TCM again

I predicted a MBBS (TCM) would be offered in the future. This is spotted in a major daily newspaper today. Not enough with the overwhelming number of medical schools in the country, now we have a private university college offering TCM degree as well. Wow, I did not expect my prediction to come true so soon...

With so many students wanting to help other people to be healthy, we must be the healthiest nation on planet earth. Why not offer Masters and pHDs as well?

I just wonder how the ministry plans to regulate TCM degrees. Even now there is unending hoo-haa over recognition of medical degrees. Now there are TCM degrees thrown in. Who sits on the regulating board of the TCM? What criteria do you use for recognition of a TCM degree? Who qualifies to study TCM? How to you pass/fail a TCM candidate? Do you have theoretical exams or practical exams? Who qualifies to be the examiners? Gosh...there are so many unanswered questions.

Money, money, money...lets open the floodgates and let market forces decide. Healthcare? What's that? Is it a branch of business marketing?

Good things are meant to be shared

What is life if it cannot be shared and enjoyed?

Went to this duty free island and returned with much lighter pockets ;) But what the heck...life is to be experienced, enjoyed and shared.

I was having difficulty choosing between a Moet & Chandon champagne, Remy Martin XO excellence or Martell VSOP. I thought Remy Martin sounded good...hahahaha

In my crash course on the finer things in life, I found out that XO means extra old and VSOP means very special old pale.

There were too many cognacs, champagne cognacs, champagne, wine, whisky etc for me to comphrehend in such short time. I was dumbfounded on which is what and what is good, so I just played by ear and ended up with these...The other option is to play by price.

Anyway, in an island where a can of beer is RM1.70 and mineral water is Rm2.10, who can resist?

Climbing hills and Yong Tau Foo

Somehow after having tea at Cameron, I've decided to shed some kilos and perhaps regain my fitness by going to the now 'super famous' Broga Hills for a climb. Using my new toy, the E-trex Legend GPS, finding the place was easy. The GPS works like a charm.

Nestled between oil palm estates near Semenyih, this must be the most photographed place in blogosphere. Lines and lines of people literally queued up and down the tracks. Managed to scale up all the 4 peaks, took some wonderful photos and then slowly tracked down. Luckily the weather was kind.


Opposite the hill, at the mouth of the trail, there was a rabbit farm where you could enter (with a fee of course) and play with ponies, monkeys or rabbits. I guess some rabbit products were for sale also.


Then we literally breezed past Broga town and stopped by at a temple at the end of the town. Where there is a temple, there will be lots of Chinese people visiting. Hmm...

Later we tracked down to the old Ampang town in search of the famous Yong Tau Foo. Thank god for the GPS. There were 3 shops side by side and they were packed to the brim. Perhaps 30-40 table in each shop were completely full. Managed to secure a table in the less popular one among the three. The food was delicious to me. The business appears to be family run with many teenagers who looked like school kids taking orders and clearing the table. The cashier appears to be not more than 15 years old. It just makes me wonder, if they were already raking in tons of money, what's the motivation for them to get a paper degree? Paper degrees are more or less a dime a dozen nowadays. Even with a degree nowadays, one can hardly make ends meet what more compared to the Yong Tau Foo business which they could make tens of thousands per day!

Cakes and tea

Having hot tea and strawberry cake up in the highlands looking down at the tea plantations with a great weather is fantastic. Blissful...

Not forgetting the ice-cream...


With such beautiful scenery, I tried taking multiple pictures in a panning motion with the intention of stitching them together later. Found out that there are 3 crucial things to consider to successfully create a wide panorama.

1) Use same exposures in each shot
2) Use very narrow depth of field
3) Never use wide angle as the lens aberration is too great to correct.

Now all I need is more practise...

Patient support groups

Just have to put in my 2 cents regarding patient support groups. What do I think of patient support groups?

Well, the idea of patients supporting each other seemed a good one. The meet each other, share their experience and learn from each other. They have a shoulder to cry on and someone to turn to in times of need. That's simplistic.

They also share much more than that. They share with each other about their doctors, their treatments and their medications. We all know all patients do not get the same treatment. Whether in terms of the 'expertise' of their doctors (ie good or bad), the type of medications they receive or any other treatments. They compare. Is that good? Will the patients who receive 'lesser' care feel shortchanged? Definitely so. One will argue that this is good for the patients as then they can demand better care, equal to other peers in that group or in other nations. And this will improve healthcare standards as a whole. Ah...

We know not everybody gets equal treatment be it in terms of access, expertise, medications and so forth. Rationed healthcare is practised everywhere. Budget is limited. Somebody has to ration healthcare based on whatever criteria. Like it or not doctors also have the unenvious role of putting this to practise. Healthcare resources are not unlimited. Demand will always outstrip supply.

Then comes the pharmaceutical industry supporting these patient support groups. They subtly reinforce patients on what is the 'standard of care' often importing standards from more advanced countries knowing well that developing countries may not have the means, expertise nor budget to practise what developed countries are doing. And not necessarily what the pharmaceutical industry is promoting is always best for a nation as a whole. They are running a business after all with their headquarters in rich developed nations.

Patients start to feel shortchanged. Patient support group becomes a lobby group. Lobbying to get access to more expensive medications and treatments (thanks to the "support" of the pharmaceutical industry) regardless of the economic reality of the country. Lobby groups wield strong pressure on politicians, reminding them of the next elections and reminding the public that they may be in dire straits one day should they get sick. The public is also worried and pressure is mounting.

The pharmaceutical industry will now be smiling from ear to ear to the bank counting their revenue. They can now cut back on their promotion activities. Lobby groups/ patient support groups are doing the job for them and far more effectively. It doesn't matter to the pharmaceutical company with headquarters in a different continent if millions of people in the country are deprived of other basic necessities just to cater to the exorbitant costs of supporting a few hundred or even a few thousand patients in the lobby group.

And it all starts with "patient support groups". I strongly believe doctors should steer clear from heading these support groups as they will eventually turn into a lobby group through which the doctor would be pressured into promoting the pharmaceutical industry.

USAF Thunderbirds

Nothing inspires awe like birds in the sky. I had the opportunity to snap some pictures of the United States Air Force Thunderbirds F-16Cs when they dropped by in KL for a show . Maybe it was an opportunity for them to send us a subtle message as well : Don't mess around with the USAF

Anyway it's a thoroughly enjoyable display.

Reflection blues

Sometimes I just wonder what the heck am I doing everyday? Hours passes, days passes, years passes...Doing something repeatedly daily is not what I had envisioned. Especially if it's the same old thing. I can't seem to find the motivation these days. If I had just made a different decision many years ago...

I think "fate" plays a understated role in our lives. Hey, we cannot choose how we were born, we cannot choose what we learned during our upbringing. We cannot choose which kindergarten or school we went to. It was all "pre-destined". Yes, we can be arrogant to say we control our fate but to a large extent, I think this is pure "motivational talk" bullshit. We cannot change many things in our lives.

For example, if you were brought up in a mafia's family, you'd be a mafia boss one day. If you were brought up in a farmer's family, you'd be a farmer one day. If you were brought up in a political family eg the Kennedy, chances are you'd be a politician. Look at the generations of miners or fishermen for example. The upbringing, exposure, the environment, the opportunities, are pre-destined for you.

Yes, it's possible to "turn" your fate. But it's easier said then done. We were all fed by Hollywood dramas and "one in a million chance" success stories to cheer up the reality in our lives.

I gotta get out more often.