Dr. Cheah’s Pages

1Malaysia - a dream?

1Malaysia has been uttered almost continuously by Najib since its inception last year. In theory, it is a great concept where national unity takes precedence and patriotism is promoted. Unfortunately, events of late has shoved reality down out throats. Is one Malaysia really possible?

It almost seems like UMNO is sabotaging the very idea that Najib has constructed. Racial commentaries are rife when they are pushed into a corner, hoping to garner support from the race that they claim to represent. Mahathir, the mastermind of Malaysia’s current dilemma, is back at his antiques of stoking racial sentiments. The absurdity of suggesting that the police and MACC are Malay institutions displays the delusional mentality of UMNO.

Malaysia can be a great nation. We have the resources and diversity to match many developed countries. Such blessings are unfortunately tainted by greed and corruption of individuals, raping the sanctity of this land. John F Kennedy once uttered ‘ ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country ‘. Malaysia today is the result of what politicians have been doing to our country for decades, resulting in worsening segregation of races and a total lack of humanitarian qualities, especially among the ruling coalition.

To bring Malaysia to the path of glory, we need to unite and not see each of us by race but by nationality. It is about respecting the flag we proudly call ‘ Jalur Gemilang ‘ and not that of UNMO or BN or PR. It is about instilling patriotism and the willingness to sacrifice for the betterment of our nation. It is about educating our young about being proudly Malaysian.

Malaysia is home and there is certainly no other place like home.

PM eerily quiet

The suspicious death of Teoh at the MACC building raises many eyebrows leaving the MACC as prime suspect. Teoh certainly does not fit the profile of someone prone to suicide. What is clear now is that a witness, yes he was only a witness, was interrogated till wee hours of the morning. The clear intention here is obviously not to gather information but to torture the victim, perhaps into confessing to a wrong doing. These are facts, period. How he died remains a mystery and might forever be one.

What surprises me is that our PM remains relatively quiet. As the MACC is under the purview of his department, he should take full responsibility in investigating this case as transparently as possible. With such public uproar, he should step up and volunteer to head a thorough investigation. Instead, he has left the job to his loyal stooges.

In the end, there has to be a scapegoat to this. Perhaps the MACC chief or perhaps some poor lowly ranked interrogating officer. Whateve it is this is a public relations nightmare for Najib. No doubt he will wriggle his way through after sacrifising some pawns but will the damage be too grave to win the next GE?

The last thing we want is a secret police force terrorising, not only opposing politicians but all who trample on their golden path.

Where are we heading?

Remember the movie “Wag the dog” highlighting how the media can be manipulated to portray a false situation. This is indeed the power of the press. Perhaps the word press is obsolete now that many people are getting their news from the internet.

Unfortunately many of our news organizations are owned by political parties. Hence, the trustworthiness of the news is suspect. Sometimes you wonder if there is any jounalistic integrity in many of our news organisations?

Vision 2020 is not too far away but we are still light years away from achieving a developed status mentality.Or perhaps this vision is no longer the priority as much attention is now focused on Najib’s One Malaysia.

Reforms are slow. Even the MACC is an extension of the PM’s Department. How then can one expect impartiality? Obvious fraud is sidelined as they get embroiled in political maneuvering.

Are we heading in the right direction?

NTV7 host demoted

Recent report about a NTV7 host that was relegated to a desk job all because her guest gave Najib a bad review. Does this just irk you?

If all Najib wants to hear are good reviews, then he’s still living on another planet. The NTV7 administrators need to be removed for such suppression of freedom of speech and expression. What’s wrong with an opinion that is unfavorable?

No surprises then as they maintain their losing streak in by elections. The truth unfortunately hurts.

English vs Bahasa Malaysia

It is like a David vs Goliath story. You would expect that the outcome is a mere formality. The wealth of text in English is enormous as opposed to Bahasa. Attempts to translate will surely lead to confusion and a resulting poor grasp of the topic at hand.

It might have been wiser to channel the attention on Bahasa in areas like literature and arts. It will take decades if not centuries to translate humongous data in the areas of science and mathematics. Reading such topics in Bahasa stunts the growth of students by reducing their comprehension of texts in English and puts them at a disadvantage in terms of writing and future publications.

Putting emphasis on languages is important and I have to agree that protecting one’s mother tongue is wise, however, when a language lacks depth and strength in its vocabulary, it may be detrimental to development especially in areas of research. Just imagine translating digital programming into Bahasa, one can picture a chaotic situation.

We are a nation already playing ‘catch-up’ to other nations. Using Bahasa unfortunately, in my opinion, will be the final nail in our coffins.

Moving to Wordpress

As you can see, I have finally moved to wordpress from blogger. This gives me greater freedom with my blog. Anyway, it was time to change the layout. Enjoy.

Nuclear danger

It still puzzles me that Malaysia is still entertaining the use of nuclear power. Have we truly exhausted all other possibilities? We are often fed with the notion that nuclear power is clean but that is certainly a misdirection.

Mankind has still not figuredhow to dispose of nuclear waste. It is currently being stored in special containment areas which are expensive to run as these waste stays active for years. So the cost is not ony to maintain the nuclear power plant but its deadly waste as well.

In the era of terrorism and piracy which is so rampant in South East Asia, radioactive materials will be juicy target. The consequences of such materials falling into the wrong hands is unimaginable.

I suggest that Malaysia invests the money in researching other more environmentally friendly energy sources. Solar power or other replenishable organic sources could be further explored.