I love this!! 8-)
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
"ok kak?"
Today I took the afternoon off...
Went for a massage... more of urut betulkan urat to be exact. And to buang angin. My left knee has been troubling me since I came home from Germany. Too much walking and pretending to be extra macho... what trouble that got me. Everytime after sitting down for an extended period, my left leg will be *dead*. I literally had weak knees which results in limping, until blood circulation jalan balik. No cramps... no semut2... just *dead*.
So when NMS told me about her masseuse, I decided to give it a try. Cuma the trouble was... when? So on the rare occassion that I don't have any meetings in the afternoon, I took 1/2 day leave and made an appointment for 1.5 hours with Jun in Chakra.
I told NMS that I'm quite a wimp when it comes to massages. Firstly I'm ticklish and secondly I takut sakit when they tekan kuat2. But NMS assured me that Jun is not the *kuat* type and that it's *sedap*.
When I arrived there, I was greeted by name (nice... thanks NMS for making the appointment for me) and was quickly ushered to the room. I told Jun about my knee thing and left it at that...
The first minute of the session was ok then the *torture* began. Within a few minutes she started burping like mad. Previous experience taught me that that was her channelling angin out of my body. Gosh... a had a gale in me!! Jun straight away went to task with my left leg. She kneaded, tekan, tolak... luckily I was facing down otherwise she would have witnessed the grimaces yang pelbagai rupa.
But I just kept quiet... no pain no gain. Or in my case, no pain no getting baik. But when it got too much I just stiffen up... to which Jun would say "lembut kan..." I wanted desperately to retort with some clever remark but thought, this lady is helping me get better. So I let it be...
After what felt like an eternity (in real time about 20 minutes kut) she asked me, "OK kak?" To which I just replied "hmm..."
She then started on the other parts of my body... which fortunately wasn't as painful. Except at my bontot area. Dunno why kat situ pun when she urut was very painful. It is still quite tender in that area right now. My left kaki just behind the knee jangan cakap lah...
Tapi the thing is, although I'm in some form of discomfort right now... akibat kena big time knead in those area (I even think it's slightly bruised?), my *dead* leg problem dah go away. I wouldn't go to the extent of saying that there's a spring to every step, but I can now walk properly again :)
All the pain endured was worth it... I'm thinking of sending Mama to Jun as well... she has been complaining about sakit kaki for a week now.
Before the urut session, I went to the dentist. Dah lama tak check gigi... ada 2-3 tahun dah kut. While waiting, a nurse suddenly came to me asking if I drove. "Yes" I said, to which she responded by saying that that might be a problem. Huh? She then presented some pills and a cup of water... to calm my nerves she said. Since when pulak kalau nak buat scaling kena sampai bagi *relaxing* pills? I asked her why the pills to which she responded in some ching-lish that I couldn't fathom. I declined and told her that I won't be needing those pills.
When I went into the dentist room (aka torture chamber to some people, haha) I asked the dentist, why I was offered those pills? He said that it was because my records said that I'm nervous and told me not to worry, he'll be *gentle* masa buat the scaling.
Me... nervous jumpa dentist? No, I actually like sitting in those chairs and staring into the ceiling with my mouth wide open. I do... I like getting my teeth checked, cleaned... cuma tak buat selalu je ;)
Then a thought crossed my mind. "I think you have my sister's card... can I see it?"
True enough... it wasn't my records that he had in his hand, but rather Ina's. Haha... now I know that she's nervous with dental treatments. Told the dentist about the mix up and he halted while waiting for the nurse to cari my card. What laaa....
My gigi are in good condition... just in need of some cleaning, which wasn't very extensive considering dah lama tak jumpa dentist. The whole scaling process took about 10-15 minutes kut. No tooth needing filling, no cavity... good! I've never had any filling in my life. Alhamdulillah... teeth wise, they're quite sihat. Sepanjang hidup, bila pergi dentist it's either to cabut gigi (the last time being, I dunno... 20 years ago?) or having it cleaned. So I can't relate when people say certain sounds remind them of having their tooth being filled... that rasa ngilu.
So today was a day to get my body *back in order*... whatever that means ;)
Went for a massage... more of urut betulkan urat to be exact. And to buang angin. My left knee has been troubling me since I came home from Germany. Too much walking and pretending to be extra macho... what trouble that got me. Everytime after sitting down for an extended period, my left leg will be *dead*. I literally had weak knees which results in limping, until blood circulation jalan balik. No cramps... no semut2... just *dead*.
So when NMS told me about her masseuse, I decided to give it a try. Cuma the trouble was... when? So on the rare occassion that I don't have any meetings in the afternoon, I took 1/2 day leave and made an appointment for 1.5 hours with Jun in Chakra.
I told NMS that I'm quite a wimp when it comes to massages. Firstly I'm ticklish and secondly I takut sakit when they tekan kuat2. But NMS assured me that Jun is not the *kuat* type and that it's *sedap*.
When I arrived there, I was greeted by name (nice... thanks NMS for making the appointment for me) and was quickly ushered to the room. I told Jun about my knee thing and left it at that...
The first minute of the session was ok then the *torture* began. Within a few minutes she started burping like mad. Previous experience taught me that that was her channelling angin out of my body. Gosh... a had a gale in me!! Jun straight away went to task with my left leg. She kneaded, tekan, tolak... luckily I was facing down otherwise she would have witnessed the grimaces yang pelbagai rupa.
But I just kept quiet... no pain no gain. Or in my case, no pain no getting baik. But when it got too much I just stiffen up... to which Jun would say "lembut kan..." I wanted desperately to retort with some clever remark but thought, this lady is helping me get better. So I let it be...
After what felt like an eternity (in real time about 20 minutes kut) she asked me, "OK kak?" To which I just replied "hmm..."
She then started on the other parts of my body... which fortunately wasn't as painful. Except at my bontot area. Dunno why kat situ pun when she urut was very painful. It is still quite tender in that area right now. My left kaki just behind the knee jangan cakap lah...
Tapi the thing is, although I'm in some form of discomfort right now... akibat kena big time knead in those area (I even think it's slightly bruised?), my *dead* leg problem dah go away. I wouldn't go to the extent of saying that there's a spring to every step, but I can now walk properly again :)
All the pain endured was worth it... I'm thinking of sending Mama to Jun as well... she has been complaining about sakit kaki for a week now.
Before the urut session, I went to the dentist. Dah lama tak check gigi... ada 2-3 tahun dah kut. While waiting, a nurse suddenly came to me asking if I drove. "Yes" I said, to which she responded by saying that that might be a problem. Huh? She then presented some pills and a cup of water... to calm my nerves she said. Since when pulak kalau nak buat scaling kena sampai bagi *relaxing* pills? I asked her why the pills to which she responded in some ching-lish that I couldn't fathom. I declined and told her that I won't be needing those pills.
When I went into the dentist room (aka torture chamber to some people, haha) I asked the dentist, why I was offered those pills? He said that it was because my records said that I'm nervous and told me not to worry, he'll be *gentle* masa buat the scaling.
Me... nervous jumpa dentist? No, I actually like sitting in those chairs and staring into the ceiling with my mouth wide open. I do... I like getting my teeth checked, cleaned... cuma tak buat selalu je ;)
Then a thought crossed my mind. "I think you have my sister's card... can I see it?"
True enough... it wasn't my records that he had in his hand, but rather Ina's. Haha... now I know that she's nervous with dental treatments. Told the dentist about the mix up and he halted while waiting for the nurse to cari my card. What laaa....
My gigi are in good condition... just in need of some cleaning, which wasn't very extensive considering dah lama tak jumpa dentist. The whole scaling process took about 10-15 minutes kut. No tooth needing filling, no cavity... good! I've never had any filling in my life. Alhamdulillah... teeth wise, they're quite sihat. Sepanjang hidup, bila pergi dentist it's either to cabut gigi (the last time being, I dunno... 20 years ago?) or having it cleaned. So I can't relate when people say certain sounds remind them of having their tooth being filled... that rasa ngilu.
So today was a day to get my body *back in order*... whatever that means ;)
Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery and today is a gift... that's why they call it the present!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
juicy, satisfying burgers!
Ina and I decided to try out the (relatively) new Carl's Jr outlet.
I've always loved their burgers dulu... and often find myself unsatisfied because they were smaller than the normal burgers. And when they decided to cease operations some 8 years ago, it was with great sadness...
But now they're back... and their servings are no longer the minute size. However, with size comes the price. Although it is a fast food outlet, it is not in the same price category as Burger King, McDonalds, KFC... this is gourmet burger ladies and gentlemen.
Bila sampai je depan the shop, I was already salivating... simply by looking at the poster =)
Then once we're in, we had to stare a good solid 5 minutes to decide which burger to have. Everything sounds so yummy. In the end, I chose the double guacamole burger while Ina opted for the chilli burger. We shared fries and drinks and the bill was RM43. Quite mahal right?
But it was worth it... my burger was very satisfying and Ina's a change from the norm.
They also had free condiments of jalapeno, salsa, pickles... yumm!!
I've always loved their burgers dulu... and often find myself unsatisfied because they were smaller than the normal burgers. And when they decided to cease operations some 8 years ago, it was with great sadness...
But now they're back... and their servings are no longer the minute size. However, with size comes the price. Although it is a fast food outlet, it is not in the same price category as Burger King, McDonalds, KFC... this is gourmet burger ladies and gentlemen.
Bila sampai je depan the shop, I was already salivating... simply by looking at the poster =)Then once we're in, we had to stare a good solid 5 minutes to decide which burger to have. Everything sounds so yummy. In the end, I chose the double guacamole burger while Ina opted for the chilli burger. We shared fries and drinks and the bill was RM43. Quite mahal right?
But it was worth it... my burger was very satisfying and Ina's a change from the norm.
They also had free condiments of jalapeno, salsa, pickles... yumm!!
i wanted to believe, but...
I'm a big X-Files fan... there, I'm out!
I've always found the stories intriguing (not all though), plots mind challenging, and I just love watching Duchovny and Anderson amazing chemistry on screen.
So when Amt told me that there's a new movie out, I was excited. I didn't have much expectations though, since their first big screen foray didn't go so well. So far, Chris Carter's best work remained on the idiot box. But one can hope...
Dengan eager nya I asked Ina on Thursday, on the way home from work "Ina... nak tengok X-Files tak tonight?" "Boleh" And so I headed for Pavilion.
The plots of the movie was shrouded in secrecy and I couldn't make head or tail from the trailer. I did seem promising. Maybe that's what spoilt it for me... I had wanted to believe... that I would find again the magic that was once the X-Files.
The storyline fell flat... it didn't feel like an X-Files show... more like another investigative show. Nothing extraordinary about the whole thing except for the aspect of psychic (don't worry... I'm not spoiling you... this is something that you'd come to realise 2 minutes into the movie). It was frustrating... given all the hype, I was hoping that Chris Carter would come up with something more than that.
One thing did surprise me though... how he treated a certain relationship. I'm sure Shippers around the world rejoiced while the NoRoMos would be going bonkers. I was extremely surprised that Chris Carter chose to draw the storyline as such, given what he had said in the past. The other thing was that, to me, this felt more like a Scully movie instead of a Mulder movie. Sure... they're both critical characters to the series, but to me, the X-Files has and is always about Mulder.
There were some moments that made it feel *almost* X-Files like... Mulder had the best one liners, and Scully joining in the fun. Listening to Anderson dishing out all those medical terms made me smile... now we have so much of those on House, Grey's Anatomy, CSI... dulu2 it was only on X-Files and I often went searching for more info after the show (the geeky me coming out again). I had to stop myself from laughing out loud when they showed a photo of one of the dumbest American president with J Edgar Hoover... the conspiracy theorists would have a field day with that! ;)
In all, it wasn't a satisfying outing... so I'll have to resort to my stash of old X-Files episodes to satisfy my craving...
I've always found the stories intriguing (not all though), plots mind challenging, and I just love watching Duchovny and Anderson amazing chemistry on screen.
So when Amt told me that there's a new movie out, I was excited. I didn't have much expectations though, since their first big screen foray didn't go so well. So far, Chris Carter's best work remained on the idiot box. But one can hope...
Dengan eager nya I asked Ina on Thursday, on the way home from work "Ina... nak tengok X-Files tak tonight?" "Boleh" And so I headed for Pavilion.
The plots of the movie was shrouded in secrecy and I couldn't make head or tail from the trailer. I did seem promising. Maybe that's what spoilt it for me... I had wanted to believe... that I would find again the magic that was once the X-Files.
The storyline fell flat... it didn't feel like an X-Files show... more like another investigative show. Nothing extraordinary about the whole thing except for the aspect of psychic (don't worry... I'm not spoiling you... this is something that you'd come to realise 2 minutes into the movie). It was frustrating... given all the hype, I was hoping that Chris Carter would come up with something more than that.
One thing did surprise me though... how he treated a certain relationship. I'm sure Shippers around the world rejoiced while the NoRoMos would be going bonkers. I was extremely surprised that Chris Carter chose to draw the storyline as such, given what he had said in the past. The other thing was that, to me, this felt more like a Scully movie instead of a Mulder movie. Sure... they're both critical characters to the series, but to me, the X-Files has and is always about Mulder.
There were some moments that made it feel *almost* X-Files like... Mulder had the best one liners, and Scully joining in the fun. Listening to Anderson dishing out all those medical terms made me smile... now we have so much of those on House, Grey's Anatomy, CSI... dulu2 it was only on X-Files and I often went searching for more info after the show (the geeky me coming out again). I had to stop myself from laughing out loud when they showed a photo of one of the dumbest American president with J Edgar Hoover... the conspiracy theorists would have a field day with that! ;)
In all, it wasn't a satisfying outing... so I'll have to resort to my stash of old X-Files episodes to satisfy my craving...
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
since we're on this topic...
I don't like talking politics... and those themes are usually avoided here. But this is something that ALL Malaysians should start seriously think about.
Those politicians won't be able to do much if we the rakyat step our feet down and all demand for these nonsense to stop.
I have faith that there are still many good, decent man and women out there... let's not allow things to get worse by giving them less airtime, focussing less on politics and tackle the real issues. The more you fuel the fire, the more out of control it gets.
Jangan lah layan all these politic-king...
Sodomy, Murder, DNA Tests Make 'CSI Malaysia': William Pesek
JULY 21 — It's becoming the highest-rating programme in Asia: Malaysia's crime scene investigations.
Just like its wildly popular American counterparts, this crime drama — call it "CSI Malaysia" — features sex, murder, DNA samples, cover-ups and a colourful cast of characters wondering who's guilty of this or that.
At the centre of Malaysia's CSI franchise is Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, a former deputy prime minister who did time on corruption and sodomy charges. Last week, Anwar was arrested on new sodomy claims. He accuses Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak — who denies sexual-misconduct allegations related to a 28-year-old Mongolian woman killed two years ago — of manufacturing the charges to discredit him.
The storyline is captivating this nation of 26 million people, most of whom are Muslim. It's sparking steamy and decidedly awkward debates about how one defines sodomy and whether it should be a crime. (It is under Malaysian law.)
Surreal subplots abound. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the man in power when Anwar was jailed a decade ago, has been fighting a very public war of words against his successor, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, over corruption allegations.
Events in Kuala Lumpur would be far more entertaining if they were confined to a television screen — and not denting the image of one of Asia's most promising economies.
Many Malaysians aren't quite sure what to think. Are the charges against Anwar trumped up to keep him from toppling the government? Is the male aide who claims to have had sex with Anwar telling the truth? If Anwar is innocent — he claims he has never engaged in sodomy — why not submit a DNA sample and clear himself? If you were Anwar, would you trust authorities not to taint the DNA test?
It was impossible to avoid this issue at a Bloomberg panel discussion on July 17, the day after Anwar was arrested (and the day on which he was released). On the panel were bigwigs from the likes of Malaysia Airline System Bhd, Maxis Communications Bhd and CIMB Investment Bank. You could see them shifting nervously in their seats as the issue of sodomy came up.
If Malaysians don't know what to make of Anwar's plight, you can imagine what foreign investors think. "Summer of Discontent"' is how Deutsche Bank AG analyst Teoh Su-Yin titled a recent report on Malaysian stocks.
Last week, it was hard to find an analyst predicting a quick resolution to Malaysia's fragile political backdrop. Nor could we find anyone in Kuala Lumpur who felt markets had fully priced in the negative impact of higher inflation on the economy and corporate earnings.
What's so frustrating about Malaysia is the obvious potential. Its natural-resource-rich economy has achieved great things in the 50 years since independence from Britain. Twenty-five years ago, this was a tropical backwater. Today, Malaysia's modern, skyscraper-filled capital is home to the world's tallest twin buildings: the Petronas Towers.
Yet the world is moving ahead at a rapid pace, hastened by the rise of China and India. It won't wait for Malaysia, and the current scandals preoccupying the government are coming at the worst possible time. Malaysia should be acting boldly to increase its global competitiveness.
Nations as diverse as China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam are working to raise their global influence. Five years from now, any of these economies might harness specific advantages, from low costs to human capital to technology, to challenge Malaysia's growth prospects.
Malaysia should start by fixing a key weakness: a four-decade-old affirmative-action programme favouring the predominant Malay community. It limits investment, stifles competition and keeps the economy from becoming a meritocracy. It's a third-rail issue and isn't discussed seriously.
The leadership vacuum in Kuala Lumpur means Malaysia is squandering time its economy doesn't have. Its US$151 billion (RM498 billion) economy is becoming a smaller blip on investors' radar screens, and politics deserve much of the blame.
Abdullah is under pressure to quit after his coalition's worst-ever election result in March. Earlier this month, he announced plans to stay in power for two more years as his chosen successor, Najib, faces sexual-misconduct allegations. What has the makings of a trashy novel has become reality, and it's not clear Malaysia's leaders see that.
Malaysia, it seems, is being run for the sole benefit of those in charge. The nation has become more about Abdullah's party, Umno, than the welfare of its people. That's not being lost on overseas observers.
"Investors are already considering the situation as unstable," says Tricia Yeoh, director of the Centre for Public Policy Studies in Kuala Lumpur. "They are already reconsidering their options in the country. The new investors are possibly not looking at Malaysia as a viable option and previous investors would be thinking of extracting their funds to be put in more stable and viable locations."
Financiers may be perfectly happy to watch CSI at home. They are far less keen on exposing their money to a whodunit playing out on Malaysia's national stage. — Bloomberg
Those politicians won't be able to do much if we the rakyat step our feet down and all demand for these nonsense to stop.
I have faith that there are still many good, decent man and women out there... let's not allow things to get worse by giving them less airtime, focussing less on politics and tackle the real issues. The more you fuel the fire, the more out of control it gets.
Jangan lah layan all these politic-king...
Sodomy, Murder, DNA Tests Make 'CSI Malaysia': William Pesek
JULY 21 — It's becoming the highest-rating programme in Asia: Malaysia's crime scene investigations.
Just like its wildly popular American counterparts, this crime drama — call it "CSI Malaysia" — features sex, murder, DNA samples, cover-ups and a colourful cast of characters wondering who's guilty of this or that.
At the centre of Malaysia's CSI franchise is Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, a former deputy prime minister who did time on corruption and sodomy charges. Last week, Anwar was arrested on new sodomy claims. He accuses Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak — who denies sexual-misconduct allegations related to a 28-year-old Mongolian woman killed two years ago — of manufacturing the charges to discredit him.
The storyline is captivating this nation of 26 million people, most of whom are Muslim. It's sparking steamy and decidedly awkward debates about how one defines sodomy and whether it should be a crime. (It is under Malaysian law.)
Surreal subplots abound. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the man in power when Anwar was jailed a decade ago, has been fighting a very public war of words against his successor, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, over corruption allegations.
Events in Kuala Lumpur would be far more entertaining if they were confined to a television screen — and not denting the image of one of Asia's most promising economies.
Many Malaysians aren't quite sure what to think. Are the charges against Anwar trumped up to keep him from toppling the government? Is the male aide who claims to have had sex with Anwar telling the truth? If Anwar is innocent — he claims he has never engaged in sodomy — why not submit a DNA sample and clear himself? If you were Anwar, would you trust authorities not to taint the DNA test?
It was impossible to avoid this issue at a Bloomberg panel discussion on July 17, the day after Anwar was arrested (and the day on which he was released). On the panel were bigwigs from the likes of Malaysia Airline System Bhd, Maxis Communications Bhd and CIMB Investment Bank. You could see them shifting nervously in their seats as the issue of sodomy came up.
If Malaysians don't know what to make of Anwar's plight, you can imagine what foreign investors think. "Summer of Discontent"' is how Deutsche Bank AG analyst Teoh Su-Yin titled a recent report on Malaysian stocks.
Last week, it was hard to find an analyst predicting a quick resolution to Malaysia's fragile political backdrop. Nor could we find anyone in Kuala Lumpur who felt markets had fully priced in the negative impact of higher inflation on the economy and corporate earnings.
What's so frustrating about Malaysia is the obvious potential. Its natural-resource-rich economy has achieved great things in the 50 years since independence from Britain. Twenty-five years ago, this was a tropical backwater. Today, Malaysia's modern, skyscraper-filled capital is home to the world's tallest twin buildings: the Petronas Towers.
Yet the world is moving ahead at a rapid pace, hastened by the rise of China and India. It won't wait for Malaysia, and the current scandals preoccupying the government are coming at the worst possible time. Malaysia should be acting boldly to increase its global competitiveness.
Nations as diverse as China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam are working to raise their global influence. Five years from now, any of these economies might harness specific advantages, from low costs to human capital to technology, to challenge Malaysia's growth prospects.
Malaysia should start by fixing a key weakness: a four-decade-old affirmative-action programme favouring the predominant Malay community. It limits investment, stifles competition and keeps the economy from becoming a meritocracy. It's a third-rail issue and isn't discussed seriously.
The leadership vacuum in Kuala Lumpur means Malaysia is squandering time its economy doesn't have. Its US$151 billion (RM498 billion) economy is becoming a smaller blip on investors' radar screens, and politics deserve much of the blame.
Abdullah is under pressure to quit after his coalition's worst-ever election result in March. Earlier this month, he announced plans to stay in power for two more years as his chosen successor, Najib, faces sexual-misconduct allegations. What has the makings of a trashy novel has become reality, and it's not clear Malaysia's leaders see that.
Malaysia, it seems, is being run for the sole benefit of those in charge. The nation has become more about Abdullah's party, Umno, than the welfare of its people. That's not being lost on overseas observers.
"Investors are already considering the situation as unstable," says Tricia Yeoh, director of the Centre for Public Policy Studies in Kuala Lumpur. "They are already reconsidering their options in the country. The new investors are possibly not looking at Malaysia as a viable option and previous investors would be thinking of extracting their funds to be put in more stable and viable locations."
Financiers may be perfectly happy to watch CSI at home. They are far less keen on exposing their money to a whodunit playing out on Malaysia's national stage. — Bloomberg
Now, boys, just settle down...
Another brilliant piece from Azmi Sharom...
Brave New World
By AZMI SHAROM
The teacher has to rein in the unruly few or the lesson cannot start and the whole class, nay, even school, will suffer.
Good morning, boys. Good morning. Settle down, settle down. Now, it’s been a tough couple of weeks for us and as your class teacher, I think we should go over a few things.
We have been the premier school in the country for the past 50 years, but a few unpleasant incidents recently have put that position at risk.
If we don’t get our act together, we may lose our hallowed position.
Therefore, before we begin our history lesson, there are a few matters I would like to discuss with you.
First off, our head prefect, Mr Hamid, can you stand up, please? Well, it seems that you have ...
You there, yes, you, the boy at the back. Can you please stop making that obscene gesture with your hands? No, you can’t say you are just tapping your right hand with your left. That is an obscene gesture. Keep it up and I’ll give you six strokes.
Now, where was I? Oh yes, Mr Hamid. It seems that you caused a massive traffic jam at the school gates. Your prefects were stopping everybody and checking their badges and their bags. Do you realise that you caused a great deal of problems?
Boys were late to class and even teachers were late because of your overzealous behaviour. Mr Tan the Maths master was furious because half his class missed their calculus exam.
What did you say? You were concerned about the security of the school because you thought our rival school was going to cause trouble at your prefects’ meeting? And where, pray tell, did you get this intelligence?
Oh, you heard it on the grapevine? Well, the next time you choose to listen to plants, please check with me first before you go disrupting our school day.
[I still don't understand Malaysian Govt obsession with roadblocks... just for one man, just for one event (I'm talking about when we hosted the NAM several years back... the whole jalan in KL tutup so that the VVIPs can have a smooth ride)... at the expense of all other citizens. They should stop providing police escort to MPs and royalties... ok escort takpe, but not to make us give way. If you're late, then learn the lesson and leave for your destination earlier... like the rest of us!]
Second on the list is our debating team. Gentlemen, please join me in a round of applause for the hard work of our team captain, Mr Chik.
He put up a courageous display against a debater who had miles more experience than him. Bravo, Mr Chik, a brave effort indeed.
Brave but futile, I’m afraid. Mr Chik, I have spoken to the debate master and he told me that you hardly did any research.
Listen, my boy, you can’t beat the opposition by making personal attacks on their past.
You have to put over your point clearly; otherwise you’ll just look foolish.
And one more thing; for the next debate, please bring a handkerchief.
[muahahahahaha... hit the nail on the head!]
All right, now it is time to discuss some academic matters. I have just marked your General Paper test and I was quite shocked with some of your answers.
Mr Ibrahim, stand up, please. Young man, I read your essay on government scholarships and it was very passionate and fiery but you can’t just make things up.
There is nowhere in the Constitution that says that all scholarships are reserved for Malays.
It says that reservations of a proportion of scholarships for Malays may be made by the King. It does not say every single sen is for one group or another.
Don’t argue with me, boy! You got it all wrong. All you have to do is read the blinking thing.
What do you mean you did read it? What did you see exactly when you read it?
Perhaps I should send you to the school nurse. I think you need glasses.
One last thing; as you all know, half the boys in this school stay in the hostel.
It has come to my attention that the day boys have been teasing the hostel boys by questioning, how can I put it, their ... manliness.
This behaviour has got to stop. It is childish and undignified. It also reflects an obsession with matters sexual that borders on the unhealthy.
The next time you get the urge to speculate about another person’s private life, may I suggest you play some rugby and let the exertions raise your minds from the gutter?
Very well then, I trust the events of the past few weeks have taught you all a lesson and the debacles that have so embarrassed us will not be repeated.
We can now begin our history lesson. Would you be so kind as to take out your textbooks and turn to page ...
For the last time, boy, stop making that gesture! You have had your warning, and seeing as how you are too uncouth to show the slightest bit of remorse and repentance, I shall see you after class.
Let’s see whether you can keep doing that with your hands once I’ve caned them raw.
Now, where was I? Oh yes, please open your books to page 46 ...
Dr Azmi Sharom is a law teacher. The views expressed here are entirely his own.
- taken from The Star, 24 July 2008, pg N48
Brave New World
By AZMI SHAROM
The teacher has to rein in the unruly few or the lesson cannot start and the whole class, nay, even school, will suffer.
Good morning, boys. Good morning. Settle down, settle down. Now, it’s been a tough couple of weeks for us and as your class teacher, I think we should go over a few things.
We have been the premier school in the country for the past 50 years, but a few unpleasant incidents recently have put that position at risk.
If we don’t get our act together, we may lose our hallowed position.
Therefore, before we begin our history lesson, there are a few matters I would like to discuss with you.
First off, our head prefect, Mr Hamid, can you stand up, please? Well, it seems that you have ...
You there, yes, you, the boy at the back. Can you please stop making that obscene gesture with your hands? No, you can’t say you are just tapping your right hand with your left. That is an obscene gesture. Keep it up and I’ll give you six strokes.
Now, where was I? Oh yes, Mr Hamid. It seems that you caused a massive traffic jam at the school gates. Your prefects were stopping everybody and checking their badges and their bags. Do you realise that you caused a great deal of problems?
Boys were late to class and even teachers were late because of your overzealous behaviour. Mr Tan the Maths master was furious because half his class missed their calculus exam.
What did you say? You were concerned about the security of the school because you thought our rival school was going to cause trouble at your prefects’ meeting? And where, pray tell, did you get this intelligence?
Oh, you heard it on the grapevine? Well, the next time you choose to listen to plants, please check with me first before you go disrupting our school day.
[I still don't understand Malaysian Govt obsession with roadblocks... just for one man, just for one event (I'm talking about when we hosted the NAM several years back... the whole jalan in KL tutup so that the VVIPs can have a smooth ride)... at the expense of all other citizens. They should stop providing police escort to MPs and royalties... ok escort takpe, but not to make us give way. If you're late, then learn the lesson and leave for your destination earlier... like the rest of us!]
Second on the list is our debating team. Gentlemen, please join me in a round of applause for the hard work of our team captain, Mr Chik.
He put up a courageous display against a debater who had miles more experience than him. Bravo, Mr Chik, a brave effort indeed.
Brave but futile, I’m afraid. Mr Chik, I have spoken to the debate master and he told me that you hardly did any research.
Listen, my boy, you can’t beat the opposition by making personal attacks on their past.
You have to put over your point clearly; otherwise you’ll just look foolish.
And one more thing; for the next debate, please bring a handkerchief.
[muahahahahaha... hit the nail on the head!]
All right, now it is time to discuss some academic matters. I have just marked your General Paper test and I was quite shocked with some of your answers.
Mr Ibrahim, stand up, please. Young man, I read your essay on government scholarships and it was very passionate and fiery but you can’t just make things up.
There is nowhere in the Constitution that says that all scholarships are reserved for Malays.
It says that reservations of a proportion of scholarships for Malays may be made by the King. It does not say every single sen is for one group or another.
Don’t argue with me, boy! You got it all wrong. All you have to do is read the blinking thing.
What do you mean you did read it? What did you see exactly when you read it?
Perhaps I should send you to the school nurse. I think you need glasses.
One last thing; as you all know, half the boys in this school stay in the hostel.
It has come to my attention that the day boys have been teasing the hostel boys by questioning, how can I put it, their ... manliness.
This behaviour has got to stop. It is childish and undignified. It also reflects an obsession with matters sexual that borders on the unhealthy.
The next time you get the urge to speculate about another person’s private life, may I suggest you play some rugby and let the exertions raise your minds from the gutter?
Very well then, I trust the events of the past few weeks have taught you all a lesson and the debacles that have so embarrassed us will not be repeated.
We can now begin our history lesson. Would you be so kind as to take out your textbooks and turn to page ...
For the last time, boy, stop making that gesture! You have had your warning, and seeing as how you are too uncouth to show the slightest bit of remorse and repentance, I shall see you after class.
Let’s see whether you can keep doing that with your hands once I’ve caned them raw.
Now, where was I? Oh yes, please open your books to page 46 ...
Dr Azmi Sharom is a law teacher. The views expressed here are entirely his own.
- taken from The Star, 24 July 2008, pg N48
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
what would you do?
When witnessing oppression, discrimination, matters that question morality... what action would you take?
I watched a wonderful episode on Oprah tonight. It's about human behaviour and actions when faced with an actual situation as mentioned above. Sure... we all know what we *should* do, but in reality, what would we really do? This was an examination through hidden camera, where there were hired actors pretending to behave in an unacceptable manner in public, with the aim to capture how we behave in such situations.
They had several *tests*... one was a situation where a group of mean girls were verbally bullying another girl, the next was discrimination by a shopkeeper against muslims, followed by an abusive boyfriend who was verbally and physically abusing his girlfriend in a park where lots of people jog, a scene where the actors pretended to be drunk and about to get into a car... and a few more.
I'm not going to elaborate on each specific case... but the main findings were:
- Women are more willing to provide assistance to a stranger, stand up to the offending person, and take action. There was this example where over 50 ppl had passed by doing nothing but just look and calling the cops... but it took a woman, after the actors have been acting for over 5 hours, who went over to tell a guy to stop abusing a lady. So brave! Guys who passed by just tengok je...
- When in public, many would just mind their own business and let things be, instead of supporting or providing aid to a person who is being discriminated. In the example of the muslim person, she minta another person to belikan the apple strudel she wanted pun orang tu tak nak tolong.
- Race, colour, religous background, how one dresses... all have bearing on whether or not you're likely to receive aid/assistance.
Why are we like this?
We know that those actions are wrong... but why so few step forward to address the situation? Why do people just look and do nothing?
Oprah quoted something good which goes something like this... It is not ignorance that hurts society, it's indifference.
That got me really thinking... Sadly, those things were also true here in Malaysia. It's worse I think.
I've heard of so many stories how people just buat dek je when ada orang jadi mangsa snatch thief, we actually look down on the Indons and Banglas who are seeking an honest living in a land far away from home... bila ada accident, we cause traffic jams not because there are so many people wanting to extend assistance, but rather sebab nak tengok what had happened.
It's so sad that our society has disintegrated into such situation.
Where is the human spirit? We teach the young about morality but do we actually practice it?
In a world where money and status is deemed as the pinnacle of success, we've lost our soul along the way.
How many of us would actually look up to a petani when presented next to a CEO?
How many of us think highly of the effort of a person who sweats in the hot sun to bina bangunan as compared to a professional toiling over how best to goreng a proposal in a cool air-conditioned office?
How many of us would be willing to sit next to an underprivileged person to have a proper conversation as compared to a well to do person?
Admit it... we're all prejudice, one way or another. Some may be less than others. I'm guilty of that too. I don't like it... I'm ashamed of it...
But the bigger question is... knowing that all these behaviours are bad and wrong, why aren't we doing something about it?
The study also showed that many of us react to such situations through our body language etc. It's not that we condone it (although there were some bigots who applauded when the muslim lady was refused service on the notion that they're anti terrorists). We distance ourselves from the offenders, we look disapprovingly... but that's it. We just look. We don't *do* anything about it.
Another interesting finding from the study... it only takes one person to step forward in order to *give courage* to the rest to do the same. And when we work together, amazing things can be achieved.
Let's throw away all prejudice. Let's believe again in the human spirit. Let's live on the notion that there are more good people than bad people out there. Let's treat everyone as equals. Let's not be selfish and think that we're better than others.
Let's make a change!!
http://www.motivationinaminute.com/lpage/richestman.php?SRC=080715
I watched a wonderful episode on Oprah tonight. It's about human behaviour and actions when faced with an actual situation as mentioned above. Sure... we all know what we *should* do, but in reality, what would we really do? This was an examination through hidden camera, where there were hired actors pretending to behave in an unacceptable manner in public, with the aim to capture how we behave in such situations.
They had several *tests*... one was a situation where a group of mean girls were verbally bullying another girl, the next was discrimination by a shopkeeper against muslims, followed by an abusive boyfriend who was verbally and physically abusing his girlfriend in a park where lots of people jog, a scene where the actors pretended to be drunk and about to get into a car... and a few more.
I'm not going to elaborate on each specific case... but the main findings were:
- Women are more willing to provide assistance to a stranger, stand up to the offending person, and take action. There was this example where over 50 ppl had passed by doing nothing but just look and calling the cops... but it took a woman, after the actors have been acting for over 5 hours, who went over to tell a guy to stop abusing a lady. So brave! Guys who passed by just tengok je...
- When in public, many would just mind their own business and let things be, instead of supporting or providing aid to a person who is being discriminated. In the example of the muslim person, she minta another person to belikan the apple strudel she wanted pun orang tu tak nak tolong.
- Race, colour, religous background, how one dresses... all have bearing on whether or not you're likely to receive aid/assistance.
Why are we like this?
We know that those actions are wrong... but why so few step forward to address the situation? Why do people just look and do nothing?
Oprah quoted something good which goes something like this... It is not ignorance that hurts society, it's indifference.
That got me really thinking... Sadly, those things were also true here in Malaysia. It's worse I think.
I've heard of so many stories how people just buat dek je when ada orang jadi mangsa snatch thief, we actually look down on the Indons and Banglas who are seeking an honest living in a land far away from home... bila ada accident, we cause traffic jams not because there are so many people wanting to extend assistance, but rather sebab nak tengok what had happened.
It's so sad that our society has disintegrated into such situation.
Where is the human spirit? We teach the young about morality but do we actually practice it?
In a world where money and status is deemed as the pinnacle of success, we've lost our soul along the way.
How many of us would actually look up to a petani when presented next to a CEO?
How many of us think highly of the effort of a person who sweats in the hot sun to bina bangunan as compared to a professional toiling over how best to goreng a proposal in a cool air-conditioned office?
How many of us would be willing to sit next to an underprivileged person to have a proper conversation as compared to a well to do person?
Admit it... we're all prejudice, one way or another. Some may be less than others. I'm guilty of that too. I don't like it... I'm ashamed of it...
But the bigger question is... knowing that all these behaviours are bad and wrong, why aren't we doing something about it?
The study also showed that many of us react to such situations through our body language etc. It's not that we condone it (although there were some bigots who applauded when the muslim lady was refused service on the notion that they're anti terrorists). We distance ourselves from the offenders, we look disapprovingly... but that's it. We just look. We don't *do* anything about it.
Another interesting finding from the study... it only takes one person to step forward in order to *give courage* to the rest to do the same. And when we work together, amazing things can be achieved.
Let's throw away all prejudice. Let's believe again in the human spirit. Let's live on the notion that there are more good people than bad people out there. Let's treat everyone as equals. Let's not be selfish and think that we're better than others.
Let's make a change!!
http://www.motivationinaminute.com/lpage/richestman.php?SRC=080715
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