Monday, February 27, 2006

Am I really that old?

My friend sent me this article few days ago. It has made me understand this proverb better - Time and tide wait for no man!

For your reading pleasure... some might be true. Hope you will all enjoy reading it. This might bring you back the old memory especially during those school days.....

Signs that you are a 80s' baby:

You grew up watching G-Force, He-man, Transformers, Thundercats, Silver Hawk, Woody Woodpecker, Chipmunks and Mickey Mouse. Not to forget Ninja Turtles, Mask, Smurfs and Voltron too.

Girls watched Japanese cartoon like My Little Pony,"Xiao TianTian","Hua Xian Zi" etc.

You grew up brushing your teeth with a mug in primary school after recess time.
You squatted by a drain with all your classmates beside you, and brushed your teeth with a colourful mug.

Remember the days when the school nurse, comes with a list for the dentist appointment, the sound of the drilling when your friend has a fill in his tooth.

You remember the packets of milk we get in primary school to encourage us to drink more milk. (It is o! nly cost 30 cent per pack)

In secondary school, girls go to the library to borrow their favourite romance storybook.

In secondary school, girls altered their school skirt to shorten it
and guys will go to the school appointed school uniform tailor shop to tailor make their school trousers to the then fashionable "baggy pants"!

During primary school days, the teacher will punish you using a ruler to hit your palm.

A bowl of noodles soup cost only 30cent in primary school days.

When you were in primary school, girls like to go to the bookshop to buy cute stuff such as animal erasers, various shape sharpeners, colourful notebook etc.

Hankyu Jaya, Yaohan departmental stores used to be a favourite hangout for families during weekends.

In secondary school days, you buy the Bata BM Turbo or Pallas Jazz school shoes.

Some guys like to wear those china made ankle high shoes. Some even like to wear those very thic! k socks with their school shoes.

Internet? E-mail? What the hell is that?

So you thought a decade or more ago, your friends don't have pagers or handphones in school.

CDs? What's that? Cassette tapes were the norm.
Movie tickets used to cost less than $5 last time.

The goodies from Mama shop used to be Chickerdis, Mamee , Kum Kum, UFO, O-Ya, Ding Dang chocolate balls with toys in the box, colourful hard "egg", "cigerette" bubble gum, KIKI Bubble Gum, pink bottle of bubbles c/w a small tubes with yellow sticks to blow "more lasting" bubbles that you can pop more air in or slam it on.

You never forget 'Ti Kam'. When exams are over, the board games (e.g Monopoly, Donkey, Transportation Comparison Card) & held ! video games will be all over the class room.

Your favourite sound is the bell!
For it's the homemade ice cream man. The cream that tops Haagan Dazs!

And the other peddler you love is the old lady who sells juicy Muah Chee and thick olden syrup rolled in a balloon the tip of a chopstick stick.

Another bell is the recess bell, a time to get away from school work and to eat.

Another time when there is no bell but all guys will anxiously wait for it...The PJ (Pendidikan Jasmani), PE time (time for football)

Your favourite childhood games were playing "guli"(marbles), five stones, five bottle cover, zero-point, catching,"Pepsi-Cola one two three" and/or "Police & Sentry"!

The best thirst quencher of all times is the yummy colourful ice tubes you can buy from provision shops for only 10 cent. To eat them, break the tab and suck while holding the freezing tube!

All gals have a girl doll/strawberry shortcake/my little pony/pound puppy, while all boys have a soldiers figurine (combat) or a rubber band catapult that shoots folded paper!

Once was the era whereby ice-cream sticks were valueable items, then call me the paper aircrafts, chalk fights.

Some boys made their own guns from wood, and used 'Bacali' as the bullets.

Some even used matches to shoot and burn kids'lanterns during MoonCake Festival.

And your favourite holiday was Lunar New Year! New clothes, Ang Pows, shopping, junk food and family outings!

Let's see, the majority of students in universities today were born in
1987 / 88.... They are called "youth".

For them, they have never heard of the song "We are the World, we are the Children..." And the "Uptown Girl" they know is by 'Westlife' but not 'Billy Joel'.

For them, there have always been only one Germany and only one Vietnam. AIDS exists since they were born.

CD exists since they were born.

Michael Jackson is already whitened.

John Travolta is always round in shape and they can't imagine how this fat guy could be a god of dance.

They believe that Spiderman and Incredible Hulk are just new films.

They can never imagine a black and white screen for a computer.

They never know what is Atari or 'Game & Watch'.

They can't believe a black and white television ever existed and they don't even know how to switch on a TV without a remote control.

And they never understand how we can go out without a mobile phone when we were in university...

Let's check if we're getting old...

1. You understand what was written above and you smile.

2. Most of your secondary school friends are getting married.

3. You are always surprised to see small children playing comfortably with computer.

4. When you see teenagers with mobile phones, you shake your head.

5. You spend less and less time talking on phone with your friends daily.

6. When you meet your old friends from time to time,talking about the good old days, repeating again and again all funny stories you experienced together.

7. Lastly, having read this mail, you are thinking of forwarding it to some other old friends. You think they will like it too.....

Hahaha!.... Yes! We are getting old too...........

Brings back old memories huh?

Cheers to the 80s babies!!!

Not Avian Flu, confirmed!


Hmm...... getting better now. Fortunately, I have found a better medicine - BREACOL! And of course I won't forget my Fisherman's friend, which soothe my agony throughout the entire week.

But I am still worrying, because one of my colleagues stays in SETAPAK! :P

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Once in a blue moon...






Please forgive me for not updating my blog, I am sick... I am having severe sore throat and coughing :(

I have consulted doctor, but the medicine (picture) seems not working well. Any recommendation?

Friday, February 17, 2006

Viva student power!

Although many are unhappy with the reshuffled cabinet, yet there are some joy within the student activists circle. In the past two years, students had been striving hard to oust Shafie Salleh, the Minister of Higher Education for his incompetencies. In the newly announced cabinet line-up, Shafie was dropped out from the cabinet, and his deputy Fu Ah Kiow was transferred to the Ministry of Internal Security.

We should always be mindful that BN ministers are often reactionary. Never put any hope on the so-called "new" minister, who is actually from the same mould. There are still long way to go in order to achieve genuine campus democracy.

Nevertheless, students have sent a crystal clear message to the new minister, "Don't try to be funny, or Shafie will be your example!"

Viva student power!

Cabinet Reshuffling fiasco 3

Finally, he knows...


"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know"
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/40545

"Despite rumours, I was hopeful"
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Friday/National/20060217084910/Article/index_html

Cabinet Reshuffling fiasco 2

"Even if they talk until they foam at the mouth, if God says you stay, you stay," She started a joke...


Rafidah: If God says you stay, you stay
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Friday/National/20060217084744/Article/index_html

Cabinet Reshuffling fiasco 1

Dude, make sure you pronounce the names properly...


New cabinet line-up
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/46916

Monday, February 13, 2006

The suspension is ridiculous!

Sarawak English daily The Sarawak Tribune is suspended indefinitely by the government for reprinting the caricatures that satirised Prophet Muhammad. The controversial caricatures were first carried in Danish daily Jyllands-Posten.

I think many of us recognise that the Danish daily had done something terribly wrong (ridiculing Prophet of a religion). Even United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that freedom of the press should not be an excuse for insulting religions, and expressed concern over the controversy.
Nevertheless, criticising the Danish daily does not mean I endorse Malaysia government's action in suspending The Sarawak Tribune. Although the commissioner of the statutory National Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM), Hamdan Adnan supported the suspension of the Sarawak daily, but I would suggest otherwise.

If anyone is not happy with the daily, and does not want to accept their apology, sue them. Let the court decide whether the caricatures are seditious, we have ample law to deal with that. But if we allow the government to act discretionarily on the media, without trial, we are giving up our democratic system.

Therefore, we should put a stop on such arbitrary punitive action from the state, for it is not only jeopardising the press freedom, but also the judiciary system of the country.

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Watch out, Dollah!

GMI organised a legal consultation meeting on 5 February 2006. The meeting took place in Shah Village Hotel. The objective of the meeting was to strategise legal strategy for 2006 Abolish ISA campaign. Besides dedicated GMI's lawyers (Amer Hamzah, Edmund Bon and Latheefa Koya), reputable human rights lawyers like Haji Sulaiman Abdullah (former president of Malaysian Bar Council) and Sivarasa Rasiah were present too. There were also other young lawyers who are committed in the ISA issue such as Ang Hean Leng, Zamri and others.

Lawyers and GMI activists had very good discussions throughout the meeting. If everything runs smooth, 2006 might be a fruitful year for the Abolish ISA campaign. Let's wait and see!

Sunday, February 05, 2006

Bon Voyage!

Few days before the Chinese New Year break, I was assigned by my organisation to take care of two Cambodian refugees. They were Men Nath (on my right) and Ir Channa (on my left). Men Nath is the president of CICA (Cambodia's Independent Civil Servants Association), while Channa is the deputy secretary general of the SMD (Student's Movement for Democracy).

Men Nath and Channa are among many other human rights activists in Cambodia who are feared to be at risk of arrest. Many have gone into hiding or fled the country. The crackdown was sparked by criticism of a controversial border deal reached with Vietnam by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in October 2005. In a statement (left), the Cambodia Watchdog Council (a coalition of 4 leading NGO in Cambodia, including CICA and SMD) criticised Hun Sen for "selling territory" to Vietnam.

Hun Sen said at the time that he would sue anyone who accused him of "selling territory", and since then a government lawyer has filed charges of "defamation", "incitement to commit a crime" and "disinformation" against civil society groups, people close to the former king, and human rights defenders.

Unlike thousands Burmese and Achehnese refugees, Men Nath and Channa were lucky. On the day they arrived KL, they obtained UNHCR's refugee status. After 5 days, they were resettled in a third country.


Amnesty International Report
Cambodia: Prisoners of conscience/human rights defenders at risk
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA230022006?open&of=ENG-KHM