MH370

First of all my condolence to the husbands, wives, sons and daughters,parents and relatives of the passengers of the lost MH370. I have been following the progress of the SAR from day one and hope that one day it will be found and the truth on what caused it to disappear will come out and bring closure to this sad episode.Let the authorities do their job along with the 26 other countries who chipped in to help locate the MH370. The answer will be in the "Black Box" and once they find it let the truth be known. Meanwhile, i am very disappointed with all the speculations in the social media of conspiracy theories been thrown out all over the place without supporting facts, and also the foreign media using the episode to push their agenda toward the Malaysian government. Worst still those Malaysians who have no qualms painting bad pictures of the authorities in charge of the investigation with their bad comments over the internet. Even the head of the Opposition party going around giving interviews to foreign media giving the impression that the authorities was too slow to react in the initial stage of the search. While everybody is entitled to his own opinion, giving out opinions without knowing the facts or the background of what was happening would not help the situation at all and only complicates the effort to search the plane. The authorities cannot divulge every aspect of the investigation to the media or the public without verification first as it would cause confusion when what was released turned out false. This is not a tv reality show where the public get to see every aspect of the investigation streaming live on tv 24/7. I believed the authority constant media briefings to update them showed the transparent nature of the investigation.So lets be responsible regardless from which political divide we come from and let the authority do their job without distraction. There is plenty of room and time later for anybody who lost their loved ones in the MH370 disappearance to take matter up to the court for compensation. Meanwhile, i urge the authorities to look into the security aspects of the KLIA seriously. I am a frequent flyer and as a matter of fact through my last traveling to Europe from KLIA a few months ago, i could see the difference in the security checks before boarding is so much stricter in other airports like Dubai,Rome and Heathrow,London compared to KLIA. I found the security personnel and even the immigration officers at the KLIA seem too relax. I am not sure why, is it because we want to give the impression to the tourists that everything is so peachy and friendly in Malaysia and there is nothing to be worried about? I am sorry to say that i feel more assured when the security is tough and strict at the airport because we are dealing with a potential lost of lives when things go wrong in the air and we cannot come back and bitch about it to the airport security and airline company, right or not?In the Heathrow Airport, London, every single item my wife brought was scrutinized, i even had to taste the hot water my wife brought to make baby milk for my daughter to make sure it was not dangerous chemical or poison! In the KLIA it was never done, everybody happily boarded their flight except for the standard body scan and metallic object scan. Unless there is a super sophisticated infra-red chemical analysis scanner not seen by us being used by the KLIA without our knowledge,God knows what they missed. The thing it is better to be strict and safe so we passengers can sleep soundly and enjoy the eight hours flight without worrying for our lives. On the Black Box technology installed on-board the commercial air-crafts it seems that the technology used to construct them has not caught up with the time. In an era where you can stream data and video live across the world in real time we are still stuck with hard disk or chips on electronic boards stored inside a shock, heat and waterproofed container with a battery that only lasts a month and we can only know what is stored inside after we have recovered the Black Box and if we ever recovered it? The SAR of the MH370 is still ongoing in the Indian Ocean even after more than 30 days the plane gone missing. By now the battery would have died and the "ping" has stopped. In an area where the ocean depths are more than 4000 meter and where the technology to search at those depths using remote controlled mini-submarines available to a few advanced countries only the task is daunting and will take a long time indeed.Why cant the data be streamed live to a collection center like "cloud" and controlled by the relevant authorities, and the Black Box becomes the back-up in case something really go wrong? Why cant the life span of the battery be extended to five years in case the search for the wreckage takes more than a month like what happened to the Air France in the Atlantic? The battery technology is available as shown by the US DARPA project to put Upward Falling Payload(UFP) at the bottom of the sea for as long as five years and lay dormant until called upon to strike at the enemy underwater and surface vessels anywhere in the world oceans. If we have the technology to cause damage during a war why cant we use the same technology to help humankind for safe travel? I also like to recommend that live video streaming of the cockpit and passengers compartment using hidden cctv cameras in real time so that the flight can be monitored and steps can be taken in advance should anything bad happens during the flight. It is my hope that the SAR of the MH370 ends with the recovery of the plane and the Black Box so the truth of what happened to the plane, its crews and passengers be known and bring a closure to this sad episode. I also hope that a few lessons from this episode can be learnt and implemented by the authorities and aviation industry throughout the world so the MH370 did not perish in vain.

I AM BACK!

I am back! No, not as Terminator but as the Author of this blog who has gone missing and left his blog to rot, my bad! Why the absent? Well I just got bored of internet and busy with other aspects of my life. I also took sabbatical leave from work for more than a year to recharge my battery. After more than 23 years of working in the architectural field I just had to get a long break. So what is up with me lately? Well I have rediscovered my passion for photography and at the same time lost my passion for long love affair with fishing. Fishing is still one of my passions but grew tired of it partly because of a few bad and unproductive trips I had the last time I fished. Hell, the last time I went fishing was two years ago and I had a bad accident on the way back home. My Beemer was wrecked in front, lucky the insurance company paid for all the fixing. But, I was put off by it, and turned down a lot of offer from friends and relatives to go fishing. Instead,i started to pay more attention to photography, a hobby I started 25 years ago when I first bought my Minolta XGM 35mm film camera. Now, I have acquired a Canon system consists of EOS60D, EOS 5D Mark 3 body,L lenses - 24-70mm f4 IS zoom lens, 70-300 f4.5-5.5 IS zoom lens, 400mm f5.6 prime lens,18-135mm 3.5-6.3 IS lens, third party Sigma 150-500 f5-6.3 OS HSM zoom lens,Tamron SP90 f2.8 macro lens and Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 Di zoom lens. On top of those I also bought a Kenko tele-converter and extension tubes. I have also acquired a Panasonic Lumix FZ100 superzoom camera which I bought before all those DSLR equipments I listed above. I was just never satisfied with the picture quality the Lumix produced, so the upgrade to DSLR APSC EOS60D and then to full frame EOS5D just could not be stopped. How much have I spent for the whole thing? Well enough to buy a small car! The good thing about photography is that you do not need water like fishing does. I have specialized in bird photography which is quite demanding on your equipments and techniques. So I spend a lot weekends going away looking for good birding locations like Fraser's Hill and Cameron Highlands just to name a few. I have also created a blog just to publish my work and share my thoughts on birding. Please feel free to visit- lutfialibirding@blogspot.com to see my work.

THE CHOICE WE MAKE OR FATE?

I have been thinking lately about life,how fragile it is. One minute we could be happily living but the next minute we were gone. Some it is their time to go as they reached certain age or due to illness, but a lot died young unnecessarily. Some died because of fate but a lot also died because of bad choices they made.

As a Muslim we were taught to believe in Qadq and Qadr, a predestined life but depending on the choices we make. Confusing? I am not an expert on it so i cannot explain to you without making you more confused. But i believe that there are certain things that will surely happen along the way as the results of our right or wrong choices. As an example, if we get mixed up with the wrong hats despite our parents objections, and get caught breaking the law,and end up in a jail screwing up our lives in the process, then it is our own fault, we cannot blame it on fate. Fate is when no matter how hard we tried to be a good driver by following all the rules and driving carefully,suddenly we hit a pedestrian while trying to avoid a dog running across a street, and we end up in jail. It is cruel and unnecessary, and a life changing episode we wish never happened, but it did because it was fated.Then we started questioning GOD why? The problem is we never get a straight answers like in an E mail or sms. We are supposed to figure out ourselves. To some it is supposed to change some bad attitudes or behaviour that they have, while to others it could be to test their patience and beliefs.

Life is so fragile and when it is so fragile we would want to protect it and value it as much as we can. Like a piece of crystal glass so beautiful to look at but break to hundred of pieces if we drop it and all the beauty is gone in seconds! I see a lot of people especially some youths making the wrong choices by getting involved in dangerous illegal activities like illegal street racings on motorcycles and souped-up cars, and drug consumption during parties which could get them into trouble with the law. All of these in the name of fun and and to be accepted by their peers. But what if in a split second they lost control of their bikes and crashed against the barriers along the road injuring themselves in the process or worse end up dead? What if the drugs they took to get high end up bursting their blood arteries in their brains and caused instant death? All in the name of fun? Is it fun for the parents to find out that they lost their kids in this manner? Who are they going to blame? Are they going to blame themselves for giving too much freedom to their kids? Are they going to blame their kids' friends? The authority? Fate? Or is it the bad choices their kids made? To me it is better to be safe than sorry. There are tough decisions to be made in our lives but decisions made for the long term good are better than the short term gains.

In our lives we are blessed that we are given the opportunities to make the right choices so we can live a long and happy life. We have our parents to give advices based on their experiences in their lives so we do not make the same mistakes that they did. For those who do not have parents, they have friends to give them good advices and guidance. In schools and workplaces there are people who give counseling to help us make the right choices. Then there are public rules, regulations and laws that we have to abide by. There are NGOs out there formed to help the public like the Befrienders who can listen to their problems and give advice. There are columns in the newspapers which are devoted to give advices to anonymous people who are having problems in their lives. You can call Oprah? Well maybe not! Then there is the ultimate guidance on how to live our lives the right way given by the Supreme Judge - The Almighty.

However, despite all these available means to help us make the right decisions and live the the right way, we still incline to go the opposite way,and take the risks for the short term gain and fun, then we shall have no one to blame except ourselves when things go wrong in our lives, especially fate. I urge all of you out there to think of the implications to you and the ones you love before you start making decisions which can change your lives and the lives of others. Some bad decisions can end your life.

HOT HOT HOT

Aaaaargghhhh!!! My head feels like exploding nowadays everytime i go out and about in town. It is not due to the traffic jams or ever increasing cost of living in this big city, but it is due to the one called C or F, or should i say the increase of C or F in the air. I cant remember the last time when the temperature got so hot almost everyday averaging around 38 degrees Celcius and sometime peaks near 40 Celcius! The highest temperature i have ever experienced was 42C in 1995 when i was in Perth, Australia. Breathing the dry air at 42C in Perth was like breathing in a sauna,you could feel the hot air slowly entering your airways and filling your lungs, it was very uncomfortable.

When i was in high school in the 70s the highest temperature never got past 35C i think. But then that was when Malaysia was a lot less developed and the green area coverage throughout the country was more than today. There were a lot less highrise buildings then and less roads too. The number of cars that burn diesel and petrol and release carbon dioxide and monoxide into the air by thousand of tonnes per day were less. There were less factories that release toxic gases into the air back then. We did not have regular occurance of haze as the result of open burning.

So what has happened to our country since the 70s that contributed to this heat or increase warming? I like to call it as collateral damage of a country going through rapid growth to become a developed nation. In my opinion we are trying very hard to achieve the status at the expense of our environment. Now trying to become a developed nation is not a bad thing, it is just trying to do everything in haste without proper planning, monitoring of policies and enforcement will lead to some screw ups now and then, and when we are dealing with mother nature it will somehow strike back at us in some form or another in the future.

In a material world that we live in today, maximum profit overrides everything else. While there are some responsible corporations operate within the by-laws to achieve their targets, there are equal numbers that do not follow the laws and try to bypass procedures and requirements if they could get away with it. Some would lobby the influential people in important positions to get instant approvals when certain requirements have not been met for their projects prior to commencing, i.e Environmental Impact Studies. Then there are those illegal operations that do whatever they like, like land clearing and stealing timbers in forest reserves and conduct open burning in the process. We hear cases like in Cameron Highlands where some farmers cleared the forest areas to expand their farms without approvals. Everyday we lost so many football field size green areas due to legal and illegal land clearings which contributes to the increase in the air temperature we experience today. Less greenery means less shaded areas, less absorption of solar heat and carbon dioxide, and less production of oxygen for us to breath.

While in the cities where population grows at an alarming rate due to the economic factors, land would become scarce and expensive. The demand for housing for a bigger population would force the authorities to improve the increase in density per acre and lead to highrise apartments boom. The concentration of highrise blocks which house thousands of unit of apartment in a small area become the norm in big city like Kuala Lumpur. Just imagine if an apartment has five air conditioning condenser units blowing hot air into the surrounding, what would thousands of units of apartments will do to the temperature of the air in the city? Take this fact with the thousands of office blocks, factories and at least a million vehicles releasing heat everyday so the occupants can be comfortable inside, we will have a city which behave like an oven,baking itself slowly. The hotter it gets outside the more the usage of air-conditioning increase and the more the release of heat into the air, it is a vicious cycle, almost close to insanity.

So what do we do and how do we escape this heat? I am afraid the damage done is quite extensive already in Malaysia but still we could slow down the process if the government of the day have the political will to re-examine certain policies to balance growth of development with environmental conservation. God created trees for the good of mankind. The trees in so many forms give us food,oxygen for us to breath, shade us when it is hot, protect the slopes and from strong winds, they even protect the beach from erosion and tsunamis. But some human failed to see the importance of the trees and replaced them with concrete jungle due to greed and in the name of progress. Well, mother nature has a way to remind us of our mistakes and is telling us to give her a helping hand to help her recover. It will take time but if we ignore the signs we will face bigger danger when the temperature rises higher. As it is now the polar ice caps is slowly melting, the glaciers are melting and the sea level slowly increasing and in the near future a lot of land will slowly be inundated with water.

HARI RAYA AIDIL FITRI

As always after almost a month fasting the Hari Raya fever is getting more intense when the Muslims start to do last minute shopping and preparation for the big day on 1st Syawal. Eventhough the economic slowdown is still lingering in this country it does not stop Malaysians from shopping and hunt for good bargains at popular shopping centers and street shops.

Of course it also attracts the parasites of the society to hunt for their food - pick pockets, muggers, snatchers etc. Yesterday my sister in-law became another victim to the bag snatchers right in front of her house in broad daylight!

There are also those who take advantage of those who unlucky enough not to own their own rides by selling them fake bus tickets with inflated prices. These poor people only realised they were cheated when the bus never showed up. It happens almost every year, somewhere somebody got screwed and it robbed them of the supposedly enjoyable journey home to their villages, what a shame!

For those who are fortunate enough to own their own wheels it is a different story. Every year Malaysians die by the thousands on the road en route to their hometown or kampungs. It has becoming a trend to rush home ala Michael Scumacher by speeding zig zag through the traffic and ignoring the traffic rules. Some could not be bothered with traffic summons, why not? They only need to pay 50% at discounted rate on the net! I know some people who accumulated more than thirty traffic summons which cost thousand of ringgit and they still could not be bothered! I guess they will never stop until they die.

Well i guess it is the same year in and year out, Hari Raya can bring the best and the worse out of Malaysians who claim that they are a well behaved or bersopan society. I beg to differ as this part of our society is going through slow death. In our haste to pile up our wealth and
status in this material world some of us start to stop becoming nice and decent people, social ettiquette has gone down the drain. Some
Muslims have even forgotten the basic teachings of the Rasul s.a.w (peace be upon him), some young generation even abandoned them so
to appear " modern and progressive".

Well, i pray that all Muslims in Malaysia stay faithfull to the teachings of Islam so we can become a stronger Ummah in number and in our belief. I would like to wish all Muslims Selamat Hari Raya maaf zahir batin especially my friends and ex- staff at Sunrise Bhd. Please be patient in adversity and be focus to achieve success.

A GLOOMY WORLD

It has been a while since the last article i wrote at the start of the new year.

I have been "hibernating" like a bear trying to shield myself from all the insanities that have been going around me and the world, and did not feel like writing at all. The problem with hibernating is that sooner or later you have to wake up and face the reality, and the changes that have been happening around you.

Talking about hibernating, i am very worried about the bearishness of our stock market and the trend of going down south is squeezing the wealth of thousands of investors including me. With bills knocking at our doors every month from banks and utility companies, it is quite worrying that one day i might not be able to live up to it. I am sure others will have sleepless nights thinking about it too depending on the extent of their exposures.

Our stock market is so connected to other stock markets' performance world wide especially the Wall Streets and Dow Jones. As the situation in the United States seems bleak despite the US800 billion package announced by Mr Obama, our stock market is dragged down with it to the bottomless pit . This still happens despite the new RM60 billion stimulus package announced by the Deputy Prime Minister the other day. It seems that the loss of confidence in the economic future of Malaysia and the rest of the world is pretty bad.

In Malaysia, a lot of companies have started to take proactive steps to cut operational costs to survive this economic uncertainties. Some have retrenched thousands of workers especially in the manufacturing sectors as demands for product in the export market is reduced. Some have reassigned their staff into different job scopes and sent them for retraining to acquire new skills to cope with future roles. Some who are still strong resort to minor paycuts and benefits. But there will be a time if the situation does not improve, they will have to resort to using more drastic measures that will make life more miserables for the employees. I am sure one day it will happen to me too, no exception.

We are still trying to adjust to the rising food prices due to the increase of petrol and diesel last year which did not slide down as the crude oil price dropped substantially to US47 per barrel as of yesterday, one wonders how is he going to cope with all these pressures. Living in a city like KL nowadays is pure madness on our souls. Highways with tolls with rates keep going up is coiling us like a python slowly tightening its muscle over its victim to a slow and painful suffocated death. Worst still, some idiots are helping giving energy to this beast to allow it to operate as long as it can to suffocate more and more victims. Only after a lot of screaming by the victims, the decision got reversed for now. How can they be so insensitve to the problems faced by most of us to survive during this difficult time, one wonders. I guess we are partly to blame for voting for them.

As we are facing this situation, there is one group of people in Malaysia who are not affected by it at all it seems - our politicians! It is either they are very rich or they are living in a different realm, it must be, since they are not bothered by it all and spend all their waking hours politicking non-stop on the streets, under a tree and all the way to the Parliament! The world and our country is facing an economic meltdown, but in Malaysia they are fighting over the post of Menteri Besar(Chief Minister), new State cars, teaching certain subjects in English, accusing other people of sending them live bullets and saying unstatemenlike words in the Parliament House, fighting over compulsary fish containers, fighting over God's name (funny we have been independent for 52 years, now only people want to fight over Allah's name,why? what purpose does it serve?) challenging the Malay Sultans' rights in courts and many more!

My question to all these smart people is - dont we have enough problems? Are you helping the situation to improve or making it worst to fulfill your self interests and narrow agenda? Are you not afraid that this country will disintergrate to pieces to the point of no return just because you want to win? Is winning everything when everything around you already destroyed?

Remember to destroy is easy( ask Mr Bush), but to build a nation will take years of hardwork. Complaining and opposing other people's ideas and efforts to improve is always easier than coming up with a better one of your own and doing it. I think it is high time to build and strengthen this nation to face the new challenge as one people, one nation.

Outside Malaysia, there is a very dark cloud hovers over the foreign relations between a few countries that is quite worrying.

The latest being the provocation by the US Navy in the Chinese EEZ water. What is the motive behind the US Navy sending the Impeccable ( a submarine tracking ship) so close to China's new Naval base one can only assume. The similiarity to the Gulf of Tonkin episode which was a pretext to the US's involvement in the Vietnam War is worrysome.

In my opinion, provoking a giant like China which has an ever increasing modern military might with nuclear arms is an act of insanity! Furthermore, the US is relying heavily on China to help her coming out of the economic pit as China holds the largest amount of US treasury ( in trillions!) in the world. One can only wonder what will happen to the US if China decides enough is enough of this bullying, and offload the US treasury to the market. It will spell the end of the US and send it back to the Stone Age!

Do not tell me Mr Obama does not know of this danger or is he doing it quitely to take away the domestic attention from the ailing economy? It seems that this tactic is permanent feature in the US Foreign Policy after the WWll. Almost every US President got the US involved in wars in other countries around the world, all in the name of democracy and lately fighting terrorism made famous by "are you with me or against me Bush", and Mr Obama a.k.a "the Messiah" is no exception. The change that he promised to bring to the previous bad policies is just a smoke screen to get him into Office. Now he is doing exactly like what Bush did. To his admirers in Malaysia, so sorry, he is the same as the rest before him, just in the different release version, US President v.44.

The policy of warmongering remain intact as we can see on the promised buildup of troops of 17000 more in Afghanistan by him, and constant harassing of Iran, Syria and North Korea(Axis of Evil). The US keeps implementing policies that in the long run are detrimental to its own domestic interests and the world peace. Mr Obama should have the courage to free his country from unproductive policies and influence of pressure groups within his administration and Israel lobby groups, and bring about real change that he promised his fellow citizens. He should have a stronger control over the 53rd state - Israel, a liability to the US own interests, which is running riot in the MiddleEast and threatening to attack Iran unilaterally if the US fails to persuade Iran to abandon the alleged nuclear programme.

I dread to think what will happen if somebody did a stupid mistake and caused the US to enter into a war with Iran, and Iran retaliates by striking Israel, then the Hizbollah and Hamas decided to join the fight to help Iran, on the other side the US provoked a giant like China into a military confrontation, and North Korea decides to join and help China face the US which will force South Korea and Japan to help the US, and all this happens while the war in Iraq and Afghanistan are ongoing, while Pakistan is facing problem internally with various groups which makes India contemplating a pre-emptive strike to protect herself. What will Britain and Nato countries do to help the US in the fight against Iran? Is Russia going to sit idle? What does this scenario look like? A World War Three? Far fetched?

Believe me it could happen, just observe how every episode is slowly unfolding itself all over the world as though they are being orchestrated by somebody. History will repeat itself if we the human kind are not careful. In the 1930s there was a Great Depression, then there was a great war. Now we are having an economic calamity worst than the Great Depression while conflicts between nations are slowly boiling all over the world. My only hope is that they do not explode into a full scale conflict which drag the whole world into it because that will be too gloomy of a world to face for me, my children and the children of the world.

Lets hope sanity will prevail and we all come out of this in one piece.

Amen.

A DAY IN THE YEAR OF THE OX

Last nite i couldnt sleep at all, for a while i thought i lived in Gaza. The sound of explosion appeared to pop up all over the neighborhood, the air became hazy and the smell of gun powder lingered in the air until early morning. Was Malaysia under attacked? No! It was one of those days when the chinese went all out celebrating their Chinese New Year by shooting fireworks, burning fire crackers and releasing hot homemade hot air balloons all over the place. I thought it was illegal to sell or shoot those fireworks, there laws created for those things but then again enforcement is another matter. I do not think the Police can do anything as the fireworks are all over the place.

I think it is alright to let people celebrate as long it does not get carried away to the extent properties are damaged. During this depressive financial turmoil, it is good to let people have a good time and forget their problems for a while. At least i enjoyed a good colourful display of fireworks from my balcony in peace, not like those unfortunate Palestinians in Gaza where the next fireworks they see will result in their houses demolished or their relatives killed.

I pray to God to save this people from further cruelty and let them live in peace.

We Malaysians are very lucky people as we dont have to go through life threatening situations like in some countries. I guess we take it for granted that it will never happen to us that we start to make problems for ourselves.

Take for instance the political scene in Malaysia we are experiencing now. Accusations of corruptions and playing up the racial sentiments by certain groups never fail to appear in the local papers. Never, ever it has sunk to such a low level that ruling party and opposition will do anything to outdo each other in order to be in power. It makes me sick to see that people's interests are no longer the ultimate drive to hold the office. Defections to the opposite parties becoming the trend of the day? For what if it not for personal interest, position or power? If one believes so much in the philosophy of another political party, why didnt he/she join it before the 2008 election? Why did he defect after he was elected under a different banner? When this happens, who is going to pick up the tab for the by-election? Why waste the public money so they can further their political ambition? Dont we have enough problems during this financial crisis?

It seems that politics plays a strong role in the Malaysian lives. It even has crept into the sports fraternities courtesy of those politicians and royalty who feel they can contribute something to the sports. The truth is they do more damage to the sports than improving them.

The recent debacle of the national football team's lost by a five goal margin has stirred up a big huha which eventually resulted in the sacking of the coach, and the team manager who is an ex-international who has contributed to the Malaysian team's success in the past more than the FAM big guns put together! The joke is the real team manager who is a well known politician is left off the hook which baffles me big time!

It seems that FAM should be accorded a gold medal for their ability to hire and sack the most number of coaches in the last twenty over years, and yet managed to shield themselves of any blame for the state of football in Malaysia. This can only happen in Malaysia ( Malaysia Boleh!!!),whereas in other parts of the world even being second at the end of the season will bring sacking to the coach and management. We need to purge this body of all unqualified people who never kick a ball from sitting in positions which ultimately determine the future of Malaysian football. The question is will they resign? Do not hold your breath!

As we usher in the Year of The Ox, we need to remind our selves to work hard and preservere to succeed during this hard times. We need to focus and rid ourselves of the unproductive attitudes, improve our morales and ethics (especially politicians) and be accountable for our actions. Tolerance and respect has to be restored so we do not be consumed by the in-fighting that can eat up our nation.

SO WHAT IS NEW?

Happy New Year to everyone, eight days late but what is the rush? I never bothered to go out and celebrate the end of 2008 and ushering the new year of the Ox. I just let the clock ticked past twelve midnight and missed the fireworks, what the hell, it happens every year anyway. For me, 2008 is the year to forget that i ever lived through it. So many bad things happened to me of epic proportion that i welcome some mental lapse if possible, amnesia they call it.

So what is new for this year 2009? Despite my wish for a better world, the year started off on a bad note. The Middle East is burning again courtesy of the Israel regime to oust Hamas. This episode is like a re-run of old movies which never ends. Until and unless somebody who are influential like the US, Britain, France and Russia are serious and honest in looking for permanent solutions start acting to solve the issue, we are not going to see much changes on CNN or BBC coverages and headlines for the rest of 2009 and even next couple of years. OIC cannot do much more than issuing rhetoric statements, and the world just can go to the streets at most to protest the invasion by Israel.

Meanwhile the outgoing Mr Bush supported Israel's action saying they are justified in retaliation to Hamas rockets. For Mr Bush Israel citizens have the right to live in peace at all cost but not the Palestinians. They have suffered for years from Israeli war machine and the blockade that has denied them every basic human needs from free movement to supply of food and medicine, and also economic activities. What are the Arab countries doing to support the Palestinians other than condemning the invasion? Nothing! Why? Because their governments also rely on the US for support. The irony is that the US wants to be the middle man to solve the issue despite their bias towards Israel! Go figure!

Economy wise, 2009 does not look too promising also for the whole world. The US is still trying to figure out how to get out of the mess it creates due to greed. Two over million people in the US are out of jobs and more are to be retrenched. Mr Obama is starting to get a headache even before assuming the Office, courtesy of Mr Bush bad handling of the economy and over spending on his war machine in Iraq and Afghanistan. The rest of the world including Malaysia starts to feel the fever when the US falls sick. We can stop dreaming about salary increase, hefty bonus and other allowance as companies start to go into contigency plans just to survive the next few years.

Personally, looks like there will be less holiday or fishing trips for me, less movie outing, less Kentucky Fried Chicken dinners, postponement of a new car purchase, less shopping (although my wife may not agree!), more home cook meals and sitting on the sofa staring at the idiot box!

People say history will always repeat itself and those who do not learn from history are the worst fools you can find on this planet. I have been through 1987, 1997 recessions, so what is new?

TERRORISM IS NOT ISLAMIC

Islamic terrorism, that is what they like to term it everytime there is a violent episode of public massacre carried out by terrorists who happened to be Muslims. In the wake of Mumbai massacre at the Taj Mahal Hotel, Oberoi Hotel, the Jewish centre and the train station, which should be condemned in the strongest term by every individual regardless of race and religion, the media are so quick to call it Islamic Terrorism equivalent to 9/11 in New York in 2002.

Why is the media love to use the term so much, and associates the religion to the act of terrorism when Islam never teaches its followers to do such a violent act especially against the innocent public? Why were the IRA were not called Christian Terrorists, or Sri Lankan Tigers called Hindu Terrorists. Why only Islamic Terrorists? I think the term used is an injustice to Islam as it implies that Islam is a religion of violence and every Muslim is a possible terrorist.

There are over a billion Muslims in this world who came from so many countries and from so many races. China has more than 30 millions Muslims, more than the whole population of Malaysia of 27 millions. Indonesia has more than 200millions Muslims, then there are Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Arab countries, Russia, Albania, Bosnia, Turkey, Philliphines, Nigeria and so many more including the United States and Great Britain. In the US, Islam is the fastest growing religion nowadays.

The term which is popularly used by CNN and BBC, has created a phobia against Islam intentionally or not. In the US, the 9/11 and the continuos emphasis on the term Islamic Terrorism, has made their citizens so scared of anybody looking like Arabs. A lot of the arrested suspects believed to be Arabs extremists turned out to be Sikhs from India. This is the result of stereotyping certain look to certain race and religion, generalization that Muslims are terrorists, Muslim countries are terrorist states. I wonder who created all these to suppot their narrow agenda?

I think the act of violence by those who happened to be Muslims are part of their struggles related to the issues of freedom, independence, politics and vengence in their countries, the act has nothing to do with Islam. The only way to fight terrorism is to find the root causes of disatisfaction or anger, and remove it by offering amicable solutions.

We could trace most of the violent acts by the Arabs regardless of their countries to the issue of occupied lands by Israel, and the injustice toward Arabs in occupied territories. The US has not done enough on this issue through so many peace process and keep failing because the solutions offered were lopsided in Israel's favor. By supporting Israel in terms of moral, monetary and military technologies, the US is seen as the enemy by certain groups of etremists.

The massacre in Mumbai is related to land and independence of Kashmir which is sandwiched between India in the south and Pakistan in the north. India and Pakistan has fought three wars over this mountainous land over the last few decades. The terrorists who were killed in Mumbai last week were believed to have originated from Kashmir according to the Indian intelligence. They also used the act as a vengence against the US, Great Britain and Israel for all the involvement in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan, hence why they were very specific in looking for the tourists who come from these countries. The act as nothing to do with Islam as a religion!

Malaysia used to fight terrorism from after the Japanese left right up to 1986 in the form of Malayan Communist Party. The majority of the guerillas were chinese who subscribed to the ideology tied to Peking eventhough they came from rural towns in Malaysia. Majority of them were Buddhist, but the British back them never called them Buddhist terrorist because it was not proper and will reduce support from the local chinese who did not subscribe to MCP ideology. The British and their Malayan counterparts had launched the heart and mind campaign, introduced steps that removed the reason for the arm struggle among the people and eventually eliminated the threat of communism totally in 1986 via a peace treaty signed in Thailand.

The world should learn from the Malaysian experience in fighting terrorism instead of creating more Islamic Phobia by associating a terrorism act to a religion, instead of the nationality of the terrorists. They should investigate deeply into the root cause that managed to turn a group of young kids into a group of ready-to-die terrorists. Most of them requires permanent political solutions from the related governments.

There is a saying that goes " one man's terrorist could be another man's freedom fighter". Hopefully,we do not have to deal with both versions if we all could solve our differences amicably at the table with a cup of tea and a lot of smiles.

FATWA

This morning paper is buzzing with objections over the latest fatwa issued by the Malaysian National Fatwa Council against practicing Yoga. This came a few weeks after declaring another controversial fatwa on Tomboy and Lesbianism. I myself could not believe what i read.

First thought came to mind was that was it necessary to issue a fatwa (religious ruling) on such an issue and whether an in-depth study on the necessity and effect on the believers directly and unbelievers indirectly was done.

What is a fatwa? Well, it is a religious ruling issued by the religious authorities like imams and muftis who sit on the panel on issues which are not so clear and can affect a Muslim. They are supposed to be a guide when one is not so sure if an activity or thing is haram or not. Subjects which are not clearly mentioned in the Quran (words of God) or the Hadith (the sayings of the Prophet) may require a ruling done as there are many conflicting opinions by various parties regarding the issues. The problem with fatwas in Islam is that once they are issued they become enforceable and therefore those who do not follow it may be subjected to legal implications if they are enforced.

But in the subject of faith which is the core of religious practice of any religion, whereby a person upon confession of one's belief in God and His messenger, the person is to submit himself to all its practices, tenets and do's and dont's as to reflect his commitments as a believer. This unwritten contract between a believer and his God and how good he practices it forms the basis of judgement by God onto him which to affect his rewards in the hereafter. A person may call himself a Muslim because he was born to a Muslim parents, but if he does not practice all the tenets of Islam, he is just a plain Muslim by name. Along his long and winding life, he will face many tests on his faith, situations that may call upon his moral judgement, friends ask him to drink alcohol at a bar or commit adultery or take drugs for instances, how he handles these situations will reflect what kind of Muslim he really is. God will test every believer in many forms throughout their lives so He could reward them and those who failed are given plenty of chance to redeem themselves before they move to the next life.

The question that i want to ask is do we need to be guided every step of the way on every issue with endless rules and fatwas so our iman (faith) is not easily eroded? Are we so fragile that we need such protection? Didnt our parents and education system prepare us enough on the fundamentals of being a Muslim so we can set on a life journey on the right path? Arent we given the minds (akal) to differentiate between what is right, halal and wrong, haram when we come across one in our path? Personally, i would prefer to be tested to the limit on my faith and come out victorious without somebody holding my arms, at least i know i got what it takes to be a good Muslim. In my life, i have been through many tests on my faith, and i am pleased to come out in one piece.

I believe many Muslims are strong in their faith and can tell the difference between right and wrong. A simple activity like Yoga if taken as an exercise to strecth sore and stiff bodies would not erode one's faith. I think most people would know once an exercise becomes entertwined with religious practices and would withdraw if they feel in conflict with their faiths. The religious bodies should stop treating the Muslims in this country like kids as they are matured and well educated and changing with the times. They should concentrate on serious issues which are more of urgent nature like Mat Rempit, money politics, bribery, misuse of power, drug usage, premarital sex among Muslim teenagers, husbands who mistreated their wives, deviationist teachings etc.

If they do need to clarify certain religious issues which are not clear, maybe it should be in a form of advice and not fatwas. Let God decide whether a believer is true to his faith and deserve the rewards in the hereafter, who are we to play God?

DEJA VU

Barely one week after Barrack Obama won the 2008 US Presidential Election, i start to have a bad feeling that the shadow of the old US is still around and kicking. Mr Obama has not even moved in into the White House yet, the IAEA came up with a report that a very minute trace of Uranium was found at the site of the Syrian nuclear reactor site which was bombed by the Israelis. Does this sound familiar? Of course they said it is not enough to prove anything but further probe is required at selected Syrian military sites. The Syrian expectedly will say no as it will affect their security especially when they know who are pulling all the strings - the US and Israel.

To me, the Uranium could have come from anywhere especially the depleted Uranium bombs are used by the US in Iraq and Afghanistan and i am not surprised that the Israelis have them too, and used them in the bombing of the Syrian nuclear site. But like always, the Americans, British, French, Germans and other allied countries are starting to rally around the table to form a pressure group on Syria and eventually like always will use the UN Security Council to pass resolution after resolution which eventually will translate into the US unilateral military action - further bombing of Syria, and another Iraq in the making, mark my word! This looks like Iraq Part 3 as Part 2 is in the making with Iran.

We of course cannot blame Mr Obama for this as Mr Bush is still calling the shot and i am sure he will try to whack Syria before he leaves the Oval Office. It looks like Mr Obama will be under a lot of pressure to deal with this new issue as failure to deal with it will make him look weak through the eyes of the Jewish supporters and lobby groups that helped him win the election. His new Chief of Staff is a jew and will influence him heavily with the pro-Israel policies for the years to come. If he went along using military solutions like Bush did, he will kill all the expectations of the millions of American and the rest of the world have, when he promised change on the day he won the election.

Mr Obama has a unique opportunity now not to follow the old ways used by his predecessors to deal with these kind of issues which never solved any problems, and used a softer approach of negotiation and positive reinforcements in his foreign policies. The main problem that he will face are the people surrounding him who will bombard him with all kinds of advice. Some are hawkish who prefer bomb first and ask questions later, while some others prefer engaging through negotiations which are slow.

The Middle Eastern countries have been victims of years of lop-sided US foreign policy which has always favoured Israel. This has caused a lot of suffering ,and killing the hope of every Arab on the streets for peace and freedom they enjoyed before 1948, when Israel was illegally formed through the help of the British, French and the US. It is time that Mr Obama, the Messiah of Change(i hope), put a stop to all this and bring real peace to that region and eventually other parts of the world.

A NEW ERA

Congratulations! Barrack Obama has done it, he has won the 2008 Presidential Election by beating Senator McCain and in the process become the first ever black president in the 232 years history of the United States of America. The people of the US are in euphoria with their newly elected president who represents change and new ways of administrating the US and the world affairs.

We in the third world countries are also hoping that with the departure of Bush and his people, the US would hopefully change for the better especially in their foreign policy which has caused so much problems to other countries. We hope the US will be more responsible and not biased in dealing with certain countries especially Islamic countries and stop using the instrument of war to pressure and bully others into compliance. Wars should not be used to distract the people from the real issues at home and to cover the administration weakness to handle the economy which has put the US on the brink of the worst recession since 1930. The US also should stop lumping together all the Arabs and Islamic countries into stereotyped grouping as terrorist states, thus putting a barrier for better relationship in the future. Mr Obama hopefully will not walk down this path and make the same mistakes his predesessors had done in the past especially with the background that he has growing up in the Muslim majority Indonesia and having a Kenyan origin.

We also hope the US will be really impartial in solving the Middle East conflict between Israel and Palestin which is really the source of all the militant movements in the Middle East and Arab countries. Should Mr Obama sings the same songs like the previous Presidents in the peace accord which leaning toward Israel, i am afraid there will be no end to the conflict. The problem of terrorism ( fighting for freedom to the Palestinians) needs to be solved at the root and hopefuly Mr Obama understands this and have the courage and charisma to gain support among his countrymen in the Congress to solve it once and for all.

The victory of Barrack Obama is the victory for the colored people and defeat for white supremacy in the US. The Black people have been treated with indifference for so long even before the civil wars in the 1700s up to the mid 60s and the present day. I remember when i was growing up in the early 60s, the black movement were very active in order to gain equal rights. They were discriminated almost everywhere. There were White bars only, in buses the black sit on one side and white on the other, up to World War 2 there were no black soldiers batallion except the Triple Nickle Battalion 555 Paratroopers, even then they were not allowed to fight in the WW2. Names like Malcom x and Martin Luther King are the symbols of the fight to gain equal rights, unfortunately they died at the hands of those who wished to keep the status quo. But now, i guess the Americans have matured after 232 years of independence in choosing a person based on his leadership qualities, his visions and hope that he can bring America into greatness again and liked by the whole world.

We hope Mr Obama can fulfill his promises he gave throughout his campaign trail and bring positive changes to America. The world is watching and hoping that this is the beginning of a new era.

THE SPIRIT IS STILL ALIVE

I went to a Hari Raya open house on Sunday which also fell on the Deepavali Day held by my malay neighbour in the condo i just moved in. I hardly know him but have talked to his friendly wife on the way to the lift one day and she invited me and my family to attend.

Upon entering the crowded hall i was a bit uneasy as i didnt know most of the crowds let alone the MC. My neighbour introduced me to her charming husband and we helped ourselves to the buffet line.

I could not help but notice among the crowds the different races of the attendees -Malays, Arabs, Chinese and Indians. It is more glaring that some of the Indians are very cheerful and acting like a co-host welcoming and wishing the guests. I am very pleased to see that the spirit of friendship is still alive and strong among Malaysians despite what has happened recently in relation to the government's decision to ban Hindraf as an unlawful organisation. I guess not everybody in Malaysia prescribes to extreme idealogies and methods to resolve one's grouses. Open House by various ethnics can help bring the people closer and strenthen the relationship and should be continued. We can have our differences but must not allow it to divide us and cause hatred.

To our Indian friends, i would like to wish Happy Deepavali to all.

SELF TERMINATION

As i sit inside my room and stare out my window towards the half bald hills due to the construction clearing, i just wonder why there are so many problems in this world nowadays. How did we get to this point?

There are countless problems that we are facing ranging from the environmental degradation due to uncontrolled developments like the reduction in green areas which contributed to global warning, siltation and choking of our rivers that can kill the fishes and also cause flooding, uncontrolled disposal of toxic waste that ends up in the food chain, human conflicts with countless wars and disputes over land, honor (and women sometimes!), sovereignty, difference in values in religion, race and cultures, politics and the very latest economic meltdown world wide.

We as a human race are going towards self termination. We do not need the Terminator as we are good in destroying everything around us including our fellow human. The most intelligent animal on this planet - us the Homo Sapien are not so intelligent in the long run. Billions of dollars are spent to build things that are destroying the planet in the name of progress of mankind and economic returns with deadly after effects to the environment. Global warming is on the rise and the sea level is increasing. We are destroying the only planet that supports life so far. Instead of spending money to fix this problems on Earth, we spend billions of dollar for a mission to Mars to study why a planet used to support life once became a barren field of rocks and lost its atmosphere. Now there is only signs of ancient rivers and and atmosphere full of CO2. All the water had dissappeared and become ice in the poles. It is ironic, we have to spend so much to find an answer at a distant planet when we can see the problems right here on Earth and have a chance to do something about it before Earth turns into Mars. But nobody want to spend the same amount of money to clean and revitalise this Earth.

Unfortunately, human cannot see eye to eye to do something about it due to their own selfish reasons. Politics and greed are at the center of it all. If there is nothing to gain, there will be no action to change.

We spend billions of dollars to produce more and more advance weapons to protect us against fellow human beings due to our fear and obsession with supremacy but reluctant to spend a fraction of that to help other human beings who are facing problems to get basic necessities in other part of the world like Africa. Wars have become an instrument of business to certain countries to enrich themselves. Human lives no longer have values, casualties in wars are treated as a statistic figure. The mighty feeds over the weak and defenceless.

Human species used to be one until the migration to the various parts of the world. With the creation and evolution of different races, the disparity in values and cultures and religions eventually become greater and greater. Differences in race and religions caused a lot of friction which eventually led to wars. Conflicts become more complicated with the difference idealogy in politics. There are conflicts within the same races and political party, conflicts with different races and different political parties, and the same goes for religions.

In Islamic religion, there are so many sects with different teaching, each claiming better than the other. The Sunnah Sect and the Syiah Sect are at odds with one another and sometimes led to animosity among followers. Christianity is not spared either, there are the Catholics, Protestants,

Lutheranss and Presbysterian to name a few. Other religions have different sects too i am sure. Conflicts happen between different religious followers too as can be seen in the series of Crusade Wars between the Muslims and the Christians in the 11th and 12th Century. The effects is embedded until the modern day among the two followers. Bush called the Gulf War as the New Crusade at the beginning and then changed it to Freedom War, but is it?

Now, it is a different kind of war happening around the world -The Bailout Wars! In the quest to make more and more money by the big banks in certain countries, have mismanaged their loan practices by giving loan to people many times the level the are able to service them. Eventually the NPL(non performing loans) becomes bigger and bigger until the banks themselves requires to be saved as they lost money big time! The US government had to give US700 billion bailout to rescue her economy. This problem has spread to other continents with deadly repurcussion - world wide recession and probably a Depression worse than the 1930. The effects of recession are endless, loss of jobs, houses, family breakdown, increase in crime, increase suicide, depression,migration to better countries not affected and many more!

My my, what are we going to do? How do we solve all these problems that fill every corner of our minds everyday? Do we have the will power to look beyond our differences in race, religion, status, political stance and selfish interests to overcome these problems one by one and save our selves and this planet so that there is hope for a better tomorrow? Can we overcome our animosity and greed to take the first step? I say why not, cause if we dont we are going towards self termination as a species, i am very sure about it!

VILLAINY WEARS MANY MASKS

"Villainy wears many masks, nothing worse than the mask of virtue" said Johnny Depp in the Sleepy Hollow movie i watched last night. Wow, what a great line!

In reality that saying holds true in many instances. We have seen how greed and passion even got the best of the rich and respected members of the society. Some are businessmen, politicians and even royalties. They got involved in many scandals that defies belief. The latest trends is using the mask of religion to gain respect and positions and to support one's cause.

In Muslim countries, putting up a robe and keep a beard automatically earn a respect as you appear to be a pious man, religiouslly trained and should be respected. However, there are many occassions that this technic is used for the wrong reasons to achieve personal agendas. There are syndicates going around collecting donations at local mosques by men in robes claiming that the money will be channelled to the orphanage etc. Sometimes they would go house to house especially in the rural areas where the folks are unsuspecting and naive. Those more sophisticated, would organise to make it look as though they are legitimate religious organisations, by forging fake approvals from certain ministry for their activities.

I wonder whether these people have any conscience and knows what is right and what is wrong. They believe that as long they are not caught right handed it is alright. I guess money and personal gains are more powerful motives that outweigh the risks.

In the political world, especially in Malaysia, politicians also wear many masks to achieve their agendas. Their masks can be changed daily depending on issues brought up by the media and what are there to gain. Today they are in the ruling side wearing one mask, tomorrow they are on a different side wearing different masks. Then there are those always wearing the same masks and always on the same side, the only thing to wonder is whether the masks they wear are actually representing their true selves.

I think the public have to be weary and not to be too trusting nowadays when evaluating other people personalities and beliefs by not putting too much weighting to their exterior facades and the titles they hold. Nowadays we see lot of villains drive Mercedes cars to commit robbery, some cases of misusses of funds by the people with the titles MD, Dato or Tan Sri, and sexual crimes committed by some religious schools teachers with the title of Ustaz. Even there a few cases where some members of the Police Force got into trouble as reported in the papers. But, there are still a lot of good people left in this world to give hope to the human race that all is not lost, good will prevail over evil.

SHOW ME THE MONEY!

" Show me the money!" Tom Cruise said in one of his movies. I am afraid nowadays people are having problems to show their money due to the value of their savings shrinking by the day.

The cost of living is sky rocketing in the metropolitan areas and slowly increasing in the suburbs and rural areas. The prices of essential items are on the rise thanks to the petrol price increase lately. Yesterday petrol price reduction to Rm 2.30 per liter did no translate to an instant reduction in the food items. So the people are complaining and blaming the unscrupulous suppliers for not reducing their prices. Eventually all costs will be handed over to the consumers, that is the nature of the business chain.

When i was growing up in the 70s and 80s, things were much simpler. I was given a 20sen allowance to go to primary school. With that i used 10sen for bus fare to and fro, 5 sen for a glass of orange juice and 5 sen for a piece of cake during recess. During secondary school, my allowance was raised to 50sen and eventually a ringgit by 1979. Bus fare shot to 40 sen to and fro by the end i finished school and went to university in the States. Roti canai back then was only 20sen and a stick of satay was only 15sen the most. A brand new car Mitsubishi Galant was only Rm9000 during the mid 70s! Back then if your brothers or sisters were getting salary around RM1000 plus, it was considered high. Our electricity bill never exceeded Rm20! A liter of petrol was less than 50sen! and best of all it only cost us Rm1.65 to watch a movie sitting in a first class section!

Fast forward to today where we claim to have to have much improved and becoming a developed nation by 2020. A liter of petrol costs Rm2.30 yesterday, a bag of 5kg local rice cost RM18++, a piece of roti canai costs almost a ringgit, a movie ticket cost Rm11.00, an entry car like Kanchil cost around Rm30,000, and a bottle of mineral water is more expensive than a liter of petrol back then! How much things have changed and the value of money has shrunk! An engineer or architect with an average salary of Rm6000 will struggle to pay for car loan, house loan and keeping a kid or two! He also has to struggle with tolls, increase in car maintenance, tax, increase in medical bills etc. Yesterday i was shocked when a clinic charged close to Rm100 for flu medicine for both of my kids! The cost of everything around us jumped by leaps and bounds but yet the salary increase is very slow at a snail pace. A lot of people have to do two jobs to survive. With the recession around the corner, God knows the hardship these people are going to face. Of course, the rich are getting richer by the day and have no inkling of this or would not care less. The irony is that a lot of them used to be poor! The politicians only stick their necks out only there is something to gain. They are more concerned about taking care of their corporate friends' interests. Mr PM asked us to change our lifestyles and save a lot, question is what is there to save?

Tun Mahathir was right, protect the buying power of consumers by making the value of money high, and keeping the cost down. If need be, repeg the ringgit at certain level. The economy is now export oriented, that is why the government does not want to repeg the ringgit because by keeping the ringgit value low there will be more export to foreign countries bringing in cash flow to the country. But with ringgit value low the import stuffs will be expensive for the local consumers thus reducing the paying power and value of money. A right balance need to be found fast by the government to keep the economy healthy and the people happy.

Otherwise, we cant show you the money as none is left to show!

A BIT OF EVERYTHING, A WHOLE OF NOTHING

I came across a saying today in the internet that goes " it is better to have a bit of everything than to have a whole of nothing!".

I find the saying very interesting and powerful.

I see today in Malaysia, there are groups of people who want to be whiter than white in name of absolute democracy and freedom. They are asking for abolition of all sorts of laws perceived as draconian like ISA. They claimed to represent the majority of the population when in fact there are just a minority who have their own agendas.

Everyday they pick on issues to make the government look bad and go on whitch hunt in the blaming game. They claimed they are being oppressed and have no qualm complaining to foreign governments for assistance, so the elected government can be pressured to give in to their demands. Small issues are fanned everyday to become big issues which can cause cracks in this multi-ethnic and multi-religion society. All in the name of justice, transparency and democracy.

But i wonder, if Malaysia is so bad, why still stay and along the way make a fortune for themselves and families? Why people from other countries are trying their best to come here and settle down legally or illegally? Why not these people go to the United States or UK or Australia, the cradle of democracy? Is it because they wont survive there as newcomers because these countries practice double standards, discrimination, tough immigration laws and also not perfect in their administration?

There are no governments on this planet Earth who are perfect, democratic or socialist countries lumped together. As long human are called human, there will be imperfections in making laws, governing and so on. There will be bias depending from which eyes you are looking from. However, imperfections can be improved and fixed with proper discussion, negotiations and trials and errors.

Creating havoc and chaos to get one's wishes may not be the best way in this land. We have come a long way and become more civilised since the last millenium. Street demonstration and crashing somebody festive celebration with demands are not the way to go in Malaysia. It just creates more hate and hate is not a good thing. Negotiations and tactful discussions will bring the best results. Malaysia also got her independence without firing a single bullet. She is a young country of 51years only, surely one cannot expect it to be perfect in every way compares to the more developed countries in the West. Even these countries are not perfect, so be patient.

It is better to have a bit of everything than having a whole of nothing. Malaysia will be nothing if it crumbles under never ending chaos and internal conflicts. We do not want that do we?

DATUKSHIP A.K.A LORDSHIP

I came back to KL from the Hari Raya trip up north a week ago after a week away. I was recharged a bit after a hectic two weeks of moving house and raya celebration. The traffic was not so bad on the highway as most folks had come back to KL a lot earlier.

I find KL is still the same since i left. Malaysia is still the same with a lot of thorny issues cropped up here and there. Latest hot topic is the award of the Datukship (Lordship) title fom the Chief Minister of Malacca to an Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan from India.

Do not get me wrong, i have no personal issue with Mr Khan as i have watched a few of his movies which includes Kuch Kuch Ho Ta Hei and Akbar The Great. I personally think he is one of the best Indian actors in India along with Amitah Bachan and the Kapoors. The issue which is making it hot is why him?

The Datukship or Lordship title is bestowed by the Sultans, Chief Ministers and Federal Territories MP onto outstanding individuals for their achievements and contributions that benefit this country. Occassionally, non-citizens will be awarded also like Datuk Jean Todd from the Ferrari team. In this case, it could be for the intangible contribution like buying an island in the state of Terengganu for his second home which inturn tie the Ferrari name with Malaysia, therefore indirectly promoting Malaysia's name overseas. The act of awarding the Lordship by the United Kingdom government to outstanding individuals is quite similar although not so rampant.

So, it is the power that be's prerogative to give the award after considering certain criteria whether the individual deserve the award or not. The controversy is not on its right to give the award but the person the award is given to. What has Mr Shah Rukh Khan has done to deserve the award? The papers said because he chose one site in the state of Malacca to shoot his latest film therefore indirectly promoting the state's name. Hmmm...we better wait to watch the movie whether the state's name was even mentioned, otherwise it will be a joke on the Chief Minister. But by the same criteria, there are a lot of local actors and movie makers who used Malacca as their movie backdrops, why are they not given the same title? Why are we very quick to award foreigners the prestigious title and failed to treat the locals with the same respect? And to add salt to the injury, Mr Khan never showed up to receive the award which speaks volume of what he thinks of the award. This is not the Oscar award in Hollywood where you could ask your manager to receive on your behalf, this a Datukship award! How would the Queen of England feel if i did not show up for OBE award personally on that day?

I think, the power that be has to be more strict on the selection criteria to award the Datukship title to anybody to safeguard its prestige. The locals who have contributed so much for the nation should be given priority. Those fallen heroes of WWII and during the Communist Insurgency and Confrontation with Indonesia should be awarded and given lifetime allowance to their families for their contributions. There are still unsung heroes among our brave soldiers who are still alive deserve the title more than Mr Khan does. The veterans of the local film industries deserve the title more than somebody who lives in another continent 3000km away. Hell!...i myself also deserve the title for paying thousands of ringgit every year to the taxman for the last 20 years so Malaysia can have development budget to work with and prosper! So how come i am not getting one?

In the 1980s to 2000, i think there was an explosion of Datukship awards to almost any Tom, Dick and Harry in Malaysia which reached a stage like this joke implies " if you throw a stone along the Chowkit Road crowd, most likely it will fall on somebody with a title Datuk!". There were even some cases where some Datuks were found to have criminal background, and the title had to be retracted by the Sultan. There were also cases reported in the papers that a Datukship title can be bought with the right connection which tarnishes its image.

I hope the power that be, be more carefull and give more thoughts before simply awarding any member of the society or foreigners the Datukship title so it will not become an issue. Malaysia i think has the highest ratio of individuals with Datukship title per million of her citizens! Malaysia boleh spirit? or a good entry into Books of Records?

AFTER PETROL WHAT IS NEXT?

The petrol supply and its price is the lifeline of a country's economy and survival. Too much supply or the lack of it will affect the health of the country. However it is the price increase that is more worrisome as it will affect everything from transportation to electricity bills and cost of thousand items. We can see the effect of the spiraling food prices in Malaysia recently when the government decided to incease the petrol price at the pumps from RM1.97 up to RM2.70 in response to the global crude oil price increase to close to US140 per barrel. Eventhough as an exporter of crude oil, Malaysia has a lot to gain when the price of crude goes up in terms of the country revenue, the effect of the petrol price increase is a political suicide. Too low of the price will reduce Malaysia's income which can be used to support her budget to develope the country, too high a price will increase the inflation rate.

It is estimated that Malaysia's reserve of oil can only last at the most for another 10 years while the gas reserve can go another 20 years. What is next after that? Are we going to be the net importer of oil and at the mercy of oil producing countries?

As a sovereign nation, it is imperative for Malaysia to start looking and researching for the next alternative to produce energy to feed her industries and common use. Malaysia is currently relying on petrol, coal and hydro to produce eletricity. However, the cost of supply of petrol and coal is increasing which will translate to higher bills for the people. The use of dams are clean but might not be sustainable from the point of view of environmental issues.

Malaysia needs to invest money into research of using the solar, wind and as a last resort the nuclear technology to cater for her needs beyond the 21st century. The use of solar and wind power to generate the electricity will be a bit subjective as Malaysia has a large cloud covers over her skies, and sustained blowing wind will depend on locations and season. However, their usage can help reduce dependency on petrol. A lot countries in the world are already using these two methods to reduce their dependency on petrol. Some countries are using the power of the waves along their shoreline to produce electricity to supply small towns. This method can be tested for eastcoast towns in Malaysia where the waves can reach 1.5m for a few months of the year.

The last and most controversial method is the usage of nuclear reactors to produce steams to push the turbines. Nuclear has a long life span of 100 years if i am not mistaken, however it is costly and takes about 15 years to construct, and have a few environmental issues as can be seen in the Chernobyl episode in Russia. But, with a proper planning and management the risks can be reduced and the people of Malaysia can see affordable electric bills hopefully. I believe Malaysia has commenced a research on nuclear on a small scale years ago, what the government needs to do now is pouring more money in this field and start courting with friendly nations like Russia and China for technical assistance in erecting the reactors.

Why am i only suggesting Russia and China and not the US? Well, i believe the US policy in relation to nuclear issues is inconsistent depending on her interest as can be seen in the case of Iran. Russia and China tend not to mix other issues with business unlike the US. With the Islamic phobia going on around the world due to 9/11, will Malaysia being an islamic country going to cause concern by going nuclear? Well, i think it is worth a try for the sake of its people.

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

The US is experiencing another economy turmoil with massive bailouts of Lehman Brothers and AIG after both companies mismanaged their finances in business dealings. This came right after the subprime crisis a few months ago that will make millions of Americans lose their homes. The feelings on the streets are of anger and loathing of the Wall Streets and the government headed by George Bush for failing to protect the man on the streets. The bailing out of all these hugh companies by using the federal money is actually transferring the burden to the government which actually using the taxpayer money. Throughout this episode, very few top executives got their head chopped off which says a lot about accountability and personal responsibility among the group of elite businessmen. The US government is busy in trying to pass a few policies to save all these companies which can drag the US economy back to Stone Age.

Funny, when i look at the whole situation, no matter what they preached others not to do in the last 1997 worldwide financial crisis, they are actually go against their principle when their neck is at stake. What goes around comes around people say. Now, it looks like Malaysia is vindicated when she took her own unorthodox style of solving the financial crisis in 1997 against the screaming of IMF led by the US. We have our ex-PM Tun Mahathir to thank for his bold and brave policy to resuscitate the economy despite all the objections within the country and from international economy experts.

The funny part about the current economy situation is the perception of the people in the US and Malaysia that their governments are not doing enough to elevate their suffering and are more concerned about the health of the business elites. In the US, the people are facing the prospects of losing the foreclosure of their homes due to the subprime crisis, inflation is up with the increase of petrol and food prices, and losing jobs as the big corporations are closing down. The same thing is happening in Malaysia where we can see the people are screaming for heads to roll due to the government's decision to reduce the subsidy of the petrol which leads to the increase of inflation from 4% to 8.2%. In their frustration, they turned to the Opposition party believing all the sweet promises that the whole thing can be turned around instantly if the Opposition is in power. However, nobody is commenting on the policies of the US government which is now showing its true colors eventhough they said should be the standards the Malaysian government should emulate. The truth is, there is not much difference in the style of governing of both countries, the only problem is that the people have different needs and priorities compare to the government. The people are looking at their survival and comfort level and daily problems while the government has to balance between the people's needs and the management of the economy at the macro level, foreign investments, GDP, budget balancing and so on. When the two are not the same then there will be a lot of dissatisfaction among the people which is made worse by the manipulation by certain group of people to achieve their own agendas.

It is not a good position to be in as the President of the US and PM of Malaysia right now, as the pressure is building up to save the economy on one hand and to please their peoples on the other. As the economy of the countries in the world are intertwined due to the globalisation, we cannot help that economical turmoil in one country like the US will affect smaller countries like Malaysia. We can see now the tumble in the Malaysian stock market in response to the jitters relating to the Wall Streets crisis. It is important that the crisis faced by one country be solved their own ways without the preaching by other countries as what goes around comes around.