EDITORIAL-Have You Been Naughty or Nice in 2019?

WITH Christmas just around the corner it’s timely to ask if you have been naughty or nice in 2019. Have you done your best in achieving the goals you set at the beginning of the year? Have you been nice to people around you or otherwise.

In Subang Jaya, everyone is nice when they greet you and shake your hand. They say nice things and they praise you. They tell you everything’s perfect. If you ask for something, they will reply “No problem!” If you gossip something unpleasant about someone, they will agree with you and add their own two bits. But beware when you turn your back to go. Tides will shift and you can hear the waves crashing into the walls of the cliff.

Is that a surprise for you? I am no longer surprised. I bring my own bottles of salt and pepper in my camera bag. Why? It’s simple really. If you can’t do a good job evading or lying to me, I will pass you the bottles to help you “tambah rasa” your story-telling. I would rather you know that I know how genuine you are when you are with me and that I no longer believe what you say.

Will you get a Christmas present from me? If I gift you salt and pepper bottles this season, you will know what I think of you.

Building a community needs trust and trust! That’s the only reason why I am highlighting this topic in this edition. Nothing irks me more than knowing that someone is not genuine. We need more genuine people around. Genuine people will automatically say Thank You when help is extended to them. When someone forgets to say it, it either means one of two things – they are not genuine or they were never taught to say it when they were growing up. It also means they take things for granted and expect things to land on their lap because they asked for it.

Starting this month, we start a new approach in highlighting issues in the community. In each edition, we will pick a topic of public interest and highlight it the way we see it and based on feedback from the public. We will not ask the authorities to furnish us with updates before we publish it. If they provide a follow-up to our highlighted article, we will publish it in the next edition. If you have a pressing issue on your chest and you wish to highlight it, email us. Please remember that in doing so, you should refrain from making baseless accusations and be factual.

On a lighter note, it’s 27 days to the end of the year. As we approach the New Year, time seems to fly by extremely fast. Many have gone off for their yearend holidays while others are taking the opportunity to switch to low gear to unwind and relax. It’s the time of the year to reflect and plan for the year ahead.

What am I going to do with the remaining days of 2019? For sure I am going to grab a cup of strong coffee and ponder, ponder and ponder.

Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone and happy holidays!