Rich Snail

Life lessons from an ad man

Jacques — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:30:29 +0000

Sometimes, the best way to be happy is to change your perception. This TED talk tries to tackle this subject and provide many examples of how to change perception for the greater good. Many of those examples are nuggets of insights and ahah moments. So much so that I think it talks about too many subject to be one of the greatest. Still, the underlying message conveyed by Rory SUTHERLAND is that the solutions to so many problems is as much in how they are communicated as to what they actually are. Well worth the 16+ minutes of your time it take to watch it.

Tarnishing the name of the country

Jacques — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:55:11 +0000

The now infamous video about Army veterans swirling their backsides in the direction of Ms. Ambiga has reached the Wall Street Journal: Malaysian Military Veterans Show Some Cheek. It is quite a fun read. I was particularly amused by the fact that the veterans claim the Bersih protests “tarnish the name of this country.”

I think this kind of news, which is often picked up by international medias unfortunately, does effectively tarnish Malaysia’s reputation. But this one does also keep Bersih and its agenda in the news. I’m not sure that is the result they were looking for…

Zen proverb

Jacques — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:15:50 +0000

Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water.
After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water.

Call on ban for book on promoting mixed marriages

Jacques — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:26:48 +0000

It is sad that the self-proclaimed religious experts who made this statement do not realise that religion in in the heart and mind. This kind of article make Islam and Muslims look so weak…

For those who wish to read the book (Bahasa Malaysia knowledge required) it is here: Kahwin Campur antara Muslim dengan Non-Muslim

French Elections 2.0

Jacques — Wed, 09 May 2012 07:02:07 +0000

Round two of the French Election was last Sunday. Once again, I went to vote at the French Embassy and was happily surprised by the well-organized polling station. It took me less than 45mn door to door.

As most of you know by now, Francois HOLLANDE won by less of a margin than anticipated. 51.63% of my compatriots voted for our new president. Like for the first round Le Petit Journal KL did not take long to publish the results for Malaysia.

First, we can note that nearly 100 more French living in Malaysia went to vote last Sunday. Secondly, French living in Malaysia voted in strong numbers for Nicolas SARKOZY once again. 65% of my fellow French expatriates voted for the incumbent. Not really a surprise as many expats lean towards the right and pay a close attention to economic programs.

Personally, I voted for our new President. It may come as a surprise for those who know me as it was the first time in my life that I cast a vote for the French left. I did not so much vote for Mr. HOLLANDE as against Mr. SARKOZY. As much as I preferred Mr. SARKOZY’s economic program, I could not vote a second time for someone who stigmatized communities and immigrants, regularly leaned very close to the Front National, and played weathercock with his personal values for five years.