Straight Talk 實話直說: 02/2015

26 Feb 2015

Don’t mistake caning for discipline, NGO cautions

KUALA LUMPUR: An NGO has said that public caning is not to be equated with discipline as the former is more likely to exacerbate delinquent behaviour in children instead of nipping it in the bud.

Speaking to FMT, the founder and chairman of Social Care Foundation, Robert Phang said that over 20 years of research showed that caning did nothing in modifying undesirable behaviour.

“Research indicates caning is linked to increased aggression, delinquency, mental health problems and a breakdown in parent-child relationships,” Phang said.

He also cited the 2013 study by Elizabeth Gershoff, a developmental psychologist at the University of Texas, that confirmed that children who were caned were more likely to develop depression, anxiety, drug use, and aggression when they were older.

“On the other hand, discipline involves teaching our kids to manage their emotions and desires. It might take extra work but it yields positive, long-term results.

“If parents and school authorities weren’t so quick to pick up the cane, they would see how setting age-appropriate expectations and boundaries, coupled with a fair degree of empathy, could turn even the naughtiest child around,”

Phang explained. He also placed special emphasis on counselling, considering it an integral part in behavioural modification in problem children.

7 Feb 2015

10 reasons why 'puak Cina' succeed in M'sia

SATIRE Since the Chinese in Malaysia have no testicles to decisively reprimand a certain minister for his racist rants, let me, an Indian Malaysian, remind them what being a Chinese is about.

At the outset, I got help for this article from one originally written by Dr Chan Lui Lee of Melbourne so 90 percent of the wisdom is his but 100 percent of the sarcasm is mine.

This is also meant to be a wake-up call for those who threaten everyone else (by using state machinery) and think that the country owes them a living and everyone else is a threat.

Just to get the readers into the mood, here's a famous song as a teaser.

Twenty years of crawling were bottled up inside him.
He wasn't holding nothing back - he let 'em have it all.
When Tommy left the bar room, not a Gatlin boy was standing.
He said, "This one's for Becky, as he watched the last one fall.
(And I heard him say,)
I promised you, Dad, not to do the things you've done
I walk away from trouble when I can
Now please don't think I'm weak, I didn't turn the other cheek,
And papa, I should hope you understand
Sometimes you gotta fight when you're a man.

- Kenny Rogers

Chinese people don't go about bombing, terrorising others and creating religious hatred. They don't enter into a country on the pretext of humanitarian reasons and then, try to take over the country by applying warped ideologies.

They don't impose "no go zones" for their hosts and don't demand separate laws for themselves. They don't hatch plots to kill non-believers nor do they harbour or finance such attempts.

They live peacefully with everyone on Earth and if you sent them to Mars, they will make it very liveable too. Take along the Indians too, then it would be a thriving technology-spurred economy.

Why do Chinese succeed in life?

Here is why the Chinese are welcomed almost anywhere:

1. There are over 1.4 billion Chinese on this earth. They are like (after all, all look the same) carbon copies of each other. You get rid of one, five magically appears (like ballot boxes in some countries).

They acknowledge that they are replaceable, they are not particularly 'special'. If you think they are smart, there are a few thousand more people smarter than them. If you think they are strong, there are a few thousand people stronger than them.

2. They have been crawling all over this earth for far more centuries that most (except for the other hardy people, the Indians) civilisations. Their DNA is designed for survival. They are like cockroaches. Put them anywhere on earth and they will make a colony and thrive.

They survive on anything around and make the best of it. In Klang, they threw pig parts into a broth to feed their coolie lot a 100 years ago and today it's a delicacy. Some keep migrating but others will stay and multiply.

3. Nobody cares if they succeed as individuals or not. But their families take pride in knowing they have succeeded. Yes, some will fail. They take nothing for granted. They don't expect privileges to fall on their laps. No one owes them anything.

4. They know they have nothing to lose if they try to succeed. They have no fear in trying. That is why Chinese are attracted to gambling. They thrive on taking risks. Winner takes all.

5. From young they are taught to count every cent. What they take for granted like money management, is not something other cultures practice at home with their children. (It didn't surprise me as I was like them too - some say I'm more Chinese than most Chinese).

But the truth is not all societies or cultures teach their young this set of survival skills because it is considered rude.