Kacang is Nuts!

It’s a rainy day today. People always look at such coincidences and say that the skies are crying with them when they grieve, and I guess today I can say the same.

Today I say goodbye to my dearest grandma, who has just passed away of breathing complications from asthma.

Grandma, I apologize for not being able to go home to say good bye. I guess you would not allow me to come back anyway, if you still had a say in things. Grandma, before I returned to the US, I made you a promise that I would visit you the moment I got home again. I never guessed that I’d no longer get to see you in person. I will still fulfill that promise.

May you have peace wherever you go to. I will sorely miss you.

Love,

Ah Chiang

A career photographer came by the office today, and surprisingly enough, he was here to give us a talk about doing sales. He talked while showing us his pictures and explaining how he took those pictures. Well, it seems professional photography is not too different from sales. After all, a photographer needs to talk to people to persuade them to have their photos taken just so.

One of the things he mentioned was that there was no need to be afraid of getting to know people. After all, they get out of bed in the morning like everyone else, and put on their pants one leg after another, which is of course, just like everyone else.

Hmm… sounds like some wisdom I could use. Hi to all you folks out there who put on your pants one leg after another.

No, I’m not dead (This phrase has been used to death around here. Maybe I should use it as my blog tagline. You know, “Kacang is Nuts!: No, I’m not dead!”). Well, I’ve been busy (Bet you’ve heard that one, too). No, really.

It’s all a long story, a little of which I mentioned in passing here. So, what really happened was that… I got a job at my dream company! WOOHOO! *dances, jiggles, cheers*

OK, alright, not ‘jakun’ or anything but I’m very excited to get a job with Cisco Systems. If you’ve not heard of the name, it’s the top network technology provider worldwide. Every time you use the Internet, you can be sure that somewhere along the line, a Cisco switch or router is humming quietly and sending your data along up and down the line. These days, Cisco equipment is pretty much the glue which holds much of the Internet together.

Anyway, I’ll be joining Cisco through its Associate Systems Engineer (ASE) program. This program will bring me to Cisco’s Research Triangle Park facility in North Carolina for a one year training stint starting in July 2008. Together with three other ASEs (no, not ASSES!), we’ll be trained in Cisco’s own networking technology, technical sales as well as effective communicating. By the end of the one year, we are expected to have achieved both the Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) and Cisco Certified Design Professional (CCDP) certifications.

Expect more about this in future, but one thing’s for sure: It’s gonna be a heck of an awesome experience!

For a long time, the mainstream media (MSM) organizations in Malaysia have been actively partaking in biased reporting, truth censorship and fear mongering on behalf of Barisan Nasional. Certain very well established English dailies helped Barisan Nasional paint the finishing brush strokes of racial, political and instability fear against the canvas of the recent elections. Many of them demonized the opposition politicians, while making the BN politicians sound like angels. Basically, the message by the MSM to Malaysians was “Vote for us, or else”. Well folks, I think we’re all still waiting for the “or else”. Anyone see any sign of it yet?

Anyway, I sure hope the March ‘08 elections woke up every last one of those folks who think that controlling the media is going to help them politically. It is the era of the Internet now, and if the MSM cannot report truthfully and fairly, then we shall vote with our feet. No more media lies. The truth is out there on the Net these days, and nobody can deny it to us Malaysians. Where? Think Malaysiakini and Malaysia Today. Think the many multitudes of Malaysian blogs and independent observers. Our eyes and ears are everywhere.

That’s probably the reason for today’s call by The Star for freedom of press. It has taken some time for the fact to sink in, but it appears that at least some of the MSM people are sitting up and taking notice. I quote,

The emergence of these channels of alternative media has effectively neutered the powers of governments to censor or limit information or freedom of expression.

While the writer still sounded a little reluctant to admit all of MSM’s faults (“maligned” meaning they were accused untruthfully),

In the past, the mainstream media, The Star included, was maligned for its scope of coverage.

he/she nevertheless understands the final outcome of its complacency.

With the intensifying competition, readers and viewers, who are armed with information as the true source of power, will determine the survival of any media. The simple message is this: Publish correctly or be damned.

Well, it’s about time. But it remains to be seen if The Star [or any other "news" organizations, for that matter] will grow some balls soon, or is it just doing another of Dollah’s “talk the the talk, pretend to walk.” The MSM need to understand that their getting our hard earned money is not a right, but just a simple business transaction. Supply and demand. The demand is not for bullshit, but for truth and quality reporting. And when the demand is not met, well, they can keep their supply of bullshit for themselves and wallow in it.

Update 1851hrs: Just caught my attention that in The Star’s news article on Raja Petra’s arrest, Pete himself from Malaysia Today has been ‘upgraded’ from just a blogger and is now recognized as “editor of news portal Malaysia Today”. Changes starting already?

Alright, I’m a bit late getting on the bandwagon of posting about the election results, but here is my take. Malaysia is truly going through historic times. Now that the National Front has been denied the two thirds majority, we are in totally uncharted waters of our democracy. With Penang, Selangor, Perak, Kedah and Kelantan being held by the opposition, and the power to arbitrarily modify the constitution no longer belonging to Barisan Nasional, it will certainly be exciting to see how the next five years play out.

One thing’s for sure though. This election has been a resounding and well-deserved blow to Barisan Nasional. It has also proven that Malaysians are not as bigoted and as cowardly as UMNO thinks, that we are now wise enough to see that the system needs to be changed, and mature enough to choose change without being uncivilized about it. This truly shows that people have great power, while reminding current and future leaders of Malaysia that “People shouldn’t be afraid of their government, governments should be afraid of their people.”

For now, the opposition rejoices, but they must too remember their promises to the people. Running a government (even at state level) is much harder than talking about how it should be run. Five years from now, if they mess up, the people will be as pissed as they are now with Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. And trust me, opposition or not, they too will be shown the door.

To end on a positive note however, as of these elections, Malaysia has passed the point of no return. In the future, the people will likely pick leaders for their merit and leadership, rather than being convinced by lies or out of fear of instability and violence. We as Malaysians, have truly grown up as a nation. What better present for Malaysia, just past her 50th year of existence?

A government should never have absolute power. Power, of course, corrupts. Absolute power, therefore, corrupts absolutely. In democratic countries, methods of checks and balances are required to ensure that the government of the day does not overstep its boundaries. These include the media (newspapers, TV, radio, etc.), the judiciary, and last but not least, the opposition political parties. However, most of these check and balance mechanisms in Malaysia have been corrupted by the ruling Barisan Nasional.

The people rely on the media to give an accurate picture of what is going on in the government. However, this is obviously not happening. The media has become Barisan Nasional’s mouthpiece. What we get from the media these days is unmitigated groveling and sycophancy of unholy proportions. Every other report expounds the virtue of BN, what great achievements they have made, what dreams they have for the future, and what the people will gain by voting for them. Contrarian views are twisted to sound extremist or blacked out completely. At the same time, the media has been publishing advertisements subliminally threatening those who would dare vote against BN with violence, 1969 style. Media credibility? Sorry mate, these days a Disneyland fantasy has more credibility than that.

The judiciary also has a role to play. An independent judiciary is also necessary to ensure that the government does not break or misinterpret laws. It is the final place for citizens to seek redress if the government has wronged them. However, after Mahathir broke the judiciary in 1989, what have are now more rightfully called BN lapdogs rather than judges. These days, the judiciary we know has more to do with corrupted promotions, controversial decisions which trample on basic human rights and cartoon characters making fools of themselves and everybody else at the so-called Royal Commission hearing to determine the authenticity of the judicial position fixing video. Correct? Correct, correct, correct!

This leaves the opposition. The final check and balance of a democratic country. I mentioned earlier that the opposition were basically making fools of themselves this elections. Well, they do seem to have bucked up in the last week or so. Like them or not though, they are an important check and balance measure for a Barisan Nasional government. While the current opposition are unlikely to do well in running a country, they will play an important role in curbing the excesses of the rulling coalition. Wasteful projects and ludicrous attempts to keep on controversial figures in the system can at least be countered. The opposition may not do well as country leaders. But in combating the corruption and impunity with which BN runs this country, let us remember that the saying that “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”.

I hope that Barisan Nasional does not win the majority this time. This will allow the people to be properly represented, and opposing views given voice to in parliament. It will ensure that all future government undertakings be approved based on merit and not the wishes of a few puppet masters. Only then can we hope for the real progress for Malaysia.

It is now voting day folks. Let’s make every vote count. Good hunting!

Time sure flies when you’re pigging out on New Year goodies! Everyone I know has started work/studies already. My holiday ends tomorrow (Yep, I took a slightly longer one than most), and after that it’ll be back to the rat race for me too. That’s right, watch out yer scrawny rodents, this rat is back with a vengeance and hungry for some big cheese!

Deputy Internal Minister Datuk Fu Ah Kiow says that the customs officer who confiscated 32 English Bibles from a Malaysian woman traveling back from the Philippines stepped beyond the bounds of his authority. Distancing himself from the fiasco, Datuk Fu said that the matter did not involve the ministry and directed that the Bibles be returned to the victim.

In December last year, the Publications and Al-Quran Texts Control Department under the Internal Security Ministry confiscated Christian children’s books, claiming that the illustrations of prophets were offensive. The same deputy minister was also the one who had to issue instructions for the books be returned.

There are two very worrying trends here. The first and foremost is the fact that some elements in the government are attempting to censor religious material of the non-Muslim faiths in the country. This, of course, explicitly runs counter to the guarantee of freedom of religion, as enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution. The thought that anyone in the government sees it fit to ignore the Constitution is troubling indeed.

The second pattern is also cause for concern. If, as the Deputy Minister of Internal Security says, the ministry is not responsible for such offensive actions, then it seems that the ministry has lost total control over its departments and agencies. How else do you describe a situation where subordinates do as they like, while the superiors have to stamp out the fires and say “It wasn’t me”?

Dangerous precedents have been accumulating in our country of late, especially in regards to the freedom of religion. Unless the currently perceived lame-duck government of the day takes concrete action, things will likely go downhill from here.

Anyone old enough here to remember that road safety campaign slogan I used for the post title? Well, I know I am! It’s been a long time, but yet our roads are more dangerous than ever these days.

The message still holds true though. If you’re traveling this festive season, do drive safely, carefully and considerately. For those who already do, keep up the good work. For those who don’t, remember:

• If you don’t value your own life, your friends and family do;
• If not, the people whom you kill or maim value theirs, and have loved ones who do to.

When you hit the road, peoples lives are in your hands. If you DO NOT DRIVE SAFELY, CAREFULLY and CONSIDERATELY, know this: THERE ARE EASIER WAYS OF KILLING YOURSELF WITHOUT TAKING OTHERS WITH YOU.

Take care folks, and have a safe and pleasant journey wherever you are going. Peace out!

I had one of those “Now why didn’t I think of that!” moments when I read What A Lulu today. In response to the government’s use of indelible ink on voters’ nails to prevent election fraud, Lulu has shown how simply painting nail polish over the indelible ink can render the mark invisible.

Her readers too have outdone themselves and suggested, among others:

• coating nails with an easily removable transparent coating or plastic before having the indelible ink painted on; and
• filing away the layer of indelible ink over the nail.

Might I add pulling out finger nails to the list? No? Oh well, but looks like it’s still back to the drawing board again for this indelible ink plan. Or was it actually part of the plan by the incumbents to steal the elections?