The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman by Denis Theriault: a book review

It has been a long time since I have read an entire novel from start to end in one sitting. A few days ago I did exactly that with Theriault’s book, The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman.

That fact in itself makes several statements about the book.

Firstly, it’s an intriguing book that keeps the reader engrossed. Secondly, at 137 pages it’s not a long work. Above all, the author’s curious blend of language with a ‘realist fantasy’ story composed about a seemingly boring, everyday character makes Theriault’s novel difficult to put down.

The plot concerns an introverted postman – Bilodo - who becomes a voyeur of sorts by reading others personal letters. During this process he comes across regular correspondence between a man and a woman done entirely in haiku, a Japanese form of poetry. He becomes so immersed in this vicarious relationship that it takes over his life, much like alcohol takes over an alcoholic’s life.

The postman himself is a sad, forlorn character. The reader empathizes with him more and more as the story develops. Bilodo’s desire for ideal love; his social awkwardness and even the way he finds himself metamorphosizing into another character all make the reader feel for him.

The author’s language is poetic, simple yet descriptive. It evokes emotions of calmness and being in the moment. The words flow like a long poem, reminiscent of reading The Four Quartets by TS Elliot during my student days.

This is a book which can be read at various levels. It has a Kafkaesque feel to it. The book is reality and fantasy set in our contemporary wired society. The ‘unreal’ bits make a social statement. The novel will surely make it into university literature curriculums in the coming years.

The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman is a book which will resonate with a wide range of audiences. It has philosophical undertones and yet its greatest appeal lies in its simplicity. It is an elegant book deserving of much more than the few hours required to complete it.

__________________

Imran is a Singapore based Tour Guide with a special interest in arts and history. Imran has lived and worked in several countries during his past career as an international banker. He enjoys traveling, especially by train, as a way to feed his curiosity about the world and nurture his interest in photography. He is available on twitter (@grandmoofti); Instagram (@imranahmedsg) and can be contacted at imran.ahmed.sg@gmail.com

Secrets of State by Matthew Palmer: a book review

Secrets of State, a novel written by former US diplomat Matthew Palmer, is a sophisticated work of fiction. In his book Palmer weaves together a believable plot involving an US and Indian ‘deep state’ conspiracy to militarily destroy Pakistan. The story involves some classy character development, beginning with the main protagonist Sam Trainor.

The plot has ultra-nationalist patriots in the US and Indian collaborate to launch a (false flag?) nuclear attack on an Indian city in order to provoke an Indian military attack aimed at destroying Pakistan (once and for all). For the Americans, the motive is to ‘protect’ the world by preventing Pakistani nukes from following into the wrong hands, i.e. Islamic extremist terrorists.

Through chance, coincidence or synchronicity a retired US South Asia specialist, Sam Trainor, gets a whiff of the plot and starts investigating through his network of Washington contacts. Pretty soon Trainor finds himself in hot waters and realizes he is onto something big.  

Meanwhile, his clandestine love interest – an Indian diplomat at her country’s US mission – and his daughter – a do-gooder, socially conscious, young half-Indian woman doing development work in the slums of Mumbai – both find themselves sucked into the terrorist plot.

Despite what appears to be a far-fetched series of events, Palmer does a good job piecing the story together. He even adds some historical ‘make believe’ stories from time to time to give the novel greater believability. It works.

Events in Secrets of State move quickly. The reader is kept in suspense and will hardly notice the length (437 pages) of the novel. 

To be sure, the author cashed in on post 9/11 conventional wisdom which conveniently placed every international terrorist incident at Pakistan’s doorstep.[i] Nonetheless, Secrets of State is more nuanced than many post 9/11 ‘terrorist’ thrillers. Palmer’s fiction is a good addition to the genre. Anyone who enjoys a good geo-political thriller will find Secrets of State a good read.

---

[i] In the aftermath of 9/11, if an American in Washington DC caught the flu, it must have been a conspiracy involving biological weapons hatched in Pakistan’s governed tribal areas! Likewise, if a firecracker exploded unannounced on the streets of London it was an Islamic extremist attack planned and plotted by Pakistanis!

__________________

Imran is a Singapore based Tour Guide with a special interest in arts and history. Imran has lived and worked in several countries during his past career as an international banker. He enjoys traveling, especially by train, as a way to feed his curiosity about the world and nurture his interest in photography. He is available on twitter (@grandmoofti); Instagram (@imranahmedsg) and can be contacted at imran.ahmed.sg@gmail.com

Gato Negro: a film review

I watched Gato Negro hoping to get an idea of post-war Argentine society. Instead, I got a blend of a period drama, thriller, crime and social piece woven into one slow moving film.

Unfortunately, the Argentine film didn’t work well in any of the genres. The Director tried doing too much and lost focus. A classic case of ‘jack of all trades and master of none.’

Yes, I did get a glimpse into Argentine society: a dry and limited glimpse without any color provided by the filmmaker though not enough to redeem the movie as an ‘intellectually stimulating foreign film!’

The story started well enough by introducing the main character, Tito, as a boy destined for something more than life in his rural village hometown. Sure enough, the film follows Tito grow into a wealthy businessman of dubious character and shady deals. (I guess that’s business in Argentina?)

Along the way he meets – and forgets – many characters. However, his hometown of Tucuman keeps nagging at him through different ways, e.g. family, former lover, etc. He just can’t seem to shake off his history with Tucuman even after becoming a wealthy international businessman.

I can’t (and won’t) say much more of the plot so as to not give away too much.

Although not a ‘screaming buy,’ Gato Negro is a good effort by director Gaston Gallo. I will keep on the lookout for more films by Gallo. He is bound to direct a gem at some stage.

Note: Gato Negro is available on Netflix as at September 2018.

PTI’s Khan panders to Islamists and Mr Chief Justice I can’t hear you now?

Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-Insaf (PTI) government's recent collapse in facing down Islamist radicals over the appointment of Pakistani Princeton University economist - who happens to be Qadiani - to a government advisory panel, is shameful.

Even more shameful is that Imran Khan did not use even one iota of his considerable political capital to support Atif Mian. There was no public statement from King Khan himself, only official comments by his minions.

Source: Wikipedia

Is this the Naya Pakistan for which Pakistanis voted?

Apart from the fact that the government's behavior is illegal - Pakistan's Constitution is unambiguous on the subject – it sets a dangerous precedent for the State's future. 

PTI's surrender places in doubt Khan's ability to follow through with his ambitious reform program in the face of protest. Economic reform requires tough decisions and if the government is only capable or willing to implement populist policies then whence the reform?

The incident underscores  the recent disintegration of Imran Khan's principles at the altar of political expediency – following on from his decision to appoint 'lotas' (aka electables) in a hitherto principled political party.

Undoubtedly, we cannot bury the notion of Naya Pakistan until the PTI's five year term is complete. However, the PTI has not had an auspicious start and the omens don't look good, especially for women and non-Muslim minorities.

Before one gives up all hope, perhaps one can give a shout out to the otherwise activist 'Suo Moto' Chief Justice? Yes, we appreciate your efforts in building dams Mr Chief Justice but can we request you also focus on your day job and dutifully enforce Pakistan's Constitution in Atif Mian's case?

---

[i] No citizen otherwise qualified for appointment in the service of Pakistan shall be discriminated against in respect of any such appointment on the ground only of race, religion, caste, sex, residence or place of birth. Pakistan Constitution, Article 27 (1)

__________________

Imran is a former banker and  has lived and worked in several countries during his international banking career. He enjoys traveling, especially by train, as a way to feed his curiosity about the world and nurture his interest in photography. He is available on twitter (@grandmoofti); Instagram (@imranahmedsg) and can be contacted at imran.ahmed.sg@gmail.com

The Art of Social Media by Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick: a book review

The Art of Social Media is an easy read. The book is organized using clear headings and subheadings allowing readers to skip sections not relevant to their interests. The book is aimed at sophisticated social media users with a general grasp of most social media platforms. Nonetheless, it is worthwhile even for novices who wish to improve their social media footprint.

Like many such books, this one provides lots of referrals to applications and sites which help to optimize one’s usage of specific platforms. The e-book uses links though I read a hard copy borrowed from my local library. These referrals vary in usefulness but are necessary for any book claiming to be a handbook about social media.

In the New Economy social media is a segment all on its own. Many jobs and vocations include the term, Social Media Manager, etc. The Art of Social Media is best suited for those whose livelihoods are directly related to social media. For most social media is something used for, well, social reasons. For this segment, Kawasaki and Patrick’s book is over the top. Unless one spends a good portion of one’s day focused only on social media the book is probably not for you.

__________________

Imran is a Singapore based Tour Guide with a special interest in arts and history. Imran has lived and worked in several countries during his past career as an international banker. He enjoys traveling, especially by train, as a way to feed his curiosity about the world and nurture his interest in photography. He is available on twitter (@grandmoofti); Instagram (@imranahmedsg) and can be contacted at imran.ahmed.sg@gmail.com

Note to Pakistan’s economic managers: reforming tax collection techniques

As the euphoria surrounding former cricket star Imran Khan’s election victory begins to fade in Pakistan, the country’s economic managers must deal with the hard tasks ahead. Immediately improving foreign currency reserves is simply a tactical necessity. The real challenges are strategic.

If Pakistan approaches the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for economic support – as is widely predicted by most analysts – then the IMF will remind Pakistan’s new Finance Minister of at least two priorities: increasing revenue and reducing expenses.

In order to achieve these two objectives there is a need to move away from the simple solution of imposing additional withholding taxes on an already excessively used taxation technique. To date, this method has only resulted in mixed success.

Presently, virtually any financial transaction in Pakistan’s organized sector, i.e. a documented transaction and not in cash, requires the collection of withholding tax. For example, registering a car or paying motor vehicle tax; registering a property; cash dividend payments made by listed corporations to individuals; and banking transactions such as preparing a bank draft all require collection / payment of a withholding tax. 

In theory, this tax payment is an advance tax and may be adjusted against future corporate or individual tax liabilities. In practice, few individual taxpayers make the effort to reduce their tax liability by the advance tax amount. For corporations, except maybe for top tier multinational and local institutions, increased bookkeeping coupled with a weak and often corrupt tax collection infrastructure reduce the incentive to claim advance tax. In other words, other than a few large corporations with sufficient resources to devote to copious bookkeeping, few businesses ever see the benefits of any ‘advance tax’ collected on their behalf.

Sure, it will be easy to continue and ‘widen’ Pakistan’s tax base by implementing additional presumptive tax on more transactions – or increasing percentages on existing advance tax payments - especially as these tax collections will likely be booked under the Direct Income Tax category and (falsely) boost the government’s claim of broadening the tax net.  Nevertheless, such taxes will only make Pakistan’s economy more inefficient by pushing up the cost of doing business, especially for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), a backbone of the country’s economy.

Improving Pakistan’s tax collection infrastructure through reforming the operations of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is a prerequisite for success. It should be noted that reforming the FBR is a necessary though not sufficient condition for enhancing the country’s tax revenue.

One means of increasing FBR’s operational efficiencies is to reduce unnecessary human touch points. Corporate and individual tax payers should have as little interaction with humans as possible. Basic tax transactions must be simplified. More transactions should be shifted online. Online transactions reduce the possibility of corruption, improve speed and result in simplicity - an all round elegant solution.

To the naysayers who believe serious reform of the FBR is impossible only need look at the successes of NADRA and even the Election Commission. Both these government agencies have adopted new technologies and greatly simplified the lives of many Pakistanis as a result. Transactions which took weeks, months or even longer and were impossible without several unproductive visits to government departments are now routinely completed using a few clicks on a keyboard. Smart solutions are the way forward for the FBR.

Undoubtedly, increasing revenue and reducing expenses lie at the heart of any economic restructuring be it national, corporate or individual. Unfortunately, converting these two principles into effective policy decisions is a complicated process fraught with political minefields. Nonetheless, Imran Khan’s Justice Party (PTI) has a real opportunity to lay the foundation for genuine reform.

In my next post, I will discuss the necessity of approaching the ‘Filer’ and ‘Non-Filer’ distinction with greater finesse. ‘Non-Filers’ are not synonymous with tax evaders. Hence, throwing all ‘Non-Filers’ into a ‘penalize by paying more tax’ bucket is an unfair use of state powers. The policy must be improved to make it more equitable. Stay tuned.

__________________

Imran is a Singapore based Tour Guide with a special interest in arts and history. Imran has lived and worked in several countries during his past career as an international banker. He enjoys traveling, especially by train, as a way to feed his curiosity about the world and nurture his interest in photography. He is available on twitter (@grandmoofti); Instagram (@imranahmedsg) and can be contacted at imran.ahmed.sg@gmail.com

State of Emergency by Jeremy Tiang: a book review

State of Emergency by Jeremy Tiang is that new breed of Singapore novel which treads gently into areas which have hitherto remained untouched, perhaps because of the country's so called Out of Bound Markers (Subjects and government policies which are too sensitive to be debated by the general public).

As the title suggests, this novel is mostly set during the years of the Malayan Emergency of 1948 – 1960. During those years an active Communist insurgency was playing out in the jungles of Malaya (today's Malaysia) though the troubles reached as far south as Singapore itself.

Through the characters, which include a British journalist, a communist rebel fighter and her family, Tiang takes us through the reality of a divided nation fighting its own government. The author does not hold back in describing the often brutal tactics used by the British colonial regime – the Malayan Emergency was fought against the colonial authorities – to control and finally subdue the armed insurrection.

Among the tools used were torture, concentration camps and other harsh tactics used by authorities around the world to crush similar ideologically motivated armed uprisings. While these methods are 'geography-neutral,' i.e. they may be used by any country against any uprising, the harsh impact on humans varies subject to place and time. Tiang's novel highlights the repercussions of such extreme and brutal tactics on Singaporeans and their families.

Although fiction, State of Emergency is generally factually true to historic events. It shines a light on a dark segment of Malayan / Singapore history. And none too soon. It is hoped the novel is the first of many more such works revisiting a difficult period of Singapore's history. Surely, there are more stories about the Emergency buried in the concsiousness of Singaporeans and Malaysians which deserve to be heard by the general public?

Imran is a Singapore based Tour Guide with a special interest in arts and history. Imran has lived and worked in several countries during his career as an international banker. He enjoys traveling, especially by train, as a way to feed his curiosity about the world and nurture his interest in photography. He is available on twitter (@grandmoofti); Instagram(@imranahmedsg) and can be contacted at imran.ahmed.sg@gmail.com.