Birthday

  It's my birthday today. I have lost count of how many birthdays have passed, but I still keep my tradition. I climb to the top of the nearby hill, bringing a handful of dirt with me. I press it into the ground. Then, I sit down to prepare my mind for my next annual rite: reminding myself of who I am and why I am living.

I made this hill, actually, and I'm still building it up. I started on my tenth birthday. Now, the hill is large enough for me to ski down each winter. In a world where people stay young forever, persistence pays.

  Persistence was what led Dr Syue Cano to discover the secret of eternal youth. At the age of eighty-four, he identified the gene that causes humans to age and the specific radiation that destroys it. No one will know whether he detonated his "Youth" bomb for the sake of his own immortality or for the sake of the other human beings in the world. However, his defective heart could not withstand the impact of the blast. He died the instant the bomb exploded.

  Mankind will always be grateful for the discovery to which Dr Cano dedicated his life. However, he left the world with one problem: the earth's limited natural resources. Even with plant growth accelerated by scientific wizardry, food and oxygen were becoming inadequate for the world population, which only kept booming.

  Some subtractions were necessary for the survival of the human species. The only solution was to remove some of the people by unnatural means, that is, to execute them. Thus, this was why all crimes were made punishable by execution: murder, theft, adultery, slander, hoarding of food... the list is very long. This was the only way to maintain the valance of nature.

  That's where I come in. I am an Executioner. I work alone, never considering the risk. People say I have a death wish. Perhaps I do. Certainly, yesterday's job was no waltz in the park.

Rob Tao was suspected of stealing and hoarding food. My job was to check this out. As always, I was to be detective, judge, jury and executioner.

  I had enough stealth technology to break into Tao's compound undetected. To get into the house was also a cinch. My vibra-blade cut through the wall like it was butter. In the house, my Arometer detected food, lots of it. I went down corridor after corridor, following the bleeps of light on my Arometer.

The signals went wild outside one closed door. There was a lot of human activity inside, judging by my HUO sensors. I primed a grenade and opened the door just a crack -- enough to see whom I would be executing.

Then I deprimed the grenade. Sitting there were thousands of children. Rob Tao stood amongst them, holding a huge pot of steaming mush. He smiled at me, seemingly unperturbed.

"You're feeding all these children?" I asked, flabbergasted.

"Yes," he replied quietly.

"How do you get so much food? I'm sure you steal it," I said.

"Yes, I do. Going to execute me?" Still that gentle smile. Sitting here now, on my hill, I don't understand why I just walked out. I had no excuse for letting him get away with his crime. It was not my decision to make. Yet... I can't remember what I'm killing for; can't remember what I'm living for.

The fright

  Far up in the mountains of Canada, there is an old abandoned log cabin. Once it was occupied by a young couple who wanted to distance themselves from the chaos of this modern world. Here they were miles away from the nearest town. Bob, the husband, made the occasional trip into town to buy supplies whereas Jan, his wife, spent her free time by the fire, sewing. Their life was simply idyllic.

  Then, one midwinter's day, Jan woke up from bed with a strange ache in her bones. Putting it down to overwork, Bob shooed her to bed and made sure she rested. Though Jan was impatient to get to her chores, Bob soothed her, "Relax, Sugar. You're overdoing things. All these chores will be here when you recover."

However, Jan seemed to be getting worse instead of recovering. By evening, she was running a high fever and in greater pain. In spite of his best efforts, Bob could not manage to ease her suffering. And then suddenly, she started to lapse into unconsciousness.

  It was then obvious that she was seriously ill. What could Bob do? He had no experience in treating the sick and Jan was getting worse by the minute. He knew that there was an old doctor in town but he lived three miles away, downhill. Pot-bellied and obese, there was no way the doctor could make it up to their cabin.

  Something had to be done quickly! Bob racked his brains but to no avail. The only thing left to do was to go to the doctor. In Jan's condition, she could never walk that far in the waist-deep snow. Bob would have to carry her!

  Bob searched his mind for a way to move poor, sick Jan. Then, he remembered. He had once made a sledge so that they could ride together over the mountain. They never got around to using it though, because the whole mountain was thickly covered with rocks and trees. He had never found a safe way down, not even once.

  "Well," he thought, "looks like I'm going to have to try it anyhow," as he dug out the sledge from the storeroom. "Jan may die unless I get her to the doctor, and life means nothing to me without her." With this thought in mind, Bob gently tucked Jan into the sledge, got in the front, and with a short prayer for safety, pushed off.

  How they got through that ride alive, Bob has never figured out. As trees loomed up in front of him and just as quickly whizzed by his side, close enough to touch, he felt relieved that Jan was not awake to experience the ride. It was all he could do not to scream as collision seemed imminent, time and again, with only inches to spare.

  At last, bursting from the mountainside, the town came into view. Barely slowing down, they sped through the icy streets, only losing speed as they neared the doctor's house. The sledge, battered through the journey, collapsed in the left ski as it came to a halt, spilling out its occupants. Bob picked up his Jan and made his way into the doctor's house.

  After what seemed to be a long winter, Jan recovered fully from her illness but Bob never recovered from his fright. They moved into the little town so as to be near help in times of crisis, and have lived there ever since.

Wonderful holiday

  The journey by bus to our destination was absolutely agonizing. The hot humid weather, coupled with the dry, dusty wind from the north, made us flinch and fret in our hard seats. Apart from scenic little villages, scattered along the roads, the views were a far cry from what we had expected seen in our very, beloved country. Still, what had we expected? The whole purpose was to observe, experience and learn life as well as nature in abundance, not to witness sophisticated urbanization.

  As the bus turned into the vicinity of the jungle-resort area, we held our breath. Nothing at all prepared us for the excitement nor magnificence that awaited us.

  The wooden chalets were built right in the middle of a dense jungle. Our warm and friendly Malaysian guides informed us that we were at the foot of a forested mountain range, the great Mount Kinabalu. The whole resort area offered its guests, an unrivalled opportunity to enjoy one of the most stunning locations in Asia. Remote and private, far from hustle and the bustle of the city life, the resort was equipped with modern facilities and security.

  We were immediately settled in and were offered welcome drinks and local fruits. While we watched in absolute delight Sabahans performing their local native dance, all around us were filled with the natural sound of nature. Chirping birds and crickets accompanied the dances. On the trees, there were the long nosed, pot bellied proboscis monkeys, jumping from the branches. They were amazingly trusting and friendly. Sabah's rainforest is situated on the plains of the Kinabatangan river and we were told that the Orang Utans would roam freely and that we could observe them from a close distance. The tourists groups who came with us seemed absolutely delighted at the idea.

  That night, we sat and ate to our heart's content, varieties of Malaysian delicacies and desserts. Perhaps, it was the refreshing and natural atmosphere, but we ate like there was no tomorrow, everything and anything that was served.

  Our first few mornings and afternoon were filled with hiking activities. There were so many wonderment of life that we could not pause to rest. Malaysia's flora and fauna is one of the most rare and unique in the world that we did not want to waste a single minute getting acquainted with them. From our hikes, we took photographs of swiflets making edible nests from high tree tops and how Orang Utans ate from our hands. Later, in the evenings, when the sun sets its glorious light, we ventured out into the beach where we strolled along on its sandy white sands, feeling the cool waters at our feet.

  Perhaps, in our memories, one picturesque image settles. We had seen a huge waterfall in the depth of the jungle during one hiking trip. Hundreds of feet above huge boulders and smooth rocks, falling in rushes into little streams down below, was the most amazing waterfall. Its crystal clear water gush down in strange flowing motion, reflecting multi-coloured lights and shades. Hearing the sound of water gushing eased the tired mind and brought deep solace and tranquility to us. We hoped that we would be able to relive this grand experience once more soon.

Ways to improve tourism in malaysia

  Malaysia is a magnificent holiday destination that boasts many different types of getaway ideas, from the tropical beaches of Terengganu to the historical sites of Malaka and the cool highlands in Sarawak. Tourism is fast becoming a major revenue for our country and Malaysians as a whole should rise to the challenge of putting Malaysia on the map of becoming one of the top holiday destinations in the world. To achieve this there should be a collective effort from all, be it the government departments responsible, the public sectors, the NGO's and most ofall from us Malaysians.
  The first step in putting Malaysia on the map is to open up more channels for others to get know our beautiful country. More dynamic steps need to be taken by the government to showcase Malaysia to other foreign countries. The internet could be used to reach numerous target groups from all over the world. It could help to introduce the many different products and attractions that are offered, to whet the appetites of tourists, which will ultimately spur them on to come and visit our country. Special websites could be set up with the sole purpose of informing about what our country has to offer and very soon we would see that all eyes would be on Malaysia.
  The next step towards boosting tourism in Malaysia is to ensure that we as Malaysians are able to deliver the goods as promised. At the top of the list would be to make Malaysia a clean and safe place to visit. No one wants to spend their hard earned money in a place where their lives and the lives of their loved ones would be under potential threat. Neither do they want to spend time in a place where hygiene is compromised and litter is seen all over the place. A more concerted effort should therefore be taken to curb crime rates so that tourists are able to go about town unharmed and feel at ease when they need to use the toilets as they are always kept clean.
  In conclusion, in order to increase tourism in Malaysia there needs to be a more sincere effort from all of us. In the spirit of  one Malaysia we should first of all feel proud to be Malaysian and count our blessings for the freedom and peace that we so often take for granted. Only then would we feel delighted to see others coming to our country to enjoy what we have and at the same time bring along returns which in the long run benefits us all.