This entry serves as a tribute to all activists who I came across and read about ... They were special in their own class.
Of course this tribute would start with the passing of 9 activists aboard the hijacked & attacked ship en route to Gaza. One of them was a 19 year old dual citizens @ States & Turkish, Furkan Dogan... He was so young and yet contribute significantly to peace and humanity.
He reminds me of another young activist, a student - about his age - one Kamal Bamadhaj who was also a duel citizens @ New Zealander & Malaysian, who died in the massacre of Santa Cruz on 12 November 1991 @ Timor Leste. He was a political science student and an activist based in Australia.
In 2004, an Indonesian activist Munir Shaid passed away on a Garuda flight en route to Amsterdam suspected of being killed by arsenic ....
There were many of them - activists who sacrificed their lives for peace & humanity, amongst others Chut Nyak Dhien, an Achenes Lady Warrior who fought the Dutch colonial in Indonesia, Rachel Corrie the Irish Student who was killed by the Israel soldiers during the protest against the Israel illegal settlements' in Palestine ... There were a lot more actually especially those "unnamed activists" whose passing may not be "captured" by the mainstream media ...
My point is the struggle for peace & humanity cuts across boundaries - it's not an issue confined to one particular religion/race, it's our common struggle... Let's not limit/confine ourselves to a narrow & shallow struggle which inclined to a particular cause based on religion/race ....
So let's stand up & be counted in contributing in our own way - be it small as it may seem ...
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Damage Controlled Via The Media? Unless I am Wrong...
After days of protests & demonstrations world wide in an angry response to the unprovoked attack on the "Freedom Flotilla" the other day, I can't help but notice a certain Food Chain Giant scrambled in defensive? .... Or is it a coincidence? Judge it yourself ...
There were calls for a boycott of anything to do/"inclined"/"related" with Israel - to quote Starbucks, McDonald's (Mc D) and warts all ... And there you are today (Saturday @ 5 June 2010) @ Metro Newspaper, Mc D produced 4 full pages of advertisements - yes!!! 4 full pages (black & white) of advertisements ... Again, what a coincidence as I am very sure it's not printed to coincide with today's Agong's Hari Keputeraan!
In general, it's a good advertisements anyway ... the way they were produced and inter related with each other. The 1st page is quite nice - I really like the concept - there were faces of all races from all walks of life (another cliche depiction of "1 Malaysia"?) with the big logo of Mc D being superimposed on those faces (yup! there's no "1 Malaysia" logo this time around. Thank God!!!). The caption states how Mc D has "served" 10 millions Malaysians over the years, providing jobs to Malaysians, contributing to charities and of course participate in the economic development of Malaysia by providing jobs, business via franchise system and to the food/raw materials supplier. All these were "captured" in prints in the next 3 full pages of advertisements....
I am not going to delve into the details of whether it's practical to boycott etc .... I just want to note below the coincidences & few trivia:
Coincidences/Non Coincidences:
1. The advertisements were printed after the brouhaha of boycotting of Israel "related products" as mentioned above;
2. The advertisements are not in coincidence with the Agong's Hari Keputeraan. Simply put, it's not a tribute to the Agong's Hari Keputeraan;
3. Unless I may have missed reading other newspapers - I only read NST & Metro today - the advertisements were only printed in a Malay Metro and NOT in NST!!! The big question is WHY??? On this point, you tell me and be the judge ... I have my own inference on this and my inference would be right if the same advertisements were printed in most if not all the Malay newspapers ...
I will post an entry on this issue later . As for me, it's very simple as consumers, we have the right to choose what to buy/eat and vise versa ....
Good nite & pray for peace & freedom on this earth which we borrowed from our children!!!!
There were calls for a boycott of anything to do/"inclined"/"related" with Israel - to quote Starbucks, McDonald's (Mc D) and warts all ... And there you are today (Saturday @ 5 June 2010) @ Metro Newspaper, Mc D produced 4 full pages of advertisements - yes!!! 4 full pages (black & white) of advertisements ... Again, what a coincidence as I am very sure it's not printed to coincide with today's Agong's Hari Keputeraan!
In general, it's a good advertisements anyway ... the way they were produced and inter related with each other. The 1st page is quite nice - I really like the concept - there were faces of all races from all walks of life (another cliche depiction of "1 Malaysia"?) with the big logo of Mc D being superimposed on those faces (yup! there's no "1 Malaysia" logo this time around. Thank God!!!). The caption states how Mc D has "served" 10 millions Malaysians over the years, providing jobs to Malaysians, contributing to charities and of course participate in the economic development of Malaysia by providing jobs, business via franchise system and to the food/raw materials supplier. All these were "captured" in prints in the next 3 full pages of advertisements....
I am not going to delve into the details of whether it's practical to boycott etc .... I just want to note below the coincidences & few trivia:
Coincidences/Non Coincidences:
1. The advertisements were printed after the brouhaha of boycotting of Israel "related products" as mentioned above;
2. The advertisements are not in coincidence with the Agong's Hari Keputeraan. Simply put, it's not a tribute to the Agong's Hari Keputeraan;
3. Unless I may have missed reading other newspapers - I only read NST & Metro today - the advertisements were only printed in a Malay Metro and NOT in NST!!! The big question is WHY??? On this point, you tell me and be the judge ... I have my own inference on this and my inference would be right if the same advertisements were printed in most if not all the Malay newspapers ...
I will post an entry on this issue later . As for me, it's very simple as consumers, we have the right to choose what to buy/eat and vise versa ....
Good nite & pray for peace & freedom on this earth which we borrowed from our children!!!!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
A Tragic Death - Allahyarham Nor Hashimah
I know almost every body's attention is focused on the Israel's unprovoked attack of the "Freedom Flotilla" @ Gaza Humanitarian Aid. This I will deal with in my later posting ...
I couldn't but have to post my entry on the recent tragic death of Allahyarham Nor Hashimah who underwent training ala Commando organised by the PSD. She was a 30 year old mother of a 2 year old daughter and also survived by her beloved husband. It was reported that she had to undergo training ala Commando for several months. It must have been a tough one - the word "ala Commando" literally sent shivers through my spine!
I do not want to comment on the actual cause of death but to express my dismay at the remark (as reported in the NST the other day) by one Tan Sri - yes!! you are right a Tan Sri - who is also happen to be the DG of the PSD.
He said something like this in a nutshell - "This training had been carried out since 1970s and thousands have successfully went through well & fine...."
I felt nauseatic at the statement really - so insensitive & at the border of being almost inhumane - though the Tan Sri may not meant it, I hope!!!.
Look here Tan Sri, we are not talking about those "thousands" who had undergone and passed the said training without incident. We are talking about one (1) life - a mother of a 2 year old daughter, a wife and a daughter to her survived parents not to mention the siblings, in laws and warts all.
It's very sad that we tend to be very defensive and in the course of doing so, we tend to forgo sensitivitieshout having regard the feeling of the grieving family. Unless I read the news wrong!!!!
On the positive note it is good to hear that the PSD is looking into the possibility of reviewing the training module - unless they really want our PTD Officers to be as tough as Commando!!!!
What I am afraid of is this ... The statement may be one of those rhetoric statements and ended as being a cliche ... Proof? Just look back at how many statements of reviewing "this and that", stopping "this and that" every time there were casualties due to landslides or death at the railway crossing. Any positive/concrete action being carried out? No!!! Worst still an ex Minister - guess who - dare to blame it on God as he always said " We cannot do anything about it as it is an act of God!"
I leave it to you to be the judge & to Allahyarham Nor Hashimah my Al Fatihah to you. To the family my sincere condolence ... Al Fatihah.
Till we meet again .....
I couldn't but have to post my entry on the recent tragic death of Allahyarham Nor Hashimah who underwent training ala Commando organised by the PSD. She was a 30 year old mother of a 2 year old daughter and also survived by her beloved husband. It was reported that she had to undergo training ala Commando for several months. It must have been a tough one - the word "ala Commando" literally sent shivers through my spine!
I do not want to comment on the actual cause of death but to express my dismay at the remark (as reported in the NST the other day) by one Tan Sri - yes!! you are right a Tan Sri - who is also happen to be the DG of the PSD.
He said something like this in a nutshell - "This training had been carried out since 1970s and thousands have successfully went through well & fine...."
I felt nauseatic at the statement really - so insensitive & at the border of being almost inhumane - though the Tan Sri may not meant it, I hope!!!.
Look here Tan Sri, we are not talking about those "thousands" who had undergone and passed the said training without incident. We are talking about one (1) life - a mother of a 2 year old daughter, a wife and a daughter to her survived parents not to mention the siblings, in laws and warts all.
It's very sad that we tend to be very defensive and in the course of doing so, we tend to forgo sensitivitieshout having regard the feeling of the grieving family. Unless I read the news wrong!!!!
On the positive note it is good to hear that the PSD is looking into the possibility of reviewing the training module - unless they really want our PTD Officers to be as tough as Commando!!!!
What I am afraid of is this ... The statement may be one of those rhetoric statements and ended as being a cliche ... Proof? Just look back at how many statements of reviewing "this and that", stopping "this and that" every time there were casualties due to landslides or death at the railway crossing. Any positive/concrete action being carried out? No!!! Worst still an ex Minister - guess who - dare to blame it on God as he always said " We cannot do anything about it as it is an act of God!"
I leave it to you to be the judge & to Allahyarham Nor Hashimah my Al Fatihah to you. To the family my sincere condolence ... Al Fatihah.
Till we meet again .....
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Fishy Wong
When I heard over radio the other day, I was wondering - don't they have ethics in advertisement. Maybe they have but I would say some of our advertisements are "non ethical" at least morally/socially/economically ... In this particular case, I would say it is so insensitive ...
The advertisement goes like this ....
It's about this particular "Fishy Wong" who is a fish noodle seller. He is quite successful in his business judging from the fact that he normally managed to sell about 300 fish noodles per day... Until a well known giant food chain Company introduced new product - Pizza - if I am not mistaken. Of all you know one of the ingredients is an imported fish finger!!! Guess what? the same ingredient in Fishy Wong's fish noodle!!!
Now what happened to Fishy Wong? He "switched" job and currently work as an old newspaper vendor somewhere in Mentakab & Raub!!!
Pity Fishy Wong being "eaten" by the "Big Guy". My point is this is what happened in reality actually - the "Big Companies" eating the small companies... Look around and you may see this happening around you... It's an open market out there where small fry like Fishy Wong being "eaten" and out beaten and joining the masses of unfortunate "marhaen" ...
If only Karl Marx were alive today, I bet he would send a copy of his "Das Kapital" to the CEO of that particular giant food chain Company.... and joined by Fidel Castro & Che Guevara. What a sight!!!!
To Fishy Wong, I wish him luck ... at least as an old newspaper vendor he contributed to the "greening" of earth unlike the big giants/capitalists... Just ask BP what really happened re: the leakage of oil in the Gulf of Mexico & it's still leaking!!!
Till the next posting ....
The advertisement goes like this ....
It's about this particular "Fishy Wong" who is a fish noodle seller. He is quite successful in his business judging from the fact that he normally managed to sell about 300 fish noodles per day... Until a well known giant food chain Company introduced new product - Pizza - if I am not mistaken. Of all you know one of the ingredients is an imported fish finger!!! Guess what? the same ingredient in Fishy Wong's fish noodle!!!
Now what happened to Fishy Wong? He "switched" job and currently work as an old newspaper vendor somewhere in Mentakab & Raub!!!
Pity Fishy Wong being "eaten" by the "Big Guy". My point is this is what happened in reality actually - the "Big Companies" eating the small companies... Look around and you may see this happening around you... It's an open market out there where small fry like Fishy Wong being "eaten" and out beaten and joining the masses of unfortunate "marhaen" ...
If only Karl Marx were alive today, I bet he would send a copy of his "Das Kapital" to the CEO of that particular giant food chain Company.... and joined by Fidel Castro & Che Guevara. What a sight!!!!
To Fishy Wong, I wish him luck ... at least as an old newspaper vendor he contributed to the "greening" of earth unlike the big giants/capitalists... Just ask BP what really happened re: the leakage of oil in the Gulf of Mexico & it's still leaking!!!
Till the next posting ....
Sunday, May 23, 2010
My Teachers @ Yours too
I am behind schedule ... Just posted a brief re: my Mak & I would dedicate this post to my teachers - they might be yours too ...
I could not really recalled any particular teachers who had a great impact on my life as a student in my early primary years at school ... except for my English teacher (Standard 5 & 6) Mrs. Margaret... of course there were Cikgu Abbas, Cikgu Rosli & Cikgu Naemah who somehow or rather shaped and moulded me for the next battle at the secondary level.
Mrs. Margaret was a class of her own - so "garang" but gentle at the same time. never in my 2 years have I ever heard her spoke Malay - not even when I bumped into her at Ipoh Town. That's how dedicated she was to her being an English teacher.
I was at Anglo Chinese School Ipoh from Form 1 up to Form 4 and here there were abundant of excellent & dedicated teachers not to mention the funny ones!!! I had mentioned in my earlier posting about Mr. Chin (I think that's the name) our English teacher who was so dramatic and full of action in his teaching methodology.
Not to mention the "funny guy" Mr. Dass who taught us History but instead of learning about the Roman Empire/the Spartan we always ended up having a good laugh . He would relate everything in History to the real life characters who we knew - like relating Nero @ the Roman Emperor to - guess who? - our own Head Master!!!!.We couldn't but laugh imagining our Head Master playing violin at the hill overlooking our school while it's on fire ...
Then, the petite & cute Ms. Lam, our Geography teacher - she's as petite as the state of Perlis .... so cute and that's the only reason why most of us - boys - did not "ponteng" her class!!! I would commit a crime if I did not mention Cikgu Mod Noor (Bahasa Melayu teacher), Cikgu Asmah (the other cute Bahasa Melayu teacher),Mr. Yeoh (Modern Maths)...
When I was in Sekolah Menengah Teknik Ipoh @ SMTI (Form 4 to Form 5), Ms. Yip (English teacher) had a great impact on me as a student. Let me try to described her ... She's bespectacled with long hair, slender with long legs with a smiling face. She did not really rely on textbooks but taught English in her own interesting way - we had our Poem Recitation once a week & debates sessions.
Then, we have Cikgu Kassim with his high platform shoes, Mr. Segar (the Disciplinary Teacher), Ustaz Husni with his big bike, Mr. Fan (Physics), Mr. Tan (Survey), and last but not least the "flamboyant" Mr. Tan (Add Maths)...
I met Mr. Tan (Add Maths) at Ipoh Railway Station in 1985 when I was studying at UM and he laughed when I told him that I was doing Law!!! But I could sensed his pride in seeing his student doing OK - considering all those "pontengs" and "tidor" in the classroom.
I may have left a few names as I could not recall all my teachers but wherever they are or might be, I owe them a lot for what I am today...
To all teachers out there - Happy Belated Teachers' Day - My Apak was a teacher so do some of my friends from SMTI, Cikgu Jai, Cikgu Angie and the rest .... Perhaps one day I would write on those who taught me during my college days - interesting & funny lots!!!
Good nite ....
I could not really recalled any particular teachers who had a great impact on my life as a student in my early primary years at school ... except for my English teacher (Standard 5 & 6) Mrs. Margaret... of course there were Cikgu Abbas, Cikgu Rosli & Cikgu Naemah who somehow or rather shaped and moulded me for the next battle at the secondary level.
Mrs. Margaret was a class of her own - so "garang" but gentle at the same time. never in my 2 years have I ever heard her spoke Malay - not even when I bumped into her at Ipoh Town. That's how dedicated she was to her being an English teacher.
I was at Anglo Chinese School Ipoh from Form 1 up to Form 4 and here there were abundant of excellent & dedicated teachers not to mention the funny ones!!! I had mentioned in my earlier posting about Mr. Chin (I think that's the name) our English teacher who was so dramatic and full of action in his teaching methodology.
Not to mention the "funny guy" Mr. Dass who taught us History but instead of learning about the Roman Empire/the Spartan we always ended up having a good laugh . He would relate everything in History to the real life characters who we knew - like relating Nero @ the Roman Emperor to - guess who? - our own Head Master!!!!.We couldn't but laugh imagining our Head Master playing violin at the hill overlooking our school while it's on fire ...
Then, the petite & cute Ms. Lam, our Geography teacher - she's as petite as the state of Perlis .... so cute and that's the only reason why most of us - boys - did not "ponteng" her class!!! I would commit a crime if I did not mention Cikgu Mod Noor (Bahasa Melayu teacher), Cikgu Asmah (the other cute Bahasa Melayu teacher),Mr. Yeoh (Modern Maths)...
When I was in Sekolah Menengah Teknik Ipoh @ SMTI (Form 4 to Form 5), Ms. Yip (English teacher) had a great impact on me as a student. Let me try to described her ... She's bespectacled with long hair, slender with long legs with a smiling face. She did not really rely on textbooks but taught English in her own interesting way - we had our Poem Recitation once a week & debates sessions.
Then, we have Cikgu Kassim with his high platform shoes, Mr. Segar (the Disciplinary Teacher), Ustaz Husni with his big bike, Mr. Fan (Physics), Mr. Tan (Survey), and last but not least the "flamboyant" Mr. Tan (Add Maths)...
I met Mr. Tan (Add Maths) at Ipoh Railway Station in 1985 when I was studying at UM and he laughed when I told him that I was doing Law!!! But I could sensed his pride in seeing his student doing OK - considering all those "pontengs" and "tidor" in the classroom.
I may have left a few names as I could not recall all my teachers but wherever they are or might be, I owe them a lot for what I am today...
To all teachers out there - Happy Belated Teachers' Day - My Apak was a teacher so do some of my friends from SMTI, Cikgu Jai, Cikgu Angie and the rest .... Perhaps one day I would write on those who taught me during my college days - interesting & funny lots!!!
Good nite ....
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Yah Binti Dahaman - My "Mak"
To be frank the above title had been "untouched" for weeks ... I have no particular reasons but what I am very sure is, I am trying to find how and what is the best way to write/describe this wonderful lady - Yah Binti Dahaman - my Mak.
There's no words in this world that could describe her. She's a wonderful Mak & soft and I was so "manja" with her...
Let's just begin this short narrative ...
I am the youngest of 6 and being the youngest everything was somehow or rather "centred" around me. I remember as a kid, she would "suap" me - makan nasi panas) kicap & ikan rebus/ikan bilis goreng. She would wait at the verandah with a plate of rice ... and this would went on until I was in Standard 6!!!
In fact, there were so many fond memories but for lack of space/time, let it just be in my memory...
One thing which I would want to share is that I have this habit of whenever I "balik kampung", I would always look for her in her room @ that particular room and there she was - as usual - "baring - baring & lepak - lepak" on her bed listening to her "loyal" radio... I would then wasted no time and "baring-baring & lepak -lepak" beside her... even for few minutes. That's the one thing that I never failed to do till she passed away few years back.
I was so used to the ritual that when I went back to Ipoh one day, I dashed to that particular room - feeling excited as usual - but only to find that my Mak was not there ... she's just not there!. What did I do? On that particular day I just "baring-baring & lepak" on her bed alone till I went asleep ...with her fond & sweet memories in my dream...
Nite & till my next posting .... Happy Belated Mother's Day!!!!
There's no words in this world that could describe her. She's a wonderful Mak & soft and I was so "manja" with her...
Let's just begin this short narrative ...
I am the youngest of 6 and being the youngest everything was somehow or rather "centred" around me. I remember as a kid, she would "suap" me - makan nasi panas) kicap & ikan rebus/ikan bilis goreng. She would wait at the verandah with a plate of rice ... and this would went on until I was in Standard 6!!!
In fact, there were so many fond memories but for lack of space/time, let it just be in my memory...
One thing which I would want to share is that I have this habit of whenever I "balik kampung", I would always look for her in her room @ that particular room and there she was - as usual - "baring - baring & lepak - lepak" on her bed listening to her "loyal" radio... I would then wasted no time and "baring-baring & lepak -lepak" beside her... even for few minutes. That's the one thing that I never failed to do till she passed away few years back.
I was so used to the ritual that when I went back to Ipoh one day, I dashed to that particular room - feeling excited as usual - but only to find that my Mak was not there ... she's just not there!. What did I do? On that particular day I just "baring-baring & lepak" on her bed alone till I went asleep ...with her fond & sweet memories in my dream...
Nite & till my next posting .... Happy Belated Mother's Day!!!!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Railway Track & Love - In Common
My "kampung" during the early years of my childhood was Kota Bahru, Gopeng.It's a small town divided by a railway track ... It has a small railway station.
As a kid, I always wondered and asked whether railway track ever has a meeting point ... The track is basically a parallel lines "running" in tandem with each other... It never meets - there is no meeting point actually, not even at the railway station ... Only the train coach stops - briefly to cater for its passengers getting on or off the coach - but not the track.
I am just wondering whether love is like a railway track ... Will it meet at one point along the line? What would happen if it meets ....
Nobody would have the answer actually as it would never happened. Not in our life time at least. It never meets ... Perhaps those people on board the train coach might know and have the answer as when the coach stops at the station, it's either they have found their "meeting point" - their love - or they have grown tired of drifting aimlessly along the track seeking for love ...
P/S: What about those who board the coach? I guess their journey to find love - that meeting point - had just begun!!!! Good luck to them .....
As a kid, I always wondered and asked whether railway track ever has a meeting point ... The track is basically a parallel lines "running" in tandem with each other... It never meets - there is no meeting point actually, not even at the railway station ... Only the train coach stops - briefly to cater for its passengers getting on or off the coach - but not the track.
I am just wondering whether love is like a railway track ... Will it meet at one point along the line? What would happen if it meets ....
Nobody would have the answer actually as it would never happened. Not in our life time at least. It never meets ... Perhaps those people on board the train coach might know and have the answer as when the coach stops at the station, it's either they have found their "meeting point" - their love - or they have grown tired of drifting aimlessly along the track seeking for love ...
P/S: What about those who board the coach? I guess their journey to find love - that meeting point - had just begun!!!! Good luck to them .....
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