No? that's OK. Neither did the rest of Malaysia until he made the headline news a few years back pledging a billion ringgint to MAKNA, the Malaysian Cancer Council. Of course, we all know pledges are free, and till today, MAKNA has yet to receive the alleged money.
He's probably the most high profile, biggest scam / con artist around town, and he lives right here, in Bangsar.
You can read up all about him and his self professed 'billion's here at his website. Read between the lines, and you'll ready get to know what Mr. Elie, or as he calls himself 'Lord Elie', is all about.
It would seem he's some billionaire royalty from Lebanon who grew up in Canada but fled to Malaysia because the 'Atkinson Family' is trying to kill him. He must mean Mr. Rowan Atkinson a.k.a Mr. Bean. Yes, that's a stone cold killer if I ever saw one. His money is all stuck because the government (which government I don't know) has all his banking papers and want to kill him the first chance they get. And so, since he's grievously stricken with cancer, walks around in crutches and what have you, he asks in his website for donations for him to continue living.. You poor billionaire you...
I stopped short of ripping my eyes out while reading the testimonial of how giving this 'noble philanthropist' owed countless business around the world..By the way, I googled all the stated companies, and not one came up legit! The testimonial is even allegedly written by some reporter from the Washington post! Well, that explains the grammar! Other than that, we are supposed to believe one of his brother is a Olympic gold medalist, the other owns the largest computer factory in the world and another married to some Italian royalty trying to regain their right to the thrown. Does Italy even have a king? I thought they had the Pope!
Really, I'm a bit lost for words at this guy. I was going to write a long post about how silly and stupid this whole thing is, but the more I read his little website, the more words fail me. I mean.. the sheer amount of bullshit this guy is capable of producing is just amazing... To wove together such a grand yet preposterous story line means this guy really thinks he's a master con man and story teller, capable of fooling the world, or he's seriously retarded. I'm inclined to believe the latter. Someone should take does fake crutches from him and knock him in the head. The sooner Mr. Bean kills him, the better.
Its incredibly ironic that barely a day after spending my time writing about how great we Malaysians are as a people, this comes out as a headline news on Sunday.
Inhumane bastards... What kind of society do we live in? What kind of people are we? How can we treat our fellow man like this?
There are some things very close to my heart.. and the care of the mentally ill people is one of them. Its a subject matter that intensely personal and close to my own heart. My blood boils and my heart starts pounding as I read they way these people are treated, locked up, permanently stripped naked, left to urine and pass motion out in the open and not fed or cleaned properly.
Many people will never really understand the heart ache and difficulties of having to care for a mentally ill person; an invisible and unseen illness that deeply affects the lives of the person and their entire family. I am neither a selfless volunteer nor an activist in these matters. But I am one of those people who actually live through it; caring for someone you love and is a part of your family but mentally ill.
The amount of hardship, and the depths of the heartache are so much.. that if you knew before what lay ahead, you would never even dare shoulder the task. It has caused me so much pain, tears and suffering that you never really become quite the same person you once were. It challenges you, it drains you, it eats at you.... it brings out the very worst in you. But in all the trials, somehow, it also brings out the best in you. It shapes you, strengthens you, and builds you up into a much tougher person.
But this is no excuse. Whatever hardship we face as care givers, nothing excuses treating the mentally ill worse that we would our pet animals. I understand these people aren't the family of the patients there. They are just salaried workers, doing their job. But even then, is there no sense of common decency towards your fellow man? Do you not realize that despite his illness, this man also deserves love and respect? He is someone's son, brother, father or uncle. What has he done to deserve such humiliating and indecent treatment? His illness is not his own doing. Who are you and what right do you have to inflict such humiliating actions on them?
Even in facing the difficult task of keeping them safe and away from harm, even from their own selves, their basic decently and dignity should always be kept. The means do not justify the ends in this case. Just like there is a right and wrong way to achieving something, there is a right way, and there is a wrong way in caring for these mentally ill people. Is there no respect for a persons basic rights to decency? Do nothing that will compromise the persons basic right to be clothed, to be properly fed and maintain their own personal hygiene.
You should never take these rights away from them any sooner than you would from your own brother or sister.
I just had a brief online conversation with a former university mate.. and in no uncertain terms was I told by the person that they hated living in Malaysia.
This came as suprise to me. I have never really come across a Malaysian who hated their own country.. at least not so openly.
"What's the reasons for this?" I asked. This person did after all spend about a year in the UK after we all completed out studies... I was given 3 reasons. Weather, government and the people.
The weather part I can understand. We do live in a country that is not only hot but very humid as well. Most people think it's the heat that kills you here.. but really its the humidity. Physics 101 tells you that the more humid an environment, the harder it is for sweat to evaporate. The harder it is for sweat to evaporate, the harder it is for our bodies to stay cool and dry. That's why we feel hot and sticky all the time! As a result, we Malaysians won't walk anywhere if it takes longer than 5 minutes because if you do, on the outside, you get half baked from the sun rays, and on the inside, you get half soaked in your own sweat. So in that sense, I agree. Our weather is just so harsh that anyone who's ever been to other parts of the world well away from the equator and experienced a leisurely walk on a cool summers day, would never want to return to this steam oven we call home.
But there IS one thing to our favour here, that many of us take for granted all the time... and that's the sun. Yes, the sun. We grow up hiding from it and its effects all our life.. we walk under shades, we bring umbrellas, and we put creams on our faces to whiten our dark skin no thanks to the sun. We spend so much time and effort avoiding the sun. But the sun affects us in a more subtle but no less important way that many of us do not realize. When there is a clear blue sky with sunlight coming through down to land, we somehow become energized. Life literally becomes sunnier. People feel better, moods are lighter, and there is a general sense of liveliness everywhere you go.
I'm not making this up by the way.
I have personally experienced this in my travels, and was told the same thing by the people I visit. Can you imagine waking up every single morning, going to work, doing your gardening, or playing in the field with the sky in a permanent grey cast? Why do you think the British are so obsessed with the weather? Why do you think every single radio and TV news telecast almost always include a weather forecast? Why do you think so many westerners travel miles and miles or fly half way round the world to tropical countries during their winter holiday just to sit under a coconut tree by the sea? Its because of the sun. The presence of the sun affects us. I have been told by a Pharmacist friends that anti-depressant drug prescriptions always go up during the long UK winters when you hardly see the sun. So yes, we do get more than our fair share of sunlight here.. but hey.. better more than less!
On the second issue of government... oh brother... where do I even begin. If you read foreign papers like CNN, BBC or any other non-Malaysian newspaper, you probably have the impression that we are in a complete mess as a country. You will have been told of our newly elected Prime Minister somehow suspiciously link to dead Mongolian girls, how the non-Malay races are marginalized systematically with unfair & biased government affirmative actions, and how we are have absolutely no freedom of speech. Those daring enough to show dissent to the government get thrown into jail without a trial. Also, you are told that Malaysian officials are very corrupt and the only way to get things done is by paying someone off.
I find many people who make these comments often know little or hardly anything about our government at all, or they just echo whatever they just heard from others. These same people who tell you that our government is lousy would not even know any other minister in the cabinet beyond the Prime Minister and his deputy. These same people would also have not done any critical thinking, research or analysis of their own on the state of Malaysian politics and government. They either just repeat what they heard in the coffee shop, or hear what others say if they are overseas. Worst of all, these same people most probably did not vote either. I admit, our local politics seem more like a circus sometimes.. or what I like to call 'kampung style' politics. State assembly meetings under a tree, name calling and stupid 'bocor' remarks in proper Parliment sittings, and ministers making the most ridiculous remarks on a daily basis (I usually get my doses of funny political observations from Patrick Teo here). Yes, I totally agree our MP's are nowhere as polish, eloquent or sharp as the British MP's or members of the American Congress. In fact, if you follow the weekly Parliament sittings, it can be quite embarrassing to hear what these elected representatives actually say.
The issue of corruption is also taken very seriously, and to its credit, the government has made efforts to reduce this. But lets look at it with perspective. We are still a very young nation, at only 52 years old. Compared to countries like war torn Zimbabwe, who gained independence the same year we did, I think we have done considerably well. We aren't there yet, but we are learning. And who says first world countries are that much better anyway? Haven't you hear about the British MP's cheating on claims recently? Yes, hundreds and thousands of pounds used for personal repairs on their mansions, hotel bills for nights with their mistresses and suspicious payments out to companies the MP's themselves have a stake in were just the tip of the iceberg it seems. So who says corruption happens only in us 'developing countries'?
But you know, all this talk of government transparency, efficiency and national policies sometimes seem so detached from our real lives. It's funny that despite these people complaining that our government is lousy, no good and over controlling, they still live pretty good lives. The average man complains, eats, shops, worships, holiday, travel and write as he sees fit without any intervention from the government. There are no ears on the wall ala KGB waiting for you to say a wrong word before being sent to jail. Yes, there are some things we aren't allowed to debate and argue about publicly, like Malay privileges & Muslim conversions, and to the western world, this is a lack of freedom. But absolute freedom, unchecked spells doom, especially for a young country like us. Our society isn't mature enough to publicly fight and disagree on these issues without tearing ourselves apart. Despite being painted as a controlled society... our people lead comfortable and free lives. Cost of living is low, education levels are good, and there is genuine peace in the land. The daily circus of local politics aside, our government has in the last 20 years been a good steward of our country's and its people's welfare.
On the last issue of people... I have no idea what this person meant, but only said that people in the UK & other western countries were friendlier. Malaysians were rude and had no respect for each other. Well.... it sounded to me like they were saying Malaysians were just generally uncivilized & unrefined.
I don't know about that..... as a Malaysian, I know that we can be a bit quirky sometimes... but generally I think we are a well rounded lot. I don't know what kind of experience others have had, but generally, I find that we are highly adaptable people, able to live and adjust to life anywhere in the world. We all grow up with neighbors vastly different from ourselves, in race, religion, language, culture, social status and opinions. We know how to tolerate and adopt to each other. Only in Malaysia will you have a Chinese eating banana leaf rice with their hands, an Indian eats Wantan mee with chopsticks and a Malay chap having tau fu far (bean curd) for dessert. I do think we are generally friend and courteous people.. though perhaps not as polished in speech and mannerism as those in first work countries. We aren't too caught up in the rat race that we become selfish and uncaring of others (like our neighbours down south), and we aren't so backward that we don't know the ways of the world either. We all speak English, Malay and at least our mother tongue, and our culture remains very much Asian, where filial piety, hospitality to our guest, politeness and respect to elders still exist. So we aren't as high thinking others; we don't use hybrid cars, we don't recycle, we don't care for public property and we don't properly conserve natural resources like water and electricity very well.. but hey, one step at a time OK. The west polluted and pillaged the earth for hundreds of years before thinking of recycling or controlling green house gases. No one cried foul then, and no one is pointing fingers at them now either for the giant hole in the ozone over antarctic melting our icebergs as we speak. Like I said, we are getting there, slowly but surely.
So really, what is there to hate about this country? It's not perfect... but in many ways, it still is good by any standards. We get the sun all year round, we live comfortably and we all sit in the mamak peacefully watching football without killing each other (unless they were Liverpool fans of course, in which case, die!)..... don't you agree?
So much has been said recently about the passing of Michael Jackson. He was a superstar, he was a pop icon.. we was and still is arguably the single most influential entertainer of our times... He was weird, he was genius, he was gentle and sweet, he was sick and perverted. So many things have been said about him, I don't think the world needs another article about the life and death of this enigmatic genius.
The world is talking about his every single day now... It is one of those moments in life where you really remember when you were when you first heard it. When Princess Diana died.. it was the eve of our national holiday.. I heard the news on TV... completely devastated. This time, I was in my hotel room in China, getting ready for the day.. I switch on the TV to watch CNN while getting ready.. and there it was.. Michael Jackson reported dead.. at the time.. it wasn't confirmed officially yet.
Over the next 2 ~ 3 days there were tributes upon tributes to him, and everyone talked about how sad they were, and how they missed him, and that he will forever be in their hearts. People crying on tv, talking about how Michael Jackson changed their lives, and remains a part of them, like their just lost someone so special and important in their lives. Which brings me to my point really... why do people suddenly miss him now, why only after his death? I mean, prior to last week, Michael Jackson was still alive and kicking.. He was planning a comeback tour.. and there was news of his child molestation cases, and the name wacko jacko seemed to be more of what people think of him rather than the impact he has made in the music scene over the past few decades... Everyone was busy singing along to High School Musical, raging on about the latest American Idol and talking about frumpy little Susan Boyle.....
But come his shock death.. and the jokes stop. Suddenly people start to remember again who MJ was and is.. suddenly now that he's gone and calling him names and speculating on his personal life isn't so funny anymore.. and people start to remember the artist that he was first and foremost and the fantastic music and dancing he pioneered.
I bet everyones Facebook pages were pouring with tributes to MJ.. music stores are suddenly packed with MJ CD's and videos... and radios start playing his songs over the hour... we all feel sad that he is no more.. we all feel the lost thinking never again will we have more musical genius from this man... And now, we all miss him.
But do we sincerely miss someone who has been there all this while but ignored for a good few years? Why is it that we suddenly 'miss' him only after he's dead? Why do the acknowledgments and praises of his contribution come only after he breathed his last breath? Why is it that we feel the lost of his creative output only after he is no more? Its human nature I guess.. to only start to appreciate what you have only when you have lost it. We take people for granted when they are there.. and start to realize their importance only when they are gone... It feels almost as if he's respected in death today more than he was when he was alive. I guess its just like any other great painter or artist.. their work can only be appreciated after they are gone. I honestly think MJ was a fantastic artist.. the consummate entertainer. But I'm just a bit irked by how everyone suddenly professes how much MJ was a part of their lives.. and how much they were going to miss him. I do understand the pain and shock of this lost... but I honestly do not think he's death is going to be THAT big an impact to anyone's lives except his immediate family and dependents.. The family will be sad... the children will have to be taken care off.... and there will be genuine mourning over a lost son, brother and father... But for the rest of us, its just a passing of a great pop icon.
MJ made fantastic music.. and through his music.. people of different background, races and religion all found a common ground.. We all found his music catchy and his dance moves uber cool and we all at some point or anther, locked ourselves in our bedrooms, trying to do the moonwalk. But for his entire life, he was essentially just an artist / entertainer. He did not cure cancer, or bring about world peace. Neither was he a respected figure & beacon of society. I can't recall his using his fame and fortune to make the world a better place (like his song said) except when he got that bus load full of stars for the 'We are the World' thingy for Africa... He did not fully commit his time and efforts to a worthy cause the way Princess Diana did with landmines and AIDS, or how Mother Theresa dedicated her life to the poor. MJ was an entertainer and business man first.. then philanthropist second. Just like Hugo Chavez's reaction to the news coverage, I too felt a bit annoyed at the way the world seemed to be pouring out a wee bit too much sympathy and coverage over his death. We all felt sad for sure, the amount of news covering the issue is almost as if the Pope had just died. Even then, I'm not sure if there were as many people crying and professing their grief over his death of MJ's death. Beyond missing whatever potential creative output he might have still had in him, I have to frankly wonder what else will the world miss of him. Even news on the current world economic crisis, government bailouts of huge companies & banks and even the swine flue pandemic all seem to take a back seat. We suddenly forget that hundreds of thousands of people are facing retrenchment, people's life savings and investments have been lost due to unscrupulous banking and the world is facing yet another pandemic that can potentially mutate into something more sinister anytime. That's how much coverage MJ's death has been given.
I certainly do not wish to downplay or brush off the passing of MJ. But as I said, this is not another tribute article. This is just my observation of how (1) People all only start missing people / things they had only after they are gone and (2) The world seems to be over reacting or blowing his death out of proportion in terms of significance to our real life issues the world is dealing with.
Though you leave this world, you have made your mark & your legend lives on through your music. May God have mercy on your soul. Rest In Peace MJ.
So since I can't access my blogger account while here in China, I've worked my way around it by resorting to posts through email and pictures via other websites. Here are some photos I have managed to take these 2 days. I hope this works!
If that didn't work, then just follow this link to my web album then..
After 5 hours non stop, I finally arrived at my destination… Shanghai!
I can't say I know a lot about Shanghai.... except that it is one of the biggest cities of China… plus it was the earliest cities in China that opened its doors to the western world. So it's a big giant city….. commercial hub, blah blah….. I wasn't sure if I was going to see anything you don't normally see in big cities… shopping malls.. sky scrapers, highways, high end designer goods, Mc Donald's and what have you. I did find manage to find out that they have one of the tallest hotel and towers and trade centres in China and in the world in the Jin Mao tower etc… but then, we already have to KLCC in our own back yard, so its kinda hard to get excited over yet another super tall building… just doesn't do it for me. Whydidn't my boss choose some suppliers from Beijing instead?
One thing that DID catch my attention was the Yu Yuan Gardens that seems to be very ancient on top of being beautiful… I think I will definitely check that out. But Shanghai really is just supposed to be a port of entry for me. My real destination is another city called Nantong, and another in the south called Jiaxing. I have been sent here alone to the land of my forefathers, to do a visit and inspection with some of my company suppliers. In a way, I am hoping that when I am out of the city, I will get to see some more interesting and cultural things to take pictures of. Who needs to see another Dolce & Gabana and LV shop anyway.
Flight was pretty normal, with the exception of when we landed and these bunch of health officers came on board wearing their full quarantine suit, pointing some thermal laser gun at us, try to see if any of us had got the H1N1 flue… which as of this moment I can confirm was a negative.
Sad to say, within ten minutes of heading into the city.. the rain started to POUR. (pic).. It was only 4pm.. but the clouds were so dark and menacing you would think it is evening. This kind of dampened (pun intended) my spirits somewhat, as I was looking forward to dumping my bags and going out while there was still a bit of sunlight. Along the way, I actually spotted something that really epitomized the joke others like to say about China and their standards of doing work. Take a look at this truck (pic). Of course, this is a bit of a stereotype….. I'm sure China will pick up in a few years. Malaysia isn't any better anyway.. and I think in time the Chinese will supersede us (if not already).
Anyway, the rain spoilt my spirits and even by 8, the rain had not stopped. I grabbed my camera and braved whatever leftover rain there was left and started walking the streets. I headed straight for The Bund (link) to take a snap of the Shanghai skyline. Here's my poor miserable attempt. Camera's like mine aren't really good for night shots, I didn't have a tripod, it was still raining….. and there was road works going on the entire stretch of the bund.. which pretty much ruined the whole scene really…. So I headed for Nanjing Road… supposedly a famous shopping street stretch a couple of miles long.. I walked the entire stretch… looking for dinner and just to get a general feel for the place.
It's kind of hard since not many speak English… so whatever little mandarin I could speak had to do. True to my prediction.. countless countless shopping malls.. it was a bit of déjà vu… like being in BB Plaza or Bukit Bintang again… except its MUCH bigger, and everything is in Chinese. Believe it or not, I just settled for some McD's for dinner and that was it.. Took a few more pictures and headed back to the hotel. Shopping districts aren't really my thing… regardless of wherever you are in the world.
But overall, it does feel a lot livelier that in KL. The streets are bustling with young couples and families, expatriates going about their business. My boss deliberately asked me to come a day earlier for me to 'get a feel of China'…. Well, despite not getting to excited, I must admit there is a certain energy to the place… fast paced big city feel that is… Its not everyone's cup of tea… but it's definitely present here in Shanghai. And to be honest, it easier for me to adapt here in Shanghai than it was when I was I Europe last year or in UK the previous year. Maybe it's the colour of the skin, maybe it's the language. In the UK, I spoke the language.. but even then, their English and our English is totally different.. Plus the culture, way of life and thinking is so different (not in a bad way though).. In Belgium it was worst.. everything was French-y and anti English.. Over here in Shangai.. some thought I was from Beijing.. others thought I was from Japan.. and when I kept absolutely quiet… they used whatever English they could to try to communicate with me. If I opened my mouth and spoke mandarin, they were quite friendly actually.
I'm not much of a mandarin speaker, and can hardly read more that 20% of a Chinese sentence.. but hey, throw me here a year.. I honestly think I could pick it up!
More updates to come……….
P/S: Just in case you were wondering where the pics are.. it turns out Blogger is blocked in China, and I can't access my dashboard. I am posting this blog through email. Will update the blog with pictures when I get back to Malaysia...Turns out China censors A LOT of things on the internet. Luckily, I remembered that I could post through email.
I think I finally figured out one miniscule portion of the never ending maze of the complex female psyche, and that is.. to dress up and look good.....
Call me unkept, call me messy and even call me chin chai... but I've never been the type to care too much about how I looked when I walked out my front door. Put on a shirt, put on a pants, comb my hair, and out the door I go. I've never stopped to wonder if it would go with my shoes, or if that shirt would make me look fat, or if my hair was behaving itself that day... that was of course all the way from adolescence up to my teens... when suddenly, the opposite sex suddenly seems so interesting, and what you wore suddenly represented who you were...
But even then, I did what was minimum in terms of styling and grooming.. Always with the same hair style, always with the T-shirt and jeans... always with the same earthy colours.... My girlfriend would cringe in horror everytime I put on one of my ultra lame 'Visit Kuala Lumpur' t-shirts that I had. In my defence, I got half a dozen for free and they were comfortable to wear! In any case, I was banned by my image consultant (read girlfriend) from wearing any of those shirts, or any shirt deemed too lame or humiliating unless I wanted to walk 10 feet away from her. So those shirts were then resigned to when I was sleeping, or out for jog... in which case, they were OK, since she was not there to bare the embarrassement. Haha... Since then, I have come to rely and trust in the fashion sense of the fairer sex rather than my own..... relying almost completely on my girlfriend and other female friends to judge if what I was wearing was OK.
So, not being a fan of fancy cloths and stuff, I hardly go shopping... But last week, there was an exhibition in town, and I was supposed to man our company booth for 3 days. Instructions from my boss was "Make sure you look neat and professional - Get a proper business suit"... I didnt have a suit.. so I had to buy one, which isn't cheap by the way. So out I went with my trusty image consultant, and came home five hundred bucks poorer, but with a handsome looking black suite and pants to call my own. I wasn't really too excited about spending that kind of money on a suit I will wear bearing a few times a year.. but anyway.. bosses orders.
I know wearing suits are pretty common in western countries.. When I was in Brussels and Germany last year... everyone wore a suite.. and next to them, I looked like a little schoolboy with my little tie and long sleeve shirt. But here in Malaysia.... suits are someting you don when you are about to graduate, you are attending a big interview, or you're about to get married... Its just too hot to be walking around wearing a suit... You'll look smart, but you'll look like a fool at the same time.. unless you are white of course, then its fine because they don't know any better. :p
There I was, standing in front of the mirror, white striped shirt, dark black pants, blue tie and a dark black overcoat... I stared at myself for a full 5 minuts side to side, up to down..... and I looked.... I looked... well..... GOOD!
OK, I'm not the most handsome looking guy in town (or on my street for the matter), but I was looking good for my own standards. Sharp, smart and presentable....I mean... I looked good, and I felt good. I walked more confidently, I talked more confidently... and people seemed to look at me and treat me differently... with a bit more respect almost. Is it true that cloths make the man? Heck, I even felt that I was getting more stares and looks from the opposite sex..... but maybe that just me letting the suit get to my head... too 'perasan' for my own good. :P
So, I finally understood in way, why women bother taking a whole hour trying to choose the perfect outfit... or spending 30 minutes just to put on make up... or selecting the best combination of shoes, handbag and blouse... Dressing well gives you that extra boast of confidence... and I guess in that sense, I can understand and accept that now.
But beware I say. Do not make your appearance the foundation of your confidence.. and do not frown upon those who do not bother to dress up the way you do. If make-up and cloths are the ones that give you your courage to face others, then you are hollow inside and without character. Judge not those who dress simple and care less about their looks, because they just might have the strength of character and confidence that outweights yours.
In the mean time..... I'm going to admire myself in that suit a few more times. Haha... :P
It would seem he's some billionaire royalty from Lebanon who grew up in Canada but fled to Malaysia because the 'Atkinson Family' is trying to kill him. He must mean Mr. Rowan Atkinson a.k.a Mr. Bean. Yes, that's a stone cold killer if I ever saw one. His money is all stuck because the government (which government I don't know) has all his banking papers and want to kill him the first chance they get. And so, since he's grievously stricken with cancer, walks around in crutches and what have you, he asks in his website for donations for him to continue living.. You poor billionaire you...
