A Sense of Urgency

My aunt from UK came down with her husband Peregrine and her two children son, jonie and daughter, steff. I was given the responsibility of taking them around last sunday. First to the KL Tower for lunch. That took 3 hours. Then a short driving tour of KL. That took 1 hour. The jams around KL due to the silly police road blocks did not help much. Then to Putrajaya. That took another 2 1/2 hours. Then rushed them to Bandar Utama for a japanese dinner with the whole family at Shogun (didn't know that existed). I excused myself as i had to work on a case the next day. The day before on saturday, it was lunch, shopping, dinner at at Itallianis and then a drinking session at a pub at the Curve (a place i abhor but had to give in for the sake of my cousins and brother). I had not been at a pub for a long time. The music was LOUD. The lyrics obscene. The air was filled with cigarrete smoke and so many young people around. If you want noise pollution, air pollution, and drink pollution, go to a pub. Go ahead and enjoy but when you get to forty, you'd probably be diagnosed with a few kinds of chronic diseases. No wonder so many die young these days.

The long and short of it was that it was very hectic for me. This was definitely not my normal kind of weekend. My aunt and family had one agenda after another.. one place to visit after another, one relative to visit after another. They are now in Langkawi. Every minute counts. Only 7 days in Malaysia. They had been to Hong Kong and Singapore, Thailand next on the agenda. Make every day count. Make every day an action packed one. Its like this when we go to a foreign country. So much experience to gain. So much places to see and so many people to meet. Time was of the essence. It's like when one has to leave and won't come back. Like dying in some ways. If we know we are going to die tomorrow, or soon, i think we might behave like tourists.

When i was the 'tourist guide' for the day in KL, so many questions were posed to me by Mr. Peregrine while we were at the KL Tower at the revolving restaurant. You get a bird's eye view of the whole of KL and it is an awesome sight. I was asked - 'What is that place?' 'And that'? 'Is that an air strip?' 'And that vast green field over there?' 'What is that triangle shaped building over there?' 'What is that building over there?' etc. etc. The same questions while we were on the road. I made a poor tourist guide. All i could say to most of the questions was 'i don't know' - it then dawned upon me that i was a stranger in my own city. These people come from overseas and there is a great sense of urgency to know and experience everything they see, while i, who am here everyday, take everything for granted. That was a 'buddha' moment for me. Well maybe it helps to have foreigners, teenagers and children around. They ask a lot of questions about everything - from places to politics to economics, to philosophy. No end of questions- keeps one awake all the time. It was a wake up call for me. Time to visit more buildings and places around the city and become a good tourist guide next time.

The Audacity of Hope

Barack Obama looks promising. Against all odds, he is now the Democratic nominee for the President of the United States. A year back, who had the audacity to think that? I have read “The Audacity of Hope” written by Obama himself. He shares much of his ethics/values in the book and if he carries them out when he becomes President, I think we can all have the audacity to hope for a more just and fair tomorrow.

This word ‘audacity” was used by another prominent black leader, the greatest of them all, so far, – Martin Luther King Jr. King fought for the right of the Negro to vote and today, about 40 years later after he was assassinated, a Negro is running for President. What audacity! Now is a good time to reminisce about King. In his Nobel Prize Speech, King said:-

“I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept the idea of the “is-ness” of man’s present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal ‘oughtness” that forever confronts him. I refuse to accept the idea that man is a mere flotsam and jetsam in the river of life which surrounds him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality. I believe that even amid today’s mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nation, can be lifted up from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men. I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered man have torn down, other-centered men can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow down before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed and non-violent goodwill will proclaim the rule of the land. I still believe that we shall overcome. This faith can give us courage to face the uncertainties of the future. It will give our tired feet new strength as we continue our forward stride toward the City of Freedom. Today I come to Oslo as a trustee, inspired and with renewed dedication to humanity. I accept this prize on behalf of all men who love peace and brotherhood”.

King also said in his “How long” speech:-

We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience. That will be a day not of the white man, not of the black man. That will be the day of man as man. I know you are asking today, “How long will it take?” I come to you this afternoon however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because truth crushed to earth will rise again.
How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever.
How long? Not long, because you reap what you sow
How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.

And then we have the King’s “I have a dream” speech:-

“I have a dream today!’
I have a dream that one day every valley, shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord will be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.

With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.”

King was a prophet when he said:-

“Injustice everywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly”.

With the world getting smaller each day, King’s words are magnified many times over.

And what did King say about ‘death’? In his ‘A drum major for righteousness’ speech, King said as follows:-

Every now and then I guess we all think realistically about that day when we will be victimized with what is life’s final common denominator – that something we call death. We all think about it. And every now and then I think about my own death, and I think about my own funeral. And I don’t think of it in a morbid sense. Every now and then I ask myself, “What is it that I would want said?” And I leave the word to you this morning.

I’d like somebody to mention that day, that Martin Luther King Jr., tried to give his life serving others.

I’d like for somebody to say that day, that Martin Luther King Jr., tried to love somebody.

I want you to say that day, that I tried to be right on the war in question.
I want you to say that day, that I did try to feed the hungry.

And I want you to be able to say that day, that I did try, in my life, to clothe those who were naked.

I want you to say, on that day, that I did try in my life, to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say that I tried to serve humanity.

Yes I want you to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won’t have the money to leave behind. I won’t have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. And that is all I want to say.

If I can help somebody pass along, if I can cheer somebody with a word or song, if I can show somebody he is travelling wrong, then my living would not have been in vain. If I can do my duty as a Christian ought, if I can bring salvation to a world once wrought, if I can spread the message as the master taught, then my living will not be in vain”.

At the end of his book, Obama wrote:-

“..I think about America and those who built it. The nation’s founders who somehow rose above petty ambitions and narrow calculations to imagine a nation across a continent. And those like Lincoln and King, who ultimately laid down their lives in the service of perfecting the imperfect union. And the faceless, nameless men and women, slaves and soldiers, tailors and butchers, constructing lives for themselves and their children and grandchildren, brick by brick, rail by rail, calloused hand by calloused hand, to fill in the landscape of our collective dreams. In that process I wish to be part of. My heart is filled with love for this country”

Martin Luther King Jr. – truly a great man. The salt of the earth. Like Barack Obama, I have the audacity to hope that good men and women can make a change and will eventually prevail.

The Kingdom of God, Jesus and John Lennon

More than 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ said ‘kingdom of God’ is at hand. ‘Kingdom of God’ means a kingdom where good, truth and righteousness reign supreme, where there is no more injustice, oppression and tyranny, where peace and justice flow like the river. It’s a long time now and still no kingdom of God in the world. Was Jesus a dreamer? Is the kingdom of God just an ideal that would never ever be realized? Is it all fantasy? Or is it closer at hand than we imagine?

What if the only way for the kingdom of God to come is though weakness and vulnerability, sacrifice and love? What if it can conquer only after being conquered? What if being conquered is absolutely necessary to expose the brutal violence and dark oppression of these governments of the day, to show that no human system of government or ideology, can be trusted – so that they, having been exposed, can be seen for what they are and freely rejected - making room for the new and better kingdom of God to come?

What if the kingdom of God must in these ways, fail first in order to succeed? What if our only hope lies in this impossible paradox: the only way the kingdom of God can be strong in a truly liberating way is through a scandalous, non coercive kind of weakness: the only way to be powerful is through astonishing vulnerability; the only way we can live is by dying, by moving from selfishness to selflessness: the only way it can succeed in the end is by failing first? Scientists believe in evolution. The kingdom of God is evolving too. Slowly, but surely, we are beginning to distrust the governments and the systems of this world, as their serious shortcomings are exposed daily through the wonderfully evolving media. Never in man’s history has information and knowledge been transferred and shared at such astonishing speed. Perhaps our new found knowledge and collective experiences are moving us towards a kingdom which emphasizes more on the self government of the individual, where the internal laws or morality and compassion, will eventually prevail over external laws. Perhaps the day will finally come when then is no need for governments and the kingdom of God within each one of us is finally realised - that we are all one and that a house divided, cannot stand.

As in John Lennon’s “Imagine”

Imagine there’s no heaven
Its easy if you can
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
And the world will live as one

Government

We cannot trust the government. The government is supposed to make life easier for us. But it oppresses us. Government uses force - laws, army, police, court, guns, jails, detention centers etc. You expect that force to be used only against the bad guys, the guilty but most often these days we see that force is used against the innocent. The innocent are put in remand, put in detention centers, subject to physical and mental torture while the guilty with 'the connections' get scott free. Forget about equality before the law. Those in Government is above the law.

The Government is all about politics. Everything is transformed into a political issue — to be decided by those with the most political influence. And that will never be the people, you or I. Politicians don't weigh their votes or decisions on the basis of ideals or social good. They think in terms of political power. The government cannot be controlled. It's easy to think of ideal laws that will stop the bad guys while leaving the good guys alone. But no law will be enacted the way we have in mind, it won't be administered the way we have in mind, and it won't be adjudicated the way we have in mind. The ideal laws will be written by politicians for political purposes, administered by bureaucrats for political purposes, and adjudicated by judges appointed for political purposes. Those in power will do even shocking and scandalous things to stay in power. So don't be surprised if the new laws and promises of the Government turns out to do exactly the opposite of what we thought they would do. Give the politicians an ideal and they turn it into a political deal.

It is a fact that Government will always use power to abuse. Give good people the power to do good, that power will end up in the hands of bad people to do bad. The problem isn't the abuse of power, it's the power to abuse. Give politicians power and it will be abused eventually, if not by today's politicians, then by their successors.

Finally, Government does not work. Because Government is force, because government policies are designed to enrich the politically powerful, their families, cronies, proxies and supporters, because we can't control government and make it do what's right, because every new government policy soon wanders from its original purpose, and because politicians eventually misuse the power you give them, it is inevitable that no government policy will deliver on the promises the politicians make for it.

The best we can do is to ensure that the absolute limits on government as enshrined in the constitution drafted by the founding fathers of the country- who normally are the most idealistic lot because they had just got independence from the previous Government that bullied and oppressed them. If these absolute limits have been eroded upon, then the first step is to restore these absolute limits, and then, if the people choose, to work to change those limits to ones that meet the needs of the day.

In conclusion, politicians care nothing for the people's desires. If we really want to make a difference in society, if we really want to improve life, let us do something for ourselves and our family today. Let us be the change in our immediate environment and to the people who come into contact with us with their problems. That's where we have real control, that's where we don't need to rely on politicians, or anyone else, and we can make sure the results are as we have planned and intended. Real good is always achieved by the ordinary man working in an environment outside government.

The 30% curse

When we were young, we were on the paper chase. Now when we have the paper, we are on the money chase. Yes i have been busy trying to make money so no time to blog. Sad ain't it? The problem is that money comes slowly these days. With inflation and a stagnant economy, you have to seriously think how to make money. That takes a lot time too. A lot of time spent at the restaurants and cafes with close friends thinking how to make more money. But sometimes the ideas don't come as quickly as you would like them to. Sometimes despite you trying your best, money does not come. That can be most frustrating. Sometimes when you least expect it, money comes. I spoke to a mystic the other day. She told me - 'you always miss by 30%'. I asked her what she meant by that. She said - 'you always achieve 70% success rate in the 'big deals'.- which was true, coming to think about it. She told me that what i got was determined by the law of karma - you reap what you sow. So if in our past lives we have not been charitable, we find it hard to earn money in this life. Things don't come as smoothly. If we have been generous in our past life and a lot of people had owed us debts, then there is a very good chance that we would win a lottery in this lifetime. That explains why so few of us strike the lottery. Our nature is to be selfish. There are 'deva' postmen out there to despatch our karma- good or bad to us. They are the 'accountants' of the universe and they cannot be bribed. (This was news to me). I asked her what is the solution to remove 'the 30% curse'. She said that this world is a 'universe-ity' to teach us to be charitable. So if you want to be rich, have a comfortable, anxiety free life in this life and the next, be charitable. Give and you will be given. The more you give, the more you recieve. For misers, this is the most hard teaching to follow. If you have been a nasty person in your previous life, you will have it bad in this lifetime. But there is a solution - be charitable. Do lots of charity. That was the advice she gave me. I told her i don't have enough to be charitable. She reprimanded me -'Take back what you said. If you think lack, you attract lack (the law of attraction?). You always have something to give. Give what you can with a glad heart. You need not only give money. You can give your time. Chatting with a sick person, with a downtrodden friend, giving food to an animal etc. etc.- all are charity. You always can give something'. To prove her point, she gave me two small blue elephants, which she brought from Bangalore. She could not give me a real life elephant from Bangalore, so she gave me two small elephants, - 'to represent Ganesha', she said. Ganesha in the hindu faith is the lord who removes obstacles. I felt touched by her charity. The truth is charity touches people's lives. Charity removes obstacles, like lord Ganesha.

Of course if you are a Christian, then Jesus Christ removes all your bad karmas at the cross by his great act of charity of dying for the bad karmas (sin) of the world, when you decide to accept him as Lord and Savior. But someone may say that can't be done because the law of karma is universal and unending. My argument would be that the Buddha said that nothing is impermanent. We all know what a spiritual giant the Buddha was. If nothing is impermanent, then the law of karma also cannot be permanent. There is a way out- The way of charity. The way of Jesus Christ, the way of the Buddha, the way of Ganesha. Always the way of charity - and the truth- charity, shall set us free from bad karmas and bad luck. We all do the paper chase, the money chase. Few are interested in the chase to be charitable and that explains why many are chased by this mentality of lack. May all be well and happy.

The Interview

I decided to give Mr. T an interview today. Mr. T is not your normal kind of guy. He attracts attention wherever he goes. He makes heads turn. He amuses little children like Roland McDonald would or Colonel Saunders. He is a ‘celebrity’ no one has interviewed before. So I asked him if he would give me an exclusive interview which I said I would post on my blog. He was hesitant at first but consented after much persuasion. Well here is the interview – up, close and personal with Mr. T.

What do you think of life? I think life sucks.

Why sucks? Pain.

What do you think of your mum? She was Ok. I miss her. In the sense she achieved a bit. She brought up her family well.

What do you think of your dad? I think he is a great guy. Because he can bring 6 donkeys up facing all kind of problems till age 79 which we celebrated a few weeks ago.

What do you think of people generally? All cannot be trusted. I want to ask you one question – how many people have stick with you? Have not cheated you? You know you have been cheated. The doctor who took my mum’s life away. My best friend who took my girlfriend away. There is no promise in life. Things change. For better or worse. To me its worse. I have not seen things get better. Chinese are ungrateful people. Because they are greedy. They want more. Malays are ungrateful but better than the Chinese, why I don’t know, cannot explain . They cannot be loyal but up to certain point you can trust them but the Chinese they are snake. If they go their share they don’t care. But the moment they don’t, that’s it. But Indian – they are snake. Cannot trust at all. Whether they have advantage or not they are trying to get more. I mean Indian lawyers they are actually part of them.

What about you? You are Chinese. Are you ungrateful too? Well you decide for yourself. Am I ungrateful? I mean generally. Of course there are exceptions. One or two. There are always exceptions.

So that goes for the Indians and Malays too? The exceptions? Yes.

What is your dream in life? No dream.

But everybody has a dream? I don’t. Well I only have one goal – to make life better brought up my daughter, finish my commitment that it is.

Do you think u can achieve this dream? No problem

What is the greatest achievement in life? Well having able to live until today is the greatest achievement already. This year 41 to 42 . Be content.

What is your philosophy in life? Live a day at a time

Do u believe in God? What? What God?

How is your wife? I don’t know. Oklah, better than me.

How is your daughter? She is naughty.

Anything else you want to say about your daughter? Nothing. Well only this Saturday my wife is going for camping. I have to sleep with my daughter. That is nice. I will be sticking with her the whole day- she is terrible. And then she has got to watch cartoon. She want to share TV with me. Its Ok.

What do you think of the world? The world is going to end soon.

Why? I don’t know it’s just my feeling you know… I am pissed not being the selected one.

The selected one? You know some people buy one lottery and they strike it rich. I buy the lottery – but I don’t strike, I am not the selected one.

What lesson have you learnt in life? Don’t trust anybody.

That all? Yes.

What are the greatest enjoyments in your life? When I have my daughter. When I was a father.

What are the other enjoyments of your life? Food, TV. Sleeping, beautiful women. Can see but cannot touch because there is always a price to pay.

Who is the most beautiful woman to you? Tang Wei. You know she looked so tall and sexy in Lust, caution. Don't you think so?

Yes, she was. What is your greatest disappointment? Maybe I should have achieved better in life. Maybe if I got a degree. I can’t find my direction now. I fall down I don’t know how to get up. I am lost. The moment you fall u have to get up immediately. I am quite used to it.

You know, you are a star wherever you go. People actually are attracted to you. How do you feel with all the attraction from old and young alike? I am used to it. No big deal.

What advice would u give young people these days? Don’t trust anybody. Work hard. Work smart.

Corruption

In Wall Street, the movie, Gordon Gekko (played by Michael Douglas) says:-

'The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind'.

I have never been able to forget those words and the shuddering effects they evoke in my spine.

So much is said today about corruption. What are the root causes of corruption? They are ignorance, apathy, and greed. These breed ineffienciency and inefficiency breeds corruption. The ultimate remedy for corruption therefore must confront all three root causes. Greed is wanting and taking more than one morally deserves. Ignorance is lack of knowledge of the pros and cons of conduct or policy and apathy is pure ‘tidak apa-ism’- a couldn’t care less attitude. In Malaysia and in the entire world, the disease of corruption has reigned supreme. It is the cause of the widening gap between the rich and the poor.

What can a social revolutionist do about these root causes besides talking and complaining about this evil social ill? Henry George points to the answer. He says that sympathy is potentially a much stronger motivating force than self-interest.

"Shortsighted is the philosophy which counts on selfishness as the master motive of human action... If you would move men to action, to what shall you appeal? Not to their pockets, but to their patriotism; not to selfishness, but to sympathy. Self-interest is, as it were, a mechanical force - potent, it is true; capable of large and wide results. But there is in human nature what may be likened to a chemical force; which melts and fuses and overwhelms; to which nothing seems impossible. 'All that a man hath will he give for his life' [Job 2:4] - that is self-interest. But in loyalty to higher impulses men will give even life." (Progress and Poverty).

People and their leaders must first eliminate their own ignorance to educate themselves to gain knowledge of the basic causes and remedies for social problems, including the economics, politics, and morality of the problems and solutions. Then when they educate others, they must at the same time invoke their antipathy the problem and arouse their sympathy with the remedy.

When the masses are roused with sympathy and armed with knowledge of the remedy, the greedy opponents will either be swayed themselves to join the righteous battle, or be overwhelmed by the greater force of the righteous revolution.

To remedy corruption, society must implement policies which replace ignorance, apathy and greed with knowledge, sympathy, and charity. The point is, ladies and gentleman, that charity, for lack of a better word, is good. Charity is right, Charity works. Charity clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Charity, in all of its forms; Charity for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.