Final Posting

After almost three and a half years and 343 posts, I have decided to call it quits. I have no reason to do so but I feel it is time to move on.

I don’t think I have many regular readers; my guess is two maybe three loyal readers, so this is not a loss that will shake the world of blogging.

Seeing that this is my final posting, I might as well write a very long post. That is if I can find anything to write about.

On Movies and Songs

I enjoy watching movies but I hardly go to the cinema. I prefer to lie in bed and watch pirated DVDs. I’m not supporting the pirated DVD industry but they do serve a purpose and at a lower cost. The taxman may differ but I think economically, the industry does have its benefits. Another reason for choosing DVDs over cinema is the censorship; we sometimes are overzealous in cutting up dialogues and scenes. Most moviegoers are matured adults, let’s treat them as such.

Another reason why I don’t quite like going to the movies is because it takes a lot of effort and I am the lazy type. At home I can watch movies lying down topless in my boxers. I can pause if I need to take a pee. I can adjust the temperature. I don’t have to spend hours looking for parking and queuing for tickets and popcorn. At home I can doze off immediately after the movie ends.

I love gangster movies. The Godfather trilogy is at the top of my list followed by Pulp Fiction and Goodfellas. I’m also into comedy, especially spoofs like Naked Gun. Johnny English is my favourite partly because of Rowan Atkinson and Austin Powers is, well simply powerfully funny. Hot Fuzz and Paul are two Simon Pegg/Nick Frost movies I love; you have to understand British humour to enjoy his movies though.

I don’t really have a favourite actress although I like Anne Hathaway because she is hot. My favourite actors are in no particular order; Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Andy Garcia (only in Godfather 3), Jason Statham, Samuel L Jackson and Simon Pegg. Notice most of them are specialised gangster actors.

I’m a self proclaimed mat rock. I grew up listening to Iron Maiden, Twisted Sisters, Search, Lefthanded, Wings, Metallica, Guns N Roses, Van Halen and the like. My favourite songs are by the rock bands form the 70s and early 80s; Africa and Rosanna by Toto, Open Arms by Journey, I Want To Know What Love Is and Waiting for A girl Like You by Foreigner and Big Love by Fleetwood Mac. My all time favourite song is Rock Me Amadeus by Falco. Falco who? Google him up, he is probably the most popular German musician in America since Bach.

I stopped following Malay music since Search and Lefthanded retired. I do enjoy some Indonesian songs but have never actually bought any. Nowadays I listen to almost everything played on the radio.

On Love

Love is a beautiful thing. Everyone wants to love and be loved but some are confused between loving and being in love. I believe they are two different things. One can love many people but will usually be in love with only one person.

Marriage is a beautiful thing. Love for another person, of the opposite sex will naturally lead to marriage. But do we know why we are getting married? Is it because of love or because we are getting older?

Is it because of love or because the other party proposed and we don not know how to say no or not yet?

Is it because of love or because our younger siblings and cousins are all married with children?

Is it because of love or because our parents wants us to?

Is it because of love or because we pity the other party and his/her family?

These are all very damaging questions so I shall stop asking.   

Weddings are a beautiful occasion. Everyone wants the perfect wedding. People will go on a strict diet so they won’t look fat in their wedding photos. People spend truckloads of money on fresh flowers for the pelamin, designer wedding gowns, made in Indonesia wedding cards, table gifts and not to mention trays upon trays of hantaran. Why? Because they want their wedding to be the most beautiful ever. Some people however forget; a beautiful wedding is not an indication of a beautiful marriage. Ask Yusry and Erra. I want a beautiful marriage more than a beautiful wedding. I don’t care if my wedding photos suck as long as I can have beautiful family photos for the rest of my life. A beautiful marriage doesn’t mean there are no hiccups; there will be fights and disagreements but they can be sorted out and laid to rest.

I’m the type who falls in love with the brains before I fall in love with the looks. I’m not saying looks don’t matter but it is after all in the eye of the beholder. Or the beer-holder, depending on the situation. I believe we all have differing taste; a hot mama in my eyes would probably be a plain Jane in some other guys’ eyes. What attracts me to a girl is how she can engage in a conversation with me, how she can make me say “wow, I didn’t know that”! I want someone who is aware of what is going on in the world and not just in the mall or movie theatres or gossip pages. I want someone who can teach me stuff. I want someone like that because if I decide to bring her home, I want her to impress my parents. The last thing I want is for my parents to look down or have a low opinion of my chosen partner. I want my parents to be proud of her as much as I am. And also, my grandmother must like her.  That is a lot of boxes to tick.

On Politics

I am into politics, I like to talk about politics and have radical views on Malaysian politics and I somehow think I have the stomach for active, fulltime life as a politician. However, skeletons in my closet may prevent me from entering the public domain so I’ll just remain as I am now, an armchair critic. Maybe a more appropriate term would be a “keyboard critic”.

It is obvious from my writings that I am aligned to the other side. Yes, I am a PR supporter, more specifically a PAS supporter. PAS is no longer the party for ustazs, no longer seen as backward and overly focussed on the afterlife. PAS is now filled with professionals, even Dr Mahathir acknowledged that many medical doctors opt to join or support PAS.

The thing I do not like about Malaysian politics is its obsession with sexual scandals. This is a legacy of our fourth PM Mahathir. Sexual politics is also a strategy employed by UMNO when they find themselves in trouble.

I’m tired of Malaysian politics because of people like the racist Ibrahim Ali, Hassan Ali who talks about the religion but does nothing, and the sex crazed Ummi Halfida. I’m tired of Malaysian politics because UMNO thinks they own everything from the media to the EPF to the police and the judiciary. 

On Cars

Like most men, I love cars. I cannot afford most of them but I love them nonetheless. One of the things that make me angry with the government is the tax policy on cars. I hate the fact that we are still protecting Proton and Perodua after all these years. I hate the fact that I had to buy a Proton not because I wanted to but because that is all I could afford. I couldn’t afford other makes not because of my financial limitations but because the taxes imposed on the other cars makes it impossible for me (then) to afford anything other than a Proton. I’m sure all the other car lovers share the exact same sentiment.

BMWs are my favourite. The first BMW I fell in love with was the 2002, I still love it but now the 02 has to share my love with the E60 5 series, the E24 6 series, E9 coupes and the E21 3 series. I have been driving the E90 for the past four years or so but I would trade it for any of the above BMs. When I was younger, I used to like the boxy Volvos, my parents used to have the P1800 and even now, I’d pick that car over the E-Type. Their S60 was sexy back in 2001 but the second generation S60 is even sexier.

No one can say they don’t like a Ferrari. I can’t and I won’t because I really really like them. When I was studying in the UK, we used to go to the local Ferrari dealership and ogle at the cars. The mat salleh salesmen were even nice enough to let us sit in some of the cars, albeit only the cars in the used car section but hey, a Ferrari is a Ferrari.

I wish the taxes on cars will be lowered in my lifetime. I’m tired of being envious of the people in Europe who can afford to change cars of their choice as often as they choose, even if they are not earning obscene salaries. Maybe a change in government could lead to a positive change in the policy.

On Racism

I don’t know if I’m a racist but as I stand, I’m a Muslim first, a Malaysian second and a Malay third.  If Ibrahim Ali hears this, he will call for my citizenship to be revoked.

To be a Malay in Malaysia is very easy, Article 160 of the Federal Constitution says;

“Malay" means a person who professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language, conforms to Malay custom and -

(a) was before Merdeka Day born in the Federation or in Singapore or born of parents one of whom was born in the Federation or in Singapore, or was on that day domiciled in the Federation or in Singapore; or

(b) is the issue of such a person;

Because of Article 160, the Syeds whose roots are in Arabian peninsular are considered Malays. The Mamaks who speak Tamil at home and came by boat from India are also Malays. Another new addition to the Malay fraternity is the Muslim converts; notice how Malay Ridhuan Tee is? I don’t mean to sound racist but aren’t those facts?

Let’s face it; most of us have Jawa, Bugis, Minang, Chinese, Indian, Siamese or Patani roots. Mixed marriages are very common nowadays, it is about time we cut down on the racial championing and start recognising each other as Malaysians.

On Sports

Despite being able to play many sports, I’m not good in any of them. The only person I can beat at table tennis is Lyn. My average bowling score is 238, on the Galaxy Tab. Heck; Lyn once even beat me at bowling! I’m terrible at sports but that doesn’t stop me from being a sports fan.

For someone growing up in the 1980s, Liverpool FC is the club we all want to be associated with. I’m still a fan although it hurts to be one for the past 20 years. I have been to Anfield and would love to go again. My three boys are also ardent supporters to which my dad (an MU fan) accuses me of forcing it on them.

I have a slipped disc between C5 and C6 and as a result my golf suffered. Not that I was any good at it before but after changing to left handed clubs, a drive of 200 yards is a norm. I used to play a lot of snooker, I wasn’t a hustler but most people would have to get to the brown ball to defeat me.  I still until recently played some football with the old boys. We had a couple of friendly matches last year, beating Cochrane 5-2 and losing 2-7 to a very young La Salle PJ team. I have however until now refused invitations to join my neighbours in their Friday nite futsal sessions.

Wish List

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Maybe I should change the subtitle to ‘to do list’. I am the king of procrastination so my ‘to do’ list doesn’t really mean anything. On the top of my list would be to stop smoking. I tried a few times, on one occasion it lasted for almost a year. I also want to start getting my self active in sports; an advancing age requires exercise to keep it in one piece.

And yes, I want to take Sharlyza to the Klang wet market in Jalan Meru. That would be something to blog about!

The End

So this is the end of my blogging journey. I hope I have not offended anyone with my postings. If I did, please accept my utmost sincere apologies. I also hope some of my posting gave a positive impact. Whatever it is; thank you for reading. Thank you for your comments.

Thank you

Jurutera

I am not an expert in the Malay language; I am more of a critic. It somewhat hurts me to see the influx of English words into the Malay vocabulary, especially when there is a Malay equivalent. For example; destination in Malay is destinasi and transaction is transaksi. I don’t see the need for such words when we already have ‘tujuan’ and ‘urusan’. I can go on and on so I better not start. I wrote a piece on the Malay language [here].

Today I want to talk about this Malay term – JURU.

My understanding of the term is that it denotes ‘the person who does something’.

For example; ‘rawat’ is nurse so a jururawat is a person who nurses. Jurukamera is a cameraman because he deals with a kamera (camera) and juruwang is a cashier because he deals with wang, wang is money and cashiers deal with money. Juruterbang is a pilot because terbang is fly and pilots fly, an aeroplane. Juruhias decorates as hias means decorate. Jurusolek does your make up.

My question is what is a TERA? If JURU means a person who does something, a jurutera is a person who ‘tera’.

What the fish is a tera???

Picture of the Year?

I found this picture [here]

BERSIH 3.0 28 April 2012 - If that was not police brutality, I don't know what is ...

Beautiful Masjids in Malaysia

I am fascinated with architecture. Whenever and wherever I travel, the first thing I look at and admire is the local architecture. Looking at the many beautiful, grand old buildings everywhere else in the world makes me feel very sad thinking of the many grand old buildings we tear down here in Kuala Lumpur.

Fortunately, we are not in the habit of tearing down masjids. I list below some of the beautiful masjids I have seen in this country, I have even been to some of the masjid listed below (which may come as a surprise to most people who know me!)

Shafie Apdal, Zahida Rafik, Shuib Lazim – Karma?

Apparently, minister Shafie has been having an affair with the Anak Mami actress and he has been giving her pocket money amounting to something like 1.5 million units of the Malaysian currency.

It started with the actress accusing her driver of stealing 200k from her. The driver then lodged a police report to counter her allegations and the juicy stories started coming out.

ABAI TIBAI ABU

ABAI apparently stands for Asal Bukan Anwar Ibrahim. I saw it spray painted under a flyover near the Masjid Negeri roundabout in Shah Alam.
TIBAI stands for Tolak Insan Bernama Anwar Ibrahim - a recently launched initiative by Ibrahim Ali and a whole bunch of idiots.
ABU is Asalkan Bukan UMNO.

Najib vs Anwar

This is an attempt to gauge the popularity of the two leading men of the two coalitions. It is however based on my limited knowledge but more importantly has a lot of bearing on my political leanings.

Political Assets and Liabilities

The 13^th General Election is around the corner. Or so everyone says. Who will win? BN supporters will say BN and Pakatan supporters will say PR, obviously. My 2 cents is probably irrelevant but I won’t be surprised if I’m not the only one with the following views.

Retirement Planning

Retirement means not working and not working means not earning any income. Without an income, how can one survive? Some might respond with – what a stupid question, we have our EPF savings, don’t we? Yes we do and civil servants have their pensions. The next not so stupid question is – is it enough? The life expectancy in Malaysia is about 72-73 years and private sector retirement age is currently still at 55 which means a person has to spend almost 20 years totally dependant on his EPF savings. I guess it would not be a problem if you retire a senior general manager with an EPF saving of 2-3 million ringgit but what if you retire in middle management and after withdrawing your savings to fully settle your housing loan and pay for your children’s tuition fees’, you are left with only a couple of hundred thousand to live on?

Noh Omar Has Lots of Evidence on the Selangor Sand Mining Scandal

Has he?

If he has the evidence and is determined seek justice for Selangor and her people why has he not come forward with documentary evidence on the alleged corruption? We cannot continue to take his word for it, he has to show us real proof.

The Selangor state government gave him a good opportunity to bare all on the sand mining scandal thing at the SELCAT but he refused. Instead he called SELCAT a kangaroo court.

A kangaroo court? SELCAT is not even a court.

I take it the Hon. Minister is questioning the legitimacy of SELCAT. In other words he is saying he will not testify in an illegitimate, illegal proceeding. He should tell his esteemed comrade YB Sulaiman bin Abdul Razak (ADUN Permatang) to stop attending the proceedings then.

My hunch is Noh doesn’t know much, if anything, about the sand mining thing.

Did Shahrizat Resign?

On Monday 12 March, The Star online edition posted a newspiece titled “It is my own decision to give up post as minister, says Shahrizat” [here].

The MCA controlled daily reported that: Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil has announced she will relinquish her post as Women, Family and Community Development Minister when her senatorship ends on April 8.

However, the embattled Cabinet member will continue her duties as Wanita Umno chief.

“I want to do the right thing. And I feel that the right thing for me to do is to step down from my position as minister,” she told a packed press conference at the Taman Desa Waterpark here yesterday.

Sometimes I feel like telling Rafizi, Zuraida and Tony to stop harassing Shahrizat and her family. Not because I support the Shahrizats or sympathise with them but I think we should try to not force Salleh, Shahrizat and co to further humiliate themselves. Every time they open their mouths, they end up making a bigger fool of themselves and in the process dig a bigger grave.

But I can’t resist commenting on Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s resignation.

Uncouth Singaporean Drivers on Malaysian Roads

I was on the North South Expressway near Seremban when I came across a very rude, uncouth Singaporean driver. I’m assuming he is Singaporean because he was driving a Singapore registered car, a black Cefiro 230 bearing the number 4010 (I think that was the number, I can’t recall the alphabets but it was on a black plate with white letters/numbers). He was obviously travelling way beyond the speed limit and even at one point was using the emergency lane to overtake. I guess he is in a hurry to meet his maker. The decadent car turned off into the Elite highway and continued to drive like his father owns the road. I know because I too turned into Elite and saw him disappear into the horizon. How I wished he had disappeared into oblivion.

I am sick of Singaporean drivers driving like wild hogs on Malaysian roads. It’s bad enough that we have Malaysians who drive recklessly and dangerously above the speed limit but Singaporeans doing it just adds salt (lots of it) to the wound. And to think that these very same Singaporeans wouldn’t dare drive 0.5 km/h above the speed limit back home.

My First Home Scheme - The PM Doesn't Know What Goes On on the Ground

A house buyers’ group has labelled the My First Home scheme an “ill-advised” policy after it was reported this week that not a single loan application has been approved under Putrajaya’s home ownership scheme for low-income earners.

The scheme, launched by Datuk Seri Najib Razak a year ago, has come to a grinding halt as banks are unwilling to hand out 100 per cent financing for property worth up to RM400,000 to applicants earning less than RM3,000 a month.

National Homebuyers Association (HBA) honorary secretary-general Chang Kim Loong told The Malaysian Insider that setting a ceiling of RM400,000 under a scheme for “affordable housing” was “ridiculous and somebody must have told the prime minister the wrong facts.”

“It is obvious that our honourable PM was ill-advised by parties with vested interest on setting the price range of RM400,000 for income earners below RM3,000,” he said in an interview. (TMI, 9 Mar 2012)


A 400,000 loan over 25 years will yield a monthly instalment of 2,577.21 per month. The PM expects people earning 3,000 (gross) to spend 85% of their salary on house instalments? What would this people eat?

Unbelievable! Noh?

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 — Datuk Seri Noh Omar claimed today he had proof of graft by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in awarding sand mining permits in Selangor and challenged the state government to open investigations into the matter.

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 — Datuk Seri Noh Omar insisted today he did not know if the National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) breached loan conditions despite de facto law minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz pointing out the family of their Cabinet colleague Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil should return the RM250 million federal loan.

The agriculture and agro-based industry minister said he could not comment as he has yet to receive any information from ongoing investigations into the controversial national cattle farming project.

It seems that the minister is busy concerning himself with the affairs of Selangor rather than the affairs of his own ministry. I guess he wants so much to be MB ...

Valentine’s Day – Should Muslims Join the Celebrations?

All Malaysians including Muslims should be allowed to celebrate Valentine ’s Day, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said today. He was asked to comment on Islamic affairs minister Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom saying that Islamic religious authorities have launched nationwide enforcement efforts to nab Muslims celebrating Valentine’s Day today. “Why can’t it be celebrated? I disagree...it is not a form of prayer,” said the de-facto law minister. “What is wrong with Valentines’ day? People just want to express their love to one another. “How different is it from other days, where we can do the same thing?” Nazri asked. He also criticised PAS for campaigning against Valentines’ Day, saying that such efforts were plain “ridiculous”.

Last Friday, official sermons also warned Muslims against celebrating Valentine’s Day, which the federal Islamic authorities claimed was in breach of the tenets of their religion.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/whats-wrong-with-valentines-day-nazri-asks/

I strongly disagree with the Hon. Minister Nazri. Please read on to see why I think Valentine’s Day celebration is not for Muslims.

I did some research on the web (I know, don’t believe everything you read on the net but that is the quickest way) and I copied and pasted below a brief introduction on Valentine’s Day.

10 Reasons Why Terrorists Will Never Harm Malaysia

I found this on the web. Click [here] for the original posting. It is really funny.

10 reasons why terrorists will never harm Malaysia

Written by Mailbag 

Hassan Ali, Comical Ali?

Dubbed Comical Ali by some British newspapers, the Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf has become a cult figure thanks to his wild claims and colourful language. With a grinning face and wild gesticulations, he is the man charged with giving the Iraqi side of the story.

It is unfair to call Hassan Ali Comical Ali because Ali is his father’s name. Maybe I’ll call him Comical bin Ali. The title is also suitable for another bin Ali, Ibrahim of Perkasa. But for today, I shall focus on bin Ali the former PAS VP, crusader, Muslim fighter and last but not least comedy king.

I am Confused

I often hear people especially from the rural areas saying that if Pakatan gets into power, the dominant party will be DAP and Malays will be marginalised and side-lined and discriminated against. They say if Pakatan wins, PAS will become DAP’s lackey, an insignificant member of the coalition with no say on anything.

The rural Malays’ perception of DAP (as told by Utusan Malaysia) is that it is a Chinese dominated anti Malay, anti Islam party. They may be right about the party being Chinese dominated but I’m not so sure about it being anti Malay or anti Islam. On that score, I need more concrete proof and hearsay cannot be considered concrete proof and I cannot accept anything coming out from Utusan as concrete proof.

The rural Malays are made to believe (by Utusan) that it will be the end of the Malay race should DAP and Pakatan rule the country.

Why am I confused?

Asset Declaration – Long Overdue

The Penang state government started the ball rolling when their exco members declared their assets to the public.

Days later, Chief Justice Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria said judges too will be required to declare their assets in order to ensure judicial integrity. The move is expected to affect judges of the Federal Court, Court of Appeal and High Court as well as Judicial Commissioners. I’m not sure to whom the judges are to declare their assets or when they will do so but it is nevertheless positive news.

Will Syed Mokhtar End Up Owning Everything?

What is not owned by Syed Mokhtar? His acquisition of Proton added to his already vast business empire across practically all sectors. He now controls;

(1) DRB-HICOM, which controls (or has stakes in);

Proton;

EON;

Modenas;

Honda Malaysia;

Isuzu Malaysia;

Puspakom;

Bank Muamalat;

Uni Asia insurance;

Alam Flora;

Pos Malaysia;

KL Airport Services;

Glenmarie Properties.

      (2)  Malaysian Mining Corporation (MMC), which controls (or has stakes in);

          Port of Tanjung Pelepas;

          Johor Port;

          Senai Airport

          SMART Tunnel;

          Malakoff;

          Gas Malaysia;

          MMC-Gamuda JV.

(3)  Tradewinds, which controls (or has stakes in);

          Bernas (amongst its brands is Gardenia);

          Gula Padang Terap;

          Central Sugar Refineries.

Amongst the assets controlled by Syed Mokhtar include those of national importance such as Pos Malaysia, Gas Malaysia and the various ports.  Independent power generation is almost exclusively Malakoff’s; rice and sugar is monopolised by Tradewinds; and so is waste management (save for Selangor!).

My socialist instincts prompt me to ask the question why so much wealth is concentrated in one person. No doubt he is a very generous man who shares his wealth with the ordinary people, his philanthropic activities  bears testament to that but is it wise to have one person controlling so many of the nations strategic businesses?