Our little office had an afternoon tea last Friday to bid someone farewell. This lawyer had resigned for medical reason and it was her last day. Actually the office needed only a small excuse to have afternoon tea – I’ve had easily half a dozen in my short 2 months plus here so far. This time however, some wine was served and I hope this little fact could be stretched to account for what was said. The Schapelle Corby verdict had just been announced over the radio earlier that afternoon. My respectable, even (often) judicious boss expressed his disappointment with the result, and said she would never have been convicted by an Australian court. It would not have even gone to trial. I could only agree a little, as it would seem there were enough breaks in possession of her luggage to create doubt of some kind. For a long period of time, she simply did not have exclusive control over her luggage. Of course, I like thousands of Australians around me, simply did not know the facts enough, which was why I could only agree on a very hypothetical basis. He thought parents should encourage their children to boycott Bali. My surprise over my boss’s remark lies in the fact that he seemed so ready to firstly, assume the rules of the Australian legal system should apply in Indonesia and secondly, arrive at a conclusion without more knowledge of the facts. Maybe it was his passion for young people, having three young children himself, all near Ms Corby’s age, all of whom could easily fall into the same predicament. It then hit me how prevalent my boss’s sentiments probably were. Judging from the media coverage especially the phone calls to radio programs, it should have been evident to me how a great majority of Australians thought and felt exactly like my boss where the Corby case was concerned. This morning when I watched the morning news, it confirmed my suspicions as more reported calls to boycott Bali were aired. I guess Australians suffer from superiority complex somewhat. I recall the Kevin Barlow and Brian Chambers case in Malaysia in the early 80’s. I recall how the Australian press called the Malaysian system “barbaric”. This is where Australians are similar to Americans. They tend to think their standards are up there, right on and should be applied by everyone else. I too believe their standards are up there, but that is where I stop. I don’t go on and say everyone else should have the same standards and if they don’t, they are inferior.

 

When I read the NST editorial of today however, I had to laugh a little at some of the things it said. Here’s the piece:

 

Schapelle Corby case: The disturbing rise of people power

The New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur

30 May 2005

EDITORIAL: The Corby controversy

May 30:

THE mother of convicted Australian drug smuggler Schapelle Corby believes that "people power is the best hope to free her". While it remains to be seen whether the court of Australian opinion, which has overwhelmingly found her innocent, will be able to overthrow the guilty verdict pronounced by the Bali District Court, the Corby case illustrates a disturbing tendency of populist sentiment to ride roughshod over established judicial processes or accepted principles in international relations. Though it is understandable for Australians to feel strongly about the predicament of one of their own stuck in a life-and-death situation in a foreign country, the public outrage has not only been astounding in its intensity but also shocking in the glimpses it has revealed of the depths of racism and xenophobia.

Sympathy and support should never overwhelm respect for the Indonesian verdict and the process of appeals. Hurling racist slurs at the Indonesian judiciary and casting aspersions on its integrity simply because the Bali court has not endorsed the popular Australian belief in her innocence is unacceptable.

While it is one thing to raise funds and run campaigns of every kind to support her, it is another thing to boycott Indonesian products and holiday destinations, or to ask for the return of donations to the tsunami relief fund. Since this was the same court whose verdict against the Bali bombers less than two years ago was well-received by Australians, by no stretch of the imagination could it be considered a kangaroo court without proper legal process. Moreover, Corby could consider herself quite fortunate not to have been handed a life sentence or even the death penalty instead of 20 years in prison.

"People power" is also making itself felt in the tremendous public pressure on the Australian Government. Prime Minister John Howard has had to soothe doubts that it has done little to help. There are now attempts to expedite negotiations on a prisoner exchange agreement and there is talk of the possibility of seeking a presidential pardon.

Canberra will also provide two senior lawyers to assist in the appeal as well as raise funds. While it is well within its responsibility to offer support to Australian citizens in legal and financial distress, perhaps it would do well to take a leaf from the Malaysian Foreign Ministry’s view that it will not interfere with the Australian judicial process in the case of a Malaysian woman awaiting trial on charges of smuggling opium into Australia.

While the political reality is that the Australian Government will have to take cognizance of the unequivocal public feeling by doing all it can, it should refrain from the kind of political actions that would strain bilateral ties with Indonesia. It would be a pity if the goodwill generated by the tsunami disaster is dissipated by the bitterness being spawned by the Corby case.

####

Have to leave it to later, to comment on some of what it said…

Lately Elysia has been walking home with a neighbour. Her  name is Annie. Annie’s parents were born in Shanghai China, but migrated here over 10 years ago. Annie was born here. She has been in our house a number of times. We have also brought her to Theresa’s uncle’s house in Blackburn. She is so quiet that if she speaks more than one sentence on her own, I’d go out and buy a lottery ticket straight away. I guess her parents are glad she has someone to walk home with, as before this she was staying behind in after-hours care, until her dad picked her up after work. She didn’t enjoy that but I guess her parents didn’t like the idea of her walking home alone. Maybe they knew something we don’t. If so, we have again enjoyed God’s favour on us without us knowing it, having allowed kiddo to walk home by herself all these months. We like the idea too, as it is often better to have company than to be alone. I just hope Elysia doesn’t drown her with her constant yakking…

Elysia is one of 6 kids selected to participate in a World Vision Global Leadership conference early June. Or something like that. Anyway, she seems pleased about this. We are too, and hope she just enjoy this without letting it go to her head.

Late yesterday afternoon the power supply in the office suddenly went off. I being the only one used to such incidents (well trained by TNB in Malaysia) reacted the least. Within seconds we discovered the cause of the problem – an SUV crashed into a power pole just outside the office. My boss looked out his window and saw someone lying on the nature strip and yelled out for someone to call the ambulance/police. Someone did and a few of us rushed out to help. There were 2 young men, the driver looked about 19 or 20 years old at best, the other was obviously still a school kid. It had been raining and the pole was at a sharp bend. Still, the airbags probably saved them from more serious injuries. A fire engine showed up within minutes, and examined the damage to the pole, which had tilted some 10-15 deg. A few minutes later an ambulance showed up. The kids didn’t look like they were seriously injured. Their mom happened to drive past the scene and stopped to attend to them, so things were more or less okay, notwithstanding the extensive damage to the SUV (an XTrail). What it meant for us was that the last work hour was wasted, and the last piece of work done was also wasted as there were no UPS to back up the computers. I guess the upside of TNB frequent glitches meant KL office mostly had UPS. I guess the bigger companies or offices here would also have them, but a suburban practice can and should rely on good public utility services without having to spend on contingencies like UPS. Anyway, went home early last night, and cooked a wonderful noodle soup for dinner…

I have been worried about the periodontic problems I think I have. For some years now the gum has begun its ageing process and the “receding has not stopped ebbing”. I have tried all I can – switching to soft toothbrush, brushing in single-direction strokes, using mouthwash with antibacterial characteristics almost religiously and recently, praying very hard. A couple of teeth have become loose and I think that is a sure sign that it is in an advanced state. Only God can reverse this process now, I feel. Committing the matter to Him does alleviate the concerns somewhat but not completely. The irony is: stress aggravates (from my internet research) the situation so the cause of my stress is aggravating the very cause! Yet, God gives peace like no other person or source can. He is beautiful and all of His creation reflects His beauty. If a toothless 40-year old is a reflection of this beautiful God, why do I bother about my outward appearance? Surely He cares and loves me enough to ensure I remain beautiful in His sight? If the physical consequences of my gummy bares takes its full course, then surely the important beauty lies elsewhere? I must learn to let God decide where my beauty (which ought to reflect His) lies. Not that I would look like Tom Cruise without this periodontic condition, but I know with this condition, I have an even more remote chance of looking like Mr. Cruise. Maybe the simple solution lies in dentures or implants (which would be unaffordable here in Melbourne)…

Hi everyone,

How have you been? I trust this email will find you still in God’s
good care and hope you are well.

We received an email recently asking about a lack of updates on our
website (http://www.alphalink.com.au/~ianteh). We have not updated it
largely because we have not taken any photographs for a long time now.
Thian Hwa ("Ian") doesn’t mind updating with text only but he agrees
with Chin Hong ("Theresa") and Elysia that it is less interesting. Ian
confesses to keeping a blog (http://malaysiaboleh.blogspot.com) and
updates it more regularly but like all tiring blogs, this one is a
musing about nothing. It’s like singing in the showers. (Even so, this
email is going onto that blog…)

Anyway, things are drifting along for us here in Melbourne. The
weather is changing slowly but surely. We often feel, in the evening,
that the temperature falls very quickly and have begun turning on the
central heating (very old looking Vulcan Heating apparatus) in the
mornings. Ian has also substantially reduced his running, as it is
both cold and dark. If he does go out, it is between 6.15 and 6.30 and
only comes back between 7.15 and 7.30. Sunrise is now around 7.15. So
if he does go out, he makes almost the whole run in the dark. When
there is fog, it gets even more cumbersome. We dropped by a gym
(Fitness First) last weekend to check things out but they don’t seem
too friendly, so we have not followed up. Anyway, he still runs 2,
sometimes 3 times a week and does some other lighter forms of exercise
at other times, so I guess he is trying. Theresa is still working in
the city (Myers) and commutes daily on the train. From her office, it
is a quick hop on the tram to Queen Victoria Market so she sometimes
<!– D(["mb","buys family groceries there. The fish there is particularly good, and
she enjoys fish, so that has been good. Elysia is enjoying her school,
and is so far the only one in the family not to have complained about
the cold. We have been told this year’s autumn in Melbourne has been
unseasonably warm, and have been accused of bringing part of the
Malaysian weather with us to Melbourne. We just look at this as God’s
way of helping us ease in more gently! This morning we woke up to a 6
degree temperature and by the time Ian left home for work
(http://www.sharrockpitman.com.au) at 8.30, it was still only 7
degrees. In the evening however, we come home around 6pm, to a 15
degree temperature. We think this drops quickly later at night as
after dinner, we often feel cold. We have also taken to putting the
Vulcan to work for about half hour before we go to bed at night, which
is earlier now – around 9.30-10pm.

See – like all good Melburnians, we have begun learning how to ramble
on about the weather. We have yet to acquire skills to manage the
other favourite topics of conversations, i. e., Aussie Rules Football
(also topsy turvy now) and petrol prices (thankfully lower than before
– AUD0.95 per litre now). I guess in time we will also acquire these
skills.

We have settled into a routine which is bland, by any account. We look
forward to evenings and weekends, when the family can be together.
Dinner time is often fun, with chats about the day’s events. Theresa
and Ian alternately do the cooking, depending on who gets home first.
Lately Elysia has been doing the cleaning up after dinner, and usually
by around 7.30, everything’s finished. We then either watch tv or surf
the internet. We attend the prayer meeting on Wednesday nights and
have a bit of a prayer session ourselves on Tuesday nights. Often,
weekend involves some visits to an uncle’s or auntie’s house. Theresa
“,1] ); //–> buys family groceries there. The fish there is particularly good, and
she enjoys fish, so that has been good. Elysia is enjoying her school,
and is so far the only one in the family not to have complained about
the cold. We have been told this year’s autumn in Melbourne has been
unseasonably warm, and have been accused of bringing part of the
Malaysian weather with us to Melbourne. We just look at this as God’s
way of helping us ease in more gently! This morning we woke up to a 6
degree temperature and by the time Ian left home for work
(http://www.sharrockpitman.com.au) at 8.30, it was still only 7
degrees. In the evening however, we come home around 6pm, to a 15
degree temperature. We think this drops quickly later at night as
after dinner, we often feel cold. We have also taken to putting the
Vulcan to work for about half hour before we go to bed at night, which
is earlier now – around 9.30-10pm.

See – like all good Melburnians, we have begun learning how to ramble
on about the weather. We have yet to acquire skills to manage the
other favourite topics of conversations, i. e., Aussie Rules Football
(also topsy turvy now) and petrol prices (thankfully lower than before
– AUD0.95 per litre now). I guess in time we will also acquire these
skills.

We have settled into a routine which is bland, by any account. We look
forward to evenings and weekends, when the family can be together.
Dinner time is often fun, with chats about the day’s events. Theresa
and Ian alternately do the cooking, depending on who gets home first.
Lately Elysia has been doing the cleaning up after dinner, and usually
by around 7.30, everything’s finished. We then either watch tv or surf
the internet. We attend the prayer meeting on Wednesday nights and
have a bit of a prayer session ourselves on Tuesday nights. Often,
weekend involves some visits to an uncle’s or auntie’s house. Theresa
<!– D(["mb","has an uncle in Maribyrnong (west of Melbourne, about 45 minutes from
us), an uncle in Blackburn (10 minutes north of us) and an auntie in
Glen Waverley (10 minutes east of us). These visits are fun for all of
us because the adults chat and the kids have their own activities. All
these however, can only be enjoyed after we put in the usual Saturday
morning housework sessions. These include laundry, house cleaning
(vacuum, toilets and showers), car wash, and the occasional lawn
mowing (grass is mercifully slow in colder months). These cleaning
chores are usually followed by groceries shopping, often in the
Dandenong Markets, some 15-20 minutes east from our home. We try to
squeeze in the ironing (especially for Ian) on Saturday evenings so
that Sundays are for complete rest.

We still go to the International Christian Community in Glen Waverley
(just across the road from Theresa’s auntie’s home). Service there
starts at 10am and finishes at 12pm. The first hour is wholly praise
and worship, followed by the second hour of communion and preaching.
We miss the cell group type of meetings. There is no "Sunday School",
with the kids attending a ‘Kids’ Church" in an adjacent building. The
kids are with everyone else during the first hour and only go to their
own session in the second hour. There’s usually coffee/tea and
biscuits/cakes after service and most don’t rush home. There are no
KCMC-type of car park problems and most just linger and chat for a
long time, often for a whole hour!

We recently traded in our old Mitsubishi Magna for a new Nissan Pulsar
(known as Sentra in Malaysia). This was the car we were driving in
Malaysia and when the old Magna started to feel a bit wonky, we
decided to have a new car in the family (Theresa is also driving a
used car, a Holden Vectra). The experience of buying a car is much
less painful than in Malaysia (see Ian’s blog) and it was all done in
almost 1 day! We are still hoping to sell our old house in Berkeley
and are still thinking about buying our own house here in Melbourne.
Obviously these have been our prayer points and we greatly appreciate
your prayers for us also. Please do drop us a note or two to tell us
what we can be praying for you about. We will make a note of it and
pray for you during our family prayer time, as well as when we pray
individually.

—
Best regards,
“,1] ); //–> has an uncle in Maribyrnong (west of Melbourne, about 45 minutes from
us), an uncle in Blackburn (10 minutes north of us) and an auntie in
Glen Waverley (10 minutes east of us). These visits are fun for all of
us because the adults chat and the kids have their own activities. All
these however, can only be enjoyed after we put in the usual Saturday
morning housework sessions. These include laundry, house cleaning
(vacuum, toilets and showers), car wash, and the occasional lawn
mowing (grass is mercifully slow in colder months). These cleaning
chores are usually followed by groceries shopping, often in the
Dandenong Markets, some 15-20 minutes east from our home. We try to
squeeze in the ironing (especially for Ian) on Saturday evenings so
that Sundays are for complete rest.

We still go to the International Christian Community in Glen Waverley
(just across the road from Theresa’s auntie’s home). Service there
starts at 10am and finishes at 12pm. The first hour is wholly praise
and worship, followed by the second hour of communion and preaching.
We miss the cell group type of meetings. There is no "Sunday School",
with the kids attending a ‘Kids’ Church" in an adjacent building. The
kids are with everyone else during the first hour and only go to their
own session in the second hour. There’s usually coffee/tea and
biscuits/cakes after service and most don’t rush home. There are no
KCMC-type of car park problems and most just linger and chat for a
long time, often for a whole hour!

We recently traded in our old Mitsubishi Magna for a new Nissan Pulsar
(known as Sentra in Malaysia). This was the car we were driving in
Malaysia and when the old Magna started to feel a bit wonky, we
decided to have a new car in the family (Theresa is also driving a
used car, a Holden Vectra). The experience of buying a car is much
less painful than in Malaysia (see Ian’s blog) and it was all done in
almost 1 day! We are still hoping to sell our old house in Berkeley
and are still thinking about buying our own house here in Melbourne.
Obviously these have been our prayer points and we greatly appreciate
your prayers for us also. Please do drop us a note or two to tell us
what we can be praying for you about. We will make a note of it and
pray for you during our family prayer time, as well as when we pray
individually.

It was pitched dark when I stepped out of the house this morning. The fog was so dense it almost blanketed even the street lights. I wished I had my old Asics Gel Kayano with its reflective strips. I had deliberately put on my cap, just to increase my visibility. The cap was a cream coloured souvenir from the 2002 KLSE Edge Rat Race. The only other item which gave me visibility were my shoes, a white New Balance 7 series. At least the old New Balance 854 was also reflective in some ways. I liked the green fluorescence stripes on the outside edges. I used to have a Nike running shorts with a gleaming swoosh logo, but these days, I run in my pyjamas – a $10 grey Kmart fleecy top and a RM12 Jaya Jusco fleecy track pants. Much easier to run in them than put on cold gear fresh out of the wardrobe. So I ran in scenes reminiscing the set on Hounds of Baskerville. I half expected some howling dogs to come after me every time I turned into a dark corner. The palpable relief at the sight of some street lamp peeking through was actually not good either as the excitement or relief somehow generated more heat and the steamy breath further fogs up my glasses. Not only was my visibility a concern, my sight was also affected. It was only some 40 minutes into my run when sunrise made its way through the darkness. I had by then removed my glasses for wiping easily half a dozen times already. I suddenly remembered using, when I was in school, an Amway glasses cleaner which reduced fogging. Noodle soup was more manageable with Amway! When I hit the showers, I was surprised to see my clothes soaking wet. It must have been a laborious run – it was a good workout, poor conditions notwithstanding. It was worth it as somehow I am now energised to face the day’s work ahead. I wished my wife and kiddo both liked this, as I’m sure it would also give them a similar boost to the start of the day. Just for the record, the usual 8.5km route took me 2 minutes plus longer than usual. It must have been the many slowing down sessions to give the glasses a wipe. I wonder if I can pick something up to ease that, as the months ahead would not, I’m sure, be any easier.

 

Is something to be viewed and treated as having more value because it was purchased with money? My wife received an annoying email this morning, saying a birthday wish was appreciated notwithstanding that it was free (generated by a free card site). The word “free” was in upper case. We had a similarly annoying experience last year during Christmas. Some gifts were re-cycled and the recipient, though only a 7 year old, made a big fuss about how he thought it was a re-cycled item. I told wifey that must have been a point discussed in home of that 7 year old as I thought kids would just like or dislike a gift, regardless of whether such a gift was purchased new or re-cycled. This is especially so seeing that the re-cycled item was still nicely packed (it was never opened). If it was still a very good item and very suited to the recipient, what did it matter? It has everything to do, I think, with this materialism generated chasing of new goods. To be good, an item must be new, just hot off the oven and newly placed on the shelf. It must have been preferably, paid for by the giver. This brand of consumerism is juvenile. Like I blogged a few days ago, the gift of preparing breakfast for mom is a much better gift on mother’s day than a treat to a restaurant. If as a child I gave mom something say, a bowl of shark’s fin soup (not that I think that is something great, but just to emphasise the point) which I received from someone else but I did not eat immediately, would that bowl of soup be of less value than a bowl of the same stuff I treat her to in a restaurant? Is it any less valuable because I did not purchase it myself? Very annoying indeed, that email was.