Fab, Chip(py) of the old Gunners block

Midfield players always have a special aura to me and during my younger days how i  wish i had the strength and stamina  of Bryan Robson,the long range passing of Glen Hoddle and of course the sweet left foot of Liam 'Chippy" Brady.

Yes, Liam Brady without  a doubt was an icon at Highbury in those days.

His outstanding FA Cup Final display in 1979 cost United their defeat..admittedly was not too happy when seeing such an outstanding talent from an opposing team.

Chippy Brady oozes class and that Arsenal team of course was more exciting than a later team assembled by George Graham, hence the tag "Boring Arsenal".

Watching the weekend game recently between the Gunners and Middlesborough, another outstanding midfielder caught my eye and envy..yes Ces Fabregas.

Wow man, such masterful display and he was the main reason for the recent resurgent of this Arsenal team. I remembered a few seasons ago how he "single handedly" defeated Manchester United at their own den, Old Trafford.

Please do not repeat the same kind of performance this Wednesday in the Champions league semi final .I just dont want to have a sense of Deja Vu if Fabregas will become a chip(py) of the old Gunner block, Liam Chippy Brady who also single handedly destroyed Manchester United in that 1979 FA Cup Final!!!

Well, Fab you though is one hell of a player that i admired and while you are wearing Red at least it is not a scouser's red!!!

Black Dog Bone, memories of the 70s

While doing some office work at home and listening to radio music Sinar FM ;suddenly the programme caught my attention...yes, the Dee Jay was doing some special feature on that Singaporean rock band, Black Dog Bone.

Wow, awesome , memories flooding back for i grew up literally on a daily dose of Black Dog Bone music.

Their songs were the ones that kept me company on wintry nights in UK ,missing home a bit and indeed their songs gave the necessary comfort.

Have i watched them performed live?

Yes i did  a few years back they were performing back here in Kuching. 

A real enjoyable night as we all strummed and sang to the tunes of their evergreen music.

Songs such as "Relax", "Geram", "Hati kau di lukai lagi" , "Jangan Lukakan Hati Ku "and no one can render these songs better than their lead singer, Jatt. 

Indeed the Rock Group, Black Dog Bone will always have a special place in my heart and nothing give me a good  mood than to hear a Black Dog Bone song.

Thank you Jatt for the great memories......

In search of a great cuppa

Normally during a hectic day i would have my usual dose of coffee, i always lose of the number of cups i have drunk but i do know 5 is a normal count.

My friends and colleagues were very aware of my coffee obsession and they will always laugh whenever i told them at what great lengths i normally went through just to search or experience a great cuppa coffee.

Kuching my home town do not offer much choices so i normally just relish making my own cup at home on my coffee machine. Still give me a great treat for i still have in my stock premium coffee such as coffex and Illy .

The Hilton cafe though to me still best place to have a great cup and they only use Coffex brand coffee..hmm not bad.

In my search for a great cuppa i can relate many stories of drinking coffee at various places and some even unique! Well, once i did have a glass of coffee with hot charcoal(yes ,believe me)at a roadside in Jogjakarta.

KL of course has its own great joints to offer you coffee. Without fail if i am at Suria KLCC, San Francisco coffee outlet is a must place to stop by for a cuppa. The Starbucks at Berjaya Times Borders is another fav, the Cofffee Bean at Low Yat is also a good place to relax over a good cup of Americano.The KLIA airport Marche outlet is also a must stop place for coffee .

The most interesting fact about coffee is that it is the second most traded commodity after oil, believe that huh....

Sabrina San, please stop this obsession

My daughter,Sabrina (the girl half of my 15 year old paternal twins) has raised her obsession of anything Japanese to another height.

She's been pestering me to sign her on to the students exchange programme this coming December  IE a 2 weeks programme in Japan organised by "Yayasan Antara Budaya".

The TV  has been blaring with her Japanese drama shows which i can barely understand ,as usual the characters are young teenagers and some have their hair dyed blond as if being a Beckham look alike is a cool thing in Japan now.

 

The irony of it all this daughter of mine can pass as a Japanese with her more Chinese looks!! 

Have i been to Japan myself? Yes, once almost 12 years ago on a seminar of some sort.

What i remembered  was their efficient and fast bullet train and the officer announcing to us of their daily programme for our entourage from Asean , read this...

Protocol officer: "Gentlemen San, our programme for today will be;

8.02 Am Breakfast

8.24  am  arrive at train station for field trip

8.25 am train departs .......bla bla 

Hmm that's what i remembered, the punctuality and preciseness of the timings.

Excuse me can i have a 3 minutes 25 seconds break for the toilet please??

I though was not at my best behaviour i remembered while walking around their beautiful park and singing to the tune of the theme song from the movie,"The Bridge Of River Kwai"...haha i can envisaged Alec Guinness grimacing at my untoward behaviour towards my hosts.

Ya Sabrina , i too have some fondness for Japan even though all my acquaintances do not have blond hair but more of those keep nodding their heads at almost once a minute but then they are all great guys !!!

Her twin brother Faizul meanwhile is so oblivious to what's going on around him as he battled his way in the PC game, Counterstrike and DOTA.....

Like any doting parents, we never realise how fast your children has grown and as they reach their teenage age,new things, new obsessions will occupy their mind. Nonetheless as responsible parents  we will always give them space to grow their own minds .

Kuala Lumpur...a "decent" taxi trip

Just back from KL, this time round spent the weekend there as well for celebrating both my significant other and my elder daughter Diyana's birthday.

Previously my Kl trip has always been a rush but this time round has been able to savour a bit of the KL that it is today. Not impressed honestly with the behaviour of its taxi drivers.

In all my travels i have never met such unsavoury and unethical behaviour from taxi drivers. Places like Singapore,Bangkok,Jakarta, Ho Chin Minh, Manila places that i have all been to has their taxi drivers normally courteous and charged you by the meter reading.

KL taxi drivers? " Dua puluh ringgit lah Bang, traffic jam tau" (20 Ringgit,traffic jam you know!!!) and this for a RM5 ride.

Anyway i have though found another great place for coffee...PapaRich Cafe in front of Federal Hotel. Coffee though not as great as even compared to the Secret Recipe Long Black but cheaper and you can have free Wi-Fi. The ambiance is relaxing and one can always opt for its rich texture bread than the usual helpings of Roti Canai or Nasi Lemak. So, no complaints!!!

Besides Diyana's constant nagging for a decent birthday present, the family has a nice quiet dinner at Suria KLCC(where else?) ,am really tired of that shopping complex because it's near to Petronas Twin Towers and so naturally every time in KL? Where to meet? Suria KLCC lah ...

Am happy though that Diyana got a conditional offer from Imperial College,London for her Engineering Degree ,i cant convince her that she can possibly have a better career pursuing other vocations!!!!

So the weekend has been all right and as expected i relented to Diyana's request for a "decent' birthday present!!! Nothing knew.

Peter Gabriel..an icon in my youth

Genesis the pop group was a phenomena in  my youthful days and Phil Collins is the more well known face of Genesis.

Phil Collins embarked on a successful solo career but hey have anyone heard of Peter Gabriel? He was the original lead singer of Genesis .

Peter Gabriel ,too has a successful solo career and a great song he did a duet with Kate Bush in the 80s still remained one of my all time favourites.

It  epitomise the spirit of the day, ya 'Don't Give Up" was indeed a great song..enjoy it as i always do!!!

Stimulus packages,the Malaysian way

As i read today's Newspapers, headlines were all about a potential by-election (again?) at Penanti,Penang.

Our Prime Minister's dismay at such an unnecessary "politicking" and money spending is understandable.

True to my nature though, i just cant help smiling at such a Malaysian phenomena of having a series of by elections.

I smiled wryly because i realised this is a new formula (Made in Malaysia) for a real effective stimulus package agenda.
Everyone cant help noticing the infusion of monies and development funds to the by election constituency. I read that at a recent by election in Batang Ai(not Air, please) a development fund of 70 Millions Ringgit was pledged. Wow,awesome!!

The spending again by the campaigners, the throng of VIPs who will of course will not want to have their lunch at a roadside,this is indeed a real and effective stimulus.

The best part of this stimulus package is that the monies go directly to the populace ,indeed i now cant help realising that an effective antidote to a recession is a BY ELECTION.

So,Mr Obama can you take a leaf from the Malaysian way of dealing with the present doldrums in the economy, yes Mr Obama trust us Malaysians to be innovative, thinking out of the box and we don't need a Greenspan wisdom to resolve our economic recession.

As in the 1997 crisis, Malaysia has also shown a way of dealing with the issue without any IMF bail out ..yup MALAYSIA BOLEH.

Hillsborough.. a football disaster

I cant help noticing this past week all players in the Premier league wearing black armband .

As the commentator stated that this was in remembrance of the Hills borough disaster.
A disaster that caused lives of innocent fans and a disaster that set about huge reforms in football stadium management in UK and the world.

I remembered that day when Liverpool fans were crushed to death as they were sandwiched like sardines while standing to watch a semi final FA cup game .

In fact such a calamity was a tragedy waiting to happen, i myself still vividly recalled some of the games i went to watch at the standing sections of a stadium, can tell you can be scary man.

I clearly remembered during my university days , with my nephew Sharbini tagging along we watched a game at St Andrews the Birmingham City FC ground. It was an all standing section of the stadium.
When initially you were comfortably snuggling in the cold at the higher end of the standing row,suddenly found yourself being swept and pushed down to the very lower end as the crowd started to push each other.

A real unsavoury episode indeed for me !!!!

I can feel for the memory of that tragedy on 15.4.1989 ,i was already back home in Malaysia working but even then i can feel the sadness of the tragedy.

This weekend will be of course another FA Cup semi final and Manchester United is pitted against the Toffees(Everton).
Rest assured i will be watching the TV rooting for the Red Devils in all their moves and one can sense the vast improvements of the football stadium that this game will be played.

It will be an all seater affair with the players on the field virtually all Millionaires, a far cry from that tragic day at Hillsborough.

On reflection,the sacrifice has though brought about positive changes to English football and i for one will never want to relish standing again watching a football match on a cold wintry afternoon ..oops i cant help though jumping up ,standing with joy if that scouser Rooney scored this weekend!!

The roaring 90s....the Clinton era

The 90s was definitely the defining decade for our generation.

Going into our 30s and starting to raise a family is the main agenda no doubt.

What did i remember of the 90s?

The Clinton era was an era of unprecedented growth for the US economy and putting aside his "misdemeanours", President Clinton indeed was the man of that decade in my view.

Maybe he was lucky because his tenure coincide with the Internet boom as the world get more connected and the growth actually 'fuelled" by the many technological advances.

The emergence of China and India also helped to build a buoyant world market as millions of people joined the race to be part of the affluent middle class society.

To me, Clinton's greatest contribution is not to engage in any senseless wars or conflicts for an America that puts peace and mutual cooperation first as a world agenda ie a badly needed recipe for a world of stable growth.

Yup..the 90s is definitely a Clinton decade.

Malaysia though has seen its own interesting times ... the country too followed USA in terms of economic growth until the financial crisis hits our shores in 1997.

The political turmoil during that period fortunately didn't turn into a very ugly chapter in the nation's history.

The country has moved on since then and we survived the crisis without a need for an IMF bailout.

Historians will view this in decades to come as possibly the coming of age of Malaysia as a savvy country but maybe not,only time will tell.

For me,the 90s indeed was also a decade of big decisions as one grappled as an 30 odd years old.

I left a job at a Multinational company and venture into "unknown" territory with only a belief in my own ability and if everything fails i said to myself i can always rely on my technical skills to earn a living for myself and the family.

As i saw young men and women now going through the same "coming of age" process, my advice has always been nothing beats hard work and a dedicated pursuance of being competent in at least one particular field of work or expertise. Bullshitting will not get you anywhere(not with me anyway!!!)

The roaring 90s as they called it indeed was a momentous decade in all aspects, the world get more connected and globalised, the emergence of China and India all adds up to an important lesson in my view if the world is to continue to prosper:

" The pursuit of building and sustaining an affluent society is the best antidote to a world that can be mired in conflict,wars and unrest".

Whiteside reincarnated

Ever since i remembered supporting them,wow i believed way back even in the late 60s and as i grew up as a teenager in the 70s emerging young players always hooked me on!!! 

Those days you get your football news from Shoot magazine and trying to listen to BBC World Service Saturday night game hmmm  so different as compared to now!!! 

Ya i remembered now fondly those days  scrounging all my pocket money to buy a real treasure, Shoot Magazine at KK  Abdul Majeed located somewhere on India Street..Wonder whether it's still there,must find out one day!!

You drooled at all the photos of young players then and for me emerging United youth were not a plenty and nothing  much to rejoice except possibly Sammy Mccllroy.

Then came this huge fella, he exploded to the scene in early eighties, i was in UK already then and his name?

Norman Whiteside..what talent for such a big guy,all suffering Manchester United fans then was having some hope that finally the early Busby Babes tradition will be revived with this Whiteside fella.

Anyone remember his wonderful goal in the league cup final against Liverpool in 1982 against that red team from Mersey side. The way he turned the Liverpool player and scored!!!

Another reason why he was loved by United faithful were his consistently remarkable match-winning displays against the team's bitterMerseyside rivals in the league; Liverpool and Everton, who at that time were two of the more dominant and successful clubs in England. He also scored the winning goal in the 1985 FA Cup final, curling a shot in from the right hand side in the 20th minute of extra time, to give ten man United victory over Everton, and Whiteside his second FA Cup winner's medal. Norman Whiteside was passionately called "The Scourge of the Scousers" as a result of these exploits.

Yes the winning goal that he scored against Everton in the 1985 FA Cup final was brilliant ..such sublime skill.

GOAL..GOAL...Macheda has scored !!!! yes fast forward to year 2009 and another 17 year old huge fella came to the scene and when he scored that winning goal against VIlla i cant help having a wry smile.

Hmmm..Whiteside reincarnated ..welcome Macheda. Live it on Norman in the form of this new young fella , he can also score goals as you did for United more than 20 years ago.

 

Books,,food for the brain

I am an avid reader, and sometimes it becomes a habit that is hard to put down.

Books nowadays are indeed expensive.

I always make a point of allocating a specific budget for buying books every month and in our own "word speak", this particular monthly budget of mine always shows an "Overrun".

I finally have my own library,an outcome of accumulating books over the years.

Still messy though in its categorisation and organisation, will have to spend a full day soon to organise all the books properly before i can proudly call it a library.

Now, now over the years which particular books and authors that really captivate and influence me?


Hmm, let me reflect.there's this book i bought way back in 1994 which i still viewed as a real paradigm shift in my thinking with regards to life and meaning of real success:

"The Paradox Of Success" by John O'Neill....... a bit review of the book .."

The paradox of success teaches readers how to sustain personal development over the long haul,through self observation,deep learning,and regenerative retreats. It can help readers become long distance winners, and renew their lives and reinvigorate their organisations in the process.

It is a deeply haunting and thought provoking book as it leads you to a journey of knowing your shadow and its dark sides. The hubris of success can ultimately lead to your downfall and any strategies for renewal must involve a need to step back and face the shadow.

Some authors i definitely an avid follower and i will grab any of their books when i saw them at a bookstore, authors such as... Sir VS Naipaul, Charles Handy and the finance writer John Train.

Well, indeed books are food for the brain and one can be humble and enlightened as wiser and more knowledgeable people share their thoughts, views and experiences via words particularly if those words are written in such clarity and enthusiasm.

OOps..can you move over please Mr Shadow as i am now reading this delightful book by Alan Greenspan, "The Age of turbulence".

British comedy actors..a great treat

This weekend i finally had the time to indulge on some movie viewings at home, has not been been doing this for quite a while.

I bought this movie recently a blu Ray copy .."How to lose friends & alienate people"...

It has Kirsten Dunst(Spiderman fame), Jeff Bridges but i picked the movie up to buy purely due to this one actor in its main role..Simon Pegg.

Simon Pegg caught my attention in the movie , "Hot Fuzz" , he continued this great tradition of British comedy actors, eccentric,hilarious,has a peculiar sense of humour and above all made you really laugh !!!

Back to the movie...Simon Pegg's acting was so brilliant and original that i thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the movie,indeed a great respite from a hectic week.

EN-GA-LAND, En-ga-land, En-ga-land! En-ga-land- oi, Orlando, you used to be British! En-ga-land, En-ga-land, En-ga-land!"

Ha ha a great scene indeed as the drunk Simon Pegg perched himself up a stage and shouted those above words....remind me of some drunked nuts i met on a Saturday nite in aUK city.


"You thought Brad Pitt was a cave in Yorkshire.".....Simon Pegg to his Father who is a Professor of some sort

As i said i thoroughly enjoyed Simons's role in this movie carrying on the great tradition of great British Comedy actors......Rowan Atkinson,John Cleese,Vinnie Jones(oops sorry not him!) Michael Palin, Russel Brand to name a few.

What ails you Sarawak football?

I was textd an sms this morning informing me that Sarawak has drawn their game against ATM,2-2.

What ails you Sarawak football?
Am i qualified to give my 2 cents worth of view ?

I was honestly relieved that i was no longer in football because the people in FAS the association that runs Sarawak football thought that my ideas and style too radical for the comfort of some.

Despite sponsoring 5 key players , none from our company was invited to be in the senior team management committee.

No sour rapes as reflected by the fact that we still continue to assist on these 5 key players but the present situation of Sarawak football somehow augmented my view that radical changes need to be made and a voluntary based structure and expecting companies to be kind enough to help a so called "voluntary" organisation is just a pipe less dream.


My earlier proposal of merging team and stadium management under one formal management set up,run as a pro club and reporting to a board comprising a collaboration of government,FAS and private sector is worth a try if Sarawak football seriously wanted to rise as a phoenix.

Like all well meaning Sarawakians we truely wants a team that we can be proud of. On my part we will still continue to assist Sarawak football by adopting the 5 players and hope that the present management will be able to weather the present storm and at least finish the season with our pride and reputation still intact.

There is no excuse, they all know what to expect when they take up the responsibility of running the team this season.
Adios
Zorro.

Thank you Pak Lah

On Friday everyone in Kl seemed to be buzzing and while at the airport lounge ,all were glued to the TV screen witnessing the end of the Abdullah era and the ushering of the 6Th Prime Minister.

One cant help reflecting back on the Abdullah or Pak Lah's "reign".
Believe it as a student(1980.) i used to eat "nasi ayam" in plastic packet with Pak Lah on the same table when he was officiating a function in Cardiff UK .He was then a Parliamentary Secretary i think.Hmmm never realised then that this quiet man across the table would be a Prime Minister one day!!!

As the new Prime Minister Pak Lah came in with a lot of expectations from all and sundry, here is a man total opposite to Dr M in character and approach. All Malaysians have high hopes on him ...so has he delivered?

I remarked few weeks back as the world economy was reeling with recession ,Malaysia seemed to be cushioned somewhat thanks to our surplus which i believe is all credit due to Pak Lah.

When he assumed power, his first economic priority was to reduce government deficit and his firm decisions not o continue with some mega projects and cancelling some( a bit crooked..the bridge i mean) took strong will power and faith. He was lambasted by some quarters for not continuing with this legacy of building momentous projects ..yes we were now seeing the wisdom of his actions.

The surplus that the nation is able to accumulate,accentuated by spiralling oil and palm oil prices in recent years has certainly able the government now to provide stimulus packages to redress the recession.

Thank you Pak Lah , to quote the STAR yesterday....." The media may be chronicler of instant history but it is the historian who will have the perspective to look at both the positive and negative sides of Pak Lah's ledger."

Above statement reminded me of the Jimmy Carter era, he was deemed a "failure" as a USA President by the media but History has acknowledged him as a man of good intentions and deeds and he went on to become a highly respected Statesman after his retirement.
Pak Lah can be the same and i hope he will continue playing his role as an experienced statesman continually giving us Malaysians the hope, dignity and aspirations to stir our beloved Nation towards greater progress and a real Bangsa Malaysia.

Thank you Pak Lah.

Fish tales(tails..) from KL

I was away again travelling to KL for the past few days and as usual, always a hectic and sometimes "traffic jam' weary schedule.

This time round though i tried the pleasure of foot massaging in front of the hotel i stayed to ease this irritating pain of my back ankle ,the aggravation that occurred in a recent football game i played with my colleagues.

Wow, there was quite a crowd at this massage place.

For the stiff prices that they charged , surprised to see the business flourishing,well mostly Arab and Indian tourists.

While awaiting my turn, they offered me a free dip in their tank full of fishes that supposedly "eat away" your dead skin thus rejuvenating your skin supposedly....hmmm quite an experience bit itchy but once you get used to it can be a thrill!!!

The foot massage which i booked for an hour was not that bad, the masseur from China(where else?) seems to be quite deft with his work and what will one do while being massaged he told you that i needed at least one and a half hour not one hour...a real fishy business instead!!!(pardon the pun).

One joy that i always tried to savour when in KL was to have a mixed rice meal with its main offering, the ikan Keli(eel ..) cooked in dried chili..heaven man i love this dish, don't asked me why ,it's a craving that i yearn whenever i got the time in Kl to have it.

Why i even spurned an invitation yesterday by a friend to have a meal at a hotel so i can have this dish at a roadside at Jalan Alor.

What did i have lunch today in KL ? ha,what else but another dish of ikan keli(fried eel) at the Ampang Mall food court. While my colleague possibly having his lunch today at a "proper " Chinese restaurant, i was savouring my fried eel,the ikan keli.

As i cut through the fish tail,i cant help wondering that this particular KL trip indeed is a great fish tale to relate!!