Tuesday, September 12, 2006
A Malaysian tourist in space
I just happened to glance at a dated copy of the New Straits Time today and caught the headlines; two Malaysians out of the final four candidates have been given the nod by the Russians to prepare for a space mission scheduled for next September. Malaysia booked its ticket into space courtesy of a multi-billion ringgit arms deal inked with the Russians some years back. A barter trade of sorts were arranged and voila, we've got our first Malaysian tourist in space. Yes, the first Malaysian in space is really, nothing more than a glorified tourist, courtesy of the Malaysian government. I just have this nagging doubt that Malaysia will contribute anything substantial to the advancement of scientific knowledge of space.
When I read that Malaysia will indeed do ground-breaking research into the physics of teh tarik making in zero gravity, I put up my hands up in resignation. We have taken all that trouble, searching for the right candidate for space, so that this fellow can go into space and "study" how teh tarik will turn out in weightlessness. I suggest we expand these "tests" into how roti canai taste in space as well. We can be the first nation on earth to go to all that trouble to get a person in space so that he can act like a simpleton.
I suppose there are more reasons now for us to wave the flag as we have indeed become a developed nation, much envied by the rest of the world. After all, we have our very own spaceman who will inevitably get a datukship, material wealth and many marriage proposals. I do not point this out in jest but merely expressing an observation (vindicated by past events) that titles and wealth are laid-out for certain individuals after completing a "heroic" deed. And truth be told, our spaceman deserves the accolades - after all he is the only one standing out of 10,000 Malaysians who tried their luck to be the country's first visitor in space. It's just a pity he'll be milked for all the political mileage that can be gotten out of this space stunt. Who knows, maybe he will be asked to wield a keris in outer space! ¶ 3:31 PM
When I read that Malaysia will indeed do ground-breaking research into the physics of teh tarik making in zero gravity, I put up my hands up in resignation. We have taken all that trouble, searching for the right candidate for space, so that this fellow can go into space and "study" how teh tarik will turn out in weightlessness. I suggest we expand these "tests" into how roti canai taste in space as well. We can be the first nation on earth to go to all that trouble to get a person in space so that he can act like a simpleton.
I suppose there are more reasons now for us to wave the flag as we have indeed become a developed nation, much envied by the rest of the world. After all, we have our very own spaceman who will inevitably get a datukship, material wealth and many marriage proposals. I do not point this out in jest but merely expressing an observation (vindicated by past events) that titles and wealth are laid-out for certain individuals after completing a "heroic" deed. And truth be told, our spaceman deserves the accolades - after all he is the only one standing out of 10,000 Malaysians who tried their luck to be the country's first visitor in space. It's just a pity he'll be milked for all the political mileage that can be gotten out of this space stunt. Who knows, maybe he will be asked to wield a keris in outer space! ¶ 3:31 PM
