Istana Alam Shah

Klang is the royal town of the State of Selangor is one of the oldest cities in the country--older than Kuala Lumpur--is noted for its fine royal palace known as the Istana Alam Shah. It is not far from the Kota Raja Mahdi, the fort built in 1886 by Raja Mahdi, ruler of Selangor during the civil war and the Gedung Raja Abdullah, built in 1856 as a warehouse for weapons and food.

The palace was originally built in 1905 during the reign of Sultan Alauddin Sulaiman Shah, 5th Selangor Sultan. It was renovated by Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah the 7th Sultan in 2000. The late Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, was particularly close to the rakyat, earning the nickname of 'ruler with the heart of the people'. He even offered his official palace Istana Alam Shah in Klang to be turned into a hospital when work on the Klang General Hospital project was delayed at one point. He was proclaimed sultan on the death of his father, 2^nd September 1960. Installed 3^rd September 1960. Crowned at Alam Shah Palace, Klang, 28^th June 1961.

Deputy Sultan Selangor HRH Raja Idris Shah Ibni Sultan Salahudin Abdul Aziz Shah al-Haj (the current Sultan) was also installed at the Alam Shah Palace, Klang on 24 April 1999.

TANA UMAGA bades farewell

After playing 79 matches for the All Blacks, including 74 Tests (21 of those as Captain) Tana Umaga confirmed his retirement from international rugby at a press conference on January 10, 2006. His main reason for retiring was to spend more time with his family. Umaga will continue to play rugby for the Hurricanes in the Super 14 and the Lions in the NPC.

Ionatana Falefasa "Tana" Umaga, ONZM,(born May 27, 1973) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer and former captain of the national team, the All Blacks. He was capped 74 times for his country.Born in Lower Hutt to Samoan immigrant parents, Tana Umaga was originally a rugby league player (and an Under 19's New Zealand representative in that sport for two years). In 1992 aged 18 he had trials with NRL side Newcastle Knights but returned to New Zealand because of homesickness. He switched to union after being persuaded by his elder brother Mike, a Samoan rugby union international. The brothers met in one test match, in 1999—the All Blacks won 71-13, with Tana scoring two tries.

Jonathan Falefasa Umaga, better known to us all as Tana is Graham Henry’s choice as 2004 All Blacks captain.He is the Hurricanes and Wellington Lions skipper and an inspirational leader. He became the 20th player to have played 50 Tests for New Zealand in 2003.

Umaga is also respected for his sportsmanship. In a test match against Wales on June 21, 2003, Welsh captain Colin Charvis was knocked out by a tackle from All Blacks forward Jerry Collins, and Umaga stopped playing (despite his team being in an attacking position) to check that Charvis had not swallowed his mouthguard, and place him in the recovery position. For this act, the International Committee for Fair Play awarded Umaga the Pierre de Coubertin Trophy, an award for outstanding sportsmanship (named for Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games). The Welsh Rugby Union also presented him with a figurine to honour this display of sportsmanship.

"When I got knocked out Tana was brilliant - I was unconscious but he rolled me over and ensured I didn't swallow my gum-shield," Charvis said. Umaga missed virtually the entire 2003 Rugby Union World Cup, after being injured in a freak collision with teammate Carlos Spencer in the opening match against Italy. He suffered a damaged posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, and was forced to leave the field, not returning for the remainder of the tournament, which saw the All Blacks eliminated in the semi-finals by the Wallabies.

He leaves the international game with just about a full CV. He's lifted the Bledisloe Cup, beaten the Springboks and Lions, thrashed the best that the UK could throw at him. He's even won an NPC. A Super 14 title with the Hurricanes would be fitting as he enters his twilight years. A World Cup would be even more appropriate. Sadly that won't happen now. But in many ways, Umaga has already won his World Cup. His part in New Zealand winning the hosting rights to the 2011 tournament was another mark of the regard world rugby holds Umaga in.

Best rememberred for introducing the new Haka, Kapa O Pango in a test match against South Africa in 2005. So long Tana, thanks for the memories.

The Old Penang Ferry

We took the ferry from Penang Island to the mainland during the Raya Haji holidays recently. It was a long wait at the jetty but the children figured it was worth the long wait as they really enjoyed the ferry ride :) We had a beautiful view of the Penang bridge on the horizon together with another ferry passing us.

Hameediyah Restaurant, Penang

We had dinner again at Hameediyah Restaurant, Campbell Street, Penang this time with my little family and dad in law. Hameediyah sports a narrow, long design with an upper floor accessible through a steep spiral stairs. If you're a historian, you'll like this place. It has a sort of pre war historical look. It was quite late, nearly 9:45pm and the kari kepala ikan is no more on the counter. Surprise, surprise they want to make special kari kepala ikan sengain for me with I requested "sikit udang la, kecil cukup", and 15 minutes later there came one big bowl of kepala ikan with a few big prawns.... (mampus sure cekik harga). Hameediyah is synonymous with good traditional Indian Muslim food in Penang. Mention its name and all Penangites will know it. Established in the early 1900s, it is one of the island's oldest restaurants. Today, it is run by Ghani Abdul Shukor and his three brothers Ahmad, Ibrahim and Hamid.

Sijil Ayam Dinding diTarik Balik

from JAKIM Official website

Sijil Ayam Dinding diTarik Balik
Sijil Pengesahan Halal JAKIM bagi Syarikat Ayam Dinding Poultry Processing Sdn. Bhd. diTarik Balik sehingga diberitahu kelak....
Sumber : Bahagian Hub Halal, JAKIM
Tarikh: 03 January 2006

Two top editors resign over ear squat report

Finally.... someone is taking the fall for the 'riot' caused by the suspected Chinese national "ketuk ketampi" issue. See my earlier blog

The Star 6 Jan 2006 KUALA LUMPUR:
Two top editors of China Press have resigned over its report on the naked ear squat pictures published in its night edition on Nov 23. The two submitted their resignation letters, which took effect immediately, to bear full responsibility for “wrongly identifying the woman who was filmed doing ear squats naked in a police locker room as a Chinese national”. The resignations of editor-in-chief Chong Choong Nam and executive editor-in-chief Wong Siew Peng was announced on the front-page of its night edition yesterday.
China Press also stated in its report that it had wrongly identified the woman as a Chinese national and apologised for any inconvenience and misunderstanding caused by the report. On Nov 23, the daily’s night edition reported in its front-page the existence of a video clip of a woman being forced to do ear squats naked in a police locker room, and identified her as a Chinese national. It was later established by an independent commission of inquiry that she was a local Malay woman who had been arrested during a drug bust.

This should serve as a reminder to the other Mat Kepoh out there to be responsible on the reporting, and I believe they did the responsible thing by relingquishing their post. I wonder if others are responsible enough to do the same.

comment on AUGUSTA Sale

Its interesting to see comments of Tun Dr Mahathir and Tunku Mahaleel in the STAR,

The debts of M.V. Agusta are frozen in any case and it need not be paid immediately. Has the amount provided been paid so as to reduce M.V. Agusta’s debts or is it still with Proton when M.V. Agusta was sold at one euro?There are in fact many questions which have to be answered regarding the sale at one euro of an entity that was bought at 70 million euros.
1.Who offered to sell or who offered to buy at one euro?
2.Were there other bidders?
3.Was there an attempt to get the buyer to pay a higher price?
4.Was there an announcement that M.V. Agusta was up for sale? If not, did Proton approach only one bidder? If other
bidders were offered, did they reject?
5.Who in fact made the decision to sell?
6.Can Proton explain how selling an entity bought at 70 million euros for one euro would not cause Proton to lose money as is claimed?

Gevi S.p.A. is not a household name in the automotive industry. Is it a motorcycle company, confident that it can turn around M.V. Agusta, something that the sale by Proton implies that Proton has no capacity or ability to turn it around? Not having to pay 70 million euros will be an advantage for Gevi. We want to know the correct answers. The public too may want to know as Proton is a national project.

DR MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD and
TENGKU MAHALEEL TENGKU ARIFF,
Kuala Lumpur.

To me its a fair request to the national car company. Its not long ago on 22nd Sept 2005 Augusta announced record sales in Italy and Europe. The best performances came from Germany (+23.49%), Spain (+55. 45), France (+15.22%) and Belgium (+18.54%) and the figures from Australia showing double the usual sales were boosted by a new Husqvarna sales network that soared from the 299 recorded in 2004 to the current 596.

It proves that things are looking good and this should add value to the negotiation with the new buyer. But at 1 EURO, its rediculous. If we relate that to Freddie Fernandez buying Air Asia for RM 1 (plus few hundred million in debt), its no comparison. Air Asia has 1 leased aircraft and lots of debt while Augusta has landed property, factories (Schiranna (VA) factory) , offices, equipment, know how and goodwill in 3 brands(Augusta, Husqvarna ,Cagiva ), history ( 75 World Titles-38 riders championships and 37 constructors championships) and much more....