Article: Sibu voters roar, BN whimpers

They were not against 1Malaysia or the Prime Minister. In fact he was a favorite of Sibuans. It was not the federal government (in general) that they did not favour, the state authority  and specifically its head, Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud. This was a feeling strongly held among voters, both in urban Sibu and rural Sibu.

Full Article: Sibu voters roar, BN whimpers.

Change is coming to Malaysia

I normally don’t want to talk about politics on this blog and reserve it for my articles at FreeMalaysiaToday.net, but I can’t help in commenting about the Sibu by-election and the slim win by the opposition party, DAP.

I got a text message at 9.30pm, yesterday evening, that DAP was leading. I had known since 1.30pm that they were in the lead after the rural votes were tallied. With my friend’s text at 9.30pm, I knew then that a half miracle had happened. The opposition DAP had won in a city which, for all it seems, was going in favor to the ruling government – Barisan Nasional (National Front).

And as expected, not much is commented about this win in the main-stream media. A small mentioned in The Star Online and a whisper in The New Straits Times. After a week of lop-sided coverage, news of the results going against the establishment is relegated to obituary status. This is the mind-set of news-reporting in Malaysia. News reports should always polish up the standings of the current government.

I’m in a way, happy for the results of the Sibu by-election. It shows that the Malaysian public is waking up and deciding for themselves who they want in parliament.

Free Malaysia Today Article: Money talks when Sibu votes

Though modern democracy gives the say to the majority, as stated by a prominent politician, in reality only a small number of parliamentarians have a say on how to govern, administer and shepherd close to 27 million Malaysians. The voice of the majority has, in effect, been drowned out by the minority who sit in the Dewan Rakyat and often argue every which way over nothing.

Article: Money Talks When Sibu Votes.

My first commentary concerning an up-coming by-election.

Motivation to work, it’s not about the money

I learnt something new today while reading through Lifehacker.com. After reading the below article, I have started to evaluate what has been keeping me doing the same job for the pass 11 years.

At a high level, SDT makes a simple claim:

“To be happy, your work must fulfill three universal psychological needs: autonomy,competence, and relatedness.”

In more detail…

• Autonomy refers to control over how you fill your time. As Deci puts it, if you have a high degree of autonomy, then “you endorse [your] actions at the highest level of reflection.”
• Competence refers to mastering unambiguously useful things. As the psychologist Robert White opines, in the wonderfully formal speak of the 1950s academic, humans have a “propensity to have an effect on the environment as well as to attain valued outcomes within it.”
• Relatedness refers to a feeling of connection to others. As Deci pithily summarizes: “to love and care, and to be loved and cared for.”

Article:Beyond Passion: The Science of Loving What You Do

Only when I shift into my writing mode do I truly feel the presence of the three factors above. Does this mean I should consider quitting the job I am doing now to fully pursue a life of writing? I am really not sure, but it would really give me the chance to be autonomous. Yet, in Malaysia being a full-time writer does not pay the bills. It’s really a bummer.

I really do not want to be caught in the rut where I work for the money. Instead, I want to enjoy doing something that fires me up, which pays me well for that passion and allows me to be content with who I am (work-wise).

What motivates you to do your work?

Short Story : The Silent Whisper

The Silent Whisper
by Maclean Patrick

The heat woke him up. It was 3 in the morning, not a good time to wake up for it will take him close to forever to go back to sleep. In this heat, it was better he stayed awake until dawn. But staying awake was not something he looked forward to.

Sitting up, he looked out the window. The city lights glowed in the horizon. There was still life at this hour, still people going about their business within the graveyard hour.

Midnight did not scare him. But 3am did.

It was the hour the Whispers came out. And as he wiped the sweat from his brow, he heard a whisper.

“Awake. You’re awake.”

He cup his hands over his ears. Closed his eyes and asked the heavens to spare him from the pain of entertaining this unwelcome visitor.

“No point hiding. You can hear me,” she said, her breath; cold against the back of his ear. “Do you have an answer for me?”

He bent over, head touching his knees as he sat; rocking slowly on his mattress.

“Go away,” he managed a weak protest.

“What is your answer?”

“Go away.”

“Answer me..”

“Go away.”

“You PROMISED me an answer tonight,” her chilly lips hovering closely over his fore-head.

She was bolder now. Invading what little private space he had left in his personal bubble. More demanding, more forceful in her request and she was not one to take “No” for an answer. Yet, tonight he had, had enough.

“No,” he finally spoke up.

“What?”

“No,” he lowered his trembling hands, his eyes still close. “My answer is no.”

“Don’t you want release?”

“Yes, but not like this.”

“Just take my offer.”

He shook his head from side to side as his rocking continued. He could feel her, just in front of him, watching him move, waiting for his reply.

“Yes, I am hurting. And everyday is another day of heart-ache and misery. And I’m barely coping from breath to breath. But dum spiro, spero. I’m still breathing, I’m still hoping. If you take me, it will not be like this. I’ll let destiny take me, fate set the clock. Sorry, but you just have to wait.”

There was a silent whisper. A word spoken, yet unheard. He felt her breath as she mouthed a phrase that went pass him and then she was no more. Gone into the night and he knew he was alone, again, in the room.

He cried.

It was 3am, the darkest time of the night and the silent form was returning empty-handed. Her colleagues had more luck. Returning with the Damned. Returning with those whom had replied, “Yes.” They lifted the wretched souls like ragged dolls, jeering at her for she had nothing in hand. She snarled back at them, “I’ll have him. It’s just a matter of time. He’ll break and I’ll bring him back with me. Death always wins in the end.”

Free Malaysia Today Article: The old war cannon: a tale of love and honour

I commented on the need for our leaders to put civic duty above all other things while in office.

This is a tale I would be honoured to help to write. A tale of love, honour and family wrought by an object forged for war and destruction. A tale for our times, that Malaysians must turn our instruments of conflict into weapons of peace and solidarity.

Full article: The old war cannon: a tale of love and honour.

Young Writer’s Project: I Have A Bone Tumor

I Have A Bone Tumor
by Fatin Nurizzati Bt. Faisal

Pain. What is pain?

Can anyone describe pain? No!! Nobody can fully describe it. Sometimes, it can be described. But sometimes it just can’t.

Do you want to know why?

Pain can only be felt by the person who has physically experienced it. Can you imagine the pain of those who suffer from cancer, tumor, or whatever other disease that exists in this world?

This is my story, I have bone tumor.

At first, I never thought I would have bone tumor.

It all started when I was 13 years old. Initially, I was an active person. I was engrossed in sports. I was also very good in traditional dances and was a school dancer.

One day, at my school’s open day, I participated in one of the sports. As I approached the finish line, I fell down and as a consequence, my left ankle was injured. When I reached home, my mother put some medicated oil on it but to no avail, my ankle became more swollen.

Article on FreeMalaysiaToday – The Arrogance of hard work

Another one of my articles got published on the news portal. These guys are doing their bit in allowing an avenue for the normal Malaysian to voice their opinions on a larger scale. A scale that is not censored by the government. Well, here’s my take on the governments habit of giving out hand-outs to Malaysians, that have in fact made us rather lazy people : The Arrogance of Hard Work.

Let’s all be Malaysian instead

An article I wrote got accepted at Free Malaysia Today News portal. It’s a take on the current arguments in parliament over the 1Malaysia slogan. Apparently, our politicians are too busy arguing over petty things then to bother about the bigger issues affecting Malaysia. It has been like that for the pass three years.

Sometimes, politicians should remember where they came from and who put them where they are now.

The Bicycle book cover

The book should be out this week (Christmas week) and priced at RM12 for Peninsula Malaysia and RM15 for Sabah & Sarawak . I love the simplicity of the cover.