Remembering An Officer & A Gentleman

The late Robert Pasang Langot

I was flipping through the documents in my PDA the other day when I noticed a recital I wrote that was never read. It was for a good friend and colleague who had passed away about a year ago. He was a responsible officer always brave enough to give different views and opinions. He was firm and committed yet approachable.

I thought it was never too late to post it on my blog for all his loved ones and friends to ponder and remember him by. So here goes:

Robert Pasang Dalam Kenangan

Robert Pasang Langot
Namamu mengundang
Seribu ejekan
Kecekalanmu
Benteng tegap
Umpama benak
Yang sentiasa ofensif
Menghadapi cabaran dan ancaman

Sahabatku
Robert Pasang Langot
Memori saat-saat
Suka duka bersamamu
Akan sentiasa
Menggamit kisah-kisah
Yang bisa
Menjadi teladan
Kepada generasi baru
Yang tidak sempat berjuang
Di sisimu

Kerana kau
Robert Pasang Langot
Anak jati Penerangan
Wira pejuang bangsa
Yang tidak pernah
Mengaku kalah
Dalam menegak mertabat bangsa
Dan negara

Robert Pasang Langot
Sesungguhnya
Pada zamanmu
Kau sinonim dengan unit bergerak
Rangkaian sivik rohaniah, silaturahim
Dan juga sivik gong

Kau penggerak kuiz
Kau penghebah pidato
Dan hari-hari akhirmu
Kau juga penyumbang
Panel penceramah negara
Juga tidak kempunan
Memperjuang pengisahan
Yang mencabar kewibawaanmu

Robert Pasang Langot
Major Robert Pasang Langot
Pegawai Penerangan Daerah
Rakan juangku
Yang kaya budi pekerti
Terima kasih
Dan selamat jalai
Pemergianmu setahun sudah
Bukan pengakhiran
Malah pembakar semangat
Warga Penerangan generasi alaf baru
Generasi blog alam maya
Yang kehilangan tokoh
Pejuang akar umbi
Yang sukar dicari ganti

Selamat jalai wai
Amat rindu kami ka' nuan
Apai dom...

May his soul rest in peace.

all that matters is the number of a's you get

"we should not be telling students what is coming out

in examinations or how they should answer questions.

they must figure that out themselves."

- tan sri khoo kay kim (nst, 28.10.2008)

who will listen to tan sri khoo? the bottom line is how many a's you get. that matters most to students, teachers and many, many parents. and at the end of the day the education minister will proudly announce schools with the most a's. teachers who have marked exam papers regard themselves as the chosen ones cos they are the ultimate tutors who students (and parents) look up to since only they can guarantee students the correct way to answer questions.

try arguing this and chances are you will be the one odd out. that is why tan sri khoo will not win this battle. until those responsible for our education system change their "must-get-a-at-all-cost" mindset.

i hope i will be proven wrong.

internerd of a man...

a dear friend of mine is a telephonist. he is also an internerd (internet + nerd). he chats with people around the globe. he e-mails people of high office. and he has a special internet software that sounds like an alien talking. funny thing is, he understands it like his mother tongue.

the way he talks about global issues can easily put some of us to shame. try talking to him about obama's latest rating against mccain. ask him how the americans feel about the prospect of having a black first lady who stays in the white house. talk to him about the financial crisis and the subprime issues which has hit the usa hard. talk to him about malaysian politics. talk to him about anything. i tell you, he is good. he sounds good too because of the information he acquires from the internet. information is power, someone said this nearly two decades ago.

by the way, this friend of mine is blind.

what say you?

so sweet in their colourful tudung...

one of the most overlooked trends among malay ladies today is wearing the tudung. if you care to look around especially in shops and shopping complexes selling clothes the tudung is one item you cannot miss.

it goes without saying that whatever a girl wears must come with a tudung that matches. otherwise tak syoh le...

attended my office do moments ago and noticed (though they didn't realise my roving eyes) the ladies came in with tudung of multiple colours and design. except for one. but thats ok cos she looked sweet anyway...

what say you?

office colleagues very much in raya mood...

greetings from melaka!

the official 1 week hari raya celebration might be over but actually the mood has just begun for most office colleagues.

yours truly really had a fun time at a raya gathering of staff back at the office. yeap, its a no-holds-barred stage as far as makan is concerned. i balas dendam on all the lemang that i missed during raya. it was worth the wait for the lemang was of high quality. there was also satay and rendang. alham...

a few other staff are already sending invitation cards for their open house. though i fear that i might overeat, my craving for good lemang is too great to resist!

am glad there are many more days left in the month of syawal.

what say you?

of lemang and satay...

salam idil fitri to all.

am back to work after the hari raya hols. this is my first time beraya in melaka. not much different from back home.

what i miss most is the lemang and satay. tho i didnt get to visit friends (who might have served good lemang), the few batang of lemang i bought was quite disappointing. i tried to look for lemang in the big original buloh lemang but what i got was those prepared in small pathetic looking buloh used for making huts and rafts. friends say they do make lemang using the ori buloh lemang but maybe i wasn't lucky enough to bump into one. anyway, no sign of people selling satay like they do at satok in kuching. guess i have to live with that for the coming years.

one thing worth noting is, over here they sell lemang with rendang (beef) unlike in kuching where lemang usually goes with kuah satay. lain padang lain belalang so to speak....

by the way, i"ve been told someone at pasar malam in semabok near melaka is selling good lemang. that is tonite and i am going to be the judge to how good this guy is....

what say you?