Holiday Thoughts
I wish I had brought along with me my usp wire for my digital camera such that I could post some interesting pictures of my holiday time up here. But then I probably wouldn't do that as I never really intend to use my blog as a diary as such - as I use it as my resort of "thought exercises". After 3 days into my current leave away from work, anyway, I have had 3 thoughts hatched.
The first thought lied in my habitual area of intellectual interest - economics. Malaysia is a country I have visited over 15 times to date - by a rough count of at least once a year for 15 years - as the country of abode of brothers-in-law, therefore one which I am fairly familiar with. It is one of the few places on earth of genuine racial harmony, where the ethnic Malays and the Chinese coexist peacefully for decades together. Though understandably prohibited from politics, the Chinese dominate the economic scenes. Just a couple of hours away, the southern neighbour of Indonesia bears some resemblance of ethnicity, but in an even more extreme form - that the 5% of politically neutral Chinese probably control 95% of the countries' economic output. The numbers are of course just hunches of indication. But the scenario should not be far off.
For the perceived similarity in cultural background (and of course, both are populously Muslim), my colleagues in Indonesia told me that they never really had any interest to visit their northern neighbour, that there wouldn't be anything enlightening for them to see. I couldn't disagree more, though silently. The contrast between the two countries could hardly be any more glaring - not just between the modern world-class Kuala Lumpur airport and its shabbily worn-down counterpart; or between the glamorous landmark of twin-tower and the eye sores of unfinished empty buildings; or between the efficiently far-reaching city mono-rail and its pathetic counterpart of shattered will and misplaced fund; or between a domestic economy of well-off (if not affluent) middle-class and one of extreme inequality; or, in general, between the well-organised and the ruinous - but, as a not far-fetched proposition, basically for perhaps a generation of economic development apart.
It is a pity. With Thai politics now in shamble, Indonesia is now perhaps the truly and most stable democratic economy in South East Asia, yet among those whose population are most stricken by poverty. On the contrary, looking at Malaysia - or Singapore, or China - for the matter of economic prosperity, paradoxically, one could not help but wonder it is not so much the system itself but the assiduously well-intended political will which stands to make the good difference.
But why I should labour my thinking so much on matters of economics (apparently to the extent of looking confused even at times of relaxation - as per my daughter while we were soaking around in a water park). I don't - it's just my look I told her - and my second thought was on my closest family circle - a small one in the wake of the previous generation of senseless animosity. With the elder brother flying the Arctic route from New York, taking our widow mother en route from Hong Kong, and myself coming from Indonesia with my little family, our close-circle gathering in Malaysia is a precious one. The place actually doesn't matter much. We could be simply sitting together at anywhere safe on earth and be content and happy. The in-laws' from Malaysia add some bonus of joy.
No where on earth, however, is immune from news of melancholy. A phone call from downtown Manhattan brought news of layoff of a friend of friend to my elder brother, for example, that he told me it seems everyone in the US nowadays personally knows someone who has recently been laid off - if he has not been done so himself. A far more sophisticated landscape of modern skyscrapers than Kuala Lumpur's notwithstanding, Manhattan may not be radiating with any more joy for the time being.
That brought me to my last thought for this post, that holiday is indeed a luxury - more so nowadays - and also a virtue - one that has to be earned. Everyone being so digitally connected to the rest of world, one really has to make an effort to switch off from any office agenda. Blogging is fine, though.
The first thought lied in my habitual area of intellectual interest - economics. Malaysia is a country I have visited over 15 times to date - by a rough count of at least once a year for 15 years - as the country of abode of brothers-in-law, therefore one which I am fairly familiar with. It is one of the few places on earth of genuine racial harmony, where the ethnic Malays and the Chinese coexist peacefully for decades together. Though understandably prohibited from politics, the Chinese dominate the economic scenes. Just a couple of hours away, the southern neighbour of Indonesia bears some resemblance of ethnicity, but in an even more extreme form - that the 5% of politically neutral Chinese probably control 95% of the countries' economic output. The numbers are of course just hunches of indication. But the scenario should not be far off.
For the perceived similarity in cultural background (and of course, both are populously Muslim), my colleagues in Indonesia told me that they never really had any interest to visit their northern neighbour, that there wouldn't be anything enlightening for them to see. I couldn't disagree more, though silently. The contrast between the two countries could hardly be any more glaring - not just between the modern world-class Kuala Lumpur airport and its shabbily worn-down counterpart; or between the glamorous landmark of twin-tower and the eye sores of unfinished empty buildings; or between the efficiently far-reaching city mono-rail and its pathetic counterpart of shattered will and misplaced fund; or between a domestic economy of well-off (if not affluent) middle-class and one of extreme inequality; or, in general, between the well-organised and the ruinous - but, as a not far-fetched proposition, basically for perhaps a generation of economic development apart.
It is a pity. With Thai politics now in shamble, Indonesia is now perhaps the truly and most stable democratic economy in South East Asia, yet among those whose population are most stricken by poverty. On the contrary, looking at Malaysia - or Singapore, or China - for the matter of economic prosperity, paradoxically, one could not help but wonder it is not so much the system itself but the assiduously well-intended political will which stands to make the good difference.
But why I should labour my thinking so much on matters of economics (apparently to the extent of looking confused even at times of relaxation - as per my daughter while we were soaking around in a water park). I don't - it's just my look I told her - and my second thought was on my closest family circle - a small one in the wake of the previous generation of senseless animosity. With the elder brother flying the Arctic route from New York, taking our widow mother en route from Hong Kong, and myself coming from Indonesia with my little family, our close-circle gathering in Malaysia is a precious one. The place actually doesn't matter much. We could be simply sitting together at anywhere safe on earth and be content and happy. The in-laws' from Malaysia add some bonus of joy.
No where on earth, however, is immune from news of melancholy. A phone call from downtown Manhattan brought news of layoff of a friend of friend to my elder brother, for example, that he told me it seems everyone in the US nowadays personally knows someone who has recently been laid off - if he has not been done so himself. A far more sophisticated landscape of modern skyscrapers than Kuala Lumpur's notwithstanding, Manhattan may not be radiating with any more joy for the time being.
That brought me to my last thought for this post, that holiday is indeed a luxury - more so nowadays - and also a virtue - one that has to be earned. Everyone being so digitally connected to the rest of world, one really has to make an effort to switch off from any office agenda. Blogging is fine, though.
Comments
US economy now is worse than in 2002, however, unluckiness can make people fall down or overachieve - it depends on how they react to it.
I quit my job last week. Today I enjoy sunshine and have a good time with my little boy.