Romance,
as the florists would like you to think, is still very much in the air.
Valentine's Day may be a week old but Chap Goh Meh, a milder Chinese
version of it on the last day of the Lunar New Year, was just two days
ago.

Trailers for mushy romance movies are still aired on television.

Last
week, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs parliamentary secretary Datuk
Tan Chai Ho made a valid point when he said love should not be measured
by how many flowers a person sent.

At a department store in
Damansara Jaya, a stalk of rose was sold at RM49 each while restaurants
in Bangsar charged between RM100 and RM150 per person for a set
candle-light dinner.

And for RM35 each, you could buy red panties folded in the form of roses at a shopping complex in Penang.

Millions of ringgit must have been splashed by lovebirds that day on flowers, cards, dinners and advertisement messages.

The
CNN reported under the headline Valentine's Day Rip-off that a dozen
red roses were sold in London for 24 (RM96) a week before Feb 14 and
later shot up to 36 (RM144). In Singapore,Lianhe Zaobao reported that
giant roses were imported from South America and sold for a fortune.
They were twice as big, more pungent and last longer than ordinary
roses.

These roses, a columnist wrote, were stocked by mail order at a whopping S$138 (RM241) a dozen.

But this one tops it all. One Singapore hotel offered four Paris Romanticism packages at S$3,500++ (RM6,125) each.

The
packages included a cruise on a private yacht, a poolside dinner
serenaded by a strolling violinist, oysters by the jacuzzi and an
overnight stay at a secluded villa with a bed sprinkled with scented
rose petals.

It's unbelievable but someone took up the offer. Nothing was too much for him, I suppose.

An
expression of love is good but it's something else when commercialism
takes centrestage, with businessmen thinking up new, exhorbitant ways
for couples to declare their love for each other.

Malaysians
have not gone overboard yet in this celebration of love but more and
more young people feel that it is the right thing to do.

One local newspaper, quoting several celebrity interviewees, concluded that Malaysian men were mostly unromantic.

It's
debatable.Like most of us, I have never seen my father, who is well
past 70 years old, kiss my mother on the cheek. I cannot recall hearing
him openly declare his love for her, let alone hug her in the presence
of their children.

They have been married for the past 48 years. It's the same with many arranged marriages involving our elders.

The
Westerners, we are told, are more romantic. After all, they introduced
candle-light dinners. We had candle-light dinners, too, when we were
young  we did not have electricity supply then.

It is
Western practice to send flowers and kiss in public but these same
spontaneous people are equally quick at giving up on marriages.

Love
is definitely good but Malaysians should not spend too much money
declaring it, especially when you have Valentine's Day, Father's Day,
Mother's Day, Teacher's Day, Secretaries' Day and what not. The list
never seems to end.

Arguably, Malaysians are celebrating Valentine's Day elaborately now because they have become more affluent.

I
guess we have to come to terms with the fact that it is no longer 
practical for the unmarried to throw oranges on Chap Goh Meh in the
hope of getting suitors, however romantic it may be.

By the way,
I have another confession Feb 14 was also my wedding anniversary.
Again, it had nothing to do with me being romantic.

It's an
unpardonable crime to forget one's wedding anniversary. Nobody, even
someone as absent-minded as me, could miss this “double celebration''
of a Valentine's Day wedding anniversary.

It's worse for Johan, a marketing manager, who lives in
Subang Jaya. He has to wake up at 5am, leave his house by 6am to reach his
Jalan Raja Laut office by 9am.

Subang Jaya, a middle-class residential housing estate with its well- manicured
lawns, has earned a notorious reputation for its traffic  congestion.

Both Tham and Johan have cars. But there are others who are not so lucky. On
Friday, Entrepreneur Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed decided to hear for himself
how bad the situation was.

Turning up unannounced at the Jalan Duta government complex at 7am, Mustapa met
about 30 civil servants who travel to work by buses.

One female clerk complained that she now had to fork out almost RM10 daily for
a trip from her Ampang home to Jalan Duta.

First, she rides the LRT which cost her RM2.90 to Jalan Raja Laut, then she
hops into a taxi for a RM5 ride to her office.

"I can no longer rely on buses as the frequency has reduced drastically,'' she
said.

Another clerk grumbled to Mustapa that he had difficulties getting an Intrakota
bus at the squatter area he lives in because the company rarely serviced the
area.

The general complaints were the infrequency of Intrakota's services or no
service at all at certain routes.

In a nutshell, KL's traffic woes boils down to this too many private cars and
not enough public transport.

Stopa, as the minister is popularly called in Kelantan, not only spoke to them
on the spot but invited them to his office in Jalan Raja Laut for more
discussions.

The problems were real as the civil servants poured their hearts out,
expressing their worries over the increasing cost they have to pay in trying to
ensure that they reach their office in time.

The traffic problem in Kuala Lumpur has worsened since Jan 1 as a result of
several factors, including major construction works being carried out for the
LRT, monorail and Linear City, which affects traffic flow and the removal of
many old minibuses.

There were also grouses about the ticket purchasing procedures of the KTM
commuter trains. For example, most stations have only two ticketing machines.
There have also been complaints that KTM commuter trains don't run on
time.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik said the public  transportation situation is a transitional
problem which can only be  resolved in
two or three years.

Bad infrastructure planning, he added, contributed to the current  situation.

We read in the newspapers that the authorities will get tough with errant
taxi-drivers who refuse to use the meter or are choosy over routes; but
enforcement is so lousy that taxi drivers know they won't be caught if they
flout the laws.

KL's traffic woes may not be as bad as those in Manila or Bangkok, where
motorists place urinals in their cars, but we will be heading towards that
situation if things don't improve fast.

On a recent trip to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Yong Teck Lee
asked me whether it was true that many KL folk go to an evening function
straight from office.

"I'm told you guys don't have time to go home to change because the traffic is
really bad. Is that so?'' he asked.

The answer, unfortunately, is true. There are also office workers who go for a
drink or stay in the office until 9pm or 10pm before heading home so they can
have a smoother drive.

There is a terrible need to reduce the flow of vehicles into the city,  especially during peak hours. The lack of
parking space has further  aggravated the
problem.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, expressing displeasure with the
city's public transport system on Thursday, has given the relevant government
agencies and public transport operators until Feb 3 to come up with the
answers.

The angry public, who has to endure the traffic jams daily, can be  forgiven if they remain sceptical.

First, they had to put up with dangerous minibus drivers, then the pink
minibuses were phased out and replaced with air-conditioned Intrakota
buses.

They were comfortable and good for a while but when they became  monopolistic, they became more selective with
the routes, leaving many commuters in the lurch.

Many bus commuters are now being forced to take taxis to work and as Mustapa
found out, for many including low-ranking civil servants, it means burning holes
in their pockets.

Malaysia's inflation figures and the consumer price index remains  relatively low for a country with strong
consumer spending but more and more people have found that the cost of living
is spiralling.

The extra cost of transportation is something many Malaysians had not foreseen,
even for the middle-income wage earners.

Jane, a fresh Universiti Sains Malaysia graduate, has just become a journalist.
She gets a basic RM1,400 salary with over RM200 as travelling allowance.

She gets extra pay for over-time work and is saving to buy a car, where she
will be entitled to over RM400 in allowances but now, she finds it tough to
save after paying for her room rent and food expenses.

"I use to take the minibus for my assignments but now because of the
infrequency, I take the taxis to be on time but I am spending over RM20 for one
assignment now.

"This does not include the taxi rides to office from home daily. Can you
imagine spending over RM30 a day on transport?'' she asked.

Mustapa must be commended for taking the efforts to talk to the people directly
and to hear their grievances instead of relying on officials and their aides
for information.

We cannot deny the LRT, the monorail and the KTM commuter trains are part of
serious efforts to solve the city's transport and traffic woes but with our
development going at such rapid pace, better remedies are needed.

If we have to stop single occupancy vehicles from entering the city during peak
hours, we will have to do it now. We will have to make parking more
expensive.

But all these will not be feasible unless we have a good transport  system. Unlike the London tube with extensive
links, our LRT is still at an infant stage, so the minibuses and the taxis will
continue to be the principal forms of transport for those who can't afford
cars.

For city folk, the past one week has been a tiring one. KL will attain  its status as a traffic-choked city  ith a bad public transport system but it
cannot claim to be a city that does not go to sleep, as many cities  pride themselves to be.

The city fathers have placed a curfew on us.Leave the discos at 1am, sleep
early. There's a perfectly sound reason you need to get up early to fight for a
seat on the bus, that is, if you get one.

The five, who grew up in the idealism of the 60s
rebelling against the Vietnam War and the poverty of the Baling peasants, are
all amused at the hysteria over the punk culture in Malaysia.

The long hair was a symbol of rebellion against authority. The Flower Children
or hippies, with their tie-dyes and long hair, spoke about peace, love and
sharing after the ravages of Vietnam.

Parents then had reason for sleepless nights, what with all that talk about
free love, drugs, Woodstock and John Lennon's sleep-in with Yoko Ono.

Overnight, the sleepy Teluk Bahang fishing village in Penang turned into a
mini-Woodstock.

"Our parents and teachers gave us an earful about our hairstyle, saying we
will be failures, but I think we have come out okay,'' another of Ramli's
friend said.

Of course, his parents didn't tell him that they, too, were reprimanded for
screaming over Beatles and Elvis Presley.

"One day, I was looking for something in my father's drawer and I came across
all those Elvis stuff he still kept. In one photograph, my father had the same
ridiculous curry puff hairstlye like Elvis then.

"He lectured me on the evils of Jimi Hendrix though,'' Ramli's friend mused.

His grandmother would tell him later that his father was told off for  wearing tight-fitting “drain-pipe
pants.''

A prominent politician proudly displays in his office a black-and-white picture
taken in the 60s with Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. The
politician, who had shoulder-length hair then, was next to Anwar who was
wearing traditional baju Melayu and skull cap.

"Corporate figures like to show off photographs taken with Dr Mahathir or
Anwar to impress their visitors but I think this one beats them all,'' he
said.

He explained that he got caught up with the fashion of the 60s while  Anwar kept his conservative “Islamic look''
as a student leader.

Some of us might recall that in 1969, Singapore banned anyone with long hair
from entering the country. Malaysia tried that as well.

How serious is the punk culture in Malaysia?

No one had talked about it until Utusan Malaysia highlighted it on the front
page.

Earlier in November, entertainment magazine Day & Night had carried a five-page
feature on punks in Kuala Lumpur.

At this point, it is safe to say that punk culture is confined to the  Klang Valley. Unless you take a trip to an
underground punk gig, you can't find punks at your teh-tarik stall or see them
walking in Jalan Bukit Bintang, unlike their counterparts in London.

A TV station producer, planning a talk show on punk culture, had no  problems getting critics on the show but was
desperately looking for a punk.

"Can you help me look for a punk with spiky hair? Where are they? I  can't seem to find them in any shopping
complex,'' he asked over the telephone.

Most of our punks are clean-shaven or sport the crew-cut. Unfortunately, such
hairstyles are associated with those staying at Pusat Serenti drug
rehabilitation centres. It's a case of long hair is out and so is extremely
short hair, sometimes.

According to Day & Night writers, only a small number have Mohawk
hairstyle, which Misbun Sidek once had, or the spike-and-dye look.

Unlike their British counterparts who took a violent approach, Malaysian punks
have cleverly stayed out of religion and politics in their music.

But the hairstyle, loud songs, ornamental safety pins and bondage  clothing are the same.

Their crime, of course, is that they are an embarrassment to all of us who
pride ourselves in maintaining conformity.

Those of us who grew up keeping long hair are also upset that these  teenagers look silly with their
green-and-orange hair.

Worse, they are 20 years behind time! Most of the members of the infamous punk
band Sex Pistols are either dead or out of work. The punk bands which grew out
of Britain's deep recession in 1976 found a niche among working-class youths
living on the dole.

The young Britons had reason to be angry, frustrated and anti-establishment.
But punk is almost dead in Britain today. The only spiky-hair punks are those
asking money from tourists who take their photographs.

So what are our youngsters protesting against in a country having  double-digit economic growth, near-zero
unemployment, great consumerism and heading for developed status?

The answers they gave during a recent interview seem vague and nothing to do
with economics or politics. Claiming to be non-fascists ("we hold no racial
prejudices'') and clean-living ("we don't do drugs''), local punks say they
“just want to be punks.''

These Malaysians simply want to be different and stand out in the crowd.

Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad was right on target when he told our youngsters
to stop copying the West. They have no issues, no direction and no stand.

In all likelihood, it is just a passing fad.

The Government is right in banning punk styles in schools. There are rules to
follow and the best place to start is at school.

But the adults, especially politicians, should loosen up a little to  separate the two issues of punk culture and
men sporting long hair.

The latter, especially those who are decently dressed, have since  received greater acceptance by the public. As
for the so-called punk  culture in
Malaysia, surely it is over-reaction on the part of those who want punks
rounded up.

In the Klang Valley, motorists now find fewer
Bangladeshis working at petrol stations. It's the Malaysian cashier they deal
with now. Over the next few weeks, the immigration department together with the
other authorities will begin a crackdown on illegal foreign immigrants. This
crackdown is long overdue.

We are paying a heavier price than what most Malaysians think for the large
influx of foreigners.

For a country with a population of about 20 million people, it has been
estimated that there are two million illegal foreign workers about 10 per cent
of the total population.

The frightening part is that no one can say for sure the exact figure because
they are illegals. It can be a million, two million or even more. Most of these
illegals are believed to be found in Sabah, Johor, Selangor and Pahang.

No government can allow a situation where you have two million foreigners
moving around in your country with their identities unknown. It is a threat to
national security, to put it in a nutshell.

Malaysians are generally aware of the social implications posed by the illegal
immigrants.

They have seen or read about the mushrooming of squatter colonies, the aggressive
traders at pasar malam and in Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur, they have taken over a
section of the city.

We have Malaysian hawkers who simply lease their licences to these  foreigners, making it difficult for our
enforcement officers to carry out their duty.

There are already far too many crimes being committed by foreigners. Two weeks
ago, about 200 convicts were sent back to Indonesia with the other illegal
immigrants.

In Johor, fights between locals and Bangladeshis, resulting in deaths, have
been reported.

In Sabah, first-time visitors bump into more foreigners than locals. The
validity of the documents shown by these foreigners, mostly Indonesians and
Filipinos, is questionable.

And it is difficult to differentiate between locals and foreigners, especially
in Sabah. So much so that a few years ago, one illegal foreigner was made a
municipal councillor there.

Of greater concern is the political and economic consequences to the
country.

The average Malaysian, eating at the SS2 hawker centre in Petaling Jaya, may
still put on an approving smile when he finds the Indonesian helper serving
chee cheong fun or leng chee kang speaking better Cantonese than him.

But this will no longer be a novelty if the economy slows down because it will
then be difficult to send the foreign workers back.

Malaysians now live and spend as if the good times will roll forever.  Foreign labour is a short-term answer.

Many of these foreigners have brought along their families. It has been
reported that there are increasing demands for health and other facilities for
these foreigners in many states.

We are facing a pressing shortage of doctors, nurses and teachers and yet we
have to deal with the demands of foreigners, many of whom are illegals and pay
no tax.

So, before any non-governmental organisation talk about the rights of illegal
foreigners, they should also think about the rights of the average
Malaysian.

A couple of NGOs have given the impression that illegal foreigners and legal
workers in Malaysia have been so badly exploited and ill-treated by the
authorities and employers that they have nowhere to turn to.

There are crooked agents and employers, no doubt. But if the situation is that
bad, illegals wouldn't be camping at the Thai border trying to sneak in.

Until June last year, the labour department received more than 200 complaints,
mainly about salaries, from foreign workers. Most of the complainants were
Bangladeshis.

Let's not kid ourselves that these people are such a pathetic lot that  they have nowhere to turn to.

Surely, these NGOs cannot expect detention centres to give five-star hotel
treatment to illegal immigrants or expect these illegals to have sound health
after weeks of hiding in the jungle.

We have read about Indonesian illegals seeking refugee status because they were
allegedly separatists demanding Acheh's independence.

That is just the beginning. What's there to stop us from having such  political and diplomatic headaches if we
don't act against illegal immigrants now?

Many developed countries have found that foreigners set up base to  expound their political leanings. Many of
these foreigners also contribute financially to the coffers of political
organisations.

For example, in London, Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers send out their  propaganda literature all over the
world.

In Singapore, relations between the Philippines and Singapore, both Asean
members, reached an all-time low following a dispute over the sentencing of a
Filipina maid.

For Malaysia, with its proximity to its neighbours, the potential of such a
problem is even greater. We simply cannot have room for any form of subversion
or diplomatic dispute.

Our trade unions have taken the right stand by protesting against the influx of
foreign workers.

Over-dependence on cheap foreign labour will be at the expense of our workers
and unionists. A shrinking union membership will be bad in the long run.

Malaysia needs skilled workers and professionals. Its ratio of scientists and
technologists is 400 per million population compared with Japan's 6,000,
Germany's 4,700 and Singapore's 1,870 per million.

Most of our scientists are, at present, in the public sector and engaged mostly
in agricultural research.

This won't do if we are serious about our commitment towards industrialisation
and turning Malaysia into a developed country.

There have been so many announcements of private universities being set up it
is impossible to keep track of them. Setting up universities is one thing,
getting good lecturers is another.

So, if we talk about foreign university branch campuses, we will need foreign
lecturers.

There are simply not enough local lecturers. It will be good for the  country to tap the expertise of qualified
foreign lecturers as we reduce our outflow of money spent on education
overseas.

We can certainly do with the help of foreign professionals but for unskilled
foreigners, we have to put our foot down and send them back.

The problem of illegal immigrants has taken a toll on us. The Home Ministry has
proposed several tough measures but these have to be enforced
stringently.

Laws alone will not be sufficient if it takes ages to punish the offenders,
especially the errant employers.

The punishment must not only be heavy but the media must provide maximum
publicity to deter others who harbour thoughts of breaking the law.

It has been 18 years since a Malaysian Prime Minister
appeared on the cover of Time. Tunku Abdul Rahman was first featured on its
front page in April 1963, following the inclusion of Sarawak, Sabah and
Singapore into Malaysia. Tun Hussein Onn, the third prime minister got on the
cover in September 1978. Now, Dr Mahathir has been given the honour under the
headline Master Planner in his 15th year in office.

In its 10-page report, Time has painted a rosy picture of Malaysia,  pointing out its “eight continuous years of
eight per cent economic  expansion only
China has grown faster and hardly any unemployment in a land of 20 million
people.''

On Dr Mahathir, it reported that “with the exception of Singapore's  largely retired Lee Kuan Yew and China's
indisposed Deng Xiaoping, Asia has no leader with Mahathir's  determination and drive some call it hubris
or such a remarkable record.''

Of interest to readers would be a one-page story on the day in the life  of Dr Mahathir, where the reporter recorded
that the Prime Minister woke up at 6.30am and “has a quick breakfast of fruit
and toast, dresses and retires to his study to write.''

At 8.41am, the Prime Minister met the King to give his weekly briefing. The
magazine reported: “If not for his earlier meeting, he would have been at the
office by eight. The time card for the past week reads 7:57, 7:56, 7:59,
7:57.''

When he left his office at 7.10pm, it was for a quick change at home  before heading to another official
function.

Time devoted two pages to a question-and-answer session, touching on race, the
West and the economy mostly views that Malaysians are familiar with.

There are, however, several blots in the reports. Notably missing is a  profile on Dr Mahathir's assertiveness in
international fora as a spokesman of the Third World. Besides the country's
economic performance, it cannot be denied that Dr Mahathir's outspokenness has
attracted the attention of the Western media.

There is also no mention of Dr Mahathir's Vision 2020 in turning Malaysia into
a developed country.

Quite infuriating is the constant reference in the feature to the May 13, 1969,
racial riot, which seems to be compulsory background reference in all reports
on Malaysia filed by Western news agencies, including those based here. No
reporter in Malaysia, when writing about Britain or the United States, would
remind readers of racial riots in Brixton or inLos Angeles,  and more recently in Florida.

The position of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was brought up again, to which Dr
Mahathir replied that “his qualities are okay. I think he can step into the
job for some reason I should drop dead or become disabled.''

Somewhat unflattering is a piece headlined The Masters of Mahathir Inc, which
Time has chosen to describe a group of businessmen as “croonies'' and “small
group of favoured businessmen.''

Dr Mahathir has made public his unhappiness at the report. The write-up would
have been balanced if more research was done on the role of the private sector
in the economy.

Generally, privatisation has been successfully carried out in Malaysia although
there are snags in some sectors and misgivings by the people when it comes to
having to dig deeper into their pockets.

In most areas, however, privatisation has brought a greater degree of
efficiency and the contribution of the business sector should not be  under-played. Big business need not be a
dirty word if businessmen are good corporate citizens.

The Republican Party in the United States and the Conservative Party in
Britain, for instance, have close ties with big business. Many Republican
leaders are multi-millionaires.

It would have been interesting had Time dealt a little on the growing Malaysian
middle-class and their role in local politics.

The buoyant economy has created affluent, educated and well-travelled
Malaysians. What will they look for in the national leadership?

Our leaders will have to respond to this group of expanding electorate in
guiding the nation into the next century.

"We have heard about the amazing economic pace in
Malaysia but what we saw was unbelievable,'' said diplomatic journalist Mirce
Jovanovski.

The reporter from Macedonia's largest newspaper, Nova Makedonija, was among the
20 invited by the Malaysian Government to see for themselves what the country
is like.

"But you must do something about your traffic congestion and public  transport in Kuala Lumpur. It's very
difficult to move around,'' he said.

At the farewell luncheon, Malaysian counterparts urged the visitors to  give their impressions of Malaysia and to be
frank.

Were they frustrated by our cabbies? Did they check out the KL nightlife? What
did they think of our multi-racial and multi-religious society?

The end result was a free flow of opinions and a new friendship was  struck between fellow journalists from two
different parts of the world.

Although it must have cost the Foreign Ministry a substantial sum to  bring these journalists here, it certainly
was money well-spent.

The tour is a good follow-up to the visit by Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad to
the Balkans in April, where he said the Balkans could act as a  gateway for Malaysia to export its goods to
Eastern Europe.

The Prime Minister had said that his visit to Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and
Macedonia was not merely to gain access to Balkan nations but also to Eastern Europe.

For a long time, Malaysia's trade has been confined only to certain European
countries and Japan. His visit and follow-up will be important for Malaysia to
expand its trade.

Although these newly-independent Balkan countries are small, their size  do not reflect their potential.

Despite Dr Mahathir's high profile and Malaysia's aggressive foray in the
diplomatic front, the fact remains that Malaysia is still unknown in most  parts of the world.

Except for Commonwealth countries, the average American and European are
unlikely to know where Malaysia is.

As our businessmen expand their links overseas, Malaysia needs to polish its
image and public relations exercise. One way of doing so would be to bring
foreign newsmen here.

In most developing countries, the press depends on Western news agencies to
supply the bulk of material to their newspapers.

What gets printed about Malaysia eventually is what these news agencies want to
see published. The situation is worse, for example, in Zimbabwe and South
Africa where the newspaper owners are whites.

Malaysian companies, which have successfully outbid Western businesses in
Africa, have found themselves to be the target of these white-owned media. The
situation is the same in Brazil, where not a word is mentioned about Western
loggers, but Malaysians get a bashing.

For example,London-based Reuters attached great importance to a news item about
a three-hour blackout in Kuala Lumpur.

And thanks to some of our non-governmental organisations and the unruly action
by the People's Action Front in stopping the Second Asia-Pacific Conference on
East Timor (Apcet II), Malaysia made it into CNN and the International Herald
Tribune, while most of the viewers and readers try to figure out where East
Timor is.

As the trade war hots up, the Foreign Ministry will be entrusted with a  bigger responsibility. It will have to take
the bull by the horns.

Unlike their Western counterparts, the Malaysian diplomatic corps is reluctant
to write to the media to counter allegations brought up in the  press.

Embassy information officers, under the Information Ministry, will have to
cultivate a relationship with local journalists in order to become more
influential.

The US Information Agency, for example, spends millions of dollars inviting
young leaders, journalists and unionists to international programmes and
fellowships to universities for such purposes.

But there is no hard-sell. The agency does not bore its guests with government
propaganda participants  get to stay with
American families to  experience life in
America.

Such people-to-people contact is the most memorable and the participant  is likely to maintain close ties with his
host. The same participant would  most
likely not correspond with a government official after his trip.

The Malaysian Government should sponsor such trips for influential figures from
Eastern Europe, South American and Africa.

It should also engage a professional film-maker to produce videotapes of  Malaysia for distribution to television
stations whenever the Prime Minister 
visits developing countries.

Whenever Dr Mahathir goes overseas, accompanying television crew from RTM and
TV3 would use the facilities of local TV stations to send their feed to Kuala
Lumpur.

On many occasions, the Malaysian TV crews would be asked by their  counterparts whether they had brought along
videotapes of Malaysia which they could air in conjunction with Dr Mahathir's
visit. Often, the answer is “no''.

Thus, a chance to showcase development in Malaysia and its unique makeup is
lost.

The time has come for more professionalism in the various ministries
responsible for making Malaysia known to the world. It would mean spending  some money but then nothing is free.

But that does not prevent him from sending press
statements to so-called pro-government newspapers which he despises. Most of
his statements are published, even when some have no relevance to the movement
he is heading.

These examples give NGOs a bad image. Yet there are many in the NGO circle who
carry out their tasks quietly, doing their social work within a tight
budget.

Ikhlas, a relatively unknown NGO, carries out AIDS prevention work in the Chow
Kit area while Hospis provides counselling for the terminally-ill in hospitals
without fanfare.

The general Malaysian perception of an NGO is that it is vocal and, at times,
anti-government. In fact, of the over-8,000 NGOs in this country, only a
handful are said to be politically involved.

The recent involvement of NGOs in organising the Second Asia Pacific Conference
on East Timor (Apcet II) and in protesting against the Michael Jackson concert
has put them in the news.

Earlier, some NGOs tried to stop the broadcasting of the Miss Malaysia pagaent
finals on TV.

The NGOs involved in these three episodes are not related but some of them have
got together on other issues.

In all these cases, the much-used cliches of human rights and freedom of
expression have been spouted. In their attempt to stop the Jackson concert,
some NGO leaders claimed that it “will lead to social injustice.''

Left unspoken was the right of Malaysians to see the concert.

No one would condone the unruly action taken by the People's Action Front to
stop the Apcet II meeting.

On the other hand, the organisers should have thought about national interests
before talking about East Timor. Did they actually believe that the meeting
would resolve the problems there and did they ask themselves  whether the meeting would benefit
Malaysia?

NGOs in Malaysia have come under scrutiny over the past few years as more of
them are set up. Some have had to register as a company instead of a society as
the process of getting approval becomes tougher.

Many of them are one or two-man outfits, although they profess to represent the
entire Malaysian population. The problem with some NGO leaders, even when their
intentions are good, is their self-righteousness.

They impose their beliefs and values on others, forgetting that what they are
doing is precisely against their very existence that people must have a choice.
This is what democracy is about.

Because they are louder than others, it does not mean that the silent majority
must accept their views. Here lies the oxymoron NGOs, the flag-bearers of free
expression, launching a campaign against an expression of another kind.

Many Malaysians believe the NGOs are doing a decent job, airing alternative
views in the absence of a strong Opposition.

Most NGOs try to be non-political and dissociate themselves from political
parties. In the case of Apcet II, the involvement of Parti Rakyat Malaysia and
the DAP Socialist Youth has put a damper on the claim that it was  organised solely by NGOs.

In the case of the Jackson concert, not all NGOs pushed for the ban.
Unfortunately, most NGOs remained silent, preferring not to offend their
peers.

Perhaps, the silent NGO leaders felt the concert was too trivial a matter but
they had failed to practise what they preach.

On its part, the establishment should not generalise that NGOs are a nuisance.
As the nation progresses and the people become more educated and
well-travelled, their voices for democratisation will be louder.

The push for masyarakat madani or a civil society, where the people can have
more participation in government, has no meaning if there is no wider democracy
space.

NGOs can be agents of development, providing substantive input to development
programmes.

NGOs keep the Government in touch with the people's needs and can ensure that
government programmes benefit the public.

For example, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, himself a product of an NGO as a former
Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim) chief, set a trend after he became finance
minister by inviting NGOs to pre-Budget dialogues.

NGOs, through their grassroots contacts, are often in a better position to
provide views on economically and socially disadvantaged people and making sure
that these alternative views are reflected in the national political  agenda.

Many professionals, including academicians and lawyers, have sacrificed much
better paying careers to be involved in NGO jobs. The only perk that comes
along is perhaps all-expenses paid invitations to overseas seminars to present
working papers.

These professionals could have easily obtained lucrative positions in the private
sector, play golf on weekends, rub shoulders with the elite and preach lofty
ideals instead of dealing with the grievances of the underprivileged.

Their beliefs and practice may at times be questionable and even  objectionable but it is difficult to find
fault with their consistency.

Third World Network's Martin Khor, a contemporary of Singapore Deputy Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong in university, gave up teaching at Universiti Sains
Malaysia because of his belief in South-South co-operation.

The Penang-based group won the 1996 award for South-South co-operation,
presented by the Group of 77 and the United Nations Development Programme  (UNDP). The presentation ceremony in New York
on Sept 27 was held during a meeting of G77 Foreign Ministers.

But these unsung heroes in NGOs are not elected representatives although they
share the same aspiration, that of looking after the people's welfare.

Recognising the role of NGOs, the Government has increased its financial
allocation to NGOs from RM4.9 million in 1991 to RM13.4 million in 1995 a
record rise of 173 per cent. Many NGOs refuse to accept financial aid  either from the Government or foreign
institutions to maintain their  independence.

Those which depend on foreign grants have been accused of stirring up
anti-government sentiments to justify their existence. Press cuttings and clips
from television coverage are used as supporting documents in their  yearly application for funds.

As Malaysia progresses, and with more NGOs on the scene, let's see a convergence
of views rather than a divergence. Then, perhaps, they can be seen as
expressing the views of most Malaysians.

It did not matter to him that a reporter or journalist
was one and the same. It's just another name for a newspaper scribe.

A journalist sounded better and more respectable to him and that's all it
counts.

As the clock approached 5pm, he fidgeted on his seat and pestered the editors
to clear his story so he could go home.

He also said in no uncertain terms that he should be paid overtime if he was
asked to stay an extra minute. The labour law, after all, provides for
that.

It did not bother him a bit that he was still learning the ropes and was  in no position to make demands. Working hard
and being rewarded later meant nothing to him.

It's "reward me first and work later'' that is more important. The  result is poor work attitude and untested and
unproven performance.

His appraisal form, of course, has been submitted to the human resources
department which used to be known as the personnel department and, at one time,
labour department.

"Please, don't call us labour or 
personnel department. There are 
no more Malaysian labourers left. There are only Bangladeshi and
Indonesian labourers,'' insisted a human resources officer.

Such scenario, which has become familiar in our country, was important enough
for the Prime Minister to bring up during the Umno general assembly last
week.

Dedicating a large part of his winding-up speech at the end of the  three-day meeting to social issues, Datuk
Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad spoke of how Malaysians were coping socially in a
hectic economy.

"They are only concerned with style these days, it does not matter  what's in their pocket,'' he lamented.

He warned Malaysians of the dangers of being status-conscious and casting aside
practicality.

He said that during the colonial days, the British administrators did not mind
being called advisers although they wielded tremendous clout.

"They told the sultans that they were the rulers, and that they (the  British) were mere advisers but the fact was
that their advice must be accepted,'' he said.

Although Dr Mahathir's message on the dangers of having perceived power, rather
than real power, was directed at the Malay community, it struck a chord among
Malaysians.

Malaysians have not only become more brand-conscious, preferring  up-market and expensive lifestyles, but are
more status-conscious as they climb the social ladder impatiently.

Unfortunately, they have lost some traditional grace along the way.

The "Ugly Malaysian'' image has slowly reared its head, thus the obsession
with titles and positions.

According to a human resources consultant, who used to call himself an
employment officer, an impressive-sounding job designation attracted more
response when an advertisement was placed in a newspaper.

"For example, vice-president sounds better than a general manager. It does not
matter if there are 10 other vice-presidents in the company,'' he said.

No self-respecting public relations officer, for instance, wants to be caught
with that title now. They prefer to be called communications  managers.

The hotel receptionist is now the front desk officer while the telephone
operator has become a telephonist.

Go to the shopping complex, the cosmetic salesgirl is either called a  beauty consultant or make-up artist.

At a more up-market boutique, the shop assistant turns into a fashion or image
adviser.

At another level, the ordinary salesman will create a ruckus if his boss does
not call him a sales executive or marketing executive these days. It doesn't
matter if the commission remains static.

The office-boy, who was called a peon during the colonial days, has  progressed to become an administration
assistant.

Of course, there are different job functions now. He has to know some computer
skills and learn to use the photostat machine.

Down the office corridor, the secretary has just been redesignated as PA
(personal assistant) to the boss.

What about the man who makes sure the machines are running in the office? You
will just have to call him an engineer, even if he doesn't have a university
degree. No, he's no longer a mere technician.

Outside the office, the gardener who waters the grass insists that he be called
a landscape artist while the guard has become a security officer.

On the home front, you better introduce your non-working wife as a  home-maker (an American term) or domestic
manager. Of course, there are those who call their wives "home
ministers.''

Even the term servant is no longer politically correct. The much  preferred term will be a domestic helper or
maid.

My friend, the human resources consultant, however, is not apologetic about
such fancy designations, scoffing any suggestions that they create unnecessary
status-consciousness.

"It gives a person a sense of pride and confidence in his work. When that
happens, the person naturally performs better in his or her job,'' he
justified.

So, what's in a name, you may ask. A lot, certainly.

A colleague swears that he treated gravely one professional Taoist priest at a funeral
after the man handed him a card which stated his job function as “grief
eradicator.''

"You can say that is probably the most bizarre designation I have ever heard
in my life,'' he said.

A factory manager said he had become wary and cautious of people with long
designations, preferring to find out what they actually do first.

"I have met many so-called consultants in projects involving my factory. I
have also experienced many real con jobs. So-called con-sultants with their
so-called con-nections,'' he said.

Malaysians must show their revulsion at such form of status-consciousness and
one-upmanship and return to plain humbleness and politeness.

 
The kiasu attitude, like it or not, is
foreign to us even if it's notoriously pursued down south.

Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim
blamed the growing expensive taste of Malaysians as among the reasons for the
deficit.

Malaysians, he said, were dressing themselves and furnishing their houses and
offices with costly imports.

Last year, 14.2 per cent of the country's imports, totalling RM28  billion, comprised consumer goods.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad has also complained that too many
Malaysians were travelling overseas.

More than 80 per cent or 16 million of the country's 20 million people have
travelled abroad.

Dr Mahathir described such visits as a worrying trend because they are a
serious drain on the country's foreign exchange.

Malaysians have been excessive. Many of them think the good times will roll
along forever.

Besides eating at fancy restaurants, shopping has become a national past-time,
with many flashing their wallets for pricey items.

Kempen Inflasi Sifar (Zero Inflation Campaign) has become a joke as Malaysians
flock to shopping malls to buy expensive clothing instead of essential
items.

My friend Jamal, a businessman, complained that his daughter would only go for
designer brands such as Donna Karan, Chanel, Moschino andLouis Vuitton for her
clothes and accessories.

"She is so brand-conscious. I really pity the man she marries if he is not
loaded. For her, the 5Cs are important cash, car, credit card, condominium and
career,'' he said.

Going to a cinema means buying a RM8 seat at a cineplex with digital sound
effects. The neighbourhood cinema just isn't good enough.

She's willing to continue wearing her colourful Swatch but she has served early
notice for her 21st birthday gift "a Longine with diamonds will be
nice.''

Of course, a vacation would even be nicer. The destination need not be far.
Exotic Bali will do.

Jamal's daughter, who is in a private college, however said she shouldn't be
the only one getting the blame. After all, she has acquired her expensive taste
from her parents.

"My dad is ready to fork out a few hundred bucks for a silk tie. It's the same
with mum. She has no qualms in parting with the same amount for a cut and
perm.''

Then, there is mother's weekly face-lift and aroma therapy at the beauty salons
with the tais tais, datins and toh puans before adjourning to a nearby hotel
for the high tea with fashion show.

"Do you know how much dad has to pay for all these to keep mum happy and to be
on par with the others? It's a bomb, you can be sure,'' added the daughter.
Jamal, on the other hand, loves Italian clothes from Giorgio Armani suits to
Bruno Magli shoes and listening to Pavarotti.

It's certainly a far cry from his student days at Universiti Kebangsaan
Malaysia when the T-shirt, sneakers, gold-rimmed round glasses and goatee were
his trademark.

As an idealistic student, the only thing on his mind was to fight for the
down-trodden and underprivileged. But these days he is more interested in
securing a new business contract and going to the golf course.

Jamal, who is in his early 40s, takes his daughter out shopping every weekend.
He said he wouldn't mind his daughter using the supplementary credit card on
clothing "so long as she is not on Ecstasy pills or any drugs.''

He is defensive of his lifestyle, arguing that he can afford it and has a right
to it.

He makes no apologies for his golf club membership, saying the club was an
excellent place to network and secure more business.

"Let's be realistic. Nothing in this world comes free. As they say,  there's no such thing as a free lunch,'' he
justified.

His expensive suits, he said, project confidence and his clients know that they
are dealing with a professional when they see his dapper dressing and
mannerism.

"How can I walk into a meeting room for a presentation, looking like a chiak
kai (lousy dresser) fella? What will the mat sallehs think of us
Malaysians?''

He has another point to make politicians who tell average Malaysians to change
their lifestyles should first do so themselves. After all, that's what
leadership by example is all about.

How many of our leaders travel in a Proton Perdana or Proton Limousine? Their
preference would be the sleek imported Mercedes-Benz or BMW.

Despite their rhetoric criticism against the declining moral standards in the
West, many still prefer to shop in London, Milan or Paris for the better-cut
double-breasted suit and matching floral tie.

Holidaying in Malaysia? No, that's out of the question because it won't be a real
rest as the constituents, supporters and businessmen just wouldn't leave them
alone.

The call to cut down on imported goods should rightly be directed at the elite
and upper-middle class Malaysians.

While the statistics show a deficit in the balance of payments, it may  not be fair to say all Malaysians have been
afflicted with the “expensive taste'' syndrome.

Many a Malaysian may take his family to the shopping mall on a Sunday to pass
the time and perhaps eat at a fast-food outlet but the average Ahmad, Ah Beng
or Muthu is unlikely to enter a designer label retail shop.

He is more likely to buy his groceries at a hypermarket or pasar malam where
the food is cheaper and fresher. He will probably buy his clothes at the Reject
Shop.

Buying expensive imported items is certainly not on his list of  priorities.

The average wage-earner works hard, watches television with his family in the
evening, talks of going to Genting Highlands or Port Dickson for the weekend,
and hopes to get a computer for his child come bonus time in December.

Still, advertisements put out by travel agencies show that it is no  longer expensive for the Malaysian family to
go overseas on a package  holiday.

A week's tour to China or Australia costs about RM1,800, which is within the
means of most Malaysians.

The challenge will be for Malaysian hoteliers to attract locals, perhaps
highlighting the environment aspect as some tour operators in Terengganu and
Sarawak have done.

And as Anwar mentioned, it's time our local manufacturers prove that their
products can be good.

By the way, how do you pronounce Louis Vuitton correctly? Zegna what?

Not grass or uppers but hard drugs.

Between 1990 and 1995, a total of 513 single mothers gave birth at welfare
institutions. The figure shows an increase of 280 per cent from 1990.

Are these findings the result of parents with demanding high-profile jobs not
spending time with their children?

Many urban parents shower their children with money, gifts, supplementary
credit cards and handphones but have no idea how their children spend their
time and with whom.

Without having to earn for what they have and leading a materialistic
lifestyle, the only attention these children get are from their peers.

However, the inability to spend time with children is but one of the causes.
The other is having to deal with the high expectations of urban living.

For example, Joseph Ong, a modern father of 46, prides himself for taking great
pains to spend quality time with his son.

Every morning he gets out of his Subang Jaya home at 7am to beat the traffic
madness to take his 13-year-old son to a nearby international school.

And every weekend, Joe faithfully takes his wife, an advertising executive, and
son to a recreation club.

His household is cared for by an Indonesian maid who cleans and cooks for the
boy when he returns from school. Last week, the boy asked his father to stop
sending him to school as he wouldn't mind going by bus.

The teenager did not want to be seen in his father's Proton Saga when many of
his schoolmates were driven in BMW or Mercedes-Benz.

"My son also asked if we could have an English-speaking Filipino maid
instead,'' Joe grumbled.

"After getting a Internet-ready computer installed, he asked for an
air-conditioner, saying he couldn't sleep. He would probably ask for a
handphone to chat with his girlfriends next.''

Joe had heard similar tales from his colleagues but never thought it would
happen to him. Being a child from the 60s and a product of the flower-power
era, he was disappointed that his child didn't possess any of his ideals.

The only consolation Joe has is that his son is bright, computer-literate,
ambitious, reads widely and would probably succeed in life.

Joe is quite sure that his son had come across pornographic materials, while
surfing the Net and merely told him to stay away.

He believes his son does not smoke but may have tried a stick or two, as Joe
did in his school days.

"Clinton himself admitted he tried smoking grass while in college although he
said he didn't inhale. Do you believe him?,'' said Joe.

It's always so easy for politicians to talk about social programmes and the
involvement of government and non-governmental organisations to fight social
ills.

Although something is being done, like the Rakan Muda project, incidents of young
people getting high or flushing babies down toilet bowls still occur.

Then, there is the outrageous call to close down all karaoke lounges and video
arcades. How these outlets are linked to worsening social problems among youths
remain debatable.

Some experts believe that karaoke singing can help build self-confidence, while
playing computer games stimulates the mind and sharpens the reflexes.

Moreover, teenagers are not allowed into karaoke lounges and even if they get
to sneak in, few could afford the charges.

The survey has, without doubt, alerted parents and policy-makers to the
seriousness of the country's social and moral development. After all, these are
important elements in the national agenda to make Vision 2020 a success.

The country's remarkable economic success has, in some ways, led to various
social problems including the degradation of moral values.

It looks like the weakening of traditional family relationships in modern
living has taken a toll on us.

It's always so easy to blame the young ones and to come up with knee-jerk
reactions and later backtrack. The fact is, all of us are equally responsible
and we haven't the guts to admit to not knowing how to deal with it
effectively.

Take the case of smoking. We banned it in many public places but enforcement is
such a sham. The Government allows tobacco companies to sponsor major sport
events, including indirectly promoting their product through TV
commercials.

We tell our children that smoking is bad, yet many including teachers and
parents smoke openly. So how do we convince our children?

What about gambling? Take your pick horse racing, 3D, 4D, lottery. If you don't
have money, you can always catch the game shows on TV.

Mention moral education, and everyone nods approvingly. But we all know that
the subject is so unimportant that sometimes the period is used for something
else.

And since the school teacher is unable to teach everything in school, and if
your child needs the notes and model answers for exams, he will have to attend
tuition class after school.

Mum and dad are too busy to listen to their problems but will pay the tuition
fees. After all, they will lose face if the child fails to get straight
A's.

It's tough to be a child these days. It should be even harder for parents and
politicians to say, without being hypocritical that they lived puritan
lifestyles during the 50s and 60s.

If you are inclined to believe the latter, then you would believe Clinton
didn't inhale when he smoked grass. You would probably believe everything
you're told.