The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

Posted: 12 Dec 2011 04:13 PM PST

DEC 13 — Last week on the wards, one of my elderly patients told me I was "far too young" to be talking to unwell people all day. The youngest medical students in the hospital over here are third-year medical students, who, on average, are between 20-21 years old.

Can we wade through this whirlpool of emotions and emerge intact regardless? Yes, we can. In fact, many of us are not conventional 21 year olds anymore. We have seen and heard people's life stories. We have to deal with ill and dying patients. We have seen how bad things can get. And we have also seen how a bit of hope can make even the worst illness become a tiny bit more livable. We see strength and resilience amid disaster on a daily basis.

In my recent articles I have always endeavoured to err on the side of optimism when discussing our homeland, which I have a great attachment to. And that gets me a lot of negative comments saying that I am naïve, and informing me that I need to grow up. But who needs to grow up here — me, who believes that it is possible to improve our country by putting aside what is personal and petty, and focus instead on working together to smooth out the kinks; or these people, who prefer to sit at the side to criticise and hold grudges against those who are working towards the outcome of making people believe that things can get better?

I may be young and hopeful, but that doesn't make me wrong.

Even the patients who are on their deathbeds can find some hope somewhere. Who are we to just give up and say that it's all over before we even started trying to do something about it?

Malaysia isn't a bad country at all. We've got amazing people, cultures, traditions, food, geography and lots of other things that everyone outside can respect. In every mamak stall you will find at least two people sitting there complaining about the state of things, not realising that we could be going through so much worse.

When did we forget to be grateful for what we have? Really, the only thing holding us back from progress is our own stubborn determination to wallow in our issues, complain and feel sorry for ourselves without even thinking about what can be done.

There are so many opportunities in Malaysia. So many hitherto unexplored areas. A huge untested market to tap into and make great things happen. A lot of potential to provide services and a lot of people keen to use them. If I wanted to learn the cello in Malaysia, there are only a handful of people who are teaching it, and precious few shops stocking even one cello, giving you a limited variety. You would also worry that after you spend the thousands of ringgit buying it, nobody is going to know how to repair it if something happens to it.

Here in Bristol, a city in the UK about the size of Malacca city, there are at least 30 cello teachers and at least four stores which sell them in the city centre itself. Kids in school here play in orchestras and do amazing things because they love to, while a lot of our kids spend all their time trying to pass PMR and SPM, jumping through the hoops to fulfil their co-curricular requirements for their CVs in the future. There is talent and passion swimming around the population of our country. We just haven't had the chance to unlock this resource yet.

So in conclusion, this article just aims to make the point that to be hopeful is not to be stupid, because Malaysia is on the way to achieving great things. Let the discussion in the comments below move away from pointing fingers and lamenting, and change instead to include interesting and intelligent discussions about what we can do to improve ourselves from this moment forward.

* Angeline Lee is a medical undergraduate at the University of Bristol.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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Chelsea’s old and new shatter City

Posted: 12 Dec 2011 04:04 PM PST

DEC 13 — One game doesn't make a season — especially in mid-December, with more than half the campaign still to be contested — but Manchester City had the opportunity to take a huge step towards the Premier League title when they faced Chelsea in the pouring rain at Stamford Bridge last night.

But they couldn't take it as Chelsea bounced back from a goal down to hand the league leaders their first defeat of the season, and there was no little irony in the fact a significant factor in the defeat for Roberto Mancini's expensively assembled squad was their former striker Daniel Sturridge — a City youth team product who they had reared for nothing and then allowed to leave.

So, what kind of encounter would we see? In the last couple of years, this would have been exactly the kind of game for Mancini to show his conservative streak, bolster his midfield and play for a nil-nil draw.

And in the past few seasons, this would have been exactly the kind of game for Chelsea to grind down their opponents and claim three points with a performance of relentless intensity.

Would it be more of the same this time? Or would City's burgeoning attacking verve and Chelsea's growing uncertainty produce a different kind of fixture?

We didn't have to wait long for the initial answer. Ninety-six seconds, to be precise, had elapsed when Sergio Aguero slipped away from John Terry near the halfway line and threaded a perfectly timed pass into the path of Mario Balotelli, who escaped Branislav Ivanovic, rounded Petr Cech and calmly slotted into the net. Easy as you like.

A sensational start for City, and they were soon threatening to double their advantage as Aguero surprisingly fired narrowly wide when well placed and David Silva had a strong penalty appeal turned down after a dazzling series of one-touch passes around the edge of their opponent's penalty area.

The new order, it seemed, was well and truly in place. Chelsea had barely threatened throughout the opening half hour and an almost tangible level of discontent was starting to creep into the Stamford Bridge faithful as pass after pass went astray from the home team. City, in stark contrast, looked composed, cultured and entirely in control.

But then, with no prior warning, the old Chelsea resurfaced — albeit with new faces. Former City youth product Sturridge — who has been Chelsea's shining light so far this season — showed his searing pace to break down the right wing and deliver a pinpoint cross into the path of Raul Meireles, the recent arrival from Liverpool, who perfectly timed his run into the box to escape Yaya Toure and sweep home the equaliser.

The remainder of the first half became a cat-and-mouse affair as City dominated possession but only in harmless areas, with Chelsea dropping deep and appearing happy to let the visitors try to play through them. Both teams, it seemed, were prepared to reach the interval with the stalemate intact.

The opening stages of the second half were well contested and even as defences dominated, before a significant twist shortly before the hour mark: Ramires was upended in full flight by a badly-timed challenge from Gael Clichy and, with the City left back already booked for a challenge on Sturridge, referee Mark Clattenburg had no option but to produce the red card.

Exit one former Arsenal defender, enter another: Mancini reacted by reorganising his defence with the introduction of Kolo Toure at the expense of Aguero, shifting Joleon Lescott to the vacated left back slot and leaving Balotelli up front on his own in a 4-4-1 formation. Now, it seemed, City had little option but to play for the draw as Chelsea pushed hard for the winner — it was like 2010 all over again.

The stage was set for old Chelsea to come to the aid of new Chelsea — with 17 minutes remaining Frank Lampard, regularly omitted from the starting line-up by Andre Villas-Boas this season, was introduced from the substitutes' bench for goalscorer Meireles, who had been dicing with danger after being shown a yellow card in the first half. Surely there was only one script to follow as Lampard entered the fray?

Mancini shuffled again, as well, allowing his old-school Italian defensive mindset to take over as he replaced the creative David Silva with the destructive Nigel De Jong. There seemed little doubt: the game was going to finish either as a 1-1 draw or a 2-1 Chelsea win.

Inside the final 10 minutes, the golden opportunity came Chelsea's way. Lampard slid a pass to Sturridge on the edge of the area, and the striker's firm left-footed shot was blocked by Lescott's outstretched arm. It was a clear penalty, and up stepped — who else? — Lampard to thrash the spot-kick straight down the middle and past Joe Hart's despairing dive.

City couldn't find a way back, and so Villas-Boas had conjured up a recipe of something old — Lampard — and something new — Sturridge and Meireles — to cook up a much-needed win and keep his team believing that they are still in the title race.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Selasa, 13 Disember 2011

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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