Solemn Day

As Malaysia received the body of those who perished in #MH17, the day started solemnly. Just started my clinic but hardly anybody turned up yet. I guessed most of the patients were still glued to their TV at home. I have been peeking out of my door every so often to see the ceremony.

A sad day for Malaysia. And for my fellow Malaysian, welcome home ....

Poignant

In clinic to day - the last one before my long break - a stewardess patient came to see me. She worked for MAS, and had been doing so for almost a couple of decades.

After going through her medical issues, she sat down and started to cry. Apparently the whole organisation had been feeling the strain. Some of her colleagues had left MAS to join other airlines with better perks. But she had been with MAS for so long and find that starting afresh was not an option.

The morale had been low for some time. The last time they received a bonus was about 7 years back. With the two devastating event this year, the spirit had gone rock bottom. But she felt that there had been a groundswell of support from fellow Malaysians, but conceded that it may have been too late. MAS would be struggling to carry on as it was.

Luckily she was my last patient and we spent some time chatting. A few of her friends had taken leaves due to anxiety, leaving her having to work during the Raya period. She didn't mind that, but felt it may be time to leave MAS as well. The put it bluntly, the problem with MAS was deep-rooted, and she was hoping that the two incidents, as painful as it was, may be the turning point for the whole organisation.

A wished her the best of luck, and on a personal level, I had always been a supporter of MAS. The moment I stepped into an MAS cabin at Heathrow, I felt that I was already home. I was sure plenty others who spent a big chunk of their time abroad felt the same way.

Not Another One

We can all agree that 2014 in general had been a glum day year for Malaysia. The fate of MH17 this morning sealed it. It would be one of those live events where people remembered exactly where they were when they first learned of the news. I remembered exactly where I was the moment the news about 9/11 broke. I was sure the generation before me did the same with the moon landing.

This year, Malaysia had two such events. And it was only July.

I was woken up by my alarm for sahur at around 4.30 am this morning. Anita was already up, and she was upstairs. Everything was silent. Then I saw a live news conference with Prime Minister Najib doing the talking. What was going on?

Anita filled in the rest, and we sat in front of the TV from then on while finishing our meal. It was tragic, and the news was only breaking at the point and plenty of speculation was about. Also on the same evening, Israel invaded Gaza, which would have been the main bulletin otherwise. It was indeed an insane evening.

I went to bed soon after as I was post-call. I also had a busy day ahead of me.

It was only when I reached home in the late afternoon that I managed to catch up with the whole news. More news conferences. More speculations and more theories, conspiratorial or otherwise. Idlan also had a theory about what happened. A missile misfired he said ....

My thoughts went out with the victims and their families. MAS had not had a great year indeed. And so was Malaysia.

Alfatihah.