As I See It

Chua Soi Lek Defends Najib

2012-01-28T13:11:00.009+08:00

On Thursday, barefaced sycophant Chua Soi Lek came to the defense of Najib Razak (left) when he berated netizens for using the Internet as an avenue to abuse national leaders (read, Najib!).

He was referring to Najib’s Chinese Facebook page – “Ah Jib Gor” (“Brother Najib”), which went online Monday – a move by the prime minister to try reach out to the community and for Malaysians to get to know him as an ordinary member of society. Epic Fail. The only way he can engage with ordinary Malaysians meaningfully is when he can demonstrate sincerity, genuineness and honesty. So far he is just a fake!

Wait a minute! What is Chua trying to tell us? Okay, we know he is sucking up to Najib because he does not qualify as a “winnable” candidate. But he still has to try to persuade Najib because otherwise, he will lose face big-time! Did I hear Najib complaining? I don’t know and I couldn’t care less anyway. As they say, if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Besides, Najib is a non-performing Prime Minister – although he is damn good at giving away freebies disguised as 1Malaysia this and 1Malaysia that! Don’t forget, folks, all of that is our money to begin with. He is giving back to us what was originally ours! So, why should Malaysians show appreciation? Grateful days are indeed over!

Actually, if people do scold you – it just shows that there is much anger out there among ordinary Malaysians. We can rightfully conclude that people are upset with Najib! If you don’t believe me – check out the comments on his Facebook page!

This is not to say that Najib is unpopular. Najib’s page drew 3,676 “likes” as at today, 01:00 PM. Didn’t I read somewhere that he is more popular than Anwar Ibrahim? Big deal! I have to admit that Malaysian society is not perfect – we too have our share of ass-kissers, backslappers and stooges.

Actually, it is none of Chua’s business to comment on other people’s business. Lest I be accused of MCA-bashing again, let me make an offer to Chua and his merry band of grovelers. I shall solemnly promise to praise you and your MCA provided you can make me a first class citizen in my own country. Dare you take the challenge, Chua Soi Lek?

By the way, Najib – what is this “brother” label you are giving yourself? You are NOT my brother and never will! Don’t belittle us – even though there are shameless Chinese who will gladly sell their wretched souls to the devil!!

Scottish Referendum Question

2012-01-27T21:16:00.016+08:00

Image credit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/8269845/Alex-Salmond-Back-my-Budget-or-I-resign.html

Now that the Scots will finally have their referendum – the question will be short and succinct: "Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?"

Unveiling a consultation document on how an independence referendum might be run First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond (above) said the question would give Scots a "straightforward" and "clear" choice. The vote would be the "the most important decision by the people of Scotland in 300 years".

In a rare sign of political unity between London and Edinburgh the consultation document was broadly welcomed by the UK Government.

The referendum will almost certainly be held in late 2014 and will be overseen by the Electoral Commission who will have final say over the wording of the question. However UK Government sources said they had no objections to the Scottish Government's question.

The plebiscite is likely to be open to all voters on the electoral roll in Scotland regardless if they are English or Scottish. I am looking forward to this referendum!

But UK’s The Independent had Whitehall sources confirming on Saturday that Spanish officials have registered concerns with counterparts in the UK over the Scottish government's independence blueprint.

Spain has indicated it could block an independent Scotland's accession to the European Union, sources said. It has already refused to recognise Kosovo's existence as an independent state. Madrid fears such moves will encourage separatist ambitions in Spanish regions, particularly Catalonia and the Basque region.

The Spainiards are worrying over something that has yet to be finalized!

Whenever Liverpool play Manchester United, the whole football world will be watching. It is testimony to the quality of football that one can expect when the two prodigious giants of English football do battle. The stadium atmosphere will be fierce. The rivalry will be intense. And the game will be thrilling. Of course, I cannot be at Anfield since I am physically 6,637.4 miles away. But for those of us outside of the UK, we will do the next best thing, i.e. stay glued to the television set.

And so the stage is set for Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round tie between these two great teams. I can imagine an explosive game. And like all Liverpool fans, I have this belief, this trust, this conviction that we will triumph.

Three reasons give cause for us to be optimistic. One, Liverpool are in the FA Cup fourth round for the first time in three seasons. Two, Kenny Dalglish's side have not lost at Anfield in any competition this season. And three, Manchester United are the most successful club in FA Cup history: champions 11 times, runners-up seven – and against a first-class team like them, we always seem to move up a gear.
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LAST FIVE MEETINGS AT ANFIELD
• October 2011: Liverpool 1-1 Man Utd
• March 2011: Liverpool 3-1 Man Utd
• October 2009: Liverpool 2-0 Man Utd
• September 2008: Liverpool 2-1 Man Utd
• December 2007: Liverpool 0-1 Man Utd
_________________________________

For sure, we will beat the Red Devils!

Auditor-General Denies Using the "Mess" Word

2012-01-27T07:04:00.008+08:00

Unknown persons have targeted Anwar Ibrahim and Ambiga Sreenevasan and resorted to putting up posters that had their images next to words such as “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transex”. Both types of posters also had the Seksualiti Merdeka logo and these were found in a number of locations – one of which was along the road leading to Taman Sri Sentosa, Old Klang Road. Police reports have been lodged on Wednesday.

The story so far. The NFC intruded into the public consciousness when the Auditor-General made a small mention in his 2010 audit report. PKR picked it up from there and since then, it has been regularly furnishing details of financial impropriety at this UMNO-linked family business. Finally, pressure came to bear on the Auditor-General who clarified also on Wednesday that he had never described the NFC project as a “mess” in the first place. How lamentable! How pitiful! How sad! Whether the word "mess" was used or not is unimportant - the fact is, the NFC is really in a big mess.

Eye Candy

2012-01-26T15:33:00.012+08:00

I chanced upon this strange exhortation by MCA national organizing secretary and Pulau Sebatang assemblyman Tee Siew Kiong in The Star yesterday (p 06). In his speech at his Chinese New Year open house in Pontian, Johor on Tuesday, when he said that there were three practices that people could follow during the Year of the Dragon. He identified them as listening to soothing music, wearing bright clothes and avoiding Opposition-organized talks!

The first two suggestions were rather generic and they are not worth commenting. But the third demonstrated the MCA leader’s serious misgivings about his own party’s ability to convince voters to stick with MCA and BN. I think there’s a voice inside his head that was asking the same question over and over again: Who is still stupid enough to vote for BN? And I am sure that deep down inside him, he knew that MCA had lost all credibility with the Chinese. He could try to reach out and seize the fast disappearing hope that people would be blind and deaf to a changing political landscape, but his hands were heavy and he would not be able to capture it. He could try to hoodwink the people but they could only see the corruption, cronyism and cheating that is occurring almost daily in the government, and he too would despair. Even now, he must surely have seen the demise of MCA and other UMNO-affiliated parties and I know he is filled with a genuine sense of hopelessness.

One thing he forgot – people don’t take kindly to this sort of advice because they already know that when GE13 comes, their vote will be “Anything But UMNO”! That includes MCA and the others as well.

An Olympic sport where the stands are certain to be filled to the brim is a little-played physical activity in Britain. Yet, it is expected to attract a lot of androcentric attention. It’s beach volleyball and it is a great spectator sport.

UK’s The Sun yesterday carried the British Government’s explanation that it was pure ‘coincidence’ that ministers had bought double the number of tickets for beach volleyball as they had for track events. Former Labour sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe asked if it was just an ‘oddity’ that ministers bought 410 tickets, worth £26,000, compared with 246 for athletics.

I LOL when I read this! I do not need to speculate. I shouldn’t even be surprised. I suspect that the said ministers are all male! As I look at the photos below, I am already getting hot under the collar! [Or maybe, it’s because somebody had switched off the air-conditioning?].

Image credit: http://zaiusnation.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html

Image credit: http://english.sina.com/sports/p/2008/0807/176760.html

Image credit: http://myrealitytelevision.com/2008/08/usa-misty-may-treanorkerri-walsh-olympic-beach-volleyball-gold-over-1-chinese/

Anyway, beach volleyball was one of the fastest events to sell out – a phenomenon partly attributed to the athletes’ skimpy attire. Women players must wear a top ‘closely fitted to the body’ and briefs with ‘a side width no greater than 3in’. Men can wear vests and shorts. Certainly, a nice sport to “cuci mata” (Malay for “eye candy”)!

"Forever" Dragon

2012-01-26T07:23:00.013+08:00

Even the US is getting into the act. The US Postal Service issued the "Forever" Dragon stamp on Monday to celebrate the Lunar New Year. And it was not a limited edition – unlike in Malaysia! Yet much like elsewhere, it was very well-received because according to one report (webpage http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-01/24/c_131374615.htm) that I came across, the stamps were snapped up just as quickly. “The dragon stamps go fast," said an employee at a post office in the city of Sugar Land, Texas. “The office opened at 9:00 AM on Monday, and at about 10:00 AM, only two sheets of the dragon stamp were left”, the same employee added.

The dragon is really swoon-worthy!

Liverpool with a slim one-goal advantage had to fight hard to match Manchester City in this Carling Cup semi-final game. The latter took the lead twice to revive their hopes of joining Cardiff City in the final – their goals coming from Nigel De Jong (31) and Edin Dzeko (67).

Liverpool, however, were equally determined not to let the prize slip from their grasp, responding with spirit to earn the aggregate 3-2 victory that their performance on the night deserved. Liverpool’s two goals came from Gerrard’s penalty kick in the 41st minute, followed by Craig Bellamy’s 74th-minute strike.

City’s Micah Richards had blocked Daniel Agger's shot with his foot only for the ball to ricochet up and strike his hand. Referee Phil Dowd pointed to the spot and Gerrard, as he had in the first leg, beat City keeper Joe Hart with power and placement. Liverpool’s second came when Dirk Kuyt worked hard to create an opening and slid a pass to Bellamy who knocked it to Glen Johnson, got the return and shot past Hart.

This victory represents a long-overdue return to Wembley for the seven-times League Cup winners! Let's bring back the Carling Cup before I celebrate...

UK Debt Reaches £1,000,000,000,000

2012-01-25T17:08:00.009+08:00

UK debt in December reached the highest level since records began in 1993, according to figures released Tuesday. Britain’s Office for National Statistics said net public debt excluding the effects of any financial interventions now stands at 1 trillion pounds ($1.6 trillion), or about 64.2% of gross domestic product.

So yes, spending cuts are necessary and they illustrate the “scale of the fiscal challenge” facing the country. But in the uncaring hands of hard-boiled politicians, they are damaging public services and hurting the defenseless in British society. What the government has done and/or plan to do sound more like a scorched-earth policy – surely there are less painful methods to consider?

ProPublica.org posted a simple but powerful image of the US Congressional members' position on SOPA/PIPA today vs. yesterday:

Click on the image to ENLARGE.

As you will recall, SOPA and PIPA is collectively a misguided effort to halt online piracy. This legislation was funded after a $94-million series of donations by the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America which then lobbied Congress to push through the two bills. Success was almost assured until the vocal online community banded together to do battle against SOPA and PIPA. The Internet blackout was one such move - read my blog posting dated January 19, 2012.

You may be asking yourself, as I did, “What is wrong with stopping people from stealing movies and music from the hard-working people who produce and make them?” There is no issue with stopping piracy, but these two bills would not have done the job without potentially killing the entire Internet.

The language of SOPA and PIPA sought to shut down the source of alleged piracy at the DNS level and cut it off at the server level. The problem with this, though, is there was no due process in the procedure. The MPAA or RIAA could allege that your personal blog violates their intellectual properties, and have it shut down – just like that. No court, no trial, no lawyers... nothing.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, both bills failed in the House and Senate. As someone wrote “…the fight is far from over. As long as lobbyists are buying their legislation, and Congressmen are willing to front their bills, the fight will never be over. A free and open Internet is the biggest and best invention of the past 25 years.”

I agree. The Internet must be defended. It is important that we uphold free and direct communication on the Internet, so that we can continue to create, discuss, link and share. No one owns the Internet – let’s be clear on this!

Different Spins

2012-01-25T10:20:00.010+08:00

Yesterday, The Malaysian Insider reported that negotiations between the government and the opposition in Australia have again failed to revive the refugee swap deal with Malaysia - after the latter insisted asylum-seekers sent to Malaysia are given “the protection of law” rather than just Putrajaya’s assurances.

Although Malaysia has continued to stress the importance of the asylum swap, known as the Malaysia Solution, as a model for combating human trafficking – the country is unable to convince anyone – save for Julia Gillard and her Immigration Minister Chris Bowen who have their own self-serving agendas – that it has genuine compassion for refugees.

According to UNHCR, “Malaysia is not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention nor its Protocol and does not have an asylum system regulating the status and rights of refugees. The absence of a legal framework on asylum issues is a source of great unpredictability in the lives of refugees in the country. This challenging protection environment is placed within a context of some 3 million migrants, 1.9 million of whom are considered illegal.

Malaysian law makes no distinction between refugees and undocumented migrants. Refugees are vulnerable to arrest for immigration offences. They may be subject to detention, prosecution, whipping and deportation. National NGOs have little capacity to support asylum-seekers and refugees, while international NGOs are unable to operate in the country” (Source: 2012 UNHCR country operations profile – Malaysia at http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e4884c6.html, accessed January 25, 2012).

Najib Razak is adamant about pursuing this so-called Malaysia Solution because he hankers after accolades! He desires to promote himself as a do-gooder but he ignores the fact that Malaysia has no legal obligations to protect refugees. And don ‘t forget that Canberra is picking up the RM1 billion tab for the swap! That’s a sweetener that Najib cannot resist either. I am really glad the majority of Australian politicians saw it fit to reject the Malaysia Solution!

Chua Soi Lek (left) again parroted the specter of Islamist rule, even boasting that the Chinese community has begun falling back into BN’s fold as they are now aware that “empowering DAP is paving the road for PAS” (The Malaysian Insider, January 25, 2012). I just don’t understand him – even during this auspicious Lunar New Year, he is so full of shit!

Already, UNMO had derisively claimed that PAS is just a lapdog of DAP, now Chua Soi Lek is saying that DAP will empower PAS. Different spins for different audiences, izzit? Doesn’t he know that Malaysian Chinese cannot be facilely manipulated nor readily deceived by the likes of him? Only MCA members will swallow hook, line and sinker to this bargain-basement disinformation from a discredited porn star! When will MCA members rouse themselves from their self-induced stupor and rekindle their sensibility? By now they should know that, for a long time now, their own leaders have betrayed the Chinese! Wake up, MCA members!

Cobweb Cape

2012-01-25T00:09:00.009+08:00

Image credit: http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01442/spidr_main_1442079a.jpg

Image credit: http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01442/spider1_1442080a.jpg

The above cape took more than four years to create and 80 people were involved in the process. This extraordinary garment – which is naturally gold-coloured – was woven entirely from Golden Orb Weaver spider silk, which is known for both its intense color and strength.

Image credit: http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2009/09/1-spiders.jpg

UK’s The Sun had reported Monday that Brit Simon Peers and American Nicholas Godley – residing in Madagascar – as the men behind the design. Inspired by 19th century accounts and illustrations they started experimenting with spider silk in 2004 to see if they could revive the lost tradition.

What’s amazing is that these spiders were collected every morning from the Madagascan highlands and harnessed in special "silking" contraptions. Trained handlers would then extract the silk from 24 spiders at a time before being taken it to a weaving workshop. At the end of each day, the spiders were returned to the wild.

Only the females of the species, which isn’t poisonous, produce the silk filaments, 24 of which are twisted by hand into a single strand, then twisted again with three other similar strands to make the silk thread. It took 1.2 million of these spiders to produce this 11x4-foot shawl and is one of only two such silk textiles that exist worldwide.

Image credit: http://www.ecouterre.com/art-historian-creates-worlds-largest-shawl-made-from-gold-colored-spider-silk/spider-silk-shawl-1/

If you’re in London, the Golden Spider Silk goes on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum on January 25, 2012.

Don't Despair

2012-01-24T11:17:00.012+08:00

There were some dejected faces last week when the SUBS exam results were announced. These students of mine may feel discouraged and disheartened, even distressed. And if you’re drowning under this wicked wave of despondency, just reflect on what Bill Gates has to say:

This brings me to another famous quote - this time from Abraham Lincoln: "My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure".

The 'First Lady of Shopping'

2012-01-24T01:42:00.015+08:00

One story that is making its relentless rounds is again about Rosmah! It informs that Najib Razak and his wife were on a private visit to Australia. Fashion blogger frockwriter had written – check out the article “Carl Kapp’s couture capers in KL” dated January 17, 2012 at http://frockwriter.blogspot.com/2012/01/carl-kapps-couture-capers-in-kl.html#more – that on December 30 last year, South African-born, Sydney-based designer, Carl Kapp found himself receiving a VIP who introduced herself as "the First Lady of Malaysia", Rosmah Mansor. Having been smitten by Kapp’s collection that she saw at department store David Jones, Rosmah wanted to see more – hence her visit to Kapp’s store in Paddington, Sydney – and thereafter, he was summoned to the penthouse of The Darling Hotel at Pyrmont the following day. [A night’s stay is said to cost anywhere from AUD$15,000-20,000].

There, surrounded by samples, fabric swatches and sketches, Rosmah wound up ordering 61 silk pieces from Kapp's Spring/Summer 2011/2012 and Autumn/Winter 2012 collections. Not being a standard size in Kapp's range and notably, in need of far more modest attire, all of the garments required to be custom-fitted.

Although, Kapp politely declined to mention the size of the order, frockwriter estimated it could be approaching AUD$100,000 (RM325,000) and he was paid upfront. This princely sum was based on the average prices in his collections – which start at AUD$400 and reach several thousand dollars.

This story was reproduced in the ‘Private Sydney’ section of the Australian daily Sydney Morning Herald, where columnist Andrew Horney described Rosmah as the “first lady of shopping”!

It seems that Malaysiakini had contacted the PM’s office for a response – but I think, there has been no reply todate. Will it be like the case of the West Australian newspaper that reported that Najib’s daughter had embarked on an unrestrained shopping spree in Perth and then later it was compelled to issue a correction (i.e. she was not in the said city at the time)?

Well, this time, Rosmah herself dismissed claims that she spent extravagantly while holidaying in Sydney (Webpage http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/187354, published January 23, 2012). I think it is grossly unfair that she is always on the receiving end of tall tales from people who are just plain envious of her! What’s wrong with spending her hard-earned savings on luxury stuff? Okay, even if she hasn’t been squirreling money away all these years – what’s wrong if she spends all her hubby’s salary? I am sure he has some other means of income that she must know of – so it is not as if he is going to be a pauper anytime soon! You have to admit that she does look good in stylish togs and Birkin bags and rings that are worth a king’s ransom. If I were Rosmah, I would sue the pants off these spiteful people who bad-mouth her no end! These green-eyed monsters should consider themselves lucky that she is so sweet-natured and even-tempered – if she is the evil Queen (oops, the First Lady!), hmmn, she might just use C4 explosives to blow them up into a million bits of shredded skin and bone fragments!

Still, if there’s one thing I can say about Rosmah is that she can never stay away from the spotlight – she just loves the attention! Lots of it! I don’t think she cares too much whether the stories about her are positive or negative – after all, she is not a politician, merely a politician’s wife! Besides, she knows she might as well enjoy life while she can because her hubby may not keep his Prime Minister’s job for long!

"Aku Jimat"

2012-01-23T17:04:00.011+08:00

There’s a game on Apple’s official website that you can download at http://itunes.apple.com/my/app/aku-jimat/id490098030?mt=8 that has the potential to be as big as Angry Birds! This game called “Aku Jimat” serves to educate kids on the importance of saving, after which they can then splurge on something really expensive. Once the player has saved as much as possible, he or she will be required to buy 12 items in the game. Like lavish rings and haute couture handbags.

Created by Antartic Group, the mobile game was introduced last December. The reason it is catching the interest of many Malaysians is because it pokes fun at Rosmah Mansor, the free-spending wife of Prime Minister Najib Razak. The main character has a hair-do that is not dissimilar to Rosmah’s! Check out Rosmah’s hair-do here:

Just as the DAP are reaching out to the Malays – it is heartening to note that they have also set up a Dayak Consultative Council (DCC). This move came about because of the failure of Dayak leaders to highlight their community’s problems in Parliament and in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly.

Jeneri Amir, a senior lecturer in the faculty of social science at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak described DAP’s move as “concrete and pragmatic”. He expressed confidence that DAP will win the hearts and minds of the Dayaks. “In order to have more impact on Sarawak politics, DAP needs to expand its influence in other areas especially the Dayak areas,” he opined.

Way to go, DAP!

The Tiger Shuffle

2012-01-23T12:14:00.004+08:00

When it comes to the Lunar New Year, a common sight would be the lion, tiger or dragon dances accompanied by pounding drums and clashing cymbals. But this video shows a time-honored dance that has been infused with LMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem. And what we have is a tiger dance that is doing the shuffle!

It all began when G2 Worldwide and Tiger Beer Malaysia held a dragon and tiger dance celebration to usher in the Lunar New Year at KL’s Wisma Genting on January 16, 2012. As Sean Koh, Tiger Beer Malaysia marketing manager explained: "The performance was not about changing tradition but rather how Tiger can deliver an exceptional experience"! (New Sunday Times, January 22, 2012, p 18). It certainly did! A contemporary twist to a long-established and well-known cultural dance.

The video was of course, uploaded to YouTube and it quickly went viral, receiving 787,667 views as at today, 12:13 PM.

An Assembly of Dragons

2012-01-22T21:26:00.027+08:00

I have more pictures of dragons in Malaysia.

At the Fo Guang Shan Dong Zen temple in Jenjarom, Selangor.

At Sunway Pyramid.

But if you happen to go to the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur – you will get to meet so many dragons. Never have I seen so many assembled in one venue! Here's a sample:

At Center Court.

At Tangs.

At Food Republic, Gourmet Emporium.

At Royal Selangor.

All photos were taken today, i.e. Lunar New Year's Eve.

Luxury Brands Feature Dragons

2012-01-22T16:27:00.023+08:00

It's meant to bring riches and power befitting an emperor, but if Western luxury brands have their way the Year of the Dragon will cost their wealthy Chinese customers a fortune instead.

French high-end accessory maker ST Dupont has rolled out limited editions of pens and lighters adorned with gold-plated dragons embellished with 88 diamonds around the dragon’s body and eyes. The price? Between HK$300,100 (RM120,131) and HK$390,700 (RM156,398).

Swiss luxury watchmaker Piaget launched 24 Dragon watches with a price range from HK$193,000 (RM77,258) to HK$16 million (RM6.4 million).

Image credit: http://www.luxuo.com/luxury-phones

Nokia’s luxury brand Vertu is celebrating the Lunar New Year with a luxury dragon-themed mobile phone based on its Signature collection. Each quad-band dragon phone comes in stainless steel with emeralds, black steel with Rubies, or gold with diamonds. The handsets cost about $20,800.

Image: Plush Asia

Italian fashion house Versace's Dragon Year gambit is a specially designed jewel handbag, which comes with a gold handle and traditional golden dragon drawings on a black body. The handbag is also studded with precious stones and each one is engraved with “Year of the Dragon 2012” tags along with a limited edition number. The bag is limited to 210 pieces and sold exclusively in Asia.

The bag is priced at HK$31,800 (RM12,700), while an even more exclusive red python skin version will set you back HK$45,000 (RM18,000). Versace says the product is "testament to the brand's focus on the Asian market".

"The dragon means good fortune, power and success," says Torsten Muller-Otvos, chief executive at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the German-owned automaker which has launched a line of limited edition "Dragon" Phantoms.

Image credit: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/rolls-royce-sells-out-dragon-phantom-in-china.html

The edition, available in two models, features hand-painted golden dragons on the side panels, hand-embroidered dragons on the leather headrests and illuminated door treadplates with the words "Year of the Dragon 2012".

The car, which starts at 7.4 million yuan ($1.2 million) in China, was sold out within eight weeks of its launch in August, and the firm says it is now looking at extending production.

China overtook the United States to become Rolls-Royce's largest market in 2011, with the Chinese market accounting for about one-third of its record 3,538 cars sold worldwide.

Luxury brands are really hoping to reap riches in the Year of the Dragon!

1967 Car Reportedly Sold for RM300,000

2012-01-22T08:13:00.016+08:00

The 1967 car that was reportedly sold for RM300,000. Image credit: http://www.nst.com.my/local/general/azalina-rm300-000-was-payment-for-car-1.34180

A blogger, who went by the name of The Whistleblower 711 had on January 10, 2012 alleged that Pengerang MP and also a former UMNO Minister Azalina Othman Said received RM300,000 from Advanced Maintenance Precision Management Sdn Bhd, whose managing director - photo on the left - is Yahya Abdul Jalil. [Yahya has fingers in many pies – e.g. He is treasurer of UMNO Pasir Gudang in Johor and the Managing Director of Gerbang Perdana which was entrusted to build the infamous “crooked” bridge – a Mahathir project that did not get off the ground. He was also fingered in the RM100,00 contributions he made to the Deputy Finance Minister - read my blog posting dated December 27, 2011 titled "Not a bribe, says Awang Adek"].

The blogger posted a photograph of what appeared to be a cheque for the said amount, dated April 07 last year, made out to Azalina herself:

Image credit: http://thewhistleblower711.blogspot.com/, posted January 10, 2012

Azalina (left) was quick to refute the allegation and even met MACC officers on Monday to give her statement over the blogger’s graft claim. She explained that the cheque was, in fact, a payment for a 1967 Mercedes Benz 280SL which she sold to Yahya – supposedly because the car was too costly to maintain! I have just one question - if indeed, Yahya did buy this clunker, then why did he pay for it using a company cheque?

I raise my eyebrows at this car story – let’s just say it is too hard to swallow. It would be interersting to know the actual purpose of the “contribution” – at this point in time, it is only known between the giver and the receiver. But suffice to say that Yahya must be an extremely wealthy individual – he is after all, an UMNO person – and an uncommonly generous one at that! Hmmm, Yahya, can you make an offer for my car? Please?!

Liverpool is fast going downhill – early this morning (Malaysian time, that is), struggling Bolton whipped them 3-1!

Lunar New Year 2012

2012-01-22T00:13:00.010+08:00

Image credit: http://www.zazzle.com/year_of_the_dragon_2012_gold_calligraphy_card-137631536529402082

It is that time of the year again and I wish everybody A Happy & Prosperous Lunar New Year 2012! Indeed, may the Dragon Year bring you good tidings and good fortune!

And I don't think I am wrong in saying that we're all hoping the mightiest sign in the Chinese zodiac will usher in the wealth and power it represents.

Celtic continued their magnificent run when they triumphed over stubborn Paisley outfit St Mirren 2-0. James Forrest's low controlled shot after 70 minutes and Scott Brown's curler in the 88th minute won it for Celtic. This win ensured that they extend their lead at the top of the SPL to five points.

The Dragons Cometh

2012-01-21T16:33:00.018+08:00

Not surprisingly, in China, the dragon is everywhere! Particularly when ushering this Lunar New Year:

Image credit: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/277799/20120106/chinese-new-year-2012-dragon.htm

In Hong Kong, a Chow Tai Fook jewelery store displays a nine-tael 24K gold in the shape of a dragon forming the numerals “2012” symbolizing the upcoming Year of the Dragon.

Image credit: Carlos Barria/Reuters

In downtown Shanghai, a dragon lantern is seen among other Lunar New Year decorations at Yuyuan Garden.

Image credit: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/284488/20120119/chinese-new-year-2012-pictures-dragon-photos.htm

In a Guangzhou park in Guangdong province, a dragon decoration is displayed.

Image credit: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/284488/20120119/chinese-new-year-2012-pictures-dragon-photos.htm

In a Nanjing shopping mall in Jiangsu province,, there is a display of an art piece of a dragon and other Chinese Zodiac figures created by cutting patterns on paper as part of the Lunar New year celebrations.

Image credit: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/277799/20120106/chinese-new-year-2012-dragon.htm

In Suining, Sichuan province, a dragon-shaped lantern is set up as shown in the above photo taken January 02, 2012.

Even Dubai is not spared of the dragon! I read that there are nearly 200,000 Chinese residents in the UAE, and so the dragon will likewise show itself there too! Burj Al Arab's iconic exterior ‘sail' will be illuminated by a massive red dragon which can be seen from miles away, to welcome the Lunar New Year in grand style!

Image credit: http://gulfnews.com/life-style/general/enter-the-dragon-1.967733

Michael Caulfield's Farewell

2012-01-21T12:56:00.021+08:00

Yesterday, there were two important events at the University.

The first was in the morning when the Minister of Higher Education, Mohamed Khaled Nordin was invited to officiate the Ground Breaking ceremony of the new Sunway University Building.

The second was a farewell lunch for Michael Caulfield because he is leaving us to return to corporate life. But it is not just him – we were told that Tana – a Sunway veteran of seventeen years – is leaving us as well. I guess in this journey of Life, there will always be hellos and goodbyes. It’s just that when it involves colleagues who are also friends, the farewells are harder to take. Anyway, I wish both of them all the best in their future undertakings.

Given that the Lunar New Year is less than three days away, we did our Loh Sang – my second this year.

I have not mentioned this but SUBS did welcome two new members this month – and one of them, is Leong Ken Yien, a friend and an ex-colleague from HICT.

The same day too, prosecutors filed an appeal against Anwar Ibrahim’s acquittal in his two-year-long sodomy trial. Monash University’s political science lecturer James Chin said that the move reflects negatively on Najib Razak’s claims that he does not interfere with the judiciary and is serious about ensuring civil liberty.

“It’s back to square one. It is a setback for Anwar because he will have to spend time in the appeal process and won’t be able to focus fully on forthcoming elections,” he said.

Ibrahim Suffian of independent pollsters Merdeka Center also said “the appeal by the prosecution plays into the opposition story that the government will not stop at anything to get rid of the Anwar politically.”

“It also clouds Prime Minister Najib’s reforms at this crucial time before an election. Like it or not, Malaysians tend to feel that the government is behind this [trial],” he said.

Shahrizat Sues

2012-01-20T16:24:00.005+08:00

Image credit: http://www.f-paper.com/?i1151538-Photo:-Mast-pavilion-styled-%22Wan-feast.%22

Image credit: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/284488/20120119/chinese-new-year-2012-pictures-dragon-photos.htm

In Hubei province, China, there is a bountiful display of 11,000 dishes prepared by more than 10,000 families at a Wuhan event for the upcoming Lunar New Year’s Eve dinner. With so much food, this calls for a collective effort to finish the cuisine at one sitting.

Yesterday, Shahrizat Jalil filed a RM100 million defamation suit against PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli and Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin at the High Court Registry over the NFC claims.

Rafizi responded by saying that he was “more than glad” to go to court as this would allow him to subpoena NFC for company documents which could buttress the party’s claims against Shahrizat and her family.

PKR is already in possession of what it claims to be the NFC’s cash book – obtained through an anonymous whistleblower – which details every transaction made by the company via its primary account.

This suit will assist to uncover more dirt on the scandal-hit NFC and it might serve as an excellent example of UMNO’s avarice. After all, Shahrizat represents UMNO and her husband and three children have been shamelessly helping themselves to taxpayers’ money by rewarding themselves high salaries, purchasing condos and a luxury car, meeting umrah expenses, settling credit card bills and channeling funds to companies in which the family has interests in.

Malaysians wait with anticipation for full disclosure of the matter. And Shahrizat’s suit is the quickest way to reveal more about the family project. Given that the NFC is being buried under mounting evidence that is so against NFC, I venture to suggest that Shahrizat took leave to return to Gemas in order to enlist the cows to come forward to testify. Y’know how stupid cows are – well, Shahrizat needs three weeks to coach these bovines.

Hata Joins DAP

2012-01-20T07:35:00.006+08:00

Yesterday, Hata Wahari, senior journalist from Utusan Malaysia and former National Union of Journalists (NUJ) president, who was sacked on April 21, 2011 from the UMNO mouthpiece for criticizing his own newspaper, announced his entry into the DAP as a party member. Another honorable, righteous and honest Malay has seen fit to join DAP. Bravo!

Beer must be sold at all venues hosting matches in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, football's world governing body insisted. FIFA General Secretary, Jerome Valcke maintained that the right to sell beer must be enshrined in a World Cup law the Brazilian Congress is considering.

Alcohol has been banned at Brazilian football matches since 2003 in an attempt to combat violence between rival fans.

Well, I won’t be in Brazil in 2014 but for sure, wherever I am when watching the World Cup matches, I will always have my close companion with me. Yup, you got it right – beer!

Internet Blackout

2012-01-19T14:47:00.010+08:00

Google blotted out its logo, Wikipedia went dark, BoingBoing went offline and other popular websites carried out protests today to voice their unhappiness over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) introduced in the US House of Representatives and the Senate version, the Protect IP Act (PIPA).

While SOPA and PIPA may have some good intentions, the flaws smother them. They have come under fire from digital rights and free speech organizations for allegedly paving the way for US authorities to shut down websites suspected of online piracy, including foreign sites, without due process and threatening the technical architecture of the Internet.

The founders of Google, Wikipedia, Twitter, Yahoo! And other Internet titans said in an open letter last month the legislation would give the US government censorship powers “similar to those used by China, Malaysia and Iran”. Wow, my country is so well-known that it actually got a mention!

This whole exercise is a timely reminder that we shouldn't take Internet freedom for granted!

Underwater Dragon Dance

2012-01-19T10:03:00.003+08:00

Divers performed a dragon dance at an aquarium during an event to welcome the Year of Dragon in Beijing, China on January 05, 2012:

PAS Told to Reject UUCA

2012-01-19T08:53:00.004+08:00

Last evening I attended the CIMA Toastmasters meeting and the last minute pull-out of two speakers resulted in me being re-assigned as the Grammarian. What was disappointing was that we didn’t start on time. We were late by twenty-five minutes! I prodded the Toastmaster-of-the-Evening and only then did we commence the meeting. Sadly, I detected a lackadaisical attitude to this issue of punctuality. Aargh-h-h! This ugly habit that Malaysian Toastmasters is picking up is upsetting me! But all is not lost. The robust applause is their one saving grace. I would give this meeting a 3 out of a 10.

On Tuesday, Indrahanians organized the sixth installment of the in-house Speechcraft program – this time the lead speaker was Dennis Wee. This meeting started off on a languid note but when Wee came on, earnest energy enveloped the room. Guess who is coming on for the next Speechcraft? Me! And I will be touching on “Effective Evasluation”.

Image credit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/litee/malaysia/article/students-turn-on-pakatan-says-kedah-still-using-uuca/

Yesterday, student activists called on PAS and the Pakatan government in Kedah led by the Islamic party to toe the coalition’s line and reject the use of the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) to restrain academic freedom.

Some 20 students braved heavy rain to gather in front of PAS’s headquarters to demand the party make a clear stand on the suspension of five students from Kolej Universiti Insaniah (Kuin), the Alor Setar-based varsity whose chairman is Kedah Mentri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak. They also strung an effigy of a dead body in front of the entrance. According to the students, the “corpse” symbolized the “death of university student idealism”.

“There is no double-standard. We marched to PWTC (Umno headquarters) and now PAS. What is their stand?” Movement for Academic Freedom (Bebas) chairman Safwan Anang said.

The “Kuin Five” were hauled up before a disciplinary committee on May 25, 2011 for breaching the UUCA by participating in a demonstration, making speeches with loudspeakers and holding a press conference to protest the use of a religious teaching block to house a smart school. Mohd Faiz Mohd Arshad was suspended for two semesters while the rest were barred for one semester and given warning letters.

Students are right to demand academic freedom. PAS must respond immediately to this entreaty.

Electoral Bribery

2012-01-18T15:04:00.005+08:00

At the Malaysia Strategic Outlook Conference 2012, organized by ASLI at the Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa, Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, a former federal minister from UMNO had spilled the beans on BN’s generous giving away of their stash of sweeteners He claimed on Tuesday that cash handouts ranging from RM200 to RM1,000 were doled out in BN’s previous election campaigns to blatantly buy votes, a tactic known as “bomb” (Webpage http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/ex-minister-claims-bn-bought-votes-with-cash, published January 17, 2012).

It came as no surprise! Malaysians already have public knowledge of this corrupt practice. But to hear it from the horse's mouth is really something. What we now have is an open confession! Even so, do you seriously think the Police, MACC, and others will investigate? Of course, not! And do you think the mainstream press will report this? Of course, not!

Monash University’s James Chin who also spoke at the forum after Abdul Kadir said that “bombing” was a very effective tool in Sabah and Sarawak. Yup, we saw this in the Sarawak state elections last year when funds were popularly disbursed to ensure BN won.

These acts of bribery are still continuing today. It’s not even elections yet, but Najib is already dishing out goodies: RM100 for school children, RM200 book vouchers for university and college students, RM500 for senior citizens, a ponzi investment scheme known as “Skim Amanah Rakyat 1Malaysia” or “Sara 1Malaysia” for the low income and others. And don’t forget, what the rakyat receives is peanuts compared to the millions that BNputras stole from the national coffers.

These freebies are all cleverly packaged to make Malaysians believe that the BN government is benevolent and caring – hence they came up with snazzy-sounding super campaigns like the Sentuhan Rakyat (People’s Touch) and BR1M (1Malaysia People’s Assistance) programs. Najib’s largesse has to reach every nook and corner of the country because the political scenario has markedly changed. This is unlike in the old days, where BN used to enjoy huge voter support and so they could afford to pick and choose who to grease the palm. And so, the cash would go into pockets found in the marginal seats. Today, Najib has to give to everybody because there are no safe seats! Even the so-called ‘safe deposits” in Sabah and Sarawak are not that safe anymore.

GE13 will likely see similar-type payoffs. For sure, money will be liberally dispensed. So the next time, BN gives you cold, hard cash – please take it but cross Pakatan in the ballot slip! That way, it is a win-win situation. As citizens, we will do Malaysia a big favor – we are helping to banish electoral fraud by throwing out BN!

Joke of the Year

2012-01-18T07:22:00.006+08:00

Bernama Online reported MCA deputy president and full-time shoe polisher Liow Tiong Lai (left) as saying that voters in Bagan were now “open to accept Barisan Nasional (BN)”, expressing confidence that his party’s chosen candidate would edge out Lim Guan Eng from his Bagan seat in the coming polls. Can somebody please jolt Liow out of his hallucinating state and drag him back to reality? The indisputable fact is that in GE12, Lim defeated MCA’s Song Choy Leng for the said parliamentary seat with a 22,070-vote majority!

Perhaps Liow is suffering from dementia! Let me knock him on the head so that he can remember that Lim also led his party’s state chapter to a historic win in Penang, which was one of the first states to fall into opposition hands during the 2008 political tsunami. Even now, analysts have repeatedly predicted Lim’s tenure would continue after GE13.

Liow should put his money where his big mouth is! Stand against Lim and see who will be wiped out from politics! Even his surname is most unfortunate – ‘Liow’ means ‘finished’.

Of course, now Liow can afford to syiok sendiri because comes GE13, he will be a lost cause, a sad goner, a complete dud, a total failure. Liow is the bare-faced liar who insisted Tung Shin hospital was not attacked during the Bersih 2.0 rally last year.

With people like Liow, MCA is doomed even before polling day! Certainly, he gave us the Joke of the Year!

But it won’t be just Liow delivering his farcical gag. This is just the beginning. I am certain Lim will soon feel the heat from a tidal wave of BN attacks. It is an open secret that Putrajaya wants to distract Lim just like they did to Anwar Ibrahim with ‘sodomy’. BN wants to keep Lim on the defensive and better still, put him under siege in his own state. BN is worried that Lim’s success in Penang will attract attention in other states and voters there might be seduced and won over. BN cannot afford to fail; otherwise, there will be a bountiful abundance of feckless politicians looking for employment post-GE13.

RM600k on Credit Card Bills

2012-01-17T11:25:00.006+08:00

Yesterday, PKR made another sensational claim, that Sharizat’s family had squandered nearly RM600,000 from the federally-funded project to pay for their credit card bills in 2009. Their strategic director Rafizi Ramli said NFC released RM182,525, RM160,673, RM127,900 and RM122,402 to settle Shahrizat’s husband and NFC chairman Mohamad Salleh Ismail and her three children’s bills respectively. Rafizi, being meticulous, gave a more detailed breakdown of the unrestrained spending by this wayward family of degenerates. Rafizi said Mohamad Salleh spent a total of RM182,525 that year, averaging a monthly spending of RM15,210 while the children Wan Shahinur Izran Mohamad Salleh spent RM160,673 (averaging RM13,389 monthly); Wan Izzana Fatimah Mohamad Salleh RM127,900 (averaging RM10,658 monthly); and Wan Shahinur Izmir Mohamad Salleh RM122,402 (averaging RM10,200 monthly).

These spongers are so damn lucky. I wish somebody will pay for my credit card bill and it's only a fraction of the amount stated above. I want to enjoy the good life too! I’ve got my CV all ready – can I please send it to Mohamad Salleh? Can ah?

Anwar Ibrahim will not get to enjoy a respite. On Sunday, Utusan Malaysia carried a front page story “Anwar ulas isu gay” (Anwar discusses gay rights), while Berita Harian’s title on the same story read “Tindakan Anwar sokong homosexual dikecam” (Anwar’s support for homosexuals condemned by many).

Utusan’s weekend news edition, Mingguan Malaysia quoted Anwar as saying during the BBC interview that laws on gay rights in Malaysia were considered “archaic” and “not relevant.” Certainly, BBC did ask Anwar whether he was prepared to push for the idea of anti-discrimination as far as gay rights were concerned, to which he had allegedly said “we will have to review some of our archaic laws.”

But additional excerpts of what Anwar had said were conveniently left out by both Utusan and Berita Harian. Anwar had, in fact, said Pakatan Rakyat was of the view that “we do not promote homosexuality within the public domain, and we do not need to make apologies for that.”

The thrashy Malay media is insidiously harboring this guilty pleasure of wanting to make Anwar look sleazy and revolting. After all, these scum newspapers exist only to ensure the survival of UMNO. They are here to serve their masters, to lie, to slander and to distort the truth just so UMNO thrives. And scheming UMNO together with their conniving allies will continue to attack Anwar – he is very much an immense threat to UMNO’s hegemony!

NFC Freeze

2012-01-17T08:38:00.007+08:00

Najib Razak had on Saturday announced that NFC’s assets are to be frozen and for good measure, he also instructed both Muhyiddin and Noh Omar to study how best to resolve the issue! I am not even sure what he is trying to prove here – he is closing the stable door after the horse has bolted!

When there is an asset freeze, I believe it means that NFC shall abstain from making any business decisions or undertake any transactions. Yet, the company’s chief executive and Shahrizat’s son Wan Shahinur Izmir Salleh was reported to have said that it would be “business as usual”. So does this mean that Najib was just blowing hot air or that NFC is wilfully refusing to obey Najib’s directive? Which is which, I wonder?

Furthermore, what is there for Muhyididn and Noh Omar to resolve? It is a known fact that the cattle business is a big failure – and there is already lingering suspicion that there is large-scale cheating involved. What Najib did won’t really do much – the public would be more interested to know whether the used portion of the RM250 million allocation can be recovered and how does he intend to bring the rogues to book. To many Malaysians, this daylight robbery has to stop!

Furthermore, by directing Muhyididn and Noh Omar to address the so-called issue, Najib is passing the buck. In a way, it is a smart strategic move on his part to land the duo, especially Muhyiddin, in trouble.

And of the two, Noh Omar is better at tai-chi – when he was bombarded with questions yesterday (Webpage http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/noh-omar-passes-buck-on-nfc-scandal-to-muhyiddin/, published January 16, 2012), he cleverly deflected all queries on this scandal to Muhyiddin. So far this morning when I check for any NFC-related news, there is nothing whatsoever from Muhyiddin. Even Khairy Jamaluddin, the other Shahrizat defender is shying away.

Last evening, I was at Money & You Toastmasters meeting. For a change, I was the Table Topics Master and I prepared topics of contest standard. Speakers were just so-so but at least they had a go. I realized that Table Topics is really not as easy as they are made out to be – the fact that it is not a big deal for me speaks volumes about my ability! The prepared speeches and evaluations were decent and out of the four speeches I listened to, I liked How Yee’s and Mallika’s the best. The former because she waltzed her way through in a very engaging manner, using words and gestures to good effect, and the latter because she could stir emotions that were deep within me. Overall, it was an enjoyable meeting. A 7 out of a 10.

Friday the 13th

2012-01-16T15:02:00.001+08:00

On Friday, the eurozone crisis lurched into fresh turmoil when nine Eurozone countries – France, Austria, Italy, Spain, Cyprus, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Malta – had their credit ratings hacked. Standard & Poor's was the one which wielded the axe.

Credit ratings agencies assign grades – credit ratings – to countries, institutions and companies that need to borrow money, to help lenders gauge the risk they are taking. Essentially, the lower the rating from a ratings agency, the higher the interest a borrower has to pay to compensate for the possibility of it defaulting.

And so, when France – with debts of £1.4 trillion – lost its triple-A credit rating, it was a humiliation of sorts. But it was also a wake-up call for leaders across Europe that the carefully constructed bailout package they announced to great fanfare in December has comprehensively fallen apart.

Italy – one of the biggest EU economies – is also not faring any better. Its already flaky debt standings were slashed two points by S&P’s, placing it delicately just above junk status. If it defaults on crippling debts, the euro would be pushed to the brink of collapse.

Europe is having the shakes and the rest of the world can only look on anxiously.

'Poke Eye' Language

2012-01-16T08:00:00.009+08:00

Malaysiakini reported on January 10, 2012 that the Ministry of Defence had blamed the use of Google Translate for the mangled English that appeared on its website, sparking online ridicule. That is just so lame!

The literal translations on the staff dress code guidelines – from the Malay language into English – illustrated our cleverness. These included “pakaian yang menjolok mata” (“clothes that poke eye”) – a reference to revealing attire, and “berkolar baju Melayu cekak musang berbutang tiga” (“collared shirts and tight Malay civet berbutang three”).

Please lah – don’t take us for idiots! Even if you use Google Translate – any person with average intelligence knows that it shouldn’t be used directly. It is important to fathom the linguistic context; otherwise you get phrases like the ones highlighted above! What’s more, you can still spot the errors before you upload the translated script onto the website – if you do actually check and double-check, that is. Unless, of course, you are asleep on the job.

As you will have known by now, snickering Malaysians speedily passed the bungled translations around via social networking sites. The passages have since been removed from the ministry’s website as MOD officials turned beetroot red.

Mortified Malaysians should try to be understanding. Given that our fellow citizens are wretchedly educated, the poor blighters at MOD have no choice but to turn to Google Translate, which is convenient and also free. They couldn’t help it – they had discovered that their command of the English language was so atrociously bad that they would be struggling to render their copy into English. Please be sympathetic! Don’t mock these Malaysians – it’s not their fault their English is dreadful. Blame it on the Government because it was their political myopia that caused the standard of English to decline as fast as lightning.

"We have corrected the mistakes and translations are no longer done that way. It is now done manually,” Defense Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (above) told The Star on January 09, 2012. The damage’s done, isn’t it?

But if you care to check the MOD website (http://www.mod.gov.my/home.html?lang=en) today - as I did this morning - you cannot help but notice that the English version is actually in Malay and the writings and articles are all preceded with one telling line: There are no translations available. I reckon that since abandoning Google Translate, the Ministry must attempt to do the job manually. One can deduce that this poses a testing challenge to those tasked to do the translation work! Coupled with their poor English – it may take a long time before the English version is in English! I suppose they have not heard of outsourcing. Or maybe they would consider it if there is big money to be made on the side if they manage to put in a hefty budget for this translating job.

So there you have it – the proof that English in this country is being butchered. Now you know why I cringe with embarassment when Malaysians open their mouths to speak! I’d rather have them shower me with spittle than words that just don't make sense! I regret to report that the Queen’s English has departed from our shores.

Penang's Integrity Measure

2012-01-16T00:16:00.008+08:00

On Thursday, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and his state executive councilors made a public declaration of their assets and which was audited by KPMG.

Lim had explained that the asset declaration was an “integrity measure” he had proposed for the Penang PR government in line with its CAT (Competency, Accountability, Transparency) principles. The details of each official’s assets are available at http://www.penang.gov.my/.

Selangor and the other opposition-controlled states should do likewise. Then we shall see if BN-governed states dare to do the same!

I saw the above photo posted on January 13, 2012 on boingboing.net and the thought of being imprisoned in your own abode because of 176 inches of snow on the ground fills you with a sense of wonderment as much as it is of remoteness. Where is this place, you may ask? It’s the US town of Cordova, about 150 miles southwest of Anchorage in Alaska.

With Celtic having secured a hard-fought 2-1 win over Dundee United, the former still sits in first place in the Scottish Premier League and still ahead of Rangers by two points.

Gary Hooper drove Celtic into the lead in the 12th minute when he ran on to an incisive pass from strike partner Anthony Stokes before sending a right-footed shot past United goalie Dusan Pernis from 14 yards. Midfielder Victor Wanyama doubled the advantage five minutes later when he rose highest in the United defense following a short corner between Georgios Samaras and Emilio Izaguirre, to head the latter's cross past Pernis. The Tannadice side pulled one back when John Rankin fired in an unstoppable strike in the 50th minute.

Congrats, Siew Mei!

2012-01-15T12:08:00.005+08:00

It is always a great pleasure to discover students who have done well and yet still remember the small but significant contributions of other people, e.g. lecturers! So it is very heart-warming when this morning, I hear from one of the many students whom I have given my energy, time and even tears that she has finally graduated! I am talking about Tan Siew Mei who is now in possession of a Bachelor of Science in Business, majoring in Marketing from Southern New Hampshire University, and to cap it, she even received a Gold Key Award for academic achievement! I am proud of you!

Let me bask in this student’s appreciation, even gratitude for a brief sec! Suddenly what Oscar Wilde once said flashed in my mind: “Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result”. I guess I am one of the conditions, hehe!

Anyway, congratulations, Siew Mei!

Yet again, Liverpool disappoints because they could only manage a goalless draw with Stoke. In this case, success is elusive because the Reds are goal-shy!

Detergent Commercial: BN Vs Pakatan

2012-01-15T00:50:00.000+08:00

LinkedIn Trouble

2012-01-14T17:12:00.008+08:00

At the MIM KL Toastmasters meeting, I was given the role of Speech Evaluator for Vince Tay, a seasoned Toastmaster who delivered his advanced speech from the Humorously Speaking manual. It is never easy to evaluate an accomplished speaker, more so one who is also a humorist. But the challenge spurred me on and I believe I did well. Actually, I was good because I was voted the Best Evaluator. Truth be told, today’s speeches and evaluations deserve a 5-star rating! Yup, they were that good!

If there is anything to complain about, it is that I am in a peeve that the meeting began to meander. Although the meeting started on time, it went haywire between the Presidential Address and the Refreshment Break. The biggest culprit was the Table Topics Master because she took at least half-an-hour to complete the entire session, instead of the alloted twenty minutes – with seven speakers, a long-drawn introduction and a tiresome closing.

Still, I would be the first to admit that it was a great meeting! I would score it a 7 out of a 10.

A report by the UK’s The Telegraph on January 05, 2012 tells of a HR executive who was forced out of his job after angering his employer by putting his CV online and declaring that he was interested in other “career opportunities”.

John Flexman is thought to be the first person in the UK to bring a case for constructive dismissal after a dispute with bosses over his profile on the professional networking site LinkedIn.

Flexman who worked with the BG Group, a major gas exploration firm based in Reading, Berks – where he earned a £68,000 salary in charge of graduate recruitment – related that he was ordered to remove his CV and thereafter, accused of “inappropriate use of social media” and called to attend an internal disciplinary hearing. He was additionally accused of including confidential information in his CV such as details about how he had reduced the firm's the rate of staff attrition.

However, Flexman explained to the Reading Employment Tribunal that the details he posted were available in the company’s annual reports and that 21 of his colleagues, including the manager of the disciplinary process, had ticked the "career opportunities" box but had not been disciplined.

LinkedIn is social networking service similar to Facebook, but focused on building professional rather than personal relationships. More than eight million British members are encouraged to keep a record of their skills and experience online and up-to-date to help them make useful business contacts.

The dispute over his profile led to Flexman’s resignation in June following a breakdown in his relationship with senior executives.

The case raises broad issues for how employees use websites such as LinkedIn. According to a study of the service in 2007, around half its members indicate they are interested in career opportunities on their profile.

It doesn’t happen only in the UK – I am positive we will find it everywhere else. Is it wrong to be on a lookout for career opportunities? The issue really is whether the employee can better himself or herself elsewhere or the employer values him or her in order to ensure he or she remains loyal in the longer-term. We all have to live with labor mobility, do we not?

Two Years Later

2012-01-14T07:41:00.007+08:00

I attended the MIHRM Toastmasters meeting last evening where I took up the role of General Evaluator. It was a small group (just the ten of us!) who graced this meeting but nonetheless, it was still a quality meeting – for the simple reason that there were good speeches and evaluations.

Like many Toastmasters meetings, it didn’t start on time and this is something that puzzles me always. It is already inexcusable if student clubs drag their feet insofar as timeliness is concerned, but for community clubs which are led by professionals and other working adults, this is a crime that calls for capital punishment! I would even suggest that clubs that do not begin their meetings on time should do away with the Timekeeper because if that role is permitted, it mocks this whole idea of time management! Starting late or not keeping to the time schedule means that the concerned club has scant respect for those members and guests who faithfully keep to time. If we cannot even get this right – it does not bode well for Toastmasters clubs in Malaysia. Rubber time must be banished once and for all!

Yee Sang made an early appearance at this MIHRM meeting. I am not sure if I have ever talked about this dish called yee sang but it is a tradition to have it during the Lunar New Year. It is literally translated as raw fish. Anyway, it is actually a Chinese-style raw fish salad with salmon as the main ingredient and mingled together with assorted shredded vegetables, pomelo, jellyfish and crackers and topped with sauce and spices. And Loh Sang is the act of tossing this salad. Chopsticks in hand, diners gather around the table to toss the salad as high as possible. It symbolizes the gathering of prosperity and when we toss, we offer auspicious wishes (e.g. good health, abundant wealth) to everyone.

HELP for Haiti was a fund-raising project initated by my HICT students when the earthquake devastated Haiti on January 12, 2010.

Last year – in my blog posting dated January 12, 2011 and very appropriately titled “One Year On” – I reported on the slow progress made to help the victims. You may wonder what is the progress now that two years have come to pass? Well, it seems that work to recover still continues although things are a little better!

Image credit: http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/01/11/haiti-2012-why-are-half-a-million-people-still-in-camps/

About a million people have now left the camps which sprang up after the disaster, a new Haitian Government has been sworn into power, and nearly half of the 10 million cubic meters of debris has been cleared – the equivalent of 200 Olympic-sized swimming pools so far.

There are still close to half a million vulnerable people living under canvas, plagued by violence, rain, floods and the threat of eviction. Of those not living in camps, many still shelter in houses in need of repair or outright demolition. So there is a lot more to do.

Gold Dragon Stamp from Malaysia

2012-01-13T17:17:00.011+08:00

Image credit: http://www.nst.com.my/local/general/year-of-dragon-stamps-its-mark-1.30668

I didn’t know until last night that Pos Malaysia was also wanting to get into the spirit of the Lunar New Year – and so they came out with a very limited edition gold dragon stamp in the form of a Ming Empress robe.

Pos Malaysia Stamp and Philately Unit chief Yasmin Ramli said the collection would be a treat for stamp enthusiasts to commemorate the Year of the Dragon. And so, I hurried to the Stamp Gallery at the General Post Office at KL’s Dayabumi Complex this morning only to discover that the stamps were long gone. I was told that on the date of issue (i.e. January 12, 2012), mammoth crowds whipped themselves into a furious frenzy to get their hands on the said stamps and they were completely sold out within minutes! Needless to say, I was very disappointed!

You would think that Pos Malaysia would be smart enough to know that this type of themed stamps will sell like hot cakes, and they should have produced more but they didn't! Don't they realize that it is not just about ushering in the Lunar New Year but it is also revenue-generating? Why produce in small numbers when the demand will be huge? This is a sure case of demand exceeding supply. Don’t they know that dragons are in for 2012?

Cowgirl Shahrizat is going on three weeks’ leave as MACC probes NFC (The Sun, January 13, 2012, p 01). I don’t understand this woman! Why would she be wanting to take leave at this time? Not unless she’s packing her bags to flee the country? Or perhaps this is Najib’s abject attempt at damage control? Najib is a simpleton if he thinks that just because Shahrizat quietly slips away, the raging rumpus about cows and condos might just die down and Malaysians will soon forget! Not to worry, Najib! I, for one, won’t permit this issue to let slip from memory!

Queer Without Fear

2012-01-13T01:40:00.015+08:00

It is good to know that Malaysians are not going to submit to those who seek to dominate and bully us! Take the police for example.

First, the police banned the Seksualiti Merdeka program on the flimsiest of grounds. Deputy IGP Khalid Abu Bakar had publicly explained on November 03, 2011 that the country's laws do not recognise any “deviationist activity” that could destroy the practise of religious freedom. He had hinted Seksualiti Merdeka which highlights the plight of a marginalized community as an aberration.

Khalid is either ignorant or plain stupid. Seksualiti Merdeka is an annual festival comprising talks, workshops, literary events, stage performances and an art exhibition focusing on the rights of “people of diverse sexual orientation and gender identities”. It is an educational event that serves to inform, instruct and enlighten. If this is what Seksualiti Merdeka is all about, then how can it cause disharmony, enmity, or even threaten national security? It doesn’t make sense.

Second, the police have erred by putting a stop to an event that has been organized since 2008 without trouble. So, why only now? Why wasn’t there a clampdown in 2008? 2009? 2010? Why 2011? Was it because Ambiga.Sreenevasan was to officiate the said event? By doing what they did, the police have shown that they are politicizing Seksualiti Merdeka.

Third, the police have trampled on the rights of a section of Malaysians. Why should we repress the minority? Shouldn’t we acknowledge, if not recognize the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community? Why must we always pander to the disconnected majority? Besides, as Seksualiti Merdeka organizer Pang Khee Teik said “…by demanding that we be shut down, they have shown that they don’t understand the meaning of equality and will compromise the very right they are exercising”.

Image credit: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=887810787&ref=ts#!/photo.php?fbid=10150587959138092&set=t.887810787&type=1&theater

The Seksualiti Merdeka organizing committee, represented by Pang, Angela Kuga Thas, Thilaga Sulathireh, Siti Kasim and Michelle Nor Ismat, then filed a judicial review against the ban. They are asking that the prohibition be lifted, that it be declared null and void, and that the police give them copies of all reports made against them. [Friend and colleague, Derek Ong is also in the picture - he's on the extreme left - you can say he's part of the Purple Brigade and demonstrating public support for the cause!]

Irrespective of our sexuality and gender orientation, we should learn to respect each and every human being. Seksualiti Merdeka is about self-determination, empowerment and expression of a block of Malaysians within a rich and diverse tapestry that represents the real 1Malaysia.

Not unsurprisingly, the Attorney-General’s Chambers objected and the leave application for the review was fixed for hearing on February 21, 2012. We must continue to be optimistic. We must believe that a better Malaysia is upon us. We must keep faith.

But the question that we must ask ourselves is: "Why cannot we learn to respect one another?" Sigh!

The Dragon Sets Foot in Malaysia

2012-01-12T08:52:00.006+08:00

Image credit: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2012/1/7/central/10210692&sec=central

The Dragon has already set foot in Malaysia. At Thean Hou temple, Carlsberg Malaysia introduced the specially created bottle-contructed fifteen feet “Ambient Dragon” – just in time for the Lunar New Year. Talk about being environment-friendly!

Image credit: http://toge-nyc.deviantart.com/art/Plasticdragon-12822409

And this Dragon made entirely out of plastic kitchen utensils (e.g. spoons, knives, forks and cups glued together using a glue gun). This artwork is completely freestyle – there are no plans, no drafts and no blueprints. It takes approximately 80 hours to create this!

Liverpool hold the advantage and have a first Wembley appearance since 1996 in their sights after a Carling Cup semi-final first-leg victory at Manchester City.

Steven Gerrard's penalty in the thirteenth minute, awarded when Stefan Savic fouled Daniel Agger, condemned Manchester City to a second successive home defeat. There could have be an avalanche of goals instead of that one solitary goal because Liverpool forced a succession of outstanding early saves from Manchester City keeper Joe Hart.

Tithe Abuse

2012-01-12T00:44:00.017+08:00

Another scandal is brewing and despite denials by the persons named, it will not go away that easily! Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of religious affairs Jamil Khir Baharom (above photo), along with the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) director Che Mat Che Ali and chief prosecutor Shamsudin Hussain were alleged to have abused zakat funds, i.e. the trio had used RM63,650 in alms money to settle their legal costs incurred when Anwar Ibrahim named them as respondents in his 2010 qazaf application in the Syariah Court.

MAIWP received a government grant of RM700,000 in June 22 that year, and only in December 2010 did the council use money from this grant to repay the RM63,650 it had withdrawn from the zakat funds. .

It is obviously a case of misappropriation of funds. In fact, this matter was initially highlighted in the Auditor-General’s report. Not only that but it is also a case of double standard.

This was evident when Johor police pursued a tithe collector Reduan Mohd Said for misappropriating RM19,510 in zakat money – and he was subsequently sentenced to be jailed four years and whipped thrice. But for Jamil Khir and the others, they have not been summoned to account for this wrongdoing.

And yesterday, PKR communications director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad furnished proof of the said payments made, i.e. the first amounting to RM31,500, through voucher No. 2010B01304 and approved on February 09, 2010 and the second payment voucher was for RM32,150 dated April 29, 2010.

All along, I thought the guys entrusted with the zakat monies are clean and suci. I guess nothing is really safe anymore from the clutches of duplicitous politicians and their minions.

On Wednesday afternoon, I went to KPMG Tower in Bandar Utama for the KPMG KL Toastmasters meeting. This lunch-time meeting attracted a good nineteen people and I took up two roles, i.e. as General Evaluator and as Evaluator for Steven Koh who delivered his tenth CC speech titled "The Ultimate Art of Bending".

I enjoyed the speeches and evaluations and indeed, I was pleasantly surprised by their quality! I particularly relished the Table Topics speeches, especially from Amanda Wong and Aaron Lee. The three project speakers merited praise too and all of them (i.e. Toh Joo Lee, Steven Koh and Aaron) showed good promise, but they do need guidance. Anyway, I offered my help to these young Toastmasters. It is the least I can do because all this while, Grace Loh (Immediate Past President) has been carrying this burden alone. Besides, if I can be of assistance, why not?

On that same day too, I went to 1 Sentral in KL’s Jalan Travers to attend the PriceWaterhouseCoopers Toastmasters meeting. I was invited by Ong Sze Yein to be the Evaluator for an Advanced speech (from the Humorously Speaking manual) that was delivered by PwC intern, Yeap Zheng Lik who is a member of the Sydney FX North Ryde Toastmasters Club in Australia. In fact, both of us won the evening's awards for Best Speaker and Best Evaluator. The meeting also didn't start on time but that wasn't the only issue. Time-keeping wasn't managed well at all because it stretched and stretched until it finished one hour beyond the scheduled time. Club member, Jack Lim who was the General Evaluator must shoulder the responsibility for taking close to 30 minutes to present his very thorough report – when according to the meeting agenda, only five minutes was allotted to him. He may have meant well but to surpass the time as he did was not prudent at all.

The other thing I found very distracting was their staff members habitually walking in and out of the meeting – this occurred when the meeting had already been formally convened. When the meeting began, for example, there were 24 of us but at one stage, the numbers rose to 37 attendees, and by the time, we brought down the curtains, there were just 29 people. Next time, we should strap the culprits to their chairs!

Anyway, two contrasting meetings for these two aforesaid clubs even if they belong to the same financial services sector.

Pay Cut

2012-01-11T16:33:00.006+08:00

Last evening I was at the Taman Indrahana Toastmasters meeting where I was the Evaluator for an advanced speech ‘The Demonstration Talk’ by Chan Weng May. Besides her, there were three other speakers – but I reckon only Jean Ng excelled. All the evaluations were great though. It was also a meeting that started on time and it was heartwarming to see 29 people in attendance – not many clubs can boast of these numbers on a regular basis! I would award this meeting a score of 7 out of a 10.

Singapore is pruning salaries for its Prime Minister and other cabinet ministers after voter unhappiness over a widening income gap and weakened support for the ruling party (i.e. PAP) in last year’s elections.

Prime Minister's Lee Hsien Loong’s salary has been reduced by 36% to $1.7 million (£1.089 million), or over four times that of the US President, who is currently paid $400,000 (£256,000). Or compare to that of British Prime Minister David Cameron, who earns $222,000 a year (£142,000). When all’s said and done, Lee (left) is still one of the world’s best paid political leaders, so the pay cut is not a big deal after all!

Even new ministers will make about S$1.1 million ($850,000).

The monthly pay for a Singapore Member of Parliament (who does virtually nothing, I reckon) is S$12,000 ($8,600) per month or S$144,000 ($103,200) per year tax free.

In addition to their inflated salaries, the Singapore politicians and elite gets extra pay as appointed company directors!

Of course, over in Malaysia, ministers are paid paltry sums. But if you add in the “extras” through lucrative corruption and crony business deals – don’t be surprised if their total take-home is as high if not higher than their Singaporean counterparts!

The Year of the Dragon

2012-01-11T07:20:00.028+08:00

Dragons and dragon motifs are featured in many works of modern literature, particularly within the fantasy and science fiction genres. Prominent works depicting dragons include JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, JK Rowling’s Harry Potter novels, and Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern.

Even the popular role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons makes heavy use of dragons, and has served as inspiration for many other games' dragons. Though dragons usually serve as adversaries, they can be either good or evil.

Since 2012 will be the Year of the Dragon – let me show you dragons that have been featured in movies, paintings, and so on:

Saint George and the Dragon, painted by Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, or more popularly known as Raphael (1483-1520)

Dragons from "The Nine Dragons" handscroll (九龍圖卷), painted by Chen Rong in 1244

Falkor the luckdragon in the movie The NeverEnding Story (1984)

Draco in the movie DragonHeart (1996)

Mushu in the movie Mulan (1998)

Haku Dragon in the movie Spirited Away (2001)

“Dragon”, the she-dragon in the movie Shrek (2001)

A male dragon in the movie Reign of Fire (2002)

A Hungarian Horntail in the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

Saphira in the movie Eragon (2006)

Toothless, the “Night Fury” dragon in the movie How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Dragon Bridge in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Dragon in Changhua city, Taiwan. Image credit: http://www.taiwanese-secrets.com/pictures-of-chinese-dragons.html

The Golden Dragon, listed as the longest in the Malaysia Book of Records, at Lao Zi temple along Jalan Sungei Lembing in Kuantan, Malaysia. Image credit: http://allmalaysia.info/2009/01/05/sculpted-to-perfection/

Red dragon (Welsh: Y Ddraig Goch) on the flag of Wales

Druk, the Thunder Dragon on the flag of Bhutan

In Chinese culture especially, dragons are highly regarded and even revered. So it is fitting that a set of special edition stamps to celebrate the Lunar New Year went on sale Thursday:

The Year of the Dragon stamps, the third dragon set issued by China Post since 1949, used a design close to China's first stamp, which was issued in 1878 during the Qing Dynasty, when emperors still ruled the country.

The stamp set is drawing ferocious criticisms for its fang-bearing ‘monster’.

"When I saw the design of the dragon stamp in a newspaper, I was almost scared to death," Zhang Yihe, a noted writer said in a microblog post on weibo.com

Another writer, Tan Xudong, called it an "incomparably ugly dragon-year stamp."

Its designer, Chen Shaohua, said he had received criticism, abuse and support for the stamp, brought out ahead of the Chinese New Year, which is Jan. 23. Chen has defended his design, saying that the dragon should be interpreted as a symbol of China's rising confidence.

According to China’s The Global Times newspaper, Chen said that his design derives from the pattern on "dragon robes" worn by Chinese emperors – whose symbol was the dragon – in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and a screen featuring dragons in a Beijing park that was a pleasure ground for the emperor.

A popular myth claims that Chinese people are descended from the dragon, and many believe it's an auspicious symbol.

The controversial dragon stamp is already ushering in good fortune for some. One stamp seller was reportedly selling a set of 20 for 178 yuan ($28) — much higher than the 24 yuan ($4) face value.

I don’t understand this furor. It’s, after all, just a picture on an adhesive paper label.

Aileen Gabriella Robinson

2012-01-10T14:38:00.011+08:00

Images credit: http://komunitikini.com/kl-selangor/malaysian-beauty-wins-miss-tourism-international-2011-pageant

I was meaning to boast about this young lady’s triumph but I hadn’t because of one reason or another. Anyway, I am going to blog about it now because my good friend and fellow Toastmaster, Dr Arthur Robinson sent me the link to access photos of his 22-year-old daughter. She is Aileen Gabriella Robinson, a Malaysian beauty who won the Miss Tourism International 2011 title at the pageant world final held on New Year’s Eve at Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa. She beat 53 beauty queens from around the world, to become the first Malaysian ever to win the crown title in the pageant’s 15-year history. Congrats, Aileen Gabriella!

The Miss Tourism International Pageant is a home-grown title initiated in 1994 by Danny Ooi to promote tourism for the host country and also to promote peace, goodwill and friendship among the participating countries. Then it started with participation from 20 countries and today the title is franchised to more than 85 countries around the world.

Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) distinguished fellow Mohd Ariff Abdul Kareem has warned that the federal government revenue was growing too slowly to keep up with its borrowings, which hit 53.1 pe cent of GDP in 2010. He admitted that the current size of government debt relative to GDP is not that worrying. Still he has pointed out that debt-to-GDP ratio jumped from 41.4 percent in 2008 to 53.1 percent in 2010 while government debt grew 14.6 percent in 2008 and 18.3 percent in 2009, far outpacing the country’s GDP growth. Here’s the scare: “If nothing is done to reverse the current trends in government expenditures and revenues, extrapolation suggests that Malaysia’s national debt will explode to 100 per cent of GDP by 2019”.

And fiscal calamity will descend on this country if the debt growth gathers speed!

Certainly, it is important that we rein in government operating expenditure, which of course, includes downsizing the bloated civil service, bringing government procurements under greater scrutiny with increased transparency and accountability and as Ariff suggested, undertaking serious tax reforms to raise more revenue.

Even RAM Holdings Bhd chief economist Dr Yeah Kim Leng said there needs to be political will on the part of Putrajaya to execute its Government Transformation Plan (GTP), which is partly aimed at stopping the fiscal deficit from rising further.

There is only one formula to achieve fiscal sensibility and that is to change the government.

Rats!

2012-01-10T01:04:00.014+08:00

The 45 places to go in 2012 as determined by The New York Times – published January 06, 2012 – include my favorite cities, i.e. London, Glasgow, and yes, Malacca! Wow! The sleepy hollow that is Malacca is attracting troops of tourists!

I was at Cititel yesterday and thanks to Moses Wong, I delivered my advanced speech from the Public Relations manual, i.e. The Crisis Management Speech, titled “We’ll Bounce Back” at the MidValley Toastmasters meeting.

I was originally thinking of presenting the Singapore train crisis - I blogged about it, remember? - but then I thought I will speak about something closer to home. Then I recalled reading in the newspaper – it was the SJ Echo – about this rat eradication exercise that was executed in SS15 Subang Jaya sometime in December 2011. And also somebody telling me that they closed all the restaurants and coffee-shops and even Asia Café for a period of time. This was one of those photos (above) that I clearly remembered seeing. Anyway, I decided to latch onto this issue instead and I spoke as a restauranter who owns a make-believe business in that locality. I had four to six minutes for the presentation and three to five minutes for the Q&A session. I must have been so convincing because some members told me afterward that they really believed I had a restaurant!

I also was the evaluator for Keith Ho’s contest speech. In the end, I was voted Best Speaker and Best Evaluator! A double achievement. The only thing to spoil this otherwise superb evening was that they were four minutes late in starting the meeting. Overall, I would give this meeting a 7 out of a 10.

I managed to locate this news article which was dated December 10, 2011 – so for readers interested to know a little bit more, here it is! ADUN Subang Jaya Hannah Yeoh had said that she had received many complaints on rats from residents, especially from SS15, which was one of the oldest areas in Subang Jaya.

"Improper disposal of food waste is the main culprit. Restaurants throw their food waste everywhere and even into drains. Many backlanes are littered with renovation waste and old furniture which make good hiding places for rats."

Yeoh had said it was time for the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) to review their pest control guidelines.

"It is also timely for residents to also be selective on where they had their meals. Send a strong message that you do not tolerate dirty eateries."

The newspaper reported that in just two days, MPSJ collected 265 dead rats. And I bet you, there were more of the expired vermin still to be collected.

According to MPSJ health director Dr Roslan Mohamed Hussin, some of these rodents could weigh as much as 1kg each! I am figuring that's a lot of rat meat! Didn't I read somewhere that poor villagers in northern Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia consume rat meat, which is a popular alternative to other dearer meats? Of course, those rats were caught from rice fields and they are definitely clean compared to their diseased cousins found in towns and cities.

Rat meat can be made into many tasty dishes: Stir-fried, boiled, grilled or deep-fried, but roasted rat meat is the most common! For connoisseurs of food, rat meat with fermented rice or finely chopped rat with lemongrass and chili are the ways to go.

And Now To Topple BN

2012-01-09T14:17:00.014+08:00

Pictures by Choo Choy May

A man dressed as Justice Bao even came to the Jalan Duta court complex.
Image credit: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/1/9/nation/20120109065929&sec=nation

Anwar Ibrahim said today that “justice has been served” after his acquittal in a politically-charged sodomy trial and pledging to topple the ruling BN in the next elections.

That’s right – Anwar must now focus on ensuring that Pakatan is geared to win the elections; he no longer need to worry about Saiful’s posterior. It is time for Anwar and Pakatan to show that they are for the people of Malaysia! Get cracking so that we can annihilate UMNO-BN once and for all!

Anwar Acquitted

2012-01-09T10:48:00.008+08:00

In a surprise end, the High Court today acquitted Anwar Ibrahim of a charge of sodomising his former male aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan after a two-year trial. Judge Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah ruled that the prosecution had not done enough to prove Anwar had committed sodomy against Saiful and the judge even saying that DNA samples could have been compromised. I use the word "surprise" because everything points to a "political" decision and this acquittal won't be the end of Anwar's troubles with the judiciary.

Still, I am glad to hear this news – Anwar has suffered enough! But whichever way the verdict goes, UMNO-BN is bound to lose. If Anwar is found guilty and jailed, he will become a rallying point in the fight for human rights. If he is freed, he will be able to galvanize the opposition to defeat UMNO-BN. Anwar is now to be feared.

Anthony Stokes' hat-trick ensured that Celtic progressed to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup at the expense of hard-working Peterhead – the former won 3-0.

Stokes tapped in when strike partner Georgios Samaras set him up in front of goal after 36 minutes. He then fired his second on the turn after 57 minutes and drilled the third (82) to finish off Parkhead who are sitting second-bottom of Division Three.

SMRT's Saw Resigns

2012-01-07T08:06:00.008+08:00

I received an SOS to help out MIHRM Toastmasters Club which was in desperate need of a Timekeeper – the original role player couldn’t make it. And so I went.

The club was having their International Speech and Table Topics Contests last evening. Again, to my chagrin, we didn’t start on time. I was already anxious, flustered and even agitated. Thirty minutes lapsed before the club event finally took off. Then the announcement came that the International Speech contest will not proceed because one of two contestants couldn’t make it. Only the Table Topics contest went ahead. Oh well…

Image credit: http://www.straitstimes.com/The-Big-Story/The-Big-Story-3/Story/STIStory_753731.html

SMRT chief executive officer Saw Phaik Hwa stepped down from her post on Friday afternoon following public outrage over train disruptions that inconvenienced thousands of commuters in Singapore. She finally took this step because as the CEO, she must take full responsibility for the December chaos – read my blog posting dated December 29, 2011 titled ‘Train Stories”. Besides, there were also disruptions in each of the last two months — on September 20, a faulty cable stalled train services for four hours, affecting more than 26,500 commuters, and on October 17, "train faults" led to commuters being grounded.

In 2010, when trains were packed and commuters were complaining, Saw dismissed these concerns and defended the company. Instead, she pointed the finger at commuters and said: "People can board the train, it is whether they choose to."

Her remarks, besides upping the level of anger of the public by a few notches, also showed a CEO completely out of touch with reality. Saw later apologized for her comment. But commuters cannot keep being offered apologies while service keeps getting disrupted. So it is right that she resigns!

Oldham gave Liverpool a fright, but the Reds fought back to book their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup with a comfortable 5-1 win. Robbie Simpson struck from 30 yards (28) to evoke hopes of a giantkilling act. Liverpool were level within two minutes when Craig Bellamy deflected in Jonjo Shelvey's shot and Steven Gerrard put the Reds into the lead from the spot (45+1). Shelvey stroked home a third (68), Andy Carroll's long-range effort (89) made it four and Stewart Downing fired in a rebound (90+5) to end the game on a high for the Reds.

On the Wild Side

2012-01-06T08:11:00.008+08:00

UK’s The Mail (January 03, 2012) showed a collection of snapshots taken by wildlife photographer Lennette Newell that form part of her 'Ani-Human' series of portraits. The photos show brave models – covered from head-to-toe in body paint – blending in perfectly alongside a succession of wild animals.

The fun project had a serious side as it is meant to remind viewers that man is an animal himself. “I think that we forget our origins as animals ourselves,” Newell said. “We need to reconnect with nature and we should be closer to the animals that live on this world”.

Enjoy these works of living art!

Stephen Hawking's Admission

2012-01-05T23:13:00.006+08:00

This evening I made the short drive to MAS Academy in Kelana Jaya to enjoy the company of fellow Toastmasters at the Joint Meeting of the MAS Cempaka and MAS Mawar clubs. I was roped in to be the Evaluator for MAS Cempaka president, Yap Boon Kong who delivered his CC speech # 7, simply titled "V". Nope, it was not V for "Victory" or "Victor Ong" ; nor even V for "Vendetta" but V for "Vegetarianism"! Interestingly, both he and I won the Toastmasters’ ribbons for being voted the Best Speaker and Best Evaluator respectively. And Captain Balan as the Toastmaster-of-the-Evening made sure it was a fun meeting because he spiced it with generous toppings of humor.

But the meeting started fifteen minutes late – what is it with Toastmasters who don’t keep time? Sigh! I am awarding this meeting with a score of 4 out of a 10.

When New Scientist magazine asked Stephen Hawking what he thinks about most, the Cambridge University professor renowned for unravelling some of the most complex questions in modern physics answered: "Women. They are a complete mystery."

Hawking’s admission is nothing new. I know a lot of men would agree wholeheartedly with him!

In Cairo, prosecutors at the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak have demanded he be given the death penalty if found guilty of ordering the killing of anti-regime demonstrators during unrest which led to his overthrow in February 2011. Now that he is finally brought to justice – there's only one verdict for him: Guilty.

Aqua-car

2012-01-05T08:18:00.010+08:00

Last evening, I went to Bukit Jalil to attend the AFC Toastmasters meeting. I was originally slotted to be one of the Evaluators but ended up being elevated to be the General Evaluator instead. And the meeting agenda was riddled with confusing changes. Still, I was fortunate to listen to good speeches and evaluations – I shouldn’t be surprised since this is an AFC Toastmasters meeting where Daniel Teh and company would have set certain benchmarks.

My other major complaint was that the meeting started twenty minutes late! This is really inexcusable. Anyway, I would grudgingly give a score of 4 out of a 10 for this meeting.

I spotted this intriguing Chinese-designed car on UK’s The Mail yesterday although it first surfaced in the same newspaper on June 13, 2011 – see photos below:

Image credit: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2002726/Meet-car-future-drives-roads-sand-ice--water.html

The all-terrain eco-friendly vehicle, which has a top speed of 62 mph and works like a hovercraft, can move seamlessly between different surfaces. Xihua University student Yuhan Zhang created the spectacular car – called the Volkswagen Aqua – the winning entry to a Volkswagen-sponsored compeition.

The vehicle's sleek sportscar-like design incorporates four high-powered fans and integrated airbags that inflate to lift it from the ground.

A large windscreen stretches above the front seats to give a panoramic view of the landscape ahead.

And you enter and exit the car from a hatch at the rear of the car.

Based on technology that is currently available, the Aqua uses a hydrogen fuel cell to power two motors - with zero carbon emissions. One motor inflates the skirt around the vehicle to make it hover, while the second drives it forwards and controls its direction.

But I do know that hovercrafts are difficult to control and there is also the issue of stability, I think. If the Aqua really works like a hovercraft, has Ms Zhang addressed this? Still, this car is cool! And it would be really swell to drive this amphibious vehicle on our flood-prone KL roads, wouldn't it?

Wife Beater

2012-01-04T15:36:00.007+08:00

I read in UK’s The Independent today that an international lobbying company, Portland Communications – run by Tony Blair’s former advisor Tim Allan – tried to remove references to a client's brand of lager that has been referred to as the "wife beater" from the online encyclopedia Wikipedia.

Stella Artois, once best known for its unashamedly upmarket advertising slogan "reassuringly expensive" is now afflicted with an unflattering image problem. The drink, which at 5.2 percent alcohol is stronger than many other lagers and therefore makes people drunker and sometimes more aggressive more quickly supposedly, has acquired the unfitting soubriquet of "wife beater".

Under the user name Portlander10 it removed reference to Stella Artois from the Wikipedia page entitled "Wife beater" and replaced it with a generic reference to lager or beer. Portland also tried to remove the reference to wife beater on the Wikipedia page for Stella Artois. But other users spotted the edit and reversed it.

I don’t blame the brewer AB InBev – you don’t want me to go to a pub and when asked, ‘What shall you have?” respond with a “Can I have a wife beater please?!” It sure as hell won’t do any good to the brand’s carefully-cultivated reputation, will it?

I would also venture to add that it doesn’t do any good to my own reputation! Would you still quaff down a beer that has begun to acquire a reputation as a drink for those whose stated mission was to get blind drunk? Not unless you want to get blind drunk, that is!

I found this story that bears up to what is written above. The lager was singled out by a judge in a Brighton court, who linked it with binge-drinking and alcohol-fuelled violence when sentencing a man who had attacked his ex-girlfriend's partner after downing Stella Artois (Mail Online, November 15, 2007).

The last time I drank a Stella was at O’Neill’s nestled inside Stansted Airport on June 20, 2009 – my most recent visit to the UK! So, I am not going to desperately miss it. But it’s sad that this beer has gone from being a product with a certain degree of class to one associated with all the wrong sort of people.

This reminds me of another brand that suffers from being in the same kind of unwanted predicament! Britishers may remember the phrase "done a Burberry" – the fashion house which became the designer label of choice for football thugs.

Hmm, writing about beers is making me thirsty! Where can I go to have chilled Tiger?

Work in Progress

2012-01-04T08:16:00.009+08:00

Check out photos on the progress of the new Sunway University building taken this morning:

Manchester City beat Liverpool 3-0. I may have a copious vocabulary – at least I like to think so – but this time around, I am at a loss for words! I can find no expression to adequately describe my distress and disappointment. Period.

Luis Suarez, by the way, missed this match - he had accepted his suspension prior to the game. The club was damning of the three-man independent commission which found Suárez guilty of abusing MU defender Evra: “It is our strongly held conviction that the Football Association and the panel it selected constructed a highly subjective case against Luis Suárez based on an accusation that was ultimately unsubstantiated.

In its determination to prove its conclusions to the public through a clearly subjective 115-page document, the FA panel has damaged the reputation of one of the Premier League’s best players...".

I find this whole issue unsettling because Suarez's accuser, Evra had admitted that he himself used insulting and threatening words towards the former. If Suarez must be punished, so must Evra! Otherwise, where is the fairness?

Piggish Bankers

2012-01-03T23:25:00.002+08:00

UK’s The Telegraph reported yesterday that “disgruntled” bankers will not roll over if their bonuses are deemed too small. Legal experts have warned that an increasing number of bankers were building cases in preparation of lower bonus payouts and were prepared to fight it out at court despite the huge public and shareholder backlash against out-of-control pay.

This explains why the OWS movement persists even until today! These bankers are just plain greedy!

This evening I was at the Sri Damansara Club to attend the Speecom Toastmasters meeting. I had been invited quite some time ago to be the General Evaluator. I was struck by their warm hospitality. Even though there were only twelve participants – four of whom were guests – it was still a decent meeting. Anyway, I expressed the hope that speakers should carefully read their manuals and pay meticulous attention to the speech objectives – otherwise they run the risk of going astray. And this meeting started five minutes late. I would give this meeting a score of four out of a ten.

Ariff & Aspan Join DAP

2012-01-03T07:24:00.007+08:00

DAP scored a major coup when former Pulau Manis UMNO assemblyman Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz and NS UMNO veteran Aspan Alias decided to join DAP. Having Ariff on board is a feather in DAP’s cap because he was Prime Minister Najib Razak’s information chief in his Pekan UMNO division up until 2004.

As Ariff explained “I am impressed by DAP. They are principled, I like their professionalism”. Speculation was rife in pro-UMNO blogs that these two party stalwarts had intended to abandon UMNO – and so this has finally come to pass!

The opposition will only be strengthened with these new additions. I believe there are many more Malays who are honorable, righteous and honest. Malaysia needs them now, more than ever – before UMNO bankrupts this country. Yes, Anything But UMNO.

Celtic swept aside Dunfermline with ease to retain their two-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League table and stretch their winning run in the league to 10 in a row. Anthony Stokes fired in a stylish strike from 18 yards to open the scoring for Celtic on 18 minutes. Five minutes before the interval, Victor Wanyama volleyed in a Charlie Mulgrew free-kick at the back post. And Mulgrew turned scorer in the 69th minute with a curling free-kick that evaded Pars keeper Chris Smith to seal the win.

GE13 Predictions

2012-01-02T12:52:00.007+08:00

Putting aside RPK's broad hint that BN will win GE13 - on Thursday, Praba Ganesan writing in The Malaysian Insider examined the Malaysian political landscape and made some bold predictions about the approaching GE13. His informed prognosis are given below:

"Pundits will not be surprised if the northwest turns into a Pakatan surge. Penang is destined to stay with Pakatan. The parliamentary seats will be status quo. Kedah will copy Penang, and Perlis is on a knife edge.

Kelantan is a safe seat, and the vagaries of Terengganu UMNO politics does leave more questions than answers. UMNO may keep the state, but only a two-seat majority in the parliamentary count.

Pahang will be Peninsular Malaysia’s battleground. There were urban wins for Pakatan, but it is the reach to Felda areas that will be telling. UMNO to keep Pahang, but to lose more ground.

Perak and Selangor will go Pakatan, the first is a bigger call but a call has to be made.

With the expectation of a slim Pakatan win in Negri Sembilan, that leaves Malacca and Johor as solid UMNO states.

All eyes will turn to East Malaysia. It is a mighty ask to expect a lion’s share of the parliamentary seats there, but Pakatan might broach the 20-seat mark, though it might end up being 15 which means that would reduce BN’s majority there!"

I would dearly love to believe him because when this happens, it shall represent a big and bold step forward for Pakatan and which builds on the successes of GE12. I am not giving predictions yet and I intend to keep my cards close to my chest, for now.

Keeping Faith with Resolutions

2012-01-02T10:52:00.010+08:00

I am happy that Manchester City lost 0-1 to Sunderland on Sunday. However, this and the other teams’ defeats have not materially affected Liverpool’s position on the EPL table. The Reds are still languishing in sixth place.

I love it when UK’s The Sun featured a host of animals to welcome 2012 with a big smile and putting the ‘happy’ in Happy New Year – three of which are shown here:

I am optimistic that 2012 will be a great year for many people, including yours truly. Undaunted, I am again bravely listing down my New Year resolutions as follows:

Year 2012 Resolution List

1. Work hard to be happy.
2. Achieve the Distinguished Toastmaster recognition
3. Charter Sunway University Toastmasters Club
4. Self-publish an anthology of short stories
5. Publish three academic/conference papers
6. Yield 153,000 pageviews for my blog

Occupy Dataran

2012-01-01T21:24:00.020+08:00

Yes, Malaysians answered the call and they occupied Dataran as these photos show:

According to The Malaysian Insider (Webpage

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/police-say-did-not-beat-up-undergrads-in-upsi-demo/) today, the police have denied beating up student activists during a peaceful demonstration at UPSI, saying that there was “no scuffle” when arrests were made.

But this dullard of a police officer, Perak Police Chief Mohd Shukri Dahlan contradicted himself when he also insisted that “necessary action” was taken to uphold public safety and as a result, up to seventeen students were arrested in the 2:30 AM incident. He was, in fact, quoted as saying that some students resisted arrest and one of the students had “injured himself.” I cannot believe that he is so stupid that he believes Malaysians can be easily duped by his feeble attempt to confuse us with an idiotic play of words.

Ushering in 2012

2012-01-01T08:52:00.016+08:00

Last evening, a group of friends-cum-colleagues gathered at Sunway Pyramid to help usher in the New Year! We had dinner at Bubba Gump before adjourning to Garden Café to watch the fireworks that heralded in 2012! I didn’t know that the latter venue had an open-air section that overlooks Sunway Lagoon where we got a front seat view of the dazzling display of brilliant pyrotechnics that lighted the night sky! A joyful evening of fellowship!

This was not the only reason I was filled with joy. Vijay and I were already thrilled that Tottenham drew 1-1 with Swansea and then we were overjoyed when Manchester United and Chelsea were whipped 2-3 and 1-3 by Blackburn and Aston Villa respectively!

But the joy was short-lived because I read about Malaysian police showing their fascist side again! Student leader Mohd Safwan Alang was critically injured after being allegedly attacked and assaulted in a police lockup after being arrested at a New Year’s Eve student rally for academic freedom, held at University Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) in Tanjung Malim last night. Parti Socialis Malaysia (PSM) reported that another person had received stitches in Tanjung Malim hospital for his injuries.

Details of the attack were not immediately available. On-the-scene reports sent via Twitter messages said Safwan had lost consciousness after the attack and had initially been taken to Tanjung Malim hospital before being transferred to Slim River hospital.

From inside Tanjung Malim police station, student activist Adam Adli posted a message on Twitter that Safwan was punched twice in the face and was being assaulted in the police station – confirming that the police are brutalizing students who are only fighting for their democratic rights.

The following photos taken on a cameraphone have been posted by Solidariti Mahasiswa, an umbrella organisation of student bodies campaigning for academic freedom, university autonomy and the repeal of the Universities and University Colleges Act:

An unconscious Safwan Alang being taken to Slim River hospital in critical condition. Twitter photo by Solidariti Mahasiswa.

Gone Awry in My 2011 Resolutions

2011-12-31T17:16:00.006+08:00

Craig Bellamy scored twice for Liverpool and substitute Steven Gerrard netted another to cap a 3-1 comeback victory over Newcastle in the EPL on Friday.

But it was Newcastle who took the lead with a very lucky goal in the 25th, as Ryan Taylor's cross was headed toward goal by Yohan Cabaye and then deflected off Liverpool defender Daniel Agger to wrong-foot goalkeeper Pepe Reina. Still, Bellamy equalized five minutes later with a low shot into the bottom left corner after a poor clearance fell right at his feet, and added the second with a free kick in the 67th. And finally, Gerrard who came on as a substitute (replacing Charlie Adam) yielded the third goal after running onto a ball from Jordan Henderson and slotting it underneath Toon goalkeeper Tim Krul from a tight angle.

Since I will not be making any more postings until tomorrow, here’s my round-up of my 2011 achievements:

Year 2011 Resolution List

1. Write my Ph D proposal and submit for admission into the program – On hold.
2. Publish three academic/conference papers – Working on two papers but they’re still very much work in progress..
3. Achieve Toastmasters’ recognitions: ALB and ALS – I am already working on my ALS; should complete hopefully in calendar year 2012.
4. Charter Sunway University Toastmasters Club – On hold.
5. Start my second Masters – I finally enrolled with Heriot-Watt University on November 08.
6. Write two short stories and get them published – Work in progress but…
7. Yield 39,000 pageviews for my blog – My pageviews have hit 91,304. Dare I say that my blog is getting popular? I have reason to believe so because if I examine the pageviews I recorded in the last 4 months (September-December 2011), the average is a commendable 7,717.

Again, progress has been dreadfully slow. Perhaps, I have been too ambitious? I reckon that "achievements" are one thing but these resolutions also provide me with a necessary sense of purpose and direction. So although I may have not done that well, I did try and I am still hell-bent on achieving the above!

V Calling All Malaysians!

2011-12-31T14:36:00.002+08:00

MCA Members Resign En Bloc

2011-12-31T13:04:00.008+08:00

Anti-BN campaigners and supporters should be elated because about one thousand MCA members from Penang and Johor have resigned en bloc. It seems that their resignations are only the tip of the iceberg and it signals the beginning of the imploding of BN’s second largest component party.

If you still read the mainstream newspapers, especially MCA’s mouthpiece, The Star – you will realize soon enough that they will have downplayed the news – it is not something you want to share with the Malaysian public! A retired journalist, Jackson Ng cited one former member as saying: “Just watch how MCA implodes in the run-up to the 13th General Election. At least 30 percent of its members will eventually abandon the party by polling day” (Webpage http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/letterssurat/46191-mca-implodes-a-blow-to-bn, published December 30, 2011).

I was just reminiscing about Kota Kinabalu because sometime last year – in December – I went there and I did enjoy myself immensely. Anyway, thinking about Sabah brings two news items to mind – they have been sitting quietly in a cobwebbed corner in my mind for quite awhile. The simmering issue that concerns the unique wooden Atkinson Clock Tower in Kota Kinabalu is pretty much dormant because there have been scant developments on this. [To understand this matter of contention, kindly check out my posting dated November 30, 2010 titled “The Clock Tower”].

Anyway, so far all I know is that two ordinary citizens, i.e. homemaker Lim Swee Geck and social activist Jeffery Chang gained wide support after they had filed a suit against the city’s authorities – the Sabah Housing and Town Development Authority (SHTDA) and City Hall or Dewan Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu (DBKK) – for allegedly approving the project. The case is on-going while the authorities say no decision has been made yet whether the project will be allowed to go ahead. Until today, nothing so far. If you must knoiw, Malaysian courts move at a snail’s pace.

The other on-going case plodding through the courts is a civil suit filed by former Sabah CM Harris Mohd Salleh against another former chief minister Yong Teck Lee for allegedly defaming him when he called for a re-investigation of the plane crash that took the lives of CM Fuad Stephens and 11 others some 35 years ago on June 6, 1976. The man who replaced Stephens was Harris, and this story took an intriguing twist when Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah revealed last year that he was asked to disembark the flight by Harris just before the doomed craft was about to take off.

The issue is that Harris is claiming that Yong, a lawyer by training, and his party, SAPP, slandered him by calling for the re-opening of the crash files based on Razaleigh’s revelation as by doing so allegedly insinuates he was involved in the crash.

The Bread War

2011-12-30T22:30:00.015+08:00

The above has been enjoying widespread circulation in cyberspace! I find this plea to be racist although I have no qualms about boycotting products and companies if they really promote CSR, i.e. cronyism, sexism and racism. But I would be lying if I said that it will be easy to follow through with this entreaty. Who practices CSR if not BN? And we all know that the BN tentacles spread far and wide – which businesses out there are not affiliated in some way to the duplicitous BN? Nearly everything is, kan?

Still, I am amused to know that Gardenia put out a full-page advertorial to supposedly set the record straight. Check out The Sun today on page 12. I don’t know if this call for boycott by a person or persons unknown has hurt this bread company. But their official response was quirky. I mean the company talked about how “Gardenia is everything that a good Malaysian company should be. [They] employ highly professional and ethical people regardless of race or religion. [Their] employees respect each other and to further promote and foster fellowship, [they] have these posters all around our workplace”. Within seconds of reading this platitudinous verbiage, I found I had goose pimples!

One of these posters is shown below:

Image credit: http://notakosong.com/tag/gardenia/

And it is so clichéd and corny! Besides, I think Gardenia is over-reacting! After all, Massimo is also just introduced into the Malaysian market – so certainly, people are going to try this new brand. What’s more, at an introductory offer price of only RM2.50. Of course, existing brands will suffer in the immediate- to short-term and their sales can be expected to be cannibalized. A good marketer will counter this with localized promotions where Massimo is apparently making headway.

Image credit: http://www.yuen89.com/2011/11/massimo-bread-just-from-rm2-50.html

This online campaign urges bread consumers in Malaysia to stop supporting super-wealthy Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary (owner of 76.2% of rice monopoly Padiberas Nasional Berhad or Bernas which in turn owns 30% of Gardenia Bakeries) and start supporting another wealthy magnate, i.e. Robert Kuok (who controls PPB Group Berhad which in turn owns FFM Berhad and which owns 100% of The Italian Baker Sdn Bhd, the company that produces Massimo bread). Should anybody care one way or another?

Anyway, since I am on this subject, I am recommending that Malaysians buy bread from their local bakery instead! You cannot go wrong on this one because you will be supporting the local business in your neighborhood! Those two rich dudes don't need our money!

Ball Cutter

2011-12-30T07:50:00.009+08:00

I found the story incredible when I first read it. But it has been reported in some newspapers and there were pictures too of the predator fish that preys on men by biting off their testicles! Ouch!!

Jeremy Wade, the host of ITV’s “River Monsters” went to remote Papua New Guinea after locals reported a mysterious aquatic beastie that was castrating young fishermen.

And he did finally found the Pacu fish – known locally as the "Ball Cutter" – and even caught one specimen weighing 40 lb. What is really creepy is that the said fish has human-like teeth – as if a dentist has conveniently left them behind!

The Pacu fish uses them to tear off the testicles of unwitting anglers, leaving them to bleed to death. UK’s The Sun which told this story on December 28, 2011 had mentioned that at least two fishermen have bled to death after being bitten by the beast, although Wade believes they were "pretty unlucky" as the fish is quite shy.

Pacu fish are usually found in the Amazon, where they need their teeth to crack into the tough cases of nuts and seeds. The previously vegetarian fish were introduced to Papua New Guinea 15 years ago and here, they used their special technique to chomp meat due to a lack of suitable vegetation in the waters.

This particular adventure will be screened on the River Monsters Series 3 on the UK channel ITV1 on January 03, 2012 at 7:30 PM. Just in case, you happen to be in the UK!

Image credit: http://strangeanimal.tumblr.com/post/393277319/pacu-the-fish-with-creepy-humanesque-teeth-via

Image credit: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2009/06/29/fish_with_humanlike_teeth/

Image credit: http://yababoon.com/2011/10/12/did-pacu-fish-stole-someones-teeth/

Political Symbols

2011-12-30T00:13:00.007+08:00

I attended the IEM Toastmasters meeting last evening. Not unexpectedly, I was co-opted to take on a Speech Evaluator’s role – and, not surprisingly, I won the Best Evaluator Award. However, this meeting didn’t turn out well - it had carelessly allowed time to run amok and so the whole meeting agenda swiftly flew out of the window. I noticed that the Grammarian and the Timekeeper left even before the meeting ended – this does not speak well of their club members. But then again, this reinforces the importance of time management. Really, the Sergeant-at-Arms, the Toastmaster-of-the-Evening and the Timekeeper should take the blame for this runaway meeting. A President’s Distinguished Club shouldn’t have permitted this to happen in the first place! I have said my piece and I am awarding this meeting a lowly score of 3 out of a 10!

This was my last Toastmasters meeting for the 2011 year and meticulously checking my records, I found out that I have made 145 club visits – counting only the regular meetings – in 46 different Toastmasters clubs. The passion for Toastmastering burns brightly inside of me!

Elections have come to Egypt! Voting is under way in the first elections since Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February 2011. With democracy coming out into the sunshine, many people with political ambitions are offering themselves to the citizenry.

Every aspiring candidate has been assigned a symbol (or brand, if you must call it) by the election authorities – a crucial tool on polling day in a country where at least a third of voters are illiterate. The logo appears on their posters and it will be on the ballot paper too.

Image credit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15917630

This is not unlike in Malaysia – except that in Egypt, they’re seeing a really long list of parties, each with its own logo – it can be a traffic light, a food blender, a vacuum cleaner, a ballistic missile, and many more.

Death of The Great Leader

2011-12-29T16:01:00.018+08:00

Image credit: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/12/ap-thousands-mourn-at-north-korean-leader-funeral-122811/

Image credit: http://www.nst.com.my/latest/mass-farewell-to-late-north-korean-leader-1.24744

Image credit: http://www.b92.net/eng/news/world-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=12&dd=28&nav_id=78020

Image credit: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1107750--north-koreans-cry-salute-as-they-bid-farewell-to-kim-jong-il?bn=1

Image credit: http://photogallery.thestar.com/1107801

Image credit: http://www.france24.com/en/20111228-n-korea-starts-mass-farewell-late-leader-tass

The elaborate ceremony of mourning for Kim Jong-il, who died on December 17 at the age of 69, had been preceded by remarkable supernatural events, at least according to North Korea’s state media.

Earth tremors supposedly rocked the sacred Mount Paeku, alleged to have been Kim's birthplace. Weeping owls flew into the Kim family mausoleum in the centre of the capital, Pyongyang. Meanwhile, mysterious flashes of light were reportedly seen in the skies above the world's last totalitarian state.

UK’s The Sun had similarly reported that the state propaganda machine was very creative with their extraordinary stories. “A snowstorm blew up and ice covering the mountain's Lake Chon is said to have cracked so loudly that 'it seemed to shake the heavens and earth'. And in the north-eastern city of Hamhun a crane is reported to have circled a statue of Kim's father, President Kim il-Sung, before landing on a tree with its head bowed in sorrow” (Website http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4016818/North-Korean-propaganda-nature-weeps-for-Kim-Jong-ils-death.html, published December 23, 2011).

In keeping with the natural world's apparent grief over Kim's death, North Korea's showpiece capital was suitably wreathed in snow yesterday.

I am sure many world leaders are envious that Kim was given extra-special treatment by the gods!

Celtic leapfrogged Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premier League thanks to Joe Ledley's second-half header.

It was a disjointed first-half. Celtic's Fraser Foster made a wonderful save from an early Lee Wallace header and was relieved to see Carlos Bocangera shoot wide from close range. But when the second half came, Celtic dominated and Ledley crashed in a header from a Charlie Mulgrew corner on 52 minutes. Rangers offered little in response and Celtic, with this important 1-0 win, made it nine league wins in a row.

Train Stories

2011-12-29T07:36:00.015+08:00

Travellers on London's Underground have been disrupted by a 24-hour strike staged by drivers on Boxing Day. The dispute is over the Aslef union's demand for extra pay for staff working on the said public holiday.

Public transportation is really not as dependable as we would like to believe. It’s not just in Britain – ask the Singaporeans.

Our super-efficient neighbors who pride themselves on being better than us Malaysians were left dumbfounded when train services were disrupted. Not once, not twice – but thrice!!! Poor Singaporeans!

Images credit: http://www.asiaone.com/static/multimedia/gallery/111215_mrt/

The first train broke down on the morning of December 14, 2011, on the Circle Line and services restored only after a five-hour delay.

The second breakdown occurred the following evening during rush hour when the north-south line, which connects the north of the island to the city center and serves the main Orchard Road shopping belt, stopped suddenly, leaving an estimated 127,000 commuters stranded. It was reported that hundreds of commuters were trapped underground without light and ventilation – one photo contributed by a netizen to citizen journalism website Stomp showed a window smashed by passengers in an attempt to get some fresh air. This disruption also supposedly caused massive traffic jams as crowds spilled onto the streets to try to get home.

To make things worse, train operator SMRT sent an opportunist message to all of its taxi fleet to inform them of an ‘income opportunity’ during the breakdown. This sparked a massive public outrage on cyberspace, with many netizens slamming SMRT for its indecent insensitivity over the matter.

Image credit: http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20111215-316467.html

And on Saturday morning (December 17, 2011), Singapore was again hit by its third train breakdown in a week, frustrating the public and further dampening Christmas cheer.

Predictably, some smart alecks demanded the resignation of SMRT CEO Saw Phaik Hwa and more than 1,400 people signed an online petition asking her to leave. Of course, Saw said she had no plans to quit – she is a Malaysian-born toughie after all!

Saw, who has been credited with trebling SMRT's net profit to S$161.1 million over the past eight years, had already been under fire for overcrowded trains and frequent breakdowns in the subway system.

The opposition Workers' Party – which controls six of 87 seats in parliament – asked if the increasing breakdowns along two subway lines were the result of insufficient investment in maintenance and upgrades.

"If so, were the lack of essential investments a result of pressure on the public-listed MRT operators to minimise costs and maximise profits for the benefit of their shareholders, at the expense of the 2.3 million commuters?"

SMRT is a subsidiary of Singapore state investor Temasek, whose CEO Ho Ching is the Singapore prime minister's wife.

Other commentators voiced concerns about Singapore's ability to cope with civil emergencies, given the inadequate response by SMRT to the breakdowns when they first occurred.

So Malaysian trains are not the only ones that are a distressing disappointment! Okay, our trains break down very often, they are habitually late, they are overcrowded – but once in a while, it is comforting to read news about other people’s misfortunes – not just Malaysia’s!

Besides, there’s hardly anything good that we can talk about Malaysia’s public transportation, is there?

Think and Act Anew

2011-12-28T21:56:00.003+08:00

Judge Aly Fekry, head of the Cairo Administrative Court ordered the Egyptian army on Tuesday to end virginity tests on female detainees in military prisons. For background into on this story, read my blog posting dated June 09, 2011.

But the army is defiant. General Adel Morsi, head of military’s judicial authority, said there was no decision to conduct these tests, so the court ruling could not be implemented. He is just so disrespectful!

I must admit I have made fun of Sunway University’s “Think” slogan. But having said this, the SUBS Head of School spent a lot of time thinking! And some of those deep thoughts were generously shared with faculty members – one of which is so meaningful that I just have to share Associate Professor Foo Yit Fah’s email with everyone else. With just three days from the dawning of a brand-new year, I trust he doesn’t mind if I reproduce it here in my blog:

“What is the coming of a new year but merely the turning of another page in the Gregorian calendar. The page has turned 365 times over the past year, so why is the 366th time so special. Notwithstanding that next year we will be turning the pages 366 times, I guess welcoming the new year is about saying goodbye to the old one. And when an old year passes by, it will never come round again. So we want to look towards the new year with hope and anticipation of better things to come. Perhaps we want to forget the past or we just want to have a different tomorrow. This is a time to start afresh.

As we contemplate our resolutions for the new year, I wish to share a very compelling and appropriate quote for the season by Abraham Lincoln from a speech he delivered in 1863 when he signed the Emancipation Proclamation:

'The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves and then we shall save our country'.

Although our mission is not quite to save our country but building our School will be just as challenging. We must disenthrall ourselves of the dogmas of the past. We must THINK and ACT anew!”

Isn’t the above so weighty, so insightful, so profound? There's no need to be astonished! He is, after all, my head honcho at SUBS - somebody who is wise, informed and perspicacious!

Lucky Slum Dwellers

2011-12-28T09:39:00.008+08:00

In Malaysia, we often spend money on big infrastructure projects that may or may not benefit citizens. I suppose the government will adamantly still go ahead because corrupt BN politicians and their cronies need to line their prodigious pockets and satisfy their gargantuan greed.

Okay, we all know corruption is massive in this country – but today, I am keen to talk about this colossal idea that has been made into a reality by the Colombian government that is a godsend to at least 12,000 residents of Medellin's rough Comuna 12 neighbourhood. These shanty town dwellers used to trek up and down steep slopes every day – which authorities say is the same as going up a 28-storey building.

Not any more because the government has installed a giant outdoor escalator! And hey, according to UK’s The Sun, it cost only £4 million – which is really cheap for a government project. Malaysians will surely marvel at this austere pricing because we are known to spend RM1.95 million for one thousand racks to hold tourism pamphlets or RM1,950 per rack (Webpage http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/auditor-general-tourism-ministry-overpaid-rm270m-for-ads/, published October 24, 2011).

Photo: AFP

Image credit: http://news.yahoo.com/photos/colombian-city-gets-giant-outdoor-escalator-1324953638-slideshow/

Images credit: http://www.emirates247.com/offbeat/colombia-gets-giant-outdoor-escalator-2011-12-27-1.434701

Officials say the inhabitants of the Colombian slum will now take only six minutes instead of the 35-minute hike on foot up the hillside. Cesar Hernandez, head of projects for Medellin, said the electric stairway is divided into six sections and has a length of 384 meters (1,260 feet).

Mayor Alonso Salazar described Comuna 13 as the city's district that has "suffered the greatest urban violence... but lately this has been receding and we hope this social package will help it move forward." Now if only Malaysia will learn from Colombia!

I was at the Taman Indrahana Toastmasters meeting yesterday and the torrential downpour must have kept many members away because I only counted twenty of us that were present. Still, as always it was a good meeting with Karen Cheah and Michael Kum slowly but steadily showing us their increasing confidence as competent speakers. And they also have the benefit of good evaluations from Dr. Devi Menon and Chrristine Ngiam respectively. Even Chan Siew Peng has shown good improvement as a Toastmaster-of-the-Evening. It is always heartening to see a Toastmasters club that is determined to show progress at every meeting! As for me, I did not undertake any role and I was content to sit quietly and listen to the speeches and evaluations.

Not a Bribe, says Awang Adek

2011-12-27T07:23:00.010+08:00

David Chong and I just had a leisurely breakfast this morning - and this is possible only because I went through three continuous days of feverish exam-script marking and survived! There's other unfinished work, that's for sure, but the painful ordeal is nearly coming to an end. Oh, the joy of having even a simple breakfast of noodles! It is a great morning!

I am not sure why these photos were taken but y'know David - he's always wanting to capture moments like this for posterity.

Awang Adek, the Deputy Finance Minister (left) had refuted allegations by an anonymous blogger that he had received more than RM100,000 in “contributions” in stages from Yahya Abdul Jalil, a Johor UMNO division leader whose company won a Public Works Department contract.

Awang did however admit that he had received cash contributions via his personal account, as alleged by ‘Thewhistleblower711′, but he claimed the deposits were donations for social programmes in Bachok, Kelantan, where he served as its MP in 2004. Therefore, it cannot be considered a bribe because those who made contributions did so without expecting any favors. Obviously, this generosity was kept secret and only revealed now by the whistleblowing blogger – and he had, in fact, published purported copies of the cheques and cash deposit receipts involved in the transactions.

The MACC has confirmed that it is investigating the matter but don’t expect anything, okay?

Apart from Awang, the blogger had named two aides to the prime minister and deputy prime minister. Asked about this, Awang said he has no inkling as to why the duo have been named and said he has no links to them.

“My conscience is clear,” he added. Yeah, right, and cows can fly! Besides, people like him don't even know what shame is!

Both Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers earned a draw in this Monday match. It was the former’s Charlie Adam, who, when challenged by Mauro Formica, sliced into his own net (45) to give the latter a gift goal. But the Reds pulled level soon after the restart as Maxi Rodriguez nodded in a volleyed cross from Martin Skrtel (53). This is Liverpool’s sixth home draw of the season.

The Muppets Bring Christmas Cheer

2011-12-26T21:02:00.004+08:00

I did warn you yesterday, didn’t I? I can confirm that this is how I look now!

This evening, I am going to share with you another three songs:

I can always count on The Muppets to cheer me up!

Stay-at-Home Christmas

2011-12-25T20:50:00.010+08:00

Yesterday, I spent something like seven hours marking exam scripts – even forgoing dinner! Today, it’s another six hours. And tomorrow, it will be more or less of the same – six or seven hours of mental drudgery and also mental anguish! This is how I looked yesterday, how I look now and how I will look tomorrow:

No kidding!

Anyway, it’s Christmas and I am playing this song right now to cheer me up!

There were criticisms hurled at Liverpool players for rallying round under-fire Luis Suarez. They had worn white t-shirts with an image of a celebrating Suarez on the front and the player’s name and number on the back as they warned up before their EPL match with Wigan last Wednesday. Even manager Kenny Dalglish had one of the said t-shirts as he conducted his pre-match television interview, and said it highlighted the strength of feeling the players and staff had for their colleague.

Image credit: http://sanford-soccer-net.blogspot.com

I am proud that the club is united in showing support for one of their own!

Celtic scored a 2-1 victory over Kilmarnock. The former produced their first goal when the latter conceded possession deep inside their own half, and Cha Du-Ri sent a high ball into the box from the right and Georgios Samaras's downward header found the net (45+2). Their second goal came when the striker netted again with a driven shot from the edge of the box (53). Killie only managed to pull one back when substitute Danny Racchi fired home a blistering shot from 28 yards (87).

Christmas-y Songs

2011-12-24T23:49:00.002+08:00

As the hands of the clock will strike twelve soon – I thought I will herald in Christmas 2011 with these three Christmas-y songs:

Christmas Greetings 2011

2011-12-24T22:06:00.003+08:00

A Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year, everyone!!!

Image credit: http://www.thekilonsparkles.com/2011/11/merry-christmas-everyone.html#!/2011/11/merry-christmas-everyone.html

Khir Toyo Smiles

2011-12-24T14:03:00.007+08:00

Look at the photo above and see former Selangor Mentri Besar Khir Toyo beaming broadly after he was found guilty of corruption and abuse of power by the High Court on Friday. Of course the mainstream press, e.g. The Star gave him the mild treatment – that he was charged with “knowingly purchasing two pieces of land and a bungalow in Section 7 [Shah Alam] at a much lower price than its original value from Ditamas Sdn Bhd director Shamsuddin Hayroni in 2007" (December 24, 2011, p 01).

And according to the New Straits Times, Justice Mohtarudin Baki even concurred with the prosecution that Khir Toyo had committed a heinous crime and demanded that public interest be given priority (December 24, 2011, p 08) – yet Khir Toyo was sentenced to just twelve months’ jail.

Is the High Court judge serious about curbing corruption? Why the very lenient sentence? Khir Toyo should be slapped the maximum custodial sentence. What a crap!

I recall a mother stealing infant formula for her baby and she was jailed 18 months. I also read that somebody mentioned that in The Star in May 2011 there was a case of an unemployed man who was jailed for two years for shampoo theft.

Now I know why Khir Toyo can afford to smile – his illicit amassment of wealth incurred only token punishment. Already his lead counsel M Athimulan had promptly filed a notice of appeal after the judgment was delivered.

The other scandalous event also got into the news.

I suppose after all that heat on the NFC, the MACC was finally compelled to take some action. So on Friday, their officers raided the NFC office in plush Solaris Mont Kiara. They questioned staff and then carted away a desktop computer’s CPU and four documents in just under two hours.

The authorities have already detained a businessman, said to be a Datuk, for questioning in relation to the case as well as allegedly attempting to bribe senior CCID officers believed to be involved in the NFC probe. I wrote “authorities” because initial reports said it was the police who apprehended this guy but then later, the MACC also claimed to have rermanded this same person.

I am therefore, predictably confused because I am now not even sure where the guy is. It is possible that we may read one morning that if he is found dead in the lock-up – we can ascertain that the police had him; and if he is found dead in an open courtyard, the MACC had him; or is it that they did have him but they let him slipped! Pray, this is just a crazy conjecture on my part!

And of course, the other possibility is that Shahrizat will quit anytime soon and the NFC debacle will be explained away as just one big misunderstanding between the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry, the Finance Ministry and Agroscience Industries Sdn Bhd – the NFC owners. We can only hope that the authorities will investigate if there is a case of collusion in granting the project and/or the soft loan of RM250 million, besides the other obvious matters of criminal breach of trust and corruption. But I am not hopeful!

But then again we must remember that this is Malaysia. So Malaysia Boleh, kan?

Brussels and Chocolate

2011-12-24T13:48:00.007+08:00

Yesterday – even with having to contend with a workload that is threatening to drown us in a tsunami of exam scripts – the six of us went out for lunch, taking the opportunity to celebrate Jessica Ho’s birthday on Wednesday. A short but well-deserved break at Sunway Pyramid.

For those who really, really hate eating their veggies – here’s an idea! Coat your vegetables in chocolate. That’s what Andy Simpson – he has a store at the Elsecar Heritage Centre, near Barnsley, South Yorks – did. He produced his new delicacy of Brussels covered in the finest Belgian chocolate and sure enough, they are selling like hot cakes at just 25p each (Webpage http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4016380/Chocolate-coated-Brussels-are-a-sprout-and-out-hit.html, posted December 22, 2011).

The chocolatier explains: "I know Brussels sprouts are a bit like Marmite, you either love them or loathe them. I like them, they are a nice chocolatey shape but I must admit they are an acquired taste."

Evra Accuses Suarez

2011-12-24T00:24:00.013+08:00

Image credit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-16300067

According to tradition, the omens are good for 2012 after the sun shone on Stonehenge in England, during a dawn ceremony to mark the winter solstice. If this is true, I cannot wait for 2012!!

Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra face-off during Premier League clash on October 15, 2011. Image credit: http://www.talksport.co.uk/radio/sports-breakfast/blog/2011-12-21/poll-eight-game-ban-too-harsh-suarez

MU’s left-back Patrice Evra who had accused Luis Suarez of racial abuse should be able to gloat now that the Liverpool forward has been found guilty of misconduct. On Tuesday, the latter has been slapped with an eight-match ban and fined £40,000 – this is merely based on what Patrice said he was called!

I understand that Suarez was charged for calling Evra "Negro", a term that across Hispanic-speaking countries in Latin America is frequently used. I also read that Evra called Suarez – in a very pejorative manner if I am to believe the news article published by UK’s Daily Telegraph – “a South American" and he still got away scot-free! I believe we have to look at this whole case in the correct context. I don't think it is fair to only consider what Suarez said and not look at the other’s remark(s)!

In the interest of justice, I would also like to know if the English FA’s Independent Disciplinary Commission can produce any evidence to show Suarez was indeed guilty? I am concerned that the verdict was reached based on one person’s accusation. Is there anybody who can corroborate Evra’s complaint?

Justice meted out must not only be fair but be seen to be fair.

Moody Blues

2011-12-23T15:06:00.013+08:00

I actually loved that blue outfit that Lady Gaga wore – have you seen her photo that I posted early this morning? And it is the right color too as I am feeling blue right now – having to slave industriously over the mountain-high pile of exam scripts that is sitting forlornly in front of me!

I have made progress – I have completed marking all the Entrepreneurship papers and some of the Principles of Marketing papers – but I still have – let me count – I am eyeballing 116 answer booklets! And I swear the scripts are sniggering at me! Does this mean that I have to be house-bound this Christmas? Boohoo, life sucks!

The other blue thing is this village in southern Spain whose inhabitants happily voted to keep their habitats blue! Yes, Juzcar residents decided to keep the paint job to benefit from the tourist boom.

The Smurfs – just in case, you don’t know them! – are small fictional creatures created by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo, with blue skin, white trousers with a hole for their short tails, white hat in the style of a Phrygian cap, and sometimes some additional accessory that identifies a personality.

Anyway, Juzcar served as the film location for The Smurfs movie, and therefore, the pueblo was transformed into the set of Smurftown for Sony Picture’s movie by being painted blue – all 175 buildings!

Soon after, Juzcar learns how to cash in on their new-found celebrity status. Previously, just about 300 tourists would pass through Juzcar in a year. In the past six months, an estimated 80,000 followers of "Los Pitufos" (as the Smurfs are known in Spanish), have dropped into the “blue” village.

In fact, the villagers are enthusiastically embracing their new role – they have events such as a Smurf moonlight fun run, Smurf painting competitions and permanently running Smurf trade fairs. There are even Smurf-themed weddings to keep fans of the squeaky little blue folk coming.

Blue may not be my favorite color but do you know that it is the least "gender specific" color, having equal appeal to both men and women? And of course, blue is calming and during this stressful post-exam period – is it any wonder why I am snacking on blue M&Ms?

Lady Gaga in 2011

2011-12-23T07:36:00.016+08:00

They say that Lady Gaga’s year really began in an egg. And that’s how she arrived at the Grammys in February, encased in a large, translucent pod carried by scantily-clad dancers. Yes, she “hatched” onstage, giving birth to Born This Way, and performing the eponymous lead single of her second studio album and anthem to self-acceptance. In 2011, the album would carry her around the world, where she rarely went unnoticed, as you can imagine! Check out these photos that I had specially selected from Lady Gaga’s wardrobe in 2011:

Images credit: http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/galleries/TMG8969899/Highlights-from-a-ear-in-Lady-Gagas-wardrobe.html, accessed December 23, 2011.

A year of globe-trotting and relentless advocacy of tolerance, Lady Gaga has been voted Entertainer of the Year by members of the Associated Press. This was no mean feat as she narrowly edged out the late Apple founder Steve Jobs by only three votes! (The Star, December 21, 2011, p 47).

A Frog in Georgetown

2011-12-22T08:04:00.004+08:00

Image credit: The Star, Malaysia, December 20, 2011, p 21.

A frog was discovered in Georgetown, Penang on Monday by reporters covering the Penang Municipal Council meeting. This pencil drawing of a frog was found at the place where former PKR member Lim Boo Chang was believed to have sat as Penang Municipal Councillor at the City Hall building in the Esplanade.

Lim, who used to be in Gerakan before moving to MCA and subsequently PKR, applied to re-join Gerakan on Thursday.

Malaysian frogs are hardy creatures – and you can see them bumping and jumping and hopping around a lot during the election season!

Again Liverpool was unable to turn on the goal-scoring tap in this 0-0 draw with Wigan Athletic. Goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi saved a Charlie Adam penalty and made a string of other fine saves to help Wigan hold Liverpool to a point. F-frustrating!

Condo in Singapore

2011-12-22T00:23:00.011+08:00

Image credit: http://lushhomemedia.com/2006/07/11/orchard-scotts/

On Tuesday, PKR revealed another startling expose pertaining to the ongoing National Feedlot Centre (NFC) issue, alleging that even more money was siphoned to purchase yet another luxury condominium – this time in Singapore — for Shahrizat’s lucky family.

PKR’s Saifuddin Nasution said the 2,282-square feet condominium, one of the largest available at the posh Orchard Scotts Residences on Anthony Road in Newton, Singapore’s uptown district, was purchased for S$4.1 million by the senior minister’s family on January 27 last year. According to the currency exchange rate at the time of purchase, Saifuddin said the unit would have cost about RM9.9 million.

I suppose they can justify the purchase of this condo. Cows need an “orchard” to roam lah... Didn’t they say that the grass is always greener on the other side?

And you know what? The condo unit was registered directly under the names of Shahrizat’s family members, Mohamad Salleh Ismail (Shahrizat’s hubby) and her two children Izran and Izzana.

PKR’s Rafizi Ramli however admitted later that the party was unable to trace the actual money trail between NFC’s funds and the condominium purchase. He however pointed out that previous records had also shown the direct transfer of funds between Real Foods Company (RFC) and the National Meat and Livestock Corporation (NMLC), both owned by Shahrizat’s family members, and two other companies that they own in Singapore.

We already know about the condo unit in Bangsar – if not, read my posting dated November 12, 2011 titled “Cows Living it up in Bangsar Condo”. Correction! It is actually two condo units as disclosed by Shahrizat’s hubby. And the revelation on December 20th – as described in this posting – showed that their property investments are expanding.

Saifuddin also revealed: “For the duration of three months between October and December 2010, Shahrizat’s family transferred an estimated S$530,000 or RM1.3 million from the government’s funds to manage its personal business in Singapore”. And he added: “If this happened throughout 2010 and 2011, it is likely the funds have surpassed RM10 million for the business in Singapore.”

This family is worshipping a new god, greed. JAWI (Jabatan Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan or Federal Territory Islamic Affairs Department) should be alerted.

But yesterday, The Malaysian Insider brought attention to the NFC executive chairman’s refusal to refute, deny or confirm the Singapore allegations, saying he was no longer speaking to the media on the matter. Can you blame him for being speechless?

Poo Power

2011-12-21T07:53:00.010+08:00

I am finding Mahathir to be really comical. This guy can make a good clown! Sorry, I didn't mean any disrespect to jesters and jokers but Mahathir is a gagman who loves to engage in silly buffoonery. Yesterday, he said he took, but never sought, World Bank loans (Webpage http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/dr-m-says-took-but-never-sought-world-bank-loans/, published December 20, 2011). Let’s give this story a rest – enough said!

Rwanda’s prisons are environmentally-friendly. The country’s 14 prisons have introduced biogas burners, so they are now 75% powered by the inmates’ own natural waste. The burners need one thing – a steady and regular supply of waste – and jails are perfect.

In this BBC News report dated December 18, 2011, the biogas is produced by combining the inmates’ waste from the twenty-four toilets in Nsinda Prison – almost eight thousand prisoners live here, most of them convicted of involvement in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide – with cow dung from the jail’s farm cows and water. The prisoners’ diet is not rich enough to produce top quality gas on its own but the pungent cocktail of human and bovine waste produces premium gas. The gas is created and stored in a series of twelve digesters – each digester is capable of holding 100 cubic meters (3,530 cubic feet) of biogas. This biogas generated accounts for 75% of energy needs inside the prison.

But it is not just about energy savings but also protecting Rwanda’s forests. At the moment, half of Nsinda Prison still runs on firewood chopped by the inmates – so if energy dependence is wholly on biogas, trees will be left alone!

Nsinda Prison has seen a 85% reduction in energy costs since switching to biogas. That translates into a $1.7 million saving on energy costs for all of Rwanda’s ultra-green poo-powered prisons.

I thought this is an awesome idea!

Mahathir Still Denies

2011-12-21T00:59:00.006+08:00

The day before yesterday, Mahathir has again denied asking the World Bank for help. Please lah, Malaysians – are you doubting his honesty? He really didn’t do it! Probably someone under PKR’s payroll must have hacked into the World Bank database and inserted those irrefutable records into their database. Yeah, that must be it! Poor Mahathir – these unappreciative Malaysians are forever blaming him!

And Najib Razak always wanting to cozy up to Mahathir, yesterday, backed the latter’s denial of having previously requested loans from the World Bank, and described the allegations against the former prime minister as “nonsense.” Najib, if you have nothing intelligent to say, just shut up!

There is no point in making any more comments on this case because the records confirmed it all!

Last evening I was at the Friendship Toastmasters meeting. I had commited to evaluate Grace Tan's advanced speech and I kept my promise – even though I knew it was going to be challenging to give feedback to an eloquent speaker. Still, I thought I did rather well. I marvelled that five AFC Toastmasters came to listen to Tan - after all, this was her tenth Advanced speech that will now qualify her for the Advanced Communicator Bronze award! Finally! I am happy for her that she is continuing her speeches because her Club members and others deserve to learn from good speakers like her. Believe me, these days, it is not often that we can be enthralled, enraptured and enchanted by good speeches because good speakers are a rarity. This meeting heard two speeches. One was from Tan who entertained the audience with a light-hearted after-dinner speech that was filled with anecdotes and humor. The other was the exact opposite - he presented a speech that was like a flickering fire that labored and sputtered and died before being rekindled, only to labor and sputter and die again. And again. And again. An oral prattle that was slumberous as it was tiresome. And my vexation was made complete when the meeting finally concluded, thirty-five minutes beyond the planned time. I will have to give this meeting a score of a 4 out of a 10.

Mahathir and the World Bank

2011-12-20T09:30:00.003+08:00

It was very amusing to read that Mahathir Mohamed had challenged Anwar Ibrahim to furnish evidence that the former had sought help from the World Bank during the 1999 financial crisis. Of course, that is to be expected, right? Mahathir will always deny everything. But wait, he again challenged Anwar to swear on the Quran that he had, in fact, written a letter to the World Bank asking for funds (Sunday Star, December 18, 2011, p 14).

I give it to Mahathir – he has balls! Can you remember that he had drummed into our heads that he was the savior of the country in 1999? And that he was very proud to have spurned the World Bank’s offer of financial help because he didn’t want the country to become its slave if Malaysia were to borrow money from it? At that point in time, Malaysians believed him. At that time, we didn’t know any better. At that time, a majority of Malaysians still thought he was a good prime minister.

Let me ask you a question. If you are someone who is crooked and corrupted and you state flatly that you are ready to go to a house of worship and then swear on the holy book that you are clean – would anybody in his or her right mind believe you? Look – if you are already capable of commiting crimes, I am sure it will amount to nothing if you swear by the Quran in order to change the people’s perception of you. No big deal for you, kan?

And another thing. If Mahathir swears and so does Anwar – where does that leave us? Who do we believe? Obviously one is lying and the other speaks the truth – but swearing will not give us the answer. We will still be none the wiser. After all, the guilty person will have no compunction about swearing anyway and he or she can surely hide his or her guilt very well behind a supposedly pious facade. And if he or she is already a sinner – what is adding one more sin to his or her collection of sins?

Besides, if you do carry out this oath-taking, you are belittling that religion. You are using (or is it misusing) religion as a camouflage for your misdeed(s).

But thankfully, there is no need to insult Islam. PKR yesterday refuted Mahathir’s claims when they produced online records of loans – made between May 18, 1982 to Malaysia’s post-financial crisis period of March 30, 1999 – by the global financial body during the latter’s tenure as prime minister. This includes three loans for projects inked six months after Anwar Ibrahim was sacked as deputy prime minister in September 1998.

A $300 million (RM953.10 million) loan package, titled “Economic Recovery and Social Sector Loan Project’ was signed on June 18, 1998 – according to the World Bank website – and this was followed by an Education Sector Support Project ($244 million); Year 2000 Technical Assistance Project ($100 million); and Social Sector Support Project ($60 million) that were subsequently inked on March 30, 1999 (Webpage http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/pkr-shows-world-bank-records-claims-proof-dr-m-received-aid/, published December 18, 2011).

A PKR statement said: “If seen carefully, this is clear proof of the World Bank’s commitment to Malaysia during Mahathir’s administration”. The statement further added that the records furnished showed that Mahathir’s allegations against Anwar were false. Now, if Mahathir had indeed frivolously sworn on the Quran, the religion would have been tarred, tainted and tarnished unnecessarily!

Naked Lunch

2011-12-20T07:26:00.008+08:00

People walk past an activist during an Animal Naturalis demonstration to promote vegetarianism in Barcelona, Spain on Thursday. Posted in boingboing.net on December 16, 2011.

And talking about activism, it seems that the student group protesting against the UUCA on Saturday has come under fire for pulling down a flag bearing the Prime Minister’s image.

I wouldn’t even call the act disrespectful – there was no harm done to this piece of cloth anyway. And it is a legitimate protest action. As one student leader, Ahmad Syukri Abdul Razeb said, “... we see it as symbolic to our losing trust of our prime minister” (The Sun, December 20, 2011, p 04).

It is just a great deal of hue and cry over nothing. In other countries, demonstrators stomp on flags and even set them alight. So Najib is lucky to be spared that opprobrium.

Anyway, why must there be this flag portraying his image? Isn’t this a form of idolatry? There’s a word for this – anthropolatry!

In the SPL match between Celtic and St Johnstone, the former overpowered the latter with two second-half goals that helped Celtic reduce the gap with leader Rangers to four points. Gary Hooper opened the scoring when he prodded hom from close range following a 60th-minute corner. Then Ki Sung-Yeung fired in after a quick break four minutes later.

Egypt Erupts Again

2011-12-19T10:15:00.012+08:00

Egypt is again in the grip of fiery protests as its citizens clamored for an immediate handover to civilian rule. Although Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February and the country’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces took power – protesters have called for the ouster of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Mubarak’s long-time defence minister who heads the SCAF.

Criticisms against the SCAF have been gathering momentum, with Egyptians blaming the military council for the chaotic transition to democratic rule. The military's perceived reluctance to prosecute members of the former regime and cleanse public institutions of former regime members has sparked suspicions that the SCAF is colluding with the ousted leadership to start a counter-revolution by perpetuating a state of violent uncertainty.

The country has seen tens of thousands of people pack Cairo’s Tahrir Square as well as other cities to demand that the army transfer power to civilian rule. The military insisted it will hand over power after a presidential election, which has yet to be scheduled. To make matters worse, the military appointed Kamal al-Ganzouri – who served under Mubarak – as prime minister last month. Egyptians have accused the military of trying to entrench its position. As protesters dug in, the police and military responded violently.

Below are photos of the deadly clashes in Cairo:

Image credit: http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Troops-protesters-clash-for-3rd-day-in-Egypt-2410248.php#photo-1943971

Image credit:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/8964341/Female-protestors-beating-sparks-Egypt-outrage.html

Photo by Mahmud Khaled, AFP

Image credit: http://news.in.msn.com/international/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5610756

Image credit: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/world/deadly-clashes-rock-cairo/story-e6frea8l-1226200709086

Image credit: http://online.wsj/com/article/SB10001424052970203499704576621184220609012.html

Image credit: http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Troops-protesters-clash-for-3rd-day-in-Egypt-2410248.php#photo-1946543

Call for Malaysia to Arrest Taib

2011-12-19T00:13:00.004+08:00

Last Tuesday, seventeen NGOs (including Greenpeace and the Swiss-based Bruno Manser Fund) called on Malaysian authorities to order the immediate arrest of Abdul Taib Mahmud (above), Sarawak chief minister since 1981 as well as thirteen family members for massive graft and plundering the rich natural resources of Sarawak. Of course, you and I know this will fall on deaf ears.

Taib has long been the target of allegations of systematic corruption – his crimes include the illegal appropriation of public funds and land, abuse of office, fraud, money-laundering “and conspiracy to form a criminal organisation.” Already, it has been claimed that Taib and his family members have stakes in 332 Malaysian and 85 foreign companies worth billions of dollars.

According to media reports, the said parties, i.e. Taib’s office and the MACC - the latter had, in fact, claimed as far back as June 2011 to have started investigating Taib, according to a Malay Mail report dated June 09, 2011 - have declined comment. Taib has also previously denied such allegations.

The wheels of justice move ever so slowly – if they actually move at all.

Yesterday, Liverpool decisively beat Aston Villa 2-0 in this EPL game. Craig Bellamy fired home from close range (11) after Jonjo Shelvey's clever flick created the opening from Stewart Downing's corner. And Bellamy then swung in a 15th-minute corner for Martin Skrtel to find the back of the net with a header from close range.

The Protestor

2011-12-18T20:34:00.006+08:00

From the Arab Spring to the Occupy Wall Street movement, The Protester was named Time magazine's 2011 Person of the Year. I wish to add the Malaysian protestor to these ranks – he or she who was there to stand up for Bersih 2.0, anti-Lynas, anti-UUCA, Kill the Bill and other protests targeting at an imperious and despotic government.

As Time Editor Rick Stengel said in a statement: "Is there a global tipping point for frustration? Everywhere, it seems, people said they'd had enough".

He added: “They dissented; they demanded; they did not despair, even when the answers came back in a cloud of tear gas or a hail of bullets. They literally embodied the idea that individual action can bring collective, colossal change".

I agree. I support. I salute The Protestor.

Malaysian Student Activism is Alive

2011-12-18T08:06:00.006+08:00

Malaysian university students are slowly but surely finding their voice! About fifty of them went to Putrajaya on December 08, 2011 to protest against the Peaceful Assembly Bill:

Yesterday, in Kuala Lumpur, a 100-strong student group organized by Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM) took to the streets to lobby the repeal of the University and University Colleges Act (UUCA), which the undergraduates say denies their academic freedom. Unlike the 30-strong gathering at KL Sentral on December 14, the police (surprisingly) made no move to detain the student activists.

Picture by Choo Choy May

Long live Malaysian student activism!

Celtic failed to reach the last 32 of the Europa League despite a spirited draw at Serie A high-flyers Udinese. Gary Hooper opened the scoring inside 30 minutes with a close-range tap-in that was cancelled out on the stroke of half-time by Antonio Di Natale. The 1-1 draw sent Udinese through to the knockout stages as runners-up behind Group I winners Atletico Madrid – who ended their campaign with a 3-1 win against French outfit Rennes.

Well-heeled Big Shots

2011-12-17T21:32:00.012+08:00

With the end of the year approaching, there are those who are praying for a wage raise and even a good bonus and there are also those who don’t want to think too much about it because they are not that hopeful.

But it is different if they are senior management because they will know how to reward themselves. Now, according to UK's The Guardian’s webpage http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/dec/14/executive-pay-increase-america-ceos, CEO pay survey from corporate governance group GMI Ratings will fuel debate about America's widening income gap. The survey, the most extensive in the US, covered 2,647 companies and showed America's top bosses enjoying pay hikes of between 27 and 40% last year. America's highest paid executive, John Hammergren, CEO of healthcare provider McKesson took home more than $145.2 million! Compare this with the latest US government figures that show wages for the majority of Americans are failing to keep up with inflation.

Paul Hodgson, a senior research associate at GMI, remarked: 'This is ridiculous.' Now you know why the OWS protests refuse to peter out! The 1% continues to milk their companies.

It’s not just in America but in Malaysia too. These bosses made the news! It has already been alleged that the NFC big shots (i.e. Shahrizat’s family members - see photo above) are richly rewarded because they could show their superior skills at managing a failed project using Malaysian taxpayers’ monies and at the same time, taking the trusting public for a ride. Taken from blogpage at http://sakmongkol.blogspot.com/2011/12/single-spark-that-starts-prairie-fire.html, dated December 10, 2011:

CEO (Shahrizat’s hubby): RM100,000 per month
Shahrizat’s first child, age 31: RM45,000 per month
Shahrizat’s second child, age 27: RM35,000 per month
Shahrizat’s third child, age 25: RM35,000 per month
TOTAL SALARIES PER MONTH RM215,000 per month

Since the NFC did not come out to refute the above, I will assume that the facts are correct. For sure, I am both envious and furious at this wanton abuse of power by UMNO crooks. Only when enlightened Malaysians go in droves to the polling booths can we stop this daylight robbery! Let’s do it when GE13 comes!

PAS Youth Calls on All Angry Birds' Fans

2011-12-17T00:14:00.007+08:00

Even PAS is well-acquainted with Angry Birds. The PAS policy studies director Sulaiman Mohd Syahir described the popular game as an “inspiring struggle to defend rights”. In a press statement on December 10, 2011, PAS Youth had called on all Angry Birds’ fans “to emulate the spirit shown by the ‘angry birds’ against ‘the thief’ and urges every caring citizen to destroy the corruption culture and breach of trust among leaders”. The thief, in this particular context, is the corrupt UMNO government.

Sulaiman had explained that “Angry Birds have to be creative and determined to regain their stolen eggs” and added that “the slogan ‘Do not steal!’ is a symbol of public anger against the four betrayals of Malaysian leaders”, citing the denial of petroleum royalties in Kelantan; the listing of Felda which he said will short-change settlers; discrepancies in the electoral roll; and the RM250 million National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal.

Angry Birds is hugely popular in Malaysia. I am sure Malaysians can relate to the above!

On Thursday, MAS Toastmasters invited me to their Installation Nite held at Pan Pacific KLIA Hotel. It was a big do because it brought all their five Toastmasters Clubs: Mawar, Cempaka, Melor, Kargo & Finance together under one roof. Even their MAS Group CEO, Ahmad Jauhari (in the last photo) came to grace the event.

Angry Birds

2011-12-16T07:13:00.010+08:00

Angry Birds" is a massively popular app for the iDevices and Android smartphones. Whether we are fans of Angry Birds or not, we all know that Angry Birds has become a worldwide sensation since it was released in December 2009. Colleague and friend Madeline Tan – yes, the same one who devoured 46 prawns in under an hour (my blog posting dated July 21, 2011 – is addicted to the game as you can see from this photo:

And the Angry Birds logo can be seen everywhere. It has graced sweatshirts, cupcakes and even a Finnair airplane.

The Angry Bird known only as White Bird poses in front of his comrade Blue Bird on the side of a Finnair Airbus A340-300. Photo by Finnair.

Now it has been reinterpreted as an elegant one-shouldered evening gown by none other than Teija Vesterbacka, the wife of the Chief Marketing Officer of Rovio, the company that makes the wildly popular Angry Birds game app. According to media reports, Mrs. Vesterbacka wore the gown at a formal event at the Finnish Presidential Palace on December 06, 2011 in celebration of the country's 94th year of independence. [Her husband, who tends to favor a red Angry Birds hoodie, was dressed in white tie and black tails for this function].

Image credit: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2071128/Wife-Rovio-boss-turns-palace-wearing-Angry-Birds-dress.html

I hear that an Angry Birds feature film is in the works and negotiations to bring Angry Birds merchandise to Starbucks outlets are also ongoing. Angry Birds is conquering our world!

Jeannice Khor

2011-12-16T00:07:00.005+08:00

I am going to feature the second-placed winner from the MAS-organized Youth Leadership Program speech showcase – she’s from the Under-15 category and her name is Jeannice Khor. Her speech title was “A Gift”. Like Puteri Ayu, I know you will agree with me that this teen has talent! Listen to her speech:

My October 11, 2010 posting titled “Nissan Leaf” featured the 100% electric car from Nissan Motor Co Ltd. Well, the Japanese auto company has won the Car of the Year Japan 2011-2012 award at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show (December 02-11) for this particular model. This is also the first time in its long history that an electric vehicle has won this prestigious award (The Sun, December 14, 2011, p 22).

Nissan Leaf is a zero-emission vehicle that emits no CO2 while it is being driven. The said car offers new mobility value as the world shifts toward a sustainable zero-emission society, not only as a means of transportation, but also as an element of social infrastructure on account of its ability to store electricity.

Nissan Leaf was also named the 2012 RJC Car of the Year award winner, presented by the Automotive Researchers' & Journalists' Conference of Japan, in addition to winning the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame's 2011-2012 Car of the Year, the 2011 European Car of the Year and the 2011 World Car of the Year accolades.

Alien Banana

2011-12-15T15:07:00.007+08:00

I was referring to bananas just the other day and this photo of an alien banana sculpture caught my attention! I saw it on boingboing.net on Monday.

Police arrested 15 university students – believed to be members of the movement for Academic Freedom (Bebas) – yesterday after they gathered at KL Sentral here as part of a flash mob to demonstrate against the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA). It is understood that 30 students participated in the protest but police broke it up barely minutes after they had assembled. When the students, aged between 20 and 22 – from Universiti Malaya, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Universiti Selangor, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak and Selangor International Islamic University College – refused to disperse, they were detained.

Lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fikri told Malaysiakini that police denied the students their right to be represented.

Well done, Malaysian police! You have just shown yourselves to be an instrument of oppression for the UMNO government!

Today, flash mobs are done as a way to gain political attention, give voice to a notable cause, or even to surprise a celebrity. It’s a PR tool. No other marketing gimmick has taken off so quickly as the now ubiquitous flash mob. For those of you who still don’t know what a flash mob is, it is a sudden public assembly of people to perform an unusual and sometimes funny or even absurd act for a short period of time, before dispersing back into the general population. The participants of flash mobs usually rehearse beforehand and arrange specific meeting places and times via social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, email, or text message.

But whatever the purpose you gather in a public place in this country, you should know that you can be hauled off to the police lock-up!