We don't want top-scoring doctors

on Wednesday 16 June 2004
Yup. You read that right. We don't want doctors who are also top-scorers. That's the implied meaning I'm getting from our DPM Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Other people might interpret his statements differently I suppose. Sorry, no time to find the right links for any non-Malaysian readers (I wish!).

The government cannot continue to guarantee all top scorers a place to do medicine in public universities by itself is true. This statement I can accept. But.... when it's made in the context that top-scorers are being side-lined for near-top scorers, well... I find that difficult to accept.

True, not all top scorers make good doctors. But what other measurement do we have? Sure, those 128 top scorers might all drop out when they find they don't like medicine. But what's to guarantee that the already accepted near-top scorers won't as well? Strange logic if you ask me.

What's even stranger is when the country's facing a shortage of doctors and all current doctors are being overworked, we're still rejecting potential doctors; seemingly without any previous planning to increase student intake for medicine. Even worse, some of our "learned" academics are even trying to deter potential doctors from becoming doctors. Even stranger logic.

And logically (for me), when I need a doctor, and when I don't know them personally (which is most of the time), I'd rather see one who was a top-scorer in a difficult internationally-recognised and established examination than another who was a near-top-scorer in a locally-recognised non-standardised examination of non-uniform standards.

Months at Work

on
It's been four and a half months since I started work. While learning quite a few stuffs, people have been leaving. And of the original group that was around when I came in, only a few are left. It's kinda disappointing to see the old familiar faces go, and then becoming the minority to fit in with the new faces all over again (well, it feels that way, ok?). But I guess that's how life is, people come, people go.

Plus, these days are becoming really busy, what with a long overdue deadline and all. Sigh. Starting to feel a little overwhelmed. Did an all-nighter recently, and long nights. Weird, but it's a kinda nice experience, although I'm not at all tempted to repeat such an experience. I hope things start improving soon. It's a nice place to work, just wish people can and will start going home earlier.

Flawed Creations

on Tuesday 1 June 2004
I've been meaning to ask someone about this but never did get around to it. Just last night, while having a dinner with colleagues, one of them mentioned an event that happened last weekend. My colleague, quite well-versed with Buddhist teachings, was approached by Christians attempting to get him to join a talk or gathering. One of the questions those Christians could not satisfactorily answer was why humans are flawed. I share my colleagues question.

If God created everything and He is Almighty, why did He create flawed products? Jesus gave his life for the people's sins. Yes, that's noble and all (if true), but why do people sin in the first place? Why did God create humans who could and would sin?

I've heard answers that it's because God gave us free will, where we could make decisions for ourselves. But why are we flawed in the sense that we give in to temptations easily? Could God not have created a race of people resistant to temptations? And where is the free will when rules exist as to how to conduct ourselves?

The world has not always been so. Adam and Eve lived in paradise, but Eve fell prey to the evil serpent's temptations to taste the forbidden fruit. Even the very first woman God created was flawed. Why did God create a flawed woman who would doom all Man to forever bear the burden of work and toil, and all Woman to the pains of labour and child birth? Why did God create a serpent that was evil? Why did He allow the serpent to do evil? And why did He create the forbidden fruit in the first place if He did not want Adam or Eve to eat it?

Indecipherable actions with infinitely deep meaning of an incomprehensible God? Or a greater truth that no religious person would dare ponder...?