Dealing with distraught souls, oncologist Dr Fabian Lee packs lots of patience.
He sees cancer-stricken patients daily, giving them hope whenever they are down.
It’s no simple task though as anyone diagnosed with life-threatening illness easily feels fearful and helpless.
They sink into depression and misery and this takes a toll on them mentally and physically.
"Be strong, you can conquer it…we are here to help you," Dr Lee would tell his patients.
For many, he is more than a doctor but a friend.
When a dispirited patient wants to abandon chemotherapy, he would listen to her grievances before reasoning out why she should carry on with the treatment.
"I know women are afraid of losing their hair but it will grow again after the treatment," he told us when met at his ward today.
Having such illness is an experience that changes anyone.
We become grateful for things which we previously took for granted such as good health.
Tough times also bring us closer to family and friends.
"Falling down is not defeat...Defeat is when you refuse to get up!"
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Shabery reiterates new media-friendly stance ...
Information Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek reinforces his new media-friendly approach, saying the government and civil servants must be ready to adapt them whether they like it or not.
"Business cannot be as usual for us, and our best defence against the new media is to continue to be clean, honest and efficient in our public delivery system.
"In this battle for credibility in the new media, and between the new media and the mainstream media, we as part of the establishment will be their punching bags.
“But we cannot fear them,” he said in his paper titled "The New Media: Articulating the Right Values" tabled at the Civil Service Conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Shabery said: "They will not be influential or powerful if we are clean, honest, credible, trustworthy and efficient in our administration and public service delivery."
"If we do not have anything to hide, if we do not abuse our power or office, these new media per se, will not have such an impact for they would be deprived of any ammunition against us," he said.
"Most of us make the mistake of defining the new media as anti-government and anti-establishment when in fact there were bloggers and online news sites that subscribe to the government's policies and programmes,” he stated.
Media-savvy Shabery contended that if the bloggers and online news sites were critical, they were critical of the way some policies and programmes were implemented.
"In other words, there are myths and fallacies about bloggers and opponents of the government, which can be easily debunked when communication is open and free," he said.
For example, RTM's live telecast of Parliament sitting had shown the people the actual proceedings and allowed them to make judgment on the performances of their parliamentary representatives, he said.
Shabery also urged the mainstream media not "to compete head on with the new media", which rely on the mainstream media for news and information.
He said citizen journalists acted as a watchdog to the mainstream media by analysing, observing and interpreting materials published by the mainstream media, highlighting their inaccuracies, spins and outright lies.
Saying that citizen journalists complemented the mainstream media, he believed that "this augurs well for the democratisation of information."
He observed that there were times when professional journalists in the mainstream media were taken to task by citizen journalists for sloppy reporting and misleading editorials.
"This is a value that should be duly recognised and applauded by all of us, politicians, administrators and lawmakers alike. This will allow for feedback mechanism of any new policy, plan or programme," he said.
He said it could also act as an early warning system to detect any wrongdoings by any quarters within the democratic structure of the country.
Shabery felt the country did not need new laws to curb the new media as the present ones were adequate.
However, he said, the defamation and sedition laws, which aimed to protect the rights of citizens against malice, should also apply to the new media, especially in the case of blogs.
"Over time, users of online information will know where to place them in their hierarchies of trust, and over time, the same would be expected of blogs that want to be known as credible and trustworthy," he said.
The minister has a website NotaShabery.com , featuring his speeches, comments and opinion on current issues. The website aims to create a forum where readers are free to comment and give their points of view.
"Business cannot be as usual for us, and our best defence against the new media is to continue to be clean, honest and efficient in our public delivery system.
"In this battle for credibility in the new media, and between the new media and the mainstream media, we as part of the establishment will be their punching bags.
“But we cannot fear them,” he said in his paper titled "The New Media: Articulating the Right Values" tabled at the Civil Service Conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Shabery said: "They will not be influential or powerful if we are clean, honest, credible, trustworthy and efficient in our administration and public service delivery."
"If we do not have anything to hide, if we do not abuse our power or office, these new media per se, will not have such an impact for they would be deprived of any ammunition against us," he said.
"Most of us make the mistake of defining the new media as anti-government and anti-establishment when in fact there were bloggers and online news sites that subscribe to the government's policies and programmes,” he stated.
Media-savvy Shabery contended that if the bloggers and online news sites were critical, they were critical of the way some policies and programmes were implemented.
"In other words, there are myths and fallacies about bloggers and opponents of the government, which can be easily debunked when communication is open and free," he said.
For example, RTM's live telecast of Parliament sitting had shown the people the actual proceedings and allowed them to make judgment on the performances of their parliamentary representatives, he said.
Shabery also urged the mainstream media not "to compete head on with the new media", which rely on the mainstream media for news and information.
He said citizen journalists acted as a watchdog to the mainstream media by analysing, observing and interpreting materials published by the mainstream media, highlighting their inaccuracies, spins and outright lies.
Saying that citizen journalists complemented the mainstream media, he believed that "this augurs well for the democratisation of information."
He observed that there were times when professional journalists in the mainstream media were taken to task by citizen journalists for sloppy reporting and misleading editorials.
"This is a value that should be duly recognised and applauded by all of us, politicians, administrators and lawmakers alike. This will allow for feedback mechanism of any new policy, plan or programme," he said.
He said it could also act as an early warning system to detect any wrongdoings by any quarters within the democratic structure of the country.
Shabery felt the country did not need new laws to curb the new media as the present ones were adequate.
However, he said, the defamation and sedition laws, which aimed to protect the rights of citizens against malice, should also apply to the new media, especially in the case of blogs.
"Over time, users of online information will know where to place them in their hierarchies of trust, and over time, the same would be expected of blogs that want to be known as credible and trustworthy," he said.
The minister has a website NotaShabery.com , featuring his speeches, comments and opinion on current issues. The website aims to create a forum where readers are free to comment and give their points of view.
Olympic Games: Of friendship and peace ...
With the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games set to start on Friday, the world's attention is increasingly focussed on China.
Like the Five Olympic Rings from which they draw their colour and inspiration, Fuwa will serve as the official mascots of the Games, carrying a message of friendship and peace -- and good wishes from China -- to children all over the world.
Designed to express the playful qualities of five little children who form an intimate circle of friends, Fuwa also embody the natural characteristics of four of China's most popular animals -- the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow -- and the Olympic Flame.
Each of Fuwa has a rhyming two-syllable name -- a traditional way of expressing affection for children in China.
Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow.
When their names are put together -- Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni -- they say "Welcome to Beijing," offering a warm invitation that reflects the mission of Fuwa as young ambassadors for the Olympic Games.
Fuwa also embody both the landscape and the dreams and aspirations of people from every part of the vast country of China.
In their origins and their headpieces, the five elements of nature -- the sea, forest, fire, earth and sky could be seen -- all stylistically rendered in ways that represent the deep traditional influences of Chinese folk art and ornamentation.
(Source: The official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games)
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