Merdeka Day journey

The month-long Merdeka day celebration in Malaysia which was officially launched on August 17, 2006 in Terengganu reached its peak at the Merdeka Day event on August 31 in Kuching.

ORCHESTRATED HUMAN FLAG (from the STAR): In a mixture of synchronisation and discipline, the 2,000-strong choir members forming the image of the Jalur Gemilang and the celebration logo at the National Day parade at Padang Merdeka in Kuching on Thursday.

Yang Di-Pertuan Agung Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Syed Syed Putra Jamalullail and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahamd Badawi saluting to the Armed Forces contigent during the National Day celebration at Padang Merdeka, Kuching.

O yes we are not going to make it to Kuching, but we went up north back to Penang. Surprisingly the PLUS hiway is like a normal wekday. Practically no traffic especially after Ipoh and the Menora Tunnel. Yes me made pit stop at Gunung Semanggol rest area, richly decorated with Malaysian flags. By the end of the day we reached Penang bridge. Now here it was, a stark contrast to our journey on the highway. The bridge was packed right after the toll gate.

Merdeka

The declaration of independence of the Federation of Malaya by Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj

The effort for independence was spearheaded by Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, who led a delegation of ministers and political leaders of Malaya in negotiations with the British for Merdeka, or independence. Once it became increasingly clear that the Communist threat posed during the Malayan Emergency was petering out, agreement was reached on February 8, 1956, for Malaya to gain independence from the British Empire. However, for a number of logistical and administrative reasons, it was decided that the official proclamation of independence would only be made the next year, on August 31, 1957, at Stadium Merdeka (Independence Stadium), in Kuala Lumpur. The formation of the Federation of Malaysia was then announced on September 16, 1963. However, the Independence Day celebration is still held on August 31, the original independence date of Malaya.

All because of a man

Why o why this has come to the court. It sounds stupid fighting over a man.

Catfight over ex-MB’s son:the Star By CECIL FUNG

KUALA LUMPUR: Actress Nur Fazura Sharifuddin was the star attraction when she came to a magistrate’s court here to answer an assault charge involving her and a 31-year-old housewife over the son of a former Selangor Mentri Besar.

Nur Fazura, 23, allegedly assaulted Geraldine Mariana Wong, ex-wife of Ezra Effendi (son of Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohd Effendi Norwawi) during a catfight over Ahmad Razman Ahmad Razali, 30, (the son of the late Tan Sri Ahmad Razali Mohd Ali, former Selangor Mentri Besar).

“There was a fight between us. We were pulling each other’s hair. Everyone started crowding around us and trying to separate us,” Wong said. When C/Insp Rukumar produced a high-heeled sandal for identification, Wong could not positively identify it.

During cross-examination by Fazura’s lawyer Fakhrul Azman Abu Hassan, Wong admitted that the earlier catfight was over her ex-boyfriend Ahmad Razman who was dating the actress at the time of the incident. Wong had divorced her ex-husband Ezra on June 18, 2004 but the incident took place six months later.

What puzzled me.. does that means Wong married Ezara.. then get a divorse and converted back to his original religion... Lina Joy case came to mind.

Wedding

Now I can easily remember my wedding anniversary in Penang with the help of local news reporter. Why is that? Its Siti Nurhaliza akad nikah day 21st Aug 2006 and I bet we will be reminded of this fact every year when the time comes.

OK I never thought about putting Siti's name on my blog. Especially after enjoying various sms jokes about the wedding. The one particularly funny joke is about Sitibank etc and someone making deposits.

Tradition-rich wedding from the Star

ALL SMILES: The radiant bride Siti Nurhaliza resplendent in her wedding dress with Khalid getting ready for a photo call.

Media Player Real Video KUALA LUMPUR: In a ceremony rich in Malay tradition that was witnessed by thousands live on television, businessman Datuk Khalid Muhammad Jiwa took pop princess Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin as his wife yesterday.

The akad nikah (solemnisation of marriage) was held at the Federal Territory Central Mosque and performed by FT Religious Department (Jawi) Nasroddin Mat Daud.

Khalid offered a mas kahwin (marriage fee) of RM22,222, inspired by the period it took for the Quran to be revealed to Prophet Muhammad (which was 22 years, 2 months and 2 days).

The akad nikah was preceded by engagement ceremony. Khalid presented, as hantaran seven trays including cash gift of RM30,000,

The much touted Wedding of the Year, will be held at the KL Convention Centre on Aug 28, which would be followed by receptions in Siti’s hometown in Kuala Lipis in Pahang and Jakarta in Indonesia.

Koryo Taekwondo Tournament

The Koryo Taekwondo academy held its competition today in Section 24 Shah Alam. Kejohanan Taekwondo Remaja Shah Alam Kali Pertama... is the official name. Competitors casme as far away as Johor, Batu Pahat and Muar.

Aina competed in the bantam weight class (girls 8-9 years old) and Aini is in the welter weight (girls 10-11 years old). I guess Aina is full of nerves and it showed during the first bout which she received a walk-over. The 'win' gave her confidence and she performed better in the next round beating her opponent comprehensively. Unfortunately she lost in the finals and had to settle for the silver. Her groin guard kept on falling and it affected her concentration.

Aini had a better outing this time compared to the Coco Crunch competition in Bukit Jalil. She was brimming with confidence and had no problem beating all her opponents. The only problem is her lack of stamina which we have to improve. She won gold in her category.

Danga Bay

Danga Bay will be a place of distinction, and it is named the"Vision City of the South". Danga Bay is a spanking new development along the JB coastline, and has successfully positioned itself as a family-oriented tourist destination

. Call it the new Lido, if you will. It is 5km drive from Johore Causeway. It means it's easily accessible from JB & Singapore. It is situated in Johore Bahru city accross from the Istana Danga Bay is designed to be a city within a city. Which means there will be residential area, shopping malls, financial center, a shopping and commercial belt. Danga Bay is estimated to take 15 years to be developed fully. Phase 1, which is currently making rapid progress, comprises of:
- Pantai Lido, a world class tourist destination with water theme park, state of the art food and beverage outlets and many other recreational facilities;
- The Promenade resort living residential apartments, condominiums and island resort bungalows;
- The Promenade water frontage commercial centre, comprising of offices, serviced apartments, business class hotels, marina hotel;
- The Danga Bay Mall, which will be the retail epicenter of the project.

To me the other parts of the project is nothing spectular. What interest me most is the area where they built typical Joheran Malay houses that represent each district/main towns in Johore. From the pictures above you can see some examples of the houses. The top right pix is the rumah Kluang and the other on top left is rumah Pontian.

Protection To National Carmaker Cannot Be Forever

More worrying times for PROTON?

PEKAN, Aug 15 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the government could not afford to continuously provide protection to national carmaker, Proton or Perodua.

Instead, they should strive to be more competitive in the future, he told reporters after launching the SsangYong Rexton II, here Tuesday.

"The management of Proton and Perodua have accepted the fact that they have to move within an increasingly competitive market, the protection that they have received all this while cannot last forever and they have to work hard to make the national car more competitive," he said.

Najib said although the government intended to make Malaysia a hub for manufacturing new cars, the ultimate aim of the National Automotive Policy (NAP) was to ensure that for now the national car would not be neglected.

"There are several objectives in the NAP, one ensures the presence and viability of the national car and the second is to make Malaysia a hub for the assembling and production of new model of cars. "We have to manage both of them so that there are no conflicts, and that Proton will not be jeopardised and Perodua will also not be affected," he said. On the stiff competition now, Najib said that both Proton and Perodua were taking the appropriate measures.

"The management of Proton for example has written to me on a briefing that will be given to me on a set date, and I would be getting the latest information on the future plans taken by Proton."

Di mana nak cari Melayu

received this in the mailing list.... enjoy;

Di mana boleh cari ramai Melayu?
Pastinya di Kelantan dan Terengganu
Dan juga di pasar malam dan pasar minggu
Di Akademi Fantasia dan Pesta
Di Jom Heboh orang Melayu berpusu-pusu
Di Sungai Buloh, pusat pemuilihan, dulu di Pudu
Dan di jalan, lumba haram, rempit tak berlampu
Dan di selekoh duit rasuah depa pun sapu
Di pusat serenti akibat ketagih dadah dan chandu
Di malam kemerdekaan dan malam tahun baru
Terkinja-kinja best giler menari macam hantu

Apa hobi orang Melayu
Terkenal dengan budaya malas dan lesu
Berlepak buang masa tak jemu-jemu
Atau baca majalah Mastika, Metro pasal cerita hantu
Tengok telenovela dari Filipina dan Peru
Berpusu-pusu pergi tengok pamiran hantu
Sambil makan junk food, kuaci dan muruku
Sibuk bercerita tentang Datuk K dapat bini baru
Apa pakaian Siti nak pakai itu yang nak tahu
Mana tak gendut berpenyakit selalu
Kalau nak berlagak melayu masih nombor satu
Asal bergaya sanggup makan nasi dan toyu

Boleh tak jumpa mereka di kedai buku
Atau di perpustakaan dan majlis ilmu
Atau ambil kelas kemahiran di hujung minggu
Ada tapi kurang sangat mereka di situ
Kenapa melayu jadi begitu
Nak salahkan siapa ibubapa atau guru
Pemimpin negara atau raja dulu-dulu
Ayat lazim di mulut ialah Melayu malas selalu
Nak harap Kerajaan saja membantu
Terutama sekali kontraktor kelas satu
Tak habis-habis gaduh nak jatuh siapa dulu
pasal jambatan senggek atau siapa dia penghulu
Dan suka sanggat dengan budaya ampu mengampu

Sampai bila kita nak tunggu
Bangsa Melayu jadi bangsa yang maju
BOleh! dengan beberapa syarat tertentu
Pertama dengan banyak menguasai ilmu
Kata nabi ikutlah Quran dan sunnah ku
AlQuran yang diturunkan 1400 tahun dahulu
tapi apa yang kita tahu, cuma baca bila nak halau hantu

LMG Car launch

Launch of the LMG Cars.. the one in the photo is LMG Trekker (Pick-up) & Tourer (SUV)... was launched in JB yesterday by Pak Lah.

LM Star used technology sourced from Dadi Auto of China through a joint venture. The cars, assembled locally by Johor-based LM Star Autoworld Sdn Bhd, offer 50% fuel savings with a new technology called hydroxene (processing canister where water is broken into hydrogen and oxygen) which was developed by a local scientist.

LM Star president Abdul Uza Sheikh Mohamad told a press conference that in the initial stage, two models using the hydroxene technology would be open for booking within 10 days.

“We expect the cars to be on the street within the next two months,” Abdul Uza said, adding that the seven-seater SUV LMG Tourer was priced at RM58,888 and the four-door crew-cab LMG Trekker at RM84,888.

Our partners Steven & gang together with Lim looked really proud that day. So did our lender.... hopefully this launch and our technical ability will pacify them.

JB Mee Rebus

The real mee rebus in JB. Hj Wahid's at Plaza Angsana JB. Its actually called Baidali mee rebus. What makes a mee rebus a Baidali mee rebus? Baidali's smooth and thick gravy will be the first to atch your eyes. The dark thick sauce is made of flour, peanuts etc and served with wet noodles in a bowl. An added dash of vinegar, soya sauce and an egg is added before it being served to you.

Tips for mee rebus novices, try and mix the noodles and gravy evenly before you eat, similar to the way you eat spaghetti. Don't forget to garnish with lime.

They have a branch in KL, I think its own by Nasir an old friend who used to ply his trade at the DON's food court (now demolished) next to Wisma Denmark. Its calledBaidali Mee Tsya@Hartamas, C14, C15 Block C, Plaza Damas, Jln Sri Hartamas 1, Sri Hartamas ,Kuala Lumpur

Mee Rebus Stulang Laut

The mee rebus in Stulang Laut, JB.... unfortunately it cant beat Hj Wahid's mee rebus. Mee Rebus Stulang Laut, the mee rebus restaurant is located at the now Open University building facing the straits of Johore. I think about 1km from the Duty Free Zone.

NEW car launch advert

This was the advert that came out on Friday for LMG...

New Car Launch..

This STAR news caught my eye on Friday;

Abdullah to visit Johor on Monday
MUAR: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will begin a two-day visit to Johor from Monday. The Prime Minister will accord multimedia super corridor status on Johor Baru, launch the newest national car, and open the Tanjung Langsat Port. ....On the second day, the Prime Minister will visit the exposition site and also launch the country’s latest national car.

So... LMG cars gonna be awarded national car status? I later read on Paul Tan's site this mention about the national car;

New national car this Tuesday?
August 13, 2006 at 1:58 am · The Star carried a newspaper report on Friday outlining our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s two day visit to Johor, and the itenary included the launch of a new national car on Tuesday. Since it’s too soon for anything up Proton, Perodua or Naza’s sleeves - we can assume this might be the new CKD Inokom Getz.

and he later added this report....

Whose your Dadi?
August 13, 2006 at 10:05 pm · After that short speculation in my previous post, it’s quite obvious the new car to be launched this Tuesday in Johor will be a Dadi SUV or pick-up truck with an LMG Auto badge. While The Star’s report only mentioned a national car, a similiar report by Bernama confirms that the car is an LMG.

Well, if everything goes well we will see a facelift of what was previously known as DADI SUV, rebadge to LMG and it is quite different from the old China made car. This time the facelift is made possible by a small company in Shah Alam. Oh yes Malaysia boleh!

See for your self the transformation of the car from the old China SUV to its new skin, albeit the change in its accessories. Not bad eh for something targeted for under RM 100k.

Weekend at Holiday Villa Subang

Last weekend we had a nice outing at Holiday Villa Subang. In the brochure it said that it is a 5-star business resort offers the ideal getaway for business and leisure.

The Hotel is set on 6.8 acres of beautifully landscaped land overlooking a pristine lake incorporating the luxuries of modern facilities in a lush surrounding.

Its features 383 spacious guestrooms all equipped with modern amenities, 10 food and beverage outlets offering guests a choice of global cuisine, 18 convention and meeting facilities including three ballrooms and a comprehensive range of sports and recreational facilities including an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

The kids really enjoyed their time in the pool, met some local and mat salleh friends and we had a difficult time pulling them out of the pool :)

Lesson in Bahasa Melayu

I am fascinated everytime I read the writing of a certainmember in my alma mater mailing list. The way ho wrote his posting make me compare him my my own dad who is a master of linguist. I produce some of his writings below.. I hope he wont mind;

On the word 'sahaya'...

Lazimnya 'sahaya' itu dipakai dalam rangkaikata 'hamba-sahaya' sbg alternatif kpd 'hamba-abdi'. Dlm tulisan/makalah/surat dulu-dulu, lazim ditulis sin-ha-alif-ya (sahaya) bg perkataan tsb dalam aksara jawi. Dlm Hikayat Hang Tuah, Hang Mahmud (ayah HTuah) menjawab "Baiklah tuanku, ke manatah sahaya bertaruhkan diri, jika tiada di bawah kadam?" [Yes milord, where would I place myself, if it wasn't under the soles of yr feet?] bila disuruh oleh Bendahara untuk membawa masuk menghadap anaknya HTuah.
Kadam = tapak kaki Kaus = kasut Duli = habuk di bawah tapak kaki Raja.

Oh my goodness... now I know how feudal we are.. I mean the Malays. Us normal people is lower than the dust on the feet of the King hence Ke Bawah Duli YMM etc.

On the word 'pacal'..

'Pacal' bukan bermaksud anjing betina. Ia bererti pecacai dlm bhs Kedah/Perlis/PPinang yakni hamba baik kepada raja khasnya. Memang ungkapan begini adalah bersifat kefeudalan sebab asal-usulnya dari kepercayaan Hindu, yakni seseorg bila dipertingkatkan martabatnya melalui proses tertentu termasuklah bersiram-tabal, bertabal-pusaka, dipernobatkan dsb bertukar menjadi kudus/suci/sacred, seterusnya memiliki 'mana' atawa Melayunya 'daulat' yakni satu kuasa ghaib dlm tubuh tuannya yg boleh menyebabkan pengaruh/ akibat baik maupun buruk kpd org lain.Dlm ungkapan Melayu 'timpa-daulat' mithalannya atawa 'tak-tahan daulat' atawa 'kena-tulah' dsb.adalah akibat tersalah perilaku atawa niat terhadap org yang mempunyai 'mana'(dlm bhs Polinesia) atawa 'daulat' dlm bhs Melayu.Faktor kekudusan adalah untuk menegakkan legitimacy seseorg Raja

Olamak... hina betul orang biasa ni, dah la hamba sahaya, pacal yang hina pulak tu
On Bahasa Indonesia;

Kalu kat Jakarta, KP Kastam tu akan disebut DirjenDepartemen Cukai dan Bea (Bea tu excise which has nothing to do with biawak!). Kat sini banyak kita guna bahasa Belanda yang dicuriguna via bhs Indonesia i.e. all words ending with '-si' (for words ending with -tie in Duth) like delegasi / lokasi /prestasi. Some are of course directly from Dutch like duit (from Dutch doit which refers to the old Dutch coin) Dan kita juga ambil balik ungkapan bhs Melayu dengan sebutan salah dari sana e.g. keraton (dr keratuan), prihaten (dr peri-hatian), calon (dr calu-caluan), lakon (dr laku-lakuan), pesantren (dr persanterian), kabupaten (dr kebupatian) dll.

Others;

I use 'tunanetra' instead of 'buta'.When I was young 'buta' was not a polite or refined word.The word 'kelam' was more acceptable. Likewise in Javaland, they use more Sanskrit to circumvent impolite local words. Hence tunasusila for prostitutes and tunanetra for the visually impaired! You of course know tuna is not an ikan tongkoi/kayu/aya!

TNB and its Indon coal unit

I was quite surprised to read the STAR today regarding TNB's coal unit in Indonesia. Yesterday night I was having a chat with some frieds at Eastin (incidentally next to the STAR's HQ at Phileo) about TNB making a RM 200 mill loss on its venture into coal mine in Indonesia and suddenly in todays newspaper its like TNB answered our question... well I don't think its accurate anyway about the whole issue. Anyways, to me it seems that someone may overheard our conversation and hurried back to his headquarters next door and responded to the issue :)

TNB to resolve soon pricing at Indon unit By YEOW POOI LING
KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) expects to resolve the pricing issue at its Indonesian unit TNB Coal International Ltd within a month, said chief executive officer Datuk Che Khalib Mohd Noh. Given that coal prices had increased “dramatically” in the past 12 months, TNB Coal would have to adjust its selling price to TNB accordingly, he said. Che Khalib said this after an agreement signing between the utility company and Mobile Money International Sdn Bhd yesterday.

TNB Coal, via unit PT Dasa Eka Jasatama, is involved in mining, producing and transporting coal from several sites in South Kalimantan. It supplies about 20% of TNB's coal requirement.Datuk Che Khalib Mohd Noh“When we signed the agreement, coal price was about US$30 a tonne. Now it is about US$45 per tonne, so surely there is enough margin to make between the two parties,” Che Khalib said.

Che Khalib denied reports that the Indonesian operations could incur losses of some RM226mil. “TNB would not invest in something that would make losses. There is value in the investment,” he said.

PROTON oh PROTON

I was waiting for my friend at Kelana Jaya on Monday when I saw THE EDGE special report on PROTON as a result of PWC report on its activities for the past 10 years. The 4 page report is likened to opening can of worms on the insides and goings ons within PROTON around that time. I think it is a shame to leak it out same as the Malay saying "membuka pekung di dada" i.e. washing dirty linen in public.

From Business Times article Legal action a possibility: Proton By Zuraimi Abdullah
PROTON Holdings Bhd says it is too early to decide whether any legal action would be taken against the previous management after a third party report may have showed mismanagement in the company's affairs from 1996 until late 2005. The report, revealed by a financial weekly and a foreign newspaper, pointed to one conclusion -- Proton's poor corporate governance in the past. It mentioned some projects that were implemented without proper consultation or consent, billions in expenditure spent without in-depth discussion, and the board being unaware of legal problems.

"It is natural for the new management to find any weaknessess if it wants to improve the company. We do a lot of reviews on the (company's) current and past operations," Proton managing director Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said. Findings of the reports dated back to October 1996 when Proton bought a 63.75 per cent stake in Lotus Group International Ltd and included those related to investments in the Tanjung Malim plant, Italy's MV Agusta SpA, car ventures in China, PT Proton Tracoma Motors in Indonesia as well as research and development budgets and expenditure and potential troublesome operational issues.

The report also highlighted problems and issues with some vendors which were named in the report. Lim Kit Siang was quick to pounce on this whole issue on his blog;

In less than 24 hours, Syed Zainal seemed to have quickly backed off from the possibility in a formal statement which was reported by NST under the headline "Tighter systems for Proton now in place, says MD”, without any reference to the possibility of legal action against the previous management.What was the reason for the quick turnabout?

I say, if there was any fraud in the account or the system, I guess the auditor is also professionally responsible for it i.e. ENRON, MCI World etc. Who was the auditor then?

And the price go up again

from the Edge daily 31-07-2006: Plastic resin prices jump 35% By Tamimi Omar
Consumers should brace themselves to pay more for plastic products due to the sharp increase in resin prices and hike in electricity tariff, the Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association (MPMA) said. MPMA president Lim Kok Boon said plastic resin prices jumped between 20% and 35% in July 2006 compared with the average prices a year ago due to the strong surge in crude oil and gas prices, leading to higher feedstock prices.

Lim said “The substantial hike in the prices of petrochemical products is due to recent geopolitical developments that have raised concerns over the supply of these products (oil and gas),” the association said in a statement.

Lim said the increase in prices of the resins, which form a major portion of the manufacturing cost of plastic products, had adversely affected the operations of the plastics manufacturers.
“In addition, the 12% increase in electricity tariff rate, which came into effect in June this year, has further exacerbated the already difficult operating conditions of our members,”

Ni macam mana ni, barang semua naik, kiri kanan semua naik tapi gomen masih nak kata inflation rate is low... at 4%, ade ke logiknya when everything shot up mendadak this year. Think fuel price, gula, ayam cukup la.... berapa % naik tahun ni

It is glorious to be rich

I received this article written by Raja Petra Kamarudin from another friend. Sorry I can't point you to the original website, its out there some where but, excerpts are posted here;

I was the first in Terengganu to order a locally-assembled Mercedes Benz 380SE (hey, allow me to brag once in awhile). Actually, I preferred my BMW728i. But I was then the Mercedes franchise holder for Terengganu and one day I fetched the German engineer from the airport in my BMW and he refused to step into my car and asked me to get him a taxi instead. He was joking of course, but Germans are not known for their jokes so it was very hard to tell if he really meant it or not.

But on 28 July 2006, I was reminded what it is like to be a rich Malay businessman in the East Coast. I had arrived in Kota Bharu a day earlier to look into the preparations for streaming live Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's address at Hotel Perdana. On the 28th, my wife and I drove to the Pengkalan Chepa airport to await Mahathir's arrival. I thought I would check out the crowd and take some action shots as well.

Around an hour before Mahathir was due to touch down, a string of mafia-looking black limousines zoomed into the airport and parked right in front of the exit, blocking the entire airport. One guy who gave an appearance of being in-charge jumped out of the lead car with about half a dozen or so tough-looking chaps, who I thought at first were members of the SWAT team, trailing behind him. They were dressed in boots and jackets and seemed to be sort of in uniform. Not only their appearance but the manner in which they conducted themselves gave this impression. The chap did not agree with me. "These are not from the SWAT team," he corrected me. "These are kaki gedebeh (gangsters)." They marched right up to Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad and the leader of the very menacing-looking bunch demanded that Mahathir be allowed into his car. Abdullah would not engage him and advised him to phone Mahathir himself to discuss the matter. Anyhow, said Abdullah, Mahathir's representative is around so why not discuss it with him.

There was a moment of chaos and even the local police chief who was present could not contain the situation. I asked Abdullah who this chap who seemed to have so much power that he can even ignore the police is. He is a rich man replied Abdullah in utter disgust. Yes, being rich is glorious as the Chinese Premier once said. Being rich means you can get away with much in the Malay heartland. And that is why this rich Kelantanese wanted Mahathir in his car. He is rich, richer than Ibrahim Ali and Abdullah Ahmad combined, so only he is entitled to ferry Mahathir to the hotel. And when Mahathir chose to enter Ibrahim Ali's car instead, he went into a rage and sprayed the inside of the car with mace, hitting Ibrahim, Mahathir and scores of other people who were standing nearby.

I am glad that the New Economic Policy is a failure. I am glad that these types of rich Malays are a rarity. Imagine what Malaysia would be like if we had thousands of such people roaming the streets. No one would be safe. What they want they get. And if they don't get their way they would spray mace into your face in front of the local police chief or take out their gun and shoot into the air like what happened twice before during Umno Division meetings in Tumpat and Klang.

Oh, by the way, both these people who took their guns out and shot them during the Umno division meetings were never charged. This is of course not only because they are Umno chiefs, but because they are rich.

I couldn't agree more. Money maketh a man I guess. To some who is used to going through life with a little bit of money in the pocket is good enough. To them life is bliss, he is happy, being the guy next door who will help other if it needs be or join in the kenduri in the neighbourhood even if not invited personally by the houseowner. BUT give this people tonnes of money an Mat Melayu will change. Money is power and power in the wrong hands just spell trouble to others.

Personally I met RPK around 1997 when he actively visited our office in Wisma Denmark, him being a business man , me being a junior who respect him as a senior :). Fun guy.. serious when he wanted to be and what a sight with his chopper.. is it Virago 535? Maybe.

Follow these and never get sick again

Have a look at this diagram, maybe if we follow its advice we may never got sick again :) or at least reduce the risk.

Now there is no internet freedom

Taken from the STAR today

PM: Those who spread untruths on the Net will be detained
By IAN MCINTYRE

KUALA TERENGGANU: The Prime Minister has issued a warning – those who spread untruths and slander on the Internet will face the law. If information in blogs, websites and online portals were incorrect, bordered on slander, caused disturbance or compelled the public to lose faith in the nation’s economic policies, their authors would be detained for investigation, said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

“We cannot allow such matters to flow through uncontrolled,” he told newsmen after attending a briefing on the proposed Islamic Civilisation Park in Pulau Wan Man here. “They say all kinds of things, make all kinds of dubious claims. We cannot allow them to abuse the freedom earned under the media. If left alone, they can say or pass on all kinds of things.” Abdullah also said that those who sent out such information via short message system (SMS) would also be held accountable.

“If they abuse the freedom – more than the present freedom given without any restriction – we cannot allow it,” he declared. “Where in the world is there such a freedom, where one can freely spread incorrect information and slander without having to own up to it?” Asked if he
was calling for a control mechanism, Abdullah said he would leave it to the police to investigate first.

So... it seems there will be no freedom of expression even on the net. Its sad .. afterall we are propagating the MSC.. which has now seems to be very quiet.