I was informed last month that 1573 risky connections were removed from my computer by my cyber security agency. Were they sabotaging my work? My growing up years in school, from 1954-1965 were filled with unpleasant memories of the past. Married to a  Singaporean of Javanese background, I learned from my Javanese mother-in-law, how she coped with my father-in-law who took strange women home to entertain him right under her very eyes. When my father-in-law turned 60 life took a turn. A stroke paralyzed him and made him powerless. Unable to speak with clarity, my mother-in-law took a revenge hitting him hard with vengeance. It was a payback time for her. In my childhood, being born a girl was a big disadvantage and continued to be a problem for a long time.

Next to gender was racial consciousness. My mother, an adopted Chinese was raised by a wealthy Arab family and married to an Indian from Kerala who came to Singapore during the British rule. Guess which race is superior that looked down at others? Just like the ‘master-slave’ relationship when Western powers colonised for 400 years. SEA was a playground of the rich and those in power took advantage of the poor and the weak freely.
As I wrote my book, Never a Victim, there was a strong need to. ‘Move Forward’ and live with dignity. As Singapore gained independence in 1965, I was among those who readily  accepted the principles of Multiracialism, acknowledging that ALL races are equal.

Of what implications is the past for our children of the 21^st century? Learning from the Camden Medical Centre on  HOW THE MIND, EMOTIONS AND ACTIONS WORK,  in early 21^st century, I saw an ugly past just as  exploitative as the ancient time with stories written in the Quran. How prophet Mohammad of the 7^th AD  fought for social justice to form an ‘ummah’ or a concept of a ‘nation’ among warring tribes was inspiring. To live together in peace, everyone was treated equally. He brought prosperity and glory to the  Middle East for 400 years’ with the formation of an Islamic Golden Age (800-1200 AD). Unfortunately the Islamic glory collapsed – just as the Western Rule in SEA vanished. What had gone wrong with the changing time over the 400 years? Our millennials must sort out Myths from the Truth to survive the daunting future in the third millennium. As a child, living in the luxurious Arab’s mansion, the family perished just as what my husband and I saw of  Greece as we visited Europe in the 21^st century. Greece which was once upon a time a rich country, became a bankrupt economy!

For growth and development, wealth alone was not an assurance for a good fortune. For a journey into the changing time of the third millennium our millennials will need to refresh and renew past wisdom so as not to repeat the mistakes of the PAST. The learning journey to seek the TRUTH must continue to find new wisdom and ways into the winding road of the daunting future.