Forget the bad,remember the good of others

To forgive may be divine but to forget is human

Life these days is so competitive that it has become so stressful that many of us have lost the peace and tranquility of the innocent and carefree childhood days. Most of the time the unhappiness in our inner self is due to our own making – taking to heart the bad others do to us and forgetting the good they have done. If we can reverse this situation then our live may be more peaceful, contended and happier. The following story illustrates this fact very nicely.

There were 2 good friends who set out on a journey across a desert to another town. As they were walking on the desert sands it was hot and they were getting tired and exhausted. There were some disagreements between them on a certain issue. In the spurt of anger one of them slapped the other for passing a sensitive remark.

The man who received the strike took it calmly but he wanted to record his displeasure at what his friend has done to him. As they were all alone in the middle of the desert, there was nobody for him to narrate his displeasure of what his friend had done to him. All he could do was write down on the sand the words, “My best friend slapped me today”.

They continued their journey not talking much to each other until they reached an oasis. There was a stream and they decided to take a bath and freshen up before proceeding with their journey. While they were in the stream a swift current swept the man who was hit before into the depths of the river and as the man could not swim he shouted for help. There was no one else in the vicinity except his friend who had earlier slapped him. His friend quickly without hesitation dived in and saved him.

Soon when they had finished washing up they wanted to continue their journey. The man who almost drowned wanted to record the latest incident as well. He saw a large rock standing near by and he carved the following words on it, “My best friend saved my life today”.

They then continued their journey and reached their destination. After completing their business there they returned home along the same path a few days later. At the same oasis they noticed the words on the rock written earlier very clearly, “My best friend saved my life today”. On reaching the place where the man was slapped they could not see the words written on the sand, “My best friend slapped me today”. The winds had blown and erased those words away.

The friend who slapped asked the other for the reason for writing the way he did. To that his friend answered, “the bad you did to me I wrote on sand which was blown away but the good you did I wrote on rock and that it will remain forever.You are my friend,I will keep to heart the good you do to me not the bad”.

This is what we should do in life, forget the bad others do to us but remember forever the good they do. If we can do that life will be more peaceful and happy.

Dr.Chris Anthony

Responsible police vital to rakyat

Police are public servants too

I refer to your report “Family of victim claims cops insulted them”(Star March 21, 2007).

If the allegations of the family of kidnap victim,Tengku Adhwa Syafinas, are true the police officers responsible are in severe breach of discipline and the authorities should come hard on the. At a time when our new IGP a has pledged to restore full confidence in the Royal Malaysian Police the lackadaisical attitude of these police officers are what we least require.

Such irresponsible and insensitive behaviour should not be tolerated. Appropriate action must be taken immediately to arrest such behaviour from spreading among other members of our police force.

I am sure such irresponsible officers are few but the action of this small number could tarnish the good reputation of the whole police force and jeopardize the efforts of the IGP.

Whether the victim is a drug addict or involved in undesirable activities is not the issue. The real issue here is that a crime is being reported by a member of the public. The police, as the guardian of security of the rakyat, should act swiftly to protect and save the public from danger and not act as both the judge and executor of justice.

Dr.Chris Anthony

National schools must reflect the racial diversity

Racial integration and unity are national assets

Last week a national daily carried a report on a study conducted by The Cognitive and PsychoSocial Profile of Malaysian Adolescents (CoPs) on Malaysian teens on a very important issue,racial integration.

It is not surprising that the survey concluded that many youngsters aren't concerned about racial integration. However it is surprising that 10.7% never eat breakfast and 8% have never used a computer. These figures are something for our leaders to give some serious thought as we are just more than a decade away from achieving of vision of a developed nation.

There is no doubt that our education system as it is now is the main cause of racial segregation. Instead of dumping the children of the various races together from a very young age, we have actually separated them into separate classes to facilitate religious instruction.Susequently as though this was not enough, we further segregated them into vernacular schools. There is hardly any contact among the various races from a very early age. If this does not breed racial segregation then what does?

It is easy to blame the vernacular schools for the failure of national schools to integrate the various races. We must go a step further to find out why many parents opted for vernacular schools. The reason is obvious and does not a genius to detect - the unsatisfactory environment that is prevalent in national schools. Our national schools have in fact taken a more religious stance for the comfort of non-Malays. Having sent all my children to national schools, I can say for sure we are left with no option but vernacular schools.

I am sure if our national schools reflected the ethnic diversity of the nation among students and teachers, most parents would prefer to send their children to these schools as it was in the sixties and seventies.

The unhealthy environment in our national schools led to the recent call by the Raja Muda of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah for a more balanced racial composition of school leaders, teachers and students that would reflect the multi-racial composition of the nation. I like to echo the recent statement by our Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein. “Schools should have a conducive and balanced environment and the ministry must have the political will to handle this well and not make it a racial issue”.

Our children in schools are segregated and they are happy to just interact among those from their own communities. As children and teenagers they do not see the need to interact with others until they come out to work in a very competitive world. Racial unity and harmony are assets that must be taught to be treasured and cherished from an early age

We all know the problem and the solutions but do we have the political will to implement them?

Dr.Chris Anthony

National schools must reflect the racial diversity

Racial integration and harmony is an asset

I refer to your front page report “Teen concern” (star March 29).

It is not surprising that the survey conducted by The Cognitive and PsychoSocial Profile of Malaysian Adolescents (CoPs) concluded that many youngsters aren't concerned about racial integration. However it is surprising that 10.7% never eat breakfast and 8% have never used a computer. These figures are something for our leaders to give some serious thought as we are just more than a decade away from achieving of vision of a developed nation.

There is no doubt that our education system as it is now is the main cause of racial segregation. Instead of dumping the children of the various races together from a very young age, we have actually separated them into separate classes to facilitate religious instruction.Susequently as though this was not enough; we further segregated them into vernacular schools. There is hardly any contact among the various races from a very early age. If this does not breed racial segregation then what does?

It is easy to blame the vernacular schools for the failure of national schools to integrate the various races. We must go a step further to find out why many parents opted for vernacular schools. The reason is obvious and does not a genius to detect - the unsatisfactory environment that is prevalent in national schools. Our national schools have in fact taken a more religious stance for the comfort of non-Malays. Having sent all my children to national schools, I can say for sure we are left with no option but vernacular schools.

I am sure if our national schools reflected the ethnic diversity of the nation among students and teachers, most parents would prefer to send their children to these schools as it was in the sixties and seventies.

The unhealthy environment in our national schools even prompted the Raja Muda of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah to call for a more balanced racial composition of school leaders, teachers and students that would reflect the multi-racial composition of the nation. I like to echo a recent statement by our Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein . “Schools should have a conducive and balanced environment and the ministry must have the political will to handle this well and not make it a racial issue”.

Our children in schools are segregated and they are happy to just interact among those from their own communities. As children and teenagers they do not see the need to interact with others until they come out to work in a very competitive world.

We all know the problem and the solutions but do we have the political will to implement them? Racial unity and harmony are assets that must be taught to be treasured and cherished from an early age.

Dr.Chris Anthony

Paying more for improving dedication

Creating a more cordial public-police relationship

It was indeed a proud day for our police force as it celebrated the 200th.Police Day with pomp and fanfare. As Malaysians we too would like to share in their pride and jubilation as we show our gratitude of our policemen and women for their dedication to ensure our well being and security at all times.

The Inspector-General Tan Sri Musa Hassan must be commended for initiating a series of actions towards the revamp of the police force. He has pledged to fight crime and to raise the standard of the police force with better-qualified people by investing in human capital. He has also initiated moves to ensure a force that has more integrity, competence and accountability in carrying out its responsibilities.

All Malaysians would agree that the increase in pay as proposed for the police would be justified if they strive to implement these changes as envisaged by the IGP.Definitely a higher salary would improve the morale among the members of the force and that could translate into a more effective, efficient and more people friendly police force.

An incorruptible police force dedicated to the welfare of the rakyat is what the nation needs especially at a time when public confidence in it is on the decline due to the irresponsible actions of a few black sheep. It must be stressed time and again that the safety of the people must be foremost in the hearts and minds of the members of the police and that must be the primary guiding force for all their activities.

As responsible members of the public we are duty bound give full cooperation to facilitate the work of the police in our own areas. In return the police authorities must make available the means for our feedback and communication with them. A cordial public-police relationship is of utmost importance for the well being of all.

Fighting crime is not the duty of the police alone. Every citizen, regardless of race, creed or sex, has a definite role in this national duty. Opportunities must be given for all dedicated young Malaysians to be recruited into the police force to join in this fight to free our nation from these criminals. No eligible youngsters should be denied this opportunity to display his patriotism in dedicating his life to serve the nation.

Dr.Chris Anthony

New strategies in global competition

Award on merit not quota

The call by Tun Musa Hitam, to abolish the quota system in the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) speaks volumes for the wisdom of the veteran politician and a former deputy prime minister.

As someone who had been active in Umno for several decades, Musa’s call should be taken seriously if we really want the IDR to succeed. All Malaysians would agree with him that there was a need to have a change in mindset and deploy new strategies to draw investors to the country.

The younger generation of leaders in particular and Malaysians in general have much to learn and gain from the experiences of Musa and other past leaders and should heed their advice for the betterment of the nation as a whole.

As Musa says foreign investors who came to the country were not interested in the NEP, cronyism or nepotism as their primary focus was on making money and as such we have to create an environment of fair competition where they can compete with us in a system based on merit rather quotas. The best in the country should be allowed to participate in this mammoth development project. Any fear that a particular community would be left behind is unfounded as we have reached a stage where all have acquired adequate skills and knowledge in the fields of technology and commerce.

There is a need to change our business strategies if we want to stay competitive in the world market. If we want to stand a chance against these foreign heavy weights in commerce and technology we have to pull all the resources at our disposal to compete with them. The talents of all Malaysians must be tapped if we want to succeed.

This we can do my eliminating the favoritism in awarding contracts. Measures must be in place to select only the best for this global challenge. These must be made purely on merit based on economic logic not ethnic sentiments.

If we give ourselves the advantage with protective legislation, we will be the only losers in the long run as the foreign investors may opt for more lucrative and even playing grounds elsewhere.Many including our neighbors are ever willing to provide such an environment.

Dr.Chris Anthony

Loan sharking,a national menace

Make financial aid available easily

It was encouraging to read that the Government is taking the problem of loan sharks rather seriously with its decision to start an aggressive year-long education and enforcement campaign to eradicate this growing menace,”Ah Long menace has reached a worrying stage, says Fu” (Star March 19).

The five-ministry committee formed to tackle this problem should seriously look the root causes of this menace and take steps to stop it at all costs. Loan sharking has wrecked many individuals and their families at the prime of life.It has to be stopped before more become victims of the menace which is a form of modern-day slavery.

Punitive action against a single party, I am afraid may not solve the problem altogether. It may deter some of the borrowers, especially the less desperate, from resorting to Ah Longs. It may not be stop those who are in dire need on monetary help.

It would also be unfair to ask those in need to go to licensed moneylenders when the latter themselves are contravening the law by resorting to unscrupulous tactics.

We must remember that it is not the rich and powerful who resort to Ah Longs but the poor and helpless in society. The unreasonable requirements imposed by big financial institutions and non-helpful counter officers often make their applications for even a meager loan almost an impossible feat.

Apart from punitive measures,education plays a vital role in the long term eradication of loan sharking. The government must educate the public on the evils of resorting to loan sharks. At the same time loans and other forms of financial grants must be made available easily to those who really deserve and are eligible, without favoritism and unreasonable collaterals.

Poverty, either absolute or relative undoubtedly, is a major cause of this evil of loan sharking that has become a national menace. There is no way we can succeed in fighting loan sharking without a concerted effort to overcome this ailment in our society.

Poverty is a social disease that transcends all ethnic boundaries.If we want to succeed in eradicating it our measures too should transcend racial and religious barriers. The government has drawn up many fine policies to eradicate poverty. What is needed are officers at all levels who are more committed to implement these policies fairly to all its citizens.

Dr.ChrisAnthony