The Maybank Malaysian Open 2011 @KLGCC

18.4.2011.

17-year-old Manaserro of Italy won his 2nd European Tour title since turning pro in the co-sanctioned Malaysian Open that finished Sunday 17th. April. Only one Malaysian survived the par-golf half-way cut despite 20 of them competing on home-ground - Danny Chia. But he finished bottom-of-the-barrel. 

Mizi, my nephew, was among the early casualties, despite his parents and siblings, and my personal support for the first two rounds. During lunch in the players' dining  I told Ari to get Mizi to see the sports psychologist at UKM or UPM. It's not the technical help that Mizi needs. It's the 5 inches between his ears - his brains.

If you follow golf worldwide on tv, you'll notice the lengthy discussions between player and caddy, and the  endless consultations with the yardage books that everyone has. You'll also  hear that the caddy surveys the entire course independently, before his master starts  the tournament. 

What this says is that the mental preparation is left to no chance. What did Mizi do ? I know of no pre-tournament survey. I didn't see any consultation with any notebook. I saw no deliberations before each shot. And I saw no extra examinations of putting greens. The result ? Yes, balls are put on the greens in regulation, just like his playing partners, but they are usually too far from the pins, and too many  putts are missed.

Like the one on the 9th. hole on the first day, where a possible birdie became a bogey. Seeing the worldwide attention given to this particular tournament,  Malaysia was for four days exposed. The failure of the Malaysian players was also clearly exposed. 

In fact the best Asian was the Bangladeshi, Siddikur Rahman, who was followed by a small crowd of his admiring countrymen, obviously Bangladeshi workers here in KL. Siddikur finished 7 strokes behind the winner. 

The call by Najib after the prizegiving for MGA to step up the game's promotion was timely. For here is a game that is not restricted by physical size and age, not determined by race or diet, that should find the weather of this country conducive to its development and offer an achievable potential of producing world-class players from among its people, who are  sports-loving.

In the meantime, I continue in my search for the perfect swing. And I will not leave it to chance. 

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Siti has left us.

6.4.2011.

Yesterday Siti died in the hospital in Shah Alam, and her remains brought back to Padang Lebar last night for burial in her kampong this afternoon.

I'm sorry we did not visit her in her last hospital stay. We were simply not informed. But then, she had been in and out of hospital many times before, and I suppose nobody expected it to be the last stay. 

I've known her and her husband only in the last seven years. Our meetings during this relatively short period had not been frequent, and for my part I can't honestly say that we've been close, but it had been cordial enough, I guess. I noticed Idah got on quite well with her. I suppose it's the woman thing. They had more common topics to talk about. 

But the last year we knew her, her health had been frail. She was not yet 80.  Idah and Dekna, who's on leave, had visited the remains last night itself, soon after its arrival at Padang Lebar. I couldn't come together because of a previously scheduled and rather important meeting of the housing estate's Islamic Association.

I went to pay my respects this morning, and Idah came again, accompanying.  The burial was carried out to-day. It could have been done before Zohor, but I suppose her husband, Cik Gu Rahman, wanted to have the Zohor congregation present for the solat jenazah.

Siti was my No. 2 Son's mother-in-law. He married Ija in December 2004. 

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How do you uproot corruption ?

4.4.2011.

I would simply suggest that when you put too much power in the hands of poorly paid officials (a relative term, of course) you have corruption. 

With a very large administrative staff holding untold discretionary authority over unimaginable depths of the bureaucratic mess that runs Malaysia to-day, the current revelations in the media of staggering corruption and dishonesty by both executive and legislative officials must be utterly dumbfounding, to put mildly. The disease must be uprooted. And to begin with, belated as it is, the culprits already caught must be punished mercilessly, and wrongdoers still at large hunted and brought to swift justice.  

The problem as I see it is that crime is always committed for only two motives - greed and sex. And the higher the social position of the perpetrator, the bigger the incentive required. But even if individual acts of betrayal are modest, if committed in large numbers the total damage would be extraordinary, as in the case of the corruption of many officers over a long period of time involving just a few hundred dollars per case.

I propose we implement what  Mahathir said in his memoirs. Or follow the example of Singapore. What Mahathir suggested was to put in place a system where official approval for business transactions be made speedily and transparently. Give no chance for  the arbitrary denial or delay for the necessary permission to start and operate businesses. 

Singapore  pays her government servants well. Between these two actions, we should very largely reduce  the temptation for corruption. 

This is where religion  comes  in. Because  in  God we seek succour. 

To put it in a simple proposition - reduce paperwork, and increase the pay of those employed in the enforcement services such as the Police, Custom, and Immigration, and the regulatory authorities concerned with Transportation, Power and Water Supply. And instill the fear of God.  When officers are well-paid, paperwork reduced and piety instilled, the climate for corruption should shrink, if not disappear.  

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