Instead, we are comfortable putting up buntings and
banners with printed bunga raya, along with Jalur Gemilang, at official
functions. You won't find it being used as bouquets at important gatherings.
That's the respect we accord our national flower these days.

I decided to talk about this because a friend who
returned from Mexico
told me how he was taken by a tour guide to "see our beautiful and beloved
national flower".

The guide, who spoke with great pride, said it was
something he must see. On arrival at the destination, my friend saw rows and
rows of the striking and beautiful hibiscus in red and yellow.

The same sentiment takes place if you visit Hawaii.
Known as the pua aloalo in the Hawaiian language, the locals will speak proudly
of their official state flower that is always used in illima leis (garlands)
presented to visitors.

At the Royal Botanic Gardens in London,
one can find the hibiscus flower, in different varieties, being displayed at
its Palm House with detailed explanations for visitors.

If you travel to Jamaica
or Mexico,
chances are you would be offered a hibiscus-flavoured soda and that they will
tell you the hibiscus drink is good for your liver or blood pressure.

Scientists who boiled the flowers and filtered the
solution to obtain concentrated hibiscus extract have found that it can help
reduce triglycerides or bad cholesterol levels in the blood.

The flower is also taken seriously in several parts of Australia,
especially Brisbane, where the city
council reportedly imported these plants from India
for landscaping.

According status to the bunga raya is one thing. The
trouble is we have not used the plant to our commercial advantage. The roselle
drink, made from hibiscus extract, should be the preferred drink for foreign
hotel guests arriving in Malaysia
instead of some strange concoction.

On this point, not many Malaysians are even aware that
the roselle drink is made from this flower.

The bunga raya should also be the flower that greets
these guests in their rooms instead of other foreign flowers. If we impose
these requirements on our hotels, it would be a boost to our flower growers,
especially those in the rural areas.

In fact, we should go a step further. There should be a
garden where tourists can find hibiscus of all varieties – it is not too
far-fetched because the hibiscus is a tropical plant.

Originating in Asia and the Pacific
islands, the plant has been found even in cooler places like China.
In the United States,
it is found in abundance in Florida,
besides Hawaii, where the
American Hibiscus Society is based.

In colder parts of the US,
efforts have been made to grow the tropical hibiscus in heated greenhouses to
enable the public to see these plants.

In Malaysia,
we do not bother to give the flower a second look because it can be found in
our backyard in rural areas. However, in the urban centres of Kuala
Lumpur, Penang or Johor Baru,
no one can be sure where you can find the plant.

We are obsessed with trends. Hotels and homes are turning
any available land into Balinese gardens. At one time, we busied ourselves with
Japanese gardens or the bonsai craze.

Then we decided to line our roads with expensive imported
palm trees from Africa because someone, presumably, saw
them in an affluent part of California.
The palm trees look nice but they have been planted at the expense of our
national flower.

The bunga raya plant may be too scrubby and small for our
roads, but surely they can be planted at government offices if we wish to show
our foreign guests our national flower.

I may not be into flowers or floral arrangement but, like
many fellow Malaysians, I get uptight when people take this country and its
beautiful things for granted.

Telecom operators, universities, fast-food operators,
shopping malls and private companies are investing in hotspots to enable PDA
users with Wifi and Bluetooth (wireless connections) to remain online.

Even our police have started using PDAs on a trial basis
to access data. I am told that at least 1,000 PDAs are being used by
enforcement agencies for surveillance. That's Information Technology for
Malaysians.

But not everything is that rosy. PDA users are grumbling,
mostly in cyberspace, about an absurd decision by the Customs Department to
impose a 10% sales tax on PDAs with wireless connectivity built-in. In short,
it will cost Malaysian consumers up to RM300 more for each PDA.

You can get them cheaper by crossing over to Singapore
and helping the businessmen in Orchard Road.

If you are an honest bloke, you can follow the rules and
declare the newly purchased PDA at the Malaysian Customs on returning home. But
since the device is so small, you can just walk past the officer.

Unless the officer does a body search, there is no way he
can detect the device.

If your PDA is flawed, you need only go to a Malaysian
distributor to get it repaired for free – at the expense of the local
distributor.

For the rest of us who buy these devices in Malaysia,
we would have to pay more.

That's how baffling the situation has become – all
because someone at the Customs Department is unsure whether the wireless PDA is
a computer, a mobile telephone or a media player.

The impact is immediate: the consumer pays more, the
local distributor earns less, Malaysia
loses its shopping status, and profit-oriented traders take the opportunity to
sell parallel or "underwater" imports.

The IT world is changing so fast that many prefer to talk
about the convergence of IT and embracing it instead of wasting time trying to
draw a line to differentiate between computer equipment and telecommunications
devices.

Why impose the sales tax? IT equipment, whether they be
PDA or notebook, should be made cheaper if we wish to make more Malaysians
computer literate. Price is a major factor in the buying of computer equipment.

The Customs Department decision runs contrary to what has
been said by their boss – Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi – that the entry point for Malaysians to adopt ICT must
be lowered as a way to bridge the "digital divide", especially the
socio-economic gap between those with access to ICT and those without.

Speaking at the 8th annual meeting of the Multimedia
Super Corridor's International Advisory Panel in Cyberjaya in September, he
said ICT should not be elitist but should touch the lives of every individual.

In a nutshell, IT is for all and it should be made
affordable. Imposing taxes is surely one way to kill enthusiasm and
affordability.

This is not the first time the Customs Department has
reacted strangely. In 1999, it slapped a 10% sales tax on palm computers,
saying they were electronic organisers and therefore not eligible for the 1996
tax abolition on computers. When it was pointed out that IBM Corp's Workload
had the same operating system and features, the tax was lifted the following
year.

PDA users believe that Customs officials could possibly
be misguided by the decision to impose tax because of their failure to grasp IT
development. After all, wireless connectivity was already available in other
devices such as notebooks and projectors that are not taxed.

Another possibility is that the Customs Department wants
to increase revenue but taxing IT devices certainly runs against government
efforts to promote IT.

If it's all about increasing revenue, then it should
focus on expensive imported cigars, branded goods, golf apparel, horse-riding
gear, luxury cars and cosmetics.

As a PDA user, I urge the Prime Minister and Second
Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop to please review the decision of
the Customs Department.

It may hurt but the fact is that the state lost its
competitive edge long ago. It's not news any more but what is sad is that there
appears to be a state of denial and indifference on the part of the state
leadership.

The decay in Georgetown,
especially the inner city, is sad. Just count the number of shops along Penang
Road and Campbell Street,
once bustling areas, that have been forced to close.

The degradation of beach and environmental conditions at
its numerous tourist spots such as Penang Hill, Botanical Garden and Ferringhi
Beach has not helped either.

I see little point in anyone, especially politicians or
those in the tourism trade, pointing their fingers or being defensive because
the damage has been done.

It's better for the Penang leaders
to put on their thinking caps and come out with an innovative and creative
marketing approach to sell Penang as a popular
destination.

Last week, it was reported that tourists were bypassing
the state for more attractive destinations in the country and overseas.
According to the island's Tourism Action Council statistics, tourist arrivals,
both domestic and foreign, had been on the decline in recent years.

There were 3.78 million arrivals in 2000, compared to
3.03 million last year. In contrast, tourist arrivals in the country – except
last year – had been increasing.

There will always be disputes over statistics. The
officials will say their numbers are right, to justify and protect their
positions, while the operators will say they are on the ground and would know
better. Figures, they argue, can be manipulated and there would even be double
counting by officials to make themselves look good.

State Tourism Development Committee and Environment
committee chairman Teng Chang Yeow said the overall number of tourist arrivals
increased this year, compared with last year.

But another newspaper reported earlier, quoting a travel
writer, that Penang had disappeared from the radar
screen of the international hospitality and tourism investment scene.

"It's one of those insidious things that creep up on you
and even before you know it, it's happened and you don't even know when it took
root," Yeoh Siew Hoon wrote.

She related that she was attending the recent Hotel
Investment Conference Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong, the biggest annual gathering
of hotel investors and developers in the region, when "it suddenly dawned upon
me that Penang no longer figured in anyone's discussions, whether in conference
sessions or during coffee breaks".

Adding to the depressive scene is the closure of the
31-year-old Shangri-La Rasa Sayang Resort for a RM70mil redevelopment. Regarded
as the state's premier resort, it will only re-open some time in 2006.

Teng has responded to the tour operators' call for new
tourism products by naming new attractions such as the Islamic Museum, Peranakan
Museum, Penang
War Museum
and the Tropical Spice
Garden. Come on, the state cannot
be serious.

Teng surely cannot expect tourists to come in hordes to
look at these museums which other states already offer, such as Malacca and Kuala
Lumpur's Islamic Arts Museum.

Surely we can be more ambitious and more imaginative.
There has to be a strong political and financial commitment from our leaders to
put Penang in the limelight again.

Teng is right in saying that instead of blaming the
government for the drop in tourist arrivals, the tourism industry should
cooperate with the state to face this challenge together.

Penangites are parochial and passionately proud of their
state, like I am, and they would chide Teng, a Johorean, for not knowing Penang
as much as they do since they were born and bred there but an outsider's
perspective can bring fresh ideas and impetus, too.

The state should consider setting up an advisory council
of prominent Penangites from various industries, both living in Malaysia
and outside, to come out with a comprehensive plan.

These Penangites, with their extensive business, social
and political contacts, can form a powerful network to help revitalise Penang.
These people, having no agenda except their deep sense of belonging to Penang,
would serve as a good promotional tool for the state.

Whether the state leadership wishes to adopt their ideas
is essentially up to the state but Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon
should help pump the adrenaline of these Penangites.

The state leaders must seriously decide what kind of
identity Penang wishes to project. If it still wants Penang
to spell warm seas, golden beaches, lush greenery and delicious food, then the
money must be spent to keep it that way.

If Penang still wants to sell its
quaint old buildings, with its exotic mix of various cultures, sights and
sounds, then the state should not let the heritage homes decay and crumble.

If it wants to keep the island as a natural scenic
splendour, as one website tries to project Penang to
tourists, then the state must be more committed to keeping Penang
clean.

But there has to be new tourism products, as the tour
operators have pointed out. Penang seriously needs a
huge aquarium, in sync with its reputation as a sea state, that can match the
likes of those in Osaka, Shanghai
and Brisbane.

Penang can do with a bird park that is larger than the
one in Jurong and surely it is time we have a truly reptile park of
international standard, now that you can count with your two hands the number
of snakes in the Snake Temple.

The Botanical Garden, for example, needs a spruce-up.
There could even be a section where the many varieties of the pinang tree can
be planted, which the state is named after.

If silk is identified with Thailand
and cheongsam with Chinese cities, then Penang must be
made the home of batik and kebaya, synonymous with its peranakan heritage
image. It must be the place where tourists can come and buy these beautiful
fabrics and clothes.

But most of all, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi, an anak Pulau Pinang, may want to consider restoring Penang's
free port status. Penang needs all the help it can get to
make the pearl shine again.

In both cases, they were not angry that their maids had
quit on them as they had every right to do so but the lies that were thrown at
them in their attempt to cover up their weaknesses.

Often, we read of maids who claimed they had been
mistreated by employers but let's not forget that bosses, too, have their share
of pain. The only difference is that there are no non-government organisations
to take their problems to the press.

But there has been an increase in the number of
grievances against maids, especially those from Indonesia,
over the past few months, supposedly because their quality has dropped.

It's a case of Malaysian employers getting monkeys
because we are paying peanuts, according to the Malaysian National Association
of Private Employment Agencies.

Last week, its president Datuk Baharom Abdul Ghani said
better-trained maids were going to places such as Hong
Kong, Taiwan
and Singapore
because they were better paid there with wages of between RM700 and RM1,000.

Malaysia,
he said, had become the last option for maids because of the low monthly wages,
adding that the RM350 to RM380 that was currently paid by Malaysian employers
worked out to about RM10 a day.

These maids, he added, also complained that Malaysians
had bigger houses to be looked after for small money while in places like Hong
Kong, Taiwan
and Singapore,
they cleaned small houses for bigger money.

While there are valid points to these arguments, maids
must also realise that they encounter less cultural shock working in Malaysia
and that most employers here are likely to be religiously and culturally
sensitive to their needs, unlike those in other foreign places.

These maids also have less language and cultural barriers
to contend with in Malaysia.
The travelling distance between Indonesia
and Malaysia is
also much shorter in comparison to the other countries.

But the number of high-profile cases involving maids has
made many Malaysian employers take a second look at whether having a stranger
in the house is a good option after all.

Last week, a 22-year-old Indonesian maid was sentenced to
death for killing her employer after a spat over burnt curry. The High Court
threw out her defence of insanity, saying she knew exactly what she was doing
three years ago when she attacked Soon Lay Chuan with a mortar pestle.

On Thursday, it was reported that a three-month-old baby
nearly suffocated from the mittens stuffed in her mouth and bedclothes piled on
her, allegedly by a maid. A medical report revealed that a high amount of
anti-seizure drug was found in the baby's stomach.

On Oct 26, there was a letter from a reader in a
newspaper about a psycho who appeared caring and hardworking to the working
couple until they installed a video camera in the house.

They saw, to their shock, her kissing their baby so many
times on the mouth and putting her finger into the two-month-old baby's mouth.
She was apparently giving her saliva in the mistaken belief that the baby would
obey her.

When the couple confronted her, the maid denied
everything but confessed when she was shown the video recording.

As my colleagues discussed these incidents on the
editorial floor, a colleague revealed a theft involving a maid who was about to
leave for home in Indonesia.

Small sums of money and branded clothes had been missing
from the house but nobody thought that their well-behaved and seemingly
responsible maid could be the culprit. They thought it was due to their
carelessness.

But on the day of her departure, the maid agency advised
the family members to do a body search. There was much reluctance, with some
members debating about her human rights and honour.

In the end, the agency's representative did the dirty
job, so to speak, and found her wearing five expensive panties belonging to a
family member and stuffed inside her sanitary pad were gold items such as rings
and gold rings.

My brother decided to stop engaging maids recently when
his two children left for overseas for their tertiary education. Although he
has a huge house, he has decided to do the cleaning himself.

I have heard countless agony stories from him about
maids, including one strange maid who only ate instant noodles and nothing
else. Another employer, it was reported recently, brought her case to the small
claims court when she found that her maid refused to take baths.

But there are, of course, heart-warming cases about good
maids. One colleague is paying her Filipino maid of 11 years more than RM1,000
a month because she has been good.

Another friend even took her maid on family holidays
overseas and even lets her drive the Mercedes Benz because they trust her. She
is like a family member and her employers only have good things to say about
her.

I have taken an interest in this issue because I am
contemplating engaging a maid but I am taking my time to listen to the merits
and demerits of becoming a household employer.

Not forgetting the same "favourite singers" at almost
every dinner. They must have profited quite a bit from being branded as Dr
Mahathir's choice singers for 22 years. One actually ended up getting a Datuk
award.

To get the facts right for sure this time, The Star
called up Nori, the daughter of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, to find out
what he truly likes. She liked the idea and, in fact, followed the little
contest that we ran with great enthusiasm.

Despite having covered the Prime Minister for almost two
decades, sometimes with glimpses into his private moments, the contest was
still a learning experience. For the 6,000 over people who took part, it must
have been fun, too.

I am sure it was not the prizes that the readers wanted
to win. I am sure Malaysians wanted to interact with their Prime Minister, who
has struck a chord since he took over the leadership.

From the overwhelming response, it was also clear
that they wanted to know Abdullah the person, a hugely popular figure. One
reader called up and demanded that the contest be extended because "we are
talking about our Pak Lah, you know".

But how the readers marked the multiple-choice answers
provided showed they still have much to learn about their prime minister. Some
of it was probably wishful thinking and some preconceived notions of his
personality.

Many participants put nasi kandar as Pak Lah's favourite,
presumably because he is a Penangite. I am guilty in some ways, too, because I
have written a few times about the dish being served at his gatherings.

Even I was floored when Nori said that nasi kandar was
not Pak Lah's favourite. I know for a fact that his friends have always
introduced nasi kandar shops, which they claimed to be the best, to his family.

It has now dawned on me that if he insisted that nasi
kandar be served during media functions it is because he knows that many of his
journalist friends love the spicy Penang dish.

Nasi lemak is also certainly not on his menu because he
has become health conscious over the years, watching the kind of food that he
eats. Nasi lemak may be an all-time Malaysian favourite but not for Pak Lah.

Most readers got his favourite colour right though. He
likes blue but his favourite destination is not New
Zealand. The majority of participants
thought it was the best place for him to rest.

After going through the entries, I decided to book a trip
to New Zealand.
There must be something about the place that I do not know about. Japan
is Pak Lah's number one choice, maybe because his mother-in-law is Japanese.

But the best part is that most Malaysians, at least those
who took part in the contest, think that Pak Lah loves watching The Godfather,
a movie about the Italian mafia.

Perhaps they think he fits the image of a tough guy even
though some consider him too nice a person.

The stereotyping continues with many readers assuming
that Bobby, a Hindustani movie, would be his favourite movie. Actually, it's My
Fair Lady. Like Dr Mahathir, he likes old movies, too.

There are other favourites of Pak Lah – he enjoys
collecting walking sticks and his favourite sport is golf, no surprises for
this one. We left this out of the contest because many Malaysians would know
this.

As much as Malaysians enjoy this triviality, they would
be glad to know that Pak Lah himself has enjoyed the contest just as much. Told
about the answers that readers could choose from, he laughed.

It has certainly been a good first year for him. As the
year comes to an end, most of us would have planned our holidays but the next
two months would be a packed one for him.

On his schedule are trips to South America,
the Caribbean and West Asia. Perhaps
Pak Lah may want to consider New Zealand
for a holiday with his family.

In short, if a person has not put in the years of work to
earn his academic title, he does not deserve to use it. It is appalling when a
businessman who did not even complete his secondary education hands out name
cards with "Dr" in front of his name.

A degree should reflect the person's level of education
and training, not his purchasing power and certainly not for prestige purposes.

The blatant buying of academic degrees is not something
new. It has, however, become more rampant lately. Newspapers can no longer
check on people with such dubious titles.

Some years back, a prominent civil servant in Kuala
Lumpur was exposed for having a fake doctorate. He had
used that title for many years on an unsuspecting public and when caught, he
blamed it on the media, saying it was the newspapers who had called him a "Dr".
It never occurred to him, of course, to correct the "mistake".

Last week, The Star reported that for under RM3,000,
anyone who has access to the Internet can buy a PhD in any field from numerous
bogus sites.

While most doctorates take anywhere between three and
five years to obtain, these online PhDs can reach you within a month. And if
you are willing to pay more, you can even purchase a deal that includes a mock
convocation ceremony complete with a hired foreigner posing as a foreign
university vice-chancellor.

I was told a prominent businessman paid RM30,000 for a
fake doctorate from a foreign university, including having a
distinguished-looking Caucasian confer the title on him.

He invited over 100 people, including local politicians,
to the "convocation" at a hotel function room. A citation was read out, listing
his achievements, which were mostly on social and community development.

Another local politician did something similar. Despite
being a qualified medical doctor, he wanted an honorary doctorate. So, a big
function was held and the media was invited to record the event.

Never mind if there were sniggers all round because the
only thing that mattered to him was he felt important and proud.

All these fake degrees are harmless in some ways because,
after a while, the novelty wears off and the title would be dropped.

I personally know of four businessmen who had used the
"Dr" title previously. Despite having no tertiary education, they have proven
themselves to be very good businessmen.

They have contributed to society by making generous
donations to charity, especially welfare and religious organisations. They have
proven themselves and earned the respect of their peers.

There was no need for them to buy these titles in the
first place. Perhaps they lacked confidence because they did not have paper
qualifications. Craving for respectability, they forget that character makes a
person – not a piece of paper.

What is more disturbing is the allegation that some
administrators of local colleges are using the title of doctor, too.

These administrators may have a degree or two but they do
not have doctorates. Their "doctorates" are merely honorary degrees from
foreign universities which their colleges have business ties through twinning
programmes.

These honorary degrees are genuine but do not entitle
these administrators to use the "Dr" title. The grumbling naturally comes from
lecturers who have spent years earning their stripes.

One can understand their anger when they are instructed
by the owners of these colleges to address their superiors – in this case the
chief executive officer or director – as "Dr" to boost the image of the
colleges.

It's cheating. The sad part is that the college owners do
not realise they are sending the wrong message to the students – that it's all
right to put a title in front of your name even if you don't work for it.

Honorifics, whether Datuk or Doctor, should not be
treated like commodities in an open market. They must be meritoriously awarded
in order to be respected by the public.

They are the ones who spend the first 20 minutes of their
opening address at functions and party meetings raving about the ministers and
leaders in attendance.

Last week, to our surprise, some of the Barisan Nasional
backbenchers stood up and criticised Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu in
the Dewan Rakyat when they were not satisfied with the manner in which he
answered questions on the Middle Ring Road 2 flyover.

The stretch of road had to be closed because of cracks in
the pillars while reports from independent consultants showed that the cracks
were the result of a design fault.

The MPs were also unhappy that the minister had
blacklisted the contractor who built the Sultan
Ismail Specialist
Hospital in Johor Baru. The
hospital had to be closed for a few months because of the malfunctioning
air-conditioning system.

On Friday, newspapers reported that the Anti-Corruption
Agency had begun its probe on the newly opened East Coast Expressway following
complaints of irregularities in its construction.

The investigating team, including two engineering
forensic experts, was at the expressway to gather soil samples and carry out
measurements on the four-lane expressway.

Backbenchers Club chairman Datuk Shahrir Samad is right
in saying that MPs cannot remain silent when there are discrepancies and they
are only doing their duty when questioning problems in the ministry.

The people did not elect Yang Berhormats to warm the
Dewan Rakyat seats or to get close to powerful personalities.

We expect them to speak up on national and state issues
affecting the people. They should not waste their time bringing up petty
matters that should be addressed at municipal council level.

We do not want MPs to be embroiled in controversies to
the extent that they get kicked out of Parliament. Neither should we tolerate
quirky MPs who make racial or sexist remarks to get their names quoted in the
media.

Ministers should not take it personally when criticised.
These criticisms are made relating to their ministerial work. As public
figures, they cannot expect praises all the time from the media. Some ministers
cannot even tolerate a little criticism because, as leaders, they have become
so used to being showered with praises.

Well, they had better get used to taking some knocks
because Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has given the green light to the
people to make constructive criticism, which he describes as a blessing.

The Prime Minister said it was a blessing when leaders
were criticised because it meant they had people telling them they had diverted
from the right path or had become boastful without realising it.

It is the duty of ministers, who have access to
information, to explain satisfactorily to MPs and the media to help them
understand the problems affecting a certain project.

Recently, a certain minister telephoned me to explain why
some projects had been badly managed. He explained that his staff were trying
their best to rectify the problems but due to the shortage of money, there was
nothing much he could do.

I suggested that he explain to the media his financial
constraints because he would also want to upgrade the facilities in his
ministry if he had the money. If it is not properly explained, the public may
assume that he is incompetent – when he isn't.

In all fairness to Samy, who has become the target of
many MPs, he has a reputation of personally taking on tough questions from
opposition MPs. Samy may not be the most popular government leader but he has
never run away from a fight.

Some ministers delegate the task of answering questions
to their deputy or parliamentary secretary but not Samy. Despite the ferocity
of the attacks against him last week, I can bet he will be at Dewan Rakyat when
sitting resumes after the fasting month to face the angry MPs.

The vociferous MPs, on the other hand, should not indulge
in "selective persecution" when taking on ministers. Their targets should not
be just ministers from smaller Barisan component parties.

Samy must also learn not to be unnecessarily defensive
and emotional when someone points a finger at bad work. He should not be too
quick to blame it on God when something goes wrong.

The speech had to be different from those delivered by
the rest of the Barisan Nasional component parties, which had already held
their general assemblies.

But more importantly, it had to be substantive, refreshing and
meaningful.

It could not be one in which the party leader makes another demand for
rhetoric's sake.

While the MCA represented the Chinese community, the youthful MCA president
wanted to stress one point – the "Rakyat Malaysia" spirit must be nurtured and
strengthened.

He wanted Malaysians to draw on their common strengths and not harp on their
differences.

With countries becoming more competitive in the age of globalisation, it was
crucial for Malaysians, regardless of race, to pool their strengths together to
compete with others and not with each other.

Abdullah struck the same chord in his opening speech.

Malaysian companies owned by different communities, he said, should come
together and form competitive consortia to tap the huge business potential
overseas.

These words came from two like-minded leaders who understood clearly the
economic impact Malaysians can make when they combine their talents and
resources.

"Rakyat Malaysia," as Ong correctly pointed out, was not a new political
terminology.

It was not something idealistic, good only for discussions at university
seminars.

Instead, it was a reality that already existed.

The spirit of "Rakyat Malaysia," demonstrated by all of us so many times and in
so many ways, shows what we already are because we love Malaysia.

It is not a flag-waving exercise but an instinctive feeling.

Tying in with being competitive, Ong also spoke about lifelong learning, a
campaign launched just two days before the party's annual general assembly on
Sunday.

Drawing on the support of the party and the private sector, Ong hoped to open
up community centres, company meeting rooms and lecture halls of private
colleges for short- and medium-term courses.

The idea is simple – make it easy for Malaysians from all races and educational
backgrounds to learn a new skill or language.

It could be as simple as attending a series of lectures on personal
development.

It is an ambitious project but once it takes off it would benefit the country
in the long run.

From teaching homemakers how to use computers to helping others take up a
business management course after work, the MCA plan would surely be
beneficial.

Serious in wanting to make the campaign truly non-racial and non-political, MCA
leaders have insisted that the campaign logo, which symbolised the country's
three main races, must not have any hint of a party link.

To make sure the MCA delegates understood what the party's plan was about, one
resolution tabled and passed at the assembly was that the Chinese community
must respond to the challenges of globalisation which would open Malaysia to
worldwide competition in all fields.

The message was clear – the competition is not between Ahmad, Ah Chong and
Muthu but from a powerful combination of foreigners waiting at our shores.
Let's join hands to face them as a team.

Aware of this, Abdullah sent a note listing the names of
a few people who grew up with him in Kepala Batas. On the list were his
teacher, a Chinese man, an Indian engineer and a grassroots Umno leader.

His circle of friends, whether personal or political,
continues to be multi-racial. The Prime Minister has taken great pains to
emphasise his commitment to multi-racialism at the personal level.

Pak Lah, as we all know, has made it clear that he is a
leader of all Malaysians and not just one community. He has taken the
unprecedented step of sending Christmas cards to Christians and attended open
house at a church. He has opened a conference of world Christian leaders.

That is the hallmark of a true moderate Malaysian leader.
He has been consistent in his beliefs throughout his unblemished political
career. There has not been a single racist remark from him.

But, sadly, some politicians have of late gone back to
the old racial game. It is sad because their statements have come so soon after
the general election and national day.

Irrespective of whether they are politicians from Umno,
MCA, MIC, DAP or PAS, they must exercise great care that their statements do
not hurt the feelings of any particular ethnic group. The same principle
applies to journalists and Internet bloggers whose work reaches a large section
of the population.

I am concerned over the comments made by some politicians
and Internet writers recently, more so when the Prime Minister is committed to
national unity and has made it a major part of his work agenda.

As more racially mixed constituencies are being created,
politicians must remember that they need the votes of all races, especially if
the fight is close.

It is easy for some to play to the gallery, especially at
their party assemblies, and make themselves communal heroes, but in this age of
modern communication, their remarks and statements are reported in all
newspapers and websites.

It is even easier for politicians to forget about their
voters after winning an election. Come the next general election, these leaders
will have to face voters of other races. And they will need the support of
other parties in the same alliance.

During the recent general election, I remember a young
Barisan Nasional politician seeking the help of component parties because he
was having a difficult time with a minority group who would not forgive him for
some racial remarks he made some years ago.

Leaders of component parties, expecting the difficulties
ahead of the polls, suggested to the young politician to hold a gathering with
the minority voters to win them over. If he had to, he could apologise
privately without the presence of the media. But he was too proud.

In desperation, during the campaigning, he called up the
top leaders to seek help. Luckily for him, he pulled through.

Politicians who play the racial angle must be prepared to
face the consequences of their actions.

They may not realise it but their statements will return
to haunt them. Their opponents will certainly remind the voters, and these
politicians will realise that making threats by bringing up the black spots in
our history will prove to be a costly mistake.

Mature politicians like Abdullah have proven that a good,
decent leader does not need to be controversial and outspoken. Racial threats
and comments not only hurt the people but also the party's image.

The politics of moderation and consensus has been the
hallmark of our founding fathers. Malaysia
is what it is today because of the wisdom of Umno, MCA and MIC leaders.

The press can help to keep out politicians who play the
racial card by ignoring them. They don't deserve to have their names mentioned
anywhere in the media. Where party bosses are concerned, these ungrateful
elected representatives should simply be dropped in the next elections.

Education can be fun, creative and continuous if the
lessons are correctly carried out and, in the end, help upgrade the skills and
resourcefulness of Malaysians to enable them be more competitive.

From qigong exercises to calligraphy to basic computer skills to listening
to talks on management, the MCA is joining the private sector to open their
doors in this ambitious project of making learning relevant.

Under the project, Ong's brainchild, seven topics would be covered emphasising
education, literature, community, economy, living skills, culture and national
interaction.

Ong visited Hong Kong University recently with officials from Kolej Tunku Abdul
Rahman and Kojadi, an MCA education co-operative, to learn from the
university's experience in successfully promoting lifelong education
development.

The university's School of Professional and Continuing Education has brought to
life its slogan of "bringing university to the people" where diplomas,
associate degrees and even pre-associate degrees are awarded to those who sign
up for its courses.

"Adults who are working have developed themselves by learning a new language, a
new skill or acquired a degree through such programmes tailored towards
self-development," Ong said.

He said the MCA wanted to expand the programme to touch all levels of society,
from school dropouts to housewives to professionals, adding that the party
would open its buildings to facilitate this campaign.

"We want Malaysians to keep in touch with the latest trends and movements so as
not to lag behind. Converting theories into pragmatic living will provide
Malaysians an added advantage," he said in an interview.

Ong said the MCA Lifelong Learning Campaign would complement the government's
Continuous Study Master Plan, adding that there were currently 539 private
colleges and universities with over 314,000 students while the 11 public
universities and six university colleges had over 290,000 students.

To achieve the country's Vision 2020 goal of making Malaysia a developed
country, the government needs to increase sharply the number of graduates and
school-leavers with diplomas.

With the support of local colleges, the MCA hopes to carry out short- and
long-term courses for different levels where diplomas would be given to those
who sign up and attend the courses.

For the dropouts, it can be a simple car repair or beancurd making course while
for businessmen, it could be on upgrading their competitiveness in small and
medium-sized industries.

Officials said many small businessmen wanted to know how they could seek
financial and organisational support as well as strengthen their networking
with fellow Malaysian businessmen, especially those venturing into China.

Then, there are those who merely want to learn simple things like personal
financial management for which a day's course can be conducted while talks on
Confucian and Sun Tzu principles can be tied in to a management perspective to
make it more relevant to present-day living.

In a symbolic gesture to illustrate the point that learning is a lifelong
process, Ong and his deputy Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy together with other party
leaders will launch the campaign at KL Sentral tomorrow.

From Sentral, they will travel to the Ampang station near the MCA
headquarters where the party will hold its annual general assembly on Sunday to
be opened by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Learning is like life's journey – it begins the moment we are born.