A road with many junctions.

  I was half hoping Mr. Michael Quah our Form 3 Art teacher would show up at our Reflections Gathering. He was the one who set me on a quest for originality in Art.  I've been searching for the answer for the last 40 years, still unsure if I've found it.  Perhaps I need to recognize it first.  It remains an indelible question in my mind.  During a lesson we handed in our individual pieces of our paintings to him for comment.  He singled out mine and shook his head at me.  He said it was all too familiar and uninteresting and wished I could do better.   

Then he took up another piece which showed some images that looked like wooden fences and cakes in random places all over the paper.  It actually looked nice and refreshing, but I didn't know why.  He said, Now, this is originality.  This is what you should aim for.  It was done by a student who was more interested in science and mathematic subjects.  I was confused further by the explanations he tried to give me.  Perhaps they were beyond my comprehension then.   

As I set out on the road of life, I found out I would have to live a life full of expectations of everyone else.  It wasn't just mine.  I can’t just do what I like and to hell with everyone else.  The commercial art line had its frustrations.  I had to comply with what other people wanted.  Everyone had an opinion as to what's good and right.  I decided I couldn't live with that.  It was a fork in the road and I took the one well travelled.  I left the art world behind.  I discovered there were different roads at different junctions leading to different destinations.  And as was expected of me, I raised a family along the way.   

Now that my obligations are almost fulfilled, I look forward to the day I could do things as I pleased.  I aim to claim back my life.  But having lived a life of endless obligations has set me in a solid cast.  It looks like a formidable obstacle and I’m not sure if I can break through it.  Perhaps the reason why I left the commercial art world was I feared casting my art into a fixed solid mould that conforms to what everybody else decides to be correct and proper.  I would then not be able to explore and experiment.  Breaking away from it prevented me from killing my dream.  I don’t regret having that road still open.  

I am now at another junction waiting for the light to turn green looking for a sign that says ORIGINALITY.  I hope this road takes me back to my dreams again.  And I hope to find the answer waiting for me.  

Teachers, be careful what you tell your students.  It can influence the way they live their lives. 

P44 - your call

To the people of Permatang Pauh,

The fork in the road.  Will you take the familiar one with known disappointments or the one less travelled to unknown, untested and undiscovered frontiers?

The nation's future is in your hands.  Today you create history.  The choice is yours. 

A Cry In The Night

 

The factory bus dropped her off.  It was almost midnight after the second shift.  She had to walk on a narrow path through the village to get to her home about two hundred meters away from the main road.  The familiar path posed no problem for her as she had trudged though it all her twenty-five years living in this house with her family which included her mother-in-law. 

 

But that night felt a little different.  She couldn't say why but she was uneasy.  There was a chill in the air but she felt a thin layer of sweat on her skin.  A sudden gust of cold wind rushed by and she felt goose pimples all over.  At the same moment she heard a lonely, mournful voice of a woman crying piteously.  It was the cry of an inconsolable soul in unfathomable suffering.  Her feeling of compassion for this pitiful being seemed greater than her fear and she stopped in her tracks and called out, "Whoever you are, what is it under the heavens that is causing you so much suffering?  Tell me so I may help you.  Otherwise, please don't scare me half to death!" 

 

She had no idea what made her speak in such terms.  Those words simply came out of her mouth before she realized what she was saying.  But as soon as she uttered those words, her fear left her and the cold air became warm again. 

 

She lingered a moment and listened but couldn't hear or feel anything out of the ordinary.  She became aware again of the sounds of the night - the chirping of crickets, and croaking of frogs.  There were the familiar shadows of trees and bushes and dark shapes of the houses of her neighbors in the dim light of the moonlit night. 

 

She wiped a tear out of her eye, turned around and walked on home.

 

 

Speech by Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dato’ Dr (phew!) Lim Kok Wing

Speech by Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Lim Kok Wing at Graduation ceremony held on 26th July 2008 (Malaysia)

 
May I begin by thanking each and everyone for coming to share with us this occasion, especially parents and guardians of our graduands, the many friends and partners who have given us support over the years, their excellencies, the Ambassadors and High Commissioners, our industry partners, colleagues from our Global Consortium.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

By your presence, you have made this occasion an even more significant celebration. I thank you on behalf of all our graduands.

I would now like to extend my heartiest congratulations to all who have graduated today. Class of 2008, I know you have worked hard for this day. You ought to be proud of your achievement. And I know how eager your parents must have been to see you graduate today.

You now join the many Limkokwing graduates who are making important contributions in this and many other countries around the world. We are proud of every one of you.

I must also extend my warmest congratulations to all parents. You really are the true heroes of this occasion. If not for you, we will not have this occasion to celebrate.

Parents will recall the first days when your small children left on their own to start schooling. Remember how you had to prepare their uniform and put their shoes on for them. That was many years ago.

It may now seem like just yesterday. But it has been a long journey.

I want to thank you for allowing us to share in that journey. I thank everyone, in particular our foreign students who have come from far away places to be with us, hundreds of miles away from home. The number of countries represented on this campus has reached 140.

Class of 2008, it has been a privilege to have you with us.

The boundless energy that you have brought to this campus; the multi-cultural vibrancy that has characterised this university; your amazing sense of style for which you are known throughout this country. Your much talked about talent, the music that you create, the energy that you have brought to this place …. all that will be missed with your departure.

For some of us, this may be the last time that we are gathered together in this hall.

So before you move on, let me take a few moments now to share with you some thoughts I have about the future.

As we know it, the future refers to the period of time that will come after the present, and the things that will happen during that time.

Imagine the future as a huge empty space of time that you now have ownership of. What you get out of it will be the direct result of what you now put into it.

That simply means what you will be tomorrow depends on what you do today. That is simple logic.

As we know, the future has always been and will always be defined by people with the passion and the drive to push beyond borders and beyond boundaries; by people who will move mountains if the mountains are getting in the way. These are people who will simply not take things as they are, and who will never take the easy way out. In not doing ordinary things, they achieve extra-ordinary success. In doing what they do, they transform societies and influence the way of life of thousands and millions across the world.

The future has always been and will always be driven by the power of creativity and human ingenuity.

With advancing technology and rapid globalisation, what used to take years can now be done in a matter of hours.

When the first commercial computer was introduced some 50 years ago, it was so heavy and bulky; it would take up the entire floor space of this hall. Today, we have it in the form of a laptop, a notebook - so light you can lift it with two fingers, so small you can drop it into your handbag. Soon it will be so tiny you can fold it into your wallet, and so powerful, it will be hundreds of times faster and with memories a thousand times larger.

The worldwide web has created a virtual reality that has made time, space and distance irrelevant. The internet will soon be home to a completely new virtual business world, one that is completely borderless.

The tiny mobile phone that has become an integral part of our lives will soon be a complete computer. It will be all you need to run a business no matter where you find yourself in the world.

Thanks to space technology, those adventurous enough will soon be able to travel to the moon for their vacation. And with nanotechnology, doctors will soon be able to extend human life to as long as you want by replacing or curing body cells that are not working too well.

The future will always be about pushing back boundaries and breaking down barriers; it will always be about making possible what seems impossible today.

The future is now in your hands. Use it well and you will soon be doing things that seem simply impossible today.

Class of 2008, as you move on, you will look back and remember the many who have along the way given you support people who were always there to build you up whenever you were feeling down, to push you forward whenever you were falling behind - these are your instructors, your classmates, your close friends; your brothers and sisters. It might not have crossed your mind that they have wanted success for you more than you have even thought about it yourself. To them you will always show kindness and gratitude.

Most of all, you will never forget the unwavering support, never-ending patience and generosity of your parents. You know what enormous sacrifices they must have made just so you may have the secured opportunity to plan and build your own future. You may never know enough how much they care for you.

You will forever embrace them with love and affection.

Class of 2008, as graduates of this university, you are expected to stand out and above the rest. You have a reputation to live up to and that I know you will. You must uphold at all times the good name of this university. You will be exemplary citizens and you will contribute selflessly to society and the well being of humanity.

On that note and on behalf of all of us, I bid you farewell.

May this journey that you have started with us take you to the top of your world, may your future be one of many success stories.

You go with our very best wishes. Wherever you may be, we will be right here watching and applauding.

It does not matter how far away you will be from us, this will always be your home. We will always be with you. You will always be a part of us.

Spread your wings & fly

You’ve created another first

Passed through another gate in life

Taken another step into the future

Proud as we are of your achievements

Letting go is hard to do 

But it’s the only thing we have to

You need your space

To spread your wings

And soar into the skies

Beyond the borders of the ordinary

 

Yesterday

As we left you

At your apartment’s main gate

Standing alone, waving us goodbye

My heart was so heavy I wanted to cry

 

For us who love you dearly

This is another sacrifice

Of our hearts

Go on girl 

Look outwards and grow 

Chase your dreams

To the ends of the rainbow

Random thoughts – Everybody's A Boss

 

I'm not sure if I'm sorry for him or despised him.  Or why, when I look back over the years, I had to single him out as one good example of a bad boss while I was the embodiment of a naive country bumpkin learning the ropes of survival in the city.  He once wrote in a reply to my resignation letter (after I quit from his employment for the second time), "you either manage or be managed..." 

 

I can't think of any other occasion where a boss replies to an employee’s resignation letter.  Well, we were both young and rash and our age difference was only two years apart but he was the boss and I, the subordinate.  He probably thought that I couldn't even manage myself.  I was naive, had two left feet and I bungled my way around especially when dealing with people.  But I just took it as his concern for my future rather than his ego that made him write that in the letter.

 

Looking back, I think he couldn't have been more wrong.  One doesn't have to be a manager to manage whether himself or others.  As one much-forwarded e-mail went, "even an a**hole can be a boss".  But because you're in a position to make an unpopular decision you can turn into one as soon as you make it.

 

Over the years I have learnt to manage others as well as myself including my family budget.  In spite of the many setbacks I guess I haven't done badly.  I often thought he should have done pretty well but apparently he hadn't.  He died of a heart attack before the age of 45.  He hadn’t managed his health properly.  Or was it his destiny to go off early?

 

Experience + Ignorance = Fear

The first time my windscreen shattered to pieces was in 1990 when I drove a 1981 Datsun Pulsar.  The 2nd time was when the rear window of the same car shattered while parked in the factory compound.  I discovered the damage only at quitting time. 

After I changed to a 1983 Toyota GL the same nightmare occurred while I was driving home one evening with some carpool partners.  The piece of rock was large, but the dent was almost negligible and the windscreen didn’t shatter on the spot.  It only happened about a month or so later while I was on the way to work in the morning.  I had to steer from the fast lane to the emergency lane and punch out the rest of the broken glass before continuing the journey.  I dropped the guys off at the factory, took the day off in search of a replacement windscreen. 

Add that to an occasion when I volunteered to drive my sis-in-law’s 1990 Toyota GL without the windscreen all the way to SP to have it replaced because workshops elsewhere didn’t have any in stock.  Talk about experience, I have an abundance of it.

So, when a pebble hit the Myvi’s windscreen the other day out on the expressway, I said, “Shit!  Here we go again...”  Memory went back to those times of having to drive with my windscreen broken into bits of thousands of pieces after hearing a sudden ‘pop’ and then a ‘crack’.  But miraculously the thing didn’t go to pieces.  I was afraid another shattering experience might await me some day right in the middle of the expressway.  Who knows it might even happen in a heavy downpour with my family in it.  I wasn’t going to allow that to happen.  Like I said to a fellow car owner at the workshop, it’s like ‘tunggu jatuh hukuman’ (waiting for the judge to pass the sentence).  But you won’t know when it‘s gonna happen.

After the initial cursing & swearing I made inquiries all over the place on availability and costs of replacement until I finally decided I’d go back to Perodua workshop.  With prices of everything on the upswing, nobody was ready to give me a fixed price.  I imagined another RM500 flying away.  But to my surprise, the workshop manager advised me to get it repaired. 
Huh?  He assured me it’s perfectly normal and I could even come away with a lifetime guarantee.  He showed me how to get to Jackson Conversions.  The Jackson guy called it a Bull’s Eye.  The job was done in only a few minutes.  The bill: RM80.

And here’s the enlightenment.  Tempered glass windscreens that could shatter into smithereens has been phased our more than 20 years ago.  My fears were totally unfounded.  Now to find out why experience + ignorance = fear.

And this is the result of the repair job...