Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Diary.....

Just came back from Hong Kong. Spent an extended weekend discussing 'Cardiometabolic issues in Metabolic Syndrome' with the best of Asian, Australian and European endocrine and cardiological minds. Namely to put it bluntly 'the effect of obesity, glutony, increasing sedentariness in our lifestyle and as a result, diabetes, strokes, hypertension and kidney dysfunction leading to a much truncated lifespan'...a topic to be discussed in future articles.....

Pearls and Gem must have gone places or perhaps I look like a 'hot blooded Pashtun' or like that 'Khalid' chap from Pakistan: I was 'randomly' checked twice by the efficient Hong Kong securities at the airport, on entry and at exit...At least they were rather very straightforward and go about their job with mechanical efficiency, sparring out the hypocritical approach of the Australians who will start with " Sorry sir, this is just purely random that we choose you, we have some question to ask you blah blah blah....".I was picked 'randomly' on entry and exit three times out of three, Down Under. So much for random check.

The big issue in Hong Kong today was of Amina Bhokary. A young lady with high education and connection let off scott's free by the court after her 3rd incidence of abusing the police: she slapped them in public. Her defence was that she is a manic depressive...Still a weak excuse for a third offence. A huge public out cry. Reminded me that the Hongkies are still very much British in their outlook.

Two full pages in South China Gazzete of the dissent of building of mosques in New York and elsewhere in the States. Despite the 14th Amendment. The Americans perhaps should take a leaf or two from us in Malaysia: we have thousands of churches and temples and probably over 40,000 'kuils' everywhere and anywhere,some side by side to mosques. The other day while riding in Elmina Estate I counted there are over 15 'kuils'..we Malaysians do not make a big deal over it except when it encroaches on public land for yrgent development and is illegal.

Why talk big about the 14th Amendment when deep down you guys are so intolerant??!!

Safely back on home territory I was welcomed home by an unpleasant feeling.After Hong Kong Airport, our KLIA looked today 'very sparse' at 6 pm local time. I counted only 10 jet liners,90 % Malaysian. So much for 'Best Airport 3 Years in a Row!'.Another land clearing on the entrance of KLIA heralding another terminal for the LCCT. My God! We never stop building even when our present airport is half empty..

Then a pleasant taxi ride to Subang Jaya..Malaysia, the Best of Asia..still OK..One kilometre down the highway.....my God!...1Malaysia emblazoned across the skyline ....how can we ever have 1Malaysia with 3 school systems early on running parallel in the education of our youth! When even the wawasan concept as put forward by Dr M [ means just 'sharing' the same compound, not yet the same curricullum ] brought so much anger and displeasure, let us all forget about 1Malaysia...It is an idiotic concept and a waste of time if one side is not willing to give an inch for the sake of national unity.

The 1Malaysia ad reminded me once again of Hong Kong that I just left. A loud group of Indonesian Chinese dining near my table in Hotel Excelsior Hong Kong, were conversing 100 % Indonesian language,of all the place in Chinese Hong Kong, to the chagrin of other chinese looking people around them..... We have somehow missed the boat! Let us think of something else apart from 1Malaysia.

The irony of it all.... I know I am now back home in Malaysia.

5 comments:

RahmatHarounHashim said...

Please share you latest knowledge from HK debut..... Any new things or things we know year in year out!.

Selamat Berpuasa

Pearls and Gem said...

Thanks Doc Rachmat,
for your interest in the recent Hong Kong deliberation on The Metabolic Syndrome . It will come in due time, in my next blog article..

While there are new twist and small prints for sub specialist like you and me in the management of the several sub categories in this syndrome mainly of obesity and lifestyle induced medical problems, in the main, thank God, the bottomline for the lay public with respect to the bludgeoning problem related to obesity , overeating, increasing sedentariness in our soceity and the medical problems that follow... the solution still remain the same and quite simplistic and practical from the perspective of the people involved...from the viewpoint of prevention.

1.EATING LESS[ how succinct ,with respect to this being the 1st day of Ramadan!...EAT like what the Prophet do....eat when you are hungry and stop before you feel satieted.]

2. Watch your weight closely...
with respect to ideal weight, easy formullae that I always use in the clinic...your height in centimetres minus 100. That is your ideal weight. Give yourselve 3 to 4 kg on either sides. Stick to that whatever your age!

3.Exercise , exercise ,exercise...keep an active lifestyle..keep moving..burn those calories..

These are for the masses

The rest are minor prints for the subspecialist like myself and you Doc Rachmat. The message are thankfully still simple but even in 2010 , just between India and China, they have over 95 million people with Metabolic Syndrome of varying spectrum. The Asian world is ripe for an epidemic of diabetes with it accompanying myriads of medical incapacitations and problems...Things are simple , the message are clear and precise but PEOPLE are resistant to change.People are impervious to change.

Within my very own nuclear family, we have one diabetic and two potential diabetics and hypertensive...

Selamat Berpuasa to you. May your Ramadan and mine be a blessed one!

RahmatHarounHashim said...

Dear Dr Nik,
Should you be writting HK experience for all to share, kindly include issue on metabolically normal Obesity.
Selamat Berpuasa. Looking forward for the write-up.
TQ

hamzah Majid said...

Dear Doc Nik,

I read of your experience in Hong Kong, and upon your 'kembali ke tanah air" with interest. I want to say your comments are perceptive, and spot on!

Re HK, yes, I too have seen Indonesian Chinese in Singapore speaking in BI. Missed the boat, we have!

Secondly, you are also right about 1Malaysia. Nobody takes in seriously, let alone believe in it. It does appear tacky and gimmicky when the basic issues are swept under the carpet. You are right about the weird 'Sekolah Wawasan' when all it shares is a common padang! The 'mix' in the classroom, the education ethos, and its content have nothing to do with building a united nation. It is the nursery of an apartheid frame of mind. And a sort of apartheid already exists in this country. And we wonder why our FDI fell from 18 billion to 4 billion over just three years! We have to decide: do we want to be inclusive and create an investment-friendly climate, or pursue our baser instincts and slide down the razor blade of poverty.

Selamat Berpuasa, and have a good day.

Pearls and Gem said...

Dato ,It all boils down to having over 30 years of bad,really bad governance!!

I was at teraweek last night. Met a senior of mine at MCKK, leaning 'lifeless' by the pillar. A pillar of industry in his hey day. He told me 3 of his children are migrating!! He is already feeling the loss of his 2 'cucus'.
Young Malays migrating!! My God...

We have relegated ourselves to Cambodia and Vietnam status , said Ku Li....FDI is down 80 per cent.Our airports are half empty, we are still building like crazy..Our GLC's are runned by conniving 'yes-men' who cannot think, our senior politicians across the board, MIC,MCA and AMENU, all in are men who probably do not believe in the 'hereafter', ruled by the stomach more than by the heads....Just look at how pathetic MACC is looking everyday...And they are supposed to be the guardian angels...

But we deserve the 'shit' we deserve. We voted these clowns year in and year out.