Humans redundant?

No other choice(Korean, 2025)

Director: Park Chan-wook

https://www.cineart.be/nl/films/no-other-choice

Another interesting release from the land of kimchi. After the phenomenal success of 'Parasite' and the subsequent heart-racing Korean dramas, this must be it. A social satire told as a black comedy in the wackiest way. 

We think we all have agency to choose whatever we like. We feel entitled to demand what we want. We think we have the option to choose. In reality, we have 'no other choice'.

We think we are indispensable in our jobs. We feel that if we do not show up for work, the office will shut down. Not true.

In the modern world, automation was the first to pose a threat to our livelihoods. Robotics replaced people in doing mundane, repetitive jobs. Now, 

we have to live in the real fear of being slashed in corporate restructuring and cost-cutting exercises, and artificial intelligence (AI) hangs over our heads like Damocles' sword. Seniority and experience mean nothing in a world where dollars and cents mean everything.

The movie starts with the definition of bliss. It is spring, and a happy family with a pair of kids is having a barbecue in the garden of their huge ancestral home, enjoying each other's company. Man-su is a happy man. After 25 years at the paper mill, he received an appraisal from his bosses.

Before he knew it, Man-su was given a pink slip. The new American bosses decide to downsize by slashing the middle management. The bosses say, "they have no other choice." A devastated Man-su has to go. One by one, his life crumbles. He gives himself three months to get another job, with his extensive experience. But it is not easy. 17 months later, he is still struggling with odd jobs. His wife has to return to work as a dental assistant and give up her country club lifestyle. They have to give away their two Labradors to cut costs. He cannot afford to send his daughter, whom the teacher thinks is a cello prodigy, for further training. The family decides to sell their ancestral house, too.

In the midst of all that, the husband-wife relationship takes a dip, with both thinking the other is up to no good. Man-su attends an interview for a post at a paper mill but finds that three other candidates have stronger supporting qualifications, making them the favourites to be chosen. So Man-su thought eliminating (killing) them would increase his chances of securing the post. And that is what he goes on to do.

The wife suspects his activities, but she decides to look the other way. She had no other choice. Accepting her as a single mum, Mun-su had married her and given her a good life. She did not want her children to grow up without a father. Hence, the wife tries to hide certain facts when the police came knocking on their door enquiring about the missing interviewees.

There are many nuanced references to the way we, as workers, have no other choice but to dance to the tune of conglomerates that do not value labour but commodify it as disposable. Human experience means nothing as all that the human mind has learned over the break of civilisation has been digitalised to be run by AI. The middle management has lost its relevance. And the upper management has been downgraded to supervise their jobs. Only that the labour force and middle management job is automated.

In the case of paper production, with relevance to this story, trees are cut by machines. The expertise of lumberjacks is unnecessary. At the paper plant, shredding of trees into pulp is also automated. Machines do the quality control and trivial odds and ends. The role of the human is just oversee that there is no glitch in the system.

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Burying the hatchet? Don't leave the handle sticking out!

©Flikr

Many times, people have told me to take it easy. They ask, what is the use of all these negativities? Life is short; you already have one foot in the grave and are living the second half of it. How long will you hold onto the grudge? Make the first move, bury your pride and hatchet, and break the ice. Forgive and forget, they say. Before you know it, you'll be laughing like old friends again. Be the bigger man! Now, how often have you heard that? My question is, why do I always have to make the first move? Don't all these thoughts also cross the other person's mind? Why doesn't he make the first move? These are not just idle musings but essential questions about human relationships and society.

Making the right decision is not a walk in the park. Life often presents us with conflicting lessons, making the journey to forgiveness and forgetting a tough one.

'Turn the other cheek, one says. But yet, another says, 'Snap the hand before it swings a second time.' The pacifist would say, 'Bear injury, bear insult; that is the highest form of merit.' 'You don't have to do anything; karma is a bitch. You don't have to wait till the next birth. Sometimes, you will live to see the payback!' An eye for an eye will only leave the world blind. Amma would throw a spanner into the works if that was not enough. The person who knocks you on your head is a fool, and the person who does not retaliate is a bigger fool.

So, do we 'forgive and forget', 'go for an eye for an eye', 'forgive but don't forget', or be unforgiving, stating that forgiving is the work of the Divine? We are mere mortals.

Historical conflicts continue to cast a long shadow over the present. Each year, Japan commemorates its fallen WW2 heroes, a solemn event that reignites China's grievances over the 1939 Rape of Nanking. The demand for an apology remains unmet, perpetuating the cycle of resentment and unresolved issues.

Conversely, the Japanese did not take offence at the American unnecessary dropping of atomic bombs, which caused indescribable devastation to Japanese lives. Instead of rebelling against the oppressors, they tried to emulate the victors—dressing like them, playing baseball, and prospering as they did. The same applies to Vietnam and the American soldiers waking up to the smell of napalm; the Vietnamese still see the USA as a cash cow and long for their tourists' dollars.

 

The Middle East has experienced ongoing turmoil since the 8th century. Every faction involved in the conflict has an undeniable claim to the lands they fight over. They are even willing to risk their lives for their cause. Like one of the false mothers in King Solomon's court who would rather have the baby cut in two than see its well-being compromised, they allow their treasured land to become a wasteland. Sharing and mutual prosperity are not priorities for them. They should be. In their culture, someone who shares bread is considered a brother or sister. Or is it merely poetic language to comfort the ears?

As our medical services continue to improve rapidly over the years, we anticipate that medical procedures will become increasingly routine. The low rates of morbidity and mortality associated with surgeries persuade us that such issues only occur elsewhere. However, when things do go wrong, what is everyone supposed to do? Medical practitioners may become defensive when patients sign informed consent. The patient might claim ignorance of the risks involved in the procedure, and lawyers would be sharpening their knives. With zero tolerance for adverse outcomes and Murphy's Law lurking in every situation, who gets to forgive and who can forget?

 

The media, acting as the Fourth Estate, helps check and balance. Call it overzealous or satisfying the nation's 'need to know'; the public is often flooded with gory information. Justice must be seen to have been carried out and done swiftly. Unnecessary trials by the media have caused many unnecessary heartaches and led to false accusations against innocent people. Even when their innocence is clear, the press does not care; it just moves on with the next gory story. The bereaved can go heal themselves.

 

Losing a life is bad enough. It is worse when the person hasn't lived a full life. Murders, fatal accidents, suicides driven by bullying, and rape-murders often attract media attention today. This obsession with crime and murder has increased so much that many content creators earn a living analysing these crimes. Interestingly, some of these podcasts go beyond the gory details and sensationalism. In a world where the courts are stretched to their limit to seek justice—or is it vengeance?—to give the heaviest sentences to the accused, there are cases where dependents and relatives of victims go as far as forgiving the murderers. Does punishing wrongdoers truly help victims 'rest in peace' or attain moksha?

 

Forget about all those major crimes. Let us focus on relationships close to us. More than once, our loved ones and best friends have wronged us. They may view it as a white lie or even a bad decision due to misjudgment. Humans make mistakes, sometimes influenced by desires or complex emotions. How often have we thought we've been deceived? So often, we tell ourselves, "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." Life decisions are not easy. They are linked with societal norms and personal convictions.

Forgetting and forgiving are easier said than done. It is not easy for us to snap out of something. We want to remember, as it is our defence mechanism, to prevent a similar heart-wrenching event from happening again. Still, forgetting helps us heal and reintegrate into life. Sincere apologies are a great way to start the healing process. In modern life, according to our legal experts, apologies are considered an admission of guilt. They say that in times of crisis, one should not speak to avoid incriminating oneself. Forgiveness is crucial for emotional health and moving forward. The balance between forgetting and forgiving leads to healthier interactions and personal growth.

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From The Land of A Thousand Temples

https://borderlessjournal.com/2026/02/16/from-the-land-of-a-thousand-temples/

“Which part of India did your people come from?” asked the Tamil tour guide during our last trip to Chennai.

“I know my forefathers came from Tamil Nadu, but, sorry can’t tell you which part of Tamil Nadu or village they came from,” I told him in Tamil. “I am a third generation Malaysian Indian. We lost touch with all the relatives back home.”

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How to erase your ancestry?

https://www.vecteezy.com/free-vector/pig-cartoon

Listening to the Muslim convert, Zamri Vinod Kalimuthu, periodically spewing vile over his born religion, brought me back to memories that date back to 40 years ago. 

KP, rest his soul, was our lecturer. He was quite well-liked by his students and knew his subject matter like the back of his hand. He taught Parasitology. Thanks to him, we are still able to rattle off bizarre names of some parasites, like Diphyllobothrium Latum (fish tapeworm), that would roll out of our tongues even when awoken from our deepest sleeps and still be able to tell some afflictions it can cause, like B12 deficiency from ingesting raw fish. 

Truth be told, many human parasites spend a short part of their life cycle in pigs. Our porcine friend frequently makes a special star appearance in his lectures. KP finds too much joy in denigrating pigs as dirty and disease-carrying creatures. Happiness can be found when he lectured about trinellaisis and taenia solium (pork tapeworm). A glaringly similar pride was absent when the topic of the day was Taenia saginata (beef tapeworm). 

What took the cake was this. 

After giving a rundown of all the zoonotic diseases potentially spread by our porcine neighbours, out of the blue, he blurted, "That is probably why, we, Malay Muslims are discouraged to consume pork!" (Mungkin sebab itu agaknya, kita orang Melayu-Islam tidak digalakan memakan daging khinzir, ya?)

A few of us at the back suddenly had a spurt in catecholamine perfusion in the system. We looked at each other, wondering what hit us. We all knew that KP was a Hindu who converted to Islam after marrying a Malay lady. Everyone accepted him to be a Muslim, but to call himself a Malay defied logic. An Indian Hindu who embraces Islam does not become Malay. I do not think that KP knew that we knew about his background. 

Mahathir Muhammad - Pannarayi Vijayan
https://x.com/thelast_demigod/status/1782739109234278604

That was the hot topic of discussion in the hostel veranda around teatime. In Malaysia, that was nothing new, even then. We had a Prime Minister who seemed cut from the same cloth as Kerala's Chief Minister, Vijayan Paneroy, his doppelganger, but he vehemently denied his Indian heritage in several interviews. There is a certain shame to admit oneself to be Indian. Conversion remains the get-out-of-jail-free card. They morph into a different being and refer to people from their community in the third person. Is it so easy to change one's ethnicity? Once one changes his name and his father's name, he could change his gotra, ancestry, and perhaps even his DNA.

KP did his thing, and we went on to do ours. Many years later, I heard that he was too shy to say that his father had died and had to rush to his hometown. Instead, he said that he had a family emergency. He returned to work the following day to lecture, as if nothing happened. The news of the death of his Hindu father was not shared with his colleagues. He thought nobody knew. Even before the era of social media, word got around. 

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Who is the Master, really?

Ekõ (Malayalam; 2025)
Director: Dinjith Ayyathan

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36616410/

Just how much unquestioning loyalty is any good to anyone? 

Do you want your guard dogs to be consistently vigilant in the task you assigned them, or to be lured away by bone-throwing intruders? Do you want your Army to follow your orders blindly or have a mind of their own and do as they please? You want them to be obedient automatons, in the name of discipline, while showing their unquestionable loyalty to the piece of cloth that represents the Nation. After all, the Army is not your personal Army. It is owned by the Nation. Unless you are in Pakistan. Unlike other countries, which each own their respective Army, the Pakistan Army owns the country!

Once an equilibrium is disturbed, peace is shattered. You will find yourself trapped in a dog-eat-dog world. There will be a law-and-order issue. 

On the other hand, absolute control of a certain power, without checks and balances, can be equally damaging. Stories of generals taking over countries in the name of liberation are aplenty. Even the democratically elected leaders risk abusing their power for personal gain. 

Without a proper check and balance system, citizens may be gaslighted into thinking that they are under siege and the enemies of the State are crawling free within the country.

Under the cloak of protecting national secrecy and maintaining peace, indiscriminate punitive laws may be instituted to counter dissent.

This is quite an engaging thriller which has an unexpected twist at the end. The story starts in Malaya during World War II. It tells the story of dog breeding, guard dogs, and a missing criminal. There is a story behind the guard dogs who would do anything for their master. But who is the master, really?

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Unity in Diversity?

There were clearly rock star vibes in the auditorium. The audience was chanting, 'Modi, Modi!' as the spotlight shone on him. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, was in town for a two-day State Visit. As he and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim walked towards the centre stage, his starry-eyed Indian expatriates and Malaysians of Indian origin in the crowd could not hold back their excitement. Even though they had been given strict instructions to remain seated throughout the event, they just had to give the man, Modiji, as they affectionately referred to him, a standing ovation. 

Modi was in Kuala Lumpur during this tumultuous time, when the world faced many uncertainties: an uprising in Iran, a yo-yoing tariff threat from the USA, a move to remove the USD as the main trading currency, and more. Modi's visit was considered significant. The lingering question of the provocative preacher Zakir Naik's status in Malaysia was also expected to be addressed. India was also trying to infiltrate ASEAN by offering its expertise, which is increasingly scorned by citizens of developed nations whose economies India has surpassed and left in awe. The former colonisers, however, have not shed their imperialist mindset. 

Things only settled down when the national anthems of respective countries came on air, Negaraku and Jana Gana Mana. 

With great humility, the Malaysian Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, began his speech by praising India as a longstanding trading partner and a cultural reservoir for the region. What irked the audience, as I heard the hushed sniggering, was when he addressed the audience as 'brothers and sisters'. Was he trying to sound like Swami Vivekananda in his 1893 Chicago speech? The Malaysians among the audience were quite aware of his 'semua anak saya' pre- election rhetoric and how all that changed when it really mattered. Still, he went on a rant about how India and Malaysia are interlinked over the ages through the Bali Yatra. I thought it would be easier to simply affirm the longstanding, unconfirmed rumour that his grandfather was a sacred-thread-wearing Brahmana to show the link, if the rumour is indeed true. Of course, he did not.

Modi turned out to be quite a salesman. Starting his address with greetings to the crowd, he offered salutations in English, Malay, Tamil, Hindi, Punjabi, and other Indian languages to a frenzied audience. Punctuated by applause, he impressed the listeners with his Malay words, his comparison of the Malaysian favourite food, Roti Canai, to the Malabar Pratha of Kerala, and the names of towns in Malaysia rolling off his tongue, like Batu Caves and Bagan Datoh. Using a teleprompter, the listeners were given the illusion that he was speaking off the cuff, looking directly into their eyes.

He highlighted the giant strides India has made over the last ten years, becoming a force that cannot be ignored. Modi called his old buddy, Anwar Ibrahim, who was his friend before his PMship and other Malaysians to use their common heritage to prosper. 

Like Father Christmas, Modi announced some goodies.  Malaysians of Indian origin, up to six generations, may qualify as Overseas Indian Citizens and receive an unlimited visa and other benefits. He also mentioned the imminent launch of India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in Malaysia. This would be a boon to the trans-Indian Ocean trade, bypassing the SWIFT system and unnecessary Western banking intervention. 

Both leaders try to sell their ideas of unity in diversity. Modi highlighted the various cultures and languages that live under the umbrella of India. Anwar echoed the same sentiments, showcasing the potpourri of cultures through the dances. The highlight of the event was the ensemble of 800 over dancers from various Indian traditions to one song. The performance broke the record in Malaysia's Book of Records for the largest gathering of traditional Indian dancers. 

Everything seemed like everyone was living in utopia, and love was oozing from every orifice. Among the Indian attendees, many were Muslim, as evidenced by the characteristic skullcaps and Arabic garb they wore. 

Unity in diversity was the buzzword. Each party seems to be patting itself on the back for promoting unity and embracing diversity. Surprisingly, people living under their leadership tend to disagree. In India, many accuse Modi of prioritising the welfare of a particular community. At home, Malaysians are accusing Anwar of the same, practising 'divide-and-rule'. Just 15km from the venue, a group of protesters was assembling to express their discontent toward another community. In the morning, before the function, another group gathered to make it clear to Modi that he is not welcome in Malaysia. We live in a bizarre world. Everyone has their own point of view and is hellbent on proving it right. Who is to say he is wrong?

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No one would harm a penguin, except Batman!

My fascination with penguins started long ago during the transitional period when colour TV was slowly being introduced. There was a time, as a teenager, when the greatest excitement around the neighbourhood was knowing which home had a colour TV. Looking across the flat facing mine, I could guess which units had the latest device, which was the talk of the time, which was the flickering flash of hues emanating from each unit. Maybe its occupants purposely watch TV with the lights off to show the world they have indeed arrived!

I was once watching someone's TV during an ongoing show. I had a hard time deciding whether his TV was monochrome or colour. It was a long-shot scene from Antarctica, with a lone penguin walking against a pristine white snow background. That is when I realised that a penguin can fit into any world without creating a fuss. It also struck me that a penguin can be an unassuming animal, just minding its own business, walking, flipping its flippers and squawking all day.

I later discovered that my sisters, who were both in Convent School, had a name for the nun school caretakers: penguins. Dressed in long black robes, with their hands tucked behind their backs, they would suddenly appear at the back of the class unannounced. Against the bright light in the background, they would appear like penguins when students turned to find the nun at the back of the class.

The reference to penguins came again in the late 80s when I was in university. The Iranian Revolution had succeeded, and sympathisers were hopeful of a return to the glory days of the Ottoman Empire. Islamic dressing was the flavour of the day, and pretty soon people were moving around in black garb, complete with black facial veils and gloves. There were even five medical students at the university who had such fashion sense. These 'penguins', as they were referred to by fellow culture-shocked students, were politely told to pursue other academic fields which avoided public interactions.

Embrace the penguin
Times of India

After MH370's disappearance, the South Seas were mentioned as a possible area where the wreckage could be found. I started watching documentaries about these seas and the lands surrounding them, which are described as the harshest places on Earth. Penguins came up yet again. The story of their survival, chicks waiting in winter for their parents to bring food, grow, mate, lay eggs, partners taking turns incubating, all within a short window of opportunity and under the prancing eyes of the predators is just amazing.

Recently, I watched an episode of Season 5 of 'Slow Horses'. Penguins came up again. A group of terrorists sent a warning to the police that they meant business. They detonated a bomb in, of all places, the zoo. The casualty, penguins. One of the investigators cursed, "Who the heck hates penguins?" Another replied, "Batman!"

Almost serendipitously, a certain world leader expressed his intention to control Greenland, which was thought to be a giant icy wasteland all this time. Newspapers tried to showcase the case to the world, complemented by a picture of Trump walking towards an icy oblivion, leading a penguin by its flipper.

Instead of creating awareness of the heady direction US foreign policy was heading, the picture soon became the showpiece of how PR companies could go wrong. Netizens were quick to educate Trump's PR team that penguins do not live anywhere near the Arctic Circle, definitely not in Greenland.

Antarctica - Encounters at the End of the World
The Nihilistic Penguin

Netizens also noted that the penguin picture bore a strong resemblance to the one that appeared in the 2007 documentary 'Encounters at the End of the World' by Werner Herzog. The documentary maker noted that, rather than following the herd, which tends to stay by the sea where its food is, that particular penguin decided to venture away from the pack. At a glance, it appeared the penguin was certainly on its way to meet its maker, which is probably what happened. No matter what the modern management guru may say about taking the path least travelled, what lay ahead of the animal was miles and miles of ice, and more ice. That earned the penguin a quirky nickname, 'nihilistic penguin'. The scientists in the show explained that occasionally one or two penguins stray away from the pack. A possible reason for this behaviour could be spatial disorientation or a brain infection. Scientists, amongst themselves, have an agreed code. Whenever they observe any behaviour in animals that would endanger themselves, they generally do not intervene. They let nature take its course. 

So, the image of Trump leading the penguin spells doom and gloom for both Greenland and the USA. Would anyone interfere, or would everyone just let nature take its course?

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