Happy 2009

Happy 2009. May the new year bring more happiness and prosperity to all of us. Amin!

There is nothing permanent except change

His Majesty's Titah for the new Hijriah is all too clear.  We need to embrace change.  There are a lot of things that scare me  but our widespread apathy and complacency are amongst the ones that would scare me the most. The most common I am hearing is either "dont worry we have a lot of oil" or either this one.. "oh yeah, why worry, we have a lot of foreign reserves".  I was reading one forummer in Brudirect who said that Brunei is a heaven on earth with all the things that we have.  This nonchalant attitude really scares me

There are a few things that I am very certain and these include,

1.  Our oil is not an infinite resource. It will run out.

2.  The world will find a more efficient, clean and safe alternative source of energy.

3.  Our portfolio investments overseas will not guarantee jobs at home.

4.  The civil service cannot continue to expand and provide jobs for the locals.

5.  Inflation will continue to hit us.

If we need to embrace change, I would say it has to begin with our laid back attitude as if our current prosperity is a carte blanche from above.

stinky salad?

When my missus and I went shopping this afternoon, we stopped by at the food stalls to have an early dinner. Again I am sure this is another case of lost in translation.  But I am very sure a lot of people would think twice of ordering this dish. Unless of course you have the gut to stomach it :-)