Thursday, April 15, 2010

There is an outbreak

I feel ashamed and disgust to work in an institution which has no proper management. I agree that they are still developing and they have time but at what cost? The day I got appointed I was told no politics among the lecturers and noting rude and all. But from the first day I got here, all I see is politics, cronyism, favoritism and nepotism. Just stop there, Sharwin ! What is this ism- ism? Are you saying the people there have some sort of sickness or something? Yeah, very funny. Come to think of it, Yes! It is a sickness and it is happening all around me and my nation. The most pissing thing is that I feel like I too got infected . So what is all this ism-ism I have been babbling just now?

Let’s look at the definition of favoritism. I got this from the net posted by this researcher called Nadler. J from Santa Clara University. Basically favoritism is favoring a person not because he or she is doing the best job but rather because of some extraneous feature-membership in a favored group, personal likes and dislikes, etc. Favoritism can be demonstrated in hiring, honoring, or awarding contracts. A related idea is patronage, giving public service jobs to those who may have helped elect the person who has the power of appointment.

Favoritism has always been a complaint in government service. I do not have a track record of the stats on how far favoritism is bad in my nation but please answer my question. If you all know anyone who works in the public sector, how did they get the job? Please ask they and you will know and I think some of us will be surprised. Let me start, since I am writing about this issue, let me tell you my part of answering the question. I come from a big family. Loads of uncles, aunties and cousins in my family. Some of them work in the public sector. Every one of them did not get their jobs based on their qualifications or skills. All of them got recommendations from someone higher and all sorts of crap. Don’t give me the reason I am trying to bring up the people of my race. I get that a lot when I ask my relations about this matter. Another problem is cronyism.

Cronyism is a more specific form of favoritism, referring to partiality towards friends and associates. Cronyism occurs within an organization when someone does a favor for someone else. It is something like I am helping you because you are a close from of my family. “Sharwin, I am taking you in my institution, you can teach and learn from other seniors. So, Sharwin, how is your father ? I will see him today and will tell him about your appointment. I hope he is happy. “Damn you all, they are happy but clearly I am not."

Nepotism is an even narrower form of favoritism. Coming from the Italian word for nephew, it covers favoritism to members of the family. Both nepotism and cronyism are often at work when political parties recruit candidates for public office. Oh my god, why do I think of Dato Seri Razidah Aziz when I am typing this? Hahahaha. Anyone wants AP? Hey come to think of it, what did happen to the case and till today she did not give any explanation on that issue. Anyone got updates?
What do favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism have to do with ethics?

One of the most basic themes in ethics is fairness. Favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism all interfere with fairness because they give undue advantage to someone who does not necessarily merit this treatment. Favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism also undermine the common good. When someone is granted a position because of connections rather than because he or she has the best credentials and experience, the service that person renders to the public may be inferior. Also, because favoritism is often covert, this practice undercuts the transparency that should be part of governmental hiring and contracting processes.

It becomes a problem when you are trying to be honest, well respected but at the same time you think your family member can be trusted more that some other guy you are going to hire. But even at that situation you trust your family members because they are close to you and frankly speaking it is not fair. Probably the biggest dilemma presented by favoritism is that, under various other names, few people see it as a problem. Connections, networking, family-almost everyone has drawn on these sources of support in job hunting in the private sphere.

So what's the problem?

The first issue is competence. For cabinet level positions, an executive will probably be drawn to experienced, qualified candidates, but historically, the lower down the ladder, the more likely for someone's son-in-law to be slipped into a job for which he is not qualified. Also, the appearance of favoritism weakens morale in government service, not to mention public faith in the integrity of government.
Reasonable people will differ about the appointment of friends and family in high-level positions, but public officials should be aware that such choices can give the appearance of unfairness. Others may restrict the hiring of relatives or friends in more general conflict-of-interest rules.

Public officials should also note that dilemmas involving favoritism extend beyond hiring and contracting practices to the more general problem of influence. Golfing partners, people who come over for Sunday dinner, members of the same club, housing area all are likely to exert a greater influence over an official than a stranger might.

The rich are getting richer by hours and poor people are getting poorer. I can’t find the proper vocab to fit in. Some of us want to change but how serious are we. How can we change when some of us ourselves have been infecting others with the 3 sickness I mentioned above. When are we going to change?

Monday, December 7, 2009

The Triple Global Crises - Finance, Development and Climate: Can we kill three birds with one stone

The Chevening Alumni of Malaysia is delighted to inform you that economics
supremo, *Dr Jomo KS*, will deliver the *Third Chevening 25th Anniversary
Public Lecture*.



Details of the lecture are as follows:

Title: *The Triple Global Crises - Finance, Development and Climate:
Can we kill three birds with one stone?*

*Date*: Wednesday, December 9, 2009

*Time*: 7.45pm - 10.00pm

*Venue*: Auditorium, Securities Commission, 3, Persiaran Bukit Kiara,
Bukit Kiara, 50490 Kuala Lumpur

*Admission*: Free



Additonal details are provided in the attached flyer.



Dr Jomo, who is Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development of the
United Nations, is a brilliant speaker with a huge following in Malaysia.



The Chevening Alumni cordially invites you to attend the lecture.



Due to the expected huge response, we urge you to register early at
info@cheveningalumni.org.my to reserve your place.

Feel free to circulate this invitation and notice to your colleagues and
friends.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Who is the real cow

You did not arrest the 50 'cows' in Shah Alam for humiliating the entire Indian community nor you were there to stop them. All you could saw was "We are sorry". Like that is going to do any good.

You have shown your race tag and your "pussy" attitude by arresting those who held a candlelight vigil against the 50 'cows'. Where is the justice in that ?

Monday, August 17, 2009

Something about "GOD"

WHY DO PEOPLE BELIEVE IN GOD

People believe in God simply because of "faith" and aslo "beliefs". Humans need to place their hopes and beliefs to  someone/something in the higher stat. There is also where in this community others are  reinforcing this belief, and the religious texts. Also add peer pressure- conformity within our social group, and just wanting to believe in order to give life a purpose or meaning

Most of us feel the existence of God is just too big an issue for puny human beings like ourselves to try to decide. After all, we don't have the greatest minds in the world - there are other people more intelligent than we are.

 "My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior Spirit who reveals Himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God." - EINSTEIN


 "The Origin of Species": "There is a grandeur in this view of life with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved." - Darwin

For Darwin, as for Einstein, evolution of an ordered universe was only feasible if some intelligent Mind designed the evolutionary program. But why then don't all the great intellectuals believe in the existence of God? Because other irrational presuppositions interfere with the mind's logical working. Here's the frank confession of the agnostic,

Obviously, another factor besides reason can influence the human mind as it ponders whether there is a God or not - that factor is the will.It becomes shockingly obvious that, if we conclude there is a God, we are logically bound to submit the control of our lives to His will, and most of us do not want to do that.

So, it is fair to note that intellectual giants of our era have come to the conclusion that there is a Supreme Being, and that emotional and volitional implications of the conclusion have prejudiced some of the intellectuals who deny the existence of a God.

WHY IS THERE ORDER AND DESIGN IN THE UNIVERSE?

Why is this belief in the existence of a Supreme Being who created the universe so general and natural in mankind? Because human beings, whether they are intellectuals like Einstein or primitive tribesmen, all have the same response when they see an object like a mountain or a planet - they immediately wonder: "Who put it there?" Indeed, they have to be brainwashed or taught not to ask that question. Otherwise, their minds will operate with the same kind of simple cause-and-effect reasoning that they use in everyday-life situations. In other words, people believe that the existence of a Creator is the most likely and most probable explanation for the existence of the universe.

 They are simple hypotheses of how something might have exploded once there was something to explode, or how spontaneous generation might have taken place once there was a substance to decompose, or how something might have evolved once there was something to evolve from, but none of these theories removes the need to answer the basic question: "Who or what is the original, first cause of the universe?"

IS GOD "IT" , "HE" OR "SHE" ?

But why do we even consider asking "Who" instead of simply "What"? In other words, the order and design of the universe look like the product of a mind that is not only intelligent, but personal. Can an inanimate object like a stone make an animate object like a flower? Can a dog make a man? Can an impersonal elan' vital make three-and -a-half billion persons, each one different, with minds and emotions that we still cannot reproduce with all our technology? If you find a watch while walking along the beach, you conclude there must be a watchmaker - someone who understands the intricacies and fine tolerances necessary to design a watch. Similarly, when you perceive the complex attitudes and responses of the various personalities around you, you naturally conclude that the Creator that made us must be at least as personal as we are. Thus, there are certain clues in the order and design of the universe that suggest the strong probability that there is a Creator who is a person.

 HOW ABOUT HEAVEN ?

I am going to raise a final question regarding God. If you believe in God then you presumably believe in heaven. Here is the question based on the belief that only good people go to heaven, as per the  religious texts. Would someone born with a brain tumour that eventually caused them to become insane and commit murder be allowed into heaven.? If not, why not? They didn't chose to have a brain tumour. At what stage of development do we 'qualify' for judgment. At birth, before we have actually done anything? At one year of age or 22 weeks in the womb? Define 'bad'. It's all a bit arbitrary isn't it. Heaven is something that I just can not accept as a sensible concept.

WHAT ABOUT ME ?

There are times when can't help to have a little faith and hopes in order to get something in return. I’m not sure if the things I believe are true or even false. But most of the time I do believe and have respect for god, not only my religion but also others. If I was to look at the Quran, Bible and the Vedas to learn what are the teachings I am sure that I would find similar teachings. Ultimately, every religion teaches their believers to have MORAL. Unfortunately, humans tend to argue about other religion and have given many reasons for the separation in religion and beliefs but to me it is ONE.



Sunday, July 5, 2009

Which one would be mine






Last week I was filling up fuel on the highway to Petaling Jaya and I saw a lamborghini.  I didnt bother to stare at the car cause I have been seeing lamborghini alot lately. Its like in a week I would see it and thats cause there is one near the place I stay. Hahaha. But what attracted me abt this car was the driver. He looked really young.I think he was nearly my age cause his voice was like a kid and he was short and face was rather young looking. He pull over to fill up fuel and thats how I got the chance to look at him. Since that day, I  started to think about the car I am going to get. I cant be getting it now cause I am still studying. Hopefully after 2 years working, I can get a car with my OWN money.

When I used to talk to my friends, they had a rough idea of what car they are going to get. When they were to ask me, I could not give them a right answer, I cant be saying I want a ferrari or a lambo cause those cars are just too expensive for me. I have to think of the budget and what car I would want to drive everyday. I have these 5 car on my mind which I think I can afford.  

1) Nissan Skyline R34

2)Nissan Skyline R33

3)Mitsubishi Evolution 9

4)Mitsubishi Evolution 8 MR edition

5)Mazda RX-8 (2009)


Monday, June 22, 2009

Internal Security Act !


I think the ISA should be in Malaysia. What is wrong with it? I don’t see anything wrong in having the act. The security act is just being misused by the government; you people are going after the wrong thing. Even without ISA there are many loop holes where certain politician will use other force to get what they want. Think rationally before doing something! Because of you "smart" people we others have to go with the flow even if we don’t really want to.

I do understand why you all want to get rid of the act, but to me I don’t think wanting to abolish it will do any good but it will make things worse. Be prepared to see more deaths under police custody and be prepared to get more missing people. All this could happen. I think its about time to think more rationally before doing something.



Thursday, June 11, 2009

Quality of Language

Here we go again on having a say students do not need to pass their English papers in school exams. Arguments given saying English is not a compulsory subject to pass. I have to disagree. I know people love to speak in their mother tongue, don't say no, but try to digest this.

How many ppl in the world is familiar with ur mother tongue? How far can u go by talking and learning in ur mother tongue?

Not too far. If you are Malay, u probably may survive in Indonesia unless u speak Arabic languages. Chinese people, I have no idea, but I know China people hate you speaking mandarin or as matter of fact any other dialect, Taiwan perhaps, Hong Kong maybe. As for Indians, India is the only place where they can communicate with their mother tongue.

School is the beginning where a child learns language and knows how to use the language for other subjects. The proper foundation of language learning is very important as later on student are the next generation leaders of this nation.

If they can’t even pass a English paper in the school level, how do we expect them to be able to use the language to communicate with other country leaders or as matter of fact doing business with others. Like it or not English has been a very useful language and has evolved a lot. English is widely spoken. 

I hate to say this but in Malaysia people are racist because they tend to think for themselves and for their own kind. They are willing to destroy the future of the students who have the possibility to lead the nation, then to make them better by learning and excel in English.

This is similar to the teaching of Math’s and Science in English, claiming that it should be stopped and teach it back in Malay. Once again, destroying the future of the nation but will be claiming that we will do whatever it takes to make our nation’s future leaders(students) excel in studies. 

Why say that? After all, changing it back would only make things worse. Well, Ego people and racist people are just saying BM is our language, BM is our blood. It’s a trend now for certain groups to use race and religion to gain support to go against something. These groups are made out of stupid and ignorance people and they live in their own cubical where everything is about them. There must not be room for other.

I really hope that the teaching of Math’s and Science stays on as it is be progress to having a better nation where students will be better in speaking and thinking. I just don’t get it on why BM,BM,BM .

Does Harvard use BM to teach Actuarial Science? I don’t think so. UITM uses BM to teach engineering students. I dont know now but back a few years it was in BM. Information technology courses was also in BM. How do they want to get a job and get higher education if they don’t understand in English? U tells me, Would u have ur son/daughter to learn in UITM and get a job locally or would u prefer them to get a quality education which uses International language?