Dr. M kongsi rahsia kekal muda

Berita “Dr. M kongsi rahsia kekal muda” yang tersiar dalam Utusan Malaysia  28 Mei 2010 memang menarik. Pada dasarnya saya bersetuju dengan kenyataan beliau supaya kita “Lakukan sesuatu yang menyeronokkan diri dan nikmati kerjaya serta hidup anda untuk kekal muda dan sihat pada usia emas.”


Tetapi perenggan seterusnya dalam berita itu memetik “beliau mengakui suka mengkritik terutamanya terhadap ahli politik lain dengan tanggapan dirinya lebih hebat berbanding mereka.” membuka ruang persoalan tentang kebebasan bersuara di negara ini.

Dr. M sebagai seorang bekas Perdana Menteri diberi ruang yang begitu luas untuk menyatakan pendapatnya tentang apa juga topik dan seperti katanya, jika tidak disiarkan media perdana pun, blognya masih dapat dinikmati semua. Bagaimana pula pendapat rakyat jelata? Bagaimana caranya pendapat rakyat boleh disampaikan kepada para pemimpin ketika beliau berkuasa dan selepas dia bersara. Saya tidak nampak apa-apa perubahan yang ketara dalam hal hubungan dua hala di antara pemimpin dan yang dipimpin.

Mungkin ramai pemimpin yang telah mempunyai akaun twitter dan facebook tetapi setakat manakah maklum balas daripada rakyat yang diberi perhatian atau disusuli dengan tindakan yang lebih konkrit.

Seingat saya, selama lebih 20 tahun menerajui pucuk pimpinan negara, bekas perdana menteri Malaysia yang keempat tidak senang dan tidak suka mendengar pendapat orang lain. Salah satu sikap Dr. M yang terserlah ketika memimpin negara ialah tanggapan dirinya lebih hebat daripada yang lain. Mungkin itu salah satu sifat yang perlu ada pada seseorang pemimpin supaya visi dan agendanya untuk negara dapat dilaksanakan tanpa banyak bantahan. Lihatlah akibatnya.

Dr. M memerintah ketika era internet masih belum lagi tersebar luas dan mereka yang mahu memberi pendapat akan disoal atau ditahan kerana mempunyai pendapat dan pandangan yang berbeza daripada apa yang rasmi. Ketika itulah khabar-khabar angin lebih banyak dipercayai ramai berbanding lidah rasmi pemerintah. Tetapi memang seperti yang dikatakan, era internet memberi peluang sama rata kepada semua untuk memberi pandangan tentang apa juga yang dilakukan sesiapa, baik pemimpin atau rakyat biasa.

Petua kekal muda dan sihat pada usia emas ala Dr. M pastinya untuk semua kerana kita memang suka memberi pandangan dan pendapat. Persoalannya, adakah semua luahan itu akan kekal sebagai pandangan dan pendapat sahaja atau kita boleh mengharapkan sesuatu yang lebih positif daripada pihak yang berkuasa?

Laporan tentang Sibu

Rencana “Reporting on Sibu” yang tersiar di portal The Nut Graph pada 18 Mei 2010 amat menarik.





Penulis artikel memaparkan empat akhbar media arus perdana yang memberi penekanan yang berbeza dalam laporan mereka tentang kemenangan BN di Hulu Selangor berbanding kemenangan DAP di Sibu. Kita tertanya-tanya kenapa berita tentang Hari Guru tertera di muka depan akhbar walhal berita besar yang patut disiarkan ialah kemenangan pihak pembangkang. Guru-guru memang berhak dihargai tetapi itu sesuatu yang sudah semestinya dilakukan.

Peranan akhbar sepatutnya melaporkan berita walaupun mungkin berita tersebut tidak memberi gambaran yang positif tentang pihak yang berkepentingan dengan akhbar tersebut. Ramai yang mengatakan bahawa dasar sesuatu akhbar adalah tertakluk kepada pemiliknya dan dalam konteks negara kita, undang-undang juga memainkan peranan mengehadkan pandangan yang boleh disuarakan.

Sampai bilakah keadaan ini akan berterusan?

Better for us to tap solar power

I am also perplexed as the writer to the “Letters to the Editor” that appeared in the Star of 18 May 2010 by the decision to look at nuclear energy as a solution to our energy problems.

I've always asked family and friends who worked in the oil and gas industry on the reasons why our country is not in the forefront of solar energy. It seems we have been too complacent or just too spoiled by the abundance of that energy source. No concrete or substantive effort has been given to alternative sources of energy during the boom years. Now that the supply is nearing its end, nuclear seems to be the favourite byword.

Why is France and Germany among the leaders in solar energy? Shouldn't we, in the equatorial belt be in the top ten list at least or better still be the leader in that field. A number of acquaintances have mentioned the prohibitive cost but isn't nuclear as expensive? I'm no expert in either but as far as I know from what I've read, solar energy wins hands down in terms of safety and long term cost effectiveness.

The sun is shining brightly on our land, why don't we use it?

The letter I mentioned is shown below and I've highlighted some parts which I find interesting.

I AM perplexed by the decision to look to nuclear as a solution for our energy needs. I would like to urge the Government to look at what the Japanese do to solve their energy needs. There is so much that we can learn from the small, but efficient, nation.


Too much is at stake. For a start, we do not have uranium or plutonium and we have to buy it from elsewhere. Why not look at something which is readily available in Malaysia in abundance and nearly free - sunlight?


Do we have in our pool of researchers someone who is doing something with regards to the potential use and exploitation of solar power generation? If the answer is no, then someone should be working on this immediately.


Please channel our limited ringgit to deserving causes.


Secondly, are we really capable of handling such a delicate but dangerous element? Looking back at the controversy in our handling of hazardous waste materials, it is doubtful.


Remember Broga? Nobody wants to have anything to do with such waste.


For the sake of our future generations, put aside personal interests and work out a solution acceptable to the layman.


TUAH ISHAK,


Johor Baru.

Everyone deserves a place in Malaysia

The following letter appeared under Viewpoints of the New Sunday Times 16 May 2010. I've highlighted some parts which I find interesting.








I DON'T think anybody was really surprised that a transsexual sought asylum in Australia. If she feels she will not be discriminated there, then so be it. Our country may appear modern and progressive, but of late there have been too many instances to the contrary.

We tend to react defensively whenever we come across something different from the norm. In the case of transsexuals, we prefer to deny that they exist. Can you blame others for perceiving that we are not progressive?

For too long and in too many cases, we have said one thing but done the opposite. Transsesuals are human beings, too, and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. Transsexuals have been around for generations and we shouldn't sweep them under the carpet.

Everyone has a right to a normal life and and an opportunity to earn a living. The New Economic Model talks about "inclusiveness", but does this extend to those who fall outside the parameters of set categories and accepted genders?

We need to move forward by embracing this issue and handling it humanely. It is not right for certain groups to define the norm and expect others to accept it no matter what. When societies veer towards the extreme, repercussions will be severe.


SANDRA RAJOO
Ipoh

We should just say no

The following letter appeared in the Lifestyle section of the Sunday Star 16 May 2010. I've highlighted some parts which I find interesting.





I HAVE always believed that we women are to be blamed more than the men when it comes to the sexualisation of women. This is because, except for the underaged, we know what is required of us when we are asked to dress scantily for a photo shoot.

So what if there is the offer of money, etc? Why do we agree to the terms and conditions?

Even those of us who know that the man we have a relationship or affair is still married to his wife, we choose to carry on with him. Then later, when things don’t work out, we accuse him of deceit and breaking promises. It’s not that as adults we don’t know what we are getting into.

I am not trying to defend the men, but I wonder why we women can’t avoid such situations, although it takes two to tango? Remember, it is the men who are already married in the first place, or vice versa, although that is less common.

If we women won’t conform to what is required by the advertisers and promotors of a product, surely it cannot be forced upon us, can it? It is those who almost expose their whole bodies who should not be condoned.

As a woman myself, I love to look at beautiful girls and women, but not those who expose too much. Who do we blame then?

Evelyn

House auction ruled unlawful

 This news item appeared in the Star, 14 May 2010. I've highlighted some parts which I find interesting.




JOHOR BARU: A woman whose apartment was auctioned off by a bank after she failed to settle her instalments of RM1,385.17 six years ago was awarded RM25,000 in damages by a magistrate’s court here.

In her statement of claim filed in the High Court in 2006, Metildah Louis Angel Perix, 51, said she had taken a RM23,750 loan from RHB Bank to buy a low-cost apartment in Taman Rinting in 1999.

However, she was unable to settle her instalments amounting to RM1,385 between May 2004 and November 2004 due to personal and health problems.

After receiving a telegram from the bank about the arrears, Metildah had paid a partial sum of RM500 in January 2005.

She was shocked that the bank had auctioned off the house together with all her belongings on March 2005.

Her claim, filed through lawyers R. Jeyabalan and K. Bharathi, to nullify the auction, sought RM14,543 in damages for her belongings and RM28,000 for the apartment.

Magistrate Khairulnadiah Hasmi ruled that the auction was unlawful and awarded Metildah RM25,000 in damages.

The bank was represented by lawyer Norlinda Lasri.

Metildah said she was happy that she had gotten something back as she spent almost RM30,000 renovating the house.

“I do not understand why my house was auctioned off when just a small amount of money was owed to the bank,” she said.

Policies pushing grads away

This letter to the editor appeared in the Star 6 May 2010. I've highlighted some points which I find pertinent to the topic.





I WAS compelled to write this letter after reading the news report ”Concern over exodus of medical grads” (The Star, May 4).

According to the report, the vice chancellor of UKM Prof Tan Sri Sharifah Hapsah was pleading with new medical graduates not to succumb to temptation of doing housemanship in Singapore without even first registering with the Malaysian Medical Council.

Without even asking for details from the dean of the Medical Faculty, Prof Datuk Dr Lokman Saim, I can safely assume that all 20 of those fresh graduates being poached to do housemanship in Singapore were non-Malays.

Apparently, there was another group of students at Universiti Malaya Medical Faculty opting to go to Singapore to do their housemanship and forgoing the prospect of ever practising in Malaysia.
I can also safely assume that these students were the cream of the crop, otherwise Singapore would not have bothered.


Such is the state of our country that new medical graduates have no confidence that they will be treated fairly even after graduation. They are afraid of missing out on post-graduate training. The salary issue is definitely not the main reason why they decided to leave. Even privately funded medical students studying overseas and government medical scholars are looking for reasons not to come home.

I urge Prof Sharifah to institute meritocracy in every part of her university in order to maintain standards. Prestige of our post-graduate medical training programmes have deteriorated because of manipulation of numbers and standards. The new graduates themselves can see this happening, that is why they are leaving. There is no point being a doctor who is not competent and the decision to leave has nothing to do with ethics or lack of patriotism.

Our standard of medical care is slipping. This can be confirmed by the large number of VIPs seeking treatment in Singapore. The wealthier ones see someone in Germany or the United States. Have they no faith in Malaysian doctors? Can you label these people as lacking in ethics and patriotism?

What new machine or equipment is available in Singapore that our hospitals here cannot afford? More often than not, our VIP patients end up being seen by Malaysian doctors who were disappointed by the system in the past and decided to stay in Singapore and not return home.

This is fine if you have deep pockets and can afford to pay your doctors in Singapore dollars. What about the man-in-the-street who has to make do with any doctor they can find? Malaysian doctors are hardworking and intelligent, but we are losing them to neighbouring countries because of short-sighted policies.

YAP BOON KAH,
Kuala Lumpur.