A friend asked me some probing questions about “the realities of celebrating Merdeka Day.” As you can tell from the following questions, she’s a funny girl:

“Does patriotism mean you have to hang flags everywhere? How is your Merdeka like? Will you be arguing with your spouse?”

Well, to be completely honest, I don’t think Merdeka has ever meant more to me than it does this year. Now that I’m prompted to think about how I celebrated Merdeka Day in previous years, I must confess that they were non-events.

You know, either the usual lazy days at home or enjoying the national pastime of congregating at shopping malls. Hey, perhaps we could start a new religion where weekends are holy days and shopping malls are churches. Anyway, you get the point.

This year though, thanks to a whole series of events and insights, I see things differently. I see the dire situation we Malaysians are in but I also see the glaring light at the end of the tunnel. Before I sound too naïvely hopeful, the tunnel is a very long one.

Anyway, because of what I have personally experienced since 31 August last year, I am more determined than ever to make a change in Malaysia—starting with myself.

Please allow me to digress for a few of paragraphs.

If we are posed with the question, what is it about Malaysia that you really want to change, what would the most probable answers be? Here are some of them, in an approximately correct sequence:

1. The government.
2. The unjust/repressive/archaic laws (abolish, not change them).
3. The education/health/public transport system.
4. The housing/immigration/economic policy.
5. My noisy neighbours and/or their dog.

I deliberately omitted a specific and critical issue from the short list above. Not because it’s seditious to talk about it or because I don’t want to hurt the feelings of my sensitive fellow Malaysians, but because I would like us to really give this question some serious thought. In any case, if you read to the end of this article, you will see what I’m talking about.
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(Click on photo for source.)

Something struck me as I sat in the cab on the way home from KLIA after arriving from Bangkok last night. Although the recurring thought that many politicians the world over lack wisdom was haunting me in recent weeks, it hasn’t really dawned on me how these politicians think.

My experience over the last week in Thailand and the KLIA taxi ride gave me the final nudge to understand the simple logic of politicians, which may at first seem rational but it definitely is more detrimental than beneficial. Please let me explain.

If you have been to Bangkok, you will know that most of their taxi drivers are very friendly and helpful, especially with your luggage. Anyway, I guess I got too used to that because I was a little peeved when the KLIA cabbie didn’t bother to help me with my luggage despite seeing me holding two hand-carry bags on top of a big luggage bag.

After muttering something under my breath, I got into the cab and expected the driver to just take me home since my destination was printed on the ticket I passed to him. To my disappointment, he had no clue and, instead of asking me, he used the taxi radio to ask for directions. And he did that after stopping about 100 meters away from where I got into the cab without telling me what he was doing.

This peeved me even more and I began to wonder how could Malaysia compete with other South East Asian countries as a tourist destination. Then I decided to approach the situation positively and tried to understand why this cabbie behaved the way he did. That’s when it struck me—most people, including many politicians, have a tendency to adopt easy “solutions” rather than work on effective and sustainable solutions.

In this particular context, quite apart from the government policy of having a monopoly run the airport taxi service, the error of the taxi company was three-fold. [Click on the photo above for an "interesting" report by The Star Online on KLIA taxi service.]
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(Click on the picture for the source)

During the reign of Michael Jordan, pretty much every kid on the block wanted to be like Mike. He was a great basketball player with moves that were never seen on a basketball court before. Of course every kid wanted to be like him.

But he once asked the kids who said they wanted to be like him whether they were prepared to do what it takes to be like him – wake up at the crack of dawn, jog for miles, lift weights, shoot thousands of hoops, etc. Everyday. That’s what it takes to be a champ.

On the other end of the spectrum, there’s a (fictional) loser named Earl. You know, the guy from “My Name is Earl,” who tries to right every wrong that he’s ever done to others because he suddenly develops a belief in karma.

(Click on the picture for the source)

Well, fiction or not, and whether you believe in karma or not, I reckon it’s not only ‘cool’ to make good whatever bad we have done in our lives but it’s absolutely critical for us to take responsibility for the situation we’re in so that we can move forward and grow.

For me, Mike and Earl are like the two sides of a responsible coin. One is an ‘A’ class real life example of taking positive action to be the best that one can be; and the other is a funny but enlightening fiction of how we can fix our lives by correcting our past errors.
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(Picture source.)

The Hierarchy of Needs – Description or Prescription

When Abraham Maslow thought of the Hierarchy of Needs, was he trying to explain what he saw or was he trying to prescribe a plan for marketing departments? Well, whichever one it was, he was very successful. Indeed, he’s as good as Steve Jobs and the boys at Google… If not altogether better.

How many times have you heard really “successful” people give practical advice to young people, like this: “Put your dreams aside for now. Go get a good job and earn lots of money. Then, you can do or be whatever you want.”

Well, Mister, by the time I get there after this long and boring career in accountancy [enter your favourite love-to-hate profession here] I’ll be too tired and heartbroken to do or be anything.

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Picture source.

Yesterday, the front page headline, “Only on merit” was printed in bold letters on the widest circulated English daily newspaper of Malaysia. That certainly caught my eye.

I am sure that particular headline got many people’s attention, but I am not sure how many actually bothered to pay RM1.50 for a copy of the newspaper. Well, I must confess that I bought a copy of the newspaper, although I deeply resent the way the newspaper is operated. (I am sure you know what I mean.)

Here, I would really like to commend Tan Sri Sidek Hassan, the Chief Secretary to the Government (federal, obviously), for the circular that he sent to all the civil servants directing them to report to their superiors if they are asked for “favours” by politicians and the “well-connected.”

But I won’t. Not because I don’t like him (I don’t know him personally) or because he serves a government that I am not particularly fond of. I am not commending him for issuing the seemingly laudable circular for several reasons. Although the directive contained in the circular may at first glance seem to be a good idea, I strongly believe that it is not what it seems. Here’s why:
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Making sure the Chinatown shoppers are safe? (Click on the photo for the source.)

He who cannot draw on 3,000 years is living from hand to mouth.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

We’ve all heard the cliché, “Think out of the box.” Well, this clever suggestion is most often used when we are trying to overcome a very difficult obstacle or find a solution to a set of very difficult problems. Then, some smart aleck will come along and say, “Let’s not look at them as obstacles or problems, but challenges…”

Thank you, Sir.

Now, Malaysia—and the rest of humanity, to varying degrees—has faced persistent problems with crime and illnesses, both physical and mental. Why is it that we, human beings, with about 10,000 years of civilisation and more than 100 years of modern medical science, have yet to really address these two problems effectively?

Indeed, these so-called “challenges” seem to be getting worse by the day in many parts of the world and, if I’m not mistaken, in Malaysia, too (I am a cynic when it comes to government statistics). From anecdotal evidence as well as newspaper reports, we can see that incidences of all sorts of crime seem to be on the rise, as well as illnesses like cancer, heart diseases, kidney failures, depression, schizophrenia, etc.

So, what have we and many people of other nations done to address these problems? Hire more cops? Enact more laws? Place mobile police stations in busy areas? Train more doctors? Build more hospitals? Give out more free medication?
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Hahahah!!! PM Najib Razak is so lame… Probably because he’s whipped by the “First Lady”…

Thank you, Zaid, especially for treating Bala to ice kacang on behalf of all Malaysians who have woken up to the reality of Umno-BN propaganda…

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, read the following news article…

* * * * *

Zaid calls for open probe on RPK and Bala
By FMT Staff

KUALA LUMPUR: PKR leader Zaid Ibrahim, accusing Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak of being afraid to face blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK) and private eye P Balasubramaniam, has challenged the government to conduct an independent and open investigation to determine RPK’s guilt and Balasubramaniam’s credibility.

He said he was sure the two would return to Malaysia to defend themselves if the government would guarantee their families’ safety and their immunity from detention under the Internal Security Act.

“The truth is that Najib is afraid of these two human beings,” he said in his latest posting on myzaidibrahim.wordpress.com under the title Comedy a la P. Ramlee, which is translated below:
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The plight of the Palestinian people and the role of the ‘Zionist’ government of Israel is a matter of international and humanitarian concern, not a matter for Malaysian politicians to score points with the Malay-Muslim electorate. The prime concern of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (KEADILAN) has always been, and will always be, the fair and humanitarian treatment of all Malaysians and also the downtrodden peoples of other nations.

Four Umno leaders have voiced their opinions on Anwar Ibrahim’s stand on Zionist aggression, especially in light of The Washington Post article that was published recently. These Umno leaders — Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi, Information Minister Rais Yatim and Umno Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin — are jumping at the opportunity to distort the words of the writer, who wrote:

He [Anwar] said he regretted using terms such as “Zionist aggression,” which are common coin for demagogues like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “Why do I need to use it if it causes so much misunderstanding?” he said. “I need to be more careful.”

In case these Umno leaders cannot comprehend proper English, what that means is that Anwar regrets using terms which demagogues like controversial Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad use, especially when it causes a misunderstanding in the international community. Anwar then humbly concedes he needs to be more careful in how he criticizes Israel’s Zionist government, in light of the fact that accusations of anti-semitism are rampant.
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* The following is a letter I sent to three online news portals regarding the above matter:

I am both bemused and disturbed by what I read in your esteemed online news portal. Indeed, I find a similar story on two other online news portals. I am referring to what my former KEADILAN colleague, Zahrain Hashim, said about Zaid Ibrahim’s links with Raja Petra Kamarudin (aka RPK), the “fugitive” political blogger (to me, he’s the victim of political persecution because of his outspoken views).

What Zahrain said and is trying to insinuate both bemuses and disturbs me; hence, this letter to you.

Firstly, I find it completely ironic that someone of Zahrain’s standing (he is, after all, a Member of Parliament) could say such a ridiculous thing. What is he really trying to say? That KEADILAN or Zaid Ibrahim is funding a fugitive? That somehow some opposition people are aiding and abetting RPK?

Zaid has openly (and proudly, I think) admitted that he is a friend of RPK’s. So is Anwar Ibrahim. Indeed, so am I. Is it a crime to be friends with someone who is being persecuted by an undemocratic and repressive government (who is trying to paint that someone as a fugitive on the run)?
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Virtually everything our modern culture believes about the type of leadership required to transform our institutions is wrong. It is also dangerous. There is perhaps no more corrosive trend to the health of our organizations than the rise of the celebrity CEO, the rock-star leader whose deepest ambition is first and foremost self-centric.
- Jim Collins (author of Good to Great)

In this day and age of instant coffee, fast food and DIY blogs, we tend to look for quick fixes, including celebrity leaders, whom we believe can lead our organisations into the sunset. And more often than not, when we talk about leadership, we look to statesmen, generals, politicians and the like, to find good examples of great leaders. It is true that there have been many great leaders in the political field, including people like Mohandas K. Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln. However, we should also look to business leaders to learn certain principles of leadership.
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