Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Oh the foolish thoughts of man!

Paraphrasing the words of my friend, the Lightning:

Give a man some fame, he thinks he is the most charasmatic person.
Give a man some fortune, he thinks he owns the world.
Give a man some power, he may think he rules over us all.
Sigh.

Watching a person turn corrupt and power-hungry before your very eyes is quite a horrible thing to see. From being content to be the back-end supporter, the person in question had suddenly become an attention-lusting freak - much like how an insanely-jealous girlfriend/boyfriend seeks to hog the limelight all the time, without a thought for the partner's feelings and needs. I feel quite sick to the stomach.

I hope that I shall never be like that one day. I'm quite happy being the way I am - exerting influence in my current position - and though I'm not exactly jostling for power, I hope that when I do progress, I shall never allow that power to corrupt me and make me think that I'm better than others, so much so that I crush others. For we are called to lead, guide, and build lives, never to destroy those under our care.

Coming back to the illustration earlier, I can't help but think of Psalm 8:4:
"What is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?"

p.s.: Boss, if you're reading this, please take me to task if and when the time comes.

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Today, Malaysia finds her voice

I shall not regard myself a fount of information where politics is concerned. But I know the basic tenets of truth, justice and freedom should prevail.

"What is the case for the Opposition? It is nothing but sentiment fanned into flame." The underlying message was, "Why rock the boat? It has served us well thus far. This wave is nothing but hot air."

This sentiment, as you call it, is grounded on facts. No smoke without fire. And we figure that whatever fires that threatened to erupt were doused by an irresponsible, hand-tied media to keep others safely in the cocoon. Thank God for the revolution of the Internet, youtube, and the fearless, even-keeled international media that broadcasted the messages louder, clearer, further. Ironically, the media OUTSIDE Malaysia gave us our voice, faster than ours did - on television anyway.

Perhaps it has to do with my dealings in the corporate world, where clients have faced hurdle after hurdle for legitimate dealings, only because of some ingrained corrupt practices, or unjust and indiscriminate policies. I'm all for giving people what they deserve, if only we'd all WORK for it. I'm all for giving a lifeline to the poor and marginalized.

Perhaps it has to do with the lack of transparency, where the citizens are treated like sheep - only allowed to hear one side of the story, and then being told that that is the truth. For far too long we have heard blatant lies for absurd situations, and I'm thankful to know I'm not the only one who is brave to state that HELLO, we have BRAINS, and we'll USE IT TO THINK to form our own opinions, thank you very much.

Perhaps it has to do with the fact that I'm still driving a Proton - the very symbol of our nation's dismal failure, and the effect of the AP-system that makes it the only affordable vehicle around. I can't wait for the economy to turn around, and then afford good engineering.

I could go on, but I think I'd better not. Suffice to say that the true citizens of this bleeding country have cried out, and Malaysia's voice is now heard the local and international arenas.

It is just the beginning, however. I urge you to uphold our leaders in prayer... Pray that this nation will not be caught up in petty issues, but get down to creating a safer, informed, competitive and truly progressive nation.

The time for change has come. Your will be done, Father God. Amen.