Compassion for our hurting country

There isn't much I can say about our 13th General Elections that has not already been succintly and fairly reported in The Economist and the Council for a Community of Democracies.

(Reproduced from the New York Times without permission but in accordance with the principles of fair use)


Just 8 days after our Elections, our country observed the 44th anniversary of the May 13, 1969 racial riots.

As expected, several disgruntled politicians and the government-controlled media did not pass up the opportunity to raise the spectre of the May 13 incident in the hopes of inciting racial hatred, dividing a largely peaceful and united electoriate and instilling fear and compliance in people.

But we are a generation of young Malaysians typified by courage, resilience, racial assimilation, intelligence and political insight. The ruling coalition's ploy to instil fear and hatred backfired, and almost immediately, dozens of ad hoc social media groups were created to promote racial and religious harmony and to organise and hold community events on May 13.

The magnanimity of our fellow Malaysians was, frankly, astounding. From being a feared and dark blight on Malaysian history, May 13 was reclaimed and rebranded as a national day of healing and reconciliation.

A Facebook Group, Kita Kawan Mah (We Are Friends) was set up to highlight interracial friendships and instances of community spirit. It received over 10,000 "likes' within 48 hours.
(Photo reproduced from Kita Kawan Mah without permission but in accordance with the principles of fair use)

A group of volunteers handing out flowers to passersby in Brickfields on May 13.
(Photo reproduced from The Star without permission but in accordance with the principles of fair use)

In response to a politician's incendiary remarks about "what more do the Chinese (voters) want?", a community group organised an interracial picnic party, "Saya Mahu Picnic" (I Want To Picnic) at the Lake Gardens.
(Photo reproduced from The Star without permission but in accordance with the principles of fair use)


I agreed to be a part of "Compassion for Malaysia" a movement started by a friend of a friend on Facebook, in which participants pledge to fast and pray on May 13 for our country's peace, stability, progress and healing. Over 300 people pledged to fast at the same time, as a way of purifying ourselves and our thoughts.

I further suggested the following Random Acts of Kindness to be carried out on the said day in addition to fasting. Random Acts of Kindness remind us to live our lives mindfully, graciously, courteously and gratefully. RAOKs will put the power back in your hands as agents of positive change. Examples of RAOKs I suggested include:
1. - Finding out the name of the office cleaner/ gardener / security guard and then greeting them by name each day. Finding out more about their lives. Having a treat or two on hand for them to thank them for a job well done.
2. - Leaving kind and encouraging comments on blogs, FB and other social media sites.
3. - Finding out the address of our former schoolteachers and sending them thank you notes.
4. - Locating our old school friends on Facebook, adding them and then inviting them over for a meal.
5. - Volunteering for a worthy cause.
6. - Donating blood
7. - Signing up to be an organ donor with the National Transplant Resource Centre.
8. - Signing up with the Malaysian Stem Cell Registry and donating a blood sample for their database.
9. - Tutoring needy students who cannot afford private tuition.
10. - Getting to know your neighbours and offering assistance in keeping an eye on their house, plants or pets when they are away.
11. - Participating in local community events, e.g. neighbourhood jumble sales, sports days, cleanup campaigns and recycling drives.
12. - Attending a fundraising event at your local school even if you do not have any family members studying there.
13. - Organising a cleanup campaign to help remove and tidy up post-election banners and buntings.
14. - Planting a tree in your local park.
15. - Volunteering with the Fire and Rescue Services Dept as neighbourhood fire hydrant supervisors.

My ideas were received with enthusiasm. As this is the first year we are organising such an event, we didn't have the opportunity to plan anything elaborate. I have been invited to help organise the Random Acts of Kindness part of the event on the same day next year, and of course I accepted the challenge.

Facebook and blogs were full of multilingual posts about the kindness of strangers, interracial friendships and the rejection of race-based politics. My heart swelled with pride reading each and every post, and I have never been prouder to be Malaysian. Politicians can try to manipulate us, but we have proven ourselves to be bigger and better than they are, and much more and much better than the narrow categories they try to restrict us to. Democracy is alive and well. Next year we will return even bigger and better. The force of good will always, always triumph over the force of evil. Things are going to get worse before they get better right now, but I have no doubt that they will get better. The days of racist, corrupt and crony-based politics are over. Each and every political party will have to reform and reinvent itself if it wants to try to win the support of an increasingly urban and educated electorate. Things can only get better from here. We shall overcome. We shall overcome.

Godspeed, Good Healer

"To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die"
 ~ Thomas Campbell

Dr. Herbert Ambrose 
(10 July 1965 - 8 April 2013)


I bade farewell to one of my dearest friends last week.

Dr. Herbert was so much more to me than just the general physician we consulted when we were unwell. He was a credit to the medical profession and lived a life of service to others. He is the only doctor I know who actually returned patients' calls. And he'd call us the day after we saw him to see if we were actually better. I don't know how he manages it with his busy schedule and thousands of patients.

Despite the fact that his services were always in high demand (patients would drop by the clinic to inquire if he is around, and would leave if informed that it was a locum and not Dr. H), Dr. Herbert never rushed his patients. He took the time to listen to everyone's problems, concerns and fears and would offer explanations and advice to assuage those fears.

Regardless of the age and educational background of the patient, Dr. Herbert was never condescending. He treated everyone with equal respect and dignity. You could tell that he was not in the medical profession for the money, but out of a genuine desire to help and to heal.

He would provide treatment free of charge to patients who he knew could not afford it. Sometimes he would offer rides home to patients who didn't have a means of getting home from the clinic. I know from hearsay that he carries out many more service projects for various worthy causes, but he wasn't the man to talk about it. Dr. Herbert was all about getting things done because it was the right thing to do, not because it was the right thing to boast about.

Over the years, Dr. Herbert became a close friend, mentor and confidant to my housemate Jake and me. Dr. H has a little soundproof room in his clinic where he and his band would jam in the evenings, and Jake would sometimes be invited to play with them. Their genre of choice was classic rock.

Dr. H took a keen interest in my volunteer work and always provided a calming and encouraging balance to all the alarmists around me who were convinced that I would die or suffer grievous harm from rescuing stray animals, handling wildlife and getting exposed to tropical diseases in the rainforest. He was the one who correctly diagnosed my lymph node infection and helped me on my way to recovery. He was the one who cleaned and stitched up all my dogbite wounds each time I tried to separate battling dogs at the SPCA. He was the one who talked me through my anxiety problems and compassion fatigue after I refused other forms of professional help because I didn't want to admit that I had a problem. To Dr. Herbert, helping others was a source of fulfillment and joy. Aravind had only consulted Dr. H once or twice but already found him to be a very caring, sincere and competent doctor.

I found it difficult to come to terms with his passing in the days following his death. I kept asking, "Why? Why did God take Dr. Herbert? Why so soon?" Aravind decided that it would help me through my grief and continue the good work of Dr. Herbert to make a contribution to charity in his memory. And so I hope that these little acts of service would help take away some of my pain and honour the life of Dr. Herbert and the great man that he was and always will be.

Aravind and I made a trip to Big Bookshop to purchase these books for The Revolving Library, a group we are involved in, which has the objective of promoting literacy and the reading habit among underprivileged children by setting up revolving/rotating mini-libraries in welfare homes and children's shelters and conducting volunteer reading programmes.

I added small unobtrusive tags to identify these books as part of a Kindness Project in loving memory of Dr. Herbert, a man who loved children and supported all efforts to improve the quality of their lives.

I think the addition of the book on the Human Body is quite appropriate. It would be nice if one of the children grew up to be a doctor. But even if none of them did, it wouldn't matter, because Dr. H would have loved all of them for their unique personalities and capabilities anyway.

The next beneficiary was a young black dog who lived in the guardhouse of an apartment project together with the elderly security guard. The dog is still quite skittish and would only accept food from the guard. If the dog warms up to me, I will make arrangements to have him vaccinated, neutered and collared. I know Dr. Herbert would approve.

Here is a candid shot of Aravind handing over the food to the elderly guard.

I had a day off on Thursday, so I took the opportunity to go to the SPCA to bathe and tickwash the dogs, clean the Cattery and Kennels and check on the quarantine cats for eye and ear infections and other minor ailments that I could treat without the help of the vets. I am smiling in the photo not because I am no longer grieving for Dr. H, but because I am happy to be doing something I am passionate about and good at.

The final beneficiaries (for now) are the puppies of Goldie, a stray female dog who gave birth to 4 puppies (3 survived, 1 didn't) in my friend Derrick's auto workshop. Derrick and his wife Jennifer are already doing so much to help rescue, rehabilitate, neuter and rehome stray dogs and puppies, so I figure a little help is in order. We will chip in for Goldie's spaying and her puppies' vaccination in a few months. I think Dr. Herbert would approve, too.

We will miss Dr. Herbert's professionalism and aptitude for healing and helping. We will miss his ready smile and jovial personality. We will miss his warmth, sincerity, kindness and nobility of spirit. I have never known a better man.

In Aravind's words for Dr. Herbert, "Godspeed, Good Healer."

Furry Tales Fundraising Dinner

I have always been a firm believer that those in animal welfare and rescue circles must work together and help one another the best we can. When I started Project Second Chance, I was fortunate enough to benefit from the assistance and generosity of friends. So when an independent animal rescue group, KL Pooch Rescue, announced a fundraising dinner on social media, I felt that the very least I could do was to purchase tickets to the dinner and invite my friends as my guests.






The beneficiaries of the funds include KL Pooch Rescue, which is working hard to raise funds to build their own shelter, and several independent rescuers, including senior citizens who have taken in strays but who are not social media savvy. I contacted the organisers of the event to make arrangements for the intact dogs to be neutered at subsidised rates under SPCA's Mission Help programme.








Lili and I shared a ride to the dinner, held at Cinnamon Box, Festival City Mall. Here she is, waiting for us to be seated.





The menu was kept simple and limited to keep costs down. The objective of the dinner was, of course, to raise funds for animal rescue initiatives. We could, and did, order extra food from the restaurant, as we were quite a big party.






Volunteers from KL Pooch Rescue sold merchandise to raise funds for the cause. They were very persuasive and friendly, and so I ended up buying a rather cheeky t-shirt with a clear message about spaying and neutering. Bernie bought 2 t-shirts and a car sticker, while Nicole bought dog treats and baked goods. We hope they managed to raise a lot of funds even from other shoppers who didn't attend the dinner.






Nicole bought lovely molten brownies and key lime tarts for our dessert. I ate an entire key lime tart in spite of myself. Oh well. I could always burn off the calories the following day by helping out at the SPCA.







Vegetarian nasi pandan with sayur masak lemak for me, washed down with gallons of iced lemon tea.





Stand-up comic Phoon Chi Ho provided entertainment for the night. Good effort, young man. We found him funnier during "Bromance of the Four Kingdoms", though. Still, it was good of him to do this pro bono.






The Mall dimmed its lights at 8.30 p.m. in conjunction with Earth Hour.

Now, this may sound strange coming from an environmental activist, but I do not observe Earth Hour. Earth Hour takes time and attention away from finding real solutions, has dubious conservation and educational value and has just become another high-consumption PR and fundraising event which encourages people to drive out to shopping malls, buy the event t-shirts, candles and flashlights and pretend to care for the environment.

Lili is seen here preoccupied with her smartphone, while Nicole and I swiped her fries, after the lights were dimmed.




 

Aravind has a molten chocolate brownie while Bernie's maid (centre) and mum (in wheelchair) were kept entertained by the comedy act.







Walking the talk the way I normally do the following day at the SPCA shelter.
Three hardworking schoolgirls and their adult chaperone helped me bathe and tickwash all the Kennel D, E and F dogs before it started raining on Sunday. I managed to clean all the kennels at the back as well.


Learn more about KL Pooch Rescue here:

KLPR on Facebook

KLPR's official blog

E-mail: klpoochrescue@gmail.com

Telephone:
Shannon: +6 016 2511 486
Lauren: +6 016 2511 496



Postscript:
An update from the organisers:

"Dear donors,


Furry Tales has collected a total of RM18,459!!

This amount is made up of donations and sale of our sponsors' products.

After deducting the cost of dinners (dinners were offered at cost price), the amount is RM17,489.

I will allocate half of that (RM8,744.50) to KLPR, and the other half to an independent shelter.

KLPR will use their half for their new shelter.

I will use the other half to build the facilities that the independent shelter needs so badly. 

My next step will be to send you a quotation from the contractor with the best price, and a list of what we can do with RM8,744.50.

If you require a statement of the total donations collected, with individual amounts, I'd be happy to send it to you. 
For both transparency and anonymity to be possible, all donors' names appear as initials only, in alphabetical order, first name first. 


I'm very excited about this. I am equally grateful and touched that you, my donours, have been so fantastic about supporting this cause. Thank you for your support, and for your trust in me.

May tails continue to wag in celebration of what we have achieved!"

Raptor Watch 2013 through my eyes

(Photo credits: MNS)

Although this year marks my twelfth year as a Raptor Watch volunteer, witnessing the miracle of raptor migration is something I will never tire of. As it was Aravind's first Raptor Watch, introducing him to the phenomena of raptor migration also brought me added joy and excitement.

This year, Green Living set up a booth offering carnival games and was involved in organising the Design An Eco-Home contest and Raptor Protection Run. It was a hot, hectic and utterly exhausting week.

So many birds. So many visitors. So many awesome volunteers. So much to be thankful for.

Raptor Watch 2013, through the eyes of your friendly neighbourhood Green Living coordinator:

Raptor Watch Day 1, 9th March 2013:



Our carnival games with an environmental message -- Water Conservation Ring Toss.
4 of the 8 bottles have photos depicting water-saving habits, while 4 depict water-wasting habits. Participants try to throw the rings (scotch tape empties) around the bottles showing water-saving measures.




Our carnival games with an environmental message -- 3R Target Shooting.
Participants use the Nerf gun to try to shoot down cards showing wasteful and environmentally-destructive items such as styrofoam food packaging, paper kitchen towels and plastic grocery bags, and at the same time try to avoid hitting the greener alternatives such as reusable shopping bags, refillable water canteens and handkerchiefs.




Our carnival games with an environmental message -- Energy Efficiency Ball Toss.
Participants try to toss ping-pong balls into the sections painted green and represented with little cards showing energy-saving measures such as switching off appliances after use and taking public transport, while avoiding the sections painted red, which have cards showing pictures of energy-wasting practices such as leaving car engines idling and using animated screensavers.




Giving instructions to some young visitors at our booth.




Aravind supervising and instructing a young participant at our booth. The heat was really oppressive that weekend.




Zhang En and Zhang Hui, all ready to catch the stray bullets, set the targets back in place and hand out prizes. Those two girls are amazing. I think I can safely retire as Green Living coordinator now. My successors have been found, even if they are only 9 and 6 years old respectively.




Walking the talk with our recycling bins and drinking water refill station.




Everyone getting excited over a Banded Woodpecker and a Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo spotted in a tree behind the tents.




Aravind obligingly accompanying me through the Forest Reserve to the lighthouse after we packed up for the day.



















Sun-dappled Macaranga.



The Straits of Malacca shimmering in the late afternoon heat.

Seeing the Cape Rachado Lighthouse each year is like greeting an old friend.





The view from our balcony at Casa Rachado.


Raptor Watch Day 2, 10th March 2013:



Awesome mummy Ng Shannon teaches her daughters Zhang Hui and Zhang En about energy efficiency and Energy Star ratings as we were setting up our booth in the morning.


















The Green Living sticker sheets that we gave out as prizes.



Marine gastropods (Cerithidea obtusa) in the warm mud.



Rhizophora apiculata.



Mudskippers doing what they do best -- skipping around in mud.



My Caving friend Hui Yeen drops by with her girls to try out our games!




Sunburned and exhausted volunteers at the end of a tiring but productive weekend.


Why Do We Need To Protect Raptors?

Because birds of prey exist at the top of many food chains, their populations are especially sensitive to changes in ecosystem structure and energy flow. As a result of this factor, raptors are relatively good indicators of the health of the environment and food chain.

What are some of the threats to migrating raptors?

The loss of natural habitat and the consequent decline in prey availability, the widespread use of pesticides and direct persecution such as shooting, trapping, poaching and intentional poisoning -- all contribute to the decline of raptor populations in the wild.

Are raptors afforded legal protection in Peninsular Malaysia?

Currently, in Peninsular Malaysia, raptors are protected under the new Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Schedule One -- Protected Animals) (Schedule Two -- Totally Protected Animals)

What are some of the measures individuals can take to protect raptors and their habitats?

1. Eliminate the use of pesticides, herbicides and insecticides, which may end up in raptors' food chains.

2. Avoid using lead bullets in hunting or lead sinkers in fishing, as these may cause lead poisoning in raptors when it enters their food chain. There are many lead-free, non-toxic alternatives available these days.

3. If you live in an area where birds, especially raptors, are known to nest and breed, keep your cats and dogs indoors or at least put a belled collar on them, to reduce the possibility of them raiding nests and killing nestlings.

4. Be watchful when driving on mountain roads and forested areas where raptors have been seen. Raptors have been hurt or killed by cars when diving for prey or eating their prey on road shoulders.

5. Help create support for wildlife protection efforts. Volunteer your time, skills and resources for environmental and bird protection interest groups. Learn all you can and help raise awareness. Support efforts to keep forests intact and biologically diverse.

Furry Tales Dog-Themed Bento

With A Knick-Knack Paddy-Whack Give The Dog A Bone!


 

We're going for the KL Pooch Rescue Furry Tales Charity Dinner this Saturday, so a doggie-themed bento seemed appropriate and timely.

In the main compartment, nori doggie and kennel cut-outs rest on top of a 'bone' constructed out of buns. Cherry tomato "drumsticks" and broad beans fill up the remaining space. Carrot kennels on top of a fresh salad of cherry tomatoes, butterhead lettuce, celery sticks and broad beans occupy the compartment next to orange wedges bearing a black scottie dog cut-out.