Anwar brings back memories

 

Anwar Ibrahim being sworn in as Malaysia's PM reminds me half a century has passed since I left Kuala Lumpur where I spent my childhood and early teens to return to Singapore where I was born. 

Memories of my mother mentioning in worrisome tone about the rise of a radical Malaysian Muslim Youth Movement leader resurfaced.  Anwar was once detained for 20 months for leading a student demonstration against rural poverty and had led the Muslim Empowerment Movement against the ruling party. Naturally my mother was concerned as would any Chinese living in Malaysia then.

Anwar was a household name literally. So you can say I grew up and grow old with 'Anwar'. Not really appreciating the complexities of Malaysian politics I simply rejoiced at the news of Anwar becoming the 10th PM, partly because he represents the realisation of a dream, victory of a long drawn fight and hope for a brighter future for Malaysia. I was glad that my simplistic delight was echoed by the head waiter at my club's cafe, a Malaysian Indian who believes in Anwar's maxim of A Malaysia for ALL Malaysians and his vows of not compromising corruption.

So much has happened in Malaysia since I left half a century ago. Every time I visit Malaysia I empathise with the Malaysian Rakyat, I see the vast land and resources but so much has has been drained to private pockets and billions in GDP lost.

If my mother is alive, she would probably speak approvingly of Anwar being the PM. He has also changed of course. 

Hopefully, No Worries Ma.

Charity

 

Came across this term "Effective Altruism" (EA) in the media. It is the concept of donating charity in the most effective manner. It builds around the idea mooted by one philosopher named Peter Singer who advocates that giving must involve a balance between empathy and reasoning. Singer used the "child-in-pond" scenario to make his point. In his analogy a passer by wearing a pair of expensive shoes would not hesitate to save a drowning child at the expense of ruining his shoes. This arises from a direct empathetic encounter. However when invited to post a cheque to save a child suffering from starvation, half way across the globe, people will tend to toss the envelop away. Singer thinks ethically both scenarios are the same. 

To practice EA the giver must research and donate to the organisation that does the most good with every dollar. Carried to its extreme, a person who is a top income earner should spend his time earning big bucks and donating to such organisations instead of volunteering his service. Thus it is not surprising that EA societies attract math and tech nerds and entrepreneurs. Some EA fanatics are known to feel remorseful and terribly guilty when splurging on a "luxury" item out of impulse.

Fanatics aside there are some charitable people who are really quite admirable. Recently the Straits Times reported a retired businessman donating S$3 million to 6 charities. A couple of years ago in 2018 he also donated S$2.5m to charities. Curious about such generosity I read on and was amazed to note that the person is not super wealthy or has no family to bequeath his wealth to. Having sold his landed property and moved into a condo, he found he had excess money, so he up his donation. 

("I have already reached an old age and money to me is not important, so whatever excess I have, I will donate,” said the retiree, whose son and two daughters are married with their own children.")

What I really admire about this person is his non attachment, to material things and in particular to his family. ie. not hung up on providing the most comfortable life possible for his children and grandchildren. 

His action makes us reflect on true charity, EA or otherwise.

Give Some Slack

 If you watch Breaking Bad you may sometimes find yourself siding the 2 protagonists like I do, despite all the crime and evil deeds they commit. This is because the story traces their circumstantial moral descend; confronted with adversity to begin with and spiraling down a path of deepening evil to safeguard themselves and their family. Of course there is greed, hatred, cruelty involved but there is also the human side of love and loyalty. The moral dilemma comes on very strongly by the characters.

Watching this drama and reading about criminal acts in the media, I sometimes reflect on how circumstances and conditioning shape people's life and character. There has been lots of argument as to whether we are born amoral and need to be reined in, born as white slates to be conditioned or born gentle and kind but corrupted by the cruel inequality of society (as per Jean-Jacques Rosseau).

I do believe people are born with different personality traits partly in the genes and biological makeup. However I am fully convinced that nurture ie. the environment and conditioning plays a larger part in the shaping of a person's character. This also explains why people's character changes over time moulded by their experiential circumstances. 

If you just pause to ponder how uniquely varied a single person's past experiences is, you would appreciate the complexity involved in each character. For example think about road rage, why would an otherwise well behaved person finds it difficult to control his road rage? What has he come across in the past to trigger it? Is it a confluence of many factors?

At the end of the day it bears to pause a bit before passing judgement on others. That of course includes not judging your own self. Give yourself some slack, remember your weaknesses arise from a vast array of input and conditioning, some beyond your control.

Well, each and everyone on earth is just seeking his or own happiness or some form of meaning.