Agora

Singapore's successful urban-planning policies ought to be emulated by Malaysia I'm attempting to make the most of my procrastination by producing a coherent and legible blog post - one that is long overdue as well. With two papers waiting to be completed, I would hardly try to make this post anything like an essay, but it normally turns out to be like one, so I've heard. So, hopefully I'll try to write in a relaxed manner without betraying the gravity of the content, namely, that the disparities between the Malaysian and Singaporean state are so great as to provoke sadness and sympathy within me. As a Malaysian citizen, the Singaporean developmental, economical and political model is to be emulated, if Malaysia wishes to meet its 2020 goal of being a high-income economy. In today's post, I will elaborate on the different developmental practices in both countries. Pedestrian Sky-bridges amidst lush, green growth in Singapore   Sustainable, efficient, dur...

Throughout most of my return journey, I have playfully entertained various writing angles to punctuate a very meaningful trip to Southeast Asia. I could either give a rather relaxed journal or plunge into critical analysis of the visual, political and social stimuli in that part of the world. Maybe I could strike a balance between the two, and offer a few insights. I intend to make this a mini-series so I can do justice to all the sights and scenes I have witnessed and ultimately demonstrate how Singapore is that superior compared to Malaysia. Pace The Singaporean lifestyle is highly-mobile, fast-paced and revolves around a very stringent schedule. Public transit or transport is unforgiving if said schedule is taken lightly, since one plans his or her commutes to accommodate clients, deadlines, plans etc. Surely, this is a given in any metropolis, but given the sheer congestion, density and proximity of locations, it often takes 15 minutes via MRT to get to where a 3 minute car would...

2:48 am, Lavender Street, Singapore. I am extremely exhausted. The soles of my feet are aching because of my shoes' poor arch support, and the fact that one does not get around Singapore other than walking extremely fast from one busy point to another hectic destination. The pace here, especially in a conference, is disturbingly accelerated by rigidly constructed timetables and the unfamiliarity of location or landmarks exacerbates our physical conditions. I have bore the brunt effects of urbanity - my back covered in a sheet of sweat and forehead glistening with perspiration. All of this is, of course, hidden by my now very much worn-out and crumpled suit, away from unsuspecting glances. The fact of the matter remains that high-stress environments do not ally themselves harmoniously with equally high temperatures. The result of that is a climate of stress and sweat that, for me, increases the threshold of happiness - it makes it that much harder to be content and satisfied...

3:03 am, Lavender Street, Singapore My morning call is in less than 4 hours but I am determined to convey the turbulent emotions which have left me griping in the past two days. These feelings I speak of are quite intrinsic to humanity: the bittersweetness of goodbyes and love's resistance against separation. These forces have ground against every fiber of my soul, simply because I am not particularly fond of farewells. I capped my very brief trip in Penang by spending the little time I had left with my loved ones. Amidst the food and jubilant laughter, the hour of departure is often obscured. But when the hour approaches, the looming prospect of boarding a plane and turning your back on those you love always bites into my sanity. The ordeal of leaving those you love behind was not meant to be shouldered by frail humans like us. I often find it Herculean to suppress much of my emotions when others are expressing them through tears; and I often deem the whole process of separati...

6:58 pm, East Coast, Singapore. Just landed in Singapore. Will blog about my last two days in Penang quite soon. Pre-conference preparations in full swing, and its safe to say that I am deeply impressed by Singapore's development, infrastrcture and wealth. There really is a jarring disparity between Malaysia and Singapore. More on that soon, for now, I am off to dinner with my relatives. It feels good to be welcomed and loved by family scattered across the world. Their hospitality is always revitalizing for a weary traveller like me.

12:28pm, 30 degrees Celcius, Georgetown, Penang I am back in town! It feels great to be driving down the streets and observing the hustle and bustle here in this small yet highly urbanized place. Everything is so close and the traffic is absolutely insane. This is for the Vancouverites back in Canada: the Chinese are indeed some of the best drivers around, theyre too skilled to be following the laws of the road - you just got to get from point A to point B faster, no exceptions. Not even pedestrian or road rules. Its the wild west here. Nonetheless, its a pleasure to be back with my grandparents, spent a great deal of time talking to them upon arrival. I am glad that they're still going strong and living a simple and modest life, but yet not to the point of austerity. Sometimes, their piety inspires and nourishes my often battered mentality: I just have to slow down and alleviate my stress. So far, my trip has accomplished that but there are numerous issues that often muddle my...

5:56 am, 25 degrees Celsius Another episode of jet-lag and here I am typing a blog post when the forces of nature should have lulled me into deep sleep. To be fair, I was comatose the moment my head found the pillow 5 hours ago so I guess I've gotten my beauty sleep. Had quite a trip down memory lane yesterday. I went to the Mid Valley Megamall, which I frequented quite a bit back then, the last time being 7-8 years ago. The culture in KL is such that one develops emotional ties with malls, since these monoliths are arguably the only worthwhile landmarks to go to, because of much needed air-conditioning (32 degrees Celsius outside) and consumerism wrapped in one. One could walk around for hours yet still sustain ones interest just a bit more to linger around. Met up with a special person at MPH book stores where I purchased Lim Kit Siang's autobiography. Spent literally the whole day just aimlessly walking around; stuffing my face with food and drink whenever I can; loung...

8:40 pm, KLCC , 28 degrees Celcius I'd like to think that I am a machine and could go on forever, but I am absolutely drained after today's excursions. A.M. Running on 3 hours of sleep and an assortment of plane-travel related ailments (eg. jetlag, neck soreness and fatigue), I didn't think I could have made it very far with my weary strides to the bathroom for my early morning shower. All of that began to change as I suited up to go to Parliament Building for the first time. Nothing beats a good 'mamak' breakfast. 'Mamak' is Malaysian terminology for Indian Muslims, often synonymous with affordable yet extremely palatable fanfare. I had iced Milo, roti telur and roti bawang , think naan bread except considerably tastier thanks to the ghee (butter) used. My uncle gave me a ride to Parlimen via Kesas highway and a turn from the Mahameru Freeway brought us to the building. I was given a security clearance pass and frankly, I didn't know where t...

 4:00 am, Shah Alam, 27 degrees Celsius Should be sleeping but I will make it a point to 'journal'. That was not a very pleasant trip, but I am grateful and relieved that I made it in one piece. Apart from in-flight service which was sub-par at best, I didn't get much shut eye. So, I caught up on my reading but still felt extremely exhausted once we landed in Pudong, Shanghai. My first impressions of the airport was a good one - gleaming panels, immense concourses, expansive architecture. Once you're in it though, I can't say that I've had a bigger hassle as a transfer passenger. I am glad China blocked Blogger, I don't have many kind things to say about my experience there. First, why do transfer passengers have to line up at an immigration checkpoint upon arrival? As far as I know, passengers-in-transit head straight to their gates and have a short security check before entering the lounge. I had to stand in line for about half an hour just to clea...

I hope For money, fame and fortune, I hope To be happy plus a portion, I hope That I will find success, I hope  With that comes ample rest; but I fear For reasons quite unknown, I fear The dark, it chills the bone, I fear My thoughts and misery, I fear That I might fail miserably. Continuing my series on success, I wish to address the very pertinent qualities of hope and the exasperations caused by fear. My previous posts dealt with the nature of success: never-ending, transient and that the very definition of success is the sustainment of dreams and aspirations. I also emphasized the need for inspiring and motivating others, suggesting that in so doing we perpetuate our passions and affections for one another. I hope to encapsulate the universal seesaw of hoping and fearing in a little anecdote featuring myself, but I fear that I will speak for others. So, I guess I just want to share my hopes and fears leading up to my Southeast Asian trip and how I have succes...

These videos are sort of complimentary to each other; yet, there is a possibility that a change in our capitalistic, industrialized educational paradigm could result in a rethinking of human nature and the other institutions within our society today. There is a chance that we can be educated to accentuate and even amplify our empathic sociability and rediscover our kinship as a global race. Why are we putting ourselves through factory-lines? Why do we stifle our aesthetic senses and capacities for creativity?  Sir Ken Robinson thinks that we should change the paradigm of education and I agree. What do you think? 'Can we connect our empathy to a single race writ large in a single biosphere?' We do have a common bond - empathy, and perhaps we ought not repress it, and give in to our 'secondary drives' such as narcissism, materialism, violence and aggression. Do you think these videos are accomplishing these goals, in that they attempt to educate and stimulate us in...