PARENTS

"I have learned that no matter how bad our parents treated us when we were growing up, we are surely going to miss them when they are gone." one famous person said in an interview.

I just want to share this with those of you who still have parents, to treat them nice and give them proper respect while they are still around, cause one day we are all going to be parents ourselves. Then we will know why they were so tough on us, it was because they loved us and wanted the best for us.

My resolution is to be a better parent to my kids than my parents were to me when i was growing up. Lets all give a try.

THE DARK KNIGHT REVIEW

I went to watch the latest Batman today and left with a mixed feelings.

The plot was great though the movie was a bit too long at two and half hours making my butt numb. There were plenty of actions, explosion, fight scenes and tension. The Joker played by the late Heath was scary and funny at the same time, vey different than Jack Nicholson's version in the earlier movie.

Batman's love interest did not impress me. I think Batman deserves a better looking girl like Kate Bosworth(Superman's girlfriend in Superman Returns) or maybe Selma Blair.

My biggest objection was the person who played the Batman - Christian Bale. I personally think he is not the right person to play Batman eventhough the producer thinks otherwise. To me he did not look so convincing playing Bruce Wayne in the three piece suit. What i hate the most is the bloody voice when he turns into Batman! It is just annoying, his normal voice is just fine..why need to add another dimension to this character when he is in the costume? Is it to prevent people from knowing his true identity or to put fear in his enemies hearts? I think it is unnecessary because Superman only needs a pair of glasses as a disguise without voice change, and yet his beautiful Lois Lane still cannot recognise him...duhhhh!

The Dark Knight's head gear still needs improvement. The face opening needs to be bigger like in the comic book and less angular. In the comic book, more jaw is exposed and the jaw is angular which lends to the tough look of the Batman. He needs to appear taller in the movie with the cape is more prounounced coming from the front.

The part i loved best in the movie was when he jumped from the top of the highrise and flew like a bat.....that was cool, and the Bat Motorcycle, i wish i could get one of those to go to work!

Will i go to the next sequel? I am not sure if the voice still remain the same.

PERCEPTION IS NOT THE REALITY

That day a well known figure in our local political circle uttered an interesting phrase during an interview with the media - "perception is not the reality" and how perception or the manipulation of it is so crucial to do well in the political game.

This is very interesting because how a person perceives a situation will influence his thinking and opinion on the subject matter and can have an effect on his subsequent behavior toward the subject regardless of the reality of it. Perception plays a crucial role not only in political arena of a country but also politics in offices and personal lives of the public. Perception in politics can be manipulated positively or negatively to serve one's interest.

Take the opposition tactics prevalent in the country for example, they keep on harping on the lack of transparency of governance by the government as though the whole government agencies are corrupted, as a result of that the international communities perceive Malaysian government as corrupted. The investors will shy away from investing in Malaysia as the cost of doing business is expensive and profit will be low. The locals are the ones to suffer as they will lose job opportunities. They initiated public demonstration and ignored the Law to give the impression that Malaysia is not under control and in a state of chaos. The government is then perceived as authoritarian when they come hard on the demonstrators. The international communities are quick to condemn my beloved country as lacking democracy and does not allow the expression of opinion. They forgot that the right to live in peace and conduct one's business and make a living is part of an individual rights in a democratic country. Democracy in Malaysia is thriving according to the new Australian Prime Minister as people are more willing to give comments on issues of governance in the local newspapers and electronic media like blogs etc. These are the right places to express one's displeasure instead on the streets which is immature.

Another trend which is prevalent is to make the Police look bad and give the perception that they are not impartial in doing their duties and corrupted to the core. Of course we cannot deny there are a few bad apples that tarnished the Police's image by getting involved in unethical practices like accepting bribes and so on, but this exists in any organization. All sorts of accusation are flying around as you can read in the papers to make the Police looks like a devil. The Police have a SOP( Standard Operating Procedures) which relates to various Laws in carrying out their duties. Some people practically like to be seen challenging the authority of the Police to look like heroes by ignoring summonses to appear at the Police station to give statements, when arrested they are perceived as victims by the public when in actual fact they ignored the process of Law. The Police will be seen as a big bully and a tool of the government if the case is political, forgetting the fact that the Royal Malaysian Police is one of the most efficient police force in the world with high ratio of solving crime.

In an office, internal politics among staff or departments exist. It can be quite destructing to a well being of a company when good performing staffs or department are made to look bad and perceived as no good by jealous colleagues just to cover the weaknesses in their own performance. The situation is made worse by bosses who only listened to one side of the story without establishing the truth of the situation. Some bosses already have a prejudiced view of certain staff or department, no matter what is the truth it does not matter. Some staff get transferred and marginalized due to fake complaints , or resigned and joined the competitors when the situation get really bad. The company will eventually left with a bunch of mediocre staff who only excels in gossips, complaints and lies.

In private lives, the same situation can arise between friends, relatives, lovers or neighbors when people make a judgement on other people based on gossips, accusations or half truths. The relationship will turn sour or awkward. Most of the time, the victims would not know why the other party treat them that way. It is so damaging when perception can be manipulated through false accusations, but as long as human are human with hatred, jealousy and selfishness are in their dark hearts, i do not see how it can disappear soon.