Wednesday June 18, 2008

You walk the talk first

Musings By MARINA MAHATHIR

The Government wants us to change our lifestyles to cope with inflation. It is easier said than done since most people were having it difficult even before the hikes. The Government must first set an example by doing things it should have done long ago. WITH the recent hike in fuel prices and the Government's exhortations for us to change our lifestyles in order to cope, may I provide here some suggestions for the Government and those who work for it to "share our burden".

1. Stop having meetings, especially out at resorts, far enough away to be able to claim transport allowances. Have online meetings instead or teleconferences. Use Skype or chat.

2. No need to order special pens, bags, T-shirts, notepads and othergoodies for those same meetings.

3. No need to order kuih for mid-morning or teatime meetings in government offices, or nasi briyani lunches for those meetings that happen to end just at lunchtime.

4. Cancel all trips for government servants to conferences overseas unless they return with full reports of what they did there, who they met and what they learnt and how they mean to apply what they learnt at home. Ask them to do presentations to colleagues who did not get to go, on the most interesting and important papers that they read.

5. Scrutinise invoices for contracts to make sure they are truly reflective of what those projects or supplies cost.

6. Stop elaborate launches for government programmes. In particular, stop the buying of souvenirs, special batik shirts, corsages, bouquets and caps.

7. Make all civil servants and politicians travel economy class. That means really travelling at the back of the plane and not buying full fare economy class tickets that allow them to be upgraded to Business Class.

8. Stop having the full complement of police escorts to cut down on petrol costs. If they need to be somewhere by a certain time, start earlier like the rest of us. Wouldn't be a bad thing for them to also experience a traffic jam.

9. Once a week (or more), have ministers use public transport so they know what everyone else has to suffer. This might provide them with the incentive to improve them.

10. Once a week, let ministers go to a market to buy food for their families with instructions to not spend more than RM100.

11. Get ministers to carpool. They might get more work done just by being able to talk to each other to see what can be coordinated between their ministries. For instance, the Ministers of Health and Women could discuss what to do about women's health issues in the car on the way to work. Maybe have a secretary to travel in the front seat to take down notes on what was discussed. By the time they get to their offices, things can get implemented.

12. Once a month, get civil servants to work with one disadvantaged group in order to be better able to appreciate their problems. It could be blind people one month, hearing disabled people the next, orang asli the following month and people living with HIV/AIDS after that.We could start buddy systems which pair one civil servant with one disadvantaged person and at the end of it, ask each pair to make recommendations on how to make life better for each other. This might get rid of the problem of desk jockeys, people who never stray very far from their desks yet make policies for people they know nothing about.

13. Have PA systems that shout out the name of the officers who have to serve people at government offices so that people get the services they came for and don't have to keep coming back just because the officer was out having coffee. No counter should be left unmanned for more than five minutes before the officer is paged to go back to their stations. This should cut down waiting time for the public and save them transport costs in having to keep returning just to get one thing done.

14. Government officers who lose people's files should be fined and have their names publicised for being careless and causing inconvenience to the public. Instead of making the public travel to their offices several times to deal with their problems, they should travel to go see their client and deal with it right there and then. And every officer who goes out of the office should be given a reasonable time to get his work done after which he is expected back in office so he doesn't waste time doing something else.

15. And newspapers should save paper by reporting real news rather than non-news that they carry, particularly nonsensical utterances by politicians. As they say, we need to do this all together in order to make a difference. So if the Government and politicians make these lifestyle changes, I will do my part and change mine.

Thank You.

Thoughts By Dlegacy: Be Do See Tell

A quiet Kuan Yin Temple, Kuala Sawah, Rantau

Lady Kuan Yin

(courtesy www.freedomhealthrecovery.com)

Lady Kuan Yin is the Bodhisattva of Compassion, and she is known as one of the most popular deities in all of Asia. Her name in Chinese roughly translates as "The One who Hears the Cries of the World." Many believe that she is the female representation of Avalokiteswara, the Tibetan and Nepalese Bodhisattva of Compassion.

In Asia, statues of Lady Kuan Yin can be found in front of, or on the grounds of, many Taoist and Buddhist temples. She is a Boddhisattva, a person who has earned the right to leave this world of suffering and enter nirvana, but has chosen instead to stay on this earth to help others reach enlightenment first. Because of her willingness to help, Lady Kuan-Yin is the patron saint of barren women and protects those whose lives depend on the elements, such as farmers and fishermen. It is not unusual to see Lady Kuan Yin in various forms and poses. She always appears cloaked in white, the color of purity, and her gowns are long and flowing. Often she will be holding a rosary in one hand, a symbol of her devotion to Buddhism and its tenets. She will also have either a book (The Lotus Sutra, which refers back to her origins), or a vase, which symbolizes her pouring compassion on to the world.

The Origin of Lady Kuan Yin:

There are many legends about the origin of Lady Kuan Yin, but the one I like best also happens to be one of the most popular.

In 7th century China, a king had three daughters, the youngest named Miao-Shan. At the time of Miao-Shan's birth, the earth trembled and a wonderful fragrance and flower blossoms sprang up around the land. Many of the local people said they saw the signs of a holy incarnation on her body.

While the king and queen were amazed by this blessing, they were unfortunately corrupt, and they saw little value in having a child who appeared pure and kind. When Miao-Shan got older, the king wanted to find a husband for her. But she told her father she would only marry someone if by so doing she would help alleviate the suffering of all mankind.

The king became enraged when he heard of her devotion to helping others, and forced her to slave away at menial tasks. Her mother, the queen, and her two sisters admonished her, all to no avail.

In desperation, the king decided to let her pursue her religious calling at a monastery, but ordered the nuns there to treat her so badly she would change her mind. She was forced to collect wood and water, and run the garden for the kitchen. They thought this would be nearly impossible, since the land around the monastery was barren. To everyone's amazement, the garden flourished even in winter, and a spring welled up out of nowhere next to the kitchen.

When the king heard about these miracles, he decided that he was going to kill Miao-Shan and the nuns who were supposed to have tormented her. But as his henchmen arrived at the monastery, a spirit came out of a fog of clouds and carried her away to safety on a remote island. She lived there on her own for many years, pursuing a life of religious dedication.

Several years later, her father, the king, became seriously ill. He was unable to sleep or eat, and his doctors believed he would certainly die soon. As he was about to pass on, a monk came to visit the king. The monk told the king he could cure the monarch, but he would have to grind up the arms and eyes of one free from hatred to make the medicine. The king thought this was impossible, but the monk assured him that there was a Bodhisattva living in the king's domain who would gladly surrender those items if asked.

The king sent an envoy to find this unknown bodhisattva. When the envoy made his request, Miao-Shan gladly cut out her eyes and severed her arms. The envoy returned, the monk made the medicine, and the king instantly recovered. When the king thanked the monk, the monk admonished him. "You should thank the one who gave their eyes and arms." Suddenly, the monk disappeared. The king believed this was divine intervention, and after ordering a coach prepared, headed off with his family to find and thank the unknown bodhisattva.

When the royal family arrived, they realized it is was their daughter Miao-Shan who had made the sacrifice. Miao-Shan spoke up, "Mindful of my father's love, I have repaid him with my eyes and arms." With eyes full of tears and hearts full of shame, the family gathered to hug Miao-Shan. As they did, auspicious clouds formed around Miao-Shan. The earth trembled, flowers rained down, and a holy manifestation of the Thousand Eyes and Thousand Arms appeared hovering in the air.

And then, the bodhisattva was gone. To honor Miao-Shan, the royal family built a shrine on the spot, which is known as Fragrant Mountain.

Child, Mother & the Sacred

There is nothing greater than the love of a mother. God Himself resides in a virtuous mother that teaches her children to live with the wings of sincerity and self respect.The first teacher of life for every child is the mother. Hence it is important for every mother to love without fear, without any desire other than that of the complete welfare of her child.That mother surrounds her child with God from a very early age will surely see her child reach the front door of God and witness the child serving Guru as God. Let every child worship the love of his mother and let every mother free her child from the clutches of attachment and allow the child to reach the heights of divinity.

~Sathya Sai~

Let us bow down to the five revered mothers; Dhesa Matha (Motherland), Deha Matha (Physical mother), Veda Matha (Mother of Vedas), KoMatha (Cow), BooMatha (Mother earth).