Welcome to The Wild,Wild West !

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With guns blazing,the robbers shoot their way out of the bank.With their loots on the shoulders,guns and rifles on their hands,they mounted on their horses and rode away from the cowboy town to their hideaway in the desert.

Shops,saloons and bars were closed.It was eerily quiet and one can hear the wind whistling away clearly.The people were fearful the robbers will come back to rob and kill again.

Having enough of living in constant fear,they marched to demand the sheriffs to bring the robbers to justice.
"But we do not have enough sheriffs and also we have not enough guns and ammos.We will be killed by them.We are simply outnumbered!"exclaimed the chief sheriff.

The people were disappointed again.

One sunny dusty afternoon,against a backdrop of hills,a lone rugged looking cowboy was approaching town.
As the story goes,he was the hero and savior of the town who single handedly killed all the baddies.

Well,this scenario is in a typical John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movies and the story lines are usually set in the 17th or 18th century during the eras of the cowboys in Mexico.

We are now living in the 21st century and are reliving the era of the wild,wild west of the 18th century.

Every day in the newspapers, crimes are being reported.There are rapes,murders,snatch thefts,robberies and house break-ins.

Last week,a woman and her three year old son were brutally murdered.
Even a three year old child is not spared.A week before this, a Singaporean woman was also brutally murdered in her apartment.We have also read about snatch theft victims who have succumbed to their injuries.The houses of the Datuks have being burgled and even the angkasawan is the latest victim of a roadside robbery.

Aren't there any laws and orders in the country?

It's the incompetence !!!

The very people to protect us,that is the police force, seems unable to control the situation.
As the sheriff said,"We are outnumbered." This means, there is not enough police personnel to combat crimes.This reason is an old one and has to government done enough to recruit and train the police force to be effective to combat crimes?

The Auditor-General's report has shown blatant wastage of public funds.I believe there are many,many millions more which are not being reported.If only these money are channeled to the police force to improve the pay structure and recruitments,the old reasoning of not enough police personnel will be a thing of the past.

What is even alarming and discouraging,is the fact that IGP ,CID and other ranking officers are being investigated for corruptions.
Whom shall we depend for protection now?

The other equally important people to protect us are the judges.
Very often we have read that criminal suspects are freed due to lack of evidence by the prosecutors.And there are many such cases.
What if they are truly criminals?If they truly are,then the chances of them committing crimes again,brutal or otherwise are indeed very high.Can I say,if committed cleverly so that evidences cannot be traced,they will be freed again?
And thus,the vicious cycle of crimes continue.

Have the judges and prosecutors re-examined the cases so that criminals do not escape the law of judgment?

The country is currently being 'invaded' by foreigners.
The potpourri of these foreigners can be found almost everywhere throughout the country- Indonesians,Myanmar,Bangladeshis,Indians,Pakistanis,Africans,Chinese,Thais,Nepalese and Vietnamese.

Many of them are from poor countries and to come here to seek their fortune,they have to borrow and sell their houses or land.
With the meager income they are earning,they are under tremendous pressure to remit money back home.When this cannot be achieved,there is a high tendency to commit crime.
And there are also many illegals,who have nothing to lose,will just rob and steal !

We are simply over dependence on these foreign labor.

I shudder to think what will happen when the economy pie is not big enough to be shared.

Our immigration department does not seems to be effective in controlling this 'invasion.'There are currently more than one million foreign workers in the country,excluding the illegals
And many of them have managed to obtain the Mycard.
How they managed to get it,is any body's guess.

It's the enforcement !!!

To strike fear,the police,FRU and rela members must show their presence in public very often.
Rules of law must be strictly enforced and should not be compromised.
The people must cooperate with the police and the relevant authorities by providing crucial information.
The immigration department must work together with the police force to flush out the illegals on a regular basis.The end result will be deportation and not another amnesty.

It's the system !!!

Currently,the system of our police force has failed us-the corruption charges against high ranking officers are testimonial to this.

The judiciary system has failed us-the Lingam tape controversy is testimonial to this.

The immigration system has failed us-the immense influx of illegal immigrants is testimonial to this.

In short,our security system has failed.
What a perfect opportunity for the criminals to strike !

The murder of the three year old child last week still make me angry and sad and it really pains my heart.
How much fear do we have to endure?
And for how much longer?

Hopefully,as the story of the wild,wild west goes- One sunny day,against the backdrop of the Petronas Twin Tower,a young,well respected and intelligent man is declared the new PM of Malaysia and becomes the hero of the country!

And the people can live happily ever after.

In Loving Memory Of My Brother,James Liew (1950-2007)

Sometimes life can mean different things to different people.

There are those who treasure life and those who don't care a damn thing about life.

Well, my brother has just passed away on the 30th Oct,2007.You see,it is not that he does not care about his life,it is that he cares more about his brothers and sisters than himself.

Why must life be so cruel to take away a good soul,that is my brother James?

My brother owns a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur and specializes in Chinese and Thai cuisine.It is popular among the locals and even the expatriates who would come for dinner with friends and family members.After having worked in Australia for almost twenty years,it was his dream to operate a restaurant back home.

Now he is a successful restaurateur and fate had decided otherwise.

Oh God,what has he done for you to take him away so early?

From his last breath to cremation

28th Oct.2007,Sunday:

It was 2.40pm when I received a call from James.The call was frantic and I could hear that he was gasping for breath.I thought that was normal for an asthmatic. He asked to be sent to Tung Shin Hospital immediately.While in the car,I could see that he had great difficulties in breathing and kept pumping his Ventolin inhaler.

Whilst in the hospital,he was checked by an MO and was referred to Dr.Yap who is a lung specialist. Immediately James was admitted and put on drips and oxygen and an X-ray was taken.

When the X-ray result was interpreted by Dr.Yap,I was taken aback. James had acute pneumonia and the right lung was almost totally blackened.

In fact Dr.Yap showed me the record that James had seen him in 1999 and his right lung had already shown a minor scar and was given some medications. Unfortunately,he did not follow-up when he went back to Australia.

I informed my other brothers to visit James as soon as possible.

29th Oct.2007,Monday:I went to see him during my lunch break.My younger brother,Frankie came later.James was still having great difficulties in talking as he was gasping for breath.I told my brother that the prognosis will not be good and be prepared for the worst.

Although he was put on neubelizer,he still demanded to have two units of Ventolin inhaler which I duly gave to him as my pharmacy is nearby.

30th Oct.2007,Tuesday:I received call at about 5.30am and expected some bad news.No,it was James and he demanded to be discharged from the hospital !Subsequently,he called me again and again to speak to Dr.Yap to discharge him.He even told me that the suppliers are seeing him to collect payment and is worried about his business.

To please him,I told him I will do that and immediately informed Frankie to see him and Dr.Yap at 9.00am as I was on afternoon shift.

I dropped by at 1.00pm and saw Frankie and James's partner were already there.My other brother,Michael came later.

I was told that he had been shouting to be discharged.Dr.Yap challenged him to walk ten steps before he can be discharged.Knowing his condition,he was subdue a bit.Following this,he was given further medicine to expectorate the phlegm from the lungs.

It was during this that he began to cough badly.Before I went back to work,I gave him another look.It was my last view of him being alive.

James collapsed into a coma at about 2.15pm.Doctors and nurses were trying frantically to revive him through resuscitation.After more than half an hour,there was still no sign of any heartbeat.

James was pronounced dead at 2.50pm.

We all cried in his room.

Funeral was arranged and his body was brought to the Kwang Tung funeral parlour at about 7.00pm for Buddhist prayers.

Later in the night,my sisters,his close friends,girlfriends and some staff came to pay their respects.

Seeing his photo and thinking of him when he was alive,I cried.

31st Oct.2007,Wednesday:It was the second day of the wake.Business associates,friends and even his regular customers came to give their respects.

Seeing his best friend,Liew's wife cried(she is my regular customer),I cried again.

My sixth brother from Singapore arrived in the afternoon.More prayers and Buddhist chantings were performed to pave a smooth journey for James to heaven.

1st.Nov.2007,Thursday:It was the last day of James to be with us. Further prayers were performed and with that,his coffin was nailed at about 1.00pm to be brought for cremation.

We all cried.

Knowing that his restaurant meant so much to him,his hearse was arranged to arrive at the shop as a respect and to conduct prayers.

It was indeed very touching to see his partner and Michael speaking and comforting James not to worry about his restaurant's business.
His Indonesian lady worker cried too.
Don't worry brother,go peacefully.

The hearse arrived at the crematorium at about 2.30pm.

After some prayers,James's coffin was brought inside the furnace for cremation.
Seeing the fire burning the coffin really pains my heart.

I cried and we all cried.

Go James go.Have a smooth journey as you have suffered enough.

2nd.Nov.2007,Friday:It was the final part of James's journey to his resting place.

Michael and Frankie were at the crematorium to collect James's ashes.

Special prayers were conducted and James was brought to his final resting place at the Nilai Memorial Park to be together with mother,father and grandparents.

James,for heaven's sake......

James,we all know that you are a filial son.When you came back from Australia,you bought a burial lot for our parents at the Nilai Memorial Park with your hard earned money.You even suggested that each brother contribute RM100 monthly as a family account which is for emergency use among our family members.Even this is a failure.We have failed you,James.It was a great shame,me included.

I know you are very disappointed with our brothers especially two of them.In fact words failed to describe your disappointment and frustration with them.
Despite of you giving them monetary support,it was never appreciated or returned.
One almost ruin your business and the other one even despise you !
Oh my god! What have you done to deserve this?

You see James,you are too ever ready to help.I still remember when I left school and was jobless,I used to dropped by your working place to asked for money and you duly gave it to me.You never say no.I will never forget your brotherly deeds.
Maybe being a bachelor,you thought you can afford to offer monetary assistance to your siblings and relatives.

It is because of this that you have been cheated by one of your nephew to refinance your house in Raub.The legal implication is in a mess now.
Oh James,this really hurts you.I can see your disappointment,sadness and frustration each time I visit you at your restaurant.

Come on James,you have suffered enough.
You failed to look after yourself when you are here.Now that you are up there and for heaven's sake please take care of yourself.

James,your sudden demise leaves everyone in a state of shock.Without warning and without a word,you left us.Maybe God needs you more than us.Please go and seek solace with Him to ease your pain.

My son is going to miss your Thai steam fish,my wife your homemade taufu.
My family will miss you.
We will all miss you.

So long brother James,you will be forever in our heart.