Persuade with Power

HICT Toastmasters Club met this evening, and I made my speech No. 9, which is “Persuade with Power”. The title of my speech was “Why Liverpool Should Win the EPL”. My evaluator (who admitted he was a Man U supporter) was convinced that I had passion, and even good vocal prowess – but he thought I lacked “power’. Even the TME, an Arsenal supporter believed I was convincing, but he still maintained Man U will win the EPL trophy. Sigh! Nonbelievers! Anyway, I am just one speech away from being a Competent Communicator.

It’s been awhile since I talked politics, but it was good to read that Khalid Ibrahim is suing MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) and Government for defamation over their statements that he abused his power as the Selangor Menteri Besar (The Star, April 28, p N18). Good for him!

And Karim Raslan wrote in the same paper that despite a spate of well-orchestrated walkabouts and some sensible government decision-making, many Malaysians – especially non-Malays – remain sceptical about Najib and UMNO. Karim advocates that UMNO must go further and drastic changes are crucial if it wishes to govern beyond 2013 (April 28, p N47).

Arsenal won their game the other day (April 26), beating Middlesbrough 2-0, the two goals coming from Fabregas (26, 67) – a wonderful result that was not at all surprising. And Arsene Wenger has been quoted: "We will go there with belief" when referring to the crucial game with Man U at Old Trafford for the Champions League, semi-final first leg tomorrow. Of course, with belief, the Gunners can beat the Devils, can't they?

Class Act

If you had read Time magazine (April 27 edition, pp 37-38), you would have learned that top-tier universities are racing to give the public free online access to their best lecturers. It seems that in March, YouTube had launched an education hub called YouTube Edu, dedicated exclusively to videos from more than 100 US colleges and universities that have set up official channels on the site. Other sites worth exploring include AcademicEarth.org and even TED.com. ADP students should check them out – maybe we ourselves could organize short lectures and post them online?

Liverpool expectedly walloped Hull 3-1 (their scorers were Alonso, 45; and Kuyt, 63 & 89). Regretfully, insofar as the other team is concerned, there was no miracle – Man U convincingly beat Tottenham 5-2.

Paul Chan Graces ADP Orientation

Today, the fifth and final day of the ADP Orientation saw Dr. Paul Chan turning up to give a short talk to our new ADP students. And afterwards, more presentations and also skits on “college life” as a closing to this Orientation Week, that is a balanced combination of fun and cerebral activities.

I must thank ADP staff and students (very special thanks to Edrickson Duane, Mathew, Vel, Arun, Francis, Sue Ee, and Siew Mei, who were there almost every day), CSMD staff, particularly Martin, Owais and Jonathan, as well as the respective speakers for making this Orientation Week a successful event. And ADP classes begin next week... just in case, people forget!

I Believe in Miracles

The third day and fourth day were again filled with purposeful activities, and it is heartening to note that we still see 90 percent attendance, which is excellent by any standards. This group of ADP newbies are really a serious lot – but the great thing is that they know how to have fun too.

My contribution is a presentation on “What Employers Want” which I sincerely believe is very relevant to these students.

Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink has said his side's push for the Premier League title is now over following their 0-0 draw with Everton on Wednesday (April 22) - even if the team still has a mathematical possibility of landing the EPL title. This is putting up the white flag, this is submission, this is capitulation - he should remember what Thomas Edison once said: "Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time". And believe me, Liverpool is not about to surrender, not by a long shot. We are still hopeful. We still believe. We can still make it. To quote Robert Schuller: "Impossible situations can become possible miracles". Ah yes, I believe in miracles...

Najib's To-Do List

I am re-starting my blogging. I guess, you cannot put a good blogger down...

Early this morning, Liverpool played a match that they must win – but instead, they ended up with a 4-4 draw, and it was an 8-goal thriller of a game that was just pulsating with non-stop excitement. Liverpool’s goals came from Torres (49, 72); and Benayoun (56, 90+3); and Arsenal’s four goals came from Arshavin (36, 67, 70 & 90).

It was a Liverpool match that was again riddled with defensive lapses – and that cost us the game. Still, it was a difficult match to watch, given that I support both teams. In this match, sentiments must be put aside – and Liverpool has to win because it is well-positioned to win the EPL crown. No point regretting this outcome, but Man U is now poised to take the title, unless a miracle happens. Well, not just one miracle – but two – since Man U still have 2 matches in hand.

I was busy with the ADP orientation that I didn’t get the chance to peruse The Sun (April 20 edition, pp 1, 3) – and which I only did today. One page (sorry, two pages actually) caught my attention. The newspaper wanted to know the top 3 things that Malaysians want Najib to tackle first. The responses were in answer to an invitation to their readers – a kind of ‘To do’ list for the PM – and the following were the highlights:

Fair-minded institutions
Corruption
Be people-oriented
No racially-divisive policies
Education
Policing and crime
Fair reporting

I am sure all right-thinking Malaysians would wish for the above. The question as always is: Will the Prime Minister deliver or disappoint? Being the consummate politician that he is, of course he has been making the right noises for the right reasons – but time will tell.

On the second day of Orientation, we have a session that introduces the Toastmasters, and I have sought help from Arulkumar (Pre-U lecturer and talented Toastmaster) to do this segment. We played the video of the 3 winning speeches that were featured at the last Word Public Speaking contest where a Malaysian emerged first runner-up. Hopefully, they can inspire these students because I, for one, have been inspired!

This was followed by the fun and games part aptly called “Getting to Know You”. If yesterday was the Ice-breaker, today, we hope to see the new students bond even closer with each other, and also with the ADP seniors who are helping out.

In Closing

Vince Gill said, "Success is always temporary. When all is said and done, the only thing you'll have left is your character".

ADP Orientation at HICT

The only “happy” news on a Monday morning is that Everton beat Manchester United 4-2 on penalties after a goalless draw at Wembley to set up an FA Cup final with Chelsea. So the talk about winning all trophies this year is not going to happen, is it? Like the other teams, Liverpool, Arsenal, we all have our ups and downs – Life is like that, kan?

And oh yeah, the Penang trip is now cancelled because interest for this event is lackluster. Maybe Klang is too much like Penang? And I was looking forward to it too. Sigh!

Today, we kick off a week-long Orientation Week for new ADP students coming into the SNHU program. From 51 invitations sent out via email, text, and phone calls – 43 turned up, which are more than satisfactory! I mean, 84 percent of attendance is excellent – normally we would be hard-pressed to even get half to attend. I do think we have made this an interesting, if not enjoyable affair, and I can sense that students are happy. I am sure they are looking forward to the rest of the week where there’s more activities in store for them… If you don’t believe me – just look at some of the happy faces below:

Arsenal Falters, Celtic Triumphs

A busy weekend spent at KL’s Shangri-La Hotel, what with HELP’s twelfth Strategy Seminar on Saturday and the HELP UC’s twenty-first Convocation on Sunday.

The Saturday match between Arsenal and Chelsea saw the latter emerged winners when Chelsea’s Drogba sneaked in a late goal, to beat the Gunners 2-1 – and putting the Blues into the FA Cup final. All I can say is that Chelsea is on a lucky streak of late.

Celtic remained rock-steady in the SPL, when they overpowered Aberdeen 2-0; their goals coming from Vennegoor of Hesselink (43); and McDonald (55).

Pretty Food

Yesterday, we hosted a visit by Fifth Formers from SMK Alam Megah, S Alam and I gave a talk on Time Management. The guys and gals were really sporting, and some of them even posed for a photo at the end of the hour-long session.

Siew Ling (a friend at Inti Subang Jaya) sent me these photos of Japanese food that are not only very pretty to look at, but also presumably nice to eat as well. Now, where can I find these delectable foods here in KL?

Thanks to the “Synchronicity” column in the Malay Mail (March 19, p 17) by Raman Krishnan of Silverfish Books, I heard about this Malaysian book called Ripples – and which I subsequently bought for my reading pleasure. And it was worth the RM30 because I loved the stories, and I enjoyed the English. And this after reading only 2 chapters! This reminds me that I should start writing a story too, so that I can have it published... it's something I had long wanted to do since my high school days.

Gunners and Devils

I am still trying to get over Liverpool’s unkind loss in the hands of the Blues. Today, a little calmer and a little steadier, I am happy to report that Arsenal bested Villarreal 3-0 this morning, and secured a 4-1 victory on aggregate; the goal-getters were Walcott, 10; Adebayor, 60; and Van Persie, penalty 69. The Gunners will now face Manchester United for a place in the Rome final. Arsenal has this chance to win the Champions League if they can get past the Devils and at the same time avenge the Reds’ defeat…

The Sun today (April 16) carries the headline “Wong stays on” – the Selangor state government had decided yesterday that Elizabeth Wong should resume her duties, both as the Bukit Lanjan assemblywoman and state executive councilor for environment, tourism and consumer affairs, and she had accepted the offer to stay on.

Of course, this supposedly made Selangor UMNO chief and state opposition leader Mohd Khir Toyo a happy man, saying he would be exploiting the decision to retain Elizabeth Wong, and that this would become a hot issue in the next general election. Also, Khir said Pakatan was afraid of facing and losing a by-election if she were to quit. As we already know, this Khir Toyo is a real s.o.b!

We Lost

How do I feel this morning?

Anguished
Broken-hearted
Crestfallen
Despondent
Embittered
Forlorn
Grief-stricken
Heartbroken
Inconsolable
Joyless
Kaput
Low
Miserable
Numb
Oppressed
Pained
Queasy
Rueful
Saddened
Teary
Unhappy
Vanquished
Wretched

Rafael Benitez praised Liverpool for the character and quality they showed to draw 4-4 with Chelsea early this morning (April 14 in the UK), despite being knocked out of the Champions League on a 7-5 aggregate. Scorers for the Reds were Aurelio, 19; Alonso, penalty 28; Lucas, 81; and Kuyt, 82. What we cannot dispute is the fact that we lost.

No Show

I was supposed to have a new Marketing lecturer report for duty on Monday, but he failed to turn up. This has thrown a spanner in my ADP teaching resource planning and timetabling. A real disappointment, but I guess, Life must go on… We have to make do with what we have – meaning, I have to depend on myself for this coming semester! Sigh! And some people wonder why I am teaching so many subjects!

Barely had Najib settled into his Prime Ministership, that Muhyiddin, his deputy had called the Chinese community “ungrateful” in the wake of BN’s defeat in the Bukit Gantang by-election in an interview published on Sunday (April 12) in Mingguan Malaysia – at least according to the Chinese press who translated this interview.

Of course, within days, Muhyiddin made a denial, instead accusing the Chinese press of “twisting” his words – he claimed that he had merely used the word “unappreciative”. “If they don’t know Malay, we can send them to school”, Muhyiddin, the new education minister proclaimed, gushing with scornful sarcasm (The Malaysian Insider at webpage http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/23266-muhyiddin-blames-ungrateful-fallout-on-chinese-media, accessed April 14). It seemed that Muhyiddin was trying to explain that non-Malay support had declined by a further 50 percent in Bukit Gantang and that he was speaking in the context of trying to understand the reason, or so he claimed!

Over two hundred supporters of Elizabeth Wong (the embattled Bukit Lanjan assemblywoman) organized themselves to show up at her service center in Bandar Utama 3 last Sunday – accompanied by banners and even a lion dance troupe. Although she was invited, she was not present. Nonetheless, she did send a text message to express her thanks which was read out to the crowd. Certainly, a good show of support from her constituents who are standing by her.

A Good Story from RPK

What do foreign investors face when they come to Malaysia? How do they overcome the government bureaucracy and the many rules imposed on foreign investors? Imagine this typical scene in a government department when a movie producer tries to get approval to shoot a documentary in Malaysia:

Excuse me, but I’m wondering if you could help me.

Tengok itu. (The officer points to a sign on the wall that says: GUNAKAN BAHASA MALAYSIA).

I’m sorry. I don’t understand.

Mesti guna Bahasa Malaysia.

I’m sorry, but I’m an American. I don’t understand the local language.

Must use Bahasa Malaysia. Not American language. I cannot speak American.

But we don’t have an American language. We speak English.

Oh. Why don’t you get your Bumiputera partner to come if you cannot speak Bahasa Malaysia?

I don’t have a Bumiputera partner.

How can? All foreign companies that do business in Malaysia must have Bumiputera partner.

But we are not doing business in Malaysia. We do business in America. I am here to find out how to get a permit to shoot a documentary in Malaysia. We are a movie company.

Oh. You want to make a movie in Malaysia. Very good. Malaysia has plenty of history and culture. Good place to make a movie. You must show the Twin Towers and the Penang Bridge and the Iskandar Development Region in your movie.

No, it is not that kind of documentary. We are making a documentary about the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Aiyah! Cannot mention that name. That name banned.

Banned?

Yes. Government ban anyone mentioning the name Altantuya.

Oh. Then how do we address that?

I don’t know her address. Maybe you ask the Mongolian Embassy.

No, I don’t mean her address. How do we solve the problem of her name?

Altantuya Shaariibuu can’t be used. But you can use Aminah Abdullah. That name not banned by government.

Okay then. I want to make a documentary about the brutal murder of Aminah Abdullah.

That one okay. Government can approve. But you must also show the Twin Towers and the Penang Bridge and the Iskandar Development Region in your movie.

But those have nothing to do with the documentary. The documentary is about the murder of Altan…..

Ah, ah, ah….

Sorry, I mean Aminah Abdullah.

Why you can’t also show the Twin Towers and the Penang Bridge and the Iskandar Development Region in your movie?

Okay, maybe I can show some clips of the Twin Towers and the Penang Bridge and the Iskandar Development Region in the documentary.

Good. But must show the Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur okay? Cannot show in Melaka like that Sean Connery movie, Entrapment. Our PM was very angry. He said the foreigners distort the truth.

Okay. The Twin Towers will be shown in KL.

And also the Penang Bridge and the Iskandar Development Region.

Okay, I will also show the Penang Bridge and the Iskandar Development Region in KL.

No, the Penang Bridge is in Penang and the Iskandar Development Region is in Johor.

Okay, I will take note of that.

And what about the songs?

Songs?

Yes, must show some local songs.

But this is a documentary about the murder of Al…….

Ah, ah, ah.

……Aminah Abdullah.

But can still show some local songs even if the story is about a murder. You must show Siti Nurhaliza singing. At least two songs.

Okay, we shall show City what’s her name….

Siti Nurhaliza.

……City Nurlaziha singing……

Nurhaliza.

Nurhaliza singing two songs.

Good, good. And what about Umno history?

Umno history?

Yes, must show Umno history and how Umno fought for Merdeka from the British.

But what’s that got to do with the murder?

You must show Umno history and how Umno fought for Merdeka. If not government can’t approve.

Okay, I shall show the Umno history and how Umno fought for….fought for….

Merdeka.

….Merdeka from the British.

Good. And don’t forget to also include the new PM’s speech.

New PM’s speech?

Yes, Najib Tun Razak.

What has his speech got to do with the movie?

Must show. Must show new PM declare he never met that Mongolian woman.

You mean Aminah Abdullah?

No, PM just said he never met that Mongolian woman. He never mention any name. Must show that speech in the movie.

Okay, we will show that as well. Do I take it if I agree to all those terms I can get permission from the Malaysian government to shoot the documentary in Malaysia?

You got Bumiputera partner?

No.

Must have Bumiputera partner. See list here. You must choose one Bumiputera partner from this list.

Okay, I will choose a Bumiputera partner from this list.

And must give 70% contract to local Bumiputera companies.

I don’t understand. What contracts?

70% of your work must be done by Bumiputera companies.

But we don’t need local participation. We shall be bringing our entire crew from the States.

But make sure not from Pakatan states. That one government can’t approve.

Pakatan states?

Yes. Penang, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan.

No, I mean our entire crew will be brought in from the United States of America.

Cannot. Must have 70% local. Only 30% from America.

Okay, I will try to squeeze that requirement in.

And which state you want Datuk? Excuse me. I don’t get that.

You make movie about Malaysia you can get Datuk. Which state you want? Can choose.

Oh, I don’t think I’m interested in Datuk, whatever that is.

Aiyah, people pay RM250,000 for Datuk. Why you don’t want? You make movie on Malaysia can get Datuk free. No need pay RM250,000.

Okay, throw in the Datuk for free then.

Okay, we will arrange Melaka Datuk for you. Where you shoot the movie?

In Selangor.

Aiyah, Selangor cannot. That is Pakatan state. Choose another state.

But the murder happened in Selangor so we need to shoot the documentary where the murder happened.

Selangor cannot. If Pakatan state, government cannot approve. You shoot in Melaka. Melaka very historical.

Okay, okay, we’ll go along with what you want. Is there anything else I need to know?

When you launch movie the First Lady must be invited.

The Queen?

No, not Queen. Rosmah Mansor.

Will she come to the premier?

Of course. If Shahrukh Khan go, she will go.

But Shahrukh Khan is not in the documentary.

Why not? He is very popular in Malaysia and First Lady like him. He also got Melaka Datuk like you. Must show him in movie.

Look, can I come back to you on that? We shall have to decide whether we still want to shoot this documentary in Malaysia.

No problem. When you already decide you come again to see me. We welcome all movie companies to Malaysia and will extend our cooperation and help you. Foreigners always welcome in Malaysia.

Positive HELP

Dr. Paul Chan is in the news again – this time he was featured in StarBizWeek, where he expressed confidence that the HELP International Corp Berhad is set to achieve RM100 million revenue in the fiscal year ending October 31 (Star, April 11, p SBW10). His confidence stems from “increasing student numbers, higher fees, and a plethora of new product offerings”. I do not believe HICT figures in this at all since we are still a very sick entity. Still on loss-making HELP-ICT, Dr. Chan did comment that he expects it “to return to the black within a year” (lines 78-79). My gut feeling tells me that it won't happen because we refuse to face the truth of our sickness! Anyway, from a business point of view, it is my belief that we should become a niche player.

.

In the EPL matches yesterday, both Liverpool and Arsenal won their respective games, the former whipping Bolton 4-0 (the scorers were Torres, 5, 33; Agger, 83; Ngog, 90); and the latter thumping Wigan 4-1 (the scorers were Walcott, 61; Silvestre, 71; Arshavin, 90; Song Billong, 90+2).

In the SPL, Celtic played to a 1-1 draw against Hearts; the solitary Celtic goal coming from Vennegoor of Hesselink (1). We are still top of the table, but Rangers is dangerously close – only one point separates the two teams after 32 games.

A Typical Malaysian Family

I am just going to reproduce this write-up from Patrick Teoh, since we all can easily relate to this. It is about Najib of course, and as the former implies, we, Malaysians sure like to "angkat" important people to create a "feel-good" factor for the latter, he being our Prime Minister and all that crap that we have to endure until hopefully, the next elections...

It happens all the time. Have you noticed? This great need to be one with the people. Same as you and I. Normal. I am talking about all those VVIP's who would have us believe that they are no different from any Ali, Ah Chong or Samy in Malaysia . It happens all the time. When a Prime Minister resigns or when a new Prime Minister is appointed. And it sure happens when our Agung is installed. Pages in the media will be filled with news of how this person is a People's (insert what whatever VVIP title you like) Whatever. The latest in the series of "Please believe me I am just like you" stories appeared (April 06) in The Star.

PM's children lead normal life the headline read. This was about the children of our new PM, Najib. I almost choked on my fried meehoon when I read, "Their father may be the Prime Minister of the country but life for Riza Shahriz, Nooriyana Najwa and Norashman Razak is just the same as any other Malaysian." Just the same as any Malaysian eh? Okay. The kids all live and study abroad. In UK and USA. Presumably they have been there since pre-university level. In Malaysia, ORDINARY Malaysians are "persuaded" to study in Malaysia. And most 'ordinary' Malaysians can't afford to send their children abroad anyway. Same ah?

One of the PM's kids also said, "When we return to our lives in London or Washington DC, we still clean our own rooms and take out the garbage". Wow.

I don't know what you think but for me I would like to, for once, hear something honest from the spin-doctors of these politicians. I mean we all know. Being children of a Malaysian Prime Minister has its privileges lah. How can don't have wan? Like is a traffic policeman going to give you a speeding ticket? Is the swanky restaurant not going to seat you just because they are full? Is the Immigration office going to make you queue if he or she recognized you?

So come on lah. Don't treat us like idiots, can ah? Come right out and say it. Yeah sure I get special treatment because I am the son/daughter/nephew/niece/mother/ whatever of the Prime Minister. That's the way it is because we Malaysians are very polite and respect our leaders. But the thing about us is we don't abuse our privileges. We enjoy them and we appreciate them as gifts from the people we serve and we treat them with great respect. Terima Kasih. Enough lor. Stop with this "I am just like you" crap. Can ah?

Well, said, Patrick - after March 08 last year, Malaysians are not so stupid nor gullible nor so trusting anymore! And another thing - typical Malaysian women don't use botox, do they?

Greed

This morning as I proceeded to a Dr. Paul Chan meeting, I was ambushed by, of all people, Man U fans who made derisory remarks about Liverpool’s 1-3 defeat to Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-final at Anfield. I had to put on a deadpan face and ignored the verbal tirade from these hecklers – after all, Liverpool did lose. As Benitez said, defensive lapses and a lack of control let the team down. In any case, we will just have to rise to the occasion and fight back and overcome confident Chelsea in the return leg on April 14. Liverpool can do it. Liverpool must believe. Liverpool will be victorious.

In Scotland, Celtic kept hold of first place in the Premier League after a flattering 4-0 win over Falkirk; the scorers were Caldwell, 29; Vennegoor of Hesselink, 62; McGeady, 78; O'Dea, 90.

I was in Damansara Jaya this evening and at the D'Utama Advanced Toastmasters meeting, I delivered my speech # 8 titled ‘Greed”, that focuses on getting "comfortable with visual aids". My evaluator, Lim Hui Shan said that the message definitely sank in, although I have to work on my “positioning” – I was too up-front, that some of the audience would miss seeing me speak! Other comments she made were great opening, good points, and impactful ending. In the “open evaluation” segment, Sheila Wong spoke up and she was very generous in her compliments, describing me as “an accomplished speaker” and loving my powerpoint slides. Well, two more speeches and I am done with the Competent Communicator set of assignments. I am certainly looking forward to that day!

PR 2 BN 1

April 07 came and went. And the status quo remains: Pakatan Rakyat wins 2, Barisan Nasional wins 1. Despite Najib, despite Mahathir – BN still loses in Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau.

Najib had talked about reforms and multi-racialism, released 13 people detained under the Internal Security Act, and also lifted the ban on two “opposition” papers. Mahathir did an eleventh hour blitz on the final day of campaigning. But PKR’s Azmin Ali had countered with a challenge to voters to strike Mahathir out of Bukit Selambau, after telling the latter to “look yourself in the mirror before talking about democracy” as the former accused him of degrading the institution of the courts, Malay Rulers and the police force during his 22-year premiership (The Malaysian Insider, April 07).

Only in Batang Ai, the Sarawakians generally and the Ibans specifically are obviously not ready to embrace change – since BN retained this rural seat through their Parti Rakyat Sarawak component.

"The peninsular victories of PR over the BN has driven home the fact rather convincingly that the March 08 election(s) was no fluke. They reaffirmed that the ground has indeed shifted in favour of the Opposition. The results must be viewed as a damning referendum on Najib, Umno, BN and the government. The electorate have rejected the BN overwhelmingly and have sent a clear signal that they are not going to tolerate any more nonsense from Umno and the BN", wrote P Ramakrishnan (The Malaysian Insider, April 08). "When they elected a political novice and rejected a seasoned politician in Bukit Selambau, it was meant to spite the BN and MIC. When they elected Nizar in Bukit Gantang with a majority almost twice that of the previous one exactly a year later, it was meant to punish the BN and send a strong signal to Najib that they were thoroughly disgusted with him for engineering the fall of their duly elected Perak state government".

And in the Champions League, Arsenal drew 1-1 with Villarreal (an Adebayor goal in the 66th minute), and today, Liverpool battles it out with Chelsea…I know who is gonna win, of course!

The Missed Opportunity

Liverpool fans in Malaysia saw their team beat Fulham 1-0, a late winner courtesy of Benayoun (90+2) in the early hours of yesterday morning. Of course, we also know that Man U pulled the same trick, coming off with a late winning goal against luckless Aston Villa in injury time – a fortunate 3-2 win over Aston Villa last night. It’s going to be a neck-to-neck race to the EPL finishing line, but there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Liverpool will overcome the odds and win! Man U fans should banish their false hopes and stop building castles in the air...

The Malaysian Insider carried a story about Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on March 23, and the damning verdict of him as a Prime Minister seems to be that he is found wanting. These revealing pronouncements highlighted below best describe the missed opportunities:

True, he should have better managed the opening up of democratic space in Malaysia.
True, he should have had more resolve in tackling excesses by his party.
True, he should have done more to ensure that a more equitable system was put in place.
True, he should have made good all his promises in his first term of office.
He did not.

Even more apt is this concluding statement, which suitably epitomizes his time as the fifth Prime Minister of Malaysia: "But for many Malaysians, the Abdullah years will be remembered as the Missed Opportunity".

I am posting a picture of the HICT staff and students who have helped in staging the MAPCU-MQA Higher Education Fair last weekend - as a tribute to their dedication and hard work to make this event a success. But the one person who must be mentioned here and who deserves all the accolades for putting it all together (but who is not in this photo) is Eugene, a shy guy who puts in the demanding hours, working tirelessly day and night. Thumbs-up to Eugene - you're one in a million! Too bad he is a Man U fan!

Football Action is Back!

I was involved with the MAPCU-MQA Higher Education Fair on Saturday and Sunday (April 04-05) at PWTC, and as is the norm, met familiar faces and made new friends too. In fact, the highlight on Saturday was meeting Debora Caroline, who is presently the Asssitant Manager, Marketing for Asia e University – she was my ex-La Trobe University student and whom I have not met for a few years now!

I have counseled a couple of prospective students at this Fair - two of whom are genuinely likely to enrol. The first student scored 11 As in her SPM, and she has already decided that she wanted to do Marketing. Although, she is from Cheras, there's a good chance that she may have been convinced to consider HICT - the SNHU program, to be precise. The second student only managed 4 SPM credits, but she intended to do Communications. I advised her to retake 2 SPM subjects (and hopefully, she can secure at least one more credit - in order to meet the minimum entry requirements into the ADP) and in the meantime, to enrol into our Diploma in Business program for a semester or two, and thereafter, to transfer into our SNHU Bachelor of Arts in Communications course, most likely in January 2010. Let's see if my "selling" skills are still good...

April 04 saw Arsenal battling against Man City, and of course, they defeated the latter 2-0, both the goals coming from Adebayor (8 & 49).

Meanwhile, Celtic easily beat Hamilton Accies by an impressive 4-0 score; the scorers were Samaras, 5 & 66; McGeady, 22; and Vennegoor of Hesselink, 83.