A.O.H. writes a letter to the the editor of the New Straits Times on the current pressure from courts on litigation lawyers.
Read it here (NST Online link) and be enlightened on what we liti lawyers face daily.
The writer is not exaggerating. When I inquired about a change of date at the Court of Appeal, the officer in charge blithely said over the phone: 'Right now the Court of Appeal will only grant adjournment if there's death or near death. You or your family.'
'Death of near death?' I asked in a humoured voice, somewhat shocked and amused by the audacity of the statement.
'Yes, death of near death,' she replied (I could sense from a chuckle she too found it ridiculous but had to tow the line).
In another instance, my colleague called another Court; she had clashing hearing dates and needed to rearrange them. 'No, the court won't give you another date. You choose la which file is more important to you.'
There's a point where it's so ridiculous it's almost funny. Almost.
Thank you, Jason Lim, for the link.
Thursday, 24 February 2011
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
Seeing Clearly Now
My brother's cataract operation went well yesterday, thank God. He had lenses changed for both eyes. He was on general anesthesia (local is the norm) as he has Down's Syndrome and they wanted to operate on him just once. Thank you so much to those who kept him in your thoughts, prayers. He's going for a post-opp check up today. I believe everything will be fine and he'll be watching Phineas and Ferb again by this evening (albeit further away from the telly!).
The day before, my sister won tickets to watch 'Life Sdn. Bhd. 6: ABUSE', directed by Dato' Faridah Merican, from KLUE's website. My sister very graciously asked me to watch it with her last night (although my having a car may've been part of the reason).
The performance is about stories of abuse in Malaysia, some of them told by survivors, all of them true. I was told by Dato' Faridah that some survivors wanted to remain anonymous as they were still afraid of repercussions should they speak openly, and so friends/actors had to convey their stories on stage. These are the times we live in, people.
The performance was more of a sharing session that a play: no plot or props, just people telling stories, with some great songs (by Ian Chow and Khairil M. Bahar) and one dance sequence in between. Not long into the show, many of the performers and audience were in tears from the riveting tales shared, but I can assure you those tears can come from one place: truth. I know they're true not because I read the pamphlet, but because I know (or know enough of) these performers.
It was enlightening to say the least and I learnt some subtle truths about abuse: it starts a vicious-cycle that is difficult to break, it can come in many forms, and from unexpected (sometimes painfully ironic) places, and our silence and ignorance creates more problems than it solves.
'Life Sdn. Bhd. 6: ABUSE' plays till this Sunday at the Actor's Studio Lot 10. Find out more here.
[Ed 24/2: My brother's check-up went alright. He'll go for a second check-up next week, and in the meantime wear large lab-glasses that make him look rather like a sci-fi cartoon character. They're meant to allow the lenses to adjust in his eyes properly without overexposure to light/UV rays, etc.]
The day before, my sister won tickets to watch 'Life Sdn. Bhd. 6: ABUSE', directed by Dato' Faridah Merican, from KLUE's website. My sister very graciously asked me to watch it with her last night (although my having a car may've been part of the reason).
The performance is about stories of abuse in Malaysia, some of them told by survivors, all of them true. I was told by Dato' Faridah that some survivors wanted to remain anonymous as they were still afraid of repercussions should they speak openly, and so friends/actors had to convey their stories on stage. These are the times we live in, people.
The performance was more of a sharing session that a play: no plot or props, just people telling stories, with some great songs (by Ian Chow and Khairil M. Bahar) and one dance sequence in between. Not long into the show, many of the performers and audience were in tears from the riveting tales shared, but I can assure you those tears can come from one place: truth. I know they're true not because I read the pamphlet, but because I know (or know enough of) these performers.
It was enlightening to say the least and I learnt some subtle truths about abuse: it starts a vicious-cycle that is difficult to break, it can come in many forms, and from unexpected (sometimes painfully ironic) places, and our silence and ignorance creates more problems than it solves.
'Life Sdn. Bhd. 6: ABUSE' plays till this Sunday at the Actor's Studio Lot 10. Find out more here.
[Ed 24/2: My brother's check-up went alright. He'll go for a second check-up next week, and in the meantime wear large lab-glasses that make him look rather like a sci-fi cartoon character. They're meant to allow the lenses to adjust in his eyes properly without overexposure to light/UV rays, etc.]
Monday, 21 February 2011
The Platfrom 2011
Last year I acted in and wrote for ‘Lost & Found’, a play at The Actors Studio Lot 10 directed by Joe Hasham and Gavin Yap. Through my involvement, I learnt a lot about writing, acting, performing and communicating, as well as about myself. I had the privilege of working with 2 well respected veteran directors as well as a warm and wonderful cast of 11 other writers and actors. It was one of the most exhausting, enjoyable and rewarding projects I ever did.
I got into ‘Lost & Found’ because I put up a short play in one of the monthly installments of ‘The Platform @ KLPAC’, with the help of friends Marina Tan, Khairil M Bahar, Amanda Ang, Aizat Faiz and Wan Azhar.
This year, I'm co-coordinating the season with the help of Marina Tan. The core concept's the same: an 'open mic night' for theatre in all its form (except musicals and dance) every first Monday of the month till July 2011, at Indicine KLPAC, 8.30pm. It's open to everyone and both admission and participation is free!
So, if you've got a performance you're dying to put up in any language (yes, any!) or even no language (physical theatre, mime, etc), then submit a piece to <theplaform at klpac dot org>. It's free and simple: no auditions, callbacks, script readings or endless rehearsals. If you've got something to show, then the stage is yours.
If you're looking for actors, scripts or directors, visit our fb page by looking for theplatform@klpac, and post up what you need.
You may even be chosen to perform at the full year-end production in November! So really, you've got nothing to lose!
I got into ‘Lost & Found’ because I put up a short play in one of the monthly installments of ‘The Platform @ KLPAC’, with the help of friends Marina Tan, Khairil M Bahar, Amanda Ang, Aizat Faiz and Wan Azhar.
This year, I'm co-coordinating the season with the help of Marina Tan. The core concept's the same: an 'open mic night' for theatre in all its form (except musicals and dance) every first Monday of the month till July 2011, at Indicine KLPAC, 8.30pm. It's open to everyone and both admission and participation is free!
So, if you've got a performance you're dying to put up in any language (yes, any!) or even no language (physical theatre, mime, etc), then submit a piece to <
If you're looking for actors, scripts or directors, visit our fb page by looking for theplatform@klpac, and post up what you need.
You may even be chosen to perform at the full year-end production in November! So really, you've got nothing to lose!
Writers Are Supreme Egotists
My friend Khai has transcribed Kevin Smith's cheat-tweets on how writing is the closest thing to playing God for us mortals. No wonder I like writing...
Click here to read it.
Thanks a lot for the link Khai.
Click here to read it.
Thanks a lot for the link Khai.
You Should Date An Illiterate Girl
Charles Warnke writes at Though Catalog on why dating girls who read leads to lifelong misery.
Click here for the article.
Link sent to me from Lil' Tan. I miss you, you Heffalump you!
Click here for the article.
Link sent to me from Lil' Tan. I miss you, you Heffalump you!
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Kan Dah Kata?!
Can't say I didn't warn you guys about this. (Star Online News)
My country never fails to shock, humour and enrage me at the same time.
My country never fails to shock, humour and enrage me at the same time.
Monday, 14 February 2011
Shameless Self-Promo
I'll be on NTV7's Breakfast Show tomorrow morning, along with Toby Teh and Ian Homer, to talk about this year's 'The Platform @ klpac' season, which I'm helping to co-ordinate.
Food for Thought
John Malott, former U.S. ambassador to Malaysia (and undoubtedly an Anuar chum) writes for Wall Street Journal about 'The Price of Malaysia's Racism'.
Fair and honest commentary or Western Imperialistic bias and exaggeration?
Read it, then debate it.
Fair and honest commentary or Western Imperialistic bias and exaggeration?
Read it, then debate it.
East or West, Mum is Best!
Even before I read her words, I had heard about her and her memoir, the rather militantly titled 'Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother', from other sources. Amy Chua's everywhere on the net these days.
But when I actually read her article on Wall Street Journal's website, excerpted from her memoir and titled 'Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior' (subtlety is not Chua's strong point), I was moved. Really.
I moved through shock and horror, understanding and empathy, anger and humour. I reluctantly conceded some points while strongly disagreed with others. Chua is definitely blunt in many places (she's sparked a mini clash of civilisations after all) but as a child who grew up in a home environment indirectly shaped by Confucian values, her stabs were not new ones.
Before you jump the gun, let me tell you bluntly myself: my mum is not Amy Chua. Not at all. Neither is my dad. They no doubt share many of her values and beliefs: that education is of supreme importance, that parents should wield authority over their children, that parents objectively know better the real needs of their children, that bolstering a child's self-esteem is not the primary objective of parenting—providing for the child is, especially in terms of education, but they are no where near as iron-fisted as Chua.
Compared to many parents I personal know or know of, mine are relatively strict and very conservative (that is not a criticism, mind you), but compared to Chua, they are almost hippies. It seems to me Chua takes the imposition of her values on her children to the extreme, to a point where it could probably lead to diminishing returns. Her kids might be tough and come out great, but I can imagine many others getting nervous breakdowns by 12, regardless of ethnicity.
I do not doubt Chua loves her daughters and wants the best for them and their future (at least by her standards), and I am not here to judge whether she is a bad mother or a good mother, or whether or not her style of parenting is superior in any sense of the word. I will not comment on any emotional effects her parenting will have on her kids, their happiness or their adult relationship with her.
What I can say is this. What Chua and her 'type' are doing to their kids is merely to produce perfect conformists. People who will have stable jobs and live in safe neighbourhoods and watch 20 seasons of American Idol and die anonymous to the world. Can anyone say if there's something wrong with that? Not really.
In many ways I am one of them. This 'safeness', this 'stablity' in life (encompassing financial, familial, societal safety and stability) is something that my parents and their parents treasure above many, if not all, other things. And because they believe this security and stability comes from education, they endeavored to give me the best they could afford in that area. No, not the best toys and Play Stations and gadgets and laptops and summer camps, but the best tuition and books and colleges and universities. I will admit I have not always been thankful, or even aware of this.
But now, this security and stability, this safeness, is something I am thankful for every morning. I know that, unless I make horrendous blunders in life or my society turns upside down, I will always have food and clothing and shelter because I have an education which assures my employment. And I know I have my parents to thank for it, and I also know it came to me at no small sacrifice on their part. I know all this very well. Yet, this safety and stability is the same thing I sometimes resent at night. It is this same thing that I feel has limited my options and negated my desires for a different, freer, less conventional life.
Let's face it, Chua's kids (and all kids who have parents are like her) may get A's and gain scholarships and go to top universities, but they will never be groundbreaking theorists or academicians. They may play the piano perfectly, but will never be the great composers. They may be literate and communicate well, but will never write 'The Great American Novel' or an award-wining play. They will be hardworking and rise the ranks, but will never venture their own start-ups. They will be excellent managers, accountants, bankers who will be hired by many big corporations, but will never be entrepreneurs, inventors or risk takers who make the news.
There will be no Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerbergs, Tiger Woods, Richard Bransons, Theresa Tengs, Itzhak Perlmans, Meryl Streeps, JK Rowlings, Picassos, Robert Frosts, Quentin Tarrantinos, Schumanns, Stephen Hawkings, Mother Theresas, Ghandis or Thomas Edisons to come from them. It's almost impossible. I mean, can you really imagine any of those kids changing the world in any significant way?
Their job in life is just to do their job really, really well, and get ahead by pure efficiency. Their goal will be to live quiet lives away from trouble and have kids who do the same. They will pay taxes and vote and read newspapers, but will probably never get into politics. Their goal is not to create change, or initiate paradigm shifts, or to spread charity, or to lead peoples, or to cure world problems, or to make headlines, or to be brilliantly creative. But again, can anyone say this is wrong? Not really.
There is no right or wrong here, that's the point.
Chua may be right about many things when she criticizes what she calls Western style parenting. But she also must understand that encouraging creativity and freedom and self expression and self respect can lead to great failures and well as great successes, often both in the same lifetime. Her parenting may lead to success in her kids, but only a very limited, albeit perfectly acceptable, definition of success.
Also read mainland's Chinese mums' reactions at newsweek.com
But when I actually read her article on Wall Street Journal's website, excerpted from her memoir and titled 'Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior' (subtlety is not Chua's strong point), I was moved. Really.
I moved through shock and horror, understanding and empathy, anger and humour. I reluctantly conceded some points while strongly disagreed with others. Chua is definitely blunt in many places (she's sparked a mini clash of civilisations after all) but as a child who grew up in a home environment indirectly shaped by Confucian values, her stabs were not new ones.
Before you jump the gun, let me tell you bluntly myself: my mum is not Amy Chua. Not at all. Neither is my dad. They no doubt share many of her values and beliefs: that education is of supreme importance, that parents should wield authority over their children, that parents objectively know better the real needs of their children, that bolstering a child's self-esteem is not the primary objective of parenting—providing for the child is, especially in terms of education, but they are no where near as iron-fisted as Chua.
Compared to many parents I personal know or know of, mine are relatively strict and very conservative (that is not a criticism, mind you), but compared to Chua, they are almost hippies. It seems to me Chua takes the imposition of her values on her children to the extreme, to a point where it could probably lead to diminishing returns. Her kids might be tough and come out great, but I can imagine many others getting nervous breakdowns by 12, regardless of ethnicity.
I do not doubt Chua loves her daughters and wants the best for them and their future (at least by her standards), and I am not here to judge whether she is a bad mother or a good mother, or whether or not her style of parenting is superior in any sense of the word. I will not comment on any emotional effects her parenting will have on her kids, their happiness or their adult relationship with her.
What I can say is this. What Chua and her 'type' are doing to their kids is merely to produce perfect conformists. People who will have stable jobs and live in safe neighbourhoods and watch 20 seasons of American Idol and die anonymous to the world. Can anyone say if there's something wrong with that? Not really.
In many ways I am one of them. This 'safeness', this 'stablity' in life (encompassing financial, familial, societal safety and stability) is something that my parents and their parents treasure above many, if not all, other things. And because they believe this security and stability comes from education, they endeavored to give me the best they could afford in that area. No, not the best toys and Play Stations and gadgets and laptops and summer camps, but the best tuition and books and colleges and universities. I will admit I have not always been thankful, or even aware of this.
But now, this security and stability, this safeness, is something I am thankful for every morning. I know that, unless I make horrendous blunders in life or my society turns upside down, I will always have food and clothing and shelter because I have an education which assures my employment. And I know I have my parents to thank for it, and I also know it came to me at no small sacrifice on their part. I know all this very well. Yet, this safety and stability is the same thing I sometimes resent at night. It is this same thing that I feel has limited my options and negated my desires for a different, freer, less conventional life.
Let's face it, Chua's kids (and all kids who have parents are like her) may get A's and gain scholarships and go to top universities, but they will never be groundbreaking theorists or academicians. They may play the piano perfectly, but will never be the great composers. They may be literate and communicate well, but will never write 'The Great American Novel' or an award-wining play. They will be hardworking and rise the ranks, but will never venture their own start-ups. They will be excellent managers, accountants, bankers who will be hired by many big corporations, but will never be entrepreneurs, inventors or risk takers who make the news.
There will be no Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerbergs, Tiger Woods, Richard Bransons, Theresa Tengs, Itzhak Perlmans, Meryl Streeps, JK Rowlings, Picassos, Robert Frosts, Quentin Tarrantinos, Schumanns, Stephen Hawkings, Mother Theresas, Ghandis or Thomas Edisons to come from them. It's almost impossible. I mean, can you really imagine any of those kids changing the world in any significant way?
Their job in life is just to do their job really, really well, and get ahead by pure efficiency. Their goal will be to live quiet lives away from trouble and have kids who do the same. They will pay taxes and vote and read newspapers, but will probably never get into politics. Their goal is not to create change, or initiate paradigm shifts, or to spread charity, or to lead peoples, or to cure world problems, or to make headlines, or to be brilliantly creative. But again, can anyone say this is wrong? Not really.
There is no right or wrong here, that's the point.
Chua may be right about many things when she criticizes what she calls Western style parenting. But she also must understand that encouraging creativity and freedom and self expression and self respect can lead to great failures and well as great successes, often both in the same lifetime. Her parenting may lead to success in her kids, but only a very limited, albeit perfectly acceptable, definition of success.
Also read mainland's Chinese mums' reactions at newsweek.com
Happy Valentine's
Be careful out there libido-driven young Malaysians! I'm warning you! There'll be a crackdown on you vile lovebirds who flaunt your sinful Western lifestyle: bersunyi-sunyianing and berfoya-foyaing and besentuh-sentuhaning and bercium-ciumaning and berkhalwating. Disgusting! Didn't your teachers and parents bring you upright?
Don't you dare go out and offend the rest of us who might bump into you in parks, restaurants, and other vice-dens! Stay at home instead, where you can do all that without being caught.
Hehe, have a good one guys.
Don't you dare go out and offend the rest of us who might bump into you in parks, restaurants, and other vice-dens! Stay at home instead, where you can do all that without being caught.
Hehe, have a good one guys.
Saturday, 5 February 2011
Semalam
Just finished reading 'The English Patient' yesterday. Great stuff.
I'm wondering whatever happened to Sean Ghazi. Ayone has a clue? If there's any justice in the world he should be famous by now. Sigh.
How have your Chinese New Year celebrations been going? Well I hope. Honestly, I am just.so.not.in.the.mood this year. I just feel so tired of the world right now. Weltschmerz as the Germans call it. Don't ask why. I don't really know myself.
I hope you feel perkier than I do.
P.S. Congrats too Boo and Chloe on their new baby girl!
I'm wondering whatever happened to Sean Ghazi. Ayone has a clue? If there's any justice in the world he should be famous by now. Sigh.
How have your Chinese New Year celebrations been going? Well I hope. Honestly, I am just.so.not.in.the.mood this year. I just feel so tired of the world right now. Weltschmerz as the Germans call it. Don't ask why. I don't really know myself.
I hope you feel perkier than I do.
P.S. Congrats too Boo and Chloe on their new baby girl!
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
Heading South Twice
Seremban tomorrow (even though I'm on compulsory leave), Kluang on Monday (I will have leave VERY early). Such is life for a juniour liti lawyer. I hope the traffic will be okay.
Chinese New Year doesn't feel particularly festive this year. Even without the work assignments I still feel it rather permeated with a sense of jadedness. Maybe it's the way the world is right now. Or maybe it's just me, growing old(er) and cynical.
Either way, I hope you'll have a good one. Take care out there.
Mucho lovin',
Josh
Chinese New Year doesn't feel particularly festive this year. Even without the work assignments I still feel it rather permeated with a sense of jadedness. Maybe it's the way the world is right now. Or maybe it's just me, growing old(er) and cynical.
Either way, I hope you'll have a good one. Take care out there.
Mucho lovin',
Josh
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