Our 2 girls back in 2001

Browsing through my old hard disk I found these photos of Aini & Aina... back in 2001, how time flies

X-mas eve at Kalumpang resort

My better half is away to Aloq Staq this weekend so I followed my sister's family to a little known resort in Kalumpang, with my 3 little terrors and Thoriq in tow. Nice little place with a river flowing through it. The facilities are not too bad. We get a little chalet with a bathroom and and an attic (which has 1 queen bed on the ground floor and 3 mattresses in the attic) all for RM 100 a night. The children didn't have enough courage to go down into the river on the 1st day, mainly because it was raining before we reached the resort and the river was flowing too fast for their liking. Fortunately the next morning it is better and they finally get to swim in the river with their uncle. Me? No way, I am not the 'taking bath in the river type'. Too cold lah.

Its only about 45 minutes from Sg Buloh rest area, take the exit at Tanjung Malim and take the right after the toll plaza. After that it is about 5 km going down to Kuala Kubu.

More China made cars coming

Tuesday December 20, 2005
Alado Bumi Automobile targets to sell 2,000 Chery cars next year (The STAR)

ALADO Bumi Automobile Sdn Bhd, the exclusive importer of Chery's completely-built-up vehicles from China, aims to sell 2,000 units of Chery A160 next year. Alado Bumi president Tan Sri Cam Soh Thiam Hong told StarBiz yesterday. He said the four-cylinder 1.6-litre Chery A160 was priced at between RM59,444 and RM61,496. He said Chery buyers would get two years' free maintenance including oil, filter and labour charge. Approval to import the model was finally given last month. Soh said sister company Alado Corp Sdn Bhd had also received approval to import completely knocked down (CKD) Chery vehicles next year. He said the CKD units would only be available in the middle of next year. On Chery’s SUV and MPV, Soh said they would be priced below RM100,000 each.

Foto:Malcolm Bricklin, left, and Chery President Yin Tongyao plan to introduce this station wagon and other vehicles to the U.S.

So another car maker trying to get another piece of cake from the already crowded car market. The A160 is not too bad. I read somewhere that Chery had some issues with GM and got into legal tangle but I think it must be resolved now that the car is finally coming to our shores. GM is suing Chery over the QQ (see the Alado Malaysia website), a mini car that GM claims Chery copied from GM-Daewoo’s Matiz, that we know in Malaysia as Chevrolet Spark. To add insult to injury, according to recently-released sales data, during the first 7 months of 2005, Chery QQ sold 61,633 units compared to Chevrolet Spark’s 15,912 units.

I am more impressed with the MPV seen in the foto above with the Chery President. If it is really priced below RM 100k, then NAZA Citra and RIA better be on the lookout. The KIAs and HYUNDAIs exposed a few chinks in the Japanese cars armour, maybe this time its the China cars turn. Value is the hook, however. Prototypes of the Chery's models have been designed by renowned Italian designer Bertone. The curvy, sleek vehicles are aimed at going head-to-head with every major automaker -- from Subaru to BMW -- at a fraction of the price.

Maybe our own carmaker should take note of this and along the way bring down the car prices, making it more affordable and lo and behold, increase the sagging sales. No point paying millions for a British brand that is going down the drain, nor I don't think it is a good idea buying a motorbike company that Tom Cruise use in Mission Impossible 2. On the other hand I think it was brilliant of them to sponsor Norwich City FC. I guess they manage to build up some form of a brand name. Maybe thats why Tony Fernandes's Air Asia took up the courage to sponsor Manchester United. Brave and bold move and I am sure it burnt a big black hole in their pocket. Kudos to him, with not much of government subsidy they are not too far behind in value with our local carrier. Gosh I am moving too far out of the topic.

Visit of P.T. Krama Yudha Tiga Berlian Motors

Well basically the company P.T. Krama Yudha Tiga Berlian Motors is Mitsubishi Motors Corporation's sales company in Indonesia. They arrived in Malaysia to check out on the 2 big moulds we are doing for the MITSUBISHI TRUCKS. They are visiting a few vendors in Malaysia over the next few days and our company is one of them. We had quite a long meeting, being Japanese the attention to details is understandable and we had to go over the final schedule over and over again until they are satistied. We thought the meeting will last maximum of 2 hours but in the end the meeting lasted about 4 hours. At long last the KTB guys are satisfied and off they go to Penang. See you guys on Thursday then.

The Power Of Love - FGTH

The Power Of Love by Frankie Goes To Hollywood

I'll protect you from the hooded claw,Keep the vampires from your door
Feels like fire,I'm so in love with you
Dreams are like angels,They keep bad at bay-bad at bay
Love is the light,Scaring darkness away-yeah
I'm so in love with you,Purge the soul
Make love your goal

The power of love,A force from above
Cleaning my soul,Flame on burn desire
Love with tongues of fire,Purge the soul
Make love your goal

I'll protect you from the hooded claw,Keep the vampires from your door
When the chips are down I'll be around,With my undying, death-defying
Love for you,Envy will hurt itself
Let yourself be beautiful,Sparkling love, flowers
And pearls and pretty girls,Love is like an energy
Rushin' rushin' inside of me

This time we go sublime,Lovers entwine-divine divine
Love is danger, love is pleasure,Love is pure-the only treasure
I'm so in love with you,Purge the soul
Make love your goal,The power of love
A force from above,Cleaning my soul
The power of love,A force from above
A sky-scraping dove,Flame on burn desire
Love with tongues of fire,Purge the soul
Make love your goal

Who the %*$# is FGTH?

To the uninitiated, they are Frankie Goes To Hollywood http://www.fgth.org.uk/ who were notorious back in the 80's. Frankie Goes to Hollywood dominated British music in 1984. What really distinguished the group was not their music, but their marketing campaign. With a series of slogans, T-shirts, and homoerotic videos, the band caused enormous controversy in England and managed to create some sensations in the United States. However, the Frankie sensation was finished as soon as it was started; by the release of their second album, Liverpool, in 1986, the group's audience had virtually disappeared. Based in Liverpool, Frankie Goes to Hollywood formed in 1980, comprising ex-Big in Japan vocalist Holly Johnson, vocalist Paul Rutherford, guitarist Nasher Nash, bassist Mark O'Toole, and drummer Peter Gill. Originally called Hollycaust, but they changed their name to Frankie Goes to Hollywood -- taken from an old headline about Frank Sinatra's acting career -- by the end of the year. The band didn't make anything of note until 1982, when they appeared on the British television program The Tube with a rough version of the video for "Relax." The appearance attracted attention from several record labels as well as record producer Trevor Horn. Horn contacted the band and signed them to his label, ZTT. Late in 1983, Frankie's first single, the Horn-produced "Relax"/"Ferry Cross the Mersey," was released. A driving dance number, "Relax" featured sexually suggestive lyrics that would soon lead to great controversy. Around the time of the release of "Relax," Frankie's promotional director, Paul Morley, a former music journalist, orchestrated a massive, intricate marketing campaign that soon paid off in spades. Morley designed T-shirts that read "Relax" and "Frankie Says...," which eventually appeared across the country. The "Relax" video was banned by British TV and a new version was shot. Similarly, Radio 1 banned the single and the rest of the BBC radio and television networks quickly banned the record as well. Consequently, "Relax" shot to number one in January of 1984 and soon sold over a million copies. Frankie's second single, the political "Two Tribes," was released in June of 1984. The single, which was also produced by Trevor Horn, entered the charts at number one; it went gold in seven days. "Two Tribes" stayed at number one for nine weeks and eventually sold over a million copies. While it was on the top of the charts, "Relax" went back up the charts, peaking at number two.
Welcome to the Pleasuredome, the band's Trevor Horn-produced debut double album, entered the U.K. charts at number one and their third single, the ballad "The Power of Love," also reached number one. Welcome to the Pleasuredome reached at number 33 in early 1985 in the U.S., prompting the re-release of "Relax"; this time around, it made it into the American Top Ten.

Udin in bad mood

Nude woman in ear squats video clip is a local Malay

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/12/14/nation/12861457&sec=nation

KUALA LUMPUR: The woman who was filmed doing ear squats naked in a police locker room was not a Chinese national but a local Malay.

Well finally the secret identity is revealed. Now suddenly the DAP and MCA guys are not interested anymore just because it is a known fact that the mystery woman is not the Chinese national it was said to be. Does that mean it is ok for a Malay woman to be forced nude in the police lock up? I begin to wonder the real motive behind the 'noise' made by those parties on the nude girl issue. Is it related to the news a few weeks ago that more than 50,000 Chinese national entered the country but did not leave.Taking the words from a Mr Aziz Hassan in his letter to NST: What about the directive to flush them out? Has this been overtaken by events, considering how we appear to be bending backwards to appease China? Was it not just months ago that we read stories of how girls from China were involved in the flesh trade while under the pretext of being waitresses and hostesses at restaurants and bars along the coastline? Was it not serious enough for local housewives to complain to their local MCA representatives to take up the case on their behalf because their marriages were under threat?What do we do the next time and everytime another foreign national alleges mistreatment by us? Despatch another minister to Nigeria, Iran, Russia, India, Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia? We have apologised even before most of the facts of the case, especially the nationality of the woman, have yet to be determined and there have been calls for more apologies. What if the probe finds that many of the “facts” were wrong? Will anyone have the decency to apologise to the police? One doubts.

Woman in clip recalls incident at police station
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/12/14/nation/12859406&sec=nation
KUALA LUMPUR: The woman at the centre of the inquiry into the naked ear squat video clip was arrested in June for drug possession. She told the Commission of Inquiry yesterday that police arrested her at a primary school in Damansara Jaya, Selangor, at 1am on June 29 on suspicion of having the drug syabu.
The petite woman whose identity was withheld by the commission started her testimony at 9.45am, saying that she was “a 22-year-old Malaysian of Malay descent”.

Describing the events on the day she was arrested, she said: “I was brought to the Damansara Utama police station and later to the Petaling Jaya police station.”
At the Petaling Jaya station, a policewoman told her to take a urine test. “After the test, I was taken to a room with many lockers and was told to strip. Then I was told to do ear squats to make sure that nothing was hidden on my body. I did that facing the policewoman who was standing at the closed door. I did less than 10 squats. I felt shamed and angry. Then I was told to put on my clothes. My hair was tied up in a ponytail,” she said. She said that while putting on her clothes, she faced away from the policewoman and was not aware if there was a window nearby.

PEREMPUAN LAWA VS PEREMPUAN TAK LAWA

Got this from my mailing list....

"Kalau perempuan lawa pendiam,Lelaki akan cakap:: woow, ciri-ciri isteri idaman...
kalau perempuan tak lawa pendiam,Lelaki akan cakap: eh tak reti komunikasi betul...

kalau perempuan lawa berbuat jahat,Lelaki akan kata: musti ada krisis dalamannih...kesian
kalau perempuan tak lawa berbuat jahat, Lelaki akan cakap: dah la tak lawa, perangai pulak huduh...

kalau perempuan lawa menolong Lelaki ygdiganggu, Lelaki akan cakap: heroin sejati...!
kalau perempuan tak lawa menolong Lelaki yangdiganggu, Lelaki akan kata: taktik nak ngorat le tu...

kalau perempuan lawa dapat Lelaki hensem,Lelaki akan kata: ok gak la....
kalau perempuan tak lawa dapat Lelaki hensem,Lelaki akan kata: kesian..mesti kena bomoh lelakituh!

kalau perempuan lawa ditinggal kekasih, Lelaki akan kata: buta kayu betul mamat tu....
kalau perempuan tak lawa ditinggal kekasih,Lelaki akan kata:...patut pun kena reject...

kalau perempuan lawa penyayang binatang,Lelaki akan cakap: perasaannya halus...penuh kasih sayang
kalau perempuan tak lawa penyayang binatang,Lelaki akan cakap: sesama keluarga memangharus menyayangi...

kalau perempuan lawa bawa BMW,Lelaki akan cakap: ntah dato' mana bela nih.... kalau perempuan tak lawa bawa BMW, Lelaki akan cakap: musti anak org kaya nih.....

kalau perempuan lawa tak mau bergambar,Lelaki akan cakap: pasti takut kalau2 gambarnya tersebar
kalau perempuan tak lawa tak mau bergambar Lelaki akan kata: sedar pun diri...

kalau perempuan lawa menuang air ke gelas lelaki,Lelaki akan cakap: caring sungguh....
kalau perempuan tak lawa menuang air ke gelaslelaki,Lelaki akan cakap: nak tunjuk caring le tu....

kalau perempuan lawa bersedih hati,Lelaki akan cakap: dont worry..i will make u happy forever
kalau perempuan tak lawa bersedih hati,Lelaki akan kata: sikit2 nak nangis!! mengada2...

kalau perempuan lawa masak ,Lelaki akan kata: dah la lawa, pandai masak pulaktu...
kalau perempuan tak lawa masak,Lelaki akan cakap: ntah sedap ke tak????

dan yang terbaru:

kalau perempuan lawa kena tangkap kes dadah kat Bali ,lelaki semua akan ada belas kesian
Kalau perempuan lawa kena ketuk ketampi dalam lokap polis, semua orang nak ambil tahu "

Night view

Foto of MONAS (Monumen Nasional)