Sympathy is a powerful tool

These past few days, I noticed something interesting.

There are a lot of people on social media. There a lot of people who want to do good on the Internet. People are trying hard to find something good or give something good. Interestingly, many also see this as an opportunity to take advantage on others.

It doesn't take a lot. All that is needed is a few pictures and a few sob stories. Of course, I'm well aware some of the stories are true. There truly is people with sad stories and really need our help. But the social media is fast becoming a place where people think they can just use people's sympathy to gain something, or specifically, money. I have seen a few posts that requested money for their first cars. I really do hope those are fake posts.

But if it is not, seriously, what made some people think they are entitled to donations for things that they supposedly pay for with their own money?

Listen, how do you think people get money in the first place? There are people who worked the whole day (some the whole night) to earn money for their family and pay debt. And the same people might want to help other people in need or they have a kind heart. The operative word here is 'in need'. Do you think asking for money to buy a new car?

It is bad enough that we have scammers who ask from money in public places like KL Sentral. Those sob stories like, ' I need RM 10. I just met with an accident and need money for a ride home', ' I need money because I forgot my wallet,' ' I need RM 35 for the ERL ticket because I live in Putrajaya and just lost my wallet.' These are just lies. If they are really in need, there is a police station in KL Sentral. In fact, there are policemen milling around the area.

I know my friend will not agree to this. ' Just give this person a few ringgit. Don't carelah what he does with it.'

This is actually the formula being used by these scammers on the road. I believe if people start saying this, we are just giving birth to more scammers. My father always said, ' if you want to help these people, buy them food instead of money.'

Of course, all of us want to make the world a better place. Of course we want to be there for each other. But we have to do this with caution too. There are people who are really in need and there are also people who are just milking others' sympathies.

Life is bad enough with the inflation and bad economy; it is unfair manipulate the sympathies from Good Samaritans. Everybody is suffering but many are trying hard to survive. We can all do with the extra money but manipulating or worse, lying is not.

I'm ranting a lot on this Friday but I had to let it out. It saddens me to see young people trying to start GoFundMe for causes that are totally selfish. Please, do it for a good cause. If we cannot help the world to be a better place, just don't be the extra burden.

Book Review: Shadow Play by Barbara Ismail

I'm a huge fan of mystery and thriller. I have quite a collection of James Patterson, use to finish Agatha Christie's when I was in colleage and a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes. This time, however, I ventured somewhere closer home. It's Shadow Play from Barbara Ismail.

Set in 70's Kelantan, the story was about how a quiet Tawang was disturbed by the death of one of a wayang kulit musician. The death shocked everybody and ruffled a few feathers. The rivalry between several Wayang Kulit troops got in the way of the investigation, which was greatly helped by a songket trader. Although the case was assigned to the Chief Police Officer, the case still needs a local.

I didn't really browse through the book when I bought it; I just want a book that tells me stories here rather than abroad and I've never been so right before. The story, albeit being written by a foreigner (Barbara hailed from the US), has managed to put me to shame. I learnt so much of peribahasa Melayu that have long been forgotten. These peribahasa were included in the story with an English and its own translation. I'm very honored to have come across this book.

With the setting in Kelantan, Barbara has managed to paint the pictures beautifully about the people there. Although the Pasar Besar that I know might be a bit modern compared to the one in the book, but it managed to capture the feeling of it.

The flashbacks are nice flowing, the mystery is kept interesting towards the end and the kampung feeling is preserved as nicely as possible. I particularly liked the fact that the modern and traditional themes are tackled nicely like when a bomoh is summoned to a house but turned out the disease was caused by science.

I strongly recommend this book for someone who wants to read something closer to hope; to at least capture some part of our wonderful Malaysia. The Bahasa Malaysia spelling might be a bit old, but that actually added to the charm of the book. I have nothing more to say, but praises for this book.

Read up more on the author Barbara Ismail.

Back from Long Hiatus: Again, Interview

So, we have covered the first part of the interview here: First Impression: On Paper.

Still on paper, and it is going to be quite short, I guess.

It is actually best to list down the work experiences as concise as possible. For those involved in jobs like writing or web designing, it is also best to include your portfolio. It is nice and all to hear ourselves talking about our achievements, but a proof will be so much better.

In putting down the words in the resume, wordplay is extremely important. I'm sharing a page detailing 222 action verbs for the resume Resume Cheat Sheet: 222 Action verbs to use in your resume. Do check it out.

HR goes through hundreds of resumes; refrain from tiring them. Opt for bullet points instead of long lengthy paragraphs (unless needed).

There is no one-size-fits all solution for everyone but I seriously hope we can all learn something from here. Drop me a comment for those who wish to have this written in Malay.

Have a nice weekend people.