NO HARD FEELINGS

What is 'Ketuanan Melayu'?

2009-12-13T12:53:00.003+08:00

Lately, a lot has been said about Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy). Albeit all these 'discussions' on the subject, I have yet to comprehend the concept. Are Malays born Superior? Are there different statuses of human beings? Who was the first to coin this concept? Right now 1001 questions linger in my mind and none of them has what I would call an appropriate answer.

Therefore I invite all of you, whether you are the proponent or the opponent of this controversial concept, to share your opinions at the comment section. Any facts or opinion regarding the issue are welcomed. Hopefully, with the input that you gave me, I will arrive at an informed conclusion and will be able to blog my stand on the matter.

Meanwhile, I'll be going overseas in an attempt to stimulate the world economy for 10 days :)

Keep it coming, I will post my reply when I reach home.

Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

2009-08-31T00:06:00.005+08:00

Happy Merdeka Day. For this auspicious day, I present to you the poem that we recited during Malam Gemilang in Canberra. Videos will be uploaded soon.

A Letter From Tunku

(Haymini)

Once there was this dream I had,

It made me smile, I felt so glad,

I received a letter from someone familiar,

None other than Tunku, our first Prime Minister.

Tunku as as they say was a man of laughter,

He solves his problems, big or small, full of composure,

As I began to read his letter,

It came to my realization, the things that mattered.

(Siang Hang)

Dear Malaysian,

It has been 52 years since we lowered the ‘Union Jack’

It has been 52 years since we introduced ‘merah, putih, kuning dan biru’

It has been 52 years since the debut of ‘Negaraku’

It has been 52 years since I proclaimed “Merdeka”

Tell me, dear citizen of this privileged land,

Is everything going according to plan?

Is my Malaysia a country for all?

A land that provides shelter,

A land that offers a bright future.

Tell me, what has become of my country, Malaysia?

Do we stand tall among others?

Giving a hand to those in need,

And defend the powerless from becoming a victim of greed.

Tell me more about Malaysia,

Share with me a thing or two,

About the people, about the culture

Are we still living in harmony?

Tell me about my successors,

Describe to me their legacies,

Do they show compassion?

Do they show respect?

And not forgetting humility.

Tell me something, most importantly,

A country so young with many years to come,

A destination so far with burdens to bear,

Will the path that we chose, lead us there?

Yours sincerely,

Tunku.

(Haymini)

He penned his words so graciously,

A show of concern to his posterity,

I intended my reply to be short and sweet,

But in turned out as one full sheet.

(Iskandar)

Dear Tunku,

We have gone far, since the early days,

Mountains with the highest peak, we have conquered,

The earth with all its seven seas, we have crossed,

Oceans with all its depths, we have explored,

Stars that seem so far, we have reached.

At a time, we had the tallest structure,

But soon after, even taller ones emerged,

“Never mind” were the words of Dr. M.

“We still have the tallest twin towers”

All of those may seem superficial,

Missing some substance, lacking some essence.

Perhaps this is more significant,

We have established a common platform,

Where freedom of speech is upheld

Where great minds debate policies,

Where issues that are dear to our hearts are discussed,

Let me introduce you this special place called the mamak stall.

From “Should we teach math and science in English?”

To “Did Malaysia thrash Man U last night?”

Nothing is left untouched.

Besides that,

Here, Malaysia’s most unique cuisines are created,

Roti Planta, Mee Goreng Mamak, Nasi Lemak.

After 52 years,

We have finally found, the recipe to unity,

DOTA,

Nothing spells unity and integration

More than a weekly Dota session

Dear Tunku,

To the question

Whether I think that I’m in the right path,

My answer to you is

Yes, I do,

Because when I look around, I don’t see strangers

I see brothers, sisters, Malaysians,

Yours truly,

A proud Malaysian.

(Haymini)

Bangunlah rakyat Malaysia,

Sambutlah tangan saudara-saudaramu

Adanya mereka, kita tidak perlu gentar

Kerana bersama mereka, kita kan berjaya.

(Siang Hang)

Masa depan itu, mereka kata misteri,

Pahitkah? Maniskah? Hanya esok kita tahu,

Apa yang pasti perjalanan in harus kita teruskan,

Tapi bolehkah kita lakukan seorang diri?

(Iskandar)

Masa depan itu, mereka kata misteri,

Pahitkah? Maniskah? Hanya esok kita tahu,

Apa yang pasti perjalanan in harus kita teruskan,

Tapi bolehkah kita lakukan seorang diri?

Merdeka! (Iskandar)

Merdeka! (Siang Hang)

Merdeka! (Haymini)

Untitled

2009-08-13T13:20:00.004+08:00

At a lost for words...... all i can say is get well soon Azwan.

Read for details:

Haqqa's blog

Fiqqs' Blog

Otord's blog

Race to Istana Negara

2009-08-03T14:21:00.010+08:00

Aug 1 -Heavily influenced by reality shows like the Amazing Race and such, Malaysia hopped on the bandwagon and organised its own program, ‘Race to Istana Negara’. Unlike the Amazing Race, contestants are not expected to run around in circles navigating themselves and cross the globe to search for clues. Instead, the routes are laid out for them and they are not required to run the distance as of a marathon.

A piece of cake you say? Here’s the catch. To add more excitement, the police were stationed at strategic places as obstacles and roadblocks for the participants. Sources informed that the cops have equipped themselves with tear gas and water canon for this event. This, however, did not discourage the participation of more than 30000 people. Due to the overwhelming response, the organisers divided them into two teams, Pro-ISA and Anti-ISA. Each wearing white and red t-shirts respectively. Participants were to work in teams, and the team that reached the finish line the fastest wins.

There are three possible outcomes awaiting the participants. The first is reaching the finish line, which is Istana Negara (National Palace). Second is stumbling to a roadblock midway which will lead them straight to jail (kind of reminds you of monopoly isn’t it?). The third is you can opt to exit the race by diverting from the route.

As the final tally showed, only 1 person managed to reach the finish line (Pro-ISA), more than 400 were sent to jail (Anti-ISA) and the others decided to call it a day(mostly Anti-ISA). Even though the participant from Pro-ISA finished the race thus claiming victory for his team, participants from Anti-ISA claimed there is preferential treatment towards this individual and should be disqualified for it. Consequently, the Anti-ISA claimed that they are the real winners of the day. Below are their reactions.

The man who reached the finish line: I wore the pro-ISA T-shirt underneath a Visit Malaysia T-shirt, to avoid being noticed by the authorities.

Pro-ISA: We won since we reached the palace and given the memo to the palace.

Anti-ISA: Victory is ours. The world has known our struggle.

Barisan Nasional: This race is a waste of time and public funds. This is all PR's doing. The security of the country is under threat.

Pakatan Rakyat: What security threat? It is our democratic right to do so.

Agong: What Race????

A New Beginning

2009-07-28T21:27:00.003+08:00

It has been months since I posted any entry to this blog. If there is such a record, I would have broken the record of the longest writer’s block. With a lot of things going on; revisions, exams, university applications, new semester, more friends to make and the all the social events, blogging apparently took a backseat. My tendency to procrastinate did not help either. Result, a blog that is filled with outdated posts.

To be able to write, one needs to be well informed. In a way, I guess the months long hiatus is just what I needed. It allowed me to take a step back and reorganise my thoughts, gain new insights from blogs written by friends and personalities, to give a chance for me to finish reading most of the books that I’ve started (but never got the chance of finishing) and most importantly it allowed me to live my life and learning through it.

I hope that any new anecdotes that I gain from the ‘break’ would add some colour to my future posts. With that said, I’ll try my best keep this blog as up to date as I can. That is my promise to you. To kick off this semester, let me sum up my winter break for you guys.

As much as I have hoped to watch as many movies that I can when I’m in Malaysia (coz its way cheaper there), I only went for two and they were both Transformers. This is way off target compared to my friend who managed to watch practically every movie in GSC. I feel like banging my head with my ECONS reading brick for failing to seize that chance and ending up paying $12 for a movie in Canberra, *sigh*

Other than that, ‘mamak’ing is definitely a must. Mamak + Friends= Time well spent. This relatively short winter break was mainly with catching up with friends especially those who are pursuing their studies overseas. Since most of them are inbound for UK or other European countries which timing of breaks do not coincide with Australia, I tried my best to spend time with each and every one of them.

Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t manage meet up with some of you guys. Sorry Quchai, perhaps next time. Sorry Meno, can't see you off at the airport, return ticket to KLIA is kind of expensive for me. Would’ve been nice if you had joined Haqqa, Hazwan, Baku, Ale and I for Karaoke the other night. Maybe we could’ve also ‘kikis’ you while we were at it. An honour for any overseas bound 0206J.

Good luck to all of you from SKRM, MCKK, HELP and ANU. May this new beginning gives us the adventure that we have been longing for.

Guest Blogger: Of Big Mac and Teh Tarik

2009-01-23T00:10:00.003+08:00

This written by my close friend, R Droto, who happens to be this month's Guest Blogger. You can read more of his writings here.

By R Droto

"I'm lovin' it"

Where in the world is peace? Well, it lies in your hand, for Goodness' sake! Flat out your hand, no, your fingers until you clearly see your palm. Then, close your thumb, ring finger and your pinkie. And there you go, PEACE - grinning until you see your glistening teeth in front of the mirror, water or its equivalent. Indeed, peace is actually in your hand. You are the one who would call the shot!

Remember a clown with a curly reddish hair and one-foot long shoes with circular shape at the edge? He also wears red and white stripes t-shirt. You must have noticed this guy if you like to eat strawberry Sundae and Big Mac burger. If you don't, I bet you are always using the drive-thru.

It is confusing. It truly is. Undoubtedly, people are starting to detest the regime for their merciless massacre in a land which they unwaveringly claim theirs. Historically speaking, the land was occupied by Arabs (Muslims, Christians and whatnot) for thousands of years, after which there were lots of conflicts that culminated in wars.

I know, I know, people are now hoping to get lowest possible prices for teh tarik, hence, price war breaks out. It's a good thing though to have a war like this. That shows how perfectly competitive teh tarik stalls are. Yeah, how ironic!

Not surprisingly, there are also some who couldn't be bothered by the situation in Gaza. Why? Let's see whether or not their all-time favourite fast food is still the aforementioned. Some might go straight off saying that the global economy is experiencing its recession, much to the extent that the situation may be worse off in a few months time. Hence, boycotting their Big Macs wouldn’t do any good to the global economy.

Fingers crossed, no more 1930s Great Depression. It could, however be justified if the economy is bent on agonizing people of all walks. Try to switch from Conventional Financial System to Islamic Financial System. Chances are, no one would be cast aside. Everyone is entitled to equal rights regardless of their status and social classes. Justified? Give it a shot then.

Granted, young children are being slaughtered in Gaza City, granted, the US doesn't give it a damn, instead it continues supplying military aid to the violent regime, granted people are still having starbucks coffee, granted president-elect Obama keeps quiet, granted, teh tarik dah kurang manis - though good for health.

Seeing children with limbs being torn off is so emotionally poignant. If only I were UAE's prime minister, if only I were the Iranian president, if only I were Barack Obama - I would have done whatever I could to put a halt to the massacre - OR technically called the genocide.

The root-beer (or Coca-cola for that matter) of the problem is none other than the extremists. Well, extremists being extremists. Nothing matters other than their own ideology with which they vow to do whatever it takes to disseminate. Dealing with them is a hell of a chore. Negotiation? This will do any good so long as both sides of the aisle unanimously abide by the resolution. Yeah, Strawberry Sundae will, at the end of the day, melt (if not being eaten instantly).

An old friend of mine was fervently advocating the military means by Israel as a tool to wipe out the entire Hamas population. Like an old man finishing off his last drops of teh tarik, but in a more subtle way. Infamous weapons like those of chemical are deployed to subtly obliterate the population; like a child licking the remaining BBQ sauce on the burger cover. What he believes - which is also what I believe, is that, there are always two sides of the story. One is right while another is wrong - or else, both are wrong which is presumably due to their selfish and baseless ideologies.

One wonders, the UN calls for a ceasefire was not being entertained. So, what’s the use of having a UN? What’s the use of coffee if it's not for Starbucks, The Coffee Beans and the like? Well, if we look back retrospectively, never once did Israel give a damn to UN's demand, let alone OIC's, let alone Middle-east countries, let alone South-east Asia's OR even Malaysia, for that matter! As written by a renowned scholar, 14 millions Jews in the world can actually outlast peoples from the other side of the divide. They have, indeed, done wonders for the world whilst others are still crawling to find the meaning of life - or kowtowing to the demands of these so-called economic-super-powerful people.

Speaking about economy, in Malaysia for instance, Pak Lah's heir-apparent has been very wary in facing the impending calamity of financial turmoil – which will come ashore at any time. After assuming the Finance Ministry Office, he comes out with RM7b stimulus package, which can, in a way or another, avert Malaysia from plunging into depression in the near future. It’s like a rose-coloured vision of a young country, isn’t it? Hope it isn't going to be just another bailout-er. Hence, more Teh Tarik stalls can be built by the ranks offering obscenely low prices for the combo tarik-and-roti-canai-kosong (AKA value meal)!

Now, I'm REALLY lovin' it!

Glossary
The tarik : An all-time favourite beverage by most Malaysians during breakfast. Made from tea and milk.

R Droto tries very hard to be sarcastic, but to no avail. He is committed to getting pleasure in writing which has become his favourite pastime since 2007. Will be pursuing his first degree in Commerce in Melbourne next month, he hopes to find comfort in getting his messages crossed.

The Humiliation of America

2009-01-17T01:31:00.004+08:00

By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

“Early Friday morning the secretary of state was considering bringing the
cease-fire resolution to a UNSC vote and we didn’t want her to vote for it,”
Olmert said. “I said ‘get President Bush on the phone.’ They tried and told me
he was in the middle of a lecture in Philadelphia. I said ‘I’m not interested, I
need to speak to him now.’ He got down from the podium, went out and took the
phone call.”

"Let me see if I understand this,” wrote a friend in response to news reports that Israeli Prime Minister Olmert ordered President Bush from the podium where he was giving a speech to receive Israel’s instructions about how the United States had to vote on the UN resolution. “On September 11th, President Bush is interrupted while reading a story to school children and told the World Trade Center had been hit--and he went on reading. Now, Olmert calls about a UN resolution when Bush is giving a speech and Bush leaves the stage to take the call. There exists no greater example of a master-servant relationship.”

Olmert gloated as he told Israelis how he had shamed US Secretary of State Condi Rice by preventing the American Secretary of State from supporting a resolution that she had helped to craft. Olmert proudly related how he had interrupted President Bush’s speech in order to give Bush his marching orders on the UN vote.

Israeli politicians have been bragging for decades about the control they exercise over the US government. In his final press conference, President Bush, deluded to the very end, said that the whole world respects America. In fact, when the world looks at America, what it sees is an Israeli colony.

Responding to mounting reports from the Red Cross and human rights organizations of Israel’s massive war crimes in Gaza, the United Nations Human Rights Council voted 33-1 on January 12 to condemn Israel for grave offenses against human rights.

On January 13, the London Times reported that Israelis have gathered on a hillside overlooking Gaza to enjoy the slaughter of Palestinians in what the Times calls “the ultimate spectator sport.”

It is American supplied F-16 fighter jets, helicopter gunships, missiles, and bombs that are destroying the civilian infrastructure of Gaza and murdering the Palestinians who have been packed into the tiny strip of land. What is happening to the Palestinians herded into the Gaza Ghetto is happening because of American money and weapons. It is just as much an attack by the United States as an attack by Israel. The US government is complicit in the war crimes.

Yet in his farewell press conference on January 12, Bush said that the world respects America for its compassion.

The compassion of bombing a UN school for girls?
The compassion of herding 100 Palestinians into one house and then shelling it?
The compassion of bombing hospitals and mosques?
The compassion of depriving 1.5 million Palestinians of food, medicine, and energy?
The compassion of violently overthrowing the democratically elected Hamas government?
The compassion of blowing up the infrastructure of one of the poorest and most deprived people on earth?
The compassion of abstaining from a Security Council vote condemning these actions?

And this is a repeat of what the Israelis and Americans did to Lebanon in 2006, what the Americans did to Iraqis for six years and are continuing to do to Afghans after seven years. And still hope to do to the Iranians and Syrians.

In 2002 I designated George W. Bush “the White House Moron.” If there ever was any doubt about this designation, Bush’s final press conference dispelled it.

Bush talked about connecting the dots, but Bush has failed to connect any dots for eight solid years. “Our” president was a puppet for a cabal led by Dick Cheney and a handful of Jewish neoconservatives, who took control of the Pentagon, the State Department, the National Security Council, the CIA, and “Homeland Security.” From these power positions, the neocon cabal used lies and deception to invade Afghanistan and Iraq, pointless wars that have cost Americans $3 trillion, while millions of Americans lose their jobs, their pensions, and their access to health care.

“These obviously very difficult economic times,” Bush said in his press conference, “started before my presidency.”

Bush has plenty of liberal company in failing to connect a $3 trillion dollar war with hard times. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities blames Bush’s tax cut, not the wars, for “the fiscal deterioration.”

Bush told the White House Press Corps, a useless collection of non-journalists, that the two mistakes of his invasion of Iraq were: (1) Putting up the “mission accomplished” banner on the aircraft carrier, which, he said, “sent the wrong message,” and (2) the absence of the alleged weapons of mass destruction that he used to justify the invasion.

Although Bush now admits that there were not any such weapons in Iraq, Bush said that the invasion was still the right thing to do.

The deaths of 1.25 million Iraqis, the displacement of 4 million Iraqis, and the destruction of a country’s infrastructure and economy are merely the collateral damage associated with “bringing freedom and democracy” to the Middle East.

Unless George W. Bush is the best actor in human history, he truly believes what he told the White House Press Corps.What Bush did not explain is how America is respected when its people put a moron in charge for eight years.

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good Intentions.He can be reached at: PaulCraigRoberts@yahoo.com

What You Don’t Know About Gaza

2009-01-11T14:35:00.003+08:00

It came to a surprise to me that my earlier post didn't get the positive response that I hoped for. Well I guess we all look at things differently. You from one angle and I, from another. Maybe we don't see eye to eye on certain issues but let us argue on the basis of facts. Let me clarify that I am not anti-Semitic, I am only an ordinary person who advocates the notion that every human should be treated with respect especially if they are mere civillians.

1st comment:

"Where was this cartoonist's outrage when for years the Israelis were being
bombed by Hamas?Palestinians have been known to never miss an opportunity to
miss an opportunity. Looks like they've missed yet another. If they're
serious
about wanting peace, they should sack Hamas and their terrorist ways
and begin
real negotiations."

2nd comment:

"You can't reason with idiots. Israel has gained nothing by allowing the wild
asses to have their own land. Hamas won't rest until Israel is gone. What would
a reasonable person do if he is constantly under bombardment by meat heads that
want nothing but his destruction The only peaceful Hamas is a dead Hamas. The
person who allows innocents into a place where he is firing rockets from, is the
killer of the innocent. Wake up stupid Americans. BTW I'm not Jewish."

3rd comment:

"The State of Israel was created by the United Nations in 1948. It is a
legitimate sovereign state. And as a state it has the right to defend itself.
Hamas was firing rockets at innocent Israeli civilians, so after plenty of
warning that Hamas had to stop the attacks, Israel was finally forced into this
defensive action.And to those who maintain that diplomacy had failed so Hamas
had no choice but to carry out these unprovoked attacks, you are dead wrong.
Israel has been in negotiations for years, and has made peace with both Egypt
and Jordan. But Hamas in it's charter calls for the utter destruction of Israel.
If Hamas had it's way it would murder each and every Israeli. So how can Israel
negotiate with a terrorist organization that wants to destroy it?If Hamas would
only stop the rocket attacks and acknowledge Israel's right to exist, then there
could be peace.The blood from the civilian casualties in Gaza is on the hands of
Hamas, not Israel."

Here are a few facts taken from the New York Times itself. I think it's quite a legitimate source to support my stand in the previous post.

What You Don’t Know About Gaza

By RASHID KHALIDI
Published: January 7, 2009

NEARLY everything you’ve been led to believe about Gaza is wrong. Below are a few essential points that seem to be missing from the conversation, much of which has taken place in the press, about Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip.

THE GAZANS Most of the people living in Gaza are not there by choice. The majority of the 1.5 million people crammed into the roughly 140 square miles of the Gaza Strip belong to families that came from towns and villages outside Gaza like Ashkelon and Beersheba. They were driven to Gaza by the Israeli Army in 1948.

THE OCCUPATION The Gazans have lived under Israeli occupation since the Six-Day War in 1967. Israel is still widely considered to be an occupying power, even though it removed its troops and settlers from the strip in 2005. Israel still controls access to the area, imports and exports, and the movement of people in and out. Israel has control over Gaza’s air space and sea coast, and its forces enter the area at will. As the occupying power, Israel has the responsibility under the Fourth Geneva Convention to see to the welfare of the civilian population of the Gaza Strip.

THE BLOCKADE Israel’s blockade of the strip, with the support of the United States and the European Union, has grown increasingly stringent since Hamas won the Palestinian Legislative Council elections in January 2006. Fuel, electricity, imports, exports and the movement of people in and out of the Strip have been slowly choked off, leading to life-threatening problems of sanitation, health, water supply and transportation.

The blockade has subjected many to unemployment, penury and malnutrition. This amounts to the collective punishment — with the tacit support of the United States — of a civilian population for exercising its democratic rights.

THE CEASE-FIRE Lifting the blockade, along with a cessation of rocket fire, was one of the key terms of the June cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. This accord led to a reduction in rockets fired from Gaza from hundreds in May and June to a total of less than 20 in the subsequent four months (according to Israeli government figures). The cease-fire broke down when Israeli forces launched major air and ground attacks in early November; six Hamas operatives were reported killed.

WAR CRIMES The targeting of civilians, whether by Hamas or by Israel, is potentially a war crime. Every human life is precious. But the numbers speak for themselves: Nearly 700 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed since the conflict broke out at the end of last year. In contrast, there have been around a dozen Israelis killed, many of them soldiers. Negotiation is a much more effective way to deal with rockets and other forms of violence. This might have been able to happen had Israel fulfilled the terms of the June cease-fire and lifted its blockade of the Gaza Strip.

This war on the people of Gaza isn’t really about rockets. Nor is it about “restoring Israel’s deterrence,” as the Israeli press might have you believe. Far more revealing are the words of Moshe Yaalon, then the Israeli Defense Forces chief of staff, in 2002: “The Palestinians must be made to understand in the deepest recesses of their consciousness that they are a defeated people.”

Rashid Khalidi, a professor of Arab studies at Columbia, is the author of the forthcoming “Sowing Crisis: The Cold War and American Dominance in the Middle East."

The real situation....

2009-01-09T10:08:00.005+08:00

Brazilian cartoonist Carlos Latuff creates artworks that call on the world to condemn Israeli holocaust of Gaza Nepos Libertas's blog

Carlos Latuff's statement: I'd like to beg all viewers to spread this image anywhere, as a way to expose Israeli war crimes against Palestinians. Use it on t-shirts, posters, banners. Reproduce it in zines, papers, magazines, and make it visible everywhere. Here is the high-resolution version for printing purposes: [ link ] Thank you in the name of every suffering Palestinian.

Tag ur it...

2008-12-24T20:33:00.003+08:00

Rule #1-people who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any 1 questions that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

Rule #2-tag 5 people to do this quiz and those who are tagged cannot refuse. these people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by and continue this game by sending it to other people.So, let the game begins ^_^

1. Who tagged you?
Qatrun

2. Do you like tags?
Dunno, this is the 1st tag.

3. If you can have a dream to come true, what would it be?
happy ever after

4. What is your current mood?
Holiday mood.

5. What will you do if your crush says he/she adores you too?
ask them, r u sure :)

6. Will you fall in love with your bestfriend?
don't think so

7. Which will you prefer, loving someone or being loved by someone?
Both, if possible

8. What is your favourite food?
anything edible

9. If the person you dislike is right in front of you, what will you do?
give them a cheeky smile, make them wonder wut i'm up to hehe...

10. What do you pray each day for your loved one?
A healthy and wonderful life

11. What takes you down the fastest?
can't think of anything

12. How would you see yourself in ten years time?
29 :) , married i guess

13. What are the reason that could make you so tensed up?
a bad day

14. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
A really nice person

15. Would you rather be single and rich or married but poor?
single and rich

16. Who would you like to see the moment you wake up?
Sunshine :)

17. What's the character must have in your partner?
friendly

18. If you fall in love with two people simultaneusly, who would you like to pick?
the one i have most fun with

19. Would you forgive and forget no matter how horrible a thing that someone has done?
probably, coz my memory's not that good

20. Do you prefer being single or having a relationship?

Single and ready to mingle :)

21. Would you leave your family behind just to chase your dreams?
nope

22. Who are the 5 person that you wuld like to tag?
rozairee, danial syafiq, azwa, arif anuar, Qassim

Pay it Forward

2008-12-09T15:38:00.005+08:00

How do you change the world? No, it doesn't involve saving any cheerleaders or supermodels. You have to do it one step at a time. And initiating the first step is above all the most challenging and difficult part. You would probably wondering why I am talking like 'Peter Petrelli' all of a sudden, all optimistic for a better and brighter tomorrow.

Well, let me introduce you to a concept that I just learned, Pay it Forward . I got this from watching a movie on Astro with the same title. Like most inspirational movies this one originated from a novel.

It started as a Social Studies extra credit project of a 7th Grader and turns out as a movement throughout America that touches and change thousands of lives. They call it the Pay it Forward Movement. The concept is quite simple. It is one that any person can implement in his or her own life, at any time. It begins with doing a favour for another person without any expectation of being paid back. Indeed one would request that the recipient of that favour do the same for someone else: ideally for three other people. The unconditional favors can be large or small. As Trevor(the boy) observes: it doesn't have to be a big thing. It can just seem that way, depending on whom you do it for.

It is like another form of pyramid scheme, minus the fraud. The most important thing is that it shows that you don't have to be rich like Oprah to be able to change lives. Start small.

If you're still not convinced that this might work or curious on the details visit http://www.payitforwardfoundation.org/ . Maybe it's time for Malaysia to embrace it. Other countries have done it. What are we waiting for?

Then, perhaps in the future you'll stumble upon someone in distress and help them. When he/she asks what you want in return. You'll just say Pay it Forward.

The Month of Raya and Weddings

2008-11-03T00:44:00.001+08:00

October passed without me coming up with an original and interesting post. Well, I guess I do take my Raya seriously, celebrating it the entire month just like I've fasted the whole previous month. To blog every open house and celebrations during this festive months would definitely tire the heck out of me, so, I've decided to compile everything in one post and post it at the end of Raya.

Before the photo session:

Showing off the new camera are we?

The Results:

"Where should I look?"

Ever wondered why I don't post pictures that often. One obvious answer would be that I don't take pictures that often. Why? It all started when I lost 2 cameras in my possession consecutively in the same year. (1 was my own and the other was my family's. Had to borrow, can't afford to replace in such short notice). As a consequent, when my father bought a new camera , I can no longer bring it along with me to any parties or such.

That's why it's hard to see me doing this,

Since I need more pics, other than those above, I began scouting for them in facebook and other blogs. It's hard to believe that I don't even have the pictures(of myself) at my own open house. Maybe the lesson here is, if you give the camera to your sister, she will take pictures of handsome strangers and your (guy)friends but not you :) .Anyway credits to sze lynn and kak chor for these wonderful pictures.

At my mom's house in Subang Jaya, 1st Raya:

The 'Cucu Tengku Temenggung'(Tengku Temenggung's grandchildren) with uncle(in red)

My open house at KLGCC:

A scene from a TV3 drama?

At Shu's open house:

Abang Chid's Wedding:

Amazing how the pelamin could fit all of us

There are other open houses and weddings that I didn't mention. Probably due to lack of pictures or more specifically the lack of spaces. Some have to be forgone just so that I could make it for the other. My sincere apologies to you guys. I will try my best to make it the next time.

How it all began

2008-10-16T00:17:00.003+08:00

Wondering how the credit crisis starts? Watch this video to get a simple idea of it.

Raya Is Here

2008-09-30T23:50:00.003+08:00

30 days of fasting, a few nights of Terawih and now it's feasting time. Hari Raya is here again and for some of us, the days leading towards the 1st Syawal were definitely tiresome and hectic to say the least.

Just for the sake of sharing and considering that I won't be updating for a while (due to celebrating raya), let me sum up what I have been doing for the past *counting tue, mon and sun* 3 days.

In chronological order- went to the market, made (weave+ fill+ cook) ketupat, cooked rendang (at least I helped), and helped with the kuah satay.

Today, I will be serving the drinks and not to forget making them myself. Lets hope no one gets any kind of stomach ache after helping themselves with the punch that I made.

To those who didn't get any raya cards from me I am truly sorry. I've been awfully busy and just couldn't find the time to sit and write the cards for all of you. Instead let me wish you right here.

"To all muslims have a happy hari raya

and

to the non-muslims happy holidays."

Top Ten: Reasons To School Them In English

2008-09-21T09:38:00.004+08:00

Below are examples of how many of us speak English today. Taken from The Malaysian Today. Out of 100, I chose only 10. They are all true cases.

10. In a hotel a girl calls out to her friends: "Come lets jump into the poo(pool)"

9. A student writing an essay on how to bake a cake,
After all the ingredients are poured in the bowl, DISTURB (stir) the mixture....

8. At a job interview:
Q: You have a long name. So how do I address you?
A: I live in Gombak Setia sir.

7. Another essay by a student: "He suffer from low SELF OF STEAM (self-esteem)"

6. Overheard at a coffeeshop:
"No, I don't want iced lemon tea. I want teh-o-ais-limau."

5. An article by a journalism student in a local university:
"The man died after the post mortem."

4. During a war scene in a movie, a soldier tells his men to run for cover and screams "duck!". The subtitles read: "ITIK!"

3. A part time worker at a concert hall needs to stamp the wrists of patrons going out for a break. She says: "Excuse me sir, can I chop your hand"

2. "Wait later I call you on my CELLULITE phone (cellular phone)"

1. Interview between an airline company and a flight attendant wannabe.
Q: What do you know about flight safety procedures?
A: Passengers must leave their belongigs during EJACULATION (evacuation)

Check out other Top Tens

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

2008-09-17T16:21:00.002+08:00

SINGAPORE, Sept 17 - As Malaysia continues to grapple with political troubles, a former Straits Times reporter is throwing a few more stories into the mix. Former senior correspondent Ismail Kassim, 65, who was the paper's first Kuala Lumpur correspondent, is publishing a book about his experiences in the country that he says is -frank-.

The 314-page -A Reporter's Memoir: No Hard Feelings-, which he will launch in late October, covers his experiences as a reporter in Malaysia and also includes his thoughts about what he says are sensitive topics.

-Nothing is sacred. I have expressed my views clearly on all issues from race relations to faith and religion and political differences between Singapore and Malaysia,- he said.

-Whether I write about my boyish escapades or my tribulations over faith or my recollections of Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Chok Tong, Mahathir, Anwar, Pak Lah, Najib and others, I have adopted the same irreverent approach and the same nonchalant brush,- he added, referring to top leaders past and present in Malaysia and Singapore.

Having -stepped on many toes-, however, he felt he had to say -no hard feelings- to all of them - hence the title. -This is my way of reminding all of those mentioned in the narrative not to take things to heart,- he said.

The book documents Ismail's life as a former teacher, soldier, reporter and unionist, with about a third of it dwelling on his 15 years in Kuala Lumpur providing Singaporeans with first-hand coverage of politics across the Causeway.

Now a retiree, Ismail had spent more than a year putting the book together -primarily to entertain himself, his friends and former fans-.

-A Reporter's Memoir: No Hard Feelings- will be launched at the end of October at the National Library.

Related Posts:

Bloggers are individuals
Weekend Debut
Malaysian Politicians Say the Darndest Things

Road to 16 Sept

2008-09-14T22:29:00.007+08:00

Expressing as such only strengthens the notion and giving the perception that even the government doesn’t have faith in our legal system.

Some dismiss it as a baseless rumour 'to create uncertainty in this country' while some affirmed that everything is going according to plan and the plan will materialise as the right time comes (may not be exactly 16 Sept after all). As we get closer to the D-day itself, Malaysians are watching from the sidelines as the politicians from both sides show off their theatrics. First, the cat and mouse chase to Taiwan. Now, the crackdown on activists.

For one 'baseless rumour', the government sure are going to great lengths to thwart it. Even though this motive was denied, who are they to kid us? The desperation of the BN government is as vivid as an ink stain on a white shirt. It just can't be washed off with the water of denial. With the anticipated day looming, the BN should start to admit that that the threats are real and seriously begin their much talked about reform.

Yes, reform. The word that has been frequently used since BN suffered their most embarrassing defeat in the 8th March general election. Ironically, all their proposed efforts of reforming be it through more freedom of expression or transparency and rule of law have gone down the drain with the recent ISA blitz of prominent blogger-Raja Petra Kamarudin, MP-Teresa Kok and a reporter- Tan Hoon Cheng (which was released 20hrs after her arrest due to immense public pressure).

The excuse of using this draconian law in favour of our national security is preposterous. Expressing as such only strengthens the notion and giving the perception that even the government doesn’t have faith in our legal system. And in politics, perception is everything. If the government has no confidence in the judicial process, how could we, the less significant, place our confidence in the similar process?

Perhaps it is true; things will get a whole lot worse before it can get any better. To borrow a quote from the movie The Dark Night, “The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming.” Whether the dawn is on the 16th or any other date is another matter. It’s coming.

P.S. My friends ask me if I support the crossovers. I can only answer, "Let them (politicians) do whatever they want. When they are really ready to govern, then you tell me." -NHF

Related posts:

Roadblocks Anyone?
Of Murder and Sodomy
Malaysian Politicians Say the Darndest Things

Top Ten: Signs You Are Approaching a By-election

2008-08-26T13:26:00.006+08:00

10. Some groups take to the streets to protest against a concert by a foreign artist.

9. Certain group of supporters launch an event “Beat The Journalist”

8. Muslims spend a lot more time at the mosques, for the ceramah and free praying mat.

7. Every eligible voter is RM300 richer.

6. Bus tickets to the constituency are sold out.

5. Petrol price decreased a few days before.

4. The MB announces that there will be a public holiday for the state.

3. Somebody got sodomized.

2. No ‘real’ news in the newspaper.

1. Someone with the name ‘Arif Shah’ or ‘Anwar’ knocks on you front door.

Check out other Top Tens

Unhappy ending

2008-08-25T17:16:00.006+08:00

Two ghosts met and both chat about how they died.
1st ghost : How u died?

2nd ghost : I died of cold.

1st ghost : How does it feel when you're dying in cold?

2nd ghost : Actually, I was imprisoned in the refrigerator. Initially, I was shivering, then my whole body started to freeze, later I felt the whole world was dark and I died. Fortunately, I died with not much sufferings.

1st ghost : You're so pityful....

2nd ghost : How about you? How did u die?

1st ghost : I died from heart attack.

2nd ghost : I see, why did u have a heart attack?

1st ghost : Actually, I found out that my wife is having an affair with another man. One day, when I came back from work, saw a pair of man shoes outside my house. Then, I realized that the guy was in my house with my wife. When I rushed into the bedroom, my wife was alone. I must find where that bastard is hiding. So I searched the toilet, I ran downstairs, looked in the storeroom, but the bastard was not there. So, I ran upstairs and searched the wardrobe, but I found nothing. Because I was too tired of all that running,I got a heart attack and died.

2nd ghost : Why didn't you look for the bastard in the fridge? If you did, both of us would be alive now!!

Top Ten: Signs Pak Lah Has Too Much Time On His Hands

2008-08-17T12:26:00.004+08:00

10. Spends most of the day looking for friends on Facebook.

9. Stops by Najib's office every five minutes to see if he's doing his work.

8. He goes from home to home campaigning in Permatang Pauh.

7. Sits in front of Sri Perdana and waves at cars.

6. The man has the whole set of 'FRIENDS' in his office.

5. Gives the Putrajaya lake boat tour.

4. Earlier today, he washed and waxed Prime Minister's personal jet.

3. Writes an article for Malaysiakini and Malaysia Today.

2. Takes part in the Beijing Olympics.

1. Finally catching up on unread intelligence memos.

Check out other Top Tens

Roadblocks Anyone?

2008-08-12T17:43:00.001+08:00

The area that was cordoned off was so big that if there were any mamak stalls nearby, they could even have their meals there complete with tables and umbrellas.

Forget about blogs for now. Roadblocks are the new 'in' thing. If we used to ask why blog? Now we would be asking why roadblock? When we're done with that question, a few other passes our mind. Do we have excessive roads that we need a few of them blocked? By blocking a few roads, will it reduce costs in line with the current cost cutting stance of the government? Why build the road in the first place if you want to block it?

After asking these questions, one thing is for sure. If the government thinks that blogs are a nuisance then it is fair to say that the people, however, think that roadblocks are a bigger nuisance. The people blogs to irritate the government. The government block roads to irritate the people. Fair enough. Why compare these two things; blogs and (road)blocks? Well, because they sound almost the same. That's all.

Now that we have established that roadblocks are indeed undesirable, why is it still here? They are occasionally put along the roads heading towards the city centre on certain days and once in a while could even span to the whole country. It's like the authorities talking among themselves "Hey, I just got a raise. Let's have mass roadblocks to commemorate this lucky day". Maybe we could also include this in our 'Tahun Melawat Malaysia' campaign, "Experience traffic jam like never before, only in Malaysia".

Obviously they are not smart enough to do that. They usually justify this ineffective and inefficient exercise of channelling resources which is most of them are taxpayers' money as a necessary evil. No matter how inconvenient it may be, it is done for the sake of this glorious nation's security and prosperity and......... (a few other reasons to make us feel good). The most recent excuse is 'to avoid any untoward incidents'. Let me tell you something, the roadblocks are the untoward incidents.

Fine, if our security and the peace of the country is their argument, lets examine the effectiveness of this method. Roadblocks, as we frequently watch on television might have its advantages if we are searching for a suspect of crime or terrorist like osama laden, mas selamat, corrupted officials trying to leave the country and people smuggling oil to the neighbouring countries. However, in any case of a demonstration, is it logical to construct a roadblock(other than the venue of the demo) especially on the stretch of an already busy highway?

Do they expect that they could identify every protester and stop them by the roadside? Based on my few experiences of participating in this every-other-day event, the police would just make the otherwise 3 lane highway into just one lane or two. Next they would stand there until their time is up and then pack up to resume their real jobs which is preventing crime. The area that was cordoned off was so big that if there were any mamak stalls nearby, they could even have their meals there complete with tables and umbrellas.

Just imagine, while we are stuck in the barely crawling traffic jam caused by the roadblock, we heard a policeman shouting from a distance "Mamak, roti telur satu.", "Siaaap"-NHF

Chopping down the cherry tree - M'sian political version

2008-08-11T01:22:00.003+08:00

By Vijay Kumar Murugavell

I remember a story told to me by my late father regarding telling the truth and facing the consequences. It has been a story told by many a father to his offspring.I am of the conviction that the truth is not always a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and many of us miss the point when it comes to taking decisive action. Legend has it that George Washington, America's first president, chopped down a cherry tree in his youth. The story goes that George gives the tree a good swing and chops it down with an axe. His father sees the damaged tree and asks his son if he knows who did the deed. George is quoted bravely admitting the truth:‘I can't tell a lie, Pa; you know I can't tell a lie. I did cut it with my axe.’

Below is a satire of how some Malaysian politicians circa 2008 may have reacted to the question:

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi - ‘I did not cut down the tree , I was just taking a nap underneath it.’

Najib Razak - ‘I swear that I have never MET that tree.’

Hishamuddin Hussein Onn- ‘...but I only own a keris ,not axe, how to cut down the tree?’

Dr Mahathir Mohamd - ‘Apa nama cherry tree, yes, I chopped it down because, I don't like the idea of Pak lah sleeping under it.’

Chua Soi Lek - ‘Yes it was me, I resign as caretaker of this orchard.’

VK Lingam - ‘It could be me, it might have been me but I don't think its me.’

Anwar Ibrahim - ‘I did NOT do it, and I am not giving any DNA sample for you to plant on the axe handle.’

Mohd Khir Toyo - ‘The new state government should just trim the grass and not waste time asking who cut the tree.’

Ahmad Said (Terengganu MB) - ‘I chopped it because cherry trees are more expensive to maintain than durian trees.’

Azalina Othman - ‘The cherry tree is not included under my tourism MOU so I cut it down and besides there were unauthorised signboards put up around the tree.’

Shabery Cheek - ‘I challenge you to a debate on tree cutting.’

S Samy Velu - ‘I chopped it because Hindraf members were using it as a meeting point.

Wira Ali Rustam - ‘We have planted durian trees for 50 years and we will plant them for another 50 years, we do not need cheery trees, apple trees , pear trees and all these other foreign trees.’

Rais Yatim - ‘You must see the bigger picture, Ahmad said cherry trees are expensive to maintain, Ali Rustam said that are against our national identity and I needed to test my new axe, so you see, it is a WIN-WIN situation all around.’

Sharir Samad - ‘I cut the tree because we could no longer afford to subsidise it.’

Karpal Singh - ‘The bigfoot creature did it.’

Bung Mokhtar - ‘The big monkey did it’

Pandikar Amin Mulia - ‘There is nothing in the standing orders against chopping cherry treesKinabatangan duduk, Bukit Gelugor duduk .

Khairy Jamaluddin - I did not do it, neither did the Mat Rempits. By the way, what's a cherry tree?’

Lim Kit Siang - ‘Cherry tree also you don't know, you are an insult to Oxford!’

Nazri Abdul Aziz - ‘Racist, racist, racist! When we cut down durian trees nobody made a fuss. Now...’

Malaysian Citizens - ‘Oh for heavens sake! Somebody plant something before we all starve to death!’

Related posts:

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Top Ten: Police Quotes

Expired DNA

2008-07-21T00:47:00.003+08:00

Excerpts from Malaysian Insider:

Putrajaya, July 18 — Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi joined the chorus of
ministers and government officials urging Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to give a sample for a DNA test and prove his innocence.
“If he insists that he is not involved, he should give the sample now and we will see the results as proof,” said the Prime Minister. He noted that police want to complete their investigations as soon as possible but was unable to do so because of Anwar's unwillingness to give a blood sample for a DNA test.The opposition leader has refused to entertain any request for blood samples, saying that he believed that the police would fabricate evidence against. Instead, he suggested that police rely on DNA which was extracted during the investigations into sodomy charges ten years ago.But Abdullah said:
“The DNA sample the authorities have is too old, so they need a new sample, what is wrong in giving?” Speaking to reporters today, he also dismissed talk that the accusation by a former aide against Anwar was part of a political conspiracy. But he conceded that he could not stop the international media from floating the idea of a conspiracy.“Actually what they are accusing us of is not right at all,” he said, adding that he had given his assurance to Parti Keadilan Rakyat president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and its vice-president Azmin Ali that the investigation would be conducted professionally.“I can give the
assurance. Even his wife met me for a guarantee that a repeat of the earlier
‘black eye incident’ would not happen.
YB Azmin asked for an assurance and I said he (Anwar) will be safe and that we will investigate according to the provisions of the law,” he said.Meanwhile in Kota Baru, Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat criticised the media for going overboard in their coverage of the sodomy allegations against Anwar. He was upset with the wall to wall coverage
in newspapers and wanted to know why his arrest was front page news but his
release was relegated to the inside pages.“Why must the media take pride in shaming him? Anwar is a human being and not an angel or devil. He is a Malay Muslim so I ask why must there be a concerted effort to shame him in the front pages of the media,” he said in his weekly sermon here Friday.

It seems that our beloved PM has little knowledge when it comes to medical related stuff. DNA samples becoming obsolete? Do we really need the sample whereas the pattern of his DNA should already be within the Police's database? Can we conclude that maybe the previous sample is no longer in their possession? Poured on some mattress maybe?

When it comes to explaining the scientific procedures, I would prefer some expert to do the talking. Not someone who listens halfway and sleeps halfway into the explanation. If I didn't know any better I would mistakenly interpret Pak Lah's statement as follow:

"The DNA has expired, we have long exceed its expiry date, there are also concerns that the DNA could have changed (evolution) over the years"

But thank god he didn't really say that. Where would he hide his face?

Top Ten: Police Quotes

2008-07-19T11:32:00.002+08:00

These 10 were taken off actual police car videos around the country:

10. 'Yes sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don't think it will help. Oh, did I mention that I'm the shift supervisor?'

9. 'You know, stop lights don't come any redder than the one you just went through.'

8. 'Relax, the handcuffs are tight because they're new. They'll stretch after you wear them a while.'

7. 'If you run, you'll only go to jail tired.'

6. 'Can you run faster than 1200 ft/second? Because that's the speed of the bullet that'll be chasing you.'

5. 'You don't know how fast you were going? I guess that means I can write anything I want on the ticket, huh?'

4. 'Warning! You want a warning? O.K., I'm warning you not to do that again or I'll give you another ticket.'

3. 'The answer to this last question will determine whether you are drunk or not. Was Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?'

2. 'I'm glad to hear that the Chief (of Police) is a personal friend of yours. So you know someone who can post your bail.'

1. 'You didn't think we give pretty women tickets? You're right, we don't...Sign here.'

Click here for other Top Tens

Flip Flop Plunder

2008-07-13T21:53:00.004+08:00

When he said its another two years of reign
It drove into my spine a sharp piercing pain
But its sure worse for the idiot in-waiting
Not to mention Imelda the wife, the queen of shopping

Now that PKR and friends are deep into the game
Not witch hunting but digging their dirt all the same
With Altantuya, the jet and submarine scandals
Nothing the two could do with such a hefty load to handle

What about the punks in Umno who are out for the post
Or those in the know who want covered dirt exposed
Even Pak Lah the flip flop may want him chopped
Like a slow released time bomb waiting to be dropped

Would the nation again believe the same poor liwat script?
With the faggot P.A. getting his behind whipped?
For he could just kick Anwar's 'forefront'
If Anwar really did, and he did'nt really want

The stupid moron must really be a sick spent homo
For he could have advanced but Anwar said No
If it worked, he could've enjoyed a two-in-one hole
One for the script writer, and the other for his gayish soul

Hey is it really that easy to see that 'mighty menteri'?
Just pop in, knock the door for he is ever ready?
Or go to his villa, peep by the gate and you are welcome
As his palace is an open hose;not just for some

Come on dude we're not stupid nor dumb
Even a standard one kid wink an eye to his mom
Upon hearing the news he asked, do they think we are Forrest Gump?
To believe the plot from those unholy scums?

For as long as UMNO Malays keep bowing to any idiot with clout
Always say yes to the boss but at the back cursing him loud
Like the loony Malacca son of Rustam or the progeny of Toyo
That keep only the UMNO Malays dumber with their political yo yo

Whosoever voice out, they brand as power crazy opposition
Fearing their status quo lost, no more chance to rip the nation
For fifty long years they kept promising and pledging
Supposedly fighting for the poor but only their bellies kept bulging

Oh the number 1 was ever so humbly, honest and Godly at the start
Being the imam for prayers and reading religious poetry to win people's heart
As if those were not enough to impress, he boasted Mr Clean ad invented Hadari
But people got depressed as he got more dirty increasing wealth for his family

He cheated election, bribed voters and made the Police and Judiciary tools
To conveniently contrive, manipulate, and made us fools
Forgetting all the promises, pledges and pleading when he needed support
Turning deaf ears, and perennially day-sleep even in court

Enough is enough of UMNO's bulls and fakeries
It's high time we kick their behinds and draw the boundaries
Wipe off theses political maggots and let Malaysia be clean
The future of our children and motherland is not for spin

By Ibn Sheikh Kabeer

Related Posts:

Chopping down the cherry tree - M'sian political version
Why did the chicken cross the road?

Your Parrot Is Dead Senor

2008-07-13T01:56:00.000+08:00

At dawn the telephone rings, 'Hello, Senor Rod? This is Ernesto, the caretaker at your country house.'
'Ah yes, Ernesto. What can I do for you? Is there a problem?'
'Um, I am just calling to advise you, Senor Rod, that your parrot, he is dead'
'My parrot? Dead? The one that won the International competition?'
'Si, Senor, that's the one.'
'Damn! That's a pity! I spent a small fortune on that bird. What did he die from?'
'From eating the rotten meat, Senor Rod.'
'Rotten meat? Who the hell fed him rotten meat?'
'Nobody, Senor. He ate the meat of the dead horse.'
'Dead horse? What dead horse?'
'The thoroughbred, Senor Rod.'
'My prize thoroughbred is dead?'
'Yes Senor Rod, he died from all that work pulling the water cart.'
'Are you insane?? What water cart?'
'The one we used to put out the fire, Senor.'
'Good Lord!! What fire are you talking about, man??'
'The one at your house, Senor! A candle fell and the curtains caught on fire.'
'What the hell?? Are you saying that my mansion is destroyed because of a candle?? !!'
'Yes, Senor Rod.'
'But there's electricity at the house!! What was the candle for?'
'For the funeral, Senor Rod.'
'WHAT BLOODY FUNERAL??!!'
'Your wife's, Senor Rod', she showed up very late one night and I thought she was a thief, so I hit her with your new TaylorMade Super Quad 460 golf club.'

SILENCE . . . . . . . . . . LONG SILENCE

'Ernesto, if you broke that driver, you're in deep shit!!'

Of Murder and Sodomy

2008-07-06T23:15:00.007+08:00

If the accusation is in line with the government then it's fact. If it's not then it's just slander.

The recent developments of Malaysian politics just do not augur well for Najib and Anwar. Believe me, they won't hesitate to use any dirt that have acquired to their own benefits. Prior to this, The PM, Abdullah Badawi and the former PM, Dr. Mahathir Mohamed had brought their feud to the public. It started a few years after Abdullah succession, and is still ongoing reaching its climax when Dr. M decided to quit UMNO (baru).

With round 1 ending up in a draw, as neither is yet to quit, the nation's attention is now fixed on round round 2. The Deputy PM, Najb Abd Razak vs the former Deputy PM, Anwar Ibrahim. If this turns out to be another draw, then there better be a round 3 or how on earth are we going to determine whether the winner would be from team current or team former.

To those who are keeping scores, lets do a recap. The first strike was from Anwar's side as Raja Petra made a Statutory Declaration (SD) implicating Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor at the crime scene with 2 other individuals. Then Najib countered it with allegations of sodomy against Anwar. While he denied in having any part in this, the subsequent revelation which reveals that he met the accuser before is enough proof that he is playing with the strings and calling the shots. Anwar strikes again with another SD but now it is from Razak Baginda's private investigator, P. Balasubramaniam which infers that Najib might have know Altantuya after all and more than in a friendly manner. The next point goes to Najib as Bala 'conveniently' retracted his SD made about Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s alleged involvement with Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu.

However, the last point might not go to Najib because Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan. said that the statutory declaration made by private investigator P. Balasubramaniam linking Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak with Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu, cannot be withdrawn. It is also significant to note that some interested party had 'interfered' with the case causing Bala to come up with a second SD. He said he compelled to affirm the said(first) statutory declaration under duress. Nevertheless, it may be logical to say that his retraction was made under duress.

In response to this whole saga Najib confidently stated that Malaysian politics was degenerating to a level of being dirty with the opposition using slander and statutory declaration to achieve their political objectives. By saying this on the other hand affirms he is also playing dirty. Why wouldn't he? Did he not resort to slander to achieve his political objectives? In this case eliminating Anwar from the equation.

Before we go further in discussing whether did he or did he not let's define slander. Slander: Oral communication of false statements injurious to a person's reputation. The key word here is false. And how do we determine whether it is false or not? By conducting a fair trial of course. And then and only then would we really know if it's slander or just a fact. Until proven otherwise an accusation should be treated as that, there should be no instances of the Attorney General charging a accuser for false accusation just to cover the behind of someone. Unfortunately, our understanding about rumours and slander are different. If the accusation is in line with the government then it's fact. If it's not then it's just slander.

As before, Najib denied that he ever known or met Altantuya. In retrospect, guess what the 'wise' and 'sage'-like PM said when Anwar denied the sodomy allegation. "The accused will normally deny the allegation,". So it would be normal for Najib and Anwar to deny the allegations as they are the accused. Denials=Accused. Give two thumbs up for the sage for coming up with such remarkable concept.

It will be long before we see the end of this and it's not for us decide on their verdict. It incumbent on our judicial system to heave the burden of proving itself worthy. In the mean time, it would be a delight for the politicians to stop politicking and focus on us instead. A word of advice to politicians regarding statements "whatever you say, can and will be used against you in the court of public opinion". -NHF

Life is now more intersting than any soap opera.

Laugh Out Loud

2008-06-29T15:43:00.004+08:00

Life is getting tougher by the day wouldn't you say. Police reports lodged here and there seems to be cuing that Malaysia is no longer a safe haven to most of us. Considering the abundance of police reports lodged, there is a possibility that one of these days, we could also be reported for something no matter how trivial the grounds may be, say public disturbance from your newborn baby for instance. To discuss on this would be quite a nightmare as the probable outcome would be endless . From 'the widespread of public awareness that Malaysia is no longer safe' to 'the writer accused of disrupting peace by conveying slanders to his readers'.

For my sake and yours, no politics , no economics and no heavy stuff. I'm afraid if I keep going on and on about the same thing I might eventually suffer from repetitive strain injury. So, I'll write something different today. The thing about writing is, you will never have a peace of mind until you completely penned down everything that goes on in it. Your ideas will keep on playing inside your head like old reruns until you decide to regurgitate it. In my case, type it in my blog. Let's hope that this piece would not turnout into just mere babbles.

Naturally, this stressful lifestyle that we live in, referring to the above example, high cost of living and etc, is bound to take its toll. We could probably witness some serious cases of nervous breakdown in the near future. Obviously, straining ourselves just because everyone else is, isn't the best idea. Life shouldn't be taken too seriously. Laugh along the way. Find joy and comedy wherever you may seek as it would lighten even the heaviest burden.

Once in a while, Google and you tube some funny videos. Read up the comics section everyday. Enjoy the comedy. Be entertained by jokes online. Laughter is the best medicine and to treat the worst kinds of diseases today, you surely need the best medicine there is. So what if your boss is a total jerk? So what if you had a bad hair day? So what if you ............ As long as you have your Russel Peters video nothing could go wrong.

Top Ten : Incidents Related to Oil Price Hike

2008-06-22T17:03:00.004+08:00

Regarding the recent 'unpopular' price hike, I would like to present to you Top Ten : Incidents Related to Oil Price Hike.

10. Bill Gates made an announcement that he would resign to venture in the oil industry.

9. An unemployed person holds a placard “Will work for gas”

8. Sometime in the future, “I want to purchase this house for 10 barrels of oil”

7. With every purchase of 10 litres of gas, you will get a free car.

6. A burglar enters the petrol kiosk while pointing a gun to the cashier “This is a robbery, quick, give me a full tank”

5. Police officer: Hmm…the burglar didn’t take anything except siphoning gas from the car.

4. Next to the pirated DVD’s there is a counter that says ‘Cheap oil by the litre’

3. At the bank, “I need a loan to buy some gas please”

2. Ah long (loan shark) comes to your doorstep, “Where is the 25 litres of petrol that you owe me, including interest, that’s about 125 litres”

1. After being asked to pullover Ali said to the policeman, “What if I give you half a tank and we assume that this never happened”

Check out other Top Ten here

Post Exam

2008-06-15T20:02:00.005+08:00

Last Friday( Fri the 13th) marks the end of my A-Levels external exam. I had a lot of things to say and a lot of things to write but I had to focus on Econs, Maths and Accounts so this blog has been 'quiet' for some time now. But as I am now free as a bird, you can count on this blog to be operational as usual. You can anticipate my next post as soon as I finish my post exam celebration ... hahaha, toodles.

Top Ten: Signs Paula Abdul Needs A Vacation

2008-05-25T23:06:00.000+08:00

Courtesy of Late Show with David Letterman

10. Calls every contestant "Sanjaya"

9. Didn't give any compliments

8. Thought Randy is Michael Jackson's brother

7. Simon chews his pen, she eats them like pretzel rods

6. After a song, she asks to buy a vowel

5. Asks the contestants if they want to use a lifeline if they were eliminated

4. She and five imaginary friends are planning to rob Mick Jagger

3. Begins every sentence with, "This may be the gin talking"

2. Hasn't seduced a contestant in weeks

1. Amy Winehouse called her and said, "Dude, you're nuts"

The New Age Dictionary

2008-05-24T23:15:00.001+08:00

The Oxford Dictionary's latest definition of the following words.

Divorce : Future tense of marriage.

Cigarette: A pinch of tobacco rolled in paper with fire at one end and a fool on the other.

Lecture : An art of transferring information from the notes of the lecturer to the notes of the students without passing through the minds of either.

Compromise: The art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody believes he got the biggest piece.

Tears : The hydraulic force by which masculine will-power is defeated by feminine water power.

Dictionary: A place where success comes before work.

Conference Room: A place where everybody talks, nobody listens and everybody disagrees later on.

Classic: A book which people praise, but do not read.

Smile : A curve that can set a lot of things straight.

Office: A place where you can relax after your strenuous home life.

Yawn: The only time some married men ever get to open their mouth.

Etc: A sign to make others believe that you know more than you actually do.

Committee: Individuals who can do nothing individually and sit to decide that nothing can be done together.

Experience: The name men give to their mistakes.

Atom Bomb : An invention to end all inventions.

Philosopher: A fool who torments himself during life, to be spoken of when dead.

Diplomat : A person who tells you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip.

Opportunist : A person who starts taking bath if he accidentally falls into a river.

Optimist: A person who while falling from Eiffel tower says in midway "See I am not injured yet."

Miser : A person who lives poor so that he can die rich.

Father : A banker provided by nature.

Criminal : A guy no different from the rest....except that he got caught.

Politician : One who shakes your hand before elections and your confidence after.

Doctor: A person who kills your ills by pills, and kills you with his bills.

Boss : Someone who is early when you are late and late when you are early.

And Finally,

Technology : When everyone is crowding in front of the TV waiting for American Idol's results, you've already seen it on youtube.

Malaysian Artiste For Unity

2008-05-21T15:36:00.002+08:00

Quoted from Malaysian artistes for unity website

"bored. so he telephoned a few friends. “how about getting together to make
an anti-racism national unity song and music video?” all said yes without
hesitation. not because pete threatened them with a sharp and rusty knife.
but only because they love Malaysia."

Our artistes have made their move, when will our politicians?

Top Ten: Ways to Make AF More Interesting

2008-05-18T22:50:00.000+08:00

If I were not mistaken Akademi Fantasia (AF) reveals its finalists last night. Some may cherish as their favourites are qualified for the finals and some may not. After 6 seasons of airing, there calls for this over publicised reality show to take a rest and perhaps continue after they devise a new formula to enchant the crowd again. Nevertheless, if they are still continuing the show next year, here are some advices for you. It may be pricey, but it's worth it.

10. Rafidah Aziz and Shahrizat as contestants to add some 'colour' to the show.

9. Then again, grandmas shouldn't participate in the show and reintroduce the age limit.

8. The host, AC Mizal, announces the reunion of his former band 4U2C and plan a roadshow around the country.

7. Create a mascot for AF, just like Digi except it is red in colour and able to dance.

6. Change the name of the show from AF to FA.

5. Invite Simon Cowell to be one of the guest judges.

4. If not, let him be the principal of AF7.

3. Make it an online only show, that worked for Malaysian Dream Girls.

2. To make the participants more comfortable singing, renovate the stage to look like a bathroom.

1. Use a new motto, "Now everyone can sing LIVE".

Royal Pain

2008-05-17T13:49:00.004+08:00

There are so many things happening in Malaysia's political scene presently that if I were to choose a few simple words to describe it, I would say that "it is anything but dull".

With these circumstances, it's no surprise that political analysts or commentators are most likely to be employed and post 8th of March election, we saw quite a few more blossoming unofficially, including me I guess. Discussions in Kopitiams and Mamaks are as heated as ever. Speculations after speculations have been made but nothing is really certain, yet. Like I said, even a layman could now become a political analyst and speculate Malaysia’s political course albeit with his own unique interpretation.

Saving this matter for later let us move on to another issue. One of the most contentious news this week is regarding Karpal Sigh’s statement which is considered insulting to the Rulers and Islam. This issue comes about when Karpal allegedly questioned the power of the Sultan of Perak over a transfer of a civil servant. Now, let me make things clear by saying that I will not be analysing the legality of his actions and to those who seek just that, pardon me for disappointing you .What I am trying to analyse here is the reaction of the people (political analyst) towards his statement.

In about a few days, 19 police reports was made alleging Karpal to be seditious. Some go to the extent labelling Karpal’s action as tantamount to being disrespectful to Islam. Is it just me or all this seems a tad too dramatic. We never really did bother to lodge any police report when our neighbors’ house got robbed. We never bothered to report the corruption and the abuse of power occurring right in front of our eyes. And yet a meagre statement could somehow attract 19 different police reports against it. In retaliation someone from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lodgeed a report (only one) against Pak Lah under the Sedition act due to his comment towards YDP Agong’s action of appointing his own choice of MB, - “the appointment of anyone other than Idris (as Terengganu’s MB) is unconstitutional and invalid”.

It is clear that both parties here are playing the same game and we as the spectators only hope that justice will prevail. Charge Karpal for Sedition and you just have to subject the PM under the same charges. Isn’t that how justice should work? No one is above the law as Pak Lah always says. If that is the case, then we have to look a little further back into our history books. Recently it was the appointment of MB’s of Perlis and Terengganu. Before that there was Muhd Taib’s ‘conflict’ with the Selangor’s Sultan, the government reducing the power of the Rulers and most importantly the Constitutional Crisis. If we were to dig all this and scrutinise bit by bit, a lot of UMNO members would inevitably be charged with sedition. Even Dr. M would have to worry about a new case in his hands. This would then come under the Sedition Act that categorised “bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against any Ruler or against any Government” as having seditious tendency.

On the other hand, I’m no lawyer. You can do a little research yourselves or seek legal advice to confirm that one. Revisiting the first matter on speculations and the likes, it seems that Malaysians, and I do mean ordinary Malaysians like you and I, have a knack for them. When something new surfaces we examine it thoroughly and base on the information available, we arrive at a particular speculation. Until it is definite, it will merely remain as one. While speculations are sometimes harmful to the economy, i.e. 1997 currency crisis, it can also do a great deal of damage to the political stability, either for a certain party or the country as a whole. This is regularly so when political advisors give counsel to the MP’s based on a knee jerk reaction towards sheer speculations.

One clear example is the ongoing news about the crossovers of MP’s from BN to PR. We can see that BN MP’s are now dancing with PR’s tunes by giving unnecessary remarks and comments about the crossovers. It is more disappointing when an entire parliamentary session was focused on the same issue. It seems that they are too engrossed in this speculation and forgot about other important things to discuss about. It does not do to dwell on speculation and forget to live. As a so-called ‘political analyst’ I would say that BN could act proactive by starting to treat their MP’s fairly without discriminating them. Try to win their hearts instead of condemning the act of crossing over because that will not deter anyone from executing their initial intention. To PR, I hope that whatever your next move is, it will be for the sake of the greater good. The earlier the speculation ends (read: confirmed) the earlier our MP’s could get back to work.

To top it up, I reiterate that in Malaysia, there is no such thing as too many political analysts. There is, however, such thing as too many political advisors. In which case one of them might get entangled in a high profile murder involving a foreign model. - NHF

Red Skelton's Recipe For The Perfect Marriage

2008-05-15T22:13:00.006+08:00

Richard Bernard “Red” Skelton (July 18, 1913 – September 17, 1997) was an American comedian who was best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, clubs and casinos, while pursuing another career as a painter.

This is from one of his acts, The Perfect Marriage, enjoy.

1. Two times a week we go to a nice restaurant, have a littlebeverage, good food and companionship She goes on Tuesdays; I go onFridays.

2. We also sleep in separate beds. Hers is in California , and mine isin Texas .

3. I take my wife everywhere .... but she keeps finding her way back.

4. I asked my wife where she wanted to go for our anniversary.'Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!' she said. So I suggestedthe kitchen.

5. We always hold hands. If I let go, she shops.

6. She has an electric blender, electric toaster and electric breadmaker. She said 'There are too many gadgets, and no place to sitdown!' So I bought her an electric chair.

7. My wife told me the car wasn't running wellbecause there was water in the carburetor. I asked where the car was.She told me, 'In the lake.'

8. She got a mud pack, and looked great for two days. Then the mud fell off.

9. She ran after the garbage truck, yelling, 'Am I too late for thegarbage?' The driver said, 'No, jump in!'

10. Remember: Marriage is the number one cause of divorce.

11. I married Miss Right. I just didn't know herfirst name was Always.

12. I haven't spoken to my wife in 18 months I don't like to interrupt her.

13. The last fight was my fault though. My wife asked, 'What's on theTV?' I said, 'Dust!'

'God Bless.'

Top Ten: Hollywood Remakes, Malaysian Style

2008-05-10T23:22:00.002+08:00

Lately, we have seen a couple of made in Malaysia movies that scooped a few concepts from Hollywood movies. To name a few, KL Drift, Cicakman and Evolusi Drift are movies that aspire to be like their American counterparts but fail in many aspects. Perhaps directors, screenwriters and producers should consider these films as their next production.

10. Raba-man (Spider-man)

9. Poll Wars: BN Strikes Back (Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back)

8. Poll Wars: Return of the Opposition ( Star Wars: Return of the Jedi)

7. Million Dollar PM (Million Dolar Baby)

6. Stranger Than Fact (Stranger Than Fiction)

5. Pirates of the Straits (Pirates of the Caribbean)

4. National Treasure : Book of Scandals ( National Treasure: Book of Secrets)

3. There's Something about Mamaks (There's Something About Mary)

2. Majority Report (Minority Report)

1. The Goodfather-in-law (The Godfather)

Blogger Opts For Jail Over Bail

2008-05-07T22:35:00.006+08:00

This month will surely not be the ever popular merry month of May, but it is a month that will be remembered nevertheless.

Just a week into May, following World Press Freedom Day, we witness the first blogger, Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK), to be charged under the Sedition Act, after he allegedly posted a 'seditious' article titled "Let’s send the Altantutya murderers to hell" on his website Malaysia Today. The article implicated Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor in the 2006 murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu.

This and all other information are certainly available in the Mainstream Media or the Alternative Media. Therefore, I would not waste my time narrating each sequence of the events but would only offer you my critical take on it. By saying critical I mean the-one-who-does-not-take-the-government-seriously kind of take.

Before we go any further, it would be crucial for us to get to know the accused a little more. He started writing since his blog started its operation in August 2004. His writing style is often very witty, humorous and straight to the point. In addition, in his most recent post he admitted that if his articles were to be scrutinised, most article could fall under the government's category of seditious.

Hence, arise the question of why now? After almost four years of operation and god knows how many articles posted, why does this particular article that brought Raja Petra to court under the charge of sedition instead of the ones before. Why only after the Barisan Nasional suffer it's biggest defeat in history do the authorities launch their crackdown on 'seditious' bloggers.

Consequently, this merely strengthens my conviction that this entire saga is orchestrated by the powers that be to intimidate free speaking individuals and serve as a lesson to others that fall in the same league. I have to agree 100% with Lim Kit Siang's (DAP) take on this event.

"They (Najib and Rosmah) reserve the right to clear their names through the laws. So why have they used the government facilities to take action against Raja Petra Kamaruddin? This is the abuse of powers. There are other channels for the deputy prime minister and his family to take action against Raja Petra - to use civil action and litigation," he said.

Yes, this is a blatant abuse of powers and if anyone says otherwise, it's time for you to get your eyes, ears and everything checked. On the other hand, this is a perfect time to test the two most important institutions with regards to justice; the Judiciary and the police institution. Are they really independent as professed by the government time and again?

Officially keeping the score, I have to say that the police has been compromised, based on the whole "I take orders from above" incident of course. The Judiciary has yet to be evaluated and I'll be waiting eagerly for the moment to come in October. As for the implications and motives for this saga, I would say that there is more to it than meets the eye.

From the government's point of view, if we take on this maverick, we will make him pay for making us look like losers in the eyes of the people. If he goes down, Malaysia Today will go down with him(how wrong were they). An added bonus, bloggers will be more careful (read: scared) in posting comments critical to the establishment. Finally we will have order.

From RPK's point of view, this the most appropriate time to engage the government and bring down the scumbags in them. It is an opportunity to direct the public and government's back towards the dragging and bound to be forgotten Altantuya murder trial. Additionally, attracting local and foreign media attention towards atrocities done by the establishment.

As we can see, both sides have their own plans but as always man proposes God disposes. For now let us be patient and let fate take its own due course, the truth shall unravel inevitably. Either this will be a beginning of another form of Operation Lalang or the significant beginning of a war against the unjust.-NHF

Top Ten: George W. Bush Ideas For Stimulating the Economy

2008-05-03T22:35:00.002+08:00

Courtesy of Late Show with David Letterman.

10.Send troops to invade U.S. Mint

9.Oprah gives everybody a new car

8.Turn Grand Canyon into a giant national "Have a penny, leave a penny" jar

7.Cheney threatens to shoot treasury secretary in the face

6.Plans to fix economy in third term

5.Replace Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke with briefcase babes from "Deal or No Deal"

4.Send elite team of economists to rob Mick Jagger's apartment

3.Ahhh -- somebody help...Cloverfield monster...Run for your lives!

2.Maybe not spending a billion dollars a month in Iraq?

1.Forget the economy -- why doesn't someone try stimulating Condoleezza?

Check out previous Top Ten posts here.

Blog: Raja Petra Kamarudin

2008-04-29T20:28:00.008+08:00

To those who missed it, this was aired on RTM on 27th of April 2008

Raja Petra Kamarudin - RTM Interview 27 April 08 Part 1/3

Raja Petra Kamarudin - RTM Interview 27 April 08 Part 2/3

Raja Petra Kamarudin - RTM Interview 27 April 08 Part 3/3

Yes, you didn't read me wrong. It was aired on RTM. Very unlikely you say? Apparently it was part of the new Minister of Information's plan to recognise bloggers as an important force in the community. Now, every Sunday there will be a 20 min programme featuring a blogger who will then shed some light to some issues asked by the host. Guess the name of the show, it's Blog. Simple as that.

It seems that this programme has aired it's first episode a week ago featuring A Kadir Jasin. And for its second episode it decided, what the heck, lets invite Raja Petra and grill him on air. This will teach him a thing or two about messing with the government, so they thought. It turns out that Raja Petra was the one grilling the host, asking questions in response to the accusations and silly questions that the host has asked.

You can see somehow that he got caught in his own trap that was specifically designed and set up for Raja Petra. I bet that more than his pride was lost that night, his manhood too was stripped off him after the interview ended. He can be described as a rookie ringmaster taming the brave lion.

Enough about the host, lets focus on the show itself. I look at this programme from various different perspective. First, it's a move from the government to make peace with bloggers. Second, they want to put words in bloggers mouth, e.g. admiting that the government is now open and fair, like what they disastrously did to Raja Petra. Or finally, they just want to give us quality entertainment (Grill the Host) and increase the ratings of RTM.

Here is the link to the debut of this show:

Blog (RTM1) - Datuk A Kadir Jasin Part 1 of 4

Blog (RTM1) - Datuk A Kadir Jasin Part 2 of 4

Blog (RTM1) - Datuk A Kadir Jasin Part 3 of 4

Blog (RTM1) - Datuk A Kadir Jasin Part 4 of 4

A point to ponder

2008-04-27T22:18:00.009+08:00

Last Wednesday, I got the chance to attend a political talk with my friend Rozairee. The topic of the talk was 'New Political Landscape: Challenges of the future'. The speakers were from PKR, Pas, and UMNO (Their names would not be shown due to certain purposes) . The talk or should I say forum was conducted in such a manner that the organisers has arranged the speakers to talk in order of PKR and Pas taking the offensive stance and the poor guy UMNO would go last taking the defensive stance. Inadvertently, this arrangement showed how far sighted the organisers were in ensuring that the audience would get a pretty much heated debate. Kudos to the organisers in respect to that.

However, even their far sighted arrangements couldn't provoke the speakers to wage an all out war and throw chairs at one another as they discussed each issue maturely and the tension in the room is almost nil. All that could be felt is the excitement as each and every one of them humorously ridiculed one another and surprisingly themselves. They were given 20-30 mins each and were followed by Q&A. Unfortunately, I had to leave early(11.20) as I had class the next morning. With this, I bring to you the summary of the talk and my own take of it.

PKR:

Introduced the concept of Old Politics vs New Media. Old Politics is when the government uses any means at its disposal to achieve its goals i.e. control on media, regulations and etc. New Media however is the emergence of alternative medias due to the partial stance taken by the so-called Mainstream Media i.e. blogs. He stressed, although old politics may be effective previously, with the presence of new media, it will become irrelevant. If a certain group is reluctant to change its ways, in other words stick to the method of old politics, it will definitely ends up like the Barisan Nasional in the recent general election. Malaysia is heading towards a dual party system.

Pas:

Described himself as party member who prefers working in the background rather than in the limelight, he showed to us what Pas is really all about. If you think that they are Islamist radicals who wear rolls of cloths as turbans and would do anything to form an Islamic Government while in the process alienate non-Muslims, then, sorry to say that you are absolutely wrong. He enlightened us that the Islamic State concept upholds freedom of speech, right of every human being and would be non discriminatory. Most of us fear this concept because we take the form(Islam State) over substance(good governance). Whereas the substance is the most important thing.

UMNO:

He admits that there are wrongdoings in UMNO in fact in his own division. Regarding the result of the general election, he stood by the notion like others in his league that the voters voted against Barisan Nasional(BN) and not for Pakatan Rakyat(PR). Although UMNO may be corrupted and perceived as irrelevant, he emphasised that UMNO is still relevant and crucial if there is to be a two party system. He will try with others that share his view to reform UMNO from the inside and assured all that UMNO will be here for the 50 years to come.

R.Iskandar:

This forum shows that individuals from different parties could sit down together and find a common ground for the benefit of the people. I call on those politicians in power out there to heed their colleagues here. The time for campaigning is over. It is now time to work together, not the time to sabotage one another. The federal government should give the 5 PR-led states the same treatment as the other states. Don't punish them because they deem you unfit of managing their states.

Top Ten: Languages Spoken In the World

2008-04-27T22:01:00.002+08:00

10. French, Number of speakers: 129 million.Often called the most romantic language in the world, French is spoken in tons of countries, including Belgium, Canada, Rwanda, Cameroon, and Haiti. Oh, and France too. We're actually very lucky that French is so popular, because without it, we might have been stuck with Dutch Toast, Dutch Fries, and Dutch kissing (ew!).To say "hello" in French, say "Bonjour" (bone-JOOR).

9. Malay (Indonesian), Number of speakers: 159 million Malay-Indonesian is spoken - surprise - in Malaysia and Indonesia. Actually, we kinda fudged the numbers on this one because there are many dialects of Malay, the most popular of which is Indonesian. But they're all pretty much based on the same root language, which makes it the ninth most-spoken in the world.Indonesia is a fascinating place; a nation made up of over 13,000 islands it is the sixth most populated country in the world. Malaysia borders on two of the larger parts of Indonesia (including the island of Borneo), and is mostly known for its capital city of Kuala Lumpur.To say "hello" in Indonesian, say "Selamat pagi" (se-LA-maht PA-gee).

8. Portuguese, Number of speakers: 191 million. Think of Portuguese as the little language that could. In the 12th Century, Portugal won its independence from Spain and expanded all over the world with the help of its famous explorers like Vasco da Gama and Prince Henry the Navigator. (Good thing Henry became a navigator . . . could you imagine if a guy named "Prince Henry the Navigator" became a florist?) Because Portugal got in so early on the exploring game, the language established itself all over the world, especially in Brazil (where it's the national language), Macao, Angola, Venezuela, and Mozambique.To say "hello" in Portuguese, say "Bom dia" (bohn DEE-ah).

7. Bengali, Number of speakers: 211 million. In Bangladesh, a country of 120+ million people, just about everybody speaks Bengali. And because Bangladesh is virtually surrounded by India (where the population is growing so fast, just breathing the air can get you pregnant), the number of Bengali speakers in the world is much higher than most people would expect.To say "hello" in Bengali, say "Ei Je" (EYE-jay).

6. Arabic, Number of speakers: 246 million. Arabic, one of the world's oldest languages, is spoken in the Middle East, with speakers found in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt. Furthermore, because Arabic is the language of the Koran, millions of Muslims in other countries speak Arabic as well. So many people have a working knowledge of Arabic, in fact, that in 1974 it was made the sixth official language of the United Nations.To say "hello" in Arabic, say "Al salaam a'alaykum" (Ahl sah-LAHM ah ah-LAY-koom) .

5. Russian, Number of speakers: 277 million. Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, and Yakov Smirnoff are among the millions of Russian speakers out there. Sure, we used to think of them as our Commie enemies. Now we think of them as our Commie friends. One of the six languages in the UN, Russian is spoken not only in the Mother Country, but also in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and the U.S. (to name just a few places).To say "hello" in Russian, say "Zdravstvuite" (ZDRAST-vet- yah).

4. Spanish, Number of speakers: 392 million. Aside from all of those kids who take it in high school, Spanish is spoken in just about every South American and Central American country, not to mention Spain, Cuba, and the U.S. There is a particular interest in Spanish in the U.S., as many English words are borrowed from the language, including: tornado, bonanza, patio, quesadilla, enchilada, and taco grande supreme.To say "hello" in Spanish, say "Hola" (OH-la).

3. Hindustani, Number of speakers: 497 million. Hindustani is the primary language of India's crowded population, and it encompasses a huge number of dialects (of which the most commonly spoken is Hindi). While many predict that the population of India will soon surpass that of China, the prominence of English in India prevents Hindustani from surpassing the most popular language in the world. If you're interested in learning a little Hindi, there's a very easy way: rent an Indian movie. The film industry in India is the most prolific in the world, making thousands of action/romance/ musicals every year.To say "hello" in Hindustani, say "Namaste" (Nah-MAH-stay) .

2. English, Number of speakers: 508 million. While English doesn't have the most speakers, it is the official language of more countries than any other language. Its speakers hail from all around the world, including the U.S., Australia, England, Zimbabwe, the Caribbean, Hong Kong, South Africa, and Canada. We'd tell you more about English, but you probably feel pretty comfortable with the language already. Let's just move on to the most popular language in the world.To say "hello" in English, say "What's up, freak?" (watz-UP-freek) .

1. Mandarin, Number of speakers: 1 billion+Surprise, surprise, the most widely spoken language on the planet is based in the most populated country on the planet, China. Beating second-place English by a 2 to 1 ratio, but don't let that lull you into thinking that Mandarin is easy to learn. Speaking Mandarin can be really tough, because each word can be pronounced in four ways (or "tones"), and a beginner will invariably have trouble distinguishing one tone from another. But if over a billion people could do it, so could you. Try saying hello!To say "hello" in Mandarin, say "Ni hao" (Nee HaOW). ("Hao" is pronounced as one syllable, but the tone requires that you let your voice drop midway, and then raise it again at the end.)

Check out my previous Top Ten posts here.

The One After OBW

2008-04-20T18:45:00.015+08:00

As promised, I will bring to you guys an entire post regarding Old Boys Weekend 2008. If you are familiar with the adage a picture worth more than a thousand words, then you would understand why there's more photos in this post relative to the others. It's hard for me to describe the atmosphere, ambiance, camaraderie, and the reasons behind it but I hope the photos will give the right impression of the 3 day event. Before I forget, credits should be given to abdullah munzir mohd fauzi, from class of 98 for some of the wonderful photos.

A sight missed most by Old Boys.

The first banner that you would bump into if you walk to the school. Hmm...the design looks familiar.

Here's another banner. It's 2008 and it's the anniversary for class of 98,88,78,68,58.........

The librarians at the Library booth. Asking for contributions in the form of donations and books.Pak Cik Kamar is here as well. Sure adds a beautiful scent to the booth.

Pak Brahim(pronounce carefully) and the broadcasting guys, who supposedly keep the air lively with songs from the 90's,80's, 70's and 60's?

View of the stalls from Pavilion. Not as many as previous years.

Maybe the logic is, the lesser the competitions, the more profits that you will make.

Although it is 'Old Boys' weekend, I always see the present boys as the regular customers. What a way to make money from your friends.

This is also the time to brag about your new 'baby' to your friends. Just make sure it is not rented or borrowed

It looks like a showroom here. But something is missing.

Where are the models?

A broken/swollen nose doesn't seems to deter him from joining in the fun.

No one is too busy to come. Unless you are running the country or you have just been elected lah

If you can't see his shirt, let's take a closer look. Heard this before? From a lawyer maybe?

The Wind Orchestra's performance was spectacular. Received a standing ovation and truly deserved it. They will be competing in the finals of Wind Orchestra Competition (WOC) on the 21st of June.

Like always, the performance that follows was from the bands of present boys and old boys from different batches. Compared to previous present boys' performance, I could say that this year is the best. They even came out with their own original song. A feat that I have to complement.

Questions such as why do we bother to undergo this exodus to Kuala Kangsar every year or every other year might linger in the minds of some or even asked by some. The faces that we see at this gathering, if you observe like I do, are quite the same every year. These same people will come and reminisce the same thing, laughing at the same jokes year after year. As I am now in their shoes, I too feel the same attraction towards this institution and could finally arrive to a conclusion on why droves of ex-students wouldn't want to miss the chance to 'balik kuale' very year, the nearest examples, my father and I.

From my point of view, this event is a form of escapism of old boys alike. Away from the problems at work, deadlines to fulfil and bosses to please. Most importantly, away from the hustle and bustle of city life. The tranquility of KK itself is enough for someone to come back for more. These weekends, somehow, made the age factor not that distinguishable. To quote another old boy " Old Boys do not get old, only our bodies wear out". It's safe to say that we behaved how boys should behave. Apart from that, one might say that it is a weekend with endless possibilities, you could meet a a political figure, a celebrity, make new friends, build connections, rekindle old flames (ehem..ehem) or creating new ones. In short, whatever happens in kuale, stays in kuale .

The One Before OBW

2008-04-18T23:36:00.006+08:00

This weekend, I'll be going to Kuala Kangsar for MCKK's Old Boys Weekend (OBW). To those who can't make it, fret not, there will be a post about it when I return. It won't be a full report though because I will only be there for Saturday and Sunday, missed Friday. Expect a few pictures and my comments, as usual. Those who dont have a clue on what OBW is, here is an excerpt from Malay College Old Boys Association (MCOBA) website :

The Old Boys’ Weekend, or OBW® for short, is an annual homecoming event for
the old boys of the Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK). The weekend is
usually filled with games between the old boys and the students as well as
teachers of the College. There are also other activities such as a forum;
career talks; a dinner and musical show; and other fares. The old boys
enjoyed the weekend (without their families) and re-lived their experiences
during the school days years ago. They played their favourite games, eat
at their favourite joints, stayed at the old dormitories, and passed their times
by telling old stories of their escapades during their times in College.
Those who have been to the OBW® will usually look forward to go to the next
one!

27 Dresses of Horror

2008-04-18T22:03:00.005+08:00

I sure do have a lot of free time on my hands when my Astro is out of order. Now, there is time to revise the lectures that I missed, do the homework that I haven't done and most importantly study for the upcoming exam. Unfortunately, I opt to do none of that. Instead I spent my newly acquired free time watching '27 Dresses'. No, not at the cinema but at the comfort of my own home.

Judge me all you want, I admit I was wrong. Buying pirated DVDs are bad for the film industry but I guess we could make an exception for foreign movies, right? OK, enough about me, lets talk about the movie now.

A story of a woman who enjoys being a bridesmaid and yet to be a bride. Has a crush on her boss and had been working very hard to get his attention. The situation becomes worse when her boss falls for her sister instead.

Despite the horrible subtitle, the colour that keeps changing from black and white to coloured (you should know why) , the horrendous dresses and predictable main storyline, 27 Dresses is not all that bad. I read the reviews before watching it and most of them criticise it as another cliche rom-com (read: romantic comedy, not a bad word). Sure it would not stand out if compared to other romcoms such as 'My Best Friends Wedding', or 'There's Something About Mary' but it's a decent one nonetheless.

The director's effort to add a little sugar and spice here and there should be recognised as an added humour and entertainment for viewers. It's no fun when you know the whole script of the movie before you actually watch it. So the remedy is to put a few twist and turns in the plot (although some doesn't make sense, then again it's a movie) to get the viewers interested until the predictable ending. I'll stop here before I ruin the movie for you.

All in all, watch it if you have the free time. Don't go to the cinema, it's a movie best watched at home with family and friends.

Top Ten: Courtroom's Most Hilarious Moments

2008-04-13T12:08:00.007+08:00

Believe it or not, as smart as we think the lawyers are, there are times when they fumble and stumble with their question. Perhaps in their 'noble' effort to make the suspects or witnesses confused, they confused themselves instead.This week, as you can see, I've been focusing entirely towards the judiciary system, be it the judges or lawyers. Therefore, in the fourth edition of the weekly Top Ten, I present to you the courtroom's most hilarious moments.

10.Lawyer: "Now, Mrs. Johnson, how was your first marriage terminated?"
Witness: "By death."
Lawyer: "And by whose death was it terminated?"

9. Lawyer: "This myasthenia gravis -- does it affect your memory at all?"
Witness: "Yes."
Lawyer: "And in what ways does it affect your memory?"
Witness: "I forget."
Lawyer: "You forget. Can you give us an example of something that you've forgotten?"

8. Lawyer: "Now, doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, in most cases
he just passes quietly away and doesn't know anything about it until the next morning?"

7. Lawyer: "And lastly, Gary, all your responses must be oral. OK? What school do you go to?"
Witness: "Oral."
Lawyer: "How old are you?"
Witness: "Oral."

6. Lawyer: "Are you married?"
Witness: "No, I'm divorced."
Lawyer: "And what did your husband do before you divorced him?"
Witness: "A lot of things I didn't know about."

5. Lawyer: "She had three children, right?"
Witness: "Yes."
Lawyer: "How many were boys?"
Witness: "None."
Lawyer: "Were there girls?"

4. Lawyer: "I show you Exhibit 3 and ask you if you recognize that picture."
Witness: "That's me."
Lawyer: "Were you present when that picture was taken?"

3. Lawyer: "Now sir, I'm sure you are an intelligent and honest man--"
Witness: "Thank you. If I weren't under oath, I'd return the compliment."

2. Witness: "He was about medium height and had a beard." Lawyer: "Was this a male or a female?"

1. Lawyer: "Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?"
Witness: "No."
Lawyer: "Did you check for blood pressure?"
Witness: "No." Lawyer: "Did you check for breathing?"
Witness: "No."
Lawyer:"So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?"
Witness: "No."
Lawyer: "How can you be so sure, Doctor?"
Witness: "Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar."
Lawyer: "But could the patient have still been alive nevertheless?"
Witness: "Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere."

Court of a different kind

2008-04-12T17:00:00.004+08:00

If we are talking about courts, the first thing that would cross our minds could be the judiciary system, the rot in the judiciary, or even the now-famous V.K. Lingam. Usually, courts would be associated with either seriousness, guilt or sadness. Though sometimes funny things do happen to lighten things up, there only a handful of them and purely accidental. Along came Comedy Court to change the stigma. No, its not the court for comedians to face trial. The 'Court' is short for courtiers, hence the full name would be Comedy Courtiers. Consists of two very intelligent entertainers,Allan Perera and Indi Nadarajah, they embark on a journey to charm and woo the hearts of their audiences with their wit. Thanks to their creative efforts , courts could now be an epitome of satire, joy and laughter. Here is one for you.

Transcript (for those who can't quite understand):

Court : Court Banguunnn!!!

Judge : Anda boleh mula Encik Loganathan..

Loganathan : Yang Bertinggi (Your Highness).. Saya mahu buat ini permohonan untuk cakap dalam bahasa English.. yang ariff..

Judge : Cuba jalankan kes kamu dalam Bahasa Malaysia dulu!

Loganathan : Err..baik yang arif.. Saya si Loganathan bagi pihak pemohon dan ini teman pundeyman saya..

Duraisingham : Saya..saya..Saya punya tuhan (My Lord) Apa macam dia kata sama saya pundaman..??

Loganathan : Mana saya ada cakap!!

Duraisingham : Dia cakap saya pundaman.. Ini si Loganathan, dia dia punya mulut manyak busuk.. Dia tadak kasi sama saya, apa mahu kata saya perkatakan.. Hah! dia tarak kasi sama saya.. 'Firstly nasi dan courtesy kanasi'..

Loganathan : Yang arif, mana saya tidak memprofessionalkan mencourtesy-kanasikan..sikim..
Saya cakap teman Budiman.. Kerana Encik Duraisingham tak tahu apakah dia meaning-kemeaningan.. Tolong cakap ini Duraisingham untuk memdictionarykan apakah dia meaning-meaning ayat.. Jangan menshoutkan sebiji seorang Idiot dinasikan.. Walaubagaimanapun yang arif, saya akan carry-on tuan.. Yang ariff, ini.. Yang arif adalah satu.. 'How the hell do you say..?' Ini adalah satu Jamban..yang ..err.. Ini Jamban ..'Bring a motion' tuan..

Duraisingham : Saya punya Tuhan (My Lord)
Dia cakap, saya itu itu punya jam saya tada cakap itu Bahasa Melayu.. Tapi tengok saya punya saya punya pasal, dia saya ingat dia yang tak tahu cakap ini Bahasa Melayu..

Loganathan : Kalau tahu apa ..??

Duraisingham : Saya cakap sama ini lu..lu kata pigi Jamban.. Itu tada butul, perkataan yang patut ialah 'Pigi Tandas!'

Loganathan : My Lord..Pigi tandas!!!

Judge : Gentleman, gentlemen, before the court interpreted 'Die from Shock' or before I have to hold you for contempt of the National Language.. Please do us all a favour and continue in English...!!

Duraisingham : Very Good Judgement my Lord!

*****************

The best part of this group is that they are not only confined to courtroom humour. Their works range from press conferences to chit chatting at the Spa. Satiring Malaysian lifestyle that we are too familiar of especially politics. Apart from that, they have improvised a few songs with vocalists that could beat the Akademi Fantasia participants hands down. For more of details, you can visit their website or better still watch their videos on YouTube.

Top Ten: Ways to be a 'Great' politician

2008-04-06T19:57:00.003+08:00

This is the third Top Ten of the series. To check out previous ones, click on the label-Top Ten. This week, we are going to ponder on ways to be a 'great' politician (note the inverted commas). Ways to ascend the political ladder faster than KJ and keeping you in office longer than Samy Vellu.

10. Divert the real question.
How many times have you read or heard interviews where the interviewer will ask "What is Y.B.'s opinion about......." and the politician will give a totally out of the topic answer? Every time right? Keep the people away from the problems that you cant solve and make them focus on the one that you can or you think you can.Try doing that and you will climb the political hierarchy in no time.

9. Accept and distribute gifts.
Accept holidays, shares or maybe a new car from businessmen and give them contracts, projects and land in return. Focus on your negotiating skills and learn how to bargain. After a few years you will get your income without any effort and you could cover things up by doing charity work e.g. inviting people to your 'palace' for a game of bowling give money at every open house (good investment)

8. Have a good relationship with celebrities
like Mawi or the recently famous Malaysian Astronaut, Dr. Sheikh Muzafar Shukor. Bring them to your campaign. Make them talk nice things about you and your party. Launch their albums or books. Turn them into the party's icon. Most importantly don't forget to give them their 'souvenirs' while you are at it.

7. Deliver long speeches
but with little or no points at all. Keep rambling for hours and hours. The longer you talk the better they think your oratory skills are. One of the PM once did this. The next day, the headlines of the newspaper was 'PM berucap 5 jam tanpa teks (PM gave a speech for 5 hours without a text)' . Good publicity, isn't it?

6. Invent a new word
or a new term. This is another way to ascend the political ladder swiftly. Many have done it and many have succeeded . The people will never forget you as long as the word is being used regularly. Hence, we can assume that the more words that you create, the more your popularity rates are. e.g. the word glocal for 'global but local' (Najib), kesinambungan for continuation (Anwar), dara for blood, dada for drugs (Samy Vellu).

5. Able to do damage control.
Especially if you get caught in a sex scandal like the previous Health Minister. Keep cool and say "It's me in the video but I didn't make the video"

4. 'Yes man' goes a long way.
Say what your superiors want to hear. Support them unconditionally. Criticise their detractors. Rally behind them and show your support. If all goes well, you will smell the promotion that is waiting for you at the end of the road. But if they lose, its time to shift allegiance.

3. Issue contradictory statements.
Lets just say that there were times when you were on the present bos' bad side, for example you wrote a thesis criticising their administration. It is time to make a complete U-turn. distance yourself from your thesis by saying that its just an academic practice and you are now 100% behind his leadership. Hey, even politicians are allowed to change their minds.

2. Make a good comeback.
A life of a politician have its ups and downs. When you are at the most bottom never ever think of resigning.This is an opportunity for you to make a comeback, Remember, quitting politics means foregoing the chance to make easy money, it is a fight worth fighting for. One of the most famous comeback revolves around a politician who had been charged of money trafficking to Australia. He tendered his resignation as MB and head of the Selangor's UMNO. But stayed on until the time is right to pounce back.His excuse of 'I don't understand English' and some fortunate 'investments' apparently saved himself from further investigation. Now, he is a minister and the head of Selangor's UMNO once again.

1. Tell lies directly in your supporters face.
One example that I can highlight is that you tell the people that you wont dissolve the Parliament tomorrow but next day, you announce the dissolution of the Parliament. Do this and without a doubt you will be the 'most respectable' politician in the world. Con men from all over will come to you and learn from the master himself.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

2008-04-02T17:58:00.009+08:00

Lets see what the experts have to say about this mind boggling question.

Kindergarten teacher: Because it wanted to get to the other side.

Malaysian driver: To see the accident on the other side lorh!

Aristotle: It is the nature of chickens to cross roads.

Donald Reagan : I forget.

Richard Nixon : The chicken did not cross the road. I repeat, did NOT cross the road.

Arthur Andersen (consultant) :Deregulation of the chicken's side of the road was threatening its dominant market position. The chicken was faced with significant challenges to create and develop the competences required for the newly competitive market. Andersen, in a partnering relationship with the client, helped the chicken by rethinking its physical distribution strategy and implementation processes. Using the Poultry Integration Model (PIM), Andersen helped the chicken use its skills, methodologies, knowledge, capital and experiences to align thechicken people, processes and technology in support of its overall strategy within a Program Management framework.Richard M. Nixon: The chicken did not cross the road. I repeat, the chicken did NOT cross the road.Computer Programmer:
In order for the chicken to cross the road safely they would need more than one driver to access the server farm, if not they will hang in the middle of the road.

Jerry Seinfeld: Why does anyone cross aroad? I mean, why doesn't anyone everthink to ask "What the heck was this chicken doing walking around all over the place anyway?"

Bill Gates: I have just released the new Chicken Office 2000, which will not onlycross roads, but will lay eggs, file yourimportant documents, and balance your checkbook.

Colonel Sanders (KFC) : I missed one?

Bill Clinton: I've had so many chicks, I can't remember...

Dr M:You know, I am tired of all this...'apa-nama' chicken-chicken bisnes...the foreign powers should stop intervening in our domestic affairs and just leave our chickens alone.. If they want to... 'apa nama' cross the road, they should be allowed to cross the road...
Malaysia is a democratic country; we le tour chickens do whatever they want to do... as long as they don't threaten the Malay unity and try to topple the government...and if they plan to do so... we won't hesitate to use the ISA...

Pak Lah:Ini semua adalah khabar angin sahaja...jangan percaya khabar - khabar angin ini semua... biasalah ini adalah taktik pembangkang untuk memecah belahkan perpaduan ayam-ayam semua... jangan percaya... jangan percaya...

Sammy Vellu :Ayyooyoo... belakang cerita lain kali, kita sude bikin banyak jembatan, itu ayam musti guna jembatan untuk lintas itu jalan lagi pun kalu itu ayam mau pigi jalan-jalan, beritau sama saya juga,saya bolley buat lebbey banyak toll........

Karam Singh Walia (TV3) :Seperti yang saudara dapat lihat, kelihatan ayam-ayam itu sedang melintas jalan. Mereka bukan sahaja melintas jalan, malah membuang najis di atas jalan dan ini adalahpencemaran yang paling hebat di maya ini. Bapa-bapa dan ibu-ibu ayam haruslah mengambil inisiatif untukmelatih ayam-ayam agar menahan najis sewaktu melintas jalan, sekian saya sudahi dengan.........Ayam di jalan dilintaskan; Ayam di reban mati tak makan.

Wan Kamarudin (Edisi Siasat NTV7) :Ape kejadahnyer ini semua, KL dah jadik reban ayam, mak bapak ayam asyik menganga saje.

Zainal Ariffin Ismail (Misteri Nusantara TV3) :Ada saksi menyatakan yang mereka apat melihat ayam-ayam ini melintasi jalan-jalan di kampung ini pada waktu malam. Ada yang menyatakan ayam-ayam ini merupakan penyamaran jin.Dan ada juga mengaitkan ia berkaitan dengan peristiwa silam di kampung ini. Apakah sebenarnya maksud tersirat ayam-ayam ini melintas jalan? Oleh itusaya akhiri, "Jangan biarkan hidup anda diselubungi misteri........."

Ministers in the cabinet : We will set up a panel to investigate if this video footage of chicken crossing the road is authentic.

Nazri Aziz : Bodoh, Bodoh, Bodoh, the chicken did not cross the road. It just walk across it.

Ramli Ngah Talib(Parliament chair speaker) : Mind your language Nazri. From now on, the word 'chicken' is included in the 114 words that cannot be uttered in the Parliament.

Lingam : It looks like a chicken, it sounds like a chicken but its not a chicken.

Zainal Alam Kadir(Wayang Kita Astro) : Ayam siapa kalau bukan ayam kita...

Dan Brown (Da Vinci's code author) : The chicken used to a member of a secret society Poultry of Sion. The Opus Dei chickens are on its back because of the missing parshments of Les Dossiers Secrets. And they(Opus Dei)are known for their 'corporal mortification' practice.

George Bush: These chicken inspector must be allowed to do their job....Let me stress now...their plutonium enrichment program must be stop, and make no mistake, we are not going to tolerate another WMD producing rouge chicken state, they are axis of evil state....and put all our options on the table..

Dr. Goh(maths lecturer): Its a long story....

Mr. Francis(accounts lecturer) : According to the accounting concept of Prudence, the chicken is estimating thier unrealised loss by going to the other side.

Ms. Kimmie(econs lecturer): The demand for chicken is rising on the other side. As supply on the other side is diminishing and prices begins to rise, the chickens from this side crosses over to let the market achieve the previous market equilibrium.

Mainstream Media : (headline)" Opposition entice the chicken to cross the road. All chicken die."

Chandler Bing(friends) : Could that chicken BE crossing any roads.

Pemuda UMNO : No matter how many chickens cross the road, we will still give our undivided support tu Pak Lah.

Mukhriz Mahathir: Since there has been many incidents of chicken crossing roads, I urge the PM take full responsibilty of this crisis and do the right thing(resign).

Rafidah Aziz :I don't care about chicken crossing roads, all I care is that i didn't get a cabinet post.

Khir Toyo: This is a result of ill treatment by the new government of Selangor towards the chickens. See, now they are crossing to the other side. Hmm.. maybe I'll add this to my new blog.

Zainuddin Maidin: This is not Pakistan, this is not Burma, this is not Thailand. Unlike there, our chickens do not cross roads.

Chicken: Mind your own business.

but I think the most accurate answer is

Political analyst: The 'chickens'(politician) cross the road(switch parties) to get to the stronger party after election.

Related links:

Malaysian Politicians Say the Darndest Things
Top Ten: Ways to be a 'Great' politician
Flip Flop Plunder

Bloggers are individuals

2008-03-30T22:31:00.002+08:00

I am writing this as a reply of 'NST: Bloggers must be fair, (30th March 2008)'.

The Higher Education Minister, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin's challenge to blogger to face the truth by posting the governments comments instead of giving one sided commentaries shows how little he knows about blogging.

I, myself as a blogger find that blogging is not merely about reporting of an issue but more towards commenting on one. It is actually an avenue for individuals to express their views and opinion on certain subjects that they hold dear to their hearts, be it political or just personal. In other words, we are columnists in our own space, writing base on the information that we get from the Medias.

With the exception of Malaysiakini, Malaysia Today and other similar kinds, most of the blogs reflect the sentiment of the individuals who wrote it. For all that I know everyday or every other day a new blog or blogger will appear. These are individuals with ideas who are not afraid to diseminate them. As a result, the authorities will find it difficult to keep them in check.

Therefore I could say that such issue of bloggers do not give fair coverage does not arise as they are only writing with their hearts just like what the Minister of Information pointed out in his Interview on the same day.

I implore Datuk Seri to use reason and stop blaming bloggers for BN’s loss. It is better for him to concentrate on rebuilding and restructuring the party through soul-searching. Better still, why don’t you write a blog of your own and get a taste of it.

(as in NST 2008/04/04)

Top Ten: Chandler's Take on Life

2008-03-29T23:55:00.005+08:00

Bored of the same casual conversation everyday. Where your friend will ask you something and you will either answer yes or no and the conversation just ends. Fret not, here are the top ten quotes by Chandler Bing from everyone's favourite comedy in the 90's FRIENDS that you can apply in your everyday conversation to put some zest in to it.

10. When someone asks you for advice on their relationship and you are afraid that by advising, things could only become worse,reply:"I'm not so good with the advice... Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?“- Chandler Bing

9. If someone asks you whether you had sex in high school, reply:"Yeah, well, I went to boarding school with four hundred boys. Any sex I had would've involved a major lifestyle choice." - Chandler Bing

8.When you(a guy) are with a girl in a conversation and they condemn boys for being ignorant, shallow minded etc, say:"Sometimes I wish I was a lesbian. Did I say that out loud?"- Chandler Bing

7.A girl asks you,"You're a guy, what's you opinion about........", reply:"Well if I were a guy. Wait, did I just say 'If I were a guy'?“-Chandler Bing

6. A friend says "I'm going to woo her with a little music from record player/walkman." or any outdated phrases, reply:"Hey, you know what you should do? Take her back to the 1800's when that phrase was last used."- Chandler Bing

5. You don't know what to get for a friend on his/ her birthday, say:"That's great. Last year I got the gift of space. We should get together and make a continuum."- Chandler Bing

4. You're jobless and someone wants to borrow your tie, reply:"Okay, but you'll have to give it back when I get a job. Of course, by then, ties will be obsolete and we'll all be wearing silver jumpsuits."- Chandler Bing

3.(For guys) Your girl pals are talking about CLEO,COSMO or other girl related magazine/issues." All right, I took the quiz (cosmo), and it turns out, I do put career before men." - Chandler Bing

2.You're out of shape and someone asks you whether you are a gym member' reply: "Oh yeah, I'm a gym member. I try to go four times a week, but I've missed the last ... twelve hundred times"

1.When you are caught telling your friends' secrets to other friends, reply:"I tell people secrets. It makes them like me." - Chandler Bing

Are You Smarter Than An American.

2008-03-29T21:01:00.005+08:00

Stupid American - Funny blooper videos are here

For those who have Astro, you should be familiar with the show 'Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?' . Eventhough you haven't watched, you might have heard about it and have a glimpse of it during its commercial. Some could say that they were paid to look dumb on national television, but I don't think that the same applies for the above video.

If you could answer most of this question, then you are indeed smarter than an american (play fair now, don't use the wikipedia):

Name a country that begins with a U.
Who's is in the coalition of the willing?
What's the religion of Israel?
What religion are Budhist monks?
Who won the Vietnam war?
Who is Fidel Castro?
How many sides does a triangle have?
What is the currency used in the United Kingdom?
Kofi Anan is a drink, true or false?
Who is Tony Blair?
Which countries are the Axis of Evil?
Who's the first man on the moon?
What is a mosque?
How many kidneys does a person have?
How many World Wars have there been?
Which state does KFC come from?
What are Nagasaki and Hiroshima famous for?
Star Wars is based on a true story, true or false?
How many Eiffel Towers are there in Paris?
Where was the Berlin wall?

Top Ten: Unfortunate Situations to Be In

2008-03-23T19:59:00.005+08:00

Besides my normal posts, I shall introduce to you a countdown of ten things based on the week's topic. I will treat it like a series. My Top Ten series. Yeah that's what I'll call it. Hopefully I can produce it once a week. So you have a reason to come visit my blog weekly and I can guarantee that a week I'll at least have one new post. My materials might be from my experience or someone else's. Which is which, you have to find out yourselves eh. Without rambling much further, here's the first of the series, Top ten unfortunate situations to be in:

10. You're at the exit(mainly shopping mall) and you forgot to pay the parking using the auto pay machine.
Especially, when you realise that, the cars had started queueing behind you.There's no turning back. They honked at you like no body's business and you start to panic.aargghhh. But the bright side is that the parking attendant might get panic too and let you off for free.

9. People honk in tense situations.
Tense situations here could mean like the above or in a traffic jam. You know, when you're stuck there and nowhere else to go, and suddenly this wise guy began honking. It then triggers a chain reaction. As a result everyone honks without knowing who they are honking at. And everyone ends up feeling more stressed out than before. We should promote this culture to foreigners for the Tourism Malaysia.

8.Trying to find a clear traffic exiting KL during peak hours(evening).
You've been driving for quite some time and you know basically all the roads exiting KL like the back of your hand. You turn here and turn there and make another turn somewhere just to end up in another place that is congested. It's just pointless as KL is right smack in the middle of the hot zone. You can't run away from this.

7. Forgot to pay for your meal.
Had lunch, walked around the mall, after a while passed the restaurant again and the waiter reminded you that haven't paid.Hahaha, how unfortunate or may I say embarrassing was that. Of course it was unintentional, but do you think the waiter is going to buy that excuse.

6. It rains and you find a bird poop on your car after you've just washed it.
Talk about watermarks. The car was at its best, all sparkling and all clean. Someone could have mistaken it for a new car. But the bird just couldn't do its business before you washed your car. Always after.*sigh* It is just wasn't meant to be.

5.You have to pay extra even though you rushed to exit the car park.
Talking about ironic, here's one. You parked somewhere that the rates are very expensive. So you tried your best not to get charged extra. Your watch showed 2 mins till the extra charge. You sped off to your car and drove to the exit. By the time you got through the exits, you still need to pay extra because the time stated on the ticket is a few minutes earlier than it should be.

4. You are late for Maths.
I'm not talking of 10-30 mins. late, but 1 hour. If you can't get anything inside your head when you attend the class from the beginning, imagine how is it when you attend the class barely knowing what the lecturer is talking about. Picture this, Math in French. Here, the phrase 'better late than never' doesn't apply.

3. Some stranger waves at you and you waved back....
but actually its his/her friend behind you that he/she was waving at. To look cool, you pretended that you're waving to someone far away or do a weird dance with both hands up in the air like you don't care (not recommended).

2. While you were drinking someone utter a funny statement making you spout the water in your mouth.
If you're lucky, the water will just fall into your plate. If not,well then that's another case. Make an excuse that you were trying to test how far can you spout water from your mouth. Ask them to try. Then you won't be the only one looking foolish. hahaha.

1. Arguing with a doctor
Relax, the doctor that I mean here is not the practicing one, whom prescribes medicine for you nor is it the one that jabs you with vaccine when you get flu. I'm talking about the ones with PhD's i.e some lecturers. Even though when you are sure that you are right, you have all the facts straight, you understand the subject matter clearly and you expressed your thoughts directly, the doctor will end up winning the argument. I don't know how he does it but he will stick to his principles no matter how bad his communcation skill is and try to emphasise his point. I guess the moral here is never argue with a doctor (PhD).

Demonstration IS Malaysian culture.

2008-03-20T22:02:00.005+08:00

They used to say that demonstration is not the way to do it. But now they are the ones who are crowding the streets.

Don’t appoint deputy, protesters urge Selangor MB
by TheStar

Don’t appoint deputy, protesters urge Selangor MB
SHAH ALAM: Several hundred supporters from 12 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) held a peaceful demonstration at Dataran Shah Alam here yesterday asking Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim not to appoint a Deputy Mentri Besar.
The group asked Khalid not to even consider a non-Malay for the number two post, and to maintain the previous number of Malay executive councillors in the state.
The crowd, led by Selangor Umno Youth chief Abdul Shukur Idrus, also hit out at DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang for calling for a boycott of the swearing-in of the executive council in Perak because the act was disrespectful towards the Sultans who were highly respected by the Malays.
Lim later made a public apology over the statement.

Abdul Shukur also said that PKR and DAP had been disrespectful and insensitive towards the Malays when they supported the move to abolish the New Economic Policy which had benefited both the Malays and other races.
The demonstration, which started just after 4pm, ended less than 30 minutes later due to a heavy downpour.

Maulidur Rasul

2008-03-20T17:24:00.002+08:00

To muslims: selamat menyambut hari kebesaran Nabi Muhammad s.a.w
To everyone: enjoy the holidays

Bad to Worse

2008-03-20T15:01:00.006+08:00

If you are given one day that resembles a soap opera or an out of taste comedy, yesterday would be the day for me.

At 6.30 a.m. I received an unfortunate news that one of my relatives had just passed away. This is reassures me that every knock on the door at this irregular hours will be followed by bad news most of the times.

We had to go to Johor for the funeral procession. Realising that I need to settle something at college first, everyone went on leaving my father and I departing at a later time. While I was on my way, another unfortunate thing happened. Apparently the toll didn't read my smart tag when I was exiting kajang toll and therefore I was penalised at the Sg. Besi toll (my balanced was reduced to 0.00). Being punished for something that is not one's own fault could be funny in comedies but it is very irritating in real life.

After heeding the advice of the toll attendant, I decided to make a report on my way home. The regular forms were filled and I anxiously waited for my refund. But as usual, never set you hopes to high. I was informed that I would get refunded in one month time and by check(Rm12 in a check hahaha) .If I wanted to continue using my present touch n go card, I need to top it up again (after doing so before the incident).

Moving on, everything seems to be in place. We arrived in record time of 1 1/2 hrs from bangi to Batu Pahat and I had my lunch. Just as things seems couldn't get any worse, someone stepped on my glasses. I'm not talking about drinking glasses or reading glasses here, it's my don't-leave-home-without-it spectacles. Consequently, I have to squint my eyes all day to get a clear sight.

Just like any soap operas, dramas or comedies nowadays, my series of unfortunate events do have a happy ending to complement it with. I guess that when my glasses broke it was a 'blessing in disguise' that I would get a brand new one today. Because without one, I can't drive and if I can't drive who is suppose to run the errands.

( Kpd semua muslim mari kita sedekahkan Al-Fatihah kepada Hjh Hanim bt Bakri yg telah kembali kerahmatullah pd pagi Rabu , 19 hb Mac 2008, Al-Fatihah........)

Take a Break

2008-03-12T18:58:00.003+08:00

On a less serious note, lets see what the cabinet members were doing before the most humiliating election for BN ever.

Pak Lah: This is the last meeting we are going to have before I make my decision on who our candidates are. First of all, I would like to thank Keng Yaik and Affendi for voluntarily backing out. You are truly gentlemen. Anyone else wants to back out? Think of the party, not of yourself.

Najib: I think Samy should back out la.

Samy: Apa pasai? Why you think I should back out? Why not you?

Najib: You are a liability to MIC and BN la Samy, accept it la.

Samy: What do you mean liability? Give me proof?

Hisham: Ayo Samy, our intelligence report say, we will lose almost 100% of Indian votes if you still lead MIC. If you get lost, maybe we can bring it down to 60%.

Samy: Pakla, don't listen to this two young punks la. Let me read this report just sent to me. After extensive intelligence gathering, we find that 20% of the Indians hated Samy Velu. Ha, only 20% la, where got 100%?

Nazri: Hey Samy I also got the same report la. Why don't you continue?

Samy: Okay, I'll continue, 40% cannot stand to see his face and 35% will kill him if they were to meet him. 5% believe that he is a good leader. Ha, I still got 5% what?

Pak Lah: Come on la Samy, you've been around for a long time already; you have made your money. You are even richer than me, so back out la. Think of the party la Samy.

Samy: Yes, I am richer than you but Najib, 2 deals only is already richer than me, why not ask him also to go? His submarine and Sukhoi and Altantunya also make him a liability what.

Pak Lah: I know that one, but he is from UMNO, that is the difference. The Malays will accept corrupt Malay leaders, as long as they potong, its okay.

Samy: Oh, kalu kasi potong kalu, berapa banyak rasuah pun takpa ka? Mana adil ini macam Pakla?

Najib: That is the way it is in this country Samy. We all from UMNO got immunity, you people, tadak potong punya, don't.

Samy: No, saya akan tetap bertanding.

Kayveas: Adei Samy, listen to them la, what they say is true la. Don't talk about justice all la, as if you are concerned about justice. This is not the place to be talking about justice la old man. We want to win. If that means you will be dropped then so be it.

Samy: Dei Kayveas, you just shut up la. You budak lagi la, you apa tau? What you want to be champions of the Indians ka? If I am forced to back out, I make sure you go down with me. Hey, Mahathir also cannot force me out la.

Kayveas: Tengok Pakla, tadak guna punya orang. Think of himself only. Just shoot him la Pakla, don't give chance. Najib, itu C4 lagi ada ka? Mari kita sekarang taroh itu C4 sama dia. Cilaka punya orang.

Keng Yaik: Samy ah, enough la. So long already you in the cabinet. You want to stay until you die ka? What you think they will bury you in the Makam Pahlawan ka? Every time people curse you la. Now even your own race cannot stand you, give up la Samy. Come join me la. We all retire. After all, we are not sure if we are going to win this time around. BN also not sure going to win or not.

Pak Lah: What are you talking about Kheng Yaik? Why you say like that?

Keng Yaik:No la Pak Lah, If everyone wants to deny us 2/3 majority, then all of them would not vote us la. We may lose more than just 1/3 la. Haiya, that one also cannot see ah?

Pak Lah: Maybe the Chinese or Indians la Keng Yaik, not the Malays la. The Malays love UMNO.

Keng Yaik: Are you sure ah Pak Lah? Now even the Chinese and Indians are willing to vote PAS if it is the only oppositi on available to them, don't you think that there would be Malays willing to vote DAP? Don't be foolish la Pak Lah. Until now still cannot get Kelantan despite all the dirty tricks. Who are majority voters in Kelantan? Malays la, some more what.

Pak Lah: Betoi ka dia kata tu Najib?

Najib: Jangan dengar cakap orang tua penyembur tu la Pak lah. Orang Melayu takkan lupa UMNO punya. Orang Melayu rela mati untuk UMNO

Nazri: Ntah la, ada lojik jugak cakap Keng Yaik tu. Memang la orang Melayu rela mati untuk UMNO tapi rela ka dia mati untuk kita?

Pak Lah: Apa yang orang Melayu tak puaih hati lagi dengan kita? Kita bagi macam-macam kat depa, apa lagi dia mau?

Kah Ting: Lu mau tau ka? Dia olang tengok sumua itu UMNO punya olang besar manyak kaya. Bikin lumah banyak besar. Keleta 4, 5, sumua mahal-mahal punya. Dulu punya Melayu punya UMNO punya olang tak buat itu macam. Kalau dia kaya pun, dia tak tunjuk sama olang. Sekalang punya UMNO punya olang manyak sombong oh. Dia kaya, dia selalu tunjuk. Dia tak takot punya. Itu olang Melayu biasa tak suka la ini macam punya sombong punya olang.

Nazri: Apa, salah ka dia beli rumah besar dan kereta besar? Apa orang Cina saja ka buleh beli rumah besar. Pak Lah, letak Kah Ting kat Tanjong tengok. Jom kita tengok orang Cina suka kat dia ka tak?

Keng Yaik: Tak salah, tapi baru 2, 3 hari jadi menteri sudah kaya ka? Dia punya gaji berapa? Dulu jaga gate keretapi sekarang boleh bikin Istana, orang tak heran ka la Pak Lah? Your weakness ah, is that you think the Malays are stupid. They are not la Pak Lah. Many have opened their eyes la. Many are not ignorant anymore.

Pak Lah: Alah, kalau kalah pun, kalah sikit saja.

Keng Yaik: Sorry ha Pak Lah if I say something. You have been sleeping too much, you have lost touch with reality.

Pak Lah: I think ah Keng Yaik, you don't resign la. This year you stand in Permatang Pauh, mau ka?

Samy: Pak Lah, saya macam mana?

Pak Lah: Meeting adjourn la, semua balik dulu. Saya mengantok ni. Nanti lain kali la.

Aftershock

2008-03-10T19:17:00.006+08:00

Following the shock of the election results, here is another shocker for me. Today is results day! And I totally forgot about it until I reached college and my friends reminded me about it. Initially, I didn't want to collect it today, I would wait until the official one is out, but after everyone seems eager or should I say worried, I said to myself ‘Whet the heck, might as well collect it today with the Sze Lynn, Jillian, Amanda and Jedwind .’

But this 'simple' act had just turned my bright and shiny day to a gloomy and sorrowful one. I guess I should've done my revisions seriously . From now on, I have to complete all the homeworks given (not forgetting MR. Goh's). Just as how the outcome of the election forced the Barisan fellows to do some post mortem, this result prompted me to do some soul searching of my own.

'When you are too complacent, you may take important things for granted.'

Results: Econs 1-D,2-D,3-C, Maths C1-A, C2-C

The Alternative Media

2008-03-10T00:24:00.003+08:00

Malaysia opposition win shows power of cyberspace

By Bill Tarrant

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's weak opposition was up against a hostile mainstream media and restrictive campaign rules, but it can chalk up much of its stunning success in Saturday's election to the power of cyberspace.

Voters exasperated with the unvarnished support of the mainstream media for the ruling National Front furiously clicked on YouTube and posted comments with popular bloggers about tales of sex, lies and videotapes in the run-up to Saturday's election.

Jeff Ooi, a 52-year-old former advertising copywriter who made his name writing a political blog, "Screenshots" (www.jeffooi.com) won a seat in northern Penang state for the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP).

Elizabeth Wong, a human rights activist and political consultant who runs a blog (http://elizabethwong.wordpress.com), won a state assembly seat in the central state of Selangor.

YouTube, the phenomenally popular video Web site, did as much damage as any opposition figure could hope to inflict, after netizens uploaded embarrassing videos of their politicians in action on hot-button issues.

One YouTube video in January showed ruling party MP Badruddin bin Amiruldin causing a ruckus in parliament over whether Malaysia was an Islamic state. "Malaysia is an Islamic state", he declared. "You don't like it, you get out of Malaysia!"

Muslim Malays form the majority in multi-racial Malaysia, but ethnic Chinese and Indians account for a third of the population and they deserted the ruling National Front in droves, partly in outrage over the religious debate.

SEX, SLEAZE, CORRUPTION

Another YouTube video that got wide distribution shows a rambling and incoherent Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin, in a live interview with al-Jazeera, excitedly defending a police crackdown against peaceful protesters calling for changes to the electoral process in November.
Zainuddin was one of several "big guns" in the National Front that fell to the opposition's onslaught.

Sex, sleaze and corruption were election issues and they all had video soap operas on Web sites.
Malaysia's health minister resigned in January after admitting he and a female friend were the couple in a secretly filmed sex video uploaded on YouTube. That cost some votes.

"We were concerned about the morality of our leaders," said Maisarah Zainal, a 26-year-old teacher in Kuala Lumpur. "It didn't help that Chua Soi Lek was involved in a sex video."
Loh Gwo Burne, who secretly videotaped a phone conversation, allegedly showing a high-profile lawyer trying to fix judicial appointments with Malaysia's former chief judge, was elected to a seat in parliament from a seat in suburban Kuala Lumpur.

The grainy video hit a nerve in Malaysia, whose judiciary has been under question since the late 1980s.

Malaysia's blogging community offer alternative views in a country where the government keeps a tight control on mainstream media. The government said last year it might compel bloggers to register with the authorities to curb the spread of malicious content on the Internet.

Government backers doubt whether bloggers turned opposition politicians could make their presence felt. "Beyond the major cities like Kuala Lumpur and Penang, there's not much the bloggers can really hope to accomplish," says Mohamad Norza Zakaria, a leader in Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's UMNO party ( www.umno-online.com )

The Chinese-backed DAP, by contrast, appointed blogger Ooi to head the party's "e-campaign."
Even a barely literate 89-year-old grandmother running for parliament with little money and only a bicycle to get around on, hopped the cyberspace bandwagon with a Facebook profile and her own blog, courtesy of some Internet savvy supporters. Mamin Yusuf, however, lost. It wasn't clear how many of her potential voters were hooked up to the Internet in northeastern Terengganu.

Current Scorecard

2008-03-08T00:47:00.004+08:00

The day that we've been waiting for is finally here. Enough ceramah. Enough mudslinging. Enough Character assassinating. It's voting time now. And that means, no more campaigning and lets start abusing (verbally). Just kidding. We don't have to start it, it's already started. It doesn't matter whether mengumpat (exposing ones shortcomings) is encouraged or not, it has been our habit for a long time.

Even Pak Lah who said that Hadi's Statement (the one that he allows anyone to talk bad about the opponents as it involves the future of the country) was against the teachings of Islam had done it himself. Yeah, he did. This entire week, all the media has gone full throttle with all its ammunition to attack the opposition and its icon ,Anwar, especially. They dug up all the dirt that they have on him and fixed them on the pages (at least two) of all the government controlled newspapers in the country.

On the other hand, the opposition is also playing the same card. Despite attacking the personalities in BN, they should be strengthening their alliance in order to make real impact. The flimsy ranks of the opposition leave them vulnerable from any external attacks. The recent one , quoting from BN officials,is, that their coalition is nothing but an ‘alliance of convenience’ that only works together during election. If the voters cannot see any potential from the ‘alternative government’, they will surely opt for the existing one for their alleged 'track record'.

Long story short, I'm convinced that there will be no change of government albeit they will have a hell of a fight at hand. With that,I conclude that it is my personal view that we DO NOT have any political party that is worthy to give the 2/3 majority mandate to. Therefore, it is in our best interest to deny BN the 2/3 majority, hoping that they will not be complacent and will not make things worse than they are while waiting for the viable 'alternative government' to emerge.

Lesser of Two Evils

2008-03-02T16:12:00.005+08:00

The same kind of adverts, the same reasons, the same audience, yet different treatment. The first one is easily spotted. You can find it in the local newspaper, TV channels (including Astro), radios, billboards, You tube and most surprisingly in Yahoo Insider which label reads 'paid political advertisement'. On the other hand, the second only gets its place in You tube.

This situation can otherwise be known as asymmetric information. Pardon me for the Economics jargon, it is simply a situation where the customers (electorate/ voters) have limited information about a product (choices/ real news/issues) and tend to make unproductive decision by purchasing that product (voting the less capable candidate) without seeking more information i.e. conduct a survey and etc. An easy example is the situation when your mechanic rips you off because you lack the knowledge about your car.

Free and Fair

This particular scenario shows how free and fair our election process is. The government has access to all possible resources while the opposition is left handicapped relying on their tours and Internet campaigns which will only affect a handful of people (middle class, intellects, youths). By the way have you ever wondered where do all the money for campaigning come from? Makes me wonder too, but I won't waste your time rambling about that. Let's waste it on something else shall we.

Voting could be quite a hassle for the 'voting virgin' and the indecisive type. Marking an 'X' might be simple enough but don't take it for granted as it will give power to the victors for another term of 5 long years. Here is another economic solution that could help you to pick the most eligible candidate. I'll try to be as impartial as I can.

Lesser of two Evils

This method is called the cost benefit analysis. For the layman, it is process of listing the pros and cons of something. However, at the end of the day, your decision will depend on what you value most, either more of this or more of that. So let us not waste anymore time and go on with it.

If you vote for BN, you will get more development, more money in pockets (cronies), maybe a Datukship recommendation at the expense of rampant corruption, the government getting complacent and arrogant, controlled media, unequal distribution of wealth and the mismanagement of funds. If you vote the opposition, there will be new fresh ideas, less corruption ( I hope), freer media, make the Barisan more humble, a right to demonstrate at the expense of less development, less experience and maybe a riot by the BN supporters which could only happen if the opposition forms a government.

By comparing both and evaluating them you will eventually choose the lesser of two evils. Its your choice.

Monday Blues

2008-02-29T23:08:00.004+08:00

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

2008-02-29T22:19:00.008+08:00

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

2008-02-29T12:04:00.000+08:00

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

2008-02-24T12:34:00.007+08:00

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

2008-02-23T20:37:00.007+08:00

"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!

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

Road to 16 Sept

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Weekend Debut

2008-02-23T17:16:00.001+08:00

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.