Haze Myth: PSI vs Visibility vs PM2.5

Rumours abound in times of trouble...and its' human nature to 'panic' and fear the unknown or unnatural. As a medical doctor and recent public health graduate, sometimes we see things differently through broader lenses. Rational, educated mind is a good defense against irrational feelings and emotions. Despite what our eyes tell us, let us focus on creating solutions and calming those around us, instead of creating more anger and fear. That's why I was quite impressed with what PM Lee said recently regarding this crisis - no megaphone diplomacy for this statesman.

Firstly, the PSI has been adopted in Singapore to give the public an up-to-date information on the air quality in this country, as opposed to the different indices used in US, Malaysia, etc. It's a composite of various substances in the air which may cause harm to the human body if we are exposed to it in significant concentration, depending on what is your health status. A normal healthy adult obviously could tolerate the pollutants a bit better than a sickly person, the young and the old. However, if you are exposed to it in significant amounts over a prolonged duration, there may be both short and long-term effects.

Secondly, I would say of all the pollutants being reported, the most insidious and hardest to clear from our body is the PM2.5 particulate which is lodged in our alveoli. These particulates are suspended in the air, but invisible to the naked eye and odourless. When its consistently high (as reported by various authorities), it can cause long-term lung damages, especially lung fibrosis in the future. Not now. What's happening now is the sequelae of direct irritants in the air, to our airway - sore throat, cough, asthma attacks, shortness of breath, conjunctivitis, headache etc. It's usually a brief episode unless the hazy condition persists.

Thirdly, staying indoors is a good advice, provided that you have air purifier or a good working air-conditioner with functional air filter. Indoor air quality can be worsened if u open the doors/windows intermittently and trap the haze within the closed compound. Especially for those susceptible to the effects of haze, please take precautions - wear a well-fitted N95 mask properly whenever u are exposed to hazy outdoor air but do not hoard. There are more than enough masks around - just be patient and resourceful. Visibility is not equivalent to high PSI. Check the official results regularly to be well-informed.

Lastly, public health problems require public health solutions...it has be long-term sustainable solutions, tackling the root causes and not just a one-off assistance. Short term measures like creating rain artificially or fighting the fire are temporary measures. We have to work together to tackle the root causes of why these fires are started at the first place. Eradicate poverty, improve on peat-fire surveillance, tighten legislations and change this burning practice. This is a man-made calamity, which means, we can work together to eradicate the cause and not point fingers. Empty vessels are of no help now. Human behaviour may be hard to change, but it's not impossible. The collaborative task-force should be sustained long-term and not hastily convened at the sight of trouble. Prevention is better than cure....

Meanwhile, continue to keep calm, drink lotsa water and pray on.

Caveat: This article is purely personal opinion and doesn't amount of professional medical advice. Please seek a doctor's consultation if you are suffering from the effects of haze. Thank u.

Rediscovering the famous noodles of Malaysia Part 1



Sometimes I feel that I kinda neglect talking about the wonderful food I grew up with. Short of making atonement (i.e. constructing the dish myself), I've decided to dedicate this entire post (in all its' brief glory) to the wonderful heritage of hawker food in Malaysia. Starting with my beloved hometown/city, KL.

Go Google Imbi Pork... and immediately this foodstall (Imbi Pork Ball Noodle) at Win Heng Seng corner coffee shop pops up. Numerous posts have been dedicated to this scrumptious concoction. How I even begin to describe this delicacy - the soft, smooth rice noodle bathed in dark, savoury gravy to the robust, flavoursome minced-pork laced with plenty of fiery Sarawakian white pepper and finely-chopped spring onions...ah, my mouth still salivates at the thought of this Michelin-star worthy dish. IMHO, it ranks quite high up the top 10 food in Malaysia, sitting up there among the Penang CKT at Lorong Selamat, Hokkien Mee, etc.

The perfect accompaniment to the white ribbons of delicious kway teow is usually this bowl of peppery soup made from some secret-broth. Especially if you order the 'dry' bowl. It's not easy to find this springy, dense near-perfect chu-yok-yun (pork ball) and Chinese sausage gently floating in the amazing broth. Therefore, it's unsurprising that the crowd is often-time huge despite the fierce heat and lack of proper seats/ventilation. Go and experience this heritage-food before another huge corporation gobbles up this recipe or company & ended up having (inferior) franchises in malls and airports, ok? YY said that he would drive 400+ km from Singapore just to have this for lunch and then go back. Sort of a foodies' mini-pilgrimage in lieu of even further distance to another food-mecca (Penang).

There was also another kind of noodles I grow up with. Along the North-South Expressway, there lies a small town called Tangkak. To most people, this one-lane settlement is famous for Mount Ophir but I've recently discovered that this town is equally well-known for its myriad of emporiums selling all sorts of fabrics, especially curtains. And a type of noodles called herbal beef soup noodles popularized by Kuang Fei off the main road of Tangkak.



It's probably true that we Chinese can probably eat anything with the back facing the sun. Each part of the cow's anatomy could be used for multi-purpose cooking and this bowl of perfectly-balanced meehoon soup is the prime example of it. What amazes me most is that there is the extremely juicy beef meat-cubes mixed with all sorts of 'innards' that resembled something I took out in the OT the other day. Stuff of legend. If you are yearning for a hearty bowl of beef noodles and wouldn't taking a detour on the NSE, do drop by this flagship store at Jalan Solok, Tangkak for the most yummy, value-for-money noodles this side of the country. You'll love it!

This is being grateful...my Phuket escapade

"What do you mean by you cannot check us in? We have a flight to catch!"

And there goes my vacation...actually, the end of my vacation. Being stuck on the dreamy vacation touristy island of Phuket ain't too bad, just that the airport was abysmal and I need to get back to Singapore (there is always some life-saving business to attend to, u see)...

Anyway, the extremely hectic month of April (yes, the duo terror of exams and research report) was interspersed with this gift from our hotel in KL. We flew to Phuket for a pre-wedding photoshoot with one of the most eminent photographer in the wedding circle in Malaysia, remarkably un-prepared and casual for 2 OCDs. Needless to say, being spontaneous means we thoroughly enjoyed our care-free, unpretentious cheerful photo-session -  with major credits to the ever-professional Jim Liaw and team.

I suspected I may have sabotaged myself by getting an outfit totally unsuitable for my shape/size but who cares when you are actually enjoying a photoshoot - and to be truthful...it has been a long, long time since I've gotten so much of fun in front of the camera (normally we're the ones behind it!). Of course there was this fleeting sense of envy when I saw how the other beautiful brides looked in their long, flowing bridal dress but all sense of inadequacy was washed away on the remarkably warm, clear seas of Kata beach as we jumped into the water during our final shot; totally splashed sand all over the semi-formal attire. Ah, the bliss of thrashing a dress in the sea. Hahaha!

Thailand is of course well known for flowers and upon arrival to Hilton Arcadia Phuket, we noticed there were fresh flowers everywhere. We asked for some as accessories and we were immediately given some. Thumbs-up to Hilton hospitality!

The flight to the island was extremely pleasant and we were the first couple to arrive as we travelled on an earlier flight from Singapore. Weather seemed excellent in early April. Only rained on the last day as we leave the island.

We were armed with not one but TWO lonely planet book on Islands & Beaches of Thailand, and a special laminated map of Phuket for the remaining part of the trip. Highly-recommend the map. The books aren't that helpful, to be fair.

This is the (in)famous Patong beach - sun, surf and sex(trade) all souped-up in a heady haven of hedonism. This is where I learnt the phrase ping-pong but didn't see the show. We also noticed the amount of male tourists outnumbering everyone else in this town.

It was also the Phuket Motorcycle week so the whole town was jam-packed with tourists, bikers and their accompaniments (read:hot bikes & gals).

In the meanwhile, i also took one whole day off to settle some work - sounded crazy - but I was supposed to hand-in some assignments right during the vacation. The mysteries of life as a hyperactive cilipadidoctor ain't easy :-P

As a reward, we went to Phang-Nga bay. Initially, we thought we could do some sea-kayaking. Turned out that the majority of the arm-work was done by the Thai guides while we lounge about in the kayak. At least we managed to do some canoeing at the end of the 'cruise' but it is not the same as Halong Bay, I can assure you. I was mildly disappointed. I guess I missed how we travelled from one mini-island to another in Vietnam.

IMHO, Halong Bay is a lot larger than Phang-Nga and somehow more authentic. If you come from a land far-away, I would suggest going to Halong rather than this area. I think there are a lot more hawkers in Phang-Nga as well and the food at the Muslim sea-village sucks.

James Bond Island. More famous for its' appearance in the movie rather than anything else. Not much to do here except take a picture of the island, sit back and observe the tourists.

More islands to gawk at on the way back at the end of the day. This is after we swam on a tiny island. As we leave this really nice island, I would say the airport was a real let-down but everything else was quite good for a short break. I guess I will come again in the future once I get my PADI license refreshed. Apparently, i heard the diving off Phi Phi Island is really good. Anyone's been there?

Caught this aerial view of one the islands in the beautiful Andaman Sea on the way back to Singapore. Time to say goodbye...to a wonderful island escapade in the midst of a crazy month!

Will 'UBAH' sweep through the land?

"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." - A Lincoln.


Change is inevitable. When there is a clarion call for change, a chain of action is unleashed, whether for the better or for worse. In a way, change can be more devastating to a mammoth organization that is unwilling or unable to embrace change, forever mired in the status quo.

Events of the past 1 week in Malaysia has strongly indicated that the behemoth called National Front (BN) has been rejected by the majority of the urban population, heralding a wave of change across the nation. From black 505, to the inspirational black Wednesday, emotions are running high on how best to dethrone a government supported by the minority.

However, we must put on our thinking cap and reflect on both side of the political divide. BN has a big armamentarium of national resources due to 56 years of uninterrupted rule over a blessed, resourceful land. Is the People's Alliance (PR) ready to challenge the 'Death Star', a juggernaut firmly entrenched in the ideologies of yesteryears, the ideology of divide-and-rule? Until and unless the evil doctrine left behind by our so-called colonial masters half a century ago is firmly eradicated, we cannot move forward. According to the principles of root cause analysis, we cannot improve unless we look into the system and eradicate the root causes. Otherwise, we are only treating the symptoms and not the disease, the root issues.

 Is the opposition without it's faults and fallacy too? We are all human with feet of clay, fallible and humble creatures. Of course the vast majority of their supporters know that too, but from the events in KJ Stadium, where the unity of all people are on show, PR is on the way to unite, instead of divide-and-rule. Their leaders ain't perfect, and as human, we will never be.

Yet, we are firmly behind them because of the hope they represent. Normal reticent Malaysians are no longer waiting patiently at the backstage. We are ready to take on the juggernaut at a higher level. We are ready to be a beacon of hope and change in a region filled with entrenched monopoly of power in various countries. We are ready to be a mature democracy, with a clean electoral commissions and fair judiciary. We are ready to experience sound, transparent governance and eradication of the silent apartheid.

How about the other root causes? I would say it's economic and social development. If our rural friends are in different stages of development, both socially and economically, who are we to blame? We can only blame ourselves for years of apathy, for letting our fellow Malaysians struggle in making daily living. We can only blame ourselves for electing the current government into power over the past 12 elections. The political divide is only reflective of the social divide we have let ourselves drift into over the years. Public outcry and demonstrations are the loudspeakers, but empty vessels make the loudest sounds. Action speaks louder than words. Action needs to be translated into tangible results.

My dear fellow Malaysians, go into every corner of the country and reconcile. Not only to reconcile the political differences but tackle the root causes. The government may be illegitimate in the eyes of many, but long periods of instability would only make our country weaker and exposed to external danger. I plead to the leaders on both side of the political divide to decide maturely, wisely, peacefully and for the good of the people. For in the end, what we hope for is the peace, freedom and prosperity of our country.

"Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth."  - A Lincoln.

The article began and ended with quotes from President Abraham Lincoln, one of my favourite leaders of all time. Let the change to a better government begin, from the hearts of the people, the cries on the streets to the mightiest palaces of the land.

DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING?

This is really an out-of the blue post. Probably not gonna put any pictures. I'm not sure when I'll have the courage to post this up. Maybe today is the day. I mean, why wait another 5 years?

I spent 90% of my life in KL, another 5% in Perak and another 5% in Singapore. My entire biological family is still in Malaysia. Although I'm not residing in Malaysia now, I'm definitely coming back to stand in the queue on 5th May 2013 in my polling station and exercise my rights as a citizen. Yes, INI KALILAH!

My appeal is for those of you who are registered Malaysian voter - please make arrangements to come back to vote. There is so much of fraud and intimidation ongoing that we need to make the voice of truth be heard. We don't want to go the way of violence or chaos. We want a peaceful, clean elections.

Civilizations rise and fall. A government ruling in a hegemony that lasted for more than 5 decades has bogged itself down with internal and external strife, corruption and divisive policies. From a promising country endowed with natural resources and beautiful people, we now have questionable governance and policy, leading to massive financial losses, security breaches, rising crime rate and pathetic brain drains.

International spotlight will be cast upon this Southeast Asian nation this Sunday. Is hope still alive? Looking at some unbiased report online, it seems so. Hope is alive. Hope for the future. Hope against the archaic, divisive policies akin to silent apartheid in Asia. Hope rings eternal.

Of course, a promise made must eventually turn to a promise kept. As this final, rousing theme song from Les Miserables keep on ringing in my head, let the song of angry men be the song of righteous men in the hallowed halls of Putrajaya, come 6th May 2013.

Let us humble ourselves and pray for the right decisions to be made by the 13 million people. Godspeed, leaders with integrity and honour!