Bodohland: Organisers have recently announced that they have elected the seven < http://www.new7wonders.com/ new wonders of the world. The finalists include Great Wall of China and Taj Mahal. Not to be outdone here in Bolehland or Can-land (some call this Bodohland or Stupid-land), our Prime Minister follows up with an announcement of our very own 7 wonders. All qualified citizens can submit their choices of wonders and finalists will be determined by popular votes.
1. THE ZAKARIA 'PALACE'
The only building built with no approval and unpaid assessment fees that is not demolished and sealed. The owner is the first bankrupt to be able to own a palace.2. THE ISA - INSANE SECURITY ACCUSATIONS
Supposedly used to "detain" terrorist for up to two years with absolutely no proof, this fantastic Wonder will give you the power to "detain" ABSOLUTELY anyone the guy in power dislikes: anyone who threatens his political power or is a rape accuser of some MP's son can be "held" for up to 2 years. You don't have to even show any evidence of the accusation. Just hack up some insane charge of terrorism of a 15 year old rape accuser, and "detain" her until she is 17. Or throw the Opposition leaders in when they get too powerful and accuse them of having some ties with the Arab terrorist, even if they are Chinese or Indian. It's ingenius!
3. 'UNHAUNTED' KUCHING PRISON
"No picture available"
The only $600M prison in this world that is free of haunted stories and encounters. Reasons? No execution was done here before. In fact no prisoners were held in here. There are also no concrete walls with barbed wires to contain souls - both dead and alive. Maybe it can qualify as the first imaginary prison built with real money.
4. PAYA INDAH 'WASTED' WETLANDS
The nation's premier eco tourism park. Holds the record in the category of attracting more lawyers with litigation than tourists with binoculars.
5. 'NOT SO' SMART TUNNEL
Uniquely design to alleviate floods. When completed, it does everything except alleviate floods.
6. 'DISCONNECTED' CYBERJAYA
The one and only high tech city in the world that offers limited or no internet connection to its residents.
7. THE 'CROOKED' BRIDGE
The most crooked bridge in the world dreamt by one of the most crooked people in the world. The bridge connects Bolehland to its neighbouring country. Construction started even though the neighbouring country did not give approval for the crooked bridge to be built to their land. Too bad the project was abandoned; otherwise it will make it as one of the wonders of the world.
Amiruldin Badruddin: "Did she see the tunnel?"Zaleha: The provocative uniform must be changed to something reflective of Eastern values and which complies with the values of Islam.
Badruddin (photo): I think their skirts are too short.
Zaleha: Cloth can be bought.
Badruddin: I think they don’t have enough cloth.
Zaleha pressed her point further by relating how the uniform had ‘affected’ one of her friends, leading Badruddin to pass another cheeky remark.
Zaleha: She said a flight attendant sat in front of her and she could see her legs, thighs and knees. She was so embarrassed!
Badruddin: Did she see the tunnel?
Air Asia Uniforms...too sexy?
Ali Rustam: Chinese and Indians can leave Malaysia and go back to China and India for all I care!!
0 comments Published by Mel on at 12:35 PMDisclaimer:
- This article was taken from MalaysiaToday (http://forum.malaysiatoday.com/index.php?showtopic=237)
- This is posted in my blog not to diss the Malaysian Government. In fact, I have high regard for Malaysia and the administration. I just don't like Ali Rustam. Just read what he says. I doubt you will like him much either.
This ship in unsinkable, even God Himself can’t sink it!” screamed the newspaper headlines just before the Titanic sailed off on its maiden voyage.
The sinking of the Titanic was certainly a great tragedy. They were so confident that even God Himself could never sink it they did not provide enough lifeboats for every passenger because they never thought they would need them. While the higher-paying first class passengers faced no problems finding a seat in the limited lifeboats, the poor rakyat who could not afford the luxuries accorded the first class passengers only had one choice; a watery grave. But it was not a tragedy for everyone though. Decades later they made a movie about the incident and grossed hundreds of millions while Celine Dion made tons of money from the theme song.
Anyway, what does this whole episode teach us? First, the poor rakyat is always at the bottom of the food chain. Second, never tempt fate. Fate just loves challenges and will never shy away from proving you wrong. And this is something Umno should learn. But Umno being Umno, it will never take advantage of lessons of the past. It will keep repeating history to the detriment of the party. And today Umno is saying that even God Himself can’t sink the party.
On 15 October 2007, the Chief Minister of Melaka, Mohd Ali Rustam, officiated the People’s Progressive Party’s state convention and he sang the same old tune, Umno is unsinkable and even God Himself can’t sink the party. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a bit what he said, but this was what he was telling the assembly of PPP leaders and members in a very long-winded manner; one and a half hours to be exact.
Ali Rustam, the self-proclaimed ‘Senior Vice President’ of Umno -- actually there is no such post but he likes to address himself as such -- stood on stage in front of the entire hall filled with PPP leaders and members and with fingers pointed said that PPP can leave Barisan Nasional. Leave today, or even tomorrow, said Ali Rustam, just don’t wait for the next election before leaving.
The PPP President and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk M. Kayveas, fidgeted in his seat, as did the entire hall. Ali Rustam was going berserk. He was reminiscent of Adolf Hitler jumping up and down, ranting and raving like a dog foaming at the mouth that had gone mad with rabies. Nobody reacted. Nobody could react. They were all too shocked to react and just sat there for the next one and a half hours as Ali Rustam told PPP and the entire non-Malay population of Malaysia that they are insignificant and Umno does not need them.
Ever wonder why Nazri Aziz told the Agong off and declared that he is nothing more than the Prime Minister’s clerk? The Prime Minister decides and the Agong just signs like a good little boy or else he will get sent to bed without any ice cream. Such is the arrogance of Umno. And if there were any doubts before this, 15 October 2007 laid that matter to rest once and for all when Ali Rustam repeated numerous times, “I was with Najib yesterday,” as if to send the message to all and sundry that he has Najib’s blessing to tell the Indians and Chinese that they can go back to India and China for all Umno cares.
Umno has ruled Malaysia for 50 years, said Ali Rustam, and they can rule for another 50 years more. And Umno does not need PPP, MCA, MIC, Gerakan, Sabah, Sarawak or anyone else to do this. Yes; and even God Himself can’t sink Umno like He could not sink the Titanic.
Ali Rustam should not tempt God or fate or whatever it is that he believes in. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is fond of relating the story of the mistake he made in 1969 when he told the Chinese he does not need their votes. 3,000 Chinese swung to PAS, said Mahathir. And Yusuf Rawa won that seat while the Grand Old Man of Malaysian politics was sent into temporary retirement. Even the great and very confident Mahathir will caution you about telling the non-Malay voters that you don’t need them. And surely Mahathir is a bigger man than Ali Rustam.
Well, that is probably what we think. But Ali Rustam does not think this way at all. He thinks he is the Chief Minister of the greatest nation on earth. Melaka is not part of Malaysia, said Ali Rustam, Malaysia is part of Melaka. This may sound strange to a student of history, and to ensure that you get a new twist to history, Ali Rustam warned the assembly that Melaka was once a great empire that included half of Thailand and half of Indonesia.
I thought that maybe in my old age my memory was beginning to fail me so I flipped through the pages of Joginder Singh Jessy’s and D.J. Muzaffar Tate’s ‘History of Malaya’ but could not find any reference to this. Maybe it is true, as they say, history is written by the victor, not the vanquished. But I was reading the history books written by Malayans and not those written by the Orang Puteh such as Stamford Raffles, R.O. Winsted, Barbara Watson, Leonard Y. Andaya or J. Kennedy.
Anyway, that just goes to show I am not really as clever as I thought I was. There are still many things about Malayan history that I am not aware of. And one thing that I was not aware of was that Melaka had once upon a time colonised half of Thailand and half of Indonesia. I suppose this is why Ali Rustam is the ‘Senior Vice President’ of Umno and I am not. In fact, Ali Rustam is so clever he can become the ‘Senior Vice President’ of Umno even when no such post exists.
Umno does not need any of the component members of Barisan Nasional, Ali Rustam went on. Umno has four million members and it can win the elections without the help of the rest of the component members of Barisan Nasional. Umno has been strong for 50 years and it will continue ruling this country for the next 50 years as well, Ali Rustam assured the assembly of PPP leaders and members.
PPP had better not ask for any seat in Melaka, Ali Rustam warned the assembly. If Perak wants to allow PPP a seat then that is up to the Perak Menteri Besar. That is his own decision and the party does not support him on this matter. After all the Perak Menteri is a kaki bodek, said Ali Rustam to the shocked audience who could not believe they were hearing all this.
Maybe PPP was once a strong party, Ali Rustam added. When it joined Barisan Nasional it had four Parliament and 14 state seats, but that is an old story. Why bring up an old story? It is like Lee Kuan Yew talking about old stories. Now Ali Rustam was shifting his aim to the Island State south of the border, across the Causeway. Lee Kuan Yew is an old man, argued Ali Rustam, insinuating that the Grand Old Man of Singapore was getting senile, and he is illogical. And to emphasis the point, Ali Rustam repeated, “Yesterday I was with Najib,” as if to drive the point home that Najib is with him on this.
The punch-line that Ali Rustam wanted to deliver the assembly of PPP leaders and members is that the party is not going to be given any seat in Melaka. And to demonstrate that he meant business he asked PPP to leave Barisan Nasional. Leave now! What are you waiting for? Leave now! You want a seat is it? No seat for you! Who says Umno needs the component members, especially PPP? PPP means nothing to us. Leave now.
And as if what he had said thus far was not shocking enough, Ali Rustam took a swipe at the Pahang Menteri Besar. If the Pahang Menteri Besar wants to give you a seat in Pahang then that is his problem. He is crazy and he does crazy things. He can give PPP a seat in Pahang. Why ask from the other states? And the icing on the cake was when Ali Rustam said that if the Prime Minister gives PPP a seat then he has no balls (pengecut). Tak boleh ikut cara dia, Ali Rustam boldly declared. Yes, since Malaysia is part of Melaka and not Melaka that is part of Malaysia then this would certainly make sense.
Until today no one knows what triggered Ali Rustam’s outburst that 15 October 2007. It was as if the message to the Indians and Chinese is that Umno does not need them anymore. The latest poll shows that the non-Malay support for Barisan Nasional has gone below 50% while the Malay support is still above 70%. This would mean that the non-Malay parties in Barisan Nasional may not be able to deliver the votes if the general election is held within the next month or so.
Ali Rustam seems to feel that Umno ruled Malaysia for 50 years without any help or support from the non-Malays and they can continue to do so another 50 years without any problems. Of late Ali Rustam has been demonstrating his contempt for the non-Malays. His move to kill the pigs in Melaka and drive the Chinese pig farmers out of business is one case in point. He boasted to all and sundry that he wants to show the Chinese that he is the boss, something his predecessors were not able to and did not dare do. The pig farmers and their family and friends command a lot of votes and it is better that the government leaves them alone. All the Chief Ministers before this adopted this policy but Ali Rustam wanted to show them that he decides and he calls the shots. And this is what he told the PPP convention that 15 October, “I decide.”
Ali Rustam believes that the Prime Minister will announce the dissolution of Parliament on 9 November followed by the general election on 25 November. If this happens then the Chinese would be with the opposition. Ali Rustam realises that how much you may court the Chinese it would be futile. Therefore, since you cannot get their support anyway, you might as well whack them. It makes no difference anyway.
Of course, many would ask why whack the Chinese? Well, PPP in Melaka is led by a Chinese and it would be Chinese and not Indians who matter, though the Indian support for PPP is nevertheless strong since it has a large Indian membership.
This is Ali Rustam’s version of keris waving. The fact that he repeated many times, “I was with Najib yesterday,” was his way of telling the world that he is Najib’s de facto number two. This means if Najib goes up to become the Prime Minister then he would be the Deputy Prime Minister. To become the number two in Umno is not up to the voters. It is up to the Umno divisions. So he must come out looking like a Malay hero from Melaka a la Hang Toh Ah and Hang Jer Baht, never mind that these two may have been Chinese rather than Malays. And this ranting and raving about Melaka once being an empire that ruled over half of Thailand and half of Indonesia fit nicely into the theme. But Ali Rustam probably thought that Kayveas and his PPP members are all illiterate rubber tappers who never read history when he said that Malaysia is part of Melaka and not Melaka that is part of Malaysia.
But why the need to repeat so many times that he was with Najib the day before? Everytime he dropped a bombshell he would add that he was with Najib the day before. What was his message here? Was it that he was delivering Najib’s message or that Najib has endorsed what he is saying? Or is it to demonstrate that he is Najib’s number two?
Anyway, whatever it may be, Ali Rustam has made it very clear that Umno does not need anyone. Umno has managed 50 years without depending on anyone and it can carry on another 50 years without them. Is this Ali Rustam’s or Najib’ message: that if the component members do not deliver the votes then they will be kicked out of Barisan Nasional? When MCA did badly in 1969 it was proposed they leave the Alliance Party since the Chinese no longer support them. The only difference this time around is that Umno is telling them before instead of after the general election.
There is much speculation on who will be Najib’s Deputy when he takes over as Prime Minister. This question has been satisfactorily answered on 15 October 2007. Ali Rustam made it clear that he and not the Prime Minister makes the decisions. As far as Ali Rustam is concerned the Prime Minister pengecut, the Perak Menteri Besar is kaki bodek while the Pahang Menteri Besar is gila who does crazy things. Yes, that leaves only him remaining as the most suitable candidate to become the next Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Hmm.....should I seriously consider migrating?
Herewith at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart: I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so important? I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is, either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife. Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. Is this what it means to be no longer young. It's not so bad. Next confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away. I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat. Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to. |
Sam is a seagull. He's not just any seagull. He's a seagull with a penchant for Doritos. In fact, he loves it so much that he steals it from the shop every week. He's got the stealing down to a fine art. First, he waits to see that there's no one around. Then he checks to see that the store employee is behind the till : too far to run after him. Finally, he quickly darts in, grabs a bag of Doritos (and makes sure it is Cheese Doritos) and darts back out again!
He only likes the cheese-flavoured Doritos. Here's a video of Sam in action:
Wayang Kulit (Puppetry) and the Philharmonic Orchestra
0 comments Published by Mel on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 2:42 PM
Wayang Kulit or Shadow Puppetry
MPOThursday Birthday and Sunday Shopping
0 comments Published by Mel on Sunday, September 09, 2007 at 11:55 PM
Free eye cream and lip gloss for us!!
Tea time at Dome
Palmerston North, New Zealand Ye Chow and I had our research paper to the sensor technology conference in New Zealand accepted. So in November this year, he will be giving a talk on multi-layer perceptron and radial basis function states observer in Palmerston North. He will be stopping by Melbourne first for work and visiting his sis.
I had hoped to travel with him to Melbourne and then to NZ, AND have a great holiday with him in NZ. It would also have been good to see Subhas, Sunil and Serge again (who will all be there) but this will not be possible.
This is because our other research paper to a separate conference held at exactly the same time in a completely different country was ALSO accepted, which means I have to be the presenter for the other one since Ye Chow can't be in 2 places at the same time!
So it looks like he will be enjoying the beautiful scenery in NZ while I will be facing crowds in a busy city. There goes my "dream" of a holiday.
My dumpling bed and goose feather pillows
0 comments Published by Mel on Monday, September 03, 2007 at 11:18 PMI am a self confessed klutz. I bump into just about anything. I have fallen down the staircase so many times that you would think I never really learnt to walk when I was a child. I still walk into the door on the occasional mornings when my eyes refuse to open. I have brushed my teeth with facial wash by accident before. More painful is the fact that I have smashed my toes against the side of the bed, through the opening and closing of doors, on chair legs and on closet doors more times that I can count. As a result, my legs and toes are almost always bruised at some spot or other.
Yes, I am a klutz. It's true. If there were a support group for clumsy people, I should probably sign up immediately.
Seeing that I am perpetually clumsy, Ye Chow talked me out of purchasing a four poster bed. I had my heart set on one, I always wanted a four poster bed!!! I want one!!!! But he kept reminding me that even without a post, I have been smashing my toes. If we had FOUR posts on our bed, I might lose a leg.
So we opted for the safest choice: A dumpling bed. The bed is white, and completely puffed up. The divan is a huge flat square surface to protect the mattress (which is very expensive - we got a good one coz we have been sleeping on crappy ones since we got married and our backs are killing us) . The sides of the bed are puffed up and bouncy, so that if I walk into the side, I will get no bruises. And head board is also puffed up and bouncy so that we can sit and read in bed very comfortably. Yes. It's a dumpling bed!
So I exchanged my luxurious 4 poster bed for a childish looking dumpling bed. But you know what? I really like the dumpling. A lot! It's great, it's comfy and it doesn't bruise me! More importantly, we got a couple of nice gifts to go with our bed. We got (for free) a nice 2 seater foot stool for the foot of the bed, and a couple of goose feather pillows! They are really comfortable!!!! Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to try out the bed and pillows and foot stool. That's coz I haven't moved into my new house yet. Apparently it's bad luck to move during the ghost month (which is now) and very good luck to move in after the ghost month (which is the 8 month in the Chinese calendar). So we're still waiting to enjoy our new house and our new bed.
So there you go. A klutz gets a dumpling bed. A princess gets a 4 poster bed. Guess which one I am?
Midnight Shopping Trip with Marilyn
1 comments Published by Mel on Friday, August 31, 2007 at 12:28 PMAfter that, we took the train back to our office. At the train station, I bought a hard cover Oliver Twist book for dirt cheap! Oooh I love hard cover books (see this).
After dinner, we left my house for One-U. It was traffic jam all the way in, but the shopping was great. We went to Warehouse and tried on several dresses. They were on 50% off, but still cost about 70-80 pounds after discount. I tried on the white dress first and fell in love. It's gorgeous. I felt like a princess!!!
The Princess- Dress
The would-be Princess
Pretty in PinkThe white tube dress was also really nice. The material is not as soft as the previous dresses (which were satin), but it looked really classy. The best thing is that it shows off the shoulders without squashing the shoulder "fats" which most tube dresses inevitably do. I quite like the black flowers on the white cloth. It brings out a lot of contrast and the black satin ribbon makes the waistline look tinier. This dress, however, cost 100 pounds (no discount).
Are you talking to me?We managed to find a parking space in Tesco, where the parking is not free. We ended up paying 6 bucks for parking :( Anyway, we ran in and got my boots in white colour.
Cream-coloured boots that we fell forSince we were already there, we decided to stay until midnight to watch the fireworks (it was already 11.15pm by the time we got in, and 11.45 pm by the time we bought the boots). It turned out to be an absolutely spectacular 10 minute display of fireworks. It was fantastic. Marilyn said she felt like she was in a dream. Indeed we were wishing we got a hotel room nearby (where Marilyn's dad could get a 70% discount) so that we could be closer to the view without having to face the crowds!
After the fireworks ended, they played the liberty song, and everyone was singing and shouting accordingly! The atmosphere was so pumped up and happy that I began to feel warm all over and so very proud of my country! It's Independence Day! It's our National Day! 50 years of Independence and the chants and songs really made me feel so very connected with my fellow countrymen.
At about 12.30am, we walked into Ikea and did some more shopping. Marilyn bought a soft and fluffy baby blue throw for her sofa. Then we walked out to the stalls that were set up alfresco just outside the mall. There, I almost bought a kimono. Marilyn loved it too! Too bad they didn't accept credit cards. Anyway, we may go to Time Square (where their shop is located) to buy the kimono in future, probably during Christmas or something. We can always take a train there to avoid having to drive through traffic. We shall see.
Japanese Doll WannabeThe traffic congestion HOME was really bad (it wasn't even moving) so instead of wasting petrol trying to get out, we stopped by the 24 hour Macdonald's nearby to sit for a bit. But it was way too crowded i.e. no place to sit and the line to order was so long that people were lining out outside the store!! Instead, we went to another smaller stall and had mamak food. We got back to our car about 1.45am and only got home about 2.30am. The car barely moved and so we starting cam-wh0ring in the car. Our faces are red in the pictures because of the brake light from the car in front of us!!
Red-Faced Chinese GirlsIt was a great day, and I'm still feeling the rush of giddiness and adrenaline!
Today Marilyn and I will continue our shopping spree by hitting other stores!! We already went to 4 shopping malls yesterday in a short period of time. I wonder how many we shall go to today!!!
I'm a Weird-Guy magnet!!! I swear it!!
0 comments Published by Mel on Wednesday, August 29, 2007 at 8:47 AMMy friends used to laugh at me. While other girls attract hot footballers, I always get the geeky ones with these characteristics:
- buck teeth
- awful hair
- pimply
- huge specs
- bad posture
- extremely skinny
- pitifully undersized
- socially impaired or disabled
- giggles non-stop
- talks very loudly and with false enthusiasm
- tends to talk about themselves
- asks strange questions about you
- stares at you unflinchingly for long periods of time
- has Grandma buying his clothes for him (i.e. clothes that even Mom won't buy)
I have just recently attracted another weird guy (my 5th one so far), who happens to know I am married but still doesn't seem to back off.
He waltzed into my office one day, happily telling me that he read about me in a magazine and wanted to introduce himself. He did. Then he started talking about his father, his life, his studies etc etc. All while I am busy doing work. Worst of all, he has really BAD body odour. I had to stop breathing to keep from choking to death.
He refused to leave my office. He sat down in one of the chairs and proceeded to stare at me when he ran out of things to say. After about 20 minutes of awkward silence interspaced with bad conversation about his life, I decided to tell him I was busy. He went "Oh, what are you busy with?" After hearing my reply, he proceeded to tell me everything he is busy with too. In the end, I had to MSN my colleague to come to my office and invite me for a meeting so that I had an excuse to kick him out.
My office smelled like a dead rat for 2 days. Everyone who entered my office complained about the stench. Arrgghh...
This weird guy kept visiting my office. Every time he pays me an unwanted visit, he would talk about something happy in his life and several times punched the air with his hands in a victory dance over some happy incidences in his life (e.g. an accepted conference paper, a holiday, an accepted journal paper etc etc). It's just so weird. He even tries to get me to talk about my spouse sometimes. I never facillitate him, because I don't like talking about personal stuff when at the office. Sometimes I wonder if the reason he keeps coming to me is because he has no friends.
We moved to a new office a couple of months ago. My new office is right next to my spouse's office. So now he visits me a lot less (GREAT!!)
Anyway 2 days ago, I went for a seminar with my female colleague and there he was sitting 4 rows in front of us. This weird guy kept turning around and STARING. My female colleague got freaked out. After about 20 minutes of periodically whipping his head around and staring for 3-4 minutes (i wonder why he didn't get a neck lash), he got up from his seat and moved to the seat in front of me.
I freaked out. I left immediately. My female colleague later told me that another colleague of ours asked her where I went, and the weird guy appeared to be eaves-dropping. She told him VERY LOUDLY that I went to call my Husband. Hahahaha.....
Thank God for friends like her!
Sometimes I swear I have a sign on my forehead that says "I am attracted to you" that happens to be only visible to geeks and freaks.
Lost in a sea of blue skies
Lie in the grass
That grows wild beneath my thighs
I guess it's summer time.
Winter had passed
As did the lies and truth,
I'm frozen inside
Yet seasons still renew
Perhaps the sun will shine through.
Let it fill my heart with its warmth
Let it feed my soul that I had scattered so long ago.
I'll fly away
Lost in a dream.
Help me redeem.
Lost in a maze of vanity
Seeking the pleasures
That never quenches my thirst
I thirst for more each time.
I heard a voice, so distant yet so clear.
It repeated the words
That I just refused to hear
A stubborn mind...
A deaf ear.
And yet is beckons me, here and now.
And it fills my soul that I had scattered so long ago.
I've lost myself
Chasing dreams.
Chasing in vain.
I wonder why my feet headed home.
It's been far too long
Yet somehow that's where I long to go
I've searched far and wide, yet it's here
All that I need,
Here in this sun
And in this rain
I live again.
Lost in a sea of blue skies,
Lie in the grass
That grows wild beneath my thighs.
Yes, it's summer time.
We have been quite broke recently, so we aven't actually gone out to eat a nice meal in ages. Actually since we have gotten married, we haven't gone out as a couple to a restaurant to have a nice meal.
Today, we decided to cook a nice lunch. I really missed Italian food, so it's pretty nice to have a good spagetti for lunch. We bought a nice honey mustard cream sauce from Australia, and decided to use it. We had mushrooms, mince meat, chicken ham and garlic mixed with the sauce. I also added cheese, white and black pepper to spice it up. Then we washed some fresh organic lettuce to partake with our lunch.
After some nice decoration on the plate, it looks like a restaurant level dish. I enjoyed it immensely, probably because I cooked it :)
On Monday evening I finally met up with Radhika after so many months. She's now studying in the United States, so she didn't attend my wedding (sniff sniff). Anyway, since she came back for the holidays, it's been one problem after another for her :(
It's lucky she has John to support her, I guess :D And he's a pretty nice guy too. Anyway here's a pic of us together:
United again
Lingerie-lookalike
-Taken from Asia Sentinel-
by Darah Kacukan
Malaysia’s Malay leaders say ‘do as I say, not do as I do’ when it comes to marriage
In early June, the Malaysian media blossomed with pictures of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in the traditional Malay suap-menyuap ceremony, exchanging bites of colored glutinous rice with his new bride.
This low-key but high-profile wedding followed another elite ceremony in May when one of Malaysia’s most eligible bachelors, the Raja Muda (crown prince) of Perak, Dr Raja Nazrin Shah, finally got hitched at the age of 50 in an unostentatious ceremony in Kuala Kangsar.
But these two weddings had something else in common, a characteristic not much commented on in the media but clear to most Malaysians: in both cases the brides were locally-born Eurasians. The prime minister’s new wife is Jeanne Abdullah, a friend and relative of Abdullah Badawi’s late wife, Endon, who died of complications from breast cancer in October 2005. Jeanne had originally been Jean Danker, a Catholic from a Eurasian family which spans Malaysia and Singapore and who converted to Islam when she married her first husband, Endon’s brother Othman, from whom she was later divorced.
The bride of Oxford and Harvard-educated Raja Nazrin, son of the current Perak Sultan, who himself was formerly Malaysia’s top law official, is Zara Salim Davidson, a chemical engineer and the daughter of William Davidson, a British-born Ipoh lawyer and his Malay wife. She herself is a member of the Kedah royal house and thus related to Malaysia’s first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman. Raja Nazrin has repeatedly spoken out against racism in Malaysia. Zara considers herself to be very much a Malay despite her Eurasian blood.
These weddings thus represent what should be one of the triumphs of Malaysia its ability to break down racial and religious barriers and subsume them into a broader Malaysian identity. Unfortunately the elite all too often fails to preach what it actually practices. It is a one-way street. Marry a Malay and you will become a Malay. You will also become a Muslim and, the courts say, you will stay that way.
The good-natured Abdullah Badawi clearly has no problem with the mixed racial ancestry of his bride, or with the fact that she was baptised a Christian. Yet he heads a ruling party which is not merely race-based but at times makes a fetish of Malay racial purity. And he heads a government that supports the recent court decision refusing to allow a Muslim to become a Christian, an act of supposed apostasy. But in the eyes of some Christian fundamentalists, the gentle Jeanne is also an apostate for having forsaken Christianity.
Malays are not the only ones with identity problems. Scratch many a Malaysian Chinese and one may also find a strain of Chinese chauvinism, as is often the case in Singapore. But in Malaysia it is the Malay elite which sets the tone. This is why many believe that a more open recognition of the sheer diversity of Malaysians’ origins would help offset the divisions caused by race-based politics that identifies religion with race.
Just a brief look at the origins of many members of the elite gives the lie to ethnic purity and religious dogmatism. There is Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister. His father was a Muslim Malayali from Kerala in south India who migrated to Malaysia and took a Malay bride. Mahathir himself was classified as an Indian when at university in Singapore.
But instead of celebrating the upward mobility that Malaysia offered to this migrant from India, the politics of the United Malays National Organisation required Mahathir to bury his ethnic past and wear his acquired Malay identity on his sleeve. In reality Mahathir welcomes racial mingling. His son Mirzan married into the family of Indonesian Chinese tycoon Liem Sioe Liong, and daughter Marina’s first husband was European.
The current head of the UMNO youth, Hishamuddin Hussein, who waved a kris (Malay dagger) at last year’s national UMNO convention and offered to bathe it in Chinese blood to the ominous cheers of the audience, is another whose Malay roots are not as deep as often assumed. His grandfather, the founder of UMNO, Onn Jaafar, appeared to be a Caucasian, which was not surprising given that his Johor-based family was of Turkish origin. Onn was ejected from the party he founded because he wanted to make it multi-racial and though his son went on to become the head of UMNO and a prime minister, he carried with him his father’s inclusive and moderate instincts.
Onn lost out politically to Malaysia’ s first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman. Although the Tunku placed more emphasis on Malay identity, he was certainly no exclusivist. Indeed, he had been born a subject of the King of Siam and as a scion of the royal house of Kedah spent some of his early years in Bangkok at the court of his then sovereign. His mother was Siamese, though her family originally was from Pegu (Burma). Of his four wives, one was Thai Chinese, one English, one Malay and one Malaysian-Chinese. He never hid his fondness for whisky, even while heading the Organization of Islamic Conference, or his student days in England pre-occupied, as he once put it, with “fast women, fast cars and not-so-fast horses.”
The Malay aristocracy has anyway been quite catholic in its choice of brides. Those in mixed marriagesinclude Ahmad Shah, the Sultan of Pahang, whose consort is of Pakistani lineage. The Sultan of Selangor’s divorced second consort and mother of his heir apparent was an American citizen.
Sultan Iskandar of Johor’s first wife, the mother of his heir apparent, was a British woman, Josephine Trevorrow. In this respect Sultan Iskandar took after his own grandfather, Sultan Ibrahim, who had two European wives, one British, one Romanian.
Maybe it is Johor’s geography, its proximity to Singapore and the diversity of Indonesia, but its politicians seem to thrive on marrying outsiders. Former Deputy Prime Minister Musa Hitam’s first wife was from (Catholic) Latin America and his second was of mixed ancestry . Another Johor politician, Tun Ismail, deputy prime minister in the early 1970s, was of part Chinese ancestry.
Conversions of convenience to Islam often mean that Malay mixtures leave little trace compared with other cross-ethnic marriages. But the non-Malay, but Muslim, origins of many of the elite are found everywhere, from South Asia, Yemen, Egypt, Turkey and other countries. They include the likes of Zeti Aziz, the governor of Bank Negara. She is the daughter of Ungku Aziz, the European-looking former University of Malaya vice-chancellor, whose Johor-based family came from Turkey.
Chinese roots are also more real than apparent, often hidden by conversions. But relatively recent high-profile marriages to Chinese include Tengku Razaleigh, former finance minister and a member of the Kelantan royal house who married a long-time Chinese friend who converted and changed her name to Noor Abdullah. Rashid Hussein, the prominent Singapore-born, Anglophile financier whose father was Indian and mother Malay married Sue Kuok, a daughter of tycoon Robert Kuok Hock Nian, the Malaysian-born but now Hong Kong-based tycoon. Kuok’s first wife and mother of some of his children was Eurasian but he later married a Chinese and emphasized his Chinese ethnic identity. In a recent book, “Asian Godfathers” Kuok was described by an in-law as “the biggest racial bigot I have ever met.”
Among the non-Malay groups, inter-ethnic marriages are generally much more common than among Malays. However it also seems the case that migration is the preferred option for the numbers of Malaysians who either marry across ethnic lines or acquire foreign spouses while studying or working abroad. This particularly applies to Malay women who are either not particularly religious or who see no reason why their spouses should convert.
By one estimate, there are some 150,000 mixed marriages in Malaysia, a number that seems impossibly small in a population of 24 million. The leafy, winding streets of Damansara Heights and Kenny Hills abound with matrons who entered into marriage and lives of leisure with well-to-do Malays straight out of the universities of England, where the government had sent their mates. It is forbidden for a Muslim to marry a non-Muslim, so these women, with their servants and their huge homes, stop being Jean and become Jehan in public, although seldom in private.
But while the list of Malay elites is long and rich with instances of intermarriage, at the lower economic levels the list is short, and increasingly circumscribed by the growing power of Malaysia’s shariah, or Islamic religious courts. The issue was brought to the fore in the case of Lina Joy, who changed her name from Azlina Jailani and became a Catholic in an effort to marry a non-Muslim.
With scores, perhaps hundreds, of outraged Muslims outside the courtroom, demanding that she be denied the chance to change her religion on her identity card, a high court ruled in May that she was subject to the jurisdiction of the shariah court. The shariah courts have allowed one conversion in history – for a woman who had been dead for decades.
The result is that either people do not marry, or they emigrate. Bright women who have preferred to marry foreigners found their husbands denied work permits. There are believed to be thousands living in Australia, Canada or the United Kingdom.
For Malaysia’s young to take their cues from Malaysia’s top politicians and the cream of society outside of official policy might not be a bad idea. Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, the Director of the Institute of the Malay World Civilisation (ATMA) and Professor at University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in Bangi – and himself married to an Australian, says Abdullah Badawi’s marriage to Jean Danker Abdullah is “not a catalyst but certainly symbolic.”
Marina Mahathir told Asia Sentinel that “If people think that marrying into another culture is enriching, then it will be a good thing. But some people make one person give up their own culture because they think of it as inferior.”
But so long as the elite indulges in kris-waving while marrying as it pleases, multiracial nation-building may have scant grass roots impact.
Meet the new members of the Springfield community. They are a Chinese couple!! Haha, actually that is the Simpsonized cartoon version of me and Chow. You can also Simpsonize yourself, by going to this website: http://simpsonizeme.com/ Go try it, and Simpsonize yourself today!When I came back from my trip to Warsaw, Poland.
Friend: Oh, where is Warsaw? is it near Saudi Arabia?
Me: No, it's in Poland.
Friend: Oh. Poland. Did you see any Polar bears?
Me: Erm...
When I came back from Ottawa, Canada
Friend: Where is Ottawa?
Me: In Canada. It's the capital, actually.
Friend: Oh, you're wrong. The capital of Canada is Toronto.
Me: Actually, it's Ottawa, although most people are more familiar with Toronto. I visited the Parliament when I was there.
Friend: That must have been the American Parliament, because the Canadian Parliament is in Toronto.
Me: Erm...
When I came back from Seoul, Korea
Friend: So did you speak much Chinese when you were there?
Me: No, I went to Korea.
Friend: Oh. I thought you spoke Mandarin and Cantonese (Chinese dialects)
Me: I do, but I went to Korea and they don't speak Chinese.
Friend: Yes they do. It's not like you went to Japan or anything.
Me: Erm...
When I came back from Guilin, China
Friend: Where is Guilin
Me: China. It's really beautiful, you should visit there someday
Friend: Guilin? I have never heard of it. Is it near Shanghai?
Me: No, quite far actually.
Friend: So, did you see any Samurais there?
Me: Samurais??? Why would I see Samurais in Guilin?
Friend: Isn't it a remote area in China?
Me: Erm...sort of untouched. But ermm....Samurais are from the last few centuries ago. From Japan.
Friend: Really? But I just saw them on TV the other day.
Me: Erm...
Surrounded by Oceans of Water, yet dying of Thirst
0 comments Published by Mel on Monday, August 06, 2007 at 4:46 PMA young lady, Anna, walked by a Chanel store. She peered into the window and recognized their classic bag. ‘It is gorgeous’, Anna thought, ‘and I must have it. I will look good in it. A bag like that will make me stand out in my group of friends’. She worked hard for a whole month. She ate nothing but bread and drank nothing but water to save for that bag. Within a month, she had enough savings to buy it. And so she did.
The bag was fantastic. Anna took it everywhere. And then a month later in the restroom of a popular restaurant, she overheard two friends talking.
“Anna has been carrying the same bag everyday for a month. She thinks she is so classy, but she uses a Chanel bag with a pair of cheap shoes!” Said Friend 1.
“Hahaha, oh yeah. And those awful clothes I know she got from the cheap shop downtown. I know where she shops. And can you believe she is using a Swatch watch with a Chanel bag!!! Who is she kidding???” Said Friend 2.
Both friends snickered while double checking their makeup. Assuring themselves that they looked flawless, they washed their hands and left the restroom. Anna had not moved from the toilet cubicle she was in. She was completely shocked. The bag did not make her look classy at all. Instead, it showed all her fashion flaws and people were laughing at her! She quickly wiped her tears left the restaurant without another word to anyone. She would later claim to had received an emergency phone call from home and had to rush off.
She spent the next two months looking for higher paying jobs, a wealthier boyfriend and better makeup. She borrowed money from her parents, sisters and friends to buy Gucci and Prada shoes, Fendi and Vuitton bags, and clothes from Emilio Pucci, Giorgio Armani and classic Chanel suits. She started reading Vogue diligently and followed the fashion advice.
Within a year, Anna was a different girl. She had a fabulous new wardrobe, was the best dressed girl in her group. Many other women looked up to her for fashion advice. She had beautiful handbags, shoes and clothes. But Anna was no longer satisfied for long. She used to be happy for months after a new purchase, yet now a new Chanel bag could only make her happy for a week. Then she was out shopping for a new Vuitton to add to her collection. She could not walk out with last season’s clothes. She had an image to maintain. She also needed to add jewels to her collection. Diamond rings, at least half a carat, necklaces and bracelets. Her watch must not be anything less than a gold Rolex. And she cannot be always wearing the same watch! She also needed earrings, a BMW, and a larger house. She needed to marry someone who could afford to buy a big apartment on a posh part of town with a prestigious address. She only ate in highly established restaurants and drank only Dom Pérignon champagne.
Anna. Oh, Anna.
The saddest irony of life is that when stranded in the middle of the ocean on a raft, you will probably die of thirst. If you drink from the waters, the salt content will make you so dehydrated, that you will need to drink more water. Drinking more sea water will dehydrate you even more, and so the process continues until you die. Of Dehydration. Of Thirst. While surrounded by an ocean of water.
Everyday, another one of us will start drinking the sea water, end up drinking more and more, never to quench our thirst and never realising that if only we stopped drinking that water, we would be less thirsty. What a pity to be surrounded by ample water, but remain constantly thirsty.
"Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst."
A really bitter Malaysian-Chinese guy
0 comments Published by Mel on Wednesday, August 01, 2007 at 4:20 PMHis rap song was in hokkien mix Mandarin mix Malay mix English. You need to be Malaysian Chinese to understand what he is saying. But I managed to find an English sub of the video. I will explain some of the metaphors he brought up here so that non-Malaysian readers can follow what he is trying to say.
Many people said that his song has more effect on society than 10 years of Lim Kit Siang's speeches (leader of the opposition political party). But I digress.
His song certainly shows disrespect to many different people. He touches on many sensitive issues that Malaysian citizens should not bring up, otherwise they can be arrested for threatening national peace. He is pretty brave (another word for stupid) to put up a song without keeping his face anonymous while still living in the country. I also do not recommend that anyone else follow in his footsteps. It is not prudent.
That being said, I think his jail time allows him to take responsibility for his actions. Anyway the song is really funny, and would make you laugh very hard, but only if you're not the one he is making fun of...
NegaraKu = My Country (Title of Malaysia's National Anthem)
Anna's mother had a difficult time taking care of her when she was a baby. Every time she was breastfed, Anna would cry and cry non stop for hours. Eventually, her mother temporarily stopped breastfeeding Anna and fed her milk powder formulated for babies instead. The crying did not stop. Worse of all, Anna had refused to drink any milk after 8 weeks. Confused and panicked, her parents rushed her to the hospital. Anna was a very tiny baby, much smaller than her peers at 8 weeks, and had not grown since she left the hospital.
The diagnosis was in within the week. Anna was lactose-intolerant. In fact, she was almost 99% intolerant, making it very difficult for her body to digest even very small amounts of milk. She would get nauseated, bloated, an upset and painful tummy, and occasionally get feverish. The doctors quickly put her on a special diet, and she was immediately better. The best thing was Anna began to grow.
Years later, when Anna was an adult, she would still have to take care of her food intake. She could not eat chocolates and drank soya milk to substitute for fresh milk. Even butter would send her to the toilet for hours. It became necessary for her to tell her friends about her condition so that when they invited her for parties, weddings or dinners, they would know to prepare a special meal for her or at least tell her in advance what the menu would be so that she could bring her own food.
When Anna got married, she made sure her husband, Dan, and his entire family knew she was lactose intolerant. Their wedding menu was designed to cater to her condition.
Two months after her wedding, her new mother-in-law, Joyce, invited Dan and Anna to a home-cooked dinner. Dan's entire family would be there and it was a casual get together in Joyce's house. Anna reminded Joyce about her condition and asked if she should bring a special meal for herself. Joyce told her it was not necessary.
So the happy newlyweds went to Joyce's house for dinner two weeks later, only to find that the main course was a French dish that was cream-based. Anna told Joyce that she couldn't eat it, and Joyce got very upset. Joyce had spent 2 weeks preparing the menu and the whole day cooking dinner to make it enjoyable for the family. She could not believe the newest member into her family would not eat her specially prepared dinner, which was hard work, and very expensive to prepare.
She told Anna that she put half the amount of cream that was required to cater to Anna's needs. It was half the amount, and Anna should be fine eating it.
Anna explained that it doesn't matter if it is half the amount or full amount. If it has lactose, she would not be able to eat it. She couldn't even eat trace amounts of butter without getting nauseated. Half the amount of cream would still send her to the toilet for the rest of the night!
Joyce was incredibly upset. She had specially prepared dinner, bought such expensive ingredients and even modified the amount of cream just to please her new daughter-in-law who was now telling her that she wasn't going to partake in dinner.
Anna was dumbfounded that her new mother-in-law was angry that she was born lactose-intolerant.
Joyce decided to compromise and told Anna to eat just a little bit, since it would be just a very small amount. Anna said no, and it really upsetted her. Here she was, slaving over the menu and preparing dinner for her new daughter-in-law who was so ungrateful and unappreciative. She couldn't believe how Dan could marry such a woman.
Anna was still dumbfounded and very annoyed that her mother-in-law was so clueless and was forcing her to eat something that would make her sick. She couldn't believe that someone would be so unreasonable as to get upset over a medical condition that Anna had no control over.
Dinner was awkward and stiff, and was not a good start to a new family.
Neither were really wrong, yet neither were really right. Such is the pity of life.
