Am I a Chinese?

Weather: Fair
Temperature: 11 c

You may be thinking: what kind of stupid question is that? My father would probably knock my head and shout: are you crazy? Of course you are Chinese!

But before you start jumping, please let me explain, there are more to it than just a simple stupid question.

In Malaysia, though sometime I did want to just be a Malaysian, my country had repeatedly reminded me that I am a Chinese. When I fill in the form for my PMR exam, I have to disclose whether I am Malay, Chinese, Indian or others. What has that got to do with the exam which main purpose was to test my academic ability was way beyond my comprehension. The same applies when I applied for IC, when I made police report, when I applied for passport, I had to tell the government that I am a Chinese. Speaking about applying for IC, please allow me to digress a little bit.

When I applied for MyKad, I was asked to fill in my religion. I told the officer I have no religion, so please state “tiada”. The officer looked at me as if I just told her I have raped someone. She said, “tak boleh, mesti ada.” She was actually right. In her computer screen, there is no “tiada” for her to click. I must give one, if not, they can’t process my application. From her perspective, being a Chinese, I must be either a Christian or a Buddhist. Well, I believe in Charles Darwin and natural evolution, therefore, I couldn’t be a Christian and I do not want to insult Buddhism by claiming to be a Buddhist since I am a fan of sirloin steak, I kill mosquitoes, tell lies, watch blue movies and drink beer occasionally. Why can’t I just be a “orang yang tiada ugama”? Nope. Even the #1 Rukun Negara tells us to believe in God. I may be stripped off my citizenship if I live in a state of godlessness.

Since I am definitely not a Christian, I reluctantly told her to click Buddhism. She was relieved, she said, “so, you Buddha lah! Senang kan?”. I don’t think she understands the difference between being a Buddha and a Buddhist. So, I ended up becoming a “Buddha” against my will.

Now, coming back to the issue at hand. Not only the government constantly telling me I am a Chinese, even the private sector does the same practice. When I registered my prepaid mobile number, I have to tell DIGI I am a Chinese; when I opened bank account, I have to tell Public Bank I am a Chinese; even when I filled up forms for security guards to guard my house, I have to say I am a Chinese.

So, in Malaysia, I am a Chinese first or Malaysian first? If I am Chinese first, why did I support Malaysia’s badminton team when they played against China? Oh, that’s because I am Malaysian. But, if I am a Malaysian first, why can’t I enjoy the 10% discount when buying property? Oh, that’s because I am Chinese. I am confused here.

Ok, now I am in a land full of Chinese, 1.3 billion of them. The question is: am I still a Chinese when I am in China?

Again, let me digress for a while. I had a chat with my brother this morning and he was surprised that he needs a visa to come to China. “We are the descendants of the Dragon!” he claimed. Yes, we might be. But we still need a visa to come to China because the last time I checked, our passports do not have a Tiananmen logo on its cover: only 2 skinny tigers.

It’s funny. My country keeps on telling me that I am a Chinese, while China keeps telling me I am a Malaysian, a foreigner. I am not even a “华侨” (oversea Chinese). Surprised? The sad stories of Malaysian Chinese: our government treats us like outsiders from China, when China doesn’t even recognize us as Chinese from Malaysia – we are just foreigners from foreign countries. Period.

Hence, back to the title of this article: Am I a Chinese?

While you are pondering over this question, do you know that the Hongkee call us “马来仔” and “马来妹”? To them, we are not too different from the Malays, at least in terms of labeling.

p/s:- what has happened to the collapsed building in Tasik Banding? Any idea?

Inspired by Ghandi...

Weather: Fog
Temperature: 14 c

Sorry for neglecting this blog for the past few days. To those readers who popped in from time to time to check the latest updated articles in this blog, please accept my sincere apologies.

While this blog remained quiet and dormant, the world surrounding it was not quiet at all.

On a personal note, last Saturday, with the encouragement and support of Engtee, I have successfully and finally bought a guitar – my first guitar in China. It is a Spanish brand guitar which costs me RMB 1,300. Since I have not been practicing my guitar for more than 3 months, it hurt a lot initially. Now, I have a new friend in my house and his name is Lando (the brand of the guitar)!

Turning to another page. Well, since I left Malaysia, Malaysia has grown up a lot. It is more exciting than ever. I missed all the fun!

If you haven’t read about this, let me share with you. Our Hindu brothers have done something which is unprecedented and outrageously brilliant. A body called Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) has filed a class action on behalf of all the Indians in Malaysia against the British Government at the Royal Court of England seeking damages of RM1 million for each Indian in Malaysia for bringing the Indians into Malaysia and neglecting them thereafter. Wonderful! Voila! Can you believe that? The suit can simply be summarized into these few words: you bring me into this mess and now you have to pay for it.

Of course, everyone knows that the success rate of the suit is next to zero. But the suit is not the end, it is just a means to an end, a smokescreen. The real purposes of the suit are to embarrass the Malaysian government, especially MIC, and highlight the sufferings and plights of the Malaysian Indians to the whole world.

The Hindraf heroic actions did not end with the suit, the suit was just the beginning. Inspired by Gandhi, a rally was organized last Sunday and was attended by thousands (some websites reported the figure to be more than 10,000) of Hindus. Hindraf wanted to hand over a petition to the UK embassy which requested the Queen of England to appoint a Queen Counsel to assist their suit in England. In other words, Hindraf wanted the Queen to appoint her majesty counsel to assist the Malaysian Indians to take legal action against her own government. Can you appreciate the beauty of this paradox? Again, no one expects the Queen to adhere to their request. It is just another slap on the government’s face. A nice slap. Phik Phak! But no matter how hard you slap, I doubt this government (who is now in coma and under ICU treatment) will ever be woken up.

Of course, as usual, the government did not just sit there and do nothing. Learning from the Bersih rally, the government did something unprecedented too. An ex-parte court order was issued by the court which prevented the organizers and participants from participating the banned rally. This is first in Malaysian legal history. You are basically banned from attending an event which has yet to take place. Wow! Who said we have no top legal brains in the government sector? How brilliant was that? It effectively means that if you attend the rally, you are in contempt of the court for you will disobey a court order. The court is inevitably dragged into this mess.

Few days before the Hindraf rally, the key persons of Hindraf were arrested and charged under the Sedition Act. They have now been discharged on technical grounds i.e. the prosecutor failed to include the original Tamil transcript in the charge sheet. Of course, the prosecutor can always re-charge them later once the technicalities have been sorted out.

Now, you still think freedom of assembly and freedom of expression are our fundamental rights which are safely protected by the Federal Constitution? Think again. When you vote in a government with 90% of majority seats, the government IS the constitution. The Federal Constitution becomes a piece of paper which can be “conteng” at any time. You don’t believe me? See? They are going to amend the constitution again very soon to extend the mandatory retirement age of the Election Commission Chairman. What did I just tell you?

Oh, before I sign off, can anyone tell me what happened to the collapsed building in Tasik Banding, Perak? Swept under the carpet already? What did I say? Samy, you are the man. Now you understand why I said there was no need to get upset? Things will be fine eventually for you are the man.

When all hopes seem gone, remember our # 1 of Rukun Negara: Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan…

G bless Malaysia!

Me and my Angmo colleague

Weather: Fair
Temperature: 12 c

I wish to share an irony with you. When I was in UK, I was unable to get close to any Angmos even though I made efforts to get into their circle. I knocked on the door of my housemate (an English) and told him that if he and his gang were going out at night please let me know because I would love to join them. He politely agreed. But 30 minutes later, they just left the apartment without telling me. I once saw a group of Angmos playing football, and asked them whether I could join them. No problem, they said. But they treated me as if I was a retard (but I have to admit that my football skill was unlike Beckham's).

Maybe in their eyes, I will always be “chow mein”, “egg fried rice”, “spring rolls” or “chinky”. A Chinese living on the earth of the Great Britain should never be respected or treated as equal. I accepted that painfully. Ok, If I was not too welcome here, I would just take my degree and leave.

Then few years later I came to China. Of all places, I found a good Angmo in China, Cameron. He is my colleague: an energetic and cheerful chap with good manners and hospitality. What an irony, I didn't have Angmo friends in UK but I have Angmo friend in China.

I don't think he will get offended when I call him an Angmo. I have told him: in China, people call him “老外” or “大鼻子”; But in Malaysia, people will call him “红毛” (Angmo or red hair). He asked me why calling him “red hair” since he has no red hair. My answer was: in Malaysia, we all have black hair; so if your hair is not black, then your hair must be red, we don't care. I am not sure whether he has fully understood the rationale but I am sure he has accepted being labeled as “Angmo”. I wouldn't get upset if the English calls me “black hair”, but I would certainly behave like a pit-bull if they call me “flat nose”, “shorty” or “retard”.

It's fun and exciting to have a colleague like Cameron. He turns on the light of my room every morning when he comes in the office. It has become part of his daily ritual. His presence in the office will not be unnoticed. It is almost like a lion walking in the zoo of rabbits. If you do not acknowledge his presence, you will be bugged until you give a positive response or you are classified as “hopeless”.

In the office, we spent a lot of time talking about many things (of course, during the “vacuum period” where there was no urgent thing pending). Oh, did I tell you that he speaks Mandarin? He has been “Madarinized” for too long, now, he is “half” Chinese and considers himself an egg: white outside, yellow inside. I speak English to him (thus my opportunity to practice my spoken English) and whenever possible, he will reply in Mandarin. It's a win-win.

Having a half-crazy, half-professional, half-Angmo and half-Chinese colleague does make the “war” in office much bearable. I am sure he will appear more frequently in this blog going forward.

p/s:- As a sign of respect, Cameron has read this article and has consented to its contents being published.

In the end, it doesn't even matter

Weather: Fog
Temperature: 10 c

The temperature was 9 degree Celsius. If not for the feather jacket 羽绒服 which I had bought in the evening, I would have been frozen to death. This must be the coldest concert I have ever attended.

Before we went into the stadium, there were many people selling “yellow bull tickets” (literal translation from Chinese 黄牛票). The RMB 200 tickets were sold at RMB 260. Some even offered to buy our tickets at very high price. The free tickets given to us were worth RMB 800 each, we could have easily sold our tickets and made a few thousands RMB easily, but the charm of Linkin Park way out-valued the few thousands RMB.

I could only take photos with my handphone as we were not allowed to bring in digital cameras. Our seats were on the football field: not too near or too far from the stage, just nice. Though we were given chairs, everyone stood on it.

One thing I loved about Linkin Park concert was that they were there purely for music: no funny costumes or cheesy dancers, only 1.5 hours of solid music. I really enjoy the music, especially the voice of the lead singer, it was so volatile that I was unsure whether he was a rock singer or a pop singer, because he could do both perfectly.

Linkin Park is not about electric guitars, techno, and drums. Its music is full of energy, hatred, anger, love, freedom, rebel and defiance. I am never a dancer but I realized my whole body was dancing in harmony with the rhythm of the percussion as if every cell in me was appreciating the songs. It made me wonder why I simply gave up music. But then again, after tonight, I realized that music was never too far from my life. I am blessed with the skill of playing guitar, and I should not let that skill go wasted. Between reading lengthy contracts and playing guitar, I could easily tell which one I like more.

I just came back from the concert. The blast of the speakers has left some effects on my ears. The songs are still lingering. I am certain it will go into my dream and disturb my sleep. Oh, speaking of sleeping, I just realized tomorrow is Monday. Who loves Monday? The definition of Monday is: forget about whatever good or bad shits you just had during the weekend and crawl back to the place which you hate to be but nevertheless have to be.

Time to sleep, cheerio!

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Linkin Park Live in Shanghai

Weather: Rain
Temperature: 12 c

Whenever someone asks me why I prefer Shanghai over Beijing, my official standard answer is: because I find Shanghai energetic and full of life.

Why so? When you walk in the streets of Shanghai, if you pay attention, you would feel the energy of this vibrant city: it is dancing, it is moving, it is breathing, and it is “rock and roll”. It is hard for me to describe the feeling with my limited English vocabulary, but I am sure, if you are here and looking at the right direction, you will feel it too.

This city is full of excitements (KL is not bad too, with the recent Bersih rally; but for those who were caught in the massive traffic jam, I am not sure they should curse the Bersih organizers or the police). Not long ago, Shanghai has just successfully hosted the Special Olympic and not too long before that, the Women World Cup, and not too long before that, Shanghai Tourism Festival.

Now, have you begun to feel the energy? In Malaysia, I remember I had to wait for a very long time for my idol to hold a concert. Here, concerts after concerts have been lined up until the end of the year. Next week, Jay Chou is coming, then Jacky Cheung, then Zhang Hui Mei etc. This Sunday (Nov 18^th) Linkin Park is coming!

I am listening to Linkin Park now as I am writing this article. Their music is not too heavy metal or too sissy. It’s beautifully mixed with a bit of anger, freedom, and defiance: suit my current mood perfectly. I have watched Linkin Park concert DVD, they are awesome! They play live music so pro that you would think that you are actually listening to their CD. I said to myself, next time they come to Malaysia (oh, I missed their first one), I would definitely go, at all cost.

Few weeks ago, my Angmo colleague and I accidentally spotted an advertisement about Linkin Park Live Concert in Shanghai. We said, “this is it! Go!” He is a fan of Linkin Park too. We were so pumped up. I called the ticket center to book for the tickets (without first checking the price). I was informed that the cheapest tickets (RMB200) have been completely sold out, the second cheapest (RMB400) is still available. At that moment, reality hit my consciousness, I realized I would have to pay RMB800 (for Engtee too) to go to Linkin Park concert. Shit. I have been thinking about buying a good quality guitar for months, and the guitar costs around RMB1,000. Now, am I going to spend RMB800 for a concert? I know I said Linkin Park was awesome and I vowed to go to their concert, but RMB800 could be used in better ways. I was in a dilemma.

I discussed this problem with my Angmo colleague. He told me he won’t be going if I am not going, any way, he will respect my decision. I told him I will give him the answer before close of business that day. And at 6.00pm, I told him it was a “no go”. Gosh, I hated myself. Why didn’t I have the insanity to do something crazy and stupid once? Because I was never insane. The only time I was insane was when I walked to the room of my former boss Eric and told him I was going to China.

So, although we really love the music of Linkin Park, we love RMB 800 more. We have to kiss the concert goodbye and put it behind us and move on. By the way, do you know how much was the most expensive ticket for Linkin Park? RMB1,800. I will only pay that kind of money for a 2 hour concert if they are singing with a group of naked ladies on stage.

Yesterday, I was asked to review and comment on an Entertainment Contract for a Taiwanese singer (trust me, he/she is very famous in Malaysia). Once I have prepared my opinion and suggestion, the partner asked me to translate the whole contract into English and the deadline is 12 midnight. What?!! Why I always got the shit? Oh, that’s because I am the only bi-lingual in Shanghai office. My Friday night was completely ruined.

Once I have translated the thing and send back to the partner, I wrote in the cover email:

“I still don’t know why it must be translated into English, as I am sure **** can read Chinese, he/she sings Chinese songs! I want compensation: free tickets to his/her concert.”

To which, the partner replied:

“Sorry but thanks for the hard work. I don’t think I am able to get you the tickets for **** concert. However, the client has offered tickets to Linkin Park Concert, but I have turned it down as I assume no one in the Shanghai office would want to go. Thanks.”

I almost went crazy when I read that email. I checked the advertisement again, oh why didn’t I realize: the organizer of Linkin Park concert is our client! I dashed to the partner’s room (I don’t remember knocking the door) immediately and asked her whether there is any chance she could ask the client to offer the tickets to Linkin Park concert again? The partner kindly said she will try to call the client, but no promise. Oh Gosh! If I know Linkin Park tickets had just dropped from heaven, but no one saw it fit to pick it up, I would definitely run like Forrest Gump across the city of Shanghai.

5 minutes later, the partner walked to my room and showed me 4 fingers: 4 free tickets. I remember I screamed in delight (it was already about 10pm, so it’s ok to act a little bit crazy), I even said I loved her so much.

My Angmo colleague was in cloud 9 too. I can’t tell you how happy we were. Ok, 4 tickets, who will be going? My colleagues were kind enough to offer me 2 tickets so that I could bring Engtee along. The other 2 tickets went to the Angmo and a Chinese colleague.

Now, you understand why I am listening to Linkin Park now, it is a prelude to tomorrow’s big event. My first open and live concert in Shanghai, and it is F.O.C., courtesy of a good client. I will certainly take a lot of pictures and blog it here in due course.

Remember, when God gives you shit, it means that the good stuffs are on its way.

Office outing to Suzhou 苏州 to taste the hairy crabs

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Man made disaster

Weather: Rain
Temperature: 19 c

I refer to my earlier posting where I wrote about Typhoon Krosa and its strength and effects. I was very excited at that time albeit a little scared because the strong wind was smashing against the windows of my office so hard as if the windows were going to be shattered any time.

But in the end, of course, Shanghai prevails. There was no flood or casualty reported. The next morning, Shanghai was back in business. Life goes on. After all, Typhoon Krosa, regardless of how strong it was, was just one of many typhoons that attack Shanghai in a year.

I was thrilled by the natural disaster because I have never seen one. In Malaysia, we only have “kecelakaan buatan tempatan”.

I said, if typhoon of this scale hits KL, I really couldn’t imagine what KL will become. Maybe our smart tunnel would come to the rescue. Has the smart tunnel really been tested?

My good friend Harley, alerted me this evening about another unfortunate event that has occurred in Malaysia: the collapse of a two-storey building on a hill slope at the edge of Tasik Banding in Gerik, Perak (please click here to read the news). I was stunned by this news because my father loved to bring us to picnic at Tasik Banding when I was a small kid. As if “projek pembangunan terbengkalai” is not bad enough, now we have “projek pembangunan terhampus”.

Well, was that building hit by a typhoon? Nope. Was that building attacked by terrorist? Nope. Was there an earthquake? Nope. Was there a flood? Nope. You know what, the building just collapsed by itself, regrettably, after RM4.5 m was spent to build it. In other words, RM 4.5 m from public coffers was burnt into ashes, completely gone without a trace. If you think David Blaine is good, have a look at the Malaysian style street magic, we are able to demolish a 2 storey building in 2 hours without using explosives, and make RM 4.5 m disappear before your eyes without you feeling the weight of the money. David Blaine looks like an amateur if compared to our government officials.

Not too long ago, in the name of safeguarding the interest of house buyers, our government was studying the feasibility of implementing a “build and sell” policy i.e. developers could only enter into sale and purchase agreements with purchasers after the building has been built.

Seems like before the “build and sell” policy could be implemented, the government officials have started the policy of “build and collapse”.

The Star reported that our good friend Samy Vellue was furious about this incident. My dear Sammy, don’t get too furious, careful of your blood pressure. We, the people, after reading the news report, understand that you have worked very hard to prevent such incidents. But like you have said before, “ini dipasang oleh manusia, bukan Tuhan”, so errors caused by mere mortals should be excused. After all, who is perfect?

Yes, we should spend additional money to form a team of investigators to investigate the cause of this collapse. But my advice is, please give them longer time to prepare the report. The longer the better. General Election is coming, and I am sure you don’t want the people to read about such report during this very sensitive period. Don’t worry too much, people forget easily. Once the media controlled by your government has stopped to follow up on the collapsed building, you can even instruct the investigators to stop all investigation and burn all their findings. Since accountability is not a concept emphasized by the government and people, I am very sure you will come out from this tragedy unscratched.

So, why so furious? Oh, I almost forget that is the politically correct reaction at this juncture. Well, you have survived politic longer than I have lived my life, so, whatever you do must be right.

To the Malaysians, please don’t get upset or disappointed by the tragedy. Look at the bright side, no one was hurt, wasn’t it? I know RM 4.5 m has been wasted, but what is RM 4.5 m compared to the billions buried somewhere in the ghost town of Port Klang Free Zone? If we don’t even blink our eyes every time we drive through the said ghost town, why bother about a mere RM 4.5 m?

Tomorrow, Malaysia will be business as usual.

Again, why kick a dead dog?

The thing I hate most about Shanghai

Weather: Fair

Temperature: 19 c

Yesterday I was chatting with someone who claimed to be the representative of all the readers of this blog. On behalf of all the readers, he asked me why I wrote so much about Malaysia when this blog is about China. I agreed with him and reckoned that his concern is legitimate. He further added that no matter how hard I whack Malaysia, Malaysia will still be the same. So, what’s the point?

My apology for saying too much about my home country. True, why kick a dead dog?

The other day, when I was having lunch with a group of colleagues (our official lunch time is 12 noon to 1pm, but we normally go out at 12.30pm and come back at 1.30pm), a Chinese colleague asked me what I hated most about China. Though it was a simple question, I found it hard to answer. I love everything about China! But if you really want to know what I dislike most, emm… let me think, ok, it will be the spitting habit of the Chinese.

When you walk around the streets of Shanghai, inevitably, you will hear the sound of “khaaaaaaaarrrr…. pui!” i.e., the sound of spitting. It is hard to categorize the demographic of those who spit: the uneducated ones spit, the educated ones spit, the old spit, the young spit, the guys spit, the ladies spit, the white collars spit, the blue collar spit. In short, all kinds of people spit.

I always feel sorry when I saw pretty Shanghai girls who dressed up nicely spat. It is like watching sexy Ms. Universe in bikini eats durian. Sometimes, the taxi drivers will wind down the window and khaaaaaarrrrrrr… pui! Of course, if they do that, you have the right to lodge a formal complaint and refuse to pay the basic fare or 起步费 of RMB 11. But normally, I don’t care. I felt annoyed but I won’t complain. I take it as it is part of their culture. Why spoil their livelihood when they are performing their culture? When I think it that way, I feel much better.

The “good” ones will not spit indiscriminately; they will look for suitable places to spit. Just like cats digging hole to pooh pooh. They spit in the dustbins. Unfortunately, most of the dustbins here do not have a plastic bag inside. So the spits stick directly on the inner walls of the dustbins. After a while, these spits turn solid and white and even produce funny smell.

Seeing someone spits is annoying enough. If they do a “clean” spit (i.e. a high speed spit that was shot out quickly from the lips directly at the target), that is not too bad. But when they do a “slow and slimy” spit (i.e. instead of flying straight to the target, a portion of the mixture of sputum and saliva accidentally hang on the corner of the lips), it instantly kills off all appetite.

Some spits have white bubbles on it and some are yellowish. You can spot a spit everywhere in the streets. Their number in the streets is second to cigarette butts. If you think seeing someone spits is bad enough, wait until you step on one. Yeee… my stomach turns upside down even when I write this. When you lift up your shoes, this slimy, smelly, yellowish, greenish and unhygienic liquid will stick on the bottom of your shoes, follow you everywhere. And you wear that shoes to work, to restaurants, to parties, to a clinics etc.

Another thing worth mentioned here is: spitting requires certain degree of skill. You see, spitting can be divided into 2 parts: the “khaaaarrr” and the “pui”. “Khaaarrr” usually takes longer time than the “pui”. Engtee and I once tried to practice how to do a good spit at the garden of Bom’s apartment. All we could do was the “khhaaaarrrr” part, as to the “pui” part, we could not control our tongue to consolidate all the liquid in our mouth into a single arrow and shoot out at high speed with accuracy. What came out from our mouths was splash of saliva, which usually stuck on our face, chin or even neck. Practice makes perfect. If we do it on a daily basis, I am sure we can “shoot” like any Shanghainese. But why would we want to practice that?

Well, like all the bad things I said about China, I am not complaining. I am “ok” with people spitting as long as they don’t spit on me or let me step on their spits. I just have to be extra careful when I walk. I take it as part of the Chinese people’s culture, be it good culture or bad ones. Certainly, me alone cannot change the spitting habit of the Chinese, I am overwhelmingly outnumbered.

A group of Malaysians in Shanghai. 6 are from Hin Hua High School. Can you believe that?

Remember Remember the 10th of November

Weather: Fair
Temperature: 18 c

In the evening of 10^th of November, one great event took place in Malaysia. It was the 100,000 people rally organized by Bersih (or some even termed it as “Gelombang Kuning”). I have followed the news closely via the relevant websites and blogs.

On that day, I was working alone in the office (it was a Saturday, so only the most unfortunate was in the office). But my spirit and heart were with the people who braved the rain and multiple road blocks to be at the designated gather points in KL.

I learned that KL was almost paralyzed due to the overreaction by the police: setting up road blocks within the parameter of KL, confiscating any objects (such as umbrella, cap, hair band, wrist band) which are yellow in colour, stopping anyone who wears yellow shirt from entering KL. I even heard that the LRT trains refused to stop at some stations to prevent people from getting near Dataran Merdeka. Confucius said, “do not use cannon to kill mosquitoes”. Of course, by looking at the photos of the Bersih rally, there aren’t just 1 or 2 mosquitoes; there are close to 50,000 noisy and strong mosquitoes (well, depend on whose version you want to believe, Bersih said 50,000, the Star said 4,000).

After the knee-jerk measures taken by the police, the number of participants was successfully sliced into half. But the measures (such as water cannons and tear gas) were insufficient to prevent a strong group of people from marching to the Palace to present the petition to the King.

As usual, the main stream media focused on the different side of this rally: it caused unnecessary massive traffic jam and affected the livelihood of the traders nearby. The core of the rally was completely blacked-out. If you believe half of what the government-controlled newspapers tell you, you would believe that Santa Clause did climb down through the chimney to put Christmas gift into your smelly socks.

According to our Information Minister, the police behaved reasonably. They only used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowd after warning was given. No baton or physical force was used against the participants of the rally. Well, Mr. Minister, can you please explain the picture below. I am sure the police officer wasn’t holding a lolly-pop in his hands.

I asked myself: if I was in Malaysia at that time, would I have joined the rally? The answer is a definite: YES. Rally of this magnitude only happens once in a decade. I would be sorry to myself if I stay at home watching DVDs.

“People should not be afraid of their government, the government should be afraid of their people.” – V for Vendetta.

Angmo said, "Can you speak Chinese?"

Weather: Fair
Temperature: 11 c

Being a Malaysian Chinese, I always curious about how it will be like for others (who are not native speaker of my language) to speak my language when communicating with me.

In Malaysia, I did not have the opportunity to find out. No one who is NOT a native Chinese speaker will speak Chinese to me. When talking to a Malay, we used Malay; when talking to a Indian, we used English or Malay.

In UK, I also did not have the opportunity to find out. When talking to a Angmo, needless to say, we used English.

Today, I was tasked to perform a due diligence (DD) on a company (target). Wow! It was a new adventure for me. I was never a corporate lawyer. I know little (close to nothing) about joint venture, private equity, foreign direct investment, venture capital etc. But now, things changed: I am a “corporate lawyer” in the middle kingdom. Big thing!

For the benefit of the readers who do not know what DD is, let me put it simple: when someone wants to invest in a company, he wants to know whether this company is doing ok, whether this company owes people money, if yes, how much etc. How will he find out? He hires people like me to go into this company, open its cupboards, dig out every file and study them “diligently”. We will check whether this company pays its rentals, whether it pays its employees, whether it has skeletons hidden somewhere in the closets. Once we have finished digging out the shits of this company, we will gather all the information we have found, analyze them and prepare a DD report. In this report, we will tell, in our opinion, whether this company is healthy or in the border of committing suicide. Then, it will be up to the investor to make the commercial decision.

How good it will be if we can perform a DD on a lady before we marry her. We can get a professional like me to go into the bedroom of this lady, to check out what perfume she uses (or whether she uses perfume), what time she wakes up in the morning, how well she cooks (or whether she cooks at all), whether she swears in the house, whether she flushes after using the toilet, whether she abuses little animals, whether she is a hardcore fan of Gucci, LV, Dior etc. Then this professional will prepare a written report for us to consider whether to commit for a life time. If this is done, I can guarantee the divorce rate will drop dramatically, BUT at the same time, marriage rate will also drop drastically. Ok, maybe I have digressed too far. This happens when you have an amateur “corporate lawyer” talking about corporate stuffs; we always find it funny and tend to joke about it.

This evening our team of 4 lawyers (including me) went to the office of the target to have a discussion (facts finding mission). The auditors were there too. In the big spacious conference room, there were 8 local Chinese, 1 Malaysian Chinese and 2 Angmos (English). When the meeting began, these local Chinese, with varying degree of English knowledge, spoke in English. But, the Angmo said, “你可以说中文。” Wow! I could see the reliefs in the faces of the Chinese parties. And this 2 Angmos from UK not only can they speak basic Chinese; their pronunciation was close to perfect. They speak like a Beijinger! How long have they been in China? I had the opportunity to ask them after the meeting, they have been here for more than 3 years.

Now, the situation has really changed. I remember when I was in High School, I attended a talk by Dr John Naisbitt (the author of Megatrend). He predicted that in the foreseeable future, the Westerners will have Chinese name for reasons of doing business with the Chinese. The Asians having English name will be something of the past.

Now I am seeing his prediction becomes reality. This Angmo’s name card shows his name as “Ken Wilson” and his Chinese name is “韦志浩”. The other one is “Brian Suntherland” and his Chinese name is “孙杰龙”.

I was feeling unreal after listening to these Angmos speaking Chinese in the meeting.It was like Alice in the Wonderland where rabbit can talk. In a “normal” situation, we see Chinese speaking English (regardless of how poor his English is) in a meeting with Angmos. Now, it is exactly the other way round.

I think this is an inevitable trend and it will become more obvious in the next few years as more Angmos graduated from the Chinese schools.

So, my piece of advice to the parents (especially the Chinese) who send their children to national primary schools (as opposed to Chinese schools) thinking that it is ok to neglect the Chinese as long as the BM and English are good, you are dead wrong. I have said this before and I will say it here again: once you leave the soil of Malaysia, nobody really cares how good your BM is. You can blow trumpet telling everyone you are tri-lingual, but the reality is: BM doesn’t count. So you are left with English and Chinese. If you neglect Chinese, you lose the advantage of being bi-lingual. Do the math before deciding the fate of your children.

Which one you fear more?

Weather: Fair
Temperature: 17 c

Kevin (the lawyer in Hong Kong) sent me a youtube link recently. It's a 18-minute video clip entitled “At the crossroads - Malaysia”. Thanks Kevin.

If you have the time, please click here to view the footage. Like I said, it is 18 minutes long, it might take up some of your time. If you are working now, you may want to view it during your break or leisure time.

This video clip tells us nothing more than what we already knew. Especially being the non-bumi in Malaysia, we understand deeply the problems highlighted in the video clip. The information contained in it, like Lina Joy case, Moorthy Case etc, is meant for outsiders who know little or nothing about Malaysia. You may agree or not agree with it, but that's not the point of this article.

What I want to talk about here is the interview with the Perak Mufti shown in the video clip (at 16:15). “Don’t touch Islam.” he said. Please look at his eyes and facial expression when he said, “now, who's having the rich economy in this country? The Indians and the Chinese. They bully the Malays, that we know... that I know...”. The eyes can't lie. He really meant what he said and he actually believed in what he said. Bear in mind that he is not just another Pak Janggut who sells jagung at the roadside of North-South Highway. He is a Perak Mufti, an influential people in Malaysia, many people will believe in what he says.

When I looked at his eyes, a chill ran through my spine. That was my fear. This kind of people in Malaysia, people who share his opinion, are getting more in number or less? If the answer is “more”, then a time bomb is set for the non-Malays in Malaysia. It's just a matter of time before the non-bumis become a target. Especially so when a crisis hits Malaysia. Judging by what the Mufti has said, when there is nothing else for Malaysians to eat and live, the Chinese and Indians (which are the vulnerable target) will be blamed and definitely be lynched.

I urge you to look at the eyes of the Mufti again. My question is: honestly, which one do you fear more: the eyes of the Mufti or the uncertainties of seeking a future outside Malaysia?

Loneliest Night in Shanghai

Weather: Cloudy
Temperature: 10 c

I was woken up at 8am this morning despite having earned my right to sleep till 10am (I was on duty until almost 1am yesterday so I am allowed to come into office at 11am). Engtee was already dressed in office attire with a travel bag (loaned from Bom) on her hand. Oh, how could I forget: Engtee was going to Nanjing for audit or the Chinese here would say 到南京出差.

I walked her to the door and said good bye. I studied her as she walked to the lift. Not too long ago, this was what she has dreamed of: a laptop on her hand, an executive suit, and a ticket to outstation. She always admired those working ladies who could wear elegantly with high heels and laptop while traveling places for business. She longed for such an opportunity. I remember when our group D.B.D.F (Dreams, Bonds, Directions, Fellowship) was having one session called “building our dreams” i.e. cutting photos from newspaper and paste them on a piece of papers to show our dreams, Engtee cut and pasted a picture of a woman sitting on business class with a laptop on her lap. Now, without realizing it, she is living one of her many dreams.

About 25 minutes after she left the apartment, I received a call from her. It was a distress call: she could not get a taxi! I had no idea how I could help her, so I asked her calm down as there will be taxi soon. Luckily, against all odds, she finally got to the train station on time. She said she will write a blog about this morning adventure. So, stay tuned.

Tonight, will be my first night in Shanghai sleeping like a bachelor. Though I have been living a bachelor’s life for a major part of my life, it is different for me tonight: when I go home later, there will be no one there waiting for me, tomorrow there will be no warm breakfast waiting for me. When you have lived with someone for some time, your lifestyle changes without you knowing it.

Tomorrow I will be going to Beijing for a business trip. I heard Beijing is quite cold now. Since Engtee is not around, I will have to pack the luggage myself. Gosh! I hope I know where we keep the cash and the passport!