A decade in my own term; a reflection

Gosh! Today is the last day of 2009 and it also signify the end of the first decade of the new millennia. Time and tide really wait for no man! Looking back in the last 10 years of my life; it has captured quite number of beautiful and memorable moment that can be included in  my good book. If i may have the strength and good memory to remember them all. I hope I have and I shall put down piece by piece...

2000 - The new millennium has arrived - *to be continued

cuti-cuti Malaysia - family road trip

Malaysians are blessed with many festivals and celebrations. It is likely due to our own unique diversity. Every community celebrate one's festival in rich cultures and traditions with the other would join hand in the spirit of harmony.

Festival/ holiday also a point to breakaway from daily routine and enjoy oneself with the company of the loves one. Indeed that what happened to me and family who took our break on a road trip along coastal road of Selangor and Perak in conjunction with the recent awal muharram celebration.

This is how the story goes...

nice cloud awaiting us near sekinchan

making our way towards Lumut on Alphard. jeng jeng jeng

our first pit stop - muara Sungai Hj Dorani

baby aleesya also tag along

kamal did some stretching before hand

it was not something we anticipated. the monsoon should be on the other side of the coast!!

baby aleesya

abg kamil awaiting his dinner

everybody was here except yours truly (unofficial photog)

Ayah giving his approval on bangchik new bunkface hairstyle

the best ikan bakar in town.. artis ramai datang.. not that nite la!

post natal punya diet. :)

kanak-kanak ribena bermain pasir

geng bolot kerusi pantai

teluk batik on holiday mood

generation gap in teluk batik

dont get me wrong, this was a truly 1 Malaysia spirit with all giving a helping hand 'memukat'

david hassselholf?

harimau datang... wuarghhh

i love this shot so much. tks milla

the happy family.

the gile2 couple

our vow

catch me if you can

on our way to pasir salak, a stopover for fuel. 2 orang bakal soljar

a time travel experience. Recommended

off to Teluk Intan, on the way stop over for lunch at the famous mastan ghani outlet. Their specialty mee rebus and rojak.

a shot inside the leaning tower of pisa  Teluk Intan

Yes, i need to tone down that back

Our own royal tenenbaums

On our way back home, lunch stopover in Sg Panjang for a taste of makanan hutan.

we have landak, pelanduk, kijang, mata harimau , ikan keli, and many more

Recommended for food cravers

That's all folk. Next trip is Southern part of peninsula. Till then, bubbye!

Vision 2020, a dreamcatcher

It's four days before the end of the decade. Come year 2010, we will be progressing another mile in this great millenium. Things are rapidly move forward and I kept questioning myself whether we can catch on with the progression and development. I hope we are and we shouldl put our faith in the necessity and demands rather than  indulge ourselves with wishes and desire. The era of globalisation has caught us in between and making ourselves equipped indivually or as a society in facing the world of borderless should be our first priority.

The glimpse of new world has been envisioned wisely by our long serving Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Looking to Japan as model and how the country ruined by the blast of two atomic bombs rise to the occasion and became one of the indusrious nation in the 21th century is something to be emulated. When Japan surrendered after the bombings and signed a treaty not to be involved in world war again, Emperor Akihito knew the only way to bring back the glory of Japan was by becoming a world leader in Industry. Hence, from the bloodshed and tears of his people, Japanese built back their nation and set a 30 years vision for them to be at par with the American and European. and they succeeeded. Now, Japan can be proud of the products that live within every house in this world. Whether we are watching Panasonic TV or driving Toyota on a Bridgestone tyre with Sony Erricson handphone in hand, the emperor's wisdom has fulfilled his people.

Malaysia has come through a period of 20 years of the vision 2020 since Dr Mahathir came with the idea in 1990. Over the years Malaysia has gone through a period of progress, trouble, uncertainty yet we still making roads  towards  fulfilling the nine agenda in making Malaysia a developed nation. With the requisite of 8% growth every year towards 2020, this last decade could be the catalyst in making this one dream come true. Are we ahead of time or way lagging behind?! In the past years or so our economy growth was way below the 8% target. Our GDP per capita income was mere between USD15,000 to USD17,000 comparing to a neighbouring country at USD55,000. At the current scenario, are we simply off tangent of the target set?

2010-2020 will be a significant period for us to do ourself justice whether our dream will come true or we shall continue dreaming to another decade. I wish Tun Dr Mahathir would live long to see his Malaysian Dream come true. God's will

Bendera berkibar di angkasa

Lambang negara jaya

Rakyat sepakat sehati sejiwa

Dengan berbakti dengan megah

Hadapi cabaran masa muka

Penuh tenaga murni

Bakti dicurah sehara-sehala

Dengan wawasan yang suci

Wawasan meningkat kemajuan

Tiada lagi kepincangan

Kemewahan rasa-dirasai

Bersama kita nikmati

Wawasan 2020

Satu pandangan jauh

Bukan impian malah kenyataan

Bersama kita jayakan

Malaysia di sana sini boleh

Malaysian are not creative enough in content department. Yes, as far that i noticed we are lacking in producing the right material and content whether in entertainment industry or simply in news. For instance, the Malays are still stuck in our tabloid, gossip like news stand. The story of divorcee, artist marriage or even rape cases would sell papers. I cannot understand how the headlines 'datuk nafsu syaitan' can get paper especially 'metro' and kosmo' sold like hot cakes! (or in malays; pisang goreng). This shows the level of our mentality still caught in our own 'pandora's box' rather than seeking  better stimulating news such as economy, businesses or climate change. Malays just dont give a darn, do we?

On tv, we are fed with numbers of game shows which don't stimulating our mind at all. Worst, these game shows are all imported from other countries popular shows. For instance, the reality show of 'akademi fantasia' is a mock off a brazilian show. Bolos is a copycat of the same concept game show from Japan. We have our roda impian a direct duplicate of Wheel of Fortune. That doesnt count the license show such as Ford Supermodels, Fear Factor Malaysia, our very on biggest loser and many more. I'm afraid it could be to the extend that we wont cater local content at all when it comes to games show. Sigh.

Why dont we give permainan tradisional a place in our entertainment industry. Maybe it can instill some semangat Malaysia Boleh and 1 Malaysia?

I hope we dont come to the extend to offer such game show like 'Saya lebih bodoh dari murid kelas 3' in our entertainment scene. Otherwise, that would be the day the music die.

Rangkuman Citer in one go again?! - part iv

A much needed tirade during half time released the potential of young bhoys. They really turned into men when required. I have pity  to the Kops but in this big league, mercy only lead to crazy. We are now 6 pts behind lead leader with one game in hand. Arshavin was the detractor, only in his second game against Liverpool, he has scored 5 times. With his sublime trademark thunder shot, he was a class on his own. Arshavin was really in his element and the 3 points prove one thing.. "we are serious with the title.. and we will never give up". Go gunters Gunnerz!

the shot that made the different

update: after a good win on the weekend, Arsenal went back to sleep only managing a draw against the resilient Clarets. Now we are 8 points behind leader with one game in spare. What, u think we can win the spare game easily?! dream on arsene and the bhoys yet again! sigh


On domestic scene, Malaysian Football team had pull number of surprises by making to the final of SEA Games, Vientiane.  First, they beat the defending champion Thailand on the road to semis. During the semi final they have beaten host nation who had the whole nation behind them by quite a margin 3-1. Malaysia will then again play Vietnam whom they lost earlier in the group stage. No need to fear as the confidence in Malaysian contingent look high at the moment. Just play the game and enjoy the experience. This would be a good chance for the Malaysian to prove that we are still a powerhouse in ASEAN football. After 20 years hiatus, this could be our good chance for gold! go go power puff boys!

update: Malaysian Harimau Muda did Malaysia proud by bagging the gold medal after a 1 - 0 win against mighty Vietnam. It was fourth time hard luck for the Vietnam team as they were kept silence all night by the energetic Harimau Muda. It was refreshing to see all Malaysian come together once again for the moment and it come at the right time when we need extra tonic to move forward in football arena. I am proud to be associated with the young Malaysian team! Malaysia Boleh.


p/s: i hope the humility is still there to the taking, no need for some datukship hype in the making. They are fighters and should soldier on without too much politicking and media hype.

Malaysian Politics would never shorts of issue. From the internal crisis in MCA, MIC, PPP, PKR, PAS to name a few. It looked that the 'suara rakyat' for reformation once again being neglected due to power struggle amongst politician. However i must say one politician who stand tall out of the rest is Najib Tun Razak, I am no arse kissing chap (maybe something i do shit!) but the current workrate of Najib is much much better from the his predecessor, Tun Lah. Najib Razak seemed everywhere in the globe. One he was in his constituency, distributing cows for Qurban, another day he was celebrating eidul adha somewhere in Bahamas. Pheww.. that is some public officer which we want in our politician. With his 1 Malaysia concept plus the transformation in government look progressing, one could wonder what would be the downfall of Najib and his BN party. He is striving as much as he could but i reckon other cabinet members will emulate his desire and energy to serve the people. Time will tell.. after all as one of my closest aide  reminded me "every great leaders have great flaws." Najib would have his flaws (under the radar) too.

Dengan izin,

Cuti panjang sekolah antara yang di tunggu oleh anak anak. Ada yang mengambil kesempatan untuk ke LIMA Langkawi dan serata negeri. Lain pula dengan 37 anak anak yang memilih untuk menjadi dewasa. Mereka diraikan dalam majlis berkhatan beramai2 di Masjid Jamek Pokok Machang.

the boys who brave themselves

the opening act by Dato Sri Pengerusi Qariah

having the time of themselves

watch by others

the moment of truth.

I remembered when i was circumcised. That was 20 years ago. I was the first to be circumcised amongst the six. In the beginning, it was all ok but once the anesthetic run dry... then come all the drama. We cried all night, struggling with pain cursing ourselves for letting ourself being cut! None of us understand that was the day when boys become man. Reminiscing the memory for all time sake was breathtaking and now seeing those little boys putting a brave face for an episodeof their life made the whole experience worth to be documented. Kudos to the boys. No pain no gain, Now you are real man! *wink wink*

My brother, Milla and myself has started our own biggest losers quest. Yes we are! For a start we are bound to pay RM1 per rice intake we consume on every meal session. As for now, Bangchik is leading the fine with RM12. I try to maintain a healthy diet but still short of having to pay RM5 fine for my rice. Milla seem unperturbed with rice and she is only at RM2 at this juncture. Again, league is not won in December, there will be month long to go when we will realise how much we have reduce our rice intake in order to lose some pounds. We are really in contention this time and hopefully by year end we will have ample fund to spend us a nice nasi beriyani kambing outings :P
ohh btw we have started our gym session too.. and i think we are seriyus this time.. ahahah.

this year only me and apek represented our batch. that's bad

me and the host- En Suhaimi

Last Saturday I was at MCOBA Dinner by invitation of Suhaimi Sulaiman, a fellow old boys and anchor of Astro AWANI. It was a great get together between old boys of an institutional famous for her prodigal sons the likes of Tun Razak, Anwar Ibrahim et al. MCKK (or some people prefer calling M C gay gay) was a place close to every old boys' heart. We will do anything in the name of the school and proud to be associated to it. On that night we were even prouder to accolades Mr Liew; the first non malay member of the prestige MCOBA. His contribution to the excellence of Malay College BasketBall team is exceptional even the award could not match up. We hope he will pursue his passion  and let it be a true example of 1 Malaysia unity. For more story about Mr Liew, please go here

"Inilah lumrah kehidupan"

"Bukan senang nak senang, Bukan susah nak susah.."

"Buat! jangan buat-buat... main! jangan main main."

Terngiang-ngiang kata-kata itu tatkala meniti perjalanan ku kembali ke rumah. "Hari ini bukan hari ku.." getus hatiku sayu, sesayu mindaku yang terus mengelamun ketika tangan masih memegang stereng melintasi ratusan deretan kereta di plaza tol.

Ku kira pagi tadi adalah permulaan yang baik. Rupanya aku salah. Aku mengaku aku tak sempurnakan kewajipan pada malamnya. melabuhkan dahiku sujud pada Yang Esa. "Oh tuhan, ampuni aku!" Dan setiap kali itu juga aku terus berjanji kepada Yang Esa; bahawa tidak akan sekali  ku lelapkan mata ini selagi aku tidak bersujud kepadaMu dan tiap kalinya juga aku terus memungkiri Mu, Ya Allah!

"Masihkah ada ruang keampunan pada diriku yang dhaif ini?" Aku menyesal untuk ke sekian kali. Memang benar nasihat orang-orang tua bahawa pintu rezkimu akan dibuka setiap pagi tatkala mentari merah menyinsing di ufuk timur. Namun ketika itu aku kerap dibuai mimpi. sigh.

Kekalutan pagi ini tambah perit apabila si dia juga dingin terhadapku. Aku tak salahkannya, dia hanya menjalankan kewajipan sebagai seorang istri. Mana mungkin seorang istri sanggup membiarkan permata hatinya hanyut tanpa pedoman. Sekali sekali bebelannya menyakitkan telinga tapi benar belaka. Yang salah tetap aku tetapi sayang sekali ego lelaki tak bisa mengaku kalah. Kesudahannya, perasaan si istri pasti terguris, sedih. Maafku sayang! Pagi ini tidak seperti yang kita harap-harapkan rupanya.

Sepanjang perjalanan, kami berdua memilih untuk berdiam. Ku kira tidak guna membakar lagi perasaan kerana penyudahnya sudah dapat diduga. Masing-masing mengelamun dan mempertahankan pendirian. Ego menguasai jiwa. Penyudahnya, tiada siapa yang untung.. masing masing menanggung rugi kerana sanggup berlapar dari kalah dalam perdebatan. Nampaknya darah muda masing-masing masih kuat menyala! :)

Pagi ini ku isi dengan pertemuan dengan rakan niaga. Perjalanan untuk projek seterusnya masih jauh. Sang ketua merasa perlu bukti kukuh dari pihak aku sebelum wang dapat disalurkan. Aduh! 2 minggu lagi. Kadang-kadang aku fikir sejenak, "adakah mereka tidak yakin dengan keupayaan ku? habis kenapa sanggup laburkan jutaan ringgit jika tak percaya projek ini akan berjaya? Manakan dapat ruyung kalau tak pecahkan sagunya, bukan?!"

Aku dan rakan niaga menerima keadaan seadanya. Mungkin ada hikmah di sebalik semua ini, Tambahan pula  kami akan lebih bersiap siaga. Biarlah keringat kami bercampur namun mundur untuk projek ini tak akan sekali kali ku hambur. Kami percaya ada sinar di luar sana. Pabila peluang itu terbina pasti kami akan gempur.

Sebelah petang aku bersama paman. Kali ini kami cuba pula menyakinkan si pembekal bahawa kami lah yang paling layak menjadi rakan niaga mereka. Projek ini bukan sebarangan, membekal peralatan untuk makmal biosekuriti jabatan. Perbelanjaannya besar tetapi pengalaman si pembekal merupakan penanda aras projek ini mampu kita ketengahkan bersama. Namun sekali lagi aku malang, si pembekal merasakan projek ini ada kekurangan. Ada jurang yang besar antara harga peralatan sebenar dengan anggaran yang dimasukkan jabatan. Justeru, si pembekal merasakan ada 'permainan' di peringkat jabatan dan kita harus waspada agar tidak kecundang di peringkat mula. Ahh..gagal lagi aku hari ini.

Aku agak kecewa. Yalah, janji sudah bermacam-macam di depan mata. Hasilnya masih tiada. Keluh aku tak berhenti. Terima kasih ada paman yang terus beri motivasi; "Yang ini baru kita gagal yang ke 3.. Paklang sudah gagal sampai tak terkira.." Alah Bisa Tegal Biasa katanya. Syukur aku ada paman yang memahami dan sentiasa beri kata-kata semangat. Ku ucapkan selamat tinggal padanya di Subang Jaya dan keretaku terus meluncur laju menuju ke plaza tol...

Begitulah perjalanan aku hari ini.

Langit tak selalunya cerah bila awan mendung berarak lalu.

Namun aku tetap percaya pasti ada sinar pelangi tatkala hujan berhenti.

Yang pasti aku akan terus maju hadapan.. ya, mungkin sesekali menoleh ke belakang tetapi tidak sesekali kembali berpatah balik.

Noktah.

Ask Morkymoqq (4) : Should we pardon Chin Peng and accept his apology after all the things he did and let him free to come back and die as Malaysian, should we not?

Dear morky,

I know the question may sound tricky and sensitive. Unfortunately I couldnt stop myself from asking because recently the issue has been raised again and again by certain quarters of 'good Samaritans' of this country. I understand there would never be an ending to this subject but for goodness sake, can we have a closure and move on?! I wish to get your raw opinion on this matter because for now a good night sleep without fear and favour is crucial. I'm no longer want to become a prisoner of my own state of mind . Please enlighten me.

Bintang Jula Juli
Sitiawan, Perak

Dear Mdm Bintang Jula Juli,

First, I lauded your guts for raising the matter up.  Some of us just 'chicken out' and prefer to keep silence rather than getting a clear explanation. I understand your feeling, you are not a prisoner of your own mind. In fact I believe you ought to do what you suppose to do because you cherish your life and your family more than this awakening issue. Fyi, this issue is like a ghost of the past that keep haunting... and it will haunt us until the soul rest in peace. Chin Peng might be just Casper the Friendly Ghost or maybe he is the mischievous Uncle Ghostly Trio - Stretch, Stinkie and Fatso....or maybe! he is Stretch, Stinkie and Fatso combine in the past and now came back to play the role of Casper in order to make his voice heard once again...
(chuckles) apologies, now I think I'm the one who's my own mind prisoner... :)

Chin Peng (CP) was refused entering Malaysia because his hands still soak with blood of many Malaysians. CP was never a Malaysian in the first place hence the thought of having his quest to die a Malaysian is inconclusive. I have my reservation for CP still. He might not be the man he used to be, but his beliefs and idealism still running strong through his veins. Even his apologies is not wholeheartedly sincere.

Then why we need to entertain him? In the name of humanity? Is he humane  enough to be given mercy after what Bintang Tiga has done under his command? Have he feel remorsed for what he did? - Please refer back to his 'apologies'. Nevertheless some quarters of us still feel he deserved a second chance as a Malaysian.

I am not strongly against the idea but giving pardon to CP without a full trial and tribunal against him is ethically wrong. He is responsible  to the innocence killings of many Malaysians during the Emergency (1948-1960) and whether their fights were because what the Communist believe in did not make killing innocence civilians and security forces legal. Matlamat tidak menghalalkan cara, right?  He should stand for trial as criminal of war like Pol Pot, Khieu Sampan, Karadzic or even Saddam. After justice prevail only then he deserved his fair share of Malaysian like many other.

History is a good lesson for the future. Chin Peng himself was a towering figure amongst his men. I never argue that. He was the commander who fights against establishment because he wanted Malaysia under a communist rule. When he was offered amnesty during 1955, he simply refused because he still believe he can gain Malaysian Independence through his 'war of terror'. Unfortunately, Malaysia got her independence 2 years later under the wisdom of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra. At last, 'bold and brawn' outwit 'blood and terror'. Soon after, Chin Peng should have asked his men to stand down and pledge themselves to the King and country yet they CHOOSE to continue their struggle in deep forest. PKM remained illegal since and was considered a threat to the nation and the King thus should be eliminated at all cause. This fights was ended when both party went for a truce and later signed a peace agreement in 1989. Nonetheless, Chin Peng remains a persona non grata in the history of our country.

As George Santayana said: "those who forget the lessons of history will be punished by making the same mistakes over and over again". 

There are few sympathizer towards Chin Peng. After all what can an old sick man do. Even he could not move himself properly albeit toppling the country. As much I admit idealism, justice, peace, axis of evil, sacrifice, terror, emotional and rational, yin and yang co-exist; giving pardon to Chin Peng WITHOUT condition in the name of humanity would only send a wrong signal to future generation.

It is like saying ok to killings because what you believe in and hoping you'd live long enough to seek mercy from those who were affected by your inhumane action.

Malaysia not bodoh, Malaysia Boleh!

p/s: For more in depth reading about 'Chin Peng the Friendly Ghost' quest for citizenship please read here

The Malays are good merchants as well!

On few occasion, we discussed how to bring in more younger generation especially Malays to get involved in business as it's obvious most of young brilliant Malays preferred a more secured job whether in corporate, government sector or as professionals. These Yuppies (young under paid professionals :p) would rather take time on their own rather than risk themselves in business and lose everything. It's also obvious, business world is not something being inculcate within us from our younger years thus sometimes (or most of the time) it's tough to put a foot in the business world mostly dominated by non Malays.

It's not frustrating but I believe it's a challenge for all of us to prove that Malays too are good merchants as we used to be (Remember Pusat Perdagangan in Melaka!).

Obviously when we are not together due to different business field, the Malays don't consult each other for advice and stuff. Typically, Malays entrepreneur face the same problem i.e. bank loans, grant, opportunities and network yet these problems can't be solved due to inexperience and incompetence. Hence, the idea to regroup and present ourselves as young Malays entrepreneurs is imminent.

By participating into the business group @ bisnis club, we ought to share experiences, contacts, networking as well as understanding our potential. We may even go deeper by collaborating in business fields that we have common expertise and connections.(Which I assume we have many).

We are like 'rough diamond' yet to be polished. What we need now is a good 'De Beers' to create value to ourselves. Whether a 'black diamond' approach or genuine dealings, we must work together making sure 'diamonds are forever' in everybody's hand. :)

(I hope my 'contoh berkias' reaches you)

I have been in FMCG long enough (4 years) to experience successful non Malays traders built their business overtime. It took them maybe 30 years to become what they are today. Unfortunately, in the last 30 years, we have built only few Malay millionaire whom in return would create more opportunities to other Malay businessmen yet they failed to make their promise only to the reason known to them.

Yes, we need the 'tongkat' but we need to use it wisely so that the 'tongkat' also stick others rather than cane them.

Sent by mymorky plan

Hard Rock Hotel has a soft spot in Penang.

The music might be louder and hard for some. The ambiance may not suitable to holiday goers who are looking for a remote setting. The cook's food could not satisfy to everyone's liking but without a doubt Hard Rock Hotel Penang had offered another 'must go places' on your item list whenever you decided for a vocation vacation in Penang.

Situated right at the heart of Batu Ferringhi, Hard Rock Hotel has fast becoming a landmark attraction to Penang Island. After barely open last 2 months, the former Casuarina Beach Hotel is a talk of the town and I, myself look forward to having a peep of what it has to offer. The opportunity rise when I was in Penang last few weeks and with the holiday mood was still swinging high, the chance could not be missed. ;)

It just another night outing with the lads,(yes, i left milla at home). The rain did not stop us making our way to Batu Ferringhi. Eagerly for a chance to meet his idol, King Michael who was immortalised at the hotel, Encik K was all excited. Abg B, the local lad keep his composure intact even I could see the excitement in his eyes. This is his first time as well. For me, Hard Rock Hotel is just another hotel (blah la... pretending not too damn excited myself). After all, me myself had had enough of the Hard Rock Franchise in the last week and going to another one was just to fill in and get ready to be shrunk a few hundred ringgits on merchandise.

But i was wrong, i was totally wrong.

'With a total of 250 guestrooms, there is nowhere more luxurious than Hard Rock Hotel Penang to spend your holiday. With a contemporary feel, all rooms are well-designed with guests in mind. With Wi-Fi connections, iPod docking stations and 32-inch LCD screen TVs, you can stay connected with your loved ones and be entertained 24 hours. The walls in the Hard Rock Hotel Penang are adorned with images, memorabilia and icons reflecting the revolution that changed the face of music, fashion and arts. It's a celebration of popular culture from the 50's through the new millennium. Its fun atmosphere and clean, modern lines make this the ultimate ROCK RETREAT for all!'

See, i tell you. Btw the above para is not one of my writings. It's an excerpt from the official site. Sorry about that dear! Since i only better to describe Hard Rock Hotel Penang through my captivating eyes, let's enjoy the pics, shall we? :)

King of Pop being immortalised

Encik K inter framed my shot on the band

Testing out the shirt.    
                       

The difficult part as always

taken by encik K

making fun of ourselves.. yeay!

yes,  you can smooch at hard rock hotel

reporting to mem

stop for supper @ tari cafe after long night out