the dawn of a new nation

Gone are the days when you think that you are the master and we are slaves,

Gone are the days when you can demand blind loyalty from us without asking,

Gone are the days when you can just take respect from us without earning,

Gone are the days when you can divide us with racial hatred,

Gone are the days when you can just throw money at us to comply,

Open your eyes to the new generation,

Spearheading the dawn of a new nation.

God bless the brave people of Malaysia.

the politician

In the final push for votes, politicians from all sides will resort to any strategy possible to win the election. Bear in mind, there are instances whereby promises are made and broken immediately the next day. To clearly understand this creature called politician, let’s delve into his world for a clearer look.

“I am fighting for justice and transparency. I will go to the streets to bring my message across. A government should be transparent in its dealings and all forms of corruption should be eliminated. Politicians must be honorable and act in the best interest of the rakyat. I will fight for this manifesto till the last breath in my body. I think I should run for election to become a MP. The rakyat for sure will support my manifesto.

I run for election and guess what, I won! I am now an elected MP and I swear will uphold justice and fight for the rakyat. I will not be a corrupted office bearer like the rest of the politicians. This is the solemn promise I make to myself. I am meeting a lot of businessmen lately. Most are the prominent ones I have read about only in the newspapers previously. Now I can see them face to face. How cool is that! This is definitely a world that I am not accustomed to. It feels kind of awkward at first but I am slowly getting warmer in their presence. Wait, I cannot waste too much time on all these meetings only. I have a mandate to carry out. I need to go to my constituency to address the rakyat’s issue. Ok, let’s see what problems they are facing now. Drainage issues, unlicensed hawkers blocking the pathway, no land titles, no garbage collectors…..blah blah blah blah! My head is spinning now. So many issues and what is this about a particular race getting the end of the stick in terms of federal funding? How the heck am I going to solve that?

Well, think I could ask my fellow MPs that are more senior to help. They should have encountered such issues previously. Guess what, they are really helpful. In fact all those problems are solved in an instance! Talk about efficiency. They give me a wink and said, “You owe us one.” Well, so long the problems are solved and the rakyat is happy, I am fine with owing them a favor. Time to go back home and rest. The wife comes to me and says, “I got a job offer in this big corporation.” Wow, that’s awesome and when I check out the corporation, it belongs to one of the prominent businessmen I met recently. Ok, guess I should thank him for his kindness later. Now back to the rakyat’s problems. Wait, now my eldest son comes to me and say, “My company is not doing well. Sales are down.” Man, what can I do? Wait, there is this government project procuring the exact materials my son’s company is selling. Maybe I could pull some strings and after all, he is my son and I am obliged to help him. Since I’m on my family’s affairs, I got this younger son just finished his SPM. Might as well get a government loan and send him to UK to further his studies. Better than using my own money and keep them for a rainy day later.

Time to get back helping the rakyat. At that moment, the prominent businessman that hired my wife rings me up. Lots of chit chats and finally he asks for a favor. He is having difficulties to secure a land for development. They are some people living there that refuse to move. Well, guess I’ll have to do this favor for him since he gave a plush job for my wife. With my contacts and some persuasion from my senior MPs, the land is his. The next morning my secretary calls me and says there is a donation of RM50K to my campaign fund, from the benevolent and appreciative prominent businessman. Cool, more money to help the rakyat. What I should build for the rakyat, a community hall perhaps? Before I could make up my mind, a senior MP calls. He says there is some issue regarding an audit or something on his constituency’s local council and required RM50K immediately, no question ask. Well, he did a lot of favors for me so why not. There will be other opportunity to build the community hall anyway.

Hey, why the rakyat is swarming my operation center demanding to meet me? What’s going on? They look angry. I wonder why they are accusing me of not doing enough for them. Me, fighting for justice and helping them, they are still not content. These crazy people. The drains got clogged also they come to me. Don’t they know I got much more pressing problems to attend. I need to help my party to win the by-election announced recently. This win will consolidate my party’s position in the Parliament. Must win by all cost. Wonder what I can do to help? Oh yeah, my uncle is the president of an association in that area. He is very influential there and with his help, the people will definitely vote for my party. I notify the party leaders about this and they have a heart to heart talk with my uncle. Election day came and my party won hands down! My uncle is jumping up and down in joy. Wonder which makes him happier, my party’s win or the Datukship he gets the following day.

Guess I wasted enough time to please my family members and friends. Time to get back to more pressing issues like rakyat’s welfare. Wait, these people are just ingrates and can’t really satisfy their voracious demands. To hell with them! Getting sick and tired of being a politician. My wife and sons are earning well and my MP friends are asking me to join their venture that has secured massive contracts from the government. Judging by the package, I will be able to support my family for three generations. I’m game!

Wait, what am I suppose to do as a politician again in the first place?”

As illustrated, the politician is no different compared to an ordinary rakyat. They have feelings and wants for self, family and friends as well. Therefore the rakyat should read between the lines when a politician has crossed the line and no longer acting as a representative for the welfare of the people. Do not be afraid to dump these politicians as changes will only benefit the rakyat as a whole. Let these politicians work hard again to secure votes. Following a tagline with a little twist; let politicians screw politicians.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction and does not relate to any event or person both living and dead.

a chinese conundrum

It is getting harder being a Chinese nowadays in Malaysia especially during the General Election season. The community as usual, has been bombarded with countless allegations and stereotyping and being made to look like the boogeyman. From being materialistic, ungrateful and to the extent of being racist. Let’s digest this issue rationally to determine if there are any truth in those said behaviors in the community.

The Chinese is a unique race, basically the only race that can be found in every corners of the earth. There is an intrinsic characteristic within the Chinese whereby they will go, follow and stay at any place that enables them to generate wealth. To a certain extent, being materialistic could be true. How about being ungrateful and racist?

As stated, the Chinese can be found basically everywhere around the world. These countries are governed by different races. Therefore this can conclude that the Chinese has no problem to be ruled by a non-Chinese. As seen in Malaysia, since the year 1957, the Chinese community has been supporting Barisan Nasional steadfastly that is led by Malay leaders. The loyalty for decades cannot be dismissed wantonly. Only in the year 2008, the winds of change happened. Why is this so? Suddenly the community becomes ungrateful overnight? If a person is diligent enough to investigate the events months before, then the person will see all those horrible allegations of corruption that is so massive that can even give an elephant a heart attack. The change therefore has nothing to do with being ungrateful or racist but “attacked” the materialistic side of the Chinese; whereby the conducive environment of searching wealth in the country is perceived to be in danger.

Instead of addressing the perception and allaying the fears of the Chinese, the ruling BN government continued business as usual with tons and tons of corruption allegations cropping up in the domestic front and even in the international arena! The perception continued and the panic caused another political tsunami in the year 2013.

In summary, it is therefore unfair to label the Chinese community here of being ungrateful. If you attack the rice bowl of a person that is trying to feed his family, of course the person will fight back ferociously. When comes to being racist, we can crudely put it, even if an aspiring Prime Minister is purple in color, if he can bring wealth to the country the Chinese will still vote him into power.

quote of the day

"No religion can ever change your character deep down inside. Stop using religion to justify your actions."

meeting minutes of MY Ltd AGM

Shareholder #1: The company is currently lacking in capable executives to run its operations. The training and re-skilling budget for employees is being cut this year. Why?

 

CEO: We from the higher management find that we don’t need capable executives to run the company. We just need executives that are submissive and loyal to the company’s higher management in order to keep the company afloat. Less so-called smart ideas more work can be done.

 

Shareholder #2: There has been a lot of complaint from the employees that the company does not provide adequate transportation allowances to cover their daily commute. Why?

 

CEO: We from the higher management find that their complaints are not justified. If they can’t afford the fuel price, take public transportations. If that is troublesome, they should wake up early and travel on roads that are free from toll charges. Better still, they can even ride a bicycle or walk to work. Look at the Europeans.

 

Shareholder #1: The company’s cafeteria is selling food with exorbitant prices. I just got normal fried rice just now and was charged a bomb for it. Won’t the employees complain?

 

CEO: We from the higher management find that the price is justified based on the economy outlook. If the employees can’t afford the food, they can always pack from home or bring some raw meat to cook at the office. We have just signed a deal with Cronies Ltd to provide state of the art cooking utensils in the pantries.

 

Shareholder #3: We don’t quite understand some transactions in the company’s Yearly Financial Records. There is a payment of approximately billions into a personal account for some services rendered. However it is not clear what those services are and who the vendor is.

 

CEO: Security, please remove Shareholder #3 from the premises for asking stupid questions.

 

Shareholder #1: There is a plus point we can see that the operating expenses has decreased immensely. Seems that this is largely due to the annual increment and bonus payout remains nil for 3 consecutive years. Will this affect employees’ morale and subsequently affect productivity?

 

CEO: We from the higher management find that this is totally a non-issue. We have instructed HR to provide counseling to the employees at a monthly basis and tell them that if the earning is not sufficient they can always get a second job or sell some of their personal belongings online to make ends meet. We have just signed a contract with MyBrother Ltd to provide internet training to assist them.

 

Shareholder #3: What the heck is the company’s direction to increase profitability and compete effectively in the global market?

 

CEO: Security, why is this troublemaker still in the premises. Call the police and ask them to send the Chief of Police here personally to escort him out. By the way, the meeting has come to an end as I am late for a golf session with the President of Utopia. I will hand over to my deputy to close the meeting.

 

Deputy CEO: Everyone please leave. On your way out please collect a document notifying that the company plans to buy 2 private jets for the CEO and his immediate family members’ business usage. Thank you all for coming and please continue to vote us into the higher management and do hold on to our under-valued company share.

quote of the day

"Constructive criticism is essential for growth and must not be confined along racial lines"

freedom of speech

In all great democracies one of the most recognized fights is the fight for freedom of speech. This is the freedom accorded to every citizen whereby each individual is given the freedom to voice his opinion; albeit accepted or not. The next question will be, should we allow every person to voice his opinion freely without considering the consequences? What if the opinion can lead to animosity and even full scale riot?

To put it bluntly if we support freedom of speech then we will be labelled as hypocrites if we suppress a certain group of people from voicing out their opinions if those opinions do not conform to ours. So how do we judge what opinions are valid and which are not? To dissect this quandary let’s throw in a scenario. A person voiced his opinion based on certain facts against another. There is an accused, there is some evidence to support his opinion even though not validated by the court but in common sense the person should have the right to voice this out. Whereas the accused has the right to voice out his opinion to dispute the accusation by providing facts to counter. The freedom of speech is rightfully practiced here by both parties.

How about a person that is voicing his opinion with no supporting facts and does cursing and degrading another person constitutes freedom of speech? No matter how ridiculous this may sound, it is still freedom of speech; just not done in a proper way. These unfavorable actions can lead to legal suits no doubt but in essence we still need to support the person in voicing them out.
Voltaire did quote “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.” However he should have continued “even if you are saying things without using your brains.”

Happy birthday Malaysia. God bless.

 

quote of the day

"There is no western or eastern leadership, only the right leadership"

quote of the day

"A leader ceases to be a leader when he loses his followers' respect"

patriotism

In less than a year another tragedy strikes MAS, our national flagship airlines yet again. Human lives are lost again and the pain and sorrow is being felt again in every corners of the world. Question has been asked, how will MAS survive this ordeal and continue to remain relevant in the industry.

A minister has plea that all Malaysians should stand side by side with MAS in its hour of darkness. This is definitely a valid plea because as Malaysians we must never abandon our national airlines leaving it free falling into the abyss. This is patriotism and must be cultivated in every Malaysians regardless of race, religion and social status. The next golden question will be; how do we as Malaysians able to help?

Analysis has been done countless of times on MAS and its issues of profitability way before the 2 colossal incidents that befalls it. Based on the analysis, the current business model of MAS bleeds more expenses than its ability to generate revenue. It has been running on losses continuously even though being bailout by the government numerous times. It was always presumed that there are 2 main reasons for the continued failure. One of them is the resistance of the MAS union members to a total organization revamp that can affect benefits cuts and even job cuts. The other reason is lopsided service contracts with external vendors that are charging atrocious fees that chalk up huge expenses.

Now coming back to the minister’s plea, a very curious logic has come to mind, aren’t the MAS union members and those external vendors Malaysians? Aren’t they obliged to become patriotic and save MAS from its hour of darkness? The general Malaysians have done their part from the government bailouts which are taxpayers’ money. Isn’t it time these MAS union members and external vendors do their part as Malaysians?

There are successful case studies that we can learn from for instance Japan Airlines turnaround from bankruptcy into a much leaner-managed airline. Therefore there is still hope for MAS to do a similar turnaround but the catch is Malaysians and this means all Malaysians must stand steadfast by its side.

A quote from John F. Kennedy succinctly sums it up,” Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” God bless Malaysia and its people.

humanity vs progress

“Move out or be fined”, those are the words from a Malaysian minister to the organizations that feed the homeless in KL city center. There are many arguments on the rationale of this move from both sides of the fence. In a nutshell it sounds cruel to deprive the homeless of aid and relief. However, the minister came up with an argument that the homeless creates much problem for the city to thrive, in sense of tourism and cleanliness.

A city is built by its people. No doubt, it will be ideal if the people living in the city able to contribute immensely and effectively for the city to progress. Are the homeless considered a scourge in this sense since they are being seen not contributing in any way? Human resource management has taught us, each individual in regardless of his competence level will be able to contribute in one way or another for the cause. In this case, the homeless are doing odd jobs within the city and without them, who will take up these jobs? A job no matter how menial is still required to be completed to run a city.

We should not just dismiss these homeless aside and writing them off wantonly. In fact, there are so many success stories of homeless people becoming self-sufficient later in their lives. One of the famous one is Chris Gardner, portrayed in the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness". He was homeless with a young son while he was in a finance training program. Therefore we should provide assistance to the homeless in every way we can. They would not be in that state if they have a choice.

As Mahatma Gandhi puts it, “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”…..more so of its people. God bless Malaysia.

leadership through crisis

Leadership is a trait coveted by many yet not many has the reputation or clout to be in that position. There is always this general conception that a leader is born rather than made. No doubt, a natural born leader is always the best bet as this can be construed as a gift from the divine. It cannot be denied that some leaders can be trained into the role as well. But how do we gauge whether the leadership undertaken is of quality and excellence? There is only one avenue possible to gauge this; through a crisis.

In good times, not much leadership is required as the condition is peaceful and conducive for any undertakings. There are no conflicts or obstacles available to impede progress or well-being of an organization or even a country. Only when a crisis is at hand, then we will see what our leaders are made of and capable of doing. Leadership through crisis is when all the critical elements are meticulously scrutinized and analyzed to ensure the best decision are being made to address the issue. The next course of actions should be effective and efficient to mitigate the crisis and not causing more harm and prolonging the event.

In times of crisis, the military concept of chain of command must be adopted immediately. Democratic means are not effective in crisis handling whereby everyone has their own views and a vote must be put forward. This will delay the response time. The leader must lead the people under his command and not allow them to run around like headless chickens. Those people that are not kept in the loop of information and are not authorized to manage the crisis should be kept out indefinitely. All information must be carefully vetted and statements released must be consistent and without any shred of ambiguities. Decisions taken must be executed promptly without any doubts. This is to create an atmosphere of confidence and credibility in managing the crisis.

Sad to say, our country’s leaders failed miserably in this sense based on their handling of the missing flight MH370 to the extent of being vilified by the international community. It is clearly seen that our leaders are definitely not natural born leaders and substantial training is clearly needed in this area. Hopefully there are not many crisis of this proportion down the road. God bless Malaysia.

why MCA will never be accepted by the malaysian chinese

MCA is trying to regain the trust of the Chinese community in Malaysia. Valiant effort for a party that was nearly decimated in the just concluded General Elections. Chinese votes swung conclusively towards the opposition to the extent our Prime Minister was left dumfounded on what the Chinese actually wants. MCA, once a gigantic party with the prime objective of championing the Chinese rights is left licking its wound in a far corner of Malaysia’s political arena. MCA politicians tried to court the Chinese community with everything possible but still to no avail. What do the Chinese really want?

Malaysian Chinese is no different than all the other Chinese around the world. It is a race that has deep cultural roots within the family spreading across generations. The Chinese emphasizes on its generations to always bring honor and fame to the family name. Thus education and subsequently having a good career is the main ingredient for that objective. Enriching and providing the best possible avenue for growth to their children is always paramount to the Chinese. MCA politicians are themselves Chinese. Their sons and daughters are given the best possible opportunities to grow and this is clearly seen by the achievements of those bravely appearing in the public eye. They are being vilified in the alternative media of being “cronies” and to the extent that their riches are given to them on a silver platter rather than working hard like the rest of the general Chinese people in Malaysia. Does this perception alone riled up the general Chinese? It certainly does not.

The Chinese believe that the parents should always provide the best for their children. Therefore the MCA politicians are not entirely wrong in their actions. No doubt, some of the opportunities are dubious in the sense of corruptive practices. It is still for the benefit of their children. The general Chinese can still accept that to a certain extent. However, when these MCA politicians began to collaborate with the central government in reducing the quality of education and even to the extent of plunging the entire country into a debt-ridden abyss, that’s where the buck stops.

By these actions alone, the MCA politicians are restricting the general Malaysian Chinese from being able to provide the best for their children. Education is the tool to a better life and the country’s financial well-being is essential for career and personal growth. MCA politicians are sending their children abroad for better quality education and doing foreign investments while the general Chinese community is left fumbling in the dark. As the Chinese saying goes, “You don’t break other people’s bowl of rice.”

MCA, the ball is clearly in your court. Change or be changed.

 

what you pay is what you get

The current hot topic lately is regarding the pay hike of the Selangor state government’s representatives. From conventional media to online forums, many people from all walks of life including political leaders have been giving their two cents on this issue. Most of the comments are the pay hike is too steep and comes at a bad time whereby the country is facing financial constraints.

No doubt at a glance, the pay hike of reaching more than double for some is indeed excessive. However, let’s dissect further and imagine the state government is actually a multinational corporation. For a multinational corporation, hiring the best people for the job is crucial. This is to ensure the operation of the corporation runs smoothly and efficiently and at the same time generate good revenue and profits. These personnel are being paid based on market value and sometimes even higher based on their competencies. Look at huge corporations like Apple, Microsoft and most of the international banks. Their executives are paid handsomely. These corporations are generating good profits even with the pay package they are dishing out for their personnel. Why is this so? Just a simple check with the Human Resource executives will paint a clearer picture. In order to find the right people for the job and also talented ones, the pay package is the main tool to attract them. They are being paid for their worth and the benefit they bring to the corporation. The pay factor also increases morale and spur the personnel to work harder besides being useful in retaining talent. The shareholders would not have any problem with this either.

Let’s come back to the Selangor state government representatives. For the almost five years in control of the state government, Selangor now has a surplus of funds exceeding the previous state government immensely. If in a corporation point of view this is similar to having generated a huge profit. So is it wrong to reward the “personnel” with higher pay based on their competency? By increasing their pay, they are entrusted with the responsibility to work harder to generate more income for the state and to serve the people better. Is not this a good thing? If they fail, we can always revert to the corporation way of demoting them or even “firing” them during the next General Election by us rakyat as the “shareholders”.

Let’s us now apply this concept to the Barisan Nasional representatives and their allies which are the loudest voice of criticism. They are right to certain extent when they say that if the similar pay hike is implemented in a BN-controlled state all hell will break loose. Why is this so? Let’s move back to the corporation point of view. Since BN is in control for decades of the federal government, the country’s debts have being rising rapidly, costs of living is increasing, public security level is decreasing, misuse of public funds is horrifying and many more. A corporation that is losing money, losing reputation and embezzlement, of course all hell will break loose from the “shareholders” if the “personnel” are given higher pay.

We should look into the bigger picture rather than restricting our view within a box. The current Selangor Menteri Besar is a corporate-trained person. Thus we should respect his executive decision so long everything remains well in the state of Selangor. As the common saying goes, what you pay is what you get. If you pay peanuts you will only get a monkey. God bless Selangor.   

 

blind loyalty

Loyalty is a virtue. Most of us, as global citizens are taught to be loyal to king and country when we were young. Any acts of betrayal towards king and country will be condemned and frown upon by generations to come. However, to what extent is this loyalty applied to? Must we stand firm and be loyal no matter what?

Governments and monarchs around the world today often preach to their people that they should be loyal and to obey them. Any criticizing and mocking of these leaders are construed as disloyal and the perpetrators are dealt with as enemy of the state. Is this right? Across the centuries we have seen monarchs being overthrown, government leaders being brought down from power. Are all these actions construed as being disloyal? To answer the question we need to understand further the reasons behind these actions. Most of these actions stemmed from the people being prosecuted by the government unfairly e.g. apartheid in South Africa. If going by the rules of the government leaders and monarchs, should a citizen remain loyal even though he is mistreated and his welfares are not taken care of? Should he just suck it in for the sake of being loyal?

What we are taught is to be loyal to king and country. What we didn’t realize is king and country are institutions. These institutions are only represented by the leaders appointed. Being loyal to king and country does not mean we must be loyal to the leaders appointed to hold those positions. If the leaders are not capable and corrupt, we as the people can always criticize them. This will not render the people as being disloyal. If we are forced to be loyal, then it is only blind loyalty.

God bless Malaysia.

the end of MCA

MCA, the once mighty party that represents Malaysian Chinese is facing its demise soon. Ong Tee Keat, an influential and well-liked by the grassroots politician is not selected as a candidate by the current scandal-tainted president, Chua Soi Lek; for the sake of holding on to the party leadership structure with no regards to the overall party's interest. The phrase of winning the battle but losing the war clearly applies here.

 

God bless MCA.

new generation voters

In a democracy, voting is a common keyword. This is whereby politicians are voted into office by the general population to become leaders of the country. This process has not changed since the beginning. However, the voters are evolving in terms of perception and mindset as the decades and centuries begin to pile in. There have been many definition of a generation ranging from X to Y. As a result of this, the landscape of a democracy has changed radically.

During the early times, the general population is basically more respectful to their leaders to the point of worshipping them as divine beings without any questions asked. The leaders are generally able to control the masses by enforcing laws and regulations whereby will be followed by the people without many questions asked. Leaders are in a better position in terms of subjugation to a certain extent by controlling the information available to the public and limiting knowledge transfer.

In the new century, this is not applicable anymore. Information is being shared via information corridors with exceptional speed and the barrier for freedom of knowledge has crumbled dramatically. Suddenly the comfort level of the old-school leaders vanishes in the blink of an eye. From used to be worshipped to being berated and ridiculed in public certainly takes a toll on those leaders. Leaders are castigating the younger generation of being immature and lacking common decency and respect to the elders. What truly happens here? Has the younger generation turn into hooligans?

Let’s do a simple analysis on the difference between the voters today compared to yesteryears. The new generation of voters today have unlimited information on the happenings surrounding them. A politician with some wrongdoings exposed is immediately made known to them via the online media. Whereas during the olden days, this information would not have travelled that fast and might even be filtered by the ruling government to protect the politician. If you know that this particular person have been stealing from you, will you still embrace him with open arms and kisses? Generally speaking, no matter from what generation you’re from, you will definitely whack the person sky high. This is common human behavior. Therefore, if a person or a leader commits any wrongdoings, he should reflect on himself rather than castigating the people for berating him.

A group of new generation voters has emerged and the leaders should just accept the inevitable and make the best of it. One should understand that respect is given and never taken. God bless our country.

greatness of a nation

A nation’s greatness is measured by the intellect-level of its people. How true is this statement one may ask? One of the greatest countries of this century in terms of economic and technological prowess would have to be the United States of America. To reach this pinnacle, much of the effort is attributed to its leaders and the people. How did it all begin?

America gained its independence from the British Empire in the year 1776. At that point of time, peace is not readily available within the country. Sporadic battles between the colonial army and the British army rages on. After achieving total independence from the British Empire, the civil war between the north and south came about. With all these obstacles, it still managed to crawl out from the depths of uncertainties and become the sole superpower of the world as seen today.

Is America so much different compared to our beloved country Malaysia? For one, both countries declared independence from the British Empire. After independence, Malaysia did encounter upheavals within the country as well, from the communist insurgencies to racial riots. Both countries are made up of immigrants and natives. So why does Malaysia seem to be moving backwards year after year in terms of competitiveness in the global market?

The major headache has to be our education system. In a survey done recently, our younger generation does not have what it takes to compete intellectually with the outside world. Knowledge is not only power in the current era, but also a necessity for survival. Only with knowledge and the proper skillsets, nation building can progress substantially. Only with knowledge and proper skillsets, the world will recognize Malaysians as an intellectual workforce to be reckon with and sort after. And only with knowledge and proper skillsets, the quality of life of an average Malaysian can improve substantially.

People may argue that knowledge and proper skillsets can be bought in the form of immigrants, as can be seen practiced by our southern neighbour. But as our neighbour is bringing in skilled immigrants, including Malaysians mind you, our country is attracting the opposites. Not to belittle the contributions of the immigrants, but for a country to achieve a higher growth per capita, the population should be moving towards an industrialized-type skillsets.

It is therefore imperative that education and immigration policies should not be wielded as a political tool for the benefit of the nation. Unless there is a sinister agenda whereby the standard of education is purposely lowered to subjugate the population by the western-educated ruling class, the government of the day should ensure all Malaysians are provided with the necessary knowledge and proper skillsets to compete in the global market. God bless our great nation.

the little man

One fine day two men were walking down the street. One was a powerful politician and the other was a normal working class family man. Suddenly God appeared in front of them and said,” Due to overpopulation on earth, I will have to take one of you away. However, I will give both of you a chance to make your case on why you should stay.”

Both men trembled and the powerful politician said in a distinguished tone,” I’m a very important person in this world and I have the obligation to serve millions of my fellow countrymen.” God nodded. The family man said,” Please God, please don’t take me away for I have a wife and two children to take care of.” God nodded as well.

“I have made up my mind,” said God. In a thundering fire, the powerful politician found himself drifting into nothingness. Confused the politician asked God,” Why have you chosen me? I’m a leader of mankind and my value is much higher compared to the family man.” God answered,” That’s true. But they can always elect another leader to take your place. However, if I choose the family man, his wife and children will suffer and have no one else to look after them.”

Therefore do not belittle the little man. You will never know when your fate lies in his hands. God bless Malaysia.             

political debate

Political debate is a common practice among countries that practice democracy, Malaysia alike. In a way the debate can highlight each aspiring leader’s vision and commitment to bring progress and success to the nation if he should come into power. The ruling government of the day and the opposition are two standard entities in a democracy. Whoever wins will be the government of the day while the loser will be the latter. No matter how strong the differences are, there is a common similarity between these two entities; both are made up of Malaysians.

Therefore, if any differences of opinion exist, it is imperative to remember that deep down all of them are from the same country. Our leaders should have this mindset entrenched and should not go around accusing their opponents of being traitors or colluding with foreign powers to enslave Malaysia. Debate on policies. Leave the name calling and personal attacks out of the context. Only then the nation can move forward headed by authentic capable and intellectual leaders.

God bless Malaysia with true leaders.