LOS TEROPONG

1001 Inventions Muslim Heritage Exhibition - Science Museum - South Kens...

2010-11-18T01:03:00.000+08:00

Traveller in the UK

2010-04-24T17:01:00.005+08:00

The poster is kinda self expalanatory .. another Motorway Prayer facility for muslims travelling in the United Kingdom. This second facility is at the Toddington Services, Southbound between Junctions 11 and 12 on the M1.

Undisputed Tennis Champion

2008-07-14T16:20:00.001+08:00

Wimbledon 2008 - Mens Singles played on

No short cut to excellence, please ...

2008-05-30T17:29:00.004+08:00

This is interesting .. picked it up from Yahoo .. on the The Dallas Morning News: 29 may 2008 Grapevine student with top grades won't be valedictorian

Grapevine High School senior Anjali Datta holds the highest grade-point average of the 471 students graduating from Grapevine High School this year. In fact, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD officials believe her GPA of 5.898 may be the highest in the high school's history.

It's still not enough to make her the valedictorian, which brings a one-year college scholarship from the state.

Her closest competitor's GPA is 5.64. No one disputes that she's the top student in her class numerically. The problem rests with another number entirely.

Anjali rocketed through high school in only three years. But a school district policy states: "The valedictorian shall be the eligible student with the highest weighted grade-point average for four years of high school."

Anjali says she and her parents are baffled. "I have not heard of any educational institution penalizing a student for excellence – for completing a demanding set of classes 'too quickly,' " said her father, Deepak Datta. "Anjali's experience will surely send a strong negative signal to other talented students trying to excel. "They will most certainly be discouraged from trying to do their best – instead will be more focused on gaming the system."

Ooops, sorry guys, you've gotta do it in four years, like everybody else, smart a***. Hmmm ... wonder if the name Susan (fictitious), instead of Anjali would make a difference .. aiyaaa .. tak tau lah ...

Blinkey (2007-2008)

2008-05-25T00:24:00.011+08:00

It's kind of ironic, the name Blinkey. To top it all, we gave the name to this scrawny kitten that appeared on our doorstep sometime in the month of Ramadhan of 2007. We were in two minds whether to keep the kitten or send it to the SPCA. After initially feeding it with some milk that transformed into kitten food (yup, we actually bought kitten food from the pet shop), it looks like the kitten was going to stay .. outdoors, that is.

These shots were taken on the 14 Nov. 2007. Blinkey had such a good appetite that in no time it had a bulging tummy. We were puzzled that it was constantly eating and finishing the food supply pretty quickly. A visit to the pet shop for more food revealed that it was worms. So we had to deworm Blinkey and we threw in a bottle of shampoo as well.

Things were getting serious, the cat was getting groomed as well, with body brush and shampoo and all.... However, Blinkey comes and goes as it pleases, never requiring an overdose of love or extra patting. A moment in your arms is all that is needed and off it goes. Its' favourite place is on the rug right at the back door. It will be curled up right there in various positions only a cat can muster. As a natural course of a cat's life, the call to mate was ceremoniously trumpetted by the appearance of several male cats. Dang, where did they come from ... not seen them before except one hanging around for some time. Still, the pursuit came to fruition when Blinkey became pregnant. At that time, we could only presume that Blinkey was around 6-7 months old (which would be about right) as physically, many cats are able to get pregnant when they are only six or seven months old [1]. Unfortunately, Blinkey's maternal term did not progress well and the pregnancy did not take its full course. We can only presume (again) that it miscarried as it gave birth to four still-born kittens in the first week of May.. A cat is pregnant for about 65 days, so naturally, this was not the case.

Then, in a blink, Blinkey died on the morning of the 21st of May 2008. I last saw a healthy Blinkey sleeping under the kiddy trampoline on the porch on the morning of 18 May. It was nowhere to be seen on the 19th, not even for food. Then, on the 20th of May, the maid found Blinkey just outside the house, on the pavement, bleeding from the rear end, so to speak. Blinkey was cleaned but looked weak and had no appetite for food, but instead retreated to rest in the bushes near the garden shed, still bleeding. We speculated that it may have gotten itself pregnant again and miscarried again ... Cats can get pregnant again anytime - it's not unusual cats come into heat a few days after giving birth [1].

Although it had the most frightened look on its face, it was still cleaning itself, and was kind of mobile but fidgetty. All we could do was place its food tray beside it near the bamboo plant in the back garden to save from moving unnecessarily and hopefully get better. We had no idea what else to do and even contemplated taking it to the vet the next day if its' condition persisted. As the saying goes, man proposes, God disposes ... Blinkey was found (by the maid) under the car in the porch in a pool of blood the next morning. Blinkey must have moved to the front and bled all night long. She must have laid there, in the cold and on the cold tiles all night.

The maid took Blinkey to the side of the house and cleaned it and placed it at the side of the house. I was not at the scene, but my wife actually saw Blinkey gasping for breath after it was cleaned, until it breathed no more a few moments later. Inna lillahi wainna ilaihiroji'un .. Blinkey's gone, forever. We buried Blinkey at the back of the garden. Looking back at the whole incident that happened in the space of three days, we strongly believe that Blinkey may have been hit by a motorcycle near the house, and although no physical injuries could be detected, there may have been serious internal injuries... hence the bleeding. No feelings can describe the moment when looking at the lifeless form of Blinkey ... and it was still bleeding. It was so sad ... still, God giveth and God taketh away .. Goodbye, our Blinkey ...

What's wrong with them??

2008-04-01T09:57:00.005+08:00

What is with those who are still antagonising Islam and the Muslims?? They have nothing else to do?? Sheesh ... perhaps, I will join the call by our former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad ...

NST, 20/03/08 - Mahathir calls on Muslims worldwide to boycott Dutch products

KUALA LUMPUR, Sat: Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad called upon Muslims worldwide to boycott Dutch products in protest of a film released Monday on the Internet which criticised Islam’s holy book, the Quran. He said such a boycottt could result in The Netherlands having to “close shop”, as Muslims made up the wealthiest portion of the world’s population and were also the biggest importers.

However, in order to be effective, all 1.3 billion Muslims in the world must unite in the boycott and put the interest of Islam and Muslims over that of individual needs. “We must not be afraid of losing trade with them. If we do, then we won’t be thinking as Muslims, but more for our own self intersts,” he told reporters after opening the Malaysian Islamic Welfare Organisation’s (Perkim) 46th annual general meeting at a hotel here, today.

Dr Mahathir was referring to Fitna, a 15-minute film posted on a website on Thursday that highly criticised Islam, setting verses of the Quran against a background of violent images from terrorist attacks. Dutch legislator Geert Wilders created the film, which also shows statements from radical clerics and cited verses from the Quran interspersed with images of the Sept 11 attack on the United States, the 2004 commuter train bombings in Spain and the murder later that year of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh on an Amsterdam street.
Earlier, Dr Mahathir had said the film was a result of misconceptions about Islam and there was also a “critical motive behind it”. “They will continue to do this until we show to them Islam is a good religion, that we are not violent people, that we don’t tell lies to people...but this must be shown in practice by the Muslim community,” he said.

On the home front, Dr Mahathir who is also Perkim president, said it was very important for Perkim to give the right impression of Islam to Muslims and non-Muslims alike so that there would be no misunderstanding on the religion, which could lead to fear, suspicion or hostility against Islam. — BERNAMA

Excerpts from The Amazing Quran by Gary Miller

One thing which surprises non-Muslims who are examining the book very closely is that the Qur'an does not appear to them to be what they expected. What they assume is that they have an old book which came fourteen centuries ago from the Arabian desert; and they expect that the book should look something like that - an old book from the desert. And then they find out that it does not resemble what they expected at all. Additionally, one of the first things that some people assume is that because it is an old book which comes from the desert, it should talk about the desert. Well the Qur'an does talk about the desert - some of its imagery describes the desert; but it also talks about the sea - what it's like to be in a storm on the sea.

Some years ago, the story came to us in Toronto about a man who was in the merchant marine and made his living on the sea. A Muslim gave him a translation of the Qur'an to read. The merchant marine knew nothing about the history of Islam but was interested in reading the Qur'an. When he finished reading it, he brought it back to the Muslim and asked, "This Muhammed, was he a sailor?" He was impressed at how accurately the Qur'an describes a storm on a sea. When he was told, "No as a matter of fact, Muhammed lived in the desert," that was enough for him. He embraced Islam on the spot. He was so impressed with the Qur'an's description because he had been in a storm on the sea, and he knew that whoever had written that description had also been in a storm on the sea. The description of "a wave, over it a wave, over it clouds" was not what someone imagining a storm on a sea to be like would have written; rather, it was written by someone who knew what a storm on the sea was like. This is one example of how the Qur'an is not tied to a certain place and time. Certainly, the scientific ideas expressed in it also do not seem to originate from the desert fourteen centuries ago.

Recently, the leading intellectual in the Catholic Church - a man by the name of Hans - studied the Qur'an and gave his opinion of what he had read. This man has been around for some time, and he is highly respected in the Catholic Church, and after careful scrutiny, he reported his findings, concluding, "God has spoken to man through the man, Muhammad." Again this is a conclusion arrived at by a non-Muslim source - the very leading intellectual of the Catholic Church himself! I do not think that the Pope agrees with him, but nonetheless, the opinion of such a noted, repute public figure must carry some weight in defense of the Muslim position. He must be applauded for facing the reality that the Qur'an is not something which can be easily pushed aside and that, in fact God is the source of these words. As is evident from the aforementioned information, all of the possibilities have been exhausted, so the chance of finding another possibility of dismissing the Qur'an is nonexistent. For if the book is not a revelation, then it is a deception; and if it is a deception, one must ask, "What is its origin" And where does it deceive us?" Indeed, the true answers to these questions shed light on the Qur'an's authenticity and silence the bitter unsubstantiated claims of the unbelievers. Certainly, if people are going to insist that the Qur'an is a deception, then they must bring forth evidence to support such a claim. The burden of proof is on them, not us! One is never supposed to advance a theory without sufficient corroborating facts; so I say to them, "Show me one deception! Show me where the Qur'an deceives me! Show me, otherwise, don't say that it is a deception!" An interesting characteristic of the Qur'an is how it deals with surprising phenomena which relate not only to the past but to modern times as well. In essence, the Qur'an is not and old problem. It is still a problem even today - a problem to the non-Muslims that is. For everyday, every week, every year brings more and more evidence that the Qur'an is a force to be contended with - that its authenticity is no longer to be challenged!

8 March 2008

2008-02-29T16:07:00.006+08:00

To the polling stations.

Do your duty, don't let other people decide for you.
Do you know where you are supposed to go to cast your precious vote?

You can check here: http://daftarj.spr.gov.my/daftarbi.asp

Alternative Way to Eliminate Cancer

2007-11-22T02:26:00.000+08:00

Thanks to Bro Rickywan Melaka

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY (TRY THE KEY WORD) AND ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHN HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY

Cancer Update from John Hopkins :
1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumours.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often r educe tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Man! uka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in colour. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soya milk cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibio! tics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water- best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrified and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells! to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor ssence,Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrio! r be a survivor. Anger, un forgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

(PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT)CANCER UPDATE FROM JOHN HOPKINS HOSPITAL , U. S. - PLEASE READ 1. No plastic containers in micro. 2. No water bottles in freezer.3. No plastic wrap in microwave.

Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals causes cancer, especially breast cancer.

Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr. Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us.

He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body.

Instead, he recommends using glass, such as CorningWare, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soup! s, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper.

It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.

Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked inthe microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead. This is an article that should be sent to anyone important in your life.

Physicists Rule OK

2007-11-22T01:43:00.000+08:00

Axeman/astrophysicist May named university chancellor - Donald MacLeod, Monday November 19, 2007, Guardian Unlimited

[Brian May, member of the band Queen, performs during their 'European Tour 2005' at the Palau Sant Jordi Stadium in Barcelona in this April 2, 2005 file photo. (Reuters)]

Rock guitarist Brian May is named today as chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University. The lead guitarist and songwriter for Queen, who recently completed his much-delayed PhD in astrophysics, succeeds Cherie Booth QC as ceremonial head of the institution.

Earlier this year, May was made an honorary fellow of the university for his contribution to the arts and encouraging the public understanding of science through his book Bang! the Complete History of the Universe, co-authored with Chris Lintott and Sir Patrick Moore.

Previous works included We Will Rock You, Fat Bottomed Girls, Tie Your Mother Down, I Want It All and Who Wants To Live Forever. But his website mixes music and astrophysics; May's blog today deals with the hyperbolic orbits of interstellar particles, for instance.

The chairman of the university's board, Sir Malcolm Thornton, said: "Not only is Brian an icon in his own sphere but he is a real academic star, as well. He perfectly embodies the 'can do' attitude of LJMU. He is going to be a great chancellor for the students and a wonderful figurehead for the university."

The rockstar is a long-standing supporter of the university's Astrophysics Research Institute (ARI), whose research, work with schoolchildren and development of robotic telescopes earned a Queen's Anniversary Prize in 2005 (from Her Majesty rather than the group).

A postgraduate student at Imperial College, May put his academic career on hold to pursue musical fame. But more than 30 years later, in July this year, he completed his PhD thesis, A survey of radial velocities in the zodiacal dust cloud, and was awarded his doctorate last month.

Prof Michael Brown, LJMU vice-chancellor, said: "In this age of celebrity culture, it is rare to find someone who has fame, fortune and universal acclaim and yet who remains true to his core values of learning and enlightenment.

"When Brian returned to his studies and completed his PhD this year, he earned the respect of students and academics the world over."

May said: "Of course, I am already familiar with the LJMU astrophysics team and their work with robotic telescopes and I look forward to visiting the LJMU telescope in La Palma very soon.

"I agree wholeheartedly with the LJMU ethos of dream, plan, achieve - such simple words but they summarise perfectly the educational experience that LJMU provides, changing people's lives and helping individuals to reach their goals and realise their dreams."

He follows Booth, the leading Liverpudlian lawyer and wife of the former prime minister Tony Blair, who held the position of chancellor for seven years from 1999 to 2006.

Established in 1999, the ARI was awarded the prestigious Queen's Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education in 2005 for developing the world's largest and most sophisticated ground-based robotic telescopes

Wow, can we imagine this scenario in Malaysia. A rocker as a Chancellor of a University .. there is still hope, I'd say .. No? .. why not .. where are our academically inclined artists?? SHOW YOURSELF !! Precedent has bee set .. by others .. as always. In any case, Your Hon. Chancellor Brian May, my congratulations and salute .. from a rocker, physicist and Professor .. yeehaaa ..

Driving Licence Check

2007-08-29T10:34:00.000+08:00

You can check the validity of your driving licence at:
http://202.190.64.96/v5/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=74

World Class Universities?

2007-08-28T15:54:00.000+08:00

NST - 28 August 2007 - Aiming Higher: PM maps out plan for world-class varsities By : Hamidah Atan

PUTRAJAYA: After starting the process of revamping the school system, the government is embarking on a radical move to improve tertiary education.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi spelled out three measures to help public universities achieve world-class standard.

This is also expected to serve as a catalyst to turn Malaysia into one of the world’s education hubs.

Abdullah said with immediate effect, all public universities would be given autonomy to decide on certain matters and apex universities — to be identified from the existing 23 public universities — would even be allowed to recruit their own faculty and students. Only the best students will be admitted into the apex universities.

Also, audit assessment committees — comprising experts — will be established to evaluate and rate academic achievements in higher institutions of learning.
Abdullah made the announcement when launching the "Strategic Plan For Higher Education: Laying The Foundation Beyond 2020" at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre yesterday. It was attended by more than 3,000 people, including Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan.

Abdullah said: "The government hopes that by being given greater autonomy, the universities can act faster to grab the opportunities brought about by changes taking place in academic, economic, social and other areas."

Abdullah wants to see the universities’ governing bodies using their new power to bring about major changes.

"For instance, I hope they will adopt innovative funding mechanisms to expand their financial resources and not rely solely on the government. It is also my hope that collaborations between public universities and industries will further bolster research activities, leading to commercialisation of research products."

He reminded them that the autonomy came with responsibility and accountability.

"I want to stress that quality and academic excellence must remain the guiding principles of every decision made by a university’s governing body."

Abdullah said the second move entailed the establishment of an audit assessment committee to evaluate academic achievements in higher institutes of learning.

"The ministry (Higher Education) will implement this system to ensure that education quality remains at a satisfactory level and is never compromised.

"For integrity and transparency, committee members will comprise experts and not ministry officials."

The government will use findings of the evaluation for rating of universities and institutions.

"I hope everybody can accept this step as a constructive move to push our universities to achieve world-class standard."

The third move, he said, was to identify apex universities to serve as models of how public universities should be.

"We will identify these apex universities — the best of the best among our local universities.

"At these universities, academic quality, management, teaching and research will be given emphasis.

"A competitive academic situation will be created.

"In terms of administration, the management will be given wider autonomous power compared with other universities. Its governing body can choose to appoint its own administrators, faculty deans and students based on certain criteria to be laid down by the ministry.

"For example, only the best students will be chosen to enter this university and the selection will be from all races. The enrolment must reflect our plural society. Twenty per cent of the enrolment will be made up of foreign students."

Abdullah added that only individuals, including foreigners, who had been recognised as experts in their own fields, would be appointed as apex university administrators, lecturers or deans.

"The ministry has given its commitment that an apex university could be set up within 12 months," Abdullah said, turning to look at Mustapa. "Can this be done?" he asked. Mustapa nodded in agreement.

Abdullah went on to express the hope that at least one apex university could be set up by 2011.

The prime minister said: "Self-governance, teaching, learning and research are critical aspects that must always be looked into to ensure the foundation which we will lay down can result in the development of quality human capital and workforce for the nation.

"We want to see the best academics or thought leaders helming the institutions or universities. In a nation where meritocracy and performance is the priority, we want quality graduates so that they can secure jobs easily, even in international companies."

Mustapa said the strategic plan would complement and complete the national education blueprint launched by Abdullah a few months ago.

The seven thrusts of the plan encompass wider access to higher education, improving teaching and learning methods, strengthening of research and innovation, strengthening of institutions of higher education, enhancing internationalisation to turn Malaysia into a leading education hub, promotion of lifelong learning and strengthening of the ministry’s delivery system.

There are more than 800,000 students in public and private universities in the country.

18 Jewels from The Prophet saw

2007-08-28T13:04:00.000+08:00

18 ANSWERS OF THE HOLY PROPHET (PBUH),SAW

A traveler once came to the masjid to see the Prophet Muhammad ( S.A.W) after greeting the prophet, he was asked where he was from. The traveler replied that he came from very far just to get a few questions answered.

Following is the dialogue between the traveler and the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH ),SAW;

Traveller : I do not want azab (punishments) to be written in my account.

Prophet : Behave well with your parents

Traveller : I want to be known amongst people as an inteligent person.

Prophet : Fear Allah, always.

Traveller : I want to be counted amongst Allah's favourites.

Prophet : Recite Quran every morning and evening.

Traveller : I want my heart to always be enlightened. ( Munawer )

Prophet : Never forget death.

Traveller : I never want to be away from Allah's blessing.

Prophet : Always treat fellow creatures well.

Traveller : I never want to be harmed by my enemies.

Prophet : Always have faith in only Allah.

Traveller : I never want to be humiliated.

Prophet : Be careful of your actions.

Traveller : I wish to live long.

Prophet : Always do sile rahm. (Goodness towards blood Relations)

Traveller : I want my sustenance to increase.

Prophet : Always be in wudhoo.

Traveller : I wish to stay free of adha?b in the grave.

Prophet : Always wear pure (paak) clothes.

Traveller : I never want to be burned in hell.

Prophet : Control your eyes and tongue.

Traveller : How do I get my sins forgiven?

Prophet : Always ask forgiveness from Allah with a lot of humility.

Traveller : I want people to respect me always.

Prophet : Never extend your hands of need at people.

Traveller : I want to always be honoured.

Prophet : Never humiliate or put down anyone.

Traveller : I don't want to be squeezed by fishare qabr.(Squeezing in the grave)

Prophet : Recite Surat Al Mulk (The Dominion) often.

Traveller : I want my wealth to increase.

Prophet : Recite surat el Waqiah (The Inevitable) every night.

Traveller : I want to be safe and at peace on Day of Judgment.

Prophet : Do zikr (Praises) of Allah from dusk to night.

Traveller : I want to be in full attention & concentration during prayers.

Prophet : Always do wudhoo with concentration and attention.

Boosting Higher Education?

2007-08-23T15:53:00.000+08:00

NST - 23 August 2007 - Move to boost quality of education

KUALA LUMPUR: Stressing the importance of human capital development, the Higher Education Ministry has outlined a blueprint that will transform the country’s higher education system.

It aims to give students and tertiary education institutions the competitive edge needed in today’s globalised world.

The plan will include regular audits on the quality of higher education institutions, greater collaboration between public and private higher education institutions and the advancement of lifelong learning, research and innovation.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said the plan would be launched on Monday at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

At the launch, "The National Higher Education Strategic Plan" which articulates the Ministry’s vision for the transformation of higher education from now through 2020 would be released.
"The National Higher Education Action Plan 2007-2010", which will be made public, focuses on the immediate agenda necessary to get the transformation under way.

"While the Strategic Plan is broad and comprehensive, encompassing new initiatives and enhancing existing programmes, the Action Plan outlines strategies for immediate implementation within the period of the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

"Both plans emphasise quality in all aspects of higher education from the selection and training of leaders and faculty members to the adoption of best corporate practices in the management of higher education institutions," said Mustapa.

The plans will complement the Education Ministry’s National Education Blueprint which was launched on Jan 16.

Among the initiatives, programmes and projects under the Action Plan, include:

• Introducing greater transparency in the selection of senior management in public universities to achieve the best levels of leadership possible.

• The development of a Lifelong Learning Policy through the formation of a National Committee for Lifelong Learning. The government aims to increase the number of adult learners, so that 27 per cent of the workforce (from the current 20 per cent) will have tertiary qualifications.

• Exchange programmes which will enrich the learning experience of top students in selected foreign universities.

• Industry attachment of lecturers. There will be programmes to enable the secondment of academics to private sector organisations and vice versa. This will increase cross-cultural collaboration for transfer of knowledge, as well as awareness and understanding of industry needs.

• Holistic education programmes to produce confident students with a sense of balance and proportion. These programmes will enable students in the pure sciences to be exposed to the humanities and vice versa. All students will also be exposed to broader co-curricular activities.

• A target to produce 21,000 PhD holders by 2010, the majority being in science, technology and medicine.

Mustapa said the plan would enable universities to play a bigger role in the country’s future development.

Bonds of '57 Revisited

2007-08-20T10:13:00.000+08:00

NST - 20 August 2007 - Abdullah: Regain close communal bonds of 1957 By : Anis Ibrahim

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians should return to the spirit of 1957, said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, when the bonds between the three main communities were at their most potent. "The British could not do anything but step down when they saw how united and strong the Malays, Chinese and Indians were. We had one goal — to achieve Merdeka," the prime minister told the MCA general assembly here.

"We have to return to and regain that same spirit of understanding and togetherness for our 50th year of independence."

Many challenges had been faced since, with more to come, making it essential that the sense of unity and togetherness of the nation’s founding be revived, he said.

"Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Tun V.T. Sambanthan were united because they knew they had to work closely in the best interests of the country.
"This was when ties between the three main races were at their closest," he said.

Abdullah related the story of a meeting between Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tan and leaders of the Chinese community at the onset of negotiations with the colonial power.

"Tunku had just told Tan he wanted to go to London to discuss the terms of independence with the British when the Chinese leaders present began emptying their pockets.

"They handed over their money, rings and watches to Tunku and told him they wanted to help finance his trip to London.

"That was how united they were and how much they were willing to sacrifice in the name of liberty."

Speaking to the 1,738 delegates of the 54th annual party assembly at Wisma MCA yesterday, Abdullah stressed that Barisan Nasional’s strength depended on the combined might of the component parties.

"If the component parties are weak, we will lose out in the future. Component parties must be sensitive to and respect each other."

In standing for their individual causes, community leaders must not practise discrimination, he said.

"Those who discriminate are unworthy of being leaders. True patriots are those who consider the needs and feelings of others without discriminating."

Abdullah’s speech, which was off-the-cuff, was well received from the audience, which included other BN component party leaders and former MCA leaders.

At the close of his 45-minute speech, Abdullah replied to MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting, who had spoken earlier on the fraternal principles required for the ruling coalition to endure for the next half century.

"On the issue of power-sharing, I have been fair, I want to be fair and I’ll always be fair.

"BN will stay on not for another 50 years, Ka Ting, but for more than 100 years. We will always stay together," he said to loud applause.

Abdullah was given a standing ovation as he returned to his seat.

Repetitive Humans ....

2007-08-17T09:28:00.000+08:00

NST - 16 August 2007 - School Milk Programe: 11 years later, problem persists By : Shamini Darshni

BANGI: Eleven years ago, a researcher found weaknesses in the school milk programme, including poor storage and inconsistent deliveries. Fast forward to 2004 and in another study, she found that nothing much had changed. "Schoolchildren failed to get the stipulated amount of milk, or the milk was not delivered according to the schedule set by the Education Ministry," said Prof Dr Aminah Abdullah of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia of the 1996 study.

That study had quoted another study she conducted in 1995, commissioned by the Education Ministry, which recommended that a new milk delivery system be introduced as the milk was not being delivered on schedule. On the 2004 study, Aminah, the dean of the science and technology faculty, said she found the same result: Suppliers were delivering milk four to five times a year instead of the eight as requested by the ministry.

"If you keep milk at 50º Celsius, it will last for four months. At normal room temperature, it will last between six months and a year. How the suppliers are storing the milk, we don’t know, but when you stack milk cartons one on top of the other, the temperature will change. Proper storage and transportation is a must," Aminah told the New Straits Times yesterday. The same study looked at milk delivery in three national schools and two national-type schools in Hulu Langat. The study also polled teachers in charge of the milk programme in the five schools:

40% did not check or taste before distributing
20% of teachers would discard spoilt milk immediately
40% would return spoilt milk to the supplier and demand a fresh supply
40% would report the bad stock to the senior assistant, the supplier and the district education office.

Hmm .. why are we like this. Is it so difficult to have a protocol for doing this? Again I feel we are doing this for the sake of doing it. Is it too difficult to ensure the money the government is pumping to feed our children be used effectively? Is it too difficult to take the necessary actions of storage to keep the milk fresh? Are we like just zombies handing out milk brainlessly with little concern for freshness, health and general well being ... Do we have kemahiran hidup teachers here?? Aiyaa.... tak tau lah ...

Danger . hehehe ..

2007-08-16T12:40:00.000+08:00

Bukit Gantang Carnage ..

2007-08-16T10:13:00.000+08:00

NST - 15 August 2007 - Bukit Gantang crash tragedy: What will it take to stop carnage? By : Minderjeet Kaur, Lee Shi-Ian, Mimi Syed Yusof, Noor Adzman Baharuddin, P. Chandra Sagaran, Adie Suri Zulkifli, Jaspal Singh, S. Aruldass, Phuah Ken Lin, Marc Lourdes and Adib Povera

KUALA LUMPUR: As the nation reels from the worst road accident, the main question on everyone’s mind is: What will it take to stop the carnage on the roads?

The answer is already there, in the form of the recommendations made after every major accident.

Monday’s tragedy at Km229 of the North-South Expressway near Bukit Gantang, which claimed 20 lives and injured nine, has resulted in more recommendations being made. But readers and industry sources say there is nothing wrong with the recommendations made earlier. They were spot on and workable. The question they ask is this: Why have the recommendations not been implemented?

If earlier recommendations had been implemented, would a bus driver with a string of traffic offences been allowed to drive? And would a 20-year-old bus be deemed roadworthy?

Last year alone, there were 6,400 fatalities and about 300,000 accidents. Out of that, 9,700 accidents and 39 fatalities involved buses. Recommendations have been made over the years. And they continue to be made. But none of them, say industry sources, had addressed the main problem — the lack of enforcement. This has made the recommendations ineffective.

In the next few days, the authorities will try hard to come up with answers. Already, fingers are being pointed at the driver and the weak structure of the bus.

Today, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy will submit a working paper to the cabinet on more recommendations. He will also point out weaknesses in the current system.

This will include the Kejara demerit point system where points are only deducted when summonses are settled, the issue of poorly assembled buses, tightening of regulations involving bus drivers and improving operations of bus companies. "If the cabinet agrees, the ministry will implement the recommendations," Chan said. On Monday, he warned the relevant agencies to get cracking on the refresher course programme for drivers. The course is to help the ministry gauge the aptitude and the mental and physical state of bus and lorry drivers.

What was said after...

Kuala Lipis bus crash (2003): 14 killed, 26 injured
1. Recommendation: Send drivers for refresher course. Status: Not implemented.
2. Recommendation: Two drivers in each express bus. Status: Implemented but poorly monitored.
3. Recommendation: Punish bad drivers with higher insurance premiums. Status: Not implemented.
4. Recommendation: Drivers to undergo medical check-ups once every six months. Status: Implemented but carried out once a year due to high cost.
5. Recommendation: Suspend bus operator's permit if driver found to have caused an accident. Status: Partially implemented. Several bus drivers were suspended.
6. Recommendation: Drivers and passengers to fill in a report on the problems they faced. Status: Implemented for several months but discontinued.
7. Recommendation: Drivers not to drive for more than eight hours continuously. Status: Implemented but poorly monitored.
8. Recommendation: New guidelines for commercial vehicle drivers. Status: Implemented: Second driver introduced, drivers allowed maximum journey of eight hours and rest every two hours.

Nibong Tebal bus crash (July 2006): 11 killed, 35 injured on their way to St Anne's Feast
1. Recommendation: Drivers to undergo mandatory refresher courses once every three years. Status: Not implemented.
2. Recommendation: Special centres to be set up nationwide to train drivers. Status: Not done as refresher course programme was still pending.

Recommendations after the Bukit Gantang crash (Aug 13, 2007): 20 killed, 9 injured
1. Drivers to undergo mandatory refresher course. 2. Tighten rules for drivers and implement same checks as carried out on airline pilots. 3. Safety briefing for passengers before journey begins. Just like in planes. 4. Build railway tracks to connect more towns. Rail travel is safer. 5. All passengers to wear safety belts. 6. Drivers must be in good mental and physical health. 7. Drivers not to drive continuously for eight hours. 8. All highways and expressways to be lit up. 9. Improve quality of locally assembled buses. 10. Hiring more foreign drivers.

Hmmm ... the problem is is very, very simple. If we have this, we would not need any additional guidelines as it is just simple logic and human decency. The problem is that WE DO NOT TAKE PRIDE IN WHAT WE DO. That is it. If we take pride, we will ensure the buses are in excellent condition, we have very responsible drivers, we obey rules and regulations, be courteous providers as well as drivers and so on. We will unfortunately hear the same BULL again and again and we shall reconvene at the next carnage ... aiyaa .. tak tau lah ...

Female & Coffee

2007-08-08T17:18:00.000+08:00

BBC News - 7 August 2007 - Coffee 'protects female memory' - Caffeine may help older women ward off mental decline, research suggests.

French researchers compared women aged 65 and older who drank more than three cups of coffee per day with those who drank one cup or less per day. Those who drank more caffeine showed less decline in memory tests over a four year period.

The study, published in the journal Neurology, raises the possibility that caffeine may even protect against the development of dementia. The results held up even after factors such as education, high blood pressure and disease were taken into account. Caffeine is a known psychostimulant, but this study appears to suggest its effects may be more profound.

However, lead researcher Dr Karen Ritchie of the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research warned against jumping to premature conclusions.

She said: "While we have some ideas as to how this works biologically, we need to have a better understanding of how caffeine affects the brain before we can start promoting caffeine intake as a way to reduce cognitive decline. "But the results are interesting - caffeine use is already widespread and it has fewer side effects than other treatments for cognitive decline, and it requires a relatively small amount for a beneficial effect."

Dang .. no wonder my wife has such a good memory .... and she loves coffee too ... aiyaa.. tak tau lah ...

Malaysia in Oman

2007-08-08T14:32:00.000+08:00

Oman daily Observer - 8 August 2007 - A taste of Malaysia at Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa - By Ali Ahmed al Riyami

THE delightful ‘Malaysian Food Festival’ hosted by Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa concludes on August 10. During the 10-day-long festival, a team of chefs flown in from Shangri-La’s Traders Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, have been offering diners a sumptuous evening buffet of Malaysian delicacies.

Usually serving Latin American cuisine, the award winning, buffet style Samba Restaurant has been bringing a taste of Malaysia to Oman with talented Malaysian chefs, Namak Bukhairi and Edmond Sheong, showcasing many of their finest signature dishes in a live open kitchen every evening from 6:30 to 11 pm. To add to the atmosphere, the venue has been decorated to reflect traditional Malaysian ambiance, with music and entertainment provided to further enhance this authentic setting. “Malaysian cuisine is not simply one particular distinction of food, but a culinary diversity originating from the country’s multi-ethnic population of Malay, Indian, Eurasian, Chinese, Nyonya and the indigenous people of Borneo. A brief look into the past explains how Malaysia came to provide such a cosmic array of food, which is now known the world over as ‘Malaysian Food’,” said Chef Bukhari.

In addition to mouth-watering dishes such as Ayam Kurma Berkentang — Spiced Chicken Curry with Potatoes, Daging Masak Merah — Braised Beef with Tomato and Chilli Pasta and Ikan Goreng Berlada — Stir Fried Fish with Fresh Chilli, guests will have the opportunity to win some amazing prizes, including weekend breaks at one of Shangri-La’s many hotels around the world.

Airmata Rasulullah saw

2007-08-07T15:59:00.000+08:00

Petikan dari TaZkiYatuN NafS

Detik-detik Rasulullah SAW Menghadapi Sakaratul Maut.Ada sebuah kisah tentang cinta yang sebenar-benar cinta yang dicontohkan Allah melalui kehidupan Rasul-Nya. Pagi itu, walaupun langit telah mulai menguning, burung-burung gurun enggan mengepakkan sayap.Pagi itu,Rasulullah dengan suara terbatas memberikan kutbah, "Wahai umatku, kita semua ada dalam kekuasaan Allah dan cinta kasih-Nya.Maka taati dan bertakwalah kepada-Nya. Kuwariskan dua perkara pada kalian,Al Qur'an dan sunnahku. Barang siapa mencintai sunnahku,bererti mencintai aku dan kelak orang-orang yang mencintaiku, akan masuk syurga bersama-sama aku."

Khutbah singkat itu diakhiri dengan pandangan mata Rasulullah yang tenang dan penuh minat menatap sahabatnya satu persatu.Abu Bakar menatap mata itu dengan berkaca-kaca, Umar dadanya naik turun menahan nafas dan tangisnya.Usman menghela nafas panjang dan Ali menundukkan kepalanya dalam-dalam. Isyarat itu telah datang, saatnya sudah tiba."Rasulullah akan meninggalkan kita semua," keluh hati semua sahabat kala itu.

Manusia tercinta itu, hampir selesai menunaikan tugasnya didunia. Tanda-tanda itu semakin kuat, tatkala Ali dan Fadhal dengan cergas menangkap Rasulullah yang berkeadaan lemah dan goyah ketika turun dari mimbar. Disaat itu, kalau mampu, seluruh sahabat yang hadir di sana pasti akan menahan detik-detik berlalu. Matahari kian tinggi, tapi pintu rumah Rasulullah masih tertutup. Sedang di dalamnya, Rasulullah sedang terbaring lemah dengan keningnya yang berkeringat dan membasahi pelepah kurma yang menjadi alas tidurnya.

Tiba-tiba dari luar pintu terdengar seorang yang berseru mengucapkan salam."Bolehkah saya masuk?" tanyanya. Tapi Fatimah tidak mengizinkannya masuk, "Maafkanlah, ayahku sedang demam," kata Fatimah yang membalikkan badan dan menutup pintu. Kemudian ia kembali menemani ayahnya yang ternyata sudah membuka mata dan bertanya pada Fatimah, "Siapakah itu wahai anakku?""Tak tahulah ayahku, orang sepertinya baru sekali ini aku melihatnya," tutur Fatimah lembut.

Lalu, Rasulullah menatap puterinya itu dengan pandangan yang menggetarkan. Seolah-olah bahagian demi bahagian wajah anaknya itu hendak dikenang. "Ketahuilah, dialah yang menghapuskan kenikmatan sementara, dialah yang memisahkan pertemuan di dunia. Dialah malakul maut,"kata Rasulullah, Fatimah pun menahan ledakkan tangisnya.Malaikat maut datang menghampiri, tapi Rasulullah menanyakan kenapa Jibril tidak ikut sama menyertainya. Kemudian dipanggilah Jibril yang sebelumnya sudah bersiap di atas langit dunia menyambut ruh kekasih Allah dan penghulu dunia ini."Jibril, jelaskan apa hakku nanti di hadapan Allah?" Tanya Rasululllah dengan suara yang amat lemah."Pintu-pintu langit telah terbuka,para malaikat telah menanti ruhmu.Semua syurga terbuka lebar menanti kedatanganmu, " kata Jibril.

Tapi itu ternyata tidak membuatkan Rasulullah lega, matanya masih penuh kecemasan."Engkau tidak senang mendengar khabar ini?" Tanya Jibril lagi."Khabarkan kepadaku bagaimana nasib umatku kelak?""Jangan khawatir, wahai Rasul Allah, aku pernah mendengar Allah berfirman kepadaku: 'Kuharamkan syurga bagi siapa saja, kecuali umat Muhammad telah berada di dalamnya," kata Jibril.

Detik-detik semakin dekat, saatnya Izrail melakukan tugas.Perlahan ruh Rasulullah ditarik. Nampak seluruh tubuh Rasulullah bersimbah peluh,urat-urat lehernya menegang. "Jibril, betapa sakit sakaratul maut ini." Perlahan Rasulullah mengaduh. Fatimah terpejam, Ali yang di sampingnya menunduk semakin dalam dan Jibril memalingkan muka.

"Jijikkah kau melihatku, hingga kau palingkan wajahmu Jibril?" Tanya Rasulullah pada Malaikat pengantar wahyu itu."Siapakah yang sanggup, melihat kekasih Allah direnggut ajal," kata Jibril.Sebentar kemudian terdengar Rasulullah memekik, kerana sakit yang tidak tertahankan lagi. "Ya Allah, dahsyat nian maut ini,timpakan saja semua siksa maut ini kepadaku, jangan pada umatku.

"Badan Rasulullah mulai dingin, kaki dan dadanya sudah tidak bergerak lagi.Bibirnya bergetar seakan hendak membisikkan sesuatu, Ali segera mendekatkan telinganya."Uushiikum bis shalati, wa maa malakat aimanuku,peliharalah shalat dan peliharalah orang-orang lemah di antaramu."

Di luar pintu tangis mulai terdengar bersahutan, sahabat saling berpelukan. Fatimah menutupkan tangan di wajahnya, dan Ali kembali mendekatkan telinganya ke bibir Rasulullah yang mulai kebiruan."Ummatii, ummatii, ummatiii?" - "Umatku, umatku, umatku"Dan, berakhirlah hidup manusia mulia yang memberi sinaran itu. Kini, mampukah kita mencintai sepertinya?

Allahumma sholli 'ala Muhammad waBaarik wa salim 'alaihi Betapa cintanya Rasulullah kepada kita.Kirimkan kepada sahabat-sahabat muslim lainnya agar timbul kesedaran untuk mencintai Allah dan RasulNya, seperti Allah dan Rasulnya mencintai kita. Karana sesungguhnya selain daripada itu hanyalah fana belaka.

Students Ready to Lead ..??

2007-08-07T14:49:00.000+08:00

NST - 6 August 2007 - Students boo over remarks that they can freely express views - KUALA LUMPUR: Boos and catcalls greeted Datuk Rafiah Salim when she said public university students had the freedom to express their thoughts and ideas.

Several hundred dissenting voices rang out when the Universiti Malaya vice-chancellor, when taking a question from the floor, said there was "no such thing as students being unable to address their concerns".

Hearing their disapproval, Rafiah retorted: "Behaviour like this is exactly what causes people not to respect you. You won’t even give me a hearing. And you won’t get respect. "If you behave like that, nobody will listen to you because it is not worth listening. You are not respecting others."

Hmm .. looks like our students still has A LOT to learn .. there are rules and regulations and channels as well as etiquette of doing things .. don't follow the KURANG AJAR way of Al Gore when he came to Malaysia. Not only was he Biadap, he didi not do his homework as well ... sometimes it is best to study first the consequences before you take a step .. hopefully in the right direction as well. A philosopher called Voltaire once said, I may not like what you have to say, but I will defend to my death your right to say it. Are we ready folks to be as such ??? Aiyaa .. tak tau lah ...

MERDEKA - Risky Teachers

2007-08-07T01:02:00.000+08:00

NST - 6 August 2007 - School takes patriotism to new heights By : Jason Gerald John - MALACCA: From afar, two men perched on the roof of Sekolah Kebangsaan Kubu would look like contractors repairing the tiles on top of the school building.

However, out of curiosity, New Straits Times photographer Nashairi Mohd Nawi went to take a closer look. To his astonishment, he learnt that the two men on the roof of the two-storey building, were the senior assistant of SK Kubu, Mohamad Jaafar, 47, and the school’s administrative staff, Noor Rashid Osman, 50. The two were busy placing hundreds of miniature Jalur Gemilang on top of the roof, in the spirit of Merdeka. "This is the first time we are doing this. "All the teachers were discussing one day on how to decorate the school to usher in the country’s 50 years of independence and this idea was hatched. "Although it is risky, when all the flags are in place, the school roof is full of miniature Jalur Gemilang," said Mohamad.
"With the Merdeka celebration kicking off in Malacca on Aug 17, we wanted to do something different not done by any other school, and this is how the teachers and students in the school want to show our love for the country," said Noor Rashid. The miniature Jalur Gemilang were bought using the prize money of RM700 which it won from a school beautification competition last year in which SK Kubu took home the consolation prize.

Senior Assistant of SK Kubu, Mohamad Jaafar (right), perched precariously on the roof of the school building while placing a miniature national flag in conjunction with the 50th Merdeka Day celebrations. Assisting him is administrative staff Noor Rashid Osman.

Hmmm .. guess there was nothing wrong by being patriotic and different ... but either both or one could fall and die .. wonder if their family would think that it was worth the trouble. Talk about doing the right thing wrongly .. no safety consideration at all. What was he picman thinking anyway ..?? .. exposing the adventure of it or the risk-taking teachers ... aiyaa .. tak tau lah ...

Research Universities in Malaysia ..

2007-07-30T01:00:00.000+08:00

29 July 2007 - NST - Four to be research universities - FOUR public universities will be anointed research universities on Aug 2, a status which transforms these institutions to function not only to produce graduates but also generate intellectual capital, knowledge and innovative technology.

Research universities are a natural evolution in the education system and are vital for the nation’s growth in a knowledge-based economy. They are also the natural place where new ideas are explored and to expand knowledge.

Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Universiti Malaya have evolved to be the following:

• Centres which can translate research outcomes into teaching learning curricular;

• Student-centred institutions which combine research with academic programmes;
• Rich learning environments for undergraduate and post-graduate education, and
• Vibrant centres for conducting scholarly pursuits.

The four will also seek to produce Nobel Prize winners and world-class research outputs.

These research universities, said Higher Education Ministry director-general Datuk Prof Dr Hassan Said, must be measured against top universities in the world. Examples of model research universities include University of Tokyo, Harvard, Stanford, Oxford and Cambridge.

"By designating these four institutions as research universities, the government hopes to elevate the number of post-graduates." To do so, they must offer academic programmes which focus on post-graduate teaching, short courses and training.

In terms of research, the universities must also have facilities for technology transfer and technology licensing besides giving high priority to consultancy, research contracts and training contracts.

Connecting to UNITY ..?

2007-07-30T00:15:00.000+08:00

29 July 2007 - NST - Rural schools to ‘get connected’ - JOHOR BARU: The government will provide schools in rural areas with software for pupils to interact online in efforts to promote greater unity.

Deputy Education Minister Datuk Hon Choon Kim said 353 schools had been selected for the e-integration pilot project that would begin next month. The programme is in line with the Students Integration Plan for Unity (Rimup).

"This will be expanded to 1,000 schools next year," Hon said after attending a Rimup programme that saw pupils from Sekolah Kebangsaan Masai, Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (C) Masai and Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (T) Masai getting together to perform dikir barat and traditional Chinese dances.

Under the e-integration project, pupils from different schools can interact online with each other using the specially-designed software. "The programme is tailored for schools which are unable to form clusters," he said. Schools that have set up clusters in conjunction with Rimup will get an allocation of between RM500 and RM2,000 each. Cluster B consists of pupils from national primary schools and Chinese primary schools; Cluster C is made up of national primary schools and Tamil primary schools; and Cluster D is formed through partnership of Chinese primary and Tamil primary schools.

Wow, how are they going to interact online? Is there a GIANT screen on each side so that they can see what is happening? People meet, work, learn and interact with each other in a human interaction way .. I am not sure if the software will do the trick. Can we not visit one anothe during the long school breaks ..? Aiyaa .. tak tau lah ..

Poor English ..

2007-07-23T16:27:00.000+08:00

23 July 2007 - Poor English grounds cabin crew hopefuls

KUCHING: Poor command of English has "grounded" hundreds of AirAsia cabin crew hopefuls who attended a recruitment drive here over the weekend.

Of the 426 applicants, about 95 per cent were shown the exit because of their lack of command of the language, poor communication skills and personal grooming. "The ability to communicate well in English and Bahasa Malaysia is a criterion," Bo Lingam, AirAsia executive vice-president for operations, said yesterday. "And English is a must." He said of the 16 applicants called for the final interview yesterday, half of them might not make the cut. The budget airline is looking for about 300 cabin crew as it prepares to take delivery of 35 to 37 new planes starting from year-end.
Lingam said that AirAsia might have to recruit crew from Thailand and Indonesia, countries where its subsidiaries were operating, if the local drive did not meet its target. He said this would be in line with its plans to have cabin crew who could speak foreign languages.

"For example, we are looking for Mandarin-speaking crew for our China routes," Lingam said.

Even my children did not want to listen to me when I said it is good to learn another language such as Japanese, Mandarin and even French. There are so many resources on the Internet and one can even learn a language for free .. Aiyaa .. tak tau lah .. don't want to listen one ...

Price war? Hah .. !!

2007-07-22T15:35:00.000+08:00

21 July 2007 -News Focus: Major chains won't sell book due to price war By : Nisha Sabanayagam and Suganthi Suparmaniam

PETALING JAYA: Harry Potter will not be casting his spell at four major bookstore chains today. Eager fans who have been awaiting the magic moment should not go to the hundred-odd outlets nationwide that make up MPH Bookstores, Times the Bookshop, Popular Bookstores and Harris Bookstores unless they have pre-ordered the latest book on the boy wizard.

"There will be no Harry Potter books on the sales floor for walk-in customers," said MPH Bookstores (M) Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Patricia Chen on behalf of the four booksellers. In a bold move, they have withdrawn the seventh and final book in the series titled Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows from shelves in protest over the "indiscriminate" price discount offered by hypermarkets Tesco and Carrefour. The hypermarkets are selling the books at RM69.90, which is RM40 cheaper than the recommended retail price of RM109.90. The latest — and cheapest — price was only made known to the booksellers yesterday morning through advertisements in the newspapers and over the radio. "It came out of nowhere and was a shock to all of us (the booksellers)," said Chen at a hastily held press conference yesterday.
Also present were Popular Bookstore Co (M) Sdn Bhd executive director Lim Lee Ngoh and a representative from Times the Bookshop Pte Ltd.

Chen said although the hypermarkets had sold the sixth Harry Potter books at discounted prices two years ago, this year they were selling the latest title at "a very low price" and on the day of the launch. The booksellers have also decided to cancel all activities related to the launch of the book with the exception of a costume party held last night.

However, both MPH and Popular Bookstores will be open at seven in the morning today to cater to those customers who had pre-ordered the books since February of this year. Both bookstores have also agreed to refund the deposits placed for the books, should the customers decide to cancel their orders, said Chen. Customers placed a RM70 deposit at MPH and RM50 at Popular for a copy of the book. Both bookstores have a total of 43,000 books in stock, about 11,000 of which have been pre-ordered.

Lim said that the protest was to let consumers know that they were not simply pricing their books to make a "quick buck". As book operators, she said, they had certain costs to meet including marketing and promotion expenses.

Wow, they got it wrong this time ... Harry Potter is not an ordinary book. Congratulations to the hypermarkets for serving the public - as hypermarket should do. I know about selling books and I know the profit margin they make, so I am all for the low prices. They have misjudged a few areas: the bookstores have already taken deposits ... at an average of RM60 for 11,000 pre-ordered books gives you ... RM660,000-00. And how long has that been sitting in the bank? Honestly, how much promotion do you have to make for Harry Potter's book? The WHOLE WORLD has been waiting for it .. it promotes itself, dang !! Integrity? Bah !!.. if they know the hypermarkets only have limited stock, what are they worried about? Typical Malaysians .. aiyaa.. tak tau lah ...

Secular or NOT?

2007-07-19T11:53:00.000+08:00

19 July 2007 - MCA: We are a secular nation By : Eileen Ng - KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is a secular state, insists the MCA.

It said the position was clear as evidenced by numerous historical documents, including the Reid Report, the Cobbold Commission and a 1988 Supreme Court decision.

After reviewing the documents used in the process of drafting the Federal Constitution, the party’s secretary-general, Datuk Ong Ka Chuan, said Malaysia was a secular state based on the consensus and social contract agreed upon by the nation’s forefathers.

"The documents showed that a secular state is the foundation of the formation of Malaya and this consensus was made by our forefathers," he said yesterday.

He said this in response to the statement by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on Monday that Malaysia is an Islamic nation that protects the rights of non-Muslims.

Citing an example, Ong said according to the Alliance’s memorandum to the Reid Commission dated Sept 27, 1956, it was stated on Page 19 that "The religion of Malaya shall be Islam. The observance of this principle shall not impose any disability on non-Muslim nationals professing and practising their own religion, and shall not imply the state is not a secular state."

Ong said former prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj had said during a meeting on April 17, 1957, that "the whole constitution was framed on the basis that the federation would be a secular state".

Ong said notes prepared by the Colonial Office dated May 23, 1957, at the London Conference Talks mentioned that "the members of the Alliance delegation stressed that they had no intention of creating a Muslim theocracy and that Malaya would be a secular state".

Additionally, Ong stated that when former MCA president, who was Finance Minister, Tun Tan Siew Sin spoke in parliament on July 10, 1957, in support of the Constitutional Bill, he said that although Islam would be the official religion, "this does not in any way derogate from the principle, which has always been accepted, that Malaya will be a secular state and that there will be a complete freedom to practise any other religion".

Ong added that all these documents showed a true picture of Malaysia, which is a secular nation.

MCA central committee member and Kota Melaka MP Wong Nai Chee said Najib’s interpretation was "not in accordance with the spirit and intent of the Federal Constitution".

He said that the issue of Malaya as a secular state was vigorously debated again during the 1962 Cobbold Commission before the entry of Sabah and Sarawak, forming Ma- laysia.

"Again, the secular nature of Malaysia was reiterated as having been stated in the Reid Commission. The secular nature of our Federal Constitution has been the basis for our nation building since 1957 and reinforced in 1963."

The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism president, Datuk A. Vaithilingam, urged the government and all Malaysians to respect the social contract agreed to in 1957.

The council also strongly objected to attempts by the government to change the status quo.

The Bar Council said that in the context of the country’s history and the constitution itself that proclaimed its supremacy, there was no doubt whatsoever that Malay- sia was a secular state.

"It is noteworthy that the prime minister in his speech delivered at the conference yesterday and in his propagating Islam Hadhari has never referred to Malaysia as an Islamic state," the council’s president Ambiga Sreeneva- san said.

"It is time that the proposition that Malaysia is not secular (which is a rewriting of the constitution), be put to rest once and for all and that there is due recognition and reaffirmation of the clear legal and constitutional position that Malaysia is, and has always been, a secular state."

Outdoor Movie

2007-07-19T10:00:00.000+08:00

Outdoor movie fest By : Dennis Chua - From now until July 28, Starlight Cinema returns at KBU International College, Bandar Utama in Petaling Jaya, with daily shows from 6pm.

Back for the fourth year, it is sponsored by iProperty.com.my with ntv7 and Fly FM as the official television and radio stations, respectively. A one-of-a-kind cinematic experience, it enables viewers to watch their favourite movies on an inflatable screen 17 metres wide and 10.5 metres high, beneath the open sky, and aided by a dynamic sound system. More than 350,000 viewers have given support to the cinema, dubbed “movie magic under the stars”. A 35,000-strong crowd is expected to attend the cinema which will be complemented by a flea market, cafe and various entertainment-related activities which begin at 6pm, two hours before the films are screened.

One-of-a kind cinematic experience? Hmmm .. I saw something like this eons ago ... when the Broadcast department (Jabatan Penerangan) came to my school playing field in their jeep and showed a movie in the middle of the field, on a big screen .... in Balik Pulau. I still remember watching BATMAN on that occassion, 1967 if i am not mistaken ...

Animal Products - BEWARE!!

2007-07-06T10:29:00.000+08:00

BBC News - 14 May 2007 - Mars starts using animal products - Some of the UK's best-selling chocolate bars, such as Mars and Twix, will no longer be suitable for vegetarians.

Also affecting brands such as Snickers and Maltesers, owner Masterfoods said it had started to use animal product rennet to make its chocolate products. Masterfoods said the change was due to it switching the sourcing of its ingredients and the admission was a "principled decision" on its part. The Vegetarian Society said the company's move was "incomprehensible".

Masterfoods said it had started using rennet from 1 May and non-affected products had a "best before date" up to 1 October. Rennet, a chemical sourced from calves' stomachs, is used in the production of whey.

It will now also be found in Bounty, Minstrels and Milky Way products, and the ice cream versions of all Masterfoods' bars. "If the customer is an extremely strict vegetarian, then we are sorry the products are no longer suitable, but a less strict vegetarian should enjoy our chocolate," said Paul Goalby, corporate affairs manager for Masterfoods.

Hmmm .. to all those 'sweet tooth' people .. please check the labels each time .. especially those addicted to 'IMPORTED PRODUCTS' ... aiyaa ... tak tau lah ...

Malaysian Technology to the WORLD

2007-07-05T09:18:00.000+08:00

NST - 5 July 2007 - E-passport pride of Malaysian technology By : Azura Abas

Two years before the Sept 11, 2001 attacks, the United States immigration inspectors came across something they had never seen before — a passport with a chip embedded in it. It was a Malaysian passport, which carried a digital photograph and fingerprints of the holder.

The world’s first electronic passport, it baffled the US Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS) and its laboratory staff, said author and consultant Neville Cramer. At the time, he was still serving as special agent in charge of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service, under the US Department of Justice.

"Inspectors came to me and said this passport is the finest thing we have ever seen. The best in the world," he said in an interview.

Then two jetliners crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in 2001, hijacked by men who used fake passports to enter the US. The Sept 11 attacks triggered a desperate search by governments around the world for the right technology to make travel and identity documents more secure.

In 2003, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) set new standards for passports, including the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) microchips. The Malaysian RFID chip, which allows contactless operations of smart cards, was developed by local MSC-status company Iris Corporation Bhd.

Despite concerns that the chips could be cloned, information encoded into Malaysian passports has so far remained secure. Digital keys stored on each chip made such duplication and forgery impossible, according to a company statement last year. Iris has gone on to supply its technology for smart cards and passports to a number of countries, including Turkey and New Zealand.

But almost a decade after Malaysia launched its e-passport, the US, which issued its first e-passport early last year, is still trying to get it right. Cramer, who headed the first INS field test of Malaysia’s e-passport, believes that the US should adopt Malaysia’s technology. "To this day, (the US) has not done it right. The chip stores a photo of the holder but not his fingerprints. It is mind-boggling that they have not utilised (Malaysian) technology fully," said Cramer, on a recent visit here to meet Home Affairs Ministry officials.

Since retiring in 2002, Cramer has written a book, Fixing the INSanity, on some of the causes of America’s immigration problems. He has also started a consultancy called Immigration Enforcement Solutions. When Cramer first came here for the INS field test, the team he led ordered 19 machines to read Malaysian passports. Within a week, they saw for themselves how well the passport’s security features worked.

A man had presented a Malaysian passport, but the reader showed a woman’s face in the digitised photograph contained in the chip, he said. The photograph on the physical document had been replaced, but the one stored on the chip could not be tampered with. "He confessed that he bought the forged passport from a smuggler."

Sadly, Malaysia lost the chance in 2003 to help set world standards on e-passports, he said. "The government should have gone to the UN, which oversees the ICAO, to tell everyone that Malaysia has already done it. "Malaysians are not getting the credit for what they have accomplished."

Partly, it’s because European and American technology giants cannot accept that a small country like Malaysia had beaten them to it. "So they downplayed what Malaysia has," said Cramer.

Indeed, Malaysia is well ahead of the rest of the world.

E-passports, he said, are the only way to speed up clearance times at immigration points and border controls, especially with air travel on the rise around the world. "The world has to start embracing the use of e-passports."

Hmmm .. too bad ... Giant countries and giant companies do not come with GIANT HONESTY AND INTEGRITY ... they still think size of the country matters ... hmmph .. aiyaa.. tak tau lah ...

Mass circumcision?

2007-03-29T17:19:00.000+08:00

The Guardian - 29 March 2007 - Report by Sarah Boseley, health editor

UN calls for mass circumcision of men to tackle Aids epidemics

The United Nations yesterday urged all countries with devastating Aids epidemics to launch mass male circumcision programmes following evidence that the surgical procedure can protect against HIV infection. The World Health Organisation and UNAids, the joint UN programme on HIV/Aids, made the official recommendations after a meeting of experts in Montreux, Switzerland, to consider the evidence from three trials in Africa, which were stopped early when it became clear that men who had been circumcised were up to 60% less likely to get HIV than those who had not.

Experts accept circumcision is a sensitive issue, tied in to social and religious traditions. During sectarian fighting in India, Muslims and Hindus at one time would tell friend from foe by pulling down their trousers - all Muslims were circumcised.

But research suggests men and women in Africa would accept male circumcision if it lowered the risk of Aids, and WHO experts yesterday held out the prospect of cultural change over a decade or more. Catherine Hankins, associate director of the WHO, said that within about a decade in the 1980s and 1990s, South Korea went from no circumcision of boys to circumcising 90%, influenced by the example of the US.

Circumcision could bring many benefits in the long term - it is estimated that universal male circumcision in sub-Saharan Africa, where HIV/Aids is most prevalent, could prevent 5.7 million new infections and 3 million deaths over 20 years.

The logistics of rolling out circumcision are formidable for impoverished countries burdened with Aids and already struggling to test, counsel and treat all who arrive at their clinics. The WHO is recommending they first focus on adult males, even though the procedure is easier in babies, because it is most urgent to reduce infections in the sexually active age group.

It emphasises the importance of sensitivity, counselling and a lack of coercion when offering circumcision and that those who perform it are trained and perform the procedure in a hygienic setting. The WHO also wants donor governments to help fund programmes.

Dr de Cock said the meeting of experts that decided on the guidance disagreed on little, although "there are people who are very concerned that male circumcision has such heavy social and cultural connotations that they would want more data from the world of social science before making any recommendations".

Some spoke in terms of "symbolism and assault on the body's integrity", he said. But set against that was the weight of the disaster that Aids represented in Africa. "The thing to me that comes closest to the Aids epidemic for its assault on African culture is slavery," said Dr de Cock.

At a glance: Circumcision

Circumcision is almost as old as mankind. The first evidence of the ritual removal of all or part of the foreskin as a rite of puberty comes from aboriginal tribes around or before 10,000 BC, followed by communities in north-eastern Africa and the Arab peninsula some 4,000 years later.

The Jewish tradition of male circumcision dates back to the book of Genesis, part of the Torah, which told of God's command to Abraham that he should circumcise himself and his sons. Circumcision was considered a sign of the Covenant.

Jesus was circumcised, but St Paul ruled that converts to Christianity did not need to undergo the operation. In 570, Muhammad was born "already circumcised" which is said to have given rise to universal circumcision among Muslim men.

As the centuries moved on, arguments raged over circumcision. The foreskin was identified as the most sensitive part of the penis by the Italian anatomist Jacopo Berengario da Carpi in the 15th century. In the 1800s removal of the foreskin became widespread in Britain and the US to prevent boys masturbating. About a quarter to a third of the world's males are circumcised, most of them Muslim or American.

Ahah .. perhaps Malaysia can 'export' her expertise in this area .. and we can offer a 'traditional' experience with the banana stem or a more modern experience using the laser. Perhaps we can also produce a CD of the event as done in the villages with the 'tudung saji' on top of the affected area. Can also be a 'circumcision cum tour' as in ecotourism but 'circumtourism' ... get snipped and a holiday as well ... calling all tok mudim .. aiyaa.. tak tau lah ...

Quality management please ..

2007-03-28T09:44:00.000+08:00

NST 28 March 2007 - 453 housing developers blacklisted by Heidi Foo

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 453 errant housing developers have been blacklisted by the Housing and Local Government Ministry for various offences.

As of Dec 31 last year, 163 housing developers and 461 directors failed to comply with the awards given out by the Homebuyers Claims Tribunal.

The remaining 290 developers were found to have failed to settle compound notices issued to them for failing to produce their respective progress reports (Laporan Kemajuan Projek).

At a press conference held yesterday, the ministry’s director of monitoring and enforcement, Dr G. Parame- swaran, said the authorities were constantly monitoring the blacklisted companies to ensure they did not assume other names.

"We will run a check to see if they have been previously blacklisted. The names of the directors involved will remain on our list and they are not allowed to operate under new development firms or undertake new projects until they have complied with the tribunal order or settle the compounds.

"We are taking a more aggressive approach which includes raiding developers’ premises to ensure they obey the laws.

"While it is our role to protect the interest of housebuyers, we are also aware that the developers contribute much to the growth of the economy. Therefore, we want to ensure that the housing sector maintains a healthy growth," said Parameswaran.

He said the ministry had received more than 16,500 complaints from the public between 2001 and 2006. The complaints have been classified under 13 categories.

"The most number of complaints received falls under the category of ‘Liquidated Assessment Damages’ which recorded a total of 3,611 cases while the lowest was 97 cases under the ‘Infrastructure’ category. Of the 3,611 cases, 1,978 were solved," he said.

Last year, Selangor recorded 2,029 complaints which was the highest compared with other states. The complaints made up 45 per cent of the total complaints recorded.

Kuala Lumpur was the second highest with 1,291 complaints.

He also said about RM1.6 million was collected from 1,051 developers who were issued with compound notices from 2003 till Dec 31 last year.

"Of these, 685 notices were issued for failure to produce their progress reports, 626 for not complying with the housing development advertisement guidelines and three for other offences under the Housing Development Act (Control and Licensing) 1966."

Briyani Plate?

2007-03-27T10:13:00.000+08:00

Dang !! Are they going to finish this? Where is the shovel to pull the ones in the middle unless they are going to step into the 'plate'.

All England 2007

2007-03-13T08:22:00.000+08:00

NST - 12 March 2007 - Badminton/All England Championships: Carve their names with pride by K.M. Boopathy

KOO Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong yet again demonstrated why they are the world’s most exciting young pair when they beat China’s world champions Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun to end Malaysia’s 25-year wait for an All England men’s doubles title at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham yesterday.

And the Malaysia pair did it in dazzling style winning 21-15, 21-18 in a gripping 39 minutes. "It was such an important title for us. It is definitely our first major victory and more meaningful than the Asian Games gold," said a delighted Kien Keat. "It has been 25 years since the previous victory and we are proud of the feat."

The pair’s staggering success rate now stands at three titles in five tournaments since Kien Keat, 22, and Boon Heong, 20, competed in the Japan Open last October. Kien Keat-Boon Heong announced their arrival on the world stage when they ended Malaysia’s 36-year-wait for an Asian Games badminton gold in Doha last December.

National men’s doubles coach Rexy Mainaky, after the painful episode of seeing last year’s All England title snatched by Denmark’s Jens Eriksen-Martin Lundgaard Hansen despite having three pairs in the semi-finals, had badly wanted his players win it this year. And this they did.

Sports Minister Datuk Azalina Othman also conveyed her congratulations to the top young pair and hopes their victory will rub off on other Malaysian athletes.

Heartiest congratulations to the pairs and to the rowdy Malaysian in the badminton hall. Wish I was there. Their hard WORK paid off .. and by the way this is NOT a rubbing competition ... hehehe ....

What price 4 comfort ..?

2007-03-13T08:18:00.000+08:00

NST - 12 March 2007 - Get a head start for twilight years - A LIFE of comfort and good health in retirement is not beyond the average Malaysian executive despite cases of some who ended penniless after wasting their Employees’ Provident Fund savings in poor investments. Financial experts say prudent investments in sound financial instruments can yield handsome returns in old age. ANIS IBRAHIM, SUGANTHI SUPARMANIAM, HEIDI FOO and PRESENNA NAMBIAR have the stories.

CAN a 35-year-old Malaysian executive earning about RM4,000 a month afford a comfortable lifestyle after retirement at 55?

This is a question often on the minds of those on the threshold of middle age but which seldom yields a definite answer. Yes, it is possible to live the same lifestyle in 20 years’ time but it is going to cost a bomb.

One will need to have between RM1.4 million and RM2.8 million at retirement to maintain the same lifestyle depending on which financial planner one talks to.

Besides inflation, which will reduce the amount of items one can buy in 20 years with the same amount of money available today, there is also the astronomical cost of medical treatment in old age. Malaysians will have to bear much higher medical costs in the twilight of their lives, especially so in the light of the longer life expectancy of Malaysian men and women of 72 and 76 respectively.

The next is to identify the financial instruments to be used to accumulate between RM1.4 million and RM2.8 million by 2027. Some financial planners say one should put aside a third of the monthly income — or RM1,300 for a person taking home RM4,000 a month — for investments. All told, the average 30-something Malaysian in the private sector cannot depend on his EPF savings to ensure a comfortable lifestyle in retirement.

Fuiyyoo .. this is insane .. what planet did this planner come from? How much could one SAVE per month, as it stands now? Realistically ... what about the pensioners, and the low income group. They would probably starve to death or we might get an exponential increase of beggars on the streets. Sounds scary, don't you think. Better save EVERY penny NOW!! Even NOW, I wonder how people in KL cope.

I was at a mamak restaurant in KL some time ago and had a cup of 'teh tarik', something that would cost RM0.60 in Penang. I gave the teller RM1.00, and waited for my change. So there was a brief moment when I kinda looked at him, and him, me. Then he asked for another RM0.20, making that cup of tea RM1.20!! It cost half the price in Penang. Do people earn more in KL?? Aiyaaa .. tak tau lah ...

Broadband Rural ...

2007-03-05T01:11:00.000+08:00

NST - 4 March 2007 - Affordable broadband technology for rural folk by Shahrum Sayuthi

PEKAN: Affordable wireless broadband technology will play a vital role in bridging the digital divide between the urban and rural areas.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the introduction of wireless broadband would make it easier for people, especially in rural areas, to access the Internet and other information and communication technology (ICT) services.

"The use of such technology will help ensure the benefits of ICT reach all the way to the grassroots segment of our society, instead of being restricted to a privileged few," he said at the launch of the Siemens Digital Lifestyle Awareness Showcase programme here yesterday. Najib described the existing digital divide as a factor contributing to the "new poverty" among those left out of the advances of the information age.

"Promoting ICT usage as a culture in this country would enrich our society as a whole, including people such as farmers and petty traders who could benefit from the information they can get from the Internet."

He lauded the move by Siemens Networks Malaysia and its partner in the programme, Telekom Malaysia Bhd, for providing an affordable broadband to rural areas.

Doering said the government and Telekom Malaysia had been open and ready to try out new technology especially in remote areas and this would help the nation’s mission to narrow the gap that once existed between advanced countries and developing countries.

For heaven's sake, what is this hard up for narrowing the digital gap. You think the poor farmer who has to work his butt off everyday just for some food on the table will be too concerned whether he can get on the Internet. What bull is this?? What is more IMPORTANT is the poverty-divide.

You SOLVE the poverty issue and the farmer will gladly sit back and relax and will be able to do other things. Let's not get blinded by all these technology nonsense ... I think better use can be found for the money spent on the hardware. It really boggles the mind to figure out what ICT services the rural folks are after, other than the telephone and the TV and radio. Can somebody enlighten me on this?? Would electricity and clean water supply fall under the 'want' category .. throw in good roads as well.... aiyaa.. tak tau lah ..

Professorial Lectures in USM

2007-03-05T00:55:00.000+08:00

Public Lecture - Professorial Appointment - Universiti Sains Malaysia - 22 March 2007 - at the Dewan Budaya. Lecture starts at 9.30 am. Invitation OPEN to all. I was appointed full Professor of Open in Distance Learning in 2004 by the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). Every newly appointed Professor will have to deliver his/her 'Professorial Talk' and mine will be as advertised. This talk is open to the public. If you are free and around in Penang, do drop by for an intellectual discourse.

My presentation will be followed by another new Professorial Lecture by Professor Roshada Hashim, a Professor of Fish Nutrition from the School of Biology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, who also happens to be my other half.

Briefly, my talk will be from 9.30-10.30 am followed by Prof. Roshada's talk from 10.50-11.50 am. Lunch will be served at 12.00 pm.

Solution .. Transfer ..

2007-03-03T00:22:00.000+08:00

NST - 02 Mac '07 - Teacher who hit pupils transferred

ALOR STAR: The English teacher who allegedly hit eight pupils with her high heels in Padang Terap district near here has been transferred to another school. State Education Department director Misrah Ibrahim said she was now teaching at another primary school in the same district.

He said the move was an interim measure, pending the completion of police investigations and the next course of action by the Education Ministry.

"We also want things to cool down a bit since many parents are still shocked and angry over the incident," he said when asked on the outcome of his department’s investigations on the case. In the Feb 25 incident, the teacher, in her 30s, was alleged to have struck eight of her Year Four pupils with her high heels for failing to hand in their homework.

As a result, three of the pupils received several stitches on the head while the rest received outpatient treatment at Kuala Nerang Hospital.

Hmmm .. the report further said that the transfer was NOT a disciplinary action. So .. is she coming back to the school? If is is an interim measure why transfer her at all? Now she is teaching in another school and then she is coming back and stop teaching at the other school ... what hanky-panky is this. This is not a reflection of good governance, especially in schools .. bad, bad example for all to see. This transfer habit must stop as it solves nothing.

If the teacher is under investigation, then investigate. She should meet the parents and apologise, including to the kids .. not just transfer her out. Apparently she is a good teacher. I wouldn't want to lose a good teacher, would you? Something is not jiving here ... aiyaa, tak tau lah ...

Hah .. Caught Unprepared ..

2007-02-27T15:44:00.000+08:00

The STAR - 27 Feb 2007 - Bus firms expect big losses - By K. KASTURI DEWI - kasturidewi@thestar.

PENANG: Existing bus companies are expecting to suffer heavy losses when RapidPenang starts operating in August.

KGN-Hin Bus Sdn Bhd managing director Datuk Hamid Araby Md Salih said this was because RapidPenang – a subsidiary of RapidKL, which is owned by Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd – was more financially secure. “We cannot compete with them as RapidKL is government-backed and they can afford to buy these new buses while we have to manage with the ones we have.

“It's a case of placing a cucumber next to a durian with all its thorns,” he said. He added that running a bus company was not a lucrative business and with RapidPenang joining the fray the existing companies would find it difficult to stay afloat. Hamid was commenting on newspaper reports that 150 RapidPenang buses would be plying the streets here by August.

Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop was reported to have said that RapidPenang would service all main and feeder roads to complement existing bus services. Hamid added that KGN-Hin directors would meet in two weeks to decide on the next course of action.

Hmmm .. this is nothing more than a case of getting caught with your pants down ... Hey .. stop whinning as if you didn't know the name of the game (ABBA, hehehehe, for those who know ..). What were you expecting?? Should have done a futures' scenario planning for what may lie ahead .. what if, after we have been giving mediocre service to the public; someone might come to take over the operations, public might boycott your transport or whatever ..

Is it really about old buses? Was the service excellent even with old buses? Were the drivers and conductors extremely courteous to the customers? Were the routes well covered for the public's convenience? I mean, are these the reasons that the BIG boys are stepping in; the fact that you have been doing such a splendid job and going all out to please the public.. ? Wah .. and then suddenly there is talk about the durian and cucumber .. must be the fruit season, hahahahaha ...well, actually IT IS the fruit season now, with mango, cempedak, rambutan, mata kucing, dokong, jambul air, jambu batu, pomeloes, longan, aplenty ... aiyaaa, tak tau lah ...

Product of Universities

2007-02-26T00:19:00.000+08:00

NST - 25 Feb '07 - SpotLight: Universities should ‘advertise’ new research

ONE reason why Malaysian companies are reluctant to try new inventions is the lack of continuous promotional efforts by universities.

The universities must "advertise" their research and development (R&D) results and that they are ready for commercialisation, said Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) past president Datuk Mustafa Mansur.

Universities, he said, were not active in carrying out continuous promotion to inform the Malaysian public, in particular the manufacturing sector, of their R&D findings. "While it is true that the manufacturing sector should also seek out technologies, the exposure of Malaysian entrepreneurs to new technologies are through publications, word-of-mouth and through their contacts with existing service providers for testing services."

Mustafa said in the early 1990s, FMM had carried out visits to universities to view R&D facilities and capabilities. He said FMM had also offered its newsletter to universities and research institutions to publicise findings which were ready for commercialisation.

"Unfortunately, there was no response except for Standard and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (Sirim), which had publicised one finding and quickly found industry collaboration. Since then, no other findings were sent to the FMM for publication to its members."

The R&D is carried out on laboratory scale and further research will be required. "Under such circumstances, it is costly for many Malaysian companies, in particular small and medium enterprises, to take up such projects because of lack of funds and resources to carry out further research, or to fund the public research institution to do it."

Aiyaa .. coming from a university, this is an old, old, old story .. and the funny thing is, we are still talking about it. This is not new .. WHY are we still talking about the same thing. We can talk about it 10 years down the road and it will still be the same. Are we to expect a different scanario if we harp on the same issues. Hey .. change something to get something new.

Straight up, universities want to see research commercialised? Do it yourself. Plain and simple. If you believe and trust in your finding, fund it, build it, sell it. That's it. No one else is interested. Start prioritising .. not enough money? but we have money to build car sheds, new pavements etc. Do a proper audit. Channel to a focus area. Must I tell everything? Aiyaaa .. tak tau lah ...

Way to go Teachers ...

2007-02-24T18:58:00.000+08:00

NST - 24 Feb 2007 - 'Keep top posts for teachers' by Koh Lay Chin

KUALA LUMPUR: Teachers do not want administrative diplomatic officers (ADO) occupying many senior positions in state education departments.

The National Union of the Teaching Profession wants teachers to hold such posts as the experience was vital. Secretary-general Lok Yim Pheng said the Education Ministry’s recent restructuring of state education departments would see fewer opportunities for teachers to move up the ranks. She said delegates at a recent NUTP conference raised objections to this and other aspects of the restructuring exercise.

Lok said the ADO officers were trained at the National Institute of Public Administration and were not educationists. "They should only assist and not head any management sector. We have no objection to their presence but any effort to take over higher posts which are meant for teachers will not go down well."

Hmmm .. this is new. The teachers are speaking up .. and about time too. These PTD officers are a nuisance .... eyeing top post as their reward before retiring. As rightly pointed out, they are NOT educationists and sit pretty in their air-cond offices. I am intrigued to see how this thing will develop.... aiyaa.. tak tau lah ...

Nisa Games Ahead ...

2007-02-23T23:24:00.000+08:00

NST - 23 Feb 2007 - Barring men from Nisa' Games a 'wrong move' by Sonia Ramachandran

KUALA LUMPUR: The National Women Sports Nisa’ Games 2007 in Kelantan was a good thing, but barring males from being officials and spectators was not.

That seems to be the general view of some women leaders. Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Azalina Othman Said said the ministry was happy if any organisation, whether political or non-political, wants to organise sporting events.

Azalina said having a sports culture was important and anyone wanting to organise a sports event would have her encouragement. She said women were allowed to dress the way they wanted in games organised by the government. "Even in the Nisa’ Games, some of the participants were not wearing tudung, so it’s no different from other games."

Aiyoo, among fellow women you do not have to cover up fully like you with a non-muhrim. Perhaps a visit to a religious class or text book would be beneficial!!

The Nisa’ Games, only for women, was organised by the Kelantan Pas government through its Nisa’ Club and was held on Feb 17 and 18. It had five events: Futsal, badminton, volleyball, netball and bowling. But male spectators, even relatives and male members of the Press, were not allowed. Azalina said it was unfortunate that male spectators were not allowed at the Nisa’ Games.

I would like to congratulate the organisers of the NISA GAMES and hope that it will be held EVERY YEAR, and this time on a nationwide basis.

Shame on the women leaders who did not support and their objection and reasoning is short of myopic and revealed their lack of wisdom in the matter. There is only one reason for this .. they themselves are NOT covering their 'aurat' and are therefore unable to experience the feeling of having a male in the crowd. TO THEM IT MADE NO DIFFERENCE BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT COVERED!!! Actually, opening their mouths was the wrong move .. Perhaps a Minister or leader that cover her 'aurat' would be a better choice in the future ... Aiyaa .. tak tau lah ...

Malaysians fleece Malaysians ...

2007-02-18T19:39:00.001+08:00

NST - 18 Feb '07 - Cross-country: Last-minute passengers fleeced

JOHOR BARU: People buying bus tickets at the last minute for the balik kampung rush for the Chinese New Year holidays are being preyed on by ticketing agents trying to make a fast buck.

Housewife S. Thanapakiam said she had a shock yesterday when she found out that tickets for the Johor Baru-Kuala Lumpur express bus, normally sold at RM22, were priced at RM55, at the Larkin bus terminal here.

Checks at the Larkin bus terminal showed there were also several illegal bus services operating there using factory and schoolbuses.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia student Khairul Nizam Wahid said he was shocked when he was approached by agents selling seats at RM60 for a trip to Kuala Lumpur using the illegal bus service. "They are doing it so openly. I don’t understand why the authorities are not taking any action against them, although this happens every holiday season."

There were also complaints from passengers that illegal taxis were operating at Larkin, offering to take passengers to Kuala Lumpur at RM75 per head.

State Unity, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Datuk K.S. Balakrishnan said it was an offence for bus companies or their agents to sell bus tickets at higher prices than the price printed on the ticket. "Our enforcement officers have been deployed to check on the hiking of bus ticket prices." Balakrishnan said his officers would also check out the complaints at the Larkin bus terminal - hahahahahahahahahaha ... maaaaan ...... I could die laughing .. hahahahahahaha .. same bull ....aiyaa... tak tau lah

Chinese NY2007

2007-02-18T19:33:00.000+08:00

NST - 18 Feb '07 - PENANG: Chinese New Year reunion dinners have always been extra special for 75-year-old Loo Hong Bee.

She gets to celebrate them in true muhibah spirit at her home in Taman Sri Nibong in Sungai Nibong here.

Her youngest daughter Chan Poh Leng, 40, is married to Yazid Misnan, 40, while her eldest Poh Yin, 50, is married to R. Balasingam, 54.

Yazid, an industrial relations manager, who stays in nearby Sungai Ara, came with a cake and on it was the Chinese character ’fu’ (meaning prosperity) for the occasion. Balasingam, a project manager who lives in Taiping, was also there.

“Yazid’s children study in Chinese schools so they speak to me in either Mandarin or Cantonese. As for Balasingam’s children, they speak fairly good Cantonese,” she said.

On food preparation, Loo said each family brings a variety of fishballs and other steamboat favourites like crabsticks and stuffed tau kua. No beef or pork is served.

“I am proud to have a muhibah family and feel happy celebrating with them,” said Loo.

This is nice to see. Kong Hee Fatt Choy .. Gong Xi Fa Chai ...

Stand-in Malaysian ..

2007-02-11T21:20:00.000+08:00

I was at the eASIA2007 Conference in Putrajaya from 6-8 February 2007 as one of the Invited Speakers. My presentation was scheduled for the third and final day (the before lunch session). This is not about me. Second Day - digital learning track - first session of the day, at 9.30 am - and it happened!! This particulay Deputy Vice Chancellor from a local university stood at the podium as the first speaker of the morning. He went on to proudly announce that he was just a stand-in for the original speaker. He went on to detail that he got a call from the original presenter asking him to do the speaker a favour by delivering a presentation in his spot. So the stand-in related that the original speaker had a prior engagement.

Sigh .. I can't stand this kind of behaviour. It is pathetic. You don't really have to tell that you are a stand-in as it is a bad reflection on the original speaker. It also shows how much respect we pay to the organising party who have taken the trouble to invite us. It is also a bad reflection on Malaysia, as it was an International Conference. When exactly did the original speaker know he had a prior engagement?? It just goes to show our attitude, the classical Malaysian attitude.

This is also the same for bosses who like to pass the meeting file at the last minute to the stand-in who will say at the meeting that he doesn't actually know what is going on as he just got the file this morning. Pathetic!! ... aiyaaa .. tak tau lah ...

23 Malaysian Musketeers

2007-02-09T23:40:00.000+08:00

NST, 8 Feb '07 - Delivery time: Task force to speed up reform, boost growth by Eileen Ng

After months of expressing frustration at the lethargic pace of reforms, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday named a high-powered 23-member task force to promote faster reform in the delivery system.
THE TASK: Overhaul archaic procedures and unnecessary bureaucratic red-tape.
THE OBJECTIVE: Enhance economic activity.

KUALA LUMPUR: A high-powered 23-member task force, handpicked from the public and private sectors, was set up yesterday to promote faster reform in the country’s delivery system and enhance economic activity.

After months of expressing frustration at the lethargic pace of reforms, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday named the task force — which reports directly to him — to facilitate business and overhaul archaic and unnecessary licensing and bureaucratic procedures.

The task force will be jointly headed by chief secretary to the government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan and, from the private sector, by Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers president, Datuk Yong Poh Kon.

Who are they?
PUBLIC SECTOR:
• Public Service Department director-general Tan Sri Ismail Adam;
• Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Izzuddin Dali;
• PM’s Department Implementation Co-ordination Unit director- general Tan Sri Khalid Ramli;
• International Trade and Industry secretary-general Datuk Abdul Rahman Mamat;
• Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (Mampu) director-general Datuk Yaacob Hussin;
• Natural Resources and Environment Ministry secretary-general Datuk Suboh Mohd Yasin;
• Housing and Local Government Ministry secretary-general Datuk Ahmad Fuad Ismail;
• Human Resources Ministry secretary-general Datuk Thomas George M.S. George;
• Federal Territories Ministry secretary-general Datuk Ahmad Pheisal Talib;
• Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (Mida) director- general Datuk R. Karunakaran;
• Small-Medium Industries Development Corporation (Smidec) chief executive Hafsah Hashim;
• Local Government Department director-general Datin Arpah Abdul Razak.
PRIVATE SECTOR:
• American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce past president Datuk Nicholas S. Zeffreys;
• Malaysian Employers Federation president Datuk Azman Shah Harun;
• Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Mike Krishnan;
• National Council of Commerce and Industry deputy president Pardip Kumar Kukreja;
• Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers board member Dr Andy Seo;
• Symphony House Group Bhd chief executive Datuk Azman Yahya;
• Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd deputy executive chairman Datuk Seri Wan Zaki Wan Muda;
• Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce Economic Research Unit head Chua Tia Guan;
• Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam, executive chairman of the Kelang Multi Terminal Sdn Bhd (which operates Westports in Port Klang).

Hmmmm ... would be nice if they can share with us what's the problem and what steps they are going to take. After all they are the experienced ones, ones who went through the system and found that nobody cared about what's happening. They were the ones who were given the run around and they also had the experience of doors shut in their faces.

They too had to hang on the phone for so long and found out that the officer in charge was on holiday. They were told too many times that the application was in the pipeline and would be attended as soon as possible. Further to that, they had to resubmit a few times because the initial application could not be found ... ok, guys .... give those guilty party a kick in the **** ... yehaa .. can't wait ... aiyaa ... tak tau lah ...

Lessons Learnt .. Really??

2007-02-05T19:05:00.000+08:00

NST, 05 Feb '07 - Incompetent contractors, delays, cost overruns, failed projects: Lessons learnt - by Farrah Naz Karim

PUTRAJAYA: The government has put in place mechanisms to avoid delays in project completion and ensure cost effectiveness. Referring to the New Sunday Times report yesterday on cost overruns in projects due to the incompetence of contractors and consultants, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohd Effendi Norwawi said the mechanisms would ensure only competent contractors were given government jobs. He said the government had drawn valuable lessons from case studies of failed projects, as well as the successful ones.

“We have put in place new initiatives to streamline our procurement processes and to ensure projects are delivered efficiently and cost effectively.”

These, he said, included:
• Ensuring projects are awarded to competent contractors; and,
• Installing systems to monitor projects on near real-time basis to spot any delivery problems early and resolve problems immediately.

This, Effendi said, should ensure significant improvements in the execution of projects under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP). The report quoted Deputy Auditor-General Anwari Suri as saying that some tenders for government projects had been given to those who were incompetent or did not have sufficient financial means to complete the work.

Anwari had said that these were among the reasons for shoddy work and delays in project completion. Effendi assured that the government had put in place a more stringent project procurement process.

Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry is considering setting up a central database system to prevent contractors from "hoarding" projects and sub-contracting them. Parliamentary secretary Datuk Dr Hilmi Yahaya said the issue of sub-contracting needed to be addressed immediately.

At present, he said, only consultants undertaking projects worth over RM50 million were registered with the government. "We need a central system to monitor projects awarded to contractors, even those at the district level," said Hilmi. Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said his ministry had put in place an "A-to-Z" monitoring system to ensure there were no hiccups in the implementation of projects. A strict vetting process for engaging contractors, he said, was in place to ensure that contractors who were already engaged in several other government projects were not awarded contracts by his ministry. This, he said, would mean the contractors concerned would be able to give priority to his ministry’s projects.

Holy ravioli, is this really some kind of a joke. Did they read this before deciding to publish it?? This would be my thoughts or perhaps any layman's as the article is read;

How was the contact awarded in the first place if they knew that some tenders for government projects had been given to those who were incompetent or did not have sufficient financial means to complete the work - why give it to them??
Was there no QC or QA measures ?? - huh? this is 2007, not 1957!! - how were all other previous projects monitored??
Only project of more than RM50 million registered with the Government!! Whose money is it if it were less than RM50 million ?? Private money or government money??
There is no central system?? Heard of ICT?? Computers??
Can contractors 'hoard' projects?? - bet they had some help or backup!!

I can bet that the public is not going to buy these rather lame excuses. Come on .. we are not idiots ... aiyyaa .. tak tau lah ...

Shirt and Blouse ...

2007-02-05T00:08:00.000+08:00

I just noticed something while ironing my shirt and the wife's blouse. There is something about the position of the buttone on the shirt and blouse. Has anyone noticed it? Men's shirt will have the buttons sewn on the right hand side while the buttons on the blouse are on the left!!

Hmm .. is there a reason for this??

Islam, Malays and Chinese ...

2007-02-04T19:10:00.000+08:00

NST, 4 February 07 - It’s the faith that matters, not race by Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin - The Mufti of Perlis, Malaysia.

THIS IS THE WHOLE ARTICLE ...DANG, IT'S GOOD ...

IN my observations, among the serious misunderstandings involving religion is the use of the term "Malay" as synonymous with Islam and "Chinese" with infidel.

There are Malays who describe a new Muslim convert as masuk Melayu (becoming Malay) or sometimes say that he is "not Muslim but Chinese!" For them, the Chinese represent the infidels and Malays embody the Muslims. To make matters worse, some Malays label the converted Chinese as mualaf and, more disparagingly in the northern Peninsula dialect, Mat Loh.

Malays assume they are the only pure Muslims, although Chinese Muslims may have stronger faith. To some Malays, Chinese Muslims are not authentic and are seen merely as hitchhikers.

However, many Chinese who have converted to Islam are more pious, while many Muslim-born Malays are of questionable devotion. Malay attire such as kain pelikat, baju melayu and samping are not the garments worn by the Prophet.

But Malays perceive their clothing as Islamic because it is from Malay culture.

Islam does not impede a culture which is not against its teachings. In the past, Malays perceived the use of chopsticks as wrong because it was associated with Chinese culture. Actually, there is no difference between eating with one’s fingers or using cutlery, or chopsticks. The Prophet called on Muslims to invoke Allah’s name, use their right hand and only eat permissible food.

The Prophet once told a young Umar Abi Salamah when the latter was about to eat: "Dear child, say Allah’s name, eat with your right hand and consume what is close to you." (Hadith of al-Bukhari and Muslim).

Malays will normally ask Chinese Muslims to change to Arabic names, as if the name Ah Chong, Ah Seng, Lim or Koh would mean they were unIslamic. Maybe because such names do not sound Arabic, the Malays feel awkward about them.

Sadly, the Malays do not feel the same way about names such as Awang, Leman, Seman and others which are not Arabic either. In reality, there are many Malay names which do not have any meaning in Arabic and some have bad meanings if they are translated. Still, it is all right for the Malays because they are, after all, Malay names. Again, are Malays Islam and Islam Malays? The Prophet did not ask those who embraced Islam to change their names as long as they did not have bad meanings.

For instance, the name Umar was used during the pre-Islamic Jahiliyyah period and remained when the person became a Muslim.

I do not stop any Chinese Muslim from changing his name, especially if the new name will make him feel closer to the Muslim community. Still, they must be given the choice to do so. If the changed names only make non-Muslim Chinese afraid of embracing Islam and fearful that their families will disown them, is it wrong for them to maintain their Chinese names?

If Awang can keep his name, why not Ah Chong?

An assumption that Islam mirrors Malay characteristics has dire consequences in many areas, especially when some Malays themselves act against the teachings of Islam. Fortunately, most Malays still adhere to the teachings of Islam. A strong faith is the saving grace in the hereafter. However, we cannot ignore the fact that many Malays practice syirik (polytheism) and ridicule Allah’s commandments and the Sunnah (teachings of the Prophet). These Malays are only Muslim in name.

From the perspective of history, the majority of the Chinese in Malaysia are non-Muslims. The call of Islam does not seem to reach them. Perhaps this is because the Malays have not effectively imparted the correct form of dakwah (missionary work). Instead, many Malays portray an attitude that is against Islam.

Although the Malays can discuss many things with the Chinese, including the political party they should vote for, the Malays do not seem capable of presenting the greatness of Islam and inviting the Chinese to follow their religion. Since many Malays contradict the teachings of Islam, the majority of the Chinese have misconceptions about Islam or abhor the idea of embracing Islam.

Islam is against negative traits such as laziness, apathy, envy and the like. Unfortunately, many Malays possess such attributes.

For instance, many Malay students are left behind in their studies. If they are set against the Chinese, either at school or university, many of the Malays will lag. Also, most Malays are not interested in acquiring true Islamic knowledge. They would rather listen to Israiliyyat stories (derived from the Bible and Jewish folklore, used to help "fill in" the details especially when the passage is a narrative piece, which were traditionally deemed helpful or at least not harmful but could cloud the meanings of the Quran), fables and advice which are not founded in the Quran and Sunnah.

They prefer easy instruction without research and thought. At public libraries, the number of Malays using these facilities is still small. Chinese students diligently acquire knowledge, whereas many of their Malay counterparts are distracted by other things.

Some Malay parents will seek out blessed raisins and water for their children just before sitting for examinations to bring on good results. In the end, only those who study hard will excel, not the ones relying on blessed raisins and water. The non-Muslim Chinese will reject Islam when they witness the Malays’ dependence on such practices but still fail to do well in their examinations.

Academically strong Muslims will not rely on water that was blessed with the Surah Yassin (one of the most important chapters in the Quran). Previous generations excelled because they stressed the importance of knowledge and were sincere in their efforts to acquire it. They were not merely focused on getting a certificate. Such qualities led to the creation of a powerful civilisation of knowledge in Islam.

Sometimes we as Muslims should praise the Chinese. Their children can still do well in their undertakings with neither high education nor paper qualifications. They either inherited the skills from their parents or from practical learning. Many successful Chinese businessmen are masters in their respective fields without having official paper qualifications. This trait is highly regarded by Islam. The religion urges its followers to rely on Allah and to increase their knowledge. In Surah Taha (verse 113) God says: "(Say Muhammad) Oh Lord, increase my knowledge."

Based on what I have mentioned above, how can the Malays bring the non-Muslim Chinese closer to Islam and convince them that Islam has shaped the Malays to become noble human beings? The Chinese businessmen are better managers and portray strong positive traits compared with their Malay counterparts — to the extent that many Malays have more confidence in Chinese businessmen than their own. Where are people like Abd al-Rahman bin Auf, a Muslim role model of doing business? Maybe the Chinese, the majority of whom are non-Muslims, have a keener insight into Abd al-Rahman’s business acumen than the Malays.

There is much else that I can say, to the point that I am inclined to think that if the Malays were not Muslim, there would be little else they can be proud of. If the Chinese can receive Islam in its true form, they will have much to offer.

Malaysian Taxis ..

2007-02-04T01:16:00.000+08:00

In the space of the last 40 days, I had the opportunity for various reasons to be in Singapore, Hong Kong as well as Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. In each of the cities, I aslo had the opportunity to take a ride (paying .. of course) in their taxi plying the city. In all the cities, I found the taxi that I was in clean, very orderly, the driver dressed smartly, very courteous and all used meters that was officially sealed. In all, they looked pretty professional to me as a tourist, say.

Sad to say, when I took a Malaysian taxi from the Airport to return to my house in Minden Heights, Penang, it was disheartening to see and eventually feel what a tourist coming to Malaysia would experience and feel. My taxi was acceptable though a bit smelly, but the taxi the wife was in was grotty, including the driver, dressed shabbily, had a bag of vegetables on the passenger side and something that looked like the laundry in the back. Aiyaaa, tak tau lah ...

I think we need a change, a drastic change. Our taxi driver saga is getting ridiculous. Although there may be good ones, the not so good ones are the general representatives. What if we have a taxi company that hire GRADUATES as drivers . .. hmmm .. at leat they can converse well, carry themselves well, are well mannered. They should dress smartly and have an extremely well kept taxi (with a uniform company logo). I do not think that it would be demeaning for a graduate to earn a living driving a taxi. It is a job, an honest job and can be a good Malaysian ambassador to the tourist or even locals

Chinese Mosque in Malaysia

2007-01-29T12:23:00.000+08:00

Let the Chinese build mosques in Malaysia ... NST, 28 Jan '07 - KUALA LUMPUR: It’s time for Malaysia to have Chinese mosques run by the Chinese for the Chinese community - says Mufti.

Perlis Mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said state governments, particularly religious departments, should allow Chinese Muslims to build mosques and surau for their community.

He said it was unfair of state governments to deny the right of the Chinese Muslims based on the misunderstood conception that Islam could only mean Malay language, customs and traditions. "The idea that Islam in Malaysia must be Malay in all forms is wrong.

It discourages non-Muslims from wanting to know about Islam and at the same time denies the non-Malay Muslims the right to worship in their mother tongue. "Chinese from China have been Muslim hundreds of years before the Malays accepted Islam. I believe state authorities should give permission for Chinese Muslims to build their mosques." He also said the current situation made it difficult for Chinese who converted to Islam because they had to "masuk Melayu" (assimilate into the Malay culture), too, alienating them from their non-Muslim family and friends. "If a mosque or a surau for the Chinese is allowed to be built, their non-Muslim community will still accept them as they are still considered Chinese by continuing to practise their language and traditional customs, which are not at odds with Islam," he said.

What an exceptional idea, brilliant!! This is the kind of Mufti we need to see in the 21 century .. progressive, level headed and definitely a step in the right direction. He forgot to mention that the Indians have this set-up already such as the Masjid India in KL and also in Penang. Even sermon are delivered in Tamil. You should see their donation box, there is no slit to put your money in, just a small hole .... so you have to roll up your one Ringgit note into a 'small cigar' and slot in it. Very clever ... the least donation is the RM1.00 ... a definite ethic strategy ... aiyaaa.. tak tau lah ...

Been to China and even prayed in one of the Mosque in Shenyang ... see more om Mosques in China .. Xian, Beijing ..

Malaysian Shoppers I

2007-01-22T01:01:00.000+08:00

NST - 22 Jan '07 - The Ugly malaysian Shoppers .. Snot smeared on chairs, urine and faeces on the floor and dirty diapers on top of shelves — these are the ‘souvenirs’ left behind by Malaysian shoppers for retail staff to clear up every day. TAN CHOE CHOE, CHAI MEI LING and MALINA JEYA PALAN reveal some shocking Malaysian shopping behaviour.

Hmmm .. oh deary me ... what have we uncovered? Something new?? What has the study uncovered? Here is a short list (get the full version from the link);

Some customers also open pre-packed items to try them out. Sometimes spillage occurs and our staff have to clean up after them
You can find torn books to crumpled origami figurines and carpets stained with urine and feaces. I’ve seen a teenage boy cutting out a picture from a book and his parents just looking on without saying anything
Children as young as four years old have been left behind for hours in MPH’s Kidszone by parents who go off shopping
A child also once defecated at the Kidszone and a member of the staff had to clean up the place and replace the carpeting
Chong, 38, who works for a giant toy store in Bangsar, said she noticed a couple with a baby entering the store and later discovered "a poo-filled diaper" after they had left.

No sir, you are not in an uncivilised country, you are in Malaysia!! Personally, I have seen children pressing on cakes and spoiling it, breaking the cling film cover of frsh chicken on the shelf, and lo and behold, the parents just don't seem to want to know about it. Naturally, I told the child not to do that, in front of the father .. and lucky enough he did not say anything to me either ...

But, honestly, our Third World mentality is simply overpowering. Why is this so? Are we uneducated? Do we not have religion that uphold cleanliness and civic mindedness? What is wrong? Anybody know? Aiyaa .. tak tau lah ...

Education Blueprint - I

2007-01-17T15:24:00.000+08:00

National Education Blueprint 2006-2010: Free hand for ‘clusters’ to excel - 17 Jan '07 (NST) - KUALA LUMPUR: "Short of giving them 14-carat gold-plated taps, I am willing to give them anything they want," Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has said of schools to be included in the "clusters of excellence" - And the blueprint details how the ministry aims to provide 300 selected schools with the autonomy meant to help them boost their standards sky high ... I need to get hold of that blue print!!

Among the Highlights and Weaknesses put forth are shown in the news print-out provided.

Shape Up or Ship Out

2007-01-15T09:10:00.000+08:00

15 Jan '07- PUTRAJAYA: Rule-breakers, under-performers and errant officials cannot take things for granted any more... Civil servants who break the rules or under-perform will get the boot.

A no-nonsense Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, had this message for civil servants yesterday: Shape up or ship out. He debunked the myth that civil servants could stay in service until retirement despite wrongdoings. Sidek, putting an end to the practice of promotion based on seniority, said advancement in the civil service would only be based on performance.

Hmmm .. all I can say is, it is easier said than done.What ever the case may be, I feel we are again missing the point. Aiyaa, Malaysians always miss the point .. is it ALL about promotions? So ... if civil servants (CS) do not shape up, they are shipped out .. really?? Where are they going to be shipped out to?? Out of the service altogether OR shipped out to some other Department that will receive this character. We are always about punishment and not much in terms of solving the problem in the long term. This knee-jerk reaction has become a classic.

So .. what if a high proportion do not perform? ..want to ship everyone out? Who is left to do the job. So .. even if one is not shipped out and is NOT promoted or even noticed, who is going to bother shaping up? One is not going to be promoted anyway, come the end of the month and one will get one's salary.

One thing is very strange ... why must we wait to discover that that particular person has stagnated for the last TEN YEARS? Don't we have our SKT and the usual checks?? How can this be? No one should stagnate .. if anything, it is the BOSS who should stagnate for not implementing proper monitoring and evaluation processes. As a matter of fact, I can bet, and I will dare anyone on this, not many organisations implement the review system well and even know how to do it. Any takers ??

Come on .. there is blame ALL ROUND ... and the problem is all emcompassing .. and the problem is, it is TEAM WORK when a good job is done. It is not so when rewards is awarded. Only a few get rewarded. There is aslo this strange fenomena that one person gets an Excellence Award every time!! Is that person the ONLY one functioning in that place??

I might even want to suggest that for those who have obtained EXCELLENCE or CEMERLANG, a more stringent check on the should be conducted so that they are excellent again and again and if they slacken, the excellence status can and should be revoked and they have to start again, just like everybody else. WHY IS THIS SO, YOU SAY? Very easy, this is because of the fact that the increase in salary obtained for one instance of excellence is enjoyed until you die ... and you may never be excellent again but still enjoy that salary ... that is why one must continue to be excellent or be revoked and can be rewarded again when one is excellent again. In fact, when you have achieved that excellence stage, you are EXPECTED to be excellent then on .. But nooooo, that person will get it again, and again, and again .. Crazy??, try it, revoke his rank if he does not perform the following year ... and everyone will get a chance to be excellent and continue to be excellent .. aiyyaa .. tak tau lah ...

Good ole Teh 'O'

2007-01-09T15:44:00.000+08:00

Hmm .. found this interesting post in the The Guardian, 9 January 2007 (used to read this newspaper while in the UK) - Tea is good for the heart - but adding milk to it wipes out the benefits, say researchers.

Tea drinkers enjoy some protection against heart disease. But the benefits are completely wiped out if, like most of the British population, they add milk, researchers reveal today.

Tea has long been thought to have health benefits for the heart and in the prevention of cancer. But researchers from Germany, writing in the European Heart Journal, suggest that their findings about milk ought to lead to an urgent reassessment of the effect of tea on cancer prevention. The team suggests that tea drinkers who usually add milk should drink it black for some of the time. Flavonoids in tea, called catechins, are thought to be responsible for its beneficial effects on the heart. The study found that a group of proteins in milk, called caseins, interacted with the tea to reduce the concentration of catechins.

The researchers measured the effects of drinking black tea, tea with milk and plain hot water on 16 women volunteers. Regular tests on the brachial artery of the forearm for two hours after drinking showed that black tea promoted dilation of the blood vessels. "We found that ... the addition of milk completely prevents the biological effect," said the lead author, Mario Lorenz, a molecular biologist.

Yeehaaa ... looks like we are up here as Malaysian enjoy teh 'o' panas, teh 'o' ais ... skip the milk people ... No wonder our pakcik and makcik in the kampung are strong as an ox and live long too .. now we know the secret .. teh 'o' ... aiyyaaa, tak tau lah ...

Malaysian Style Forever IV - Bloopers

2007-01-05T16:26:00.000+08:00

Hah, bloopers indeed, even the Prime Minister is not spared by the in-grained Malaysian traits .. NST 5 Jan '07 - it was reported that although our current Prime Minister's plans are excellent and practical, he is being let down by poor implementation. This was the view of academicians, political analysts and politicians at the "National Seminar on Abdullah Ahmad Badawi: Three Years in Putrajaya: Tracking the Country’s Future".

Hellooo ... is anybody there?? Is there anything new in the whole charade of Malaysian human nature? Just look at how Malaysians behave at Open Houses .. have you seen them pile up the food at Buffets and the amount left for the garbage bin. Until today we can see (including luxury cars) ash trays being emptied on the road and a piece of tissue or cigarette butt flying out of the car window is considered nothing!! And the queue jumpers, whether on the road on in a line somewhere ... and parking at yellow and double yellow lines .. you can put triple yellow lines and they will still park. Who cares?!!

Let us take a closer look at the 'findings';

"There are parties who try to take advantage of the prime minister’s soft and accommodative administration.
"They try to manipulate the plans to their own advantage to serve their needs.
"They interfere with the time-frame of the implementation of the policies by making their own claims on the government, slowing down or even putting a stop to the implementation."

Come on guys, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to get to this deductions .. Malaysian have always been like that ... don't you think? And do we really need a bunch of academics and analysts to tell us what we already know? They are also the same .. academics may have a PhD (in Malay we say it is Penghasut, Hasad & Dengki) .. but their behaviour is still Malaysian. They say a leopard may change its spots, but it is still a leopard!! Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Azmi Khalid said later it would take time to change the mindset of implementers. Ahah .. we have the solution .. but do we have the means and guts to see it through? If there is one thing is is severely lacking or just something that appear haphazardly is ENFORCEMENT!! We may have fantastic laws and rules and regulations, but without ENFORCEMENT, it will amount to nothing. How many people now drive and while speaking on the handphone?? Have you noticed?? No enforcement!! Without enforcement, we can continue to talk and analyse and the same S*** will continue forever more. If the violators are your own kin, what will you do? Best friend? Rich friends? Aiyyaa ... tak tau lah ..

Malaysian Style Forever III- Chaos

2007-01-05T11:35:00.000+08:00

Chaos as RM200 aid given out - NST Online, 5 Jan '07 - Here we go again ... and this is getting quite ridiculous and alarmng when you suddenly realise that this happens ALL the time .. now it is in Malacca when about 10,000 people (not a small number) from Malacca Tengah district came to collect the RM200 aid per family offered by the government. .. aaaaaand as usual, choas reigned!! Where is the planning (please shout .. ). As early as 8am flood victims began arriving at Dewan Seri Negeri but they had no idea where to go and what to do to get their money.

Can something be done to address this recurring Malaysian trait? This is so, so shameful and does not reflect any discipline at all. Must we be like? Here are the classic moves;

"There were no signs telling us where to go or what to do," said 31-year-old Gursatvinder Singh, a flood victim from Taman Merdeka.
Simon Anthony decided that the Rela volunteers sent to control the crowds needed a little help. "Abang Rela, dia potong barisan, keluarkan dia...! (Mr Rela, he’s cutting queue, take him out!)," shouted the 36-year-old from Taman Merdeka.
"It’s chaos in here ... no one knows where they’re supposed to go and everyone is everywhere. There are no proper lines ... No proper counters, and there are no ushers to help us... that’s why I’m playing usher now."
He told the New Straits Times that it took four trips to four locations just to register as a flood victim because his "name did not get keyed into the computer".
They said you’re supposed to get RM200 per family, but I see a few families from my neighbourhood getting RM200 per person," said Simon.
Sixty-six-year-old Gan Hock Siew from Pantai Peringgit had to stand, supporting himself with his crutches, for almost five hours waiting for his turn to collect the money.
"A few people started kicking the doors when they heard an announcement that there was insufficient money for everyone and the officers had to make a trip to the bank to get more cash".

The unruly crowd began to calm down in the afternoon, when a few officers divided the crowd by districts to systematically distribute the aid. Malacca Tengah district Officer Kadir Yaakob, who was at the hall, declined to comment.

I can only come to the conclusion that our administration personnel are hopelessly and totally UNTRAINED in any management skills .. aiyyaa tak tau lah ...

Malaysian Style Forever II - Unprepared

2007-01-03T16:09:00.000+08:00

Visit Malaysia Year 2007 - Cheng, Cheng, Cheng ... I am repeating myself, but I was in Singapore and Hong Kong recently and can honestly say that we are actually very far behind these two countries in terms of handling tourists ... even Bangkok has caught up and doing very well (was there a few times in 2006). The infrastructure, conveniences, special treatment, well-trained people, well-planned, well documented, well signposted, appear and behave professionally and very clean (even Bangkok is now clean).

Our own KL Hop-on-Hop-off bus service did note fare too well. Aiyyaa .. why is this so? Why? Why? What is so difficult?

The Hop-On-Hop-Off bus service is a noted tourism tool in many countries with the on-board commentaries highlighting the city’s history, information on landmarks and cultures. The service came into effect yesterday and it covers 21 stops in Kuala Lumpur which, among others, comprise KLCC and the KL Tower.

The much anticipated KL Hop-On-Hop-Off bus service saw long delays and on-board commentaries were not functioning.
Several tourists also complained about the poor language of the bus drivers and guides and swore that they would not recommend the bus service to friends.
Some tourists also complained that they had to wait under the sun for an hour before the "every half hour" bus arrived.

Here is the solution: Tourism Ministry director-general Datuk Mirza Mohammad Taiyab was confident the shortcomings would be addressed soon and was upbeat with the increased arrivals.

Oh my God, when did we start to prepare for VMY2007, yesterday? Surely, surely this was planned much earlier. Was any trial run conducted to test whether the on-board commentaries of the buses were functioning or not. Did they audition the language proficiency of the guides or conductors? Come on man ... this won't do .. and these are the first-impressionists that is representing MALAYSIA to the eyes of the world, for goodness sake. Tourism is a big revenue generator for the country and even individuals. We have been doing this for a long, long time. Have we not learnt anything from past experiences? Have we not seen how other people do things - and we do not really have to go too far, just across the causeway is sufficient. Aiyyaaaa .. tak tau lah ...

Malaysian Style Forever I - Unmanaged

2007-01-03T00:31:00.000+08:00

NST Online - 02 January 2007 - Here we go again, and again, and again and forever more ... I honestly believe we will never be able to change, never! Youths going for National Service training had a taste of a recurring problem — a foul-up over transport to the camps;

In Kota Bharu - more than 1,000 NS-bound youths returned to their homes after buses arranged to transport them to their camps failed to turn up at the pick-up point at Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium.

In Penang - 352 trainees were stranded when eight schoolbuses chartered to ferry them were "grounded" by Road and Transport Department officers for not having temporary permits.

Milestones:

Thousands of parents who had accompanied their children almost had a showdown with NS secretariat officers after having waited for more than three hours from 7.30am.
"I cannot understand why they only opened seven counters despite knowing that there will be 800 trainees reporting at this pick-up point. We arrived here at 8am and my son took almost three hours to register," said Alias, from Jelutong.
The trainees and their parents were also confused as there were no signboards at the counters to guide them.
They were told by the RTD officials that eight of the 15 buses did not have permits to ferry the trainees.
The officials claimed that they had told the operators to apply for the permit a month ago but the latter claimed that their services were only sought several days ago.
Abu Bakar Mohd, told them the NS secretariat officers were there only to register the trainees and that the transport was arranged by a contractor who had not shown up.
The buses were also in poor condition.

Aiyaa ... we will never learn, never learn .. why was prior arrangements not made and checked. Talk about quality management, work ethics, planning and responsibility ... all down the drain .. this is so typically Malaysian ... tak tau lah ...

Reinventing the Trishaw

2006-12-30T01:27:00.000+08:00

Georgetown, Penang-29 Dec 2006 - There is talk about rebranding the trishaw in Penang; and there are only 130 penarik beca or trishawmen left in Penang and their average age is 60 ... gosh. These are the proposed steps towards the rebranding:

Free haircut by professional stylists. Thirty-six trishawmen had their haircut at an open area beside the Town Hall in Jalan Padang Kota Lama here yesterday.
Providing them free T-shirts, shoes and umbrellas.
A six-hour course will be organised next month to teach them business ethics, hospitality and interaction with tourists.
A double-storey building in Jalan Kampung Kaka would be converted into a trishaw centre or Balai Beca. Balai Beca is expected to be ready in two weeks and will house a mini museum on trishaws, a workshop to make and repair trishaws and a clubhouse for trishawmen.

Goodness gracious me .. who's the consultant? This is going to rebrand the beca? My god .. a free haircut? - most of them don't have hair anymore!! and a six-hour course to 50-60 year olds!! They will fall asleep after 10 minutes!! Aiyaa ... Have you seen the state of the trishaws? It is more of a relic. This is what needs to be done, and I am not charging anything for the tips;

Redesign the whole trishaw into a more modern piece
Place a brochure holder on the trishaw for tourists
Solar panels on the trishaw for a fan and a small cooler box to supply cold drinks to customer while on the ride
Stereo system on the trishaw for music while on the trishaw
Small motorise mechanism for uphill locations
Younger pullers, say 35-year old
Proper attire with tie (even English dustmen wear ties while sweeping the road)
Design city routes for benefit of tourist with fare rates
Severeal 'stations' all around the routes (just like the tube station)
Take digital shot and print for tourist (optional)
Guest book on board the trishaw for guests
Tips are acceptable
Prepare print-out of history of interesting sites along the routes
Give receipt to customers (picked up along the way)
Basic salary to each puller
Generate revenue for them by placing advertiseents on the trishaws

'nuff said. Aiyaa, tak tau lah .. see if this works ..

Time to help fellow Malaysians ...

2006-12-24T00:31:00.000+08:00

23rd December 2006 (NST Online) - KUALA LUMPUR: Over 62,000 flood victims have been evacuated in Johor so far. Thousands of flood evacuees in the state’s relief centres, cut off from land transport, are running out of essential supplies. Hmmm .. the images of Katrina is right at our own doorstep .. and no matter what you call the storm the effects are the same. Now is the time to assist fellow Malaysians in their hour of need. And it is not difficult to encourage this .. just imagine yourself in their shoes ...

The New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd has set up a fund to help flood victims in the southern peninsula. Donations via cheque, bank draft or postal order made out to 'NSTP Flood Victims Assistance Fund' (Tabung Bantuan Mangsa Banjir NSTP) can be sent to: The New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd, c/o Finance Department, 5th Floor, Balai Berita, 31, Jalan Riong, 59100 Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur (Attention: Ms Aidah Nordin). Kindly write on the back of the cheque donor’s name, address and contact number. Donations to the fund can also be made at NSTP branches in Johor Baru, Klang, Alor Star, Batu Pahat, Ipoh, Kota Baru, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Terengganu, Kuantan, Kuching, Malacca, Muar, Penang and Seremban, or its regional printing plants in Shah Alam, Prai, Senai and Ajil.

Confused .. Konfius Man ..

2006-12-22T01:41:00.000+08:00

Hmmm .. I have yet to see this movie .. I always support local movies and buy original CDs too .. good pricing anyway. The movie was released on December 7th, 2006 and did very well at the box ofice. But must we confuse ourselves with the title .. a bit of a 'rojak' there. Was that absolutely necessary? Cicak is a Malay word and Man is an English word. Put together and it makes no sense!! Unless one intended to say Man Cicak, like Man Laksa ... but the language mix will confuse the younger generation. Why can't it be a totally Malay title?, such as Man Cicak, or Wira Cicak, Orang Cicak (like the Orang Minyak fame), or PangliCak (Panglima Cicak), or PahlaCak (Pahlawan Cicak). What about Manusia Cicak (like the Human Fly), or Jejak Cicak or ANYTHING ORIGINAL .. it can be weird, who cares ... but original .. aiyaaa... tak tau lah ..

13th King of Malaysia

2006-12-19T02:00:00.000+08:00

Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Sultan Mahmud of Terengganu yesterday took the oath of office as the 13th Yang di-Pertuan Agong in a ceremony steeped in tradition at the Istana Negara on December 13th, 2006. Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah of Kedah also took the oath of office as the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Both the sultans were elected the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong at a special meeting, the 208th, of the Conference of Rulers at Istana Negara on Nov 3 for five years beginning yesterday.

Constitutionally, the position of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is rotated every five years among the traditional Malay Rulers of nine states. The King has largely ceremonial duties and acts on the advice of the Cabinet.

The ceremony yesterday began at 11.50am with the 209th Conference of Rulers in conjunction with the oath-taking ceremony and the signing of the instruments of appointment. The meeting, chaired by Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak at the Throne Room, began with a doa selamat by the acting Imam Besar of Masjid Negara, Abdul Rahman Yusof.

The Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal, Engku Datuk Ibrahim Engku Ngah, presented the instrument of oath to Sultan Mizan, 44, who then took the oath of office and also signed the instrument of appointment. Sultan Ismail Petra of Kelantan and Sultan Sharafudin Idris Shah of Selangor signed as witnesses.

This was followed by the taking of the oath and signing of the instrument of appointment by the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Abdul Halim. Again the Sultan of Kelantan and Sultan of Selangor signed as witnesses.

After the meeting of the Conference of Rulers adjourned, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi read out the declaration that Sultan Mizan had been sworn in as the 13th Yang di-Pertuan Agong with Sultan Abdul Halim as the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

The ceremony which was broadcast live by Radio Televisyen Malaysia, ended with the recital of a doa by Federal Territory Mufti Datuk Wan Zahidi Wan Teh.

All nine Malay Rulers or their representatives and the four Yang di-Pertua Negeri attended the ceremony. Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, menteris besar, Cabinet members, Members of the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara, and senior government officers. This full coverage was from NST Online. Pictures from Berita Harian Online.

It can be done ...

2006-12-19T01:04:00.000+08:00

Ruqaya Al Ghasara of

Bahrain

(2^nd R) No 2013 celebrates winning the women’s 200m against Susanthika J. Mannalage (R) of Sri Lanka, Han Ling (2^nd L) of China, and Guzel Khubbieva (L) No 2502 of Uzbekistan. She could habe won the 100m too had she had a better start. She should be winning in the future if given the chance to compete ... get the kick off the block improved!! A big THANK YOU to Ruqaya for proving to the world that a bit of covering on the head did not skew aerodynamics too much.

And THANK YOU QATAR: They put on the best Asian Games ever, the biggest Asian Games ever, the most widely reported Asian Games ever, the highest standard of Asian Games in terms of both sporting achievement and planning ever – and they even won some medals too. Qatar’s success on the field amazed everyone and leaves a legacy for the whole country and the wider Middle East. The 15th Asian Games was not just about putting Doha on the map in a sporting sense, but Qatar acted as flag bearer for the whole of the region. Never before had a Middle Eastern country and region staged anything on this scale. Now Qatar has done it, others will follow. From the 15th Asian games in 2006, we look forward to the 16th Asian Games that will be held in Guangzhou, CHINA in 2010, inshaallah ....

KRIS .. the REAL Symbol ...

2006-11-27T15:06:00.000+08:00

NST (Online) - 27 Nov 2006 - MCA Youth head to meet Hishammuddin over kris issue - Read about the kris brandishing episode at the recently concluded UMNO aasembly. Hmmm ... there are many ways to look at this ... From the NST Online, "MCA Youth chief Datuk Liow Tiong Lai will meet his Umno counterpart to express concern over the latter’s use of the kris during the recent Umno Youth general assembly. Liow said although Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had explained that the kris was merely a symbol to motivate Malays, people of other races were uneasy. He explained to the BN Youth why he used the kris after last year’s Umno Youth assembly. This year, when he used it again, there was also uneasiness among the other races, although it was less. Perhaps he needs to explain more. I still get calls from people of other races, especially Chinese, who say they are uneasy with the use of the kris. As leaders, we need to understand and consider the feelings of the people on the ground, especially the other races. If I hold a Chinese sword at a wushu function it would be different than if I hold one at a political event. This was a political function, so it is seen in a different context. It can create uneasiness," he said.

Ahah .. I detect a 'missing the point' situation here. I am not a politician, neither am I an UMNO member .. just to be clear about it. The way I see it, as all of us should as well, the kris is embedded in the Constitution of Malaysia. Just look at the Malaysian emblem at the top, yes .. the yellow flag with two tigers on each side. Look closely ... (get a magnifying glass if need be .. I did) ... YES .. the are five (5) kris there. Look again at what our next Agong, HRH DYMM Sultan Mizan Zainul Abidin ibni al Marhum Sultan Mahmud of Terengganu (1962-), is holding. It ain't no wushu sword .... and he is the Agong of Malaysia, not Malay, Chinese, Indian or what have you ... In the installation of the 13th Agong, HRH DYMM Sultan Mizan will also be kissing the hilt of the royal kris, or jagged dagger.

If we are serious about the Bangsa Malaysia (at first I was gonna say my piece, but now I am going to see what fun will transpire .. ) EVERYONE calling themselves Malaysian must accept the kris .... after all we are more advanced than the Americans, they still have 'African-American', 'Chinese-American' and the like .. we don't have Chinese-Malaysian? do we ... ?? We have Bangsa Malaysia .. right ? So, perhaps MCA Youth chief Datuk Liow Tiong Lai should hear himself when he said, 'But the National Agenda must come first. We are all Malaysians and we (non-Malays) are here to stay.' The KRIS IS a National identity!! and if the non-malays are here to stay, stay and adopt and adapt .... UMNO can hold the kris, MCA can hold the kris, MIC can hold the kris .... walk the talk, maaan ... aiyaaa .. tak tau lah ...

Simply Nicol 2006 ...

2006-11-27T11:28:00.000+08:00

NICOL David became only the fourth player to successfully defend the World Women's Open squash crown when she beat Australian Natalie Grinham of Australia in the final at the Ulster Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland last night. (NST)

Nicol, the World No 1, secured a 1-9, 9-7, 3-9, 9-5, 9-2 victory against Natalie, the World No 4, in a 98-minute match to clinch back-to-back titles after achieving her first in Hong Kong last year. Squash legends Sarah Fitz-Gerald and Michelle Martin, both from Australia, and Susan Devoy of New Zealand were the other players who had achieved the feat.

More from the official site.

Simply Tiger ..

2006-11-20T15:42:00.000+08:00

Since I was looking at Roger Federer's achievement in 2006 and the last post which kind of had a record of his record, I ventured further to another individual by the name of Tiger Woods. Hmmm ... it would be worthy to enter his records ...

Records held by Tiger Woods ..

MOST PGA TOUR WINS PRIOR TO 25TH BIRTHDAY: Tiger Woods holds record with 24. Horton Smith is second with 17 (1933).

MOST PGA TOUR WINS BETWEEN AGES 20-29: Tiger Woods holds record with 34. Jack Nicklaus had 30.

MOST PGA TOUR WINS AFTER 25 STARTS: Tiger Woods holds record with 6. Ken Venturi is second with 5.

MOST PGA TOUR WINS AFTER 50 STARTS: Jack Nicklaus holds record with 8. Tiger Woods tied in second with Ken Venturi (7).

MOST PGA TOUR WINS AFTER 75 STARTS: Tiger Woods holds record with 17. Jack Nicklaus is second with 12.

MOST PGA TOUR WINS AFTER 100 STARTS: Tiger Woods holds record with 28. Jack Nicklaus is second with 17.

YOUNGEST PLAYER TO WIN 5 PGA TOUR EVENTS: Record held by Horton Smith (20 years, 10 months, one day) in 1929. Tiger Woods is second youngest (21 years, four months, 20 days).

YOUNGEST PLAYER TO ACHIEVE #1 WORLD RANK: Tiger Woods at 21 years, 24 weeks. Previously held by Bernhard Langer (29 years, 31 weeks) in 1986.

LOWEST 72-HOLE SCORE: 259 (21 under par) in 2000 WGC NEC Invitational.

LOWEST 72-HOLE SCORE IN RELATION TO PAR: 25 under par (263) in 2000 Johnnie Walker Classic and 2002 WGC American Express Championship. PGA TOUR record is 28 under par (260) by John Huston in 1998 United Airlines Hawaiian Open and 28 under par (256) by Mark Calcavecchia in 2001 Phoenix Open.

LOW 72-HOLE SCORE IN RELATION TO PAR IN MAJORS:
1997 Masters Tournament 18 under par
2000 U.S. Open Championship 12 under par
2000 British Open Championship 19 under par
2000 PGA Championship 18 under par (tied with Bob May)

LOWEST FIRST 36 HOLES: 125 (64-61) in 2000 WGC NEC Invitational. Mark Calcavecchia tied PGA TOUR record with 125 (65-60) in 2001 Phoenix Open. Tom Lehman also tied this record 125 (63-62) in 2001 Invensys Classic in Las Vegas.

LOWEST FIRST 54 HOLES: 192 in 2000 WGC NEC Invitational. PGA TOUR record is 189 by John Cook in 1996 Fed Ex St. Jude Classic and by Mark Calcavecchia in 2001 Phoenix Open.

LOWEST 18-HOLE SCORE: 61 in 1999 GTE Byron Nelson Classic and 2000 WGC NEC Invitational. PGA TOUR record is 59 by Al Geiberger in 1977 Memphis Classic, Chip Beck in 1991 Las Vegas Invitational, and David Duval in 1999 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY: 15 strokes in 2000 U.S. Open Championship. PGA TOUR record is 16 strokes by J.D. Edgar in 1919 Canadian Open, Joe Kirkwood, Sr. in 1924 Corpus Christi Open and Bobby Locke in 1948 Chicago Victory Championship.

LARGEST MARGIN AFTER 54 HOLES: 10 strokes in 2000 U.S. Open Championship.

LARGEST MARGIN AFTER 36 HOLES: 7 strokes in 2000 WGC NEC Invitational.

MOST CONSECUTIVE EVENTS WITHOUT MISSING CUT: Tiger Woods has missed the cut in only one event in his career, 1997 Bell Canadian Open. He withdrew from 1998 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, because of postponement. Since then, Woods has made the cut in 96 consecutive events. PGA TOUR record is 113 events by Byron Nelson, followed by Jack Nicklaus with 105.

LOWEST ADJUSTED SCORING AVERAGE: Tiger Woods’ adjusted scoring average of 67.79 in 2000 was the lowest in PGA TOUR history, exceeding his 68.43 average in 1999.

LOWEST ACTUAL SCORING AVERAGE: Tiger Woods’ actual scoring average of 68.17 in 2000 was the lowest in PGA TOUR history, exceeding the 68.33 average by Byron Nelson in 1945.

LOWEST CONSECUTIVE ROUNDS: 125 (64-61) in the first and second rounds of the 2000 NEC Invitational. Mark Calcaveccia broke this record 124 (60-64) in the 2001 Phoenix Open second and third rounds.

MOST CONSECUTIVE ROUNDS AT PAR OR BETTER: Tiger Woods' 52 consecutive rounds at par or better from the second round of 2000 GTE Byron Nelson Classic, through the first round of the 2001 Phoenix Open, was a PGA TOUR record. He had 66 consecutive rounds worldwide.

MOST CONSECUTIVE EVENTS AT PAR OR BETTER: Tiger Woods' 35 consecutive events at par or better (stroke-play events only) on the PGA TOUR (all under par), starting with the 1999 PGA Championship, through the 2001 Memorial Tournament, was a PGA TOUR record. In 2000, Woods became the first to be under par in every event played on the PGA TOUR for an entire year.

MOST CONSECUTIVE VICTORIES IN A SINGLE EVENT: Tiger Woods is one of three (possibly four) players to have three consecutive victories in two single events and is the first to do so in the same years. He won both Memorial Tournament and WGC NEC Invitational in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Walter Hagen won PGA Championship in four consecutive years (1924-27) and Metropolitan Open in three consecutive years (1916-20, no event in 1917-18 because of war). Arnold Palmer won Texas Open (1960-62) and Phoenix Open (1961-63). Some records keepers credit Gene Sarazen with three consecutive victories in two single events in 1920s and other records keepers dispute this. The records are inconclusive.

MOST PRIZE MONEY FOR ONE YEAR AND FOR CAREER: Tiger Woods set PGA TOUR record with earnings of $9,188,321 for 2000 and $33,103,852 for his career through 2002. His worldwide total was $41,213,162 for his career through 2002.

MOST USGA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: Tiger Woods has won eight USGA national championships. Those who have won eight or more are Robert T. Jones, Jr. (9), Joanne Gunderson Carner (8) and Jack Nicklaus (8).

MOST MASTERS VICTORIES: Tiger Woods has won the Masters Tournament 3 times. Jack Nicklaus has won 6 Masters titles, Arnold Palmer has won 4, and others with 3 victories are Jimmy Demaret, Sam Snead, Gary Player and Nick Faldo.

Simply Roger ...

2006-11-20T11:02:00.000+08:00

Roger Federer's records in 2006

Nov 19 (Reuters) - A list of world number one Roger Federer's records in 2006 after he beat James Blake 6-0 6-3 6-4 in the year-ending Master's Cup final in Shanghai on Sunday:

* First player to earn $8 million in prize money in one season ($8,343,885)

* Most ranking points in a season (8,370)

* Accumulated enough points to ensure he would break Jimmy Connors's record of 160 consecutive weeks as world number one on Feb. 26 next year

* First man in the Open era to win 10 or more titles in three consecutive seasons (2004-11, 2005-11, 2006-12)

* First man since Thomas Muster in 1995 to win 12 titles in one season (Australian Open, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, Masters Cup, Toronto Masters, Indian Wells, Madrid Masters, Miami Masters, Basel, Doha, Halle and Tokyo champion)

* First player since Ivan Lendl in 1982 to win more than 90 matches in a season (92)

* First man in the professional era to reach six consecutive grand slam finals

* First man to win Wimbledon-U.S. Open double three years in a row

* Beat Bjorn Borg's professional era record of 41 consecutive victories on grass and extended it to 48 when he captured a fourth Wimbledon title

* Joined American Richard Sears and Briton Will Renshaw as the only men to win their first seven grand slam finals after winning the Australian Open in January. Sears and Renshaw achieved the feat in the 1880s

Pharmacists ..

2006-11-13T01:06:00.000+08:00

Pharmacists, pharmacists, where art thou...? It happened again today at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and I wonder if this is the norm anywhere else, else why do we bother having a Pharmacy!! Yes, that's right, the great Pharmacist is not in today!! The pharmacist has gone home, he/she only stays till 6.oo pm. I was having a kind of belly ache with enough-time-to get-to-a-toilet situation when I arrived at the Pharmacy and was told that the pharmacy is not in today. There goes my attempt to get hold of an Imodium. So I had to pray hard until I got home to Penang.

Question is, why must this be so. Must people be ill at certain times only, or only when pharmacists are manning the counter so that you can get your medicine? Is it a must that a pharmacist dispense, or in other words, hand you the Imodium. It is only Imodium, for heaven's sake .. 'tis not like I'm an Imodium addict ... Aiyaa, tak tau lah ...

Muhammad's (pbuh) Sword

2006-09-26T11:05:00.000+08:00

Muhammad's (pbuh) Sword by Uri Avnery (23-09-2006)

Since the days when Roman Emperors threw Christians to the lions, the relations between the emperors and the heads of the church have undergone many changes.

Constantine the Great, who became Emperor in the year 306 - exactly 1700 years ago - encouraged the practice of Christianity in the empire, which included Palestine. Centuries later, the church split into an Eastern (Orthodox) and a Western (Catholic) part. In the West, the Bishop of Rome, who acquired the title of Pope, demanded that the Emperor accept his superiority.

The struggle between the Emperors and the Popes played a central role in European history and divided the peoples. It knew ups and downs. Some Emperors dismissed or expelled a Pope, some Popes dismissed or excommunicated an Emperor. One of the Emperors, Henry IV, "walked to Canossa", standing for three days barefoot in the snow in front of the Pope's castle, until the Pope deigned to annul his excommunication.

But there were times when Emperors and Popes lived in peace with each other. We are witnessing such a period today. Between the present Pope, Benedict XVI, and the present Emperor, George Bush II, there exists a wonderful harmony. Last week's speech by the Pope, which aroused a world-wide storm, went well with Bush's crusade against "Islamofascism", in the context of the "Clash of Civilizations".

IN HIS lecture at a German university, the 265th Pope described what he sees as a huge difference between Christianity and Islam: while Christianity is based on reason, Islam denies it. While Christians see the logic of God's actions, Muslims deny that there is any such logic in the actions of Allah.

As a Jewish atheist, I do not intend to enter the fray of this debate. It is much beyond my humble abilities to understand the logic of the Pope. But I cannot overlook one passage, which concerns me too, as an Israeli living near the fault-line of this "war of civilizations".

In order to prove the lack of reason in Islam, the Pope asserts that the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) ordered his followers to spread their religion by the sword. According to the Pope, that is unreasonable, because faith is born of the soul, not of the body. How can the sword influence the soul?

To support his case, the Pope quoted - of all people - a Byzantine Emperor, who belonged, of course, to the competing Eastern Church. At the end of the 14th century, the Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus told of a debate he had - or so he said (its occurrence is in doubt) - with an unnamed Persian Muslim scholar. In the heat of the argument, the Emperor (according to himself) flung the following words at his adversary:

"Show me just what Mohammed (pbuh) brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached".

These words give rise to three questions: (a) Why did the Emperor say them? (b) Are they true? (c) Why did the present Pope quote them?

WHEN MANUEL II wrote his treatise, he was the head of a dying empire. He assumed power in 1391, when only a few provinces of the once illustrious empire remained. These, too, were already under Turkish threat.

At that point in time, the Ottoman Turks had reached the banks of the Danube. They had conquered Bulgaria and the north of Greece, and had twice defeated relieving armies sent by Europe to save the Eastern Empire. On May 29, 1453, only a few years after Manuel's death, his capital, Constantinople (the present Istanbul) fell to the Turks, putting an end to the Empire that had lasted for more than a thousand years.

During his reign, Manuel made the rounds of the capitals of Europe in an attempt to drum up support. He promised to reunite the church. There is no doubt that he wrote his religious treatise in order to incite the Christian countries against the Turks and convince them to start a new crusade. The aim was practical, theology was serving politics.

In this sense, the quote serves exactly the requirements of the present Emperor, George Bush II. He, too, wants to unite the Christian world against the mainly Muslim "Axis of Evil". Moreover, the Turks are again knocking on the doors of Europe, this time peacefully. It is well known that the Pope supports the forces that object to the entry of Turkey into the European Union.

IS THERE any truth in Manuel's argument?

The pope himself threw in a word of caution. As a serious and renowned theologian, he could not afford to falsify written texts. Therefore, he admitted that the Qur'an specifically forbade the spreading of the faith by force. He quoted the second Sura, verse 256 (strangely fallible, for a pope, he meant verse 257) which says: "There must be no coercion in matters of faith".

How can one ignore such an unequivocal statement? The Pope simply argues that this commandment was laid down by the prophet when he was at the beginning of his career, still weak and powerless, but that later on he ordered the use of the sword in the service of the faith. Such an order does not exist in the Qur'an. True, Muhammad called for the use of the sword in his war against opposing tribes - Christian, Jewish and others - in Arabia, when he was building his state. But that was a political act, not a religious one; basically a fight for territory, not for the spreading of the faith.

Jesus said: "You will recognize them by their fruits." The treatment of other religions by Islam must be judged by a simple test: How did the Muslim rulers behave for more than a thousand years, when they had the power to "spread the faith by the sword"?

Well, they just did not.

For many centuries, the Muslims ruled Greece. Did the Greeks become Muslims? Did anyone even try to Islamize them? On the contrary, Christian Greeks held the highest positions in the Ottoman administration. The Bulgarians, Serbs, Romanians, Hungarians and other European nations lived at one time or another under Ottoman rule and clung to their Christian faith. Nobody compelled them to become Muslims and all of them remained devoutly Christian.

True, the Albanians did convert to Islam, and so did the Bosniaks. But nobody argues that they did this under duress. They adopted Islam in order to become favorites of the government and enjoy the fruits.

In 1099, the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem and massacred its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants indiscriminately, in the name of the gentle Jesus. At that time, 400 years into the occupation of Palestine by the Muslims, Christians were still the majority in the country. Throughout this long period, no effort was made to impose Islam on them. Only after the expulsion of the Crusaders from the country, did the majority of the inhabitants start to adopt the Arabic language and the Muslim faith - and they were the forefathers of most of today's Palestinians.

THERE IS no evidence whatsoever of any attempt to impose Islam on the Jews. As is well known, under Muslim rule the Jews of Spain enjoyed a bloom the like of which the Jews did not enjoy anywhere else until almost our time. Poets like Yehuda Halevy wrote in Arabic, as did the great Maimonides. In Muslim Spain, Jews were ministers, poets, scientists. In Muslim Toledo, Christian, Jewish and Muslim scholars worked together and translated the ancient Greek philosophical and scientific texts. That was, indeed, the Golden Age. How would this have been possible, had the Prophet decreed the "spreading of the faith by the sword"?

What happened afterwards is even more telling. When the Catholics re-conquered Spain from the Muslims, they instituted a reign of religious terror. The Jews and the Muslims were presented with a cruel choice: to become Christians, to be massacred or to leave. And where did the hundreds of thousand of Jews, who refused to abandon their faith, escape? Almost all of them were received with open arms in the Muslim countries. The Sephardi ("Spanish") Jews settled all over the Muslim world, from Morocco in the west to Iraq in the east, from Bulgaria (then part of the Ottoman Empire) in the north to Sudan in the south. Nowhere were they persecuted. They knew nothing like the tortures of the Inquisition, the flames of the auto-da-fe, the pogroms, the terrible mass-expulsions that took place in almost all Christian countries, up to the Holocaust.

WHY? Because Islam expressly prohibited any persecution of the "peoples of the book". In Islamic society, a special place was reserved for Jews and Christians. They did not enjoy completely equal rights, but almost. They had to pay a special poll-tax, but were exempted from military service - a trade-off that was quite welcome to many Jews. It has been said that Muslim rulers frowned upon any attempt to convert Jews to Islam even by gentle persuasion - because it entailed the loss of taxes.

Every honest Jew who knows the history of his people cannot but feel a deep sense of gratitude to Islam, which has protected the Jews for fifty generations, while the Christian world persecuted the Jews and tried many times "by the sword" to get them to abandon their faith.

THE STORY about "spreading the faith by the sword" is an evil legend, one of the myths that grew up in Europe during the great wars against the Muslims - the reconquista of Spain by the Christians, the Crusades and the repulsion of the Turks, who almost conquered Vienna. I suspect that the German Pope, too, honestly believes in these fables. That means that the leader of the Catholic world, who is a Christian theologian in his own right, did not make the effort to study the history of other religions.

Why did he utter these words in public? And why now?

There is no escape from viewing them against the background of the new Crusade of Bush and his evangelist supporters, with his slogans of "Islamofascism" and the "Global War on Terrorism" - when "terrorism" has become a synonym for Muslims. For Bush's handlers, this is a cynical attempt to justify the domination of the world's oil resources. Not for the first time in history, a religious robe is spread to cover the nakedness of economic interests; not for the first time, a robbers' expedition becomes a Crusade.

The speech of the Pope blends into this effort. Who can foretell the dire consequences?

War and Peace

2006-07-30T00:19:00.000+08:00

IT IS CONFIRMED. NOBODY WANTS PEACE. THE WORLD WANTS TO LIVE IN HELL. HELL IS WHAT WE SHALL HAVE. IF ANYONE THINKS THAT PEACE IS IN THE PIPELINE, THEY MUST BE DREAMING!!

WAKE UP!! AND SMELL THE LIES, THE GREED FOR POWER AND THE OBSESSION TO SHOW IT. IT WAS NEVER ABOUT WMD OR ANY PARTICULAR PERSON. IT WAS ALWAYS ABOUT SHOWING POWER AND USING IT.

WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD. WHO GIVES A **** ABOUT ANYTHING ANYMORE....

Errant athletes VERSUS Exams

2006-07-12T23:46:00.000+08:00

Whoa .. I really don't know what to make of this .. NST, July 12, 2006 (by Ranjini Thangaraju) - "ATHLETES who have to date benefited from the Doha 2006 programme but decline to compete in the Asian Games to concentrate on year-end exams will be axed from the programme immediately.The National Sports Council (NSC) has decided to get tough with these athletes as they signed the contracts fully aware that national exams, such as the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), coincide with the Sea Games and Asian Games. NSC director-general Datuk Dr. Ramlan Aziz added that prior to renewing their contracts, athletes should first be aware of their calendar for the year." Hmmm .. this is a tough one. Can one CHANGE their mind? and decide otherwise ... Is this person paying from his OWN pocket for the training of these athletes? Is this a catastrophe? This are normal occurances of life ... BUT ... nooo ... the authority must act tough .. it is ALL about officialdom again ... and on small and little things .. No doubt it is a contract of sort, but not a biblical one, it is human made, and contracts can be altered and amended, based on circumstances, what is the big deal here ... Let us get tough on BIG things, like sugar smuggling, illegal logging, abuse of power by people in power, big fat ego of officials, the little Napoleans ... aiyaa, tak tau lah ...

Takes two to Tango ..

2006-07-12T17:40:00.000+08:00

From Yahoo .. Materazzi admits insulting Zidane ...Marco Materazzi admits he insulted Zinedine Zidane before the France captain head-butted him in the World Cup final. Materazzi denies calling him a "terrorist." "I did insult him, it's true," Materazzi said in Tuesday's Gazzetta dello Sport. "But I categorically did not call him a terrorist. I'm not cultured and I don't even know what an Islamic terrorist is."

Zidane and Materazzi exchanged words after Italy broke up a French attack in extra-time of Sunday's final in Berlin. Seconds later, Zidane lowered his head and rammed Materazzi in the chest, knocking him to the ground. Zidane was sent off, reducing France to 10 men. Italy won the game in a penalty shootout.

Now here is something that we should also know:

Materazzi is no stranger to controversy. He was suspended for two months for punching Siena defender Bruno Cirillo after a Serie A game in February 2004, and earned condemnation following a brutal tackle on Sweden and Juventus striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic in October 2005. Materazzi was also sent off three times while playing for Everton in the 1998-99 season.

One Italian senator even suggested that Materazzi — also sent off three times while playing for Everton in the 1998-99 season — didn't merit selection for the Italian team because of his physical style.

Zidane also is known for having a temper. He was sent off for stomping on a Saudi Arabian opponent at the 1998 World Cup, while at Germany 2006 he was banned for France's group match against Togo. Five years ago with Juventus, Zidane head-butted an opponent in a Champions League match against Hamburger SV after being tackled from behind.

Thing is, it takes two to make things happen. What is there to investigate. One admitted to insulting the other, and the other reacted. Oh puhleeze .. don't give this holier than thou Bull**** .... YOU would probably do the same if you were provoked ... and in the heat of the moment, ANYTHING can happen.

Don't worry about it being a BAD example to other kids .. they can see more damaging things than a head butt .. they saw Maradona scoring a goal with the HAND, they can see other innocent kids blown up by the Israelis, they can see other kids dying of hunger in African countries, they can see kids sleeping in the streets ... and many more .. a head butt .. hah .. aiyaaa .. tak tau lah ..

So Long Agassi ...

2006-07-03T09:11:00.000+08:00

Andre Agassi blows kisses to the spectators. Rafael Nadal has ended Agassi's Wimbledon career with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2, 6-4 win that brutally underscored the 16-year gap between tennis's elder statesman and his heir apparent as the sport's biggest personality.

Andre Agassi's voice wavered and his eyes welled up. After years of dealing with injuries, after months of contemplation, he finally spoke the words he knew he had to, at the place he knew he had to. Turning what was expected to be a routine pre-Wimbledon news conference into something significant, Agassi announced Saturday he will retire after this year's U.S. Open, leaving tennis after two decades during which he collected a career Grand Slam and morphed from an "Image Is Everything" youngster to elder statesman.

(http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/photo?slug=afp-060701215045.y6jekomp&prov=afp

http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news;_ylt=Ak0BUt5QjAqGuiQWJrdtOCg4v7YF?slug=ap-agassiretiring&prov=ap&type=lgns)

World Cup 2006 - Ronaldo

2006-06-28T14:54:00.000+08:00

27 June 2006 by FIFAworldcup.com - Ronaldo inscribed his name into football's history books on Tuesday by scoring a record-breaking 15th FIFA World Cup™ goal to take him clear of Gerd Muller as the tournament's all-time top marksman. Full story at: http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/060627/1/8bv6.html

Afterwards, he reflected on the achievement: "How do I make history? It's tough, difficult, it's not easy. You need a lot of sacrifice and a lot of work. This is the product of many, many years of effort." There was, though, no suggestion that it would satiate the thirst of a player not yet satisfied with his extensive list of achievements. "What do I want from now on?" he said. "More, more and more. I want to keep scoring, as I still have much left to give." Here is a summary of those 15 goals:

Goal 15: 27 June 2006, Brazil 3-0 Ghana: One goal, 5 minutes - The goal that broke Muller's record from the 1970 and 1974 tournaments was classic Ronaldo.

Goals 13 and 14: 22 June 2006, Japan 1-4 Brazil: Two goals, 46 and 81 mins - With these two goals, Ronaldo equalled Muller's record of 14 FIFA World Cup goals.

Goals 11 and 12: 30 June 2002, Germany 0-2 Brazil: Two goals, 67 and 79 mins - In the Final of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo scored the two most important goals of his career to secure for Brazil a record fifth world title.

Goal 10: 26 June 2002, Brazil 1-0 Turkey: One goal, 49 mins

Goal 9: 17 June 2002, Brazil 2-0 Belgium: One goal, 87 mins

Goals 7 and 8: 13 June 2002, Costa Rica 2-5 Brazil: Two goals, 10 and 13 mins

Goal 6: 8 June 2002, Brazil 4-0 China: One goal 55 mins

Goal 5: 3 June 2002, Brazil 2-1 Turkey: One goal, 50 minutes

Goal 4: 7 July 1998, Brazil 1-1 Netherlands (4-2 PSO): One goal, 46 mins

Goals 2 and 3: 27 June 1998, Brazil 4-1 Chile: Two goals, 45 and 70 mins

Goal 1: 16 June 1998, Brazil 3-0 Morocco: One goal, 9 mins

Rude Malaysians ..

2006-06-23T10:34:00.000+08:00

Rude Cities: KL ranks third ... I received my July issue of the Reader's Digest ... and voila .. there it is, the article entitled, "How Polite Are We", pp. 54-62, a resewarch that ranked Kuala Lumpur as the the third rudest city among 35 cities worldwide.

The three tests conducted were:

We walked into public buildings 20 times behind people to see if they would hold the door open for us;
We bought small items from 20 shops and recorded whether the sales assistants said "Thank you";
We dropped a folder full of papers in 20 busy locations to see if anyone would help pick them up.

RD admitted to not attempting a strict scientific survey and what was presented was a real-life test (according to them), with more than 2000 separate tests (wow) of actual behaviour. Mumbai alone has a population of 22 million people, slightly less than the population of Malaysia ...

And the MOST courteous is New York (surpriiiiiiiise). Honestly, to say that it was a pathetic survey is really putting it mildly and for RD to do such a thing is mind boggling. What cretins ... However, this is enough to make the Malaysian Tourism people jumpy .. as if we are not sure of our own people. We have always and will always be like this, it is in the blood, the culture. I see people educated overseas throwing tissues on the ground, people driving big cars throwing rubbish out of their car window, children from school buses throwing wrappers out of the window and many more. Don't kid ourselves where our bahaviours are concerned. But TOURIST have always been coming to Malaysia .. I won't worry about it ... and I am quite sure people will start relating to their 'rude' encounters in countries that they have visited ....

Perhaps we should be asking more pertinent questions, such as what is considered rude, like, is it rude to:

chase people out of their own homeland and refuse to give it back
impose one own style of doing things on other people
think your way of doing things is the best way ..
think that only you can have nuclear capability and not other people
hold people (or country) to ransom just because you are rich

the list is endless .... aiyaa, tak tau lah ...

Malay Language Dichotomy

2006-06-23T09:57:00.000+08:00

Aiyaaa .. tak tau lah .. that is the only way I can start this particular topic. The Star (23 June 2006) - KUALA LUMPUR: King: Make BM Universal Language. Huh .. what ?? .. yup, you read right ... This is how it goes (verbatim):

"Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), one of the oldest statuary bodies in the country, is 50 years old. Its three-month-long Golden Jubilee celebration was launched yesterday by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Syed Putra Jamalullail.

In conjunction with the launch, the King also opened Menara DBP in Jalan Bahasa. The 33-floor building is located behind the old DBP building. Also present was the Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Fauziah Tengku Abdul Rashid.

Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin urged Malaysians to help promote Bahasa Malaysia by making it the preferred language for modern communication. “I believe Bahasa Malaysia is capable of becoming a universal language in this region if we work towards it,” the King said.

Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein in his speech pledged the Government's assistance to DBP in promoting Bahasa Malaysia."

Hmmm .... YESTERDAY, I received in my pigeon-hole a circular from the Registrar's office - Surat Pekeliling Am Bilangan 1 Tahun 2006: Langkah-Langkah Memperkasakan Penggunaan Bahasa Kebangsaan Dalam Perkhidmatan Awam.

(Cutting a long story very short) - This being the case, WHY, oh WHY do Universities now have to teach in ENGLISH. Why? .. Why?.. Why? .. Then after being taught in English, the Internet is in English (well mostly for Malaysians unless they know another foreign language), reference books are in English ... and then .... when they enter public service, they are supposed to be good in BM? Fuyoo ... whose Grand idea is this?? We will definitely end up being neither here nor there as far as BM or English.... BM pun kong-kang, ENGLISH pun kong-kang ... Aiyaaa, tak tau lah ... (btw, Bahasa Malaysia means Malay Language, to me at least ..)

Champions .. champions ..

2006-06-20T11:40:00.000+08:00

New Straits Times, 19 June, 2006 (Monday) - Sports - Many Congratulations to Lee Chong Wei for winning the Malaysian Open (Badminton) for a third consecutive time, joining Rashid Sidek as the only Malaysians to have won a hattrick of Malaysian Open titles.

I was actually watching the match when it went to the third set. Chong Wei was presenting Lin Dan with numerous unforced errors and when it went to the decider, I thought, hmmm ... here we go again. Then Chong Wei was trailling 4-9 and I switched to another Channel. Man .. I would love to see him catch up .. good for you.

Congrats too to Shalin Zulkifli who won her fourth title of the year when she claimed the women's ABF Tour Philippines leg (Bowling) at the Green Valley Bowling Centre in Pasig City. Before this victory, she had captured the Thailand Open, ABR Tour Thailand Leg and Kuwait Open, all in April this year.

What? ... Shalin doesn't have a coach!! Reminds me of Roger Federer who did not have a coach, and even now only has a part-time coach. Guess, it is really in the head, the intrinsic motivation factor that cannot be controlled by any 'official', or need to be ... it just requires the impetus to channel their strength in the right direction .. the rest is up to the person. I mean Chong Wei had to sort his own 'head' on the court, while facing Lin Dan at 13-20. No coach or official can help him, only him ... but Malaysia is ALL about 'officialdom' when the players need 'freedom' ... aiyaa, tak tau lah ...

Go Sheby go, perhaps we should have a My-team for every State in Malaysia and have a Malaysian My-team League. Just a thought ...

It's Quits for Yusry & Erra ..

2006-06-18T02:09:00.000+08:00

Yusri Abdul Halim (33) and Erra Fazira (Wan Nor Fazira Wan Chek) (32) got married in June (15), 2003 and on 16th June 2006, they were in court for a declaration of divorce, after attempts for a reconciliation proved unsuccessful. It is not easy to make a marriage work and naturally, there will be theething problems that need to be sorted out. Still .. there is always a chance that they may get back together?? ... Hmmm ... guess even a pretty face is not good enough ... aiyaa tak tau lah ... (picture from Utusan Online)
(http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Saturday/National/20060617083503/Article/local1_html)

The Raw Family ...

2006-06-15T12:56:00.000+08:00

Meet the RAW FAMILY ... well .. they don't have a name called RAW .. in fact they are the Boutenko family, but they are known as the Raw Family because they live on RAW food!! Their amazing journey on living on purely raw food diet began in 1994 when the family became seriously ill.

Victoria had arrhythmia and edema and was obese and depressed. Igor suffered from painful rheumatoid arthritis and had severe hyperthyroid. Sergei was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes and was supposed to go on insulin. Valya had asthma. After they went on a raw diet, they healed all of their health problems. You can read their story from their website as linked. The recipes looks good too ... those who wish to donate can do so as they also conduct research and share their information with others to help other sufferers..... that's what makes the world go round ...