Always for the wrong reason

Always for the wrong reason, that is what my friend had to say when we, Malaysian made it to the international news portal. Have we ever wonder how people [from other places] would look at us?


Sadanand Dhume in his article, The Myth Of A Moderate Malaysia shares the following:

If you're looking for an image that captures the conflict between fervent Islam and basic human decency, look no further than the Malaysian city of Shah Alam, about 15 miles west of Kuala Lumpur..........

In Malaysia, Islam is the state religion. Higher education, the bureaucracy and vast swathes of the economy are operated as a kind of spoils system almost exclusively for Malays, whom the state defines as Muslim. Race and religion determine everything from your odds of getting into medical school to the amount you're expected to put down for an apartment.

That is what a writer and journalist based in Washington, DC has to say about us. However, that is not the most shocking article I found today though.


Michael A. Jones writer of The Malaysian Government Thinks that Homosexuality Causes Swine Flu and in his article you will find the following highlighted:

Dr. V. M. Palaniappan said that homosexuality and masturbation caused the body to develop friction heat which in turn, produced acid and made the body hyperacidised.

"Thus, the body becomes an easy target for H1N1 infection," he told Bernama, emphasising however, that normal sexual union between members of the opposite sex was absolutely safe....

Here is what I found at Dr.V.M.Palaniappan's blog. His blog is a pain to read because of the color he chose to use but having started blogging only back in June, he has more than 50 followers. When you wrote something especially medical advice, you are guaranteed in for a lot of public attention.

He is an ecologist and an academician and his personal views DON'T represent our government.

My main concern however is those who took his advice seriously. Many wouldn't even bother to look at his disclaimer, if you did, you will come across This does NOT form a suggestion for the treatment of any kind of OR any one’s health problems.

How would that helps if you claim to have a prevention for H1N1, totally irresponsible.

Given all that, it doesn't really matter if BBC thinks that we are a multi-ethnic, multi-religious society encompasses a majority Muslim population in most of its states and an economically-powerful Chinese community.

It doesn't really matter if the CIA would thinks that Malaysia was successful in diversifying its economy from dependence on exports of raw materials to expansion in manufacturing, services, and tourism.

It doesn't matter if Malaysia is officially 52 years old today.



Independent political analyst Khoo Kay Peng has written a great article, battle between the old and new MCA expressing his view on the latest political drama back in Malaysia.

SOI LEK'S DRAMA

Drama is on again, same venue - political arena of Malaysia. Just look at Chua Soi Lek and tell me it is just another political drama to entertain us.

Ever watched Terminator? Of course he will be back once again [bet he will claim that rakyat chose and forgive him one more time] and, we will have dramatic return again.

As if we cant get enough of him, seriously. His "ma zhai" will help the Chua get back on his feet in no time and OTK would have to pay the price for being the bad guy here and plus all those PKNZ scandal, the timing couldn't be more right for Chua to call upon a coup de grace.

However, the fun doesn't stop right there...

Of course Chua is a little sad at the moment, just like he is rejected after his confession to the girl he liked for years. He posted I am Sacked! on his blog.

I don't really care whether he is really sad or pretending to be sad because I am sure he is real busy planning his comeback to the arena.


The comments followed his post really entertained me,


bslim said...

After all, when you are in MCA, you have NO GUTS to fight for the Chinese
community's rights and you are just only good at carrying "bola" of your masters.

The real loser will be those whom you carry their "bolas".

Bye bye....go retire.



Chaw Mun said...

Since you have been caught with your pants down, why not just fade away
gracefully?

You still can do many good things, like taking care of your grandchildren, the
needy and the poor.



Malaysians could be so mean and cute.

Of course there are much more out there suggesting him to join the DAP, PAS etc.. They are surely out of their mind, Chua is aiming to lead MCA. He has been waiting to eliminate OTK for so long. Why should he join some other party and start from below?

Poverty, Wealth, and Access

A lot must be wondering about the Pandemic Influenza(H1N1) Vaccines especially with the number of death soaring higher and higher back in Malaysia.

People tend to overlook three key factors as noted by Tadataka Yamada, the manufacturing capacity, cost, and existing delivery network we have.

Manufacturing capacity - As of now, there is impossible to manufacture the sufficient amount of vaccine for everyone in the world.

Cost might not be a barrier if we have government support.

Delivery is what I share with my sister recently. It is not about the when those vaccines are available but rather all the vaccines have been bought by the rich countries. The rich has existing contracts with vaccine manufacturers.

Everyone is trying to safeguard their interest here. Poor countries would have to wait at least a while before we are going to get some of those.

Tadataka Yamada shares in his article, Poverty, Wealth, and Access to Pandemic Influenza Vaccines:

“Manufacturers must resist the temptation to commit all their capacity to those who can pay the most. This is not a time to adhere to the “first come, first served” model of business, since we may be facing a health crisis of global proportions in which all people and countries are equally at risk.”

“I cannot imagine standing by and watching if, at the time of crisis, the rich live and the poor die. It will take collective commitment and action by all of us to prevent this from happening.”

Poverty, Wealth, and Access to Pandemic Influenza Vaccines – available here or here is a must-read for people out there. Great article with a unique perspective with no medical jargon used.

Post updated with links. > http://content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/NEJMp0906972v1.pdf

SAM & ESTER

WARNING THESE VIDEOS ARE NOT TO BE WATCH WHEN YOU ARE SURROUNDED BY POSITIVE ENERGY.

Anyone interested in supporting the 40 hour famine?


What is it?

The 40 Hour Famine is one of Australia’s largest youth fundraising events. It encourages young people to give up food or something else that matters for 40 hours (or 8 hours if you're in primary school), to raise funds for World Vision projects that assist children living in the world’s poorest countries. In 2009, funds raised in the 40 Hour Famine will go to help those suffering the effects of the Global Food Crisis.



Who does the 40 Hour Famine help?

Hungry children living in the world’s poorest countries...

Currently there are over 900 million chronically hungry people around the world, and approximately 1.4 billion live in extreme poverty. Malnourished children are more likely to die from ordinary illnesses like diarrhoea, malaria, tuberculosis and respiratory disease. 25,000 children die from hunger and preventable diseases every day.

Children are under threat of starvation and are most vulnerable when times get tough. Hunger denies children their basic right to adequate food and nutrition.


p/s: I have yet to decide about my contribution. Credits to Ester Yew for the videos.

PHARMACIES IN MALAYSIA

Everyone want a piece of pharmacy now. Pharmacy courses back in Malaysia have been blooming like crazy after mid 2008. A list of private institutions offering pharmacy course would illustrate my point.

1. International Medical University - Bachelor of Pharmacy (Hons), 4 years local.
2. International Medical University - Bachelor of Pharmacy (Hons), credit transfer 2 years to University of Otage, New Zealand.
3. International Medical University - Master of Pharmacy, 2 years local + 2 years at University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.
4. International Medical University - Master of Pharmacy, 2.5 years local + 1 year at University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.
5. UCSI - Bachelor of Pharmacy (Hons), 4 years local.
6. AIMST - Bachelor of Pharmacy (Hons), 4 years local.
7. University of Nottingham - Master of Pharmacy, 2 years local + 2 years at
University of Nottingham, UK.
8. Segi College - Master of Pharmacy, 2 years local + 2 years at University of
Sunderland, UK.
9. Monash University - Bachelor of Pharmacy, 4 years local.
10. Island College of Technology -Ijazah Sarjana Muda Farmasi (kerjasama USM) 4 years local.
11. Masterskill College - Bachelor of Pharmacy, 4+0 with La Trobe University, Australia.
12. Masterskill College - Diploma in Pharmacy, 3 years local.
13. CUCMS, Cyberjaya - Bachelor of Pharmacy (Hons), 4 years local.
14. CUCMS, Cyberjaya - Diploma in Pharmacy, 2.5 years local.
15. HELP University College - Ijazah Sarjana Muda Farmasi (kerjasama USM) , 4 years local.
16. Taylor’s University College - Master of Pharmacy, 2 years local + 2 years at Cardiff University. Soon.
 
Six new pharmacy programs in just a year, I would be happy to be a high school leaver and a applicant now. I guess none of you get my point yet. This phenomenon would probably affect the quality of pharmacy education one going to receive in Malaysia, forget about more pharmacy schools indirectly would promote more competition among schools and thus, pharmacy schools will have to raise the quality of education they are going to provide, to buck up. That is going to happen only in an ideal world, not in the Boleh-land.

The increased in number of pharmacy schools would serve as a means for MORE students to take up pharmacy course, and it might not be a good thing to begin with. Pharmacy courses at private institutions are not cheap and as a result, not many parents could afford the fees without taking up government education loan, the PTPTN. The cheapest pharmacy course, add up to a total of at least RM 100,000 would burn a hole in many parents' pocket, and that is for total fees only, add in the miscellaneous expenses and that number is not a small amount for majority of Malaysians so to speak. 

I still remembered the look my friends gave me when they realized I didn’t apply for the PTPTN because my parents could actually afford the fees during my one semester in UCSI.

There are people out there who can't afford it even after taking up the RM 80,000 loan.

If an average of 800 students are applying to get in any pharmacy course each year but only 200 chosen one are taken in because they are the only one who met the minimum requirement; before mid 2008, those 200 students will have to compete among each other to get in the pharmacy course at the institution they want, this would ensure the fittest [smartest or the one with the best result or the one with the money] would be able to pursue the course, promoting a healthy competition while others would have to live with the fact that they could not get in pharmacy. They have to look elsewhere, they have to forget their dreams, they have to settle for less, they are forced to do so.

Post mid-2008, basically everyone with money would be able to study pharmacy as long as you have a combination of not-too-bad results. Before mid-2008, most private institutions are facing problem filling up the entire quota allocated for pharmacy course. They will have more difficulties filling them up in future. If an instituition is allowed to take in 100 students for each intake and they managed to fill in 70 places, the numbers will drop further with the fierce competition among new schools of pharmacy.

This is happening in UCSI for years or at least for two most recent years (at the time this is posted). This however, is not that bad part because those 70 students taken in would be still able to cover the operation cost of the pharmacy course and thus the institution would still survive, assuming the total cost of conducting a pharmacy program for each semester is equal to the amount of fees paid by 50 students, in simpler words, you get 50 students to pay the fees and one private institution would [still able to] keep the programme running.

What if the total student admitted become less than 50? How is that possible, you asked. Because we have more pharmacy courses, more choices and a larger total quota to accommodate a bigger number of students, the 200 students in the earlier scenario can now pick the school they wanted to attend instead of the school choosing the students, now the schools are the beggers. If 200 students are sufficient to sustain only five reputable schools out there, if the number of institutions are increased to seven, we would only have around 30 students each institution. What is going to happen next?

How do they, the institutions who provide you with education in exchange for your money could still survive? They can, by lowering the minimum requirement to increase the amount of students "qualified" to take up pharmacy. This hopefully would help to maintain their viable business model. Then, students, the not-so qualified one will struggle with their studies and they give up eventually or the institution decided to lower the standard/quality/difficulty of education provided, so more students can pass. Rumors are, most public exams back in Malaysia are easier to score compared to the past.

If they are not going to do so and make the students pass, do you think parents would continue to support their children taking up pharmacy at that institution? Of course, they are going after QUALITY of education especially when it is their children we are talking about here as you might have in mind. Well, parents always wanted the best for their children until you are one for yourself and it is your children.

Most parents would end up transferring their children to another school of pharmacy, the one many students are able to graduate or in other words not-so-tough pharmacy course. Do you agree with me? No?. Do you think that any parents would be still able to act rationally, live in an ideal world and choose to go for quality, not being emotionally involved in the whole decision making process, deal with the possibility that their children not able to graduate with a pharmacy degree one day, that their child is not smart enough to be a pharmacist? 

I have not even a slight doubt about my parents choice if one day they are forced to make the difficult decision and most of all, my own decision. By hook or by crook, I want or rather I need a pharmacy degree regardless of the quality, giving up is announcing to the world that pharmacy has defeated me and that I am not one of the creme de la creme. I am not going to let that happen.

In other words, quality would have to give way eventually. If you think that Malaysia education [solely pharmacy degree in this case] is inferior compared to a prestigious degree done elsewhere in a developed country, it would be worse in the future. 

Young, a student taking medicine in UWA agrees with me, Not Another One. - here.

The only good thing I can think of about producing so many future-to-be pharmacists would probably help to feed the momentum pushing for the separation of dispensing and prescribing. What about the doctors and the cookies jar?
 

The doctors would stand firm on their stance of Malaysia is never (going to be) ready for that to be implemented and the pharmacists will refute that that is the way it should be (long time ago). The catch is, many pharmacists at that time might not be as competent as pharmacist today and even Lim Kit Siang is standing with the doctors – opposing separation of dispensing and prescribing, doctors-prescribe-pharmacists-dispense-patients-suffer – here.

The crucial question is - do you still think this is a good thing right now?

ANOTHER GIRL

When is the last time someone made you smile?

The first time I met her was few months ago when she supervise us, ensuring that we didn’t try to alter those exam papers during the feedback session. At the end of the session, I was going to “negotiate” with my tutor to take my marks off because they mark my paper wrongly.

She thought I was trying to get more marks like the others and her jaw dropped when she realized I was trying to get my marks reduced.

“But your answer is wrong.”
“That is why I am here because someone mark me right.”
“Oh, so honest.”

I still believe karma has its own way of redistributing. You get one mark here for something you don't deserve, you going to lose another eventually.

It is hard not to feature her today. She made me smile so many times in class.

She was young, funny, and cute when she is blurring (lol), soft spoken, nervous and bullied by us. I swear she dare not make eye contact with me although I sat the first row because each time she does that, I burst into laughing and that would send her mind into blank state for 0.5 second and she will lost her words.

She was obviously inexperienced and probably rehearsed multiple times in her mind about her “speech” or made some notes and kind of read it for the whole 50 minutes. That explains how her “speech” was kind of perfect and boring.

She is impressive as she tries not to miss out any sentence in those slides at all. Those been in teaching for years probably would say “All of you can read those at home” and proceed to the next point because they know it would bored us, and it surely did.

Anyhow, you did a quite good job today, Kim. It would be fun meeting you again next week.

SEM 2 | A GIRL | READINGS

Sneak peep at my semester two units with a maximum of 27 hours per week on campus.

Genetics in Pharmacy 121 – lots of STPM genetics chapter revisited with extras.
Punnett square, Mendel, phenotype, genotype, dominant/recessive genes, DNA replication, Hardy-Weinberg principles, mutation, virus, mitosis/meiosis. All those familiar terms are coming back. I have been warned that this is a killer subject by seniors though.

Epidemiology and Biostatistics 180 – Use of M.excel, looking at numbers and telling stories. The most interesting about this unit is students may take one A4 sheet of notes (either typed or hand written and double sided) and a calculator into the final exam. The word “may” is kind of underrated here.

Pharmaceutics 122 – More laws and regulations requirements relating to labelling and containers for pharmaceuticals and definitely more compounding. Compounding is a weird thing now considering neither the pharmacist here or in uk compound a lot these day. I asked them.

Pharmaceutical Chemistry 122 – Chemistry at last is getting related to drugs a lot, drug ionisation & pKa, drug stereochemistry, drug solubility, drug stability and all the pharmaceutical analysis of drugs.

Pharmaceutical Biology 123 – Introducing killer subject number two with micro-organisms; biological chemistry; muscles, nerves, action potential, Autonomic nervous system, stuff about bloods, cardiovascular system and kidneys.

At last microbiology is coming in and I welcome all three open book tests throughout the semester.




I think I never posted about her. I am looking forward to meet this girl again. Met her twice in a row end of last semester in the bus and she started to talk to me like I was suppose to know her (as in she and I have met each other before).

I was busy scanning my brain for images of her because I hate it when people look at me and ask “You don’t remember me, do you?”

After second encounter and she never mentioned my name at all, it is safe to assume that she doesn’t know me. It is weird when people don’t introduce themselves even after they started talking for a while.

What happen to “By the way, I am X X X and you are...”?

This time I will make sure I ask for her name.




Was reading about gender occupational segregation after all those gender inequality thing - Man, it’s tough going for women – here.

We’re not nice people – here – the article touches on Taman Sinar Harapan Government-run shelter for the mentally disabled in Kuala Kubu Baru, where some residents were naked and chained to their beds. Yes, it was reported earlier on by thestar.

The author noted our concern for these people didn’t even last a month probably we are more interested with politics now. Add ACCA to the list.

After reading Abandoned by their kids –here, Concern over rise in cases of forsaken seniors - here, and Strong family bond important, say experts – here , I have to agree with Asohan that we are indeed not nice people/children after all.

INTERVIEW - disorganized post

This is a highly disorganized post as I took days to finish it.


I can’t believe that it is 1am in the morning and I still have lots of daily online reading to do. [No more relevant on the day this is posted]

It was a Saturday early morning when I saw that particular vacancy. Composed a simple e-mail and sent in my resume. I didn’t expect any reply and definitely not on Sunday due to the lay-back culture over here and to my surprise, an interview is scheduled for me on Monday.

Monday morning couldn’t be more dramatic when I missed two buses, not one but two. The weird thing is, bus “100” supposes to pass by my place every 10 minutes but I waited around 20 minutes for a bus and I have seen THREE buses “100” pass by on the opposite side of the road throughout those 20 minutes.

Glad I still make it to the place ten minutes earlier and I got back only two and half hours later. It was an I-have learn-a-lot interview plus chit chat thing going on with the pharmacist in-charge.

We managed to touch on a lot of issues such as lifestyle diseases, his precious view on nutritional supplements, customer services, viable business model, courtesy, body language and eye contact during the two and half hours. He is a no-ordinary pharmacist. He has a lot to teach me.


One particular question he asked me was “Do you have eidetic memory/ photographic memory?” and sadly I have to answer “No, not at the moment.” I couldn’t believe that I actually forget to ask him the same Q after he told me to develop one. What a waste.


Last time one of my friends managed to brainwash me with the idea that independent pharmacy is facing tough competition from those operating under chain pharmacy. Apparently that is not all true or kind of doesn’t apply here/his pharmacy.


Lifestyle disease is definitely eye opening concept to me.


I was telling him about the incident where my ex-flatmate kind of argued with me over the amount of Ginkgo biloba to take (claim to boast your memory/ concentration) daily as I have the feeling that the recommended dose is actually a marketing strategy wanting you to finish the products faster.

He did linked Ginkgo with heart problems causing low/high (don’t remember which) blood pressure. HE however did mention that a large bottle of fish oils suppose to last you for months and consumer should only take supplements if they really need it. It all comes down to your [healthy] lifestyle.


I have a feeling that he could be a mean boss.

I too observe him throughout the informal interview. One particular incident was his mobile phone rang and I asked why didn’t he answer the call and he said to me :

“Those people in front of you are the one that matter the most/important. If it is important, they will ring me twice.” O

f course it did ring for second time eventually.


One particular thought was in my head at that very moment. He is either manipulative or he is being himself or really sincere. Why?

There is one particular scene in Red Cliff part 2 where Cao Cao needed every soldier to fight/die for him including those affected by the deadly, commutable and contagious plague. He eventually manages to raise his army’s morale and "manipulate" those sick soldiers to die for him by pretended that he cares for them and gave them an emotional speech.

The concept is kind of the same in Red Cliff and in the pharmacy.


The only closest memory trick I have ever done is to memorize a deck of poker cards in about half an hour two years back. It would a cool trick to do when you are trying to impress. 20 cards would take me less than ten minutes I hope.

The 2007 UK Memory Championships Ben Pridmore memorised a single shuffled deck of playing cards in 26.28 seconds beating the previous World Record of 31.16 seconds set by Andi Bell. Dominic O'Brien successfully set a new Guinness World Record by recalling 54 inter-shuffled decks of playing cards, having seen each card only once. He made 8 errors out of the 2808 cards, four of which he corrected himself after being told he had made the mistakes.

I am close to their records at least, in my own dream of course.


Went to city, new hair for new sem and Boarders for a few hours. The ice block featured at eunice's blog is no longer there (replaced by jazz music).

痴情

不要用痴情赌明天

女孩爱上男人时，如一朵蓓蕾初放，拼命盛放着自己的热情与爱。男人并不爱她，却贪恋她对他的好，舍不得放手。在女孩伤心得要离开他时，他却又很暧昧地对女孩说，你等我，我会慢慢爱上你的。

女孩便傻傻地等下来。明知道这场爱，未必有好结果，却又抱了希望。他坦然地接受着她的好，偶尔也会回报她，陪她看电影，请她吃饭，买了小礼物送她。

原来，男人所谓的承诺，不过是为自己铺好后路，好让他进退自如。在他山穷水尽时，你是他可以退守的最后阵地；在他前途无量时，他则另攀高枝，春风得意去了，哪里会凤冠霞帔回来娶你。一地残红，你自个儿收拾去吧。

爱情中，谁会为你虚席以待？王宝钏苦守寒窑十八载，等回薛平贵。可他也早已娶了西凉国公主为妻。即使后来，他封了她个正宫皇后，这样的补偿，不过是一份怜 悯的赏赐，已与爱情无关了。戏文里说，她与西凉公主姐妹相称，相处融洽。骗人的鬼话罢了。十八年为情熬瘦年华，她等来的，终究是个空。爱情的席位上，早已 坐上他人。她的心，凉透了，在被接进薛府十八天后，她就魂随风去，香销玉殒。

爱情中的女孩，千万不要用你的痴情去赌明天。爱就是爱，不爱就是不爱。爱你，就跟你在一起，无论悲欢苦厄，你们一起面对和担待。不爱，就请他走开去，不要让你枉自等待。爱情，本就是这么简单的一件事。

source and full text - here.

MANGLISH

What’s there to boast when we’re speaking Manglish?

WE Malaysians have always been praised by foreigners because we can speak several languages and dialects.

Most of us are able to at least master basic English and a few other languages.

We like to boast before our Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese and Korean friends that our English is better than theirs.

We even like to make fun of their English pronunciation and we feel superior to them.

But what is there to boast when we are just speaking Manglish most of the time?

Many of us fail to improve our English because of a complacent mindset.

We ignore grammar and include lots of Malay and Chinese words such as lah, arr, hor or de instead of using standard English expressions to convey our thoughts and feelings.

We think this is fine as long as our Manglish is understood by others.

For a long time, we have been living in complacency while the standard of English in the North-East Asian region has been improving fast.

More and more professionals and graduates from that region have made efforts to enhance their English in native English-speaking countries and more and more of them are able to shine internationally.

Meanwhile we are still speaking Manglish like “you got see Ali arr?” “Got arr, you never see him mie?”

While our Asian counterparts are going the extra mile to master English, we may still be thinking our English is better than theirs.

In actual fact, the number of their professionals and graduates who are proficient in English may even exceed our population!

YEOW BOON KIAT,

Petaling Jaya.

source: here.

CROCS

I think no one doesn't know the brand Crocs, the one brand that manage to manufacture shoes using a plastic polymer and with those little holes in between; setting a new trend. They come in a huge range of colors as well.

After having people going crazy over them for seven years selling over a record high number of one million pairs worldwide, they are facing a bottleneck situation now and they could go out of business in this September.

Crocs is totally over-rated in my opinion with the high price one pays to get a pair to look a little more trendy.

I do have a pair of pasar-malam Crocs in my room. Ha-ha. When they have big sales to liquidate the stocklater this year, be sure to stock up a few original Crocs.

Crocs鞋公司9月恐倒闭 - here.

解读陷入尴尬境地的六类爱情

暗恋

暗恋，可以说就是“最痛苦的甜蜜”。心里想着他/她，很美，但是就是不敢说出口。很甜蜜，但也很痛苦。所有的甜蜜可以自己慢慢来收集，但所有的痛苦也必须自己去扛。他/她甚至不知道，自己为他/她所想，所做。幻想也好，希望也罢，仅仅地存在于自己的脑海之中，就只是自己。

单恋

单恋不同于暗恋，这里的单恋指的不是“单相思”。单恋是说，双方都很明确彼此的感情，一方知道对方不喜欢自己还要喜欢对方，而另一方知道对方喜欢自己而明 确地告诉了对方自己不喜欢他。单恋勇气可嘉，明知不可为而为之。但是，强扭的瓜不甜，无论你怎么“不择手段”最后追上了对方，你们的爱情绝对没有“一拍即 合”的那种来得幸福。你们彼此心理的芥蒂早就根植于你们的潜意识里，不可拔除。有些女生质疑，婚前他追我的时候是那么海誓山盟，为什么一追到手就变了个样 子。道理就是这样。

苦恋

所谓苦恋，就是指两个人彼此相爱，但现实中有很多困难，包括主观的客观的。很多条件，不允许两个人相爱。这种情况真的是很痛苦，苦恋这两个字一点都不夸 张。这种情况下，真是爱愈深，伤愈痛，很凄美的一种爱情，生出了很多感人的爱情故事，很华美。但恋爱中双方不会认为他们华美，给他们的只有痛和苦。

忘年恋

首先可以肯定地说，忘年恋中有真爱，但真爱不多。一般说来，男人往往专注于女人的年轻美貌，而女人往往专注于男人的身份背景、地位财产，总体说来是一种各 取所需的富含商业气息的交换。就算是即便有真爱，也要忍受世俗的质疑目光，还要忍受那般指指点点，婆婆妈妈。如果真能做到走自己的路，让别人说去吧。那 么，就请接受漫漫长路中岁月的考验吧！

无性之恋

首先肯定，人没有纯粹的精神爱情，爱情纯粹到完全是精神领域上的，那是不可能的。那也不是一种正常的爱情。爱永远是灵与肉的和谐与统一。这二者任何一方不 和谐了，都是不正常的。对于一种无性的爱恋，如果双方都没有性的需求，那固然要好的多。如果仅仅有一方无性，那么需要忍受的，需要经历的，就多了复杂了也 充满荆棘充满坎坷了……忍，怎么来忍。

肉欲之恋

而有一种恋爱，就仅仅是维系于肉欲之上的爱。两人对什么都不感兴趣，就仅仅是对两人的身体。这种爱的结果，通常会使两人发展为情人。有人或许认为这是一个 很好的结局。但是，这种情况当且仅当两人都不结婚的时候，会很好，否则的话，两人都要忍受一种煎熬。人都会不自觉地把婚姻里的性和情人之间的性相对比，这 势必造成一种对婚姻的冲击。

source: here.

Words can be powerful sometimes.

GREENER GRASS (PART 2)

Barely a day after the first letter, refer the post before this, someone posted this letter.


First of all, I would like to remind Brazil that Singapore is indeed a fantastic place to be born. Acco ‘The Economist’ Intelligence Unit's 2005 Quality of Life survey ranked it the best country to live in Asia. In fact, in global rankings Singapore did better than the US, Japan, France, Britain, Germany and a host of developed, wealthy countries. Singapore is wealthy, peaceful, progressive and spared of natural or manmade disasters.

Malaysia falls behind Singapore in almost any meaningful measure - per capita GDP (nominal or PPP), average wage, quality of life, standard of living, human development, productivity, efficiency, economic freedom, ease of doing business, you name it.

[some texts missing]

Can you then blame Malaysians for looking enviously at their next door neighbour? We were equals just a 40 years ago, but look at the differences now!

I am not saying that Singapore is without its problems. Indeed, there is no one perfect country in this world. Every country from the war-torn Muslim countries to the wealthy West, all have their own set of problems to deal with. However, some countries are clearly doing better than others.

Singapore is clearly doing better than Malaysia who is in turn doing better than Indonesia. It is then almost insulting for someone from a rich and advanced nation to gripe about their issues and envy their poorer counterparts.

I don't think any sane Malaysian would complain about our government to friends from Iran. We shut up and listen to their complaints, for no matter how bad we are, we are clearly better off than them. In the same sense, I don't think any Singaporean should tell a Malaysian how Singapore isn't really much better.

Perhaps the most telling evidence of our relative strengths are the immigration patterns. How often do you see Singaporeans permanently migrating to Malaysia (for reasons other than retirement?) Contrast that to the thousands who make Singapore their permanent home yearly.

[some texts missing]

It angers me that Malaysian politics revolves around ethnic rights (Umno, Hindraf etc) when in reality the only right we should have is the right to work smart, work hard and be duly rewarded for it.

[some texts missing]

I currently work for a decent wage and I believe I do my job fairly well. However, if someone else came to compete for my job, would I demand to keep it based on my nationality, gender or race? I won't. I will double my efforts and show my employer why I am better than anyone else.

Failing that, I will happily cede my position to whoever is better than me. There is absolutely no reason why my nationality should even be an issue to consider!

[some texts missing]

My hope is that Brazil recognises just how lucky he/she is to be born in Singapore and how priviledged it is to share one's country with the rest of the world. True, Singapore like any country is not paradise. But it certainly is much better than most parts of the world.

full text- here.

I think i agree with this letter more than the previous one, but grass is always greener on the other side, no?

GREENER GRASS THE OTHER SIDE

'I curse the day I was born a Singaporean' Olinda Brazil | Jun 26, 09 5:05pm

It is very amusing to see how Malaysians (probably of the minority races) have spasms of ecstasy when referring to Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) in Malaysian forums. From across the border in Malaysia, Singapore seems like Wonderland and LKY like a benevolent god.

As a Chinese Singaporean, born of Malaysian parents who took up citizenship here in Singapore, I can understand why they feel this way. The grouses are familiar: NEP, corruption and ineptitude in governance.

Let me provide an insight on how it is like to be a Singaporean. I must first stress that new immigrants or Permanent Residents (PRs) from Malaysia (like my parents) will not experience any disadvantages. It is the children of these people (like me) or new PRs' children (who will be Singaporean) who will feel the disadvantages most sorely, and curse the fact they were born in Singapore:

[some texts missing]

Yes, corruption is more widespread in Malaysia. But in Singapore, it also exists - though restricted to the top political elite and in a legalised form. In Malaysia, many get a share of the cake but in Singapore, only a select few get a share of the cake.

Many scoff at the position of the Malay rulers. But are they aware of the many dubious acts of LKY and his cronies - his ‘cooperation’ with the wartime Japanese, then the Communists and then the British (he betrayed the latter two in the end)?

And the actions taken by him and his courts to destroy the opposition, moves which are reported in a twisted manner by his press? A shining example of good character?

[some texts missing]

Much of our money is locked in the Provident Fund and it is becoming impossible to get it back while we are still alive. Yes, all races are treated equally - and they are sucked dry equally. This is the pivotal point in times when things became bad. By the way, the money in the Provident Fund (as well as in the reserves) is used for investment - for which there is almost no transparency and accountability.

[some texts missing]

This means the ‘choosy’ Singaporeans get to twiddle thumbs at home. And would the Singaporean ministers care? They are paid $S$2 million basic per year, a performance bonus of up to eight months, and get a pension when they reach retirement age. Good clean governance, huh? Oh yes, the judges are paid the same too so not surprisingly they always find for the government.

Malaysians are LKY's top choice. It gratifies him to poach bright minority students which his old pal Dr Mahathir had educated. They get good jobs (there is supposedly a quota to be filled), will not get sacked (as it means they go back to Dr M) and are favoured by corporations, as they do not have national service obligations.

None want to be citizens - at the end of the day, they will retire to the Malaysia (which they hate so much) to enjoy the Singapore dollar’s strength. God have mercy on the children they leave behind!

[some texts missing]

To all Malaysians who love LKY, you have to be ruled by him, not as a PR turned citizen, but as a born and bred Singaporean, to understand that he is not what you think.Y ou curse Dr Mahathir because you know LKY will treat you like lords. You are correct but very shortsighted and shallow.

Dr Mahathir may be much less than perfect, but only ignorant fools will say LKY is better than him. Singapore residents receive two broadsheet pages daily on how bad things are in Malaysia, but no Singaporean commentator will blast LKY and compare him to Dr Mahathir.

Why? Because it is stupid to compare - we have not been ruled by Dr Mahathir or Umno so how are we able to compare? Using anecdotal evidence supplied by privileged fellow countrymen is poor practice.

Refer here for full letter. I feel that the letter is too long. Grass is always greener on the other side.