Persistence Personified - Mansor Puteh
Persistence Personified – Mansor Puteh
[Reprinted from the Sun Weekend Edition, Dec 9, 2005.]
This spring, author and filmmaker Mansor Puteh will be returning to Columbia University to present his portfolio for the Masters in Fine Arts (MFA). There is nothing newsworthy there, except that the last time Mansor was on campus was over two decades ago.
Students do drop out of universities, even at the Ivy League, as Bill Gates did at Harvard and Vice-President Richard Cheney at Yale. That did not seem to interfere with their careers.
Taking time out either between high school and college or between undergraduate and graduate school is quite common for American students. If he were an American, Mansor would be in good company. For a Malaysian however, his decision to leave just shy of his graduation for his MFA must have caused his family severe anguish. I can imagine the scene when he returned home! He certainly would have been branded – and made to feel – a failure.
Mansor did complete his studies except for the formality of his thesis project. He submitted this later from Malaysia, but thanks to the reliability of the Postal Service, it never reached his supervisor.
Talent, like water, has a way of finding its own level. Meanwhile Mansor has written 57 books; he intends to make that 60. He also has scores of movies and television dramas to his credit. Impressive!
Mansor does not need his MFA; his accomplishments speak for themselves. The fact that Columbia willingly accepts him back reveals the flexibility of American universities. I cannot imagine a local university entertaining such a request.
For his dissertation, Mansor will present his forthcoming film, Malaysian Snow, based on his own novel. It is about two young men from one kampong who attended the same American college. One, an albino, decided to stay back and pass himself as a Caucasian; the other returned home. Years later, their paths again crossed. As for the ending, read the book or wait for the movie!
Mansor’s own personal story is both illustrative and instructive. The fact that he pursued fine arts was itself unusual. That choice is not usually on the radar screen of Malaysians. It is drilled by parents and teachers that our young pursue “real” degrees, meaning, those that would assure a good job. To Malaysians, music and the fine arts are frivolous subjects. Fortunately, MARA Institute of Technology had a program in fine arts. There Mansor’s lecturers recognized his talent and encouraged him to further his studies.
His acceptance to Columbia should have been a cause for celebration and pride for MARA considering that it was a young institution and eager to highlight the achievements of its graduates. No such luck!
Nor were the authorities eager to fund him. At a time when the government was sending thousands to third-rate universities abroad, one would have thought that someone admitted to the graduate program at an Ivy League institution would grab the attention of the authorities.
The number of Malaysians, especially Malays, accepted to elite universities is miniscule. That being the case, we should shower those select few with offers of scholarships. That this is not so is a sad commentary on how we treat talent.
A few years ago, a young Malay lawyer was accepted to Harvard’s prestigious LLM program. MARA’s excuse for not giving him a scholarship was that Malaysia does not recognize the American legal system! Obviously the authorities do not value superior education and training.
Mansor suffered through the usual culture shock of being in graduate school and living in New York. That his classmates represented the best of America and the world only increased the challenge. The reward was that luminaries in the field of filmmaking taught him well.
An unfortunate illness, rather than academic difficulties, caused him to disrupt his studies. It is an enduring tribute to the strength of the human spirit that despite the bleak prognosis of his bone tumor hanging over him, Mansor was able to lead a productive and creative life.
Faced with a dilemma two decades ago, Mansor rightly put his personal health ahead of his studies. He overcame that considerable obstacle; this second hurdle should merely be a bump on the road. Mansor’s story is an inspiration for us to pursue our dreams despite the barriers.
[Mansor Puteh can be contacted at: mbp2112@columbia.edu]
December 10th, 2005 at 4:14 pm
To Bubu and other defeatists,
Mansor’s achievements are inspiring. It is proof that superior mental attitude matters.
The “Lazy Native” myth has been debunked years ago by no other than the renown sociologist, public intellectual, and former Vice Chancellor, University of Malaya (MU), Professor Syed Hussein Alatas, and his great cousin, Royal Professor Ungku Abdul A. Aziz, an admired and respected economist, and also a former MU Vice Chancellor.
The Malays can be as good as any other, if we apply our efforts and diligence to our economic and social upliftment instead of playing politics in order to collect rents. There are no cheap or easy options to progress. We have to compete and win our place in the world. To think otherwise is to delude ourselves.
So let us stop dreaming about “Towering Malays” and start nurturing them. We must be recognise and reward the likes of Mansur who have made it despite the odds.
Thanks.
December 10th, 2005 at 6:03 pm
“Towering Malay”??? A Malay who towers above all others - like the ad for that cigarette of the early 70s? Du Mariuer (or something).
I would give my life to stop stupid politicians from their practice of labelling every time they ran out of ideas.
For people like Mansur, he is best labelled as one of Malaysia’s “come back kid.” That makes more sense. And there are a lot of Mansurs around. It is time that we reflect on such inspiring stories and potray their struggles in dramas and on film.
December 10th, 2005 at 10:19 pm
The future of this country is in the hands of the politicians. Are they the best people to place our trust on? Do they have the qualities that are so much needed to lead us into the future of a globalising world?
Integrity, uprighteousness, compassion, honesty, civility, positive work ethics, continous learning thereby constant improvement, quality consciousness both for the products and services we produce, etc, etc.
The politicians are in control the process of maintaining their hold on the position of power thereby continue to chart the course for this country. We, the citizentry knows what is wrong. We see what is wrong, we even feel what is wrong. Do the politicians know it? You bet they know. But survival is the strongest human emotion. Between sacrificing the whole country and its citizentry and their own personal survival they would all time choose the later.
We can’t change that, the polticians and their detestable behaviours. But we can certainly change the equation by understanding and basis of their power. Its the voters. Politicians understand that. That’s why you find their all out effort to win the people who meant most, the voters. But what kind of voters? The majority. Who are the majority of voters? Rural population (not forgeting the rural populatin now migrated to urban - the oft quoted saying comes into mind - ‘you can take the people out of the kampong and you can take the kampong out of the people’). They are the most susceptible of government less-than-straight propaganda and bribes. Most politicians would consider the urban and educated populace pests. Why? they, the politicians cannot control their thoughts and may be some of their actions like they can with other less educated ones - misinformed ones too.
So you see the more ‘educated’ the citizentry is the less chance that the present ruling elites are going to stay in power if they continue to uphold their antiquated policies. What would you do when you are a politician bent on maintaining your power within your circle of cronies? Yes you need to keep the people educated under a primitive symbiotic principles of ‘we keep you protected and you just continue to support us and leave the thinking to us’
So why do you think that inspite of all the shouting from the ground which include well informed, well educated, experienced academician, social scientists, concerned parents, religious leaders, and so on, our educational system remains a system of shouting down from above - ‘do as we say’ policies.
We have to focus that one thing the counts most. Early education. Let’s start with primary and secondary education first. Use all pressures to effect the change. Within 15-20 years you will see the difference in the Malaysian society.
All the problems from the falling standard of UM to that like the ‘naked-ear-squat’ are the results of our ‘educational foundation’. Like very sophisticated machine, every piece of components have to work and work well in unison. The weakest part of the machine is that weakest component in the whole machine. The machine would not function what it is designed to function unless all components function perfectly and in unison. It is not too different for a society. We can have the best academicians up in our univerisities, but if the simple cop screw up the society would suffer. The cleaners screw up we don’t function well. So we need to encourage every worker be they sweepers, production workers, police personnel, managers, professors or VC’s,
TAKE PRIDE IN OUR JOB.
Then we can look forward to and ideal situation where the income of people of diffenet professions do not vary subastantially.
Got to chow, have something to do. chat later.
December 11th, 2005 at 3:22 am
Mansor Puteh,
Congratulations! Your achievement inspiring, admire your strong and focused commitment. You’ve made your friends and loved ones real proud!
December 11th, 2005 at 3:48 am
Mansur Puteh’s achievements are seldom publicised as they derive little pleasure for the ruling elite although being a Malay. Not many of us know him until his name appears on ths blog. For that we have Dr Bakri to thank. May be Bakri sees alot of himself in Mansur.
Badawi talks of the Towering Malay while Najib, not to be undone, speaks of the Glokal Malay. I believe both are refering to one and the same. But the Malays that we see and read today is neither towering nor glokal, although we want to think that they are.
You have an IGP who condones the wrong doings of his men. His deputy who goes on record to say that whatever is done in the police lock-up is based on procedures approved by the IGP. Procedures which the public have no access to.
We have corporate figures siphoning off money, ministers misusing public funds and a PM who promises the moon but delivers nothing. They are all towering Malays in the eyes of the rakyat, that is.
When these so-called “towering” Malays cannot account for themselves do you think they want someone like Mansur Puteh to tower over them?
December 11th, 2005 at 6:21 am
Umno seems to have the knack of putting up wrong characters to be role-models or towering Malays as you like it. I am not under-rating the feat of swimming across the English Channel but to make it as if Malek was the first person in the world or had broken the world record only succeeeded in drawing sneer to the community.
I salute Mansor Puteh. We need a confident Malay community to spearhead nationhood. As citizens and stakeholders of Malaysia, we don’t want the country to be just a geopolitical border.
December 11th, 2005 at 6:49 am
I disagree with our Cik Din when he said
“The Malays can be as good as any other, if we apply our efforts and diligence ….”
This suggests that we are not good, to begin with, and can only become good if we are dilligent etc. He is saying what those fond of stereotyping the Malays have always been saying i.e. Malays are indolent.
Cik Din, I dont know if you realise it but you have fallen prey to the very practice of labelling of the Malays indulged in by those who seek the easiest way out of their problems - you therefore do not typify the kind of leadership we need among the intellectuals to lead us out.
December 11th, 2005 at 10:07 am
Sdr Din,
Sticks and stones may break your bones but words too would hurt. Yes it would hurt today, but I know you would come back and come back stronger and wiser.
December 11th, 2005 at 11:40 am
what about ramlee bin puteh?
December 11th, 2005 at 7:24 pm
To Hang Tuah and others,
Sometimes, we Malays deserve to be labelled. We need to be criticised and provoked, and be put into a corner before we come out fighting. Otherwise we tend to be easy going, preferring the softer options even when we know that there are no free lunches at the end of the day.
When we cannot deal or cope with reality, what do we do? We become envious of others and legislate to take away their rights, not matter how well we rationalise our actions. At worst we run amuck, and that is infanitle behaviour.
The NEP/NDP cannot be in perpetuity. After 35 years of affirmative action, we have not much to show for it. Our destiny is in our own hands. The golf handicap concept is not a prop. It has to be assessed on performance. Don’t you think it is time we, as individual Malays, make the paradigm shift in our thinking towards being self-reliant? We need new modalities and a renewed “can do” spirit.
No leader, intellectual or otherwise, can help us if we do not want to change. I am not here to lead you and others, as I do not believe in being led. Lead yourself. You have to learn to accept criticisms, and be confident and strong to deal with them.
You have to take to the well and drink its water yourself. But before that, you have to identify where the well is, learn to dig it, assess the drinkability of the water, and find the best way to tap it. It will be better if you can purify and package the water, brand it and sell the surplus for profit. To do that would require knowledge which must be acquired as it is not given to you or me on a silver platter.
I believe in self motivation, serious self-criticism, and sober reflection, together with the guts and will to make appropriate adjustments. That is hard work, but it is most satisfying in my view. I would rather have a few Hang Jebats than a whole bunch of Hang Tuahs. Mansur Puteh embodies the spirit of Hang Jebat. For that I applaud him and say, “Syabas!”
The Hang Jebat types do not wallow in self pity. They challenge the odds and make things happen, while the Hang Tuahs are basically sycophants, or ahli bodeks who perpetuate the system for personal gains, often at the expense of their own communal interests.
The choice is ours to make: keep our feudal ways, or abandon it in favour of a more liberating and open system. For me the answer is obvious. However, I do not expect this to happen overnight. We have to make a start. A journey of a thousand years begins with the first steps, the outcome of which is full of challenges and uncertainties. As the poet Robert Frost said, take the road less travelled and what a difference it could make to you and our community.
Kgboy, I do not give up because I believe in fighting back, and speaking my mind. This streak remains with me to this day. Thanks.
December 11th, 2005 at 8:16 pm
I see a faithful disciple of the tun and his belukar trail !
December 11th, 2005 at 8:23 pm
Sdr Din,
I am truly honoured to be in the company of an extraordinary person. Your response to criticism optimises the true meaning and spirit of the following quote:-
The way we respond to criticism pretty much depends on the way we respond to praise. If praise humbles us, then criticism will build us up. But if praise inflates us, then criticism will crush us; and both responses lead to our defeat.
-Warren W. Wiersbe
How I wish I had a mentor like you when I entered into the business world starting from a salesman as a fresh grad with only a short teaching stint.
Sdr Din, I am very encouraged by your response to Hang Tuah’s comments. Very untypical of some bloggers both here and many others who comment at Jeff Ooi, Malaysia today, Lim Kit Siang blogs. Cross fires are common amongst them who response to criticism with more venom and fire. At the end of the day they would end up with more poison in their bodies ready to spit back at others with the slightest of provocation.
I cant help but to find and dedicate this quote to you Din, you are what this quote truly mean.
A human action becomes genuinely important when it springs from the soil of a clear-sighted awareness of the brevity of everything human. It is only this awareness that can breathe any greatness into an action.
- Vaclav Havel
I look forward to enjoy and appreciate more comments from you.
December 11th, 2005 at 11:11 pm
Thanks kgboy, at least you appreciate the seriousness of our discussions on his blog. Let’s keep it that way and don’t to let it degenerate to the level seen on that of Jeff Ooi, Malaysia Today, LKS and the rest.
Cheers.
December 11th, 2005 at 11:33 pm
Dear Kgboy,
You are most kind in your remarks.
I enjoy reading Vaclav Havel, but I am not sure that I, yours truly here, fit his description. Havel, an intellectual and a former President of Czech Republic, is a great friend of Rhodes Scholar William Jefferson Clinton. He, Bill and I (no comparison intended) enjoy a common passion. We love cool, modern jazz (John Coltrane, Stan Getz, the MJQ, Paul Desmond, Scott Hamilton, Miles Davies, Wynton Marsallis, et.al). They read a lot and I try to adopt their habit.
I may not be agree with Clinton’s foreign policies, but I respect his intellect and his grasp of details. Bill’s Memoirs are worth reading. It is one of the best I have read from an American President in modern history. Unlike our present Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, Bill is an avid and critical reader. Monica Lewinsky tried to destroy him, but he survived,and is now on to greater causes while she is psychologically disfigured!
Karl Kopper can also be inspiring because he is the champion of refutation using cool logic. He usually starts by strengthening his opponent’s arguments. Having done that, he systematically refutes them with some much eloquence and sophistication. I have yet to reach his stature, a long, long way off.
I recommend that you make an attempt to read of Popper’s 2 volume tome titled “Open Society and Its Enemies”. It is worthwhile to invest rm 120 to buy this classic. I read it again and again amidst my other readings.
Invest in yourself and keep reading.
Thanks.
December 12th, 2005 at 12:17 am
Jong,
I am no body’s disciple. But that does not mean that I do not share some of Tun Dr. Mahathir’s world views and beliefs. After all, he was one of my mentors.
Belukar? There were no belukars when Mahathir was the PM and the belukars are re-surfacing under the new man. Let us, therefore, give credit when it is due.
Thanks.
December 12th, 2005 at 12:47 am
Adoi ! just fell of my chair and roll in laughter. Apa nak buat, orang gemok as expected.
December 12th, 2005 at 1:40 am
Dr Bakri,
thank you for putting yet another name on your blog that deserves kudos. I may not know of Sdr Mansor or his work but I am encouraged that he has the drive to finish what he began two decades ago. He is no ‘hot-hot chicken crap’ and I wish him all the best.
I am reminded of a small quote written in my autograph book when I was all of 11 years old in 1968, by my class teacher, Mr Tan:
“Hope, where hope creates, from its own wreck; the things it contemplates”.
Indeed, Sdr Mansor has given form and understanding to a quote that has always haunted my youth.
Pak Din,
your gracious acceptance of criticism is examplary and I commend kgboy for his salutation of a good man.
hang tuah,
thank you for putting things in perspective and for reminding us the dangers we face when labelling others.
December 12th, 2005 at 6:01 am
Fathol,
I have never considered the discussion here less than serious. I have utmost respect for Dr Bakri and Sdr Din here. When I started visiting this blog. I refrain from commenting until I have read most of Dr Bakri’s books, although I have read some of his writings in other sites earlier.
Sdr Din’s writings and comments have been consistent and that reflects his integrity.
I come here guided by the principles that
1. respect for all commentators irrespective of their respective opinions
2. Evaluate the message and not the messenger
3. If criticised or disagreed with, perform self examination and then respond and if not convinced but without any substance to further argument, shut up.
4. When there is need to criticise, criticise only the content and ideas put forth and not the advocator.
5. Compliments when compliements are due.
6. Mediate whenever possible such as to return to a constructive atmosphere where all contributors continue to do so for everyone else benefit.
7. Last but not lease, detract to ease tension and inject humour.
I hope to be able to stick to the principles above always.
December 12th, 2005 at 6:23 am
Pak Din said about softer option. It’s not confined to any particular race but the whole of humanity, including the Chinese.
The secret behind the Chinese stoicism lies in its I Ching: The Book of Change. They always have hope against hope coz change is the only constant.
I just finished reading “Watching the tree” by Chinese American anaesthetist Adeline Mah Yen. According to the book, binary mathematics was derived from I Ching.
Talking about paradigm shift, we only need to make ONE significant change in attitude to effect a transformation. According to Adeline Mah, ancient China civilisation was well ahead but frozen in its devt due to its calculation incomplete with a zero. The zero was credited to an Indian and brought to Baghdad which resulted in the Islamic Maths rising to its golden age.
Tho it must be said silence dorminates the Tao thought as the most eloquent - a kettle without its hollowness is useless. Interestingly, Tao started not as a religion but a philosophy which was later culled by priest-magicians into a cult.
December 12th, 2005 at 6:57 am
We must be careful about the practice of labeling or putting labels to about everything we want to describe. It is a common enough practice and because of that we must be aware of the pitfalls involved. In this case our Cik Din has unintentionally and inevitably fallen into the tiger’s pit and is scrambling to get out of it in a graceful and dignified way he knows how. Our Cik Din can take consolation in the fact that to err is human.
But the error is most regrettable – for it involves Cik Din first criticizing the colonial attitude and colonial masters (and those who follow in their paths) for their use of the term “lazy Malays” to describe every policy failure they encounter - and then turn on his own race in saying that they are lazy but if they are not (like” being more diligent” etc according to him) they “could do just as well as the others” (meaning the non-Malays). Therein lies the aberration in the logic used. Is it because he himself grew up during colonial times and it is hard to shirk the many years of exposure to what can best be termed as ‘brain-washing’ by the authorities and the media then? His mentors are all men in their late 70s if not deceased. You be the judge.
Our Cik Din further says, he himself does not like to be led and is therefore not here to lead – yet he heaped praises upon his mentors for the opportunities they gave him and the trust and confidence they showed in his ability. If that is his perception of his role i.e. not wanting to lead fellow Malays and not wanting to be led himself, then one must leave it to him to grapple and solve the contradictions inherent in the position he has taken.
That reminds me of a quotable quote by a now well known figure
“Good followers make good leaders.”
MatMoto
Although MatMoto is still at the stage of following damsels in distress on his Harley and ending up in Hard Rock Café, he knows the road he takes and is imbued with the force of his own conviction, and one day whether he likes it or not the responsibilities of leadership will catch up with him.
Our Cik Din has been more fortunate than many others of his race, in that he was mentored by the likes of the first Governor of the BNM Tun Ismail and then by the likes of Tunku Ahmad Yahya ( half, royal from Kedah and half, orang puteh) who was on the board of governors of BNM) , who later became chairman of the Country’s largest sogoshosha. Mere mortals like MatMoto and I should not try to educate our Cik Din and others like him in the important difference in the meaning of “management” and “leadership” – he having spent his youth at the helm of a large multinational as manager and MatMoto having spent his youth riding his Harley with Tina riding pillion.
Our Cik Din has again alluded to an oft repeated analogy when he chides members of his own race for their unwillingness to change, viz
Showing a Malay the well - but not being able to force him to drink the water from the well.
(The horse has a problem with the analogy as expressed by Cik Din, because its place has been supplanted by a human and a Malay).
While it takes good management to lead the Malay to the well, but it takes good leadership to convince him that the water is good for him.
What Malaysia needs at present is a good leadership. With due respect to our Cik Din, men like him are an anachronism today. We need younger men to lead us out of this old problem of Malays being underachievers. We need a fresh approach.
December 12th, 2005 at 7:27 am
DinM,
Can you blame the new man for the resurfacing of the belukars? He is the result of Mahathir’s self-centered projectal needs. Mahathir makes sure that his successor is of mediocre intelligence, one who will never be a threat, never over-shadow and be forever grateful to him.
Do you think Mahathir cares if Bolehland rots tomorrow?
December 12th, 2005 at 4:14 pm
since you guys read so much, it reminds me of the time in form six when we used to pass the books, kamasutra and lady chartely’s lover during class and the girls in the class blowing french caps we gave them, thinking they were baloons.
happy days are here again!!!
December 12th, 2005 at 9:56 pm
Friends,
I thank Hang Tuah for his comments.
I often wondered why to this day we continue to discuss and debate the ideas of Socrates, Plato, Aristole, Confucius, Mencius, Lao Tze, Adam Smith, John Stuart Mills, John Locke, Rene Descartes, Karl Marx, John Maynard Keynes and the other philosophers. They are anachronistic, according to Hang Tuah. To think of it, my mentors and I are contemporary by comparison. It is the standard argument that when someone differs from you, you say he is past his time. Unfortunately, I do not, in all honesty, buy this kind of argument.
My mentors and I are men in transition. We were brought up and schooled during the period of British colonialism; we experience its effects and carry the scars of humiliation (me, for example, having to the indignity of caddying for a mere 20 cents pocket money for a Mat Salleh golfer who kept throwing his putter at me every time he missed a shot putt). But we did not give up.
We overcame the odds, fought to gain independence, and regained our national dignity and, for all our faults, sought to make Malaysia a better place of all our citizens. And we did not do a bad job of running this country. Things could be better, of course; so, it is your turn, Hang Tuah. Imagine what would have happened if my mentors and I had given up.
I do not claim that we, men of a fading generation, are not without faults. We do have lots of faults, and I assume that Hang Tuah and his new generation will be faultless. The beauty of mentoring is that it enables mentees to learn from their mentors and “do better”, and that is how we build a better country and institutions for our future. Mentoring is, in fact, a form of benchmarking.
You too, Hang Tuah, have been indoctrinated by our politicians, your teachers, your “elders”, and our sycophantic media. We live in a world of propaganda and spin. Maybe, you choose to ignore that reality. You too are fighting internal ghosts.
Frankly, if you do not have the capacity to think critically, you will be lost in our country where politicians and the so-called intelligentsia contradict themselves at every nook and turn. You will also lose your fight against those internal ghosts (maybe it is better to say “hangups”). I recommend you read CC Jung and Erikson for a clear understanding of the human mind.
Just examine critically what our politicians and intelligentsia say and do. Do you want to be led, or do you want lead yourself with your own set of core values and principles? That is, to do what is right, or do what is expedient. You have to make your personal choice. I have made mine a long time ago.
I rather lead myself and suffer the consequences than be led by, for example, a Hitler or a Pol Pot. Furthermore, I am not qualified to be a “leader”. I rather be a friend who has some experiences to share. If these experiences can be of some use, take them. Otherwise, ignore them, and move on.
The Lazy Native? Yes, I defended my Malay forebears because they were not lazy. They toiled as farmers, fishermen and cow hands, often exploited by feudal lords. My ancestors came to Penang more than 2 centuries ago with practically nothing, and they slogged and sacrificed to make my world better. But times have changed.
We are no longer talking about those men and women of dignity and honour. They have receded into the sands of time, as I would eventually do. We are now talking about the Malays of the NEP/NDP era (1970-to date) who survived because they have existed under state patronage. These are new Malays (Melayu Baru), and the so-called Towering Malays (Melayu Tiang). In my view, the Malays today have grown “soft” and become “privilege mongers”, “rent seekers” and “influence peddlers” with few exceptions. More labels for you.
Our young take drugs, and lepak in the shopping centers and squanders opportunities. We are a community of social problems, despite of our religiosity. Incest, wife beating and gender discrimination, what else. Could I be dreaming, Hang Tuah? On the other hand, the Malay farmer, fisherman, food entrepreneur today too are not lazy; neither are they soft in character. They are people full of maruah, trying their darnest to elk a good living. I cannot say that of the Malay yuppies!
Maybe, I am out of date here. But that is the sad truth: we can no longer depend on taxpayers’ money, most of which are contributed by other citizens, to take care of our needs. We must create our own wealth. We have to care of ourselves as no one would want continue to “subsidize” us. We have to build a resilient and self-reliant Malay society, and we must start doing so from here on, even if we have to take a thousand years.
To Hang Tuah and his young friends, I have this to say: you have to learn to lead your own self. You can learn from history and your elders, but you have to find the well (meaning the well of wisdom), and drink from it. There is a word of caution: make sure, it is really a well of wisdom. For that you need knowledge.
I also suggest that you re-examine the implications of the statement that you quoted: “Good followers make good leaders”. To me, it depends on whom one is following. Why can’t one be a good leader (whatever that is), without being a good follower (a pak turut). An innovator is not a follower. He is someone who pushes the frontiers of knowledge, a person who initiates paradigm shifts, often of seismic proportions.
Humanly,
Adeline Mah Yeh is tough to have survived sexual discrimination as a girl growing up in China. Her life story is as inspiring as Mansur Puteh’s. You should read her other books. I agree that her “Watching The Tree” is an interesting book. Perhaps, Hang Tuah should get a copy of it from The Popular Book store. I paid less than RM20 for it some time ago.
Thanks.
December 12th, 2005 at 9:58 pm
Correction ” having the indignity to suffer…”
December 12th, 2005 at 11:32 pm
It’s good to know that there are so many “critical thinkers” in this forum, majority of which, I guess are Malays. But what I can gather is that your “critical thinkings” are not going anyway. It’s all “cakap kedai kopi”.
December 13th, 2005 at 2:23 am
Benta,
Is that all you can say? Why so cynical? If we have people like you in the majority, there is no hope for change in Malaysia. You are at best disappointing. Good luck to you.
December 13th, 2005 at 2:30 am
Benta,
Please do not make a mockery of this respectable and in-depth anomaly of many relevant issues. While I am the type that always lending my ears (in this case is reading and reading all the comments) and never commented any, I do admit that these critical thinkers do open a boundary of sight to a better understanding and better evaluation of facts on matters discussed.
To Bro Bakri Musa and Bro Din Merican, keep up the good and fair critical views of yours on this site. I am looking forward to read and analyse all the comments and views. I wish I could write (response) like you but still I am on learning stage. I reckon it is all from reading and reading more.
Regards.
December 13th, 2005 at 2:40 am
I am with you, ahmad kayanson. Whoever Benta is, he or she is very dissapointing. I would advise Benta and the likes to apply - Silence is Golden policy, as it is so frustrating to read such degrading comments. It is an insult to the intelligence of Bro Bakri, Bro Din Merican, Bro Fathol Zaman, kgboy, hang tuah, jong, humanly and the rest.
Please be an open minded. There is so much to learn and adopt from the views and comments of these intellectuals & experienced people.
Regards.
December 13th, 2005 at 3:32 am
My friends,
Maybe Pak Din is on to something, although he is not saying it openly. Dr. Bakri has written a book entitled “The Malay Dilemma Revisited” which is full of stories about the failings of Malays who are entrusted to promote the Malay Agenda, and protect the community’s interests. Read them between the lines, and with an open mind. These are not thoughts of anachronistic or “tea tarik” individuals. These are words of individuals who have been, to quote Teddy Roosevelt, “in the arena”, and who continue to speak up.
Nasib orang Melayu akan datang, macam mana? Jadi macan, Raja Gunung Jerai, Dato Badruddin, yang hanya boleh berpantaun santun, and pandai jadi ahil lawak jenaka di Mesyuarat Agong UMNO dan Parlimen, kah. Macam ini, kita semua patut dimasukan dalam kawasan khas bagi orang Melayu (Malay Reservations) untuk menghibur orang lain dan parawisata (tourists).
Kita sudah hilang daratan dan jiwa berjuang dan berkoran untuk bangsa. Bangsa Melayu semakin lembab and lemah kerana ianya begitu dimanja manjakan. Kita ini harap bantuan kerajaan and belas kesian dan bantuan kaum lain. Mana dia maruah Melayu sekarang? Hilang, tinggal cakap atau slogan kosong.
Kita sudah dibeli oleh ahli politik UMNO, dan pemimpin kita pula sudah dibeli melalui korupi, dan lain lagi oleh orang bukan Melayu. Lihat siapa yang kaya raya sekarang…Vincent Tan, Francis Yeoh, Ananda Krishnan, Quek Leng Chan, Lim Goh Tong dan lain lain lagi. Orang Melayu yang boleh berjaya seperti Halim Saad, Wan Azmi, Tajuddin Ramli,kita kutuk dan hina.
Sekarang timbul pula angkatan baru pula antara kita seperti Azman Yahaya, Kamaluddin Ahmad Badawi (Dato Selangor sekarang), Khairy Jamaluddin, Kalimullah Hassan dan Nor Mohamed dan kroni mereka. Atas nasihat Khairy yang belum berpengalaman dan matang, kita lantik Melayu baru untuk jadi CEO GLCs. Tak lama lagi keluar lah bermacam cerita berunsur “pagar makan padi”, iaitu orang Melayu yang diberi kuasa untuk membela bangsa dan menjaga hak orang Melayu sudah menjual bangsa demi kepentingan sendiri.
Lihat lah kes Bank Islam, MAS, dan Tabung Haji dan korupsi diperingkat atasan Polis dan dalam perkhidmatan awam, dan lain lain. Bolek kah kita turut contoh begini supaya kita boleh jadi pemimpin yang baik ala Hang Tuah. Jadi good follower sebelum jadi good leader!! Fikir semula, Hang Tuah. Siapa yang salah?
The problem in Malaysia today, at least in the Malay community, is that we are all good pak turuts because we think to be a good leader we must be a good follower. This is Mr. Hang Tuah’s point (He names himself after the greatest pak turut of all in Malay history. Hang Tuah killed his loyal friend, Hang Jebat who fought against an unjust ruler to avenge his “death”).
We do not encourage people who have a mind of their own to emerge. In fact, we suppress them. In the long run, a society of pak turuts and ahli bodeks is a retarded society. The signs of retardation are all over the place: in our schools,universities, GLCs, civil service and in the Badawi Cabinet. For example, in the Cabinet, ministers are scared to speak. They are all waiting for instructions from Yang Amat Berhormat Perdana Menteri. If the YAB PM is sleeping, or dreaming, they all sleep and dream. Negara susah lah macam. Ekonomi pun tidur lah.
What can we do? We can continue to speak up. If we remain silent, we are at fault. For that, I say syabas to Dr. Bakri and Pak Din.
December 13th, 2005 at 3:37 am
To ahmad kayanson, drifter7800,
Your comments on Benta indicate a hint of anger maybe emotional outburst which is understandable. If you care to take a few minutes to think what Benta is trying to say, maybe give him the benefits of doubt, you might come out with something more constructive.
Benta’s comment is so vague that one could interpret whichever way to serve one’s opinion. His comment is no different from the many who had directed the same remark about our PM Abdullah Badawi’s NATO (No Action Talk Only) policy, in particular, the anti-corruption drive.
Precisely, we have the majority of Malaysians like Benta that’s the cause for concern. How do we convince the likes of Benta that “talking” can be put into action contrary to his/her experience? Talk is cheap!
December 13th, 2005 at 4:56 am
Sdr Din,
I have dedicated this to you earlier because I see Vaclav in you albeit a hint more humble:-
A human action becomes genuinely important when it springs from the soil of a clear-sighted awareness of the brevity of everything human. It is only this awareness that can breathe any greatness into an action.
- Vaclav Havel
I see Hang Tuah as the Slovak. They reject Vaclav. He was disappointed but not despair. Like yourself Din. He continued to lead the Czech. While being President he continued to speak out against the wrongs in world as he sees them and contrinbute to the global society with his contribution through his political analysis and his writings. May be, Sdr Din you and Dr Bakri could exercise your clear-sighted awareness of the brevity of everything Malaysian and we would be ready to walk along with you (as against follow you) so you can breathe some greatness into us Malaysians or at least the Malays into action for greatness.
Benta’s comment serves its purpose too. It may be intentional or unintentional. Is his comment justified? Are we only just talking and no action? If true, his comments stay true. If not lets prove him wrong. I would encourage Benta to stay with us and respond to all commentaries here to validate his comment so that he would not be a flash in the pan with the effect of the pain in the you know where.
Perhaps we may want to turn Benta negative comment to a positive one and turn him positive as well. The ball in our court?
December 13th, 2005 at 5:09 am
BTW I take the liberty to welcome ahmad kayanson and drifter7800 to the forum.
And I hope Dr Bakri and Sdn Din do not mind I jump the gun on them. It is so refreshing to have more people join the forum and that’s when you have more diversified ‘gene pool’.
December 13th, 2005 at 7:09 am
DinM,
Phew ! …. that was a very good one indeed - like a mini skirt, long enough to cover, short enough to be interesting! You’ve put Hang Tuah and his friends in the right perspective. SSSSSSSSSybas!
December 13th, 2005 at 7:26 am
This is not a your generation vs. my generation kind of war war or jaw jaw.
It is true that most of my generation will never know what it means to be living under the rule of colonial British masters. We have an inkling of how hard the journey to Independence was, and we don’t appreciate the fact that we were very very close to disaster in 1969.
At the end of the day, Malaysians must admit this piece of fact, our country survived as a whole because of a spirit of give and take. Harry Lee didn’t believe in that, hence Singapore left Malaysia after repeated provocations. Can we blame 1969 on Harry Lee as some kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy? We came too close to the brink of destruction as a society and we made some decisions to placate major players. It wasn’t the kind of pure justice we get as time goes by, but it got us through. We paid a high price for that.
Today, the younger generation cannot escape the past. Some take the present situation as a given, they take things for granted. For many Muslim women, it is now unthinkable to go without a headscarf or a tudung. The country has changed and transformed itself across different axis of influence. Malaysia today is no longer Malaysia of the past. It is definitely harder to sell lies and make stupid statements. The masses can no longer be fooled so easily.
However, we are still quite manipulable and easy to manage.
At the end of the day, the talk of the Malays and bumiputeras as unfair beneficiaries of reverse affirmative policies goes bothways. It is not a sustainable policy, especially when its implementation and spirit hijacked beyond belief. The poor cannot use handouts, they need opportunities to be successful, not a million dollars to turn them into instant success stories.
As for the millionaires, do they really need another million delivered to them on a silver platter?
There are many good men and women in this country, and abroad. Dr. Bakri and Din Merican’s generation are now in various key positions in the country. Is it a coincidence that what is articulated are issues which are not reflective of the common man on the street? Like many at the top, they know what is wrong with this country. The question is how to get the middle and bottom level to realize that something is very wrong with the way we do things today.
We need more Tun Peraks, not Hang Tuahs or Hang Jebats.
December 13th, 2005 at 9:09 am
Inevitably, racial factors come into almost every discussion in Malaysia. If we are to progress as a nation we need the full support and participation of its citizens. If the Malay as a race is to progress they need to face reality in a global market competing on level field at national level first.
With racial polarization and segregation embedded in our national policies, I fear Malaysia will lose out further to neighboring countries.
The weak leadership shown by PM Abdullah Badawi is not helping and there’s too much conflict within UMNO for an effective team to guide Malaysia for a better society.
If we are to learn from other successful economies Malaysia must learn to nurture its citizens irrespective of its ethnicity. If we are to uplift the Malays, why do we need to spoil the rich Malays at the expense of the poor ones? Its time we help the under-class in Malaysia. The rich Malay will hopefully learn to do without their clutches and grow strong to be the Towering Malay and be truly proud Glocals.
I find the concept of Ketuanan Melayu and UMNO’s policy of racial “divide and conquer” repulsive. The intended effect drives the rich and the skilled non-Bumis out of the country. If it is truly successful, those left behind will become the new under-class. Will the Government be any happier if non-Bumis are worst off than the Bumis? What is there to be proud of if Towering Malays are created at the expense of non-Bumis? Meanwhile, we will need another affirmative policy to reverse the under-class non-Bumis. The deteriorating state of the Indian community will soon prove the point. How proud are we to have successful Bumi entrepreneurs in the motor trade aided by AP handouts? But then, why would one need to work hard when fortune is handed on a silver plate?
UMNO seems to have lost it compass on national progress and focus mainly on Ketuanan Melayu. Some may argue that the real agenda is self interest among UMNO members. This may not be too far from the truth. With a weak Leadership, the ship is adrift rudderless. The future is uncertain and the prognosis is not good.
I think the main challenge for Malaysia is to rethink about its ethno-religious politics. PM Abdullah Badawi is just not up to the task.
As for more “Tun Peraks”, let’s hope more “talk” will inspire them into positive actions instead of “cakap kedai kopi” only.
December 13th, 2005 at 9:50 am
There are those who are impervious to criticisms and there are those who are adverse to criticisms. I am somewhere in between.
Three decades in an organisation that preaches discipline as a way of life, has made me what I am today. Punctuality is a requirement. Obedience and adherence to rules and regulations are deemed essential. Respect is accorded not to age or seniority but the wisdom one exudes. We take responsibilities seriously, as lives are at stake.
Leadership, in my organisation, is always by example. We are trained to lead and not to follow. Lead we must otherwise you find yourself on the firing line.
Some could not take the trauma, so they left in a huff. Yet the few who remained were lulled by promises of better things to come, only to be left high and dry. I was one of those who was left high to dry. I felt cheated but I hold no grudges. The very people who had highjacked my career walk the streets l walk today. I still treat them with circumspect.
Yeah, I was angry. But what can anger achieve?
The perks of one’s office cannot remain forever. Your valet and staff car are not yours to keep. So, you move on. Switching career is not a choice but a requirement. The learning curve is steep. But who am I to complain?
Adjust or be left behind.
I am glad, seven years after retirement, I am where I am today not because of my past or my association but my will to survive.
Life is not about wallowing in sorrow and self-pity. It is not about the colour of your skin or the religion you practise but the sacrifices you make for the good of mankind, not your race or creed.
The Malays of the new era must learn to stand on their own. Speak for themselves and not allow others to ride roughshod over them.
Discard the crutches for that is the very thing that is holding you down. Subsidies become their lifeline. The more subsidies they get the more retarded they become.
Who shall they blame when the roof comes crushing down?
December 13th, 2005 at 2:12 pm
Friends,
I too thank our self-styled intellectual in pin-striped suit and tie, and graduate of the old school of management of the 60s, Cik Din Merican for his comments. However, I cannot say I thank our Cik Din for his choice in embarking on an argument with himself.
Let it be said once and for all, that no one is foolish enough to say that leaders like Ghandi, Churchill are an” anachronism” because they are no longer living among us today. What I said was men like our Cik Din are an anachronism – they have outlived their times, their ideas are no longer in sync with reality today. Men like our Cik Din harp on the same issues using an approach all too familiar and which have been shown to be no longer workable. Chiding fellow Malays for being underachievers, referring to their self-enforced enslavement to customs and beliefs which belong to another age etc, and the resort to the all familiar analogy about the “well” (not the telaga of wisdom) and about the Malays being led to the well (not by our Cik Din), and then not drinking from it is a path that is well trodden by those before him, Cik Din. Malays today no longer view their problems in the same perspective and the continued chiding by their peers along the same lines have no effect on them, their goals or their view of the world around them.
We need a fresh approach to issues – a different approach if we are to discover solutions to old problems. The sudden appearance of Chez1978 on the scene amidst the controversy is not at all surprising. Even less surprising is his inability to provide an alternative to the approach taken by those in power over the issue of Malay rights to which he is extremely critical. We know the problem. We need solutions. We dont need intellectual eunuchs to tell us what is wrong.
Do not look down on the likes of MatMoto and his sidekick Tina. You may learn something new yet from people of their generation. I stand by MatMoto’s quotable quote:
“Good followers make good leaders.” - MatMoto
All leaders of men were, at one time in their lives, followers of other leaders of men. It is a character trait inherent in the kind of leadership that is both visionary and functional and pragmatic. How else would you know how to lead unless you know where leaders of the past came from and where they failed and where they succeeded? This brings us to the issue of what is leadership? And what kind of leadership do we need?
Our Cik Din chooses to sit behind his computer and make all this commentary and observations - sometimes attending conferences when invited to deliver some paper on management etc. It is easy to be a cynic – like the characters we find in “kedai kopi” forever absorbed in their “drinking” (including those in Ipoh where the favourite item on the menu is a “drink” called “Kopi Korek” which could set you back by RM50.00 - according to MatMoto, of course. It is easy to be an armchair critic of events of socio-economic and political importance, of ground breaking proportions within the comfort of one’s air conditioned office somewhere. It is something else to be out there actively involved in the activities of organizations that seek to bring about change to one’s own community.
Our country is that much poorer because of the likes of our Cik Din Merican who benefited from the opportunities given him in his early years growing up, but who have abdicated his role as an agent for change, who instead chooses to be a bystander – and a cynical one at that. He fails to provide the leadership that is badly needed today.
It is time for you, Cik Din to repay your debts to society. It is time for you to show leadership and help lead the way for the Malays to the “Promised Land” (Sorry, Moses I have had to borrow your terminology here). You should go up the Mountain (Bukit Jerai or Bukit Frasers) and have a conversation with God – but instead you choose to carry on a conversation with yourself over the computer, posting messages in cyberspace and having arguments with yourself for all to read.
That is not leadership. That is anger management.
December 13th, 2005 at 7:00 pm
I think, Hang Tuah should enlighten us on what the new “realities” facing the Malays are. I must be missing something because, as he says, I am “a self-styled intellectual” (in fact, I do not consider myself an intellectual) behind a computer engaging in “anger management”. We haven’t begun to solve old problems of Malay underachievement. We have yet to face up to the root causes of this malaise. All we have done so far is to sidetrack it.
Getting angry is unproductive, and I do not choose that option. I do have my circle of political friends within UMNO, and in the Opposition KeADILan and PAS. They share my concerns, and do have alternatives to the present crony based politics. They are talking about grassroots development. Thanks.
December 13th, 2005 at 7:07 pm
Thank you Kg boy,
Though not welcomed, I’ll stay tuned and not perturbed by comments from Ahamd Kayanson etc. After all, what is freedom of expression. I wish him good luck in his crusade to change Malaysia. BTW, have you concluded, Malay is lazy or not? If not, how to start the change?
I’m a little busy at the moment with my work. Maybe I’ll response with my lengthy, rumbling, and in cynical post later on. Regardless of anything, one thing I want to say is ~ I like Bro Din’s commentary on Abdullah Badawi and Mahathir. These two men are miles apart!
December 13th, 2005 at 8:18 pm
Benta,
I am so surprise that you like Bro Din’s commentary on Abdullah Badawi & Mahathir when you have put it (as per your earlier submission) that crictical thinkings are not going anywhere and it is all “cakap kedai kopi”.
Nevertheless, your decision to stay in this respectable site @ forum is most welcome. After all, what is freedom of expression. I have a strong feeling that you are of a competent person. To that, I borrow Bro Bakri’s quote sometime ago from one of his forums - IT IS VERY MUCH EASIER TO CONVERT SOMEONE WHO IS OTHERWISE COMPETENT BUT DOES NOT SHARE YOUR VISION TO YOUR SIDE THAN IS TO MAKE SOMEONE INCOMPETENT, COMPETENT.
Regards.
December 13th, 2005 at 8:26 pm
Mr Din Merican and the golden friends,
‘Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.’ - Sir Winston Churchill
I’m 29 this year; don’t tell me that I’ll never get to see pleasant sight from the top. Tell me some good news about the future politicians; tell me that I won’t be reading sad stories about the stupidity and the laziness of my race(the malays) when I reach Fathol’s age; tell me that one day, they’ll be no more poor people for that TV3 ‘Bersamamu’ program…
But please don’t tell me that it is gonna the same s**t.
December 14th, 2005 at 12:33 am
drifter7800,
I’m far from “competent” in the way that was described by Dr. Bakri in his quote that you quoted. Being “incompetent”, I’m not easily impressed by people’s creditials or stumpeded by stump orators. I’m a bit slow to believe. I can hold things as possible or probable in all degrees, without certainty and without pain. I can wait for evidence and weigh evidence, uninfluenced by the emphasis or confidence with which assertions are made on one side or the other. I can resist appeals to my dearest prejudices and all kinds of cajolery.
Oh my dear, I’m “competent”, actually…
December 14th, 2005 at 2:05 am
Benta,
It’s your call. You are some kind of wonderful.
Regards.
December 14th, 2005 at 3:28 am
I like to share with everybody here a storey told to me sometime ago regarding success.
An emporer order his subjects to find out everything in this world that would make him and his kingdom a success.
His subject went about and found all the knowledge in the world. They record all these knowledge in books and all these books filled every room in the palace.
The emporer was not happy and ordered that all the knowledge contained in these books be condensed into books filling no more than the space of a room.
Again his subjects went to work condensing them. It finally fill an entire room.
The Emporer was still not satisfied and could not read all the books. He commanded his subject to condense all these knowledge into a book, a single book.
Exasperated, the subjects frantically went to work and condensed all the knowledge they acquired into a single volume.
You guess it, the Emporer was still not happy. So the order was out to condense the knowledge into a single page. Again fearing their heads might roll on the ground failing to achieve this, the subject desparately went to work and the result was a single page.
Feeling quite happy but not fully satisfied, he gave the final order to condense the knowledge that his subjected collecgted in the world to make his kingdom successful into ……….one single word.
Guess what is the word.
December 14th, 2005 at 3:33 am
Laksamana Hang Tuah,
Look at the rubbish around you, for example, the drastic deterioration in educational standards, the deplorable academic achievements at the University of Malaya, and the problems in MAS, Tabung Haji, Bank Islam, and other institutions, not to mention Baithulmal. What about all the cover-ups and bailouts by the Government led by UMNO Malay politicians over these years?
These are institutions managed by Malays. Please, just read Ahmadkayanson’s comments and tell me what you think. Can we not say that Malays lack integrity, and are not to be trusted? What happened to the funds collected for the December 26 2004 Tsunami victims in Malaysia, or the money allocated to the poor by the Ministry of Rural Development. In the case of Ministry of Rural Development, why hasn’t the former Minister and now UMNO Supremo in Kelantan, Datuk Annuar Musa, been asked to account for the missing funds?
So what is wrong with Mr. Badawi, the man who promised us that he will be uncompromising on corruption? What can we call Mr. Badawi, but a bull……r of the highest order!!
According to you, we should avoid labelling people who are crooks as “crooks”. Are you one of those kris rattling politicians, or just another “intellectual enunch” (to borrow your colorful description for people like Chez1978 and Pak Din)? Why is that you can use labels, yet condemn others for doing so. Why can’t we call a spade a spade and label it accordingly?
Since you have asked Pak Din not to criticise the Malays entrusted with a mission to pursue the Malay agenda, I welcome your “fresher” perspectives on the Malay problem, as typified by the University of Malaya. Tell me what is wrong about Malay management and leadership.
December 14th, 2005 at 12:53 pm
I see a lot of debate about the progress of Malays in this forum. From my perspective, the key to change and improve the well being and mentality of the Malay is education. And education does not mean getting those worthless university degrees. Education starts from the roots. Provide good education to the masses from early childhood, primary and then progress on to secondary and tertiary. Building the strong foundation to feed to the education process pipeline. In venture capital investment lingo, you need good deal flow from seed stage, to feed to growth stage, to mezzanine stage and to IPO stage, you can’t skip any of the stages. Only then you should talk about towering Malays.
December 14th, 2005 at 4:38 pm
Laksamana Hang Tuah,
Where are you? Why the silence? Don’t start something unless you are prepared to finish it. Terima kasih.
December 14th, 2005 at 9:59 pm
Dear All,
When I was an undergraduate at a local university in the mid-70’s, Dato’ Suhaimi Kamaruddin was the fire-spitting, demon slaying UMNO Youth chief, and in true UMNO fashion (then and now) demanded at the Kongres Ekonomi Bumiputera (’77-’78, I forget which year) that the NEP target of a 30% stake of the economic action be raised to 40%-50% at the expense of other Malaysians. He said that being the majority (we represented 60% of the Malaysian population then, I think) we owe it to our future generations to maintain and defend a bigger piece of the pie.
We did not hear a word of dissent from our leaders in UMNO nor did we hear very much from other member components of BN then. We hear a lot more from Gerakan over lesser issues now.
Obviously the good Dato’s comments were fodder for discussion in all the local campuses (degrees of intensity vary, of course) and in a predominantly Malay campus such as mine, I remember discussions were rather heated.
Most of us, in the exuberance of youth, agreed with the Youth Chief. Even competing parties in student/campus politics were united on that count.
During all this hoo-haa, I remember vividly an incident that singed my mind and taught me a lifelong lesson:
After reading his speech in the papers, we concerned senior students that we were, retired to an empty tutorial room to discuss the ramifications. Like I said, discussions over issues such as this tended to be heated and we were quite loud. We unknowingly disturbed a freshman who was studying in the next room.
This Chinese Malaysian John Denver look-alike came in to admonish us, but upon seeing 10 of his seniors talking animatedly, he froze at the door. We saw him and in concert, acted in a manner that would intimidate him (you know all seniors do this to their juniors, you’ve been there too…). We asked him to join us and share his 19-year old thoughts on the issue.
This bespectacled boy from Johor sat down nervously and after hemming and hawing said something like this:
“you Malays ask for a bigger piece of the economic cake from others, and I don’t think the non-Malays really care…but please, don’t just ask, HELP STIR THE CAKE Too lah…”
There was an eternity of silence in that room then before we slowly walked out with our books and pens.
But that night stayed with me, because that freshman taught me a lesson that has guided me all my life: Talk is cheap, opinions are free…but it is action that changes things.
I have followed with interest the discussions on this blog and have derived immense satisfaction over the repartees and ripostes that have been posted.
Yes, we have learned and well-read participants from all walks of life here. The “been there, done that” crowd is well represented, so are the “i’ve earned the right to be cynical” types too, even the “i’m too young to have experienced it all but here’s my two cents worth” is here.
This blog welcomes them.
All this is on show for all to see: Cik DIn, Hang Tuah, kgboy, humanly, Benta…we all have our views. But the $64k question remains unanswered: we rant, we rave, we opine…is that all? what do we do next? Jangan cakap aja…buat juga mesti mau.
Someone once said that you can’t change the world on your own, but you can do your small part in your own small way. I pray that the Almighty accepts whatever little that I do every single day…so, act too, my bloggers, don’t just talk.
December 14th, 2005 at 11:14 pm
Dear Kulimboy
Some of us maybe if not all have been doing our bit in trying to change the Malay mindset and Malaysia. I have been doing my part for the last 9 years by explaining, showing, pushing and instigating the Malays in Malaysia to be more open, receptive and progressive. I have not only done the talkng but also the stirring or kayuhing but the boat is overloaded and not many are doing the kayuhing unfortunately.
December 14th, 2005 at 11:38 pm
Syabas Kulimboy,
You summed it very rightly. When I mentioned the word critical thinking in my earlier post …it was “critical thinking”! I dont go against critical thinking (without the apostrophes!) and put very highly those persons who possess the capacity to think critically. I truly believe that critical habit of thought, if usual in society, will pervade all its mores, because it is a way of taking up the problems of life and makes good citizens.
But I tend to go against the people who, as you said “we rant, we rave, we opine”. For a start, why not we all in this blog meet up face to face, form a structured group, discuss issues in structured ways and most importantly devise structured ACTIONS, as our contribution to the society. I propose Bro Din to become the first president of this group, for his immense knowledge and experience!. If we are not prepared to do this, then, it’s “kedai kopi” lah. Opps!
December 14th, 2005 at 11:50 pm
“You summed it up very rightly”.
Sorry, I searched the map and found that Benta is actually a very small koboi town in Pahang. English is hardly spoken there. That explains my English!
December 15th, 2005 at 12:20 am
I agree with Benta. Stringing a few words from a distance is not exactly interactive.
If someone were to start a discussion group in a face-to-face, belly-to-belly environment, I sure would be interetsed to take part.
Bro Din, how about leading this group - as Benta suggested?
December 15th, 2005 at 1:03 am
Guys (and Gals too, Ummi and Tina),
Benta has thrown down the gauntlet!
What say you we meet (at least, for those that can…) and form a group that can discuss burning issues that affect not just the Malays but Malaysia, in a more structured manner and more importantly, take action after due deliberation.
Dr Bakri has done his part by generously allowing us to share, challenge and nurture ideas here. But we do all this shrouded by a cloak of anonymity. Maybe its time that the bloggers here meet - nothing fancy, a teh tarik at an agreed upon site. And plan a course of action to transform these ideas to fruition.
For those that can’t, say like Ogre (or anyone else due to reasons of distance…) we can still communicate and continue to contribute.
Botak, like you, I would be very interested to take part in what I am sure will be an exciting and insightful experience. And Bro Din, kgboy, hang tuah et al come on, take up the challenge -
Ogre, what say you, sir?
December 15th, 2005 at 4:55 am
Friends, before we want to change the world, we must first change ourselves. We believe in human dignity, then treat others with the same dignity we expect to be accorded. Creating awareness and positive reinforcement go hand in hand at our homes, workplace.
December 15th, 2005 at 6:47 am
..but ogre or ergo,
it would be too expensive for me just to be with all for just a teh tarik and roti canai. i would have to fly thousands of miles to be with you.
so i have to pass on this one. roger and out 10-4.
merry xmas!
December 15th, 2005 at 9:00 am
hi guys!
watcha doin’ come X’mas and new year? you know i am a party girl.
any of you in need of my services? dont get ideas - we’re talkin’ good clean fun here.
there’s the kissogram - which you boys can enjoy on your ‘all boys night out’ - without your mrs tagging along.
call me. din merican has my number.
December 15th, 2005 at 9:16 am
Dear All
Before we jump headlong and have a face to face or belly to belly meeting as suggested by Botak and Kulimboy let set out the ground rules. What do the group intend to accomplish and how would we as a group achieve what we set out to do. What are the benefits of a face to face meeting? I remember someone writing “the pen is mightier than the sword” Wouldn’t that apply to our work here? Meeting without specific and achievable goals and objectives will be a kedai kopi session as indicated by Benta.
I realise that battles have to be won on the ground but winning the battle is not winning the war. As much as I like to actively participate, I’m tired and battle weary. I am also not keen on politics. Ogres are not very acceptable especially in Malaysia so I will have to decline a visit there. Too many people would love to hunt for Ogres.
December 15th, 2005 at 9:26 am
Hang Tuah
Perhaps you could seek the grace of the new Sultan of Melaka Sultan Ahmad Shah. I’m sure the new Sultan will be happy to have Hang Tuah in his court. Perhaps the new ultan would be willing to send Hang Tuah on a mission to meet up with Ogre just like the Putri Gunung Ledang story.
Just like Mansor Puteh, Hang Tuah is making a comeback and completing his mission that was abruptly abandoned hundred of years ago.
December 15th, 2005 at 9:48 am
hi guys!
watcha doin’ come X’mas and new year? you know i am a party girl.
any of you in need of my services? dont get ideas - we’re talkin’ good clean fun here.
there’s the kissogram - which you boys can enjoy on your ‘all boys night out’ - without your mrs tagging along.
call me. din merican has my number.
December 15th, 2005 at 8:52 pm
Laksamana Hang Tuah,
A nice way out of a bind…10-4…your alternative approach? Good luck for 2006. Are you any different from Badawi? Thanks.
December 15th, 2005 at 9:01 pm
Tina,
Selamat Hari Natal dan Juga Tahun Baru.
Better luck for 2006 and have a great and fun time from here on until January 1, 2006 with plenty of booze and lots of boozels with your young stud, Matmoto.
December 15th, 2005 at 9:55 pm
Sorry, I’m the culprit here! I should have not talked about that face-to-face, belly-to-belly thingy here. Maybe it’s better for the forum to be shrouded with anonymity!
Currently participating in a landscaping course as landscaping is my newfound hobby. The speaker mentioned something about how to get good yields (i.e. flowers) from plants, especially the “bunga kertas”. According to him, we need to “stress out” the plant a bit, like making them wilted under the scorching sun and heat for a while (but not too muchlah!). After a while, water them throughly (i.e. water should reach all the roots) and apply appropriate fertilizers.
Can this be applicable to the Malays also? Stress-out + proper assistances?
Happy Christmas & New Year! Not going to Penang this time of the year!
December 15th, 2005 at 11:33 pm
Tina, I have a soft spot for Sarong Party Girl. Hehehe
December 16th, 2005 at 1:54 am
Kulimboy,
Syabas! Enlightening.
The marvelous gift bestowed on us, the human specie is his ability to use his or his fellow human’s experience in the past for future actions. Like they say, we share 96% of our genes with the chimpanzee. Yet we seem to branch off and came along miles away from them in terms of our progress in life as a specie. The difference? intra-generaton communication. History! History man!!….errrrrr woman!
Revelation of your personal experience have without doubt affected every one who reads of your post here. So are manny other posts that are read and and subsequented affected the readers in all their actions in the days ahead.
Dear all especially Benta,
It is a noble idea to gather with the intention to crystalise our contributions into some form of action. I support that do. However before we do that think about this.
Every word expressed here has varying degree of effect on all readers. I believe if ideas and opinions expressed here when convincing and rational enough would affect each and every one of us whether negatively or positively. It would then cummulate into some form of corresponding actions in our own ways and at our own time. Important thing is we say what we mean and mean what we say here.
Uncontrolled emotions often enact ugly scenes and raise obstacles to good intention and often lead to undesired consequences. Face-to-face and belly-to-belly meet, I believe, is fertile ground for such unbridled emotions especially when debate gets out of hand and risk the scenario of emotions getting the better of the participants leading to the adverse effect on the original noble intention of the meet. Imagine when religion and ethnicity are involved. Do you see some occasionally cross fire here? At least with the forum here, we have the advantage of thinking through before we hit the submit button. Yet you still see occasionaly misdemeanor amongst posters who otherwise are perfect gentlemen.
I like to share with you all an actual research done in UK which drew parallel to management culture. Here’s:-
(This is based on an actual experiment conducted in U.K. where they
experiment on anything and everything so that they can document their observations with R&D grants)
> Put eight monkeys in a room. In the middle of the room is a ladder,
leading to a bunch of bananas hanging from a hook on the ceiling.
> Each time a monkey tries to climb the ladder, all the monkeys are
sprayed with ice water, which makes them miserable.
> Soon enough, whenever a monkey attempts to climb the ladder, all of the other monkeys, not wanting to be sprayed, set upon him and beat him up.Soon, none of the eight monkeys ever attempts to climb the ladder.
> One of the original monkeys is then removed, and a new monkey is put in the room. Seeing the bananas and the ladder, he wonders why none of the other monkeys are doing the obvious. But undaunted, he immediately begins to climb the ladder.
> All the other monkeys fall upon him and beat him silly. He has no idea
why. However, he no longer attempts to climb the ladder.
> A second original monkey is removed and replaced. The newcomer again attempts to climb the ladder, but all the other monkeys hammer the crap out of him. This includes the previous new monkey, who, grateful that he’s not on the receiving end this time, participates in the beating because all the other monkeys are doing it. However, he has no idea why he’s attacking the new monkey.
> One by one, all the original monkeys are replaced. Eight new monkeys are now in the room. None of them have ever been sprayed by ice water. None of them attempt to climb the ladder. All of them will enthusiastically beat up any new monkey who tries, without having any idea why.
> This is how any company’s policies get established.
Try changing ‘company’s policies’ to ‘racial prejudice’ or ‘racial stereotyping’. Do you see what I see?
December 16th, 2005 at 5:30 am
Kgboy,
Nice story, it may be apocryphal but it succinctly sums up corporate culture both in the private and government sector.
I often wonder why the PM, the holder of the highest position in Malaysia needs to hold onto other Ministry’s position such as Minister for Internal Security and Minister of Finance. Is he not responsible for his all Ministries? He is also the President of UMNO and the Chairman of Barisan Nasional. Has all this to do with the “Monkey culture”? If so, we need to act soon before Malaysia truly become a Parliament of Monkeys in a Banana Republic.
December 16th, 2005 at 10:33 am
Hi Friends,
Immediately after the decisive battle at Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln delivered his infamous speech and declared that all slaves were free. This freedom, however, existed in name only as the slaves, predominantly blacks, were subjected to deprivation and degradation for two more centuries before Martin Luther King would use the “Rosa Parks” incident to activate his march towards realising that belief. If Gandhi had just made speeches without any tangible action, the British would not have acceded to the demand for independence. His “salt-march” marked that turning point in history.
Politics and those in control of power, especially too long, would never ever give up that easily greed and comfort that comes along with such power. Closer to home, we can see how draconian laws of the foregone era are vigourously defended and the small doses of changes shown here and there are really crumbs meant to assume a more cynical path.
Take the case of the recent furore over the ear-squat affair. Prior to the election, a royal commission was set-up to review police abuse and I would not doubt that the report may have gathered enough dust to mar its visibility. If what has been related to the present commission is true, then this ear-squat business has been going on for years. In this case, it so happened that it appeared the victim is a Chinese national and suddenly the govt became very “concerned” and summoned a royal commission. Tell me honestly gentlmen, would you classify this incident as more serious than the several deaths in police custody. When Teresa Kok can jump incessantly to be a champion of sorts over this matter, she never had the gall to even whisper over Malaysians facing similar or even worse fates, particulalry on the several deaths in police custody. Being a politician, she was just trying to push the right button to create a sensation as she knew fairly well that home issues would not garner such publicity, or so it seems. A politician to the core, isn’t it?
After having gone through several general elections in this country, it is all too clear that the ruling party would stake its last dime and breath to hold on to power and the opposition, coalition or otherwise, with such stalemates in the form of DAP and PAS would hardly cause any dent to the ruling coalition. With worn out tyres, the cars the opposition are using for the race could hardly catch up with the ruling coaltion, not until there is a complete paradigm shift. One needs to see what the opposition politicians are talking day-in day-out, the same old worn-out record.
Is the ruling coalition bothered the least at what we are talking about or discussing over here or in the several blogs that have sprung-up? It goes about with its affairs with reaffirmed belief that these matter little or nothing. We can be very rhetoric as we have so eloquently and, perhap, passionately, argued but for the govt of the day, it is business as usual. Well, the present royal commission is going to stop ear-squats or Teresa Kok is going to create another scene when the next death in police custody occurs. Sounds too good, but pinch ourselves - oh, reality bites, and, surprise, the sun is going to rise in the west.
December 16th, 2005 at 8:37 pm
Fair Malaysian.
If not nude squad, how to search for banned materials that could be hidden in the vagina or anus? Purchase powerful x-ray machine or employ obstetrics and gynaecology for each police station in the country? Just curious
.
December 16th, 2005 at 8:57 pm
Dear Fair Malaysian,
We must continue to raise issues, and make useful and constructive (and hopefully intelligent) comments on what ails our country. Let us throw ideas and suggestions in cyber space for discussion and debate.The effects of our efforts may not be felt immediately. Those in power can still ignore them because our public is too focused on their daily lives. How long more can they bury their heads in the sand!! We must persist as I believe someone in Government must be reading, thinking, monitoring and noting what we write.
Until we can influence the way Malaysians think, and this will take time, and improve the quality of those we elect to represent us in Parliament, and this will take even longer time, those in positions of power will continue “business as usual”. They know that we have no choices.
PAS, KeADILan and DAP, or a combination? Not viable, in my opinion. But at least, we must make sure the next time that the Government does not get 90% of our support. Here Badawi is a letdown as he squandered political capital with his NATO philosophy. The Opposition may not be as smart or thorough as we want them to be, but let them be irritants to counter the Dato Badruddin of Gunong Jerai types in the ruling party.
Fortunately, times are changing. We are getting better informed and educated (still a long way to go), thanks to the offshore media (we must say “syabas” to ASTRO), the internet and search machines like Google and Yahoo. We are still not like America or the United Kingdom, where public reaction to decisions and actions of the President or the Prime Minister is swift, organised,and often brutal.
You can see this happening in America today under George Bush, where he is heavily criticised for his mishandling of Iraq, and the domestic security situation (secret and illegal wiretaps on Americans being the latest), and in the United Kingdom under his poodle Blair. I attribute this to the openness of Americans and the British people, aided by a free and independent press and TV including the talks shows.
Tabliods like The Washington Post and The New York Times are in the forefront of efforts to keep the US Government accountable, transparent and honest. Now you compare these papers with The New Straits Times and The Star. In stead of acting as countervailling power, the editors of these Malaysian papers practise self censorhip and sycophancy. They prefer to promote MAWI, in stead of being more critical about the Prime Minister and his Ministers. Of course, you see letters to editors but these are carefully vetted and subject to heavy editing. Do you think we can hope to be like the British Press, for example?
Our civil society is in its infancy. But we must admire the efforts of JUST, AIDs Council, and Sisters of Islam and others. They are in the forefront of efforts to raise the level of public awareness. Public apathy is a worry.
Rely on the Opposition to speak on our behalf, especially the aging Karpal Singh and Lim Kit Siang? In truth, our Opposition parties are next to useless. Teresa Kok, for example, lost her credibility because she did not take the trouble to verify whether the person in the video is a citizen of the PRC or a Malaysian. It turned out that the “victim” is a Malay girl, not even a local Chinese. For all we know, this video is a Special Branch trick to trap her and embarass her party and she took the bait. Otherwise, how can one explain how the video was made, given that security in the PJ Main Police Station is very tight.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year for all our fellow bloggers and a very special thank you to Dr. Bakri Musa and his family at Morgan Hill, California.
December 16th, 2005 at 11:26 pm
Where is Fathol Zaman?
He is either busy with his new venture, The Ipohekok, sorry wrong spelling, Echo, or actively engaged in trying to get a date with belukar Jong in the belukar of Tiger Lane.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Hey, enjoy the Lemang and Tempoyak Durian. For Non-Muslims, visit Ipoh for great Ho Fun and Char Keow Teow.
December 17th, 2005 at 1:53 am
Hi Benta,
One would wonder why there are no such written rules pertaining to nude squats, and this has been even admitted by the enforcerers, the police. Somehow, they say, it has been an accepted norm by the police. The regulations say that the arresting officer has to read the rights of the arrested person. Does that really happen? Of course, we have been nurtured with a third class mentality and we have been seduced to see that way. The police have no business in conducting nude searches. Have you ever read the chilling experiences of Raja Petra and the “Annis” person. Sch tactics were used to bring shame and dishonour and, I hope the royal commission sees fit that such searches are done under the supervision of a medical officer. Aren’t we aiming to become a developed nation? Or are we becoming developed except in the way the police treat the detainees. Surely Abdullah should or would have little or no moral standing in preaching Islam Hadhari unless, of course, it is a political gimmick. I hope he means what he preaches.
Bro Din, your “bait” theory is a good one. Who knows, this may be true. In Malaysia and with the Malaysian police anything is possible. But I am honestly annoyed with this Teresa Kok. She is not the intelligent person I thought she is and pardon me for this bluntness. With so many tragedies happening in our prison system, she chose to make an issue on the alleged foreign national.
I am going up north for my Christmas holidays and wish all our friends Merry X’Mas and Happy New Year.
December 17th, 2005 at 3:09 am
“I studied the lives of great men and famous women, and I found that the men and women who got to the top were those who did the jobs they had in hand, with everything they had of energy and enthusiasm and hard work.”
Harry S. Truman
Wonder why the PM holds so many ministerial positions?
Why do many directors of PLC hold so many directorships?
Why do we promote people who have no track record of performance?
Our entire nation is gripped with one very obvious psychic. Aggressive ineptness.
From a tiny ripple on the surface of a calm lake to a deadly tsunami, it has its epicentre. So are the wrongs here in Malaysia. Can we guess where the epicentre is?
December 17th, 2005 at 7:46 am
DinM,
Come to think of it, there’s going to be a 69 ha belukar land in-the-making(but oops, maybe concrete jungle) at Tiger Lane when the ROYAL Perak Golf Club(RPGC) gets evicted in under 6 mths(18 May 2006) by Perak’s State Secretary Incorporate(SSI).
RPGC members are questioning the Perak state govt’s decision not to extend the land lease for the golf course(on prime land) and at a recent EGM, club members have passed a resolution to initiate legal proceedings to protect their rights over the 69 ha course.
DinM, you are most welcomed to join us at Ipoh’s 69 ha belukar land. You can have your hot bowl of Ipoh hor fun and char kueh teow and have a party. It’ll be great idea if you can bring along Tina or even your mentor - the great tun, rather than him having to go all the way on a belukar trail to Zimbabwe. But ooops, sorry no Mugabe please. He’s not welcomed.
December 17th, 2005 at 11:14 am
Assalamualikum to all
Thank you for thinking about me, all the way over here, in D.C. Next year, Insya Allah, may be you all can come join me in STF Golden Jubilee Celebration, end of June or early July 2006.
Happy Holidays to all!
December 17th, 2005 at 8:37 pm
Jong,
Sorry about the controversy over the Tiger Lane Golf Course. The State Secretary should give golfers in Ipoh a new location to build a championship course. Maybe with that, Perak can one day host the Malaysian Open Golf Championships.
You cannot take without some compensation. The State Secretary must think carefully.
Good luck and Happy New Year.
December 17th, 2005 at 8:43 pm
Dr. Bakri, Din Merican, Fair Malaysian, Chez1978, Benta, Orgre 10-4, the great Laksamana Hang Tuah and my fellow bloggers,
My very best wishes for Christmas and 2006. Look forward to reading http://www.bakrimusa.com and doing my thing in it. Make sure to join me, the more the merrier.
December 17th, 2005 at 8:45 pm
Fathol Zaman and Jong,
Banyak makan tempoyak dan maju lah kommer dalam 2006. All sukses for the IpohEcho.
December 17th, 2005 at 8:48 pm
Tina,
More legal sex business for you. Another year older means more discounts will be required to attract customers. That is life. You too will have to face product obsolence, dah!! Good luck for 2006.
December 17th, 2005 at 8:53 pm
Kulimboy,
I forgot to identify you. Selamat Hari Natal dan 2006.
Well, hang buat apa di Kulim, Kedah? Lepak kah. Is Jalan Saad still there? I understand that there is a thriving Cham (Cambodian) community.They are doing better than the Malays of Kulim. Wonder why? Thank you.
December 18th, 2005 at 9:51 am
DinM,
Perhaps you’ll be interested to read an article in the Sun by R.Nadeswaran.
http://sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=12128
Meanwhile there has been several press statement coming from the Perak govt every few days to support their action and reported in the mainstream media. Perak MB Tajol Rosli even went as far as to accuse rpgc members of ‘not dressing appropriately’ in the club etc etc. Even if it is true, what has ‘dressing’ to do with the land issue?
December 18th, 2005 at 10:15 pm
Ahmad Kayanson,
Yes, Jalan Asaad (not Jalan Saad) is still the thoroughfare that we Kulim-folks go down whenever we need something from the mamak stalls or the chinese shops OR as you rightly pointed out, the Cham bazaar.
The other roads you might know are still there too. Some have had name changes but you will generally see the same roads you might have seen thirty-forty years ago. Jalan Panchor is now the more elegantly named Jalan Tunku Bendahara, for instance.
We Kuilm-folks welcome change but we do not change just for the sake of changing.
However, having said that, there has been quite a lot of changes around the peripheries of the town itself - the Kulim hi-tech park, the Kulim General Hospital (generally thought of as the best in the north, barring the Penang private ones), The Kulim MRSM (heck of a good school, they say), the various new housing estates - but within the town center, it is as if time has decided to stand still. We dreamily drive around in our Morris Oxfords and Austin Cambridges, for the more affluent the Volvo 122s, playing checkers (no chess please, we’re still very provincial…) in comfy coffee shops and we abhor the traffic jams that sneak up on us during holiday season when well-to-do sons and daughters come back to visit. Truth be known, Kulim welcomes those who want it to be the retirement center of Malaysia.
When was the last time you were here? It must have been a long while.
Let me tell you, we are justifiably proud of our Mee rebus kuah Ketam - it is out of this world! You can get it from the stall beside Pasaraya Nola in town. Let me treat you to a plateful…you will know what we Kulim-folks mean.
While I am at it, let me convey a open invitation to all bloggers to partake in this excellent meal whenever you come past this side of the world. Sdr Din, this mee rebus will rival Ipoh’s best Hor Fun and Char Koew Teaw. Bro Fathol, if you need a break from your magnum opus that we are all eagerly waiting to read, jump in your car and spend a leisurely Sunday here!
Fair Malaysian, make a detour while you are up north. It will be worth your while.
On a more serious note, the Cham population in Kulim is doing well economically and it has benefitted us locals. They have chosen to open up a bazaar selling clothes (baju melayu/baju kurung/songkok etc) and you can identify them by the lilt in their accent when they speak Kedah Malay. They are industrious and well-mannered (as many who had to leave their beloved motherland to eke a living tend to be…) when dealing with the locals and are quite religious. We find them in the mosques joining us for prayers almost every waktu!
However, they bring with them some social and emotional baggage from their motherland. lWe had a sensational ugly murder a few months ago within and involving the Cham community. The cause: jealousy and all manner of envy. The local police were stonewalled as the community did not want publicity nor intentional media coverage.
I was told that the murder case has been solved…kudos to the Police this time! We Kulim-folks are proud of our boys in blue: they helped end the communist insurgency here.
Did you know that Kulim was a designated ‘black area’ where communist insurgents would meld and work with the unwitting local folks in the daytime and fight the government forces when it is dark, until at least 1974? Well, on that note, we have come a long way.
Talikng about the Chams and their accomplishment in Kulim, I suppose they excelled because they needed to build something for themselves, and they had nothing to lose or to go back to.
I visited Cape Town SA last year and was very proud to notice the economic sway the Cape Malays hold over the city. What accomplishment!
But it begs a further question: Must we first be a migrant community (like the Chams) in a strange and inhospitable land, challenged at every corner, for the Malays to show the world what we can do? Are we so molly-cuddled and spoilt in our Land of Plenty that we tend to under-achieve? Or are we judging our fellow Malays by standards that are unreasonably high that we see failure and disappointment at every turn?
We pass judgment easily on our leaders and the managers of our national institutions. While I applaud the level of mature criticisms that have graced this blog, I can’t help but wonder the changes these well-thought out comments can bring if they are communicated to the right authorities. Perhaps, then perhaps, we may see the changes we want to see, happen.
Again, Selamat Hari Natal to all you out there. You have all enriched my life while I sip my ayaq nyoq and enjoy my mee rebus. Although we may not have realised this, we have become a very close community, one and all, thanks to Dr Bakri and his blog page.
I leave you with this thought for the holidays:
“Just because the message may not reach (the intended audience), does not mean it need not be sent!”
Kind regards from a small-town boy.
December 19th, 2005 at 12:39 am
Kulimboy,
I am quite familiar with Kulim-Lunas-Bukit Mertajam Area.In the 1960s, I undertook a survey of the Arumugam Pillai Estates around Kulim, Lunas, and Bukit Mertajam area together with my Economics senior at MU to study the effects of Fragmentation, the findings of which formed part of the classic but less known Ungku Abdul Aziz Report on the Fragmentation of Rubber Estates to the then Malayan Government.
I was there a year ago (2004 Puasa time) when I accompanied my friend, a respected stockbroker, to visit his widowed mother. She is staying in the area where there are two schools side by side. It is also an area where there are still remnants of some Division One Government quarters. I saw Jalan Asaad again, but the Government quarters are no longer there. I also enjoyed the famous Mee Rebus Kuah Ketam (near the taxi stand) with more than double helping, and the daging panggang with ayak assam.
Yes, Kulim and its surrounds have changed with all the places you mentioned including the respected Badlishah School. Of course, our Ahli Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Kadiak Sheikh Fadzir, alum of Badlishah School, who has a prominent home there will claim credit for these developments. I will concede some to his efforts. But I think Kulim benefited from the spillover from developments in Penang. That whole area is thriving, thanks to Mahathir. Harap Badawi, lingkup lama dah.
I mentioned the Cham People for a purpose. In Cambodia, there are a neglected and economically depressed community which suffered some much indignities and torture during the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge reign of terror (our Pak Din can tell you more about this as I happen to know that he was in Cambodia for a few years, and as Senior Research Fellow, Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace he did some research work on the Chams). The Chams were once conquerors with an Empire which included Cambodia and Vietnam. Today, they are a demoralised people. They never recovered from their defeat to the Khmers.
This is something we Malays must learn, If we are not careful, if we are weak and take things as our birthright, and if our leaders continue to be in hubristic state, we too will be disappear, and be like the Chams, a marginalized people in our own country.
Success (if we can call what we have achieved in the last 35 years of NEP/NDP policies a success) is a moving target requiring sustained hard work,dedication and sacrifice. We must think about the future of our offsprings. So I was glad that the Chams are doing well in Kulim, where they are a business people, not cow hands and fishermen seeking a livelihood around the Great Mekong River. In Cambodia, as in Kulim, they do not have the NEP/NDP to help them. Maybe as “Malays”, they may be to get some help. At least, they are making good use of the help they get.
As for communicating ideas and suggestions to our Government, there is no need for us to do that. If they are really interested, all they have to do is to read http://www.bakrimusa.com and other blogs, and get our feedback. But our problem is that our Government does not listen seriously to the rakyat. Our leaders prefer to sit in their Putrajaya air-conditioned offices and dream up schemes purportedly for the benefit of rakyat.
It is a paternalistic, self serving and top down approach. Promises, promises, and big contracts and bigger contracts for whose benefit, if not their cronies or agents. All you had to do was to follow closely the recent Pangkalan Pasir By-Election campaign speeches made by UMNO leaders including a certain Annuar Musa who deserved to spend a few years in Sungai Buloh jail for ripping off the Ministry of Rural Development.
They try to bribe the electorate with promises. So where do you think our corrupt culture starts, if not at the top. They try to buy us with better roads, water supply and better hospitals if we vote their representatives. They even promise a new University in Kelantan, as if the 13 public universities are not enough.
It would appear to me that there are two classes of Malays and Non-Malays: the Barisan Citizens and others. The others (here I am referring to the Malays) deserve the wrong end of the stick where there are no carrots. I ask: Don’tt we all Malays who deserve equal treatment? No, if you are a Malay in PAS Kelantan, you get nothing. Why this discrimination? Politics, I guess.
Frankly, Kulimboy, we are not judging our leaders by our standards, but by theirs. By what they talk and promise. All we want for them to kotakan janji, berkidmat untuk rakyat, dan jangan sekali kali tipu rakyat. Rakyat sekarang ini bukan bodoh lagi. Jadi wakil rakyat yang jujur dan bersih. This is the minimum we expect from them. So, our standards are not high.
Enjoy your ayak noqok and mee rebus kuah ketam, but remember to be moderate, not over eat. Keep thinking. Never accept anything without subjecting it to close scrutiny. Welcome 2006. Terima kasih.
December 19th, 2005 at 1:16 am
Thanks so much kulimboy for the invitation to dine in the comfort of an old provincial town, one that brings many fond memories.
You said about how Kulim was in the grips of the communist insurgents back in the early 70s. You are right. It was somewhere in the rubber estate, at the back of the Kulim rest house, where the Rangers killed 2 CTs in 1973, including one who was high on the wanted list. I was with one of the cut-off parties.
Earlier in 1970, the late Col Kassim earned his Pingat Gagah Berani in the same “belukar” killing 3 CTs in a chance encounter.
When I was in your hometown a couple of years ago, things have indeed changed. The location where we operated then is where Hotel Seri Malaysia now stands. It is so different but the nostalgia was too overbearing.
I’ll take your offer, my friend and will try to coax Pak Din and Jong to come along. Hope there is enough mee rebus kueh ketam for all of us?
Cheers.
December 19th, 2005 at 1:48 am
Syabas, Ahmad Kayanson dan Kulimboy, semoga pemimpin kita dan orang Melayu sedar diri, dan jangan heboh sangat tentang Ketuanan Melayu.
Makna “Ketuanan Melayu” sangat dalam. Ianya bukan slogan. Kepimpinan Melayu itu lah makna sebenarnya Ketuanan itu. Orang Melayu mesti kuat, berani, bermaruah tinggi, berkebolehan, berilmu, and berwawasan supaya kita jadi contoh dan disegani, bukan patung yang boleh dimain dan dibeli oleh bangsa lain.
Saya adalah anak Kedah, dan tahu sikap orang Kedah dulu. Mereka berani dan berpegang kepada princip. Sesuatu ketika, awal Merdeka, anak anak Kedah lah yang banyak menyumbang kepada negara. Tunku Abdul Rahman,Tun Dr. Mahathir, Tun Daim, Pak Khir, Pak Senu, IGP Tun Salleh, Dr. Omar Din, Tan Sri Aziz Zain, dan rakan 1960 saya seperti Tan Sri Ahmad Kamil dan Tan Sri Razali Ismail umpamanya. Mana dia anak Kedah baru?
Biasiswa Kedah Darul Aman adalah contoh progressif yang ditubuhkan oleh DYMM Sultan Abdul Hamid, Tok kepada DYMM Sultan Abdul Halim yang kami semua sayang dan hormati. Ini kenyataan bukan pura pura. Dengan biasiswa anak Kedah dapat ka Uniiversiti. Tetapi kami tidak berjaya dinegeri sendiri. Mengapa anak Kedah tidak boleh kerjasama.
Lihat lah seliseh faham antara Mat Khir dan Syed Zain. Bagi lah jawatan itu kepada yang muda. Kita yang dah lama undur saja lah. Mengapa tak boleh, saya masih tertanya? Mungkin, Kulimboy, boleh jawab soalan saya ini. Terima kasih.
December 19th, 2005 at 2:05 am
Fathol,
Not a bad idea to visit Kulim again. You know, I am a proud Kedahan. But I must come to Ipoh first to meet up with you. I enjoyed your visit to my humble abode last Sunday. It is nice that, thanks to Dr.Bakri’s website, we made cyber contact, and followed it up with the historic face to face encounter.
You look a like a tough warrior from Kyber Pass. Thanks to the Rangers, and for your service to King and Country. Cheers.
December 19th, 2005 at 2:11 am
Kulimboy,
I forgot to mention to you that Kedah produced some outstanding academics like Dr. Chandra Muzaffar (Bedong), Dr.Jeshrun Chandran (Kulim), philosopher Kassim Ahmad (Alor Setar) and a very well known artist, my good buddy Dato Ibrahim Hussein, outstanding lawyer Christopher Rizal Abdullah, and the famous Malaysian goalkeeper Yusof Bakar of my generation. Thanks.
December 19th, 2005 at 2:25 am
Wake-Up Call to Badawi, Rafidah and their Cohoots:
“Export value passes $100 billion for first time
(dpa) - Thai exports during the first 11 months of the year reached $101.4 billion, surpassing the 100-billion mark for the first time, a senior commerce ministry official says.
According to the commerce ministry’s trade data for the January to November period, Thailand’s exports were $101.4 billion, up 15.2% over the same period in 2004, while imports were $108.6 billion, up 25.5%, leaving the country with a trade deficit of $7.2 billion.
“This is the first time in our history that exports have passed the $100 billion mark,” said Commerce Ministry Permanent Secretary Karun Kittistaporn.
In November, Thailand achieved a slight monthly trade surplus of $55 million, with exports up 14.5% to reach $9.84 billion while imports grew 14.7% per cent to $9.78 billion.
Thai Commerce Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said Thailand’s exports were expected to hit $111 billion by New Year’s, with the deficit on the decline.
“The government has nothing to worry about in the short term,” Somkid told a press conference.”
December 19th, 2005 at 2:31 am
Point of Clarification:
“Cohoots” is used in stead of cahoots. This is because our Prime Minister and his Minister of Trade and Industry Rafidah are big “HOOTERS” and those who ape and kiss their feets are “Hooters”. So they become “Cohoots”. Hooters are plain nose makers like the Canadian Pacfic hooting train, no substance only smoke.
Happy New Year
December 19th, 2005 at 3:42 am
You too, Pak Din. It was nice making your acquintance. I now appreciate your sentiments and fear for the future of the Malays.
But our numbers are small and far between. There are just too many “ampu bodeks” around who make a mockery of the word “Ketuanan Melayu”. To them it’s the surest way to enrich themselves without having to slog and sweat.
The end result is a Malay race that is poor in the true sense of the word.
The high and mighty are blameless, as their “cohoots” will ensure that they remain afloat while we sink. Must we all sink without a fight?
December 19th, 2005 at 5:33 am
The sooner we free ourselves from the Utopian fantasy, the sooner we are liberated and immune from political manipulation.
Did Mao succeed in making every one an angel, no more greed and evil? History tells us otherwise. Any political system and ideology will always be corrupted after a long while in power. This goes with religious institutions as well.
December 19th, 2005 at 5:22 pm
Yes, Fathol, there are few Malays who speak their minds. But the silent majority is fed up and they are waiting for the right to “run amuck”. When that happens, Malay leaders who have betrayed their race and destroyed Malay values will not be spared.
Let us hope it will not come to that. Certainly, that won’t happen in our time.
Thanks
December 19th, 2005 at 5:25 pm
Correction:”… waiting for the right time….” tks.
December 19th, 2005 at 8:42 pm
Tough warrior from Kyber Pass? …..ummmm, no wonder all the wild life disappeared !
December 19th, 2005 at 10:40 pm
Sdr Din,
Tahukah tuan bahawa sepanjang usia Negeri Kedah diterajui oleh Al-Sultan-sultan yang berdaulat, Negeri kita tidak pernah menabalkan seorang Menteri Besar yang berasal south of Sg Patani? Heran kan? Padahal Kulim pernah menjadi ibu negeri seketika dahulu (zaman jepun).
It is thus very unfortunate that this small town boy whose hometown lies in South Kedah, cannot respond intimately to the issue yang Sdr Din ketengahkan.
The sandiwara yang sedang dilakunkan oleh Pak Khiaq kita dengan Pak Tuan Syed Zain cuma satu penglipur lara bagi kami dikedai Kopi Mustapha (dekat hospital lama Kulim).
Sebab telah lama disisihkan oleh para pembesar di AloQ StaQ, kami orang Kulim dah naik ‘mangli’ (non-responsive) kepada permainan politik orang-orang Kubang Rotan dan orang Pedu.
Nak tau buat apa? MB la ni ka, MB lama ka…nak turun mai Kulim, haram tak nampak muka. Kalau mai pun, Kulim Hi-tech park..photo opps banyak disitu!
Lagi-lagi kami dok tengok Dato’ Paduka Kadiaq Sheh Fadzir! Good man that he is (despite his garish taste in homes and architecture), dia pun dengaq kata nak pencen dah. Dia dan rakan-rakan selalulah sikit balik lawat kawasan, especially kalau Kulim banjir sekali-sekala.
Bila mai election barulah kita nampak orang-orang UMNO Kedah Tengah dan Utara terhegeh-hegeh nak salam tangan Mak dan Pak mertua kami! Pasai apa, I ask you?
Pasai Kulim ni bawah influence MCA. Itu saja. Ergo (bukan Orge kawan kita tuu… ok?) kaum Melayu Kulim dah naik lali re: the goings-on in the State capital.
Kita bukan tak ada budak-budak Kulim atau Kedah yang berkaliber. Dato Azami Daim is a good example, so is Dato Aziz (adek Kadiaq) when he is not involved in his business, Dato Mokhzani Mahathir is up and coming, also that good lawyer YB Hashim Yahaya of Kuala Kedah and our man from Langkawi (i lupa nama dia, ), depa dok tunggu orang lama serah portfolio saja, but certain vested interests that are still exposed need to be covered before a change of guards can be deemed safe…therefore depa kena tunggu lama sikit lah!
We are blessed in Kedah to have a very prihatin Al-Sultan. His unannounced visits to kampungs and pekan-pekan are quite legendary here (and a nightmare for the protocol minded, not to mention security). Tapi Tuanku pun dah amat senja. Kami rakyat tak mau dia gering before his time.
Cuma, Tuanku has a say in the selection of the MB of his state. Therefore the Pak Tuan Syeds of Kedah will always have a chance of staying in Mentalon (the MB’s official residence). Words have it that the Istana would like Pak Tuan Syed Zain to remain until another suitable ‘istana-linked’ man can be found.
So, for the Kulim-folks like my coffee buddies Chot and Aq (short for Ishak), kami sembang-sembang sajalah…nak jadi MB pun tak boleh (tak masuk senarai rasmi…)
December 20th, 2005 at 5:33 am
Kulimboy,
Aku seronok apabila Hang bagi perakuan bahawa Al Sultan kita, Sultan Abdul Halim adalah Raja Kedah Darul Aman yang istimewa dan mulia darjat Tuanku.
Tuanku adalah Raja yang aku sanjung tinggi sejak Tuanku jadi Raja Muda lagi. Semasa itu, Tuanku baru balik dari Universiti Oxford. Ketika itu aku ni sebagai teenager lepak di jajan raya lepas sekolah di depan Hospital Alor Staq . Tuanku lalu jalan tersebut untuk pulang ka Istana Anak Bukit antara jam 4.00 dan 4.30 petang tiap hari kerja. Aku nampak bayang Tuanku pun jadilah kerana aku anggap Tuanku special kerana Tuanku berpelajaran tinggi dari England. Tuanku sentiasa menjadi lambang kemegahan negeri kita. Imeg Tuanku masih dalam ingatan saya sampai sekarang. Dia masih handsome dan segak.
Aku sedih tentang politik negeri Kedah. Rebutan kuasa untuk menjadi MB ini adalah satu dilemma besar kepada negeri kita. Ia juga adalah penghalang terhadap kemajuan negeri kita sendiri. Sedih sungguh kerana Tuanku Al Sultan kita tidak boleh campur tangan dalam hal perlantikan MB. Hanya Perdana Menteri boleh buat keputusan. Dukacitanya, PM kita sekarang tidak buat apa apa. Mungkin beliau sibok dengan urusan lain!!. Jadi rivalry antara Pak Khiak dan Syed Razak, ia-itu perang politik diantara Kubang Rotan dan Pedu berlanjutan. Kedah hilang arah tuju.
Bukan kita tak ada tokok tokoh politik yang bijak, berilmu, jujur dan berkebolihan seperti Azmi Daim, Mokhzani Mahathir dan lain lain. Mengapa? Ini mungkin Hang boleh jawab kerana Hang on the spot. Aku setuju lah dengan pandangan Kulimboy bahawa kita kena “open the selection process”.
Jawatan MB itu tidak boleh jadi hak atau monopoli kaum Syed saja. Kita mesti hapuskan sikap feudalisma ni. Jadi tidak kira dari tempat mana dan status, hanya yang betul betul layak, jujur, berpengalaman dan berilmu boleh dilantik untuk berdiam di Mentaloon. Bila Kedah dapat pemimpin yang berkaliber, inshaAllah majulah negeri kita. Sekarang kita tolak ketepi lah anggapan bahawa Kedah akan jadi maju menjelang 2010!!
MB yang baik saja mungkin tidak cukup. Kedah Civil Service mesti juga direformasikan supaya jentera Kerajaan Duli Tuanku Al Sultan lebih cekap, amanah dan effisen. KCS adalah a “closed service”semasa itu. Mungkin “closed” agaknya?
Aku ni dapat ka University of Malaya kerana biasiswa negeri. Tetapi aku tidak dapat berkidmat dengan KCS. Sebenar aku tunggu enam bulan and selepas itu kerana tak ada duit, aku terpaksa masuk MCS dan lepas itu Bank Negara. Aku bayar balik lah wang biasiswa itu secara instalmen. Tetapi kawan karib aku, Dato Noraman Rafiei balik dan berjasa kepada negeri kita. Pengkorbanan dia amat besar. Kalau dia berkhidmat dengan MCS, mungkin Dato Noraman lebih berjaya lagi seperti anak Kedah,Tan Sri Abu Bakar Noor dan Tan Sri Sheriff Kassim, bekas Ketua Setiausaha Perbendaharaan, kerana Dato Noraman sungguh jujur, rajin dan dedicated.
Bila kita cakap tentang politik Melayu, aku rasa nak marah. Pening kepala aku mencari jawapan mengapa kita sebagai satu bangsa tidak boleh memikir jauh, dan membela nasib rakyat. Nampaknya, kita hanya menggunakan kuasa yang ada kepada kita untuk membolot harta dan wang ringgit. Ini aku tak faham.
Jadi aku kena join Hang, Chot dan Aq. Kita minimum kopi ditempak biasa (Kedai Kopi MustaP’ak) dan makan mee rebus kuah ketam saja lah. Biak diapa lingkop bangsa dan negeri. Hang tenggok lah perihal Dato Gunung Jerai kita. Dia sentiasa berpantun dan jadi pak lawak.
Salam mesra. Selamat Tahun Baru. Kalau umur panjang, aku, Fathol Zaman dan Jong akan sampai diKulim, inshaAllah.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:44 am
Fathol,
What has Jong got against guys from the Kyber Pass? Ranger, you must fix this.
Mungkin dia tak sukar warrior. Dia hendak pak turut kah. Tolong betul kan. Salams.
December 20th, 2005 at 8:58 am
Pak Din,
Bukan itu yang Jong maksudkan. Dia tu memang sayang orang Khyber Pass. Hanya dia ejek yang saya ni telah menyebabkan kehapusan
December 20th, 2005 at 9:24 am
Pak Din,
Sorry Pak Din, tersasul.
Bukan tu yang Jong maksudkan. Dia tu memang sayang orang Patan dari Khyber Pass. Mereka kan besaq-besaq belaka?
Dia kata cek ni yang menghapus hidupan liaq (wild life) di hutan simpanan Gunong Inas, Gunong Bongsu dan ladang getah sekerap belakang rest house Kulim - tempat cek dok buru penganas komunis dulu. Cek dah bagitahu dia, ada satu binatang buas yang masih diburu - Belukaq Jong.
Bila kena esok dia taulah.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:58 pm
Fathol,
Pengsan nanti. Orang Patan bukan sebarang manusia. Mereka kebal dan tahan lasak sebab mereka hidup dikawasan yang kurang infrastruktur. Ditempat diapa, tidak ada berlukar,tetapi ada batu/barren rock.
Bukan macam orang kita. Minta saja dan Kerajaan Barisan Nasional yang diterajui oleh UMNO boleh beri dengan begitu mudah. Lagi baik kalau kita pandai berpantun dan boleh jadi pak lawak macam Scenario atau Dato’ Gunung Jerai. Kita hidup senang lenang. Tak payah kerja, kutip sewa saja. Nasib kita lebih baik dari orang Patan.
I note that both Tun Mahathir and Imam Badawi, among many others, have been nominated by the NST for the Man/Person of the Year. I already know who the winner will be for this year. It will be the Imam. Why? I think he has contributed a new philosophy called “Doing By Not Doing”. Having made the nomination, the NST will have no choice but to declare him a winner. If not, dia hilang ayak muka (water face).
Tun Mahathir deserves to be recognised. So I think, there will be a number of winners (at least 2). There might a posthumous award for the late Datin Seri Endon Mahmood, since she was also nominated. She too deserves to be remembered.
I welcome your views.
December 20th, 2005 at 7:05 pm
Fathol,
Sorry, “belukar” bukan “berlukar”. Perkataan “berlukar” makna lain, kesan kerana diganas dan diraba ala gorilla! Tks.
December 20th, 2005 at 9:42 pm
Dear Friends,
I write this at the business center, KLIA’s Goldern Lounge as I await my flight to Perth, Australia. I shall be holiday in Southern Australia (with wifey, to keep me in check…) until the new year.
I have much to be thankful for this year and as I cruise down the lovely Swan river tomorrow with my Aussie mates, I’ll say a prayer of thanks to the Almighty for the peace and stability we Malaysians enjoyed all through 2005.
I am happy to note that my travel plans did not need to be cancelled as Perth did not encounter the racial riots of other major Aussie cities. A fixation on race and religion has always been a tinderbox for major blowouts. And this year, Australia faces its Annus Horribilis!
I was at one of the citadels of power (read:ministry) in Putrajaya recently to carry a petition from one of our less fortunate Kulim-folk on behalf of his very bright son who was trying to get a scholarship to read law in an august institution in the UK.
While waiting to meet with the Minister, I happend upon a young MP from Bentong who is also one of the MCA’s youth chief.
We made small talk and eventually began discussing the racial undercurrents in the country. His visit to the Ministry was for a bigger objective: to gain more seats in the local unis for young, bright students of chinese descent.
I asked him why MCA did not join the chorus led by Gerakan regarding current educational issues, including additional seats for non-bumis in the local unis.
He told me that that was not the MCA way. Racially sensitive issues should be discussed among leaders, within four walls until a good compromise can be achieved, and indeed, the formula has worked, according to him in the ensuing years.
I mulled over his statement as I sat in my comforable bus ride back to Kulim that night (the north-bound NICE buses are really comfortable you know, for those that have not tried them) and it dawned on me that we Malaysians are indeed fortunate to have forefathers and past leaders who are bent on maintaining and defending our multi-racial way of life. I am sure the present leaders are trying to do the same but for them, the jury is still out.
The recent riots in Australia is a cautionary tale. We must not allow our race or any race in Malaysia to be marginalized. Once the rot sets in, we shall have communal disturbaces of the highest degree, and for a fast developing country such as ours, we cannot afford that.
I am going to be able to see the danger of that issue, first hand, when I travel around Australia this week and next.
I shall also say a prayer of thanks for the good fortune (rezeki) that He has bestowed my wife and I and our two children; for the challenges that He has placed before me to help me grow; and for the friendship physical and virtual he has allowed me to enjoy. Truly, I am blessed.
Until we meet again my friends, next year, my prayers are also for you, for your continued health and wealth, and for a more exciting 2006.
Salams from a small-town boy to all!
December 20th, 2005 at 10:00 pm
Kulimboy,
Have a safe journey and an enjoyable stay and tour of the world’s smallest continent down under. Not to worry as you have US Deputy Sherif John Howard to protect you and your family. You are in very good hands, despite the current social unrest.
The cruise on Swan River to Fremantle should an exciting experience. I look forward to hearing from you in the New Year. Yes, we tend to take things for granted here in Malaysia.
December 20th, 2005 at 10:00 pm
kulim boy,
I am deeply touched by your prayers for every one of us. I will do the same in my quiet moment of connecting with the Almighty.
Nobody gains when our country descend into turnmoil. Let us be inclusive in seeking progress and prosperity for our country. We all ride on the same tide. During high tide, it lifts everything up. As a country, we are as strong as our weakest link. Help should be rendered to those who need it. But we cannot do anything with the parasites of society.
December 21st, 2005 at 12:05 am
kulimboy,
I was looking forward to the mee rebus kuah ketam treat in Kulim and had told Jong and Pak Din to come along. Now you’re in Perth. Too bad, we have to wait till next year.
Pak Din has his holiday planned somewhere in Singapore this Christmas and New Year. Jong is going snokerling in Pulau Redang. Looks like I have to seek solace up Bt Larut, formerly Maxwell Hill. I was told I need to carry my marriage certificate, othrwise the religious officers will nab me and my wife. See, we are second-class citizens in our own country.
Enjoy your trip in Perth, kulimboy. Perth is much like KL in apperance, as there is one big bazzar right in the center of the city. The only thing I enjoyed there was the Swam River boat ride and the visits to the farms and orchards. It’s so professionally run unlike the commercial river boats at Kuala Kangsar.
They were planning to do the same in Alor Star but it never took off for reasons best known to the authorities. May be they fear Malay youths will use the opportunity to “berkhalwat” on the river boats. Hey, isn’t it an easy way to squeeze some “duit kopi” for our hard-pressed moral guardians?
Australia is a democracy like ours. While she practises an opened system ours is closed, literally. The right to dissent is entrenched in the Aussie’s Constitution. That’s what a democracy should be.
I took part in a street demo in Melbourne some years ago. The objective was to highlight the plight of the Timorese who were under Indonesian rule. The police were there alright but they did not go about knocking our heads. Instead they helped control the traffic so we could marched down Nicholas Street, unhindered,
Those who walk the corridors of power here feel otherwise. Our police is just an extension of their influence. Therefore, the two commissions formed to investigate on the Police are nothing but mere facade.
Anyway, kulimboy, have fun. Wishing you and your family a Happy and Prosperous New Year. And the same goes to the rest on this blog.
Cheers.
December 21st, 2005 at 7:44 pm
Dear kulimboy,
My own experience at marriage had been short, but Perth played a very beautiful part of my life then.
We honeymooned at Sunset Coast and memories of long relaxing walks by the beach while waiting for the sun to set is something I shall always cherish.
My late husband loved Fremantle and when I visited Western Australia recently on a company trip, it brought a lump to my throat. The city is beautiful, especially if you took a boat to get there.
There are of course other private memories of times spent on Perth Hills and Rottness Island, but what I want to know is why do you say Perth and South Australia all in one sentence?
Perth is in western Australia, not south. If memory serves me right, you would be going to Adelaide if you went south.
Maybe you meant you were flying into Australia via Perth and going to Adelaide for most of the holidays. Whatever the case, enjoy your time there - make beautiful memories with your wife - they will always be your companion when one of you move on.
yours sincerely
myra.
December 22nd, 2005 at 6:07 am
are you now available once again, myra?
i am Mr McGoo
December 22nd, 2005 at 7:29 pm
Mr Magoo,
If by ‘available’ you mean single, yes I am single. I have been that way by choice for the last six years. But this is not a lonely hearts column So, let us not dwell too much on my personal circumstances.
To Bakrimusa’s friendly blogger community,
I wrote because I thought kulimboy has a special way with words. Many of you bloggers out there are also very, very talented when using the keyboard to express your thoughts. I count Ahmad kayanson and Din, together with fathol, Humanly and Fair malaysian, kgboy and hang tuah as very persuasive.
kulimboy’s expressions of concern about our community is somehow (to me) sincere and tinged with a sense of positivism. His open invitation to dine in kulim and his prayers for all marks him as a good member of this blog.
I am new to this blog. In fact, I am new to blogging. I have visited other sites (jeff ooi, lks etc) to seek information and opinions that are not normally available in the mainstream media. The bakrimusa.com site, I find, has a very high level of intellectual discourse. That is why I continue to visit since a few months ago.
I have only found the courage to write recently.
your sincerely
myra
December 22nd, 2005 at 8:52 pm
Myra,
Always look on the positive side of things. Life has wonderful blessings, but it is also never intended to be easy. I wish you a Happy New Year and hope you will join us in promoting positive change for our country.
We may be critical, but let us not forget that we are a lucky country. Let us hope that our leaders and politicians who read this website will receive our views in the spirit in which they have been given.
The fact that our country is stable, peaceful and harmonious is a reflection that things are working. For that we must congratulate and thank them. At the same time, we must challenge our leaders and their administrators to push forward and get ahead since progress is a moving target. We can always do and better and to do that we must stretch ourselves by setting higher targets each year for them and for ourselves. Bahagialah Negara ku.
Happy New Year to all our fellow bloggers and their families. Thanks.
December 23rd, 2005 at 3:16 am
Another year has come and gone, soon we’ll be into year 2006. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all readers and bloggers Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2006!
Alot has happened in 2005. It has been a sad year for many all over the world. There was hurricane Katrinia, Eva, earthquakes, terrorist suicide attacks etc. Let’s give a little thought to the families of victims - loved ones, parents and orphans of those who lost their lives to those tragedies.
It was just like yesterday we remember the anguish, the rage, the hopes that turned to despair & frustration. For them there can never be any explanation of what really happened, why they happened and why them, it happened.
Let’s hope 2006 will be a better year ahead and roll our sleeves to the future! Happy New Year to all!
December 23rd, 2005 at 8:17 am
Myra,
We’re definitely not here to pry into your privacy or your maritial status. If someone from among us does so, it’s entirely his or her problem. We welcome anyone who is keen to partake in some serious discussions on the ills that are affecting our nation - its leaders and, in particular, the Malay race.
Discussions may sometimes drift to the mundane and inconsequential. That is to be expected. So, bear with us.
Believe me, there is no generational gap, as someone has claimed earlier. Although some of us are from the Class of 50s and 60s we gel, regardless. That’s the beauty of this blogging community.
In the course of our arguements, we should endevour to keep a cool head and be as humane as possible. Profanities and harsh words should be avoided. We don’t wish to debase this acclaimed blog and reduce its effectiveness to nought.
Most of us take a sanguine view of the future of Malaysia. Let’s all be a harbinger of goodwill.
Myra, you’re among friends. Welcome aboard.
Cheers
November 11th, 2006 at 11:07 am
Dave
Interesting topic… I’m working in this industry myself and I don’t agree about this in 100%, but I added your page to my bookmarks and hope to see more interesting articles in the future
April 18th, 2007 at 1:11 am
i’m waiting for new comentar,
w’re u all…
t’ma kasih kulim,
terima kasih kedah bagi duit utk aku blajar lagi….supaya aku tak terus keja kilang kat Kelang Lama…
February 29th, 2008 at 6:36 am
This discussion is a bit indigestible but I proud of Kulimboy and his colleagues.
Visit KulimTown Blog. Its very simplistic in nature and needs lots of inputs about Kulim Town in the 50’s and 60’s.