mStar.

Mingguan mStar, the weekly Malay paper of The Star has made its 'debut' today. This is not a Bahasa paper at all! It is more like a gossip mag. There's practically no news worth reading! A quick browse and that's it! There's hardly any 'worth mentioning' news.

Can we just leave the 'bahasa side' to the real bahasa papers? I'm sure many Star readers would not even give it a second look! I'm not saying that paper is not good, it is just that this is not the 'right place' for it! Do a survey and get the public's opinion on it. Gauge the response and take the rest from there.

'Under' Takers

Much as I want to believe, Malaysians have yet again shown the world that we, Malaysians, 'tak boleh'. We're so predictable! Nothing surprises anymore!

The 45,000 vacancies 'up for grabs' for locals in the nasi kandar and Indian restaurants were 'thrown down the drain'. A measly 90 inquired but none committed themselves! Malaysians have expressed their point again!

The government, the Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners' Association(Presma) and the Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners' Association failed miserably to make inroads with the locals. Guys, this is not an intricate plot or something! You can do better than that! Of late, you guys are all in a bit of a predicament!

While waiting for another way to bait the locals, what are you(the relevant authorities) doing in the interim? Are you going to launch a major offensive now? Without workers, restaurants are as good as closed and nobody likes that! So, whatever decision you take, you must be rational!

When We Trust Completely

For whatever reason, nobody can take away the life of another person. That, to me is insanity! An insane desire or decision to commit a murder is simply madness!

I felt sad when I saw in the papers of a Malaysian (an Australian citizen)who was murdered by his own friend and his wife. The wife of the murderer was a colleague of the deceased. What has this world come to? Are we no more human?

I just don't get it! These murderers even offered to accompany the deceased's casket back to Malaysia for burial! What kind of people are they? May they rot in hell!

Between the devil and the angel, I would rather choose the devil because I would at least know what to expect!

Temperature Rising!

This is the year of the ferocious tiger. You can say that too, about the weather in our country! We are experiencing a heatwave. A sweltering heatwave! We can tame the tiger, but can we 'tame' the weather? Can we use divine help?

I'm afraid nothing much can be done about the weather. We just have to weather that out. Do not blatantly waste water. Water is precious and it's the life-saver. Use water wisely when you need to and save it when you have to! Let's save the water for 'a raining day'!

Can we blame the trainees who flared up at the National Service(NS) camp at the White Resort Camp in Penang? Their temperatures rose because they were not getting 'decent treatment' for almost two weeks now! I'm sure most of them would feel the heat by then! The authorities concerned must act and turn down the heat immediately!

The food at the camp was also mentioned. There must not be any excuses and the Camp commandant, Mej Rahidin Jalil claimed that it was all due to the current hot spell! He failed to understand that these two 'hot items' have generated a lot of heat for the parents of the trainees. He was trying to take the heat out of the situation by 'pouring out' flimsy excuses one after another!

Shall we all join in prayers and look to Heaven for a sign?

We're Only Human!

The 'soon-to-be implement' half-day course for the employers and their new maids would most probably be shelved because there would be too many excuses from about everyone. Many are not too happy with the proposal of the Minister from Human Resources.

I'm sure many would know the attitude of most Malaysians! We can have hundreds of rules and regulations, hundreds of laws and by-laws but many would turn a blind eye to them! We can practically see 'law breakers' of all sorts everywhere: on the roads, in public places and even in the safest place, home! Everyone breaks the law one time or the other. I believe we are all no saints. Everyone makes mistakes occasionally. We're only human and we cannot change human nature!

To better understand and solve problems we need a humanist approach. Be a humdinger not a humbug! If we can all do that, we do not need rules and regulations to guide us.

Good Riddance!

I came across an article by Mary Schneider today (Monday 22,February,2010)about an Austrian man who wants to give up his fortune to lead a 'hermit's life'. Is this man insane or what? It is not easy to leave one's 'worldly' fortunes behind.

According to this man, money is not everything! It brought him unhappiness. After all, this is his money and nobody can do anything about that! And let us wish him all the best for the future.

Are there any Malaysians who are willing to donate all their fortunes? If there are any, I would like to 'inherit' your fortunes. For the majority of us, money is everything! And do not kid ourselves. Without money, one has no life. Agreed?

Are They For Real?

I would like to thank the highways concessionaires for giving motorists a very conniving toll-free travel and discounts during the CNY! And to think that they have all you motorists at heart!

You must not forget that NOT all motorists are able to drive in the wee hours of the mornings.You must be ever ready to anticipate any unforseen circumstances when you're on the roads during that time. I wonder how many of us are 'night drivers' especially on highways.

For the 'weaker sex' drivers my advice to you; DO NOT drive during the night. What would happen if your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere? You might encounter many undesirable creatures! If this scenario actually happens, then you would be really 'taken for a ride'!

Better safe than sorry! The discounts or toll-free travel during the night is not worth it! Just take extra precaution and observe the traffic rules while driving during the day and make sure you arrive safely at your destination!

Let's Be Fair!

How the Home Minister goes about doing his job is something I find difficult to understand. First, he warned the nasi kandar bosses and then the chinese towkays of the imminent 'swoop' to flush out the illegals after the Chinese New Year.

Telling the non-Malays or was that giving a piece of his mind to them was very unprofessional. Why does he pick only on a certain group of people? Are these people the only culprits? Has the HM really done his homework?

There are many illegal colonies everywhere in this country. Some of our people with 'authority and power' thrive on these illegals! Without these illegals, they (some authorities) cannot 'cari makan'.

Even in the kampungs we find illegals hired by villagers!