This Guy

So there's this one guy. He has a degree in engineering and a masters in economics from Strasbourg University. He's fluent in French, German and English.

So what does this guy do as a profession?

He's a football (soccer) manager of Arsenal FC. He's Arsene Wenger, to be exact. Just what are the odds...

This just comes to show the wide variety of things someone can do with an engineering degree.

I'm definitely putting 5 years of experience playing Football Manager in my resume!

Harga Minyak

I was really surprised to learn that today's gas price at Nashville is at a low $2.05/ gallon. Equivalently, it's RM1.95/L. How low is that?

Haa, Malaysia bile lagi? I don't recall Nashville offering the lowest gas price in the US. Thus there must be other places here with lower than that 2.05/gallon mentioned above. If the price of gas over here is that low, why can't Malaysia be lower, or heck, at least challenge that? Kata net exporter minyak?

And pasal harga barang? Don't even mention it..

Welcome to BolehLand!

Malaysia's Big 'Progress'

There's this one American guy who used to live in Malaysia back in 2001-2002 I know living in Nashville. He used to work as some kind of a tutor (if I'm not mistaken) back then. His name is Blayne Hall and most of the other Malaysian's here in Vandy know him.

Anyway, I was talking to him the other day and I asked him whether or not he has been back to Malaysia since he left in 2002. He said yes, he was just back last May. And so like anyone else who's ever been to a place repeatedly, he compared the difference between Malaysia then, and Malaysia now.

"Malaysia is a lot different now than it was back then," he said. For a moment there I felt proud. I thought he was going to complement on the development of Malaysia, I thought he was going to say something nice about the environment, about the cities, or heck, about the Malaysian people now.

How I was wrong. Because, this was what he said, "When I was in Sepang, I saw two Malaysian women, without head scarves, smoking by the side of the road. I never saw anything like that before. Maybe in Kl yes, but not anywhere else, not places like Sepang."

Wow. So much for the development of Malaysia. Is this where we're heading?

If so, SOS!

Obama Makes History

Hail to the chief! Barack Obama has made history by becoming the first black president of the United States of America. Officially taking office on January 20th 2009, he will be the 44th president of the country.


This win just shows that it has come a long way since the racial barriers days. Congratulations Obama.

"Change has come," he declared.

And it's off

The 2008 US Presidential Elections are over and now the vote counts start. As of the time I writing this, Barack Obama is leading the race. What ever the results, let's hope for the best of this country, because, whatever happens here, effects the whole world. Ameen.

Read live coverage here.

Game on, Liverpool!!

Now I don't write much about sports but since Liverpool recorded what was to be a historic win over Chelsea today at Stanford Bridge, I had to record this down. It was almost too good to be true, and surely, too big of a boost to not brag about.


The score line was just 1-0 Liverpool, but it really did reflect much of the game. Clear cut chances were few for both teams and much of the chances were half chances only. And Alonso's 10th minute strike was nowhere near pretty, but hey, they all count. And Chelsea may have created more chances and held more possession, but at the end of the day, it's the three points that matter. And today, it was Liverpool's day.

Going into this game, Chelsea were not beaten at home for 86 games. What a record that was, but as with all records, it was bound to be broken sooner or later. And it turned out that Liverpool happened to be that team.

So after 9 games into the season, Liverpool are still unbeaten. It's their most impressive start into the Premier League campaign under Rafael Benitez and the hype doesn't stop there. It was a genuine show of intent to win the FA Premier League from Liverpool for the first time since 1990. For now, it's two wins against two of the biggest teams in England. Game on, Liverpool!

Below $3 dollar gas prices

Surely, a long time coming! Welcome back <$3.00 gas prices. We surely missed you.

Trinity explained

How do you explain the concept of trinity? Well, this guy might just have the answer for you! Watch.



Thanks babe for sharing such amusing info. LOL.

Here's ten reasons why Jesus (PBUH) is not God.

The Third and Final US Presidential Debate

I didn't watch but the final 15 minutes of the third presidential debate live for two reasons. I forgot it was today, and second, I had other things going. But what a miss it was. Luckily, there's the internet, and with that, YouTube. For all you that missed out on that historical debate, here's part 1 on YouTube.



You can always catch more parts of that debate by following the proceeding links.

The debate turned out to be a platform for both presidential candidates to get really personal and attack each other and their policies. Read more here and here.

What I like most about politics in the US is the fact that it is done really professionally here, when compared to Malaysia. It's not something sacred, something you have to hide, something only for adults (not even for college students), or something personal. It's done in a really open and positive manner. Even kids get to have their fair share of the situation. Which is really good actually. It helps them gain awareness of the political situations going on, it's issues and it's candidates.

I remember in forth grade, our school used to subscribe to Time For Kids magazine which covers issues similar to the adult Time magazine, only that it discusses issues in a less complicated manner, easier for the kids to digest. And my class would discuss these issues after each edition. And sure enough, during the 1996 presidential election, we discussed the hot topic in class. And no, it didn't get bloody and personal.

Wanna see something else that's cool? Check this out. Kids are actually given the opportunity to ask the presidential candidates questions. Call them kids, but the questions asked aren't anywhere near childish. The questions asked regard health insurance, immigration, the war in Iraq, the economy and global warming. How awesome is that? And it doesn't stop there. Kids would later 'pick' their president by casting their votes here.

You won't find anything near this in Malaysia. Sadly, I have friends who have the slightest ideas of what's going on in Malaysia. Heck some don't even have the slightest interest in the topic. Isn't that funny? One way or another, politics will surely effect your life. Malaysia is your country too, isn't it? It's not just one man's future at stake, it is your future too to decide. Now I'm not attacking anyone here, but somethings gotta change. SOS.

Datuk Shahrukh Khan

No, not datuk as in grandfather. In case you haven't heard, you may be wondering why there's a 'Datuk' in front of Shahrukh Khan's name. Well guess what? He is a Datuk.

Absurd? You tell me!

The Bollywood heartthrob was awarded the Darjah Kemuliaan Seri Melaka which brings the title Datuk (equivalent to the British knighthood). The reasons? Well, here's what Datuk Seri Ali Rustam had to say.

Ya right. All Shahrukh Khan did was dance in front of the A' Famosa for a little while. As if that was enough to promote Melaka. As if the millions watching that movie would be asking where the shooting was held. Since A' Famosa would've been shot for nothing more than a few minutes (at most), I don't see why it would really help people know Melaka. And dancing in front of that monument definately doesn't merit a datukship. Heck, if that was the case, anyone can go dance in front of A' Famosa and post the video in Youtube. And plus, I don't think t was even his idea to dance in front of A' Famosa. For all it's worth, the credit should've gone to the director or producer of that film.

And if that's the case, many more celebrities should of been awarded the datuk. Chow Yun Fat for Anna and the King, Catherine Zeta Jones and Sean Connery for Entrapment, and Jakie Chan in Police Story to name a few.

No disrespect of any kind, but if the trend of giving out datuks to just about anyone is continued, the value of that honourable award would be no more. I thought the last incident when they gave a Datuk to Michelle Yeoh was funny enough, so this time is out of the roof hillarious. Heck, Shahrukh Khan didn't even attend the award giving ceremony. He probably had many more important things to do, or was simply just too embarrassed to even show up. I mean datuk? What is that?

I couldn't find the A' Famosa clip as mentioned above. But here's a clip from one 2 ka 4 in KL. Enjoy.

Rides to Scream for

Before I begin, let's get things straight. I am not a roller coaster guy. I'm not too fond of heights to say the least. Me and heights just don't go along well I guess.

Well anyway, I decided to spend last Saturday at Six Flags Over Georgia with the MSA. It was Muslim Family Day over there and I felt it would be a very nice experience to join in the fun. After all, the last I've been to Six Flags was a good 12 years ago. It's been a while. And no roller coaster rides for me back then.

But at 21 years old, you don't pay 25 bucks to go on the kiddy rides! So from the 6 rides we took, 4 were roller coasters.

Our first one, which we initially saw it as a warm up ride (the coaster seemed decent from afar), turned out to be not much of a warm up after all. The Mind Bender was actually the first triple loop coaster in America!

Then we took on Batman. I remember Abah riding that one over at Six Flags Great Adventure last time, and boy was he terrified. Lol. So now it was my turn. Basically you just hang on the coaster via the supporting at your chest, with your feet dangling in the air. And it sure was a blast.

Next up (after lunch) we rode 2 water rides, the Thunder River and Splash Water Falls. The former was similar to the Congo Rapids we rode over at Great Adventure, while Splash water falls was a real splash. We were soaked!

Then came the ultimate rides. As they say, save the best for last, and that was exactly what we did. First was Superman: The Ultimate Flight. You plunge face first through loops, swrils, and turns. Just look at it's affect on us! It was truely an almost flying experience!


Then the cream on the crop was Goliath. Just by its name, you know for sure its big. And it surely was. Standing at 200 feet and at a maximum speed of 70 mph, you can't ask for more. Just look at it:


And it's affect? Well, look for yourself.


Roller coaster rides seem to be an addiction. Once you've been on one, you want another. You just dare yourself for the extreme! For more photos of the trip, visit MSA flickr.

Just a reason why Malaysians athletes can't compete

I was on the treadmill in gym earlier today and there was this American guy running next to me. I realized that his pace (step wise) was the same as mine. Our steps were basically the same. And so I thought to myself, hey, I'm not doing that bad. But then I realized his treadmill speed. His was 7.2 (I don't know the units), mine was six.

No wonder Malaysian athletes can't compete!! :)

Flu Season

Tis the season to be flu-ish. fa la la la, la la la la....

The change of weather from summer to fall signals the coming of another season, the flue season. I've had the flu for over a week now, coughing, sore throat, and a running nose. What a way to raya!


So people, as we celebrate our own festive season, just mind the flu season as well. It's getting cold, so wear a jacket. Don't catch the flu, and surely, don't pass it.

EID MUBARAK!!

Eid Mubarak to everyone!! May you have a wonderful one no matter where you are!

	الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر
	لا إله إلا الله
	الله أكبر الله أكبر
	ولله الحمد

Raya here and there

Ramadhan will be leaving us again this year, tomorrow, as it did all those previous years, taking away all that extra offerings and barakah from The All Mighty with it. We never know if we'll breathe another day to meet with this holy month again next year. With that, what a shame it would be to those who didn't gain anything, whether it be Allah's mercy, barakah, or forgiveness, in this holy month. How sad it would be to be getting nothing other than hunger and thirst during such a blessed month.

But heads up people, we still have one more day of Ramadhan! So, insyaAllah, let's make the most of the final moments we have with Ramadhan. Tomorrow signals the last day of fasting for the majority of Muslims world wide, in Nashville included. 1 Syawal will fall on Wednesday, October the 1st.

It did struck me however, the fact that Muslims don't celebrate this glorious day together. My sister in UK for instance, is celebrating Eid tomorrow, on Tuesday, a day earlier than the most of us. Same is said of Saudi Arabia. Heck, I even heard the Kurdish community in Nashville is having theirs tomorrow.

Why is this so? I mean, Eid-ul Fitri besides Eid-ul Adha is two of the greatest, most glorious celebrations we have in the Muslim calender. The least that could've been done is assign the same date for the celebrations. Why differ from one place to another, from one organization to the other? The dating of 1 Syawal is year in and year out, the hottest discussion most of have towards the end of Ramadhan.

The two methods applied to determine the day is first, by lunar sighting. If that is impossible, then the calculation method is used. Saudi Arabia and other parts of the world celebrating tomorrow used the former method while the rest agreed to use the latter. Why is that we can't agree on one specific date? If someone claims to have witnessed the moon, why can't we all follow suite?

Is it a case of ignorance and ego? With one claiming to be the better than the rest? Are we to stubborn to agree with each other? What message are we sending out to the non-Muslims when we can't even have a consensus on one of our holiest day? Christians are able to celebrate Christmas on Dec 25 with no fuss. Why can't we? Where is the unity that we talk about?

One Eid throughout the world. Read what AMJA online had to say.

Ninja Cat

Watch this incredibly cute cat:

The Hurrican Effect

After being hit by two hurricanes, Gustav and Ike respectively, the havoc in the oil rich region has continued to effect many other parts of the US to this very day.

And as an immediate effect of both hurricanes, oil refineries in the Gulf of Mexico region were shut down and are yet to receive full power. Nashville receives 80% of it's oil supply (or gas as they pronounce it in the US) from that region. And thus, almost 80% Nashville's oil is supply is missing. The effect? Gas stations across Nashville have next to nothing gas. Most are seldom open, while some are open only for a while. And the price? At least 4 bucks a gallon. People are really finding it hard to fill their cars now.


Yesterday night a routine trip to Walmart by some friends turned sour when their car ran out of gas midway. And heck, there was no possible way to fill it up since all gas stations were out of gas! The car is now standard there some where. The moral of that story is never go anywhere without enough gas!

What's sad is that it's only been a week since the disaster in Texas. If the oil refineries can't be back and running sooner, God knows what will happen.

Luckily, my carmates had the initiative to fill our car full the night before gas ran out. So now, running on full tank, insyaAllah we'll be able to make it through this depressing time. As they say, sediakan payung sebelum hujan. But then again, who knows how long this upsetting time will last.

Zahid's Flaw

In the wake of the recent ISA arrests, Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department claimed that the detainees had to be blamed. He said that those detained had ignored past warnings and history when they chose to propagate disharmony in the society.

Being a former detainee himself, we must all think that this guys knows what he's taking. He defends the act since it's for the greater good.

Then came his flaw.

'He also lambasted those who wanted to use religious principles in justifying whether the ISA was Islamic or not, adding they must differentiate between criminal, civil and syariah laws.'

Er, mister, I thought syariah laws consist all, INCLUDING criminal and civil laws as well?

Read it here.

Politics of Fear

The Malaysian government runs on fuel propelled by politics of fear. They plant fear into the hearts of every Malaysian citizen so as to keep us voting for them. For if the country does fall into opposition's hands, as they say, all hell would break lose. Malaysia would be in total chaos. And heck, we don't want that.

But is it actually true? Is it really true that hell would break lose if Anwar were to make it into Putrajaya? Is he really planning to sell our beloved country to the US?


Be afraid, be very afraid!! That's always been the motto for our government for the good part of 51 years of independence. Why go for another government if this government is still ok? It's not like we're living in a backwards nation of some sorts. Hey, we used to have the tallest building in the world, you know! And in KLIA (even though rather empty), we own one of the biggest and most beautiful airports you could find. The Sepang circuit, Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, man into space, bla...bla.. The list of our achievements just goes on. We have had our moments in history. So why root for a change when it is obvious we are living in a moderate, developing and comfortable country as it is today?

But than again, all this is just too familiar. I've heard commotions similar to these before. Ahh, now I remember. I read these almost same exact lines from my secondary school history books. Yes, true indeed. Have they forgotten that some half a decade ago, these were the same exact lines that came out of people who didn't want independence from the British? People who would rather stay safe and sound in the hands of the British rather than run a government of their own. People who were too afraid to change, to move on, too selfish, and were all too comfortable living in their own comfort zones. Luckily we had people who cared back then, people like Tun Abd Rahman, Dato' Onn Jaafar, and Dr. Burhanuddin Al-Helmy. Later UMNO was formed, and with that, the Alliance Party, and together they 'fought' hand in hand to gain independence from British. UMNO back then was brave, intelligent, and sincere. But, ironically and sadly, it is the same party that is now sitting back too comfortably, selfish, and plain ignorant.How things change..


I remember attending a dinner by Yayasan Terengganu a month ago intended for overseas students who were back home for the summer and basically, it was an 'ada udang disebalik batu' kinda thing. After the dinner (luckily I left the room) all they did was campaign against Anwar's proposed revolution. This Exco Pendidikan guy gave the speach, and one of his many ridiculous points I heard was (and I quote), "Anwar is doing nothing more than selling the country to the US. And the US, as they are, will never want to see any other country develope. So, if Anwar does succeed in his mission to become they next PM, Malaysia will be in total chaos. And you guys studying overseas, I heavily doubt will be able to come back to Malaysia. The government (amid the destruction) will have no money to take you guys back. Now I hardly believe that anyone out that is gonna buy that, but what irritates me, besides the lousy food they served in the hotel, is the hypocritical stance the government is taking. They tell students not to get involved in politics, to stay away from it, and to those who fail to oblige will be dealt with seriously,i.e. sponsorship stripped etc. Then again, they're the ones giving out those 'free dinners'.

And this whole ISA thing? Yup, just another tactic to struck fear in people's hearts.


The recent arrest of Raja Petra, Teresa Kok, and the Chinese reporter, Tan Hoon Cheng demonstrates just that. All of the above were detained under ISA for spreading/reporting racial comments to the media. Home Minister, Dato' Hamid Albar later claimed that Tan Hoon's arrest (under ISA) was more of a safety measurement taken because she had recieved death treats. You can however read the 18 hour ISA detainee's experience here. Dato' Ahmad Ismail, former Bukut Bendera UMNO division chief wasn't arrested after claiming that the Chinese were merely 'penumpang' in Malaysia, as he had already been punished by UMNO. Don't get me wrong, but arresting somebody under ISA to 'protect' the them seems absurd (read here) and not arresting another for the same violations seems pilih kasih.

Surely people would think twice before ever daring to go against the government. Or is it? After these recent arrest, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim resigned from his post as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department as a sign of protest against the ISA. Now that's really brave and well worth noting. He stood by his stance and belief even though the it would've been so much easier to just keep quite. He was, by all means, already a minister! So what's next for Zaid? We'll see.

So that's that. Malaysian's fear factor is the government itself. So let's rid of it, shall we? And if it does turn out that this newly proposed government is worse than the one we currently have, we can always repent come 4 years. Come on, there's nothing to lose!

Ike Hike

Hurricane Ike, with winds 110 mph, was not only affecting the Texas region it hit, but the whole of USA. Oil prices, as of yesterday night, climbed back to it's all time high of $4/gallon.

It's still a bit too early to declare the damage caused by this category 3 hurricane, but this $4/gal oil price can still possibly go up. I heard rumors last night that the price can go up to $5/gal (mentioned here also), but then again, it's rumors. Oil price will surely depend on how long it will take to get oil refineries back on its feet after the almost direct hit. The hurricane hit region, produces nearly 1/4 of the nation's oil.

Read more here.

Err, Pardon Me? I don't get you!

Would somebody please (you can see I'm begging here) translate this for me! I have the slighest understanding of this text. However my limited knowledge does tell me it's in English, even with all those misspells and grammar mistakes. Heck it was published in NST, so it MUST be English!

So here's the text I was talking about, which Lim Kit Siang copied in his blog.

HONORARY DEGREE AWARD
7TH CONVOCATION CEREMONY UNIVERSITY TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
TO
YANG AMAT MULIA RAJA ZARITH SOFIAH BINTI ALMARHUM
SULTAN IDRIS AL-MUTAWAKIL ALALLAHI SHAH
D.K.II, S.P.M.J., S.P.C.M.

Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith Sofiah binti Almarhum Sultan Idris Al-Mutawakil Alallahi Shah has born on 14th of August 1959 in Hospital Batu Gajah, Perak. Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith is a third son to Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Sultan Perak Darul Ridzwan and Duli Yang Maha Mulia Raja Mazuwin binti almarhum Raja Arif Shah.

Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith Sofiah get early education in Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Datin Khadijah Kuala Kangsar in the state his birthplace namely in Perak. After end of the education in primary school, Yang Amat Mulia continue the education to form one at Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Raja Perempuan Kalsom Kuala Kangsar, Perak.

In the month of September 1972, Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith Sofiah have set forth to England for further education in Chaltenham Ladies College, Gloucestershire to form six. Then, Yang Amat Mulia continue learning it in Davies College London in September 1977 and his following year in receive enter to Somerville College, London after having passed Oxford Entrance Examination.

After graduated at Oxford University with Bachelor of Art in June 1983 and follow the traditional University of Oxford, Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith will receive Master of Art after three years in 1986. Yang Amat Mulia also is a linguist follow several courses including language Mandarin at the tertiary level, French and Italy language.

As his father, Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith Sofiah is a person that talented in picture arts. Refinement of soul, Yang Amat Mulia always watching natural beauty environment immortalize in the form photograph and painting to make look and reference. Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith performance become guide to deliver the message education to general public. Yang Amat Mulia concern on women and natural world and it custody aspect in become deep theme in painting.

Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith Sofiah comply have interest profoundest field documentation. Apart from producing book, Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith doubled up guest writer in the The New Straits Times newspapers and in personal column it “Mind Matters” in The Star newspaper. Besides writing, Yang Amat Mulia comply active presenting a working paper at the conference national level and international.

Education from her father and mother over concern to the people, make Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith Sofiah likes engaged in voluntary activities about as Deputy President of Majlis Wanita Johor (ROSE), Chief of Persatuan Pandu Puteri Malaysia Johor branch, Chairman of Nationalistic Community Service Red Crescent Malaysia, Patron of Spastic Children School in Johor Bahru, Patron Rotary Club of Tebrau Foundation, Advisor of Traditional Arts School International in London and become Pro Chancellor University Technology Malaysia (UTM) and becomen Royal Felllow Faculty of Language and Linguistic University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

As the appreciation towards her contributions of ideas and efforts in the development of education in Malaysia, Chancellor of University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Duli Yang Amat Mulia Tunku lbrahim lsmail lbni Sultan lskandar, Tunku Mahkota Johor, has approbation to presented the awards to Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith Sofiah binti Almarhum Sultan Idris Al-Mutawakil Alallahi Shah the Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy in Education at 7th Convocation Ceremony of University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia in this year. Congratulation from us, University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia members.

This is the text as published by NST.

If you're curious what the heck this low quality work is, read here and here.

Golly, whose awfully poor work was that?

What the Heck?!

I was reading across the internet today and came to this article in Berita Harian dating before the Permatang Pauh by election (yes it's quite old). It's about Arif Shah believing that he would be getting luck in that election because of the date and some related numbers. Read it here.

What the heck? Never thought there were still some Muslims believing in such khurafat. Boy was he wrong!

Anwar wins big time

Keputusan tidak rasmi pilihan raya kecil Permatang Pauh menunjukkan DS Anwar Ibrahim menang besar. The majority was more than 15000.


Read more here.

So what's BN got to say? Tan Sri Pandikar Amin recently announced that the winning candidate doesn't necessarily have to be sworn into office right away. He said the winning candidate can opt to go for a holiday or even an umrah if he wants to.

Dewan Rakyat is currently assembling to discuss the 2009 budget this Friday. Is this just an accuse to prevent Anwar from debating then?

Stay tuned for the official announcement.

Hello America

Just reached Vanderbilt at around 10 am. Class starts.

So Long Malaysia

I'm going back to the US today at 3.15 local time. I would go back to Vanderbilt University as a senior, and insyaAllah, if all goes to plan, I'll be back come 10 months, in June that is.

Till then, sayonara Malaysia!

Jihad Here and There

Jihad, as we all know it, means to struggle or strive. In the general Islamic context, jihad usually refers to striving in the way for Allah.

We've seen many declarations of jihad in the world. We have or have had jihad in Afghanistan and Iraq against the Americans, jihad in Palestine against Israel, jihad in Chechnya against the Russians, in India and many other parts of the world. Take note that these jihads were very big ones indeed, against the enemies of Islam.

But recently, we had a jihad declaration here in our beloved Malaysia. Unbelievable? Believe it! Wanita UMNO, through it's deputy chief, Datu' Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil declared a jihad war against DSAI in the Permatang Pauh by election. Sure it is, Shahrizat. :) Don't you just love wannabes?

Read full story here.

Berat Mata Memandang, Berat lagi Bahu Memikul

Roughly it means, by merely looking we know it's heavy, but it's heavier on the person carrying the task. Something like that.

This idiom suites perfectly well with the voters of Permatang Pauh. They are literally carrying the whole nations cries and pleas on their backs. Whomever they vote for in the August 26 by election wouldn't effect just their kawasan, but the nation as a whole. This by election isn't just about themselves anymore.

If they feel that the general public wishes for a revolution or reformation, then obviously they have to vote for the one bringing that change, which in this case is Anwar Ibrahim. For if they do vote for Anwar Ibrahim, there seems to be no stopping him from conquering Putrajaya. He will make it to office.

But however, if they feel that the rakyat isn't ready for such dramatic shift of power, then vote for BN's candidate, who ever that might be. Guess we'd have to wait till 16 August to know for sure.

Just look at the scale of responsibility on their shoulders. The game is in your hands now, Permatang Pauh. It's your vote that matters.

My Sister's a Mrs!

I know this is more than just overdue, but here it is. This is the blogpost some have been waiting for, and here, I oblige. This is the blogpost that will insyaAllah, cover sedikit sebanyak my sister's wedding on the 2nd of August, 2008.

The akad nikah was preformed by my father, and my uncle was nice enough to sponsor a professional photographer. Well frankly, he was the photographer. Sedikit iklan/promote: Here's his site: Preety peektures. Photos previewed here are of my own, but the photos from the preety peektures will be uploaded once they are processed. Click on the pictures to get the real size image.

The groom, Tg. Abdul Kadir

My sis

The three scrooges

The mother

Abah performing the akad

Bersantai...

Aneka hantaran

I didn't get as many good snaps as I wanted. My views were always blocked by someone.. Argh, tension. haha. oh well, enjoy them!

TV1 yg Purba Kala

I don't have ASTRO installed in my house here in Terengganu, so sadly, I had to watch the live broadcast of the Olympics opening ceremony on TV1.

And I say sad for a reason. The broadcast was horrible! I could hardly make out the colors in tv. Each time there were bright colors, that color would cover the whole screen, making the details impossible to see. And it's not my tv!


It's disappointing indeed that TV1 were given the license to broadcast such an event. The Olympics is no doubt the most watched sports tournament in the world. TV1 clearly doesn't have the right technology to do such a thing. Their system is probably the same one used ages ago. Being the first television in Malaysia, it's a shame they haven't been able to develop.

And their commentators? Don't even mention that. They're embarrassing. Hasbullah Haji Awang is his name, and he is probably the sole RTM commentator. He's pathetic. He's always mixing up names, giving out wrong information, and know little about the sports he comments. And the fact that he's the commentator of every sport broad casted doesn't help at all.

So this guy Hasbullah was the co-commentator for the opening ceremony (I have no doubt he'll be commenting most of the sports later though), he had somebody else helping him. Never mind the fact they couldn't recognize some leaders/kings of respective countries as they were shown on tv, they couldn't even recognize some popular sports people. They failed to announce Taufik Hidayat (badminton) of Indonesia and Rafael Nadal (tennis) of Spain. Heck, they couldn't even pronounce the country names right! They failed to pronounce Mauritania on two attempts, pronouncing it as Marushina once. Lithuania was pronounced Lithuana.

Apart from the faults of RTM, the Olympics opening ceremony was great! The performances were extraordinary, matching the greatness of the Bird's Nest where it was held. What was even better was the sight of Palestine as a country. Even Iran was there as well.

One world, one dream. Go!

Boring Friday Sermon

I attended the Friday sermon at Masjid Terapung today and I must admit, the sermon was really, really boring!

As with many other mosque in BN's controlled states, Masjid Terapung's sermon had to be based solely on prepared text. So as accordance to Hari Pahlawan/Patriot's Day on the 31st of July, the title of the sermon was something like, "Memperingati Hari Pahlawan". Or Merai, or something close to that matter, I don't really remember.

Now don't get me wrong, I have the highest respect dan menyanjung tinggi mereka semua. Without their brave hearts, what would have become of Malaysia. They sacrificed a lot for their future generations, even though it meant they wouldn't live to see them. Portuguese, Holland, the Brits and Japan all witnessed first hand our patriots' courage and strength. Hats down to them all!


But why the Friday sermon? Of all places, why there? Heck, the audience wasn't even right. Old men who were incapable physically and small boys who couldn't even understand the sermon all together. And the sermon asked people to be always prepared to give it all to the country.How could these group of people do that? Schools would be a much better location for such speech.

And not to mention, in a list of steps taken by the government to help patriots, the khateeb didn't forget to mention about sending kuih-muih raya to armed forces stationed overseas. Wow, what a contribution!

I remembered a few years back when I atended a Friday sermon at a masjid in KL. The title: How to prevent Aides mosquitoes. Now khateebs even act as health directors! Fuh, I never knew.

The step to enforce khateebs to read prepared text, if I'm not mistaken, was taken to prevent political 'smelling' sermons at masjeed. But how many masjeeds were actually giving politic sermons were there? If any, it was only one or two PAS masjeeds. Most PAS masjeeds I attended have actually offer political free sermons.

The PAS masjeed behind Sekolah Menengah Sains Dungun's Friday sermon was really first class. The khateeb had a very 'lantang' voice. His eyes were moving from corner to corner, as if he were looking to every attendee in the eye. His grasp on the 'tongkat' was really tight, as if his life depended on it. And he was talking very enthusiastically, which in turn made us enthusiastic just by listening. It was very enjoyable.

This contradicts with khateebs in government controlled mosques. The khateeb is slightly above lifeless. They grasp the tongkat lightly, and hardly look at anyone. And the sermons, well, as above. Hence, the sermon was nothing more and nothing less than a boring speech by the Khateeb.

Political Diversions

We're seeing two very different diversions in quick successions. Whist one is very clever, the other one is a very cheeky one indeed.

The first one has got to be the announcement by Wan Azizah that she would step down as MP of Permatang Pauh to give way for her husband, DS Anwar Ibrahim to take over the seat. Anwar earlier diverted the government's attention towards Bandar Baru Kulim and Bandar Tun Razak by declaring the possibility of contesting a by-election there. Habis government tumpu belah2 sana, only to be deceived embarrassingly. Smart move, Anwar!

The second diversion. The announcement that Anwar will be charged in court this Thursday for the alleged sodomy case. What a coincidence! What bad timing! What DIVERSION! What the heck are they thinking? Do they think they can lie straight to our face? Do they we're blind and stupid enough to not know there's 'shrimp behind the rock'? What a desperate move. And I thought they knew better! Oh how I was wrong!

RAPID KL not so Rapid

Over the past 2 months, I've been a frequent user of the Rapid KL bus service. I use it almost 10 time a week back and forth from KL Sentral to SIRIM Shah Alam. If anything, I know how it is like using it's service.

Sure, at first glance, it's got class. It's main attraction is the air conditioning, two tv sets, well maintained interiors and relatively cheap bus fares. You can use the same 2 ringgit ticket for the whole day! Of course it's only merely a rival for the Metro bus they have in Nashville, but hey, it's getting there. But comparison is only as far as the bus conditions. For the service they offer, well, they have a long way to go.

I can easily say that even after using the service for two months (June-July) I am not totally sure what the bus frequency is. They say a bus every 15-20 minutes, but my average waiting period is at least half an hour, and there were cases, i.e. more than once, where I had to wait for an hour or so.

Is it?

And then there's the rudeness issue. Rapid KL bus conductors are known for their rudeness. Well actually there are some of those nice and kind few, I don't want to rule them out. These ruder ones are known to sometimes skip a bus stop and just speed off, leaving disappointed consumers standard. It's as usual as getting a bus on time. In the pass two months, I've experienced this a few times already.

On one occasion, as I was on my way to Shah Alam, this particular Chinese woman wanted to board the bus to Kelang. Before boarding, twice she asked the bus driver whether the bus goes there, and the driver twice said no. Being an old lady like she was, she didn't hear the replies and stepped onto the bus and asked again. This time other passengers replied no as well. But even before she was able to step off the bus, the bus started to move. The poor old lady lost her balance and fell. Poor lady. Bad driver.

Their reasoning for the frequent delays are because of unexpected traffic jams. What an excuse. Don't tell me that after being in service for more than 2 years and still can't predict the traffic?

Rapid KL buses are also over crowded. Severely over crowded, especially during rush hours. With the sky rise of oil prices, it's obvious that people would prefer to take public transport as a mean of transportation. Buses included. So it would be really, really helpful if they can increase the number of buses and hence, increase the frequency. After all, I remembered the government once promised to allocate more funds towards public transport due to this oil price increase. But when?

I've also come to know that sometimes the touch n' go cards in the buses malfunction. T n' G cards are supposed to make ticket transactions faster, but these malfunctions retard the process all together. Users of these cards are even asked to take the next bus in hope the card readers work. This is just some inconvenience examples 'offered' by Raopid KL.

A Land Called Paradise

Listen to this very good nasyeed from Kareen Salama.

Friendly Friendster

I realized that nowadays, that it's become a trend to use photos people put up on Facebook/ Friendster and publish it here and there. We saw it happen to a certain Saiful. Yesterday, Malay Mail publish a photo of a guy whose girl friend was killed after trying to escape from her parents condo using ropia rope. And the photo was grabbed from Friendster. (Sorry for not being able to recall the guys name and linking that Malay Mail article. Can't find them on the net, but here's the story)

Some people say doing so is an invasion of privacy. Others argue that since it's put up on the internet, it's for everyone to see, and becomes public property.

Which ever side you're on, next time you plan to do something 'big', make sure you delete your photos. Unless you plan to be famous that is!

Power Sharing

I was really surprised when I learned Pak Lah announced that UMNO has held three talks with PAS after the general election. More so after he confirmed that the first meeting was held to discuss a possible power sharing deal between PAS and UMNO in Selangor. PAS would be even be given the Menteri Besar role.

What a deal! Such deals remind me of America's puppet government they have in Iraq and Afghanistan. It would be exactly that if PAS were to share power with UMNO. PAS would be tied on strings and be pulled and twitched every here and there. Just like that guy.


Thank you for your 'generous' offer. But no thanks. We would rather pull our own strings. We would survive, even better, too!

First Class Stupidity

When you have first class stupidity, there's no beating you. You are the MAN!!!

Recently, Pak Lah announced that Terengganu were allowed to use the Mercedes E200 kompressor, but not for the use of the exco. Those Mercs, are only to be used by their foreign dignitaries. Read here and here.

So all 14 cars, worth RM3.43 million, will be used only by those visitors to the state.

No disrespect, but will there be a need to use all 14 cars at once? Will there ever be a time when that many people come to the state, all at once? I surely doubt that. Allocating 2-3 cars for that purpose would be more than enough, but allocating 14 is some what a waste. The cars will be let to rot if not used.

And now, what will be the next move of Terengganu? Will they buy new Perdana V6's or simply use their 'old' ones instead? We'll see.

If true that the previous Perdana's were old and the need to change cars is there (DAP penang didn't change cars after going into office) ,I honestly believe that it would be wise to sell all but save 2-3 Mercs for the use of foreign dignitaries visiting the state. Then buy new Perdana units. I'm sure they'll be saving money doing so. But that's just my ten cent opinion.

Update on Terengganu Merc Purchase

The issue goes on about the purchase of 14 Mercedes E200 Kompressor by Terengganu state government. Many have been critical of the obvious over jolly expenditures of the state.

And heck, adding salt to the wound, the money used for the purchase was our very own tax money. We worked hard for the money, and we fulfilled our duty to the government by paying our taxes, only for them to be used extravagantly and unnecessarily. While they enjoy the cruise of their luxurious rides, we the people pay the burden by driving an old squeaking Dutson, or worse yet, driving nothing at all.

And the timing of the purchase couldn't get any worse. Right in the middle of all this oil crisis when prices of everything is looming sky high. When the majority of us had to adapt our life styles to accommodate the change. When businesses collapse and some of us with less to eat. While we became desperate, they become jolly. Here and there they say they are sincere in finding a way to help raise the burden on the people's shoulders. This purchase surely doesn't help the cause.

Even if Protos Perdana cars are that bad, why go for the E200? Surely there are other safer cars equipped with airbags in the market right? If Japanese cars like Accord or Camry or not a choice, why not the Peugeot 407 for instance? Or a C Class Mercedes? Why, are they not class enough?


And what did state Commerce, Industry and Environment committee chairman, Toh Chin Yaw had to say about all this commotion? "I don’t see why the procurement was made an issue.''

What a care-less jerk. And they say they cared about us.

Between Rallys and Road Blocks

Which would you prefer?

These two events have really been synonym to one another. Where there's a rally, there's a road block. Erm, correction there. It should actually read, whenever there's even a slight twitch of a call for rally, there'll be dozens of road blocks. That's more like it.

Road blocks are set up by the police kononnye to prevent these rallies from taken place. Kononnye ia menggangu ketenteraman awam. So, as a step to prevent this unwanted event, road blocks are set in every corner of the city.


As a result? Massive traffic jams. Jams that would take hours to subside. And war zone like sceneries. They barb wire places and carry guns, much a view you would associate with Palestine and Afghanistan (no disrespect to those countries). And they do this for days, most recently, for three days!

Where as rallies may also cause a little stir on the roads, but only on roads near to/leading to the rally point.And the jams only last the duration of the rally (a day at most).


Fact is, the uneasiness and discomfort the police road blocks cause the greater public is far worse than that brought by rallies. The police are like 'bagai tikus membaiki labu' when it comes to dealing with rallies. So why bother? Even if (although very untrue) road blocks bring the same amount of displeasure to the people as do rallies, at least in rallies you can get your voice heard.

People are familiar with prank calls to fire fighters. Every once in a while, some nut head would go out and call the fire department and report a 'fire', just for the fun of it. Datang la satu angkatan bomba just to find out there was actually no fire. Kesian abang2 bomba.

Well, guess what? Now, you can actually make prank rally calls to the police. Ya! Just cry 'rally' in your blog and surely police would hold up road blocks to 'prevent' them. Yup, it's that simple. And you don't even have to be anyone particular to try it out. And the deal doesn't stop here. You can even be anywhere on the planet! It's no joke. Just look at what happen over a week ago. You should give it a try!

New blog gadget

I just found a new blog gadget. Now visitors to my blog can search videos on You Tube straight from here. It's below the shout out box. How cool is that? Or am I just being 'darat'?

Terengganu and Mercedes

Recently, our distinguished Menteri Besar decided that it was time to part with their Proton Perdana V6 Exclusive and buy some Mercedes E200 Kompressor instead. And by some, I mean 14, with a total cost of RM3.43 million. The cars were to be the formal cars for exco officers, state assembly speaker, secretary, legal adviser and finance officer of the state of Terengganu.

So why did Mr. Ahmad Said buy these cars? Easy, read the answers here as reported by The Star.

Swoish! There goes Ahmad Said..

Please don't judge this action at first glance, for our ever so kind MB here had very 'pure' intentions. The move actually can cut cost in the long run, the MB says. As you see, the MB, from all his vast amount of wisdom, has determined that RM 3.43 million is actually much lesser than RM 2.03 million (if he were to buy new Perdanas instead, ~145k each). His knowledge in mathematics must be far superior than us, else how do you explain this logic? This guy here is probably able to make calculations in other dimensions.

And the Perdana's he says, coughs up a lot of money in maintaining them, and that to maintain a Merc is far cheaper. Yup, can you believe that? I was really surprised when I read the news. I never knew that maintaining a Perdana would be so costly, even though you can easily buy Proton spare parts anywhere in Malaysia for a cheap price. I don't think you can buy Merc parts that easily. Heck, my father used to own a Perdana (not even V6 exclusive), and he used to up and down between KT, KB and KL all the time. He never mentioned of the expensive maintenance cost.

And our MB even came up with an example of this. He says that the Proton Perdana of state Commerce, Industry and Environment committee chairman Toh Chin Yaw, which has twice undergone expensive repairs costing RM50,000 within 36 months. So, if that large sum had to be spent on all 14 cars over the duration of 4 years, this would sum up to RM700k. Our rough eyes and limited knowledge says that 2.03 million + 700000 is still less than 3.43 million, but hey, that's why our knowledge is limited. So again, don't question that.

"We are far-sighted," the MB admits. So to all those not-so-far-sighted people out there, if you ever feel like buying a car to keep for 4 years, word of advice from MB, go for the cheap Mercedes E200 kompressor. And it also cuts a few bucks on oil, too.

Speaking of which, Ahmad Said is acting in accordance to what Pak Lah has told us to, i.e. change our life styles. He has actually changed his life style for the better! Bravo MB, may your wisdom enlighten us all.

The money used in the purchase is in fact not that from the state's royalty. In other words, the money used is from tax payers. But alas, that's ok. How else can we contribute to our leaders if not by giving them our money? They need to live luxuriously, and be able to travel comfortably, else they won't be able to function to their full extent in their honorable duties to help the people of Terengganu. Takpe kalau kite hidup bersederhana or miskin, asalkan orang2 besar dapat hidup mewah. That's always been the governments motto.

Terengganu, bandar raya warisan persisir pantai

Oh, and the fact that even the PM and DPM have Perdana's as their formal cars is nothing. Kata Terengganu maju, bandar raya lagi tu. So kereta pon kene lah maju, seriring dengan kemajuan Terengganu itu sendiri. Ta begitu? Now who dares to question the 'kemajuan' of Terengganu, when even our exco's ride in Merc?

Balek KB lagi

So last weekend was my fourth time going back to Kota Bharu over the past 2 months. I've made myself so familiar with Kb, that for the first time, I was able to drive my way back and forth from some notable places in the town.

I went back to KB this time following my dad as he had to distribute my sister's wedding cards to some relatives and friends there. Initially we wanted to depart from Sg. Buloh as early as 1 am Saturday morning, but over slept meant we had to postpone it till 9.30 am. And I drove all the 7 hours, stopping for bathroom twice and for lunch. That was by far the longest distance I drove single handily.

This time around, Alhamdulillah, there were no more tragic accidents. However, the pick of my stay in KB this time was that I had my first taste of durian for the first time in at least 5-6 years!hehe..I actually ate durian, and not just 1, but 3! My aunts and uncles had been persuading me all along to have a taste of the durians from my grandfather's orchard. We easily get 100 durians a day and the durians are said to be of the highest quality, durians you won't be able to find anywhere else.

They persuaded me to an extent they even asked me to join them durian picking, which I reluctantly followed. We got two big buckets full of them. And once back, they persuaded me some more, saying how much I was missing out on the taste. The temptation was there, and pretty soon, I bucked under the power of persuasion and tried two pieces of it. Then after that, they urged me to try another piece, this time from one so called durian raja. Durians are said to be the kings of fuits, and this durian, is the king of all durians, they say. Lol. Again I bucked. And it took me almost half an hour to finish them!


Here's my review. The first two were ok. They didn't taste as bad, but not good either. Surely not something I would go craving for and go crazy after. But I could accept the taste. However, the durian raja, despite all what was said about it, for me tasted really bad! I couldn't accept that after taste, and had to hold myself from throwing up. It was one of those nightmares!

So that was my story for the weekend. Btw, this is the last week of my two month internship at SIRIM.

Anwar Arrested

Speculation about Anwar being arrested today is proven to be true when a hand full of masked police arrested him at his house compound earlier in the afternoon. He was earlier in Putrajaya to give statements to ACA. Upon arriving his house, he was detained.

Read news here (Malaysiakini) and here (CNN). What will happen next? We'll see, but surely, a repeat of '98 is on the cards.

Mr. Bling-bling

I couldn't stop myself from blogging about this picture when I saw it. At first glance, I counldn't really recognize this super star. Mistaken it for some black rapper.


Guess who's our Mr. Bling-bling here.

Ronaldinho.

Anwar- Shabery Debate

Yesterday night I (as with many other Malaysians did) watched the historical debate between DS Anwar Ibrahim and Dato' Ahmad Shabery Cheek. The title of the debate was, 'Today we form the Government, Tomorrow we reduce fuel prices'. And what a debate it was, if you're on Anwar's side, that is. For if you were supporting the government, well, let's just say it didn't really go according to plan.


Such was the 'defeat' of the government, that the debate coverage even failed to reach the front page of local mainstream newspapers (mind you, this is a historical event!). And when they did cover the story some pages down, oh how they manipulated the story well. NST read 'Shabery Stands his Ground Against Anwar', and it's onine version read, 'Anwar-Shabery live TV debate ends with no clear winner' Read it here. I failed to find the coverage in BH or Utusan.

Of course the organizers didn't proclaim the clear cut winners. There need not be one, for it was not about who wins. It was about getting the message across. It was about being able to converse the message to the people. It was about telling the people the truth. This is not PPM.

Any clear mind would have noticed the inability of the Information Minister to reply to most of the questions thrown by the opposition. He failed to find an answer, and at times seemed to be at a lost for words. He ended up attacking Anwar, instead, accusing of the latter this and that. Anwar on the other hand, despite starting a bit slow, picked up his pace along the way and talked very confidently, conveying the message clearly for everyone to hear. His words were precise, and he didn't stray away from the main agenda of the debate (unlike his opposition).

Of all the negative effects this debate had upon the government, one consolation can not be denied. The government has to note that should former Infromation Minister, Zam Mydin was to retain this position after the general election, this debate could've been far worse. For if it was him, fuhh.... 'We are not like Burma, we are not like Pakistan' lah. Unimaginable.

Here's to show what the general public thought of the debate. A poll conducted by mSTAR.com, at which Shabery's vote in declining every second. lol. Read the full story of the debate here.

For those who missed the live broadcast, you should be able to watch it on youtube.

Back to Square One

My fellow intern friends here at SIRIM finished their training last Friday.

Now I'm back eating alone in the cafe.

Rantau Panjang Trip

A word of advice: don't let the duty free title of Rantau Panjang deceive you! If you ever plan to go to Rantau Panjang, please conduct a thorough survey of the prices of things at other places, namely Kota Bharu for instance. And make sure you're a good bargainer!

This is because if you are not aware of the prices of things in Kota Bharu, the people at Rantau Panjang would sell to you at quite a high price, as my previous experience proved. Especially if you're an outsider. And these people at Rantau Panjang are great actors indeed! They'll lie straight in your face saying that they offer the lowest price, and you'll easily fall for them.

So to play it safe, it's better to just buy things at Kota Bharu. Even Klantanese buy their stuff at Kota Bharu. Even if you're a good at bargaining prices, I doubt it'll be worth the few ringgit you save, considering the one hour drive from Kota Bharu adding to the oil price increase. Not to mention Kastam. They'll take a 10% tax for your goods.

But anyway, it was a fun experience indeed. It's been 2 years since I last met my elder sister, and it was fun spending the time on the road trip, all of us. We teased each other and shared jokes, and even Mak wasn't spared. But teasing the bride to be was the funniest of all! Heck we won't be able to do much of that anymore once she ties the knot in 3 weeks time.

Walimatul Urus

Here, I'd like to invite all my friends to come to my elder sister's wedding on the 2nd of August, 2008.


And here's the direction to my house. hehehe..


If anything, you can always contact me on my number, ym, email, or heck, even on Friendster. And by all means, do come!!

So You Don't Want PAS, eh?

I was on the bus ride back home from Sirim the other day when I overheard (yes I was ear dropping) the bus driver talking with this passenger about the new Selangor Government which is under PKR and Barisan Rakyat. Both sounded their displeasure about it and were discussing the negative part of this new government.

I didn't really make out what they said as I wasn't paying much attention. However, that discussion brought me back memories of a few years back when I was still in Science Dungun (probably form 4).

I was riding a taxi back to Dungun after this holiday break. At that time, Terengganu was still under PAS rule. The taxi driver and the guy sitting next to him were discussing their disgust at that government saying this and that. They were also name calling and cursing at the same time. The funny part was, after driving for like 1/2 hour, the driver stopped his car and both men got out. Where did they go? To buy lottery numbers, of course! My inner self giggled.

So you don't like PAS, eh? Truth is, I don't really think PAS would mind!

Err, do I sound stupid?

Yes you do, honorable Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, our Home Minister.

This is taken from Malaysiakini:

Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar mendakwa sikap Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yang suka meminta bantuan Amerika Syarikat dan negara luar mendorong kuasa besar itu sanggup mencampuri urusan Malaysia.

"Saya tidak pernah mengatakan dia pengintip. Dia yang melaporkan dan memang benar Amerika suruh kita (Malaysia) berhenti penyiasatan (tuduhan liwat). Inilah buktinya dan kalau dia fikir betul itu hak dialah," kata menteri dalam negeri.

First of all, America was merely giving it's opinion regarding the sodomy allegations. I don't believe they wanted to interfere with Malaysian business. This is in fact emphasized when Tom Clasey said when asked by the press,"......Malaysian police are supposed to be investigating this accusation. I think you can talk to them as to the status of that (the sodomy charges).

Oh, enough of the 'melapor' crap. The news was all over the world in a matter of minutes. And heck, it was a reporter that asked Tom Clasey the question regarding Anwar, which prompted his answer. It wasn't the Government's main agenda to talk about it.

And as far as my understanding of the English language goes, I don't see the part in Tom Clasey's speech where he asked Malaysia to stop the investigations against Anwar. Then again, probably Syed Hamid's understanding is better than mine, where he is able to decipher a secret message in that speech. Right?

Finally, the US only said that it opposed 'any use of law enforcement or judicial procedures for anything other than legitimate purposes of the law.' In other words, the US will oppose only IF the allegations were politically driven. So why should Malaysia be so upset? It's not like the allegations were politically motivated, right?

p/s: Please people, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Dato' Syed Hamid is stupid. He's a very intelligent man, else he wouldn't be a minister. But we all make silly mistakes every once in a while which consequently make us look stupid. That makes us human.

Bapa-bapaku!!

Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj: Bapa Kemerdekaan/Bapa Malaysia

Tun Abdul Razak: Bapa Pembangunan

Tun Hussein Onn: Bapa Perpaduan

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad: Bapa Pemodenan Malaysia

Dato' Seri Abdullah Badawi: Bapa ________________

Fill in the blank. Use your imagination

Bala Missing

It was reported that Balasubramaniam, arguably one of the most popular Indian figures in Malaysia after declaring two SD's in 24 hours, has gone missing.

The PI's nephew R. Kumaresan lodged the police report last Saturday. Bala, his wife, S. Sentamil and daughter, was last contacted by Kumaresan on Thursday and went missing shortly after announcing his second PR.

Question is, is he hiding? Or is someone hiding him? Or worse, is he lying at the bottom of the sea? Fishy indeed.

Read more here.

Meanwhile, DPM Datuk Seri Najib denied his involvement in Bala retracting his first SD. As usual, that's just standard procedure. I mean, no bad guy would confess right? Read here.

Mystique Metro

Amar and I used to always make fun of Harian Metro for it's ever mystique headlines. They always spurned the title so it had a mystique flavor.

Today was no different. The title: Lembaga Ganggu Operasi.

Lol. It was about a langsuir which was haunting immigration workers working in Kenyir Lake.

Whilst all other major papers were covering stories regarding scandals of the highest degree, Harian Metro came up with this headline. Good for you! At least it stirred our imagination.

Bala's Second Revelation

Balasubramaniam today retracted his statutory declaration by claiming that it was forced, less that 24 hours after declaring it. I told you Malaysia's political scene is colorful. Brace yourselves people and expect the unexpected, cliche as it may sound.

Read more here.

Who is actually pulling the strings in all this drama and scandal? Is it one of the names mentioned repeatedly in papers? Or is it that these names are just characters plotted by a power far greater?

Saiful Bukhari

Who is Saiful Bukhari? What are his intentions? What was the driving force behind his bold proclaims that he was sodomized? Was he corned? Pressured? Or was is a desperate attempt for 10 minutes of fame? Surely all these questions swing around in our head as the latest developments in Malaysian politics unfolds.

Saiful Bukhari was a college drop out from UNITEN studying Electrical Engineering. While at UNITEN, Saiful was active in student's politics, and said to be once in the running to be a Student Representative. However, due to poor results (which he described explicitly in a blog), he opted that it was best if he discontinued his degree. His childhood ambition was to become a pilot.

Saiful Bukhari wrote in a blog regarding his decisions to quit studying and also apologizing to UNITEN students for all his wrong doings for the pass few years. He also mentioned that money initially saved by his mother for him to pursuit his ambitions (as a pilot) had to be used to treat his severely ill mother. His mother has since passed away. I sympathize him, surely I do. Later he received a scholarship to enroll in an electrical engineering degree in UNITEN, thus harboring his pilot dreams. These confessions by Saiful was published in his friend's blog, Najwan, but can only be accessed by certain users. It was since been republished at this blog.

Recently, a picture of him waving to reporters as he walked out a building (supposedly police headquarters) was published by KOSMO in an issue dated the 3rd of July. I couldn't find the picture online so I can't publish it here. But the picture was him wearing a white shirt waving and smiling at reporters as though he was some kind of celebrity.

From my point of view, a person sodomized unwillingly, wouldn't be acting in that manner. He should be in a state of shame and embarrassed. He should have held his head down, shying away from reporters or something in that manner. That's how rape victims are. They wouldn't want their faces to be exposed to the world. Heck some might even want the world to swallow them! But no, not Saiful. In such a away it was as if he was saying to the reporters, "Hey, aku kene liwat, ambillah gambar aku!"

For crying out loud, being sodomized isn't something to be proud of! I know I wouldn't.

P/s: Here's a blog describing Saiful explicitly. It's from a person who knew him well enough, from the days at UNITEN. And here's a blog from Saiful's fiancé. The layout of the blog is marvelous, considering the fact that she made the blog solely to show support for Saiful. And plus, in this moment of 'sadness and grieving', it's quite remarkable she had the time and will to design such a blog. Siap ada counter tu.. tak maen la cikai2 kan? Menarik2..

Najib: Yes I met Saiful Before

Najib has finally admitted that he met up with Saiful Bukhari days before the latter lodged the sodomy report to the police.

The reason: Saiful reported the sodomy to him first and ask for his help and advice. Before this, Najib claimed that he met Saiful a few months back as Saiful was asking for a government scholarship.

Wow, I never knew that ministers, especially a Deputy prime minister could be so easily approachable by any Tom, Dick and Harry. Ok fine, to anyone who knew his officers. What more, you can also go and meet the DPM to ask for scholarships. This guy is so nice, he opens his doors to just about anyone for just about any reasons! Where else can you find a minister as nice and people friendly like Najib?

This statement was made in the press statement of which Najib answered questions regarding the Altantuya case.

Read more here. These sequence of cases just proves (as it has over and over again) that rumors are a better source of news than newspapers or members of the government.

To tell you the truth, I'm really excited and grateful to be in Malaysia at this time. So many things are going on, and I'm able to witness them first hand. And the prospects of things to come excites me even greater. Sunday: 1 million rally. Can't wait!

Breaking News

And shocking indeed! Gruesome too!! All in one.

Akhirnya, pecah temberang!!

A private investigator of Razak Baginda released a sworn statement linking Najib Tun Razak with Altantuya. Najib is said not to have only knew Altantuya, but also had an intimate relationship with her.


The 16 page declaration by Balasubramaniam Perumal (the private investigator) can be followed here. Balasubramaniam also claimed that he was questioned by the police some two years ago amid that murder said that the statements he gave connecting Najib and Altantuya were omitted by the police later.

Read more of the news at Malaysiakini.

I was watching a press statement by Najib broad casted by Buletin Utama TV3, and I must say, Najib looked uneased! He couldn't look anyone in the eyes, his eyes were moving up and down, he was unsteadily rocking back and forth, resah gelisah. Never saw him in a state of depression like that before. But he still managed to deny the reports linking himself with the murder, claiming that he never knew Altantuya in the first place. He also stated that, as a citizen of Malaysia, he is entitled to a just investigation.

In what is set to be the most shocking revealed conspiracy ever in Malaysia, this gruesome murder is surely to get worldwide intention. May the guilty one get convicted, who ever it may be. Stay tuned.

US Presidents and Islam 1

At first glance, there isn't much of a bond between the US presidents and Islam, apart from the fact that over the past couple of years, the US presidents has waged war against some Muslim nations, which include, Iraq, Iran, Sudan and Afghanistan. Or is there?

Let's start with Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. It is well known, even by the West, that Thomas Jefferson owned a copy of an English translated version of the Quran. The copy, translated in English by George Sale in the 1750s was the same one used by the first Muslim congressmen, Keith Ellison to take his oath into office. So what did Jefferson had to do with this Quran?


Jefferson was said to purchase the Quran while studying law and helping his mentor, George Wythe, prepare cases for trial. Inspired by people like George Sale and Frieherr von Pufendorf and wanting to broaden his knowledge on law and religion,he read the holy book as the Quran not only held the scriptures of Islam, it was also a source of specific juridical outlines. In a way, the Quran was a lawbook to Jefferson.

One of the great qualities of Jefferson was the fact that he didn't lay down any judgment before learning as much as he could into that matter. This was also one of the reasons he bought the book, because even during his time, people with the slightest knowledge about Islam condemned the religion (just as today). His curiosity to what Islam is all about persuaded him in buying the Quran. Before long, he began to learn Arabic and to read Arabic text in it's original form.

Jefferson become highly influenced by the holy scripture and he understood it in terms of law, religion, and culture. The influence Islam had over him can be proven by his various work. Thomas Jefferson was the principle author of the Declaration of Independence and among the pillars of the declaration is '........ that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.....'. Sounds familiar, right?

And in Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) last sermon, he said, "All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has superiority over white except by piety and good action....... Nothing should be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves."

Then there's also the similarity between the United States Constitution with the teachings of Islam. Read here.

Usually, people that read the Quran with the purest intentions and openness to understand it would eventually unlock it's secret and proclaiming it's truth, and convert to Islam. There's plenty of examples of converts of such type, most notably, Umar al-Khattab, and Yusuf Islam, to name a few. Thus, was it possible, that after reading and studying the Quran and the various teachings of Islam, Thomas Jefferson converted to Islam?

In an article I read, it was said that Thomas Jefferson avoided public comment on faith whenever possible. And I quote, 'It was not until long after his death that we became able to read most of his scornful writings on revelation and redemption. And it was not until long after his death that The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth (Jefferson Bible) was publishable.

I have yet to read any of his religious writings so I can only speculate. Why did the author describe them as scornful? Jefferson was clearly a clever man, else he wouldn't be one of the Founding Fathers and be the major author of the Declaration of Independence. To was so clever to an extent that when President John F. Kennedy welcomed forty-nine Noble Prize winners to the White House in 1962 he said, "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent and of human knowledge that has ever been gathered together at the White House — with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

So why did all the other works by the former president receive such glorious praise, but those regarding religion didn't? Surely the quality of his thoughts regarding religion is extraordinary. Or was it because his thoughts on God being One with no partners too shocking for them to bare?

And his 'bible', the Jesus of Nazareth? I never encountered a Christian who referred to Jesus that way. It's usually Jesus son of God, Jesus Christ or what ever. But Jesus of Nazareth? I live it to you to ponder.

For more, visit this very interesting website called How Thomas Jefferson Read Quran.

Malaysian's Believe Anwar's Innocence

In a poll conducted by Merdeka Center shows that only 6% believe that the sodomy allegations against Anwar were true, while almost 60% believed that the charges were politically motivated. The poll was conducted on 225 ethnic Malaysians. Read here.

Meanwhile, amid the US statement regarding this scandal, Malaysia is contemplating on sending a protest note to the US. Pak Lah claimed that this was an attempt by the US to meddle in the country's domestic affair. Foreign Minister, Dato' Rais Yatim went even further by stating that it was Anwar who reported that case to Washington, and that he should not report to them every time he faced a crisis in the country. He called Anwar a 'tukang lapor' - snitch.

In a daily press briefing, Tom Clasey, the Deputy Spokesman for Washington, when asked about Anwar Ibrahim, replied that he hoped 'the rule of law stand above politics' in Malaysia (the daily press briefing is a daily briefing conducted by the US government to answer questions by reporters regarding domestic and world issues). He also added that the US would oppose any use of law enforcement or judicial procedures for anything other than legitimate purposes of the law and that he hoped there wasn't a repeat pattern of what happened a decade ago. That's all he said. Read the full press statement here.

And fact is, it's within the right of anyone, to give their interpretation of anything. So, I see nothing wrong in the US releasing that press statement. Heck even Malaysia does that all the time. We condemn the internal affairs of israel, Myanmar's Junta, and a whole list of injustice that has gone throughout the world. So now, when injustice happens in Malaysia, the whole watching world gave their concerns. That's all that is. Lumrah alam. It's in the nature of the world. Read what Karpal Singh had to say (final paragraphs).

And to claim that Anwar reported to Washington was a naive and childish claim indeed. It's as if the US was Anwar's big brother. LOL. The news of the sodomy allegations were spread world wide the very night the accusation was made. In this high tech information and communication technology world that we live in, news travels fast. Very fast. Rais Yatim should take note.