I am sort of having a mental block at the moment.
Two reports due within the next 24 hours (actually one is overdue) and I am still not even half way done through my research.
Moments like this make me wish that I don't have to worry about food, bills, and whatever necessities so I can just lie around, relaxing and read fiction to fill up the time.
Not the kind of fiction people create to serve as in real life events but actual mind-blowing totally unreal fantasy fiction like Star Wars, Star Trek, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs kind of fiction.
I mean the first type of fiction is just lies made to seem real to attack others that some people actually fall for it while the second fiction is too unreal that everyone knows it is untrue without doing any kind of further research than the obvious.
I wonder whether it pays well to do the first kind of fiction since so many people are doing it.
In any case, TaoTao has been poorly and is currently on medication.
I am still slightly worried for him despite his excellent appetite because he may overeat and I am letting him do so because the vet told me to make sure he has a good appetite.
He has gained so much of his old weight back that I hope I won't be accused of letting a cat become obese.
The problem with TaoTao is, he just eats, sleeps and sits around all the time and hides under the table instead of being out there playing in the sun and hunting birds and mice like he used to.
The illness had affected his confidence so bad that he was startled and ran in fright when a gecko fell on him instead of pouncing on it like he would have had previously.
That's another thing to worry about, to restore the confidence of my kitty.
He used to be such an excellent hunter that he had often gifted me with mice, birds and lizards in the past then waited by his food bowl for his food hoping for his favorite "pouch" of mackerel that I normal treat him with when he is being a good kitty.
Now he doesn't saunter but sprints with his tail down when he moves from one hiding place to another for fear of being attacked or something.
I guess that's why nature is unforgiving for the weak and the term "survival of the fittest" was coined to reflect this.
To think that that is all I have to worry about is kind of empowering, I am glad I opted to being unemployed. So I guess it's back to the reports and the research.
Wednesday 21 March 2018
Thursday 15 March 2018
Whats up
It has been a while since my last posting here, more than two years actually.
I had a bit of a meltdown and needed to be away for a while to refocus on what is important to me and the beings that I cared for, so I decided to stay away for a while from blogging.
Over the past 2 years, nothing much has changed, but I have expanded my interest in other things and explored further my curiosity in subjects and topics that may have greater impact on our quality of life.
In the process, some things that I used to blog about have diminished in importance in my life so I have decided to change the focus of my blog to issues that have direct impact on our quality of life and our environment.
I hope to be able to share some of my thoughts and the resources that I have access to with people with similar interests in those issues.
My apologies to those who have been coming here for the political content in this blog but I hope to minimise politics in future postings.
So what happened in the past 2 years?
Well, nothing much. We are still here, living a quiet life.
Alex will be sitting for his UPSR this year, so Yaya has been busy making sure that he gets all the additional tuition that he may need.
Seman had been adopted by a friend, while Sammy left the house one day and never came back, probably found someone who could give him more love than we could.
However, recently Alex and Dean came home with two stray kittens who were apparently abandoned by their mother, so we have new kittens now - KohKoh a red mackerel tabby shorthair and TaoTao a red tabby semi longhair.
We are still planting vegetables to supplement our store bought groceries, in addition to a thriving herb garden that we no longer need to buy galangal, tumeric, lemongrass, ginger root, daun kesum or spring onions anymore.
The banana grove at the back of the house is providing us with fresh bananas every six months, our herb garden is a source for an endless supply of ulam raja, pegaga, cekur, kacang kelisa, terung telunjuk, sabung nyawa and of course our kaffir lime tree has started fruiting so now we have leaves for cooking and fruits to wash fish with.
Our lemon and key lime trees are growing at the back too. We are not sure whether the lemon tree would actually produce lemons, but we'll see. It is currently still too small to tell.
The two roses upfront had grown so much that we had to aggressively prune them down to just a few strong branches but we had accidentally pruned out the bright pink roses to a point that it may just die because it may not be able to get sufficient nutrient to fight with the bigger pale pink rose bush.
My palms are thriving so much so that I had to keep transferring them out to bigger and bigger pots. I only have 4 palm varieties as we don't have much space for decorative plants, but they gave me so much joy.
Okay, that's enough for now. I guess it has been too long and I have so much to share. I definitely need to start posting again. Bye for now!
I had a bit of a meltdown and needed to be away for a while to refocus on what is important to me and the beings that I cared for, so I decided to stay away for a while from blogging.
Over the past 2 years, nothing much has changed, but I have expanded my interest in other things and explored further my curiosity in subjects and topics that may have greater impact on our quality of life.
In the process, some things that I used to blog about have diminished in importance in my life so I have decided to change the focus of my blog to issues that have direct impact on our quality of life and our environment.
I hope to be able to share some of my thoughts and the resources that I have access to with people with similar interests in those issues.
My apologies to those who have been coming here for the political content in this blog but I hope to minimise politics in future postings.
So what happened in the past 2 years?
Well, nothing much. We are still here, living a quiet life.
Alex will be sitting for his UPSR this year, so Yaya has been busy making sure that he gets all the additional tuition that he may need.
Seman had been adopted by a friend, while Sammy left the house one day and never came back, probably found someone who could give him more love than we could.
However, recently Alex and Dean came home with two stray kittens who were apparently abandoned by their mother, so we have new kittens now - KohKoh a red mackerel tabby shorthair and TaoTao a red tabby semi longhair.
We are still planting vegetables to supplement our store bought groceries, in addition to a thriving herb garden that we no longer need to buy galangal, tumeric, lemongrass, ginger root, daun kesum or spring onions anymore.
The banana grove at the back of the house is providing us with fresh bananas every six months, our herb garden is a source for an endless supply of ulam raja, pegaga, cekur, kacang kelisa, terung telunjuk, sabung nyawa and of course our kaffir lime tree has started fruiting so now we have leaves for cooking and fruits to wash fish with.
Our lemon and key lime trees are growing at the back too. We are not sure whether the lemon tree would actually produce lemons, but we'll see. It is currently still too small to tell.
The two roses upfront had grown so much that we had to aggressively prune them down to just a few strong branches but we had accidentally pruned out the bright pink roses to a point that it may just die because it may not be able to get sufficient nutrient to fight with the bigger pale pink rose bush.
My palms are thriving so much so that I had to keep transferring them out to bigger and bigger pots. I only have 4 palm varieties as we don't have much space for decorative plants, but they gave me so much joy.
Okay, that's enough for now. I guess it has been too long and I have so much to share. I definitely need to start posting again. Bye for now!
Friday 29 January 2016
keeping busy
I wish I could write more about road-safety stuff like RD suggested in a previous posting.
Unfortunately, after that last rant about what we need to do to aggressive drivers/motorists that add to road accidents statistics, I kind of moved on to other transport-related things.
The problem is, I am kind of trying to get away from doing the numbers.
My entire life has been about dealing in numbers that I have developed the tendency to calculate everything in life.
That has significantly eroded any vestiges of spontaneity that I might have had and turned me into a dull and boring person.
So I have decided to stay clear of numbers as much as I can.
So went to see what Annie, my super spontaneous and interesting blogging friend who got me onto the road-safety thing, is cooking in Life of Annie for inspiration.
[yup, I have not been prowling around my shrunken territories since the last time I went on a cleaning spree of my blogroll, believe it or not ...]
And that's why I have totally missed the "Exposing Annie" episode [apparently still going on somewhere else by someone Annie refused to acknowledge by name] ...
Heh ..
Never mind, Annie, I know you write from your heart, just keep doing your thing and don't let haters get to you.
The political situation in this country has become too toxic even for a casual bystander like me, so I have decided to venture into other more constructive areas, like the merging of Asean into a single market.
I am currently reading up on the EU and Asean case studies, on the differences and similarities.
If there is anything interesting, I'll be sure to write it down here to be recorded and shared.
Unfortunately, after that last rant about what we need to do to aggressive drivers/motorists that add to road accidents statistics, I kind of moved on to other transport-related things.
The problem is, I am kind of trying to get away from doing the numbers.
My entire life has been about dealing in numbers that I have developed the tendency to calculate everything in life.
That has significantly eroded any vestiges of spontaneity that I might have had and turned me into a dull and boring person.
So I have decided to stay clear of numbers as much as I can.
So went to see what Annie, my super spontaneous and interesting blogging friend who got me onto the road-safety thing, is cooking in Life of Annie for inspiration.
[yup, I have not been prowling around my shrunken territories since the last time I went on a cleaning spree of my blogroll, believe it or not ...]
And that's why I have totally missed the "Exposing Annie" episode [apparently still going on somewhere else by someone Annie refused to acknowledge by name] ...
Heh ..
Never mind, Annie, I know you write from your heart, just keep doing your thing and don't let haters get to you.
The political situation in this country has become too toxic even for a casual bystander like me, so I have decided to venture into other more constructive areas, like the merging of Asean into a single market.
I am currently reading up on the EU and Asean case studies, on the differences and similarities.
If there is anything interesting, I'll be sure to write it down here to be recorded and shared.
Wednesday 27 January 2016
trying not to take myself too seriously
Someone told me to lighten up.
She told me that I take myself too seriously and would go ballistic when provoked.
Maybe I am ... my only excuse is that I tend to put everything into what I do, full commitment and all.
I admit that I am not really a fun and laughter kind of person .. my humor tend to be the dark and sarcastic kind.
That's the reason I have been steering away from certain topics which would bring out the worst in me.
Life is too short for me to waste in being angry and upset over something that I can't do anything about.
So when she wanted me to continue blogging, I was like "I thought you wanted me to lighten up?"
Ann: write something funny
Me: i am not a funny person
Ann: write something about the work that you did in JB
Me: that wasn't a fun experience
Ann: it doesn't have to be fun, just not angry
Me: when i write i come across as angry?
Ann: you take yourself too seriously, you go ballistic when provoked
Me: i don't go ballistic, i just can't stand stupid
Ann: there you go
Me: what?
Ann: you sound angry
Me: i am not angry
Ann: yes you do
Me: no i don't
... and thing degenerate from there.
I am not really sure that I want to write about what I actually did in Johor during the run up to the 13th GE.
It was in the past and I doubt that anyone would be interested in what our team did to defend the state, although it would not do any harm as I was told that the current team at Kota Iskandar are doing things differently.
So it wouldn't be like I will be spilling the beans on the strategies and tactics of the old team.
The reason my friend wanted me to write about it is because I had shared with her some aspects of my work back then and she felt that I have a lot of material to share here.
Heavily censored of course, to protect some of the organisations and individuals involved in the defense of Johor.
The thing is, I doubt anyone cares to know about my experiences back then .. after all that was the past and the past has been rubbished by the present.
What I know is, the two years I was directly involved in the defense of Johor leading up to the 13th GE was a very tiring and sobering experience for someone who had no prior knowledge nor exposure to Malaysian politics.
On top of my actual job, the one that I actually got paid for, I had to read up a lot of history, analysed a lot of data from a number of diverse sources, traveled a lot throughout the state even to its furthermost corner, met a lot of people from all strata of life, and sacrificed a lot of my precious sleep time .. all on my own time.
It wasn't fun .. it was exhilarating, exciting, frustrating and exasperating, especially when you were trying to convince people of what they needed to do while they tried to convince you that they knew better than us and their ways were the winning ways.
I had been told that some of those people said that my data was rubbish/useless, that my analysis was wrong, my methods wouldn't be effective .. but I was proven right that night when the results were announced .. my analysis wasn't far off at all, in fact it was scarily accurate.
I am tired of trying to help people who do not want to be helped.
I can't stand arrogance just as much as I can't stand stupidity.
So I just leave things be.
She told me that I take myself too seriously and would go ballistic when provoked.
Maybe I am ... my only excuse is that I tend to put everything into what I do, full commitment and all.
I admit that I am not really a fun and laughter kind of person .. my humor tend to be the dark and sarcastic kind.
That's the reason I have been steering away from certain topics which would bring out the worst in me.
Life is too short for me to waste in being angry and upset over something that I can't do anything about.
So when she wanted me to continue blogging, I was like "I thought you wanted me to lighten up?"
Ann: write something funny
Me: i am not a funny person
Ann: write something about the work that you did in JB
Me: that wasn't a fun experience
Ann: it doesn't have to be fun, just not angry
Me: when i write i come across as angry?
Ann: you take yourself too seriously, you go ballistic when provoked
Me: i don't go ballistic, i just can't stand stupid
Ann: there you go
Me: what?
Ann: you sound angry
Me: i am not angry
Ann: yes you do
Me: no i don't
... and thing degenerate from there.
I am not really sure that I want to write about what I actually did in Johor during the run up to the 13th GE.
It was in the past and I doubt that anyone would be interested in what our team did to defend the state, although it would not do any harm as I was told that the current team at Kota Iskandar are doing things differently.
So it wouldn't be like I will be spilling the beans on the strategies and tactics of the old team.
The reason my friend wanted me to write about it is because I had shared with her some aspects of my work back then and she felt that I have a lot of material to share here.
Heavily censored of course, to protect some of the organisations and individuals involved in the defense of Johor.
The thing is, I doubt anyone cares to know about my experiences back then .. after all that was the past and the past has been rubbished by the present.
What I know is, the two years I was directly involved in the defense of Johor leading up to the 13th GE was a very tiring and sobering experience for someone who had no prior knowledge nor exposure to Malaysian politics.
On top of my actual job, the one that I actually got paid for, I had to read up a lot of history, analysed a lot of data from a number of diverse sources, traveled a lot throughout the state even to its furthermost corner, met a lot of people from all strata of life, and sacrificed a lot of my precious sleep time .. all on my own time.
It wasn't fun .. it was exhilarating, exciting, frustrating and exasperating, especially when you were trying to convince people of what they needed to do while they tried to convince you that they knew better than us and their ways were the winning ways.
I had been told that some of those people said that my data was rubbish/useless, that my analysis was wrong, my methods wouldn't be effective .. but I was proven right that night when the results were announced .. my analysis wasn't far off at all, in fact it was scarily accurate.
I am tired of trying to help people who do not want to be helped.
I can't stand arrogance just as much as I can't stand stupidity.
So I just leave things be.
Sunday 17 January 2016
volatility
Firstly I would like to congratulate our security forces for their relentless effort in keeping Malaysia safe from ideological-inflicted disasters.
While news of deaths and destruction caused by bombings and acts of terrorism across the world from Burkina Faso to Indonesia dominate headlines, Malaysia has so far managed to avoid being included in the list of global deadly exploding nations (literally).
The story of IS-linked arrests in Kuala Lumpur that was carried by almost all the major news outlets throughout the world this week got me thinking though, how many have these arrests have been made all these while, done on the quiet, completely without attracting anyone's attention, let alone major news outlets?
Pretty sure that they have been doing this for a while now, but the latest Jakarta bombing has brought into prominence efforts by Malaysian police to curb the destructive nature of these imported ideologies from affecting our lives in Malaysia.
I really don't get how these people can even contemplate destruction and multiple deaths in the name of religious commitment.
No matter what the provocation is, nothing justifies mass murders of innocent lives and mass destruction of public places in a peaceful country.
What saddens me even more is when the atrocities are committed in the name of religion when it was really a political ideology imported from regions that have no political nor social similarities to ours.
Why do these people have the means to study and absorb these foreign ideologies but not have the capacity to analyse and rationalise the outcome of their actions?
Why do they feel that they need to belong to a foreign group that use religion as a reason to destroy their very own land, where people can live and earn a living in relative peace?
Have we lost any sense of appreciation for the less than volatile state of our country that we are so willing to create chaos when we have been shown time and time again that violence beget violence?
Why are we so absorbed in petty political squabbling when there are family members and friends involved in these negative social network activities?
Why do we allow social network being used to spread negative ideologies, political trash and hatreds?
Have we lost all sense of civility and self-respect, when using unsavory vocabulary and language has more or less been considered and accepted as the norm?
What are we turning into?
No matter what the provocation is, nothing justifies mass murders of innocent lives and mass destruction of public places in a peaceful country.
What saddens me even more is when the atrocities are committed in the name of religion when it was really a political ideology imported from regions that have no political nor social similarities to ours.
Why do these people have the means to study and absorb these foreign ideologies but not have the capacity to analyse and rationalise the outcome of their actions?
Why do they feel that they need to belong to a foreign group that use religion as a reason to destroy their very own land, where people can live and earn a living in relative peace?
Have we lost any sense of appreciation for the less than volatile state of our country that we are so willing to create chaos when we have been shown time and time again that violence beget violence?
Why are we so absorbed in petty political squabbling when there are family members and friends involved in these negative social network activities?
Why do we allow social network being used to spread negative ideologies, political trash and hatreds?
Have we lost all sense of civility and self-respect, when using unsavory vocabulary and language has more or less been considered and accepted as the norm?
What are we turning into?
Friday 18 December 2015
Reacting to bullies and liars
I received something on my WhatsApp this afternoon that got me a bit upset.
I feel it was only right that I should put it up here, just in case there are those who read stuff here may be affected by it in some way.
The Mole reported about it here.
Felda is an intrinsic part of the Bumiputra agenda, and for me, an attack on it is an attack on the Bumiputra agenda.
With the recent allegation by some foreign "news" outlet that Felda plantations not only hired illegals but mistreated them too, I see this as the latest move to attack FGV and all that is related to Felda.
I am not really sure why anyone would actually go to the extent of spreading false "reports" that affect the well-being of others, other than that they are really sick.
Neither do I get why anyone would willingly be a part of this scheme to paint FGV and Felda as an evil organisation hell-bent on abusing their foreign workers, to the extent that they would lie about something like this.
But I have always been for the underdog.
If I had in the past been neutral towards Felda and FGV, this situation has pushed me to be all for Felda and FGV, because I detest bullies and liars, for that's who these people who spread these lies are - bullies and liars who don't give a crap for the well-being of those affected by their bullying and lies.
I feel it was only right that I should put it up here, just in case there are those who read stuff here may be affected by it in some way.
The Mole reported about it here.
Felda is an intrinsic part of the Bumiputra agenda, and for me, an attack on it is an attack on the Bumiputra agenda.
With the recent allegation by some foreign "news" outlet that Felda plantations not only hired illegals but mistreated them too, I see this as the latest move to attack FGV and all that is related to Felda.
I am not really sure why anyone would actually go to the extent of spreading false "reports" that affect the well-being of others, other than that they are really sick.
Neither do I get why anyone would willingly be a part of this scheme to paint FGV and Felda as an evil organisation hell-bent on abusing their foreign workers, to the extent that they would lie about something like this.
But I have always been for the underdog.
If I had in the past been neutral towards Felda and FGV, this situation has pushed me to be all for Felda and FGV, because I detest bullies and liars, for that's who these people who spread these lies are - bullies and liars who don't give a crap for the well-being of those affected by their bullying and lies.
Sunday 6 December 2015
Greater regional cooperation through improved connectivity
One of the attractions of living in Malaysia is the abundance of places to go to and its relatively close proximity to some the most exotic holiday destinations in the world.
Renowned for its warmth and friendliness, with a diversity of cultures and abundant natural resources and at different stages of economic growth, southeast Asian nations, or rather ASEAN, are at different stages of development and economic growth.
For the past couple of decades, ASEAN countries have been competing with each other and the rest of the world for the limited amount of FDI to fuel their economic development even as trade continues to grow among member nations.
Renowned for its warmth and friendliness, with a diversity of cultures and abundant natural resources and at different stages of economic growth, southeast Asian nations, or rather ASEAN, are at different stages of development and economic growth.
For the past couple of decades, ASEAN countries have been competing with each other and the rest of the world for the limited amount of FDI to fuel their economic development even as trade continues to grow among member nations.
This group of nations have such potential within itself to collectively become economically stronger and self-sufficient, if only they can overcome the barriers to greater cooperation which included socio-political differences and geographical barriers that have formed natural boundaries.
That was probably why the leaders of ASEAN have been working extremely hard to make the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), a single regional market for goods and services, a reality.
Collectively, AEC is itself a huge market of USD2.6 trillion with over 622 million people and the third largest economy in Asia, seventh in the world.
That was probably why the leaders of ASEAN have been working extremely hard to make the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), a single regional market for goods and services, a reality.
Collectively, AEC is itself a huge market of USD2.6 trillion with over 622 million people and the third largest economy in Asia, seventh in the world.
One of the most important aspect of building a single ASEAN economic community is probably in creating an integrated and cohesive international transportation network that allows for seamless cross border connectivity of people, goods and services while at the same time maintain a semblance of national sovereignty over their territories.
More challenging will be the effort to apply a standard set of laws and regulations across member nations, where physical mobility is the least of the problems or language and cultural differences are obviously not barriers to trade at the borders.
At the 21st ASEAN Transport Ministers' Meeting, the decision was made by member nations to adopt the Kuala Lumpur Transport Strategic Plan (KLTSP), also known as the ASEAN Strategic Transport Plan 2016 - 2025.
The KLTSP emphasises greater connectivity, efficiency, integration, safety and sustainability of ASEAN transport.
It is a 10-year master plan, outlining 30 specific goals, 78 actions and 221 milestone which sets out strategic measures for developing sustainable trans-regional transport networks, enhancing mobility and strengthening connectivity throughout ASEAN encompassing land, air and maritime routes.
Coupled with improved transport facilitation, the objective of the KLTSP is not only to benefit international trade within the region but will also enable member nations to tap new avenues for growth and deeper economic cooperation.
The liberalisation of air services, or what is more popularly known as "open skies" is another progression towards creating a single and unified aviation market in the region and eventually this progression will encompass land and maritime markets as well.
The envisioned end result is greater connectivity, efficiency, integration, safety and sustainability of transportation networks in ASEAN, to serve as one of the foundation blocks of building an ASEAN economic community that can leverage their collective strength for continued and sustainable growth.
Friday 9 October 2015
Life is precious
It has been a while since I wrote something here.
I have not been busy or anything, just taking things easy and taking care of my health.
As an asthma sufferer, the haze situation has restricted my movements these past few days, staying indoors as much as possible.
Even within the safety of the house, there were times these past week when I was wheezing pretty bad and had to resort to medication to breathe properly.
But that isn't the reason why I started writing again.
Someone asked me what I think about the dismal state of our road safety with an "Annie seems to go all statistics" among her sentence that I was like "Whoa, Annie and statistics don't seem to go together" so I went and checked her blog out.
Well, apparently she did write numbers and percentages unrelated to politics.
Not the latest, but several postings before that, which I skipped through all the in-betweens because I have an allergic reaction to politics nowadays, not quite an asthma attack but more of the nauseous kind, so there ...
And that was sad.
For one thing, the loss of human life has become just numbers to measure our "achievements" in comparison to others.
For another, it's kinda horrible to consider "the number of deaths declined by 3.9% from 4,940 victims compared to 5,138 victims last year" like yes, less people died, but thousands still died on the road while traveling from point A to point B.
I didn't get my driving licence in Malaysia, so I don't really know what kind of education would-be road users get prior to getting licensed to drive.
However, from my observation of how some road users behave on the road, I do believe they need to be thoroughly educated about proper usage of the road before they are even allowed out on it.
While some road users need to realise that these roads are not their own personal driveway or racing tracks, so please ...
Those private driving schools are okay I suppose, but I would like to suggest the transport department include at least a few hours of road safety awareness classes conducted by government officers/teachers/lecturers/law enforcement officers, with attendees being thoroughly tested for their comprehension to ensure that they understand the importance of using the road safely before they even get their licence.
And of course there are those who need serious psychological evaluations, driving tests are simply insufficient ...
Road safety campaigns and other such measures are simply ineffective after the fact because we have failed to weed out the most likely road killers and suicidal maniacs from getting licensed to create mayhem on our roads.
As for the adrenaline junkies out there, who are mostly youngsters and young at heart otais, they need to be gotten off the road into proper tracks where they can waste their life away getting all juiced up about whatever it is that get them all excited without endangering innocent road users.
I would like to suggest the government use some of those youth-related budget to set up and maintain a number of affordable public tracks where these speedsters can get themselves killed if they so wish (at least it won't get into our road deaths statistics).
Get one of these groups to kinda manage the place themselves ... if they can organise road races, they can surely organise track races.
Build a number of these tracks so that they can have inter-group events and such, allow them to have a place of their own where they can socialise and do their thing.
Do monitor them and take action when negative and unlawful elements start to creep in, but it is far easier for law enforcement officers to take action in a controllable environment than on the streets.
And for god's sake, don't let Umno Youth, or anyone with political affiliations, get anywhere near those tracks nor that budget ... they are just killjoys and will most likely fail.
For those who were caught flaunting the laws, instead of simply fining them, make them pay the fine as payment for 30 hours of mandatory road safety lessons and make sure they are banned from driving until they completed those mandatory hours.
If they were caught 9 times for various offences, then that means 270 hours of mandatory road safety lessons because they are too dense to understand that life is precious for others if not for themselves.
Even if they have to spend their entire lives attending road safety lessons.
I have not been busy or anything, just taking things easy and taking care of my health.
As an asthma sufferer, the haze situation has restricted my movements these past few days, staying indoors as much as possible.
Even within the safety of the house, there were times these past week when I was wheezing pretty bad and had to resort to medication to breathe properly.
But that isn't the reason why I started writing again.
Someone asked me what I think about the dismal state of our road safety with an "Annie seems to go all statistics" among her sentence that I was like "Whoa, Annie and statistics don't seem to go together" so I went and checked her blog out.
Well, apparently she did write numbers and percentages unrelated to politics.
Not the latest, but several postings before that, which I skipped through all the in-betweens because I have an allergic reaction to politics nowadays, not quite an asthma attack but more of the nauseous kind, so there ...
And that was sad.
For one thing, the loss of human life has become just numbers to measure our "achievements" in comparison to others.
For another, it's kinda horrible to consider "the number of deaths declined by 3.9% from 4,940 victims compared to 5,138 victims last year" like yes, less people died, but thousands still died on the road while traveling from point A to point B.
I didn't get my driving licence in Malaysia, so I don't really know what kind of education would-be road users get prior to getting licensed to drive.
However, from my observation of how some road users behave on the road, I do believe they need to be thoroughly educated about proper usage of the road before they are even allowed out on it.
While some road users need to realise that these roads are not their own personal driveway or racing tracks, so please ...
Those private driving schools are okay I suppose, but I would like to suggest the transport department include at least a few hours of road safety awareness classes conducted by government officers/teachers/lecturers/law enforcement officers, with attendees being thoroughly tested for their comprehension to ensure that they understand the importance of using the road safely before they even get their licence.
And of course there are those who need serious psychological evaluations, driving tests are simply insufficient ...
Road safety campaigns and other such measures are simply ineffective after the fact because we have failed to weed out the most likely road killers and suicidal maniacs from getting licensed to create mayhem on our roads.
As for the adrenaline junkies out there, who are mostly youngsters and young at heart otais, they need to be gotten off the road into proper tracks where they can waste their life away getting all juiced up about whatever it is that get them all excited without endangering innocent road users.
I would like to suggest the government use some of those youth-related budget to set up and maintain a number of affordable public tracks where these speedsters can get themselves killed if they so wish (at least it won't get into our road deaths statistics).
Get one of these groups to kinda manage the place themselves ... if they can organise road races, they can surely organise track races.
Build a number of these tracks so that they can have inter-group events and such, allow them to have a place of their own where they can socialise and do their thing.
Do monitor them and take action when negative and unlawful elements start to creep in, but it is far easier for law enforcement officers to take action in a controllable environment than on the streets.
And for god's sake, don't let Umno Youth, or anyone with political affiliations, get anywhere near those tracks nor that budget ... they are just killjoys and will most likely fail.
For those who were caught flaunting the laws, instead of simply fining them, make them pay the fine as payment for 30 hours of mandatory road safety lessons and make sure they are banned from driving until they completed those mandatory hours.
If they were caught 9 times for various offences, then that means 270 hours of mandatory road safety lessons because they are too dense to understand that life is precious for others if not for themselves.
Even if they have to spend their entire lives attending road safety lessons.
Saturday 11 July 2015
inconsequential nothings
I have been very lazy this Ramadhan, leaving the day to day work to Yaya and Ema while I brood in the solitude of my room doing my own thing.
Ida is spending her Ramadhan with her family up north, so I doubt that we would see her on the the first day of Raya, but Ema will only be flying back three days after the end of Ramadhan so she'll be around for Raya.
There are four of us girls - Ida is the eldest and the prettiest, next is Yaya who does everything hereself and takes care of everyone, while Ema is the socially adept one with a large circle of friends, and then there is me, the odd one.
I can't remember when was the last time we were all together at the same time during Raya as even back then when I was a lot younger, someone was always somewhere else during any family get-together, Raya included.
However, what I like most about celebrating Raya back in the kampung was the nervous anticipation of waiting for the announcement on the eve, the "Takbir Raya", and everyone being up all night cooking the "ketupat", "rendang" and "kuah kacang".
Dad would not be back from the nearby mosque until much later, and then he would take over presiding over the final stages of the cooking.
We had this outdoor cooking stove where we cooked the ketupat and rendang.
I wasn't much into the "bunga api" and "mercun" let alone the noisy "meriam buluh", so I spent most of the evening trying to help out in the kitchen.
Mom and my sisters would be up very early in the morning to cook the "sayur lodeh" and other quick cooking stuff for the morning breakfast.
I admit that I am not very handy around the house - whatever I can do, someone else can do it better and faster.
That's the problem when one is the youngest in a family of achievers, you find yourself to be in the way most times instead of being useful, and after a while you simply do not know how to be useful.
For example, Yaya not only does the cooking, sewing, cleaning and gardening, she also does things like putting up wall fans, shelves, curtain railings, to tiling and painting the kitchen walls.
She makes her own organic fertiliser, plants vegetables to supplement our store bought foodstuff, and now hardly ever have to buy herbs because her herb garden is thriving.
Yesterday, we helped her cleaned and serviced all the air-conditioners in the house in addition to cleaning up all the ceiling fans.
She is also responsible for maintaining three other properties too.
She is also raising two boys who are doing reasonably well academically and fairly well-behaved.
I can only say that I may not be nearly half as accomplished as Yaya is, but putting up the curtains in the living room for Raya this year is fully my responsibility.
Ida is spending her Ramadhan with her family up north, so I doubt that we would see her on the the first day of Raya, but Ema will only be flying back three days after the end of Ramadhan so she'll be around for Raya.
There are four of us girls - Ida is the eldest and the prettiest, next is Yaya who does everything hereself and takes care of everyone, while Ema is the socially adept one with a large circle of friends, and then there is me, the odd one.
I can't remember when was the last time we were all together at the same time during Raya as even back then when I was a lot younger, someone was always somewhere else during any family get-together, Raya included.
However, what I like most about celebrating Raya back in the kampung was the nervous anticipation of waiting for the announcement on the eve, the "Takbir Raya", and everyone being up all night cooking the "ketupat", "rendang" and "kuah kacang".
Dad would not be back from the nearby mosque until much later, and then he would take over presiding over the final stages of the cooking.
We had this outdoor cooking stove where we cooked the ketupat and rendang.
I wasn't much into the "bunga api" and "mercun" let alone the noisy "meriam buluh", so I spent most of the evening trying to help out in the kitchen.
Mom and my sisters would be up very early in the morning to cook the "sayur lodeh" and other quick cooking stuff for the morning breakfast.
I admit that I am not very handy around the house - whatever I can do, someone else can do it better and faster.
That's the problem when one is the youngest in a family of achievers, you find yourself to be in the way most times instead of being useful, and after a while you simply do not know how to be useful.
For example, Yaya not only does the cooking, sewing, cleaning and gardening, she also does things like putting up wall fans, shelves, curtain railings, to tiling and painting the kitchen walls.
She makes her own organic fertiliser, plants vegetables to supplement our store bought foodstuff, and now hardly ever have to buy herbs because her herb garden is thriving.
Yesterday, we helped her cleaned and serviced all the air-conditioners in the house in addition to cleaning up all the ceiling fans.
She is also responsible for maintaining three other properties too.
She is also raising two boys who are doing reasonably well academically and fairly well-behaved.
I can only say that I may not be nearly half as accomplished as Yaya is, but putting up the curtains in the living room for Raya this year is fully my responsibility.
Thursday 2 July 2015
Towards total collapse
The attack is now moving on to Mara, the first vehicle that enable Bumiputra economic and social empowerment, now that they have fully established public distrust against the present administration under PM Najib.
Previously their attacks have mostly been against those associated with PM Najib, but now they are moving towards creating greater public distrust and disgust at everything that was built by the BN government and the Bumiputra agenda.
Politically speaking, the Peninsular Malays as a whole have completely lost their collective political power, it is the Sabah and Sarawak Bumiputra that continue to determine whether the Bumiputra will continue to hold on to govern the country.
All three states that contributed the most to the present Bumiputra-controlled federal government - Johor, Sabah and Sarawak - are under intense pressure, politically speaking, with certain powers in Johor pushing for secession and Sarawak demanding more autonomy, while Sabah has both Manila and the secessionists in their landscape.
What amazes me is how easily people are being manipulated to further weaken our own socio-political situation.
It is very disheartening to see my people being manipulated to a point where we have lost sight of the big picture, being blinded by overwhelming ego, insatiable greed and flawed judgement.
For me, it is pretty interesting to watch how we have managed to get to this point where an entire ethnic group has been fractured into little bits - ensuring that they will eventually lose their majority power in a western-style democratic election system to determine the next administration.
First they attack the man at helm, making sure that he is seen as weak and incompetent.
Then they attack his initiatives to further undermine him, his administration and everything associated with him.
Once that distrust and disgust has been firmly established, the connection between him, his ethnicity and the establishment means the present administration is continuously on defensive mode as they make their attack from one establishment to another.
Now every issue raised against the establishment is immediately perceived by the public as true and the demands are made for explanations, even though hardly anyone actually believed the explanations given.
Our country is breaking apart, and yet there is nowhere I want to be as I believe that what is happening here is also happening elsewhere.
It is a time where chaos will rule.
Just a note to those who practice "The End Justifies The Means", the Almighty determines "The End", we should think how we will be judged by "The Means" that we employ to achieve "The End" that we wanted.
Previously their attacks have mostly been against those associated with PM Najib, but now they are moving towards creating greater public distrust and disgust at everything that was built by the BN government and the Bumiputra agenda.
Politically speaking, the Peninsular Malays as a whole have completely lost their collective political power, it is the Sabah and Sarawak Bumiputra that continue to determine whether the Bumiputra will continue to hold on to govern the country.
All three states that contributed the most to the present Bumiputra-controlled federal government - Johor, Sabah and Sarawak - are under intense pressure, politically speaking, with certain powers in Johor pushing for secession and Sarawak demanding more autonomy, while Sabah has both Manila and the secessionists in their landscape.
What amazes me is how easily people are being manipulated to further weaken our own socio-political situation.
It is very disheartening to see my people being manipulated to a point where we have lost sight of the big picture, being blinded by overwhelming ego, insatiable greed and flawed judgement.
For me, it is pretty interesting to watch how we have managed to get to this point where an entire ethnic group has been fractured into little bits - ensuring that they will eventually lose their majority power in a western-style democratic election system to determine the next administration.
First they attack the man at helm, making sure that he is seen as weak and incompetent.
Then they attack his initiatives to further undermine him, his administration and everything associated with him.
Once that distrust and disgust has been firmly established, the connection between him, his ethnicity and the establishment means the present administration is continuously on defensive mode as they make their attack from one establishment to another.
Now every issue raised against the establishment is immediately perceived by the public as true and the demands are made for explanations, even though hardly anyone actually believed the explanations given.
Our country is breaking apart, and yet there is nowhere I want to be as I believe that what is happening here is also happening elsewhere.
It is a time where chaos will rule.
Just a note to those who practice "The End Justifies The Means", the Almighty determines "The End", we should think how we will be judged by "The Means" that we employ to achieve "The End" that we wanted.
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