Ukrainian CPR, Russian Life Support and the Boris Yeltsin Classification of Heart Failure

I resuscitated a corpse today. Needless to say, I failed.



Ukrainian CPR, Russian Life Support and the Boris Yeltsin Classification of Heart Failure

I resuscitated a corpse today. Needless to say, I failed.

I pumped air and fluids and drugs into a man who was already dead.

Ahmad (not his real name) was stiff as a log by the time I was referred to him, more of a cadaver than a human being in distress.

It was not difficult to see why.

The first house officer was breaking his ribs instead of pumping his heart.

His counterpart had no experience in setting an intravenous cannula ever before.

The third of the trio simply stood by – an idle spectator in the midst of chaos. He should have brought some popcorn with him instead of a stethoscope.

The three had one thing in common – they graduated from medical schools in Ukraine and Russia.

I don’t blame the house officers for the patient’s death.

I blame the deceitftul agents that lured parents into parting with their hard-earned money to pay for a medical education in Russia and Ukraine.

I blame Malaysian parents for coercing and sometimes forcing their offspring to pursue a medical degree despite clear suggestions that their children might not make successful doctors.

I blame the universities that make Malaysian students labor for six years in a foreign land learning a foreign language only to end up as clueless, incompetent quasi-doctors.

I blame the Malaysian Medical Council who for reasons best known to them, accorded unconditional recognition to institutions that are way below par.

I blame the healthcare authorities for allowing half-baked medical graduates to roam about causing immeasurable harm and untold horror.

I blame the public for creating and perpetuating this erroneous impression that the medical profession is highly lucrative and glamorous.

Regular followers of national events will recall the controversy surrounding Crimea State Medical University (CSMU) back in June 2005 where the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) decided to abruptly derecognize the medical school.

This was done so despite earlier recognition and accreditation by the Malaysian Ministry of Education.

Worse, some of the CSMU students were actually government scholars sent over there on tax payer’s money.

After many unruly and loud parliamentary debates, during which a deputy minister was suspended and a barrage of racist remarks were fired by Nazri Aziz, all students already in CSMU then were finally allowed to practice medicine in Malaysia upon graduation.

The flip-flop decision by the Malaysian Medical Council has proven to be a very costly mistake.

At present, hundreds of medical graduates from Russian and Ukrainian universities especially CSMU are out without a leash in our government hospitals.

Most of them don’t know pharmacology or physiology.

Most can’t perform simple clinical procedures like urinary catheterization and intravenous cannulation.

Most can’t deliver acute care to a patient in distress.

They are not well-versed with common medical terms and classifications.

In short, they are a different breed altogether.

The Malaysian Medical Council should be ashamed of itself.

So should all the politicians who campaigned fiercely for unconditional recognition of the CSMU graduates back in 2005 without first understanding the issue in depth.

The MMC should have stuck to its guns and derecognized CSMU if it truly believed in the provision of a safe and sensible healthcare. These graduates from Ukraine and Russia could have been given a grace period of retraining under close observation.

If they prove to be incompetent and fail to meet the minimal standards, they could have been retired from service. It’s how the rules of employment work in most parts of the world.

Instead, they were made instant doctors.

In the process, ill patients were made into instant victims.

What we need urgently now is a way to address these obvious shortcomings among these house officers before they become medical officers and make lethal and illogical decisions.

This is by no means an irrational stigma or witchhunt.

Medical graduates from local universities should not be spared as well.

I am not blindly biased in favor of local graduates for which I am one myself.

Bottomline is this: Malaysians deserve to demand proper healthcare from the government they elected.

It’s not too much to ask, or is it?
Read more!

Judas, Jesus and the Repercussions of Betrayal

Dedicated to the four Judas-es of the Perak State Assembly.


Matthew chapter 26-27
(New International Version, edited)
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

The Lord's Supper
When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me."
Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?"
Jesus answered, "Yes, it is you."

Gethsemane
Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."
Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"

Jesus Arrested
While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him." Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him.

Judas Hangs Himself
Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.

When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." "What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility."

So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. Read more!

If I were...the Sultan of Perak Darul Ridzuan

If I were the Sultan of Perak, I will recognize that the quagmire that my state is in is possibily destiny's beckoning. I would first take a deep breath and sit down to think before making any decision on the political impasse in my state.

As a legally-trained professional, I will remind myself again and again what I have always preached on the topic of good governance and the importance of integrity in leading a nation. It was not too long ago when I myself lectured that ‘only those who are capable, responsible and scrupulously honest should be allowed to serve in positions of leadership.’

I will bear in mind my esteemed reputation as the most wise and respected ruler in the Council of Malay Rulers, regardless whether the larger-than-life standing was truly justified. Knowing fully well that Malaysians are currently in state of political awakening, I must do the right thing so that my subjects in the Silver State will remember me as the ruler who defied feudal warlords. We are after all, mere mortals and will one day leave this earth without any of our worldly possessions.

Apart from that, I will look back at the times when Ipoh and Perak as a whole was a shining example of sound leadership as opposed to the current state of affairs. I have ruled and reigned long enough to see the marked deterioration of Ipoh city. The city built on tin is more of a retirement home now. The young have let to seek job opportunities in Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Abandoned homes and vacant shops are a dime a dozen. The elderly in land who have contributed to its development are growing old without the company of their children or the pleasure of noisy, rowdy grandchildren.

The airport named after me receives only one flight each day and even so, an airplane that is barely occupied. This airport that bares my names pales in comparison to the bustling Kota Baru airport in PAS-led Kelantan. If there was one thing my state can boast to superior in, it’s the ubiquity of old folks’ home and other nursing institutions.

At this juncture, I will realise that Perak has truly degenerated and regressed from its namesake. It is no longer silver, it’s not even scrap metal. It’s just a vast piece of land with abundant resources that has been plundered repeatedly and shamelessly over the last 50 years. While the daylight looters robbed and enriched themselves in the name of democracy, the people remained poor and perhaps became even poorer over the years. This is something I do not have to search far and wide to see for myself. Not far from the heart of Ipoh city - in Buntong, Meru and Pasir Pinji my rakyat are still staying in makeshift homes made out of zinc and leftover plywood.

I will now question myself whether I have lived up to my reputation and much lauded preaching. Can I look back and honestly claim that I have safeguarded the interests of the simple folks of Perak Darul Ridzuan? Can I even claim to have upheld the integrity and sovereignity of the Malay Royalty? Have I in a state of unintended complacency allowed a party of money-minded politicians to insult the intelligence of my citizens and usurp the rights and powers of the Malay royalty?

I will consider the implications of ordering a power transfer to the Barisan Nasional. At first glance, I will notice that it is not even BN as I know it to be. Essentially, it will be an UMNO government, with UMNO holding 28 seats and MCA a solitary seat. Not only that, I am also empowering the likes of Hamidah Osman, state assemblywoman for Sungai Rapat who regarded Indian Malaysians as worse than snakes. Is this the legacy that I desire to leave behind?

My thoughts are increasingly disturbing by now. I must however look back at the last ten months of governance under the informal coalition christened as Pakatan Rakyat by Malaysians of all races and religion. It was a short time to gauge any state government. Nevertheless, news from the ground and even from the BN-dominated mainstream media have given positive reviews to the bedfellows made up of supposed DAP Chinese chauvinists and PAS ultra-Islamists.

In the last ten months, my subjects living in new villages for the last 50 years were finally given the opportunity to apply for freehold land titles. Malay villagers crying foul that their land for cattle-grazing has been snatched are finally getting their voices heard by none other that the Menteri Besar Nizar Jamalludin himself. For the first time in the history of Malaysia, an Indian Malaysian was given the post of Speaker of the State Assembly. I should have felt proud that this took place in my beloved Perak Darul Ridzuan. Perhaps I should have gone to the ground and asked the people if they were satisfied with the leadership and administration of the Pakatan Rakyat state government?

Indeed, if I were the Sultan of Perak, I will dissolve the state assembly and allow my rakyat to speak up once again.

As it is however, I am not the Sultan of Perak, which is why UMNO has now hijacked the silver state of Malaysia. Read more!

What now, Malaysia?

I used to joke with my friends back in college that if Najib becomes prime minister today, tomorrow i will buy my air ticket leave Bolehland forever and ever.

Looks like i need to go shopping for travelling bags soon.



What now, Malaysia?

It wasn't entirely unexpected.

There was no way Abdullah Badawi could have clung on to power after the embarassing defeat of the Barisan Nasional at the March 2008 general elections.

He was a beleaguered premier thereafter, and the UMNO warlords were on the prowl for a new power base and a new alpha male who could offer simialr juicy contracts and lucrative tenders.

As early as March 2009, Najib Razak could be prime minister and the deputy anybody's guess.

I used to joke with my friends back in college that if Najib becomes prime minister today, tomorrow i will buy my air ticket leave Bolehland forever and ever.

Looks like i need to go shopping for travelling bags soon.

Will Malaysia ever get a prime minister befitting for a country as beautiful as she is?

Up till Sept 16th 2008, a great number of Malaysians placed their hope foolishly in a lesser of two evils named Anwar Ibrahim.

After one deadline and then another, and plans to convene an emergency parliamentary meeting as well as an audience with the Yang Di-pertuan Agong, there is hardly any talk of an impending change in government anymore.

People say that Malaysia has never been as unstable as now.

I totally disagree.

The political waves are merely noises in the background.

Apart from that, Malaysia has never been more certain and predictable.

The way things are going, Malaysians who love peace and believe in justice and truth are bound to end up in sheer disappointment for the next few years.

Sabah will remain poor and in fact end up poorer than ever before. The wealth gap will increase with the current rate of uninhibited property development in the city. Folks in the districts will be condemned to a lifetime of poverty in their own birthplace. Before long, Sabah will be a mini Musa Hasan dynasty and monopoly. Filipinos will take over the state soon enough.

UMNO will remain in power forever and ever. The likes of Najib 'Bathe-the-keris-with-Chinese-blood' Najib and Ahmad 'Chinese-are-squatters' Ismail will continue to reign in their ketuanan Melayu mentality. Corruption and state-endorsed abuse of power will never cease to exist.

Penang will remain under DAP's leadership for many years to come.

Gerakan will remain in BN simply because they are deficient in guts and balls. The same goes for MCA and MIC.

Our oil reserves will continue to deplete as a result of unchecked leakages in expenditure and corruption. Malaysia's economy will rely on the inflow of foreign currency from the two million or so Malaysians working overseas.

One question remains though, who will Khairy Jamaluddin now try to wed?

Read more!

Thinking About: Migration (4) / Is There A Future For Malaysia?

Just as Malaysia is a heterogenous nation with many colors and shapes, the states within the republic will not evolve homogenously over the years.



Thinking About: Migration (3) / Is There A Future For Malaysia?

Nobody really knows how many Malaysians have left the country since 1969.

The year 1969 and not 1957 is arbitrarily employed as the starting date because the UMNO-planned May 13 massacre was a profound factor for emigration back then.

In fact ever since the UMNO hooligans went on their bloody rampage that fateful date, Malaysians of all ethnicities go about their daily lives subtly weighing the possibility of another racial slaughter.

Malaysians have lived in paranoia since May 13 1969.

Our parents who lived through May 13 hush us up when we make statements that are deemed anti-government, as opposed to anti-Malaysia. Those born after 1969 and raised in the era of the New Economic Policy (NEP) are indoctrinated from school through university to toe the line and not question the special privileges of the special groups, and I am certainly not referring to mentally-challenged children and physically-handicapped persons. Voters cast their support for candidates from race-based parties in order to maintain status quo out of fear that the opposite means a bloodbath with the UMNO keris.

I imagine being in the shoes of our parents and grandparents right after May 13, 1969. I believe in their minds was one very intense question, the issue of whether there was any hope left for a racially-divided Malaysia after UMNO’s deliberate butchery.

Two Million?

Anyway, no one really knows how many Malaysians have opted to settle elsewhere. The National Registration Department may have records of Malaysians surrendering their citizenships and passports but not records of permanent emigration. We should bear in mind that these adopted lands are never necessarily greener pastures and golden hills beside crystal seas. Uprooting is never easy and inexorably inflict much emotional pain when families are divided and scattered throughout.

Thirty years have lapsed.

Malaysia is still around, having gone through her equal share of ups and downs (although the BN-controlled mainstream media might sing a continuous triumphant tune through it all). The fact that Malaysia is still standing today does not prove that Malaysians who left the country made an erroneous move.

We would do well to remember that Malaysia’s survival since independence was fueled (no pun intended) by none other than her vast crude oil reserves. Our black gold was the only reason why the UMNO government could (ill-)afford all the gargantuan and nonsensical wastages through corrupted practices and failed foolish mega projects.

Our oil reserves are running low now with no new valuable commodities in sight. UMNO’s political power is under threat and UMNO is once again resorting to religious extremism and racial sentiments to remain in power and lord over Malaysia and Malaysians.

The question emerges once again - will Malaysia see another racial slaughter by UMNO? Will Malaysia survive another fifty years?

POTS’s Prophecy

At the rate and manner in which the population is growing, Malaysia will be very different from the one we know today even if no UMNO-inspired racial strife ever takes place.

The number of non-Muslim Malaysian Indians, Chinese and Kadazandusuns are dwindling rapidly, from both emigration as well a lower birth rate. At the same time, the number of Muslim immigrants from Indonesia, Philipines and Pakistan is increasing exponentially from selective and biased awarding of Malaysian citizenship.

The change in demographic will be felt most terribly in the state of Sabah, where genuine true-blue Kadazandusuns can lose their citizenship and by default their bumiputera privileges whilst rogue Filipinos may gain Malaysian citizenship and therefore rights to landownership and possession of assets. Already, the UMNO state government has accorded permanent residency to 200,000 (Muslim) Indonesians and Filipinos in a so-called massive operation. Fifty years from now, dare we imagine how Sabah might be?

At the other end of the spectrum, regardless of the pattern of population growth, the Malay-majority state of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, Pahang and Terengganu will hardly see any noticeable change fifty years from today. Be it under PAS or UMNO rule, secular or syariah regulation, in poverty or prosperity, the people might just remain as contended as they have been in good old Tanah Melayu. Issues like media freedom, corruption index, freedom of speech and international academic excellence just won’t gel in the hearts and minds of simple folks more concerned about religious piety and life in the hereafter.

By virtue of its proximity to a wealthy Singapore, Johor will continue to experience development and prosperity. Its income and crime index will continue to climb but yet the people of Johor might just never opt for another government apart from the Barisan Nasional.

The states of Perak, Penang and Selangor as well as the federal territory of Kuala Lumpur are most unpredictable. UMNO’s grip on power is weakest in these states and it is here where UMNO will go all out to provoke yet another racial turbulence.

Just as Malaysia is a heterogenous nation with many colors and shapes, the states within the republic will not evolve homogenously over the years.

Hitherto, we’ve only discussed the possibility of Malaysia going through another UMNO-engineered massacre.

Even if that never happens, will Malaysia still be a lovely nation with the environmental pollution, forest destruction, uncontrolled overfishing, shortsighted waste management and a Najib Tun Razak?

I don’t know.

Read more!

Thinking About: Migration (3)

Thinking: About Migration (3)

Dear Dr. POTS,

Thank you for your interest in our institution and for sparing your time in attending our recent roadshow.

We have received your curriculum vitae and are considering you for the post of medical officer in the Department of Surgery. The terms and conditions of employment are as stated in our recent roadshow.

Kindly confirm with us when you will able to attend an interview with the Head of Department of Surgery.

We look forward to your reply.

Thank you once again.


It was an unexpected email and one that was a very welcomed read. The contents of one short email is what separates the Lion City from Malaysia.

These are crazy days in Malaysia and doctors are not spared, albeit for different reasons.

Today is supposedly the last day for application into the local Masters program for further specialty training in the various disciplines of the medical fraternity. My colleagues were running helter skelter and making endless phone calls to the hospital management office. Seemingly, doctors were not duly informed that the application for the Masters’ program was already open since a few weeks ago. Naturally, they were caught in a very unpleasant situation to be informed of the imminent closing date at the eleventh hour.

The process of applying for the local Masters training program is tedious, to say the least and it not my intention to dwell into the details here. The criteria making one eligible for application is in my humble opinion largely irrelevant and unreflective of a medical officer’s competency. Such criteria include the attendance and completion of an utterly nonsensical Kursus Induksi and a minimum of 85 SKT points for three consecutive years, an evaluation exercise that is subjective and prone to abuse.

Some really competent medical officers in their sixth year of government service have applied for three consecutive years and still end up rejected and turned down. By the time these medical officers finally join the Masters program, they are easily in their early thirties – which is about the same age the SLAB products graduate as a fully recognized clinical specialist and begin subspecialty training.

Employment and further training in the Lion City is relatively convenient as opposed to the frustrating hassles for the Malaysian Masters program. The determining factors are competency and meritocracy.

In fact, when one applies to go South across the Tebrau Straits, a doctor feels wanted, desired and appreciated in the process of doing so. In my case, I received a positive reply within 24 hours of sending my curriculum vitae.

Will I feel as wanted and appreciated in the country that I was born and bred in?
The answer is obvious. The Malaysian Ministry of Health hardly cares if I died in the line of duty or resigned out of exasperation.

Am I afraid to make a move for fear that I will be unable to compete and measure up?
A little, maybe but just barely. I have had house officers who were unable to cope with the work demand in Malaysia but made it well over there in Singapore.

Well, as I have mentioned, not everyone is so mobile, for now at least.

For the moment, it’s time to start hitting the books again.


Read more!

Thinking About: Migration (2)

Thinking About: Migration (2)

Reasons to stay, reasons to leave, reasons to stay alive...


Reasons to Stay:
1. The Malaysian community is a needy population. If (skilled and sincere) Malaysian doctors leave in great numbers, the negative impact upon a needy population is indeed palpable and tremendous.

2. I am indebted to the Malaysian taxpayers. My medical studies were subsidized 95% by the citizens as opposed to the government. It is only right and honorable to repay the people for without them, I would not be who I am today.

3. My family is here. My loved ones are here. My friends are here. My animal friends are here. My bonsai is here. A lot of what I treasure in life in here in Tanah Melayu, and not of them are mobile.

4. The Malaysian healthcare scenario provides adequate and wide clinical exposure and experience. I am making small but measurable progress in my clinical skills and acumen serving the people in the civil service.

5. Life in Malaysia is generally comfortable. I can drive a car out whenever I wan to and can choose from a great variety of food wherever I go. I can’t do all this in Singapore.

6. Change might come to Malaysia if Malaysians behave as they did during the March 2008 elections, where Christians voted for PAS, and Malay Muslims for DAP. There might be a glimmer of hope if Anwar Ibrahim takes over the government soon and lead the Pakatan Rakyat to govern at federal level.

7. Malaysia is merely my temporary transit point anyway. I have a home that is more majestic than any place on earth. As Jesus promised, “In my Father’s home are many mansions, I will go there and prepare a place for you”.



Reasons To Leave:
1. Malaysians (at least 49% of them) deserve the BN government they voted for. Everyone is entitled to personal choices as enshrined in the principles of democracy. Similarly, they should pay their price for making bad choices and resisting change.

2. What makes me think that I am indispensable or even of the slightest value of service to the people in the first place? Without any specialty training and knowledge and skills, the fruits of my labor are limited. Altruism without self-preservation is poor stewardship and utter stupidity.

3. I can take care of my loved ones much better when I am finally somebody in my professional career. I can make new friends and plant new bonsai and engage the company of new animal friends. Emigration might be the only answer if I were to build a more promising future for my future generations.

4. Nobody cares if you have skills and knowledge and a sincere interest in clinical medicine. In the end, being of the right skin color and ethnicity comes before one’s competency. My ex-coursemates in University Malaya who consistently flunk exams are already in the middle of their first year of specialty training under the racially-discriminating SLAB program.

5. Life might be better elsewhere. Just because I don’t know doesn’t mean it’s gonna be bad and worse. I should not be afraid to embrace change. I don’t wanna be static just because someone moved my cheese.

6. It doesn’t matter who is in power actually. In the end, it is the people who will determine the future of a nation. Malay supremacy and Islamic dominion will always be the order of the day, regardless whether UMNO or Keadilan rules Malaysia. As the Bar Council forum has shown, the PAS and PKR politicians are no different from their UMNO counterparts. Anwar Ibrahim might never take over the federal government. Worse, he might end up in jail as early as Sept 24 where his sodomy trial is set for mention in the courts.

7. Just because I have faith does not mean that I must lead the life of a martyr here on earth. God made life to be fulfilling and enjoyable. Failure to live my life and potential to the fullest is equivalent to making a mockery out of God’s creation.

Read more!

Thinking About: Migration

...most of us are still here in Malaysia because of family and loved ones. I’d like to believe that family still comes first in the hearts and minds of most of us. I work in the hospital where death and dying is a daily affair..



Thinking About: Migration

I am an immigrant in this country.

So are the rest of us except the orang asli, the sole community who can rightly claim to be the original citizens in Tanah Melayu. Ironically, the orang asli are the only ones who don’t seem to be debating the issues of illegal immigration, constitutional rights and division of the economic pie among the people of Malaysia.

Migration is an inherent feature of nature.

Animals migrate, usually in large numbers in a unified manner and to a destination each never discussed with the other but which all agree upon. From the monarch butterfly to African locusts to various migratory birds and reptiles and fishes, migration is a neverending cycle in the animal kingdom.

The initiating factors for animal migration are many. It could be due to external pressure – the radical changes in one’s original niche that makes survival and propagation palpably unfavorable and incompatible. In other organisms, migration is simply innate and carved into the specie’s biology. Many migratory birds travel in relation to the cycle of enlargement of their reproductive organs in spring and their reduction in fall.

Human migration is not much different. When great numbers of a community uproot and leave in an acute manner, it is termed an exodus. An exodus is typified by the journey of the Israelis out of Egypt into the Promised Land.

It matters not whether an exodus was premeditated or impromptu. Its end result is almost always a diaspora. This is perhaps where the similarity between human and animal migration ends.

Whispers and thoughts of emigration have been more audible recently among Malaysians and very much so among my colleagues.

There are so many reasons to stay in beautiful Malaysia and so many equally strong ones to give up on her.

These days, almost every other family I know has at least one next-of-kin somewhere in a foreign land – frequently Australia or UK but most commonly Singapore, if one considers the Lion City a truly foreign land in the first place. Some made it there because of pre-existing family fortunes while some are there because their dedicated parents saved for a lifetime to get one in the family into a more promising land. Then of course there are those that left the nation on a juicy government scholarship and never returned ever again.

Not everyone is mobile, however. In fact, perhaps it is more true that the people with more reasons to leave Malaysia are the very ones who can’t leave.

Many can’t leave because of finances or rather, the lack of it. Migration requires money and lots of it, depending on where one is heading to. Without a job, a home, a family or friends and relatives in a foreign land, one had better prepare enough cash to last a few months ready to starve or beg and steal and borrow. We do not need to look far. Even the Malaysia My Second Home program requires one to be in possession of RM 150,000.00 before one is eligible to reside in Malaysia as a permanent resident. How many of us have that amount of money?

Some can’t leave because they are unwanted. Will any country accept a person who is physically and mentally challenged into their land? Will any government take as their citizen an adult with uncontrolled epilepsy or a child with Down syndrome without an accompanying guarantor? It’s not an issue of compassion or humanity or morality. It’s all about being practical. Every country wants to recruit citizens who can contribute to the nation’s economy, except Malaysia of course – the BN government gives great priority to empower uneducated and unskilled and crime-prone immigrants. Anyway, the state of one’s health will always be under scrutiny in consideration for immigration into popular destinations like Canada. If you have ever contracted tuberculosis or have features on chest x-ray to suggest so, you might as well forget about moving into Australia and the United Kingdom.

As a doctor, I can easily find a job in a country where my degree is recognized. In fact, I have already received a job offer from a renowned Singaporean institution which I have pretty much rejected for personal reasons. Skilled personnel in healthcare, engineering and information technology are always in demand and sought after. However, it is the opposite that mostly applies to most folks. In a competitive world economy, the country that succeeds in luring valuable human resource is more likely to triumph over the others and vice versa. Most nations place enormous emphasis on ‘skilled immigration’. These include Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Japan but not Malaysia. The point is, some folks simply can’t leave because they do not fall into the category of ‘skilled and educated’.

In the early days when Lim Kit Siang first started his blog at the now defunct limkitsiang.blogspot.com, he was asked if he would ever consider emigration from Malaysia. The honorable then parliamentary opposition leader replied that Malaysia is his birthplace where he was born, bred and grew up in. He further added that regardless of whatever happens in the future, he will live and fight and die in this homeland called Malaysia. Few of us are so optimistic and valiant and altruistic.

Chinese Malaysians are perhaps more notorious for cowardice masqueraded as pragmatism. For decades, they supported a running dog MCA at the expense of the DAP for fears of a racial or religious retaliation. A change of government could have taken place back in 1999 if not for the massive swing of the non-bumiputeras to the Barisan Nasional.

Anyway, can anyone really blame Chinese Malaysians for being seemingly less nationalistic and enthused about Malaysia, being Malaysian and dying for the motherland? It's really hard to be inspired to feel, talk and breathe Malaysian when one is threatened with bloodshed by the Malay keris year after year and being told to get back to China if one is unhappy with the Malay supremacy concept of UMNO.

Suffice to say, patriotism and optimism do not rank among the reasons for one’s staying back in Malaysia.

I feel however, that most of us are still here in Malaysia because of family and loved ones. I’d like to believe that family still comes first in the hearts and minds of most of us. I work in the hospital where death and dying is a daily affair. Every other day or so, an elderly wife would beg the doctors to preserve the life of her critically-ill husband for just a few more days so that a son or daughter can be back in time from a land far, far away. Personally, I don’t see a point being great and successful and flushed with money while neglecting one’s responsibility towards one’s family.
Once again, as Stich said, “This is my family…. It's little, and broken, but still good."



Read more!

A Nation Of Copycats

Our national song has a tune that is plagiarised from Mamula Moon.

Our national flag bears and uncanny remarkable resemblance to the US of A's.

Now the 2008 National Day logo has been revealed to be 50% "inspired" by Taiwan Excellence Award logo used by the Taiwanese Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and Taiwan External Trade Development Council.

The copycat culture is so pervasive that the current UMNO leaders are seemingly incapable of thinking beyond the rectum in facing political rivals, an idea once brilliantly executed by a former prime minister.

Are we so badly devoid of original ideas and thoughts?



And here is the rest of it.

Read more!

Lies, Damn Lies and the Lying Liars That Tell Them (2)

In my humble opinion, the BN government and all its ministers should be charged for treason and betrayal to the Yang Dipertuan Agong.

You can read more about Project Mahathir/Project IC/Project Birth Certificate here, here, here and here.






Read more!

Turn Them Upside Down!

If flying a colorful piece of cloth upright denotes love and respect from Mr Prime Minister’s perspective, I deduce then that the opposite is equally true – that placing something upside down denotes repulsion and utter disgust.

I’m starting with these.

Turn Them Upside Down!

Blogger Kickdefella is currently under probe by the Royal Malaysian Police Force for allegedly performing an ‘evil’ act of flying the nation’s flag upside down as a sign of national distresss.

The maverick blogger-filmaker has cited credible sources and references to support his claims that flying the national flag upside down is a signal of distress, and by no means a mark of disrespect to the country. Raja Petra Kamaruddin in a recent article, has backed the former’s claims.

Nevertheless, incumbent Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has ordered an immediate probe into the act of flying the flag upside down, describing it as uncouth behaviour and a despicable act.

In typical and increasingly stale UMNO doctrine, the Malaysian premier regards flag-flying and flag-adoration during the independence month an act of true patriotism.

Failure to do hoist the Jalur Gemilang or to do so in the fashion and way UMNO sees fit is seemingly unpatriotic, treasonous and a mark of hatred towards the nation.

I love this country. In spite of all the nonsense and turbulence the nation is putting itself through these days, Malaysia is still the land I was born and raised in.

In fact, if I do not care about the nation’s future, I wouldn’t give a damn about the country’s governance, her shrinking economy, the escalating crime rate, persistent brain drain, worsening pollution or the health of her citizens.

The very fact of criticisms and vigilance is an act of patriotism.

Love to the nation can be put to practice in more ways than one.

The simple habit of refraining from littering our streets as though every road is named after our grandfather is a very untainted form of patriotism.

Recycling one’s garbage goes a long way towards preserving the nation’s natural assets for the future generations of Malaysians, both humans and non-humans.

Registering as a voter and going out there to the ballot box come elections speaks volumes about one’s concern for the nation, never mind the fact that it is only one vote, unless of course one is on UMNO’s payroll in which one might be entitled to multiple votes.

Conserving the citizens’ taxes by not abusing government resources and machinery is a demonstration of nationalism by means of omission as opposed to commission.

Patriotism should be advocated as a lifestyle and not seasonal exhibitionism come every August.

Surely a government dissident who earns an honest living is more of patriot than a minister who siphons off the people’s money through corrupted practices and shady deals?

That unfortunately, is not the ideal espoused by the current regime.

If flying a colorful piece of cloth upright denotes love and respect from Mr Prime Minister’s perspective, I deduce then that the opposite is equally true – that placing something upside down denotes repulsion and utter disgust.

I’m starting with these.
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Disposable Garbage (1): BTN Part 2

Disposable Garbage (1): BTN Part 2
The UMNO agents prepared some short questions to gauge our knowledge about the nation, which they later tried to elaborate from an UMNO perspective:

These were some of the questions, followed by some of our answers:

1. The Malaysian Constitution: The supreme law of the nation that means nothing unless the ruling government itself abide by its principles

2. Article 153: Malay special privileges dulu, kini dan selamanya (then, now and forever)

3. New Economic Policy: The main reason why Malaysia lost 2 million potentially talented, skilful and knowledgeable citizens of all races since 1970.

4. Parliament: A huge building where uneducated pea-brains like Nazri Aziz and Bung Mokhtar can curse freely and utter hurtful words with no fear of any legal repercussions

5. Dewan Negara: A gathering of political has-beens with no freedom to vote with their conscience on any arising matters

6. Election Commission: The 15th component party of Barisan Nasional

7. Barisan Nasional: Irrelevant, Not an edible entity

8. Internal Security Act: Got five HINDRAF guys there

9. Official Secrets Act: Freedom of speech, but no freedom after speech

10. DYMM Yang Dipertuan Agong: Our ruler who was called a "natang" or "animal" by the frustrated Idris Jusoh supporters

11. Negaraku Song: Originally the tune of Mamula Moon

12. Article 160(2): Now, everyone can be Malay! (as long as cakap Melayu, budaya Melayu, nama Melayu and Muslim too.

13. Article 161A(4): That little section of the Malaysian constitution that never garners any attention, as evidenced by the poverty and limbo state of Sabahan and Sarawakian bumiputeras

14. Sedition Act: More commonly known as Anti-Bloggers Act these days

15. Jus Soli: UMNOputras' favorite tagline

16. Social Contract: UMNOputra's second favorite tagline



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Disposable Garbage (1): Biro Tatanegara

“Do not challenge us. Do not test our patience. Do not question. If you want to fight, we are prepared anytime and you will regret…”


Disposable Garbage (1): Biro Tatanegara

“Do not challenge us. Do not test our patience. Do not question. If you want to fight, we are prepared anytime and you will regret…”

“The immigrant population should be grateful because the Malays were so generous as to grant them citizenship in Tanah Melayu…”

“Dr. Azhari Hussin would have died as a true martyr if he had blown himself along with George W. Bush.”

“Anwar Ibrahim is responsible for the recent disappearance of several children in the Klang Valley because he wanted to make the Royal Malaysian Police Force look bad before the general elections…”

“Canny Ong should be held responsible for her own rape and death because she chose to dress provocatively and seductively….”

Prologue

Snide remarks and ridiculous statements are nothing extraordinary in Malaysia. In fact in UMNO general assemblies, comments loaded with racial hatred and extreme religious elements have more or less become customary and the norm rather than the exception.

The above statements however, were not collected from an UMNO gathering but over a recent four-day program organized by the Biro Tatanegara.

A Brief Background
The Biro Tatanegara (BTN) is an organization under the direct purview of the Prime Minister’s Department. The BTN first came into being in 1974. Among others, it functions to organize programs aimed at instilling a sense of patriotism and national unity. Its core target population is primarily students in local public universities and Malaysians in civil service.

The BTN currently has 14 branch offices, one in each Malaysian state. It manages 16 camps known as Kem Bina Negara or KBN in short.

Participation and successful completion of BTN programs is compulsory for all civil servants in all government offices and students in certain public universities. Failure to attend and complete a BTN program may result in the denial of promotion for Malaysians working in the civil sector.

More information on the Biro Tatanegara can be accessed here.

The BTN Doctrine
In stark contrast to its supposed claims of building a united Malaysian race capable of confronting the daunting challenges in a new millennium, the BTN is yet another mouthpiece of UMNO aimed at preserving UMNO’s political hegemony by means of blatant brainwashing propaganda and a Malaysian history tampered to UMNO’s interests.

Many personal testimonies and honest accounts have been written in detail about the BTN program. They can be read here, here and here. Alternatively, one can just google BTN, and I am fully aware that google is not officially recognized as a verb in the English language yet.

A summary of the BTN doctrine is as follows:

The Malays were the original residents of both peninsular Malaysian and Borneo. The fact that they migrated from Jawa does not make them any less original than the aboriginal orang asli because the current Thailand, Indonesia, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo and Philipines were supposedly a grand Malay archipelago. Therefore, the Malays’ migrating from Jawa to Peninsular Malaysia/Borneo is akin to one traveling from Pulau Pinang to Selangor.

The independence of Malaya was fought and won with little and negligible contribution from the non-Malays. In view of that, non-Malays including the non-Malay bumiputeras of Sabah and Sarawak are eternally indebted to their Malay counterparts.

Lee Kuan Yew is the founder of DAP and DAP is the party responsible for the May 13 tragedy.

The sovereignty of Malay Malaysians is at all times under threat externally from the British, Jews and communist agents and internally from the Chinese and Indian Malaysians.

There exists an official and legally-binding social contract between the ethnic groups of Malaysia.

The people of mainland China are so poor that they are eating dead fetuses. Chinese Malaysians should therefore be grateful that they have four meals per day.

The HINDRAF rally in Nov 2007 was violent and intended to be so. HINDRAF is a terrorist outfit that has no loyalty to the nation because they petitioned the queen of England and brandished pictures of Mahatma Gandhi.

Reflections...
Malaysia is a super-rich nation.
For much too long, Malaysians have been led to believe that the nation’s resources are limited. The truth cannot be further than this.

The BTN camp in Kundasang, Sabah occupies the most strategic location in the whole area. It is perched atop a hill that accords one the most breathtaking view of Mount Kinabalu. Its facilities and infrastructure are maintained in tip-top condition. There are no less than six luxurious mini-bungalows within its ground that house visiting UMNO speakers/facilitators.

So it seems, the government has the millions to erect a first-class, brain-washing boot camp in Kundasang but none of the same to upgrade the ailing rural schools of Ranau and broken village roads.

No, Malaysia is not limited financially or economically. Malaysia is a super rich nation capable of achieving all that she wants to for her citizens. As it is, the current ruling parties squander millions of taxpayers’ ringgit to brainwash young minds instead of opening them up in a world increasingly without borders.

The question is one of political will, or the lack of it.

The Prime Minister’s Department is officially the centre of racism in the nation.
As the BTN is under the direct powers of the Prime Minister’s Department, Abdullah Badawi is therefore officially responsible for the BTN’s racial elements and divisive teachings.

Would it not therefore be reasonable to conclude that the Malaysian Prime Minister is a racist as well?

Bullshit is marketable – it all depends on how one packages it.
The information provided by the BTN program is invariably one-sided, frequently erroneous and occasionally nonsensical. Both history and current national events are presented in such a manner that favors UMNO’s political interests.

We are told that Anwar Ibrahim is a spy for the Americans and Jews and that Venice is in Holland.

Nevertheless, one will be surprised just how successful UMNO’s brainwashing propaganda is. The feedback from participants shows that a great number have changed views or converted to UMNO-ism altogether. There are a thousand and one reason for Malaysian’s gullibility – a lifetime of feudalism, sheer ignorance, the lack of an independent media and all else.

Regardless, bullshit sells really well if one knows just how to package it. The Pakatan Rakyat parties will have a hard time reaching out to BTN converts.


The nation is almost hopelessly diseased.
Far from its officially stated goal of uniting Malaysian towards an increasingly elusive Vision 2020, the BTN thrives on the divide-and-conquer principle. As UMNO and therefore Barisan Nasional was founded on communalism, it can only remain viable for as long as racial politics reigns in Malaysia.

The BTN aids UMNO by inciting racial hatred through its habitual practice of explicit threats of impending violence in a multi-racial nation.

It has been hugely successful to say the obvious.

And that is indeed a saddening thought.

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Ban, Band, Bandits.

Kuala Lumpur PAS Youth Chief, one Kamarulzaman Mohamad alleged that Avril Lavinge’s scheduled concert on August 29th is an insult to the ‘Merdeka freedom fighters’. Not too long ago, the same Pas group played a crucial role in the eventual cancellation of a concert by Indonesian dangdut sensation Inul Daratista from performing in Kuala Lumpur.



Ban, Band, Bandits


Much has happened over the last 24 hours.

The Beijing Olympics opened to a literally explosive start with 10,500 athletes from 204 nations participating in 302 events in 28 sports over the next 16 days.

The price of crude oil as at 9:51 AM EDT, 2008.08.09 hovered at USD 115.15 per barrel compared to its previous all time high at USD 147.27 on July 11, 2008.

A forum on the legal issues in conversion to Islam was stopped short for fear that a gang of 300 protesters from GPMS, PAS and Perkida would turn rowdy. Members of the organizing committee were jeered with taunts of “babi”, “pengkhianat” and “balik China” as they were exiting the venue of the forum.
Back at the Olympic Games, an American man was killed and a lady injured when the assailant, a Chinese citizen stabbed the victims while they were attending the games. The assailant later leaped to his death.
After their apparent success in denying the process of democracy and freedom of speech and religious rights, PAS has quickly moved on to their next item on their to-do list of anti-West agendas.

Kuala Lumpur PAS Youth Chief, one Kamarulzaman Mohamad alleged that Avril Lavinge’s scheduled concert on August 29th is an insult to the ‘Merdeka freedom fighters’. Not too long ago, the same Pas group played a crucial role in the eventual cancellation of a concert by Indonesian dangdut sensation Inul Daratista from performing in Kuala Lumpur.

At the centre of all this is a deeply entrenched and hopelessly blind opposition to anything Western and white.

Indeed, many western countries are pretty screwed up by what people deem as the decay of moral values in their society. Incredulous same-sex marriages, recalcitrant gay church leaders, legalized marijuana use are no longer news in the western continents. The list goes on, from the absurd to the downright unthinkable.
One thing the Western community is definitely not doing is inundating themselves with drunken hatred.

And that is exactly why countries like Australia, Britian and the US of A are making progress while Malaysia is regressing.

The westerners do not waste time observing and protesting the unconventional attire of veiled Muslim ladies sauntering freely along their streets. They spend hours and weeks and years understanding and researching the new angiogenesis inhibitors cancer drugs and giving them names like bevacizumab and ranibizumab.

The white people do not squander their God-given limbs yielding placards and wielding keris to taunt diligent immigrants flourishing in their land. They train tirelessly and rigorously on the tracks and on the filed and in the pool, coupling scientific principles into sports and create world records in swimming and athletics through the likes of Micheal Phelps and Tyson Gay.

The gwailos know better than to riot and run amok over never-ending, never resolving issues like religion and culture and Middle East politics. They gather opposing parties with contending views and produce movies like Munich and Syriana and make handsome profits out of them which they use later to make more of such lucrative projects.

The mat sallehs comprehend that heterogenecity and pluralism is inevitable in an ever shrinking world that leaves little room for a false sense of racial supremacy and religious domination. For this reason, Asians in the entertainment industry like John Cho, Kal Penn and Russell Peters are having a field day inflicting wicked humor on white people and dismissing racial stereotyping at the same time.
Back in Malaysia, the PAS politicians are still preaching about protecting our local people from the evils of the West.

Epidemiological common sense assumes that a substantial number of these PAS loudmouths are currently on some form of antihypertensive and antidiabetic treatment. These PAS fanatics are beneficiaries of the Western community and the latter’s endless quest for safer drugs and novel treatments.
Malaysians need not thank the West and kiss their feet. At the same time, Malaysians and in particular Malays shouldn’t be so hypocritical and self-righteous too.
After all, our nation is pretty screwed up too.









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Mad Season

I love this country but I will not fly the Malaysian flag come Independence Day.



Mad Season

It’s the month of August and I haven’t written anything for the last ten days, not even in draft form. I find no inspiration in the month of August every year.

The reason is simple. It’s the month when the nation of Malaysia will celebrate her independence from the British 52 years ago on August 31st 1957.

On that historical date, the reign of the white men as colonial masters ended and Malaysia was accorded the liberty to pursue her own destiny.

Colonization ended but feudalism persisted, and the latter is still very much pervasive in the Malaysian community.

Anyway, the silly season has begun. It’s the season to demonstrate patriotism in ways and means that are outright irrelevant and absolutely nonsensical, like 2007’s stitching the longest and most unusable flag on earth.

Before long, the BN politicians will be calling upon all Malaysians to fly the Jalur Gemilang if Malaysians truly love the nation.

Many will inexorably heed the call and do as they were told by their feudal masters, oblivious to the fact that their hard-earned ringgit are falling effortlessly into the pockets of cronies and friends of the ruling party. These folks will proudly fly a solitary Malaysian flag on the top of their car, usually just next or behind the radio antenna.

Perhaps they really love the country and feel that the only way to do so is by flying a mini flag wherever they go. They are probably totally inundated by the half-century UMNO axiom that to love one’s country is to fly the national flag during the month of independence.

I beg to differ.

I love this country but I will not fly the Malaysian flag come Independence Day.

It is hypocrisy to demonstrate patriotism just because Independence Day is around the corner. It’s no different from a Christian who behaves like an angel on the Sabbath when one is in church but transforms into the real ugly self for the remaining six days of the week.

Patriotism is a lifestyle and not an act. In our small ways, we bring out the patriot in us in the work and tasks we perform every day.

Among others, loving the nation means one will not steal from the tax payers by engaging in shady deals through dubious means to enrich oneself. If flag-flying Malaysians can see this with common sense, they’d realise that the current Malaysian government are made up of a gang of lying liars.

In that light, the city hall worker who earns a paltry sum every month sweeping the filthy roads of Kuala Lumpur has more virtue and love for the country than the loud-mouth, tough-talking politician who live off the honest earnings of the people.

The way I see it, the humble, hunch-backed hospital attendant has done more for the nation and her citizens than the deceitful, callous and careless brain surgeon.

It’s just an opinion, but my envy for a Dato’ cum director of multiple listed companies speaking with that fake overseas accent pales in comparison to the friendly, petite lady selling tropical fruits at a makeshift roadside stall. The latter at least, retires to bed every night with a clear conscience knowing one has made an honest living.

In fact just to stretch the limits, perhaps the many uneducated and unskilled and unregistered Filipino immigrants laboring under the scorching sun daily have contributed more to the nation’s progress that the thousands of over-pampered, overfed and overpaid government bureaucrats.

Perhaps we should make these diligent migrant workers honorary Malaysians by virtue of their brute strength and sheer determination. Similarly, perhaps we should suspend the citizenship of those civil servants who regularly take daily two-hour breaks for breakfast, brunch and then lunch.

Let’s not fly the flag for independence day anymore.

Let’s just do our jobs well for starters.

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If Rectums Could Talk

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Exams and Self Examination

It wasn’t too long ago that 150 medical students graduated with Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from University Malaya by feigning surprise in their practical examinations...



Exams and the futility of it all.

Allow me to let you all in on an open secret: examinations are a farce in Malaysia.

From pre-university to undergraduate to postgraduate, Malaysian examinations are a mockery of knowledge and academic pursuit.

The questions for my STPM Biology paper were partially leaked just a week before I sat for the examination. The similarity between the questions I practiced on and the ones in the real examination was beyond the logical explanation of logic and coincidence. So you see, I may not deserve the ‘A’ I scored after all. In fact, many who passed Biology in the STPM examination of that year could do so merely because of leaked official national secrets.

It is not something unique. It has been going on for years and probably will forevermore until the Lord Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead.

It is not limited to the STPM either. The privileged and brilliant students studying in their exclusive full hostel schools (sekolah asrama penuh) have been enjoying immeasurable assistance in exams for generations. When we the non-privileged folks needed some clues as to what might be forthcoming in the Fifth Form examinations, we would seek out our privileged friends in these elite institutions. The trial examinations in the Maktab Rendah Sains MARA (MRSM) colleges are usually uncannily similar to the real thing.

For this very reason, I am personally not impressed by the 100% excellence passes obtained by the all-Malay MRSM colleges and full hostel institutions. It is but a grand charade produced and directed by a political party saddled with inferiority complex but is also narcissistic and kiasu.

The practice of ‘assisted examinations’ extends all the way to tertiary educations.

It wasn’t too long ago that 150 medical students graduated with Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from University Malaya by feigning surprise in their practical examinations. The MBBS finals were approaching faster than we could prepare ourselves for. We had two weeks to revise what we had learnt in five years. There were theory papers, clinical assessments and practical skills examination.

The relatively high passing rates of previous years were no consolation. When one is faced with a daunting task ahead, no hopeful hindsight is helpful.

It was Sunday, a day before the examinations were due to begin in the week ahead. There was a sudden mad stampede of medical students to the general clinic. Seemingly, we were to be tested on the techniques of using asthma inhalers and obtaining consent for a major surgery. The rumors surfaced after a prayer session in the college surau.

It was to be kept a secret – restricted to within a certain community. Our Muslim colleagues were of course not as selfish and racist as their lecturers who leaked the questions. We ended up discussing about asthma inhalers and pap smears and the important points in breaking bad news and obtaining consent for clinical procedures. It was a demonstration of racial unity and interfaith goodwill, albeit in an exercise of deceit and fraud.

On the day of the examination, we laughed to ourselves quietly within but feigned surprise and astonishment when faced before the examiners. The external examiners from Hong Kong and United Kingdom must have been so impressed with our apparent familiarity and smooth handling of an asthma metered dose inhaler. We handled most questions that were thrown at us coolly and calmly, an evidence that we were well-trained and diligent by nature.

We knew better, of course.

There is a third party in the midst of our stageshow. Along with the 160 of us then medical students were eight medical students from unrecognized universities. They too were sitting for the final MBBS examinations with us but without the aid and help that we received. They failed miserably, needless to say – all eight of them. Frankly speaking, there little possibility they could have passed the examination on sheer hard work alone.

So you see, perhaps I am not in a position to write about meritocracy and injustice. After all, I was an unintended beneficiary of the university’s biased lecturers.

In my previous articles on the sham academic program termed Skim Latihan Akademik Bumiputera (SLAB), an infuriated UM academic who christened himself Tengku Cougar remarked that the SLAB candidates have achieved impressive passing rates in their final postgraduate examinations. Such arguments are essentially witless, to say the least. If questions were leaked and candidates were given a leg-up, passing rates are then meaningless and of no relevance.

Now before anyone accuses me of degrading local graduates, allow me to clarify that whatever I wrote today and revealed in this article is based on my brief Malaysian experience.

This article is focused solely on the isolated topic of examinations and not on the final products of local universities, most of whom are comparable to foreign institutions regardless of ethnicity.

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Barking Dogs and Wagging Tails

Which part of Najib Razak and the UMNO/BN government as a whole is serious in clamping down on illegal immigrants in our country?

How can we believe a government who warns the enforcement officers and courts to be sympathetic and caring in deporting foreigners and the very next day announces a massive crackdown on illegal immigrants?



Barking Dogs and Wagging Tails

A young boy, John visited a friend’s house and was greeted by an aggressively barking alsatian.

“I’m afraid to enter. Your dog is barking” exclaimed John.

“But it’s also wagging its tail,” replied his friend, Tom.

“Then I don’t know which end to believe…”

The short conversation above was something I read in the Children’s Brittanica many years ago. It was supposed to be a joke.

I didn’t find it hilarious then. I still don’t. In fact, I can’t see how anyone can find any humor in that short and bland dialogue.

It does however bear some relevance to recent national events.

After the Sabah Progressive Party’s (SAPP) threatened motion of no confidence against Abdullah Badawi, the UMNO government has made significant moves in an attempt to placate the increasingly impatient Sabahans.

It was reported as headlines on June 26th that the UMNO Federal Government will be holding a massive crackdown on illegal immigrations in Sabah. The grand plan was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak. It was reportedly greeted with joy and thanksgiving by the Sabah politicians, including SAPP president Yong Teck Lee.

Amazingly, just a day ago on June 25th, the Immigration Department in Peninsular Malaysia was reminded not to be ‘overzealous in deportation’. Seemingly, an Indonesian couple suspected to be in the terrorist outfit Jemaah Islamiyah was deported from Kuala Lumpur recently.

It brings us back to the brief exchange between two little boys over a barking canine.

Which end do we believe now?

Which part of Najib Razak and the UMNO/BN government as a whole is serious in clamping down on illegal immigrants in our country?

How can we believe a government who warns the enforcement officers and courts to be sympathetic and caring in deporting foreigners and the very next day announces a massive crackdown on illegal immigrants?

Perhaps there is no contradiction in the press statements. Maybe he’s implying that the illegals rounded up in Sabah will not be deported after all but merely sent to temporary detention centers where they’ll wait patiently for a Malaysian identification card. After all, a genuine Malaysian ID only costs RM 100 in Sabah. It even comes with the special privileges of Muslim bumiputeras as enshrined in the constitution of Malaysia.

Sometimes I feel that we’re too affixed in the exponential population bloom of the Filipinos and Indonesians and Pakistanis in Sabah under Project IC. We’ve forgotten that Indonesians, Burmese and Bangladeshis are infiltrating Kuala Lumpur at a rate similar or perhaps in excess to what is happening in Sabah. Malaysians do not need PAS to transform the nation into an Islamic state. The UMNO politicians have already been doing that for years now, welcoming Muslim immigrants with wagging tails and friendly barks.

Lastly, food for thought – if the government can make two contradicting announcements in 24 hours, how are we to perceive the politicians' repetitive denials in the murder of a Mongolian model?

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Mismanagement, Mismanagement, Mismanagement!

....for twenty two years, Malaysia was under the stringent care of a medical doctor whose previous administrative experience was that of Klinik Maha in Alor Setar, Kedah.



Mismanagement, Mismanagement, Mismanagement!

An Ailing Malaysian
A graduate from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) shocked me recently with her pathetic knowledge in pharmacology. She was placed in charge of a patient with a fractured hip bone. The elderly man from Sandakan had been under her care for days already. I reviewed the patient and identified multiple acts of blatant neglect and implicit murder. The docile patient was simultaneously on three non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs – Celebrex, Arcoxia and Voltaren. As a result, his kidney function was deteriorating, a phenomena totally oblivious to the house officer concerned. He was probably having a slow upper gastrointestinal bleeding as well, for his red cell count was falling slowly but steadily.

As a house officer, she was to be in constant knowing of the patient’s latest condition and medications. She was not, obviously. In addition, a house officer is supposed to be working under the supervision of medical officers. This too, was not happening obviously. Her medical officers were either just as apathetic or equally unfamiliar with drugs and their adverse effects. The last question that begs an immediate answer will put to shame all ye pharmacist apologists. Drug charts are reviewed each day by the hospital pharmacists for approval and dispensing, so why did the wise and esteemed pharmacists dispense the medications knowing it is a case of overzealous polypharmacy? Perhaps they too, were as well-read as the house officer.

When confronted, the house officer became defensive and insisted that Arcoxia and Voltaren were not in the same group as Celebrex. In fact, she was even unable to provide me with the corresponding scientific names of all the drugs she was prescribing to the patient.

I can accept a doctor’s being fresh and uninformed. I can’t however, accept a doctor’s being clueless and arrogant. She incurred my wrath for more reasons than her outright ignorance. She downplayed my concerns and was unwilling to learn from her mistakes. In short, she was unteachable.

I ended up wasting thirty minutes of my youth trying to educate this young Malaysian Chinese lady in basic clinical pharmacology. I should have been paid by UNIMAS for doing the job of its lecturers.

I have acquired a notorious reputation of sorts among the junior doctors. They know they’re in for a fiery tongue lashing session when I discover a patient under their care is neglected and unacceptably mismanaged.

It’s really annoying when patients are mismanaged in the wards. It’s not as though I have never committed blunders of my own. Everyone screws up every once in a while but mostly inadvertently. Then there are those who are total screw-ups in life and are seemingly determined to make others meet the same fate.

From my own limited observation on which I have no evidence or random surveys to quote from, I find that patient mismanagement falls mostly into three categories: investigations, fluids and drugs. I can write endlessly about the mismanagement of patients but I don’t see how it can be edifying to anybody.

This is not to be another case write-up overflowing with incomprehensible verbose medical jargon.

An Ailing Malaysia
Rather, I wish to draw parallel of the daily bungling of an ill person to the half a century mismanagement of a nation. After all, for twenty two years, Malaysia was under the stringent care of a medical doctor whose previous administrative experience was that of Klinik Maha in Alor Setar, Kedah.

Malaysia is currently very, very ill. If the world had an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for ailing nations, Malaysia is an ideal candidate for admission because despite being in a debilitated condition, there are chances that Malaysia can be restored to viability and stability. We can blame the Abdullah administration all we want but truth be told, he inherited a nation that was messed up by his predecessors for almost half a century.

Political analysts have write theses after theses about how Malaysia became as ill as she is today. The problem list is long but can be generally summarized to three main areas of mismanagement: Wealth, Human Resource and Time.

Wealth
At risk of sounding like an overplayed, outdated Vanilla Ice track, it really isn’t too far fetched to reiterate that Malaysia is a land blessed with abundant wealth.

Malaysia has almost everything mother earth has to offer except for real snow, chubby pandas and an intelligent deputy prime minister. Malaysia has the resources to provide almost anything for her citizens – delicious multicultural delicacies, natural places of interests and potent C4 explosives.

Had the richness of the nation been fully utilized prudently and honestly, Malaysia can today be more generous than Cuba, more flamboyant than Brunei and more peaceful than Switzerland.

Yet the solemn fact is that the fat of the land has been squandered and stashed away in the private Swiss bank accounts of those who call themselves ambassadors of the nation and defenders of race, religion and culture.

We have ended up therefore instead with trunk roads littered with potholes and hospital mortuaries stocked with fallen motorcyclists, even as our limestone mountains are indiscriminately chiseled away on a daily basis.

Our oil reserves have almost run out after decades of drilling with bountiful profits reaped in the process, but still we have districts without schools, schools without teachers, teachers without money and now, money without value.

It is not too late for Malaysia to undo the wastages of her wealth on white elephant mega projects and salvage the residual assets of our land. UMNO has proven itself incapable of keeping its hands out of the cookie jar. Perhaps Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang and PAS can do better job?

Human Resource
A Singapore-based hospital came to Sabah recently on a small-scaled roadshow. The institution is in the process of expanding its services and is thus somewhat short on manpower. The Human Resources team came on a recruiting tour, hoping to employ medical officers and registrars with the prospect of further training and sub-specialization. The employment terms and conditions were moderately attractive although the salary scheme will not make one rich in view of Singapore’s high living cost.

Yet the team of headhunters emphasized one crucial characteristic that has hitherto been sorely absent from our Malaysian civil service. It is none other than the factor of and emphasis on meritocracy in consideration for future remuneration and promotion. All this while, the Malaysian Ministry of Health proclaims that our doctors are leaving solely because of monetary reasons.

I must admit that I am extremely tempted to send in my curriculum vitae to a foreign institution. I am not alone, apparently.

What the Malaysian Ministry of Health is trying hard to oust and discard, their counterpart at the south of the peninsular border is waiting impatiently to receive.

In the Singaporean hospital’s own admission, up to 40% of doctors in the Lion City are Malaysians.

Some quarters estimate that between one to two million Malaysians are currently serving a foreign country. Every family I know seems to have a relative or a child working overseas. Therefore, a Malaysian diaspora in the scale of a million or two isn’t really incredulous.

Only God knows how many talented and skilled Malaysians have left the country since BN’s discriminative policies came into effect. It’ is not entirely an issue of race or ethnicity. It is very much the question of political affiliation and personal ideals as well. Great thinkers like Azly Rahman and M Bakri Musa are Malays by the most rigid definitions yet they have chosen to serve a foreign land in spite of the promises of a privileged life back here in Tanah Melayu. Enlightened individuals with enormous talent can never gel with an authoritarian regime that tolerates no dissenting view.

Indeed, we have lost doctors and engineers, economists and artists, thinkers and writers and even P. Waytha Moothy and Sufiah Yusof.

In short, the Malaysian government since 1957 has failed to safeguard our collective resources as well as resourceful individuals.

Only time will tell whether a Pakatan Rakyat administration will adopt a new stance in employment and promotion - the axiom that human resource is the greatest asset to any corporation. After all, such a working principle has worked well for our southern neighbours thus far.

Time
Time and tide waits for no man. Time and tide waits for no country too, especially one that doesn’t appreciate the value of time and the consequences of wasting time.

The Malaysian government and the civil servants it employs are experts in time wasting.

Our civil servants did not acquire their fame for unproductivity for nothing. On second thoughts, perhaps I’m contradicting myself. Maybe they did after all - by doing nothing.

Every half hour or so, is a protracted coffee break in the typical bureaucratic office. The culture of ‘minum teh’ is too entrenched in the system. In fact, the one who does not participate in this orgy of sluggishness might end up alienated and ostracized for being pretentiously diligent. The working ethics might have improved a little over the years but mostly, an administrative officer in civil service is more likely to have Solitaire on one’s computer screen than a window of backlogged records and documentation.

Every other day meanwhile, there seems to be a reason to organize a lunch function of sorts. It’s either the welcoming of a new department head or the farewell to a retiring director. It’s either the officiating of a Toilet Cleanliness week or the formal closing ceremony to the Service-with-a-Smile campaign. If 100 personnel attend these two-hour functions every other day of the week, it’s a loss of 100x2x3 = 600 working hours each week, or the loss of 2 months productivity per week.

Every other week or so thereof is an inescapably lame workshop or nonsensical seminar. These are programs that supposedly improve the skills, knowledge and public relations of our bureaucratic staff. More often than not however, they are delivered by untalented souls who would otherwise not find employment in the private sector. The mother of all these courses is none other than the Induksi and Biro Tatanegara Program (BTN) that serve only to brainwash any dissenting views and convert opposing voices into all-hail-UMNO-and-BN zombies. Each Induksi session lasts two and a half weeks.

Do the maths and one will arrive at a horrifying figure of unpardonably wasted time. Suddenly it all makes sense why our general hospitals never to seem to have enough nurses, medical assistants, dentists, pharmacists and doctors. They are all busy feasting away in a hotel ballroom listening to speakers spreading pro-UMNO propaganda.

Most people will welcome a paid holiday to while their lives away. I’d rather earn my keep and make the most of my time treating ill people just as I was trained to, so thank you very much.

A Priceless Trinity

Like the Father, Son and Holy Ghost unified in their Holy Trinity, Wealth, Human Resource and Time is essentially one and the same.

Time is money and human resource equals wealth.

Is that a concept too complex and beyond the understanding of our pea-brain politicians? Or are they as recalcitrant as the obstinate house officer from UNIMAS, the arcetypal of 'bodoh, sombong?


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