learning from the loss of pulau batu puteh

greetings.

it was a gloomy friday for malaysians in general after icj announced that pulau batu puteh now belongs to singapore. funny how a piece of history hundreds of years old could be decided within just a few moments. however since we had decided to leave it to icj to sort out the tussle over the island with singapore, nothing much could be said really over the decision. we were represented by a group of very competent lawyers. no complaints about that. however, if johorians in particular feel sour over the decision it is to be understood since pulau batu puteh had been part of their rich history for so long.

hopefully there is something to be learned from the experience. documents are important. this was proven by the letter from the johor acting state secretary written in 1953 disclaiming pulau batu puteh. how and why that letter was written, only god knows! that letter carried high marks for the singapore lawyers.

what say you?

patriotic story-telling anyone?

the malaysian information department is organising the patriotic story-telling competition nationwide. an annual event to promote among the people a sense of patriotism by remembering past struggles of the nation's leaders and appreciating the nation's progress, this competition is opened to malaysian citizens between the age of 18 and 45. opened to groups of between two to three members, every state will be organising at state level this month and the winning group will represent their respective states at the national level to be held in johor in june.

it would be interesting to see the apparent change in format. previously the competition was opened to individuals but this year a group approach has been introduced to encourage bigger participation.

so if you feel strongly about past contributions of figures or maybe incidents worth remembering in our nation's bid for independence and progress, this competition is worth trying. the prizes at stake are quite enticing. details about the programme can be obtained from information offices across the country. tell stories. have fun. be patriotic. enjoy.

what say you?

pesta sungai melaka 2008 is 2 weeks away

greetings from melaka - the land of legendary warriors!

now that the euphoria of the 12th general elections has simmered down, its time to focus on events for the people which will culminate with the independence month from 17th august till 16th september.

right now melaka is busy preparing for its pesta sungai melaka or the melaka river fiesta. this annual event will be launched on 31st may 2008 at taman rempah or spice garden. numerous activities have been drawn up along the melaka river from that day till 8th of june.

this beautiful city has a lot to offer. besides the beautiful historical sites and legendary tales, melaka is rich tradition and culture. the malays, chinese and indians blend harmoniously with the portuguese, the baba and nyonya society and the chettiahs of gajah berang. and the food is fabulous - among others the asam pedas, otak-otak and the ikan bakar (pronounced by the locals as ikan bakau) eaten with nasi lemak. there is also the nyonya's bubur cha cha and the portuguese devil's curry. eateries are aplenty not to mention the food.

so if you plan to tour the peninsula, be sure to include melaka in your itinerary. you can join in the fun waiting for you at pesta sungai melaka. to know more visit www.ppspm.gov.my.

the cruise along sungai melaka will be one to remember.

what say you?

oh, its the korean again

south korea's strategy to lose in their thomas cup campaign against england and malaysia just to avoid china in the semifinal is no surprise. the koreans are "good" at this. to win tournaments they are willing to display all sorts of unsporting behaviour. locally we call this "main tahi".

i remember in the olympic games they hosted a couple of years ago, koreans judges declared their boxer the winner even though the whole world saw that the boxer was clearly a human punching bag. in international badminton tournaments hosted by korea, many players like taufik hidayat and lin dan to name a few, have fallen victim to the korean "badtitude".

everybody knows winning is paramount but the koreans must learn to win with their dignity intact.

thomas cup organisers should change the present format into a round robin where winning every match matters. it might lose the suspense and thrills but at least teams like korea will have second thoughts about throwing away games.

what say you?

eat less rice for a better you and me

greetings. and a belated happy mother's day!

our hearts go out to the thousands in myanmar who have suffered from the wrath of cyclone nargis. just when the world is worrying about rice shortage, a disaster has hit hard on this rice producing nation.

i believe we can learn something from this whole issue of rice shortage. just eat less rice! however this is easier said than done. just look at the type of rice delicacies on offer. nasi ayam, nasi lemak, nasi goreng, nasi kandar, nasi tomato, nasi minyak, nasi briyani, nasi itik, nasi cooked the thai style, nasi cooked the usa style etc, etc, etc.....hard to resist, i tell you.

however, experience tells us that eating less rice will lead to better health. less spare tyre, less chance of getting diabetes and most importantly less tendency of being sleepy at meetings especially after eating nasi lemak and nasi ayam! believe me, eating less rice has many advantages.

what say you?

will blatter be able to pull it off this time?

many will be glued to their seats (or tv sets) come sunday when manchester united meet wigan to determine who will be epl champions - united or chelsea.

a win will see united retain the premier league crown since they have superior goal difference even if chelsea were to beat bolton. after that the two teams will battle it out for the champions league title.

whoever wins the epl title and thereafter the champions league in moscow later in the month, focus will be on fifa chief sapp blatter's personal crusade to end the dominance of epl's four top clubs; man u, chelsea, arsenal and liverpool. to do this he intends to bring in rules so that teams will have to field five home grown players.

fans of these clubs will debate blatter's idea of course. but maybe blatter is justified in trying to implement such ruling. when you watch the premier league these days, trying to identify home grown players in big teams is so challenging. so it is no big deal why england is always struggling for world cup finals qualification. by the way, they have missed euro 2008 due in june.

what say you?

is it risky to be a blogger?

why was the blog first created back in 1999? i don't think it was ever meant as a tool to divide people but more to link netizens in our borderless world. the blog is a personal virtual diary, a daily update of a person's (a blogger's) opinions and thoughts that he would like to share with friends (and strangers) who are free to post comments. it is a process of "listening" on-line, if you want to see it that way.

however, some do use blogs to voice out feelings of discontent and to raise issues. in the last malaysian general elections some quarters claim that blogs have been effectively used to influence the way people vote. blogs have now become the "in thing" among politicians in their effort to reach the people.

where does it leave the ordinary layman who yearns to be a blogger? some are scared because somehow a "bad" label has been tagged rather unfairly to a blogger even how sincere his/her intentions are.

to aspiring bloggers out there, be brave, be creative and be honest to yourself. a blog is meant for all. it is the easiest and (cheapest?) way to send our "memo to the world" and who knows we might make new friends along the way.

happy blogging.

hoping efforts to trace sharlinie will continue

it has been a while since the disappearance of poor little sharlinie. though numerous parties have been busily involved in trying to trace her whereabout, it seems that now not much has been said about her especially in the media. i believe the authorities are doing their best to look for sharlinie. it breaks my heart to see fading posters of sharlinie at public places.

that brings to mind our responsibility to always be alert every time we take along our little ones out to public places. short of being paranoid, i am always worried every time my kids go out to the playground but i just cannot help it. you can never be sure nowadays.

lets pray someone somewhere will find sharlinie.

a brief introduction - for a start

hi! welcome to my blog. i am a malaysian residing in malacca, a state rich in history located in the southern part of the west coast of peninsular malaysia. this is my first try at being a blogger and am very excited about it. i am interested in various fields but i enjoy discussing matters related to sports like tennis, soccer and badminton. i also enjoy talking about parenting. (malaysian) politics is also a subject i like to comment on, as an observer of course. having said this, it does not mean i do not talk about other topics. i do, as long as it is worth discussing! anyway, i look forward to exchanging ideas with you and in the process make new friends and learn many new things in life. regards!