The Ten Inevitabilities in Life

Inevitability No. 1: Birth, Aging, Illness and Death

According to the first caveat of the Four Noble Truths in Buddhism, Dukkha, birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering and death is suffering. This is the cycle of life that we all go through over and over again as after death, there will be birth again. Even the mighty Qin Shih Huang, in his conquest to find the elixir of life as he neared his death failed to avert this invetability. I echoed the sentiments of Stephen Hawking in A Brief History of Time that since the Universe has its beginning, it will have its end too. But birth, aging, illness and death would continue in other universe and other dimensions. I am a believer that there is life outside Earth, and when there is life, there is aging, illness and death. If there is only one constant across the universe, it inevitable that it should be this.

Inevitability No. 2: Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Kindness, Patience and Humility

The Seven Virtues, the better sibling of the Seven Deadly Sins, first made known by Aurelis Clemens Prudentius circa 410 AD (source: wikipedia). These virtues defines humanity, and it is inevitable that all of us possess them.

Inevitability No. 3: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride

The Seven Deadly Sins. I believe we are all at one point of our lives guilty of one of these sins. When we are driven by personal gains and desires, it is  not hard for us to be consumed by them. It is only inevitable because of our cravings and desires, these seven deadly sins are present in our lives.    

  Inevitability No. 4: Inflation

Oil prices rise to US$142 a couple of days ago, which made me realise that there is one thing inevitable in economics, inflation, which simply means the increase in prices of goods and services. Unfortunately for us, this inevitability is not substantiated by the rise in wages.

Inevitability No. 5: Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence and thrice is enemy action

Quote courtesy of Ian Fleming’s Goldfinger. Random events happen everyday in our lives, and those random events normally happen only once. When it happens twice, we call it coincidence. But when it happens thrice, almost invariably, someone or something is behind it.

Inevitability No. 6: The Passage of Time

Perhaps the greatest inevitability of all, parallel to the Invetability No. 1. There is no avoiding the passage of time, unless of course, we find a way to time travel.

Inevitability No. 7: Every physical object will remain at rest or in motion at a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external force

The law of inertia, as proposed in Newton’s first law of motion. While Sir Isaac Newton in formulating this theory was explaining the law of motion in the context of physics, I am quoting him in the context of how we live our lives.  We will inevitably remain idle, or constant in our lives unless affected by an external force. Everytime when we make a decision to move, or stop moving or change direction, it is due to an external force. External force comes in the form of the people around us and events occuring in our lives, that provoke and encourage us to change the way we move and act. Whatever changes our internal force, is influenced by external forces.

Inevitability No. 8: Evolution

Changes in our genetic and physical traits or our species are invetiable we go through the process of life and death. Whether it is by natural selection, mutation, adpatation or genetic drift, the process of evolution is something that is destined, and it is this process that created a diverse world we are living in now.

Inevitability No. 9: The advancement of science, and the misuse of science

I was once told that the advancement of science runs parallel with the moral decay of community as knowledge and technologies developed through science allow people commit unsavoury deeds. I beg to differ. To quote for Gil Grissom from CSI:Crime Scene Investigation;

“Everybody learns from science. It is how you use it that matters.”

Unfortunately however, the advancement in science is often and almost inevitably associated with misuse of scientifc knowledge and technologies. Power corrupts, and to us, science can often be the ultimate power as the world of science is without boundary.

Inevitability No. 10: Manchester United is still the best team in the world, with or without Cristiano Ronaldo

lolx. Aww… Can’t I take a little space off this post to take a swipe at Ronnie??

Onto Two Of My Dimensions: My Thoughts and Emotions

This is Part One of My Thoughts and Emotions, a reflection of my thoughts and emotions during my idle time in my work place.

I started working last Monday at Body Glove, Mid Valley. Work has been fun and boring. Fun in the sense that I was kept entertained by my colleagues and their lame, yet funny jokes. Boring, because the job is practically one dimensional, where there is absolutely nothing to do when there is no customers. It is an absolute no brainer. I have deliberately choose this non-brainer job over other for a number of reasons. Over the past one and a half year, I have officially drained myself emotionally and physically and I seriously need a break. I have always thought that multi-tasking is my forte, but evidently it is not. I have been juggling studies, family, work, Rotaract, friends and personal lives for the past one and a half year. I know of people who have more things than that in their lives, and they have managed to achieve a balance between all of them, and I salute them.

It is interesting to observe how all my commitments eventually become related to one another. Studies are work, work is my personal life, my personal life is Rotaract, Rotaracters are my friends, my friends are my family, and my family, they are my everything. For close to half year, my life revolves around coping with my studies and my work in a local college. Then, when Rotaract comes into the picture, a burden was added to my shoulder, a burden I readily and voluntarily embrace without regret.   

Rotaract has been nothing short of phenomenal to my life, and to think of it, I have only been in this amazing organisation for less than one year. Yet, despite the positive impact it has done to me as a person, sometimes, I do question my decision in joining Rotaract, let alone start a new Rotaract Club in the college. It is not because I doubt the viability of this youth movement, but rather my suitability in joining a service oriented movement which places an emphasis on fellowship.

The problem is, I can be at times, and above all, a misanthrope, which simply means that at times, I dislike people. In one of my off days, I yearn to be a social hermit. There are times when I would love nothing than to be left alone, and there are moments where I dread the customory small talks in social functions. But, true to the Jekyll and Hyde in me, there are too moments where I can engage in long and interesting conversation, but this is more not than often.

Being in Rotaract has forced me out of my shell more. It is different from Interact. In Interact, I work only with my close friends, my Interactors from the same club. In Rotaract, I need to deal with people who I do not know well, and being a person who is absolutely slow in “breaking the ice”, I must have been seen to be aloof by others. I guess it is the lack of confidence in me in carrying out conversations. Rotaracters from ATC would have noted that their President is not someone who is quiet and lacks opinion. It is my hope that I can cure this disease, and yes, I do know that the only cure is my ownself.

But, as much as I have questioned my presence in Rotaract, I must admit I do not regret having made the decision. It is a decision I know would not only benefit me, but a lot of other people. Rotaract has given a chance to my college-mates to expand and imporve themselves. It has certainly given me that chance, and it is my hope that students from ATC will benefit from Rotaract for years to come.

During the District Awards Night last Sunday, a number of Presidents from other clubs, and the DRR himself (now, IPDRR) celebrate the end of their term. I am one of the odd few who would be continue for another term at the helm. I have decided to look at it a positive way; not everyone is given a second chance. I have been given a second chance by my members to further improve and strengthen the club. I am grateful for this opportunity. I will endevour not only to improve the club, but also to improve myself. If I have ruffled anyone’s feathers over the past one year, I promise to make things right for you. 

I once told a good friend of mine, “I am tired of babysitting people,”. I know it is harsh, but that was during a low point of my life where I felt that my work and sacrifices are not appreciated. But I came to my senses and figured that I should stop seeking validation from people in everything that I do. Do something because you truly believe in it and because you really want to do it, don’t do something because of another person or for another person. Only then that you will take satisfaction from your work, because your work does not depend on other’s validation but yourself.

Well enough for today. My Thoughts and Emotions will continue in the next few days time. Till then, bye!     

What I’m gonna be up to for the next few days….

After close of three weeks of pure boredom, finally there are some things for me to chew on for the next few days!!!

Rotary Club of Ampang 25th Anniversary Dinner and Presidential Installation at One World Hotel on 21st June

Rotaract District Awards Night at Bankers’ Club Kuala Lumpur on 22nd June

Work (Finally!) starts on 23rd June , SRG Asia Pacific, Plaza Sentral Body Glove, Midvalley

Preparations for Rotaract Club of ATC’s Charter Night (tentative in September)

Watch This Space for Updates!

Digressing from My Three Dimensions: A Little Politics

Many people have seen it coming, but the federal government, still living in the state of denial have failed to anticipate this. Today, the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) announced its intention to support a motion of no-confidence against the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The PM was reported as being unaware of such move by SAPP, but none to many were shock by such action by one of the main Barisan component parties in Sabah. The only shock perhaps, is that the decision has come too early. In fact, Datuk Yong Teck Lee, the SAPP President had intially given an ultimatum to the federal government until this September to resolve the problems in Sabah.

No one would blame the SAPP for taking such a radical move. It is the worst kept secret in Sabah that many Filipino Muslims in Sabah have been granted Malaysian citizenship in an attempt to tilt the religious balance in Sabah, which had previously been a Muslim-minority state. A common misconception is that such policy was brought about by UMNO when they made inroads into Sabah government after the 1995 state elections. In fact, the policy has been in existence even before that, in the early 1970s druing the era of former USNO President, the late Tun Datu Mustapha, who was himself of a Suluk/Muslim origin. The BN government, led by UMNO, however, have failed to reslove this issue, and may indeed have encouraged the continuance of it. This is however, not the only cause of dissatisfaction among Sabahans. The state has been underdeveloped, and it is probably one of the poorest state in the country. Over and over again, tha federal government have overlooked the state when it comes to funding and development. Apart from Kota Kinabalu, and to some extent, Sandakan and Tawau, the condition in other parts of Sabah is hardly reflective of a developing state. Many would have scoffed at Sabah for begging for funds from the federal government, but such was not the case. The state has been stripped of most of its reserves by the federal government, and only a minute amount goes to the state reserves.

That is not the only problem. The economic climate there is not exactly booming, but yet, prices of items can be 50% higher than those in West Malaysia. I do not know whether this is still a problem there, but when I was in Sabah, there was an apparent lack of schools, classrooms and teachers. A class would normally average between 55 to 60 students. Teachers would normally have to teach two subjects in each classes. The usual problems of basic roads, water and electricity in the rural areas are still prevalent.

Since taking over as the PM, Abdullah has not make any effort to improve the situation in Sabah. Hence, it would come as no suprise that SAPP shall vote in favour of such motion. In effect, it may be inevitable that the SAPP would resign itself from the coalition. The bigger question is of course, whether it shall remain independent on its own, or rather, join the Pakatan Rakyat.

Readers of this blog would known that I have my reservations on the Pakatan Rakyat, mainly because of its de facto leader, Anwar Ibrahim. Those who have any memory of his tenure as the Deputy Prime Minister and his time in UMNO would known his extremist and racist approach to politics. After being released from the prison, he has attempted to style himself as a father of reformation of Malaysian politics. However, he is still the cunning and calculative Anwar we have come to know of. His attempt to buy over Members of the Parliament from Sabah especially has left a bad taste in my mouth. Excellent orator he may be, but I will not be fooled. Pakatan Rakyat, looks as if it is merely a flavour of the month. Electing someone who was formerly the No. 2 man in a regime of corruption would be redundant. Malaysians need a revolutionary leader, and Anwar Ibrahim is not that leader. He is merely hypocrite, who is serving his own political purposes, who wants nothing than a revenge against the government who ousted him. He is a man who wants to fulfill what he thought was his destiny, by hook or by crook.

During my time in Sabah, I have came to known Datuk Yong as an excellent politician who serves the rakyat well. I remembered that he used to set up a booth around Likas using his van to allow people to channel their greviances. I would think that by defecting to the Pakatan Rakyat will deal a severe blow to his reputation, and also to Sabahan politicians. They would be looked as a lap dog by others, someone who is only willing to serve those who would give them benefits in return for a benefit. Defecting to a person who promises you windfalls would not benefit your state in a long term as you are only their pawn in their war. When the time comes that you are no longer useful, you will be cast aside and left to fend for yourself.

An independent Sabahan MPs bloc would be the route I would favoured the most. It retains the integrity of Datuk Yong and his counterparts. It avoids them from being played as a pawn by either side of the party.

As for the current government and Abdullah, spelling out a succession plan to Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak would do nothing in your favour. Najib may be a slightly more charismatic and a less sleepy leader, but the amount of his dirty laundry exceed those of all ministers combined. This brings me to a very sad political scenario in Malaysia. We do not have one single leader capable of making a change in this country. We do not have a Barack Obama, we do not have people who are brave enough to step up an make genuine changes, not changes driven by political devils. Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, in his glorious days as the Prime Minister has snuffed out too many talented leaders in an attempt to consolidate his position, and we are reeling from the effects of it now.

Jaga Pintu

Okay. So I woke up this morning happily surfing The Star’s website, wanting to know what’s the latest news around the country. But my happy morning was a little spoilt after reading this piece of news “British Royal family happy with our men”.

If you have The Star newspaper with you now, try reading it and I bet it is placed in an obscure column in the paper. Surely, because it was such an embarrasing piece of news. Well, of course it’s embarassing! A freakin’ 122 personnel from the prestigious Royal Malay Regiment being flown halfway across the globe to guard some palace belonging to some royal family who couldn’t care less if Malaysia were to be bombarded by missles from some terrorists. They call it “London Public Duty”. For goodness sake, send them to Sichuan or Myanmar for some relief work, and I’ll call it a “public duty”.

If you read the news, you would have noted that the “proud” Datuk Seri Najib noted that each members of the Regiment received RM1,300 gratituous payment for their honourable “public duty”. The news conveniently omit from mentioning the cost of sending the troop there. Several sources quote the cost to be between a whopping RM 1.8 million to RM 2 million, but if anyone has a figure from a reliable source, please do tell me, but I bet it’s not cheap.

Seriously, even if it doesn’t cost a single cent, you have to agree that sending your best troops, your Royal Army to guard some other Royal family’s gate is a shame. If my memory serves me right, not long ago, some local town councils attempted to replace some of the English names of some roads and streets in Malaysia to weed out any colonial influences left in the country; a move which was definitely unnecessary and ridiculous because the names are part of our history and to remove them is to deny our history. But come on, sending the troops to guard Buckingham Palace? Doesn’t that look like kow towing to some colonial influence? Perhaps this is an elaborate scheme by “some people” to siphon some cash out of tax-payer’s money. Gosh, all the government taxes I have paid while buying McDonalds and KFC.

I have always been a proud Malaysian and I will always be a proud Malaysian. But this morning, for ten minutes of my life, I felt a tinge of embarassment to tell the world that I am a Malaysian.

We are defined at a cellular level

You know you are a CSI freak when you can cite quotes from the characters in the show. Yes, I am guilty of that. One thing that intrigues me when it comes to the original CSI is the insightful, quirky and funny quotes it dished out to the audience (as opposed to the sappy and corny one liners by Horatio Caine in the spin-off CSI: Miami).  So, being bored to the brink of death, I have decided to dig up my CSI collections and rewatch some episodes from the first season onwards. Not suprising, I managed to pick up a couple of interesting quotes. Here are my few favourites

” An eye for an eye, and the world goes blind,” Warrick Brown

“Everybody learns from science, it’s how you use it that matters,” Gil Grissom

“Poor people are crazy, rich people are eccentric,” Gil Grissom

Okay people, hang in there. I’m not attempting to choke you with the multitude of quotes I have learned from the show for the past couple of days. Rather, I am here to dissect this one very interesting quote by a lesser-known character, Sofia Curtis, who was a CSI in Season 5 before deciding that she likes gun better than the rubber gloves in Season 6 when she moved to the Homicide Department (told ya I am a CSI freak)

“What we are never changes. Who we are never stops changing.”

We are defined at a cellular level, as suggested by Sofia Curtis and Gil Grissom. We are what we are since the day we were born. Twenty-three pairs of chromosomes (or an extra or minus one for those with chromosomal abnormalities). We are born with a genetic mapping of our own, and nothing will change that. We will always be human, at least technically. Nothing will take the homo sapiens out of us. What we are never changes

Who we are, our identity though, according to Sofia Curtis, is the totality of our life experiences. What we do every seconds, every single decisions that we make, every minor steps and strides that we take in our lives, dictates who we are. The people we meet, our relationships with everyone, the things that we touch, smell and see, the events of our life, whether we remember them clearly or not, shape who we are. Hence, who we are never stops changing.

While what we are makes us human, who we are has the capability to make us less than human.  What does it mean to be human, not in a genetic sense, but rather, for lack of better words, spiritually? What separates us from the other species of animals and those in the netherworld, if you believe in spirits, ghosts and devils?

To state the obvious, to be human is to be humane. Humane, in the sense that we not only should treat others as equal, but we should treat other living creatres with respect. Of course, I am not rooting for a Veggie Movement here. I do not believe that we should stop eating meat. Being an omnivore has always been a human nature since eons ago. It has perhaps played a big part in our genetic modification (I prefer modification, rather than mutation). Eating meat, for us, is part of the ecological cycle. Abusing animals, is however, not part of our ecological cycle. Wild animals should be left out in their natural habitat, not caged, not hunted.

As for being humane to a human, places like Guatanomo Bay and people like George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden definitely is not in the list. Compassion, and the ability to show that compassion is what makes us human. A couple of months ago, the world was shocked with news of Josef Fritzl who kept his daughter in captivity in an underground dungeon at his home for the past 24 years and repeatedly raped he. I cringed at the thoughts that I, as well as 6 billion other people in this world share the same genetics make-up as him. This simply means that we are all capable of doing things like that, and I think that terrifies us all. I guess this is where the line is drawn, being human and less human. Being human, we know our boundaries, we operate within socially acceptable standards. Our behaviours may deviate a little bit below the standards, but it is our fear of deviating, our self-righteousness if you may, that keeps us from being less human.

For people like Fritzl, however, they have taken a step too far from the boundary. They have taken the human’s ability to rationalise a level higher by rationalising all their spiteful actions, affirming them, and living with that rationalisiation for the rest of their life. Physically they are human. Mentally, they are human. Spiritually, they were, until they have bounced off too far from the line to the point of no return.

So, friends. A point to ponder upon. We are homo sapiens but, are we really human?

Fuel Chaos

You would have been mistaken that the petrol stations in Malaysia were having some Big Sales yesterday. Technically, maybe…but seriously, no. Unless you have been out of the country or in Mars for the last few days, you must have known that the fuel prices was increased by a whooping RM0.78 per litre at the dot of 12.00 am this morning. So, chaos reigns as Malaysian drivers hustle their way into the nearest petrol station to get their tank full.

So, Malaysian drivers, you must have been condeming the Prime Minister now. You must have thought that he is out of his mind. You must have thought that what he was doing is technically a political suicide, after a major loss in the last general election. Somewhere far in your heart, you must have thought that he was in a mission of vengence against Malaysians who turned against him in the last GE?

In the spirit of objectivity, I beg to differ. Whilst Pak Lah has made a number of questionable decisions (or rather, lack of decision) in the past, this move must have been one that I fully support, not because i”m not a driver.

See, the government can no longer afford to subsidse the fuel prices. As global fuel price soar to an all-time high of US$135, the price of fuel in Malaysia remained the same. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that this simply means that more money have to be pumped in (no pun intended) by the government in order to maintain the price. The projected amount of saving through this measure will be RM13.7 billion, and after deducting the RM5 bil to be spent on rebates, that leaves the government with RM8.7 bil.

Indeed, on the surface, it may seem that the hiking of price is unreasonable. Nevertheless, this is inevitable. The effects of fuel hike will no doubt be negative on the prices of other goods as well. I, for one, believe that the subsidy scheme should have been scrapped ages ago. It is eating into national reserves and it is creating a culture of dependence amongst Malaysians. To take a metaphor by Lord Denning in Blackburn v Attorney General, “Freedom given cannot be taken away”. “Rights” given cannot be taken away. Malaysians have treated the subsidy as a right, when it should be a privilege.

I would however reserve my judgment on how the money saved would be used. One thing I am utterly disappointed is that none of the money would be channelled towards improving the public transportation system. If the government wants Malaysians to be frugal in their fuel usage, they must do something to improve the sorry public transport that we have. Let’s all pray they do.

Liberty

A seven-letter word that means so much to so many people. I meant something to me when I woke up yesterday morning. Three months of freedom. No books, no lectures, no tutorials…and definitely no exams. Like many other friends and college mates, I have been waiting for this moment for months.

I felt so liberated and so relaxed the morning after exam. Having hurt my hand thanks to bowling the day before, I still proceed with an intense and crazy squash game with Steven and Giri, my de facto “squash-mates” (i think they went a little bit over the board by going into second match and stretching it to five sets). Manage to catch an episode of House and a quarter of Memento at Dev’s place with Menaka. It was a relaxing and enjoyable evening. Futsal was actually scheduled for today with “The Special Ones” and friends our futsal team (sounds like some handicapped team, rite….lol), but most couldn’t make it.   

So many time, so many things to do. But, when I woke up this morning, I felt so lost. I was floating aimlessly. At one point I was actually going to hit my books and study, only to be reminded that I just finished my exams. Old habits die hard. I stayed up until 5 am this morning to clean the house. It will take months for me to adjust to sleeping early again. I was bored. I AM bored. I could go nuts like this. I got a few plans up my sleeves, but it will probably never see the light of the day as it involves cash. Which means I have to start looking for work.

Which means that I wouldn’t really be having my liberty at all isn’t it?… ahh….the vicious cycle of life. Like what Gil Grissom said, “It never ends.”

Nevertheless, I intend to make full use of this three months. Here is my to do list. Let’s see how many will be striked off by the time the new semester starts

(in random order)

1. Read all of John Grisham’s books I have (15 of them)

2. Get ear piercings (looooooong overdue)

3. Temporary tatoos (I don’t wanna freak my parents out)

4. Get a job

5. Go back to Teluk Intan and visit some old friends

6. Have at least one feature article published in Assoicated Content

7. Watch Dark Knight (Heath Ledger… sob*sob*)

8. Kick off my addiction for coffee (which means to cut it down to one cup per week only)

9. Score more than 60 pins in a game of bowling (I am pathetic in the game)

10. Last but not least…..not really a “to do” item, but a “must do” item… Pass my Intermediate year

Till the next post, cheers friends!