Just STFU !!!

Recently I voiced my dissatisfaction, disappointment and displeasure on some of the sarcastic comments and insults I read on the various social media about the recent unfortunate incident involving our national airline.

Yes, many are not happy on how the relevant authority is handling the unfortunate incident ... in some instances, there were some “kelam kabut” (confusion) in handling of certain issues. Hey look, the people handling this situation is facing something they have not seen before, really they have no experience in the crisis management of an incident of this magnitude. It is not like every other year or so that they crash a plane so they should have plenty of experience in plane crash crisis ... this is an unprecedented aviation event for them.

When something like this happened, there are bound to be confusion, anger, frustration, annoyance and disappointment ... especially for those who are directly affected by the incident. Of course these people will take frustration to the various social media ... it is understandable.

But what I cannot tolerate are those Toms, Dicks and Harrys  ... who think they are smarter than everybody by just reading whatever thrown at them from their TVs and computers and start to wag their acerbic tongues spewing sarcastic remarks, inconsiderate insults and abuses on the various issues of the incident.

Everyone wants to have a say in this mysterious incident ... it is a huge unprecedented (and rather strange) aviation incident and the whole world is watching it closely. Of course everyone have the right to offer their opinions ... that is OK. But what is not OK for me is when people start insulting our national airline, our nation and even the innocent Malaysians are not spared the insults, sarcasms and abuses ... this I cannot tolerate.

OK if you want to mock the guys with the coconuts, bamboo binoculars and their so called 'magic' carpet ... that I don’t care. But hey, anyone with a sound mind would not be bothered by these jokers really.

But don’t blame Malaysian Airline ... you think they want a plane to crash? The last thing they want is a crisis like this. Don’t blame Malaysia ... the country is not responsible for this incident. Don’t blame the innocent Malaysians ... we have absolutely nothing to do with it ... on the contrary, we are saddened by this incident too.

Don’t politicize the incident ... this has nothing to do with politics. Don’t point the finger too soon ... for now no one knows what actually happened. Don’t try be an expert if you don’t actually know anything ... if you do know something, please give your suggestions directly to the relevant authority handling the incident. Don’t guess what happened ... let the real experts figure it out what is most likely to be the real cause.

So, to those who are quick to wag their acerbic tongues ... please look at the gravity of the situation ... there are already a lot of confusion, misunderstanding, mix-ups and uncertainties. If you cannot offer any REAL assistance, if you cannot offer any good words ... you can help if you could just STFU !!!

You should be glad if you have cunning, crafty and mischievous kids

I have two kids ...  my son is 15 and my daughter is 13. Both are now in secondary school doing IGCSE ... well, academically I must admit they are not as good as I hope they can be but that is OK because I don’t believe that exams results should determine their futures.

But if they are not up to mark academically, they definitely made it up with the traits of cunningness, craftiness, mischievous and disobedience ... so don’t be fool by their innocently naughty and playful nature.

Now, I am not worried about them having these traits ... I will be very worried if they don’t. Look, they are normal teenagers ... so, it is very normal for them to pick up these traits as they grow. The way I see it, cunning doesn’t mean one have to lie, crafty doesn’t demand one to be deceitful, mischievous is not necessary ill-behaving and disobedience means knowing how to say no ... these traits are not so bad actually ... so long as these traits are not being used underhandedly, deceitfully or dishonestly.

(Example of a cunning, crafty and mischievous kid ... cartoon image sourced from the internet)

OK, this is my personal opinion and you don’t have to agree  ... the way I see it, these traits can be good for the kids. I think kids who display cunningness, craftiness, mischievous and maybe playful disobedience are the more resourceful ones and quite likely will be successful (I am not saying this because my kids have similar traits) in whatever they do in the future. ... that is, if these traits are channeled constructively ... 'put to good use' so to say.

I am not saying that the good, obedient and well behaved kids who followed the book and played by the rules are not going to be successful ... I am sure they will flourish and will do very well too. What I am saying is ... it is OK if kids bend the rules a bit or twist the story a little or maybe wily in approaching or cunningly calculative ... this means that they know how to get around things, get to what they want, putting things in their perspectives and using alternative methods ... that is creativity at work. 

If managed and channeled properly, the cunningness, craftiness, mischievous, scheming and conspiring ways of the kids can be constructively developed into what I called “street smartness” that will provide them with an added advantage when they go out to make a life on their own.

Look, it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there ... I am sure you will agree that a street smart kid will fare a lot better when it is time for him/her to come face to face with the real world.

Let me share with you a true story to support my point ...  I know of a very successful person who started working under me when he finished his studies ... we were working together in a large international company in the early 90s. He is a smart guy ... today, he owns and operates a multi-million dollar company. Picture this ... the CEO of the international company that we used worked in is now working for him.

Now here is what I really want to tell you ... when he first started his company, he told me he was going into a business venture with a financial service broker that I knew. I was a bit concern and ask why he decided to go into a business venture with this broker knowing very well he (the broker) is a very cunning and shrewd man. What he told me made a lot of sense.

He said this (not in exact words but something along the line) ... “I know the guy is very cunning and shrewd ... that is why it is good for the business venture ... I know how to manage him and channel his cunningness and shrewdness to my advantage ... really, I am not worried at all”. What he really meant was that as long as he did not allow his partner to take underhand advantage of him, he can make use of his (partner’s) cunningness and shrewdness to generate revenue for the business venture.

You see, we meet all sorts of of cunning, crafty, sneaky and sly people ...  in work or in our personal lives. Many will avoid these people, not wanting to deal with them ... but hey, why not think of how we can manage and channel the cunningness, craftiness, sneakiness and slyness to become something constructive?

OK, back to the kids ... do your kids bend the rules a bit or twist the story a little and full of tactics? Are you worried?  But really, you should be glad if you have cunning, crafty and mischievous kids.