Crime Rate Prevention - Another Answer

Before I published the post on what can be done to reduce the crime rate in JB, I sent the article to several people; Sharon Bakar, Azmi Shahrom, Pak Idrus, and Bakri Musa. So far Sharon and Pak Idrus have responded, and Pak Idrus suggested several other steps that the Government can take to buff up crime prevention effort.

He suggested that first the society has to be educated towards being civic minded. According to the online dictionaries that I referred, civic-minded means "concerned with civic interests or active in community affairs." In other words, the community has to be educated and conditioned to be active in taking care of their properties and safety as a whole. Think Rukun Tetangga. In fact, this idea had been practiced by our forefathers at the kampung (villages). They are close-knitted, treat each other as family members, and take care of each other well-being. A concept lost in the city (coincidently where crime rate is high).

On the Government/Police/Legal side, we need quality enforcement of the law. I believe what he meant was no-nonsense policemen whose sense of justice will not be swayed by a few limpuls (a term I borrowed from Rocky's best friend. E-mail me for its meaning), and a transparent legal system. By "transparent", I mean that the lawyers will bare all the truth about the proceedings, and that the decision made by the Court is not being influenced by annoying external factors (bribe, threats, favoritism, cronism, nepotism, etc). These two factors (education and quality enforcement) have to go hand in hand for them to work effectively. Which makes sense, because there's no point for the citizens to be living ethically, while the law is being run by unethical people. And it's a joke to have ethical policemen and legal system if the community as a whole are like a**holes.

Another step he pointed out is that the police force have to be reformed. Currently, the management structure for the police force is a centralized management structure. If I remembered correctly, a centralized management structure is effective and efficient in a small organization. That explains why, given that Singapore exercises the same management structure for her police force, that small island country managed to keep its crime rate lower. Since Malaysia is a big country, with millions upon millions of citizens, we should adopt a decentralized management structure for our police force. The police force should be decentralized and the responsibility of the state police or the district police force should be in the hand of the local leadership, i.e. the OCPD and the CPO. The OCPD of each district should be responsible to hire and fire his staff. The state should recruit the best person to be the OCPD and he should be given the authority to do the job of policing the law in his district. This way, the police force will have a more professional outlook, firmer commitment towards law enforcement, and no longer be affected by political factors.

He also raised the issue of low participation by the non-Malays in the police force. He said that our police force should be multi racial, for every police group of ten there must be four non Malay. This is very important so that every race contribute in tackling the criminal problem. This issue, in my humble opinion, is greatly related to how the policemen were remunerated. I have no idea how much they are paid, but if they are so willingly accept a couple of limpuls to "tutup sebelah mata", they must've been paid poorly. In his own words, Pak idrus said, "It is a tough job and the pay is rather low compare to a person who sell kueteoy at the roadside." If that's the case, even Malays will consider being a criminal, since it pays more to be one. So the government have to consider steps to increase the remunerations of the policemen and policewomen so that we will have a quality police force. By all means, please consider my suggestion about the treatment of the prisoners. The taxpayers' money can be used to pay our police force better, rather than to feed the criminals and drug addicts in the prisons and the drug rehabilitation centers.

I will keep posting about this issue every time I get a response on it. This is a crucial issue to be discussed about, since it will not only affect our safety, but also our love ones'.

TWO TRUE STORIES ABOUT RACISM

1) I'm sure many of you watched the recent taping of the Oprah Winfrey Show where her guest was Tommy Hilfiger. On the show, she asked him if the statements about race he was accused of saying were true. Statements like"..."If I'd known African-Americans, Hispanics, Jewish and Asians would buy my clothes, I WOULD NOT have made them so nice. I wish these people would *NOT* buy my clothes, as they are made for upper class white people."

His answer to Oprah was a simple "YES". Where after she immediately asked him to leave her show.

My suggestion? Don't buy your next shirt or perfume from Tommy Hilfiger. Let's give him what he asked for. Let's not buy his clothes, let's put Him in a financial state where he himself will not be able to afford the ridiculous prices he puts on his clothes. BOYCOTT. PLEASE SEND THIS MESSAGE TO ANYONE YOU KNOW. Then send it to the whole community that's not white people and see the result. We have to see the result of unity.

Let's find out if Non-whites really play such a small part in the world. Stop buying any range of their product, perfume, cosmetics,clothes, bags, etc.

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2) Scene took place on a British Airways flight between Johannesburg and London . A White woman, about 50 years old, was seated next to a black man. Obviously disturbed by this, she called the air Hostess. "Madam, what is the matter," the hostess asked. "You obviously do not see it then?" she responded. "You placed me next to a black man. I do not agree to sit next to someone from such a repugnant group. Give me an alternative seat." "Be calm please," the hostess replied. "Almost all the places on this Flight is taken. I will go to see if another place is available." The Hostess went away and then came back a few minutes later. "Madam, Just as I thought, there are no other available seats in the economy class. I spoke to the captain and he informed me that there is a seat in the business class. At the same, we still have one place in the first class." Before the woman could say anything, the hostess continued: "It is not usual for our company to permit someone from the economy class to sit in the first class. However, given the circumstances, the captain feels that it would be scandalous to make someone sit next to someone so disgusting." She turned to the black guy, and said, "Therefore, Sir, if you would like to, please collect your hand luggage, a seat awaits you in first class." At that moment, the other passengers who were shocked by what they had just witnessed stood up and applauded.

Both the above are true stories. If you are against racism, please send this message to all your friends.

The Things We Could Do To Make JB A Safer Place To Live

It saddens me when I read that my hometown, JB, has the second highest crime rate in the country. The highest being Selangor, which happens to be my "other hometown". A few days ago, my friend became a victim of snatch-theft. Fortunately she just lost her bag. At least her life wasn't snatched as well. This event got me thinking; I don't want this to happen to anyone.

It's not that the government isn't paying attention to this disturbing development, but the response is a bit too lame. For instance, they buffed up the number of policemen in JB (specifically in the soon-to-be Wilayah Pembangunan Iskandar), and rented some shop lots to be turned into Police Stations. But why in those areas only? We are dealing with humans, who are gifted with intellect (and unfortunately being used for evil). Buff up one place, they'll just go to another place. What we need is a more drastic measure. For now I will suggest 3: harsher punishment for crime, empowerment of citizen action, and last but not least a new definition and treatment in jails.

In Malaysia, most crimes are punishable by jail-term and/or fine. This leaves a perception that in the worst-case scenario, you'll be spending a few years in jail and pay a sum of money for the crime you committed. For me, this kind of punishment is too light and lenient. Especially the jail-term. Prisoners are being fed and accommodated using taxpayers' money, which makes no sense. These prisoners are the same people, who had killed, robbed, raped, and terrorize our loved ones, yet we are the one who feed them during their time in the prison. Therefore a different punishment has to be enacted. The new "reward" for crime has to be more severe. Even if it's only a minor crime. This will discourage people from resorting to crime and violence, though perhaps we will be subjected to various criticisms. Who would dare to become a snatch-thief if the punishment for it is public caning by 12 canes?

We could also recruit some civilians to become vigilantes, someone who takes the enforcement of law or moral code into his or her own hands. We don't need the government to actually recruit them, since I myself lack the confidence in the government's capability to actually recruit the right people for this purpose. And with the speculation that our IGP is working in tandem with a crime syndicate makes working with the police a questionable option. There are a few vigilante groups that we could learn from; Guardian Angels, Ranch Rescue, and Sombra Negra.

As I mentioned before, it is unimaginable that us taxpayers are feeding the prisoners with our tax money. I mean, how would you feel if your daughter was raped, and the rapist was sent to jail, eating 3-5 meals a day, paid by your money? I don't have a daughter, but I don't like that idea. My suggestion is that the prisoners have to pay for the cost incurred during their stay in the jail. They have to work for it. They can choose from hard labor, to handcrafts. As long as they work. Exception given to prisoners who are terminally ill. by having them working (especially in hard labor), we could increase the national productivity level, not to mention that the prison is a large pool of unskilled labor market. Later on, upon their release, they don't have to worry about a job; they have plenty of experience and skills acquired during their stay in the jail. And since they have to work for their accommodation and food, there's a lot of tax money saved that can be used for other beneficial purposes, such as education and defense.

So let's give this a shot and see whether we manage to reduce the crime rate in JB. With harsher punishments, constant watch by vigilante groups, and a different treatment in the jail, perhaps JB will no longer be the second most dangerous city to live in Malaysia.

NEP Is Internationally Condemned. Whose Idea Was It?

Ah, now the European Union also think that we make a huge blunder via NEP

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EU Envoy Blasts Malaysia's NEP

By EILEEN NG Associated Press Writer
© 2007 The Associated Press

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Europe's top envoy to Malaysia Thursday urged the government to roll back its affirmative action policy for majority Malays, saying it is discriminatory and amounts to protectionism against foreign companies.

In unusually frank comments that ignored diplomatic niceties, Thierry Rommel openly criticized Malaysia's 37-year-old New Economic Policy, or NEP, that gives a host of privileges in jobs, education, business and other areas to ethnic Malays.

"In a dominant part of the domestic economy, there is no level playing field for foreign companies," Rommel, the ambassador and head of the European Commission Delegation to Malaysia, said in a speech to local and foreign businessmen.

Ethnic Malays and other indigenous groups, known as Bumiputras, comprise more than 60 percent of Malaysia's 26 million people. The government says they have a disproportionately low share of the corporate wealth compared to the minority Chinese, and need the NEP to increase their standard of living.

The government did not immediately respond to Rommel's comments.

Rommel said the government is using the NEP as an excuse to practice "significant protectionism of its own market," including the automotive sector, steel, consumer goods, agricultural products, services and government contracts.

Malaysia claims these are "infant" industries that need to be protected but "in reality .. it is the Malay-centered Bumiputra policy that drives protectionist policies," Rommel said.

As part of the NEP, all public-listed companies are required to allocate 30 percent of their shares to Malays. Companies without Malay directors or employees are excluded from lucrative government contracts. Employers have quotas for hiring Malays.

Eric Reuter, sales and marketing director of freight forwarder ABX Logistics, said the Belgium-based company has a 51 percent Bumiputra partner and is required to work with local companies on government-related projects.

The limitations have eroded his profit margin, he said.

"We cannot be as flexible as we want to be and chances that corruption comes into play is higher. It is an interruption to the free market," Reuter told The Associated Press.

Besides foreigners, minority ethnic Chinese and Indians also see the NEP as a discriminatory tool. Many Malays also have complained the policy has benefited only a few well-connected people.

NEP was started in 1970 when the Malays' corporate ownership was 2 percent. The aim was to raise it to 30 percent by 2010, from 19 percent now. Chinese, who form a quarter of the population, control 40 percent of corporate wealth.

Rommel stopped short of saying the NEP should be scrapped but told reporters separately: "We (in Europe) have bitten the bullet on a number of sensitive issues, why can't you?"

He warned the NEP could "lead to problems" in free trade negotiations between the EU and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Malaysia is a key member.

The two groups agreed last month to launch free trade talks, which could raise ASEAN's exports to the EU by up to 20 percent, Rommel said. Senior officials are expected to hold their first meeting in Vietnam next month, he added.

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Now, what will the Government do? Scrap the whole thing? Modify it, and go on? Or will Malaysia stop trading with the EU (will have to leave the country if Pak Lah decides that Thierry Rommel is an inbecile, and goes for option 3).

Of meaningful comments and voices of disagreements Ver. 2.0

This post is, again, dedicated to the visitors who has left their comments.

Samp:
For me there is no meaning in independence for this country. We are now being colonized by the government itself. What could be worse than being colonized by your own countrymen? And Independence Day has become nothing more than another festival and public holiday along with many other festivals we have. What should have been a day of remembrance of those who had fallen in the fight for independence, turned into a midnight concert and a day where all the social ills rear their ugly heads. And why wouldn't anyone lack the spirit of Independence? Because we are yet to be independent.

Vesewe:
Journalism had not only fallen to such low level, it has also become a weapon for the Government to "kill" anyone who voiced out their dissatisfaction. The same goes for education. What should have been the platform of developing a new rank of leaders and knowledgeable workforce has become a place to promote political ideologies, racist-inclined brainwashing, and a filter to single out potential "threats"; students with character, leadership and dynamic ideas that could challenge the Government. These students will definitely find their future being dashed. And the citizens are left with the choice of either decrepit old men who have nothing but money in their minds, or younger people who have no idea how to manage a country. Talk about being in "between the Devil and the deep blue sea".

Ruyom:
I can bet my hairy legs that the same "Don't leave us, Che Det" drama will ensue if Pak Lah ever mention the word "resign". He's a useful marionette for the current Government. He can't do anything without a hand fulling the strings. If he's not, he would've surrounded himself with people he can control, not animals that he cannot tame (and would instead swallow him alive).

Yuking:
I can sense that you have deep enmity towards the Malays. I can assure you that not all Malays have the mentality of pointing their index and each other when anything goes wrong. It just happens that the majority of us do that, and coincidently, they are the leaders and a vast majority of the followers. Intellectual Malays like Bakri Musa, Ahirudin Attan, A. Kadir Jasin, etc (me perhaps) look for solutions that can solve or at least improve the situation. We are aware that blaming solves nothing. The same goes to you; blaming the majority of Malays will not solve anything. In fact, you had given a victory to the Government: they managed to make the races hate each other.

Reek and Ramsom:
I agree with you. Do read my next article, "Building a Future With a Future".


Tim:
When you mentioned, "People like you", did you meant me? If that is what you meant, then I'd say that you're barking the wrong person. I've never put BN on their throne, and Proton is the worse car ever IMHO. So in what way did I let BN pillage and plunder the country as you claimed? But if you're referring to the majority of this "sick society", then you have a point there. But it is not without a cause. People didn't go stupid and sick out of the blue. Just how many of us take the initiative to mingle with other races? How many of us took time to learn from the mistakes of history, so that we all have a better future? How many of us, instead of cussing each other like what you did, get together and brainstorm a plan of action to change the situation, and did all that they can to execute the plan? Not many, and you're not one of those few as well. Because the majority is busy doing what you are doing: CUSSING.

Coolooc:
I disagree with you, and no, I'm neither of the classes you think I belonged to. Have you ever consider how many Malay intellectuals who ended behind bars for promoting the ideas of racial integration and justice towards all races? And FYI, not all Malays are lazy. The bright and hardworking ones are overseas, and soon, I'll be joining their ranks.

Fargowin:
Indeed, patriotism had been used to discourage people from amking a change. And those who abides, are nothing but chauvinists.

Fong:
It is true that the time has come for the government to adopt a non-racial mindset. However, with the old men and women, who are clinging to the past out of fear for the future, leading the administration, there is no way that that would happen anytime soon. We need a new set of younger leaders with new ideas and optimistic views about the future to lead the country, regardless of their races.

It seems that I didn't get the sub-editor job. Oh well. NEXT!

A break from seriousity (?)

As I mentioned in the last post, I went to KL for a test and preliminary interview for a position as a sub-editor. The session went very well, and I'll tell you more about it later in this edition. I also meet up with my friend, Sharb @ Shobridin, my sister, Suyin (Yeah, my sister's a Chinese. Any problem with that?), and Madi, whom I'd be more than willing to call a brother. The journey to KL started at 12.03am 13th June. I slept 4/5 of the journey, thanks to a large helping of Nasi Beryani cooked by my Dad (thanks Dad. You sure make a lousy discussion partner, but in the kitchen, you rawk!).

I arrived at KL Sentral at about 7.30am, already missing my kitten, and my body was aching. "That's it, I'm taking the Superior Class with bed next time" I told myself (which I did for the journey back). Headed straight to IIUM to meet and catch up with Sharb, my partner in crime during my varsity years. Played a bit of World of Warcraft (IIUM boasts the best offline private servers for World of Warcraft, hosted on personal computers of IIUM students via Local Area Connection), and after a short bath, had a large brunch (yep, for my size, I'm quite a voracious eater). Left for the test at around 11.15am, since I don't want to give a bad impression to the recruiting officer by being late (besides, it's against my philosophy).

Arrived at the test venue (TBC office, Suite 11-6, Level 11, Wisma UOA 2) an hour early. The receptionist was very kind and polite (she's taken, by the way). Went through the usual procedure (paperworks), and then a very short sub-editing test. About a quarter past 1, met Mr. Jason for the first time. A pleasant Chinese guy in his late 20's, plump and cheerful. He verified the in formation I filled in the forms earlier, briefed me about the job and the company, and even helped me corrected some of the missed in the earlier test. He seems eager to get me the job, and for that he has my gratitude.

At about 2.20pm, we ended the session, Jason assured me that the result will be announced within this week. I'm positive that I got the job (why wouldn't I). We then parted, and I head to KLCC. This is where the fun starts.

Madi arrived at around 3.15. We left Kinokuniya after a while, and waited for Suyin in front of the Al-Marjan restaurant. We talked a bit about his current situation, which is a bit complicated for me to summarize in a few paragraphs. Half an hour later, Suyin arrived. She had practically combed the whole KLCC for us (part of it was my fault for not notifying her of the change of venue). We then had lunch at Rasa Food Arena (Hot Plate Noodles with Chicken for me and Madi, and Spicy Nasi Beryani for Suyin). Suyin asked whether any of us had ever experienced an "out of body" experience, and offered us to try the Nasi Beryani she ordered if we would like to have the experience. Our conversations evolved later on from the barbeque party she went, to the emotional TOA students, to Sandy's tantrums, and once lunch is over, an impromptu SEX EDUCATION for dear little sister, Suyin.

I had no idea how the conversation ventured into the forbidden topic, but what triggered the sex ed class was her lack of knowledge about the female body. Both me and Madi were astounded when she told us that she only knew that girls can pleasure themselves when she was 17, and she knew it from a guy friend. And she never even explored her own body! *Gasp*. Thank God she never mixed with the wrong bunch, and never pursued the topic either. We then proceeded to gave her the general idea, a brief definition of orgasm and the difference of female and male orgasm, the "toys" she could use, some analysis of a statistical data of a country with liberal approach towards sex (her eyes almost jumped out of their sockets. She's amazed that we knew so much being guys and all). And no, we didn't do any demonstration. Let's leave that for Suyin to do herself :p. I did most of the talking (since Madi was not the type to talk about such matter), but both of us kinda scolded her for not using the Internet to learn about her own body (yeah, we do sounded like 2 perverted old men).

Later we headed to Isetan's Korean Food Festival. Suyin had to buy some chocolates for her mum, and I bought some for myself to ravage on the train back. We then took the Putra together since our next destination is the same: KL Sentral. Along the way, we laughed a lot, and it was an enjoyable day. I can't wait to meet up with them again. And spam more information into Suyin's head (I make a nasty brother). Took a 10pm train to JB, and on board, gave a 2-hour counseling session to a stranger (well, she's the one who asked for it). And as an end note, a reminder to me and any people who likes to travel on trains: always go for the class with bed.

Of meaningful comments and voices of disagreements

I'm really excited to see my post receiving so much attention. 10 comments! That's by far the largest number of comments that I've got in my blogging life. And they are not one-liners on top of that! Thank you, guys. As a token of appreciation, a whole post dedicated as a reply.

San, I can't say much about discrimination. But I do know that I reject all kinds of discrimination (being a victim myself, victimized by fellow Malays). And I'm taking your advice about getting recommendations before interviews (although I've got a couple myself).

Vesewe, I couldn't agree more about the people running the country. To be honest, I'm getting bored with the old faces in the Parliament. We need new people with new ideas. I can name some, though they are all Malays. And I can assure you that they are smart people who are smart.

Ruyom, I believe that the rights to special privileges should have been reserved for and only for the Orang Asli as well as the native people of Sabah and Sarawak. They are, after all, the rightful owners of these lands. And if you have taken a lesson in our history (pre-colonial era), early Malay settlers were indebted to these native inhabitants.

While you are right about the well-fed Malays (and Indians and Chinese who got their shares by licking the Government's backside), you have to be aware that there are Malays who shouted for changes to be made, only to be stamped as traitors and put behind bars. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was one of them, though I can warrant that there are things that I disagree with him.

Yuking, you actually said the same thing my friend Vincent said to me. And guess what, it's not just non-Malays who felt that way; the younger, educated Malays feel the same way, too! (After all, they are considered to be minority within the majority). I remember my sessions with one of my clients, Ms. Deneille Sutton from Australia. She urged me to, "get the hell out of this country; you are not meant to be here!" The environment and conditioning of Malaysia is not suitable for intellectuals. Banning of books, restriction of freedom of speech, religious and racial confusion, injustice towards various races; these are not conducive elements to grow intellectuals. Therefore I'm not surprised that we have a critical brain drain at the moment, and that people don't feel the sense of belonging to the country.

Aston, "talibanized" is a bit too strong a word. Besides, "talibaning" means "to impose religious values on people without considering the actual meaning and the future impact". What's happening in Malaysia is more or less a combination of "Turkization" that was done by the Ottoman Empire, and the measures taken by the founder of the Qin Dynasty to establish legalism in the unified China Empire; impose one identity and culture on all people, and block them from any sources of other ideas, other than the ones permitted by the Government (ooh, I might get in an hot soup for this).

Kok, I've been thinking about what our forefather intended when they first designed the so-called social contract/Federal Constitution (or whatever it is). If the objective is to bring the Malays at par with other races (refer to the colonial segregation rule policy), then the special privileges should have been given to the Chinese and Indians as a "carrot" to help out their Malay counterpart. In return for those "privileges", the Chinese and Indians are to help out in developing the then left behind Malays; training, teaching, sharing of capital and technology, etc. Once the Malays are at par with them, abolish the privileges, and have everyone treated the same; all of them become "Bumiputera", rightful citizen of the country. It's a weird thing that even after 50 years of independence, the Chinese and Indian born and bred in the country is still not considered as Bumiputeras. Giving special privileges to the Malays was a bad idea to begin with; making that policy perpetual spells the downfall of the objective itself.

Miya, even if it's the best rubbish of all rubbish, it is still rubbish. There's no point justifying.

Fargoman, congratulations for your children's achievements. It is a good thing that they didn't suffer what the majority of Malaysian graduates are facing at the moment (me being one of them). What would make it better is that they help some of those unfortunate graduates out. Good deed, good life, they are meant to be paid forward to other people.

Reek, we should meed someday, and you will have to show me the graffiti haha. The UMNO party and it's Youth section is not needed in this era, IMHO. They make the matters worse. In fact, any racial or religious-based political movements will lead to the country's downfall. We are living in a multi-racial, multi-religion country; therefore the objective should be how to integrate the various identities into working towards the same objective, not how to separate them.

Samp, Pak Lah (Badawi is his late father, FYI) should take a cue from Shahrir Samad, teresa Kok and Lim Kit Siang, and start a blog. That way he'll get to know about this ASAP, along with how people reacted to it.

You know, the Government can be managed professionally, too. Just like a private company; incompetent, begone! That way, our country will have a hybrid ruling system that integrates both the private entity's efficiency and public entity's security.

Again, thank you for your responses, although I have to admit, it's not the kind of response I'm expecting. As an end note, tonight I'll be heading to KL for a pre-interview test for a position as a sub-editor. Wish me all the best. Hopefully this is the path I've been searching for.

To Ensure Solution, Change the Approach.

This morning while I was doing some work with my mom, a thought occurs to me; we have so many anti-whatever campaigns, so how come the things that we are "anti" about, keep on getting worse? And the things that we want, we keep on losing? (If you've read the post in my blog "Ask What You Want, Not What You Don't", this is a follow-up for that post). It's because we're focusing on the wrong thing.

That thought started a discussion between me and my Mom. I used the gay community as an example (please don't get me wrong; I neither support nor oppose their existence. Let the Almighty deals with them); every year they have a Gay Parade. They do it in peace; there are media coverages, but it's not like they make advertisements of it; no violence (except from the non-gay people); and they keep themselves civilized (at least from their point of view). And guess what; THEIR NUMBER GROWS. It's a success.

Now take a look at an anti-war demonstration. We don't have them advertised, of course, but it was seldom done in a peaceful manner. No wonder Mother Teresa REFUSED to join any anti-war procession, but would gladly join a peace rally. What's the difference? It's the focus: What I've seen so far, an anti-war demonstration would involve burning of something (George Bush models, flags, dustbins, embassies, cars, people, etc), a lot of negative emotions, people getting angry (but venting them out in the most unproductive manner), a lot of violence (sometimes to the extent of deaths and severe injuries). It's an anti-war demonstration, but ironically the demonstration left a war zone. Could you imagine the late Mother Teresa getting involved in such procession? I can't.

Okay, imagine a peace rally. How would you feel, if somebody says that, "This is a peace rally", and starts burning a flag? It would sound stupid. It doesn't go along with the agenda; PEACE. In a peace rally, we talk about peace; efforts to be taken, mistakes to be addressed, solutions, improvements, etc. The objective is to inspire people to work towards peace. People do feel anger, but they are inspired to vent out their anger in manners that will promote peace. Now that is productive.

However, anti-war demonstration is by far the more popular form of objection campaign. Thanks to that, and the anti-terrorism campaign led by the US administration (not the citizens), War and Violence have become more popular as well. And Peace becomes an "endangered species". And it's evidence in their country; students going to school/college and start shooting at their friends and teachers. When I took Marketing subjects during my varsity years, US have always been the trend-setter. Hopefully this will never be the case, although it seems that we do learn to do the foolish things the West did better than the smart things.

So, how should we actually conduct an objection campaign? Don't conduct any. Conduct a supportive campaign. Instead of an anti-apostasy rally, start an Islamic Understanding campaign. Tell people about Islam, clear out their misunderstanding. If there are any questions that are unanswerable, do research on them until a solid answer is found. Conduct inter-religious forums; not to show who's right and who's wrong and who's better, aim to set a ground of understanding. Be transparent; don't ban books that talk about Islam just because they are written by non-Muslim scholars. Release the books, and let the public and the scholars discuss about them. Encourage books that support or oppose their views be published. That way, a clearer and more positive view on Islam can be achieved, and misunderstanding avoided. If we just concentrate on talking and promoting about how bad apostasy is, without making efforts to educate people about the beauty of Islam, it will make matters worse.

The same goes for health issues. Our country is facing obesity, diabetes, and many other health epidemic. But I still haven't seen or heard of any ongoing campaign to promote healthy lifestyle. Perhaps there are, but they are not being given much publicity. I do see a lot of anti-smoking and anti-drugs and safe-sex campaigns going around, but that is not the right way to get the message across. It's good that there are efforts being put in to educate people about how bad it is, but where are the efforts to educate people about the solutions and alternatives?

Hopefully all of us who are reading this article, and are writing articles in respond to this, will take actions to promote positive changes towards how we approach negative issues in the future. It's time for us to move on, and make improvements and educate the younger generations to promote solutions and positive alternatives, so that they will not repeat the same mistakes and experience the same problems that we face today. As an end note, let me share with you a word of wisdom (I forgot who should be credited for this quote), "A successful person does not do a different thing. He does the same thing differently".

Believing in yourself

You weren't an accident. You weren't mass-produced. You aren't an assembly-line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on the Earth by the Master Craftman.

Max Lucado,
Best selling Christian author and well-known minister.

Have you ever gotten into a mess, so deep that you wished you were never born? How about looking at that neighbor across the street, and wished that you're living his life? I believe each of us have, at least once, felt that way.

I took that quote from Jack Canfield's "The Success Principles". It was used as the opening quote for Principle 5, Believe in Yourself. The word "believe" is derived from a combination of "be" and "leubh"- "to like , desire" (source:http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=believe). Therefore, to believe in one's self, one has to love and appreciate his/herself. By loving his/her own self, I don't mean by being a narcissist, but rather, to explore and appreciate his/her own ability and potential, and to use them to its full capacity.

To believe in oneself is purely a choice. You can choose to either to believe in your abilities, that nothing can't be done, or to believe in the limiting beliefs and negative conditionings of people around you. It is an attitude that you develop over time. While having supportive environment do help, but majority of us have normal parents who were brought up with normal perception of life and many limiting and negative conditionings. Therefore a strong discipline is required, as well as a stubborn will.

Now, what we choose to believe is entirely up to ourselves as well. We can choose to believe that we are the best journalist available in our country. We can believe that we have the best children any parents could ever wish for. And ask yourself, "do I love the idea of being or having that?". If you do, then put in efforts to make yourself deserving of those beliefs. In page 41 of "The Success Principles", Jack Canfield retold his interview with Stephen J. Cannell. He was dyslexic, failed 3 grades when he was younger, but through believing that he can, he became a best-selling author and television producer. Of course, there are time and efforts invested for him to get to where he is now, in the beginning, the belief in himself was the core that got him there.

To start off, we have to give up excuses that limit us from getting where we want to be. The phrase I can't, according to Paul R. Scheele, is the most powerful force of negation in the human mind. Our brain responds to negative statements AND positive statements. When you think about positive thoughts, your brain processes that thought, sends electrical impulses throughout your body, and empowers you; making you stronger, feel healthier and more energized, and helps you think clearer. The words you say and think affects your mind AND body.

Many people discovered the truth and power of believing in yourself later in their life. In 1977, in Tallahassee, FL, Laura Shultz picked up the back end of a Buick to get it off her grandson's arm. She was 63 at the time and could not recall ever lifting anything heavier than a 50-pound bag of dog food. Initially, she resisted talking about 'the event.' Why do you suppose she didn't want to talk about it?

Here's her response in an interview with Dr. Charles Garfield -- 'If I was able to do this when I didn't think I could, what does that say about the rest of my life? Have I wasted it?'

What about you? What have you not done because you didn't believe it was possible? Are you like the unfortunate majority who would rather stay in comfortable misery than to do the work to launch into a dramatically higher level of success. 80-90% of our behavior is habit and repeating our familiar behavior is more comfortable than attempting a really big goal.

What is a big goal you could set for yourself - one that would dramatically change where you are? Why would you want to do that? Is there a purpose that goes beyond your own needs and desires? Because when you have a clear enough 'why' you will figure out the 'how.' Trust me: You don't need degrees, training and a seminar on how to lift a car if your child is trapped underneath one.

At 63, Laura Shultz decided to go back to school to study geology. She eventually got her degree and went on to teach at a local community college.

What is a goal you would like to accomplish in the next three years? Why do you want that to happen? What are you doing now to make it happen? Don't wait until you're 63 to discover your true abilities. Story taken from Dan Miller's 48-ay Coaching

Last but not least, here's a food for your thought: Always be yourself because the people that mind don't matter and the people that matter don't mind. Dr. Daniel Amen stated in his 18/40/60 Rule: When you're 18, you worry about what everybody is thinking of you; when you're 40, you don't give a darn what anybody thinks of you; when you're 60, you realize nobody's been thinking about you at all. So don't waste your time thinking about what others think about you. Instead, think about how you can improve yourself, and do the things that can help you achieve your goals.

Lessons of life from sources unforseen 2

Today I did what I like to do: reading Japanese comics (again). This time I read XXXHolic, a manga published by Clamp mangaka group about the supernatural. Now, I know, I know, this doesn't look like something a 24-year old, future independent motivational speaker should read. But let me stress; DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER. In fact, Japanese modern visual culture offers more than the best drama swasta available in our country. So if you watch Malay drama swasta, don't bother criticizing people who read and watch Japanese manga and anime.

Back to the topic, I read volume 9 and 10 today, and when I come to chapter 5, Volume 10, I noticed a lesson. You don't learn anything from reading Alam Perwira or Pendekar Laut, or Gempak!, but you'll learn a lot from reading Japanese manga. The lesson I learned is that you can affect a person tremendously, just by saying, "I'm really lucky to meet you", ESPECIALLY when that person is the one that hurts you most. Imagine that. Imagine an officemate who calls you names, backbites you, treats you like a piece of used paper (trash is a bit too strong a word), and every morning you go ahead and tell him, "You know, I'm lucky to have met you" with a smile. He'll either turn into your friend, or just leave you alone.

Now this kind of gesture is in fact in line with what Dr. Martin Luther King once quoted to have said:

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate.... Returning violence for violence multiples violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Taken from Goh's Quotations page

By offering a positive gesture; being thankful, seeking to understand, not to prejudge (especially post-9:11, where everyone seems to be treading extra careful, and if you happened to be born with a look strikingly similar to certain prominent figures, a plastic surgery is in order), a lot of conflicts can be solved. Not only avoided, but SOLVED. Just by being thankful towards your counterpart, seek to understand him/her better, not to prejudge, and not too egoistic to say "I'm sorry", "Please", "Excuse me", and so on.

You know, when I was younger, such thoughts were impossible to me. If somebody were to tell me that, I'd say, "You're naive. This is the reality; dog eat dog, men eat men". All the negativity I could think of about this "reality", I would throw at him. But thankfully, I come to realize that reality is something that we create together. My reality is not the same as your reality. My reality says that you learn more by watching Japanese animation than you would by watching Malay movies. Your reality might be the other way around. My reality is positive, because it's my reality. Now, what is your reality? A positive one? A doubtful one? A prejudging one? A cynical one? I remembered this morning when I was listening to one of Jim Rohn's audio collections, that being cynical stops you from learning and growing. And it's a pity that many of the younger generations nowadays have already a cynical and negative view of life, and so does some of the older people I've met.

Why not we try together to start changing our reality to a positive one, a trusting one. A forgiving one. An understanding one. Live it for a month. You'll feel awkward for a few days or maybe a couple of week. Before you know it, it'll be your reality. The first time I decided to use "saya" (a polite form of "I" in Malaysian Language) instead of "aku" (a rougher form), it was awkward. And my soft voice didn't help much. I was subject to mockery, but I persisted. And now I always speak using "saya" when I'm addressing myself. It has become my reality. And guess what; IF I CAN DO IT, ANYONE CAN DO IT. Start with something simple; greet anyone that you meet, whether you know them or not, and smile. And see the difference.

A Genius Bids Farewell (Translated from Spanish)

If for a moment God would forget that I am a rag doll and give me a scrap of life, possibly I would not say everything that I think, but I would definitely think everything that I say.

I would value things not for how much they are worth but rather for what they mean. I would sleep little, dream more. I know that for each minute that we close our eyes we lose sixty seconds of light. I would walk when the others loiter; I would awaken when the others sleep. I would listen when the others speak, and how I would enjoy a good chocolate ice cream.

If God would bestow on me a scrap of life, I would dress simply, I would throw myself flat under the sun, exposing not only my body but also my soul.

My God, if I had a heart, I would write my hatred on ice and wait for the sun to come out. With a dream of Van Gogh I would paint on the stars a poem by Benedetti, and a song by Serrat would be my serenade to the moon. With my tears I would water the roses, to feel the pain of their thorns and the incarnated kiss of their petals...

My God, if I only had a scrap of life...I wouldn't let a single day go by without saying to people I love, that I love them. I would convince each woman or man that they are my favourites and I would live in love with love. I would prove to the men how mistaken they are in thinking that they no longer fall in love when they grow old, not knowing that they grow old when they stop falling in love. To a child I would give wings, but I would let him learn how to fly by himself. To the old I would teach that death comes not with old age but with forgetting.

I have learned so much from you men....I have learned that everybody wants to live at the top of the mountain without realizing that true happiness lies in the way we climb the slope. I have learned that when a newborn first squeezes his father's finger in his tiny fist, he has caught him forever. I have learned that a man only has the right to look down on another man when it is to help him to stand up. I have learned so many things from you, but in the end most of it will be no use because when they put me inside that suitcase, unfortunately I will be dying...

...No one, young or old, can be assured that tomorrow will be there. Today could very well be the last time you see those whom you love. For this reason do not wait any longer, do it today for if tomorrow never comes you would surely regret the day when you did not take the time for a smile, a hug, a kiss and were too busy to concede their last request. Keep your loved ones near you, let them know how much you need and love them and treat them well, take time to tell them "I'm sorry", "Excuse me", "Please", "Thanks" and all the loving words that you know.

- Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Another poem from Goh's website worth reading. It complements Garth Brook's "If Tomorrow Never Comes" pretty well, don't you think. And it also goes in line with what many top motivators and philosophers promotes; DO IT TODAY, NOW. And it also talks of being aware of people around you, and appreciate them regardless of the way they have been treating you.

Interview with God

I dreamed I had an interview with God.
“So you would like to interview me?” God asked
“If you have the time” I said.
God smiled. “My time is eternity”
“What questions do you have in mind for me?”
“What surprises you most about humankind?...”
God answered...
“That they get bored with childhood.
They rush to grow up and then
long to be children again.”
“That they lose their health to make money
and then lose their money to restore their health.”
“That by thinking anxiously about the future,
they forget the present,
such that they live in neither
the present nor the future.”
That they live as if they will never die,
and die as if they had never lived.”
God’s hand took mine
and we were silent for a while
And then I asked...
“As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons
you want your children to learn?”
God replied with a smile
“To learn they cannot make anyone love them.
What they can do is let themselves be loved.”
“To learn that it is not good
to compare themselves to others.”
“To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most,
but is one who needs the least.”
“To learn that it only takes a few seconds
to open profound wounds in persons we love,
and it takes many years to heal them.”
“To learn to forgive by
practicing forgiveness.”
“To learn that there are persons who love them dearly,
but simply do not know how to express or show
their feelings.”
“To learn that two people
can look at the same thing
and see it differently.”
“To learn that it is not always enough that they
be forgiven by others. But that they must forgive themselves.”
“And to learn that I am here always.”

-Reata Strickland-

The above poem was taken from the website by Goh, who also hosted the language tutorial listed on my linkies. Reading it gave me the same vibes I got when I read Fruits Basket; a sense of self-reflecting, a bit of guilt, and realization, that God had never abandoned us human. It was us who turned the other way.

Many times I have encountered people who complained, "If God exists, why didn't He do anything about the sufferings in this world?". I have no answer to that, since I never had the chance to interview God, nor would I have the privilege to do so (for I am a sinner). But I do believe that God wants us to live a life worth living. And to do so, we have to create that life with our own effort. It's not so much of what God has to give, but what we have to offer to the world. Instead of doing something in hope of gaining blessings, why not do it so that God will still bless the world. There is no use of you alone being blessed, while the whole world suffers.

I think it's a good thing that God keep a loose control over what's happening at the moment. If we study the religious texts, many of the previous races and civilizations were destroyed for their religious and nature transgressions. Compared to what are happening today, their acts pale in comparison to ours. If God were to intervene, that would be the end of us all, I think. Because He is benevolent in His blessings, and terrible in His punishment. All shall be blessed, or all shall be punished. Maybe that's why He mentioned in the Muslim Holy Book, Al-Quran, that He "will not help a race unless the race helps itself". If no effort of improvement is being made, there is no way an intervention is going to happen.

Let us learn from this piece of poem, and start making the improvements we need to do. All the best.

Lessons of life from sources unforseen

Finished reading "Fruits Basket" manga. 23 volumes of laughters, smiles, tears, and heart-warming stories. Not to mention, a treasure trove of implementable solutions to our dealings with human emotions and human themselves.

Lately we lack of this kind of reading materials. Something that can actually educate in a manner that people wouldn't thought of. Who would've thought that a comic book could deliver a strong message of love and acceptance better than most parents and motivational speakers? So strong that you could even feel the emotion behind each words.

One of the most striking lines that I've come across in the manga was by Honda Kyoko, the mother of Honda Tohru, the main character: Desire is something everyone is born with, so it's easy to understand. But one's heart is something new created by everyone. So, it's easy to be misunderstood, and easy to be taken as fake. Doubt is something that everyone will experience. But Tohru, you must trust others. You must become a person who can be trusted. You will be able to help others. (Fruits Basket Vol 1, Ch4)

Another line is from the final volume, a thought by Souma Kyou: "To love" does not just mean to love what is before you (the present), but also the past and the future. It could mean to hold all of that. A lot of people who are in love could learn from this line. To love the person you see now, his/her past, and his/her future. I wonder if there are people who are willing to do so nowadays. But if there are, how fortunate for people who hooked up with them. To have someone who loves the current you, the past you, and the future you. Geh, now I'm getting a bit emotional myself, haha.

Well, let's stop here for now. I will need more time to take notes from the series (both anime and manga), so that I could write a decent series of post (Lessons from Fruits Basket). Look forward to it, okay ^_^.

The Citizen Language

Today in The Star, it was report that our National Language is to be identified as "Bahasa Malaysia". Tunku Abdul Rahman had suggested the name long ago as he intended to cultivate a Malaysian identity among the citizen. His suggestion was accepted and thus the name was used until 1986, when the then Minister of Education, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim changed it into "Bahasa Melayu" or Malay Language.

In my humble opinion, this is a good move, not only to remove the psychological and language barrier between the multi races in the country, but also to promote the language at an international level in a cunning way to the tourists. I mean, look at Japan and France, where many of the populace have minimum mastery of English. Any tourists visiting those countries would keep in mind to master some basic conversational phrases to help them survive their visit XD. We should learn from them.

When talking about languages (regardless of which language), we have to be aware that there are 3 major forms of language; formal, conversational, and literature. Formal language is the polite and proper version of the language, used mainly for official purposes. Conversational language is informal, while not in a proper form, it is acceptable and widely used in everyday conversation. This for of language usually includes slangs and terms borrowed (or stolen) from other languages.

In the case of Bahasa Malaysia, the formal for is also known as Bahasa Baku, and you can see its usage in the newsroom and Gerak Khas drama series (which for me is unnecessary, since you can't find people speaking in Bahasa Baku much in real life). The conversational form of Bahasa Malaysia is the more colourful version, with many borrowed and stolen words from not only foreign languages, but also slangs from other ethnics. Wa also call this form "Bahasa Pasar". The literature form of Bahasa Malaysia is rarely used, and the only functions that I can think of that MAYBE use this form of language are the Royal Ceremonies.

I have in my meager list of links a site for you to learn Bahasa Malaysia. In fact, soon I'll be collaborating with the webmaster to provide the audio files for pronunciation of the words. Ah, my angelic (!!) voice is going to be online, available for the net-citizen to listen to. What a thought haha. Do visit the site, and if possible, promote it to others ^_-.

You are treated the way you teach others to treat you

I remember listening to an audio seminar by Wayne Dyer that goes by the title "Secrets of the Universe". In that audio seminar, he spoke of, well, the secret of the universe (duh). Okay, actually he was speaking about one of the key factors that leads to success and fulfillment. And that is we are treated at present the way we taught others to treat us in the past.

After listening to that audio, ponder about some things that we like to complain about, such as, "he thinks that I'm stupid", "you're treating me like a fool", "I am not your slave", etc. We rarely stop, think and consider what have we been doing in the past that led us to being treated in such a way in the present. Because what built us today are the actions in the past, and what build our tomorrow are the actions we take today. If we want to be treated the way we wanted, stop blaming on externalities, and start working on yourself (these are the words of Jim Rohn). Make yourself deserving of the treatment you wanted, and teach others to treat you the way you deserved.

So how do we actually do that? Well, first of all you need to do a lot of self-reflecting. What have I done that I could have done better? Don't feel guilty about it, but rather, be hopeful about it. The next time I face the same situation, I'm reacting a positive reaction to it. And visualize that you're in that situation, reacting to it in a manner you would like best.

What if you have no idea what went wrong? Just visualize how you would like to be treated, and find out what it takes to be treated in such a way. To be respected, you need to respect others. To be acknowledged, you need to acknowledge others and do things that are acknowledgeable. To be recognized, you need to do things that gives you recognition; take professional classes, participate in community service, anything that you love to do. Just do it better and with more passion. That will earn you the right to be treated the way you deserved.

Dr Wayne also tells us that we should stop saying, "could have, would have, should have", because they don't change anything. And that fear is something that we choose. Anxiety is something that does not exist, therefore it cannot give you an attack. He teaches that all the limiting factors in our lives are there because we choose to have them there. And to make them go away, we just have to see the benefits or opportunities we can get from them.

I believe that my words alone are not enough to describe his principles. Therefore I've uploaded the audio files for you to enjoy and share with others. Have fun ^_^.

Secret of the Universe part 1

Secret of the Universe part 2