This story reminds me of Tun ...

because of carpentry and bridges... but the similarities end there, because the former happens to be only a hobby while the latter were built after artificial lakes were created.


The Carpenter

Once upon a time, two brothers who lived on adjoining farms fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in 40 years of farming side-by-side, sharing machinery and trading labor and goods as needed without a hitch.

Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major difference and finally, it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence.

One morning there was a knock on John's door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter's toolbox. "I 'm looking for a few days' work," he said. "Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there I could help with? Could I help you?"

"Yes," said the older brother. "I do have a job for you. Look across the creek at that farm. That's my neighbor. In fact, he's my younger brother! Last week there was a meadow between us. He recently took his bulldozer to the river levee and now there is a creek between us. Well, he may have done this to spite me, but I'll do him one better. See that pile of lumber by the barn? I want you to build me a fence an 8-foot fence -- so I won't need to see his place or his face anymore."

The carpenter said, "I think I understand the situation. Show me the nails and the post-hole digger and I'll be able to do a job that pleases you."

The older brother had to go to town, so he helped the carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day. The carpenter worked hard all that day -- measuring, sawing and nailing. About sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job.

The farmer's eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped. There was no fence there at all.

It was a bridge! A bridge that stretched from one side of the creek to the other! A fine piece of work, handrails and all! And the neighbor, his younger brother, was coming toward them, his hand outstretched.

"You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all I've said and done."

The two brothers stood at each end of the bridge, and then they met in middle, taking each other's hand. They turned to see the carpenter hoist his toolbox onto his shoulder.

"No, wait! Stay a few days. I've a lot of other projects for you," said the older brother.

"I'd love to stay on," the carpenter said, "but I have many more bridges to build."

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The hand that rocks the cradle is now rocking the world...

with their philosophies in life.

Actually, it is more like a psywar, with each side thinking he or she is superior. For the first time, a lady friend commented that modern man has a hard life (Hokien: 'phai meah'), having to look after baby and do the household chores, unlike in the old days when a man of the house (including his sons) was served by his wife or daughters.

But then again, there are things which bother women, like the reason behind this excuse for day off...


Best excuse by a female employee !

This incident, is supposed to have happened in real life.

My friend, who is a the head of Human Resources at a very large bank, says that the best excuse for absenteeism, that he had ever received in his career of almost 22 years, was from a female Indian employee, at their bank's headquarters at Mumbai, India, in July, 2010.

He says when the lady, was questioned on why she remained absent the previous day, she simply replied:

"But sir, I had no option. My husband was on casual leave yesterday and was at home. By mistake he took pills from the wrong bottle in our medicine cabinet and ended up consuming an over-dose of Viagra!
 
Now how could I have left him, all alone at home, with the house-maid? "

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TM, service or disservice?

As a giant telecommunication company which used to be a monopoly, it is difficult for its staff to feel the need to be nice to customers because any loss of custom will not be felt unless and until the numbers could make a difference to its bottomline.

From my personal experience, in my humble opinion, I find TM tried to do its public relations bit, but not satisfactory.

There was a time when a change in CEO involved a change in logo as well as officers dressed in suits welcoming anyone going into their sales office. This was overkill and totally unnecessary because I actually felt awkward (dressed in shorts) being greeted like a VIP.

Once, I was asked to report for a baker friend that both his shop and home telephones were out of order. As TM was on my way home, I obliged. At the TM Point office, I was directed to use the phone installed on a wall. When asked for subscriber's name, I was stumped. I asked them if it was possible for them to report instead without this information. But obviously, it was impossible then. I told them of my disappointment that they have a full staff of people yet unable to help in reporting a faulty phone! What if a subscriber had hearing problem and/or unable to follow instructions according to the call centre? It used to be possible to report over the counter, but progress meant impersonal service bordering on ludicrousness.

More recently, a retired civil servant could not report about his faulty house phone because when asked to 'Enter your area code, telephone number, followed by the hash key', he read out the numbers (instead of keying them in) and wondered what was the hash key, and got a recorded reply: 'insufficient information'. His particular house phone was out of order a few times over two weeks. Frustrated, he went to the TM office and said that he is thinking of cancelling the service and use an alternative provider. The staff member replied nonchalantly, 'suka hati' or 'if it pleases you', which to me was as good as telling him, 'take it or leave it... it is up to you... it makes no difference to me'. Just imagine the harm to the company's image if this was done by TM staff all over the country!

For the past couple of days, I have received calls, purportedly from TM asking if we wish to upgrade to a faster package. Each time I declined. This afternoon, soon after one such call, I got another call which when asked, confirmed he was calling from TM. I told him that I am not interested in any upgrade and he actually got angry at my presumption. In an angry voice, he said that he called not to sell anything but just to ask about the service! Just imagine my disbelief at his claim because I did not complain about disruption of service at all recently, except about the unfair extra charges which TM found the need to synchronize the billing of their internet and telephone charges.

Recently, I received a call and when I answered, nobody spoke on the other end, and I was put on a recorded message informing me that my bill was still outstanding and told to dial 100 for details. I double-checked and confirmed that I had already paid using M2U on Nov 16. I dialled 100 to check and the surprising thing was that TM system gave details that my account was in credit to the amount of the last bill and payment was made on Nov 19 (this was useful because it confirmed my suspicion that Maybank took time to forward amount to payee). I cannot help but feel the caller actually used the recording indiscriminately because his real intention was on sales.


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Another Malaysian joke: A priest's dying wish

In Kuala Lumpur a venerable old priest lay dying in hospital. He was 93, and for years he had faithfully served the people of the nation's capital.

He knew his end was near, and he motioned for his nurse to come closer.

"Yes, Father?" said the nurse.

"I would really like to see the Prime Minister Najib and the ex-PM Mahathir before I die," whispered the priest.

The hospital authorities sent the request to Parliament and waited for a response.

Soon word arrived: Prime Minister Najib and Mahathir would be delighted to visit the aged priest.

As they entered the hospital, followed by a media throng and cameras from all the TV networks, Najib commented to Mahathir, "I don't know why this old priest wants to see us, but going to see him for a few minutes won't hurt our image. It might even get me re-elected Prime Minister. After all, I'm IN IT TO WIN IT".

Mahathir agreed that it was a good thing, as he wanted to remain as "adviser" and play with our money like it was Monopoly or growing on a tree.

When they arrived at his room, the priest beamed and clasped Najib's hand in his right hand and Mahathir's hand in his left.

There was silence and a look of serenity spread over the old priest's wizened visage.

Finally PM Najib broke the silence.

"Father, of all the people you could have chosen, why did you want us to be with you as you near the end?"

The old priest slowly replied, "I have always tried to pattern my life after our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

"Of course", said Najib.

"Amen," said Mahathir.

"Jesus died between two lying thieves; I would like to do the same." said the priest.

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Who is the MasterMind behind Deepak and Musa?

My post title leaves a clue... after reading Haris Ibrahim's credible analysis of recent events...


"Who was the mastermind behind these revelations?
One reliable way to unravel the mystery is by ascertaining who stands to benefit from it all.
And often in examining the evidence the obvious is not necessarilly right..."

"Najib in fact is one of Pakatan’s biggest assets for the election.
With him gone, Barisan Nasional’s chances would brighten.
A brilliant plan!"

More:
http://harismibrahim.wordpress.com/2012/12/01/the-mastermind/


Politics is very intriguing, where there are no permanent friends nor enemies. James Bond films introduced us to 'double agents' or even 'triple agents', with many twists until the very end. Police undercover agents are sworn to secrecy... who when it comes to the crunch, even relatives are not recognized (Cantonese: luk charn part yeng). 

The coming GE is going to be the most interesting, if not most dirty. Umno has already declared 'war' to 'defend Putrajaya at all costs'. But Haris is suggesting a serious infighting within Umno. There is always the notion that 'an enemy of my enemy is my friend' where self-interest is concerned. Whether one is an asset would depend on which side you are referring to. For example, Nazri claimed he is an asset to Umno, but with his arrogance, he is actually an asset to the opposition instead, thus making him a liability to Umno.

From previous incidents, Najib was known to have made decisions at the last minute when he was certain of who was going to be the victors. Now, he is in the position of having to rely on some others to maintain his position as President of Umno and by virtue of that, as Prime Minister of Malaysia. We have witnessed before that even the Great One was ousted by party leaders. So, beside commanding support in the party, Najib has to contend with the party's support in the next General Election which is due within months. 

The coming GE is interesting in so many ways. This is the first time when a credible coalition of parties has a fighting chance to win. It is also a time when a sitting PM will be testing his popularity for the first time at the end of his tenure. Moreover, it will test whether the Great Tun still has what it takes to decide who should be PM in a situation where someone he is most against, just might have the last laugh. Lim Guan Eng was rewarded with Chief Ministership of Penang in GE 12. Will Anwar Ibrahim be rewarded with Prime Ministership of Malaysia in GE13? For his manipulative and unforgiving past, I personally wish to see Tun witness the fall of BN, which would also prove that there are things beyond his control.
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