The liberation of life for all Malaysians.

New Malaysia should believe, build and attain good quality of life for all – B40, M40 and T20 – all races, all ages, all gender, all beliefs. I've become some sort of an avid observer of cross-cultural lifestyles whenever I travel and every piece of my experience, I made a mental note.

And after being in 28 countries across 5 continents, these library of 'notes' in my head, is finally compiled into a comprehensive and succinct checklist for what I think good quality of life is, and that both private and government sectors should work together to provide for all Malaysians. I hope they will come handy someday. I believe that not one party can provide the solutions to all 25 goals. All sectors must work together in close collaboration and with the same ideals, only then we can achieve this ambition. I welcome discussion and suggestion.

1. Knowing the source of your food and that it is safe
2. Being able to ‘enjoy’ simple pleasures of what one enjoys - from ice cream vans to skating parks, from fine wine to swimming in public rivers
3. Having life aspirations and being able to realize them
4. Healthy engagement of discourse with each other, including with their voted representatives
5. Freedom of belief and religion - the government a watchdog, not a dictator
6. Connection with tradition and culture, a strong sense of belonging
7. Social integration - being able to interact freely with others on a daily basis regardless of income, race and religion
8. Close relationships with friends and families
9. Having quality choices in one’s everyday decisions
10. Good quality childcare that is both flexible and affordable
11. Facilities and services that have good consideration of being baby, children, senior, disabled and pet-friendly
12. Appreciation of music, literature and knowledge – music festivals, good libraries, bookstores and affordable access to fast internet
13. Accessibility and enjoyment of commute
14. Minimal anxiety of growing old or being sick
15. Low crime rate, efficient and just enforcement of law and security – everyone feels safe and secured on a daily basis
16. Accessible and affordable medical and social care and advice
17. Close proximity to nature and greens – strong accountability for the environment
18. Affordable and conscious access to clean water and electricity – no wastage
19. The wisdom of elders, the laughter of little ones and compassion for the less-abled
20. Having the means and freedom to access knowledge and experience from other cultures
21. Sound business policies, strategies and practices that maintain a good balance between the interest of the people and the interest of the market
22. Having good build and design around you – design that solves problems and for the enjoyment of many
23. A well-informed society and a good and healthy balance of government and media power
24. Well-prepared for disaster prevention, relief and recovery, and finally last but not least...
25. Able to build own home and family with loved ones

World citizen.

Wow, it's been awhile!  Happy new year y'all!

To the title of this post, what sparked my thoughts was a dire (future inevitable) problem of Singapore.  A country where its population, the key resource to a healthy social economic climate, could be dwindling in the near future. Already the locals aren't very happy with the government's decision to import foreign workers to fill up vacancies - you watched Singaporean football team in action?  Or Singaporeans in the Olympics?  Well, um.  Sorry to break your heart, but they aren't exactly Singaporean.

Anyway, back to my contention point.  So citizens are against importing 'foreign workers' and government in dilemma because citizens are not producing little citizens enough and/or quick enough.  I guess the real implication here, is the very real possibility for a country to lose its identity once overcrowded by foreigners over nationals.  In the case of Dubai where locals make up only 2% of the population, it is hardly a destination that's culturally rich.  This sense of identity is the very same cause for many wars - whose land does this belong to?  And for those who reside in this land - whose moral codes and conducts should they follow?  Ask any Malaysians and you get mixed response.

But think about this for one second.  What if we treat a 'country' like any other 'product' or 'brand' where we understand the importance of keeping fundamental values but at the same time keeping up with the evolution of people's needs?  Does Singapore need to be all Chinese Singaporeans?  Will the fundamental values of governing parties and constitution change if let say Australians are now the new Singaporeans?  How much does one attach their identity to a country?  If we all believe in the same thing, wouldn't that makes us in some ways, many forbid, the same nationality?  Because we invest the same interest in a certain political party and agree on the same constitution of a certain governed area?

Being born in one part of the world and not another, and then given a certain identity is to me no more than a practical logistic reason for crowd-control and to some extent, exert 'fairness'.  Otherwise, it's pure luck.  An Indian boy born in India or in the UK still has Indian blood running in him.  But his opportunity and what he believes thereafter, differs widely.  And clearly, he has no say in that.  Well, not until he decides to risk a boatride to a better life elsewhere.

Now what if... what if we loosen our grip on formality and for once, view the situation from the perspective of humanity?  Is a country not just a geographical divide of what's mine and what's yours?  True human rights include the right to create equal opportunity for yourself like everyone else.  But what if the grass is really greener on the other side?  Face it, getting to the other side is at the end of the day, a luxury reserved for those who can afford it.  There's no getting to the other side for billions and billions of other people.  And that's the truth.  Why let geographical circumstances decide the fate of humanity?

Why you should never mash religion with politics and finance.

I spent two hours watching Zeitgeist: The Movie today.  I've always been sceptical with edited films - bits and pieces of information edited by someone with a strong point-of-view.  Given the same footages, through the hands of someone with a totally different perspective, tells a different story.  The uncanny skills you pick up from being in advertising.

Anyway, I still hold scepticism although yes, it seems like it makes a lot of sense.  At the end of the day, who knows what the truth is?  We all like to believe, we'll finally find it when we die.  Or when this age dies.  Well, until then, what can we do except to live responsibly as a human being?  And be accountable to one another?

One major take-out that I have to thank film director and social activist, Peter Joseph is this: NEVER ever mix religion with politics with financial goals.  These are important pillars in building a society, or a nation as a matter of fact, or any organisation for that matter.  But when you mix them together, you get pure potent evil.  Money controls government controls what the people should believe in.  Then it's a downward spiral of mass destruction for everyone.  Even those who are 'in control' because one thing we can be sure of is, there's no such thing as immortality.

If you think this only happens in America, you're wrong.  It's everywhere.  In your own country, and perhaps even your own organisation.  Since I'm in no governmental position, I should only make brand-related inference.  Brand philosophy should always stand alone, uninterrupted by the financial guys, undeterred by operations.  Yes, it's a fine line especially between operations and finance but they should always be governed and treated separately.  Each its own entity, for fear one takes over the other.  When you start losing control of these three pillars, you lose three wonderful visions.  You only get one.  And that's the one driven by money.

The Malaysian reformation process has already started. It was filmed.

Komas is a popular communications centre set up in the 90s to provide services to groups that are involved in a whole range of issues in Malaysia today which I think is somehow associated with Pakatan (this is to caution you before you watch the video below).

Here's an extremely well produced video entitled 'After the Tsunami' (referring to the 12th General Election that cost BN four states), meant to educate every Tom, Dick and Sue (in short: you and I) about what's really happening behind the scenes. A heated chat with a friend lately revolves around the topic of how there's not one single Malaysian who is doing anything to make any change. Well, here you go. I beg to differ. BIG TIME differ.

Today is different from yesterday. The evolved nature of the web will bring us another tsunami. While I don't think the internet is our savior, but I do think that it is the one vehicle that will bring about change if we persist and pursue. Connectivity, content and communication. That's old digital talk. But Change will not be difficult to achieve because all we have to remember is the web is no longer virtual. Instead, it has become a digital mapping of the real world. The anonymity and barriers will break, people will be more susceptible to consume new ideas and ideologies. We just have to be transparent, accountable and consistent. The net requires minimal budget for change. Flash mobs don't cost a single cent but it could be organised by just a single tweet. The government is understandably afraid. All I can say is, play fair. Online, every one is equal.


Selepas Tsunami (After the Tsunami) from Pusat KOMAS on Vimeo.

Note: Don't you ever, ever, ever give up hope on 'us'. If you don't have money, you work for it. If you don't have food, you grow it. If you don't have a home, you build it. If you don't have friends, you make some. But if you don't have hope, you become an empty soul that has got nothing to fight for. You live each day as though you're sleepwalking, without knowing what's your end game. And your selfish life will one day end inevitably, only for you to realize that you have left nothing behind for your children that they cannot work, grow, build and make on their own. And they too will become empty vessels waiting to return to earth, just like how you did without making any difference. So no matter what happens, how unhappy you are, how frustrated, how angry, how spiteful you are. Don't ever give up that God-given privilege, which is to be 'hopeful'.

The Malaysian government and social media, here's my response.

Yesterday we attended the 'Government and social media' session organised by the wonderful people from @SMCkl. It was a very amusing session given the attendees: @asohan as moderator, @khairykj @tonypua as the 'political' reps @kamraslan as the lone ranger in no man's land and #tinamalone as the rep from America's gov 2.0. I've never met any of them in real life. Only read about them in the papers not their tweets. So, yesterday was my first time to get a first hand experience of what these people are really like, naked in flesh without their Twitter handles :P They're quite... funny. Khairy being the funniest.

Anyway, the session was conducted in a jovial and most civilized manner and everyone enjoyed themselves. I had a lot of questions swimming in my head but I didn't want to reveal myself to ask questions (they were taking photos). I was afraid of spending the night in some unidentified ISA cell. I was afraid that my blog and my entire social media life will be unplugged as punishment for asking questions that normally people are only comfortable asking online, anonymously. I was just afraid. And also because the room was !*@#& cold and I had to go to the loo badly and some of the things they were talking about made me !&#!^*$ and that if I had stood up and say something, I may just put additional weight on my already stressed bladders.

But today is different, my bladders' empty and I have all the time I need to ask as many questions as I like and comment as much as I want. These are based on the discussion last night. If you weren't there and read the following comments, you'd probably have an idea on the state of our government in 1) technology infrastructure 2) social media scene and 3) mindset and I kid you not.

1) Tina Malone shared about the new dot com era that was sweeping across America's government, changing it to dot gov. Lead by Obama's history-has-never-seen-before digital campaign maximising the usage of social media that caused his avalanche win, they followed through via other initiatives on both state and national level. They're using technology to provide transparency, democratising information to the people. You could access data (provided by the government and provided by others), you could mash data, you could do anything with it which you see fit (no wonder 'planning' in America is light years ahead of us - they almost have unlimited free access to any sort of data!). A lady in the crowd asked whether the Malaysian government is ready for this kind of transparency and how about sharing some of those data? Of course, you get the usual: Er.. ah.. and some really diplomatic answer such as yes, we would like that to happen and we believe it will happen and we're working towards it, blah. My answer to that question is simple: It's not that the government doesn't want to share data. Truth is, they have no data to share. When was the last census? Is MCMC's number about the state of internet in Malaysia accurate? Perhaps she was referring to budget expenditure and transparency in that. There's an easier and more cost effective way then. You could read: The BUDGET - How the Government is spending OUR money, written by Teh Chi-Chang and it only costs 20 bucks. In Ringgit.

2) I think Twitter and Facebook are cool social networks. And I think what it does for us, individuals are really cool too. But to think that our government has the exact same sentiment as me in that area is utterly uncool! I'm appalled at our government's primitive usage of 2.0 which confines to ONLY Facebook and Twitter (the two overused words in the session last night). 2.0 is about collective collaboration and creation - duh, social. It's not only Twitter and Facebook! The web is bigger than that you know? But having said that, I can understand why these two social networks are getting so much attention in our government. Malaysia with only 24 million peeps is indeed a very small country. Not to mention the great 'longkang' size divide between the wired and non-wired (thanks to TM's policy but we'll come to that next time). For something to gain an organisation's attention, you need the critical mass. So, 5 million Malaysians on FB and 1 million on Twitter, wowee. Great news for the government. So my question is: IF, God-forbids, one day, Facebook and Twitter decide to pull the plug. Or... the US government decides to pull the plug. So, they shut down. So is that it? There goes Malaysia's glorious but shortlived experience in so-called gov 2.0!? That's it? There goes Mr. PM's 15-minute fame and his FB 'friends'? This isn't web 2.0. This is primitive 2.0. We're still not leveraging on the power of social media. It's like you're strapped in a V12 belching over 600 horses and you're driving it like how you would in a 600cc Kancil. And your reason is: I don't know how to drive a V12? Wth!?

3) There are prime individuals in the government which are already utilizing social media to reach out to the general public whether it's via a blog, FB, videos, etc. As an individual, it's about freedom of speech (in my opinion, it almost always works in favour to the 'challenger' not so much the 'defender'). As a government, this is pure propaganda 2.0. Call it 'humanising' the politicians, political parties, government, or whatever. If you're ONLY using web 2.0 to self-promote (your deeds and your views), and you belong to any political parties, sorry dude. That's propaganda albeit 'humanised'. Is it just because we can see your photo on FB with your family? Believe me, I've seen that before. I read The Star.

4) I may sound really critical here. Well, that's because I am like that. In nature. But I just want to say that I can understand the trembling fear the government is going through because they're for once, at the same level with the 'rakyat' online. But I also really want to say that not everyone who criticizes wants a piece of the government. Some speak (out loud) because they're unhappy. You see, our emotions and sound volume are correlated. The 'unhappier' we are, the 'louder' we speak. That's all. But after speaking, if you get them involved sincerely, you'll find many Malaysians who are so willing and ready to collaborate for the better without even asking for anything in return. Why are you so afraid of making friends? Come on... lift and stretch out your index finger...

5) When I speak about power to the people (how you could REALLY leverage on social media), what realistically the government can do is to provide a platform with an aerial view of what's really happening (backed by accurate data that is, no matter how insufficient it is because it's better to start somewhere, then nowhere) and let the people mobilize themselves to get involve in where needs involvement. ONLY the government has got access to such view. Take for example the tree planting efforts, how small groups of people are trying their best to plant seedlings in places where IF the government had gotten involved, they will know that they'll only live to see their babies being chopped off to make way for another bungalow. Show them the map of critical areas. List down what needs to be done. Some will clear the land, some will put markers, some will prepare the seedlings, some will plant the damn seedlings, some will water them (hang on, this is beginning to sound like a hobby anyone can do!). We understand that the government simply does not have enough manpower but the value we can give to the people here which is immensely important, it's accuracy of information. Take Tourism Malaysia as another example. Some time ago, we proposed that we should have an independent portal powered by TM (the travel people not high speed ones) to engage ALL Malaysians (hello hello, itu big idea 1Malaysia... masih ingat?) to scour every inch of the country and share their best experiences AS a local. Imagine how much resources we can save to get that amount of priceless data to be made sense of, in a swanky looking portal (please do outsource your design to ad agencies, ANY ad agencies). And imagine the amount of people we will attract online? Imagine how this could further support your marketing efforts?

6) Someone asked whether social media will flourish in Malaysia like in the US. To compare the both is like heaven and earth. Forget about infrastructure. Are we EVER going to be on the same level as America in terms of freedom of speech and democracy? Then pray why do we have to self-censor our blog? Isn't my blog my property in a no man's land called the web? So you say I'm utilizing Malaysia's cable? Sitting on Malaysia's soil? Using TM's phone line? Connected to Streamyx? Didn't I pay tax? Pay TM? Pay Streamyx?

7) In the session, everyone talked about how the government can only reach the 'wired' upper middle class people if they were to focus on social media. Come on. Isn't it high time that you understand that the world does not run in a linear format anymore? Why do you assume Pak Cik in Kelantan detests the use of internet because he doesn't understand the language? Do lah in BM, no sorry, Kelantanese! Usability and visual simplicity. Straightforward, immediate gratification from service usage. Keep the 'application' in these disciplines and watch them check for weather forecast, latest market price of fishes and anything 'fishy' about baboon-ic pirates in Fisherman 2.0. It's the same theory. When we were kids, we used landline then we migrate to mobile phones. But kids today, they are born with mobile phones tied to their umbilical cord. Do not assume that we go through social changes in a linear format. He can be Pak Cik 2.0 with the right technology support. Hey TM (the high speed kind)! You wanna know how to hit your KPI by getting the other half of Malaysia to subscribe? Support application developers, help them flourish and get them connected to the right economy.

8) Second last question: Do you guys appoint any PR 2.0 firm for consultancy anyway? If you do, which one? I'd like to engage them too.

9) LAST question: What's the status of our cyberlaws? Still on 1.0?

Thank you very much for last night's session. See you again at the next one!

Re-post: Tolerance my ass!

Hey! YOO HOO MR. PRIME MINISTER! Wanna check this out?

***start***

Re-post from Lim Kit Siang for Malaysia:

I have received the following very angry email from MS, with a very ferocious heading which I am using – breaking a rule of this blog:

Couldn't help feeling this angry today. I know at my age, I am supposed to be mellowing out, looking forward to a nice chilled day and now what? I find myself with the same amount of righteous anger as I had when I was 16 – going through puberty and finding the world most unfair that my mum wouldn't allow me to have my first pair of cargo pants!

I was sitting in the banana leaf shop this morning having a roti and a coffee when a group of JAWI officers entered the premises. 10 officers to be exact, into this little shop. They spent a good 20 minutes going through the place (and it is a small place!) and finally one officer writes out a writ and gives it to the cashier. They then left. Curious, I asked the cashier what that was all about and he replied that they were not allowed to have their little altars and pictures of their deities in their shop “because otherwise, Muslims cannot come into their shops” . What utter nonsense! Are we still living in the Malaysia that is so “famed” for its “religious tolerance”?? The shop is not a mamak shop. It is an Indian Banana leaf shop. Why would it be surprising that they should have signs of their religious beliefs in their own space? I didn't think that sort of thing was illegal (please correct me if I am wrong). What is wrong with this picture? Will it come down to the point when my Muslim friends should not visit my home just because I have a cross or a Chinese altar there? PLEASE!

Better yet, I discovered as I was leaving , that the JAWI personnel had targeted the other 3 banana leaf shops along that row of old shops (near the vets office – off Jalan Maarof). There were at least 4 nos of vans for the officers , ALL double parked on the main road and causing an inconvenience to the other road users. Is there a separate set of laws that govern these people? Notwithstanding the fact that they are trampling all over the definition of religious tolerance in this country , they also flaunt the general laws of the land. This makes me really angry and sad about the state of our country.

I now find it difficult to speak up for Malaysia when there are arguments comparing Malaysia to other countries. It is sad that we can have the once world tallest building and still think like we came out of the jungle yesterday.

My Personal Big Sad Day today
MS

***end***

Honestly, I don't think these stuff is new. But after the Shah Alam's cow head incident, I guess the fire's stoked. Therefore, getting a lot more sensitive than usual. However, having said that. Seriously, every Friday if you've ever been near a mosque, you have cars from Sagas to 5-series parked double, triple, quadruple by the road side. We didn't say anything. Although I would like to say it's because we're Malaysians and we practise tolerance, but really. It's because we, non-Mosque goers, have gotten used to it. Well, I guess that is some form of tolerance. I think the question is not about the people because it's REALLY OKAY to go to your house of worship (humankind still needs to be reminded of the fundamental values that only a greater-than-we-can-imagine being called 'God' can teach). But I think the issue here is the Malaysian government is practising double standards. I mean, how bout building mosques with basement parkings from now on? Or WITH a parking facility? :/

Come on. Do we need Malaysian Insider to cover the cow head story on YOUTUBE to get every Tom, Dick and Harry to comment before the police finally move in for the arrest? Er. Shouldn't that be something tackled on the spot, DURING the incident? So, for some strange reason, I did suspect it was all a show - part of their campaign. Get it highlighted to the public, few 'good' men say something, police take action, *tada* 1Malaysia. I would have bought that if it happened 10 years ago. Before social media took over the world. Honestly honestly honestly, Mr. Government. You've got to give us netizens a lot more credit that you had. Sigh.

Facebook citizenship.

Here I was, happily browsing my Facebook. Wondering who to poke and what group takes my fancy today. While exploring some different networks and discovering strange and exciting local events, I thought, "Hey, maybe I should join Japan. Maybe I could even find some of my old friends". And then, guess what?


You're not allowed to on another country's network if you're on one already! Since when did we have to choose citizenship even online? What defines citizenship anyway? Although, for very practical economic and safety reasons we're not called 'Earthizens' but Malaysians, Japanese, Germans, Italians, Americans, but what constitutes online 'country boundaries'? Who's who anyway online and how would you know I'm truly a Malaysian?

Mixed feelings.

Usually I don't blog about political propaganda here but I came across this video while surfing and feel that I have to put it up here and talk about it. Because I have mixed feelings. Like serious mixed feelings.

First of all, I question the intention. It sounds like a great motherhood statement. 'We hear you. We are here for you.' but once in office, they're no where to be found. That's quite a generic proposition, no? I mean, how does that differ the current office from the opposition? Aren't all politicians required to do that? I mean, otherwise why on earth are they in office for?

My second question would be, couldn't they have found a better advertising agency? This really makes me wonder. With so many 'award-winning' advertising agencies around with kick-ass creative directors (and strat planners :), why on earth aren't they commissioning better work? At least better than ripping off Nike's swoosh and tagline? The funny thing is, isn't whomever in office, supposed to tell us not to plagiarize? Changing the swoosh to look more like a tick (that's a visual pun for you) and from 'Just do it' to 'Just change it', uh. C'mon! Open your eyes! Go to the Kancils! Flip through the award books! Take a look at Campaign Brief! Watch Petronas ads! If they're still not getting it, then I know what's the problem. They're right after all. They should listen more.

Plus + I spotted a typo ok. That is so not funny.