US Presidential Debate, Round One

Here's the presidential debate, that was responsible for my delay in turning up for work this morning...I know, one thing for sure, I will never skip work to see our local politician talk.

US PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE ROUND 1

We Malaysian lar....

It's funny how I can actually get away with eating in public during fasting month, not that I've done it yet, but the fact that it's banned, is tempting me to try the deed and see if I can get away with it. I've never tried necking in the public park yet, don't want to risk getting married for the wrong reasons when the JAIS fellas nab me...perhaps when I want to con someone into marriage (of which is pointless, especially Malay men, because Malay women tend to be at the loosing side once married to Malay men..they may con you with a second, third and fourth wife...)..I may resort to that ploy. Funny how the JAIS fellas are there when couples hold hand, yet when you need them to testify against rape case, they are never around, it is impossible to get the four witnesses..

In Iran, a woman was hanged apparently, for killing her rapist in effort to save herself from being raped. The reason given was that she had failed to come up with the four witnesses of the rape. I know. Makes you wonder if the criterion to govern Islam is myopia, or self induce non congenital mental retardation. Oh, but that is another story. Check out the story, one of many;
Iran to hang teenage girl attacked by rapists

Back to the topic. Why am I able to get away with all the stunts mentioned? Simply because, even though I am a Malay, I look like Chinese. (Or for those who need lens correction, I look like Angelina Jolie....severe lens correction..). No, I'm not a swapped baby in the hospital. My sister looks like me, except she's leaning more towards the Indian version of me feature wise, and, exact same voice. (We had fun fooling each others' boyfriends back then. It's wonderful, like having a voice twin !!). So, no, I am not a swapped baby.

My first boyfriend was Indian. We use to go out for lunch with another couple. Vincent is a Baba while his girlfriend, now wife, is Eleanor. Vincent, looks like a Malay, can't speak a word of Chinese. It's cute seeing him, and another Baba, Phang, who looks like Chinese in a conversation. Two China men speaking in Bahasa Malaysia, even throw Malay expletives at each other occasionally !!! Eleanor's full name is Eleanor Ratnam. She is Chinese adopted by, obviously Ratnam is Indian. All four of us would confuse the waiter. I am Malay, but look like Chinese. My ex boyfriend is Indian Muslim who can speak three languages (Broken Bahasa Malaysia, Broken Urdhu, and good English). Eleanor looks like Chinese but is all Indian in gist. Vincent is, having the best of both worlds. The only bummer is that he really can't leave home without his IC, especially when he was dating, because the authority will insist he's anything but a Malay. We use to crack dirty jokes at lunch time, in English..

Then I remember an incident during at the dinner table in a restaurant, where I noticed an adorable looking English couple, around their 60s probably, were throwing curious glances at our table. I was having dinner with my whole family. It must be a tourist sight for them.

My mom looks English, although she's not. She's the fourth generation descendant of Yemeni with a mixture of Malay and Sarawakian Iban along the way. My dad is also fourth generation Yemeni mixed with Malay and looks Malay, full stop.

My youngest sister, looks like an Indian version of me, feature wise, but have a Malay complexion. My brother in law looks exactly like a Chinese even the Chinese would greet him "sek fan?". That is because he is half Chinese. His mom is a Chinese adopted by Malay family, although she looks Japanese. She's married to a Malay with a splash of Indian blood. I guess the Indian gene is recessive because all of their kids looks somewhere between Chinese and Japanese.

My sister looks like she can't decide between lookinf like a Sarawakian or a Malay. Their kids look like malay-chinese-Baba running back and forth depending on which developmental month they were in.

My brother looks like a male version of my mom, but has my dad's skin color. His wife is Malay and looks malay. Their kids look somewhere between English and Malay. My Husband is a Punjabi and look like Ajay Devgan (really, I'm not joking..). Of course you already know how I look like. Needless to say, my daughter looks Chindian/Cibhai (chinese mix with punjabi) ...hey, a chinese/punjabi mix friend of mine gave me this abreviation...

The elderly English couple must have felt amazed at the noisy table full of colors that could make up a few shades of the Pahang Flag. But that is how it is. If there's anything amazing about visit Malaysia Year theme, "Amazingly Malaysia!!", is the amazing capability of multicultures to come together as a family at our dinner tables, or living harmoniously as a nation. The famous "sikap toleransi"( tolerance) however, is basically the rakyat's sentiment reserved for the government that run it.............

I leave you with this brilliant video...

When humans aborted evolution....

According to Darwin's Theory of Evolution, Men evolved from monkeys. (Please take note that I am not writing this to discuss the Darwin's Theory, so let's just leave it at that). There are times though, that this may be condescending to the monkeys, especially when men, unlike the monkeys, could do unimaginable things to the their own kind. I would, if I am a monkey, be very angry for being linked to such low lives.

Time and time again, some "humans" may without fail to surprise the rest of the actually evolved humans with unthinkable deeds, like making fast money with the least amount of humanity applied.

I've for some time suspected that the United States of America, are all out to bring down China's exports by exaggerating some of their mishaps. They were more forgiving when their President made a historical political blunder and was still elected for a second term, killing thousands more than the amount of China's blunders. Furthermore,China, after all will become the next economic giant and we all know that the American economy is insidiously loosing it's strength, although, you won't get that answer from any Americans on you bump into on the road. (It's an American thing to think that the whole world IS America, albeit that is but another story...). So you may sometimes think the US attacks may perhaps be a desperate attempt to slow down their economic foe..

However, reading what is happening in China lately, namely the milk scandal that killed 4 children by far and sickened nearly two thousand others (for once it is not about the cows per se), I just have to shake my head in disbelief when I read/heard about it. For those who had just came back from Mars, welcome home and kindly tap on the link below to catch up with the human species, and feast upon your eyes , how greed can turn people into low lives...This is what happens, when human beings have failed to live up to their definition....

China Makes Arrests in Tainted-Milk Probe

Just another body of water

When I arrived home yesterday, the road leading to my apartment was crowded with cars and motorcycles.  there were two police cars too.  In the complex compound, there was a fire engine and there was a Civil Defence vehicle and an ambulance.  a crowd had gathered by the lake behind my apartment building. The police had stretched their 'crime scene' tape from several trees and fixtures on the edge of the lake.  There were several police officers there including the OCPD and the Sergeant in charge of the area. 

In the water, several members of the Civil Defence Search and Rescue team were looking for something underwater.  Two of them were throwing and dragging in a hook in the lake.  I met Mr Siva, Mr Tham and Mr Din, members of my apartment's residents committee and they told me that three boys had drowned in the lake and that those people were trying to recover their bodies. 

There was a group pf people with the police, I guessed they were parents of the children and their neighbours.  Some of them seems very distraught.  There were many in tears among them, some seemed inconsolable.

The crowd steadily grew for a while as we watched them search.  Once of twice, it seemed like they found something but when the dove in, they came up empty. 

As the dusk descended and night was approaching, the crowd thinned. I too made my way home to break fast.  When I came out that night, the guard told me that they had found the bodies.  It seems that a few moments after I left, the frogmen arrived.  It only took them a few moments to find the boys.  So the loaded the bodies onto the waiting ambulance and took them to the hospital for post-mortem examinations. 

It was certainly a reminder that death is often unexpected and that our lives are never as secure as we imagine it to be.  However, it was something that one of my neighbours said that really shoed me the character of us Malaysians.  First he reminded me of the suicide case at the same lake some time back.  A man had parked his car beside the lake and simply walked into the lake to drown himself.  There were a few people fishing there but they had initially thought that the man was being foolish.  When they realised what was really happening, they tried to save him but it was too late.  Then, my neighbour shook his head sadly and said, "Haiyaaa, this place sure haunted one now". 

I guess he was not the only one who felt the same way because last night, the apartment building was unusually quiet.  I think I did not even hear any motorcycles come and go from the building after night fall.

The report below is the report on the deaths in the New Strait Times newspaper today.

NST Online » Local News http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thursday/National/2353154/Article/index_html

2008/09/18

3 schoolboys drown during fishing outing

KUALA LUMPUR: A fishing trip turned into a tragedy for six primary school students when three of them drowned in a lake in Pandan Perdana here yesterday.

The three were Muhammad Faris Ahmad Azazi, 9, Al Mujib Muneir and Shah Nazim Amir Riduan, both 12.
A member of the group, Hazlan Alham, 12, said they had gone to the lake, about 500 metres from their flats, at noon.
"It's a school holiday in Selangor and we had planned to spend the day fishing at the lake," he said at the Ampang Hospital last night.
Hazlan said most of the boys, all students of Sekolah Kebangsaan Cheras Indah, only informed their parents that they were just hanging out with friends.

The boys decided to jump into the lake about 1.30pm to cool themselves. But tragedy struck when Faris started struggling in the water.
"We all tried to save him, but Al Mujib and Shah Nazim Amir also encountered difficulty," Hazlan said, adding that the rest of the group called for help from a man fishing nearby and passers-by.
"Some of them called the Fire and Rescue Department but by that time, it was too late because my three friends had disappeared into the water."
Faris' mother, Rohani Mohd Noor, 51, said she last saw the younger of her two children around noon.
"He told me he was hanging out with friends. At 4pm, while I was cooking for buka puasa, two of his friends came and told me that he had drowned."
A Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said they received an emergency call at 4.29pm and their divers recovered the first body at 6.36pm.
"The second body was found at 7.16pm, followed by the last body at 7.21pm."

The true meaning to the abreviation ISA

Nope..not Isa anak Maryam that we are talking here. It's the ISA, internal security act, a Malaysia Boleh version...

I am referring to the detention of RPK for the two pieces of writing "I promise to be a good non-hypocritical muslim" and "Not all Arabs are descendents of the Prophet"..

After reading the two pieces, I came up with a new term of ISA. It's Imbecilic Signature of Auta-rity".

It's the only way to explain the detention of RPK after reading the articles that sent him there.

The irony though, is that Dato' Ahmad Ismail is not charged for sedition, after coming up with such a racist remark. By definition SEDITION is " incitement of resistance to or insurrection against lawful authority". So since BN is the opposition party in Penang, technically, Ahmad Ismail should be charged with sedition. How come he only got away with 3years suspension and RPK got the ISA?

I think it's his article on RosJib ( well, it's very Hollywood to call them that..like branjelina etc), implicating Najib and Rosmah's involvement in that Mongolia telenovela that got him in the hot soup.

Question: Why shove someone away indefinitely if you can prove BEYOND REASONABLE AND UNREASONABLE DOUBT (hey, this is Malaysian judiciary system we're talking about) that you are innocent? Oh..I forgot, the judiciary system is in hot soup right now...short of resources...

Well, I think it is high time we practice some morality in our lives. We should start by learning to respect the basic human rights. We'll see where this telenovela will end up....we'll see...

12 comments

Updated about a week ago

Malaysia....Democracy?

I was commenting on a fellow blogger's Note when I stumbled upon something interesting, well, at least to me.

Someone was commenting on Malaysia as NOT being a democratic country the way it claims to be.

What is it then? I did some googling and well, I came up with this term;

Here's the search result, KLEPTOCRACY

Oh okay, for those bums who are to lazy to click on the hyperlink, here's the definition:

A kleptocracy (sometimes cleptocracy, occasionally kleptarchy) (root: klepto+kratein = rule by thieves) is a term applied to a government that extends the personal wealth and political power of government officials and the ruling class (collectively, kleptocrats) at the expense of the population.

A kleptocratic government often goes beyond mere cronyism and nepotism, or awarding the prime contracts and civil service posts to relatives or personal friends rather than the most competent applicants. They also create projects and programs at a policy level which serve the primary purpose of funneling money out of the treasury and into the pockets of the executive with little if any regard for the logic, viability or necessity of those project

Fancy that...Malaysia is actually run by Kleptomaniacs...The best person, hitherto, that I can think of, who could actually take over the Prime Minister-ship is someone from Outer Space, because, he would be the only one without relations and friends to take care of and abuse power for. It's too bad that they don't really come to Malaysia.. they are after all, what we refer to as Extra terrestrial intelligent beings...( intelligent enough to stay the hell away from us...)

Let's paint the town READ!!!

We got caught red handed yesterday evening at the A&W. No, not caught eating by the JAKIM flers albeit I could get away with eating in public because I don't look Malay. We got caught reading by a blogger operator http://www.readkl.blogspot.com. I was trying to solve a Soduku puzzle, and I had that constipated expression on my face when a pleasant lady approached us to introduce herself then sought permission to take our photos. I thought taking the photo with a book like, "The Science Of Leonardo" which I vowed to read as soon as I completed the Soduku puzzle would be more groovy rather than getting caught solving "Soduku for beginners".

Wow....reading must be an uncommon virtue, so much so, someone would want to take photos of an old lady reading!! I do hope that I'd live to see the day that no one would bother to take a picture of anyone reading, because uncommon had become a common thing.

My daughter told me this morning that she needs to read about 20 more books to get reward from the "Buku Nilam" project run by the Kementerian Pendidikan who grant rewards for those who read more than 100 books in one year. I'd like to think of it as an incentive rather than a bribe. You can't blame me for thinking as such, since we are talking about the Malaysian government after all, by which through experience, bribery tend to be true...(N.B. for the people who surveys blogs and decide to charge me with sedition, here's a message; why don't you charge that Ahmad Ismail with sedition?).

I wonder who came up with that "100 books" idea? What if a kid reads 100 books that consist of 10 pages each, like say, a comic? Would that be fair to those, say like my daughter, who reads books thicker than Samy Vello's face (say about 300 pages each)? So I told my beloved daughter to suggest to teacher, so that she can suggest this to the Kementerian Pendidikan, that they go by pages instead of the amount of books. It's ironic how, by suggesting this, the Kementerian Pendidikan may get some "pendidikan" from the students instead. Well, never too old to learn anything, that's what my father use to say.

My father is a reader too. I can't say the same about my mother, unless reading recipe books and the Quran counts. Actually, it's reciting the Quran. Something I argue with my mother constantly because as much as I feel that it is good reciting the Quran daily, I feel that reading and understanding it is much more important, but that is another story...

The thing is, many people ask me what formula I use that I've managed to enhance the reader in my daughter. The answer is simple really. Conveying it to the person who ask the question, without sounding condescending though, is anything but simple. Children follow what the adults around them do, not so much of what we say. (although funny how the expletives never seem to escape their ears' attention). So if you want your child to read, you yourself will just have to read to show them that reading is a routine thing, like brushing your teeth,(well, to a child, maybe not brushing teeth), or eating, or pooing.

I use to read to her even since when she was in my womb. I remember buying her a plastic book toy to play with while bathing in the small baby tub. She was never without a book. I use to read her bedtime stories every single night until one fine day, she knew how to read, and started reading me....... to sleep!!

Hitherto, she reads about 3 books per week. I spend about RM200-300 per month just on her books. It has become a priority in the family. My father, during my childhood would refuse me a new pair of jeans, but never a book. I guess, I am paying it forward. I am happy with my daughter's habit, albeit it would be great if the libraries have a more updated books.

Another thing about the Malaysian Libraries. Children under 12 years old are prohibited to enter the adult section, which I think is ridiculous. Perhaps that is the reason why we don't have geniuses produced in Malaysia. The only one we have, was quick on the mental calculation, to have nothing to do with Malaysia, I guess to reciprocate Malaysia's role of having nothing to do with her becoming a genius in the first place. The only help she got from the Malaysian government was a group of self proclaim self self elected "life saviours" trying to get her out of the harlot activities. If prostitution is the big concern, go after the corrupted politicians then. (Well, what do you call a person who screw others for money?). As always, I digress....

Back to the reading topic, I am very happy that my daughter is a book junkie, not to mention that she is not a geek, a trait many would ascociate with reading. In fact I find it fullfilling to have a conversation with her as many a times, she inspires me with new ideas. So what if I can't afford that new dress or shoes, just so I could get her some books. It's an investment. It also depends on one's priority. If you decipher the importance of feeding one's soul with knowledge via reading, then perhaps that branded jeans does not look as appealing as the latest "Lord of the Rings" series. Yupp!!! My daughter is definitely an apt reader. It can be painful to my pocket, but not as much as the joy it brings to my heart. The only thing that make me panic, however, is when she comes up to me and say,"Ummi, can I learn speed reading?"

And so she ponders...

Common sense. We love to tell others to use their common sense when they do something, or not do what they are suppose to do. It's a short cut basically, having to spare nagging about what one should or should not do. "Use your common sense lar". We hear those words everyday. No? Well, maybe it's just me then.

But what is common sense? For those who are too lazy to click on the hyperlink, here's a rough definition;

"Common " consists of what people in common would agree on: that which they "sense" (in common) as their common natural understanding. Some people^[who?] use the phrase to refer to beliefs or propositions that — in their opinion — most people would consider prudent and of sound judgment, without reliance on esoteric knowledge or study or research, but based upon what they see as knowledge held by people "in common". Thus "common sense" (in this view) equates to the knowledge and experience which most people allegedly have, or which the person using the term believes that they do or should have.

So, what if many people okay-ed a certain act viewed as unacceptable yesterday, and imprudence suddenly becomes, common ? For example, not queuing up, or not getting up for people who are in need of a seat? When everyone thinks it is okay to push and pull, as long as they get to the seat first. There are some places where people just don't know the meaning of "queue". No, say you? Have you taken a ride on our LRT lately? If you have, then you will know what I mean.

I always joke about how the letter "Q" is an under utilized letter in the National language. (the words that are derived from Arabic or Persian or English language do not count, because, they are after all...Arabic,Persian and English, no matter how many "i"s you add at the end of each word or "lar" at the end of each sentence ...Gee...I've just described the National Language in one sentence) That is why most Malaysians are not familiar with "Q"ing....

What if everyone refuse to queue , or think that because it is such a short ride in the public transportation, it is okay to let a pregnant woman stand up during the journey. Well, it is a dilemma when it comes to giving pregnant ladies my seat. I once gave my seat up to a woman who gave me a confused then irritated look because I must have insulted her by thinking that the 5kg of fat she's carrying in her belly was not a baby. But the bewildering part was, she took the seat!!!

In the end, I refuse to sit down when I take the LRT. It saves a lot of mind hassle, like the one that went on in Smeagol's from Lord of The Rings. I was referring to it's fickle mind..."Are you nuts!!....you should not give that seat to that fat lady...you'd be doing her a favor letting her stand and burn more calories just by standing and trying to balance herself in the train..." only to have the other part of me say,"but what if she IS pregnant...or she's fat not because she's lazy and eat like a pig but because of some medical condition. You will not be able to forgive yourself and you will stay up all night arguing with your conscience". You get the picture..

Sorry, I digress...but yes, imagine if everyone misbehaves and people think it is common to do so. Then common sense could mean, trample on top of each others' heads to get to point A. Let the blind man stand by the door so that it is easier for him to got out and not have to squeeze himself through the crowd just to get out of the train. (although the latter doesn't sound as bad as the first one). So what will constitute "common"? It's like a modern application of Einstein's theory of relativity. "I'm not short, you're just too tall"...You know what they say. Today's hero may be tomorrow's zero.

Really. I'm sending this question to the vast void of the Universe. What will happen when...common sense becomes... nonsense?????