SO COLD IN IRELAND

The land of Guinness and leprechauns…at a nice and chill 3 degrees Celcius!!

That’s where I spent Xmas and welcomed 2009.

It began with a rather uncomfortable 13 hour flight to London followed by the usual mess of having to transit through Heathrow Airport. The fear of being deported for being mistaken for a Tamil Tiger or an Islamic terrorist was always on my mind. I made a conscious effort not to say words such as Bomb, Terrorist, Jihad, Islam, etc.
Having cleared immigration, I was off to Dublin via BMI. (British Midlands Airlines) A short uneventful flight and we landed in Dublin shortly after an hour of being in the air.
It was great to see Mary and Maya at the airport. There was my bundle of joy, wrapped in a huge bundle of clothes. It was freezing cold!!! We left the air port and headed into the midlands. ABBEYLEIX, COUNTY LAOIS…HERE I COME!!!

The following 2 weeks was a thrilling ride through the culinary delights of Irish Cooking. I can honestly say, I would have easily consumed an entire pig during my stay over there. The pig came in various forms, everyday. Ham, Bacon, sausages, rashers, white pudding, black pudding (Can’t say what it’s made of…eh hemm), roast, etc, etc.

My favorite was Mary's mom's signature dish....BACON n CABBAGE with an onion sauce.

And I, being from Malaysia, a beautiful muslim country, LOVED all the piggy stuff!!! HELL, YEAH!!! The only HALAL food I had over the 2 weeks must have been the “Thosai” that I made for everyone with my mom’s famous Onion Chutney!!

Next on my Irish Food Safari were potatoes. The Irish consume potatoes the way we, over here, have rice. Loads of rice here, Loads of potatoes there.

They came in one form. Mashed.

And for one night only, by special Xmas request, they came baked!!

Now don’t get me wrong, just like the pork, I loved the mashed potatoes but after a week or so, I needed my chilli!! My Malaysian Indian “powers” were fading fast without chilli. I didn’t care if it was Thai Chilli, Indian Chilli or even the English CURRY. I needed some spicy fire!!

My chance came when I was asked to make some Hainanese Chicken Rice at Una’s. Chicken with dark soya sauce, rice cooked with chicken fat….but wait…drum rolls please…fresh CHIILLI, ginger and garlic dip!!!
I made some power chilli that, as Mary said, “Would put hair on a WOMAN’s chest!!!!”

Hehehehehehe!!! My batteries we recharged.

It was time for desserts. YUMMY!!!

Loads of homemade cake, puddings, biscuits, pies, etc. Mary's mom outdid herself with an awesome Xmas fruit ice cream pudding. Just when I thought desserts couldn't get any better, Mary made a "Jamie Oliver" Birthday cake for me.

2 chocolate sponges with rasberry and cream and topped with molten chocolate!!!!

Finally I was ready for the most important part of the holiday celebrations.

The drinking.

Now you’ll have to understand that the Irish don’t have many exportable natural resources so GUINNESS, BAILEY’S and JAMESON’S are pretty important economic commodities. I did my fair share in contributing to that part of their economic sector over the duration of my 2 weeks stay.
The pubs were old and cold. The drinks were smooth and my holiday was getting smoother.

So there you have it….good company, good food and great drink. Good Thanni and great Pandi!! (Tamil for drink and pig!! hehehe!!)

What more can you ask for from a holiday?

Overall, it was a fantastic, rejuvenating and much needed break before I take on the challenges of 2009.

A truly Malaysian word

What would you consider a truly Malaysian word??

Nothing vulgar but just a plain English word that when used in a Malaysian context means something else.

Well???

Any guesses???

My truly Malaysian word is......

SIMPLY

I've elaborated the use of the word in my Conversation between my wife (Irish) and me:



Nanda: My buddy is coming over in a few minutes.


Mary: Why?


Nanda: SIMPLY


Mary: Huh??? Simply what?


Nanda: Simply la..


Hehehehehe!!!!

DEVIL'S PLACE BY BRIAN GOMEZ




The launch was great fun and the free flow of beer was an unexpected bonus!! Thanks, Brian!!

My buddy, Marlin and his band, FISH, played a couple of songs and so did Brian's band.

Premo was there too.

Got my copy at the launch and read it over the weekend. I honestly think this is the best book I've read this year. (And I do read quite a bit!!)

It beats John Grisham's THE APPEAL and even Khalid Housini's A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS. (THE KITE RUNNER was last year!! That one is difficult to beat!! Hehe!!)

YUP!! Devil's Place moves like a Quentin Tarantino movie (But Malaysian content la..!!) and is filled with large amounts of humour!!

If you liked PULP FICTION and RESERVOIR DOGS, you'll love this book!!

I even had to leave the room a few times for fear of waking Maya with my laughs!!

For example, the police calling the cab company for info and getting the unmistakable response of, "TAXI COMING IN 10 MINUTES, YOU GO DOWN NOW!!" was just one of the few "Uncontrollable laugher" moments.

I also won a free copy at the launch and that's going off to Ireland as a gift to Mary's niece.

Brian Gomez can say his book is even read in Ireland!!!

www.thefloatingturd.blogspot.com

A friend of mine introduced this site to me a couple of days ago.

The posts are absolutely hilarious. Is this guy a stand-up comedian or what?

The author/blogger is Brian Gomez........anyone heard of him???.... I haven't.

Well, do check it out if you need some laughs during a stressful day!!!

He's launching his first book this Friday in Hartamas so I'm going to this thinggi just to see who this guy is!!
Hey, If the review in the Malay mail is as good as it sounds, having an autographed copy of this book may be a good thing!!

A buddy of mine is also in the band that's playing that night!!

The place? It's at Bojangles...i think...

Late 30’s… here I come!!!

December 31st 2009 approaches. I’ll turn 36. What does this mean?...well…

This is what it means to me.

That nagging pain in the left shoulder and that creaking sound in the right knee, well, they are here to stay!!! So is the palpitation of my heart, the reflux of my esophagus and my blurring vision after a hard day.
Where the hell did all of these come from? Why is this happening to me?

Hmmmm…..

Could it be the “Annai's nasi lemak kambings” at 3am at Darus after Broadwalk?

Could it be the excessive drinking during my “sailor” years?

Was it the unlimited “duty free” cigarettes?

No la.....surely it's the.......POLLUTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE LA!!!! HAIYO!!! HEHEHE!!

The truth is, from the age of 19 to 31, my body took the constant beating. But maybe the fresh salty sea air, during those long sea passages, kept the ailments away.

Now, as 36 looms around the corner, the “malfunctions” are coming fast and furious!!

How do we handle this is today? PILLS!!

My “fixes” come from a multi-vitamin called Revicon, 2 glucosamine tablets, 1 B & C Vitamin tablet and my powerful CELEBREX tablet to fix my joints. (When you need more than a single glass of water to “down” your pills, you know something ain't right.)

My New Year and birthday resolution……to eat and drink healthy.

Since I’ll be in Ireland at that time, I guess it means ONLY eating LEAN PORK and drinking ONLY good quality GUINNESS and JAMESON!!!!!

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Nite of Glitter at the Royal Commonwealth Society

Mary and I attended this Deepavali gathering last Saturday and it was a blast!! We were invited by my colleague, Capt. Rahim, whose father-in-law was the Chairman of the organization. We had the “MISC” table with a couple of other colleagues including Siva, our Indian Expat who brought along his Dad!!

This is what his dad had to say about the night:

“I am delighted! I had been around many countries, only to note that Malaysia is THE best country in maintaining harmony and respect people of all races. During the “Nite of Glitter”, I never felt out of place and thanks for all who treated me and my son as one of their family members. I am also happy to express confidently that my son and his family’s stay in Malaysia is pleasant only because of the good hearts of Malaysians like you all. Thanking you all once again for all kind supports. Best regards, Sankaran”

Yup!! It was truly amazing. Everyone, regardless of what race or colour, was partying to “Bangra” and Indian music. We were even singing along to “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”!!

Like someone on our table highlighted, “To bring all the races together……all we need is a great party with lots of booze!!!!” The booze at this club was duty free too due to some old British regulation from long ago.

That day, we all ate and drank together and did not care about what another “Malaysian buddy” was eating or drinking. We became…..Malaysia…Truly Asia!!!

That is exactly what my Indian Expat's dad saw that night.

Hopefully one day, a similar mood is created all over Malaysia for all occasions!!!

Until then…..RCS (Royal Commonwealth Society) anyone? Hehehehe!!

DUH??...WHAT??....MALAYSIA'S "CHAR KUEY TEOW" POLITICS

Malaysian politics is really looking totally #@$%@#!!!!

I really just don’t get it any more and looking at the blogs, it’s become more of a joke!!

Let me just put it all in my usual format:

1. Najib is the new UMNO boss – HUH? 191 divisions say he’s the best? What? How?...uh duh…???

2. Deputy bosses – Khir Toyo? Isn’t he being investigated based on all the info the new Selangor MB has dished out?
Muhammad Muhammad Taib? Didn’t he have a million bucks in a suitcase in Australia??

3. Razak Baginda acquitted – HUH? And the motive for the cops? Duh…???

4. The REVAMPING of the NEP – huh? Does anyone know what any of the politicians are talking about on this one??

5. Helicopters? Submarines? – 1.604...huh? 1.6....Huh? MAYBE 1.7 bILLION???

6. Tomboys and YOGA – what’s next…MTV? Hey….maybe TV? Radio? Does the Taliban come to mind?? Huh?? HUH???

It’s really happening, isn’t it?

Even the foreign press has given up reporting this stuff. I guess it’s just too dumb to even logically report!!!!

Suddenly all the talk of my buddies heading off to Canada, US, Australia, etc. doesn’t sound too bad after all………

JOHN LENNON - DECLASSIFIED

This was an interesting documentary on the History channel yesterday and the entire scene played out to roughly what is happening in Malaysia today to certain bloggers. Only this was in the USA and happended 30 years ago to a prominent and influential musician.

John Lennon said, " We (The Beatles) are more popular than Jesus." And the sparks began to fly!!! The FBI opened a file on him!!

He then goes on to criticize the Nixon Administration for the Vietnam War and rallies great support based on his massive fan base. The FBI files get thicker!!!

The various efforts by the goverment to shut him up are very similar to what our goverment is doing right here and now too. Even the way peaceful protest were violently broken up had uncanny resembelances to BBC and Al Jazeera footages shot in our capital city some months ago.

So, is it going to take us 30 years to get our civil rights in order too?? And until then I guess we have to just "IMAGINE"...................

MY FIRST 3 STUDENTS

Andrew Chin, Alix Chan and Jan Muir. They were great!!

I was a little nervous at first. Here were 3 people trusting me with their lives....."better do it right Nanda", I kept saying to myself. As we went along, their confidence grew and their confidence in me grew as well. I taught them the PADI way and of course added the Nanda way which they loved.

As usual, decending was the first problem we encountered. How to dive if you can get underwater la????? Haiyo!!! hehehehe!! Taught them how to exhale, relax, etc.

Once that was settled, then it was all about buoyancy control. Up and Down they went...and as a good instructor....so did I. We did the PADI buoyancy exercises over and over until they got them right. As Jan said, "You really must have patience to do this, Nanda!!!". Well, my honest feeling was that there is only one way to do things.....THE RIGHT WAY!!

At the end of the course, I achieved what I wanted:

1. All 3 of them knew what it meant to have good buoyancy and how it helps divers stay off the coral. The fact that they truly appreciate it was worth all the effort.

2. They knew that safety should NEVER be overlooked. Things that they should check for themselves and buddy checks were emphasised.

3. They saw the beauty of the underwater world and all it had to offer.

4. They enjoyed the after diving chats about anything and everything!!! (And the beers too!!!)

5. They ALL want to dive more!!!

It was a great close to the Malaysian East Coast dive season and I'm looking forward to 2009 when, I guess, my scuba instructing will take off at a larger scale.

Maya will be a year old and it will be time for the whole family to become beach bums again!!!! (Mary really misses the islands too!!!!)

The beach we left behind......sigh!!

INTEGRATION BASED EDUCATION

As usual, I would like to look at this from a rather "cold" context. (As otherwise, it tends to get rather heated!!) I'll leave the politics out of this one and stick to education.

Just like mixing chemicals, we can only know the outcome when we know the details of the individuals components and what makes them tick. So in a similar fashion, I would like to look at the 3 major races in Malaysia, what their likes and dislikes are, then look at common likes and dislikes with the other communities and finally, how do we put it all together and have a dynamic, progressive mix without explosions and bad reactions to move to a MALAYSIAN IDENTITY.

Hope you join me for the ride and feel free to add anything I may have overlooked. Please do NOT take this exercise as stereotyping a particular race or racial profiling but more of a "general" view and perception to better understand integration.

Let us begin with:

THE MALAYS

This is a society which is very much rooted to religion and "adat" or culture that forms their basis of everyday life. Respect is of primary important. Obedience is another strong trait. A community that has had it "easy" (You can read the "Malay Dilemma - Tun Dr M" to better understand this.) for a long long time. A community that is rather contented with what GOD and government provides and the drive to strive for more is lacking considerably.

Likes:

1. The Malay language. - The majority would consider speaking anything else among Malays as rude.2. Islamic rules/law. - Obeying the rules of the Quran/Hadith is mandatory to most.
3. Food. - HALAL it is. Large variety and the more of it, the better.
4. Socialising. - The community enjoys large occasions with song and dance, i.e. Kenduri, Open house, etc.
5. Malay humour and entertainment. - A slap-stick, 3 stooges type of humour combined with the likes of Akademi Fantasia gives rise to entertainment that's vastly different from what the rest of the world enjoys. The reason I've listed this seperately is that the other communities seem to sometimes have problems with this brand of humour and entertainment.

Dislikes:

1. Other languages. - Although this may be changing, (Can't really verify) finding Malays that speak Tamil, Chinese or any other language or dialect that helps them understand other communities is rare. (English is taught in school and is mandatory so I won't bother with that.)
2. Demanding jobs. - Only a small number of Malays are willing to push to their full potential and become high achievers.
3. Non muslim values. - Consumption of Pork and alcohol by the other communities is a primary dislike. The dog is another "islamic" issue that is disliked. Education on other religions are frown upon.
4. Obeying simple traffic laws. - Use of helmets, obeying traffic lights, etc.

THE CHINESE

This a community that throughout history has been through the worst and survived. They have weathered the most demanding rulers, torture and hardship before they got to our shores. This community stops at nothing to get what they want. Money is GOD or almost GOD in their culture. Their business sense is sharp and sometimes perceived as ruthless.

Likes:

1. Money. - This is their main driver. Enough said.

2. Education. - They strongly believe that this is the key to success. The uneducated will strive to educate the next generation.

3. Chinese culture and language. - Since they have a long history of civilisation behind them, pride of their origins run strong and deep.

4. Food. - Their food is very much a part of their culture and history. (i.e. The wedding tea-ceremony, funeral dinners, food for the ancestors and ghost, etc.)

5. Socialising. - Involves large amount of food and drink. (Of the non-halal kind.) The Kareoke culture (And the women that go with it) is also largely their thing in Malaysia although it is catching on with the rest.

6. Gambling. - Luck is also traditionally a chinese phenomenon.

Dislikes:

1. Other races. - Sad truth but a community that is so proud of who they are and what they have achieved, tend to be this way and this has been true throughout history with most strong communities.

2. Losing. - This can be physical or just the "losing face" aspect of it.

3. Unproductiveness. - Relaxing, holidays, sitting back and watching a sunset, etc, etc, all fall under this category. ("This time can be spent making more money!!" is the general sentiment.) The "Bumiputra" status is also considered here for them.

4. Social etiquette. - They can't really be bothered with talking softly, eating quietly, not making a mess at dinner, etc. (Can be quite unnerving to the non-Chinese.)

5. Obeying simple traffic laws.

THE INDIANS

This community arrived in large numbers during the British era. Mostly uneducated and unskillled labourers, brought into the country to work the plantations. Predominantly from South India, they were Tamil speaking and highly rooted to the caste systems from their homeland. Today, they are the most backward community in Malaysia in terms of economics and education. (Although they seem to be the largest "English as 1st language" speaking community.)

Likes:

1. Tamil entertainment. - Songs, movies, Sun TV, etc, etc, take a major share of their time.

2. Tamil language. - The passion for this language is sometimes mind blowing.

3. Food. - South Indian food has become part and parcel of Malaysian life.4. Religion - They are extremely passionate Hindus, Christians and muslims. But as studies have shown that the belief in religion is inversely preportionate to education, this therefore could be the reason.
5. Socialising & Drink - Vast majority of pubs, bars, etc thrive on Indian customers.

Dislikes:

1. Poverty. - They don't like being poor but find it hard to get out of this.

2. Malay "bumiputra" status. - Strong feeling of "being left behind and nobody cares". (2nd class citizen feeling.)

3. Being associated with crime. - Indian have been branded thugs and gangsters.

4. Obeying simple traffic laws.

And there you have it!!! The things in common:

1. FOOD

2. SOCIALISING

3. DISREGARD FOR TRAFFIC LAWS

We love to eat and drink and we love socialising .And we're ALL horrible drivers!!! We don't have a common language we all love to use, don't feel the same way about education, don't feel we are equal human beings and generally get along but don't really like each other for deep rooted reasons such as religious differences, social status and just a lot of history of "bad blood".

So...what do we do now?????

Well, let me give a few suggestions based on the above:

1. The Malays need to relax a little on this non-halal issue and we'll be able to enjoy a Malaysian food experience and be able to socialize as a group of Malaysians better.

2. The Chinese and Indians need to lose this "country of origin" identity and absorb the Malaysian Identity.

3. Think of GOD but please please do what is GOOD. (This includes obeying traffic laws!!!!)

4. Forget the "sensitivity" issue and ask cross cultural questions. (Why Hindus got so many gods? Why Muslims don't eat pork? Why Chinese burn massive things at funerals?? etc, etc)

5. Give and take respect. But do demand it when it fails to come.


As I've said before, this is just my innocent view on my friends around me and how we can once again become what were back in the old days.

Feel free to comment.

BABY MAKES THREE

Kind of just realized that I haven’t really written much about what’s going on in my life recently. What’s it like having a 6 month old little girl? How has it changed me?

I guess I’ll need to go back in time a little. To the time when it was just Mary and me. The times when we would be heading home from work and say, “Ahh….let’s swing by to Backyard for a pint”…and like the KITT car from Knight Rider, my car would make the GPS auto correction and get us to a cold pint of GUINNESS!!! No worries about what time we get home, in fact, no real worries at all. We would sleep in on weekends and only be up in time for lunch. (Which was also conveniently provided at mummy’s in Klang!!!) We’d go out for dinner and movies, meet some friends and hang out. Hell, we even threw some really cool parties at the renowned, BALCONY of Menara Duta!!

When Maya came along, the changes that came with her were “fast and furious” to say the least. She became the center of my world and everything revolved around her. Pool?? Backyard?? Diving?? They all became a distant memory.

The initial 3 months were the toughest. As new parents, we followed the books, some parental advice, tips from friends and for most of the time, gut feeling.

My parents were with us for the first month ONLY. Yup!! After that, it was Mary all on her own with Maya until I got home from work. Now how did she handle a crying baby, making lunch, doing the laundry and cleaning the house? I REALLY DON’T KNOW…But she did a great job!!

My duties on the other hand was, get home, make dinner, clean up and take care of Maya while Mary has a shower and some much needed rest.

All sound good and fine???????....NOT!!!

Think about it…..Mary is breast feeding so she’s on call 24 – 7. She is exhausted by the time I get home and can’t wait to handover our little “bundle of joy” to me. But I’m working the whole day and am equally exhausted!!
Opps….did I say “equally”???.....hehehehehe!!! No way did Mary agree on that one!!! After many heated “discussions” and some months in re-negotiations, the breakthrough deal was done!! We had a maid come in twice a week to assist Mary.
We also had the assistance of a “life saving” baby tool known as the BABY MONITOR. (They can make huge statues of this and I’ll pray to it!!! Hehehehehe!!) Gone were the days of sitting by her bed and the constant checking if we were in another room. This device was GOOD... or you could even say GOD………

Maid, Baby monitor, baby food, baby diapers, baby stuff, etc, etc, all becomes......baby financing!!! And boy or boy did it take some financing!! 2 sentences used to scare me when Mary said them....."WE NEED TO GET..." and "WE NEED TO BUY..."


And as some people would say that a baby brings good luck, I got promoted and got a raise too!!!

Now that we had figured out our time, our help, our surveillance system and our finances, we had to only figure out one last thing.

OUR BABY!!!

Is she crying because she is:
- Hungry?
- Tired?
- Sleepy?
- Wet?
- Poo Pood? (Or full of S@#T??)
- Teething?
- Wants to play?

This guessing game is SOOOOOOO much fun…really…especially when you get it right and the reward is that the crying stops!!! Hehehehe!! But honestly, she is a great baby and in all my life, I’ve never rushed home the way I do now.
An innocent and pure smile or laughter from her can light up my darkest days.

So for the guys at the party recently who asked the question, “Dude, what’s it like being married with a kid???”

IT IS GREAT!!

CRIME IN THE KLANG VALLEY

It is now at shocking levels!!!

I was at a party last week and a friend was telling us his unfortunate encounter. He was car-jacked at 2am while walking to his car after some late night supper in Klang.

The story then gets worse.

They bashed him on the head and threw him in his car and kept hitting him while they drove off. They took his IC and drove to that address. As it was his old address, they demanded to know where he lived. (Again, by bashing him heavily.) Once they identified his home, they drove him to an isolated “pondok/shed” and tied him up there and went into “breaking and entering” mode.

The remaining part of this ordeal comes from his brother, who was also at the party, who was in bed at home that fateful day.

They broke in and immediately established that any resistant will be trouble for the brother which they already had locked up in a shed somewhere. They also had “parangs/large knifes” and used this to ensure that everyone followed their plan. It was a miracle that the entire family escaped with only minor injuries but they lost 2 cars and anything of value in the house.

Now….why is crime getting to these levels in our own backyard????

1. The official police response: “Biasa/normal” occurrence!! Can you imagine????

2. The official police response: The police force is “demoralized” to do anything as the task of getting rid of criminals/gangsters in Klang was a mammoth one.

3. The gangsters are protected by corrupt politicians and a corrupt police force.

4. The corrupt judiciary or lets just say the ability to manipulate the judiciary to ensure these criminals/gangsters can get away from being prosecuted.

5 . The police force is NOT “demoralized” to conduct road block and speed traps at silly locations and for ridiculous reasons.

6. The police force is NOT “demoralized” to question bloggers for hours on end or to arrest them.

7. The media is terrified to report the truth as follows:
- Indian politician control the Indian gangsters/criminals.
- As long as the victims are also Indians, the police can’t be bothered.
- The Malaysian police force is corrupt at even the highest levels.


Where is all this heading????

Many of my buddies have left the country already. Why?

As they said, “It's better to be alive in some racist country rather than dead in this one!!!”

But like so many other TRUE DIE HARD MALAYSIANS, I am NOT gonna let the country I love go down like this.

We need to stand up and fight this!!

FREEDOM WRITERS - THE MOVIE

I watched this movie last night on HBO and it was a deeply moving true story on racial intergration in the US of A.

It was about a school that was all white until 1992 and in 1994 was overrun with black kids from the getto projects, Latino kids from the ganglands, Cambodian kids and other "colored" kids. How one dedicated teacher decided to educate them and conduct actual racial intergration to the best of her ability was what this movie was about.

Getting these student to see that most problems they had were similar in nature. Getting them to see what racism and hate can do in terms of the holocaust. Getting them to unite for the betterment of all.

Her dedication has led to a foundation that today brings the idea all across America.

We Malaysians, on the other hand, have been racially intergrated for much much longer!!! My dad was in a racially intergrated school. so was I and so were all my friends!!

Yes!! Indians, Malays and Chinese kids all playing together, learning together and even eating together!!

Where are we now? 2008??

Similar to Blacks, Asians and Hispanics in America...we are EXTREMELY segregated in our schools right here in Malaysia!!! (Only difference is that our kids don't have guns to blow each others brains out!!) We are segregated at work and even in sports.

What makes our scene worst is that while the US is moving forward with racial intergration, we had it going well in the past and are heading in the wrong direction today!!

How do we stop the decline???

Well....I have my view but let's hear from you guys first!!!

But do try to catch the movie on HBO...worth your time!!

TOLERANCE DURING THE FASTING MONTH

Here we are at the fasting month again.

It is a month where Muslims are to abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset. It is the month where they have to be at their best behaviour.

It is a month of tolerence and restrain.

Working in a government link company, I've begun to see the entire fasting month in a new light. The greater tolerance and restrain seems to be coming from the non-Muslims!!

What do I mean?? Well, let me explain in my usual point form:

1. Tolerance to terrible driving and jams.

- Muslims rushing home for "buka puasa" seem to disregard yellow boxes, traffic lights, signals, right of way, speed limits, etc but the non-Muslims seem to patiently let it be.

2. Tolerance to lower work rate and output.

- The non-Muslims again show tolerance and actually take on additional work.

3. Tolerance to eating habits.

- The non-muslims refrain from eating in front of their friends, refrain from a cup of coffee during meetings, drink coffee in their cubicles, etc. Even our office "tea lady" stops making tea and coffee and this is tolerated by the non-Muslims too.

4. Tolerance to change in meetings and schedules.

- The non-muslims are suddenly in meetings that go on through lunch hour.
- Urgent meetings and decisions cannot be made after 4 pm.....why? The muslims have been given an hour off early to avoid jams. (Refer to 1)

5. Tolerance to all social and fun activity involving Muslims being cancelled.

- Meetings that get suddenly cancelled, sports activities get cancelled, etc.


I just found it amazing that the tolerance levels of non-muslims here in Malaysia was so high!!

Keep it up guys and gals.....at least the fasting month has lent itself to being beneficial in making us non-Muslims better individuals in terms of tolerance, patience and caring about others.

MY FERRY RIDE FROM TIOMAN

This was the scene on my ride back from Tioman Island to Mersing using the Bluewater ferry.

The "additional seating arrangements" were again out in full force in the form of red plastic chairs all along the aisles.

There was also convenient "standing space" provided for foreign tourist too!!!

I screamed at the operator only to get a blank stare in return.

In honesty, the trip started out well as we were about to pull out of the jetty at Salang at 10am, an enforcement officer actually explained to passengers that the ferry was at its maximum capacity and they had to disembark. He told them to get on the 11am ferry arriving an hour later. The pasenggers did complain but understanding that it was for everyones safety, they complied.

All good and fine and we departed for Mersing. (Leaving the enforcement officer behind at Salang Jetty.) The next stop....Tekek Jetty...without the enforcement officer......

I bet you can guess what happens next and let just leave it as "A photo speak a thousand words".

It truely left me feeling disgusted. Families were boarding with little children and knowing very well that the ferry was full, the operator just picked up and handed out the plastic stools without a care in the world!!

I wanted to scream, " IF THIS FERRY SINKS, YOUR KIDS WILL SURELY DIE LAAAAA!!!!"

The question that is always playing on my mind is, "Who's at fault???"

Is it the operator trying to maximize returns????

Or is the passengers who are willing to risk it rather than wait for the next ferry????

What it means to stay

With all that has been happening in our Local Malaysian Political scene, a friend of mine has decided to migrate to Canada. Some of my buddies have left for the U.K, some for Australia and some to various other parts of the world where life is "so called" better.

As for me, I worked all over the world for 12 years. Sailed around the world 7 times. Worked in America, Europe, Africa, Australia, the Middle East and Asia. I've been to some of the most remote locations in the world while working as an engineer on those massive crude oil tankers.

So..what has all those places shown me????? How have all those people I've met touched my heart and my soul???

They had shown me that the world is a very small place. Problems? It's the same all over.

Money and Love

Yup...even religion, war, politics, scandals, etc, etc, all come down to these 2 simple problems.

So as for me, all I looked at was where in the world can I have these 2 elements in my life in a proper balance.

LOVE - from my wife, daughter, family and friends in MALAYSIA.
LOVE - from the variety of food in MALAYSIA.
LOVE - from the variety of pubs and bars in MALAYSIA. (Hehehehe!!)
LOVE - from the peacefulness of never ever having heard the sound on a bomb, gunshots, air raid, etc in MALAYSIA.
LOVE - from the beautiful beaches and dive locations in MALAYSIA.

MONEY - from my job in MISC Berhad that pays the bills.

So yes, for me, Malaysia still provides all that is important to me.

So as some of my buddies have said, "Malaysia is great......we just want to make it even greater!!!"

And I'm all set for that fight!!!

A small step to the train station, a large step to a greater nation

It was a joy this morning to see the headlines of the Sun. Instead of the usual squabbles between political parties, the police, the judiciary and so on, we see our very own PM making a change.
Yes, I’m sure some skeptics will say it’s to do with the by-election or something along those lines but I don’t care. When someone does something good for the benefit of others, it should be applauded.
I’m sure it wasn’t easy for him to do what he did (Even I’m afraid of taking the train during rush hour!!) but this is exactly what the people want from our respected, elected representatives in the government. Solving our “everyday” problems by experiencing them first hand.
It would be great if he could also take a bus ride around the city, an express bus ride to other states, Commuter rides on our electric trains and some ferry rides to our islands too. He will then see the deplorable levels of service, timeliness, safety, efficiency and care provided by these services to the common taxpaying citizen.
Hopefully the small step that he has taken will be mirrored by other leaders in our community.

***Sent this to the Sun earlier this morning too!! Hehehehe!!

FULLY CERTIFIED SCUBA INSTRUCTOR

Yup!! I finally decided to go all the way and over a hectic weekend in Tioman, became a fully certified PADI scuba instructor.

It was great to be on the island (My maxis phone didn't work so it was sooooooo relaxing!!!) and away from my office environment. It was great to be away from all the politics, newspapers, blogs, etc.

So all of you interesting in taking the plunge into the deep blue......let me know.

The "Friends & Family" discount will apply!! hahahahaha!!!

MY TAKE ON CURRENT MALAYSIAN POLITICS

I feel it is best to put it into the way I normally sum up my engineering stuff, so...here goes:

BN

Pros:

1. Been in power for 50 years. Know how to run a multi racial country.
2. Brought considerable development as compared to many other Asian countries.
3. Excellent medical policy for the public than very few other nations can compare with. (Malaysian pay RM 1 for medical treatment, foreign workers pay RM 5. No insurance policy requiments, etc as in most other countries)
4. Maintaining English as mainstream media since independance (Not translated to Thai or Bahasa Indonesia) has made Malaysians marketable worldwide and made the world open to Malaysians.
5. Made BM the national language that everyone (Indian, Chinese and Malay Malaysian) speaks well. (Not the "divide the population by language" policy adopted in Singapore) Gave the non-Malays an additional capability of speaking at lease 3 languages well.

Cons:

1. Deciding to use racial based politics. (UMNO, MCA & MIC)
2. Deciding to continue with race based politics for 50 years.
3. Rampant abuse of power. (You can put all contract awards/Tenders/NEP/PETRONAS/ETC all under this.)
4. Rampant corruption. (This covers our Police Force and Judiciary)
5. Control over the media with limited free speech.
6. ISA used as a tool to silence opposition or unfavourable responses.


CONS WIN 6 - 5


PAKATAN

Pros:

1. Change from race based politics.
2. Promises to eradicate poverty regardless of race.
3. Promises to eradicate corruption and abuse of power.
4. Promise to re-instill trust and commitment of our Judiciary and Police Force.
3. Has shown promise in Penang, Perak and Selangor so far.
4. Dynamic leaders. (Anuar, Karpal, etc)
5. More educated leaders.
6. Well planned agendas.
7. Seem to have large support base and growing.

Cons:

1. No proven long term track record. (Mostly promises)
2. Dynamics leaders may have hidden agendas.
3. Weaker coalition with party members. (Keadilan, PAS and DAP have very different ideolody.)

PROS WIN 7 - 3

I GUESS, JUST AS WITH AN ENGINEERING SOLUTION, THE QUANTITY, QUALITY & FREQUENCY OF THE ABOVE POINTS WOULD HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED PRIOR TO DECIDING BUT I HOPE THE SUMMING UP HELPED THOSE WHO WERE A LITTLE CONFUSED WITH THE LOADS OF COMMENTS, VIEWS AND WRITE-UPS THAT WE HAVE BEEN BOMBARDED WITH!!

THE TIME WE SPEND ON THIS PLANET

As I watch the battle between McCain and Obama, Pak Lah and Anwar, North and South Korea, Hindus and Muslims, Christians and Jews, etc, etc, it really makes me wonder what the end game is.

We seem to be caught up in these games and spend large amounts of energy, time and money either talking about it, blogging about it and some even spending large amounts of time and money praying about it. (My view on the prayer part is, of course, as my earlier post!!)

If that's not enough, we seem to spend a large amount of time, money and effort on entertainment!!!

Yes....Man U, Liverpool, Arsenal, even Southampton,etc, etc, is just that!!

So is WHATEVER music, TV or movies that we watch and listen to!!!

I do agree that we need to spend time to vote, to make a contribution to our democratic system of government , to relax after a hard day's work but how much time do we spend helping people that need help???

How much time, money and effort do we put into helping those that need immediate help??? Like homes for the underprivileged, orphanages, really poor people.

How much time, money and effort do we put into saving our environment? Endangered animals?

Which is more important, getting my rich buddies to vote or getting them to help others?????

Rather than making any judgement on our politicians, systems, etc, I rather spend my time, money and efforts on making a difference MYSELF!!

I'll of course help some of my "politically inclined" buddies but I'd rather spend my time on this planet helping others!!!

Anyone interested in doing this, let me know and I'll show you guys how you can change the planet and like Michael Jackson said, " Make it a better place, for you and for me and the entire human race". (AND THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SMALL CHILDREN!!!!! HEHEHEHE!!)