Korean Woman Cosmonaut

Koread girl, Yi So-yeon, 29-year-old who had just finished her PhD will become the first South Korean woman cosmonaut. She would fly on a Russian Soyuz to the International Space Station early next month.

So-yeon will serve as a payload specialist with two Russian cosmonauts for a 8-day mission to the ISS.

Similar to Dr Sheikh Muszaphar of Malaysia, she was classified as a Spaceflight Participant by NASA.

The Americans do not give titles or accreditations to anyone who do not have the competency in the relevant profession. The Russians are commercialized and they would give you any title to suit your ego as long as you are willing to pay for the title. So, they are willing to confer the title of Cosmonaut on anyone who would pay US$20 million.

But Malaysia is very different. Tan Sri Dr Ahmad Zaharudin Idrus, former science advisor to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and who was also science advisor to former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said you can carry a title of Astronaut or Cosmonaut if you are traveling in the space rocket. Equally, Dr Ahmad said Sheikh Muszaphar was also classified as a Space Scientist because he has taken with him a few kueh to the space station and have tasted it in zero gravity to confirm its still eatable.

I used to be flying on a MAS airplane everywhere and had been eating the food provided by the aircraft. I must also be called a Pilot as I had traveled in an airplane and have read some books on how to fly an airplane. I should also be called a Scientist because I had experimented with the food provided by the aircraft and shitted a few times in the toilet of the airplane. I know what the food taste like and I know whether its eatable or "lou sai" (diarrhea) ; so I too am a Scientist by Dr Ahmad's definition.

We can now understand why we Malaysians are unemployable. We have professional science adviser who gave us such illogical explanation. We wonder whether such are the competencies of our professionals in the government.