Sunday 30 October 2016

Dear Allah, the Most Beneficiant, the Most Merciful

My grandmother is in hospital again.

Mother and almost everyone in the family are down there in Singapore.

I can't be there yet as I got things to do here.

Mother said it's okay as my grandmother's condition was not serious.

Still I worry.

Feeling so helpless because I can't really do anything about it.

All I can offer now are my prayers for my grandmother to recover.

Hopefully Allah will grant my wish and she will be well again.

I'm sure Allah will consider my prayers even though my grandmother is not a Muslim.

My grandmother is the most kind hearted person.

It has never really matter to me that she is a non-Muslim.

I personally know quite a number of evil, malicious and depraved Muslims.

I'm quite sure Allah loves my grandmother more than them.

Seriously, at a time like this, all the other things such as politics and what ever do not really matter to me.

They seem even silly to me at the moment.

After all, not as if all the aggravations changed anything.

You all may think that I'm the one being silly, but really, as far as all those political nonsense are concerned, it's now better to just pray for the good to win in the end.

I think it's better to pray for Allah to save this country rather than praying for one side or the other to win.

You can't really be 100 per cent sure your side is the good side, aren't you?

That's why we should still pray for the best and accept the outcome later.

I'm not a religious person but I think you all should not underestimate the power of prayers.

After trying your best, prayers are all you have. Really.

Okay, I need to get back to work.

I choose this song for your Sunday. Enjoy.


Friday 28 October 2016

We read only what we want to believe

One of the most uncomfortable things that I learnt from writing this blog is that most Malaysian readers only want to read what they want to believe.

Basically, most of us want to feel good about what we read, preferring those written which confirm what we believe.

To put it simply, most of us actually read because we want to be entertained. That's all.

Pro-opposition people want to read pro-opposition stories while pro-government ones prefer to read pro-government stories.

They want the writings to comfort them into believing that what they believe is the truth.

Of course the pro-opposition stories are more juicy because they were laced by many elements of alleged scandals and improprieties, thus attracting quite a number of readers from among the pro-establishment too.

We like gossips, after all.

Truth and facts are actually secondary.

Those who really want to be properly informed are in fact the minority.

So, as it is, when I write about something that favour the opposition, those who are pro-establishment would jump at me and vice versa.

At first, it was quite difficult for me, but I got used to it after a while.

Nowadays,  I just don't feel anything anymore, being called names ranging from Umno bitch to DAP hired cybertrooper.

Yup, I had been called both, among many others. It all depends on what kind of story I wrote on any particular day.

Well, I guess that's the way things are and I simply have to accept it.

Anyway, these days I can't be bothered too much by all these.

Nothing much to motivate me, anyway.

These days I write whenever I feel like doing so instead of making it a discipline like before.

That's why you would notice that I don't write everyday anymore.

Yup, I'm getting lazy.

This posting, for instance, I just opened up my laptop, went to this blog and just write whatever that crosses my mind.

No research, no nothing

Why should I go through the trouble of doing that. No reason, okay.

You all may not believe it, but I really am writing this blog just out of boredom these days.

As I wrote previously, this blog is just sort of a journal of my thoughts and nothing more.

It's not really to influence you all and it's absolutely not for fame or money.

Who wants to pay me writing about myself riding my mamachari in the morning or missing my beloved in the middle of the night, anyway?

I did quite a lot of those in this blog.

You all can believe or dismiss this blog all you want. It doesn't really matter to me.

Okay, I know I'm rambling again.

Well, at least I don't think my rambling is hurting anyone.

It's not like I'm promoting hate and violence or anything like that, right?

Seriously, aren't you all tired of Malaysian politics?

It's the same shit over and over again.

Mostly, it's really not worth my time to write, okay.

Just wait for election, can or not? Use the time for work instead of quarrelling with each others.

Eh, better listen to a nice song lah.

Sorry that I am wasting your time making you read this stupid rambling of mine today.

Here, better enjoy this one instead :



Thursday 27 October 2016

Guys, behave yourselves

Normally, I wouldn't think twice to dismiss RPK's more sensational writings.

In fact, sometimes I even took the trouble to dispute his allegations such as when he recently wrote about a menteri besar as being a homosexual. You can read that in this post,


However, when I read this latest posting of his,

Maybe Husni forgot about his sex scandals

it made me paused and ponder about a story I was told involving the former second finance minister not too long ago.

I'm not saying that the story made me totally believe in RPK's allegation against Husni, but I think it should be a lesson for especially men who can't be bothered to control where their hands are going.

I have no doubt that the story told to me is true because the person who related it to me was there when it happened and there were several other witnesses, whom are all known to me.

It happened at a place where a group of people were having dinner.

One of them is a beautiful young lady with hair suitable to be featured in a Sunsilk shampoo advertisement.


As I was told, Husni turned up at the place as the group were in the middle of their dinner.

Upon seeing them, Husni approached the table and to the shock of everyone touched the young lady's hair and said "Huih...cantiknya rambut" (Huih...such beautiful hair).

He didn't even bother to first greet everyone there or introduce himself.

It so happened that one of the people seated at the table is the father of the young lady.

I was told that the guy kept his cool and just said "Datuk, tu anak saya (Datuk, that's my daughter)".

Husni, despite what must surely be an extremely embarrassing moment  was said to have managed to depart from the table without suffering any physical harm.

Lucky him.

I think it would be a much more painful outcome if a less cool father saw an elderly man behaving inappropriately towards his young daughter like that.

Come on. You must not touch other people like that, especially so if you are an elderly man and the other person is a young lady.

Well, maybe Husni didn't mean any harm and was merely acting on instinct, but still he should have better control of himself.

What more that he is a known public figure.

It's just wrong to behave like that.

I hope you all guys learn something from this story.

Try to control your gatalness, okay.

Sunday 23 October 2016

Eat what you can afford, not what you feel like eating

At my aunt's place.

She's my father's sister.

She used to be an officer at the Fisheries Department but has now retired.

I'm at her place to settle some personal issues over the weekend.

Helped her cooked lunch today.

We had fried peria (bitter gourd), grilled ikan keli (catfish) and ulam (Malay salad) with sambal.

Simple lunch.

My aunt told me that these days she only buy food which are sold cheap at the time of her shopping.

"Cik sekarang beli mana yang murah, bukan beli yang teringin makan," she said.

"Peria tengah murah masa Cik beli tu. Cuma 90 sen sekilo je. Kalau ada yang murah buat apa beli yang mahal.

"Peria pun sedap juga. Nanti kalau brokoli tengah murah Cik beli lah brokoli pulak.

"Nak kata semua barang mahal tak juga. Kita pilih la yang kita mampu.

"Ikan keli tu pun murah je. Memang la tak sesedap dan seglamer ikan salmon, tapi okay juga la.

"Ulam sambung nyawa tu pun Cik tanam je kat pasu depan rumah tu. Tak payah beli."

My aunt who is in her late 50s grew up in a poor family.

It's a big family and my late grandfather was the sole breadwinner, working as a labourer.

My father used to tell me how things were different back then, growing up in a poor Malay family before the New Economic Policy was implemented.


Lacking things which now most of us took for granted was a norm back then according to him.

As my aunt was telling me today, my late grandmother was the one who thought her the concept of spending only what she can afford.

"Ya lah, kalau kita nak komplen je pasal hidup susah, tapi belanja nak macam tu juga, memang la tak jadi apa," said my aunt.

My aunt also reminded me that it's normal for the economy to go up and down all the time.

"Memang ekonomi ni macam tu. Sekejap mewah, sekejap susah. Kita kena adjust la.

"Kalau ekonomi merudum, kita belanja lah ala kadar. Tak boleh la ikut rasa je.

 "Nanti kalau ekonomi dah okay semula, boleh la makan ikan bawal ke, ikan halibut ke.

"Tak payah nak kecoh-kecoh.

"Kena sabar banyak dan hidup ikut kemampuan."

My aunt is a bit like me when it comes to politics.

She's quite tired of what's going on.

Not unlike me, she feels that everyone should chill off and wait for the next general election to settle things.

"Yang dia orang nak huru hara bergaduh sekarang tu nak buat apa.

"Pilihanraya nanti undi je lah mana yang rasa boleh improve keadaan.

"Kalau kecoh sekarang pun suruh Najib tu turun bukannya jadi apa pun.

"Lebih baik concentrate kerja kuat lagi untuk tambah pendapatan.

"Kata ekonomi tak bagus, barang mahal, jadi kalau boleh buat duit lebih sikit kan bagus."

I totally agreed with my aunt on all that she said.

They were all just plain common sense.

Wednesday 19 October 2016

Now they must arrest Maria too

I think the authorities are doing the right thing.

Today,

Police arrests Red Shirts leader


Now they must arrest the Bersih leaders too.

Anyone instigating the public to break the laws must be stopped.

I have made my position clear about street rallies in these previous posts,




Both Bersih and Red Shirts are wrong and must be stopped.

If people have complaints, they should make themselves heard without bothering others.

There's the social media where everyone can says almost anything.

Express yourself there all you want as long as you don't break the laws.

Why then the need to go to the streets and cause problems for others?

Even in this blog I let almost every comment through because of that.

Freedom of speech and expression doesn't mean freedom to bother others.

Bersih chief Maria Chin Abdullah, as Jamal of Red Shirts, has made it known that her movement will go to the streets no matter what.

Even if it breaks the laws.

Promising a peaceful rally is not good enough if it's still done against the laws.

She cannot instigate the public to break the laws.

Jamal did it and was arrested.

Now it should be her turn.

The authorities must be fair on this.

They must stop both the Bersih and Red Shirts rallies.

Everyone can campaign for their respective causes but they must do so peacefully without putting public safety in danger.

Political differences should be settled in the general election, plain and simple.

That's democracy.

Anyone who are against a peaceful political process must be stopped from causing trouble.

This kind of monkey behaviour must be stopped,




Okay, that's all for today.

Sorry if I kinda sound a bit terse.

Got some personal issues to settle.

Until next time.

Sunday 16 October 2016

Little chat at a virtual golf course (updated)

(Updates at the bottom)

It's Sunday and I'm relaxing.

Not doing much.

Just reading a bit and playing with my phone.

I have been playing this game called WGT Golf since last week.


I'm still at the amature level and could only just play three holes at a time against my opponents.

The players of the game are from all over the world.

This morning however was my first encounter with a player from Malaysia.

His nic is SamAurora.

So, I said hi and we chatted a bit while playing. The game got a chat column.

It turned out that SamAurora stays in Bangi.

Both of us don't play real golf.

In my case, no time and can't really afford it.

But I like the idea of playing golf. So relaxing.

Since it's just a brief competition over three holes, I decided to invite SamAurora to read this blog.

His response was surprisingly interesting,


Well, as he said, he used to read this blog but has since moved to Jebat Must Die.

Good for my friend Jebat then.

Jebat is in my blogroll.

I have to admit that Jebat writes better than me and he is a more serious blogger.

Well, at least SamAurora knows my blog :)

We chatted a bit more after that and it was all very pleasant.

Anyway, after I told him about my blog, his game unfortunately didn't go very well at the final hole.

This is the outcome,


Hopefully I can bump into SamAurora again in the game and we can have a rematch.

I'm sure he wants to beat me next time :)

That's all for now.

You all have a good Sunday, okay.

UPDATES

Bumped into SamAurora at the game again yesterday evening and we had a rematch.

He was more serious, probably trying to concentrate at beating me.

No talk about Jebat or Tuah or Sang Nila Utama or Parameswara or whatever this time.

But still it was nice playing him again.

SamAurora seemed to be trying really hard.

But it was a scrappy game and the course was quite tough.

Here is the outcome.


Better luck next time dear SamAurora.

Saturday 15 October 2016

The good Red guys from Kelantan

I like this story,

JELI, Oct 15 2016 : Kelantan Umno is reviving the ‘Jelajah Gelombang Merah’ programme by making it more people-friendly in anticipation of the 14th General Election, said its liaison chief Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.
He said the programme, first introduced by Kelantan Umno in the last general election, would be redesigned with a new format to include the participation of Umno state, division and branch leaders.
“We will improve on the programme to make it more relaxed and people-friendly as we believe this concept will boost the people’s spirit to support Barisan Nasional in ensuring the coalition’s victory in Kelantan in the 14th general election,” he added.
He told this to reporters after launching the programme for Jeli divisional level here yesterday.
Mustapa said the programme would include ‘gotong royong’ to clean public facilities, community sports, cultural performances, health screening, exhibition, sale carnival and briefings on current issues.
He said the programme would be carried out in all the 14 Umno divisions in the state as a run up to the 14th general election. – Bernama
I doubt that BN or to be more exact Umno can capture Kelantan from Pas in the next general election, but I think this "relaxed and people-friendly"  Jelajah Gelombang Merah will help improve Umno's image throughout the country.

It's much better than the Red Shirts, who are on a collision course with the Bersih people next month.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, I dislike the Red Shirts and Bersih for their troublesome antics of wanting to impose their presence on the streets.
If Tok Pa and his people in Kelantan can come up with peaceful and beneficial programme to highlight their initiatives for the people, why can't Bersih and Red Shirts do the same?
Why must they threatened to brawl on our streets?
I know that some people love to see the fighting and are goading them to go at each others' throat in their blogs, etc, but I hope it will not happen.
As I stated previously, I will even support the authorities if they intervene to stop both the Bersih and Red Shirts rallies. 
Enough of their nonsense, okay.
We got better things to do than being bothered by them, such as improving our lives and caring for the ones we love.
We all really should just do things peacefully without disturbing others and wait for the general election to settle our political differences.

Just be patient for the time being. It's not that long from now.
If we need to campaign, we can do so the nice way like Tok Pa and his people.
I always like Tok Pa.
I first met him many years ago when he was the Entrepreneur Development Minister.
He was nice then and he is still nice now. 
I even once hung out quite a bit with one of his daughters.

She was also nice to me like her father.
Some people say nice guys don't win wars, but I disagree.
As far as I'm concerned Tok Pa is a winner because of his nice ways.
I hope everyone can learn from him and his people in Kelantan.
It's not a contest of who are more "gedebe" (gangster-like). It's actually  a contest of who are the ones the people like more.
Who do you all like more? Ambiga, Jamal or Tok Pa?
I choose Tok Pa any time.
Think about it, okay.

Friday 14 October 2016

Morning with Hiroko

Just finished my morning cycling round.

It's my exercise routine now.

Quite nice to sweat it out a bit early in the morning.

I'm beginning to love my bicycle quite a bit.


Since it's a Japanese “mamachari”, I named it Hiroko after a character in my favourite Japanese movie Love Letter 

I like the Hiroko character because she was very loyal to her beloved fiance...even after he died.

I'm a bit like that myself :)

Well, it's been more than two weeks now since I started cycling and I think I'm feeling better.

Just about 45 minutes of cycling around the neighbourhood.

Quite fun too.

I really recommend you all to try it.

I think it's the easiest exercise for people who actually couldn't care less about exercising.

Simple, inexpensive bicycle like mine would do.

Bloggers who got no real life should try it.

Hey guys, get off your butt and sweat it out a bit, okay.

It can be quite unhealthy sitting there in front of the computer for hours thinking dark thoughts on how to make people hate each other.

Seriously, you all can go mental like that.

People can sense that you are mentally ill by reading your writings.

There are better ways to enjoy life than doing that.

Exercise, lose weight, healthy lifestyle....happy thoughts.

It helps fill your mind with good things and therefore you can write more positive stuff.

Less hate and toxic writings.

Much better, really.

Okay, I need to go shower, breakfast and get ready for work.

Have a good day guys.


EXTRA

It's a quiet moment at the office now.

Just feel like sharing this video with you all,


Thursday 13 October 2016

Maybe Dr Mahathir wouldn't mind the Japanese too much

In his latest post,

PENTADBIRAN KUKU BESI

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad among others wrote these,

7. Orang-orang Proton tidak dibenar bercakap dengan saya, dan peniaga kenalan saya tidak dibenar mengadakan business dengan Proton. Tujuan Najib ialah supaya Proton bankrap dan boleh dijual dengan murah.

8. Nama saya tidak boleh dikait dengan Proton. Proton hendaklah dijual kepada orang asing 100% supaya industri kereta nasional dihapuskan. Hanya kereta import sahaja yang boleh dijual di Malaysia. Jangan ada apa-apa yang dimula oleh saya. Biar hancur industri tempatan asalkan Najib puas hati.

He basically said that the government wants to kill off Proton because PM DS Najib Razak is angry with him.

I'm not very sure if Dr Mahathir is really accurate on this one.


Okay, maybe it's true that Najib couldn't care less about Proton as it is a Dr Mahathir's baby, but I highly doubt it that he wanted to kill off the company just out of spite.

There are tens of thousands who depend on Proton for livelihood and I don't think Najib is that stupid to incur their wrath with the general election not that far from now.

There should be a more rationale reason for the whole thing.

As we all know, Proton is undoubtedly bleeding and the government has to help it financially to survive.

I don't think this is what we want of Proton.

We want the national car maker that we are proud of to do well.

So, I was not overly distressed when I read this story last month,

DRB-Hicom to sell as much as 51% stake in Proton


I think that's to accommodate a potential foreign partner to come in and help Proton.

That's what the government wants as it can't go on helping Proton.

At least that's how I understand it.

Of course the potential foreign partner will want some control over Proton to make things work, thus that 51 per cent stake.

I don't see anything wrong with that.

It's better that way than letting Proton suffer the way it is now.

I think a reliable foreign partner will do good for the company, particularly in correcting the bad practices currently plaguing the company which brought down the Proton badge in the eyes of even Malaysians.

For example, a foreign partner with controlling power can get rid of vendors who supply substandard parts for the Proton cars.

I was made to understand that many of these vendors got their work with Proton via political connections and no matter how bad they performed in supplying parts for the cars, they were always retained.

Proton people can't get rid of them because they would pull their "cables" to stay on the job.

That's how Proton cars became famous for their faulty power windows, cheap plastic interior, making funny noises just weeks after purchase, etc.

When my father bought his Preve, the GPS unit which came with it was almost useless. I borrowed the car to go to Teluk Intan during the by-election there and the GPS map only showed half of the town.

I conclude that the vendor who supplied the GPS system must be one of those who got the contract by pulling their political cables.

Now, a foreign partner with controlling stake can kick out such useless vendors as they would not be subjected to external pressure from any local politician.

They wouldn't care less if some division chiefs complain to Najib that their proxy companies acting as Proton vendors got their contract terminated.

They will just want to get the cars made the best way possible and that definitely can do without bad vendors.

I was made to understand that potential foreign partners approached by Proton want exactly that.

The Japanese ones in particular.

They will not want to come in if they can't control the quality of the cars.

I think it's for the best.

And I trust the Japanese more than the French and Chinese, who were said to be the other potential partners.

French - remember the terrible Tiara model which was done with Citreon.

Chinese - Chinese cars good meh?

And I think even Dr Mahathir will not be too angry if Proton is being controlled to a certain extent by the Japanese.

After all, he always wants us Malaysians to be ethical and disciplined like the Japanese.

Really, it is better that way then letting Proton to continue dying an agonising death.

This is something we have to be rationale about.

Hopefully, one of Dr Mahathir's more sincere advisors can coax him to accept the reality about Proton.

That way, the handsome old man may not be too stressed by the whole thing.

Come on guys, he's 91, okay.

Well, at least that's how I see it.

Tuesday 11 October 2016

Street rallies in Malaysia are built on hate

Had dinner with a good friend last night.

She used to be a BN supporter but now had jumped to the other side.

She read my last post and said I was wrong for asking the authorities to stop the planned Bersih rally next month, but agreed on the part where I wrote that the Red Shirts needed to be stopped too.

"Bersih is peaceful. It's the Red Shirts who create the trouble. They are the violent ones," she said.

She had watched that video where a group of Red Shirts beat up a Bersih motorcyclist.

I told her that I'm against all kind of street rallies.

It doesn't matter who are organising it.

Street rallies can easily end up being violent no matter how peaceful the organisers said it would be.

The Bersih rallies had turned violent in the past.

Remember these images?



The Bersih crowd in that incident actually beat up a policeman and totally thrashed his patrol car.

There were other not so nice images of Bersih like these.

Any group of people can turn into a violent mob if they were instigated hard enough to hate.

It doesn't matter whether they are wearing red, yellow, pink or whatever other colours.

That's why I'm against both Bersih and Red Shirts.

I believe in doing things peacefully and intelligently.

Street protests, at least in this country, are just not that.

They were mostly built on hate and the risk of violence is always there.

In Bersih case - hate Umno and BN.

In Red Shirts case - hate the opposition.

Hate and violence should be shunned.

It's actually easier to preach hate and violence but  to what end will that leads us?

Let's not fall for the tricks of those who try to be popular by peddling hate and violence,  okay.

Monday 10 October 2016

Stop the Bersih vs Red Shirts nonsense

I really think the authorities should move in and stop the planned Bersih and its rival Red Shirts rallies.

Such rallies are not good for the country.

I do believe in freedom of expression and such, but not to the extent of causing public disruptions.

As happened in the past, the authorities tolerated these rallies but the organisers kept doing it by breaking the laws.

For instance, they agreed to hold the rallies at a stadium or padang but later on march through streets to get there, causing disruptions to traffic and everyday lives.

This should be stopped.

Organisers of these rallies should not be allowed to repeat such nonsense again.

The authorities should just strictly enforce the laws on this matter.

I'm of the opinion that if people want to express themselves, they should argue their case through the available channels without causing problems to others.

They can even criticise the government or the opposition for that matter, in the social media if they want.

That's why I allowed almost all of those comments in this blog through.

Let everyone release their anger and frustration with minimal damage.

It's better than letting everyone goes to the street and causing problems.

Just look at how ugly the Bersih versus Red Shirts thing has turned out now.


You all had seen the videos, right?

I think it will only get worse if they are to clash at the rallies in downtown KL next month.

Seriously, why can't these people wait for the next general election?

If so itchy to quarrel, just whack each other in the social media lah for now.

Why the need to scare others who don't want to have anything to do with their nonsense and all those rallies?

Such a waste of time and energy too.

Sunday 9 October 2016

The new Tiang Seri Umno

BN lost its two third majority in the Johor state assembly the other day.

The story is here,

BN loses two-thirds majority in Johor 


That's the first time ever.

For someone who was part of the team which defended Johor in the last general election, I was a bit sad over it.

Well, we worked so hard on it back then. okay.

But I don't really blame Jorak assemblyman Shahruddin Salleh for doing what he did.

He is after all the right hand man of TS Muhyiddin Yassin in Pagoh and thus his political career is tied with that of the Pribumi Bersatu president.

After all, it is almost certain that he will be dropped from the BN candidate list for the next general election.

May as well he gets out now. At least he would be seen as a hero by those who hate BN and Umno.

I also suspect that Shahruddin will likely replace Muhyiddin to contest the Pagoh parliamentary seat in the next general election while his boss moves to Muar as rumoured.

That's bad news for Datuk Razali Ibrahim, the current Muar MP whose majority was reduced to merely 1,646 votes in the last general election.

Razali, who is a deputy minister had such a bright future in front of him back then and was even tipped as the second in line for the Johor MB post.

Now his political career may be snuffed out altogether.

Poor Razali.

Nonetheless, looking at the bigger picture, I don't think there will be a mass exodus of Umno members switching to Pribumi Bersatu in Johor.

And Shahruddin is likely to be the only one among the BN assemblymen and MPs who is motivated enough to do so.

The others, even if they are personally unhappy with the BN and Umno leadership will stay put.

Unlike Shahruddin, they don't have to worry about getting "killed off" for being too close to Muhyiddin.

The former Umno deputy president actually doesn't have too may die hard supporters in Johor despite being the state MB for nine years two decades ago.

Yes, he has his supporters in the state but they are not of significant number  or overly loyal to him.

Muhyiddin on his own is not much of a force in Johor.

The real danger to especially Johor Umno is still the unhappiness over several issues among the Malays on the ground.

If not addressed properly, and combine them with the huge hostile Chinese electorates in the state, then things can be quite dire.

That's the big job of current Johor Umno chief and MB DS Khaled Nordin and his team.

If they fail to prevent the Malay votes in the state from further splitting, then it's not impossible for Johor to ends up like Selangor, which has about the same electoral breakdown.

I'm of the opinion that the current over dependency on the palace-driven "Bangsa Johor" concept may not be enough for Khaled to keep things together.

Khaled and his boys simply need to do more....and better.

It's going to be tough but there's no other way to do it.

Guess by now they know that occupying Kota Iskandar does not really mean a life of leisure and luxury all the time.

They have to work hard too, okay.

Whatever it is, I don't see Johor returning to the good old days when Umno and BN were so dominant there.

Back then, Johor was considered as the Umno bastion.

Tiang Seri Umno, they said.

Well, I don't think that's true anymore.

Anyone contesting under the BN ticket in Johor is not assured of victory anymore.

They can lose, even in the heart of Bangsa Johor heartland of Muar.


Seriously, Johor is no longer the Tiang Seri Umno.

That title has moved to Sabah, I think.

That's where Umno is supreme now.

Almost untouchable.

At least that's how I see it, based on reports and talks with friends from Sabah.

I wish I can write more about Sabah but I have only been there once.

So, I don't think I'm qualified to do so.

Unlike some people, I will not try to pretend to know about a state which I have hardly been to.

See lah how.

If I can go there and be on the ground more often, I will write more about that new  Tiang Seri Umno.

Friday 7 October 2016

Rogue Ones and cyber gangsterism

I do understand the need for everyone to earn a living.

Thus, I'm actually not so much against bloggers getting paid for what they write.

True, it makes them mercenaries,  but so what, as long as they don't break any law.

I don't think a blogger shouldn't be allowed to earn a living by writing in favour of those who are willing to pay them to do so.

Whether what they write is true or otherwise is secondary.

I'm of the opinion that it's up for us to decide whether the writing is worth reading.

That's why I often times wrote that we should be careful with what we read.

The writer, if paid, was just earning a living.

If we decide that the writer was writing falsehood, we can just stop reading the bullshit.

And if we feel that we don't have the capacity to decide whether what was written is the truth or a lie, I suggest we read other things which are really worth our time.

We can read gardening blogs and learn how to plant chillies...for instance. That's better than reading political stuff which we are not sure to be true or just bullshit.

I think it's a simple enough concept.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you should noticed that I almost never used the reprehensible word "dedak" or even "the red bean army", associated to paid bloggers..

I don't like those words because I'm still okay with people getting paid for what they write.

Proper journalists are also paid for using their writing skills and talents to earn a living.

So, why can't others get paid too, right?

Of course the best are still those who write purely because of their ideals.

They are the true pejuang.

If their writing is good instead of raving and ranting like a lunatic, then they are the ones deserved to be read the most.

But not everyone can afford that. Ideals can be quite expensive and people need to eat and feed their spouse, children or dog or cat.

Really, I understand the need of some people to be mercenary bloggers, cyber troopers and what ever.

If you all find them so reprehensible, just don't read their writings, okay.

But try not be too harsh on them. They just cari makan.

Having said all that, I'm nonetheless do get disgusted whenever I read these kind of stories,

In Malaysia, another blackmailing blog exposed

To be paid or even asking to be paid are still tolerable, but to blackmail for payment is very wrong.

It's against the laws too.

I can still tolerate a blogger taking payment to whack someone, but for the blogger to then offer the victim to stop the attack for a higher payment is really disgusting.

These are the people who truly give bloggers a bad name.

I encountered these people once.

It was back during the run up to the last general election.

There was this group of supposedly Umno bloggers who approached the team of then Johor MB TS Abdul Ghani Othman.

Ghani's team at that time didn't have dedicated cyber war people.

The bloggers offered to help with the campaign of Johor Umno and Ghani in return of a fee of several million ringgit.

The Ghani's team declined the offer because they really didn't have a budget for it.

Anyway, the demanded fee was way too high considering that the bloggers were not even of the top notch variety.

Unfortunately, the bloggers didn't take the rejection very well and in retaliation started to post series of slanderous articles aimed at Ghani.


They kept a constant barrage of those posts until the very last few weeks before the 2013 general election.

My sources insisted that the bloggers were paid by another group of Umno people, backed by very powerful personalities who wanted to make sure that Ghani is out of Johor after the election.

But of course I have no hard evidence on this, so that I can't say for sure whether it's true or not.

Nonetheless, I was told that the very same group of bloggers could now be seen from time to time at Kota Iskandar.

Okay lah, that's their rezeki, but what they did by whacking and slandering people who declined their services was bad.

That's cyber gangsterism.

I heard of this kind of behaviour from time to time.

Blogger demanding money from politician by threatening character assassination.

I strongly advice the politicians who experienced this to report those bloggers to the police.

The same goes to business people or any individuals being threatened in such a manner by rotten bloggers and social media players.

My experience on this matter was mostly on the Umno and BN side.

That's because I am from this side of the political fence.

I do wonder if the opposition people experienced the same.

Are there any opposition blogger or writer who got nasty because their demand for money was rejected?

Are there opposition bloggers or writers who indulged in character assassination of their leaders who rebuffed their demands?

I strongly believe it's the same on their side.

There are a case or two which I suspected to be those of opposition bloggers or writers turning rogue because they were not paid or accorded the recognition they thought they deserved by their political masters.

DAP don't pay, turn to Umno. Later, if Umno don't pay, turn back to DAP.

Scary la those.

Well, I guess it's all the same on this or that side.

End of the day, it's for us to decide what we want to read.

My suggestion is, let the cari makan bloggers earn a living and don't be too hard on them, but try to read the genuine ones more.

Even that, do be selective because even the genuine ones can be just spewing a lot of rubbish. All emotional and crazy.

In fact, I find some of the paid bloggers to be better in the sense that they do a good job by being rational, research their material well, write beautifully, very creative etc.

If they make better sense, why not read their blogs too, right?

Thursday 6 October 2016

The need to be intelligent and Annie's authentic mamachari

It turned out that my grandmother's condition is not as bad as I had feared.

She is okay now.

Alhamdulillah.

Well, I'm back at work since yesterday.

Lots of things to do and no real time to write.

Sometimes I wonder how some bloggers can write very long posts complete with beautiful charts and graphs.

And some are so serious that they write as if Malaysia's fate is in their hands....and that Malaysians are doomed if they fail to read and agree with their writings.

Well, never mind.

It's really none of my business how people write their blogs.

I can never be like them though.

I don't believe that I'm influential or popular at all.

In fact, I don't want to be influential or popular.

I really don't see the point in being like that.

I think that being influential or popular will only make me egoistical and shallow.

Really, I mostly write just for fun.

Just expressing myself and sharing my thoughts with anyone who care to read this blog.

I don't even believe that I'm clever or anything like that.

But I do had seen things happening up close.

It's just those things I saw that I'm presenting here.

That's all.

Well, of course I comment a bit on those things, but  you all have to decide for yourself on how to judge what I write.

For instance, if I write something like a prominent blogger told me that another prominent blogger is nasty, fat and smelly, that doesn't necessarily mean the information is absolutely correct.

It's just someone telling me that another person is nasty, fat and smelly.

My own opinion could be that person is actually softly sweet, cuddly chubby like a baby walrus and just a bit pungent only.

Okay, the nasty part is a bit true though. Scary even. Ha ha ha....

Well, never mind.

Don't take the whole thing too seriously, okay.

Hey, for all you know, those prominent bloggers are just putting up a smoke screen and are actually in love with each other :)

Anyway, the whole point is that, you all have to filter what you read ya.

I can't be 100 per cent correct all the time and so do the other bloggers.

The same with the TV and newspapers and in fact the whole cyberspace too.

You all simply have to be intelligent in processing the information that you received.

So, if you really want the truth about a prominent blogger being nasty, fat and smelly, the best way is to try meeting the blogger in person.

I would also suggest that you try disputing the blogger's opinions to see whether the nastiness will come up to the surface.

As for the fat and smelly allegations, you just have to see for yourself and sniff a bit, okay.

Hey, enough of all that. I need to get up and get ready for the day.

Going to ride my bicycle again before going to work.

It's my exercise routine now.

I went to buy the bicycle that day but can't find the one that I wanted.

My father ended up buying me a second hand one.


It's a real “mamachari” just like I wanted it in this previous post,

It's a classic Kuwahara city bicycle and came direct from Japan.

I need to get it a basket and bell though.

Will try to get yellow ones to match the colour.

Very nice, right?

Okay, really need to get up now.

Have a nice day guys.

Cheers.

Monday 3 October 2016

Better than politics

Got a bit of free time now.

Just feel like highlighting this story,

Japanese scientist wins Nobel medicine prize for work on 'self-eating' cell mechanism

Excerpts ;

David Rubinsztein, deputy director of Cambridge University's Institute for Medical Research, said Ohsumi had provided scientists around the world with "critical tools" to help them understand how disrupted autophagy can contribute to illnesses including infectious diseases, cancers and neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s and Parkinson’s.
Chister Hoog, a professor at Sweden's Karolinska Institute, told Reuters the work helped explain crucial processes in human development, from growing up, to aging to succumbing to disease.
"In the very early stages (of a human’s development) your organs and your whole body is constantly being made over again – you are growing. So you need to get rid of the old stuff and generate new structures," he said.
"When you undergo aging, you have structures that have to be taken away and this – autophagy – is the principle that gets rid of them.
"If you affect this system – the genes and proteins involved in autophagy – you no longer can take care of the waste, and once it accumulates you will get some type of disease."
I always admire these people of science.

Their works really aim to make our lives better.

Better than those people whose profession only make our lives more complicated so that they can earn tonnes of money from our difficulties.

I think you all know what are those professions.

Anyway, I hope Malaysia will one day produce such brilliant scientists.

They can really make our country proud.

For me, they can be our true heroes.

If only we can focus our efforts towards producing such scientists.

That would be much better than producing more politicians like what we are doing now.

Everyone seems keen to be politicians these days.

Just go to our social media and you can see that everyone is trying to be a political expert.

Politics is a shortcut to fame and fortune for most of these people.

Actually, that's why our politicians are not even of good quality, if you ask me.

Why do we give so much importance to them?

Why do we have to listen to them all the time?

Really. I don't think we need to do all that.

We should instead be focused on our works.

The Japanese don't seem to care much about all the stupid politics like we do.

They work hard instead.

That's why they got such brilliant scientists and other professionals who make their society truly better.

Election time, they just vote the politicians who bullshit the least.

Isn't that easier and better.

We should try that, okay.

Oh, by the way, in Japan they have very passionate politicians.

Watch this,


They really try their best don't they.

Sunday 2 October 2016

More accusations and Phoebe's little song

Someone commented this just now,

Someone just accused Annie of something, so what else is new? If she had just googled "blogroll missing" all these other bloggers also lost their blogrolls recently. Annie certainly did not cook up a story about her blogroll getting wiped out. So, who is the one that is full of malice?

http://hartwoodroses.blogspot.my/2016/09/where-did-my-blogroll-go.html?m=1

http://sepulchreofheroes.blogspot.my/2016/10/somehow-my-blogroll-disappeared-submit.html?m=1

http://advancedgaming-theory.blogspot.my/2016/09/technical-issue-in-regards-to-blogroll.html?m=1

http://elizabethaquino.blogspot.my/2016/09/my-blogroll-and-all-links-have.html?m=1

http://thegallopingbeaver.blogspot.my/2010/09/yes-our-blogroll-has-disappeared.html?m=1

Hey, thanks for defending me, who ever you are.

I'm seriously amazed that there are people who took the trouble to actually accuse me of lying about my missing blogroll.

What's wrong with them?

Sick or something?

Such a small thing also want to use against me..

Really, I'm not lying about my blogroll getting wiped out that day.

I noticed that even my blogging captain Rocky got his blogroll wiped out.

Both of us are on blogspot.

Well, never mind...crazy people like that lah.

Eh, you all take it easy for this long weekend ya.

I got other more important things to worry about at the moment.

Here, I put this little song by Phoebe  for your enjoyment,


Take care and cheers.

UKM students and kids with autism

Busy taking care of grandma.

So, this is just a short highlight requested by my friend.

It's about a group of electrical engineering students from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) who organised an event for children with autism from several schools in Kuantan.

The students called it "Harvesting love in science and technology with autistic children".

It was held at Sekolah Kebangsaan Sultan Abdullah yesterday.

The event was sponsored by Red One, Dashing, Ayam Brand, Ve Good, Nestle, Button N Label, Port 2 Print. (I'm putting this to encourage generous corporations to support these sorts of activities)

The students spent half a day doing fun and educational activities with the children with autism.

That's good of the students.

It's better than going to political rallies or doing other stupid things.

Students should leave those nonsense to politicians and other stupid people.

They should just study hard and do beneficial things when they have some free time like those UKM students.

Here are pictures of the event sent to me by my friend,










This is nice, right?

Cheers.