whistle blowing

please read the fine prints. one clause says you must be able to afford the legal fees and compensation if you are sued in court. a successful whistle blower is like an entrepreneur. one succeeded while a thousand went bankrupt along the way. but the reward is different. one gains nothing, one gains wealth. one gains contempt, one gains recognition.

malaysia is a beautiful country.

the johore tourist authorities are in singapore to charm singaporeans to visit johore. it is a pity that they have to go to such an extent. johore has so much charm and natural attractions that singaporeans love. it is a natural getaway for singaporeans. under normal circumstances, all johore needs is to open its door and say welcome and singaporeans will flock there everyday. there is no need to drum up campaigns and promotions to draw singaporeans. just put the house in order. make the streets safe. curb all the crimes. criminals have targetting at singaporeans as easy meat, guests in a foreign land, alone, clueless and helpless when in trouble, and no one to turn to. there have been many cases of blatant extortions and robberies. even stopping singaporeans on the road and demanding for their keys and drove away their cars in broad daylight, in front of everyone. such incidents have frightened many singaporeans away. as long as singaporeans are fearful of the risk they are exposed to, all the money and effort spent to lure singaporeans to johore and malaysia will be a waste. just do the basics, law and order.

immersion, the nature of things

the new myth, immersion is the way to go. with immersion, the wolves will understand the sheep better and vice versa. get them together, and they will live happily ever after. god has created these creatures called wolves and sheep. and i don't think it was his intention for them to live happily together. each is specialised in his role. each has his own destiny. if humans were to put 100 wolves in a herd of sheep, very likely a few hundred sheep will be eaten or torn to pieces. that is the nature of things. perhaps one sissified wolf may become sheepish and pretend that it can live with the sheep and eat grass. 'when the lions eat grass and live peacefully with the sheep.' this only happens in heaven. not on earth. but humans are not wolf or sheep. that is true. human is all animals. a human can be a wolf and also a sheep. or a hyenas or a cow. the human spirit is very adaptable. it can be anything. but each has his own destiny. each is meant for different things and shall walk his own path. not necessary that they shall meet in person. they can meet in other areas, in thoughts, in policy decisions, in statistics. when the wolves become sheep or sheep become wolves, the whole eco system will falter and be destroyed. the way, nature's way is the way. everything will go in cycles.

malaysia must learn from singapore

malaysia has a lot of land and landed properties. and the rich have invested their savings in many properties. there is a huge temptation to jack up the prices of properties so that they can reap a huge profit from their investments, like in singapore, where a flat can cost half a million to several millions. even govt built flats can reach more than half a million on a 99 year lease. malaysia must curb this desire to push up the price of housing and ended up with high housing cost. once done it cannot be unwind without very nasty consequences. by keeping housing cheap, car cheap, and essential services cheap, it can keep the cost of living low. this will mean that it does not need to raise the cost of its labour and can remain compeititive in the international labour market. with a lower cost of living, there will also be lesser pressure on the people to demand for bigger pay packet. unlike in singapore, without a big pay packet there are just not enough to lead a decent lifestyle. but keeping a high pay packet, which is very necessary given the high cost of everything, it becomes uncompetitive. when the time comes for downgrading, many will suffer. malaysia must learn and not to repeat such a mistake at a national scale. it is very nice to hear of owning a multi million property. but it is a vicious circle and more is needed to keep up with that kind of price. at the end of it, it will price itself out of the market. the material worth of a person is not the dollars that he earns but how much can the dollar buys.

nkf, testing the institutions

nkf is no longer a singular isolated case of mismanagement, corruption, exploitation, deceit, and abuse of power. it is now seen as a test case against all the institutions that we have been led to believe, all the cornerstones of our clean and efficient country. it brought into question our world renowned systems of management, corporate governance, how we are able to tackle corruption, how power corrupts, how easily the people are deceived, and even how our justice system could end up serving injustice at the expense of the poor who have no money to buy their own justice. we are now a nation under scrutiny on what we believe are good, effective and superior to the rest of the world. everything is now under the microscope. will we be able to weather and survive this crisis and prove that our systems and beliefs really work. or they are all myths or poor and groundless assumptions that cannot stand the test of time. what have gone wrong? why were past truths no longer truths?