The issue of education is quite dear to me as I believe that it will determine the future of our nation. Even pop songs like Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All” talks about how important it is to teach our children well.

I am proud to share that I am a product of Methodist Boys’ School, Kuala Lumpur. I attended both the primary and secondary schools there, and I am now in my second term as the President of my school’s alumni association. Apart from my loyalty and love for my alma mater, I must say that there is something different about our school that moulded many of us into not only successful but also quite decent people.

Anyway, I read this quote from a site on J. Krishnamurti and I thought it was worth sharing:

Modern education, in developing the intellect, offers more and more theories and facts, without bringing about the understanding of the total process of human existence. We are highly intellectual; we have developed cunning minds, and are caught up in explanations. The intellect is satisfied with theories and explanations, but intelligence is not; and for the understanding of the total process of existence, there must be an integration of the mind and heart in action. Intelligence is not separate from love.

For most of us, to accomplish this inward revolution is extremely arduous. We know how to meditate, how to play the piano, how to write, but we have no knowledge of the meditator, the player, the writer. We are not creators, for we have filled our hearts and minds with knowledge, information and arrogance; we are full of quotations from what others have thought or said. But experiencing comes first, not the way of experiencing. There must be love before there can be the expression of love.

Apart from humane treatment of animals, I believe one of the points made by that very wise man was that we can judge ourselves by how we treat others that are less fortunate than ourselves, especially those who cannot fend for themselves.

On that note, I am sad to share this May Day message with my fellow Malaysians. I just read the April 21-28, 2008 copy of Newsweek magazine, which had an article entitled “Lured Into Bondage”. When I first saw the heading “The New Wage Slaves” on the cover of the magazine, I thought it was referring to some other lesser developed country. Alas, to my dismay, the article is actually on Malaysia. Please do check out the link above.

In any case, here are a few salient quotes from the article:

Some of the world’s leading computer makers don’t want you to know about Local Technic Industry. It’s a typical Malaysian company, one of many small makers of the cast-aluminum bodies for hard-disk drives used in just about every name-brand machine on the market. But that’s precisely the problem: it’s a typical Malaysian company.

About 60 percent of Local Technic’s 160 employees are from outside Malaysia—and a company executive says he pities those guest workers. “They have been fooled hook, line and sinker,” he says, asking not to be named because others in the business wouldn’t like his talking to the press. “They have been taken for a ride.” It’s not Local Technic’s fault, he insists: sleazy labor brokers outside the country tricked the workers into paying huge placement fees for jobs that yield a net income close to zero. “They say they were promised 3,000 ringgits [$950] a month,” the manager says. “How can we pay that? If we did, we would be bankrupt in no time.”

So why don’t those foreign employees just quit? Because they can’t, even after they find out they’ve been cheated. Malaysian law requires guest workers to sign multiple-year contracts and surrender their passports to their employers. Those who run away but stay in Malaysia are automatically classed as illegal aliens, subject to arrest, imprisonment and sometimes caning before being expelled from the country.

And what is our government doing about it?

In its latest report, the State Department ranked only Hong Kong and South Korea among the “tier one” countries making a serious effort to combat human trafficking. Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan were all ranked in tier two (trying but need to do more), and Malaysia alongside Burma and North Korea among the worst cases.

The report singles out Malaysia as a “regional economic leader” with the resources and government infrastructure to fight the trafficking of men, women and children into sex and commercial trades, but is making no significant effort to do so. It says Malaysia has failed to prosecute traffickers and has twice announced plans to create a shelter for foreign trafficking victims, but has yet to follow through. The report urges Kuala Lumpur to do more. Malaysia’s foreign minister, Syed Hamid Albar, calls the State Department report “all false, not true,” and adds that “Malaysia is a country that does not encourage trafficking in persons.”

But Malaysian law effectively makes every foreign worker a captive of the company that hired him or her. In the name of immigration control, employers like Local Technic are required to report runaways to the police. No one holds company managers accountable for lies told by independent labor recruiters inside or outside the country. And Western electronics giants give them business.

I hope our country will grow up into a nation with an enlightened conscience, rather than one that continues to look for excuses or give clever justifications for wrongs that we can undo – if we cared enough to, that is.

By the way, this is a true account of the author’s career as an economic hit man. In his own words:

“Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. They funnel money from the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other foreign “aid” organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet’s natural resources. Their tools include fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as old as empire, but one that has taken on new terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization.
I should know; I was an EHM.”

I’m not much of a book reviewer, but if this is reflective of the kind of writing in the rest of the book, I’m sure it’s going to be one of my favs.

Here’s a teaser:

And we wonder why terrorists attack us?

The concept is, of course, erroneous. We know that in many countries economic growth benefits only a small portion of the population and may in fact result in increasingly desperate circumstances for the majority. This effect is reinforced by the corollary belief that the captains of industry who drive this system should enjoy a special status, a belief that is the root of many of our current problems and is perhaps also the reason why conspiracy theories abound. When men and women are rewarded for greed, greed becomes a corrupting motivator. When we equate the gluttonous consumption of the earth’s resources with a status approaching sainthood, when we teach our children to emulate people who live unbalanced lives, and when we define huge sections of the population as subservient to an elite minority, we ask for trouble. And we get it.

I don’t know about you, but I definitely want to read the rest of this book.

The first one was apparently recited by a pastor in Kansas state, at the opening session of their senate:

“Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good’, but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!”

The second one was shared by Bono, before singing Miss Sarajevo at a concert in Milan:

“We would like to turn our song into a prayer. The prayer is that we don’t become a monster in order to defeat a monster. That is our prayer tonight.”

These prayers remind me of Mahatma Gandhi’s Seven Social Sins:

Politics without principles
Pleasure without conscience
Wealth without work
Knowledge without character
Commerce without morality
Science without humanity
Worship without sacrifice

With all the “lessons” that we have witnessed over the last three millenniums, isn’t it time for us to apply what we have learned? At least, if for nothing else, teach our children the lessons that we want them to learn…

I’ve learned that I like my teacher because she cries when we sing “Silent Night”.
Age 5

I’ve learned that our dog doesn’t want to eat my broccoli either.
Age 7

I’ve learned that when I wave to people in the country, they stop what they are doing and wave back.
Age 9

I’ve learned that just when I get my room the way I like it, Mom makes me clean it up again.
Age 12

I’ve learned that if you want to cheer yourself up, you should try cheering someone else up.
Age 14

I’ve learned that although it’s hard to admit it, I’m secretly glad my parents are strict with me.
Age 15

I’ve learned that silent company is often more healing than words of advice.
Age 24

I’ve learned that brushing my child’s hair is one of life’s great pleasures.
Age 26

I’ve learned that wherever I go, the world’s worst drivers have followed me there.
Age 29

I’ve learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it.
Age 30

I’ve learned that there are people who love you dearly but just don’t know how to show it.
Age 42

I’ve learned that you can make some one’s day by simply sending them a little note.
Age 44

I’ve learned that the greater a person’s sense of guilt, the greater his or her need to cast blame on others.
Age 46

I’ve learned that children and grandparents are natural allies.
Age 47

I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.
Age 48

I’ve learned that singing “Amazing Grace” can lift my spirits for hours.
Age 49

I’ve learned that motel mattresses are better on the side away from the phone.
Age 50

I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a man by the way he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
Age 51

I’ve learned that keeping a vegetable garden is worth a medicine cabinet full of pills.
Age 52

I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you miss them terribly after they die.
Age 53

I’ve learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life.
Age 58

I’ve learned that if you want to do something positive for your children, work to improve your marriage.
Age 61

I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
Age 62

I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catchers mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.
Age 64

I’ve learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But if you focus on your family, the needs of others, your
work, meeting new people, and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.
Age 65

I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with kindness, I usually make the right decision.
Age 66

I’ve learned that everyone can use a prayer.
Age 72

I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one.
Age 82

I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love that human touch – holding hands, a warm
hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.
Age 90

I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn.
Age 92

Basically, I agree that “when we go beyond labels such as ‘secular’ and ‘Islamic’ and connect with the substance of our three principal documents we will discover that there is a degree of congruence between the two positions.” And the three documents that Dr. Chandra is talking about are the Federal Constitution, the Rukunegara and Vision 2020.

Now, my question is, how do we move forward from this apparent impasse? It’s very obvious that the current hooha is created by the Deputy Prime Minister for political reasons. Indeed, it’s so idiotic for him to make such a statement that I won’t even go into the so-called debate.

What I’m interested in is what can we do to solve the real problems that all Malaysians are facing, irrespective of our race, religion or gender. For example, the Wanita MCA chief Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen, who is a Deputy Minister, has raised the issue of social problems. This is a very real problem faced by the community. Is MCA or Barisan Nasional going to do something about it, or are we happy to just get our names and photos published in the newspapers?

The range of problems that Malaysians face are so wide and varied that it’s sometimes even difficult to find a starting point. Politically, we have mono-ethnic parties that divide us to rule. Legally, we have a supreme law of the land with silly notions of race mixed up with religion. Socially, we have escalating crime rates and, worse still, our youth are being led astray by politicians and their lies.

Sadly, our value system was lost in the midst of all this talk about secularism and spirituality. The situation in Malaysia has become absurd. We have a Deputy Prime Minister that is somehow linked to a murder case, proudly going around announcing that Umno is the conscience of the Malays. We have a police force that is implicated in involvement with triad gangs. We had an anti-corruption agency Director who was allegedly corrupt.

And yet, this government pretends to have legitimacy, and the Rakyat plays along so that their convenient lifestyles are not disturbed. If anything, I find all this media control and realpoliticking to be very disturbing, indeed.

No doubt, this country has a unique history, both in terms of its racial composition and the development of Islam. Nevertheless, if we are serious about transcending this superficial debate and want to reconcile ourselves with the notion of Malaysia, we need to do some profound soul-searching… and perhaps ask, what we can do for our country.

The scene (in the movie), depicts a holy man saying “Such ignorance. It’s this ignorance that is our misfortune”, and then a widow arrives.

After greeting her, he asks the widow “… you’ve been doing this service for many years. So many years of sacrifice and devotion. Do you feel closer to self-liberation?” After a long pause, she replies slowly, “If… self-liberation means… detachment from worldly desires… Then, no, I’m no closer.”

The holy man hesitates, before he replies solemnly, “whatever happens, never lose your faith… Never lose your faith.”

That reminded me of something I had read earlier today. Mother Teresa, whilst accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, said,

“By blood I am Albanian. By citizenship an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the heart of Jesus.”

Wow! That to me is amazing devotion, both to her faith and ideals. And she maintained those from a very young age until her ultimate demise. It really humbles me to stand in the shadow of such giants…

Somehow, I was also reminded of an earlier conversation I had with a friend. He’s real supportive and I always have great conversations with him. On top of that, he’s also a real practical and results-oriented kinda guy.

So, naturally, when I was faced with a values-challenging question, I posed this to him: “How does one manage a business/organisation, be practical about real life, and yet maintain one’s faith and ideals?”

And that stumped my friend… Hmmm, I guess it’s not an easy question to answer. Oh well, as Robert Frost would say: “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.”