Shrewd Mind @ Work

I always wanted a pair of new shoes until I saw a picture of a man with no feet.

It was nearing the end of school holiday. My parents promised me, that if I finishes top in my class, they would reward me with new pair of shoes. I have been eyeing that particular pair of shoes since I was in standard four.

When the shoes were introduced to the Malaysian market in 1993, it became an instant hit among my friends. They would come to the playground with their new pair of shoes and proudly parading it to others. Determine not to lose to them, I rushed home and demanded my parents that they should get me a pair of it. Though I was screaming and kicking, adamantly trying to convince them, my outburst only falls on deaf ears and caused me dearly as my father grounded me for a week. No play station, no movies and no daily allowances. Seeking vengeance, I vowed that I would not eat, drink even talk to my parents unless they bought me the shoes. Though my parents tried to explain that the shoes were so expensive, it is under my prerogative to demand for it. A promise is still a promise.


Later that night, as I was lying in my bed facing the wall, sulking, I smelled my mother walked into my room and sat at the edge of my bed. I was certain that she wanted to knock some sense into me via mother-son conversation. Pretending to be asleep, I prayed for my mother to leave me alone and surprisingly she did, but not before leaving some things on my bedside table.

I was flabbergasted to see the two things she left for me which is a package of my favourite pizza for my dinner and a newspaper cutting depicting a man with no feet. I quickly read the newspaper cutting to figure out what had happened to that man. My mother highlighted some lines in the articles to point out that among the thing that this man missed most is to wear a pair of shoes.

Though dumbfounded by mother’s approach to instil some sense into me, the unflinching truth that one should not be selfish, really penetrated my ego. Such a profound message that has been conveyed shrewdly. I am fortunate to learn this through my mother’s wisdom and not through the hard way.

For the record, I am writing this without any political inclination and

any intention to undermine any individual or party.

The Malaysia 12^th General Election on 8 March 2008, was indeed the most intriguing and stimulating general election ever held in Malaysia. The unprecedented swing of votes to the Opposition upon emerging as victor in five states and obtaining more than 1/3 of the seats in Parliament, catapulted their rank as a forces not to be reckon with in the next general election. The former Prime Minister of Malaysia attributed the lacklustre performance of the government coalition during the election was due to the frustration of the people toward the government.

Though there are many ways to dissect the outcome of the 12^th General Election, one point worth mentioning is the blatant use of electronic media to promote election manifesto as well as to disseminate propagandas. In the case of the opposition, with scarced access to the mainstream media, has tapped the power to reach the masses via the Internet, to their fullest advantage. Words such as blog, bloggers and columnist, which was so ‘alien’ to Malaysian once, has become an indispensable and vital tool for the opposition to stand their ground.

The popularity of the blog was largely due to the factor that for the author of any blog can remain anonymous, should he/she choose to. With almost everything and anything that can be ‘blogged’ in a few minutes and accessed instantly, the mainstream media has now meet its match.

As Malaysian became educated, the sudden shift of people’s trust from the mainstream media to this new domain, was probably due to the boredom and ‘fatigueness’ of the constant supply of one sided coverage via the mainstream media, particularly since Barisan National secured the landslide victory in 2004. This has really pushed the opposition to nurse their political aspiration via the internet particularly by using blogs.

Notwithstanding, one must not be mistaken that the blatant use of media and the internet, or the opposition’s manifestos, as the main factor that propelled the opposition as a victor in the 12th General Election. The main thrust of this change is more likely due to the frustration that has been engulfing the nation since 2004. The victory of the opposition was very much just an escapism from the previous government. Nothing more.

When I first heard the rumour that my named was short-listed, to participate in the Diplomatic Training Course 2008 (DTC 2008), I quickly dismissed its possibility. As my career is still in its infancy, the sense of pessimism was quick to engulf my thoughts, implying that my 2 years of service was nothing compared to those who have served the unspoken ‘3 years mandatory period’, before being ‘sanctioned’ to join the DTC.

I savoured with tremendous jubilation when my nomination form for DTC 2008, was signed by the Undersecretary of Southeast Asia Division, that I almost forgot my manners to thank him for his approval. However, throughout the day, my euphoric condition gradually degrading, that by midnight I was left only with worries and doubts. I found myself waking up the next day feeling so miserable. I could not take my mind off the notion that I am a very young officer, and the connotation that the other 26 officers are better prepared, well equipped, and more polished to rise above the challenges throughout this 4-month course. Struggling to position myself on a more rational ground, I forced myself to view DTC as an opportunity to improve and immerse myself with the essential knowledge of a diplomat, in order to face the rigors of challenge in safeguarding Malaysia’s interest. I hold strongly to the saying that there is always room for further improvement though the benchmarks keep rising.

I officially become a participant of DTC 2008 when I registered successfully for the course at the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR) on 25 February 2008. I must confessed that I was overwhelmed by the comprehensive syllabus and well-structured module planned for the course. My earlier concerns about how I would fair during this course vanished, as my perceptions towards the course changed from it being a challenging and tormenting period, into a challenging yet enriching experience as well as rewarding to my career as a diplomat.

Upon the change of mindset, I vowed that I would put my utmost effort in improving myself. I began the improved-myself process by taking the intensive French Lessons offered by the IDFR. Having the privileged to learn French before, and I viewed this as an opportunity to refresh and further strengthen my understanding and proficiency of the language. A senior Malaysian diplomat once told me, that mastering a third language like French would soon prove to be very useful in my career as a diplomat.

Besides French, I was also exposed to the usage of English in the diplomatic world. I started to train myself to use English as a persuasive tool to obtain something from others as well as to deploy English as the most potent weapon that would penetrate even the thickest enemy’s shield without the slightest drops of sweat nor blood. I learned from the pronunciation session that a diplomat has the ability to make nothing sounds like something. I even discovered how to say the nastiest things in the nicest way. After all, I would be expected to be tactful in order to persuade people to lay down their life for my country. I must apologise, did I say people? I actually meant to lay down my life for my country. I am such a cliché.

I believed En. Hanif session on the ‘Attributes of a Diplomat’ can be concluded simply by saying that ‘a diplomat is a person who knows how far to go before he goes too far’. Therefore, before I got carried away in exercising the right to freedom of free speech, and before my openness in writing, be interpreted as sarcasm, allow me to wind up my journal this week, by thanking the Almighty, for the opportunity to join this course, and I pray hard that by the end of this course, I would become better prepared, well equipped, and a more polished diplomat. God Willing.

# 6 0 # *

After you enter the code you will see a new code contain 15 digits:

43 4 5 6 6 1 0 6 7 8 9 4 3 5

IF the digit number Seven & Eight is 02 or 20 that mean it was
assembled on Emirates which is very Bad quality

IF the digit number Seven & Eight is 08 or 80 that mean it
was manufactured in Germany which is not bad

IF the digit number Seven & Eight is 01 or 10 that mean it
was manufactured in Finland which is Good

IF the digit number Seven & Eight is 00 that mean it was manufactured
in original factory which is the best Mobile Quality...

IF the digit number Seven & Eight is 13 that mean it was assembled
on Azerbaijan which is very Bad quality and very dangerous for health!!!

Two horses were carrying two loads. The front horse went well, but the rear horse was lazy. The men began to pile the rear horse's load on the front horse; when they had transferred it all, the rear horse found it easy going, and he said to the front horse: "Toil and sweat! The more you try, the more you suffer." When they reached the tavern, the owner said : "Why should i fodder two horses when I can carry all on one? I had better give the one all the food it wants, and cut the throat of the other; at least i shall have the hide." And so he did.


FABLES, LEO TOLSTOY, 1828 - 1910