My friend Nicolaus Teoh emailed me the above today and I posted it on my facebook page to share it with my friends. It was such a hit with them that I think I want to blog it here.

Such wisdom from a man so long ago!!! No wonder USA has progress so much and is still such a great nation despite having their own set of problems; but mind you though they have problems they also have great men of great leadership and wisdoms. God bless them and may God have mercies on us.

Indifferent Attitude of Kulim Water Department Staff

This afternoon, after my lunch, I went out to run some errant. On my way out (going down hill) I saw water gushing out from the ground at the junction of Jalan Cengal 9. It was obvious that an underground water pipe has been broken. I decided to be a good citizen and report to the authorities. I have to call three different numbers to finally get connected to the correct place but there was no one in the office to pick up my call. Then I realised that it is lunch time so I waited untill after 2.30pm to call again. This time a lady picked up the phone and I promptly made to the report. She coolly answered that she will send the repair team tomorrow. Tomorrow???? Why tomorrow? Why not immediately? Thinking that she might not know the seriousness of the leak, I told her it is a bad leak. Water is gushing out from the ground and the whole road that goes downhill up to the traffic light (about 350M away) is very wet. She just replied casually that she knows about it because someone had earlier reported it and a man has been sent to assess the damage. Then she continues to say that "semua kontraktor kami sibuk sekarang" (all our contractors are busy now). Oh, what depolarable attitude is this. Here we have thousands of litres of precious water being unneccessarily wasted, and there we have one civil servant who could not give a damm about it.

Just think about the amount of water that will be wasted from this morning until tomorrow when the repair team turns up (if ever they turn up). This is clean, consumable water, not raw water from a nearby river. This also means $$$$ being wasted!!

I think if only all our people in charge of water departments can buck up and do their job properly then there is no need to ask the consumer to save water and there is no need to spend billions of ringgit to build more dams and spend more millions of ringgit to process the raw water into consumable commodity only to throw away at least 25% of it, if not more.

In remembrance of a true Malaysian Hero

Teoh Beng Hock, I salute you as you journey to your final resting place this morning. I may not know you personally but it does not matter. Your sacrifices will not be wasted. Your untimely and cruel death will not be in vain. You paid with your life for your ideals and a better life for all Malaysians and their children and their children's children.

I am too far away to attend your funeral but my heart goes out to your family and all your loved ones. This morning as your family members and friends mourn your departure in Alor Gajah, I mourn at home in Kulim. Thousands, probably millions of Malaysian are doing the same quietly in their own homes. Though I may not know you personally, I shall remember your total sacrifice for a better Malaysia. I have to say again, your untimely death will not be in vain.

I shall pray for your grieving parents, siblings and your wife and not forgetting your unborn child. My heart is with them now as they mourn their loss. When I think of you, I can't help but felt sad and angry. Angry at the cruelty they meted out to you. The way they toutured you mentally is inhumane. Are these people human at all? Don't they have any humanity left in them at all? I have to admit at times I felt hopelessness swept over me due to the state of affairs in the country. But I must not give up. In giving up I have already admit defeat. By admitting defeat, your cruel death will be in vain. I must remember your death must not be in vain and it shall not be so!! Those whom you left behind will ensure that justice be administered and the whole truth be made known!


Once again, Teoh Beng Hock, Farewell........Farewell. May your soul rest in peace!!!!!

You are a true Malaysian Hero.

State of Indecency among our National Leaders

The past week has been a very disturbing week not only for me but, I truly believe, all true peace loving Malaysians. Life seems to be so cheap in our society now. Every now and then we are bombarded with news about custodial death... death of ordinary helpless innocent Malaysiam in the custody of Malaysian Institutions created for the purpose of defending and protecting the civil liberties and human rights of all Malaysians. If death can happen in their custody what hope is there for all ordinary Malaysians? These institutions are suppose to protect the safety of all citizens of this beloved country but what has happened in the past has shown otherwise. They seemed to be only interested in protecting the rights and interests of a few rich a powerful individuals and the ruling party.



What is more tragic is that those in power who are in a position to correct the wrongs are turning a blind eye or shall I add a deaf ear also to all these abuses. Those who stand to lose the most when the truth is exposed begin to spin stories to support these abusive institutions. In the most recent case of custodial death two pro UMNO dailies, namely, Berita Harian and Mingguan Malaysia even declared that the widespread outpouring of anger and griefs over Teoh's death under suspicious circumtances and the subsequent demands for justice is actually an attempt to weaken the Malay controlled institutions. I am really confused at this point. Attempts to weaken the Malay controlled institutions? How did the race issue creep in? Which institution is Malay controlled we are talking about? Is MACC suppose to be Malay controlled? I thought it is a Malaysian intitution. So, suppose it is Malay controlled insitution and the death of a Malaysian Chinese is perfectly alright?. It should be swept under the carpet and all should remain quiet about it. Is that right? Where is the value of human lives. Does it matter what race the deceased belongs to? Do they view Malay lives more valuable than other races? Why are they defending MACC and turning the issue into a racial issue instead of demanding for justice and truth for Teoh's family? Those who demanded justice never talk about race and yet these pro UMNO dailies turned it into a racial issue.

Forgiveness

It is already one week after I came back from my church family camp in Taiping Golf Resorts and I am still thinking about the messages Rev Clement Wong gave during the camp. Rev Clement was an invited speaker at the camp. The theme of the camp was 'Being Faithfull to God" After three sessions on the theme he felt that a change of topic is appropriate as he sensed the group needed it. Hence, on the fourth sessions he dealt on the concept of forgiveness. I couldn't agree with him more. In fact it is such a blessing to have this dealt with at the camp.

I reproduce below the six concepts of forgiveness that he shared.

1. To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.

2. To forgive sets you free from the past to live for the future.

3. To forgive is an act of the will not emotion.

4. To forgive does not mean to justify the offender.

5. To forgive is choosing to live in the light.

6. To forgive releases a person to change.

I am personally blessed by this message and I am sure many of my church members benefitted too as many of them shared with me how they were ministered at the camp.

Can-nosed bovine

Way before the political crisis in Perak unfolded, I read an artical written by Max Lucado titled "Hard Hearted". As the political situation deteriorate further with all its high dramas, I can't help but keep thinking of the article; particularly about the part on the can-nosed cow. I reproduced below the whole article:


Hard Hearted by Max Lucado

“Hardhearted people are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him, They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.” (Eph. 4:17-19)

A hard heart ruins, no only your life, but the lives of your family members. As an example, Jesus identified the hard heart as the wrecking ball of a marriage. When asked about divorce, Jesus said, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because our hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.” (Matt. 19:8) When one or both people in a marriage stop trusting God to save it, they sign its death certificate. They reject the very one who can help them.

My executive assistant, Karen Hill, saw the result of such stubbornness in a pasture. A cow stuck her nose into a paint can and couldn’t shake it off. Can-nosed cows can’t breathe very well, and they can’t drink or eat at all. Both the cow and her calf were in danger. A serious bovine bind.

Karen’s family set out to help. But when the cow saw the rescuers coming, she set out for pasture. They pursued, but the cow escaped. They chased that cow for three days! Each time the posse drew near, the cow ran. Finally, using pickup trucks and ropes, they cornered and de-canned the cow.

Seen any can-nosed people lately? Malnourished souls? Dehydrated hearts? People who can’t take a deep breath? All because they stuck their noses where they shouldn’t, and when God came to help, they ran away.

When billions of us imitate the cow, chaos erupts. Nations of bull-headed people ducking God and bumping into each other. We scamper, starve, and struggle.
Can-nosed craziness. Isn’t this the world we see? This is the world God sees.
Yet, this is the world God loves. For God so loved the world: This hard-hearted, stiff-necked world. We stick our noses where we shouldn’t; still, he pursues us. We run from the very one who can help, but he doesn’t give up. He loves. He pursues. He persists. And, every so often, a heart starts to soften.
Let yours be one of them.

When my daughters were small, they liked to play with Play Doh. They formed figures out of the soft clay. If they forgot to place the lid on the can, the substance hardened. When it did, they brought it to me. My hands were bigger. My fingers stronger. I could mold the stony stuff into putty.

Is your heart hard? Take it to your Father. You’re only a prayer away from tenderness. You live in a hard world, but you don’t have to live with a hard heart.

I think the politicians in Perak is really like the cow that stuck her nose into the empty paint can. They keep on running away when an opportunity came by for them to settle the political impasse. If Najib is smart and far sighted enough, he should dissolve the state assembly and call for fresh mandate from the people in Perak. He may be a skillful politician and finally wriggle his way out of the crisis while still holding on to power in Perak but the people in Perak may not be so forgiving come next election time. In this age of internet, peoples memory are prolonged much longer than before. Just a few clicks on the keyboard will refresh the memories. The patience of the rakyat is really running shorter by the day.

All I can say is that, if the can-nosed Najib and his goons in Perak refused to decan their noses, then they will certainly be starved to death politically.


ALL THE BEST TO ALL OUR CAN-NOSED POLITICIANS!!!!

WIFI on public buses in Penang?

I came across this piece of news in The Star (online) this afternoon and makes me ponder for awhile.




Published: Wednesday May 13, 2009 MYT 1:56:00 PM


Free WiFi on Rapid Penang buses

GEORGE TOWN: Rapid Penang Sdn Bhd will be providing free WiFi access to its passengers, the first bus company in the country to do so, beginning with a three-month trial on two buses.

Its chief executive officer Azhar Ahmad said the company was installing the facility in two buses: The first plies the route between Balik Pulau and the Bayan Lepas International Airport, and the second on the Teluk Bahang-Batu Feringgi-Weld Key route.

He said use of the WiFi facility would be free and that the buses would have special stickers for easy identification by passengers.

“After three months, if response from passengers is good, we’ll have the facility installed in stages in all of our 180 buses, and also the additional 200 buses which will be delivered to us by the end of the year,” he told a press conference here Wednesday.

Azhar said the facility was provided to enable passengers to surf the Internet in the bus before arriving at their destinations. -- Bernama

Wifi on the buses is great but I think the basics must be there before other facilities, no matter how beneficial, can be fully enjoyed by the commuters. Just take a good look at our public transport system in Penang. Can anyone say that it is reliable? The buses often do not keep to schedule. They are all the time overcrowded especially at peak hours. The frequency of trips is not good enough for the public to find it convenient and beneficial to use. Most of the buses are just not clean enough for comfort. And the attitude of the bus drivers?....a lot of room for improvement.

Oh, come on, En Azhar, improve the basic facilities first before going into things like WIFI on the buses. I think the commuter will be very much more appreciative if the basics are improved rather that providing something that cannot be enjoyed. Do you seriously think the commuters will really make use of the WIFI facilities? Maybe some will if the ride is more reliable and comfortable. But for now, lets improve the basics first.