The weather has become colder again. Today I planned to have a proper rest as I have developed a bit of a flu. Going to just clean up my room, do the laundry, finish some readings and then catch up on my sleep.
I'm trying not to think too much about missing home....and my Chinaman. Well, I know he doesn't miss me at all...three days since he last emailed me anything. What to do, men are like that la. Never mind.
Since today I'm having my rest day, I decided to switch off my mind from the happenings back in Malaysia. It's tiring reading about the silliness of my countrymen trying to tear apart our beautiful country just because some irresponsible politicians instigated them to do so for the benefit of their vested interest. Hopefully common sense prevails and things will turn out for the better.
Guess that's all I want to say for today.....need to try to go back to sleep for awhile...the flu is giving me a quite bad head ache too, I think.
Oh, okay, a bit of music may do good....take care everyone.
I don't think we should put all the blame on Ibrahim Ali. He utter those words in anger. The media is also responsible in fanning the issue, out of proportion. Some people is so evil that they spread false message that there will be a public burning of the Malay version bible in... Why Pulau Pinang?
ReplyDeleteIn-fact Guan Eng's started this Allah polemic in his Christmas message.
Remember; If there is no Dong Zhong, Hindraf, etc., there is no PERKASA.
RD
If there's no mamakthir, there's no Perkasa. The old mamak is still in charge of the country. Poor Bijan.
ReplyDeleteDear Big cat name Ai..(wo ai ni..ni bu ai wo??!!)
ReplyDeleteDont want to disturb you Anyway have a good rest for the weekend. Just want to say that the PM's CNN Interview is a must watch. Najib handled it very well I think.Ok lah need to sleep after all night out to see the African cup.. look at the way they celebrated after scoring!!..real football real skill these people are!!tnite my team MU will be playing..Be UNITED!!!
Xie xie ni
Hi Big Cat,
ReplyDeleteWhat are you doing in Taiwan?
I hope you get over your flu soon. However, flus happen more frequently in places with higher population density and more closed living, such as you would in a cold & damp climate like Taiwan. I caught a cold with regularity every three months while I was a student in the U.K. Three months is said to be the time it takes for a virus to mutate and be able to overcome the human body resistance built up by the earlier virus.
I have no air conditioning in Malaysia but rely on allowing a free flow of air through the house and I rarely catch a cold.
On the political scene in Malaysia, yes, I am rather tired of it too and tend to just glance through it.
I was in Taiwan for a week in March 1990 and I realised why Malaysians regard it in higher esteem than Malaysia.
Taiwan has built up its own electronics, especially iots computer and computer accessory industry to world class.
While I was there, I visited a small factory which developed its own telex machine, including the programming of its internal operations. The machine did not need to boot up from a diskette or hard disk.
I also saw workers going to night school where they upgraded their technical or vocational skills and courses there were very affordable, like the equivalent of RM400 per term. The government subsidises such education for all its citizens. Do we have that here in Malaysia?
Taiwan is not squeaky clean or sanitised like Singapore. It's building were grubby looking but despite all that, it had at least become a leaded in one industry at least - i.e. computers and computer accessories. However, other Taiwan products, such as car parts, etc are not as well regarded.
Still, Taiwan qualifies as a newly industrialised country, while Singapore, Malaysia, other countries in South East Asia, Australia or New Zealand don't qualify, despite Singapore, Australia and New Zealand qualifying as developed countries. Besides agricultural products, how many original home-grown manufactured products or ICT products come out of Australia, New Zealand and Singapore and what manufacturing or ICT industries or consumer brands to they have to speak about?
Get well soon.
IT. Sheiss
As for politics, Taiwan had only become more free around 1990. Prior to that, it was just as authoritarian as Malaysia, especially due to the ongoing antagonism between the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China (China).
Taiwan regards China as part of it, while China regards Taiwan as part of it.
There also is a park or place in Taiwan where they commemorate the Kuomintang Party and Chiang Kai Shek. There you cans ee how Taiwan glorifies Chiang Kai Shek in the same manner that China glorifies Mao Tze Tung.
Will they go to war? I don't think so. China and Taiwan are too intertwined with each other economically, despite the political rhetoric between them, which has toned down a lot too.
Hi IT. Sheish, thanks for your concerns and input. Much appreciated. I would lhowever like to clarify a point - Malaysia has never been an authoritarian state as perceived by some people. We have held elections since our Merdeka more than half a century ago. Our government has always been an elected one unlike Taiwan which only experience some democratic practices as late as the 1980s. Nonetheless, I do admire the Taiwanese for their decipline and tenacity which have turned their country into one of the most developed in this region. I'm here basicly to learn more about their culture and those good values. Thank you.
DeleteHi Big Cat,
DeleteTrue, Malaysia had elections since even before independence but was not quite free and had measures such as the ISA,police surveillance, detention without trial, etc. That's what I mean by authoritarian - i.e. there was some democracy and freedom but not as much as in the liberal democracies.
Hi IT.Sheiss,
DeleteI think Malaysians have been as free as we could be. Those security measures were vital to the survival of our country especially during its immediate post independence period. Without them our country would never had survived its infancy. Actually the liberal democracies of the West do have those "repressive laws" to safeguard their security such as the Patriot Act in the US. Still, Najib had taken the measure of removing most of those laws such as the ISA and put the trust on our maturity to care for the sensitivities of our multi-racial and multi-religious society.
Big Cat,
DeleteFor whatever reason, not being as free as the liberal democracies is just that and in the 80s and earlier neither were Taiwan nor Malaysia not South Korea as free as the liberal democracies and the liberal democracies have become less free than they were before. The Patriot Act is like the ISA which was recently repealed in Malaysia.
To me, "authoritarian" is not as bad as "repressive" or "dictatorial." To me, "authoritarian" is like a strict parent.
More significant in my earlier argument is the availability of affordable courses for citizens to upgrade their technical skills to contribute to the economy and Taiwan's achievement to lead at least in one area - i.e. PCs and computer accessories.
DeleteMalaysia should emulate Taiwan, especially in the area of human resource development. We have plenty of private universities and colleges now but they don't seem to be very effective and courses there aren't exactly affordable without taking out a big loan.
Sure, we have MSC Malaysia but while it has made some progress, I wouldn't say it's as far as hoped for.
Among industrialised countries in Asia, Taiwan and Malaysia are similar in that most of their industries are SMEs or began as SMEs, while most manufactured products from Japan and South Korea are from huge conglomerates which are involved in multiple industry sectors, which means that it has the collective financial resources to finance research & development in any one of its business units.
For example, according to Wikipedia, the Samsung Group is into:-
Products - Apparel, chemicals, consumer electronics, electronic components, medical equipment, precision instruments, semiconductors, ships, telecommunications equipment.
Services - Advertising, construction, entertainment, financial services, hospitality, information and communications technology services, medical services, retai
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung
In comparison, Proton Holdings Bhd is just into the automotive industry, while its main shareholder DRB-Hicom is into:-
Automotive, Services and Property & Infrastructure
While DRB-Hicom is also a conglomerate, it is much smaller, hence is less able to compete with a conglomerate such as Hyundai which is into:-
Automobiles
Heavy industry
Finance and Insurance
Construction
Engineering
Retail
Aerospace
Defense
Steel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai
Meanwhile, the Mitsubishi Group is into:-
Mining, shipbuilding, telecom, financial services, insurance, electronics, automotive, construction, heavy industries, oil and gas, real estate, foods and beverages, chemicals, steel, aviation and others
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi
This is something few critics of Proton speak about but it's a real challenge facing Proton, which the government needs to find a solution for but apparently does not seem to take into account either.
Perhaps they know it but don't mention it, while they try a way around it through ICT, bio technology, etc.
Anyway, never mind all this "third wave" stuff like ICT, biotechnology, etc. I think Malaysia should try to excel in any area or areas which happens to be what we are best in and have a comparative advantage.
Our home-grown industries need to produce quality, innovative products which stand out.
Look at New Zealand and Australia. They hardly have any home-grown manufactured or ICT products to shout about but excel in agricultural products such as dairy, meat, fruit and vegetables and they are developed countries with a high standard of living.
Stupid Anon 11:02...........
ReplyDeletewill it be if there is no Chinaman then there is no Bigcat ??
Stupid anon 15:09
DeleteWhy do you think Bigcat is in Taiwan ? She's looking for her roots from Yunnan lah, bodoh.