Ervan’s Weltanschauung

Today, I read through a case study on the Bhopal tragedy. 20,000 people died, and thousands more affected. Those survived received compensation of about USD 500 each. To put things in perspectives, the cost of cleaning sea otters during the clean up operation at Prince William Sound was USD 900. For each sea otters!

Is life that cheap? Are we putting less value on human life? Or is it just because they are nobody?

People preach about against poverty, social accountability and responsibility, social justice, etc, and yet, we have turned a blind eye against crimes against humanity. Except of course for crazed dictators.

I guess if you are nobody, then life is really cheap. And the hypocrisy behind it, when certain people were abused, there was a huge uproar. But when a different group of people were abused, the nobodies, it was just a whimper.

I guess, mankind’s greatest enemy, is themselves…

PETRONAS Management Training. Short form, Permata. I feel very much at home here. My association with my current employer began 11 years ago, eventhough I only worked with them close to six years. It was then, back in 1994, I stayed for two days in Permata for the final part of my pre departure orientation. I befriended a lot of fellow scholars, and of course, the staff.

Today, I was back at Permata. I always felt welcomed in Permata. Permata seems friendlier than the cold steel structure of the Twin Towers. It’s the best place to network, during lectures, coffee breaks, and of course lunchs, sports and dinners. And today, after a long hiatus, I was reminded of how I am always welcomed when I stepped foot on Permata. Even the polis bantuan smiled at me, eventhough they have not seen me (or rather my car) for ages!

And when I stepped in the Academic Block, or the dining hall, it’s either me calling out those familiar faces, or others calling for my name. Indeed, I feel very much at home, in Permata.

Today too, I was transported back when I first stepped foot in Permata. I met my former facilitator during my pre departure orientation, Abang Farid. He was surprised that I still remember him, and I was rather honored, that somehow he remembers me as one of those teenage scholars. We talked, and I informed him that I did ask one of the Permata staff about him when I returned to Malaysia for good. And I told him that I found out that he left Petronas, 2 years after I was in UK. I told him that it is good that we met, and he said that we should meet up for coffee one of these days. It was a good chat. It is always nice to meet familiar faces, and even nicer to meet an old friend.

Permata. Yes, I do feel at home here. Perhaps the only place in the company where I really feel belonged…..

but fear not. It was not an unscheduled flight over Kuala Lumpur. It is part of a publicity stunt by Airbus Industrie to promote the largest passenger plane ever, the huge A380. It was a sight. And even more so, as I and Azri were on the skybridge when the A380, circled the PETRONAS Twin Towers twice, before continuing it’s journey to Toulouse, in France.

It was huge. But me, being Boeing-centric, find the airplane is way too huge, and am unsure of the economics of it. I remember, even with 50 people, British Airways can still use the B747 to fly from Seattle to London, and still break-even. Not sure if they can do so for the A380. And as told by Azri, how many airports can the plane land on? Very limited indeed.

For the time being, at least I had the honour to see the largest passenger plane circling the tallest twin towers in the world, with me witnessing this historic event. Plus, I was on the skybridge at that time. It does not get any better than this!

Well, Lord Voldermort is officially back! Although, have to say, my first reaction, and my friend agreed with me, Voldie looked very much like the Count Laszlo De Almasy of The English Patient. As for the movie?

It was GREAT! And beware! There’s spoilers galore! Unless of course you read the book. Haha.

Somehow, Mike Newell managed to cut off the unnecessary scenes and subplots of the book, and yet, still capture the main plot of the book. He even used subtle hints in the movie to make people (especially those who has not read the book) think of who is the enemy within.

Things started quite fast. Harry dreaming of Lord Voldermort, and next thing you know, it was the Quidditch World Cup. Many important characters were introduced at this time, Cedric Diggory, and Victor Krum. And of course, Barty Crouch. Not to forget the Death Eaters. Of course, only those who read the book know who won the Quidditch World Cup…

Then it moved on to Hogwarts, and the Triwizard tournament. Here, Harry became the reluctant contestant, and joined Cedric Diggory, Victor Krum, and man, Fleur Delacour sure looks, yummy. Heck, the Beauxbaxton’s ladies look like stewardess with their blue uniform (err, not the blue uniform we are used to see in Malaysia yaa). And yes, any male, okay, straight male will say, that’s their favourite scene. And the Durmstrangs? Cool entry, and when Victor Krum came in… but, Krum is not ugly. But heck, he looks cool, the strong silent type.

Back to the movie. There are certain changes from the book were made. The removal of Dobby must be a relief for some. But Moody, man, he stole the show all the way. And the scene where he punished Malfoy by turning him into a ferret. I was waiting for it to happen, and I was not disappointed at all.

The focus is of course on Harry, and his friends. Thankfully, Snape got a few scenes, memorable scenes. Everyone in the cinema giggled when Snape punished Harry and Ron. It was a classic Snape moment. And who can forget Prof McGonagall, teaching the Gryffindors to dance, and Ron’s reaction when she asked him to put his hands on her waist… excellent!

Anyway, this installement is more the process of Harry growing up. Not only he has to worry about the Triwizard tournament, he also has to worry about getting a date for the Yuletide Ball. Hermione is obviously longing for Ron/Harry to take her to the ball, but alas, it was not to be. But she did go with Victor Krum, much to the surprise of Harry, and made Ron very jealous.

But, the juiciest part of the whole story is not the Triwizard, nor the teenage angst of Harry. It is the return of, Voldermort. And it was, dark, and as I imagined it. And Count, I mean, sorry, Ralph Fiennes delivered it very well. Short scene, but, very very effective in signalling the return of Voldie. And when Harry dueled with Voldie, I waited, and was not disappointed for the Priori Incantatem. Voldie and Harry’s wand connected and the echos of the last five people Voldie murdered assisted Harry in escaping from Voldie. It was a touching scene as Harry, finally had the chance to be with his parents, physically, even if it’s just for a while, and even if it’s an echo of his parents…..

The ending was, not as I thought of, but, if the next three is like the Goblet of Fire, I can’t wait to watch the next installments!

I received a puzzle from my colleague today. Supposedly, you are considered a genius if you can solve it. He mentioned that he was stuck with it and was telling my other colleague that he has spent hours on it. And at the same time, I just smiled at him and said

“Solved it!”

Yeaps, I did. At least I can confirm that my brain is not dead while working at my current place. And it seems, when it involves numbers, mathematics, and cryptograpy, my brain tends to work on overdrive.

And no wonder I enjoy watching Numb3rs. Today’s episode was memorable, when Charlie said that Maths is the real world. Fibonacci numbers and the golden ratio, things that are present everywhere. And yes, I did use my mathematical inclined brain to solve the puzzle. And of course, with a lil bit of creativity.

Well, with the start of work today, Raya celebrations, for the time being takes a back seat for me. Been watching loads of TVs, and since it’s that time of the year, I refused to change the channel, anticipating more commercial gems from our National Oil Company…

At first, it did not impress me much. Although watching Sharifah Amani being the lead actress was worth me not switching the channel. But the message was deep. Doing things, without expecting anything in return. It is becoming more like a loss art in this world. This materialistic world we are living in. Especially in my line of work, things are being done, because they expect something in return. Sometimes, it is hard to believe that people do things and not expect anything in return.

Today, I found the perfect example of such act of kindness. It was on the Bernama website, the story of a boy named Ahmed Al-Khatib. He is no longer alive, but he is still technically alive. A Palestinian boy, killed senselessly by the Israeli troops, and now, giving life to six Israelis.

What’s the use of hatred? But, we are exposed to it every day. It takes one simple gesture, to show that humanity is greater than humans. Actions speak louder than words, and here, the simple action of the parents of Ahmed Al-Khatib speaks volumes compared to the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authorities.

I always resented the Malaysian education system. In the drive to achieve Vision 2020, the emphasis was more on Science and Technology. And like every other supposedly top scorers in the then SRP (now known as PMR), I was ushered into the Science stream. Oh, yeah, I flunked Agama… hehe.

When emphasis was put on the Sciences, it tended to be logical, black and white. Not like the real world which is all grey. Just like in the Arts. I enjoyed studying history, I love acting, and I do like to express my creative side, even in my, err, Sciences reports. Not the creative “false” thesis mind you, but you know what I mean. And, finding more practical uses of chemicals, like err, making a nice stink bomb for the jungle warfare, or supposedly tonic to increase your stamina for long distance marathon. Until I discovered, it helps to err, prolong the manliness… (that is free for your interpretation)

And who would forget the excuse I gave when I was caught playing paper aeroplanes. I told the teacher that I was studying the upward force needed to keep the plane flying for my physics experiment. I even presented the various graphs and tables as evidence. And to think she believed me. See, I am a good actor.
Back to the point, yea, I hate the emphasis in Sciences back then. Such a shortsighted vision for me. For a society to advance, it does not need to specialise. After all, the Mona Lisa lookalike Leonardo Da Vinci is an accomplished scientist, inventor, and artist. You have to let the society evolve. Sometimes when you try to force it, it wont happen.

I recently watched Salon, directed by a former BBian, Woo Ming Jin. I know some people commented that the direction is bad, or probably the editing is bad. Sometimes, I just feel like asking them to mince their words. In Malaysia, it takes a lot of thick skin, and effort, to secure the funds and actually make movies. It’s not easy, although now, with Datuk Rais Yatim, things are looking a bit better. The emphasis on just Science and Technology of the old man’s regiment seems to be relaxed….

And where I am leading to?

Well, oh yeah, Gadis Di Video Clip. During my free time, I like to see what’s the creative world in Malaysia has to offer. And I found some gems, especially from Riven Studio. Some kids in MMU Melaka. As I was lazing around while checking out other creative audio/video stuff, I found this..

This is a special message to her, hehe, gotcha

and that’s her after she found out I found her

And you know why I like the video more? Because of the product placement… Nestle is one of the biggest contributor to EPF…

I’ve been informed recently by a friend, that a senior of mine back in university passed away recently. Death, is inevitable. Although, it can be hard for the ones who they left, especially when they die young.
Death can be avoided. A friend of mine died when a landslide occured on the road heading towards Genting. This was back in 1994. I was told, he missed an earlier bus he was supposed to take with his friends. He was unlucky. Even a stricter enforcement could even prevent the landslide. But it did happen.

Last year, a couple of days after my birthday, and before I was to leave for Singapore, a close friend of mine passed away in his sleep. Two weeks earlier, I met him at the hospital. That was the last time I saw him alive. It never crossed my mind that will be the last time we talked. In a way, I was glad that I took the time off from my work to visit him. If I did not, I will feel regret for the rest of my life. I still remember the meeting like it happened yesterday. Until today, we are still not sure what happened to him. His death took everyone by surprise, and I vividly remembers his dad telling me, my friend is younger than him and my friend died first.

Recently, another friend of mine passed away. Even the day of his funeral was dark and gloomy. But he suffered, as he died of cancer. I was not close to him, the last time I saw him was quite some time ago. Felt guilty for not staying in touch with him. Only knew of his death from Winnie, and then I read his blog. He suffered, but, he is a fighter. It’s sad that he lived short, but at least he lived life to the fullest.
And I admire his guts and determination.

We do not know why some people live to old age, and some, like the three friends I know, died young. I cheated death once. I got into an accident, totally my fault. However I managed to keep a cool head, and glided my car to avoid the incoming cars from behind. My car survived, but should I have panicked, it could be a 2-4 cars pile up, or worse still, the car fly off the road into a ditch. I was lucky. As told by someone, God still wants me in this world.

Some even joked, “Ervan, you survived because you drove a Honda and not a Proton!”

And as I drove the Honda tonight, I felt safe, and secure. The accident has made me and Aska bonded very well. Yeah, we christened the Honda, Aska. I still believe though, God is the All Knower, and All Powerful, and all things happened for a reason. Sometimes, I do envy those who have left us. They are in a better world now.

But implicitly, they are telling me that I should live my life to the fullest too.And to always cherish what I have now, and strive to achieve more for the future. The good role model would be Jonathan Larson. He was the one who created Rent. He died on the day Rent was to be previewed for Broadway. The cause of death was aortic aneurysm. He was not given the opportunity to see his creation premiered on Broadway, but, many people enjoyed watching Rent. Rent went on to win many awards. He, in my opinion, lived his life to the fullest, and beyond.

I nicked the title from UCL. Like the Chinese sayings, imitation is the highest form of flattery. Back in school, I remember people complained about us learning History for SPM, the Malaysian equivalent of O-Levels. But I liked learning history, cause it somehow helps me to understand the current events, and thus enabling me to take the necessary actions.

The more I learned history, the more I see it being biased. Most of the history are written by the victors. Or worse still, history text books becoming political propaganda tools ala 1984. And I came to the conclusion, everything that I read tends to be biassed. For one to blindly accept what he or she read is wrong. Bruce Lee once said, you have to unlearn to learn. And I totally agree with that statement.

And this statement can always be applied in many situations. And I do use it in analysing many issues that happened during my days as a student till now in my working life. Unfortunately, one can only analyse and make suggestions, but, humans are emotional beings and can sometime undo what I did. It distress me. Certain issues that came to my attention, and I know the reasons how it happened, but alas, due to the jealousy nature, very stubborn and vengeful people, that issues will never be solved. Sometimes those issues will come back, and haunt back people in the future. And people will never know where the hatred comes from, and it will be carried from generations to generations…

All because, some people are too proud, too ignorant, and too stubborn to put right.

But one can only hope. And pray. Sometimes prayers do get answered.
Just hope it is not too late.