1 Malaysia ... From the Colonialist Eyes.

Are we really united under the 1 Malaysia concept? I do not think so as we are deeply divided by race ....and this was even true years ago in the eyes of the colonialist... I read a book by Farish A Noor entitled "What Your Teacher Didn't Tell You" (Vol 1) - it's a very thought provoking book, try and read it - and came across of what C. G. Warnford-Lock in his "Mining in Malaya for Gold and Tin" (1907) had to say about the three main races in Malaya then and he wrote: "By nature, the Malay is an idler, the China man is a thief and the Indian is a drunkard. Yet each, in his special class of work is both cheap and efficient when properly supervised." The Malays were even compared with the native Americans or Aborigines where the travel writer Isabella Bird was saying in her travelogue "The Golden Chersonese" as below: " Civilised as they are, they (the Malays) do not leave any more impression on a country than a Red Indian would." Quite an interesting observation by these Westerners and from Farish A Noor's, things have not change much since then till now. We are still divided by race and race somehow or rather translated into the profession or strata of each race in the society. Each of the race could easily be "manipulated" by playing the racist sentiments by our dominantly political parties based on communal/race. It is also interesting if we change the words " when properly supervised" in what Warnford-Lord wrote to " ... when properly manipulated." People, we have been manipulated for such a long period and it is time for us to stand up and make things right in 2013!!! This had been happening right from those colonial days till now by different people/political parties but with the same intent and purpose as the Colonialists i.e. divide and rule!!! Happy New Year 2013 to all....

The New Egypt?

A short posting on Egypt post Hosni Mubarak .... The people of Egypt has spoken. Hosni Mubarak was stripped of his power by the common people of Egypt and had elected a President, Mohamed Morsi whose political lineage is towards the Muslim Brotherhood. During the run up to the presidential election, the name El Baradei surfaced as one of the potential candidate for the president, Ek Baradei did not gain popular support from the masses though he was "silently" backed by the western power due to his liberal and pro western attitude. Now in the midst of the so called constitutional crisis in Egypt due to the proposed new Constitution of Egypt by Morsi, El Baradei's name again re surfaced as the main opponent to the new Constitution. Apart from El Baradei, the former foreign minister of Egypt, Ammer Mousa also came into the picture. El Baradei and Ammer Mousa both are disconnected from the masses of Egyptians. While Ammer Mousa was linked and considered part of Hosni Mubarak's regime, El Baradei who was formerly the person who headed to International Nuclear Agency had lived in overseas (out of Egypt) for years thus the disconnection. El Baradei was instrumental in the western powers irrational pressure on Iran's alleged uranium enrichment program. With these background, the most logical choice for Egyptians are to reject these two personalities who tried to hijack the peoples' revolution at the Tahrir Square. Rejecting them mean rejecting the western powers who are lurking dangerously behind them .....

The Most Powerful Man In The World Shed His Tears ....

About a week ago, the world was shocked in horror by the massacre inflicted by a lone gunman at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Connecticut, USA. A total of 26 died,20 of them kids mostly at the tender age six years old....When I saw the news at CNN, my heart was with those "little angels" especially when their names were "splashed" one by one on the TV screen with a black background. It's a black day indeed ... It was reported that Obama, the President of the States shed his tears when he made a press conference extending his condolence to the grieved families.While my heart goes to the victims' families and the Newtown folks, I could not but help in asking this ..... "Mr. President Sir, did you ever shed your tears to the "little angels" who died brutally in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and the like?" Sweet dreams "little angels" of the world ......

SM Teknik Ipoh - Batch 79/80 ...

It's been quite a while since I last wrote a post in September 2012. It's December 2102 and it has been a barren 3 months without any post. Browsed through the face book and came across an invitation by an old friend, Raja Abdul Rahman for a golf (golf? I do not play golf Raja!) in commemoration with "Sambutan Jubli Emas(?) 79/80 ... Since I do not play golf and most probably would not be able to attend the event, below are short snippets of batch 79/80: 1. I was in form/class 4B3 & 5B3 and it was like a mini zoo ... why? because of the nick names, Md. Nor (Beruang), Badli (Anak Beruang - slightly smaller tahn Md. Nor), Abd Halim (Mondok), Nasiruddin (Landak/Tojo @ due to him wearing round glasses) and myself (kerang)... 2. Our class teacher, Mr. Fan @ Kipas will called out our names in the morning for attendance. The first name was always "Abd Halim @ Mondok and the best part when it came to "Raja Abdul Rahman" and "Ramachandran". Mr. Fan for certain "economic" reasons (he taught us Physics anyway) will lump up the names together and cried out "Raja Abdul Rahmanchandran" and both of them will raised up their hand signifying their attendance!!!! Every morning we had a good laugh!!!! 3. There was a year when Nassiruddin @ Tojo hastened his way "balik kampung" to Sg. Choh near Hari Raya - I was was told that he and a few others at the Asrama Putera launched "mercun roket" towards the Asrama Puteri and he had been positively identified by Cikgu Faridah. 4. Cikgu Kassim's (he was sort of "trapped" in his 70s fashion - "kasut motorbot & seluar bell bottom almost "ke dada") house was "attacked" one night because earlier on that day a group of students were caught with long hair and was forced to have an "in situ" hair cut!!!Rambut masing-masing tobek .... 5. Another incident related to 4 above, a teacher's motorcycle (I could not recalled which teacher, either the "Ustaz" or Mr. Segar @ the disciplinary teacher) ended up being "relocated" into a drain!!!! By who? Still a mystery until now ... 6. Back to my class ... Abd Halim @ Mondok is now with SPRM in Sabah, Raja Abdul Rahman with TM, Nizam and Harifah are happily married and are now in Sabah, Nasiruddin @ Tojo I last met him about 10 years ago, Rohaya Sidek is now with Sime Darby, Beruang and Anak Beruang I have lost contact, the last time I met Badli was years ago at ITM Shah Alam, the girl who sat next to Harifah (Klang girl?) I last met her also years ago at Bus Stand Klang when I was at ITM (83/84), Hilmi is an Architect (I believe), Angie, Ding Choo King, Ramachandran, the two "Faizahs", Saari Sujak, Abd Aziz @ Ketua Tingkatan, Nasir (the other Nasir), Lokman (pun ada 2 Lokmans)..... 7. My circle of friends were quite limited then ... beyond 4B3/5B3 the names whom I could remember are the like of Jamil @ Padukang, Azahari @ Ajaii, Jailany, Adnan @ Nan Omar, Nizar, Allahyarham Abbas, Duan - there are 2 "Duans", Yusry, Norman, Lazarus... I could not even recalled those in Commerce Class except for a few like Maria (or is it Marina? who played hockey) and one Commerce girl who sat at the back of the class "dekat pintu belakang kelas)by the name of Faridah (hope I am correct here, Shafiee ..... 8. I would say Batch 79/80 was a talented lot ... quite a few could play a musical instruments especially guitar.. Nan, Mondok and Jailany could play guitar well and will strut their stuff especially during Teachers' Day. Talking about playing guitar, Cikgu Kassim is a good guitar player and Cik Gu "Geografi" tu ( could not recall her name - selalu nyanyi lagu "Burung Pungguk) ... ah yes! Cikgu Zakiah!!! She's a good singer ... Those were the days and the above are just a short snippets of Batch 79/80 of SM Teknik, Persiaran Brash, Ipoh..... With bso many fond memories - good and the "mischievous" things done those days.... To all of you who will be attending the event "Selamat Bergolf"!!!! To those who I could not remember you by names, yours are the faces of Batch 79/80 and will always be...

Is it "Seperti Belanda atau Portugis Minta Tanah"?

I have just finished reading "The Epic of Hang Tuah" an English translation of the "Hikayat Hang Tuah". The last chapter of the Epic, Chapter 28 depicted how the Portuguese managed to shrewdly grabbed Melaka of its land and at the end occupying the whole of Melaka by force.... It was narrated that at first instance, the Portuguese were only allowed to trade from their vessel and not allowed to build a residence on the Melaka soil. However it was the narrated as below: " ... A year after that a huge vessel arrived from Portugal. The captain was a different Portuguese man, bringing with him a heavy load of gold, silver and weapons; there were no goods to be traded, for the vessel carried only gunpowder, cannon balls, and stone pillars for the building that they proposed to erect. The captain lost no time in disembarking and presented himself before Puteri Gunung Ledang, [Note: She was narrated as the ruler of Nelaka after his father, the Raja Melaka stepped down to be a dervish] carrying with him scores of "bahara" of gold and silver, asking to buy a piece of land just the size of the hide of a cow; he said a place from which to trade..." This was agreed by Puteri Gunung Ledang despite of reservations and objection among the officials of Melaka. What happened next was how the Portuguese bared their heinous or rather ingenious act: " ... Soon after the captain sought leave of the Raja and the Bendahara to return to his vessel. He sliced up the hide, which was then turned into a rope and he ordered his sailors to carry the stones and all the equipment for the go-down, and heaped them down before the main gate of the fotress. The captain landed with the rope of hide, pulling it out into the form of a square, as big as it could stretch. It was there he erected a great, tall building; extremely formidable, reserving holes for seven layers of cannon..." By this time, the Melaka officials realised that they had been duped and asked the Portuguese to stop the construction of the building which was definitely bigger than the width of a cow hide. To this the captain replied: " ... I bought it [the land] with countless of "bahara" of silver; the Raja's promise to me is a piece of land as wide as a hide; this hide I had twined into a rope..." It was narrated as when the building was completed, the Portuguese carried up all their equipment and gunpowder into the building as well as their great cannons in disguise. Not long after that Melaka was bombarded with gun fire from the cannons from midnight till sunrise... The above narration reminds me of the "peribahasa" - "Seperti Belanda Minta Tanah". The origin of the "peribahasa" is exactly the same except the "peribahasa" which we commonly used to know refers to "Belanda" instead of "Potuguese" as narrated in the Epic. From my surfing the Net, the "peribahasa" "Seperti Belanda Minta Tanah" was originated from Betawi with the similar narration of "kulit sapi". As for me it does not matter whether it is "Belanda" or "Portugis" ... Not only the Raja of Melaka was duped but years later on 11 August 1786, another captain, a British named Francis Light hoisted the Union Jack in Penang. Later, on 20 January 1874, the British officially "interfere" in the sovereignty of Perak via "Perjanjian Pangkor" ... It goes on and on as what history has told us.... We had been duped by the colonials again and again as narrated by the author of the "Epic of Hang Tuah" on the reason why Melaka fell to the Portuguese: " ... This was the way that the inhabitants of Melaka were made forgetful of their own welfare, entranced by the beautiful objects and merchandise that came from the sea..." never did we learn our lesson .....

Free Flow Merdeka Posting

As a Malaysian who was born six years after Merdeka and six years before the May 13th incident, I would say that the recent 55th year Merdeka celebration had definitely being "revamped" drastically .... For the 1st time, there were 2 Merdeka themes ... The National theme "Janji DiTepati" and the Pakatan Rakyat's theme of "Sebangsa, SeNegara, SeJiwa". Another 1st, there was a "Cabutan Bertuah" during the Merdeka celebration at Stadium Bukit Jalil on the night of 31 August 2012. For the 1st time, there was no firework display at the Dataran Merdeka at the stroke of midnight (31 August 2012) as it was closed "Dengan Perintah Datuk Bandar" (Note: However, there was a small scale firework "tajaan rakyat that night) I am not sure whether the above "1st" is good or not but what the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia did was very bad indeed ... If you happened to watch TV3 news at 8.00 PM, it showed the Malaysian Embassy Staff led by the Honourable Mlaysian Ambassador in Jakarta celebrated "Merdeka" by cutting a "Malaysian Flag" cake and sang .... "Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You ...." instead of shouting "Merdeka"!!! I nearly choked .... As far as I know Mlaysia Day is on 16 September and 31 August is our "Merdeka Day"!!! Either they are "Buta Sejarah" .... No wonder the Majlis Professor Negara (MPN) declared that TECHNICALLY our nation was never "dijajah" but "bernaung" under the British rule... What a "confused" 55th year Merdeka celebration we just had celebrated ....

Salam Eid Mubarak

Today is the 1st day of Hari Raya Aidil Fitri ... A day of celebration after the one month of fasting. Nowadays, we Malaysians sort of like certain of when Hari Raya Aidil Fitri will be celebrated. The whole of Malaysia without exception celebrating the day together in unity despite the diversity in belief or political leanings. I still remember in the early 80s, Perak, my home state, celebrated Hari Raya Aidil Fitri a day earlier than the rest of the states in Malaysia. I think the only state which followed the Silver State then was Johor. The whole "ceruk rantau" of Perak was besieged with "van Kementerian Penerangan" announcing the fall of Hari Raya Aidil Fitri. It is also great to note that 13 ISA detainees were released a day before Hari Raya Aidil Fitri. Whatever the motive is as some would say, it does not matter so long as these 13 were freed and could celebrate the Hari Raya with their families and friends. I believe there are still score of detainees still being held at the Kamunting Camp for various "reasons" ... They should be freed soonest without any conditions attached. I read in Mingguan Malaysia today quoting the Perkasa head, Ibrahim Ali as criticising those who said the release was politically motivated as bankrupt of idea. He was saying that these detainees were released due to ISA had been abolished and the Government will release the remaining detainees in stages. As for me one thing for sure Ibrahim Ali is not the Malaysian Home Minister unless he has the privilege of knowing the intention of the Government to release the detainees in stages. However, one thing which I am sure of those ISA detainees should not be persecuted under the said Act in the first place and should be freed without any condition immediately. "Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri" .....

The Price of Freedom of Expression

By nature, human being likes to express himself without any restraints... Every sane person should be allowed to express himself without fear or favour. However as time evolves, there are rules, laws which to a certain extent curtailed freedom of expression. Below are two recent examples ... The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange had been granted an asylum by the Ecuador government as he sought refuge at the Ecuador embassy in London for months. He sought refuge there to avoid being extradited to Norway for an alleged sexual assault... It was reported earlier that the UK government might resort to avail herself to "a seldom used legislation" to declare the Ecuador embassy as an "illegal entity" thus making it not immune and could not use the "diplomatic immunity". In short, the UK government/apparatus could enter the embassy and arrest Julian Assange. This has drawn criticisms world wide. It was reported by the BBC just now that the UK government has placed police personnel outside the embassy with a crystal clear order that Julian Assange is to be arrested if were to leave the Ecuador embassy. This practically means Julian Assange is held up imprisoned at the said embassy. As we all know, Julian Assange was responsible for the leakage of thousands of sensitive and ultra confidential information including diplomatic cables of the western governments especially the States. This incurred the wrath of the States especially and the perception of the common people is that the sexual assault allegation is just a tool to keep his mouth shut!!! At the other end of the world, three members of the Russian Punk Band Pussy Riot had been convicted to two years of jail each. The three, Yekaterina Samutbvich, Nadezhda Tolonnikova and Maria Alyokhina were convicted on the charge of hooliganism after being arrested for their performance a cathedral. Obviously, their action caused an outrage from the Russian Orthodox church. The Pussy Riot saga had turned into an issue of freedom of expression in the Putinist Russia. They had even been declared as prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International and had also become the darling of anti Putin's repression in Russia. The conviction as reported by BBC just now had drawn world wide crisscrossing from outside the Court in Moscow itself right up to Paris, UK and even Israel... What a hefty price to pay in expressing oneself against the "imperfect" system.... Here in Malaysia the long arm of the law had even stretch to the cyber world by the recent amendment of the Evidence Act by the insertion of Section 114A after the various restrictive legislation such as the Printing and Press Act, the OSA and the likes .... Till we meet again ....

Lagu Mak

Below is Mak's favourite song ... She sang this song when I was a kid during bed time. Kartina Dahari Sayang Di Sayang : "Angin menderu Dahan jatuh menimpa batu Kuburan ( 2X ) Murai terkejut berkicau-kicauan langit mendung di liputi awan Alamat bumi di sirami hujan Sayang di sayang Hati ku rindu Orang jauh tak lupa dari Kenangan ( 2X ) Fikiran kusut berisau-risauan Sakit untung di tinggalkan abang Ibarat kapal tidak berhaluan Sayang di sayang" Till we meet again ... Selamat Hari Raya Eidl Fitri.

Ernesto "Che" Guevara - "Che Vive!!" (Che lives!!)

A posting on the colourful and tragic life of Ernesto Che Guevara, the Argentine famous guerrilla revolutionary .... Che was born - officially documented that is - on 14 June 1928 but her mother, Celia Guevara de la Serna had confided secretly that her famous son was actually born on 14 May 1928 in the city of Rosario. As if destined to grow up as a freedom fighter, Che was born amid the fracas caused by a strike staged by the Rosario's dockworkers in May 1928. He was born on the same day as a twenty eight year old stevedorE named Ramon Romero died in the Grenaderos a Caballo Hospital about twenty kilometers north of Rosario. Romero also known as "Diente de Oro (Gold Teeth) was shot in the head during the strike on 13 May 1928. Che entered the Medical Faculty of Buenos Aires University in 1947 and graduated as a medical doctor but ended up as a guerrilla fighter together with Fidel Castro in freeing Cuba from the US puppet dictator of General Fulgencio Batista. After the victory parade from Santa Clara towards Havana in January 1959, Che became "restless" and was involved in several guerrilla war in Congo where he tried to imitate the Cuban liberation but failed miserably. He then was engaged in the same cause in Bolivia where he was killed. Che was thirty nine years old when he was executed on 9 October 1967 by a sergeant named Mario Teran. It was narrated by Felix Rodriguez, a CIA operative who captured Che that when asked by him if Che had any messages for his family, Che said " tell Fidel that he will soon see a triumphant revolution in America.... And tell my wife to remarry and to try to be happy". On hearing this, Rodriguez stepped forward and embraced Che. He wrote "It was a tremendously emotional moment for me. I no longer hated him. His moment of truth had come, and he was conducting himself like a man. He was facing his death with courage and grace." Rodriguez then left the room and asked Mario Teran " not to shoot Che on the face, but from the neck down" for Che's wounds had to appear as though had been inflicted in battle. Rodriguez noted further that " I walked up the hill and began making notes. When I heard the shots I checked my watch. It was 1:10 P.M." It was narrated that Che's last words before he was shot were " I know you've come to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man." Months before he was executed, Che wrote a letter, only to be read after his death, to his five children: " If one day you must read this letter, it will be because I am no longer among you. You will almost not remember me and the little ones will remember nothing at all. Your father has been a man who acted according to his beliefs and certainly has been faithful to his convictions. Grow up as good revolutionaries. Study hard to be able to dominate the techniques that permit the domination of nature. Remember that the Revolution is what is important and that each of us, on our own, is worthless. Above all, try always to be able to feel deeply any injustice committed against any person in any part of the world. It is the most beautiful quality of a revolutionary. Until always, little children. I still hope to see you again. A really big kiss and a hug from Papa." Che vive!!! .....

What is your favourite "Lagu Raya"?

As we are coming towards the tail end of Ramadhan, the radio stations is now slowly but steadily being flooded with abundance of "Lagu Raya" ... from the evergreen classic sung by P.Ramlee right up to the contemporary by the like of Hattan or M. Nasir... Pardon me as I could not really recall the titles of all the 'Lagu Raya" ... Of course you could not but knowing the following songs ... The vergreen classic by P. Ramlee "Dendang Perantau" and that particular song beginning with "Bila beduk berbunyi ,,," - this song actually has two versions. One which was recorded earlier - I think in the 50s - before it was sung again by P. Ramlee in a "moden" new music arrangement. And who could not sing the "Dam Dim Dumm ... Bunyi mercun" sung by Saloma, it's a pity that these lyrics was "snapped" and banned because of the "mercun" element!!! Ahmad Jais has his own classic "Lagu Raya" simply entitled "Selamat Hari Raya" so as Sanisah Huri with a few songs, one of which is quite popular - it's a sad Raya song actually, if I am not mistaken "Bersabarlah Sayang". [Note: By the way is there a Raya song sung by the sultry voice of Fazidah Joned? I think there is one called "Selamat Hari Raya"] Later years, we were fed with the more contemporary "Lagu Raya". Just to name a few ... Siti Nurhaliza with "Nazam Lebaran" & "Airmata Syawal". Uji Rashid & Hail Amir with "Seloka Hari Raya" and D.J. Dave with "Seloka Hari Raya"... Hattan came up with a song called "Selamat Datang Sayang" and of course M. Nasir with "Satu Hari Di Hari Raya" .... I save this for the last as it is my all time favourite "Lagu Raya" and I wonder why this song is seldom played by the radio stations ... It's a beautiful "Lagu Raya" sung by Khairil Johari Johar called "Baju kurung biru" .... Before I end this posting, do we notice that "Balik Kampung" by Sudirman has nothing to do _ the lyrics - with Raya but it is so popular every time Raya comes .... "Selamat Hari Raya ..."

What a contrast ....

Malay Mail on 9 August 2012 in the World News reported two news with a glaring contrast with each other ... The first news was about the North Korean's First Lady (please read again "North Korean's First Lady) has been pictured what appears to be a Christian Dior handbag. this is in stark contrast to the widespread foot shortages in the impoverished nation. It was said that the hand bag (if genuine) would cost 1.8 million won (RM5,100) in Seoul, South Korea.... At the same page, it was reported from Accra, Ghana that the government of Ghana has no budget for (the State)funeral of the late President John Evans Atta Mills. A senior official of the state was quoted as saying that the annual budget did not normally make provision for such things as funeral so government was not funding the funeral. The said official said this to quash rumours making the rounds that the funeral was going to cost 30 million Ghana cedis, or USD 18.5 million (RM59.2 million) while the casket cost USD 75,000.00 (RM240,000.00). What about in Malaysia then? Anybody fancy having expensive handbag(s) or other accessories ... such as a diamond ring and so on? Well, if "mampu apa salahnya"... Good night ....

Tema Hari Kebangsaan 1970 - 2011

August is the Merdeka Month and this year, 1 Malaysia is perplexed with the 2012 Merdeka Day theme "55 Tahun Janji Di Tepati" ... Wait a minute, let's not make a hasty judgement for it is better for us, Malaysians, to look back at the last Merdeka Day Themes... Here they are as below: 1970 Muhibah dan Perpaduan 1971 Masyarakat Progresif 1972 Masyarakat Adil 1973 Masyarakat Kebudayaan Malaysia 1974 Sains dan Teknologi Alat Perpaduan 1975 Masyarakat Berdikari 1976 Ketahanan Rakyat 1977 20 Tahun Bersatu Maju 1978 Kebudayaan Seni Perpaduan 1979 Bersatu Berdisiplin 1980 Berdisiplin Berbakti 1981 Berdisiplin Berharmoni 1982 Berdisiplin Giat Maju 1983 Bersama ke Arah Kemajuan 1984 Amanah Asas Kejayaan 1985 Nasionalisme Teras Perpaduan 1986 Bangsa Tegas Negara Teguh 1987 Setia Bersatu Berusaha Maju 1988-1989 Bersatu 1990 Berjaya 1991 Wawasan 2020 1992 Wawasan Asas Kejayaan 1993 Bersatu Menuju Wawasan 1994 Nilai Murni Jayakan Wawasan 1995 Jatidiri Penggerak Wawasan 1996 Budaya Penentu Kecapaian 1997 Akhlak Mulia Masyarakat Berjaya 1998 Negara Kita Tanggungjawab Kita 1999 Bersatu Ke Alaf Baru 2000-2006 Keranamu Malaysia 2007 Malaysiaku Gemilang 2008 Perpaduan Teras Kejayaan 2009 1Malaysia – Rakyat Didahulukan, Pencapaian Diutamakan 2010 1Malaysia Menjana Tranformasi 2011 1Malaysia Transformasi Berjaya, Rakyat Sejahtera. Now, I urge you to ponder and make your own judgment on the 2012 Merdeka Day Theme ..... Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan with the inclusive theme of "Sebangsa, Senegara, Sejiwa"!!!!! Good night ....

"Dulu - Dulu Pun' The Ladies Went Shopping!!!

I am not being gender biased nor I am being sexist here but generally - and I must stress GENERALLY!!! - the fairer side of us men loves to shop around. This shopping traits could not be separated from the ladies ... and it had been practiced since centuries ago. Let me prove it to you .... In "The Epic of Hang Tuah" (an English translation of the "Hikayat Hang Tuah'), it was narrated that after the wedding ceremony with Radin Emas Ayu was concluded, the King of Melaka sailed back to Melaka. In its journey back, the King entourage stopped at several "negeri" such as Tuban and Jayakatra. At these "negeri", the Royal entourage would stopped for a few days where the King and his nobles would went for hunting. So, what were the women doing then? Read this: " Within a few days they arrived in Tuban. The Adipati of Tuban and nobles arrived with gifts to welcome Hisajesty. His Majesty stopped in Tuban for seven days to seek entertainment and go on hunt; an abundance of game did they catch. After seven days His Majesty sought leave of Sang Agung Tuban and sailed towards Jayakatra. When they arrived in the harbour, Adipati Jayakatra came with his nobles to welcome him, .... His Majesty stopped in Jayakatra for seven days to be entertained and enjoy the festivities, All the women in the vessels disembarked and visited all the markets...." I reckon the women shopped for seven days in Jayakatra!!!! There you have it, the proof that "sejak dari dahulu lagi ada aktiviti: shopping by the women folks ... Happy Raya shopping to all but be thrifty yea .....

The Excitement - Royal Wedding of the Century

Long before the much talked about Britain's Royal Wedding, centuries ago right in the heart of the Malay Archipelago, there was a great and mammoth Royal Wedding of the century... It was the wedding between the Sultan of Melaka and Raden Emas Ayu, the daughter of the Betara Majapahit. It was a royal, extravagant and regal event which narrated as below: " ... The King of Melaka had a ritual bath performed, employing a complete set of toiletries. When it was completed, he dressed in the most magnificent costume, after which he placed the Seguntang Hill crown on his head, and wore the clasp and the cross belt, both decorated with gems and precious stones... When his Majesty had dressing, the royal elephant was decorated, its entire caparison was of gold and inlaid with gemstones, so many were they that its body could not be seen...." As for Raden Emas Ayu, she " ... was adorned with all manner of magnificent costumes, first with a long sarong skirt with triple octagonal pendants, a silver comb and hair pins, studded with rubies, the handiwork of renowned Javanese craftsmen, and inlaid with more rubies ... She wore carved bracelets clustered with full gems, three a piece on each wrist, ... her hair in small buns, her teeth flawlessly white, lips crimson and extremely sweet; she resembled a limitless ocean of honey... She was like the candle in a lantern..." It was narrated that when all preparations were completed, the King of Melaka mounted the royal elephant accompanied by the royal orchestra and " soon all the musical instruments - the drums, flutes, rattles, clarinets, flageolets, lutes, xylophones and trumpets - there were forty kinds in all being played, wonderfully melodious were their sound ...." As the procession of the King of Melaka stepped forward ceremoniously to the Istana Majapahit to wed Raden Emas Ayu, it was narrated that the folks of Majapahit were in a festive and euphoria mood as narrated below: " ... those with children left them anxious to catch a glimpse of His Majesty; all the married women left their husbands; some with hair buns undone; ....; some ran and fell, to stand up and run again; some who had just powdered half their faces, but scurried off anyway to steal a look, some who had just oiled half their hair rushed to take a peek; and many were those who fell and hurt their faces, but covered them and still went to see the King, saying: "When else shall we have another chance to see a King in procession?". Hmmmmm, what an occasion!! To Kate Paddleton and hubby, you were beaten centuries ago .... Till we meet again....

Mak & her radiogram

A short posting on my Mak .... Actually, I could not recall which came first, is it the colour TV or the radiogram. What I am sure is that Apak bought both items for us and the radiogram especially for Mak. I remember Mak would asked me to play her favorite songs such as "Selimut Putih" (Orkes Al Suraya), "Malam Ini Kita Berpisah" (Habibah Yakob) as well as songs from Sanisah Huri, Sharifah Aini, Rafeah Buang and the like .... There was one particular song sung by the duet husband & wife - A. Ramlie and Maria Bachok - entitled "Intanku Liyana". If I am not mistaken the song was composed to celebrate their newly born daughter by the same name. While listening to the songs - I could not escaped anyway due my being my Mak's "DJ" - it amazed me that the album/record cover always had a portrait picture of the singers. The pictures were in various styles ... For the female singers, the pictures would almost always their portrait wearing oversize dark glasses and looking "side ways". For the male singers, they would wear the 70s fashion - "seluar & baju kotak2x" except for Ismail Harun who liked to wear oversize dark glasses. As for me, the album/record cover of Sanisah Huri wearing an Indian Costume - saree and wart not - was the most memorable. One of the song in that album was entitled " Taj Mahal" depicting the love story of Shah Jahan & Mumtaz Jahan. Mak & I was closely bonded via these songs and the radiogram of course and how I missed her so much... May Allah bless her ......

The Polite & Courteous "Melakans"

Not too long a time ago, the CURRENT (no pun is intended here!!) YAB Chief Minister of Melaka urged the people of Melaka ("Melakans") to refrain from using the discourteous remarks such as "lahabau" etc which is commonly used in the Melakans daily conversations ... Coincidentally, I am in the midst of reading the English translation of "Hikayat Hang Tuah" by Muhammad Haji Salleh and after reading up to page 105, I found that Melakans - those days at least - were indeed very polite and courteous ... Here are some of the extracts from the "The Epic of Hang Tuah" as a proof: At page 103, when the Sultan of Melaka ordered the Bendahar Paduka Raja to compose epistle to be presented to the Patih Gajah Mada of Majapahit, the Bendahara asked Tun Tuah and his four comrades - ooopsss!!! wrong choice of word!!! - compatriots instead by saying: "Come, gentlemen, please listen to the tenure of this letter and verify these gifts; if they are apposite and suitable please state your agreement, and if not please also speak your mind." On hearing this, both Tun Tuan and Hang Jebat said (please read this ....): " Both of us are but servants to Your Lordship; would it be ever possible to surpass My Lord in wisdom and knowledge, who is coversant with the governance and customs of the "negeri"?" Now if that is not polite and courteous of Tun Tuah and Hang Jebat, please be mindful that even the Sultan of Melaka was also so polite towards his subject, the Bendahara Paduka Raja. When the Bendahara had an audience with the Sultan after completing the epistle, the Bendahara said: " Daulat, Your Majesty, your humble servant has done your bidding. Now I leave it to Your Lordship's judgment. Should Your Majesty disagree, I shall rewrite it, but your servant has listened to it being read." The Sultan of Melaka upon hearing the epistle being read to him thereafter said: " Both the sound and composition of the epistle please us greatly. Now it is time for my revered Bendahara to prepare himself; in seven days we want Patih Kerma Wijaya and Bentara Tun Tuah to sail to Majapahit." No wonder Melaka was such a great empire those days as the Sultan and his subjects were so courteous with each other and "bermuzakarah" in their dealings as illustrated above. So, my dear YAB Chief Minister Sir, not too worry all is not lost ... I believe the Melakans are indeed a polite and courteous lots!!! What say you, Norm? Till we meet again ....

SOP

SOP stands for "Standard Operating Procedure" and what was reported in the Malay Mail dated 17 July 2012 on Tuesday has relevance to SOP... The front page of the Malay Mail reported that the former IGP who is also the Bersih 3.0 inquiry chairman as saying the "violence" and the mishandled of the media personnel during the Bersih 3.0 rally was due to the absence of police SOP on handling media personnel. Meanwhile, at page 3 of the same newspaper the current IGP was saying "Guidelines will be out soon" and said the SOP for police handling of media personnel during mass gathering will be implemented soon. The IGP said the police were drafting the SOP. If I could recalled soon after the Bersih rally, complaints were made by the media personnel that apart from being "roughed at' their cameras were destroyed and/or confiscated. To this, the Home Minister was saying that is within the police SOP but it was denied less than 24 hours later by the IGP who said the action was not the police SOP. Now we know why, there is no SOP at all in the first place!!!! Interesting but better late than never eh? Good night and "Selamat Berpuasa" ....

The Real Reason of the repealed of the ISA?

I could not believe my eyes when I read the headline appeared at the front page of the Malay Mail dated 10 July 2012 (Tuesday). The headline read as: "PM: ISA enhances political careers" and below the headline there was this caption: "Najib says Internal Security Act repealed as it didn't help BN-led government politically but uplifted profile of detainees." I then turned to page 2 - just to make sure and it was reported the PM as saying: "... If you put someone under ISA it doesn't kill them politically, instead it enhances their political career." The reasoning as put up by the PM is definitely far off than the reasons given when the announcement of the decision to repeal the ISA was first announced by the PM at PICC Putrajaya if I am not mistaken. I further believe that the reasons given during the motion at the Parliament were also not similar to what was reported in the Malay Mail. From what I know not all ISA detainees are politicians and not all politicians detained under ISA experienced a drastic uplifting of their political career. Just look around and you should be able to guess without me naming the names. There goes the "Janji ditepati" down the drain ...... Good night ....

Jakarta!! Jakarta!!! & Soe Hok Gie

I am just back from my duty travel of 2 days' to Jakarta. Apart from attending meetings, I have resolved to 'merewang" at the "toko buku" - who knows I might find some interesting books to buy. True enough I managed to buy 3 books - one is a book on the thinking and ideology of Tan Malaka, a Partai Komunis Indonesia activist, another book is on the "no holds barred" interview with Pramoedya Ananta Toer,a prominent Indonesian writer who was banished by the "Pemerintah Orde Baru" (Soeharto regime)for almost three qurter of his life for being suspected as a communist and lastly a book entitled "Soe Hok Gie - Catatan Seorang Demostran". To be frank, I have never heard of Soe Hok Gie's name before. The only reason why I bought the book because of the word "demonstran"!!! I was telling myself this would be an interesting book and indeed it is very interesting and intriguing. I browsed through the internet and found below about the firebrand Soe Hok Gie: Soe Hok Gie was born on 17 December 1942 in Jakarta. He studied history at the Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Indonesia from 1962 to 1969. He was a prolific writer and started writing at the age of 15. "Catatan Seorang Demonstran" is a collection of his writing in his diary. During his varsity days, he was an activist and he was believed to play a role as university students in toppling the "Orde Lama" (Soekarnoe) in 1966 by forming "Angkatan Mahasiswa 66". He was an idealist and remained strong and steadfast in his fight against injustice to the extent of " ... (Soek Hok) Gie sangat kecewa dengan sikap teman-teman seangkatannya yang di era demonstrasi tahun 66 mengkritik dan mengutuk pihak pemerintah kemudian selepas mereka lulus berpihak ke sana dan lupa visi dan misi perjuangan angkatan Mahasiswa 66 ..." Soe Hock Gie also loved nature and hiked up the mountains in Indonesia with his close friends. This hobby "robbed" Indonesia of one of his "great son" as he died at the age of 26 at Gunung Semeru (Mahameru) due to "tercekik gas beracun kawah Mahameru". His life as illustrated in the book was translated into a film called "GIE" with Nicholas Saputra as Soe Hok Gie. I depart from this post with a quote from Soe Hock Gie: "Bagiku sendiri politik adalah balang yang paling kotor. Lumpur-lumpur yang kotor. Tetapi satu saat di mana kita tidak dapat menghindari diri lagi, maka terjunlah." He also on 22 January 1962 as if knowing that he would die at a young age quoted: " ... Seorang filsuf Yunani pernah berkata bahwa nasib terbaik adalah tidak dilahirkan, yang kedua dilahirkan tapi mati muda, dan tersial adalah umur tua." In agreeing to this, he wrote further "... Rasa-rasanya memang begitu. Bahagialah mereka yang mati muda" Plus his poem entitled "Hidup": "Terasa pendeknya hidup memandang sejarah Tapi terasa panjangnya karena derita Maut; tempat terakhir. Nikmat datangnya dan selalu dibeti salam." Till we meet again ....

"Ape citer ni Yeob @ YAB?"

The Malay Mail on 26 June 2012 at page 14 reported that the YAB Menteri Besar of Perak urged the Ipoh City Council to "look into iconic cinema's status". This came about as a result of the demolition of the Majestic Theater in Jalan Chamberlain, Ipoh on 14 June 2012 in order to make way for a commercial project. The cinema was built in the 1930s and some of the city's folks were insisting that the iconic building should be preserved due to its historical significance and heritage status. I believe many of my Ipoh friends had been to the Majestic cinema those days and it was iconic indeed with significant "pre merdeka" architecture. I myself had been there enjoying movies with Apak. Even the counter "beli tiket wayang" at this cinema theater is unique ..... The Menteri Besar was reported as urging the City Council to ascertain if the demolition had been done in accordance with the law and further said "If there had been a violation of the law, the council must take action". At the end of the report, the Menteri Besar had knowingly or unknowingly "defending himself" by saying " matters concerning the preservation or demolition of heritage buildings came under the purview of the state's heritage commissioner". To me all these comments/remarks have become academic - "nasi sudah jadi bubur" - the building had been demolished and torn down to the earth .... Perhaps Perak is too vast a state and the Menteri Besar had been too busy lately as not to notice what's up at a location merely about 3 KM or so from the Menteri Besar's Office!!!! Until we meet again ....

A Lacunae in History

On the 2 June 2012, a prominent "anak Malaysia" passed away. He was Cikgu Zul who won a seat in 1969 (Sg. Lembing, Pahang) under the ticket of Partai Rakyat. Unfortunately, it was a short lived victory as he was detained under the infamous draconian ISA law. Upon learning of his death, I tried to "dig" more about Cikgu Zul's history in particular his role in independent movement as well as his contribution in post "merdeka" era. In fact since 2 June 2012 until now, it's a futile effort as ............................................................... ................ obviously there is a lacunae or a gap in the "pages of our history books as far as the leftists are concerned and I am still searching for a "just & fair" recordings of our Malaysian history. Think about it & good night!!!!

Mak & The "Belia" Connection ...

In a week or so, there would be a "sambutan Hari Belia" I believe... There would be a "Himpunan Jutaan Belia" at Putrajaya this 26 & 27 May 2012. This post is not about the celebration of Hari Belia but it has some connection with "Belia' or rather "Persatuan Belia 4B" - those days it there were "Persatuan Belia 4B" all over Malaysia ... I wonder whether it still exists. Back to the story which goes like this ... I was still in my lower primary, Standard 1 I think. It was in the early 70s and that was the year when thne 2nd Prime Minister, Tuan Razak introduced the "Buku Hijau" programme. Folks were then encouraged to "bercucuk tanam" even at the small plot of land at the back of their house. Those days Mak out of boredom and to earn extra income cultivated "jagung" along the river bank in my "kampung", Kampung Kota Bahru, Gopeng, Perak. I think the river is known as "Sungai Teja".... Mak's "kebun jagung" is quite large in size at least for a small kid like me. Apart from "jagung", Mak also cultivated "kacang bendi", "kacang panjang" and some chillies. I could sill remember when Mak, my brothers/sisters and myself harvested the "jagung" - we had a good time "makan jagung bakar" by the side of the river .... Then, it's "mandi" time in the river!!! In our kampung, there was a "Persatuan Belia 4B" and I remember one day when some of its "orang kuat" came to my house seeing Mak & Apak - Apak was a teacher then. I did not know what transpired or what was discussed... The only thing which I noticed a few days after that, Mak did not go to the "kebun" for a week or so. I did not asked Mak the reason... I also noted that during that week an entourage of people waering "Batik" and caps were doing some rounds along the river bank and were "visiting" Mak's kebun. I was at the verandah of my house and saw them all - about 20 or so and most of them wearing "Batik" with caps while some of them in T Shirts ... They spent a few hours at Mak's "kebun jagung" then left and Mak went attending her 'kebun" the next day. A few years later only I knew that Mak's "kebun jagung" had been "loaned" by the "Persatuan Belia 4B" of the "kampung" for the "Buku Hijau" programme!!!! Then only I realised what transpired that evening when some of the "orang kuat" "Perstauan Belia 4B" came to my house and why Mak did not go to her "kebun" that week....There was a visit by a VIP to the "kampung" and the "Persatuan Belia 4B" had to "show" some achievements of its "Buku Hijau" programme. Mak's reward? She was given a few (I think it's 2 or 3) bags of manure .... I just wonder how many bags or other "goodies" the "Persatuan Belia 4B" received from the VIP/Government!!! "Selamat Menyambut Hari Belia!!!!" ......

Hari Guru 16 May 2012

Today is 16 May ... It's the Teachers' Day. This post is dedicated to all teachers especially those who have taught me. I will try to remember most of them if not all right from my primary years up to my college days .... Sekolah Kebangsaan Kota Bahru, Gopeng, Perak: Cik Gu Jalal & His wife, Cik Gu Kamariah (English Teacher), Apak of course, Cik Gu Naimah & Ustaz Ahmad. It's a small "kampung" school with a small team of teachers. Sekolah Kebangsaan Jalan Pasir Puteh, Ipoh: Cik Gu Sariah, Cik Gu Rosli, Cik Gu Hamzah, Mrs. Elizabeth (Englush Teacher & so "garang") Anglo Chinese School, Ipoh: Mr. Yeoh (Form Teacher/Modern Maths Teacher), Mr. Yee (Integrated Science), Cik Gu Mohd Noor, Mr. Dass, Mr. Chin (English Teacher), Ms. Lam (the petite Geography Teacher), Cik Gu Asmah, Cik Gu Norizan. Sekolah Menengah Teknik, Ipoh: Mr. Fan (Physics), Cik Rahman, Mr. Shanmugam, Ms. Yip (the pretty English Teacher with shoulder long straight hair),Cik Gu Kassim, Cik Gu Zakiah (she's a good singer/Geography Teacher),Mr. Tan (Add Maths), Mr. Tan "Survey". Sekolah Menengah Anderson, Ipoh: Cik Gu Azizah, Cik Gu Sani (the funny Geography Teacher). And of course Cik Gu Hamdi & Cik Gu Ridzuan (History Teacher - Now Dean @ University Malaya) of Institute Premier, Ipoh. Lastly but not least to those who taught me during my college days: Prof. Balan (Tort), Puan Badariah (Jurisprudence), Puan Ahilemah Joneid, Allahyarham Pak Nik Rashid, Allahyarham Prof. Azmi Khalid, Prof Vijay, Mr. Zafeer (Labour Law),Puan Saleha Ramli, Prof. Visu (Contract Law), Prof M.P.Jaine, Prof Molly Cheang, Puan Sharifah Shuhana, Prof Mimi Kamariah, Puan Wan Arfah, Prof Rafiah Salim, Ms. Chee Yoke Ling, Ms. Khaw Lek Tee, Prof Teo Keang Sood ... Pardon me if I could not remember/recall all but what I am certain is beside my parents , Mak & Apak, these great persons were the best teachers who had directly charted and had great impact on my life .... I could only say thanks a lot and may Allah bless you all. "Selamat Menyambut Hari Guru ...."

Artcle 114 Malaysian Federal Constitution @ SPR

Let's digress a bit from the Bersih 3.0 rally on 28 April 2012, I would post about it later anyway. Days before the Bersih 3.0, the nation was struck by a bomb shell alleging that the two top guys at the apex the Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya (SPR) are members of the ruling party, UMNO ... No need to mention their names anyway as y=they have become celebrities sort of... The duo even admitted but at the same time alleged could not recalled being members of UMNO, however the 2nd guy was reportedly as saying - in a rather comical U-Turn - he was never an UMNO member. Let's not argue further but look at Article 114 of the Federal Constitution, which I reproduced here in the Bahasa Melayu version:- " Perkara 114. Keanggotaan Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya. (1) Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya hendaklah dilantik oleh Yang di-Pertuan Agong selepas berunding dengan Majlis Raja-Raja, dan hendaklah terdiri daripada seorang pengerusi, seorang timbalan pengerusi dan lima orang anggota lain. (2) Pada melantik anggota Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya, Yang di-Pertuan Agong hendaklah mengambil perhatian tentang peri mustahaknya suatu Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya yang mendapat kepercayaan awam. (3) Seseorang anggota Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya terhenti daripada memegang jawatan apabila mencapai umur enam puluh lima tahun atau apabila hilang kelayakan di bawah Fasal (4) dan boleh pada bila-bila masa meletakkan jawatannya melalui surat yang ditandatangani sendiri olehnya yang ditujukan kepada Yang di-Pertuan Agong, tetapi tidaklah boleh dipecat daripada jawatan kecuali atau alasan dan mengikut cara yang sama seperti seorang hakim Mahkamah Persekutuan. (4) Walau apa pun apa-apa jua dalam Fasal (3), Yang di-Pertuan Agong hendaklah melalui perintah memecat daripada jawatan mana-mana anggota Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya jika anggota itu— (a) seorang bankrap belum lepas; atau (b) melibatkan diri dalam apa-apa jawatan atau pekerjaan berbayar di luar tugas jawatannya; atau (c) ahli mana-mana satu Majlis Parlimen atau Dewan Undangan sesuatu Negeri. (4A) Sebagai tambahan kepada apa-apa kehilangan kelayakan yang diperuntukkan di bawah Fasal (4), pengerusi Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya hilang kelayakan untuk memegang jawatan itu jika selepas tiga bulan pelantikannya ke jawatan itu atau pada bila-bila masa selepas itu dia ialah atau menjadi anggota mana-mana lembaga pengarah atau lembaga pengurusan, atau pegawai atau pekerja, atau melibatkan diri dalam hal ehwal atau urusan, mana-mana organisasi atau badan, sama ada diperbadankan atau selainnya, atau mana-mana pengusahaan komersil, perindustrian atau pengusahaan lain, sama ada atau tidak dia menerima apa-apa saraan, hadiah, untung atau faedah daripadanya: Dengan syarat bahawa kehilangan kelayakan itu tidaklah terpakai jika organisasi atau badan itu menjalankan apa-apa kerja kebajikan atau sukarela atau tujuan yang berfaedah kepada masyarakat atau mana-mana bahagiannya, atau apa-apa kerja atau tujuan lain yang bersifat khairat atau sosial, dan anggota itu tidak menerima apa-apa saraan, hadiah, untung atau faedah daripadanya." It's interesting to note that at least Article 114 (2) states that it is of utmost importance for the Yang DiPertuan Agong with consultation of the Council of the Malay Rulers to consider the public confidence in the appointment of the SPR office bearers. Enough said, I am as one of the 26 million Malaysians had lost my confidence, not to forget the 300 000 Malaysians who participated in the Bersih 3.0 rally last 28 April 2012... What say you ....

Of Contradicting Statements/Actions ... Paradox

It's been quite a while since my last posting ...So busy with work. Just a short and brief posting about contradicting statements ... Few weeks ago, the front page of Malay Mail quoted Tun Dr. Mahathir as saying "everybody is racist" ... It's interesting to note that a few days later, the "other half" of MB Perak, Dr. Zambri said "BN is not racist".Luckily, Perkasa does not join the fray lest things would not only full of contradicting statements but would be real "kelam kabut"!!! Then Tun Dr. Dziaddin, former Lord President in his key note address in a Seminar claimed that "the Judiciary was crippled during Tun Dr. Mahathir's era" and this was echoed in support by Nazi Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister Department. Guess what was Tun Dr. Mahathir's reply? He said "it's a blatant slander" and he carried on by saying the sacking of the former Lord President Tun Saleh Abas was not his doing but that of Almarhum the then Yang DiPertuan Agung!!! So convenient of him to uttered such a statement ... Actually I am not surprise at all ... Who/which political party carried out a 'hatred campaign" against the Institusi Beraja" in Malaysia about 2/3 decades ago ... The mainstream media - electronics and printed - was hit with what I called as "The Monarchy Bashing". The newspapers carried out reports of the alleged lavish lifestyle of the Monarch and the grand "istana", some of them were concocted - in fact one of he so called 'Istana" actually belong to a Chinese Tycoon!!! On TV, every other week would be screened 'Cerita Melayu" depicting the "kezaliman Raja-Raja" or their "idiocy". Films such as "Lancang Kuning", 'Musang Berjanggut", "Hang Tuah", "Nujub Pak Belalang" were screened on TV unashamely .... Above are examples of contradicting statements and contradicting actions which resulted in paradox kind of situation ... What a shame .... Till we meet again ... I parted with a question - "Who not too long ago committed an act of treason when he led a so called procession of "installation" of a "Sultan" in defiance of the current and rightly installed Sultan?

Fatwa Council has spoken - "Indelible ink "halal"

A very short posting .....

I regularly "wasted" RM1.20 almost everyday buying NST ... Come to think of it, it's not really a waste as I always begin reading the newspaper from the back page then to the Business Section and then only to the so called "PRIME News" ....

Back to the posting on indelible ink ... I am not going to comment on the statement issued by the Fatwa Council but to quote what the EC Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusof said in the NST @ 12 January 2012 regarding indlible ink:

"EC Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusof had said the ink would have four to seventy percent silver nitrate and could last up to seven days. The colour of the ink would remain a secret to prevent sabotage, he said."

My gut feeling is the colour of the ink definitely would not be "YELLOW" - that's not a secret to most people but if it turned out to be yellow then most probably there is sabotage!!!!

Good night ....

I was dead confused .... and still am confused!!!!

I bought myself a copy of "Utusan Malaysia" on 11 January 2012. It's not that I am an avid reader of the newspaper all these year. The only reason I bought "Utusan Malaysia" that day because of its headline ...

It was printed at the front page in capital letters - "PESERTA BAWA BOM" obviously referring to the 3 bomb explosions the day before at the Court Complex, Jalan Duta. In contrast, the headline was also accompanied by a line stating: "Pemeriksaan sebelum perhimpunan tidak temui objek merbahaya"...

Now now I am confused ... I read the news further and it was reported (still at the front page) that:

1. "Menurut sumber polis, pemeriksaan ketat di seluruh kawasan perhimpunan sebelum peserta dibenarkan memasuki lokasi itu seawal pukul 4 pagi tidak menemui sebarang objek berbahaya."

2. "Berdasarkan siasatan awal katanya, polis percaya bom-bom tersebut dibawa oleh mereka yang menyertai perhimpunan itu."

To further enlighten my curiosity, I turned to page 4 and read the news in full with a heading; "Bom milik peserta perhimpunan" ... The report states amongst others:

" Tiga bom buatan sendiri yang meletup sehingga mencederakan lima individu di perkarangan Kompleks Mahkamah Jalan Duta di sini semalam, dipercayai dibawa oleh mereka yang menyertai perhimpunan Kempen Bebas Anwar 901.

Ini kerana, polis yang membuat pemeriksaan ketat di seluruh kawasan perhimpunan sebelum membenarkan peserta memasuki lokasi itu seawal 4 pagi, tidak menemui sebarang objek berbahaya.

Sumber polis berkata, siasatan awal percaya, bom-bom tersebut dibawa oleh mereka yang menyertai perhimpunan itu.

Then there was a quote by the "sumber polis" to "Utusan Malaysia"which goes as follows:

"Kawasan tersebut telah dikawal oleh anggota polis sehari sebelum perhimpunan selain pemeriksaan dibuat secara rapi.

Malah, pemeriksaan terakhir turut dilakukan sebelum peserta perhimpunan dibenar berkumpul di kawasan itu dan tiada objek berbahaya ditemui.

Sebab itu kita percaya bom buatan sendiri yang lengkap dengan jam jangka itu dibawa oleh peserta perhimpunan."

After reading the news, I was dead confused - I am still baffled actually - with the report which could be summarised as follows - I would say it's a confusing inference indeed:

1. The police guarded the compound a day before the event;
2. The police scrutinised and "checked" everybody as early as 4.00 AM on the day the explosions occurred;
3. The police did not find any dangerous object;
4. Despite 1,2 & 3, "sumber polis" to "Utusan Malaysia" believe ("percaya") the bombs were brought into the compound by the "peserta perhimpunan".

How am I going to "percaya" this kind of reporting by "Utusan Malaysia" unless if bombs are categorised as not "objek berbahaya" so they were allowed to be brought in the "perkarangan Kompleks Mahkamah" ....

Anyway, I "percaya" I wasted RM1.50 that day because of "Utusan Malaysia" ....

Till we meet again ....

Malaysians On Top Of The World

Just a short posting on the above and it goes like this ...

"Malaysians On Top Of The World" .... that's the caption at the top of the font page of NST @ 9 January 2012.

Upon further reading, I as a Malaysian could not but am very proud of the news of Lee Chong Wei winning the Korean Open yesterday. The World No. 1 in badminton defeated his arch rival Lin Dan of China. Yesterday also was a winning day for Nichol David, the squash No. 1 who won the maiden World Series Final.

The winning streak of the two Malaysians spilled over to today which was celebrated by Malaysians at large. I am referring to the acquittal verdict of Anwar Ibrahim by the High Court of Malaya Kuala Lumpur. I could say that all Malaysians who believe in legal justice/principle would hailed the decision as a sound - as opposed to unsound - judgment. At least, there is a 'ray of hope" for our legal system ...

If you asked me why did I not mention about MU winning the 3rd round of the FA Cup in this post, my answer would be I am talking about winning Malaysians ... Furthermore, I am not a MU fan!!!!!

Good night and till we meet again ....

"Ulang Tayang'

About three days ago, Merdeka Centre predicted the 13th General Election (PRU13) would be held latest by June this year - yup! it's 2012 already - ....

I also want to do my own predictions on what will/may happen nearing the PRU13:

1. The opposition parties especially PAS & PKR would face a tremendous reduction of their membership. Reason: almost every day there would be news of their members "deserting" the parties in droves "joining" UMNO... Come to think of it, if you care to do simple arithmetic, PAS & PKR would have a negative membership if the news were to be believed judging by the numbers of "deserters" given!!!. I wonder whether there were "recycle" of deserters year in year out!!!!;

2. There would be lots and lots of "upacara/majlis pecah tanah" for community projects such as 'Balai Raya/Dewan Orang Ramai" .... Since this is going to be our 13th General Elections - not taking into account the numerous by elections held - our prominent politicians could be considered as an expert operator of the back hoe!!!;

3. For continuity purpose from No. 2, there would also be lots of "upacara/majlis meletak batu asas" for schools, Taska, Tadika and so o by our YBs. If they were to apply to become "Kontraktor Kelas F" "senang-senang dapat" approval from the MOF;

4. Not to mention the "upacara/majlis perasmian" surau, mosque, bridge and so on ... I think some of the surau or balai raya had been officially opened more than once!!! Do you keep a record?;

[Note: No: 2, 3 & 4 duE to its "continuity in nature" would ensure a "modal politik" for the next 4/5 General Elections!!!!]

5. The major examination result (SPM) would be out sometime in April/May this year, so our "dignitaries" would be busy attending "Majlis Anugerah Pelajar Cemerlang". The "Majlis" would tun out to be a "Ceramah Poltik"....

6. Some Estates with "jalan tanah merah" would be tarred ....:

7. So many people/parties would become an "overnight expert" on our local politics despite their hollow analysis ... Question is where were these people all this while?;

8. "Majlis Bersama Rakyat" would be held at the "seluruh ceruk rantau" of our beloved country with the giving out of aids to the less fortunate etc;

9. There would be lots of "cerita hantu" ......if you understand what I mean!!!!

The above are only partial of my predictions as it goes on and on ....

The ideal practice of democracy is that when Parliament is dissolve pending a General Election, the incumbent Government becomes a caretaker government.... Meaning - again ideally - there should not be abuse of Government's assets/machinery to gain an upper hand against the opposing parties. All political parties should compete on "even & fair ground"...

When asked about this, the answer would be a standard ... "Memang sudah ada peruntukan belanjawan bagi pembangunan kawasan ini untuk kesejahteraan rakyat...."

I have been hearing this statement since I was in my primary school - what about you? Please be free to share your experience ....

Till we meet again ....

What's wrong Being a Populist?

Not too long a time ago - in 2011 - when a certain political parties' front announced several economic/social initiatives to be implemented should the said font were to be voted as the "next Government of the day", the opposing side was saying that those proposed initiatives were merely a mere rhetoric political statement and a mere populist action ... In other words, they are merely "populist action".

The opposing side's lieutenants came in droves condemning the proposed initiatives by saying they were economically non viable and almost impossible to implement. Almost all of them are saying this common statement _ " ... Ianya hanyalah kenyataan/tindakan populis untuk meraih sokongan rakyat ...."

The proposed initiatives are amongst others to give certain amount of allowances to single mothers, to abolish certain taxes and so on ....

I am not an economist so I am not going to comment on whether those initiatives are economically viable to be implemented or not ... The opposing faction argued that if they were to be implemented the nation would be "penniless" as we are not a "Welfare State" as practiced by several western countries... I am just going to touch on what is the definition of "populist"

Let's define what "populist" is ... Cambridge dictionary defines "populism" as a political ideas and activities that are intended to represent ordinary people's needs and wishes". Being "populist" means "representing the interest and opinions of ordinary people".

'Populism" is an ideology or political philosophy or type of discourse where its common theme normally compares "the people" against "the elite" and urges social and political system change.

So what's wrong being populist? I see nothing wrong for being populist and/or taking a populist action .... Even the critics had been taking populist action when:

1. A certain politician sat on the road (Jalan Bukit Bintang) together with hundreds of football fans watching the EPL match;
2. A certain politician invited group of youths watching a football match at his residence;
3. Hundreds of free lap tops being given to the school children and the "kampung" folks;
4. BR1M,KR1M are created;
5. 1 Malaysia and many other '1 Malaysia" products are being created; and
6. The list goes on and on ....

My point is if being "populist" by the other side of the fence is being deemed as a "crime", the critics are also committing the same "crime", if not worst ....

Being 'populist" is like breathing in oxygen for politicians and had been practiced by them for years... Mao Ze Dong with his "Cultural Revolution", Fidel Castro's iconic brand of cigar smoking and his "guerrilla green jacket and hat" ....

Ooopss!!! I forgot to mention a certain Minister 9or is it Deputy Minister) who pledged after the 2008 General Election that he would spend a night at a Felda Settler's house at least once a month!!! If this is not a "populist action", I do not know what it is as I am very certain it's not a foolish action - at least from this particular YB's mind ...

Till we meet again .....

Happy New Year 2012

Just a short posting ....

To my wife Aishah & kids, I wish a very Happy New Year 2012 ... Let's say 'Good Bye" to 2011 and welcome 2012 with full of love and compassion.

To my friend, Haryati Mohd, Happy New Year & "Selamat Pengantin Baru".... May ALLAH bless both the "mempelai"....

To all my friends, Happy New Year 2012.

To the HKL administration, beef up your security and screen your personnel so that there would not be a repeat of the RM1 million loss of medicines from the hospital's store on last Christmas Public Holiday.

To the police investigation team, hopefully you could trace those medicines with the arrest of the suspects. My only hope is those medicines would not lost from the police store when it becomes as "bahan bukti" for trial. Fuuuhhhh ... what a vicious cycle we live in!!!!

To Malaysians, let's hope 2012 would not be another "pentas lawak" especially by those politicians/those "pegawai-pegawai tinggi", amongst others:

1. The cry call of " 1 Bumi 1 Melayu" by you know who...;
2. The statement by the Deputy Minister of Transport that double deck buses are not suitable for use for certain terrain especially hilly roads after those buses had been weaving our roads for years!!! Who approved this in the first place?
3. Chua Soi Lek's sudden interest in "hudud" and making nonsensical statements on "hudud";
4. To limit the political parties to only a certain maximum numbers - if my memory is still good - the "pegawai tinggi" at the Registrar of Societies was saying an ideal number should be 10 or the max 15;

There were others of course .... One of which I dread imagine - and luky thing it did not happen - the "Ketua Pergerakan Wanita UMNO" "selak kain"!!! she only "sinsing legan baju jerrr" ....

As for me, I pray 2012 would be a year full of love - with Aishah & the kids apart from the hectic work schedule at my place of work.

Come to think of it - it would be bored "jugak" if there's no "pentas lawak politik" in 2012. so guys go ahead entertain me and all Malaysians ....

"HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012...."