Have You Ever Done Ear Squats?

Malaysia is in the news for the wrong reasons again.
Even China has issued a friendly warning. Let us hope they do not issue a travel advisory to the thousands of tourists who have been visiting Malaysia.

Ear squats are nothing new in Malaysia. I remember as a child it was used by some strict or sadistic teachers who punished students with this punishment but they did not have to strip for the exercise.

Now that goes back quite a long way to the 60s and it is interesting that this punishment is still around and used by PDRM as a SOP?

We Cannot Have Law Breakers in our Law Enforcers

I think a proper strip search is provided for in most police departments world-wide.

But ear squats seems to be some form of punishment - so the question is, "what did that woman do to earn such a punishment?"

Removal of clothing is required so that no hidden items are taken into a cell. These can include belts that can be used to hang oneself, drugs and concealed weapons.

There is always the possibility of a few conspiracy theories:

1.The photographer is anti-BN and this will cost a few votes in the by-election.
2.Considering the hohaa over the Immigration DG's retirement party, this could be part of the plot to get the IGP removed.
3.The cop is involved in a porno ring collecting clips of naked detainees in police lock-ups.

Who should be punished for such a breach of human dignity?

1.The policewoman unless she had been officially trained that it is the procedure.
2.The photographer unless he/she proves it was to uncover wrong-doings in the police lock-up.
3.The station commander for allowing such actions to be done in the lock-up.

While we are on the subject of humane treatment, we should also look into other forms of abuse that prisoners are subject to.
Malaysia should also uphold UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders that was approved in 1988.

What about those arrested under the ISA? They are held for 60 days during which many claim they are subjected to very harsh treatment.

It is said that a candle in a darkened room can provide much needed light. Let us hope the government will use this incident to really improve things for the people of Malaysia.

So Much Info to Digest on the Chinese Girl MMS Incident

My computer was sick for the past 3 days and I have had to restart the system.

Quite a few comments were made by various people and the most surprising was from the DPM who mentioned that people were not stripped in police stations.

Then the Deputy Minister goes on air to brush aside the incident and takes the track that the real culprit was the photographer and not the person who ordered the ear squats.

I think the PM has done the correct thing by ordering an independent probe.

The important work of this probe should include:

1.Was the policewoman acting under instructions?
2.Is this standard "strip" and squat procedure?
3.Who authorised such a procedure?
4.Who took that MMS?
5.Check all officers in the station and type of hand-phones owned at the time?
6.Find that victim if she is still in Malaysia and ask her if she had been threatened with other punishement if she did not do the ear squats.
7.Check out a few other lock-ups in the country for similar abuse.
8.Get testimony from ex-detainees on possible abuse cases in the past.

Malaysia's recent past had a case of the IGP assaulting a DPM and the fear is that given the light sentence he received at the time, the PDRM may have very little respect for human rights and decency.

While the independent probe is good, the government should have set up the complaints mechanism for the public as recommended by the recent Royal Commission on the Police.

University Problems of a Different Kind

In Malaysia there has been a long debate on the merits on university entrance based on STPM results and the Matriculation exams.
Some compare the two as “apples and oranges” or other disparaging terms.

So far no one has done any comparative studies on the two methods of admission, as research is not a strong suit at local universities. But our universities have produced more than 60,000 unemployable or unemployed graduates.

Some people in the streets say, “It’s the economy, stupid.” If you look at the lack lustre KLCI, you realise that even though the fixed exchange rate has been replaced, the stock market is in the doldrums.

In South Korea, the government administers the Korea University Entrance Exams but it appears that they too are having some problems in that the Seoul National University considers the exams not adequate to enable them to screen candidates.

The annual exams is a massive exercise and on that day, all offices start an hour later as the whole nation takes part to help students get to the exams on time. Late-comers can even ask the police for a ride to the exams and it is interesting to see how a developing nation ensures that only qualified students are enrolled. You can retake the exam so if you don’t do well, you can try again.

Maybe Malaysia could recruit a few South Korean academics to strengthen the local universities.

Photo: malaysiakini

Malaysians with Hearts of Gold

Today’s Star has a touching story that despite our differences, some Malaysians have a caring heart.

This is a very meaningful gesture that will help one family out of the poverty cycle. However I believe that this girl does not need tuition and that money would be better used to provide the basic necessities of adequate food, paying for water and electrical supply and some medical bills.

This is the type of family that deserves help under any NEP program that is being touted. Enduring abject poverty but still being able to struggle and produce sterling results. Now do you think MITI could grant this family just 2 transferable APs per year until this girl completes her tertiary education?

Or perhaps some of our wealthier MPs can transfer their APs to this deserving case.

Can We Hope for This in Malaysia?

This is a story of basic democracy at work.
Very little money was spent on the election campaign but the end result is the choice of the people. If only we can have this kind of participation in our local governments.

What’s that? Gangsters and secret societies not included.

We seem to have our election development upside down. In Malaysia perhaps 1000 party members select the Prime Minister and the ordinary citizen has very little say except to vote for the political party he belongs to in the general elections.

After that the Cabinet decides on everything and those being governed are seldom heard unless there is widespread protest. Only lately there have been a few squeaks from the BBC and a few MPs.

Local elections will be a good testing ground for aspiring leaders and also provide the national leaders a large pool of candidates to pick for the state and national seats.

If a person cannot manage a local council properly there is no need to let him or her contest the bigger posts.

Let us eliminate mediocrity from our government systems and the fundamental way to do that is let us not choose mediocre leaders.

We Need an Ariel Sharon in Malaysia

Ariel Sharon is the type of leader that we need in Malaysia.

He takes positive action to prove his belief in the cause of a lasting peace effort in the Middle East.
Just imagine that. He co-founded the Likud Party 30 years ago and now he has the guts to proclaim that this party will not be able to follow the peace “road map.”

Sometimes we need this type of personality who is willing to make a drastic change rather than try to just keep things as they are and hope things will change slowly.

Of course he is taking a big gamble but as the saying goes, “No risk, no gain.”

In Malaysia we have a different set of problems.
After 48 years of independence we are still pondering about education matters, the police, corruption and the loss of our competitiveness.

Compared to Israel that has struggled with many coalition parties just to form the government, Malaysia has always had a government with a strong mandate.

Maybe we should ask Ariel Sharon how he would tackle our issues? I am sure he would be willing to help if we stop referring to the legitimate government of Israel as the Tel Aviv regime.

Such a Simple Solution to Reduce Cheating...

Another story of possible corruption in the NST.

To me it is a simple case of a lack of proper administration and controls.
Firstly do not authorise any officers to collect payments.
All loans should be paid into the Ministry's bank account with the borrower's id and project details and payment can be made at a few designated banks.

Officers can only chase for payments and take loan recovery actions but no collections.

If all loans are repaid only through banks, you could probably reduce some staff to offset bank charges.
Now do you think I can charge the government for my idea?

Are Malaysian Taxpayers Suckers?

I find the amount spent to build the palace for the Prime Minister rather shocking.
What is even more baffling is that just five years after the construction of the brand new palace, they have to spend another 60% for renovations or another RM15.8 million in a year; supposedly for "upgrading air-conditioning system, upgrading of electrical wiring system, landscape and interior renovation works including consultation fees."

Blowing RM24 million for an official residence is really extravagant but approving another RM15.8m this year is just too much when the government is telling officers to turn up air-cond temperatures to cut costs.

This palace was built from ground zero and if so much upgrading has to be done it seems the original design was faulty.

Also the renovation for the DPM's house should have a proper budget or is it a "do until the wife is satisfied" project?

Somehow I get the funny feeling we have been suckered.

photo: malaysiakini

Why Pick on Chinese Overstayers?

Today's NST carried the story about the large numbers of visitors who overstayed.
However if you study the statistics provided by the Immigration Department, you can only come to the following conclusions:

1. The numbers are not reliable.
2. We have a very serious overstayers problem or
3. Both of the above.

I have the numbers extracted from the Immigration Department statistics on arrivals and departures.
The second table shows those countries with a large number of arrivals.
(Please click on table for an enlarged version)
One other possibility is that the accumulated "overstayers" are those on working permits but that does not explain the Singapore numbers of having so many who did not return.
If these numbers are reliable, Singapore should be a deserted island!

Wat'sup on Malaysia's 27 Million Puzzle

Today's lead in the NST is about the Chinese tourists who vanished.

This is similar to my blog on August 22, 2005 when I wrote about "Data, Lies or Statistics."
Feel free to double check the Immigration Statistics here. However I notice that the info for 2004 has been removed.

According to my August analysis, Singapore would have become an empty country long ago.

What’s the Difference, Mister Bush?

This was written and published in malaysiakini just after Baghdad fell to the US-led invasion of Iraq. Since Iraq is still not at peace and the WMD was a shameful ploy, we can reflect a little on why nations go to war.


Thirty years we lived under a black cloud
Not knowing when our lives would end without record.
A knock in the middle of the night would seal our fate
Under a regime we all learned to hate.

The powers that be ruined our lives
In all aspects we became mere puppets
Dancing to the tune of the day
Without knowing the song they were going to play.

All manner of dissent was simply not tolerated
By the tyrant’s actions our future was ransomed
To deprivation, starvation and degradation
While the black gold lay in isolation.

When they came to kill us we did not ask for reason
As simple laymen we paid for just a hint of treason
The forces of repression brooked no offence
As mere mortals we could offer no defense.

Death came in many forms
An explosion, an accident, a knife, a bullet or poison gas
Families disappeared without a trace
And the world kept an unmoved face.

Now for thirty days we live under a different cloud
Still not knowing if we will avoid a funeral shroud
Baghdad is under siege from new invading powers
Who know the best solution so we all must cower.

Death came in a different guise
“Collateral damage” - a term used by the wise
To soften the carnage caused by misguided missiles
On innocent civilians who must be sacrificed.

Of course it was not intended the unnecessary deaths
But someone has to pay to achieve your goal
Of destroying that tyrant’s grip on the nation’s soul
So you came, you bombed and you flattened our homes.

Cruise missiles you rained on our beloved land
Tons of explosives you delivered without respite
Until the life-blood of our cities you destroyed
Without water and electricity only sewer rats will thrive.

Depleted uranium you vaporized in our air
Spewing its life-sapping evil to plague unborn children
At least we knew and could see our age old enemy
You liberate us but yet condemn us as walking dead.

Baghdad is now truly free from the tyrant’s grip
Looters and carnage go on an unending trip
Our beloved homes have become our prison
Anarchy has poisoned minds to act without reason

The sick and maimed have nowhere to go
Our hospitals have been ransacked floor to floor
Is this the final solution you are offering?
Crowing victory measured by our suffering.

Death now comes in different forms
Disease and pillage is the daily norm
With your deadly force you have transformed
Our skyline and city into a battle zone.

Thousands died under the old dictatorship
And thousands will die for the cry of freedom
Ringing hollow in every Iraqi town and village
As thousands destroy our heritage in wanton pillage.

How much more must we suffer Mister Bush
Ensconced in distant comfort you view a TV rush
As death stalks us we find no difference Mister Bush
From your ill-planned venture, by George! It must be stopped.

Your revenge was bloody swift to annihilate
For the Twin Towers horror we must compensate
With broken bones and destroyed homes we await
The liberators’ brand of justice on a plate

The military planners made a major blunder
When they did not foresee the massive plunder
In a Baghdad ravaged and gutted we are dying
Thanks to you Mister Bush there is no denying.

So what’s the difference, Mister Bush?
Innocent lives are still being lost
Now without the iron grip of old
Our country’s union cannot hold.

But there’s a difference in your approach Mister Bush
Our oil reserves you secured with such indecent rush
But left us stricken and dying a demonic irony
The tyrant’s gone – long live a new tyranny!


HJ Angus, 16 April, 2003 (some thoughts on the USA/UK invasion of Iraq)
photo:http://www.spacedaily.com/images/atom-bomb-bg.jpg

A Cultural or Religious Practice?

We always hear Muslims saying this phrase, “God willing.”

Does this translate into everything that they do or do not do and just leave it to God?
One area that bothers me is to see young Malays of either sex being left to do their own thing without adult supervision. You would have read of recent cases where a 2-year old fell into a septic pond or the young children that drowned.

Today I witnessed a near tragedy on the MRT in Singapore. There was this Malay boy, about 2 years old, who almost exited the train when it stopped. Luckily a passenger next to the closing doors caught hold of him.

His mother was sitting about two doors down the train and it appeared as if she was not aware of the goings-on. Later I noticed that she was travelling with three small children, the 2-year old, an elder sister of 4 or 5 years and a baby in the pram. They were all nicely dressed and appeared to be going to visit for Hari Raya.

I was standing between carriages and the boy wanted to pass me into the next carriage. So I put out my hand and gently stopped him. He then sat on the floor near me and then decided to head back to his mother.

Again at the next stop he almost ran out the door and another passenger had to stop him! It was a good thing that the passengers on the train between Jurong East to Dover were caring or that little boy could have been lost somewhere or even worse, he could have ended up on the rail tracks.

Can God be really responsible for our careless or foolish acts?

But Who is Watching Big Brother?

There is a proposal by the police to install cameras in many places so that catching errant motorists and criminals can be done more easily.

While I agree that installing some cameras in crime-infested areas of cities may be effective, having too many cameras may make the police more complacent and reluctant to go on the beat.

There is also the matter of invasion of privacy. My approach to such a project would be to start in the cities to test the effectiveness and also a few areas along the main trunk roads where most fatal accidents occur because of dangerous driving like overtaking across double lines and around sharp corners.

However one area that should be under proper surveillance and closed circuit TV should be what goes on in police lockups and jails. The recordings should be sent directly to Internal Affairs and a Parliamentary Committee as a control measure.

This week alone, we have had two cases of prisoner abuse. The Chinese woman married to a Malaysian has already been highlighted and now we have a transsexual being subject to grave humiliation.

However, the Women, Family and Community Development Family Ministry appears to be more humane and has even offered shelter and counseling to such cases.

Sexual orientation problems are nothing new and have been around for thousands of years. What is happening now is that people have become more open.

photo: http://www.swissinfo.org/xobix_media/images/keystone/2005/keyimg20050714_5943052_1.jpg

What is Good Governance?

My earlier post on using official facilities for personal or private purpose elicited the name Saidina Umar, the second righteous Caliph.

On doing a little search, it seems the example about the light is about Umayyad Caliph Umar Abdul Aziz.

You can read more about these great caliphs here when the Middle East was a great civilisation.

For Malaysia, we know all about good governance but there is a mighty chasm between the knowledge and the practice.

photo: http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/esantane/pictures/candle.jpg

Should the PM Campaign in Kelantan?

It would be perfectly fine if he takes one day annual leave and travels on his personal account and not make use of official facilities while he is there.

I thought we are trying to get Malaysians to change their mind-set with respect to

1. Not expecting hand-outs

2. Eliminating corruption

3. Becoming better motorists

I read that there was once a ruler in the Middle East (I don’t have his name – if you can let me know I can google it) who used to put out the official lamp and burn his own oil when he used to read his personal materials.

Now that would not be so practical in modern times but to me the Prime Minister should not be campaigning as part of his official routine.
If this is against the election rules, do you think the Election Commission is going to take action?

Let our Universities Nurture Thinking Malaysians

For some years now political parties have infiltrated universities and some believe that university appointments are also based on political affiliations, rather than academic excellence.

The experience in a university should foster thinking among our youth for they are going to be the future leaders of tomorrow or is that just a hollow slogan as all the future top positions have already been reserved?

Many have already written about the quantum fall of UM in the THES ranking and the subsequent beautification of the campus with banners celebrating their position. Perhaps they had expected to be out of the top 200 and are now quietly celebrating.

The students of our universities have recently completed electing their representatives and it is sad to see political parties trying to influence the outcome of the elections. University officials during the campaign have even harassed students.

It is sad to see a university throwing its might against students who are just trying to work through the democratic process. It seems that we do not have the right calibre of people to nurture our youth so that they can become thinking adults.

Any dissent is swiftly stifled under the UUCA and even lecturers are controlled with the famous “Akujanji” which someone referred to as a “kind of prayer”.

Like students all over the world, our youth realise that they can be agents for change and they have to solve Malaysia’s problems caused by the sins of the father.

They have initiated a petition to restore democracy in the university. If you support their cause, please sign the on-line petition.

Do something today to safeguard our freedom.

Fixing Malaysia’s Broken Systems

There is an old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
If you look at most of the news stories in Malaysia, they are related to these main areas:

1. Public security and the justice system

2. Education

3. Anarchy on the roads

There appears to be enough evidence that there are serious problems in all these areas and we should take a closer look at what is being done to fix them.

While we may have had some success in erecting buildings that look impressive, it appears that after we enter the building proper things are not that rosy as indicated by the recent fire at KLCC.

As it has been remarked, we have first world infrastructure but third world mentality. My opinion is that without first world mentality, we only create the illusion of first world infrastructure.
Just think of the MRR2 project and the flawed flyovers. And in today’s papers we have the case of the Malaysian who was electrocuted by the water in a public fountain. That appears to be a fatal design error with poor safety feature or the electrical enclosure was not waterproof.

The police had a Royal Commission completed in August 2005 but still not much appears to be happening to implement the findings. A badge and slogan against corruption has been launched but the feedback on a prominent blog has been largely negative and dismissive. I believe this campaign will have more bite and substance if the government proceeds with some of the cases of prominent people mentioned elsewhere.

It will show that the anti-corruption battle is not just dependent on the front-line officers. It will not matter even if the government loses the case. At least it would have shown it is really serious and also willing to let justice run its course in the Courts.

The recent THES ranking has also highlighted many shortcomings in the Education delivery services. It really does not matter much if we drop out of the top 200 rankings if we can produce graduates who are readily employable.

After more than 25 years of tinkering with the education system where undeserving people get places in local universities and disloyal ones get overseas scholarships to study medicine, we have really reached the pits as far as education can go.

Three years ago there was a dramatic decision to use English as the medium of instruction for Mathematics and Science. I believe there was about a three-month grave period to the beginning of the year when the switch would take place in a few classes.

Perhaps we have all got too used to instant meals where you can get a gourmet pie after 4 minutes in the microwave oven and the types of three in one instant drinks are too many to mention.
In a way this snap decision to use English was akin to a three in one subject potpourri – just imagine the logic
“Use English to teach Mathematics and Science and we will kill three birds with one stone.”

Somewhere, someone forgot that for most of the teachers except a small minority, English had been an alien subject for many years.

Now three years later, there has been feedback that some education groups want to revert back to the old system as there are major problems with the new system.

Why should we be surprised at this?
We took 25 years to wreck the system and we cannot replace it within two years. New teachers have to learn English from scratch and a reasonable estimate would be four or five years before there are enough teachers competent to teach Maths and Science in the English language.

There is no magic wand or keris that one can wave and remedy this complex problem in a few months. So why does the Education Ministry dismiss the request of the education groups with such ridicule? Some of these professionals have been teaching for many years and should know the best approach to teach these subjects.

Has there been any consultation with any group to implement the new scheme? Education itself means the imparting of knowledge or skills and we should not allow narrow concepts of politics or race cloud the issue. I believe that parents and teachers and not politicians should be the best people to decide on the best teaching methods for their children.

After all, if the universities produce unemployable graduates it is the parents who will bear most of the consequences of this unfortunate problem. Sixty thousand graduates would be a fertile recruiting ground for subversive elements. The late Dr Azahari was doing very well when he was convinced to follow another path that ended in death and destruction.

Instead of belittling those who do not believe the new changes are working, the Education Ministry would do well to form some work/action committees with parent and teacher groups to work out tenable solutions and advise the public on their progress.

Serious thought should also be given on how the quality of local graduates has declined to create such an unemployment crisis.
We should also reevaluate the selection or administration process for awarding overseas scholarships that enable students to stay on in foreign countries way past the approved periods.

I had earlier entered a short comment in a MalaysiaToday article on road accidents and referred to the carnage on the roads as "Malaysia's killing fields, the modern equivalent of the Wild, Wild West.”
There must be a definite correlation with police problems, corruption and the road accident rate. I am sure this will make a good dissertation for post-graduate work.

Requiring a public vehicle driver to have ten years experience before being allowed to drive a bus sounds impractical. It would be more logical to have a new driver to be under continuous supervision for at least three months by the company to weed out unsuitable characters.

But whatever happened to the magic black box that was supposed to be installed in all buses and lorries?
That would have provided a good monitoring scheme so that all bus activities are properly recorded. Driver overworking, illegal routes and speeding can be controlled with such systems.

I believe that these three important problems should be tackled earnestly and with greater commitment so that Malaysians can make some progress in 2005. I respectively suggest our PM should forgo some overseas trips that really take up too much time and energy.

It is time to kick-ass now.

Is this an offer to harvest kidneys or what?

Most of us have heard of the Nigerian scam and only recently even a lecturer got conned and managed to convince a colleague to also "invest" quite a large sum of money. No I can't co-relate this with the THES rankings.

I recently received this email. Just put in a few extra paragraphs for easier reading.


"Hello,
My name is Douglas, Please i am in need of a wedding Minister for mine
coming wedding which is on the 24TH OF DEC.2005.And i will want you to
come and minister for me and mine guest on mine wedding day with mine
fiancee.
And the location of the wedding is at mine house in ohio
(cincinnati) where the reception will follow immediately. And a
minimum of 1hrs we be needed from you. . Please i will like to know
the price for the services to be rendered to me and also i will like
you to let me know if you are in ohio or outside the states and the
transportation fares and the accomodation fares will be also taking
care of by me .
And on the day before your arrival i will send mine
driver to come and pick you up at the airport so that you would not
have problem when locating our house . Please elt me have the total
price including the transportation fares with so that i can have the
payment send to you .
Please i will be paying you with a cashier check
or money order be sent to you on mine behalf cos right now we are in
Norway with mine fiancee for a 3 weeks pre honey moon .
And we would be back in the states before the wedding commence . Please let me have
your NAME AND HOME ADDRESS OR OFFICE ADDRESS WITH YOUR CELL NUMBER so
that the check can be mailed to you at once . And please you can
reached me on mine THURAYA SATELITE CELL NUMBER WHICH IS +447031926043
OR +2348035828225 Please get in tourch with me back as soon as
possible ."

Any takers?

Alert for Missing 13-year old Boy.

I received this in my email and believe it is a genuine appeal for help to find a missing person.


"From: Denny Hoo Hui Chang
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 5:40 PM
Subject: FW: missing school boy
Importance: High
Should you have any further enquiry, please don’t hesitate to contact me, thanks.

Have a nice day.
Regards,

Denny Hoo

Network Administrator

DID : 607 – 597 8451

H/P : 012 – 771 7776

Dear All,
I would like to call all your attention here in order to help me to
spread this news

This 13 years old little boy from Batu Pahat, Johor had been
missing since 19/10/2005.
After he went to school didn't back home again until now his parent
really worried about him if anyone saw him please contact : 012 723 5120.

Please spread the news and send to everyone to help his parent find
him back."

Please help if you can.

Are Public Places in Malaysia Safe Anymore?

Apart from a high probability of becoming the victim of traffic accident or daylight robbers, it appears that you could be the victim of the local police.

Even though this woman had a genuine China passport and is married to a Malaysian the police held her for five days before the Immigration authorities could verify her passport.


It appears that the Tourism Ministry’s worry about the fall in visitors from China may be based on wrong premises.

Do you believe a few cases of cheating can compare to the grave injustice meted out to that poor Chinese woman? I am sure her story about being arrested and detained by the police will negate all the efforts by the Tourism Ministry to get more Chinese tourists here.

What are the current laws on such detention? To me this kind of unfortunate incident could be prevented if the woman had been allowed to contact her husband or a lawyer immediately after arrest.

The lawyer should then be allowed to post bail and the suspect released into his charge while the police send the passport for verification.

If the passport is false, the lawyer will be required to return the person to the police. If this case is true, it reflects very poorly on our system that follows the UK principle of “Innocent until Proven Guilty.”

This is the kind of practice that gives the authorities a bad name.

photo: http://www.local.co.il/ramat-gan/images/mainpage/handcuffed.jpg

Malaysia’s version of Doctors without Borders

There is a world famous medical corps called Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) that provides emergency medical aid worldwide.


MSF is a caring humane organisation that operates under severe conditions, of personal sacrifice and hardship.

Unfortunately French is not a language that is learned by most Malaysians. Perhaps all those doctors who are staying on in nice cushy jobs after having benefited from the generosity of Malaysian taxpayers who sent them on expensive scholarships may have misunderstood the mission statement of MSF.

“Doctors without borders” does not mean you go where you can make the most money. After all no one forced you to sign an agreement to return to serve in the nation’s health system. It is well documented that our public hospitals are facing a critical shortage of doctors.

It is also incredulous that the MARA education chairman had the temerity to claim that MARA is “very strict” in one breath and then stating that they “could be lenient” in the next and allow these doctors to continue postgraduate work even if they had not completed the compulsory service.

He then suggests that the government should take steps to address the brain drain to other countries.
It seems the first step the authorities should take is to get an Education Chairman who is able to take measures to fulfill all the terms of the scholarship agreements.

To MSF volunteers everywhere, I salute you and ask you to forgive my associating you to the recalcitrant Malaysian doctors. Malaysia also has a great humanitarian team Mercy Malaysia.

Double Jeopardy for Citizens

Malaysia is somewhat like the USA. We have many races living in relative harmony and many cases of inter-marriage and people who convert religions out of love.

Before a person can become a citizen many checks are made by the National Registration Department to ensure that national security is maintained although there have been cases where NRD staff have schemed to sell identification documents to aliens.

Now there is disturbing news that the Education Ministry also wants to impose its own rules on those who have already been officially designated as Malaysian citizens by requiring school-going children to submit a special form if one of the parents is a non-Malaysian.

Does the Ministry not have enough work to do? Why should a Malaysian citizen be subject to such harassment?

Even the form’s title should be self-explanatory.
“Entry forms for foreign children”

No wonder the parents are confused. Even the Education Department does not seem to understand its own documentation.
What’s next? Maybe we should just ask these children to wear yellow armbands. Is there anyone out there who can clear up this imbroglio?

Did Your Daughter Have an Abortion?

Getting pregnant when you are unmarried must be one of the most challenging experiences a young girl has to face.

Most likely her lover will quickly disappear from the scene after having had his fun and the poor girl has to cope on her own. Many parents are unsympathetic and sometimes the girl is able to hide her condition until the baby arrives.

That is when depression and remorse sets in and the young mother may resort to desperate measures that may even result in murder or suicide.

Many choose the quick solution and go for an abortion as reported in this brief article.

I heard this on BBC Radio - in the UK, a mother is fighting against laws that allow those above 16 to have an abortion without their parents’ knowledge.

I find the Malaysian doctor’s remark rather callous. “The more advanced the pregnancy, the more expensive the abortion will cost,” he added.

It sounds as if for money, he will do anything.
The newspaper should inform the police and get the scoop on the investigation.

Police Against Corruption

This appears to be a very good idea as it provides a constant reminder to both the police and the public that bribery is a serious offence.
Superiors who find junior officers not displaying their badges should check these officers for unauthorised cash amounts. If this happens a few times and no money is found on the person, there should be a search of the bank account for bank transfers.

Perhaps they should have included a toll-free number so that anyone in Malaysia can call up without incurring out-station charges.

Also posters with the sentence on conviction would give a more graphic message than just “prosecution”. For example this message would be stronger than what is mentioned in the article.
“Bribe a Cop and Spend Two Years in Jail.”

photo: malaysiakini

British MPs Have B---s!

No disrespect but the MPs in the UK had the courage to throw out legislation that would have allowed police to hold terror suspects for 90 days.

Even Labour MPs voted against Tony Blair’s new anti-terror laws that had a requirement for judicial review every seven days to enable the police to continue holding suspects.

In this respect, Malaysians are still the champions with the ISA.
Malaysian MPs are a mild mannered lot and specialise mainly in sexist remarks and idiotic banter. Voting against the ruling party? That’s only for those with self-destruct personalities.

Malaysian MPs are made of the stuff that Malaysia used to be famous for - rubber

Tudong or not Tudong

I laud the Cabinet for having arrived at the “consensus was that students, regardless of their religions, should not be coerced into wearing the tudung.”

ALL students should not be forced into wearing clothing that is deemed to have religious connotations by the university authorities.

Perhaps the university authorities can now spend more energy on improving the job prospects of their graduates rather than concentrating on superficial issues like student elections and unnecessary dress codes.

We need to give our students some breathing space to grow up and part of that process is to make a few mistakes.

Otherwise when they leave the university, they will be little more than older school children rather than thinking adults.

Finally Malaysia Beats Australia and the UK

In the wake of September 11 and the Iraq War, many countries have passed laws to combat terrorism.

In Australia they want to change the laws so a person can be held for 14 days before being charged.

In the UK, the police want to be able to hold for 60 days, up from the present 14 days before being charged.
Never mind that the police were responsible for the wrongful detention of innocent men and women for 15 years. This was made into a thrilling movie called “Sins of the Father.”

In this respect, Malaysia is eons ahead of the UK and Australia. We have the ISA that was passed in 1960 after the Emergency, when our young nation was under the threat of the Communists.


The Emergency was declared over in 1960 but the government passed the ISA to cover all future threats. In fact it has become expert at using this law to stifle dissent among the common folks as there are no more communists left to fight. Now they go after opposition and even BN politicians to appear even-handed during Operation Lallang!


You can learn more about that dark period of the nation’s history.

This is an interesting recollection of a Malayan during the Emergency years.

In Australia, the states have proposed a sunset clause which means that the anti-terror laws will an expiry date like one or two years and has to be approved again.

I think this is a very reasonable approach to such draconian laws and Malaysia should also review the ISA.

If the police cannot find enough cause to charge a person under ISA after 30 days, they are either incompetent or the charges cannot be justified.

We should not deprive citizens of their freedom based on the whim and fancy of the police or a minister. As the Guildford Four proves, the police will try to cover up their mistakes or even commit a crime to protect themselves.There must be a judicial process.

Let us not forget about the Royal Commission on the Police Report.

Maybe we should offer our ISA expertise to Australia and the UK?

Something about Me..

I came across this test in a blog and decided to take it.
Just so you know a little more about me.

You are a Social Liberal (60% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (38% permissive) You are best described as a: Centrist Centrist You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness. loc: (37, -44) Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

So what do you think?
Why not take this 3 minute test and learn a little more about yourself?
It may not be exact but gives a reasonable indication.

Doing the Right Thing

In today’s society, it is surprising that there is still so much ignorance about sex and its consequences.
Today’s papers have three related stories –

1. the mother who killed her newborn child
2. a government agency that takes care of unwed mothers
3. a couple who set up a shelter to save babies

Perhaps the sex education of our children is still taboo and apart from some anatomical lessons in the stifling classroom situation where a little knowledge is transferred, our youth are basically ignorant about sexual matters, love and relationships.

Let’s face it. Sex education has not kept pace with the rapid changes in society where the basic family unit is under serious threat. We are becoming a society of “Me, Me and Me.”
Everyone gets to do his own thing and parents now exert very little influence on their children.

We have given up our roles to the TV set tuition teachers and the all-important maid. Family gatherings are limited to wedding, funerals or severe illness.

If you are a girl, getting pregnant outside wedlock is a major disaster as most probably your partner is going to realise that he is not prepared for fatherhood; never mind that he enjoyed the mind-blowing sex the week before.

If you cannot be good, “Be Prepared” as per the Scouts’ motto. Pregnancy is a most life-altering condition as your life will never be the same again after the birth of your child and even married couples have to struggle with the new addition.

If you are not married, getting pregnant as a result of unprotected sex is only one possible consequence. How sure are you that your partner is faithful to you and not exposing you to the diseases that his other partners may have? Of course some married persons also carry this risk, as they are not faithful to their spouses.

Syabas to the couple and the government welfare home for taking care of the unwed mothers without pre-judging them.

Doctors without Integrity?

It is shocking that the authorities have allowed a situation to arise whereby some students sent on overseas scholarships have been able to avoid returning to honour their agreements after graduating as doctors.

It was mentioned that a person was able to shirk his or her national duty for eleven years so it appears that the person may not be liable under the statute of limitations.

The following questions should be asked:

1. Who are these doctors?

2. Who are the guarantors?

3. What actions have been taken to recover the loans?

4. Why have the authorities taken so long to publish details of this fiasco?

5. Why has it taken so long to uncover this problem?

6. Have the authorities been negligent in their duties?

It appears that these students lack basic integrity and one wonders how they should be allowed to practise any profession, let alone medicine where you have to trust the doctor with your life.

These recalcitrants should be brought to book post haste. They should be sued to recover the costs plus the market interest rate. By not returning to Malaysia, they have disrupted the national health plans. We have been short-changed by 100 doctors and all taxpayers have to bear the burden of fewer doctors and longer queues at public hospitals.

We should even consider lodging official reports against them to their professional bodies and their employers if all else fails.

Their loyal colleagues in Malaysia have heavier workloads as hospitals are desperately short of staff.

Do You Know Someone with a Licence to Kill?

The horrendous death toll on our roads has finally galvanised the authorities to think of more effective means to reduce the carnage on the roads.

However, the latest proposal seems to address the problem after it has occurred and is not pro-active.

There are some cases where the person who caused the accident is not involved in the actual destruction and deaths. You can drive in a dangerous manner and cause someone else to have an accident that does not damage your vehicle and if there is no witness to identify you, nothing happens to you.

We must take positive actions much earlier and before those killer drivers are allowed on the roads. I am referring to the quality of our driving tests and the “kopi money” system that still exists.

Let me share my experience. I took my driving test in 1966 and passed the first time with a driving school that offered a “guaranteed” pass. At the time it was explained that the school would teach you until you passed. I do not remember being asked to pay for any extras. When I was in the UK, I sent my licence to be renewed by my brother and it turned out to be a fake licence!

The police wanted to see me but my brother told them I would be away for four years. I took the UK driving test and also passed the first time after paying for about ten driving lessons over there. The instructor was very good and corrected a few bad habits like riding the clutch around corners, braking incorrectly and incorrect driving position.

A few years ago, someone I know took her driving test and was asked if she wanted a guaranteed pass. They had different rates for Bumis and non-Bumis. So it appears the NEP also extends here!

I believe the accident rate can only be reduced if we produce motorists who are not licensed to kill.

We can make use of statistics to discover testers who are too lenient and then investigate them to uncover the reasons for their lenient attitude.
We can even use the data to restrict the number of new drivers and soon the “kopi money” system will die out.



To introduce the system, we can offer all the existing testers a VSS so that those who are not dedicated to improving driving standards can look for other options.

I would also install a camera and audio monitoring system so that every test car is monitored on-line during the driving test so that there is less room for hanky-panky. Perhaps the driving test may have to be increased by RM30 to cover this advanced monitoring.
But this would be money well spent if it ensures that your son or daughter can survive to a ripe old age as a driver.

The driving test must also include driving on single lane roads and a test on safe overtaking.

As I wrote earlier, with the present system you must supervise your children’s driving after they pass for a few sessions before you give them freedom. Otherwise that car may be just a ride to hell.

If you are a hell driver yourself, I hope the police will get you off the roads sooner rather than later.

photo:http://www.hants.gov.uk/regulatory/images/drivlic.jpg

Unemployed Graduates – Dealing at the Wrong End of the Problem?

It is sad to know that there are about 60000 unemployed graduates and most of them come from poorer families.

Graduating from a university, no matter what the world ranking is, is a life achievement but not being able to get suitable employment after that must be quite disheartening.

The authorities have come up with various schemes to try and make these graduates more marketable but since the numbers are quite large, maybe we are looking at the wrong end of the problem.

Perhaps it would be more effective for the Human Resources Ministry and other ministries to develop long term manpower needs and get universities to offer programs that are more attuned to the national manpower needs.

This could be in the form of various job skill sets that coincide with the country’s long term plans.


You can add your own occupation if it is not listed. This master plan can then be used to compare the capacity of local universities and training institutions to plan for course requirements.

Youths should also be given some advice before they sign up for courses that are not in demand unless they believe that they are prepared to face an uncertain future for jobs.
Since poor English skills have been identified as a major problem, the subject should be given greater emphasis during the university years. Maybe having to pass the subject in an exam may solve some of the problems.

Graduates too should not be choosy about their first job. Any honest work is better than languishing at home and being a burden to your family. You may even have to sacrifice your home comforts to make your start in life.
If that job is not in your area of learning, treat it as a learning extension and you may discover new interests.

photo:http://chinese.chosun.com/site/data/img_dir/2001/11/25/200111250000141in_jobless.jpg

MyKad Woes

It appears that the authorities will not be able to process all the backlog of MyKad applications, as there is a back-pedaling on the penalty for applying after 31st December 2005, the official cut off date.

There is also the problem of tampering with the MyKad, as some syndicates have been able to remove the laminate and change the photo. As the chip does not have a photo image, this plan will work if the person’s appearance matches somewhat the details read by the chip reader.

While it is good that there is only a small payment being considered after 31st December 2005, the same cannot be said of the security flaws.

Perhaps this fee can be waived and the deadline extended by one year as this will allow the NRD staff to work at a more reasonable pace and reduce the overcrowding at NRD offices.

It will also give time for the NRD to upgrade that chip so that the photo is also embedded and not just pasted on.

One wonders if getting officers to travel all over the world to issue MyKads to overseas Malaysians is a cost-effective solution when the national coffers are empty. But going to detention centers in Malaysia is a good service.

It is also worth noting that not having your MyKad on you is considered a major offence as the law was amended in 2001. The penalty? Up to three years jail or fined between RM3000 and RM20000 or both.

The number of snatch thefts has remained unabated and young teenagers can be quite careless. This probably explains the large numbers of MyKads reported lost or stolen.
Of course some people also sell their MyKads to the syndicates.

Perhaps the law should be reevaluated so that carrying a photo-copy is acceptable and if required, any person without the original MyKad must bring the original card to a police station for verification.

This will drastically reduce the genuine lost or stolen MyKads and the police will also be able to concentrate on those who abuse the system.

Finally, a word of praise for the NRD staff in Johor Baru. My family applied for the MyKad with few hiccups. A small problem was that my wife was designated as “Indian” but the staff realised that it was obviously a mistake and changed it to “Eurasian” after asking her. So I jokingly asked her if I could change my status to “Bumiputera.”

There can be Good News in Bad News

“What nonsense are you writing?” you may be thinking.
No I did not have an overdose of Shandy, my usual alcoholic drink of once a fortnight frequency.

I refer to the NST report that our skilled workers are very welcome in Singapore and 40000 of them commute from Johor Baru. If we guess that each of them earns about S$2000 per month and spends S$700 in Singapore that means

S$1300 times 2.2 times 40000 gets spent in Johor Baru each month or about RM114 million helps to support the Johor economy.

As for the training courses, this is validation that we are doing something right and maybe some of those under-qualified being pushed into universities should enroll for such courses.
The number of 20,000 per annum is just too little and should be doubled every two years for the next six years so that we can produce

40,000 in 2007
80,000 in 2009
160,000 in 2011

This will enable factories to employ more technical level staff and reduce our over-dependence on foreign workers.

Workers who are trained at technician level are in great demand and they can also study further courses to upgrade to diploma and even degree level.

This is much better than producing graduates that no one wants to employ. These disgruntled graduates can become fertile soil for terror networks to infiltrate.

photo: Australia outback

Do We Have a Rosa Parks in Malaysia?

This gutsy woman who passed away at the ripe age of 92 is considered the person who sparked the civil rights movement in America.


In the USA, everyone is considered equal under the law but that does not mean that there is no discrimination by those who are supposed to uphold the law. But as they still do things like impeaching Presidents and indicting senior officials, the system of law and order there appears to be holding up well.

Malaysia too needs our own Rosa Parks to inspire its citizens to fight draconian laws like the ISA and other laws that restrict freedom of expression like the OSA and printing laws.

If those laws do not seem relevant as most citizens steer clear away from even thinking anti-establishment ideas, how about the following examples:

1. Even if you are a Malaysian citizen, if one of your parents is a non-citizen, you have to submit a special form to the Education Department. How did we allow such an injustice to a citizen to be included in the Education Act?

2. Then there is the case where if you happen to be in the wrong nightclub, you can be held for a few days and only released when the official drugs test turn out negative. One wonders under what quality standards the initial tests are conducted. This is a comparison to what happened to a famous TV personality in Singapore.

We do have a few champions for human rights and the person in mind is Irene Fernandez.
But we need to support such brave people who dare to fight for justice. I am sure that Rosa Parks did not really understand that her simple act of defiance could have made such a big difference.

So parents of Malaysians, are you prepared to defy the Education Department by refusing to submit such a form and then suing the Education Department for discrimination?

photo: http://www.dga.org/news/v26_6/images/feat_dash2_full.jpg