WASTAGE, AND MORE WASTAGE -- PART III
On Thursday, Bernama quoted retired senior civil servant Tan Sri Dr Arshad Ayub urging the government to stop excessive wastage in its spending so that the money saved could be spent on more useful and worthy causes.
"Evening feasts and huge celebrations are held and organised everywhere. And I see a lot of wastage and indulgence," the good Tan Sri was quoted.
He reminded the Treasury and implored the government to curb wastage, and suggested that Treasury officials be sent to audit courses so that they'd be aware that wastage really needed to be reduced.
Bravo, Tan Sri.
While we are at it, perhaps we ought to also point out a few other things we consider as wastage and indulgence:
- a multi-million ringgit overseas athletes training complex
- a multi-million ringgit bid to host a youth sports championship
- a multi-million ringgit new leased government jet
- overseas "study" trips for state municipal councils
- newspaper ads placed by government-owned agencies/entities thanking or congratulating their political bossess
- countless pompous parades to celebrate and/or observe almost anything
The list is not exhaustive, so I'd be exhausted if I were to write all. Perhaps my friends would assist?
ISLAM. DULU, KINI DAN SELAMANYA
I came across this ad in the papers yesterday.
"Have something to say about public road users? Say it loud and clear at our forum where like-minded motorists and authorities will agree or debate your thoughts.
If you think the government has to do more, voice it out. And if you believe the problem lies in the mindset of the public, let’s hear your advice. But do it all in the only place that can make a difference. Get online and hit www.PanduCermat.org.my and let your thoughts be heard."
If you think the government has to do more, voice it out. And if you believe the problem lies in the mindset of the public, let’s hear your advice. But do it all in the only place that can make a difference. Get online and hit www.PanduCermat.org.my and let your thoughts be heard."
So I hit the website, expecting to see loads of inspiring ideas and thoughts from like-minded motorists and authorities on how to solve our traffic problem. Not much here. But, hey, you have to give the Road Safety Department and the Transport Ministry credit for trying.
But there are loads of other useful information, tips and advice for motorists which, if adhered to, would help save lives and avoid a host of other traffic inconveniences.
What I find most interesting about the website is its Hall of Shame and Hall of Merit, where they post images of vehicles whose owners/drivers have committed various traffic offences, as well as pictures of model-behaviour vehicles.
Offences include illegal parking, turning, overtaking, littering, what have you. All posted by members of the public. Bravo.
The website administrator says those images have been forwarded to relevant authorities for further action.
So, what does all this have to do with the title of my post?
I tailed a lady driver for a good kilometre in the morning traffic crawl to work yesterday. From her rear-view and side mirrors, she looked quite young, perhaps in her early 20s, and pretty attractive. Clad in a baby blue tudung, she looked (well, from the shoulder up, anyway) every inch a sweet, demure, graceful young lady.
Then she did the unthinkable. She rolled down her window. And spat. Twice, in that distance of one kilometer. I should have taken pictures. But as advised by the website, taking pictures while in control of a moving vehicle is an offence.
Needless to say, I was shocked. First, because it was totally unexpected. I mean, I have seen plenty of spit coming from uncouth drivers, mainly male truck and taxi drivers (sorry guys, but some of you really are guilty).
Secondly, because of what I thought she was supposed to be. A lady.
Third, because of what her windscreen sticker says.
ISLAM. Dulu, kini dan selamanya.
Something is definitely not right here.
You debate.
WHAT ARE FRIENDS FOR?
I am still in a daze today. I guess M's passing is affecting me more than I thought it would.
Friends SMSed and called to find out. I told them to read the papers, particularly Berita Harian and Harian Metro. Or to visit Samantha.
I am in no mood to write. Nor do anything else.
Depressing. Depressing. Depressing.
Friends die. Or they simply drop out of your life. Sometimes by mutual choice. And when they go, they take away a chunk of you, your history.
My already small circle of friends is getting smaller. I have opened my heart to new friends, and with time, I hope the circle will never end up a dot. Because a dot denotes a period. And a period means an end.
Between thinking of the old friends whom I have lost and the new, newer ones I have made and will probably lose, I came across this article on friendship, written by Jenni Russell that appeared in The Guardian two years ago.
Check it out.
Have a good day.
God Bless.
LIFE, DEATH -- PART II
"M passed away at 3.00am today." The SMS was short (as it is meant to be) yet so final. Yes, he is gone. And I will never see him, talk to him, again. Ever.
Shocked, I sat down, and in a blur my mind went back to the last two phone conversations that I had with M. One in November, and the other in January. Not once did he mention that he was ill.
I had no idea. And the last time I saw him was way too long ago.
We ended each of the calls with a promise to catch up. But we never did. And the worst part is, I don't think I really meant my words. They were just empty promises, small talks, something to end the conversations with.
Horrible old me.
Al-Fatihah.
DUMB, DUMBER, DUMBEST - PART II
Today The Star carried a clarification by Tourism Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor on the remarks he made last week on women bloggers, which is further proof that he is suffering from a "gone-case" bout of foot-in-the-mouth disease.
Read this excerpt:
Adnan: I didn't mean all women
'I was referring to Indon journalist'
KUALA LUMPUR: Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor has clarified that he did not label all women bloggers as liars.
He said his statement was specifically made in reference to an Indonesian journalist who wrote in her blog about the ministry's inefficiency.
Tengku Adnan said he loved "all women" and he was "here because of a woman."
"In fact, most of my supporters in my constituency are women," he said.
(For the uninitiated, you may want to check out Nila Tanzil to understand what this was all about in the first place.)
Ohhhh. Not all women bloggers are liars, he now says, only Nila Tanzil. What an insult to our intelligence! What an insult to all women, including the one who's responsible for his being "here". And what an insult to Nila Tanzil. If were her, I would be hopping mad by now. And then get even. You know, tit-for-tat.
I don't understand why the Minister couldn't be graceful about the whole thing and accept Nila's observation as constructive criticism, and try to do things differently (and better) in the future. That would have been a princely thing to do, kan? We all learn from our mistakes. We are not perfect. But no, he chose to shove his foot deeper into his mouth.
I liaise a lot with people representing his Ministry, and "efficient" is not the first thing that would come to my mind when dealing with them. If I were to tell, their tales alone would need at least 831 postings.
OK, I exaggerate. But I'm afraid if Nila Tanzil were to pursue the matter further, this could turn into an embarassing diplomatic row.
But then, it's not like we're not used to being mortified by the words and actions of our leaders, kan?
LIFE, DEATH
Today, I saw in the obituary section of a local daily a picture of someone I used to know and occasionally work with. It's the ninth anniversary of his passing today. Good Lord, has it really been nine years?
My heart missed a beat, and my thoughts went back to the days when I would be sitting in meetings with him to hear his proposal, his vision for the motorcycle racing team he founded and managed.
He died relatively young, and truly unexpected.
Over these past few years, many more friends and colleagues (and members of my own family) left this world relatively young and unexpected. Was it work, lifestyle, or the food they ate, or what? I have no idea, only a feeling of loss and sadness.
Sadder still were the few senseless deaths in the past few days. Freak accidents, bus crashes, drownings, fires -- incidents that could be avoided with a bit of care and caution.
I mean, if you don't know how to swim, do not go into the water. If it's your child, don't let him or her near the water. Otherwise, teach him or her how to swim.
I watch my twin godsons -- who at 11 are relatively good swimmers -- like a hawk whenever they go swimming, be it in the swimming pool or at the beach. Like a hawk means my eyes would never leave them, not even once.
Quite an aggressive driver, I become the most sopan and berhemah motorist whenever they are with me in the car. They themselves are quite familiar with the road safety do's and don'ts.
They have also been taught not to play with matches, and to shun fire-crackers and mercun.
With what they already know and what I would keep on reminding them about, I hope and pray that the good graces of Allah would keep them safe and sound.
Amin.
DUMB, DUMBER, DUMBEST
Last night, after dropping off a colleague at the Kg Baru LRT station, I took Jln TAR to go home. The plan was to turn right at the Jln TAR-Jln Sultan Ismail junction and then on to Jln Kuching to head south. This was close to midnight.
Alas, after Sogo, the traffic moved at a snail's pace. Apparently some resurfacing work was being done at the junction. And they never thought of giving us motorists advanced warning -- say 200-250 metres before the junction -- about this. They just simply blocked the junction and directed traffic to turn left to Jln Sultan Ismail through that small turning at the lights. No warning!
So you can imagine the congestion with four lanes of traffic converging to the left. What stupid idiots. In the end, because of the wonderful road system in KL, the detour made me end up where I started, near my office.
A couple of months ago, the same thing happened to me in PJ, and a few weeks before that on Jln Tun Abdul Razak, right smack at the entrance of the south-bound tunnel near the RHB building. They were doing some work in the tunnel, and just simply blocked the tunnel's entrance. Stupid, or what?
Well, if they weren't, you argue, would they be doing that kind of work in the first place? Point taken, I say, but what about their supervisors? Don't they possess some degree of common sense?
Whoa. Wait a minute, you say. Why pick on those road repair riff-raffs when some of our so-called elected leaders who are supposed to have a bit of brain to run this bloody country are as dumb, or even dumber?
A few days ago, a Cabinet Minister continued to display symptoms of the food-in-the-mouth disease that intermittently afflict many of his counterparts. Read this petikan from the March 8 edition of Sin Chew Jit Poh:
Tengku Adnan: Bloggers are Liars; 80% are Unemployed Women
The Tourism Minister Tunku Adnan lashed out today that all bloggers on the Internet are liars, out of which 80% are unemployed women.
“All bloggers are liars, they cheat people using all kinds of methods. From my understanding, out of 10,000 unemployed bloggers, 8,000 are women.”
Tengku Adnan was addressing the media at the 2007 Malaysia GP Sales when he was asked about allegations made on a blog.
The guests were shocked at first, but burst into laughter. He said he may lose some female voters but did not retract his statement or indicate that he was just joking.
He said that bloggers spread rumours, disrupt social harmony and many bloggers are slanderous and are cheating people with their blogs.
“All bloggers are not in favour of national unity. Our country has been successful because we are very tolerant with each other, if not, there will be civil war, the Malays will kill the Chinese, the Chinese will take revenge and kill the Malays, and the Indian will kill everyone.”
He urged the rakyat not to simply trust bloggers, and gamble our future away because the achievement we gain in the 50 years of independence is not an easy task.
Stupid, or what?
Stupid.
GLORIOUS GLORY
Heartiest congratulations are in order for shuttlers Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong for bringing back the All England men's doubles title to Malaysia over the weekend. A few months ago, they won gold medals at the Doha Asian Games.
The duo (and their coach Rexy Mainaky), which ended the country's quarter of a century wait for the title, deserves more than just our pat on the back. They deserve our respect and admiration for not just doing the country proud, but by doing it consistently and without much fuss.
Not a hardcore badminton fan, I wonder where they train. My instinct says it's just at some local badminton training centre, perhaps somewhere in Cheras. And not at some fancy-smancy training cum conditioning facility in a foreign land.
Syabas, Kien Keat and Boon Heong for your glorious glory. Keep doing your thing and continue to make us proud.
Talk about glorious, the Chinese Government has just started a campaign to teach its citizen basic manners and etiquette ahead of the Beijing Olympics next year. It seems that spitting, picking one's nose and ears and jumping queues are common among the Chinese, and the Government is intent of ridding these social faux pas of its populace.
Part of its nationwide campaign includes appointing public "monitors" to encourage, remind and persuade their countrymen and countrywomen to be polite and observe manners when boarding up buses and trains, for example. The tagline for the campaign is: "It's glorious to be polite."
I hope this campaign will continue well until after the Olympics. I've been to Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen (and to a couple of other smaller Chinese cities) and yes, the Chinese do need these campaign.
May be our Govenment should emulate its Chinese counterpart. God knows Malaysians could use a lesson or two on etiquette and manners.
A GRIM WORD ON GLOBAL WARMING
The most inconvenient truth about global warming, says Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria, is that we cannot stop it.
A recent report predicts that by the year 2100 (that's 93 years from now), temperatures will have risen by between 1.1 and 6.4 degrees, and as a result, sea levels will rise by 18 to 59 centimetres.
This is largely thanks to the dramatic rise in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These gases have built up over hundreds of years, and they don't disappear or dissipate easily.
"Even if the world adopted the most far-reaching plans to combat climate change, most scientists agree that the concentration of greenhouse gases will continue to rise for the next decades. In other words, global warming is already baked into Earth's future," says Mr Zakaria.
Grim. So what can we do about it?
Apart from weaning the world off dirty fuels (this means fossil fuels) and adopting and perfecting new technologies (like clean coal and hybrid cars), another strategy that the world could do is to adapt, says Mr Zakaria.
What does this mean?
People need to already start discussing about policies that prepare for a hotter, drier world, particularly in poorer countries, experts say.
Like what? Developing new crops, constructing flood defenses, setting different building regulations or banning building close to sea level, for example. Because unlike plans to slow down global warming which require massive international efforts, adaptation strategies could be quickly pursued by individual countries.
And they are cheaper to implement now than to wait for another 20-30 years.
Now, do I dare think our elected leaders are aware or care enough to start thinking about this?
THE RAIN IN THE PLAINS DOES NOT FALL ON THE BRAIN
For money, Malaysians would do stupid, irrational things. Whenever they see the RM or $ sign, people would just switch off their brains (or whatever little grey cells that they have) and let their greed take over.
Take the recent SMS fraud cases for example. I mean, what right-thinking individuals would part with thousands and thousands of ringgit of their money just because someone at the other end of the phone instructs them to?
The MO for the latest fraud is very simple. The con would SMS you with a message that you have just won some money in a lucky draw or some contest somewhere. To receive your entire winning, you must first deposit some money into a specified bank account.
This odd "rule" should trigger something in the mind of a normal, average Joe, kan? But not our poor, clueless, ignorant and gullible lot. They just happily follow the instruction, and these idiots and their money are soon parted ...
Why, you ask. Depa tak baca ka? Like, the fraud cases are highlighted in the news everyday -- TV, radio, newspapers. Mana depa pi, tak dengaq ka? Yet, people keep on getting duped.
The most recent involves PETRONAS. On 5 March, the national oil company issued the following announcement:
"NO PETRONAS’ SIM CARD LUCKY DRAW OR CONTEST
It has been brought to PETRONAS’ attention that certain parties have been sending text messages to mobile phone users informing them that their SIM cards have won a RM10,000 lucky draw prize from PETRONAS. Receivers of the text message have also been advised to call a number with an Indonesian country code.
PETRONAS wishes to inform that none of its companies has organised any such mobile phone SIM card lucky draws or contests and would like to advise members of the public not to respond to such text messages.
PETRONAS has also communicated with the authorities on this matter."
It has been brought to PETRONAS’ attention that certain parties have been sending text messages to mobile phone users informing them that their SIM cards have won a RM10,000 lucky draw prize from PETRONAS. Receivers of the text message have also been advised to call a number with an Indonesian country code.
PETRONAS wishes to inform that none of its companies has organised any such mobile phone SIM card lucky draws or contests and would like to advise members of the public not to respond to such text messages.
PETRONAS has also communicated with the authorities on this matter."
The following day, the police divulged that at least three people had been cheated after they received a SMS notifying them of their "big win". The SMS said: "Pengumuman dari PETRONAS Malaysia. TAHNIAH! SimCard Anda Memenangi Undian bertuah hadiah Cek Tunai RM 10.000. Sila hubungi: 00628881382736. Terima kasih."
When the "winners" (losers, they all are) called this Indonesian phone number, they were instructed to deposit some money in a bank account. According to the police, the first victim lost RM999, the second RM1,000 and the third parted with RM1,985.
I don't know lah. When are people going to realise that there's no such thing as easy money? You have to work to earn your keep and not expect the money to fall from the sky.
Like I always say, orang tamak selalu rugi.
AN ILL-FITTING DRESS AND A WHOLE LOT OF PETTY MESS
A letter to the editor of today's issue of a tabloid caught my eye. It says:
"Dear Editor,
People tend to care more about themselves rather than worry about the bigger issues we are facing daily like climate change and the economic outlook.
What is the big fuss about ERA FM deejay Linda Onn, who did not attend an event because she claimed her dress was too revealing?
I was not aware that clothing could be a big issue and it's a joke to me.
We have more serious issues to tackle instead of focusing on this issue.
Please put a stop to this matter.
Kenneth Ho
Kuala Lumpur"
I'm not sure whether the good Mr Ho would receive a reply from the editor. I'm guessing not, so I'd like to say this to him, just in case he drops by my blog site.
First. Wake up and smell the crappy reality, Mr Ho, because the whole world over people care only for themselves. They don't give a hoot about climate change, the environment or the economic outlook. Malaysians not excluded.
Second. Yes, clothing is a big issue in this country. Where have you been? People can go on talking about clothes for weeks on end. Too sexy, too skimpy, too revealing. Why, people are often singled out because of what they wear. Sometimes they are even thrown out of certain government offices or some establishments.
And yes, clothes are a big business. And they could also become a national issue. Otherwise Linda Onn would have worn the dress by the Indonesia-born Malaysian designer she originally intended to wear at the event she was supposed to attend, instead of the replacement dress by the Malaysia-born Malaysian designer that had not been properly fitted. (Although I'm not sure whether it was really because of the dress she did not attend the event, or because she did not pass the dress rehearsal.)
Third. Yes. The whole thing is a joke. Only it is not funny. Right, Mr Ho? You and I are not laughing. Instead we are seething with anger.
Why? Because the whole nation is full of small-minded, pea-brained petty thinkers who never get their priorities right. From the small riff-raffs to the elected reps to those higher-ups we called leaders. None does.
And the sad thing is, they keep breeding, and their small-mindedness spawn more small-mindedness.
And Mr Ho, no one can seem to put a stop to this.
NATIONAL PROBES
These are the headlines that screamed out of the main pages of the local dailies these past few days:
"Carry out full probe, says PM"
"ACA: Probe on"
"Johari: I welcome probe"
"Cops probe if more are freed"
"The denial. The Probe"
Who are being probed, you ask? The head honcho of the ACA and the Deputy Minister in charge of Internal Security, respectively for corrupt practices and graft allegations.
Well. There are so many probes going on these days that they could be our new national pastime. Apart from the current probes, there are a few other probes that have been going on for a while.
Yup, probes here, there and everywhere. Probes left, right, front, back and centre.
Yes, probe them. Fully. Get to the err, bottom, of the allegations.
And let the whole truth and nothing but the truth surface, smelling like roses ...
WE ARE A BLESSED LOT ...
Last night, at a dinner organised at Hotel Istana's Urban Cafe to celebrate a friend's birthday, someone made a remark that our circle of friends is a truly blessed lot.
We've known each other for ages, and we've known each other so well. We may not see each other so often, but so often we are in each other's thought and prayers.
We get together may be once or twice a year, but our get-togethers are such memorable, wonderful and brilliant occasions that make us and our friendship so strong and special.
I thank God for all my friends. To all my friends, old and new, I thank you for you. Thank you for being my friends all these years and the years to come, for sharing all the moments great and not so great, and for being who you are to me and to all we love in our truly blessed circle of friends.
Through each of you, through each other, we have learnt that the art of making friends is simply to be a friend.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
STEPPING BACKWARDS ... INTO THE BACKWOODS
A club in KL's recently trendy Jalan Doraisamy is barring tomboys (read lesbians), gays and tranvestites from its premises because these people "intimidate" its other patrons and because it has an image to keep.
And no, the club insists, this policy is not discriminatory, but is necessary as the patronage of these people is not good for the club and its image.
I guess if the image that the club wants to project is that of a bigoted, backward and prejudiced outlet, then all is well, it can continue snubbing these people (although I'm rather curious about how the club determines people's sexual preferences -- its staff must have got a pretty strong gaydar).
Anyway, to be totally bigoted, backward and prejudiced, the club shouldn't just stop there. Its list of persona non grata should also include the ugly, the stupid, the ignorant, the mats or minahs, or the ah bengs or ah liens, or your cousin-brothers or cousin-sisters.
Once these people are shut out of its premises, then it'd have its ideal set of patrons, right?
Perhaps we should remind the management of the club that ours is not an ideal existence, and it is precisely because of this our life is much more interesting, exciting and colourful.
And if the club has good business sense, or any sense at all, it should go the way another established club has to love all, serve all.
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