Doing it differently in hindsight
IT’S common to make New Year resolutions and just as common to break them.
There are things people did during the year that they now realise had not resonated with their New Year resolutions and, if given the chance, would do them differently. Here are the candid confessions of some of them.
Dominique Ng, a lawyer, politician and social activist, said over the years, he has taken up many cases to help people who were at a disadvantage.
Earlier this year, he accepted a case he wished he hadn’t. But as the case is still in court, he will not talk about it now.
He added that in his work, he has made mistakes and he takes them as lessons to learn from.
According to him, one particularly harsh lesson he learned was to always make sure “people whom you are trying to help really deserve your help.”
Ng said he once won a case, defending an unlicensed hawker in the Lower Court. But on an appeal by local authority, the verdict was overturned. When he took the case to the Court of Appeal, he lost as well.
“And you know what the hawker told me after that? Instead of saying ‘thank you,’ he told me people said I won the election and became a YB all because of his case. It was like I owed him. Eventually, I just passed him his files and told him to find another lawyer who could do better than I did for him.”
Ng said that was one thing he would not have done if he knew it would end like that.
He also said he had seen many things being done this year to fight for the rights of Sarawak but he did not participate much because he is sticking to his resolve to go for ‘early retirement from active politics.’
But he pointed out that he could only watch with increasing dismay the disparate voices, each shouting vainly in the wilderness.
“Each voice is too weak to amount to any significant force, yet the voices seem unwilling to come together for the greater good,” he said, adding that fighting for Sarawak’s rights is a righteous cause worthy of every Sarawakian’s support.
As a New Year resolution, he said he would try to be more involved next year though not for any party or political platform but just working for Sarawak as a Sarawakian ought.
Michelle Chiam, a homemaker, said she wished she had not joined a trip to the Maldives as it made her RM40,000 poorer.
She added that it was money she could have used to settle her car loan.
She related that when invited to join the trip, she was supposed to be resting after an operation but couldn’t resist the temptation to go for a holiday as ‘I’m the type that loves travelling.’
After the Maldives, she went to Penang and Langkawi, admitting she has a ‘Live for today, die for tomorrow’ mindset and would not refuse an invitation to go for a holiday trip as long as there is good company.
“If someone tempts me again, my next RM40k is going to fly again,” she quipped.
What was it that she wished she should have done this year?
Moving into her condominium with her children, she said, but unfortunately, she discovered the site of the building was not safe.
Also, she hopes to settle her car loan by next year.
Beatrice Yeo, a tailor-designer, was momentarily unsure when asked what was it she wished she had not done this year.
After a pause, she said she wished she hadn’t spent so much time shopping online for stuff she didn’t really need.
“It’s just a click away and so convenient. So I was sort of out of control,” she confessed.
She also regretted cancelling most of her travelling plans, saying if she could manage her time better, she perhaps would have been able to stick to her plans despite her busy schedules.
“I love travelling and hope to visit and explore new places in the New Year. But I have to work and drop my travelling plans all the time.”
She said she would try to manage her time better between work, family, friends and travelling and hope to take up tailoring courses as well to advance her career in the coming year.
Gerald Wah Onn, an oilfield engineer, was laid off following the fall of world crude oil prices but later got his job back.
The 37-year-old said he had seen many workers in the industry facing the same fate since prices dipped. Some have been out of work for more than a year.
He said he is happy to get his job back and help some of the laid off workers get theirs back too, especially on the drilling rigs. He wished he had been able to help more of his retrenched oilfield friends.
His New Year wish is that the global crude oil price will be more stable so that everyone in the industry will feel secure and have peace of mind. Going for 21km run Asked if there was anything she wished she had not done this year, Dr Yuwana Podin replied: “None. Whatever decisions I have made, I will live with them. Life is too short to be lived with regrets. One can just move on and strive to be better.”
However, Dr Yuwana, a senior lecturer at the Institute of Health and Community Medicine, Unimas and President of Sarawak AIDS Concern Society (SACS) president, added that she wished she had the courage to sign up for 21km marathon this year.
“I did the 10km event but was not confident enough to try 21km.”
On New Year resolutions, she said she usually didn’t have any, believing that every day she wakes to is a new day with a new resolution to be a better person than yesterday.
“But in the spirit of the New Year, I suppose my resolution is to
Each voice is too weak to amount to any significant force, yet the voices seem unwilling to come together for the greater good. — Dominique Ng, lawyer, politician and social activist
run my first 21km and hopefully it isn’t the last.”
If Anthony David Gramong, a tuitor from Singhai, Bau, could relive 2017, he would not sell his car’s audio system just to settle his car insurance and road tax nor spend so much repairing his old car.
He said he would rather save to get a new car and avoid a lot of unnecessary repair and upkeep expenditure.
“My impatience made me act rashly. My old car gave me a lot of headaches. I spent plenty on checking, repair and maintenance – one problem after another. Because I wanted to fix the problems quickly, I continued to cough up without thinking of other options.
“Finally I ended up with more and more bills for my car alone. So when the insurance and road tax expired, out of desperation,I sold my good quality car audio system for a lot less.”
Although he regretted many of his past actions, things got better a few months later when he was a member of the organising committee for a big event – Big Bikers’ Country and Western Rock and Roll Nite – which turned out to be a success.
“After three months of hard work, it paid off and we hope to see another episode in the coming year,” he said excitedly.
Anthony said he might also get a new car as he has a feeling 2018 will be a ‘wonderful year’ for him.
His New Year resolution is to tell all teachers to be proud of their profession.
“Teach with your hearts, use creativity to teach and don’t force all students to achieve A’s in all subjects because not everyone is academically inclined,” he said.
Entrepreneur Juliana Douglas said she should not have withdrawn her monthly savings but instead work out other ways to make ends meet.
Although the withdrawals were common ones – such as for her children’s schooling and household expenses, petrol and medical costs – she now believes there could have been better options.
“If I had tried hard enough to figure out something, maybe I would not have to touch the savings,” she rued.
She also wished she could have opened her own bistro this year.
“This has been my dream for years and hopefully, the New Year will bring a change of luck,” Juliana said.
Mariawati Marjuki, a sales operations executive working in Kuala Lumpur, could not recall anything she wished she had not done this year – except that her wish to meet and spend time with her relatives (from her Chinese mother’s side) has not been fulfilled – due to her work and difficulties in getting leave to return to Kuching for special family gatherings.
“But happily, I was able to visit and see my new-born nephew in Kuching recently. It gave me such great joy.”
She said she hoped to come back to Kuching for good one day.
She often feels homesick, working away from home, but since job opportunities for her are limited here, she has to put her decision to come back on hold.
“My hope for the New Year will be the same as previous years – come home to be with my mother, family and relatives. I also miss the food of my hometown and the warmth of the people of Sarawak,” she said.