How should we judge a government?

In Malaysia, if you don't watch television or read newspapers, you are uninformed; but if you do, you are misinformed!

"If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing." - Malcolm X

Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience - Mark Twain

Why we should be against censorship in a court of law: Publicity is the very soul of justice … it keeps the judge himself, while trying, under trial. - Jeremy Bentham

"Our government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no
responsibility at the other. " - Ronald Reagan

Government fed by the people

Government fed by the people

Career options

Career options
I suggest government... because nobody has ever been caught.

Corruption so prevalent it affects English language?

Corruption so prevalent it affects English language?
Corruption is so prevalent it affects English language?

When there's too much dirt...

When there's too much dirt...
We need better tools... to cover up mega corruptions.

Prevent bullying now!

Prevent bullying now!
If you're not going to speak up, how is the world supposed to know you exist? “Orang boleh pandai setinggi langit, tapi selama ia tidak menulis, ia akan hilang di dalam masyarakat dan dari sejarah.” - Ananta Prameodya Toer (Your intellect may soar to the sky but if you do not write, you will be lost from society and to history.)

Monday, May 24, 2010

Mistakes in different guises

All of us made mistakes at one time or another.

Late Saturday night, after a nap and while feeling sleepy I opened my mail and got message from my daughter that she lost contact with her sister's friends from abroad on a visit because she left her phone at home when attending a wedding. On Sunday morning, I re-read the message and discovered it was an urgent message, more of despair that she had lost it after the wedding!

What went through my mind as a concerned parent included whether to contact her nearest aunt to check her out, my friends or her friends if I have their numbers, etc. and the thought of the unlucky timing when her brother (who has just taken on the role of a big brother living with her) is away attending another wedding in Singapore!

My suggestion to wife to call her sister was responded with her alternative suggestion (as always) that she goes to Selama in the north (work) while I go to KL to see what's happening, especially our promises to those European friends to make their visit memorable.

It was a good job I did not act on impulse. I could have just got my bag of clothes and start my journey as what any anxious dad would do, but I told my wife to wait for new developments after I had called her phone twice (rang but followed by 'cannot be reached' replies), left message to finder (even though chances next to zero if found by others), emailed her, and even messaged her in Facebook! My wife was anxious to leave for Ipoh flea market on the way north (some priority) and it was left to me to decide whether to go to KL! By 9.30 am, I got a call from her mobile phone! Positive results from my message to finder I thought... and it turned out to be the owner! She was complaining about my over-reaction at only 9 am and for not giving her a chance to look for it again!

We have come to the stage of accepting the mobile phone as so important and necessary that losing it and the communication that comes with it (the all-important contacts in memory card too) can cause so much anxieties! Without instant communication, our expectations were much lower and ignorance seemed bliss. When I was in UK in the early 70s, we relied on snail mail and calling home was a luxury reserved for special occasions or emergencies.

Coming back to the original topic of mistakes:

If a BARBER makes a mistake, it's a new style.
If a DRIVER makes a mistake, it's an accident.
If a DOCTOR makes a mistake, it's an operation.
If an ENGINEER makes a mistake, it is a new venture. (I would prefer structure)
If a POLITICIAN makes a mistake, it is a new law.
If a SCIENTIST makes a mistake, it is a new invention.
If a TAILOR makes a mistake, it is a new fashion.
If a TEACHER makes a mistake, it is a new theory. (which you continue until someone points out to you later in life)
If a STUDENT makes a mistake, it is a "MISTAKE"! (because the teacher said so?)

I wish to add that if a parent made a mistake, it was over-reaction!


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