Malaysia's 50th Independence Day

My beloved country, Malaysia, is celebrating its 50th Independence Day today on 31 August 2007, the day it gained independence from the British.

Plenty of activities yesterday night that continued all the way to the midnight countdown at various places in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city and held at other various cities throughout Malaysia. Yesterday, a number of us were in church praying for the nation, Malaysia's King and Prime Minister and unceasing unity.

This morning, a large parade happened at the Dataran Merdeka ("Merdeka Square") to commemorate the auspicious day with Malaysia's King, DYMM Sultan Mizan and HRH The Duke of York, Prince Andrew Edward from the British Royal Family attending the event.

Reading: Malaysia Marks 50 Years as Nation - BBC News/Asia-Pacific

Reading: A Tribute to the Celebration of Malaysia's 50 Years of Nationhood - Virtual Malaysia

Reading: A Truly Malaysian Dinner - Marina Mahathir (daughter of former Prime Minister)

Tags: Malaysia, 50th Independence Day, 50 Years, Nationhood, Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Sultan Mizan, Prince Andrew, British Royal Family

Latest Credit Card Fraud's Modus Operandi

Received this via an email this afternoon:-

Another credit card fraud scheme forwarded to me by a friend. Pls be aware!...

I just want to share the incident that happened to me yesterday. I received a call from a woman by the name Lisa claiming she is calling on behalf of Bank Negara. She introduced herself formally and explained to me that Bank Negara is concerned for credit card users in Malaysia who overspend their limit and put themselves too deep in debt. So, Bank Negara is introducing this new "MBF Countdown Backup" card for all owners of credit cards all around Malaysia and will soon be a compulsory thing. The card, according to Lisa, will be swiped everytime a transaction is performed using your credit card and this will enable Bank Negara to monitor our spending. And in return, we will get discounts ranging from 5% to 40% for different merchants.

Then, this is where my stupidity sets in. Because she spoke to me in Bahasa Malaysia and the background noise implicates that it is a bank working environment, and above all this, she was able to read out to me my 16-digit credit card numbers and particulars and even my outstanding balance with the credit card, it convinced me that this could be a new system implemented by Bank Negara. So, when she asked for my 3-digit approval code written behind the credit card, I "STUPIDLY" gave it to her.

Then after all this was charade was over, Lisa informed me that a charge of RM480 will be charged to my credit card as a starters fee to waive off the annual fee. This woke me up!! So, I questioned Lisa on why do I need to pay for something that Bank Negara wants to implement to help the people of Malaysia (not a very noble cause).

Then she explained to me that they are from a company calling on behalf of Bank Negara. And she said all the banks are well aware of this system. She then passed me over to her manager, Mr. Zakri or Mr. Z (similar to the MIB) or something. This gentleman then tries to assure me that this is not a fraud or scam.

Then after his long-winded speech about the benefits of their card no longer Bank Negara's), I told him to hold the approval of the card as I don't need it. I told him that I will call my bank to verify this card and get back to him. He agreed to my suggestion and even gave me 2 of his contact numbers for me to get back to him (03-40422522 and 03-40424288).

So, when I called both my credit card banks regarding this matter both banks told me that there was no such thing. Immediately I told that I might have fell for a fraud telephony case and wanted to cancel and suspend all my credit cards. The banks suspended my cards and agreed to send me a replacement card. Then when I called back Mr. Z at the number he gave me, a different lady attended to me and passed me on to a chinese lady who spoke in mandarin to me in a very heavy China accent. I told them that I have called my cc banks and cancelled my cards and specifically told her that I do not agree to their terms and I don't want their offer. She explained to me and assured me that they will delete my cc details and not charge me for anything. So, all this happened yesterday.

Being paranoid, I called my banks again this morning to double check if any transactions had gone through yesterday after I cancelled my card. And guess what. Those m#^*!#f actually did try to charge me but the banks did not let the transactions go through. I consider myself lucky coz I acted a step ahead of them.

Lesson from all of this, never ever entertain telephony offers that involve credit cards. 2 of my colleagues fell for these scams before and 1 of them was lucky enough to have the bank recognise it as a fraud case while the other 1 lost RM3000.

Jia Yin, Irene
Related reading: The Dangers of Credit Card - Lowyat.Net

Tags: Credit Card Fraud, Credit Card, Bank Negara, MBF Countdown Backup, Fraud

Difference Between A Wife & Girlfriend

This is good…. But true !

Wife is like a TV. Girlfriend is like handphone.

At home watch TV. Go out bring h/p.

No money sell TV. Got money change h/p.

Sometimes enjoy TV but most of the time play with h/p.

TV free for life but....h/p, if you don't pay, "The number you have dial is not in service" ....!

My comment:
TV more reliable, h/p more fashionable...
Tags: Wife, Girlfriend, TV, Handphone, Funny, Humour, Jokes

Spiderman Abilities Being Developed

Ever thought how does a lizard or gecko (as known in certain countries) and spiders have the abilities to hang on to the ceiling but does not fall off easily?

It's not easy to understand as involves science and quite complicated for me too. Both the lizards and spiders have tiny hairs which act as an adhesive agent. As seen, a lizard may not be that light but yet it was able to have the strength to hold its body up at the ceiling, upside down.

The Spiderman, in cartoon or movie format, displayed the same abilities for sticking onto walls up high in the buildings.


The scientists have done a research under "Structural properties of a scaled gecko foot-hair" under the Bioinspiration and Biomimetics which has been published in the Journal of Physics.

The scientists are doing a research on a potential spiderman suit which has the same capabilities as shown in the Spiderman movie.

The following criterias must be met first:-
1. most obviously, it must be able to demonstrate strong adhesive properties

2. the suit must be able to detach easily from a surface after it has stuck

3. the suit must, to some degree, be able to clean itself as dirt may interfere with the adhesive properties of the suit


And all the above involves such scientific terms:-
* intermolecular forces
* "van der Waals" forces
* carbon nanotubes
* geometrical properties or topology
* superhydrophobic

In the end, the scientists did mention this - that human beings' muscles were not developed to hang upside down like the lizards or geckos as the muscles will have its fatigue after a long hang. So, please go back to being a human ....... don't dream that you could a be superhero. That's only a comic book story.
Tags: Lizard, Gecko, Spider, Spiderman, Journal of Physics, Bioinspiration, Biomimetics, Intermolecular Forces, Van der Waals Forces, Carbon Nanotubes, Geometrical Properties, Topology, Superhydrophobic, Comic Book

Climate Is Too Hot Lately

How hot was it 10 years ago? I found it really warm at times but of course, uncomparable back at Sudan. Only if it rains in Kuala Lumpur now, I found the room's temperature cools down faster even with the air-cond switched on.

Humans have to adjust their dressing styles to fit in with the warm weather of late. And when you want to open up a business to cash in on the warm weather, an ice-cream stall may just be the answer.

The viability of the ice-cream business really depends on where you locate the business also.

Tags: Global Warming, Environment, Ice-Cream

Child's Guide to the Global Financial Crisis

This is a simple & funny illustration of the US sub-prime crisis.

You know dad is in trouble, and that mom is crying, and that the order for the Oyster 100 has had to be cancelled, and that the Bentley Arnage convertible is out, and that Graciela and Baby are on their way back to Manila and we're just left with Candy to help out, and that you probably aren't going to Choate after all, and it might be hard to figure everything out. But it's not.

Here's how it works. Think about gumdrops. They are no different than sub-prime home mortgages, and they illustrate how such a tiny segment of the housing market in the US could cause so much trouble for the world economy.

You used to be able to buy two gumdrops for a penny but now the price has gone up. They are a penny each. You want a gumdrop, but you don't have a penny. But I will loan you one because I know you want the gumdrop. I am not asking you if you have a way to pay off the gumdrop because I think you will pay it off, or I did before your dad got into trouble. I don't need to. But let's figure out if I can get some collateral. Collateral is a big word for something I can grab if you can't pay. That would be the gumdrop.

But collateral doesn't really matter. I know you signed a paper with your little six-year old hand that you would pay back the penny. Your father is rich, or was until the current unpleasantness, and I think you're good for it anyhow. So just like your father at the hedge fund, I have an IOU that represents the gumdrop. We can call it a mortgage.

But surprise. As soon as you gave me your little signature, I sold the paper to an 8th grader.

The kid who bought it from me has a great idea. He takes the gumdrop mortgage, and collects lots of them. Then he puts them into a fund that everybody can buy. A smart investment banker figured out in the 1980s that you could take lots of little IOUs, called mortgages, and bundle them together into bonds. These are called derivatives because they are financial instruments derived from the original mortgage. Then whoever buys them slices and dices them into different components.

The kid who bought your gumdrop IOU from me is like that. So what kind of derivatives can we derive from your gumdrop? Well, the kid who bought the gumdrop IOU split it into a whole bunch of new financial instruments. They are called collateralized debt obligations. He sells securities on the gelatine in the gumdrop for 1 cent. He sells securities in the dye in the gumdrop for 1 cent. He sells securities in the sugar for 1 cent. He sells securities in the aroma for 1 cent. He sells securities in the appearance of the gumdrop for 1 cent. He sells securities in the squeezability of the gumdrop for 1 cent. Your gumdrop, which you bought for one cent (although it's really only worth half a cent because of speculation and inflation) is now worth 6 cents.

But that's just the start. Each of the buyers of the gumdrop securities breaks them into component parts and sells them on to other kids. The kid who buys the gelatine security breaks it down into its separate chemical components and sells each of the chemical component securities for one cent each. That creates five new securities each worth a cent. The kid who buys the dye security takes a prism of the color and breaks it down into each of its component colors. The possibilities are nearly endless. Colors can be separated split into endless variations using color separators. Magenta and cyan are components of red. Yellow and cyan can produce green. Each one can represent a new security.

The kid who buys the sugar security got a great deal. Sugar is a disaccharide that breaks down into glucose and fructose. It breaks down after that into something called C12H22011, with the systemic name of D-fructofuranosyl or D-glucopyranoside. Each one of those is broken down again. Over and over. It's fun! Each of the people who breaks these down into individual securities says the security is backed by your one-cent gumdrop mortgage - the collateralized debt obligation.

In your dad's world, this is called "creating new financial instruments." By now, the total market value of the securities built on the value of your one-cent gumdrop is somewhere around 50 times that. But in a bull market, when everybody gets concerned that their snouts aren't deep enough into the money trough, they start to panic and buy more, forcing the price up even higher. So your half-cent gumdrop now represents maybe US$1.

Way down at the bottom is you. The whole thing is built on your gumdrop, but I remember that you haven't paid me the penny you owe me, maybe because you're scared to ask dad, who is very grouchy these days. So I'd like the gumdrop back. Unfortunately, you ate it.

There was another man who was a lot like that investment banker who figured out how to securitize mortgages. His name was Carlo Ponzi. But that's another story.

Related reading: Shrewd lenders spark US mortgage chaos
Tags: Sub Prime, Financial Crisis, Mortgage, , US Mortgage, Investment Banker, Financial Instruments, Bonds, Derivatives, Collaterised Debt, Securities, Carlo Ponzi

What Not to Say in a Plane?

After a month-long holiday in the US , my wife and I finally boarded the plane in San Francisco last Sunday heading home.

As the plane reached cruising speed with the seat belt sign switched off, a 6 ft 3" black man with the build of Mike Tyson in the front row got up from his seat, turned to face the back, raised his arm and yelled, "HIJACK!"

Everyone was frozen to the seat, expecting the worst to happen. And two stewards were about to jump onto this guy to overpower him when another voice answered from the back of the plane: "HI JOHN!"

The moral of the story is: If you have a friend named Jack, for heaven's sake don't ever call him in the plane. Otherwise you may land yourself in deep shit.
Tags: San Francisco, Mike Tyson, Plane, Travel

What is Marriage All About?

He ordered one hamburger, one order of French fries and one drink. The old man unwrapped the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half. He placed one half in front of his wife. He then carefully counted out the French fries, dividing them into two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife. He took a sip of the drink, his wife took a sip and then set the cup down between them.

As he began to eat his few bites of hamburger, the people around them kept looking over and whispering. You could tell they were thinking, "That poor old couple - all they can afford is one meal for the two of them."

As the man began to eat his fries a young man came to the table. He politely offered to buy another meal for the old couple. The old man said they were just fine - they were used to sharing everything.

The surrounding people noticed the little old lady hadn't eaten a bite. She sat there watching her husband eat and occasionally taking turns sipping the drink.

Again the young man came over and begged them to let him buy another meal for them. This time the old woman said "No, thank you, we are used to sharing everything."

As the old man finished and was wiping his face neatly with the napkin, the young man again came over to the little old lady who had yet to eat a single bite of food and asked "What is it you are waiting>for?"

She answered .......................... (scroll down)

"THE TEETH"

Tags: Good Marriage, Teeth, Jokes, Funny, Humour

MV Agusta's Getting Better After Proton Era

Proton Holdings, a Malaysian company that has interest in the national car project - Proton, has disposed of its 57.57% interest in MV Agusta, a renowned motorcycle company to an unknown Italian company called Gevi Spa for a mere 1 Euro (incl. debts and working capital requirements totalling 139.44 million euros) way back during end 2005. I could have bought that company at a much higher price.

And lately, news came out that one of MV Agusta's motorcycle brand has been stripped of from its stable and sold of to BMW Motorrad International at an undisclosed price. The said brand being disposed of is Husqvarna Motorcycles, which is considered a renowned brand by BMW Motorrad and American Motorcyclist Association. I'm very about as BMW wouldn't have invested in a non-profitable business/brand.

It has been rumoured that MV Agusta managed to disposed the Husqvarna Motorcycles brand at a price of 93 million Euro. That was just for 1 brand.

The question goes back to Proton Holdings Berhad's management. Why did they dispose of MV Agusta for a paltry 1 Euro???? If people just brush it off by saying it's a management failure then I would say it's a total cover-up again or something fishy has happened. Who would in their right frame of mind dispose it at 1 Euro????

And then MV Agusta's new management managed to sell off a "renowned brand" for 93 million Euro. That sale would have met majority of the 139 million Euro required to cover debts/ working capital.

Not only that, after MV Agusta had freed itself from Proton, it managed to develop the following two events which I would say a brand building effort:-

* the joint-production of MV Agusta watches together with the renowned watchmaker, Jean Richard







* the development of the world's most exclusive and fastest production motorcycle on the planet, the MV Agusta F4CC at a price of 100,000 Euro, limited to 100 units only.

Me: Proton, what's your say in this?
Proton: We don't know.
Me: Ok, I had expected that answer as what else do you know.
Tags: MV Agusta, Proton Holdings Berhad, Proton, BMW, BMW Motorrad International, Husqvarna Motorcycles, MV Agusta Watches, Jean Richard, MV Agusta F4CC, F4CC, Motorcycles, American Motorcyclist Association

Respective Blood Group's Food

You mean you didn't know that if you belong to the 'A' blood group, there would be certain kind of food that would be suitable for your blood group/type.

There is such a place in Skudai of Johor where you can savour the right kind of organic grown food for your blood group. In the menu, each dish has the following alphabets (A, B, O, or AB) besides the name of that dish signifying which dish is suitable for you. Very interesting, right?

It's a family-owned restaurant and the husband would ask for your blood type. He may not serve you the kind food which is not according to your blood type even though you requested for it. Surprised? Now what if you lied on your blood group ....... hehe. Will the owners conduct a blood test on you?????

Healthy for your body system as little salt is used, olive oil used for cooking instead, special sauces made from organic ingredients and non-MSG.

If you are not sure, drop by at a restaurant called Eat Right Best Restaurant locaed at 101, Jln Sutera Tanjung 8/2, Tmn Sutera Utama, Skudai, Johor.

Tags: Blood Group, Blood Type, Eat Right Best, Food, Restaurant, Skudai, Johor, Healthy, Organic Food, Organic Grown

The Lobsterman

My group of friends' hunt for food brought us to The Lobsterman at SS2, Petaling Jaya.

We ordered the 2 sets of the Lobster Family Set Menu (price according to size; ours was RM233 per set) and get to pick 2 unlucky lobsters of the day.








We did try the Fresh Lobster with Fresh Fruit & Creamy Yogurt (RM28).

The baked Escargots and Mussels were part of the set menu. Good feeling once it enters your mouth.
Tarragon Butter Baked (French cooking style).

How big was the serving? There were 8 adults and it didn't really fill my stomach. Any more additional orders will cost more and I mean really more......hehe

Lobster Termidor (Italian cooking style) with white wine and baked with cheese.

Was it considered fine dining with a bill of RM700++? Not really as the restaurant's ambience/setting was not high class enough....hehe

Will we go again? Don't think so as we have lots of other places to go.
Tags: The Lobsterman, SS2, Petaling Jaya, Food, Restaurant, Lobster, Mussel, Escargot

Is Your Honey the Star of the Day?

If your honey is the star of the day, you could treat your honey to a good meal at Honey Star. But the restaurant has changed its name to Star Village Restaurant recently. It's located at Overseas Union Garden (OUG), KL.

Nothing related to the Honeystar cereal meal (but I found that this Honeystar could be quite tasty if it was part of a cookie).

Ostrich Steak which I ordered for myself. Not bad, at least it's something different from the usual western food.

The Salmon Fish Steak. Fresh fish.

Unique drink - Sun Tea. Often drank this when I was in Sudan, called Karkadeh (Roselle in english). It's actually hibiscus leaves which is widely cheaply available in Sudan but over here in Malaysia, it's considered a higher class drink.

Too bulky for me to bring back those dried tea leaves .... the immigration may suspect otherwise .... drugs???

The interior decor is quite unique.


A pool table is available for customers before, during & after their meals.

The atmosphere is quite nice and cooling. This restaurant started from Taman Desa, where I stay and then they moved to OUG later on. We often go over as the food is quite good and price is reasonable.

My hunt for food never ends till some of my friends said that I "live to eat" (of course some of the comrades were guilty of that as well).


Another blogger, Swing, was there recently and had some other photos to your liking.
Tags: Honey Star, Star Village, Overseas Union Garden, OUG, Food, Restaurant, Ostrich Steak, Salmon Fish Steak

Brand Management Entails Cover-Up Operation

From what I understood, brand management is normally associated with the following:-
* brand promotion via good advertisement in the media
* exposure of one's brand to the mass public
* a company would get itself involved in various exhibitions to showcase its products/brands
* be a major sponsor in major events e.g. sports, seminar, forums

After reading on brand management which entailed the above, I believed at times, brand management must do some cover-up as well. What do I mean? Cover what?

Companies may have to cover their company's name or brand or logo so that their name won't be exposed in an unwanted situation. Sometimes lesser exposure is good too. Doesn't mean you have to be exposed at all times.

Take for example in the recent China Airlines' airplane that went up in smoke after landing in Naha Airport in Okinawa. Every single passengers and crew members managed to escape by the skin of their teeth. Days later, I think the China Airlines' management decided this .................... "go do some cover-up in the name of brand management". "Yes sir!" was the respond.

The name of China Airlines were painted over.

The wreckage that was 'toasted' to the ground due to a leakage at the fuel tankage. It seems that some bolts punctured the fuel tankage internally.


The China Airlines' logo at its tail-end was also covered-up.

So, is this part of brand management?

Maybe you will say...... ah this could be some safety issue or blah blah that required them do so .......








Just when you think that China Airlines was the only one, Garuda Air did the same when one of their airplanes crashed at Adisutjipto Airport in Yogyakarta way back in March 2007. That crash took the lives of 21 persons.

Garuda Air executed their brand management strategy too. "Cover-up wherever you can" was the instruction.

Learnt something new today. Brand Management entails cover-up operation too which means lesser exposure, totally opposite.
Tags: Brand Management, Brand, Logo, Cover-Up Operation, China Airlines, Garuda Air, Airplane, Airlines, Airport, Naha Airport, Okinawa, Adisutjipto Airport, Yogyakarta, Plane Crash

How High Can Inflation Hit Us? 100%? 100,000%?

I have seen a bad inflation hitting Malaysia's economy way back in 1997/1998 where bank's interest rates were riding above 12%/13%. Lots of people with high mortgages or taken lots of loans were badly hit. Shares were down to its lowest in years during that period. Margin calls on shares' trading accounts were badly hit. Foreign funds were heard pulling out. Country's foreign exchange and the local Ringgit Malaysia were in adverse situation.

Should the shopkeepers / stalls /businesses continue to increase their prices in order to maintain their profit margins or just to barely survive?

Daily food consumption's pricing increased due to other factors which caused their cost to increase. These were the signs.

Unfortunately, Zimbabwe, located in Africa, is experiencing the same kind of economic situation if not, worse than Malaysia. My previous postings on Zimbabwe did mention that their inflation rates were around 2000% early this year and then shot up to the region of 3,700% in May/June later.

Today, it could have reached an unprecedented scenario where common folks like you and me wouldn't be able to survive in the land of Zimbabwe. Only the filthy rich people will live through it. The inflaton rate of today? 7,638%

What figure was that? Means to say that a loaf of bread that cost RM2.00 (US$0.57) in August 2006 would have cost RM152.76 (US$43.65) this morning. Will you buy that loaf of bread? You have to as other type of food would be beyond your financial capabilities. That's how bad it is in Zimbabwe now.

According to economists and International Monetary Fund, if the Zimbabwean government still ding dong on the economics situation and slow to respond, an inflation rate of 100,000% has been predicted. The country will be doomed by then.

Current steps taken by the government to arrest the inflation:-
* ordered shopkeepers to slash their prices and arrested anyone who has failed to obey
* a new 200,000 Zimbabwe dollar note was launched
* created a commission to find a way to control soaring living costs

Effects of the inflation:-
* estimated three million people fleeing the country for South Africa
* unemployment rate stands at about 80%
* are mass shortages of fuel and foodstuffs
* some producers, fearing making a loss, cut production, meaning the move exacerbated shortages, leaving shop shelves empty
Tags: Zimbabwe, Inflation, International Monetary Fund, Mass Shortage, Unemployment Rate, Economics, Economy, Africa, Zimbabwe Dollar

Drama Script for Christmas 2007

I was at the poolside just now, trying my best to put up the right words for the Christmas drama, struggling also. In each character, I tried to put myself into their shoes trying to visualise how would such a character feel/react/respond if they were to hear/see/experience that scenario. Expected to write a 5 parts series. Only finished 2 of it and halfway thru the 3rd instalment.

Sweating profusely already..................

But good thing the poolside has a nice view of greenery which helped my mind to relax and gather more inspiration.

Don't get me wrong, there was no leng lui swimming today ...... (wasted actually)

I had wanted to jump in today but need to finish up what I was doing.

As I was drafting the script, I heard some cat calls (not leng lui's call), I turned around and was laughing my head off as I saw 3 kittens trying to climb a tree behind me.

There were 3 of them on the tree branches but 1 fell into the bush below.

The higher kitten (1st pic - centre), who saw me, tried to climb down but ran into difficulties and was hanging on to its life (2nd picture). Did fall eventually....hehe

All 3 kittens disappeared upon seeing me taking pictures with flash.
Tags: Drama Script, Christmas 2007, Kittens, Leng Lui, Poolside

Skywards Silver Status

Really appreciate Skywards (the frequent travellers programme for Emirates Airlines) for updating my Skywards Silver frequent traveller's account.

Skywards has re-instated my Skywards Silver status. Not only that, they sent a Skywards Silver package via Federal Express recently and the package comprise 1 Skywards Silver card, 2 baggage tags and a pen cum red laser light pointer ..... not bad. Thanks again!

Tags: Skywards, Skywards Silver, Travel, Emirates Airlines, Re-Instate

May 13 - The Glue That Binds Us

The following article is one of the most touching real-life situation that I have read which relates to racial matters in Malaysia way back on 13 May 1969, the darkest hour in Malaysian history:-

May 13, 1969 is nearly four score and ten years behind us.

What day of the week was it?

Alas I cannot now remember!

Perhaps it was a Friday.

Friday the 13th has always had such an ominous ring to it.

It was certainly before Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (the former prime minister) set our clocks back half an hour and thus took centre stage in our psyche. Of that I am sure.

As sure as I am that in 1969 with our Bapa Merdeka, Tunku Abdul Rahman as prime minister before he was deposed, we rose at sunrise and retired at sundown. Friday the 13th 1969 marked a turning point in the history of our nation.

I had finished with the Fitzpatrick case at Court Hill, and made an uneventful return home a little earlier than I should. My wife and children were out somewhere in town and got back just before sunset.

By twilight, all hell had broken loose.

The shouting of a mob in full flow, seemed to be coming from the junction of Princess Road (now Jalan Raja Muda) and Circular Road (later Jalan Pekeliling and now Jalan Tun Abdul Razak) which was less than half a mile from our house on the corner of Jalan Gurney Dua and Satu. We were well within ear-shot of the commotion.

I was then out on our badminton court with my wife and children when I saw a young Malay, face ravaged with shock as he ran past us, intermittently stopping to catch his breath and then run on.

The panic he radiated was very contagious.

A few moments later, my neighbour Tuan Haji Ahmad shouted from across the road that a riot was in progress at the Princess Road junction and that we should immediately get back indoors. Soon afterwards as the darkness set in, we saw red tongues of flame crowned with black smoke go up from the direction of Dato Kramat.

From town there was a red glow in the sky of fires burning. The acrid smell of smoke was coming from everywhere. More to the point, the very air around us seemed to be shivering with terror.

Fearing the worst, we locked ourselves in and huddled around the TV set.

Then I heard this high pitched wail. It was a female voice in distress -"Tolong, buka pintu, tolong. buka pintu!" (Please open the door!)

A diminutive woman, with a babe in arms, was desperately yelling for shelter, obviously not having had much luck with the houses nearer the Gurney Road junction. Without a second thought, I ran out, unlocked the gate and let her in. She was wide-eyed with terror and the baby was bawling away. The sheer relief seemed to have silenced her and she was not registering my questions. And she was not talking. Once inside, she slunk into a corner in our dining room and just sat there huddled with her baby, not looking at us but facing the wall.

It was now evident that she was Chinese, spoke no English, and was quite unwilling to engage in any conversation except to plead in bazaar Malay that she would give us no trouble and that she would leave the next day.

Our attention soon shifted from her to the TV set. A very distraught Tunku Abdul Rahman, came on to tell us that a curfew had to be declared because of racial riots between the Malays and the Chinese, caused by the over-exuberance of some elements celebrating their election victories, and gave brief details of irresponsible provocations, skirmishes, and fatalities. He stressed the need for calm whilst the security services restored law and order.

Well do I remember his parting words to us that night,"Marilah kita hidup atau mati sekarang." (Let us choose to live or die now.)

As my attention once again shifted to the tiny woman and her tinier baby, let me confess to my shame, that the thought crossed my mind that living in a predominantly Malay area, I had now put my whole family in peril by harbouring this Chinese woman. It was manifestly evident from the TV broadcasts that her race had become the target of blind racial hatred. It was an ignoble thought I immediately suppressed as unworthy of any human being. She too had been watching the TV and perhaps even more intently was watching me, and must have seen the dark clouds as they gathered around my visage. None of us were in the mood to eat anything. We all just sat and waited and waited and waited, not knowing quite what to expect.

Hours later there was a loud banging at our gate accompanied by a male voice shouting.

I realised then my moment of truth had finally arrived. I asked my cook Muthu, a true hero, if ever there was one to accompany me to the gate. In that half-light, I saw the most enormous Malay man I ever set my eyes on. With great trepidation I asked him what he wanted.

"You have got my wife and child in your house and I have come for them," he said in English.

Still suspicious I asked him, "Before I say anything, can you describe your wife?"

"Yes, yes I know you ask because I am a Malay. My wife is Chinese and she is very small and my baby is only a few months old. Can I now please come in?"

I immediately unlocked the gate. In he came and we witnessed the most touching family reunion. He thanked us profusely and without further ado they were on their way. In the excitement we did not ask his name or address.

What next?

I saw where my duty lay and immediately called the Emergency telephone number to volunteer for relief duty. An armoured car appeared the next morning.

I was taken to Federal House and assigned to assist the late Tun Khir Johari (as he subsequently became) and the late Tan Sri Manikavasagam. Our task initially was to transport and re-settle the refugees into the Merdeka Stadium and thence into the low cost municipal flats in Jalan Ipoh. We then tied-up with Dato Ruby Lee of the Red Cross to locate missing persons and supply emergency food rations to the displaced. Some semblance of law and order was restored and the town slowly came back to life.

If that baby who sheltered in our house that fateful night has survived life's vicissitudes, he would be 48 years old today. All the ethnic races which compose our lucky nation were fully represented in our house that evening when the Almighty brought us together for a short while.

With our 50th Merdeka anniversary fast approaching, and our hopes for racial unity so much in the forefront of our minds, may I leave it to my readers to ask themselves whether there is a pointer here for all of us.

Folded into our experience of the night of May 13, 1969 was there not the glue that binds all of us with the message that we must love each other or die?

Datuk Mahadev Shankar
The Sun

Datuk Mahadev Shankar retired as a Court of Appeal Judge in 1997. He was a lawyer in Shearne Delamore & Co at the time of May 13, 1969. He would be happy to make contact with the mother and child who sought refuge in his house on that day.
Tags: May 13, 13 May 1969, Malaysia, Racial, Bapa Merdeka, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Datuk Mahadev Shankar, 50th Merdeka Anniversary

Drowsy After Lunch? / China's Me Generation

Interesting articles for reading:-

Drowsy after lunch? Don't worry - it's natural
Ever wondered why do you feel sleepy especially after lunch and worst of all, at your workplace. Something wrong with your health? It's universally known as the "post-lunch dip" due to a collision of biology and economics. Wow, how scientific.

Will your company tolerate your sleepiness which people tend to relate it to laziness? Maybe you could suggest to your company to purchase this superb power nap chair called the Energy Pod which will benefit every staff for sure.

China's Me Generation
With seafood plentiful during a meal, conversation amongst young Chinese would be about exotic overseas trip, snowboarding, credit facilities provided by local banks while another would be assessing internet via the 3G technology.

It seems that the young urban Chinese would usually be found drinking their favourite coffee in Starbucks, wearing Nike shoes and blogging excessively.

Once you asked them about politics, their response would be "We can't do anything about it." It's exactly the same reaction in Malaysia. In China, the young generation is the driver and main beneficiaries of the current strong economy and who wouldn't want it to be changed especially the estimated 300 million 20-29 years old band of the young urban Chinese.
Tags: Drowsy, Post-Lunch Dip, Sleepiness, Nap, Power Nap, Energy Pod, Health, Me Generation, China, Young Urban Chinese

Towards Creating Better Battlefields

A letter from an overseas based Malaysian which I'm putting in relation to the fairness quoted by the Malaysian Prime Minister:-
I have been worked up, for a very long time, over the many things wrong in Malaysia. When I was a boy growing up in Klang, I lived on a street with about half Chinese homes and half Indian ones. In school, however, my classroom was probably reflective of the racial distribution of the country, which was approximately 60% Malays, 30% Chinese and just under 10% Indians with the odd boy out who was English. I also remember an American who was of Italian descent.

For a long time, the idea of racial differences was non-existent as I played the games boys played then, with boys of all races. In the classroom, there would be the usual competition to top the class and such competition came from all races. I have my usual suspects who were my competitors for ‘First Boy’ and these came from all races.

Sure, the Malay guy gunning for first spot would leverage against his superiority in the Malay language and the Chinese boy would have to pull his strength from the other subjects, usually mathematics. The Indian boy usually does well in English but everyone had a fair shot to top the class.

Racial differences simply did not register then, at least not in any significant or bigoted way.

Then, very slowly, we were made to feel and experience the differences. The Malay boy could get into a select school (usually in the capital) a lot more easily than the rest of us, even though we all did equally well. There were schools only Malays could get into. There were also scholarships only Malays could apply for. Yet, there was no ill feeling. The only sentiment was one of slight unease but I was happy to just move along and do my thing.

When I was in university in Sydney however, I started to slog really hard for my keeps. I had to work several jobs at any one time, to make sure I could pay the rent and not go hungry, as well as contribute as much as I could towards my university fees. By the time I finished my degrees five years later, I had made my family poorer by about RM20,000. I had from my earnings, saved almost that same amount, which I used for my airfare back to Malaysia and to start my new life back there. Soon however, I realised I had to battle again.

Getting a job, buying a home, investing, applying for anything from local, state or federal government, all these major areas of day-to-day life showed up the preferential treatments that the bumiputeras received. It was still okay, because I had my job, earned my promotions, made my investments, and established my network of friends and professional relationships. I generally lived life and enjoyed it.

I could not, however, eliminate the effect of being a victim of discrimination. It built up over time. Initially it was just a sense of annoyance and occasional snide remark by me or someone else against it. As it became more and more in your face, the effect escalated.

Many things change when you have a child. As a parent you start to think ahead a lot more. You start to think not just about the battles you have to wage, but also how to equip your child for the battles she has to wage as she grows up and goes through life.

As a parent, I no longer just get annoyed or even angry at injustices and inequitable policies. I start to think about how these injustices and inequitable policies would handicap my child’s battles. Life can be hard enough without these issues. If the energy spent on dealing with these matters could be channeled elsewhere, how much more productive, beneficial and therefore edifying our efforts and work would be.

How then do I minimise the incidence of having my child battle these fronts, and how do I create better battlefields for her? By exercising my voting rights? I voted in two elections. Both saw the BN win huge victories. In one of them, I worked for an opposition party. Starting from Lim Guan Eng’s arrest in 1996, I started being active in engaging in social and political causes.

All along, I worked in the corporate financial sector. I saw how government officials used racial discriminatory policies to enrich themselves and their friends and relatives. I saw how political and business leaders ‘worked together’.

I knew then where my child’s battlefield lies. It wasn’t in the country I grew up in. Not when the racist policies would continue. Not when the religious bigotry has started to take on very dangerous proportions. We left Malaysia three years ago.

It was a difficult rebuilding process. Our wealth here is only worth one third of what it was in Malaysia. Factor that into the higher standards of living here and we are no where near where we were in Malaysia. Professionally, my wife and I had to start again as well. From head of departments hiring and firing, we are now minnows seeking to be hired and avoid being fired.

We worked and struggled all over again to re-establish our lives. We have had to move house twice in three years in search of equilibrium in terms of commuting, schools and neighbourhoods.

After so many years of anger however, I now think perhaps Malaysia needs prayers more than angry dissent. The present leadership has not demonstrated a willingness to listen, be reasonable and work things out. They have chosen to be belligerent and defensive, even lie. Against this, the ordinary Malaysian’s approach cannot be more speeches and articles and calls for public meetings. These would only fall on deaf ears.

You cannot reason with people with such a stance. The ordinary Malaysian would think the cost of a confrontational approach too costly and dangerous and would therefore let things fester a lot longer before acting. I have decided therefore to pray a lot harder for Malaysia. I hope some of you will join me.

Related reading: I Bade My Son Farewell Today
Tags: Fairness, Malaysia, Politics, Racial Differences

An Italian Girl

A woman goes to Italy to attend a 2-weeks company training session. Her husband drives her to the airport and wishes her to have a good trip. The wife answers, "Thank you, honey. What would you like me to bring for you?"

The husband laughs and says, "An Italian girl!!!" The woman kept quiet and left.

Two weeks later he picks her up at the airport and asks, "So, honey, how was the trip?"
"Very good, thank you." she replied.
"And, what happened to my present?"
"Which present?" she asked.
"The one I asked for - an Italian girl!!"
"Oh, that," she said.

"Well, I did what I could, now we have to wait for nine months to see if it is a girl!!!"

Lesson learnt: Be careful with what you asked from a woman!!
Tags: Italy, Company Training, Italian Girl, Jokes, Funny, Humour

Beetle Car in Subang Jaya

* Correction - Jane of CHEbeh Expression brought me to my senses. The car's design was supposed to reflect a LADYBIRD. What was I thinking when I was typing this post. My friend was working with the Ladybird children's book those days and they presented this car to him. Though it's still known as a Beetle Car worldwide.

Original posting:
I think I could say that this is only real Beetle Car in Malaysia. It's still in running condition and it belongs to my friend who's staying in Subang Jaya. Went over to his house over the past weekend. Cute isn't it? I bet it attracts more attention than a Ferrari. Tags: Beetle, Beetle Car, Volkswagon, Car, Ladybird

Uncivic Minded Residents

Human beings being human beings but some are worse than a human being. If you are staying in the same condominium, where's your sense of cleanliness. Just look at my condo's ground floor. When I came down earlier, the rubbish bin was already full but people continued to pile it up and I supposed it fell as it was too high by then. The orange coloured plastic was left on the floor instead since it was full.

You might say that the rubbish bin was too small. A bigger rubbish container (fit for the whole condo population to throw their rubbish) was located about 10 steps away, just behind the lifts. That's how terrible these human beings are. I recalled the same thing happened on my floor too. I printed a notice (in both English and Bahasa Malaysia languages) and slipped it under their doors (10 units per floor only) excluding my next door neighbour who was equally pissed off. My notice sounded like this:-

"If we found out that you were the one who just dumped the rubbish on the floor at the lift area, you will find all the rubbish in that bin being dumped right at the front of your door in the morning!!"

After that notice, everybody's mindset had changed.
Tags: Civic Mind, Rubbish, Dumping, Condominium

How Fair is Fair in Malaysia?

The Malaysian Prime Minister mentioned that "I have been fair, I want to be fair, I’ll always be fair" during MCA's general assembly yesterday. How fair is fair? Fair compared to what? What's the percentage or ratio like in this so-called fairness?

Well, based on this statement I'll note down any unfair statements, actions, rules and laws imposed / to be imposed in future right in this blog. And then we'll see what sort of fairness is it later on. Such statements are common in a particular political party's general assembly in order to garner votes/trusts. Wait for a few days later.

I have been living in Malaysia right from when I was born in the heart of Kuala Lumpur and I have heard of such statement numerous times. I'll see what sort of actions will be shown in order to reflect this statement of "I have been fair, I want to be fair, I’ll always be fair". Cakap-cakap and just a mere statement is lame. Walk the talk please!!!

Reading: Have you really been fair, Pak Lah?
Tags: Malaysian Prime Minister, Fair, Fairness, Walk The Talk, Malaysia

Try the TV Game - Deal Or No Deal!

There is this TV game show being televised in Malaysia's NTV7 channel during the weekend called Deal Or No Deal in the mandarin language. I found it quite boring as it was just a game of chance or pure luck selecting the right baggage and tikam-tikam (poke here and there) while hoping that the bag you have chosen was the one with large amount of money.

It seems that this TV game show originated from UK and the craze spread across Europe, USA and throughout the world till it reached Malaysia's shore.

You can try out the game itself. First click the picture below and you'll be directed to USA's version. Then follow the instruction as provided by selecting one briefcase first.

In Malaysia's version, you have 26 beautiful ladies holding a bag each (the main attraction for the TV viewers and live audience). Maybe it's the same for other countries too....hehehe

Tags: Deal Or No Deal, NTV7, TV Game Show

Could You Live Without China?

During my younger years, Japanese made goods flooded my house literally - Hitachi fridge, Sony TV, Sony audio player & Sanyo air-cond, rice cooker.

But nowadays, anything could have came in from China even the Japanese products/goods - my Nikon digital camera, Harmon Kardon pc speaker, Sony Ericsson mobile phone's power adaptor, Nokia mobile phone's power adaptor, HP office laptop, mouse, Altec Lansing pc microphone, pc webcam, slow cooker, remote control car, chopsticks, stapler, birthday candles, normal batteries, small TV antenna and most of the items being displayed in the cabinet.

What about your home?

There is this author, Sara Bongiorni and her family, who tried to live without China. Did her family succeed? They tried it out in 2005 and noted down their life for that year and out came a book entitled "A Year Without Made in China".

Summary - at the end of the year, the family was relieved it was over....haha. They found it difficult to avoid, their life was nothing close to normal and too time consuming in seeing their labels each time. It could be part of Fear Factor too as without those China made goods, our life could be quite inconvenient.

Reading: Deadly and Dangerous Products Made in China - Newsweek

Tags: Made in China, China Products, China Made, China, Japanese Made, Sara Bongiorni