Malaysiaku, Negaraku

First published on March 30 night. Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel. (Proverbs 12:10) There is more than meets the eye when the man involved in a scuffle with two Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) enforcement staff recently, will be charged in court tomorrow.         I will leave the case to the honourable judge, who alone has the power to decide whether the case is frivolous and a waste of the court’s precious time. This is beyond my scope. However, I would like to comment on the way how the case was handled by all the parties involved–the MBPJ, the police, the Attorney-General’s chamber, the Selangor State Government and the Ministry of Local Government & Development.         Although I do not wish to influence the decision of the honourable judge, to me, if the man is sentenced to jail for even one day or fined RM1, I think this is an injust...

    Tohmahan-tohmahan yang dibuat oleh aktivis Redhuan Tee Abdullah baru-baru ini adalah amat menyakiti hati rakan-rakan saya.          Sepatutnya, Tee boleh membuat laporan polis sekiranya ada sebarang bukti yang kukuh andaikata gereja-gereja sengaja menggunakan Bahasa Melayu sebagai suatu cara mengkristiankan orang Islam.          Selain dari itu, beliau tidak patut mencampuri hal ehwal bukan Islam. Ramai di antara rakan-rakan saya yang beragama Islam pun membuat komen yang sama.          Selain dari Tee, dua ahli politik lain juga telah menfitnah Menteri Belia dan Sukan, Hannah Yeoh. Walaupun sebagai seorang Kristian, beliau akan mengampuni kedua-dua, tetapi perbuatan mereka ini masih perlu diambil tindakan mengikut undang-undang.          Ini adalah kerana Allah yang maha pengasih itu adil dan telah menubu...

  28 February 2023 The Current Situation We have depended too much on the middlemen in the food chain. This is why raw ingredients have caused food prices to be raised. At the moment, Menu Rahmah may have taken off in the Klang Valley, but it has not reached other places. Feedback from Ipoh, and two East Malaysian states suggest that they too are keen to have the budget meals but such idea has not taken off yet in their towns.     What can the government do to help?   1.    Talking about prices of food such as meat and veggies, YB Michelle Ng reported that resident associations in USJ 3/4 in Subang Jaya have already started buying their groceries directly from the farmers. This is to cut off the middlemen. The Domestic Ministry, for example, can use this model and help publicise their model for others to follow or connect the farmers with the resident associations of housing estates/condo/apartments. If farmers are short of workers, they have to start to i...

  Picture used only for illustration purposes          Since  it is difficult for the government to downsize the public service,  the Malaysian Government need not reduce the number of public servants, but it needs to at least be able to deploy them to more productive work.           While I believe the law should still be reformed to allow sacking of underperforming staff in the public service than what is permitted now, their contribution towards the economy of the country should be significant and turned into their Key Performance Index.          As it is, currently, ten workers are involved in road repairs by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), but only three workers would be seen working while the rest just stand there to watch.            This scenario which I saw at a junction at Jalan Bukit Maluri recently is no difference from the joke that once prevailed...

          Malaysia needs Integrity Business Network.           In the past, Chinese businessmen have always told me that in the Chinese business community, business operates on one simple word, "Trust." This was something that the older businessmen took pride of.            Businesses, they always said, can only thrive based on the word 'Trust.'           I am not a businessman but I have always attempted to live a life of integrity due to my faith in God.           However, i t pains me whenever I feel cheated by traders who go for the quick kill. I would often avoid these shops the moment I realise that I have been cheated.    A Good Example Recently             I drive an old Honda City. Gear box as you know can be very expensive to change. The car has reached about 20 years...

  Okay, someone has unlocked the secrets of the Menu Rahmah. It is no longer a secret that, if done well, businesses offering Menu Rahmah @ RM5 a meal will eventually make more profits.           For us Christians, we say God will bless us in return, when we start to bless others. Muslims say,  “Apparently in Rahmah there is charity…the secret of GOD that we don’t know. Thank you unity government."           Think about it. Right after the pandemic was over, I visited my favourite Penang curry mee stall at the Lim's Sisters in Sri Sinar, Segambut.         Back in 2018, I had written about Joo Tiang's Penang Curry Mee , Lor Mee and Prawn Mee selling at RM4 a bowl. This was way before Menu Rahmah was suggested.          I was curious if Joo Tiang's stall was able to survive. Most other restaurants that I wrote about previously had closed down.       ...

  Elementary, my dear Mahathir! In response to his letter to the editor    I feel compelled to respond to Federal Territories’ Perikatan Nasional (PN) information chief, Mahathir Mohd Rais’ letter to the editor accusing the present government of going on a witch hunt. A ​ new bee himself , he appears to be totally out of sync with what his voters have wanted to see corruption  ​being dealt with severe l ​y​ . Business people, especially those who are not so well-connected, find it difficult to pitch for government jobs without paying a bribe, especially when the projects are given to people within a certain circle. ​In fact, those against corruption are in the majority. Therefore, how can Mahathir claim that "many" are against the witch hunt that he accused the unity government of doing? Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim has shown his resolve to deal with corruption and in no uncertain terms, he said, "Investigate, including those in PKR."  ​Party Members Not Spar...