Monday Blues

Ever felt like calling in sick on Mondays. Feeling very difficult to leave your home. At the same time every thing seems to go wrong and you wished the weekend could be extended a little longer. If your answer is 'yes', then you've caught the Monday blues as I did on last Monday (duhh..).

Reasons

1. I have to start the week with MATHS. It used to be fun but this semester seems otherwise. A new Lecturer means a new style of teaching. At least, if you call murmuring in an unrecognisable language a style . I won't describe further, you can read sze lynn's blog for more details.

New words learned: geo (zero), sub set (such that), teolem (theorem), twy (try) and etc.

2. Flu still on. Yup, I wasn't fully cured yet (but now I am, yay). The runny nose, constant coughing and the irritating phlegm sure made my head heavy. Getting up from bed was an adventure on its own.

3. 40 mins drive (80 mins to and fro). OK I admit that this is nothing. That I do it everyday and probably at longer hours but I won't mind if the destination is either midvalley or one utama NOT college.

4. On top of all that, somehow HELP College parking changed its system.Instead of paying with vouchers ,we had to pay cash. Due to the sudden nature of this system, naturally the flow of cars in the parking lot was reduced to a standstill for 1 hr++. This Monday really drained my time away.

Remedies

Here are 2 remedies that could overcome this highly contagious disease. Other remedies are still in trial stages and haven't been assured by experts.

1. Look forward to your weekend. Feel excited about it. This excitement, according to the theory of relativity will cast your mind away from boredom and make time pass by really fast. By the time you realise it, 'hey it's Friday'

2. Just Bunk it! Take a day off. Instead of the traditional Saturday and Sunday weekend, you have an extra Monday for your three day weekend.Woohoo. But here's the catch. Prepare yourself for a Tuesday Blues instead.

George Carlin's Views on Aging

George Carlin is a Grammy-winning American stand-up comedian, actor and author. He is especially noted for his political and black humor and his observations on language, psychology and religion along with many taboo subjects.

George Carlin's Views on Aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. 'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life ! You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!' May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them.'

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER : Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away .

Unity of the Ummah

Malaysian is quite well known as a multiracial country governed by Muslims. Its developments and achievements in recent years have propelled it towards becoming an Islamic country or should I say a force that should reckoned with. Furthermore, Malaysia’s outspoken stance and its active participation in the global issues regarding Islam have earned itself to be recognised as the champion of Islam. Unfortunately, if an impartial individual were to judge that, they will simply say that it is just overrated.

One could see from the present excitement of the General Election that we could hardly classify the Muslims in Malaysia as one Ummah. Instead they are more likely partisan, nationalistic, and inclined to discriminate others (minorities). For instance, if one is to be introduced as a Muslim, one has to be Malay or else they would just be recognised as Muallaf or in other words converts. According to Ustaz Ridhuan Tee, a religious preacher, this is inaccurate as the term Muallaf only applies to individuals whom had just embraced Islam, not for a lifetime and to be passed on to their offspring. Consequently they have been treated as second degree Muslims even though some are more knowledgeable of Islam than those who are born as a Muslim.

Another aspect that we could discuss is the relationship between the government and the opposition. Generally we know that there are Muslims on both sides and each of them cooperate arguably very well with non-Muslims which they call allies. While it is possible for Muslims and non-Muslims to work together for a common goal why is it so difficult for Muslims from the government and the opposition to collaborate for the greater good of the Ummah? Although one might argue that this is as such to provide check and balance to the government, in reality the damages are quite severe. Throughout the years of such practice, some have opted to use slander towards their Muslim brothers and some would go to great lengths to undermine the other. As Professor Dr. Yusuf al-Qardhawi would put it, it is not an Islamic society if the passion towards race, hereditary and nationalism exceed Ukhuwah Islamiah.

Now let us move on to a bigger scope, Muslims throughout the world. Though there is about 6 billion Muslims altogether, they are merely as prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h. said, like bubbles floating on the ocean surface, plenty but insignificant. Today, the situation of Muslim countries in the world is slightly similar with the situation of Muslims in Malaysia. Muslims are fighting amongst themselves. It is a shame to see internal strives in Muslim countries such as Pakistan and Palestine plus the degrading feeling to see Muslim countries engage in war like what happened between Iraq, Iran and Kuwait. As these conflicts persist, the never-ending issue of an independent Palestine is far from reaching a resolution. The brokers of peace consisting of United States of America (US), United Kingdom (UK), European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) who are allegedly mediating the peace talks have constantly act partially siding with the Israel, thus delaying the process.

It is hard to comprehend how the great Islamic civilization sank to this current state. From the one who produces and criticizes ideas to the one who follows them blindly. From the one who invents and creates to the one who consumes and reproduces. This phenomenon, I believe, can be offset by understanding the following Hadith.


Narrated Anas (radhiallahu anh): The Prophet p.b.u.h said, “None of you will have faith till he likes for his (Muslim) brother what he likes for himself.” [1:12-OB]


It has occurred to me that during the golden period of Islam, the Muslims have something that they do not have now which is the unity of the Ummah. Even from the very beginning when the Prophet p.b.u.h. preached to the infidels in Makkah, the unity amongst them exists albeit the small numbers of individuals who pronounce Islam as their religion. As a result, their faith, the way they stand united as one enjoining ma’ruf (good) and discouraging munkar (bad) and the steadfastness of its followers to live by the teachings of Islam had drove Islam to its height. While unity is an important factor that consolidates the Islamic Caliphate, disunity on the other hand caused every caliphate’s downfall from the Khulafa Ar-Rashidun, Umayyad Caliphate, and Abbasid Caliphate and to the dissolution of the Caliphate as a whole at the end of Ottoman Caliphate. Enemies from within and out would take this chance when the Ummah is at its vulnerable to their advantage. A perfect example is when the deteriorating condition of the Ottoman Caliphate and disunity among Muslim paved way for the enemies to abolish the caliphate, one of the most important system in Islam that promotes unity of the Ummah once and for all in 1924 through the means of nationalism.

Prior to the abolition, nationalism spread to other Muslim countries and resulting their request for independence from the caliphate. As you can see the spirit of nationalisms had been sown in every Muslims’ minds to undermine the concept of Ukhuwah Islamiah. A series of subsequent events gave us the structure of Muslim countries as we see it today, separated by invisible boundaries and no longer stand united as one great body. This notion is feasible based my observation on Pakistan’s action to give US its full cooperation during the controversial War on Terror campaign to attack Afghanistan a Muslim brother. The reluctance of some Muslim countries to step up on behalf of their brethrens clearly proves my point. OIC has been said to be the nearest form of modern day caliphate there is however since its inception, there has yet to be any sort of significant impact on the Ummah.

The Muslims have a lot at hand if they intend to move forward and achieve more than their past achievements. The great explorers, inventors, mathematicians and scientists used to be Muslims and they could be repeated in the future if the unity of the Ummah is there. Any bickering with one another will only cause the dormant or worse, lagging behind state of the Muslim entirely. This tendency of infighting gives me a chance to ask a simple question. How is one expected to win when one does not know who is one’s real enemy?

To All Malaysians.....Vote for CHANGE‏

Just Spreading the word.


Posted by Raja Petra

Friday, 08 February 2008

By Little Bird

I met a bumiputra CEO of a GLC recently. A GLC means 'Government Linked Company'. He had lots to tell me about some of the things that are going wrong in his sector of the GLC. (Enough material to craft more stories.)

In brief, they are all screwed up. But what I want to say is that this bumiputra CEO said clearly that he will not be voting for the BN. He also said aloud that 'this time we cannot vote for the BN. The opposition must become stronger in Parliament'.

Then there is another bumiputra chairman of another company that does a lot of business with the government. He is a ranking UMNO member in his bahagian. He says that he and his whole family will not be voting for the BN. This will be a first time thing for him and his family in almost 40 years of voting. It's very painful for him, like a messy divorce, but he is determined to not vote for UMNO. Another UMNO member I know is still an office bearer at his UMNO cawangan in the Klang Valley. He too will not be voting for the BN this time around. Another first for him too.

I have already spoken about the other UMNO member in my other article who told me about the Hindraf protesters. He too will not be voting for the BN this time around. In four different constituencies the BN will be losing a bunch of votes from these people. These are not isolated cases. Thousands of UMNO members will be voting against the BN this time. Among them will be Tun Dr Mahathir. Even more thousands of non-UMNO Malays will be doing the same thing.

Tun Dr Mahathir has made it plain that we should not vote for the BN. Dr Mahathir used discreet, indirect language. First he said that we should vote for 'credible candidates'. He then said that 'we cannot change UMNO from within, the change has to come from outside, so vote wisely'. Put together, these two indirect messages become a direct insistence from Dr Mahathir that we should not vote for the BN. He could not have been more blunt.

We are most definitely going to see a very big swing in Malay votes this time around. This is where the Chinese and the Indians must step up to the plate and be ready to swing the bat. The Chinese in Penang, Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Kelantan and elsewhere have already made it known quite early on that they will not be voting for the BN this time. Let us reach out to our Chinese brethren and help reaffirm their commitment. Let us reassure ourselves that when the time comes, each of us does have the power in our hands to change our destiny and the destiny of this country which is our home. Let us be rid of the morons, imbeciles, the liars and the thieves. Also the murderers who have blown up Altantuya Shaarribuu Setev.

At last the Indians have been woken up from their almost drug induced 'BN, BN, BN, BN' mantra by the Hindraf protests. Someday something like the 'Dodo Bird Prize' will be given to the Indian community for being the most reliable and loyal supporters of the BN for 50 years. Perhaps never before has a community given so much support for half a century to a political party which could not really care less for them. Maybe with the Hindraf protests this 'bugger me BN' craving has come to a permanent end among the Indians.

It is absolutely crucial that the BN is denied its 2/3 majority in Parliament. Even with 51% of the seats the BN will still rule the Government but they will be on their tippy, tippy toes. This is what we all want. We want checks and balances. Firstly, if they lose the 2/3, it will cause a major psychological shock to the BN. It will most likely cause Abdullah Badawi's head to roll. The UMNO boys will replace him. If Badawi goes, the son-in-law, the cronies, the crooks, the thieves, etc., will all go too. And the batch that replaces them will learn to pray to their gods more diligently, speak better Malay, Tamil and Mandarin, eat with chopsticks, sing Kongsi Raya songs and all the other good things that are needed to run this country properly.

Denying the BN the 2/3 is also crucial because it will mean that many BN (especially UMNO) candidates would not have public office. If they lose their MP and ADUN seats, they cannot become Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, State EXCO members, etc. This means their money tree will be cut off. They will no more be in a position to hand out goodies. UMNO and MCA will choke. This will cause great soul searching especially in UMNO and MCA, which will finally lead to body piercing and ultimately head chopping. It will change our politics for ever.

That is why it is absolutely crucial that all Malaysians stand up to bat for the future of this country. We do not need mere protest votes. We must vote for drastic change. Out with the decrepit buggers. They smell and they are filthy. I can't wait for the elections.

Vote for Justice. Vote AGAINST Corruption. Lets rebuild a MALAYSIAN country we call home.

Malaysian Politicians Say the Darndest Things

"Politicians are like diapers, they should be changed frequently and for the same reasons"- Robin Williams as Tom Dobbs in the movie Man of the Year.

Once again the country has caught a fever. The election fever of course. From today till Election Day can be described as crucial period whereby politicians would say anything just to woo the voters in giving them the chance to 'prove' themselves once more. They may be incumbents or new faces but let’s just be frank, politicians are politicians. Nothing could change that. No amount of sweet talk can make us forget their somewhat nonintellectual statements that they had issued and controversies that they had triggered before. For those who did, here I bring you a few excerpts from the book "Malaysian Politicians Say the Darndest Things- Amir Muhammad", so that those who are eligible to vote (not me I’m 19) wouldn't give them another chance to humiliate themselves and the people who voted them. For the record, readers are encouraged to spread and share these 'words of wisdom' to others (copy and paste) and by doing so wouldn't breach any copyright issues :), Enjoy.

"Macam wanita putus haid" - Badruddin Amiruddin (BN Yan) criticizing the quality of DAP leader Lim Kit Siang's debate in parliament

"Toilets are like new brides after they are completed. After some time, they get a bit spoiled. Even if you do not use them frequently, you need someone to clean them every 25 minutes."- S. Samy Vellu

"It was purely an academic exercise, and should not be held against me for the rest of my life." -Rais Yatim , distancing himself from his PhD thesis, "Freedom under Executive Power in Malaysia. Written when he was in the political wilderness, it criticized Malaysia's use of the ISA

"F*** You! F*** You!"- Bung Mokhtar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) responding to Chong Eng (DAP-Bukit Mertajam) during a debate on the Islamic State concept.

"If you cannot fight rape, better lie down and enjoy it."-Roselan Johar Mohamed (K.Kinabalu UMNO) while closing the Legal Seminar for Women.

"If such newspapers don't mention me, it's fine. They can go to hell ! You can quote me on that." MB Pahang, Adnan Yaacob

"UMNO members only have to answer to the disciplinary committee and are punished according to party regulations for party dealings. They have immunity to laws outside the jurisdiction of the party. This is because their actions in the party have nothing to do with public business."- Nazri Aziz explaing why UMNO members are immune to graft laws and the ACA.

"Where is the leak? Batu Gajah MP leaks every month"- Bung Radin Mokhtar & Mohd Said Yusof comparing water leaks in Parliament House to the menstrual cycle of Fong Po Kuan (DAP Batu Gajah)

And I reserved the best 2 for last,

"Singapore is not a real country, it is a small island. Singapore's population is just three to four million and there are no opportunities for corruption, unlike in our country."- Nazri Aziz on Malaysia 's lower ranking in Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.

"Bodoh! Bodoh! Bodoh! Takde otak, Bodoh!" Nazri Aziz to Lim Kit Siang when the latter asked why the government was not doing enough to stop corruption. In parliament.

Well, right back at you Nazri.
For more outstanding quotes you can buy the book, believe me, it is a good read. VOTE FOR CHANGE!

Related posts:

Ex-ST reporter to publish 'frank' book on Malaysia

Road to 16 Sept

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Weekend Debut

Alas, I completed my transition to blogger. It has been long overdue since a friend of mind persuade me to switch from friendster to blogger, providing excuses and more excuses for not doing so. It seems from this day onwards, I have to blog regularly in order for it not to gather moss like the previous one.

One might wonder, why I chose 'No Hard Feelings' as the title of my blog. As we are currently pondering on that subject, I present to you a quote which I stumbled upon that might have a connection with what we are talking about.

"Impotence is nature's way of saying, no hard feelings"

As you can see, one could interpret from the blog title either I literally have 'no hard feelings' or don't take my words to heart (jangan ambil hati if I were to say in Malay) . If you thought of the former rather than the latter, you have either misunderstood me or you practically have a dirty mind hahaha.

In the near future, my posts would be within the range of current events to my personal life. Hence I hope that the readers would not be offended by my writings as they are nothing else but my personal opinion. An opinion of an adolescent whom had left the comfort of childhood and merely entering the threshold of maturity. Seeing the world change right in front of his eyes and acknowledging there are bound to be changes in his own life.

Sorry if I am being a little melodramatic, just doing it for your reading pleasure. Anyway this weekend debut is simply about me launching my new blogger. Not forgeting the season that comes with it. Did I hear someone say American Idol? Well, that and the season of cold and flu. I even heard Simon complaining about it on tv as a few of the contestants have sore throats and runny nose. As for me, I am also in the same predicament. I had to cancel a few plans and spend this entire weekend at home resting. I sure hope that your luck is slightly better than mine.