The Silence is Deafening

PH won 82 seats

PN won 73 but allied with GPS and GRS which contributed 28 extra seats

BN is dangling their 30 seats, which will give either side control over Parliament

The noise comes mostly from PN claiming alliances and SDs indicating support

Irony: BN LOST THE ELECTION PEOPLE!!!

Silence is golden, but in this case the silence is deafening.

Malaysians await 2pm when an audience with the YDPA will enlighten us who the PM will be.

Negaraku

The title of our national anthem.

Also means "My Country".

Also a song by Faizal Tahir, about the sacrifices of the people.

We have voted. We have selected our MPs. Now that we reach 'hung' Parliament, we have various claims of alliances and statutory declarations expressing support for the group with less seats.

What will we tell our children: that we could lose, but still wrest control from the winner without regard?

The anti-hopping bill finally became law, so we got rid of the 'frogs'.

Now we have Rasputin who hungers for power, what law do we have for that?

Rome is burning, and our leaders can't get it together.

I remembered reading "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" many years ago. Not for Malaysia I think. We will destroy the country ourselves, thank you very much.

What is happening at this moment is a great example of how enticing power is, and how we hang on to it as if there is no God. Ironic, considering the perpetrators claim to be God-fearing and pious.

Another GE can happen in another 4-5 years, and our leaders will still be at it.

My conclusion is simple: let the winners choose the PM and share the rest of the Cabinet with the second in command. Anwar as PM, Muhyiddin as TPM and by ratio 82:73 plan the Cabinet. This is NOT an alliance, but an urgent decision to push the country forward. Demi Negaraku 💕

To Whom the Bell Tolls

To those who are weary, now is the time to rest.

This morning I saw an individual removing the flags and campaign posters from our area.

The elections are over, but the negotiations & speculations have not died down.

Who will we have as Prime Minister? It is anyone's guess.

I really cannot predict which way this is going to go.

But whichever way it is planning to go, please.. no more Sheraton moves [I am sure Sheraton is known for a great many things, but unfortunately it became infamous because of the move. If the managers had known, they would not have approved the booking on that fateful day].

Party hopping is illegal now, but alliances are not. Hence the parties are haggling for the best deals. Whatever it is, no matter how long the night, or the day is, the King has asked for a name by 2pm tomorrow. [but the ultimatum was not attached to a consequence i.e. if not... would the King choose the PM himself?]

The cheeky monkeys will now be BN, holder of 30 seats and GPS with 22. Carrots-dangling will start and God knows how long these negotiations would be > but the King has given a cut-off time so these folks better had reached a consensus pretty soon.

In my heart there is only 1 question: Now that we have chosen our leaders, let's crack the whip and WORK (eventually). 

The Morning After

Malaysians today woke up to the possibility of a hung Parliament.

What will we do? We will leave it to the politicians.

My personal hope is that they will argue less and work more. Other people argue too, but somehow managed to get work done. We need not argue anymore. Malaysia is in a crisis that we urgently need to get out of. Let's get moving people, chop chop!!!

The Rakyat has spoken

We probably won't agree on many things, but Malaysians are to be counted on to be responsible when we need to. We have made our choice and the next thing to do is to move forward.

It is imperative that we enhance our competitiveness, improve our systems, be better overall. There is no more time. If we do not buck up this term, Indonesia will surpass us and be the next developed country pretty soon! Vietnam too. We will still be Malaysia and running behind everyone else.

Nurul Izzah and KJ lost their seats. They'll sit it out this term. Both can rest and have a bit of reprieve, and rise to fight again in the next election (or not). KJ definitely will, but Nurul Izzah may be 50-50. Again, just my speculation. Both her mom & dad will be upcoming MPs. She'll play a supportive role. She has also recently remarried, so focusing on her new husband (for a while at least) may not be a bad idea.

What did I learn from this election? 

I was glad to observe MANY youths coming out to vote. 

In fact I brought three with me to the polling station!

The urban professionals have started voting too, instead of incessantly complaining and doing nothing about it. From their trend of voting, they did not seem too concerned on race politics.

Despite the frustrations of the previous GE14 and the Sheraton Move and what-have-yous, we had that last ounce of faith to leave our houses to vote. THIS TIME it will be worth it.

It probably will be, if the politicians can get it together.

It will be ironic and ever so sad if PH, with their highest number of seats won, becomes the opposition in Parliament. They should never collaborate with BN. If they do, they will lose a great number of votes in the next election: people voted for PH because they could no stand BN anymore. However, without BN, they may not be able to form a ruling party. A "damn-if-I-do-damn-if-I-don't" situation. Boy oh boy, I would not want to be in Anwar's shoes right now.

In Recent Memory

Thus is the latest election results for Malaysia's GE15:

Astro Awani prepared, with fantastic hindsight, this calculator for us to estimate the potential coalitions to form a government: Astro Awani Kalkulator Majoriti 

Below is a screenshot in case the calculator is disabled sometime in the near future:

In my personal view the most ideal collaboration is between PH and PN (and related parties). Ignore BN altogether and move forward towards a greater Malaysia. However PAS and DAP are unlikely bedfellows and the chances of this happening is slim to none.

The irony that will happen is the possible collaboration between PH and BN, and BN becomes the cheeky folks dangling their 30 seats for negotiations with both PH and PN.

PN's win is interesting, and one that was not expected by PH (in my view). This reminded me of the Semangat46 days when UMNO had its factions. Semangat46 contested almost the same number of seats as BN but failed in their attempt. If that had happened now, they probably would have a fighting chance. Malaysians now are more politically aware and are quite fed-up with silly endless politicking. It is time to GET SOME WORK DONE!

The selection this time round appear to support candidates, especially incumbents from respective constituents. P104 Subang MP won by 115,074 votes margin. The voters have made their voices heard. BN is keeping deathly silent this time. No interviews were granted just now. Their loss is shameful.

What lessons should BN politicians learn from this debacle? Clean yourselves up, do your work, listen to the citizens and enough with race-based threats. We have had it. Najib is probably enjoying his time in prison, laughing at this whole scenario "Boy am I glad to not have been involved in THAT!". Maybe. Just my silly speculation. If I were to create a meme, I would create that one 😂

So my 24-hour role as a (dis)honorary political pundit has ended (just like all Malaysians). Time to get back to work and contribute to the economy. Rest assured when all the politicians were bickering away, we Malaysians were slogging and making sure the money-making machinery is working alright. If you ask me, we are the real warriors survivors fighters. Malaysians looking after Malaysians. 

When this episode ends (not sure how it will begin, or if it would ever end), we will STILL be doing our bit to oil the machinery. I'm out of ideas for now. I will focus on my area of expertise, contribute and continue making money for Malaysia. Peace Out Y'all!

Curiosity

Curious am I of a multitude of topics:

1. Stars and space: how are new stars born, and whether humans would finally find another planet once Earth becomes too contaminated to live in;
2. Human brains: how do male and female think differently (and connect with each other); and can arguments be diffused before it happens
3. Botany and how plants of Malaysia can be used for medicine without causing major impact on the forest and the people who live there
4. Career Prospect and Career Planning: How early should we put a plan in place? (Is school the right place to start)
5. Why/ How are young people getting declared bankrupt in large numbers? Should we not include financial management courses in schools (primary and secondary)?
6. Will AI eventually replace humans? Will humans become extinct? When we do (due to youths not marrying and having children), will robots be able to run the world? (They may just be!)
7. How do technologies help humans (How do we value-add to their existing utilisation)? Will there be an instance when technology becomes much2 better than us. How do we redesign the approach?
8. The psychology of "workplaces". Universities are actually teaching institutions that train people to work for factories. Can universities (or learning institutions) allow a student to pick and choose their subjects (or what they want to learn) until he/she finds what he/ she is good at? and/ or can workplaces change to let the workers evolve? A self-employed model: would that work?

I get curioser and curioser. However at this moment I am a bit lazy to do anything about these. If I have longer breath in my body I would very much like to explore these after retirement. Perhaps do a series of videos that cover various aspects [but what is my USP though?]

So many questions, so little time!

The Habit of Writing Things Down (a work of fiction)

Once there was a postman who went door to door to deliver mails, ever diligently, day in and day out.

He would write down their addresses, the distances of their homes to the post office, and describe the day's weather as accurately as possible.

That, he liked to do and he enjoyed his job. The letters are important, he would say. I deliver happiness to others. News are always sought after, he had added.

When he died, his logbooks were kept by the local library and kept under lock and key by the librarians, as a record of the efficiency of their postal service.

Hundreds of years later, the postman's work was referred to by scientific researchers who inquired into weather patterns at the location in the past years. They were terribly glad to have found this postman's diary, and based on his description of the clouds, these researchers were able to plot the weather trends of that locality quite accurately.

It is interesting how something so menial could have contributed to a lot of meaning much3 later on. That is the power of writing things down.

The More I Read, the Less I Know

This entry was inspired by this write-up: 8 billion people: How different the world would look if Neanderthals had prevailed.

We originated from homo-sapiens, a human species that were adventurous, curious and travelled the world. Neanderthals inter-marry, and are least likely to venture outside where they lived. In contrast, homo-sapiens were born to explore, meet others and try new things; the direct opposite of Neanderthals.

Hence (my deduction), this urge to wander, explore, and venture to new lands is in-built.

The article had said, if Neanderthals had prevailed the world would not have been as populous as now. [I also read in another article that a Neanderthal's brain is smaller compared to a homo-sapien's].

My second deduction connects to the population size. It would have been great if we had been more responsible to Mother Earth as we procreate and populate the world. I like the principles adopted by Orang Asal of Malaysia. They have assigned sections of their land, for building a home, for farming, for plant-gathering, for fishing, for burial, for hunting and especially for preservation (their "Green Belt", so to speak). Every generation respects these spaces and every individual takes what they need from the land. Not more. There is no wastage.

Personally the sad thing about commercialisation and capitalism is this: we buy and we waste, and in the process we became cruel to Mother Nature. The key is to get what you need, not more. Respect others' property (we have our laws to enforce this). We just haven't figured out how to be less greedy. 8 billion people with double or triple the size of waste (compared to our body weight), is a scary prospect.

Maybe he did (love what he did)

My late father spoke multiple languages: Malay, Arabic, Urdu, Javanese, and weak English. I would forgive on his poor English, because he speaks the 4 other languages WELL. And comparatively, I only speak 2 languages as of now, while struggling to learn conversational Chinese.

He wrote some articles too for the local government publication "Jabatan Agama Johor", as well as the local papers; he wrote well in Malay, and in Jawi. I obviously can't. My shot at it, is to probably write in Malay & use AI to somehow convert everything to Jawi.

He delivered engaging ceramahs (roughly translated: sermons; contextual translation: talks) on the radio and in masjids. I think he appeared on TV once or twice. If he had lived now, during social media times, he would be famous (he was quite famous then too). He and his friends started the Islamic/ spiritual healing movement that is now known as Darussyifa'. 

In totality, he was an achiever. When he died, a whole lot of people attended his funeral. The road leading up to the graveyard was jampacked with folks trying to pay him their last respects. He was loved and held in high regard. 

Before his death he ran for office: the Parliamentary seat of Parit Sulong. He lost the seat, and his job, and his reputation. I was about 17 then, when I realised how dirty politics can get. How a person like my father could be persuaded to throw accusations at another (I had read some of his written speeches, which I burned); and how the opponent participated in vote buying so that my father lost the election. There were other things that happened, but they will never be discussed publicly.

He passed away at the age of 46, leaving behind a 41 year old wife and 8 children aged between 8 months to 17 years old. We survived, and I might say that we thrived. He would be pleased to see all of us now, if he had been around. 

Now that I am 48, I look back and see how wonderfully great my late father was. He spoke up against authority (more than once). He had wanted to correct the wrongs, so he ran for office. Inasmuch as he is a father, he was a fantastic one. Somehow he had time for all of us; he taught us personally to read the Quran and to solat. This I could never do for my children, because of my multiple excuses (the main one: too busy with work). 

He had his aspirations, and I think he achieved most of his goals before he passed away. He had made a difference in many peoples' lives, and was taken too soon. Despite his small salary he collected quite a bit of property which tide us over through school and university. He took care of us well, even in death. Well my mom did a LOT of the work too, and she will be the central subject of another entry. Frankly if my mom had worked, I have no doubt that she would have been as successful. 

Greatness comes before us, and we reap the hard work they sow.

Writing the PD

I have just concluded writing the umpteenth version of my Proposal Defence.

There are ALWAYS parts that I do not like, that I will question, to the frustrating point of asking: Is this whole thesis justifiable? That is the scary part. That the whole thing is unworkable 😱

So far I have figured out that I do not like Chapter 3, but it has a certain charm. There is a purpose to it, and the discussion is fascinating. I still cannot convince on the differences between "ontology" and "epistemology" but I finished that chapter (I hope convincingly enough!!!!).

I know now ahead of time, that qualitative analysis happens simultaneously with data collection, HENCE I will be able to spot when saturation is reached (or about to be reached). THANK YOU for this!!! Data collection follows next and I must keep going on with my mind intact. All that reading amounts to something & I plan to prevail. [Please help me!]

One day it will all go away

Technology is only as good as its continued availability. Unfortunately it is heavily reliant on electricity and the Internet. Any breakdown of one or the other may likely affect technology. Apart from these, technology updates are also necessary to keep things running (Case in point: Digital books wear out faster than physical books).

Other cases in point:

• Lots of people, especially those who were social media savvy, were affected when Instagram and Whatsapp were hit by outage 
• This piece of news illustrate how a massive yet hidden infrastructure runs our Internet (and a LOT of things we do daily): Damaged European undersea cables impact internet connectivity worldwide
• When this happened, people at my office literally stopped working. No internet. No electricity to power our laptops and computers. And we had very few documents in hardcopy to do anything much: Parts of Klang Valley hit by blackout
• In the TV series "Humans" that ran from 2015-2018 on UK's Channel 4, the robots were smarter, stronger, faster and better than humans in every way YET they still need to be charged to keep running. Control the electrical supply and we (humans) can control the robots. 

For me personally, I will explore the simple life next. Rear some chickens and grow my own farm in one corner of New Zealand perhaps? Go to the towns only when I need to. Stay on my own and do my own thing, away from the grid.

Take a Chill Pill

What do you do when you feel strongly about something and/ or against someone?

If, say, during a training you disagree with the content?

Would you leap up and shout "this is the wrong approach!"

or Would you interject and ask a question "What do you think if we consider this approach instead?"

I would want to use (as much as possible) and would like to remind myself to use the second approach.

A statement launched in anger can be damaging sometimes and can reflect on us instead of the other person. Especially in this day and age, launching words at the wrong place and/ or the wrong time may just bring us unnecessary/ unwelcome fame/ notoriety.

"Medical authorities have cited relaxation as an aid to sufferers of heart trouble. They have prescribed relaxation as a relief- even a cure for people in high pressure occupations who have heart trouble."

from page 34 of "The Magic Power of Self-Image Psychology" by Maxwell Maltz

The System (a work of fiction)

Groaning, creaking, squealing.. the system goes on. No matter what abuse people gave it. No matter how much data it receives. No matter what time of day.

The system has also become an outlet for people's escapism. If something does not work or did not get done by someone, the system is always there to blame. What is a system but to bear the brunt of endless complaints? It silently processes all input and allows itself to be moulded to produce an output that meets the demands of the workplace.

"The system integrates all of our work; a one-stop centre" the Big Boss had said.

"It has been created by a number of smart people in the organisation and captured my vision exactly. So I feel very glad today to announce the release of the system's final version for everyone to use!" he had said with aplomb (note the exclamation mark, no less).

Applause followed, as with any announcement made by the Big Boss.

The little bosses will follow the pathway charted by the Big Boss, and collectively the "Management" will determine the overall direction of the system.

The system watched silently, not knowing what to expect. 

A Day of Significance

Because I am selfish, I will first announce that today is my birthday.

Incidentally, today is also the day selected for Malaysians to cast their votes to choose their next members of Parliament. Out of 365 days in the year, it had to be on 19 November 2022.

No. 1, 2 and 3 have cast their first votes (of many, I hope) this year.

In view of the automatic registration (Undi18), many of their peers will be voting too. In the queue this morning it was encouraging to see many youths interspersed with the older folks.

What will happen tonight? I don't know but I am looking forward to the vote counting later.

This year we will see which way the votes sway. 

Debt

I would have liked to be debt-free at this age (47 turning 48). 

However I have no such luck. 

I have just finished paying my university loans (for my undergraduate degree).

Now I have a housing loan + a car loan. 

In 2 years' time I will be able to withdraw the monies in my Account 2 (or whatever that is left of it).

I have paid for my eldest son's course fee to enable him to work in Germany.

My daughter is also starting her degree course.

What I am able to provide them is a debt-free existence after they finish their studies.

I am glad to have been able to do that.

I did not any better.

After graduation I had some student debts.

I had some overdrafts from my poor spending habits when I was studying.

I mistakenly took the credit card offers when I started working and worked up quite a bill.

All were eventually paid off, but I suffered financially as a result.

I didn't earn all that much to be able to recover, and needed to be in debt (still) to be able to buy the house and the car. OH MY MY MY!

For my children I have advised them to save, save and spend. The allocation to pay off debt is for them to save, and perhaps invest in some shares in future? If they manage things well they'll be able to retire quite comfortably by 40. Mark my words.

Silliness

We had a social gathering at the office today. It was organised pretty well I think, looking at the big picture. The food was too spicy though, they could have toned down the chillis a notch.

Apart from the 'hot' food, the rest of the event was a hoot. There was singing, dancing, a fashion show and some speeches. Joy. We haven't had that in a LOOOOONG time.

Some silliness and banter may help break the monotony. We probably needed that. We have been shackled way too long. (Dramatic, aren't I?).

However, on a personal level, I think I could have been more well-behaved. I shouldn't have asked our Head of Department to be the catwalk model. I should have kept quiet and let it be. I hope he forgives me.

This is where I sometimes need to step back and be a reserved proper lady. This is why some people need to go to finishing school! I am unfinished to say the least. Haha.

Let me be now. I will crawl into my little hole. See you next year 🙈

Why the heck Not?

A number of independent candidates vying for Parliamentary seats have decided to band together to form Parti Bebas ("The Free(dom) Party").

It is a free country after all, why not?

They are free to form whatever alliances they consider necessary. We can choose whoever we deem suitable. Let our vote speak for us.

We have exactly TWO days to go. Will we choose people who can actually make a change? We have the deepest need for this wonderful country to recover and rise through the ashes. We have been through too much crap. Can we finally get things going, do the job and eventually hit the 'developed nation' status?

I still have hope. One final breath. I will vote on Saturday, and I pray that I choose the right man for the job (NOTE: I say this because the nominees for my constituent happens to be all male).

Which devil do you choose?

Elections are coming again around the corner. I wonder if people get tired of voting, of choosing the persons who will run the country. When the day comes I hope I will choose the right candidate.

Somehow our constituent is not as popular as some other, like Batu with its 10-cornered fight. We have 3 nominees representing PN, BN and PH respectively.

Frankly it is not easy to choose this time.

PN puts forth Muhyiddin Yassin as PM if they win. Azmin and Zuraida two of the architects of the Sheraton Move, and avid leapfroggers, are in there. Muhyiddin Yassin has had his chance to lead the country. I wouldn't say that he did it with aplomb. It was so-so at best.

BN, if we choose them, may appoint Zahid Hamidi as the PM. The incumbent Ismail Sabri seems to insist (unconvincingly) that he has the support as the next PM, but he fails to see the BN Constitution. The Party President will be the next PM. Always have been, always will be. 

PH yet again presents Anwar Ibrahim as the PM if they win. They made way for Tun Mahathir the last time, to a disappointing turn of events. Will they take the seats this time? The only issue with PH is the inclusion of Party Sosialis Malaysia: the party that roots for a Republic, and openly supportive of LGBTQ rights. Not sure how this will jive with royalists and religious groups.

How, pray tell, will I choose. I listened to BFM just now, and they shared about how uncertain the voting is this time. There is no telling how the votes will sway this time based on the pulse on the ground. Anyhow anywho we will choose the next ruling party come Saturday. Choose well & choose wisely Malaysians. Another 4 years we will be at it again (yay?).