Brain Vs Heart

Very often, when you start working for the government you are accused of having turned to the Dark Side. You are branded as an accomplice in concealing the truth, a spin doctor out to distort facts and partake in mass deception to prop up evil dictators.

I get that sometimes, although often in veiled forms, hardly in-your-face. And I take it in my stride and regard it as part of the occupational hazards.

But one thing I have learnt on the job is that Malaysians are still very much emotional-driven. The depth of such inclination is something I have underestimated before taking up my present post.

We (yours truly included) tend to cast aside hard facts in favour of our preconceived notions, which we have formed over the years. We tend to see shadows when none exists. We regard rationale explanations as further attempts to keep the lid on excesses and wrongdoings that exist only in our imaginations.

Before I am accused of coming to the defence of anyone, least of all the government, let me just clarify that this posting is not about whether anyone has done anything wrong. Let's face it: the government has made many blunders in the past, some more grievous than others.

This posting is about our tendency to look beyond facts and hold on to our beliefs, some which we are willing to die for. We can be like kids who hold on to their security blankets while ignoring their parents' assurances that the bogeyman from under the beds exists only in their minds.

For example when certain leaders say that the Chinese voters in Kuala Terengganu appear to have backed a particular party during the recent by-election there, some rubbish it by saying that Bandar, the state seat in the Parliamentary constituency with the most Chinese, saw more voters backing the opponent.

To them, saying the Chinese back this particular party doesn't quite fit into their preconceived notion that the non-Malays are an angry lot out to vent their frustration at the Federal government.

Just for the record, Bandar has about 60 per cent Malay voters and only a few polling stations are Chinese-majority, where it is possible to gauge voter preference according to race.

Similarly, those who trumpet about getting the Chinese support in KT tend to ignore the fact that the young voters have largely voted for the opposition, as results according to voting streams indicate. To these people, this trend doesn't quite agree with their beliefs, for reasons too lengthy to discuss here.

This is not a forum to dissect the results of a by-election. This is a posting about how infinitely difficult it is to change peoples' beliefs even if the facts are all laid out bare. It also reflects just how mighty the human heart is over the nimble brains.

This makes my job all the more difficult. OK, enough said. One of my next postings will be on managing public perception.

"Free" newspapers

With Chinese New Year approaching, I am once again reminded of, err... the newspapers I get at home. OK, here's the thing, the last time my vendor came to collect money from me was around CNY 2008.

Don't ask me why. I have reminded him time and again to come and collect the payments as it had accumulated to quite a bit over the months. My entire working life has revolved around newspapers. Before my present job, my newspaper bills came up to about RM120 per month. Now, it is less as my office's newspaper are delivered to my home over the weekends and public holidays.

Some simple number-crunching suggests that I owe the vendor close to RM1,000 - and growing. With each reminder, he promised to come and collect "in a few days' time". But he never showed up. One part of me hopes he will come so that I can forget about the debts I accumulated through no fault of mine. Another part says, heck no, as it already involves a rather hefty amount now.

I mean, it's not like I have been a bad paymaster. In fact, I was the one who kept bugging the man to come and get his dues.

Before anyone start asking for his name and contact number, I can only make a wild guess over why the newspaper man is so "generous" with me. Up to May 2007, I was working in another daily where I received free copies of the newspaper.

While I did officially inform my then employer to terminate my complimentary copies before I quit, the company probably did not do so. Some of my ex-colleagues who also left the paper were still receiving free copies years after they quit. That means to say, my vendor could have been charging me for newspapers he got for free between May 2007 to CNY 2008. And since I now don't get any newspapers from him on weekends, he could have even taken "my" copies and sold it!

Well, it's just a thought, a possibility to explain a behaviour that defies basic business conventions. Maybe he IS a generous man after all.

I guess the only way for me to find out is to change my newspaper subscription to that of another daily.

Aide's Nightmare

This is just a short posting. As an aide who come into close contact with journalists, it is part of my job to help them understand issues better. It helps if journalists do some homework, of course. Most of them do. But here are but three queries from reporters that send chills down your spine and makes you break out in cold sweat, not knowing what kind of reports will appear in the papers tomorrow:

 

1) "What is PKFZ?"

 

2) "Besok mesyuarat Kabinet ada bincang pasal Menteri baru ya?"

 

3) "Oh... Labu Airport. Not Labuan Airport? What Labu Airport?"

Please Buckle Up!

No, this is not a government propaganda. True, my office has been trying to promote the use of rear seat belts in passenger cars. But somehow, people do not seem to get the message or are still confused. I must thank one of my favourite bloggers, 3540 Jalan Sudin, for helping to raise some awareness Anyway, here are some plain facts:

• Car manufacturers, through the government's intervention, are retrofitting the seat belts for free for vehicles registered after 1995. What more do you want? A discount?


• Advocacy has started six months before implementation on Jan 1, 2009. So only those who do not read the papers and have not seen the advertising blitz (on billboards, tv, etc.) over the past half-a-year, can claim ignorance.


• There was a two-week saman olok-olok period just before Jan 1.


• The 4th passenger at the back need not buckle up. Of course, unless the urbane middle-class feel we should emulate advanced nations and implement the law thoroughly. And get the poor chaps who load 4-5 kids behind a Kancil or Kelisa to switch to an MPV. (By the way, over 90% of passenger cars on the roads have 3 or less passengers behind. I mean, who wants to be cramped behind a Kancil travelling from Hulu Langat to Tapah?)


• Offendors will be slapped with a maximum RM300 fine until middle of this year. After that only the penalties will be increased. That is giving chance what...


• The penalties are too stiff. Totally agree. Medical fees and funeral arrangements shouldn't come up to that much, really.

Ok, this IS a propaganda piece. But if it can save lives, so be it.

Liar liar

Honestly, lying is a prerequisite in my job. And truth be told, it is not something I am ashamed of or lose sleep over. No, I don't tell downright, damning lies. When I do breach the Eighth Commandment, it is what parents refer to as "white lies".

Very often, I feign ignorance and I do so for two reasons. Firstly, there are sensitivities to be observed, especially when plans and ideas have not come into fruition. Secondly, I am bound by the law to observe secrecy in certain matters.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not privy to lots of information, much less highly-classified state secrets. And those who know my boss understands that he doesn't unload easily, even if you work for him.

I also dispense half-truths if it can make somebody feel better, especially in dealing with Michael Chong-type complaints. (Better not go into the specifics here.)

Over the past few months, I have honed my skills trying to protect the boss' interests (ok, that sounds better than "lying"). Trying to act natural when you are not telling the whole truth is, honestly, easier said than done.

Body-language experts say poor liars tend not to blink and often look away. But you can't purposely blink or stare at someone just because you have something to hide!

One important thing I have learnt about the art of lying: the less said, the better. It is based on a simple premise that you won't be using one lie to cover another until you have a mountain of lies that you can't hide.

Now, that is reason enough to keep this posting short...