The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Posted: 09 Jan 2013 07:32 PM PST JAN 10 — Anyone can become angry. That is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose and in the right way... that is not easy. — Aristotle. As the New Year resolution time frame is "officially" over, it's time to air out some pet peeves for 2013, with the hope that it will have therapeutic impact if not for anyone else, then for myself. Self help is often cheaper than professional help, but if you pay peanuts, you wind up getting monkey advice! Let's talk about the LinkedIn agenda Firstly, I wonder about the whole LinkedIn agenda. While I, and like many of you, are very appreciative of unsolicited endorsements from people not known on first name basis, it's however a bit disconcerting as I have never worked or met many of these people! With so many endorsements, one wonders, if it carries any weight? Furthermore, are these good people expecting me or you to endorse them? I hope not, as an "open letter of recommendation" could dilute the reputation of both the endorser and the subject! Secondly, at one level, all of us are generally interested in new career opportunities, and we try to reach out to or help those we have worked with over the years. The challenge is when you get unsolicited requests for job opportunities from people we never met. One is sympathetic to their plight, especially if the person has faced personal tragedies included (as that could have been you). But the reality is we are not an employment agency. But like the Lottery tagline in NY, "gotta be in it to win it". Thirdly, people who use LinkedIn as Twitter. Some of these people post things like their 5km runs and attending a wedding. Not sure if people really care! LinkedIn is about professional connections, opportunities, insightful articles, wonderful quotes, etc, and there are other forums for weddings, personal training or (non-rat) races. [BTW, one of the challenges I have with Twitter is that I do not want people to know every detail about me, my doings and often times one has to apologise with a follow-up tweet because of, say, heat-of-moment comment (well, the damage has been done!). Social media has pushed the privacy attribute to a bare minimum, but some people may prefer that route.] What are we commenting on Some of us write bylined pieces, regularly or occasionally, and hope or expect constructive or insightful feedback comments, as the collective intelligence of the market place is greater than any one of us individually. The frustration typically rears its head when (1) there are no comments (but, everybody has an opinion) or (2) personal attacks that have nothing to do with the written piece. The lack of comments is more prevalent in Islamic finance articles, yet, at, say, conferences, we have mini-presentations from the audience members challenging a panel member or the panel session theme during the Q&A! In fairness, Islamic finance is technical, laden with Arabic lingo, requires a glossary during the read, or people can't be bothered with the effort to reply, as finding a pen or not having spell check on PC are the usual show stoppers! Leaders seeking medical treatment A country's leaders often tout the benefits the government provides for the people, from education, infrastructure, healthcare, subsidies, etc. Yet, we often read about the leader and/or minister receiving treatment at, say, Mayo Clinic in the US or world-class hospitals in western capitals in Europe. Yes, we want out leaders to be free of sickness and disease as consequences of being leaderless for a short period of time is (welcomed?) chaos! But, what message does it send about local healthcare quality and care of the citizens when leaders and the privileged (repeatedly) go overseas for surgery and treatment? Internet use in hotels There are tight-wad hotels that charge for the Internet! Why don't they charge for actual usage with a clock/timer instead of charging by the day? Thus, pay per use (PPU) would make more sense, as most humans don't use the Internet when not in the room or sleeping, and, more importantly, it would build goodwill (for repeat business) and word-of-mouth endorsement (more effective than a marketing budget), especially if they travel for family/personal reasons. Halal hotels and mini-bar I've stayed at shariah-compliant hotels, but unsure what that really means. But it has included a conservative dress code and greetings of "Asalaam Alaikum" by the staff, alcohol/pork not served, segregated times for males/females for the pool, toilet not facing Mecca, Quran and prayer mat (in the room), etc. This will be an interesting conversation for another day. I would like to see enlightened hotels help out the halal food industry that Islamic finance has missed. In the room's mini-fridge, I would like to see sampling of (certified) halal food, from (healthy) drinks to candy bars, crisps, etc, during the stay. The "regular" hotels can ask the guest, much like options for a smoking room or size of the beds, if they want to stay in a "test room" with a mini-fridge that has only halal-certified offerings. This would not cost hotel anything and is a great opportunity to test market products for companies and consumers, eventual clients. The only "payment" by the client would entail a written review of the consumed items. Mums of super heroes There is an urgent need to know where super heroes get their values! In movies, toy stores, comics, prizes (value meals), there are super-heroes characters with their stories, and the move works well for the sell-side stakeholders. It's a thriving global multi-billion dollar business, and some would say it's the wholesale export of US culture at the expense of developing local super heroes. [Unsure how popular The 99, Islamic super-heroes, has been received by the age appropriate children and commercials benefits of off-shoot collaterals.] It's well known that many of the super heroes are males, from Hulk to Iron-Man to Thor to Spiderman to Batman, and such figures are almost always influenced by their mothers. The lessons these super heroes represent must come from somewhere, and it's their mothers. So, it would be nice if the creative people in countries like Malaysia started thinking about "Mums of Super Heroes". Let's assume intellectual property issues do not become an issue for the story. I see kids connecting with their dad's "big toys" like fast cars, cool outfits, ATM-cum-Santa policies of toy purchases, but what about their mum's, who often have to be the bad guy and say "no"? I would ask the creators to include a script that includes answers to following questions: Who is the super hero's mum? How were they raised? Where do they send flowers and candy on Mother's Day or mother's birthday? Where did they get their powers from and when to use them, whilst keeping anger/revenge in check? Where do they go when they have problems? Conclusion To become a more tolerant person, one has to air out their pet peeves in a civilised manner with the hope readers show compassion and empathy. BTW, I will neither be biking nor hiking today, and will not be attending any marriages or divorces! * This is the personal opinion of the columnist. |
| Do your bit, be that silent assassin Posted: 09 Jan 2013 03:29 PM PST JAN 10 — With the pendulum swinging in Malaysian politics, more and more want to hedge their bets. They may not be able to tell apart an election manifesto from a teapot, but they do know it is not cool, or safe in some instances, to be the guy who supports the guy about to lose. So far, so obvious — as evidenced by the various allegiances shifting in the political landscape. Yet, there is the inconvenient structure of the country impeding many others from crossing the divide. Because in this tropical wonderland almost everything is tied to the federal government, translates to "you can't let go of BN until they lose, oh boy, oh no, conundrum". Therefore hundreds of thousands are beholden to the present government — financially, legally or for job security. They can't appear not supporting Barisan Nasional (BN), even if their conscience objects. Why am I so overtly concerned about this group — the teachers, policemen, undergraduates, civil servants, etc — shouldn't I be overjoyed enough with their votes for Pakatan Rakyat? Their votes would be enough, except there are nefarious forces set to circumvent the will of the people, and to fulfil those intentions they rely on among many this quiet dissenters' group. While this remains a feudal country, with the non-use of family names rather than patronyms hiding the vast wealth and power within a small group of people, the traditional lords are by definition too few to do their own dirty work. Which is why BN can plan and spend all it has — but in a low-tech, highly labour-intensive environment which is Malaysian political campaigning — it is the people in the machine who make it happen, or not happen. When they stall, the whole machine collapses. No matter how many janji (promises) they want to tepati (meet). Which is why Umno's claim that it got hurt by many party members refusing to vote for some of the selected candidates being a key reason for surprise defeats in Election 2008, has some truth in it. If some stayed home in 2008, we need those who do think BN should fall this time but do not think they can do anything more than vote, to rethink. There is so much more they can do. And here's the list. Feel free to add. Election officers Have you seen an Election Commission (EC) officer lately, in your neighbourhood? You probably have, though they do not put on jumpers adorned with the words "election officer" — and probably not badges, caps, wristbands or other paraphernalia. Still, every twice or thrice a decade non-EC staffers but civil servants — like teachers and district officers — manage the ballot casting and counting for a voting room. Five hundred-plus votes under the supervision of a group of four non-EC employees — they are pulled in to ensure fair polling for the day. And later, a senior civil servant at the parliamentary seat's election vote centre tallying the various voting rooms and announcing the overall win. Thousands of them across the nation, and all the rakyat ever see on the telly are the senior EC leaders. While Pakatan is training as many willing members of the public willing to serve pro-bono so that they can keep a set of eyes in the room, right beside their honourable BN polling agent who is on shift and on the payroll, it is the EC-deputised election officers who are in the vantage point to prevent vote aberrations. They just have to do their jobs, let genuine voters in, count their votes impartially, record them accordingly and tally rigorously all the voting rooms, and call the right decision. Without fear or favour. If the thousands of them do that because it is the right thing, that goes a long way to guaranteeing fair elections, and the probable Pakatan win. If doing your job right means Pakatan wins, that does not mean you are a Pakatan supporter, it just means you are a supporter of democracy and the Federation of Malaysia. Planes, trains and automobiles Here we go, a bunch of even ifs. On election day, if there are phantom voters set to travel from constituency to constituency voting repeatedly, they'd need logistics. As a friend noted, a designated phantom voter stuck on the roadside of a stretch on the North-South Expressway near Taiping is not a potential harm to our democratic process, he's just a guy out of luck. Which is why if there were to be cheating, those perpetrating the cheating have to collude with an array of people. Phantom voters are placid, like cattle, I am told. They, if they exist, stand and wait where they are told, walk into buses they are pointed to and carry identity cards passed to them. It takes managers, operators, contractors and party workers to move the resource where they need to be and when. Logistics will determine the success of any phantom voters, if such a group existed. If this fictional account was true, and I am not alleging it is, then it would be an operation requiring thousands to execute and in logistics the whole chain is only as strong as the weakest link. So people, those who are inadvertently dragged into this presumed fiasco, each of you can play a role. Bus drivers may not show up, organisers might organise badly and some may just ask those showing up to go home. Why not? It would be the easiest thing to do. Slowing down things is a Malaysian forte, time to put that to some use, for a good cause. Election workers The BN campaign offices are places of excess. Why a coalition with zero public fundraising has so much fat is moot with Malaysians, but with many of my countrymen foraging for a decent income then it is also disgusting. How do you blame financially-strapped people trying to get a few extra bucks by being BN election workers? Even if those they are working for are those who engineered the oppressive income distribution regiment handicapping them? Take the money, drink the teh tarik and eat the rendang, but don't feel too bad if your lack of conviction in the cause leads you to less than enthusiastic work. While I will resist accusing the money being the rakyat's to begin with, I won't hold back on the naughty remark that those disbursing the money from bags won't remember who they are paying, when they are paying. It is a gravy train with no end. It's a gravy train all year round, just that in campaign period the largesse is opened up to many more. Reminds me of my neighbour of 30 years who used to drag all his boys to the BN operation centre during elections. For the retired serviceman on a NCO pension, being paid per head for all his boys and the free T-shirts were like gifts from the stars. Everything you can do And even if you are not an election officer, phantom voter enabler or BN election worker, you are still worth more than your worth even if your silence is the price of living in Malaysia. This is a country that talks about being seen, a country of coffeeshop gossipers. So do that, keep that gossip up, tell those you are willing to tell that you have lost faith in the government of the day, that nothing will change things unless there is a shift of government. Tell others that though Pakatan has flaws, the monopoly that half a century of hopes but little delivery can very well end if people voted with their conscience. And if you dare take a further step, you can call, email and Facebook tag so many about how you feel, and don't be surprised by the number of election officers, phantom voter enablers and BN election workers who are in your friends' and friends of friends' list. You may not shout at the top of the highest building in your township, but you are worth more than your vote, time to pick up the phone then. * This is the personal opinion of the columnist. |
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