Ciggies, booze or Pain
My first little space on Blogger. Let's see how long this would last.
I'd someone flew down from the Magnetic Island today, with him came a bad toothache.
He said, "It's strange, the pain moves around" Of course it does, you've 3 sick teeth in 3 different quadrants.
So why did you come all the way here? That's 10 hours drive.
We came to see Pete Murray.
Oh yes, Pete Murray, I was thinking about going to see him too but it's no fun going to a concert by yourself. I've no life here.
Mate that tooth has to go, it's a wisdom tooth and we can't save it, it's half gone.
Can I come back tomorrow? I don't want to have the tooth out today.
Do you have an appointment?
Blank look.
Sorry I'm booked out 4 weeks in advance, you'll have to come back next year or you can try the cancellation list but good luck.
Will the pain stop?
Nope, but if you wait for a few more weeks the nerve would die and you won't feel the pain for a while.
Few weeks?! Gasp.
But would I have any problem if I have it out today? I don't want to have any trouble I want to go to the concert.
As long as you don't drink, don't smoke you should be fine.
What?!
You can't hit the piss tonight, and no ciggies.
Painful look.
But....but...
No buts, no alcohol and absolutely no ciggies, if not you'll end up with infection causing pain worse than the toothache.
Even more painful look.
Can I go ask my partner?
I'll have it out today.
Sulking face.
That's it, it's out, you can close up now.
Really???? That's quick. I didn't feel anything.
Remember no alcohol, no smoking.
Now, what I don't understand is, how can anyone even consider enduring the pain just so he can have a piss and smoke?! Jesus. I think I should consider buying shares in beer and ciggie companies.
I told him I'll print out the treatment plan and x-rays for him so he can take them to a dentist closer to where he lives and save himself a few bucks.
But he said, don't worry about it, I'll come back to see you.
What a compliment. That makes my day.
posted by Dentist Down Under at 9:24 pm
8 Comments:
wow, is that a tooth root? with an abscess associated with it?
That's a 37. Patient had been to 6 dentists before he came to me and none of them would take the tooth out (I wonder why). Anyway, that was a failed RCT and came out easily. :D
First of all, are we (the non-malays, that is) really to believe that the government will abolish or tone down the New Economic Policy in the near future? We must be realistic, if you have the right to buy a property at a discount and have scholarships for your children, would you let go of these rights?
With Chinese population dwindling in Malaysia, what needs to be done depends on the Chinese themselves.
There is nothing wrong with the brain drain. In fact, we should encourage our children to move to Singapore, Taiwan, China etc. if we disagree with Malaysian government policies that are based on race and religion.
When it comes to the matter of the dwindling number of Chinese Malaysians, we should talk about quality, not quantity.
We should resolve why the Chinese-Malaysian population is reducing. Official figures have more than one million Chinese Malaysians emigrating over the past 25 years. Why did they emigrate? I am sure the government knows.
Straight A students can't get scholarships or university places. Nothing new, it is been that way for the past 35 years. Nowadays, even enlightened malay Malaysians are speaking up on this injustice. The MCA and Gerakan? Busy making money from private colleges.
What is so great about having TAR College or Utar which took more than 35 years of begging? Why should it be so difficult to set up an independent university when we have scores of public ones?
While we push young talented people away, other countries notably Singapore, the US and Australia welcome them with open arms.
Is it logical that we drive away our young talented ones and then invite retired Mat Sallehs to live here and exploit our low-cost of living?
Singapore's success in particular owes much to these ex-Malaysians or their descendants including Hon Sui Sen, Goh Keng Swee, Goh Chok Tong, just to name a few.
About 30 percent of top management in both Singapore's government and corporate sector are ex-Malaysians. We export them so that Singapore can compete with, and then whack us.
Korea and Taiwan, both way behind us in the 70s and 80s are now way ahead. Thailand is breathing down our necks.
Sadly, there is just no integrity in the nation's leadership.
Malay special rights as interpreted and redefined by the powers that be, have to my mind gone against the spirit of the constitutional provision.
Over the years the special right provision has been abused to the very detriment of the community it was meant to help. This has been acknowledged by Dr Mahathir, our former prime minister. Clearly there has to be a reassessment on the need or relevance of such a constitutional provision.
Surely this is consonant with Islamic values, where human beings are created equal before God. Clearly, the special privileges advocates have not included a moral dimension to their argument.
Of course you find it difficult to fathom why non-malays are so opposed to the privilege you so rightfully claim. Wouldn't expect anything more from you! It is ridiculous for special rights to be based on the number of 'rich' non-malays and malays. Is that the only justification you have?
Don't get me wrong, there are some self-made malay success stories who deserve due respect and admiration. But then, if you can't succeed with all the spoon-feeding, then what can I say?
It wasn't meant to be forever. Tell me honestly, how long do you think special rights can last? Globalisation will turn Malaysia into an economic island if you start asking foreign businesses how much malay equity they have.
It is stupid to compare special rights with vernacular education. How do malays lose out by non-malays studying in their own language? On the other hand, non-malays are obviously on the losing side when affirmative action is race-based.
If after decades of special rights, the poor malays are still poor, then don't you think the system is flawed? All that has been achieved by the special rights is benefit a certain elite layer of the malay community in the name of the rest.
Why can't we just help the poor regardless of their race? That way the most deserving get assistance, and if more people from one race are more deserving, so be it. At least it is fair!
Here is the statistic from my own experience……….
Of the same batch of students graduated during the same semester in my college in USA, only 3 of the 12 students returned to Malaysia so far. None of them intend to return in the near future.
Of the 100000 or more Malaysians who have emigrated to Australia, most are professionals. Their off-springs more often than not, are some of the best performers in schools here (Australia).
Right after graduation, my friend went to Melbourne to do her masters, with one objective on her mind, she wants to get a PR there.
Don't forget Singapore's Netwater……….That is founded by Olivia Lum, and presently also a nominated member of parliament in Singapore who made it only because she left Malaysia for Singapore!
Someone mentioned that two-thirds of the community of practicing doctors in Singapore is Malaysian Chinese.
Our Malaysia country is so lucky to be blessed with abundant of very best quality resources including human resources. I leave it to you yourself to go and find out who is who.
You name it and we have it. We just have a lot of very talented people from all fields, be it finance, IT, R&D, and etc. These people are highly sought by not just first world countries but the developing ones as well. They willing to offer everything they could even citizenships and needless to say about monetary rewards.
I am pretty sure they (from Mahathir to Pak Lah) know about these very well and they even know more than what we do. But question is, why nothing could be done to curb the losses?
NEP is the key, from the past until today, no Umno leader dare to bet on their entire political career by abolishing the NEP and revoking malay special rights.
Our Malaysia competitive edges like better educated workforces, better financial and legal systems, better infrastructure etc, are no longer better. It is either being offered or better by other Asian countries which are hungrier than us.
The developed countries like Australia know this and continue to pursue brain-gain policies which partly resulted in their 5% economic growth. Malaysia has not even reached there in its economic development and we are struggling with the current growth rate.
For them to survive, they have to be global citizens. I am making sure they master global languages like English and Chinese. The world will compete for the brightest to maintain their edge.
If one's parents continued here Malaysia, it would have been such a waste of talent. Look around us, everyday you see such wastage in our human resources……….
It is not a loss to Malaysia, as Malaysia simply does not have a culture and materials to nurture genius brains, due to its "non-competition policies" so to take care of fools……….
Some person is lucky to have parents with a foresight who would be able to get him out from the black box on time. The right type of soil will produce right type of fruits. In Australia, he becomes a sweet orange, if he were to be in Malaysia, he would turn into a sour lime.
I agree that has nothing to do with the Bolehland.
If he were to be in Malaysia at this present age, our Malaysia leaders would simply tell him: "Oh! Sorry, actually English is very important, let us start all over again to teach English in mathematics and science subjects beginning from primary school."
The current Malaysia education system still incapable of maximizing the full potential of the younger generation (even the older ones). A revamp is needed!
Go to the local premier university, see for yourself how the professors recruit research assistant, to help them prepare journal and PowerPoint. Then you will realise how the professors get the title. Afterward, you expect this kind of environment can nurture talent?
Yes……….another Malaysia Boleh!
Because Bolehland university got a quota to meet……….Because Bolehland lost all the talents with no regret……….Because Bolehland got double standards for everything……….
What a sad, sad loss to Malaysia and its economy.?!
But of course non-malays, especially the non-malays born after 1957 will see things differently.
First of all, they did not choose to come to Malaysia, especially not with its present system of government. It is not their fault that the British, more than one hundred years ago, brought in so many Chinese and Indians, and made the Umno-malays feel insecure.
It is not their fault that many of the immigrants, with the permission of the British, toiled to be successful and that made the Umno-malays felt threatened by it. And since when did success become something you have to be punished for instead of celebrating?
It is not their fault that English is the dominant language of technology, science, diplomacy, commerce, and just about any branch of knowledge and has been entrenched in Malaysia since 1786.
They can't understand why the government is hell bent on destroying the system of government left behind by the British, a system that Singapore kept, enhanced and used to become one of the richest, most well planned, most advanced, competitive, cleanest and admired countries on earth, despite being just a rock the size of island.
They feel puzzled that the Umno-controlled government talks with a forked tongue - asking Malaysians to be united and at the same time - asking the non-malays to accept second class citizenships, and then Tun Razak own son Najib threatened to bathe a keris (dagger) with Chinese blood. To them, this is a contradiction.
Why were Chinese and Indians in the armed forces here Malaysia etc, in significant numbers before the 1970s? And there are a lot of lucrative deals in the army and police, and some are below the table and some like it that way.
"Why is that there are so few Chinese in the armed forces?"
Well, I think you know the answer why. Like so many government institutions, there was a form of ethnic cleansing in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, which saw the determined push of non-malays out in favor of increasing the number of malays both at the rank and at the leadership positions.
That is why you see a dramatic change in the complexion of the government if you compare, say the 1960s and 1990s. That is why non-malays avoid government institutions, not just the armed forces - it is the same with organizations like Bank Negara, EPF, etc.
Over the years, the Malaysia government institutions have evolved into very hostile environments for the non-malays.
Look at Singapore, the Chinese are in the army etc, so are the Indians and the malays. Yes there was an issue with the malay pilots. But there are significant Indians there in the civil service as an example since the Chinese are majority there.
Anyhow, onto the comments that touch on Singapore experience. Yes, making English the medium of instruction has served Singapore well. Just the other day, I was at a conference held by an MNC and employees came from all over Asia.
One of the most senior people in from the Singapore office was a malay and he was highly articulate, and obviously made it to such a high position based on his capabilities. And he is not the first Singaporean malay I met that held an important position in an MNC.
I always wondered why some Malaysian malays in some other forums say that if Malaysia adopts Singapore system, they will not survive. The Singaporean malays I met are doing just fine. Yes, many Malaysian malays hate Lee Kuan Yew and indeed Lee may have been a racist, but the Singapore system existed before him, he refined it, and people who came after him keep refining it, and it works well.
Anyway, yes it is anecdotal but nonetheless, these Singaporean malays I met are doing well. Whenever I go to Singapore, I see Singaporean malays working productively, and everyone in Singapore is virtually guaranteed a decent house.
They have access to world class education, world class government planning, world class landscaping, world class medical facilities, world class public safety, world class shopping, world class transportation, world class working environment (and due to Singapore high per capita income and strong Singapore dollar, they earn enough to afford good stuff too).
You want to know why so many Malaysians choose to be discriminated in white man's land or go south? It is not because of the NEP.
It is because our right to be Malaysians has been questioned. It is one thing to have to sacrifice for your fellow citizen. It is another thing to sacrifice for a citizen of a country where you don't even belong.
Human beings migrate because they seek a better habitat, a better life or better opportunities. Is there anything wrong with this?
In modern times, people often migrate for work, security and education opportunities etc.
Migrants of course have to sacrifice much, to the extent of even being separated from their friends and family, but the human spirit for achievement and self-actualisation is very strong and will overcome great odds to achieve its potential and dreams.
An example is pointing to other countries where racism is practiced - reports this occurrence even in developed countries such as the US, UK, New Zealand and Australia.
This point of comparison weakens because is confusing covert, attitudinal racism - and marginal too at that - with institutionalised discrimination in Malaysia in the form of the abused outcomes of the NEP.
The prospect of a larger community in Malaysia that cannot come to terms with meritocracy is even more confusing and daunting.
In the countries mentions, racists are the minority. In this Malaysia country, while the NEP is purportedly not racist, it confuses and confounds to the point of being seemingly intractable from the dimensions of race and legitimate opportunity.
Here, race is a major independent variable that is legalised to manipulate business, educational and political outcomes.
At least the white masters have drawn up laws and regulations to protect the minorities who stay in their countries. Equal employment means equal employment. That they actually make laws to make life more equitable for immigrants is quite admirable.
On our end, we to bow to the brown masters. If having to pay more for your house when your malay neighbour pays less is not having to bow to the brown masters, then what is?
If expressing your feelings about the inequities in the country is constantly labeled as malay-bashing, when instead you feel that you are the one being bashed, and then being told to shut up and put up with it is not having to bow to the brown masters, then what is?
Well maybe you feel that those who have left are no loss to the country. Generally speaking, those who have left were the ones who qualified to go to another country.
But such a paradigm is usually a reflection of one's own inabilities to come to grips with the fact that there is something systemically wrong and this has been causing people to leave the country.
The younger generations, even though they seem to know the theoretical rationale of the social contract and try hard to live by it, do not have the same understanding of it as the older generations do.
Poor people are poor people, rich people are rich people - no matter which race they come from. Justice and compassion prevails when rich people recognise their responsibility to the poor and the poor use the benefits given to them to better their lives.
Fair and equitable distribution of the prosperity that we enjoy in this country will ensure that our peace and harmony survives. That would probably require a mindset shift within our society.
However, many have experienced frustration under the Malaysian politico-social system, which has failed to recognise their contributions and skills, or ignored utilising them appropriately for the national benefit, or stymied their business ventures.
Many of these people have emigrated to another country where they hope to be more appreciated and where their children may enjoy a better chance of succeeding in life.
We should resolve why the Chinese-Malaysian population is reducing. Official figures have more than one million Chinese Malaysians emigrating over the past 25 years. Why did they emigrate? I am sure the government knows.
While we push young talented people away, other countries notably Singapore, the US and Australia welcome them with open arms.
About 30 percent of top management in both Singapore's government and corporate sector are ex-Malaysians. We export them so that Singapore can compete with, and then whack us.
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