Kudos MCA!

Dr Wee looked concerned and he better be.....

Thank you MCA, long seen by the opposition as the small brother that dare not talk back to his taiko by raising its voice on the racist remarks by one of UMNOputras goon!

Ever since Dr Wee voiced out his dissatisfaction over the remarks during the Permatang Pauh by-election, the sentiment has now turn into a very vocal protest by the MCA; particularly the Youth Wing. What a stand! What a brave move, and for this I salute you!

UMNOputras must wake up from their deep slumber. Isn't 308 enough a lesson already? Why must those kind of hurtful remarks must be made? To win over Malay votes? That's too shallow and only idiots will think along those racial lines! (I bet there are a few more in BN). Anwar won many votes mainly because voters are generally fed-up with BN antics. Body blows, sodomy, religion, race and what not are their only ways to get votes rather than concentrating in telling the rakyat that we are gearing for a change for the better. Sudah basi la.... will and never work!

So, the MCA has organised a signature campaign to demand that this bugger offer an apology for branding the Chinese as mere 'tumpang-tumpang' only. As if the Chinese has contributed nothing to this wonderful country. We hold the same IC as you do, asshole! Even Gerakan has taruk UMNO for this issue! UMNO will now have to face the MCA and the Chinese in general and convince us that they are not racists.

Either they change or they will be changed in the near future.

Liverpool's through!

Hero for the night

Yahoo! We are through to the group phase yet again! The owners must have been very relief to see Kuyt send us through with a goal after another laboured effort against Standard Leige.

Well, Rafa can count Dirk Kuyt as his lucky European charm for his latest exploit. Known to be a exceptionally good marksman when playing in the Dutch League, Kuyt have somehow failed to live up to our standard. However, he made up for his lack of goals with loads of untiring runnings. This morning's goal is just a sweet reward for our workhorse!

So, another assault on the European stage is on the card. What worries me is the laboured performance to produce goals against well organised teams. Sunderland, Boro and now Leige has proven to be tough cookies for us. Luckily, the lads kept on pushing til the last minute.

What spoilt the night for us is the loss of captain Gerrard to a groin injury. He hasn't been 100% and needs to be operated on ASAP. Might miss our blockbuster game against ManU.

Just hope he'll be back soon and back with a bang. As for now, let us all savour another European win.

You'll Never Walk Alone!

Liverpool vs Leige

YNWA!

Well, tonight will be one of the biggest home game since the season begins. A must win match against Belgian champion; Standard Leige.

Rafa's team has been winning 2 league matches on the trot but their performance have come under heavy fire. Scrappy at best against teams (including Standard) they are supposed to steamrolled over. Last weekend home match against Boro is a good example. We gave away possession too many times too easily and our set pieces are crap! Even Xabi had a nighmare game. Only intervention from the vice captain and the captain ensured a dramatic last minute come from behind win. Frankly speaking, Boro deserved at least a point!

Such were our poor show, the only positive that we can take is that the mentality to win has improved. Never say die attitude and make your own luck. Rafa has gave assurance that tonight the team will play much better and deliver! A scored draw will mean end of the road for us.

With basically a full team to pick on and playing at Anfield, I'm sure we'll progress to the group phase. Going past this hurdle will bag us 16million pounds! So much riding on it but with our European pedigree, I'm 100% sure we'll make it!


You'll Never Walk Alone!

Some Will Never Learn!

Say No to Rasicm

It was reported that the MCA Youth will demand an apology from Datuk Ahmad Ismail over his racist remarks during the Permatang Pauh campaign rally.

Racist like him will drift BN more and more away from the rakyat. Playing up race or Malay sentiments to garner votes are so out of fashion. The result yesterday shows and result don't lie. Anwar are getting votes from Malaysians! So, we don't buy that kind of bullshits! Some nut heads will never learn..... They'll hurt the party even more with their antics.

Don't they ever see it? Are they so so blind to the obvious? The people are rejecting BN time and again whenever the race card is used! Uttering racist remarks will only make more people irrespective of race to feel offended! Divide and rule tactic is dead and buried, my friend.

It'll be now interesting to see how the Youth Wings from both camps react. Having just lost an important by-election, now they must sit down and talk. Failing which might see even more Chinese getting upset.

On another note, fresh calls for Pak Lah to quit has resurfaced. Personally, I think PM should stay. If there's anyone is to be blame, then Najib got to take the stick. After all, he's the head honcho for the BN machinery. Wrong and bad moves to attack Anwar relentlessly. Should have focused on the policies......

Now the BN Government will need to keep an eye on Anwar. He'll be sworn in soon and will take his rightful place in the Parliament. Juicy stuffs!

Trust me, the show has just begun!

Rakyat has spoken!

Anwar has announced his arrival!

THE RAKYAT HAS SPOKEN! ANWAR IBRAHIM HAS ARRIVED!

Victory was especially sweet for Anwar Ibrahim as he makes his extraordinary comeback into Parliament with a huge win over Arif Shah and an unknown Hanafi Hamat.

While he savours his victory, Arif can walk with his head held high. It was a big ask for him to get anything out of this by-election at the 1st place. After all, Permatang Pauh is Anwar's fortress. He ALWAYS win there; including his wife. So, it was an uphill battle from the start and he knew it. Kudos to him for being brave and gave a good fight eventhough his votes count has dropped; maybe indicating the rakyat wants change.

As for Hanafi, as expected he lost his deposit. Standing for this election is always a lost cause, and why he did it, the reason only known to him. No one gave him a chance.

I've always expected Anwar to win but not the margin of his victory. I thought that his majority will be lower than the 13k obtained by his wife due to a few factor; polling date, sodomy cases, labelling him as a Chinese agent by BN and big guns form BN going all out to woo voters. So, it was a real surprise to see his majority exceed 15k. BN needs to do some hard thinking and post mortem on why the rakyat rejects them. Maybe race-based politics is dying. A two major party system ala the Democrate and Republican in the US might just work.

So, the real battle for Anwar starts now. He'll make his grand entry into our politics. Let's all hope there will be change for the better for all Malaysians!

Do or die for Anwar Ibrahim

Will he win?

Permatang Pauh is all set for the final showdown in what is belived to be the biggest by-election Malaysia has ever witnessed! It's a do or die for Anwar Ibrahim, the de factor leader of PKR and the 'glue' of PR.

His chance of winning seems bright even though he's agains the might of the BN election machinery. For 10 nights, big guns on both sides held ceramah and talks and tried to discredit their opponent. This has to be the dirtiest election in history.

While Najib leads the line for Arif Shah, Anwar can call on the support from DAP and PAS. Surveys carried out by Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research has shown not many of the voters are concerned or believed in the sodomy case against Anwar; something that will bug him even if he wins.

I personnaly hope that Anwar will win. I'm not concerned about the margin, just give him a chance to enter Parliament. That will make our Parliament more 'colourful'! As for the formation of a new Government, I'm not too sure. I hope it can happen, but not now.

Maybe we all need a paradigm shift, maybe Malaysia needs a shift. After 50 years of Merdeka, maybe that's a good thing for all Malaysians. Race based policies needs to be reviewed to give all a chance.

As for now, things will have a clearer picture after 5pm. By tonight we will know.

Good luck to all involved, good luck Malaysia!

Final Countdown!

Will he be all smiles after tomorrow?

That's it folks! Come tomorrow, 26th August 2008, we will see one of the most watched and anticipated by-election in Malaysia's colourful history.


Will Anwar Ibrahim be voted into Parliament or his challenger Arif Shah create history for BN for defeating the PKR de factor leader? Time will tell, the Permatang Pauh's voters will definitely tell!


Both camps have expressed confidence with both claiming having good support from the rakyat. Arif even went on to say he'll will with a min 500 voters, maybe even touching 5,ooo! Big words indeed.


This by election must have been the most watched and eagerly awaited. Not just an ordinary by-election but one that may have a far more bigger implication on the Malaysian society as a whole. Anwar made no secret of his desire to return to Parliament and form a new Government; a date given on 16th Sept 2008. While to do that, first, he must win in PP.


Whether a new Government can be formed on that day is still very much a doubt but certainly not impossible. This by-election has seen much accusation being hurled by both camps, some just wild allegation, some are personal attacks, some facts..... some half truths......makes great readings. However, I'm getting tired of this, frankly. I just wanted it to be over without much problem.


Penang has announced a public holiday for this important vote-casting day. DPM has criticized it; but the EC cocked it up first. Why 26th of August? Conspiracy theory? Well, that's another issue. Why not on the just concluded school holiday? Even the Education DG has announced that schools to be closed.......


So, let's all be civil, cast your votes properly. Show the world that Malaysian Democracy is free and fair.


May the best man wins!

1st Home Game!

It's BPL time again!

Well, it's weekend again! Yahoo! Time for BPL watching is here again... actually, it started last week but for me, the season starts now for our 1st home game against Boro.

The away game against Keano's Sunderland was scrappy at best. But what's important was the 3 points; courtesy of a screamer by Torres. So this weekend game at Anfield will definitely see a better side; hopefully another 3 points on the table.

With some Olympians coming back and reporting for duty, I bet the formation adopted by Rafa will be a more attacking one. Babel is here. Only Masch is still duty bound in Beijing. With the Barry transfer saga closed, I hope that Rafa can concentrate fully on this assignment.

What's interesting is that Boro's winger, Downing is a target for us since Barry's move has collapsed. After this match he might be wearing Liverpool's Red! Hope he got a good match but a bad result!

You'll Never Walk Alone!

Chong Wei used by BN?

Hero in hot demand!

Well, to me, that's the case! Why the heck must our badminton hero be flown to Permatang Pauh to receive his RM300,00 reward for a Olympic Silver? That's abuse of power!

Totally unnecessary to use a national hero to fish for vote. Not to mention a waste of taxpayers' money for all the flying around by the big guns of BN. So now BN (UMNO) can show the world that they are not racist? C'mon.... you can do better than that!

I'm personally a bit disappointed with Chong Wei. To be fair he has said if Anwar were to invite him, he'll go there too. But why can't we leave sport as it is? Politics should never ever encroached into sports or education territory at the 1st place. Just because Chong Wei got a silver, the candidate(s) would want to rub some of his 'ong' so that he can win in PP?

Arif Shah has denied Chong Wei's presence as a political gimmick. Either he's right or BN has got a lousy sense of timing.

Anyway, with or without our Olympic silver medalist, I think deep down inside he knows he's facing a uphill battle. Come August 26th, we'll know if Chong Wei's 'ong' works or not......

Renovation = hard work!

Renovation is hard work!

Went to office quite late today, reached there about noon. Reason? Well, Debbie and I had a on-site meeting with Kenny, the main renovation contractor for our new home in Sri Permaisuri.

Basically, just to have a discussion on where to relocate and/or add electrical power points around the house. Tiles selection for our toilet and wet kitchen has also been made.


There was a small issue with the size of our main door. The frame was set at 7 feet tall and 5 feet wide. Debbie wanted a 8 feet tall door. But Kenny recommended 7 feet (as a standard) size door because if 8 feet is used, the main entrance looks a bit wierd since our house is not a big one. The door then would looked like a big mirror wall! Finally we all agree on the 7 feet door.


So, basically, it's all set. Kitchen cabinet and wardrobe will then cost us a bomb. I think we're prepared for that. The kid's room a/c points are finalized. Laminate flooring will come in soon. Another big bill!


Anyway, glad the house is taking shape. By next month, we can begin to move in; hopefully!

Racist let off with a warning!

Human touch knows no colour

Now that's a big slap in the face for those students that suffered the humiliation by their teacher calling them names!

Having protested and reported their teacher for racial slurs against the Indians, the teacher was immediatedly transfered out from the school. What seen as a punishment for her shameful act was a 'reward' to a better and nearer school to her house! What's more painful is that the reason given for the transfer is for her safety rather for the racist slur made by the teacher! Big humiliation!

Now the Education Dept has given her the ultimate punishment; A WARNING! Yeap, you read it right, a warning, that's all!

"As one of the steps taken to cool down the issue, the teacher was placed temporarily in the Selangor education department's counselling unit. The department counsellor will be working with her,"said the Education director-general Datuk Alimuddin Mohd Dom ."The ministry regrets the incident which occurred during a class at the school on July 18. It also caused dissatisfaction among the parents at the school," said Alimuddin. The ministry, he added, regarded the case as solved and hoped all parties would not raise the issue again.

So, that's all? This really doesn't do justice to the students. Now let's see what MIC says....

Merdeka on 31st August will have no meaning to all affected......

LP16 YO!

I received an e-mail form a long lost friend, Joanna last week. She's getting the LP16s together for a gathering to commemorate our 10th anniversary being LP16. Can you imagine it? 10 years!

I have a love hate relationship with LP. Loved the togetherness, hate those LP talks/coaching! Freaking hate it when everyone 'tends' to know more than you do and try to guide you.

I still remembered the community service that we chose and did with excellent result. Hospice Klang benefited as much as I did. I still remembered our LP cheer. I still love our LP song; 'High' by Lighthouse Family. Whenever I heard this song, I just can't resist the LP feel in me...

I've lost contact with most of my LP friends. Once a while, I bumped into Jeffery, met Jo at wedding...... I really missed my buddy, Susie Goh when I'm writing this blog. Missed the good ol' days!

Anyway, here's the lyrics for 'High'. I really do hope the lyrics can inspire you as much as it inspired LP16.

When you're close to tears remember

Someday it'll all be over

One day we're gonna get so high

Though it's darker than December

What's ahead is a different colour

One day we're gonna get so high

And at the end of the day remember the days

When we were close to the end

And wonder how we made it through the night

At the end of the day

Remember the way

We stayed so close to the end

We'll remember it was me and you

Cause we are gonna be

Forever, you and me

You will

Always keep it flying high in the sky

Of love

Don't you think it's time you started

Doing what we always wanted

One day we're gonna get so high

Cause even the impossible

Is easy when we got each other

One day we're gonna get so high

And at the end of the day remember the days

When we were close to the end

And wonder how we made it through the night

At the end of the day

Remember the way

We stayed so close to the end

We'll remember it was me and you

Cause we are gonna be

Forever, you and me

You will

Always keep it flying high in the sky

Of love

Cause we are gonna be

Forever, you and me

You will

Always keep it flying high in the sky

Of love

And at the end of the day remember the days

When we were close to the end

And wonder how we made it through the night

At the end of the day

Remember the way

We stayed so close to the end

We'll remember it was me and you

Cause we are gonna be

Forever, you and me

You will

Always keep it flying high in the sky

Of love

Cause we are gonna be

Forever, you and me

You will

Always keep it flying high in the sky

Of love

Cause we are gonna be

Forever, you and me

You will

Always keep it flying high in the sky

Of love

Cause we are gonna be

Forever, you and me

You will

Always keep it flying high in the sky

Of love...

Happy 10th Anniversary, LP16.

Slowly but surely

The backyard taking shape. Maid room is at the far left corner (near the worker)

Toilet has shrinked in size but remains functional.

Hole-in-a-wall, just like a place in Langkawi!

Well, took some photos of my new house. Still a big big mess with cement, mortar and bricks laying around.

Made some inspection this morning. Was lucky to find out some discrepancies with the design that we agreed on. Told the p.i.c to rectify the problems. Anyway, no big deals.


With the wet work taking shape, maybe another 2 weeks or so before other work can commence. My doors/windows will come in later. Then the laminated flooring. Debbie will take care of those coz she knows someone. Then the final part will be the painting of the whole house. My sister recommended a painter for me; still haven't contacted him though. We reckon that the furnitures and electrical items could wait..... Budget a bit tight la....


So, slowly but surely the house is taking shape. It was a long wait from the day we paid our deposit but when the final product is delivered, I'm sure it's all worth while.

What a movie!

WALL-E

I've just watched a very nice, heart-warming movie with my son. Guess what, the actors/actress aren't even human! Wall-E is a nice movie for all in the family.

It's a story about a robot called Wall-E, left behind on earth when the human escaped due to the conditions became unbearable to stay on. Well, I won't say more; in case if you are going to catch this fantastic movie. Won't spoil it for you!

A warm fuzzy love story, unfolds. But to me, apart from the love and 'feelings', the more real issue is the trash that builds up on our mother earth. I would say, the movie has exaggerated, but trash build up is very real. That's why, we all need to recycle, reuse and reduce!

The people at PIXAR has again scored big in animated movies. "Nemo", is good but it think this one is better. They raised the bar so high that I doubt anyone can better them.

So, go ahead, bring your family to watch this movie during the school holidays. The message is clear for all to see. Learn something and enjoy the movie as well.

My weekend.....

My heroes this week!

Well done Chong Wei! You have done us proud by winning a silver at the Olympics! Many Malaysians were glued to their seats to see you at the podium for this historic feat!

So, for once the nation is united and being colour blind. Even the warring parties at Permatang Pauh stopped their activities for a while to watch the game.

So, it's been a good weekend for me. Liverpool opened the 08/09 season with 3 away points in the pocket when Torres struck a late winner against a much improved Sunderland. The most expensive player in Liverpool's history seems to be a bargain buy!

The only damper is that I've lost my voice on Sunday. Was working and bringing a group of Chinese tourist. All seems OK in the morning but disaster struck after lunch. Suddenly, my voice becomes coarse and in the late evening, it's all gone! First time in my life I have to communicate with my guests in sign language! No, not those used by the dumb and deft, but 'normal' signs. Funny but not funny at all.

So, I got to call up the company and get a urgent replacement to take over. Just too bad, but I can't work without my voice. So, now I'm back to my office..... Just hope with lots of water, normal service will be resume soon!

I'll be 51 soon but......

Tanggal 31, bulan Lapan Lima Pulah Tujuh........! That's the start of the 'Merdeka' song by the brilliant Sudirman. Just too bad he got to go when he's at his peak.

Come August 31, Malaysia will be 51 years old. Middle age and now facing a crisis. Never before the situation in which her children are behaving so badly. Instead of fostering closer ties between the different and unique ethnic society, now, we can be seen as more and more further apart. Malays seems to be more Malay, so are the Chinese and the Indians.

We are becoming more childish; arguing about things that we should not. Malaysia is for all, not just a supposedly superior race. Leaders in this country are not helping either; always giving out veiled threats (May 13th) whenever they think their position is compromised. Those 'I warned you so...', 'I told you so....', 'Don't play with fire.....', 'Don't stir the hornets' nest....' should just stop. Sedition Act or ISA should be abolished.

I send my son to school this morning. When I went into his classroom, I felt joy and frankly speaking, I wished the leaders of this great nation can be just like them; color blind. The kids were there, sitting on their small stools, talking, playing, doing whatever. These are REAL people, the future of our nation but somehow, I believe, when they grow up, things will be different if the current leaders don't do something about racial integration. 'Malaysianise' IS A GOOD THING!

I've always look forward for any new Petronas' Merdeka advertisement. They never fail to make feel good being a Malaysian. But will that be enough? Sekolah Wawasan? Will money spent on NS worth it if others still harp on race and/or religious matters?

Please grow up, Malaysian. Don't be over sensitive. No one in this world will ever question anybody rights, ever! This is a country for all and let's give our best to make Malaysia proud. Give her the best birthday present we can ever give.

HAPPY 51st BIRTHDAY, MALAYSIA!

Not A Good Start

Well, Liverpool's first competitive match; the Champions League Qualifying match in Belgium ended in a poor 0-0 draw. Even though the opponent, Standard Leige is the Belgian Champ, with our quality, we should have got the job done.

Instead, it was the home side that pressed on, and only Pepe's heroics earned us a undeserved draw. Rusty? Well, we played some good footie in pre-season friendlies. Lack of fire-power? Keane and Torres were there! Maybe it's the 'ugly' Green away jersey. Yuck! Just like their performance. Yes, I'm disappointed, but I still have faith in Rafa and the boys!

So now, we are the favourite to go through with the home match. However, we can't let Standard set the standard. If they score once, we need 2 goals to go through. So, we need the goals with big money at stake. Watch out Standard, we gonna kick your ass!

Go Reds! Give us a champion performance.

You'll Never Walk Alone!

Racial Harmony? Dream On!

This says it all!

Malaysia as many noted is a country blessed with abundance of natural resources. You want rubber? We have it. You want palm oil? We have it! You want timber? We have it! Gas? Petrol? Tin? Basically we got everything under the sun except for diamond and rubies!

For such a rich country to fall so far behind in terms of development compared to it's "poor" cousin, Singapore is something the Government needs to look into urgently. Much of it has to do with the policies in place. We are bleeding to death; a disease commonly known as brain drain!

I know, the race and religion issues are something more or less a taboo in this country. Speak on it, you might get slapped with the Sedition Act or the ISA. But can't the people in charge wake up? No one in this country is questioning the Malay rights. It's already guaranteed in the holy constitution. But brain drain is a very real issue; an expensive one it is! Government has tried to lure back our professionals back to their homeland with incentives and what not but the end result? The adage "prevention is better than cure" can be more accurate and true. Why this people leave at the first place? Money? Perhaps.... but the main thing to me is that most of them felt unwanted at the 1st place. We did the hard work educating these people from Standard 1 but it's Singapore or other countries that reap the benefits!

Now it seems that the racial temperature has gone up a notch or two. Bar Council was criticised for holding a open forum on religious matter. Then UiTM students held demos and marched to send a memorandum to the S'gor MB for proposing to open 10% of UiTM to non-bumi. Then PPIM project director came out blasting the MB saying there was no need to sideline Malay rights. "If something like this is allowed to happen, then there will be a worrying situation where many Malay institutions will crumble and be 'Malaysianised'.

WHAT? "Malaysianise" is now a bad thing? So the slogan for our 51st Merdeka day 'Perpaduan Teras Kejayaan' don't hold water anymore? This is crazy. Yes, I understand his stand and I respect it but these are strong words! What about the racist teacher that utter racial slurs against her Indian students? Well, she got the punishment, if you consider getting transfer to a better school and nearer to home as one!

The education ministry has fail miserably in fostering racial harmony. In fact the whole Government fails us even after 50 years of independence. Discard racial policies/politics. Don't give the impression that the Chinese, Indians and the 'lain-lain' don't contribute to the growth of this lovely country.

Malaysia is for Malaysians; not just Malay/Chinese/Indian and 'lain-lain'!

Finally! Phew...

Backyard. A new maid room will be contructed

Toilet to be reduced in size

Kitchen to be converted to dining hall

Front wall to be demolished and extended

Finally! After more than a year after we paid the deposit for our town house, works on renovation has begun! After all the red tapes and maybe incompetence of local authorites and frustration dealing with the seller's lawyer, we can now look forward to move into our "new" house. All those frustration has now turned into relief, a big one that is!

Renovation will takes roughly a month or so. We have only confirmed the wet work to be carried out. Kitchen cabinets, wardrobes, doors, painting the house, electrical items and fittings/accessories and wood flooring will all come at a later stage. So far, the quote is RM40k (just the wet work); and we anticipate the cost to go another RM30k or so...... painful, but worth it, I hope. Plain bad luck for the transfer to drag for so long. If it could finalise earlier, I'll save at least 20-30% for renovating the house.

Thank you, BN for raising fuel prices!!!

We are still shopping around for best possible bargains around. There are a lot of "sale" these times. Furniture and others can wait for time being. One thing is for sure. Our glass windows and doors will be the best in quality/pricing; courtesy of my sister and her husband. Hehehe... at least we save some money.

We have been renting our current place for a few months already. Just hope the reno work can go on smoothly, and we can all move in by mid of September. Since Eddie and my Mom-in-law's place is just behind me (the main reason why we bought this house), it will save me a lot of time and petrol money for sending Xu Hom to school and Si Qian to his house. No more waking up at 6:30am! Yahoo!!!!

Anyway, just glad that work has started, we'll move into a brand new environment soon.

Are we matured, yet?

Police keeping watch at the Bar Council HQ

With the recent demonstration or protest to disrupt the open forum organised by the Bar Council, I can see that some (or most) of the Malaysian public is still unable to act rationally to discuss topics labelled as "sensitive". I was appalled by the words used by Ministers that I interpreted as a veiled threat; word like "don't play with fire", "question the right....." Totally uncalled for.

What's so threatening is a matured open forum being held in a closed premise? If the forum is to question the rights of any race or criticize any religion, by all means close it down. Drag those responsible/organisers to court. But no! Why can't everybody sit down and have a good open forum and talk about issues that affects every Malaysians? What about our rights in our own country? Why the authorities don't pursue matters that's more threatening, i.e kerosene bombs thrown at Dato' Sharizat's house? "I told you so...." sounds so stupid because it implies that it's OK to burn some one's house than talk about "sensitive" issues. Maybe next time, other races can demonstrate or barge into a meeting when Malay parties talk about Malay unity because it can cause uneasiness among others.

To make matter worse, Pak Lah has said that the Home Ministry could take action against the Bar Council for holding the forum. In this take, I'm really disappointed with Pak Lah. I've always thought that he will be the one that will give his full support for a more open society with his reform agendas. Seems like he himself needs to have support from certain quarters when his position is at stake. Now, that would be a really sad day for Malaysia.

After more than 50 years of independence, we have become more racist. Going backward with racist remarks made by politicians just to gain some publicity or support. Politicians or political parties will not be afraid to play the race/religion card to gain popularity. Power play in politic is normal but to use the race card is just so uncool! MCA has been critical of the demos. Rightly so! Why none of the Malay ministers/politicial condemn this act which is "not our culture"? Why ?

Grow up!!... We, Malaysians deserves better!

08.08.08

08.08.08.... Let's celebrate!

Yes, this is the day considered by most Chinese to be an auspicious day; maybe one of the most auspicious day of the year. The number "8" sounds like 'prosperity' or 'richness' in Chinese; thus meaning good luck or great fortune. No wonder the Beijing Olympics will kick-off the opening ceremony on this day, exactly at 8.00pm sharp. I'm sure, billion of viewer across the globe will glue themselves to the idiot box in what being termed as the most expensive and extravagant show of the century!

Most Chinese have a strong believe system, inherited from their forefathers. We believe in anything that sounds good to the ears, will bring good luck. Thus it's no secret the number '8' is one of our favourite numbers while the number '4' is a big no no! Why? The word '4' sounded like death in Chinese..... Big Chinese tycoons are always willing to spend big money to get their coveted car plates, possibly '8888'.

So with such a heavy investment to organise the Olympics, the Chinese Government had to break tradition, that is to have the opening ceremony other than a weekend. Take no risk, since the biggest sporting event in the world has to be a big success. Anything that can help, will help...

However, it's interesting to note that this year, the year of the Rat in the Chinese calendar is far from smooth sailing for China. First to hit is the damaging snow storm, stranding million of home going Chinese at railway stations during the biggest annual exodus of human being; Chinese New Year. Then, the unrest in Tibet where Beijing got unwanted spotlight focusing on alleged violation of human rights. Then came the deadly Sichuan earthquake that shook the whole world. Ironically the Sichuan disaster happened 80 days before 08.08.08!

So, I hope whatever misfortune that hit China will be cleansed once the Games kicks off. China has suffered enough for the year. It's time to rejoice and celebrate humanity.

08.08.08..... Let the Games begin!

Another URGH! on the road....

Another round of massive jam

Yep, today the KL city folks have to endure another round of traffic jam courtesy of the PDRM in anticipation of a mass rally, demo whatever their intelligence sources told them will happen.

Preventive measure? You bet. Since Anwar Ibrahim is to be charge in court for sodomy charges, his supporters might go nuts and destroy everything in sight. Maybe the police knew something we really don't. Maybe PKR's members are planning a march around town in protest against Anwar's impending court case. MAybe the party members are so stupid, they'll march right in the middle of the a morning rush hour. Just to state their case..... Thank you Mr Police, you made me feel safe with your presence at the highways this morning.

Don't the police or anyone in charge see it? These roadblocks contributed nothing but frustration, anger and waste of precious petrol to everyday commuters. Morning jam is bad enough but instead of improving traffic flow, our men in blue made it worse. Most were caught out in surprise. Many were late for work or appointments. Waste of time, if you ask me. These roadblocks are just not effective and counter-productive.

All these tax-payers money should be put into better use. I'm sure the police or some big shot will justify this insane call for blocks. Please don't put the blame on Anwar, PKR or PR. It all about the Government feeling insecure, paranoid and defensive. Have the balls to admit it. Don't find silly excuse and bikin susah to the rakyat.

August 26th... D-Day

Will he make it this time?

This is it, folks! The Election Commission has announced August 16th to be the nomination day while August 26th will be the day where folks in Permatang Pauh will cast their votes again. This time it's for Anwar or another BN candidate. This place will get huge limelight in the coming weeks!

Permatang Pauh has always been Anwar's fortress. He won there as a candidate. His wife won there as a candidate. So this time BN really is the David..... they got an uphill battle to wrestle the seat and more importantly defeat Anwar and prevent him from gaining entry into Parliament. Tough, but still doable.

It would say Anwar will be a huge favourite in this bout; no matter who he faces. I'm hoping for Ezam, his former aide. That would be more exciting than watching the Olympic century sprint. However, I'm still a bit confuse. Will Anwar be able to do battle if he's arrested for the alleged sodomy case looming? Won't that disqualify him? If there's anything happening to him now, the conspiracy theorists will have another field day! BN is now walking on a tight rope. Sure they can lose Pematang Pauh (it's not their seat, anyway) but the effect of electing Anwar into Parliament will be a great blow to them.

Stay tune, folks! It's gonna be lipsmacking delicious!

Teachers to teach hatred?

Is there still any out there?

I was shocked, saddened and doubly angry when I read about the teacher who hurled abuse and derogatory racist remarks on her students in Banting. What the heck is all this?!!! Aren't teachers entrusted to teach our children, to mould them early to become decent citizens of the country? Aren't they suppose to lead by example, to let our future generations know what is tolerance is all about? So, what is all these nonsense? While clearly this might be an isolated case, it shows just how much more we still need to do to achieve so called racial harmony.

This recent episode clearly demonstrates lack of discipline, tolerance and understanding for a different race by the teacher. Even her pupils knew it was wrong and complained to their parents. What makes her so special in the sense that she sees other as inferior to her? What she needs now is a public unconditional apology to all that she has hurt and resign being a teacher. She's just not fit to become one. Since the matter is now made public, she did make an apology to the students; which I don't see as sufficient and the punishment meted out is just a transfer. That's all? Just a transfer? Bravo to the Education Ministry.

While most of the political big shots are now focusing at the by-election at Permatang Pauh, let us all ponder the efforts by our Government to foster closer ties among Malaysians. Please do away with racist policies/stands. We have been divided for long enough. Divide and conquer don't work anymore. 50 years of Independence and still there are people who regards other race as "pariahs", "monkeys"..... This is sad.

Let's unite all Malaysians, starting NOW!

Pak Lah Upset!?

Another round of expensive repairs!

It was reported that Pak Lah was upset with the latest problem with MRR2 needing repairs just after 2 years after repair works costing RM70million. Upset!? If I were him, I drag whoever responsible to court for wasting public funds and most probably for corruption too. The big word here is responsibility. Is there any of it now? BPR needs to look into this. This BN government is just riddled with scandals after scandals!

Pak Lah was quoted saying: "This could have been easily avoided if those responsible had ensured that earlier repair works had been done properly. If this had been done, there would be no damage and the rakyat would not be fuming". How he noticed! The problem here is that no one seems to be responsible for anything. Ministers are big shots appointed to look good and give statements to the media. If there's any blooper, just blame it on the media for "misquoting". No one seems to own up to anything anymore. When things go wrong, point fingers, point anywhere except to oneself. Since when have we heard of ministers resigning for a screwed-up job in Malaysia; Dr. Chua is an exception. His case is more of a political assassination.

On the latest approval rating on our PM showing a slide, Pak Lah seems to be calm on it. Tak apa lah, was his response. Tak Apa? If this is the attitude of our Taiko running a country, can you imagine the people working under him? This Tidak Apa attitude is just going to do more damages to us. Don't worry, Be happy!? Come on, Pak Lah... you need to buck up. Show your strength to all of us. Bring those responsible for any wrong doings to the book. Show them no mercy. We need you to lead the country. Or else, someone else will. Maybe you yourself already surrender?

So, again part of the MRR2 will need to closed. Repairs will take place again. Again motorists will be affected. I believe it won't be the last of it.......

Truly Asia's family lunch.

This afternoon, Truly Asia hosted a welcome lunch for its' new staffs. This day was choosen coz today everybody is at the office. Welcome on board, Anthony, Jackson and also Nicole! We had lunch at the Zi Teng（紫藤）.

Truly Asia usually had its lunch there coz basically Zi Teng is very close to the office. Just across a street. The place serves good food, reasonably priced and quite healthy too. Most of the dishes there are "tea-themed" meaning it's cooked with some tea with it.

So today, every one had a hefty lunch. We ordered the set lunch menu which consist of soup, duck with fresh lettuce, prawns cooked with cheese and orange, chicken with sweet sour sauce (served with rolls), pitaya with fish slices, pineapple with fresh scallop, fried rice, stir-fried vege and to top off, fresh fruit platter. For desert, we we served ginkgo soup-paste. We were supposed to get a green tea cake instead of the fresh fruit but due to the short notice, the restaurant can't serve that; so an exchange was made.

It took about 2 hours for us to complete the whole course. Everyone was just full to the brim! A warm and fuzzy feeling indeed and I felt that the new guys/gal would feel the same way too. That's the Truly Asia way!

After lunch back to the office for work. Immediately, they went for a serious meeting about future projects to be undertaken. Back to the real world bro!

Anyway, Welcome On Board to all!

Hazy days are back!

The haze is back!

Braze yourself for another episode of "Haze", the annual affair courtesy of Indonesia and some bloody stupid assholes who think that open burning is cool!

With no or little rain these few days, the situation don't look too good. This morning when I looked out from my apartment's window, everything is blurry. It gives a false impression of a cool, mountain or highland feel. Well, it's NOT!

Why can't the Indonesia Government banned open burning? They are most probably one of the world biggest haze exporter while we and countries like Singapore and Southern Thailand becomes their biggest importer. Every year, without fail, July, August and September we get hazed! A lot people will start to cough due to deteriorating air quality that we breath. Some get eye-sore or irritation. Anyway, a visit to the doctor is a real possibility. Indonesia is not just polluting the world by burning the forest, she burned our pocket too.
Now the situation still looks under control but will it last? Only time will tell. At the time being, drink more water, refrain from outdoor exercise if possible. Take care.