Friday, December 31, 2010

Year 2011 – Adopting a multiracial mindset

We alone decide our destiny


Malaysia like all nations had her share of problems and challenges in the year 2010.Despite these problems by enlarge the year was a peaceful one without any major untoward catastrophes, either natural or man-made. As usual there were attempts by certain quarters to stir racial and religious sentiments but the vast majority of Malaysians of all races revealed their maturity and wisdom to ignore these provocations thereby sustaining the peace and racial harmony in the country.


Despite attempts to improve the race relations in the country with the 1Malaysia concept, ethnic relations continue to pose a real threat to the peace and harmony in the country, which had been painstakingly built by our forefathers and sustained by us for the last 53 years. However it is encouraging to know that the increasing maturity and wisdom of the people will not allow the unity attained to disintegrate to result in chaos. This is the most promising asset that our nation has today.


The year 2011 promises another year of excitement and challenges for the country especially as the 13th General Elections are speculated to take place. The nation would be at the crossroads where the people would have to decide their destiny. A two-party system of governance that is taking shape would be the main issue in contention. It will be a major test of the people’s wisdom and we are sure they are ready to rise up to the occasion to make the all important decision if and when the time comes.


Regardless of their ethnicity there is a need for Malaysians to continue promoting at a deeper level better understanding, tolerance and above all respect for the cultural and religious differences among the people of diverse ethnicity. There is a need to adopt a mindset that despite our differences we are all citizens, here to stay for good or bad and with equal stake in the fortunes and misfortunes of the country. There is a need to adopt a mindset with multiracial outlook whereby we are prepared to respect and defend the rights of all Malaysians wherever and whenever there are breached.


As we step into the second decade of the new millennium, let us resolve to strive to enhance the good we have inherited. Let us resolve not to succumb to the evil motives of the minority but be steadfast in our efforts to build a united, modern and prosperous nation that our descendants will be proud of. Our destiny is in our hands and we alone must decide that with great wisdom and maturity.


Happy Near year 2011

Friday, December 17, 2010

Discount on summonses is rewarding the reckless

The long queues at traffic police stations throughout the country to pay the discounted traffic summonses are indeed unnecessary and s the purpose for which the summonses were issues in the first place. We understand that those affected had to spend many hours to pay their fines which is indeed a loss of precious man-hours as many had to take day off from their jobs to settle the summonses.

We are told that those paying within the first weeks are given 50% discount which will be reduced to 30% subsequently after that. What is the rationale behind these discounts? Are the summonses issued to punish the errand drivers or to increase the revenue for the government coffers? The scenes at the crowded police counters of people cueing up to pay their summonses suggest that indeed a lucrative business.

There are no qualms that reckless drivers should be severely punished as they pose a serious danger to just not their lives but that of other innocent law-abiding citizens as well. In fact such dangerous divers must not only be fined and legal action taken if they fail to pay up If fining alone does not deter them then other forms of punitive action must be considered. If the summonses are aimed to deter reckless drivers then why the need to give discount without any remorse on their part? By giving discount the authorities would be sending the wrong message that they are not serious in wanting to put a stop to reckless driving by irresponsible people. They could be seen as rewarding those who break the laws and casing harm to innocent drivers on the roads.

With the escalating death on the roads every day, it is time for the PDRM to show that they are serious in acting against dangerous drivers on the roads. They must review their system of issuing summonses so that the real culprits do not escape the wrath of the law. We all familiar with a situation where motorists who exceed the speed limit slightly on a clear stretch of highway are promptly summoned whereas those driving recklessly with near-miss accidents go scot-free. For this latter category of divers, fines alone may not deter recklessness as either they can easily afford to pay them or they are being paid by their employers. These recalcitrant drivers should be more severely punished depending on the seriousness of their offense in accordance with the laws of the country. There should not be any excuses for compromising the safety on the roads.

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Improving housemen training

I refer to “Too many new doctors and too few hospitals to train them”(Star,Nov27)

The revelation that about 4,000 medical housemen are joining the government for training every year is alarming but not surprising. At the rate new medical schools are being opened, this problem was expected. What is shocking is that why no remedial steps were taken before we reached this state.

The number of medical housemen undergoing clinical training in government hospitals has increased to an extent that they may not get sufficient experience and training as the hospitals and consultants are not able to cope with such large numbers. In fact the quality of training has indeed declined and there are serious concerns as to what is going to happen soon as medical career continues to attract more Malaysians, often for the wrong reasons.

We should not be surprised that the government would resort to the easy way out by building more hospitals and bring in foreign specialists to train the increasing number of housemen. Will these measures overcome the problem that we have created by our own misjudgment? It may appear to solve the problem in the short-term but it will never provide lasting solutions to an oversupply of doctors. In fact such moves will only create more problems in the future. While we appreciate the government’s efforts to increase the doctor-people ratio but it must be realistic in its targets so as not to compromise the quality in the process.

In the past there used to be about 5 houseman in each clinical department but today it can be as high as 40.We are told that each houseman now looks after just 4 patients in the wards whereas it was 10 about five years ago. On- call duties although may be taxing but is essential part of the training of a young doctor as they provide the experience needed to treat medical and surgical emergencies. In most hospitals today each houseman goes on-call duty about 3 days a month when it used to be more than 10 days ten years ago. In fact in the seventies and eighties housemen had to go on-call almost every day as they were in very short supply. The extremely low number of call duties is hardly sufficient for the houseman as they do not get to see and manage the many medical emergencies that get admitted.

The government must seriously look into the declining standard of training of our housemen as the quality of medical care in the future depends on those being trained today. We do not need large modern hospitals with state of the art equipment and highly qualified experts from overseas to train our housemen. All we need are hospitals adequately equipped with the basic modern facilities and specialists with reasonable qualification but with great zeal to teach the housemen the necessary skills to become good and caring doctors.

We already have these hospitals in the form of our smaller ones in most districts formerly called District Hospitals. Many of these hospitals function as transfer centres which treat only very simple illnesses whereas most serious ones are transferred to the General Hospitals. All we need is to upgrade them, equip them with facilities to cater for the five major disciplines of General Medicine,General Surgery, Obstetricts and Gynecology,Paediatrics and Orthopaedics and post specialists in these basic disciplines to serve in these hospitals. By doing so they become excellent training centre for housemen who just need exposure to total patient care in these disciplines not highly specialized training at the major hospitals in the various sub-specialties. The time has come to upgrade all district hospitals to specialist hospitals which should have facilities to treat the all general specialties.

Recruiting highly qualified people from foreign countries are also not the answer as these outsiders may not have the commitment to train our own doctors. Furthermore the problems created in the training our doctors are our responsibility to overcome which we should not abdicate. There are enough of own local specialists in government and private including retired ones do will do excellent jobs if only they are given the honor to serve the nation. It is a pity that many enthusiastic senior specialists are ignored because of certain prejudicial practices which should be done away with.

While efforts are being made to improve the training of housemen, their numbers must also be regulated. Efforts must also be made to reduce the number resorting to medicine as a career. Only those with good results and aptitude should be allowed to take up medicine. The number of medical schools must be stringently regulated so that mass production of doctors will be discouraged. We have to be more realistic in the number of doctors needed for our people. Definitely we do not need 4,000 additional doctors a year for our nation of 25million people.

The glut of housemen and nurses in the country is our own doing - commercialization of medical education leading to their mass production. It has resulted the rapid mushrooming of many medical schools, nearly 30 in the country, some with questionable standards. It seriously threatens to compromise the quality over quantity of our doctors which will detrimental in the long run.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Christmas cum Charity Dinner

Christmas cum Charity Dinner for Shan’s Home Children

The Shan Children’s Home, located at No.125,Tingkat Kikik 6,Taman Inderawasih,Perai is run by a few caring and passionate individuals who have great concern for children without parents to provide the love that is so essential for a growing child.We have great admiration and gratitude for those managing and caring for these less fortunate children in our midst who never know what parental love is.

At present there18 children in the home. Most of them are below the age of 10 and schooling (Kindergarten & primary).They are being well taken care of very well at the centre.However for continuous quality care, at least RM 6,000 is needed per month. This could be more much if more children are to be taken in.

As a show of our love and care for these children,we,the members from the TBC Community (Togetherness in Building a Caring Community) are hosting a Christmas cum charity dinner to entertain the children and workers at the home.Our aim is to share our joy with these children and at the same time raise some funds for the maintenance of the home.We want to also honor the helpers who are the unsung heroes who put in relentless efforts to care for these children.

We cordially invite you and your family to join us to share our joy and blessings with the children from Shan Children’s Home during this season of Christmas and New Year. The children and the dedicated helpers will be the special guests of honor at the dinner.

The details of the dinner are as follows:

Type of Dinner: 8-course Chinese dinner

Date: 18 December 2010

Time: 7.30 – 10.30 pm

Place: Hock Mun Restaurant,

Seberang Jaya,Perai

The cost per head is only RM50.00 ( RM30 for dinner & RM20 for home) or RM500 per table for those who like to sponsor a table.

For more details and purchase of dinner coupons please contact any one of the following or the under-signed:

Mr.Christopher Lau ( 012-4021161) - Organizing Charmain,Shan's Home Christmas Dinner

Mr.Lawrence Stephen ( 019-5270489) - TBC Chairman

Gregory Peris(017-4046505),

Winson David 016-4143417

Closing date for purchase of coupons : Sunday 5 December 2010

We seek your kind generosity and support to make this event a success.Your esteemed presence at the dinner will greatly add to the merriment of the children particularly at this time of Christmas.Hope to see you there with your family and friends.

Our heartfelt thanks to those who have already confirmed your participation and contribution.

May God bless you and your family for your love and concern.

Thank you


Dr.Chris Anthony (H/P 012-4810582)

for TBC Community

Anti ISA event hijacked Part II.mp4

Anti ISA event hijacked Part I.mp4

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

When mob rule wins the day

Pro-ISA clash with anti-ISA

I refer to the report “Anti-ISA meet disrupted” that appeared in the Star dated 22 November 2010.

The disruption of an anti-ISA forum by a group of pro-Internal Security Act (ISA) demonstrators in Penang was very regretful. We are told that these pro-ISA demonstrators gate crashed a peaceful gathering of anti-ISA protestors who posed no threat to anybody.

Although no untoward incidents were reported but such actions are dangerous as they can well lead to unnecessary violence. Just as the anti-ISA group, the pro-ISA group also has its rights for peaceful expression of their views. Instead of resorting to such mob-like behavior, the pro-ISA group could have held their own peaceful demonstration elsewhere to air their views on the issue of the ISA.

It is further disappointing that the police made no efforts to stop these protestors from gate-crashing into the premises of the anti-ISA gathering. Why did the police allow the gathering if they had no permit, if at all it was needed? Did the pro-ISA group have a police permit? These are some puzzling questions that right thinking Malaysians want from the police.

Peaceful demonstration to air the views on important issues is the basic right of every citizen. It should be encouraged if we truly mean good for the nation. If the people are not allowed peaceful avenues to express their dissatisfaction, where to they turn to for such expression? How can we progress if we do not allow room for dissent?

The ISA which allows detention without trial is obsolete and history has shown such laws have been abused by those in power all over the world. It might have been useful at the time of the communist insurgency in our country but today what are the threats that still need the use of such draconian news? Who are those who pose real threats to the nation?

The real threat today comes not from outside or from the ordinary citizen struggling to make ends meet. It comes from within, in the form of rampant corruption, racial and religious extremism, uncivil attitude, disregard for law and order and apathy of Malaysians in general who take things for granted. These are the real threats that thwart all efforts to create a united peaceful, harmonious and prosperous nation whose wealth is shared by all citizens.

These may pose serious threats to the development of the nation but they do not need the ISA to check them as there are enough civilized laws to deal with such national threats. What is needed is proper education, good governance and a just enforcement of the laws of the country. What is needed is to nurture the people into useful law-abiding citizens of the country.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Being there when it matters most

Being there when needed most

A wonderful Thought provoking story….

A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside. "Your son is here," she said to the old man.

She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened. Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.


Squeezing a message of love and encouragement

The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile. He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.

Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night. Along towards dawn, the old man died.

The grasp of love and concern

The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.

Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her.

"Who was that man?" he asked. The nurse was startled, "He was your father," she answered.

"No, he wasn't," the Marine replied. "I never saw him before in my life."

"Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?"

"I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed."

I came here tonight to find one Mr. William Grey. His Son was killed in Iraq today, and I was sent to inform him. What was this Gentleman's Name?

The Nurse with Tears in her eyes Answered, “ Mr. William Grey.............”

The story conveys a very powerful message to you and me,The next time someone needs you ... just be there. Just Stay, you will regret if you didn’t”.

WE ARE NOT HUMAN BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE.WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY HUMAN EXPERIENCE.

Lessons in Like:Learning to appreciate

LEARN TO BE APPRECIATIVE FOR THE VALUE OF THINGS IN LIFE

ne young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.

He passed the first interview; the director who is the decision maker conducted his last interview.

The director discovered from the CV, that the youth's academic result is excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never has a year he did not score.

The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarship in school?" and the youth answered "None."

The director asked, " Did your father pay for your school fees?" the youth answered, my father passed away when I was one year old, it is my mother who paid for my school fees.

The director asked, "Where did your mother work?" the youth answered, "My mother worked as clothes cleaner." The director requested the youth to show his hand, the youth showed a pair of hand that is smooth and perfect to the director.

The director asked, "Did you ever help your mother wash the clothes before?" The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books, furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me."

The director said, "I have a request, when you go back today, go and help to clean your mother's hand, and then see me tomorrow morning."

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job is high. When he went home, he happily wanted to clean his mother's hand, his mother felt strange, happy but mixed with apprehension, she showed her hand to her son.

The youth cleaned his mother's hand slowly, his tears drop down as he did that. It is the first time he discovered his mother's hand is so wrinkled, and there are so many bruises in her hand. While cleaning, some bruises caused so much pain his mother's body shivered.

For the first time the youth realized and experienced that it is this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to pay for his school fees, the bruises in the mother's hand is the price that the mother paid for his graduation, academic excellence and probably his future.

After finishing the cleaning of his mother's hand, the youth quietly cleaned all remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.Next morning, the youth went to the director's office

The director noticed the tear in the youth's eye and asked: "Can you tell me what you have done and learned yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered, "I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes."

The director asked, "Please tell me how you feel?"

The youth said, "Firstly, I know what is appreciation, without my mother, I would not be so successful today. Secondly, I learned how to work together with my mother, only then I realized how difficult and tough it is to get something done. Thirdly, I know the importance and value of family relationship."

The director said, "This is what I am looking for, I want to recruit a person that can appreciate the help of others, a person who understands the suffering of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life to be my manager. You are hired!"

Later on, this young person worked very hard and received the respect of his subordinates, every employee working diligently as a team, the company's result improved tremendously.

This story highlights a very important lesson in life – to appreciate and be grateful for the sacrifices of those who have helped to make us what we are today. All of us owe our successes to our own parents who willingly sacrifices all they had for our well being. They may not be perfect but are the only ones in the world for but whom sacrifice for their children brought joy and satisfaction.

It is also a lesson for parents who tend to over-protect their children by hiding their troubles from them for fear that may sadden them. Many of us are better people today because of our humble past when we shared the pain and sufferings of our parents when we were young.

A child who has been protected and habitually given whatever he does, will develop "entitlement mentality" and will always put himself first. He is ignorant of his parent's efforts. When he starts working, he assumes everyone must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he will never understand the suffering of his employees and he will always blame others. For this kind of people, he can have good results, may be successful for a while, but eventually will not feel a sense of achievement; he will grumble and will be full of hatred and yearn for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, do we love the child or destroy the child?

You can let your child live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plate and bowl together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way.

You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, their bodies wither, their energy drained and finally succumb to some serious illness like the mother the mother of that young man in the story. The most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and experiences the difficulty and learn the ability to work with others to get things done when we are no more there to protect them anymore.







CNY - Year of the dragon

Happy Chinese New Year to all, in particular the Chinese members of our bigger Malaysian family.May this Year of the Dragon bring peace &...