Whispers Of Nature

As we are heading toward Christmas of this year it reminds me of the first anniversary of the tsunami disaster that hit South East Asia and the Indian Ocean region in 2004.

In October 2001 my wife Elvira and I spent a few days holiday on the island of Phuket. It is one of the most popular holiday destinations of Thailand.

We stayed at resort hotel Dusit Laguna that was located along the beach. It was a fabulous hotel designed in Thai style with a huge tropical garden and swimming pool. The hotel consists of few buildings with rooms which were approximately 30 m off the beach.

At night we could hear clearly the roaring sounds of the sea. Since October was the monsoon season there were big deal of tropical rain and the sea appeared to be quite rough and murky. The waves came up far deep onto the beach. They went so far that the waves actually washed away the whole beach itself.

We tried only one time to go up to the beach. But I noticed that the waves quite high and they almost swallowed the whole length of the beach itself that we had to run for our life. Somehow the sea looked hostile and threatening. In Holland I used to see the high waves of the impetuous North Sea. But somehow I thought the way the Andaman Sea behaved was not quite the same as with the North Sea. Since I know the North Sea used to be rough, especially in time of stormy weather, it is in that sense predictable.

One night when we were laying in bed in our hotel room I could clearly hear the sound of the waves breaking on the beach. Since our room was so close to the beach the sound seemed to be so insistent. It sounded like as if the sea was restless and angry. From my own intuition I sensed that there was something scary, something threatening about this sea. But I could not exactly spell what was wrong about it. It anyhow worried me as the sea was so close to our hotel and that the sea water might flush us away.

I remember that I wrote an email to my sister Onki in which I shared with her that there was something scary or something sinister about the Andaman Sea here. I might be a bit oversensitive as it was anyhow the monsoon season and it might be just a normal thing.

Then, on the Christmas Day of 2004 my gut feelings have not failed me. We all heard of the huge and devastating tsunami that hit the whole region. I searched the website of Dusit Laguna hotel and found a notice that it had been hit and damaged by the tsunami. It may be too easy to take this conclusion but I am very sure that my intuition is quite right on the Andaman Sea. It wears on a mask of a beautiful and friendly sea in time of good weathers but underneath there lies something scary and sinister within it.

It reminds me also of the earthquake in Kobe in 1995. A few days before the devastating quake it was noticed that birds became unusually quiet, and the water from the thermal sources turned blur. The lesson we take out of these events is that man needs to learn to listen to the whispers of nature. It is something that man in modern times has disregarded to do.

Yee Chuen Leung

Chief Editor

Stripped Naked

In last November a released video has caused a row between China and Malaysia. It showed a Chinese young woman - allegedly to be Chinese national - who was forced to strip naked by a female Malaysian police officer. The Chinese was summoned to do ear sit ups while she was being filmed in secret from behind.

The video is widely circulated in China and provoked a public outcry and fury for the abuse and humiliation of a Chinese citizen in Malaysia. It also created a loud protest from the large Chinese community in Malaysia itself for this abuse which seems to stem from racism.

The abuse of this Chinese woman by Malaysian police is not an isolated incident. In 2005 there are reports of at least four Chinese women who were treated in similar way by the police. Many Chinese tourists who visited Malaysia complained that they were treated with disrespect by immigration officers and abused by police officers.

The mistreatment and abuse seem to stem from prejudices against Chinese nationals who come to Malaysia as tourists. According to the authorities many Chinese citizens overstayed and committed a lot of offenses such selling goods or entering into illegal work. Chinese females seem to be working as prostitutes. Those things caused a bias by the Malaysian police towards Chinese tourists who come to Malaysia.

Initially, the Malaysian justice secretary defended this act of the Malay police and brushed off the complains of the Chinese. He stated that if the Chinese are so uncontent about their treatment in Malaysia than they may leave the country as they please.

The consequences are that the number of tourists from China dropped with 65% for this year. Also, China has shown her anger and concern about the reports of mistreatment of Chinese nationals in Malaysia. The Chinese government urges its citizens to refrain from visiting Malaysia.

The Malaysian government realised that they have done something stupid by alienating China. Especially, the economic damages to Malaysia can be considerable as Chinese tourists stay away. Also, the scam may further harm the trade with China which is becoming more and more the economic powerhouse in Asia.

Early December the Malaysian government sent a envoy headed by Home Affairs minister Azmi to China to apologize for the incident and also to give assurance that Chinese nationals in Malaysia will not be abused or mistreated. The Malay official gave guarantee that there will no special prejudices against Chinese females. Azmi's envoy made their visit to Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and other major Chinese cities to apologize for the incident.

We will see if this kowtow by the Malays is sincere and that Malaysian government will truly take measurements to discipline the behavior of its civil servants in handling of Chinese visitors.

Yee Chuen Leung
Chief Editor