zuraimi"s sojourns

L-R: (Front): ???, Zuraimi, Adibah L-R (Back): Nik Nariman, Napsiah, Nani, andie, Noraliza

2011-02-11T23:07:00.000+08:00

It has been a while..

2010-04-05T22:54:00.002+08:00

I have not written any "sojourns" on my blog for a long while, no excuse really except that the urge to write as your mood demands is not there coming , heavy workload is not the reason actually as well.

My days and nights routine remains largely as it used to be, days filled with work demands,nights just savouring the idleness the home can offer(sometimes..).

What has been the significant events for the last few months?

I had to admit this, sometimes we do miss our 2 children, azri and diyana,,,they may feel otherwise though as they experience the freedom of teenage life.

We fret whether they take care of themselves well in the foreign lands.

The twins(sabrina and faizul) are now 16 years of age and soon they will leave home as well to further their studies wherever it may take them...cant time stand till?

As one aged, this passage of life is to be expected and as a friend says this has to be handled well, you have done your best for your children,you can only hope that we have provided them the right upbringing for them to face life with the fortitude and well balanced character that we will be proud of.

Amirul the youngest is still 9 years of age,thank goodness !!!

A true core(Koh..) Malaysian

2010-01-24T09:39:00.003+08:00

Two weekends ago there was some form of roadshow by the Government on their "NKRAs" programme....

I went to the roadshow cum exhibition on that Saturday, had a chat with an old friend who is the driving force behind the whole process (Dato Seri Idris Jala).

Dato Seri has not lost any of his enthusiasm, charm and high octane energy as i can see that ever since i knew him more than an 20 years ago and always trust an ex oil and gas man to present his speech with the aid of view graphs!!!

He is indeed a Sarawakian that we all feel proud of , a man humble in his ways but effective in his mode of actions

.A day earlier i attended the opening ceremony and honestly the person that has also impressed me is Tan Seri Dato Koh Tsu Koon.

His speech in perfect Malay without any need of text , delivered in a strong, confident and immaculate manner was great. He did not ramble, and as a Chinese Malaysian , his command of Bahasa Malaysia even put the likes of me to shame.

Here indeed is a true core Malaysian where one does not have to abandon the traditions and language of one own's race but still can embrace the mainstream culture of the country with no inhibitions at all.

I believe another person of that nature is YB fadillah, have seen him on TV speaking immaculately as a Malaysian and that one cant tell that he's a Sarawakian. That's what it should be and can be, we can still can keep our own manners and lingo of our own dialects but will be at ease in the mainstream as we portray ourselves as a true Malaysian that thrives in our diversity of culture but with one common goal: building a country that the future generations can be proud of.

Tan Seri Dato Koh..how i wish i can have the same confidence and command of our National language as you are!!

Avatar..a glimpse of a future?

2010-01-24T09:09:00.005+08:00

Finally last weekend we managed to drag ourselves to watch the movie, "Avatar".

Being dog tired , was expecting to doze off throughout the movie for from some scant feedback from friends who had watched the movie , i was also expecting that it is just another far fetched science fiction tale with all its gadgetry to please the audience.

How wrong i was? the movie was AWESOME...

Enjoyed every single minute, the lead actor (Sam Worthington..))with his cool demeanour did not let the movie down with his portrayal as the handicapped ex marine but also as an avatar learning the ways of the "blue people".

Sigourney Weaver has always been a favourite of mine but has has she aged!

The story line may seem melodramatic but the message none less that Cameron tried to relay is a strong powerful one...the need for us mankind to be in symbiosis with our natural surroundings and the bonding one needs with each other must be felt with the intensity of a shared need for survival and well being.Ya in our own context we need to embrace each other more irrespective of race, creed and colour.

When the director James Cameron accepted his Best Picture trophy for Avatar at the Golden Globe awards on Sunday night, he had a very specific message to sell. “Avatar asks us to see that everything is connected,” he began, explaining to the packed ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel the true meaning of a film that’s set almost exclusively in the hyper-real jungle world of Pandora. “And if you have to go four and a half light years to another made-up planet to appreciate the miracle of a world we have right here, well, ya know what, that’s the wonder of cinema right there. That’s the magic.”

The magic of Avatar, however, has been so potent that some film fans have felt it linger long after the closing credits.

I cant agree more with the above statement..indeed Avatar is a transformational experience particularly if we watched it on 3-D.

You will possibly begin to appreciate what mother nature has endowed us and the wonders of God's creation is beyond human's instinct to be an all dominant specie.

Will i want to watch this movie again? i will once it's on Bluray!!!

22B Baker Street

2010-01-09T11:38:00.005+08:00

Last weekend i brought my Twins to watch the movie,"Sherlock Holmes".

I did read earlier its preview that it is a fast paced action packed detective thriller possibly to meet the needs of the general movie goers palate..and not adhering to the original philosophy of a great Conan Doyle book on this pipe smoking detective.

The cast seemed to offer a great movie with Robert Downey Jr and Judd Law as the movie's main lead.

Honestly enduring the 2 hours in the cinema it was a real let down(to me anyway!!).

It is too one dimensional in its portrayal, i cant even visualise the fact that Downey fits the bill as that great detective....the only saving grace is the grim realistic image of London in those days which makes the movie a bit more authentic as the minutes ticked away, just cant wait for it to end.

I am though now trying to find time to watch "Avatar", possibly am looking forward to see "blue people" as Blue is my favourite colour , you never know i may enjoy that movie much more than that dismal Downey portrayal of Holmes.

Please , please don't have any sequel as they suggest with Professor Moriarty Sherlock Holmes arch enemy still lurking !!

Where are thou?

2010-01-09T10:53:00.004+08:00

As i travelled to the far corners of Sarawak, savouring the peace and tranquility of the places one cant help appreciated the fact that indeed Sarawak and Malaysia for that matter is a blessed place on Earth.

Devouring the scenery from the window of the Twin Otter plane that i was travelling on, there is no undeniable fact that Sarawak has developed beyond recognition as compared to 30 years ago.

But then one can say so has been other places..

From the economic perspective, "pump priming" Ala Keynesian concept is maybe still the prime driver of this development drive.

There are though glimpses of self generating, self sustaining economic activities and while unappreciated at times in view of its small scale , the undoubted fact is still obvious: this kind of economic activities are the ones that the average populace will be engaged in and the Government to an extent has realised this.

I spoke to a colleague on this trip and asked the question," where shall the country be in 50 years?"

Are we having and nurturing an ample pool of leaders in all strata that will exhibit stellar qualities to further propel the Nation and State forward?

Expediency thinking while applauded shall not be the only mantra or philosophy ......

Yes we wonder among the 30's somethings will there arise a leader that is visionary and has all the attributes that will propel the State and country 30 years from now?

Where are thou?

Barcelona..not a Messi(y) city indeed

2009-12-28T18:22:00.004+08:00

Like Manchester, one always equate Barcelona to be a footballing city . partly indeed it seems to be the case as one always observe an endless array of Barcelona FC jerseys and other memorabilia being sold at every single souvenir shop.

However as one "unravels" the wonder of this city it is obviously not a Messi(y) city (pardon the pun) but it is a city built on the architectural brilliance of Antonio Gaudi.

His ultimate masterpiece was indisputably the Sagrada Familia .Awesome is the only word to describe this Gaudi's masterpiece of an Architectural marvel.

Barcelona is a real modern city and i read somewhere it's the best city to live in after Chicago.

Am not surprised easily, one can walk and enjoys what the city offers on its famous La Ramblas street.

The metro system is modern and connects the city well, its park up the hill at the monjuic is beautiful.Things area bit expensive though as one can expect from a city that can offer many tourist attractions.

What did i buy in Barcelona?

Ha..not a Barcelona FC shirt and not a Gaudi's trinket but an original Espanyol FC jersey with its nice blue stripes !!!

Ya it's indeed a Gaudi and to an extent a Picasso's city but in contemporary times Lionel Messi reigns supreme especially after his winning goal in the world club championship as fans celebrated wildly at the La Ramblas chanting his name..A Messi(y) city indeed that day!

Looking for Eric...Cantona

2009-10-27T12:11:00.004+08:00

Had the pleasure of watching the much awaited movie(for me,anyway) "Looking for Eric" on my DVD at home last weekend.

Am i disappointed with the movie? Not a bit really, enjoyed to a hilt because it was indeed a story of an ordinary person, a Manchunian postman whose life has taken a real dip to its lowest ebb and looking out to his hero,Eric Cantona in some form of imaginary conversation to seek out his own happiness and meaning to his seemingly mundane life.

Cantona(the man..) as usual oozes an aura that can only come from such a person of supreme confidence but even then he also relates his own frailties which makes Eric the postman realised that every man has his issues and problems and only by taking life by the scruff of its neck and caring honestly for the people that matters in your life (your family,close friends..) will enable one to endure all the challenges one would endure.

The movie has its magic moments..as Cantona famously quipped.."I am not a man", and Eric the postman asked, "What are you then?"... The reply? "I am Cantona"!! Great great man.

As a self confessed Manchester United fan who had suffered enough in the 70s and 80s , the coming of Cantona and the successes that he brought to the club was akin to the coming of the Messiah to Salford(of all places you may wonder).

Cantona is king, period for "old" fans like me, not Ronaldo, Rooney or Ferdinand(ugh).

Long live the King ..love your acting ,such presence as you also showed in your messianic duties on the pitch at old trafford.

GBAT family day

2009-10-19T11:40:00.006+08:00

We had our annual GBAT family day at Damai beach resort during the weekend which also to coincide with a farewell dinner for Tuan hj Halidi, the assistant consulate general who will be transferred back to Brunei after a 3 years great(in his own words..) stint in Kuching.

Actually GBAT stands for ..Geng badminton", ha that's how this group of friends started off, playing badminton together at the KGS badminton courts, a routine that has been going on for at least now 6 years. Admittedly i had not been such a regular player in recent years but still kept company with this group of friends.

The weekend besides the dinners for the two nights , also had beach games during the day.

The night shows were certainly eclipsed by the impromptu performances by the kids who showed no public shyness as they belted out song after song and even a shuffle show as well by the incomparable Haziq! That's what being in the GBAT means..friendship based on mutual respect and having happy times together irrespective of your standings in the society. The kids have shown and continued this trait by their uncaring ways performing in the public with no qualms whether they made fools of themselves.

My twins ,Faizul and Sabrina sang a Widuri song! Amirul the youngest joined his friends in belting out a Michael Jackson's song(i think from all the din!!).

I wished again to all my Gbat friends good blessings in health and may we all continued this great friendship till our grandchildren, InsyaAllah.

Friendship..warts and all

2009-10-13T12:04:00.006+08:00

One of the most enduring theme of one's life as we charted our course in this wonderful universe is the experience of the joys and pains of having friends.

An undeniable fact of a person's existence from the day he or she entered this world is an "addicted" need to have friends besides own family members.

You first experienced this wonderful bonding with other human beings besides the safe haven of your own cocoon at home when you entered primary school.

Even now i still can recalled my childhood friends at primary school and at the confinements of your own kampong....at school i remembered we called ourselves the "secret seven" ha taking up that Enid Blyton's fictions group of young sleuths trying to solve endless mysteries and "whodunnit" ventures, such imagination by us all and we even took a task ourselves trying to solve a case of stolen pencil or eraser!!!

Move on..at secondary school somehow you would end up with different set of friends not that you had totally abandoned your earlier friends!! I have learnt the joy of having real and close friends of people of other races!! Who bother if he or she eats pork while you didn't as long as we can fro lick around at waterfalls, seasides during school picnics! those close friends i picked up when i was very much involved in the Red Crescent activities.

We even went on a historic trip representing Sarawak to signify the event when the Red Cross is changed to Red Crescent...Hari Raya, Chinese New Year,Gawai were times for us to visit each other and a close chinese friend of mine even slept and spent Raya with my family.

Also besides school friends i was also part of few of us Malay boys calling ourselves the "Keehak boys" immersed in the joy of those 70s music(Blak dog bone, carefree...) and when i met again my 'Keehak buddies" we reminiscent of those great days as teenagers

In the UK doing my A levels,i made great friends besides with some locals but also with my West Malaysian brothers . I played badminton for my college and we had great times competing in the local Halifax league and i still kept contact with my chemistry tutor and on a recent trip to Manchester , i drop by at Halifax and met with her, besides her white hair nothing has changed as we talked about those days!!

I also learnt more of my identity and the struggles that we must cherish and as my Trengganu flatmate always reminded me, "dah sembahyang?"

At university while keeping friends with my own Sarawakian and Malaysian friends i did keep tab with some Brits and one particular guy i remembered i am always his minder on football trips to Wembley. He Will ended up stone drunk ..wonder indeed he watched the football game for without fail i had to carry him back (being me the only sober person !!!) as we trudged back to the university bus back to Birmingham.

Why did i write this article on friendship? Reason being the exhilaration's and joys of having great friends did not end once you got married, had a decent job and raised 5 kids....now i am part of a group of friends which we called ourselves the GBAT gang..the group started as a socialising activity playing badminton once or twice a week. It had blossomed into a real close unit of friends that included the wives! This weekend we would be celebrating our GBAT family day...

Friendship i believed endures because we do not make too much judgements of each other and also ever willing to give n take as necessary without a sense of selfishness and material rewards.

Throughout my life i was really blessed knowing good and great people who i can call my friends, it is not the position , wealth or societal status that matters with real friends. What matters is that you have the time for them, you have the time when they are celebrating something joyous eg their son's birthday, you have the time when they experienced something tragic or sad eg the passing of one of their loved ones .

To all my friends , thank you for giving me your time and to GBAT let us have a wonderful time this weekend!!!

train ride to midvalley

2009-10-11T13:00:00.004+08:00

I was in KL over the weekend attending our association OSFAM annual dinner at KL Central Hilton .

Decided to stay at this posh hotel as well for convenience, indeed a 5 star, the services excellent and personalised, the room immaculate and reflect the trappings of a modern luxurious abode.

The one night stay and the function was certainly enjoyable, as you met up with some old friends in the same industry , catch up on the latest business happenings within the sector as well, and as always the dinner would have an invited singer to serenade the crowd. The singer, Noryn Aziz(seriously before this don't know who she is..) also not bad with her powerful voice crooning old Sinatra songs .

Breakfast at the hotel was also enjoyable, the waitresses all with smiling faces making you felt being the most important person in the world.

With time to spare in the morning before catching my flight back to Kuching i decided to go over to the Midvalley Mall not far away from KL Central.

I asked the hotel reception how's the best way to go there,"Sir, take a taxi " However i opted for my own initial judgement of using the KTM train service that plied Rawang -Seremban and with mid valley as one of its stops.

Phew...what a bad decision, the 5 minutes journey became one long wait at the platform station as the train( normal i was later told) delayed for 30 minutes, and as one scrambled onto the overcrowded train, the sign board for the mid valley station was obscure and cant be seen clearly in view of its small signage board!! why cant the most important display on a train platform(as i saw on other platforms in other countries) be the biggest sign on that platform? beat me the logic of it.

Rushing around mid valley , the expected routine took place again on the train ride back to KL central, 40 minutes delay .

Will i use that service again? surely i will because am proud as a Malaysian that we had such wonderful, well maintained public service and the only improvement we need is a "Hilton approach" towards the customer service, can be done only a wee bit of mentality change!!

Ride on KTM

Lynn Truss..eats, shooots and leaves

2009-10-07T23:25:00.004+08:00

Perusing through the WH Smith store at Euston station London on my recent trip, i noticed a new book by Lynn Truss, "Get her off the pitch".

I bought it without any hesitation for am an ardent fan of her style of writing and wit as greatly expounded in her best seller book, "Eat,shoots and leave" . Imagine a person can write a whole book about commas, punctuations and a proper use of them and the book becoming a run away best seller.

Back to her recent book,"Get her off the pitch"...basically it chronicled her times as a sports writer for the National daily, The Times.

A literary and art critic being asked to do sports journalism? That's what make the book an interesting read, her conversion from someone who doesn't even knew a wee bit about football to an obsessed nut who cried when England lost to Germany in a Euro qualifier... i just cant put the book down, who said that football nuts are not intellectually endowed and has a taste for the Arts and Culture besides their continuous childlike ranting about their team( incl Man U!!).

Just to relate a piece of this masterpiece of a book at the end chapter when she finally ended her sojourn as a sports writer and back to attending theatres and writing arts critic..

"..i can be quite sharp with anyone who is snobby about sports...i suspect intellectual insecurity lies behind this narrow mindedness.."

Ha one can still practice the habit of reading the newspapers from the back..hmmm more interested to know what has Fergie to say for the reduced stoppage time and thus preventing his team to score again a spectacular winner against Sunderland than the news on the front page of possibly again another by election is coming forth..ya one can still be a CEO of a successful multi million dollar revenue engineering based company , navigating gamely(ha ..) the intricacies of the business that range from understanding the limits of empiricism in the decision making framework to the challenges of balancing the demands of the business complex environment, ya nothwistanding can still be very childlike when Rooney scored and hated with no unfounded parallel that team down the Lancashire Road.

Yes,Lynn i can be emphatic with you, no wonder your book is such a delightful read!!!

Hyde park-a corner of free speech

2009-09-28T12:06:00.008+08:00

When i was in London a while back, had the opportunity of "loitering" around the Hyde Park free speech corner on a Sunday.
As usual the banters i encountered were some amusing to the point of hilarity but some did have interesting serious debates and dialectal discussions.
30 years ago when as a young student the main theme of all the discussions had been capitalism against socialism/communism.
Now that particular argument has been to bed with the fall of the Berlin wall, the flavour theses days as i noticed that Sunday was on religions. I can see few Islamists debating with fervour against some mainly Christian activists....hmm how times have changed or is it a circle being witnessed again?
In all great respect i cant also help observing that the once much revered Hyde Park place of free speech has become just a playground for some "regulars" on a Sunday to poke fun at some of the speakers, a bit sad .
I remembered 30 years ago when i was at the Hyde Park and there was an interesting argument between a British speaker and some German tourists on who were more superior. In exasperation when the British speaker lost his plot ,he asked this group of German tourists what was the exchange rate of the Pound to the German Marks? "Four German marks to the Pound" was the reply and this witty Brit then pounced and sealed the whole debate," ha you see ,it takes 4 Germans to beat 1 Brit!!!"

Well, while all the debates and arguments i had observed on that Sunday a while back at Hyde Park had not increased my intellectual awareness dramatically , i can still admire the fact that people can still argue on all range of subjects without a recourse to violence and even killing each other. Ya Hyde Park is an institution renown throughout the world...

a great day at old trafford

2009-09-25T15:11:00.006+08:00

Sunday 20.9 will remain forever etch in my memories, not because it was the first day of Raya but the day i had the opportunity to watch the football game at Old Trafford, Manchester. The game was a local derby that was much awaited by all Mancunians.

Manchester City is on the ascendancy ,bankrolled by an Arab Skeikh petro dollars while my beloved United has not spent big this season.

As myself and Diyana trudged along among the crowd wearing almost all in red colour shirts and jerseys, i can feel the excitement mounting.

Despite the 76,000 crowd, the whole process so well organised ,possibly a routine that has been perfected after many experiences of many such big matches.

The game itself was exhilarating, to see the red devils stars in flesh really gave Diyana's goose pimples , and the whole stadium erupted within 2 minutes when Rooney scored .

United's defence especially Ferdinand's display was not comforting and Foster seemed to recoil back to his less assuring self after such fine displays in his last 2 matches.

The Manchester city player that impressed me(has always been an admirer of his speedy game) was Craig Bellamy, he outpaced Ferdinand right in front of my eyes!

Well what can you say the delirium that we all experienced when Owen scored!! the irony was i bought an Owen jersey before the game over other star selections on offer(Berbatov, Rooney, Giggs..) maybe just for me to spite on my Liverpool supporter friends.

The whole stadium practically exploded, we were all jumping for joy in unison with other supporters.

All in all it was a great experience that i will savour for the rest of my life and as Fergie said< "sometimes you need to ignore and silence your noisy neighbours" and i claim to fame that i was there during best derby game ever played !!!!

Raya in Manchester

2009-09-25T01:26:00.003+08:00

have not posted anything on the blog primarily have been away for almost 10 days away to Uk to send my daughter Diyana to further her studies at Manchester University.

First day of Raya was initially spent attending the prayers at a local mosque,quite an experience as you saw among you people of various creed and race all within the Muslim brotherhood of celebrating the Eid occasion as the Ramadan month ends.

Quite like the sermon given by the imam ,very much in a Manchester accent.

After the prayers with no where to go , stop by at a Costa cafe to have my croissant and a cup of coffee along with Diyana. In fact you don't feel much of missing anything because at least you have your daughter with you, a great reminder that in any occasions ,as long as member(s) of the family is around, you will never feel the pain of being away from home.

Initially i have trepidations of whether i did the right thing of being away during Raya but seeing and helping your daughter to settle down in a foreign land which she will call home for the next 3 years is worth that sacrifice.

To all Muslims i wish all a happy hari raya and maaf zahir dan batin.

44 days of "damn-united"

2009-09-09T02:38:00.005+08:00

The other night had the pleasure of watching the movie "Damn-United", a story that centred on Brian Clough's ill fated short stint as a manager of Leeds United, 44 days on the job to be exact. It also "dramatize" his personal feud with Don Revie the Leeds legend.

Yes i remembered that era...an era of Leeds and Liverpool's dominance in English football.Leeds indeed has a notorious reputation of playing "hard" and physical football.

Back to Brian Clough, what a man and egoistic to boot but one cant fault his honesty and frankness in dealing with his players and peers, and of course his quotes..

If God had wanted us to play football in the clouds, he'd have put grass up there." On the importance of passing to feet.

"I wouldn't say I was the best manager in the business. But I was in the top one." Looking back at his success.

"Manchester United in Brazil? I hope they all get bloody diarrhea." On Man Utd opting-out of the FA Cup to play in the World Club Championship.

"I can't even spell spaghetti never mind talk Italian. How could I tell an Italian to get the ball - he might grab mine." On the influx of foreign players.

"I bet their dressing room will smell of garlic rather than liniment over the next few months." On the number of French players at Arsenal.

"Who the hell wants fourteen pairs of shoes when you go on holiday? I haven't had fourteen pairs in my life." On the contents of Posh Spice's missing luggage.

"Rome wasn't built in a day. But I wasn't on that particular job." On getting things done.

"On occasions I have been big headed. I think most people are when they get in the limelight. I call myself Big Head just to remind myself not to be." Old Big 'Ead explains his nickname.

"At last England have appointed a manager who speaks English better than the players." On the appointment of Sven Goran Eriksson as England manager.

"If he'd been English or Swedish, he'd have walked the England job." On Martin O'Neill.

"Anybody who can do anything in Leicester but make a jumper has got to be a genius." A tribute to Martin O'Neill.

"The ugliest player I ever signed was Kenny Burns." A Clough complement for a talented player.

"Stand up straight" get your shoulders back and get your hair cut." Advice for John McGovern at Hartlepool.

Clough ironically started his managerial career at Hartlepool, the club incidentally that i still keep contact with!!!Ya the club that was in the "twinning" programme with Sarawak football team during the times when i was in charge of Sarawak football,,,Russ Green the Hartlepool CEO and myself had some great ideas together how to revolutionise Sarawak football .Wonder how Clough would have reacted seeing the manner we run our football , but then that man is unique and he's been called "big head"for nothing!

Yes Brian Clough the greatest football manager that never manage the England Team!!!

Fasting month, and a "tapai" to savour

2009-09-09T01:57:00.006+08:00

Fasting month for us Muslims evoke a sense of a timely reminder of need to experience sacrifices and self discipline. From an early age we are taught on the various religious rituals that one must endure during the Ramadhan month.

When it comes to food to break fast, restraints somehow has gone amissing . Somehow without fail every fasting month my daily starter is always a tapai (fermented rice..) .I just cant explain this peculiar obsession of mine with the tapai because other days i did not touch a bit of the tapai.

The tapai is prepared by mixing rice with some form of yeast,i remembered my late grandmother when she declared that she was to prepare and make the tapai it always brought unbridled excitement to us all.

While she prepared this dish , nobody was allowed to chatter for fear that the tapai will turn into a sour taste rather than the much desired sweetened taste. My only explanation now is that to avoid the saliva from spoiling the fermentation process!!!

My confession as well now that i am not always keen to have my breaking of fast at some of these posh hotels that charged you a fortune purely because they do not serve my "compulsory" starter dish, the TAPAI!!!

So without fail everyday back from work ,a consistent chore will be to drop by at the Ramadan bazaar near my house and buy nasi ayam for Faizul, Mee jawa for Sabrina and without fail a ringgit's worth of tapai!!!

A greatr Merdeka day

2009-09-01T18:35:00.003+08:00

On 31.8 morning i dragged myself out of a deep slumber to attend the Merdeka celebration event at the indoor stadium.

While the event is celebrated in a low key manner i felt it was one of the best for the key message on the meaning of Merdeka was well portrayed during the event.

There was the usual guard of honour, the raising of the flag, the pledge and a showcase of our multitude of cultures and notwithstanding a visionary speech by our Chief Minister.

The theme of the celebration was also precise and to me relevant..People first, performance now

Happy Merdeka day again to all Malaysians

Merdeka

2009-08-30T23:29:00.004+08:00

Happy 52ND independence day Malaysia...you have reached an age normally associated with maturity, wisdom and progress.

May you live up to that expectations .

A country that is blessed with endowing natural resources and a high literate population cannot afford to screw up the future , a future that is more intertwined with the global happenings , a future that is definitely being determined how capable we are as a nation to be relevant in all fields within the world arena.

Malaysia's strength came from its diversity and this should not be viewed as a weakness.

Malaysia's strength came from its stable institutions of governance and this must not be taken for granted.

Malaysia's strength came from from its burgeoning young population and their voices and views must not be ignored.

Malaysia's strength is inspired by its moderate approach in its political and religious views and this must not be hijacked by any form of extremism.

The formation of Malaysia came from a desire of far sighted leaders then to have a federation of then British Colonies to seek unity and strength within a collective nation while still maintaining a specific measure of independence of each federated state to chart its local aspirations and destinies.

This underlying principle of Malaysia's formation must be well and clearly understood by present leaders and generations as the pace of globalisation hastens a need for us build up our present competencies and strengths and not be haggled by petty misunderstandings due to our own lack of knowledge of the basis of "lahirnya Malaysia".

PROUD TO BE MALAYSIANS...merdeka, merdeka

Breaking of fast or feast..

2009-08-30T22:47:00.003+08:00

Today my mum invited all her children and families for a breaking of fast with her at her place ....the dishes being offered did not disappoint any of us, all ravishing and as we savoured the food being placed on the table, one cant wait for the nearby surau's "bedok" to sound the breaking of fast.

Somehow it has become a routine feast for most Malaysian and Muslims during Ramadan. I knew for a fact that this was not meant to be for during the fasting of Ramadan all Muslims are suppose to abstain from all pleasures of life ,food notwithstanding.

This is an opportune time for us to cleanse our body and soul with moderation of food intake and performing the tarawikh prayers for a spiritual enrichment.

However i and maybe most others cant just help with all the food and delicacies on offer during during Ramadhan. There were the usual grilled fish, barbecued chicken, all manners of curry dishes and cakes wow yes cakes of all sorts...how can one abstain?

I confessed to eat just cereal oats during Ramadhan and bought some packets of these health enrichment food but the usual happens, it still remains unopened as each day so far of Ramadan i fell to the temptations of eating the food and delicacies that i routinely bought at the Ramadan bazaar near my house.

As the "bedok" sounded to mark the breaking of fast at my mum's place , the rich variety of food on the table were ravished with no mercy by us all and we thanked Allah SWT for the good blessings that was given and we prayed for the continuing good health of our beloved Mother as we departed from the house, i cant help giving her an Oliver's quip, " Mum, can we have some more of these ?"

Arsenal,Manchester City ..give me a smirk

2009-08-29T20:10:00.003+08:00

Football has always been a passion in my family as we grew up in the kampong within Kuching City vicinity. Being the eldest i always try to "dominate" proceedings and i never hide the fact in those early days,more than 40 years ago how crazy i was and still am on Manchester United. The Shoot magazine and the BBC radio world service every Saturday nights were our source of information on all the football proceedings.

Always scrounged whatever pocket money i had to buy the Shoot Magazine at KK Abdul Majeed in India Street.

My brother Zul supports Manchester City(hmm wonder why?) and it must have been perennial pain for him to witness City season in season out always being overshadowed by the other Manchester club. Well somehow this season i noticed a smirk on his face , ha City just spent more than 100 Million pounds on new players that include Tevez but i still doubted they will finish in the top 4.

My other brother, Shahbuddin (or Wen..) supports Arsenal, hmm a team whose favourite player of mine is Frank Stapleton. You can guess why.

The 1998/99 FA cup semi final was a great reminder of how great matches between United and Arsenal can be ..

Well it seems Arsenal is having a great start to the season and again i notice a big smirk on my brother's face ...but honestly i believe this is going to be Chelsea's year if it is not United.

The sacred cow..a need for religious tolerance

2009-08-28T23:33:00.002+08:00

In a few days , Malaysia will be celebrating its independence day. However recent events make most of us nervous on which road this glorious and blessed country will lead to in the years to come.

There is no doubt to the world that Malaysia is a success country, we may have our flaws but overall we have shown the world that a Muslim moderate majority country can progress and prosper based on the fundamental principle of a paramount respect for each other and among others a practice of religious tolerance.

Of late though one cant help noticing that the racial tensions is not between the majority Muslim Malays and the economic prosperous Chinese but between the Malays and the Indians.

While thinking that the worse has pass us by with the Hindraff incident , suddenly today a more grave and potential racial time bomb happened...

Dozens of Malaysian Muslims paraded Friday with the head of a cow, a sacred animal in Hinduism, in a dramatic protest against the proposed construction of a Hindu temple in their neighborhood.

The unusual protest by some 50 people in Shah Alam, the capital of Selangor state, raises new fears of racial tensions in this multiethnic Muslim-majority country where Hindus comprise about 7 percent of the 27 million population.

The demonstrators who marched from a nearby mosque after Friday prayers dumped the cow head outside the gates of the state government headquarters. Selangor adjoins Kuala Lumpur.

Protesters stomped on the head and spat on it before leaving the site, Xavier Jeyakumar, a state government official in charge of non-Muslim affairs, told The Associated Press.

"This is a sign of disrespect, insensitivity and a huge insult to the Indian community," he said.

Such an overt display of religious discord is almost unheard of in Malaysia, which has carefully nurtured racial harmony among its three main ethnic groups, Malay Muslims, Chinese and Indians, since 1969 when the country suffered its worst racial riots.

We sometimes forget that Malaysia is forged by our forefathers through a concept of tolerance and respect for each other. The prosperity of the country was not achieved only by a single community but through a unique Malaysian capacity of working together despite our religious and racial differences.

We hope that the authorities as our Prime Minister said will tackle this issue and "nip it at its bud".

We also prayed that the maturity and superior leadership qualities of our leaders will succeed in avoiding a potential racial bloodshed because i dread to think of how it will end up if this is to happen.

Malaysia belong to all of us irrespective of race, religion or position in society.

LONG LIVE MALAYSIA

A potpourri of culture..sometimes misunderstood

2009-08-27T23:14:00.004+08:00

I was told by a friend of some Indonesians consternation that in a Tv advert about Malaysia , a Bali dance was portrayed as a Malaysian heritage.... while being amused by such triviality i checked out in more details on the controversy:

THE so-called Tourism Malaysia advertisement that ruffled the feathers of Indonesians over depiction of its Balinese pendet dancers was not even a Tourism Malaysia advertisement after all.

The controversial commercial in question was actually a promotional clip put together by Discovery Channel to highlight a series of documentaries, produced by KRU Studios, calledEnigmatic Malaysia aimed at highlighting Malaysia’s rich cultural heritage.

In a statement sent to Malay Mail, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific stated the image of Balinese dancers were used in a clip, aired on Discovery Channel, to promote the documentary series Enigmatic Malaysia and the image of the dancers, performing the pendet, were sourced from an independent third party.

It added, “Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific regrets that the image of a Balinese dancer, sourced from an independent third party, was used in the promotion of the series Enigmatic Malaysia

Phew..just don't understand the controversy , maybe there was indeed an error of judgement but cant we all realise that we are from the same potpourri of cultures, enriched by a common heritage that was initially spawned by the Majapahit and Sri Vijaya empires.

Now we may be distinguished ourselves as Indonesians or Malaysians but it was not such a long time ago that when the borders were not there free movement of people of these two great nations visited each other in a spirit of "serumpun' and commonality not only in religion but culture.

I remembered in my young days in the 60s relatives from the "Pulau"(Riau islands..) came by boat and visit us in Kuching.

We Malaysians must also rid ourselves of any prejudicial feeling towards our neighbours just because we have better highways, one tend to forget that once and hopefully even now we look up to our Brethren in Indonesia for their deep philosophical views(Hamka for one..) and of course the great movies of Ratno Timoer, Rano Karno and Sophan Sophian.

The multiracial and potpourri of cultures that has enriched the Malay archipelago and the "nusantara" indeed is not just an identity of Malaysia but also for Brunei, Singapore and most important of all our big brother Indonesia.

i fervently still believed in the fact that Indonesia will come out of its present lethargy and be our role model not only in terms of economic power but a shining example of a democratic nation that has its bedrock a clear understanding that it is in the differences and potpourri of cultures that all our Nations derive their strength and fortitude.

I still though cant see any great difference in a Bali dance and a Kelantanese wayang kulit though

In search of the "bedok"

2009-08-22T21:42:00.005+08:00

Ramadan is now here with us. My friends who have never experience the splendours of Ramadan can never fathom the fact that we Muslims will wake up at around 4 am in the wee hours of the morning , have a splendid supper and then go back to bed .....beat that for a unique unforgettable experience!!

Fortnight ago i had a chance of bringing out some of the pensioners from my kampong for a seafood lunch...honestly i enjoyed the banters being exchanged over lunch, as an uncle teased another of his pensioner friends over trivial things but wow they do lead a great life. They even told me that sometimes on Fridays they would go on long journeys to have their Friday prayers. They relate some of their interesting journeys like one to Sebuyau(possibly around 4 hours drive from Kuching), bringing along their packed lunch and the highlight of the day being joining the Friday prayers congregation in Sebuyau itself.

However another story that really fascinated me was their "project' of acquiring a "bedok" for our Kampong's surau(..mosque). Awesome man how these motley crew of old pensioners with time on their hands going afar as Sibu to look for the right 'wood" material for their bedok.

A "bedok" is actually a some sort of drum that during the old days that every surau or mosque must have. The beating of the Bedok(or gong or drum) would normally be done prior to any start of prayers.

I remembered vividly my childhood when we as young boys though would scramble to be the young boy to beat that bedok to signify the break of fast during every Ramadan month. After hitting the Bedok to inform all the neighbours on the breaking of fast, i would scramble back Ala a Usain Bolt dash to the house to "lavish' on my ais kacang!!!

As we savoured the fish over that lunch and the pensioners chattering away , i cant help remembering that Bedok at my Surau kampong where i had great pleasure in sounding it during the Ramadan month.

how simple endeavours as beating a Bedok can bring joy to a young boy in an age where the simplicity and decency of a Kampong life is enacted in a ritual of just hitting a bedok!

Magic 50

2009-08-17T13:53:00.001+08:00

At 49 you cant help thinking about that magic figure of 50 ....,wrote this short poem on my blackberry a while back so here goes.....

Soon my life will hit a figure of fifty
But then can i say i lead a life aplenty
Soon my life will hit a figure of fifty
But then i know life has no guarantee

I know i have my measure of imperfections
But i will not lead a life of limitations
For i want to lead a life full of actions

Life is a narration of stories and memories
But i do know my life is not all about glories
Soon I will reach a figure of fifty
But i will try to be always remain as witty
Thank you for a life that has a nice rhapsody
But i will not swap with any form of booty

Soon my life will reach a figure of fifty
And i hope i can look back at my life with dignity
My life has been eventful and am thankful
But then how can a man measure a life that is hopefully full.
Soon my life will reach a figure of fifty.

ha..i just 'recyle' the above poem which i penned a year ago, Wish to thank Allah SWT the Almighty to continue blessing me and the family with good health ..the sanctity of a family and the blessings from your loved ones will always be the foundation and aspirations of all your endeavours.

We all make mistakes and failures but we must not confuse failures and dissapointmments...Dissapointments are always there littering your trail of life . I was also blessed with great people working with me at my office , their dedications and sincerity of trying to work and collaborate for the greater being of the corporation knows no bounds .

My mother and siblings non assuming nature and not posing much demands and expectaions from me being the eldest makes also my life easier to negotiate, and a Mother's unconditional love is always the most underrated virtue because it is free and demands no conditions, and like any human being we sometimes fail to notice its unbounded value to the stability and happiness in your life.

The wife as always has to endure with your idiosyncrocies that you sometimes exhibit..but then after 22 years of marriage she learns to accept you warts and all.

Life is meaningless if if you cant feel the joy , pain, sorrow, dissapoinments and exhilarations of your children.

you always worry that you may spoilt them and thus making them unprepared for the real world, a world sometimes fractured with dishonesty, jealousy and vengeance ...but so far while not being seen as too complacent, both me and the wife believe we have done a decent job.

Happy Birthday Indonesia

2009-08-16T18:48:00.004+08:00

Tomorrow, the 17 Th August is Indonesia's National or Independence Day. A country blessed with diversity of culture and the diligence of its workforce especially its youth, Indonesia to me is still an enigma.

As stated in the wikepidia......

The Republic of Indonesia (pronounced /ˌɪndoʊˈniːziə/ or /ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/) (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia), is a country in Southeast Asiaand Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands, and with an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourthmost populous country, and has the largest Muslim population in the world.

Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The transcontinental country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the seventh century, when the Srivijaya Kingdom traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually adopted Indian cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu andBuddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.

Across its many islands, Indonesia consists of distinct ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups. The Javanese are the largest and most politically dominant ethnic group. Indonesia has developed a shared identity defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a majority Muslim population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesia's national motto, "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" ("Unity in Diversity" literally, "many, yet one"), articulates the diversity that shapes the country. However, sectarian tensions and separatism have led to violent confrontations that have undermined political and economic stability. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the world's second highest level of biodiversity. The country is richly endowed with natural resources, yet poverty is a defining feature of contemporary Indonesia.

Indeed Indonesia is a fascinating country not the least the fact that it shares the same root of history as Malaysia and both Nations has many similarities.

I for one has visited the country numerous times and besides the usual haunts of Jakarta,Bali, bandung; the hub of the country is more evident in Jogjakarta and Solo. When frequenting this places , you can still sense the deep rooted Javanese culture and the Monument Borobudur is indeed apt to be called a world heritage.

Indonesia in my view still have a significant role to play on the world stage, as a moderate Muslim nation and also a nation that has a significant workforce that has the intellect and diligence to be a economic powerhouse. We sometimes read or hear some negative connotations of Indonesia but i can confidently say that you need to be there in the midst of its populace to appreciate the energy of the country and its desire to transform itself into an authentic democratic nation.

Happy Birthday Indonesia and may peace and prosperity reign this blessed country for the region needs you as our leader in all fields and endeavours.

'Skewed"chicken, a statistician's tool

2009-08-15T19:11:00.005+08:00

A week back attending a function i was seated next to a statistician.

Honestly one tend to forget that we do have a statistics department in our midst, possibly feeding the authorities with reams of data and facts.

In this day of the Internet, somehow we have somehow dismiss obtrusively what come out of the statistics department, well if we have the Wikepedia, google and other Internet sources of knowledge and information no one can be blamed!

Now back to the statistician....i got into a cosnversation with him and possibly the same mundane questions people ask(just like how's the weather ) if one does get to meet them:

Me: Hmm must be an interesting job, by the way, what's the population of Sarawak

Statistician(in a prompt , authoritative manner): 2.5 Millions give and take.

Me: What is our neighbours Sabah's population?

Statistician: 3.2 million roughly!!!

Me: Uhhh? i can still remember in the 80s Sabah has a lesser population, what did they eat? 'Manok?(Chicken in Tagalog)

Statistician gave me a real look of confusion and thinking i must be crazy ,sorry sir you didn't get my drift(ha..)

The conversation continues..

Me: How do we measure poverty?

Statistician: Well, the poverty income level is defined as below Rm800 and our poverty rate in Sarawak is only around 3-4%!!(as he emphasised it rather proudly)

Let me do a bit of statistics work..so Sarawak have around only 100,000 poor people.

Me: How's that? I know for a fact that rural populace on average earns possibly less than that figure.

Statistician(now looking at me in a more quizzical manner): Ah ha we have a way of dealing with this, you see a farmer or fisherman will not have a salary of more than RM800 because of their self sufficiency and of course you cant label them as poor , so we come up with a kind of variation to this sof poverty for the rural folks...

Me (waiting in anticipation for the eureka exclamation) : how's that done sir?

Statistician: you see we collate the frequency chicken meals they have per week or month and a family that has quite a frequent chicken dinner despite earning less than RM800 will not categorise as being POOR!!!

Wow, what great logic and trust statistics to come up with such innovative and may i say a "skewed " chicken idea to redefine poverty into a more palatable(pardon the pun) figure.

Me(just not giving up and probe further..): Sir, what about the urban folks? we know for a fact that even a RM1500 income for family will not be sufficient for them to afford eating chicken frequently! You see, there is always the Kancil and low cost housing payments to take care of and a plethora of other incidental expenses that one has to endure living in towns or cities.

Statistician: (Gave me a wild look and change the subject)......This H1N1 is a scary thing !!

Me: ya indeed.

And i turned to a person sitting on my right ..."what do you think Doctor?"

That's another story and at the function the chicken lunch is great and now i felt a bit more pleased knowing that a chicken meal is indeed still a measure of a person's poverty level!!! ha!

The curtain raiser,a Fletcher's day

2009-08-10T18:11:00.006+08:00

Last night saw the usual curtain raiser game for the season, the Charity Shield. Even though officially this game is still considered a pre-season event, nonetheless it still attract due attention and seriousness.

The reason being it will be always viewed as a thermometer to the season to come.

Well the game was true to its billing. It was as usual a great advert for English football particularly if the opponents were none other than the top 2 teams in the English league.

The game started brightly for Manchester united and makes one wonder that while Fergie being shrewd as he is touting the possible replacement for Ronaldo being Owen or Valencia whereas in actual fact it can be Nani the real joker up Fergie's sleeve.

Nani was brilliant until his untimely departure from the game due to hopeful a non serious injury.

The whole game was a real treat ..Lampard as usual commanding but to me if United had won ;the Man of the Match would have gone to one Darren Fletcher. He was brilliant , covering every blade of Wembley grass.

As i watched this once bit part player blosssoming into an important cog in Fergie's well oiled machine of a team , it reflected the underlying strength of United's philosophy.... A great team do not need everyone to be a Galactico but a team also need an unsung hero who burst their lungs out for the team with their drive, hard tackling and wholesome energy.

I remembered such a player in the 70's , Brian Talbot of Arsenal. An all action player that complements the artistic skills of Chippy Brady.

Talbot's impressive stamina and fitness meant he played nearly every Arsenal first-team game for the next five seasons, missing fewer than half a dozen League games. In all, the strong and sturdy midfielder played 327 first-team matches for the Gunners, scoring 49 goals. He also played for England, five times while at Ipswich and once as an Arsenal player.

Fletcher is one such player and as i watched him clearing a ball from danger in the penalty area and next sending a well executed pass to Rooney, i felt content that the Galactico Ronaldo will may not be there anymore donning the red jersey but i will still be looking forward to the new season and hope and confident that it will a Fletcher's season.

Rotinsulu is in town!!

2009-08-09T11:33:00.004+08:00

My favourite contemporary singer is undoubtedly Hendri Rotinsulu,his mesmerising and soothing voice definitely will be a good respite to hear after a hard day's work at the office.

Rotinsulu gave a lasting impression to some of us here in Kuching after his performance few years ago at a PERKIM charity dinner. Henceforth we kept in touch including on the Face book.

So it was a great weekend when Hendri came down to Kuching to give another performance at a Wedding anniversary of a prominent couple.

However he and his wife did make time to drop by at my place...well we had a small get together with close friends eating Ba Ku Teh and Sarawak Laksa.

Being a talented singer as he is ,he also serenade us with a few songs ,playing on Diyana's piano and wow we had a great time, thanks a million Hendri.

I was also incidentally invited to the anniversary dinner last night and the crowd that appreciates Malay/Indonesian soul music was exhilarated with Hendri's masterful performance.

It must be a Hendri's weekend for me for today another close friend invited me for lunch with Hendri at the Sarawak club, we had more time to talk and we are asking each other of our specific plans for our birthday...well one thing i can only claim i have in common with this very talented, unassuming singer is we share the same birthday.

Hendri, just sing my favourite song of yours(Citra..) for my birthday , that will be fine my good friend.

Thank you again for making our weekend such an enjoyable one.

Aquino's Army Bastion, the Lucky Plaza

2009-08-04T11:47:00.004+08:00

Just came back from Singapore and orchard Road as usual was the place that one normally visit and spend time . Amazed at the large crowd, who says Singapore is in a recession?

The large crowd?
Hold on !! No wonder it is a Sunday and an off day for all Filipino maids and workers.

Their usual haunt is the Lucky Plaza and this ritual has been going on for more than 20 years.

I still remembered while i was working in Johor Bahru in late 80's and frequenting Orchard Road during the weekends, Lucky Plaza was always abuzz with the Filipino maids and workers.

So poignant that the weekend saw the passing of a great Filipino leader, the late Corazon Aquino. She was the symbol of people's power in those days when the autocratic leader, Marcos was overthrown.Aquino symbolised the aspirations of its people then, a need to be free from the clutches of dictatorship and as i watched these Filipino maids chattering away among friends at Lucky Plaza i cant help acknowledging that these are the people that keeps the Philippines economy going for the biggest contributor to the national economy was the billions worth of remittance that these foreign workers send home to their families in Philippines.

I am sure the late Corazon will be smiling as she looks at the optimistic antics of her fellow Filipinos, their country's biggest asset.

A King's feast indeed

2009-07-29T23:34:00.008+08:00

Kuching has been abuzz with all manners of activity last week with the Rulers conference being held here and the opening of the new iconic building, the Dewan Undangan Negeri(the legislative assembly).

Got invited for the Royal Feast the other night and the who's who of Malaysia was there. It is not everyday that you meet royal blood and the pomp and pageantry to say the least was awesome. To add, HRH the Queen befits to be our First Lady, such elegance.

While initially expecting a dull affair ,i was though pleasantly surprised and enjoyed every minute of the night as we were serenaded by the inimitable and talented violinist,Idris Sardi , the singers Deja Moss and Bob of the AF fame.

Great night and great company, hail the King,,and Queen .

The Food? I ate some unpronounceable palate of possibly mince chicken in a pasta(???)

Well it has to come with the occasion and why bother if i can still have my own helping of Maggi mee when i got back home from that unforgettable and wonderful occasion.

Passing of a real Malaysian icon

2009-07-26T21:02:00.005+08:00

Somehow like most Malaysians, for many years after the golden era of P Ramlee movies, we always give the local production a miss until Yasmin Ahmad came to the scene.

What talent and creativity this lady have... she was still simply awesome and the storytelling in all her productions reflect the sensitivity, dichotomy and anguishes of our Malaysian society.

I was really taken in by what she can deliver to our cinema, Sepet was a great sentimental treat..

and i was looking forward to watch her latest, Talentime and it was with great shock yesterday when i heard the news of her untimely death and it really adds gloom to my weekend.

I felt greater sadness as i read the poem penned by the actress Azean in memory of this great lady;

She was an angel
God sent us
No, he lent us
To be a storyteller
Who spun stories of
Magic,i joy and enchantment
Who we often lose sight of
Her fight was brief
Her leaving was a grief
Just like her movies
The end came too soon
But her wisdom remain
like words to a tune
That we will hold dear
Forever you will be near.
I love you Yasmin
I will miss you always.

i admired her for her intellect and real talent;you can tell here is another Malaysian who only through her sheer talent and genius make us proud to say,"hey she's a Malaysian like me!!" Her obvious authenticity can be seen through her character and her talent was recognised world wide , the film industry will surely have a big gap to fill with her demise.

Al Fatihah.

A tale of 2 Emmas

2009-07-26T12:12:00.006+08:00

I watched a good ,realistic kind of love story movie starring Dustin Hoffman and Enmma Thompson,"Last chance Harvey".

Emma Thompson brilliant acting in her portrayal of an ordinary middle aged Londoner grappling with a boring routine life,loveless and possibly "lifeless" somehow caught my eye. Real captivating and a smart woman to beat.

Coincidentally, i happened to read a news article as well that day of how Emma Thompson adopted few years back a boy left stranded and orphaned from the ravages of the Rwandan civil war.

Now here she was a proud mother of that boy graduating from university of Exeter ;now to me that's real cool and possibly typical of this independent,smart free spirited woman. Apparently Emma was a graduate of Cambridge University, wow!! Keep it up Emma ,you may now be 50 but then you still looks great alongside that another great actor Dustin Hoffman in that movie, "Last chance Harvey".

Emma Watson though is old enough to be Emma Thompson 's daughter and she as most young generations aware of is that smart girl,Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series.

I was caught with initial dismay when someone in my face book spreads a story that she has died of a road accident.

What tragedy that's my reaction for Emma Watson as i knew was another real smart girl ,worthy of filling the boots of that free spirited woman, Emma Thompson.

She was also due to be enrolled at Cambridge University ...phew thank goodness the story of her death as i am now aware of is just mere rumours.

Another surprising coincidence that i have also discovered was both Emma's shared the same birthday date. The date 15th April ,wow cool man!!!

15Th April so happens is always a date we the family celebrate every year for it was Diyana's my daughter birthday and incidentally she was born on the same date as Emma Watson , ha ha 15.4.1990.

So here's to the two Emma's..continue your great acting careers respectively and blessed this world with all your good deeds. Now am off to watch the latest Harry Potter movie as i have promised my son Faizul to bring him along for that(been promsiing this for a long while!!!)

Travel sojourns,a perspective

2009-07-22T12:30:00.003+08:00

Phew..what a week. i always stop short of sharing my views on my office work ,sometimes i feel like a chameleon.

As i looked back on my career i cant help fathoming what it would have been if i have made different career choice decisions along the course of my life.

No regrets putting all things in perspective , this blog though is intended to chronicle initially all my travels (hence the word sojourns) and ordinary things or stories that i would like to share.

Temptations are there as always to share my work experience and happenings at work also notwithstanding views on politics and other more "serious" topics.

What inspires me in my desires to chronicle all my travels?

For a start i am a sucker for travel writing books,my home library is well armoured with many travel books and i never miss buying a book by my favourite travel writers,VS Naipaul and Paul Theroux.

Their perceptive observations as they plodded all over the world and their ability to give insightful and interesting accounts or anecdotes of their journey captivate me most.

Bill Bryson is another of my favourite travel writers....they all share a common bond of travelling simple and always making a point of mingling and interacting with the people of the places they visit.

On TV , the series Globe trekker is a favourite programme of mine and i love the way Ian Wright with his distinctive Northern English accent and unbridled enthusiasm explaining what he observed and experienced.Love you mate!!!

Michael Palin of the Monthy Phyton fame somehow has made a name for himself on TV as well ..his TV series, around the world in 80 days as he attempted to retrace Passepartou(?) tracks in rounding the world within that period while at times hilarious but was also a joy to watch.

His Oxford English accent though adds spice to the episodes reminiscent of a typical bumbling Englishman trying to discover the world in his own myopic view.

Ha..me? what did i do on my travels? Like most Malaysians the first stop is always a market or mall and the usual trinkets always end up in the extra trunk or luggage that we brought along.

However i did experience some interesting encounters.

Attending a Friday prayer in the heartland of the Indonesian Muslim world in Solo was enlightening for its simplicity and sense of earnestness of the congregation.

My discovery that there used to be a Sino-Malay Islamic empire in Cambodia and South Vietnam of the Champa people fascinated me no bounds.

The diligence of the people of Hanoi as they all rushed in their innovative way to embrace the free market world is so easily apparent that you wondered what the country would have achieved by now if not being devastated and stalled in its progress by the senseless wars in the 70s.

The sense of pride in their history that one can observe with the French as they religiously try to preserve their heritage buildings and artifacts makes one wonder that in the modern capacity of development one must take great care not to destroy the heritage that our forefathers left us but also not to conjure "ugly" buildings and infrastructure to be inherited by the future generations.

Ya that's how one should enact their travel ,not only just some mindless shopping and herded like cattle pursuing a tight itinerary as programmed by the tour operators but one must take some time to reflect the nature and beauty of places that one visit and also to interact with the common folks.....for by doing so i have begun to realise that despite our differences in beliefs and way of life a person always have a common bond that spurs each one of us; a common bond of strong desire to build a good life for oneself and the family and learning to respect one's neighbours and friends. To be friends with the people that we meet in our travels i can assure you will unravel this fundamental human trait , enjoy your trip and don't forget to buy a T-shirt!!!

Jakarta ..mis-United

2009-07-22T11:40:00.005+08:00

Jakarta, possibly the largest city in South East Asian with its 12 million population. A city that thrives on chaos and amazing "roadside entrepreneurship".

I have been to this place quite frequently.

My recent trip was supposed to coincide with the Manchester United visit and as all know their visit was cancelled.
What a great pity..Rooney for one will love this city..hmmm and when i was there i can sense the feeling of frustration and despondency of the city folks particularly those that have braced themselves for the football game.

The pragmatic ones and those people that i met feared the worst for the country now for it will be a longer while before the world looks up to Indonesia again as a place for business and pleasure.

The Indonesians do not deserve this maniac act for majority of them are hardworking and entrepreneurial lot.
Just take the Blackberry as an example.
Somehow the Indonesians has carved out a niche business sector for all users of Blackberry that spawned from unique downloads, accessories and all other kind of services.

So with some business meetings out of the way ,how did i spend my time this trip around? Well tagging along was the family so the usual routine lah!!
Hopping from one Mega Mall to another.
I though did take some time to savour some coffee at a Dunkin Donut outlet just across the road from JW Marriot where the mindless bombing took place.

Well, Jakarta will always be there despite this setback.
I believe for if anything that i always observed in this amazing but chaotic city is the capacity of its populace to endure not only at times for some the harsh living but also the patience and fortitude to smile as traffic jams, cancelled appointments and overly crowded places become an ordinary fact of life.

Pity Rooney he would love to taste a bit of the Jakarta scene , well there's always fish and chips outlet to fall back to if the spicy food is too much for a scouser's stomach.

United is in town

2009-07-17T12:04:00.003+08:00

Manchester United Asia Tour 2009 Squad List

Micheal Owen is coming for his debut against Malaysia. But..Nemanja Vidic name is missing due to injury. Another new signing, Gabriel Obertan also not coming due to injury!!

This Manutd squad will arrive at KLIA, Sepang, Malaysia at around 11am and their training session start at 5.30pm. While Malaysia XI training session will be at 4.30pm.

Great news is…Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney will join the list!

Yes,,, Manchester United is in town...i have been given this funny look by some of my colleagues and friends wondering why i am still here in Kuching and not in KL to watch my beloved team.

Firstly it is a friendly game and once you watch competitive matches in the premier league, such friendly game doesn't give you the oomph.

Last year i did watch the Chelsea Malaysia friendly match in KL ,while i enjoyed some of the football on the pitch the atmosphere was so surreal.

Excuse me above just an excuse if truth be told in my busyness i have forgotten to book early the match tickets ,but wonder where is their next tour stop after KL?

The rainforest ,,a Sarawak do

2009-07-17T11:49:00.003+08:00

One of Kuching's (obviously) main attraction each year is its rain forest music festival.I believe this event has been happening for more than a decade and even for someone who doesn't really bother(not my kind of music i presume) am also aware of its immense cult and world appeal.

This year though Diyana has her friends from KL coming over to watch this music festival.
As luck would have it we manage also to get some free tickets from relatives who decide to opt out in fear of the H1N1 flu epidemic(decent folks to be really emulated!)

So there we were the wife and Azri tagging along driving over to Damai fearing a massive traffic jam and a chaotic atmosphere.

Honestly i was pleasantly surprised,the event was well organised,traffic controlled well and i did enjoy some of the music being on show. kudos to the organiser.

The atmosphere of wild partying and drunkenness of the youth being a prominent feature of the festival as imagined by myself and feedback from friends was not really true.

The crowd was well behaved,of course there was a bit of partying going on but then in my youth i have seen worst!!! Enough said

Like any concerned parents though we were always on the look out for Diyana and her friends imagining that they may have behaved beyond a certain acceptable decorum.

No fear , the festival is indeed a great annual event and i promised myself i will be there next year but this time possibly will book early the Damai hotel so that can enjoy the whole 3 days and nights proceeding.

Well, if i do feel tired there is always this Penan house at the cultural village that i can have a respite and rest,

A town like Alice..at last!!!

2009-07-11T19:06:00.008+08:00

While the present teenage generation grow up on TV mini series such as ER, Prison Break,The Office, and many others...our generation of the 70s reminisced on great shows as Dallas(who shot JR Ewing/),Little house on the Prairie,Combat, Run for your Life( A cool Ben Gazzara show..) but one particular mini series always stick in mind ever since i watched that show more than 30 years ago.

The TV series in question is .."A town like Alice",it depicts the long march by British women in Japanese captivity.

They were forced to walk from Klang all the way to Kota bahru

.It was a love story of an English woman (played by Helen Morse) who was one of those women in Japanese captivity and an Australian soldier(Bryan Brown) who tried vainly to help them.

I always tried to look out for this old mini series whenever i walked into a video shop.

Thanks to my daughter Sabrina who ordered the the VCR from Amazon and a close friend Nizam who kindly converted the VCR into a DVD format ..i finally had this opportunity again to watch this mini series classic.

Am i disappointed? Well except for the picture quality,what do you expect of a series made more than 30 years ago but the story line still captivates me.

The Mini series proved the fact that a good storyline and fine acting are still the enduring criteria of a great movie or even a classic.

"A town Like Alice" though is not my all time favourite.."Doctor Zhivago" still takes that prize for me, a great movie with a good storyline set in a great Russian setting and of course a powerful acting display by that great actor, Omar Sharif.

See you at the movies as they said ya will have to get around to bring Faizul to watch Transformers 2 and the new Harry Potter movie....what a difference from those old great classics.

My children..my jewels

2009-07-08T17:17:00.013+08:00

I was having coffee with a close friend last night who just came back from KL and he remarked and realised that he has reached an "old" age when he had his eldest son in his smart attire going to work for the first time.Excuse me friend you are a year younger than me, so what does this makes me? An old man as well?

Well make me reminisces the joys and pains in raising your children .Well we have the good blessing of having 5 children.

Azri, the eldest is now 22 years old and soon to be in his final year at University Sydney majoring in economics.
Diyana, is now 19 years old just finishing her A levels and waiting to go off to England to do her Chemical Engineering degree.

The twins,Sabrina and Faizul are now 15 years old and son to sit for their Form 3 exams.

The youngest,Amirul is 8 years old and a spoilt brat as expected of the youngest.

Definitely as we aged we saw them growing up so fast that we sometimes we hope that time can stand still and give us the eternal joy of always with them. Life though is never meant and should not meant to be like that, If we do love them we have to set them free and let them conjure their own destiny and trust that with our guidance and love they will turn out to be useful citizens of the society.

Ooh..am not Tiger Woods

2009-07-07T18:53:00.004+08:00

Last Sunday i was in Kl participating in our industry association OSFAM annual friendly golf tournament.

I was eager for i can feel now that my game has improved a wee bit and my tee off(the first shot off the tee) is more consistent now.

The tournament was held at Kinrara Golf Club in Puchong . As we started to tee off on a "gunshot" basis i suddenly noticed that my Handicap was shown as zero. For the uninitiated this means that this is deemed as a professional standard Ala Tiger Woods!!
Tiger Woods on par with my golf ? Must be joking our golf is world apart...Tiger Woods will consider his game as a disaster if he only collected pars (in golf speak means playing to the standard number of shots to the hole) i will be in heavenly bliss if i collect even a single par over the 18 holes.

So am sure the organisers made a mistake for my handicap at best to be declared should be 24...

Well i did play reasonably well not "blowing" any hole so while don't expect to be champion at worst will be in the mid position.

You can imagine to my horror that i was declared with a measly score of 8 stable ford points and sure enough when i checked later my handicap was considered by this morons of organisers as zero!!!! i was real livid and angry not sure to whom; either the organisers or my own staff when they register me for the tournament without really indicating my handicap.

This certainly put me in a very bad mood coming to the office today but while after a nice cup of coffee i can just laugh it off!!!

Well am no Tiger Woods for sure and lesson learnt never trust anyone who register you for golf without your own self checking that this has to be done properly with the right handicap stated.
Thank you!!!

Sarawak football in the abyss

2009-07-03T11:14:00.005+08:00

Great to be on leave and away from the office for a while,sipping my coffee this morning and browsing the local dailies one article caught my eye..the Sarawak football senior team was thrashed by Trengganu T team(Trengganu second stringers) 7-0. Sadly Sarawak now props the league table second from bottom.
Real sad and for someone who has ventured into that forbidding arena of managing the Sarawak football team last season i really felt emphaty for the present management.

Is there any way out from this abyss of a situation? Honestly i never realised that the state of the football affairs can be this so dismal. Last season when the team was bottom of the Super league, they still can give a good fight .

Despite being no longer in the team football management this season my pessimistic view is that at least they will be mid table. The reasons? Now all teams no longer have the luxury of having foreign imports and i knew for a fact our foreign imports last season were way below the quality that other teams have.

Lessons well learnt and i felt that the core group of local and peninsular players that we had last season can still provide good service to the team this season and i am convinced if that team(minus the foreign imports) was retained we will not be in this "relegated" position.

The 3 top local players (Kallang,Zamri and Shahrol) were sent on a short stint to Hartlepool with the intention that they will form the nucleus of the team and retaining quality and seasoned Peninsular players of last season such as Sunder, Hasnawi and Arsyah Ayob will certainly create the proven stability that any winning team must have.

Whatever the outcome i prayed and hope that the present team will avoid relegation to the FAM league ,this tantamounts to a relegation to the Conference league in the UK, God forbids!!!

Good luck boys and live up to the Ngap sayot spirit!!!

Lara's bum and a story of trees

2009-07-02T12:01:00.012+08:00

The first temple that we visited in Siem Reap was Ta Prohm, a temple amidst a jungle and made famous in recent times as a place where the movie, Lara Croft and the .... was filmed and of course we all knew that Angela Joline played that role as Lara Croft!!

Really intrigued to see how the trees intertwined with the ruins and the archaeologists that was given the the task of restoring this ancient temple had really taken great care in preserving these possibly century(ies) old trees as well. Kudos!

Taking this holiday to Siem Reap; on the way to Kuching airport i noticed "trees treatment" of a different kind!! The graceful and swaying Angsana trees that has arrayed the road to the airport for many years were cut off to make way for a flyover.

Possibly this has to be done in the name of development and modern convenience to the commuters but i cant help feeling a bit disappointed that those 50 year old trees that have grown so gracefully and with its meandering shades had to make way for modernity.

One particular tree that "grows" on the old temple of Ta Prohm really caught my eye, from an angle it looked like one huge BUM stuck on the temple wall !!!

Hmmm..Lara Croft has certainly left its mark!!!

Siem Reap ..anchor the mosque please!!!

2009-07-01T22:03:00.006+08:00

Just want to share an interesting sight that intrigued me on a recent trip to Tonle Sap lake ,Siem Reap Cambodia...a floating mosque.

The lake though was a disappointment to me. It was highly polluted and the abject poverty indeed tugged your heart.

As the boat tugged along the channel towards the lake, a various array of activities can be observed along its banks as the village folks with all their houses(or ram shacks rather..) did their daily chores.
I saw besides the mosque, floating churches and schools.
People came to Siem Reap more to visit the Angkor Wat and the remnants of this ancient civilisation and of course this was part of our must see itinerary.

I cant though help noticing the cultural and facial features similarities of the Kampuchea people and the Malays.
Indeed there was a certain ethnic group called Champa that i believed are Muslims, i met one at the halal KFC and he spoke decent Malay!! hmm interesting.

What are my thoughts as i left Siem Reap? While i still marvelled at the remnants of Angkor Wat, the Bayon temple and the "Angela Joline' Lara Croft movie based temple,Ta Phrom...i was left more intrigued and sad on being told of the ravages and devastation that the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot has inflicted on Cambodia during their short regime in 1975 to 1979.

In just 4 years around 2 millions people were tortured and massacred(the right word!) and it may not have gained the notoriety of 'Auswitch" of world war II but the detention and interrogating place called S-21 was a horror place of torture and "cleansing" of almost similar magnitude. A human mind left to its own device as history shows and as recent as during this tragic era of the Pol Pot regime can conjure and undertake the worst form of brutality and unexplained ruthlessness. I believe the present Khmer populace are still living to terms of this legacy of real tragedy and brutality.
The Khmer's being the people who much earlier has spawned a wonderful and rich cultural civilisations as depicted by the remnants of the Angkor Wat certainly did not deserve or expect such a shameful legacy of the killing fields as recent as 1975..... As i left the place though i can sense a sense of optimism of the youth as shown by our tour guide who take up night studies while working during the day.
To Siem Reap...i came only wanting to visit the Angkor Wat but left sensing a more pensive mood and empathy of the sufferings that the people must have endured during the Khmer Rouge regime.

Back to the floating mosque, i had a conversation with the Imam ,he too can speak some rambles of Malay and according to him there are around 80 Muslim families living within the Tonle Sap lake floating villages .
As i sensed the wobbliness of the mosque as boats passed by,.."excuse me, can they anchor the mosque?"
" Angkor(anchor) Wat(what) ?"..ha ha pardon the pun again!!!

French actor, a former "karate expert"

2009-07-01T21:25:00.004+08:00

I recently indulged in one of those movies that will never appear in our cinemas( ala transformers2 or terminator salvation) and the only initial reason i bought the DVD was that the film also boasted one of my favourite footballers...hmm Eric Cantona.

The film titled "French Film" was initially slow in its plot but once you were fully absorbed in its intricaties an excellent movie indeed. Well, it is a story of love and Cantona played a role as a French film director Grimandi whose films evolved around the theme of love.

Just imagine the now bearded Cantona extolling all his virtues and seeming knowledge about love,,,dont ask me i preferred seeing him in the red jersey majestically strutting his football skills.

Remember his famous karate kick to a Crystal Palace supporter? Big change indeed, from a karate expert to an actor extolling the virtues of love.."Love must have its beginning...bla bla..
I can only and always remember his famous quote and still cant understand what it means..

“When the seagulls follow a trawler,it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.”

Only a twat can understand that...but who says a twat cant be a genius, continue your sojourn in the acting world Eric and you never knew you may even be given a bit part in a Karate movie with Jet Li and another ex footballer, Vinnie Jones (now that's a real twat!!)

Another Icon dead....prematurely!!!

2009-06-26T13:24:00.008+08:00

What is this thing with "twisted" and " convoluted" geniuses that they always struggle with the rudimentary demands of everyday life.

Another one bites the dust as the song goes...MJ is dead yes that great musical icon that transformed pop music in such a huge way in the early eighties is dead.Michael Jackson the genius succumbed to a cardiac arrest and doctors failed to revive him.

I really felt sad on hearing his untimely demise.

Some people said he has converted to Islam last year. I conveyed my Fatihah to his soul and may he be with those that Allah SWT love.

I remembered MJ vividly for i did see him performing live!!

That time he has yet to break stardom and part of the Jackson 5 entourage. They were performing at a small insignificant theatre in Halifax UK in 1978.....i remembered this young talented member Jackson 5 and his Afro hair!!

Talking about icons having such a premature life, John Lennon is another. His music always inspired us young men then .

Mind you the Beatles was an even bigger phenomena than MJ. The whole world and the Brits of course mourned his dramatic passing.

I remembered then i was at a rail station in Birmingham in 1980 when news broke of Lennon's demise, i can sense the gloom in the air and his passing (as Princess Diyana was) indeed made the Brits felt remorseful and anguished.

Here was a genius maybe was never fully appreciated for his contributions and views not the least his music.

So MJ we will miss you as well `and may your music lives on!!!

Jambatan Gantung,..wish you were still there

2009-06-25T18:50:00.000+08:00

JAMBATAN GANTONG….WISH YOU WERE STILL THERE

“ jambatan gantong, you are the pride of kampong kudei

We all miss you; for you are no longer there

Jambatang gantong is our heritage to savour

But now we shed a tear, for you are gone forever.”

Yes; we all remembered this inimitable landmark of Kuching; spawning the Sarawak river connecting the Satok area and Matang.

History books stated that the jambatan was built by the Japanese as a conduit for water transportation.

This possibly is what we will devour in the history annals but I am sure if ‘jambatan gantong’ can tell its own stories ; it will be stories of ordinary folks endeavours and experiences.

‘Jambatan gantong’ in my youthful days was a place where relationships were cemented, rebuilt or a place to bring out your first date(ahem...).

Your date would normally start with a good helping of 'chicken kak Mary' at the kubah foodstall. That was a prelude to a long eternal walk (that's what you hope) along the bridge as an expected ritual. Wow that long walk, mosquitoes swarming over you was just a minor inconvenience until you were home later of course when you noticed all those bites.

Another enduring story that I am sure the bridge can tell you was when it was being swarmed with delirious people of Sarawak during the halycon days of ngap sayop; yes that indelible day in the history of Sarawak football when that man; Awang Mahyan managed to convince all and sundry to jump off the bridge to celebrate a football game victory.

A victory that was achieved through a true Sarawakian spirit of grit and passion. I can only guessed that ‘jambatan gantong’ was selected by Awang Mahyan for the bridge was a Sarawakian identity and symbol as the Big Ben for London and the Petronas Twin Towers for Kuala Lumpur.

Alas now that identity is gone;ravaged by the passage of time as it finally crumbled that day.

Should we resurrect it back to its former place as a landmark of Kuching so that it can continue as a place for our grandchildren and future generations to seek aspiration and to find love? I believe we can and we should.

The bridge can be built as a replication of its former self;maybe this time stronger and more confident of itself as it strives to be there for us all whenever we wish to seek peace of mind ;as we try to cement relationship and above all it can be a bridge of an undying inspiration for the people of Sarawak as they seek a place for comfort and happiness. Yes; ‘jambatan gantong’ can still be that landmark .

How I wished you were still there…

PS: anyone out there have good and memorable photos of our beloved jambatan gantong?

Bridges apart

2009-06-25T13:09:00.003+08:00

On a recent trip to Sydney, a significant landmark really caught my full attention: The Sydney Bridge.

A mammoth icon and landmark for the city of Sydney and locals and tourists alike never stop in their accolades and admiration for this historical pride of that place. Tons of steel and i read earlier, many controversial issues and lengthy delays towards its completion. Does it matter now? Not a single bit as it now stands proudly as a real landmark!!!

What we can learn from this is that "ugliness" has no place in any landmarks and while it may take longer efforts and costs to build a beautiful and elegant bridge but in a historical perspective it will always be worthwhile an effort, trust me i have been involved in some bridges construction before.

Have one seen that smaller version of a steel bridge in Bintangor near Sibu?

It may not have the kind of publicity and renown as the Sydney bridge but to me it is one elegant and beautiful landmark for the serene town of Bintangor. Pity that no one seems to care for its beauty as i passed by that bridge recently it was a bit rundown with no maintenance being carried out.

The Sydney and Bintangor landmarks may be bridges apart(pardon the pun) but nonetheless both i believe inspire the architectural beauty and elegance of steel bridges!!!

A new landmark of Kuching

2009-06-23T13:07:00.006+08:00

All Kuchingites will wait in anticipation on the opening of the new Council Negri building. A real iconic building for Kuching.

A real "terindak in the sky" to complement another new landmark, the convention centre," a giant butterfly in the woods".

Just hope that those responsible will maintain the building properly or else it will be just one ugly stain of the "terindak" in the sky.

PS: whatever we do, please do not demolish the original icon, Fort Margherita.

Remembering father

2009-06-20T18:27:00.007+08:00

I was at the shopping mall ,The Spring earlier with the twins, Sabrina and Faizul after picking them up from their routine Saturday afternoon tuition.

I noticed there was a kind of father's day goodies booths trying to woo shoppers to buy gifts for their respective fathers..hmm there was even high end digital SLR cameras , lucky father whoever get that from their children.

I remembered my late father, in our childhood days there was no such special event as a Father's Day, we remembered our father more so presumably during the Hari Raya celebration.

My father passed away 11 years ago from lung cancer. Time may have healed the pain of his passing but the lingering memory of his suffering in pain from the ravages of lung cancer is still fresh in my mind.

When he was diagnosed with lung cancer , i myself was in a denial syndrome refusing to admit that such a serious disease can happen to someone that you realised that you loved and cherished.

My father i believe is a true man of dignity, he was seldom angry with anyone and always have a smile for even strangers.

In my growing up years i resented him sometimes for his simplicity and humility and befitting for such an ignorant bigot like me then i cant see through his unconditional love for all of us.

WE cant see through his sacrifices , we cant see through his total pride when we achieved something and we cant see through his pains when he saw that we erred in our judgements or decisions.

When he was initially diagnosed with lung cancer , he never complained about a need for us to take care of him fully, silently even at most times riding his motorcycle to the hospital to do his routine chemo.

I realised too late the futility of those who suffered from this dreadful disease, in his last months of his life i have tried in vain to make up by spending more time with him at his hospital bed, scourging the Internet for any semblance of a miracle cure for cancer and reciting as much prayers as we can.

I can still remembered his cry of pain as the cancer spread through his body and to the brain. He once said to me that the pain he suffered from the ravages of the cancer that inflicted the brain was just like your head on the road being hit by an incoming lorry.

Only then did i also realised what his favourite things were, his penchant every morning to have a kopi O at a favourite stall in Satok, his yearning for a particular kind of roti(bread) and one wonders what kind of son who cant find time even to realise what a Father's favourite food were.

We all can understand why, he never demands from us what he wants, his concern is his children eg our liking for durians.

An enduring memory of him was seeing him at time coming over to our house on his motorcycle to bring along "keropok" and other goodies for his beloved grandchildren.

On his passing, he did not leave any great wealth or debts except for a perennial memory of a man at peace with the world through his own religious beliefs, respect for the individuals and of course his undying love for his family.

Even in great pain then on his hospital bed knowing the end is near he can afford always a smile at the silly antics of his grandchildren.

To my late father...your silent dignity and patience knew no bounds and we all know we are just half a man we can be and we hope that one day you will still smile at us knowing that your loving children has not despaired you and i know you will not measure us by the wealth we garnered or the position that we attained but by the dignity,honesty and sincerity that we lead our life.

Al-Fatihah,

Why i loved United

2009-06-20T12:31:00.004+08:00

The season has ended and the dreaded thing didn't happen(the scousers winning the league) .

Manchester United won the league for a third time in a row and order restored.

The summer break hardly started when it was announced that Ronaldo has agreed to join Real Madrid. Was i upset as a fan? A resounding NO.

He may be the best player in the world now and has given many a memorable match winning performance in the United shirt but he is not the reason when man in the late forties like me support United.

I revisited that real spirit of United when i watched the DVD ,The Busby era last night. I bought this DVD while on holidays in Sydney and indeed such poignant memories of that era.

An era of remembering the tragic Munich air disaster and even to now United fans still wonder what would have been ...before the times of George Best and Dennis Law ,here was a team on the verge of greatness.

One player epitomise the spirit of United and that era , Duncan Edwards.

To a true United fan ,Edwards is the real United player and embodies the spirit of the club.

The present era players who continued on with this spirit include Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Neville.

No doubt the departure of Ronaldo and possibly Tevez as well will leave "big holes" in this present winning team but we will have faith in the belief that the true United spirit will still be there,remaining intact .

Bring in Macheda!!

Tracy Flick for President

2009-06-19T18:40:00.003+08:00

Watched the movie,"Election" recently together with my daughter Diyana and i still enjoyed it very much even i had watched it already many years ago on its VCD version.

Yup..never underestimate an overachiever, Renee Witherspoon portrayal as Tracy Flick who runs for the school students council President has made the character such an enduring image of what it means to us all when facing such an annoying overachiever as Tracy Flick!!!

The character Tracy Flick has made such an impact that even Hilary Clinton 's somewhat "arrogant " behaviour has compared her as a grown up Tracy Flick ,hmm scary, mind you this grown up Tracy Flick is now the USA secretary of State.
There was even a short hilarious video showing mashing up Tracy Flick and Clinton in their similarities and Hilary's tone towards Obama. One wonders maybe that's why Obama won, who in the right mind wants such an annoying overachiever to be the USA President..please.
Tracy Flick for President anyone ?

Blackberry snapshots down under

2009-06-18T13:10:00.007+08:00

Hey, the Aussies also have sugar cane plantations..with Mount Warning in the background

!

A real all in one shop in rural Queensland ..besides being a sundry shop it's also a post office n a cafe

What"s that? definitely not a Burberry,thank goodness, it's just Azri's laundry bag

t

hmm... a cool dude at the sydney paddy marke

Amirul getting excited seeing a formula one car on the Sydney road, no my dear that's a Lamborghini,

The DOTA king

2009-06-18T11:48:00.010+08:00

I knew myself always had a bit of withdrawal syndrome comes Summer when there is no more Premier league games to watch on Telly. You felt loss at times as Saturday night always be a time to look forward to.

But this cant beat a withdrawal syndrome of epic proportions that i observed recently...tagging along with us to Sydney was Faizul, the "boy half" of our loving paternal twins. While his sister twin ,Sabrina is maniacally obsessed with everything Japanese or Korean(read her blog!!) ,Faizul (boys being boys nowadays) is fully obsessed with the Internet interactive game, DOTA or as i was told by him meaning Defence of the Ancients(?????????). As he tagged along with his sidekick, Amirul the youngest boy, with a laptop in his bag always on the look out for any free Wi-Fi outlets in Sydney.
Unfortunately for them none can be found,you still need to subscribe to the local network..so what will you get? A zombie and his sidekick oblivious to the wonders of the Sydney opera house or the Sydney famous bridge.

Nasi Lemak in Sydney

2009-06-17T21:57:00.005+08:00

In Sydney last week ,looking up on Azri our eldest son who's doing his second year in Economics at University of Sydney. First time to Sydney for his Mum and like any "doting" parents tried to have a measure of what Azri was up to in Sydney.

For a start he promised a meal of Nasi Lemak, indeed we were all looking forward to that meal of Nasi Lemak at his abode( a studio room shared by 3 of them!!).

We were just back from a 2 day interim trip to Brisbane and Gold Coast and when alighting from the Jet star plane at Sydney airport feeling hungry, i told myself, "hold on to it man, a ravishing nasi lemak awaits us"

Presto , arriving at his studio room, the nasi lemak dish was ready. What does one do eating a first meal ever cooked by your children?

Amirul, the youngest summed the meal well..."Mum, can i have Maggi mee please"..of course for us we gamely ate a bit of the nasi lemak even though too sweet for comfort and still half cooked, the Mum has to "reboil" the Nasi lemak sambal or gravy!!!

Nice try though Azri, in student's speak, 100% for efforts and a pass for results!!

Well that's the best story of our trip to Sydney, not the tourist trotting ventures visiting the opera house, the Sydney Bridge but best remembered for us as a trip "savouring" Azri's nasi lemak dish!!!

Wow,you have your own office!

2009-06-16T18:27:00.007+08:00

I was at the Gold Coast last week, just taking a short week leave(hmmm ya sojourn) visiting Sydney,Brisbane but just a few hours at the Gold Coast.

After an hour canal ride (as they called it,more of a river ride) and disembarking at one of the few Marinas, an "object" caught my attention.

Hey,is that an office? Yup, an office on a boat, complete with all the amenities, fax machine chair, table you name it. It must be great working in that "boat hole"(pardon the pun!) , you can always take a break fishing without getting away from the office so to speak.

A wry smile i did have that day remembering the various offices or rather at times work space that i crammed myself for a good 10 hours of the day.

I started my career at a Multinational company and i remembered well my first office.

You see this company had this so called 'longhouse portacabin" for the technical department. No guess in saying that the main office with all its bricks and mortars building housed the Finance and Administration(or Human resource they loved to be called now).

I shared that crummy space with another engineer and the department's technical library!

I had no particular qualms about the spartan outlook of my office except that whenever it rained both me and my colleague had to put a bucket on top of our table for the water to drip from the leaks!!

I spent a good first 4 years of my career in that chicken coop but am i complaining? No!

For the job is interesting and demanding, working with great colleagues and indeed besides the need to pour out the water from the bucket once in a while that office hole indeed gave me a lot of fond memories

.Remember then nobody has a PC on their table (being in the early 80s) but i do have a BUCKET on my table,beat that!!!!

So lo my great expectations when i was transferred to a construction site in Pasir Gudang after that stint watching over the pail or rather bucket...i heard from my colleagues then who had a stint at these construction yards, being given big company cars, nice,plush office.

What kind of office did i get?

Ya you guess..another portacabin office and this one was more unique, it did not have any windows at all,really felt like in a detention place, the only great thing then was you finally had a secretary!

Spent good 3 years in that "detention office" but am i complaining? Again NO!! I really enjoyed my stint at this work site ,learning the practical aspects of the business and raising a young family.My daughter Diyana was born in Johor Bahru .

When i did get back to the company headquarters in Miri, being promoted, finally given a "big" office and a measure of your status was you were also given a big table in front of your own office table ,well mind you as a "boss" you need that table for your own internal meeting with your subordinates,really???

Hmmm...maybe one day i can have my own "boat office" , catch me if you can ,am off fishing!

Run fat Boy Run..Simon Pegg anyone?

2009-06-05T18:21:00.006+08:00

I was really recently taken in by Simon Pegg's movies.

Honestly this talented British Comedian actor was not on my radar screen of favourite comedians until i watched that real hilarious movie, "How to lose friends and alienate people"... a real laugh of a movie. "Hot Fuzz" though is not that great but still good comedy acting from Mr Pegg, the movie too surreal for my comfort.

Then lo flicking through all run down sale of DVDs at a shop near to my work place, a movie starring Simon Pegg caught my eye, "Run Fat Boy Run"..... how could i have missed watching this movie before.

As expected i was not disappointed, Simon Pegg played a stirring,funny and love able role in this movie revolving around the London Marathon.

He is good in this kind of role, bumbling, "low achiever" but honestly kind and true to his soul, that's the Simon Pegg at his best.

The Indian(or is it Paki?) landlord of his reminded me of my former Landlord, always "lording" over the rent but still kind hearted to the boot.

My present favourite comedy series though is still "Little Britain" .... am anxiously waiting for the DVD release of the latest series, "Little Britain in the USA".

Back to Simon Pegg... the movie Run fat Boy Run is insanely funny and heartwarming and the movie started with him running away from his wedding!!!

Talking about a real loser and shirker ,somehow that epitomise him well, this is no fairy tale story and you would not expect him to win the London Marathon and beat all those Kenyans.

It is a story that Mr perfect is not always seem as what is portrayed ..the kindness and sincerity of intentions will be finally be seen through by people that you really care most..others are maybe merely side show.

Wonder is there any more Simon Pegg movies out there?

A watery tale of mee jawa..

2009-06-04T00:48:00.008+08:00

Last week i have a bad experience when frequenting a food stall outlet which used to be a supermarket previously and now turned into quite a thriving food outlet. I have heard of this place and brought the family out for some simple dinner.

To start with the place looked promising with its fair share of customers a sign of a good eatery.

Ordered a plate of "Mee Jawa" and to my horror , the Mee Jawa was just a watery mash of tasteless plate of trodden Mee...what a shame, why cant they be more wary of a customer's needs?

Will i go there again for my Mee Jawa? Never!!!!

I should have trusted my normal frequented place for a plate of "Mee Jawa" and some generous helping of Hepia(fried prawn fritters dipped in chili sauce)...yes the Rex Cucur Outlet at Rubber Road.

There there i finally enjoyed my Mee jawa helping, great taste and real value for money.

Will i go there again for my Mee Jawa? Yes I will!!!

A hectic week and a working gawai

2009-05-29T20:03:00.002+08:00

The week passed by so quickly that sometimes you wonder whether indeed the hours you spent are quality time. For the past six months i have bought few books and none of them i have finished reading:

- How Starbucks saved my life-Michael Gill

-The Age of Turbulence- Alan Greenspan

- Super crunchers- Ian Ayres

- Success Intelligence-Robert Holden

- Persuasion- Jane Austen......wow give me time , give me some free quality time!!

I vowed i must first finish reading the book by that ex Central Banker, Alan Greenspan, halfway already,real illuminating read .

In one's work one encounters either garbage issues or talk or real problems and issues that can enhance your company's performance or bottom line. I am still learning and must always remind myself to stick to real issues and avoid small talk.

A week as i continuously keep on realising can fly by so fast.

Gawai? Am off to Kl because our brethren there are not having any holidays so i will have opportunity to do some follow up works that are usually demanded of me ...ha, stop griping !!!

Never mind i am going to spend quality time with the family for a long planned week holiday to Sydney the week after to meet up with my eldest son,Azri. Will i stop working then? I doubt it as a flurry of sms and emails will still be sent and received, hey man that's what my Blackberry is for.(believe that, i nearly want to say i feel so lost when my Blackberry went bonkers for a few days).

What ails you Zorro???? Go off to Talang Talang Island and finish off reading all your books!!!

A Mes(si)merised nite indeed!

2009-05-28T12:25:00.003+08:00

Oops, i did not wake up at 2 am as earlier planned to watch the much awaited champions league final.

I had set my alarm but somehow this ageing body just couldn't bring itself out of a deep slumber.

Then pronto i suddenly woke up as if on cue just past 4 am ,and immediately switched on the telly.

Fergie's glum face told it all!!! i knew then that a defeat awaits Manchester United in this final.

Watching for awhile all the slick short passing of the Barca players(looks so diminutive!!) i switched off the telly and went back to my own dreams.

I haven't watched the repeat game yet but from what i read it was indeed a Messi night as United was Mes(si)merised!!

Even Ferguson acknowledged that the better team won.

Congratulations to the Catalans and honestly i didn't feel upset or in the dumps over the defeat because always admired Barcelona style of football ,well the messy night for United fans seemed already written in the stars..as always you can never put down a genius in whatever field, congrats Lionel Messi for a great display will definitely watch the repeat.

Tons(or rather Toons) of despair

2009-05-27T12:50:00.004+08:00

The final weekend of the season finally came,somehow missed all the live action because at the retreat that i was staying over the weekend,Astro football was not on offer.

Nonetheless it never miss as always its moments of tension, exhilaration and despair .
This time round though the attention at not on who shall win the English Premier league but rather who shall be condemned(is that the right word to say/) and relegated to the Coca Cola league next season.

As i watched the repeat highlight show of this final week end of the season, one image stood out and this reminisce the feelings of a real true fan.

Ya, an image of one of the black and white jersey clad fan, one of many from the Toon army(that's how they were referred to!) of Newcastle football club.

This fan as i saw was weeping incessantly as he witnessed his beloved Geordie club relegated after 16 years in the top league.
The Toon army was in total despair as they possibly trooped back to the North east from the Midlands after Aston Villa beat Newcastle 1-0.

Make no mistake, Newcastle is a big club deserving of a top 5 finish in any season, they had a big legion of fans and the loyalty they have for their club knew no bounds. So ironic and unfair that the manager in charge of the club on this relegation weekend is another Geordie legend ,Alan Shearer. He is the icon of the Toon army and am sure they will forgive him for this travesty.

The only certain fact i can say for Newcastle next season is that the Toon Army Will still be in droves watching them at St James Park,they will not and never abandon their beloved club that is for sure.

Good luck Newcastle and i hope that you will bounce back to the top flight because the Premier league needs you!!! To the Toon army, never despair i am very confident that the Magpies will be back,stronger and wiser and i hope Shearer is at the helm.

Paradise at the doorstep..

2009-05-27T12:22:00.006+08:00

In the early days, the name Sematan conjured an image of relative remoteness, its proximity to Talang Talang island where turtles routinely come to lay eggs and of course its wonderful beach.

I remembered during my school days we used to camp out at the beach, have really rollicking fun and i vividly recalled our camp(or rather tent) being "mauled" by a wandering horse!!!

Time moves on and i just dont have the inclination to visit Sematan again ,the last trip possibly 10 years back on just a short stopover while visiting another nearby more populated place ,Lundu.

Somehow had the opportunity during the weekend to stay oveernight at a resort ,which offers the basic comfort of what to expect of a decent beach resort but spartan enough to give you a feeling of adventure.

I have a sheepish confession to make..Sematan indeed is a great get away place with its pristine clear waters and a clean beach. The place is also remote enough and it is still not part of the tourist track or armoured with rowdy day trippers.

Indeed it is a paradise at the doorstep that i have missed these years regrettably and one thing for sure i will come back again to this wonderful place,this time i will also take a boat trip to Telok Melano which i was told has a Malay kampong with its beach even better than Sematan.

Will also try to do a bit of snorkeling off the Talang Talang island.

Sematan town (or is it village ?) still retain the authenticity of a laid back rural place where people just spend time idling at the various coffee shops possibly after a morning's out at sea fishing.

Hey at one stall they even still sell these unique lemonade in small bottles that i used to have in the early 60's and 70's for any Hari Raya gatherings! wow awesome ,man

Hell, Hull and Halifax....

2009-05-23T17:30:00.008+08:00

I attended a Mother's day function at my youngest son Amirul school recently,while i enjoyed some of the mothers swaying and swinging on stage i got acquainted to a seemingly retired man who was also there to witness his young son performing.

The conversation roughly goes like this:

Me: hai sir, enjoy the show?

Sir: yup, great ain't it?

Me: Where are you from and hope you love Kuching...

Sir: ya, kuching is a wonderful place , I'm from Reading you known few miles from London.

Me: Hmmm.. are you originally from there? ( You see i can recognise his accent and i know for sure he's a Northerner, let me find out more!!!)

Sir(rather sheepishly): Well i am originally from Yorkshire, rather from Hull you know.

Somehow being a Northerner and a Yorkshire man to boot is not apparently not something one likes to shout about,that's for sure.

Ha ha ... wait till he hears i have to say next;

Me: i used to live in Yorkshire before, doing my A levels

Sir(suddenly lightening up): Really? never expect that, where exactly?

Me: Halifax sir, u know in the Pen nines, near Bradford and Leeds(even to a Yorkshire man i must take care to explain where exactly Halifax is ,to reflect its measure of remoteness)

Sir(with a loud guffaw): Ha ha nobody is from Halifax, what on earth are you doing there?

You heard of this saying?....Hell,Hull and Halifax ? Halifax is the last stop of eternal punishment with Hell being the first!!!

As Kevin Keegan (a Yorkshire man from Scunthorpe) said on telly during an uncontrolled tirade against Ferguson " I love it, i really love it if we beat them"!!!

He he..Halifax may be a last stop on an arduous road of punishment and sufferings but hey I LOVE IT man ,I really love the place.

I spent great two years of my teenage life there. The people are friendly and the words 'cheerio" and "u all right love" are a day to day expressions that even now i found myself unwittingly uttering them without realising that nobody does that here at all!!!

Come on the Yorkshire man may not have the sophisticated airs of a Londoner or those from the South but they have gumption man yes Gumption ,beat that.

Hell, Hull and Halifax .. i have not been to Hull and as always one hopes that particular first destination will not be an eternal place for any person with conscience to rest(or be punished) forever but Halifax? Give me anytime the place as a last stop not on a road of eternal punishment but a road of redemption and peaceful solace.

70's retro nite....

2009-05-20T13:48:00.007+08:00

I have actually always try to adhere to one basic rule on my blog, no posting on any work related stories but somehow the event that my colleagues organised the other night,the 70's retro night was so enjoyable and memorable that i just want to share here on my blog

Well i would categorise the event as more of rollicking fun after such hard efforts we all put in the past many months..roll on 70s

Hey hey are those two really trying to have the Alleycats impersonation or just wanting to be Gorillas for the night.

Man of the night complete with all those high heel shoes and bell bottom trousers!! Where did he get them in this day and age?

And ya me swooning a Rano Karno song!!

A dreary game in the rain

2009-05-18T22:33:00.004+08:00

I dragged myself tonight to watch Sarawak football game against Proton. Initially i was hesitant knowing my own character of never wanting any half measures i may find myself back in the fold of the Sarawak football circus!!!

Well, the team management asked me to join them in the dressing room , i did not intend to give a pep talk but from the players body language they were expecting me to say something.

While the team management went at great lengths and elaborations , i just asked them this.."Which team are you playing tonight?"
"Proton" , so hey show them that you are "Honda " and can beat Proton anytime !!!

The game though reflected the harsh reality of the present standard of the Sarawak team.
The team lacked obviously a compact pattern of football, while they showed good ability of closing down the spaces ,somehow movements off the ball was not evident at all.

The team badly needs a good goal poacher and a very dominant midfield general ....pity Joseph Kallang, obviously he worked his guts out for the team but just no support .
They lost 2-1 to an average Proton side.
Indeed sad to see such debacle and the heavy downpour did not help either.

The empty stadium adds to the hopeless feeling as the rain incessantly made the field wet and slippery.
The unthinkable may be happening IE relegation to the FAM league,God forbids.

To Joseph Kallang, you are still an embodiment of the true Sarawak spirit, a never say die attitude but as always in a competitive world that is not enough.

Good luck to my beloved Sarawak in the following games ,you need it badly!

Damai golf

2009-05-17T23:08:00.008+08:00

After a long absence(i prefer the word ,hiatus..) i finally played a round of golf at the Damai Golf resort. Enjoyed the game though bit tiring coming to the last few holes,took some shots from my blackberry just to remind myself this is still the best golf course in Kuching with the majestic Mount Santubong in the background.

Salt or vinegar?.. a great week end

2009-05-17T22:35:00.006+08:00

I read recently that the British most favourite dish or now the national dish is the Chicken Masala, Wow how times have moved on, the English is not renown for their food and mockery was made of their culinary skills by the Continentals particularly the French.

Somehow i got taken in by that basic of the English dish or "takeaway", the Fish n Chips in the newspaper wrapper. Ha beat that!!

Such simplicity ,just deep fry the fish and those big cuts of potato slices which they call Chips.
French fries must be a way for the English to take a swipe at the French for French fries as we know are more of smaller cuts or sizes as compared to the real British Chips!!

I love my Fish n chips with lots of vinegar and a bit generous helping of salt. The routine whenever one buys a helping of Fish n Chips at a take away counter will be a standard question being asked.."Salt or Vinegar?"...

So what does one do if on occasions a sudden craving for fish n chips suddenly comes to mind?

I normally have my dish of Fish n Chips at the Secret Recipe outlet, not bad actually though it cant beat the real thing.

I will normally order a plate of Fish n Chips with a cup of a Long Black coffee. The mushroom soup with its fresh bun is a good starter for the sumptuous meal(to me anyway).

So how do i end a perfect weekend? i have my dinner at Secret Recipe located at the Spring Mall I had this opportunity when i have to accompany my daughter Sabrina on some errands tonight to the Spring Mall.

Sigh...no vinegar to spice up my fish n chips dish but hey the lemon slices can do ,no problem.
Yes a perfect way to celebrate a great weekend, Manchester United winning the league , Hafiz the Sarawakian winning the AF reality show.

Pass the vinegar please!!!

Be a GEM

2009-05-16T17:34:00.008+08:00

The government has recently launched A Graduate Employability Management Scheme (GEMS)aims at reducing the current rate of unemployment among fresh graduates.

An initiative that has evolved from the Graduate Employability Enhancement Programme (Green) that was started in 2006 by Khazanah Nasional, it will now be undertaken by some 38 government-linked companies that fall under the Putrajaya Committee for GLC High Performance (PCG).

With the support of the Finance Ministry as a project under its stimulus package, Gems will see 5,000 graduates undergoing a two-and-a-half month training programme before being placed in a GLC for six months with a view towards full employment.

The government had promised to create 163,000 training or job opportunities under its RM60 billion second stimulus plan that was announced on Tuesday.

The GREEN progamme had managed a 97 per cent rate of fulltime employment out of 690 who had gone through the programme with another 504 still undergoing training.

Gems is open to those under the age of 27 and who have obtained a CGPA of over 2.5 or an equivalent score in an undergraduate programme.

The above programme in short known as GEMS in my view is app laudable and i was honoured to be asked as well to give a talk on this programme here in Kuching recently.

I was asked to give a talk entitled "Personal qualities of a First Class executive " from a CEO's perspective.

Hmmm tall order indeed but i did not hesitate at all and said yes i will . Only a day for me to prepare the presentation materials and with the help of my Human Resource manager came out with some View graphs that hopefully will give some insight to these young men and women about a working life.

I enjoyed actually the session and two hours went by without me noticing it and great to see these young men and women listening attentively to an old work(war) horse like me.

Trying to give my 2 cents worth of experience to impart to these eager graduates.

I started by asking them ,"what's the difference between me and you(the fresh graduates) if we are both unemployed?"

Some answered it would be easier for me to find another job because of my experience, some said i have worked long enough to have already a nest egg so no worry on money .

My answer is and hopefully will motivate them ...i told them the key difference was that if i am unemployed i will be looking for a job because at this "tail end" of a working life that's what it will be .

However for them they are and must be looking for a CAREER not a job, there is still a long span of time for them to make good of their lives and building up an enriched and rewarding career..it is a marathon race not a 100 meter dash. Failures and disappointments will come in its usual measures .

The personal qualities of a first class executive? I presented them the 7C s ...the values that we have learnt and believed to be desired attributes of our employees. This was not taken out as a leaf out of a book but from my own experiences and observations..ha ha want to know what's the 7 Cs?

I concluded my talk by saying that ultimately be a GEM to your employee and hopefully the course or programme as appropriately entitled GEMS will achieve this.

Good luck young men and women on your journey to have a wonderful and rewarding career.

The 2 AF shows

2009-05-16T13:05:00.007+08:00

I have all the peanuts ready and definitely a pot of tea will be brewed for tonight's 2 big events.

While i have not been following that TV reality show, Akademi Fantasia i cant help being engrossed as well with the present euphoria.

The euphoria is understandable because this is the first time since the Akademi fantasia show's inception almost 7 years ago that a Sarawakian stands a real chance of being crowned 'Juara Akademi Fantasia(AF) " .

The boy Hafiz has all Sarawakians swooning and to add an extra spice, we do know the mother quite well.

I can certainly bet many Sarawakians will be rooting to their television and all will be cheering for Hafiz, well i do sincerely hope Hafiz will win not because he's a Sarawakian but i believed from one show that i watched previously this boy got talent, yes real talent!!!

Excuse me however i will not be watching this AF final on TV tonight because i will be watching another AF show which somehow is during the same air time as the Akademi fantasia final.

Yup, i will be watching the Alex Ferguson (AF) show instead. Tonite is the night as the song goes...

A point against the Gunners will be sufficient for Manchester United to clinch its 3rd consecutive league title and a total of 18 titles thus equalling Liverpool's records.

I remembered during the late 70s and early 80's i was dismayed watching Liverpool always galloping away with the league titles and as they amassed a total of 18 i cant ever imagine another team can equal or surpass that record.

So this AF show i am going to watch ya the Alex Ferguson 's show and nothing will stop me from doing that even if i miss another historic moment ,the crowning of a Sarawakian as the new AF champion, sorry Hafiz don't worry i will definitely watch the repeat!

Wigan undone by a well done plan(Phelan)

2009-05-14T17:15:00.003+08:00

Normally i will not wake up to watch those early morning matches.

Somehow this morning i woke up at 4 am and of course the anxiety for such a prompted early rise must be to watch the outcome of the United-Wigan match.

I woke up to the fact that United was trailing 1-0 at half time to a well executed goal by a Wigan forward(cant remember his name)...

While all were observing Ferguson's expressions and figuring out what shall be his tactical moves in the second half, i was focusing to that one man, the man who was always at Fergie's side in all matches.

That man with a pensive and stoic look is Fergie's deputy or his No 2, Michael Phelan.

In all these years , Fergie's No 2 was always another celebrity with equal attention given to that man. Ya remember Brian Kidd, Steve McLaren and the present Portugal national team Manager, Carlos Queroz.

Phelan? He was hardly mentioned and possibly his dour looks add to his too ordinariness .

However , Michael Phelan was no ordinary football player in his playing days,that i can tell you.

His outstanding displays as a midfielder at Norwich City earned him a move to Manchester United in 1989 and earned him England Caps as well.

Well, after Tevez petulant back heeled equaliser in that Wigan game and Carrick's "passing" goal winner, everyone celebrated with unbounded joy , hey Rooney you nearly broke your arm!

I though wished to salute Phelan, for a well plan(Phelan) tactics that undone Wigan in the second half.

13th May, a date to remember

2009-05-13T13:23:00.005+08:00

All Malaysians knew fully well that the date 13th May has a bad and tragic connotation for it was a date in the year 1969 that was forever viewed as the darkest day in Malaysia's relatively young history.

To be fair and in all honesty, that "baby' Malaysia has though have come of age and the 40 years since that tragic day has seen the country progressing leaps and bounds.

No doubt any cynics will say that Malaysia has failed in certain aspects but taking within its stride all its weaknesses and failings Malaysia has though journeyed throughout those years with greater prosperity and improved quality of life for its populace.

We,maybe taking cue from our past colonial masters, always being harsh on ourselves and never intended to celebrate the good things that has come out from our unique , diverse and multicultural society.

I believe it is our uniqueness that has been the embodiment of strength for the nation and one day within my own lifetime i fervently hope that our OneMalaysia will indeed be a practical reality.

To me though 13th May is always a special date for me and the family.

It was on that date in the year 1987 our first child was born. We named him Azri, which i believe in Arabic meant "strength".

Indeed being a father for the first time has brought bigger responsibilities to a young man then .

How time flies, Azri is now a fledgling 22 year old teenager.

We may have our usual disagreements and sometimes as loving parents we despair at their behaviour but we are proud to say that he has turn out all right.

I view him more as a best friend now and our unconditional love for our children will certainly not ebb even with the passing years.

His birthday today also reminds me of life's continuing journey, a journey of growing old hopefully with grace, a journey as you look back that you have done your best for your children and as our own love for our beloved nation, we take in our children as they are, warts and all.

To Azri in Sydney, we wish you a happy birthday.

Uncle Ho's city, Saigon

2009-05-11T12:51:00.003+08:00

Tried to write a bit of places that i had been to,though at times it has been a while since that trip.

The same is said of a trip i took a while back, to the city we knew before as Saigon but now named as Ho chin Minh City.

Honestly i was a bit disappointed of the place, maybe i expected too much being a city of such anguish history.
So i was half expecting a sense of melancholy within the air.

What was my impression? It was just another bustling place, people all rushing around, traffic buzzing and the market just selling the usual trinkets.

The only saving grace about the place was the trip we took to the Cu Ci tunnels area, infamous during the Vietnam war as a place where the VC( read..Vietcong) hid themselves in an endless array of tunnels with all the amenities as hospital, dining room, meeting room part of the tunnels community infrastructure!!!

Listening to the tour guide, you cant help grimacing and imagining the horrors of the Vietnam war, how the simple ingenuity of the "primitive" folks can outwit a superpower as the Americans.
You cant help a feeling of irony as the tour guide related stories of how "they" cheat and outmanoeuvre the enemies (the Americans) and some American tourists just listening to this story with very grave faces indeed.Wonder what's in their mind,definitely not Rambo and his brandishing gun.

Saigon was renamed Ho Chin Minh after Uncle HO, apparently all Vietnamese now refer him as that , the architect and master strategist of the communist North during those tragic Vietnamese War years. You can see his monument and images everywhere .

It was certainly hard to imagine that it was only 30 odd years ago that the war ended and certainly there will still be significant number of living folks still remembering that war well.

The country has really been transformed and one can sense the energy of dynamic commercialism in the city as people all busy with their hand phone conversations and always in a hurry.

Maybe i should not be in a hurry as well if i were to savour the place more,i should have visited their war museum and other places of interest.

Nonetheless the 3 hours visit to the Cu Ci tunnels has given me ample impression on the travesties and the immoralities of that war, a war that has displaced many Vietnamese and i believed few millions died as well during that war.

Incidentally i have been to Hanoi, the city in the North few years back, i enjoyed that place still sustaining an aura of authenticity and a scene that will always be forever etched in my mind was a buffalo being tied up and carried on a motorcycle!!!!
That's the Vietnam that i envisaged, a country who will always have the ingenuity and smartness to cope with anything!

Football thots and all roads lead to Rome

2009-05-08T20:11:00.005+08:00

The anguish felt by Chelsea fans were to say the least understandable. Such travesty and in the last minute of injury time!!

But then the final that everyone wants (except for the Gunners and Chelsea fans) is to be a reality in Rome.

Manchester United got the tactics right i believed when playing Wenger's team.

By putting in three midfielders really suffocated the creativity of the Arsenal's much touted midfield strength.

Fabregas, the pivotal man within that midfield was not allowed to do any damages.

Enter Barcelona and its highly rated midfield, Messi, Xavi and Innesta ,can Fergie's men repeat the same act as against Arsenal?

I can now understand Fergie's great dismay at Fletcher's red card offence, he is the key in that United midfield.

He allowed Carrick to play his usual unhurried role with ease and Fletcher's hard running also complemented and bring the best out of Park Ji Sung.

Ha..here i am again trying to be a couch potato football strategist and specialist.

I am sure if United has lost to Arsenal i will be saying a different tune!!!

There then goes the beauty of football and why it is the no 1 sports in the world.

For all its simplicity with 22 adults chasing a ball (just to coin a cynic!!) it makes us all experts and we will not hesitate to vent our anger and despair if our team lost and will be also off the mark to give "expert' opinion for reasons if your favourite team won.

Despite all its simplicity the Malaysian football authorities somehow still do not get it right and we still struggled to defeat "minnows" such as Myanmmar.

I remembered having a chat with one of Sarawak's football team import players, the South African Junaid Hartley few years back.

He cant fathom why Malaysia is not out there among the top Asian footballing nations with all the infrastructure and development being evident as compared to even his own country,South Africa.

Back to the European Cup Final, i just cant wait for the day and i am sure it will be a great spectacle.

My guess on the first 11? Fergie will possibly play his proven and tested formation 4-4-2, possibly made easier with Fletcher's absence.

Team sheet: VanDer Sar, O'shea, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Carrick, Anderson, Giggs, Ronaldo, Rooney, Berbatov.

Wow, awesome man and one thing for sure it will be close game.

Wish i am in Rome that day!!!

Snapshots from my blackberry

2009-05-07T19:39:00.008+08:00

As a habit now, i tried to take snapshots from my blackberry if what i saw intrigued,amused or fascinated yours truly.

Is that a fortress? Or rather a UFO?

Yup.. i saw a reptile(biawak) while playing golf over the weekend.

And yes, the authorities really up the ante in their fight to discourage people from smoking.i wonder whether they have really gone over board.

A rainbow to savour!!!

Fancy a real sports car?

Jane Austen..a regret?

2009-05-07T18:26:00.006+08:00

There have been a few movies lately depicting a common theme on that great English writer, Jane Austen.

I did finish watching one a while back " Becoming Jane", a real delightful drama with witty dialogue and of course great English narrations, the Jane Austen style.

"A woman especially if she has the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can." -Jane Austen

Don't really understand the above comment but then coming from Jane Austen am sure is a classic line.

While the movie "Becoming Jane" is indeed a real treat with Anne Hathaway giving quite a Stirling performance , i preferred an earlier depiction of Jane Austen life ,"Miss Austen regrets".

I watched that DVD a year ago and the storyline was more tragic and reflected possibly the anguish of a genius(aren't they all like that?) in her last years as she tried to give advice to her niece on man and love(what else?)

"The more I know of the world, the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love."
— Jane Austen in Sense and Sensibility

Yes, vintage Austen!!!

Movie adaptation of her novels i have not really watched all.I remembered the Colin Firth"s movie, "Pride and Prejudice" .

Over the weekend i managed to watch another of Austen related movie "The Jane Austen Book Club", a contemporary drama , the DVD that i bought almost a year ago and only got around to watch it now!!!

In all honesty i never read a Jane Austen book, i have wrongly(to my own consternation) viewed her books as too "girly". The nearest book that i read of similar nature in my youth was "Rebecca" by Daphne De Maurier, a real classic.

For those who really want to savour the elegance of the English language, read "Rebecca".

I have mistakenly categorised Jane Austen books in same vein as the Mills and Boons book series!!

Any one recalled those Mills and Boons book series? The theme is always the same , poor girl suffered first then met the man of her life(normally with dark brooding looks) and lived happily ever after.

Sorry Jane i promise i will buy one of your books next i am at a bookstore, Is "Persuasion" a good read?

Diana,the people's Princess

2009-05-02T17:03:00.007+08:00

I did something over the weekend that i thought i would not have done or enjoyed. I was watching on TV a Concert for Diana,the late Princess.

The only word to describe the show is AWESOME , a great treat with a mix of old and new stars.

The "old" stars on show included Bryan Ferry(heard of him?), Rod Stewart,Elton John and the ever green Tom Jones.

The show have as its interludes video clips of Diana doing all her charity works and also some tributes from those that knew her including Tony Blair(surely we all have heard of him!!!)

The interlude showing her work on the call for the ban of land mines was poignant and applaudable.

Diana was of my age if she was still alive ,just a year younger.

I could vividly remember her wedding to that man, a big happening indeed as we were all glued as young University students in Birmingham to the television watching the unveiling of the future Queen of England.

The common remark that we made as we watched with awe was simply,"what a mismatch!!"

Her sudden demise evoked such anguish and unprecedented emotions not only in Britain but the whole world was a bit surprising but to me understandable.

Here was a simple woman trying to be her own amidst a rigid and frigid atmosphere within the royal fraternity and maybe she was scorned for being a simpleton and lack of "intellectual vigour".

Also the manner that she fought back against possibly such prejudices strike a chord among the common folks and yes indeed she was a people's Princess.

I named my elder daughter Diyana maybe to an extent influenced by this contemporary woman of my generation whose interests include just listening to the music of Duran Duran and Wham

The concert show as i said was phenomenal and just to watch Roger Hodgson of the group Supertramps singing one of my all time favourite songs ,"The logical song" brought back great memories of watching and admiring that damsel of a Princess who at 19 years of age married that man in the wedding of the century.

Yes, the memories of Diana the People's Princess will live on....

Fab, Chip(py) of the old Gunners block

2009-04-28T18:32:00.004+08:00

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

2009-04-26T23:24:00.004+08:00

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

2009-04-24T22:45:00.007+08:00

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

2009-04-22T19:51:00.006+08:00

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

2009-04-20T23:14:00.008+08:00

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

2009-04-20T22:49:00.004+08:00

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

2009-04-18T11:58:00.002+08:00

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

2009-04-17T10:56:00.007+08:00

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

2009-04-15T12:56:00.004+08:00

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

2009-04-09T23:01:00.004+08:00

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.