Showing posts with label news current affairs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news current affairs. Show all posts

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Remembering... Yasmin Ahmad


I've always believed in the concept of destiny -- that two people are fated for each other who will meet and connect within their lifetime. That's why I connected deeply emotionally to the central theme of Yasmin Ahmad's film Sepet, which stresses on destiny. The guy, since laying eyes on the girl, felt a certain connection that convinced him that she was his "yin fen" -- meaning, his destiny.

... from a previous posting, "Of Destiny, and Fate".

pic source

Monday, May 19, 2008

Tun Mahathir quits UMNO

ALOR STAR: Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced Monday at 12.35pm that he is quitting Umno.

On Sunday, Dr Mahathir said everything deemed as Malay privileges had been questioned and challenged by the non-Malays.

(The Star)


Note: This is the original article published in The Star Online at the time of posting. The last sentence which quotes from a previous article has since been removed and replaced with a recount of Dr M's political history. Updated article below:

Dr. M quits UMNO (updated)

ALOR STAR: Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced Monday at 12.35pm that he is quitting Umno.

He said this during a talk here on Monday.

Dr Mahathir joined Umno at its inception in 1946.

He became a Member of Parliament in 1964 when he won the Kota Setar Selatan seat.

He lost the seat in the following general election in 1969.

Following the May 13, 1969, riots Dr Mahathir was sacked from the Umno Supreme Council on July 12 because of the widespread distribution of his letter to first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman criticising Tunku’s manner of handling the country’s administration.

Dr Mahathir rejoined Umno on March 7, 1972 and was appointed Senator in 1973. He relinquished the senatorship post a year later to contest the Kubang Pasu seat in the general elections. He was returned unopposed and was appointed Minister of Education.

In 1975, Dr Mahathir became one of the three vice-presidents of Umno.

Tun Hussein Onn appointed Dr Mahathir Deputy Prime Minister on Sept 15, 1978.

Dr Mahathir was Prime Minister of Malaysia from July 16, 1981, until Oct 31, 2003.

Umno information chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib said he was surprised at the decision, but added that it was Dr Mahathir's right to do so.

"Every member has the right to join or leave the party," he said.

Asked if Umno would convene an emergency meeting, the former Umno vice-president and Selangor Mentri Besar said that "we will wait and see."

The next Umno Supreme Council meeting is scheduled to be held within the next two or three weeks.



_________________________________________________________________________________________

[Addendum]
PAS Man Lit the 'Resignation' Fuse

ALOR STAR: The man who challenged Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to quit Umno is actually PAS member Ismail Wan Teh.

Ismail was wearing a non-governmental organisation’s hat when he asked Dr Mahathir if he would be willing to quit Umno as a sign of protest against Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s leadership.

Ismail, the Kedah Citizens’ Action Group deputy chairman, asked the question based on Dr Mahathir’s call to Umno members to resign en masse as a show of no-confidence in Abdullah.

Ismail asked if Dr Mahathir were willing to quit, as it would have a major impact on Umno.

Dr Mahathir who was probably not aware that Ismail was a PAS member, said it sounded like a challenge.

“I will leave Umno until Abdullah’s leadership is ended,” he said.

Dr Mahathir, who is Umno member number 000 0001, told a press conference later that he would rejoin Umno after Abdullah had stepped down.

Ismail contested and lost the Kota Siputeh state seat in Jerlun in the recent general election.

(The Star)

(Malaysia Today)


Ha ha ha! xD

Friday, May 16, 2008

Blowing in the Wind - Bob Dylan cover

This is Karljam's interpretation of Bob Dylan's classic Blowing in the Wind.




How many roads must a man walk down
before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
before she sleeps in the sand?
How many times must the cannonballs fly
before they're forever banned?

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind
the answer is blowing in the wind

How many years must a mountain exist
before they're washed to the sea?
How many years can some people exist
before they're allowed to be free?
How many times can a man turn his head
pretend that he doesn't see?

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind
the answer is blowing in the wind

How many times must a man look up
before he can see the sky?
How many ears must one man have
before he can hear people cry?
How many deaths will it take till he knows
that too many people have died?

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind
it's blowing in the wind
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind
the answer is blowing in the wind...

(with many thanks to Bob Dylan)

Monday, April 28, 2008

Transcription of RTM's 'Blog' featuring RPK


Based on my post yesterday, RPK wasted his time on RTM1, NewsKini has quoted my blog as saying, "RTM TV1 try [sic] to bully RPK." While I do not agree that my posting be summed up as such (my original words were "bully out an admission from [RPK]", which holds a different meaning to "bully RPK"!), nevertheless I feel it best to provide a transcription to ensure the accuracy of the quoted parts. This transcript is based on the recordings uploaded by Hanief. The transcription, translations and emphases are mine:

[Part 1/3, starting from 02:42. Observe how the statement in red is suddenly arrived at.]

Hasshim Abu Hanifah (host): Baik, ah. Raja, ya? Saya nak tanya. Ini julung kali Raja berada di televisyen? Atau...

(Hasim Abu Haniffa: Ok, uh. Raja, yes? I have a question. This is your first time being on television? Or...)

Raja Petra Kamaruddin: Kali pertama.

(Raja Petra Kamaruddin: First time.)

HAH: -- kali pertama, ya? Jadi, apakah Raja berasa... kondusif?

(HAH: -- first time, yes? So, do you think [this forum is] conducive?)

RPK: [...] Oleh kerana saya dijemput, kalau saya tak datang, mungkin orang kata saya sombong. Jadi saya datang --

(RPK: [...] As I was invited, if I didn't show up, some people might say I'm snobbish. So I came --)

HAH: Jadi, jelas sekarang ini ada keterbukaannya di media-media, seperti di media televisyen ini.

(HAH: So, we clearly observe that there is an openness of the media nowadays, such as [now showing on] television.)

[Skip a little...]

HAH: S-saya percaya ini antara langkah-langkah awal kerajaan yang begitu toleran dan memberi kebebasan dalam bersuara. Tak begitu?

(HAH: I-I believe this is among the initial steps of our government, being so tolerant, in allowing freedom of speech. Isn't that so?)

[Skip to 05:02. The host's stuttering is because he interrupts RPK from completing his answers.]

HAH: Baik. Jadi baik, saya... kita kita kita teruskan kepada... Apakah Raja sekarang tidak merasakan bahawa kerajaan ini sudah cukup terbuka?

(HAH: Good. So... good. I... we we we continue on to... Do you not agree, Raja, that our government is already sufficiently open?)

[Skip to 06:16, again RPK is interrupted.]

HAH: Saya saya saya percaya, sekarang... Saya mungkin rasa bersetuju juga... Tapi dalam soal sekarang... Keterbukaan kerajaan sekarang ni sudah jelas. Ya? Dari satu per satu... umpamanya selepas, sebaik sahaja Pilihanraya Umum yang ke-12 baru-baru ini. Nampaknya, kerajaan telah menubuhkan pelbagai suruhanjaya, umpamanya Suruhanjaya Kehakiman, Suruhanjaya Anti-rasuah dan sebagainya. Takkah... Raja, tidak melihat perkara ini?

(HAH: I I I believe, now... I may agree with you on that [answer to previous question]... But the issue now is... The government's openness is clear. Yes? From one [incident] to another... such as immediately after the recent twelfth General Elections. We see that the government has established numerous commissions, for example the Judicial Commission, the Anti-Graft Commission, etc. Didn't you... Raja, are you not aware of this?

[Skip to 08:17. The host is still harping on the same topic!]

HAH: Mungkinlah Raja, ya? Saya lihat begini pulak. Selain daripada komisyen-komisyen ini, bagaimana pula kalau kita beralih kepada media, umpamanya? Media, sekarang, begitu cukup terbuka. Bermakna keterbukaan kerajaan kepada media sendiri untuk menyuarakan apa saja pandangan media. Umpamanya, akhbar politik begitu banyak sekarang ini. Ada Harakah, ada Keadilan, ada Rocket, dan sebagainya. Jadi, apakah ini satu benda yang baru bahkan laman-laman blog umpamanya, begitu banyak sekarang!

(HAH: That might be so, huh? I look at it another way. Apart from these commissions, let's talk about the media, for a change. The media nowadays is extremely open, meaning the government is open in allowing the media to voice out their own opinions. For example, there is an abundance of political newspapers nowadays. We have Harakah, we have Keadilan, we have the Rocket, etc. Isn't this a new phenomenon, just like blog sites for example? [There are] so many of them, so much freedom of speech!)


That's it, I'm too tired from the repetition. You know when sometimes if you repeat a word to yourself again and again, it eventually sounds like nonsense? I now no longer comprehend the word 'open'.

Watch the full recording of RPK's Blog segment on Youtube.

Read also: Other viewers' comments on Malaysia Today.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

RPK wasted his time on RTM1

Right from the beginning of the program Blog on RTM1 (which aired from 8.40 pm to 9.00 pm today), it was clear that the host's objective was to bully out an admission from Raja Petra Kamaruddin (of Malaysia Today fame) that the Federal Government has proven its "openness" by inviting the latter to the show.

(Raja Petra at right. Screenshot thanks to Howsy)

The fact that the host didn't even think out more than one way to bring out this desired effect from Mr. RPK was obvious in the former's frequent repetitions of:

"Tapi beralih kepada soalan lain, adakah Raja bersetuju dengan keterbukaan kerajaan dalam membenarkan Raja menyatakan pendapat dalam rancangan ini?
(But moving on to another question, Raja, do you agree that the Government is showing its openness in allowing you to voice your opinions in this show?)"

Subsequent variations were, "Tapi kembali kepada topik... (But let's return to the topic...)" and "Kita kesuntukan masa sekarang, kita ke soalan seterusnya... (We're running out of time, let's proceed with the next question...)" followed by the same one question asked from the very start of the show.

Sigh... The producers of this pointless 20-minute program (its name alone makes me cringe) obviously underestimated RPK enough to think he would be bullied into even mildly agreeing with such a prepared statement. With due respect to RPK, however, I think his time would have been better spent searching for another expose for his site.

But then, who's to say he wasn't? ;)

Read also: Transcription of RTM's 'Blog' featuring RPK

Thursday, April 10, 2008

If Singapore sinks...

Was reading Review God when I came across a question by Evolna:

If Singapore sinks, will Malaysia lend a piece of land to us?

(Artist's impression of Singapore sinking)

When you're finished laughing, I must say that it's an interesting question. My opinion? The answer is a simple, "No!" (with a capitalized 'N' and an exclamation mark at the end, to boot!)

Heck, from the looks of it, our Federal Government would be happy if even Penang sinks...

Monday, March 31, 2008

To become a Genius... Switch the air-cond to full blast?

I will not repeat the sad* news about the math-prodigy-turned-hooker. You can read the article here (Warning: Images are NSFW!). However, what captured my mind is how Sufia Yusof** became the genius she was.

Sufia was a strict Muslim child who prayed five times a day and was subjected to her father's famous Accelerated Learning Technique. Her days involved stretching and breathing exercises in freezing rooms to keep her brain attentive.

I've read countless interviews with top scorers who attribute their success to God, teachers, parents, friends, Yoda, Yoda, Yoda... Not to mention, rolled my eyes at those who credit God, God, God, God... (x100). But thanks to this article, we now know what makes the genius... well, a genius: Praying constantly, and exercising in freezing rooms. Intense cold makes the brain more active? I'm no expert in biology, but I suggest more research be done on this method.

Let's not go into the torture the child is actually put through, what's important here is this effect of intense temperature on brain activity, which I believe warrants at least a Masters or Ph.D research on. Who knows, the study might conclude that a student's brain is more absorbent in an air-conditioned environment? Parents then would be more in the know in presenting the child a conducive environment to study in!

Though, through personal experience, air-conditioners make my mind shut down and all the potential energy is wasted by shivering in my seat. With an igloo for a musing space, thinking straight would be out of the question!

_____________________________________________________________________________________
[Edit]
*Word deleted. Who am I to judge her?
**Read the Yusof Family's official blog maintained by Sufia / Sufiah's mother and siblings here!

Saturday, March 08, 2008

Pak Lah wins by 1k... or 11k?

Or larger versions...
credits to Malaysiakini.

From 1k earlier, Pak Lah's majority has suddenly jumped to 11k in a later update (10.45pm). So. which number is correct? 10,000 is a lot of votes!

My First Time

** Results are pouring in fast! Check here and keep refreshing! Thanks to 5xmom. **

Before leaving the house, my mother handed me some loose change, to which I replied loudly, "Okay, I vote for you!" We both laughed. To be honest, it was a tough decision to make; to choose the incumbent BN guy who did a good job of developing the whole area except the drain in the perimeter of my house, or that new guy from DAP whom I only know by name...

My parents and I arrived early at the polling center, hoping to beat the crowd; but we soon found out that (1), for this constituency, there is no such thing as a 'crowd', and (2), we were not quite early enough either. While queuing up to have my identification checked, one representative from DAP arrived and aggressively demanded a seat alongside the polling clerks. There were already three clerks, and he really had no business to be there. Why he wanted to sit with them, I don't know. Perhaps, he thought the girls were pretty?

I did feel a bit nervous when the polling agent checked my name and then read it out LOUDLY for the other agents to cross out on their list. Maybe it's normal for a virgin voter to be nervous. Or maybe all the eyes of the polling agents in the room were on me and it was not just my feeling...

Ah, but anyway, it's done. Thanks to this, I got no indelible ink on my finger to show you; just a minor sense of pride of having fulfilled my responsibility as a citizen of Malaysia.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

What! No more indelible ink?

Just like a Chipsmore cookie:



I'm disappointed that the EC has canceled the use of indelible ink in this Saturday's General Elections. Just imagine the possibilities! For one, I could use that mark to tease my politically apathetic friends who don't bother to vote.

Just think about it: With the majority of the voting-age Malaysians having that distinct line on their left pointers, it's sure to become an 'in' thing. Then, all those people without the markings would succumb to peer pressure, and be forced to artificially draw on their pointers just to stay cool.

On another note, I can't seem to understand the EC's justification of canceling the use of indelible ink:

What public disorder and/or security threats will come from the indelible ink?

Oh, could this be the start of the reinvention?

Saturday, February 16, 2008

You've heard of sexual frustration...

...but have you heard of political frustration? The feeling of not being able to blog about -- or in more general terms, voice out -- on issues related to the country's political arena?

Once, I've been assigned to speak on a politically controversial topic in a government-run camp before (the topic was no choice of my own; it was a group effort and the group chose me as the speaker) and was loudly admonished by the Little Napoleon facilitator at the end of my speech.

I've seen my friends blogging mild criticisms leveled at their university faculties which resulted in overblown disciplinary action on them. Again, Little Napoleons.

I've once posted an entry of arguable racial offensiveness and was uncivilly ticked off by a reader/relative. Again, overblown reaction.

I'm not the type of person who can be comfortable on the wrong side of the law. When the university senate warns that undergrads are not allowed to participate in 'any election efforts' (does this include discussion of election efforts?), and with nationwide campus laws seemingly supporting this, the danger that the boundaries might be redrawn to single out one person from the pack for scapegoating or public flogging, is very, very real.

(Notice how blogging and flogging are spelt so alike? Not long ago, they were synonymous.)

Hence, you can understand my feeling of insecurity and frustration when it comes to political or current affairs issues. I call it political frustration (castration?), and am certainly suffering its symptoms right now.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

On Credibility and the BERSIH Rally

After achieving a readership boost of 329 unique visitors and 405 page loads on the day of publication of Malaysian Politicians on Bloggers and Indians, thanks to a link from Malaysiakini.com, I realize my responsibility as a blogger, that I owe it to myself and my readers to adhere to, and maintain, an appreciable level of credibility.

My definition of credibility is that only statistics and facts from credible sources are to be quoted, and in voicing personal opinions, to ensure that they are adequately supported by facts from credible sources. A credible source is, however, trickier to define and as such I would welcome any reader to raise their doubts, if any, concerning the credibility of any quoted source in order for me to rejudge the source. If found to be insufficiently objective, the quote will be taken off with a personal apology and/or the post rewritten to increase its accuracy, as had been performed several times in the case of Pelancaran Angkasawan Malaysia ke ISS on Malaysia's first space adventure.

This manic obsession for credibility, coupled with my ongoing examinations, have no doubt contributed to the delay of this post.

____________________________________________________________________________________



On the BERSIH Rally


6. Untuk jangka terdekat, BERSIH telah menyeru kepada Pengerusi dan Setiausaha Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya (SPR), Tan Sri Abd. Rashid bin Abd. Rahman dan Datuk Kamaruzaman bin Mohd Noor untuk melaksanakan empat pembaharuan yang diperlukan dan boleh dilaksanakan serta-merta:
(a) penyemakan semula daftar pemilih yang lengkap demi memastikan segala kesalahan dan ketimpangan yang sedia ada dapat dihapuskan;
(b) penggunaan dakwat kekal untuk menghalang pengundian berganda;
(c) pemansuhan sistem pengundian pos kecuali untuk para diplomat dan pengundi lain di luar negara; dan
(d) akses media yang adil kepada semua pihak dalam pilihanraya.

Malangnya, setakat ini, pihak SPR cuma bersetuju dengan satu permintaan iaitu penggunaan dakwat kekal.

(6. For the near future, BERSIH has urged the Chairman and Secretary of the Election Commission (EC), Tan Sri Abd. Rashid bin Abd. Rahman and Datuk Kamaruzaman bin Mohd Noor to perform four changes which are vital and can be done immediately:
(a) to recheck the complete electoral roll to ensure all current errors and weaknesses are abolished;
(b) use of indelible ink to prevent multiple voting;
(c) abolishment of postal votes except for diplomats and other voters outside the country; and
(d) fair media access for all parties in the election.

Unfortunately, as of now, the EC has only agreed with one request that is the use of indelible ink.)

- Extract from Memorandum submitted to HRH the King by BERSIH, Malaysians Unplugged Uncensored: Text of the Memorandum Submitted to His Majesty, the Agung, by the BERSIH Delegation on 10th November 2007


Saturday’s street protest in Kuala Lumpur was an attempt to drag the royalty into opposition politics.

- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia, as quoted in The Star: Opposition trying to drag King into politics, says Pak Lah, 12 November 2007.


The three of us huddled in a small corner; tears, mucus and saliva smeared all over our faces like a child’s hand painting, resisting the temptation to throw up. We sat there recuperating for much of the time, before continuing down the street, away from the uncivil servants. We lingered on the corner, based on utter foolishness, that the police wouldn’t shoot again with so many ordinary civilians. Around us were myriad characters, women and children, to armchair politicians raised to a fury.

And then they fired again.

- First hand account from a BERSIH rally participant, published in Kakiblog.com: My Report from the Bersih Rally


Your man -- your journalist [is] trying to exaggerate on what actually happened. ... In Malaysia, people are [laughing] at you, you know. We know our police had allowed the procession to go to Istana Negara [the Royal Palace]. They handled them with tear gas. Police [did not open] fire [at] anybody. ... You think that we are Pakistan, we are Burma, we are Myanmar. ... We are totally different! ... This is a democratic country! We [allow] protests, there [are] demonstrators. We tried to disperse them, they didn't disperse, [so] later our police compromised and allowed them to go to Istana Negara. Our police had succeeded in handling them gently. ... It is an illegal protest because we have elections ... every five years [without] fail. We are not like Myanmar, not like other countries. You, Al Jazeera, [are] helping these forces ... who don't believe in democracy! This is Al Jazeera's attitude, right?

- Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin, Malaysia's Information Minister, live phone interview with television station Al Jazeera. Reported, among others, in Bernama: Zam Refutes Al Jazeera's Claim Police Used Force On Protesters, 10 November 2007.


In ending, check whether your name is on the electoral roll here!

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Malaysian Politicians on Bloggers and Indians

Please read the sources to obtain the full context of each quote before you comment.


All bloggers are liars, they cheat people using all kinds of methods. From my understanding, out of 10,000 unemployed bloggers, 8,000 are women.”

- Tourism Minister Tengku Adnan, quoted in
Sin Chew Daily, 8 March 2007 and translated to English by blogger Jeremiah Foo.


"Kesalahan, saya fikir, kalau kita tidak air the truth, maka dia akan diteruskan. (If we don't air the truth on wrongdoings, they will continue to be done.) Kesalahannya banyak. Kalau kita nak buat senarai kesalahan, (The wrongdoings are many. If we were to make a list of wrongdoings,) there's plenty. That is where, we need bloggers."

- Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia and former UMNO President, in response to a question from the audience,
Perdana Leadership Foundation, 15 August 2007 [Quoted from 4:32-4:48 in the video].


"I have no concern for and care about bloggers."

- Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz,
interview with NST, 28 October 2007.

He later clarified, "I don’t care about the bloggers, but I do care about the minority Indians."


And now on to today's news...


"Vide our hundreds of letters and memorandums to your goodself over the last few years we have repeatedly highlighted an average of one Hindu temple being demolished in every three (3) weeks in Malaysia."

- Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF),
letter to Prime Minister Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, 30 October 2007.


"Looks like a war zone"

- Malaysiakini:
Temple demolition leads to all-out fracas, 30 October 2007.


On a related note, my name is still not on the registered voters list! Why is that?!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Throw your Panties for Peace!

Read this news article which is a Top Story on Canadian broadcaster CTV's site...

Myanmar embassies receiving 'Panties for Peace'

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Women in several countries have begun sending their panties to Myanmar embassies in a culturally insulting gesture of protest against the recent brutal crackdown there, a campaign supporter said Friday.

"It's an extremely strong message in Burmese and in all Southeast Asian culture,'' said Liz Hilton, who supports an activist group that launched the "Panties for Peace'' drive earlier this week.

The group, Lanna Action for Burma, says the country's superstitious generals, especially junta leader Gen. Than Shwe, also believe that contact with women's underwear saps them of power.

To widespread international condemnation, the military in Myanmar, also known as Burma, crushed mass anti-regime demonstrations recently and continues to hunt down and imprison those who took part.

Hilton said women in Thailand, Australia, Singapore, England and other European countries have started sending or delivering their underwear to Myanmar missions following informal coordination among activist organizations and individuals.

"You can post, deliver or fling your panties at the closest Burmese Embassy any day from today. Send early, send often!'' the Lanna Action for Burma website urges.

"So far we have had no response from Burmese officials,'' Hilton said.

(emphasis added)
- source:
CTV Canada

Seems ladies' underwear is to the junta, what Kryptonite is to Superman! xD

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Pelancaran Angkasawan Malaysia ke ISS

Salam sejahtera buat pembaca sekalian. Mengikut jejak langkah bingsterz Si Merah Jambu, kali ini saya akan memblog dalam Bahasa Melayu. Pada pukul 9.21 malam tadi, kita telah menyaksikan pelancaran roket di Baikonur, Rusia menuju ke Stesen Angkasa Antarabangsa (ISS) membawa angkasawan Malaysia pertama, Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor. Amat mengagumkan melihat visual secara langsung dalam kebanyakan saluran televisyen yang menunjukkan roket tersebut dalam proses pelancaran.

Suatu yang amat menghairankan, adalah roket tersebut dilihat seakan-akan menuju ke bawah skrin disebabkan kedudukan kamera. Jika difikirkan, roket tersebut dilancarkan berserenjang (atau hampir berserenjang) dengan permukaan Bumi, maknanya menghala keluar dari Bumi. Jadi bagaimanakah roket tersebut dapat dirakam seakan-akan menuju ke bawah skrin, melainkan kamera tersebut bergerak bersama-sama roket itu, dan dipasang terbalik?

Perjalanan dari Bumi ke ISS akan mengambil masa tiga hari. Dalam visual langsung tadi, kelihatan Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar memegang suatu fail hijau yang kandungannya tidak diberitahu. Duduk di kiri beliau adalah En. Yuri dari Rusia dan ke kiri lagi ialah komander penerbangan, Ms. Peggy Whitson dari Amerika Syarikat. Yuri dan Peggy kelihatan memegang pen dan buku nota yang asyik dibelek-belek seakan-akan memeriksa sesuatu. Peggy juga dilihat menulis dalam buka notanya sekali-sekala.

Kedengaran juga suara seorang wanita di stesen Bumi cuba memahami dan mengalih bahasa laporan terkini daripada roket tersebut. Kebanyakan laporan tersebut adalah mengenai kelajuan dan suhu semasa. Jika wanita tersebut gagal memahami apa yang diperkatakan, beliau mengatakan, "Unintelligible" yang bermakna 'sukar difahami'.

Dengan pelancaran Dr. Shiekh Muszaphar, Malaysia menjadi negara ke-39 untuk melawati angkasa lepas.* Jika direnung kelayakan Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar, sah bahawa beliau sebenarnya memang bertuah sebagai seorang pakar bedah ortopedik Hospital UKM dan model separuh-masa, untuk menjadi angkasawan pertama mewakili Malaysia.

Setiba di ISS, kita sedia maklum bahawa Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar akan menjalankan kajian mengenai tindakbalas sel kanser dengan perubatan sedia ada, dalam keadaan tanpa graviti.

Bukan menjadi isu penting bahawa jawatan Dr. Sheikh dalam perjalanan ke angkasa lepas kali ini sekadar 'peserta penerbangan' atau 'space flight participant' mengikut kenyataan rasmi Rusia dan juga disebut semasa siaran langsung tadi, iaitu sebenarnya jawatan yang tidak begitu glamor. Yang mustahak, biarlah kejayaan angkasawan Malaysia ini menjadi tanda permulaan penyertaan aktif negara dalam bidang astronomi dan menjadi harapan kepada seluruh warganegara sekarang dalam mengundang pencapaian yang lebih besar pada masa hadapan.

Akhir kata, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri kepada semua pembaca Muslim. Semoga selamat balik ke kampung halaman dan sihat sejahtera sepanjang musim perayaan ini. Sekian.

*Terima kasih rational thinker dan mat sputnik atas pembetulan fakta.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Malaysian Politicians Say the Darndest Things

Here are extracts from the book Malaysian Politicians Say the Darndest Things by former NST columnist, Amir Muhammad. This book has just been launched on 16 September and costs RM30 at bookstores.

The cover...
The beginning...
Middle...
And end...
Images here are borrowed from the author, En. Amir Muhammad's site and all rights belong to him.

Visit Amir's site here.

Sunday, September 09, 2007

News for Today

You know this is one heck of an eventful day when on the local front, today's mainstream papers carry pages after pages dissecting the National Budget 2008, including a full-page editorial in The Star analyzing racial-based vote swings in what the columnist terms "Chinese discontent"...


And in the international arena, we have actors in Shakespeare's plays asking whether it was "the Bard, or not the Bard"...


Then there's this guy who went through such great lengths to be a firefighter...

On Campbell's walls were hundreds of framed photos of him at disaster sites in uniform, authorities said. [...]

The problem is, authorities say, he was never a firefighter.

And when High School Musical's wholesome actress Vanessa Anne Hudgens admits to nude photos of her on the web... (click on the pic)


...you know you've seen enough for the day!

Sunday, September 02, 2007

Malaysia's 50th Merdeka Celebration

I watched it on TV3.
1. I've never heard PM Dato' Seri Abdullah Badawi speak so loud, as on the night before The Day.
2. A lot of work has gone into the human formations, particularly the words. Changing every few minutes, at so large a size and with so many people, one wonders how they even managed to do that. The formations coordinator(s) is (are) not credited (enough).
3. A little disappointed that TV3 missed an aerial shot of the completed Malaysian map human formation, after splashing on screen several times 'Pembentukan Peta Malaysia' (Formation of the Malaysian Map) while it was in progress.
4. The choir sounded good! Participants from Teacher's Training College, if not wrong. And I really don't mind the kompang and bongo-drum sounding instruments; as long as they don't sound damped and mono, RTM-like. Heck, the music sounded good!
5. Of all the tribute floats to our Prime Ministers, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad's looked overcrowded. Half the items from the float could have easily filled an extra one.
6. On TV3's Buletin Utama on Merdeka evening, the Merdeka parade was the only good news -- followed by reports on post-celebration littering, lack of Bumiputera retailers in Suria KLCC, fracas during a particular shareholder's meeting...

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Streamyx Service Disruption

My streamyx has been down for nearly two weeks. I just checked my account -- no outstanding balance. What could be the reason?

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

SERVICE DISRUPTION

Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) would like to inform its
customers that its Internet services are experiencing some degradation in
performance due to the replacement of network equipment at its Network
Operations Center for Northern and Southern regions and East Malaysia.

Restoration works on the affected infrastructure will be performed
from 11.00 p.m. on Tuesday, 28 August 2007 until 12.00 a.m. on Wednesday, 29
August 2007.

As a result, Internet services customers in the
affected areas may experience slow browsing when accessing the Internet during
the stipulated period. We would like to assure you that the service would resume
to normal after this time.

TM apologizes for any inconvenience
caused by this, whilst at the same time, we would like to assure you that we are
doing all that is necessary in order to restore our services as soon as
possible.
[source]


I'm being optimistic. Let's hope that Streamyx will be up and running again, asap.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

My Opinion on the National Anthem Parody

I recently chatted with Elly. Now it's not often that we bump into each other, because though we both study Physics, our areas of specialization are slightly different.

We were talking about our nation's fast arriving 50th anniversary of independence, and naturally, the subject of 'that YouTube video' cropped up.

"Oh, I've heard about it but I haven't watched it. What is it about?" she asked earnestly.

I pondered my reply. I felt lost for words when I recalled the blatantly disrespectful lyrics of the video.

I pondered my reply. Here was Elly, a Malay -- one of the many Malay, Indian, Chinese and "lain-lain" friends of mine that play so integral a part in my campus life.

It is embarrassing that the songwriter chose to be insensitive to the multicultural strength of Malaysia, and it is even more shameful that so many viewers chose to cheer him on, as he shot one after another unsupported accusation against the Government, infused them with teenage angst and confused them with religion.

And here was Elly. A Malaysian, just like me; two individuals trying their best to beat their respective paths in the world. Both working equally hard -- or perhaps, in all probability, she works harder than me, for her dreams are much larger than mine -- in hopes for a credible future.

"So what is it about?" she asked.

"Uh..."

I pondered my reply, and summed it up simply,
"Just some silly lyrics."