teliung

HINDRAF and the Indian Question

2007-11-29T20:48:00.000+08:00

The rally over the weekend by the HINDRAF et al caused major traffic jam into downtown KL. It was a mess coz I had to pick up Laura from downtown Chinatown which is just behind Dataran Merdeka. There were 3 roadblocks, the first one at MRR2 going to Ampang Point where there were 6 or 7 buses of Indians stopping on the sidewalk, the Jln Ampang Road Block and another one on the way to Chinatown.

Here's an interesting article on this.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

The Indian Question

The Indian Question
By Mohandass Karamchand

The Indian protest in Kuala Lumpur has been a great success because it made a very loud noise. But the Indian protesters forgot to shout Daulat Tuanku. Instead they showed allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II by carrying placards that had Queen Elizabeth’s picture. Others also carried pictures of Mahatma Ghandi.

According to the NST, Hindraf legal adviser P. Uthayakumar said that they would 'get a second bite at the cherry' when they go to London in mid-January to present a memorandum to the Queen of England. But the Queen is reported to suffer constipation and some flatulence during cold winter months like January – a predicament inherited from her ancestors who avoided the privy in winter because they had no internal plumbing. She may not be disposed to receive Uthayakumar. But there is some confusion. The NST reports: "We don't want to rely on Indian-based parties anymore. We want to go directly to UMNO because it is they who hold power," said the lawyer who was in the midst of the illegal gathering yesterday. So is it Queen Elizabeth or UMNO? Unfortunately for the Indian community, all roads to UMNO go through Samy Vellu’s office.

This appeal to Queen Elizabeth and Mahatma Ghandi is a mistake. The banners scream 'We are Malaysians'. To the other Malaysians, it seems to be that the protesters are Indian Hindus first and Malaysians second. The ethnic, religious identity is pushed forward. The name ‘Hindraf’ is also exclusive. It excludes Indians who are Christians, Sikhs and Muslims.

Why call it Hindu Rights Action Front? Why not just Indian Rights Action Front (INDRAF)? Why associate with religion? This is what some NGOs said - the Hindu Indians are making a mistake of projecting a narrow Hindu image.

However, the grievances and the protest by the Indian Hindus is real and justified.The BN Gomen's failure to uplift the Indians is real. It is a big failure. The BN Gomen does not really care for them. UMNO says they want to be the payung for all Malaysians. This is a lie. They are the least bothered about the fate of the Indians. Uthayakumar’s idea that he wants to go directly to UMNO may earn him a Datukship, but the Indians will not get anything else.

Hindu Tamils are now treated like fourth class citizens by the BN Gomen. Parties like MIC and PPP just get by on handouts for their community. The Tamils can be ignored by the UMNO boys. Why should the UMNO boys respect the Indians? While the Hindraf was protesting on Jalan Ampang, Nallakaruppan was hosting the founding of his new Indian political party called Malaysian Indian United Party (or Muniandy) at the Istana Hotel. In his speech, Nallakaruppan pledged allegiance to the BN. He said that the Muniandy party would support all the BN’s policies. Just a few months ago he was dancing on stage with Anwar Ibrahim in Ijok, hoping to be Keadilan’s candidate against the BN at the by-election. But since Anwar dropped him in favour of a Malay, Nallakaruppan is now dancing to the UMNO-BN tune.

The Indians cannot depend on the BN Gomen or anyone else to uplift them. They have no choice but to uplift themselves. Like the Chinese, any community (including the Malays) that does not depend on the BN Gomen will become richer and more successful. This is because the BN Gomen itself does not have any idea how to uplift the people. This is a Gomen that is groping in the dark. The blind cannot lead anyone to light. They cannot see.

Historically, the majority of Indians came here as very poor people. But the Indians in India and Malaysia are not one uniform body. Indians are a small minority in Malaysia – making up less than 10% of the population. Numerically they are becoming even more irrelevant.

But this small minority is divided into so many sub-minorities almost all of whom are far richer and better off than the Tamil Hindus – the largest Indian group who were also the people protesting on Sunday. The Sindhi and Gujerati Hindus are business oriented. They may not even acknowledge that Tamil Hindus are human. In their belief the Tamils are children of Hanuman, the dark-skinned monkey god who helped their white-skinned god Ram rescue their white-skinned princess Sita Devi from the clutches of the dark-skinned Ravan.

Then we have the Ceylon Tamils. An irate Indian Tamil woman once said that the Ceylon Tamils in Malaysia are ashamed to say that they are also Indians or Tamils. So in official application forms where they must state their race, they put themselves under ‘Lain-Lain’ or Others, not as Indians. Few people may be aware of this but the Ceylon Tamils are by far the most successful racial group in Malaysia, whose per capita incomes may be higher than the Chinese, Gujeratis, Mamaks, etc. There are more millionaires per thousand people among Ceylon Tamils than any other race in Malaysia. The richest man in Malaysia is a Ceylon Tamil billionaire known as Ananda Krishnan.

There are the Sikhs who have their own axes to grind against the Hindus. The Sikhs have also done very well in Malaysia. They may have started as jagas and susu lembu sellers but now they are among the best doctors and lawyers in the country. Money lending is still their forte. In a nutshell, they are doing much better than the Tamil Hindus.

Then there are the RSS sympathizers in Malaysia. RSS stands for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Nathuram Vinayak Godse, the Hindu extremist who murdered Mahatma Ghandi in 1948, was a member of the RSS. The RSS in India is led by Brahmins whose main purpose is to preserve the Hindu caste system and thereby preserve their positions. They do not look kindly at Mahatma Ghandi and none of them will have a picture of Ghandi in their homes, let alone hoist Ghandi’s picture at a public rally.

There is very little love lost between all these Indians. There are extremely very few intra-Hindu Indian marriages. It is almost impossible to see a Ceylon Hindu marry an Indian Hindu or a Gujerati marry a Telugu. You will not find any of the RSS Brahmins marrying any of the Hindraf people. It just does not happen. On the other hand, in Malaysia, there are thousands of marriages between Malays and Indians of all types and castes. This Sunday, 9th December, a extraordinarily beautiful and quite rich Malay woman is marrying a Hindu Tamil (who of course had to convert). The wedding will be held at a major hotel and will be reported in the Malay media. The Indian media will never cover such an event.

The RSS sympathizers did not support the Hindraf protest. Instead, they released a statement to the media that said: “the MIC and the Government had helped to fund, build, repair as well as settle relocation and land issues for temples nationwide.” In other words: what is there to complain about? There are enough temples. Caste and inter-Indian race differences are great. The discrimination and prejudices within the Indians is greater than from without. But that does not really affect the bread and butter issues that were the main reason for the protest on Sunday.

It is also mind-boggling that many Hindu success stories have come to a tragic end through outright murder. All too often Indians suffer violence at the hands of fellow Indians. This is not unlike the case with the African Americans and Mexican Americans who suffer tragic violence at the hands of their own people.

In Penang recently, a well known and very senior Tamil Hindu lawyer by the name of Annamalai was brutally stabbed to death by two Indians, most likely hired killers, in broad daylight. I knew Mr Annamalai who was over 60 years old and was a polite and gentle man. The killers have not been caught and neither is the motive known. A few years ago, a young Hindu woman who owned three beauty salons in Klang was also brutally murdered by Indians. After being beaten and stabbed, her body was repeatedly run over by her own Pajero. The crazed intensity of the violence against her was unimaginable. Again, her killers were not found and neither was the reason for her murder known. Earlier to that, a young Tamil Hindu geologist who ran a very succesful geological services company in Bukit Mertajam was killed by Indians. His head was cracked open by an axe. His killers were never caught and neither was the reason for his murder known.

These were among the cream of their society in their own neighbourhoods - Indians who had come up in life through hard work and against much odds. They all suffered violent death at the hands of Indians. It could be any number of reasons why they were killed but often it is pure jealousy by Indians against fellow Indians. It is okay if a Chinese or Malay is succesful, but when an Indian makes good, any number of other Indians may become extremely jealous. And if there is even a hint of an insult or injury, real or imagined, it may be enough to trigger murderous action. So the Indians do not need extra enemies from outside to keep them down. They can be their own worst enemies.

First of all, the Indians must realise that holding up posters of Ghandi or Queen Elizabeth is brain dead. It would have been better if they held up posters of the great Tamil hero Veerapandian Kattaboman. But since no one knows what Veerapandian Kattaboman looked like, they could have even held up posters of the great Tamil movie hero MG Ramachandran or MGR who once portrayed Veerapandian Kattaboman in a Tamil movie. But why Ghandi and why on earth Queen Elizabeth II? This only proves that the Indian Tamils may have their feet planted here, but not all their thoughts are fully settled here.

The time for pussyfooting and endless talk is over. Indians must 'bite the bullet' and take decisive and practical action to help themselves. Since all the protests have been made, it is now up to the Indians to put forward what they really want to do.

Do not expect the Barisan Nasional or the UMNO boys to help you. They do not even know how to help themselves. After 50 years they do not even realize the main problem that is holding the Malays down – their religion and their total disregard of the English language. So how are they going to figure out what are the real issues facing the Indians? Even if they want to help the Indians they will not know what to do.

Some simple-minded Indians have suggested that the Indians be exempted from all university racial quotas. This is a beginning but it does not solve the problem of the poor Tamils in the estates and the rural areas. The MIC has set up the Tafe College, taken over private law and accounting colleges (Vanto Academy) and set up medical schools yet the plight of the Tamil Hindus in the estates and rural areas has not changed much.

In Semeling in Kedah (in the Merbok constituency), the MIC has built the most modern medical campus not only in Malaysia but maybe in the whole of Asia, Europe and the US. Please Google 'AIMST'. One minute you are driving through oil palm plantations then suddenly you turn a corner and almost run into a group of huge UFO spaceship type buildings rising out of the oil palms - this is the Asian Institute of Medical Science and Technology. Yet only the guards and gardeners at the AIMST are Indians from the surrounding rubber and oil palm estates in Semeling. Most of the Indian students at AIMST are from well to do Indian families from outside Kedah who can afford the almost RM300,000 fees at this private medical school. Increasingly now, more Chinese students are also enrolling at AIMST.

So even if all the protests work and the Barisan Nasional Gomen offers Indians unlimited entry into universities, it is the children of educated, urban, west coast Indians who are going to gain admission. The Ceylon Tamils, the urban Tamils, Punjabis, Gujeratis, Tamil Muslims, etc., will take advantage of the opportunities. The Indians from the rural areas and the estates are never going to make it, or at least not any time soon.

Dont believe me? Here is my proof. Before the NEP, before 1970, it was status quo. The playing field was 'more' level then. Or was it ? The Ceylon Tamils monopolised senior Gomen jobs, teaching jobs, doctors, lawyers, etc. The Telugus were mandors at the estates while the Tamils were the labourers. The Sindhis and Gujeratis monopolised the textiles business. The Mamaks ran the sundry shops. The Tamil Hindus were at the lowest rung of the ladder. Who really cared for them? But that was the 'level' playing field available at that time. It is by sheer effort and perseverance that many of the Tamil Hindus have come up in life to become the Uthayakumars and the Selvams of today. But these are so few, the exceptions.

So even if the BN Gomen completely opened up all the university opportunities to Indians it is the minority within the minority ie the Ceylon Tamils, the Gujeratis, the Punjabis, the Tamil Muslims, etc., who are going to take full advantage of these opportunities. The majority Indian Hindus in the estates are going to end up no better than before.

The solution seems obvious enough. The Indians must demand that Indian Hindus from the estates and the rural areas must be given super priorities at university entrance. This has been done for the past 37 years in Malaysia where poor Malay children from the rural schools and rural areas are given preferences over urban kids. So, if an Indian Hindu child from the estates has lesser grades than a child from the urban centres, the rural Indian child must be treated differently. But will the Indian community agree to this? How many of the urban-living Hindraf protesters from Sunday will agree to this idea?

The Indians must also demand for a 100% Government-funded special boarding school system where poor Indian Hindu children from the estates and rural areas are provided free schooling and board from Forms 1 till 5 and beyond. If the Malay kampongs were not conducive for Malay children to become the sons and daughters of the NEP, neither are the estates conducive to make successes out of Indian children. It is just not going to happen. There are exceptions where estate children have gone to earn PhDs but lets cut the crap, okay? We are not concerned with exceptional cases. We want to democratize opportunities for the Indian poor in the estates, the vast majority who are not exceptional but just ordinary poor people. There is a catch though. These Indian boarding schools must be taught by Malay and Chinese teachers only. The students must be weaned away from the negative, crude and pessimistic attitudes and language of the estates. Indian teachers may unwittingly delay this process. Lastly, these boarding schools for Indians must be located in largely Malay localities like in the East Coast states. They must be totally isolated from their estate environments and learn to fit into a more Malay and Malaysian environment. This way, if they have to protest again, they will not hold up pictures of Ghandi or Queen Elizabeth. They may learn to hold up posters of Sultan Muzaffar Shah, Hang Kasthuri, Hang Lekir, Tun Ali, Abdullah Munshi, and so on who were all Tamils.

As for the other poor Indian Hindus, the Indian community must demand that the Gomen provide them unlimited entry into all the vocational training institutes, especially the Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara or IKBN, plus the MARA Skills Institutes. Surprisingly, it is Nazri Aziz as Minister in charge of MARA who has opened some MARA Skills Institutes to Indians.

The Indian community must also demand Gomen-funded housing for all poor Indians, those in the estates and rural areas as well as in the urban areas. They can either rent or buy these houses from the Gomen through any number of rent-own schemes, etc. The housing must not be the cheapo, two-room, one-bathroom type pigeon holes. They must be decent-sized houses with at least three sleeping rooms and two bathrooms. Even if they cost a bit more, the housing must be comfortable. Safe and comfortable housing is important to break the poverty cycle and bring Indian Hindus into the mainstream of our society.

Indians must also demand access to the Amanah Saham investment fund. Not the Amanah Saham Nasional that is open to all races and is priced at market prices but the RM1.00 per share Amanah Saham Bumiputra where your RM1.00 per share is guaranteed by the Gomen. Then, all the Banks’ special Amanah Saham financing packages (since the RM1.00 per share is guaranteed by the Gomen) that are available to bumiputras will also be made available to Indians. This will be a major help to the Indian community.

Then here are more important but even more difficult things that the Indian community must do. They must listen to Mr SM Idris of the Consumers Association of Penang who has been campaigning all his life to abolish toddy shops on the estates. Indians and drinking must part company because it has been proven time and time again that Indians and alchohol do not mix well. Ban alchohol on the estates and the Indian community will save a lot of heartache.

There must be an end to Tamil schools in the country. Tamil is a great language. It has a long history and is a beautiful poetic language. But Tamil will keep the Hindus in the poverty cycle in Malaysia. In Malaysia, Tamil will make you poor. Believe me on this one. Ban Tamil schools and send all the Tamil kids to Gomen schools or Chinese schools.

Then, more importantly, to curb gangsterism, completely ban all Tamil movies, especially through Vanavil and other TV stations. They are absolutely brain-dead and a bad influence on already brain-dead Indian youngsters. Tamil movies are of zero cultural and moral value. Unfortunately Indian Hindus can riot (they did) to buy tickets for Rajni’s latest movie ‘Boss’. It was another useless Tamil movie that cannot win an award even at the Blind Movie Producers Awards. Endless fighting, beating, crying, killing, dancing, singing, marrying, seducing are the staple of brain-dead Tamil movies which have a strong and significant impact on the Indian population. Two Tamil movie actors, MG Ramachandran and Jayalalitha, have been elected as Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu just because of their movie acting. (No you cannot compare them to Ronald Reagan or Arnold Schwarzenegger).

Large numbers of Indians know more about Indian politics than what is happening in Malaysia. They may not know the names of Malaysian Cabinet Ministers but they will know the names of Indian Chief Ministers and other Indian politicians. This shows that, after 150 years, many of the Indians have not fully grafted their roots to the local conditions. This must change. The Indians are ready to migrate to Australia (or to the Queen of England’s kampong) and sing Waltzing Matilda in English to earn Australian citizenship. Why not remain in Malaysia and learn to speak Malay properly?

Finally, the Indian Hindus, all of them, including the RSS, the Punjabis, the Gujeratis, the Brahmins and the estate Indians, must get together and propose to the Barisan Nasional Gomen to pass laws that make it illegal and a crime to practice any kind of caste system in Malaysia. This means that all Hindu temples must be open to all Hindus, irrespective of caste. Any Hindu, and not just a Brahmin, can become a priest at the Hindu temples.

The RSS will definitely not agree to this suggestion. The RSS is the vanguard of the caste system and seeks to protect the position of the Brahmins. More than the BN Gomen, more than the conditions in the estates, more than Tamil schooling or Tamil movies, the caste system is the single most backward and degrading force that holds back all Indians. Whether Sindhis, Gujeratis, Punjabis, Tamils, Telugus, RSS, etc., they are all negatively affected by the really stupid and false caste system. Get rid of the caste system and the Indians will bloom to become a great people.

And the Indians in Malaysia definitely do not need 17,000 temples for three million Hindus. What for? Each temple needs a Brahmin priest, a commitee and it spreads more religious prejudice and anger. The same with suraus and mosques. Why do we need so many mosques. Over the past 15 years thousands of suraus and mosques have been built. Each one now has its imam, committee, etc. Each one is spreading religous prejudices. We do not need so many mosques or Hindu temples. Enough is enough. Only the RSS and PAS boys are interested in temples and mosques because they can control the temples and mosques. Temples and mosques bring in money. The more temples there are, the more money accrues to the brahmins.

But this initiative can only come from the Indians. The Malays and the Gomen will not even know where to begin on this one. They have no idea of the caste system. So the Indians cannot expect any help in this area from the Gomen. It is the Indians who must move this initiative. There will be plenty of resistance from the RSS and gang but you must all get together and kick this caste sucker into the sea. Otherwise it is all a complete waste of time. The Indians must be the inheritors of Thiru Valluvar, Bagat Singh, Ranjit Singh and Bharatiyar. They were real heroes. Ghandi was confused. Godse was a nut.

Tun Mahathir protests war drums on Iran

2007-11-16T21:23:00.000+08:00

After the devastation in Iraq where more than a million Iraqi citizens have been killed, millions displaced as refugees in neighbouring countries, and the barbarity committed in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, one would have thought that war as an option to resolve international disputes would be rejected except as a last resort or in self-defence.

But war drums are beating loudly again and young men and women are being trained to wage another murderous war, this time against another hapless country, Iran. The alleged crime, for which the world’s citizens are called in to support, is that Iran is producing nuclear weapons.

They lied regarding the WMD in Iraq.

Now, despite statements by the IAEA that there is no evidence of Iran embarking on any nuclear weapons programme, the war mongering nations are once again claiming otherwise and demanding this to be an excuse for war. Clearly they are lying again. Once again they want an excuse for going against another oil rich country which is also a Muslim country.

Israel has now called for the dismissal of El Baradei for reporting the truth about the current state of affairs in Iran. Britain’s Prime Minister has however issued a statement that Britain would support and lead in the war against Iran. President Bush and Vice-President Cheney are equally, if not more belligerent in calling for a war against Iran.

War is mass murder.

It is uncivilised. Is the world going back to the age when disputes for honour were settled by duels in which the more proficient with weapons always had the upper hand? Are we to condone the mass killings of innocent civilians because of the folly and blood lust of their government leaders as was the case in World War I and World War II?

Let us not repeat a century of killings and mass murder by WMDs with another century of mass murders and the killings of the innocent.

Peace and peaceful resolutions of disputes must prevail.

I therefore call upon all world leaders, secular and religious, to join me in this global effort to condemn wars and to promote the peaceful resolution of the present US / Iran dispute and all future international disputes.

God willing our efforts will succeed.

DR. MAHATHIR MOHAMAD
KUALA LUMPUR
16TH NOVEMBER 2007

A Frog Fairytale

2007-11-06T21:07:00.000+08:00

sebak dada mu sebak hati kami

2007-09-06T01:30:00.000+08:00

kau umpama pelita tua
masih menyala menerangi semua
usia tuamu penuh khidmat dan jasa
mana mudah dilupa saja

kini kau terlantar lagi
berjuang sendiri tanpa henti
kesetiaanmu harus dicontohi
bukankah kau yang mempelopori

kau umpama pelita tua
perjuanganmu untuk semua
penyuloh jalan kami segala
mengisi hidup ruang negara

dengan teladan penuh yakin
menjadi pemangkin tulen
peka pada si miskin
yang sukar kini dah mungkin

dulu kau dipuji tanpa henti
sekelip mata ramai yang menyepi
kini kau terlantar lagi
mungkin ramai yang ingin mendekati

dalam diam ramai tak berdiam diri
mengikut jejak mu setiap hari
sebak dada mu sebak hati kami
menanti kembali mu ke pangkuan kami

demi negara demi bakti
kami iringi doa setulus hati
kami mohon restu ilahi
agar kau terus bersama kami

ahmad a talib
430pagi
3 sept '07

hope the author above don't mind for reposting his sajak here..

Doa Buat Seorang Bapa

2007-09-05T19:40:00.000+08:00

Oleh Datuk A. Kadir Jasin

USIAMU serupa usia bapaku
Engkau dan dia pernah sekutu
Berjuang atas nama ibunda
Demi agama, bangsa dan negara
Tapi di situ persamaan terhenti
Kerana engkau Mantan Perdana Menteri
Yang memacu negara ke mercu tinggi
Sedang bapaku kekal seorang petani.

Kini engkau dan dia sama-sama tua
Sudah uzur dimakan usia
Namun jiwamu dan jiwanya
Tetap seperti dahulu juga
Padat sarat dengan perjuangan
Jitu padu dengan kesedaran
Bahawa padanya tiada sisa
Selagi jasad dan nyawa bersama.

Mindamu dan mindanya
Sentiasa segar terus muda
Tidak reput dimakan usia
Tidak patah diuji pancaroba
Tidak tawar dicaci nista
Hatta oleh anak-anak didikmu sendiri
Yang gila kuasa dan lupa diri
Yang tiada lagi budi dan pekerti.

Maka wahai bapa-bapaku
Ketika engkau terlantar
Hati kecilmu gementar
Dengarkanlah ikrar kami
Anak menyambung generasi.

Bahawa legasimu tidak akan mati
Kami tidak akan biarkan itu terjadi
Kerana antara kami
Anak-anak generasi pengganti
Masih ada yang belum diracun korupsi
Yang belum lupa erti jasa dan budi
Yang jiwa merdekanya terus membara
Atas nama agama, bangsa dan negara.

Wahai bapa-bapa pejuang merdeka
Doa kami buatmu semua
Tuhan jaga kamu dalam dakapannya
Dipanjangkan usia
Segar jasad dan minda
Kerana engkaulah pelita
Pujangga dan pendeta
Pemimpin sepanjang usia.

Surviving the Knife

2007-09-04T19:46:00.000+08:00

Syukur Alhamdulillah!
Sujud kepada Allah yang Maha Pengasih lagi Maha Penyayang masih sudi mengabulkan doa hamba2Nya.

Got a call at 3PM this afternoon that Tun's operation was successful and he was off to the ICU for the next critical 48-hrs. Tun is a true fighter, so we are vigilant that he will come out post-operative with flying colors, insyaAllah.

A huge THANKS to the team of surgeons, doctors, nurses, attendants and those involved in taking care of Tun at IJN who are mostly locals except for Dr Hartzell Schaff of the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.. my kampung actually.

Here's more info on Tun's conditions:

MEDIA STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Institut Jantung Negara, 4 September... YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad has successfully undergone coronary bypass surgery at the Institut Jantung Negara (IJN) today.

Currently Tun Dr Mahathir is warded at the Intensive Care Unit of the IJN where his condition will be observed for the next few days as is routine in post-bypass surgery. The next 48-hours is the crucial period in his post operative care and hence he will be under close observation in Intensive Care Unit by a team of doctors and nurses. Overnight, he will be fully sedated.

Earlier, Tun Dr Mahathir was taken into the Operation Theatre Complex at 8.45am where immediate family members were allowed to see him before he was brought into the Operating Theatre. The operation commenced at 9.40am and was completed at 3.05pm. He was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit at 3.30pm.

Doctors are happy that the procedure progressed as anticipated and his vital parameters thus far are stable.

Tun Dr Mahathir was operated on by a panel of surgeons led by Tan Sri Dr Yahya Awang. The other members of the surgical team are Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery of the Mayo Clinic, Prof Dr Hartzell Schaff, Dato Dr Rozali Wathooth, Dato Dr Azhari Yakub, Dato Dr Venugopal Balchand and Dr Mohamed Ezani Mohd Taib.

The anaesthetic team led by Dato Dr Mohd Hassan Mohd Ariff included Dr Sharifah Suraya Syed Tahir, Dato Dr Syed Abdul Aziz Syed Zain and Dr Nor Azlina Abdul Jalil.

The panel of doctors is headed by IJN’s Medical Director, YBhg Dato Seri Dr. Robaayah Zambahari and includes consultant nephrologists Dato Dr Zaki Morad Mohd Zaher, Dr Ghazali Ahmad and consultant gastroenterologist, Dr S Ganeshanathan.

Tun Dr Mahathir had been admitted to Institut Jantung Negara on Sunday for the elective coronary bypass surgery.

IJN will continue to issue updates as and when there is significant change in Tun Dr Mahathir’s condition. Doctors have also advised against Tun Dr Mahathir receiving visitors apart from immediate family members.

For media enquiries please contact Sufi Yusoff

Buat Tun

2007-09-04T17:27:00.000+08:00

I was driving from KL to Ganu early this misty morning. Passing the Pahang Banjaran Titiwangsa.. this Sudirman's song from Pahang FM.. . bringing tears to my eyes..

Warisan

Disini lahirnya sebuah cinta
Yang murni abadi sejati
Disini tersemai cita cita
Bercambah menjadi warisan

Andai ku terbuang tak diterima
Andai aku disingkirkan
Kemana harusku bawakan
Kemana harusku semaikan cinta ini

Betapa
Dibumi ini ku melangkah
Keutara selatan timur dan barat
Ku jejaki

Aku
Bukanlah seorang perwira
Gagah menjunjung senjata
Namun hati rela berjuang
Walau dengan cara sendiri
Demi cinta ini

Ku ingin kotakan seribu janji
Sepanjang kedewasaan ini
Ku ingin sampaikan pesanan
Aku lah penyambung warisan

immediately after this song.. was this Adibah Noor's song..

Terlalu Istimewa

Ku tak tergambar wajahmu
Sinar mata itu
Lirik senyumanmu
Pesona yang membelai
Wajahmu bercahaya
Memberi bahagia
Tiap yang memandang
Hati jadi salju

Kau terlalu istimewa
Kasih dan sayangmu terpancar
Seikhlas tiada batasan
Terus membara
Terkilan rasa jiwa
Ingin ku lihat mu dewasa
Apa daya
Tuhan lebih menyayangimu

Ku pasti kau berbahagia
Duduk di sampingnya
Mendengar cerita
Sekadar rahsia

Tak tertanggung rindu…
Mendengar suaramu…
Tawa mengusik jiwa…
Oh…

wah.. that really burst the dam.. and was crying all the way in my TD4 at 170km/hr..
knowing someone we love at that VERY moment tengah bertarung nyawa.. dejavu of my time w my late father at HKL.. my late father survived the operation, but not the ICU post-operation phase..which with any major operation is the most critical.

I hope God will still give us the ungrateful lot.. a second chance to show our gratefulness and love to this beloved Statesman of ours..

Dear God, please give us a second chance. Amin.

Updates on Tun's Operation Tuesday September 4th

2007-09-04T16:25:00.000+08:00

From:

http://rantingsbymm.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Update on Dad

UPDATE 12.54pm: Not much to update really. Just wanted to thank everyone for their kind wishes. Also wanted to request that those of you in KL please do not try and come to IJN to visit. Nobody will be allowed to visit Dad, doctors' orders. And we'd like to give my Mum a break too because she's tired. And so are we too actually. So thanks for the good intentions but please do stay away for the moment.

ORIGINAL POST:
Hi folks! Well he was wheeled into the OT at about 9am so now we're just sitting around waiting. Should take about 4 hours or so. But he was fine, calm and relaxed before he went in and we all got to give him big hugs.

Monday, September 3, 2007

Dad Goes in for Surgery

Dear folks, as you must have read by now, my Dad will undergo another bypass operation tomorrow. His first one was in January 1989 so it's been 18 years since his last one which is really good going. The operation tomorrow will be performed by the same team that performed the first bypass led by Tan Sri Yahya Awang and Datuk Dr Razali Watooth. Additionally they will also have the expert hands of Dr Hartzell Schaff, Chief Cardiac Surgeon at the Mayo Clinic in the US. Dr Schaff has operated several times with Tan Sri Yahya at IJN before.

In December 2005, my Dad had a check-up by the IJN team led by Datuk Seri Dr Robaayah Zambahari and the decision then was that he did not need surgery again. However after three episodes in fairly quick succession since, this decision was relooked at. Hence two weeks ago, he went in for some tests and an angiogram to determine the next course of action after which this decision to redo the bypass was made. At 82 he is probably the oldest person to have a redo in Malaysia although Dr Schaff has done plenty in the US. But as Rocky says, he's tough so God willing, all will be fine.

I am going to be holed up at IJN for next 24 hours or so and may not have access to the Internet so please forgive me if I can't update you very often. But any prayers sent our way will be very much appreciated.

(Pic shows my Mum, Dad and my daughter ShaSha at IJN yesterday, Sunday Sept 2 2007)

Thank you.

Posted by MarinaM at 9:56 AM 97 comments

Solat Hajat Buat Tun yang dikasihi

2007-09-03T23:09:00.000+08:00

Tun Dr Mahathir is scheduled to undergo a heart by-pass operations at the Institiut Jantung Negara (IJN), Kuala Lumpur tomorrow Tuesday, September 4th, 2007 at 8:00 a.m. A special Solat Hajat prayers will be held tonight September 3rd, 2007 after the Isya prayers at the Masjid Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur to pray for a successful operation.

We pray for our beloved Tun's health and a successful operation.

May Allah grants our prayers.

Amin.

Selamat Hari Merdeka

2007-08-31T00:00:00.000+08:00

Selamat Menyambut Hari Merdeka Ke 50 Tahun Malaysia.
Semoga Allah terus menerus memberi rahmat ke atas bumi bertuah ini.
Semoga semua pemimpin2 yg tidak ikhlas dan pengkhianat2 negara akan diganti dengan pemimpin2 yg ikhlas dan benar2 berjuang untuk agama, bangsa dan negara.

Amin.

Siapa Berani Mencabar Barat Selepas Tun Dr. Mahathir

2007-02-12T17:47:00.000+08:00

Siapa Berani Mencabar Barat Selepas Tun Dr Mahathir?

Oleh Pusat Media Forum Keamanan Perdana III

Baru baru ini, semasa Forum Keamanan Perdana III, “Membongkar Jenayah Peperangan: Menjenayahkan Peperangan”, 5-7 Februari 2007 diPWTC, Kuala Lumpur, begitu banyak hujah hujah berserta bukti bukti dan akuan bersumpah mereka yang menjadi mangsa peperangan, terutama diAsia Barat, diutarakan. Isu isu yang tiada penyelesaian seperti Isu Palestin, Penentangan Keatas Penubuhan Israel, Pencerobohan Iraq dan tafsiran Barat, terutama AS dan UK terhadap keganasan yang berpunca kunun kunun dari umat Islam begitu intensif dibincangkan.

Pakar pakar perundangan, sains radiasi, ekonomi antarabangsa, hubungan antarabangsa dan diplomasi, mantan penjawat utama PBB, penganalisa politik, termasuk dari Barat dan ahli politik AS yang menentang peperangan sendiri membentangkan kes kes mereka mengenai kekejaman yang timbul dari dasar dan tindakan AS, UK, Israel dan Australia kepada berjuta umat Islam tidak berdosa dan tertindas disekitar Asia Barat. Berpuluh kertas kerja dibentangkan dan sessi soal jawab yang tidak kurang hangat menyusul disetiap akhir setiap sessi.

Semasa Ucaputama Majlis Pembukaan persidangan ini, mantan Perdana Menteri Malaysia dengan lantang menegaskan bahawa “Sejarah sepatutnya mengingati bahawa Blair dan Bush ialah sebagai Pembunuh Kanak Kanak dan/atau Perdana Menteri dan Presiden yang berbohong! Apa yang Blair dan Bush telah lakukan adalah lebih buruk dari apa yang Saddam telah lakukan. Kita tidak sepatutnya mengantung Blair sekiranya Tribunal Peperangan ini mendapati mereka bersalah TETAPI mereka seharusnya membawa label dan dikenali sebagai Penjenayah Peperangan, Pembunuh Kanak Kanak dan Pembohong. Ini juga sepatutnya kepada Bush dan Bush yang didalam poket, yang tinggal diBushland”.

Usaha mengadakan Suruhanjaya Peperangan Kuala Lumpur, yang akan mengkaji aduan aduan bersumpah dan membawa kes kes mereka yang dizalimi dari sudut jenayah peperangan dan hak hak mereka yang dicabuli, akibat kancah kancah konflik "haram" kepada Tirbunal Peperangan Kuala Lumpur mendapat perhatian dunia. Kes kes seperti Ali Shalah, Abbas Zaid (yang diseksa tentera pencoboh AS dipenjara Al Ghuraib) dan rayuan emaja tidak berdosa, Najwa kerana dizalimi tentera ganas Israel adalah manifestasi berapa pentingkan kancah konflik bersenjata ini perlu diharamkan dan pemimpin Barat seperti George W Bush, Tony Blair dan John Howard wajar dilabel sebagai "Pembohong, Pembunuh Kanak Kanak dan Penjenayah Perang" oleh warga dunia, termasuk rakyat mereka sendiri dan ini kekal sebagai meructanda mereka dalam lipatan sejarah.

Semasa Ucapan Pengulungan pula, Tun Dr Mahathir menegaskan bahwa bangsa Barat tidaklah seperti bangsa Timur. Kita diMalaysia ini seudah menjalankan perhubungan dan perdagangan dengan bangsa Timur seperti China melebihi 1000 tahun dan mereka tidak pernah sekali pun mengancam keselamatan kita, apatah lagi ingin menceroboh dan menakluki kita. Tidak seperti Barat, mereka yang asalnya dating untuk berdagang, mudah sangat merasa tamak dan ingin membolot kepentingan perdagangan itu dengan menggunakan kuasa. Ini dibuktikan banyak kali oleh Portugis, Sepanyol, Belanda, Inggeris dan akhir sekali, Amerika, semenjak 500 tahun ini. Akibatnya, banyak tanah tanah diAsia ini jatuh kepada pencerobohan dan penjajahan Barat dalam tempoh itu dan peperangan dan keganasan merupakan saluran untuk sampai kepada agenda ketamakan itu.

Dunia melihat bagaimana Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, mantan Perdana Menteri Malaysia merangkap mantan Pengerusi NAM dan OIC, makin lantang mengutarakan perasaan perasaan menentang dasar berat sebelah Barat, terutama AS, UK dan sekutu sekutu kuat mereka dalam banyak isu melibat diplomasi antarabangsa, isu Palestin dan konflik Asia Barat, isu Afghanistan, isu perdagangan, isu keganasan berstruktur mengunakan bala tentera dan sebagainya. Semasa beliau dalam jawatan, pemimpin kuasa besar dunia seperti Presiden Perancis Jacques Chirac dan terakhir sekali, Presiden Russia Vladimir Putin sanggup menurunkan sokongan mereka kepada isu isu yang dibangkitkan Tun Dr Mahathir. Penentang imperialisman Barat AS paling utama, iaitu Presiden Fidel Castro juga amat mengagumi mantan Perdana Menteri Malaysia ini kerana ketegasan dan sikap terbuka, kepada isim dan roh sebenar ‘demokrasi’, iaitu hak suara ramai didengari (bukan tafsiran demokrasi ala AS, yang memberi tafsiran berat sebelah yang hanya mementingkan mereka sahaja!)

Tun Dr Mahathir juga menerima banyak perhatian negatif dan kecaman media Barat apabila dalam tahun 90an, beliau dengan lantang membangkitkan bahawa kaum Yahudi ‘mengawal’ dunia secara proksi.

Hari ini, sebagai rakyat Malaysia dan warga dunia, beliau masih lagi begitu lantang mempersoalkan dengan penuh keyakinan bahawa kuasa kuasa Barat seperti AS, UK dan sekutu mereka seperti Australia mengunakan kudrat mereka untuk menzalimi dunia, terutama sebahagian orang orang Islam diAsia Barat. Kini beliau memulakan usaha antarabangsa dalam mengelar pemimpin AS, UK dan Australia iaitu George W Bush, Tony Blair dan John Howard sebagai “Pembunuh kanak kanak, pembohong dan penganas”!

Suara suara lantang Tun Dr Mahahir ini datang dari seorang pemimpin akan mencecah 82 tahun, Julai ini. Adat alam, jika kita semua, warga dunia bergantung kepada insan mulia ini meneruskan Perjuangan ini, mungkin tidak lama. Persoalan sekarang, siapa lagi tinggal dalam dunia ini yang mampu meneruskan obor Perjuangan menentang kezaliman dan tidak adilan Barat, selepas Tun Dr Mahathir?

Apakah ada pemimpin pemimpin dunia Islam hari ini, yang cukup “merdeka” dan “bebas” dari ‘belengu’ Barat, untuk benar benar memperjuangkan hak dan kesengsaraan saudara saudara seIslam mereka? Pemimpin mana yang mampu mengatakan yang benar dan hakiki, tanpa sebarang sekatan dan tekanan, samada langsung atau tidak? Pemimpin mana yang sanggup dan ada waja diri untuk bangkit dan didengari, bagi pihak mereka yang tidak berdaya “berbunyi”?

Perdana Menteri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Malaysia ? Raja Al Malik Abdullah Al Saud? Raja Abdullah , Jordan ? Presiden Gen Pervez Musharaff , Pakistan ? Presiden Muammar Al Ghadaffi, Libya ? Presiden Bashir Al Assad, Syria ? Raja Sheikh Al Sabah, Kuwait ? Presiden Sheikh Al Makhtoum, UAE? Presiden Hosni Mubarak, Mesir? Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah , Brunei ? Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesia ? Presiden Ahmadinejad , Iran ?

Mungkin hadiah keamanan tahunan Alfred Nobel yang amat berprestij yang dicadangkan beberapa NGO diBosnia dan Croatia kepada Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad sebenar belum memadai bagi dunia betul betul menghargai usaha, keberanian, kecekalan dan ketegasan belaiu meletakan apa yang hak ditempatnya. Dunia akan benar benar menujukan penghargaan apabila ada legasi meneruskan apa yang Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad buat selama 25 tahun ini, terutama dari ketegasan mesej mesej beliau melalui Perdana Global Peace Organisation.

Semoga warga dunia beroleh kebaikan sejagat dan diberkati Allah s.w.t., dari langkah yang dimulakan, YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, insan warga dunia yang unggul, abad ini.

While we are sleeping..

2007-02-09T19:09:00.000+08:00

"While sleeping may bring you peace, peace can’t be realized by sleeping"

2007-02-07T13:07:00.000+08:00

Why we love and admire Tun Mahathir..

From Rocky Bru's comment section:

ahmad a talib said...
Bru Bro,Many, many years ago I went to Bosnia Herzegovina when I was reporting for the New Straits Times. Newspaper editors and several non-governmental organisations had formed an action front called Barisan Bertindak Bosnia or the Bosnian Action Front. We initiated a peoples' donation of RM1. Millions of Malaysians donated. We collected some RM5 million. Some of the money was handed over to Pak Lah in New York when he was attending the US as our Foreign Minister. The money was then passed to representatives of the Bosnian govt for the country's rebuilding.

I brought the balance of the money (bank draft la) to Sarajevo and pass it to Tun Dr Mahathir to be handed to the imam of an old mosque in the heart of Sarajevo. This was duly done in the presence of mosque officials and officers from Wisma Putra. Dr M had continously highlighted the ethnic cleansing that was going on and on there. He had talked so much about it and helped created such an intense level of awareness of the issue then. Dr M held press conferences, issued statements, gave interviews. He provoked Malaysians into action. The government sent soldiers for peace keeping and Malaysian NGOs moved to give moral and physical support such as medicines etc. I'm very happy to have been a part of the whole movement to create that awareness, triggered of course, by Dr M's continous flow of statements!Dr M for Nobel prize - that'll make many of us proud!! And typical of the man - he refused to talk about it, hence next question please!

A Woman Misunderstood

2007-02-07T00:12:00.000+08:00

I was introduced to Karen Armstrong's books and writings by Susan my American host in Washington DC. I like and enjoyed her writings and came across this on rantingsbymm.blogspot.com

A Woman Misunderstood?

This is not a new article but is Karen Armstrong's response to British Foreign Minister Jack Straw's views about the niqab or full-face veil. Interestingly enough, Karen Armstrong's books are banned in this country (some retroactively).

My years in a habit taught me the paradox of veiling
By Karen ArmstrongAl-Jazeerah, October 31, 2006Guardian, October 26, 2006

If ministers really want a proper debate, they must learn that where the veil is forbidden, women hasten to wear it.I spent seven years of my girlhood heavily veiled - not in a Muslim niqab but in a nun's habit. We wore voluminous black robes, large rosaries and crucifixes, and an elaborate headdress: you could see a small slice of my face from the front, but from the side I was entirely shielded from view. We must have looked very odd indeed, walking dourly through the colourful carnival of London during the swinging 60s, but nobody ever asked us to exchange our habits for more conventional attire.

When my order was founded in the 1840s, not long after Catholic emancipation, people were so enraged to see nuns brazenly wearing their habits ! in the streets that they pelted them with rotten fruit and horse dung. Nuns had been banned from Britain since the Reformation; their return seemed to herald the resurgence of barbarism. Two hundred and fifty years after the gunpowder plot, Catholicism was still feared as unassimilable, irredeemably alien to the British ethos, fanatically opposed to democracy and freedom, and a fifth column allied to dangerous enemies abroad.

Today the veiled Muslim woman appears to symbolise the perceived Islamic threat, as nuns once epitomised the evils of popery. She seems a barbaric affront to hard-won values that are essential to our cultural identity: gender equality, freedom, transparency and openness. But in the Muslim world the veil has also acquired a new symbolism.

If government ministers really want to debate the issue fruitfully, they must become familiar with the bitterly ironic history of veiling during the last hundred years.Until the late 19th century, veiling was neither a central nor a universal practice in the Islamic world. The Qur'an does not command all women to cover their heads; the full hijab was traditionally worn only by aristocratic women, as a mark of status. In Egypt, under Muhammad Ali's leadership (1805-48), the lot of women improved dramatically, and many were abandoning the veil and moving more freely in society.But after the British occupied Egypt in 1882, the consul general, Lord Cromer, ignored this development. He argued that veiling was the "fatal obstacle" that prevented Egyptians from participating fully in western civilisation. Until it was abolished, Egypt would need the benevolent supervision of the colonialists. But Cromer had cynically exploited feminist ideas to advance the colonial project. Egyptian women lost many of their new educational and professional opportunities under the British, and Cromer was co-founder in London of the Anti-Women's Suffrage League.When Egyptian pundits sycophantically supported Cromer, veiling became a hot issue.

In 1899 Qassim Amin published Tahrir al-Mara - The Liberation of Women - which obsequiously praised the nobility of European culture, arguing that the veil symbolised everything that was wrong with Islam and Egypt. It was no feminist tract: Egyptian women, according to Amin, were dirty, ignorant and hopelessly inadequate parents. The book created a furore, and the ensuing debate made the veil a symbol of resistance to colonialism.The problem was compounded in other parts of the Muslim world by reformers who wanted their countries to look modern, even though most of the population had no real understanding of secular institutions.

When Ataturk secularised Turkey, men and women were forced into European costumes that felt like fancy dress. In Iran, the shahs' soldiers used to march through the streets with their bayonets at the ready, tearing off the women's veils and ripping them to pieces. In 1935, Shah Reza Pahlavi ordered the army to shoot at unarmed demonstrators who were protesting against obligatory western dress. Hundreds of Iranians died that day. Many women, whose mothers had happily discarded the veil, adopted the hijab in order to dissociate themselves from aggressively secular regimes.

This happened in Egypt under President Anwar Sadat and it continues under Hosni Mubarak. When the shah banned the chador, during the Iranian revolution, women wore it as a matter of principle - even those who usually wore western clothes. Today in the US, more and more Muslim women are wearing the hijab to distance themselves from the foreign policy of the Bush administration; something similar may well be happening in Britain.

In the patriarchal society of Victorian Britain, nuns offended by tacitly proclaiming that they had no need of men. I found my habit liberating: for seven years I never had to give a thought to my clothes, makeup and hair - all the rubbish that clutters the minds of the most liberated women. In the same way, Muslim women feel that the veil frees them from the constraints of some uncongenial aspects of western modernity.They argue that you do not have to look western to be modern.

The veiled woman defies the sexual mores of the west, with its strange compulsion to "reveal all". Where western men and women display their expensive clothes and flaunt their finely honed bodies as a mark of privilege, the uniformity of traditional Muslim dress stresses the egalitarian and communal ethos of Islam. Muslims feel embattled at present, and at such times the bodies of women often symbolise the beleaguered community. Because of its complex history, Jack Straw and his supporters must realise that many Muslims now suspect such western interventions about the veil as having a hidden agenda. Instead of improving relations, they usually make matters worse. Lord Cromer made the originally marginal practice of veiling problematic in the first place. When women are forbidden to wear the veil, they hasten in ever greater numbers to put it on. In Victorian Britain, nuns believed that until they could appear in public fully veiled, Catholics would never be accepted in this country. But Britain got over its visceral dread of popery. In the late 1960s, shortly before I left my order, we decided to give up the full habit. This decision expressed, among other things, our new confidence, but had it been forced upon us, our deeply ingrained fears of persecution would have revived.

But Muslims today do not feel similarly empowered. The unfolding tragedy of the Middle East has convinced some that the west is bent on the destruction of Islam. The demand that they abandon the veil will exacerbate these fears, and make some women cling more fiercely to the garment that now symbolises their resistance to oppression.

Karen Armstrong is the author of Muhammad: Prophet for Our Time comment@guardian.co.uk http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,329610756-103677,00.html

The Kuala Lumpur Initiative to Criminalize War

2007-02-06T00:05:00.000+08:00

International Conference“Expose War Crimes – Criminalise War”

5th to 7th February 2007Dewan Merdeka, Putra World Trade CentreKuala Lumpur
Organised By Perdana Global Peace Organisation under the leadership of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad

“Wars increasingly involve the killings of innocent people and are therefore, abhorrent and criminal. Killings in war are as criminal as the killings within societies in times of peace. Since killings in peace time are subject to the domestic law of crime, killings in war must likewise be subject to the international law of crimes. This should be so irrespective of whether these killings in war are authorised or permitted by domestic laws.”

The Kuala Lumpur Initiative To Criminalise War

"In a world scarred by violent conflicts and ideological confrontations, made worse by religious misinterpretations and cultural extremism and bigotry, the global community is threatened with endless conflicts and wars. The United Nations, set up to to prevent wars and to achieve peaceful solutions to world conflicts has been denigrated by the very nations which founded it. Now peace is getting even further from becoming a reality. We are still primitive because we believe in killing people to solve out problems."
Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad (Fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia)

"I hope that mankind will at length, as they call themselves responsible creatures, have the reason and sense enough to settle their differences without cutting throats..."
Benjamin Franklin - one of the founding fathers of the United States.

Dr M nominated for Nobel Prize

2007-02-04T15:27:00.000+08:00

04/02: Dr M nominated for Nobel Prize
By JUNE H.L. WONGThe Star

Four non-governmental organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina have nominated Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for the Nobel Peace Prize 2007.
They are the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, the Congress of Bosnik Intellectuals and two Christian organisations – the Serb Civic Council from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croat National Council.

The move to nominate the former Prime Minister was spearheaded by Dr Ejup Ganic, who was Vice-President of Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1990-96 and President of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina until March 2001.

Dr Ganic, currently the Chancellor of the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, worked closely with Dr Mahathir in the 1990s when Malaysia provided economic, political and humanitarian support to a Bosnia-Herzegovina recovering from the trauma of genocide and ethnic cleansing in the 1992-95 civil war.

Nominations to the Norwegian Nobel Committee closed on Feb 1 and this year’s list includes former US Vice-President Al Gore, Finnish peace broker Martti Ahtisaari and Chinese dissident Rebiya Kadeer.

In a nomination paper signed by Dr Ganic made available to The Star, Dr Mahathir is described as the Third World’s “most illustrious contemporary” and its “most courageous advocate.”
Dr Ganic said that Dr Mahathir had influenced the world by leaving behind lessons on how diversity could be managed, conflicts reconciled and multi ethnicity harnessed to build a vibrant economic and political system.

He also highlighted Dr Mahathir’s “Prosper Thy Neighbour” policy, his enlightened vision of Islam and his work as an ambassador of peace in Iraq-Iran, Bosnia-Herzegovina, southern Thailand, Philippines and Aceh.

Dr Mahathir, 81, who retired from public office in 2003, launched the Kuala Lumpur Initiative to Criminalise War in December 2005 and chairs the Perdana Global Peace Organisation (PGPO) that was set up to implement the initiative.

PGPO’s “Expose War Crimes: Criminalise War” Conference and Exhibition begins tomorrow at Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur.

Expose War Crimes: Criminalise War Feb 5-7

2007-02-01T14:01:00.000+08:00

Dr M to speak at war crimes meet

PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will give a keynote address at an international conference-cum-exhibition entitled Expose War Crimes: Criminalise War from Feb 5-7 at the Putra World Trade Centre.

The war crimes exhibition will be the first of its kind to be held in a Muslim country and will highlight atrocities committed in Iraq, Bosnia, Palestine, Vietnam and Hiroshima, Japan. The interactive exhibition will expose visitors to the horrors of the tortures inflicted on those held in the Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo detention centres. The event will also launch a petition to set up a War Crimes Tribunal, with testimonies from victims of war crimes, expert witnesses and international law experts. The event is organised by the Perdana Global Peace Organisation.

Admission is free. For enquiries, call: 016-306 8848/03-4041 2920.

Now everyone can lease!

2007-02-01T00:09:00.000+08:00

Hmm.. I think Malaysians learnt a very interesting economic lesson from our Minister of Finance this week. That we can all afford to lease!

In that case, I'd like to order a top of the line tan-interior leather cabriolet black beemer please!

by Umar Mukhtar Jan 31, 07

Now everyone can lease!

Yesterday, my minister of finance taught me a few lessons in Bolehland economics with regards to prudent spending on luxury items like an Airbus private airliner. First, if I cannot afford a Ferrari, I should just lease it instead of buying. The monthly payments are much less than the purchase price so (suddenly) I will be able to afford it.

Second, If I don't want to be seen spending money that goes outside the family circle, I should just lease it from my brother. The fact that my brother had bought it from someone outside the family, and also the fact that he used the family's children education trust fund, is irrelevant. What the children don't know won't hurt them!

Third, justify it by conceding that the Ferrari will also be used to ferry grandpa around instead of just for your frivolous gallivanting. It does not matter if grandpa rarely travels outside the neighbourhood, and that he would be too timid to demand its use over your international travels propagating Islam Hadhari for the world. If Dr Mahathir Mohamad was that finance minister, I would have concluded that he was an evil genius. But that coming from Pak Lah, I shall presume that he means well (as always) and was just parroting what the crony commissioned agent said when convincing Pak Lah to conclude the sale. Ooops, the lease, I mean.

Well done, Professor Pak Lah! You are a smart and perceptive manager of public funds. I will now check out if the finance ministers of other Asian economies like Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore have stumbled onto your secret recipe. I guess if they have not leased private jets, it’s probably because they are either not smart enough or maybe because their economies have not performed as well as ours. Or simply because they don't have a King for an excuse, don’t you think?

Bahtera Merdeka

2007-01-26T10:06:00.000+08:00

Bonda senyum riang
Menerima bahtera Merdeka
Putra putri sayang
Putra putri sayang
Sedang berjuang

Fajar telah tiba
Nan menyinsing membawa harapan
Tanah Semenanjung
Tanah Semenanjung
Pusaka Bangsa

Jiwa dan raga
Buktikanlah pada nusa bangsa
Supaya negara maju jaya
Aman Merdeka

Duhai ibu pertiwi
Putra putri datang sujud bakti
Ingin menunaikan
Ingin menunaikan
Sumpah dan janji

Janji or a promise is a trust and a sacred contract. If you can't deliver, you shouldn't be promising. That's why in Islam, we are required to deliver our promise.

To breach one's own word is considered going against a trust "amanah" and in Islam such person is considered as a munafiq. Our revered Prophet Muhammad SAW as cited in a hadith by Al-Bukhari & Muslim said .."there are 3 characteristics of a munafiq, when he says something he lies, when he promises he breached and when he is given a trust, he abused and misused it"

["tanda-tanda orang munafik itu ada tiga, jika dia berkata-kata, dia berdusta, apabila berjanji, dia mungkir, apabila diberi amanah, dia khianati"].

Sounds familiar these days?

Salaam Maal Hijrah 1428

2007-01-20T16:11:00.000+08:00

To all the muslims, here's wishing everyone a wonderful new year filled with barakah and rahmah. May all that we do be blessed by Allah and all that we wish for this new year be fulfilled. Selamat Tahun Baru.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

2006-12-24T20:34:00.000+08:00

close up of holly from Jardin des Plantes a Paris

Bulan sabit

The wonderful holiday feelings are back again and I am back in wonderful sunny KL from wet wet wet Terengganu running away from all those rain! :)

I know I have been very lackasaidical with regards to my blogging (I'll just have to post retro-actively again!). I just can't cope with life, work, my travels, other activities and updating my blog. But tonite, I shud make an exception and wish everyone a happy holidays. There are several coming up this time around.. X-Mas tomorrow, Eid-ul-Adha and New Year at the same time.

I also want to wish Nan a Happy Hanukah :) and I guess Ronald,Katinka,Johan and Margerthe (Ronald's artistic parents) & Enno a Merry X-mas and to Katinka's mom and family and to every muslim frens Eid-ul-Adha Mubarak and to everyone a Happy 2007 New Year!

And it a joyous feeling to know my mom and the rest of the family are coming back finally from Hong Kong tomorrow!!! including Kak Ha and the Ganu gang..now everyone can be in KL for the holidays and Raya Haji.. but it is sad to think I might have to go to Bangkok for 1st Day of Eid ): I might not just go to Bangkok unless I can complete it within 1 day.

The Welcome Wagon at KLIA

2006-12-02T23:14:00.000+08:00

The Welcome Wagon at KLIA - Nuha and Wawa

I arrived KLIA from Hong Kong on 2nd Decembre and as usual poor Abang Li had to be my chauffeur accompanied by Wan, and their two little naughty "monsters" Nuha and Wawa :) As usual as soon as they can reached my luggages they will sat aplomb on it :)

Hong Kong Album

2006-12-02T22:30:00.000+08:00

I only get to spend 4 days in Hong Kong, having prolonged my stay on the mountains of Switzerland and an additional weekend in Paris. However, I did get to venture out taking the funiculare train to the Peak and surprise, surprise.. bumped into Leong and family of all people who was holidaying in Hong Kong from Australia, at the Peak's money exchange kiosk. Robinson Avenue where Kak Ha is staying costs an unbelievable bomb (HK$43,000 per month.. yes thats right per MONTH! and it is only a 3-bedroom) but the view from the 38th Floor is tres spectaculare :)

There's not much to do in Hong Kong which gives me same ambiance as Singapore except Hong Kong a bit more interesting than antiseptic Singapore. Shopping at Mong Kok which is very similar to Petaling Street (perhaps Petaling Street is better :) or its posh boutiques (there is no where else on earth where one can see an Armani boutiques from houte couture to fresh flowers and chocholates.. yes..there is a branded Armani fresh flowers and chocolates!) will still not be as fun shopping in KL. KL is still I find the best place to shop and buy things pour moi :)

Don't think I wud care to live in Hong Kong even with its systematic image. After visiting China (even for a day), I find it to be more interesting and has more characteristics compared to bloody expensive and crowded Hong Kong! The natives are so much nicer than kiasu Hongkong-ites anyway. A small cup of tea costs me HK$10 while a piece of plain Indian Nan costs HK$20, a bowl of not-appetising-at-all-Pakistani-halal-curry costs at least HK$40 (or RM20 per bowl). Here in KL it only cost us RM1 (HK$2) while a piece of Nan with curry costs only RM2 the most (a total of less than HK$6) for a full meal. Now the whole family agrees we don't ever want to live in Hong Kong!- I guess it is OK to visit as long Kak Ha is posted there.. hehehe poor Kak Ha.. she is stuck there for a few more years.

KL is certainly the best city on earth! hehehe :) yep even compared to Paris, Munchen, New York, San Francisco or Washington DC :P

Les Enfants en vacances a Hong Kong

2006-11-30T23:26:00.000+08:00

Nina in the forefront.. tea anyone? always ladylike and maintain "anggun"

Les enfants scrambling for food at brunch :) It's fun to watch them :P

I think the best time is when you spend them with your loved ones.. and I enjoyed watching my nieces and nephews scrambling for food at brunch or dinner :)

Here's les enfants Bella, Haniff, Nina, Aimi, Amir, Iffah and Aisyah belonging to two sets of parents, my sisters Kak Ha and Ida.

It is great that both Iffah and Amir who left school for Hong Kong before the school holidays started both scored 5As in their UPSR exams and both got the good news that Iffah was offered a place at the elitist Sekolah Tun Fatimah in Johor and Amir at the Victoria Instution in KL (he doesn't want to go to boarding school!).
Both are addicts of Play Station! and are best of buddies.

Haniff - who hates to eat.. finally..see my plate is clean :)[only after we challenged him to clean his plate]

The Welcome Wagon at HK Airport

2006-11-28T00:02:00.000+08:00

Bella the little "monster" of Kak Ha picked me up at Hong Kong International Airport :)

Salaam from Amsterdam :)

2006-11-23T16:32:00.000+08:00

Am now in Amsterdam! Arrived from Antwerpen the nite before and yesterday we did the Rijksmuseum, had coffee at Small Talk Cafe, then Nan and Ronald took me to see a real living Dutch master :) Ronald's parents are both artists and his father Jo gave me 3 of his beautiful miniature paintings and a painted skate as a gift! We went to a Greek restaurant for dinner with Enno.

It is a cold raining morning today and I need to catch my train to Den Hague.

Salaam from Munchen

2006-11-20T13:02:00.000+08:00

Am now in Munchen waiting for my train at 6:42 AM. Jaeger my place here has mobile broadband and within walking distance of the Munchen Haupbanhof (the german can be really a mouthful). Did Bordeaux, Toulouse, Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Nice, Lyon and the wonderful and beautiful Swiss Alps.

Marseille and Aix are really interesting. Ate Buillaibaise in Marseille.. for a bloody fish soup it can be bloody expensive!!!

Accepted coffee from Mr. Antoine Monier at Les Deux Garcons (where everyone including Cezanne and Satre drank). Tony is not only handsome :) but speaks perfect Anglais for a French, since he was a banker in England and now doing property development in Southern France.

Monaco must truly be a millionaire paradise. I don't think anybody who are not in the millionaire club can afford to have a place and stay there. Every building and apartments are really beautiful. A rich man playground.

Passed by Cannes and Nice - the French Riviera and Cote d'Azur. Beautiful sceneries along the way. I think the Mediterranean weather suits me best! Cool yet sunny and beautiful plants and ambiance.

Now in Munchen, my second time around. Munich is a vibrant place.. similar ambiance to Berlin but more cultured and refined. I really like Munchen a lot. There're also huge museums within walking distance as well as the BMW museum. Halal food is easy in Munchen compared to other German cities and I love the facts everything is within walking distance including the parks and museums.

Have to run to Strasbourg before Paris this afternoon coz Kak Fatimah wants me to go diamond shopping with her in Antwerpen.. not my kind of thing (coz I can ony afford carrots) but..it will be interesting just to tag along. I will try to do Den Hague and then visit Nan, Ronald and Enno in Amsterdam.

OK got to run to the station now coz my train is at 6:42AM can't missed this one like I did yesterday! ):

Selamat Hari Raya Haji

2006-10-25T20:47:00.000+08:00

Making time to berhari raya with Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah on 2nd day of Raya before rushing to Europe. My two favorite individuals and role models. They are true leaders leading by examples. Can't say the same for all the current cabinets and leaders now.. none of these leaders seem to care for the rakyats and what they are doing to the country with their stupid decisions which seem more like espionaging and choking the nation and its people and pulling Malaysia backward in its progress.

For Tun Dr. Mahathir

2006-09-15T22:45:00.000+08:00

Sejuta bintang di angkasa
Sinarnya mempesona
Sebutir bintang di taman seni
Cahayanya berseri
Biar bertahun masa beredar
Satu wajah satu nama takkan pudar

Tetap jelas di ruang mata
Setiap gerak gaya
Bergetaran merdu sinar
Di persada budaya
Hingga kini menjadi sebutan
Tetap terpahat namamu di ingatan

Kaulah satu satunya
Di antara berjuta
Insan teristimewa

Patah tak tumbuh lagi
Hilang belum berganti
Kerana kau tersendiri

Kaulah satu satunya
Di antara berjuta
Insan teristimewa

Kau kebanggaan kita
Kau budayawan bangsa
Engkau... LAGENDA....

Awana Kijal's days of the VVIPs

2006-08-25T00:54:00.000+08:00

I have to make trips to Awana Kijal my second home almost every week.. Last week when I was here, the whole resort was buzzing with making the place spic and span until you can see yourself on the polished tiles.

A visit to Pak Din's house our turtle ranger who lives in Kemasik 5 minutes away from the hotel, leaked the news that the Sultan of Brunei is coming, as well as the PM. So this week when I arrived yesterday the day is buzzing with all the VVIPs including Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Mizan of Terengganu, Pak Lah the PM, Datuk Syed Hamid, Tan Sri Fuzi (who still remembers me from our Washington DC days and said hi first :), the Chief Ministers of Terengganu Datuk Idris Jusoh, CM of Sabah and CM of Sarawak, and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.

When I got off the elevator just now to go to the Coffee House to get on the mobile broadband and a late supper (had to missed out on dinner when I left the Plant after 10PM)..the whole entourage was there lining along the corridor to welcome "me" hehehe.. it seems the Sultan of Brunei's suite is on my wings and Sultan Mizan was just taking him to his suite to withdraw for the nite.

So I sort of got the whole royal treatment as well as get to say hi to err.. some familiar faces :) all in one swipe.

I also got to chat with some of the Bruneian delegates. The whole VVIP trip started yesterday and ends tomorrow same time as my trip. The good thing is that even with all the these VVIPs around, the nice hotel staff and management still treat me like their weekly regular VIP :)from the valet, the concierge, the reception to their middle and top management.. and still spend some time to say hi and chat for a while. That is what I will call a genuine 5-star treatment. Thank you.

Dr. Mahathir - our saviour

2006-08-15T02:51:00.000+08:00

THE FINANCIAL CRISIS OF 1997 - 1998
By Nor Mohamed Yakcop

A moment comes, which rarely comes in a lifetime, when a particular event redefines a person's life and changes the course permanently. For me, the meeting with Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in Buenos Aires (Argentina) on the evening of October 3, 1997 was such an event. It enabled me to devote the next 6 years of my life working for Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, meeting him almost daily. In the process, it enabled me to see, at very close range, the abilities of this great man.

The combination of many noble qualities in one person is rare, and it is this unique combination that has enabled Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to transform Malaysia from an otherwise typical third world country into a thriving and vibrant nation, well on the way to become a developed nation. It is also this combination of qualities that enabled Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to save Malaysia from becoming another IMF nation during the financial crisis of 1997 - 1998.

I am often asked about my involvement in the recovery plan implemented on September 1, 1998. It began on September 29, 1997, when I received a telephone call from the office of Dr Mahathir Mohamad informing me that the Prime Minister wanted to see me. The PM was in Cuba at that time, and I asked (in jest) if I was to meet the Prime Minister in Cuba !
I was told (not in jest) that he will be arriving in Buenos Aires on October 3, 1997 and I was to make sure I was in Buenos Aires at least a day before he arrived. I packed my bags and left for Buenos Aires, and arrived in Buenos Aires on October 2.

The PM arrived the following day at 5 pm and we met immediately at his suite. He informed me that he had asked many people to explain to him what was causing the financial crisis but no one was able to give him a satisfactory reply. He asked me whether I could explain to him what exactly was happening.

I asked him how much time he had, and he said two hours. I explained to him how the forex market works, about short positions and long positions, about hedging and how currencies are borrowed and sold, the difference between "bid" and "offer" and how funds can be transferred from one country to another at the click of a button. I also explained how the equity market works and the relationship between the forex market and the equity market. Dr. Mahathir hardly said anything, asked one or two questions, and listened intently.

After two hours, he had to end the meeting to get ready to go for an official dinner. He asked me about my plans for the night and I said I had been invited for the same dinner. Dr. Mahathir said to me: You go back to your room and write down all that you have been telling me for the last two hours, and see me at 7 am tomorrow. I went back to my room, skipped dinner, and wrote it all down, finishing at about 6 am.

I saw him the next morning at 7 am and gave him the report. He asked me to take a rest and come back again at 2 pm. When I returned, he told me that he had read the report and that he now understands what was happening in the financial markets. We started discussing various methods of overcoming the crisis, and our discussions continued when we returned to Malaysia. I met him almost daily for discussion, sometimes at his house and sometimes at his office. We tried a few mechanisms to overcome the crisis, some of which worked initially, but the hedge funds were so strong that it was difficult to proceed successfully with these mechanisms.

In early 1998, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad asked me to explore the idea of imposing an exchange control regime to overcome the crisis. I remember preparing voluminous notes on this subject. Dr. Mahathir went through the notes carefully, and kept asking for more and more details. We went through many rounds of discussion, until he was finally convinced both with the concept as well as the proposed mechanism. The rest, I guess, is history.

Dr. Mahathir also asked me to prepare a paper on how to put an end to Malaysian shares traded in CLOB (Central Limit Order Book) in Singapore. Dr. Mahathir was of the view that an important reason for the falling stock market was the short-selling of Malaysian stocks in CLOB. I prepared the report and Dr. Mahathir understood, for the first time, how exactly CLOB operates. The report, which was also implemented on September 1, 1998, put to an end the trading of Malaysian shares in CLOB.

I should add that the exchange control measures were crafted in such a way as to minimize the control aspects and maximize the outcome. The Prime Minister went through the proposed mechanism many times to make sure that the control elements were as few as possible, but adequate enough to ensure a positive outcome. There were no bureaucratic elements in these measures, such as requiring importers to obtain Bank Negara's permission to import. The Ringgit was also pegged at a level where it was not overvalued. In almost every other country, which imposes exchange control measures and pegs its currency, there would, almost by definition, be numerous bureaucratic controls, and the currency would also be pegged at an overvalued rate.

It is often assumed that the system of exchange control (including fixed exchange rate) that we implemented on September 1, 1998 saved the country. The measures of September 1, 1998 were undoubtedly a necessary condition, but it was not a sufficient condition to overcome the crisis. Malaysia was saved, not by exchange control measures per se, but by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.

Let me explain. Any other developing country, facing a similar crisis, if it had introduced the measures that we introduced in September 1998, the measures would probably have failed. The fact that in Malaysia these measures succeeded is due to the ability and character of Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. The economy and the financial system, under Dr. Mahathir's leadership, was in a very healthy state--healthy enough for the exchange control measures to be implemented without negative consequences. Moreover, the Prime Minister's hands-on management style enabled quick and timely decisions to be made, which was vital under the new exchange control regime.

Dr. Mahathir, as Prime Minister, had ensured that the Malaysian economy was fundamentally strong. Ringgit was strong and stable. On the back of the currency stability (at RM2.50 against the US dollar) Malaysia was doing very well. At the end of 1996, real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at almost 8.5 per cent and the growth was expected to continue for many more years. The government was enjoying a fiscal surplus. The external debt was low, at 40 per cent of the Gross National Product (GNP). The current account of the balance of payments had narrowed from a deficit of 10 per cent to 5 per cent of GNP, and was expected to improve further. Inflation was at its lowest at 2.1 percent. We had steady growth of over 8 per cent for a major part of that period. And this fundamental strength of Malaysia was a critical factor that enabled the exchange control measures to succeed.

For a period of more than a year after the measures of September 1, 1998 were implemented, the Prime Minister met with a small group of us everyday - 6 days a week - for at least 2 hours to go through various economic data, including data on loan growth, exports, imports, property overhang etc. This enabled the Prime Minister to take quick actions, whenever required. I remember one morning when we were going through the property figures, he looked at me and directed that I should organize a property fair to clear the overhang of properties. I did, and property worth more than RM 3 billion was sold. Even after the crisis was over, Dr. Mahathir continued to meet with the group regularly, though no longer on a daily basis. And Dr. Mahathir continued to go through all the economic data with a sharp pencil.

No other Prime Minister in the world, either in developed or developing countries, employs such a hands-on approach in managing the economy. We can see, therefore, that it was not the exchange control measures per se that saved the country but the man --- Dr. Mahathir Mohamad --- himself.

The period 1997 - 1998 was, to paraphrase Charles Dickens, the worst of times, but it was also the best of times. The worst conditions brought out the best in Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. There is a saying that a good leader is like good tea - you only know the true quality when he is in hot water !

Throughout the crisis, the Prime Minister was focussed on resolving the crisis. Day and night, he thought of nothing else but the crisis. He read all he could on finance; he kept asking me to prepare notes on various technical issues. Sometimes he was sick with bad flu and cough, but he did not take time off to rest. He was convinced that he had to understand the issues before he could work out the solutions. His native intelligence and ability to focus on core issues were there throughout the crisis. He did not show any sign of fear even at the worst of time, only concern at the fast deteriorating state of the economy. He was, at all times, confident that he would prevail in the end.

I would like to add two additional points related to the financial crisis. The first is that, in implementing the measures of September 1, 1998, Dr. Mahathir not only saved Malaysia but the neighbouring countries as well. Let me explain. When Malaysia imposed its exchange control measures on September 1, 1998, the currency speculators realised that the other affected countries (Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea) could also impose similar controls, and they, therefore, stopped their activities in its track. The speculators backed off. They bought back the currencies that they had sold. This is resulted in the regional currencies appreciating. Moreover, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was not happy with what Malaysia had done, particularly since, after implementing the measures, we did exactly the opposite of what the IMF wanted us to do, i.e. we lowered our interest rates and injected liquidity into the system. The IMF, therefore, started relaxing conditions in other countries and allowed them to lower their interest rates and allowed them to inject liquidity to stimulate their economies so that Malaysia would not outperform the IMF countries. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that Dr. Mahathir Mohamad not only saved Malaysia, but the other affected countries in the region as well - Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea.

My second point is regarding what would have happened if the exchange control measures were not implemented. If the measures were not implemented, many of corporations in Malaysia would have gone under, due to the high interest rates. When the corporations fall like dominos, banks would have faced severe liquidity and solvency problems due to the ballooning NPLs. The problems of the banks would have resulted in a credit squeeze, which would have led to another round of corporate failures. The Government's revenue would have fallen drastically as fewer firms would be paying corporate taxes, thereby reducing the Government's ability to stimulate the economy through fiscal policy measures. As a result of the problems faced by corporations and banks, unemployment would have increased substantially, leading to a second round of problems. This is the classic vicious cycle, which could have, in the end, destroyed the social and political stability of the country. This was a scenario that was waiting to happen. It did not happen because of the decisiveness and guts of Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who decided to take the path less travelled.

We owe Dr. Mahathir much gratitude for what he has done for Malaysia over the last 22 years. Solving the financial crisis of 1997 - 1998 was just one, albeit perhaps the most important, of Dr. Mahathir Mohamad's many contributions to the nation.

On a personal note, over the last 6 years, I have come to admire this great man for his abilities, his high moral values and, most of all, for his sincerity. Certainly, a man like Dr. Mahathir Mohamad is not born everyday.

(23rd. October, 2003)

Sejenak with Dr. Mahathir

2006-06-12T18:40:00.000+08:00

They stab me in the back, says Mahathir
Posted on Wednesday, June 07 @ 23:49:27 EDT
Topic: MEDIA

By Malaysiakini

The following is an abridged version of details of the press conference called by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to announce the 'Perdana Global Peace Forum - The Middle East Agenda' on June 22.

Question: Can you describe your relationship with the present government?

Mahathir:
Well, when I decided to step down, I gave an undertaking that I will not involve myself in politics, that I would not interfere with the government. On the other hand, of course, there were certain things promised that should be done by the incoming government, but the incoming government not only did not do what was promised, but in fact, the incoming government reversed many of the decisions made while the leader in the incoming government was in still in the (previous) government.

There were no objections, and we agreed fully with all the proposals. And I had (the promise) that they would be carried out. I understand, of course, that new leaders want to make an impact and make their mark during their period in power. But what was undertaken before should be carried out - new things can be introduced.

So the decision not to keep to the promises was not mine. I tolerated this for as much as possible including the charge that I finished all of the government's money, that the government was bankrupt and couldn't have any more projects.

I kept quiet but when something that is done that is really harmful, I think I would be failing my duty as an ordinary citizen and as ex-PM if I don't direct attention to this matters. As I said, I was not the one who first broke the promise [...] of course, I made my undertaking publicly, the leader of the new government did not, but the fact is that promises had been made on both sides.

So if I have to comment, I think I have the right to comment. Presently, I support the government, but if they do what I consider to be wrong and nobody seems to be able to voice their opposition than I will have to stick my neck out. Sticking my neck out is very familiar with me. I've done it many times within the country and outside. So I will again stick my neck out for it to be chopped.

Are you regretting that you quit?

No, one cannot tell exactly what a person would do after he is out of your control. So I thought I made a good choice. I wouldn't know if I had picked somebody else, these things would not happen. If I choose someone else, also it might very well happen.

But I feel I have a duty to point out wrong things being done. Like Singapore must approve what we do in our territory - that I can't accept. Abuse of APs (approved permits), selling something we bought for 500 million dollars and selling (it) for RM4. These things are wrong but nobody seems to be able to say anything on these things. I don't know why.

Your biggest blunder?

I have made many blunders in my career. I have helped many people up only for them to stab me in the back. So, it is a common trait for me. I'm in the habit of choosing the wrong people. But the present government can do a good job if they want to. The means are there but if they come under the influence of people who have other agendas, then I can’t help.

Who are you referring to?

It is up to the press to know. You know more than I do.

During your time, the media was controlled and constrained?

During my time, the press was quite free. I admit there were certain restrictions because we live in a multiracial society where there are a lot of sensitivities. So we tell them, don't stir racial hatred or we'll take action against them. You must remember many newspapers printed in the country have not complained to me about being censored.

If you read, Harakah and Rocket condemn me all the time - they break the law as distribution was for members. I did not act on them as they do not stir racial hatred. We don't just do it just because they say my nose is big - it’s alright. Lat makes cartoon of me all the time, I never objected. (The) vernacular press also condemned me. The present government now says I shouldn't say anything and the foreign press appears to agree - it’s alright.

Do you think Pak Lah has back stabbed you?

Minor bruises, like saying I finished all their money when I know very well that the country has never been as rich as it is now. Having chosen him as my successor - in fact, he was not the first choice, he was second as he didn't have the highest vote. Najib (Abdul Razak) had. I chose him and I expect a degree of gratefulness. But I was told that I had been involved in mega-projects and finished the money. Nobody has the money now...

Are you engineering the early departure of the PM?

No, I'm not capable of that but when he does the right thing, I have nothing to say or support him but if he does the wrong thing and undermines national interests then I will have my say.

Are you trying to have him replaced?

I can’t have him removed, it is for his own party to remove him, for Umno to remove him. I'm not helping or going around campaigning and tell people, ‘please remove this man’. But I'm supportive of Umno, my party.

Are you confident of the present administration?

If he keeps on doing the wrong things I cannot be confident so I'll keep watching. But it must be something substantial before I pass my comments. Simple things like people do, like getting contracts, I will not say anything

Has corruption increase after you retired?

Some people think there is more now than before, I don't have the statistics on corruption during my time, nor that of now.

Putrajaya is not developing after you’ve retired.

The government claims it has no money to continue concessions. That’s what they say to stop many projects in Putrajaya. They have stopped the mosque, the monorail has been shelved because the government has no money. My contention is the government has lots of money and Putrajaya is built largely from Petronas funds. Petronas made a profit of RM50 billion last year and this year of RM80 billion.

Petronas has a lot of money. Petronas can build if you want them to. Of course, it is 100 percent owned by the government and pays taxes of RM53 billion to the government. This year, Petronas made 83 billion and spent 13 billion to subsidise petrol prices of the public and it still has about RM70 billion, of which it will pay tax of RM30 billion and still have RM40 billion, and if the government wants, Petronas must give as it belongs to government. So to say the previous government has spent all the money is not supported by facts.

(What about) Petronas financial report?

They will soon publishing, I believe. That's what I'm told.

A lot of people are complaining that the economy is not moving at the same rate as before?

But the figures show otherwise. So I'm glad for the people who say it is moving. We need to have a breakdown of figures to see if we are looking at the wrong indicators. I know, for example, the construction and retail sector not moving like before. This may not affect their figures. Modern accounting is subject to many modifications. You can show a set of figures in many ways. I know some companies have changed their accounting system to show profits.

Do you watch the World Cup?

I don't watch football, I have a lot of other things to do. Even badminton, I ask my wife to watch and she tells me if they win. If they lose, don't tell me or I cannot sleep. I have always said it is silly for 22 people to chase one ball - (go) buy (them) one each.

A Spiritual Journey

2006-05-16T10:28:00.000+08:00

Finally, it's confirmed.

I will finally get to do umrah with my mom and family. This is our mother's day present for her and she is happy as a lark :) She's been hinting about doing umrah with us for the longest time. Last time she went for hajj was back in the late 80s. Now that everything are settled, you can almost hear her moving about with a renewed energy, sprightly as a teenager :)

My last spiritual journey was when I was in college, one Ramadhan in the dead of winter, going thru Rumi and Al-Ghazzali and finding my coordinates in the Universe. It was a revelation at that particular moment feeling the ceiling of the sky is almost within my touch and the crab apple trees in the dead of winter were all at rukuk facing the kiblat.

Since those wide-eyed truth-seeking phase college days, my spiritual journey has been going up and down, well mostly down since I came back to Malaysia. Somehow, being in the midst of mostly muslims, eroded the sharpness of striving towards refining my spiritual progress and makes me take my faith for granted again. Perhaps I find some muslims tendency to be over-critical and petty with the branches as a turn-off or perhaps I have simply eroded my discipline. I find myself a more observant muslim when I was in the US.

Side-tracking a bit, I've been extremely frustrated with the way Malaysia is being mismanaged and rammed into the ground by the ppl in power and all its cash-riched assets sold off like scrap-metals to the highest bidder, crushing the mandate and hopes of the rakyat. Semoga Allah merahmati bumi bertuah ini dan menjauhkannya dari pemimpin2 dan "fly-by-nites" politicians yang tidak ikhlas, tidak matang, tamak haloba dan mengikut telunjuk musuh Islam. Amin.

As usual, I have not packed my bags nor do my laundries yet! nor have I finished studying and learning what I need to know already. May Allah guide me thruout the journey in Makkah and Madinah! :) InsyaAllah.

Wish that our umrah be mabrur.

Wassalaam,
ZaiZ
Kuala Lumpur
16 May, 2006

Surat Cinta Buat Bush

2006-05-16T00:39:00.000+08:00

Ahmadinejad's letter to Bush
by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Mr. George Bush,
President of the United States of America

For sometime now I have been thinking, how one can justify the undeniable contradictions that exist in the international arena -- which are being constantly debated, especially in political forums and amongst university students. Many questions remain unanswered. These have prompted me to discuss some of the contradictions and questions, in the hopes that it might bring about an opportunity to redress them.

Can one be a follower of Jesus Christ (PBUH), the great Messenger of God,

Feel obliged to respect human rights,

Present liberalism as a civilization model,

Announce one's opposition to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and WMDs,

Make “War on Terror” his slogan,

And finally,

Work towards the establishment of a unified international community – a community which Christ and the virtuous of the Earth will one day govern,

But at the same time,

Have countries attacked. The lives, reputations and possessions of people destroyed and on the slight chance of the presence of a few criminals in a village, city, or convoy for example, the entire village, city or convoy set ablaze.

Or because of the possibility of the existence of WMDs in one country, it is occupied, around one hundred thousand people killed, its water sources, agriculture and industry destroyed, close to 180,000 foreign troops put on the ground, sanctity of private homes of citizens broken, and the country pushed back perhaps fifty years. At what price? Hundreds of billions of dollars spent from the treasury of one country and certain other countries and tens of thousands of young men and women – as occupation troops – put in harms way, taken away from family and loved ones, their hands stained with the blood of others, subjected to so much psychological pressure that everyday some commit suicide and those returning home suffer depression, become sickly and grapple with all sorts of ailments; while some are killed and their bodies handed to their families.

On the pretext of the existence of WMDs, this great tragedy came to engulf both the peoples of the occupied and the occupying country. Later it was revealed that no WMDs existed to begin with.

Of course Saddam was a murderous dictator. But the war was not waged to topple him, the announced goal of the war was to find and destroy weapons of mass destruction. He was toppled along the way towards another goal; nevertheless the people of the region are happy about it. I point out that throughout the many years of the imposed war on Iran Saddam was supported by the West.

Mr. President ,

You might know that I am a teacher. My students ask me how can these actions be reconciled with the values outlined at the beginning of this letter and duty to the tradition of Jesus Christ (PBUH), the Messenger of peace and forgiveness?

There are prisoners in Guantanamo Bay that have not been tried, have no legal representation, their families cannot see them and are obviously kept in a strange land outside their own country. There is no international monitoring of their conditions and fate. No one knows whether they are prisoners, POWs, accused or criminals.

European investigators have confirmed the existence of secret prisons in Europe too. I could not correlate the abduction of a person, and him or her being kept in secret prisons, with the provisions of any judicial system. For that matter, I fail to understand how such actions correspond to the values outlined in the beginning of this letter, i.e. the teachings of Jesus Christ (PBUH), human rights and liberal values.
Young people, university students, and ordinary people have many questions about the phenomenon of Israel. I am sure you are familiar with some of them.

Throughout history many countries have been occupied, but I think the establishment of a new country with a new people, is a new phenomenon that is exclusive to our times.

Students are saying that sixty years ago such a country did not exist. They show old documents and globes and say try as we have, we have not been able to find a country named Israel.

I tell them to study the history of WWI and II. One of my students told me that during WWII, which more than tens of millions of people perished in, news about the war, was quickly disseminated by the warring parties. Each touted their victories and the most recent battlefront defeat of the other party. After the war they claimed that six million Jews had been killed. Six million people that were surely related to at least two million families.

Again let us assume that these events are true. Does that logically translate into the establishment of the state of Israel in the Middle East or support for such a state? How can this phenomenon be rationalized or explained?

Mr. President,

I am sure you know how – and at what cost – Israel was established:

-Many thousands were killed in the process.

-Millions of indigenous people were made refugees.

-Hundreds of thousands of hectares of farmland, olive plantations, townsand villages were destroyed.

This tragedy is not exclusive to the time of establishment; unfortunately it has been ongoing for sixty years now.

A regime has been established which does not show mercy even to kids, destroys houses while the occupants are still in them, announces beforehand its list and plans to assassinate Palestinian figures, and keeps thousands of Palestinians in prison. Such a phenomenon is unique – or at the very least extremely rare – in recent memory.

Another big question asked by the people is “why is this regime being supported?”

Is support for this regime in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ (PBUH) or Moses (PBUH) or liberal values?

Or are we to understand that allowing the original inhabitants of these lands – inside and outside Palestine -- whether they are Christian, Moslem or Jew, to determine their fate, runs contrary to principles of democracy, human rights and the teachings of prophets? If not, why is there so much opposition to a referendum?

The newly elected Palestinian administration recently took office. All independent observers have confirmed that this government represents the electorate. Unbelievingly, they have put the elected government under pressure and have advised it to recognize the Israeli regime, abandon the struggle and follow the programs of the previous government.

If the current Palestinian government had run on the above platform, would the Palestinian people have voted for it? Again, can such position taken in opposition to the Palestinian government be reconciled with the values outlined earlier? The people are also asking “why are all UNSC resolutions in condemnation of Israel vetoed?”

Mr. President,

As you are well aware, I live amongst the people and am in constant contact with them -- many people from around the Middle East manage to contact me as well. They do not have faith in these dubious policies either. There is evidence that the people of the region are becoming increasingly angry with such policies.

It is not my intention to pose too many questions, but I need to refer to other points as well.

Why is it that any technological and scientific achievement reached in the Middle East region is translated into and portrayed as a threat to the Zionist regime? Is not scientific R&D one of the basic rights of nations?

You are familiar with history. Aside from the Middle Ages, in what other point in history has scientific and technical progress been a crime? Can the possibility of scientific achievements being utilized for military purposes be reason enough to oppose science and technology altogether? If such a supposition is true, then all scientific disciplines, including physics, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, engineering, etc. must be opposed.

Lies were told in the Iraqi matter. What was the result? I have no doubt that telling lies is reprehensible in any culture, and you do not like to be lied to.

Mr. President,

Don't Latin Americans have the right to ask why their elected governments are being opposed and coup leaders supported? Or, Why must they constantly be threatened and live in fear?

The people of Africa are hardworking, creative and talented. They can play an important and valuable role in providing for the needs of humanity and contribute to its material and spiritual progress. Poverty and hardship in large parts of Africa are preventing this from happening.

Don't they have the right to ask why their enormous wealth – including minerals – is being looted, despite the fact that they need it more than others?

Again, do such actions correspond to the teachings Of Christ and the tenets of human rights?

The brave and faithful people of Iran too have many questions and grievances, including: the coup d'etat of 1953 and the subsequent toppling of the legal government of the day, opposition to the Islamic revolution, transformation of an Embassy into a headquarters supporting the activities of those opposing the Islamic Republic (many thousands of pages of documents corroborate this claim), support for Saddam in the war waged against Iran, the shooting down of the Iranian passenger plane, freezing the assets of the Iranian nation, increasing threats, anger and displeasure vis-à-vis the scientific and nuclear progress of the Iranian nation (just when all Iranians are jubilant and celebrating their country's progress), and many other grievances that I will not refer to in this letter.

Mr. President,

September Eleven was a horrendous incident. The killing of innocents is deplorable and appalling in any part of the world. Our government immediately declared its disgust with the perpetrators and offered its condolences to the bereaved and expressed its sympathies.

All governments have a duty to protect the lives, property and good standing of their citizens. Reportedly your government employs extensive security, protection and intelligence systems – and even hunts its opponents abroad. September eleven was not a simple operation. Could it be planned and executed without coordination with intelligence and security services – or their extensive infiltration? Of course this is just an educated guess. Why have the various aspects of the attacks been kept secret? Why are we not told who botched their responsibilities? And, why aren't those responsible and the guilty parties identified and put on trial?

All governments have a duty to provide security and peace of mind for their citizens. For some years now, the people of your country and neighbors of world trouble spots do not have peace of mind. After 9.11, instead of healing and tending to the emotional wounds of the survivors and the American people -- who had been immensely traumatized by the attacks -- some Western media only intensified the climate of fear and insecurity – some constantly talked about the possibility of new terror attacks and kept the people in fear. Is that service to the American people? Is it possible to calculate the damages incurred from fear and panic?

American citizens lived in constant fear of fresh attacks that could come at any moment and in any place. They felt insecure in the streets, in their place of work and at home. Who would be happy with this situation? Why was the media, instead of conveying a feeling of security and providing peace of mind, giving rise to a feeling of insecurity?

Some believe that the hype paved the way -- and was the justification --for an attack on Afghanistan. Again I need to refer to the role of media.
In media charters, correct dissemination of information and honest reporting of a story are established tenets. I express my deep regret about the disregard shown by certain Western media for these principles. The main pretext for an attack on Iraq was the existence of WMDs. This was repeated incessantly -- for the public to finally believe -- and the ground set for an attack on Iraq.

Will the truth not be lost in a contrived and deceptive climate?

Again, if the truth is allowed to be lost, how can that be reconciled with the earlier mentioned values?

Is the truth known to the Almighty lost as well?

Mr. President,

In countries around the world, citizens provide for the expenses of governments so that their governments in turn are able to serve them.
The question here is “what has the hundreds of billions of dollars, spent every year to pay for the Iraqi campaign, produced for the citizens?”

As Your Excellency is aware, in some states of your country, people are living in poverty. Many thousands are homeless and unemployment is a huge problem. Of course these problems exist – to a larger or lesser extent -- in other countries as well. With these conditions in mind, can the gargantuan expenses of the campaign – paid from the public treasury – be explained and be consistent with the aforementioned principles?

What has been said, are some of the grievances of the people around the world, in our region and in your country. But my main contention – which I am hoping you will agree to some of it – is:

Those in power have a specific time in office and do not rule indefinitely, but their names will be recorded in history and will be constantly judged in the immediate and distant futures.

The people will scrutinize our presidencies.

Did we mange to bring peace, security and prosperity for the people or insecurity and unemployment?

Did we intend to establish justice or just supported especial interest groups, and by forcing many people to live in poverty and hardship, made a few people rich and powerful -- thus trading the approval of the people and the Almighty with theirs'?

Did we defend the rights of the underprivileged or ignore them?

Did we defend the rights of all people around the world or imposed wars on them, interfered illegally in their affairs, established hellish prisons and incarcerated some of them?

Did we bring the world peace and security or raised the specter of intimidation and threats?

Did we tell the truth to our nation and others around the world or presented an inverted version of it?

Were we on the side of people or the occupiers and oppressors?

Did our administrations set out to promote rational behavior, logic, ethics, peace, fulfilling obligations, justice, service to the people, prosperity, progress and respect for human dignity or the force of guns,
Intimidation, insecurity, disregard for the people, delaying the progress and excellence of other nations, and trample on people's rights?

And finally, they will judge us on whether we remained true to our oath of office – to serve the people, which is our main task, and the traditions of the prophets -- or not?

Mr. President,

How much longer can the world tolerate this situation?

Where will this trend lead the world to?

How long must the people of the world pay for the incorrect decisions of some rulers?

How much longer will the specter of insecurity – raised from the stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction -- hunt the people of the world?

How much longer will the blood of the innocent men, women and children be spilled on the streets, and people's houses destroyed over their heads?

Are you pleased with the current condition of the world?

Do you think present policies can continue?

If billions of dollars spent on security, military campaigns and troop movement were instead spent on investment and assistance for poor countries, promotion of health, combating different diseases, education and improvement of mental and physical fitness, assistance to the victims of natural disasters, creation of employment opportunities and production, development projects and poverty alleviation, establishment of peace, mediation between disputing states, and extinguishing the flames of racial, ethnic and other conflicts, were would the world be today? Would not your government and people be justifiably proud?
Would not your administration's political and economic standing have been stronger?

And I am most sorry to say, would there have been an ever increasing global hatred of the American government?

Mr. President, it is not my intention to distress anyone.

If Prophet Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ishmael, Joseph, or Jesus Christ (PBUH) were with us today, how would they have judged such behavior? Will we be given a role to play in the promised world, where justice will become universal and Jesus Christ (PBUH) will be present?

Will they even accept us?

My basic question is this: Is there no better way to interact with the rest of the world? Today there are hundreds of millions of Christians, hundreds of millions of Moslems and millions of people who follow the teachings of Moses (PBUH). All divine religions share and respect one word and that is “monotheism” or belief in a single God and no other in the world.

The Holy Koran stresses this common word and calls on all followers of divine religions and says: [ 3.64 ] Say: O followers of the Book! come to an equitable proposition between us and you that we shall not serve any but Allah and (that) we shall not associate aught with Him, and (that) some of us shall not take others for lords besides Allah; but if they turn back, then say: Bear witness that we are Muslims. ( The Family of Imran)

Mr. President,

According to divine verses, we have all been called upon to worship one God and follow the teachings of divine Prophets.

“To worship a God which is above all powers in the world and can do all He pleases.” “the Lord which knows that which is hidden and visible, the past and the future, knows what goes on in the Hearts of His servants and records their deeds.”

“The Lord who is the possessor of the heavens and the earth and all universe is His court” “planning for the universe is done by His hands, and gives His servants the glad tidings of mercy and forgiveness of sins” “He is the companion of the oppressed and the enemy of oppressors” “He is the Compassionate, the Merciful” “He is the recourse of the faithful and guides them towards the light from darkness” “He is witness to the actions of His servants” “He calls on servants to be faithful and do good deeds, and asks them to stay on the path of righteousness and remain steadfast” “Calls on servants to heed His prophets and He is a witness to their deeds” “A bad ending belongs only to those who have chosen the life of this world and disobey Him and oppress His servants” and “A good end and eternal paradise belong to those servants who fear His majesty and do not follow their lascivious selves.”

We believe a return to the teachings of the divine prophets is the only road leading to salvation. I have been told that Your Excellency follows the teachings of Jesus (PBUH) and believes in the divine promise of the rule of the righteous on Earth.

We also believe that Jesus Christ (PBUH) was one of the great prophets of the Almighty. He has been repeatedly praised in the Koran. Jesus (PBUH) has been quoted in Koran as well: [ 19.36 ] And surely Allah is my Lord and your Lord, therefore serve Him; this is the right path. Marium
Service to and obedience of the Almighty is the credo of all divine messengers.

The God of all people in Europe, Asia, Africa, America, the Pacific and the rest of the world is one. He is the Almighty who wants to guide and give dignity to all His servants. He has given greatness to Humans.

We again read in the Holy Book: “The Almighty God sent His prophets with miracles and clear signs to guide the people and show them divine signs and purify them from sins and pollutions. And He sent the Book and the balance so that the people display justice and avoid the rebellious”.

All of the above verses can be seen, one way or the other, in the Good Book as well.

Divine prophets have promised:

The day will come when all humans will congregate before the court of the Almighty, so that their deeds are examined. The good will be directed towards Haven and evildoers will meet divine retribution. I trust both of us believe in such a day, but it will not be easy to calculate the actions of rulers, because we must be answerable to our nations and all others whose lives have been directly or indirectly affected by our actions.

All prophets, speak of peace and tranquility for man -- based on monotheism, justice and respect for human dignity.

Do you not think that if all of us come to believe in and abide by these principles, that is, monotheism, worship of God, justice, respect for the dignity of man, belief in the Last Day, we can overcome the present problems of the world -- that are the result of disobedience to the Almighty and the teachings of prophets – and improve our performance?

Do you not think that belief in these principles promotes and guarantees peace, friendship and justice?

Do you not think that the aforementioned written or unwritten principles are universally respected?

Will you not accept this invitation? That is, a genuine return to the teachings of prophets, to monotheism and justice, to preserve human dignity and obedience to the Almighty and His prophets?

Mr. President,

History tells us that repressive and cruel governments do not survive. God has entrusted the fate of men to them. The Almighty has not left the universe and humanity to their own devices. Many things have happened contrary to the wishes and plans of governments. These tell us that there is a higher power at work and all events are determined by Him.

Can one deny the signs of change in the world today?

Is the situation of the world today comparable to that of ten years ago? Changes happen fast and come at a furious pace.

The people of the world are not happy with the status quo and pay little heed to the promises and comments made by a number of influential world leaders. Many people around the world feel insecure and oppose the spreading of insecurity and war and do not approve of and accept dubious policies.

The people are protesting the increasing gap between the haves and the have-nots and the rich and poor countries.

The people are disgusted with increasing corruption.

The people of many countries are angry about the attacks on their cultural foundations and the disintegration of families. They are equally dismayed with the fading of care and compassion. The people of the world have no faith in international organizations, because their rights are not advocated by these organizations.

Liberalism and Western style democracy have not been able to help realize the ideals of humanity. Today these two concepts have failed. Those with insight can already hear the sounds of the shattering and fall of the ideology and thoughts of the Liberal democratic systems.

We increasingly see that people around the world are flocking towards a main focal point -- that is the Almighty God. Undoubtedly through faith in God and the teachings of the prophets, the people will conquer their problems. My question for you is: “Do you not want to join them?”

Mr. President,

Whether we like it or not, the world is gravitating towards faith in the
Almighty and justice and the will of God will prevail over all things.

Vasalam Ala Man Ataba'al hoda
Mahmood Ahmadi-Nejad
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Kebebasan Zaman Pak Lah & Dr. Mahathir

2006-05-09T14:50:00.000+08:00

Surat Kepada Pengarang Berita Harian: Kebebasan Zaman Pak Lah & Mahathir
Posted on Tuesday, May 09 @ 00:16:06 MYT
Topic: KOMENTAR

Saudara Pengarang,

Dalam akhbar tuan pada 3 Mei 2006, seorang pembaca yang menggunakan nama pena Ali Imran Wahab menulis surat terbuka kepada Tun Dr. Mahathir. Ada beberapa perkara yang saya sangat tertarik untuk memperbetulkannya supaya persepsi masyarakat tidak terus dikelirukan oleh penulisan separuh masak dan beragenda peribadi seperti tersebut.

Beberapa minggu lalu saya menulis dalam sebuah laman web bahawa Dr. Mahathir (izinkan saya menulis dengan panggilan ini kerana sudah terbiasa selama lebih 22 tahun) harus terus menyatakan pendirian dan pandangan beliau terutamanya membabitkan keputusan-keputusan yang dibuat oleh pentadbiran beliau.

Saya tidak fikir adalah waras untuk sesiapa sahaja menghalang Dr. Mahathir dari menyatakan pendirian dan pandangan beliau dalam keputusan-keputusan kerajaan yang membabitkan sewaktu pemerintahan beliau. Beliau berhak mempertahankan keputusannya sama seperti kerajaan hari ini berhak mempertahankan keputusan mereka.

Saya tidak fikir majoriti rakyat Malaysia menganggap kenyataan-kenyataan Dr. Mahathir hari ini sebagai satu yang tidak diperlukan atau dikehendaki. Malahan saya tidak fikir kenyataan-kenyataan beliau akan menjejaskan imej dan kredebiliti beliau sebagai negarawan.

Sebaliknya saya berpendapat adalah perlu dan mesti untuk Dr. Mahathir menyatakan pandangan beliau bagi memastikan keputusan kepimpinan hari ini tidak dibuat atas maklumat yang salah atau mengelirukan. Dr. Mahathir sebagai seorang yang teliti mempunyai banyak fakta dan pengalaman yang boleh dipergunakan.

Benar Dr. Mahathir berjanji tidak akan masuk campur dalam urusan kerajaan seperti Lee Kwan Yew. Dan saya tidak fikir Dr. Mahathir telah pun masuk campur dalam pentadbiran. Malahan keputusan-keputusan kerajaan membayangkan Dr. Mahathir langsung tidak mempunyai kuasa untuk masuk campur.

Haruslah dibezakan antara masuk campur seperti Lee Kwan Yew dengan memberi pandangan dan mempertahankan diri. Adakah Dr. Mahathir perku berdiam diri apabila pentadbiran hari ini membuat pelbagai keputusan yang seolah-olah menyalahkan kepimpinan beliau yang lalu.

Dr. Mahathir mungkin benar dan mungkin juga salah. Tapi beliau berhak mempertahankan diri, apatah lagi bila ternyata dalam banyak hal beliau berada di pihak yang benar.

Dakwaan penulis tersebut bahawa keputusan pembinaan jambatan baru sebagai satu tindakan untuk mengatasi kesesakan Tambak Johor semata menjelaskan fakta bahawa beliau tidak membaca keseluruhan sebab-sebab untuk pembinaan jambatan tersebut beserta Gerbang Perdana. Terdapat puluhan sebab dari segi ekonomi dan alam sekitar yang menjadi asas kepada usaha ini diabaikan oleh beliau.

Seterusnya Ali Imran mendakwa “Jarang sekali saya dapat menatap berita yang mendedahkan kepincangan atau kesalahan yang dilakukan kerajaan atau pemimpin kita seperti yang diamalkan media massa sekarang.”

Saya fikir Ali Imran mempunyai ingatan yang begitu singkat atau tidak mempunyai pengetahuan yang mendalam terhadap media di Malaysia atau sengaja memainkan retorik ini untuk memburukkan Dr. Mahathir. Sepanjang kepimpinan Dr. Mahathir saya fikir media juga bebas malah mungkin lebih bebas berbanding hari ini.

Pada zaman Dr. Mahathir, bekas Perdana Menteri, Tunku Abdul Rahman mempunyai kolum sendiri di dalam akhbar The Star yang mengkritik kepimpinan Dr. Mahathir.

Akhbar begitu bebas memperkatakan dasar-dasar kerajaan sehingga hampir tercetus rusuhan pada 1987 akibat isu Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SRJKC). Pada zaman Dr. Mahathir juga akhbar memainkan isu-isu besar (yang sekarang saya belum nampak dalam media hari ini) yang tidak pro establisment seperti isu Tan Koon Swan, isu Abdullah Tan, isu Jabatan Penjara, Skandal Maika, isu Ketua Menteri Melaka, Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Chik, Isu Menteri Besar Selangor, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhd Taib, isu kepimpinan Osman Arof dan Sanudi Junid di Kedah, isu pembalakan di hutan Pahang, politik wang dan kronisme di dalam UMNO. Malahan isu pembelian Kumpulan Perkapalan Berhad (KPB) kepunyaan Mirzan Mahathir oleh Petronas juga mendapat liputan dan ulasan utama media.

Ketika krisis kewangan 1997, beberapa akhbar utama seperti Utusan dan Berita Harian bukan sahaja kelihatan tidak begitu memihak kepada Dr. Mahathir malah memlih untuk menyiarkan pandangan yang bertentangan dengan pandangan beliau.

Yang berbeza ialah Dr. Mahathir ketika menjadi pemimpin bersedia menghadapi isu dan menjawab soalan pemberita. Malahan Dr. Mahathir bersedia berdebat secara sihat dengan akhbar termasuk menulis surat secara terbuka kepada akhbar ketika beliau menjadi Perdana Menteri (lihat isu penggunaan bahasa Melayu yang dimainkan oleh Utusan berkaitan dalam wawancara Stesen televisyen Indonesia dengan Dr. Mahathir ketika persidangan Pertubuhan Negara-negara Berkecuali –NAM – di Indonesia sedekad yang lalu).

Jadi soal orang yang menganggap sekarang ini akhbar lebih terbuka dan telus tidak lebih daripada andaian semata-mata berbanding satu kajian yang akademik dan serius. Cuma jika pengarang akhbar dilihat berpihak kepada kerajaan hanyalah kerana kebanyakan dasar kerajaan dirangka dengan cekap dan meberi kebaikan kepada rakyat.

Mungkin benar kata Ali Imran bahawa Dr. Mahathir hanya akan mendedahkan dirinya kepada kritikan bila beliau mengkritik kerajaan. Tapi mengenali Dr. Mahathir dari jauh selama lebih 30 tahun, beliau bukanlah orang yang peduli kepada imej dan kejayaan peribadi. Beliau melihat kepentingan bangsa, negara dan agama lebih penting dari dirinya.

Ali Imran berkata adalah lebih baik kita tumpukan kejayaan kepada Wawasan 2020 ilham Dr. Mahathir. Cuma apa yang penulis ini tidak sedar ialah Wawasan 2020 bukan dilahirkan untuk sekadar retorik politik oleh Dr. Mahathir.

Sebaliknya ia dilahirkan bersama perancangan masa depan dan kronologi pembangunan pelbagai fasa yang telah mengambil kira pemangkin ekonomi pelbagai sektor dan daerah. Soalnya jika sebahagian daripada perancangan tersebut sudah semakin hilang dari pelan jangka panjang bolehkah kita mencapai negara maju pada 2020? Dan apakah pelan yang dirancang selama dua dekad yang lalu masih digunapakai oleh kerajaan hari ini?

Walau apa pun perbahasan kita, saya tetap berpendirian bahawa Dr. Mahathir atas jasa dan pengorbanannya selama 22 tahun membangunkan negara berhak untuk bercakap demi negara ini.

Ab. Jalil Backer
Petaling Jaya

Pelan Pembangunan Johor yang digeruni Singapura

2006-05-05T14:23:00.000+08:00

Pelan Pembangunan Johor yang digeruni Singapura
Contributed by putra_nazi on Friday, May 05 @ 09:16:52 MYT
Topic: KOMENTAR
Antara Maruah dan Jambatan dan Keputusan Kontroversi.

Keputusan Kerajaan Malaysia di Bawah kepimpinan Datuk Seri Hj Abdullah Bin Hj Ahmad Badawi pada 12 April 2006 berkaitan Pembatalan Muktamad pembinaan Jambatan menggantikan Tambak Johor lalu, mencipta satu sejarah baru Kepimpinan UMNO selepas krisis besar UMNO 1987 dan krisis 1998. Keputusan kontroversi dibuat selepas isu jambatan dibincangkan hangat di Parlimen khususnya oleh MP dari Johor. Menteri Luar sendiri turut memberi jaminan untuk meneruskan pembinaan jambatan tersebut secara muktamad walaupun jika hanya separuh di sebelah Johor.

Namun selepas melalui beberapa siri rundingan dengan perunding Singapura, mereka tidak berasa senang hati dengan keputusan kita meneruskan pembinaan jambatan baru, sebaliknya mereka meletakkan syarat baru untuk merestui pembinaan jambatan yang lurus dengan kos bersama tetapi dengan syarat kerajaan Malaysia membenarkan penggunaan ruang udara Johor dan penjualan pasir sebanyak 50juta Tan Metrik setahun selama 20 tahun untuk kerja penambakan di Negara mereka.

Lantaran timbulnya syarat ini, Perhubungan UMNO Negeri Johor terus bermesyuarat tergembar dan membuat satu resolusi menolak 2 syarat tersebut, namun masih mahu jambatan baru terus dibina. Rakyat Johor tidak rela menjual kedaulatan di atas 2 syarat tersebut.

Pada masa yang sama Rakyat Johor beranggapan perunding Kerajaan Malaysia akan terus membina jambatan baru melalui opsyen lain lantaran setelah rakyat Johor menolak syarat penggunaan ruang udara dan pasir. Rakyat Johor tidak dimaklumkan akan implikasi jika menolak syarat tersebut akan menjurus kepada pembatalan terus pembinaan jambatan tersebut.

Namun pada 12hb April 2006 lalu dengan tidak disangka-sangka, Perdana Menteri telah membuat keputusan rasmi akan pembatalan terus jambatan baru tanpa prejudis dan tiada siapa yang dibenar mempertikai keputusan tersebut dengan alasan atas kehendak rakyat. Tiada lagi rundingan dan tidak akan ada lagi perbincangan yang boleh diteruskan dengan perunding Singapura.

Ini menunjukkan kerajaan baru di bawah kepimpinan Pak Lah yang telah cuba menggunakan pelbagai pendekatan berlembut dengan jiran tersebut contohnya melalui program sukan golf antara kedua-dua kerajaan ternyata tidak mendatangkan kesan yang positif.

Sikap Singapura yang suka berdolak dalik dalam banyak perkara semenjak kepimpinan pertama Negara Tunku Abd Rahman lagi hinggalah kini amat jelas tidak boleh diubah oleh mana-mana kepimpinan Negara kita lagi. Pendirian mereka amat tegas dan mantap tidak berganjak walau sedikitpun dari dasar yang telah mereka tetapkan semenjak berpisah dari Malaysia. Sikap kita yang banyak beralah akhirnya memakan diri sendiri dan akhirnya kerajaan Malaysia sudah putus harap dan menemui jalan buntu untik berurusan dengan mereka lagi.

Moralnya di sini Singapura telah memenangi perang psikologi yang pertama dan Malaysia telah pun kalah untuk tahap ini. Singapura lebih mantap dan bijaksana dalam mencatur kepentingan dua hala yang semestinya keuntungan mesti berpihak kepada mereka. Sekarang mereka telah pun bersiap sedia untuk kemenangan pusingan kedua jika berlaku apajua bentuk tindak balas dari pihak Malaysia. Negara mereka dirancang sedemikian rapi hingga tak nampak cacat celanya dari segi pentadbiran dan pengurusan samada pengurusan di peringkat dalam negeri mahupun luar Negara.

Rentetan dari kemelut yang melanda dalam isu ini, terdapat terlalu banyak persoalan dan pengajaran yang boleh diambil untuk rumusan, di mana silapnya? Kita pada hari ini. Singapura tidak wajar dipersalahkan kerana memang sikap mereka sudah sedemikian rupa sejak azali lagi. Di pihak kita terlalu banyak perkara yang harus diperinci, dikaji dan diperbincangkan dalam berdepan dengan sikap jiran yang sedemikian itu. Terlalu banyak lompang-lompang kosong kelemahan kerajaan Malaysia dulu dan pada hari ini. Di sini peri pentingnya sejarah yang kita kongsi bersama Singapura harus dikaji dengan teliti. Kita kalah dengan mereka natijah dari hasil kajiselidik mendalam mereka terhadap setiap inci sejarah kita dari segi sifat-sifat Politik pemimpin Melayu, Budaya, Bahasa, adat dan resam termasuklah kajian genetik terhadap bangsa Melayu untuk mengenal baka sifat dan sikap bangsa kita. Apa yang ada dalam benak pemikiran Pemimpin Melayu pada hari ini berada di hujung jari mereka dan tersimpan baik dalam pengkalan Data Komputer kerajaan mereka. Kelemahan dan kekuatan kita dalam genggaman mereka walau sebijak manapun kita memerintah Negara..

Bukan nak mengagung-agungkan Singapura, namun dalam bab ini kita harus akur yang pemikir bijak pandai mereka adalah lebih hebat dari kita. Pakar-pakar perancang strategik mereka lebih cemerlang dari kita. Ini semua harus dijadikan iktibar dan kayu pengukur untuk kita memajukan diri agar mampu bersaing dengan mereka.

Dari segi ekonomi, kita telah ketinggalan 1 dekad dari mereka. Mereka adalah di antara Negara pelabur yang tidak berhutang dengan mana-mana Bank dalam dunia. Sumber kekayaan dan asset mereka berada di seluruh pelusuk dunia. Jika kita nak bersaing dengan mereka dari segi ekonomi, adalah mustahil kita mampu, sedangkan hampir separuh dari negeri Johor ini adalah milik mereka dari segi asset-asset kekal dan perniagaan serta pelaburan yang telah berlangsung. Boleh dibilang dengan jari asset-asset Melayu yang masih kekal dalam Negeri Johor. Polisi kerajaan membenarkan rakyat asing membeli hartanah berstatus hakmilik kekal adalah amat membimbangkan. Kesannya sudah dirasai kini. Betapa susahnya usahawan Bumiputera untuk menyewa premis perniagaan Di Johor kerana ianya bukan lagi milik bangsa kita. Keutamaan penyewa adalah dari kaum mereka.

Pembangunan Johor yang telah dirancang secara Holistik nampak tidak menjadi pada hari ini. Segala yang telah dirancang hasilnya bukanlah muktamad, lantaran kerana Kerajaan Negeri masih tertakluk kepada keputusan kerajaan Pusat dari segi hak penetapan persisiran antarabangsa Johor, peruntukan pembangunan dan keputusan memilih pemimpin tertinggi Negeri. Pembangunan Johor Selatan telah mula dirangka sejak tahun 2000 lagi yang mana melibatkan pembangunan persisir Pantai Lido, Stulang dan Selat Tebrau, Pasir Gudang, Gelang Patah hingga ke Pontian dan Batu Pahat. Pembangunan yang dimaksudkan termasuklah pakej pembinaan Jambatan Baru (Jambatan Sultan Iskandar) bagi menggantikan Tambak Johor.

Namun rancangan dan impian rakyat Johor melihat Johor Maju 2010 tersentak lantaran keputusan dramatik Kerajaan membatalkan pembinaan jambatan tersebut. Rata-rata rakyat Johor mengharapkan Pembangunan yang dirancang bernilai lebih RM24 billion untuk jangkamasa sehingga 15 tahun dapat disiapkan dengan jayanya. Marilah kita melihat sejenak apa yang terkandung dalam sebahagian Pelan Pembangunan Johor Selatan. Kita saksikan sendiri kenapa projek ini penting dan kita juga patut tahu kenapa sebahagian rakyat khususnya rakyat Johor berasa kecewa dan hampa dengan keputusan pembatalan jambatan oleh kerajaan. Seluruh rakyat Malaysia harus tahu akan kepentingan Pembangunan ini. Rakyat tidak akan mempertikai satu-satu keputusan tanpa sebab yang munasabah dan kukuh. Data-data yang dipamerkan di bawah ini adalah sebahagian sebabnya rakyat Johor kecewa.

Melalui fakta-fakta di atas, Perancangan Pembangunan ini akan menjadi berdayamaju dan berkesan jika Jambatan Baru dapat dibina dan Selat Tebrau boleh dilalui kapal-kapal dagang antarabangsa. Itu adalah jaminan asas terhadap Pelabur luar Negara untuk melabur di Johor Selatan ini. Perairan Selat Tebrau mestilah bersih dan indah pantainya serta boleh digunakan untuk mandi manda. Syarat ini adalah syarat wajib yang harus dipenuhi oleh Kerajaan Pusat jika benar-benar berhasrat membangunkan Johor Selatan.

Pelan rancangan 15 tahun Selatan Johor inilah yang menjadi fobia kepada kerajaan Singapura untuk merangka strategi bagi menggagalkan pembinaan jambatan baru mengganti Tambak Johor yang kononnya penuh nostalgia dan bersejarah itu.

Pelan Pembangunan ini merupakan satu tamparan dan cabaran persaingan hebat Kerajaan Malaysia terhadap Singapura selepas Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas berjaya menarik Mearsk Sealand dan Evergreen dari genggaman mereka. Semasa mereka tiada halangan membenarkan pembinaan Jambatan sebelah Johor dan merobohkan tambak selepas 2007 melalui surat persetujuan dengan Tun Dr Mahathir pada tahun 2001, PTP dilihat tidak mampu bersaing dengan pelabuhan mereka. Maka mereka membenarkan. Ternyata andaian mereka meleset sama sekali apabila PTP mula menunjukkan taringnya dan sedikit sebanyak mereka telah tergugat.

Namun apabila Pelan pembangunan Johor Selatan pula yang muncul dengan dirangka secara strategik dan tersusun, mereka semakin gelisah dan mimpi ngeri sentiasa menjadi igauan mereka setiap hari. Pusat perdagangan antarabangsa, bank-bank persisir, taman tema, marina, kompleks-kompleks bebas cukai, industri pelancongan, perhotelan dan pusat-pusat konvensyen antara bangsa akan bertumpu di Selatan Johor dan menjadi pesaing yang hebat kepada mereka lantaran tarikan harga dan tawaran kos yang berkali ganda lebih murah dari mereka.

Perjalanan kapal-kapal dagang ke sebelah Asia Pasifik adalah lebih singkat dan dekat. Dengan kemudahan prasarana pelabuhan yang yang lengkap dari Pelabuhan Batu Pahat (Minyak Beku), PTP, Pasir Gudang dan Tanjung Langsat, Johor akan menjadi tarikan utama di atas faktor harga dan kos penyelenggaraan dan perkhidmatan yang murah Yang pasti pembangunan Singapura yang bertumpu di bahagian selatan sudah tidak menjadi tarikan lagi di atas faktor mahal, jauh dan melambatkan perjalanan. Senai airport yang bakal dibangunkan akan menjadi salah satu pakej rangkaian kargo yang mampu bersaing dan menjadi terminal antarabangsa yang hebat kesan dari limpahan pembangunan ini.

Di atas keresahan dan faktor ‘kiasu’ maka Singapura dalam keadaan terdesak akan menggunakan segala kekuatan yang ada untuk menghalang impian rakyat johor ini menjadi kenyataan. Yang pasti mereka bakal menanggung kerugian berbillion Dollar jika Pelan ini menjadi kenyataan. Itu sudah pasti dan merupakan fakta yang sememangnya sudah tercatat dalam buku sejarah mereka yang menjadikan tambak Johor sebagai isu keselamatan Negara. Mereka akan mencipta bermacam helah dan strategi samada melalui perundangan malah ketenteraan jika perlu bagi melindungi keselamatan ekonomi mereka ini.

Faktor pembangunan Johor Selatan kini sudah dipatriotkan oleh kerajaan Singapura agar menjadi agenda utama keselamatan Negara untuk survival. Peruntukan perbelanjaan pertahanan sebanyak 5% dari KDNK bagi sebuah Negara bersaiz 648km persegi (RM25billion setahun) adalah agak luarbiasa dan tidak munasabah bagi kawasan zon yang aman seperti ASEAN ini. Kerajaan Singapura senantiasa menganggap jiran terekat khususnya Malaysia adalah ancaman. Kelebihan yang ada pada kita adalah ancaman. Kesepakatan kita dengan jiran-jiran lain juga adalah ancaman. Hinggakan nyamuk Malaysia yang melintasi sempadan mereka dilihat umpama jet pejuang kita yang masuk menyerang mereka.

Lantaran fakta perhubungan yang tidak pernah ikhlas ini, Kerajaan Malaysia seharusnya memikirkan sesuatu. Apakah jalan terbaik untuk berdepan jiran yang tidak ikhlas ini? Jika keputusan kerajaan pada hari ini adalah untuk terus mengalah dengan mereka, akur dengan kehendak mereka, maka akan selama-lamanyalah kita akan terus mengalah dan kekal kalah dalam persaingan global.

Dasar kerajaan cukup hebat dalam melahirkan wawasan pembangunan modal insan agar melahirkan generasi yang hebat dan bermartabat. Isu Ini sebenarnya adalah titik mula melahirkannya. Kebijaksanaan kita menangani Singapura adalah kayu pengukur samada kita mampu menjadi bangsa yang bermartabat dan bermaruah. Pemimpin Kerajaan harus memulakan dulu apajua dasar baik yang hendak dilaksanakan. Keputusan bijak kerajaan berwawasan dalam banyak perkara menggambarkan rakyat juga berwawasan. Rakyat tidak akan mempunyai pemikiran kelas pertama jika pemimpin belum mempunyainya.

Setiap keputusan yang kontroversi harus cuba dielakkan oleh pemimpin Kerajaan. Keputusan yang tidak telus dan penuh agenda tersirat akan mengundang konspirasi rakyat jelata yang mengikuti setiap isu. Malah lebih buruk kesannya terhadap rakyat yang terlibat secara langsung dengan keputusan tersebut. Fakta dan kebenaran yang jelas dan boleh diterima akal rakyat harus di sampaikan dengan menyeluruh. Senarai dan hebahkan kebaikan dan keburukan satu-satu keputusan yang bakal diambil. Kerajaan untuk rakyat oleh rakyat harus ditadbir dengan adil dan saksama dan rakyat adalah keutamaan dalam segala hal.

Berbalik soal Pelan Pembangunan Johor Selatan yang terbantut buat masa ini, eloklah jika ditangguhkan dahulu agar tidak berlaku pembaziran yang bakal mengundang lebih banyak “gajah Putih” di halaman Johor Selatan ini. Tidak dapat tidak, jambatan baru dan pembebasan Selat Tebrau adalah kunci bagi segala perancangan yang bakal dilaksanakan. Selesaikan dulu isu ini, baru mulakan yang lain-lain. Ketua Menteri Melaka amat berminat dengan dana yang ada ini untuk memajukan Jambatan sebelah mereka ke Dumai Sumatera. Namun Johor bagaimana? Setelah rakyat dijanjikan pelbagai rahmat hasil dari kesetiaan dan paksi kekuatan tunjang kerajaan UMNO pada hari ini, adalah tidak adil jika rahmat yang dibawa kerajaan tergantung-gantung seperti tiada jalan penyelesaian lagi.

Selain merasa maruah diri dipijak-pijak oleh Singapura. Keputusan yang kurang tepat dan tidak memihak kepada hasrat rakyat Johor, amat menyakitkan dan mengguris hati. Rakyat johor yang saban hari melalui sejarah bersama-sama rakyat Singapura, merasa terhina dan sedih akan keputusan mengalah ini. Rakyat Johor yang memiliki semangat keMelayuan yang tinggi di mana rata-rata memiliki semangat perjuangan Dato’ Onn dan meyimpan roh perjuangan UMNO yang tinggi seperti yang ditunjukkan dalam sejarah penentangan Malayan Union dan Peristiwa berdarah 13 Mei, nyata lebih merasai kesan pembatalan yang dikira tidak bermaruah itu.

Keputusan 12 April 2006 menjadi titik hitam kepada sejarah Negara khususnya bagi rakyat Johor. Belum pernah rakyat Johor tercabar sebegini hebat maruah dan kedaulatan Rajanya, selain dari pencerobohan ruang udara yang sering berlaku. Darah pejuang yang mengalir bagai tersingkap hingga ke mata lantaran berputih mata melihat wawasan anak bangsa yang bakal memakmurkan seluruh keturunan mereka hingga akhir zaman, musnah begitu saja sebelum sempat berjuang. Dalam benak batu jemala mereka “ dayus kah aku” membiarkan maruah tercalar begitu sahaja. Cukupkah dengan hanya berdoa dapat mengubati hati yang luka ini.

Walaubagaimanapun terlajak perahu boleh diundur terlajak keputusan malu alah akibatnya. Kerajaan sudah pasti tidak akan mengubah pendirian kerana berubah-ubah pendirian akan memalukan mereka yang membuat keputusan. Ego dan maruah adalah tiang seri segala martabat insan. Tidak kira orang besar atau orang kecil sama sahaja Mereka ada maruah yang perlu dipertahankan. Jika kerajaan merubah keputusan mereka dianggap tidak bermaruah kerana tiada pendirian tetap. Oleh yang demikian Maruah yang sudah tergadai tidak akan boleh dibayar dengan maruah yang bakal tercalar kepada mereka-mereka yang membuat keputusan ini.

Kesudahannya Melayu akan kekal dengan angan-angan Mat Jeninnya, menanti buah yang tak luruh dan mempersabungkan nasib menggadai maruah kampong sendiri demi hasrat yang bukan hak mereka menentukan tetapi Singapura yang menetapkan. Kisah ini boleh diumpamakan seperti Negara Palestin yang tidak berhak ke atas tanah airnya sendiri. (Penjajahan)

Setelah Malaysia merdeka 49 tahun, kenapa titik hitam sejarah lampau harus berulang kembali mencabar kedaulatan agama bangsa dan Negara? Di mana Silapnya?. Jika dikaji sejarah lampau kelumrahan penjajahan berlaku lantaran wujudnya petualang-petualang di kalangan bangsa sendiri yang tidak bermaruah melacurkan kedaulatan dan kemerdekaan sesebuah Negara. Penjajah tidak berupaya menembusi kekuatan sesebuah Negara sebelum kekuatan itu dipecahbelah dan dihuru-harakan oleh petualang-petualang tadi. Moralnya itulah kelaziman yang sering berlaku dalam satu-satu perhubungan yang tidak ikhlas dan penuh dengan agenda tersirat dan kepentingan.

Dalam konteks rakyat Johor, mereka menjadi mangsa keadaan natijah dari kepimpinan negara yang tidak telus dan ikhlas memperjuangkang kedaulatan. Terlalu banyak persoalan dan kepelikkan yang tidak dapat diterima oleh akal waras rakyat Johor. Rakyat mengikuti perkembangan isu dengan fokus dan penuh teliti dan berhati-hati, setelah dibelek, ditelek, satu ketika teruskan, kemudian ditangguhkan dan akhirnya dteruskan semula dan muktamadnya dibatalkan terus dengan pelbagai alasan yang tidak meyakinkan. Alasan pasir dan ruang udara ditolak rakyat Johor maka usul dibatal. Ada juga alasan sebab-sebab komplikasi undang-undang. Ada juga alasan sebab-sebab politik. Ada juga alasan sebab-sebab keselamatan Negara. Ada juga didengar Bapak Yahudi dah beri amaran. Ada juga terdengar-dengar projek tersebut akan beri kredit kepada pemimpin terdahulu dan kroni-kroninya hinggakan pemimpin sekarang melopong tidak dapat apa-apa. Ada juga orang berkata Perundingan pasir sudah sampai peringkat teknikal, bila rakyat Johor menolak, semua agenda dikira batal. Maksudnya ada pelobi yang sudah mencongak untung pasir tiba-tiba tak kesampaian. Atas dasar marah dan dendam, diusahakan agar semua terbatal. Ada juga orang berkata atas alasan Singapura dah menguasai separuh kepentingan Negara dalam GLC dan syarikat antarabangsa yang melabur dalam Negara, Singapura adalah pelabur kedua terbesar selepas Amerika syarikat, maka segala keputusan kerajaan yang melibatkan kepentingan mereka adalah tertakluk kepada kepentingan pelaburan mereka di Negara ini.

Andaian yang lebih dahsyat membabit isu ini adalah perunding yang terlibat telah menerima laba dan kepentingan yang besar untuk 7 keturunan dengan syarat menggagalkan Pelan Pembangunan Johor Selatan ini. Juga yang paling sedih khabar-khabar kemelut pertelagahan Mantan PM dan PM hari ini bersama kroni dan keluarga masing-masing yang melibatkan maruah ego dan kepentingan pada harta duniawi masing-masing. Bermakna percaturan dan pertelagahan Team A dan Team B berulang kembali dalam UMNO sehingga sanggup menjual maruah dan kedaulatan Negara. Ada yang lebih hebat mentafsir ini semua perancangan Menteri Luar dan Menantu PM sendiri yang mungkin menjaga kepentingan mereka dalam kepentingan Singapura.

Segala telahan dan andaian bersarang dalam kepala Rakyat Johor lantaran tidak ada satu input munasabahpun yang datang dari pihak Kerajaan yang mampu meyakinkan rakyat dalam menangani isu Pembangunan Johor selatan. Hingga ke hari ini rakyat semua diarahkan diam dan jangan sesekali mempertikai keputusan kerajaan. Jika benar rakyat disekat dari bersuara dan mendokong prinsip demokrasi demi memartabatkan maruah bangsa (UMNO), maka sebenarnya kita memang telah terjajah dan menjadi sebahagian Singapura. Sebab inilah juga bentuk dan kaedah pemimpin Singapura memimpin Negara mereka. Siapa berani mempertikai keputusan dan dasar kerajaan di singapura. Siapa yang berani lantang bercakap di Singapura. Jika inilah yang terjadi maka amatlah malang dan sedih nasib yang menimpan bangsa Melayu pada hari ini.

Hanya yang membezakan Malaysia dengan Singapura sekarang ini, Malaysia masih ada Raja dan Sultan. Singapura hanya ada Presiden. Kedaulatan Sultan dan Raja adalah tidak boleh disamakan dengan kedaulatan Presiden. Tiada ungkapan rakyat untuk menyatakan ‘Daulat Sir’ sebaliknya ‘Daulat Tuanku’ masih menjadi kata-kata keramat bangsa Melayu yang masih beraja pada hari ini. Rakyat Johor Khususnya harus cekal, setia dan berani mempertahankan ‘Daulat Tuanku’ dari anasir-anasir penjajahan. Sultan dah banyak belajar dari sejarah. Jika dulu Sultan Hussein telah diperdayakan oleh Temenggung Abd Rahman menjualkan Singapura kepada Syarikat British, kini dengan Daulat yang ada bukan hanya Sultan dan Raja yang akan mempertahankan kedaulatan, malah rakyat jelata juga sanggup berkorban mempertahankannya.

Namun kaedah penjajah yang sinonim dan lazim melalui modus operandi “divide & rule” jangan sesekali kita lupa dan leka. Jika kepimpinan yang memegang kuasa sudah berpecah menjadi team A & B, maka senanglah mereka menjajah. Kita harus sedar dan insaf adakah team A & B itu juga agenda dari mereka? Adalah malang jika kita tidak menyedari lagi. Seperti lumrah mereka akan menaja pelobi atau proksi mereka dalam Negara untuk melaksanakan proses memecahbelah ini. Siapakah mereka ini? Sudah tentu pemimpin yang sanggup berkongsi rahmat dengan musuh untuk kepentingan sendiri. Hati mereka sudah kelabu, mata mereka sudah tak nampak kebenaran dalam perjuangan. Yang nampak musuh jadi kawan dan kawan menjadi musuh. Itulah sifat-sifat Melayu Unggul yang lahir dari pemikiran kelas pertama yang bercita-cita tinggi melangit untuk menakluk dunia. Tanpa mereka sedari minda dan jiwa mereka sebenarnya telah pun ditawan di awal-awal perjuangan. Jika ada sepuluh anak muda yang bercita-cita begini, sudah cukup untuk menghancurkan dan memusnahkan sebuah tamadun bangsa yang berlandaskan Islam Hadhari ini.

Sebagai rakyat kerajaan harus memperjelas sejelas-jelasnya perihal isu sebelum meletak titik noktah pada sesuatu keputusan. Jangan biarkan segala perasangka buruk yang berlegar dalam kepala rakyat terus menghantui mereka terhadap pemimpin.Pemimpin kena perjelaskan tanpa ada agenda tersirat. Telus biar mulus. Kekuatan kerajaan pada rakyat. Kerajaan tidak boleh mengubah rakyat, sebaliknya rata-rata seluruh dunia rakyat yang mengubah kerajaan.

Sekian.

Scenic Bridge: Tun Mahathir's Response To GOV Statement

2006-05-05T12:37:00.000+08:00

Comments:
Pak Lah using all sorts of resorts, the last victim being TS Fuzi to do his dirty work.

Posted on Thursday, April 27 @ 21:53:10 MYT
Topic: editor

YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s response to the statement by Ambassador-at-large Tan Sri Fuzi Abdul Razak

1. Tan Sri Fuzi’s rambling explanation about the Bridge over the Tebrau Straits on April 25, 2006, serves only to convince that the Government’s priority and intention is to sell sand to Singapore. If it is not allowed to do so then Malaysia will not get its bridge. The reasoning why the bridge cannot be built comes later and it was not convincing at all.

2. The Tan Sri, as a seasoned diplomat must know that treaties or agreements solemnly entered into by two countries, as are agreements between two parties can only be modified, changed or added to if both sides agree. If there is a dispute regarding the provision or interpretation of the agreement, then there should be arbitration or reference to courts. This is a part of International Law.

3. The provisions of the Wayleave Agreements are precise and clear. There is no specific provision for consulting and obtaining the necessary approval of Singapore for the relocation of the PUB water pipelines.

4. In case the Tan Sri has not read the Wayleave Agreement, I quote below the relevant paragraph;

“That the Licensee (i.e. Singapore) shall take full responsibility financially or otherwise for any alteration to the pipeline that may become necessary by reason of any alteration or improvements made or to be made on the Johore Causeway and on receiving not less than six months previous notice in writing from the licensors (i.e. Malaysia) shall thereupon carry out the alteration in accordance with such notice and shall have no claim for any compensation.”

5. The provision is specific for the causeway. Singapore can claim it does not apply to pipes laid on land, (although the normal practice is to regard Wayleave Agreements to apply all the way) but it cannot claim that the Agreement does not apply to the Causeway. There can therefore be no reason for not complying with the Wayleave Agreement with regard to the causeway.

6. In fact there had been many alterations to the causeway and pipelines in the past without any objection by Singapore or Malaysia.

7. Because Singapore was unwilling to make a decision on building its side of the bridge to replace its side of the causeway, I informed Singapore that Malaysia intended to build a bridge on its side to land on a part of the causeway also on its side. The Singapore side of the causeway will not be touched. The connection will continue to be between the retained portion of the Johore Causeway and the Singapore half of the causeway.

8. The Singapore PM, Goh Chok Tong in his letter to me clearly stated that “ …… if you wish to proceed immediately to replace just your side of the Causeway with a bridge, I shall accept it, though I think this is not ideal.”

9. There was no condition attached to this acceptance, no mention of sand or airspace.

10. Although the exchange was in the form of letters, it was clear and recorded in writing that I proposed to build a bridge on the Malaysian side and the Singapore PM accepted it. Thus a unilateral decision became bilateral when Singapore acceded and accepted. Any change must similarly be agreed to by both sides.

11. For Singapore to add conditions more than two years later for the supply or 50 million cubic meters of sand for 20 years and to allow the Singapore Air Force to fly in Malaysian Air Space would constitute unilateral change. Malaysia can reject the new condition and insist on Singapore honouring the agreement between the two Prime Ministers.

12. It is the Malaysian Government, which tacitly agreed to the Singapore unilateral condition when it decided that it would not build the bridge because it is not in a position to supply sand or open its airspace because of opposition by Malaysians.

13. The proper thing to do if the Government wants to build the bridge would be to seek arbitration or refer to a court if Malaysia is uncertain as to the right of Singapore to impose new conditions unilaterally. Actually there is no need to doubt Malaysian rights in its own territorial waters. But the Government of Malaysia did not do its best to reject the condition. It gave in supposedly because the Malaysian legal authorities believe Singapore is in the right. It would be interesting to read the grounds for the A.G. to conclude that Singapore has what amounts to extra territorial rights and Malaysia has no sovereign right within its own territorial waters.

14. Talks about the possibility of Singapore refusing to allow the bridge to connect with the Singapore half of the causeway is sheer nonsense. The Malaysian bridge will land on the Malaysian portion of the causeway. The only way Singapore can prevent traffic from the bridge from passing through from the Malaysian portion of the Causeway into the Singapore half is to put a barrier across the causeway border. This would certainly constitute an unfriendly act. It would be Singapore cutting its nose to spite its face. The damage to Singapore businesses would be at least as bad as that which Malaysia may suffer. But in reality Singapore needs Malaysia more than Malaysian needs Singapore. We have our ports and airports to replace Singapore ports, airports and other services.

15. All in all it is clear that the Malaysian Government is more interested in selling sand to Singapore than to build the bridge. This keenness to sell sand is strange for Malaysia does not need the proceeds from sale of sand. Despite my alleged profligate ways when I was PM Malaysia is not so bankrupt that it has to depend on selling sand.

16. That any Malaysian leader should not shudder in horror at the idea of scraping ONE BILLION SQ. METERS from Malaysian sea-beds continuously over a period of 20 years, thereby destroying all the fish breeding grounds of Malaysian seas, depriving Malaysian fishermen of their livelihood, destroying Malaysia’s marine ecology defies the imagination. That there should be any Malaysian leader willing to entertain this idea, to destroy Malaysian seas to satisfy Singapore speaks badly of his love for his country.

Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad

Antara Pinochet dan Mahathir

2006-05-03T14:13:00.000+08:00

by Ronin Cyber
Nov 25, 04 1:41pm

Apabila jet eksekutif kerajaan yang membawa Pak Lah mendarat di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Arturo Merino, Chile untuk persidangan Apec baru-baru ini, beliau mendapati dirinya bagai berada di sebuah negara yang seolah-olah yang sudah begitu lama dikenalinya.

Seperti tanah kelahirannya, Chile dan Malaysia berkongsi sejarah yang hampir serupa. Pada suatu ketika dahulu, kedua-dua negara ini pernah dijajah oleh kuasa asing dari negara Latin. Penjajah Chile adalah Sepanyol manakala bangsa yang menjajah Malaysia adalah Portugal.

Kedua-dua kuasa penjajah ini mempunyai bahasa, kebudayaan dan agama yang hampir serupa. Jika beliau meluangkan masa untuk bersiar-siar di kota Santiago, pasti beliau merasakan suasana yang hampir serupa dengan keadaannya di Melaka.

Bangunannya mempunyai unsur-unsur senibina yang hampir serupa dengan bangunan di negeri kelahiran Hang Tuah itu.

Malaysia dan Chile juga berkongsi sejarah moden yang hampir sama. Sejarah moden kedua-dua negara ini didominasi dan diwarnai oleh tokoh yang memerintah untuk tempoh yang begitu lama. Di Chile, tokohnya adalah Augusto Pinochet. Jeneral Pinochet adalah anak seorang pegawai kastam yang merampas kuasa daripada kerajaan berhaluan kiri pimpinan Presiden Allerde pada awal 70-an.

Manakala di Malaysia pula, tokohnya adalah Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Mahathir adalah anak seorang guru besar. Beliau bukanlah seorang jeneral tetapi merupakan seorang doktor di Klinik Maha. Tetapi namanya, apabila diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa Sanskrit, membawa maksud seorang pahlawan yang gagah perkasa.

Barangkali persamaan yang paling rapat ialah tempoh pemerintahan mereka. Pinochet memerintah selama 17 tahun. Mahathir pula selama 22 tahun. Kedua-duanya membawa perubahan yang amat besar kepada negara mereka. Pinochet melihat dirinya sebagai seorang 'patriot', kerana telah menghapuskan unsur-unsur komunis di negaranya.

Begitu juga Mahathir. Beliau telah menumpaskan komunis tanpa senjata. Komunis menyerah diri di Haadyai pada 1989 melalui satu perjanjian damai. Begitulah hebatnya kedua-dua negarawan ini.

Tetapi jasa terbesar yang mereka sumbangkan kepada negara adalah dari segi ekonominya. Di bawah Pinochet, ekonomi Chile adalah yang paling mampan di benua Amerika Selatan.

Dengan bantuan penasihat-penasihat pribumi yang dilatih di Universiti Chicago atau lebih dikenali sebagai 'the Chicago Boys', beliau melaksanakan satu reformasi ekonomi yang tidak pernah dilihat di benua Amerika Latin itu.

Gaji minimum dihapuskan, kesatuan pekerja diharamkan, syarikat kerajaan diswastakan, pelaburan asing digalakkan dan matawang negara ditambat.

Hasilnya ialah apa yang digelar oleh tokoh ekonomi terkemuka serta pemenang Hadiah Nobel, Milton Friedman, sebagai 'The Miracle of Chile' atau Keajaiban Chile. Pendapatan per kapita rakyat meningkat 94 peratus antara 1980 hingga 2000.

Kentalnya ekonomi Chile terbukti apabila ia langsung tidak dilanda krisis hutang dan matawang sepertimana yang dialami oleh negara Amerika Latin lain seperti Argentina, Mexico dan Brazil pada dekad 80-an dan 90-an. Chile langsung tidak memerlukan bantuan IMF seperti jirannya yang lain.

Begitu juga Malaysia. Cara Mahathir mengtranformasi ekonomi Malaysia juga hampir serupa dengan cara Pinochet. Di bawah Mahathir, penswastaan diperkasakan. Kesatuan pekerja dalam industri sensitif diharamkan. Pelaburan asing digalakkan. Hasilnya juga hampir serupa seperti apa yang dicapai di Chile.

Ekonomi berkembang. Perdagangan meningkat. Pengangguran berkurang. Inflasi rendah. Kekayaan bertambah. Malaysia pula digelar oleh Bank Dunia sebagai salah satu keajaiban di Asia. Dan apabila taufan krisis matawang melanda Asia Tenggara pada hujung dekad 90-an sehingga mengakibatkan Indonesia, Thailand dan Korea Selatan melutut kepada IMF, Malaysia seolah-olah kebal dari mengambil preskripsi yang hampir serupa.

Jalan keluar Malaysia adalah mudah. Ambil sahaja preskripsi Pinochet dengan menambat matawang. Atau dalam bahasa Inggerisnya, 'Malaysia's solution was Pinochet's prescription'. Itulah jasa Mahathir yang paling besar, kata Nor Mohd Yakcop, Menteri Kewangan Kedua negara dalam tulisannya di akhbar The Edge tahun lepas.

Kini kedua-dua tokoh ini sudah tiada di persada politik nasional. Kini kedua-duanya sudah bersara. Pinochet pada usia 84 tahun masih bertarung dengan Mahkamah Agung negaranya yang begitu berkeinginan untuk mendakwanya atas jenayah pelanggaran hak asasi manusia.

Mahathir pula menghabiskan masa persaraannya berceramah di pelbagai forum antarabangsa di seluruh pelosok dunia walaupun pada masa yang sama, pelbagai NGO dan golongan pembangkang di dalam dan di luar negara mengecamnya kerana merobak pelbagai institusi kerajaan dan mengekalkan pelbagai akta drakonian tinggalan penjajah seperti ISA dan OSA.

Barangkali itulah titik nokhtah persamaaan Malaysia-Chile dan Mahathir-Pinochet. Masyarakat Malaysia masih tebal dengan nilai Asianya. Mereka masih berpegang teguh dengan akar budaya. Tidak mungkin jasa selama 22 tahun ditongsampahkan begitu sahaja. Bak kata pepatah 'budi yang baik dikenang juga.'

Masyarakat Malaysia memang tidak mudah lupa. Mahathir merupakan tokoh politik yang licik. Di sebalik persaraannya, beliau masih dilihat sebagai seorang yang berkuasa. Dan mungkin benar apa yang tertulis di bait-bait pantun di bawah ini bahawa manusia yang bernama Mahathir memang bermaksud seorang pahlawan yang gagah perkasa.

Bunga Kamunting di luar pagar,
Kembang mewangi semerbak sunyi,
Dengan helah pencak pendekar,
Takkan tergugat pahlawan sejati.

Malaysia a 'half-past-six country with no guts' if ...

2006-05-02T21:42:00.000+08:00

Dr.M rightly reflects the current unhappiness of Malaysians on the current govt decision on the bridge, as well as many other stupid decisions not for the good of Malaysia. Pak Lah & his what seemed like blurred "advisors" must listen to the grass root. The 9/10 majority given to the ruling govt is much the nation's gift for the PREVIOUS govt good track record. Pak Lah et al has yet to proof any back bone when it comes to protecting the maruah of Malaysia and this nation.

Respect of the ppl has to be earned and Tun Mahathir has much earned our respect when it comes to standing by the country and making hard decision for the good and maruah of Malaysia. I have yet to see any good deeds done by this current "leadership" ): Infact it has managed to unruffled some of the good deeds done by the previous leader and losing precious momentum!

From NST

Dr Mahathir: Malaysia a 'half-past-six country with no guts' if ...
02 May 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
PUTRAJAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad returned from a two-week holiday in
London yesterday as defiant as ever, refusing to cease disputing the
Government's decision to scrap the Johor Strait bridge project.

He said as a citizen, he had a right to do so if the country's
sovereignty was surrendered.

"If you surrender your sovereignty to Singapore ... I think this is a
half-past-six country which has no guts," the former prime minister
told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on his
return.

"I promised not to interfere in politics and I have not said anything
about many things done which were wrong.

"But this is the limit - to surrender your sovereignty to Singapore
as
if you are scared of them.

"This does not speak well of your self-respect."

Asked to what extent he would pursue the matter, Dr Mahathir said:

"I cannot go to war ... I have no power."

He dismissed talk that Umno members were worried that his conflict
with the present administration over the bridge issue would disunite
Umno.

The bridge issue, he said, had nothing to do with disunity and was
about self-respect.

Asked why he had not given his recent open letter to Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi instead of distributing it to Umno
members, Dr Mahathir said:

"I did not write the letter to him. What for? Even if I talk to you
(the media), it won't see the light of day in the papers.

"Even if I were to give it to you to publish, you will not do it.

"Even if you do, Kalimullah will chop it," he said, referring to New
Straits Times Press deputy chairman and editorial adviser Datuk
Kalimullah Hassan.

However, Dr Mahathir described his relationship with Abdullah as "very
fine and very good".

"I am unhappy only when you kowtow. This is our country, yet we have
to seek permission from another country to build a bridge on our side.
Where is the sovereignty?"

Crooked bridge: Mahathir hits back

2006-04-29T01:10:00.000+08:00

Apr 27, 06 9:02pm

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has fired yet another salvo in the on-going war of words over the government's decision to abandon the half-bridge project across the Causeway to Singapore.

This time he launched a broadside against ambassador-at-large Fuzi Abdul Razak - the man picked by the government to be its spokesperson on the bridge issue - dismissing the diplomat's 17-page explanation as "rambling".

"Fuzi's rambling explanation about the bridge over the Tebrau Straits on April 25, 2006, serves only to convince that the government's priority and intention is to sell sand to Singapore," said Mahathir in a 16-point statement sent to Bernama.

According to Mahathir, the government was arguing that the bridge would not be built if it was not allowed to sell sand to Singapore - a demand from the city-state in return for the bridge.

"The reasoning why the bridge cannot be built comes later and it was not convincing at all."

He then went on to attack a particular Malaysian leader without mentioning his name.

"All in all it is clear that the Malaysian government is more interested in selling sand to Singapore than to build the bridge. This keenness to sell sand is strange for Malaysia does not need the proceeds from sale of sand. Despite my alleged profligate ways when I was PM, Malaysia is not so bankrupt that it has to depend on selling sand.

"That any Malaysian leader should not shudder in horror at the idea of scraping one billion square metres from Malaysian seabeds continuously over a period of 20 years, thereby destroying all the fish breeding grounds of Malaysian seas, depriving Malaysian fishermen of their livelihood, destroying Malaysia's marine ecology defies the imagination.

"That there should be any Malaysian leader willing to entertain this idea, to destroy Malaysian seas to satisfy Singapore speaks badly of his love for his country."

'Sheer nonsense'

Mahathir said that talks about the possibility of Singapore refusing to allow the half-bridge to connect with the Singapore half of the causeway is "sheer nonsense".

"The Malaysian bridge will land on the Malaysian portion of the causeway. The only way Singapore can prevent traffic from the bridge from passing through from the Malaysian portion of the Causeway into the Singapore half is to put a barrier across the causeway border.

"This would certainly constitute an unfriendly act. It would be Singapore cutting its nose to spite its face. The damage to Singapore businesses would be at least as bad as that which Malaysia may suffer. But in reality Singapore needs Malaysia more than Malaysian needs Singapore. We have our ports and airports to replace Singapore ports, airports and other services."

Mahathir said that after Singapore was unwilling to make a decision on building its side of the bridge to replace its side of the causeway, he informed Singapore that Malaysia intended to proceed with a half-bridge.

"The Singapore PM, Goh Chok Tong in his letter to me clearly stated that '... if you wish to proceed immediately to replace just your side of the Causeway with a bridge, I shall accept it, though I think this is not ideal.'

"There was no condition attached to this acceptance, no mention of sand or airspace."
Mahathir said that although the exchange was in the form of letters, it was "clear and recorded" that the Singapore PM had grudgingly accepted the half-bridge proposal.

"Thus a unilateral decision became bilateral when Singapore acceded and accepted. Any change must similarly be agreed to by both sides.

"For Singapore to add conditions more than two years later for the supply or 50 million cubic meters of sand for 20 years and to allow the Singapore Air Force to fly in Malaysian air space would constitute unilateral change. Malaysia can reject the new condition and insist on Singapore honouring the agreement between the two prime ministers."

Govt fails to do its best.

He accused the Malaysian government for tacitly agreeding to Singapore's unilateral condition when it decided that it would not build the bridge because it is not in a position to supply sand or open its airspace because of opposition by Malaysians.

"The proper thing to do if the government wants to build the bridge would be to seek arbitration or refer to a court if Malaysia is uncertain as to the right of Singapore to impose new conditions unilaterally.

"Actually there is no need to doubt Malaysian rights in its own territorial waters. But the government of Malaysia did not do its best to reject the condition. It gave in supposedly because the Malaysian legal authorities believe Singapore is in the right.

"It would be interesting to read the grounds for the attorney-general to conclude that Singapore has what amounts to extra-territorial rights and Malaysia has no sovereign right within its own territorial waters."

The Bridge - coming to a theatre near you

2006-04-26T17:13:00.000+08:00

Open Letter by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

Fakta Mengenai Jambatan Bengkok

Saya menulis surat terbuka ini sebagai seorang rakyat Malaysia yang cintakan negara untuk sesiapa saja yang ingin membacanya.

Fakta-fakta yang terkandung dalam surat ini perlu saya hebahkan dengan cara ini kerana pada akhir-akhir ini tidak banyak lagi kenyataan saya yang disiarkan, sama ada oleh media massa elektronik atau cetak, walaupun mereka menghantar wakil untuk menghadiri sidang akhbar saya.

Mengenai isu di atas, saya telah menyatakan pandangan saya iaitu Kerajaan Malaysia telah gagal mempertahankan kedaulatan negara. Akibat daripada itu negara mengalami kerugian berbilion ringgit. Wang ini adalah wang rakyat.

Saya juga mahu rakyat faham sikap dan tindak-tanduk Kerajaan Singapura serta dakwaan Kerajaan Malaysia yang ia memberhentikan pembinaan jambatan itu kerana isu undang-undang dan kerana sentimen rakyat yang tidak sanggup menyerahkan ruang udara serta penjualan pasir kepada Singapura, dan ini disalahertikan secara sengaja bahawa rakyat tidak mahu jambatan. Rakyat mahu jambatan tetapi menolak syarat Singapura, kerana ia tidak berasas dan bukan hak Singapura.

Singapura sangat gemar mencetak surat-menyurat antara pemimpinnya dengan pemimpin Malaysia dengan tujuan membuktikan yang ia di pihak yang benar.

Kerajaan Malaysia sekarang percaya bahawa dengan tidak menyanggah kempen memutarbelitkan oleh Singapura, masalah yang dihadapi akan selesai dengan sendirinya. Tetapi ini angan-angan yang tidak akan jadi kenyataan.

Di dalam amalan diplomatik, surat-surat yang ditulis oleh suatu pihak dengan memetik persetujuan-persetujuan lisan yang kononnya dicapai di dalam rundingan tidak rasmi di kalangan pemimpin, adalah tidak sah.

Untuk menjadikan ianya sah, rundingan hendaklah dicatat dan dirakam dengan sempurna, disahkan dan ditandatangani oleh kedua-dua belah pihak. Kenyataan yang dibuat di dalam sidang akhbar oleh salah satu pihak tanpa pengesahan pihak satu lagi juga adalah tidak sah.

Encik Lee Kuan Yew, ketika dia menjadi Menteri Kanan Singapura, sangat gemar meminta diadakan pertemuan empat mata tanpa agenda yang sempurna dan kemudian merakamkan hasil pertemuan itu di dalam suratnya sendiri kepada pihak ketiga. ( Sila lihat Apendiks 1 )

Berdasarkan surat-surat itu juga, dia harap rakan sejawatnya akan menyetujui kandungannya dan oleh yang demikian terikat dengan kandungan surat-surat itu. Dia tidak mengambil kira jika catatannya tidak dianggap tepat dan tidak disahkan.

Saya menganggap apa-apa pun yang tidak menepati amalan diplomatik sebagai tidak sah. Tanggapan beliau adalah tanggapan beliau sahaja, tidak Iebih dan tidak kurang. Tindakannya mencetak surat-suratnya sebagai bukti bahawa saya telah bersetuju tidak bermakna sama sekali. Hanya jika saya membalas surat itu dan mengesahkan perkara-perkara tertentu, barulah perkara-perkara berkenaan boleh dianggap benar. Tetapi sama ada ia sah dan kita terikat dengannya, bergantung pada pengesahan dan persetujuan kedua-dua belah pihak, secara rasmi.

Berdolak-dalik mengenai apa yang disebut "pakej" dan ketidakmampuan mencapai sebarang persetujuan adalah kerana kelulusan yang berasaskan "pakej" tidak praktikal. Jika persetujuan tidak boleh dicapai mengenai mana-mana satu perkara maka persetujuan tidak boleh dicapai bagi semua perkara dalam pakej itu.

Atas sebab inilah yang saya mencadangkan dan Encik Goh Chok Tong bersetuju iaitu kita menyelesaikan perkara demi perkara secara berasingan. Ini siperakukan dan diterima oleh Encik Goh Chok Tong selaku Perdana Menteri melalui surat bertarikh Oktober 14 2002 (sila lihat Apendiks 2) yang antara lain menyebut;

"Pada penghujung pertemuan (di Hanoi) anda berkata kita perlu mencuba menyelesaikan isu air, lagi cepat lagi baik. Saya bersetuju...."

Tetapi di dalam surat yang sama, Encik Goh Chok Tong berkata;

"Oleh yang demikian, saya tidak menjangka menerima surat anda bertarikh 7hb Oktober pada l0hb Oktober di mana anda menyatakan "Malaysia telah memutuskan untuk tidak meneruskan pendekatan pakejâ€¦â€¦"

JAMBATAN

Setelah menolak pendekatan pakej, saya membuat jangkaan yang isu pembinaan jambatan tidak akan dikaitkan dengan sebarang isu lain. Saya menaruh harapan yang sangat tinggi apabila isu pembinaan jambatan disebutkan di dalam surat-surat Menteri Kanan Lee Kuan Yew dan Perdana Menteri Goh Chok Tong.

Dalam sepucuk surat (sila rujuk Apendiks I perenggan 6) kepada Tun Daim Zainuddin, Lee berkata;

"Mengenai cadangan Mahathir membina Jambatan Tambak, Perdana Menteri saya (Goh) bersetuju dengannya tetapi mencadangkan agar kita tidak merobohkan Tambak Johor."

Nampaknya rakyat Singapura lebih menyetujui jika kedua-dua jambatan baru dan Tambak Johor ada. Ini tentulah tidak masuk akal kerana cadangan pembinaan jambatan baru adalah bertujuan membuka laluan di antara kedua-dua belah di Selat Tebrau supaya air boleh mengalir tanpa sekatan. Ia bukan bertujuan menambah kapasiti hubungan antara Singapura dan Johor. Jika ini berlaku, ia hanyalah satu kebetulan.

Satu lagi hujah menarik Encik Lee ialah (sekiranya Singapura bersetuju dengan pembinaan jambatan itu);

"Singapura akan menambak laut di sebelah wilayahnya hingga ke sempadan dengan Malaysia." (rujuk Apendiks 3, surat Menteri Kanan Lee kepada Dr Mahathir bertarikh Sept 8, 2001)

Sempadan antara Singapura dan Malaysia di Selat Tebrau adalah dasar laut yang paling dalam. Bagaimanapun, bagi Tambak Johor sempadannya adalah di tengah-tengah jambatan. Jika Singapura menambak laut di sebelah wilayahnya sehingga ke sempadan, ia bererti hanya laut di sebelah Malaysia akan kekal. Jadi apa halnya dengan konsep sempadan berasaskan dasar laut paling dalam? Dalam surat yang sama kepada Daim (rujuk Apendiks I perenggan 12) , Menteri Kanan Lee berkata;

"Saya sentiasa memaklumkan inisiatif saya kepada Perdana Menteri saya. Dia (Perdana Menteri Goh) bagaimanapun, berkata dia menyerahkan hal ini kepada saya sehingga peringkat akhir apabila dia akan mengkajinya dengan teliti sebelum memberi sebarang persetujuan."

Menteri Kanan Lee juga menulis ( Apendiks 1, perenggan 12) ; "semua nota atau surat yang saya hantar kepada anda dan kepada Mahathir dan sebaliknya perlulah dianggap sebagai Tanpa Prejudis (Without Prejudice) iaitu tidak akan ada sebarang perjanjian sehingga semua perkara dipersetujui dan ditandatangani oleh kedua-dua Perdana Menteri."

Jelas bahawa Menteri Kanan Lee tidak diberi kuasa untuk memutuskan apa-apa kerana beliau perlu memaklumkannya kepada Perdana Menteri Goh untuk dikaji sebelum dipersetujui. Jika tidak, maka tidak akan ada sebarang persetujuan mengenai semua perkara sehinggalah diperakui dan ditandatangani oleh kedua-dua Perdana Menteri.

Dalam jawapan kepada cadangan saya agar terminal Keretapi Tanah Melayu dibina di Johor Baru, Menteri Kanan Lee, melalui surat bertarikh 10 Disember 2001 (sila rujuk Apendiks 4 , perenggan 10), berkata;

"Saya harap anda juga akan menimbangkan kepentingan jangka panjang dan nilai perkhidmatan KTM. Sejak tahun 1923 kereta api merupakan perhubungan yang sangat berharga â€¦â€¦.. Saya rasa mengekalkan hubungan kereta api antara Kuala Lumpur dan Singapura menguntungkan kedua-dua buah Negaraâ€¦â€¦... Bagaimanapun, oleh sebab KTM milik negara anda, Singapura akan mematuhi keputusan anda".

Dalam surat ini, Menteri Kanan Lee berikrar mematuhi keputusan saya. Namun beliau boleh juga berkata Perdana Menteri Goh tidak bersetuju dan segala surat-menyurat kami adalah tanpa prejudis.

Namun begitu, apabila beliau atau Perdana Menteri Goh Chok Tong dan saya sendiri menurunkan pandangan-pandangan kami dalam bentuk tulisan, ia menggambarkan apa yang kami fikirkan. Tetapi oleh sebab ia dilakukan tanpa prejudis, kami tidak terikat dengan apa yang kami katakan.

Justeru itu, tidak timbul persoalan berdolak-dalik atau memindahkan tiang gol. Kedudukan tiang gol belum diputuskan. OIeh sebab apa yang dilakukan itu berasaskan konsep tanpa prejudis, maka ia tidak Iebih daripada cadangan sahaja.

Dalam surat bertarikh 11 April 2002 (rujuk Apendiks 5) Perdana Menteri Goh menyebut;
"Saya sekarang memutuskan untuk mengendalikan sendiri perbincangan kita mengenai pakej dua hala."
Sekarang barulah seorang yang berkuasa bercakap (bagi pihak Singapura).

Di dalam apa yang boleh dianggap sebagai komitmen mutakhir, Perdana Menteri Goh menulis (kepada saya):

1. Bridge

"Di antara sebuah jambatan baru bagi menggantikan keseluruhan Tambak, dan yang menggantikan hanya bahagian di sebelah Malaysia, saya lebih suka kepada pilihan pertama."

"Sebaik sahaja jambatan baru siap, Tambak bolehlah dirobohkan, yang mana saya gembira jika dilakukan selepas tahun 2007." "Tetapi sekiranya anda mahu menggantikan Tambak di sebelah negara anda dengan sebuah jambatan dengan serta-merta, saya akan menyetujuinya, walaupun pada pendapat saya ini tidaklah ideal."

Apakah kesimpulan yang boleh kita buat kepada kenyataan ini? Tidak pun disebut mengenai pasir dari Malaysia dan pembukaan ruang udara kepada kapal terbang tentera Singapura. Juga tidak disebutkan tentang nostalgia, hanya keutamaan supaya Tambak dirobohkan selepas tahun 2007.

Sekarang dihujahkan pula bahawa jika Malaysia sentuh paip yang membawa air ke Singapura, ia adalah tindakan perang (act of war). Adakah ini perisytiharan perang?

Peruntukan "Wayleave Agreement" dengan Singapura cukup jelas. Berikut adalah apa yang dipersetujui mengenai paip air;

"That the Licensee (Singapore) shall take full responsibility financially or otherwise for any alteration to the pipeline that may become necessary by reason of any alterations or improvements made or to be made on the Johor Causeway and on receiving not less than six months previous notice in writing from the Licensors (Malaysia) shall thereupon carry out the alteration in accordance with such notice and shall have no claim for any compensation."

["Bahawa Pemegang Lesen (Singapura) akan mengambil sepenuh tanggungjawab kewangan atau sebaliknya bagi sebarang pindaan kepada saluran paip apabila ia diperlukan untuk sebarang pengubahsuaian atau pembaikan atau yang diperlukan di Tambak sebelah negeri Johor dan apabila menerima notis bertulis enam bulan sebelumnya daripada Pelesen (Malaysia) akan melakukan pengubahsuaian itu seperti yang disebutkan di dalam notis tanpa sebarang tuntutan ganti rugi."]

Perjanjian itu tidak menyebut mengenai hak Pemegang Lesen (Singapura) mengingkarinya. Peruntukan "akan melaksanakan pengubahsuaian" (Shall carry out the alteration) sangat jelas dan kuat. Singapura wajib melaksanakan pengubahsuaian itu. Tetapi jika Singapura ingkar, ia mungkin merupakan tindakan perang dan bukan sebaliknya.

Apabila kerja awal pembinaan jambatan dimulakan tidak ada protes dan tidak ada permintaan membeli pasir atau menggunakan ruang udara kita. Sekarang pembinaan jambatan di sebelah wilayah kita pun nampaknya tertakluk kepada syarat kita membekalkan berjuta meter padu pasir kepada Singapura untuk menambak laut dan membuka ruang udara kita kepada jet tentera udaranya. Daripada mana datang semua syarat ini? Apakah kaitan antara perluasan wilayah Singapura dengan kita membina jambatan di dalam wilayah kita sendiri?

Tindak-tanduk Singapura mengaitkan pembinaan jambatan di wilayah kita dengan tuntutan kita menjual pasir dan membuka ruang udara kepadanya tidak berasas sama sekali.

Mengapa Kerajaan Malaysia perlu bersetuju memberi pasir dan membuka ruang udara kepada Singapura, jika tidak terpaksa memberhentikan pembinaan jambatan bengkok di wilayah kita sendiri adalah di luar kemampuan saya memahaminya.

Adalah hak rakyat Malaysia tidak menjual pasir kepada Singapura atau membuka ruang udara kepadanya. Tetapi rakyat tidak pernah mengatakan yang mereka bersedia mengorbankan projek jambatan. Yang mereka tidak mahu adalah mengalah kepada tuntutan Singapura supaya kita menjual pasir dan membuka ruang udara. Mereka mahukan jambatan tetapi mereka juga mahu Kerajaan mereka menyanggah tuntutan Singapura kerana di segi undang-undang Malaysia tidak perlu melayan syarat-syarat Singapura.

Tindak-tanduk Singapura ini telah dijangkakan. Tetapi Kerajaan Malaysia gagal mempertahankan kedaulatan negara. Di samping itu, ia telah menyebabkan kerugian berbilion ringgit wang rakyat jelata.

Biarlah rakyat Malaysia, khasnya orang Melayu, Melayu Johor terutamanya, ingat bahawa lnggeris telah menipu Sultan untuk menyerahkan Singapura dengan percuma kepada mereka (Inggeris).

Seperti Pulau Pinang, Lumut dan Melaka, Singapura sepatutnya dikembalikan kepada kita apabila lnggeris melepaskan hak mereka. Tetapi Singapura telah menjadi begitu asing keadaannya sehingga ia tidak boleh lagi menjadi sebahagian daripada Malaysia.

Apakah Malaysia sekarang akan memberi lebih banyak tanah kepada Singapura supaya ia boleh memperluaskan wilayahnya dan menambah bilangan penduduknya? Menyerahkan dasar laut kita kepada Singapura tidak ada bezanya dengan memberikan bumi kita kepada Singapura. Kesudahannya ialah perluasan wilayah Singapura. Ia tidak ada bezanya dengan menyerahkan sebahagian daripada Johor untuk tujuan ini. Apakah kita begitu miskin sehingga kita perlu menjual sekeping bumi kita kepada orang lain?

Generasi rakyat Malaysia yang akan datang, sama ada Melayu atau Johor, akan menyumpah kita jika kita melakukan semua ini sedangkan kita berhak membina jambatan di atas bumi dan laut kita sendiri sebagai sebuah negara yang merdeka dan berdaulat.

Cukuplah kita menyerahkan Singapura (kepada Inggeris). Tidak perlulah kita menyerahkan lagi tanah kita kepada Singapura walaupun ada orang yang berpendapat kita hanya boleh membina jambatan di negara kita jika Singapura bersetuju.

Rakyat Malaysia tidak pernah mengatakan demikian. Janganlah ada sesiapa yang menyumbat hujah ke dalam mulut mereka semata-mata kerana orang itu takut untuk mempertahankan hak dan kedaulatan negara serta rakyat Malaysia.

Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad
19hb April, 2006

THE One

2006-04-25T23:41:00.000+08:00

So I finally decided on THE one for me. The X60s :)

It took me almost two months of deliberation and on off readings and headaches until I shortlisted my candidates to two, the T60 at 2.38Kg vs the X60s at 1.57Kg. I got sidetracked for a day or two by Din the vendor guy I met at KL PC Fair to take a look at Lenovo 3000 N100 (obviously HIS dream machine :)- coz he is also the vendor for the X60s and T60). But after touching the humongous thing at 15.4" widescreen decided to run away as fast as I can from it eventhough the specs are pretty darn tempting.. coz err..I find it a bit tacky and cheap-looking and not as nicely textured compared to the ThinkPad (OK I am quite a snob when it comes to certain thing!)

After two sleepless nites and bothering a couple of folks via sms and phone :), including at the last minute managed to drag my biased-against-IBM bro Ajak to Low Yatt who just came back from wherever-he-just-came-from (I can never keep track where he fly in from any given time coz he is forever measuring some ocean somewhere in the world as a hydrogeological surveyor), decided LIGHT, THIN and BLACK is what suits lazy lazy moi.. [OK so I also like the latest Intel duo core processor, Intel Centrino duo mobile, 1.66GHz, wireless a/b/g, windows XP Pro, bluetooth, 3 USB ports, the 7-8 hours battery life esp, bla..bla..not to forget the sleek & small all leather case:)] BUT most importantly if everytime I had to lug my co notebook I felt like checking in the darn thing... it will be wise for me to get the lightest pretty little mobile to OWN and carry around with me, to have coffee with at Coffee Bean and to blog or write my impeding best-sellers on some flights and train journeys :)

The X60s LACK of optical drive/touchpad turned me off for some time (veering me towards the T60 - if Sony and other minute laptops can incorporate this feature, I don't understand why Lenovo refuses to incorporate it on the X60s!), but the sensual keypads and its lightness and battery life somehow have a stronghold on me and finally tipped the balance, esp when I read I can buy the X6 docking base which has an optical drive and whatever it is lacking - for use at home.

Even today, just before I order the X60s via phone, my supernice IT guy still trying very hard to convince me to defer for a day and to sway me to look at the fashionable Sony SZ series (in its multitude of spiffy color), which is mighty tempting.. but (trying very hard to stay focus on IBM err..)..nah.. I will go for my ThinkPad.. I am such a sucker for brand loyalty (err..eventhough darn it is now Lenovo which turned me off yet again ): ). I always end up buying Nikon for my camera.. no matter what version, SLR, digital or what not..it is not vanity but my decisions are based on these brands being most established and durable in the long run, instead of merely spotting the latest or most fashionable trend. And so I will settle finally and peacefully with the ultraportable, ultralite and latest super ThinkPad :)

OK no one should try to change my mind now. I am getting it tomorrow :P

Singapore Rendezvous

2006-04-19T14:34:00.000+08:00

OK..so I went to Singapore, after much cajoling [well more like "lobbying and bulldozing"] by my sister who needed an escort for her enthused meeting with Mr. Wright :) She even resorted to "have a nice day" sms to greet me when I wake up! Why do I have this feeling I might be her way of neutralizing her "guilty conscience" for having to leave her 3 kids (err.. having married at barely 18!) and a husband who is in Sudan working on some oil platform, but she got her "permission" to go galavanting in Spore even before she won the contests. I figured the husband doesn't think that she will ever win!

The trip wasn't too bad :)and we had a swell time, but we sorely missed KL hahaha

The trip to Spore was a headache to me coz I cudn't find my precious passport with all the border stampings of all the countries I was in Europe last year, including all the places most tourists don't go..some of the pages has 3 or 4 different stamps.. flight, ship, train, land vehicles on it. My sister had borrowed it for something she needed to show the bank for me to be her guarantor and sweared she had put it back in my travel bag but now it has gone missing ): So for Spore, I had to rush for an emergency passport just for the trip. I got it at top speed with the help of er "higher authority" the Monday morning of our departure date itself.

We got off with sort of a glitch, we missed our 2:20PM SQ flight :) becoz we both thot we had enuff time to make it to the airport in our own sweet time :) It was a blessing in disguised coz we were switched to the next MAS flight at 3:40PM and got to grab a late lunch at Burger King in peace and I got to book my return flight on MAS as well coz it has an 11PM flight back to KL on the 18tn.

Orchard/Scott road/the Atria area has some semblance to Bukit Bintang/ Star Hill area in KL and Champ d'Elysee in Paris..except Bukit Bintang has much more oomph! is more meriah in terms of more tourists and the stores lining it. The first thing I did the evening we arrived, after dinner was to head to Borders at the corner of our hotel :) [OK so I have a big problem with this magnet attraction to bookstores.. my sister Ida was kicking and screaming during all the few steps we had to walk to the Borders at the corner. Non-book ppl just do not understand the power of reading and imagination when one get absorbed reading a book! In my family only 3 of us are infected with this particular condition and thus, are voracious readers, my mom, my second brother -(whom was accepted to law school but decided to go into journalism, ending up being an editor instead) and myself. My mother must have read the whole Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka's library when she was carrying me and my brother coz what-do-you know we are the only two children crazy about books :)]

Dinner at Café Vienna was quite nice, we met two other contest winners, who incidently was sitting beside us at the dinner table. Ian couldn't make it the evening of the 17tn, so Slyvia the organizer cajoled me to stay another nite and leave on the 19tn but since I have an important meeting on the 19tn in our Plant in Kemaman,acquised to attend dinner on the 18tn (just to give me enuff time to ask Ian to do a segment on Terengganu and maybe my turtles on the Discovery Channel ;).. but will leave on the same nite via MAS. I timed my flight, taxi and how many minutes it took me to rush from the Hyatt Grand ballroom to the precise minute so I can took off that nite without a glitch coz I CANNOT missed my flight.

On the 18tn, we have a whole day to ourselves since dinner only started at 7PM. I didn't put my phone on roaming option since it was such a short trip, so my pda was hopeless and I cudn't get in touch with John & F while I was in Spore. My sister and I decided to check out Little India and Arab Street, as well as the Atria area. We took the subway as well as the double-decker bus. I find Little India a tourist traps as all the prices are so inflated compared to Masjid India in KL which has better stuff at such bargain prices. I end up buying some Lily-of-the-Valley incense for my mom and myself as there is not much option coz we can get everything offered there at Jln Tunku Abdul Rahman in KL. At Atria I bought fridge magnets for my sister and sister-in-law. I exchanged some money at Arab Street just for my cab to airport. My sister also don't know what to get and end up buying hundreds of minutes in phone card to talk to her children, as well as collectible toys for them.

Since the Hyatt is just across the street, we got to dinner early for the pre-dinner affair. Dinner started around 7:30PM and was pretty nice with a distinct Brit flair. All white and black theme. Ian “the Food that I Like” menu was potatoes and pea salad with a subdued Indian taste, a Thai noodle soup served in a young coconut, Fish & Chips served in a paper cone, Sirloin beef and dessert & coffee. I had a chance to chat up with Ian and took some pics as well as give my contact no when he ASKED ;) for it. He is coming to KL as part of the gourmet summit in May, along with Anthony Bourdain, Alain Ducasse, Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver. I am not sure if Discovery Travel & Living will be interested in doing a segment for my turtles and beautiful Terengganu but I just had to grab the chance to sell it to Ian (since I understand he is also one of the producer for his program)while I was at the dinner (that was the only reason I agreed to escort Ida to meet Ian anyway :)

I had to skip beef and desssert & coffee to catch my 11PM flight. So as soon as it hits 9:30PM said my goodbye to Ian and was out of there, with the concierge having a taxi waiting already. I had a nice conversation during the half hour time it took me to the Changi airport with my taxi driver who BTW has of all sirnames SCULLY (reminds me of the X-files!). We chat about the landslide disaster in Java and the relief efforts for both Tsunamis and Java by Msian and Sporean communities. Mr Good-Looking Scully in the meantime managed to insert in the conversation he is still single :) and I managed to part some advice for him to find a nice Indonesian lady to marry since he was complaining most Sporean ladies are into material things. It seems like dejavu coz when I first came back to Malaysia, a Chinese taxi driver told me the same thing..that it was difficult for him to get married on his income coz for a Chinese wedding he must have at least RM100K for the reception alone. A Chinese fren once confided in me that his wife demanded 2 oversea holidays per year or it'll be ground for divorce! So perhaps there's some truth to this.

I arrived home close to 2AM and at 6AM had to head off for Terengganu with a long day ahead and non-stop agenda until dinner when I can finally checked in at Awana Kijal for a much needed rest. I maintained 190KM/hr speed all the way with the rental car to the Plant to make it in time. When I arrived at the Plant, the audit has started and there was no breather whatsoever until I checked into Awana at 8PM.

It was a most tiring week indeed! I need to find pockets of time to catch on my sleep soon ..it is not such a good idea to always be on a prolonged energizer-bunny mode! It is nice that Awana has become my second home and its staff took good care of me. I had a good nite sleep on its nice fluffy bed (Royal Plaza's mattress not as fluffy complained my dear sister..)with the wonderful view of the South China Sea before I head off again..yet again.

Dinner with Ian Wright

2006-04-10T16:25:00.000+08:00

I have never entered a newspaper competition and in March 2006 I did. It was Regis my French teacher from Alliance Francaise who urged us to enter the NSTP/French Embassy competition becoz the first prices are 2 tickets to Paris and 2nd price are tickets to Mauritius. I was looking forward to those tickets to Paris for my Fall sojourn to Europe.

Unfortunately today I found out that someone else won the tickets to Paris ):

Luckily, to soften the blow.. last Friday my younger sister called excitedly to invite me to join her win for Dinner with Ian Wright in Singapore. Obviously she entered the Travel & Discovery Channel competition and won two tickets to include return flights to Singapore, Hotel and Dinner with Ian Wright. Oh well.. I have that to look for eventhough..err. I was not so keen on going to Singapore :) [hehehe John .. I am wearing my flame suit :P] So I guess Singapore here we come next week. I guess I have to take 2 days of leave now...

A stirling personality

2006-04-07T12:15:00.000+08:00

There are very few individuals I admire in life, and I tend to admire someone becoz of their intrinsic characteristics.

My favorite personality is of course Tun Dr. Mahathir for the person he is, extremely sharp and a true leader for the Muslims and the Malays. It is very rare indeed to find someone like Dr Mahathir in a few millenia whom has single-handedly bring respect to muslims in Malaysia and around the world, as well be a leader to look up to.

Another person is Prof Diraja Engku Aziz who has done a lot of goods for the Malay economics. Engku Aziz charted many smart programs such as Tabung Haji to provide means to do Hajj while saving Malay lands from being sold for such purpose. Two individuals whom both have passed away was Allahyarham Pak Sako, a prominent writer and historian, and Datuk Mubin Shepard (an Irishman who devoted his life in documenting and appreciating the Malay culture).

An important figure who has impressed me in the last few years is Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, a most humble businessman who is doing good things balancing Islam and business.

I'd like to share the beautiful character of Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary that I admire. I remembered when helping out with the Tsunami orphans, he dropped by in his black Perdana late at nite to discuss with TSS how he can help with the orphans. I admire the fact that he didn't sent his henchmen but came by himself to see things thru.

Bank Muamalat, one of the Islamic banks is finally in the black after his takeover.

I hope there are more Malays and Muslims like him to emulate and bring respect to the ummah.

Of blood and liar - the legacy of Milosevic

2006-03-17T15:05:00.000+08:00

Stefan wrote in my blog questioning my agenda when I posted a WSJ Opinion column on Milosevic's death and implying I am either a propagandist or a sheep "twisting" history.

I made a point to mention Milosevic's death in my blog and how he cheated his victims again when he died before justice is served to him by first hand stories of the bloody attrocities the Serbs led by Milosevic instigated and fueled the Balkan war, and meeting face-to-face with ppl who are victims or have to defend themselves and their families during the war.

Someone I know has his parents forced out of their house and made to walk thru a minefield at midnite, and by the grace of God live to tell, their house plundered and consficated by the Serbs. I also know someone whose house were bombed mercilessly and most of his childhood frens died during the war to defend themselves and their families, while he himself had to fight as a soldier during the war.. all he can show while I was there are the tombs of ppl he knew and love. Listening to Sarajevo inhabitants who were totally helpless when the hills surrounding the city were surrounded by Serb and Yugoslavian armies rolling bombs in used tyres down to a city full of helpless victims.. observing to these first hand stories I find these victims as more forgiving then if these attrocities were to happen to me and my people.

Here I posted an article written by Lord Ashdown published in the Independent, who were there and knew the man and the liar that he was, first hand.

Paddy Ashdown: Bloody legacy of a man whose talent was lying
Published: 13 March 2006

The legacy of Slobodan Milosevic was blood.

Blood and chaos. Most of the blame for the strife and the thousands of deaths that followed the break-up of the former Yugoslavia can be laid at his door, although Franjo Tudjman [the Croatian leader] was also culpable.

Milosevic was an opportunist rather than a nationalist, but he unleashed the forces of Serb nationalism. In Croatia the response was Tudjman. In Bosnia it was genocide and ethnic cleansing.

Milosevic brought shame and disaster on the great Serb people. They are now known in far too much of the world as the people who perpetrated aggression and killing at places such as Srebrenica.

Milosevic started off with a country that included Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Macedonia, and ended with a small Serbia. A joke used to do the rounds that Mira, Milosevic's wife, comes into the bedroom saying : " Sloba, there are troops in the garden." He replies: "Don't worry, they're guarding the borders of Yugoslavia."

In the end the Serbs realised who he was, which is why they got rid of him. But Milosevic fooled too many Western statesmen for too long. The intervention came too late. The scales fell from the eyes of the international community over Kosovo. If they had realised earlier he was not part of the solution but part of the problem, tens of thousands of people would have lived and millions would not have been driven from their homes.

Milosevic was subtle and wily, but also charismatic and charming. His biggest advantage was his ability to lie straight in your face. I spent a day seeing the Kosovan Albanian villages being shelled by Serb artillery. The next day he flatly denied to me it was happening, until I told him I had seen it - and then he made up some excuse.

The people in the Balkans are the world champion conspiracy theorists and will come up with conspiracies about Milosevic's death. But whom does his death serve? It doesn't help the trial at The Hague. He and Tudjman have cheated justice.

His death is a kind of closure of the Balkan wars, but the real closure will not come until his henchmen, Mladic and Karadzic, are brought to justice.

(Lord Ashdown is a former high representative of the international community in Bosnia)

Balkan Ghost

2006-03-14T16:17:00.000+08:00

I woke up this morning to the news of Milosevic’s death at the Haque, just a few months before the U.N. tribunal decision on his war crimes. It was just two weeks and three Mondays ago when there was a victim protest against him in front of the courtroom at the Haque.

It seems Milosevic caused as much problems while he was alive as when he is dead. Apparently there’s a dispute by his family and his Russian ally that he might be poisoned or given the wrong medicine. As the article below aptly put it, he was luckier compared to all the victims of the genocide and ethnic furies that he instigated and the many many many lives he and his followers destroyed.

Here’s the excerpt from the WSJ opinion column.

Balkan Ghost
No one now disputes that stopping Slobodan Milosevic was the right thing to do.

Monday, March 13, 2006 12:01 a.m. EST
In the end, Slobodan Milosevic was luckier than his victims. The former Serbian leader died at age 64 in his prison bed early Saturday, apparently of a heart attack, though full autopsy results are pending. Death was his small victory over the U.N. tribunal that now can't complete the first-ever war crimes trial of a former head of state.

As Serbian leader after 1989, Milosevic unleashed the ethnic furies that sparked the bloodiest conflicts in Europe since World War II. Yugoslavia was the West's great failure for most of the 1990s. "This is the hour of Europe," proclaimed Luxembourg's foreign minister, Jacques Poos, in 1991 when the Croats and Serbs came to blows. Yet not until after Srebrenica and its 7,000 dead men and boys in 1995 did the U.S. step in and lead an ineffective Europe to stop the fighting.

For too long, U.S. officials convinced themselves the Balkan wars resulted from implacable hatreds and nationalism rather than Milosevic's autocratic ambitions. But when NATO finally used force--with U.N. support in Kosovo only after the fact--his regime fell and the furies ended.

Today the new post-Milosevic arrangements in the Balkans are imperfect, sectarian tensions are raw and democracy is fragile. Western troops are still needed on the ground in Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia. But no one seriously questions whether outside intervention was the right thing to do. The tragedy of the Balkans is that it took so long for the West to generate the nerve to stop the man who died on the weekend as a largely forgotten war criminal.

Lelaki Melayu Terakhir

2006-02-20T18:19:00.000+08:00

We went to see M.Nasir's performance at Planet Hollywood last nite. The girls been trying to get dinner reservation to his show without avail, so we finally decided to just walk-in early to try to get seatings and eat dinner at the bar stool and we were lucky, our seatings gives us a very good view of our very favorite artist in the world.

Sigh.. M Nasir must be the most talented artist of his time, just behind the late Tan Sri P Ramlee. I love all his songs and compositions, especially his music which is deep and spiritual as well. All his songs and lyrics have deep meaning. For e.g. KepadaMu Kekasih is a song about the absolute love for God. And the song Tanya Sama itu Hud-hud was done in a penglipur lara style. My very favorite is Raikan Cinta, a song that accompanied me thruout my sojourn thruout Europe on my MP3 as well as Express Rakyat aptly downloaded by my brother Ajak for the long Eurail trip.. so that I won't feel homesick. The fact that he addressed the Planet Hollywood audience in Malay reflects his humble style. We came at 7:15PM for dinner and left at 3AM! My favorite song Raikan Cinta, KepadaMu Kekasih, Semerah Padi and dozen of other songs. Too bad Hattan leapt on stage during the rendition of KepadaMu Kekasih which should only be sung by M Nasir's beautiful voice.. all of us were quite upset when Hattan keep interrupting, spoiling our moment and M Nasir's as well. However, when Hattan finally stopped and Nasir lost his footing, his fans started singing to guide him.

I think half of the audience are his fellow artists thruout Malaysia. No wonder it's hard for the public to get a seat. Both his shows on Feb 12 and 19 were fully booked even before its press release.

M Nasir must one of the most attractive and talented lelaki Melayu. Many girls must have gigit jari when he chose Marlia Musa after his late wife passed away. What can we say, M Nasir is the best! He absolutely, definately, totally won the title Lelaki Melayu Terakhir for me ;)

Rumi on Love

2006-02-14T18:19:00.000+08:00

The minute I heard my first love story,

I started looking for you, not knowing

how blind that was..

Lovers don't finally meet somewhere,

they're in each other all along.

I don't agree on the commercial bandwagon of this.. coz love should be shown and express everyday..in the little things we do for each other and not just on one particular day ..but heck Happy V-Day anyways :)

The Constant Gardener

2006-02-14T14:21:00.000+08:00

Err. this is not at all about Ralph Fiennes :) one of the most respected actor in my good book as I love his actings especially as the English Patient. I did watch recently his movie the Constant Gardener, but I don’t like Rachel Weiss .. a bit overdramatic for my taste but off course I love Fiennes and his brooding way.

I am an unfortunately one of those constant gardener, albeit, a poor one at that.

Everywhere I go, outstation, overseas, etc.. all I can see are plants. Wherever I go my souvenirs for myself are plants that I find interesting. Either dried and flattened among my guidebooks or as seedlings I will smuggled home. Err. I have dried mountain flowers from Sintra, Vienna, the Swiss Alps, Tuscany and Montemarte, lilac and red poppies from Caesar's grave at Pallatine's Hill.. in between my Lonely Planet guidebook :)

My family diplomatically tried to discourage me by mentioning that perhaps my hands are “too warm” and I should wear gloves. I told them next time I am gonna chilled my hands with some ice, if that is what it takes for some of those darn plants to like and live on me ):

If people hear me talking about plants, they wud think I have a nice beautiful garden on some ground corner lot somewhere. But the fact of the matter is, so far I can’t find a nice corner lot house I can afford in the neighborhood I want. The house on the hill overlooking the Banjaran Titiwangsa I fall in love for the past few years which recently I braved up to ask the family that rented it, costs over a million ringgit…so that switched off my dream on that house at least for now... So in the meantime I have to fit my dream garden in the two small balconies of my hillside apartment.

I was pretty successful with my miniature water garden with its cascading pool, waterfall and fishs in the terra cotta pots I went to get with Elida in Sungai Buloh and the one Uda donated to me. I actually learnt how to assemble and landscaped a mini waterfall, with pumps and colorful tropical fishes and all. Eventually.. I couldn’t keep up with the fishes and its maintenance though. When I had that awful accident playing paintball for the company and broke my elbow in March 2004, it was a horrible end for those poor fishes. They all died, as well as my beautiful water plants. I had to start over from scratch. The new plants are thriving now but I no longer keep fishes..as beautiful as they and soothe me when I come home.

All my beautiful expensive rare and common orchids also always gave up on me. As well as those darn petunias.. I lost counts already. I must have tried at least 30 pots of orchids and over 30 pots of petunias…hundreds of ringgit down the drain.. I can quite understand those orchids being rather finicky and died on me.. but I don’t understand petunias being so finicky!!! It drives me crazy..

Do they need more water or sunlight or what??? I know they love the sun and I gave them the best hangs on my sunny balcony. They get all the sun they want, yet they still prefer to die on me ): The longest they will keep alive is 2 to 4 weeks. I know I shud give up by now, but heck I think I am gonna drive again all the way to Sungai Buloh to get a few more pots of the petunias, and stop by at the Orchid garden at the Lake Garden to get some beautiful orchids again. This will be my last trial and maybe then I will give up, at least until I have my own house.

As my mom been advising me for some time now.. “I know you are pretty good at most things you set your heart into.. but perhaps it is time to stop torturing those poor plants already..”

The hyacinth and tulips I bought at Keukenhoff, Amsterdam Europe and traveled with with me on the train all the way to Bonn, shuffed at some left-luggage in Brussels while I was doing the town, and then on the Thalys all the way back to Paris and smuggled via Singapore and finally KLIA.. dried out in a month time..well that is quite understandable :) While some years ago, I made an American fren of mine sent me some cuttings of the cherry blossoms from Washington DC Tidal Basin and that as expected didn’t grow here. Way too advance of a plant for me anyway.

But the saddest gardening moment for me was when my beautiful thriving fragrant kerak nasi or kesidang plant that gives this beautiful Dior perfume died on me. That was a beautiful cutting given by Pak Ya and it took him 4 or 5 months to cultivate for me. He had to import his brother a horticulturist from Perak to do the cutting. It was doing very well and flowering several times..giving my balcony a most surreal ambience with its little flowers that gives such aesthetic value. Fortunately, my stock of fragrant Jasmine plants supplied by Mok and Chik of Bukit Payung, Terengganu is still thriving and flowering almost every day. The Jasmine plant I planted at my father’s grave, also from Bukit Payung stock is thriving very well, as is the white and fuschia big Japanese roses, growing beautifully when we visited my father’s grave recently. My bunga sundal malam is recuperating on the ground at a neighbor’s yard so that it can get enuff sun and rain, while my pokok tongkeng is recuperating and thriving well at my mom’s garden. My mom was reminiscing her beautiful tongkeng plant which was hard to get and was accidently pulled when my neighbor was weeding their side of the gate..that was when I was still little! So when I found out my Sg Buloh nursery has them, I got a beautiful plant and divided it for her garden and mine. Both are thriving well.

But the plant that almost never give up on me are my big beautiful Japanese roses..some are thriving beautifully at my balcony .. eventhough I lost most of my collection of Japanese roses varieties when I was at the hospital and my sister Ida the plant-murderer.. forgot to water them both when I was at the hospital as well as when I was away in Europe. Eventhough I e-mailed her from every part of Europe to remind her to water my plants, she couldn’t care less ):

As it is my water plants are doing well.. I have a lotus, water lily (from the Kijal area), kiambang, water cabbages, this beautiful white flowering water plant that gives me lots of zen, the giant pegaga as well as some other plants on my shady balcony such as bird nest ferns, daun pandan.. setawar, money plants, etc... I think the lemongrass is gonna die soon, but some chilli and tomatoes as well as pumpkin plants grow on their own in some of the pots! I actually even get to pick a chili recently :)

Trump Card

2006-02-13T18:32:00.000+08:00

Over the weekend, I bought 3 books, 2 by Donald Trump and the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (finally!). As everyone else, I thot Trump was an arrogant guy until I saw his hit TV show. .the Apprentice. I was quite impressed by Trump and the fact the show was produced by Mark Burnett. I like the business lessons Trump was imparting on the Apprentice. They are simple and make much sense. With our busy lifestyle I can’t really catch up with the episodes.. so I decided to see if he has any books on the market.. I can’t find the Art of the Deal, but did find 2 books “How to Get Rich” and “Think Like a Billionaire”.

What I like about Trump is the fact he is so direct and say it as it is. The chapters are so simple and straight to the point. They are short and sweet to fit my short attention span! My family saw me reading his books over our family gathering on Sat and thot I was better off reading books by Bill Gates.. but I told them I already did, but decided that Trump way of putting things are so much easier and simpler. I like his style..at least on imparting his business lessons.

When I like a book, I went thru it in record time and I finished both Trump books the same weekend I bought them, even while I had other things to do on that same weekend - I went shopping, visited my family, tended to my hanging garden and redo my bedroom in the new aqua and green Aussino’s bedsheets and spread. And yet make time to finish Trump two books..

Eventhough yeah he bragged like no one else, at the same time the lessons he shares are very useful and most practical. I guess that’s why he is where he is right now.. at the top.

I am saving the Da Vinci Code for later but I guess I need to read it soon! … Yes, I had to read the dang book before the movie is released in Malaysia this May ..and the fact that I am planning to go to Paris again in the Fall. Maria offered me the book when she finished reading it on Redang on our turtle trip in August 2004, but I was too lazy to carry it to the mainland coz it was a very thick hardcover.. but now I regretted it coz I shud have read the book then. When I browse the bookstore in Paris in May last year, it was just dang expensive to get them at Champ Elysee Borders.. so now I have to make a point to get the paperback version in KL before May 2006, so I am all prepared for the movie and when I visited the Lourve again.

Shibui men

2006-01-15T18:27:00.000+08:00

I saw Hollywood Homicide last nite and it ended my infatuation with Mr. Shibui aka Harrison Ford. He looks so old and haggardy! A few years ago I wud never associate Ford with the word haggardy...

I was a bit upset when he went out with Ms Walking Stick Ally McBeal a few years ago…but no more. But heck, I still think he is a wonderful actor though :)

I love all the films he was in. I didn’t realized Harrison Ford was in the movie "Force 10 from Navarone" (corrected :) until I saw a bit of it in Bonn. I’ve only read the book before. One Hollywood actor that I respect for his talent is Tom Hanks eventhough I don't find him shibui at all. He gave all his films a distinct personality. I realized this when I figured most of the movies I like such as the Green Mile has him as the main actor.

Now I think Antonio Banderas the sexy Spaniard is a real dish (saw a few Banderas-look-alike in Madrid and Barcelona ;), while Patrick Dempsey and that cute Colin Firth aka Mark Darcy from Bridget Jones Diary are rather cute ;) Well Banderas may just seem all brawn but he was brilliant as the voice of the Cat in Shrek 2 :) Dempsey and Firth seem like the smart brooding type.

And yes, gray matter is very sexy in a man.

But I think Viggo Mortensen aka Aragorn from LOTR wins the trophy for me as the dark brooding type whom I read somewhere is very smart and a poet..and most importantly such a humble and low profile person. (so not sure I can boycott "admiring" him eventhough he is a Dane..)

How can I forget Ken Watanabe as imbuing the very word "shibui-ness" in a man. For those who are not familiar with him, he is Mr. Chairman in Memoirs of a Geisha, but I think he is most shibui as head of Samurai in the Last Samurai. I also think Chow Yun Fatt (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) is shibui too ;) and most importantly I heard he is a really nice guy (when he was in Malaysia filming the King and I) and that is what make him attractive.

Most girls in Malaysia will agree with me that M.Nasir is the most shibui male of all in this region hah ;) in terms of talent and rugged looks. When I took Maria this Greek girl and another American girl to watch Puteri Gunung Ledang.. all they keep saying to me is how good looking and shibui M Nasir is! eventhough they don't understand what the movie is about as it was in Malay :) Another person is Ramli the percussionist from the very talented Mohram duo. I would say M. Nasir is one of the most talented and prolific song writers after the legendary P. Ramlee and Ramli and Mohram are two of the most talented duo from this region. Their music is akin to Kitaro for me. These folks are made the more shibui becoz of their talents.

But I love Cat Stevens aka Yusof Islam since I was little. Mainly coz he is such a deep spiritual thinking individual and this reflects in all his songs and beautiful beautiful wordings. I think his faith, humility and beautiful character rises above all.

OK.. so I am just like any other girls and do “drool”;) over some men.
Hah! So sue me :P~

key word:
shibui = Japanese for ruggedly attractive men (where attractive doesn't necessarily refer to good looks ;)

Happy Holiday, Eid-ul-Adha Mubarak and Salaam Maal Hijrah

2006-01-06T16:29:00.000+08:00

I would like to wish everyone a happy holiday, Eid-ul Adha mubarak and Salaam Maal Hijrah.. and a Happy New Year :)

/ZaiZ
will be offline for a few days

Children of Tsunami

2005-12-26T10:41:00.000+08:00

December 26, 2004 was a sampler qiamat for those of us who lived in South East Asia open shores.

It was a year ago when the catastrophy happened and claimed hundred thousands of unexpected victims. No one foresee it coming.

I was sound asleep when the almost 10 richter scale aftershocks hit our western shores, with KLCC and my four-storey garden apt building on the Ulu Kelang hills vibrated around 10AM Malaysian time. I hosted a family dinner on Xmas day at my apt and was recuperating from the housework and after suboh immediately went back to sleep, thus, missing all the commotion.

My sister based on the eastern coast of Kuala Terengganu had to evacuate their ten-storey office buildings. My relatives in Pulau Pinang (Penang) and Kota Kuala Muda in Kedah where it hit the worst for Peninsula Malaysia lost their boats, luckily everyone came out safe and sound. My relative’s neighbors in Penang unfortunately lost 4 of his kids .. they were having a picnic at the beach when it happened.

A year ago we drove to visit our relatives in Penang and had our picnic exactly at the same shore those four kids were claimed by the tsunami. I remembered chasing naked little Haniff, my nephew who was 3 then along the shore ..it was a funny sight coz I had to catch him by the diaper. Kak Ha was trying to change his diaper when he decided to run away from us and headed for the waves. It could easily be us if the earth crust shifted on Xmas 2003.

The lost of lives were in hundreds of thousands uncountable, especially at its forefront, Acheh and the Malabar coasts across the Indian Ocean.

With the vivid harrowing pictures coming out of Acheh a few days after the Tsunami, my family and I started to find ways we can help the victims. We started collecting clothings, food, medicine and drinking water among frens, families and colleagues. I remembered sorting through the articles of clothings, food and necessities at TS S house, an Achehnese student from IIUM was so quiet and intent sorting thru the old clothes..socks, pants, socks, kids’ clothes, kain pelikat, kain batik, socks, pants..telekung. He hardly said a word. TS S daughter told me that he just came back from Meleuboh, Acheh the nite before where he saw the whole place under water. There was no survivors. He was the only one left of his family and the village.

Malaysian government, always vigilant in humanitarian matters, provided us the vehicles to transport the items to Acheh through the Malaysian army ships, some fast forwarders provided free services for those who want to send their donations to KL pick up port, etc. There were many kind folks and generous philanthropists. There are also things that Malaysians can try to improve on. For e.g. I wish when people donated clothes, they should only donate the ones that are still in good conditions as well as those that the victims can actually use. There were also those who gave only their best as well. May God bless them.

My most memorable images of the tsunami was when trying to help out with the many displaced Achehnese orphans. From our meetings with TS S and his IMAM and IIUM groups, we found out the orphans who are all muslims were being gathered by Christian missionaries from Australia and Buddhist missionaries from Jakarta to be adopted by non-muslims. These groups were the ones TS S has "saved" to bring back to Malaysia to be perhaps temporarily "adopted" by muslim families, since there were no longer authorities' vehicles in Acheh or Sumatra to manage this effort as everyone were either dead or deeply traumatized, and Jakarta was not doing anything. TS S suggested the visa to bring them to Malaysia could be similar to the "refugee" status given to Bosnian muslims and orphans during the Balkan war in the 90s, that our first steps was to try to find good muslim homes to take care and support their education while they are in Malaysia.

After the briefing by TS S everyone felt very strongly on finding good homes for the orphans and to protect their aqidah. I decided to sms some frens to help out in finding some good muslim homes. What do I know this sms thru good intention of frens went around the globe several times and caused a bruhaha with the UNICEF etc. Interestingly only when it went to some non-muslim officers at the UNDP/UNICEF they questioned the intention of muslims and quickly labeled it as human smuggling (eventhough we went thru government-to-government vehicles). Interestingly, when many groups of muslim kids were gathered by Christian and Buddhist missionaries none of these international organizations said anything.

I think I must get calls and SMS from all over the world, from kind hearted individuals to royals ..from Malaysia to Turkey and Malaysians overseas and back again. I also find Turkish people as very kind and benevolent. Then there was one royal family member from a neighboring nation who wanted to choose the best looking kids to adopt and that I should give him first "priority" coz he is royal! and there were those who made my day by saying they wanted to adopt brothers and sisters so they can be together. As well as kind Malaysian royal families and corporate leaders who offered their resources to build orphanages for these kids. Kind and generous folks from Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei from all walks of life. The only Indonesians that wanted to help out were illegals immigrants who are working in Malaysia..but they touched my heart with their offers. There were no interested good muslims homes from Jakarta nor Sumatra unfortunately. With the UNICEF/UNDP negative statements, Jakarta delivered a statement these orphans were not to be taken out of the country.

I am not sure of the human smuggling going on but ours certainly is not one of them. Our only criteria was for good muslim homes who will provide these children good education and islamic values and bring these children as their own.

Several newspapers contacted me for interviews which I refused, whilst I kept TS S updated. I remembered when all sort of stories came out in the newspaper on the Achehnese orphans, no one actually came to talk to me nor to TS S but everyone seem to have some sort of opinions or their own version of the "story". At the peak of the bruhaha I remembered getting a call from the Head of Malaysian Interpol! (imagine me :) to explain my side which I did. I think the Chief and his assistant are some of the nicest folks I've met..after listening to our side of the story, they also sympathize with our case (well.. now I have some err.. "high" frens at Interpol!)

I find it always true when we try to do good deeds, there will always be barriers. The challenge is whether we still want to pursue it with all the uphill battles. I am glad coz I met many kind folks thru this effort, at the same time taught me a few lessons. Eventhough we can’t help bring the children to Malaysia to have a better future, but I am glad the whole bruhaha brought foward many generous philanthropists such as T D, Syed M and TS AM to lend their helping hands to build orphanages in Acheh. Perhaps some are there for the limelights especially the political group while some are true in their intentions, but most importantly the orphans will benefit from all the attention and their aqidah protected in a muslim environment.

I feel there is a crucial need for muslims to organize effective vehicles to protect muslim orphans at disaster and war situations. Someone told me when I was in Mostar in Herzegovina back in April this year when the war happened in the Balkans, many of the muslim orphans were brought to Italy to be adopted by non-muslim families, while I recently read many of the war rape babies are being isolated from the society.

This is something we need to look into and amend by the ummah. I am sure before we came in to look at the Achehnese orphans, a few groups of muslim kids were already taken out to Australia and Jakarta to be adopted by non-muslim families.

I wish I have more hope to give to those hopeful sincere wanna be parents who eagerly send their resumes, their profiles and their hopes to adopt these children of tsunamis. As promised I did compile and forward all the info to TS S and his committee. I don’t know what they decided to do with these names as perhaps the situation refrained their effort from materializing.

Recent world disasters fast forward me to think that life is very short and precious. It seems there are many childless couples and good homes looking forward to provide a loving home for these kids, while these orphans need this secure environment. I personally feel it is perhaps better for these children to be given the opportunity to grow up in a real home instead of an orphanage. I really have no answers, and it made me sad when I think of the situation. I guess most times we can only try but we can’t really protect the children of the world. Only God can.

Cinta Dua Species

2005-12-23T14:27:00.000+08:00

We went to see King Kong the movie last nite.

My nephews and nieces, Aisyah, Iffa, Amir, Aimi, Nina, Aina, Haniff and Bella ranging from 2.5 to 12 years, as well as my two sisters, Aha and Ida voted to see it. I was not so keen nor have ever watched a Kong movie .. until last nite. We occupied the whole row :)

Well the kids didn't quite know what they are getting, betting on it to be an action-packed thriller with a big ape as the hero. Well it is, with extras in the form of some mean T-Rexes, clumsy Sauropods and digusting-looking worm-like sucking creatures from the swamp, humongous jurassic bats, mosquitoes, scorpions and bugs and what have you - Jackson certainly worked hard to cater to all the phobias. And yes..we figured Jackson's fantasy must have been to marry King Kong with Jurassic Park, with the exotic locale of the Malay-Polynesian islands. The natives bears some resemblance to the tribal natives of the New Guineas (but the Papuans/Guineans and Irian Jaya are some of the nicest and most innocent folks I know). The tribal rituals potrayed in the movie is an over-active imagination of Jackson's or his re-enactment of the Hindu Thaipusam kavadi or something..

Lonely Kong fell hard for the lovely and the very blond Ms Ann Darrow.

This love affair between these two species unfortunately are not to be left alone either by those darn dinosaurs in the smoky tropical Skull Island nor the pesky theatre-viewing public and military in cold wintry New York .. where Kong met his demise (beauty killed the beast? or perhaps not yet.. there could after all be a sequel to Jackson's Kong) falling on his back from the Empire State Building. There's also another twist where poor John Driscoll had to compete for Ms. Darrow's attention with an ape of all thing. But everyone agreed hands down after all those troubles he had to go thru with the dinos and the army tanks and choppers, Kong deserved the right for Ms. Darrow's affections, albeit we feel that he should never have fallen in love with the barbie doll in the first place. (Perhaps the message here was it is better to love and lost than never to love at all..hmm..)

The kids especially the boys upon reviewing all three movies, Harry Potter, Narnia and King Kong decisively voted for Narnia as their favorite, while the adults who still have a lot of kids in them (like me :)enjoyed all three and will watch them twice. But most of all we were so entertained by the kids'reaction when watching these movies..particularly King Kong where the "Oh-my-God-it's a love-story! EUGHH!" reactions on their faces were so very precious. Err.. while most were shedding tears over Kong's predicament, my sisters and I can't helped but laughed our heads off watching the kids' "tipah tertipu" faces.

Upon reflection if true love can be found between two species across the continents and against all odds, there is still hope in finding my soulmate on this earth after all :) Lets hope he is not some sort of err.. primate! arghh..

The Story of Srebrenica

2005-12-22T18:06:00.000+08:00

I am currently reading this book by Isnam Taljic.

What an engrossing reading it is, based on human sufferings during what could only be labeled as the Srebrenica genocide/holocaust.

When the war in Balkans happened I was very much cocooned in the United States.
War stories on Bosnia i Herzegovina hardly made it to the American media unless it has a glimpse write up on the United Nations or some sort of links to the US. My only real exposures to the Balkan war stories and its attrocities were on those few occasions I came home to Malaysia for the holidays. The Malaysian news covered it in depth with the graphic pictures that looked almost impossible for those of us living in a peaceful land to swallow. Malaysians felt for its muslim brothers and sisters suffering all sort of indigestible inhumane treatments by the Serbs that our Govt totally cut diplomatic ties with them as we did Israel.

It is more ironic that Srebrenica happened with the "knowledge and blessings" of the United Nations and the international communities, and Isnam Taljic wrote it well in his story of Srebrenica. It was also a good read up on understanding the muslims of the Balkans, the Bosniaks - where the writer skillfully handles the themes of its tradition founded upon the principles of Islam, and most importantly its history and its tragic historical destiny.

I am glad I stopped by at the bookstore on a Sunday nite on my way home from the Alliance Francaise annual dinner.. trying to find a shortcut readings on the Balkan war, its history and people and finding this gem of a reading (the last copy) for an issue I need to follow up on. It is a humbling reading indeed and made one appreciate the peace we tend to take for granted.

No one should forget Srebrenica and Mr. Taljic did justice in this tribute to its victims. It is a profound statement to remind us never to forget.

For more readings on the genocide of Srebrenica, visit:
http://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com

In the Arms of the Beloved

2005-12-06T16:26:00.000+08:00

Stephanie passed away at 6:43 EST on Dec 5th 2005.

"Verily, unto God do we belong and verily, unto Him we shall return."
(Al-Qur'an, Surah 2 - Al Baqarah, Ayah 156). Amin.

For our beloved Steph:

At last you have departed and gone to the Unseen.
What marvelous route did you take from this world?

The flowers flee from Autumn, but not you -
You are the fearless rose
that grows amidst the freezing wind.

Now the words are over
and the pain they bring is gone.
Now you have gone to rest
in the arms of the Beloved.

("Rumi - In the Arms of the Beloved")

It was certainly a privilege to know you.

My prayers and love,
Zai
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

A Vigil for Steph

2005-12-05T12:12:00.000+08:00

I got to know Steph from Bnet, a website I was introduced to by Dr. Godlas thru the webby award.

The first few folks I met thru this platform that discusses faith, politics and other issues - at the Islam Challenge and Critique platform, were Steph, Ibn, John, Ali, and a few others.

Steph who lives in Vermont, is one of those kindred spirit that I continue to keep in touch personally with, eventhough I haven't had much time to be on Bnet. Both she and Bill have a very challenging few years since I knew them, but they continue to be very strong in meeting the challenges and bariers life threw at them. In late July, she informed me via msn that she just found out she had cancer.. a week or so after that, Nan in Amsterdam told me she also has cancer. I decided to introduce both of them as I feel they can find true support in each other.

Steph with her deteriorating conditions is very supportive of others. She is always worrying about others, Bill, Nan, her children, instead of herself. Steph was doing quite well until a few weeks ago when she msn-ed me she is not doing so well lately. My last chat with her was on Nov 24. This morning Bill just msn-ed me that she is dying .. according to the doctor could be tonite or tomorrow.

May God gives His mercy and blessings on her and put her in His tender care.

Life is truly short and we must appreciate all the time we can spend with our loved ones.

This is for Steph and I hope Bill and her children will find the strength to face this very difficult time.

My Love and Hugs,
Zai
Kuala Lumpur

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDIL FITRI

2005-11-01T09:14:00.000+08:00

to everyone!

May you have a blessed Ramadhan, Lailatul Qadr and an equally joyous and festive Eid with your family and loved ones!

I have been busy painting my mom's house :) working the garden, trimming the big trees and landscaping (but I sure don't make kuih raya! hahaha :)..with my siblings every weekend, and then we will have a big buka puasa..it's great!

My hands are now like sandpaper.. but it is worth it :P

I have also opted not to spend money on baju raya which I may only wear once a year, but instead use the money to buy my mom a new Sony TV.. It will surely bring a smile on her face. I did err.. get one new baju kurung at the insistence of my sister though .. for pagi raya maaf-bermaafan session with the family.

OK got to run and do some more raya shopping to get a few things and then continue with my painting..cementing.. fixing the house is a laborous job.. I pity all those manual laborers, but I must say I do enjoy the sweat after all those paperworks and staring at the computer in the office!

It's also Hari Deepavali today..so to those who celebrate it.. have a good one!
Happy Holidays :)

Zai & Family

Ramadhan Datang Lagi

2005-10-05T01:25:00.000+08:00

Assalamualaikum wm wth,

With the dawn of Ramadhan, I wish all the muslims a blessed Ramadhan.

"Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur'an, as a guide to mankind, also clear (signs) for guidance and judgment"
Al-Qur'an 2:185

***

Du'a Ramadhan

Harapan Ramadhan

Ku mengharapkan Ramadhan
Kali ini penuh makna
Agar dapat kulalui
Dengan sempurna
Selangkah demi selangkah
Setahun sudah pun berlalu
Masa yang pantas berlalu
Hingga tak terasa ku berada
Di bulan Ramadhan semula
Puasa satu amalan
Sebagaimana yang diperintahNya
Moga dapat ku lenturkan
Nafsu yang selalu membelenggu diri
Tiada henti-henti
Tak ingin ku biarkan Ramadhan berlalu saja
Tuhan pimpinlah daku yang lemah
Mengharungi segalanya dengan sabar
Kita memohon pada Tuhan diberikan kekuatan
Ku merayu pada Tuhan diterima amalan
Selangkah demi selangkah...
Dengan rahmatMu oh Tuhanku...
Ku tempuh jua

Album : Maafkan (1999)
Munsyid : Raihan with Man Bai
http://liriknasyid.com /Wassalam.

Crescent moon over Kuala Lumpur skyline

Pic by Ammar Tahir, Kuala Lumpur

Sufi Wisdom

2005-09-23T06:00:00.000+08:00

I never saw anyone as just as the world.
As long as you pursue the world it will pursue you,
but when you turn away from it and seek God,
it will leave you alone..
and its glamour shall no longer fascinate you.

-Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

***

Down a flowing stream

A barque borne fast

To the mind it may seem

The rushes hurry past

Every moment thus

From this world we fly,

And it seemeth to us

The world goes by..

-The Ruba'iyyat - Translation by: A.J. Arberry

***

We are the treasury

Of God's great mystery;

The sea wherein doth dwell

His pearl incalculable.

From end to farthest end

Of being we extend,

Yea, we sit upon

God's imperial throne.

-The Ruba'iyyat

***

The heart is a secret garden

Its trees unseen;

A hundred hues it blossoms

Unchanged, serene.

The heart's a boundless ocean

Illimitable;

Its waves break unnumbered

In every soul.

-The Ruba'iyyat

***

Of the book of God

Thou art a copying,

A mirror wherein showed

The beauty of the King.

All God ever wrought

Dwelleth not apart;

All thou hast ever sought,

Find it in thy heart.

-The Ruba'iyyat

Tanggal 31

2005-08-31T00:01:00.000+08:00

Bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh
Merdeka ! Merdeka !
Tetaplah merdeka
Ia pasti menjadi sejarah

Tanggal 31
Bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh
Hari yang mulia
Hari bahagia
Sambut dengan jiwa yang merdeka

Mari kita seluruh warga negara
Ramai-ramai menyambut hari merdeka
Merdeka !
Tiga satu bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh
Hari mulia negaraku merdeka

Selamat Hari Lahir Kak Ha! :)
Sorry I couldn't be at your Bday celebration with the whole family.

Selamat Hari Merdeka Malaysia

2005-08-11T12:20:00.000+08:00

"Tell me, gentle traveler, thou
Who hast wandered far and wide,
Seen the sweetest roses blow,
And the brightest rivers glide;
Say, of all thine eyes have seen,
Which the fairest land has been?
"Lady, shall I tell thee where
Nature seems most blest and fair,
Far above all climes beside?---
'Tis where those we love abide:
And that little spot is best
Which the loved one's foot hath pressed.
"Though it be a fairy space,
Wide and spreading is the place;
Though 'twere but a barren mound,
'Twould become enchanted ground.
"With thee yon sandy waste would seem
The margin of Al Kausar's stream;
And thou canst make a dungeon's gloom
A bower where new-born roses bloom."

Jalal ad-Din Rumi (1207-1273 CE)
The Fairest Land, c. 1250 CE

I meant to write this special dedication to the land I was born, fair and beautiful Malaysia with its kind and gentle people, as soon as I got back from Europe in late May. Somehow never got to it. Since we are already in August, and the spirit of Merdeka all abound, this is an appropriate time as ever perhaps.

Someone wrote to me as I was going home (dreading going back to work ): after 2.5 month of galavanting and shirking all responsibilities), that ..
"Once back home, you will rediscover the beauty of your own surrounding, your work...your friends :)" and yes that was what I felt the moment the airplane touched the runaway of KLIA. Malaysia - Home Sweet Home. I was singing praises on the beauty of KLIA with its enclosed rainforest, in my heart.. the best, cleanest and most aesthetically pleasing state-of-the-art airport in the whole wide world. Mind you I have lived for many years in the US and having gone through the whole of Europe, stopovers in Japan and Middle-East and Asian countries (including "antiseptic" Singapore - Mehmed's and Salman's favorite..eugh :)(wearing my flame-suit), Malaysia is by far the best, warts and all :)

A shopping haven
It just happened the Sunday I arrived was a Wesak Day so the next day, Monday was a holiday. Early in the morning I went to KL with Zura to spend all the leftover Malaysian ringgit in my wallet to my heart's content and to get the shopping bug out of me! (it was no fun to be all over Europe and not able to buy due to the steep exchange rate and the fact I can't carry them in my backpack). Apart from little souvenirs here and there, with exception in Firenze (just had to buy those soft Italian leather things for my siblings), a couple of articles of clothings in Rome and Paris, Belgian chocolates in Bruxelles and a small LV bag at Champ Elysee. Every tourist in Paris it seems were borong-ing so many LVs. Since I didn't get to go to Britain and Ireland, I spent the money in Paris instead. I also got a beautiful pair of "Laura Ashley"-style curtain at Anver (a gem of a find for 15 euro! I am still pinching myself).

Shopping in Malaysia has developed into a fine state-of-the-art. If you are into electronic playthings, run along to Plaza Imbi for your MP3s, PC, notebooks, and whatnots. If you are into funky clothings, trinkets and shoes, drop by at Sungei Wang Plaza next door. If you are into chic designer goods, rush to KLCC (Coach just opened here BTW :) and spend the whole day there. For whatever else you need, you'll definitely find it at the Mid-Valley Megamall. For food and quirky eclectic fashion and food, Bangsar is the domain, as well for your nite-life and drinking hole.

Some of my favorite shopping haunts are:
Ampang Point (FOS, Royel - unfortunately the British India outlet recently closed for good in July. RIP ): Brunch at my favorite Coffee Bean 'round the corner, where Aidid Marcello used to bus tables and took my orders (he is a great waiter btw) to pay for his TV3 Akademi fees.

Great Eastern Mall (FOS, Aussino, British India - one of the biggest). Have brunch at one of those nice cafes) while reading your Sunday papers.

Mid-Valley Megamall: GSC for award-winning Iranian and other foreign movies, MNG, MPH Bookstore. Head to Dome for some great Oleo (best tasting spaghetti around).

Suria KLCC (Dome for lunch/dinner/coffee, TGV for movies, Kinokinuya Bookstore. There used to be this neat little bookstore that sell all these wonderful titles and rare books but it has closed to my devastation ): please come back! I don't know whether it has moved somewhere else ):

I am adding these(*)coz John said I forgot it :)

* Central Market
It's in the old part of town, adjacent to Petaling Street or Chinatown. It's also not far from the old Moorish train station and Masjid Negara (National Mosque) area. One can find all sorts of souvenirs here from handpainted batik scarves to ethnic inspired paintings, antiques and silver jewelries. My favorite store is the Kelantan silver jewelry store at the entrance and upstairs (same owner). The one upstairs also carries antique silver jewelries. I also like the Thai cakes and pastries sold at the Thai restaurant next to the stairs.

*Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman (Jalan TAR)/Masjid India (Masjid Jamek)

In reality, these days it's quite difficult to access it via car due to the closed street, but if one is taking the monorail/subway it's perfect. If you are into yards and yards of fabrics and all sort of scarves from all over the world, this is the place to go. Silks from India, China, Korea, Italy and elsewhere, as well as French laces find their way here for your selection pleasure. You can find a British India inspired cotton clothes/tunic for a minimal fraction of what you'll pay at British India (RM49 Masjid India price compared to RM299 British India price :)

*Jalan Melayu/Wisma Yakin
This is still in the same area and in the Wisma Yakin building. You can find Malay attires such as Baju Kurung and Baju Melayu, as well as antique kerongsang (brooches), cucuk sanggul (hair pins) and silver, gold and precious stones jewelries from the olden days. One can also get songkok, custom-tailoring, as well as stuff for your hajj and umrah preparations here.

*Pasar Malam Jalan TAR
This is perhaps the biggest nite market in town. One can find all sorts of things from kampung produce to toys, fabrics, clothes, books and hundred varieties of local cakes and pastries as well as savories. This cacophony reaches its peak during the fasting month where it become Pasar Ramadhan.

Oasis in the city
KLCC also has a very good jogger's path..with fragrant plants and flowers and beautiful landmark buildings dotting its side, and coffee bars for one to sip a cool one while watching the lively fountains dancing to the neon lights and live music. My other oasis is the Lake Garden with its many lakes and beautiful landscaping. The Ulu Kelang hills where I made my abode has a very nice "jogger's path"..actually it's an elliptical water retention pond at the edge of the hill. You can hear the waterfall running below it, the chirping of birds and wild animals greeting the new day, wild mountain flowers waking up to the kiss of the morning sun and breathe in fresh crisp morning air while gazing at the breathtaking view of Banjaran Titiwangsa.

Fresh produce and flowers:
Bangsar Nite Market : 10 oranges for RM5/-; fresh tuberose or pontianak "Bunga Sundal Malam" (my favorite fresh flowers here in Malaysia since I can't get Lilies-of-the-Valleys!) for RM1 per stalk; Many varieties of roses from RM3 to RM7 per dozen! I think the RM3/per dozen roses doesn't last as long but if you want it just for a couple of days or to make potpourri, it's a great bargain. The RM5-7/dozen lasts a week.

There is another fresh flower shop behind NSTP at Bangsar, but I am rather leery on this joint as the owner and her family are so bloody snooty and garang as rotweilers! I only go there for my fresh flowers if I have no other choice! I avoid dealing with the fierce old Chinese lady and her brood. I'd wait to pay with the more humble Bangladeshi and Indonesian workers at the cashier.

Chinatown Market : For freshflowers (tuberose, rose, Calla lilies, etc)and trinkets. The only thing with Chinatown, you have to brave yourself through downtown traffic, and then illegally park at the roadside. The best time to go there is weekend morning, park illegally at the sidestreet, rush in and rush out :) The flowers are fresher than those at Bangsar nite market, perhaps explained the higher prices.

I can't believe when I was in Bonn, the whole system shutdown on Sunday. No groceries nothing can be bought on Sunday as none of the stores are opened nor anybody working. This I was told is true throughout the whole DE. My sister told me the same thing in the UK as well. Luckily, the US doesn't have such a strong pro-labor system. There's certainly some good things about the US system after all (Now Sedad and a few others will probably protest this statement..) The US system is also more efficient, cleaner, better value and so much cheaper. I definitely think the quality of life in the US is so much better than Europe in terms of value-for-money (culture-wise Europe definitely has more finesse), while Malaysia is so much better than the US overall, in terms of family life, values and social support system (I am wearing my fire-proof-chemical-retardant suit :-)

Food Glorious Food
Cheap and delicious food served fresh and hot! That's what I missed thruout Europe. The best selection and varieties at any time of the day and nite and morning! CHEAP! You have to come here and sample it to know what we mean :) Satay Kajang, Laksa Assam, Char Koew Tiaw, Garlic Nan with Tandoori Chicken, Beryani, Rendang, Mee Goreng, Roti Canai and Capati, and the list go on and on. For 1 euro, one can get a full hot meal (freshly prepared) with a drink. For 1 euro in Europe, I am lucky to get half of an orange!

I used to work with this Canadian guy when I first came back to Malaysia, Lory who told me every weekend for brunch he would head to his favorite mamak joint and ate 7 or 8 of roti canai! per person not counting the whole family orders! :)

At our turtle sanctuary last year, we had a group of Earth Watch volunteers from all over the world, Maria(Greece), Jason(Australia), Mikaela(Sweden), David(England) and a bunch of others from India, Philipines, Brazil and the US, who would gobbled roti canai like it is the most exotic food in the world (it was really scary to see the group order as soon as we found the first roti canai joint on land coz we are like piranha at the smell of blood :) especially after a week on the isolated beach :). I think all the waiters were a bit afraid to come too close to our table! LOL, as soon as they put the roti canai down, it will disappear and before they even got back to their station, one of us will start ordering some more! After a few breakfast experience of roti canai with them, I also find novelty in the little pancake of Indian-origin but which has become wholely Malaysian. Thus, I found myself ordering roti canai at breakfast as soon as I came back to KL.

It was Alden in Sarajevo who told me, as a student in Malaysia he loved Indian food. When he was sent to India for work, he was so excited to sample the Indian food in its native surrounding.. anticipating it to be better or more authentic, but what a letdown coz he found out the Indian food in Malaysia are so much better! :)

Service
Mehmed and Sedad who used to live in Malaysia may have some comments about the waiters services in Malaysia. Somehow I beg to differ with them after observing the more highly paid waiters in Bonn and Paris. Frankly speaking, I think the more humble and lowly-paid waiters in Malaysia are better, quicker, humbler and more alert :) especially those at the warongs :) they'll get your order even before you sit down and your order will arrive at the blink of an eye and they get it right without ever getting the price mixed up. It's amazing how they do this. (Erm.. the superhighly paid waiter in Bonn forgot our order twice..)

Toll girls and boys
If there is a section I would highlight that I truly admire are these folks.
I think they are mostly university students doing part-time and high-school drop outs, but they give the best service. Always smiling and courteous and for me they are the best examples of Malaysian good hospitality and gentle services. A few days after I came back, I was searching for 20 cents in small change to pay toll, and the toll girl just smiled and told me she will pay for me rather than I have to keep hunting around. The only time this was offered to me in the whole of Europe was while I was in Palermo, Sicily when the guy waived euro 20 cents that I needed to pay extra for my left- luggage.

Secluded nature
When I was first adjusting after reluctantly uprooting myself from the US, the first thing I focused on was, to balance what I can look forward to, to replace the things I left behind. So I compensate the beautiful secluded beaches of Malaysia with the four seasons I would missed (I especially missed Spring and Fall ): I am still in-love with Malaysia's secluded beaches such as Ma'Daerah in Kijal and Mok Kepit in Pulau Redang. I enjoyed taking time off from work to recharge myself, to spend lazy days reading my favourite books from a monsoonswept hammock under the shades of pokok bunga baru with its fragrant pink-fushcia flowers, while at nite I get to baby-sit nesting mother turtles or release its hatchlings to the ocean. Going fishing on our small speed boat in the morning to catch fish for lunch.. Taking a long refreshing soak in the natural cascading pools off the freshwater stream, (after a day of fishing and snorkeling at our own private beach, with its pristine clear turquoise water)..with mousedeers shyly peeking, wild birds cheerfully chirping and colorful butterflies playfully flirting, and the clear blue blue sky providing natural light for my reading, gaping among the tall green canopies ..perfecting my nature therapy. At nite I will opt to sleep on the beach..gazing at the twinkling diamonds in the clear unpolluted horizon.. my million-stars hotel...my own little piece of heaven on earth.

What more can one asked for? :)

Prayer Circle for Nan and Steph

2005-08-05T16:17:00.000+08:00

I just found out today that Nan (Nitje), my fren in Amsterdam, had cancer that has metastazised. I am still stunned by this news.

A few weeks ago, another fren on BNet, Steph told me while we were on MSN chat that she just found out she got cancer.

These are both good frens and strong women and the news must affected their loved ones badly. When Steph found out she got cancer, it was Bill that she was so worried about. Steph is currently on chemo and I think Nan will start or has started with hers.

As heavy as the news are for us their frens, it must be harder for them.. a Malay saying goes "seberat mata memandang, berat lagi bahu memikul.. " (meaning - heavy as the eyes of others to see it, it is heavier for the shoulders of the individual who bears it).

As frens, we can only offer our moral supports and prayers, so I would like to start a prayer circle for Nan and Steph on this blog.

God says: "I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calls on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way.} (2: 186)Al-Qur'an.

Prophet's supplication for the sick: "'O God, Lord of mankind, remove harm and heal. You are the Healer and there is no healing but Your healing, a healing which does not leave behind any illness at all.'" (Hadith narrated by Bukhari)

Amin.

Zai
Kuala Lumpur

A Tribute to Tun Dr. Mahathir

2005-07-10T18:07:00.000+08:00

It is Dr. Mahathir's Birthday today and I would like to write this dedication to him. If anyone were to ask me who are the most effective leader to lead and transform a nation in the global world for the past two decades, my answer is Dr. Mahathir. If anyone were to ask for a true leader of the muslim world, my answer will again be Dr. Mahathir. If anyone were to ask me who is the No. 1 Malaysian, the answer will have to be Dr. Mahathir.

He is the sharpest mind around and it will be rare indeed to find a leader like this in a millenium. Malaysians are certainly lucky to get him as a leader.

I would like to wish both Tun Dr. Mahathir and Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah who celebrate their birthdays in July. Selamat Hari Lahir. Semoga dirahmati Allah dan dikurniakan rahmatnya sentiasa.

Terima Kasih di atas jasamu pada agama, bangsa dan negara.

Pisang emas dibawa belayar
Masak sebiji di atas peti
Hutang emas boleh dibayar
Hutang budi dibawa ke mati

Ratings on cities, letdowns, best train services and worst drivers

2005-06-26T19:35:00.000+08:00

Top ten most efficient cities:
1. Barcelona
2. Llubljana
3. Wien (Vienna)
4. Madrid
5. Zermatt
6. Zagreb
7. Berlin/Munchen (Munich)
8. Geneve (Geneva)
9. Kobenhavn (Copenhagen)
10. Koln (Cologne)/Bonn

Letdowns:
1. Milano ( I gave Milano 3 chances and it failed to leave me with any good impressions nor any interesting facets..no such thing “Italian high fashion” ..the stores are better in Verona and Firenze..trust me!

2. Geneve (just remember to quickly booked yourself on at least one or all of the mountain train rides!). There is really nothing to see in Geneve other than Lac Leman and the Flower Clock. If you were to leave Switzerland without doing the train mountain rides, you should kicked yourselves! I surely think this is the best thing about Switzerland .. the wonderful mountain sceneries.

Best train services:
1. Spain (top notch hospitality, beautiful and clean, professional and great
experience)

2. Switzerland (very efficient and great sceneries)

3. Austria (good hospitality and efficient, the first class lounge is a great idea!)

4. Germany (DE) (efficient and reliable)

Award for worst drivers in the world:
1. Palermo, Sicily
2. Paris, France

Top Ten Countries and Nice Surprises

2005-06-26T19:30:00.000+08:00

[ok..so I am biased, as an environmental scientist, I give more credits to beautiful nature and pristine undeveloped environment..]

1.Norway
(Norge - for its stark beautiful fjords and Flam). How I wished I could spend more time in Norway..I will come again soon.. in the Fall, as soon as Giulia found an unsuspecting Norge with a caravan :)

2.Slovenija
The whole country is compactly beautiful, quaint, as well as affordable. Surrounded by ski slopes mountains (Julian Alps)..that it does come to one’s mind that every Slovenian baby must be born with skis! And for beautiful Lake Bled, Most Na Soci and Lake Bohinj.. and vibrant happening town Llubljana. Llubljana is very beautiful, fun and efficient]. One can certainly forget time in Slovenija as what I did until I got the sms to go to Bonn!:)

3. Spain
For beautiful Al-Hambra (Granada) and Toledo. Spain shall always exceed your expectations. Great places to visit, helpful good looking folks with Antonio Banderas look alike ;), best train service and professional hospitality. I sorely missed the train captains who dotted on me from Gare Austerlitz, Paris to Madrid-Chamartin, and from Portugal to Milano - all Spanish trains.

4. Portugal
For Sintra and Cabo de Roca. I will definitely go to this area again. Don’t get deterred by the rather gloomy sceneries on the train to Sintra. The whole Portugal is depressed economically but Sintra with its fresh mountain air and the coastal area is heavenly..sigh.

5. Switzerland
For the Swiss Alps- Goldenpass Panoramic, Glacier Express and Bernina Express that took us through the Swiss-German, Swiss-French and Swiss-Italian all within 1 train ride)..ok so I love mountains!

6. Italy
For its ruins - Pallatine Hill, the Colleseo (both in Roma), and for Venezia, Tuscany and Umbria. Italians are rather scruffy and its major cities definitely will bore big holes in your pocket, but the ruins have no competition in Europe.

7. France
For Paris, the Lourve, Mont Marte and Notre Dame/ Latin Quarters/ Sorbonne). Great ambiance, antique architecture, elegant and sophisticated culture.

8.Croatia
For its beautiful Adriatic Coast and Spalator sunken Roman port and morning market with Lilies of the Valleys. Somehow I have a feeling that I was the only Asian to ever visit this town but folks are very friendly, albeit rather euro-hungry. As soon as you get off the ship, Croats landlords are all over you to offer rooms and accommodations.

9.Danmark
Vibrant Kobenhavn with its mixed population and an air of tolerance for all races, as well as handsome Vikings.. I am biased coz Viggo Mortensen is Danish ;)

10.Czech Republic
For beautiful and vibrant Praha, its friendly folks and serene country side.

Nice Surprises:
1. The whole Balkans (including Slovenija, Croatia, Bosna i Herzegovina – unfortunately I couldn’t enter Serbia due to needing a visa (too lazy to figure this out); I would be interested to see what FROM (Former Republic of Macedonia), Albania and Bulgaria are like.. these places definitely have characters.

2. Palermo, Sicily – I know a lot of ppl (including Italians and Sicilian transplanted in Rome) advised me against this place but I am glad I went..it is interesting.. eventhough I think the worst drivers in the world must be in Sicily! (as well as France!)

Countdown on the European Cities

2005-06-26T18:42:00.000+08:00

Most Beautiful/Interesting Places:

Not really a countdown as I am listing the nicest first :)

1.The Norwegian Fjords: Bergen-Myrdal-Flam-Voss-Gudvangen, NORWAY

Pics by Teliung
Norwegian Fjords

Nature’s masterpiece.

2.Sinfully secluded Sintra, PORTUGAL

Pics by Teliung
8th century Moorish arch

A beautiful find - very quaint and romantic. The freshest mountain air and shy mountain flora abound, with a picture-perfect town halfway up the hill for your romantic walk, with warm cafes, rich desserts and delicious coffee and the sound of the fado in the air. Perfect for a honeymoon!

3.Heavenly Al-Hambra, GRANADA

Pics by Teliung
The Al-Hambra

Most intricate, elegant architecture and landscaping. You'll think that the angels themselves constructed it..especially those elegant honeycombs and carvings. One shall get lost in mind and path among its vast beautiful garden. My favorites shall always be the water fountains/gardens..ever since I first saw those pics in Aramco Magazine, National Geography Magazine and Architectural Digest. I finally got to be there in person inhaling its fragrant mountain air during my favorite season of Spring! Now I just wish those pesky tourists would disappear..or..I could imagine being one of the royal court during the ruling of Almoravides or the Almohades..let me continue to dream..

4.Lake Bled, Most na Soci and Bohinj Valley, Ljubljana, SLOVENIJA
Slovenija as a whole is better offer than both Switzerland and Austria combined :) I wish I get to spend more time there ): Must go again..must go again.. to Most na Soci..Most na Soci..Bohinj Valley..Bohinj Valley..

5.Toledo, ESPANA

Pics by Teliung
Breathtaking Toledo

Old old old antique town..the view from up the river and bridge will swept your breath away..with its beautiful cobalt blue and burnt sienna colors. You can't take your vehicle into this antique town, but you must walk up the steps and along its narrow and winding alleys..up the hills. It certainly worth the efforts! Where else can one get to peruse on El Greco originals and masterpieces at some back alleys?

6.Venezia, ITALIA

Pics by Teliung
Unique Venice, ITALIA

Everyone must experience Venice once in their life for its uniqueness and exotic architecture. It's a festive place, colorful, vibrant and fun! Just basking in the sun while eating one's lunch on Piazza San Marco or hopping on the vaporetto from one interesting islands to another. It's a breeze!

7.Al-Andalus, Sevilla, ESPANA
(interesting, unique moorish-arab and gypsies environment)

8. Cordoba, ESPANA

Pics by Teliung
Islamic Cordoba

Cordoba has beautiful alleys and inner courtyards with its strong Spanish muslims background. The El Mesquita is a must for Muslims to take ikthibar.

9. Firenze, ITALIA

Pics by teliung
Florence - Tuscany beautiful landscape. I have been dreaming about the Tuscany landscape since I was in college and when I was there it was freezing (first time ever I had to wear all 3 pairs of socks and still shivering!) and raining every day..I had to see Florence from the blurry and freezing windows of the City Tour bus. Fortunately, the morning I left the sun showed up and I was abled to see Tuscany in all its glory. Thank God for the sunrays!

10.Paris, FRANCE

Pics by teliung

One must walk about Notre Dame-Latin Quarters-Sorbonne area. Champ Elysee for window shopping. Of course the Lourve and its other museums such as Musee d'Orsay are a must. Paris will overwhelm you with its sophistication and grandness. I will go there again!

11.Mostar, HERCEGOVINA
A true gem of the Balkans. Reminds me of a precious rare emerald.

12.Interlaken, SWISS ALPS
Such a beautiful lake area in the midst of the Swiss Alps. Great for honeymooners! :) My two thumbs up!

13.Sarajevo, BOSNIA
Bacharschajiye – a shining hope in a war-torn country and for its uniqueness of Islamic Europe. A city with character.

14.Spalator, CROATIA
Split - sunken Roman Fort and the beautiful Adriatic Coast. Beautiful town for a vacation and spring brings beautiful flowers at the market. The best Lily-of-the-Valley bunches I've seen!

15.Verona, ITALIA
Romantic little town with nice Italians, great gelatos - the best!, and quaint stores to look at. Verona is famous for supposedly the kampung of Shakespeare's Romeo and Giuletta. So the town main marketing gimmick is Romeo and Julite. They even have a galeto's flavor by the same name, which is absolutely GOOD btw :). They even created a balcony in the early century at Giuletta's "house" but I was told that wasn't Giuletta's house but in reality was a house of ill repute. Verona is a pretty, clean and quaint town with a nice mat salleh Pasar Malam as well :)

16.Cinque Terre, ITALIA
You will cross this area from Ancona to Roma.. such a beautiful coast sculpted by nature. I must do this area again.

17. Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS

Pics by Teliung
Canal of Amsterdam

Unique canal ambiance and antique bicycles. Wonderful new frens :)

18. Helfingors, FINLANDIA

Pics by teliung

Taking the Viking cruise from Stockholm to Helsinki is a beautiful experience and sights along the fjords. One just need to avoid those drunk Finlanders on the ship who seem to drink like fish. They were all proper and shy until they got drunk and become boisterous. Helsinki is a bloody cold place but amazingly has the best retail offering this side of the Scandinavia, including huge bookstores :) and expensive chocholates/coffee places. I can't believe this is where Mika Hakkinen, Miki Raikonen, Nokia and Santa Claus were born!

19. Llubljana, SLOVENIJA
Such a vibrant, beautiful and most efficient city. It was such a pleasant surprise for me.

20. Salzburg, AUSTRIA
Mountains mountains..mountains.. and Sound of Music everywhere you go. Music actually is a tradition in this area, with music classes conducted at almost every corner! really :)

21. Roma/Vatican City, ITALIA

Pics by Teliung
Roman columns, Pallatine Hills

What is there about Roma.. So many things to see but I would vote for its ruins and helpful handsome bus drivers :), too many tourists..for my taste (I hate crowds). But the Colleseo and Pallatine Hills will beckon you to visit again and do it in more details :)

Vatican City is the building/area allocated to the Catholic church at the periphery of Rome. One can observed the mass performed. I was there during the late Pope death..so there were so many tourists swarming the compound..even after the wake.

22. Zermatt, SWISS ALPS
Ah.. I love Zermatt.. for its vibrant, happening, warm atmosphere. It's sure freezing cold with lots of white fluff but you feel the warmth in its vibrant town. Just love the fact that Gornergrad envelops you all around..everywhere you see..you are basically on top of Europe. Yes, it is dang expensive but worth it! I hope one day to go there again, perhaps for skiing :)

23.Praha, CHECH REPUBLIC
Praque – beautiful, happening and vibrant town. Humongous buildings and theatre town.

24.Kobenhavn, DENMARK

Pics by teliung

Seems tolerant of racial groups, happening and vibrant.

25.Stockholm, SWEDEN
Cobbled Street of Gamla Stan, STOCKHOLM

Pics by Teliung

Gamla Stan – quaint cobbled town just as in the MAS (Malaysian Airline) advertisement. Actually, that's why I wanted to see Gamla Stan! :)

26.Madrid, ESPANA

Pics by teliung

Beautiful town with side-walk secondhand bookstores and Prado Museo is worth a visit.

27. Sienna, ITALIA

Pics by Teliung
Burnt Sienna

Beautiful sienna-colored old city, with the best Italian coffee around! Beautiful old city with the burnt color of Sienna.. that's right that's where the name of this color originated from.

28. Wien, AUSTRIA
Vienna – best value for your money- among EU cities. I first see Nordsee - this seafood place here. What a welcome sight! The chocholate truffles also worth a buy. Of course the city itself is nice :) I love the first class lounge at the train station. A welcoming warm place for weary traveler..especially those waiting for their midnite trains.

29.Genoa (Genova), ITALIA

Pics by Teliung
Genoa - Homeland of Christopher Columbus

Land of Christopher Columbus, thus my point of crossing western Italy for a visit. Ancona has many old folks but I love taking pics of them. They are so cute and frenly! Genoa must be the friendliest Italian town of all. Beautiful port as well as one of the biggest aquarium in Europe.

30. Ancona, ITALIA
Italy side of the Adriatic Coast. My first view of the beautiful Adriatic. Heck..until I crossed over to Split..which I think is more beautiful side of the Adriatic.

31.Pisa, ITALIA

Pics by Teliung
Leaning tower of Pisa

Beautiful view from top of the leaning tower; but I seriously think Norwegian Fjords should bagged the title of seventh or eight wonder of the world :)

32. Barcelona, ESPANA

Pics by teliung

Gaudi, Gaudi everywhere. Surely must be the most efficient city in Europe.

33.Cologne/Bonn, DE
The best part is being in the company of people I know. But the towns itselves are vibrant and friendly with mix ethnicities. Eventhough the suburbs are full of old rich retired civilian workers who are extremely allergic to noise :)but the houses
{well mostly mansions :) are really nice! reminds me of the expensive Embassy Row in Washington DC especially with its architecture and Austro-Hungarian colorings.

34.Palermo, ITALIA
Humble folks, interesting fresh markets and pasar ikan)

35.Zagreb, CROATIA
Pretty efficient city and has the cleanest and most advanced toilet I've ever seen anywhere!

36. Bern, Brig, Thun, Zurich, Basel, Luzern, SWITZERLAND
Sleepy towns worth a few hours visit surrounding the Swiss Alps. I wish I had more time to do these places..especially this German girl I met on the train said Bern is really nice.. its Deutsch for Bear.

37.Heidelberg, DE

Pics by Teliung
Medieval Heidelberg

Medieval castle amidst old university town charm right along the River Rhine.

38.Lisboa, PORTUGAL
It will remind you of Melaka.. no wonder the Portuguese (Farangs) wanted it so badly!

39.Berlin, DE

Pics by Teliung
Colorful Berlin

Kinda fun funky town full of youths, very noisy (must be the noisiest in the whole DE!) and vibrant, where fast food joints are like mushrooms, but public transport is dang dang expensive! Berlin is so euro hungry it sorts of turn one off most times.

40.Geneve, SWITZERLAND

Pics by teliung
Lac Leman

Err..nothing much after you see Lac Leman and flower clock! So immediately head to train station and booked yourself for all the mountain rides. The reason I was there for 4-5 nites was becoz I was sick from a fever contracted in Lisboa and I kept waking up late and missing the morning connections I needed to do the trains.

41.Munchen, DE
Munich - where strawberry and asparagus is cheapest. I first saw this huge albino asparagus there (I later learnt those were grown underneath the soil so they cannot produce chlorophyl). It was also fun to came across crazy Jinny, the Korean girl whom I shared a room with, who is hounding me still :) (She's stopping over Malaysia in August :)

42. Hamburg, DE

Pics by Teliung
Bah Hamburg

Big port, with these figures all over town.. I don't know what they are except they looked like water carrier or somethin'.

43.Milano, ITALIA
Milan, as a much touted city- is such a disappointment. Even the Duomo is under renovation. Everyone I met along the way who has not gone there seems to have this image of a sophisticated Milan. Well, I guess they will find out after going there. Maybe the Galleria is something to see and that will only take you half hour top and nice handsome well-dressed policemen, but the rest of Milanese are rather scruffy and stodgy and the city dusty and grey. But the Malaysian family I know are wonderful folks, as well as some Italian strangers who "walked" with me to and from subways :)

44.St. Moritz, SWITZERLAND
Boring cold place and extremely dang expensive! Except for the cute Swiss Italian hotel manager that offered to chauffeur me to and from Hotel (expensive hotel as well..it was freezing cold and I just grab the first hotel that answered ):, there’s nothing really to write home about unless you are going skiing and the only reason I was there coz I have to overnite for the Glacier Express.

Paris 202 - a pocket reference

2005-06-19T21:21:00.000+08:00

This is for Nik, a long time friend since our student days in Washington DC and who is going to Paris for his honeymoon this August :)

Paris step-by-step:

1. Check in hotel (Your hotel at Place de la Concorde is at south end of Champ Elysee – Arc d’Triompe is at north end). Remember taxi cost double after 5PM.

2. I suggest the first thing you do is to relax at a Parisian café to sip a latte (and order some of those macaroons :) and sit back to watch people go by.

3. Buy carnet tickets (can be used on bus, metro, regional train) at metro station. Buy 10 tickets at 10.50 euro, buying individually will cost 1.40E each. Ask for a metro map – which will be extremely helpful to guide you around the different metro stations and tourist sites.

4. Take a romantic walk along Champ Elysee at nite. It is safe and relaxing. Avoid buying anything :) other than a movie and coffee or lunch/dinner.

5. Choose from any of the highlights below depending on your time there and your interest.

6. End your Parisian trip with the River Cruise along the Seine on your last nite (or accordingly). Make sure it’s the 9:20PM ride :) [ so get there earlier to get your tickets at River Bateaux - Pont de Alma].

Shopping
Champ Elysee – for designer goods: Louis Vuitton, Hugo Boss, Prada, etc. all in one street and along the streets parallel to it. Louis Vuitton near to Place de La Concorde has better service. The main one on George V is too snooty coz they got too many customers, and you’ll get barraged by Chinese syndicate trying to give you cash to buy for them LV products. I know all the ladies want to head there.. so this tip is for your future wife :)

Monoprix – at Champ Elysee the one right on the main street (across Paris 2012) is cheaper..don’t know why but prices are not standard. For example, for a lotion I was buying, the price ranges from 9.60 -14.80 euro for the SAME thing and size at 8 different pharmacies throughout that area and Paris.

Food and Beverages
Coke or soft drinks there are expensive .. around Paris.. around 2.00 to 2.50 Euro per can. Coffee around 3 – 4 euro a cup.

Lunch at Restaurant/Café will cost around 20 euro or more per person, McD about 7-10 euro. Dinner a bit or a lot more based on your picks.

Movies
All the tickets are expensive about 10 Euro, but show before 11 AM or is it 10AM will be a bit cheaper.. 7 or 8 Euro. I saw Starwars 3- Revenge of the Sith and Kingdom of Heaven both costed me about 10 euro a ticket, that was at Champ Elysee. There are 4 or 5 cinemas on that street. I don’t know price at other places but if you have to spend for metro, might as well watch it at the same area you are in.

Buy souvenirs either at

Port Maclignancourt
Must take metro all the way to end of route then walk with the crowds who will be heading to the same place.There’s also a huge indoor and outdoor antique market there, or

Anvers – all sorts of things under the sun, including French lace and tapestries.

There’s also mobile vendors (they walk around) selling much cheaper souvenirs in front of the Notre Dame cathedral itself and Tour Eiffel as well..don’t buy from stall/street vendors which are a sure rip off. If you are lucky there's a Filipino acapella singing group singing in front of the cathedral.. they are good.

Highlights

Mont Marte – Sacre Couer – Anvers
(same metro/bus stop); also Moulin Rouge (red light district) is within walking distance (metro/bus stop before Anvers)

Sacre Couer is a very romantic place to visit, you can either walk the steep steps and try to avoid all the Africans trying to sell you the love knots or take the funicular train for 1 carnet each way. There’s a café and souvenir shop on top of the funicular.

Notre Dame – Latin Quarters – Sorbonne
Quaint and beautiful area; my very favourite area! Many interesting stores as well as bookstores around almost every corner (secondhand English bookstores as well!), varieties of food eateries (many halal places along the quaint alleys) –but be careful of Greek restaurants – one of the restaurant proprietor chose MY head to break his plate and then quickly kiss it to bless me to say I’ll be lucky! I better be lucky coz it was PAINFUL! The café next to the Cathedral provide a great Parisian café ambiance but a bit steep.. nonetheless worth it for its ambiance :)

Mosque de Paris (for your sembahyang Jumaat as well), Jardin du Luxembourg and Jardin des Plantes (botanical gardens) are worth a visit. Metro Monge.

Barberi Fresh Market
Get off at Anvers metro stop – every Wednesday and Saturday. All sorts of fruits, vegetables and fresh produce – halal meat and seafood. Malaysians are well respected there by the mostly northern African vendors.

Champ Elysee
Champ Elysee links Arc de Triomphe in the north to the Place de la Concorde in the south. It’s a good walk..just make sure you wear comfortable shoes coz the avenue is about 2km long.

Tour Eiffel
Metro Stop Bir Hakeim. It’s nice to stop and have coffee and chocolate crepe half-way on top of Eiffel. You need all the calories if you are climbing the stairs :)

River Cruise on the Seine
A must do. It’s a romantic way to do Paris without much effort. Make sure you go for the 9:20PM ..the cruise takes about 1 hour and halfway around 9:45, the Eiffel Tower will be lighted up for about half hour. This is the highlight of this cruise. Bring a digital camera with a movie option. It will be worth it! The cruise will take you from Pont de Alma to around Ile de la Cite and Ile St. Louis and back again – basically cover all the major sites of Paris. Metro stop Pont de Alma which is a walking distance from Place de la Concorde. The no dinner ticket by River Bateaux cost 7 euro, there are more expensive cruises as well.

Must see museums
The Lourve (permanent collection 8.50 Euro - you won't have time to cover even this, so just pay for the basic ticket), Musee d’Orsay (Impressionist works) and Musee de l’Orangerie [ has Monet's Nympheas (water lilies) collection].

La Opera, Lourve, Lafayette
Within walking distance of the Lourve; designer retail outlets within these periphery..mostly clothes and accessories. Printemps is a big shopping complex.

Duty free
Drop by at Benelux; the other one Mariamoud is more expensive. (Must bring passport for duty free shop)

Palace de Versailles
There’s a train that goes from Paris (Gare du Nord) – one can make this a day trip; or if go by car.. rental goes around 85 euro per day..not bad option if you want to go out in the country for the weekend (maybe do Giverny and Normandy as well).

French country side – Monet’s Giverny and Normandy on same route.

Tips: Brush up on some basic French if you have a chance, it’ll help tremendously and the French will be smiling for you. In general the French are very proper people, not necessarily snobbish. Hardly anyone will speak English except for the tourists and foreigners. Anyway the French language is beautiful to the ears..da cour :)

The Best of Times

2005-06-14T18:37:00.000+08:00

The best of times were when I was among frens.

A wonderful surprise was Bonn, Amsterdam and off course Paris.

Paris is because I know these frens from my Washington DC days but we were separated for many years, so meeting Kak Fatimah and family again was great. Paris itself is such a beautiful (and as Kak Fatimah would put it "most romantic" :) city.. with Champ Elysee and Arc d’Triompe just around the corner and to jog every morning to Eiffel Tour was a bonus :) and having Jinny visited me in Paris (she will kill me if I forgot to put her name here :P)

Amsterdam for Nan, Ronald, Enno and its ambiance. I truly enjoyed meeting these folks, being included in what they do as locals and making them my new found friends. When I first read about Amsterdam in my guide book and the book that Arthur lend me to read.. I was a bit worried :) but being introduced to Amsterdam by Nan and frens was a totally wonderful surprise I must say! :)

Bonn ..becoz Sedad being such a caring person made sure I have a wonderful stay there. I didn’t anticipate Bonn and end up coming back for the second time, spending a total of 6 nites and 8 days there! (sacrifying Britain totally!). I had a wonderful time with Sedad and his DE frens.. Irmir, Nina and Amir, Ermina(whom I know Khal and Zaki will go crazy for! :), Belma the shy student from Banja Luka, and a few others). After being a vagabond for so long, Bonn was such a welcomed relief coz I get to do normal things :) (which Sedad, God bless him! made sure of :) .. like going on the town to watch a Turkish Dervish show (maybe not normal for some, but quite normal for me:), hanging out at Hardrock Café, taking our time eating a Sunday brunch and just watching people go by along the River Rhine. And such sweet relief to be abled to wear skirts and my hush puppies..instead of jeans and Reeboks all the time!

I absolutely enjoyed the many beautiful places I went to.. lazying at Lake Bled breathing in the mountain air and flowers, letting oneself be lullabied by the gurgling streams, with the backdrop of the fairytale castle and blue blue lake. The folks are nice and know about Malaysia (from F1!) and the best hostel I stayed in was in Slovenia.. felt I was in a fairytale cottage, within walking distance of the Castle and Lake Bled.

Sintra was a beautiful surprise.. such a heavenly place! You just got to be there to know what I mean.. The “Castle de Mouros” is just a wonderful place for a day hike, with the Palacio de Pena in its whimsical colors.. a breathtaking view once you reached the top and such fresh air that caress your skin just right..sigh. I also tried this very rich beverage ..(thick enuff to pass as a dessert!)..can’t remember what’s it called (but I think it has Moroccan heritage..). It’s simply sinful! The small town is quaint with the beautiful sound of the Fado. I had a wonderful day spending it with Phoebe and her mother, from London.

Norway is simply gorgeous! I am so glad I made the decision to go all the way to Myrdal, Flam, Voss, Varguden and Bergen. The Norwegian Fjords offered the most spectacular sights one must experience once in life. To top it all, I made two new wonderful friends. From Oslo to Flam, Samantha, an electronic engineer from Sri Lanka who works in Bangkok. And from Varguden to Bergen, Giulia – a Genoan currently studying in Firenze. We already planned to meet up again, to do Norway in a caravan to catch the Salmon run :)

Being with wonderful ppl no matter where we are, are the best of times for me. Being in a gorgeous place while we are with them are a bonus I feel.

The Worst of Times

2005-06-14T18:33:00.000+08:00

My worst time was probably in Roma (Rome) upon returning to Roma Central Station from the many city sightseeings, when trying to take out more cash, I found out I couldn’t take out any cash at all! I tried this at several ATM machines, and upon realizing I might have problem with my cash flow I was panicking for my first time in this travel ):

It was the worst of feeling.

After making a thorough cash-checked, I found out I had only 170 Euro in hands, with yet so many countries to cover.. Realizing I was in big trouble with only 15 minutes to make major decision (before the last train out and the station closing for the nite) whether to stay in Rome, continue with my first plan of going to Napoli (Naples- to see Paesthum and Pompeii – needing to spend more money..) or take the overnite train to Palermo, Sicily. I finally decided to be an adult ): (darn! can’t get my way all the time!) and had to settle on going straight to Palermo, first becoz I utilized 1 full travel day of my Eurail ticket with only reservation fee to pay for, and secondly, coz I can save on accommodation as I can overnite on the train. This was the best decision for me and one that I finally took. Yeah, I still feel bad for not having made it to Pompeii, Pastheum, Salerno and Napoli but consoled myself with “I don’t really have time to do it all and that I should probably come back again to see those places I have missed”.

I was so very relieved when the morning of arrival, upon checking the cash machine in Palermo, found out I could take money from the cash machine.. which I proceeded to withdraw as much needed for my whole journey, with pickpockets and vultures vying me left and right at the cash machines (yes, the tugs sent little kids to harass you for money while you are at the cash machine). What the heck..sometimes one has to live dangerously. Later on I saw a bunch of elderly tourists being rounded up and harassed by little kids who were trained pickpockets..luckily for them there was a policeman nearby.

I made sure I came back to Roma a second time on my way to Ancona (for Spalator and Mostar) to erase this terrible feeling I had that day when I thought my whole journey was doomed coz of that stupid cash machines in Roma Centrale!

Another potential disaster if not saved by Eva was when I arrived in Stockholm close to midnite without any Swedish Kroner nor a place to stay for the nite. Luckily, Eva (who was reading a book), was so nice to assist me all the way out and later on when we tried several places without success, offered to bring me home to her place :). Eva really was my angel that nite.. perhaps there’s a reason for her to miss her train.. and had to wait for the last train out ... probably to be there to “saved” me heh! :)

SedaP-only-for-women ;)

2005-06-02T16:03:00.000+08:00

Pics by Teliung
SedaP nur fur Frauen, with Nina and Amir in the background paying for Parking at Pizza Casa Kasse

I knew Sedad a few years ago through mutual friends, Khal and Feisal via the Lembing network. I think we met at several occasions when he was living in Malaysia - at birthday bashes including mine (which I was legendary late! it was the Japanese faults :) sumimasen. Once he and his friend Zuki followed us to a Candat Sotong (Squid Jigging) trip at Pulau Kapas, Terengganu. (Hmm.. come to think of it, the group cap was orange, Sedad did you have anything to do with that? :)

I heard a few years ago that he moved to Germany. When I was planning my Europe trip, we got acquainted again thru MSN, as I needed some advice on Germany. Sedad somehow managed to convince me to "drop by" Bosnia and Herzegovina, his kampung, which I am glad I did (at the expense of dropping Greece and Turkey from my list :)

I didn't really know the person Sedad is until we meet again in Bonn. Getting to know Sedad up close and personal was interesting indeed. I find him to be a challenging personality (READ: we can never agree on most things, maybe becoz we are both very opinionated individuals :)- except on the Syariah perhaps..[heck we are both conservative lot! LOL]. We can probably talk on any subjects (and will managed to differ -you can bet on this- on each one..heh!). Our hotspots are anything Asians vs. Europeans. I'd (innocently :) made some random comments on the Europeans ways of doing things and he will start defending the Europeans to no ends! [PS: Stubborn as a mule to put his own words.. here's pic of one zehr cute mule from inner Mongolia.. :P ]

(Now Sedad don't forget you have Mongol blood as well.. and last time I checked Genghiz Khan was Asian! :)~

He is very considerate, attentive to others and KIND :), yet, he'll probably threaten to "beat me with a stick" (his own words again) if he knows I am writing anything nice about him.. he has a problem digesting compliments (probably throwing up by now :P) He'd probably be more relieved if I were to say he is horrible.

BUT I know Sedad will be on cloud nine if I were to acknowledge he is smart :) So Sedad, here's to one(cough..cough..ok..ok..I'll say it!)SmArT :)~ wonderful guy!

PS/ Mongolia was never flat! :)~

This from our discussion on Yajuj and Majuj (Gog and Magog):
Ayah 96 "Until the Gog and Magog (people) are let through (their barrier), and they swiftly swarm from every hill." (Surah 21, The Prophets, Al Qur'an)

where my theory was the Mongols were one of the two tribes and he on automatic-default-mode-to-challenge said that Mongolia is a flat land.. hah where is that atlas..

See also this link on Atilla the Hun as descendant of Genghiz Khan
Atilla the Hun

Genghiz Khan

[..to quote Lonely Planet, "Mongolia is one of the highest countries in the world, with an average elevation of 1580m (5180ft). Its highest mountains are in the far west. The Mongol Altai Nuruu are permanently snowcapped, and their highest peak, Tavanbogd Uul (4370m/14,350ft), has a magnificent glacier that towers over Mongolia, Russia and China."]

Land of the Genghiz Khan

Mongolia

Altai Mountain, Mongolia
(pics from www.jagged-globe.co.uk)

pic by Alan Halewood

pic by Graham Taylor

hah! :P~

Limau Sunkist, Marmalade dan Merah

2005-05-31T03:04:00.000+08:00

>
"Bloody" orange from Palermo, Sicily

I am a fruit person. I must eat fruit everyday. I probably eat more oranges than other fruits and can eat at least 2 oranges a day. Closer to my trip I was eating 4 oranges a day (..trying to make up for the possibility of no fruits and oranges for days onward!). Finally, heeding everyone advice, I forced myself to peek at the local pharmacy for some vitamin supplements ..just in case (I hate supplements! it's more fun to bite real fruits than popping pills!). So I end up with vitamins C and E.

I hate taking those tablets during my travel days. I must have given up a week into the journey, so whenever I have a chance I will buy fruits. In Spain there were many many many heavily-laden orange trees (such a beautiful sights for an orange-crazy person like me) and while our Spanish guides were explaining us the sights (Toledo, Sevilla, Cordoba) I was busy wondering why the heck no one is picking those ripened fruits! :)

When I finally got a chance to ask, we were already in Al-Hambra, Granada (well it's kind of difficult to slip in a question on why no one is picking the oranges - when the guides were explaining to everyone on the history and architecture of the ruins). I was told by our guide Mr. Paco, those are bitter oranges - the kind we made marmalade and that they are more precious than your regular oranges. There goes my eating orange-straight-from-the-tree dream in Spain (he gave me a bitter orange leaf for my scrap book though). I did bought one huge lovely orange in Madrid, but only to accidently leave it behind in the hotel fridge ): Shucks!

Guess how much it cost me for your run-of-the-mill oranges in Rome.. 1 euro for 1 lousy fruit! (However, in Palermo, Sicily-at its busy morning market it cost only euro 30 cents for 2 lovely blood-red orange..a special variety of Sicily - fragrant and juicy too.. (Yes, I took the overnite train all the way to Palermo to visit the morning market to buy just 2 oranges, and as a bonus was given 3 lovely sweet and juicy red lovely tomatoes for FREE :) Well, "free" is a rare term indeed in Europe! But for their generous hearts, albeit "humbler" living conditions, on top of the "godfather" stigma (yes, everybody warned me NOT to go to Sicily - AND I was excited to go there exactly to see that :), I have great respect and good memories of the Sicilians :).

Yesterday, a week upon returning to Malaysia, I forced my lazyself to drive to Bangsar Pasar Malam to get my regular dosage of 20 fresh oranges for the week. Welcome back to consumer-heaven! coz in consumer-frenly Malaysia, it cost me less than 2 euros for 20 fresh oranges!!

I ate 2 oranges for Jinny, the crazy Korean girl I first met in Munchen who told me that when she visited Malaysia, all she did was ate a lot of oranges to make up for the bloody expensive oranges she was deprived off in Korea. Well she even smuggled home some for her mom - as souvenirs :). We shared a nice orange in Paris while having our tuna-salad lunch in front of the Lourve(yes, she stalked me all the way back to Paris! :) - cost us 2 euros for that 1 fruit!

So here's to you Jinny! (I know, I know.. Ireland is so BLOODY expensive :)

I love Malaysia!

(PS: Someone in Bonn is crazy over the color ORANGE, so I'll saved him all the rinds :)

A blog-challenged retro individual

2005-05-31T01:02:00.000+08:00

I know it's already end of May and I haven't updated my blog!

What do you know.. I am an extremely blog-challenged individual!
I only learnt to create the blog a few days before I left for Europe and never had a chance or the time to figure it all out, so I religiously (whenever I could) wrote manually (my forte - doodling with a pen and paper :)..in my travel journal :)

Cost is also a major factor as throughout Europe, internet access is SO bloody expensive - imagine in Spain (Occidental Hotel, Sevilla to be exact) the receptionist quoted me 1 euro for every 6 minutes! Are they crazy or what? To send 2 very short e-mails can cost a minimum of 10 euros.. that was Rome to be specific! (Telekom Italia - the downloading is extremely, extremely slow and all of us poor foreign travelers felt it was done on purpose! - YES, this was a favorite topic of discussion among us, foreign travelers- so that we poor foreigners have to keep buying those bloody expensive phone cards sold only by Telekom Italia!). And the first 10 minutes will have to be wasted on figuring out the system in whatever language (NO, we can't change them to English! we all tried) - Spanish or Italian. At least in France and DE/Germany I could still change to English version, most of the times.

Running around Europe (for 9 weeks to be exact) within so many countries, left not much time to update my blog, when even sending "must-send" e-mails are a pain to keep up with.

So I will have to recreate my European trip travel journal on this blog retroactively. My sincere apologies to all who have been inquiring.

I will start the journal by posting the first e-mail sent to friends when I first arrived in Paris..coz it captured the enthusiasm I felt there and then, which can't be reproduced "retroactively" :) (Looking back at this and reading this now..gosh I sound like a little kid let loose in a candy store!).

Forgive the enthusiasm! :P

Normandy - French Country

2005-05-18T00:52:00.000+08:00

Normandy, FRANCE WEST COAST

Posted by teliung

2005-05-16T11:37:00.000+08:00

The Impressionists - Musee d'Orsay, PARIS

pics by teliung

Memories of Bonn

2005-05-09T00:36:00.000+08:00

Pics by Teliung

Bonn Fire

2005-05-08T14:23:00.000+08:00

Rheineau in Flammen, Bonn

Posted by Teliung

May 7, 2005

Sedad e-mailed me on "Rhinen in Flammen" (Rhines in Flames) along with its website when I was in Stockholm coming back from the Viking Cruise to Finlandia. At that time, I was still bent on doing England, Wales and Scotland (and maybe Ireland) after Scandinavia. But after my excursion to Norway, and reality time check with Samantha (who did England first) while we were in Oslo, I realized that it was not possible to do Britain in 4-5 days. So after 3 nites in Amsterdam I decided to head back to DE on the evening of the Bonn Fire on May 7.

I arrived at Bonn Hauptbanhof around 5:15PM, with Sedad again patiently waiting for me. After freshening up, we joined Nina and Amir at Pizza Casa for dinner that nite. Both Nina and I again ordered our favourite dish –"Linguini with shrimp in a mild curried creamy sauce"- with a generous sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan. It is the best eventhough I could never finish the portion served.

Since Nina is allergic to crowd (as do I to a certain extent..I’ve always avoided crowds whenever I can), it was just Sedad and me going to the Rhine Park that nite. It was freezing cold but there was already a growing crowd there for this celebration of Spring. Since we were early, we walked around, buying candied almonds and some interesting local nuts.. I also took pics of stalls selling all sort of wursts and wieners typical of the German staples (well mostly to tease my younger sister who’ll probably demanded that I samak the camera just for taking pics of porcine which off course, this being a "pork and ham" country, is in such abundance throughout DE). There’s folk music in the background, which I innocently commented.. as being crappy.. (as opposed to Scorpion :)another German product) ..which invited an unsuspected scolding from Mr. Bonn himself. Luckily he was quick to offer a peace treaty sealed with a wild pansy :) Later, I realized the German crowds were happily and patriotically singing along with those “crappy” folk songs.. I guess it is like our Rasa Sayang song.. beauty is in the ears of its natives it seemed, so I told Sedad I took back my comments :)

Bonn Fire

Posted by Teliung

Due to the droping temperature, the organizer considerately fast forwarded the lighting of fireworks by half hour to 11:00PM. I must be almost frozen by then, standing in my thin Chinese dinner jacket, which hardly provided any protection against the extreme cold temperature, with my feet falling asleep on me, but regardless, managed to take some pics with my completely frozen hands. I think they turned out rather nicely:) I especially love how the Ferris Wheels' pics turned out.

Ferris Wheel 1, Rheineau in Flammen, Bonn

Posted by Teliung

Ferris Wheel 2, Rheineau in Flammen, Bonn

Posted by Teliung

Irmir

2005-05-08T13:22:00.000+08:00

Pics by Teliung
Irmir and his beloved bike

One has to experience Irmir LIVE! :P

Irmir is a live wire. How can I describe him? My face muscles get extremely exercised whenever Irmir is around - from non-stop laughing!:P Irmir is a dynamite, almost childlike in his enthusiasm for life. I wish there are more individuals like Irmir in this world and there will never be war.

One would never imagine Irmir as a handicapped person. Behind those beautiful big doe-eyes, he is certified as legally blind, but his enthusiasm for life never made him one. He gives us laughter and happiness whenever he is around. Having been a soccer superstar in his native Bosnia prior to the war, bomb shrapnel that evaded his skull had crippled his eye nerves, almost blinding him. Irmir continues his life like nothing has happened, whereas most of us will be crushed and retreated from life. But not Irmir.

A beautiful lesson in human strength and celebration of life.

Recently, Irmir tried to auction off his PC monitor on e-bay. He was very excited when he called Sedad.. when we asked how much it is going for.. he excitedly said 12 euro! :P Obviously that was his first e-bay auction!

Last time I asked, they have decided to combine Irmir’s monitor with Sedad’s old CPU and donate the PC to their local mosque in Bonn.

Now I’d like to auction off Irmir to the best of ladies out there. (But Sedad said you'll probably have to compete with some other ladies vying for his attention as well..)

He is a great looking guy :) with shiny raven-black hair and big beautiful brown eyes, but you’ll have to be at least 5’7” if you don’t want to be dwarfed by him heh.. he is a very tall guy! And we can promise you that your life will be filled with laughter and shall never ever be boring! :P

Pics by Teliung
See how tall Irmir is beside petite moi..(I am not too vertically-challenged..I am 5'2"!)

Nan

2005-05-07T14:23:00.000+08:00

Nan - sweet and kind.

These are the images I have of Nan, my new found friend from Amsterdam.

When Feisal first gave me her contact e-mail and we wrote to each other, I have an image of how nice and sweet this lady is, yet, she managed to exceed my expectations! and more :)

My first image of Amsterdam was Nan waiting patiently for me at her tram station (I was 40 minutes late from waiting at the wrong tram station!) and my last image of Amsterdam was also of Nan patiently sending me off at the train station on a cold and wet afternoon after she and Ronald took me to see the windmills at Zhaans Schaan. Yes, both of them woke up SO VERY EARLY on a Saturday morning! to arrange for transportation to take me to see the windmills.. I am very touched.

And how can I forget.. she, without failed will served me hot tea every morning in bed :P (my wake up call :)

Glorious Seafood the nice chef has "customized" especially for moi :)

Pics by Teliung

She made sure she showed me Amsterdam as the local would have it. I enjoyed the Canal tour, as well as the wonderful food at the Seafood restaurant (with sea gulls cries and sound of the waves..and I loved those miniature snails :)

Little snails from the sea

Pics by Teliung

and piping hot square walnut buns served with three types of herb butter), Halal Kebab place (wonderful lamb ribs :), meeting up with some colorful characters along the way (Henke - the drunk rastafarian philosopher,

Henke the Rastafarian philosopher

Pics by Teliung

a bulldog or is it a pitbull? who won't leave the "Cafe"..which has a copy of Faust!, lady with orange hair),

Happy camper! :P

Pics by Teliung

and on my last nite, managed to scout an extra ticket so that I could see the Daughter of Soul concert at Club Paradiso.
(See link to view the concert on 6.5.05 at http://www.fabchannel.com/ )

This is for you Nan and Ronald :)

And yes.. you AND Ronald better pick up your gifts (and Katrinka's) in KL:)

THANK YOU!

Nan and Ronald at their Secret Garden

Pics by Teliung

Enno at Keukenhof

2005-05-06T17:23:00.000+08:00

Tulpens of Keukenhof

Pics by Teliung

When Enno (naively:P) agreed to Nan’s suggestion that he took me to Keukenhof, he had no idea what he has gotten himself into :)

Early Friday morning, Enno showed up at the breakfast deli Nan and I was at, having your typical Amsterdam breakfast of cheese and fresh baguette with coffee (sorry Nan, it was too huge, I can’t finished it :) I am sure on his mind, well this girl looked “pretty normal” enuff :) Poor Enno, he didn’t realized what he’s got himself into.

We drove to Keukenhof about half an hour away from Amsterdam. We were early and parked the car in the huge grassy parking spot. Soon enough, Enno had a big headache from nature-crazy moi! Just snapping away from all sorts of angles unthinkable by any other photographers :) I also made him go thru the bushes with me to quietly photo-ambushed a couple of wild ducks building a nest..and taking dozen of snaps of the windmills rotating blades (and not to forget hundreds of colorful tulips :P~). Enno also taught me how to make a movie of the rotating windmills on my new camera.. to think that I missed making a movie of those colorful flamenco dancers in Sevilla! just coz I was too lazy to read the little manual that come with it! :)

When we couldn’t find any tulip bulbs for sale after 3 circles of the huge area, I told Enno, if we (yes, he too!) were to “accidently pull some bulbs from the garden, it wasn’t my fault coz they don’t sell any in the whole bloody place. Lucky for Enno :) and Keukenhof :) (and to the relief of Nan, later when Enno told her what I was willing to do :) at our last exit, we found a stall selling some tulips and hyacinths but still no bulbs ): Enno, having grown up in the countryside (lucky him!) with gardens and lots of plants, also helped chose the best tulpens and hyacinths to bring back to Bonn and Paris as presents, (and to smuggle back to Malaysia.. :P). So I made him promised me to send some bulbs to Malaysia (for experiment purpose..see if it’ll grow in hilly and chilly UK Perdana :) in the Fall when they are available for sale along with my favorite “Lilies of the Valley”. (Don’t forget OK Enno! :) If they still don’t have the bulbs for sale in the Fall, Enno will just have to pull some “wild ones” from the roadside near the highway off Keukenhof! :)

Enno and Lady Raven

Pics by Teliung

He also advised on good souvenirs to buy instead of the stuff most poor tourists got trapped into buying. Since I was not going to Britain and Ireland after Amsterdam as originally plan due to time limitation, I could carry some souvenirs to bring back for folks. For my own, the most precious souvenirs are memories of my travels and the wonderful folks I met and the adventures along the way.

At the end of the day, we also managed to misplace Enno’s car:) We have no idea where it was, as there were now hundreds of car at that darn parking lot. After 20 minutes Enno finally located it, what a relief!

It was a crazy day indeed for Enno (but normal for me :) but I think :) he had lots of fun :) I know even though I gave him much headaches, Enno won’t ever regret spending the day with this one-of-a-kind-girl from KL :) Right Enno? :P

Birds' Nest - Keukenhof

Pics by Teliung

Keukenhof

2005-05-06T05:19:00.000+08:00

Tulpens of Keukenhof- Amsterdam, HOLLAND

pics by teliung

Keukenhof is a riot of colors in Spring.

Scenic Flam, NORGE

2005-05-03T18:24:00.000+08:00

Scenic Flam

Pics by Teliung

Norwegian Fjords

2005-05-03T15:08:00.000+08:00

Beautiful Fjords

Pics by Teliung

I have no words to express my wonder of the Norwegian fjords except that God's creation is never comparable to any human-made art. I must be the only one who wrote in the Museum book in Firenze that I don't see what's all the fuss with David by Michelangelo coz personally a sculpture can never beat my wonder of a real and live human. So when it comes to nature, it'll beat any human structure or sculpture. Why?

Coz of this..

Pics by Teliung
Soaring seagull

and this..

Pics by Teliung
Scenic Village

and this..

Pics by Teliung
Majestic Glaciers

and this..

Pics by Teliung
Pretty-as-a-postcard-Flam

and many many other snapshots of nature that stayed in my mind ... sorry Sweden (and Amir :P .. the Norge wins the beauty pageant, as well as the Viking trophy for me :)

On the Cruise boat from Flam to Gudvangen

Pics by Teliung

Scenes along the narrowest fjords from Flam to Gudvangen

Pics by Teliung

The Girls of Gamla Stan

2005-05-02T14:19:00.000+08:00

May 1st, 2005

Nobel Prize Girls

pics by teliung

Their names are Natasya and Nadhirah. Tasha and Thira for shorts.

Smart Malay Girls

Pics by Teliung

This duo are very smart and savvy girls, typical of most Malay girls :) (Everyone know by now Malaysia has more girls qualifying and attending tertiary education than boys, which aptly reflected in the index score of 119.4 female managers for every 100 male managers :) I am so proud of these girls. They reminded me of Aisyah and Iffa, Kak Ha’s daughters about the same age. They are about 12 and 10 and the daughters of Kak Ha’s friend and colleague, Johanif, the Director of Malaysia Tourism in Stockholm, Sweden.

The two girls accompanied me to Gamla Stan where we had such a fun day. They were street savvy and guided our way around town. We peeked from shops to shops for fun souvenirs to buy, I think our favourite was this flying cow at one of the stores. I didn’t buy it coz I was too lazy to carry it with me all the way to Amsterdam then to Bonn then to Paris..but I kinda regret it now :) Tasha and Thira pretty much try to convince me to bring the flying cow back to Malaysia (while I was quite sure it might originated from China..)

Flying cow!

Pics by Teliung

Tasha the eldest, almost a lady, was looking for some pink nail polish (nail polish reminds me of the girls now) and make up and very much into everything American – well she’s at that stage :), while her mother is trying very hard to instill in her the intrinsic beauty and value of our eastern, Malay culture. Thira on the other hand is not aware yet of the world of make up and feminine wiles. She is still an innocent, yet wise beyond her years at the same time.

On Sedad’s recommendation, we visited the Town Hall, Stadshuset, where the Nobel Prize ceremony is held, along the river with its two naked statues (took pics of the female naked statue especially for Khal :), passing the Malaysia TDC office and stopping by at the expensive shopping complex across the street.

Tourism Development Corporation Malaysia Office, STOCKHOLM

Pics by Teliung

I had to buy a bag for my guidebooks and paperstuff (city maps, eurail tickets, etc)..coz my small daypack was full. (I had conveniently left my backpack in Bonn – everyone know how lazy and lackadaisical I am with baggage.. I would leave them at train stations or airport unattended. When I go outstation for work, I would check in the notebook if I could!). The simple black canvas bag I ended up buying cost me over 20 euro.. in Malaysia, it would cost only 2-3 euro top! That nite I sew the Swedish flag on it and attached a Moose keychain to dress it up a bit to remember Sweden by. There is also this very quaint store that sells the cutest stuff and toys, I can't helped but brought a stuffed moose home, but the moose is lightweight and most importantly is so soft I can stuffed it in my small daypack :)

That was also the first time I realized how kids could really crammed on candies and chocolates - which Tasha and Thira “hoodwinked” me as being quite alright and normal. I was worried with all those sugar they were consuming while walking the cobbled street of Gamla Stan. Later on, I found out the mother would never allow them to eat that much candies! Between the two of them they must have consumed like 2 kg of candies within a 3 hour period, on top of the soda pops - courtesy of me!
(I thought they might saved some of the candies for later..but what do I know about kids!)

Barbie at the PC

Pics by Teliung

The third girl “Baby” reminded me of my niece Nina, for her cuteness factor (which Tasha and Thira didn't quite agree :) and passion in Barbies. While I was sending e-mails from their notebook, she was playing with this Barbie program on the PC. Since we were side by side, I got to play Barbie with her as well :) The fourth and youngest is also a girl, a diaper- wearing toddler – the real baby of the brood. She reminded me of Nabila (who recently called herself Bella), Kak Ha’s youngest.

Shy Malay Girls :)

Pics by Teliung

Sisterly Love

Pics by Teliung

It was relaxing and homely to spend those two nites with the Johanifs and be surrounded by kids. I also got to eat Nasi Goreng, Rendang Ayam and Ayam Masak Merah and this delicious Orange-Chocolate cake concoction, courtesy of Mrs. Johanif (the one with the baby), as well as did all my laundry, that I overlooked the fact that I didn’t get to try the boat hostel at all.. well there's always the next time :)

Pony tails :)

Pics by Teliung

Gypsy Queens

2005-05-01T15:23:00.000+08:00

Pics by Teliung
Viking Cruise

Pics by Teliung
Boarding Passage

There were three of them.

I met them on the Viking Cruise Ship from Stockholm to Helfingors, Finlandia (Helsinki, Finland). They were the RUDEST women I’ve ever met. At first I thought they were part of the Viking Cruise welcoming act..but found out later that they were not. They were wearing some sort of heavy costumes, volumnous skirts with huge skirtings, velvets and sequins.. They have to use the handicap WC coz of the outfit. They were all over the place and talking very loud and missing of manners.

On the ship return journey, we were relieved that they were gone. Some Finlanders on the ship told us that they had probably balik kampong for a few days as it was the Spring Festival on May 1st when our ship docked at Helfingors. I was told by them that these are the rich gypsies of Scandinavia..and that once they reached the age of 16, they are stuck with these fancy outfits that they must wear in rain or shine or snow! Amazing.. I thought these Finlanders were kidding me, but they swore they are telling the truth.

The gypsies I’ve met so far from Spain to Italy to Balkans to Germany were all wearing tattered cotton clothes, but these gypsies were wearing heavy drama-like outfit. Obviously money can’t buy them manners. But according to Amir, Nina and Sedad when we were discussing this at Pizza Casa, these are probably their ways.. that they don’t follow regular social norms. I was so shocked by their rudeness to everyone.. belching, talking extremely loud after midnite (probably very drunk as well) and taking off their clothes right in front of everyone, that I forgot to snap their photos! Dang!

Gaming machines inside Viking Cruise

Pics by Teliung

Docking at Helfingors

Pics by Teliung

Eva the Angel

2005-04-29T14:17:00.000+08:00

The train station looked so deserted and felt so cold when the last train finally arrived in Stockholm Central closed to midnite. I have no Swedish Kroner nor booking at any accommodations. I was looking forward to the boat accommodation touted by my guidebook.

She was reading a book when I braced myself to approach her to ask direction to a cash machine, after several “tawaf” of the place and still couldn’t find any. And she spoke perfect English! :) She told me that the station recently relocated the machine outside and she could direct me to it herself - as she missed her train and had to wait for the last one which will take some time. While I was taking some cash she asked me if I have any place to stay since it was so late already and when I said not yet and it was way too late for me to call my sister’s friend who lives in Stockholm, she told me we can use her mobile to call the numbers. We called several numbers from my guidebook especially the boat accommodations which I was so looking forward to, but after several rounds of call without anyone picking up the phone, I began to panic. This is the first time I arrived at any city without being able to get accommodation! Eva being the angel she is immediately offered me to come home with her! We took the train after midnite to Kelhel where she lives.. I think that's the name :) (Sorry Eva, I don't think I will ever get this right! :)

Thus, I made a new friend whom I will never forget, who was so kind to help a complete stranger in distress.. She even let me use her PC to send e-mails (I immediately told both Sedad and Khal about Eva :) and served me breakfast the next morning, along with great conversations (about men :) and family values) before sending me off on the train toward the direction of Gamla Stan on her way to bowling practise (Eva BTW is a great bowler! after seeing all those bowling trophies at her apt!) I took her advice on checking out the Viking Cruise to Finlandia, which I am glad I did and went :)

This is for Eva, my Swedish Angel :)

Eva

Pics by Teliung

I hope one day (soon!) she’ll make that trip to sunny Malaysia, so that she can use the pareo I am sending her to be used on our tropical beach :)

Praha and the Hungarian train

2005-04-27T21:17:00.000+08:00

My first two efforts to go to Praha (Prague) were not successful, either I missed a train totally or the available connections just doesn’t make sense..ending myself each time in Berlin! I almost give up at the third trial coz myself and this nice couple – (American woman married to a German man) going to Praha got on the wrong coach that headed for Leipzig, eventhough the train clearly said Praha. We had to make a 3-4 hour detour becoz of that mistake and shorting my time in Praha effectively. That really thought us a lesson- that coaches do separate! Well, we figured we must experience everything at least once.

So I finally saw Praha today.. it is a beautiful, vibrant and happenin' town, exudes old world charm with huge ornate buildings. Where did these people get all these money to build humongous monuments and buildings from???

The Chezch are nice warm people. I have strangers chatting me up as soon as we got to Cheb borders like they’d known me for years and speaking in a strange language that includes a lot of the word 'nam'. They would keep chatting with me without realizing I have no idea what the 'heck' they are talking about, except they seems to be very excited to meet someone from Malaysia, including the border polizeis :)

Beautiful countryside, town and river.. too bad not much time to
spend in Praha. I have to overnite again in Berlin, which seems
like my temporary home right now.. coz all trains go back to Berlin
before Hamburg and north. I missed one connection and so had to take
the early morning train tomorrow morning.

Praha has great theater scenes, and transportation around town is so
much cheaper compared to Berlin - in general cheaper than EU
countries. I sure hope it will last for some time.

At this point of my journey, I also really missed my apt ): It feels such a vagabond to be on the road all the time, but I guess the new sceneries and experience along the way compensate for that.

I also experience my first, "Eastern European way".

From Praha to Berlin, the train conductor insisted that I need to pay an additional 24 euro to his pocket (eventhough the full ticket is paid for and meaning I don't get a receipt - but he returned the 4 X 1 euro coins (I figured coz you can't change euro coins at the money exchange!). He put it like he's doing me a favor by personally taxing me only 20 euro), while the jolly kitchen chef insisted I gave him a kiss on the cheek to change some money to pay that train conductor! Oh well! On top of it, the kitchen staff gaily brought me a dinner menu to my seat, explaining in details their speciality, that I felt I must order something from the kitchen.

I then realized all the menu are in Hungarian and it dawned on me that I was on a Hungarian train! with an all Hungarian staff! (err.. yes, I also end up with an expensive Hungarian dinner..Hungarian gnocchi is terrible! just lumps of plain boiled dough :) Considering this, I felt quite lucky after all the warnings I read on possible Hungarian harassment from the travel guide..especially since all services were served with a smile :)

The Wall of Berlin

2005-04-26T14:30:00.000+08:00

The last bastion of the Berlin Wall

Pics by teliung

I had to go to the very edge of town via two changing of the trains to find the last bastion of the original Berlin Wall. I took a chip of the falling block as a souvenir and that little piece is now a fridge magnet in my Ulu Kelang apt. There is a nice river side restaurant behind this wall.

Papal Vatican

2005-04-20T13:38:00.000+08:00

Pics by Teliung
Vatican City

The Pope fell ill when I first arrived in Milano. The 3rd day I was in Geneve, I heard on TV that the Pope had died.

This Polish pope was one of the most open in terms of building relationship across faith and vocal against wars. The whole Italy was in mourning and it can be felt in Switzerland as well amongst the mostly Protestants Swiss.

I took a 5 days detour off Roma and Vatican City to avoid the 3 millions people fluxing these two cities during this time. Many catholics I met in Firenze, Venezia, Verona and Roma were part of these groups who couldn't enter the Vatican and Rome due to the curbing of visitors to the wake. While I was in the Vatican, I took a point to mail some postcards to office mates and to buy some stamps and first day covers. The Sistine Chapel was closed to tourists due to the voting of the new pope. If there is a consensus, a white smoke will be signaled from the Sistine Chapel tower. Everyone in line (behind me was this family from America and a padre from England)were busy discussing the voting process. From their conversations, it seemed even in religious institution there are major lobbying going on for who gets to be new pope.

I also came across the newly elected pope while observing the evening mass taking place that day. I think I snapped his pic somewhere.. I just have to find it! He was in cardinal color and leading the mass at that time. I found out the new pope was from Munchen on the train from Wien to Munchen - on my way to Bonn. Since I was heading to Munchen, imagine being overwhelmed by all sort of papers (distributed by train staff) in German touting the new pope who is from Bayern Munich..

The Healing of Sarajevo

2005-04-17T15:20:00.000+08:00

April 16-17, 2005

I almost didn’t make it to Sarajevo but somehow I did.

The journey from Mostar to Sarajevo was an eye opener. I took the bus, coz throughout the Balkans the bus is the most reliable and efficient form of public transport. The whole country is highly mountainous with the river Neretva and its sparkling turquoise water lazed through it like a huge swollen snake. Too bad I can’t see much after that except for sleepy villages dotting the mountains coz dusk was fast approaching and it got very dark on the mountains with no street lights. The mountains loomed all around you and one passed many bridges throughout the journey.

When I finally arrived in Sarajevo after 9PM, Alden and Mehmed were waiting for me at the main bus station. They took me to the HalVat Guest House near the Bacharsije area for me to refresh, before we drove to the Park Princeva Restaurant on top of the hill for dinner. Alden enquired what I would like to eat, and having had cold and dry food minus any protein throughout Italy (except for Milano), I eagerly said MEAT..served hot! The Parc Princeva was an elegant affair..there was also a nice folk band and its view of the whole Sarajevo was spectacular. I felt so out of place in my jeans.. I regret for not changing coz didn’t want the two gentlemen to wait.. arriving at the restaurant, how I wished I had changed into something nicer!

Alden and Mehmed ordered a traditional Bosnian cold starter – with goat cheese, beef and hot buns and made me try some (pretty good :), and ordered for me veal chops with fries on the side, which they won’t try any! I ate ALL 3 slices of veal minus the fries..and Mehmed teased me to say that it is HARAM to waste good food, but I truly can’t eat any fries after finishing the veal :) I think it would be haram for me to eat the fries after I was so full.. My own fatwa, but am sure there is a Hadith somewhere that will backed me up on this! :) They sent me off for a good nite sleep and Alden arranged for a Malay girl named Nurhidayah to show me around town the next day. It seems there are a few Malay families in Sarajevo – mainly involved in civil projects to reconstruct the city, as with the case of Nurhidayah’s family. Alden considered the girl half Bosniak on the fact that she speaks perfect Bosnian!

Sarajevo, BOSNIA

Pics by Teliung

The next morning, somehow I managed to mislocate Nurhidayah. Alden must have changed the location and informed me but I was too tired to pay attention, so off course the next afternoon I was waiting at Mula Mustapha Orthodox Church, the first point mentioned, when Nurhidayah was waiting for me at the tram station right down the street of my guesthouse. I couldn’t reach anyone to find out what happened coz it seems Maxis/its partner doesn’t have proper coverage of Sarajevo (ironic that I could reached Alden from anywhere else in Europe but not Sarajevo..). So for the next hour I walked the street of Sarajevo aimlessly, visiting the morning market along the main street, and noticed that along that vicinity, places of worship of four different religions lie in close vicinity - along Mula Mustafe Basekije, the old Orthodox Church and the old Jewish synagogue, the Gazi-Husrevbey Mosque and several madrasahs in the old town and the Catholic church at Ferhadija. Finally at the end of the road, at the Park where many recent war victims and shahids were buried and memorialized, I found a newspaper kiosk that sell telephone card to make a public phone call to Alden.

Alden rescued me and took me to the quaint and scenic Barcharsije area (which I found out was just running parallel behind this street!). I tried the meat and potato burek Alden ordered for lunch..it was quite good and most importantly everything were served piping hot! He also took me to the Begova Mosque, as well the point where the Austrian crown prince got assassinated which triggered WW1, the City Hall and the Turkish-influenced scenic stalls. There's also the Morica Han now an arabic cafe along Saraci but was formerly a tavern and stable when Sarajevo was a crossroad between East and West. He also showed me the surrounding hills where Serb and Yugoslavian armies would roll bombs in used tyres to the valley that is Sarajevo where thousands of fleeing Muslims perished without a chance to save themselves. It all seemed like a nightmare and that was not too long ago.. I didn't get to see the Sarajevo roses- which are skeletal indentations where a shell exploded.

It was interesting to go through the cobbled Turkish Quarters.. some of the stalls sell souvenirs made of bombs and bullet shells.. many of the vendors are war veterans with limbs missings. I end up buying a silver coffee set from a war veteran with an arm missing..breaking my own rules of not carrying anything heavy with me. I spent the rest of the evening at the Easy Internet center which cost me only 1 euro for the whole hour with the soothing recitation of the Qur’an in the background. The proprietor, a pious muslim man was very nice to download my camera memory card and doesn’t want to accept any money. After I insisted on paying, he finally agreed to accept payment for the CD only – such a difference from eager internet operators in Italy and Spain who were more that quick to charge you at least 5 euro to download.

In the background, Mt Jahorina site of the 1984 Witner Olympics loomed, offering some of the best skiing in Europe, per Alden as cheap as 10 euro - a bargain basement price! Thruout the city, one can still find faded posters of the 1984 Olympics along with newer poster of Maya Karin coming to Sarajevo for a music festival. It is encouraging to see many little kids playing everywhere and many young people in the Bacharsijiye area. I find this a good sign indeed coz throughout Europe its hard for me to find children and young people (Europe as a whole has a huge aging population) coz for this land to heal from the war, they need their young generations to build the country.

Bacharsijiye, Sarajevo - BOSNIA

Pics by Teliung

I left Sarajevo for Zagreb and at the bus station, saw a man caught by policemen for trying to steal an old lady’s purse. At the end of the interrogation, the guy was crying to plead his case..someone mentioned he is probably a drug addict. There are probably many social problems in this war-torn region, and the public facilities are in dire need of upgrading and major funding. (Currently there are some existing fundings from the international communities- this for the fact there were 5 of us at the Guest House at breakfast and 4 are from international institutions with various fundings programs). Even then, this area is worth a visit as its distinct uniqueness set it apart from the rest of Europe and gives one a refreshing view. This is also probably the only European country I can hear the call to prayers :) When a couple I met in Slovenia was trying to decide where to head next, I without hesitation recommended them to head this way!

The future of Sarajevo, Mostar, Banja Luka, Doboj and Bosnia i Herzegovina as a whole lies in the hand of committed individuals like Haris, Alden, Mehmed and Sedad. Educated young generation contributing to the health of this country from their expertise, whether as an architect, a banker, an economist or a telecommunication specialist. Whether they are in the country or outside, they are directly and indirectly rebuilding this beloved land of theirs, fought and torn apart by so many for so long. I wish them all the best. Amin.

Father and Daughter at Bacharsijiye, BOSNIA

Pics by Teliung

Ode to the Adriatic

2005-04-16T20:27:00.000+08:00

Clear turquouise water of the beautiful Adriatic

Pics by Goran

Adriatic Coast, Croatia

Pics by Goran

2005-04-16T17:45:00.000+08:00

Spring Morning in Spalator - Dalmacijian Coast, CROATIA

Pics by Teliung

2005-04-16T17:34:00.000+08:00

Split's Morning Market and Roman Port - DALMACIJIAN COAST

Pics by Teliung