In what circumstances can we say "religion is important" and "religion is not important"?

Is your religion important to you? Are you comfortable with your current religion? What are you looking for in a religion? Etc ...

Well, many people faced these problems where they don't have any idea where their religion is leading them to. They are in it because they are born and raised in it. There isn't a sense of belonging inside as they just accept it and go through their daily life with so called "their religion" on their backs as though it is a daily chores. No, it can't be that way, right?

An email came to me earlier today with Dalai Lama's words attached. And, I am enlighten. What he said make so much sense. His words are like an arrow hitting straight to the bull's eye. There is no forcing in accepting a religion. It is all about the truth and the sensible wise advices. He said:

"The best religion gets you closest to God. It is the one that makes you a better person"

In another word, it means that a religion will be the best religion in the whole wide world if it makes all the difference to you. It does get you closer to God and because of it, you are what you are today!

I'm glad to say that I've been a Buddhist all my life. And yes, I do feel comfortable with my religion. I believe in it and I can see where it is leading me to. At times, I can sense that I am being protected and looked upon after. I've been through some really tough time in the past 2 years and it could have been worse.

I wouldn't dare to say that I am a good, kind, humble, etc human being because of my religion . But, I can say out loudly that I've tried my very best to be a better person and that is all that matters to me ... and to my religion. No single human is perfect after all, not even the wise Dalai Lama.
 
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Race discrimination & prejudice .... A racist remark

I got to know about these remarks from a blogger and I decided to post it here in the hope that I can spread it wide and far. 

The remarks are certainly an issue as far as I am concerned. As long as such racist remarks are raised, other races will never be able to accept the 1Malaysia concept. How are we going to compromise and accept everything when we are not even well accepted here? As a matter of a fact, most Bumiputeras are not exactly pure Bumiputeras. They have ancestors from other Asian countries as well ... particularly Indonesia. 

Anyway, I'm going to translate the remarks word for word into English as best as I could below so that everyone can actually understand it. You can read the original post here. A note here that the post is dated almost 11 months ago. But, that is not the whole point here. Here we go.

To Datuk Seri Najib and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, as part of the Malaysian citizen, the Islam religion and also the Malay race, I would like to express my anger as one of the Bumiputera (indigenous people) in this Malay land.

My claim against the government of Malaysia:

1) Destroy non-bumiputera's voting rights

They definitely doesn't deserve to vote in Malaysia because they only vote based on their own race only.

2) Cancel all political parties not owned by the Bumiputera in this Malay Land

Their party is extremely racist and even if they are a part of the component, they will not help us Bumiputera. Instead, they claim for our Bumiputera rights.

3) Return back all the Malay rights which had been liberalized last month

4) Bring down the statue of Hindu God in Batu Caves and also the statue of the sitting Buddha in Kelantan.

This issue is the most important of all! How us, Malaysian, an Islam country and that Islam is the main religion here, built tall huge statues to the point that it is taller that all our mosque's dome!!!

All the claims above is not something racist. But, it is our expression underneath all of it. Other migrant races will not compromise with the current government. They will only claim all the rights of the Bumiputera.

And here we ask, before anything happens, that the Malaysian government will agree to all the 4 claims mentioned.

I would like to stress one more time, a warning to the government of Malaysia!!! ...

... that, the migrant races will not support the Bumiputera! They will only support their own race! They will only surpress Bumiputera slowly, finely and secretly. They even support all the communist fighters who killed the Islam and Malay people. What's to come next then!!!

So there you have it, a racist remark written and posted by this guy - Apache, a vice Chief of the Youth UMNO Movement.

I just don't get why this Apache guy have to raise such issue. I have Malay friends from my schooling eras as well as my current working place. They are all nice people who respect other races and religion. We will talk about the way of one another's religion and race sometimes. It is always very casual, friendly and educational.

It's hard to accept it but I feel that racial issue will always be an issue here in Malaysia. It happens when we have so many races residing together. And, each races will never forget about their roots that's for sure. I know I won't. All that we can do now is to respect one another for the differences that we have. 

As to Apache guy, I don't give a damn about all his claims because it is not the voice of all Malays & Bumiputeras. If he is so worried about all his claims, he should work harder for his people. Other races work really hard to be where they are today. And, that is without much help from the government (especially the various policies laid down to even-out the economic differences between races). 

Since Apache is so worried, he should just stop wearing western clothes (t-shirts/shirts/pants/coats). No more western food or any other races' food (Mcdonalds, KFC, noodles). No more TV, radio, tall buildings and etc. He should just go back to his kampung so that he can stop being so concern about things out-shinning his believes and everything. See, he just don't get it.

To me, if a person discriminate, he/she will be discriminated as well. That is the main reason why racial issues here are so hard to be solved. Other races are discriminated in the first place. So they discriminate as well. You can't expect people to stay low and accept everything with a swallow.

I know what I wrote above might not go down well with other people's understanding and believes. But, that is just my opinion. I mean no harm. To other Malay who are unlike Apache, thank you! You are different and that makes all the difference. Awesome!

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When lightning and thunder strikes ...

I won't write much today. But, if you really want to know, this is what Lucky will do whenever lightning and thunder strikes. An extremely fierce dog on normal days, Lucky become a coward the minute it sense something not right about the weather. It's raining, Lucky :)

 

My elders once told me that if a person is afraid of thunder and lightning, it only means that the person did something bad in the past life. Are you afraid of lightning and thunder then?

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A dog being abused at Kepong KTM Station

Remember my post on "A True Story of a Street Dog Named Jonah" & "A tribute to Jonah the street dog" more than a year ago? Well, I thought such cruelty won't happen right here in Malaysia. How wrong was I...

Read on ...the news I was about to share was something which happened only last month at Kepong KTM station. I came to know about this news from my friend, Cheryl (from her Facebook status).

Source : malaysiankini 

M Nisha, Mar 17, 10, 4:43pm 

I am writing because of a grievous incident that took place on Monday, March 15 at about 3pm at Kepong Central KTM Station. My friends and I (six of us) were there to take the train to the Bank Negara station. 

After parking our cars, we heard a dog howling, more like a painful cry. Then, we noticed a dog being tied to the grill (steel fence) of the KTM station. As we approached the dog, we stood aghast at the sight. 

The stray dog's leg and neck was tied very tightly to the grill and a piece of wood had been shoved down inside its throat! The dog was bleeding and its feces were all around it. The string was attached to a pole in the KTM station. 

Immediately, we confronted the KTM workers. They said that it was done by Kuala Lumpur City Hall workers because a minister was to be visiting the station next week. They failed to explain further. 

At once, we called the SPCA and the Paws animal welfare society. The SPCA responded efficiently by informing us that an animal control officer would be there soon. We made a slight commotion in front of the KTM station but the KTM workers were not concerned at all. 

After about an hour, as we were returning to the KTM Kepong Central Station, we received a call from the SPCA officer stating that the dog was now not tied up and was moving around. When we arrived, the dog was limping. The same KTM workers avoided us as we tried to confront them. A passer-by told us that the dog has been that way for quite some time. 

The SPCA officer could not capture the dog as it walked away for quite a distance. He advised us to write to the media and to the SPCA as well. 

Doenn't our country's animal rights support the idea that an animal has the right to live its life without being harmed and hurt by humans? We realize that people define the meaning of animal rights and abuse in different ways but aren't the citizens of our country merciful? 

This dog could have been just put to sleep if it had been harming the public or causing a nuisance. Why stick a wooden stick down its throat.

There you have it then. Animal cruelty at it's worst. I mean, what can I say more. If everything in this world was created by God, why were we, one of His creation, abused another of His creation then.

As of now, I am not sure about the poor dog's fate. Is it okay? Is it recovering already? Any kind soul out there taking the dog to the vet? I have no idea myself.

To Kepong people or anyone taking the komuter train from Kepong KTM station frequently, do update us should you know anything about the dog's fate.

Anyway, a kind soul by the name "Christopher McFadden" created a petition through care2 petitionsite. Please do sign the petition. <link to petition> Our target is 10,000. To achieve that, we must spread it to all our friends. We can tweet about it. We can post the link on Facebook. Anything will do so long as we are able to create a buzz out of it.

Hotline:
Paws Animal Welfare Society Malaysia: 60(0)3 7846 1087
SPCA: 4256 5312 / 4253 5179

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A Little Update on my Sponsored Children 2009 / 2010...and some others

I sponsored 2 children in 2008 through Okala Foundation. I continued my sponsorship in 2009 yet again. It had been a pleasure really to sponsor children as I know that the money was of good use in providing them with all the necessities  - hot meals, educational books and mosquito net for a year.

You might think that once I sponsored, that was all. to it Everything will be taken care of. Well yes in a way. But I did receive updates about the 2 children I sponsored on a quarterly basis from the wonderful Okala people (Thanks, Sylvia, Tamara, Susan & the rest of you).

This is Chanceline Moni Beng.

Chanceline got the books I purchased last year.

It seems that Chanceline loves the books I had purchased :)
She was such a sweetie to say 'thank you'.

Chanceline's first term grade was 11.82 out of 20.
She needs to work harder! :p

This is Francis Thomas Bayeme.

Francis too got the books I purchased last year.

I received a sad news a month ago informing me that his mother had passed away. Francis's father passed away 4 years ago and now he and all his siblings became orphans. Okala people were still unclear who the children will be staying withing the current village. Hopefully the children's close relatives here will take them in. Or else, they will be placed with another relative who live in a different village far away.

 

Francis's first term report. He was doing rather okay there ... a 13.3 out of 20. 

He just needs to keep improving.

That is all the updates that I have so far since late last year and this year. I'll keep the updates coming when I have. 

By the way, if you are interested in sponsoring a child, do let me know. I will put you through to the right person when the time comes (October 2010).  

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Dog dragged by a motorcyclist ...

I posted news / issues on animals being tortured occasionally last year and I think I should bring the mentality forward. The public needs to be aware of what is happening around us and the world over.

Yes, I know I couldn't do much to save everything and anything. But, if this is as much as I can do, I will do it of course. The article below is taken from The Daily Chili of The Star Online. I'll just summarize it properly for better reading.

According to the article, a photo depicting a motorcyclist towing a chained dog while riding on a motorcycle on a highway in Fuzhou was uploaded to the internet by a netizen named Liu on Thursday. The photo sparked off public outrage in China.

It seems that Liu managed to grabbed a photo of the motorcyclist. Liu asked the man to stop but the man just sped off. The dog was said to be unable to bark due to the chain chained around its neck. Its four legs were bleeding too. 

Public who came to know about the photo and Liu's shout out demanded a search for that man to be made.

There you go. Dog being dragged along the road? What? What is going through inside the man's head anyway? Is it so fun to torture a living being? Is he excited by the screams and suffering look of the dog? I am puzzled. What had gone wrong in his upbringing by the way?

I am tired of all the animal torturing news coming from China. When my animal activist friends on facebook posted something on animals and how bad the animals in China were tortured, I felt really really bad and ashamed. They called all Chinese evil, terrible, torturing, hopeless and everything.

I know they only meant China Chinese. But hey, at the end of the day, we are still Chinese (though I am a Malaysian Chinese). I am proud of my Chinese heritage and I despise it when 'Chinese' is branded in that sort of way. At the very least, now, I can tell people that there are Chines who cared and understand that torturing another living being is a no-no.

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Roarrrrrr .... Happy Chinese New Year everybody

It's the tiger year now. Tiger is the third zodiac animal among the 12 animals in Chinese calenders. Tiger is a symbol of power, strength and awe.

According to legend, the ferocious feline took third place in a race called by the Jace Emperor (Emperor of Heaven). All animals in the kingdom were invited to participate in the event. Tiger manage to claw its way across the river bank to reach the designated spot set. Hence, tiger was inducted into the Zodiac Years permanently.

Enough with the legend :) Happy Chinese New Year, people! May the tiger year be kind, generous and helpful to all. 

Please enjoy the ecard below. Click on the card to see the animated version. The tiger cubs are cute.

The 5 little tiger cubs represent the 5 elements - metal, water, fire, earth and wind.

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Bye Bye Starcom & Hello there, Astro

I'm rewinding back to 2009 again. Hee!

My Blog reader: Oh well ... he is at it again. What the hell is he thinking off ... going back to the past when it is already February of 2010.

Well okay, there won't be any repeats here I promised. Just some necessary updates which I actually fail to update last year due to some unforeseen circumstances. Just read my older postings and you will know why.

With regards to the title of the post, I left Starcome Mediavest after a short 3 months stint [March to May 2009 :-( ] as a junior planner. I hadn't had the chance to continue with my media planning stuffs or even give a proper goodbye to some of my friends there. I left so abruptly. It was like 'I was still there the other day and I wasn't there anymore the next day.'

I enjoyed my 3 months stint there very much (not so much during the last month actually due to my health problem). I do missed my colleagues there and all the small little things like lunch together, chit chat, jokes, tea times, food exploring (oh how I miss Kin Kin's chilli pan mee) and etc.

Handling glamorous account like Richemont (think Montblanc, Cartier, Jaeger Le Coulter, Officine Panerai) was particularly challenging as I was not so well equipped yet with the necessary knowledge to handle it efficiently. Thankfully, my boss and senior - JC and WanYi was very patience with me through out,  guiding and teaching me all kinds of stuff. Thank You!

To all my other friends there - Marry, Liling, Lydia, Ker Harn and all of the rest - Thank You! I know it is kind of .... LATE. Hahaha ...

 

 My 'former' work station at Starcom

 My left over (and now unused) name cards

 The last cake I ate 2 weeks (I think) before I left. 

Apparently I had a cake of Takeshi Kaneshiro's nose on it.

So, farewell Starcom MediaVest. May the force be with you :-)

After feeling unwell for more than 3 months, I was getting much better and ready to get back to work. I decided to leave Starcom after I was given an opportunity (You know who you are. Thank You! Haha) to be interviewed for an open vacancy at Astro - On Air Promo team.

At the end of the interview with my now current boss, I accepted the offer. I daren't asked for any huge salary, high position or extra benefits as I knew then that I lacked the experience to be in the position to ask for anything. My time will come eventually. To me, it was all about the learning experience and gaining more knowledge.

I came in as an intern for a month, basically learning my new job scope and getting used to the new environment. As Astro needed some time to settle all the paper work and other stuff, I continued working there as a freelancer.

ABC - Astro Broadcast Centre

Working at Astro was a whole new experience for me. Everything was so different from the time when I was at Starcom. It took me some time to get used to it as a matter of  fact. I had more freedom and air to breathe  here actually. I was given the chance to explore and worked on things which hadn't been done previously. Not to mentioned, my colleagues and seniors who were very friendly, approachable and helpful. Thank You!

What more can I asked, right?

 

I was confirmed as permanent staff finally just a month ago and was eligible to have all the benefits Astro had to offer. So, a yay from me. Yay! My career resolution will be to get more things done and earn  myself a salary raise. Hehe. Also, I have been working on some stuff and am hoping to get it done. It is kind of a platform to a better tomorrow - for me and for the team, hopefully.

I may not be sure of what my future holds. Just looking at 2008 and 2009 are already making me shudder with fear, wondering if 2010 will be another hell of a roller coaster. I am optimistic about 2010 and I am going to use all my power (think 'The Secret') to make sure 2010 and beyond will be a good one. 

Hello there, Astro!

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Pulmonary tuberculosis ... that is ...

One of the reason why I lost my blogging sense starting mid of 2009 all of a sudden is because I was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis.

 Under IV drips

Tuberculosis used to be one of the top killer disease in the world. It still is the top killer currently where more than 4 million people died from it every year. Having said that, tuberculosis can definitely be cured as effective drugs have been created to combat tuberculosis.

  Mantoux test (a diagnostic tool) on the 24/5/09 @ 9 AM. 

It was painful as tuberculin was injected into the skin.

Pulmonary tuberculosis is tuberculosis in the lung. Symptoms may include prolonged cough (I coughed for 4 months straight), chest pain, coughing out blood, fever, chills, night sweats, appetite loss, weight loss and fatigue. I had all of the above generally. Night sweats were particularly bizarre as I kept sweating majorly under the air-cond. It was so cold and I sweat.

Pyrazinamide (top left), Rifampicin (red in colour), Isoniazid (yellow in colour), 

Ethambutol (bottom right) & Pyridoxine (bottom)

20 years ago, patients were injected with drugs every single day for 6 - 12 months. Now, we had drugs in the form of pills. "Phew!". For 4 months,  I underwent intensive anti tuberculosis drugs in the form of pills ... every single day. Pyrazinamide looked like panadol. Rifampicin looked like normal antibiotic pills. Isoniazid was okay. Ethambutol was evil (bitter & yucky). Pyridoxine was actually the liver supportive - vitamin B6.

Healthy food to keep my weight up ... and up. 

To my cousin brother & cousin sister, thanks a lot :-)

Extra supplements to boost up my immune system. 

To my aunt & uncle, thanks a lot :-)

Humans needs to be remembered rather often on the things that matters the most. More than ever, I know I will always have my family and relatives to lean on to when I am not myself. 

My plate, bowl, mug, spoon & fork. 

As I was infectious then, I wore a mask every single day for 3 months. I had a separate eating ware specially just for me. I had my lunch and dinner separately (and alone) at the living room.

An improved lung. Previously, serious patchy areas could be seen on my 

right lung and part of the left. It only meant cavities and lesion.

When my condition improved after 4 months (October 09), I was given lesser drugs - only Rifampicin, Isoniazid & Pyridoxine. Everything seems to be going rather well. 

The amount as of drugs I had ... after 6 months

The amount of drugs I had up till now was tremendous. That is a lot! There is still 3 months to go before I am allowed to stop my medication.

Till then, have a nice day.

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My neglected blog ...

I know I have neglected my blog for the longest time. My last post can be dated back to last year October the 4th. That is like ... 3 months ago. You tell me about it.

Well, here I am now, appearing all of a sudden. And, I am going to really work on my blog in the coming weeks. Oh, yes I am. It's about time to resurrect my blog back to the fore front.

Thanks for bearing with me all this while :)

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