Old paths, new bridges

Got out of the country for some fresh air two weekends ago. Central Java, land of Borobudur and Prambanan, chokes with history and offers plenty to those who are keen on knowing more about our Nusantara roots, even our Peranakan links.

Clearly, it is more than a place of pretty temples. It nudges you to think and make connections. Four days - that's the time I spent there - is pittance, but it'll do for now. There's just too much to absorb as it is.

First impressions can be found at my other blog. ( http://straits-mongrel.blogspot.com/) It's skimpy but a start no less. I'll add more in due time. One thing's for sure, next planned stop in the not too distant future - Palembang.

Tender loving care

Remember this:

'The tender process
will be open
and transparent.'

- Works Minister Samy Vellu,
announcing on Sunday that tenders for 378 infrastructure projects under the 9MP will be called in phases beginning next month. The total estimated sum involved is RM18.6 billion. Yes, billion. (http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news.php?id=190901)

Let's play Honour your Word.
But first, some Revision Notes:

Transparent (adj)
1. Capable of transmitting light so that objects or images can be seen as if there were no intervening material. See synonyms at clear.
2. Permeable to electromagnetic radiation of specified frequencies, as to visible light or radio waves.
3. So fine in texture that it can be seen through; sheer. See synonyms at airy.
4. Easily seen through or detected; obvious: transparent lies.
Free from guile; candid or open: transparent sincerity.
5. Obsolete. Shining through; luminous.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin trānspārēns, trānspārent-, present participle of trānspārēre, to show through : Latin trāns-, trans- + Latin pārēre, to show.]

("transparent." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com 10 Apr. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/transparent)


Open (adj)
1.
a) Affording unobstructed entrance and exit; not shut or closed.
b) Affording unobstructed passage or view: open waters; the open countryside.
2.
a) Having no protecting or concealing cover: an open wound; an open sports car.
b) Completely obvious; blatant: open disregard of the law.
c) Carried on in full view: open warfare; open family strife.
d) Sports. Not closely defended by an opponent: an open receiver.
3.
a) Not sealed or tied: an open package.
b) Spread out; unfolded: an open book.
4. Having interspersed gaps, spaces, or intervals: open ranks; an open weave.
5.
a) Accessible to all; unrestricted as to participants: an open competition.
b) Free from limitations, boundaries, or restrictions: open registration.
c) Enterable by registered voters regardless of political affiliation: an open primary.
d) Computer Science. Of or relating to a file that can be accessed.

("open." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com 10 Apr. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/open)


Stay peeled. In some ways, this is better than the World Cup; it comes once every five years.

Stupid face

Baffling. After appointing himself the moral guardian here, this Zam fella now wants to be Singapore’s Minister of Information as well. Bernama reports:

“The Singapore media are not contributing to improving relations between the republic and Malaysia by frequently publishing inaccurate reports on Malaysia, Information Minister Datuk Zainuddin Maidin said Sunday…

“Zainuddin said the Singapore media should emulate the Malaysian media which did not publish reports that could spoil relations between the two countries.”
(http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news.php?id=190861)

Seems like he’s displeased over the conjured image of Malaysia being a haven for car thieves. He’s sulking. But that’s not the point.

The point is whether these are facts.

And if they are, can we as Malaysia face them? And actually do something about it? Something deep, elegant and far-reaching that addresses the larger social issues.

It’s one thing when our ineptitude is effectively covered by muzzling the local press, another when it is exposed by a sovereign neighbour’s media because it involves its people. If those are actual incidents, then Singapore has every bloody right to highlight it.

Sure Singapore’s words may come across as crass, kurang sopan. Western style. Our Most Duly Respected (YAB) chieftains feel they’ve been dissed, slapped in the face; something they’re not used to on local turf.

Tough, baby. If you haven’t realized, in the real working world, the rules are different. It’s actually fairer. You don’t get to change the goalposts, and you don’t get to muscle your might over minions. Mostly, you earn respect, not buy it. And when you’re busted, you own up, you suck it up and you fix the damn problem.

Now that - above all the slogans and scripture-reading on the radio - is integrity.

I think, we suffer from this whole ‘give face’ / ‘lose face’ bullshit. It’s our common denominator, a disease beyond race, religion, and income level. Insidiously over the decades, it has pockmarked all arms of government and the private sector. It has made Rafidah have a kneecap operation in the height of the AP issue, Samy Vellu exclaim something about “an Act of God”, and some clown MB go “Semuanya OK”.

It is an epidemic. This ‘face’ thing has kept us wrapped in cocoons of ignorance, dependence, and lies. We mistake its stifling choke as the warmth of down feathers, docile chicken that we are. Way too often, it has made us stand down when we should be standing up.

Mind you, it’s not about being rude, it’s about getting a damn spine. Gandhi wasn’t rude. Nor is Aung San Suu Kyi.

Face. Bah!

I’d rather face the issues. I’d rather face facts. And then collectively work on imaginative solutions to the problems at hand. As for car thefts, I do personally know of a few Singaporeans who have been carjacked, threatened at knifepoint, parang-point, kukri-point. I’ve heard many more stories told by friends about Singaporean cars being stolen. I’m picky about the friends I make; as a rule, they do not make lying a lifestyle, therefore I believe them.

There is a high chance even more Malaysians have had their cars stolen, either forcibly or theft. From Lexus to older Proton Sagas, the robbers lose no time intellectualizing the merits. Again I personally know of a few, and many more stories.

The fact is this, harder-core crime happens in higher numbers here than in Singapore. Rape, murder, robbery, burglary, snatch theft. It is far from anarchy, far from it. It does not make Malaysia an ugly place. But it presents yet another symptom of the social and income imbalance in this country and how much ground we need to make. There is nothing wrong with facing that fact straight on.

So when the Singapore media chooses to ‘sensationalise’ car-thefts across the causeway, it is informing the-good-life people there of the precautions one needs to take when in Malaysia. If that deters them from coming in, and instead opt for safer trips perhaps to Korea, Europe, Australia, well good for them.

And sad for you, Zam. Because you think Singaporeans are idiots who fear the dark, who are totally led by their media, who cannot adapt and take precautions, and who cannot see Malaysia is beautiful despite its flaws.

So Zam, look in the mirror and shut up already. Just shut the F up.

U life

Oh man, what a blast! MIT and Caltech, two premier tech universities in the US have been playing pranks on each other for some time now. The latest goal was scored Thursday by MIT.

Reports the LA Times:

“In the ongoing battle of the nerds between Caltech and MIT, the latest volley has been fired from a 130-year-old cannon…

Massachusetts pranksters, posing as professional movers, stole the beloved Fleming Cannon — traditionally fired at each year's commencement — from the Pasadena campus last week.”
(http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-statue7apr07,0,2096065.story)

I just love it when the wits of youths are put to play. In this case, the rivalry is just tasty and engaging. There’s even a website that keeps score on Caltech vs MIT. Rivalry, as any mature person knows, is not hate. Far from it. In fact, MIT and Caltech collaborate closely on many disciplines, from jet propulsion to voting methods in the presidential elections, and the respect for each other is clearly mutual.

Pranks and rivalry as a package among universities is not uncommon. There’s Harvard and Yale, the classic being the giant ‘We Suck’ banner in 2004. I can’t recall any but I’m sure the Oxford-Cambridge rivalry must have had its fair share of thrusts and parry, perhaps over beer and sherry.

One thing’s for sure, clever pranks point to a fertile mind. A good prank challenges the creators and requires creative execution for it to succeed - in the recent MIT case, to ship a cannon all the way from coast to coast! And a prankster only preys on an equal with no harm intended except for bruised egos and bragging rights. Clever pranks, much like play in animal behaviour, are an indicator that a system is healthy.

Hence, a memo to the many Yang Amat Berhormats out to jaga the morals of this country: Get a life.

There’s honestly no need to play Head Prefect. Why are you people so sibuk in the running of our lives? The University and University College Act stifles wit and instills fear. And yet we want to be among the top in the world. Ptooi.

Instead of micro-managing trivial matters like whether ‘College’ought to be removed from College University because grads feel discriminated at job-hunting, or what is required uniform during convocation, or what you can wear while in campus or posting sentries at every entrance and dark corner (why are campuses in Malaysia like gated communities?), why don’t you just frigging back off and let college students be college students?

YAB-YAB sekalian, here’s a clue to fostering the growth of intelligent life-forms in this country. Let us think, let us live. Let us all have a life.


PS. Speaking of pranks, Jeff Ooi’s last week was a gem. (http://www.jeffooi.com/2006/04/to_the_dogs.php) Did I bite it? Hook, line and sinker. Still bloody gullible.

Who how

Shucks, Tenaga should have harnessed this. Once every five years, an immense gush of hot air spews out of Parliament, enough to run mega-turbines to power the country for months. It happened again on Friday afternoon and lasted for about two hours.

That’s how I see the 9MP. Lots of numbers and statistics thrown about, lots of “will be…”s, and lots of skimming the surface. But no road map. It is a wish list, an advertising campaign, a morale booster, a buffet spread, anything, anything but a Plan.

In my book, Plans tell you how something gets done. A Plan doesn’t happen at the flick of a switch – it takes into account context, history, strengths and weaknesses. You do a ton of prep work before a plan is fortified and ready. And most of all, when the Plan is announced, you would have assembled a team rumbling and ready to deliver.

It’s all about who and how. They define a Plan’s depth and credibility.

Especially so in Pak Lah’s administration, blazing with the highest voting majority in the country’s history, bursting with the promises the rakyat has longed to hear, yet delivering pittance; backtracking, dimming down, spiraling back into the muddy days of the old.

I was in the car when the radio began broadcasting the PM’s speech. I was lost somewhere between Puchong and Kelang Lama which made the ride worthwhile. With every proposal made, with every allocation of RMxxx million, with every ‘will be’ uttered, I’d wonder: “How? Who?”

It was first amusing, then tiring. Then the recent picture flashed back again, the picture I hate, the picture of a mega-spending, non-accountable Malaysia – man, the speech must’ve been like blood to the sharks in the ‘hood. Cronyhood. Feeding frenzy for the next five years.

All these gift-wrapped under a ‘vision’ of Delivery and Implementation.

If recent socio-political events in Malaysia are an indication of the team responsible for the 9MP, I’m eagerly waiting. For the next general elections, that is.

With Harvard suits hired to prescribe to us what we probably already know and more about our public delivery system;
with tudungs as uniforms;
with Bank Negara interfering with Southern Bank’s future;
with Hishamuddin and gang’s objection to the IPCMC;
with Nazri’s ‘Suhakam will have no bite’;
with Zam’s sermons on nationalism;
with calls to change our lifestyle;
with plans for a crooked bridge;
with Digi-no-3G;
with Scomi’s bus contracts;
with an LCCT mind-bogglingly built 20km away from KLIA’s main terminal;
with 50 Umno Youth members giving MP Loh Seng Kok a protest letter for asking for more balanced history books;
with Selayang councilors on a lawatan sambil belajar in South Africa and MPPJ sports club reaping profits from billboard advertisements

how can I have faith in the delivery of the 9MP?

As all things good and foul must come to an end, the earnest closure to the 9MP came in the form of a prayer, choked in emotion:

“…grant us our prayers; guide us to righteousness and to the path that You bless, provide us with people that are sincere, trustworthy, noble and honest; responsible in building a developed nation – building a united people – we forever seek Your blessings, “Towards Excellence, Glory and Distinction”.



I’m surprised at that.

Pak Lah! Your prayers have long been answered and continue to be answered today. There are many Malaysians who are sincere, trustworthy, noble and honest; who want to be responsible in building a developed nation – who want to be a united people. Not many in your team though. And sadly, many too have left – thousands of intelligent, skilled, compassionate people – but not because they are disloyal. Rather they were denied, dejected and disillusioned by previous Malaysia Plans that hinged on equally great promises but delivered lard to the already fat.

Will yours be any different? Who? How?