone. Many have argued that we are already living in the 21st Century and are matured enough not to be influenced by a seemingly 'harmless' advertisement. However, there are many who have called for the advertisement to be banned as it has a bad influence on the children. Well, they have succeeded with the intervention of a Deputy Minister, albeit not with a ban but a change in its intonation.

Now, there is another advertisement by a company that markets a ‘kuat’ brand washing powder with almost a similar sexual tone: “What did your husband say when you have changed to ‘kuat’?”

Marketing is basically about perception and the ability to catch the attention of the customers in a different manner so that it can be remembered instantly. Hence, the above two examples clearly showed the creativeness of the marketers: albeit in a controversial manner. I will not be surprised that such advertisements are created with the intent to cause some brouhaha so that the more it is debated, the more attention it is able to garner.

I remember that during the early 70s, Esso used to engage sales promoters as pump attendants who were sexily dressed in uniforms with tiger stripes as the animal was associated with power in Esso’s advertisement.

We have the beer advertisements with almost all of them using beautiful and sexily dressed ladies as if to seduce you for a drink. Even during the F1 races, one can see such ladies holding umbrellas to shelter the racers and strutting up and down as if to compete with the racers for attention. Then here again, we see many of these sexily dressed ladies, with some exposure of their boobs at the many motor shows.

Are men so obsessed with sexily and scantily dressed ladies that when they see one, they will make a bee-line to pump petrol or to the motor races and shows?

Are females being manipulated and exploited as sex objects by the advertisers to promote their products?

Or the adage that sex sells, simply holds true.