Some Thoughts To Fill Idle Moments

A Kadir Jasin

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1. ACCORDING to media reports quoting Health Director-General Dr Mohd Ismail Merican there has been no swine flu death since Sept 19. The death toll stands 77.

But for the two weeks of Hari Raya Ops Sikap, which ended yesterday, the police reported 222 died in road accidents throughout the country.

So Hari Raya travel and bad sikap (attitude) on the roads caused more death in a much shorter period that the dreaded swine flu.

The moral of the story is human beings are as capable of causing death and suffering as the H1N1 and other deadly viruses.

2. Tourism Ministry has a new logo reflecting the 1Malaysia spirit. The logo, according to reports, features pictures of the Petronas Twin Towers, a group of Malaysians from different ethnic backgrounds and beaches.

A new slogan means new logos. Different organisations would interpret the slogan differently to suit their purposes while at the same time pleasing the power that be.

So, there’ll be many new billboards and advertisements. More money will be spent, hopefully not taxpayers’ money making these changes.

More logos and billboards mean more business for the logo makers and the owners of billboards, the advertising agencies, radio and television stations and the newspapers.

But for most of those who are changing the logos and putting up new billboards and signboards money is not the concern because it’s not theirs anyway.

I was at KLIA two nights ago. The Malaysian Airlines’ new marketing logo has now been changed to “1MH” to coincide with 1Malaysia slogan.

In economics, they say that one person’s expenditure is another person’s income. So the changing of the logos and signboards to comply with the new slogan is good for the economy. When there’s expenditure, there’s income and this leads, in theory, to economic growth.

3. Another entertainment celebrity nearly caused a whole bunch of Datuks, whose name start with the letter “k”, a major headache with their little ladies at home.

The local entertainment media has this habit of using one’s initials when linking him to an actress or a starlet.

The Sunday Star newspaper reported that the talented actress, Umie Aida, would be getting engaged to a Datuk she called “Abang K”.

Umie Aida declined to elaborate on her man, but paper identified him as one “Datuk Khairuddin”, who is in his mid-40s, with “fair skin and Chinese features.”

Phew, I am 62 and don’t think I look like a Chinese!

4. And, according to Mingguan Malaysia, former Prime Dr Mahathir Mohamad said his former cabinet colleague, S Samy Vellu should go on a 20-year leave from the MIC.

When asked by the press, he said the two-month leave that Samy Vellu was planning was not long enough, adding that the latter should no longer be leading the MIC.

5. The Mingguan also reported that 5,000 people visited Dr Mahathir and 3,000 called on Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at their open houses yesterday.