Its been 2 years since i started blogging here. Its been very interesting. To be able to put into words thoughts and events. Something to reflect upon. And after seeing the first entry i made, i can say i have managed to toe the line. Privacy of people around me have been maintained. Those i write about, will know its them am referring to. The rest wouldnt have an idea at all.
How time flies. And how fast kids grow. And how i still procastinate and not put up their pictures online in a photo album.
Since mid June, i've been toying around with 360.yahoo.com. Its a bit interesting cos it enables a connection with the friends i have on Yahoo Messenger. Well. Lets see how it goes. I have yet to decide whether to keep both blogs or to use just one.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
On kids and numbers
Weird (some call it sad, suey, tough luck) thing happened a couple of evenings back. My elder 4 year old daughter and I popped by the new house. I had wanted to check the house to see if there were signs of water leak after a heavy thunderstorm. It was about 6.30pm and she was tugging my pants and walking alongside, fearful of the place. No one else in sight in the neighbourhood, no lighting. It was after all a recently completed scheme.
As i was locking the gates, she looked up at the house and said 'dad..i dont like number 11! (the house number). I was taken aback. Asked her why and she just shrugged her shoulders and said she didnt like it. Naturally i couldnt resist asking her what number she liked. She blurted out 165. Aisey, 3 digit number. Pestered her again, what other numbers she liked. She said '25'. Was taken aback again. 25 being my date of birth. 630pm and it wasnt too late to pop by the number forecast shops and get the numbers. Alas, i didnt. It was getting dark, and didnt like the idea of taking her along to go buy numbers!
Didnt think much about it till the next morning. Opened the dailies and as usual after glancing at the usual killing and bad news on the front page, was reading the sports pages. There it was. 3D results. 165 was the 2nd prize for that draw!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I believe this was the second time over the past few years she has said a sequence of numbers that somehow or rather ended up in the winning numbers that evening. Sigh. Sad case. Daddy wasnt a compulsive gambler. Nevermind. Will keep ears wide open and act upon the next time kids blurt out numbers out of the blue Image "
As i was locking the gates, she looked up at the house and said 'dad..i dont like number 11! (the house number). I was taken aback. Asked her why and she just shrugged her shoulders and said she didnt like it. Naturally i couldnt resist asking her what number she liked. She blurted out 165. Aisey, 3 digit number. Pestered her again, what other numbers she liked. She said '25'. Was taken aback again. 25 being my date of birth. 630pm and it wasnt too late to pop by the number forecast shops and get the numbers. Alas, i didnt. It was getting dark, and didnt like the idea of taking her along to go buy numbers!
Didnt think much about it till the next morning. Opened the dailies and as usual after glancing at the usual killing and bad news on the front page, was reading the sports pages. There it was. 3D results. 165 was the 2nd prize for that draw!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I believe this was the second time over the past few years she has said a sequence of numbers that somehow or rather ended up in the winning numbers that evening. Sigh. Sad case. Daddy wasnt a compulsive gambler. Nevermind. Will keep ears wide open and act upon the next time kids blurt out numbers out of the blue Image "
Insanity
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.- Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)
Had a brief chat with friend regarding the above just a moment ago.
Friend: most of us are insane then
Me: indeed. Image but most wont admit it
Friend: Image
Friend: well if the world is full of insane ppl it shudnt be a problem
Me: the world has lots of insane ppl..the only prob is most dont admit it..or dont know it
Friend: wht one doesnt know doesnt hurt
Me: it hurts others
Friend: how cud it when the other is insane too?
Me: insane ppl got feelings too Image
Me: when one is insane... he or she does insane stuff... some of these stuff hurts other ppl, without he or she knowing it
Friend: yeah i guess so
Friend: esp if tht someone is close or important to us
Me: yup..true"
Had a brief chat with friend regarding the above just a moment ago.
Friend: most of us are insane then
Me: indeed. Image but most wont admit it
Friend: Image
Friend: well if the world is full of insane ppl it shudnt be a problem
Me: the world has lots of insane ppl..the only prob is most dont admit it..or dont know it
Friend: wht one doesnt know doesnt hurt
Me: it hurts others
Friend: how cud it when the other is insane too?
Me: insane ppl got feelings too Image
Me: when one is insane... he or she does insane stuff... some of these stuff hurts other ppl, without he or she knowing it
Friend: yeah i guess so
Friend: esp if tht someone is close or important to us
Me: yup..true"
For the past couple of days i've been spending more time reading blogs online. And i've come to realise theres a nice bunch of people out there who write wonderfully with much wit and humour and not to mention intellect. People like Amit who collates lots of IT related stuff and writes about them, as well as people like Kenny sia, Minishorts, Aizuddin, Lilianchan etc. Then theres this thing called Project Petaling Street which has enabled Malaysian bloggers to group up. Theyve met up twice, from what i gather. The writings are diverse. And there is much interaction within the respective blogs.
I think, at one point when KLGC1 was created by yahoo, it attracted that diverse range of people. Those were quite the fun days. Adults and teens, bilingual with the preference being english.
Well, as i read at one of the blog sites, i had these thoughts. Humans have the tendency to point errors of others. To look for fault in others and their beliefs. Whereas the exact opposite should be the case. One should be looking within and aiming to be a better person, for almost all of us are with faults. Wouldnt the world be a better place if everyone operated on that basis. To respect that there is someone out there who believes in something else contrary to our own beliefs. And that we have no right to tell them that theyre wrong purely on the basis of the teachings we've each received during our upbringing.
I think, at one point when KLGC1 was created by yahoo, it attracted that diverse range of people. Those were quite the fun days. Adults and teens, bilingual with the preference being english.
Well, as i read at one of the blog sites, i had these thoughts. Humans have the tendency to point errors of others. To look for fault in others and their beliefs. Whereas the exact opposite should be the case. One should be looking within and aiming to be a better person, for almost all of us are with faults. Wouldnt the world be a better place if everyone operated on that basis. To respect that there is someone out there who believes in something else contrary to our own beliefs. And that we have no right to tell them that theyre wrong purely on the basis of the teachings we've each received during our upbringing.
"Red devils
'Mourinho also admitted his surprise about fans' loyalty in Britain, highlighting the case of Sir Alex Ferguson's United, who were given a standing ovation at Old Trafford at the end of the season despite failing to win a trophy. 'I saw the Manchester United players and manager after their last home game go for a lap of honour after losing to us. 'If they had done that in Portugal they would have had bottles thrown at them,' said Mourinho. '
-------------------------------------------------------------
Its a good idea to keep in thought, just in case the red devils fail to win anything this coming season! I'd aim directly at Fergie whom i blame totally for last season's disaster. Poor selections and tactics almost the entire season. sigh."
'Mourinho also admitted his surprise about fans' loyalty in Britain, highlighting the case of Sir Alex Ferguson's United, who were given a standing ovation at Old Trafford at the end of the season despite failing to win a trophy. 'I saw the Manchester United players and manager after their last home game go for a lap of honour after losing to us. 'If they had done that in Portugal they would have had bottles thrown at them,' said Mourinho. '
-------------------------------------------------------------
Its a good idea to keep in thought, just in case the red devils fail to win anything this coming season! I'd aim directly at Fergie whom i blame totally for last season's disaster. Poor selections and tactics almost the entire season. sigh."
Went and saw the house. Its in good shape. Some minor works need to be reported.
As for housewarming and moving in, it will have to wait. Would personaly prefer to wait till early next year. Perhaps during the long chinese new year break. The coming months would give me sufficient time to plan what needs to be done.
Visited the doc earlier. Rest for another month was the prescription. Just when i thought of heading to the gym and work out daily! Damn. Got to delay the workouts yet again. :D:D:D (excuses, excuses, excuses)
Still so very tired now. Was in office till very late last night working on a spreadsheet. And when one is so tired, one realises Excel has a maximum limit in terms of rows per worksheet. 65,536 rows by 256 columns! Had to breakup the file into a few sheets. Hopefully will have the time to transfer the entire file into Access later today. Wish there was a good cake shop within a stone's throw away. Whenever tired, would love to just pop in and buy some cheesecakes and release stress by eating. Errr on second thoughts, best not. Just got warned again about weight. Sigh. Most of the best things in life are forbidden! Or at best, taken in moderation only. But then again, moderation in subjective.
Bombs all over London yesterday. It's sickening. How life is just wasted away. Actions that never solve any problems, only compounding them. So many lives taken. So many lives affected in the worst ways by the deaths. Killings everywhere. Almost everyday. The mind has become a bit numb. It goes ..'oh, a few more died yesterday. what else is new!'.
"
As for housewarming and moving in, it will have to wait. Would personaly prefer to wait till early next year. Perhaps during the long chinese new year break. The coming months would give me sufficient time to plan what needs to be done.
Visited the doc earlier. Rest for another month was the prescription. Just when i thought of heading to the gym and work out daily! Damn. Got to delay the workouts yet again. :D:D:D (excuses, excuses, excuses)
Still so very tired now. Was in office till very late last night working on a spreadsheet. And when one is so tired, one realises Excel has a maximum limit in terms of rows per worksheet. 65,536 rows by 256 columns! Had to breakup the file into a few sheets. Hopefully will have the time to transfer the entire file into Access later today. Wish there was a good cake shop within a stone's throw away. Whenever tired, would love to just pop in and buy some cheesecakes and release stress by eating. Errr on second thoughts, best not. Just got warned again about weight. Sigh. Most of the best things in life are forbidden! Or at best, taken in moderation only. But then again, moderation in subjective.
Bombs all over London yesterday. It's sickening. How life is just wasted away. Actions that never solve any problems, only compounding them. So many lives taken. So many lives affected in the worst ways by the deaths. Killings everywhere. Almost everyday. The mind has become a bit numb. It goes ..'oh, a few more died yesterday. what else is new!'.
"
The day to go and collect the keys to the house! Should be leaving shortly. Hope all will be well.
After using 360 yahoo for a while, i think it would be great if yahoo has a mechanism whereby the user is alerted when someone posts a comment on the blog. As it stands more often than not, comments made on older blog entries will be missed out.
"
After using 360 yahoo for a while, i think it would be great if yahoo has a mechanism whereby the user is alerted when someone posts a comment on the blog. As it stands more often than not, comments made on older blog entries will be missed out.
"
The most memorable encounter with a female chatter!
There i was. Sitting patiently at a quiet corner at the freezing KLIA. The time was around midnight. It was sometime in the late 1990s. 1998? 1999? My memory fails me yet again. Topaz was one of the first friends i had encountered in yahoo chat and we migrated to ICQ (which was a big thing back then. Now? ive no idea whatsoever)
She was funny and direct. Very outspoken and wasnt the shy type. We had lots of interesting chats. She was a traffic warden in Perth. She drove a 4000 or 5000 cc vehicle that they called a car. Thunderbird? Something... i cant remember :)) She loved her job and she had lots of free time. One fine day she said she was flying into KL and asked if it was possible to meet up!!!! YES! Perfect idea!
After an hour of waiting, it was beginning to be very uncomfortable. The coldness in the arrival hall was a killer. So much for intelligent building systems. They cant even adjust the airconditioning temp. to comfy levels. Finally the plane landed. Touchdown. And the second phase of waiting begun. The usual waiting for luggage being delivered and their respective owners praying their luggages dont get misdirected or pilfered. At the last minute, i realised i forgot to buy something for her. And ran to the souvenier shops. None open except the choc shops! Naturally went for a big box of ferrero rocher. If she didnt like it, i could eat it. Or we could share :D
Stood there waiting at the arrival hall. And there she came, walking, with a beaming smile on her lovely face. I wasnt prepared for the overwhelming moment. Had seen her photo earlier but it was of poor resolution and taken from afar. Here was a lady in her late 20s, standing around 5'10', slim and probably weighing around 55-60kg, blue eyes and ahem... well endowed. C cup was my silent guess. We hugged and exchanged pleasantries. She was a really sweet lady. She was on transit at 9am or thereabouts and needed sleep. And it was time to leave. We hugged and said our goodbyes.
Many months later she got engaged and married a chat friend of hers from USA, and they got married on a riverboat in Perth on Valentines Day.
But that night at KLIA was unforgetable. She was worth the travel and 2 hour wait at KLIA. Oh yes, my mrs too enjoyed her company and found her to be a very nice person.
She was funny and direct. Very outspoken and wasnt the shy type. We had lots of interesting chats. She was a traffic warden in Perth. She drove a 4000 or 5000 cc vehicle that they called a car. Thunderbird? Something... i cant remember :)) She loved her job and she had lots of free time. One fine day she said she was flying into KL and asked if it was possible to meet up!!!! YES! Perfect idea!
After an hour of waiting, it was beginning to be very uncomfortable. The coldness in the arrival hall was a killer. So much for intelligent building systems. They cant even adjust the airconditioning temp. to comfy levels. Finally the plane landed. Touchdown. And the second phase of waiting begun. The usual waiting for luggage being delivered and their respective owners praying their luggages dont get misdirected or pilfered. At the last minute, i realised i forgot to buy something for her. And ran to the souvenier shops. None open except the choc shops! Naturally went for a big box of ferrero rocher. If she didnt like it, i could eat it. Or we could share :D
Stood there waiting at the arrival hall. And there she came, walking, with a beaming smile on her lovely face. I wasnt prepared for the overwhelming moment. Had seen her photo earlier but it was of poor resolution and taken from afar. Here was a lady in her late 20s, standing around 5'10', slim and probably weighing around 55-60kg, blue eyes and ahem... well endowed. C cup was my silent guess. We hugged and exchanged pleasantries. She was a really sweet lady. She was on transit at 9am or thereabouts and needed sleep. And it was time to leave. We hugged and said our goodbyes.
Many months later she got engaged and married a chat friend of hers from USA, and they got married on a riverboat in Perth on Valentines Day.
But that night at KLIA was unforgetable. She was worth the travel and 2 hour wait at KLIA. Oh yes, my mrs too enjoyed her company and found her to be a very nice person.
The day i sat for my first year first semester exam for the compulsory islamic studies or something subject, and saw the first question, i gave up on the U. It was run by insensitive asses. That first question sidelined the entire non-muslim student community and all subsequent complaints was brushed aside.It was an objective question which went along the lines of which of the following religions originated from revelations by God. Naturally, i marked all the spaces - A to E. And naturally it was the wrong answer in the U's eyes.
The first thing i did when i was the editor of the student magazine in my dept. during my final year, was to critisize the quality of lecturers. People who had no practical knowledge and only a first degree called themselves lecturers. Unfortunately that article never got published. The head of dept. called me aside and told me (words ill remember forever)..'lets not make our secret the world's secret!'
Defining moment during my stay there would be during my fourth year and my colleague asking the lecturer a simple question. In arriving at a solution to a problem, the lecturer had said that certain percentage adjustments needed to be made. For example, a land fronting the main road against a land immediately behind it. The fore was more valuable. Better accessibility, commercial exposure, potential for development etc etc. Colleague asked how would one arrive at the percentage adjustments..and her nonchalant reply was one did it based on experience. Naturally, all of us grinned. And my fellow student retorted and said...that would mean people who just graduated with no experience would therefore not be able to work!!! Everyone except the lecturer laughed. She was pissed mad. She just made a fool out of herself. Cos in actual fact, there are quantitative means to arrive at such adjustments. Thats another story.
Then again, i cant be too harsh on them. Screwed up my "
The first thing i did when i was the editor of the student magazine in my dept. during my final year, was to critisize the quality of lecturers. People who had no practical knowledge and only a first degree called themselves lecturers. Unfortunately that article never got published. The head of dept. called me aside and told me (words ill remember forever)..'lets not make our secret the world's secret!'
Defining moment during my stay there would be during my fourth year and my colleague asking the lecturer a simple question. In arriving at a solution to a problem, the lecturer had said that certain percentage adjustments needed to be made. For example, a land fronting the main road against a land immediately behind it. The fore was more valuable. Better accessibility, commercial exposure, potential for development etc etc. Colleague asked how would one arrive at the percentage adjustments..and her nonchalant reply was one did it based on experience. Naturally, all of us grinned. And my fellow student retorted and said...that would mean people who just graduated with no experience would therefore not be able to work!!! Everyone except the lecturer laughed. She was pissed mad. She just made a fool out of herself. Cos in actual fact, there are quantitative means to arrive at such adjustments. Thats another story.
Then again, i cant be too harsh on them. Screwed up my "
Friday, July 01, 2005
Paper chase
"http://www.kfcplainfield.com/sound/paperchase.wav Thats the paper chase theme song.
'.... you teach yourselves the law...but i train your minds
you come in here..with a skull full of mush..and if you survive! you leave thinking like a lawyer!'
Well, words that will apply to anyone whos gone to school at any level. Education or for that matter paper qualification is just that. The foundation upon which one builds ones lives. Some call it a safety net. Naturally theres also other means to get that headstart by working and learning the ropes of the trades. Unfortunately too many seem to think a paper qualification is the passport to immediate monetary gain! And an automatic right to get a job! Looking at the applications for jobs that ive received over the years, its a bit scary. The universities and schools are churning out people who cant think. Not to mention of low standards. Proficiency of language is a nightmare. OK, my profienciency is bad... really bad. I've always wished i had spent more time reading more rather than drool at attractive pictures during my younger days. Even now, reading is restricted to the newspapers and the occasional fiction books. The book rack is sort of filled with many books bought that merely gather dust.
As usual, i digress too much. Theres supposedly thousands of unemployed graduates out there. First and foremost i would suggest all be sent to study english. It helps if they are multi lingual. Its better when english is one of the languages they know. But then again, once a blue moon we do come across some who arent so proficient but are willing to learn. Have one in the office. He was willing to learn. He answered questions well. Able to think and able to reason. After a few years he is still with us, and his command of english has improved. And he's become more confident.
The thing is, the government has got itself to blame for churning out too many graduates. Supply isnt matching demand." I cant think straight. Painkillers doing a great job now. Time to sleep, again.
'.... you teach yourselves the law...but i train your minds
you come in here..with a skull full of mush..and if you survive! you leave thinking like a lawyer!'
Well, words that will apply to anyone whos gone to school at any level. Education or for that matter paper qualification is just that. The foundation upon which one builds ones lives. Some call it a safety net. Naturally theres also other means to get that headstart by working and learning the ropes of the trades. Unfortunately too many seem to think a paper qualification is the passport to immediate monetary gain! And an automatic right to get a job! Looking at the applications for jobs that ive received over the years, its a bit scary. The universities and schools are churning out people who cant think. Not to mention of low standards. Proficiency of language is a nightmare. OK, my profienciency is bad... really bad. I've always wished i had spent more time reading more rather than drool at attractive pictures during my younger days. Even now, reading is restricted to the newspapers and the occasional fiction books. The book rack is sort of filled with many books bought that merely gather dust.
As usual, i digress too much. Theres supposedly thousands of unemployed graduates out there. First and foremost i would suggest all be sent to study english. It helps if they are multi lingual. Its better when english is one of the languages they know. But then again, once a blue moon we do come across some who arent so proficient but are willing to learn. Have one in the office. He was willing to learn. He answered questions well. Able to think and able to reason. After a few years he is still with us, and his command of english has improved. And he's become more confident.
The thing is, the government has got itself to blame for churning out too many graduates. Supply isnt matching demand." I cant think straight. Painkillers doing a great job now. Time to sleep, again.
"whats wrong, why is it wrong. 29th June 2005
I was typing and typing and typing. And i realised it was too long to be posted as a comment to Noh's comment. So here goes. I blame it on the heavy lunch that mom packed and sent over.
1.IMHO its all got to do with the general asian mentality. Everything is measured in monetary terms. Asset accumulation. The need to show that one has the material fruits of labour. And when the race started, anyone staying out is left out to fend for themselves. Those earlier days when we were younger, most of us had a carefree life. Yes there was sufferings. We didnt take things too seriously (on hindsight perhaps we should have studied harder/smarter). And yet we somewhat turned out ok. We're not robbing or killing or raping, amongst other vices. And i could like to think most of us arent croonies!.
We had top students who we were proud of. I still remember back in 1983 i was watching the national news at second college in kg baru. They were announcing the STPM results. Only 5 students in the country achieved 5As! ONLY 5!! And one of them was from English College. Someone we knew. There was a feeling of pride. This guy achieved glory for himself and the school.
Now, we have hundreds or thousands getting straight 5As! In some cases tens of them within a school! Someone please re-assure me that the young ones are getting much smarter nowadays. Perhaps its easier to score As nowadays? I have no idea. But once society starts to judge its students based on the distinctions that theyve obtained, then theres no turning back. Its a race. Who cares whether the students have gained knowledge. As long as they have the As, theyre entitled for rewards.
If the Govt. was serious about walking the talk, they will publish the names of everyone who has obtained scholarships and their results. And for heavens sake can we have a standardised system for the form 6. Why create room for doubt by having a separate matriculation system and then equating both. I went through 2 months of form 6 and immediately knew there was no way i was going to excel, or pass for that matter. And i was lucky enough to hop over to the U and enjoy the benefits of the semester system. You get tested every few weeks or months. Unlike the STPM where you get tested for one and half years work!
2. While some in govt. knows the importance of english, there are also those who play the politics game. To remain popular with the older rural populace. The very ones who keep saying the national language must be given priority, are the very ones who are not writing enough to broaden our knowledge base. The amount of material in english is in abundance. Perhaps we should introduce a system whereby right from the primary school, one has got to pass english and malay language subjects.Fail either of the subjects and you stay in your level. No promotion. Perhaps then there will be people taking languages seriously. But then again, knowing the malaysia boleh spirit, more often than not, most students will get the answers from their nice teachers beforehand.
3. I think its any govt.'s duty to provide education at low cost to ALL its citizens.The buku pinjaman scheme was good. I benefited from the scheme. Parents saved lots of hard earned money by not having to buy kilograms of books every year! The helping hand should stop at that. Facilities are given. But standards must be maintained. If the product of students are not up to standard, fail them. Let them repeat again. Our problem seems to be that some quarters think its the govt.'s duty to provide education, pass the students and then give them jobs that pay good money! :O And in the same breath, they want the country to be a centre of education!
Sad to say, i think its the govt.'s policy to make it hard to fail substandard students. The professional institution that i am a member of had a feedback session once, a few years ago, with a local university. We gave constructive criticism. Students lacked good command of english and practical knowledge. And the U reps admitted, for every student that they fail, they need to justify the failure. There was lots of questioning by the higher ups. And having been a product of the place, i know as a fact its so very difficult to fail, unless one is there looking for failure. I was on that verge once, but probably some kind hearted souls facilitated my moving on.
Bottom line will be, those needing help, must be helped. Those who can stand on their own two feet, must do just that.
4. CVs that shows lots of job movement is indicative the person will probably treat every job as a stepping stone. There are some here in JB who may be quite good at their jobs, but in the social circles they've been labelled as job hoppers. Its to their detriment. Its not like as though at every hop they climb up the ladder. Performing well, and job hopping vertically is a very positive thing.
5. Everythings about having cash in the wallet NOW. Even is something is wrong, more often than not people will just keep quiet instead of bringing the matter to your attention. Theres lots of pride and sense of belonging when the company pays them top dollar and 5 digit bonuses year in year out :)) Have a slowdown, and they consider jumping ship!
6. Agree with you, Noh. Top 1% deserves the scholarships. Bond them to serve the country in return. Perhaps everyone else can get study loans which will be converted to scholarships if they get top results? And for heavens sake, if people who take loans dont pay, just go after them! The govt. dept. mentality has just got to go. There was a case of a guy passing and able to pay back within a year, instead of paying monthly for years. He wrote and asked to pay back in one lump sum! So admirable! And our administrators tell him, NO! He has to pay in installments!!!!! This mentality amongst administrators in the civil service is so prevalent. The best arent running the country, sad to say.
7. On race issues. Honestly speaking, i think i was living under a coconut shell during the school years at English College. Its either that or things were not so bad those days. If youre good, youre rewarded. If youre good, youre selected for sports team in school. Or if you talk too much, you get selected to the english debating team, even if you suck big time. (sigh.. still have nightmares. Losing to SDJ, and me not playing my part still annoys me. Was that the time i first met Kuljeet the pilot? My memory fails. Need to check with him. We were the opposition to the topic of co-ed schools are better, or something to that effect. Damn. EC had girls in form 6. Some were nice to look at [the days when girls wore short skirts and white blouses to school] We were in form 5 and wanted girls in the school, and we were asked to oppose the motion!. How to win lah. But then again SDJ was an all boys school, and didnt have girls at all. Easier for them to argue hypothetically! ).
Come to Gurney Road, and oops, i was in a different world. Everything was segregated. And its then the issue hits straight in the face. Self realisation? Yeah, perhaps. The indians hanging out with themselves. The malays hanging out with themselves albeit in two camps.. PAS and the moderate. The buddhists hanging out in their corner. And the Christians hanging out at their corner. Everyone knew where they had to hang out. Was never comfortable at KL. Was used to a mixed race environment all the way till the end of Form 5. Knowing lots of classmates went overseas on federal scholarships that were never made known to me, changed my perspective of the world that i lived in. Living in the U, reinforced that perspective.
Coming out to the work world, it became apparent the civil service was the domain of one race. Even the state economic developement corporation was off limits. That left only the private sector. And i couldnt talk any of the chinese dialects! (saying the chinese words that i knew at that time, didnt qualify me to claim knowing the language). I have to admit that i was lucky an uncle knew another uncle at the top of one of the govt. departments and arranged an introduction. That person was nice enough to write a letter of introduction and i was offered a position at my current place. 17 years later, i think ive been very lucky and made the most of the opportunities that came my way.
We try hard to maintain a fairly balanced work place with no single dominant race. And everything is tied down to performance. The good ones get rewarded. Naturally in the course of doing business, the race issue props up every now and then. And more often than not, we tend to lose out. It doesnt help either that the company doesnt have the benefit of having an english or international name with associate offices all over the world. (most dont bother to realise even those with those names, are basically run by locals of similar standing). So much for not judging the book by its cover.
Perhaps we need a Race Commission. On equal rights. Then we may stop hearing of discriminations in the civil service as well as the private sector. Elaborate lah, madnoh. We're all adults whut :) I've long endured the snub of being left out of conversations all because some decide to talk in a language thats not english or malay. :))
8. Gone are the days the employer can call a staff into the room, and "screw" the person verbally. Doing that only results in the employee leaving and you receiving a notice of being sued for abuse. The management has had to change. More diplomacy. More kindness and polite words. This is a good thing. Where the staff dont repent or change, give sufficient notice and ask the person to leave. But i would say most are still hard working, with constant supervision. Being humans, most employees will always find opportunities to take breaks.
9. Rich, well-to-do parents. They build the fortune, the children spend it. The grandchildren finish the fortune. Thats a chinese saying right? In most cases its true. As usual theres always exceptions. Children who take advantage of the opportunities they get and excel. Our old friend Ben comes to the mind. Well to do, and he excelled. He's a cancer specialist now i think. I should have called him long ago.
10. The internet has indeed become a major distraction to the productive world.Cant help it cos its addictive. Blogging though i do only when am free. Chatting was the killer. Was so addicted. There were times i would come in early and yak and yak and yak online and not get work done. Well, everyones entitled to make mistakes :D On the plus side have learnt a lot. On work, on IT, on people, on relations. err and on things that turn on people. lol. Have managed to meet up with so many, from all over.
To effect change, the government should start the ball rolling. Start recruiting the best brains. The most capable. Stop asking for the race or religion of applicants.Promote based on merit. On capability. Not on who the applicant knows, or the ball-carrying the person has does. Show to the world and the private sector particularly theyre being fair to all. And ensure that the civil service does its job. To serve the public and not serve their own pockets!
And on a final note, to scrap the "get back our best brains from overseas" program. It wont work. Theyre already earning top bucks overseas. We should concentrate on keeping our best brains in the country. Singapore has been tapping our schools from form 1 onwards. We have to stop that. Reward deserving students early without them having to ask. And at the end of the day, perhaps, the country will reap the benefits of these actions. We become better. And happier.
I was typing and typing and typing. And i realised it was too long to be posted as a comment to Noh's comment. So here goes. I blame it on the heavy lunch that mom packed and sent over.
1.IMHO its all got to do with the general asian mentality. Everything is measured in monetary terms. Asset accumulation. The need to show that one has the material fruits of labour. And when the race started, anyone staying out is left out to fend for themselves. Those earlier days when we were younger, most of us had a carefree life. Yes there was sufferings. We didnt take things too seriously (on hindsight perhaps we should have studied harder/smarter). And yet we somewhat turned out ok. We're not robbing or killing or raping, amongst other vices. And i could like to think most of us arent croonies!.
We had top students who we were proud of. I still remember back in 1983 i was watching the national news at second college in kg baru. They were announcing the STPM results. Only 5 students in the country achieved 5As! ONLY 5!! And one of them was from English College. Someone we knew. There was a feeling of pride. This guy achieved glory for himself and the school.
Now, we have hundreds or thousands getting straight 5As! In some cases tens of them within a school! Someone please re-assure me that the young ones are getting much smarter nowadays. Perhaps its easier to score As nowadays? I have no idea. But once society starts to judge its students based on the distinctions that theyve obtained, then theres no turning back. Its a race. Who cares whether the students have gained knowledge. As long as they have the As, theyre entitled for rewards.
If the Govt. was serious about walking the talk, they will publish the names of everyone who has obtained scholarships and their results. And for heavens sake can we have a standardised system for the form 6. Why create room for doubt by having a separate matriculation system and then equating both. I went through 2 months of form 6 and immediately knew there was no way i was going to excel, or pass for that matter. And i was lucky enough to hop over to the U and enjoy the benefits of the semester system. You get tested every few weeks or months. Unlike the STPM where you get tested for one and half years work!
2. While some in govt. knows the importance of english, there are also those who play the politics game. To remain popular with the older rural populace. The very ones who keep saying the national language must be given priority, are the very ones who are not writing enough to broaden our knowledge base. The amount of material in english is in abundance. Perhaps we should introduce a system whereby right from the primary school, one has got to pass english and malay language subjects.Fail either of the subjects and you stay in your level. No promotion. Perhaps then there will be people taking languages seriously. But then again, knowing the malaysia boleh spirit, more often than not, most students will get the answers from their nice teachers beforehand.
3. I think its any govt.'s duty to provide education at low cost to ALL its citizens.The buku pinjaman scheme was good. I benefited from the scheme. Parents saved lots of hard earned money by not having to buy kilograms of books every year! The helping hand should stop at that. Facilities are given. But standards must be maintained. If the product of students are not up to standard, fail them. Let them repeat again. Our problem seems to be that some quarters think its the govt.'s duty to provide education, pass the students and then give them jobs that pay good money! :O And in the same breath, they want the country to be a centre of education!
Sad to say, i think its the govt.'s policy to make it hard to fail substandard students. The professional institution that i am a member of had a feedback session once, a few years ago, with a local university. We gave constructive criticism. Students lacked good command of english and practical knowledge. And the U reps admitted, for every student that they fail, they need to justify the failure. There was lots of questioning by the higher ups. And having been a product of the place, i know as a fact its so very difficult to fail, unless one is there looking for failure. I was on that verge once, but probably some kind hearted souls facilitated my moving on.
Bottom line will be, those needing help, must be helped. Those who can stand on their own two feet, must do just that.
4. CVs that shows lots of job movement is indicative the person will probably treat every job as a stepping stone. There are some here in JB who may be quite good at their jobs, but in the social circles they've been labelled as job hoppers. Its to their detriment. Its not like as though at every hop they climb up the ladder. Performing well, and job hopping vertically is a very positive thing.
5. Everythings about having cash in the wallet NOW. Even is something is wrong, more often than not people will just keep quiet instead of bringing the matter to your attention. Theres lots of pride and sense of belonging when the company pays them top dollar and 5 digit bonuses year in year out :)) Have a slowdown, and they consider jumping ship!
6. Agree with you, Noh. Top 1% deserves the scholarships. Bond them to serve the country in return. Perhaps everyone else can get study loans which will be converted to scholarships if they get top results? And for heavens sake, if people who take loans dont pay, just go after them! The govt. dept. mentality has just got to go. There was a case of a guy passing and able to pay back within a year, instead of paying monthly for years. He wrote and asked to pay back in one lump sum! So admirable! And our administrators tell him, NO! He has to pay in installments!!!!! This mentality amongst administrators in the civil service is so prevalent. The best arent running the country, sad to say.
7. On race issues. Honestly speaking, i think i was living under a coconut shell during the school years at English College. Its either that or things were not so bad those days. If youre good, youre rewarded. If youre good, youre selected for sports team in school. Or if you talk too much, you get selected to the english debating team, even if you suck big time. (sigh.. still have nightmares. Losing to SDJ, and me not playing my part still annoys me. Was that the time i first met Kuljeet the pilot? My memory fails. Need to check with him. We were the opposition to the topic of co-ed schools are better, or something to that effect. Damn. EC had girls in form 6. Some were nice to look at [the days when girls wore short skirts and white blouses to school] We were in form 5 and wanted girls in the school, and we were asked to oppose the motion!. How to win lah. But then again SDJ was an all boys school, and didnt have girls at all. Easier for them to argue hypothetically! ).
Come to Gurney Road, and oops, i was in a different world. Everything was segregated. And its then the issue hits straight in the face. Self realisation? Yeah, perhaps. The indians hanging out with themselves. The malays hanging out with themselves albeit in two camps.. PAS and the moderate. The buddhists hanging out in their corner. And the Christians hanging out at their corner. Everyone knew where they had to hang out. Was never comfortable at KL. Was used to a mixed race environment all the way till the end of Form 5. Knowing lots of classmates went overseas on federal scholarships that were never made known to me, changed my perspective of the world that i lived in. Living in the U, reinforced that perspective.
Coming out to the work world, it became apparent the civil service was the domain of one race. Even the state economic developement corporation was off limits. That left only the private sector. And i couldnt talk any of the chinese dialects! (saying the chinese words that i knew at that time, didnt qualify me to claim knowing the language). I have to admit that i was lucky an uncle knew another uncle at the top of one of the govt. departments and arranged an introduction. That person was nice enough to write a letter of introduction and i was offered a position at my current place. 17 years later, i think ive been very lucky and made the most of the opportunities that came my way.
We try hard to maintain a fairly balanced work place with no single dominant race. And everything is tied down to performance. The good ones get rewarded. Naturally in the course of doing business, the race issue props up every now and then. And more often than not, we tend to lose out. It doesnt help either that the company doesnt have the benefit of having an english or international name with associate offices all over the world. (most dont bother to realise even those with those names, are basically run by locals of similar standing). So much for not judging the book by its cover.
Perhaps we need a Race Commission. On equal rights. Then we may stop hearing of discriminations in the civil service as well as the private sector. Elaborate lah, madnoh. We're all adults whut :) I've long endured the snub of being left out of conversations all because some decide to talk in a language thats not english or malay. :))
8. Gone are the days the employer can call a staff into the room, and "screw" the person verbally. Doing that only results in the employee leaving and you receiving a notice of being sued for abuse. The management has had to change. More diplomacy. More kindness and polite words. This is a good thing. Where the staff dont repent or change, give sufficient notice and ask the person to leave. But i would say most are still hard working, with constant supervision. Being humans, most employees will always find opportunities to take breaks.
9. Rich, well-to-do parents. They build the fortune, the children spend it. The grandchildren finish the fortune. Thats a chinese saying right? In most cases its true. As usual theres always exceptions. Children who take advantage of the opportunities they get and excel. Our old friend Ben comes to the mind. Well to do, and he excelled. He's a cancer specialist now i think. I should have called him long ago.
10. The internet has indeed become a major distraction to the productive world.Cant help it cos its addictive. Blogging though i do only when am free. Chatting was the killer. Was so addicted. There were times i would come in early and yak and yak and yak online and not get work done. Well, everyones entitled to make mistakes :D On the plus side have learnt a lot. On work, on IT, on people, on relations. err and on things that turn on people. lol. Have managed to meet up with so many, from all over.
To effect change, the government should start the ball rolling. Start recruiting the best brains. The most capable. Stop asking for the race or religion of applicants.Promote based on merit. On capability. Not on who the applicant knows, or the ball-carrying the person has does. Show to the world and the private sector particularly theyre being fair to all. And ensure that the civil service does its job. To serve the public and not serve their own pockets!
And on a final note, to scrap the "get back our best brains from overseas" program. It wont work. Theyre already earning top bucks overseas. We should concentrate on keeping our best brains in the country. Singapore has been tapping our schools from form 1 onwards. We have to stop that. Reward deserving students early without them having to ask. And at the end of the day, perhaps, the country will reap the benefits of these actions. We become better. And happier.
The day i sat for my first year first semester exam for the compulsory islamic studies or something subject, and saw the first question, i gave up on the U. It was run by insensitive asses. That first question sidelined the entire non-muslim student community and all subsequent complaints was brushed aside.It was an objective question which went along the lines of which of the following religions originated from revelations by God. Naturally, i marked all the spaces - A to E. And naturally it was the wrong answer in the U's eyes.
The first thing i did when i was the editor of the student magazine in my dept. during my final year, was to critisize the quality of lecturers. People who had no practical knowledge and only a first degree called themselves lecturers. Unfortunately that article never got published. The head of dept. called me aside and told me (words ill remember forever)..'lets not make our secret the world's secret!'
Defining moment during my stay there would be during my fourth year and my colleague asking the lecturer a simple question. In arriving at a solution to a problem, the lecturer had said that certain percentage adjustments needed to be made. For example, a land fronting the main road against a land immediately behind it. The fore was more valuable. Better accessibility, commercial exposure, potential for development etc etc. Colleague asked how would one arrive at the percentage adjustments..and her nonchalant reply was one did it based on experience. Naturally, all of us grinned. And my fellow student retorted and said...that would mean people who just graduated with no experience would therefore not be able to work!!! Everyone except the lecturer laughed. She was pissed mad. She just made a fool out of herself. Cos in actual fact, there are quantitative means to arrive at such adjustments. Thats another story.
Then again, i cant be too harsh on them. Screwed up my final year project paper cos i had loads of personal problems and i sort of didnt like the supervisor. The paper went in without her vetting. I got "taruh"ed during the viva. Scared shit during the holidays, and so relieved to scrape through at the end.
And they had to further spoil entire experience by asking us to wear songkoks during graduation! duhhh big time.
The first thing i did when i was the editor of the student magazine in my dept. during my final year, was to critisize the quality of lecturers. People who had no practical knowledge and only a first degree called themselves lecturers. Unfortunately that article never got published. The head of dept. called me aside and told me (words ill remember forever)..'lets not make our secret the world's secret!'
Defining moment during my stay there would be during my fourth year and my colleague asking the lecturer a simple question. In arriving at a solution to a problem, the lecturer had said that certain percentage adjustments needed to be made. For example, a land fronting the main road against a land immediately behind it. The fore was more valuable. Better accessibility, commercial exposure, potential for development etc etc. Colleague asked how would one arrive at the percentage adjustments..and her nonchalant reply was one did it based on experience. Naturally, all of us grinned. And my fellow student retorted and said...that would mean people who just graduated with no experience would therefore not be able to work!!! Everyone except the lecturer laughed. She was pissed mad. She just made a fool out of herself. Cos in actual fact, there are quantitative means to arrive at such adjustments. Thats another story.
Then again, i cant be too harsh on them. Screwed up my final year project paper cos i had loads of personal problems and i sort of didnt like the supervisor. The paper went in without her vetting. I got "taruh"ed during the viva. Scared shit during the holidays, and so relieved to scrape through at the end.
And they had to further spoil entire experience by asking us to wear songkoks during graduation! duhhh big time.
The most memorable encounter with a female chatter!
There i was. Sitting patiently at a quiet corner at the freezing KLIA. The time was around midnight. It was sometime in the late 1990s. 1998? 1999? My memory fails me yet again. Topaz was one of the first friends i had encountered in yahoo chat and we migrated to ICQ (which was a big thing back then. Now? ive no idea whatsoever)
She was funny and direct. Very outspoken and wasnt the shy type. We had lots of interesting chats. She was a traffic warden in Perth. She drove a 4000 or 5000 cc vehicle that they called a car. Thunderbird? Something... i cant remember :)) She loved her job and she had lots of free time. One fine day she said she was flying into KL and asked if it was possible to meet up!!!! YES! Perfect idea!
After an hour of waiting, it was beginning to be very uncomfortable. The coldness in the arrival hall was a killer. So much for intelligent building systems. They cant even adjust the airconditioning temp. to comfy levels. Finally the plane landed. Touchdown. And the second phase of waiting begun. The usual waiting for luggage being delivered and their respective owners praying their luggages dont get misdirected or pilfered. At the last minute, i realised i forgot to buy something for her. And ran to the souvenier shops. None open except the choc shops! Naturally went for a big box of ferrero rocher. If she didnt like it, i could eat it. Or we could share :D
Stood there waiting at the arrival hall. And there she came, walking, with a beaming smile on her lovely face. I wasnt prepared for the overwhelming moment. Had seen her photo earlier but it was of poor resolution and taken from afar. Here was a lady in her late 20s, standing around 5'10", slim and probably weighing around 55-60kg, blue eyes and ahem... well endowed. C cup was my silent guess. We hugged and exchanged pleasantries. She was a really sweet lady. She needed to check in at the airport hotel. We walked over and brought the luggage to her room. Gave her the chocolates and she was pleased. And she insisted on unpacking.
She brought a small koala bear stuffed toy, a table cloth with the australia map and a mouse pad! And in return i only gave chocs. Felt damn guilty..lol. We talked a lot. We got something to eat and drink. And time stood still. We were going on and on and before long it was almost 330am! She was on transit at 9am or thereabouts and needed sleep. And it was time to leave. We hugged and said our goodbyes.
Many months later she got engaged and married a chat friend of hers from USA, and they got married on a riverboat in Perth on Valentines Day.
But that night at KLIA was unforgetable. She was worth the travel and 2 hour wait at KLIA. Oh yes, my mrs too enjoyed her company and found her to be a very nice person.
She was funny and direct. Very outspoken and wasnt the shy type. We had lots of interesting chats. She was a traffic warden in Perth. She drove a 4000 or 5000 cc vehicle that they called a car. Thunderbird? Something... i cant remember :)) She loved her job and she had lots of free time. One fine day she said she was flying into KL and asked if it was possible to meet up!!!! YES! Perfect idea!
After an hour of waiting, it was beginning to be very uncomfortable. The coldness in the arrival hall was a killer. So much for intelligent building systems. They cant even adjust the airconditioning temp. to comfy levels. Finally the plane landed. Touchdown. And the second phase of waiting begun. The usual waiting for luggage being delivered and their respective owners praying their luggages dont get misdirected or pilfered. At the last minute, i realised i forgot to buy something for her. And ran to the souvenier shops. None open except the choc shops! Naturally went for a big box of ferrero rocher. If she didnt like it, i could eat it. Or we could share :D
Stood there waiting at the arrival hall. And there she came, walking, with a beaming smile on her lovely face. I wasnt prepared for the overwhelming moment. Had seen her photo earlier but it was of poor resolution and taken from afar. Here was a lady in her late 20s, standing around 5'10", slim and probably weighing around 55-60kg, blue eyes and ahem... well endowed. C cup was my silent guess. We hugged and exchanged pleasantries. She was a really sweet lady. She needed to check in at the airport hotel. We walked over and brought the luggage to her room. Gave her the chocolates and she was pleased. And she insisted on unpacking.
She brought a small koala bear stuffed toy, a table cloth with the australia map and a mouse pad! And in return i only gave chocs. Felt damn guilty..lol. We talked a lot. We got something to eat and drink. And time stood still. We were going on and on and before long it was almost 330am! She was on transit at 9am or thereabouts and needed sleep. And it was time to leave. We hugged and said our goodbyes.
Many months later she got engaged and married a chat friend of hers from USA, and they got married on a riverboat in Perth on Valentines Day.
But that night at KLIA was unforgetable. She was worth the travel and 2 hour wait at KLIA. Oh yes, my mrs too enjoyed her company and found her to be a very nice person.
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