Latte @ Anytime, Anywhere

HAVE AUTO WILL DRIVE ...

2012-01-25T09:30:00.000+08:00

Automatic transmission driving licences are long overdueSHIFTING GEAR: Will it be tougher to pass the test now?

BACK when I was covering the transport beat in the late 1980s and 1990s, I told the then Transport Minister Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr Ling Liong Sik that I didn’t own a driving licence. In fact, I did not even know how to drive.
He asked me to sign up for driving lessons and said that he would personally be the “tester” when the time came for the practical driving test.
I remember telling him back then that I would only do it if I were taught using an automatic transmission car and tested in one too. He had laughed at the suggestion.
A decade or so later, I am reading that the Transport Ministry is to implement the automatic transmission driving licence this May. A new driving curriculum would enable learner drivers to learn to drive and take a test in an automatic transmission car.
Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri said the ministry also needs to give the driving school operators time to replace the manual transmission cars with the automatic ones.
It has taken the government far too long to implement this, when automatic transmission cars have become very popular here since the 1990s.
The first vehicle to have this technology was a custom-made limousine designed by Michael Felix Picone for General Douglas MacArthur as a gift. The limousine was fabricated from three Cadillac sedans.
Picone had actually invented automatic transmission during World War II for a tank so that the operator could use his left foot to fire 50mm shells while looking through the cross hairs of his tank periscope.
North America introduced cars with automatic transmission as far back as the 1950s.
My U.S. graduate brother returned home from his studies in the late 1980s with an automatic transmission licence. He eventually succeeded in teaching himself to drive a manual transmission car but it cost my late father the gearbox of his manual transmission Mitsubishi Gallant.
Some countries have long introduced separate licences for automatic cars. A manual licence will allow the driver to drive both manual and automatic vehicles but an automatic transmission licence holder can only drive automatic transmission cars.
In Singapore for example, a Class 3 licence holder can drive both manual and automatic transmission cars while a Class 3A licence holder allows you to drive automatic transmission cars only.
There are already concerns here that the introduction of the automatic transmission licence would see the increase in the number of cars on the already congested roads of most cities and towns in the countries.
I personally think it is the ease of buying cars, with some institutions offering 100 per cent financing, that contributes to the increase.
I foresee an increase in the number of licenced drivers. Rahim himself anticipates that more people, especially older learners and women, would prefer to drive a car with automatic transmission as it is a lot easier.
Men, too, prefer to drive automatic transmission cars these days.
My brother, who can drive both manual and automatic transmission cars now, prefers his own ride to be automatic. When we have to hire an MPV for long distance travels, he would insist on automatic transmission too.
I wonder, however, if the authorities would make it tougher now to get the driving licence, now that it is easier to drive.
I would rather that the authorities look at the current syllabus to also include defensive driving. Some international reports showed that those who attended defensive driving courses can reduce accident rates by as much as 80 per cent.
Whatever it may be, the move is better late than ever. I may just get my wish to be taught how to drive in an automatic transmission car and be tested in one too but unfortunately, Dr Ling will not be the one who would be the tester.

* First appeared in NST Comment pages on January 20, 2012

SE CUKUP RASA

2012-01-23T11:10:00.000+08:00

I was having early lunch with some friends before heading to the office on New Year’s Day (yeah, you read it right there … I was in the office on Jan 1!) when our conversation turned to the dinner I hosted just before Christmas last month.

They read my blog (tapi tak pernah nak post comment!) and wanted to know how I went about hosting it. I told them it was exactly how I wrote it.

“You cooked lamb tagine that you never tried to cook or even eaten before. How did you know that it was supposed to taste like that?” one asked.

“I followed the recipe,” I told her. I even “invested” in the expensive saffron for the dish!“Kalau tak sedap, tentu two of my guests tak tambah nasi sampai tiga kali,” I said, laughing out loud.

That recipe could go horribly wrong but I was confident enough to try it.

I must tell you that I have been very lucky that the recipes that I tried for dinners that I hosted turned out well (the roasted chicken parts at the recent dinner turned out a little dry because I left it in the oven for a tad too long but guests finished it anyway!)

I like collecting recipes and trying them out. I don’t have a problem with those from Nigella, Jamie Oliver or Anna Olson. Their dishes and desserts are pretty easy and delicious too.

It’s the Malay dishes that I have a problem with. And Mak, my elder half-sister and my aunties are not exactly the best of teachers especially in their own kitchens.

Their method is really old school; simply throwing in the herbs and spices into the pot instead of measuring it!

Whenever I asked Mak how much of spices to put into the pot for a particular dish, she’ll give you this standard answer of “se cukup rasa”. At times, I think she fronts for Maggi with that reply although I hardly see her using any of Maggi products with the exception of the chicken stock cubes!

Now, what is deemed ‘se cukup rasa”? My “secukup rasa” may not be to her liking and vice versa. “Dah bubuh garam?” she’ll asked when tasting a dish I cook. Although it would be salty already to my palate, it will not be to hers. And whenever I tell her to add some more salt to the dish she’ll asked me to taste, she’ll retort “kan dah masin tu.”

They’re like Michelin chefs who do not like to be criticized of their cooking. Those chefs would frown if you asked the kitchen for extra seasoning to the dish they’ve cooked for you.

As for me, the Michelin chef wannabe, I’ll provide you with the Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce (Tabasco kan dah diharamkan!), ketchup and Chilli Sauce to add more flavour to the dish on your plate.

But I noticed that the bottles remained unopened. Does that mean I got the exact flavour to match your palate? *me giving myself a pat on the back*

For those three whom I dedicate this post to and Oldstock , here is the recipe for the Lamb Tagine

LAMB TAGINE

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1kg (2 1/4 lb) diced lamb

2 teaspoons paprika

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 pinch saffron

3/4 teaspoon ground coriander

2 medium onions, halved then cut into wedges

5 carrots - quartered, then sliced lengthwise into thin strips

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon grated root ginger

1 lemon, zested

400ml (14 oz) chicken stock (I replace the stock with water and two Maggi chicken cubes)

1 tablespoon tomato puree

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon cornflour (optional)

1 tablespoon water (optional)

Place diced lamb in a bowl, toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and set aside. In a large resealable bag, toss together the paprika, turmeric, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, salt, ginger, saffron and coriander; mix well. Add the lamb to the bag, and toss to coat well. Refrigerate at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat. Add 1/3 of the lamb, and brown well. Remove to a plate, and repeat with remaining lamb. Add onions and carrots to the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the fresh garlic and root ginger; continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes.

Return the lamb to the pot and stir in the lemon zest, chicken stock, tomato puree and honey. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender.

Serve it piping hot with rice or bread.

AFRICANS and AFRICA ...

2012-01-13T20:36:00.003+08:00

per·cep·tion[per-sep-shuhn]

noun

1. the act orfaculty of apprehending by means of the senses or of the mind; cognition;understanding.

2. immediate orintuitive recognition or appreciation, as of moral, psychological, or aestheticqualities; insight; intuition; discernment: an artist of rare perception.

3. the result orproduct of perceiving, as distinguishedfrom the act of perceiving; percept.

4. Psychology - asingle unified awareness derived from sensory processes while a stimulus ispresent.

5. Law - the takinginto possession of rents, crops, profits, etc.

I have three Africanfriends; George Munji from Kenya, Veven Bisetty (South Africa) and GeraldOwachi (Uganda). Munji and Bisetty and I were fellows under the DagHammarskjöld Scholarship Fund for Journalists programme in 1993. Owachi and Iwere on a Wolfson Press Fellowship programme at Cambridge University in 1998.

I spent close tofour months with Munji and Bisetty in New York and an equal amount of time withOwachi while in the UK.

In New York, Munji,Veven and I stayed in the same hotel while at Cambridge, Owachi and I was underthe same roof at Norton House.

We bantered. Weflirted. We had loads of fun. We still communicate with each other, first viaemails and now, through Facebook.

When I told themedia group travelling with me to Johannesburg recently about my relationshipwith my African friends, some were stunned.

It is unfortunatethat they have this negative perception of Africans in general, although thebad apples are from Nigeria, as widely reported in news portals and newspapers.

But can you reallyblame them? You can’t really tell between a Nigerian and a Kenyan, a SouthAfrican or a Ugandan now or can you?

There are hundreds,if not in the thousands yet, of them in our own country.

Seriously, most ofus do not harbour any ill feelings towards them but they have becomeintimidating, loud and, to a certain extent, violent.

They are abusing ourhospitality and have increasingly become a menace here. They have not onlyscammed the locals of thousands of ringgit but use Malaysia as their base tocheat others as far as Australia. Our locals, being promised of travels andloads of money, had be duped into becoming drug mules.

That negativeperception over these Africans has made us paranoid too. We are not only waryof them in our own country but we become extremely cautious of them when we arein theirs.

The Wisma Putra advisoryto us didn’t help much either.

“… Kementeriandengan sukacita ingin mengingatkan tuan/puan agar menjaga keselamatan tuan/puansepanjang berada di Afrika Selatan. Sekiranya ingin keluar ke kawasan bandardan sekitarnya, tuan/puan adalah diminta agar bergerak dalam kumpulan dan tidakberseorangan. Selain itu, tuan/puan juga diminta mengelakkan keluar pada waktumalam melainkan dalam keadaan yang terdesak.”

(“… the ministrywould like to remind you to be careful during your stay in South Africa. If youwish to go out into the city area and its surroundings, you are advised to movein groups and not alone. You are also advised not to go out at night unlessneeded.”)

We kept to theadvisory. We were thousands of miles away from home. It was better to be safethan sorry.

It was one city thatI didn’t get to explore much, on my own or with the group I was travellingwith.

Normally, I wouldwalk the streets to discover the city I’m in and checking out the local bazaarslike our own “pasar malam” or night markets and pick up knick-knacks orsouvenir pieces for family and friends back home. I sometimes engage the localsand talk to them about their cultures and beliefs.

For our own safety,we confined ourselves to the hotel and the surrounding areas. We even limitedour interaction with the locals.

The one time that wewent out was to Bloemfontein, in a convoy where we had hired driver who wasalso a trained security personnel. For the return trip to Johannesburg in thelate afternoon, we were advised to leave as early as possible to avoid being onthe highway at midnight.

In the city, wepassed through areas with the signage “HOT SPOTS” and a telephone number tocall in cases of emergency. “You’ll find no cars passing through these areas atnight,” our driver told us. “We do not stop when the traffic lights turn red.We will just drive through,” he added.

In Johannesburg, theMalaysian who had arranged for our transportation took us out to Oriental Plaza(where Indians from India trade) and the African craft market.

Without him, wewouldn’t dare venture out by ourselves.

On hindsight, it wasa good practice having to be alert at all times and keeping to the schedule. Wealso have to be street smart wherever we are.

I’m not sure if myAfrican friends know of Malaysians’ general perception of them. Munji, Veven andanother fellow from Costa Rica, William Mendez, are actually talking of areunion in New York soon. I may join them.

Well, perception can also be positive if one chooses to. Itis a matter of choice.

DUTY TRAVEL JANUARY 5-10, 2012

2012-01-05T10:30:00.000+08:00

My first visit to South Africa was in 1999.
I stayed for only three days. It was actually supposed to be longer than that.
I flew into Johannesburg to cover Prime Minister Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was scheduled to attend the Commonwealth Business Forum there, and then onwards to Durban for the Commonwealth Heads of Governments’ meeting.
When we arrived at the hotel in Johannesburg, his aide who traveled in the advanced party told us that Dr Mahathir had cancelled the trip. He had called for the dissolution of the Parliament to pave the way for the country’s 10th general elections.
I’m flying out to Johannesburg via Dubai later this evening.
Keep safe and take care everyone!

Ombak Rindu? Naaaah!

2012-01-01T21:34:00.003+08:00

escapism [ɪˈskeɪpɪzəm]
n
an inclination to or habit of retreating from unpleasant reality, as through diversion or fantasy
escapist n & adj

Going to the movies is one form of escapism for me. The darkened theatre is a refuge and the two-hour movie provides a short respite.
But I don't this often; only when I need the distraction from work and people around me.
Because of this, I am very selective of the movies I watch at the theatres especially if I was to go alone.
I go for movies that acts like a "happy pill" … oh you know, one that leaves you with the positive feelings and energy.
You would then understand why I haven't gone to watch "Ombak Rindu", wouldn't you?
Not because it is a Malay movie but because of the soppy feel to it.
The other half went to watch "Ombak Rindu"; not with me but with his male friends.
He raved about the movie (Maya Karin's fine acting) and that his friends (and him included) were teary-eyed when watching the movie.
I have friends who had gone to watch the movie three times and I haven't gone to watch even once!
Now that it is on CD, the other half inquired if I already had a copy. I told him it didn't interest me when it was showing in the theatres nationwide. What makes him think I would buy the CD? I haven't even clicked the Astro First "Buy" button as it is now showing on the channel.
I remembered seeing the book in the Sri Ayu apartment when I stayed there a few years ago. It belonged to my niece, Ajai, who was then staying with me. It didn't interest me to read it, thinking it was another Mills & Boons but in Malay!
When the movie came out, Mysara remembered the title. "Buku Kak Ajai dalam bilik tengah masa kat Sri Ayu dulu. Sara pun ada baca dulu," she said.
She wanted to watch "Ombak Rindu" at GSC Alamanda Putrajaya recently but the brother, Danial, wanted to see the "Twilight" movie ("I don't do cerita Melayu," he said) but I had the last say.
We ended up watching "Puss In Boots" and "Happy Feet Two".
Yeah, I dragged the kids on my escapism spree!
Will I ever watch the movie? I can't tell you for sure that I would not. Maybe, much later.
But for the time being, can someone confirm if Aaron Aziz is the modern day Rosyam Nor?

RESOLUTIONS AND THE NEW YEAR

2011-12-29T13:15:00.000+08:00

res·o·lu·tion [rez-uh-loo-shuhn]
noun
1. a formal expression of opinion or intention made, usually after voting, by a formal organization, a legislature, a club, or other group. Compare concurrent resolution, joint resolution.
2. a resolve or determination: to make a firm resolution to do something.
3. the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc.
4. the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose.
5. the act or process of resolving or separating into constituent or elementary parts.

I don’t do resolutions. Well, I had before this but as I don’t fulfill them before the year ends, I decided I would do no more.
Most often than not, the resolutions are drawn up before the new year starts, looked at in the first or second month, then forgotten until the end of the year.
I know of some people who would actually do a checklist of their own resolutions and carry forward the unfulfilled ones to the next year.
I’ve yet to know of anyone who tries to fulfill his or her year-long resolutions in one night, like that in the movie “New Year’s Eve”.
People are buzzing around me talking about their resolutions … oh you know, about doing this, not doing that … going here and everywhere … etc.
I’m not going to list those things that I resolve to do, only to leave it unfulfilled.
What I’ll do is share with you what I’ll do, would be doing or have accomplished in this blog.
In the meantime, stay safe this festive season.
Happy New Year!

HOSTING DINNER

2011-12-21T18:13:00.013+08:00

MENU
STARTERS
NACHOS, served with SOUR CREAM AND GUACAMOLE

MAIN COURSES
BUTTER RICE, WITH ALMONDS AND CRANBERRIES
LAMB TAGINE
ROAST CHICKEN ON A BED OF GREENS

DESSERT
STORE BOUGHT CAKE
COFFEE AND TEA, TEH TARIK
On Tuesday, a friend suggested through BBM for the five of us to meet up for dinner on Thursday night before we all break for the Xmas and New Year holidays.
I thought what better time for me to host dinner, one that I used to do before for friends and contacts. The last time I did something like this was in 2007/2008.
This is a different group from the previous one (I hope I would be able to one day put these two groups together!)
This current group has heard enough of my past dinners (“So when will we be invited to one?” someone in the group had asked before … LOL!), so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to host one.
I told the friend that suggested the Thursday night dinner that I would host it.
The other half was concerned that it would be too much for me especially since it would be a weekday and that it would be too rushed, as it was only two days away.
But it was my designated day off anyway and that the weekend would be out of the question since we all have our own programmes.
I immediately called Ascott Kuala Lumpur. I’ve hosted dinner there twice. I love it there. Their units, either two rooms or three rooms, are spacious and can accommodate the number of invitees. Unfortunately, they were fully booked until the end of the year.
Next call was to PNB Darby Park. I hosted here once before. I immediately made the reservation when they told me that they have the unit that meets my requirement (I needed full kitchen facilities).
Next was the menu. I had cooked twice and catered once (because it was during the fasting month and I wasn’t particularly keen to cook!).
Should I cook this time? To tell you the truth, I was pretty sick of eating out. So, I decided to cook although I can tell you that I am no Nigella Lawson!
So, I drew up the list as above.
Remembering what I learnt from Homescience class in Convent Johor Bahru, I started with the dish that took the longest in cooking time.
It was a gravy dish to go with the rice. This was a bit tough. It was a toss between beef and lamb.
If it was a beef dish, I would have settled for goulash (I cooked this before successfully, if I may say so myself). Since my invitees love the latter (lamb), I decided to do lamb tagine instead.
Someone wrote that cooking tagine was impossible if you don't have the earthenware pot. But all I needed was a heavy-bottom pot.
It was Jaime Oliver (another chef who I follow on TV) who said it’s really about the spices and the slow cooking. He thinks tagine is a sort of stew with attitude!
It was the first time I cooked tagine and my invitees unknowingly were my “guinea pigs” (a person who is used as a subject for experimentation or research).

Simmering in a normal pot on a stove

Then, I prepared the roast chicken, Jamie Oliver-style. I slid tabs of butter in between the skin and the meat and rubbed the chicken with salt and pepper. I sprinkled Italian herbs (which came in a bottle) and popped it into the oven.

From the oven ...

... to the table on a bed of greens ...

Then, I prepared the salsa and minced meat for the nachos. I kept it aside and assembled it ten minutes before the dinner. I topped the nachos with the salsa, minced meat and Mozarella and Cheddar cheeses and popped it into the oven.
The butter rice went from the stove to the rice cooker in a jiffy. After the rice is cooked, I added the almonds and cranberries.
(I totally forgot to take photos of the rice and nachos!!!)
I didn’t have time to make dessert. I was thinking of baking this chocolate cake with Fleur de Sel caramel filling from a recipe I got from the Asian Food Channel. I even told the other half that I thought of making chocolate croissants like in the movie “It’s Complicated” (I can’t find anything like that here but I found this at “Sweet Spots”, a bakery at Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore).
But I decided not to overdo it (although in my mind which is already working overtime, I'm planning a high tea and this croissant ould be one of the items served).
I asked the other half to buy desserts instead.
Dinner started at 9pm. An hour and a half later, they helped me clear the dining table before adjourning to the living room for dessert and coffee/tea/teh tarik, which I ordered from the hotel.
What did we have for dessert? The other half bought my favourite Blueberry Cheesecake from La Gourmet at Bangsar Shopping Centre. He also bought their durian chocolate cake. Absolutely sinful! Oh, and a friend brought with him brownies from Godiva! We binged all night!
(And no one thought of taking photos of the desserts, too!)
It was close to 2am when the last guest left.

It had definitely been a tiring day (from shopping for the food items at the supermarket to cooking and setting the table, with place cards and all, and cleaning up later) but it was worth it.
I would want to do it again as I find it highly satisfying that friends enjoyed the food and the company.

The table ready for the food and the guests

(A potluck may be out of the question as my guests are mostly males and they don’t cook but they’ll buy instead, so it is good as eating out. And I’m no Michelin star chef but I don’t give my guests food poisoning either, insya’Allah!)
They told me that any shortcomings that came out of the dinner was that I overfed them!
Hosting such dinners is not just about cooking and eating (if you really can’t cook to save your life (and I find that very hard to believe), then it is best that you get the service of a good caterer).
It is about nurturing the relationship between friends. With the hectic pace of our lives, it's too easy to take friendships, even very good ones, for granted.

Private dinners like these good a long way.

Flowers and Godiva truffles ... and it wasn't even my birthday!

ONCE IN FIVE YEARS OR LESS (7)

2011-12-14T13:30:00.007+08:00

After one of the general elections in the late 1980s or early 1990s (I can’t recall which general elections it was), the then editor of the Business Times had introduced a column on new parliamentarians. I was one of the reporters tasked to fill up that Saturday column.
Of the many interviews I had with newly elected parliamentarians, three stood out. One was appointed as deputy minister, another was a parliamentary secretary while the third was not yet in the Cabinet.
I wasn’t really impressed with the deputy minister as this person only wanted to look after the affluent constituents although they were not (and still are not) the majority in the constituency.
The parliamentary secretary at an all-important ministry told me he didn’t want to become “a flower on the wallpaper” at the ministry. His words, not mine. He said he aimed to learn from the minister.
Upon reflection, I find that either the minister wasn’t too good a teacher or the younger MP was not a very good student. But I seriously think it is the latter, not the former.
The one without the Cabinet post became a politician and contested in the general election because “I want to be a minister,” he had said back then. He got what he wanted but I wondered if he is aspiring to be much more than that now.
All three are now ministers in the Cabinet, holding important portfolios.
Would they still be candidates at the 13th general elections? Out of the three, I think that two ministers will remain, having senior positions in the party, while the third could possibly make any exit, either bowing out graciously or be dropped as a candidate.
The guessing game continues, not only on the date of the general elections but also who the candidates will be.
That time will come pretty soon. I was informed if it’s not in the first quarter of 2012, it will be sometime in the first half of the year.
The next general election will be the 13th since Independence.
Some people have placed their bets on either the first quarter of the year (with January after the Chinese New Year or the March school holidays as firm favourites) or the second quarter (specifically during the May school holidays).
It was reported in the NST that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will proceed with his plans to visit South Africa in January but will be skipping the January 25-29 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. But this would not be the first time. He had given WEF a miss before.
I don’t think the date is all that important.
What is more vital is the list of candidates to contest in the general elections. Some say the list is being prepared while others believed the list will be ready in a month or so.
For the past few months, top political leaders, especially those from Umno, talked about “winnable candidates”. Everyone has his or her own definition.
As much as it is up to the leadership to choose the “winnable candidates”, I think they too would have to listen to the voice of the constituents.
These candidates, be it from the ruling coalition or the Opposition, if they win in the general elections, will not only represent their respective parties but that of the entire population.
The Umno candidates for example, do not represent the three million plus Umno members alone.
The 222 Members of Parliament, from both sides of the divide, will be representing some 28 million Malaysians.
What is a winnable candidate to the ordinary voter?
In my books, and this being my personal opinion, being young and qualified are not enough. He must share the aspirations and the thinking of the leadership and be able to articulate it to the constituents.
One of the major problems faced by the government is of communications where some MPs are not able to explain and disseminate the right information to the rakyat on the government’s various transformation programmes and those for the people.
I want a candidate of is visible. By this, I am not referring to having him appear in the newspapers and news portals every other day. More importantly, he must be visible in the constituency he represents.
Seriously, I wouldn’t want to waste my time or money going back to JB to put a cross on a ballot paper to a face that I had hardly seen or whose name I had hardly heard of.
And, last but not least, it is imperative that my choice of a candidate must have at least one or more of these attributes: Amanah (trustworthiness), Siddiq (truthfulness), Fathonah (intelligence) and Tabligh (informativeness).
As I see it, there are more wannabe candidates than there are winnable ones.
But I believe if Najib looks hard enough, he can find the winnable ones among the loyalists in the party who can be the new faces of the Barisan Nasional in the 13th general elections.
I have been a registered voter since 1986. I’ve seen only two MPs for my constituency in the past 25 years; the current MP is the son of the former one.
This time around, I would like to see Najib making sweeping changes this time around. I expect him to remove half, if not two-thirds, of the current MPs and state assemblymen.
Those MPs who have been extended a lifeline last election should know better than to ask for another “talian hayat”. If your time is up, make your exit graciously. If not, they will have to be shown the door.
And as the saying goes, the ball is in Najib’s court.

Jom Main Hujan!

2011-12-05T18:04:00.002+08:00

Paintings I LoveGrowing up, I’ve always been told to avoid being caught in the rain. “You’ll catch the cold,” the elders would say.
Whenever we go out in the rain, we were told to cover our heads. “That’s what umbrellas are for, not just for the sun but also to shield you from the rain,” they told us.
We hardly use the umbrella when in the hot sun. Neither do we do the same when it rains.
I don’t remember having fallen sick after having been caught in the rain, which is often enough these days. Well, I do get the intermittent sniffles but nothing serious enough to warrant hospitalization.
I do remember very well of one occasion of playing in the rain because I hurt myself doing so. I hadn’t started schooling yet but was already in the kindergarten.
We were staying at Jalan Othman in Petaling Jaya. It was raining and my father’s youngest sister took the opportunity to clean the drain around the house. I guessed her rationale back then was with the rain, she needn’t have to drag a pail of water around with her while cleaning the drain.
I tailed closely behind her. But the floor was slippery. I slipped and had a nasty cut and was then taken to the clinic for treatment.
But that wasn’t a big enough lesson to stop me from playing in the rain.
Back then when we say “main hujan”, it simply means to stand in the open air when it rains. I get a kick out of the pitter-patters of rain on my head and water streaming down my face.
We weren’t interested in playing in floodwaters we know how dirty it is. Or even rivers, streams or monsoon drains. We know how dangerous it can be.
There were a few occasions while at school where we had a good time being in the rain.
Once in secondary school, we went against the advice of our hockey coach Mr Raman and played in the rain on the pretext of “seasoning” our brand new hockey sticks. It was only when he came out onto the field and warned us of the possibility of being struck by lightning that we abandoned training. While we were all soaked to the bones, our male coach was using an umbrella!
And being a member of St John’s Ambulance, there were times that my schoolmates and I had to stand in the rain while on duty at sports meets. For as long as they do not abandon the event, we would dutifully be ever ready to serve.
And whenever we were caught in the rain or were deliberately in the rain, the elders would insist that we take off our clothes immediately and head for the shower. And it wasn’t even with hot water!
Doctors will tell you that viruses cause colds and flu. In fact, more than 200 different viruses can cause the common cold.
Colds and flu are also most prevalent in the colder months like now. And I read that flu tends to be rampant when temperatures drop below 41 degrees.
So personally, I think these are just old wives’ tales. Agreed?

SACRIFICES

2011-11-03T18:40:00.001+08:00

Hari Raya Haji was never a big deal for me unlike my Kelantanese friends who insist on returning to their state to celebrate despite the fact that the public holiday is only for one day.
The past 27 years, I could count only a handful of times that I had a day off on Hari Raya Haji.
You see, most often than not, we singles and without a family of our own, had to make way for our married and with family colleagues to take the day off to celebrate with their families. And this went on for years.
There were times where I took for granted that I would be given the day off. I found out later that being a Muslim, I don’t get an automatic day off on that day. In fact, it was suggested that I take leave if I want the day off on that day.
And I also remembered being overseas during Hari Raya Haji. I had spent Hari Raya Haji at an aviation conference in Bangkok in 2000.
Two years ago, I was in Trinidad & Tobago for the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting. No beef or chicken rendang, ketupat and sambal kacang, lodeh or lemang for breakfast!
And there was one particular year that I spent Hari Raya Haji onboard Malaysia Airlines, flying home from London after an assignment.
So, if you want to talk about sacrifices, this is one of it, for me at least!
My mother, having gone for the pilgrimage with my late father in 1979, celebrates it like we celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri. The dining table will be laden with food.
I can’t recall the first time I did the Korban. I remembered however that I did it at the masjid next to my maternal uncle’s house in Gombak.
It could be sometime in 2007-2008 because Mysara was already born then when we undertook the Korban. We slaughtered one cow, putting individual names to the seven parts, doing it also on behalf of my late paternal grandfather, late father and late brother. In fact, we had done the pilgrimage on before of my grandfather and brother.
The meat of the animal was divided into three portions, of which one third was distributed among the poor, another part among relatives and friends, while the family consumed the third.
Even after distributing the portions we got to our neighbours, we still had too much meat stored in the refrigerator. It lasted us close to a month.
I did the first Korban after undertaking my own aqiqah of a sheep in Johor Bahru.
It was a little scary for me during the first one. It was recommended for you to recite the niat and witnessed yourself the slaughtering of the cow designated to you. It was not a pretty sight too!
From then on, I had done a few others, either on my own in Kuala Lumpur or with the family in Johor Bahru (we slaughtered another cow, sharing the cost among my sister’s children and their families). I had a family member represent me at the Korban.
My mother said I do not need to do it every year, as it is not an obligation but a necessity for all who can afford it.
I didn’t do this last year. Nor am I doing it this year.
But I believe sacrifices should not be limited to this day only. It should be made a part of our lives. It can come in a tangible or intangible form, be it in the form of material, financial, time and/or energy.
Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha
Semoga Ibadah kita diterima Allah SWT
Insya’Allah

INNOVATIONS

2011-11-02T11:47:00.002+08:00

In his latest blog entry, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s wrote that Malaysians must take risks in efforts to become innovative and that they should explore new avenues rather than follow the tracks of others.
His statement reminded me of the meriam buloh or bamboo cannon.
This, to me, is the perfect example of the innovativeness of Malaysians, especially the Malays, and the risks they take to make the homemade firecracker better.
The meriam buloh comprised a piece of bamboo (like those used to make lemang or larger in size), calcium carbide, water and fire.
I haven’t googled enough to find out when it first started, who first made it or whether it is still being played now. I found out through Wikipedia however that it is played here and also the Philippines. You can google for the image or find on youtube a video of one.
What I know of the meriam buloh is from the memory of my own mother, who remembered playing the meriam buloh when she was growing up in Muar and Batu Pahat circa 1950s.
Back then, it could possibly be cheaper to make their own firecrackers than buying them. Calcium carbide was probably readily available at home because it was used in headlights on hats and bicycles back then.
But the meriam buloh is no ordinary firecracker. The louder the sound, the better it was.
And boys being boys (while the girls were the spectators), they find ways and means to make it better and louder.
From bamboo, my mother remembered her friends looking for metal pipes. “Lagi kuat bunyi (it would make a louder sound),” she said.
You add water to the calcium carbide and the chemical reaction produces a kind of gas called acetylene, which when introduced to flame can cause an explosion.
And with metal pipes, the sound of the explosion can be heard as far as the neighbouring village, my mother said.
Bamboo cannons may no longer be played in villages (well, maybe those in remote areas) but this does not stop the teenagers from being creative and innovative.
This time, you’ll find that they will modify the store-bought firecrackers.
Every festive seasons especially Hari Raya, we read about children, especially the Malays, losing their fingers, if not their lives, when playing with firecrackers.
They are McGyvers in each and every one of us actually! LOL!
I’m pretty sure there are other quirky stories on Malaysians’ creativity and innovativeness. Look hard enough, you’ll find them.
And if there’s one machine I want a Malaysian or anyone to create is one that folds clothes after it have come out of the dryer. Better still, why not a three in one … wash, dry and fold?
To the housewife, folding clothes is the hardest chore of all.
Although I have a washing machine at home, the thought of folding clothes has deterred me from doing my own laundry. I sent them out and they are returned to me nicely folded.
And I would not be the only one indebted to this particular inventor, be him/her a Malaysian or other nationality, but I am pretty sure he’ll get accolades from women, and also men, the world over!

Antiquity

2011-10-19T20:44:00.011+08:00

We were talking the past few nights, the other half and I, reminiscing about objects of the past. We felt old when we thought about them things especially those we grew up having (or dreamt of having), which have now become obsolete.
Technology has evolved over time and the gadgets (even that word wasn’t widely used back then!) we once knew had become antiquated.
But over time, they had actually progressed tremendously with value-added thrown in.
“Could you imagine what Walt Disney would have come up with if he had today’s technology back when he started in the animation business?” he asked. I told him that back then, there were enormous talents but not the technology but it certainly wasn’t restrictive in terms of the creativity.
Just look at the mobile phone for instance. From the brick-heavy ATUR 450, we now carry the slimmest of gadgets to communicate with each other.
With the iPhone 4S, you don’t have to worry about no one talking to you … with the SIRI, the phone talks to you!
THE CALCULATORI got to know what a calculator is at a very young age. It was my father’s. He used it for his work.
But the calculator of old is not like the advanced gadgets that we have now but a similar device with a roll of paper attached to it. What it did was basic arithmetic of addition, subtraction and division. Some old mom and pop’s stores still use these calculators especially when they have to issue receipts.
Growing up, when we hear the clickety-clackety sound of the calculator in the dining room, we would know that he would be working. Whenever there was a mistake in balancing the accounts, he would have to go through the tape again, to check whether he had made a mistake when inputting the figures or the mistake was in the books itself.
THE CAMERAMy brother-in-law owned something like this. He was somewhat the official family photographer especially during Hari Raya. We would be in our dresses and gowns (no, we didn’t wear Baju Kurungs back then!), squinting and sweating under the hot sun (those dresses and gowns bought from Robinson’s in Singapore weren’t exactly for the tropics!), waiting for him to set up the camera. I never saw him hold another camera other than that. His photography interest waned over time and with the advent of the compacts and DSLRs. He was old school, I think.
Then, my late brother took up photography when he was at Politeknik Ungku Omar. His was a Nikon. When he passed away, that camera became mine.
A few years ago, I bought my first DSLR. A Nikon D3000. This went to my niece when I bought the D3100 last year. Her father bought the D5000.
Now, with the DLSRs, you can set it on “auto” and simply point and shoot (even then, we can still get blurry results)!
And with technology being so advanced, newspaper photographers for example may one day find cameras with WiFi/3G facility, whereby they would no longer need to download the photos they took to the laptop before sending it to the office via email but sending it direct from the gadget itself. Wouldn’t that be neat?
THE CASSETTE TAPEOh, those TDK tapes! My eldest brother and I shared the same taste in music, thus we had boxes of those cassettes of disco music, ballads and pop groups (Abba and Bee Gees were his favourite. Boy bands weren’t big back then!)
The radio cassette recorder was mine; the tapes were mostly his. I remembered how infuriated he got when his tape got stuck in the deck of my radio cassette recorder but he was patient enough to pull out the tape carefully and rewinding it later using a pencil!
And we had fun dismantling the content when it got tangled up in its plastic casing, opening it up and putting it together again using the smallest of screwdrivers or the tip of a pen knife.
Can you do that to the iPods? Nah!
And for work, I carry a tape recorder but I’ll use it only when covering the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister and people who speak like a runaway train like former International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz.
It used to be this bulky cassette recorder, followed by a micro cassette recorder. One time when I was interviewing the Sony boss, I took out my Panasonic micro cassette recorder, only to be told jokingly to keep it in my bag.
Then, the micro cassette recorder made our work much easier.
These days, it’s the digital recorder, where the voice recording can be downloaded to the computer and uploaded as podcast.
THE COAL IRONYes, we used this before we got electricity supply at the Kempas house. This was in the early to mid-1970s. We finally got electricity supply after three years we moved in.
(I remembered the LLN guys (Lembaga Letrik Negara, now Tenaga Nasional Bhd) coming in the mid morning to connect the supply. I was the first to switch on the lights in the living room that day, shortly before Mak send me off to school).
It was tough when we didn’t have electricity (and before Bak installed the generator).
Mak had to first lit the charcoal, put the ember into the iron, wait for it to heat up and start ironing our school uniforms. And that thing was heavy (to help smoothen the creases on the fabric). Her patience would wear thin as the hours passed and we know it would be best for us to be on our best behaviour or stay as far away from her as possible!
Now, we have all kinds of iron, including one that spews steam.
(Oh, and Kempas is no longer in the backwaters. Starbucks, McDonalds, Secret Recipe and Tutti Frutti, to name a few, are just five to 10 minutes drive away!)
THE FLOPPY DISKOh you know, that rectangular plastic thing that stored data? I remembered having boxes of it when I bought my first computer while staying at the Lorong Ara Kiri 2 house in Bangsar. I used it to store data and stories I wrote for Business Times. One time, I had mixed up the floppy disks and because I didn’t label them accordingly, I had to go through all of them to find a document. Even downloading games back then took more than one disk. Now, we talked of thumb drives (its called that because it is the size of your thumb, if not smaller, and not because you poke your thumb into the port!), USB flash drives and portable hard disk drives, among others.
Hand Sewing Machine/Sewing MachineIf you know Mak well enough, you’ll know what she’s refering to when she says “tak habis-habis mengenjen”. She’s referring to the shaking of your legs. Some of us have this habit of shaking our legs legs either when we’re seated on a chair or laying on the sofa or bed. It’s a subconscious reaction, really.
These days, it has turned into a question such as “Tak habis lagi jahit langsir?” or “Tak habis lagi tempahan baju Raya” or something else similar to that!
“Mengenjen”, from the English root word of engine, refers to the old sewing machine, where you have to use your legs to move the so-called motor to start the sewing operation.
No electric motor back then. It’s all in the legs to control the speed of the motor.
There is another sewing machine where you have to use your hand to move the motor.
I’ve seen my sister’s late mother-in-law using one before. It’s not easy, having to manually turn the motor with one hand and handling the fabric under the needle with the other. That takes the meaning of “ambidextrous” to another level altogether.
THE VINYL PLAYERThis reminded me of my late uncle at his Jalan Serampang house at Taman Seri Tebrau. I remembered him playing the vinyls every Sunday morning after he returns from doing the weekly marketing. No one was to touch or play with the turntable. That was his treasure. It came with the “touch that and you die” warning. He introduced me to Santana’s “Black Magic Woman” during one of the sleepover weekends at his house.

I asked the other half if he can tell me one activity that still used old equipment. That drew a blank. “What about baulu making?” You know of anyone using the electric whisk?” I asked. He remembered having to beat the white eggs using the spring-like whisk for his mother when she was baking baulu. That deserves a different posting on another day.

THE NATIONAL COSTUME

2011-10-10T19:52:00.006+08:00

When I go overseas on assignments, I take with me at least a pair of the Baju Kurung Teluk Belanga, with a matching selendang.
There may be an occasion during the assignment that warrants me to wear the national costume. In 2010, I wore a silk Baju Kurung Telok Belanga to the Imperial palace in Tokyo when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor had an audience with Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko.
It was cold that April morning but I wouldn’t have worn anything else but the national costume to the palace (never mind the fact that we didn’t get into the palace, except the Bernama photographer and the TV crew!)Malaysian media covering the Prime Minister's state visit to Japan, April 2010.Photo taken at entrance to the Palace.And it is heart warming to see our national costume – the Baju Melayu for the male and the Kurung and Baju Kebaya for the female - being worn by Malaysians at Malaysian-hosted functions overseas. It differentiates Malaysians from the rest of the guests at the events.
However, the national costume has taken an evolution of its own recently, if those on display during the Miss Universe pageant were anything to go by. Not only ours but also those from other countries.
I wondered whether these designers had gone overboard in their creativity to interpret the national costume. Most, if not all, the national costumes on parade at the pageant in Sao Paolo, Brazil were rather bizarre to the naked eye.
In fact, they had been described as tacky; wacky, even.
I remembered when in school and reading the newspaper about Yasmin Yusof becoming the second runner-up for the Best National Costume for the Miss Universe 1978 pageant. She wore the Puteri Perak attire. In 1993, Lucy Narayanasamy was in the Top 10 Best National Costume ranking (I don’t know what she wore back then!)
The national costume should represent the uniqueness, originality, natural, culture and tradition of a country and it’s people.
I read that each costume is usually chosen by the director of the respective national delegation to represent the cultural essence of the contestant’s homeland.Pix taken from hereNow, does this reflect any of those mentioned above?
The designer of the costume is Amir Luqman Othman. He had used the Wau Bulan as his motive. I don’t want to go through the entire ensemble as you can read it here.
But seriously, do you see anything “Malaysian” to this ensemble except for the songket and Deborah Henry herself?
In my family and I believe in many Malay households, the songket is a heirloom.
Traditionally, the Malays wear costumes made of songket during ceremonial functions such as installations, investitures, religious celebrations, and weddings.
Nowadays, the usage and wearing of the kain songket is most obviously apparent at formal and ceremonial occasions like weddings, convocations and state functions.
Deborah Henry’s national costume for Miss Universe used songket from the Royal Terengganu Songket sponsored by the Yayasan Tuanku Nur Zahirah, a foundation under the royal patronage of the Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah.
It is a pity that the songket was not used as “regally” as it should be.
But thank God it didn’t make to this list.

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

2011-10-06T12:13:00.003+08:00

My first Apple product was the iPod Touch.
Then, I bought the Nano and Shuffle for myself and for friends' birthdays.
I got a friend to bring home the iPad from New York because I couldn't wait for the launch here.
When the iPad2 was released here, I queued for slightly more than 3 hours for it.
I recently bought one for the other half's birthday. I know it would be a useful tool for his work.
The MacBook? I should have bought it much earlier. I'm loving every minute of my time with my MacBook Air especially when editing videos.
I do not have the iPhones yet. It is just a matter of time.

SINGTEL SINGAPORE F1: My First Night Race

2011-10-03T14:06:00.009+08:00

It was my first night race. And my first street race, too. So naturally I was excited when my group editor asked me if I want to go to Singapore for the Singtel Singapore F1. Proton was taking a group of journalists down to the island republic during the race weekend.
I said yes, without any hesitation.
I have been following the Formula One (F1) since Sepang International Circuit (SIC) opened its doors to the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in 1999.
If I recall correctly I had not missed any F1 races at the Sepang Circuit.
One year, I flew to Singapore right after the race for an assignment. This year, I took a weekend break from the Sarawak elections just to be with the thousands of local and foreign fans to cheer on my favourite team Ferrari and favourite driver, Michael Schumacher.
Yes, I give myself that once-a-year adrenaline rush (you get that even without having to be behind the wheels of an F1 car) – the heat (and the torrential rain, which could see the race being red-flagged), the sights (of gorgeous F1 drivers and their entourage of parents, celebrity wives and girlfriends) and the smell (of petrol and burnt rubber).
So, after 12 years of Sepang, I went down to Singapore last weekend for my first night race and a street one at that.The view of the street circuit from the 62nd floor of 1Altitude at Raffles PlaceThe drivers will tell you that both the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix and the Singtel Singapore F1 are tough on them.
While SIC was designed with 15 corners (10 right-handers and five left-handers) and two long straights, the Singapore street circuit had 23 corners and hardly at straights at all.
“It’s braking all the time and no time to relax,” Vitaly Petrov said at a press conference during the race weekend.The Proton and Group Lotus press conference.
From left: LR test and reserve driver Fairuz Fauzy, LR driver Vitaly Petrov, LR team principal and MD Eric Boullier, Proton boss Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Syed Mohd Tahir, Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar and LR driver Bruno Senna

On top of that, the Lotus Renault Grand Prix (LRGP) driver had to content with the timing of the race and the heat.
Both he and another LRGP driver Bruno Senna probably ate breakfast at teatime during the Singtel Singapore F1. Both professed to waking up in the late afternoon as they only get to go to bed in the wee hours of the morning after working on their respective cars after Friday’s practice sessions and Saturday’s qualifying rounds.
As for the heat, Petrov claimed to having spent time in the sauna to help him acclimatize.
As a spectator, I had looked forward to my first time to a street and a night race.
It was Singapore’s fourth time hosting the F1 and next year could be its last if the Singapore government and the FIA could not come to terms with the contract to host beyond 2012.
It is unlikely that Singapore will give up hosting the event, which according to reports earned the republic some S$100 million in tourism receipts alone. The branding element is also enormous. Last year alone, Formula One had a total global audience of 527 million people.
For years, I had associated F1 with traffic jams but in Singapore, despite having road closures around the business district where the race was held, there was hardly any disruption. Its traffic dispersal system was excellent. Public transportation also played a major role as most, if not all, the spectators took the buses and MRTs to get to the venue.
I left the hotel at 5pm to get to the venue.
I was given the S$598 Esplanade Waterfront Grandstand ticket. Sitting at this grandstand, one can get the full view of the Marina Bay Sands integrated resorts from across the waters. The cool breeze from the bay is a welcome respite after a searing hot day.View from the Esplanade Waterfront Grandstand. Ahead is the Marina Bay GrandstandI entered the circuit through Gate 7. I was dropped off at Conrad Centennial Singapore hotel (as all roads leading to the business district where the F1 was held were closed to traffic) and I followed the signages inside the Citylink shopping mall to get to the gate.
Never in my life I imagined walking into a race circuit through a shopping mall (if I had been a shopaholic, I don’t think I would have made it to Gate 7!)
As I entered Gate 7 after the security checks, I saw three counters - one providing information (with a “May I Help You? sign on it), a Survival Kit counter (selling ear plugs and rain ponchos for S$2 and proceeds go charity) and a Singtel Singapore F1 merchandise outlet.
Then, I heard music coming from the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre, where performances were being held.
Unlike at Sepang where food and beverages are packed to go, I get to choose what to eat and drink from a multitude of food and beverage outlets at the nearby Esplanade Theatres by the Bay.Favourite F1 pastimeTicket holders can also while the time at the boardwalk; enjoying the gentle sea breeze and the sailing activities in the late afternoon. It was indeed a welcome respite as it was a hot day in Singapore.
This was it? This is what the Singtel Singapore F1 is all about? Well, there are many grandstand areas around the circuit.
I was told the most happening area at the Singtel Singapore F1 is the Marina Pit Grandstand (tickets were priced slightly doubled that the Esplanade Waterfront Grandstand), something similar to our own Sepang, where you can get exclusive Formula One memorabilia and Singapore GP merchandise, admire the exhibits from various Formula One teams, and take part in a wide variety of entertainment activities.
So, the Esplanade Waterfront Grandstand was a “quieter” area compared to the Marina Pit Grandstand.
Once seated at the grandstand, I had the full view of the Marina Bay Sands integrated resorts from across the waters. The good thing about being seated here was that spectators can get the best view of Marina Bay Sands’ beautiful fireworks display after the race had ended.
And I find the crowd at the Esplanade Waterfront Grandstand a little docile to my liking, having being used to people blocking my view at the grandstand in Sepang or other people taking my seat despite the tickets being numbered.
Spectators remained seated while cheering their GP teams or the drivers they like.
After 10 or so laps, I left the grandstand area. It got a little boring. My intention was to walk around Zone 4 where I was to see what other activities were available for spectators (at Sepang, I would have left my seat after the first five laps and returned to the grandstand seat for the remaining five laps and trophy presentation ceremony).
I walked towards the Fullerton when the entrance/exit Gate 6 was, using the Maybank Building as a landmark. Along the route, the organizers had set up numerous bleachers (raised, tiered rows of stands) along the race track.One of the bleachers in Zone 4Here, the walkabout ticketholders (S$198 for a three-day ticket) can watch the race either on the stands or on the large-screen televisions placed at prime viewing locations.
I exited through Gate 6, found the nearest MRT station at Raffles Place and boarded the train for Marina Bay Sands. I had dinner at the complex’s food court and saw the fireworks from there.
I took the MRT to Raffles Place, walked with the crowd to the Padang for Linkin Park’s concert and left the business district around midnight.
Besides Linkin Park, others who performed were global megastar Shakira, Grammy award winning artiste Boy George, reggae superstar Shaggy and legendary showman Rick Astley. They performed on different nights during the race weekend.
I was told some 50,000 people thronged the Padang stage every night for three nights that the concerts were held.
Would I want to do it again next year? Yes, definitely. Now that I know what the circuit and the race are like, I would plan the visit better. And I know the Singapore government will plan the race better very year.* For the video of the press conference by Proton and Group Lotus, click HERE

MENCARI PENGISIAN KEMERDEKAAN (7)

2011-09-20T15:15:00.003+08:00

The year the country celebrated its 50th independence; I took to the streets together with my officemates to participate in the parade. It was my second. The first time I took part in the Merdeka Day parade was a few years after I joined the NST. I remembered wearing a white T-shirt with newspaper cuttings printed on it.
Since that parade in 2007, I have been on a lookout for something fulfilling to do on Merdeka Day.
For as long as I can remember, our Merdeka Day celebrations centred around parades. In Kuala Lumpur, it would be in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, taking advantage of the Dataran Merdeka for the field display.
Then, it moved to the other states. For the past few years, it returned to Kuala Lumpur.
It was no different this year.
Only this time around, because of the Ramadhan and Syawal months, the Merdeka Day parade/celebration was pushed to September 16, which is Malaysia Day and a public holiday.
I had googled for information on the programme for this year’s Merdeka Day celebrations and I came across this government website of Malaysia Merdeka.
There is a portal on facebook too but when I wrote in, first in English and a follow-up in Bahasa Malaysia, for a listing of Merdeka events nationwide, it gave me the programme for the parade in Kuala Lumpur!
So, when TPJ told us at Iftar in Kuala Lumpur in the final week of Ramadhan that he has a 45-minute video on Merdeka that he obtained from Filem Negara, members of The Patriot Foundation brainstormed an open-air event as our tribute to the 54th Merdeka slated for September 17.The idea was to create a carnival-like atmosphere surrounding the event and at the same time instill and keep patriotism alive.
And the best thing of all, there was no speeches, no politics, “just an organic show of patriotism and great fun,” as TPJ had written as an invite on his Facebook posting.
We wanted it to be an educational programme, one aimed at helping the government disseminate public information and facts on Merdeka to the general public especially among school children and youth in and around Johor Bahru.
The Patriot Foundation members with Facebook and Twitter accounts blasted the invite on the two social networks while invite letters were also sent to schools in and around Johor Bahru and Pulai.
The event traced the history of the country pre and post-Merdeka.
The Patriot Foundation members in Johor Bahru worked doubly hard considering the time constraint they faced to source the materials and exhibits for the various segments.
These were several galleries showcasing the country’s history – the Japanese Occupation, the British era and pre- and post-Merdeka period to the present day.
The Johor Classic Bicycle Club displayed the old bicycles during the Japanese Occupation. There was a man, wearing a Japanese soldier uniform, cycling around the football field and honking the bicycle horn. This I was told was reminiscent of the days of old. Many took the opportunity to have their photos taken.
Two things took my breath away that night.
One was when The Patriot Foundation members paid tribute to 86-year-old Haji Abdul Rahman Khamis, who had killed seven communists during the guerilla insurgency, one of who was Malaya Communist Party leader Chin Peng’s bodyguard.
The other was the Merdeka video. When it was aired, I felt I was back in history class; only this particular class was in open air under the starlit sky.
As I was watching the video, I asked myself why any of the television stations had not aired videos of such kind especially since the issue over the nation’s independence had cropped up recently.
Was it difficult for them to get the old footages from Filem Negara and aired it on their stations or piece together a new documentary based on it? Couldn’t they find those who fought against the Japanese and the guerilla insurgency prior to the Independence to tell their side of the stories?
It’s best that we get them for their stories before its too late. They lived through the Japanese Occupation, the guerilla insurgency, the British era and the Independence. My only regret is my grandparents didn’t live long enough for me to document what they went through then.
They have stories to share and if no one takes the initiative to find them, they will bring their stories to their graves.
They don’t need rewards in terms of cash or kind but a little recognition goes a long way.
Haji Abdul Rahman had tears in his eyes when he received the commemorative plaque from TPJ. Children and teenagers rushed to shake and kiss his hand later.
Those who stayed the entire duration of the programme and those who came later joined us in the recital of the Rukunegara and the cry of “Merdeka” seven times.
The Negaraku reverberated throughout the football field. A friend later SMS-ed me, saying that it brought chills down her spine.
That night ended with fireworks.
It was a night to be remembered, if not for anyone, but for me.
You know, The Patriot Foundation put this together within a short period of time. Could you imagine if they were given a longer time to plan and execute the programme?
The mainstay of the inaugural event was to keep patriotism alive.
And we pulled it off without having Siti Nurhaliza, Faizal Tahir or any known faces as the anchor of the programme.

Check out the video of the event here

A Lesson To Be Learnt - the Mogadishu Experience

2011-09-09T19:54:00.001+08:00

I had to take time to letit all sink in.

It was indeed shocking to hearthat a member of the local media fraternity was killed in the line of dutywhile covering a humanitarian mission to Somalia.

As a newsman, I wanted togather as much information as possible before putting my thoughts on this blog.There were in fact no immediate updates from the other local newsmen on themission; probably because they were traumatized by the happening there.

I had thought the BernamaTV reporter could have at least do an immediate phone-in with updates on aperiodic basis, as their cameraman Allahyarham Noramfaizul Mohd Nor was the onekilled there. Also, another cameraman Aji Siregar of TV3 was injured at thesame time.

But Bernama TV gave usrepeats of the old news that night (was no one on standby to do “live” updates,I wonder) while the first “live” update was at 9am the next morning. That, tome, was a disappointment.

I don’t know AllahyarhamNoramfaizul personally. I only know him by name but news of his death tuggedthe heart. It was gut wrenching to see on television the day after of theinterview with his family members especially his mother.

As a senior executive of anewspaper company, I sometimes had to decide on the reporters to send out onoverseas assignments but none were to countries still at war. Some countries were however recovering fromthe ravages of war or conflicts like Egypt or returning to normalcy afternatural calamities such as Padang in Sumatera and Japan.

Most times when we haveassigned our reporters, they are briefed on what kind of stories we expect fromthem when they are on assignments. Some of us take for granted that thereporters know what to do in times of emergency.

Having traveled to some 90cities in 35 countries in the span of 25 years, I can tell you that no onecountry is the same. Even if you were visiting the same country again andagain, the environment in that particular country also differs each time.

You have to be alert at alltimes, keep a level head and be quick in making a decision, as that splitsecond moment can actually save you from any eventualities.

And the most importantthing is that you have to listen. The ambassadors/high commissioners and/ortheir officials know best the situation in the country they are servicing andit is best to adhere to their advice.

In several countries I’vebeen, my colleagues and I were advised against going out on our own even ingroups if we didn’t have locals or armed bodyguards with us.

In one country, we had towalk through concrete barricades, ones which can only be moved by heavyindustrial vehicles such as tractors, and truckloads of armed soldiers manningstrategic points in the city.

In another city, even taxiswere not allowed to drop guests at the lobby of hotels. Guests had to gothrough metal detectors when they enter the hotels. You also have to go throughthese metal detectors when you go into the shopping complexes.

In two Asean countries, wesaw the locals walking around with pistols on their hips.

You certainly have to bestreet smart even when you’re in a first world country like the US for example.You’re out of your mind if you go to Central Park in New York at night, as youwould only be courting trouble (even then, a colleague of mine got mugged inbroad daylight just as he stepped out of the hotel he was staying at in thecity!)

I survived living in NewYork for close to four months when I did my fellowship at the United Nationsbecause I took the necessary precautionary measures (not staying out too late atnight or if I had to, I made sure I had other fellows with me) to stay safe.

Only once I felt threatenedwhen I was there. I was walking back to the hotel from the UN, which was about20 blocks from each other, when I felt as if someone was following me. I walkedthe next two blocks to make sure and I hailed a yellow cab at the next blockjust to be on the safe side. From then on, I made sure I had company whenwalking to the UN or back to the hotel.

But Noramfaizul’s deathreminded me of a colleague who now heads one of the publications in thecompany. We had just started working then and had gone out on an assignmenttogether.

We were about to cross thebusy street at Bukit Bintang when he insisted on holding my hands. I asked himwhy. “When we go on assignments together, we have to watch out for each other.If anything happens to you, I wouldn’t know what to tell your parents,” hesaid.

Rightly so. If anythinghappens to my reporters, I wouldn’t know what to tell their next of kin,especially if safety or security requirements were not met.

It would be grossnegligence on my part of I had failed to ensure that the reporters I hadassigned out to conflict stricken countries are not equipped with the necessaryequipment besides their pens, notebooks, tape or video recorders and cameras.

If anything, the Mogadishuexperience should be a lesson well learnt on the importance of keeping safe andmeeting all the safety requirements.

Indeed, ajal dan maut ditentukan Allah SWT tetapitidak akan ada rasa terkilan di hati jika terjadinya sesuatu kejadian sekirausaha telah dibuat untuk mengelakkannya dari berlaku. Wallahualam.

AN UNFORGETTABLE IFTAR

2011-08-23T15:38:00.001+08:00

Before, it was simply called berbuka puasa or break of fast but now, the word Iftar (Arabic for evening meal) has found its way into the Bahasa Malaysia vocabulary this year. I’m not surprised if Dewan Bahasa adds this word, if it hadn’t already, into the Bahasa Malaysia dictionary soon.
This being the last week of Ramadhan, I find individuals and companies rushing to host Iftars; not only for orphans, single mothers and Muslim converts, but also the media.
The past three weeks, I had received Iftar invites for every day in the month of Ramadhan. On one particular day, I received four invites for Iftar, two of which were at the same hotel.
But my Iftar this year had been simple: dates or fruits, soup and/or salad/pasta and croissant/bread/biscuits and sandwiches. Also, it was either plain water or iced lemon tea.
Alhamdulillah, I fulfilled my “niat” to return to Asy-Syakirin mosque this year. There was one particular year where I spend two-thirds of Ramadhan at the mosque, which was my most humbling experience thus far.
I went there for Terawih this year, after treating a friend and her family to a Japanese buka puasa at KLCC, as it was her birthday.
But the most satisfying Iftar this year would be the one at The Residence at Jalan Waspada in Johor Bahru, where its owner TPJ hosted buka puasa. It was a simple enough affair; a buka puasa/terawih event with Muslim converts and friends.
I flew down a few hours before the event, amid torrential rain upon touched down at the Sultan Ismail International Airport. But the sky over The Residence was sunny and bright, allowing the host to organize an open air Iftar at its manicured lawn that day.
It was a special Iftar in that I met someone whom I had not seen for 32 years.
He had smiled when he first saw me but I don’t think he recognized me at all.
On the way from the airport to the Residence, TPJ told me that a few of his friends were eager to meet me, having read my comments on his FB status but had not met me in person.
You see, when I first saw this particular name on TPJ’s FB list, it rang a bell. “I know this name,” I told myself. Furthermore, his name Sallam was not at all common.
I didn’t asked TPJ about him. I wanted to be surprised myself. They’re neighbours at Jalan Waspada and I thought I was bound to meet him sometime.
We shook hands and he sat at the seat next to me.
“Did you ever stay at Taman Seri Tebrau before?” I asked him. “Yes. Jalan Serampang.”
“Your house was next to my auntie’s,” I told him. “The husband’s name is also Salleh.”
It was Jejak Kasih of sorts. Sallam remembered my Customs officer uncle and wife. He also remembered their daughter’s name. He couldn’t recall their sons’ names though.
I used hang out a lot at my auntie’s Serampang house as much as her children, especially the two boys, like to go to my house in Kempas. The year my auntie and her husband went for their pilgrimage, I stayed at the Jalan Serampang house to care for their youngest son.
I surprised myself remembering those years at the house and with the family and their neighbours.
It was my auntie who took me to have my ears pierced, not once but twice.
It was there I learnt how to ride a bicycle. It was from there that I went for my MCE as my parents were away on the pilgrimage. In fact I stayed with them in Kuala Lumpur for close to a year when I first started working in the federal capital.
And I remembered Sallam teaching us the Bugis language as I believed it was spoken in his home back then. I didn’t ask whether he speaks it now.
It is indeed a small world, having met Sallam there.
TPJ said I made him feel like a foreigner on home soil, having known so many people. I actually may know others in his FB list, if indeed they are from Johor Bahru.
The night didn’t end at Iftar. It lasted up to the wee hours of the morning.
I give thanks to Allah SWT for an unforgettable Ramadhan with dear friends and old ones, and the new acquaintances I made at The Residence that night.

IS THIS BAHASA MALAYSIA? (2)

2011-08-18T16:57:00.002+08:00

I read in my own newspaper early this week that akauntabiliti (accountability), kokun (cocoon) and akses (access) were some of the newest entries in the Kamus Dewan.
The dictionary, which is seen as a complete reference for those learning the language, has had 30,000 new Bahasa Malaysia words when the first edition was published in 1970.
I haven’t perused the entire Kamus Dewan although it was in the list of books I had to buy when I was in school. I believed one Kamus Dewan lasted me the entire school system, although it was recommended to buy new ones as new words were added on as the years go by.
In school, I never had to refer to the Malay-English or English-Malay dictionary. I guess it was pretty easy back then. Words weren’t as bombastic as they are now. But with online references, it is much easier to look up the meaning of a word, be it in English or Bahasa Malaysia.
At the 2010 Umno General Assembly, party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak used what was termed as “Bahasa Bangsawan” in his speech. He had used words such as "bitara" (unique) and "berpilin" (integrated/bind together).
I find it refreshing to learn these old Malay words.
As such, I find it baffling that while there are still some Malay words that we have not used (or no longer use for whatever reasons) either orally or in writing, we have gone to introduce new words. Well, they are not exactly new words but borrowed words from English.
You don’t have to crack your head to find that the English word “accountability” is “kebertanggungjawaban” in Bahasa Malaysia while “cocoon” is “karung kepompong/membendung” and “access” means “laluan”?
A friend of mine, writing a piece for a news portal, had used the word “diasosiasikan”. I’m not surprised if used frequent enough, it can find its way into the Kamus Dewan (by the way, the word means “associated with”).
Oh, is that how the words find their way into the Kamus Dewan?
The slang “makwe” also finds itself listed in the dictionary. It stands for “girlfriend.” I was informed that it also stands for “grandmother”, a term used widely in Malacca.
I wonder if the slang “balak”, which stands for “boyfriend” be included anytime soon? In English, it means logs.
I want to start writing in Bahasa Malaysia. I know it is one of the ways to improve in the command of the language, in fact in any language. I’ve started reading French to grasp the language again and hope to soon begin speaking it with some friends.
However, I still hold to my comment I wrote on the 2007 post on this same matter (read here).
“I want to write well in Bahasa Malaysia but if writing well in the language means using foreign words, which have been Malaysianised, I am better off sticking to English.”

Halal or Not?

2011-08-11T14:57:00.001+08:00

When mak called last week concerning the halal status of the Golden Churn Butter which she had for the longest time used for her pineapple tarts, I presented to her the Jakim statement posted on the website. She questioned the last paragraph of the statement.
I had questioned it too. In fact, I read the statement with a pinch of salt. Also, the articles I read in the newspapers and blogs on the halal status of food and outlets.
Take the statement on the Golden Churn butter issue for example. .

KENYATAAN MEDIA
KETUA PENGARAH
JABATAN KEMAJUAN ISLAM MALAYSIA (JAKIM)
BERKENAAN
“Isu Status Halal Golden Churn Butter” Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim) ingin merujuk kepada tajuk akhbar berkenaan isu status halal Golden
Churn Butter.
JAKIM terlebih dahulu ingin menegaskan bahawa sebenarnya isu kekeliruan terhadap perbezaan status halal produk Golden Churn Butter antara JAKIM dan Jabatan Agama Islam Sarawak (JAIS) tidak timbul kerana ujian yang dilakukan oleh JAKIM terhadap produk berkenaan adalah melibatkan sampel daripada pengimport yang berbeza.
Dalam melaksanakan ujian kandungan DNA babi dalam sesuatu produk, beberapa faktor perlu diambil kira seperti nombor kelompok keluaran produk yang diambil, pembungkusan, tempat pengambilan sampel dan faktor faktor
lain yang mungkin berlaku semasa pengeluaran produk berkenaan dikilangkan. Dalam pada itu, factor kemungkinan berlaku kontaminasi di peringkat-peringkat
tertentu juga perlu diambil kira.
Oleh yang demikian, JAKIM ingin memaklumkan bahawa kedua-dua sampel yang diambil oleh JAKIM dan JAIS diambil daripada nombor kelompok dan pembungkusan yang berbeza termasuk perbezaan pengimport dan tempat
pengambilan sampel.
Sehubungan itu, walaupun terdapat dua pandangan yang berbeza, Jakim tidak mencanggahi penemuan DNA babi dalam sampel produk berkenaan yang diambil oleh Jabatan Agama Islam Sarawak kerana faktor-faktor yang telah
dinyatakan dan umat Islam di Sarawak wajar untuk mematuhi keputusan yang telah dibuat oleh Jabatan Agama Islam Sarawak.

HAJI OTHMAN MUSTAPHA
Ketua Pengarah
Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia
3 Ogos 2011

Haji Othman admitted to the confusion arising from the matter when it was first reported but his statement, from what I have read, does not clear the air at all.
Yes, both Jakim and Jais conducted tests from different samples but there were different results. In the statement, he said “terdapat dua pandangan yang berbeza.”
Seriously, what does this mean? Does it mean that Jakim found no “DNA babi” in its test while JAIS found otherwise?
What baffled us further was the last paragraph in the statement, which Jakim stated that it was not against the JAIS’ finding of the “DNA babi” in the sampling test and advised Muslims in Sarawak to adhere to JAIS’ decision on the matter.
Again, what does this mean? That it is NOT okay for Muslims in Sarawak but it is okay for Muslims elsewhere to use the product since Jakim didn’t find the “DNA babi” in its own sampling?
Don’t you find the clarification statement in itself as confusing? Why can’t Jakim come out in a straightforward statement to state whether Muslims can or cannot consume the Golden Churn butter instead of addressing just the Muslims in Sarawak and leaving the rest to make their own interpretation?
On August 1, KL Ballantyne Pty Ltd executive chairman Andrew Ballantyne posted a statement on the company’s website on the status of Golden Churn butter. It also posted copies of the halal certification it received from the Indonesian Council of Ulama, Islamic Coordination Council of Victoria (Trustee for the Halal Board of Australia Trust) and the NZ Islamic Processed Food Management Division (see here)
He also said Ballantyne only use high quality milk to make cream that is churned into butter. The Ingredients are: Cows Milk, Milk solids (non fat), moisture and 1.5-2% salt. No other additions, colours or preservatives were permitted.
I am not about to pit one (Jakim) against the three that had issued the halal certificates to Ballantyne.
As it is, Jakim had already raised doubt on the product (in its statement) and like the saying goes “when in doubt, leave it out.”
Mak asked if I was making pineapple tarts this year. I said if I based it on the Jakim’s statement, I can still use Golden Churn butter but I may be interpreting the statement wrongly.
Mak’s advice was simple.
Since there is already doubt of the halal status of the butter, I don’t need to make pineapple tarts for Raya. That is until I can find an alternative to the butter.

THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH … AGAIN?

2011-08-08T18:47:00.004+08:00

On Friday last week, Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin ordered the English Language Curriculum Division to re-look the learning of the language in schools to ensure students can master it as a second language.
“How the national education system, involving 13 years with five years of secondary school, is still unable to provide our students with a good grasp of the English Language, I, myself, am incapable of answering,” he had said.
The review might determine if the weakness was due to a shortage of English Language teachers, equipment or due to other causes.
He said mastery of the English Language was important because it was the main language in international communication and the economy.
Not exactly a new issue, is it?
I wrote about this sometime back in 2008 (read here) and yet nothing had been done since then. Or if it had, then the results would not have been encouraging that it had warranted the DPM to make such a statement, yet again.
English is important. We all acknowledged that.
But our children are not picking up the language. Why is that?
I don’t know what its like during his time. Probably not much different from my own but my own experience in school was a lot different that it is now.
I started learning the language at pre-school (its was called kindergarten back then … see, I told you there is a lot of difference comparing now and back then!).
The language of communications at the kindergarten near the roundabout at Jalan Othman in Petaling Jaya was English. I learnt my A, B and C’s (A for apple, B for ball and C for cat…) and 1, 2 and 3 (one, little two, little three, little Indians …) in English. We were taught to excuse ourselves from class to the restroom also in the English language. From “Teacher, teacher, can I go out to pass water?” (such literal translation back then) to “Teacher, may I be excuse?”
I remembered learning of the English language was fun. We sang songs, recite the nursery rhymes and poems. Writing and spelling were also part of the pre-school curriculum back then.
We didn’t have a choice. We had to learn the language because all subjects, with the exception of Agama (and/or Geography, I can’t remember), were taught in English.
So there was the push factor. If you want to learn other subjects, you must first know English.
What is the push to learn the language now, as all subjects, with the exception of English itself, are in Bahasa Malaysia?
Now, you also find that some television channels air English or any foreign language films and cartoons, which have been dubbed into Bahasa Malaysia.
I was fortunate too that my parents never said no to buying books or even comics for that matter. In fact, our birthday presents were always books (I was probably the only one among my cousins who have the largest collection of Enid Blyton’s books). At year-end when we go to the bookstore to get our supplies of next year’s text books, my father would give each of us a treat – by buying us the annuals published by the comics (Beano for my late eldest brother, Dandy for me and a third title – I can’t remember now – for my youngest brother).
And I have seen (I think heard should be a better word in this case!) the deterioration of the English language in the very office I work in now.
When I was the news editor in Business Times sometime in late 1980s, we had a UIA graduate, who majored in psychology, with us. I had to do his assessment for three consecutive years and I didn’t see any improvements in both in oral and written English. At the end of the third year, I was pretty blunt with him.
I asked him how he got through university with that kind of English, knowing that UIA language of teaching was English. He maintained that his professor wasn’t too fussy with the language, as long as the facts were correct.
I told him to consider a Malay publication because I wasn’t about to appraise his performance for the fourth year and giving him yet again low marks. Come the new year, he transferred to a sister publication and ended up doing translation work – from English to Malay.
Also when I was at Business Times before, we had two ITM (now UiTM) students on practical training with us. A week after they reported for training, they went back to their campus to request their head of school to transfer them to a Malay paper. They said they couldn’t cope with the English language.
The head of school refused them. His contention was correct. Even if they worked in a Malay newspaper, they still need basic English comprehension as the assignments they go to may be conducted in English.
They remained with us for the duration of their training. After they graduated, I found out that they applied and got jobs with a Malay entertainment magazine.
It is difficult to find even those with basic command of the English language. In an interview for potential candidates for our training programme, I dismissed a girl after five minutes of speaking to her because not only her essay writing was atrocious; she replied all my questions in Malay! When I recommended that her name be submitted for the Malay paper, considering that she has experience working in a news portal covering politics at that, she vehemently said no.
So, I strongly believe that the English language has to be introduced very early in a child’s life. My Bahasa Malaysia comprehension is still good although I had English education through two years of pre-school, six years of primary education and five years in secondary school.
I am sure yours is too, Tan Sri!P/S: Check out this blog by a South Korean by the name of Terry Lee, who is now working in the US, who learned English and its English expressions from friends and things around him.

THE NATIONAL ANTHEM

2011-08-03T15:26:00.002+08:00

When we were in Singapore two weekends ago, the republic was holding dry runs for their National Day celebrations on August 9. As some of us were either born in JB or grew up there, so we knew Majulah Singapura by heart.
In fact, when I was there some years ago on the invitation of the Singapore government for the National Day celebration, I actually sang the republic’s national anthem, along with the thousands there that night, much to the amusement of my local hosts!
On Saturday night when we were in a cab and heading back to our hotel from the Marina Bay Sands Theatre, the other half sang Majulah Singapura. Our cab driver told us he had forgotten the words to his own republic’s national anthem!
How could that be?
We remembered their local television station playing the national anthem at the start of transmission and at the end of the day everyday. Maybe, they no longer do it now or that the cab driver no longer has the time to watch television!
The last time I sang the Negaraku was at the Petronas Grand Prix in April.
The last time I heard the Negaraku being sang was at the start of the pre-World Cup qualifying match between Malaysia and Singapore a week ago (where the Harimau Malaya lost to the Lion based on aggregate).
I was utterly disappointed that the Negaraku wasn’t broadcast before the start of the match between Harimau Malaya and Liverpool recently.
The thousands of Malaysians at Bukit Jalil that day sang to Liverpool’s anthem, You’ll Never Walked Alone, instead.
It was aired at least 10 times over the period before the start of the match itself. It did make me think as if the club was trying to indoctrinate the non-Liverpool fans that day.
In fact, I was told the national anthem was not played in our team’s matches against Arsenal and Chelsea too.
Least someone forgets, while Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea are just football clubs from the UK (and I can just hear the uproar I had caused by saying this because to their die-hard fans, they are not just any ordinary clubs), our Harimau Malaya is the national team. Furthermore, playing on home soil merits for the Negaraku to be played. Doesn’t it?
I do wonder if indeed there is protocol to the playing and singing of the national anthem.
Wikipedia defines the national anthem (also national hymn, song etc.) as “a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.”
I remembered singing the national anthem every morning at school assemblies. I was told a long time ago, the national anthem was played in the cinema before the start of a movie.
Like in Singapore, local broadcast stations here also signed off at night with the Negaraku (that was before 24 hour transmission was introduced) after, of course, the Setia song.
This month is a Fly the National Flag month (Bulan Kibarkan Jalur Gemilang). There is actually a song for the Jalur Gemilang.
Shouldn’t it be a campaign for Negaraku instead, while flying the national flag, especially as a run up to Merdeka?

Negaraku, tanah tumpahnya darahku,
Rakyat hidup, bersatu dan maju,
Rahmat Bahagia, Tuhan kurniakan,
Raja kita, selamat bertakhta.
Rahmat Bahagia, Tuhan kurniakan,
Raja kita, selamat bertakhta.

(My country, the land where my blood has spilt)
(The people living united and progressive)
(May God bestow blessing and happiness)
(May our King have a successful reign)
(May God bestow blessing and happiness)
(May our King have a successful reign)

RAMADHAN DATANG LAGI!

2011-08-03T14:39:00.000+08:00

When I was growing up, I looked forward to Ramadhan not because of the abundance of food on the table (although one would be crazy not to be taken in with all the offerings!), but the fact that everyone would sit together at the dining table.
For as long as I can remember, we never had lunch together during the weekdays as my father would be at work and my mother would be busy ferrying us to and fro school and also for tuition.
In fact, from Form Three onwards, I remembered my brothers and I eating our packed food in the car on every school day, while parked next to the Johor Zoo before we were sent off for tuition at Kampung Baru.
The only time we get to sit and eat lunch together was on Sunday, after watching football on Singapore TV’s World of Sports. And a sit-down dinner is when we have guests at home or else its “nasi Malaya” (or nasi campur as it is called now where rice and the dishes will be piled in a plate) eaten in front of the TV (the Americans called it TV dinners!) or individually whenever we’re hungry.
So during Ramadhan for 29 or 30 days, we would be together for the break of fast. Then, we would proceed to perform the Maghrib prayers together. After dinner, my father would then leave for the surau for the terawih.
Either my mother would make all the food on the table or my father would go to our usual makcik selling kueh to get whatever the children want. The concept of Bazaar Ramadhan was unheard of back then.
A firm favourite would be the popiah basah (“wet” spring roll), which my father loved very much (he doesn’t like the fried ones). It’s a wafer thin pancake that my mother would make herself from a mixture of flour, eggs and water. Its filling would be slivers of vegetables and chopped shrimps. She would even make the chilli dip herself.
We would have nasi ulam (rice mixed with grated coconut and chopped herbs) and bubur sayur (vegetable porridge) or bubur lambuk (with meat, nuts and spices) as specials. It was only recently that kacang pool is a prominent feature on the dining table.
And every first day of Ramadhan I would take the day off from work so that I can break fast with my mother.
As we all know, the first day of the fasting month is a public holiday in Johor. Back then, It was a holiday that I look forward to. Ever since I started work in Kuala Lumpur, I made it a practice to be at home on the first day of the Ramadhan.
When my parents were in Johor Baru, I would fly home the day before Ramadhan and fly back to KL after sahur on the second day and go straight to work. Its much easier now since my mother is in Putrajaya with my brother’s family.
It was always on the first day of the Ramadhan month that my late father will induce us to complete fasting the entire month.
“Complete fasting the entire month and you’ll get RM30 on the first day of Raya.”
I remembered fasting the full month when I started Standard One. I still get RM30 until I was 18, whether or not I complete the fasting month.
Now, that inducement is for my niece and nephew. They dictate their “duit raya” way before the start of Ramadhan.
This Ramadhan, I wished for my immediate and extended family members and friends the best that Allah SWT has to offer.

“Ya Allah, sesungguhnya ada dosa yang aku lakukan terhadap-Mu dan ada juga terhadap hamba-hamba-Mu. Apa yang terhadap-Mu kumohonkan kiranya Engkau ampuni, dan apa yang terhadap hamba-hamba-Mu kumohon kiranya Engkau ambil dariku.”
Saya ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk memohon keampunan di atas segala perbuatan dan percakapan saya samada di dalam keadaan sedar atau tidak. Jua, di halalkan segala makan dan minum.
Sesungguhnya, yang baik itu datangnya dari Allah SWT dan segala keburukan, kesalahan dan kesilapan itu datangnya dari diri saya sendiri.
Semoga kita perkukuhkan ikatan silaratul rahim yang sedia ada, insya’Allah.

Remembering Mohsin ...

2011-07-25T17:58:00.002+08:00

Two weeks or so ago, arwah Hani Mohsin Hanafi’s MCCK buddy tagged me on Facebook the late actor’s wedding photos. That was the first time I saw the photos. I didn’t attend the wedding at his parents’ home in Perak because I was overseas on assignment. We were no longer housemates then; my brother and I had moved out of the Bangsar house to Danau Kota in Setapak. We nevertheless kept in touch with each other via SMS or calls. There were also pictures of his late parents, who we got to know when they came visiting. We were fond of them, as we were of their only child.
It was surreal that those photos surfaced near his death anniversary.
It was as if to remind us of the day today.
I don’t think any of us forgot; especially his close friends that were always at the Bangsar house with us.
The Lorong Tempinis Kiri Dua house was never empty (well, maybe for a few days during the Hari Raya holidays); we had people – mostly his school and ITM buddies and on occasions, celebrities – walking in and out of the house until the wee hours of the morning. At times, his school and ITM buddies never left. Sleeping over was a natural thing to do.
When he was not on location, they can find him at home. When we were out working, he would be at home asleep. When we slept, he would be on location until the wee hours of the morning.
It was an arrangement we had learned to deal with. We particularly treasure our weekends with him. We would watch TV or videos together, go through the script with him or play cards. We would have home-cooked dinners together and later going for midnight shows, and thereafter to the snooker parlour. Most often than not, they’ll send me home first. On occasions that I joined them, we would end up having late supper at the stalls in Bangsar until the call of morning prayers at the mosque.
We shared a lot of things together especially his crush on a particular popular singer. On Valentine’s Day, he had sent her flowers. He didn’t want us to know but he accidentally blurted it out one day and boy, was he embarrassed! When he actually expressed his intentions to her, he was told he was too late. She was already spoken for.
I also remembered the night he called to alert me of the next day’s Harian Metro, which was going to front-paged his divorce. He didn’t want to catch me off guard. He didn’t want my mother to be shocked with the news. We had a long conversation that night.
We (my brother, my mother and I) visited him and his mother soon after that. He showed every nook and cranny of the Bukit Antarabangsa house; telling us how he had to start fresh from scratch. He built a home there with his mother and his daughter, Hani Karmila, who is of the same age as my niece, Mysara.
The last time we were there, it was for his funeral. He had called a week earlier asking us to drop by to check out the new gate/fences he had installed.
And close to Syawal every year, we try to visit his other “home” at the Ulu Klang Muslim Cemetery before going home to Johor Bahru for the raya holidays.
I loved you, brother. We all loved you. And we missed you very much.
Rest in peace. Al Fatihah.

THREE MUSKETEERS AND THE BIG C (FINAL)

2011-06-30T16:52:00.008+08:00

There is always an end to a story.
While some stories have happy endings, others have a sad finale to it.
As is the case with Basir Shamsuddin or Ache as we lovingly called him.At 3.04am on Tuesday morning of June 28, Ache lost his five-year battle against colon cancer.
It had over a period of time metastasized to his lungs.
The week before he died, he was admitted to the Damansara Specialist Hospital for a fever.
After three days in the normal ward, he was transferred to ICU after developing severe breathing difficulties.
I visited him that first day in the ICU. He waved his right hand when he saw me while the left was clasping the oxygen mask to his face. He was trying to breathe as hard as he could. His second cousin Johari, who was also his office mate, was encouraging him to do so.
Every few minutes, he would point to the monitor and asked us to read the numbers.
You see, most of us knew how to read the machine after the other half was himself in a coma at the same hospital in 2008. We were told what the good readings were. Ache knew at what level he needed to get his breathing to.
The next few days, his condition deteriorated gradually. He was in a "critical but stable" condition. His breathing was heavily aided. The day before he passed on, he had slipped into a coma.
He breathed his last peacefully, surrounded by his loving wife and two children, the other half and I, another close friend Jah and three of his children's friends.
Ache was loved by many, both family members and friends. He was Basir or Ache to family members and friends, "Saab" among the musketeer brothers, Uncle Ache to his nephews and nieces and Tok Ache to the many, many grandnephews and grandnieces.
There was a constant flow of people who visited him at the hospital and also when his body was brought home to be prepared for burial. I was told that among those who came were his friends from his ITM days.
One of his nephews, Shukri, commented on a Facebook posting that he and two other cousins could not carry Ache's body out of the mosque to be taken to the Kiara cemetery for burial because his friends had rushed forward to do it.
Among the four musketeer brothers (Arabee, Lokman, Ache and the other half), Ache was Aramis but he was nothing like the character written by Alexandre Dumas.
His niece Farah wrote in her Facebook entry, of a common comment on her uncle: "...Basir tu baaaiiiknnnyaaaa ... sebaik-baik manusia." Yes, that was the Ache I know.
When the mosque officials were preparing him for the final rites, the family made sure that he looked his best. In life and in death, we knew he would want to be immaculate.
I know for a fact that he would not want a single hair out of place.
Five years ago after undergoing his first major surgery to remove part of his colon, he was concerned about his hair when we wanted to take a picture of him for my blog posting.
The weekend before he died, the other half and I went into the isolation room to see him. While the other half recited the Yaasin, I stroked Ache's forehead and touched his hair. Later, I told the other half that if Ache had been awake, I wouldn't have dared do it!
He was always cleaned shaven but when he was in ICU, I got to see what he would have looked like with a mustache and stubbles. George Clooney would have had to watch out!
And yes, who can forget that infectious laughter of his and the private jokes he shared with his three musketeer brothers Arabee, Lokman and the other half (there are three other elder brothers and three sisters in the family). I can sometimes relate to the jokes having spent way too much time with the brothers but most times, it would leave me as baffled as their spouses and their children.
All it needed was a word, a sound or a facial expression between the four of them to trigger a LOLROTF (laughing out loud, rolling on the floor) moment. Among them, you wouldn’t know when they are serious about anything.
Ache can catch you off guard too as he had done to me many times.
There was once instance after his second operation last February (where I had told him not to make it a habit of celebrating his birthday in the hospital) where he told us of the scan that the doctor did earlier.
Here I was waiting for him to tell us the outcome of the scan when he loudly announced, "Its twins." Even in pain, he bowled us over with laughter.
I had participated in two out of the three Shamsuddin family's tribal escapades. Of the first two, I never got the opportunity to be in the same team as Ache. I finally got to be in the same team with him for the third escapade but I couldn't go as I had gone overseas on assignment during that time. And I was told I had missed the best escapade ever!
And writing about overseas, Ache had for the longest time conspired with the other half to get me to visit India. While Ache had been there, the other half haven't but it was the latter who had raved about it as if he had gone there.
I had told Ache that he and his brother can go to India since they like the country so much while his wife and I can go on own holiday together to Europe!
And Ache like me is a Spurs fan (one brother supports MU, the other is a Leeds fan while the other half cheers on West Ham). When I was in London in early January, I made it a point to go to the Spurs Megastore located next to the White Hart Lane stadium to get him the team's T-shirt. I told him to wear it well.
These and many more are the memories that I will treasure having known him, his own family and the Shamsuddins for 10-odd years now.
He may no longer walk among us but his spirits continue to live on.
Rest in peace, my handsome brother (I can almost see him blushed!)
Semoga Allah SWT mencucuri rahmat ke atas roh Ache dan ditempatkan Ache di kalangan mereka yang beriman.
Insya'Allah, kita semua akan bertemu di suatu hari yang ditentukan Allah SWT kelak.
Al Fatihah. To friends who have followed this series, thank you so much for your comments and moral support for Ache since the first post. This is the last posting in this series. You can read the other posts at these links. My only request is that whenever you visit these posts again, do recite the Al Fatihah for Ache. Thank you.

Three Musketeers and the Big C
Three Musketeers and the Big C (2)
Three Musketeers and the Big C (3)
Three Musketeers and the Big C (4)
Three Musketeers and the Big C (5)
Three Musketeers and the Big C (6)
Three Musketeers and the Big C (7)
Three Musketeers and the Big C (8)
Three Musketeers and the Big C (9)
Three Musketeers and the Big C (10)
Three Musketeers and the Big C (11)
Three Musketeers and the Big C (12)

WHAT YOU WANT TO BE …

2011-06-17T14:39:00.004+08:00

An old friend asked me recently if I had known all my life that I wanted to be a journalist. I had followed that question up by posting on my Facebook status, asking my friends whether they remembered what they listed as their ambition, the one they had listed in their confidential files while they were in school. Some of them did and I found their answers quite hilarious. Of course, we were kids and were easily influenced by what things around us when we were small.
I think our class teachers must have had a good laugh reading what we listed out.
I wanted to be a police detective when I was in Form 1 to Form 4. Now, I attributed it to watch too much Hollywood police serials namely SWAT, Policewoman, T J Hooker, Serpico and 21 Jump Street.In Form 5, I changed it to “wartawan”. Actually, it was all about writing. My language teachers made the Bahasa Malaysia and English classes interesting, where they among others allowed us to write karangan and essays based on topics of our choice.
While waiting for my MCE results, I did try to write some sort of a novel in Malay, typing away on the old Remington my late father bought for me to learn typing, but gave up 1/3 of the way because of my limited Malay vocabulary.
So, it was an ambition come true when after getting my STPM results, I applied and was successful in the interview to become a cadet reporter with the Business Times in 1984. The rest as they say is history.
Going through the responses and even looking at my own list, I realized that some of us weren't that ambitious.
I could have listed “Auditor” (I was in a Commerce class in Form 4, only to be “promoted” to a Science Class three months after) but I didn’t want to end up like my father.
The common ones were, of course, doctors and lawyers/lecturers.
Two friends on FB said they listed their ambitions to be an archeologist (he turned out of the a teacher and then later a journalist) and an astronomer (he’s now in the construction business like his father.)
A good friend of my late brother, Johari (who was also our tuition mate), wanted to be the country’s first nuclear physicist. Well, Well, someone had already beaten to him to it. When Tan Sri Dr Ahmad Tajuddin Ali told me in an interview that he was the country’s first nuclear physicist, I was reminded of Johari. I don’t know if he actually became a nuclear physicist.
One colleague who works in another newspaper company said he wrote “askar” as he was influenced by the “Combat” television series (if I asked, I’m sure he would say “askar tentera Amerika” as Sargeant Saunders and his men always win against the Germans)He also wrote “nelayan” after his fisherman father. “When I small, I got excited when my father brings home free fish,” he wrote. He also wanted to be a tour guide.
A former schoolmate of 11 years wanted to be a flight stewardess and she got what she wanted. She told me she like travelling and back then, also thought it was a glamorous job. But when she joined the airline, she found out how “hard it was to be on a flight for hours on end meeting to passengers’ need.”
She’s now in HR, which she described as “not an easy job” as well, as she has to “suffer heartache and headache all in one.”
Another journalist friend had a long list of ambition: teacher, journalist, lawyer, archeologist, soldier and finally a rock singer (influenced by the singers of Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann Earth Band). He achieved the first two.
One of my editors wanted to be a sailor, while another friend who now holds a PhD, wanted to be a newsreader.
Well, I still believe they can (when the editor retires and the PhD holder goes for a part-time news reading job?)
Askar? Soldier? There is the Territorial Army. Only I don’t think they will be allowed to wear footwear like these celebrities.

CERITA HANTU (2)

2011-06-09T17:45:00.001+08:00

Following my posting on Ghost Bites, friends dropped by my cubicle at the office and asked, "Kat sini ada, kan?"
I told a colleague that sometimes its simply our imagination running wild.
"But Encik XXX heard suara perempuan bagi salam kat office dia," she said. "Dia jawab tak?" I asked. "Dia jawab, kemudian dia lari," she said. We burst out laughing.
That's one of the reasons why I have stopped watching horror movies at home (besides the fact that I now live alone and I don't have anyone to wake me up if I have a nightmare.) You tend to "hear" and "see" things when your mind wanders.
But I did watched Hantu Kak Limah Balik ke Rumah (some people make the mistake of saying "balik kampung" instead) on Astro First. Well, I cheated … I had watched it at the movie theatre with my niece Mysara and nephew Danial earlier and knew what it was all about before watching it alone at home.
This Mamat Khalid's latest is a horror comedy. And what these horror comedies do is to take the fear factor out. In this Mamat Khalid's movie, the non-hantu ie Kak Limah looked scarier that the two hantu, Nin and Ayu. You will also hear children singing "Enjit-Enjit Semut" now. Also "ce citer, ce citer" (short for cuba cerita) has become a household slang. Who doesn't know who Usop "angkat tangan macam saya" Wilcha is.
Another movie I watched on Astro First with Danial and Mysara was "Sini Ada Hantu", about these two characters driving a hearse engaging each other with horror stories. There was some comedy in it, too.
But I can tell you that real life experience is not something that one can laugh about.

I.
We used to live in a government bungalow behind the Istana Negara. For privacy reasons, I'm not going to tell you which house it is. We were later told that we shared the house with "orang bunian". A rojak seller, who makes his rounds there, said we were the only family which had stayed at the house beyond three months. We were then into our sixth month at the house. We still didn't know why he said that then.
But my parents were wary of noises in the night especially sounds of someone walking up and down the front staircase. My brother's rocking horse would go rickety-rackety in the middle of the night. An aunt who came visiting and slept in the upstairs bedroom had complained to another aunt that we had played tricks on her. She said we had turn the lights on and off while she was trying to sleep in the second level bedroom. We did no such thing.
Later, my father met the female "orang bunian" in his sleep, who had asked him to marry her. My father refused to do so. A day after, my mother suffered a stiff neck. A doctor diagnosed it as "angin" but jabs could not cure her. A medium the family sought asked my father to "spit" sireh which he (my father, not the medium) had munched onto my mother's neck at the stroke of midnight with the front door of the house ajar but that too didn't work.
It was about the same time that we were to be transferred to Johor Baru and my father decided to move the family to his sister's Kampung Pandan house first.
They (him, my mother and my uncle and auntie) returned to the Jalan Bukit Petaling house to pack. They would packed one day and return the next day to find that whatever they had stored were taken out of the boxes.
A medium, who stayed next door to my aunt's, was taken to the house. He raved about the beauty of the female "orang bunian" and that there was this "wangi" smell permeating throughout the house. He confirmed her existence and that of a small boy, who he said was her son. He was the one making all the racket at night. He told us they didn't want us to move out of the house.
We moved to Johor Baru eventually and my father's bomoh cousin "cured" my mother of the stiff neck with the recital of some verses from the Quran.
We also found out much later that there was "something" at the Johor Baru house also (at the entrance) but "it" didn't 'disturb' us as the one in Kuala Lumpur.

II.
Six of us had gone to an island off the coast of Terengganu. With the assistance of the Fisheries Department, we managed to stay at one of the two hillside chalets on the island. We stayed two nights there. The first night was uneventful.
It was the second night that some of us got freaked. Earlier in the day, we took the boat out to the other side of the island and swam in the sea. Later in the day, we helped the department officials cleaned up the island and also went to the village in a nearby island. We returned quite late in the evening.
We had dinner at one of the quarters by the beach and it was close to midnight when we left for our chalet. It was raining.
I was feeling feverish and decided to sleep while my colleagues ended up played cards.
I don't how long I had slept but I woke up to find someone laying beside me, with her back towards me. I thought nothing of it, thinking that it could be one of my colleagues.
At about 5.30am, I woke up when the air-conditioning went off. I was in bed alone. Then I heard faintly the sounds of kompang. There were no villages on the island we were on and it could have come from the kampung we visited in the nearby island but why this early in the morning?
At breakfast, the Fisheries Department officials asked us if we had trouble during the night. We looked at each other and that was went all the stories came out.
A colleague heard her name being called out that night. Another heard chains being dragged. I told the officials about the kompang.
They laughed. We were told we were a bunch of brave girls.
"Dua orang lelaki dari XXX (a Malay publication) duduk di chalet yang sama seminggu yang lalu tapi lari turun tengah-tengah malam," one official said.
They related to us some incidents that confirmed my suspicion that there were something else there besides us on the island.
It was later in Kuala Terengganu that I found out I had slept alone on the bed throughout the night while the girl who was supposed to share the same bed decided to sleep with the other colleagues on the floor when she heard the chains being dragged.

III.
The same "being", twice at the same place in Langkawi!
The first time, two friends and I went to this place on the other side of Pantai Cenang. I "sighted" it as a friend was making his way to the beach. It was hanging down the tree. A glimpse but enough to tell me it was the ugliest "being" I had ever seen.
The second time I saw it was on another visit passing the area. We had just left a hotel there and it was Maghrib when we drove passed the area. I saw "it" perched on the signboard along the road. "Tengok monyet tu," I told Fahmi, the friend who was driving. It actually looked like the macaques that roamed freely in the area. Another friend, Helen, in the rear passenger seat, was sleeping.
Fahmi kept really quiet. After we got back to Buray Bay, he told me, "Kak, saya tak nampak apa-apa tadi." That freaked me out!
That night, I couldn't sleep thinking of what I saw earlier in the day.

GHOST BITES?

2011-06-01T15:14:00.001+08:00

When I was growing up, I was the klutz in the family.
As early as four years old, I popped probably half a bottle of my mother's travel sickness pills while we were travelling from Johor Baru to Kuala Lumpur that I had to get my stomach pumped when we arrived in the city .
When I was five and living in Kuala Lumpur, I dropped a jar of strawberry jam on my foot. It broke on impact and cut the fourth toe on the right leg. I assumed the same doctor that pumped my stomach a year or two ago (I was sent to the same clinic) sew up the wound. I remembered wailing my lungs out. The scar is still there.
At six years old and still living in Kuala Lumpur, I fractured my left arm when I fell during … err, pole-dancing? Well not exactly. I spun myself around a pole at an aunt's place in Kampung Melayu in Johor Baru and fell on my left hand. I was in a cast for three or more months.
I scraped my knees and elbows often enough, playing combat with my two brothers.
I bruised a lot too because I would knock myself into, among others, the furniture at home or at school. These bruises were painful.
As I got older, the klutz in me wore off.
But I had still bruised. And these, I was told, were not ordinary bruises.
"Kena gigit hantu," my late maternal grandmother used to say when I showed her a bruise. In later years, my mother echoed the same.
At first I ignored them. But later I realized there may be some truth to it.
Over time and from my own observation, I found that I get bruises after people made remarks of seeing or smelling something in my presence.
The biggest bruise I had so far was the size of the palm of my hand. It was on my right inner thigh.
I was on an island trip with three female colleagues. The other half also came along.
We were going to a Chinese restaurant on the other side of the island. We had to take the walkway by the sea to the restaurant.
We were walking quietly when the other half asked loudly what perfume I was wearing. There was a "wangi" scent in the air. I had goose pimples already.
I didn't answer him the first time. I remembered my late grandmother's advice of not asking anything out loud when I see or smell something.
He asked twice again without me answering. Finally it dawned upon him that something was not right.
The next morning, lo and behold, there was a bruise. It wasn't painful at all. I showed my colleague who was sharing the room with me.
I told him about it.
Now whenever he is out with me, he will be alert enough not to point out loud a smell or a sighting until after we had left the place.
And if he is out with me to some unfamiliar places, he'll asked if my "antenna" had sensed anything.
Friends know about my bruise by accident.
Once, a friend, driving us out of Tanjung Rhu in Langkawi in the late evening, pointed out something rolling in front of the car. I kept quiet. She didn't know.
The next morning, I showed her the bruise, which was as big as a 50 sen coin on my hand. She too is now careful whenever she goes out with me.
My recent bruise episode was when I was in Sarawak for the state election.
We were making our way back to Sibu from Tatau. I had asked my colleague, who was driving, to slow down whenever we reached the longhouses as I wanted to capture still pictures.
It was at one longhouse where I think I could have incurred the bruise.
I wound down the rear window of the 4x4 and started snapping pictures. Then, I made the biggest mistake of my life. I asked myself about this loud buzzing sound that I was hearing.
My colleague didn't seem affected by it. Either he heard it and was not bothered or he didn't hear it at all.
We arrived at the hotel at noon and I started editing the video I shot at the earlier assignment and sent it to KL.
It was later in the evening when I was freshening up to go for dinner that I spotted the bruise on my right arm. It was huge but painless.When I told the other half about it when he called, he asked that I be alert at all times.
I'm pretty careful most times but I still bruise occasionally.
So when you go out with me, you be careful with what you say when you see or smell something, okay?

HARI INI DALAM SEJARAH KELUARGA

2011-05-22T09:00:00.001+08:00

My late eldest brother Mohd Fauzi Ismail passed away 30 years ago today.
He died of electrocution at his rented home in Ipoh Perak. He was a final year land survey student at Politeknik Ungku Omar.
He was six months away from his 21st birthday when he died that Friday morning in 1981.
His jenazah was brought back to Kuala Lumpur and buried at the Petaling Jaya Muslim cemetery, where our paternal grandfather was among the pioneers interred there.
We were all devastated.
I still can't write about it till today.
Al Fatihah.

SARAWAK ROADTRIP (6): SERIAN

2011-05-16T15:01:00.001+08:00

In Semenanjung (that's what the Sarawakians call West Malaysia or Peninsula Malaysia), Annah Rais may be the name of a woman.
But in the Bidayuh (Sarawak's second largest ethnic group) language, we were told it stood for "Tanah Kampung" (Annah means "Tanah" and Rais is "Kampung").
And here in Serian, Annah Rais is a place where you can find the largest (not the longest) Bidayuh longhouse.
There are actually three longhouses at Annah Rais: Kupo Sebak, Kupo Terkan and Kupo Suo. The longhouse is said to be the oldest as it has existed for some 200 years.
The longhouse is inhabited by some 120 families of diverse faiths such as Islam and Christianity.
Lobo, a Bidayuh we met at the Annah Rais Hot Spring, said the longhouse is really "1Malaysia. Majority of the inhabitants of the longhouse are believed to share similar ancestor.
The longhouses are on stilts and the floors made of bamboo strips.
"Dulu di bawah bela binatang macam khinzir. Sekarang tak ada. Sudah tak ada kafir. Semua ada agama. Kristian. Islam," Lobo said.
I've never heard a non-Muslim using the word "kafir" before. "He must meant those without religion," I told Bad later.
The longhouses were like a huge maze, with little walkways made of wood and bamboo.
My colleague Bad and I explored the longhouses separately.
These longhouses were not built as a tourist attraction. They are real houses.
We see those living there undertaking their daily routines such as washing clothes and processing the latex they collected after tapping rubber in the morning.
They are farmers. On the way in from the main road, we saw those going out to hunt. They have rifles with them, instead of blowpipes.
Bad and I met up in front of the Panggah or head house.
I initially thought it was where the village chief lives or meet his people but I was dead wrong.
"Ada kepala dalam tu," Bad said. I thought Bad was trying to spook me.
I didn't believe him until I followed him up the steps into the Panggah.
In the centre of the Panggah was a bed-like structure where the skulls are kept. Under the structure was a small cannon.
The skulls were passed on through the generations. The Bidayuh, also known as Land Dayaks, were once headhunters. The bravery and valour of the Bidayuh were measured by the number of enemies that were beheaded and heads brought home.
Lobo assured us that the skulls were all "dead". There are no longer spirits looming in the Panggah.
He said the residents no longer worshipped the skull spirit.
Before, the Bidayuh would undertake the mukah ceremony where the pawang would offer blood as food to the spirit. "Dulu ada pawang buat. Sekarang tak ada. Dulu ambil gambar pun tak jadi," he said.
Bad actually asked me to check the video footage I took of the Panggah and also the still pictures. "It's there (in the videocam)," I told him.
When he was small, Lobo had witnessed a mukah ceremony. One can actually hear movements in the Panggah although there were no one inside it.
We read that women were not allowed to enter the Panggah before, as their presence could weakened the warriors. Prior to the ritual, the longhouse residents were also ban from going to the river for four days.
We also asked Lobo about the cannon, which was carved with a logo engraved with the words Pieters eest Anno 756 in both Arabic and Roman characters. He said the cannon was presented to the village chief by the Brunei Sultanate in exchange of bags of rice during the reign of the Brooke family.
It may be a small cannon but Lobo said four boys, who wanted to steal it from the Panggah, failed to do so when they found that it was "too heavy" for them to carry it out.
Several "units" at the longhouses have been turned into homestays where tourists, foreigners and locals alike, can experience what its like living in a longhouse.

Hamlet's Blackberry

2011-05-10T13:22:00.002+08:00

Two weeks after reading this book, I queued for three hours and 46 minutes to get the iPad2. Whatever William Powers wrote in Hamlet's Blackberry flew out of the window!I can tell you that I was the last among my friends to embrace mobile technology back in the late 1980s but now, I am among the first to purchase new gadgets.
Being connected (although some friends have sarcastically reminded me that I hardly do the calling, SMS or BBM) is important in this day in age.
If you’re a mobile phone user, there will never be a time when you are alone. You are connected 24/7 (although your phone may be switched off at certain times of the day or night, you are still considered connected somewhat!).
Are there still areas uncovered? I was at Bako National Park in Sarawak recently, an area accessible only by boat. Surprise! Surprise! (Who remembers Gomer Pyle?) There is Maxis coverage!
Even if there were no coverage, there is such a thing called the satellite phone. A helicopter pilot friend of mine, who used to operate in Sudan, swears by it when he was there.
Was I ever without a hand phone? Not that I can remember. I lost my phone three times -- twice because of my own carelessness (the first, leaving it in a cab to the office and the other, at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport on my way home from Paris) and the third when someone pick pocketed my handbag at KLCC’s surau -- but I got it replaced almost immediately.
Even going overseas, I am still connected. In Japan and the US, I learnt earlier on to take a 3G phone with me.
I remembered back in the late 1980s (or was it early 1990s?) going to Bangsar for lunch one day and my colleague and I returned to the office with a handphone each. My first purchase was a Nokia phone (I can’t even find a photo of the old phone on Google!) and the service provider was Celcom. It served me well for a couple of years.
Then, a Maxis PR manager offered me a free Ericsson flip phone, plus signing me up to it's service. I accepted. I terminated the Celcom line and have been using Maxis ever since, changing my number only twice.
I now have another phone, Nokia N900, which I used for the Celcom number, courtesy of the office.
As for the screens (which Powers defined as desktops, laptops, notebooks and tablets), I used HP desktop at the office and my own Macbook Air at home (which I connect using a Celcom broadband) and iPad2 Wifi/3G (with a Maxis broadband that keeps me connected 24/7) while on the go.
Whenever I have the Facebook chat or Google chat on, there’s a likelihood I’ll be chatting with friends from as far as the US.
I can understand Powers’ point of view, where he said we needed to revisit our relationship to screens and mobile technologies. He also gave examples from his own experience of how profound the rewards of doing so can be. He made references on connectedness to among others Shakespeare, Plato and Ben Franklin.
He talked about having a conversation on the phone with his mother and the ‘unexpected surge of emotion” after the phone call and also the briefed solitude he found after he went overboard his boat and “killing” his handphone at the same time.
I recalled an interview I had with former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad for the first issue of (the now-defunct) Nuance on January 5 2003 where he talked about what technology had taken away from us.
He had refered to Tun Dr Siti Hasmah’s penchant for SMS-ing using the mobile phone.
"My wife does that. She doesn't talk to me anymore. In the car when we should be busy talking to each other, she would be busy SMS-ing the children. She doesn't hear what I say or see the scenery outside the car," (read full story here)
But here’s the flipside of it all.
From my own experience, screens and mobile technologies gave me that sense of connectedness to people: my own brother (we don’t talk all that often but he prompts me on Facebook to help him build his ‘city’, tagged each other of photos and other stuff and SMS if we need something from each other), cousins who I meet once a year during Raya, nieces and nephews who are all over the country and friends, from school and those I know through work here and abroad. My close friends know I’m an SMS or BBM away from them, any time.
I agree somewhat with Powers that there is no depth in the relationship via the screens and mobile technologies compared with a face-to-face interaction. You still need that physical contact (over coffee or tea, lunch or dinner) but when people are too busy to meet up, you have no other alternative but to depend on the screens and mobile technologies. I have you know that I’ve held long conversations with friends via FB and Google chats, SMSes and BBMs and given them virtual hugs and blew them those virtual kisses.
But I find it ironic that while we no longer keep numbers in little black books or even commit some important numbers to memory and no longer keep notes on the hand phone or iPad2, the moleskine is still much sought-after. Boggles the mind now, doesn’t it?
At the end of the day, it’s all about how we manage ourselves.
Now, when can I get the Blackberry Playbook?

You can read the review here

iPAD2

2011-05-04T13:23:00.005+08:00

Grab and Go. It should be that easy or so I thought.
A few days before the launch day, I asked a friend to call the Epicenter where she had booked hers. “Dah penuh (Its full),” she said of the pre-bookings that Epicenter was taking for the iPad2.
Two days before Friday, I checked the MacStudio at BSC. “No, we don’t taking bookings,” the staff there said.
“Any idea what time on Friday?” I asked. “No, we don’t know. We are depending on Apple to update its website,” he said.
So, another colleague and I decided to brave it out on Friday morning. I went to Machines Mid-Valley Megamall while he decided to check out the store at Sunway Pyramid.
At 9am sharp that Friday morning, I was at the Apple store. There were already some 200 people ahead of me in the queue.
In fact, I was told that the first person in line came at 9pm the night before and parked himself in front of the store. Mid-Valley was one of a few malls whose management had allowed for people to queue like such.
“I did a head count. We’re somewhere between 180 and 200 in line,” a Malay man queuing in front of me said.
There were a few “Apa hal?” questions from passers-by. “iPad2 launch,” said one. The “oohs” and “aahs” were plenty.
Someone said the store will open at 9.30am but when the time came, the grille to the store was only half-opened.
10am then. We waited and chatted some more.
Most whom I spoke to are Apple users, mostly the iPhones. The iPhone 5, rumoured for launch sometime in September, will be their next purchase.
Many agreed that the store should allow pre-bookings, so that "serious buyers like us can go in, pay, take the device and go," said one guy.
"Malaysians, you know lah. They must check first, open the box, test the device and then only decide whether to buy or not. In the US, there is no such thing," the same guy said.
Also, he noticed that Malaysians do not have the queuing mentality unlike in the US and Japan. "There, people queue up for days. Here, the first guy upfront has been here since 9pm only," he added.
They know what they want to buy when the store opened. A Chinese man, in white T-shirt and shorts, with a backpack on his shoulders, was buying the iPad2 for his five-year-old daughter. “Haiya, she knows already the difference between the first generation and iPad2,” he said.
At 9.45am, two Machines part-time staff came round asking those in the queue for their preferred device. They are then given a stub denoting the model they want.
“This means you are a confirmed buyer. You cannot change the model at the counter,” one said.
Of course, we are serious buyers. We already know what we want.
“64G. 3G. Black,” I told one staff.
“How many?” he asked, lazily.
I said one. He asked me to repeat my preferred model, slowly.
At RM2,499, a friend who frequents the US told me that its cheaper here than there as you have to take into account the taxes you have to pay there.
The Chinese man is buying two: the 16G 3G for his daughter and a 64G 3G for himself. “Haiya, black lah. White can easily dirty mah. Just like white car lah,” he said.
When the store opened, the staff allowed iPad2 customers in by groups.
We couldn’t see how many were in the first group but we suspected between 10 and 15 people.
We heard cheering and saw flashbulbs (of cameras) going off.
Half an hour passed but we didn’t see anyone coming out of the store with a box.
By that time, there were already people going in to browse the iPad2 and its accessories.
The three men in front of me left for breakfast, only to come back an hour later and still the line had not moved.
“I can’t wait too long. I’ve taken half the day off from work to do this,” a woman said.
She and the three men ahead of me abandoned the queue and went into the store to browse for accessories.
About half and hour later, I saw them walking out of the store, each with an iPad2 with them!
At 12.30pm, I entered the store. We still had to queue up inside a room, where the purchase payment is made.
It took me exactly three hours and 45 minutes before I had the iPad2 in my hands. My colleague at Sunway Pyramid got his after Friday prayers.
It’s not about being the first to own an iPad2 but to get one soonest possible. We don’t know when the second batch will come although Machines said it might come in another one or two weeks.
A friend in London thought she could get it there a week before the Malaysian launch but the stores there have not got new stock.

P/S A day later, I went back to Machines to get the screen protector and the cover for the iPad2. The store is now taking orders. “Why didn’t you have pre-bookings before the launch?” I asked. “Apple doesn’t allow it,” one staff said. “Epicenter did it. It can make my life and yours easier if you had,” I said.

SARAWAK ROADTRIP (5): BAKO NATIONAL PARK

2011-04-30T21:58:00.000+08:00

I woke up that Monday morning with trepidation. I was going trekking at Bako National Park. I didn't think I was fit enough, having not slept well over the weekend, following the state election but that was the only day available before flying home to Kuala Lumpur.
At 7am, Matahari Tours guide Rosli Eji picked me up from the hotel to make our way to Kampung Bako, some half hour drive from Kuching. A family of four - two adults and two children - had cancelled their tour because the pick-up time had moved up by an hour. "They didn't want to get up that early. If we don't get to Bako in time, we cannot take the boat out as the tide will be low," Rosli said.
When we reached Kampung Bako, Rosli registered us at the Sarawak Forestry Corp's (SFC) counter at the jetty. We left in a boat operated by a villager there. I was given a lifejacket but it didn't calm my nerves as there was a signage at the jetty cautioning people of crocodiles in the river.
The tide was still low when we got to the jetty. Rosli told me that we will have to get off the boat in one feet of water and walk on the beach towards the SFC office when we arrived at the park.
Established in 1957, Bako National Park is the the oldest national park in Sarawak. It is however one of the smallest national park but one of the most interesting with so much beauty in such a limited area.
It was a scenic 20-minute boat ride out to the mouth of the Bako River into the South China sea. The best part of the boat ride was going under the the "kelong" structure that the fishermen had built in the middle of the river. I almost forgot about my inability to swim and my fear of crocodiles in the water. Erosion of the sandstone, which took place millions of years ago, created a coastline of steep cliffs and rock formations.Luckily I thought of wearing sandals (it was easier to take off when I had to get off the boat in the water) and cut-offs (didn't get my pants wet).
When we got to the canteen area, some people were having breakfast and packed to leave. They had stayed at the chalets at the park.
There were accommodation facilities there and also a camp-like area where backpackers can set up their own tents.
It was here that we saw two long-tailed macaques and a wild bearded pig. Rosli said macaques were the naughty ones at the park, often seen pinching stuff from the backpackers' tents.Before we started our track, Rosli had to once again register us at the SFC office there.
There were 17 trails at the park and Rosli chose the shortest trail for me. "Pendek tetapi mencabar (short but challenging)," he said, smiling cheekily.
Challenging it was but the findings along the way made it interesting at the same time.
Rosli pointed out to me the Bintangor plant (research showed it has anti-HIV agents, which Rosli said "doesn't cure HIV but slows down it effects on the human body), the flexible rattan, mengkuang (they called it the pandan tikar) and the green pit viper.
We saw termites on the ground. "Anai-anai ini macam penunjuk cuaca dalam hutan. Sesiapa yang masuk hutan, jika mereka melihat anai-anai sebegini banyak bergerak di sebelah pagi, aka akan human di sebelah tengahari atau petting (Termites indicate the weather. Whoever goes into the jungle and sees these many termites on the move in the morning, they expect that it will rain in the afternoon or evening)," he said.
But the most priceless of all is sighting the proboscis monkeys which the locals call "Orang Belanda".
"When the monkey was first sighted here, the orang asli didn't know what to call it. But they think the monkey looked like the Dutch men, with their bulbous noses and fat bellies, hence Orang Belanda," he said laughing.
He said there was a better chance of seeing the "Orang Belanda" at the Bako National Park than in Sabah or Kalimantan as these monkeys are used to humans around them.
The proboscis monkeys find food at the mangrove area of the park especially in the early part of the day.An hour into the jungle, I told Rosli, "Saya boleh dengar degupan jantung saya di telinga (I can hear my heart beat at my ears)." He laughed.
We rested for 15 minutes (although he told me I can take as long as I want) and trek back to the place where we can branched off to the beach.
I had to go through a small opening between some rocks (the things I do for the New Straits Times!) before reaching the beach area.
It was a more relaxing walk compared with the jungle trek, which was taxing on the knees.
After lunch at the canteen, we head out to the beach where our boatman was already waiting.
Rosli told me a long time ago, there were plans by the state government to build an access road to the national park but that was shelved as it made no economical sense to do so. It would in fact affect the livelihood of the villagers who offer boat services to tourists going to the park.
I for one would be against such a move. One would be deprived of the scenic beauty of the national park going into by the sea and experiencing walking barefooted on the beach.
But for those who have not considered Bako National Park to visit or stay the night because they think they would be cut off from the outside world, fret not.
Maxis works well there (sorry, Celcom, I didn't test you out because the battery to my N900 died when I was there)!

SARAWAK ROADTRIP (4): SANTUBONG

2011-04-25T18:36:00.000+08:00

If you know Santubong just for the Damai Resort, then I must tell you that you deprived yourself of the best Santubong has to offer a visitor.
This trip, I had the opportunity to not only checked out the resort but also the villages there.
Mention Kampung Buntal and I tell you that many Sarawakians especially those in Kuching would have heard about it.
I had just arrived in Kuching when my colleague Bad asked if I want to tag along on the trip to Santubong.
I've heard of the area but haven't been there.
"Someone tells me a interesting story about Kampung Buntal there and I was to go and check it out myself," he said.
He drove but it took us a while to find the way to Santubong as road signages were too few and far in between. And if there was one, it was right smack behind a tree. Yeah, just like in Semenanjung!
Sarawakians were of no help too. We find that most if not all have problems differentiating their left from their right. They would tell you left but their hand gestures show otherwise!
But we found Santubong nevertheless.
The small little village is actually famous for its seafood restaurants but we were more interested in the name of the village.
And the villagers there were more than helpful to tell us.We went twice to the village. The second time we were there, we had lunch at Pak Kassim's food stall. We found out from his daughter, Kartini, that the family also runs a homestay programme in the village. Her father was away to check out one of the new homes they were building for the coming Borneo Rainforest Music Festival.
These fishermen are indeed enterprising lots.
We asked if there were fishermen among their children. Some are working with the government, others in hotels in the city, they say.
Kartini runs her father's food stall and helps out with the homestay.
Since 2006 11 people from Kampung Buntal have entered the homestay programme. The programme was initially under Kemas until 2007 but it is now placed under the state's tourism ministry.
The participants were given financial assistance to upgrade facilities at their respective houses.
Homestay programmes are a great way to get to know a place and its people but operators must ensure that their homes meet the requirements.
The official website for homestay in Malaysia, which is endorsed by Tourism Malaysia, doesn't give what the requirements are to be under a homestay programme or what one can expect from a homestay host.
But the Australian homestay website specifies for example that a homestay host must provide two meals a day on weekdays and three meals on weekends and that in providing the meals, they must be aware of and take into account cultural differences.
I haven't stayed in one yet, so I am not able to write of my experience.
(I had once before checked into a beach chalet (a homestay programme didn't exist back then, it was the village's initiative) at Tioman Island, only to check out the next day and got myself into Tioman Island Resort. The chalet had failed to meet even my minimum requirement especially with regards to its bathroom.)

SARAWAK ROADTRIP (3): SIBU

2011-04-20T08:11:00.007+08:00

When I first heard my colleagues talking about the Pan Borneo Highway, I got really excited.
"How long does it take to drive from Kuching all the way to Kota Kinabalu?" I asked a Sarawakian colleague, Desmond, when I was in Kuching the week before nomination day for the Sarawak state election.
"Did you bring your passport with you?" he asked. "Yeah I did, for the immigration clearance at the airport. Why would I need a passport?" I asked him, baffled.
My chief executive officer, a Sarawakian, interjected. "Because you would have to go into Brunei and get out and go in and out again before you get into Sabah," he said.
They told me it will take some 15 hours or more of driving time.
That would be fun, I thought. I kept that information in the back of my mind until I got into Sibu the week after.
When I was there, my Sabahan colleague, Roy, and I had to drive from Sibu into Tatau in Bintulu to cover Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor's event.
We had to drive some 200 kilometers to get to Tatau.
The federal road was two lanes and very much left to be desired.
It was a bumpy ride throughout. I wondered how long a suspension of a sedan vehicle could withstand such a beating.
Roy drove a 4FWD, so the shaking, rattling and rolling were minimized but my rear was still sore after a little while.
"Hey you know, I was talking to Desmond and the CEO about the Pan Borneo Highway," I told Roy as we passed through the border sign into Bintulu. "I told them how it would be cool to drive all the way to KK."
"If you're looking for the Pan Borneo highway, you are actually on it right now," he said.
"This is the Pan Borneo highway?" I asked as I sat up straight in the passenger seat.
He laughed. If you do your maths, the Sibu-Bintulu stretch is something like one-seventh of the 1,500 km between Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.One stretch of the Pan Borneo Highway Batang Oya bridge on the Pan Borneo HighwayIt took us about two and a half hours to get to Tatau. Because of the rain and amid the heavy traffic (lorries and buses), Roy could not press on the accelerator.
We got there on time, with a few minutes to spare but the minister, we were told, got held up in Miri. The helicopter could not fly out because of the heavy rain there.
Besides the river, the other favorite mode of transport (among those who can afford it that is) is by helicopters because it takes a shorter time to fly from one point to the other but the conditions make it extremely challenging for pilots.
It so happened that the afternoon that I arrived in Sibu, Sabah Air's 206 Bell helicopter crashed at Dataran Sibu, right behind the hotel where Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was to officiate a function. The helicopter was one of three used to ferry Muhyiddin, his wife Puan Sri Noorainee Abdul Rahman and the DPMO officials from Bintangor to Sibu.
The ill-fated helicopter had earlier dropped off DPM's press secretary Hafiz Abdul Halim and two bodyguards when it crashed. The pilot was on board when it happened.
We were waiting for Muhyiddin and his wife at RH Hotel when we heard of the incident. "Heli DPM terhempas," we were initially told.
We then got word that it wasn't the helicopter that the DPM flew in but one carrying his entourage. I asked for directions to get to Dataran Sibu to video shoot the wreckage.
It was raining during the incident. It was when I looked at the wreckage that I knew it was a major accident. The helicopter was on its side, with parts of the propeller strewn all over. When I asked the two female security guards on duty at the Dataran Sibu what had just happened, one said the helicopter tilted to its side as it rose three metres off the ground. "Hari human, angin kuat," she said, gesturing widely to indicate how the helicopter had crashed. The "drebar belon" was the only one on board, she said.Erratum: DPM press secretary's name is Hafiz Abdul Halim and not Hafiz Yatim as stated in the video. The error is much regretted.
The pilot was seriously injured and taken to the hospital via ambulance. He succumbed to injuries later that night.
I once interviewed helicopter pilot Capt Mohd Adzmi Ariffin, who said "when flying a helicopter, we are flying by the seat of our pants."
He said, however, helicopters are extremely reliable flying machines, their performance only restricted by human limitations.
"Helicopters can reach altitudes of up to 23,000 feet, but given that we are not in a pressurised cabin like the cockpit of a jetliner, we can only comfortably climb up to 10,000 feet. Any higher than that and we would have to put on oxygen masks.
"Lack of oxygen leads to disorientation and we don't want that to happen... we constantly need to make important decisions … Anything can happen and we need to be mentally alert."
Unlike some commercial jet pilots who can renew their licences using simulators, helicopter pilots have to do it for real, usually having to perform a series of tasks to see how they react, among other things, to engine failures and onboard fires. The licence is renewed annually, but for pilots aged 40 and above, it's every six months. (For more, read here)
I flew in a helicopter before, from Subang Airport to Kuala Terengganu and then onwards to Pulau Redang. As a first timer, I was thrilled to bits. As we flew, I could see waterfalls and the top of the trees on the Titiwangsa range but when hit by strong headwind, it got scary. The noise was of not help. We then had to fly over water. That was even scarier.
Given a choice, I would not go on boats (that don't have lifejackets although here in Sarawak, I was told I should be concerned with the crocs in the river instead) and on the "belon" (anything that flies, according to the bahasa Melayu Sarawak) especially helicopters.
Road travel would still be a safer bet although I can tell you that the road in Kempas Johor Bahru, where my mother's house is (whether it is Denai, Permatang and Lurah), is far better than that of the Pan Borneo Highway.

SARAWAK ROADTRIP (2): KUCHING

2011-04-08T11:40:00.010+08:00

I
For a city not named after a cat, Kuching certainly has way too many statutes of the animal in the city. The huge one would probably be in front of the Grand Margherita Hotel, where the Media Prima operation centre is for the duration of the Sarawak state election.
There are cat statutes at a roundabout near the hotel (the one with the white pole) and another huge statue of a white cat at the entrance into the city’s Chinatown.
No one including the tour guide, Asmadie, could give me an exact number of the cat statues in the city.
Asmadie, who we hired to take us around north and south of the city area, told us that the city derived its name after a fruit, not a cat.
“Its Mata Kuching. There was a stream that started from Bukit Mata Kuching than ran between the Tua Pek Kong Temple and the Chinese History Museum. On the hill, there was an abundance of the fruit (Mata Kuching),” he said.
Ironically, there is a cat museum housed at the North Kuching City Hall building. Founded in 1993, there are some 2,000 exhibits, artifacts and statues of cats from all over the world at the museum.
Another story has it that the word Kuching originated from the Chinese word “Gu Chin”, which means harbour.II
“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.,” says American author John Burroughs (1837-1921).
Well, he hasn’t been to Kuching. Minus the traffic, I do think that Burroughs would enjoy the city as much as I did when I was there.
The first thing that struck me was how clean the city was. And it smelt clean to me, at least.
When I mentioned it to Asmadie, he proudly pointed that the Kuching is the cleanest city in the country. “In fact, we are the seventh cleanest city in the world,” he added.
I googled but couldn’t find any document verifying this claim but it was voted as one of the world's healthiest cities, recognised and awarded by both United Nations (UN) and World Health Organisation (WHO) and by the Alliance for Healthy Cities (AFHC) in Suzhou, China.
Take a walk in the city. You’ll find the sidewalks free of rubbish. No foul smell out of the drains, too. Vermins? No sign of them anywhere.
We went to three hawker centres; one across the river from the Waterfront at Kg Boyan-Gersik, the other at Kubah Ria and the third at Top Spot. These three centres are free of the pungent smell of rotting food and rubbish-clogged drains.
While on a tour of the city, I hardly saw any stray cats or dogs
Is it just possible that the city can achieved such high level of cleanliness compared with other cities in the country because it has two City Halls?
Well, Asmadie said due to its vastness, Kuching – conferred a city status on Aug 1 1988 – has a commission called Dewan Bandaraya Kuching Utara (DBKU) administers the north while the Majlis Bandaraya Kuching Selatan (MBKS) manages the south.
Both have somewhat the same mission and vision; to turn Kuching into a cultured, clean and well-planned city.
If you “lepak” long enough at the Waterfront during the daytime, you’ll find a boatman fishing out floating rubbish and solid wastes onto his boat.
Well, DBKU has contracted a cleaner for the Sarawak River.A clean riverIII
If you ask a Bidayuh, he would say it takes after a Baruk but to a Melanau, it’s a Terendak. To me, it looked like an umbrella.
This is the Sarawak’s new state assembly building. From the Waterfront, you can have a direct view of this gold roof building. I thought it was a palace at first until I was shown the Astana, where the governor resides (next to this imposing building).
I think it looks like the MBKS building (which Asmadie said takes after the Melanau’s terendak or hat) but up close, it also looks like the Bidayuh’s Baruk (or house).
Asmadie also the shape of the DBKU Building also takes after a hat (I cannot recall which one) but some people have described it looking like some kind of UFO.DBKU
Dewan Undangan Negeri Sarawak
MBKS

SARAWAK ROADTRIP (1): KUCHING

2011-04-05T21:11:00.003+08:00

“Kamek nait prahu.” My Sarawakian colleague Desmond had to spell these words for me before I put it up as a Facebook status. That’s Bahasa Melayu Sarawak for “saya naik perahu.”
It was inviting to cross the Sarawak river especially on a fine sunny day from the Waterfront to Kampung Boyan-Gersik. It is only a five-minute crossing. If you drive, it can take anywhere between half an hour to 45 minutes (depending on the traffic) to get from the Waterfront to the other side via a tolled bridge (probably the one and only in the country).
But be warned that the boatman does not give you a life jacket.
“Oh, you must try it (even without the jacket), its just a five minute ride,” another colleague, Nancy, said.
A Facebook contact was rather witty, telling me that I should be concerned of the crocodiles in the river instead of being worried about not having a life jacket on board the boat.
So, Desmond, another colleague Adzman and I took the tambang from the Waterfront to the jetty across the river ahead of the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s own boat crossing that day. School children are charged 30 sen per head while other passengers pay 50 sen each.
The Sarawak government website said rivers are the lifeblood of the state. The state’s river transport system has great significance to the large section of Sarawak’s population who live in the interior and along the coast.
Much of Sarawak’s rural population relies on rivers for transportation. Express boat services utilise the many waterways inland to get to rural areas inaccessible by road.
Recently, Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said the government was considering developing a waterbus service on Sarawak River to ease traffic congestion in the city.
The system was the only alternative that the government could think of for now to tackle the city’s traffic jams.
The government had explored how the Sarawak River could be used for public transportation similar to other networks deployed in some parts of the world like Brisbane.
“This water bus system may be the early solution to relieve road congestion in some parts of the city, especially along the river,” he had said.
A waterbus system requires passenger boats whose service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating just like regular buses.
Opportunities for interchange with other modes of transport would also be explored to ensure that the waterbus service could integrate with existing transport networks.
There is also a statutory body under the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Communications called the Sarawak Rivers Board, established in October 1993, to look into the coastal and riverine transportation in the state.
It was a smooth ride crossing the river. After we have all settled down, the boatman who positioned himself in front pulled a rope that was tied to the engine of the boat to get it started. He maneuvered the boat along the banks before switching off the engine when the boat reached the middle of the river.
He used the oars to get the boat forward before re-starting the engine again.
We spent close to three hours at Kampung Boyan-Gersik, with Muhyiddin visiting a surau and a kek lapis maker and two villagers in need of assistance to re-build their dilapidated houses.
While the Deputy Prime Minister and his entourage left Kampung Boyan-Gersik by road, we took the boat across.
If I have any advice for those who are not too confident of going on such a boat, go on the boat last.
On the way back, I made the mistake of going in first and when some rowdy passengers got on board after me, the boat swayed like a cubicle hanging off a ferris wheel hit by strong winds. It also hit the jetty!
When we reached the other side, I told my colleagues that I wanted to be the first one out of the boat and I did.
In fact, I swore that it would be my last tambang ride ever (on assignment at Kampung Boyan-Gersik the next day, we drove to the village instead)!

DATING YOUR OWN FATHER

2011-03-09T17:36:00.006+08:00

A Facebook contact, who is also a doctor, posted this on his status recently. It was an event organized by Dads for Life, a national fathers’ movement, that serves as a focal point for all activities to inspire and involve all Dads to play a more active role in their children’s lives for life. It seeks to enable fathers in Singapore and Singaporean fathers around the world to communicate with and support one another in their growth as Dads.
Would you date your father? I would and I had done it before when he was alive.
This was how ours started.
I had just started working in KL. My parents were in JB. And it was my first time away from the family.
Once a month, I make it a point to go home to visit them. Whenever I’m home, my father and I will spend some time together, just the two of us, either for breakfast or tea. We would also go to the pasar malam together, leaving my mother at home.
When he came to KL for a visit (and it was often enough), I would take him to my favourite hangouts.
We both love reading and the bookstore was our haunt (who still remembers Wahab & Sons and Johor Central Book Store at Jalan Sultan Ibrahim or Berita Book Centre at Bukit Bintang Plaza?). If Starbucks was around at that time, I am sure he would enjoy a cuppa or two, and smoking his pipe to boot!
This gives my mother her own “me” time, which I was pretty sure she needed having spent all her waking and sleeping hours with my father.
It was fun for me to be able to share some time alone with him.
We talked about everything under the sun.
My father shared stories of his growing up years (he was the eldest and being the only son in the family, he had to take care of his sisters), life as a senior civil servant and then in a state government outfit. He told me of the women he dated before he met my mother. I know the story behind the A4-size photo of the nurse in the red album, which we still keep at home, and the crush he had on this particular woman, who later married his best friend.
She came to Johor Bahru to pay her condolences when my father passed away. Her husband, who was my father’s best friend, had died earlier.
I shared with him about my work, the who’s who I met on assignments, about living on my own, clubbing (I used to do that in the first year of working and “retired” completely after that) and also the boys I dated. He even knew the father of one of them!
I missed him a lot especially on those days when I’m in need of advice (although I have my own “spongebob” now who listens to me rant about everything and anything!).
His advice to me was simple: Keep intact the family's name and honour.
He said when anything happens, people would not mention my name but his and the family's instead, irrespective whether he was alive or dead. "Tengok tu, anak si polan, keluarga si anu buat hal.”
From this interaction, we understood each other. There were hardly any temper tantrums in the house. I knew well enough not to ask for something that my father would not give or do something that he doesn’t like.
As for my father, I believed that he got to know me better. He had neither spanked nor scolded me.
Call it what you want – be it a date or an outing – this is all about communications, which is sadly lacking between parents and their children these days.

MISI BANTUAN BANJIR KE PAGOH, JOHOR Feb 9 – 11, 2011

2011-02-23T14:48:00.011+08:00

The notice came via SMS unlike the previous flood relief missions to Batu Pahat (2007) and Kedah/Perlis (November last year) where the IT department, on behalf of the Corporate Communications department, issued an email calling for volunteers among staff.It was at 9.16pm on February 7 that I got the SMS informing me of the company’s flood relief mission to Pagoh. I was asked if I want to participate as a volunteer. I immediately said yes, replying the SMS from the Corporate Communications Department with my particulars.
This was my third time as a volunteer of the company’s flood relief missions.
I was told they needed some 20 volunteers, thus a selected few were informed.
At 5pm the next day, we gathered for a briefing. Together on the trip with us was our friends from a 4x4 club, who participated in our first flood relief mission to Batu Pahat in 2007, and a handful of volunteers from Media Prima.
We left for Muar at 6pm on Wednesday afternoon, in a convoy of five 4x4s and two NSTP vans (one passenger van and the other carrying our cleaning equipment). The two containers and three lorries left separately. The Media Prima volunteers joined us in a separate convoy.The 4x4s leading the convoy
We arrived Muar at 9.30pm, lights and sirens blazing (thanks to our friends from the 4x4 club), and checked in at Muar Traders’ Hotel by the river (by the way, we didn’t realized that the Traffic Police headquarters was just next to the hotel).
Rest was the least on our minds that night because we had to unload and pack some RM85,000 worth of food items, cleaning detergents and equipment for some 500 families in the Lenga area.
We couldn't start work immediately because the two 40-ft containers carrying the goods hadn't arrived. The two containers and three smaller lorries arrived at midnight.
We had to start packing the goodies immediately or else we would not have enough time to finish, let alone rest for the next day.
And packing some 15 food items and other goodies for 500 families is not easy, especially when you don’t have that many able bodies to help out.
All my NSTP colleagues were at the empty lot next to the hotel to unload the stuff from the containers, helped pack the items into plastic bags, and load them into the smaller lorries.A “production line” was immediately formed to put the items in the plastic bag after much time was wasted deciding on what items to put in which plastic bag and how these items should be placed in the bags. “Err hello, we're not packing 10 hampers here, but for 500 families!”
There were among others biscuit in tins, bags of sugar, salt and flour, boxes of coffee and tea, Maggi spices, cans of sardines, bottles of jams and sauces, bags of 3in1 chocolate drink and cereals, 10kg bags of rice, 5 kg bottles of cooking oil, detergents, baby diapers, hoses, pails, mops and brooms.NSTP volunteers "Project: Tengahmalam"We finished doing all that and cleaning up the area at 5.30am. Our plan was to rest for an hour or so, do the Subuh prayers and come down for breakfast and then for the briefing.
A colleague quipped that we should all wear sunglasses while on our rounds and try to nap while standing. We failed miserably as we were busy distributing the food items at the relief centres. The volunteers, including those from Media Prima, were split into two teams so that we can cover more areas.
The first part of Day One was spent distributing the goodies and also our newspapers – NST, Berita Harian and Harian Metro.
After lunch of packed nasi campur that the company organised for all the volunteers, which we ate sitting on plastic cover on the gravel road, we spent the second half of the day helping the Kg Liang Batu villagers clean up the mosque and madrasah.
From out past experience in Kedah, we find that public places like schools, mosques and surau will be the last place to be cleaned as villagers will be busy cleaning and putting their own houses in order first. We also see busloads of university students from as far as Perlis, together with the Civil Defence Department personnel, helping the villagers out.
(In Batu Pahat in 2007, we didn't do any cleaning but at night during the entire duration of our stay there, we conducted fun English classes for children at the relief centres and also schools)
As there were villagers who also turned up at the mosque to help us, we finished our work early.
We just don’t have to wait for someone to start. All you need to do is grab a water jet (this made our job of removing the caked mud very easy), a pail of water, a broom or mop, start the cleaning process and others will eventually join in.
Tired but satisfied with our work for the day, we adjourned to Dusun Damai as the Media Prima chairman Datuk Johan Jaaffar was treating us to hi-tea of briyani gam. It was worth the drive up to his retreat up on the hill in Pagoh.
All the hard work made us really hungry and the briyani gam cooked by his helper was worth the drive to the hilltop orchard.
It was a quiet drive back to Muar town, as most of us were drained of energy. I lauded my 4x4 pilot/driver as he was one of those who stayed up the entire night to help us packed the goodies, drive us to various locations, helped us with the cleaning of the mosque and drove us back to the hotel at the end of the day. At least, we could catnap in between.
The second half of the day, the volunteers were split into three groups: two groups to clean the two surau in Kg Liang Batu and the other, comprising the 4x4s, continue to distribute the goodies to the other families. We left Pagoh for Kuala Lumpur after Friday prayers.
Seriously, if the company was looking for candidates with leadership capabilities and also a team player, they don’t have to look far and wide. We have them in the company. They just needed to be nurture and also be told of their career trajectory.
Such a mission was also as good as any team-building exercises that some companies pay thousands of ringgit to send their employees to.
Only, at times, I do think the senior management @ bosses should also once in a while “turun padang” in these missions. It would surely be a morale booster to the volunteers and the staff to see them folding up their sleeves, sweat it out in the hot sun, to help out the needy.
What was it that they called it again… leadership by example?Final group photograph before leaving Muar for Kuala Lumpur

US AFFAIRS: WASHINGTON DC (FINAL PART)

2011-02-21T21:21:00.006+08:00

“This is the White House?” a colleague asked when we saw it through the gates. 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is Washington DC’s most famous address. My colleague looked disappointed. The Congress Building on Capitol Hill (picture above) looked more impressive. In fact, he had initially mistaken the Congress building as the White House.
It is easy to make that mistake. The White House wasn’t as grandeur as he had expected it to be. Well, it was a distance away that he saw the building.
I’ve been to the White House before as this was my second trip to Washington DC. The first was in 1993 as part of a US government-funded tour following the completion of the three-month Dag Hammarskjold Fellowship at the United Nations in the New York.
In fact, that trip saw me going into the White House, specifically the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.
I also remembered having my picture taken outside the White House where the CNN’s White House correspondent would normally do his stand-upper and live feeds.
We were on a tour of the city. Originally, I wanted to take the Segway Tours but it was too cold to be out in the open for too long.
So, we settled for the Washington DC Hop-On-Hop-Off Open-Top Double-Decker Bus Tour. It so happened that the Four Seasons Hotel Georgetown where we stayed was Stop No 18 for the bus tour.
It took us to among others Union Station, US Capitol, Spy Museum, Ford’s Theatre, The White House, the National Cathedral, Embassy Row, Lincoln Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the various Smithsonian museums.
The tour however did not cover the State Department (but I was there during the earlier visit where yet again, the United Nations fellows on the trip were taken to the State Department press briefing room).
But on assignment covering Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, we went to the State Department. To Clinton’s office, to be exact.
We waited a fair bit outside the office before both emerged to give brief remarks on their meeting,
And when they did make an appearance, we weren’t prepared with our pens and notepads to take down notes. We placed ourselves strategically for a photo-taking opportunity, with both the DPM and Clinton in the background!
That was the nearest we got to taking a picture with them (At the time of writing, I still haven’t got a copy of the picture taken using the TV3 newscaster’s camera!)
We were not worried of missing what they would be saying because our RTM and TV3 crew videotaped their brief speeches in full. Furthermore, the State Department will issue their remarks through its website.
(You would however find that I managed to jot down bits and pieces of what they said in my notebook).
I enjoyed Washington DC for the history the city holds.
When we toured the city, we saw groups of schoolchildren together with their teachers making their way to the various monuments.
The Lincoln’s Memorial, for example, is like a temple of sorts, with a large seated sculpture of Abraham Lincoln and inscriptions of two well-known speeches by the former president, The Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address. The memorial has been the site of many famous speeches, including Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered on August 28, 1963 during the rally at the end of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
At night, it is an awesome sight. We passed by the monument on our way back from Potomac Mills (this merits a different entry!)Nearby Lincoln Memorial is the Korean War MemorialWe passed through the Jefferson Memorial, where 19-foot bronze statue of Jefferson is surrounded by passages from the Declaration of Independence and Jefferson’s other writings.
On the tour, we also passed Ford’s Theatre, the site where Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865.The theatre was later used as a warehouse and office building. It was renovated and re-opened as a theater during the 1960s. During the 2000s it was renovated again, opening on February 12, 2009, in commemoration of Lincoln's bicentennial.Then, there’s Georgetown where the concierge told me that the television series, The West Wing, occasionally filmed scenes in and around the area. Georgetown, famous for the Georgetown University, contains high-end shops, bars, and restaurants.
Washington DC may not be as “happening” as the City That Never Sleeps i.e New York but there is a distinct character to the administrative capital of the United States of America.

US AFFAIRS: BOSTON (Part 2)

2011-02-08T15:46:00.012+08:00

If you’re planning to travel to Boston, avoid going during the winter months. Snowstorms and the strong winds can easily derail your plans for a fun winter day in the city like it did to ours.
We spent eight days in Boston, arriving three days ahead of the Deputy Prime Minister’s entourage. We could have travelled closer to his date of arrival into the US but all flights out of Kuala Lumpur into Europe io all airlines, including Malaysia Airlines, were fully booked. It was the time of the year where the foreigners go home after their winter holidays.
While I was lucky enough to secure a seat on Malaysia Airlines from KLIA into Schiphol Airport Amsterdam, my two colleagues flew on KLM instead. And our flights were merely 15 minutes apart!
When we arrived at Boston Logan Airport, we saw some snow on the ground. The cold was biting and the wind was strong. The day we arrived was spent indoors; enjoying the comforts the Four Seasons Hotel had to offer!
We decided early on that we would spend our days and nights before the DPM's arrival to explore the city.
The next day, we took a hop-on, hop-off trolley tour, which included a boat cruise on the Charles River. We thought the day we arrived was cold; it was even colder the next day!The trolley bus we tookThe trolley tour took us around the city. We boarded the trolley bus at the stop near our hotel. The first stop from there was Cheers. The bar was just across the park from the hotel. Knowing this, we decided not to get off the trolley bus but continued on, thinking that we could later during the week just walked across for a visit.
The tour later took us passed the famous music school Berklee.
Notable musicians and composers who had studied at the college include Grammy Award winners such as composer and music producer Quincy Jones, Canadian jazz pianist and singer Diana Krall and two Aerosmith band members, Joey Kramer and Brad Whitford.
Malaysian luminaries include orchestra conductor Datuk Mokhzani Ismail, composer Datuk Wah Idris and Media Prima television networks group chief executive officer Ahmad Izham Omar, who possesses a Music Production and Engineering degree from the college.
If you expect an imposing building like our own universities, you are sorely mistaken. It looked like any office building in the city and the interior reminds me somewhat of the television series Fame.
Then, there’s also MIT-Harvard across the semi-frozen river from the city.MIT-Harvard from the bridge crossing the semi-frozen river
We stayed on the trolley throughout the tour.
The only time we hopped off was to take the cruise, shopped and toured Faneuil Hall and hopped onto the trolley to get back to the hotel.
It was cold. The thermals I brought from home weren’t good enough to shield my skin from the cold. I actually had to buy those used by skiers.
We tried walking across to Cheers later but abandoned it halfway because it was way too cold to do so. View of the city from Charles River Boston Red SoxBut it was our last day in Boston that the adventure began. The day before, we were alerted that mayor Mayor Thomas M. Menino had declared a Snow Emergency beginning 9pm. The city was expecting a snowstorm at midnight.
And you know, their weather forecast is so accurate. No such thing as “salji di sana sini” unlike our own weather reports (“hujan di sana sini”) here. If they say there will be a snowstorm, you can bet that there will be one.
I drew the curtains of the window of the hotel room at midnight to find that snow had started to fall. Waking up at 3am, the roads were covered white.
Under such an alert, you can expect all public places to be closed. These include schools and universities, government offices and shops. All flights into and out of the city were cancelled that day.
Cars were not allowed to park on Snow Emergency routes, as it would hinder snowplowing works. During the snowstorm itself, we saw plowing vehicles clearing the roads. And these vehicles plowed the snow on the same road over and over again.The snowplowing vehicles at workIf you think that the snowstorm was going to stop us from going out, you are sorely mistaken.
Some of us had been to the US and had seen snow but there were the first-timers and repeat visitors who haven’t had the experience before.
All of us layered ourselves with clothing to keep warm, wore hats and gloves and trudged to the park opposite the hotel.
The aim was to take as many pictures possible before the snowstorm turned bad!Walking in 15cm of snow! The already frozen lake was covered by snowHowever, it stopped snowing in the mid-afternoon and a group of us traveled in an SUV and another in a sedan to Macy’s for last minute shopping. It was the only departmental store opened in the city. Some of us wanted to check out Hard Rock Café at Faneuil Hall after that but it was closed. We ended up eating lobsters for dinner at Pier 4 instead.
The media delegation left the hotel at 4am the morning after the snowstorm to catch the 7am flight to Washington DC. We had to arrive the administrative capital before the Deputy Prime Minister’s entourage (the private jet ferrying them was leaving Boston Logan Airport at 10am), so the logical thing to do was to get the earliest flight out of Boston.
It was a short one hour-plus flight that allowed us ample time to check into the hotel, have breakfast and freshen up for the next assignment.
But we were informed that there was a delay in Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s departure from Boston. The snowstorm the night before had jammed the cabin door of the executive jet. The flight out of Boston Logan Airport had to be delayed as the snow-hit plane had to be de-iced.
Fortunately, it did not derail their travel plans, only delaying his arrival in Washington DC by a few hours.
Don't tell us that we are crazy ... we know we are!

Final part: Free and easy in Washington DC

US AFFAIRS: BOSTON (Part 1)

2011-01-29T05:57:00.010+08:00

My “love affair” with the US began in 1993 when I attended the three-month Dag Hammarskjold Fellowship at the United Nations in the New York. It was my third overseas trip after Hong Kong in 1987 (for the Apple office opening, if I recall correctly) and Frankfurt in 1991 (Lufthansa global press conference).
New York was my introduction to the US. Since then, I’ve gone to a few cities (Washington DC, Detroit, Seattle, Ohio, St Louis, Los Angeles etc) for assignments.
The last time I was in the US, in Detroit and Los Angeles specifically, was in 2004 on the invitation of the Chevrolet’s distributor in Malaysia.
The long flying hours and the cold (especially traveling in winter) can easily put people off flying to the US. Stringent security checks (although it is for your own safety) can also derail your plans somewhat.
Also the tedious visa application, although made easy through on-line. Even if you are given a visa by the Embassy here, their Immigration authorities can still deny you entry. And this does not happen in the office alone but also other countries as well.
It was two weeks before the actually day of flying that I applied for the visa. I had to pay RM450 for the visa application and sent the details on-line.
I was then asked to present myself at the embassy at 7.40am for an interview on that particular date concerned! I was told to be at the embassy at least 10 minutes before the slotted time.
I now understand why I had to go that early in the morning. I have to go through two security checks before I was allowed into the Embassy.
I handed over the documents at 8am at one counter, called for a picture to be taken and digitally fingerprinted at another counter before being called for a brief interview at a third counter. The Embassy official asked why I was going to the US, whether I had my old passport with me (because the old US visa was in that passport but it had already expired) and told me that I would need to re-apply for another visa if I was going there as a tourist as the visa they gave me was for working journalists.
I was out of there in 45 minutes and was to pick up my passport the next day at Wisma MCA!
When I got my passport, the first thing I looked for was the star symbol under the photograph. A colleague who had earlier successfully applied for a visa had one star under hers. Mine was also one star. Another colleague who was also traveling to the US with me had two stars under his.
I was told the star indicate your risk level, in that the more stars you have, the highest level of risk you posed to the US. I was also told that those with the most number of stars (three being the highest, I think) will have to spend a longer time at the Immigration counters when you enter the US.
Mine was thankfully smooth. Having spent 13 hours from Kuala Lumpur to Amsterdam and then an 8 hour transit in Amsterdam before flying another 6.5 hours into Boston, I didn’t have to answer that many questions.
Security checks were stringent out of Amsterdam. Passengers had to take off their shoes and belts and put it through the scanner. Some had to turn on their laptops and iPads to show to the security officers that they are operational. One Turkish passenger had to tear the wrapping paper off the presents that he either got or going to bring into the US.
For the first time, I went through the full body scanner. It will show whether you have anything metallic on you.
At Boston Logan airport, the queue was long but we didn’t have to wait long. All the counters were opened.
When my turn came, the Immigration officer checked the visa, asked why I was in the US. Surprisingly, he didn’t even asked for any documents supporting my visit.
“I believe you. You have an honest face. Have a good stay in Boston,” he then said. In fact, he joked about asking for my autograph since he noticed in my visa that I’m working with a newspaper company and that I was in the US to cover the Deputy Prime Minister’s working visit.
The officer also suggested some Asian restaurants near the hotel I was staying the entire duration in Boston. “It’s a safe area where you’re staying. It’s safe here. You shouldn’t have any problems,” he said.The city of Boston - view from Charles RiverThe World Trade Centre Boston - view from Charles River Boston's residential areaWhile he was very informative, he forgot to tell me that across the park from the hotel I was staying is Cheers, the bar “where everybody knows your name.” Next: Snowstorm in Boston

Shopping is for life, not just for Christmas

2010-12-29T18:11:00.014+08:00

I was reading Kate Harrison's The Secret Shopper Unwrapped that I chanced upon this line. It is so true. To those with deep pockets, shopping is a daily affair and the December period makes it all the more attractive to help generate the local economy!
Me? I don’t have any favourite time to shop. Anytime is a good time as long as your pockets are deep enough.
So, is this going to be a confession of a shopaholic?
I must admit that this year, I had gone on a shopping spree like never before.
I’ve made several expensive purchases.
In March, I became the first few owners of the N900, followed by the Nikon D3000 (April), the iPad (November) and the latest being the Blackberry Torch (December).
I would have gotten the iPad earlier if it were sold in Tokyo when I was there in April. It was released in Japan a little later than scheduled.
These gadgets are of course for work (not that I’m justifying these purchases).
The N900Nikon D3000The iPad The TorchAnd gadgets weren't my only purchases for the year.
In my travels, I made several purchases but none as expensive as the two Regent Platinum Noritake sets I bought in Australia. Before buying it, I had a friend checked the price. It was dirt-cheap at the showroom in Sydney. The cost of the two sets in Australia equaled that of one set in Malaysia. Go figure! And we were told there was going to be special sale for Malaysians at the showroom on a day when we would already be home.
There were also quite a few handbags that I bought too (the ones that caught my eye during the Isetan sales) but again none as expensive as the gadgets.
I made a pact with myself that when I get myself a Tod’s, I’ll not buy another handbag again, say, in the next 10 years. I know for a fact that the promise will be very hard to fulfill (would another Tod’s for example be an exemption?)
Shoes? There were plenty including slippers (the most expensive being an Adidas pair) but not a record breaker like the shoe-shopping spree I had at Great Lakes Crossings near Detroit back in 2004. I brought home six pairs.
Clothes? Marks & Spencers is my favourite store for office wear while Isetan’s Total Women is where I get my casual wear. Jubah? I get them for the stalls within Carrefour WangsaMaju (prices range from RM80 to RM400 depending on where these robes are sourced from).
What’s in store next year?
I will probably be shopping for bulky items such as furniture for the living and dining rooms, bedroom sets, household appliances and kitchen equipment. I can tell you I would probably be starting from scratch.
Insya’Allah, I would be undertaking the biggest project of my life, building a house on the empty plot of land next to the existing family home in JB. My sister and her family will soon own the piece of land where the existing family home is. She and her children will be rebuilding the house there.
The shopper in me will be in seventh heaven if this goes through. It will beat all the gadgets, handbags, shoes and clothes I had bought my entire life.

The ideal living room?The upstairs living room?The dream kitchen?

FRIENDS ARE THE NEW FAMILY

2010-12-20T22:32:00.000+08:00

An old schoolmate’s email prompted me to write this post.
Lai See wrote about her worries for her son, who having finished his SPM exams, were planning road trips with some of his friends. She doesn’t feel too good about letting him go, after reading about a fatal accident in the newspaper involving three “young’ kids.
She said she tried talking her son out of the trip although she acknowledged that it’s a once in a lifetime get-together with his friends.
“I don’t remember going on a trip like this with any of my classmates before. Did we?” she asked.
I don’t know about her but I didn’t go out with friends after the exams.
I remembered however that we had gone on a school trip before to the Veterinary Institute in Kluang and stopping by Aw Pottery in Air Hitam on the way back to Johor Bahru.
I can also recall a visit to the Chemistry Department, where most of us threw up after we were told that the foul smelling thing in a basin in a sink was a dead addict’s stomach.
While I had bumped into one or two friends on outings with family members after we left school, it was at a reunion commemorating 10 years of leaving school that I met some of them.
This year, 31 years later, we met again at another reunion.
We didn’t need a reason to hold one. We just wanted to get everyone together after some of us who attended our school’s 85th anniversary celebrations decided on a date and venue for the reunion.
Emails were sent out and we received an overwhelming response even from those overseas who couldn’t make it home.
We sang the school song, reminisced about the old school days; one girl remembered her school pranks (now we know how the haunted toilet story came about) and each of us took to the microphone to tell everyone what happened to us since we went our separate ways.Group photo with our former teacher, Encik Zul (seated, third from left)Even back then, we consider friends as our new family, especially as we grew up together since the age of six.
It is even more now as we slowly moved from a culture where families lived, worked and played together in small villages. Now, we have family members scattered across the world.
Friends are closer in proximity and become the prime people we spend our time with and confide in.
We turn to our friends for close emotional support and even include our friends in our circle of family.
We also placed a higher concern with keeping up connections. This may also explain the recent fad for reunions among old school friends.
Wanna guess why television sitcoms such as “Friends” and “How I Met Your Mother” are massive hits worldwide? These television series play on the new importance of friends today and their role as a second family.
On Facebook, for example, there is an application for BFF with 978,357 monthly active users.
So, while jobs are no longer for life, marriages and long-term relationship are no longer forever; in their place are friends who had always been there for us
P/S Girls, if you’re reading this post, we will be planning another reunion in 2012. We hope to give everyone ample notice to make the necessary arrangements to join us.

Ahhh, Handbags!

2010-12-14T14:25:00.006+08:00

Seriously, I should stop putting too many things in my handbag. Lugging the bag filled with so many things has taken a toll on my right shoulder.
At last count, I had an iPad, a novel, a small bottle of mineral water, two phones, a phone charger, a wallet, a cardholder,and a small toiletry bag (compact powder, lip gloss, lipstick and wet tissues). What have you got in yours?
Friends are no different. Posting such a status of FB, I had almost similar responses.
Jehan Bakar is as bad as me. "An iPad, a BB, car keys, house keys, tissues, a bottle of hand sanitizer, wallet, sunglasses, a can of jujubes,'" she wrote.
Another friend, Syaliza A Rahman listed "medicine pouch, vanity pouch + 2 perfume, 2 books, an organizer, 5 sets of keys (2 homes, 2 offices, 1 car), a torchlight, a swiss knife, 1 handphone and purse."
"Listing them down already feels heavy!" she added.
Mitch Hamid suggested that carrying a backpack-like handbag, where she said is more ergonomic and not caused neck pain compared with heavy tote or shoulder handbags.
But I told her I would have the same problem, as I would sling such a bag to the side too.
She noticed that city women today carry so many things in their handbags as if they were going for a hike, camping or spending nights away from home. “But they are actually spending a few hours outdoors while the rest of the time is spent indoors (office, home, restaurant, hotel),” She added. It’s true.
But historically, women are the traditional carriers of handbags, which are a helpful and fashionable accessory
I read that early handbags weren’t carried in the hand, but instead were worn around the waist, and there are references to these pouches in Ancient Egypt.
It was around the 1400s in Europe that genders wore small carrying bags. Like many modern ones, they could be elaborately decorated.
The term handbag didn’t arise until the early 20th century, and by then generally only women carried these bags.
There have been some handbags designed for men in the late 20th and early 21st century. Sometimes these are larger, messenger bag types, and they may be jokingly referred to as murses or man-bags. As a fashion trend, they’ve not been hugely popular.
Size of handbags really varies from the small impractical clutches to extremely large purses. Shapes vary too; oblongs, circular, U-shapes, and many others go in and out of style depending on trends. More expensive purses tend to use quality leather, but less expensive ones may be made of different fabrics, imitation leather, or scrap leather.
Another feature that makes many handbags different is number of internal compartments. A handbag can have one single compartment with perhaps an interior pocket for keeping a cellphone. Other purses have several pockets or separators, which can help keep things organized.
Choosing a handbag can be difficult. I know that for a fact since I carry way too many things with me. I have you know that I once was a not a handbag carrying person.
Should I get an ultra-sized carryall, or the practical pocketbook? The best handbag is of course one that fulfills my needs, yet reflects my personal style.
Surfing the Internet, I found one handbag quiz could help determine the best bag.
Give it a shot.

1. What do you usually carry with you?
a. Just my keys and credit card.
b. Keys, wallet, cell phone, makeup, and other assorted items.
c. What don't I carry?

2. How would you describe your personal style?
a. Casual
b. Classic
c. Trendy

3. How would you describe your daily schedule?
a. Relaxed
b. Hectic
c. Always changing

4. Which of the following is more important?
a. Comfort
b. Practicality
c. Style

5. Which of the following best describes your shape?
a. Athletic
b. Curvy
c. Slender

Mostly A's: You like to keep it simple, so look for a small bag that won't cramp your style. Messenger bags or other chic over-the-shoulder purses are a great choice for you.
Mostly B's: You are practical and always on the move, so you need a bag that reflects your busy lifestyle. Look for structured bags with many pockets to accommodate your always changing needs.
Mostly C's: A big, bold bag is a great choice for your style and needs. Oversize bags are a great choice for the fashion-forward who wants to stay on top of the latest trends.No, its not a Tod's

NSTP FLOOD RELIEF MISSION: KEDAH/PERLIS (3/FINAL)

2010-11-23T13:35:00.008+08:00

We didn’t know where to start when we arrived at Sekolah Hakim Teh at Pulau Timbul in Jitra, Kedah. Part of the school was still covered with floodwaters.
The science laboratories and computer laboratory were caked with dry mud. The watermark on the wall showed that water had risen to about four feet.
It was easy to see that the school could be flooded again if it had rained hard. The padi field across the road from the school and those at the back of the school looked as if they were lakes.The submerged football fieldWe could see clumps of pink roes on the walls of the laboratories. No, they were not for any experiments. The siput gondang emas were making inroads after the floods.
We rolled up our track bottoms, traded our shoes for slippers and headed to the NSTP van. Once we took our “weapons” of long-handled brushes and mops, pails and hoses, we set out to one of the laboratories.All set to get our hands and feet dirty!This was our second and final day of the mission.
Those who think volunteerism is about getting you out of your dreary office to the outdoors, well you’re quite right. But it’s not a joy ride, I can tell you that.
A flood relief mission is not just about sending aid to flood victims or chatting a little with them to relief their sorrows, and waving them goodbye as you leave for the next relief centre.
It also entails heavy-duty cleaning of public places such as schools, mosques and clinics.
Most often than not, these places would be the last to be cleaned as people would attend to their homes first.
It can be hard labour. You will have to get down on your hands and feet and get dirty. It was a heavy-duty cleaning exercise I had never done before even in my own home.
It was easy to see the shoddy construction of the school. Water was trapped in the laboratory because of the uneven flooring. We had a tough time bailing the water out of the laboratory and drying the floor off. This also meant that we had to spend a longer time than we should on one laboratory.From this ......to this ......and this!The NSTP "Cuci" team!It was a good experience (and workout!) nevertheless.
But before we undertake such work, maybe we should ask ourselves why we volunteer in the first place.
Why should I do volunteer work? Personally, I used it to re-evaluate (muhasabah diri) myself and I find that I actually learn more (through the voluntary work) than what I can give (my time and effort).
Where do I start? Start within your own company first (to fulfill their corporate social responsibility programme, some companies undertake voluntary work) or sign up as a volunteer with the various non-governmental organizations.
What should I do? Do not be ashamed to help pack stuff, distribute aid or help in the cleaning exercise. You’re not there in your capacity as the chairman, CEO or senior executive of the company but as a volunteer with no rank and position.
What should I not do? Don’t wear your gleaming white T-shirts, designer jeans and high-heel shoes if you’re afraid of getting them dirty. You’re not there to be just a pretty face. If you can’t part with them, then stay at home.

NSTP FLOOD RELIEF MISSION: KEDAH/PERLIS (2)

2010-11-18T16:38:00.008+08:00

On November 3, I posted this status on Facebook.

Fauziah Ismail
will not hesitate to sign up as a volunteer if the company organises a flood relief mission to Kedah. She had volunteered once before during during the big Batu Pahat floods in late 2007.

A day later, the company e-mailed staff calling for volunteers for a two-day flood relief mission to Kedah/Perlis beginning Nov 11. I immediately signed up.
This was to be my second time as a volunteer for a flood relief mission. The first was to Batu Pahat in 2007 (you can read the earlier postings here, here, here, here, here and here.)
It was a humbling experience the first time. It was no different the second time around.
But there were still many lessons that can be learnt from each one.
This time around, we found out the importance of a reconnaissance team.
We didn’t have our own reconnaissance team for the Kedah/Perlis flood relief mission unlike the Batu Pahat mission. We depended on the scouting work carried out by the Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS).
In Batu Pahat, we had one 4x4 going out a day before our actual mission to scout all routes to the areas where we were to distribute aid or undertake cleaning work. That team would tell us advise us on all the logistics needed to get to the area and what route to take.
On the first day of the Kedah/Perlis flood relief mission, we had a little mishap at the second village where we were to distribute aid.
The road leading to the mosque of Kampung Padang Hassan in Kota Setar was too small for an express bus to go in.
If the recce team had done their job well, we would have been advised against going in. While we were cautioned by the cars ahead of us to watch out for the huge “pokok asam” around the area, they didn’t warn us of the small road ahead.
As the bus turned left into the road leading to the mosque where the aid distribution was to take place, its rear left wheel landed on soft soil, which rendered the bus to tilt to the left. We quickly evacuated from the bus, lest the bus would topple on its side. The two Mydin trucks carrying the goodies could not get through to the mosque and had to use an alternative route. However, they could not go all the way through to the mosque because of the huge asam trees lining the road. The MRCS truck had to meet it half way, for the goodies to be transported on the truck and ferried to the mosque.We initially wanted to walk to the mosque but the villagers who came out to see what all the commotion was about couldn’t agree among them the distance between where we were and the mosque.
While the male volunteers stayed behind to help with the bus (but they eventually walked to the mosque as there were little they can do), the female volunteers clambered on board the MRCS truck (for some, it was their first time). We found out that it wasn’t that far to walk actually.It was not until we had finished cleaning work at the Klinik Desa Bukit Derang that the bus managed to get itself out of the soft soil. It took the ingenuity of five of our volunteers and a tow truck to get the bus going again.
We were transported on the MRCS truck and several privately owned 4x4s to the Klinik Desa Bukit Derang. Volunteers from the MRCS and Jabatan Pertahanan Awam (Japam) joined us.
Some of the volunteers were transported out to the main road, where the bus waited for us, on the Japam trucks.
All in all, it was a tiring day for all of us.
We had arrived Alor Setar at 2.30am in the morning and after a few hours sleep at the hotel where the company put us up in, we trudged down for breakfast and an 8.30am briefing by our team leaders.
There were two teams: some 45 volunteers from NSTP (35 from KL and the remaining from the Prai office) and the other was a 21-member team from Media Prima.
Our bus left from Balai Berita on Nov 10 evening while the Media Prima bus left their corporate office at the same time. We were to meet at the Tapah R & R.
Our convoy from Balai Berita comprised four Mydin trucks carrying 1,000 boxes of food and non-food items, a truck belonging to Sapphire Entertainment carrying rice and mineral water, an NSTP van carrying cleaning equipment and a 4x4 belonging to the company. Mydin and Adabi staff also followed us on the trip
At the Duta toll, we met up with six vehicles belonging to the Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS), who were to escort us all the way to Alor Setar.
At the Tapah R & R, we stopped for prayers and dinner but it was at the Semanggol R & R that we decided to break away from the convoy as it had actually slowed the passenger buses down.
While the NSTP team covered Kedah, the Media Prima team headed towards Perlis on the first day of the mission.

NSTP FLOOD RELIEF MISSION: KEDAH/PERLIS

2010-11-09T20:50:00.005+08:00

In 2007, I participated for the first time in the company’s flood relief mission. It was to Batu Pahat, where we spent 8 days distributing food and non-food items, held English classes for the children at the relief centres and help clean up mosques and surau.
We went through water waist high to send in aid. It was a humbling experience (Read more here)
This time around, we’re going north to Kedah and Perlis. Thousands are still at the relief centres in both states.
We are bringing with us food (such as cooking oil, rice. Flour, Milo and Nescafe) and non-food items (mats, blankets, sarongs among others) for distribution to some 1,000 families.
If time permits, we will also conduct activities using the newspapers with the children at the relief centres.
We’ve got about 40 volunteers on our side. We will be joined by another group of 30 people from Media Prima. A team from the Malaysian Red Crescent Society will assist us during the trip.
The group leaves KL tomorrow and will return to the federal capital Friday night.

UMNO GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2010 - Final Day

2010-10-24T18:00:00.000+08:00

Definition of a Melayu?

Jawa itu Melayu, Bugis itu Melayu
Banjar juga di sebut Melayu
Minangkabau memang Melayu
Keturunan Acheh adalah Melayu

Jakun dan Sakai asli Melayu
Arab dan Pakistani semua Melayu
Mamak dan Malbari serap ke Melayu
Malah muallaf bertakrif Melayu

Kadazan, Bajau, India Muslim dan Siam
Melanau, Bidayuh dan berpuluh suku kaum
Kita bersama dalam serumpun
(excerpts of Datuk Seri Najib Razak's presidential speech at the Umno General
Assembly 2010)

This reminds me of a dailogue in the movie "Mekanik" directed by Othman Hafsham in 1983) where Lina (played by Susan Lankaster) was asked what she was by the mechanic (Azmil Mustapha). She said, "Orang putihka, Orang hitamka, Orang merahka, orang biruke, kita orang Malaysia, kan?"
Check the identity card. Its doesn't say whether you're a Melayu, Cina, India or dan lain-lain. It has "Kad Pengenalan Malaysia" and the word "warganegara" on it. it also denotes your religion and gender.
I remember looking at an identity card belonging to a Singaporean friend. It has the word "Boyan" on it. Isn't "Boyan" a Malay, I wonder?

UMNO GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2010 - Day 4

2010-10-23T11:24:00.002+08:00

'Bad boy' KJ?
What I know of Khairy Jamaluddin, good or bad, is from what I read in the newspapers and blogs and also from what people had said about him.
I never had any interaction with him when he was former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's special officer and later in his capacity as Umno Youth chief.
But yesterday, I had the opportunity to be up close with him when he was our guest on the NSTLive chat session.When we were planning our print and online coverage a week before the start of the Umno General Assembly, we decided on one at least NSTLive session with an Umno leader.
It would be ideal if we could get the president or deputy president for a live chat with our readers but we know it would be remote as both would be busy with the assembly proceedings.
Next best? It was pretty easy to come to a consensus on KJ. He had never been on NSTLive but more importantly, he's a controversial figure.
There were allegations ahead of the assembly that he was lobbying for a minister's post and that he did not see eye-to-eye with his deputy, Datuk Razali Ibrahim
We were pretty sure we would be able to get readers onboard to post questions and comments.
We sent word to KJ's boys a week before the general assembly but it wasn't until one of our reporters called again on the eve of the session that we finally secured him.
He confirmed participation during the dinner for delegates Thursday night. We sent out the blurb and posted on Facebook and Twitter to alert our followers of the live session.
We planned for the session at 11.30am yesterday time he agreed on, and to end around 12.30pm before the start of the Friday prayers.
The best laid plans can go awry. There were moments of anxiety before KJ turned up.
His officer came first to recce the place where the session will take place. He asked for the list of questions prepared for the session. Although we have some questions prepared ahead, we will only post this online if we know there are no questions coming in. We didn't give that to him.
He took a photo of the page which we showed him using his camera phone. "Nak tunjuk pada YB to show him what it's going to look like," he said.
A few minutes later, he came down again to tell us that KJ will be delayed. 'YB nak dengar Datuk Razali berucap dulu," he said. And Razali was scheduled to speak at noon.
We were already making back-up plans if he couldn't make it.
We decided to launch the session on time and asked readers to post questions and comments.
The assembly had bumped up the time his deputy was speaking at the assembly to before they break for the Friday prayers. Razali was the first speaker to support the resolution on the economy, which was tabled by Datuk Dr Awang Adek Husin.
KJ finally turned up at the media centre at 12.30pm, an hour later than scheduled.
We gave him a short briefing on how it's done and within minutes, he was typing away.
KJ takes the Macbook like a duck to water and he types damn fast, too!
Yes, he did his own typing using the NST Online editor Lokman Mansor's MacBook while I moderated the session on the iPad.
Nobody spoke during the session. "Sorry tak boleh nak berbual," he said, as he scrolled the questions and comments posted by the readers.
I can tell you that it was easily our quietest NSTLive ever.
Questions ranged from Umno Youth to Malay rights and the two upcoming by-
elections to how big a family he desires (to which he said the question should be posed to his wife!)
He showed wit in some of his replies.
Asked what the most challenging thing he faced as Youth chief, he wrote, "Not getting uban."
"But you have uban," I told him. "I know," he chuckled. "I can see it," I said.
He fielded quite a fair number of questions before having to stop to enable him to perform the Friday prayers.
We have given him a copy of the questions which he couldn't answer because of the time constraint. Once he has given us the written replies, we will post it on our website.

UMNO GENERAL ASSEMBLY - Day 3

2010-10-21T16:21:00.005+08:00

Bahasa Bangsawan.
If there was ever a time a dictionary was needed to be used as reference, it would have been earlier this morning when Datuk Seri Najib Razak delivered his presidential speech at the Umno General Assembly.Journalists tasked with handling his speech were seen asking each other (including one group editor of an English daily) what some of the terms meant. "How do you translate 'suluh yang terang benderang'?"a journalist for a foreign paper asked.
The term appeared in Paragraph 3 of Najib's speech. There were 93 more paragraphs to go.
There was no way anyone could literally translate the entire speech although Bernama, the national news agency, was given the task to do so as no English text was available.
The words "bitara" (unique) and "berpilin" (integrated/bind together) were used (thank you to Datuk Wong Chun Wai who tweeted the translation given by UKM linguists.
Latin terms 'jus soli' and 'jus sanguinis' were also cited.
Najib is not the first to use such language. A former deputy president of the party had used such language before and had even attached a glossary to his speeches, be it for government or party events.
A delegate had described Datuk Seri Najib Razak's language as bourgeois, which befits him as he has a Malay aristocratic background.
It is a concern nevertheless whether his message is understood by all.
Below is NSTonline's version of the speech.

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno leaders, by virtue of their dominant position in Malaysian politics and governance, have a moral responsibility to manage race relations in the country.
"Diversity is the source of our strength thus far. What is important is how we benefit from this asset and make it a pillar of the nation's success," Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak said.
In his keynote address at the Umno General Assembly 2010 at the Putra World Trade Centre here today, he said racial relations in Malaysia should be built on two important principles.
"First, it must be based on a future that is shared together and second, it must take into account historical factors without ignoring present realities and future potentials," said Najib.
The Prime Minister said the current polemic of post-Merdeka citizenship or special rights of the Malays is an academic debate because in legal terms, the matter is already enshrined in the constitution. To change it would require not just a two-thirds majority in Parliament, but also the consent of the Rulers Council.
"If it is open for debate, we worry that it will create uneasiness and enflame the primordial instinct among ethnic groups."
This primordial instinct, if not managed properly, can lead to unimaginable cruelty as seen in the ethnic cleansing committed in Rwanda and Bosnia, the Palestinian conflict, and the "holocaust" tragedy.
"As Malays who make up the majority race, we have a leadership responsibility to fulfill, that transcends the interests of our own race," Najib said.
The trust given by other races should encourage Malays to always improve themselves and be at the forefront of facilitating racial relations, he added.
The Umno president said instead of being obsessed with their rights, Malays should focus on building up their capacity to take advantage of the rights and opportunities given to them.

For the full text, go to our website at http://www.nst.com.my

UMNO GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2010 - Day 2

2010-10-20T13:04:00.006+08:00

Survival of the fittest.
At the Umno General Assembly, it's all about the stamina. It's not easy having to sit through five days of policy speeches and deliberations. And in the air-conditioned environment of Dewan Merdeka, well ...
It started with the closed door presidential briefing by party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday afternoon and followed by the joint opening of the Umno Youth, Wanita and Puteri meetings by party deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at night It was a long day (and night) for many of us, having to rush the copy for print,
The NST has set up a mini-office for print and online at the press centre at the Putra World Trade Centre. There are some 20-odd staff here, not including the editorial support services guys who artaking care of our technical needs.
We have among us seasoned journalists and newbies covering this year's general assembly.Yesterday's coverage began with Najib's closed door briefing for the 7,907 delegates. We adhered to the "close door" directive as in past years but spoke to delegates afterwards for their feedback on the briefing.
We were told that Najib spoke about the party and the Malays and the need to win both the Parliament and state seats in the next general election. He also talked about the need for candidates that can win the elections; those who are accepted by the people.
In his speech later, Muhyiddin suggested for a scorecard card for leaders, which can eventually be used to evaluate potential general election candidates.
The scorecard is a KPI of sorts to gauge party members' involvement in party activities. Each leader will be evaluated every two years and will be given due recognition and rewards.
This morning, the heads of the respective wings addressed members. A total of 795 delegates are attending the Youth meetinng, 793 delegates at the Wanita meeting and 776 delegates at the Puteri meeting.
Umno Youth head Khairy Jamaluddin said the current political sphere is no longer entirely about the struggle for power, but "a competiton of minds, a battle of ideas."
"What is required today ois a politics based on thoughts and ideas. Like it or not, those who challenge our political ideology must be defeated through the sharpness of our intellect and the superiority of our arguments, not by relying on executive power."
Wanita head Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil called for the return of nobility to every part of the party's struggle and that “our fate as a Government rests entirely upon the fate of our people.”
She also reminded members to be fully aware of changes in the political and information landscape, with the spread of Internet-based information websites, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Puteri chief Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin's speech would have been apt if it was delivered before the tabling of the 2011 Budget.
She had called for tax exemptions for among others those earning RM4,000 and below given the increased in the cost of living.
She also called for the Government to review the RM1,000 tax exemption for the education of children below 12 years old and re-study tax exemptions on self-relief cost, medical and insurance to balance the current living cost.
Following the speeches and the coffee break, the sessions continue with speakers from the respective states.
The stalls at the bazaar will continue with throngs of visitors.
After yesterday's news that actress Zizie Ezzette has a stall selling fashionable Muslim women wear, dresses and accessories, I'm pretty sure that level 3 of the Putra World Centre here will see an increase in the number of visitors.
News on the wife of Kinabatangan Member of Parliament Bung Mokhtar Radin was the mostly read on news websites!
My guess is she's a pleasant distraction from the heavy topics and issues ahead of delegates in the next few days.

UMNO GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2010

2010-10-19T13:43:00.004+08:00

Once a year, I sing the Umno song. In fact, I know the song by heart. No, not because I’m an Umno member (and I’m not) but after covering so many of its general assemblies, you cannot help but sing along the catchy song.
Don’t ask me how many times I’ve covered the general assembly. I cannot remember. I know I started covering it when I first joined Business Times in 1984. Yes, it was then the country’s only financial daily but we did cover local politics as well. As there would be a debate on the economy, we didn’t want to be left out in the coverage of the party’s assemblies back then.
It’s a great place to establish your network of contacts, as there are not only politicians there but a fair share of professionals too (many of whom want to be seen, not necessarily heard).
A total of 4,907 delegates will congregate at the Putra World Trade Centre for this year’s assembly and there would be many more “observers” who would be monitoring the proceedings on the closed circuit televisions put up at strategic locations in the building.
Tonight as tradition dictates, Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also deputy Prime Minister, will open the joint meetings of Umno Youth, Wanita and Puteri movements. Prime Minister and party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak will open the general assembly on Thursday.
This year will be no different than past general assemblies. There will debates on issues involving the economy, education, religion and also the presidential speech.
Only this year, I was informed that the party did not hold the state conventions prior to the assembly. Most often than not, a state convention is a platform for the respective states’ delegates to prepare themselves for the assembly. Ideas and opinions are garnered and collated for the assembly.
This year’s assembly will also focus on four things: 1Malaysia; Government Transformation Plan, Economic Transformation Programme, the 10th Malaysia Plan and the 2011 Budget, which was tabled last year.
I look forward to Najib’s articulation of 1Malaysia. There are many interpretations of 1Malaysia (and three songs and counting!), which have left many confused. After this, the respective minister in charge should organize one mother of a campaign on 1Malaysia so as to get the message right on to the ground.
I’m pretty sure there will be many questions on the Budget, including on the 100-storey building as part of the RM5 billion Warisan Merdeka project by Permodalan Nasional Bhd.
These are heavy topics but the antics and witty remarks of some speakers will keep delegates wide awake in the air-conditioned Dewan Merdeka. We had in the past listened to Datuk Ishak Ismail (Seremban), Datuk Badruddin Amiruldin (Kedah) and Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Tapa (Malacca), who would leave us in stitches with his pantun (as usual, we would scramble to put our tape recorders on so that we would be able to transcribe it later). They and many others had kept delegates amused over the years.
As in past years, Putra World Trade Centre will not only be a riot of activities but colours as well, not necessarily from the women delegates but the men.
The Wanita Umno delegates will be in their traditional white baju (kurung Teluk Belanga, kurung moden or kebaya) and red sarong with colour-coordinated accessories. The Puteri members will also in the traditional white baju but pink sarong and accessorized accordingly.
It’s the men who will come on various shades of the baju Melayu Teluk Belanga or Cekak Musang, the kain sampin (some wore pieces that fetch thousands of ringgit) and the songkok.
It would be interesting to see if the linen shirts make a comeback this year. Two years ago, linen shirts became a fashion statement as delegates of all ages were seen donning the white shirt bearing the 1Malaysia logo.
The hive of activities will also be at the area designated by the organizing committee for a bazaar.
Someone told me that an easy indicator to see how well the country is doing economically is by looking at passenger car sales. Last I checked with a friend working in sales at a Japanese car company, the figures are up. “I’m selling 100 of the XXX a month. Tell me what it means,” he says of the new model the company brought in.
Another would be how brisk business would be at the bazaar. Every year, the party provides stalls for traders to sell their wares.
It’s the best place to get books on local politics (what is the Umno General Assembly without Syed Hussein Al Attas). For the women, there would be one too many stalls selling the tudung (the style of tudung worn by singer Datuk Siti Nurhaliza was a best seller last year), telekung from Indonesia (priced from RM150 upwards) and fabrics in the latest designs for making the baju kurung, accessories (goes for a steal at RM100 for four pieces of four metres each). Seasoned goers will browse the stalls during the first two days and go for the kill on the very last day where prices will be dropped to clear the stock.
Last year, traders complained the lack of business compared with the year before. Let’s see if it would be different this time around.
As the saying goes, Selamat Bersidang (dan Membeli Belah)!

1Malaysia: Lagu mana?

2010-10-10T22:37:00.000+08:00

Lagu Tema Rasmi 1 MALAYSIA (c) Hak Cipta Radio Televisyen Malaysia RTM 2009
What you’ve just heard (if you had clicked on the video), is said to be the 1Malaysia official theme song.
But at the same time, the song below is aired almost daily on RTM.
What about this song, sung by Faizal Tahir, which won the 1Malaysia song contest organized by the Information, Communications and Culture Ministry?
And we wonder why people are confused about the concept, yes?

DUTY TRAVEL OCTOBER 4 TO OCTOBER 12, 2010

2010-10-01T12:49:00.001+08:00

In Geography class, we were taught there are seven continents in the world. They are Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.
I’ve been to countries in five out of the seven continents.
I will be in Australia next week.
That would leave Antarctica as the only continent left to go.

JOHOR STREETS

2010-09-28T12:45:00.002+08:00

I cannot remember the last time I wrote for Johor Streets. Could it be that long ago that I had actually forgotten? Work and other commitments, among others, stopped me from writing the Monday column.
I had initially written on a weekly basis and then alternating it with Datuk Rahim Ramli, the secretary of the Johor Royal Council. Datuk Rahim is also a busy man, tending to matters relating to the palace.
I then decided to write on an ad-hoc basis and as and when there is a need to put across my thoughts and those I had spoken to.
Last Raya, I spent an entire week in Johor and was able to engage a few Johoreans on their concerns in the state.
While the basis of this article was that of one man’s views, but many others shared it.
I hope the next article will be soon.
Read the article here.

SYAWAL DATANG LAGI ...

2010-09-20T15:29:00.008+08:00

This festive season, nine million vehicles made their way back to their kampung, which according to the Federal traffic police was three times bigger than the balik kampung exodus last year. On average, the authorities estimated that there were three million vehicles On the road every day.
Also, traffic police issued 144,000 summonses during the 15-day period of Ops Sikap, which saw a 10 per cent increase from last year. Most were for obstructing traffic, speeding and beating traffic lights.This year was my longest Raya break. I can't remember the last time I had such a long break for the festive season. I flew home two days before Hari Raya and returned to the city on the sixth of Syawal.
It was a sombre Raya for the family, as my brother in law had just passed away last March, but there were a few firsts.

I.
You see, in the past, we would sleep late on the eve of Syawal, leaving everything from the cleaning of the house to cooking the Raya dishes to the last minute. I guessed it was more fun that way for my sister, her kids and grandchildren.
We would "salam Hari Raya" each other as we make our way out of the house for the ziarah on the first day of Syawal. Most often than not, it will be after the men returned from the prayers and having gone to visit Mahmoodiah Muslim cemetery. There will be crying (year in, year out without fail) and hugs all round. The kids will get their duit Raya. Chaotic would be a good word to describe the moment.
This Syawal was different. The house and the Raya dishes (the beef and chicken rendang) were ready before the last break of fast.
Right after breaking fast (not breakfasting, as one grandniece had put it, which actually meant "sarapan pagi"), we had solat maghrib berjemaah and recited the yasin and had a short tahlil. The eldest great grandson in the family lead the solat. It was heart-warming listening to him recite the Fatihah and surahs that followed.
After solat Isyak berjemaah, we "salam Hari Raya" each other, with the crying and hugs in tow.
This, I hope, will be the new tradition in the family.The short tahlil after solat Maghrib on the eve of SyawalDistribution of duit raya on first day of Syawal

II.
My late father and his late mother were siblings. We used to go to their mother’s house for Raya when my father was alive (even then, I didn’t meet my cousins). My dad knew his younger sister was not mobile, so we went to theirs instead of waiting for her family to visit us.
After they died (his sister died first before him), the visits stopped.
I know four sisters in the family. They visit quite regularly before or were home when we visited them at their house.
It’s the three boys in the family that I had not met for the longest time and one sister whom I had not met before (I was told she was adopted by another family).
For the first time this year, I met one of the brothers who came visiting on the third day of Syawal.
“Kenal ni?” my mother asked this first cousin who came visiting with his family. She pointed at me.
He shook his head. I shook mine, more in disbelief than anything else.
“Malu kan tak kenal sepupu sendiri,” I said.
It wasn’t a question. It was more of a statement.
He lived nearby, having moved recently to the staff quarters provided for by his company.
“Esok lusa, kalau berlanggar tengah jalan, tak kenal saudara sendiri,” my mother said.
His wife, in defence of the husband, said they had once wanted to visit and had passed through but looking at the number of shoes and slippers in front of the house, they didn’t stop, thinking that we had visitors at the house.
If they had known us well enough (through regular visits), they would know that those shoes and slippers belonged to my sister’s kids and grandchildren. They are at the house almost every day.The grandchildren

III
Last Syawal, I told myself I would start visiting friends for Raya instead of just waiting for them to visit. I went to an office colleague’s house in Kampung Melayu and then to Larkin to visit the other half’s sister-in-law’s family.

This year, I went to a fellow blogger/Facebook contact’s family residence at Jalan Waspada (the road fronting what used to be Lido Beach), where I also met another Facebook friend. Time wasn’t on our side. If it had, we would have gone on talking all night long!This was Lido Beach, as it was once upon a time, before Danga Bay took over

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI

2010-09-08T15:55:00.000+08:00

Cepatnya peredaran waktu … Jumaat ini kita akan menyambut Aidilfitri selepas berpuasa selama satu bulan. Semoga Allah SWT menerima amalan dan ibadah kita sepanjang di bulan Ramadan.
Saya ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk memohon keampunan di atas segala perbuatan dan percakapan saya samada di dalam keadaan sedar atau tidak. Jua, di halalkan segala makan dan minum.
“Ya Allah, sesungguhnya ada dosa yang aku lakukan terhadap-Mu dan ada juga terhadap hamba-hamba-Mu. Apa yang terhadap-Mu kumohonkan kiranya Engkau ampuni, dan apa yang terhadap hamba-hamba-Mu kumohon kiranya Engkau ambil dariku.”
Sesungguhnya, yang baik itu datangnya dari Allah SWT dan segala keburukan, kesalahan dan kesilapan itu datangnya dari diri saya sendiri.
Semoga kita perkukuhkan ikatan silaratul rahim yang sedia ada, insya’Allah.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri Maaf Zahir Batin
Tulus Ikhlas
Fauziah Ismail

ABANDONED NEWBORNS, LEFT FOR DEAD … (2)

2010-09-01T18:02:00.004+08:00

I can only share with you what my experience was growing up and I don’t think it differed much with those of my peers. It wasn’t extraordinary. I was a pretty decent kid although my parents did spoil me, as I was their only daughter but I wasn’t a spoilt brat.
Our upbringing makes us what we are today. And I believe everything starts from the home and also the school, where we spent 11 years of our formative life.
In a strong family and the school environment, the adults set the tone. They should be good role models that lead by example.
My schoolmates and I had a relatively trouble-free childhood. There were rebels among us but it never escalated to become something totally out of hand.
Back then, I don’t remember our school having any disciplinary teachers.
Our fear was not only of one teacher but all our teachers, especially those whom our parents know. Any major rumbles, we were to face the headmistress herself.
Corporal punishment in school was a norm especially in the all-boys’ schools. My male friends tell me that they were acquainted with the teachers’ “best friend”, the rotan or the ruler, on occasions when they (the students) get out of hand.
The schoolteachers also pinched them if they forget their multiplication or don’t finish their homework. Even at tuition, they were not spared.
As for us girls, we too were punished accordingly. In Standard Four, I remembered having to stand on the chair during an English period for not memorizing poetry. At one time, the entire class had to stand because we couldn’t recite the poetry the English teacher Mrs D’Cruz gave us. (I don’t know about my classmates but every time I read poetry, either in Bahasa Malaysia or English, I would remember those Standard Four days).
In Lower Six, our Kertas Am teacher made us stand for not being able to articulate correctly what Asean means and its objectives.
Do we complain to our parents about this? No we didn’t. Why? Because we knew that even if we complained, our parents will tell us that we deserved the punishment.
Do you think that our parents would go to school the next day to reprimand the teachers if we had told them? I know my parents will not as long as what the teacher did would not harm me physically and/or mentally (resulting in me not wanting to go to school but even if I did, I would probably got the lashings of my life!).
They will not interfere with the teachers’ responsibility of educating us although some parents had to brace themselves when they collect the report cards on Parents’ Day. There, our class teachers would share with our parents how we were in the classroom.
Even in an all-girls school, we were constantly told to conduct ourselves accordingly.
We were told to wear petticoats instead of shorts under our pinafores. Random checks will be done. That was to teach us to sit properly (although I was reminded just recently that one of our primary school mates used to sit with one leg outside the door so as to enable her to be the first to rush out and book a badminton court for us to play “belon acha” during recess time).
We were taught to push our chair to the desk before leaving class. In Home Science class, we had to wipe clean the oven top before leaving the kitchen.
We still do these to this day.
If the decibels of our voices got a pitch too high, teachers would be on hand to tell us to behave.
There was no sex education at school. We found out about the reproductive organs in biology class.
My father wasn’t a strict disciplinarian (if you asked my aunties, they’ll tell you a different story of him; my guess is he mellowed with age).
One advice he gave, which I still remember to this day, was that any misdeeds I do would not be reflected on me per se but on him.
People will not mention my name but his instead (“Orang tak sebut nama awak. Orang akan sebut anak Che Mail ...”) And out of respect (not fear) for him, the rebel in me was kept in check. Even after his death, I continue to hold on to this. More now than ever, I want to protect his good name.
But parents today want to be seen hip by their children and their children’s friends that sometimes discipline is compromised. Some teachers, too, want to be popular with their students.
“We have to go with the flow,” one teacher told me when I heard the Form Five girls at my former school screaming their lungs out when they heard the “Lemon Tree” song by Fool’s Garden being played in the school hall before the start of the school concert to commemorate the 85th anniversary celebrations.
I was told that every Tuesday, the girls would sing a pop song at assembly. When we were in school, we either sang Walt Disney’s “It’s a Small World” or another song whose title I can’t remember (it could be " Let There Be Peace On Earth”) as we make our way to our classrooms after the assembly.
It is sad to see the erosion in family values. I fear for what is in store in the future of our generation.Click here for OrphanCARE

ABANDONED NEWBORNS, LEFT FOR DEAD … (1)

2010-08-25T14:15:00.004+08:00

I was watching the back-to-back reruns of Trauma (a TV series on a group of paramedics in San Francisco) on Astro 711 on Sunday when I came across this sign posted at the entrance of the San Francisco Fire Department. I did a quick search on the Internet and found details about the Safely Surrendered Baby Law (also known as Safe Haven law) in the US.
It was first enacted in Texas in 1999. Now, the law is into effect in all 50 states.
The law states “no parent or other person who has lawful custody of a minor child 72 hours old or younger may be prosecuted for child abandonment if he or she voluntarily surrenders physical custody of the child to an employee at a public or private emergency room.”
State laws differ:
· Some states allow a newborn to be simply handed to a doctor or police officer.
· The threat of criminal prosecution may be either reduced or eliminated, depending on the state.
· Some state laws allow the parent to remain anonymous; others require the person who receives the newborn to attempt to establish the identity of the parent and obtain a medical history.
· Some states place a limit on the age of the newborn who can be abandoned. The intent of this limit is to emphasize the importance of surrendering a newborn to a place quickly where he or she can receive proper care. If a parent is hiding their baby, she or he may not be receiving proper care and food.
There are also many designated Safe Surrender Sites including City and County Fire Department stations and other fire stations.
The intent of these laws, according to one of the websites, is to save the lives of newborns whose mothers had concealed their pregnancy, given birth alone, and then discarding the newborn in a hazardous location -- in a trash can, dumpster, park, forest, canal, church, carwash, somebody's front door, etc.
Supporters of safe haven laws claim that the laws save lives by encouraging parents to surrender infants safely instead of aborting, killing, or discarding them. They said anonymity is the only way to convince certain parents not to harm their infants, and that the benefit outweighs any claimed detriment.
On the home front, the Cabinet had agreed to a proposal by Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil’s Women, Family and Community Development ministry that those who abandoned babies resulting in death should be investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code, for murder. However, not all cases would be investigated for murder.
There is also an organization called OrphanCARE, which opened the country’s first baby hatch at 6, Jalan SS1/24A, Kampung Tunku in Petaling Jaya in May. The baby hatch received its first baby the following month when an unmarried couple in their early 20s left the newborn there.
Ideally, these hatches should be distributed widely all over the country and easily accessible to mothers, preferably at government hospitals and health centres.
In my line of work, I have seen a fair share of gory photographs. I’ve yet to be shaken off my feet. I even consider the gruesome photographs on cigarette packs as mediocre.
But the past few weeks, I haven’t had a decent good night sleep after looking at photographs of dead newborns and reading stories about them.
So far, 60 abandoned baby cases have been reported. Last Friday alone, three abandoned baby cases were reported over the past 24 hours, one each in Kelantan, Malacca and Kuala Lumpur.
And Hospital Kuala Lumpur said the number of cases involving the birth of babies conceived out of wedlock has also increased compared with last year. A total of 392 births were recorded last year and from the total, 62 of those who delivered such babies were below 18 years. Between January and July this year, 301 cases have been reported, of which 34 involved those under 18 years old.
To mitigate the problem, one cannot just copy what the other countries are doing. A solution in the US may not be applicable in total here, as one has to take into consideration the religious connotations.
It is also easy to play the blame game – the parents, the teachers and the schools, the children’s friends who served as bad influence, the government … the list is endless.
We have to look at the root of the problem.
I for one believe everything starts from the home.
(to be continued…)

Balik Kampung ...

2010-08-20T20:40:00.002+08:00

Every year during the festive holidays especially Chinese New Year and Hari Raya, we see Kuala Lumpur turning into a ghost town albeit for a day. Thousands “balik kampong” or “cuti-cuti Malaysia” (go on short holidays) either by road, rail or air.
Will there come a time where the “Balik Kampung” exodus will stop? Would this be a dying tradition too like some of the traditional cakes and cookies that we used to eat when we were younger and activities we used to undertake like lighting up the meriam buloh, fire crackers and fireworks?
Mak once suggested we spend our Raya in Kuala Lumpur.
What? Not go home for the festive season? Seriously, I thought she was losing her marbles. I said no. My brother also said the same. His kids share the sentiment.
We feel that the Raya celebration is not the same as the one in the kampong.
Kampong is, of course, Johor Bahru.
Well, it’s not exactly kampong. I never knew it as one. When I was born, it was already a town and then its status got elevated into a municipal and further upgraded into a city in 1994.
My niece and nephew don’t “balik kampong” but “balik bandaraya” every festive season.
Our situation is actually a little weird. My mother, who lives with my brother’s family in Putrajaya, “balik kampong” to Johor to celebrate Raya with my half-sister and her family instead of the other way round! And we have always enjoyed this arrangement.
We can spend Hari Raya Haji in Kuala Lumpur (and I have spent this festive day once on assignment in Bangkok and another in a plane ride home from London) but not Hari Raya Aidilfitri!
On reflection, I think Mak was gauging our reaction. What if we had agreed to spend Raya in Kuala Lumpur? What would her reaction be then?
Unlike Mak, who has fond memories of playing with meriam buloh when she was growing up in Batu Pahat (she always talked about a place she refered to as “Kebun Kelapa”), we never played with one. We had never seen one actually. We grew up in an urban environment, remember?
We played with sparklers, firecrackers and KLCC-like pyrotechnics on the eve of Raya that had made our neighbours envious of us for many years.
The kerosene-filled lampu pelita has been replaced by the electrical “lampu lip lap” in all kinds of shapes including the ketupat.
In some homes, there is no more heavy-duty cooking; ketupat shells are store-bought while in others, the rice cakes are bought ready-cooked and the other dishes catered.
Some do not even have the traditional fare or mixing the traditional ones with Western sauces and gravy.
Laksa Johor, for example, uses spaghetti, which can also be topped with Beef Bolognese or creamy Carbonara sauce. The Harisa (a mixture of ghee, minced chicken and oats), for example, is now eaten with bottled chili sauce instead of pounded chillies and salt (which we called garam lada) and honey.
The Baju Melayu? Look at how the Baju Melayu, especially for the men, had transformed over the years!!!
Besides my half-sister’s family, we only have an auntie left in Johor Bahru. My auntie and her family will visit us whenever we are home as my mother is elder between the two. All other uncles and aunties are in Kuala Lumpur.
So it does make a little bit more sense to spend the Raya in Kuala Lumpur instead of Johor Bahru but we never had.
Since my father died in 1986, I go home for one reason. It’s not so much for the festivity (the eating and visiting the elders and collecting duit Raya) but for the annual visit of my father’s grave at the Mahmoodiah Muslim Cemetery. My Raya will not be complete without doing this.
(A few days before going home to Johor Bahru, my brother and I would visit the graves of our grandfather and our eldest brother at the Petaling Jaya Muslim Cemetery and our friend at the Tanah Perkuburan Islam Masjid Al-Ridhuan, Hulu Klang. That has become a ritual).
Will this continue? I can’t say for sure right now. Friends tell me they go home because there are still elders there. What if they are gone?
On the contrary, I have a cousin who had for a few years now returned to Johor Bahru for the festive season after years of spending it in Kuala Lumpur. “Biar anak-anak kenal saudara mara,” he told us. He not only has his children home with him but their respective families also in tow. His parents died many years ago.
I see the importance of having the patriarch or matriarch home in the kampong, irrespective whether or not there are elders, for the family members to go home to during the festive seasons or for family kenduri or tahlil.
Will the “Balik Kampung” exodus stop? Only time will tell.

THE THREE SWANS

2010-08-10T16:09:00.000+08:00

I like listening to and reading stories of post-Merdeka Malaysia. I don’t think this has to do with it being August, the month where we achieved our Independence.
When my maternal grandmother was alive, she used to tell us over and over again how her husband died after he was knocked down by a Japanese convoy, why the family fled Muar for Johor Baru during the Japanese occupation and how she survived a bomb blast during the communist insurgency. She would push the left sleeve of her baju kurung Kedah to her armpit to show the scar.
I continue to be intrigued with these kinds of stories, especially of people who had gone through life prior to Merdeka. You can learn a lot from them. They, too, can give you a different perspective of what happened then.
There are not many old people left in my family. I am trying to gather as much knowledge from those still alive on what it was like back then.
And I continue to find and read books on Malaysians, especially the prominent ones, on their experiences.
I remember the first book I read was on former Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein when I was in Form 3 at school. The project was for the Bahasa Malaysia class. The book belonged to my late father. We had a good collection of books back then.
Then, it gained momentum when I started work and when the company also provided employees with book allowance. Those were the kind of books I bought and continue to buy although I am no longer entitled for the allowance.
The recent book I bought was “The Three Swans.” It’s a lovely title for a book. And it’s a lovely story of the three daughters of Tan Sri Mohammad Noah Omar or famously known among Johoreans as Tan Sri Noah Beirut (by virtue of having studied in the capital of Lebanon). The three daughters are Datin Fakhriah, Tun Suhailah and Tun Rahah.
Najib, when launching the book, described the three women as “the wives of the country's prominent figures, giving support and love and allow these leaders to carry out their duties for the country and at the same time, managing the household well.”
He said the book not only about the lives and times of the three women but also about the country's history.
The prime minister hoped that future generations would find in the book tales of hope and wonders and “hopefully life's lessons to be learnt and to understand what the earlier generations had to endure and yet were still able to advance in life.”
The title of the book denotes Noah's daughters and traces their lives in rural Muar and the role their played in supporting and complementing their respective husband's work.
But I seriously think there should be three individual books: one on Noah as one of Johor’s illustrious sons, and the others on the two former First Ladies (now that it is being used for the current Prime Minister’s wife, I think I can use to describe the widows of our former Prime Ministers as such too), Tun Suhailah and Tun Rahah.
I believe Noah’s stories re-told would still be interest to readers. It wasn’t a satisfactory read, for me at least, to read about this man from the few chapters in the book.
He lived a full life. He passed away at the age of 92.
Born in 1898, he had served as home affairs minister and later became the first Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat between 1959 and 1964. Subsequently, he was President of the Dewan Negara from 1968 to 1970. He was a Malayan civil servant under the British administration and a founder member of UMNO in 1946.
Noah’s father and grandfather were bestowed the title “Orang Kaya” by the then Sultan of Johor Sultan Abu Bakar.
Because Tun Abdul Razak became the prime minister before Tun Hussein Onn, I had always thought that Rahah (Razak’s wife) was elder than Suhailah (Hussein’s wife) when it was the other way round.
Rahah is actually the youngest of the three sisters. She was widowed at a very young age and brought up all her children single-handedly. Her eldest son, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, is now the country’s sixth prime minister.
Suhailah was married to the third prime minister and their son, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, is the Home Minister in Najib’s cabinet.
Their elder sister Fakhriah is the wife of Datuk Abdullah Ahmad, a former district officer and the president of the then Johor Town Council

CLASS OF 1979 CHIJ JB

2010-08-04T19:16:00.008+08:00

Walking the corridors of the top floor of Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus Johor Bahru (now known as Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Convent Infant Jesus Johor Bahru) at Jalan Yahya Awal, I can’t help but feel nostalgic.
I had spent five years of my teenage life here. Prior to that, I was at the adjacent primary school for six years.
I was in Form Five Science Two in the final year. I left school after sitting for the last Malaysian Certificate of Education examination (now known as Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia) and an all-English education syllabus in 1979.
That examination year, I literally spent my entire school days at school, with extended science and math periods and games.
I was in St Patrick’s house (instead of colours, we had named our teams after the saints – St Patrick’s, St Michael, St Teresa and St Xavier). Convent was the only school in Johor Baru to wear T-shirts with pleated tunics (the shorter, the better) and matching coloured bloomers for games. On rainy days that do not permit us to be out in the open, we would be at the school hall doing folk dancing.
Towards the end of the school term, there would be a Christmas pageant. Imagine having Santa Claus as early as November!
Oh, those were the days.
Reminisced we did as we sat on the ledge next to the secondary school bookshop.
We (myself, Rohana Othman, Ruziah Bujal, Mary Agnes, Wong Lai See and Esther Khoo) went back to school for its 85th anniversary celebrations late last month.
It wasn’t at all as we remembered when we celebrated the school’s Golden Jubilee. There was much pomp and pageantry then. We were all in Form One.
We remembered that it was an elaborate affair. The practice sessions held for the grand concert took months. The concert alone was held for several nights. That was the first time I found out what choral speaking was about. The choral speakers wore flowing gowns. There was a beauty pageant among the Form Five students back then and folk dancing and potluck tea parties on the school grounds. There was also a commemorative book produced for the occasion.
When I got the phone call from a member of the school’s board of governors, which was followed by the school’s headmistress, I couldn’t possibly say no to the invite (although I still until now have not gotten the invitation card that was promised to me!).
I made some phone calls and got some of those from the Class of 1979 to join me.
For the 85th anniversary celebrations, there was a concert that comprised choral speaking, solo singing performances (including that of a student’s father singing “Sway” and the headmistress belting out “You Raise Me Up”) and dancing by students.
Half way through the screaming crowd mostly of the Form Five students (we would be caught dead doing this when we were in school, being constantly reminded that as girls we have to behave), we left the school hall to check out the old school.
Old it was. The statue of Mary is now in a glass case, paid for by the Association of Past Pupils. I must tell you that I had travelled all over Italy and I had seen many such statues but none in a glass case like the one in front of the school! We checked out our primary school classrooms (school was in session), the now covered badminton courts, the school field and some of the secondary school classrooms.My Standard 6 classroom The covered badminton courtsWe saw that the ceilings of some classes had water stained marks on them. The class furniture was not as solid as those when we were in school. In fact, the furniture was different that what we had before.
Back when we were in school, we remembered that we had to push our chairs back into position before leaving the class. We would leave the class spick and span for the girls in either the morning or afternoon sessions. This was not what we saw in most of the classrooms.
We were a little dejected when we saw the homescience classes. We were taught cooking and sewing for three years there. It was not as we had remembered it to be. Back then, we had to store all equipment in the cabinet after each class. Now, we saw that some of it was all over the place.
The only well maintained room and air-conditioned too was the teachers’ staff room. We remembered that we were not allowed to enter the room. We had to knock on the door and called out the teacher’s name and he/she will come out to see us.
Walking down the staircase, we remembered being called “baby elephants” by Ms Loh when we go thundering down after the school ends. Most times, she would hold us back a good five to 10 minutes before letting us out of the class.
While we mused over the old school days when we were at the canteen (we called it the tuckshop when we were in primary school), we decided to hold a hi-tea reunion/gathering of the class of 1979. This will be held in Johor Baru on October 30, 2010.
The first and the last time the Class of 1979 met was in 1989. It had marked the 10th year of us leaving school. It was held at the Holiday Inn Johor Baru (which is now Mutiara Hotel).

We hope to gather as many people possible for this hi-tea reunion/gathering, to pave the way for our 2012 gathering, where those in Class of 1979 will turn 50 years old.From left: Esther Khoo, Ruziah Bujal, Mary Agnes, me, Rohana Othman and Wong Lai See.

CERITA SUBSIDI

2010-07-16T22:02:00.007+08:00

There were already whispers in the day of a price hike. The word around town was on the prices of fuel. Later in the day, a petrol station operator SMS-ed the details. The foreign wires, quoting sources, wrote about it and flashed it to their subscribers. Shortly before Maghrib prayers, the independent news portals picked it up and flashed it as news break or alerts. A newspaper website also flashed similar alerts, basing it on the news portals’ alerts.
The statement from the Prime Minister’s Office was embargoed until after 8pm. We flashed as SMS at 8pm and had it on-line almost immediate, including the full-text of the statement.

The subsidy rationalization programme involved fuel, gas and sugar.

(to get a copy like this, you can subscribe to the NST Archives)

I
And who says only Singaporeans are kiasu? Well, Malaysians are no different.
I should think that we are experienced enough, having gone through a slew of petrol price hikes over the years. The previous one hurt the pockets the most, with diesel prices up by 63 per cent and petrol by 41 per cent. Remember that?
And we still have car owners lining up before midnight (when the new price took into effect) to fill up their petrol tank. My friends were among them.
The other half’s niece, who runs a petrol station, was at her office throughout the night managing this despite the fact that it was her birthday.
One friend posted as his Facebook status, “Nasib baik sempat isi petrol malam tadi, jimat $... :-)”
I asked, “And how far that tank of petrol can take you before you have to pump petrol at the new prices?
II
An internal call (from another department) came to me asking about the price hike story that I wrote. “You know the Page 6 headline “Savings from subsidy cuts will benefit people?” How do people benefit, ah? The subsidy cuts mean people pay more, right?” the caller asked.
I wasn’t sure where he going with this.
“Yes, it’s also means the government makes a saving and the RM750 million savings go back to the people,” I said.
“How ah? How do people like me benefit? What do I get?”
Finally I got it. “You want to know how much money goes into your pocket lah?” I queried. He laughed.
“Mr S***, you have children, yes? If your children do well in their studies, they can get scholarships. Also, if you’re sick, you can get cheap, if not free, healthcare from the government hospitals. That’s where the RM750 million savings will go to, for education and healthcare.”
I think some people need to read beyond the headlines or have someone explain to them the government’s move in the easiest of language to understand.
And of course, for the government to deliver what it said it will do with the savings.
III
We are all a little sick of hearing the government telling us to change our lifestyle, aren’t we? Yes, they did it again when they were justifying the hike in sugar price. The statement said the over consumption of sugar is endangering our health.
And that over consumption had contributed to a 105 per cent increase from 1996 to 2006 in the number of Malaysians who are overweight or obese, which now stands at more than 40 per cent of the total population.
We are also seeing a 5 per cent increase in diabetes cases year on year. A total of 1.4 million Malaysians now have diabetes.
But at the same time, the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry will be increasing the sugar supply during the Ramadan period as consumption is expected to spike. Muslims will be making their delicious cookies and cakes for the Hari Raya.
So, what gives?
My next drink will be Nescafe O Ais Kosong!!!

ARTS, to whom it may concern

2010-07-14T13:01:00.003+08:00

It all started in New York in 1993 when I was there on a three-month United Nations fellowship. The Metropolitan Museum of Art was a favourite hangout when I was there (also because it was near Central Park, where I go with the other fellows during the weekends).
Over the years, I visited more museums while on overseas assignments. These include the Smithsonian Arts museum in Washington DC (as part of the UN, I get to spend a week in the administrative capital), the Musée du Louvre in Paris (lined up for hours to get into the museum just to see the Mona Lisa), the Uffizi in Florence and the Vatican museum in Rome.
There are huge collections of arts in these museums that you’ll end spending hours looking through the masterpieces by painters in bygone eras.
I’ve been to our National Art Gallery once (for a fashion show!) and Datuk Ibrahim Hussein’s Museum and Cultural Foundation at Pasir Tengkorak in Langkawi.
It was some 10 years ago that I was there. Some friends and I were driving around the island when we chanced upon the museum and cultural foundation.
In fact, it was his wife, Sim, who collected the entrance fees from us and it was Ibrahim whom we saw tending to the dead leaves on the ground as we drove up to building. I read that only 13 trees were sacrificed to build the museum. We spent a few hours there, admiring his work.
Ibrahim was (and still is) a famous person. I don’t blame you if you don’t recognize the name for he was not readily known in his own country. The critically acclaimed painter was far more famous overseas.
In fact, many would have known or heard of his two brothers, literary giants Datuk Abdullah Hussein and Tan Sri Ismail Hussein. It was in his obituary that I found out they were brothers.
Ibrahim, or Ib as he was commonly know among his friends, passed away a year ago due to a heart attack
His brother Abdullah had described him as “a dedicated person. He was not brilliant academically but his interest in painting made him a well-respected man.”
He said Ibrahim had shown his talent in painting since primary school days, after one of his works was published in a magazine. “I had looked after him since he was young. I said to him, ‘if you’re really serious [about being] an artist, you have to be committed’, which he did by enrolling at the Nanyang Arts Academy in Singapore to study painting,” he added.
Most of his works that are in Malaysia are mainly found in the offices of banks, major corporations (including a few here at the NST, I was told) and in private collections.
In his book, IB: A Life (The Autobiography of Ibrahim Hussein), he related his work and travels. It was in the final few pages that the real story is told, about how difficult it is to open the minds of our own people in power of the influence of the arts.
My guess is that they do not have discriminating taste and broad knowledge of the arts. If I were asked to describe them in one word, it would be that they are not “cultured” enough.
I remembered being told by a ministry official how his minister (now ex-minister) threw a ruckus in one European country when he was denied entry into a theatre. The show had started and the minister arrived late but demanded to be allowed into the hall. Entering the hall 15 minutes after the show started, he embarrassed his entourage, including the minister-in-attendance, by talking loudly.
In the book, Ibrahim said in the process of creating the museum, “I experienced many ugly things and many beautiful things and at the same time learned of a world I had never known before.
“In my first thirty years of painting, it was as if I had spent thirty years in heaven. However, with this Foundation I realized that to be involved in anything to do with your heart, you have to be strong and must not depend on others.”
It must have been frustrating for him especially since promises and pledges were made but not fulfilled in the end. Even financing and support from the government were also not forthcoming despite the fact that what Ibrahim had planned could have catapulted Langkawi and Malaysia in general onto the international arts scene.
I can tell you for sure without Ibrahim’s name to the Langkawi International Fine Arts Festival, an idea he mooted in 1999, painters and artistes would not have thronged the island. It was to be biannual festival and Ibrahim wanted to continue with it but given the problems with obtaining support from the government that could not be realized.
Ibrahim and Sim remained in Langkawi but moved back to Kuala Lumpur in 2005.
I have friends in the arts world who tell me that they too faced a tough time looking for government support and corporate sponsorships. “If you don’t have the big names as patron, the corporate bigwigs won’t touch you with a 10-foot pole,” he said.
I like this particular quote on the museum and foundation website where Ibrahim said "as a nation, it doesn't matter how economically powerful we are. Without the spiritual balance of the arts, we achieve nothing and there will be chaos in the end."
By the way, I wonder how many of us know that there’s an arts festival going on in town.

“conversations with LEE KWAN YEW”

2010-06-29T23:33:00.007+08:00

I never had a “conversation” with Lee Kwan Yew. By “conversation”, I mean asking him questions. In my 26 years in journalism, I had never covered any assignments involving him.
I had, however, the opportunity to interview his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, at the Istana in Singapore when I was there as part of an Asean journalists’ programme to the republic in 2007.

(Click here to read the LHL article and here for the commentary on the visit).
(Note: For NST archive pages, you can subscribe here)

So, “conversations with LEE KWAN YEW”, written by American columnist Tom Plate, was about the nearest thing to me “listening” to Plate “talking” to LKY.
The 216-page book has been described as a detailed and candid book on the Minister Mentor. LKY also acknowledged that Plate had got his (LKY) point of view across.
People, especially Singaporeans, may think they know him but in the book, LKY said “they only know the public me.”
The book gives an insight as to how LKY perceives, among others, the Malays, China, India, Arab states, Indonesia, the US (presidents and their secretaries of state), China, the UN and a peek into his relationship with his children (one is a prime minister while the other is a neurologist). Plate did the interview in two days.
Plate’s approach to writing about Lee Kwan Yew and Singapore is interesting.
He used an analogy of Singapore being a Hollywood movie.
“It is tale of how one man’s honest team of founding fathers sweep into power after the collapse of the brutal occupying Japanese (normal casting: almost always the bad guys in Hollywood films), fight off alien communists (as well as corrupting Western values), marry Malaysia and then divorce her after just a few years (typical Hollywood, right?) and then will Machiavellian acumen manage to outwit the Western multinational corporations seeking to exploit the country and its hardworking people. The movie ends with sweeping pans of the bursting skyline and well-manicured parks and immaculate homes of this Asian neo-utopia, the richest country in the region and, perhaps, its most envied,” he wrote.
So, is LKY a fox or a hedgehog? That question stumped me. LKY says he’s a fox but Plate thinks he is more of a hedgehog. It took me a second read to understand Isaiah Berlin’s famous essay on classifying great figures in history.
To explain it simply, Plate said “the Fox knows lots of things, lots of different ways of surviving. The Hedgehog only knows one major thing, but the one that the Hedgehog knows is a really big deal – it is central to his life and that of everyone else.” LKY said he’s a Fox but Plate thinks otherwise.
To people close to him and around him, LKY is known to be meticulous, demanding, impatient and yes sometimes brutally dismissive.
But Plate said LKY had been a helpful and patient tutor in the all-important subjects of politics, governance and international relations. He is passionate about ideas (especially when they work or make sense), about Singapore’s uniqueness (as long as you don’t make fun of it, especially the chewing gum and caning part), about not tolerating political stupidity, about imbecility in governance and about asserting an essential role for Asia on the world stage.
LKY also said his “faults are many and numerous. You will have to ask my opponents and enemies and there are many in Singapore.”
To a question on whether there was anyone alive today who is most like him, he said “I don’t know of any person who is most like me.”
On the contrary, the traits in LKY remind me of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. I’ve heard enough from people who worked with and for him to know that there are similarities.
Both LKY and Dr Mahathir have high energy (even at their age), high will and, still very much, high control. They are probably high in affection too.
Dr Mahathir gave what I thought was a compliment to LKY. “He’s a big frog in the small pond,” the former premier said, adding that “he (LKY) had ambitions to become Prime Minister of all Malaysia.”
The book is the first in a series published by Marshall Cavendish on Giants Of Asia. The next two will be on Dr Mahathir and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. That would indeed be an interesting read.

WORLD CUP 2010

2010-06-25T09:30:00.007+08:00

Close to two weeks of World Cup football, I haven’t stayed up late for any of the early morning matches. Not yet, anyway. I even missed Italy’s first match against Paraguay.
(I didn’t miss any of Italy’s matches the previous World Cup. I had watched the final match against France at a friend’s house but it was as good as watching alone because that friend fell asleep during the match).
This time around, I took time to warm up to the World Cup. In fact, it was only a couple of days before the start of the World Cup that I SMS-ed the other half the four teams that I think would go into the semi-finals.
They are France, Brazil, Argentina and Spain. And why not the Azzuris, you asked?
I still have this soft spot for the 11 Italians (I told the Sports Editor that I would not “kutuk” his wall of football players at the Sports desk if he put up a huge one on Italian player and the other half look-a-like Fabio Cannavaro across from where I am sitting) but I believe this year’s World Cup belongs to a Latin American team.
Let me be precise. I think the World Cup will samba its way to Brasilia. The World Cup fever in the officeBrazil, if it wins this World Cup, would be champion for the sixth time. It won in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. It will host the 2014 World Cup.
(*I started writing this early in the week. By now, we have bid adieu to the French Les Bleus and arrivederci to the Azzuris. These two teams had met in the finals at the last World Cup in 2006).
I share my late father’s passion for football. He was a sportsman. He played football and was quite an adept table tennis player.
He used to take me to watch football at the Padang Seri Gelam, which fronted the Selat Tebrau, or even the Stadium Tan Sri Haji Hassan Yunus, named after one of the state’s Menteri Besar (1959-1967).
I would have joined the Johor women’s football team if my father hadn’t put a stop to it. His cousin was the coach and had asked if I want to train and play with the team. My father was okay with me being a football fan but not as a player.
Growing up in Johor, we had Radio Televisyen Singapura (RTS), which later became Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS) and now known as MediaCorp, which had this Sunday sports programme Ovaltine World of Sports hosted by Brian Richmond and later on, Hamish Brown.
Noon onwards, English football would be aired. I have and still am a fan of Tottenham Hotspurs.
Those were the days of football’s greatest names such as goalkeeper Pat Jennings (who later went to Arsenal), Glenn Hoddle (who later managed Chelsea and Tottenham and also the England team), Gary Lineker (joined Tottenham from Barcelona and then moved on to play in Japan for the J League), Ricardo Villa and Osvaldo Ardiles (both Villa and Ardiles joined the team after representing and winning the World Cup for Argentina in 1978).
My father and I would be glued to the television in the living room until the matches are over.
I can still remember the time I watched football with him when Malaysia qualified for the Moscow Olympics in 1980 (Our football team first qualified for the Munich Olympics in 1972). My two brothers were away, one at Politeknik Ungku Omar in Perak while the other was in Sains Johor, Keluang. So, he had only me and mum as company.
It was a historical year where Malaysian football was concerned.
We’re still talking about it until now. Maxis kept that memory alive through their television commercials featuring those great names in Malaysian football: Datuk Soh Chin Aun, Santokh Singh, James Wong and Hassan Sani. If Mokhtar Dahari (Supermokh) and R Arumugam (Spiderman) were alive, I believe they would be on the TVC too.
Malaysia qualified but boycotted the Moscow Olympics together with other countries in protest of the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Ah, those were the days of Malaysian football. Don’t you wish it never ended?

WRITING A BOOK?`

2010-06-07T20:05:00.000+08:00

When I was in secondary school, my late father brought home a used typewriter, a Remington I think it was.
Back then, I didn’t ask him why he bought it. As I was the only one at home (my eldest brother was away at Politeknik Ungku Omar in Ipoh, Perak while my younger brother was at Sekolah Sains Johor in Kluang), I had full used of it.
First, it was placed at the corner next to the dining room. That nook was like a small study.
Later, I moved it into my bedroom where I would be on a typing frenzy the entire night, much to the chagrin of my parents in the bedroom next to mine. There was no way you can muffle the sound of the keys when they were pressed.
I was into creative writing, fuelled of course by an active imagination back then. With the typewriter, I was writing short stories in Malay. The cerpen never saw print, of course. It was all for self satisfaction.
I never attempted to write scripts although I wouldn’t miss the Sunday afternoon sandiwara on radio.
After a while, I got tired of using the typewriter. I was already adept at using the equipment. Later when I attended typewriting class at a secretarial college, I was typing “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy cow” without any errors.
It isn’t easy. The writing I mean. I know from first hand it is hard.
Updating this blog, for example, had not been easy these past few months; not because I don’t have the topic to write about but the time constraint.
So, when a professor friend, who had seen the articles I wrote for the newspaper on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib’s first year in office, asked when I was going to write a book, I didn’t have a definite answer for him. I told him writing a book is a full time job and that when I retired, I would have time to do so.
Writing, be it a book, a journal, a blog, a personal diary or even the status update for Facebook, is all about telling a story.
And I would like to think that I am a good story-teller based on some of the articles I’ve done for Johor Streets (used to be known as Johor Buzz) and the postings for this blog.
But I don’t think I have the tenacity to write a book. Well, not now when I still have my day job.
With my day job like what it is now, I couldn’t even find time to update my blog as regularly as I want to. I’ve been reminded that my last posting was sometime in April.
And writing a book takes months, year even, to complete.
I have friends who had written books. One of them is Azam Aris, a colleague when we were both journalists with the Business Times, who wrote The Quintessential Man: The Story of Tan Sri Azizan Zainul Abidin. I can tell you the book was not completed overnight.
You need to have to enough to fill the chapters for a book.
I told my trainee journalists that as a writer, there is no such thing as information overload. It is better if you have too much information than finding that you don’t have enough to work on.
I haven’t started writing a book but I must admit I had helped in putting a book together.
I had captioned all the water-colour drawings in the KLIA coffee table book, entitled 'Colours of KLIA - Imagine, Explore, Discover' (the other half gave the book half its title!). The book was produced in conjunction with KL International Airports 10th anniversary. Despite just doing the captions for the entire book, the process was equally tedious.
It is my first publication, if I can call it that. I am proud of it.

THE Nikon D3000

2010-05-28T16:42:00.001+08:00

For my birthday last year, a dear friend Fahmi gave me a DSLR for Dummies book. I didn't have a DSLR then. I either took photos using my hand phones (N95, N97 and a new addition N900) or a compact Lumix which I got from Japan two years ago.
The book never caught my interest. I was happy with my point and shoot hand phones and compact camera.
A few months ago, I was asked on Facebook about the camera I used to take some of the photos on my album. They thought I was using some sophisticated, expensive camera. They were, for course, wrong.
But a thought crossed my mind.
If the photos I took using the hand phones and camera were that good to them, imagine if I had taken these photos using the DSLR.
I started reading the book (despite not having a DSLR in hand to experiment with).
I then window-shopped for a DSLR. It was a choice of between a Canon and Nikon.
Family members and friends have their own preference.
My late brother was a Nikon user. I “inherited” his camera (I forgot which model it was) when he passed away. I never used it. It’s now somewhere in a box where I kept all the other stuff he left me.
I got a hefty discount on this entry-level DSLR, which the distributor sent to my office on the day I was leaving for Tokyo (the Japan trip was mid-April).
The first few photos taken on the D3000 were blurry. The Bernama photographer on the trip with me pointed out that there was something wrong with the camera.
Well, that’s what you get when you don’t read the manual properly.
I spent the entire night in the hotel room pouring through the manual with the camera in hand. The problem was I didn’t “lock” the lens. As such, the camera could not “auto focus” when I half clicked it (there was no “click” sound too!).
Everything was a breeze right after.
Spring in Ginza, Tokyo Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo

I also experimented in black and white.The Penang Bridge At the fishermen's jetty at Teluk Bahang An unused passenger jetty at Teluk Bahang An alley at Chew Jetty in George Town A Profile