Wednesday, November 30, 2022

JUBAL - A Christian-Muslim Friendship

 


JUBAL

Dear Jubal, it was 20 years ago today that you left us. It has been 20 years!!! But I have never stopped missing you. You were always there when I draw lines for MAD workshop and at the end of the program when the group sings FANTASY - walking among the participants like you always do. And, when I listen to Ennio Morricone's The Mission - just to remember you.
Love you much, brother!!!
JUBAL - A Christian-Muslim Friendship
“And nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say, "We are Christians": because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant” - Quran 5:82
In school, I was never good at choosing the right time to start and prepare for exams, so by the time I actually got to it, it was usually the exam week. I also picked and chose when to pay attention and when not to pay attention in class, with the latter being the norm. I would be reading something else, dreaming or plain half-asleep most of the time. Well, there were bright moments, although limited, when I was a teacher’s dream come true in subjects I liked – History, or when awesome teachers were teaching like Mr Teh-Ewe Hooi, Ms Lim Hoang Hoang and Cik Shakila Manan.
But it was still a shocker to me when I got P7 for my Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, Bahasa Malaysia paper – by default I was a second grader. My Bahasa Malaysia was always good and I was always praised by my teachers. In fact, in Form 4 my marks were sandwiched between the top Malay and non-Malay student for highest marks. In those days, they awarded two prizes for Bahasa Malaysia – One each for Malays and Non-Malays. On hindsight I thought that was silly!
Getting P7 was a problem because my plan was to correct my mistake in choosing to be in the science class during Form 4 & 5 and switch to the arts stream for Form 6 – and you cannot do that without a credit in Bahasa Malaysia! I was one of the fashionably naïve teenager whom after Form 3, rushed to be in Pure Science class not knowing that Additional Math and I were like water and oil and I had no chemistry with Chemistry. But, instead of getting to go to Form 6 Arts in Penang Free School (PFS) (PFS = a place only for the brave and the true!), I received a letter from Jabatan Pelajaran1 to report to a Maktab Sains2 in Seremban. Alamak3!
I was told that for me to be reconsidered into PFS, I must first cancel my name in person from the Maktab Sains in Seremban. So off by bus I went to hang out with my sister in KL and took a day trip to Seremban by train. The recollection I remembered most about the Seremban trip was reading Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings while listening to Bob James’ jazz music using Kak Adek’s (my second sister) Panasonic walkman. Yes, it was a Panasonic not a Sony and during that time it was cassette tapes not CDs, DVDs or Digital Drive!
While waiting for the returning train to KL, I had a good many hours to read at the train station sharing my Coke and Bob James with a few down and out souls resting on the platform floor. I lazed with them, had some deep and meaningful conversations about how life was tough and the need to carry on. A few years later when I read George Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London, I recollected this very Seremban experience.
I had to travel and plead to the Jabatan Pelajaran quite a few more times, in person, through letters, recommendations, etc and finally, months later, I was accepted back to the school that was built for only those who were Brave and True. I was not alone; one of my best buddies Nicky Ng Cheng Loong was also accepted. We were the last batch – batch number seven. We both were already planning to register to a private school, Methodist High School Penang when we got the news. Phew!
The first time Jubal and I interacted
Jubal was the assistant class monitor at Upper Six Arts Three where both Nicky and I were placed. That pogeh fella (pogeh = smoke in Tamil, I will explain later) came to PFS only in Form 6. Earlier he schooled at TI – a Technical Institute. He did not understand and was a little annoyed with all the commotion caused by my presence. I was a popular kid in school and many of my old buddies like Bubba and Thiam Sin were celebrating ‘my return’. Furthermore, I was busy introducing the gang to Nicky, who was from MBS, Monkey Boy’s School, prior to Form 6. There were girls in the class and I wanted to get to know them too! PFS is co-ed at the 6th form level! There is a GOD and God is GREAT!
Jubal, stood from across the room holding my registration form and spoke his first sentence to me by asking, “Hey Anas! Why didn’t your father name you anus?”
“The same reason why your father did not name you jubok (anus in colloquial Penang),” I answered.
Jubal and the class burst out in thunderous laughter and he suggested, “Mari-mari duduk sebelah saya, kita mesti jadi kawan baik.”3
We sat together in Form 6. His words became like a prophecy. We became best of friends. It was a friendship built on trust, care, understanding, love and compassion. And we had fun, always sharing our own jokes that no one else would make sense off – we were teenagers!
We were an unlikely pair, he smells; I don’t. He was not an egoistic person; I was full of ego (and still am) enough for the two of us and three more lifetimes. He had a face full of hair; I could hardly grow a decent moustache. I could do the Moonwalk, he danced like a papan4. He wore slacks, I wore jeans. He was always giving in; I was always on the offensive. He treated his car like a queen; I treated mine like a slave. He was always well groomed; I hardly combed my hair. I swam like a fish; he was totally scared of water. He took 3 weeks to decide which room to rent, I took 30 minutes to buy a house but on the other hand he married the first girl he dated (bodoh5 fella), and I am still as single as the time he and I first met.
Our relationship was special. In class when we were seated, it was a norm that our hands were on each other’s shoulders so much so I would smell like he did by day’s end. Once a teacher, Cikgu Ismail, probably irritated by our constant whispering and smirking walked over towards the two of us and asked,” You dua orang kembar Siam ka?”6 I answered back with a question, “Cikgu datang dari Kedah kan?”7 and when he answered yes, I continued, “Patut Cikgu bau macam padi.”8
All three of us laughed. Cikgu Ismail was a cool Sir. Jubal and I belanja9 him a few nasi kandar10 lunch when we were in the early 30s; he was no longer teaching then and was transferred to Jabatan Pelajaran Pulau Pinang.
Jubal and I had a deep and meaningful friendship. Even our parents and family recognized it. Umi and Irene his wife understood that when I was back in Penang, time must be allocated for the two of us to hangout. Jubal started working in Penang after Form 6, while I continued studying at Universiti Malaya and later made Kuala Lumpur my work base. We made the best of whatever times we had together and never failed to make time for each other. We cared and think for each other always. We practiced empathy between friends, always trying hard to ensure the other party gets whatever is best.
After he got married, he moved to Balik Pulau – literally and geographically the other side of Penang Island. It does not matter even if my trip back was a short one, we would still find the time to catch up. If I was back for three days, I would drive to Balik Pulau on the first. He reciprocated by coming over to Fettes Park the next day. The third day we will meet halfway at Teluk Bahang for an early morning teh-tarik11 and roti canai12.
He would slip me into church; it was easy because I do look like a Mat Salleh celup13. It was fun as Christian girls know how to dress well and yet do it decently. Although Jubal will taruh14 me, “ Ceh Zubedy, in church also you tengok perempuan!”15. I took him to Friday prayers; it was easy too, as with a songkok16 he looks like a typical Mamak17 fella.
On a more serious note, we got to learn each other’s religions. I opened his mind and heart to Islam, and he did the same for me with Christianity. Not that we shared many books and debates, or discussions, but we shared a life together, a friendship and a living example; a good Christian in my midst and a good Muslim in his.
We saw the good in each other stemming from the very different religions that we professed. It made us realized without much funfair or the need for deep intellectual realization that at the deepest level we share the same Good God who is Caring, full of Grace, Merciful and Kind. That is why the relationship is deep and special; we are connected at the heart level. And, both our hearts are deeply connected to God. As Darrel, Jubal’s brother constantly reminds me, “I think God wanted us to be together, Jubal, you and I.”
While we worked hard at the friendship, life too chanced us to constantly meet. First it was the anus-jubok incident. When Nestle sent me for training in Kuantan, he was transferred by UAB (Use Another Bank?) to Kuantan too. He wanted to be a trainer-facilitator and strongly believed that teaching is one of the most meaningful professions. I started a training business. But it took almost 2 years for Irene and me to talk him into dropping his cushy salaried job and take the first step to be what he wanted to be.
It was during his first understudy that the term Pogeh took shape. It was during my Presentation Skills Workshop. To teach participants how to give a good speech, we first taught them how to sing. The song chosen for the activity was “Smoke gets in your eyes”. Jubal translated the song title into Tamil, “Pogeh Kanne Pat Te Re Chi”, and he would utter it in a manner that would make you laugh.
As he was tone deaf, it was hilarious to hear him singing it in Tamil. Later, he slowly changed the term pogeh and it became identified with bodoh or blur. So you can start a sentence with, “That pogeh fella forgot to pay the bill” or when someone created a big blunder, “Dashat pogeh fella lah”.
Jubal was a master in creating abbreviations and words with new meanings – his part-time job. So CAT is Chick Attracting Tool. The moment I bought the Mercedes E200 Compressor, he added a U in front of CAT, so it’s U-CAT – Ultimate Chick Attracting Tool. TIF is Top Indian Fella and so on. Anyone who had spent enough time with Jubal, ends up using all his funny terms and creation. Perhaps Jubal should have worked with Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka.
I received an email from him asking me to pick Irene and him up from the airport one day later than planned. They were having a holiday in Bali and he said he wants to Genggong (Make Love To, Have Sex With, or simply F_ _ _ depending on who you do it with) his wife for another day. Pogeh fella, now I had to go change my entire schedule.
That night just after midnight, someone rang my doorbell. I looked outside and saw a police car in front of my house and I recognized Mr Veerasingham our Resident Association Leader at Hartamas. I went outside and the police officer asked if I knew a Jubal Lawrence, as in case of emergency it was stated that I was the person to call.
I answered yes, ‘ Dia kawan karib saya”18. He continued gently, “Maaf saya ada berita buruk. Encik Jubal dan isterinya mati lemas di Bali. Encik kenal ahli keluarga dia?”19
That was more than 7 (today 20) years ago. We were an unlikely pair. I swim like a fish; Jubal was totally scared of water.
Love you and miss you brother.
“Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians,- any who believe in God and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve”. - Quran 2:62
Peace, anas

#BodohPolitik - FREE DOWNLOAD E-BOOK

 



I wrote this book back in 2012 before GE13. I dedicated the book to Clever Malaysians. Amazing how things hasn’t change. LOL!

The FOREWORD reads …,

‘If I had no sense of humour, I would long ago have committed suicide’ - Mahatma Gandhi -

In order to make sense of the world and … our politics, we must know how to laugh, especially at ourselves. If we lose our ability to laugh, we know that something is dead wrong.

Journalist Erma Bombeck said that when humour goes, there goes civilization.

#BodohPolitik: 101 easy guides on how (not) to choose a Malaysian leader is a light-hearted way to look at our politics. Humour is a way to unite us. People who laugh together, stay together. So let’s have a laugh at ourselves, knowing fully well that idiosyncrasies from any political divide at the end of the day represent all of us – Malaysians.

Download the E-Book here http://bit.ly/3EKJKwc for free. Share it with friends and family as ‘Many a true word is spoken in jest’ - English proverb 😊

Peace, anas

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

EDUCATED VS LEARNED

Are you an educated or learned person?

Malaysia has a high rate of educated people but perhaps not those who are learned. A learned person is able to differentiate between right and wrong, what is wasteful and what is productive, is fair, balanced and are able to be honest on both sides.
Educated people only have information and use them to prop up what they see fit.
For example, an educated person may support their leaders even when they are dishonest and inconsistent, but a learned person on the other hand will support even an enemy when the enemy is right.
This is because learned people can make sense of right and wrong. They have ethics and believe in integrity. They care about values - good values.
So which one are you?
Peace, anas

Monday, November 28, 2022

INGAT JANJI - #RasuahBusters

 


*KENYATAAN MEDIA* *oleh #RASUAHBUSTERS*

*Khamis, 24 November 2022*
*INGAT JANJI KALIAN!*
*#RASUAHBUSTERS GESA LANTIKAN MENTERI PENUHI KRITERIA*
*#RasuahBusters* merakamkan *TAHNIAH* atas penubuhan kerajaan baharu di bawah kepimpinan Perdana Menteri ke-10, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yang memperoleh mandat untuk mentadbir negara bagi tempoh lima tahun akan datang.
Ini adalah masa penting untuk manifesto yang dijanjikan pada Pilihan Raya Umum ke-15 (PRU15) dilaksanakan.
Untuk itu, hanya barisan pasukan menteri-menteri yang teguh dan berwibawa berhak dilantik di kedudukan berkenaan.
Demi rakyat, dan jika anda benar-benar ikhlas, *#RasuahBusters* menggesa untuk kriteria berikut dipenuhi dalam lantikan menteri-menteri kabinet Malaysia:
*1.Berkemampuan*
Menteri yang dipilih harus mempunyai keupayaan, kemahiran dan pengetahuan tentang kementerian yang akan diterajui.
*2. Pencapaian*
Menteri yang dipilih mempunyai sejarah dan rekod pencapaian yang baik dalam bidang berkaitan dan mempunyai kelayakan yang sesuai dengan peranan kementerian.
*3.Mengutamakan agenda rakyat*
Menjadikan isu rakyat antaranya ekonomi, peluang pekerjaan, kesihatan, pendidikan dan sara hidup sebagai keutamaan dalam pentadbiran.
*4. Berintegriti dan jujur*
Lantikan adalah dengan syarat bahawa menteri-menteri akan memastikan ketelusan pentadbiran dan menghapuskan ketirisan.
*5. Isytihar harta*
Menteri-menteri harus mengisytiharkan aset mereka dan ahli keluarga sebagai langkah mencegah konflik kepentingan, pemilikan tidak wajar dan meningkatkan integriti.
Sekiranya tiada dalam kalangan ahli dewan yang memenuhi kriteria tersebut, maka *#RasuahBusters* mengesa agar Perdana Menteri bersedia melantik daripada kalangan pakar dan profesional yang tidak terdiri daripada wakil rakyat yang dipilih bagi menunaikan tanggungjawab berkenaan.
Membawa gerakan #NilaiMoralKarakterBangsa daripada rakyat kepada rakyat, *#RasuahBusters* bersama rakan-rakan gabungannya akan terus berperanan memastikan rekod prestasi pentadbiran negara ini dipantau dalam tempoh 30 hari, 60 hari, 100 hari dan seterusnya agar Malaysia benar-benar kembali pulih dan integriti menjadi asas kepada kestabilan sebuah #MalaysiaTanpaRasuah.
Oleh:
Datuk Hussamuddin Yaacub
Ketua Pasukan #RasuahBusters
bersama Pasukan Teras dan 524 rakan gabungan *#RasuahBusters*

Sunday, November 27, 2022

CHOOSING A PM AND HIS CABINET - WHAT MUST WE LOOK FOR?

" Leadership must come with integrity - there is no compromise. Without integrity talent is a liability. "

I would like to share with you a method I designed for the corporate leaders in choosing Top Talents for their organization. We call it C.A.P.I., making it easy for recall. I hope it will help you choose the best leaders for Malaysia especially our PM,DPM and Ministers.
CAPACITY
A person’s capacity is the basic foundation of his or her ability to deliver. No amount of training or exposure can bring out what is expected from a talent if he or she lacks the capacity.
Like a car engine, capacity determines the ability to perform under different circumstances. The larger the capacity, the greater the propensity to deliver.
We cannot ask a 1.0 Liter 3 cylinder 96HP PERODUA to deliver like a 4.6 Liter V8 310 HP Lexus GX. That would simply be sending the person to failure.
When the leader fails, our country suffers.
ACHIEVEMENT - PERFORMANCE
True achievement is about results; not efforts, not promises, not words. Top talents focus their energies on where the results are, they make things happen, they deliver. They spend more time doing and delivering. They don’t talk as much as they do. When they talk, it is to engage people to perform. They want to get things done, make things right. They lead people to actions that are based on clear goals. We must choose leaders that deliver.
PEOPLE SKILLS
Top talents deliver through working with and through people. They harness and focus the energy of others toward common goals. They are team leaders. Talent who prefers working alone are specialists and they are great support for top talents. Remember that we must choose talents that work with others in their effort to move up in an organization, not rise up by stepping on them. The latter will cause future disunity to the team.
In the Malaysian context we must also choose leaders who are willing to listen and work with not just a particular race, but every ethnic group. Not just with those in the Peninsular but also Sabah and Sarawak and vice versa. Care for those in urban as well as the rural areas plus willing to engage not just the old, but the middle aged and the young. In short, we must choose a leader that is with the rakyat, one that will work with us and care much about our well-being, not their position and power.
INTEGRITY
Leadership must come with integrity - there is no compromise. Without integrity talent is a liability. No matter how brilliant, knowledgeable or successful, lack of integrity disqualifies any and all talent for any leadership position. We must check their track record like their propensity to lie, practice double standards, say one thing and do the other.
In short in choosing our leaders, INTEGRITY IS THE FINAL SIFT that must not be put aside no matter what.
Peace,
anas zubedy
Kuala Lumpur.

Friday, November 25, 2022

THE GREEN TSUNAMI?




THE GREEN TSUNAMI? 

GO here https://www.facebook.com/realchunwai/videos/3015191745439929

I have for some time wrote that Malaysia will turn more and more "Islamic" as a foregone conclusion. 

So what is next? 

Do watch the above  interview and read the 2013 article below.

http://letusaddvalue.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-stronger-islamic-flavour-after-ge13.html 

Peace, anas

Wednesday, November 23, 2022

“WHAT DOES TOP MANAGEMENT LOOK FOR IN TALENTS”



Tomorrow 24/11/2022 Thursday 8:00 pm

“WHAT DOES TOP MANAGEMENT LOOK FOR IN TALENTS”

Leadership and Social Innovation webinar.

Registration link: https://bit.ly/LSI03REG

Zoom Link : https://bit.ly/LSI03ZOOM

Meeting ID: 958 9063 8128

Passcode: LSI03

Join Asrif, Bhuvanes, Ben and I in sharing our thoughts about Top Talents.

Peace, anas


Friday, November 18, 2022

FOKUS KEPADA CABARAN BUKAN PARTI - Dr Chandra Muzaffar

Terlebih dahulu, saya ingin meminta maaf kerana lambat menyampaikan mesej kepada para pengundi seperti kelaziman setiap kali Pilihanraya Umum negara ini kerana saya berdepan dengan masalah kesihatan dan baru sahaja keluar dari menerima rawatan di hospital. Walaupun mengalami kekangan, saya berasa terpanggil kerana saya menyedari kepentingan untuk menyampaikan mesej ini demi masa hadapan rakyat dan generasi akan datang.

Artikel ini tidak akan menyentuh mengenai parti-parti politik yang terlibat atau calon- calon yang bertanding sebaliknya saya mahu mengupas dan memfokuskan kepada 5 isu utama yang mendepani negara ini serta cabarannya.
Lima isu utama yang saya maksudkan ialah rasuah, tanggungjawab dan hak, hubungan kaum dan keharmonian ,ekonomi adil dan maju dan perubahan global dan serantau.
Isu pertama ialah rasuah. Kita sedia maklum rasuah umpama barah dalam membentuk masyarakat yang membangun. Permasalahan memang perlu dibanteras demi kemaslahatan negara ini. Ia bukanlah isu enteng dan memerlukan iltizam yg luar biasa di kalangan kepimpinan dan semua lapisan rakyat. Pada pendapat saya, amalan retorik bukanlah kaedah yang berkesan untuk mengatasinya. Undang-undang atau peraturan yang mengawal selia pembiayaan politik perlu digubal.
Isu kedua yang saya ingin tekankan ialah mengenai tanggungjawab dan hak sebagai rakyat Malaysia. Rakyat harus memahami tidak ada hak tanpa tanggungjawab. Sebahagian rakyat begitu lantang menyuarakan hak mereka tetapi mengabaikan tanggungjawab memahami dan menghargai asal-usul negara, latarbelakang dan evolusinya.
Pada pendapat saya, hubungan antara kaum adalah sesuatu yang sangat perlu dititik beratkan. Hubungan yang kukuh perlu dipupuk berdasarkan sifat kemanusiaan kita dan kewarganegaraan yang sama. Nilai-nilai bersama harus diutamakan . Penghormatan yang ikhlas antara kaum perlu diterapkan demi membentuk sebuah masyarakat yang harmoni.
Ekonomi adil dan maju merupakan satu isu yang perlu digapai dan diberi perhatian khusus. Jurang perbezaan di antara golongan kaya dan miskin perlu dikurangkan. Sifat memonopoli kekayaan oleh segelintir rakyat juga perlu dihapuskan. Untuk merealisasikan kesaksamaan ekonomi, asas berdikari dalam ekonomi dan masyarakat perlu ditingkatkan. Rantaian bekalan makanan serta keselamatan sumber makanan perlu dikukuhkan. Sumber-sumber ekonomi baharu hasil daripada khazanah semulajadi negara juga perlu dimajukan. Selain itu, pemperkasaan syarikat-syarikat kerjasama (cooperatives) juga boleh diambil sebagai salah satu pendekatan ekonomi. Jaringan ekonomi serantau dan global juga boleh dijalinkan untuk merencanakan kemakmuran ekonomi nasional.
Kita tidak boleh lari dari perubahan sistem global. Pertembungan di antara ‘unipolar world’ yang diketuai oleh Amerika Syarikat serta sekutunya dan ‘multipolar world’ yang dipelopori oleh China. Multipolar world lebih adil dan telus untuk negara-negara seperti Malaysia. Kita harus menyokong usaha ini melalui rancangan-rancangan seperti ‘The Belt-Road Initiative.’ Amerika Syarikat cuba menggagalkan multipolar world melalui politik penggulingan pemimpin-pemimpin yang berjiwa merdeka (regime change) seperti yang berlaku di Pakistan. Kita juga harus berwaspada dengan ancaman ini.
Kita tidak boleh menyokong unipolar world yang membawa banyak malapetaka kepada dunia. Unipolar world dan kuasa Amerika Syarikat yang membawa bencana seperti pengabdian rakyat Palestin dan kehancuran beberapa negara Muslim seperti Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yaman dan Afghanistan. Kuasa Amerika Syarikat menyasarkan kebangkitan China sebagai satu cabaran utama yang perlu dihapuskan. Rakyat yang beragama Islam dan kaum Cina di Malaysia harus memahami hakikat ini dan mendirikan benteng bersama mempertahankan kedaulatan negara.
Pengundi-pengundi Malaysia pada 19 November harus memahami segala isu dan cabaran global, serantau dan nasional dan menggunakan undi mereka secara bijak dan matang. Jangan kita menjadi seperti pepatah Melayu, sesal dahulu pendapatan, sesal kemudian tidak beguna.
Sekiranya kita gagal memilih kerajaan yang sanggup menghadapi cabaran-cabaran yang dibincangkan atau kita gagal mendirikan kerajaan yang stabil selepas 19 November, kita tidak harus merasa kecewa. Kita mempunyai satu lagi pilihan untuk negara ini.
Pemimpin-pemimpin tiga gabungan utama di Semenanjung dan pemimpin-pemimpin di Sabah dan Sarawak boleh berunding sesama sendiri dan cuba mendirikan sebuah kerajaan MUAFAKAT. Politik negara kita selama ini bercirikan ‘Politik Keseteruan’ (Adversarial Politics) seperti di kebanyakan negara lain. Apa salahnya sekiranya dalam tempoh 5 tahun akan datang ini kita cuba politik muafakat dimana semua parti politik dan pemimpin politik memberi tumpuan kepada cabaran-cabaran bersama dan mengenepikan kepentingan kepartian dan individu? Mungkin melalui cara ini kita dapat meningkatkan kesejahteraan rakyat jelata.
Chandra Muzaffar.
Ahli Sains Politik
Kuala Lumpur
17 November 2022.

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

PILIH CALON, BUKAN PARTI


CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO 


Salam Sejahtera,
Untuk kali ini, MARI KITA PILIH CALON DULU, bukan parti politiknya.
Dua sebab utama,
1) Kita mulakan budaya baru memaksa semua parti politik menawarkan kita hanya calon yang bijak, bersih dan bebas rasuah. Budaya ini lama-lama akan melahirkan pemimpin-pemimpin negara yang handal dan berintegriti tak kira parti.
2) Bila kita memastikan hanya pemimpin yang bijak, bersih dan bebas rasuah menang, mereka akan lebih berpengaruh di dalam parti mereka dan akan dapat membersihkan parti mereka dari rasuah dan penipuan.
Jika dikawasan anda semua calon yang bertanding adalah bijak, bersih dan bebas rasuah, pilihlah dari parti yang anda sokong.
Terima Kasih. Salam, anas