Back on the blog!

December 29, 2008 in Personal Reflections with 3 Comments

Wow, looks like I’ve fallen off the blogosphere grid for almost five months already! So much had happened since my last post on Obama’s Berlin speech… so sorry to you folks who’ve been wondering where I’m off to. I’m doing well, no health problems or such, just a little stressed out.

But I’ve been enjoying a long break from work. Tomorrow I’m going back to work and hopefully, I am able to get through the next two days without too much trouble. It’s been four-and-a-half-months since I joined a new company as a writer, and while I enjoyed the work and have been learning lots, I don’t really like the environment and some of my colleagues. But what to do? I find this company to be a great place where I can grow, although I don’t see myself staying with them more than three years, as I still have my heart set on studying overseas, travel and lecture. And write a few damn good books while I’m at it. I can still dream but I’ll go wherever my God wants me to go, I guess.

I would really like to update you guys more about what has happened to me in last several months but just don’t have the heart to look back to the past. All I can say is that I’m glad that this year is coming to an end in a couple more days. I’m sure like most of everyone around the world, 2008 has been a year to forget. Yet, I’m still thankful for all the good and bad experiences I had throughout the year that have help developed me further to become a better person.

With that said, do look forward to my hopes and wishes for the coming new year. I’m praying that 2009 will be a fruitful and successful year for me personally and that I will be able to meet and achieve some of my life’s goals. And I’m praying that 2009 will also be just as good a year for all of you, regardless of the doom and gloom surrounding the world today. Let’s be optimistic and work towards overcoming whatever trials and tribulations the new year would bring ok?

Cheers everyone and love you all!

Obama’s Berlin Speech

July 25, 2008 in Citizen of the World with 1 Comment

I doubt very much that the Joe and Jane Public in Malaysia is paying much scant attention to the fascinating US presidential campaign that’s ongoing currently, what with our own local political situation currently in shambles hogging the frontpage headlines. Everyone is too busy worrying over our own country’s political future, which I must say is more dramatic and action-packed than I could ever have hoped for.

This is the year America votes, and hopefully they vote really wisely this time around. And having followed the entire campaign process quite closely, I’m feeling a little more confident of America’s future prospects. Americans, I believe, have been given one great last chance to bail their country out of the shithole they’ve dug for themselves as a result of voting Bushy back as president in 2004. If they flub it again this time around, I fear the US will be in a deeper mess than ever that will take years to pull them out of.

But while I’m still sceptical about Barack Obama’s chances at trouncing John McCain in the elections this coming November 2008, I’m nevertheless optimistic that Americans will wise up and stop taking crap from the Republicans who have damaged the USA’s image internally and externally. Of all the Democratic candidates so far, Barack Obama presents the best chance ever to win back the presidency from the Republicans. He’s young, he’s suave, he’s visionary, he’s intelligent, he’s outspoken and he’s the one with the least baggage. And from his speech in Berlin, I sincerely believe that he would restore US’s reputation in the eyes of the world and herald a fairly peaceful age than the one we had in the Bush years.

Yes, I’m particularly enamoured by his charisma, but I still have enough sense to wonder if he can truly carry out the reforms and the promises he had stated in his speech, which is now taking shape as his election manifesto. I have to take into account the rifts in the Democratic camp as well, as I’m getting the feeling that Hillary Clinton is still rather sore about losing to Obama and her supporters might not work as hard for Obama as they would for her. No party is perfect, but the Democratic camp is very much the lesser of the two evils and if they can stand united for once show the world and their fellow Americans their strength, resilience and unity, they may bury the Republicans come November 2008.

I was elated when Kevin Rudd became the new Prime Minister of Australia… imagine how ecstatic and joyful I would be then, if Barack Obama does win the US Presidency! The winds of change are slowly blowing over much of the world. With UK’s Gordon Brown in danger of being ousted as well, the years ahead are promising to be a fascinating one in terms of the international politics scene. Don’t get me started with Malaysia, though… that’s for another post.

Anyways, here’s Obama’s inspirational address in Berlin, entitled “A World that Stands as One”, before a cheering crowd of 200,000.  You can read it below or watch the videos: -

I Have Returned!

June 17, 2008 in Personal Reflections with 1 Comment

It’s been almost more than a month now, sorry to keep my faithful readers out of the loop here. I must say, I’m beginning to feel my passion for blogging my thoughts slowly ebbing away from my being. I may need some time to get away from it all and just spend a couple of days in isolation blogging and writing. Not that I’ve not been doing any writing these days but it’s mostly writing out the usual press releases, reporting stuff and writing movie reviews. Hardly creative writing in a sense.

So what’s been keeping me away? Hectic work schedule, a church camp, no inspiration among other things…

But hopefully, with this post, I’m getting back to my blogging stride. Even if I’m not in top form yet… Heck, have I ever been in top form anyways? Here I am blogging rubbish while I’m supposed to be mulling over a couple of press releases to edit and post as news items on the KLWeekly site.

I still  love my work, I just have to keep saying that. And I DO really love my work, writing is everything I ever wanna do. But I’m not getting anywhere at the moment. I’ve sort of shelved my novel-in-progress for lack of inpsiration and threw myself into my work. KLWeekly is doing good but it’s still a small company and there’ll always be that desire to work for a more established company but the boldness to make that step to change is not there. I’ve already got rejected twice two months ago, when I applied for two different jobs, one a copywriter at an established firm in Mid Valley and the other a sub-editor’s position at a publishing firm. Didn’t even make the shortlist, although I got a polite email from both stating why they can’t put me in consideration.

Oh well, I refuse to dwell on it any further, I just want to try and keep looking at the positive side of things. My chance, my opportunity will still be there but it’s playing a damn good hide ‘n’ seek game with me at the moment.

Here’s me hoping for a good rest of June and the remainder half of 2008. The year may be slowly turning out to be a bad one for China (God bless that country!), but I refuse to let this year be a bad one for me.

The saddest news of the day

April 28, 2008 in Personal Reflections with 3 Comments

This has to be the saddest news of the year…

Animals, birds and fish perish in pet shop fire

MUAR: Dogs, cats, rabbits, ornamental fish and birds, including exotic parrot species perished when fire razed a pet shop here.

The blaze at the Huah Pets shop, located along Jalan Khalidi, started at about 1.55am, probably caused by a short circuit.

Shop owner Tan Bing Huat said he could not determine the number of animals, birds and fish inside the shop but believed they totalled about 6,000.

He said most of the birds killed in the fire were doves of the merbuk and tekukur species but there were also three exotic parrots which cost RM2,000 each, adding that, he had yet to determine the total loss.

He said the fire spread very fast and within 10 minutes had engulfed the whole shop, which began operation about seven years ago.

A team of firemen from the Muar Fire Services and Rescue Department managed to put the fire under control in about 20 minutes.

Source: The Star

To say that I am terribly upset would be a gross understatement! If there are two issues that I care the most about, it would be children’s issues and animal rights. Both are God’s gifts to mankind, and we humans who have been charged by God to protect and love all creations of God have responsibilities to fulfill.

6,000 animals!!! 6,000 animals perishing in one day! It’s no wonder it was raining so heavily the past hour. God is weeping and mourning for the unnecessary loss of His beautiful creations…

The face of a thief if there ever was one!

April 28, 2008 in Local Politics, Social Activism & Religious Matter with 1 Comment

Ok, look closely at the lady on the left in the picture holding up her statement read out to the press yesterday. Study her features carefully and let it burn into your memory.

Why?

‘Cause when you see her on the streets in Selangor or anywhere else in the country or in the world, make sure you shower her with a generous, well-aimed amount of phlegm and saliva. If you can cover her from head to toe the better!

Who is this woman, you might ask, and what has she done to deserve such humiliating treatment?

To the first question, this woman is the wife of former Chief Minister of Selangor and the Bandit King – Khir Toyo who sometimes go by the name Khir Toyol in the blogs. Her name is Zaharah Kechik and that face of hers is the face of a thief who knows no remorse for the deviousness of her actions and for her greed.

Read this to find out what she has done – and it wasn’t allegedly and it can’t be allegedly because she has admitted to it – “It’s OUR Money, NOT Yours!“. You can red more on this issue here, here and here.

And here’s what the people are saying about her crime, a sample of the many that can be found on the Net – NotaRazi, who seems to have been the most vocal on this issue among the Malaysian blogosphere, comments from readers on Maria Samad’s blog Tok Mommy and Elviza’s blog.

So, coming back to baptising her with generous amounts of icky, sticky, smelly spit, it’s the least she deserved if she escaped punishment. I’m sick and tired of how these corrupt, greedy politicians and their ilk keep getting away with nothing more than a slap on their wrists for their crimes. Let’s not forget the other shamed politician that built a mini palace with 20 bathrooms on state-owned land, who, thankfully is now deceased and will never be heard and talked about again.

If I ever have reality bending powers like the mutant Scarlet Witch, who uttered the reality-defining words “No More Mutants!” in Marvel Comics’ epic House of M series, which resulted in the more than 3/4 of mutants losing their powers forever, I would have uttered “No more corrupted and greedy politicians and their wives and family members and friends!”

One could only wish, eh?

If Pak Lah is so damn serious about weeding out corruption and to reform the ACA, he should throw all the power of the law that he has at this evil couple and rein them in. Shackle them! Enough is enough, Pak Lah! When are you going to walk the talk and let your actions prove that you’re serious about getting rid of these bloodsckers, plunderers of the people’s wealth, leeches and whatnots.

Bah, until that happens, I’m not even gonna pay my taxes to the govt. I’m just gonna make sure that I donate as much of my salary as possible to tax-exempted charities. I don’t want my hard earned wages ending up in a corrupt government official’s pockets. Heck, I’ll do anything to get myself tax-exempted for now.

Oh, how I wish Pakatan Rakyat had formed the government in the last election!

World Earth Day 2008

April 22, 2008 in Citizen of the World, The Conservationist in Me with Leave a Comment

So yeah, today’s World Earth Day, the day we citizens of the world set aside not just to pay homage to this planet that we inhabited but to remind us of doing our part to keep this planet called Earth alive and healthy for our future generations’ sake.

We want them to have an Earth where the air is clean and fresh, not smelly, smokey and poisonous. We want them to have an Earth where the skies are blue, not covered with dust, ash and smoke.

We want them to have an Earth where the trees are tall, where forests are lush and green instead of barren stumps and empty wastelands because of rampant deforestation.

We want them to be able to know and feel a cool breeze, not hot, humid winds.

We want them to be able to enjoy clean, natural and fresh water, not drinking water that’s been processed from their own waste nor do we want them to drink foul, polluted water.

We want them to enjoy the experience of bathing and swimming in lakes, rivers and waterfalls, not just man-made pools and waterparks.

And of course, we want them to be able to enjoy seeing the various flora and fauna this blessed Earth have with their very own eyes, and not just from pictures in books, Internet and television documentaries. We want them to know what is a tiger, a panda, an orang utan, a whale, a tapir and a sun bear looks like alive with their own eyes. These creatures are the treasures of this Earth.

Most importantly, we want them to live on planet Earth… and not in some outer space planets. Why seek elsewhere to live when we already have such a beautiful planet to live in? Don’t we want our future generations to know what it’s like to live on this planet?

We all do, don’t we?

So let us not just do our part to protect the Earth just on Earth Day ALONE… we are all responsible for conserving our environment and protect Mother Earth at ALL times, every day, every single moment we are alive on this planet.

We love our mothers, don’t we? Well, the Earth is our MOTHER and we are her CHILDREN!

So let us strive together to make this Earth cleaner, healthier and liveable, ok?

Thanks for reading and let’s hope for a better future!
—
Read More about what World Earth Day is all about! :-

Earth Day Network
12 year olds confronting the Adults in this world – Earth Day
WWF’s Earth Day 2008
World Earth Day 2008 on Flickr
World Earth Day 2008 in India
CRIEnglish’s World Earth Day 2008
BBC News’ Coverage on World Earth Day 2008

The Dalai Lama is a Hypocrite!

April 17, 2008 in Citizen of the World, Personal Reflections with 6 Comments

I’m not afraid to say it… I’ve got no love and no respect for this bald, bespectacled, hypocrite who should just shut the fuck up about “liberating Tibet” from the “oppressive” hands of China.

If he really preaches non-violent, diplomatic dialogue, he wouldn’t have egged his monk minions to stage violent protests across the globe and sabotaging China’s Olympic preparations. If he truly profess to being a peace-lover, he would have reined in these monks and stopped them from acting in a barbaric manner.

I just wish everyone would stop criticising the Chinese government over everything they’ve done in the past. They are not the best in the world but which government can really claim to be the best, the cleanest and the most upright. Like Jesus said, “Let he who have no sin cast the first stone”. Before throwing brickbats at the Chinese government, the US government and other pro-Dalai Lama allies had better examine themselves and sort out their own dirty linen first. They have no right to accuse China of using force to quell the protesters, who are definitely violating the law and disturbing public peace.

The Olympic Torch Relay is coming to Kuala Lumpur this coming Monday. I may not be able to witness the relay but I am firmly in the pro-China camp. China is the only hope the world ever have to break the US and their Western counterparts dominance and influence. It is true that China still has many flaws, but at least I’ve seen a lot more progress in China than in the States. I truly admire the way the Chinese government can still maintain the country’s stability and oversee its economic boom despite being the largest and the most populous country in the world. I admire their discipline and their tenacity in the face against obstacles and I feel China is being unfairly blamed and hit out by their its detractors.

I’m tired of Tibet being used by the West for their own agenda. And I’m tired of the Dalai Lama being portrayed in favourable light. There’s absolutely nothing favourable about him at all. He just wants Tibet so that he can set up his own Tibetan empire. He just wants a country/a land of his own to rule. Can anyone really believe that Dalai Lama has no ulterior motive in wantng to “free” Tibet?

Tibet has always been free. Tibet has always been part of the Chinese land. Go to Tibet and you’ll see the temples and the monks residing in these temples are all well-fed and well-kept. If it weren’t for the Chinese authorities pumping in money to the land, all these will be in shambles. And if China had really been what the Dalai Lama and his Western allies say it is, these monks and the temples would have all been destroyed long ago. And did you notice that the people of Tibet, the ones who are actually living there and not the ones who are living abroad and have been brainwashed by Western propaganda, have not really spoken out against China? That the ones living abroad and the pro-Tibet ruffians and their pathetic Western allies are the ones doing all the shouting and war-mongering?

Leave China alone, you bastards! And don’t you tarnish the Olympics with your pro-Tibet rhetoric!

Go China!

How could this have happened for TWO freaking years???

April 14, 2008 in Youth & Children's Issues with Leave a Comment

From The Star today:

PENANG: Ten-year-old Yeap Jia Hui, who has been living alone in a smelly rubbish-filled apartment at Ferringhi Mutiara Apartment in Batu Ferringhi for almost two years, now has someone to care for him.

Childless housewife Yeap Choon Lean, 59, will be taking Jia Hui home to live with her and her retired carpenter husband in Kuantan, Pahang.

Choon Lean, who is Jia Hui’s maternal grandaunt, had wanted to adopt him when he was born but his mother decided to hold on to him.

“Even before his mother abandoned him, I visited him every two to three months when I was in Penang.

“I do not have children of my own and I am happy to bring him home to Kuantan,” she said yesterday.

A happy-looking Jia Hui said he was delighted to able to live with his grandaunt.

“My grandmother cannot care for me because she is old,” he explained.

The grandmother, Law Ah Eng, 68, lives in an apartment several floors below but her relationship with Jia Hui’s mother, Yeap Kim Hong, 46, had been strained for almost a decade.

Jia Hui said his mother gave him an ATM card and visited him every two to three weeks.

“But she has not called or visited me for about two weeks and she has not banked in any money, normally RM20 to RM30 a month,” he said.

He said his schoolmates and teachers did not know of his condition and said he walked to school, bought food after school and attended extra classes three days a week.

“I do my homework before going out with friends and would be home by 8.30pm,” he said.

Jia Hui has five other half-brothers. He is Kim Hong’s fifth son.

“Nobody knows who Jia Hui’s father is,” said Ah Eng, who is also raising Kim Hong’s fourth son.

To say that I was shocked and dismayed would be an understatement. How could anyone not notice that Jia Hui has been fending for himself since he was EIGHT-years-old?

This really says a lot about apathetic attitude of people in Malaysia today when it comes to the welfare of children. Poor Jia Hui would not have to live for two years in a rat hole if someone had just taken time to notice that the boy has been living by himself with no one to take care of him for long periods of time. I would have just done that.

My heart always ache when ever I read about children living in poor conditions, suffering from abuse, poverty and neglect, murdered and raped… Their childhood ought to be the best, carefree years of their lives but because of the selfish, cruel and monstrous nature of many adults including their own parents and caretakers, their childhood has been reduced to something that is worth forgetting. This is the 21st century… children should be enjoying their lives, playing with friends and doing things kids normally do these days…

I hope with all my heart that people start to open their eyes and ears to ensure that there are no more Jia Huis. I know there are many more kids like him in this country yet to be discovered… these kids deserve better… They should not be made to suffer and to take adult responsibilities at such a young age!

If more people cared, there wouldn’t be anymore Jia Huis, Sharlinies and Nurins.