captain Corelli..John Hurt the elephant man

What was i doing today? just came back from KL on a short business trip and thankfully today was just spent idling around the house.
Took time to watch "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" featuring Nicolas Cage, Penelope Cruz and John Hurt.It is a love story set on a Greek island during the World War II.
Actually i have watched this movie on a VCD few years ago but just want to watch it again on a Blue Ray.
Somehow John Hurt's character caught my eye this time round. He played a role as Pelagia 's father Dr Lannis a wise doctor who somehow always have the right poignant words for any situation. This movie is littered with memorable quotes by Dr Lannis (John Hurt),i love them ,just to qoute a few:

When you fall in love, it is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake, and then it subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots are become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the desire to mate every second of the day. It is not lying awake at night imagining that he is kissing every part of your body. No... don't blush. I am telling you some truths. For that is just being in love; which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over, when being in love has burned away. Doesn't sound very exciting, does it? But it is!


[writing to Corelli] Antonio, I do not know if this letter will reach you, or even if you are alive. Perhaps someone else sent your record, and that is why we found no note. I would like to say that Pelagia is happy, but she is full of tears she will not let fall, and of a grief no doctor can mend. She blames herself for the pain we have suffered, and perhaps the same is true for you. You know I am not a religious man, but I believe this: if there is a wound, we must try to heal it. If there is someone whose pain we can cure, we must search till we find them. If the gods have chosen that we should survive, it will be for a reason.

John Hurt got my attention in his wonderful portrayal as a 'freak" in the movie, The Elephant Man which i watched way back in 1980.
He has lost none of his great acting quality and this showed in this movie,'Captain Corelli 's Mandolin"
Great watch for an idling weekend(what with the rain !!!)

Chemical engineer turns director/actor

Some while back in my blog i mentioned of this great Hindustani movie, DOR . Great cinematography, great story and brilliant acting by all the 3 main characters particularly Gul Panag.

So just out curiosity i tried to find out a bit more of the film director, Nagesh Kukunoor.Well nowadays you just googled the name to find any relevant facts or postings of a person for that matter.
Well,lo and behold what have i found about him?
Ironic and amazing...
Nagesh Kukunoor is a chemical engineer who chucked lucrative jobs and a cushy life style not once, but twice to follow his passion-film making. Today he is recognized as a stellar overseas Indian filmmaker of critically acclaimed unconventional films.
Lucky bugger!!! Here is a man who is able to pursue a career out of a vocation that he loves.
Possibly the dreary life as a middle management technocrat does not appeal to him.
Well good luck Nagesh, you are a brilliant director as it shows in your movie .This chemical engineer can only envy you and the nearest that he can say of pursuing a similar path as you are is just to enjoy your movies over a nice cup of coffee.

Society's unsung heroes

Mr Joseph,Mr Matthias and Mr Clarence who knows them? Am sure most probably most people will not know them unless you happened to be a science student in St Joseph school in the 70s. They were our Physics, Chemistry and Biology teachers respectively.

30 years onwards i still remembered their names and faces for these 3 gentlemen shaped our understanding of science thus building a strong foundation as we students henceforth then separately pursued our university degrees and professional careers.
How easy for us to forget their immense contribution, more so they are not Sarawakians but individuals from India.
I strongly believed and still do that these 3 gentlemen has contributed so much to the Sarawak society.Their students are the ones now possibly have a big say in the development of Sarawak in various capacities from doctors, engineers, lawyers and others.
How they have faded easily from our attention and memories.
How they have possibly gone back to India unrecognised and not acknowledged by our society.

To Sirs, i raise my deepest respect and salute for you were indeed our society's unsung heroes.
Now you may wonder why i suddenly raised this story.

It all started with a conversation with my son Azri who just came back from Bintulu.
He told me a story of a very dedicated teacher he met who hails from West Malaysia and has spent more than 20 years teaching in Sarawak interiors and rural schools.
The most amazing part of his story was that this particular teacher without fail every month will drove to a village school where his wife was teaching not only to meet his wife but to send the monthly water ration to the school and village!!!!
I cant believe his story when he told me.
This teacher possibly will not and never raise a complain of the great deeds that he accomplished

One day just like my Indian teachers he will go home to West Malaysia ,unrecognised , unappreciated and to him possibly it doesn't really matter.
To this man i as a Sarawakian gave you my utmost respect and salute.May Allah SWT bless you and your family for this dedicated service.

the football memories 2007/2008

The 2 Henri.....a shared day of joy

The year 1997.The occasion World Youth Cup. The team,France. The hero...Thierry Henry.
I was alerted to this prodigal footballer even at that time when he was playing for Monaco FC. The World Youth Cup was played in Kuching. Every one's team was Brazil. But me? I was rooting for France purely because of that young player,Thierry Henry and he was the captain then as well for France.
The France team then too was brimming with talents, Anelka, Trezequet just to name a few.
Admittedly i was not too happy when Thierry finally has a flourishing career at Arsenal, he was one player that i would dearly want to see playing for Man U. Even then i admired his play and temperament.
hierry Daniel Henry, (born 17 August 1977, IPA: ) is a French football player. Renowned for his pace, he plays as a striker for the France national team and English club Arsenal FC.(excerpt from Wikepidea)
A great player and a great personality!!!

The year 2006(or is it 2007?). The occasion Perkim's charity dinner. The star...Hendri Rotinsulu. I must confessed i don't have a clue of who he is.In fact the main star that night was Grace Simon(i think cant even remember now) but Hendri Rotinsulu to me is the real star of the night. He really stole the show.With his fine voice and charming personality he was an immediate hit with all of us.
Even now whenever i feel stressed i would play his songs, a soothing rendition of great songs.

The irony of it all was that i have found that both of them share a day of joy with me....17 August.
Yup..we all have the same birthday.I may not have the skills of Thierry with a football and definitely do not possess Hendri Rotinsulu soothing voice but who cares man!! I have the same birthday with 2 geniuses in their respective profession.
With that fact already established i can certainly sipped my coffee with pride and joy,thank you Henry and Hendri!!!

Free enterprise at its best...Serikin

This morning i had an opportunity to go to Serikin with the wife and my eldest son Azri and his friends who came over to visit him while on holidays.
Serikin??? It always evoke a vision of a chaotic place, with run of the mill cheap Indonesian products being sold at very ramshackle stalls.
Also not forgetting always being pursued by persistent salesmen selling turtle eggs!!!
Well the last time i was visiting Serikin few years back and indeed it was a great delight to see the place now mushrooming into a very successful, free Enterprise border post market place.
It was full of day trippers looking for cheap bargains.
I remembered before Serikin was THE PLACE, everyone talks about another border outpost Tebedu.Now hardly anyone goes to Tebedu, the reason being obvious i believe. In their haste to "upgrade and control" the place, the Government has made Tebedu indeed an inconvenience place for all and sundry to do their dilly dally weekend shopping.
Serikin??? Indeed it has flourished ,amidst its chaotic and sometimes illogical manner of organising the stalls and parking space.
Like all entrepreneurial outlets one finds unique selling propositions.
I saw one that offers leeches ..yes leeches for rm5 one can get a leech to suck blood off your foot!!!!
What did i end up buying? Nothing differs from any of those trinkets that normally ends up in my shopping bag whenever i dragged myself to such a market place. A Puma long shirt(for RM20 not bad..), a Puma cap and a pouch for my new hand phone(will not tell you its brand but it takes good pictures though)

Hartlepool...a nice piece of story

I can never fathom myself rooting for a team on TV that is not Manchester United or Sarawak.
Until tonight that is. There i was eagerly awaiting for the early kick off game between Hartlepool and West Ham in the English FA 4th round.
Hartlepool? A team nicknamed the "Monkey Hangers"?
My association with Hartlepool all started over a coffee conversation i had with a close Scottish friend of mine at Suria KLCC more than a year ago. I griped to him of my association with Sarawak Football and a need for Sarawak to have a real professional outfit to link with and to benchmark with in the most professional manner as i view the best solution for Sarawak football is to run it as a club structure.
He said, "Zuraimi, hey Clint is sponsoring one English club ,get him on am sure he will help."
So the adventure began...it was fast and with full commitment,typical of us as a group of friends.
There was Richie Humphreys the club captain coming over to Kuching to give a brief coaching clinic and bit of know how of club management.
Then we sent 3 Sarawak players for a 6 weeks stint in the cold North East,Hartlepool. They came back i believe as better footballers.
I was also there few months back at Leicester watching the Hartlepool away game ,it was fun and also an eye opener on how football match should be organised.
So there i was tonight with my eyes glued to TV and rooting for Richie Humphreys and his team.
Well there was no upset,they lost 2-0 to the Hammers but typically you can see the players give their all to the game and yes Hartlepool i am proud to be associated with you all and to Russ Green(the CEO),Chris (Turner) the coach ," tough luck mate, it was a great game and am proud of the team".

Puma..Bata any difference?

Who is not now aware of the PUMA brand? The leaping leopard(or is it panther?) insignia is now as famous as the Nike brand.
It gave me great satisfaction seeing the Italian football team celebrating their 2006 World Cup triumph with their Puma Leopard jerseys prominently displayed.
Hmm..how times must have changed for Puma is not the coolest thing to be associated with in the 80s and even 90s
What spark this revolution? Interesting to read possibly how Puma manage to re identify itself from a poor cousin of Adidas to a much sought after brand sharing the same departmental store shelves as Prada or Louis Vitton.
I knew when as a teenager(long time ago) wearing a Puma shirt will only come along with Bata shoes.
Bata? i knew one goes there before and possibly even now only to buy school shoes ...but hold on a minute!
Did you subtly notice now that Bata outlet is now consciously as well trying to re brand itself? I notice quality shoes and sandals are being prominently displayed with a possible theme that functionality does not mean it's no quality.
Will i see the day when Bata shoes will be on the same shelf as a Prada or a Louis Vitton?
Maybe..but then if it happens, my subtle observation will certainly have a ring of truth.

Life without a blackberrry

My first realisation of the brand Blackberry was when a few years ago playing golf with a mutual friend ,he kept rambling about him continuously receiving emails on his Blackberry. I was not honestly impressed for then am a Nokia man.

How times have changed, my conversion or appreciation for this particular device was not immediate though.

It was by accident that i started using a Blackberry. Few years back i started using PDA phone and O2 was my first one.

Then what happens? i lost it when my car was broken while i was performing Friday prayers.

I bought a Dopod, a version almost similar to O2, again i lost it. I left it just for a few minutes in my golf buggy and Presto it was gone!!!!

Along came the Blackberry, i was immediately hooked to it, it has the simplicity yet offer the best functionality for a busy executive with its push email and easy keypad.

Life was a bliss, you are connected to your office even while travelling, you look cool with a Blackberry in a pouch and better still you are able to relate to total strangers at airports, trains,hotel lounges who are also Blackberry "warriors".You can take photos with reasonable clarity and posted it on your blog as you fancy.

So what happens then? Your Blackberry suddenly becomes "haywire" reminiscent of the recent movie i watched "eagle eye"(not that bad..). I sent to the dealer for repair and what's the response? It will be sent to Kl and if not able to be repaired my Blackberry will be sent all the way to Canada.Wow!!!

Like a loved one, you only realise how important they are in your life when they are no longer around, of course not having a Blackberry even for a day should not create such a melodrama but it's close man.Really how much a man now rely on his personal communication tool.

You do experience once a while a product that comes into our lives and revolutionise our workday routine totally ranging from automobiles, sneaker shoes,Sony Walkman to name a few but none so as dramatic as a hand phone. Hands up anyone who doesn't have a hand phone?

Like a person who has lost his way, i think i better go back to the ever reliable Nokia,thank you very much.But then how i yearn for my Blackberry Bold!!!!

A letter to Barack Hussein Obama

Dear Sir,

Today is your inauguration day as the President of the most powerful country in the world the United States of America. I congratulate you and your family and we the world all rejoice on your winning the election.

Dear Sir, you came from a mixed heritage and a potpourri of culture and i believe that's what's makes you unique. As a Malaysian we are also proud that your brother in law has a Canadian-Malaysian background.

Your middle name,Hussein signify a lineage that has obvious link of your parentage to us Muslims. Hussein is a name very much admired within the Muslim community. You have taken the name of our Prophet Mohammad(pbuh) grandson's name, Saiyidina Hussein.

Dear Sir, Saiyidina Hussein as you may have already known is a man of virtuous character and is renown for his charitable acts and humility.

Observing the manner you have conducted yourself in the election campaign, you came through to us all as a man who has obvious admirable leadership qualities and a genuine concern for the less fortunate.

Dear Sir, you have inherited a presidency that has been plagued by controversy and with the world on the verge of a recession. We are very much aware of the great challenges that you will face.

I pride myself too Sir for being of the same generation as you are.

We are of a generation that has not seen a world war,we are a generation that has seen unprecedented economic boom, we are a generation that has seen great technological strides but foremost Sir we are a generation that has seen globalisation in all manners and forms presiding over our everyday lives.

If there is any one hope that we want your presidency to achieve sir is an everlasting peace particularly in the turbulent region of the Middle East so that the world will continue in its stride towards a greater well being of all humanity. That possibly is your greatest call.

Berba ..the gypsy

I happened to be in London last March and what does one do on a cold Saturday afternoon? Typically i tried to watch a football game.The one on offer then was the Tottenham vs Portsmouth game. I called the booking office and the curt reply was (as expected..)."all tickets sold sir".
Familiar with the mechanics of how to watch a football game in UK, i just gamely trudged on to White Hart Lane.
Yes ...there will always be ticket touts. I bought one for a fraction more of its selling price near kick off time(its value preceding as the kick off nears obviously ha ha...)
What did i remember most of that game? Berbatov's flicks and runs !!!!
Here was a man i felt that can fill Cantona's shoes and lo and behold my joy when Manchester United decided to buy him albeit at a hefty price tag.
Berbatov has yet to stamp its lasting mark in the United's hall of fame but the obvious signs are there.
His best game i have watched so far was against Southampton in the FA cup. It was a display of sheer arrogance, deftness and his control and the way he strutted around is (to borrow a metaphor) like a conductor of a wonderful,sublime orchestra(Manchester United its name).
Was it true that he has Gypsy's blood? I read this somewhere ,maybe that's where he gets his nonchalant way of playing his football and not forgetting his dark brooding look.
Alright Berba the Gypsy roll it on till the season end and your next victim of your arrogant skills be Liverpool,please.Ha.

Remembering Father....

Note: i republish this post that was done last weekend because i just found my late father's photo as i perused my pictures file.......The heavy downpour yesterday has really put a dampener to all Kuchingites i presume.However it didn't stop me for having a full day of activities .
How did i spend my Saturday? Morning was at Hilton attending a farewell to the Indonesian consulate Pak Bambang, a friend that i got to know.
Interesting the way Indonesians conducted their function, not much officialdom with all the usual facilitation.."Datuk2 Datin2", it's more of "Bapak2 dan Ibu2"..hmmm.
After lunch straight off to Stadium Sarawak to watch the Demak league semi final games. Football in a heavy downpour, not surprising the second semi final was abandoned.
After that i went to my Mum's place to attend "makan arwah" of my late father. The occasion is normally with invitation to close relatives, people from a nearby mosque as we recited doas or prayers in remembrance of my late father.
How time flies,he passed away 10 years ago but to us all it was just like yesterday. Our memories of him still lingers on.
He died of lung cancer, i can recalled the pains and sufferings that he endured from the pain that cancer normally inflicted.
His calm and resolute though was admirable strengthened by his strong faith and belief in Allah SWT. He may not leave any notable monuments or great achievements in this world but certainly he left a legacy of how to live a decent life.Admittedly even after 10 years i still cant measure to that.Even to this day i still regretted not spending too much time with him at the initial stage of his suffering from this deadly disease.
As i left my Mum's house yesterday the downpour has not abated and this compounded the melancholy feeling that one had as we tried to give remembrance to our loved one that has passed on.

A real hero....a real man

To friends and family, he's just "Sully." To the rest of the world, Chesley Sullenberger is now a miracle worker with a pilot's license.

The former Air Force fighter pilot remained cool, calm and collected both before and after successfully ditching his US Airways flight into the Hudson River.

"That pilot is a stud," said one police source. "After the crash, he was sitting there in the ferry terminal, wearing his hat, sipping his coffee and acting like nothing happened."

Sullenberger, 57, looks more like Clark Kent than Superman: He's balding, slightly built, with a thin mustache. But he emerged from the slowly sinking fuselage of Flight 1549 as one of Gotham's brightest heroes, able to land engineless airplanes in a single try.

"Brace for impact," he warned the passengers before ditching the plane, a voice of lone calm in the seconds before they crashed.

Sullenberger wasn't done once his plane was down. He undid his safety belt and walked the length of the plane to make sure all the passengers were safely outside, Mayor Bloomberg said.

Once finished, Sullenberger turned around and made a second pass as the plane steadily took on water - and only then did he finally exit.

That's the excerpt i read from the Internet as i sipped my coffee bracing for a wet day with my golf game already cancelled.

Real heartwarming whenever you read once in awhile those silent heroes making the limelight. We have people like this in our Malaysian midst mark my word, COMPETENT in their job, always putting others before oneself and leads an ordinary but a satisfied and happy life.

They can be just firemen, postmen, plumbers or even just bus drivers but you know when you see one..a silent hero who's competent and always take their job very responsibly and a natural leader. Of course in our society it's very hard for us to appreciate such people because they don't hog the limelight like politicians do and they don t have the gift of the gab and a tendency to be melodramatic.

To Sullenburger.... am sure when interviewed you would just say ,"i am just doing my job"

Thank you sir for offering a heartwarming story to read as i braced a very wet week end!!

A sanctuary..nothing better than the Kuching mosque

Had an opportunity today to perform Maghrib prayers at the old Kuching Mosque in market street. To me this is always a place that we frequented every Friday during our childhood and even as a sanctuary of sorts for us then, doing our revisions in preparation for the SC(now called SPM) exams.
Indeed has a fond memory of that place.
A signboard attracts me as i walked towards the mosque today..... it said that a mosque was established earlier on this site by Datuk Patinggi Ali in 1867. It excites me a bit because i was made to understand that our ancestry goes way back to that famous Malay leader,maybe a myth but i just don't bother to find more facts.
An old wooden mosque i still remembered was there then before it was demolished with a detonator. If i were to recall this must have happened in late 60's for a vivid memory of all awaiting in anticipation for that big bang sound thus telling us all that the mosque would now be only in a demolished heap.
The mosque still retain its tranquility and as i looked around me,i can see a 17 year old me years ago riding a bike to that place , met with good friends as we spend time praying at the accorded times and "study" in the resource room upstairs....
hm mm we all have moved on since then but the mosque still to me is a great sanctuary of sorts and i will hope that the authorities will still retain its surrounding area as a historical heritage and not "pasted' the vicinity with shopping plaza or a parking mall.

An Icon to savour.....

Last night i was fortunate enough to be invited to one of the events of the year(possibly) and you can see the who's who in Kuching was there all trudging in to the new TPK hotel,the Four seasons in their demeanour bow tie suit and their wives tagging along in their evening gowns or kebayas.
It was indeed a glamorous night by any standards and admittedly being someone more comfortable with work overalls, the occasion is a bit off my usual haunts.
Kudos though to the couple being celebrated,not many couples can say they have been happily married for 50 years and of course the man in question is undoubtedly the most well known face in Sarawak.
I was halfway expecting the night to be just like any formal function that sometimes you attended until lo and behold Pehin Seri mentioned at the end of his thank you speech that a special man will be performing that night and he said that his performance will enthrall all.
How true was his words..because the man that was performing was none other than the famous composer and musician ,Idris Sardi.

The younger generation may wonder who was this Idris Sardi but for us growing up when Indonesian movies were very very popular,(remember Romi dan Juli,Si buta dari gua hantu? Just to name a few) will undoubtedly knew who Idris Sardi.

He was the man behind most musical compositions of these movies, eg "Pengantin Remaja"
Back to his performance last night, Pehin Seri was spot on..Idris Sardi's performance was not only mesmerising but world class. We were all swooned by his mastery of the violin, what a genius.
He is indeed an icon of our times and the night was complete for me as i was able to have a quick chat with him and took some photographs.
"Bapa sekarang sudah usia 71 tahun'(read...i am now 71 years old) that's the words i remembered he said.
To bapa Idris Sardi...your mastery of the violin and the captivating way you played your music just reflect the fact that a master is always a master no matter how old he is, thank you for a wonderful evening.

What's eating you,Zorro?

Zorro is a mythical story set in the Mexican "cowboy' era and somehow becomes synonymous with an anguished person's efforts trying to have 2 faces to the world. What's really eating you Zorro? There's no idealistic world for you to save, there's no damsel in distress for you to sweep away!!
The Zorro myth is popular because of its obvious fantasy that you can have a background of rich and nobility(how you arrive to such a position was never told!!) but still have a conscience to save the poor and the trodden.
Hence the Mask.
If indeed the Zorro story is true, one wonders how he can hide his other identity from his wife,family and close friends.
We can imagine Zorro's wife inviting friends and family to a dinner and when asked where's Zorro?
Possibly the reply.."Oh, he's out there in the countryside killing your fellow soldiers who are raiding the villages!!!"
So,what's really eating you Zorro?
Just be yourself and within the midst of ordinariness you can still find greatness and peaceful solace and you know why? You are as what Popeye says,"I yam what i yam".

Rain rain .go away

It has been a real wet weekend. The downpour was continuous for most of the weekend and concern suddenly turns to panic for most Kuchingites as they saw the water rising. This time was reminiscent of the heavy downpour and serious flooding a few years back.
We all knew that the Far East is also termed as the monsoon region when during this time of the year the rains mercilessly takes its toll .
Today i dropped by at our old facilities in town to observe first hand of any impacts due to this heavy rain.
The dry dock water level as i observed seen rising more so due to water pouring in from the nearby vicinity. Certain measures were then taken.
Floods during my childhood days though were a common occurrence. The floods were treated with joy by us all(typical innocence of the young), i still remembered paddling in a boat around our house and swimming and frolicking with glee.
Let's hope then that the rainfall will now subside and any lingering fears of a major flood hitting Kuching will not be a reality...one thing for sure i must have my raincoat ready because you cant just stay home even in this kind of weather.

Indonesia Day..one's special day

Indonesia always fascinates my inner curiosity,its cultural diversity and the people's resilience are great attributes of this colourful nation.
Pity that most Malaysians viewed Indonesia as a provider of maids and workers,what a wrongly perceived view.
Indonesia is an oasis of Malay culture that transcends beyond the Malacca Sultanate. The Majapahit and Vijaya empires for those that lived in those days must be imbued with great traditions which some we still behold and practice.
I have been to numerous places in Indonesia..Pontianak, Balikpapan, Samarinda, Jakarta(obviously), Bandung, Surabaya,Jogjakarta,Solo, Medan and the unforgettable Bali.

Each place has its own uniqueness;Bandung for its small designer outlets,Jogja for its Sultanate place, Solo ,the mosque i went for Friday prayers was old but beautiful and Bali with its preserved culture that is different from the other dominant Muslim parts of Indonesia

But the one that intrigues me most is Samarinda..it was like a trip to the twilight zone. Its main (and possibly only access) is via a rural road from Balikpapan where along the way generally surrounded by rubber trees. Then lo and behold out of the meandering road trip through these rubber plantations Samarinda beckons.
It has all the usual trappings of a modern Indonesian city with its Matahari supermarket but it is a place that still retained its traditions, who doesn't know of the 'kain samarinda?"
Oh ya why is Indonesia has a special place for me? Well Indonesia Day(17.08.) also happens to be my birthday.
It is indeed a warm thought whenever i have my birthday knowing that more than 200 millions Indonesians are also celebrating with me,ha beat that!!

Please cry for Mustapha and his country

The only Palestinian that i knew as a friend was a guy called Mustapha and even then i only got acquainted with him only during my brief time doing my A levels in Yorkshire UK. Those days at my college there was this motley crew of Palestinian students ,actual fact all exiled in Jordan and frankly i was not impressed with most of them. They were there only for the fun, smooching around with working class Yorkshire girls whose language is literally littered with the f...k" word.

But Mustapha ? He was different, then was the first time i was acutely aware of the pitiful plight of the Palestinians.I recalled his anger and frustration of being a boy who has no country to call home and possibly with his families always living on the edge of danger and annihilation from the Zionist regime.
Now as i read the news and watched TV in horror at this continuing mindless atrocity against Palestinian civilians, i remembered my dear friend Mustapha.
30 years has since gone and the sufferings of his people has not abated.The silence of the West was most disheartening.
There was a time when Mustapha invited us to his house for a simple Arabic meal (biryani in a big big plate shared by all!!!!) that i recalled then as Malaysians we were looking forward to a secured future later when we went back and helped out possibly in the nation building process of our beloved country ,Malaysia but Mustapha?
There is no nation building for him to look forward to.
Dear Mustapha i used to wonder where you are now, are you still alive? Or have you migrated to the Western world and build up your life there?
Whatever it is one thing i know for sure..you will still cry for your beloved Palestine.

The Azzuris..viva Italia

Who can remember that great goal poacher,Paolo Rossi? The World Cup only comes into our lives every four years but what impact it has to the great populace of the world..from Timbuktu to Nepal they all got glued to the TV watching the World Cup. Which team did i support? England?(obviously being a bit an Anglophile myself) but somehow my heart is greatly attached to the Azzuris ,yes Viva Italia ever since Paolo Rossi heroics in the 1982 World Cup.
That is one great world cup tournament, an emerging Maradona and of course every one's favourites, Brazil.
My love for the Italian football team has never ebbed since then and i love their football, their great technical skills and nuance.
My all time favourite Italian player is Franco Baressi, an elegant but non compromising defender.
So every 4 years since that great win in 1982 i was always hopeful that the Azzuris will repeat their triumph..they came close in 1994 which was best remembered by Baggio's penalty kick miss against Brazil.
Thus my elation and joy when they won the 2006 World Cup, inspired by Totti and the lingering image was Grosso's celebrations after scoring that opening goal against Germany in the semis....ya a deja vu feeling reminiscent of Tardelli's celebration in defeating that same opponents in 1982.
Oh ya..what does Azzuri means....it simply means Blue hmmm great team great colour !!!

wuthering heights in passing.. Borneo

I spent 2 years as a young student in Halifax, Yorkshire many many years ago(now just a vague but wonderful memory). Halifax is straddled within the Pennines and the Yorkshire moors is the famous setting for Emily Bronte's only novel,the Wuthering Heights. Its brooding atmosphere bodes well for any dark stories setting i presume. Why this sudden remembrance of such a place that can bring such a real melancholy feeling?
Well i was earlier in this makeshift bus or truck that went up the Borneo Heights that is straddled within the Penrissen range. As the dark clouds descends on us, a brooding outlook appears within sight as the truck made its way up the steep hill and somehow Wuthering Heights comes to my mind. Ha of course Borneo Heights is a far cry from the Yorkshire Moors but hey the place will certainly make one good setting for a Sarawakian epic novel.
This was the second time i came to this place and surprisingly i have noted many good changes and it certainly has very positive vibes. It can never be as serenely beautiful as the Yorkshire Mooors but am sure with more upgrades on its various walks ,Borneo Heights will create and enhance its own charm.

Travel....to be or not to be a travel writer?

I love travelling not because of the glamour of the places that one gets to visit but to imbibe in the culture and atmosphere of places one visit. I still remembered well my forays of travelling in the summer as a young student way back in late 70's and early 80's in particular as customary with most young students in Europe....just buy a month euro rail pass and travel as you please .
With practically little money in your pocket and with a backpack you just trudged around,staying at youth hostels, on the trains and even in a park(i did that in Rome).
What did i actually remember of those trips(or sojourns.hmm). Nothing much except the constant hunger and tiredness which was always enlightened whenever one arrived at the desired destination, to me Venice is still one of the most beautiful places on earth even it was now overly trundled with tourists flagging US dollars.
Thus my admiration for those travel writers(that's what they called themselves possibly) for having the innate ability o describe their travels with such clarity and poignancy that you felt so engrossed as you read through their observations and happenings during their travels.

Sir VS Naipaul really stands out for me as the most imminent of the lot. Paul Theroux is another favourite travel writer of mine, now in the midst of reading his latest,"Ghost train to the Eastern Star", bit disappointed though that just a brief mention of Malaysia, more so on Singapore which he described as a "social laboratory"..but the most absorbing part of his account was his time in Cambodia ,you can feel the chill in your bones when he related the killing fields and talking to some of the survivors.

So? Can we relate our travels the way these people do?
Besides that early bone crunching walkabout in Europe in my teen years ,travel lately is always been about shopping "walkabouts" in the malls,bazaars and markets.
A trip to Bali, Phuket, more so Singapore and Dubai is more a trip of paying homages to the various shopping outlets in its many forms. Can one really stop for a while and try to savour the place that one visits ,learn a bit more of the people, their stories and if one is lucky can even come up with a nice story that even Theroux can be proud of!! Humbug will be the possible reply from Naipaul(he's well known for his arrogance but cant slight the man for his genius in writing good stories)
Oh by the way Rehman Reshid book, "The Malaysian journey" is a great read but was written almost 25 years ago, will be good if he can come with a new book,come on Rehman do it, please!!
Lastly, my home town Kuching is still one of the best places on this planet earth(trust me..)

Diabetes...a silent killer

What does a Monday,Wednesday and Friday means to my mum? It is dialysis day when she has to endure the routine of dialysis process at the Normah Hospital for this what befalls most diabetics..a strict routine.
Diabetics is aptly viewed as a silent killer,it's not like cancer or a heart attack.
Diabetics eats into you, you noticed that you are a diabetic when suddenly the frequency of visits to the toilet has increased, ants seemed to be in abundance at the toilet boil.
I admired her endurance in facing this demoralising but life saving routine, a routine that can left one's in depressive mood as sometimes the body just cant take it.

For a diabetic the early signs sometimes is not easily detected and this spells more why we must have routine check ups. Once you are diagnosed as one, it will start with the usual dosage of pills and later insulin and finally as the ravages of diabetics take its toll, one will then be confined to a dialysis machine on a routine basis.

I wrote earlier in this blog, "my mum and her important nothings" and it did surprise me when the local paper ,the Borneo Post published it..it's not a publicity stunt but it is my honest rendition of my feelings and views as i see my mum slowly ailing and fading away as the ravages of diabetic takes its toll.
The eyes slowly failing, the minor wounds becoming life threatening even and the "yo yo" blood pressure and sugar levels makes her one moment happy and one moment sad and depressed.

Her sufferings is a constant reminder to me that diabetics is indeed a silent killer and one must do one's calling in having the self discipline to control the body's sugar level and adopt a healthy life style.

Why did i say that?
Because i am also a diabetic(even at early stage ..) but this will be another story to tell.

Countdown 2009

The new year we decided to hold a small party at our abode(house i mean..) with some very good and close friends and family. It just shows you can really have a good time,middle age standards of course by just celebrating the countdown at home and not at hotels with crowd of strangers. The GBAT gang we call ourselves, a group of well meaning friends with no airs and sometimes we just talk nonsense(honestly!!) even among us we had a YB. Maybe that's what people in their late 40's and early 50's do.
The evening started with a simple meal of Ba Ku teh (Malay style) ,fish head curry and "rojak tambi".
Ha ha what a combination, and nothing is complete nowadays at a Sarawakian household gathering without the "cake lapis" ( layered cake , does this explain it well? i doubt it ,it sounds more like a Daniel Craig movie title!!!).
The evening got more interesting with some rendition of karaoke, we do have some fantastic singers(count me out though..), the best of our lot though was not around , we called him Mike Halim(he never pass the mike to anyone once he started his singing) .
The wives decide to repeat their family day dance routine performance, real fun and hilarious and if the steps are out of sync who cares? Because obviously the audience(i mean the husbands) wont dare to criticise.
The night went by without us noticing the time and as we listened to songs reminiscent of our youth we don't really feel that the new year is just another reminder of a year of getting older.
So adios 2008 and what better way to welcome 2009 with a group of close and real friends , a real treat for us all that our last guest finally left around 3 am..