August 31, 2026. Today is the first time I have celebrated Malaysian National day living in Malaysia and being a Malaysian (of sorts). I am not a citizen but I put my money where my mouth is (so to speak) placing mega bucks into a Malaysian bank and have my ten-year Malaysian visa. I vaguely remembered posting an Instagram reel celebrating National Day, a photo of me in a Malaysian scarf with the national anthem sounding in the background. I found it!! Posted on August 29, 2024 with this inspiring message, written by me – of course.
Me: I am becoming more and more Malaysian with each passing day. Read the blog in a couple of days for more details. An amazing country with the greatest people in the world. Over 91% of Malaysians are citizens. Therefore calm, cohesion, civility AND not a world power or wanna be world power.
I also wrote this message to myself.
Me: Love you Alexis whose Muslim name is Alaa. I am she! You are brave. You fled the US as they persecuted you for being a Muslim. Canada is no better.
I then become slightly media savvy. I do admit to being technically challenged but I forged ahead – creating a new reel for Instagram – posting it and perhaps linking the old one. I am not holding my breath. Oops another idiom. (Saying “I am not holding my breath” means you do not expect a certain thing to happen, even if someone promised it or said it might occur.)
Well, I did look. The link did not happen and I cannot pin the August 24.2024 post to my current grid. Oh well, I tried!!
Therefore, it is back to information I can trust – not putting Meta in the middle of anything. One is far more likely to get the truth of the matter if, and when, Meta has noting to do with it. We are about to get serious. I have ENORMOUS respect for our Malaysian Prime Minister. I was totally gratified to read today, on this of all days, that he has wrote a book in 2025. The name of the book written by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Rethinking Ourselves: Justice,Reform, and Ignorance in Post Modern Times. Almost a year after its publication a review appeared in my Inbox. I will provide a link to the review as well as quoting from relevant portions of the review. .
First though, ponder this! Can you possibly imagine a certain United States President, in power at this time, writing a book, reading a book, or even knowing what a book is?? Hahaha, I am considered an American citizen as I have a US passport, My retirement income finds in source in California, However, I do not consider myself a US citizen. I have dual citizenship as I was born in Canada My Canadian passport is the proud holder of my Malaysian visa. I cannot actually imagine Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney writing a book either, come to think of it. PM Carney is now in favor with the world as he is standing up to the US at this moment. He is known to vacillate however, depending on how political winds blow. With the US President it would be impossible that he would write a book; with the Prime Minister of Canada – it would be unlikely. I rest my case.
Here is the link: https://www.commonwealthroundtable.co.uk/general/books/book-review-rethinking-ourselves-justice-reform-and-ignorance-in-postnormal-times
This is the introductory paragraph of the review.
“The book moves fluidly between personal reflection and broader analysis. The passages in which Anwar [Ibrahim] recounts his years in detention are among the most compelling. Prison, he recounts, stripped away illusions and forced a confrontation with the human capacity for both cruelty and compassion. These experiences deepened his conviction that genuine leadership requires empathy, moral consistency, and a willingness to question one’s own assumptions. He draws on an eclectic range of sources: Ibn Khaldun’s cyclical theory of civilisations, classical Islamic scholarship on governance, and selected modern Western thinkers like John Rawls, to construct what he calls an ‘inclusive synthesis’.
The reviewer’s second paragraph is equally revelatory:
“The result is a vision of global order that seeks to reconcile Eastern and Western intellectual heritages while prioritising sustainability, compassion, and innovation. For scholars of political philosophy and Islamic political thought these sections offer substantial material for engagement on the issue of democratisation. Anwar stays away from dense jargon while still conveying complex ideas, and the autobiographical elements help ground abstract arguments in lived reality. His critique of global injustices, such as Islamophobia, colonial legacies, and the moral failures of contemporary power structures, will resonate with readers who feel that established world liberal frameworks have not adequately addressed the concerns of Muslim societies.”
The third paragraph begins in laudatory fashion but then changes course.
`In the Malaysian context, where Islam is the religion of the Federation, the book’s insistence on the compatibility of Islam and democracy challenges persistent stereotypes and holds out the possibility of progressive reform.”
Now I am not suggesting to the energetic readers that they cease reading the review at this time but am suggesting they should take the following into consideration.because the reviewer ‘turns a corner’ at this time in the review, going onto say:
“Yet any serious reading of Rethinking Ourselves must confront an uncomfortable truth. The ideals Anwar articulates so persuasively on the page sit uneasily alongside the political record of his administration since he became prime minister in 2022.”
Dr. Chin now seems to change horses in midstream. Oh my goodness, another idiom I was familiar with the idiom, used the search engine of my blog to find I had on July1, 2025. Here is the link to that blog. It Seems I Was Not on the Straight Path; Setbacks, Losses and Pain Reigned Upon Me; Struggled to Find Peace and New Direction with Idioms and Then with Tarot Readings; Messages, Love and Sense of Humor Finally Prevailed
This is what I said:
“As usual, and for reasons I will never understand I kept thinking in idioms. This time, ‘canning horses in midstream.’ This is what it means: to stop using one system and start using another one, or to stop supporting one person and start supporting someone else.”
A slightly more applicable definition: To “change horses in midstream” means to switch your plan, strategy, or leader in the middle of an important or difficult activity.
What does Dr. Chin do to change his horses in midstream?? His beginning praise of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, is abandoned, He strategically reverses himself reaching a damning conclusion. I shall summarize. The problem isn’t that Dr. Chin disagrees with Anwar its where, and how, very quickly, he moves from analysis into judgment.
In other words: my objection is not that Dr. Chin criticizes PM Anwar, but that the reviews concluding judgment is broader than the expertise and argument developed in the review itself. A criticism of PM Anwar’s political choices can be assessed as political analysis, which Dr. Chin is definitely qualified to render. However, the conclusion condemns the relationship between PM Anwar’s professed Islamic principles and his conduct. That is a whole different ball of wax, to use another idiom. These are questions concerning Islamic concepts, Malaysian law, constitutional ‘arrangements’ and Islamic practices, This is not Dr. Chin’s area of expertise.. Dr. Chin begins as a political-science reviewer and end by delivering what is actually a comprehensive judgment on PM”s Anwar’s intellectual, moral and religious consistency. You see Dr. Chin does not adequately distinguish between the Prime Minister’s own Islamic philosophy, the action of government agencies, the actions of state religious authorities and the enormously complicated constitutional division of powers over Islam in Malaysia.”
We see this happening again in the following paragraph. Initially praising his leadership during these turbulent times but then ‘suggesting’ that his ‘moral clarity’ is harder to discern. This judgment is not supported. ,
“Anwar’s vocal international advocacy, particularly on Gaza, has earned him considerable goodwill in many parts of the Muslim world and beyond. Domestically, however, the same moral clarity is harder to discern. His actions have steadily eroded the reformist commitments once associated with Anwar and the Reformasi movement he helped inspire.”
My final comprehensive indictment is that this became a damning moral and political judgment, rather than a simply a book review. Certainly Dr. Chin is entitled to his political interpretation, but his academic credentials do not make him an authority on every subject he addresses.
At this moment you shall see Alexis McBride abruptly change horses in midstream. This has been an extremely serious discussion. It might be time to introduce some humor into this blog. I shall go back in time and discuss last evening, the even of National Day.
August 30, 2029
It is Malaysia National Day Eve. I write from Mojo Restaurant, nestled in the bottom floor of Penang Lyf. My adopted grandchildren are hard at work – this place is packed. Every table is occupied, a large family group of twelve people, smaller tables with two or three. One table behind me has two people and one dog – a white piece of fluff. The dog is not eating – the chefs here does NOT serve dog food Five young women are dressed in the scantiest clothes I have ever seen. They are accompanied by each other. Seem very nonchalant about appearing in public in, what seems to be, their underwear. Fortunately Grandson Cole is hard at work and not able to pay attention or be distracted from his culinary duties.
I am conformable. Why??? My fan arrived and sits along side taking away from the heat of the kitchen. The music plays loudly. This is a happening place – not doubt about that!!!
Perhaps word definition time. Nonchalant. Found, as usual that it is the perfect word: (of a person or manner) feeling or appearing casually calm and relaxed; not displaying anxiety, interest, or enthusiasm. My favorite synonyms are laid back and cool and a cucumber. These scantily clad women women are definitely cool as a cucumber. Hahaha
Although it is 8:30 and ,usually almost past my bedtime I am very lively. I I returned via black limousine from KL around 3:30. Traffic not bad except in one or two places. Sandman and I laughed the whole way. As did others. We stopped along the way for a urinary break. Sandman promised a clean toilet AND toilet paper. Well the immense lavatory was clean,however, there was no toilet paper. I emerged, saying to Sandman in a grouchy term:
Me: You lied!! There was NO toilet paper, A small group of prepubescent teenagers were passing by. They were a little surprised. I did laugh which perhaps eased their concern.
Me: I will never trust you again!! Hahahaha
Those poor young women do not know what toilet paper is – in all probability. Carrying Kleenex tissues in one’s Malaysia purse is mandatory, should be made compulsory.
Upon reaching home I was enthusiastically greeted by all. Lyf staff and it was celebration time here at Mojo. A photo of the cake will be pictured. In case YOU forgot they are celebrating my return AND my visa. I brought news from KL including details of my attendance at the ‘wedding of the century’ I respect the privacy of the family so details and photos will not be shared. Sorry!!! It was a blast. Photos will include ones of the ‘Blue Mosque’ across the street from the hotel where the wedding celebration took place. A selfie of me in my National Day attire and my Grandson Cole at work.
