Watching hours of TV daily could shorten your life - study

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - Couch potatoes, beware. Sitting in front of the television for hours daily could shorten your life, according to an Australian study.

Researchers from the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in the state of Victoria tracked the lifestyle habits of 8,800 adults and found that each hour spent in front of the TV daily increased the risk of dying earlier from cardiovascular disease.

Residents at a Care Home watch television, in Leeds, northern England November 18, 2009. (REUTERS/Nigel Roddis/Files)

The study, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, found every hour in front of the TV was associated with an 11 percent increased risk of death from all causes, a 9 percent higher risk of cancer death, and an 18 percent increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) related death.

"Compared with people who watched less than two hours of television daily, those who watched more than four hours a day had a 46 percent higher risk of death from all causes and an 80 percent increased risk for CVD-related death," the researchers said in a statement.

The researchers said this association held regardless of other independent and common cardiovascular disease risk factors, including smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, unhealthy diet, excessive waist circumference, and leisure-time exercises.

Researcher David Dunstan said the study focused specifically on television watching but the findings suggest that any prolonged sedentary behaviour, such as sitting at a desk or in front of a computer, may pose a health risk.

"The human body was designed to move, not sit for extended periods of time," said Dunstan, head of the institute's physical activity laboratory in the division of metabolism and obesity.
"Technological, social, and economic changes mean that people don't move their muscles as much as they used to - consequently the levels of energy expenditure as people go about their lives continue to shrink.

"For many people, on a daily basis they simply shift from one chair to another -- from the chair in the car to the chair in the office to the chair in front of the television."

Dunstan said the findings applied not only to individuals who were overweight and obese, but also those of a healthy weight.

"Even if someone has a healthy body weight, sitting for long periods of time still has an unhealthy influence on their blood sugar and blood fats," he said.

"In addition to doing regular exercise, avoid sitting for prolonged periods and keep in mind to 'move more, more often'. Too much sitting is bad for health."

The researchers interviewed 3,846 men and 4,954 women aged 25 and older who underwent oral glucose-tolerance tests and provided blood samples so researchers could measure biomarkers such as cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

Participants were enrolled from 1999 and followed through 2006 and reported their television-viewing habits.

Sistem Harga Petrol Dua Peringkat Tidak Munasabah

By: Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo

1. Kerajaan dijangka mengemukakan pengenalan harga petrol dua peringkat (Two-tier pricing). Satu peringkat ialah harga petrol yang lebih rendah daripada harga pasaran. Manakala yang kedua ditahap harga pasaran.

2. Saya difahamkan berdasarkan cadangan ini setiap stesen minyak di negara ini akan mempunyai dua sistem dan dua pam yang berasingan membabitkan:
a. Pam 1 - kereta biasa dengan harga subsidi.
b. Pam 2 - Kereta mewah dan kereta negara jiran dengan harga pasaran.

3. Setakat ini belum jelas mekanisme kereta berapa cc yang akan dikenakan petrol harga pasaran. Terdapat juga cakap-cakap mengenai kemungkinan pembelian menggunakan mykad dan sebagainya.

4. Sungguhpun saya percaya dalam sesetengah hal subsidi perlu dikurangkan namun ia tidak seharusnya melalui proses yang begitu kompleks dan akhirnya menyusahkan rakyat.

5. Sistem ini akan menimbulkan pelbagai isu seperti kegagalan membeli petrol akibat kerosakan cip mykad, perbezaan nama dalam pendaftaran kereta dengan pemandu, sehinggalah kepada percubaan untuk menipu sistem dan sebagainya.

6. Ini juga akan menggalakkan penjualan petrol di pasar gelap. Mereka yang ingin membuat untung akan membeli petrol subsidi dengan kereta yang rendah cc secara banyak melalui pengubahsuaian tangki dan menjual kepada pemilik kereta mewah dengan harga lebih rendah dari harga pasaran.

7. Jumlah stesen minyak yang banyak di seluruh negara menyukarkan penguatkuasa mengawasi penjualan petrol agar mematuhi sistem yang direka. Malah saya percaya akan ada pemilik stesen minyak yang akan menjual harga yang rendah kepada kereta mewah.

8. Saya khuatir akhirnya nanti sistem yang dirancang untuk mengurangkan subsidi dan menambah pendapatan negara di manipulasi dan lebih merugikan negara.

9. Oleh sebab ia belum dilaksanakan dan masih di peringkat kajian, saya berharap kerajaan mungkin mempertimbangkan kaedah lain bagi menampung subsidi petrol.

10. Salah satu kaedah yang boleh dipertimbangkan ialah mengenakan cukai kereta pelbagai peringkat mengikut CC. Kereta yang cc lebih besar maka lebih besar bayaran dikenakan. Kerajaan boleh menganggarkan satu angka yang dianggap dapat menampung subsidi petrol kereta jenis ini dalam setahun dan dimasukkan ke dalam cukai jalan.

11. Jika tidak dimasukkan dalam cukai jalan, kerajaan boleh mewujudkan "Levi Petrol" yang perlu dibayar setiap tahun semasa memperbaharui cukai jalan. Saya cadangkan levi ini dikenakan ke atas kereta yang mempunyai CC 2000 ke atas.

12. Demikian juga bagi kereta negara jiran. Di sebalik mewujudkan sistem pam yang berlainan serta peraturan tahap petrol di dalam tangki, kerajaan hanya perlu mengenakan satu levi yang dianggap munasabah bagi menampung kos penggunaan petrol semasa kereta tersebut berada di Malaysia.

13. Disebalik menyedia penguatkuasa untuk memantau peraturan petrol untuk kereta negara jiran, kerajaan boleh mengambil jalan yang lebih berkesan dengan mengenakan levi petrol. Ini bermakna kerajaan mungkin boleh mengenakan levi masuk seperti RM 100 sehari, atau apa-apa jumlah yang dianggap munasabah, kepada kereta negara luar.

14. Saya percaya kaedah levi ini lebih munasabah berbanding mengenakan sistem penjualan dua peringkat harga yang sangat sukar dipantau dan diambil tindakannanti. Melalui proses ini kutipan hasil kerajaan lebih efisyen dan tidak memerlukan penguatkuasa yang ramai. Peluang untuk memanipulasi dan menipu juga sangat tipis.

Nasib Islam Di Malaysia Bila Melayu Berpecah

By: Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo

1. Keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi membenarkan pendakwah Kristian di negara ini menggunakan nama Allah sebagai terjemahan daripada God dalam risalah dakwah berbahasa Melayu mereka sangat menyedihkan dan pada hemat saya mengenepikan kedudukan Islam sebagai Agama Persekutuan.

2. Apakah keputusan Mahkamah ini juga membatalkan keputusan Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad dan Kementerian Dalam Negeri pada 1986 yang melarang agama lain dari menggunakan perkataan Allah, Kaabah, Solat dan Baitullah?

3. Pada Mei 2008 saya telah menulis rasional mengapa nama Allah adalah eksklusif kepada orang Islam sahaja terutama di negara ini.

4. Sungguhpun masih ada ruang rayuan, namun keputusan ini menunjukkan satu isyarat kepada orang Melayu dan Islam bahawa segala status quo orang Melayu dan agama Islam di negara ini boleh berubah pada bila-bila masa bila ada orang Islam sendiri menjadi pengkhianat dan menyokong kumpulan yang mahu melemahkan kedudukan Islam di negara ini.

5. Telah lama dihujahkan bahawa orang Melayu boleh berbeza fahaman politik asalkan bersatu menjaga kepentingan agama, bangsa dan negara. Malangnya ini tidak berlaku hari ini.

6. Saya terbaca beberapa kenyataan badan bukan kerajaan dalam Utusan Malaysia hari ini yang kecewa dengan keputusan Hakim Mahkamah Tinggi (Bahagian Rayuan dan Kuasa-Kuasa Khas), Datuk Lau Bee Lan membenarkan Gereja Katolik menggunakan perkataan Allah dalam penerbitan mingguannya, Herald - The Catholic Weekly.

7. Anehnya sebahagian NGO ini merupakan kumpulan yang dilihat bersimpati dan sering membantu pemimpin dan parti politik Islam bukan UMNO. Mengapa baru sekarang mereka merasa kekecewaan tersebut sedangkan parti dan pemimpin yang mereka sokong sendiri mendiamkan diri.

8. Malah ada seorang pemimpin dari sebuah parti yang mengaku memperjuangkan Islam dilaporkan berkata dalam sebuah Gereja di Shah Alam bahawa beliau menyokong tuntutan orang Kristian menggantikan perkataan God kepada Allah dalam risalah berbahasa Melayu mereka. Apa Ngo-ngo yang ada nama Islam ini buat ketika itu? Bayangkan jika sokongan tersebut datang dari pemimpin UMNO.

9. Hakikatnya ini adalah pengajaran kepada semua orang Islam di negara ini bahawa kita selalu sangat terpedaya dengan laungan keadilan, demokrasi, meritokrasi sehingga tidak sedar bahawa laungan-laungan tersebut digunakan untuk membantu kumpulan tertentu mendapat kuasa tetapi melemahkan kedudukan kita sendiri.

10. Kejatuhan banyak kerajaan Islam dulu bermula seperti hari ini iaitu orang-orang Islam bergaduh disebabkan adu domba dan fitnah yang disebar dan ditanamkan oleh kaum munafiq seperti dalam Perang Siffin.

11. Bagi saya tindakan menterjemahkan perkataan God kepada Allah, bukannya Tuhan seperti sepatutnya, merupakan satu usaha memecah belah umat Islam dan tanda-tanda awal mencabar kedudukan Islam sebagai agama Persekutuan di negara ini.

12. Jangan kita dikelirukan antara perkataan illah dengan Allah. la illah ha illahllah, yakni tiada tuhan melainkan Allah. Jika mereka mahu menggunakan perkataan arab bagi tuhan maka gunakanlah kata Illah. Allah merupakan tuhan yang maha esa. Manakala dalam bahasa Melayu kata nama Allah merupakan nama khas bukannya nama umum kepada tuhan.

13. Kepada umat Islam di negara ini yang telah berfikiran liberal kerana kuasa yang mereka nikmati hari ini, ingatlah firman Allah:

"Katakanlah wahai Muhammad: Hai orang kafir! Aku tidak akan menyembah apa yang kamu sembah. Dan kamu tidak mahu menyembah (Allah) yang aku sembah. Dan aku tidak akan beribadat secara kamu beribadat. Dan kamu pula tidak mahu beribadat secara aku beribadat. Bagi kamu agama kamu, dan bagiku agamaku."[Al-Kaafiruun]

NO HOLDS BARRED

By: Raja Petra Kamarudin

The Skyscraper Index is a concept put forward in January 1999 by Andrew Lawrence, research director at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, which showed that the world's tallest buildings have risen on the eve of economic downturns.

Business cycles and skyscraper construction correlate in such a way that investment in skyscrapers peaks when cyclical growth is exhausted and the economy is ready for recession. The buildings may actually be completed after the onset of the recession or later, when another business cycle pulls the economy up, or even cancelled.

Unlike earlier instances of similar reasoning ("height is a barometer of boom"), Lawrence used skyscraper projects as a predictor of economic crisis, not boom.

Lawrence started his paper as a joke (emphasized by a title referencing a comedy show) and based his "index" on mere comparison of historical data, primarily from the United States experience. He dismissed overall construction and investment statistics, focusing only on record-breaking projects.

The first notable example was the Panic of 1907. Two record-breaking skyscrapers, the Singer Building and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower, were launched in New York before the panic and completed in 1908 and 1909, respectively. Met Life remained the world's tallest building until 1913.

Another string of super-tall towers - 40 Wall Street, Chrysler Building, Empire State Building - was launched shortly before to the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The next record holders, World Trade Center towers and Sears Tower, opened up in 1973, during the 1973–1974 stock market crash and the 1973 oil crisis.

The last example available to Lawrence, Petronas Twin Towers, opened up in the wake of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis and held the world height record for five years. Lawrence linked the phenomenon to overinvestment, speculation and monetary expansion but did not elaborate these underlying issues.

The concept was revived in 2005, when Fortune warily observed five media corporations investing in new skyscrapers on Manhattan (none of them, including the tallest New York Times Building, broke any records).

The intuitively simple concept, publicised by business press in 1999, has been cross-checked within the framework of the Austrian Business Cycle Theory, itself borrowing on Richard Cantillon's eighteenth-century theories. Thornton (2005) listed three Cantillon effects that make skyscraper index valid.

First, a decline in interest rates at the onset of a boom drives land prices. Second, a decline in interest rates allows increase in average size of a firm, creating demand for larger office spaces. Third, low interest rates provide investment to construction technologies that enable developers to break earlier records. All three factors peak at the end of growth period.

Critics dismissed the skyscraper index as an unreliable tool: the post-World War I recession, recession of 1937 and the early 1980s recession were not marked by any record-breaking projects. Construction of Woolworth Building (world height record 1913–1930) was marked by a local overbuilding crisis in New York City in 1913–1915 concurrent with a record construction boom in Chicago. Thornton argues that completion of Woolworth Building was followed by a third-worst-ever quarterly decline in gross domestic product, thus it should not be considered an exception from the rule (as Lawrence himself did).

Cyclical patterns in real estate have been thoroughly studied before Lawrence, notably by Homer Hoyt in 1930s. A 1995 analysis of New York and Chicago experience by Carol Willis estimated that historically, two-thirds to three-quarters of skyscrapers were conceived for rent alone; corporate "edifices" imposing their owners brand name (including most of historical record-holders) were a minority, and they too leased space to tenants. Speculative real estate markets cycle between two different behavior patterns.

In "normal" times when value of resources is predictable, performance of a building project can be estimated reliably through well-tested formulae. In boom times, rational pricing gives way to irrational buyers' behavior; buyers bet on ever-increasing demand and rents and are willing to pay more than they would normally. Willis said that "height is a barometer of boom", "the tallest building generally appear before the end of a boom, their height driven up by the speculative fever that affects both developers and lenders", citing cyclically inflated land values as the principal factor for increases in building height, but did not elevate this fact to become an "index".

A related concept, Skyscraper Indicator, was popularised by Ralph Nelson Elliott in 1930s. In some ways this appears to be an elaboration of C Northcote Parkinson's theory that only organizations in decline have sleek, well-planned buildings. His favourite example was, not a skyscraper, but the city of New Delhi (particularly the area now referred to as Lutyen's Delhi) - built shortly before India became independent of the British builders.

A recent update, that has a good potential of being the latest addition to this list is the Burj Dubai. Interestingly, in October 2009, Emaar, the construction company that is constructing Burj Dubai announced that it had completed the exterior of the building and within two months, the Dubai government came close to defaulting on its loans.

Speaking English in the Workplace is "Weird"

Malaysia's deputy education minister has said that speaking English in the workplace is "weird" and harmful to the nation's culture and identity, a report said.

Mohd Puad Zarkashi said employees in the private sector used English 99 percent of the time and should switch to Bahasa Malaysia in order to show pride in the national language, the New Straits Times reported.

"This also occurs in government-linked companies where we have this weird culture of people speaking to each other in English instead of the national language," he said at the launch of a linguistics seminar.
"We are polluting our own culture and identity as a nation," he said.

"It would be difficult to strengthen the position of Bahasa Malaysia if this culture continued," he added, urging Malaysians to emulate the French, Japanese and Koreans, who stuck to their own language.

The New Straits Times said Mohd Puad also criticised young people for using a mix of English and Bahasa Malaysia in SMS text messages and on the Internet.

He called on the nation's leaders to use Bahasa Malaysia for all meetings and events and said that when he receives letters in English he returns them and asks for them to be written in the national language.

English is widely spoken in Malaysia, a multicultural nation where the population is dominated by Muslim Malays but also includes large ethnic Chinese and Indian populations.

Many Malaysians speak several languages including English, Bahasa Malaysia, and Chinese and Indian dialects

Alkisah India di India dan India di Malaysia

Oleh Zaini Hassan, Utusan Malaysia

(yang berada di kota raya Hyderabad, India dari 29 November-4 Disember menghadiri Forum Editor-Editor Sedunia)

BERADA di kota raya tua India, Hyderabad selama seminggu minggu lalu amat memberi kesedaran kepada diri ini. Setiap inci persegi tanah di kota-kotanya dihuni oleh ratusan insan. Setiap kilometer persegi dihuni oleh ratusan ribu insan dan setiap bandar raya di negara keramat itu dihuni oleh jutaan manusia. Dan India ialah tanah bagi 1.2 bilion umat manusia. Angkanya bertambah setiap saat.

Berada di India bererti kita berada dalam satu realiti kemanusiaan yang sebenar. India ialah tanah bagi manusia ramai. Jurang hidupnya adalah antara langit dan bumi. Yang papa terlalu papa, yang kaya terlalu kaya. Yang kaya, tidak pandang ke bawah, yang bawah tetap di bawah.

Kasta, darjat atau keturunan masih diamalkan secara tebal di seluruh India. Ia semacam satu agama. Kasta atas tidak boleh bersatu kasta rendah.

Jalan rayanya haru-biru. Suasananya hiruk-pikuk. Bas, lori, kereta, basikal, teksi roda tiga, kereta lembu, kuda bersimpang siur. Bunyi hon adalah wajib. Pegang sahaja stereng, bunyi hon dulu. Di belakang bas dan lori tertulis `tolong hon’. Tiada siapa marah jika dia dihon. Hon ialah nyawa.

Semasa dalam perjalanan menghadiri makan malam perpisahan di Istana Chowmohalla (dibina pada 1780 oleh Nawab Nizam Ali Khan, Asaf Jah II), pemandu bas yang membawa kami tiba-tiba turun lari meninggalkan bas yang dibawanya. Hilang dalam lautan manusia dan kenderaan. Kami terpinga-pinga. Dua lelaki preman masing-masing memegang submesingan jenis sterling yang mengawal keselamatan kami dalam bas berkata ``jangan bimbang’’. Pemandu tadi sebenarnya turun untuk meleraikan kenderaan-kenderaan yang sudah berpintal di atas jalan raya. Dia bertindak menjadi polis trafik.

Sambil dia menyelesaikan kekusutan itu, saya melihat di seberang sana seorang penumpang turun dari teksi roda tiga yang dinaikinya menolak kenderaan itu yang mati di atas jalan raya. Tiada rasa marah pun di muka penumpang itu yang menolong menolak teksinya yang rosak.

Tiada siapa peduli apa yang berlaku di sekeliling mereka. Polis trafik pun menjalankan apa yang terdaya, tanpa memperlihatkan sedikit pun kekerutan di dahinya. Trafik lalu lintas tetap berjalan lancar, walaupun dalam suasana kekecohan.

Sebelah malam, di tepi-tepi jalan insan-insan tidur merata-rata. Ada yang telah nyenyak membungkus tubuh dengan kain selimut daripada kedinginan kota itu. Yang belum tidur, duduk mencangkung sambil memandang ke satu tujuan yang tidak diketahui.

Hampir dua jam bergelut kami tiba di istana bereka bentuk masjid itu. Di sepanjang dinding tembok istana tertulis tulisan dalam bahasa Inggeris ``Ini tempat suci jangan kencing’’. Kencing berdiri sambil si anunya memancut ke dinding adalah pemandangan umum yang biasa. Mungkin kerana terlalu ramai manusia, tandas bukan lagi pilihan. Awas, setiap pagi berhati-hati berjalan di kaki-kaki lima kerana terlalu banyak jerangkap samar dari isi perut manusia berlonggok di sana-sini. Suasana serupa juga juga khabarnya boleh dilihat di bandar raya lain termasuk di Mumbai.

Sampainya di istana itu, kami dibawa masuk ke dalamnya. Satu suasana antara langit dengan bumi. Kawasan istana lama itu diwarnai dengan lampu-lampu berwarni yang menyenangkan perasaan. Bagaikan berada dalam kisah Hikayat 1001. Tarian-tarian Bollywood dari era 50-an hingga kini dipersembahkan kepada kami. Selesai persembahan kami dijamu dengan juadah Hyderabad tersohor di dunia, nasi beriyani.

Kami makan beriyani kambing dan ayam, tanpa mempedulikan apa-apa lagi. Ia terlalu sedap tanpa boleh ditandingi oleh mana-mana restoran Malaysia, waima Hameediah di Campbell Street, Pulau Pinang mahupun Mahbob di Bangsar.

Di luar tembok sana, suasananya adalah terlalu kontras. India yang penuh warna-warni. India yang penuh dengan drama. Di dada-dada akhbarnya konflik di mana-mana. Di Parlimennya pun haru-biru seperti di atas jalan rayanya juga. Televisyen memaparkan bagaimana seorang speaker dewannya tidak diendahkan oleh ahli-ahli Parlimen yang memboikot sesi soal-jawab. Akhbar Deccan Chronicle dalam karikatur muka satunya (macam Senyum Kambing) keesokan harinya mencuit: Mengapa mereka tidak mahu buat sesi soal-jawab dalam kantin saja, kan di situ tempatnya ahli Parlimen selalu melepak?

India tetap India. Orang India ialah masyarakat yang begitu unik. Jika kita sering tengok wayang Tamil atau Hindi, itulah budaya mereka. Kecoh, kecoh dan kecoh.

Namun, kita di Malaysia pun ada orang India. Kecohnya pun lebih kurang sama. Mereka ini rata-ratanya terdiri daripada ahli-ahli profesional, peguam dan kini menjadi ahli politik. Di Malaysia hanya orang India yang pandai-pandai sahaja yang sering buat bising. Mereka menguasai Majlis Peguam dan kini mereka sudah ramai di Parlimen, bukan mewakili MIC, tapi mewakili DAP dan PKR.

Kerana mereka lantang dan suka buat haru-biru, suara mereka sering kedengaran. Salah seorangnya ialah N. Kulasegaran yang kini memegang jawatan Naib Pengerusi DAP Perak. Beliau lantang mempersoalkan hak-hak orang Melayu.

Katanya, beliau tidak faham mengapa setelah bertahun lamanya masih ada kelompok manusia percaya kepada warna kulit atau penampilan yang lebih tinggi daripada satu kaum lain.

Kita tidak pasti apakah beliau ikhlas dengan kenyataannya itu. Dia tahukah apa yang dia cakap? Tapi yang pasti kenyataannya itu cukup sensitif dan akan membuat kumpulan lain marah. Tapi seperti biasa orang Melayu marahnya tidak lama. Tak apalah. Orang Melayu tidak seperti orang India, walaupun ada juga Melayu yang darah keturunan Keling (DKK), tapi darah Melayu yang lembut banyak menguasai mereka.

Jika di India, mungkin kita akan sentiasa dikawal oleh pengawal bermesingan. Kulasegaran perlu mengambil cuti. Pergilah melawat ke India, dan hayatilah erti kehidupan di sana, hayatilah erti kasta dan darjat, miskin dan kaya, seperti yang saya alami minggu lalu.

Seburuk-buruk Malaysia, inilah tanah tumpah darah kita.

Malaysia's Economic Recovery: Not For the Faint Hearted

By Khoo Kay Peng

Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) executive director Dr Mohamed Ariff Abdul Kareem expected the Malaysian economy to face tougher and more challenging times following concerns that the United States may be heading for a double-dip recession.

He said all available evidence clearly showed that Malaysia was out of recession. The country would register positive growth in the fourth quarter of this year, and this would probably continue into 2010.

Dr Ariff warned of a possible double dip in the US economy first half of next year. Rightly pointed out, the global economy recovery especially in the US is fueled by fiscal stimulus packages and not real recovery in consumer demand and confidence. Unemployment rates are still high in US and Western Europe.

Closer to this region, the China economy is plagued with an asset bubble fear. This threat has been hovering over China's economy in the last few years, even before the full blown global economic crisis this March.

Malaysia's recovery is going to be a bit more tricky. Without accurate and updated economic data, we are not even sure of the real unemployment rates. Job creation remains slow and sluggish.

Consumer demand has not been that encouraging even during the recent festive seasons. They are going to continue to thread carefully next year. Family expenditure will remain prudent because parents may have to make provision for their unemployed children.

Unemployment for young graduates and school leavers may hover above 100,000 next year. Despite PM Najib's call to increase per capita income, the entry level salary and salary growth are expected to be sluggish and stagnant.

Malaysia's dilemma is deep and complex. Apart from the global economic crisis, we have to discover a new dynamism and inertia to move this economy forward.

Malaysia's structural change is not for the faint hearted. According to MIER, a mild economic recovery can be expected in the year 2012 but this recovery will be largely resource (commodities and oil & gas) driven.

We need to reinvigorate our manufacturing and services sectors. We need to do better to capitalize on our natural resources and strengths. The education system needs a major revamp.

Foremost, we need better calibre policy makers, administrators and managers. Curb corruption and wastage of useful limited resources.

The changes must start with mindset and cultural changes.

Hence, this journey is going to be a long and arduous one. Even a change of government will not erase these problems overnight. The direction of this country cannot be dictated by a mere 222 politicians. The future of this country lies in the hands of 28 million people.

Malaysians must be prepared to work hard for the next 20 years to get this country back on its feet again.

And, the journey must start from now.

What are you staying?

By Art Harun

There was a man. His name was Muthu. He married Meenachi. All those time he was feeling uneasy. He was not attracted to Meenachi. But he had to marry her because it was arranged. In fact, he wasn’t attracted to any woman. Muthu felt that he was actually a woman trapped in a man’s body.

So, he finally summoned enough courage and underwent a sex change. He took whatever hormones pills to make his skin smooth. Removed his penis. Implanted silicon into his chest and grow them up to a pair of C cuppers.

Then he went to Court. And asked for a declaration that he was and is a woman. He also asked for a divorce. Meenachi objected. Some NGO, claiming to represent some rights group intervened and objected too. Some family members also objected.

After a lengthy hearing and hearing submissions from eminent and not so eminent Counsel, the Court granted a declaration that Muthu is and was at all material times a woman. Muthu was very happy. He celebrated. At last, he was free from the constraint of being labelled a man when he is in fact a woman.

Or so he thought.

His wife appealed. The NGO also joined in. His family members as well. While waiting for the appeal, his wife asked the Court of Appeal for an order staying the declaration which Muthu had earlier obtained in the High Court.

Despite the fact that there were two other sittings of the Court of Appeal that day, where a full coram of 3 Court of Appeal Judges were sitting in each of the two sittings, Meenachi’s application for a stay order was heard by a single Judge. But Muthu did not say anything. Because under the law, a single Judge could hear such application.

The single Judge Court of Appeal, after hearing submissions, granted an order staying the declaration which Muthu had earlier obtained.

Muthu now has a problem. She has been declared a woman. She behaves like a woman. Dress like one. She’s got C-cup boobs. And she has no dick. When she wants to go to the loo, she would want to go to the ladies loo.

In fact that is the primary reason for obtaining the declaration. She wants to be able to go to the ladies toilet without committing an offence under some municipal regulations.

But now the declaration is stayed. What does that mean? Does it mean that Muthu is not a woman? But the Court has declared so. In law she is a woman. How? Does it mean now that Muthu cannot go to the ladies toilet? She doesn’t want to go to men’s toilet. What would the men say? Or do? She has boobs. Wears skirt. No dick. Some men might just smile. Some might take it the wrong way. Some might molest her in the men’s toilet. How?

And does it mean now Muthu also cannot behave like a woman? Must she now wear pants and scratch the area where her balls used to be, like other men? And drink beer from the mug in one gulp? And burp loudly after that? Must she also pee while standing? When she is in Kelantan, which supermarket lane is she supposed to be in? Male or female? Muthu is confused. She really doesn’t know what to do. How is she supposed to behave now?

Muthu consults her lawyers. Her lawyers say a declaration cannot be stayed. How can a declaration be stayed? You can stay the execution of a judgement or order. Meaning, if the Court gives an order saying Meenachi owes 1 million to Muthu, the Court can stay the execution of that order.

When that kind of stay is given, it means that Muthu cannot do anything to recover that 1 million until Meenachi’s appeal is heard and decided upon. But in that case, it is still an accepted fact that Muthu is a holder of an order requiring Meenachi to pay 1 million to Muthu. That order is not reversed. It is valid. The only thing is that Muthu cannot recover that 1 million just yet. Until Meenachi’s appeal is heard and decided upon, that is.

But Muthu did not get that kind of order. Muthu obtained a declaration that she was and is a woman. How do you stay that kind of order. Stay what? To stay that kind of declaration would tantamount to the Court of Appeal reversing the declaration which the High Court had granted after full adjudication. That couldn’t be. How can the Court of Appeal do that without hearing the appeal on the merit?

To do such thing would tantamount to the CoA not recognising the High Court order. The CoA surely cannot do that. In the hypothetical case of the 1 million order above, the Court does not invalidate that order. The Court just suspends Muthu’s right to recover the 1 million. The Court recognises the validity of the order but the Court says Muthu should not recover the 1 million for the time being.

But to stay a declaration is a different game. That is like saying that declaration does not exist for now. So, Muthu is, for the time being, a man.

Muthu is thinking of wearing black all the time.

PS Just as a digression. On Nizar v Zambry declaration, I was thinking. Under section 54 (d) of the Specific Relief Act 1950, no injunction shall be granted to, among others, interfere with the public duties of any department of any Government in Malaysia.

Nizar has been declared the Menteri Besar of Perak. Now, the stay which was given operates or at least is intended to stop him from carrying out his duties as the MB of Perak. It operates as an injunction of sort. Wouldn’t section 54 apply? Just a thought.

A commenter on a web site where my article “What are you staying?” alerted readers that there is a judicial precedent on whether a declaration can be stayed. I did check the case he was referring to. I wish to thank him or her. He or she is right.

This is what the Judge said in that case:

“At the hearing of the motion, I asked (Counsel) who appeared for Mr (F) how it was possible to stay a declaration that had been made and duly entered…..

(Counsel) relied upon the difference between the language in Order (xx) rule (xx) (“The Court may stay execution of a judgment or order”.) and the language of s. (xx) which simply refers to staying an order.

The distinction sought to be made was that the rule refers to execution while the section does not. There does not appear to be any relevant difference in the present context between a judgment and an order.

The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary relevantly defines “stay” as “suspension or postponement of a judicial proceeding, sentence or judgement”. The Macquarie Dictionary speaks in terms of “to suspend or delay (proceedings, etc)”. The same two dictionaries define the verb “to suspend” as including “to make temporarily inactive” and “to cease from operation for a time”. In that sense it might be said that an order which had already taken effect could be suspended temporarily. However, once a declaration has been made, as here, that a deed is void it seems to me that the order itself has done its work. The legal rights or obligations of the parties which depended upon whether the deed had any effect or not are, subject to appeal, settled. In the absence of clerical or similar errors arising from a slip or accidental omission the order stands unless set aside on appeal.

I decline to make that order on the basis that, in my opinion, the power to do so does not exist.”

(please note that words in brackets are mine and all emphasis are added by me).

So, there we go. I am right. Thanks to the commenter. I suppose Nizar’s lawyers and Counsel know what to do.

[Art Harun believes that he is a failed government experiment, abandoned and left alone to roam the streets after all remedial efforts yielded no positive results. He practices law for a living and tries very hard to play guitar, sing, race cars and write some stuffs to stay alive.]