What I shouldn't have said

  We are inevitably bound to say something that we may not be proud of, or even disagree with, as time passes by. Having penned down my thoughts in this blog for over a year now, I would like to humbly apologise for having said the following (for various reasons):

1. Perhaps the most regretful thing I did in this blog was to degrade illegal immigrants by comparing them to household pests, in 'Do Biometrics Help in Pest Control'. Although I did mention my apologies for employing this analogy in that post, I realise now that I shouldn't have used it anyway. In fact, I have come to realise that, the more we treat people like pests, the more likely they'll behave like those creatures. Consider that post nullified.

2. I'm not proud of my defensive tone either. I once had a heated discussion with one commenter in my post 'Turkey has higher infant mortality rate than Gaza'. As you may have noticed, I typed my comments using CAPITAL letters unnecessarily. There are many instances in which I harshly criticized certain individuals, ideologies, or even books! I hope my arguments against these parties have been taken into consideration by my readers. If these arguments were not credible, or if they were flawed, I can only hope for someone to correct me, or to support my arguments with more substantial points. 

  There are many other things I did wrong in this blog, so let me end this note of regret with a reminder to all my readers, inspired by a quotation from a seafood restaurant back home - as they advise their customers about their cooking, 'Kalau sedap beritahu kawan, kalau tak sedap beritahu kami'. So let me remind you that: If you enjoy reading my blog, tell your friends about it. If you find any mistake, tell me about it.

Me & The Moon

Where Did We (Malay People) Come From?

Who are these people? Malaysians? Indonesians? Nope. They're all Taiwanese. The guy in the middle is obviously Chinese, whereas the two girls beside him are 'Aborigines' - according to the uploader. Don't you think that the girls look very much like us Malays?

If you're not convinced that the girls above are Taiwanese (aborigines), then take a look at the next photo. 

The caption for this photo in its original website reads: Aboriginal school boys in Taiwan proudly show their gift of sponsored storybooks. 

So have our Malay ancestors migrated to Taiwan, or have they (and consequently we) once migrated from Taiwan? The answers to that question, and the question - why Taiwan instead of another place? - are not what I'd like to share right now. Neither do I want to answer the question posted in my title: where did the Malay people come from?

That's because I'm no anthropologist or historian - maybe an armchair speculator at best. My point is that it's more important to ask the right questions, than to have all the right answers.

Before I end let me leave you with a map showing the migration of the Austronesians around 5000 years ago.

Limit to Your Love

Arts vs Anaesthetic - Divergent vs Convergent Thinking

I'm Not Gonna Teach

The Height of Erudition

This chap - Niall Ferguson - is writing a new history syllabus for British schools. I wonder, who writes them for Malaysian schools? (Especially with much emphasis on "sejarah" lately, that it is now a must past subject for SPM!)

Yesterday..

Checkmate, Atheists!

Haitian Protesters - Don't Bite The Hand That Feeds You

You must have heard about the cholera outbreak that has struck Haiti recently. Some parties apparently claim that the UN peacekeepers are responsible for this outbreak - and took this cause to the streets. I can't even imagine what to respond to such things.

  There is no doubt, that by mere accident, the Nepalese peacekeepers that the UN has brought in to aid reconstruct Haiti might have carried the disease and spread it to many Haitians, resulting in the unfortunate deaths of at least a thousand of them.

  However, the fact that the UN is struggling enough to fight this epidemic (still appealing for millions of dollars of donation) might have been grossly overlooked by the angry mob.

  I admit that as I sit comfortably typing these words out to criticize the Haitian protesters, I cannot possibly understand their plight. That said, I hope the efforts to alleviate the matter and prevent more tragic loss of lives to be successful, very soon.

A Confused Harry Potter

Yes. I just saw the latest Harry Potter movie - the penultimate chapter to the enchanting fictional series of the world of wizardry. I quite like it, actually. Although, now that I've seen it, I can't wait for the final movie to come out next year. (Well done, Mr Director!). Well, here's a funny sketch on BBC about a mix up of the three of the most successful lot of fantasy film series ever!)

Wikipedia Should Allow Ads Already

First, the appeal from its founder Jimmy Wales:

...No ads. No profits. No agenda.

A decade after its founding, more than 380 million people use Wikipedia and its sister sites every month - almost a third of the Internet-connected world.

It is the 5th most popular website in the world. The other four have been built and maintained with billions of dollars in investment, huge corporate staffs and relentless marketing... [emphasis mine]

  If we want to build a company which aims at 'no profits', and yet needs money in order to maintain it, of course we must turn to donations and other kinds of support. Let's ask ourselves then, from where comes all the donated money? Yes, capitalism.

  So why must Wikipedia be afraid of putting ads on their website? Afraid of other websites offering 'free encyclopedia' with no ads? Isn't competition a good thing?  

  So suck up that 'no ads' ego, and do what Youtube does, introduce ads to have a certain return in profits. Yes, most Youtube users moan about those ads, but until they have better alternatives, people are still using it anyway. Remember, in capitalism, it's not just the big corporations who are seeking profits, the consumers are too, with their power to choose (the best bargain of a certain product)!

  Wikipedia can then use the profits they make from allowing ads to invest on better products for the benefit of everyone, being a charitable organization as they are. And hey Jimmy, without the 'billions of dollars in investment, huge corporate staff and relentless marketing', I don't think we'll ever get free access to Maps, Email, News or even those Search results linking back to Wikipedia! Maybe I'm wrong.

But the fact that we can now and then see Mr Wales's face at the top of Wikipedia pages - pleading for donation - renders the "no ads" title meaningless, as self-ads are still ads! (The title of this post must now be: Wikipedia should allow ads from other companies) 

Michael Moore vs Capitalism, Really?

Unit Khas Utusan buta statistik!

We should not be surprised when a newspaper article makes a judgemental error, especially when it overstates a statistical finding. The headline was this: Orang muda buta sejarah! (Young people are ignorant of history!). And yet when I actually read what it was about, I find this distressing remark not to be taken too seriously. Yes, they have found that few people are ignorant of our first Prime Minister, or the exact date of Merdeka. So why shouldn't we take their conclusions too seriously?

  First, out of 28 million people who call themselves Malaysians, only 200 were chosen to be sampled, or at least presented in this frontpage news report - that's 0.00071429% of the represented population. Well of course it's impossible to involve everyone - and that's what sampling is for - but at least have the humility to acknowledge the limits to their findings.

  Instead, the Utusan 'researchers' have concluded that 'Young people today are ignorant of history; are not interested to remember the past; have no interest in general knowledge; are too forward looking!'

  It is always very tempting to conclude that everyone in the room is a baby, when only as far as we have observed, everytime someone comes out of the room, it's a baby. Of course, Utusan has found that some Malaysians are ignorant of their own history - that's not surprising at all. However, what they have not found - hence, should not have concluded from their findings - is that such result from a non-randomized tiny sample population can be generalized to all Malaysians.

  I know, our Minister of Education has recently announced that History is a must-pass subject in SPM. It doesn't follow that we must denigrate Malaysian youth today - which include, yours truly - just because a few jokers have forgotten, or are naturally ignorant of their own history.

The Mind Of A Bigot

“ ... is like the pupil of the eye; the more light you pour upon it, the more it will contract.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes



I Was Standing Here...

Let's All Be Rational & Moderate

It is probably unwise to discuss politics with strangers, people say. I cannot agree more. Last week when I was enjoying the taste of Malaysian food at Trafalgar Square in London, I overheard a conversation about our local politics right behind me. I reacted by loudly telling my friend, "Why would anybody talk about politics at this time and place?". It was Malaysia Night, and instead of celebrating our country and its culture  - in fact Mat Sallehs performed silat that day - these jokers behind me were debating about our present government.

Why are we divided by our political views? Well if you can't even decide what to do over the weekends - that you have to consider each possible plan and run it thru your head - imagine how, in a much larger context, the society, has to decide on its direction. It must be no surprise then that not everyone in the society can agree with a particular decision.

If we acknowledge this, then we start to realize that all those political conflicts, conspiracies, and controversies are nothing but a waste of everyone's time. Let me tell you why I think so.

Say I can't decide whether to spend this evening writing this post, or hang out with my friends at the Toga Party. They're both equally fun (let's suppose!). Isn't it pretty useless if I moan about choosing only one of them in the end - i.e. to write this post? That's because (a) whether I like it or not, a decision has been made; and (b) if I did make a bad decision, it's better for me to move on and learn from this episode - than to regret and get depressed by it.

It's pointless for you to point out to me all the alleged corruption cases by the government - or simply summarize them for me by accusing this government or that government as being corrupt. I'm not a judge, although my name suggests that, so please bring the evidence (if you have any) to the Anti-Corruption Agency perhaps. Otherwise just shut up and let me enjoy my dinner that reminds me of home!

My Daddy's Got A Gun, You Better Run

Goodbye, Malaysia

The Height of Candour & Cynicism (and Humour too!)

I have found perhaps one of the most interesting channels in Youtube - jpmetz. That's because there's never been any video blogger so full of candour & cynicism (and also amusing) so far! I mean, who'd review, mock and insult acclaimed children's books (along with vegans, thin people, etc.)? Lucky for us, we have JPMETZ!





[Thin people may be offended, but please watch this next video (-: ]

We Must Try Harder

On the first week of July, Tun posted an entry on Che Det, urging Malaysians to support local inventors and innovators by investing more capital and confidence into these local projects - as neatly summarized in his last paragraph:

The Government, the civil servants, the business community need to change their mindsets if Malaysia is serious about research and development.

According to him, most of us make up excuses not to invest into our local inventors and innovators, and feeling frustrated, some of these local inventors came to see him to demonstrate their products.

As I have said in my reply to that post, we must first understand that inventions and innovations get turned down everyday all around the world. That means, we in Malaysia are not unique in the response of our society to new products of invention. Below is a video about Google Wave (an ambitious project by Google to replace the traditional email system):

You can see how promising this new technology, Google Wave really is. And I wonder, why are we still not using it by now? (Note: I was very optimistic about Google Wave, and I'm quite disappointed that it is still not in practical use) This is only one of the many examples of failed inventions in the West.

Did you know that the British Royal Navy in mid-nineteenth century was once appalled by the advent of steam and also ignored the invention of the telegraph? Of course, it turned out that these two technologies, along with several others were the fuel of their rise to power.

So instead of blaming our mindsets for the failure of our local invention and innovation, we must encourage our inventors and innovators to never lose faith and try harder to develop their products and market them. They must have a strong heart in order to succeed, in a spirit of determination popularized by Thomas Edison when he said:

I have not failed. I've just found 10000 ways that won't work

Of course, it is much easier for me to quote somebody than to actually do all the research work and develop new technology. But I strongly believe that we can go further than just repeating cliches about Malaysians denigrating all things Malaysian. This is a myth, I think.

Above all, we are no different from the people in America, Britain, Germany, Japan, China, Korea, Singapore, Africa, and everywhere else around the world. If something is good, practical and useful, it doesn't matter if it's American, British, German, Japanese, Korean, Chinese or Malaysian, every intelligent person in the world would like to have it.  

Mosque Bombing In Iran - Where Are The Peaceful Protests/Boycott?

Haven't you heard about the latest violence in Iran? At least 22 people were killed in the bombing.

If we'd protested for 9 civillian deaths, logically then we must feel obliged to do the same now - surely 22 deaths are a larger cause to protest. My question is, why aren't we?

...

Peace, Peace and Peace!

Everyone wants peace, naturally. Who doesn't? Allow me to make a bold assertion here: even the warmongers (Hitler, Osama, Bush, or anyone you want to pick) around us would agree to settle all crises if they are guaranteed victory, and their idea of a peaceful world is made a reality. Most often, wars are fought simply because the belligerents disagree on what peace means - although essentially they all want peace.

Recently, while chatting online about the Gaza crisis with a friend, I asked him what kind of solution does anybody in the peace forums and talks he attended offer to end the crisis? I asked because - I admit - I rarely attend those events and I am curious to know how the 'pro-Palestinian' movements (at least in our country) seek to end the crisis. You can say, 'Duh, isn't it obvious?'. Well sorry if I'm a bit slow on this, but, as much I would dream to see the end of the Palestine-Israel conflict, I want to know if those who advocate an end to the crisis actually has a practical way of achieving it.

So what is the practical way to attain peace (in a broader sense)? From peaceful protests to suicide bombings; boycotts to genocide - here is where the disagreements lie. And here the devil finds his work merely a cakewalk. 

Let's look into our (Malaysian) history. When Tunku Abdul Rahman led a delegation to London to discuss our independence from the British rule, he (and the people who supported his trip) made a conscious choice. Instead of going to London, they could have (A) conspire to attack to the British troops in Malaya, or (B) live and let live - we must be thankful they did neither 'A' nor 'B'. As what we learn in history class, thanks to the diplomatic skills of our forefathers, our beloved country attained independence without any bloodshed.

But what if the London delegation failed to convince the British that we deserve to be awarded Independence? Here's what I think. If you broke a vase in your house and your mother asks you who broke it, would you (A) admit it was your fault; or (B) pretend you didn't know? If you choose to be honest, you might either get the full blow of the wrath of your mother, or, she'd extol your honesty (I'd bet the first one). But if you lie, you might get away scot-free, or she might find out the truth and you know what'll happen next.  My point is this: since you cannot predict (A) how your mother would react if you come clean; or (B) if you assume innocence, whether she would find out that you lied; no matter how the story may unfold (your mother praise your honesty, you get away unharmed, the British award us our Independence) your choice - to be honest, or to lie - must be based upon your values.

Similarly, I believe, it is still possible to end the crises in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kyrzygstan, Somalia, Thailand, Kashmir (and perhaps anywhere in the world), if the disputing parties can exchange their differing ideas on how to resolve the conflict. It doesn't matter how the story may unfold - peaceful protests ignored, unsuccessful boycotts, suicide bombings, flotilla deaths - our disposition towards these crises -- to be friendly and diplomatic; or to be arrogant and hostile -- must be based upon our values.  

TheStar Reports: "Forget Gaza. Do you see any of us starving in here?"

This is an excerpt from an article which appeared yesterday on the website of a Malaysian news company, The Star (by Shahanaaz Habib):

As for Gaza, Israel is right about one thing. There is plenty of food there. It is no secret that Gaza sits on fertile land and thanks to the farmers (who are forced to farm to feed their family despite the obvious danger if their lands are near the Israeli border), there are lots of vegetables and fruits in the markets.

For those with money, there are enough eggs, chicken, lamb, beef and fish too.

It is actually quite a shock to come into Gaza and find the shelves in shops and supermarkets fully stocked with all sorts of imported food stuff – from canned meat, soups, pasta, yoghurt, chocolates, biscuits, cheeses, jam, spices, nuts, ice-cream, all types of coffee, tea, Pepsi, Coke and juices to soaps, shampoos and body lotions.

If some products are not allowed in through the legitimate Israeli and Egyptian borders, they are still making their way in through the illegal tunnels running under the Egyptian/Gaza border.

And, yes, there are people buying.

The focus of the article cited above and below is the possibility that the Gaza issue is just being exaggerated to divert attention from the real issue in Jerusalem:

“The real issue is Jerusalem. But with the world media so focused on Gaza, Israel is getting away with demolishing Palestinian homes and building new settlements in Jerusalem.

“And there is hardly any media coverage on that because everyone is so ‘busy’ looking at Gaza!” [a Gazan news editor] points out.

You be the judge.

Melayu Ada Di Sini, Tun

Tun Dr Mahathir wrote 'Melayu Kemana' last Thursday to argue that since the Malays are politically divided, they have lost the power to rule their own country - in his own words:

Kita lihat di Perak umpamanya apabila Kerajaan yang diketuai oleh Melayu dijatuhkan, kaum tertentu menganggap bahawa sebuah Kerajaan milik kaum itu yang dijatuhkan. Mungkin di peringkat pusat juga akan ada ketua kepimpinan yang terdiri daripada Melayu tetapi duduk dibawah telunjuk orang lain. Dengan ini besar kemungkinan Melayu secara sebenar sudah menjadi puak minoriti yang tidak berkuasa di negara sendiri.  (emphasis mine)

And on Friday he wrote a response to a rebuttal by a university professor. My first reaction towards Tun's article was to simply say, "What's the point of asking the Malays to unite, Tun?" Who is our enemy? Why are we discriminating people by their ethnicity - by claiming that 'we have lost power' and that 'they have stolen it from us'?

Fortunately for all of us, there are many people who also think that Tun was wrong about this 'issue'. Unfortunately though, some of them in their writing are badmouthing Tun, saying that he's senile, or that he must shut up since he's already retired, and so on - all of which I strongly disagree. Throwing personal attacks is not just wrong, it doesn't really help in any meaningful discussion.

Instead, let us argue our points of disagreement with him more eloquently, like what I wrote in a facebook discussion on this topic:

Too bad some people are acting as though we had intentionally chosen our ethnicity that we must suffer/enjoy the consequences of being part of a certain race. Why can't we all just get along?

 (Mind you, I do realize that different ethnic groups have different cultures and belief system [of their majority];  Still, I strongly believe that these differences must not be exaggerated beyond the fact that they are only arbitrary and that we are all of the same primate species, Homo sapiens) 

One Hell Of A Game

Malaysia Is Dangerous For Refugees?

According to a news report:

Amnesty says Malaysia 'dangerous' for refugees
KUALA LUMPUR — Amnesty International on Wednesday said Malaysia was a "dangerous" place for refugees who were often often abused, arrested and "treated like criminals".

We've been protesting enthusiastically for the protection of rights of other people in the past few weeks. So how do we face a human rights organization report that we have violated the rights of refugees in our country ourselves?

Cakap tak serupa bikin?

A Truly Selfless Astronaut

Let's Hang Out At This Club In Gaza

Wow. From fine dining at the cafe, to exquisite banquet halls, let's head down to the Roots Club (Cairo Street, Gaza, Palestine). Get me in the club!



If you think this is BS, why don't you click here to go it's website. Surprised? I know I am!

There is an online photo gallery by a freelance Palestinian photographer that you can visit: I'm very glad to learn (from these photo galleries) that Palestinians also do go shopping, get immunization jabs, visit libraries, and play musical instruments like us here - maybe not as much - if those photos I've seen in these links are truly from Palestine, and not staged by the Israeli government.

Of course we must not ignore or deny the other 'terrible side' of life at Gaza.


Here's something about Hamas government from Times Online (December 2008):

The political leadership of Hamas is probably the most highly qualified in the world. Boasting more than 500 PhDs in its ranks, the majority are middle-class professionals - doctors, dentists, scientists and engineers.

Credits to Karim for sharing with me the Times Online article. Perhaps we must adjust our distorted image of Hamas. Another pearl of what William Sieghart has put in that article:

It is said that this [Israel-Palestine] conflict is impossible to solve. In fact, it is very simple. The top 1,000 people who run Israel - the politicians, generals and security staff - and the top Palestinian Islamists have never met. Genuine peace will require that these two groups sit down together without preconditions

I fully agree with Sieghart.

Please Do Yourself A Favour And Avoid This Bestseller Hogwash

Presenting Naomi Klein with her bestseller book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.

If you are looking for a book about how evil capitalists are conspiring to enforce a free market system upon a reluctant public by employing the 'Shock and Awe' strategy (i.e abusing war, natural disasters and economic catastrophes), then look no further. Also, if you are a conspiracy theory buff, this might be your kind of stuff.

Otherwise, please don't waste your money on this book, or even bother to borrow it from the library - like what I did - trust me. The reason is simple: the premise upon which this book is based on is fundamentally flawed. Read why I think it is fundamentally flawed in my review of the book: The Shock Doctrine: Tossed Away After 30 Pages

Or, for a professional argument on why you shouldn't take this book seriously, read this article. 

So do yourself the favour, and read any books by Malcolm Gladwell instead.

Turkey Has Higher Infant Mortality Rate Than Gaza

Huh? Well, it's actually true, according to CIA World Factbook. Here are the numbers:

Turkey        : 24.84 deaths/1,000 live births       

Gaza Strip  : 17.71 deaths/1,000 live births  

Malaysia  : 15.37 deaths/1,000 live births                         
(We're not that much far ahead actually)

Anyway, if you didn't already know, lower figures are more desirable for an Infant Mortality Rate statistics (only possible with a better health condition of a country, i.e better hospital, adequate medical supplies, good hygiene, enough food). Let's make another comparison, just to prove my point:

North Korea : 50.15 deaths/1,000 live births                                                     

South Korea  : 4.24 deaths/1,000 live births

 
So why aren't we sending medical supplies to North Korea?

Flotilla Fiasco: Read This!

I stand by my opinion that the humanitarian-aid workers should not have resisted the well-armed Israeli commandos with violence when the latter boarded their flotilla - at least as what several videos of the tragic event suggest. But wait, who got killed on last week's deadly fiasco?

Allow me to use an analogy: Say, a group of well-armed robbers broke into your house. You have two options: (A) Pick up a broomstick or a kitchen knife and 'resist' the robbery, or, (B) Surrender and let them rob you broke.


[Option A] Say, the robbers brought a video cam to tape their robbery -- whatever that's for -- so that when the members of your house hit and violently resisted the robbers, it was all recorded. In that turn of events, your brother tragically got killed. So you bring this matter to the court, and the defence lawyers exhibit the video of the robbery as a proof to the judge that your family resisted the robbery violently.

Does that justify the robbery, or the murder of your brother? No. And so the robbers must be rightfully persecuted for breaking into your house and murder.

But was it worth the lost of your brother's life, that a few of you attempted to resist the robbers by hitting them? Sadly, no. Why didn't you opt for option B then?


[Option B] Perhaps people might call you a coward for opting not to defend yourself, but there's a dictum you hold on to: 'Don't act like a hero'. You recall too many cases on the news of everyday heroes tragically get killed as they attempt to recover a poor woman's handbag from a snatch theft, etc. But what about your belongings? Again, let me ask, is it worth your life to defend your dear belongings?


So there you have it. Look what happened to MV Rachel Corrie. I'm glad there was no report of death or injuries from the Israeli raid on that vessel.

I have no intentions to back Israeli blockade on Gaza - although it's quite clear that the inhumane blockade is a political attempt to weaken the support to Hamas from within, costing humanitarian crisis in Gaza (which is often kept in limbo). Ironically, the latest Israeli deadly response to attempts of breaching this blockade only resulted in more support to the cause of the Palestinians, and hence, Hamas, not just from within, but from the 'international community'.

Before we assume that this tragedy will be by and large ignored by the Western countries, observe these headlines:
TIME: Defiant Israel says Activists Prepared to Fight
Newsweek: Why Israel Needs To Change Its Ways

(Note: Defiant; and Change) And here's another headline:
Vatican Blasts Israeli Occupation
So, the enemy of my enemy is my friend now?

She's Always A Woman (Billy Joel Cover)

A New Habit

Since December last year, I've been on the longest school-break of my life - perhaps the last one. Before the holidays, I have long planned to do some part-time work during this holiday term. I have actually went to ask a few tuition centres around my town for a job, and through the Internet too - but to no avail. I've also received a text message from a friend who offered a part-time work in my university. Considering that I'm about 300km away from my university, I aptly denied the offer.

"So what have you been doing, Kim?" many people have asked me. The reply was, as I've written on a friend's facebook wall: "Books, Blogging and Babysitting". Well, that wasn't a complete list, so let me add a few: listening to music, facebook, holiday trips, eat and sleep. But among all major activities that I've been doing this holiday, reading has been the most enjoyable, worthwhile, and refreshing activity yet.

The first non-academic book that I've actually finished reading - until its last page - was "Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone",which was a birthday gift from my sister, when I was 12. It's a shame that it was also my last, until late last year - almost 9 years later. Simply put, I've never loved reading. I thought it was a waste of time. Why not? It'd be better for me, I thought, to watch TV and movies to learn about new stuff; books are boring and would consume too much of my "precious" time. Clearly, I was wrong.

To get a clear perspective on the influence of books, and the importance of reading; let me quote Carl Sagan from his book "The Demon Haunted World: Science As A Candle In The Dark":

   For 99 percent of the tenure of humans on earth, nobody could read or write. The great invention had not yet been made. Except for first-hand experience, almost everything we knew was passed on by word of mouth. As in the children's game "Telephone," over tens and hundreds of generations, information would slowly be distorted and lost.

  Books changed all that. Books, purchasable at low cost, permit us to interrogate the past with high accuracy; to tap the wisdom of our species; to understand the point of view of others, and not just those in power; to contemplate - with the best teachers - the insights, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, drawn from the entire planet and from all of our history. They allow people long dead to talk inside our heads. Books can accompany us everywhere. Books are patient where we are slow to understand, allow us to go over the hard parts as many times as we wish, and are never critical of our lapses. Books are key to understanding the world and participating in a democratic society.

What Dr. Carl Sagan said is still true, until today: "[Books] allow people long dead to talk inside our heads". He died on December 20, 1996. For all the power and benefits of reading, it's no wonder then that the Quran admonishes mankind to "Read, in the name of your Lord who created. [96:1]" The question now is, what kind of books must we read?

I thought, before my term starts this August, I'd have plenty of time to read as much as possible, about whatever topics I find interesting - non-medical and non-fiction preferably - because come August, my focus would return to my medical studies. There would be very little, if any, time (and energy) to read non-medical books once my school term begins.

Brain Drain Or Brain Dead?

Brain drain from Muslim world is serious: Muhyiddin

[Quran 13:11] For each one are successive [angels] before and behind him who protect him by the decree of God. Indeed, God will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves. And when God intends for a people ill, there is no repelling it. And there is not for them besides Him any patron.

 
 
Oh please get over our 'glorious' history, because the only way is forward. Now is the time for us to take action - towards strengthening our economy and develop our country to make it a better place to live, at least for ourselves. But what does strengthening our economy mean - Hoard more money? Is that what the rich countries are doing? I don't think so.
 
If one would disagree with me, I think he might've forgotten the lesson from the tragic tale of King Midas. Midas thought he was blessed with his golden touch, when it was a curse indeed. In order to prosper, we need more than just money - what we really need is a good way of spending our money.
 
What if antibiotics were never discovered? All the money in the world could not possibly help its owner against a deadly outcome of a bacterial infection! Ergo, even the wealthiest among our ancestors had shorter lifespan compared to us. Well, the discovery of penicillin might've been serendipitous - but I bet, without the right scientific background to Fleming's study, he wouldn't have found this 'miraculous' substance after all.
 
But who would want to buy such 'western medicine' if he believes demonic spirits are causing his fever or stomach ache? I'd say to him, 'Good luck asking for help from the witch doctors!'. Indeed, God will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves. What a tragedy for the ignorant!
 
I posted something about this on the IMU Muslim Society Blog earlier this year.
It's time to do our part!

Another Year Of Blogging

A year ago I started blogging using Blogspot, with a central idea of promoting optimism and offering my perspective of things. Actually I started blogging a few years back, on Friendster, but I stopped as soon as I registered for this blog. The Internet is surely a great tool that all of us - Internet Users - benefit from it's multitude of possibilties: from social networking to media sharing. Newsweek reports this week of two rather contradictory opinions on whether the Intenet could bring down tyranny and empower democracy; or if these expectations are just wishful thinking shared by Obama and George Bush. Whatever the reality might be, there's no doubt, I believe, that whether the Internet - as a tool - helps us or makes us worse, wholly depends on how we make use of it.

Let's recapitulate a few topics that I've discussed since the last 13th May.

Purpose of Life

To be responsible for our actions

To be inspired by Tun Dr Mahathir

Mosques without minarets?

Who's to blame for the deaths of innocent lives?

Sorry for the clandestine operation (by Al-Islam journalists)?

Believe vs Knowledge

And since it's May 13th, I'd like to support Zubedy's Recolor-May-13 Campaign. Let's make our country a better place to live.

The English Minister (Because It's Election Day)

Does My Vote Count? Yes It Does!

I think no one was shocked by BN's victory in Hulu Selangor yesterday - or at least that's what I believe. I mean, look at P. Kamalanathan's electric smile, and add that to Najib's charms and promises - the 1725 majority won by the ruling coalition in an opposition state came as no surprise for me.

Let's talk about election in general. Does democracy provide each voter the chance to decide the fate of it's country? Or is this one-man-one-vote system inherently fails to fulfil its promise to give equal opportunity for each and every individual citizens? Skeptics would tell us not to vote because, so they believe, in reality no single voter has the power to elect a government. In a way, the skeptics are right: as individuals - each of us is just one meaningless voter - drowned by the overwhelming thousands of others in our constituencies. (In the context of Hulu Selangor by-election, how futile one-vote seemed when it's matched to 48999 others)

But hold on a moment. Last night as I pondered upon these questions, I thought of using measures of random probability to try to resolve this great debate on the relevance of our democratic system. And I've done it! Sadly, the skeptics are right!

From my calculation of the probability (or chance) that our single vote can have an impact to an election, I've found out that it actually matters really less.  In fact, there is very little chance that my single vote could determine the winning candidate in an election. In other words, my vote is unlikely to affect the outcome. (Obviously, this calculation must take into account many assumptions. The details of this calculation is included later in this post. I really recommend you to see it - I was astonished myself, because earlier I got to a wrong conclusion in an opposite direction). Maybe it sounds obvious to you, but do allow me to explain it further.

Yes, if we don't vote, we practically have no influence on the outcome - maybe because we just don't care. But if we do care and we go out to vote, what difference does it make? In a two party election - even without our vote - it is very likely that any one of the party wins the election anyway. So is it worthwile to go out and vote?

Oh Please Don't Stop The Music!

The Absurdity Of Our Left Wing Friends

In order to convey a message effectively, one must always repeat it many times. Now let's say it together: APCO APCO APCO APCO. Again! OK that's enough. How many times have we heard this four letter word lately? A hell lot, of course! Before I proceed, let me tell you that I may know the least bit about this APCO affair, and so do most of us. So come on lah, the government wants to clean up it's image to garner support from the people. I say why not? In fact, I think (and I believe everyone would agree) a strong majority is what a country needs to progress. Let's say our voters are divided 50/50 between PR and BN. Can you imagine what would happen? Well perhaps we don't have to imagine that kind of situation anymore - our close neighbour is already making enough headlines for us to see.

So does this mean we should all vote for the same party in the next election? Obviously not, because we still need an opposition force to create a system of checks and balances. However, democracy is not about tearing down the establishment - as what our left wing friends are keen to promote.

I just read a post from a blogger who calls himself a failed government experiment. True to the nature of his left wing ideologies - that (almost?) everything the government does is reckless - the post I read (Thursday Jottings) was nothing more than a rewritten old script of our left wing politics. I think whatever was in that post was BS. Now why should I care about what someone would like to write, or rewrite on his own blog? The answer: as much as left wing commentators are free to write about the mishaps of our government and pander to our dissatisfactions with government services; I believe it's time for us to get disillusioned from their September-16-manifesto.

As a rule of thumb, for them, everything that goes wrong in our country is the government's fault. From economic crisis to road traffic accidents, from blackouts to influenza H1N1. Am I exaggerating? Of course not! Why don't you visit Malaysiakini, Harakah Daily, Malaysian Insider; or buy a copy of Suara Keadilan from a nearby newsstand, and then tell me if I'm wrong. Take the post I just read as an example: the blogger blames Tun Dr Mahathir for our societal ills 'as encapsulated by AF'! After all, Mahathir was the PM for an overwhelming 22 years - he must have had plenty of time to make everyone behave properly. Oh how criminals would love to hear that our PM is partly responsible for their heinous acts. Perhaps they could split the prison time with the PM then?

Hey, I'm not campaigning for any political parties here. I'm just championing the stability of our country, promoting peace, and supporting our socioeconomic progress. When it's time to topple the government, the majority will know and they will act accordingly. This brings us to my final say on the absurdity of our left wing friends: Who makes up the majority? To me, it's simply any group of voters with the most members - we must trust our fellow countrymen to decide our country's fate.

Instead, our left wing friends usually act as though other Malaysians have no sense of reason. They form mobs rioting on the streets; they have high tolerance of ruckus in the Parliament, and pander to our emotions with lies and deceit - never fail to blame whatever it is wrong with our country on the government. Again, if I must repeat, we the People can choose whom we want to govern us. So don't put the blame on Mahathir who stayed in office for over two-decades, but blame it on most of us - the Malaysian majority - who have allowed him to do so.

A Few Exam Tips

The following is an excerpt from my email to a friend who've asked me for a few exam tips:

First let me concede my inability to give you the best of advice to help you through this difficult situation, but please allow me to offer a few still:

First off: Don't be overconfident. I don't see that from your response, which is good. It might even sound strange to you, but it does happen to some people (especially after a few revisions). Sadly, it's always the false sense of security that makes us more vulnerable to failure.

That said, my next advice: Don't panic. Too much panic is always counterproductive. I sometimes do this relaxation technique, which helped me a lot to prevent panic attacks during exam: While I was calm in my room (weeks or days before any test) I close my eyes and imagine I'm in the exam hall. It works best if I actually feel the stress and panic during that meditation. But the trick is then to calm myself down in that simulated exam moment. The desired result is to associate exams with a relaxed, calm and confident feeling. I believe this positive emotional state would help us a lot to focus in exams.

"What about the subject?", you may ask. What to study, how and when? My approach for EOS 5: Revise multiple topics in a day - across different semesters and systems. I believe in the quality of my revision not the quantity, which means I didn't measure how many lecture notes I haven't read, or how many times I've gone through a particular note - which most of my friends did. I simply open a textbook, say Papa Patho, and choose a topic, say Diabetes. After I read about diabetes, I try to recall the anatomy of the pancreas, kidney, or even then continue to read on myocardial infarction because I know diabetes poses a strong risk for MI.

That might have been ineffective, afterall, what if I've read MI before, should I study what I haven't instead? Not at all. The trick is to know what you already know and what you don't. If certain topics like MI keeps on popping up (it's related to various important diseases we learn) it means it is important for exam purposes! But I never forget to go through lecture notes - making sure I haven't overlooked on subtopics or minute details (in the end, the lecturers are the ones forming the exam questions). There is one caveat: Different people have different successful methods of study. I've only suggested one, you must already know many others.

My final tip: Discuss what you've studied, with others. This may in fact be a selfish practice, because you actually benefit more than the person you discuss with if you had the priviledge to quiz others or attempt at other people's questions. Or you might also learn what he/she knows that you didn't.

One bonus tip: Borrow exam-question-sample books from the library. Those have surely helped me and my friends whom I shared those sample questions with.

There was, however, another important tip which I shared with this friend in another email:
 
Most importantly, if I must say, is that at the end of each day, I'd reflect upon the lessons I've learnt [from my revisions] on that day and topics I've covered and test myself if I can recall them - or [see if] I [have] just wasted my time in front of a book (If so, I'd [try to] figure out why)

At the end of the email, I told her this:

It's never too late to work hard.
Hakim J

Do biometrics help in pest control?

The author regret having posted the following paragraphs, and he has extended his sincere apologies here.

Let's look for a moment at the pest problem at our house. Pests - like cocroaches, termites, rats, etc - could annoy us in many ways: a mere sight of them may disgust or even scare us off; they pollute our food and destroy our belongings; they find a suitable corner tao live, and multiply! And so we buy cans of Ridsect, Shieldtox; lay rat traps; and so on to exterminate these pests, or at least control them. However, just like diseases, prevention is better than cure - or as pestexterminatenow.com may suggest,"Be Inhospitable!"

I've just watched the Edisi 7, the 7pm news on NTV7. The headline was on illegal immigrants risking their lives to escape from getting caught by our security forces. Apparently Pasar Selayang employs some of those foreign workers captured by NTV7's camera in action, as they scurried across a six-lane highway - in the middle of the night. If I'm not mistaken, an officer reported that there were about a thousand illegal aliens at that location, but the law enforcers have only managed to capture eleven of them.

Next, Dato' Seri Hishamuddin was interviewed on this issue - in a surprisingly small office (which I guess/hope was not his). What I learnt from the interview was that Malaysia would very likely employ biometrics at our borders to recognize all immigrants in the near future (not necessarily be at the end of the year, I heard). This biometric system is currently in operation in the US, Japan and Singapore. Now why am I asking this question: Do biometrics help in pest control? Let's compare the illegal immigrant issue with our pest problems at home - and see how we could possibly resolve the matter effectively. First let me say that I don't mean to devalue the lives of illegal immigrants to the level of common pests. This only serves as an analogy to solve the problem that they're causing in our country.

Belief vs Knowledge

Let's say there is a mysterious room. No one knows what's inside the room, and it has only one doorway as both its entrance and exit. You saw a baby crawling out through the doorway, and not long after, another baby followed. Say you observed eight more babies coming out of the mysterious room. 'Can you confidently conclude that everyone in the room is a baby because you just saw ten of them emerging through the door?' That was the question posed by a guest speaker - a scientist - of the INTEL Science Camp in Nilai which I attended when I was Form 4.

Today, I have to return the three books I borrowed from a local library two weeks ago - one of which is 'Fooled by Randomness' by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (which inspired me to write this post). In its prologue, there is a list of items in two collumns, named 'Table of Confusion'. Under the 'general' section of the table, the following items were put in the same rows respectively: Luck vs Skills; Randomness vs Certainty; Belief/Conjecture vs Knowledge/Certitude; Theory vs Reality; Anecdote/Coincidence vs Causality/Law; Forecast vs Prophecy. As the name of the table suggests, these are the things people commonly get mixed up with. Unravelling the confusion was the central idea of 'Fooled by Randomness', which - true to its nature - I've discovered only by chance.

Last weekend I met my best friend and we talked over supper about a rumor going on regarding one of our friends getting married to a rich, much older man. The only verifiable fact is that this friend of ours has just got engaged, as evident by a list of well-wishers, replied with gratitude by this person when she changed her Facebook relationship status to 'engaged'. I told my close friend that as far as rumors go, it could be either true or false. Whatever the case was for this particular rumor (or for any others), I know for sure that it won't affect the taste of my tea on that supper. I took a sip of my tea. Then I asked, "What if the rumor is true?". I took another sip. "My tea tastes the same", I said. "But what if it's pure conjecture?" Then I took another sip. It was as sweet and as bitter as before.

My dad told me yesterday that one of his acquaintance (an engineer) suggested that my father should invest in FOREX after his retirement. That advice came after my dad sought this person's opinion about what he could do when he's retired. I told my dad, sure, people could get rich by getting involved in this kind of investment - at least that is their claim - but knowing very little about its system, risks and legal implications, I strongly advised my dad to flush away his friend's idea of investing in FOREX. The scheme actually sounded good, at first: He invested RM20,000 (borrowed from the bank) to a certain company ('Dan something') and during the course of 10 months, he gets RM2000 each month. After that 10-month period, whatever investment returns he collects will be pure profit. I asked my dad how long has his friend got involved in this scheme - he said 6 months.

Not only did this person still work as an engineer (if his FOREX scheme is so good, why bother having a day job anymore?), he has yet to receive his full investment returns (it would take him another 4 months). Of course he believes that by giving RM20,000 of borrowed money to a certain company, he would make easy money in a long run (he'll start to profit after 10 months), but since he's only 6 months into this scheme, he would never know for sure if that's going to happen, not until August. The same goes for the assumption that everyone in the mysterious room is a baby - you could only believe that's true from your observations, but you would never know for sure until you check the room for yourself. We also like to believe in some rumors because they are so exciting, but until we have the evidence, we could never know it they were true or otherwise. The difference between one's belief and knowledge is perfectly and comically illustrated in the cartoon below:

(taken from http://www.lukesurl.com/)

Although the terrified person likes to believe that he's more frightening to the bear than the bear is to him; the bear knows for sure that it is a bear.