Author Archives: wcw

Just say ‘no’ to shark fin soup

But more and more young Malaysians are now saying no to shark fin soup in line with the campaign to prevent the killing of sharks for their fins.

Getting the support of the young is crucial in the campaign because of the massive increase of the middle class in China and other Asian cities.

If the younger set is prepared to say no to shark fin in their menu, it will be a major step forward in the global campaign against shark-finning.

Roping in retired Chinese basketball icon Yao Ming in the fight against eating shark fin in his homeland last September was a major coup.

Together with British tycoon Richard Branson, he then made an appeal against eating shark fin to a group of 30 of China’s richest and most influential business people.

“When demand happens, the buying happens and the killing happens,” Yao, the seven-foot-six-inch-tall (2.29m) former centre who retired in July due to injuries after eight seasons with the Houston Rockets, was quoted as saying.

Yao is now using his post-retirement free time to help campaign against the slaughter of sharks, which is said to involve around 1.5 million sharks a week and is taking some of the species close to extinction.

The event sponsored by the conservation group WildAid is aimed at starting a conservation movement in China “not just to protect the sharks but to protect tigers, and to protect other species that are in peril of extinction,” Branson said.

News reports have quoted anti shark-finning campaigners as saying that fishermen kill more than 70 million sharks each year for their fins, which can sell for US$700 (RM2,175) a pound (450g) while the soup can cost up to US$80 (RM248) a bowl.

It is said that the fins are cut from the sharks and their bodies are discarded, leaving them to die.

Last week, the Shangri-La group declared that its 72 hotels would no longer offer shark fin or other shark products in their menu.

It is not clear whether the order came from Robert Kuok, the Malaysian tycoon who owns the luxury chain of hotels worldwide, many of which are in China.

Its rival, the Peninsula chain of hotels, which also has operations in China, stopped offering shark fin in their premises on Jan 1.

The Shangri-La’s decision is crucial because over 90% of shark fins are consumed in China and countries with huge Chinese population, including Hong Kong and Taiwan.

With an increasingly affluent Chinese population, the demand for shark fins has shot up sharply in recent years. This means more sharks would be hunted for their fins, and that means the population of sharks will disappear much faster than anticipated.

Besides soup, shark fin is also used in some dim sum delicacies, especially in some dumpling wrappings.

Westerners are only familiar with shark fin soup but the product is also widely used in other forms of cooking.

The campaign against eating shark fin involves film and music celebrities but businessmen must also be included as they wield tremendous power. At a practical level, they host dinners almost on a daily basis, especially in China.

They can set an example by taking shark fin soup off the menu for corporate dinners, thus sending a strong message to their staff, clients and even rivals. It is good corporate practice now to stop eating shark fin products.

Politicians should also join in the campaign because this appeals to the young set of voters who are revolted by the practice of shark-finning.

Many hotels and restaurants have also responded positively by offering artificial fins without compromising the taste of the soup.

Customers are happy to pay for the fakes as they feel that the restaurants are ready to meet the changes.

As we usher in the Year of the Dragon, the topic of conversation at the reunion dinner should not just be about political sharks, who need no saving, but of the global campaign to save the real sharks.

Let’s all join the campaign!

The guessing game continues

With March now out of the picture, May and June have suddenly become the talking point. By July, the fasting month would have started and it is most unlikely that polls would be held at that time.

The Dewan Rakyat will begin its 20-day meeting from March 12 and this will be followed by a second meeting from June 11 to June 28 (12 days). The final meeting of 34 days, which includes presentation of the Budget, will be from Sept 24 to Nov 27.

While Barisan Nasional component parties and the Opposition are already at near peak in their preparations, the fact remains that Najib does not really have to go for early polls.

He has all the time in the world. There’s nothing really to stop him from going for a full term, which is April 2013, as some powerful figures in Umno have advocated.

While the political transformations are taking place, the economic changes need to be seen and felt. Announcements alone are insufficient at a time when voters have become cynical towards the establishment.

The High Court decision to acquit Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of the sodomy charge, with the judge citing lack of corroborative evidence in the two-year-long trial, has stunned many from both sides of the political divide. The decision surprised even Anwar himself and Barisan leaders as well.

Najib has said the verdict shows that as chief executive of the country, “I don’t interfere in the judiciary.”

But perception is everything and it would take a bit of time for Malaysians to regain their faith in the judiciary whose image has taken much knocking. To be blunt, its image is badly dented.

For the prosecution, the case was another fiasco. Malaysians are now used to reading about the poor chain of evidence handling, which has seen the prosecution continuously losing many high-profile cases. One may even ask why bother to charge Anwar in the first place if the case, in particular the evidence, is weak.

Our public institutions have come under much scrutiny and rightly so. Still, we must not forget the high standard of integrity that has been kept by the Auditor-General’s Office.

Every Auditor-General who has come to office has kept the faith of Malaysians, pointing out the flaws, excesses and wastefulness of government agencies and ministries. While it’s not corruption in many cases, there were glaring examples of careless spending of taxpayers’ money, something Malaysians would describe as “spending like it’s their grandfather’s money”.

The controversial National Feedlot Corporation issue began with the findings in the A-G’s report and it has snowballed since then.

The police must also be lauded for their sharp improvement in handling public display of dissent. Certainly, the force has learned from the lessons of the Bersih 2.0 rally.

The public will not be convinced when the police say they fired water cannons into Tung Shin Hospital because they were not aware it was a hospital.

The calm and controlled manner in which the police handled several recent demonstrations deserves credit. They are also more prepared now, recording their own videos and releasing information via social media.

In some instances, they have been faster than even the media, as in the case of the Anwar court verdict.

Political reforms can certainly be seen now but Malaysians still need to feel the economic transformation.

KTM commuters who travel between Kuala Lumpur and Negri Sembilan in horrendous conditions want to see extra coaches soon and folks in the Klang Valley want to see the tunneling works for the MRT project to begin.

If anyone tells you he knows the date of the elections, he’s bluffing. Najib has told no one, not even the highest level officials, so carry on guessing.

Lost in translation

Last week, the social media zoomed in on the ministry’s official site which had a page listing out guidelines on “ethical clothing” that have to be adhered to by its staff.

Other interesting examples included “collared shirts and tight Malay civet berbutang three” for “berkolar baju Melayu cekak musang berbutang tiga” and “long-sleeve batik shirt with collar/mongoose fight made in Malaysia” for “Baju batik lengan panjang berkolar/cekak musang buatan Malaysia”.

There was also “shine closed” which was translated from “kasut bertutup”.

Thankfully, the Defence Ministry responded in double quick time – it not only took down the relevant pages but also posted an online clarification promising to make the necessary corrections. Still, time on the Internet moves by the milliseconds so the spread in cyberspace could not be so easily contained.

The ministry adopted the right and honourable approach by not offering any lame excuse or shifting the blame.

This is not the first time lazy and incompetent officials have got us into trouble. If they are not capable enough, they should seek the help of professionals.

Last April, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and his entourage must have laughed their heads off when they saw the words in Chinese printed on the banner backdrop at the welcoming ceremony in Putrajaya.

The words were literally translated from the Bahasa Malaysia sentence, “Istiadat Sambutan Rasmi Sempena Lawatan Rasmi TYT Wen Jiabao Ke Malaysia” (Official welcoming ceremony in conjunction with the official visit of His Excellency Wen Jiabao to Malaysia).

The Chinese translation had so many serious syntax and grammatical errors that the Chinese-literate Malaysian ministers and members of the media could only cringe in embarrassment. Translated literally, it read, “Official welcoming ceremony, with him Wen Jiabao His Excellency’s official visit Malaysia”.

Our officials apologised to Wen Jiabao and this was widely reported in China.

Although Bahasa Malaysia is our official language, it is necessary that all our official websites also have an English version simply because English is the language of the Internet. There are many convenient translation tools on the Internet, such as Google Translate and Yahoo BabelFish, but while these tools claim to be able to translate practically every language on the planet to another, they are not meant to substitute the services of professionals.

I decided to use Google Translate to translate “pakaian yang menjolok mata” and was pleasantly surprised that the English equivalent was “dress scantily”; it was certainly much better than “clothes that poke eye”. But on the more difficult phrases, this tool failed miserably.

What our ministries should do is to engage professionals who are not only competent in English but are able to make their websites attractive. Two ministries – Home, and Women, Family and Community Development – have websites that are regarded as more “innovative and approachable” and they will certainly draw more visitors.

The bigger issue here is that Malaysians have to accept the reality that horrendous English is here to stay. The day our leaders killed English as a medium of instruction and further downgraded the language as a subject in schools was the beginning of its demise.

Teaching hours for the subject have been drastically reduced and a compulsory pass is not even required in our school exams. So how serious can we be about uplifting the standard of English in this country? Worse, many teachers who are teaching English in schools are themselves not fluent in the language. It’s truly a case of the blind leading the blind.

Just yesterday, a retired civil servant, Dr Pola Singh, wrote that in the course of going through the application forms for jobs meant for graduates, he came across numerous instances of local graduates listing down that they have an “honest” degree when they meant an honours degree.

Honest to goodness, this is no laughing matter.

Lofty targets for the New Year

And my resolutions for 2012 are:

> Watch less television – that’s a promise I intend to keep as being a TV news junkie is affecting me. Anyway, there seems to be nothing else on the idiot box these days except news of Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un, Kim Kardashian and Kimora Lee.

I have decided enough is enough after waking up one night in cold sweat from a horrifying dream of me sporting Jong-un’s slicked-back haircut. The only amusing part was when my colleagues saluted and hailed me as “The New Supreme One”.

> Go outdoors more – I intend to exercise more. I know it can be dangerous, even fatal, for anyone over 50 to do something as strenuous as playing badminton. Enough politicians died last year because of the game. They should have just stuck to golfing and goofing off.

I think I will just do more brisk walking. I need a tan anyway. It’s getting spooky in the house because my daughter and her friends seem to think looking pale is the in-thing after watching the Twilight movies. Locked up in their rooms and sleeping at odd hours, even the glow from the computers are turning them into vampires.

> Lose weight – I seriously need to reduce my weight. My doctor has told me to shed off some pounds from my waist, although I think he needs to listen to his own advice. We all know how difficult it is for us to cut down on food in Malaysia.

Maybe, I will just have to move to Africa where there’s a famine, or to Somalia where no one can leave the house unless one has a suicidal tendency. Or perhaps, I should migrate to Australia where the shops close at 5pm, so there’s no chance of having a late night supper.

But since I will stay put, the best option, I guess, is to try to eat like a rabbit by chewing on more greens and less meat. I’m not sure if brewed barley counts as organic food or vegetable, but I hope it will be acceptable.

> Think of better excuses – This one is urgent as I’ve run out of excuses for my office boss and home boss. I need to commit myself to drawing up a fresh list of excuses for being late, forgetful or insensitive.

For a start, I think flash floods can make a good excuse for being late these days. After all, they are the latest phenomenon in KL and it’s better than blaming the “traffic jam” all the time.

> Stop saying “on the way” or “coming” – this is so Malaysian. We haven’t even left the house yet but we are already telling whoever is waiting that “we are on the way”. This has got to stop. Can someone come out with something more original for 2012?

> Spend less time on the Internet – this is tough but I need to get a life. I am sick of reading e-mails from Nigerians claiming to be ill or lost or Zimbabweans with corrupt relatives serving in Robert Mugabe’s government. And I’ve had enough of strangers trying to sell me Viagra online.

Also, 2012 is likely to be election year in Malaysia and we can be sure of being bombarded with political messages that will choke up our system.

> Stop taking pictures of food – I am no longer a teenager, I’ve got to act like a responsible, conservative father and a role model for the family. I may not be on Facebook but I am on Twitter. I should not be competing with my daughter to snap pictures of the food on the table.

Anyway, a plate of char koay teow looks the same everywhere although the taste may vary. As for tweeting my whereabouts, who cares whether I am at a bank or in the toilet.

> Grow old gracefully – I will resist taking any miracle drugs that claim to rid me of my grey hair or eye bags and make my hormones rage so much that I may just end up looking like a pimply adolescent. I also won’t buy steroids that promise to make me look like Chuck Norris or Bruce Willis.

At 51, I know that age is creeping up on me despite people saying the 50s are the new 40s. But I will resist all temptations to change my style, my nose or buy a bungalow at a discount.

Now, that’s a pretty long list of resolutions for the year and I’m not sure if I can keep them. But I hope my readers will support me by adopting at least one of them – resolve to always have a smile on your face.

And to laugh, love and eat more … did I just break a resolution?

Surviving the Christmas hols

This is the part that most of us do not want to talk about – let’s face it, spending a week with family members requires certain survival skills and guidance to make the holiday season a genuinely happy one.

So, here are a few tips that I have come up with in the hope that the next family reunion won’t be a morbid occasion or worse, at the lawyer’s office to sign the divorce papers.

Topping the list is how to show your appreciation for the Christmas gifts by being all smiles. It helps not to set too high an expectation. Remember to say how grateful and happy you are for those non-matching ties and books which you have no particular interest in. Yes, hug your givers and maybe even exclaim how they know you have always wanted those gifts!

Tell them, like how some politicians lie through their teeth, that you are amazed they could read your mind. Believe me, your relatives and friends would never believe it’s not the truth, like those voters who believe everything certain politicians and the Internet tell them.

Did somebody say that’s hypocritical and unacceptable during Christmas, especially when you could be exchanging gifts in church?

I would sheepishly say “yes”, but then, a little white lie won’t hurt. After all, we are a nation of people who swear we do not buy pirated DVDs (and justify this with the fact that such discs carry trailers warning us against buying pirated discs).

And see how we get all fired up, ready for a fight, over some religious issues; yet, corruption seems to be getting worse. How can one be pious and corrupt at the same time?

But most important of all, I’ve found, one should never discuss politics while trying to chew on turkey. It’s bad enough that the meat is tough and you can only guess what goes into all that stuffing. With temperature building up, a bird-brain discourse over a turkey meal can only increase the tension.

The last thing we need during a festive gathering is to spoil a family dinner with a heated debate over some lousy politicians. Please remember that not everyone shares your political beliefs, as much as you may think so. Keep politics out. Red is the preferred colour of Christmas, not yellow, blue or green.

Get to church early so nobody blames each other for failing to get seats. My two-sen piece of advice – there’s no need to act “holier than thou” by asking friends and family members why they only show up in church during Christmas.

Don’t spoil someone’s Christmas as that’s between the person and God. As for pastors, no subtle political messages please. It’s Christmas, for God’s sake.

Beside politics and religion – don’t ask single family members when they are getting married. I know the Chinese population is sliding down to 20% of the country’s population but seriously, it’s none of your business. Worry more about your spouse who could just be getting married another time.

With the church service done, the presents opened and dinner over, it’s almost certain the family will now move over to the sofa in the living room. Here’s where the fight for the remote control is likely to take place.

And my suggestion to avoid spoiling everyone’s post-Christmas dinner is to just settle on watching the giant anacondas, even though it has been repeated on Astro for the 1,001th time.

I bet it will be shown again this Christmas. If not, there’ll probably be some monster fish or giant crocodiles. I know it’s a lose-lose situation but by the time the movie begins, everyone will be bored or sleepy and call it a day anyway. Dispute resolved.

But wait, there’s still the washing up to be done! After telling the Lady Boss at home that her cooking is superb (even though the meal may have been bought), we still have to show how appreciative we are by offering to do the dishes. It’s a no-no to leave it entirely to the Indonesian maid, who will probably cry exploitation or worse, just pack off for home.

The only way you can avoid this task is pretend you are passed out as a result of too much alcohol. But only if Dad has not beaten you to it.

Luckily, Christmas is just a short celebration. There’s the 15-day Chinese New Year celebrations just weeks from now to worry about.

Merry Christmas to all readers celebrating the festival and happy holidays to all Malaysians.

Joy to the world

It is a ritual we go through year after year, especially the husbands. My wife is not telling me what she wants and the last time I checked, I haven’t been able to read her mind.

I am supposed to know what she wants by virtue of the fact that we have been married for 21 years. Of course, it does not help that my memory fades pretty fast as I get older.

Most of us cannot even remember what we had for lunch yesterday, so why should I be blamed if I cannot recall what she likes. Or worse, how we spent our first Christmas together.

Over the next few days, I will however need to be more attentive to hints, so that I can get the right gift. If I foul up, there goes my Saturday nights watching football and guzzling endless bottles of beer. The season isn’t even halfway through and I need to cheer Arsenal on to the top four spots, at least, with the boys. So I had better play smart.

This year, I am roping in our Indonesian maid to be my accomplice, asking what Madam wants for Christmas. I have told her she will be rewarded for her good deed as semua bisa diatur (everything can be arranged).

Then, there is my fickle-minded daughter, a teenager whose most used phrase these days is “bored”. If she has her way, daddy will soon be filing for bankruptcy.

But at least, this one’s easier to handle. I won’t be asking her what she wants for Christmas and she knows it’s pointless or, more accurately, hopeless, telling me because she won’t get it.

For the ladies, it’s so much easier to get gifts for men. We guys just want our tablets, watches, ties, cufflinks, CDs, video games, jackets and shoes. Sure, we like Harley Davidson bikes and those cool leather jackets but that’s stretching our imagination a bit too far. Still, it’s good to fantasise once in a while.

There are some pretty cool gadgets too. I just spotted a pillow with built-in remote control while surfing the Net. You know, half the time, we struggle to search for the remote control (hint hint).

Sometimes, the holiday tension isn’t just about buying the right gifts but also about food. Why must we have turkeys for Christmas? The bird is big and its meat is tough. The only good part for me is when we cook porridge Chinese-style the next day with leftover turkey.

For our Christmas party, Kayu Nasi Kandar is a regular feature and I will not apologise for it. There are no mat sallehs on my guest list and even if there are, they will just have to get used to this Penang-style Christmas party, where turkey is just a side dish.

But my wife and daughter do not want to be associated with this unconventional Christmas dinner. They insist that there must be turkey or at least a roast chicken, pudding, salad and lamb. And all those side greens, which I think are only suitable for rabbits.

It’s an annual tussle of wills. Sometimes I win and sometimes they win. Most times, it’s a compromise, especially when I have successfully cajoled my friends to ask the wife if nasi kandar is on the menu.

Though annoyed, she would politely reply it would be served, they tell me later. For this devilish plot, my friends get to drink my best wine.

When it comes to selecting music for the ambience, I’m glad to say this one’s totally my turf. Besides the 80s retro music, there are the compulsory Christmas songs, including those by Mariah Carey and Kenny G. Of course, 88.9 FM is a must too.

But the most important Christmas present for me is the “gift” of family, relatives and friends. Christmas is about giving and sharing. Without all these, there is no Christmas.

Not forgetting, of course, the tradition of carolling where we sing praises and extol the joys of the season.

Let’s not get ourselves upset over a statement by a low-ranking policeman on the need to apply for police permits for carolling as the country’s top leaders have stated there is no need for such a silly ruling.

Let’s stop this silly political cash-in on a policeman’s statement. Surely the cops wouldn’t want all this paperwork during the holidays.

It’s a season to be merry, so let’s put aside politics for a while and just celebrate the year’s end.

Merry Christmas to all Malaysians, especially readers of this column.

The guessing game continues

With March now out of the picture, May and June have suddenly become the talking point. By July, the fasting month would have started and it is most unlikely that polls would be held at that time.

The Dewan Rakyat will begin its 20-day meeting from March 12 and this will be followed by a second meeting from June 11 to June 28 (12 days). The final meeting of 34 days, which includes presentation of the Budget, will be from Sept 24 to Nov 27.

While Barisan Nasional component parties and the Opposition are already at near peak in their preparations, the fact remains that Najib does not really have to go for early polls.

He has all the time in the world. There’s nothing really to stop him from going for a full term, which is April 2013, as some powerful figures in Umno have advocated.

While the political transformations are taking place, the economic changes need to be seen and felt. Announcements alone are insufficient at a time when voters have become cynical towards the establishment.

The High Court decision to acquit Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of the sodomy charge, with the judge citing lack of corroborative evidence in the two-year-long trial, has stunned many from both sides of the political divide. The decision surprised even Anwar himself and Barisan leaders as well.

Najib has said the verdict shows that as chief executive of the country, “I don’t interfere in the judiciary.”

But perception is everything and it would take a bit of time for Malaysians to regain their faith in the judiciary whose image has taken much knocking. To be blunt, its image is badly dented.

For the prosecution, the case was another fiasco. Malaysians are now used to reading about the poor chain of evidence handling, which has seen the prosecution continuously losing many high-profile cases. One may even ask why bother to charge Anwar in the first place if the case, in particular the evidence, is weak.

Our public institutions have come under much scrutiny and rightly so. Still, we must not forget the high standard of integrity that has been kept by the Auditor-General’s Office.

Every Auditor-General who has come to office has kept the faith of Malaysians, pointing out the flaws, excesses and wastefulness of government agencies and ministries. While it’s not corruption in many cases, there were glaring examples of careless spending of taxpayers’ money, something Malaysians would describe as “spending like it’s their grandfather’s money”.

The controversial National Feedlot Corporation issue began with the findings in the A-G’s report and it has snowballed since then.

The police must also be lauded for their sharp improvement in handling public display of dissent. Certainly, the force has learned from the lessons of the Bersih 2.0 rally.

The public will not be convinced when the police say they fired water cannons into Tung Shin Hospital because they were not aware it was a hospital.

The calm and controlled manner in which the police handled several recent demonstrations deserves credit. They are also more prepared now, recording their own videos and releasing information via social media.

In some instances, they have been faster than even the media, as in the case of the Anwar court verdict.

Political reforms can certainly be seen now but Malaysians still need to feel the economic transformation.

KTM commuters who travel between Kuala Lumpur and Negri Sembilan in horrendous conditions want to see extra coaches soon and folks in the Klang Valley want to see the tunneling works for the MRT project to begin.

If anyone tells you he knows the date of the elections, he’s bluffing. Najib has told no one, not even the highest level officials, so carry on guessing.

Conversations with the Sultan of Selangor

Heart to heart: Wong interviewing Sultan Sharafuddin at his office in Concorde Hotel.

Q: Tuanku, many say the year has rushed past. How has yours been?

A: It has been a stressful year. From day one (starting January) there were issues. There was the controversy surrounding the appointment of the state secretary, followed by the calling for an emergency state assembly sitting. Then, there was the matter with the church and Jais, and also the misuse of mosques to preach politics. The whole year, I did not feel calm. There has been a lot of thinking, a lot of reading and reflecting on how to solve these issues. My main concern is to ensure all races live harmoniously in Selangor. It has been a stormy year indeed. I hope next year will be more peaceful.

Q: What are Tuanku's plans for next year?

A: Well, the general election is expected. I will have no part in that. I do not vote. In fact, I have never voted. Let the rakyat decide whom they want. Next year, I want to publish books four or five of them. They will mostly be coffee table types with many pictures. They will be about the state mosque, old maps, sailing around the world and on the procedures involved for the state awards information such as how many awards are given out each year, in what category and how the awards revoked will be documented. I do not want the rakyat to think that I can just pull back the awards any time, like a threat. There are procedures to follow.

Q: Your royal decision not to involve the courts in the controversy surrounding the operation by the State Islamic Religious Department (Jais) on a thanksgiving dinner held at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church in August reflected your wish for inter-religion harmony?

A: When the news was splashed across the media, I initially assumed it was Jais raiding a church where the congregation was in the midst of prayers. I was very worried about the possibility of a religious clash erupting. I went through May 13 (1969). I had only been Raja Muda for a year-and-a-half at that time and my father (the late Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah) was away. I was shocked and did not know what to do, I was literally just thrown into the deep end. Thankfully, I could communicate with the elders. We thank God we solved the problem quite fast, but we cannot let that happen again. For the Jais issue, after consulting the legal department and religious authorities, I called for no court case to avoid the matter getting dragged on for years without closure. Whatever the judge decides, one party will not be happy. So, I advised the Christians to be sensitive, you follow your religion and similarly we do the same with ours. To Jais, I told them to strictly adhere to procedures and conduct themselves in the right manner. For such situations in the future, I advised them to engage retired police officers with expertise in people skills. We should respect each other's religion. Do not interfere. You pray your way, I pray mine. I am sure God will know.

Q: Tuanku, how do you maintain your position as the Sultan in a state where the opposing sides of the political coalitions are seen as equally strong?

A: It is very difficult. I am neutral but I am accused of being biased. Certain parties also claim my private secretary or the Istana are partial. This hurts me. When my statements point out the ruling state government has erred, some of their supporters claim Barisan Nasional is teaching me. And when I extended help to the state government, that does not mean I am on Pakatan Rakyat's side. I just want to solve problems faced by the rakyat. My decisions are in the interest of the rakyat. History will tell one day.

Q: What advice does Tuanku have for the elected representatives?

A: In my visits to the ground, I am happy when the rakyat tell me they are fine with each other. Sad to say, it's politics that ignite tension. Politicians must not create unnecessary problems in trying to be champions. This has happened too many times. Politicians know what is the right thing to do but some do not care. There is too much politicking at the expense of the rakyat. As the head of Islam in Selangor, it is my wish that politics be kept out of mosques. Many have complained to me about sermons in some mosques. For the first four or five minutes, the talk is about religion, but after that it veers into politics. I have suggested that those who want to gather, go ahead and do it at the stadium. Then, during prayer time, put aside differences and go pray as brothers and sisters in the mosque. But no, they still insist on holding ceramah in mosques. They also want to go to stadiums to gather and later, pray there as well. I feel sad. The stadium is a place for concerts and sports, it is not suitable for prayers. I believe very much that politics and religion cannot mix. Among Muslims, it creates a split. Among other religions, even worse, it can cause clashes.

Q: Tuanku has always been selective when conferring awards. Selangor is known to be strict with its Datukships.

A: The titles must be earned. Only deserving candidates will be selected after a stringent vetting process. No such thing as conferring Datukships on young ones aged 21 or 22. Having said that, I will be honouring 30 people this year, as this year is a special occasion. However, the number of titles given is still below the quota of 40 that I had set previously.

Q: Do the rakyat continue to write letters to Tuanku?

A: Yes, many letters on all kinds of issues. A major recurring theme is the dissatisfaction with some parties using mosques to preach politics. Other matters brought to my attention include complaints about the slow dispense of justice at the syariah courts and land issues. Before this, they wrote without leaving their names. Nowadays, they include their identities and even handphone numbers. One l etter from a lady touched me. She said her divorce hearing at the syariah court had been dragging on for seven years. This is unfair to her because it hinders her chances of remarrying. Judges must use their conscience when making decisions. Also, they should finish hearing cases within a reasonable time. There have been complaints that divorce and distribution of wealth cases in the syariah courts were delayed due to petty reasons. This cannot be allowed to continue.

Q: Tuanku, for your 66th birthday this year, you will unveil a special project that you have worked on for six years. Can you tell us more about it?

A: When the previous government wanted to announce Selangor Maju in 2005, they wanted to build a monument to commemorate the state achieving its developed status. I disagreed. I learnt a lesson from my father's 25th anniversary of reign. They constructed a gigantic steel keris monument in Klang. It is beautiful, but did it serve the rakyat? I told the state leaders if they wanted to, then build the best library in the country. That marked the birth of the Raja Tun Uda library in Shah Alam. It will be a five-storey beautiful structure on a 60-acre piece of land. Many big guns want the land for development, but a library it will be. The concept follows the best libraries in the world. There will be a lot of natural light, a lot of space for every generation the children, the parents, the grandparents. Instead of lingering in supermarkets, come lepak (hang around) here. The library will be open on weekends as well.

Q: It is said that Tuanku will personally donate books to kick-start the collection there. So how is that going?

A: Yes, I will contribute 1,300 books on leadership, military, sports, music, art and business. The delivery of books will be in batches until March because they are slow in coming from the publishers abroad. These are books that will fire the imagination of the people and inspire them. Others who wish to do the same are welcomed. For contributions of books more than RM100,000, a plaque bearing the donor's name will be put up. In return, I urge my rakyat to also share in the love for books. Bring your family to the library, borrow the books, but do take care of the books for the next generation. Do not damage or spoil them.

Q: This birthday is extra special because this year also celebrates Tuanku's 10th year of reign.

A: Nov 22 marked my 10 years as Sultan of Selangor. The other day, I was sitting alone and I started reflecting on what I had done and what I had gone through. There have been many, many challenges to overcome. However, one thing remains the same. I wish to see my rakyat living in harmony and have a better quality of life. There is no point in Selangor becoming a developed state but people cannot live comfortable lives because of friction. I cannot neglect my duty to the rakyat and the state. I have to honour my father's wish. He told me to take care of the state well. The day I cannot fulfil this duty will be the day I step down.

Young people, challenge yourselves

But many unmarried young Malaysian adults, especially among the urban middle class, are now opting to stay with their parents.

They have become a lot smarter. They get to keep their salaries while enjoying the comforts of a proper home and do not have to pay for the utility and household food bills. They also have the maid to take care of their demands, which include washing their cars.

No wonder our kids grumble when they are picked for National Service, which is really just like an outward bound training programme compared with the real McCoy in Singapore. There, they are dressed and treated like real soldiers.

Living such pampered lifestyles, where many seem to have their own cars even when they are still in college, these young adults’ outlook has also changed.

Employers have found that many job entrants snub a RM2,500 starting salary even when they have yet to prove themselves. Some already receive pocket money of about RM1,000 a month and fear losing their allowances from their parents once they start working. For these spoiled kids, it’s just bad mathematics.

Some, I have been told, receive pocket money of at least RM2,000 a month because they maintain a lifestyle that includes having regular sessions at Starbucks and clubs and, of course, raking up bills for the mobile phone and iPad.

So, the result is they can be choosy. This attitude is an issue faced by many employers these days.

We do not need an in-depth survey to know the condition of the job market. A managing director of a media company told me last week that a young applicant refused to accept her job offer because the office was located in Petaling Jaya.

“She said her home was in Cheras and having to wake up early to beat the traffic jam to PJ wasn’t appealing. So she just turned us down,” she said.

Good workers are hard to come by and it does not help that Malaysian employers are not quite prepared to offer competitive salaries, conscious of the fact that this would add to their costs.

Young staff bring in greater energy, freshness and a better outlook but these don’t necessarily come with more passion or loyalty. Young Malaysians today would probably have worked in at least six companies, maybe even more, within a short period.

The good ones know they would be talent scouted or they would simply leave for other jobs that offered better salaries and perks.

This writer has worked for The Star for 27 years, which probably makes me a Jurassic subject here. I have had only one employer and while it may seem strange to many young people, those of my generation would understand.

I travelled around campus on a motorcycle, which was regarded as a privilege then, and I used the same kap cai when I started work in Penang.

Getting my first car, which was the result of some serious saving, was a great achievement. And it was a second-hand car.

The biggest headache for employers today, however, is the inability of many job seekers to speak and write well in English. This is high on the list of minimum requirements.

Recruitment advertisements, whether in print or online, state clearly that English is an absolute essential, but many job seekers cannot pass this first hurdle.

“It has become a norm to hear applicants speaking in Bahasa Malaysia or Mandarin when they call up. You can tell that they cannot even carry out a simple conversation in English,’’ an employer tells me.

But as Malaysian companies look beyond the local market, which is really tiny in comparison to Indonesia, India, China or the Middle East, they would acknowledge that applicants who speak more than just English would be more marketable.

My non-Chinese friends are often annoyed when they read job advertisements specifying Mandarin-speaking candidates. I tell them many Malaysian Chinese from English-medium schools would share their feelings.

“Bananas” like me – yellow outside but white inside – would struggle like my non-Chinese brethren if we were in China because of our language handicap. The reality is that many companies need to do business in China, which has become the world’s most important market. And with Europe on the decline economically, China’s status has become even more powerful.

So there really is nothing discriminatory about those advertisements. A Malay who can speak and write Chinese would probably get the job. There are two Malay reporters in The Star with these skills and they are regarded as gems.

Dubai is also a strategic hub with many multi-national companies setting up their regional headquarters there. Surely, job seekers who speak Arabic would enjoy an advantage there.

The question is how ready are our young adults to learn new skills, including language and even social networking skills, to make them more marketable?

We won’t go far if we continue to whine at the demands of our employers or just prefer to stay within the confines of Daddy’s home.

Go out there and challenge yourselves.

Challenge yourselves

The independence that came with it for young adults was just too irresistible. Living alone or sharing an apartment with friends offered better privacy than staying with the folks, even if it ate into their pay.

But many unmarried young Malaysian adults, especially among the urban middle class, are now opting to stay with their parents.

They have become a lot smarter. They get to keep their salaries while enjoying the comforts of a proper home and do not have to pay for the utility and household food bills. They also have the maid to take care of their demands, which include washing their cars.

No wonder our kids grumble when they are picked for National Service, which is really just like an outward bound training programme compared with the real McCoy in Singapore. There, they are dressed and treated like real soldiers.

Living such pampered lifestyles, where many seem to have their own cars even when they are still in college, these young adults’ outlook has also changed.

Employers have found that many job entrants snub a RM2,500 starting salary even when they have yet to prove themselves. Some already receive pocket money of about RM1,000 a month and fear losing their allowances from their parents once they start working. For these spoiled kids, it’s just bad mathematics.

Some, I have been told, receive pocket money of at least RM2,000 a month because they maintain a lifestyle that includes having regular sessions at Starbucks and clubs and, of course, raking up bills for the mobile phone and iPad.

So, the result is they can be choosy. This attitude is an issue faced by many employers these days.

We do not need an in-depth survey to know the condition of the job market. A managing director of a media company told me last week that a young applicant refused to accept her job offer because the office was located in Petaling Jaya.

“She said her home was in Cheras and having to wake up early to beat the traffic jam to PJ wasn’t appealing. So she just turned us down,” she said.

Good workers are hard to come by and it does not help that Malaysian employers are not quite prepared to offer competitive salaries, conscious of the fact that this would add to their costs.

Young staff bring in greater energy, freshness and a better outlook but these don’t necessarily come with more passion or loyalty. Young Malaysians today would probably have worked in at least six companies, maybe even more, within a short period.

The good ones know they would be talent scouted or they would simply leave for other jobs that offered better salaries and perks.

This writer has worked for The Star for 27 years, which probably makes me a Jurassic subject here. I have had only one employer and while it may seem strange to many young people, those of my generation would understand.

I travelled around campus on a motorcycle, which was regarded as a privilege then, and I used the same kap cai when I started work in Penang.

Getting my first car, which was the result of some serious saving, was a great achievement. And it was a second-hand car.

The biggest headache for employers today, however, is the inability of many job seekers to speak and write well in English. This is high on the list of minimum requirements.

Recruitment advertisements, whether in print or online, state clearly that English is an absolute essential, but many job seekers cannot pass this first hurdle.

“It has become a norm to hear applicants speaking in Bahasa Malaysia or Mandarin when they call up. You can tell that they cannot even carry out a simple conversation in English,’’ an employer tells me.

But as Malaysian companies look beyond the local market, which is really tiny in comparison to Indonesia, India, China or the Middle East, they would acknowledge that applicants who speak more than just English would be more marketable.

My non-Chinese friends are often annoyed when they read job advertisements specifying Mandarin-speaking candidates. I tell them many Malaysian Chinese from English-medium schools would share their feelings.

“Bananas” like me – yellow outside but white inside – would struggle like my non-Chinese brethren if we were in China because of our language handicap. The reality is that many companies need to do business in China, which has become the world’s most important market. And with Europe on the decline economically, China’s status has become even more powerful.

So there really is nothing discriminatory about those advertisements. A Malay who can speak and write Chinese would probably get the job. There are two Malay reporters in The Star with these skills and they are regarded as gems.

Dubai is also a strategic hub with many multi-national companies setting up their regional headquarters there. Surely, job seekers who speak Arabic would enjoy an advantage there.

The question is how ready are our young adults to learn new skills, including language and even social networking skills, to make them more marketable?

We won’t go far if we continue to whine at the demands of our employers or just prefer to stay within the confines of Daddy’s home.

Go out there and challenge yourselves.