Category: Current Events

I haven’t been updating my blog too often. Work load is piling up and I just can’t seem to cope with writing even thought it is one of the most therapeutic form of hobbies that can delay the onset of madness (I think).

First off, I want to thank everyone who had helped out in our wedding…2 months ago. I know, I know it’s late and everything but I am of the opinion that a late thank you is better than an eternity of silence which could be construed as ingratitude. We had the wedding of our lives and we are extremely grateful for your assistance and friendship.

Also, I want to thank all those who made the effort to attend our wedding. Again, I know that we had the unfortunate luck of having a wedding dinner in a place next to race course on a weekend. I thank all of you for the 30 minutes wait in your car during the last 400 meter stretch, competing with punters who have no lives but to turn up in an empty race course just so they can see the live video from Singapore or somewhere where people race horses.

Lastly, I want to apologize for the long list of friends and family whom we had forgotten to invite to our event. Have heart that you were never forgotten (but only during the hectic months that lead up to our wedding).

What does it feel like to be married?

It feels blissful. It’s the same sort of bliss that I would feel if I were to combine the joy that I felt when I bought my first Apple PowerBook plus when I turned on my first iPod, plus when I first heard the Harbeth plus when I heard that George Lucas is embarking on the Prequels (err, no, strike that out- the prequels were shite), times a thousand. No, make that a million. No, make that 10 billion kazillion mazilion. And to complete it, power that amount to a googol.

Yes, after 6 months of hectic planning, Cheryl and I are back to being boyfriend and girlfriend again, albeit, a steadier than steady boyfriend and girlfriend relationship. And that, I guess, is what really matters: a couple goes through the process just so that they end up having back the wonderful lives that they had been having before the “M” question is popped.

I’ve created a new website for our wedding! We’ll share our experiences along the way by posting updates to our planning and preparations for the big day!

Head to http://web.mac.com/ckkoay to see the site! This link is also clickable on the right of this site in the “External Links” category.

Myopic leaders in the country have played the race card in forwarding their own personal careers at the detriment to the nation and its people.

While on the global scale, China and India are moving forward to become the next economic superpowers of the world surpassing the United States and Japan, in Malaysia we chose instead to talk about how much the Malays have not achieved in national economic terms against the rest of the other races.

The correct debate should be how much we Malaysians have not achieved in international economic terms against emerging economies like Singapore or Korea.

It is with incredulous short sightedness that some of us choose to whine about how unfair the division of the pie is in our small pie shop when our big neighborhood bakeries had snapped up all of the raw materials and, most important of all, customers away from us.

If MAS or Proton could benefit from the expertise of a CEO, regardless of race, color or creed, then so be it. This outcry over a rumor that a foreigner is being considered to head GLCs is ridiculous and down right dangerous. If we base our hiring decisions on race rather than on qualifications then our country is doomed and we will no chance to survive in this new century.

When our GDP falls and we live on hand outs from countries like Singapore or China or India, that will be when the real colonialization happens. By that time, it will be too late.

I was feeling a little perplexed as I watched TV3’s breakfast program through blurry-just-woke-up eyes on Friday morning. Was Colonel Sanders giving his take on UMNO politics?

See for yourself:-

It turned out that my fear of the “Selangor Is a Developed State” chicken/duck/monstrosity fetish spreading like a cancer to the federal government was unfounded. The colonel-looking commentator was none other than our Royal Professor Ungku Aziz.

Behind this jovial, Santa Claus-like demeanour, he said something quite interesting. If you missed the interview, he voiced his OPPOSITION of meritocracy and labeled it as “GILA”. His take on meritocracy is that Malaysia shouldn’t use a system that was in place thousands of years ago when the Chinese government chose ministers based on the results of the annual nationwide ministerial examination. He said that this policy would deprive less-priviledged students. I’m all for helping the less priviledged but not the less intelligent or less academically inclined. If one doesn’t cut it, one should remain where one is.

Is this the reason why this century is shaping to be the Chinese century and not the Malaysian century?

Sometimes, being tied into a situation when one experiences nothing but a series of small events, one loses sight of the more important big picture. What is required then is the ability to pull oneself out from the flux of small things and to take a breather through viewing the situation anew from a higher vantage point.

Recently, I was caught up in a series of events, some of which I consider to be fortunate while others tend to be of the unfortunate kind. When a good outcome rolled in, I was ecstatic. Otherwise, I would be wondering if there were something wrong with the situation that I was in or worse, could I have done anything that might have changed the outcome to a favorable one. It isn’t normal for me to second guess myself but recently, I’ve been doing a lot of that.

It is not as if I was forced to hike through a dense and uncharted jungle in the middle of the night, though sometimes it does feel like this. Furthermore, it would really help too if I knew where it is I am supposed to go as I do not have a clear sign of where the destination is. I’m still waiting for clear signs from a higher power to let me know if I should take left or right turns. Sometimes when the signs are clearer, traversing the arduous jungle paths is as pleasurable as strolls in the park. Otherwise, I’ll be groping in the dark.

For the past 2 days. I’ve neglected to take a pause to smell the roses along the way and to enjoy the journey. A wise zen master said (or some other type of wise man, but suffice to say, that man- or woman- who said it was wise) that sometimes the journey itself is worth more than the destination.

I wish I could be more specific in sharing what I have gone through but I can’t. It’s a little bit delicate and I still have some strong feelings towards the whole incident. But I can say this- if I do somehow emerge unscathed from the journey, the destination itself will worth more than anything that I could have ever wanted.