Paul Chong                 A Chinese by Descent . . .      An Australian by Consent

Saturday, 14 October 2017

Kipling told the story of a band of primitive stone-age men huddled around a campfire.They had earlier engaged a tremendous battle that day with a wooly mammoth or a sabre-tooth tiger, or perhaps both. And suddenly one of their members leaped to his feet & began walking up & down, gesticulating & talking, making sounds so graphic that everyone around the campfire relived the frightful battle all over again.

He told them the story of what they had done, & they were filled with awe & frightened all over again, for there was magic in his words. So they took him away & killed him.

Today, they would have to pay him a tremendous fee for such a performance. Different perspectives in different times.

Strange as it may sound, but that was the mind-set of the time then. Things however change over the course of time. Nothing ever remain the same. After all to grow to progress is to change. Somethings change for the better; for others negative aspects may take hold. What would it be cannot be told. Is today’s world a better place to live in? There will be a whole range of opinion . . . ranging from good to bad. After all, opinion is about the cheapest commodity available.

Accompanied with change, there is usually a price to be paid. The crucial point is whether you are prepared to pay that price. Needless to say, the greater the price the greater will the reward be. There ain’t any free lunch in this world.

Let me just say in closing with reference to the privileged “takers” or “beneficiaries” of the ruling Malaysian government for the last 50 odd years. Sinking into the quagmire, socially & politically, is awaiting at the door. The knocking is getting louder but went unheard thus far. The social & political quagmire offer only a one-way ticket . . . there is no return.

The double-edged sword which kills both ways is dubiously held by the UMNO (United Malay National Organisation) government in Malaysia, the end result will be determined by the fate of time.