Risking their lives, they have  turned up in rickety boats that  made it through choppy waters,  carrying with them hopes of a better life.

Bringing along their families,  they are
prepared to be caught and  sent back by
the authorities  a  small price to pay, no doubt.

Like all matters which deal with  human
lives, there's always some  degree of
sympathy being evoked  on both
sides.

Some idealistic but naive non government organisations, for example, have
reacted angrily to the  use of the Internal
Security Act  against tekong darat who
bring in  these illegals.

These middlemen are no more  than just
human smugglers, to put  it bluntly,
cashing in on the misery  of these
unfortunate illegal immigrants.

They are not to be treated with  kid's
gloves. We can forget about  getting them
to volunteer information about their activities, especially their link with
corrupt officers.

There is a lot at stake here. Malaysia has to deal sensitively with  its neighbours  at the same time  grapple with the economic crisis   without straining bilateral ties.

Malaysia cannot appear to be  harsh in
dealing with human lives  but it cannot
allow pity to stand in  the way of
national security.

Like Singaporeans, Malaysians  are
worried about the influx of illegal immigrants which could lead to  social and political unrest, if
unchecked.

No country wants to take in thousands of unemployed people from  its neighbours when it has its own  problems to deal with.

The long-term implications,  should they
settle permanently, are 
staggering.

We have already heard about foreigners giving birth in local hospitals,
stretching our overworked  hospital
staff. Their children are  already in our
schools, taxing our  resources
further.

Well aware of the far-reaching 
consequences, Thailand, for example, has announced its decision to  expel one million foreign workers,  mainly from Myanmar.

Singapore, with a population of  three
million people, is worried  that the tiny
island republic would  be swamped
overnight with illegals. It has dealt severely with illegals under the law
which allows  whipping.

NGOs and the foreign media  should admit
that this problem is  not peculiar only
to this region.

In the United States, it has become a daily routine for its officers  to stop Mexicans and others sneaking across
its borders.

We have seen on television how  French
authorities drag African illegal immigrants out of their  homes.

In the United Kingdom, bona fide 
tourists, suspected of wanting to 
overstay, have been deported at the 
drop of a hat by immigration officers at Heathrow airport.

For years, Malaysia provided  shelter to
Vietnamese refugees.  The Vietnamese
problem was less  complicated in the
sense that they  made it clear they had
no interest  to settle here.

The refugees were kept in camps  until
they were relocated to a third  country.
Unfortunately, many  countries of their
choice were not  willing to accept
them.

While many in these countries  were quick
with their criticism  about how the
Vietnamese were being detained, they were less accommodative when it came to
embracing these refugees.

In Malaysia, we see our officers 
distributing nasi bungkus to every 
illegal immigrant who is sent home.

We have been much more tolerant than many countries, particularly over the last
few years during  the boom period.

Desperate for manpower, Malaysian employers readily hire foreigners  with no questions asked  sometimes.

Yes, there are unscrupulous employers who prefer to employ illegals not only
because they are  cheap but also because
they can be  exploited.

Official figures put the number  of
foreign workers, both legal and  illegal,
in Malaysia at about two  million but
Malaysians cannot be  blamed if they
think the number is  higher.

Sabah, for example, has an estimated 400,000 foreigners, mostly  Indonesians and Filipinos, but this  looks like a conservative figure.

It wouldn't be cheap for us to  send back
these illegal immigrants,  who will keep
coming back. Keeping them in detention camps for  long periods is not the answer either.

Our neighbours can help if they  are
ready to send their ships to  take their
people back.

For the Foreign Ministry and the  police,
great diplomatic skill and  sensitivity
are required to manage  this
problem.

Maximum understanding and  goodwill,
without compromising  our national
interests, are needed.

It's a tall order, but Malaysians  must
not forget: in this present economic situation, charity has to begin at
home.

Some of its leaders have decided  to vent
their anger at critics including Fomca, giving the impression  that the MTUC is unable to tolerate  criticism which its unionists freely  dispense almost daily though its  press statements.

A little humility doesn't hurt. The  MTUC
and Cuepacs represent a  large number of
workers, but the  unions should not take
for granted  that they speak on behalf of
all Malaysians.

Neither should the MTUC leadership assume that others, including  the press, have insufficient knowledge of
unionism.

In respond to my comments last  week,
MTUC vice-president Mustafa Hassan issued a two-page  press release which, among other  things, implied that I do not know  anything about unionism.

In his rebuttal, Mustaffa said  unionists
should be decently  dressed as they
attend many international conferences and meetings.

He also explained that MTUC's 
multi-pronged objectives in the 
chicken boycott included encouraging consumers to look for
alternatives.

I thank Mustaffa for taking the  trouble
to give MTUC's point of  view.
Unfortunately, Mustaffa did  not take the
opportunity to explain  why Malaysians
were so unconvinced by the chicken boycott.

He described as “trivial'' the  case of
Selangor MTUC assistant  secretary K.
Somasundram who  was found treating his
daughter to  chicken nuggets at a
Kentucky  Fried Chicken outlet.

It maybe be trivial to the MTUC  but for
many Malaysians it was  symbolic of the
entire boycott   showing lack of support
and confidence.

The intention by MTUC and Cuepacs to raise consumer issues is  commendable. Like unionism, consumerism is
not the monopoly of  consumer
activists.

Instead of calling for boycotts, it 
would be better if unions can come 
up with alternatives. With combined resources, they could perhaps go
into food production for its 
members.

It could also find ways for members to buy chicken or fish at better rates than
those at wet markets.

Both unions could also work with 
co-operatives and organic farms to 
sell their produces direct to members. They could also work with  fish-rearers to beat the price rise.

A factory in Penang, for example, has encouraged its workers to  plant vegetables during their free time. The
result is that at the end of  the month,
they go home with their  wages and free
greens.

With its strong network, both  unions
could encourage factories to  adopt the
same approach.

The days of union rhetoric is  over. The
public and members  want to hear real
alternatives and  solutions.

Before it proceeds with its move  to
boycott fish, it should seriously 
consider whether Malaysian consumers will swallow hook, line and  sinker what it preaches.

There is no doubt that fish is  more
expensive than chicken but it  is still
at a tolerable level if a consumer cooks at home. Fish dishes  at restaurants are exorbitantly  priced, needless to say.

But fish prices vary greatly, depending on locality and outlet (hypermarket or
wet market).

Price comparison, as anyone who  has done
any marketing will tell  you, can be
grossly unfair and incorrect.

At this point, the proposal to boycott fish sounds, well, fishy. On a  scale of one to 10, it looks like both  unions are fishing in troubled waters again.

So, what is their bone of contention?

The MTUC and Cuepacs should  reconsider
their decision to call for  a fresh round
of chicken boycott,  which it said will
be longer and  more systematic.

They have also said that a campaign would be carried out to boycott imported
rice and traders who  cheat consumers and
increase  price indiscriminately.

This time, the unions must make  sure
their officials do not buy fillet o-fish at McDonald's.

The leaders of the country's two largest  unions should have realised that  chicken, or a chicken-based meal,  is not only the cheapest meat but  also a Malaysian favourite. They are either
out of touch with  consumer reality or
have over-estimated their strength. Anyone who has been to our pasar malam or
wet markets recently  would be able to
tell the unions that  beef, fish or
prawns are more expensive than chicken meat. And even before anyone could  cry foul over the boycott, a senior  unionist was caught at a Kentucky  Fried Chicken outlet. Needless to say,
feathers were  ruffled and there were
plenty of  red faces  as red as cock combs. The MTUC has yet to
announce  the fate of Mr K.
Somasundram,  the MTUC assistant
secretary  caught treating his daughter
to a  chicken lunch on the first day
of  the supposed boycott of the meat.
Somasundram, it was reported,  was merely
trying to be a good father. His five-year-old daughter  wanted chicken nuggets, so he  bought some. The only problem was that
Somasundram was also a co-ordinator of 
the campaign. The incident has left him with  more than he can chew, and it will  be difficult for Malaysians to swallow his
explanation. Zainal Rampak, the MTUC president and veteran of many political
parties, was no match for Colonel 
Sanders, as far as the child was 
concerned. Poultry farmers are saying that  the cost of chicken feed is no  “chicken feed.'' Chicken feed used by
Malaysian  farmers are 65% corn and
soya  bean, which make the chickens  grow big. The feed includes palm oil kernel,
tapioca chips and grass  pellets. It's
all very scientific. The  MTUC and Cuepacs
leaders, like  many of us, must have
thought otherwise. The adage that “the early 
bird catches the worm'' does not 
quite hold water these days. Umno Youth chief Datuk Zahid  Hamidi has an apt Bahasa Malaysia description
for the chicken boycott   hangat hangat
tahi ayam (flash  in the pan). Even Fomca
president Prof Hamdan Adnan isn't quite convinced,  saying the campaign should be targeted at
eateries and that consumers should be allowed to buy at the  markets. Hamdan, who was attending a  consumer conference in Penang  last week, told reporters that union  officials were sore with him over  his purported lack of support for  the boycott. Our unions, presumably,
never  thought that their chicken
boycott  would leave a bitter taste in
everyone's mouth. Hamdan, who was supposed to 
share his hotel room with a unionist, said his partner did not show  up. He wasn't sure whether it had  anything to do with the chicken  boycott. Following the failure of the
boycott, the two unions appear to have 
chickened out from further action 
against roti canai sellers and kopi 
tiam operators. They can hardly be blamed. Too  many of our unionists have grown  fat. Comfortable in their bush jackets, no
one can tell them apart from  government
officials and corporate  leaders these
days. Overseas trips and high salaries, 
it seems, have made some lose 
sight of the working and living conditions of the working class. They  have to realise that unionism goes  beyond issuing press statements  and asking for pay increases. Members, for
example, have a  right to know what they
are doing  to cut down expenses and
increase  productivity, Accountability
and transparency  should not be just
buzzwords for  the public and private
sectors but  also the unions. One
unionist, in his quest for publicity and sycophancy, announced  that members were willing to take  a pay cut 
without seeking the endorsement of his members. Needless to say, the
members  were outraged at his statement.
The chicken boycott is another  example
of where our Malaysian  unions have gone
wrong. There is always a need to look at 
issues from all sides. It's no good 
saying let's boycott chicken without considering the consequences  to the industry, including the position of
poultry farm workers. Perhaps the unions can learn  from this experience and be more  mature in their approach. It is all  right to be less gung-ho if their efforts
benefit everyone. If there is any Malaysian who has  found the prices of chicken to be  unbearable, it would have to be  poor Somasundram. For the rest of us, there
was nothing to crow about.

They hold no political position  but wield tremendous political  clout, with an uncanny ability to influence the political direction of a  party and even the country.

The most obvious example is Sonia Gandhi, the 51-year-old widow  of former Indian Prime Minister  Rajiv Gandhi. She's not even running for elections but has become  the central figure in India's polls.

To the Congress Party, she appears to be its only hope of salvaging what's left of the once great  party in the country's fractious  politics.

She's of course not the only contemporary example. There's Hillary Clinton who has come to the defence of her husband, accused of  having an affair with an intern.

Imagine the embarrassing consequences if Hillary had remained on  the sidelines, shunning state functions and refusing to say anything  to defend her husband.

The mere act of being silent and  conspicuously absent from the side  of Clinton would have sent the  world's most powerful politician  limping out of the Oval Room.

You could say this would be a  terrible blow to Clinton who has  been accused of having oral sex in  the White House.

Philippine presidential hopeful  Joseph Estrada who has been accused of liking the three Bs   booze, bimbo and baccarat  is  equally lucky.

Despite being called a political  dumbo by his detractors, his PhD  wife has always come to his defence.

History, of course, is full of such  examples. Argentine's Evita Peron  outshone her husband while Jiang  Qing influenced her husband Mao  Zedong greatly.

The widows of many South Asian  leaders have become leaders in  their own right, taking over positions once held by their husbands.

Nobody in these countries  seemed to mind that their only  proven talent has been making  naan and tandoori chicken. The  family name was enough to send  them into a political frenzy.

Some wives, of course, become  their husband's worst enemies.  Marcos could have possibly clung  on to power if Imelda wasn't so obsessed with shoes.

The Filipinos understandably  kicked up a storm and gave Marcos  the boot finally.

South Africa's Winnie Mandela  didn't help her husband Nelson  Mandela one bit.

In Malaysia, the wives of politicians are an equally powerful lot  although they are much more discreet.

Taking the back seat at political  functions while their husbands enjoy the limelight, women power has  hardly diminished.

The wife of a senior Malaysian  politician, for example, heads a  newspaper and exerts great influence on the party.

Seasoned political writers have  long realised the importance of  spouses, cleverly forging close  links with them.

Recently, a young reporter attempted to contact a Cabinet minister at his house. Each time she  called, she was told that the Datuk  was either meeting some party  members or performing prayers.

With the deadline approaching,  the exasperated reporter finally  approached a political reporter,  telling him of her predicament.

The political reporter told her  not to worry. Picking up the phone,  he called the house and asked for  the Datin instead.

Within minutes, the busy Datuk  was calling the newsroom instead  and offering his assistance.

In fact, some politicians have  been known to send their wives to  meet the wives of their party leaders during general elections, lobbying for seats and posts.

One Datin, whose husband was  left out of an important government post after a general election,  is said to have sought the support  of another Datin.

The two Datins were said to be  close friends, often exchanging  recipes for curry dishes.

No one is quite sure what transpired in the kitchen until today  but something must have brewed  there. A plan must have been  cooked up, you may say.

Soon, the particular Datuk was  appointed to a post which he was  not recommended initially.

Politicians can tell you that the  bedroom and the kitchen can both  be a boon and a bane. You just have  to know what's cooking.

It was not that the firm could not  afford a more decent meal for its  management team but it wanted to  impress upon them the need to be  austere given the uncertainties of  the coming months.

“Chau mai fun is better than  chau yau yee, I suppose,'' one senior manager quipped on seeing  the limited choice.

Chau yau yee or fried cuttle fish  is a Cantonese euphemism for getting the sack.

Although it is less than two  weeks to the Chinese New Year,  companies have cut down on new  year offerings. This includes the  annual practice of sending mandarin oranges.

Most companies have also printed Chinese New Year cum Hari  Raya cards to reduce expenses, encouraging their staff to share their  cards. There are even reports that  there may not be too many Chinese  New Year and Hari Raya open  houses this time.

The Negri Sembilan Gerakan, for  example, has announced that it will  do away with this Malaysian tradition, which is rather sad considering the fact that Malaysians now  celebrate the festivals of all ethnic  groups.

Information Minister Datuk Mohamed Rahmat, too, made a similar  announcement recently, saying he  may not hold a Hari Raya open  house as it will incur a lot of expenditure.

Their intention to reduce spending and help in the recovery of the  economy are certainly laudable but  one cannot help but suspect a  somewhat fastidious  reaction on  their part.

Such open house gatherings encourage the interaction of Malaysians and help strengthen their appreciation of the country's racial  harmony and political stability.

It is also a living showcase to outsiders, who seem to believe that  Malaysia will explode into racial riots simply because consumers are  rushing to buy sugar to beat the  price increase.

What our Malaysian politicians  can do is to hold joint open houses  to reduce expenses. Such functions  can also be moderate in scale.

Rather than drown in the gloom  and doom of the economic situation, Malaysians should ask themselves what they can do for the  country in these trying times.

We must also project our confidence to face the slowdown and  come out as winners instead of  sending the wrong signals to outsiders.

Malaysians must support the  campaign to grow our own vegetables, not that this can resolve our  economic woes much but it is a  symbolic gesture to show our seriousness in wanting to reduce  household expenses and to cut our  food imports.

But the media should not be overzealous in promoting family-run  cottage industries with low technology know-how as fine examples  of Malaysian entrepreneurship.

Self-employment, which generates income and create jobs, are  superb efforts but let us not lose  sight of our target.

There are other better examples  of Malaysian export-oriented  small and medium-sized industries, which we can give prominence.

Just a few months back, Malaysia  had adopted a high-profile campaign, projecting itself as a haven  for hi-tech industries, particularly  its Multimedia Super Corridor.

These projects will go on as they  will enable Malaysia hone its competitive edge and come out on a  sounder footing.

In fact, it has become more necessary to show the world that we  will be able to pull through if we  are disciplined and united, as the  Prime Minister said. A picture of a  confident, positive, well-educated,  hard-working and innovative Malaysian workforce is what we want  the world to see us as.

As the executives strolled out of  the meeting room, after adopting  various strategies, one of them said  he would insist on his staff thinking  positive.

A firm believer in Chinese numerology, the manager said he  would be greeting his friends differently during Chinese New Year.

“I won't greet them with sun leen  fai lok but sun leen fai seong,'' he  said. Sun leen means new year in  Cantonese. Fai lok refers to happiness but, unfortunately, it also  rhymes with plunge  certainly  something no stock market pundits  want to hear.

On the other hand, fai siong  means bliss. It also sounds like  “quick recovery.''

The manager said such greetings  may not help much in bringing the  economy back to its feet but it  would at least emphasise the point  of being positive.

That's not all. He advises his colleagues not to mention low foo or  tiger during the celebrations. What  could be worse than foo, which  sounds like bitter in Cantonese?

“Although the tiger won't be  roaring much this year because of  the downturn, we can at least refer  to the animal as tai mau or big cat.  Big is good,'' he quipped.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk  Seri Anwar Ibrahim, too, has included positive tones in his Chinese  New Year cards, which use Chinese  calligraphy, to friends and associates.

The Bahasa Malaysia translation  reads: Yang bijaksana tidak keliru.  Yang berakhlak tidak gundah gulana. Yang berani tidak gentar  which means the wise never get  confused, the virtuous are not emotional while the brave do not get shaken.

But all Malaysians, in ushering  the Hari Raya and Chinese New  Year, must believe that while we  are down, we are not out.

The same Malaysia Boleh spirit,  without sounding puffed up, must  prevail in facing the challenges of  the year.

Speculation has been rife since last year that snap elections will be called. Never mind the fact that the Barisan Nasional Government's full term only ends in mid-1999.

These political speculators also seem to ignore the fact that the economic slowdown needs the attention of the national leadership more than anything else. An expensive state election is hardly its priority.

Yong, who took over as Chief Minister in 1996, vowed to change the political culture of the state after he was sworn in.

He then described the state as "the wild, wild east of Malaysian politics."

Almost two years later, little has changed. The state's political landscape has continued to be turbulent.

In a state where political allegiance means nothing, there were several defections among assemblymen to the opposition PBS last year.

Recently, Yong found himself under fire when fellow Barisan Nasional leaders from Umno and Gerakan questioned him over the state's purchase of North Borneo Timbers (NBT) shares.

Warisan Harta, of which Yong is chairman, had allegedly paid RM31.50 per share on Dec 23 in a transaction for three million shares.

Predictably, Yong has reacted bitterly to these attacks, first brought up by the PBS. "They have already convicted me," he said.

This came shortly after his deputy, Datuk Abdul Ghapur Salleh, tendered his resignation on Dec 13.

Although Ghapur did not reveal his reasons for quitting as the state Umno deputy chairman, it was widely speculated that he was in disagreement with certain state Umno leaders.

Ghapur has since withdrawn his resignation after a meeting with Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Politicking is expected to intensify when the Umno division elections are held between March 12 and 29. Sparks are expected to fly in some Sabah divisions where the contest is likely to be keen.

The state politics has always been emotional; with its rich resources and vastness, the stakes are high.

Sabah sends 200 delegates to the Umno general assembly — the largest chunk of votes at the national-level party polls.

It remains to be seen what other issues would crop up during the division meetings, particularly among certain groups which continue to have reservations over the rotation system.

After Yong, the Kadazans will have their representative as chief minister.

The two Kadazan-based parties are the Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah headed by Datuk Joseph Kurup and the Parti Demokratik Sabah led by Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.

Kurup has two assemblymen while Dompok has 13 state representatives. Kurup is tipped to be Yong's replacement as he is also a Deputy Chief Minister.

He was among the earliest Kadazan leaders to quit PBS to form a party under the Barisan after the 1994 state elections, where the PBS first won 25 seats and Barisan 23.

His detractors have, however, questioned the logic of Kurup as a chief minister, saying he could not possibly run the state as he lacks political clout.

But the state Barisan has completed three election dry-runs, indicating that it is gearing itself for elections.

Yong has continuously maintained that such trials are necessary because the state has the largest number of Barisan component parties and needs proper co-ordination.

Should snap elections be held, it will be the first time the state Barisan, comprising nine component parties, is putting itself to the test.

Before it does that, Barisan component leaders in Sabah must fully understand the concept of power-sharing.

No single party, on its own, is able to command the votes of Sabahans of various ethnic and religious backgrounds. The Chief Minister represents all Sabahans and not any single race.

Much more than that, Sabah politicians must realise that election promises must be kept if they wish to face the voters with dignity in the next round.

The political fickleness of Sabah politicians is already well-known but it is time they grow up because the electorate is more educated and knowledgable.

They should stop taking the electorate for granted.

With all the predicted doom and  gloom in the media, laughter has  become a scarce item these days   very much like sugar, one might  say.

It's going to be more difficult to  lift the holiday spirit. But the Malaysian sense of humour, no matter  how controlled, must remain an essential item for all of us to get  through the tough times.

So, it was a welcome change  when I received several festive  wishes with rib-tickling messages  from friends in the banking and  stock-broking sectors  those  hardest hit by the economic slowdown.

Here's a compilation of their new  year resolutions which if followed,  say these financial experts, will  help us survive the depressing  year.

Visit more friends this year   just in case they need to borrow  money. And confine visiting hours  to lunch and dinner time.

Make loud attempts to pay the  bill at restaurants but make it  equally long to take out your wallet  from your pocket. That, they insist,  is prudent financial management  and upholds the Asian value of  sharing.

Go for lunch with your bosses, if  you can. In following another important Asian tradition of “giving  face,'' especially to your superiors,  let them pick up the tab.

Keep sending flowers to loved  ones during special occasions. Loyalty, after all, must be appreciated  if your spouse is standing by you  during economic hardship. However, it will be hibiscus this time instead of roses.

“Hibiscus, being the national  flower, deserves a more prominent  role now. It's also available free in  many places,'' they note.

Despite what the politicians tell  you about not buying fashion apparel with unpronounceable Italian  or French names, it's okay to buy  such items as long as the names are  spelt the Malaysian way.

“Versagie, Armanee or Teg Hevey'' branded items are made by  100% Malaysian-owned stores in  Petaling Street. Besides being politically-correct in this climate of  austerity, we are helping the small  and medium-size businesses which  are still waiting for transfer of  technology from foreigners.

Spend your vacation at home to  stop the outflow of the ringgit. If  you must go to a neighbouring  country, the advice is “don't fly, it  can be dangerous.''

Cut down on transport cost. Follow the example of those neighbours who come often to our country  take a boat.

If you must travel overseas,  make sure it's a company trip. Of  course, make sure the accounts department provide you with enough  greenback. And check the exchange rate when you return unused US dollars  a small profit in  forex trading will be additional income.

Prepare yourself for a new job, is  another resolution by my financial  wizard friends who confessed to  losing a bundle in the stock market.

“But never, never give up your  existing job. Wait to be retrenched  and use your payments wisely. Go  into the food business, it's all cash.  Remember, you can owe your suppliers,'' they advised.

Eat local food. The nasi bungkus  and chap fun, which the Malaysian  yuppies had dumped for more  Western choices, deserve a resurgence.

It's chic  not cheap  to take  your girlfriend to the back lane of  Jalan Tun Perak for a plate of  prawn mee in true Malaysian ambience: the warm tropical night, the  stars above, the stream of passing  vehicles.

Finally, why drink Perrier water  when the mineral water from Taiping is as good. Even the distilled  water from Sentul is fine as long as  it is clean.

Like all new year resolutions, it  is always difficult keeping them.  But under the present circumstances, it looks like we don't have  much of a choice.

By the way, are you ready for  lunch?

In Red Corner,  Richard Gere plays an entertainment lawyer who is thrown into solitary confinement and denied his  legal rights after being set up.  In Seven Years in Tibet, Brad Pitt  plays a German mountaineer who  gets close to the Dalai Lama during  his sojourn in Lhasa.

A third movie, Kundun, from  Walt Disney, is about the flight of  the Dalai Lama to India after the  Chinese occupation of Tibet.

All these movies have a powerful  message  China is evil, its human  rights record stinks and it deserves  a good wallop.  Whatever the merits of the case,  film-makers have reduced the political complexities surrounding  these sensitive issues into a few  hours of simplistic movie fantasy.  The three movies were released  when President Jiang Zemin visited Washington for his summit with  President Bill Clinton recently.  At the same time, Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng was glorified  and accorded the questionable title  of the Father of Chinese Democracy.

Although considered more of an  embarrassment than a hero in China, Newsweek named him Asian of  the Year in its latest edition.  For the majority of Americans  who have never set foot in China,  such images created by the media  can only be the truth.

The American perception of democracy has always been the holding of elections, the right of an individual and the freedom of expression  civil liberties being the sum  total of human rights.

Never mind if Russia has been  reduced to a beggar state today so  long as the people can choose their  leaders. From the long bread queue  of yesterday, Russians have found  that there is nothing to line up for  today.

With the strong but subtle American propaganda at work, it is almost impossible to impress upon  ordinary Americans that there has  been substantial improvements in  different categories of human  rights in many parts of Asia, especially China.  Human rights is not just about  civil and political rights. There has  to be a broader and more comprehensive view which includes economic, social and cultural rights.  It is no good telling a nation of 1.2  billion people that civil rights, in a  strictly Western sense, comes first  before their next meal. It can't be  denied that China's ability to feed  its people is an achievement.

It is no good being the world's  biggest democracy when the government continuously collapses,  wrecking political and socio-economic stability.

China certainly doesn't deserve  the bashing from Tinseltown. Over  the last 10 years, it has opened up  tremendously, allowing its people  to travel overseas in large numbers.

It has even tolerated religious  practices, which would have been  unthinkable during the Mao era.  Capitalism has almost become a  way of life in China and the pursuit  of private wealth is encouraged.  The continued expansion of its  economy and the creation of a  broader middle class will gradually  lead to more demands for certain  civil and political rights.

They will begin to appreciate the  importance of freedom of expression, an independent media and  public accountability.  Many Americans, including those  with good intentions, fail to appreciate the fact that human rights is  linked to economic rights.  China's achievements, unfortunately, have been overlooked by  Hollywood movie-makers who only  see a celluloid and imaginative  view of its politics.  Governing the world's biggest  country is no easy job  one which  James Bond, Indiana Jones and Superman put together will not be  able to handle.

Falling sick can be an expensive affair these days, more so if you do not have medical insurance coverage or if your company is not picking up the tab. Last week, Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad urged private hospitals to reduce their charges and discounts for Malaysians. He also proposed that doctors and medical specialists take salary cuts to bring down costs and lessen the burden on patients, especially the poorer ones. Media organisations which wanted to carry a response from hospitals found what they had expected none of the private hospitals were willing to respond to the  Prime Minister's statement. The reason is simple. Private hospitals have become big businesses with many looking and acting like five-star hotels.  Motivated only by profit, kindness and care take a back seat as many in the medical profession become more and more business minded. Malaysian Medical Association president Dr Milton Lum, an outspoken personality, did respond to Dr Mahathir's statement by urging hospitals to reassess their operations and salary structure but clarified that doctors' fees were only a fraction of the total bill. Dr Lum is right. Malaysians who sought treatment in private hospitals have been slapped with charges, many seemingly unreasonable, which they cannot comprehend. Last week, an angry reader complained that her 73-year-old grandmother was admitted into a Kuala Lumpur hospital for constipation. The total charge for her four-day stay came up to over RM2,700. The reader said she requested an itemised bill but was denied at first.

After much argument, she said, the hospital agreed to itemise the  bill but warned that should the process take a long time and went beyond the 2pm checkout time, the hospital would impose another  day's room charges. The hefty bill came mainly from  charges covering ward procedure, instruments, laboratory use, ECG  monitoring, radiology and surgical applications. And the patient was treated by two doctors, there were consultation fees from both.  Discounts were finally given after much fuss, but how many Malaysians would bother to complain  to the hospital or write in to the press to correct injustices? A reporter who tried to contact the hospital concerned for its side of the story was warned in typical big-bully fashion that it would not hesitate to file a legal suit against this newspaper if the hospital's name was printed. Newspapers have received similar grievances from readers regularly, including patients being  asked to pay a deposit when they  needed treatment urgently. Malaysians, of course, understand that private hospitals are capital-intensive business ventures with expensive imported equipment and drugs. With the opening of many private  hospitals, attractive salaries have to be offered to recruit experienced medical and non-medical staff. Specialists deserve their big salaries because medical education,  particularly at post-graduate level, is costly and they ought to get the  returns from their investment. While the services offered in private hospitals may not necessarily be good these days, their facilities are still more comfortable, cleaner and orderly than that of government hospitals. Some private hospitals have also set up nursing schools, complementing the role of the Government in producing more qualified nurses. The availability of a TV set, telephone, an attached washroom, an air-conditioner, carpet flooring and even a menu in your room are the frills, which make your stay in a hospital more pleasant but also more expensive. Private hospitals must not forget  their social responsibility to Malaysians, the majority of whom are  wage-earners. There is a need to come up with more meaningful packages to reduce medical fees, and for better government scrutiny and supervision.  Malaysians, as consumers, have a right to more information, especially for what they are paying for. We should not simply allow market forces to take over. The people  have a right to reasonable healthcare, whether government or private-run. Private medical care is a recession-proof business. We still fall sick during hard times, and it can be more painful on seeing the bill  for treatment. Those who run private hospitals should realise that to succumb to greed is a more serious and hard to-cure disease.

One speaker, in giving a broad  picture of the economic scenario, summed up the events leading to  the currency and stock market situation in two words  Soros dan boros, referring to the attacks against the ringgit by American financier George Soros. Boros is the Bahasa Malaysia term for wastage and extravagance. Apparently, the speaker was talking about the lack of prudent management among some decision makers, both in the public and private sectors. Although our fundamentals have been strong, we cannot deny the  fact that excessive credit growth, uncontrolled consumerism and insufficient food production were among our economic excessiveness. Too much of anything is bad. Malaysians will certainly back the leadership's call to reduce the salaries of top executives in the public and private sectors. The move will trim away the fat and make us sharper and more competitive. The decision to cut the salaries of ministers, their deputies and parliamentary secretaries by 3% to 10% may not be much but it is an important gesture. It is a signal to other sectors that financial sacrifice is necessary in order to deal with the problems realistically. The move has led to state governments taking a similar cut. The private sector, too, has been told to reduce unreasonable salaries paid to top and middle-rung executives as part of its contribution  to the country's austerity drive.

Malaysians would have by now realised the magnitude of our economic problems. The trickle-down effect has been felt; our cost of living has gone up. There is, however, no necessity for some of our leaders to make  statements which may be news grabbing but have no impact nor relevance in solving our situation. Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk  Abu Hassan Omar ordered a stop to snacks, presumably goreng pisang, and drinks during meetings  and  no more lunches and dinners at official functions. Penang state executive councillor Datuk Dr Kang Chin Seng has made a similar statement, saying  Penang exco members may no longer buy lunch for their guests. His intentions may be good but  few Malaysians will buy that. Malaysians want to see a realistic, consistent and transparent approach in the handling of our economy. They do not want to hear questionable proposals. State governments can earn more goodwill and respect if they  postpone the renovation or construction of official residences of senior state leaders, which runs  into millions of ringgit. Terengganu assemblymen, in an obvious artificial display of press publicity, decided to have nasi bungkus for lunch last week. Earlier, the Tampin district council, in a bizarre move, decided  to switch off its street lamps from  1am to 5am to cut costs, disregarding road safety and other consequences. Such statements, unfortunately,  present themselves as comic relief  in our tough times. We should not send wrong signals to foreign investors, who have  already lumped South-East Asian countries (having different financial situations) into one basket. Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim have repeatedly said we do not need a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. The last thing we want is to give an impression to foreigners that we are on  the verge of bankruptcy.

There is a need to be thrifty, to cut down on our consumption and,  perhaps, even our sugar intake. But Malaysians can still afford a few cups of coffee, lunch at a restaurant and, certainly, street lights. As the participants at the workshop ended their meeting, they adjourned to the hotel's restaurant for a buffet lunch. Despite its huge spread of food, almost all the dishes contained chicken, a controlled item which costs more now but is still the cheapest meat. One company executive said, in between mouthfuls of food, he had  decided to postpone the renovation to his house because there would not be any increment and bonus. Let's all not be penny wise, pound foolish. The man-in-the-street who  has been told to eat less can only stomach so much.