Merdeka

31 August 2007 marked the 50th year of Malaysia's independence. Year after year the country has celebrated this momentous occasion with events of which the pinnacle has always been the Merdeka parade. This year, the parade will be at Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square).

I remember the first time I participated in a Merdeka parade. It was 1986 and I was 14, a member of my school's (Sekolah Alam Shah) marching band. Dataran Merdeka then was not the Dataran Merdeka today. The tall flagpole with the huge Malaysia flag flying proudly was not there. The stage, the garden, even the shops and parking lots under the field were not there. It was just a plain field, flanked by the Bangunan Kelab Selangor and Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad.

The parade started at 8 am but all the contingents were required to be there at 5 am. I think the events leading to the parade on that day were not as elaborate as they are nowadays since almost all of us stood on the field itself, rather than along the roads nearby. Quite tiring, really.. standing there for 3 hours or so doing nothing. Then the parade was on.

We marched in front of the Prime Minister and all the Menteris and guests. I must say I can't really remember what I felt that day. I was 14 and the meaning of Merdeka was not really something a 14-year old would think about. But I did feel proud that I was part of my school's marching band, representing my school (one of the top boarding schools in Malaysia) in the Merdeka parade that year. I participated again in 1987, 1988 and 1989.

After I finished school, I went overseas to further my study. Stayed 5 years there and only got back to Malaysia in 1996. I honestly admit that I have always had this couldn't-care-less attitude towards what is Merdeka to our country, our people. I had always taken for granted what Malaysia has to offer to her people. The years I was overseas, I mixed freely with people from different countries, mostly students. Most of them had the same attitude as myself.. being young and only had to worry about studies and exam results.

Only after I came back to Malaysia that, given choices, I realised I would rather live in this country.. where my family is.. where my root is. I love Malaysia. She will always be my home.

Tomorrow is the Merdeka Day and the country is celebrating. There are flags and posters everywhere.. on the buildings, on the cars, trees, lamp posts.. The radios are continually playing patriotic songs, the TVs are showing patriotic advertisements.. everywhere is about Merdeka and the spirits of patriotism are at their highest.

So.. what does it mean to be Merdeka? How truly Merdeka are we, anyway? Physically we may be free from colonialism.. but what about our minds? Our spirits? We can see so many of our traditions lost to the so called modernisation. We can see so many of our cultures forgotten as the years went by. And so many others which makes me sad just by thinking of them.

Everybody has their own interpretation of Merdeka, from the pretty straight forward answers all the way to the convoluted ones. For me, it's freedom.. not just physical, but also mental and spiritual. Freedom from all those negative influence that stole away my Malaysian identity. Freedom to achieve as high as I can but within the law and with my roots firmly placed in this beloved country.

I look at the younger generation and without fail, I can only feel extreme disappointment. Are these the future of Malaysia then? Makes me shudder just thinking about it. What happened, actually? It's like all the parents are no longer bothered about the upbringing of their children. Everytime I see these kids I can only iterate in my mind, "There goes our future.. there goes Malaysia's future." It's sad, really.

Now, let us all ask ourselves this question: "What are our contribution to our country?"

Happy Merdeka Day, Malaysia. I'm truly proud to be Malaysian.

My weekend

To start off, the much anticipated Friday night was really a terrible let down. I’m not gonna dwell on that as it will only give me a heartache. Maybe I’ll write something about it. Or maybe not.

Saturday.. my team entered the UIA Open volleyball tournament. The first game was at 12 noon and somehow one of the players managed to get there late. Could you believe that? I felt like slapping the guy till he sees Pluto. The emergency replacement also got there late. Why? Because he got lost inside the university. This one, I wholly put the blame on the person who gave him the directions.



So we forfeited the first match. Everybody was disappointed. Especially the setter, Ami. To rub salt on the wound, we could’ve beaten that team easily, and proceeded to the semi since the we won the next two matches and the team we would’ve met in the quarter was not strong.

The disappointment was enough to make me think of quitting volleyball tournaments right then and there. But I think I’ll do that next year and concentrate more in netball. At least the chances of winning are higher. Hehehe.. Oh, lots of thanks to the referees for helping us in the first match, even though in the end it made no difference. And no thanks to that woman in pink for being such a bitch about the whole thing. Yes.. you are.

Saturday night.. my friend from netball got married. Fid said, “Finally, after ten years.” Makes me wonder what took them so long. Hehehehe.. But then, it’s not cheap to get married nowadays. You’d probably need around RM15-20K just to have a medium-size wedding. And no, that’s not the reason why I’m still single. That’s for me to know and for you not to know. Hahahaha...

The wedding went well, if delayed a bit. Frankly speaking, I have no idea why they did the “bersanding” (I don’t think there’s an English equivalent for that word) twice.. the first one that night and the second one the next day. Part of the wedding package, perhaps. So that was the first part and not very many people turned up. Intentionally done, I think. But I have to say that the make-up of the bride was rather dull and totally not suitable for a wedding. I personally think that the make-up should lit up the bride’s face, not darken it.



The second part of the wedding was done the next day. The concept was orange and I went along with it and wore an orange t-shirt. Hehehe.. I’m not much into wedding, but once in a while ok laa.. 90% of the Legend team was there.. plus the coach and her kids. And three from team Cobra. True to form, we were the rowdiest people there, with a markedly lack of decorum compared to the other guests. I think it’s part of the nature of team Legend, creating havoc wherever we go. Hehehe..

Pompuan² lorong.. hehehe..

All in all, it was a rather tiring weekend. I was half asleep most of the time. But the cap of the weekend has to be the massage I got on Sunday night. It was good. I slept like a baby that night. And woke up still tired on Monday morning. Damn! Hahahahaha...

Books, books, books...

I'm a bookworm. I love books. I read everyday, whenever I can. In the LRT to work, from work, during breakfast, before sleeping, while doing nothing.. In short, I can't live without books. Reading is no longer a hobby. It has become a habit.



I have around 300 books in my collection, the majority of them of fantasy genre and a few science fiction. My favourite authors include Raymond E Feist, R A Salvatore, Robert Jordan, Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind, Margaret Weiss, Tracy Hickman, Melanie Rawn, David Eddings, Trudy Canavan and some others I can't remember. Great authors, and great stories too. I highly recommend reading their books, if you haven't read one.

The thing about fantasy and science fiction is.. it's not very popular in Malaysia. I started reading fantasy books when I was 15. I can't remember the title of the first book I read, but it was by a Malay author and the main character was named Artakus. When I was 17, I managed to get my hands on my very first English fantasy book by David Eddings, titled Enchanter's End Game, book 5 of The Belgariad series. Whose book it was, I can't remember anymore. My cousin, probably.

After SPM, I continued my study in Sydney, Australia. Unsurprisingly, some of the first shops I entered were the bookstores, where I found the first book of The Belgariad. And the second, and the third, and the fourth. And the series after The Belgariad. And I never looked back since. I was totally hooked with fantasy and science fiction, resulting in a huge portion of my monthly scholarship allowance going into buying books. By the time I finished my study, I have collected a respectable number of books, which I brought home with me in several boxes.

Note: I only read fantasy and science fiction books. I don't read other genre, except when I don't have anything else to read. And fantasy and science fiction is getting to be a mouthful. I'll call it FSF, in short.

I still continue buying books after I started working in 1997. One thing I noticed at that time was that the bookstores in KL (MPH, Times and a small Kinokuniya inside Isetan KLCC) did not have large collections of FSF books. So it was quite hard for me to get reading materials. After I got my first credit card, I started buying books online via Amazon.com where I usually ordered 2 to 4 books a month. The price was slightly more expensive but well worth it, all things considered. Now that there are several big bookstores in the Klang valley which have good collections of FSF books, I don't have to order online anymore.

After the release of The Lord of The Rings movie trilogy, it seems that the number of FSF readers has increased. There are more people at the FSF section now. But of course, I'm referring to Kinokuniya since I mostly buy my books there. I'm not sure about MPH or Borders, though. I did not see very many people browsing around in the FSF section the last time I was there.

Anyway, whenever I see these people, I suddenly felt very knowledgeable about FSF and it was my duty to guide them on which books they should read. Talk about show-off eh.. hehehehe.. I used to carry around a list of all the books in my collection and referred to it everytime I wanted to buy new books. No, I was not showing off my great FSF books collection :Þ It was to avoid buying the same book twice :) Well, I don't have that list anymore. Too lazy to update it. Besides, there aren't very many exciting new books on the shelves anymore. Mostly I'm waiting for my favourite authors to come out with their latest books.

Now that's one thing I'd like to comment. I understand that it takes time for the authors to come out with a new book. And the publishers would produce the hard cover version first. Ok.. that's acceptable.. But what I don't understand is why does it take one year for the paperback version to be published? Don't you guys know that one year is a very long time to wait and it's torture for us mere mortals who could not afford to buy hardcover??!! Kindly do something, please.

Another thing I noticed is that, over the years, the prices of books have gone up considerably. Most paperbacks were priced below RM30 then but now, on average, they cost around RM35. Some are even selling at over RM40. I'm not going to dwell on the reasons for this price increase but it's definitely not getting any easier on my wallet. Oh, I will continue buying books but I don't think it will be as many as before.

Sucks, isn't it?

Proton Persona

"It's just a Gen2.. with a sedan body."

Honestly, if I was the designer, I would be very offended. I spent hours trying to come out with a design for the new Proton model (I'm putting myself in the designer's shoes here) and the comment I got was "It's just a Gen2". Like, hello?! Can't you appreciate the efforts that went into that car?

Ok.. stepping out of the designer's shoes..

I got my first good look at the Proton Persona today. Glimpsed one last night and I thought it was a Waja. So.. Hello!?!? Can't you come out with a better design? Something different? It's supposed to be a new model, not just an amended version of the Gen2! Something original, please?

If you're offended, I'm disappointed. Surely you could come out with a design that's unique, beautiful, has a lot of appeal to the public and at par with the new car models in the market? I was expecting something grand, with all the hype given prior to the launch.. but what can I say.. I'm so disappointed.

Hey, what's this I heard about the international model for Persona is much better than the local one? Do I see a double-standard here? How unfair! But then, this is nothing new. As with the Wira model, it's international version is not quite the same as it's local counterpart. Perdana as well, if I'm not mistaken. I don't quite understand the reasons behind this. Are we, the locals, getting sub-international standards for our model? Why can't we have the same model, be it for import or for local use? If a foreigner approached me and said, "I really like the new Proton car model, Persona.", should I asked him, "Oh, which one is that? Local one or international?"

I don't deny that Persona is a rather nice-looking car and it's another good effort by Proton. I just wish they came out with something more original. I'm not going to comment on the engine or power or performance etc. coz I'm not really into those things. I'm more of a what-I-can-see type of person. If a car looks nice, the chances of my buying it is certainly high. I'm sure there are a lot of people like me out there.

So, the one thing I want to know is.. what's holding those people in Proton from investing in a better car (in the overall sense)? Mold too expensive? Afraid the people will not be interested to buy? Well.. let me put it this way. If you manufacture a car which is value for money, has all the safety features installed, and really really great to look at, people would definitely want to have one.

I'm sure it's nothing new.

Men's Netball

Huh?!

Yeah, that would be the first reaction from most of you, especially the men. (In certain things, I found that women are more adaptable and more accepting than men.) Can't really blame them, I suppose. We have been educated since we were small that netball is a sport exclusively for women. If you're a man, you play soccer. Naturally, it follows that if you play netball, you're not a "pure" man. It's bullshit but when it comes to stereotyping, men are stronger at it than women.

Well, face it guys. Netball is no longer a sport only for women. Much like soccer is no longer a sport exclusively for men. (Say, do they have rugby for women?) Not just in Malaysia, even countries such as Australia, New Zealand, England, Jamaica, Namibia, Kenya and so on have men's netball teams. And they compete internationally just like every other sport too. You can google "men's netball" and see the results for yourself.

My venture into netball started on Tuesday last week, 17/04/2007, when I joined my housemate's team's training. I have never been interested in netball before. My first sport have always been volleyball (and still is). My first impression was that netball is just too tedious, with so many rules that need to be observed during play. But as my friend keeps telling me, it’s not that much different from volleyball. As you get along, you will realise that there are only a few basic rules that you need to know. And he’s right. So I’m now officially a member of team Legend :)

After my first training, I have to admit that I’m not as fit as I thought I was. Volleyball training was hard.. but with netball, you need a lot of stamina since a lot of running is involved. Damn! I was practically panting and gulping for air. My chest hurt and I just couldn’t seem to get air fast enough into my lungs. Sweat? More like a water pipe has opened over my head and water was running all over me. I created a puddle wherever I stood. Hahahahaha..

Netball is actually fun. Hard work, but fun, nonetheless. As a start, my friend/housemate, who incidentally is the captain for team Legend, assigned me the position of defender. Wing Defend to be exact. On the bib it says WD. It’s apparently quite an important position since it’s the job of a WD to stop the attacks of the opposing team. Specifically the WD’s counterpart WA - Wing Attack. It’s hard work. There are a lot of things I need to learn like positioning, dodging, footwork, intercepting etc etc. It’s a good thing I’m playing with the best men’s team in Malaysia :)

Sidetracking a bit.. team Legend IS the current best team in Malaysia. Closest challenger is team Royal. In just about every tournament, these two teams will meet in the finals. Who won the most, well.. I don’t have the statistics with me right now. There aren’t very many men’s netball teams currently in the country but recently, more and more companies or groups are forming their own teams, with proper coaching and all. It’s quite heartening, actually. There’s team MBSA from Shah Alam, Malaysia Airlines, Jentayu from Langkawi, Cobra, Gorgeous Boys, Sonic, this one team from Johor and some others I can’t quite recall. The tournaments are getting very competitive as well. Some even offered cash prize of RM1,000 for the winner. Good, eh?

Ok, back to my story..

First training on Tuesday night.. second training on Thursday night.. third training on Saturday afternoon.. then my first friendly game on Sunday morning. It was a good learning experience, albeit the heat and sun. Man, it was hot! I’m getting dark all over again. Anyway, our opponent was team Cobra.. still green, with potential but still a lot to learn.. Wah! Macam bagus jer aku ni. Hahahahaha.. I played WD; quite challenging for a first-timer.. but all in all, I think I did good. It certainly boosted my morale when the team captain and the coach said I improved a lot in such a short time and has a lot of potential to be a good player. Hehehehe..

So there you go. Another sport in my pocket. That makes it what.. six? Hehehe.. Number one will always be volleyball. Second, bowling. Third, I suppose, is netball. Fourth, tennis. Fifth, pingpong. Sixth, badminton (started again yesterday, after 20 years of retirement.. hahahaha..) Talk about crazy, huh. Hahahaha.. Well, what can I say.. I totally love sports. It’s in the blood, I think. Dad was a soccer player. My three brothers played volleyball, soccer, futsal etc. Unfortunately, my sister and another brother, are not that keen in sports. Oh, that includes my mom as well. Hmm.. I wonder what they would say if they know I now play netball. Must be quite a shock, I think. Hehehehe..

So.. netball, anyone?

I've been conned !

I think I've been conned. And it was so straight-forward I never realised it until the next day when I really thought about it.

I had dinner with a friend last night at Chilli's KLCC. The food, as usual, was good. When we're done, I asked for the bill. Dinner costed RM83 plus, so I put two RM50 notes on the tray. A male waiter took them. After a few minutes, he came back and told me that I've mistakenly given him one RM50 note and one RM1 note. Oh ok, my mistake, so I exchanged the RM1 note with another RM50 note.

This afternoon, as I was paying for lunch, it suddenly occurred to me that I only have one RM50 note left in my wallet. I remember checking my wallet before I went out for dinner last night. There were FOUR RM50 notes inside. Now there was only one. So where did one go?

I could be mistaken, you say, but seriously, it's highly unlikely that I made a mistake about the amount of money I had in my wallet last night. I strongly suspect I was conned at Chilli's (bastard!). Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about it since I have no proof whatsoever. Damn!

It was such a simple trick and I suspect a lot of Chilli's customers were already victims. So lesson learnt. The next time I eat there, I'll pay by credit card.

ICE.. In Case of Emergency

Somebody forwarded this to me. I'm not sure whether it's true or not, but I personally think it's a perfectly logical and practical thing to do. So why don't spread the words around? You never know..

And thank you to whoever came up with this concept :)

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Isn't it true that we all carry our mobile phones with hundreds of names/numbers stored in its memory but yet nobody, other than ourselves, know which of these numbers belong to our near and dear ones?

Let us for a moment create a scenario wherein (God forbid) we are involved in an accident or had a heart attack and the people attending to us get hold of our mobile phone but don't know which number to call to inform our family members. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency?

For this reason, we must have one or more telephone numbers stored under the name ICE (In Case of Emergency) in our mobile phones.

"ICE" Campaign

Recently, the concept of "ICE" is catching up quickly. It is simple, an important method of contact during emergency situations.

As cell phones are carried by majority of the population, all you need to do is store the number of a contact person or person who should be contacted at during emergency as "ICE" (meaning In Case of Emergency).

The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when they went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they didn't know which number to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose.

Following a disaster in London, the East Anglican Ambulance Service has launched a national "In Case of Emergency (ICE)" campaign.

In an emergency situation, Emergency Service personnel and hospital staff would then be able to quickly contact your next of kin, by simply dialing the number stored as "ICE". It really could save your life, or put a loved one's mind at rest. For more than one contact name simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 etc.

Let's spread the concept of ICE by storing an ICE number in our mobile phones today!

Aiman tak kisah...

Tune in to ERA.fm and you will hear the voice of Aiman, a 5-year-old kid talking about his 5-year-old friend, Arif. Arif was H I V+ (it was not mentioned how he got it). Aiman was totally okay about it - "Aiman tak kisah".. He played with Arif.. helped him.. hang out with him.. etc etc. Such a wonderful kid, this Aiman. What an exemplary act for one so young.

Okay.. so let's get real here. Honestly, how many 5-year-old kids out there know what H I V is all about? I can just imagine the parents explaining to their children about H I V.

"Look, son (or daughter).. H I V stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which is basically a virus that attacks and breaks down the body's immune system - the 'internal defense force' that fights off infections and disease. When the immune system becomes weak, we lose our protection against illness and can develop serious, often life-threatening, infections and cancers. Basically it's dangerous.. but you will not get infected even if you played with your friend who is H I V+."

Wow.. imagine that!!

The second part of the "community service" was a male adult blabbing about A I D S.. which does not spread through touch. If a small kid like Aiman does not discriminate his friend who was H I V+, then why should you?

Okay.. so the idea is good, and I applaud ERA.fm for promoting an awareness on H I V and A I D S. But the thing I don't like about this particular "community service" is that it is talking about 2 (two!) separate issues, which, if you think about it, can cause a big misunderstanding to the community. The impact can be quite devastating. What issues, you might ask. Aren't H I V and A I D S the same? Surprise surprise.. they are not. Just look at their definitions:

H I V: Human Immunodeficiency Virus
A I D S: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

It's pretty clear that H I V is a virus, and A I D S is a disease. They are related, yes but they are NOT the same. People who are H I V+ can still live a healthy lifestyle. Much like people who have Hepatitis B virus can still live like normal healthy people. If an H I V+ person does not take good care of himself, then there's a high probability that he will get A I D S.

And that is how they are related (you may correct me if I'm wrong here).

So how devastating can this misleading "community service" be?

Imagine you are H I V+. You have been educated that even though you are positive, it's nothing to worry about, as long as you take good care of yourself. Lead a healthy lifestyle.. watch what you eat.. exercise.. etc etc. Then you hang out with people. Accidentally, some of them found out you are H I V+. Words will get around and more people will know. If these people are misinformed about H I V / A I D S, it's highly likely that you will be shunned, discriminated against, even bullied by these people. How would you feel then? This will definitely affect your job, your self-esteem, and eventually, your life.

Now, is that devastating enough or not?

What does that say, then, about our uniformed forces?

I was talking with some friends the other night and one of the topics that came up was on our firemen. It seems that our rescue rangers are more than meets the eye. Sad but true.

The bungalow of my friend's uncle was caught on fire about a week before Chinese New Year. The whole family was lucky enough to escape unscathed, thanks to some Indonesians who were doing renovation work on the house next door. The firemen finally came and naturally, they were the first to get into the house before anyone else once the fire was extinguished.

To make the story short, one of them was caught red-handed pocketing the uncle's Rolex!! He denied it when confronted, but after some persuasions, he finally relented to return the watch on the condition that he was to be given some "compensation" in return.

Unbelievable, is it not? True, though, and apparently this is a common enough occurrence among policemen and firemen that people actually expect them to happen.

What does that say, then, about our uniformed forces?

We read in the papers about how the image of the police force was tarnished because of some incidents. About how the big people in the force made comments and promises that these should not have happened, and that they will be investigated and solved as soon as possible, and that a commission will be set up to handle this case or that case.. but in the end, it's just one of the typical things we see among Malaysians: all talk and no decisive action. I wonder what actually happened to all those commissions. Still investigating? Inactive? Dead? Too bad there's no weekly report that the general public can see to keep track of their progress.

It's lot of work to gain back the trust of the people, and as far as I can see, it's not going to happen. Ask around and you will hear all sorts of stories. Logically, it has to start from within. They will have to clean up their acts, get rid of the staff with bad records and negative influence, be professionals, be fully committed to their work and most important of all, to hold sacred the trust given by the people.

Still, the question remains: Dare we trust them anymore?

Wow! I'm actually mixed!

So yeah.. I'm actually mixed. And all this while I've thought of myself as pure Brunei (as in race, not nationality). Not that it's such a big deal, mind you.. but it's kinda nice to know that you're other than something you always believed your were. Hehehehe.. When I went back to my hometown over the last Christmas weekend, my brother told me that we actually have Bajau in our blood. Quite a surprise, actually.

Oh, in case you have not figured it out, I'm originally from Sabah. Brunei, Bajau and others like Kadazan, Dusun, Murut, Bidayuh and Bisaya are just some of the ethnic races (or what we call "bumiputra") native to Sabah. Indigenous, if you like. Which is probably why I don't look quite the normal Malay. But then, a lot of Malays are not pure-blooded anymore :)

Anyway.. I got my Brunei and Bajau blood from both of my parents. Brunei mostly from my grandfather (my dad's dad) - Pengiran Badaruddin Pengiran Matusin. Bajau from my dad's mom (Dayang Muarna) and my mom's dad (Haji Sarail bin Tarip). I forgot their full names. Hehehehe..

I've been wondering about the family tree for a long time now and I finally got my wish when my dad showed us the diagram. It's still incomplete but enough to show the key persons along the family line. And it was quite a revelation when I discovered that my mom is actually my second cousin. Hehehehe.. Apparently Dayang Muarna and Tarip are siblings. It's not uncommon that people got married within the family, some intentionally, some not. Although, according to my dad, it was my mom who first flirted with him.. sending him letters, food and stuff. Hahahahahaha.. I just loved it when my dad teased my mom about that in front of the family :) Oh, incidentally, last Christmas was their 34th wedding anniversary.

You might be wondering why I'm sort of fixated with this family thing. As I said, it's no big deal. I'm just curious because my dad told me that we are ultimately related to the royal family of Brunei. Now that's something, isn't it? :)

Oh, incidentally, if you have information on Pengiran Maulana Abdul Mumin, please get in touch with me.

This must be an epidemic

Okay.. so this is my kinda first attempt in the wonderful world of blogging. Everyone seems to have one, so I thought.. what the heck.. I might as well have one too. Hah!

I'll try to update this as frequent as possible. No promise there, of course. Hey, I am a busy person. Can't blame me for having a life now, can you? Hahahaha..