Monday 25 November 2013

Malaysia Will Go Bankrupt!!

A good read...or at least something to ponder besides thinking why your white hair getting more on the left side, or why your wife has been quite happy lately *check the credit card statement*, or why your husband has been smiling without any reason or having after dinner business meetings besides golf retreat with 'friends' to Batam Indonesia...

Talk or rumours or borak kedai kopi has it since last election...  


PM Confirms Malaysia Will Go Bankrupt Under Him !!
That is how I read it. 
He is not only the PM but he is also the Finance Minister. He is directly responsible not just for the gomen but also over the gomen's financial management. 
The buck stops with him. He cannot taichi it on anyone else. Please dont blame the bloggers, the neighbour's cat or the Sulus.   

This talk has been doing the rounds lately. No less than a State leader (I wont say MB or CM) has said that the gomen is "tapping" urgently on funds from Petronas to sustain operations. In short the gomen has no money. 
The gomen has been spending money like water. But there are not much returns to show for all this spending. Now the PM is saying that without collecting more taxes the gomen will go bankrupt. 
Here is The Star :Najib: It’s either GST or facing bankruptcystark choice of increasing government revenue via (GST) or burdening country by borrowing more money.GST necessary as country risked becoming bankrupt like Greece if it resorted to borrowing“We have to find additional sources of income and that’s why we have to implement the GST” he said 


Read more...


Sunday 24 November 2013

Of Love....

Love Conquers All

1.Two reports in the local papers attracted my attention. They are about love – the irresistible emotion which drives us to do great things.

2.Remember Romeo and Juliet. Their love for each other is as well remembered today as at the time of William Shakespeare.

3.Fans of Hindustani films will never forget the love story of Laila and Majnun. In Malay history there are many love affairs.

4.The first article which attracted my attention is the question by a man as to why he cannot marry the man he loves. Marriage is of course about lovers marrying each other.

5.It has nothing to do about procreation of the species by man and woman. If a woman loves a woman, that is enough for them to marry. And the same when a man marries a man.

6.Imagine when this becomes the culture and practice of the human race. We will not need family planning; no condoms, no birth-control pills and no human race before the century is out. Man’s will be done.

7.Another report on love caught my eye. It’s about a daughter’s love for her father. She had been having sex with her father willingly for the past three years. So she asks why cannot she have sex with someone she loves. Yes. Why not?

8.There is nothing wrong physiologically? She may have a child by her father. So what! Goats and cows mate with their fathers and grandfathers.

9.The scientists talk about passing on the bad genes. Religious people and narrow-minded moralists simply forbid such relations. But today we believe in freedom and human rights. And of course free love. Why should we be restricted in any way.

10.But why restrict to daughters who love their fathers. What about sons who love their mothers. Then there are sisters who love their brothers vice-versa, nieces who love their uncles vice-versa and nephews who love their aunties. They all should be entitled to sexual relations.

11.But love does not stop there. People love pets. They love cats and dogs and horses. Should bestiality also be part of love.

12.It would be a great world with everybody loving everybody else. It would make a great civilisation based on endless love.

13.Love I think is the most noble of human emotions. It is something that can be felt but never truly described.

14.But today love simply means having sex. And that is all there is to it.

15.I am no romantic. But still I feel the people today, especially the young are missing something.


~~ Dr Mahathir Mohammad.

Wednesday 20 November 2013

Happy Toilet Day all..

A day late, but still not too late for wishing.
A country that produces known multi millionaires, head of bankers and huge companies worldwide,  known for their extravagant Bollywood movies, and space program -- I wonder why the country let the poor in such situation.

Corruption?
Let the poor be poorer?
Caste?
Too many to manage?

I don't understand....

New Delhi, India - Nobody liked the smell of truth, more so since it concerned the tetchy aspect of toilets in India.
India's Federal Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh was accused last year of hurting Hindu religious sentiments by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party for saying the country needed "more toilets than temples".
Cleanliness may be next to godliness, but India - with 1.2 billion people - is far from achieving it. As World Toilet Day is marked on November 19, India's sanitation and toilet statistics continue to raise a stink.



Read more here.....


Friday 15 November 2013

British colonisation will never end.



Oh puhleez….
Who ever says British colonisation has ended?
It never did.

Yes.
They were once the greatest empire roaming the globe looking for lands and people to colonised and make them their land, disturbing the cultures, repressing stupid and naive rulers, especially in the Malay archipelago and implementing changes that will lead to worst events later on for example bringing in the Jewish to the Palestinian land.
As if they are the king of kings of the world.

Yup, Diana made headlines from her humble beginning as a kindergarten nanny posing in her quite transparent gowns holding a toddler…yes, that still I remember that picture clearly reading it in the newspaper prior to her wedding days which was celebrated worldwide, and telecasted worldwide too.
I mean who wouldn't want to watch the event of the centuries…

Yup, I remember that very well, and that shows how colonised have we all been by the British monarchy.

And, look now.
Kate Middleton's hair?
Owh, give me a break!
First of all, she can not compete her late mother in law in term of beauty and gracefulness.
Yes, all of women during the early 80s were donning Diana Spencer hairstyle.
It was an ultimate style back then.
Im guessing if at that time they sold coloured lenses, these women will definitely get a pair for themselves too.

I was very young then.
In my primary.
And I can still remember well the live telecast I watched in my grandmother's house. It was aired during the daytime. I remembered well because during those days the tv station, there was only two in Malaysia; RTM1 and RTM 2, only start airing late afternoon till 12 midnight.
Yes…this is what 70s kids experience.
No Astro.
No nothing.
And, just imagine and ponder on what kind of mental colonisation can something like that do to you. To young kid.

And the British is continuing their legacy colonising the minds of others, not by their music, not by their economy, but through their royalty.

And Kate Middleton hair?
Nope, I do not think it's worth a try because there nothing to glamorous or exciting about it.

Duhhhh…..

Owh Shit!!

IPOH 14 Nov. - Pengurus Restoran Nasi Kandar Ayam Merah di Jalan Yang Kalsom di sini hari ini menyangkal keras dakwaan restorannya ditutup susulan penemuan najis manusia di dalam peti simpanan makanan di premis itu.
Mohd Nihmatullah Syed Mustaffah berkata perkara itu yang disebar menerusi laman sosial sejurus selepas notis penutupan dikeluarkan oleh Jabatan Kesihatan petang semalam, merupakan fitnah yang bertujuan menjejaskan perniagaannya.
"Adakah najis orang kita boleh masak? Kenapa cemburu selepas 55 tahun saya berniaga di sini?," katanya kepada pemberita di sini.
Sambil menegaskan penutupan selama dua minggu sehingga 28 Nov itu atas faktor kebersihan, beliau berkata pihak yang tidak bertanggungjawab tersebut mendakwa najis terbabit untuk disalut di sekeliling periuk.
"Kalau ada bukti (saya berbuat demikian) keluarkanlah...," katanya menambah perbuatan tersebut turut menjejaskan imej Perak yang sinonim dengan nasi kandar restorannya yang dikenali sebagai "nasi ganja".
Banyak orang kenamaan termasuk menteri dari luar negara datang menjamu selera di sini, justeru bayangkan apa perasaan mereka jika terbaca dakwaan yang dibuat itu, katanya.
Mohd Nihmatullah, 59, juga menegaskan hanya restorannya ditutup manakala Restoran Vanggey di Greentown yang turut menjual nasi kandar beroperasi seperti biasa.
Restoran Vanggey juga milik keluarga saya, katanya.
Beliau berkata restorannya dijangka beroperasi semula Ahad atau Isnin ini selepas Jabatan Kesihatan melakukan pemeriksaan susulan.
Restoran terbabit diarah tutup selama dua minggu bermula semalam kerana gagal mematuhi tahap kebersihan yang ditetapkan.
Notis perintah tutup premis yang dikeluarkan Penolong Pegawai Kesihatan Persekitaran Pejabat Kesihatan Daerah Kinta Abdul Rahman Ismail, dibuat mengikut Seksyen 11, Akta Makanan 1983. - BERNAMA


**********************************************************

Hahahaha...
Gosh..........
Okay, I actually got this news from my family whatsapp.
And the funny part was, my brother who had been mentioning about this shop and all the nice Indian dishes they serve, in fact is the one who made me aware the existence of this shop which otherwise I know not.

The funny bit of this news was, in my brother's  reply he mentioned that even a three plates of rice servings wont suffice his craving of food from this shop.
And a stopover during work trip north would be a must.

Now, this kind of story -- not on the hygiene because personally I'd think almost all 'mamak' or Indian restaurant big or small has zero to little hygiene -- but the story of them using weird thing in their curries has been going on forever.

I remember there used to be one story about this particular restaurant near my place, supposedly them cooking their curries with used underpants or  man's brief thus why the curries from that shop tasted better than their competitors. Duhhhh....
And, please don't ask me whose brief they might use, but surely it must be the owner's!!...hahahaha....

The culture about food stalls or restaurant operators in Malaysia is that it correlated much with superstitious, black magic and all sort of nonsense. 
The story ranges from putting in things such as ganja to enhance the food and drawing people coming in for more, to  business rival next stall casting spells on your shop so walk ins wont be able to notice your shop, of unless you're the owner (duuhhhh.....) and all other nonsense whatnots. 

What can I say.....







Tuesday 12 November 2013

Pendidikan Islam.

Pendidikan Islam perlu dikaji semula.....Itu kata bekas Perdana Menteri, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad yang meminta supaya kurikulum mata pelajaran Pendidikan Moral dan Agama Islam di sekolah dikaji semula bagi memastikan kedua-dua subjek itu sesuai dengan tuntutan semasa.

 Dr. Mahathir juga berpendapat, buku teks baru kedua-dua mata pelajaran itu perlu diterbit serta diguna pakai di sekolah-sekolah untuk mendapatkan hasil terbaik dalam membentuk modal insan berguna kepada negara.

Timely.
Itu kata saya.

Pernah semasa berbual kosong sambil minum petang teh tarik bancuhan partner-in-crime, serta berbual kosong mengenai alam sekitar dan manusia sekeliling saya; mengutarakan hal ini.
Pada pendapat saya ajaran agaman Islam diperingkat rendah perlu mengambil apa yang penting dalam hidup seorang muslimin atau muslimah.

Tidak segan saya mengakui saya hanya mendalami apa perbuatan dalam solat saya dan makna setiap pergerakkan saya ketika umur sudah suku abad.
Ini kerana saya 'curious' ingin tahu.

Jika pada yang tidak ingin tahu?
Mungkin perbuatan solat itu menjadi tidak penting atau menjadi satu perlakuan 'semulajadi' yang perlu diikuti seorang muslim. Titik.

Pada pendapat saya, setiap satu Rukun Islam perlu diperluaskan lagi cabang penilaianya dan pemahamannya supaya menjadi lebih relevan dalam kehidupan harian, sambil dapat memberi makna lanjut akan setiap kehendakan Rukun Islam yang wajib diingati serta diikuti.

Begitu juga dengan rukun Iman.
Ya,  sememangnya solat serta ajaran berkaitan ada diajar disekolah, tetapi untuk lebih pemahaman, sebilangan besar kanak kanak dihantar ke kelas petang khas pengajian agama dan fardhu ain.
Walauun begitu, melalui pengalaman saya semasa kanak kanak, tiada ajaran 'kenapa' dalam menyelenggarakan solat. Tiada ajaran sebab musabab kenapa seorang muslim yang solat perlu meletakan tangan diantara dada dan perut, kenapa perlu saya sujud, apa makna bacaan setiap pergerakan dalam sembahyang dan banyak lagi.

Dr Mahathir ada juga  mencadangkan supaya waktu pengajaran dan pembelajaran subjek-subjek itu di sekolah dipanjangkan.
Katanya keutamaan kurang diberikan, dan adakah pelajar hanya diajar cara beribadat sahaja sedangkan ajaran Islam adalah ad-din yang meliputi cara hidup.
Kalau cuma belajar buat ibadah tertentu tetapi tidak menguasai ilmu, itu tidak menepati kehendak agama katanya yang juga meraskan molek jika semakan semula kurikulum dilakukan supaya kita tidak hanya belajar ibadat atau mengajar menjadi manusia yang baik.

 Sungguh tepat dan bernas.

Sewajarnya Pendidikan Islam disekolah dirombak dan digantikan dengan sesutau yang realistik, up to date bersaingan dengan ungkapan 'Quran as a way of life'.


Shah Rukh Khan and The Beatles.

Shah Rukh Khan.
Who doesn't know this man.
Known as 'King Khan' back in his home country, he was once, if my memory still serves me well, was named in Forbes (again If I'm not wrong, but 80% think it is correct) as one of the top 50 famous people in the world.

I do not want to talk about him per se.
Nor about his movies because I do not enjoy Hindi movies due to their pretentiousness, their showy of extravagant lifestyle and most of all, their 'expected' or easily read storyline. It's too long winded for me.

I came across one article about him and it was concerning his religious belief and I find it quite interesting because I myself had been wondering if Shah Rukh Khan a muslim or a hindu.
He who was born to a Muslim family however, do believe in Allah and also the Hindu god (gods), as he is married to a wife who is a Hindu; in other word -- they have an altar at home and also a the Holy Quraan next to it and teaches the children the good of both religion.

Well, again.
It's not for me to judge. Our religion is ours to keep and God knows better.

The only thing that perplexed me was human themselves when it comes to religion and their belief.
I would like to think that some of us can get overly confused when it comes to religion.
Maybe the song by Beatles has a point too;

         Imagine.
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one.


I have known a family, during my short business tenure in Jakarta. The husband is a Muslim, and the wife is a Christian. They had been married for over twenty years. It is accepted in Indonesia. A Muslim can get married to another person, and the other person do not have to convert to Islam for the matrimony to take place.

However the practice among the Muslim arabs (Im not talking about the Gulf arabs), is that a Muslim man can be married to the people of the Book and are given an ample time to convert. It was imparted to me that the duration sometime will stretched up to ten years, and if the non-Muslim spouse refused to convert then they shall call it a day.

Unlike in Malaysia, for a non Muslim to get married to a Muslim man or woman, they have to denounce their religion and convert. And I can tell you 80 to 90 percent of them convert just for that reason and nothing else. Maybe they'll be a practising Muslim and maybe they will choose to remain neutral when it comes to religion.
I have friends and family members who are married to converts.

There are good and bad. Of having a strict religious law when it comes to marrying a Muslim like they have in Malaysia.
One-- it is in the doctrine that a muslim must marry another muslim. If they are not, then they have to convert. This however has it's twist when it comes to the people of the Book i.e. the Jews and the Christians. And that was during the birth of Islam. Centuries ago and I shall not go there due to my meagreness in the religion itself, and je suis comme je suis.

The only thing that made me constantly asking for answers was why on earth religion  must be made the reasons for everything. Good or bad.
Why must it be confused? Isn't it supposed to be guidance to human folks?
And why, most of all, the young naive mind of children must be muddled by something so easy yet so complex and some parents make them chose when they turned 18?


Why do people like and enjoy making themselves confused?
Why do people have to follow and follow blindly?





Sunday 10 November 2013

Well-behaved women seldom make history.

 "Well-behaved women seldom make history"― Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
It was like an immediate thing when I read this quote.
Bang! this is so true.
And how can it not?

Take time, try remembering all the women you know, whether they're the one you really know, or those famous women you read or knew thru the media whatnot.

Now, count how many you know or remember --  their good behaviour compare to the not so good ones.
Count the percentage.

No doubt, yes, we do remember Mother Theresa, Marie Antoinette, or Cleopatra (Im bias) and few more names for their guts and passion in pursuing what they know and feel are good for the betterment of others while putting aside their own happiness and good life.

But, what Laurel Thatcher trying to imply here is a well-behaved attitude.
Are they all not well-behaved, thus made them famous?
Are all those women that we know must have made headlines, done it and do that with misbehaving themselves? Doing something against the norm?
Bad or good?

Maybe.
But not all.

There is one saying from the Malay proverbs;

"Harimau mati meninggalkan belang, manusia mati meninggalkan nama"
Translated -- A tiger when it dies will leave behind the stripes, and human will leave behind their name.

Translated into; when a tiger dies, it will leave behind it's stripe.
Okay, nope, of course the stripe will not stayed on after the carcass disappear, it is more like, to my understanding, the  'belang' or stripe bring upon the meaning of how dominant, or vigorous the tiger was among its pack during its lifetime. Perhaps.

And for human, it literally meant that when someone dies, his deed, good or bad will be remembered or talked about for a short or long term.

And typical of human, the bad deed will take a centre stage in our mind, even though one has done tons of good things in one's lifetime.






Saturday 9 November 2013

A decade ago?

Time...Again.
How time flies.
A cliché statement.
Fresh new statement should be invented by now.

Anyway.

While rummaging through my stuff searching for all my French books, related CDs and cassettes for my seven year old daughter, and browsing thru some of the pages, I just realised that it was more than a decade ago since I attended my first French class at Alliance Française Kuala Lumpur.

God.
Has it been 11 years ago? That long?!
And I felt it was just like five years only.
No wait...how can it be five years. 
Five years of my life I've spent been living in this Arabian land of 1001 nights.

Time is making a fool out of me. 
Not just my physically. But overall. Really.

Anyway, it is not time that I want to ramble about.
It's about being an inspiration.

Yup.
Inspiration.
Like me being an inspiration to my soon-to-be seven year old daughter.

Everyone of us are inspired by someone or something. It might be someone's persona. It might also that someone's aptitude, or like how Im inspired when reading about people who are willing to put aside their wealth and good living to help those unfortunate. It never fail in making me believe that besides all materialistic gains majority of people are chasing, there are also a small group of people who are willing to sacrifice to help others.

Coming back to be an inspiration figure, for my daughter who had just started her French lesson in school, I have no doubt that she is also being inspired to take up the language as it was made available throughout her growing up listening to French music and occasionally watching French movies on the telly.

It is a nice feeling when someone told you that you inspired them.

It is good that mothers can inspire their children.
Although, sometimes it does not work the way you want it to be.

Que sera sera....


YOLANDA BE COOL! We Speak no Americano.

Lets take a break.
One of my all time fav.

Friday 8 November 2013

24 hours ONLY?

Time, time and time....again.

Should some of us ask for an extra hour or two or maybe for those procrastinators, like moi, be given an extra five hours on top of that 24 hours we get everyday?

See, I had, during my studying days genuinely feels like "owh, what a waste for those who sleep..." -- when I realised what that short few hours of sleep can be taken from you, what can we benefited from it instead of going to sleep. And, let me tell you, the things that you studied and memorised during that few short hours -- it definitely stays on until the exam hall.
Yup, I was young.
Yup, there wont be any eye bags, or raccoon-eyed aftermath,  or over dehydrated looking skin on the face and hands, and obviously not that funny shivering feeling you get when you don't sleep at all -- the effect of not sleeping in your mid thirties.

Nothing.

And I have stayed on not sleeping and finishing projects and revision for two consecutive days.

That was not insomniac speaking, rather a procrastinator.

And I thought I was thru with it.

I did.
But I procrastinate on less important thing in life now.
Like my hobbies.
Like the books that I bought and only managed to read 2 out of  7. And still have one bought nearly two years ago wrapped nicely and sitting there on my shelf.

And now my blog....
Realising that I have lesser and lesser log, I hope it wont fall into that category 'of less important'....duhhh.

I shall be back soon.



Monday 4 November 2013

Cooking Tomatoes Boosts Disease-Fighting Power

Cooking Tomatoes Boosts Disease-Fighting Power

Cooking tomatoes -- such as in spaghetti sauce -- makes the fruit heart-healthier and boosts its cancer-fighting ability. All this, despite a loss of vitamin C during the cooking process, say Cornell food scientists. The reason: cooking substantially raises the levels of beneficial compounds called phytochemicals, says  one Cornell assistant professor of food science.

The research dispels the popular notion that processed fruits and vegetables have lower nutritional value than fresh produce."
Tomato samples were heated to 88 degrees Celsius (190.4 degrees Fahrenheit) for two minutes, a quarter-hour and a half-hour.
 Consistent with previous studies, vitamin C content decreased by 10, 15 and 29 percent, respectively, when compared to raw, uncooked tomatoes.

However, the research revealed that the beneficial trans-lycopene content of the cooked tomatoes increased by 54, 171 and 164 percent, respectively. Levels of cis -lycopene (which the body easily absorbs) rose by 6, 17 and 35 percent, respectively; and antioxidant levels in the heated tomatoes increased by 28, 34 and 62 percent, respectively. Antioxidants protect the human body from cell and tissue damage, which occurs when harmful molecules called free radicals, released as oxygen, are metabolized by the body.

Lycopene, a carotenoid responsible for the red color in tomatoes and other fruits, has long been known as a powerful antioxidant that decreases cancer and heart-disease risk. Carotenoids, along with phenolic acids and flavonoids, are all phytochemicals, the nutritionally beneficial active compounds found in every fruit and vegetable.

While the antioxidant activity in tomatoes is enhanced during the cooking process, vitamin C loss occurs when the food's ascorbic acid is oxidized to dehydroascorbic acid and other forms of nutritionally inactive components.Lycopene is the most-efficient single oxygen quencher, and devours more than 10 times more oxygenated free radicals than vitamin E. This makes lycopene's presence in the diet important.

While these findings go against the notion that processed fruits and vegetables have lower nutritional value, this may create a new image for processed fruits and vegetables," says Liu. "Ultimately, this could increase consumers' intake of fruits and vegetables and could possibly reduce a person's risk of chronic disease.